Chapter 75- The Team Reunites

Me: Well, now that the Wrath of Rarity Arc is done, I can move on to something else! I think you will all like my plans for this!

Tid: Oh no, that can't be good.

Me: Oh you know I would never-

Tid: Stop! Just, no.

Me: Aww, fine. I don't own the rights to Naruto Shippuden or My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

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I awoke a few days later in a very soft, very organized bed. It was a large bed, big enough to fit two or three people (or ponies). The blanket was silk, which felt incredibly nice to the touch. I sat up and gripped my head from the pain.

"Oh! You're awake!" I heard a familiar voice say. I opened my eyes and looked beside me, toward the origin of the voice, and found a very beautiful mare sitting beside me. Her mane was very unorderly, individual hairs sticking up here and there. Her eyes had dark circles under them, and it looked as if she was about to fall asleep. I could tell she hadn't slept in days.

"Rarity?" I asked. She nodded, managing a weak smile. "What's happened to you?"

"I've been taking care of you," She replied. Her voice was very faint. I could tell she didn't have much energy left.

"How long was I out?"

"About three days." She replied.

"Have you slept?" She shook her head. I moved and pulled her into a hug, stroking her mane. "Rarity, you know you can't do that, it's not healthy." I said to her. She looked up into my eyes; and I could see the exhaustion in hers.

"I know, it's just... I couldn't have slept while you were still in this condition." She said. I could see tears welling up in her eyes.

"Rarity, it's okay. I'm perfectly fine," I said to her.

"No, you weren't. I had to take care of you. You were in a very delicate condition, and... I could've lost you." She said.

"What do you mean?"

"You're chakra... I could see it... Or rather, I almost couldn't see it... It was near absolute zero... Too close to it... And... It didn't regenerate for two and a half days... It wouldn't even start regenerating... You... You were barely alive, Tid." She said. I held her close.

"I'm okay now. I promise, I won't die. I'll keep my promise to you, Rarity." I said. She sniffled and held her face to my chest, letting her tears fall onto my chest. I stroked her mane and said nothing. Everything was silent, save for the occasional sniffle from Rarity and the purring of Opal, whom was laying right next to me. After a few minutes, Rarity looked up at me once more, wiping her eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry dear," She apologized.

"Rarity, you don't have to be sorry; I understand your concern. Thank you for taking care of me, I appreaciate it." I said. I leaned in and kissed her. When I broke the kiss, I could see Rarity on the verge of passing out. I stood, lifted Rarity off of her hooves and set her gently into the bed beside Opal, whom was still purring. I took the silk blanket and covered her with it.

"You have a good rest, Rarity. You've earned it." I said to her with a smile.

"Thank you, Tid." She said, giving me a smile in return. I leaned in and kissed her forehead, just above her horn, and as I stood straight again, I could see that she had already fallen asleep. Her face was so peaceful. Her breathing was normal, and as usual she didn't make a sound while she slept, save for the faint sound of her inhaling and exhaling. I smiled at her.

"Things are definitely going to get better," I whispered. "Don't you worry, my precious gem, everything's going to be alright from now on."

I silently walked out of the room, closing the door as quietly as I possibly could behind me. I breathed a sigh of relief and made my way toward the stairs when I stopped. I looked down and noticed that I didn't have my cloak. I shrugged. I must've left it in the Crystal Empire before the time jump, so it's gone. I continued my way to the stairs. When I reached the top I placed my left hand on the rail and walked down them, watching my every step before I made it. I reached the bottom of the stairs and I turned left to head into the kitchen to prepare something for Rarity. It would be a while before she woke up, but I wanted her to have a nice meal to wake up to. I first began to prepare the drink I had made for her a while back, knowing it was her favorite. I looked through her cupboards for the proper ingredients and swore when I noticed she was missing a few things.

"I suppose the least I could do for her is buy her groceries," I said with a shrug. I walked through the house and almost opened the door when I remembered something: I'm dead. At least, everyone else thinks I am. I stood there for a while, debating on whether or not I should announce my revival to the world, or if I should have a little fun with it first. Of course, I decided on the latter. I let go of the doorknob and made the 'ram' hand sign.

