Enter the Ninja

The blue alicorn slowly descended himself down to the girls. “Welcome brave ones.” He asserted.

Twilight bowed to him, hinting the others to the same. “Nice to meet you.” replied the younger alicorn.

“Do you know that you’re the only ones to ever pass through all those obstacles…alive?” quizzed the Stallion.

“Really?” asked Rainbow.

“Yes indeed, Rainbow Dash.”

The Pegasus stood stunned. “How did you know my....”

“I know all your names.” Ninja interrupted, turning to each mare as he spoke. “Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and of course, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“How did you know?” raised Pinkie.

“Clairvoyance.” answered the blue stallion.

“Then, you must be Ninja.” assumed the princess. The master nodded.

“Finally!” breathed Rarity. “You don’t know what we’ve gone through to get here!”

“Actually, I’m the one who set them all up.” admitted Ninja.

“Oh...” said the unicorn.

“Five hundred and seventy six have tried, and they all... perished.”

Pinkie gasped deeply.

“Many were strong, but not wise; whilst the others were wise, but not strong enough. Plus, some even abandoned their friends and left them to die, just so they would survive and they still failed. To control this power you must be balanced in wisdom, courage and power. But most of all, you must be, pure.”

“Woah.” whispered Rainbow.

Ninja then closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he smiled and opened them. “And I’d say Celestia and Luna choose well.” he explained.  You all balance each other out. Applejack and Rainbow Dash." The girls stood up straight as if reporting for an important mission. "You two represent the strength of the group. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, you two represent bravery." The mares' cheeks flushed red. "And Rarity and Twilight, you represent the intelligence. When the ponies of the past attempted to conquer these challenges, none of them realized that it takes teamwork and friendship to complete this.”

The girls’ eyes shone. “You are all indeed worthy of this power, so let us begin.” Ninja closed eyes and began charging his magic.

“Now,” He began. “Form a circle around me and join hooves.” The mares did as they were told. “Close your eyes and concentrate, I shall guide on your quest for knowledge and magic.” As they girls closed their eyes, Ninja began chanting his spell. "Masters of the ancient arts, I call upon thee, please heed my cry. Bestow these warriors with your magic and might, and bring us victory in our fight. I beseech thee. Grant them the powers to rid the world of this seemingly unbeatable foe. Sun, moon, sky, earth, fire, air, water, rocks, stars......COMBINE!!"

“Your journey is complete, open your eyes and claim your new powers!” The girls woke to find glittering martial uniforms covering their bodies, as well as headbands above their brows. The gis matched each girl’s coat color, while the bands and belts were the same as their manes and tails.

“Wow!” expressed Rarity. “This outfit is gorgeous!”

“Sparkly!” squeaked Pinkie. Fluttershy was looking her hooves as if something wasn't right.

“Fluttershy? What’s wrong?” asked Twilight.

Ninja smiled, then threw a rock toward the cream colored Pegasus. Fluttershy instantly thrusted her hoof out. “Hiya!” she yelled, shattering the rock upon impact. The Pegasus turned to her friend. “I know Kung Fu.”

“Awesome!” said Rainbow. “Let me try.” Without the assistance of her wings, Rainbow jumped and preformed a quadruple backflip. Upon landing, she completed twenty five kicks with one hoof in just ten seconds.

“Wow!” gasped Rarity.

Now even she was tempted to try a punch or two. Imaging a pony in front of her, the unicorn conducted ten jabs, fifteen uppercuts and eight knife strikes like lightning. “Amazing.” She said to herself.

Twilight looked around and spotted a stone half the size of her. She proceeded toward the stone, then hesitantly lifted her hoof above it. Closing her eyes, Twilight struck the rock with all her might. Hardly feeling any impact, the alicorn opened her eyes only to find the stone in two chunks. “Unbelievable.” She uttered.

After flexing her enhanced muscles, Applejack asked. “Is this the power?”

“No.” answered Ninja. “This is only the first step, fighting skills from masters even better than me.” The girls’ eyes doubled in width. “Follow me and prepare to receive the ‘true’ magic.”

The girls followed Ninja outside and approached a huge underground cave.

“This place is humongo!” exclaimed Pinkie.

“Indeed.” agreed Rarity.

“Is the power inside?” asked Fluttershy.

Ninja nodded. He then closed his eyes and gathered all the magic he could harness as if he was going to move something. Suddenly the ground started shaking mildly and a gigantic stone tablet began advancing toward them via Ninja’s magic.

