= = = Shellshock = = =

Gregory...the unassuming human, who bore no interesting qualities or traits, had just accomplished something that even surprised Kakashi.

From the crash-course in Chakra training the experienced Jonin had just bestowed upon him, an alien energy flowed forth from, and then wrapped around his palm. From just appearance alone, it seemed that Gregory's hand was enveloped in lightning. At first he stood there dumbfounded. What the hell is this power? Is this really what Chakra is capable of? He thought to himself, as he moved his hand around examining the new appearance of his hand. Kakashi didn't know what to make of it, either—he, too, was fascinated by the way it appeared.

“Hum...I've never seen a jutsu quite like that.” Kakashi mused.

“Jutsu? I don't quite understand what it is you are talking about...is this normal? Or did I screw up the technique?” Gregory tried to make sense out of what the ninja was rambling on about, but he was hurting his head just thinking about it.

“No, you did everything right. And just for future reference: Sharingan is a special occular technique that only a certain bloodline of ninja are able to possess, though mine was procured in a rather special case. This is how I've been analyzing you thus far. Jutsu is a word we use to refer to techniques and skills that a ninja can acquire and utilize through usage of Chakra. These Jutsu can be classed based on use, be it physical, deceptive or otherwise. There are several others, and I'll spare you the details, but as you are....an extenuating circumstance...and not training to be a ninja, I think just learning energy control would benefit you the most.” Kakashi ended his explanation after that.

“I see. And what about my hand? What kind of technique did you teach me to be precise?” Gregory was curios, wanting to know the possibilities of his lightning infused hand.

“The thing is, that isn't a technique I know about. Like I said before I have never seen a power like that. It might be a Kekkei Genkai, which is why I said I wanted to do a little test...”

“A 'kekky' what now?”

“...you see, when you perform ninjutsu or genjutsu you usually form some hand signs, for reasons I'll outline later. In your case, you never made any signals; you called upon an ability that doesn't utilize such signs—your very own unique power. From this point on, you should do some self-discovery, test it out and see what it results it brings. This is the reason I taught you Chakra control, so you could bring out that hidden potential I saw in you.”

“Kakashi.... Thanks. I honestly had my doubts about this, but just seeing this... this hand of mine... I'm glad you were able to teach me this. Hopefully I can be of some use to the group now.”

“Incredible! I've never seen anything like that!” Twilight said, both in reference to Chakra itself, and the power that Gregory apparently had laying dormant within him. She trotted up to him, her gleaming face smiling up to him. “How does it feel by the way?”

“Well, exhilarating. It's like..... wait a second... did you say there were multiple presences in the temple?” Gregory stopped short of what he was saying when he felt a strange tingling in the back of his head, as if 'see' two auras emanating from the temple ahead.

“Multiple? What do you mean by that? I could only feel one!” Twilight stammered, focusing her horn in that direction again to double check. “No... I only feel one!”

“I feel two strange...things. And they're strong. Fierce. At least these auras that I feel. It's like a pressure...in my head and heart.” Gregory tried to best explain how he felt.

“Sensory type.... I think your ability may be the sensory type.” Kakashi chimed in, noticing that Gregory wasn't like this before utilizing his technique.

“I don't want to sound obvious here, but what exactly does that mean? What can I sense?” Gregory quizzically asked his crash-course mentor.

“Well in this particular case, it would seem other sources of Chakra, though when you said you felt two, you must be able to sense something else, because my Sharingan is only picking up one.” Kakashi readjusted his eye to try and search out what other source of energy Gregory was feeling, but to no avail.

“Hm..... Is it possible that you and I feel different types of energy Kakashi?” Twilight suggested, pondering this with a hoof on her chin.

“You're probably right, meaning the one I sense is from my world, and the one that you sense..... is of your world.” Kakashi theorized.

“But does that mean that I can sense both of these types of energies?” Gregory focused on Twilight, curious if he could sense her energy. He could...faintly. “Why on earth would I be able to sense either of them with my own energy that isn't even related to either of your worlds? I mean...I guess it makes sense I could pick up the aura from your world, Kakashi. Not the one from Twilight's however.” Gregory was bewildered, the very thought process he used to try to understand this tired him out and soon his focus broke, and the energy in his hand was released.

“The real question is... why is someone from my world here at all?” Twilight asked, not expecting anyone there to have an answer, but more so asking just to voice her own thoughts.

“Only one way to find out. Let's group up and move out.” Kakashi suggested, once again checking to make sure his tools were good to go, and that the straps on his clothing and shoes were tightly secured.

“Alright, how are we doing that again?” Twilight asked, making sure she had a thorough understanding of the plan.

“Everyone from my lands will focus on trying to encounter the person from our world, I wouldn't want you to have to come across someone of high-rank from our world, as that can be as deadly as this Pinkie Pie of yours...or worse.” Kakashi explained.

“Oh... I see why you chose such a method of group diversion.” Twilight replied, she darted her eyes back over to where her friends were at. Rainbow Dash seemed to be spacing out, detached, and staring off blankly into space, and Fluttershy was oddly calm right now. “I take it you are planning on moving out right now?”

“Yes, that is the plan. Our plan of attack is simple, we will first do some perimeter checks, make a special note for all types of entrances you find, and when we rendezvous we'll share notes. From there, both our parties will split up and take the opposite entrances.” Kakashi further elaborated.

“Alright, are there any other details I should know about?” Twilight inquired, wanting to make sure that she had everything down and understood.

“There's not a whole lot to say, but we'll obviously need a rendezvous point inside.” Kakashi replied.

“How will we know where to meet up? We don't know the layout of the temple,” She said, cocking her head in confusion. “Unless you have a map or prior knowledge of this place.”

“Our group will carve a symbol on the first floor and infuse it with Chakra.” Kakashi told her.

“A mark? That seems like it would be rather hard to find considering the size of this temple.” Gregory speculated.

“Good point, but the infusion of Chakra should offset that. You see...when it is infused with Chakra the symbol will produce a small amount of light. This light should be easily visible to our groups, and at the same time be dim enough to not give away our positions.” Kakashi explained to the wary Gregory.

“Okay, I understand that.” Gregory stated, feeling content with Kakashi's answer.

