May frienship workby Furry_or_pegasisterChaptersArrivalConfrontationReunionGood NightArrivalAuthor's Note English is not my first language, in fact, I write this story in Spanish and I pass it through the google translator, who does 99% of the work. I fix basic mistakes with pronouns and hope for the best. If you see something wrong, please tell me and I'll edit it :) Arrival Twilight thinks she's finally ready to cast the spell. Sheer anticipation and excitement flood her as she makes the preparations. Dimensional portals generally need a physical object to hold or represent them, and although the spell she created was weaker than such portals, she still needs that. Twilight surrounds the circle of stakes driven into the basement floor of her castle, supplying and connecting each one with the magic of her horn. Finally, she stops at the stake closest to the gate and concentrates on her magic, navigating in a circular fashion from stake to stake. Feeling ready, she focuses all of her power on the teleportation spell, wishing for outer ponies to appear within the circle. She stays like this for several seconds, sweating with her wings flexed from her effort. A blinding white light fills the room, and Twilight happily realizes that it is the typical light from the teleportation spell. After maybe ten seconds, it disappears, leaving the alicorn with a sense of accomplishment. Twilight is left panting, struggling with her shaking legs not to give in. The spell had taken a lot of energy from her, logically, she had just tried to summon beings from another reality! She quickly looks up from her barely able to focus, wondering if it worked. She gasps again, but now with joy. There are many more creatures there than she had anticipated. Counting them, she realizes that there are about nine in total; seven ponies, a hippogriff and a changeling. However, they all appear to be unconscious. With a new concern, she runs towards them. What if they had suffered damage? She stops in front of the first, an all-white male pony with a short mane, neatly combed back. She looks at him until she sees his breathing, slow and relaxed. Then carefully observes the others, one by one, until she is satisfied with all their vital signs. She sighs in relief, sitting on her backside. She had planned an entire dialogue with her guests, but they are all asleep, or unconscious. She is not sure what to do next. Probably the best option is to move them to a more comfortable place to inspect them well, one by one, until she is sure that they had not been damaged. Determined with this, she calls out to Spike, who was waiting outside the room. He enters urgently. "It worked?!" He asks, his eyes shine like stars as soon as he notices the nine creatures on the ground. "Wow, there are many," he notes, astonished. Twilight smiles at him and stands up. "Spike, I need you to prepare nine pillows in the next room. I will carry them with my magic." "Got it," exclaims the little dragon with a military salute, before running out of there. The alicorn turns her head once more to her guests. She concentrates her magic to her horn, gathering the magic of the air and the earth to manipulate external things: basic telekinesis. She carefully picks up each creature, paying much more attention than she does to objects. She slowly scrolls them as she begins to walk out of the room, still staring at them until they pass the door frame. The way to the indicated room happens without problems. Twilight smiles when she sees eight perfectly lined up large pillows, with Spike placing the ninth. She gently leads each subject and places them gently on the comfortable pillows. She quickly thanks Spike, who hands her a notepad and a quill with an inkwell before leaving. That boy does know her well, she thinks fondly. Once the dragon closes the door behind him, the alicorn decides to start analyzing each creature from left to right, raising the quill and foil with her telekinesis. It feels wrong to investigate sapient beings as if they were rare specimens, but it cannot hurt. At least she would until somepony wakes up so she can talk to him. She walks up to the one at the far left. It's a mare, the only one, she thinks, looking up at the rest of the line. A normal snow-white pegasus with a purple-blue mane, tied in a bun, just like her entire tail. Her colors are very similar to Rarity's, and, like her, she is very, very pretty; a delicate, symmetrical face, with lilac shadow on her eyelids and a small piercing under her lower lip. Undoubtedly a beauty, but nothing relevant there. She writes quickly: Mare. Pegasus. White fur. Purple mane. Piercing on the lip. She checks the mare's flank. Her cutiemark is a paper flower. Origami then. The alicorn draws the flower in detail on the same page of her notepad. She also notices for the first time a bracelet secured to the mare's right foreleg, made of silver metal, with a jewel? Something circular white or cream inlaid, with a strange symbol written there. She realized that every creature has it. How had she not noticed it before? The thing is strange, and even more so the fact that everyone has it. Perhaps they are friendship bracelets, a very childish thing but perhaps common from their place of origin. Wiill ask them when they wake up, she decides, and carefully draws the symbol on the same page, planning to investigate it. With nothing more to do, she moves on to the next one as she turns the page to continue writing about a different individual. A black unicorn, long mane only a shade darker than his fur, tied in a loose ponytail. She notices, with some concern, deep dark circles marking his face; probably insomnia. She writes: Stallion. Unicorn. Dark gray fur. Black mane. Dark circles under the eyes. She checks his cutiemark with the intention of drawing it just like with the previous mare. She finds a kind of four-sided knife, with a yellowish handle that ends in a ring shape. She thinks it's worrisome, but jumping to conclusions is always a bad idea, as it can mean a thousand things. She draws the knife. Finally, she briefly looks at the bracelet, thinking that it would be the same one the mare has, but is surprised when she finds red and a different symbol. Intrigued, she carefully copies the symbol once more. Do the bracelets say their names in any language of their homeland? Positions of any job? Simple pretty words? Her curiosity kills her, but she will have to wait. She moves on to the next as she dips the quill into the inkwell. This time, it is not a pony, but a hippogriff, as big as they usually are. Light blue fur with a navy blue mane, combed forward like a wild toupee and huge wings on either side of his body, with a subtle gradient of blues. His bill and forelegs are washed yellow. She notices that he wears the typical hippogriff collar. Stallion. Hippogriff Light blue fur. Navy blue mane. She also draws the thing on his bracelet, different symbol and color, once again. Before she can continue analyzing them, she hears a gasp from the other end of the line. She realizes that one has already woken up and quickly gives him her undivided attention. An orange pegasus with long blond hair raises his head, but suddenly, he sees his own body. And screams. Twilight winces, flattening her ears on her head. If they weren't ponies before, surely the transformation would be an unpleasant surprise for them, she thinks guiltily. She flies gently towards him, intending to explain the situation. The second she lands, he looks at her in utter horror. "What the fuck?!" He exclaims. He tries to stand up but quickly stumbles, apparently trying to get into a bipedal position. That gives her a clue about their species. "Calm down. Let me explain," Twilight reasons softly, trying to reassure him without much success, because the pegasus looks at her with even more horror. "Kai," he says, joining both hooves and looking focused. The alicorn has no idea what he is supposed to be trying, as the pegasus repeats the word several times. Twilight notices a couple of stitched wounds on his arms and chest, and winces. That must have been painful. "Surely you want to know why you are here ..." she tries to begin, but is interrupted. "You are not fooling me, this is an illusion, hm!" he yells while looking at the ceiling, as if he's speaking to a being beyond. ... He thinks he's hallucinating? Twilight shakes her head. "This is real. You were summoned from an alternate reality and I converted you to my species so that you could survive in this world." The stallion seems to consider her words for a moment, as he visibly gulps. Slowly, he turns his head and briefly searches each of his companions. "You're screwing with me ... Is it really them, hm?!" So they do know each other. It wasn't hard to guess, but Twilight gives herself an imaginary pat for figuring it out. Before she can say anything else, a new voice joins in. "Deidara," it sounds deep and intimidating, and the pegasus feels it, because his expression automatically changes to something else, which she cannot recognize. They both turn their attention to the one who has just woken up, a lavender earth pony with an orange mane, covered in pircings all over his body and with intimidating purple eyes fixed on the pegasus. "Explain this." "Leader!" 'Deidara' seems even more nervous than before, and Twilight can see why. The new pony's aura is definitely strong and terrifying. "That's what I'm trying to solve, hm." The alicorn comes forward and explains the same to the 'leader' as to the pegasus moments ago. He looks surprisingly calm despite how strange the situation probably is for them. "I see," he says. "May I ask for what purpose have you done this?" It is not just a question, it's a demand. Twilight doesn't mind, of course she owes them an explanation. However, she doubts that the explanation she has is enough, so she hesitates a bit before answering. "Curiosity." Twilight smiles at him with the decency of looking embarrassed. The pony's purple eyes stare at her for long seconds, and the princess grows increasingly nervous. She lets out a giggle, trying to lower this tension. Fortunately, the ice breaks when another new presence joins in. "Well, this is definitely something new," says the hippogriff with a big, sharp smile. Twilight lets the air escape out of her lungs as the lavender stallion directs his eyes to him. "Kisame." "Leader ..." The smile disappears and Twilight can almost feel the confusion radiating from the hippogriff. "You're a horse..." Twilight wants to take the opportunity to introduce herself and meet her guests, but her words die in her mouth when the 'leader' stands up on all fours. At first he looked like he would stumble, but he quickly masters it. "Deidara, Kisame." Those mentioned raise their ears attentive to the coming order. "Wake up everyone, I'll offer explanations once everyone can hear them." "Hai." the two chant and quickly stand up on all fours, with much more difficulty than their leader, but succeeding at the end of the day. Twilight watches curiously as Deidara and Kisame move in the direction of their companions, the pegasus at the beginning and the black unicorn respectively. They both place their hoof and claw at the beginning of each pony's spine, and hold it for a few seconds. Before she can continue taking mental notes of their behavior, the lavender pony covers her view. Twilight notices for the first time a ring around his pupil. "I'd like to ask for your name," he says politely, even though Twilight suspects he's mad at her. The alicorn eagerly complies. "I'm the Princess Twilight Sparkle, what about you?" She offers him a hoof. "My name is Pain." Pain takes her