My Little Naruto: Friendship is--WHERE AM I!?

by DragonLS

Chapters

CH1: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
CH2: A Bone to Pick With
CH3: Misunderstood
CH4: Brainstorm
CH5: Tour De La Ponyville
CH6: Revealed
CH7: Experimentation & Savior
CH8: Royal Pain
CH9: Odd Jobs
CH10: Preparation
CH12: Like Father, Like Daughter (Revised)
CH15: Hospital Visit Pt. 2 (Revised)
CH16: Y U NO BRING DEAD ANIMAL!? ლ(ಠ益ಠლ) (Revised)
CH17: Chakra, *Snort Snort* (Revised)
CH18: It's Party Time! (Revised)
CH19: Revenge Issues & Home Shambles (Revised)
CH20: Purpose (Revised)
CH21: The Great and Powerful Bit-- I mean Trixie! (Revised)
CH22: Magician's Lament (Revised)
CH23: Headaches All Around (Revised)
CH24: An Unexpected Letter (Revised)
CH25: One Plus One Equals Possibilities (Revised)
CH26: Wolfy You So Fine (Revised)
CH27: New Party Members Pt. 1 (Revised)
CH28: New Party Members Pt. 2
CH29: Eyes of a Demon
CH30: The Wub Wub Lives On Pt. 1
CH11: Big Game Hunter (Revised)
CH13: Stubborn (Revised)
CH14: Hospital Visit Pt. 1 (Revised)

CH1: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

Special Thanks To:
Editor: DaMobbs
Proofreader: Meeester

*****

Time is Eternal, Time is Law,

When the world is in peril, it’s sunk in maw.

One hero, one destiny, and one hope,

Please make sure this isn’t some big dope.

One world to other, and one that goes bang,

Let this one person leave this world, forever changed…

*****

Chapter 1: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

Oh Land of the Rising Sun, Land of the Leaves… Oh Land of Nature....

“WHY DID THIS HAPPEN!?”

…Please don’t let this situation get any worse for our friendly neighborhood knucklehead, Naruto. Our orange and black jacketed, blonde Genin was currently slamming his head into a nearby, wooden fence repeatedly. As he continued to bore his way into the wood, he started to wonder why he was even doing so in the first place. He stopped momentarily to ponder this, rubbing his now-throbbing forehead under his Konoha headband. His thoughts, still a tangled mess, unraveled temporarily to inform him of just why he was assaulting the fence…

…It involved him banging his head repeatedly once again with a renewed vigor as he recalled the events.

*****

It wasn’t that long ago... 15 minutes to be exact. It was mid-afternoon in the breezy town of Konohagakure, and Naruto had a plan. A prank. A devious excuse to laugh his ass off. He had just gotten back from a rescue mission involving Gaara and needed a way to rid himself of stress. What better way to kill said stress and time between missions than to make someone’s life a living pain for a few minutes?

It was a simple plan really… Naruto was out in an alleyway, a path frequently taken when one needed to go to the Hokage tower. He had a cardboard box on his head—emblazoned with ‘Please Open Me’ on the front in big, bold Kanji—and a couple of innocent looking pellets. Why was the cardboard box on his head? It could have been because he wanted to be stealthy. It could have been because he could talk to boxes in some dead language that only he knew...

…Or he was just an idiot to begin with. Regardless, Naruto took the box off his head and set it upright with the pellets still in his hand. He brought the pellets into the sunlight in order to inspect his guaranteed success of laughing the day away. A red and blue pellet, each polished to a glossy finish, were necessary for this devious prank to work.

“Paint Pellets,” Naruto muttered mostly to himself, “This is going to be funny as hell.”

Naruto took a deep breath and began to push some of his chakra into his right hand, the one holding the pellets. As he infused the pellets with some of his chakra, he immediately placed them inside the box and closed it up, making sure no sunlight would reach inside… unless someone were to open it of course. As Naruto looked around for anybody walking up the alley, he set the box in the middle of the road, being careful as to not agitate the contents any further. Then, he dashed behind a nearby trash can, giggling like a little school girl.

Five minutes had passed, and not a single person had came down the alley. Not a soul, not a creature, not a single one. Naruto peeked out from behind the trash can. No footsteps, no whistling, no talking, just utter silence. Naruto crossed his arms, thinking.

“I could’ve sworn this was the busiest road... It’s the fastest way to the tower, right?” he questioned himself. As he began to ponder just how strange this was, he heard footsteps approaching. He dove back down behind the trash can more out of reflex than anything else. He didn’t even see who was coming up the road, but he couldn’t peek out and risk of being seen. He had put more time into this prank than any other before, and he wasn’t about to blow it. Naruto was silently giggling to himself, waiting for the inevitable. The footsteps grew ever closer. They immediately stopped, maybe no more than 10 feet away. Naruto assumed that whoever it was just stumbled across his ‘present’.

“Hook, line, and sinker. Heh heh…” Naruto said to himself quietly. His face sported a devilish grin of delight. What he heard next took that grin right off his face and uppercut it straight off into next year.

“Oh my. What’s this box doing here... I wonder what’s inside?” said a familiar, feminine voice.
Naruto swallowed, his adam’s apple forcing its way down into his chest, knowing who that voice belonged to. Immediately, he jumped out from behind his hiding place wide-eyed, watching a familiar, raven-haired girl with white pupils crouch over the box. The girl already had one of her hands spreading open the folds of the box when Naruto finally found his voice.

“HINATA, DON’T OP-!”

But it was too late. As soon as she opened up the flaps completely and looked up, the box exploded. Blue and red smoke flooded the area after the explosion, billowing out from where the box and Hinata had been. The smoke slowly started to dissipate after a few short seconds—which seemed to last an eternity for Naruto—until Hinata came into view. The look on her face was that of an injured puppy: mouth agape and eyes wide open in blatant shock. She stood there with blue and red markings all over her clothes, her face, and even her hair, creating what seemed like an art experiment gone wrong. Hinata looked at her hands, shaking as the red and blue paint dripped off her and mixed together into a purple concoction.

Naruto took a step forward towards Hinata, trying to utter something, anything, but couldn’t bring himself to. Hinata slowly looked up towards Naruto, eyes twitching on the brink of tears as she slowly backed away. Step by step, she backed away, each step bringing her closer to a full breakdown until the third step back. With tears coming out of her eyes, she turned around and ran away. Naruto took another step forward, raising his hand in front of him as if he was about to grab something.

“O-oy! Hinata! Wait! This is all a big misunderstanding!” Naruto shouted. But his words fell on deaf ears as she rounded the corner and fell out of his line of sight. His shoulders slumped down as he turned to orient himself to the wooden fence running along the alleyway and began smacking his head into it over and over again.

*****

Which brings us back to where Naruto is now, contemplating just why he went ahead with this prank to begin with. A good prank is fine once in awhile, but if it involves your dear and trusted friends, especially someone as sensitive as Hinata, it turns into a very cruel joke. Many thoughts were running through Naruto’s thick skull as he kept running through the situation repeatedly. ‘Why did I do that just now? Can I reverse it? Why can’t anyone take a joke and forgive you?’

The fight between the fence and a hard head wasn’t making any notable progress. Would Hinata hate him after this stupid prank? Why didn’t he chase after Hinata after she ran off crying? Was it because he didn’t want to rub salt in an open wound? Or is it because he didn’t want to make it worse with excuses that she wouldn’t believe? Several similar thoughts flooded his mind, but none of them gave him an answer. As he kept up the valiant effort against the fence, a man walked by, sporting a straw, Japanese hat that kept his entire head out of the sun and wearing nothing but a black and silver Japanese robe. Attached to his belt was an assortment of small oddities, such as a couple of brown pouches, each a different size, a couple of bottles of strange liquid, and even an assortment of small needles.

The man seemed to have long, black hair, wrapped in a ponytail, as well as the face of an innocent and kind man. He saw the young, blonde banging his head over and over into the fence, muttering how he’s hated and unwanted. He raised his brow and walked up behind the kid.

“You’ll get brain damage if you keep that up, young one.” the ponytail man said.

Naruto stopped banging his head against the wall and turned around quickly, flinching when he saw a man standing no less than a foot away from him. The blonde took a deep breath, leaned against the small, cratered wall and stared back at him.

“Maybe I should get it after what I did. What I did was unforgivable…”

*****

“So you accidentally pranked a close friend of yours, hmm? I’m starting to understand why you were leaving a dent in that wall…”

The man felt sorry for the way Naruto was treating himself earlier, so he took Naruto to Ichiraku’s. Ichiraku’s Ramen, as Naruto had claimed, was the best place in all of Konahagakure, no, the world, for ramen. As Naruto stuffed his face, he nodded a couple of times towards the man.

“If waf fainful,” Naruto said with his mouth full, splattering beef broth and noodles across the table. The man blinked. A bead of sweat made its way down his face before he snapped out of his stupor.

“Swallow your food please… That’s just plain rude,” the man said as Naruto swallowed the face full of food in just one gulp.

“You’re a prankster?” the man asked. Naruto simply nodded as he faked a smile.

“The best prankster in all of Konoha. No one can match my talents!” he said proudly. Naruto paused, suddenly realizing he was both talking and eating with some foreign stranger. Better yet, he didn’t even know his name.

“I’m Naruto by the way. What’s yours?” The man only smirked at Naruto’s sudden urge to be courteous. He only shrugged in response.

“Yajirobi. Samurai by name, and Alchemist by trade,” Yajirobi said proudly to Naruto.

Naruto tilted his head at the last title he called himself, “Alchemist?”

Yajirobi nodded, tilting his straw hat forward.

“Indeed, an alchemist, a person who can create tonics, remedies, or, as you folk commonly say, people who can turn lead into gold.” Yajirobi broke out into a full-bodied laugh at the last comment he made. “Of course, turning lead into gold is a bit of a ridiculous fairy tale since it isn’t even possible.”

Naruto ‘ooohed’ to the small but simple explanation of what an alchemist was. The small bottles of liquid on Yajirobi’s belt caught his eye, curious about what they contained.

“An Alchemist huh… So you can create things like food pellets and soldier pills or something?” Yajirobi only laughed at Naruto’s comment.

“Something like that. Alchemy can be used in all sorts of ways; it’s nearly endless,” he said with an arm leaning on the table, smiling at Naruto. “You could create a tonic to boost your strength, a tonic to make you immune to disease, or even create an explosive that can burst into flames upon impact. Alchemists have been around for centuries, my friend. Most of the things you take for granted were created and improved upon by others like me.”

The more Yajirobi explained to Naruto about his profession, the more he became curious of this ‘Alchemist’ thing.

“Can it be used for pranks?” Naruto asked. Once again the man broke out into a laugh.

“I knew you were going to say that, ha ha…” Yajirobi took a few ryo out of his pocket and placed them on the table to pay the bill. Yajirobi stood up from the table and motioned for Naruto to follow.

“Come, I shall explain more as we walk. I have nothing else to do at the moment.”

Naruto got up with Yajirobi and began his trek towards the crowded marketplace. Several people rushed by, going from one place to another while merchants kept advertising how their goods are better and more reasonably priced than others. It was noisy, but he could still hear Yajirobi speak clearly.

“Like I said, it can be used for numerous things, including pranks. Fire bombs, for example, can be multi-purposed. You could even make something that spouts out tar, mud, or even water… but then again, water in a bottle would just have the same effect as regular old water, ha-ha…” The joke fell a little flat for Naruto, since it didn’t really make that much sense. Yajirobi looked at Naruto for a moment, forcing a cough before continuing.

“So in short, yes. Alchemy can be used for pranks, or to help for the greater good, ha-ha!” Naruto couldn’t help but smile at Yajirobi’s words. Learning Alchemy is the only thing Naruto wanted to think about right now.

“Ooh, ooh! Can you teach me how to use Alchemy!?” Naruto said while hopping up and down like a little school girl. Yajirobi stopped, shaking his head and dashing Naruto’s high hopes. A smile graced Yajirobi’s face, and he tussled up the blonde’s messed up hair some more.

“I’m only here in Konoha for one more day… However… you should read up on alchemy if you wish to learn. It is not that difficult, and I’m sure you’ll have a knack for it, if…” he said as he placed a finger on Naruto’s headband, “…you have the persistence, patience, and motivation for it. You seem to have everything nailed down but the ‘patience’ aspect. Just remember that good things come to those who wait.” He stressed the last word by flicking Naruto’s headband.

Naruto immediately nodded, more out of reflex than complete understanding. Alchemy… The art of turning lead into gold, of combining ingredients or other such objects into one entity—it sounded magical and endless. Yajirobi couldn’t help but laugh once more at Naruto’s look of bewilderment and excitement. He took a small flask, in the shape of a small beaker, from his belt and grabbed a bigger bottle full of brown liquid from his carrying sack. Naruto raised an eyebrow at what he was doing, but the samurai/alchemist only smiled in reply.

“I’d like to give you a parting gift. A memento, if you will, of this conversation we’ve had. This... ” He poured what was in the bottle into the beaker, like a faucet filling up a small cup, ”... is a potion that I’ve used countless times before for all those sleepless nights.”

“It’s a Vitamin Potion. Drink it before you sleep tonight. It’ll give you the necessary nutrients and vitamins you need for a young man like yourself to stay healthy. It will even boost your mental prowess overnight, allowing you to think harder, but much more easily and quickly. I take it every day, and it’s made me into what I am now,” Yajirobi said with a smile and a twitch of the brow.

Naruto went wide-eyed at his explanation, and stared at the brown liquid inside the beaker. He couldn’t believe what his ears were telling him. A potion could make him faster, stronger, and better than ever before with almost no effort at his part. The thoughts of his future self plastered a grin all over his face. He looked back at Yajirobi in awe.

“Wow Yajirobi, are you sure!? This must have taken a long time to create!” Yajirobi gave a small chuckle at Naruto’s response.

“The tonic is easy to make, and it’s my own special recipe. Don’t worry about it. I’ve got a big bottle full of it, so I’m in no danger of running out any time soon,” Yajirobi said with a smile. He furrowed his brow at the setting sun, looking back at Naruto with his smile still.

“My my, time flies when you’re walking around town, it seems,” he said as he crossed his arms, with his eyes closed as he nodded. He opened them once more and said, “It seems our time was short, but pleasant at that. I will be departing come first light tomorrow.”

Naruto looked up with a pair of puppy dog eyes towards Yajirobi. “But Yajirobi! Can’t you stay in town for at least a couple more days?” Yajirobi only shook his head at this comment, causing Naruto to frown. Then the samurai patted Naruto on the head once more.

“I hope to see you tomorrow then… Ja ne.”

*****

Late at night…

The moon cast its radiance all over Konoha, bathing the town in silver moonlight as the inhabitants slept, dreaming peaceful dreams. Some use the night to their advantage. To kill people in their sleep or go out and party all night long… or stand guard and watch over towns to make sure that the peace is not disturbed.

Naruto sat on his bed cross-legged, holding the bottle that Yajirobi handed him not long ago. He wore his usual nighttime pajamas with his signature black hat. The brown liquid inside sloshed around as he tilted the bottle in the moonlight coming through the window. It absorbed the light completely like a sponge, making it look even darker than it did before.

“Some kind of vitamin and mental prowess increasing thingamabob huh…” he said with one hand on his chin, looking at the contents. “Alchemists sound so amazing… I wonder if I could somehow learn it myself? All of the pranks I’d be able to pull…

He could imagine it now… A concoction that could turn people into chickens, or cows, or even a bowl of ramen if he so chose. But those kinds of thoughts he shook out of his head with a smirk and giggle.

“Yeah, right. As if Alchemy could go that far! I really doubt it… But…” The thoughts still lingered in his head. So many possibilities, so many new prospects. He couldn’t wait to know more. His eyelids became almost unbearably heavy as his fatigue began to catch up. A sidewards glance at his bedside clock confirmed that it was indeed late.

He shut the light off, plunging the room into semi-darkness, moonlight breaking up the darkness slightly. Naruto looked at the liquid inside the bottle once more, as if staring down an endless abyss of darkness. He shrugs to himself, popping the top off at the same time. The potion may have looked bland, but it sure didn’t smell like it.

“Good KAMI THIS STUFF REEKS!” Naruto said out loud. It seems that Yajirobi may have left out a major detail concerning the smell… or heck, maybe even what it tastes like.

“Urk… Why didn’t he tell me this stuff would smell bad… Geez… Do I really have to drink this?” Naruto pondered this for a moment as he gave another whiff of the stuff. Well, it certainly didn’t smell any better than before. But then again, some say the taste is different from the smell. He could just be exaggerating. Maybe it tasted like strawberries, or melons... or maybe even pork ramen. His mouth twitched. That last line of thought made the mystery drink more appealing despite the smell. In the end, he manned up.

“Down the hatch!”

Placing his lips on the tip of the bottle, Naruto tipped the bottle up and slowly started to consume the brownish liquid, pinching his nose to keep the awful smell out.