Twilight once again looked over to her pony friends, turning to look at Gregory, before finally returning her gaze to Kakashi. Her muzzle began to move:
“Kakashi, I think we're ready to go.” With that said, she motioned for Fluttershy to prepare herself.

In response, Fluttershy nudged Rainbow Dash, who got up and stretched out her legs and wings. Spike got down from the rock he was perched on, landing right by Twilight. Gregory made sure that he had all of his things before giving Twilight a curt nod. Kakashi surveyed the group, and then nodded as well. At once his squad set off, disappearing just like the ninja they were. Twilight turned away from her group and began leading the way out of the bushes. The sky was incredibly dark so visibility was reduced tremendously. Twilight refrained from using any sort of magic to light the way, worrying that if she did so, it might attract unwanted attention.

The temple looked old and worn, the foundation consisting of old mossy cobblestone. The wood was likewise rotting in some places, and in others it was cracking and sporting holes scattered about. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash followed right behind Twilight, with Gregory and Spike defending the rear. No lights of any kind were visible, and nothing indicated any signs of life...sapient or otherwise. It must have already been abandoned for centuries.

A fowl wind blew across the trees, shaking some of the loose panels on the side of the temple. Fluttershy jumped a bit, and then her shell started speaking.

“Aww, Is wittle Fluttershy getting scared? Maybe if you let ol' Bones come out...hehehe.... I could really help out....” Fluttershy started to retaliate to her shell-like personality's chastising banter, when she just noticed something. “You have a name?....---- Yeah? So bucking what? Hehehe, everypony has a name.... but that's not important.... heheheh.... what's important is that you let me.... out... to kill kill KILL!!...--- No!... just.... no... I can handle this myself..... I...---- What? Don't need me? Heheheheh...HAHAHAHA..... don't make me bucking laugh... what could you bucking do for yourself? Oh yeah! Thats right.... NOTHING... you need me... hehehe....”

Amidst the turmoil of the conversation she was having, one thing did seem strange to her. That name. Why, of all the possible situations, did this “Bones” chose to give out her name? If there is no reason, that is... weird...She thought.

Even your thoughts aren't safe Fluttershy. Hehehehe... you forget I am a part of you.... Fluttershy squeaked, feeling violated just by the idea of 'Bones' being inside of her head, and able to know her thoughts. She felt there was no privacy.

Spike stepped back a bit, confused by the sudden shift in personalities. “What the hay?... Fluttershy?...” A wave of fear and alarming concern was painted across his face.

At this point, Twilight had stopped to come to the aid of her friend, simply placing a hoof on her shoulder. Instantly, 'Bones' responded in place of Fluttershy, and smacked the lavender pony's hoof.

“Touch me again, kid, and you'll pull back a bloody stump. Hehehehehe....” Twilight took an apprehensive step back, unsure of what to do, until she noticed Fluttershy's voice pushing through.

“No!.... You!.... Don't!.....” She gripped the sides of her head, and started whining to herself, tears falling down the sides of her cheeks. “Stay!.... inside.... of my.... HEAD! ---- What! No....!”
Fluttershy slumped to the ground, and Twilight immediately came to her side. Spike saw an opportunity to get close, and followed Twilight to the aid of Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash sat there flabbergasted. In spite of her pang of sympathy for Fluttershy, her trust had been shattered, and the scene unraveling before her twisted into something more. Her entire body was quivering. Completely immobilized, only her eyes moved about, darting frantically around between the delicate pegasus before her whom had once been a paragon of innocence, and the converging forms of the friends around her.

“Uh...Twilight? I think Rainbow Dash is...having some trouble...too. Y'know...?”
That voice...it was the human's...wasn't it?

Her breath shallow, Rainbow Dash felt a tingle around her hips as Fluttershy's whinings continued. That voice became her own, repeating various combinations of “help me” and “please stop” like a mantra—the room around them melted away into a dank basement filled with the stench of death and the entrails of dozens of innocents. The tingling in her hips...no, right around her cutie mark, as she soon realized...intensified like a knife until that familiar, horrifying pain retraced through the rest of her body.

“Oh, man! Not you, too!”
Spike. Or was it...?

Her wings were pinned to her side as the gut-wrenching sensation of haphazard and careless removal by a variety of poorly sharpened instruments plagued her memories, threatening to burn every nerve and every fiber of her being.
Everyone was an enemy—everyone was just like Pinkie. Her heart beat like a drum—she was surrounded by “friends.” And then, Fluttershy...smiled at her. Those wicked teeth, those piercing eyes, nearly veiled in the dark, were pleased with her tragedy.
She let out an ear shattering scream, which hurled Spike from his footing right by Fluttershy's side.

“NOOOOOOOOO! NO NO NO NO NO!!!! HOW DARE YOU.... I WILL KILL YOU!!” She was hysterical, shouting threats while slowly inching away from the rest of the group. Still trembling, she could barely find the strength to move. “You...can't kill me..... if I.... kill you first....”

“What.... what are you talking about?....Rainbow Dash?....” Still holding Fluttershy, Twilight glued her eyes to her friend, and her pupils filled with the realization of her tragic delusions.

Spike emerged from his shelter behind Twilight, fearing the approach of the blue Pegasus. Still unsure what to say, he inched forward to try and show his support. “Rainbow Dash! Snap out of it! We're your friends!”

“Friends? So was Pinkie Pie, and look where that got me!” Her flank suddenly burned with pain—was it being ripped off again? She screamed once again, crumpling to the ground in a fetal position as pain racked her entire being. Once she stopped thrashing around, she rose and began advancing towards Fluttershy, now shaking. Her eyes focused on the fettered Rainbow Dash. Still frozen on the ground, Fluttershy remained with hooves up close to her face.

“Shake it off, Dash! No one is trying to kill you here!....” Twilight was panicking. Standing in front of Fluttershy, she started to quiver at the knees. “I'm w-warning you... Dash.... don't come any closer....”