hoof and Twilight gives him a friendly smile, but the earth pony's expression remains the same, making her feel a bit uncomfortable. Pain, huh? A somewhat worrisome name, but she isn't going to judge. Both return their respective hooves to the ground. "The title of princess is interesting, but for the moment I need to know more details about the invocation justu that you performed on us." Twilight tilts her head in confusion. "Yoo... tsu?" "The technique." "Ah, you mean spell." The alicorn smiles with a hint of nervousness. They had already run into the first incongruity between their universes. Pain nods patiently. "I used my powerful alicorn magic to maximize a teleportation spell that would intervene with space-time, more like the enchantments of dimensional portals," she pauses for a moment to check if Pain follows. "It was like performing the spell concentrating on teleporting other ponies, but blindly from whom." The stallion seems to analyze her words carefully. Twilight remembers a rather important detail. "Ah! And I also combined it with a transformation spell that would turn you into equestrian species, that is, of this world," she adds. "It was to make sure you can survive in these conditions." Pain nods, and just when he opens his mouth, he is interrupted. "Jashin will make you pay for this, heathens!" Twilight recoils as Pain closes his eyes, looking calm on the outside. "They already woke up Hidan," he sighs. ConfrontationAuthor's Note English is not my first language, in fact, I write this story in Spanish and I pass it through the google translator, who does 99% of the work. I fix basic mistakes with pronouns and hope for the best. If you see something wrong, please tell me and I'll edit it :) Confrontation Pain can't believe it. At one point he was in a normal meeting of his organization after Sasori's death, and the next thing he knew he wakes up in equine form. His real body, Nagato, is still in his home dimension. He is not sure how he can continue to receive chakra from him while in another universe, but he has no need to find out. He will quickly return to his world, he just has to ask the mare. He needs Yahiko, Konan, Madara and the organization in the ninja world, he will not allow any more delays when they already went into action with the assassination of the Kazekage. Another Pain could summon Deva, but that wouldn't solve anything. "Jashin will make you pay for this, heathens!" He sometimes wishes that monstrosity were mortal. Pain closes his eyes as he listens to the purple mare taking a step back. "They already woke up Hidan." At least they still have chakra. He is pretty sure that he can do his jutsus if he tries. The fact that Kisame and Deidara were able to inject chakra into their companions to wake them up proves it. In this universe, sapient beings appear to have a version of the chakra called "magic," an energy that, while he can still feel it within Twilight, is essentially quite different. Pain opens his eyes and calmly turns to look at his subordinates, and he wishes he wasn't used to what he sees. A white pony, who he assumes is Hidan, finds himself fistfighting and screaming with Deidara as Kakuzu angrily watches. Kisame and Itachi are quietly talking to each other, as are the very recognizable Zetsu and Madara, further removed from the group. The latter shoots him a look that lingers for a good two seconds, and Pain knows he wants explanations. Konan is already walking towards him. Twilight Sparkle gasps audibly behind him, followed by the sound of flapping wings. Pain looks impressed at the flying horse. Of course, he had already noticed the feathered wings on either side of the pony, but seeing her fly is strange. He shuts off outside voices when Konan reaches out to him, always expressionless. "Deidara told me about the situation," she begins. "He did." Pain expected that, because that way Deidara would help nobody go crazy or think that they are in a genjutsu. Now he won't have to explain it. "We can return immediately, we just need to ask Twilight Sparkle, the purple mare." Konan briefly turns to inspect the aforementioned. "And why don't we do it now?" "I was about to do it, but those two started fighting." "Should I stop them?" Before he can respond, a voice full of anger draws his attention. "Really?! Then you are the witch who turned me into an animal!" Hidan growls, standing up menacingly slow. Pain realizes what is about to happen, something that he cannot allow, not at the moment. He notices that Konan next to him also knows, as she looks expectantly at Pain. He starts walking in the direction of the trio. Twilight almost regretted bringing these strangers when she had to intervene in a fight, seeing that Pain, their leader, would do nothing. Almost. The alicorn flies quickly to the duo. "Do not fight!" She exclaims with concern at the jumble of orange and white that are those two ponies. She is especially worried about Deidara, who has stitches on his chest and arms. She also notices that one of his elbows is a shade darker and redder than the rest of his fur. The white pony and Deidara stop in the middle of their skirmish entangled in hooves and feathers when they notice the mare. Twilight lands, but her wings remain outstretched. "What is the problem? We can fix it if we just talk about it," she offers, kind and expectant. She is a princess for a reason. If all of these ponies know each other, then they might have friendship problems to solve. Deidara makes an incredulous face as his partner snorts loudly. "Just what we need, now the heretic horse believes that something more than Jashin can really solve problems." "... Heretic?" She expected many things from creatures from another universe, but for some reason not that they had cults. Deidara pushes him away from him with his hind legs. "She can, you idiot. She was the one who brought us here in the first place." "Really?!" He turns sharply and his purple eyes pierce her, full of anger. "Then you are the witch who turned me into an animal!" Twlight gasps in outrage, and she can feel the anxiety rise as the stallion slowly rises to his feet, almost like a stalking predator. "Hidan," she hears from her right, it sounds like a dangerous warning. The alicorn turns to look at whoever that talked, and she gasps in horror when she sees a large stallion with reddish-brown fur and a long, gray mane, each strand looking like ropes because of how unkempt it is. But what surprises her is not that, but the fact that he is covered from head to hoof with lines of suture. "Shut up, Kakuzu." The earth pony propels himself on his legs, about to leap like a tiger in ambush. Twilight spreads her wings further and ducks down, preparing to dodge him. "Almighty Push!" she hears next to her, and suddenly, the white pony screams and flies violently to the side, like a rag doll, until he collides with the wall with a painful noise. Twilight quickly turns to the pony who did it. She finds Pain with a hoof raised in the direction of the white pony, as if he had pushed the air. "H-how ... How did you do that? You are an earth pony!" Sure, earth ponies have a special kind of magic in their hooves that helps them with farming, but it's not supposed to work like that. The white pony groans as Pain looks at her for a few moments. "What?" Twilght is incredulous, but she processes the situation. If there aren't any ponies in their universe, or they didn't know them, maybe they don't know the difference between the types of ponies. "Earth ponies aren't supposed to be able to do magic like that," she explains, waiting for a context from the contrary as she turns to look at the pony that attacked her, attentive in case he tried something again. Fortunately, he's just watching them warily as he rubs his head. "Apparently, despite the transformation, we still retain our version of magic called chakra, and therefore we still have our powers." Now that sounds really interesting. But Twilight wants to figure something out first. Suddenly, she directs her attention to the stitched earth pony, earning confusion on his part. Twilight inhales and lets her expression reflect her concern. "What happened to you?!" She hears Deidara snort and the brown pony frowns deeply, but Twilight can't focus on that when his mouth seems huge and only closed by threads in a grotesque sight. "It's none of your business." It's blunt and Twilight can sense the threat beneath the words, but it doesn't assuage her concern for the stud's health. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" "No." Twilight makes a doubtful noise. The beautiful white pegasus from before catches her eye as she walks up to face her, her expression as blank as Pain's. "Miss Sparkle, we have unfinished business. Can you send us back now?" Twilight feels her blood freeze. How the hell did she not think that she would have to return them. How the hell did she not think of it? Now what is she going to do? Her guests would be forcibly there and Twilight can see how immoral it is. Suddenly, everypony in the room is staring at her. Those who were separated, approach step by step having listened to the request of the mare. "Yay! We come back home!" Highlights a unicorn with a short black mane and dark gray fur with a large white spot covering the right side of his torso and his entire right arm. He wears a strange orange swirl mask. The hippogriff chuckles. Twilight gulps. "Ahem ... The thing is ..." she avoids everypony's eyes as she begins to play with her hooves. They all lean toward her in anticipation. Twilight drops the bomb. "I can not." And suddenly, the chicken coop explodes. "Then what are we going to do, hm?!" "Nooooo, we are stranded forever! I'll stay in horse shape! I won't be able to eat dango anymore if I don't have fingers! What nails are we going to paint?!" "Jashin-sama will punish you, bitch! You've cursed me, prepare for the same deal when you least expect it!" "I don't even have Samehada ... We can't stay." "I have too many unfinished business where I come from to waste my time here. I can't even use any money I get in this universe. We need to go back." "At least these 'ponies' look fun, hahaha. I don't think so, so many colors are going to burn my eyes." "Hn." "What's on your mind, Pain?" A single word from their leader stops the noise. "Akatsuki!" Deathly silence fills the room for a while, but is suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door opening, giving way to a small purple dragon. "What is that ruckus?!" ReunionAuthor's Note English is not my first language, in fact, I write this story in Spanish and I pass it through the google translator, who does 99% of the work. I fix basic mistakes with pronouns and hope for the best. If you see something wrong, please tell me and I'll edit it :) Reunion Twilight wasn't quite sure what to do next, so she asked Spike to bring her friends over to help her monitor the situation of her guests, who kept throwing her random angry glances. While everypony is talking to each other, she takes the opportunity to study more deeply those that she did not have the opportunity to meet, starting with the changeling. He is quite normal looking for a changeling, his ears? Horns? have a full spike shape, curved towards his head and fade to green, reminding her of a carnivorous plant. Bright yellow eyes, sprinkled with amusement. Healthy hooves and wings that indicate his reshaped changeling state, aside from the fact that he is white; color and texture that somehow reminds her of lilies. Yes, he seems quite normal, except for the fact that half of his body looks like an unreformed changeling. The black collides with the white, as if he had