He blinked. It didn’t taste that bad actually! It was almost like eating a potato, just in a liquefied form. A few seconds later, the entire bottle was drained, and he threw it into the nearby trashbin. The smell still lingered, but at least it did taste better than it smelled. Feeling a bit satisfied it didn’t make him throw up, he leapt into bed, the prospects of tomorrow all the brighter.

*****

15 Minutes later.

Naruto woke up in a cold sweat. His throat was on fire. His stomach was doing belly flops in a pool of magma, and his entire body ached in pain. Spasms rocked his entire body, pain tearing at every single molecule in his body both inside and out. Breathing was a whole other problem as he gripped his neck with his shaking hand, trying to get any air into his lungs. His heart thumped in his chest rapidly as his face lost color just as quickly. Even when he was experiencing an almost immeasurable amount of pain, his mind was racing through possible avenues of what in the world may be causing this. He rolled off the bed and onto the floor, curling into a ball, trying to fight through the pain.

Naruto wheezed. Maybe it was something he ate? He opened his mouth and jabbed a finger at his tonsil, before bending over and vomiting all over the wooden floor boards. One thing stood out as he emptied his stomach.

Blood.

That’s when he knew it. He was dying. He didn’t know why, but he was dying. He prayed that the fox inside his body would heal whatever was trying to kill him; however, the fox didn’t seem to be helping at all. He couldn’t even sense the fox or even hear anything. The room started to sway and spin in nauseating circles even though he wasn’t moving. Even his arms and legs were starting to feel limp and cold.

Naruto’s movements slowed to a crawl. He couldn’t move his legs anymore. His head was twisted away from the bed, looking out over the rest of his room. His Konoha forehead protector lay on the table, facing him, as if scolding him for doing something so rash and stupid. Naruto was laid out on the hardwood floor, limbs and organs no longer responsive, his eyes bloodshot and unfocused.

Naruto… was dead.

Evil laughter could be heard in the distance. What Naruto’s lifeless corpse didn’t know was that there was a spectator in his midst, watching everything that happened. A man on a nearby rooftop sat quietly as he twiddled his fingers.

“Foolish Nine Tailed Fox… I forgot to tell you one last thing about alchemy…” the man in robes began as he stood up onto his two feet.

“…Is that it can also create the deadliest poisons known to man.” He couldn’t help but widely grin at his accomplishment, disappearing off into the night.

CH2: A Bone to Pick With

Special Thanks To:

Editor: DaMobbs

Proofreader & Pre-Reader: Axel_Nyan

*****

Trust is sacred, trust is golden

Misplace that trust, you have fallen

Foolish thinking, foolish death,

For you have breathed your very last breath

But do not worry, all is not lost

For another chance is here

…At a ridiculously weird cost

*****

Chapter 2: A Bone to Pick With

It was cold… very cold. It felt like that of a blustery winter night. It went straight through your clothes and chilled you to the very bones.

That’s all he could feel.

Naruto could feel himself floating. He couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, but merely floated in the endless abyss. He could still think, but all that came to mind was the cold. The damnable cold. All he knew was that he was floating in nothingness. He didn’t care. Or at least, he couldn’t, with all his feelings sucked away from him. He was a nothing... a complete and utter nothing.

At least, that’s what he assumed until he stopped floating and fell onto something really hard. Suddenly, Naruto could think, feel, and even see. But he couldn’t see himself. Try as he might, he couldn’t see any limb or part of his body. All he could see was a trail of white, where his feet should be. Naruto was confused at this turn of events.

Where was he? Then, something happened. A brief flash of shadowy light exploded in front of Naruto. He couldn’t squint, for he had no eyes, or eyelids for that matter. He just simply “took in” the sight for what it was; A black, robed... thing. His robes were torn from place to place, with a black hood covering his face entirely. Bony fingers, bony feet, and a huge tome rested in his bony hands.

If Naruto could piss himself in horror, he would, but he was still nothing but a bunch of white smoke. Stupid smoke. The bony, robed figure slowly walked towards Naruto, taking his book out from under his arm. He opened it absently, as if this was just a normal part of his day, and mumbled quietly to himself.

“Hmmm… Naruto, Naruto… Letter N… Hmm, yes, here we go…” The bony figure said in a deep, dark baritone voice. It would shake anyone to the bone (Ba bump dump ching) if one would ever hear it. He pointed his right index finger at a seemingly random spot inside his book. “Page 490,558,693,948,586, Naruto Uzumaki, Age 16… or was it 17? Hrm, damn accountants, using erasers and such to change ones information,” The figure muttered to himself. “They don’t make my job easy anymore like it was ages ago… So many deaths, yet it was much more efficient… Hrm…”

Naruto could only stand there as the bony man looked up the information in his dusty, old tome.

The bony man only shrugged in frustration. “Ah, well, whatever. How you died is what mattered, anyway…”

The words hit Naruto like a sledgehammer to the nuts. Died? Him, dead? Naruto was dead? He couldn’t believe it. He wanted to yell out in agony on how much bullshit it was, but he couldn’t make a peep. The bony man looked up from his book, seeing the white figure of Naruto shift from side to side, as if it was having an angry spasm. The bony man only shook his head.

“Yes, you’re dead. Like gaijllions of others have realized. Get used to it. I’m tired of seeing you pesky souls throw such a fit about it. It’s not that bad, honestly. Especially when I, Death himself, have to take care of you piles of smoke and souls… Yet it only makes my job harder with the higher ups, the bastards…” said Death as he scratches his head with a bony tipped finger. “Now, sit still so we can confirm your cause of death.”

Naruto still couldn’t believe it. He was dead... and the Grim Reaper himself, a.k.a. Death, is looking up his information. Is this what happens to people who die? They appear in a sea of darkness and nothing and then get looked up like it’s some damn bank? The fact that he was a soul didn’t help matters either. He had so much to live for. Hinata, Kakashi, the old bat of a Hokage… He was dead, and he probably would never see them again.

“Ah, yes, hum hum, your cause of death.” Death said out loud. Naruto snapped out of his reverie, bringing his full attention, grudgingly, to Death.

“Hmm… well now. Seems like you died of major poisoning to the stomach and heart… good choice. At least in terms of a slow and painful death. You’ve even had some previous near-death experiences, too… very interesting…” Death closed his book with a sharp thump, and looked at Naruto’s soul. “Very foolish of you to drink something that could kill you. I mean, what were you thinking? Something so vile and disgusting looking, and yet, you didn’t even think twice about it. When I was your age, back when cavemen and dinosaurs existed, I know there was—“

Naruto couldn’t hear him anymore. He tuned him out to try and sift through his own memories. It came back to him now. Pain. He was writhing in pain on his hard wood floor, and the cause had to be that vitamin thingamabob the alchemist gave him. How could he have been so foolish? Why wasn’t he suspicious of him from the start? But did it even matter anymore? Yes and no... He wanted revenge, but since he was dead, there wasn’t any point.

“…and that’s how I ended up getting a horse and a caveman hitched. It was an experience that was insulting, and a mental image I’ll never be able to erase from my skull. I hope you’re happy with the story, cause I’m not.” Naruto stared at Death again, his attention finally gravitating back towards the reaper. Death tilted his head before shaking it in disappointment.

“Not listening, hmm? Well, anyway, you’re in purgatory right now. I hope you’re happy, because people that normally die get sent straight to heaven or hell immediately. No second chances. However…” Death said, walking towards Naruto’s soul. “There are… special cases. Ones that have proven themselves worthy, one way or another…” He said as he poked Naruto’s soul where his heart would be. Naruto felt nothing.

“What? Still not simple enough to understand? Kids these days...” Death bent down to eye-level, at least where the eyes would have been, before continuing, “There’s a chance for you to live again. A reincarnation, if you will.”

This brought Naruto’s attention fully on Death. A way to be alive again? There was such an option? If Naruto still had feelings and limbs, he would jump for joy. Of course, he could do no such thing. He settled for shifting his corporeal body side to side. Death nodded.

“Yep. There is a way just for someone as ‘special’ as you. You have to complete two tasks, The first task, is probably the hardest out of the two. I’m warning you now. Be prepared, for there are NO second chances...

He closed the book, which dissolved into black smoke, leaving his hands together, palms facing each other. He opened them once more like a book and in its’ place was an orb of light. It gave off light similar to that of a prism, rainbows dancing inside as if trapped. He closed his left hand, and the ball disappeared into his bony clutch. He placed his hands behind his back and shuffled around a little before bringing both hands back in front, each hand a fist.

“Pick the correct hand, and you win the lifetime of… life, I suppose.”

……

Naruto couldn’t help but think that the skeleton was a few bones short an actual skeleton. Death was, literally, gambling with Naruto’s ticket out of here. But if it was his chance of being alive again, he would have to play along with it. He didn’t have much else to lose… except the chance at life again. Naruto’s soul shifted from side to side, unsure which hand it was in. He had a 50/50 chance, so it was all a matter of luck... Then again, when was the last time he had a stroke of good luck? The more he stared at the bony hands, the more he couldn’t decide. That is, until he saw a small glimmer of light in one of Death’s hands. There! That hand! Naruto shifted his soul to the right, trying to ‘sign language’ Death into choosing the right hand. He looked at his right hand, bringing it up in front of Naruto’s soul.

“You choose this one? Move your soul around if you say yes.”

Naruto shifted around anxiously, confirming it.

“Too bad.” He opened his hand revealing a small, shiny coin. “Not the ball of light, you lose, thanks for playing!”

Despair. That was what Naruto felt at that very moment. He was tricked. That shimmer was a false lead, playing off his uncertainty perfectly. He lost. Plain and simple. He began to disappear, slowly fading into nothing as the white mist that was his soul dispersed into the surrounding nothingness. But then, he heard something very peculiar. Laughing. Naruto looked up at Death, expecting him to be laughing at his expense. Apparently, he was... but for a different reason.

“Mmpphahah, hoo boy, that gets them souls going every time… The ol’ ‘shining the coin trick’ ahahah… ah… that was a good laugh. Needed that... You’re gonna be alive no matter what happens anyway, can’t let an opportunity like that pass me by, know what I’m saying?” Death said with an amused look.

Naruto wanted to kill him now. He didn’t care. He just wanted to kill him for mocking his very being. However, being a soul, his options were severely limited to that of either bobbing and weaving or standing still. Oh how he wanted hands and feet, just to take care of funny bones...

Death stopped joking around and just waved his laughter off.

“Hoooo… Okay then. Anyway… I believe it’s time to get this underway… Ah, that’s right. There’s one more loose end. It’s about your hotel guest that was inside that swirly stomach thingy. A seal, you humans call it, I believe?”

Naruto looked back at Death. He knew about the Nine Tailed Beast? Wait… that’s right. If Naruto died, then the Nine Tailed Beast would be dead as well because the beast was connected with Naruto to begin with. Right?

“Well, as you can probably imagine, he’s dead. You’re dead, so he’s dead, as I’m sure you’ve figured out. His soul went off to some creature hell, or something like that. We, at the human embassy of death affairs, don’t account for creatures. You can see he’s not here with you, and such like that. However…” Death paused for a moment, summoning that book of his back with the snap of his fingers, before continuing in a merrier tone.

“It seems that some of his soul has mixed in with yours, which means an ‘essence’ of him is still inside you somewhere. I do not know the consequences of it still being with you, but I suggest caution, otherwise kid… You’re a vacant hotel. You’re free. Out of jail, all better in the hospital, no one poking you in the butt with a stick, or being someones sexual sl—“ He was going on and on and on trying to describe the situation as much as possible. Naruto just stared at a space above his right shoulder, waiting for him to finally stop.

“…or a dog on a chain, or a stripper bound by a contract, or a rapist who doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, or…” Death realized he was running his bony jaw off as he listed off so many things by now. He shook his head, clearing his throat to grab Naruto’s attention.

“…Anyway, in short, you’re your own person now.”

Naruto felt both happy and sad at the same time. He was finally rid of the fox, but at what cost? His death? Inside the smoke, his soul was trying to reason with itself at a hundred miles per hour. While on the outside, he stayed ever vigilant. The ultimate poker face, if you will.

Death wrote in his book, filling out the important details that were obvious with his mechanical pen. The pen had a skull on top and had a label on the back of the skull with ‘#1 Reaper’ inscribed in a flourish style of handwriting . It was kind of funny how Death would have a personal item like that. With the click of the pen, the tip went back inside and that was that. He made the book go poof with the snap of his fingers.

“Have a nice trip in your new life, kid,” he said while pulling the lever down.

…

What?

Before Naruto could do anything, his world started to swirl in place. The darkness looked like a whirlpool with white mixed in, which slowly developed into the entire light spectrum from the reddest of reds to the violet-est of violet. He felt his mist form gravitate towards the center of the spinning vortex. As his soul was sucked in, the last thing he could remember was his soul shifting and turning as all the pretty colors made him lose consciousness, or whatever consciousness Naruto even had to begin with. Everything became blank, as all was consumed…

*****

Later, in the Everfree Forest…

“Twilight, why are we in the Everfree Forest? This place gives me the creeps…”

“Because Spike, we need to get a certain kind of mushroom that grows only in this region for Pinkie Pie.”

“But does it have to be somewhere this creepy?”

…And a land with a very loud explosion.

The earth shook around a particular purple pony’s hooves and her baby dragon’s feet, the explosion no more than a few pony-lengths in front of her. However, it wasn’t just any kind of explosion. It was a big purple puff of smoke and light, expanding out as it dissipated out into the air. Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn, and Spike, the baby dragon, slowly moved towards ground zero cautiously, curiosity dominating any other instinct.

“Twilight, what was that!? It looked really dangerous!” Spike yelled as he tried to keep Twilight between him and direction the blast came from.

“I don’t know Spike, but we need to check it out.”

“I don’t know, I’d rather go home, Twi-oof!?” Spike lost his footing , tripping over something on the forest ground. Twilight turned back to see Spike on the ground, covered in dirt, a very displeased look on his face. He immediately got up and dusted off any dirt that covered him. As she checked to see if he was okay, she spotted a particular object on the ground; the very same object that Spike tripped over. She stepped around spike to get a better look, absentmindedly knocking spike over into the dirt once again.

“It’s the mushroom we’re looking for Spike! We found it!” She exclaimed with a smile. She turned towards Spike, who stared at her in disdain. “What? We found what we were looking for. Next time, watch where you step and you won’t get dirt everywhere.”

Spike opened his mouth in protest before sighing in defeat, not even trying to argue. He grudgingly caught up to Twilight, pressing forward towards the explosion, eagerly wanting to show her up in some way, shape, or form.

“I thought he said he wanted to go home, not check out the explosion... I’ll never understand him…” She sighed and raced off toward him.

What they saw near the treeline was a sight to behold. There was still some purple smoke lingering around a certain point. The purple fog lifted slowly until... a stallion came into view.

The light yellow colored earth pony stallion had a head full of blond hair that went all the way down to his ears, and all the way down his upper back, a mane, if you will. That wasn’t the strange part, though. He wore some rather strange clothing, an orange and black jacket, with some swirly patches on the shoulder areas. The stallion mumbled. It was very weak but that meant one thing. He was alive. Immediately, Twilight checked the mysterious pony, looking for any marks or injuries that might be life threatening. Thankfully, there were none. The purple unicorn lifted the stallion as gingerly as she could manage off the forest floor using her magic. She brought him close to her side and faced Spike, worry plain on her face.

“We have to get him back to Ponyville! C’mon, Spike!”

CH3: Misunderstood

Special Thanks To:

Editor: DaMobbs
Proofreader: Meeester

*****

One who is of a particular brand…

Will not find others that can understand…

This will be revealed, all in due time…

If these two powers should correctly align…

But even then, in this world of unknowns…

How will one force himself, to accept, and be shown?

*****

Chapter 3: Misunderstood

Naruto was tired; his eyelids felt heavy, and his entire mind, his body, even his own sleeping… It all felt... different. Not in a wrong kind of way, but just different. All he wanted to do was sleep…

But even if he wanted to dive into that slumbering abyss, it wasn’t happening. Something kept jabbing him in the side, sharp enough to hurt without piercing. He grudgingly dragged his mind out from under the proverbial blankets and shoved it into gear, yawning at the same time. He opened his eyes, trying to make sense of who or what was taking away from his sleep. Everything in his surroundings looked blurry and vague, like looking into a mirror after a hot shower. Blinking more rapidly, his surroundings became clearer. Bookshelves full of books, books, and more books. It looked like he was in a study, or maybe a library, or just a storage room. He blinked a few more times, still trying to fully wake himself up, when the poking began again.

“Hey, you awake, big guy? You alright?”

Naruto flinched, not expecting the voice to be inches away from his ear. It sounded childlike. He turned his head towards the voice and froze. Whatever stood next to him was covered in purple scales and had sharp, green eyes. Its underbelly, however, was green but still had the telltale scales covering the rest of its body. What seemed to be green fins stuck out at regular intervals, starting from the top of its head, ending at the tip of its tail. A lizard then, Naruto thought, but a weird one at that. Naruto blinked a few times, slightly freaked out by the lizard’s appearance but tried to remain calm, attempting to control his irregular breathing and heart rate. This was not the first time he had talked to sentient animals.

