(Zeko’s house)
(That evening)

“Are you sure you want to go to the Gala? That Kanek guy looked like he was apart of the Black Talon and they’re viscous when it comes to a target, especially when one of them gets hurt.” Mist was questioning Zeko who was putting the final touches on his outfit, much like Kotetsu and Nouka.

“I’m more worried about this Gala, and Zecora’s here to teach you about the plants of this forest and you’ll be safe with her. She’s got amazing mana control, pretty sure she’d give Shiro a run for her money.” At this Kotetsu looked over and slowly shook his head

“No... just no.” His tone was flat, showing his lack of satire for the statement. “Even if she would... she wouldn’t, and you know she wouldn’t.” Kotetsu’s eyes held none of the hidden happiness he had when mentioning his significant other, instead they were now hollow, almost soulless.

“I would like to know, who is this Shiro?” Zecora chimed in, curious about the thrown around name. Zeko, Nouka and Kotetsu all went blank faced at the question and sweat droplets appeared on their foreheads. “It seems she must be very rigorous to make the three of you so nervous.”

“Let’s not focus on my girlfriend.” Kotetsu resumed closing his shirt and enjoying its great similarity to his far older relative. “This Gala thing, there’s gonna be rich and snobby ponies everywhere right?” Zeko nodded as Kotetsu smirked

“Some of them are decent but most are insufferable. And you’d think that a gathering of most political figures wouldn’t be a good thing but I guess we’re too used to assassins and...” Kotetsu’s face said everything Zeko needed to know while Nouka stood with a childish smile, signifying his overall ignorance

“I have absolutely no clue what you guys are talking about but let’s go meet up at the Boutique.” He tossed a clay figure which grew and revealed that it was a large lion like construct. “I’ve been trying new types of art since I met Lachlan, I showed him and he thought it was nice.”

“Glad I’m the one who communicates with animals since Lachlan said he’d kill Nouka if he saw him mock his species again.” Zeko thought as the trio climbed onto the construct. “So how is this thing gon-WHOA!” The clay creation bounded into the trees and leapt throughout the canopy, bringing the group closer and closer to Ponyville. “So this is the type of art you’ve been making? I like it.”

“Yeah a-gl- Ow!” Before Nouka could finish his sound, Kotetsu’s fist collided with the back of his head. The construct continued through the canopy and ended up running through the town to the distress of the citizens, the trio paid them no mind and kept riding in peace until they came across the Mane six, more so Rarity convincing two stallions to pull their carriage along for them. Once the two agreed they began to walk back to the Boutique and didn’t notice the shinobi in the distance.

“That’s how you use your feminine skills to convince a stallion of anything. Now we just need to get ready for the Gala.” The mares walked inside leaving Kotetsu to say something relatively insightful.

“We’re gonna be waiting forever.” He moaned to the confusion of Nouka and Zeko, “It takes women years to get ready... damn it!” He jumped off of their ride and landed at the door where Zeko appeared next to him, Nouka was behind them, they walked inside where Spike was knocking on the door loudly.

“Aw come on guys let me in!” The Drake pleaded

“Sure thing Spike.” The tomboyish voice of Rainbow Dash rang before Rarity interrupted her

“Heavens no! We’re getting dressed.”

At this point Zeko decided to let them know they were there and ready. “From what I’ve seen clothes are optional so it’s not a big deal.” Spike turned around and saw the three shinobi.

“Wow, you guys got ready fast.” He fist bumped Zeko and Nouka, Kotetsu however showed he wasn’t interested by activating his Sharingan and staring intensely at the adolescent dragon who nervously backed into the now open doorway. “Well tonight’s gonna be special, we’re gonna be in Canterlot! Our hometown Twilight! And the best part is that we get to hang out together.” At his proclamation Zeko nodded.

Kotetsu smirked. “All I know is that this night’s gonna end with an explosion.” All those present, excluding Zeko, took a step back.

“Uh yeah... This night’s gonna be great!”

==============================
(30 minutes later)

The carriage was being drawn by two earth stallions with Spike holding the reins and wearing a simple black tuxedo. “I planned out an insider’s tour. I gotta show Rarity the Crown Jewels and Applejack the Princesses Golden apple tree. And Pinkie there’s this one doughnut shop you need to try, I think you guys would like it.” Spike looked back to the shinobi trio sitting on top of the carriage.