been caught in the middle of the transformation, although his black horn also has a green gradient. His hooves and wings have holes, as you would expect. And despite this, the changeling does not seem overwhelmed by hunger. Maybe he's good at hiding it. In general, most of them are strange. The unicorn with the weird one-eyed mask; Pain full of piercings, perhaps for personal taste; the earth pony covered in stitches, for which she will insist for an explanation later; and a changeling caught in the middle of his transformation. The rest don't look so strange, but their attitude is weird, at least by pony standards. Especially the white one, who is so religious and violent that he needs to be controlled. And oh Celestia, she is aching to ask Pain for more information about the so-called 'chakra', what are its differences from magic? In their native species, are there races that can use different chakras? If everypony still has their chakra and abilities, she just wishes she could see and study it. But, even though Pain always seems calm, there is no way that he is not angry with her like everypony else. And her asking all these questions could make him believe that she does not intend to return them as quickly as possible thanks to the first answer she gave to the question of why she brought them in the first place: curiosity. And of course she plans to try to get them home as soon as possible, but she will have to find out how ... Having enough of her internal thoughts, she decides to introduce herself once and for all, hoping to start over with them but with the right hoof. She coughs politely, but no pony seems to care. "Excuse me, everypony," finally, they begin to pay attention to her, and she is not surprised when she finds that most of the looks do not give positive vibes, with the exception of those with a neutral expression, those are, Pain, the white pegasus, the masked unicorn (although she doesn't know whether to count it as neutral, since she just can't know it) and the completely black unicorn. "I know we started with the left hoof, and I know it was my fault you got stranded here, but I want to give you a good temporary stay, and I can't do it if we don't get along remotely well. So if you'll allow me, I'd like to start over and maybe be friends, or just tolerate me if you want to. So, I introduce myself, my name is Twilight Sparkle. May I ask for your names?" She asks as sweetly as possible. They all just stare at her awkwardly, making her sweat drop. "My name is Konan." The pegasus steps forward and nods in her direction. Twilight smiles as Konan looks at the others, as if silently asking them to side with her. From their reactions, everypony seems to get the message. "Itachi," the black unicorn takes the lead, as monotonous as Maud Pie. The hippogriff looks at Itachi for a second. "Kisame Hoshigaki," he introduces himself with a smile. "Kakuzu." He collaborates, albeit with a trace of irritation. "I'm Deidara, hm!" His smile does not seem so much a friendly gesture but a great pride in his own name. "Oh oh!" The masked pony enthusiastically lifts a hoof, earning himself a couple of withering glances. "And I'm Tobi!" Twilight holds back a laugh, thinking about how well Tobi will get along with Pinkie Pie. "I am White Zetsu," the changeling says with apparent amusement, his voice surprisingly soft. "And Black Zetsu." ...What in Equestria? "Hidan," the white pony mutters under his breath, like a scolded foal being forced to apologize. They're all pretty exotic names, but you couldn't hope they weren't when they're literally from another world. In Equestria, all names have a meaning. She wonders if the same is true for them. Twilight smiles at them, trying to sound as trustworthy as possible before saying, "Thank you. I promise to find a way to get you home as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can stay here as guests." "Guests, all of us? In this tiny room?" Hidan complains quickly, with an expression between incredulous and mocking. "Idiot, she'll give us other rooms," Kakuzu replies, and then squints at her. "Right?" Twilight smiles, somewhat anxious "Of course! This place is very big, there is more than enough space for everypony." "Uff how good, Deidara-senpai mutters and kicks while sleeping. Poor whoever has to be his partner. I mean, poor me,” Tobi whimpers loudly. Deidara Senpai? Is that his full name? "The one who kicks is you, hm! And poor me, they hooked me with the most useless of the group!" "Senpai, that hurts my feelings. If you are so competent, how is it that they split you in three?* Tobi responds triumphantly. "You..." Deidara growls underneath, managing to look very dangerous despite his slightly intimidating appearance. Kisame laughs shamelessly, enjoying the show, as Tobi flinches in fear. "I'll kill you..." Twilight hopes Pain will intervene, but that doesn't seem close to happening, just like before, when Hidan and Deidara were fighting. He only steps in when she's the one in danger, which she appreciates even though she doesn't really need it (she's an alicorn, after all). These ponies probably fight all the time, a somewhat disturbing thought. The other option is that they are susceptible because of recent events. Guilt pricks her conscience. Suddenly, the door swings open, slamming the wall behind it. A rainbow pegasus fearlessly shows herself, sporting a big, bright smile. "Twilight, they told me you already summoned them!" Rainbow Dash exclaims excitedly. She then becomes aware of the others in the room, her smile disappearing replaced by wariness. "There are many more than you said." Twilight realizes why is the change in her attitude. When she looks back at the travelers, all except for Pain are in a crouched position, ready to move, either to attack or flee. The remaining four elements, along with Spike, arrive and walk through the door more carefully as the guests relax their defensive posture, though Twilight notices that they are still watching for any erratic movements. "Wowie! What a thrill!" Pinkie squeals. "I hope we're not interrupting anything ..." Fluttershy says quietly. Twilight quickly tries to take control of the introductions to make sure they don't get off. "Guys, these are my friends," she begins herself. "Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Spike," she names them pointing to each one, who nod in the direction of her guests. Pain takes a few steps forward. "Greetings. We are the Akatsuki." Twilight is surprised. She has just discovered that they have a name as a group, which actually makes sense, since their bracelets already showed that they are affiliated. "I am Pain, these are Konan, Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Kakuzu, Hidan, Tobi and Zetsu", he enumerates them with longer and more dramatic pauses than hers, making the atmosphere much more serious. "What extravagant ponies!" Rarity says, smiling. A couple of them scowl at her. "All these bright colors are going to make me dizzy," Hidan sneers at Kakuzu, who snorts almost inaudibly. Twilight interrupts before the thing can continue climbing. "Well, Akatsuki, I need to talk to my friends for a bit. Are you okay with that?" Although she spoke in general, she knows that the decision is Pain's, so as soon as he nods, Twilight briefly pressures her friends to walk out of her, ignoring a couple of unhappy noises. "Perfect. We will be back soon." They leave the room, unaware of a tiny origami butterfly following them. When they reach the map room and everyone sits at their posts, the meeting begins. Applejack takes the initiative. "I think you shouldn't have summoned them alone to begin with." Twilight makes a face. "Well, in hindsight, maybe you're right. Many of them seem quite violent." Applejack is surprised and responds with some annoyance: "What? So super you shouldn't have summoned them alone!" Fluttershy intervenes. "But... How were they violent?" "Deidara, the orange pegasus, kept fighting with a couple of his companions. And Hidan, the white one, tried to attack me. It was his leader who stopped him," she says with concern. "Also, most seem somewhat hostile." "They'll see! If they try anything else, they won't be able to escape from me!" Yells Rainbow, furious, imitating a boxer. "That's not nice of him at all," Pinkie says, visibly upset, which is unusual but understandable. "So what do we do with them, if they are so aggressive..." Rarity complains. "Although, I must admit, their styles were very unique and quirky, I might take an idea or two." "Are you seriously thinking about fashion?" Rainbow is upset. "Twilight just told us that one of them attacked her!" "Yes, but nothing happened, right?" Rarity replies. "As long as their leader doesn't leave them, they won't be able to do anything, is that right, Twilight?" "So it seems. They all obey him without question, and Pain so far has been kind enough, and impassive," she adds with a bead of sweat. "I think we can trust him, but I don't know to what degree he has control over his subordinates. Better not turn your back on them." Fluttershy seems somewhat insecure. "Aren't you being paranoid?" She asks, ironically. Pinkie nods in agreement. "You're the one who can return them to their world, I don't think they'll hurt you," Applejack adds, looking at Twilight. "Me, but nothing guarantees that they will not harm you." The seven of them look at each other, concerned. "White one is who concerns me most," says Spike. "I heard him yell behind the door, something like 'I'm going to curse you' and bad words. " He blushes. Twilight nods. Hidan is the loudest and therefore the best heard through the ruckus. "Curse?" Pinkie squeals. "Maybe they can do it with potions. They had a zebra among them! Zebras are good with that kind of magic, right?" They all seem to consider it, leaving Twilight stumped. "What zebra? There were none." They look at her confused. Pinkie responds, gesturing with her arms: "Umm, you know, the brown zebra with thin stripes and long mane." Twilight understands who her friends are referring to, and she can't believe how misinformed they are. Zebras always have white stripes, and their manes grow very little, there is no way that pony is a zebra. Twilight slaps her face with her helmet. "The mane of the zebras does not grow that much, that was a pony," she says, getting some embarassed "oh" from the other elements. "So those were tattoos?" Rarity asks, interested. "No," she replies, earning some confusion. "in fact, it's part of something else that I wanted to talk to you about. Those stripes were stitches." Everyone gasps, especially Fluttershy. "How is that possible? There were many! All over his body!" Twilight looks at her "I don't know, but they were definitely stitches, I saw them up close. Deidara had something similar on his arms and chest. I have a theory that they come from a hostile world, as I noticed that they have many scars and their reflexes seem used to being on the alert all the time in case someone attacks them." "That explains a few things," Rainbow says, probably remembering when she walked in and everypony was on guard. They finally ask the million dollar question, asked by Applejack. "And what do you plan to do with them?" "For the moment I told them that they can stay as guests in my castle." Spike quickly rejects the idea. "But! You said they can be dangerous!" "I know, but it's the least I can give them while I find a way to get them back home. Konan said they had unfinished business." Spike is still unhappy. "Listen, you can sleep in my room with the door locked if you want or even in somepony else's house, but this is the only option we have." "Okay ..." he says. Twilight