~W-who are you? Some kind of lizard thing?~ Naruto asked.

The purple lizard tilted his head, hearing an unknown language. It held its chin, as if in thought, before sitting down next to the bed.

“Wait, say that again? Didn’t catch that the first time,” the lizard said, cupping an ear with his hand.

This time it was Naruto’s turn to tilt his head in confusion. What was the lizard saying? He couldn’t understand a single word. Not a single one of it was Japanese. Or maybe he’s just losing his mind from all that sleep he had? He decided to say something just to make sure.

~Er… I didn’t catch that, what did you say?~ Naruto asked.

The Lizard raised a brow as he just shook his head and crossed his arms.

“Oh boy… Um… Language barrier...,” the lizard said. He stood up from Naruto’s side. “Um, let’s see… uh…” The lizard started using his fingers. He pointed at Naruto then down at the ground below him. Naruto looked at the ground, and then looked back up at the lizard.

It’s telling me to stay put then, he thought.

He hesitantly nodded, hoping that that was what the lizard wanted him to do. It smiled back, revealing two rows of razor-sharp, white teeth, before running out the door.

Naruto just shook his head. Where was he... and why did that lizard speak a language he’s never heard before? From what he could tell, the lizard couldn’t understand him either, so he was in quite a position. He didn’t know where he was nor speak the native language. His only form of contact was with that of a purple lizard. He scratched his head in confusion… only to realize his scratch confused him even more.

He felt something hard and rough. He paused. He was using his hand, right? He blinked a few times, not wanting to know what was scratching his head, but he needed to. He slowly brought his hand in front of his face… only to see it wasn’t a hand, but a round, circular stub: a horse’s hoof, to be exact. Naruto raised both his brows as he twisted his hoof around, examining it closely. He brought his other hand up, and it, too, was a hoof! The color in his face slowly drained away as he lifted up the covers to see what else had changed.

‘This was all a trick... some extremely elaborate genjutsu... it had to be.’ He thought.

He was still wearing his jacket, but that was where any familiarity ended. His lower end had also morphed into that of a horse, complete with a fox-like tail, swaying slightly by itself. Getting out of the bed proved to be an intense challenge as he became entangled in the sheets before hitting the floor with a solid thump. Extricating himself from the mess was just as hard due to the lack of fingers or opposable thumbs but given time, he managed. In the corner of the room, stood a tall mirror that was taller then he was. He stumbled over to it before freezing in place.

~Wha… What the hell is this!?~ He blurted out, shocked beyond all belief.

He was a freaking horse.

*****

“What do you mean you can’t understand him, Spike? All ponies speak Equish,” Twilight Sparkle asked, slightly peeved. She was busy reading a book before her assistant barreled into her room, interrupting the peaceful quiet she was thoroughly enjoying. Then again, she did ask him to let him know when their mystery pony awoke.

“No, not a word… He keeps saying a bunch of gibberish that I’ve never heard before,” Spike said, scratching his head. “It’s really weird; I never heard anything like it.”

“Well… what did he say?”

“Umm… He said something like ‘Nandato’ and ‘Nani ga Itta’… Sounds like a sandwich or something. I don’t know…”

Twilight Sparkle closed her book and sighed. None of those words sounded familiar to her either. It was a long trek finding the mushroom for Pinkie Pie and then, to top it all off, she found a mysterious earth pony at the entrance to the Everfree. What piqued her interest was just why in Equestria would a pony be hanging around the Everfree forest to begin with? Dangerous monsters lurked just within its borders. The situation was bizarre enough until her friends decided to pay her a visit after hearing about how she was dragging an unconscious pony through town.

She shooed them all away, stating that she had this situation under control and that she just needed to talk with the strange pony. Now, here she was, babysitting a pony she didn’t know—or at least Spike was—wanting to know just who he was and why he was next to the forest.

She took the book off the table using her magic, placing it back in its proper place among the bookshelves before getting to her hooves.

“Let’s see if I can figure out what he’s saying.”

*****

Naruto went back to the bed, still stumbling over his new pair of legs before laying back down. Not even ten minutes had passed since he came to, and he was already tired. As he contemplated his next move, he heard footsteps coming from the doorway. He sat up, hoping whoever came through could explain what was going on. Was it the lizard? No… the footsteps were too heavy to be that small thing. A purple horse with a beautiful purple mane walked through the open doorway. Even her eyes were purple. What seemed to be a horn extended out from her forehead—at least he assumed it was a girl, judging from the color palate and the curves of its face—and on her butt was a tattoo of a five pointed star. Two streaks of color ran down the center of her hair and continued down the tail, one red and the other a slightly lighter shade of purple.

What happened next, almost made him jump out the window.

“Can you understand me?”

It spoke. The horse thing spoke. He didn’t understand a word, but it spoke. He stared blankly at the purple horse, tilting his head at the same time.

~You can’t understand me, can you, horse, um, thingy?~

*****

As she heard the yellow pony speak, she hung her head.

“You’re right Spike, I can’t understand him either…”

“What should we do, Twilight?”

“Hmmm… Maybe...”

Twilight started to think. There had to be some way to convey herself to the pony in front of her. If words wouldn’t work, what else would? Something tugged at the recesses of her mind, struggling to get out into the light. Of course! She remembered reading a book about first contact between the Griffin Kingdom and Equestria a few weeks ago. Princess Celestia herself figured out how to communicate with other sentient species that spoke different languages using a modified telepathy spell.

“Hey Spike?! Could you grab that book on Pony/Griffin History?! I know I left it somewhere in my study!” she yelled down the staircase.

An affirmative grunt was heard before, moments later, spike trudged into the room, carrying the book in question. She grabbed the book using her magic, sending Spike sprawling onto the floor, clearly not expecting such a rapid exchange. Still nonplussed, he muttered to himself as he walked back downstairs, presumably to finish his daily chores. She opened the book, scanning for the pages detailing the spell, before stopping at a seemingly random section. A few seconds later she had the basics of the spell memorized and ready to use.

“It’s alright… I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just going to see if I can read your thoughts… that’s all…” Twilight’s horn shined with magic as she brought it up towards Naruto’s forehead. Naruto didn’t shy away, now staring avidly at the shining horn. With a small jolt, her horn touched his forehead, sending a small shock through his body, giving him a slight headache.

Twilight closed her eyes, focusing more magic into the spell, trying to probe Naruto’s head for any way to communicate. Naruto was a bit scared. Whatever she was doing, something felt off. Almost like an itch on the nape of his neck or that eery feeling when you think your not alone in an empty room.

‘Can you hear me?’

Naruto blinked, his eyes now the size of saucers. What was that?

‘I said can you hear me? Can you understand me? I’m trying to talk to you through my thoughts.’

Whoever was speaking, it still didn’t make a lick of sense. Now he was just plain aggravated. The headache was becoming more painful as each second ticked by, and he was still stuck at square one. It was the purple horse’s doing with that stupid, shiny horn, he thought to himself. He lifted his front leg, shoving the horse away from his head.

That's when it happened.

As he distanced his forehead from the tip of her horn, a bright purple line of... something was attached to either end. Before he could think about it even more, Twilight opened her eyes in shock, the once solid purple beam of light changing into a bubbling red. The beam of light slowly collapsed in on itself. Then it exploded.

The house rocked slightly as the small explosion took place in the library, filling it with red smoke and sending them both into coughing fits. Naruto tried to speak, coughing all the while.

“*cough*, w-what the heck just happened *cough* you darn horse-!?” Naruto said before stopping himself. Something was off. Did he just speak differently? But it sounded all the same to him.

Even Twilight tried to speak through the smoke.

“Spike, who are you calling… cough… a darn horse!?” Twilight said in the smoke. Spike ran in through the doorway, seemingly unaffected by the smoke, worry written all over his face.

“Twilight! Are you okay!? I... didn’t call you a darn horse...” said Spike, now slightly confused.

As the smoke cleared up and the coughing fits stopped, he could see both of them, wondering what just happened. Naruto actually understood what they just said. His mouth felt different, but he could understand what he was saying too. Did that freak accident have something to do with it?

“Hey… I can understand you!” Naruto said in gleefully.

Twilight and Spike went wide-eyed as they saw AND heard Naruto talk!

“I… I can understand you too!” Twilight said with a smile.

“M-Me too!” Spike said.

“B… But how? What was that weird glowy thing you just did to me? I couldn’t understand you before!” Naruto asked, curious.

“Neither could we!” Twilight said.

“So how…?”

“I… I don’t know…” she said with a frown. “I was trying to read your thoughts, so maybe I could find some way to understand you, but then something interrupted the flow...” She trailed off into incoherent mumbling. She didn’t know what happened nor could she explain it.

“Maybe your spell backfired, Twilight?” said Spike.

“No! It couldn’t have been, I had it right…”

Twilight slumped onto the floor, feeling a bit ashamed and refusing to believe it had backfired. She always thought her magic was perfect to the T, but that was just wishful thinking at best. Then Naruto spoke up.

“If you ask me…” He sat up onto his haunches, both forelegs behind his head, ”I think that mistake was a rather good one. Now we can all understand each other. I mean, what more could you want?”

Twilight lifted her head up and stared back at Naruto. He sported a magnificent grin, rivaling that of Pinkie Pie. She found herself smiling back.

“Really?”

“Believe it!”

Twilight shook her head, a blush slowly invading her cheeks. “Well… thanks, I guess. It all worked out after all!” Naruto nodded, satisfied that she wasn’t sad any more. One crying girl was enough.

“I do have one question though…” Naruto asked. Twilight looked back, brow raised.

“What is it?”

The blonde pony scratched his head with his own hoof, still trying to get used to the odd feeling of no-fingers.

“Where am I?”

*****

CH4: Brainstorm

Special Thanks To:
Editor: DaMobbs
Proofreader & Pre-Reader: Axel_Nyan & Lord Sunder

*****

The Unknown has Lifted,

No Longer is one Dinted

But Knowing Where one is

Will one fall into bliss?

*****

Chapter 4: Brainstorm

“Well, you’re in my house, the library section, to be more precise. You know... full of books, novels, and poetry amongst other things. I mean where else could you be?” Twilight giggled.

Naruto scratched his head with a hoof. He paused, bringing it back down in front of his face to get a good long look at it. The feeling still threw him off. It made him nervous. So, he was in a library. Made sense, but that wasn’t what he wanted to know.

“Actually, that’s not what I meant... um… what was your name again?” Naruto asked, slightly embarrassed. Twilight smiled.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I haven’t even introduced myself yet! I’m Twilight Sparkle,” she said as she put a hoof on the lizard’s head, “And while we’re on introductions, this here is Spike, my number one assistant.” Her gentle patting evolved into a small noogie on the purple lizard’s head, which he batted off almost instantly, looking slightly aggravated.

“Hey, I’m not just some assistant, I’m a handsome dragon who gets all the ladies!”

…

There was a brief silence as Naruto stared at the purple dragon, a single sweat drop rolling down his face. Did he just call himself a dragon? he asked himself. Naruto merely shook his head, trying to get his brain back on track.

“I’m, um, Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you, I think?” he nervously stated. What a weird name, he thought. Spike sounded normal enough, but Twilight Sparkle? Was that her first name or was that a combination of the two? He didn’t know. Twilight wrinkled her brow.

“Nah…rue... toh?” Twilight enunciated, trying to sound out the odd name. “That… is a rather strange name. Sorry, but I’ve never heard of such a name or pronunciation before…”

“Yeah… I guess everyone finds my name a bit strange…” He never understood why his name sounded strange to everyone he met. Maybe she just thought the pronunciation was weird. He just shrugged. “It’s my name, though, so…”

“Oh, of course! Don’t take it the wrong way, I just-”

“No, course not!”

Another awkward silence. That is, until Spike spoke up, tugging on Twilight’s mane.

“Why are you so quiet, Twilight? I thought you’d be bombarding him with questions by now,” Spike whispered, glancing back at the orange pony.

“I’m thinking, Spike. It’s not often we have a foreign pony over for a chat…” Twilight whispered back.

“Um…”

Naruto tried to speak up. He still had questions that needed answers, and the sooner he got them, the better.

“Yes, um… Naruto, right?”

“Yeah… Um, just exactly ‘WHERE’ are we? What country am I in? What city is this? Where’s the nearest ramen shop? You know, the important things.”

Twilight looked at Naruto with a mixture of understanding and confusion written on her face, the latter mostly at his last question. She giggled quietly before standing up and motioning towards the door with a hoof.

“In that case, let’s head down to the living area. I’m sure we can find the answers to your questions, either through me, Spike, or the library’s books. Besides that, I have a few questions of my own that I need answered. I sense a mutually beneficial trade in the foreseeable future.”

Naruto couldn’t disagree with that. He didn’t know where he was nor how he arrived here in the first place. It was a good opportunity. As he followed Twilight down, he kept stumbling, still not used to using four legs instead of two. Twilight raised a brow as she turned her head.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just give me a second. Grrr... I’ll have walking mastered by the end of the day, believe it!”

Twilight blinked, confused by Naruto’s strange answer.

*****

In the living area, Naruto sat down on a comfortable two-seater couch, a brown wooden coffee table in front of him, while Twilight and Spike sat across from him on a similar couch. Spike was leaning back, relaxing, having just gotten back from making tea for everypony. Twilight poured herself some tea before sipping from the teacup gingerly. In Naruto's’ eyes, she looked sophisticated. The times he’d dealt with sophisticated people had been far and few between, mostly having dealt with nobles and royalty. The clatter of tea-ware brought his attention back to the present.

“So then,” Twilight said, putting her front hooves together, “What exactly do you want to know, Naruto?”

This was as good a time than any. There were so many questions that required answers, that trying to choose one was like forcing him to say what his favorite flavor of ramen was. Needless to say, that was impossible. However, he needed to start somewhere. Might as well start with something blunt and direct.

“What am I?”

There’s always a thing when it came to Naruto’s first question. It was always a doozy. Twilight’s face stayed neutral, although slight twitching was evident around the eyes and mouth. Eventually, she responded.

“…You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m not… Believe me, it’s going to get weirder... heh heh…” Naruto said, chuckling awkwardly. He didn’t know why he thought that was funny, but he needed to laugh at something. This was all too surreal to be just a dream. Twilight rubbed her chin, before shrugging and continuing on as if nothing had happened.

“Well, we’re all ponies, or if you want it scientifically, Equus Caballus. There are three kinds of ponies. For starters, you,” she said, gesturing in Naruto’s direction, “Are an earth pony. Out of the three species, you are most in tune with the earth and nature. Now I’m a unicorn, as you can see by my horn,” Twilight tapped her horn with a hoof a few times for emphasis. “You at least know what a unicorn is, right?”

Naruto nodded. Indeed, he had heard of a unicorn before, at least in fairy tales. He used to sneak into the bookstore now and again to read. That is, unless he was being pelted with rocks and slander by the other villagers for being a Jinchuuriki. Those were dark times for Naruto. Very dark times.

“I’ve heard… what unicorns are, but I never thought I’d actually get to meet one.” Twilight looked slightly taken aback.

“Wait, you mean you have never, in your ENTIRE life, seen an actual unicorn?” Naruto nodded in confirmation. Twilight just grew more confused and irritated.

“You… I mean, for Celestia’s sake, were you born yesterday?!”

“Maybe… I don’t know where I am, what I am, and I certainly didn’t have these hooves before,” he said, waving a fore-hoof around for emphasis, ”I had fingers and feet, like that lizard thing has.” He pointed at Spike, who straightened up and pounded his chest with a clawed fist.

“Hey buddy! I ain’t no ‘lizard-thing’! I, am a dragon. Try calling me a lizard one more time, I dare ya.”

“Geez, calm down. Big baby...” Naruto said with a smirk. Spike simply looked at him with scorn, picking up a piece of random paper and setting it alight in front of Naruto’s eyes. Naruto looked at the pile of ash at Spike’s feet, gulping, before saying, “... who can breathe fire at will.”

Twilight’s head spun at Naruto’s answers. The only pony who confused her to such a level was Pinkie Pie. Even then, it was Pinkie Pie. Her crazy shenanigans were extremely frustrating to figure out. Even her analytical skills proved useless against the force that was the pink menace. She chalked up everything involving the pink pony to just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. No explanation necessary, but for a rather normal earth pony...

She leaned forward, placing her hoof on Naruto’s forehead, trying to see if he was delirious from a fever. It made Naruto flinch, apparently not expecting physical contact. Twilight furrowed her brow, trying to feel for anything out of the ordinary.

“Are you sure you’re alright? Fever? Headache? Nausea?”

“No, I’m fine…” Naruto waved her hoof off of his forehead, but as he did, he realized what bugged him about the touch. His Konoha forehead protector was missing. He looked around frantically, hoping to see a glimmer of steel anywhere in the room.

“Twilight, was I wearing a headband with a plate of metal on the front?” Naruto asked. Twilight widened her eyes, as if discovering something previously undiscovered.