This didn't stop the Rainbow-maned pony's erratic progression. Her heart sank, witnessing Twilight stand in front of Fluttershy like that.
“You're DEFENDING her?” She demanded as a fresh array of recurring memories played out in her mind again. “AGGGHHHH!!! 'Friendship,' my FLANK, you TRAITOR! I'll kill you, too! To HELL with Friendship!”
Rainbow Dash's vision was blurry, but still focused enough that she was able to see her target: a pink pony, with a straightened mane, laying in the dirt, cowering behind Twilight. She couldn't understand why Twilight would defend Pinkie Pie. Livid, she trotted closer to the pair, her blood boiling to new extremes.

“What the HAY are you talking about! Snap OUT of it! Pinkie Pie isn't even here!” She told herself she would reprimand herself later for the usage of such fowl language, but she figured she had to use it to attempt any sort of reasoning with the crazed mare. “How the HAY could you think this was Pinkie Pie?”

“What are YOU talking about? She's right there!” Rainbow Dash's vision got even more blurry, and the pink pony she saw earlier was starting to shift with the world around her; yellow and pink, back to Fluttershy. At that moment, Rainbow Dash stopped. She was now unsure of herself, though still shaking out of control. Focusing her eyes forwards, she squinted hard: Fluttershy's coat could be seen as plain as night would allow, and instantly she turned away in shame. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the tears and pounded her hooves into the ground with extremely ferocity.

Spike found himself being detached from Twilight's leg as she approached the blue Pegasus precariously, hoping not to incur her wrath. His claw upon the rainbow-maned pony's shoulder was met with swift reaction. A hoof of her own clashed with his as she backed away from Twilight, now nearby. The unicorn was pained and scared of the sight of Rainbow Dash's furious response. Her contorted mug loosened as she ceased her trembling, turned into sadness, and in spite of the extent of her episode, she still fell against Twilight's frame, quietly sobbing into her coat. “What.. What the hay is wrong with me Twilight?.... Why... why am I acting like this?... Feeling like this?....”

Twilight had no answer for her friend, and only felt that she could comfort her right now. Doing so by placing a hoof on her friend's back, she gave her a light hug, feeling the tears of her friend slowly soak her side.
“It's alright...we'll fix it...everything's gonna be alright.”

Even though the situation seemed to have subsided for the time being, Spike couldn't help but let fear keep him somewhat frozen there. His body was shaking as well.
What in the blue blazes made them like this? What the HAY has been going on?! An array of confusing thoughts filled his head. Just then, Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around Spike, her fear slowly dissipating. She hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go.

I see...so she's shell-shocked. Gregory watched the scene from afar, arms folded grimly. For such a spirited kid to get PTSD like that...
His attention was immediately broken when the blood-curdling screeches of Harvesters reached their ears.
Shrinking back towards her friends, Twilight was the first to state the obvious:

“They're coming! MOVE!!”

= = = An Ancient Connection = = =

With the sound of multiple harvesters erupting from the woods, all of the ponies and Gregory looked towards the trees. Desperately, Twilight looked around for an entrance to the temple they were standing outside of. In the distance there was an entrance, but it was to that of a cellar. Releasing Rainbow Dash, Twilight dashed over to it, as did her friends. The rainbow-maned pony stumbled and struggled to get up. Twilight lit up her horn, and looked at the door to the cellar, but found that it was locked. Despite the fact that it was rusty, it still was a solid lock. Thinking swiftly, Twilight levitated a nearby rock, and started bashing the lock with it.

“Hurry Twilight! They're coming!” Rainbow Dash yelled at her, panicking wildly. Twilight could hear her friend breathing hard behind her. Knocking the rock into the small metal piece, she found that it was slowly starting to break after a few good whacks. In the distance, the group heard many footsteps and the sound of bodies passing and pushing through shrubbery. Just as one harvester had bounded from the thick forest, she had managed to knock the lock off, and immediately following that, she attempted to open the doors. They were really heavy, but the others rushed to assist: a glowing aura from Spike's ring tugged at the door while the others struggled to pry it open by hand and hoof. Pushing the door to the side they clambered in hastily.

Twilight then realized that the door was still opened, and being the last one to enter the cellar, she was determined to be the one to close it. Using some magic, she focused on the door, and began pulling it closed. Sweat profusely seeped from her brow, and just moments before she had that door shut, a harvester came into sight. Had she been just a second later, that harvester might have gotten in.

“That... was close...” She panted. The mare slumped down on one of the wooden stairs to catch her breath. “Hey... Guys... what's down there?”

Struggling to her hooves once more, the pony trotted down the stairs to catch up to her friends. Aside from Gregory, attempting—and failing—to sense through the abyss, they were all huddled in the darkness. Noticing their blindness Twilight immediately used magic to procure a small light source. Many boxes and storage shelves were exposed by her radiant aura.

“Spectacular. How are we supposed to meet up with Kakashi and them now?” Gregory questioned, sighing while he kicked a large pebble he noticed on the ground.

The sound of it hitting a metallic surface echoed through the room. “What was that sound?” Rainbow Dash countered his question with another question.

“Could it be a door?” Spike asked, watching a curious Gregory look in the same direction that the pebble went in.

“Wait a second, I think this warrants a quick look.” Twilight said, trotting slowly over to the location the sound emanated from. Maneuvering around some cargo, Twilight found the source of the hollow ting: it was, indeed, a door leading out of the cellar. The mid-sized iron gate sported some special features to it, including a window bordered in wood centered on the upper half. In the inner confines of the window, several bars sat spaced apart from each other at even intervals. On the lower half of the door were two horizontal strips of contrasting metal—possibly copper or brass—and bolting these strips to the door were several circular bolts that each had a smooth and rounded head. The handle had a tiger's head also bolted to the surface, extending a ring hung from the ghastly tiger's snout. Forming an aura around the ring, Twilight slowly opened the door and took a peek inside. Gregory and the rest of them had followed Twilight, being the only source of light at the moment.

“What's in there?” Fluttershy whispered with curiosity. Twilight, having just opened the door before her, couldn't see anything in the next room, and the small radius of her light source wasn't enough to really judge well enough at what the room could possibly be. Her only option was to actually go inside, which crossed her mind as dangerous.

“Are you sure we should go inside Twilight?” Spike said, a twinge of worry crossed his mind, trying not to think of what could await them.