smiles and wraps a wing around him, trying to calm him down successfully. "So when do we have the welcome party?" Pinkie asks cheerfully. "Umm, I don't think that's a good idea, Pinkie," Fluttershy says. They all nod in agreement with the pegasus. Pinkie deflates. Good NightAuthor's Note English is not my first language, in fact, I write this story in Spanish and I pass it through the google translator, who does 99% of the work. I fix basic mistakes with pronouns and hope for the best. If you see something wrong, please tell me and I'll edit it :) Good Night As Konan concentrates on understanding the ponies' conversation, Pain gives instructions. "Okay, Akatsuki." He says, drawing attention to his subordinates. "We are going to stay here for a while. Since we don't fully trust these ponies, you will all share your rooms with your designated partners and stand guard in turn" The complaining do not take long to appear, as if they were a lot of children, Pain thinks irritably. An afterthought comes to him. "Zetsu, you still don't need to sleep like that?" Zetsu is surprised, but seems to consider it. "I couldn't tell you, although I probably do need to sleep. I feel quite different." He says doubtfully. Black Zetsu replies: "That is just you, I am exactly the same. I know I won't need to sleep." "That is convenient." Pain nods. If White Zetsu ends up falling asleep, Black Zetsu will be able to stand guard for him or even control his sleeping body, who knows. Deidara mutters "What a freak." "We're all freaks here," Kisame replies softly next to him, with a hint of amusement and something else. Deidara thinks about it for a moment, but makes a noise of agreement. Pain turns to Konan, who is still divided into two places at once. Okay, she's used to so much more. "What are they discussing?" he asks. "They think we're dangerous," Konan says immediately. "They are especially worried about Hidan." That is not a surprise, after the demonstration that he did. "And what do they plan to do next?" Konan remains silent for a few seconds before answering: "She only tells them that we are going to stay here as guests. It seems that she really intends to help us." That is good. Pain is not sure if he trusts them, but if even in private she seems to intend to help them, he feels that he can relax a bit. But he will still take the precautions. "Good." "They're coming here," Konan warns. ——————— Kisame had many crazy days, but this one takes the crown. Of course, he still hasn't gotten used to his four legs and his four-fingered hands, which are uncomfortable to walk with. His hooves feel like he's lost all of his toes and only stumps remain. He is not very happy with it. At least he still has hands, unlike all his companions. Twilight is confused when Pain asks for five rooms instead of nine, but she seems to accept the explanation. "We do not want to impose ourselves, and we are used to sleeping in pairs." The rest of Akatsuki makes sure not to complain, knowing that they must not ruin their leader's lie. So they nod in agreement, leaving Twilight with no other choice. Kisame understands why the others hate sleeping with their partners if the stories he hears are true. Like Kakuzu complaining that Hidan once tried to kill him while he slept and vice versa, or Deidara claiming to Tobi that he sometimes disappears during his guard shift, leaving him vulnerable. Luckily, Kisame gets along quite well with Itachi and they've never had a problem, not with that kind of thing. So this will be just another night. Everyone waits while the ponies prepare their rooms for them. It doesn't take long for Twilight to get mattresses for everyone, apparently for some high status in this world. Kisame doesn't care, he just wants to sleep. Fortunately, when they arrived it was already sunset, so the night was not long in coming, allowing their hosts to leave them alone. Kisame is the first to stand guard, as he usually is. The night is calm, not a soul crosses the air. He can hear Itachi's labored breathing; that disease is getting worse and worse and Kisame can't help the worry growing inside him. Itachi, one of the most talented and powerful shinobi in the world, would meet the end of him in an absurd disease. The thought is almost outrageous. But hey, Itachi is trash, as is everyone in the organization. Really, he doesn't deserve anything noble, he tries to convince himself. Kisame settles in his place. Sometimes those heavy wings on his back almost simulate the feel of his lost sword, but the chakra fluid being exchanged between it and him is unmistakable. Without it, he feels unprotected, even though he knows he can put up a good fight on his own. Bored, he wonders if he is capable of flying. He spreads his wings, feeling weird at the sensation of a pair of new limbs. When they reach their full range, he realizes how big they are, each one could grow to eight feet long. He flaps his wings, wincing at the unexpected whoom they produce, but shocked to feel lighter, a sensation that disappears quickly. He wants to try one more time, but is interrupted by the uneven sound of hooves on the ground. He immediately gets on his guard, but is reassured by seeing Itachi getting to his feet, still with some difficulty, and walking towards him. Kisame closes his wings. "Itachi, did I wake you up? Go back to sleep, it's not your turn yet." "I can't sleep, you go." Kisame looks at him for a moment. Before, he really wanted to sleep, but now, the bed doesn't call him at all. "Nah, I don't want to sleep either," he says, and a comfortable silence settles down. Itachi leans against the same wall as him, giving away his presence. From the corner of his eye, Kisame notices that he is staring at the ceiling. Kisame fully trusts Itachi when it comes to fighting, and he knows that there is a certain level of respect and even affection between them, but after years, he still can't quite guess what is on his mind. But what he can do is know his feelings. And right now, he can't help but feel the frustration radiating from him. Frustrated for what? Kisame can only guess. Most likely it is because of this current setback. Kisame would also be frustrated if it weren't for his apathy, who has been with him for a while now. "Were you trying to fly?" Itachi asks suddenly. Kisame smiles, it is not so common for Itachi to start their conversations. "Yes, although I'm not so sure I'm capable." "Those mares from before could." Kisame remembers a moment, and it's true. The purple and the rainbow one were flying without any problem. Maybe he can ask them for advice later, at least so he has something to entertain him while he is stranded in that universe. Kisame laughs "If you had told me a week ago that I would end up trapped with colorful flying horses, I would call you crazy." His little joke is rewarded with a smiling Itachi. The edges of Kisame's smile widen. The brief silence that follows is interrupted by a casual question from Itachi. "By the way, where did you get that necklace?" "Necklace?" Kisame looks down at his own neck, which is very strange. But indeed, there is a necklace there, a kind of precious stone hanging by a simple thread. "How strange," he says. He had never worn necklaces. With unusual delicacy on the part of a ninja remembered for the raw power of his, he cradles the stone on his hand, or claw. Something familiar and comforting flows through his veins, with his palm as a starting point, and Kisame recognizes it instantly. "It's Samehada," he reveals to his partner. He chuckles low at the Uchiha's confused expression. ————————— Tobi’s watch time has come. Of course, he does not need to sleep, not as much as other people, but he prefers to pretend so as not to awaken strange ideas in Deidara, who despite his recklessness, is in fact someone very intelligent and too creative for his own good. Anyway, it's bedtime for the blonde. Tobi waits patiently and listens carefully until Deidara's breathing indicates his sleeping state. He does some sound tests to make sure he's not going to wake up. The reason for this is that he needs to run some tests to make sure he maintains his abilities. He can feel his chakra, but much of it flows only into his rare horn for some strange reason. Silently, he moves over to his bed and tears a small piece of the fabric from the sheet, which he subsequently divides in half. That should do. Takes one of the pieces on his uncomfortable helmet, and focus his elemental chakra on it. Nothing happens. He tries his best, but not a spark appears. He growls almost inaudible. He decides to try something else. He walks up to the wall, concentrating the chakra on all four of his legs. When he touches it, he feels the familiar grip, and he has no problem standing sideways. So the problem is the elemental chakra? Tobi sits on his backside, still on the wall, trying to figure out what's going on. The amount of chakra directly above his head almost made him ache. Tobi comes up with something, seeing that he won't be able to move that chakra from there. He goes back to the ground looking for the piece of fabric he dropped and places it on the tip of his horn. It's uncomfortable not being able to see it, but he will know if it burns. He concentrates his chakra on piercing it, and almost effortlessly, he perceives a soft orange or reddish glow, preceding the first sparks that burn the entire fabric. In front of him the remains fall. Unheard. Maybe that's just how it works with horn ponies, Tobi thinks, remembering how Twilight mentioned that 'earth ponies' are not capable of using 'magic'. Probably the fact that the mare has a horn allowed her to invoke them. He tries the same with the other piece of fabric but with his elemental earth chakra, with the same successful result. And something similar happened with Kamui. Although he can still do it with his right eye, which is the source of the technique, it is easier to use the horn as a kind of shortcut, causing the whirlpool to originate there rather than his sharingan. He uses Kamui to appear in Konan and Pain's room. He doesn't really have anything too relevant to discuss, because he agrees with the decisions of the rinnegan user, but want to have everything clear between them and share his findings. ————————— Twilight blinks in the middle of the soon morning, waking up with a strange feeling, but nothing seems out of place. Moonlight breaks through the window, splashing with blue the figure of Spike snoring, coiled on her wing. The sky becomes increasingly clear, Twilight calculates an hour before sunrise. She closes her eyes again and, careful not to wake the dragon, she turns her torso and head in the direction of the door. Something bothers her, so she opens her eyes again. Twilight suddenly freezes, her blood icy and her heart turned upside down. Just behind the open door stands a figure, splashed with light from the window, watching them motionless. The alicorn, trembling, thinks that perhaps it is a trick of light or her imagination, because the figure is very diffuse. "Hello?" She says in a low and brittle voice. She is startled when she is answered. "Hello." She realizes that it is Zetsu's voice, the changeling, and she is not sure if that makes her feel better or worse. "Zetsu" she tastes his name " ... What are you doing?" "Oh me? I was just exploring the castle, if you don't mind," he replies, hauntingly sweet. "I'll get out of here." Despite his last statement, the changeling remains in place for a few more seconds. Twilight feels the sweat on her forehead. Finally, Zetsu turns around in his place and walks calmly to who knows where, his footsteps surprisingly silent. Twilight suddenly decides that it's time to get up for breakfast.