“Yes! That’s right! Your headband! Spike, you know where it is, don’t you? Could you go grab it from my study?” She said as she nudged Spike with her hoof.

“Me? Why?” he grumbled back in response.

“I need to talk to Naruto more. You’re not doing anything else after all… are you?” Spike grudgingly nodded back.

“I’m relaxing on the couch. It’s more important…”

“No, it’s not. Go grab the headband, Spike.”

Defeated, Spike got off the couch and started the march up the stairs to her private study. He mumbled under his breath, mostly incoherent with a few tidbits about how much of a slave driver Twilight was. Naruto just snickered to himself, enjoying Spike’s annoyed reaction. Twilight coughed forcefully, grabbing Naruto’s attention once again.

“Right then. While he does that, let’s continue where we left off. You said before that you don’t know where you are, right?” He nodded. ”Well, obviously you’re in my house. It’s a big library of books, but it doubles as my home. We’re not actually in the official library section, but the books here are of my own personal collection. I love to read,” She said, stretching her arms out to emphasize the amount of books in this room alone. She brought her hooves down before placing them under her chin. “Right now, you’re in Ponyville, located in the land of Equestria. Princess Celestia rules over this land, along with her sister, Princess Luna. Not only ponies live in Equestria. Diamond Dogs, Griffins, Dragons, and others inhabit the land. Anything else?”

Naruto couldn’t help it. He just stared at Twilight, jaw slack and halfway to the floor. Had he just walked into a fairy-tale? He had to ask one more question, at the very least: How high exactly was he? Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to ask, still dumbstruck at Twilight’s brief summary.

It felt like he was dreaming. A dream that he couldn’t force himself to wake up from. Twilight frowned, disbelief all over Naruto’s face. She got up off the couch and motioned for Naruto to join her by the window.

“Maybe a visual aid is in order. Come here and look outside.”

Naruto got up from the couch and followed her to a glass pane window. She got up on her hind hooves and pushed opening both sides of window. A cool breeze brought fresh air into the library, it’s cool touch making him shiver slightly. Twilight looked at him curiously before nodding with her head outside, inviting him to take a look. He took a calming breath, preparing him for what he was about to see, before sticking his head out the window. He almost immediately fell back on his ass, simply dumbfounded. He closed his eyes while shaking his head, trying to process what he just saw. I’m hallucinating... I’ve finally gone crazy, he thought. He decided to take a gander one more time, just to double check.

Outside, it was a clear, sunny afternoon. He could see people… no, horses all around, or ponies as Twilight had said, going about their everyday lives. He saw one sky-blue pony in a heated argument with a merchant over what seemed to be cherries. A little further away, two ponies were chatting about something apparently humorous as they burst out giggling and laughing a second later. Below, a big, red stallion pulled a cart laden with apples, chatting with a smaller pony with a red bow in it’s hair as they moved down the road. A bright, pink pony caught his eye, bouncing around as though she just swallowed a handful of soldier pills and then some. Were all these ponies so damn colorful?

Naruto slowly backed away from the window, shaking his head with his eyes closed, trying to wake himself up from this technicolor dream. But no, it was all real, and he was stuck in it. Stuck forever in this world of the unknown. Everything he worked for in his original world, everyone he met, all of his friends… meant nothing anymore… But wait, that reminded him.

“How did I even get here to begin with…” Twilight raised a brow at his sudden question.

“You don’t know? Spike and I found you near the Everfree Forest.”

“What’s the Everfree Forest?”

“You’re kidding... Right?”

Naruto shook his head. Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes, before continuing.

“You know, the Everfree Forest? Dangerous place. Tons of monsters that gobble up anything and everything. Clouds form on their own. Plants and animals grow by themselves… We found you sprawled out on the ground, unconscious, by the entrance. There was an explosion and purple smoke everywhere. Weird, now that I think about it, even if it was in the Everfree.”

His headache came back, thumping away at his brain with a hammer. This was too much. Too much to take in all at once. He needed time to straighten out his thoughts and figure out his priorities.

“Umm, Twilight Sparkle. Can I have a few moments to myself? I need to think about this... All of this... It’s... simply overwhelming...” Twilight simply nodded.

“Of course Naruto, take all the time you need. If what you say is true, then this must be a lot to take in all at once. If I was in your hooves right now, I’d have been freaking out a long time ago. Besides, I need some time to think about this as well...” She proceeded out the door, muttering to herself. “Grr... What’s taking Spike so long? I swear, if I catch him eating some of my mint chocolate chip ice cream again... ” her voice trailed off as she left the room, leaving Naruto to wallow in his thoughts.

*****

Equestria. Ponies. Unicorns. Ponyville… Stuff that would fit right in a fantasy book and he was living in it. Hell, even he had been turned into one too. He tried to remember his last few days in the Land of Fire. He thought back to when he had arrived in Konoha after a grueling escort mission. Yajirobi came to the forefront of his memories, him and that straw hat of his. This situation was caused by him. Teasing Naruto about alchemy, giving him that vitamin potion, lying about how it would help him, everything was a lie. What did it get him? A one way ticket to the next life. His last memory was of excruciating pain and something flat, hard, and cold. No... Wait...

It was fuzzy, but he could recall something else. A black robed person, going on about how he was dead, giving him a new life… and something about marrying a caveman and a horse. He face-hoofed, feeling very disturbed at what he just recalled. But getting back to his memories in hand… He was given a second chance in life… just not the one he had left. He banged his hoofs on the window sill, anger coursing through his veins.

If he was going to be given a second chance in life, it should have been in his own world, not this world full of magic and ponies. Was this his version of a sick joke? Or was there another reason for it... So many questions and so little answers, Naruto thought. As he started to flesh out other important details, such as the possibility of returning to his own world or if they have a pony equivalent to ramen, the sun dipped below the horizon, darkness blanketing the town.

Naruto snapped out of his memories from the absence of light. How long had he been standing there, thinking? He took his hoofs off the window sill and proceeded to stretch, much like that of a cat. He finished by cracking his neck twice, once to the left and right, before sighing in relief. Turning around, he found Twilight a few paces away sitting down, facing him. She waved at him with a small smile on her face.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Yeah… I’m… fine, I think. Thinking about things helped me clear my mind a bit, I think.” Twilight nodded. As she did, Naruto noticed a metallic sheen on her forehead, right above where her horn stuck out from her head. He pointed at her forehead, more specifically, at the swirling symbol now visible through her hair.

“Is that my…”

Twilight blinked. She followed his line of sight to her forehead and tapped on it with her hoof, eliciting a metallic ping sound. She gasped before using her magic to take it off and fold it onto itself, the metal plate facing skywards.“Oh, right. Uh, I kinda forgot I had that on. I found Spike asleep on my cushion in my study. That baby still tries to shirk his responsibilities, I swear…” Twilight said, as she rolled her eyes. “It was still on my table so I picked it up to hand it to you. I put it on to see what it would feel like and...” She twiddled with her front hooves nervously. “I guess I forgot I even had it on. Hehe...”

She placed the small bundle of fabric in front of him. At least some things haven’t changed, he thought. The metal was polished to a shine, the scratches embedded into the plate stuck out like a sore-thumb, souvenirs of past missions and training. The black strap was still as soft as the first day he donned the protector. The icon of the Village of the Leaves embedded into the plate dead center, a constant reminder of his duty as a ninja. He couldn’t help but smile weakly at it, knowing that he probably would never see his home again, stuck in this world or his friends ever again. Regardless, it was a part of him. A part which he would never ever give up.

Reaching out with his hoof, he tried to grab the headband, only to realize halfway there that he lacked opposable thumbs. He furrowed his brow and then lifted his other hoof to help pick it up… only to fall flat on his face when his frontal support disappeared. He rubbed his nose in pain, irritation at his new body growing bigger.

Twilight was dumbfounded. It really did look like he was born yesterday. She stared at him a few moments more before lending him a helping hoof. She levitated the headband onto Naruto’s forehead. Still not being used to the sight of magic, he froze, his eyes watching the protector float onto his head. She wrapped the headband around his head, and tied a firm knot in the back. Naruto closed his eyes and placed a hoof on his forehead, the solid weight easing away some unknown tension.

He felt more complete now, this headband took him into many successful battles back in his own world. This headband that he received from Iruka-sensei all so long ago... He took a deep breath and exhaled, opening his eyes once more.

“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.” Naruto said smiling. Twilight merely smiled back.

“You’re welcome Naruto… Oh, and drop the Sparkle. My friends just call me Twilight.”

“Well, feel free to keep calling me Naruto then, heh heh…” It only took a little chuckle for the tension in the room to finally break, making them both laugh well on into the night.

*****

Since Naruto had nowhere to go for the night, Twilight graciously offered him her spare guest room. Naruto didn’t want to intrude but Twilight insisted. Having a pony with no knowledge of the outside world wandering around at night was stupid to say the least. Naruto couldn’t believe this show of hospitality. Anyone else would’ve just tossed him out like the demon he was.

As Naruto fell into the clutches of dreamland, Twilight stared at his sleeping form. Despite the confusion and weirdness of this particular pony, she couldn’t help but find him somewhat cute. Especially that fox-like tail of his and those whisker marks on his face. The things she could do with-Oh by Celestia! What was she thinking? She merely shook her head as she retreated off to her own study.

In her study, Spike was organizing all the books she used from her last study spree. As she walked in, Spike turned around, books in one hand, the other with a handful of scrolls.

“Took you long enough Twilight. You think you could lighten up on the study binges to twice a week? I’ve re-shelved the entire study at least five times this week!” Spike placed the books on the shelves and shoved the scrolls into a bin labeled ‘In Progress’. “You feeling alright Twilight? You’re face is a little red-”

“What!? No I’m fine! Nothing wrong here. Nope!”

“Uh huh... well if you say so. Anything else you need done before I hit the sack? My blankee is calling my name.”

“Oh! Spike, take a letter. We need to let Princess Celestia know about this. I might as well include this with my friendship report.” Spike merely nodded, pulling out a scroll , quill, and inkwell before looking back at Twilight. Twilight took a deep breath as she said:

*****

Dear Princess Celestia,

It has come to my attention that when it comes to helping someone in need, no matter how strange or confused they are, it is always right to help them out in their time of need, always going as far as making sure they are safe and comfortable. I have found a strange and odd pony near the Everfree Forest. He’s unlike any other pony I’ve ever seen before. It’s as though he wasn’t born a pony. My first thought was amnesia, but I've ruled that out from our conversations with each other. I am hoping to hear from you soon about this matter.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

P.S. He seems to have a fox-like tail, if that helps at all.

*****

As Spike finished the letter, he rolled it up and set the quill back into his pouch. A second later, the scroll went up in green flames, the smoke traveling out the open window and into the night sky. Twilight walked over to the window and looked in the direction of Canterlot, its bright lights visible through the dark despite the distance.

“I hope she can help… She always has…”

*****

In Canterlot, more specifically in the Royal Castle of the Princesses, a white alicorn lay next to a crackling fireplace, trying to fight off the night chills ever so prevalent in the castle. Sporting a majestic, multi-colored mane that moved as if caught by a slow underwater current, Princess Celestia was relaxing after another hard day’s work. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth the fire gave her before a slight popping noise caught her attention. She opened her eyes to find a scroll bearing the mark of her pupil lying on the floor in front of her. A delightful smile grew on her face. After a long day’s work, hearing from her pupil on her studies on friendship and such was a treat.

She picked up the scroll and unraveled it in front of her, the fire illuminating the entire paper. As she progressed through the letter, Twilight’s mention of this strange, foreign pony peaked her interest. There’s always a first time for everything, she thought. What she found most peculiar about this pony was that he had a tail like a fox. This was something she would follow very closely for the time being.

CH5: Tour De La Ponyville

Special Thanks:

Editor: DaMobbs
Proofreaders: Lord Sunder & Axel_Nyan

*****

Eternal Rest no More

For one That Shall Walk out Through that Door…

There are Experiences to be Had

So Aren’t You Glad?

Friends are Easy to Find and Greet...

So When are you Going to Eat?

*****

Chapter 5: Tour De La Ponyville

Twilight sat on one of her sofas, an open fiction novel levitating in front of her. Every couple of minutes, she would flip the page using her magic, seemingly engrossed in the book. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Spike making his way through the library, feather duster in hand, dusting off any surfaces. She lowered her book slightly.

“Spike, stop spreading dust everywhere. All you’re doing is just agitating it!”

Spike stopped dusting, turned to face her, and crossed both arms. His pink apron really stood out when he folded his arms, the words ‘#1 Assistant’ in plain view.

“Well excuse me, Princess. This feather duster isn’t a dust vacuum, it’s a duster! How else am I going to get all this dust cleared away?” Spike asked, slightly annoyed.

She merely rolled her eyes, emitting an ‘Ugh’ sound, before returning her attention to the book in front of her. As if on cue, a crashing noise came from the stairway, quickly growing in volume. She sat up with a start as she saw somepony tumble down the steps. A flash of blond hair caught her eye as the yellow object hit the floor with a sickening thud.

The blond sat up slowly while shaking his head, trying to regain his bearings.

“Darn it… It’s even harder to walk on steps like this,” the blond said. Twilight put her book down and trotted over to him before offering a hoof.

“Naruto, are you alright?” asked Twilight.

Naruto looked up at Twilight and nodded, placing his hoof on hers to help himself back up. He stretched out each leg before cracking his neck two times, once right and once left.

“I’m good… These steps are nothing”, he said as he turned around to face the steps, pointing at them with a hoof. “You hear that steps? You haven’t defeated me yet! I will beat you some day, believe it!”

Twilight’s face went from that of concern to confusion almost instantly. She blinked a couple of times and smiled.

“Well you’re certainly more energetic than you were yesterday. I’m glad to see that.”

Naruto turned towards Twilight sporting a sheepish grin. He certainly did feel better after all that thinking and a good night’s rest. It wasn’t very often he was shown such hospitality, even in his own world. That line of thought brought something very important to the forefront of his mind.

“By the way Twilight, this place is called… um, Ponyville, right?”

“That’s right,” she replied with a firm nod.

“Any interesting places around here then? I mean…”, Naruto started. He gestured at the room with a free hoof. “Your home is pretty cool, so I’m really curious to see what it’s like on the outside too!”

Twilight blushed slightly from the complement. “Well duh, of course. There are lots of things to show you in Ponyville. Are you still up for that tour I mentioned last night?” Naruto nodded and Twilight smiled once more. “Great!”

Twilight was about to walk out the door with Naruto in tow, until she turned to look at Spike. She eyed the purple dragon carefully, watching as he went about his cleaning duties and reorganization of unshelved books. She frowned, mostly due to the fact that he was taking longer than normal to finish.

“This room better be clean when I get back Spike. If it is, I might throw in a Red Diamond for dessert tonight.” Twilight said. The dragon froze when he heard her say ‘Red Diamond’ and found himself drooling almost uncontrollably. If anyone appreciated jewels, Spike definitely did. Well, at least his stomach did.

He snapped out of his daydream of ice cream and jewels before snapping into a militaristic salute.

“You can count on me Twilight!”

*****

Naruto and Twilight found themselves walking down the main street of Ponyville, a cool breeze whisking past them bringing with a plethora of different smells. Flowers and freshly baked bread were the most dominant in the air. Ponies were out and about, some idly standing around enjoying the great day while others were in a rush to get to where they were going. Rustic houses and small gardens lined the street, each garden filled with vegetables, flowers, or a dazzling combination of both.

They passed by what seemed to be the market area. Market stalls stuffed to the brim with a bunch of different goods lined the square, each with a pony advertising their own goods. Ponies meandered around stall to stall picking up what they wanted, their wallet slowly growing emptier. From first glance, it was a pretty prosperous town, reminding him of the ones he passed through when he travelled through his world. It made him slightly homesick but he would get used to it eventually. Twilight noticed Naruto’s expression and stopped walking.

“Is something wrong Naruto?” Twilight asked. Naruto stopped as well and looked at her.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just… I didn’t notice before, but the air here… it’s so clean and fresh... and it feels… peaceful here.” Naruto said. Twilight tilted her head at this, but still gave a cheery smile.

“Well, feel free to breathe whatever air is around. It’s not going anywhere soon,” she giggled. This made Naruto chuckle. As he did, a small gurgling sound came from Naruto’s stomach. He looked down embarrassed as he scratched his head with his hoof.

“Eh heh… Guess Mr. Hungry down there doesn’t like the fact I haven’t eaten since yesterday, um…”, he said with a sheepish smile. “Any place to grab a bite to eat around here? I’m starving.”

“Sure, I know a nice sweets shop around here that we could go to. Would that be fine? I’m feeling a bit peckish myself.” A sweets shop… When was the last time Naruto had any sweets? It didn’t sound too filling, but then again beggars can’t be choosers.

“Lead the way! Haha.”