Twilight hesitantly stared into the abyss until she mustered up the courage to move forward.
“I'm going in!” She declared. As she let the door wide open with a creak, Spike struggled to keep his eyes open, wincing in preparation for anything. When they emerged into the next room, the mare's light revealed another slew of storage shelves, all displaying various assortments of scrolls. Foreign script and symbols adorned the lot of them, their meaning beyond her.
Maybe it would have been a good idea to bring one of those ninja along...

The others filed in, equally curious as to the scrolls—was this a library? Twilight had taken a sharp right on entry, having noticing a window with some moonlight peering through the bars. The hole was barred just like the window on the door, barely small enough that only a small dog could pass through. Although thusly exposed to the elements in such an old structure, the scrolls were in great condition; it could only mean these 'ruins' were occupied.

“Shoo.... heh.... nothing in here...” Spike tried to play off his fears, waving a claw through the air to dissipate his worries. He followed the rest of the group, bobbing up and down slowly to gaze at the many objects scattered about.

The room, long and narrow, followed its archival pattern a great distance away, where Twilight now stood a considerable distance ahead of the group. Ahead of her, she spotted another doorway, and slowly opened it. Behind her, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy passed by the human, now curiously inspecting several of the scrolls on the shelves. A particular series had caught his eyes, which he had found...strangely legible to his foreign eyes. Gingerly reaching out to one of many manuscripts labeled in plain Roman script, he jumped as a neighboring scroll rolled off the shelf on its own, unfurling on the ground before his feet. He saw a grand scene painted on the scroll: caricaturized Humanoids, all congregated around a hovering, glowing light above them.

“What the hell?....” He said under his breath. Picking up the scroll he dared a closer look. Moving over to the moonlight he was able to make out more portions of the artwork, clearly out of place among the rest of the archives. The glowing light centered around what appeared to be a planet, and each of the humanoid creatures held various tools in their hands. What was more, although each individual depicted in the painting was humanoid, two of them bore unusual anthropomorphic qualities, one of whom—clearly Equestrian.

“Huh? What did you find, Gregory?” Spike asked, his eyes alight with interest.

“I...I have no idea.” He responded. For the life of him, he couldn't wrap his mind around what he was seeing. Despite the lack of understanding, there was something that stood out. Although the entire section of scrolls he had picked out were Romanized, yet another, different foreign script swept across the expanse of the document he was now holding. And yet, Gregory was scanning his own memories vehemently, as though he had seen the characters in this language somewhere before. But it was no use...his memory failed him.
I better take this with me....the others may know about it. He plainly displayed the scroll for Spike.

“What.... This looks awfully similar to one of Twilight's history books.” He said cocking his head in slight surprise. Gregory rolled up the scroll and said no more.

Looking around, he realized that aside from Spike and himself, the rest of the group had vanished. Twilight had poked her head back in though, looking for him. She sighed in relief upon seeing him and the baby dragon, though she was curious as to the scroll he was holding.

“What are you doing, Gregory? What's that?” She asked, looking between him and the scroll in hand.

“Something important.” He blandly noted. “I think you and Kakashi should take a look at it. I think it's...a clue.” Gregory glanced off towards the moonlight.

“A scroll? What does it have on it?” Twilight inquired, raising an eyebrow about it.

“See for yourself.” Gregory unrolled and displayed the work for the mare to plainly see. “The picture itself doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but underneath and around it..there are these weird symbols unlike anything else in here. The rest of this archive is full of Japanese stuff, but....” Gregory struggled to explain, lowering the document slightly. “...looks like there's a foreign section, and then there's this.”

“Twilight, doesn't that look familiar?” Spike jabbed a claw in the painting's direction.

“Hm...” Twilight craned forward, squinting at the scroll in question.
“What in the hay? Those symbols, I have seen them before, but....I've never even been able to find out what language this is. Though it definitively matches the one in this particular book.” Twilight stated. “But here's the weird thing... why is something like this here in this world?” Twilight thoughtfully stroked her chin with a hoof, now thoroughly interested in unraveling this mystery.

“Should we ask Kakashi then? When time allows, I mean.” Gregory inquired and Twilight nodded her head in approval.

Returning the scroll to it's original state, Gregory gripped it tightly and followed Twilight, who was now heading back to the next room. Spike followed in kind, trailing shortly behind Gregory. Inside that room, both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were waiting at the base of a ladder.

“We found a ladder while you were inspecting scrolls.” Rainbow Dash told them.

“Can ponies climb ladders?” Gregory tilted his head. The image his question brought to mind forced a chuckle, though it caused raised eyebrows from the others.

“What kind of stupid question is that?” Rainbow Dash came after him for that inquisition. Despite the fact that Gregory felt bad for asking, he found it strange that she responded so vehemently to him about it. He was human after all, and from where he came from, equines plus ladders equals hilarity.

“Uh...ponies don't even talk where I'm from, don't blame me for showing concern.” Gregory looked down, feeling bad still.

Twilight shot a less than flattering stare at her pegasus friend, who just waved off the misunderstanding. “Let's just go We've dilly-dallied enough.”

Gregory was the first to climb up, wanting to be the one to make sure it was safe for his companions.
Following his ascent, he found himself entering the temple. Though not another storage room, this one contained many Buddhist statues. All of them ranged in size, from big to small. Gregory actually knew this type of religious statue, and he felt he had another question to ask. Well, this is clearly a Buddhist thing, but why? You'd think a whole new world would have no such similarities, right?
He pondered this for a second, while motioning for the other ponies to climb up, offering a hand to aid their ascent. Moving quickly out of the way, the dragon had his attention immediately drawn by the many statues.

“Haha, who's this funny looking guy?” Despite the madness of their current situation, he aimed a single claw at the largest Buddha, noting his prominent belly and ludicrous smile. Even in all the turmoil, he realized a little laughter every now and again could do wonders. Picking up a smaller statue, he chuckled at it's shape and demeanor. “He must really know how to eat!”

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash floated up the shaft next, with Twilight finally emerging from the trapdoor. When they were all gathered and present in the room, they surveyed their surroundings and sought out another means of progress.

“Alright, looks like we can finally begin our search of the temple.” Twilight began before being addressed by Fluttershy.