“Sounds pretty interesting.” Kotetsu said

“A golden tree is something I need to see for myself.” Zeko added

“Doughnuts?!” Nouka shook with joy at the thought of such a pastry

“Then let’s go- Hyah!” The stallions turned and looked at him angrily

“Excuse me?”

“If you weren’t friends with-“ He heard something pierce the ground behind him and saw a kunai, once he turned back he saw Kotetsu smiling creepily

“I’d get back to pulling if I were you... I don’t miss twice.” The stallions quickly resumed pulling the carriage until they found themselves outside of the Canterlot Castle. Spike and the shinobi jumped down from the carriage and the Drake opened the door for the mane six.

“Ok we’re here and- Woah, you all look amazing.” Spike was taken back by the sight before him but the group began to walk nearly leaving him behind.

“I can’t believe we’re finally here! With all that we’ve imagined the reality of this night is sure to make this the best night ever! At the Gala”

Chorus:
At the Gala

Fluttershy:
“At the Gala
In the garden
I'm going to see them all
All the creatures
I'll befriend them at the Gala”

Chorus
At the Gala

Fluttershy:
“All the birdies
And the critters
They will love me big and small
We'll become good friends forever
Right here at the Gala!”

Chorus:
All our dreams will come true
Right here at the Gala
At the Gala

Applejack:
“At the Gala (It's amazing)
I will sell them (Better hurry)
All my appletastic treats (Yummy yummy)
Hungry ponies (They'll be snacking)
They will buy them (Bring your money)
Caramel apples, apple sweets (Gimme some)
And I'll earn a lot of money
for the Apple family!”

Chorus
All our dreams and our hopes from now until hereafter
All that we've been wishing for will happen at the Gala
At the Gala

Rarity:
“At the Gala
All the royals
They will meet fair Rarity
They will see I'm just as regal at the Gala”

Chorus
At the Gala

Rarity:
“I will find him
My Prince Charming
And how gallant he will be
He will treat me like a lady
Tonight at the Gala!”

Chorus
This is what we've waited for to have the best night ever
Each of us will live our dreams
Tonight at the Gala
At the Gala

Rainbow Dash:
“Been dreamin'
I've been waitin'
To fly with those great ponies
The Wonderbolts, their daring tricks
Spinning 'round and having kicks
Perform for crowds of thousands
They'll shower us with diamonds
The Wonderbolts will see me right here at the Gala!”

Chorus:
All we've longed for
All we've dreamed
Our happy ever after
Finally will all come true
Right here at the Grand Gala
At the Gala

Pinkie:
“I am here at the Grand Gala
For it is the best party
But the one thing it was missing was a pony named Pinkie
For I am the best at parties, all the ponies will agree
Ponies playing
Ponies dancing
With me at the Grand Gala!”

Chorus:
Happiness and laughter at the Gala
At the Gala

Twilight:
“At the Gala (At the Gala)
With the Princess (With the Princess)
Is where I'm going to be (She will be)
We will talk all about magic and what I've learned and seen (She will see)
It is going to be so special
As she takes time just for me (This will be the best night ever!)”

Chorus:
Into the Gala we must go
We're ready now, we're all aglow
Into the Gala, let's go in and have the best night ever
Into the Gala, now's the time
We're ready and we look divine!
Into the Gala

Fluttershy:
Meet new friends

Chorus:
Into the Gala

Applejack
Sell some apples

Chorus:
Into the Gala

Rarity:
Find my Prince

Chorus:
Prove I'm great

Rainbow Dash:
As a Wonderbolt is

“To meet!”

“To sell!”

“To find!”

“To prove!”

“To whoop!”

“To talk!”

“Into the Gala
Into the Gala
And we'll have the best night ever!
At the Gala!”

“Take it away boys!” Pinkie gestured to Zeko, Kotetsu and Nouka who threw small attacks that created a large explosion in the sky. “Or not...” Pinkie backed down sheepishly as the group continued inside.

===============================

“Alright so what are we gonna do first?” Spike asked but the mane six quickly dashed off to do their respective activities leaving the four boys. “At least I can count on you guys right?”

“Yeah you can, lets go see that golden tree.” Zeko decided on their next action which earned a smile from Spike who led them past a crowd where Zeko saw Rarity looking at Blueblood with an expression of having a clear goal and he figured it was to win his attention. “Oh I can’t wait to hear about this one.” They continued walking for a few minutes in silence and found themselves in a less populated wing of the castle.