As they continued walking down the street, something caught his eye. It was a house... of gingerbread.Complete with graham crackers, icing, cherries, sprinkles, and gumdrops. He hadn’t seen anything that amazing before. He stood there in awe, his mouth slightly drooling. He looked at Twilight, the corner of his mouth starting to twitch.

“Do we have to eat that entire house? I mean, even I have limits...” Twilight giggled.

“Why of course we have to eat the entire house. Legends say that the first pony to eat it all in one sitting will never have to worry about going hungry ever again.” Twilight said sarcastically.

“Ha ha, very funny Twilight, mocking my hunger like that…” He said with a chuckle. In response, his stomach gurgled again. A slight red blush grew on his face as he walked towards the building with Twilight.

“This is Sugarcube corner. Mr. and Mrs. Cake run the place and they can make just about anything that includes sweets. A friend of mine even works there and she enjoys what she does,“ she said with a smile, ”But she can be pretty crazy at times.”

“I can’t wait to try out whatever they have here then! Although… Why would you call your friend crazy?”

“Well... you’ll see...”

*****

Inside was actually pretty stylish. Rows of cakes, cupcakes, pies, cookies and whatnot lay on shelves and inside glass cases. It could have passed as a candy shop if not for the cakes on display. As they took looked at all the sweets, a high, obnoxious voice came from the doorway behind the counter.

“Oooh! Customers, customers! Welcome!” A flash of pink whizzed out the door and abruptly stopped in front of them. The pony had a pink coat of fur, hair of even lighter pink and a trio of party balloons on her flank. Naruto tilted his head as Twilight giggled.

“Hey there Pinkie Pie. How’s business?” Twilight said to the hyperactive pink pony.

“It’s going great Twilight! Ooh!” In yet another pink flash, Naruto found himself nose to nose with the new pony. He flinched backward slightly, his personal bubble having been popped rather instantaneously. However, it didn’t stop there. Pinkie Pie bent her head and neck in such impossible ways to examine every inch of his body that trying to follow it all made him dizzy.

“Ooh, ooh, ooh! Who’s this? He looks like a cat but maybe he’s a cat pony?” She poked her hoof at Naruto’s face. “What with the whisker marks…” She then brings her hoof up towards his ear. “And the spiky hair…” She caught sight of his tail and lunged for it, encasing it in a full body hug. “And this beautiful and fluffy foxtail of his…!” The pony paused, somehow floating above the ground, wrapped around his tail. “Wait… Foxtail? Why would a cat have a foxtail? Maybe you’re a catfox! Hee hee! No, Wait! A foxcat!”

What Twilight mentioned to him earlier was an understatement. She looked like she was in a constant sugar rush with a handful of soldier pills thrown in for kicks. He never saw anyone or anything move that fast before. Even some of the ninjas back in Konoha couldn’t hold a candle to her speed and dexterity. Nonetheless, he felt more uncomfortable every second she was near him, that is, until he heard her call his tail a ‘foxtail’. Naruto furrowed his brows in thought and looked back. Now that he stopped to think about it, it did resemble a fox’s tail. It was bright orange with the tip a snow white color. Twilight came to the same conclusion as she gasped in realization.

“Hey, you’re right Pinkie! I’ve never seen a tail like this on a pony before…”, she said as she leaned in for a closer look. “I wonder why I didn’t notice it before…” Apparently, ponies have no sense of the term ‘personal space’ as she also latched onto his tail. “...But it looks soooo cute!”

Naruto grit his teeth trying to stay calm. Their touching of his tail sent weird sensations up his spine. It felt extremely weird and invasive. He tried to flick his tail away from the two ponies but had trouble at first. Trying to control an extra limb you’ve suddenly acquired takes deliberate thought and concentration, something that he lacked almost entirely. However, his tail complied and the mares just ‘awwed’ as it moved through the air.

“Personal... Space...”, he said, elaborating each world with a hoof stomp on the ground. ”A-anyway, what’s so strange about my tail?” He didn’t know why he had this tail but he had a feeling they wouldn’t know how he got it either, so he just played it off. “So I have a tail like this… I’m sure others have similar tails, right?”

“I don’t think so! I know eeeeeverypony in Ponyville,” she said darting off towards Naruto’s tail once more to resume her crusade over its fluff. “And I don’t know aaaaanypony here that has such a tail as yours! Especially with it being so fluffy…” She started pressing against it once more, “And cuuuute…”

Naruto flicked his tail away again, the weird tingling sensation from being touched still hanging around..

“C-can we just get our food and go Twilight?” Twilight looked abashed, bringing up a hoof to cover her mouth.

“Oh, right! Of course! Pinkie Pie, you can adore his tail some other time…” Naruto squinted at her from that comment, as if Twilight forgot she adored his tail too… “But we’d like to buy some of your cake, if you don’t mind?”

Pinkie’s eyes widened in glee. “Ooh! I didn’t know you two came here to buy some sweets! Well, what do you and Whiskers want to eat?”

Naruto placed his hoof at his nose, as if trying to pinch the base of it… But since he had no fingers, it looked like he facehoofed instead. “My name... is Naruto... not Whiskers, all right?”

Pinkie Pie tilted her head, her mouth in an O shape.

“Nah-rue-toh? Sounds like a piece of candy, or maybe a sandwich, or actually, maybe it sounds like a cat—“

“For the love of Celestia, can we just purchase a couple of cherry pastries?!” Twilight interrupted with a shout.

*****

Naruto bit into a cherry pastry he had in one hoof, which he learned to curl his forehoof around. It proved to be a challenge as he was still adapting to this new body and its’ four legs. At least he wasn’t falling over every other step now, but that was with four legs to support him. With the pastry taking up a leg, the other three had to compensate for the fourth’s absence. Thankfully, nothing major happened concerning the ground and his face.

The crunchy, yet moist bread gave way to the delectable cherry filling inside as he took bite after savory bite. Naruto smiled, enjoying every morsel of the pastry to its utmost fullest . As they walked, Naruto started up some small talk to pass the time.

“I had no idea that pink pony would be so... well, crazy. It’s like she’s in an indefinite sugar rush without the crash.”

“Oh don’t worry about it. That’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. She’s always like that.”

“Well… Alright.”

As they walked, a rather exquisite looking building came into view. It was just as colorful, if not more so, than its’ neighbors but that wasn’t what caught his eye. It resembled something like a carousel out of a noble’s festival than an actual building. If not for the door and windows, he would have thought it was actually a real carousel. Twilight followed his line of sight before gasping slightly.

“Oh, you’ve never been to Rarity’s boutique here before, have you?” Naruto shook his head at Twilight’s question. “Well, let me show you the place. We’re good friends and her store is probably the best place for pony clothes in all of Equestria. Her tailoring skills are ‘top notch’, as she would say.”

Naruto shrugged. “Alright, sure! Let’s go!” They both finished off their pastries at the same time before proceeding towards the boutique.

*****

As they walked the doorway, Naruto could see vast amounts of clothes, tailoring tools, and mannequins scattered all around. This was, indeed, a tailoring shop. A small voice drew his eyes toward a snow white unicorn. She appeared to be concentrating on a mannequin which was on an elevated platform surrounded by mirrors. She was wearing red glasses and had a tape measurer hanging loosely around her neck. Her purple hair was styled in such a way that it curled and swirled around itself.

“Hmmm, this simply won’t do… It needs to be somewhat longer…”, the white unicorn said, taking a few measurements with her tape measurer. She turned away from the mannequin that had the unfinished design and walked to a table with piles of fabrics.

“Uhh.. Rarity? Are you busy?” Twilight said, trying to get the white pony’s attention. Rarity’s head popped up from the table and turned to face her smiling in delight.

“Oh, hello deary! How are—you…!?” Rarity’s smile turned into that of absolute horror. Her jaw dropped as she saw Naruto. Her eyes darted all over his body, apparently giving him a once over to end all once overs. He froze in place, not wanting to elicit something like the crazed pink pony from before out of someone else by accident. Then her eyes slowly crawled to the back of her head and she collapsed on the ground unconscious. Twilight had already sprung to action, her horn glowing to slow the white pony’s fall before catching her in her hooves.

“Rarity?! Wake up! What’s wrong? What happened?!” She said as she shook her repeatedly, trying to wake her up. Instead of helping, Naruto just scratched his chin trying to stifle a giggle.

“I know I’m good looking, but not THAT good…” Naruto said with a chuckle. Twilight turned and voiced her own opinion at a much higher decibel level.

“Stop clowning around and help me Naruto!”

After a few more seconds of jostling and shaking, Rarity came to albeit slightly dazed and confused.

“Uhhnn…”, she groaned, rubbing her head. “Where am I…?” She locked eyes with Naruto once again before he pupils became the size of pin needles.

“EEEEEKKK!! THAT LOOK!” The sheer volume caused Naruto to stagger and fall on his ass. Rarity immediately stood up and looked at him with a repulsively.

“Just what are you wearing!?” She immediately walked to Naruto and picked up a corner of his jacket with a hoof. “This terrible orange color scheme…” she then started ruffling Naruto’s hair, “and that AWFUL hair! You look positively dreadful darling! How can you stand to walk around like this!? I mean-”

Naruto was about to say something about how insulting she was being—especially since he loved the look himself—but caught himself when she froze and stared at an area behind him. He followed her eyes and found them fixed on his furry tail. She approached it. Naruto rolled his eyes in annoyance, waiting for the stream of insults about his weird tail as well. However, a familiar tingling went up his spine/ He whipped his head around to find the white pony hugging and petting his tail.

“Oh my…! This tail…! It’s simply wonderful! Your fashion sense may be horrible, but your tail… It just screams style!”

Once again, Naruto had to flick his tail away from another clingy pony, now hugging it to protect it from being assaulted by everybody else.

“Ok, what gives?! What’s with everybody and hugging my tail? That’s the third time today!” Naruto complained. Rarity backed away a couple of steps.

“I’m not surprised, darling! Your tail is simply fabulous! Ohh, it’s such a shame I do not have something as high quality as that. It would be simply divine!” Naruto began to inch his way towards the door.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, um… Rarity, right? But me and Twilight really should get going…” Twilight was still just standing there, an amused look on her face, deciding it best to just watch the proceedings instead. Hearing Naruto’s plea for help however, she finally spoke up.

“Er, sorry about that Naruto. I didn’t expect Rarity to-” Twilight began, but was interrupted by Rarity.

“Oh my… pardon my manners Twilight, I didn’t mean to ignore you. I just couldn’t help myself when I saw this… mishmash of fashion stroll into my shop. I might have gone overboard... just a tad."

A ‘tad’, Naruto thought, was an understatement.

*****

“Again, I’m sorry Naruto… I should have known better than to surprise her like that… She’s normally so reserved and well-mannered. I guess that meeting somepony new like you was just a little too much at once.”

“I ‘kind of’ noticed... What with the fainting and pestering over my choice in clothes…”, Naruto said in a deadpan tone. Twilight frowned.

“I hope you’re not mad…”

“What? Oh, no. Just a little rattled, that’s all…” Naruto said. So far, today had felt more like a mission gone wrong than an actual tour of the town. Then again, he did manage to meet some of the more... interesting townsfolk. A pink pony on an unending sugar rush and a white pony who made the fashion police look bad… It was quite a day so far.

“It can’t get crazier than this,” He mumbled to himself. As if on cue, something fast him hit from behind, sending him flying forward before faceplanting into the hard, dirt road. When the world righted itself, he attempted to get back on his hooves only to find that something was on his back, preventing him from moving.

“YES! I found the fox Fluttershy! I TOLD you I could find him!” He turned his head at the voice to find a cyan pony with wings sitting on his back, a smug grin plastered on her face. Her hair would have made rainbows jealous. The pony in question then proceeded to grab his tail, sending that peculiar tingling feeling shooting up his spine again.

“Hey! What’s the big idea, bird-brain!? Let go of my tail!” Naruto growled. The pegasus raised a brow as she leaned in closer to Naruto.

“Hey wait, you’re not a fox! What did you do with the fox you fox!?”

Oh great, yet another one, Naruto thought.

“Oh, no no no Rainbow Dash… That’s not a fox… That’s a pony… I mean, I think so…”, said a soft voice. A moment later, a yellow pegasus with pink hair landed next to them. Naruto assumed that this Rainbow Dash was the one sitting on his back, judging from the visual cues and the name.

“I can see that! I bet he’s hiding the fox so we can’t find it. Hey,” said Rainbow Dash, poking his head with a hoof, ”where did you hide the fox?!”

Enough was enough. He flicked his tail out of her grasp and shook her off his back angrily. Once back on all four hooves, he turned to face the newcomers with built up anger in his eyes.

“Can’t I go more than two minutes without being assaulted by random ponies!? First it was a pony going all sugar-rushed at me, then it was a pony mocking my fashion sense, and now…” He said, glaring at the blue pegasus, “it’s a blind, four legged excuse for a pony who can’t even tell apart a pony from a fox!”

“What was that!?” Rainbow Dash said, slamming her head against Naruto’s, who began to press back against her just as hard. “Who are you calling blind you cat-faced wannabe!?”

“Oh now it’s cat-faced? Are you sure you don’t need glasses or are you just that brain dead!?”

Twilight and Fluttershy just stood there, watching the argument unravel in front of them. As their two colleagues kept verbally abusing one another, they struck up some small talk. Neither of them wanted to intrude on a moment such as this and the tension in the air had reached an all time high.

“Uh… So, Fluttershy, eh heh…,” she said, turning her head towards Fluttershy, “what brings you and Rainbow here anyway? I heard something about a fox?”

“Oh, yes… One of my foxes ran away in the middle of the night. Rainbow Dash and I were looking all over Ponyville when we came across you guys. Oh... he must be so scared... I hope he’s alright.”

As Naruto and Rainbow Dash bickered in the background, now on the subject of rainbows and cotton candy, Twilight nodded towards Fluttershy.

“Ah, I see. Yep, definitely have to find that fox before it gets lost…” Twilight said offhandedly, her attention mostly on the two arguing ponies. She pointed her hoof at Naruto.

“That’s Naruto by the way. He’s new in town… Or at least, I think he is. I was giving him the tour when we found you girls.”

“Oh, yes…” Fluttershy, however, seemed more interested in Naruto’s tail than the fight at hand as her eyes tracked its every move.

“You want some of this ya piece of cotton candy!?” Naruto shouted.

“Who are you calling cotton candy you catfox!?” Rainbow Dash shouted back.

“That doesn’t even make any sense!”

“It makes sense to me!”

“He has a nice tail… It looks so adorable…” Fluttershy said with a slight blush.

“Yeah,” said Twilight, stifling a giggle.”He gets that a lot.”

After a few more minutes of constant bickering from Rainbow Dash and Naruto, Twilight had had enough of this and forcefully separated the two using her magic. They both yelped in sudden realization that they were no longer on solid ground and began squirming, trying to force their way out of whatever was holding them.

“Alright alright, break it up! Let’s be friends and stop fighting!” Twilight said, looking each of them straight in the eyes.

Despite the fact that they were being held aloft by magic, Rainbow Dash opted to flap her wings, giving her the appearance that she was just hovering there. Naruto, on the other hand, just hung in the air limply. Rainbow Dash smirked, savoring this small victory over the orange pony. He noticed his current predicament and just scowled, turning his head to look away from the three mares.

“Hmph, fine. My mouth is tired from shouting so much.”

“So is mine…” The both latched onto each other with icy glares until Twilight walked between them.

“Look, can’t you two just shake hoofs and be done with it? This isn’t a proper introduction at all!”, she said, releasing them from her telekinetic grip.

Rainbow Dash and Naruto looked at each other once again, still staring. Naruto squinted, and so did Dash. Second after agonizing second passed by, neither wanting to be the first to back down. Finally, Naruto took the high road and broke the stare first, turning his head down.

“I guess we got off on the wrong fo—er I mean hoof.” He raised a hoof. “Names Naruto. What’s your name?”

Rainbow smirked at Naruto as if his name was the funniest thing she had heard all day. She lifted a hoof and planted it on Naruto’s, each doing a quick single shake before withdrawing them.

“I’m Rainbow Dash, and you’re looking at the fastest pony alive!”

“Fastest alive, eh… You sure are pretty fast with your mouth…”, said Naruto with a small snicker.

“Why you…!”

Twilight put her hoofs between the two as they almost went at it again.

“How about we take a break, hmm? You can get to know each other later when we’re not as busy… Rainbow Dash, don’t you and Fluttershy have a missing fox to find?”

Rainbow Dash nodded at Twilight before looking at Naruto with disdain.

“We’ll meet again, catfox! You can bet your mane on it!” Rainbow Dash took off into the sky once again with such speed that she seemed more like a cyan blur than anything else. Fluttershy took off as well, albeit at a much slower speed, before waving at them and trailing after her friend.

*****

Naruto rubbed his head lightly as they continued their walk through town. It had been a long day and it wasn’t even time for dinner.

“Is life here always this… random? Always admiring other pony’s tails and tackling them when they least expect it?” Naruto asked Twilight. She shook her head.

“Not always, but it’s not everyday that somepony as unique as yourself comes to town. What do you want to see next?”