Once the tablet stood in front of the girls, Ninja released it. The girls stared in awe at the symbol in the center of the stone panel. At the heart of the slab was a mural of six divine horses standing like guards. “Behold the power of the Arions.” explained Ninja. “The Sacred Steeds.”

“Wow.” said the girls in unison. Immediately, the Arions began to glow gold. Six smaller versions of the divine horses flew out of the tablet and stared gliding around. After a couple of seconds, the little horses began flowing around the girls. They then soared toward the girls' chests and vanished inside, filling them with new bound powers and abilities. The mares glowed with magic; the golden light then rushed to their necks and formed new necklaces, symbolizing their friendship elements in Japanese.

“We did it!” cried Rainbow.

“Way to go everypony!” said Applejack.

Rarity took time to absorb the immense sparkle of her new outfit. “This reminds me of the Crystal Empire.”

“Yes, it is beautiful.” added Fluttershy taking in the beauty of her attire.

“Glad you like them.” replied Ninja.

Twilight closed eyes for a second and felt the eternal power flowing through every limb of her body. “Wow, this really is the ultimate power.” she commented. “Alright girls, we better get going. We have a war to win.”

“Yay!” screeched Pinkie.

“Let’s do it!” joined Applejack.

“Hold on Princess Celestia, we’re on our way.” said Rainbow.

“Thank you, Nin…ja” Twilight looked around, but the blue stallion was gone.

“Cool.” commented Rainbow.

“Oh well.” said the alicorn. “Hold on girls, I’m transporting us back to Ponyville.

“Ready!” replied the others full of confidence. In a flash of light purple, the six warriors were gone.

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Nightmare Moon was bringing the town to its knees. “Mwahahahah!” The dark mare crackled. “I love this new version of Ponyville! So much more, dark and unnatural.” Her evil minions had already destroyed the entire town, leaving everypony homeless, helpless and scared. Every family was huddled together, pitifully trying to calm each other. Screams of children and baby foals clouded the air. “Now that I’m done with this stupid town, I can focus on Canterlot. Then, all of Equestria!” yelled the insane sorceress.

“Not if we can help it!” said a voice.

“What?” Nightmare Moon turned to see the six mares standing on a hill above. “Oh look, it’s the heroes.” mocked the dark mare. “Come back for another embarrassing defeat?”

“Actually,” countered Rainbow. “We’re here because somepony ordered one major butt whuppin’!”

“Oh, really?!” dared the evil queen.

“Yeah!” cried Pinkie.

“Well, unfortunately, I’m too busy conquering the world to play.” said the sinister monster in a taunting tone.

“Awwwwww.” groaned Pinkie.

“Don’t worry, I brought some new friends of mine for you little foals.” At that moment, hundreds of her freaky concocted monsters swarmed up behind her.

“Is that all you got?” challenged Twilight.

“What?!” yelled the black beast. “How dare you speak to me in such a manner! I'm the new Queen of Equestria! Minions! Get them!” she commanded. The vicious looking creatures stormed down towards the six mares.

Smiling, the girls nodded at each other and leapt into the air against the plague of vile creatures. Instantly, the maniacal creatures covered the six girls, but then, a small explosion erupted within the horde and sent the troublesome monsters flying. From the blast emerged the girls each displaying a different martial pose.

“What the?” gasped Nightmare Moon.

“That was fun!” squeaked Pinkie.

“I didn’t even come close to breaking a sweat.” boasted Rarity.

“Who’s next?” asked Rainbow with eternal confidence.

The dark mare growled in anger. “Get them!!!” she commanded. The other beasts immediately stopped wrecking the town and went after the girls. The mares prepared to fight. Right before the monsters could touch the six ponies; a giant Fuma shuriken flew over the girls' heads and sliced twelve of the monsters in half.

Looking closely, Twilight saw that the weapon was enveloped in a familiar shade of blue magic. In a boomerang like motion, the shuriken flew back to its owner.

“I bet I can guess who that came from.” muttered Applejack.

The girls turned to see Ninja guiding the spinning blade back to him.

“Ninja!” cheered the girls.

“Somepony forget to invite me?”

“We were going to, but you vanished.” explained Rarity.

“Yeah, where were you?” asked Twilight.