“Are we supposed to be here? Not that I’m opposed to breaking and entering but there’s a lot of guards around.” Kotetsu broke the silence with a practical question which Spike answered quickly.

“Most of the castle is open to visitors since everything that’s important is locked away with powerful spells and runes.”

“What are runes anyway? I heard Twilight talk about them and I think they’d be similar to sealing jutsu from our world.” Zeko asked as they walked into a large garden

“I don’t know that much, Twilight should have books on it and the Princesses definitely know.” He stopped and pointed to the large solid gold tree standing before them. “It’s awesome isn’t it? I wish it was its time to grow apples so we could- Uh guys...What are you doing?” While looking at the tree Kotetsu and Zeko walked over to it and rested a hand on it

“Using our chakra to speed up that process, I want to be the first human to eat a golden apple.” The duo channeled chakra directly into the tree and made it shine brightly. The branches began to glow and form bumps that grew into golden apples.

“What can’t you guys do with that chakra stuff? Can you teach me how to use it?” Spike asked as the apples started to fall into a net of sand, courtesy of Zeko

“Why not? Maybe that fire you breathe will be useful.” Kotetsu taunted

“That’s not nice Kotetsu. He just wants to do cool stuff like we do.” Nouka countered while Kotetsu rolled his eyes and bit into his apple and stopped moving entirely.

“Is it that good?” Zeko,Nouka and Spike took a bite of theirs and stopped moving as well. The only way they could describe the taste was to call it pure euphoria, like the cosmos itself allowed itself a taste and then let the boys have some. “That... was amazing.” They looked at their apples and proceeded to slowly eat the remainder while Zeko’s sand lifted into the sky. “I’m saving those ones and the seeds so I can have my own.”

“Good plan, where to next Spike?” Nouka asked, still in the afterglow of the delicious apples

“We can go see the Crown Jewels.”

“No, Kotetsu can’t help himself around valuables.” Zeko said

“Hey I resent- Who am I kidding you’re right.” A loud rumbling stopped any further words and scared Spike. “That apple just made me more hungry, let’s go find some food.”

“I saw Applejack at a stand, she had a ton of stuff.” Nouka said which caused Kotetsu to appear behind him almost instantly

“Lead the way moron.” Nouka led them back through the halls and into the main hall again. “Hey Zeko, that little music number seemed really coordinated didn’t it?” Zeko thought intensely and realized that the sudden song was incredibly well done despite being sudden and unscripted.

“Yeah it was, I wonder how the hell that works. They didn’t have time to prepare and those random civilians just knew what to say... and where was the music coming from?” Zeko’s hair pulsed white from the roots to the ends and made Kotetsu laugh.

“You’re that concerned over a song and dance number?”

“It’s not that big of a deal... this place is really weird sometimes.” He ran his fingers through his hair once he noticed his cousin eyeing it

“It’s a big enough deal to make that jutsu lose effect little rabbit.” Kotetsu taunted and received a slap across the neck. “I deserved that but I’m still gonna laugh.”

“Howdy Spike!” They heard the familiar voice of Applejack and saw that they’d made their way to her stand. “And you fellas. You wanna buy something? I’ve got-“

“Everything.” Kotetsu interrupted to Applejack’s surprise

“Excuse me? Didja say-“

“You heard him... Everything here.” Zeko pulled out a bag of bits with an audible jingle and tossed it into the bin by her legs.

“Sure! You want a bag or something?” Zeko raised a hand and the stand was lifted and taken with the four boys. “With all of these bits i can fix the whole farm up. But I could use more business so back to it.” Applejack started setting up another stand while the boys departed to a garden where Fluttershy was trying to bait animals into a net.

“What in the Six Paths am I looking at? Hey!” Fluttershy let out a squeal and stumbled into her trap, getting pulled into the air and suspended. “What have you been up to? These animals are terrified.”

“Animal abuse isn’t ok... Unless they’re the ones abusing.” Kotetsu received a hard punch to his rib for his statement

“I’m sorry, they weren’t trying to be my friends so I got carried away.” Fluttershy meekly answered

“They’ve never met you, try being more relaxed and don’t scare them. They’ll get used to you and will start to come to you.” When he finished his explanation Kotetsu shot a stream of lightning from his finger and freed the ensnared Pegasus.

“O-Ok then. I’ll see you both later then.” She waved softly.