“Well…”, said Naruto in thought. Ahead in the distance, Naruto could see a large barn up ahead. He squinted, trying to get a clearer picture of the building. It could be a barn for animals or maybe it was a house shaped like a barn. His curiosity was piqued. He pointed at the barn with a free hoof.

“Well, how about—”

“Twilight! Naruto! Emergency!” A purple dragon came running around the corner towards Twilight and Naruto, panting and sweating. “I’ve been looking all over for you two! You need to come back to the library, quick!”

“Why Spike? What’s the matter?”

“It’s… Your house… Princess Celestia is there!”

Twilight felt her jaw drop.

“P-Princess Celestia is here!?”

CH6: Revealed

Special Thanks:

Editor: Pissfer

Proofreaders: Axel_Nyan & Lord Sunder

*****

A Royal Welcome, That’s always Nice…

But a Visit like this is Like a Roll of the Dice…

Truth is the Heart of the Matter…

Let’s Hope it doesn’t Scatter…

*****

Chapter 6: Revealed

It didn’t take them long to make it to Twilight’s house, where they could see two figures guarding the door. White Pegasi with gold plated armor covering only their heads, necks and backs, as if they were soldiers made for war. Naruto was curious as to why such guards were in such skimpy looking armor to begin with though. Most fighters he had met were completely armored, or at least clothed from head to toe with something. But these guards… He didn’t know what else to think.

As Twilight, Naruto, and Spike approached the guards, they immediately stood upright, and announced how Princess Celestia awaited their arrival, and is waiting for them inside.

“Do you know why she would give such a rare visit as this one?” The guards didn’t say anything. Naruto tilted his head at this attitude. Why weren’t they responsive? Twilight thought the same, but she only shrugged.

“Naruto, let’s just head in. These are the Royal Guards of the princess. They tend not to speak unless they had a deep desire to do so,” Twilight told Naruto. Naruto slowly walked past the guards, with a little bit of caution in his eyes. They stood still, like statues. It creeped him out a little.

Inside the house, Naruto couldn’t really believe his eyes on what he saw. A large Pegasus… or was it Unicorn? It had both wings and a horn, a majestic rainbow mane that looked to be blowing in an invisible breeze, and also wearing what looked to be a royal crown. She was reading a book that was suspended in air by a yellow aura, turning the pages as she desired with her magic. He couldn’t help but leave his jaw hanging wide open. Twilight was also showing signs of shock, even though Spike had told her exactly who was here beforehand.

“Princess Celestia! It’s an honor for you to come on such a visit.” Twilight took a deep bow. Naruto looked between Twilight and back at Celestia. He then proceeded to scratch his chin with his hoof.

“That’s one beautiful Princess, Twilight. I had no idea royalty existed here…” He stopped as Twilight’s hoof ended up shoving his face into the ground in an attempt to make him bow so as to not disrespect the princess.

Twilight gave an ‘oops’ kind of look as she chuckled, evidently not intending to use such force. “Ah ha ha…? Sorry Naruto… But you shouldn’t be rude to the Princess… It can get you into a lot of trouble…”
Celestia looked up from her book, and placed it back on the shelf, giving a heart-warming smile to the two ponies and the dragon standing in front of her.

“Twilight, my star pupil, it is great to see you again…” She then shifts her gaze back at Spike. “And you too Spike.” She then shifts her gaze to the blonde pony. Her smile slowly disappeared into a neutral expression.

“You must be the pony that Twilight found. The one who does not understand where or what he is?” Celestia stated. Naruto went wide-eyed. How such a fact became known to Celestia, he didn’t know. Naruto looked at Twilight, “How does she know about that? Can she read people’s minds?”

Twilight gave a nervous chuckle as she was about to speak up, but Celestia interrupted her.

“My star pupil sent me a letter just last night, telling me of your condition. I thought it was a strange case, so I arranged for a special, but brief, visit here.” Celestia said, while getting closer to Naruto.

“You do seem to look rather… unique, to put it in a mild tone. I haven’t seen a pony like you.” She eyed Naruto from head to toe, squinting her eyes slightly.

Naruto raised a brow. He wondered why she kept calling Twilight a star pupil. Were they teacher and student? He couldn’t tell, especially since he couldn’t find any resemblance between the two. Naruto backed away from Celestia, trying to buy himself time to think from under the impressive presence.

“Hmmm…” She muttered. She lifted her head and looked towards Twilight and Spike. “Twilight Sparkle, Spike. Could I have you two wait outside? I need to speak to this individual alone.”

Twilight immediately bowed once more. “O-Of course Princess! C’mon Spike, let’s wait outside…” As they walked outside and shut the door behind them, Princess Celestia gave a forced cough and looked at Naruto.

She circled around him, eyeing him down from head to toe once more. Strange clothes, a headband that seemed out of place, and most of all: A wagging foxtail. She thought it to be kind of cute on him, but she had to show some restraint, as if forcing herself not to hug it. She may be a princess, but even she was finding the feeling of cuteness difficult to keep in check.

She stopped eyeing him from head to toe and stopped in front of him.

“You’re not from Equestria, are you, Naruto? That is your name, correct?” Celestia asked.

Naruto gave a nod. “That’s my name Princess. And how could you figure out I’m not from here?”

“Your strange clothing design contributes to it, the look of your hair, and the markings on your face... But there is one more factor of all: And that is your tail.”

Naruto then immediately rolled his eyes. “Please tell me you’re not going to cuddle my tail too…”

Celestia took a small step back, a little shocked. “W-what makes you say that?”

Naruto furrowed his brow with an irritated glare. “Every pony that I’ve seen today has had a field day over my tail. First it was hugged, then petted, then grabbed. All the ponies around here won’t stop admiring it. It’s like the tail has magical powers that entrances any pony that sees it.”

Celestia darted her eyes from left and right, trying to find an excuse to counter-argue it. “W-well, it is a lovely tail after all, Naruto…”

Naruto placed his hoofs on his head in disbelief. “Oh lord, not you too…”

Princess Celestia gave a brief chuckle at Naruto’s predicament. “I am sure the problem will die down soon enough… But tell me something Naruto…” Celestia began. “…Why is it that you didn’t even know what you were? From what I know, you even had a difficult time walking, as if you were just born recently.”

Naruto stared at the Princess for a moment. It seemed like he wouldn’t be able to hide where he came from for much longer. Since she was of royalty, it probably wouldn’t hurt to tell her the barebones of what had happened to him. Heck, maybe she could help him out. Maybe she’d know some way of returning him to his own world. So he sat on his rear and, and explained how he had died once due to a freak accident (And ignorance on his part, but he didn’t mention that), had been given a second chance by Death himself, and suddenly appeared in this world.

The brief, but detailed, story left Celestia wide eyed.

“You died once, and were given a second chance at life? That’s…” She narrowed her eyes down. “That’s quite a tale, Naruto, but I don’t think I can quite believe that…”

Naruto merely sighed in response. “It’s hard to believe, I know. Heck, I have a hard time believing such events took place to begin with, but…” He spread his arms, indicating the entirety of the room. “I can tell this isn’t a dream. It feels too real. And if it were a dream, I wish I could wake up from it. I miss the life I originally came from.”

Celestia didn’t know how to respond to this. It was a strange set of events that left her bewildered. A pony that obviously wasn’t from this life and time, and yet, she still couldn’t believe it. She looked at him a little more, walking in a brief circle around him… while also stroking his tail with her own.

Naruto shivered as he snatched his tail away from the Princess. “Darn it, can’t you see that I’ve had enough furry tail business!? You’re freaking me out!”

Celestia gave a slight blush as she gave a chuckle. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself, and it’s just not like me. But I had to feel the soft texture of your foxtail. It feels nice, to be honest.”

Naruto, once again, rolled his eyes. He wished he could just cut off his tail and be done with it. But that would just be unimaginable pain he’d rather not experience. As the princess stood in front of him, she asked.

“Well then, I believe you should keep your other worldly experiences—or whatever else they could be—kept secret. You would probably just end up confusing others otherwise…” For once, Naruto agreed with her. If his previous life got leaked, it would make him appear really weird… or even a murderer to others if they dove deeper into his past.

“I do have two more questions to ask you, Naruto, if you are so inclined?” Naruto nodded, and the Princess smiled. “What were you previously, and are you getting used to your new form?”

“In my life, I was called a human. We stood on two legs instead of four, and we didn’t really have all this fur or tails or anything on us. You could say we’re similar to Spike, actually… except much taller, and we wouldn’t have scales or anything like that. We normally wear clothes from head to toe as well. But as you can see, I’m only wearing my jacket and my pants. This form takes some getting used to, as well.”

“Creatures similar to Spike… You make these ‘humans’ sound interesting…” She said with a smile. She did find something odd about his small description though, as she leaned her head toward Naruto’s lower half.

“Also… I do not see you wearing any pants, Naruto.”

Naruto raised a brow. “No disrespect Princess, but what are you talking about? My pants are right—huh?” As he patted himself down to his lower half, he realized he couldn’t feel any cloth. He nervously looked down and became wide-eyed. He immediately covered his lower half and yelled.

“I’M NAKED! FOR THE LOVE OF RAMEN I’M NAKED!”

*****

Twilight and Spike could hear some yelling from inside, something along the lines of Naruto yelling he’s naked. Twilight immediately had a blush bloom on her muzzle as she stared at the door. The guards still stood there as if they were statues, but even they had a slight tinge of red on their faces as they stood their ground.

“What in Equestria is Celestia doing in there!?” Twilight said to herself.

*****

“Naruto, calm yourself. Your dignity is nowhere in danger while being pantsless… It is common for us ponies to normally go about without clothing, except for during the winter.”

“But but… My pants… my beautiful pants… Those pants saved my life more than once before…” Naruto mumbled in disbelief, rocking back and forth in the fetal position. Celestia just shook her head as she walked behind him and stroked his tail again. This made Naruto flinch out of his ball and crawl away from her, with his tail firmly between his hoofs.

“I said don’t do that!”

“Listen, Naruto. What you see right now is where you are. There are rules, customs, and other such things to learn when you’re in a place that you are not familiar with. I’m sure you’ve gathered that much.” Naruto stood back up on all fours and nodded.

“I’m aware… It’s just… I’m sorry Princess, I’m still trying to get used to things around here. It takes time.”

“I agree Naruto. You should take the time to familiarize yourself. Or else you may be miserable…” She plainly stated. But after delivering that line, she gave a bright smile. “Now then, I believe that’s all that needed to be said; any other questions, Naruto?”

Naruto looked up at the ceiling, and then back at her with a nod. “Yes, it’s more of a request, actually…”

“Yes?”

“Please don’t touch my tail again…”

CH7: Experimentation & Savior

Special Thanks:

Editor: Pissfer
Proofreader: Meeester

*****

With Business Concluded, One Feels Bored

What Does One Expect when talking to something, similar to a Door…

Wandering into unknown territory…

Reveals abilities beyond thy glory…

*****

Chapter 7: Experimentation & Savior

With her business with Naruto concluded, Princess Celestia took Twilight aside to talk to her about a few things as well. What it was, Naruto didn’t know, since he was now the one waiting outside. He stared at the guards as they stood next to the door, not moving a single muscle. He poked at their armor, feeling the hard and cold surface. He looked back at the guards, and they still made no move. Naruto grinned slightly as he poked their noses too. No response.

Then he tried sticking his tongue out. No response. He crossed his hooves while standing on his hind-legs. Even though he had been human not long ago, he found it difficult to balance on hooves, falling on his butt once more. He sat up and stared at the guards for a couple minutes before growing bored. He tried talking to them.

“So uh… how ‘bout them ponies, eh? You two got any girlfriends I should know about, or maybe boyfriends?” Even with this line, the guards still made no reaction. Naruto was growing even more bored. These are really loyal guards. I’d hate to be one of them if it involves standing around all day and not moving a muscle.

He wondered what was taking Celestia and Twilight so long inside, a few minutes had already passed. He just sighed. He still had an urge to go to that farm-looking area he saw earlier, plus he needed to practice walking a little more. He looked back at the guards.

“Hey guard ponies, i’m going to take a walk. If the Princess and Twilight come out before I get back, let them know, will you?” The guards gave curt nods. Of all the reasons for a response, it was that? It didn’t matter; he needed to head to that farm.

*****

Naruto kept improving his trotting as he crossed town, keeping the farm ahead of him. As he walked, he slowly started to increase the pace, going a little faster than he was before. He stumbled a couple of times but soon found himself in an easy power walk.

“So far so good… Let’s try a little jog…” He started running a little faster, putting one hoof in front of the next, making sure not to trip over himself as he does so. He was so focused on running that he soon ran face first into a wooden fence. He gritted his teeth in pain as he shook his head, tenderly prodding the sore spot on his nose. He looked up to find a sign on the fence post that read ‘Sweet Apple Acres’.

“I knew it, some kind of Apple Farm,” Naruto said to himself. It was worth exploring, since he hadn’t been anywhere else. This was a good opportunity to test his jumping skills, to see if he still had it. He backed up a little bit, getting some running distance. Then he ran as fast as he could, before jumping over the fence, cleanly… at least that was what he wanted to believe.

One of his hind legs caught the fence, and Naruto landed on the other side of the gate, face first. He growled in the soft dirt, spitting it out as he sat up and looked around. It seemed to be a typical farm, although what caught his attention was the endless amount of apple trees in front of him. His jaw dropped at the forest of apple trees, pulling him in subconsciously.

He looked up at the apple tree as he approached it, noting that the branches were well beyond his reach. He looked at the base of the tree then back up at the apples. This would be a good opportunity to see if his chakra system still worked.

A technique he learned back when he was a lot younger, when Team 7 was still in full swing. He remembered back when Kakashi was teaching him, Sasuke, and Sakura how to summon chakra to their feet. When done correctly, it allowed them to walk up walls, or trees. It had taken a while to understand how to do it, and it had become natural to them as time went along.

But he didn’t know if it applied when to a pony. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused. He pushed the chakra around himself as he directed it towards his four legs, storing the chakra inside his hooves. A small but brief chakra aura formed around Naruto as he opened his eyes. He looked back up at the tree, and placed a hoof on the bark…

As each hoof made a connection to the tree, he slowly started to walk up the tree. A hoof detached momentarily, but a small boost in chakra helped with that. He climbed the tree slowly and deliberately. Reaching both front hooves out, he threw his body towards a branch, desperately climbing up it. He soon managed to lift his entire body up, simply sitting on the branch. Naruto had beads of sweat on his face as he wiped it away with his left hoof.

He did it. It took some alterations, but he still had his chakra system and his own chakra. He took a nearby apple with both hooves and looked at it. It was a shiny red apple. There was a small bruise on the top, but it didn’t matter to him.

He sunk his teeth into the juicy and colorful apple. He cleaned off the core immaculately, spinning it as if it were a cob of corn. He feels his stomach plumping up slightly as the apple settled in. He gave a light burp as he relaxed into the tree, satisfied with it, and threw the apple core down below.

“Ah, that was a good apple,” he said as he rubbed his stomach.

As he did so, he took a look at his hooves in front of his face. Not a single finger. Suddenly his eyes bolted open as he realized something. Something very important. He had control of his chakra, but he couldn’t use most of his Jutsu anymore. The seals required fingers. Without them, he wouldn’t be able to use... anything. His thoughts went forward with the Jutsu he did know and tried to think what he could use.

The Rasengan; a move that has saved Naruto several times in the past… He wasn’t sure he could use it, since that required the assistance of the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Although, it might be possible to perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It’s just one very simple hand sign after all... maybe it can be adapted.

He placed his hooves in a cross like pattern, with one arm crossing horizontally, and the other vertically. It could probably substitute for having no fingers. He crossed them and focused his chakra.

“Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Naruto yelled.

…As Naruto expected, there was no response. He needed fingers. He placed his hooves at the side of his stomach, feeling as though his strength had been cut in half... most of his jutsu were impossible to use. But he’d find a way, he always did.

*****

“Come on you pesky apple… Egh… I almost got you…!”

A small, red-haired pony was trying to grab an apple dangling from a tree. She was holding onto the branch that held the apple, keeping herself balanced. She reached out and managed to touch it, giving a small smirk and suddenly brimming with confidence.

“Almost got you… I’ll show her… I’ll show everyone that I’m good at pickin’ apples. Maybe that’s what mah cutie mark will be too! It’s gotta be somethin’ about apples…!”

As she inched herself closer to the apple, the branch bent ever more. She paid it no mind as she made a desperate grab for the apple, catching it in both hooves. She gave a big, bright smile as she grabbed it.

Which quickly left her face as the branch broke.

*****

Relaxing his head on the tree, he looked at the splendid view in front of him, seeing endless apple trees as far as the eye can see. It was a breathtaking sight. He spotted a small pond nearby. It was an odd thing to see on an apple farm, but then again, Naruto wasn’t an architect, so he wasn’t really qualified to make such a judgment.

Enjoying the view, watching the sun, even watching the fishes splash up and down in the small pond.