“Sharpening this.” said Ninja referring to his huge shuriken. The giant blades collapsed together and the warrior placed it on his back. “My favorite weapon.” He stated.

“Woah.” breathed Applejack.

“Dude, that’s a big, uh, ninja thingy.” expressed Pinkie.

“Thanks.” replied the indigo colt. Turning his attention back to the remaining mass of monsters, Ninja spread his wings as if he was about to take flight. “I’ll take the ugly ones.”

“What’s the difference?” asked Rarity.

Instead of answering, Ninja launched himself into the sky, knocking out every creature in his airborne path.

Just as the girls were about to join him, a small army of black veiled Pegasi stallions soared over the girls and began aiding their master against the evil creatures.

"His students." thought Twilight.

Deciding that Ninja had the sky under control, the girls dove into battle against the minions on the ground.

Twelve monsters surrounded Rainbow dash inside a ten foot perimeter. Without a care in the world, the cyan pony dared them to come closer. Insulted by her mockery, the black beasts attacked simultaneously. Rainbow then spun around and delivered a spinning hook kick, striking every one of the monsters’ chins. Once done, Rainbow turned her head to a sudden sound behind her; twenty more stood there growling at the Pegasus. Rainbow smiled and brought her right front hoof to her forehead. Her necklace started glowing, at the same time, multi-colored electricity began sparking on her hoof tip and after a moment, she released it. “RAINBOW BEAM CANNON!!!!!” A spiraling blast of rainbow energy shot out of Rainbow’s hoof directly at the monsters, resulting in a massive explosion. “Cool.” said Rainbow.

Nearby, Applejack had just finished beating up eight more of the minions without breaking a sweat. From the shadows appeared nineteen more. The farm pony decided to use her new ability. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out an apple. After chewing up most of it, she spat one seed into her hoof. Her pendant began to glow gold and instantly, the seed extended and grew into a sword-like weapon. “Come to mama.” dared Applejack. Intimidated by her blade, the beasts stood still. Grabbing the sword with her tail, Applejack galloped straight at the fiends and she sliced into each of the monsters at blinding speed several times. Afterwards, the farmer tossed her blade aside and the minions fell into multiple chunks.

Pinkie Pie was flipping through multiple fiends, knocking them all out with a simple punch or kick. After her ninth flip, she finally landed, only to find twenty five more waiting for her. “Hey guys, wanna hear a joke?” she asked. The mare then raised her hoof as her necklace started to shine. “Oh, you’re gonna love the, 'punch' line!” and she struck the earth with all her might, shattering the earth beneath her and sending a seismic wave towards the awaiting fiends.

Meanwhile, Rarity was dodging beast after beast, determined not to get her outfit dirty. This time, Rarity caught one of the monsters. She then broke it through a brick wall, flipped it over her, slammed it into the ground and stomped on its back.

“You are so lucky my outfit wasn’t stained or torn or anything, because if it had, I would have…” a set of growls sounded behind her. Two more mutants were flying straight at her. Rarity simply delivered a set of swift but hard kicks at the dark fiends. “Like I was saying, if my outfit gets…” Rarity stopped dead. The unicorn looked at her gi and saw that it had been torn. “I’LL DESTROY YOU!!!!!!” she cried. Her rage felt like fire, so she decided to use it. Clasping her hooves together to form some kind of sign, Rarity opened her mouth and released an enormous fire ball, engulfing every one of her enemies.

Instead of fighting, Fluttershy just kept dodging the dark fiends, one after another. Even with her new found powers, she still felt the fear of battle. Squeak! a small voice sounded from nearby. “That sounds like a mouse.” thought the Pegasus. “Oh, I hope he’s not hurt. I have to get to him.” Fluttershy looked around, multiple monsters surrounded her. All at once, they dove for her, but the yellow pony clashed her hooves together and disappeared in puff of yellow smoke, leaving the beasts to smash into each other.

Reappearing at the place where she heard the sound, Fluttershy began searching for the little creature. “Oh my goodness, please be okay, please be okay.” she begged. Finally the Pegasus located a small hole and peaked inside. Huddled at the end of the hollow was a small, terrified, brown mouse. “Don’t worry little guy, I won’t hurt you.” She said, trying to calm the tiny creature.