"Transform!" I said a little louder than necessary. There was a puff of smoke and I was transformed into Itachi. "Now all I have to do is make sure no one sees Itachi and I in the same place." I said as I grabbed the doorknob. I pulled open the door and was startled to see Twilight standing on the other side, her hoof raised as if she had planned to knock on the door. She looked up at me with equal surprise and put her hoof down.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Itachi, I had no idea you had come to comfort her too." Twilight said quickly. I raised my hand in a gesture to let her know it was alright.

"How is she doing?" She asked me worriedly. I sighed.

"She's taken it pretty hard, as I'm sure you can imagine," I said in Itachi's voice.

"I figured as much," Twilight said disparagingly as she rubbed one arm with the other.

"She hasn't slept the for the past few days, so I decided to let her rest." I said to her.

"She hasn't? Well, I guess I couldn't blame her. After all, losing someone that precious to you... It's bound to have serious consequences." Twilight said. I nodded. After that we stood in an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Say, Itachi," She said to me, breaking the silence.

"Yes?" I asked her.

"Would you mind accompanying me to Fluttershy's cottage? I figured since you'll be heading there soon anyway, we might as well go together. Don't worry, it's not like a date or anything like that, I just want to get this planning over with." She said.

"Alright Twilight," I said. She nodded and I followed her out, closing the door behind me.

The first few minutes of the walk were silent. Neither of us said a word. When we got to the park, then Twilight started to talk.

"She loved him very much, didn't she?" She asked.

"Yes, she did." I replied.

"I mean, you saw how she acted that day. She was devastated. I can never get that image out of my head." She said looking down at the ground.

"Same here," I said, only I was thinking of the image of Rarity's apparition crying before fading away.

"You know something Itachi, I kind of envy him." She said. This took me by surprise.

"Envy him?" I asked her. She nodded.

"He has Rarity, or should I say, he has someone who cares about him more than anything else. I don't have that. I doubt anyone would really care if I died."

"That's nonsense. There are plenty of ponies who would care if you died, Twilight."

"That's not true. I don't have anyone who truly cares about me." I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Twilight Sparkle, listen to me. There are many ponies who care about you. I can see that what you're describing is a mate, but just because you have yet to find someone, doesn't mean that no one cares about you. Your friends would be devastated. I would be devastated. You're like a sister to me, Twilight."

"I-I am?" She asked. I nodded. I walked up to her and put my hands on her shoulders.

"Listen, Twilight. You may not have a special someone now, but you will one day. Your soul mate is still out there, looking for you. All you have to do is be patient, and you'll find him." I said looking into her eyes. She stared back into mine for a few seconds before she nodded. She smiled at me.

"Thank you, Itachi. I feel much better now," She said to me. I nodded to her and took my hands off of her shoulders and we continued our walk to Fluttershy's cottage.

The rest of the walk went on without incident, and within a few minutes we were already knocking on Fluttershy's door. It wasn't until a few seconds after Twilight knocked on the door that I realized that I might encounter Itachi himself. He would definitely know something was amiss. Oh well, it was too late to back out at that point. A few seconds later Fluttershy opened the door and looked at the two of us.

"Oh, hello Twilight and Itachi." She said in the same low voice that she always used. I breathed a sigh of relief; it didn't seem like Itachi was here yet.

"Hello Fluttershy," Twilight said somewhat glumly.

"Please, come in," She said standing aside and gesturing for us to enter. We both nodded and entered her cottage, Fluttershy shutting the door behind us and leading us into the living room.

"Have a seat anywhere," She said to us. I noticed that Rainbow Dash was there, who was lying passed out on the couch. The only ones that were missing were Applejack and Pinkie Pie. And Itachi. I added as an afterthought.

"Er, Fluttershy, may I ask you something?" I asked.

"Sure. What is it?" She replied.

"Would you remind me how long it's been since he died?"

She sighed.

"I understand how you might've forgotten or even lost track. It seems like it's been an eternity since that day, doesn't it?" She asked me. I nodded silently. Her eyes became softer and she managed a faint smile.

"It's okay, I understand. I feel the same way. But, to answer your question, it's been three days since he died." She finished.

"Thank you," I said to her.