“Help me! I *blubble* can’t swim!”

Yep, just nothing but the fishes yelling how they can’t swim, Naruto thought.

…

There was something really strange with what Naruto just thought. He sat up and looked at the pond once more, squinting his eyes; he could’ve sworn he heard some fish calling for help.

“Help—blublublub—help!”

Naruto’s eyes widened as he heard the words for help. He wasn’t imagining it after all! He immediately hopped down from the branch, ninja style, landing safely on the ground as he forced chakra into his hooves, cushioning his fall. He then sped off in the direction of the pond, where he saw splashing and heard the calls for help.

As the pond got closer, the thing that was calling for help became more apparent. It looked like a smaller version of a pony in his eyes, with a red mane and a light yellow-colored body. It seemed to be a child. The drowning pony immediately took notice of Naruto.

“Mister, Help me—blubububub—I can’t swim!” the young pony begged to him. In Naruto’s eyes, there was no telling how long the child would last. Looking at the pond, he focused his chakra into his hooves. He had to make sure it was a balanced amount of chakra, because water was completely different from a solid object. This required much greater control than climbing a tree.

He placed one hoof on the pond, and it stayed. So far, so good. He placed his other front leg out, and once more, it stayed in place. He slowly started to walk across the water, until he felt one of his hind legs sink slightly. Naruto managed to lift his leg before it pulled him under.

The young pony was shocked to see Naruto walking on water like he was. But eventually, her shocked expression came to a halt as the young pony slowly lost her strength and disappeared under the water’s surface. Naruto went wide-eyed and cursed himself, immediately reaching out to bite the pony’s hair. He could feel a very weird taste in his mouth as he was almost pulled under along with the young one.

Strengthening his back, he pulled the young pony out of the water and threw her towards the other side of the pond. He could see the young pony land safely on the soft grass, and gave a sigh of relief. But this relief was short-lived as he felt his feet almost give way under him. He couldn’t relax, not yet. He slowly walked off the small, though deep, pond and onto dry land.

He collapsed on the ground as he tried to catch his breath.

That was scary. Forcing my techniques into a rushed experiment was a big risk. Good thing it worked out.

He still had a lot to learn about this furry body of his, and he needed to adapt as soon as possible. He eyed the young pony, examining her from head to toe. Good, she seemed to be breathing.

But Naruto wondered where it came from. Did it live on this farm? As he was trying to gather his thoughts on this, he stood up, hearing voices from the distance. The voices had a peculiar accent to them, and they were shouting for someone, ‘Apple Bloop’ he thought.

As the voices got closer, he saw an orange pony galloping towards him. It looked like a female pony in his eyes, sporting a cowboy hat and a blonde mane in a ponytail, and a dull orange body. And her accent, he’d never heard anything like it before.

The awkward hat-wearing pony went wide-eyed as she saw the young pony collapsed on the ground, wet and shivering. She gritted her teeth, staring right at him.

“YOU, BLONDIE, WHAT DID YOU DO TO APPLE BLOOM!?” the cowgirl shouted. Naruto waved his hooves in front of him.

“Whoa, calm down! I don’t know who this Applebloop or whatever her name is, but I had to save a drowning pony from that lake there!” he said as he pointed towards the lake. The cowgirl pony raised a brow as she took another look at the pony, and then looked at Naruto as she pointed towards the pony.

“You saved Apple Bloom?” Naruto gave a nod. He assumed the young pony’s name was Apple Bloom.

“I was just minding my own business until I heard shouts for help. I came here as soon as I could and saved this drowning pony, from, well… drowning,” Naruto explained.

The cowgirl pony relaxed as she walked over to Apple Bloom, nudging her.

“Apple Bloom, wake up,” she said as she nudged her sister.

“She’s going to need rest. That whole experience took a lot out of her,” Naruto said.

The cowgirl looked back at Naruto, and then at Apple Bloom. She gave a firm nod towards him. Naruto grabbed the pony using his front hooves, and placed her on the cowgirl’s back. She gave a big smile towards him.

“Thank ya kindly, stranger. If it weren’t for you, ah wouldn’t know what would have happened to mah dear little sister… So thank ya…”

“It’s no problem… My name’s Naruto by the way.”

“Mine’s Applejack, pleased to meetcha,” she said as she placed her hoof in Naruto’s. They could both hear a big, deep voice within the distance. Applejack looked back at Naruto.

“Well, I gotta get back to my brother. He was lookin’ for Apple Bloom too. I owe you, Naruto, I really do,” she said with a big smile.

Naruto merely smiled back, “anytime Applejack.”

With this response, Applejack was about to head off, until she looked back and got a good look at Naruto.

“Bah the way Naruto… Did I mention you had a…”

At this point, Naruto wished he didn’t have ears. He KNEW what she was going to say, he just knew it. So he saved her the trouble by interrupting her.

“Yes, I know, I have a fluffy foxtail, what is with everyone and my tail!?” he ranted. Applejack tilted her head at his comment, and merely shook her head.

“Ah was going to say that those whisker marks were kinda cute, they look kinda like a kitten,” she said with a slight blush. This took Naruto by surprise, a blush forming on his own muzzle.

“Oh… I suggest you get off the farm as well. It’s off limits. I’ll make an exception this time because of what ya did, but ask for permission next time,” she said as she galloped off towards the distant voice. He was still a little stunned at the whisker comment, since it was a bit different than his fox tail. He shook his head, venting the heat in his face.

“Huh, at least that Applejack pony is… nice, I think?” Naruto said to himself. He didn’t want to linger here any longer, not wanting to cause any more trouble than necessary. He galloped off in a random direction, jumping over a fence as he got to it. He assumed he was off their property now, but one more major detail had to be solved.

He had to figure out where the hell Twilight’s house was.

CH8: Royal Pain

Special Thanks:

Editor: Pissfer
Proofreader: Axel_Nyan

*****

When One Realizes He cannot go back…

He Must Not Slack…

In Other Words, One must plant the seeds of a new life…

But Will One Be Able To Sow Such A Thing, Twice?

*****

Chapter 8: Royal Pain

“The Everfree Forest, you are sure of this?” Celestia asked.

“Yes Princess Celestia. Spike and I found him at the edge of the Everfree Forest while looking for a particular mushroom. He was covered in this strange purple smoke, or fog—we couldn’t tell what it was.” Twilight confirmed to her.

The details were strange indeed. Celestia brought her hooves together, thinking deeply. If what Naruto said to her was true, he was definitely brought into this world under unique circumstances, and Twilight’s information on the event only contributes to it. But something about this didn’t seem right; the events just didn’t add up.

Celestia only sighed as she looked at Twilight. “Tell me my pupil, what is your reaction towards this individual?”

“Well… he seems nice, but confused at the same time. It’s like he was born recently with the way he acts.”

“Yes, I gathered the same idea. He is a rather… strange individual. However, he seems to be a nice young gentlepony, despite having some…” Celestia paused for a moment and eyed down at the ground before looking at Twilight once more, “unique features, to put it simply.”

Twilight gave a nod towards her teacher. They both stopped talking for a minute or two, as the silence consumed the room. Celestia looked back at Twilight.

“He is staying with you, correct?”

Twilight flinched a little at the sudden question, with a small blush across her face.

“Well… yes, I couldn’t just abandon him. He seems to be having all sorts of issues, especially with not knowing where he was, and this amnesiac vibe he’s giving off. It just screams ‘help me’,” Twilight said to Celestia. She gave her a firm nod.

“Do you know how long he will be staying?”

That really caught Twilight off guard. “Well… no, he never told me…”

“How long do you want Naruto to stay with you?”

“Until he’s gotten his bearings and is well enough to take care of himself. Basically, I would like to not abandon him.” Twilight replied.

“You do realize that having a young stallion, such as him, living in your own house would not be a healthy matter?”

Twilight tilted her head thoughtfully. “I don’t understand? It’s not like he’s been here for a long time. It’s only been a day or two since he arrived.”

“Yes, of course, but I am only worried for your well-being. There can be… circumstances to where a mare and a stallion could be… out of control, to say it simply.”

Twilight suddenly felt her face flush red. “W-what’s gotten into you, your highness? It’s nothing like that! Not at all…” her eyes darted to the floor, before coming back up to Celestia. “Nothing at all…”

Celestia locked her eyes on Twilight’s. A moment later, Celestia blinked as she nodded slowly.

“Very well… I will trust you with this, but please don’t let him live here for too long. Once he is well make sure you send him on his way. I am sure it would be only a burden on him and yourself if he stayed.”

Twilight blinked once at Celestia’s request. “I… Yes, your majesty, but I have one request myself.”

Celestia got up from the sofa and motioned for her to follow her towards the door. “What would that be, my pupil?”

“If he is to agree with it, I would like to keep him here until he has arrangements to live on his own, be it his own place or simply to be off on his travels once more.”

Celestia stopped walking and stared at the ceiling for a moment, while sucking her lower lip in thought. She stared back at Twilight.

“You are sure of this, Twilight?” Twilight nodded in response. Celestia sighed as she maintained the eye contact. “Very well. All I ask is that you do not keep him here too long. Also, do keep an eye on him. Send me a message if anything goes wrong. Understand?”

Twilight nodded confidently in response.

*****

“Whew… made it… God damn that took too long…”

Naruto had been lost around town for the last half hour. He’d spent a good amount of that time running through and around the town trying to find his way back to that tree-house. If felt as if he’d taken two laps of the town and he’d worked up a decent sweat.

I really should’ve asked Twilight for a map or something before I took off.

Eventually he located the tree that housed both the town library and the lavender unicorn that had brought him in. He saw Spike sitting outside, reading the brown book in his claws. The gold-armored guards were still standing watch on either side the library door, so he assumed that Celestia and Twilight were not done talking just yet. Naruto walked towards Spike. Much to his surprise, Spike looked up from his book and waved at him.

“Hey, Naruto, where’ve you been?” Spike asked. “The guards told me you went for a walk, but you were gone for a good while!” Naruto merely scratched his head as he recalled what happened back at the farm.

“It’s a long story, but in a nutshell, I saved a drowning pony while I was walking around.” Naruto said like it was no big deal, but, to Spike and the guards it was a pretty big deal, immediately going wide-eyed at the statement. Spike immediately hopped up and smiled, while the guards just went back to their neutral demeanor after the brief shock passed.

“Wow, really? Who did you save?” Spike asked.

“Do you know two ponies named Applejack and Applebloom?” Naruto replied.

“Well, yeah. They’re Twilight’s friends, and they own Apple Acre Farm.”

So what Naruto heard from Applejack is correct. He mistakenly trespassed onto the farm without knowing it. But, because of his trespassing, he was able to save the little sister of Applejack. That’s one way of introducing yourself to someone.

“I saved Applebloom. This girl, er, pony, named Applejack, came over to me and thanked me for saving her.”

“Wow! You must really be something to be saving Applebloom like that.” Spike said with a cheerful smile on his face. “Are you like a superhero or something?”

“Um… no, I was just helping out a pony in need, that’s all. I’m sure anyone would have done the same thing in my stead…”

They continued to talk about what had happened with Naruto at Sweet Apple Acres. A few minutes later they were interrupted by the sounds of the door opening. Naruto’s head immediately snapped in the direction of the guards. Two figures appeared between the pair as Celestia and Twilight exited the library. The guards stomped their hooves down as if signaling her arrival. Twilight looked at Naruto with a nervous smile.

“Hey Naruto, been waiting long?” She asked.

“Just took a quick walk is all, getting used to the surroundings and such.” Naruto said with a smile. Celestia was about to say something else when Spike suddenly hopped towards them.

“Twilight, Princess Celestia! Naruto saved Applebloom from drowning earlier!” He said with happiness.

Twilight’s and Celestia’s jaws dropped at the sudden information, as they looked straight at Naruto.

“Naruto did what?” They both said in unison. Naruto gave a small blush in his cheeks as he scratched his head with his hoof.

“Y-Yeah… I guess I saved a drowning pony on an apple farm... Did I forget to mention that with my walk?” Naruto said nervously, pretending to be confused. They still stared at him in disbelief as their facial expressions contorted towards a smile.

“That’s wonderful Naruto!” Twilight said with a cheerful smile. Princess Celestia looked impressed at the stallion’s heroic behavior as well.

“It is indeed. You just saved a pony’s life after all. I thank you, Naruto.” Celestia said.

Naruto couldn’t help but blush from the praise he was getting. Celestia looked to Twilight and then back at the rest of the group.

“Well then, I guess my claims may have been mistaken. Maybe your arrival was that of a blessing.” Celestia said. Naruto raised a brow at that.

“What does that mean?”

“It is nothing… But now I must go. It is getting to about time for my sister to raise the moon, so I must return to Canterlot post-haste,” she said as she spread her wings, her guards doing the same, before slowly lifting off.

“Farewell Naruto, may fortune favor you!” With that, she flew off, along with the guards, towards the castle-bearing mountain on the horizon. They watched as she slowly disappeared into the distance as Spike, Twilight, and Naruto watched.

Naruto blinked a little, wondering what she meant by her claims being mistaken. Nonetheless, he did know that his actions left a good impression of him on the Princess. And he knew that giving a good impression with someone of royalty was a good start.

“She ran off in a hurry…” Naruto said curiously. “What did she mean by raising the Moon, though?”
Twilight thought she’d seen the end of Naruto’s oblivious nature, but it seems she was wrong. She looked at Naruto with a dumbfounded look.

“Don’t tell me you’re not aware how the Sun and Moon works…?” Naruto tilted his head at her question, a puzzled look plastered on his face.

“It just goes up and down on its own,” Naruto answered. Twilight shook her head.

“Princess Celestia is in charge of the sun while her younger sister, Princess Luna, is in charge of the Moon. It’s how the day and night cycles work here.”

Naruto stood there, looking at her as if she’s crazy. “You can’t be serious…”

“I’m very serious.” Twilight said as she squinted with one eye.

Naruto looked up into the sky, and said out loud. “There’s so much to learn here, so much that’s different from what I used to know… It’s kind of sad…” He said with a frown. “It’s even more surprising how it requires two unicorns just to handle the sun and moon…”

“You mean Alicorns.” She said.

“Huh?”

“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are called Alicorns; basically, a mix of a Pegasus and unicorn. They are two of the three that exist, and are very powerful.”

A mix of two species. That would explain how Celestia had both a horn and wings. He looked up towards the sun, and then back at her.

“So what did Princess Celestia talk to you about?”

“We mostly talked about how I found you and what the plan was for you while you are here.”

“I see… It’s probably none of my business to ask, but, did the princess come off as hostile towards me?” Naruto asked. Twilight raised a brow at him.

“No, I don’t think so… Why do you ask?”

“I’m not sure… I think it’s…” Naruto began, but then he just closed his mouth. He just shook his head. “Never mind… It’s probably just me. Still growing used to things here after all…”

Spike stood in the background, all quiet while he read his little book. He looked up towards them and shook his head, digging his nose through his book still.

“So how are you feeling so far? You’ve been here for a day or so now, and you saved a pony from drowning… Sounds like you’re quite the stallion despite being confused most... well, all of the time.” Twilight asked.

She’s right. I’ve made a good amount of progress and figured out where I stand in terms of abilities. I’m gonna need a little more training to improve what I do have, but I’m mostly going to be playing it by ear while I get used to things here.

Getting used to things here... I can’t repeat that enough. Here, in an unknown world that’s completely unfamiliar... all I can do is get used to it. There’s no chance of getting back to Konoha. Well, I hoped there was a way, but I don’t want to put too much thought into that. I’m going to have to adapt until I find out if it’s possible or not. Then again, my world is in constant war, always an ongoing conflict. Especially with the Akatsuki who were hunting him and the Kyuubi.

It was a miserable life. It was ironic how my death took me from a world of endless chaos and placed me in a world of peace and tranquility. There was no war, everyone seemed to treat everyone else equally. It was nice to be able to walk through the streets without everyone avoiding me for being the Kyuubi’s host. This was paradise.

“—aruto! Are you there?”

Naruto snapped back to reality as he heard Twilight’s voice. “Huh? Yes? Did you say something?”

“I said, are you feeling alright?”

“Oh, yeah… I’m fine… Once I get used to things here, I… I’ll be alright, I think.”

Twilight looked a little puzzled at Naruto’s last response, but she merely shrugged. “I see… Well, okay then! Do you have any idea how long you’ll be staying for? I mean, it’s not a problem or anything… But my house is pretty boring to most ponies… what with all the books, and me asking questions, and…”

“No, that won’t be a problem... I just...” But in a way, she had a point. He couldn’t stay with her forever. It would just be a burden on her. He took a moment to think about how he was stuck in this world. He needed to get his hooves under him, learn how to live on his own.

He looked at Twilight. “I do need to make some progress if I’m going to be here in Ponyville for a while as I don’t have anywhere else to go. There’s no point in acting like a lazy bum. I need to get active.”

Twilight gave a smile at Naruto. “That’s the spirit Naruto! But what do you plan to do?”