“But you have to get out of there, it’s not safe here.” Without a trace of fear, the little rodent ran up to her and nuzzled her furry chest. Overpowered by the creature’s cuteness, the Pegasus lifted the mouse up for a small embrace. “Don’t you worry little guy, I’ll get you out of here.” she promised. Suddenly, the Pegasus heard a growl approaching her fast. They found me! She realized. Spreading her wings, Fluttershy began to elevate herself, but before she could leave the ground, the dark fiend slashed its claw across her cheek and hooves. The mouse! she realized. Fluttershy immediately stood up and checked around for her little friend, but then she heard a small crunch. She looked up at the monster that just attacked her, there was the mouse, lying dead in between the beasts’ teeth. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!” cried the yellow Pegasus. Ignoring her pleading cry, the monster swallowed the little mammal whole. The light in Fluttershy’s eyes died and the mare lowered her head at the sight of monster’s consumption of the mouse. A fire then erupted inside her, giving birth to a new hate that felt like it had been concealed throughout her entire life. Feeling nothing but feral rage, Fluttershy wiped the blood from her cut cheek…and licked it. The salty taste of her blood doubled the mare’s anger and made Fluttershy want to DESTROY. More fiends began to surround the mare. Letting her rage control her, Fluttershy raised her hoof to the dark clouded sky. A bolt of lightning shot down to her and the Pegasus grasped it between her two front hooves. The electricity crackled, then edged itself into a sword. Just as the monsters were about charge toward Fluttershy, peeled her blade into two. Grabbing the swords with her wings, Fluttershy spun around creating a tornado of blades and screamed all her anger out.

Twilight had just finished beating up fifteen of the demonic monsters, when twenty two more began buzzing around her. Slowly, they descended to the ground and crept toward her. Twilight was getting bored, so she decided to finish them quickly. Paying the fiends no attention, the small alicorn closed her eyes and tapped into her new power. Her horn began to glow and purple magic enveloped every one of the the dark beasts, raising them into the air at a high rate of speed. As the monsters were ascended, Twilight concentrated hard on the monsters. She then released all her concentrated energy, causing the fiends to explode spontaneously.

“Where in the world did they get these abilities?” the wicked mare pondered. “Oh well, I’ll just send more.” Blowing through a special whistle, more of her fiendish slaves rushed to her side. All the girls ceased their actions and looked towards the hole in the dark sky.

“Oh, great!” groaned Rainbow.

“This is getting a little boring.” added Applejack.

“I think I’m starting to sweat.” voiced Rarity. “If I get this new outfit wet, I’ll smash those monsters INTO DUST!” Everypony backed away from the unicorn.

“We need help.” announced Twilight. The alicorn then looked up and saw Ninja rocketing toward the swarm of evil beasts.

“What’s he doing?” asked Pinkie.

“I don’t think even Ninja can handle that many.” confessed Fluttershy.

As Ninja neared the plague of demons, he pulled out his giant shuriken and pitched it toward the monsters.

Applejack’s expression grew dark. “One star isn’t enough to take down…all…those…”

The farmer’s jaw fell as another blue pony slid out from the shuriken and threw another. Another Ninja flew out of the new star and the process kept repeating until fifty were present. They all then launched their shurikens at the multitude of monsters, slicing them to ribbons.

“I didn’t know Ninja had brothers.” said Pinkie. The others were dumbfounded by Pinkie’s sentence.

Back in Canterlot, Celestia was getting worried, she hadn’t heard anything from the girls and she was starting to wonder if they would ever return.

“Do not despair, sister.” voiced Luna. “With Princess Twilight as their guide, they can achieve anything.”

“Thank you, Luna.” said Celestia as she nuzzled her sibling.

“Celestia! Luna!” cried Cadance as she dashed into the throne room. The guards have spotted Twilight and others!” The goddess’s expressions brightened immediately, “They’re fighting those dark creatures as we speak.”

“Told you.” reminded Luna.

“Plus, they have a blue ally with them.” Cadance added.

“Ninja,” breathed Luna. “I must go.”

“Wait!” gasped the sun goddess. “Luna, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I need to see him.” insisted the blue mare.

Celestia could see the love in her sister's eyes. “Very well, but please be careful.”

“Don’t worry about me.” said the moon goddess.

“Good luck, auntie.” said Cadance.

The moon mare nodded to her niece and teleported out.

Thanks to the aid of his army, and his students, Ninja was starting to bottleneck the flow of fiends, until finally, he closed with his magic.

“Dang, he’s good!” sounded Rainbow.

“Sure is.” agreed Applejack.

