Dreams and Nightmares

Equestrian Heroes

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Naruto x ?

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Story Start

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As far as any could see Darkness obscured vision to the naked eye.

Fire was burning everything in its path without care.

Nothing but smoldering flames and smoke obscured his vision for as far as his eyes could see.

Ruins of home scattered from a battle.

Shattered pieces of armor were scattered across the ground from fighters that fell from the battle.

He stood in the middle of the corpse littered battlefield that not even the remains could truthfully be called that. Just a few hours ago the fires would be only in ovens and the raw meat was packed away in the freezer.

He walked around, and thru, the bodies that blocked him from the exit of this devastating hell hole. He could see the scattered limbs of those who lives were lost from putting everything on the line.

One simple question.

Why?

What was the reason behind this senselessness?

And that’s when he saw them.

Applejack. Her two hind legs, once powerful and strong after years of apple-bucking, lay broken at the hip.

Fluttershy.  The damage to her spine irreversible, robbing her of the ability to care for her animals.

Pinkie Pie. The damage to her throat was so extensive it would be a miracle that she could live let alone speak.

Rarity. Oh god Rarity her face. Her ability to see and create what she loved robbed from her.

Rainbow Dash.  Her broken wings limp and broken, she would never fly again.

‘What the hell was this? Why was he seeing this?’

“You monster! You bucking monster!”  He turned and their stood opposite of him was Twilight Sparkle. “Why? We were your friends! WE WERE YOUR FAMILY! I…I…”  Twilight’s horn was broken into two. Element of Magic. Her pride and livelihood robbed from her. “Naruto…why?”

A familiar whirl of a Rasengan came to life and the last thing heard was Twilight letting out a blood curdling shriek.

Naruto awoke with rapid breathing and sweat clouding his brow. He blinked in the darkness of the furnished room he was provided as the captain of the Lunar guard. He took a moment to collect his with before scurrying to turn on the light. He wiped away the beads of sweat from his forehead as he blinked his eyes into adjusting to the sudden presence of the light.

It was the second week of November so with the Winter Season fast approaching and Canterlot’s high altitude the nights began to grow colder. Despite this his body was drenched in sweat from the graphic and upsetting nightmare.  Naruto sat in his bed, thin covers in a tangle by his hooves. His eyes drifted across his small room.  Scrolls lay cluttered on most of the surfaces; the unfinished training dummy he was working on was sitting on the desk.

Every so often, a dream would have come. Though they were different then tonight’s nightmare. The dark image of a pony enshrouded by a dark mist which at first Naruto thought it was a vision signifying the possessed Princess Luna, but now he wasn’t so sure. He decided to go out and get some fresh air to clear his land. There were no disturbances in the land that warranted his attention.

What seemed to be a freak nightmare though soon began leading to a pattern of nightmarish visions that would carry on to days to come.

Luna was... bored. A check of the records earlier revealed night court had again yielded nothing for her to be involved in. She had taken to lounging on one of the thick banks of clouds the sky offered to simply observe happenings in the world below. Mostly this was just something for her body to busy itself with while her mind wandered.

Her mind had drifted to one pony in particular, her captain of the night guard.  Despite all the time that passed she had not spent much time with the stallion. The longest one on one time they had spent was the meeting in her mind and fate would have it that the two of them would always be busy with their various duties. In fact said pony was currently asleep seeing as he was still on leave for his recovery.  Then again finding the stallion asleep was that of an oddity in itself seeing as he was able to function on very little sleep.

Suddenly a revelation occurred to the princess of the night. She could simply talk to him in his dreams.  Since her return she hadn’t attempted to dream walk, trying to regain as much of her power as she could, but she supposed resuming her duty of chasing away the nightmares from the mind of her little ponies wouldn’t tax her that much.

Returning to the sanctity of her room she began casting her magic. Her horn flared with the casting of magic unique to her, and her consciousness left her form. Her irises shone with a bright and pure energy as her mane gently flowed, her appearance of that of a transparent wraith as her regalia glowed with a silver-white glow.

Arriving to the mindscape she found herself in an area indistinguishable from that of nature itself.  Flowers gently swaying within the breeze of winds as the sky were covered in clouds. The sensation of the wind felt so real as well as the grass under her hooves.  It was quite and tranquil like a frozen wasteland without the sound the sound of cold desolate wind coursing through caverns and the landscape.

“Consider yourself lucky I know of you Princess of the Night!”

Luna spun, wings raised and her horn flaring at the sound of the booming that suddenly startled her. She found herself rooted in place at the massive creature that dwarfed her in size several hundred times over. Its shimmering crimson orange fur and fearsome eyes would send lesser ponies running and screaming in fight.  This creature seemed to dwarf many of creatures easily rivaling that of a Ursa Major.  “You are…Kurama art thou not?” he appeared to match the descriptions of the creature Naruto gave.

Kurama kneeled until he was eye to eye with Luna. While true, Luna was in no physical danger if this creature knew any form of mind magic it could attempt to harm Luna mentally which would lead to dire consequences.  “You are a bold one.  Why have you chosen to invade the mind of my container?”

Luna stood her ground, refusing to be intimidated. “We are seeking council with Naruto. Would thee be kind and show us his location Lord Kurama?”