ArrivalAuthor's Note English is not my first language, in fact, I write this story in Spanish and I pass it through the google translator, who does 99% of the work. I fix basic mistakes with pronouns and hope for the best. If you see something wrong, please tell me and I'll edit it :) Arrival Twilight thinks she's finally ready to cast the spell. Sheer anticipation and excitement flood her as she makes the preparations. Dimensional portals generally need a physical object to hold or represent them, and although the spell she created was weaker than such portals, she still needs that. Twilight surrounds the circle of stakes driven into the basement floor of her castle, supplying and connecting each one with the magic of her horn. Finally, she stops at the stake closest to the gate and concentrates on her magic, navigating in a circular fashion from stake to stake. Feeling ready, she focuses all of her power on the teleportation spell, wishing for outer ponies to appear within the circle. She stays like this for several seconds, sweating with her wings flexed from her effort. A blinding white light fills the room, and Twilight happily realizes that it is the typical light from the teleportation spell. After maybe ten seconds, it disappears, leaving the alicorn with a sense of accomplishment. Twilight is left panting, struggling with her shaking legs not to give in. The spell had taken a lot of energy from her, logically, she had just tried to summon beings from another reality! She quickly looks up from her barely able to focus, wondering if it worked. She gasps again, but now with joy. There are many more creatures there than she had anticipated. Counting them, she realizes that there are about nine in total; seven ponies, a hippogriff and a changeling. However, they all appear to be unconscious. With a new concern, she runs towards them. What if they had suffered damage? She stops in front of the first, an all-white male pony with a short mane, neatly combed back. She looks at him until she sees his breathing, slow and relaxed. Then carefully observes the others, one by one, until she is satisfied with all their vital signs. She sighs in relief, sitting on her backside. She had planned an entire dialogue with her guests, but they are all asleep, or unconscious. She is not sure what to do next. Probably the best option is to move them to a more comfortable place to inspect them well, one by one, until she is sure that they had not been damaged. Determined with this, she calls out to Spike, who was waiting outside the room. He enters urgently. "It worked?!" He asks, his eyes shine like stars as soon as he notices the nine creatures on the ground. "Wow, there are many," he notes, astonished. Twilight smiles at him and stands up. "Spike, I need you to prepare nine pillows in the next room. I will carry them with my magic." "Got it," exclaims the little dragon with a military salute, before running out of there. The alicorn turns her head once more to her guests. She concentrates her magic to her horn, gathering the magic of the air and the earth to manipulate external things: basic telekinesis. She carefully picks up each creature, paying much more attention than she does to objects. She slowly scrolls them as she begins to walk out of the room, still staring at them until they pass the door frame. The way to the indicated room happens without problems. Twilight smiles when she sees eight perfectly lined up large pillows, with Spike placing the ninth. She gently leads each subject and places them gently on the comfortable pillows. She quickly thanks Spike, who hands her a notepad and a quill with an inkwell before leaving. That boy does know her well, she thinks fondly. Once the dragon closes the door behind him, the alicorn decides to start analyzing each creature from left to right, raising the quill and foil with her telekinesis. It feels wrong to investigate sapient beings as if they were rare specimens, but it cannot hurt. At least she would until somepony wakes up so she can talk to him. She walks up to the one at the far left. It's a mare, the only one, she thinks, looking up at the rest of the line. A normal snow-white pegasus with a purple-blue mane, tied in a bun, just like her entire tail. Her colors are very similar to Rarity's, and, like her, she is very, very pretty; a delicate, symmetrical face, with lilac shadow on her eyelids and a small piercing under her lower lip. Undoubtedly a beauty, but nothing relevant there. She writes quickly: Mare. Pegasus. White fur. Purple mane. Piercing on the lip. She checks the mare's flank. Her cutiemark is a paper flower. Origami then. The alicorn draws the flower in detail on the same page of her notepad. She also notices for the first time a bracelet secured to the mare's right foreleg, made of silver metal, with a jewel? Something circular white or cream inlaid, with a strange symbol written there. She realized that every creature has it. How had she not noticed it before? The thing is strange, and even more so the fact that everyone has it. Perhaps they are friendship bracelets, a very childish thing but perhaps common from their place of origin. Wiill ask them when they wake up, she decides, and carefully draws the symbol on the same page, planning to investigate it. With nothing more to do, she moves on to the next one as she turns the page to continue writing about a different individual. A black unicorn, long mane only a shade darker than his fur, tied in a loose ponytail. She notices, with some concern, deep dark circles marking his face; probably insomnia. She writes: Stallion. Unicorn. Dark gray fur. Black mane. Dark circles under the eyes. She checks his cutiemark with the intention of drawing it just like with the previous mare. She finds a kind of four-sided knife, with a yellowish handle that ends in a ring shape. She thinks it's worrisome, but jumping to conclusions is always a bad idea, as it can mean a thousand things. She draws the knife. Finally, she briefly looks at the bracelet, thinking that it would be the same one the mare has, but is surprised when she finds red and a different symbol. Intrigued, she carefully copies the symbol once more. Do the bracelets say their names in any language of their homeland? Positions of any job? Simple pretty words? Her curiosity kills her, but she will have to wait. She moves on to the next as she dips the quill into the inkwell. This time, it is not a pony, but a hippogriff, as big as they usually are. Light blue fur with a navy blue mane, combed forward like a wild toupee and huge wings on either side of his body, with a subtle gradient of blues. His bill and forelegs are washed yellow. She notices that he wears the typical hippogriff collar. Stallion. Hippogriff Light blue fur. Navy blue mane. She also draws the thing on his bracelet, different symbol and color, once again. Before she can continue analyzing them, she hears a gasp from the other end of the line. She realizes that one has already woken up and quickly gives him her undivided attention. An orange pegasus with long blond hair raises his head, but suddenly, he sees his own body. And screams. Twilight winces, flattening her ears on her head. If they weren't ponies before, surely the transformation would be an unpleasant surprise for them, she thinks guiltily. She flies gently towards him, intending to explain the situation. The second she lands, he looks at her in utter horror. "What the fuck?!" He exclaims. He tries to stand up but quickly stumbles, apparently trying to get into a bipedal position. That gives her a clue about their species. "Calm down. Let me explain," Twilight reasons softly, trying to reassure him without much success, because the pegasus looks at her with even more horror. "Kai," he says, joining both hooves and looking focused. The alicorn has no idea what he is supposed to be trying, as the pegasus repeats the word several times. Twilight notices a couple of stitched wounds on his arms and chest, and winces. That must have been painful. "Surely you want to know why you are here ..." she tries to begin, but is interrupted. "You are not fooling me, this is an illusion, hm!" he yells while looking at the ceiling, as if he's speaking to a being beyond. ... He thinks he's hallucinating? Twilight shakes her head. "This is real. You were summoned from an alternate reality and I converted you to my species so that you could survive in this world." The stallion seems to consider her words for a moment, as he visibly gulps. Slowly, he turns his head and briefly searches each of his companions. "You're screwing with me ... Is it really them, hm?!" So they do know each other. It wasn't hard to guess, but Twilight gives herself an imaginary pat for figuring it out. Before she can say anything else, a new voice joins in. "Deidara," it sounds deep and intimidating, and the pegasus feels it, because his expression automatically changes to something else, which she cannot recognize. They both turn their attention to the one who has just woken up, a lavender earth pony with an orange mane, covered in pircings all over his body and with intimidating purple eyes fixed on the pegasus. "Explain this." "Leader!" 'Deidara' seems even more nervous than before, and Twilight can see why. The new pony's aura is definitely strong and terrifying. "That's what I'm trying to solve, hm." The alicorn comes forward and explains the same to the 'leader' as to the pegasus moments ago. He looks surprisingly calm despite how strange the situation probably is for them. "I see," he says. "May I ask for what purpose have you done this?" It is not just a question, it's a demand. Twilight doesn't mind, of course she owes them an explanation. However, she doubts that the explanation she has is enough, so she hesitates a bit before answering. "Curiosity." Twilight smiles at him with the decency of looking embarrassed. The pony's purple eyes stare at her for long seconds, and the princess grows increasingly nervous. She lets out a giggle, trying to lower this tension. Fortunately, the ice breaks when another new presence joins in. "Well, this is definitely something new," says the hippogriff with a big, sharp smile. Twilight lets the air escape out of her lungs as the lavender stallion directs his eyes to him. "Kisame." "Leader ..." The smile disappears and Twilight can almost feel the confusion radiating from the hippogriff. "You're a horse..." Twilight wants to take the opportunity to introduce herself and meet her guests, but her words die in her mouth when the 'leader' stands up on all fours. At first he looked like he would stumble, but he quickly masters it. "Deidara, Kisame." Those mentioned raise their ears attentive to the coming order. "Wake up everyone, I'll offer explanations once everyone can hear them." "Hai." the two chant and quickly stand up on all fours, with much more difficulty than their leader, but succeeding at the end of the day. Twilight watches curiously as Deidara and Kisame move in the direction of their companions, the pegasus at the beginning and the black unicorn respectively. They both place their hoof and claw at the beginning of each pony's spine, and hold it for a few seconds. Before she can continue taking mental notes of their behavior, the lavender pony covers her view. Twilight notices for the first time a ring around his pupil. "I'd like to ask for your name," he says politely, even though Twilight suspects he's mad at her. The alicorn eagerly complies. "I'm the Princess Twilight Sparkle, what about you?" She offers him a hoof. "My name is Pain." Pain takes her hoof and Twilight gives him a friendly smile, but the earth pony's expression remains the same, making her feel a bit uncomfortable. Pain, huh? A somewhat worrisome name, but she isn't going to judge. Both return their respective hooves to the ground. "The title of princess is interesting, but for the moment I need to know more details about the invocation justu that you performed on us." Twilight tilts her head in confusion. "Yoo... tsu?" "The technique." "Ah, you mean spell." The alicorn smiles with a hint of nervousness. They had already run into the first incongruity between their universes. Pain nods patiently. "I used my powerful alicorn magic to maximize a teleportation spell that would intervene with space-time, more like the enchantments of dimensional portals," she pauses for a moment to check if Pain follows. "It was like performing the spell concentrating on teleporting other ponies, but blindly from whom." The stallion seems to analyze her words carefully. Twilight remembers a rather important detail. "Ah! And I also combined it with a transformation spell that would turn you into equestrian species, that is, of this world," she adds. "It was to make sure you can survive in these conditions." Pain nods, and just when he opens his mouth, he is interrupted. "Jashin will make you pay for this, heathens!" Twilight recoils as Pain closes his eyes, looking calm on the outside. "They already woke up Hidan," he sighs.