The boys walked into a clearing and sat down, Zeko made the food land in a square array. Kotetsu and Zeko exchanged a look and started eating voraciously to the disgust of Nouka and Spike. “Why are they doing that?” Spike asked, trying his hardest to enjoy his apple fries while Nouka managed to enjoy a caramel apple.

“They get like this when there’s technically a lot of food around. Just ignore it cause they won’t stop until they’re full.” After a few minutes the drake looked and saw that a majority of the food was gone and the two were eating at a more relaxed pace.

“It’s not that Golden apple but it comes close. Hey Spike, you wanna learn a fire jutsu?” Zeko questioned which made Spike jump up and knock over Kotetsu’s cider.

“My drink... it wasn’t guilty of anything.” He got on his hands and knees and hid his face.

“Uh sure Zeko I’ll learn a fire thing, how do I start?” Zeko placed a hand on Spike’s head and Spike got a rush of information, the most notable being a description of how to use his inner focal energies, some strange hand symbols and something called “Goukakkyu”. “My head hurts really bad!” Spike whined, holding the side of his cranium for emphasis

“The headache’ll stop in a minute but once that’s done I want you to focus the mana within you then think of breathing fire and make the hand signs at the same time.” Spike took his hand from his no longer aching head and focused on his stomach and welling flames up from it

“The symbols were... Snake, sheep, monkey, pig, horse, then tiger.” When his claws were together he breathed in and when he exhaled he shot a large green ball of fire... aimed straight at a bush. Before Zeko could intercept the attack, a unicorn stallion in a loose Red Claw outfit jumped out of the bush. He stood at about six feet and had spells ready in his hands.

“You’re the otherworldly fighters aren’t you?”

Zeko and Kotetsu activated their Dōjutsu and Nouka was riding his feline creation, even Spike got into a fighting stance. “I’m guessing you came to kill us, you made a huge mistake though since there’s four of us against you Hex.” The stallions eyes opened wide at the mention of his name. “Pod knew most of the members and now I do too.”

Hex started to chuckle to the surprise of the others, his laughter was coarse and made him sound much older than he seemed. “I’ll admit you seem very threatening but there’s not just me. With all of these political figures gathered in one place you couldn’t expect somepony to want to rise through the ranks as easily as possible?”

*CRASH*

The sound of breaking glass made the four boys turn and see a few dozen red Claw members going into the Gala through the now shattered windows. “Damnit! Wait the Princesses are in there, there’s no way you have a way to beat them.” Kotetsu argued, making Hex stop his chuckling

“Actually we’ve found a way to temporarily null the magic of even an Alicorn so they aren’t as big of obstacles as you think.” Zeko threw a chakra rod and cut part of Hex’s outfit away, barely missing his rib and lung in the process. “Feisty... youth has that effect, but let’s see how you do against experience!” He drew a knife and cut his hand, letting blood drop into the ground where he placed a rune. A pair of dark skeletons wearing a dull metal armor and horned helmets rose from the earth with axes in hand.

Zeko made hand signs which caused a wall of rock come from the ground, while Kotetsu put a hand to his mouth. “Lava Style: Molten river!” Kotetsu blew a ball of flame at the wall and turned it to a molten liquid which coursed and drowned the skeletons. Before they could focus on Hex the lava dissipated and the skeletons appeared unharmed. “How the hell- They’re bones! Bones melt!”

“These are imbued with the corrupt souls from the afterlife, they can’t be destroyed by any normal means since they draw power from death itself.” Hex taunted and threw spells that left burn marks where the two shinobi were.

“Ok... Nouka you stay out here with me and help deal with this, Spike go with Kotetsu and stop the Red Claw inside.” Kotetsu nodded and grabbed Spike before lunging to the walls of the castle.

“That was a cowardly move on your part.” Hex’s tone was condescending at this point

“Why would that be? We’re splitting up our strength so we can take care of the problem.” Nouka prepared an array of clay spiders and Zeko produced two chakra rods.

“Because child... You’d have been better off fighting me as a group, I can make more of the bone shades. Your chances were better as a gro-“

“How are we cowards for being a team old guy?” Zeko interrupted with an irritated tone.

“Because my friend... Suicide is the easy way out...”

=======

Author's Notes:

And here I go again with a three parter, but that’s what you all seemed to like last time I did it so why not give it another try? Happy New Year everyone. Like or dislike comment on what you liked and I’ll see you next week.