The six then marched toward the wicked mare.

“That just leaves you and us, you witch!”

“You'll regret those words!!!” she yelled. “Feel my hatred!!!” and the mare fire a massive black beam of energy toward the girls followed by an enormous explosion. ‘”Ha!” cackled the vile mistress. “All that talk and no action to defend it!” All that was left were six burned, torn gis. “Eventually that blue buffoon will fall to my-”

A small pebble hit her head.

“Yoo-hoo! Queen Meanie!” called Pinkie.

The dark mare spun around and was shocked to see the six with their gis completely unscathed.

“What?! But, how did, I saw you all....”

Applejack chuckled. “Ninja’s not the only one who can do fancy tricks.”

“And we aren’t even alicorns.” mocked Rainbow. "Except Twilight."

The dark mare growled in anger. “Fine! You wanna play rough?! I can play REAL ROUGH!” Nightmare then drew in as much magic as she could and created six more versions of herself.

“Uh-oh.” breathed Fluttershy.

Nightmare Moon turned to her duplicates. “Play ‘nice’ with the little fillies.” The clones grinned and flew at the girls.

“Let’s get em’ girls!” ordered Twilight.

The girls dove into battle, each one fighting a copy of the vile sorceress.

“Now that they’re taken care of, I can exterminate that Ninja pest.” hissed the evil queen.

“Don’t you dare!” called a voice. Nightmare Moon turned to see Princess Luna standing a few feet away from her.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my creator.” said the dark mistress.

“This fight is between you and me!” declared Luna.

“Very well.” agreed the black sorceress. “Then let’s finish it!” With the aid of their magic, each mare lifted a weapon; Luna wielded a blue axe while Nightmare Moon chose a black scythe.

CLANG! The blades of the two princesses clashed multiple times, but neither one was able to touch the other’s body. Finally the two mares separated.

“This was fun, but now it’s time to finish you.” said the vile alicorn.

“Bring it!” demanded Luna. Nightmare Moon charged at her alter ego, ramming Luna to the ground and knocking her axe from her magical grasp. Pinning her down, Nightmare Moon held her blade just inches away from Luna’s throat.

“Finally, I can rid you of this world, because there can be only one Queen of the night and that will be-”

A blast of deep blue magic hit the evil mare before she could finish. Ninja then appeared above Luna and extended his hoof out to his love. After helping the mare up, the two stared at each other for a brief moment.

“I knew you would come.” said Luna as she gazed into the stallion’s gray eyes.

“I’m so glad you’re back.” Ninja responded. “If only I’d known, I would’ve come sooner.”

Luna placed her hoof over Ninja’s mouth. “You’re here now, that’s all that matters.” breathed Luna.

“I missed you.” whispered the ninja master as he embraced the mare.

“I’ve missed you more.” expressed the moon goddess.

“You dare strike me?!” exclaimed the vile mistress. “The Queen of Equestria!”

Ninja looked the mare with disgust. “Queens either inherit their position or earn it. You haven’t done either you pathetic peasant!”

Nightmare Moon exploded. “HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY!!!!!!” She then fired a large beam of magic at the stallion.

As if it were in slow motion, Ninja allowed the beam to near him, then simply smacked it away.

The dark goddess’s jaw fell in shock. She then lowered her head and began to laugh manically and the alicorn amulet slowly melted into her chest.

Ninja raised his brow in confusion.

The mare’s laugh began to grow deeper and tentacles began slithering out of her sides.

Her eyes gleamed red and her size slightly grew. As she grew, the mare sprouted another set of wings and her horn sharpened itself to a point. “TIME TO DIE!!!” growled the monster.

Meanwhile, the girls were having a difficult time with the clones who proved to be rather tough one on one.

Fluttershy then heard a huge roar and turned to see Ninja fighting a larger, freakier version of Nightmare Moon.

“Whoa!!” cried Rainbow. “What the heck is that?”

“I don’t know.” answered Twilight.

“One thing’s for sure,” commented Applejack. “He needs help.”

The six mares once again tapped into their new powers, causing their necklaces to glow. The girls transferred a load of power to their hooves and struck each of the one of the clones so hard that they exploded into dust. Finally free of their troublesome opponents, the girls charged toward the vile beast.