She nodded and walked into the kitchen with her head held as high as she could, which came to about three-fourths of the length that she could've possibly held it on a good day. I looked around the room and saw a few details I had failed to notice before. Rainbow Dash was laying amidst a pile of tissues that were no doubt used for wiping her tears away. Twilight was lazily flipping through a book that she had plucked off of the shelves of Fluttershy's cottage. She wasn't reading it, no, she was flipping through them too quickly to possibly be reading them, even knowing how fast she could read. Her eyes were half-open, and dull. They had lost the faint glimmer of light that they had possessed when I comforted her on the way here. I felt out of place. I felt as if I weren't actually supposed to be there (which, in all fairness, I wasn't); like it was all a recollection of the past that I was now living out, with no real power to change the flow of events. It was a terrible feeling. I stood up and looked around the room once more, feeling the anxiety building up to a boiling point inside of me. I laced my fingers together and was about to undo my transformation jutsu when there was a knock on the door.

Twilight looked up from her book and quickly shut it when she realized that someone had arrived. She stood and opened the door to reveal Pinkie and Applejack, who both looked vastly different from when I had last seen them. Applejack seemed to be in better condition than Pinkie was: Her mane was lightly ruffled, as if she hadn't brushed it for a few days, her eyes were fully open, though still dull and lightless, and she wore casual clothes that consisted of a vest overtop of a tanktop and light-blue jeans with a hole for the tail. I also noticed that her mane and tail weren't tied in a ponytail like they normally were, but instead hung loose. Pinkie, however, was in far worse condition. Her eyes and ears were drooped, the former being stained red from all of the tears she had shed up till this point. Her mane was completely straight, which contrasted with every style of mane that I had seen it take the form of. She wore a black t-shirt and faded jeans, which vastly contrasted with her personality. This wasn't the Pinkie Pie that I knew. Seeing them only further increased my desire to undo my transformation. Pinkie looked up at me.

"Oh, Itachi, you're already here. I thought we beat you here, since you said you had a few things to check first." Her voice broke with every other word, but she managed to choke out those words. I tensed up and almost undid the transformation involuntarily, but I managed to keep my focus. I nodded in response, which is what I figured Itachi would do, and for the most part it seemed to work.

"Well, since everyone's here, why don't we get started?" Twilight asked with feigned enthusiasm.

It was clear she wasn't too excited about it; but then again, how could you be excited to plan a funeral? Just then Fluttershy walked back into the room with a tray that carried six cups full of a light-brown liquid, presumably tea, spread across her back with her wings outstretched on either side to support it. She walked to the coffee table that sat in the middle of the room and kneeled down until the tray was level with the table, then gently lifted one of her wings so that the tray glided onto the table without spilling a single brown drop. She did all of this without looking at a single one of us, or uttering a single sound. When she stood upright again, she glanced around at all of us before calmly and silently walking over to Rainbow Dash and gently shaking her to wake her up. Rainbow Dash awoke with a start, sitting bolt-upright in a fraction of a second and looking around rapidly. After that outburst of panic, however, she showed considerably less life.

"Oh, hey guys." She muttered.

At that moment, there was a bright flash of light and very loud crack and suddenly Princess Celestia was standing in the middle of all of us. I took a step back in surprise, and the others were certainly just as surprised as I was. Celestia looked around at us, who were all wide-eyed at her sudden appearance. When her eyes met mine, she held my gaze for a few seconds and I could tell she knew I was still alive. She gave me a subtle nod and returned her attention to the rest of the group.

"I'm glad you're all here; it saves me the trouble of looking for you. I'm here to announce that planning for the funeral will no longer be necessary." She announced.

When she said that I began to sweat a little. Was she going to tell them that I was still alive? That would ruin my fun big time.

"What exactly do you mean by that, Celestia?" Twilight asked with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. I could tell that each of them were slightly more alive than before at the mere thought that I may still be alive after all. Celestia grinned and turned to me.

"Itachi, why don't you show them exactly what I mean?"

At first I was a little astonished, but then I realized that playing opossum wasn't fair to them. I grinned and nodded. I then raised two fingers in front of me and undid the transformation jutsu. As I was shrouded in smoke I could feel their stares. When it cleared, their eyes widened with shock. Everything was dead silent for the longest time as they continued to gawk in awe at what they were seeing. The first to recover from her shock was Rainbow Dash, who silently approached me. I watched her as she came closer. Finally, she stood in front of me and raised her right hoof. Then, she slapped me. My eyes widened with shock as the pain from the slap spread across my face. My head was turned to the side from the force of the slap and I couldn't speak.

