Equestrian Heroes

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Naruto x Rarity x Twilight x Fluttershy x Applejack x Pinkie Pie x Rainbow Dash x Ditzy x Luna x ? x ?

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For Normal Speech

Inner thoughts, Text read, Italics used to represent characters speaking in different language.

Demonic rage, Demonic characters, Kurama Speak

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Story Start

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Jolting up from her bed, Rarity panted, feeling the cold air pressing against her sweat drenched mane.

Another one of those dreadful Nightmares. This marked the third one now.

"Well, it looks like I'm up now." She sighed, looking to Naruto who was still sleeping.

Carefully removing the blankets from around her as to not rouse Naruto, she got herself up, and made her way to the bathroom, walking up to the mirror and wincing at the horrible state she was in. Her mane was simply a disaster, instead of having it up as she usually did at night. It was tangled, and greasy, sticking to her head. The bags under her eyes were massive, blemishing her pristine white coat, and worst of all, she had no energy, or drive to fix any of these things.

The only saving grace of was that no shop meant no customers which meant no struggling to gt through the day.

Naruto rolled over on the mattress, expecting to find the body of his lover in the bed, but was pulled out of his sleep when his body found warm mattress instead.

"Rare?" He sat up, a long winged yawn escaping his lips. He began searching for her, quickly finding her in the bathroom. "What's wrong? Bad dream again?"

"Oh, no beloved," She lied, mustering a smile for him as she turned around, trying to think up another lie about why she looked so horrible, "I was just…"

"Rare," He called to her softly, moving to her side and wrapping his tail around her. "You don't have to lie to me." She avoided his gaze, feeling guilty for instantly lying to Naruto, instead of trusting him with this weakness of hers. "It's the stress from everything. You've been through so much. Just stop worrying and enjoy the time off you have while you can." He wrapped his arm around her and held her tight. "Come on, just try and get some rest." He told her. ' If these keep up then we might have to go see Luna."

She sighed softly into his chest, and welcomed the warmth his body offered her. "As long as you promise to hold me tight beloved. "She said, as she leaned up to his face and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Of course." He said as she pulled back from him.

"I love you, Naruto."

"I love you too, Rarity," Naruto said, brushing some of her messed mane out of her face.

---

'That was…a memory.' Naruto slowly began to sit up. He began looking around and noticing he was right in front of what looked like the outskirts of Ponyville. 'I made it.'

It looked like Ponyville would be the background of what represents Rarity's mindscape. The blond began making his way towards town.

As he got closer he saw that the buildings were not as he once knew them. They were twisted and corrupted which was not all that surprising.

As far as he could tell there was not a hint of anything or anypony. No memories or echoes. He continued his trek as he shortened the distance between himself and the boutique. Suddenly a rumbling below the ground caused him to pause in place and jump back.

Emerging from the ground was Ashby. Or at least the image of Ashby. Naruto got into a fighting pose. Looks like he was going to have to fight his way to Rarity.

---

"Its time!" Twilight announced as the five of them began to concentrate.

'Remember your training. Feel your bonds.'

A faint color reflecting their auras began to wrap around them. It was time to make their move.

---

In a matter of hours they were able to set up small fortifications and bases around Ponyville. In had been a long time since Celestia had to teleport so many ponies or transfigured and shape the land into buildings. The feet of these spells was something only the most powerful of magic users could hope to attempt.

And it had been a fair bit taxing seeing as she hadn't found the need for such high level transfiguration and summoning for centuries.

Finishing up her latest movement of a few garrisons she returned to town to check up with Luna on the progress that was made.

Celestia could not help but notice something was off about Luna. It was as if she was distracted. "Luna? We need focus in order to lead. What ails you?"

"Nothing is wrong. I will save these ponies no matter what!" Luna exclaimed as the miasma of the Nightmare began to fill the sky. The attack had begun.

---

Midnight was a mare of action and therefore was in the forefront of the attack on Ponyville. She personally led the first attack at the border garrisons. The two squads of guards that were stationed there very nearly failed to send off the signal that they were under attack. The guards barely had time to react as Midnight charged forward. Her first blast of magic was lethal, piercing through the armor and chest, instantly killing in. In less than half a second he had killed another two guards had been killed.

One of remaining guards had shot off the flare that would alert the town the first perimeter had been breached. One of the pegasi shot at her, attempting to cut her down only for a retaliatory spell struck her face with such force that it snapped her neck.

All along the hastily assembled borders garrisons were hit. It was a lighting assault that struck down dozens of guards. The first step was a success, not that there had been any doubt. The Nightmare Children had the backing of the Nightmare Creatures replacing the numbers they had lost.