Taking advantage of her new limbs, Nightmare Moon grabbed each of Ninja’s hooves with her tentacles and pinned him to the ground. After recovering from the shock of the evil mare’s transformation, Luna picked up her axe and flew toward the evil creature, but Nightmare Moon caught the moon goddess in another one of her limbs and raised Luna out of reach.

Finally, the dark beast picked up her sickle and prepared to slash Ninja’s throat. “SAY GOODBYE!!!!” said the demonic monster. But before she could swing her scythe, Twilight fired a laser-like beam at the blade causing it to explode. The beast turned to see the six mares back and ready to fight.

“TROUBLESOME INSECTS!!! roared the mutant alicorn. She then extended her remaining tentacles toward the girls.

“Watch out!” squeaked Fluttershy.

Nightmare Moon kept lashing her whip-like limbs at the girls, but continued to miss.

This is going nowhere. thought Twilight as she continued to dodge the strikes. We need to devise a sneak attack... That’s it! Tapping into her power while avoiding the tentacles, Twilight sent a telepathic message to her friends.

“Got it.” said Rainbow.

“Sounds good.” answered Applejack.

“Okay.” responded Fluttershy.

“Let’s get it over with.” replied Rarity.

“This is so cool how we can do this.” added Pinkie.

Putting Pinkie’s comment aside, Twilight started a countdown. “Three, two, one!”  At that very moment the girls vanished instantly.

“WHAT THE?” asked the black beast. Three seconds later, the six reappeared. Then, with powered ‘hooves of fury’, they drove their hooves into the mutated monster’s flesh simultaneously in six different spots: her side, back, cheek, chest, neck and gut. The seven mares seemed to be frozen in time for several seconds. Finally, one word broke the silence.

“Owwwwww.” The black mutant began to tumble, as she struck the ground, she returned back to her original state; only her sharpened horn remained. The amulet then rematerialized and fell to the ground.

“Did we do it?” raised Fluttershy.

“I think we did.” answered Rarity.

“Alright! We did it!” cheered Rainbow.

Ninja raised his hoof. “Not yet.” he uttered. At that moment, the dark mare slowly began to rise.

“You fools.” she announced. “I cannot be beaten.”

Finally, she regained her balance and stood tall. She then charged at the group of ponies with all her might. Ninja had reached his limit.

“Enough!” In that moment, Ninja unleashed one of his strongest spells, freezing Nightmare Moon dead in her tracks.

“A freezing spell?” quizzed Twilight.

“Yep.” answered Ninja.

“Cool.” breathed Rainbow.

“Girls, I can’t hold her forever.” warned the martial master. “You must use your most powerful attack and destroy her.” The six nodded in understanding, then trotted a small distance away and formed a circle around the wicked alicorn.

“Alright girls.” ordered Twilight. “Gather all the power you can muster.”

“Sorry, I don’t have any mustard.” said Pinkie.

“I said muster, not-you, know what? Never mind! Just focus!” moaned the purple princess.

“Okay.” replied the pink mare.

The six gathered every piece of magic in their entire beings and channeled it into their limbs for one final attack. Applejack and Pinkie Pie raised one hoof and waited for the others. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew up a small distance and clasped their hooves together. Twilight and Rarity channeled their power into their horns and began the chant needed to start the attack. Balls of power began forming at the girl’s hooves and horns as they spoke. “KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” and the girls blasted six different colored beams of energy right at the maniacal witch.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Her scream was drowned in the explosion.

As the explosion settled, sparkling rainbow particles began raining down across the town. Everything they touched was instantly restored to normal. The dark clouds faded and the large object in the sky slowly descended.

“Now did we do it?” asked Pinkie.

“Yes, Pinkie! We did! ” cheered Twilight.

“YES!!!!” cried Rainbow.

“Way to go everypony!” added Applejack.

Back at the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor was still trying to keep everypony calm, but he was beginning to run out of encouraging speeches until finally, the dark sphere was lowered and the sun shone once more. Immediately the crystal ponies cheered and returned to their normal lives.

Shining looked across the land to Ponyville. “Way to go Twily.” He breathed. “I’m so proud of you.”

When the sun shone, the guards rushed in to alert the two princesses.

“Princess Celestia!” called one of the guards. “Princess Twilight and the others have defeated the beast!”

“They did it auntie!” cheered Cadance. “I knew they could do it.”

“Me too.” expressed Celestia. At that moment, a small storm of glittering dust rained over Celestia and restored her magic. “Thank you Luna.”