“Twilight.... What about Kakashi and the others? Won't they be waiting for us to meet with them?” She whispered, her voice laced with worry.

“That's why we're trying to move on. But we could always contact them through this.” She shuffled around in her bag, ultimately procuring the orb she had used to communicate with both Gregory and Kakashi, shaking it on. Spike dropped the statue he had picked up and was now peering over Twilight's shoulder to look at the orb.

“Hello? Kakashi?” She said with a rough whisper.

“----Hm? Twilight? That didn't take long.” Kakashi finally responded after a few seconds of silence.

“Yeah... uh....we're already inside the temple.” Twilight said as her ears went down, she didn't like the idea of missing an appointment, regardless of the situation. “We ran into some...trouble...outside.”

“Well, at least you found another way in. We have already located another entrance as well.” Kakashi replied. “Exactly where are you guys?”

“Dunno. The foyer, maybe?” Gregory shrugged, glancing about. “We're surrounded by Buddhas.”

“Ah, you're in the Grand Hall, then.” Kakashi nodded. “But...how do you know about Buddha...?”

“It looks like we've already got a lot to catch up on.” Twilight shook her head, thinking back to the scroll Gregory had uncovered.
Maybe there was somehow a cultural exchange? But when, and how?

“Anyway...we'll meet with you shortly. Don't move, and try to stay quiet.”

“Okay... Sorry about missing the rendezvous point, Kakashi....” Twilight shuffled a hoof on the ground nervously.

“You adapted. You're still alive and you made contact with us. As far as I am concerned, you managed to do well.” Kakashi praised her, his perceptive eyes taking notice of the way she shuddered when she told them about their dilemma. “Alright, we'll meet up soon. Kakashi over and out.”

“Roger that.” She responded while letting out a sigh of relief, and putting the now disconnected orb away.

= = = Untouchable = = =

Outside around the temple, Kakashi's group continued their reconnaissance. Kakashi had just put his orb away when he noticed the sound of many approaching harvesters. Suddenly swarmed by the harvesters, the trio instinctively took fighting stances, prepared to confront the interlopers. Despite their formidable abilities against the eight aggressors, they realized that the harvesters were not a beast to be taken lightly.

“Remember, team, a single scratch and it's over for you!”

“You don't have to worry about me!” Tsunade said, charging her Chakra for a powerful jutsu.

“Likewise.” Gaara muttered, pulling up his sand barrier.

“Alright, let's do this then!” Kakashi roared, quickly channeling Chakra into his hand.
Lightning crackled forth from his hand, licking outwards violently. Charging forwards at one of the harvesters, the abomination didn't even see it coming: blasting through the creature, Kakashi's assault splattered its head into a rain of gore. It clumsily continued several steps before it tumbled to the ground, still twitching. Tsunade, with an explosive howl, leaped into the air and slammed two clasped fists on one harvester. The impact was so intense, the harvester's body folded under the monstrous strength, squashed into an explosive puddle of its own blood. The two harvesters by the victim's side felt the shockwave of the attack, having large chunks of dirt from the ground smash into their bodies before Tsunade followed up by pummeling them into a sanguine oblivion.

“Pathetic, I won't even have to use anything strong for these things.” Tsunade chastised the beasts, while smirking to herself. “But that's fine. I needed the exercise anyways!”

Three more of the creatures found themselves to be lifted up in the air, after being wrapped up by sand. Gaara had a hand raised, coldly watching the three. Kakashi and Tsunade knew what to expect next, as they turned their focus on to the last remaining harvester there. Sensing that it was in a losing battle, the lone one fled.

“Sand Burial!” Gaara called out, prompting a sickening cacophony of crunching bones followed by a rain of blood, bringing a quick yet brutal end to the struggling cadavers.

Afterward, Kakashi looked back at the others of his group with a perplexed expression painted on his face. “They're getting smarter...that last one just fled.”

“I noticed. But what does that mean for us?” Tsunade mused.

“It means that at least one Harvester has maintained higher brain functions.” Gaara pointed out, still observing the corpses of the harvesters he had just slain. The last of his sand used to do the job was now returning to the gourd on his back.
“From what we've witnessed, the Harvesters have shown only the most aggressive of base urges. That this one could maintain its instinct for self-preservation...”

“That could be bad, Harvesters that can think...” Kakashi narrowed his eye. “I don't want that to happen at all!”

“It may very well be happening already.” Tsunade said grimly. “But we can figure that out later. Our first priority is finding the other squad.”

“Then let's not waste another moment.” Kakashi said while dusting off his clothes.

Within moments they were at a corner of the temple. Glancing a distance away, the group found a stone path lined with an assortment of statues. On top of each statue's head sat a fixed lantern that contained an ethereal blue flame. More to the side of this path, a set of stairs connected to the temple. Moving with a sense of urgency, the other two followed him in kind. When they got up the stairs and faced the entrance, they found the door already cracked open.

“How odd, perhaps this was the entrance that the others used?” Gaara spoke up, watching as Kakashi slowly opened the door.

Inside the entrance, a narrow hallway crept inward. It stretched up to a wall that even Kakashi had a hard time seeing. Stepping further into the temple, he started to charge some Chakra up as a source of light. With greater visibility, the area around him held no surprises. Scattered sparingly about the walls were paintings of mountains, forests and various other environmental pieces. And like their own surroundings, so filled with cracks and cobwebs, the paintings were only barely discernible. Kakashi took note of the splintering sections that accounted for a large portion of the floor, making maneuvering the temple quite difficult. Surveying their surroundings, the rot in the wood suggested they may collapse at any moment.

“Stay light on your feet. The floor is unstable.” Though they could likely see that for themselves, Kakashi warned the others nonetheless.

Tsunade and Gaara stepped in and started looking around as well. Kakashi maintained a steady lead ahead of the two, peeking into the first room on his left. Facing the entrance to the room, he saw directly on the wall straight ahead a tapestry of some sort. The chamber held a shrine to some sort of deity, and to the right of this shrine, mounted on another wall, was a modest platform holding a small broken saucer. A pit used to light up incense sat at the center of the chamber; although not currently in use...it looked like some incense had recently been burned.
And again...someone has been maintaining this shrine. I wonder...
Kakashi left the room after seeing nothing of use. Coming back to the hallway he noticed that both Tsunade and Gaara had produced their own sources of light.