The Nightmare Children left behind most of the administrative members, and those unsuitable for battle. The remaining that were pony made up four-thousand, with fifteen being from other species and thousands upon thousands of Nightmare creatures. What most of them lacked in training or experience they made up with sheer ferocity and fanaticism. Roughly thirty-percent of forces had any formal training and made up most of the commanders of the invading forces.

A few hundred were tasked as scouts while a forced of five hundred of the none creature forces were cut into multiple small strike forces attacking capitals.

With the numbers being even the idea was that Celestia would be forced to split her forces to protect the other cities. If the attack on Ponyville was less than completely successful this would start the process of crippling both their spirits and the economy of Equestria.

Midnight was no fool though. Large numbers didn't make an army invincible. History was a stark reminder of that. Besides the Alicorns there were members of Equestria's elite soldiers that could devastate entire squads.

There was the General Grand Esteem whose might in battle made him a force to reckon with. His Thunderbolt punch had the power to shatter entire mountains.

There was also the Captain of the solar guard Shine Spark. Single handily wiped out an entire small army of Caribou without suffering a single injury.

Captain Shining Armor was rumored to be the first Unicorn in centuries capable of casting city wide barrier spells.

Even if the elements were out of the way it did not mean the other powers in Equestria would take the invasion lying down.

---

Nightwing raced from the response team's base of operations back into Ponyville proper and to where the Princesses were. The distress flares at the first gate had been fired and the messages carried through the lines.

It didn't take long for him to reach the Celestia and Luna. Celestia gave orders swiftly and word was being sent to every major gathering and garrison of guards. Celestia also ordered a dozen scout squads out from the village to begin gathering information on the forces attacking them.

Celestia activated her emergency conference crystal connected to the meeting hall where counselors were and began dictating orders.

"The first thing we need is solid information on the enemy numbers and where they are going to be striking."

A mare by the name of Keen Mind spoke up."

"Such a large attack will probably mean they are coming for Ponyville. The recent threats seem to have an odd fascination with it. It goes without saying that unless their leader is a fool they will be sending segments of their forces to attack other settlements in hopes of thinning out our forces to protect the settlements."

Prior to coming to Ponyville Celestia had already sent notices out to every city within two hundred miles of Ponyville.

Another mare by the name of Red Mist spoke up. "Princess surely it is more sensible to recall our forces and fortify Canterlot? The capital is surely more important than just one little town. Consider the number of lives that would be lost if we failed to defeat our invader?"

Celestia remained firm in her decision. The amount of time it took to gather the troops from Canterlot and brought them here was, but a mere fraction of the time and magic it would have taken her to go to each and every town or city and bring the citizens to Canterlot.

With Ponyville being the center of operations she knew the Nightmare could not help, but be driven to come here to prove its superiority. By choosing the battlefield she could dictate the terms as there was no guarantee it would attack Canterlot first.

"We will defend "all" of Equestria and not just the capital. I have faith in our soldiers. I value your input but I shall stay with my decision." She said before cutting off the connection.

With that she called for Shine Spark and Dusk.

Soon the two arrived. Celestia swiftly informed them of the invasion size and their route. "I want the both of you to lead a dozen of your best soldiers to slow the invaders down. Use traps, hit and run attacks and even if necessary lethal force is authorized." Celestia hated this. She never liked the idea of killing, but these Nightmare enthusiasts had turned their backs on the teaching of Harmony. They rather aligned themselves with monstrous creatures and kill their fellow ponies instead of living by the ideals that courage friendship and love and for what?

Because she wasn't against them gorging themselves? Against their practices of bleeding others dry of their money? What was so wrong and horrible about her idea of peace and treating everyone like family and showing love and compassion to others that they would cause so much pain and suffering?

She had a job to do. Her little ponies were counting on her. No matter how many times a war would break out she would never truly get used to it, but she would not allow the innocent to suffer. She would not put the lives of innocents below her own self-satisfaction of sticking to her morals.

"Of course your majesty." Shine spark replied while Dusk looked far more nervous than Shine Spark but she had come a long way thanks to her friendship with Bright Star and the support of the rest of the guard.

---

Soarin watched as a small contingent of forty Nightmare Children charged.

Predictably they unleashed a wave of cutting spells to which Equestria's forces dodged. Offensive magic and dark magic with little use of healing or defensive magic. They bulster their strength with little consideration of defenses. "Move out!" Soarin gave the order to the small squad of recruits that he had been left in charge of.

The small squad of Wonderbolts focused on dodging and drawing the spellfire. Being far stronger than your average fliers the group was able to whip of a small tornado to blind and hinder the enemy before they shot forward and hit them with a series of blitz attacks.