‘Lord Kurama?’ a chortle escaped the lips of the kitsune.  He could grow to like this one…maybe. It would only be a matter of time before Naruto fully grew accustomed to his new life though some things never changed.  Kurama wondered if this time around Naruto would be aware of the effects he had on the women around him.

“I know of his location, follow.” He beckoned her as he stood up and began making way to where Naruto’s mental self was. With a powerful flap of her wings Luna took to the air. “You are not the first royal he has saved. Naruto has always been thick to the affections of the fairer sex around him. You might wish to stake your claim on the blond.” To Kurama’s surprise the only reaction garnered from the Princess was brief surprise and a faint blush.

“The nature of relationship between Naruto and…I…is of a platonic nature.” Luna couldn’t remember the last time she had a relationship with a stallion in the romantic sense. Luna wondered if the Royal Claim was still in affect?  After all it wouldn’t do for the royal companion to have their parents assigned an engagement to the stallion when she or her sister had an eye on him.

Whether or not she believed her own admission was on the princess. They continued their trek until they came upon Naruto’s prone form. To Luna’s surprise he was in a form she didn’t recognize. He was  rather furless except for his mane and his skin complexion was different. Is that what a human looked like? She turned to ask Kurama and to her surprise he was gone.  Luna then turned her attention back to Naruto and began making her way to him. Despite his drastic change she knew it was him. She could sense it.

The night princess sat down about ten feet from him. ”Hello.”  The voice of Luna softly called to him.

Naruto eyes slowly opened as he exited his trance. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing would leave. The only situation was rather awkward. “Hello?” it came out more of a question than greeting.

Luna smiled in an apologetic manner and turned her head to the side. "We believe our presence here mystifies you."  Whenever nervous or flustered Luna couldn’t help but flitter between modern equestrian and the royal we. “I am a Dream Walker. Using a form of magic I can enter the mindscapes of others through their dreams to release them from the Nightmares that plague them.”

“Wow, that’s an interesting ability.” An awkward silence passed between them. “Is there something you needed?"

"Well, I came to talk to you." The princess smiled softly and somewhat awkwardly. The awkward tension in the air began to ease.

A warm smiled formed on Naruto’s face. “Very well Princess I’m happy to talk with you as long as it’s needed.”  He said as he extending a hoof, beckoning Luna to walk with him as the two of them began conversing.   If perhaps she was in the waking world Luna would have taken notice of a familiar pulse of magic that was echoing in Equestria.

A group of ponies in black cloaks, with black fur gathered in the old ruins of Princesses former castle.  They began gathering the crumpled pieces of what remained of Nightmare Moon’s armor.  Word had traveled of the Princess of the Night’s return as well as the events that transpired that night. Though, the gathered groups of ponies were no fools to believe that the story that was given was not edited to some degree.

One pony stepped forward, her mane a turquoise blue and eyes a shade of orchid. “We have failed our lady. We were not at her neck and call during her ascension and even now that pretender masquerades as the Princess of the Night.  It is our duty as members of the new Lunar Republic to uphold her virtues and rid Equestria of the false idol and restore our queen.”

“Sister. How will we able to do so? Even if we were to restore our queen how will we know that the tyrant’s pets are won’t shackle her again?” another pony spoke up, referring to the Elements of Harmony.  The stallion shared the same coating and mane color of the pony that spoke.

“Dearest brother I have made an alliance with some beasts. One of the beasts is making his way to Canterlot as we speak. The first part of our plan is to weaken the military power of Equestria making our takeover much easier. By doing that we must weaken or kill those loyal to tyrant of the Sun. While they serve as a distraction we will orchestrate the events to resurrect our queen and when the time comes we will dispose of them and all who stand in our way. To the New Lunar Republic!”

“TO THE NEW LUNAR REPUBLIC!” The ponies cheered.

Speaking of Canterlot a winged creature flew above. Its monstrous eyes skimmed over the city as it began its slow descent.   The creature was bipedal with claws unfit to hold utensils. Despite its appearance it knew of poetry and fine, but his voice was that of a harsh snarl that sent most running in fright.  This creature was built as strong as a champion earth pony and as swift as any Pegasus.

Gradually, his reputation as a monster spread.  He flew over towns and countryside. They threw stones when they were brave enough.  If they weren’t torn apart by his claws they were dropped from heights that were simply not survivable.

For years he had travel, alone and hated, until he was found by his master. The very master whom he was in the process aiding his escape from the imprisonment imposed on him by Faust herself. By that he was temporarily allying himself with ponies, manipulating the fools to provide him with vital information. While they ran their fool’s errand he would work on freeing his master.

Landing on one of the gaudy houses of Canterlot’s elite he began nimbly traveling alone the roof. The faint sound of scratching that would only be heard to the most trained of ears. As the creature peered inside he saw a gathering of Unicorns as classical music blared. ‘Self-absorbed twits.’    The creature thought. Though he supposed getting the wraith back to prime condition would be the first step to resurrecting his master.

Meanwhile Naruto and Luna continued their conversation. Hours had passed as the two ponies conversed without as much as a care in the world. That was until Princess Luna asked the last question Naruto was expecting. “Naruto, tell me, have you a special somepony back in Ponyville?”

Naruto immediately went quiet. Something told him this conversation was going to be rather awkward for a reason he couldn’t quite put his hoof on.