ConfrontationAuthor's Note English is not my first language, in fact, I write this story in Spanish and I pass it through the google translator, who does 99% of the work. I fix basic mistakes with pronouns and hope for the best. If you see something wrong, please tell me and I'll edit it :) Confrontation Pain can't believe it. At one point he was in a normal meeting of his organization after Sasori's death, and the next thing he knew he wakes up in equine form. His real body, Nagato, is still in his home dimension. He is not sure how he can continue to receive chakra from him while in another universe, but he has no need to find out. He will quickly return to his world, he just has to ask the mare. He needs Yahiko, Konan, Madara and the organization in the ninja world, he will not allow any more delays when they already went into action with the assassination of the Kazekage. Another Pain could summon Deva, but that wouldn't solve anything. "Jashin will make you pay for this, heathens!" He sometimes wishes that monstrosity were mortal. Pain closes his eyes as he listens to the purple mare taking a step back. "They already woke up Hidan." At least they still have chakra. He is pretty sure that he can do his jutsus if he tries. The fact that Kisame and Deidara were able to inject chakra into their companions to wake them up proves it. In this universe, sapient beings appear to have a version of the chakra called "magic," an energy that, while he can still feel it within Twilight, is essentially quite different. Pain opens his eyes and calmly turns to look at his subordinates, and he wishes he wasn't used to what he sees. A white pony, who he assumes is Hidan, finds himself fistfighting and screaming with Deidara as Kakuzu angrily watches. Kisame and Itachi are quietly talking to each other, as are the very recognizable Zetsu and Madara, further removed from the group. The latter shoots him a look that lingers for a good two seconds, and Pain knows he wants explanations. Konan is already walking towards him. Twilight Sparkle gasps audibly behind him, followed by the sound of flapping wings. Pain looks impressed at the flying horse. Of course, he had already noticed the feathered wings on either side of the pony, but seeing her fly is strange. He shuts off outside voices when Konan reaches out to him, always expressionless. "Deidara told me about the situation," she begins. "He did." Pain expected that, because that way Deidara would help nobody go crazy or think that they are in a genjutsu. Now he won't have to explain it. "We can return immediately, we just need to ask Twilight Sparkle, the purple mare." Konan briefly turns to inspect the aforementioned. "And why don't we do it now?" "I was about to do it, but those two started fighting." "Should I stop them?" Before he can respond, a voice full of anger draws his attention. "Really?! Then you are the witch who turned me into an animal!" Hidan growls, standing up menacingly slow. Pain realizes what is about to happen, something that he cannot allow, not at the moment. He notices that Konan next to him also knows, as she looks expectantly at Pain. He starts walking in the direction of the trio. Twilight almost regretted bringing these strangers when she had to intervene in a fight, seeing that Pain, their leader, would do nothing. Almost. The alicorn flies quickly to the duo. "Do not fight!" She exclaims with concern at the jumble of orange and white that are those two ponies. She is especially worried about Deidara, who has stitches on his chest and arms. She also notices that one of his elbows is a shade darker and redder than the rest of his fur. The white pony and Deidara stop in the middle of their skirmish entangled in hooves and feathers when they notice the mare. Twilight lands, but her wings remain outstretched. "What is the problem? We can fix it if we just talk about it," she offers, kind and expectant. She is a princess for a reason. If all of these ponies know each other, then they might have friendship problems to solve. Deidara makes an incredulous face as his partner snorts loudly. "Just what we need, now the heretic horse believes that something more than Jashin can really solve problems." "... Heretic?" She expected many things from creatures from another universe, but for some reason not that they had cults. Deidara pushes him away from him with his hind legs. "She can, you idiot. She was the one who brought us here in the first place." "Really?!" He turns sharply and his purple eyes pierce her, full of anger. "Then you are the witch who turned me into an animal!" Twlight gasps in outrage, and she can feel the anxiety rise as the stallion slowly rises to his feet, almost like a stalking predator. "Hidan," she hears from her right, it sounds like a dangerous warning. The alicorn turns to look at whoever that talked, and she gasps in horror when she sees a large stallion with reddish-brown fur and a long, gray mane, each strand looking like ropes because of how unkempt it is. But what surprises her is not that, but the fact that he is covered from head to hoof with lines of suture. "Shut up, Kakuzu." The earth pony propels himself on his legs, about to leap like a tiger in ambush. Twilight spreads her wings further and ducks down, preparing to dodge him. "Almighty Push!" she hears next to her, and suddenly, the white pony screams and flies violently to the side, like a rag doll, until he collides with the wall with a painful noise. Twilight quickly turns to the pony who did it. She finds Pain with a hoof raised in the direction of the white pony, as if he had pushed the air. "H-how ... How did you do that? You are an earth pony!" Sure, earth ponies have a special kind of magic in their hooves that helps them with farming, but it's not supposed to work like that. The white pony groans as Pain looks at her for a few moments. "What?" Twilght is incredulous, but she processes the situation. If there aren't any ponies in their universe, or they didn't know them, maybe they don't know the difference between the types of ponies. "Earth ponies aren't supposed to be able to do magic like that," she explains, waiting for a context from the contrary as she turns to look at the pony that attacked her, attentive in case he tried something again. Fortunately, he's just watching them warily as he rubs his head. "Apparently, despite the transformation, we still retain our version of magic called chakra, and therefore we still have our powers." Now that sounds really interesting. But Twilight wants to figure something out first. Suddenly, she directs her attention to the stitched earth pony, earning confusion on his part. Twilight inhales and lets her expression reflect her concern. "What happened to you?!" She hears Deidara snort and the brown pony frowns deeply, but Twilight can't focus on that when his mouth seems huge and only closed by threads in a grotesque sight. "It's none of your business." It's blunt and Twilight can sense the threat beneath the words, but it doesn't assuage her concern for the stud's health. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" "No." Twilight makes a doubtful noise. The beautiful white pegasus from before catches her eye as she walks up to face her, her expression as blank as Pain's. "Miss Sparkle, we have unfinished business. Can you send us back now?" Twilight feels her blood freeze. How the hell did she not think that she would have to return them. How the hell did she not think of it? Now what is she going to do? Her guests would be forcibly there and Twilight can see how immoral it is. Suddenly, everypony in the room is staring at her. Those who were separated, approach step by step having listened to the request of the mare. "Yay! We come back home!" Highlights a unicorn with a short black mane and dark gray fur with a large white spot covering the right side of his torso and his entire right arm. He wears a strange orange swirl mask. The hippogriff chuckles. Twilight gulps. "Ahem ... The thing is ..." she avoids everypony's eyes as she begins to play with her hooves. They all lean toward her in anticipation. Twilight drops the bomb. "I can not." And suddenly, the chicken coop explodes. "Then what are we going to do, hm?!" "Nooooo, we are stranded forever! I'll stay in horse shape! I won't be able to eat dango anymore if I don't have fingers! What nails are we going to paint?!" "Jashin-sama will punish you, bitch! You've cursed me, prepare for the same deal when you least expect it!" "I don't even have Samehada ... We can't stay." "I have too many unfinished business where I come from to waste my time here. I can't even use any money I get in this universe. We need to go back." "At least these 'ponies' look fun, hahaha. I don't think so, so many colors are going to burn my eyes." "Hn." "What's on your mind, Pain?" A single word from their leader stops the noise. "Akatsuki!" Deathly silence fills the room for a while, but is suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door opening, giving way to a small purple dragon. "What is that ruckus?!"