"How could you do that to us?!" She demanded. I looked back at her with even more surprise. She had tears in her eyes, a sight I guessed wasn't a new one over the past few days.

"What are you-?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about you son of a bitch!" She shouted. She was furious, her face turning a dark shade of red, even despite her having skin. I was surprised at the tone she was using to talk to me.

"You left us! You left us all alone! You made us believe that you were dead! You made us cry over you!" She shouted in fury. Tears were streaming down her cheeks but she gritted her teeth and stared at me with fierce, piercing eyes. She gestured behind her to the others with her left hoof.

"Pinkie's mane went straight because you were dead! She's been crying almost as much as Rarity has! You made Twilight want to give up on life! You sent us all into a depression! What the hell is wrong with you?!" She screamed.

As she screamed at me, I found that all I could do was stand there quietly, not moving, not speaking, not taking my eyes from hers. I didn't dare look away, for fear of causing even more tension.

"How could you do something like that? How could you leave us like that? Don't we even matter to you? Doesn't Rarity matter to you? How the hell do you think she's been feeling? She hasn't even left her house since you left! Did you really just decide to give up on us?" Rainbow Dash asked in a calmer, but still upset tone. She was more sad than angry at this point, letting her flank fall to the ground and sitting with her front legs between her hind ones. I glanced at the others, who also had tears in their eyes, save for Celestia, who knew exactly what had happened. I looked back to Rainbow Dash with sadness and regret in my heart. I knelt down so that I was looking her in the eyes and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, Rainbow, I didn't leave you; at least, not like how you felt I left you. I didn't want to make you think I had died, and I didn't betray you. I really did die," I said to her.

"Then how are you here?" She asked.

"It was Rarity that revived me. I had bequeathed my powers to her just before my death, and she revived me." I explained.

Rainbow Dash looked up at me and sniffled. I pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow. I realize it hurt to see your friend die. I wish I could've prevented your sorrow, and Rarity's as well. I'm deeply sorry to each and every one of you, and I hope you can forgive me." I said.

I released Rainbow Dash and as soon as I did so Pinkie jumped on top of me, forcing me to the ground. I could see that her mane had poofed up to its normal form, which made me glad.

"Yay! You're finally back!" She shouted with glee. I couldn't help but chuckle. I ran my hand through her mane.

"Yes, yes I am." I replied. I glanced over her shoulder and saw the others smiling as well, even Rainbow Dash. It seemed that the tension had been relieved after all. Pinkie climbed off of me and I rose to my feet, happy to be alive again. Twilight approached me with a great big smile on her face.

"It's good to have you back, Tid." She said extending her hoof. I took it in my hand and shook it.

"It's good to be back, Twilight." I replied with a big grin.

I looked over her shoulder to Princess Celestia, who was also smilng. She gave me a nod I turned my attention back to Twilight.

"How about I treat you all to dinner? Seems like the least I could to apologize for my absence." I offered. They all beamed and nodded in unison. Then we all burst out laughing. These were the times that I had missed when I was dead.

As we stood about talking amongst each other, Princess Celestia walked over to me and gained my attention.

"Tid, if I may, I'd like to speak with you for a moment," She said to me. I nodded and followed her into the kitchen of Fluttershy's cottage, where we would have no interruptions.

"What is it, Celestia?" I asked her. For a moment, she didn't respond, but stood facing me with her eyes closed.

"I fear there may be something more to this than we thought." She answered after a pause.

"Something more? What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"You see, when you had died, and she began her reign, I felt something was off. I understand she was very deeply hurt by your death, but that wouldn't cause that side of her to emerge again; or at least, I doubt it would be." She replied. I flinched in surprise and utter confusion. I felt that Celestia was raising more questions with her answers, and I was getting more and more lost in all of this.

"Hold on, what do you mean 'cause that side of her to emerge again'?" I asked holding my hands out from my sides in a gesture that resembled something like a man demanding answers, which I suppose fit the situation.

"A few years ago, Ponyville was visited by a group of evil spirits that caused nightmares. Without going into too much detail, these spirits ultimately made Rarity believe that she would be forsaken by her dear friends, that they would no longer need nor want her. Thus, they were able to invade her mind and transform her into a being of power that defeated even my sister easily. Naturally the situation was resolved, and life continued normally. However, I believe that a trace of these spirits still lurked within her, that they might've clinged onto a scrap of her consciousness and grown when you died." Celestia explained.