“Anything in that room Kakashi?” Tsunade inquired.

“It looks like someone performed burial rights recently.” He simply stated, while moving down the hall a little more. “So now we can say with certainty...we aren't alone here.”
This time he decided to go all the way down to the wall that he saw when he first came inside. The other two followed, but split off into some of the rooms connected to the hall. Kakashi reached the wall, and looked around. To his left and right were more paths. These corridors ran a distance before both ending up at a three way crossroad, veering off in either direction.

“Which way do we go?” Gaara asked, looking back and forth between the two paths.

“Follow me.” Kakashi stated, leading them down the path to the right. Turning the corner, the path just ended up going down to another corridor. But there was something extra here: Similar to the one he had come from, in between the two corners centered in the midsection of the hall, was a path diverting down to another section of the temple. Kakashi took a quick peek around the newer corner, and sure enough the pattern was exactly the same. He got an idea, and knelt down, procuring a kunai from his pouch. Marking something on the floor, he infused it with Chakra.

“Alright, This place looks like it is about to get really confusing.” Kakashi stated, while standing up and storing his kunai away.

“So... if we get lost, we will know that we have been here at least then?” Tsunade discerned.

“Precisely. I am going to do a walk around of this particular area, I'll be back in a bit.” Kakashi replied, walking around the new corner, and traveling down the path. Again he was presented with the same pattern, rounding the next corner, he found it happening once more. Eventually he completed his check, ending up right back where the others were patiently waiting for him.

“Exactly as I predicted, seems like this little square is a small centralized hub with paths extending into different areas of the temple.” Kakashi stated.

“Should we split up to cover more ground then?” Gaara asked, shifting his position to get comfortable.

“That might be quite dangerous in here. We've already confirmed the presence of at least one hostile—possibly two.” Tsunade replied to his statement.

“I agree. No one should stray too far.” Kakashi nodded.

“Fine. Where should we check first then?” Gaara wondered.

“Considering we have no leads, so we'll just have to check them one by one.”

“Well, we have nothing else to go off of.” Tsunade stated. “Shall we get started, then?”

Kakashi lead the way down the right path, walking precariously so as not to alert anything that might be nearby. Following right behind him, Tsunade and Gaara were silent. When they reached the end of that hallway, the only path left for them to go was to the left. The silver-haired shinobi was starting to grow annoyed from the lack of progress, indicated by an aggravated sigh.
Finally, however, their luck changed when they followed a considerably larger north-bound corridor, emerging into a grand chamber, occupied primarily by a large statue, scaled eight to one, throned at the center of the room. Carved onto this statue's face, a jolly and toothy smile welcomed them, exuding a peaceful aura towards its visitors. A few inches out from the statue on either side stood brazers, flames licking out from their semicircular shape.

“We've found our rendezvous. Put a mark on the middle of the floor and infuse it with Chakra. I'm going to have a look around.” Kakashi stated, slowly walking over to the left hallway. Gaara had taken the initiative to go over to the right hallway and take a gander at what was down it. Seeing as she was the last one left, Tsunade proceeded to the middle of the room, retrieving her kunai from her pouch. Kneeling down, she took the tip of the kunai blade, and started to draw in a symbol. Once she had finished with that she infused that symbol with Chakra, much like Kakashi did to the one from earlier. Upon completing her task, she stood up, only to see Kakashi and Gaara returning.

“Nothing to report.” Gaara murmured, folding his arms.

“Likewise. Though this place doesn't have the most conventional architecture I've ever seen, at least...” Kakashi stated. “Considering its current conditions, the inhabitants here can't be too numerous, either. This mansion would require a ton of maintenance, and so far we've seen minimal upkeep.”

“Yes, which is perfect for hiding... amulets? Perhaps?” Tsunade said with a smile, which grew bigger when Kakashi recalled the connection as well.

“Of course, it makes sense. Though it's strange...this fortress being so lacking in options, I would have thought we would have already ran into Twilight and the others by now.”

“That is the puzzler, though, considering we haven't fully explored yet, and there are three floors, I wouldn't go counting the chickens before they hatch just yet.” Tsunade told him.
Kakashi sighed at the thought of repeating this same process for two more floors. What a pain.

= = = Children of the Night = = =

Opening the door, Twilight found herself introduced into another corridor. Stepping into said hallway, she peered behind her shoulder and motioned for the others that it was safe. Gregory and the rest followed Twilight slowly into the hallway, precariously watching each step they took, remaining alert for even the most minute sound.
Down the left end of the path, one route diverted to the right. The path itself, to the best of Twilight's vision, seemed to be endless. Gregory sighed in frustration at the sight.

“Ugh, What is this? Why does it have to be so confusing?” He said.

“Well..... obviously to protect what they are hiding.... the amulet.” Twilight responded.

“What made them want to hide it in a separate world?” Spike asked, tapping a claw against the side of his face in curiosity.
“That's the part that doesn't really make sense, Equestrian knowledge of history and cosmology never even gave mention of any other worlds, let alone anything like this. And until making contact with Kakashi and the rest...” Twilight cut off her explanation, quickly turning away from her companions as if she had completed her explanation.

“Rather convenient timing if you ask me....” Replied a speculative Gregory, though his voice hid such questionable tones.

“Yeah... it was rather convenient....” Twilight said with a conspicuous chuckle.

How suspicious.... Gregory narrowed his eyes in her direction. She was unable to make eye contact, but he filed those thoughts away for a moment. It begged even more questions, but that was another issue to resolve at a later time. Readjusting his position he decided to focus on the present.
“Fine. Which way should we go then?” He asked.

“Hm.... I can sense a presence over to the right, so maybe we should avoid it and go left? How does that sound?”

“I... rather like that idea....” Fluttershy murmured, apprehension lacing her voice.

“Alrighty then!” Twilight said, and with a smile she turned to the left and began trotting forwards.