ReunionAuthor's Note English is not my first language, in fact, I write this story in Spanish and I pass it through the google translator, who does 99% of the work. I fix basic mistakes with pronouns and hope for the best. If you see something wrong, please tell me and I'll edit it :) Reunion Twilight wasn't quite sure what to do next, so she asked Spike to bring her friends over to help her monitor the situation of her guests, who kept throwing her random angry glances. While everypony is talking to each other, she takes the opportunity to study more deeply those that she did not have the opportunity to meet, starting with the changeling. He is quite normal looking for a changeling, his ears? Horns? have a full spike shape, curved towards his head and fade to green, reminding her of a carnivorous plant. Bright yellow eyes, sprinkled with amusement. Healthy hooves and wings that indicate his reshaped changeling state, aside from the fact that he is white; color and texture that somehow reminds her of lilies. Yes, he seems quite normal, except for the fact that half of his body looks like an unreformed changeling. The black collides with the white, as if he had been caught in the middle of the transformation, although his black horn also has a green gradient. His hooves and wings have holes, as you would expect. And despite this, the changeling does not seem overwhelmed by hunger. Maybe he's good at hiding it. In general, most of them are strange. The unicorn with the weird one-eyed mask; Pain full of piercings, perhaps for personal taste; the earth pony covered in stitches, for which she will insist for an explanation later; and a changeling caught in the middle of his transformation. The rest don't look so strange, but their attitude is weird, at least by pony standards. Especially the white one, who is so religious and violent that he needs to be controlled. And oh Celestia, she is aching to ask Pain for more information about the so-called 'chakra', what are its differences from magic? In their native species, are there races that can use different chakras? If everypony still has their chakra and abilities, she just wishes she could see and study it. But, even though Pain always seems calm, there is no way that he is not angry with her like everypony else. And her asking all these questions could make him believe that she does not intend to return them as quickly as possible thanks to the first answer she gave to the question of why she brought them in the first place: curiosity. And of course she plans to try to get them home as soon as possible, but she will have to find out how ... Having enough of her internal thoughts, she decides to introduce herself once and for all, hoping to start over with them but with the right hoof. She coughs politely, but no pony seems to care. "Excuse me, everypony," finally, they begin to pay attention to her, and she is not surprised when she finds that most of the looks do not give positive vibes, with the exception of those with a neutral expression, those are, Pain, the white pegasus, the masked unicorn (although she doesn't know whether to count it as neutral, since she just can't know it) and the completely black unicorn. "I know we started with the left hoof, and I know it was my fault you got stranded here, but I want to give you a good temporary stay, and I can't do it if we don't get along remotely well. So if you'll allow me, I'd like to start over and maybe be friends, or just tolerate me if you want to. So, I introduce myself, my name is Twilight Sparkle. May I ask for your names?" She asks as sweetly as possible. They all just stare at her awkwardly, making her sweat drop. "My name is Konan." The pegasus steps forward and nods in her direction. Twilight smiles as Konan looks at the others, as if silently asking them to side with her. From their reactions, everypony seems to get the message. "Itachi," the black unicorn takes the lead, as monotonous as Maud Pie. The hippogriff looks at Itachi for a second. "Kisame Hoshigaki," he introduces himself with a smile. "Kakuzu." He collaborates, albeit with a trace of irritation. "I'm Deidara, hm!" His smile does not seem so much a friendly gesture but a great pride in his own name. "Oh oh!" The masked pony enthusiastically lifts a hoof, earning himself a couple of withering glances. "And I'm Tobi!" Twilight holds back a laugh, thinking about how well Tobi will get along with Pinkie Pie. "I am White Zetsu," the changeling says with apparent amusement, his voice surprisingly soft. "And Black Zetsu." ...What in Equestria? "Hidan," the white pony mutters under his breath, like a scolded foal being forced to apologize. They're all pretty exotic names, but you couldn't hope they weren't when they're literally from another world. In Equestria, all names have a meaning. She wonders if the same is true for them. Twilight smiles at them, trying to sound as trustworthy as possible before saying, "Thank you. I promise to find a way to get you home as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can stay here as guests." "Guests, all of us? In this tiny room?" Hidan complains quickly, with an expression between incredulous and mocking. "Idiot, she'll give us other rooms," Kakuzu replies, and then squints at her. "Right?" Twilight smiles, somewhat anxious "Of course! This place is very big, there is more than enough space for everypony." "Uff how good, Deidara-senpai mutters and kicks while sleeping. Poor whoever has to be his partner. I mean, poor me,” Tobi whimpers loudly. Deidara Senpai? Is that his full name? "The one who kicks is you, hm! And poor me, they hooked me with the most useless of the group!" "Senpai, that hurts my feelings. If you are so competent, how is it that they split you in three?* Tobi responds triumphantly. "You..." Deidara growls underneath, managing to look very dangerous despite his slightly intimidating appearance. Kisame laughs shamelessly, enjoying the show, as Tobi flinches in fear. "I'll kill you..." Twilight hopes Pain will intervene, but that doesn't seem close to happening, just like before, when Hidan and Deidara were fighting. He only steps in when she's the one in danger, which she appreciates even though she doesn't really need it (she's an alicorn, after all). These ponies probably fight all the time, a somewhat disturbing thought. The other option is that they are susceptible because of recent events. Guilt pricks her conscience. Suddenly, the door swings open, slamming the wall behind it. A rainbow pegasus fearlessly shows herself, sporting a big, bright smile. "Twilight, they told me you already summoned them!" Rainbow Dash exclaims excitedly. She then becomes aware of the others in the room, her smile disappearing replaced by wariness. "There are many more than you said." Twilight realizes why is the change in her attitude. When she looks back at the travelers, all except for Pain are in a crouched position, ready to move, either to attack or flee. The remaining four elements, along with Spike, arrive and walk through the door more carefully as the guests relax their defensive posture, though Twilight notices that they are still watching for any erratic movements. "Wowie! What a thrill!" Pinkie squeals. "I hope we're not interrupting anything ..." Fluttershy says quietly. Twilight quickly tries to take control of the introductions to make sure they don't get off. "Guys, these are my friends," she begins herself. "Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Spike," she names them pointing to each one, who nod in the direction of her guests. Pain takes a few steps forward. "Greetings. We are the Akatsuki." Twilight is surprised. She has just discovered that they have a name as a group, which actually makes sense, since their bracelets already showed that they are affiliated. "I am Pain, these are Konan, Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Kakuzu, Hidan, Tobi and Zetsu", he enumerates them with longer and more dramatic pauses than hers, making the atmosphere much more serious. "What extravagant ponies!" Rarity says, smiling. A couple of them scowl at her. "All these bright colors are going to make me dizzy," Hidan sneers at Kakuzu, who snorts almost inaudibly. Twilight interrupts before the thing can continue climbing. "Well, Akatsuki, I need to talk to my friends for a bit. Are you okay with that?" Although she spoke in general, she knows that the decision is Pain's, so as soon as he nods, Twilight briefly pressures her friends to walk out of her, ignoring a couple of unhappy noises. "Perfect. We will be back soon." They leave the room, unaware of a tiny origami butterfly following them. When they reach the map room and everyone sits at their posts, the meeting begins. Applejack takes the initiative. "I think you shouldn't have summoned them alone to begin with." Twilight makes a face. "Well, in hindsight, maybe you're right. Many of them seem quite violent." Applejack is surprised and responds with some annoyance: "What? So super you shouldn't have summoned them alone!" Fluttershy intervenes. "But... How were they violent?" "Deidara, the orange pegasus, kept fighting with a couple of his companions. And Hidan, the white one, tried to attack me. It was his leader who stopped him," she says with concern. "Also, most seem somewhat hostile." "They'll see! If they try anything else, they won't be able to escape from me!" Yells Rainbow, furious, imitating a boxer. "That's not nice of him at all," Pinkie says, visibly upset, which is unusual but understandable. "So what do we do with them, if they are so aggressive..." Rarity complains. "Although, I must admit, their styles were very unique and quirky, I might take an idea or two." "Are you seriously thinking about fashion?" Rainbow is upset. "Twilight just told us that one of them attacked her!" "Yes, but nothing happened, right?" Rarity replies. "As long as their leader doesn't leave them, they won't be able to do anything, is that right, Twilight?" "So it seems. They all obey him without question, and Pain so far has been kind enough, and impassive," she adds with a bead of sweat. "I think we can trust him, but I don't know to what degree he has control over his subordinates. Better not turn your back on them." Fluttershy seems somewhat insecure. "Aren't you being paranoid?" She asks, ironically. Pinkie nods in agreement. "You're the one who can return them to their world, I don't think they'll hurt you," Applejack adds, looking at Twilight. "Me, but nothing guarantees that they will not harm you." The seven of them look at each other, concerned. "White one is who concerns me most," says Spike. "I heard him yell behind the door, something like 'I'm going to curse you' and bad words. " He blushes. Twilight nods. Hidan is the loudest and therefore the best heard through the ruckus. "Curse?" Pinkie squeals. "Maybe they can do it with potions. They had a zebra among them! Zebras are good with that kind of magic, right?" They all seem to consider it, leaving Twilight stumped. "What zebra? There were none." They look at her confused. Pinkie responds, gesturing with her arms: "Umm, you know, the brown zebra with thin stripes and long mane." Twilight understands who her friends are referring to, and she can't believe how misinformed they are. Zebras always have white stripes, and their manes grow very little, there is no way that pony is a zebra. Twilight slaps her face with her helmet. "The mane of the zebras does not grow that much, that was a pony," she says, getting some embarassed "oh" from the other elements. "So those were tattoos?" Rarity asks, interested. "No," she replies, earning some confusion. "in fact, it's part of something else that I wanted to talk to you about. Those stripes were stitches." Everyone gasps, especially Fluttershy. "How is that possible? There were many! All over his body!" Twilight looks at her "I don't know, but they were definitely stitches, I saw them up close. Deidara had something similar on his arms and chest. I have a theory that they come from a hostile world, as I noticed that they have many scars and their reflexes seem used to being on the alert all the time in case someone attacks them." "That explains a few things," Rainbow says, probably remembering when she walked in and everypony was on guard. They finally ask the million dollar question, asked by Applejack. "And what do you plan to do with them?" "For the moment I told them that they can stay as guests in my castle." Spike quickly rejects the idea. "But! You said they can be dangerous!" "I know, but it's the least I can give them while I find a way to get them back home. Konan said they had unfinished business." Spike is still unhappy. "Listen, you can sleep in my room with the door locked if you want or even in somepony else's house, but this is the only option we have." "Okay ..." he says. Twilight smiles and wraps a wing around him, trying to calm him down successfully. "So when do we have the welcome party?" Pinkie asks cheerfully. "Umm, I don't think that's a good idea, Pinkie," Fluttershy says. They all nod in agreement with the pegasus. Pinkie deflates.