I stood there in silence for a few moments, trying to make sense of the story that I had just heard. Was Rarity really inflicted with such a thing? It seemed incredulous to me, but, the story came from Princess Celestia. I had no choice but to believe her.

"Well, fortunately Celestia, I believe I've taken care of these spirits that had latched onto her. They won't be manifesting within her anymore." I said to her after a short while. She nodded her approval.

"I think so too. Thank you. However, I believe that this manifestation, or awakening, was no coincidence. No doubt her mind was once again plauged with sadness and doubt, so there may be a connection between the two incidents." She said.

"Hmm, that may be true. What do you think is really going on here?" I asked her.

"Well, I feel there may be a higher power manipulating these dark forces; for what purpose, I can only guess. However, we do know this much: these outbreaks were too coincidental to have happened by mere chance." She replied. I considered this information and ultimately found myself wondering these same things with all things considered.

"What would you advise me to do, Celestia?"

She stepped forward and placed a hoof on my shoulder, looking deep into my eyes. I could practically see the essence of the sun shining within her pupils, but the scarlet contrasted with this and gave the impression of a blood-soaked night, at least, in my eyes.

"Take extreme caution with how you proceed in future events, Tid. Make sure that Rarity is safe, and most importantly, make sure to take care of yourself as well. It's not a bad thing to rely on others, but it's not a bad thing to have the ability to do things on your own, either." She warned. I nodded in confirmation and she nodded back. She took her hoof from my shoulder and set it once more on the wooden floor.

"Now let's join the others, shall we? We wouldn't want to keep them waiting, would we?" She asked with a smile that was the polar opposite of the expression she had worn just a few seconds previous.

"Of course, Celestia." I replied. She nodded and we both walked back into the living room where the others were waiting patiently for the two of us; still chatting amongst themselves.

"Sorry about that," I apologized to them raising one hand in a 'pardon me' gesture.

"It's alright, Tid." Twilight said turning her attention to me and the Princess.

"Are you all ready then?" I asked. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Who could that be?" Fluttershy asked curiously as she leapt from her seat on the couch and calmly walked over to the door. She wrapped one of her wings around the doorknob, which I thought looked painful, and pulled the door open enough to stand in the shining sunlight. I could see a cloaked humanoid figure that seemed to be as tall as I was standing on the other side of her. The sun was to his back, so I couldn't make out any specific details, as his body was shrouded in shadows, but I knew who it was almost immediately. He said nothing to Fluttershy, and almost didn't awknowledge her in any way before turning his dark red, glowing eyes to me. I grinned.

"I must say, this is the first time I've ever seen you late for anything, Itachi." I said to him as I approached the door. Fluttershy turned her body to the side to let him in and as he stepped out of the light, I could see a beaming smile that I had only seen when he talked about his younger brother, Sasuke, spreading across his face. I extended my hand and he immediately took it in his.

"So it seems like it wasn't a dream, after all." He leaned in and whispered just loud enough for me to hear. I smiled and nodded and pulled him into a hug that only two friends who had been with each other for over a decade could really appreciate.

"Do you remember that theory you came up with?" I asked him. I had to make sure that he still remembered all of the details, as I couldn't remember exactly everything he had told me. He nodded and I breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Hold on a second, what theory?" Twilight asked curiously as she rose from her seat on the couch and walked over to the two of us, who had already released the hug.

"We'll explain when we get to the restaurant, okay?" I answered. Twilight sighed.

"Alright, I guess that works." She said. Itachi once again leaned in and whispered something to me.

"Should we stop by and have Rarity join us? I think she would have a right to know, since it involves her."

"I would love to, but she's far too exhausted from the past three days. She needs her rest. I'll explain everything to her over dinner when she wakes up." I replied. He nodded.

"Right, then let's get going." Celestia said with a smile. Everyone nodded and left Fluttershy's cottage one by one.

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Me: Well everyone, if you want to know exactly what this theory is, you're going to have to read Chapter 76! I think you'll all find it very interesting and that it may come as a complete shock to you. Have fun and tune in next time!