---

"HAHAHAHAHAHAH HUHAHAHA!" Vanity cackled like a mad mare as she happily began mowing down the enemies. Using her blades she took sheer pleasure of maiming nearly every stallion she came across. On one hand her reputation and fiercesome armor made the squad she was leading one of the more successful ones. Coming in from the south of the Badlands the garrisons they faced were among the most heavily fortified because they lacked any nations or fortifications directly feeding them supplies or means for terrain advantage.

The downside was she made for a terrible leader, neither giving orders nor defending her troops who were combating the mares she left alive.

She took a quick stock of the battlefield and saw enemies and allies alike her littering the area with their bodies. Rockhead were still standing of course as were several of the smarter shinobi who had used Vanity's rampage to perform sneak attack on Equestria's forces that were distracted.

Before another cackle could leave her lips she was hit by a nasty slab of earth. If not for her armor that would have crushed her rib cage.

The attacker was a mare in a Sergeant's uniform. Silver fur with midnight blue eyes as well as yellow green mane and tail. She was a unicorn mare, with an impressive athletic build that looked to be in her late thirties. This was Sergeant Ashleigh Bell.

The uniformed officer who personally brought in Vanity after the madmare had slaughtered several of her shoulders.

"Ashy! Nice to see you AGAIN!" Vanity charged forward as Ashleigh jumped back and blocked the strikes using her blade. Using a brightness spell Vanity and let out a scream of outrage only to be stabbed in her stomach.

"You haven't changed! Still a fool!" She remarked bringing the blades outward with a yank causing Vanity to cough out blood. She was about to go for a slash to the neck and was blindsided.

She was sent hurtling nearly a hundred feet. Rolling as her head was nearly crushed by the follow up stomp of her attack. A massive stallion. He was of a chestnut color and black hair. Tattered black pants was all he wore and his body was covered in so many scars one could not count them all in first glance.

More Nightmare supporters came, mostly satyrs and a few pegasi. For a moment the Sergeant pondered her chances of survival when suddenly the Nightmare Forces were being attacked by…

"The negasi?" she wondered quietly to herself in shock. Weren't these ponies loyal to the Nightmare and against Celestia? So why were they helping?

---

Perfect Storm was taking in everything he saw with a tiny smile of glee. Other chaos. Death. Destruction. This was the true face of ponykind. Not those false smiles and preachings of love and friendship. The takers of life before him were the true meaning of what it meant to be one of the dominant lives on the food chain.

He couldn't wait to overthrow the regime of the victor to install his own personal blend of anarachy.

---

Naruto and the echo of Ashby matched attacks blow by blow. He would not lose to this fake image. Not when his Rarity was in danger.

Naruto dodged a strike and responded with a bisecting cut that slammed into Satyr. The blow knocked Ashby back but failed to destroy him. There had to be some kind of way to defeat the echo in front of him.

Naruto let out a great shout and finished his jutsu, "Wind Release: Great Bisector!" Two massive blades of wind fired out of his X crossed arms smashing into the image of Ashby cutting him into four pieces.

This would have been the fifth time he killed the damn echo. So far it looked like this one would be sticking. Either because he was finally dead or the Nightmare realized the creature was too weak to be a threat to him.

Finally he could continue on ahead. He made it to just outside the Carousel Boutique when something began to materialize. It was the form of Vanity.

'Hhm. Not the real thing, but killing her likeness will be rather therapeutic.' He charged forward, a wind released Rasengan already in hand.

---

Grand Esteem found himself mowing down enemy after enemy. The proud son Brave Fist lived up to the legacy of his father by refusing to let a single enemy through. He was one of the few members of his Garrison left.

This was the result of an unfortunate setback.

First was the vicious string of explosions that had cut through their central lines. That had shaken the guards under him. He had to force them to focus on the enemy in front of them and not worry about their dead comrades.

The Nightmare Children weren't anything special. Only a portion of them seemed to have any training. No what was troubling them were those wispy creatures that would not stay down.

They served as distractions and guerilla fighters with hit and run tactics.

Things were looking grim when the lines began to break. Taking to the air he caught glimpse of a single stallion moving down their forces. Spellfire and wing attacks seemed to harmlessly deflect off him.

The ease of which he killed was of that of a proficient killer. He continued glancing around and noticed several officers were in trouble as the lines were bring broken.

One of the lines seemed to be single handily being torn apart by another stallion with a clown mask covering the right portion of his face.

They were slowly losing ground. Something had to be done and quickly.

Next Chapter: Nightmare Returns: The Attack Intensifies! Part 5! Estimated time remaining: 25 Hours, 39 Minutes