Good NightAuthor's Note English is not my first language, in fact, I write this story in Spanish and I pass it through the google translator, who does 99% of the work. I fix basic mistakes with pronouns and hope for the best. If you see something wrong, please tell me and I'll edit it :) Good Night As Konan concentrates on understanding the ponies' conversation, Pain gives instructions. "Okay, Akatsuki." He says, drawing attention to his subordinates. "We are going to stay here for a while. Since we don't fully trust these ponies, you will all share your rooms with your designated partners and stand guard in turn" The complaining do not take long to appear, as if they were a lot of children, Pain thinks irritably. An afterthought comes to him. "Zetsu, you still don't need to sleep like that?" Zetsu is surprised, but seems to consider it. "I couldn't tell you, although I probably do need to sleep. I feel quite different." He says doubtfully. Black Zetsu replies: "That is just you, I am exactly the same. I know I won't need to sleep." "That is convenient." Pain nods. If White Zetsu ends up falling asleep, Black Zetsu will be able to stand guard for him or even control his sleeping body, who knows. Deidara mutters "What a freak." "We're all freaks here," Kisame replies softly next to him, with a hint of amusement and something else. Deidara thinks about it for a moment, but makes a noise of agreement. Pain turns to Konan, who is still divided into two places at once. Okay, she's used to so much more. "What are they discussing?" he asks. "They think we're dangerous," Konan says immediately. "They are especially worried about Hidan." That is not a surprise, after the demonstration that he did. "And what do they plan to do next?" Konan remains silent for a few seconds before answering: "She only tells them that we are going to stay here as guests. It seems that she really intends to help us." That is good. Pain is not sure if he trusts them, but if even in private she seems to intend to help them, he feels that he can relax a bit. But he will still take the precautions. "Good." "They're coming here," Konan warns. ——————— Kisame had many crazy days, but this one takes the crown. Of course, he still hasn't gotten used to his four legs and his four-fingered hands, which are uncomfortable to walk with. His hooves feel like he's lost all of his toes and only stumps remain. He is not very happy with it. At least he still has hands, unlike all his companions. Twilight is confused when Pain asks for five rooms instead of nine, but she seems to accept the explanation. "We do not want to impose ourselves, and we are used to sleeping in pairs." The rest of Akatsuki makes sure not to complain, knowing that they must not ruin their leader's lie. So they nod in agreement, leaving Twilight with no other choice. Kisame understands why the others hate sleeping with their partners if the stories he hears are true. Like Kakuzu complaining that Hidan once tried to kill him while he slept and vice versa, or Deidara claiming to Tobi that he sometimes disappears during his guard shift, leaving him vulnerable. Luckily, Kisame gets along quite well with Itachi and they've never had a problem, not with that kind of thing. So this will be just another night. Everyone waits while the ponies prepare their rooms for them. It doesn't take long for Twilight to get mattresses for everyone, apparently for some high status in this world. Kisame doesn't care, he just wants to sleep. Fortunately, when they arrived it was already sunset, so the night was not long in coming, allowing their hosts to leave them alone. Kisame is the first to stand guard, as he usually is. The night is calm, not a soul crosses the air. He can hear Itachi's labored breathing; that disease is getting worse and worse and Kisame can't help the worry growing inside him. Itachi, one of the most talented and powerful shinobi in the world, would meet the end of him in an absurd disease. The thought is almost outrageous. But hey, Itachi is trash, as is everyone in the organization. Really, he doesn't deserve anything noble, he tries to convince himself. Kisame settles in his place. Sometimes those heavy wings on his back almost simulate the feel of his lost sword, but the chakra fluid being exchanged between it and him is unmistakable. Without it, he feels unprotected, even though he knows he can put up a good fight on his own. Bored, he wonders if he is capable of flying. He spreads his wings, feeling weird at the sensation of a pair of new limbs. When they reach their full range, he realizes how big they are, each one could grow to eight feet long. He flaps his wings, wincing at the unexpected whoom they produce, but shocked to feel lighter, a sensation that disappears quickly. He wants to try one more time, but is interrupted by the uneven sound of hooves on the ground. He immediately gets on his guard, but is reassured by seeing Itachi getting to his feet, still with some difficulty, and walking towards him. Kisame closes his wings. "Itachi, did I wake you up? Go back to sleep, it's not your turn yet." "I can't sleep, you go." Kisame looks at him for a moment. Before, he really wanted to sleep, but now, the bed doesn't call him at all. "Nah, I don't want to sleep either," he says, and a comfortable silence settles down. Itachi leans against the same wall as him, giving away his presence. From the corner of his eye, Kisame notices that he is staring at the ceiling. Kisame fully trusts Itachi when it comes to fighting, and he knows that there is a certain level of respect and even affection between them, but after years, he still can't quite guess what is on his mind. But what he can do is know his feelings. And right now, he can't help but feel the frustration radiating from him. Frustrated for what? Kisame can only guess. Most likely it is because of this current setback. Kisame would also be frustrated if it weren't for his apathy, who has been with him for a while now. "Were you trying to fly?" Itachi asks suddenly. Kisame smiles, it is not so common for Itachi to start their conversations. "Yes, although I'm not so sure I'm capable." "Those mares from before could." Kisame remembers a moment, and it's true. The purple and the rainbow one were flying without any problem. Maybe he can ask them for advice later, at least so he has something to entertain him while he is stranded in that universe. Kisame laughs "If you had told me a week ago that I would end up trapped with colorful flying horses, I would call you crazy." His little joke is rewarded with a smiling Itachi. The edges of Kisame's smile widen. The brief silence that follows is interrupted by a casual question from Itachi. "By the way, where did you get that necklace?" "Necklace?" Kisame looks down at his own neck, which is very strange. But indeed, there is a necklace there, a kind of precious stone hanging by a simple thread. "How strange," he says. He had never worn necklaces. With unusual delicacy on the part of a ninja remembered for the raw power of his, he cradles the stone on his hand, or claw. Something familiar and comforting flows through his veins, with his palm as a starting point, and Kisame recognizes it instantly. "It's Samehada," he reveals to his partner. He chuckles low at the Uchiha's confused expression. ————————— Tobi’s watch time has come. Of course, he does not need to sleep, not as much as other people, but he prefers to pretend so as not to awaken strange ideas in Deidara, who despite his recklessness, is in fact someone very intelligent and too creative for his own good. Anyway, it's bedtime for the blonde. Tobi waits patiently and listens carefully until Deidara's breathing indicates his sleeping state. He does some sound tests to make sure he's not going to wake up. The reason for this is that he needs to run some tests to make sure he maintains his abilities. He can feel his chakra, but much of it flows only into his rare horn for some strange reason. Silently, he moves over to his bed and tears a small piece of the fabric from the sheet, which he subsequently divides in half. That should do. Takes one of the pieces on his uncomfortable helmet, and focus his elemental chakra on it. Nothing happens. He tries his best, but not a spark appears. He growls almost inaudible. He decides to try something else. He walks up to the wall, concentrating the chakra on all four of his legs. When he touches it, he feels the familiar grip, and he has no problem standing sideways. So the problem is the elemental chakra? Tobi sits on his backside, still on the wall, trying to figure out what's going on. The amount of chakra directly above his head almost made him ache. Tobi comes up with something, seeing that he won't be able to move that chakra from there. He goes back to the ground looking for the piece of fabric he dropped and places it on the tip of his horn. It's uncomfortable not being able to see it, but he will know if it burns. He concentrates his chakra on piercing it, and almost effortlessly, he perceives a soft orange or reddish glow, preceding the first sparks that burn the entire fabric. In front of him the remains fall. Unheard. Maybe that's just how it works with horn ponies, Tobi thinks, remembering how Twilight mentioned that 'earth ponies' are not capable of using 'magic'. Probably the fact that the mare has a horn allowed her to invoke them. He tries the same with the other piece of fabric but with his elemental earth chakra, with the same successful result. And something similar happened with Kamui. Although he can still do it with his right eye, which is the source of the technique, it is easier to use the horn as a kind of shortcut, causing the whirlpool to originate there rather than his sharingan. He uses Kamui to appear in Konan and Pain's room. He doesn't really have anything too relevant to discuss, because he agrees with the decisions of the rinnegan user, but want to have everything clear between them and share his findings. ————————— Twilight blinks in the middle of the soon morning, waking up with a strange feeling, but nothing seems out of place. Moonlight breaks through the window, splashing with blue the figure of Spike snoring, coiled on her wing. The sky becomes increasingly clear, Twilight calculates an hour before sunrise. She closes her eyes again and, careful not to wake the dragon, she turns her torso and head in the direction of the door. Something bothers her, so she opens her eyes again. Twilight suddenly freezes, her blood icy and her heart turned upside down. Just behind the open door stands a figure, splashed with light from the window, watching them motionless. The alicorn, trembling, thinks that perhaps it is a trick of light or her imagination, because the figure is very diffuse. "Hello?" She says in a low and brittle voice. She is startled when she is answered. "Hello." She realizes that it is Zetsu's voice, the changeling, and she is not sure if that makes her feel better or worse. "Zetsu" she tastes his name " ... What are you doing?" "Oh me? I was just exploring the castle, if you don't mind," he replies, hauntingly sweet. "I'll get out of here." Despite his last statement, the changeling remains in place for a few more seconds. Twilight feels the sweat on her forehead. Finally, Zetsu turns around in his place and walks calmly to who knows where, his footsteps surprisingly silent. Twilight suddenly decides that it's time to get up for breakfast.