As she stepped on the floor of the hallway, she noticed a lot of holes. Glancing down some of them while still moving forwards, she noticed that there was another floor below them. Was that ladder actually that long? We can't possibly be on the second or third floor can we? She thought to herself, while hopping over a hole that she almost missed. Gregory and the others were keeping close to her, and eventually they were all at that right turn. Looking around the corner, she saw that the next path was a dead end, but that it contained several rooms on both sides of the hall. Turning to the right she continued her transit. She stopped at one of the sliding doors, as did the rest of her companions. Spinning around slowly to face her friends, she started to speak.

“Hey, perhaps we should all split up to inspect the multiple rooms here.” She suggested. “It shouldn't be too far apart, and if something happens just scream to indicate you need help.”

“Its dangerous... but as long as we aren't getting separated... cause I'd hate for that to happen once again Twilight.” Spike said, fearing such a dreadful fate.

“Well, there are only four rooms, and there are five of us. You can come with me Spike.” Twilight reassured him while raising a hoof to open the door.

“This idea makes me worried.... but it's only the room next to that one and across from yours.” Gregory contemplated, while going to one of the rooms.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy also went to a room. Fluttershy was shaking a lot when she opened her door. Before anyone entered the rooms however, Twilight said something else.

“And remember guys, try to find any traces of that amulet.” When she finished stating this, she entered into the room.

Twilight was followed by Spike into that of what appeared to be a guest room. It had all the essentials any guest could want. In the middle of the floor was an old flattened sleeping bag, in front of this was a door to the balcony, but it had chains around it for some reason. That same door also had some small boxes propped up against the door. Far to the right of the sleeping bag was a desk, on it was a small lantern that was lit up. To Twilight's immediate right was a closet. The room itself was so ordinary and plain that it didn't really seem like she would find much of anything in it. The closet however, caught her eye. Perhaps I can find something in there. She pondered to herself before motioning Spike to the closet. Trotting over to it, she pulled it open with her hoof.

Much to her disappointment, all she saw were heaps and heaps of clothes. She tried to dig around for anything in the piles, but to no avail. Even Spike couldn't find anything. Suddenly her door closed slowly, she noticed it when the door creaked and finally shut with a clicking sound.

“Oh no...” She let out, rushing to the door. When she tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. Upon closer inspection she noticed that the door didn't even look real anymore. Like it was just a part of the wall now.

“Hey! Gregory! Dash! Somepony! Help us!” She screamed, but no one answered her. This alarmed her. “Why can't they hear me? Aren't we nearby?”

“What do you—” Spike was about to ask, but was cut off by the sound of something that made both of them jump and then lower to the ground. A distant shuffle from beyond the door reached Twilight's ears, swiftly followed by the sound of loud bashing on the wooden frame. The door pulsed towards them with every blow until something else twisted their innards; wet flesh, slapping on the ground. It squished on the balcony floor, slowly and deliberately, until it resumed banging it's head against the wooden material separating it from Twilight and Spike. Instinct took over for Twilight, breaking her from her frozen stupor as she picked up Spike by the tail and tossed him quickly into the closet. Jumping in too, she swiftly closed the closet doors, burying herself and the baby dragon deeply in one of the back end piles of clothes. Eventually the door couldn't hold, and the creature burst into the room. The many boxes that were piled against that door scattered a bit, and that sickening sound of sliding, rotting flesh against the floorboards returned to torment the two. Daring not even a breath, the two huddled in the dark.

A haunting chill washed over both of their bodies as the sound slowly approached the corner they occupied. Please no... don't find us... please.... no..... please please please.... Twilight was frozen in place—her heart beat like a drum. The creature's banging returned, slamming on the closet three times. Spike, still clinging to Twilight, unconsciously dug his claws into her neck, though she had more important things to worry about. Sweat ran down their faces like a sprung leak, unable to draw her eyes from the door, now so close to giving in.
And then, just as soon as it had entered, the sound grew more and more faint. Twilight couldn't even remember how long it was before they actually stepped out of the closet, or if she ever stepped out of it. After the sound went away, and a few minutes had passed, both of them blacked out. Just before that though, the lavender pony could have sworn she heard some ominous giggling.

“Twilight! Twilight! Hey Twilight!” Gregory called to her while shaking her body.

“Ohhh.... my hea
d....” A groggy Twilight responded. She was laying in the same room that she was in before she had that horrific nightmare. Spike was being tended by Fluttershy, gingerly nudging at him. It seemed both of them had experienced the same thing.

“NOOOOO!.....” Spike yelled waking up with a mighty fright. “W.... What the.... hay was that thing?....”

“I... don't know... but I don't want to find out either.” Twilight replied shakily.

“What the hell did you guys find?” Gregory was trying to make sense out of what the two encountered.

“I think...I think we just fell into a nightmare or something!” her voice was fast, erratic—out of control. She continued to ramble: “I can't explain it. We were just in the room, when the door shut on it's own. From that point we were forced to hide in the closet.... because of some.... thing.... the sound it made was.... horrifying... sickening, disgusting... it was the sound of...of...something, and it managed to get in here, and almost got to us but it suddenly just vanished, and then we both blacked out!”

Still quivering violently, Twilight took a deep breath as she finished her story, leaving out the part about the ominous giggle she heard. One thing was for certain however, the image of that girl in the woods played in her mind when she heard that giggle. Is there a connection? Maybe that was her voice? No, that can't be, I didn't even see her in there. Twilight pondered this, her body still shaken up from the experience.

“Y'know what? The hell with this place.” Gregory scoffed. “I couldn't find anything in that other room, but the only clue we have is a portrait in the next room.”

“A portrait?” Twilight piqued up.
Any clues they could find meant a quicker way out of this disaster.

“Yes, there's this guy in the portrait wearing some kind of amulet, and he's standing in front of some weird altar.” he responded. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were listening in as they helped Spike up. “Maybe it's a clue, or maybe not—but at least we know this place is connected with it somehow.”

“Maybe... what about the other two rooms?” Twilight inquired while looking to the two ponies near Spike.

“Nothing in that room.” Rainbow Dash told her.

“I couldn't find anything... sorry...” Fluttershy apologized.

“Its okay Fluttershy, we can just look elsewhere.” Twilight told the yellow colored Pegasus.