After everything was restored and put back in order, the six ponies headed to Zecora's hut. Twilight knocked on the door three times, then called out the mare's name. "Zecora!"

Not long after, the door swung open, and there stood their zebra friend. "Princess Twilight, it seems you and your friends have won the fight."

"Sure did." confirmed Rainbow.

"Well done to you all." Zecora then glanced at the new necklaces around the girl's necks. "It seems those new powers, have ended this brawl."

"Please, Zecora." inserted Twilight. "We need you to lock this away again." she said, holding up the amulet with her magic.

"I promise you." replied the checkered mare. "I shall keep it out of anypony's view."

"Thank you." said the purple princess.

Once again, everypony was gathered together at the Canterlot Hall getting ready to honor the heroes of Equestria, including the families of each mare. Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Shining Armor all stood waiting for their saviors to arrive. As the double doors opened, the six mares walked in towards their awaiting rulers accompanied by Ninja.

“Mares and Gentlecolts.” began Celestia. “We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these six friends who fought hard under the toughest of circumstances to save us from an evil that would have brought us all to an age similar to the time of the enslaved Crystal Empire. Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity.” She then shifted her gaze to the blue stallion. “I would also like to give thanks to the stallion who not only fought alongside them, but also gave them the power they needed to seal away their enemy. My special thanks to you, Ninja, for helping our heroes put an end to this reign of terror!”

The blue master bowed in respect. “My pleasure, Princess.”

For a small while, there was a deafening applause and the proud families all rushed to embrace and congratulate their children/heroes. After the celebration died down, Luna began searching around for her old friend. “I need to see him just one last time. Sister, have you seen Ninja?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t.” confessed Celestia.

“I know.” interrupted Rainbow. “I wanted to say goodbye to him too.”

“And thank him for the new powers.” added Twilight.

“Yes, these necklaces are fabulous.” Rarity pointed out.

“I hope we see him in the future.” said Fluttershy.

“Yeah, and maybe we can meet his brothers.” stated Pinkie. The others rolled their eyes.

“Really?” asked Applejack.

Suddenly, fighting noises were heard from outside. Luna and the others rushed toward the exit, only to find Ninja sparring with six of his black coated students. Once they noticed the mares, the stallions ceased their combative practice and bowed to the girls.

“We thought you left.” expressed Luna.

“My apologies.” said Ninja.

Twilight stepped forward. “Thank you for everything, Ninja.”

“Yeah, thanks for teaching us how to kick butt!” announced Rainbow.

“And for the new elements.” uttered Fluttershy.

“You’re very welcome.” replied Ninja.

“Are these powers permanent?” asked Applejack.

“Only when you need them.” explained the master. “When you tap into the powers of your necklaces, the magic will be released.”

“Cool.” said Pinkie.

Luna stood face to face with the steed. “I will miss you.”

“What do you mean?” quizzed the stallion. “I’m not leaving for good.” He leaned over to Luna’s ear. “Whenever you wish to see me, I’ll be there. Trust me.” He said with a wink. “That goes for you all too.” Ninja stated as he jumped up onto a small hill. “If you ever need me again, I shall be there.” Then with a snap of his tail, his students assembled behind him. “But until that day comes, NINJA! VANISH!” the colts then jumped and disappeared instantly.

Later that night, Luna was just about to assume her nightly duty, when Celestia blocked her way. “I’m having one of the guards take over your shift tonight, Luna.” she explained.

“But why?” demanded the smaller alicorn.

“Because a friend of yours is waiting in the courtyard.”

Luna’s eyes brightened. “Ninja?” she gasped.

“Mm-hm.” replied her sister.

“Thank you, sister.” The moon goddess immediately transported herself to the private garden.

I hope she has a good time. wished Celestia.

When she arrived, Luna immediately began looking for her friend. “Ninja?” she called out.

“Boo!” said a voice behind her.

The mare let out a small gasp and spun around. “Please don’t do that!” ordered the mare.

“Sorry.” replied Ninja. The two then gazed deeply into each other’s eyes.

Luna then pushed Ninja over, causing him to fall to the garden floor.

"Princess?" asked Ninja, blushing.

“I thought this moment would never come.” confessed Luna as she embraced the stallion. “But it was well worth the wait. I love you.” whispered the goddess as her lips met Ninja's.

After they separated, Ninja whispered, "I love you, more." The two just sat in silence for the rest of the night.