“Are you sure you and Spike don't need a rest first?” Gregory asked, a look of concern washed over his face.

“I'm sure Gregory, but thanks anyways. We need to continue on and find the others.” She told him, giving him a nuzzle of gratitude.

“So... then we should go to that other hallway now then?” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“Yeah. Let's get going.” Twilight lead the way again, guiding the others back through the previous hallways until meeting right at the same door they initially came from. Without any stopping, she pressed on, moving down the seemingly never-ending hallway. It was such a mundane and monotonous transition too, the walls were the same, the patterns on the walls were the same, even the seemingly random assortment of holes followed some sort of pattern. After what felt like hours, the group finally reached a set of stairs at the end of said hall. Precariously they all traveled down the creaking steps. Once they reached the bottom, they came across a problem; A dead end.

“What the hell...how are we suppose to get to the floor below us?” Gregory yelled out of frustration.

“There just has to be something around here...” Upon lighting up her horn, Twilight noticed a lone, unlit lantern fixated to the wall. Using her magic she decided to try and move it. “I wonder.....”

A path opened up after she moved it down a bit. This took everyone by surprise, even Twilight. I didn't think stuff like that existed out of old novels. She thought to herself, while taking a quick look out. To the left and the right lay more paths, but the one to the right caught her attention the most. It was lit with torches, and she thought she could hear voices. Slowly and surreptitiously she guided the group to the right. She was going on pure instincts right now, and those very instincts were telling her that it was safe. But inside her mind, she still questioned it. A rising fear climbed its way up her spine, causing the fur on her back to stand on edge. Quietly the rest of the group trailed around her, with Gregory and Spike taking both flanks, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash at the rear. Despite their dread, Twilight found herself letting out a relieved chuckle when she saw who it was standing in the center of this room.

“Kakashi! Gaara! Tsunade!” She called out to the group of familiar ninja, who looked at her, and were just as excited to see them.

“Twilight!” Kakashi responded to her call. “Finally! I thought we would never find you guys!”

“Same here! Also... I have a report on the second floor. There doesn't seem to be anything on it.” Twilight informed him.

Kakashi nodded, closing his visible eye as though smiling. But suddenly, his abrupt change in expression caught her off guard. “Kakashi? What's the matter?”

“No.... It can't be... why of all people does he have to be here...?” Kakashi's statements brought looks of high concern and anger to both Gaara and Tsunade's faces—and especially to Tsunade.

“That's him alright... that snake....” Tsunade said, biting her lip, a bit nervous about the lurking individual in question.

A presence began to suffocate the air around all of them, it was so thick. Gregory could feel this more than the other ponies, and he fell to his knees because of it. The ninja were used to feeling exuded power like this, so they remained standing. Twilight couldn't feel the presence, but she knew something dark was coming, and just like Gregory she too began to stumble, forced to the ground by the miasma. But within the dark feeling lurked something else, a familiar presence to Twilight. She piqued up as best she could despite the strong dark energy pushing her down against her will.

“Two... there's two of them.....” Gregory called out, finding it hard to even speak, and also finding it a miracle that he was able to say what he said.

Footsteps now echoed into the room, accompanied by the sound of hooves. A snark chuckle broke the shroud of darkness, echoing from the hall. It brought terror into the hearts of the ponies, and they hadn't even seen what was yet to come. The ninja knew exactly who it was upon the voice subtly licking at their eardrums. As the sound got closer, Twilight began to shiver. Gregory, having just discovered his perceptive talents, was getting the worst of it; still sensitive to the staunch power, he'd been given no time to adapt to such things. Kakashi and the others paid him no mind...they could not afford such a distraction: they were preparing for battle, readying themselves in the only ways they knew how.

“My oh my.... what do we have here? Had I known I would be running into my old comrade, the slug princess and her entourage I might have better prepared myself a tad more presentably.” A male's voice mused seductively, as it's owner crept out of the dark. A tall slender man revealed himself: Orochimaru.

“Comrade? Tch, those days are long behind us Orochimaru!” Tsunade snapped at his words, a variety of flaring emotions was painted across her face.

“Oh such words are ill-fitting for one such as yourself. After-all I am only here on a quick errand, you see.” Orochimaru simply stated, his snake like tongue flickered out of his mouth as devilish machinations coursed through his mind.

“Oh no.... The amulet?....” Twilight took a random guess as to what this man could be referring to.

Orochimaru's eyes then shifted to the lavender pony who had just spoke. Chilling, those eyes were...they bore a deadly fire unlike any she had ever seen.
“How remarkable to run into not only one, but two of you creatures! I take it your blue and yellow friends over there can speak as well?” Orochimaru asked in a manner that just made Twilight feel uneasy.

“Y-yes.... but I don't see how that would be any of your business.” Though she wore a strong facade, she fooled no one...let alone this cold beast before her. Her every urge told her to flee as quickly as possible. Those eyes of his watched her, and stared...directly through her. For the time being his attention was completely focused on her, interest was peaking within his mind.

“How absolutely intriguing! Four otherworldly equines, hm?” Orochimaru smiled wickedly, granting Twilight another opportunity to feel her spine overloaded by a chill. “And just look at that horn...I suppose you can perform Jutsu just like she can? ”

“4..... There is only three of us here....” Twilight responded, trying to figure out how he came up with four. “Wait a second.... that other presence.”

“Come out my dear, I think you might want to see this for yourself.” Orochimaru called out to the shadows, finishing his sentence with a soft chuckle.

“Are you sure they are worthy of my radiance? I would hate to waste it on lower lives.” A familiar voice responded, followed by the sound of trotting hooves.

Out from the shadows a white mare with a purple mane appeared. Wearing an attire that was not only flashy, but also fit for rugged adventuring, she continued moving forwards. Stopping just a few feet from Orochimaru's position she stood with confidence, showing off much regal to her audience. Eying the groups, she noticed Twilight Sparkle standing there, her mouth agape at the sight.

Author's Notes:

Author's Note: Hey y'all it's me! This document has been rather long, so I just wanted to let you all know that the story will be split up for convenience so that you can leave off wherever and pick it up just right where you left up. Hope you enjoy! ;) rangikufan999