“Hmmm…” That was a good question. He didn’t know much about the history of this world, he didn’t have any money, and he certainly didn’t have a home of his own. These were the three most important things that he needed to attain.

“What does the currency look like here in Equestria?” Twilight tilted her head at Naruto’s strange question. “What kind of money does this land use?” He corrected and simplified himself.

“You’ve never seen the—“ Stopping in mid-sentence, she was feeling a little tired of the weird questions, and just decided to answer it without question.

“The money here is called Bits. They’re small coins that we use to purchase anything of value. Come inside, I’ll show you.”

*****

Sitting on the sofa, he could see a few coins laid out on the coffee table. They were golden and round, with a slightly different colored rim around them. He held one coin with two hoofs, to get a good look at it. He blinked a little. No paper money, but just coins? It would be a burden if one had to carry a bag full of these.

“There are a number of ways to get bits. Mainly you get them from...”

“Working?” Naruto interrupted.

Twilight nodded before continuing, glad that he understood this much at least. “Right. I get bits for running the library for example.”

Naruto gave a firm nod. He knew that he needed money. Without money, he would be quite limited in what he would be able to do here. He needed a job, he knew that. But first, “Twilight, I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“I would like to live here for a little longer. At least until I get enough money to get a home of my own. You have treated me with a lot of kindness… heck, more kindness than I’ve ever been given. I’m not here to abuse your kindness or anything, but barely having any possessions of my own - money, property, or anything else - I am rather lost here. So…”

Naruto stood up before promptly falling to his knees, bowing towards Twilight, startling her with the sudden sentiment.

“I ask of you… Please let me stay here. I’ll pay you back somehow once I’m all settled in.” Twilight didn’t know what to think of Naruto’s response. He was definitely appreciative of what she had done for him, which she could see. She waved her hoof towards Naruto.

“H-hey, no need to go that far, Naruto… I can’t just abandon a pony in need after all… Please, get up.” She stammered nervously. Naruto returned to his hooves per her request. “For now, just get some rest. We can decide on what kind of work we can find for you tomorrow, alright?”

“Why not start right now?” Naruto asked. Twilight pointed her hoof towards the window.

“It’s already nighttime Naruto.”

Naruto blinked at her response. He walked towards the window and found that the moon was high in the sky with no trace of the sun to be seen. He looked back at Twilight with his mouth agape.

“But it was just sunny! How did the night come so quick—oh…” As he remembered that the two princesses control the day and night cycle, so the day and night cycles switch a little more quickly than he was used to. But he started to wonder…

If the sun and moon cycles are controlled by two princesses, does that mean if one went missing, it would cause an eternal day or night? The whole idea was still confusing to him.

Twilight walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll get used to things around here, I promise Naruto.”

Naruto couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll get used to things around here… No matter what…” He said towards the window, and then back at Twilight.

“…Believe it.”

CH9: Odd Jobs

Special Thanks:

Editor: Pissfer
Proofreader(?): Array

*****

With no Wealth, comes with no Hope

One will be nothing but a Dope

But Opportunity, one brings

Will cause a thousand angels, to sing

*****

Chapter 9: Odd Jobs

The next morning…

While Spike stayed at the library to do his chores and to take care of the place, Twilight and Naruto headed off to the Ponyville Square in hopes of finding Naruto a job.

I have no idea how long I’m going to be living here, but the last thing I want is to feel like I’m being a lazy bum. Naruto thought.

The square was bustling with activity as ponies went about their daily lives. The sounds of vendors promoting their wares, of haggling being carried out, of little fillies playing nearby. But what Naruto really noticed was just how pleasant the mood around everyone was.Everyone sounded happy, more so than he’d ever heard before in Konoha.

“This is Ponyville Square, Naruto. A place of fun, relaxation, and goods. As you can see, there are several stalls here selling their goods. And we’re not far from some of the more notable permanent locations, like Sugarcube corner - where Pinkie works - and Rarity’s Carousel Boutique. But you already knew that right?”

“Sort of… But I don’t think I was shown Ponyville Square in its entirety… But wow, it’s really busy here in the mornings.”

“It is, isn’t it? Now, over here Naruto…” She approached a nearby board, full of paper and bulletins and alike. Naruto looked at it curiously as he looked back at Twilight. “…is the Bulletin Board, or as some say it, the Request board. Ponies post odd jobs or menial tasks here that other ponies can do if they’re looking for a quick bit. Although, a lot of the requests are really are more geared towards part time employment. There’s not a lot of ponies that can’t just get help from their friends for the small things.”

Naruto gave Twilight a nod. This seemed kind of similar to the missions he did back in his own world, except they weren’t divided by rank or anything. In fact, as Naruto looked at some of the requests, he became a little interested. Some of them sounded odd to him though.

“’Looking for Manticore tail,’ ‘requesting part-time help at Sugarcube corner’, ‘looking for night-time bodyguards’, and ‘searching for a lost kitten’…?” he said some of the requests out loud. The last one made him cringe as memories of a demon-possessed cat filled his brain. He held a hoof to his head, remembering how one of his first missions as a ninja involved finding a missing cat.

That little demon possessed cat. The little rascal loves to run away from its owner and it never caused anything but trouble for the ninja that took the job.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he looked towards Twilight. “Some of these look pretty nifty, and some of them look like something for someone with my expertise.”

Twilight gave him a happy smile. “Well I’m glad for that Naruto! I’m sure whatever request you take, you will excel at. Although…” she said as she pointed a hoof at the Manticore request. “Whoever placed this request must be a few books short of a stack… Manticore’s are pretty dangerous beings… I don’t know anyone that can take one on, at least not successfully.”

“Why?”

“Manticores are part scorpion, part lion, and part eagle. They’re very ferocious beings, very large and quite dangerous. My friends and I took one on a while ago, and we got lucky it didn’t turn us into manticore chow.”

“So how did you defeat it?”

“We didn’t. It had a thorn in its paw. After Fluttershy took it out, it became fairly docile and just ran off. Manticores are not to be trifled with however…” she said as she attempted to rip the request off the board.

“Wait.” Naruto stopped her from ripping the request down. “How much can I get by obtaining a Manticore tail?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Just tell me, Twilight.”

Twilight was a little hesitant at first, but his curiosity had triggered her own. She looked back at the request, “300 Bits… That’s a lot of money. And the request is from a pony in Canterlot.”

“Canterlot, what’s that?”

“You could say it’s a town for the nobles. The Royal Castle is also there.”

“I see…”

300 bits... that sounds like a lot of money. I might be able to afford a lot of things with that. Maybe even a house. But I’m not really able to fight right now, not yet. It’ll be a good idea to start with smaller jobs, use those for training and learning. The manticore request wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Naruto thought.

“Naruto?”

“Er, yes?”

“Are you okay? You were spacing out a little.” Twilight asked. He couldn’t let Twilight know about his plan to go after the manticore, since it would just worry the hell out of her.

“No, no… was just thinking about something… Anyway…” he said as he placed his hoof on the Sugarcube Corner request. “From what I saw inside yesterday, it can’t be that hard being a part-timer there. And it’s an hourly pay of eight bits… Sounds like good pay to me. Some money is better than none.” he said in satisfaction. Twilight merely nodded.

“Sounds good, Naruto! Let’s head on over there with the request!”

*****

To say it was crowded when they entered Sugarcube Corner would have been an understatement. It was packed full of customers wanting pastries, sweets and other assorted goods. The noise inside the store was overwhelming and the heat was unbearable; caused by a both the fact that this was a bakery and having too many ponies in an enclosed space.

He could make out a blue pony, with a rather… unique hairdo, standing at the register. A pink pony rushed in and out of the kitchen like there was no tomorrow, carrying orders on her head. In the crowd there was a gray Pegasus with a goofy look flying around, bumping into ponies all over the room, bringing a smile to Naruto’s muzzle. The pony sort of reminded him of himself when he was younger. When Naruto’s attention returned to the area by the register he saw where the help was needed. They needed someone to keep the orders together, get the right pony the right goods and on their way.

The pony at the register was sweating as she got the orders taken care of. Naruto and Twilight eventually made their way to the register through the crowd.

“Yes, a strawberry cake, a dozen pastries… Um, yes, what can I get for you, sir?”

“Actually, I’m here because of the request board. You’re looking for a part-timer, right?” Naruto said. The pony’s face distorted into a look of glee, as she gave him a big smile.

“You’re here to work part-time!? Oh thank Celestia, you can’t believe how busy it is in here, I thought no one would accept it! Please, go to the back of the kitchen and talk to Pinkie Pie, she’ll fill you in! I have to get these orders straightened out!” she said as Naruto is pushed by the register pony. Twilight just stood there, watching as Naruto got shoved into the back, giggling at the abruptness of his disappearance.

“I’ll see you later then Naruto! Have fun!” Twilight shouted to him, though Naruto couldn’t hear her over the patrons shouts.

“Where’s my cake?”

“I want my pastries!”

“I’ve been waiting for an hour...”

*****

“Yay, Naruto, you’re back! We’re going to have so much fun today!”
He didn’t think he would be meeting Pinkie Pie again so soon. Part of him wished that he’d never see her again, because this pony acted like she was on a sugar high all the time.

He quickly looked over the kitchen. There were a fair number of ovens on one side of the room. A table in the middle that was home to many cooling pastries and other goods. On the far side of the room was much of the counter space, much of it overtaken by ingredients, bowls and mixing utensils in a haphazard mess.

“Fun, you say? You do realize that there are tons of people out there looking for pastry blood, right!?” Naruto said with a dumbfounded expression. Pinkie Pie merely smiled at him as she patted his soft tail… which he promptly flicked away from her.

“Oh don’t be silly! The more people, the more fun! But the more fun, the more orders I have to take…” She paused for a moment, a frown creasing her face. “But hey! Now that you’re here, it’ll be double the fun and we’ll fill orders even faster!” she said, quickly perking up as she rushed over to grab an apron and then rushed back to Naruto. He could’ve sworn she made the entire trip in under three seconds. This pony had way too much energy… But that wasn’t always a bad thing. A lot of energy could be a good thing if channeled properly.

“Quickly, put this on so we can have so much fun making things together!”

She’s underestimating this situation... she’s much too carefree. Then again, I was like that when I was younger. Boundless energy, pulling pranks, doing anything I could to show people that they weren’t always right about everything.

No. I can’t think about that right now. I have a job to do, I need the money.

He placed his head under the loop of the apron, and clipped it on at the back with both his hoofs. It was a plain white apron with small smudges on it, presumably from cooking ingredients.

“Alright, so what do I need to do first?”

*****

Pinkie may have seemed to be carefree, but when it came to baking she seemed to be able to completely focus her energy into the job. The rate at which she could keep cakes, pastries, turnovers and other baked goods coming was ridiculous. It was everything Naruto could do to keep up for the longest time, and all he had to do was give the finished goods to the waiting customers.

Then there was the fact that she didn’t use a timer, and Naruto couldn’t spot a clock in the room. Pinkie just pulled stuff out seemingly at random, but he’d never heard anything but admiration for the cooking from this place. Pinkie Pie seemed to have an ability that allowed her to catch missed steps and just intuitively know how the goods were baking.

Eventually he got used to the pace she maintained and soon found himself helping to prepare the batter in between orders. Once he got up to pace, he started chatting with Pinkie a little.

“Just how are you so good with this, Pinkie? It’s like you have a sixth sense on baking! It’s pretty amazing.” Naruto said. She responded with an over-excited smile.

“Because, silly, I work here and I love to bake! Ooh, ooh!” She stopped what she was doing and ran up towards Naruto as she stared at him in a creepy way. “And I love to party too! Well, mostly parties that I make… But hey, I love parties! Do you love parties?”

“Y-Yeah, I think I do? I haven’t been to a party in a long time though, so-”

“You haven’t partied in a long time!? We need to change that! I’ll make us a party for tomorrow! It’ll be super-duper fun!”

“N-No, that’s quite alright, really, but we should be--”

“Aww, but why not…?”

As she was pestering him to agree to a party, Naruto pointed a hoof at one of the ovens. He could see a large fat of bread pushing up against the screen of the oven.

“Because that cake is about to explode, Pinkie! Get it out, quickly!”

As if triggered by his statement, the oven exploded open, sending cake, bread and batter all over the place. Naruto just stood there, dumbfounded at the even bigger mess that the kitchen was now in.

Pinkie, on the other hand, simply licked the batter off of her face. She smacked her lips a couple times and gave a frown.

“Hmm, too much butter, not enough sugar!” she said with a giggle. She rushed off to mix up a new batch. Naruto was frozen to that spot, shocked by what he had just seen.

There had been something about the way she had licked some of that batter off of her face. There was something about the manner in which she did so, freezing him in place as his cheeks flushed red. He soon got himself back to work as he remembered what he was doing here. He shook his head and went back to work, not wanting to delay anything further.

*****

Everything went smoothly for the remainder of the morning after they cleaned up the aftermath of the cake explosion. He soon found himself fairly bored as Pinkie was able to keep up on much of the baking on her own. He was happy to be done with the rush; it had been more hectic than he expected. He wondered how often the guy from Ichiraku Ramen felt like that.

The pony that had been at the register walked into the kitchen with a cheerful smile. “Good work Pinkie Pie. And you too, um…” She began, stopping abruptly as she realized she’d never gotten Naruto’s name. “My word, I’m so sorry. I put you to work without any introductions. You’ll have to forgive me; it was just so busy in here,” she exclaimed hurriedly

Naruto grinned as he scratched his head bashfully. “It’s no problem. I’m just glad I could help! I’m Naruto.”

“And I’m Mrs. Cake. Again, very glad you could help out in the kitchen with Pinkie Pie. Ever since my husband fell ill we’ve had issues getting through the startup rush in the morning. So I had to put in a request on the Request Board. I thought no one would come, since most everypony is already busy in the morning. I’m sure you understand.”

“Yeah, I can, and it’s no problem. I’m just glad we we were able to get this out of the way.”

“Yes, of course.” Mrs. Cake said. In response, Pinkie Pie placed an arm around Naruto’s neck.

“You should’ve seen him Mrs. Cake! He was going nearly as fast as me with filling out all those orders, it was all like *swoosh*, and all *wham*! He’s amazing!” Pinkie Pie said, barely understandable with the speed she spoke. Mrs. Cake rubbed her chin as she took a good look at Naruto from head to hoof. He couldn’t get used to how people kept looking at him. He couldn’t look that strange, could he? Mrs. Cake just shrugged.

“I see… you’ve definitely worked hard today Naruto, so therefore…” Mrs. Cake placed a small bag in his hooves, jingling slightly. “A little extra for the great help you’ve given us. 10 extra bits plus the 24 you earned in just a few hours, totaling 34 bits. I hope you’ll work with us again sometime. You were a big help, thank you.” Mrs. Cake said with a smile. Naruto merely gave a nod as he placed the bag into his jacket pocket. He took off the apron from over his head and placed it on the counter.

“You bet, Mrs. Cake. If it ever gets really busy again, I’ll be sure to help, if I can.” Naruto said with a smile.

*****

With a job well done and money in hand, Naruto left Sugarcube Corner. Mrs. Cake said that it had only been a few hours. Three in fact, if his math was right. He started looking around town as he munched on a pastry that he’d received from Mrs. Cake. He heard the sounds of chatter and business going about, though he didn’t see Twilight anywhere. He was getting used to the surroundings, soon he would have an understanding of where everything was. It was just a matter of exploring.

He soon found himself standing in front of the request board as he wandered around town. It was about noon. It would be nice to tackle another request before he finished up for the day: more work in his attempt to make enough money for other things. The request for the manticore tail was still there.

I wonder why no one’s picked up that request yet... Maybe there’s no combat-type ponies around? That’s a little strange.

But regardless, he couldn’t take on a manticore himself, at least not at the moment, if they were as vicious as Twilight made them out to be. He would need a weapon, maybe some gear to help protect him. He shook the thoughts out of his mind. The request for the missing cat was still there. He rubbed his chin, reading the request.

*****

HELP WANTED:

Missing Cat: Opalescence

REWARD: 20 Bits

*****

There was a picture of the cat alongside the request. It was white and fluffy. It looked like one of those rich cats that was groomed well and given proper treatment. Thinking back, Twilight mentioned there was a town called Canterlot for the nobles. Maybe it was a noble cat?

His line of thought was cut short as he finished reading the request.

If you find my precious Opalescence, please deliver her to Carousel Boutique

So the request was from Rarity, the fashion pony that had fainted just from a glimpse of his outfit. Suddenly Naruto didn’t really want to accept the request. But... Rarity was one of Twilight’s close friends, and the money wasn’t something to ignore either. This would be a good opportunity, both to prove himself to Rarity and to make a little more money.

“This shouldn’t be a problem, I’m totally experienced with cats,” he exclaimed after he pounded his chest with his hoof. Although this was about as far from the truth as it could be, it helped him to just say it out loud.

*****

As Naruto entered Carousel Boutique he found himself worrying about Rarity seeing him a second time. He didn’t have a choice though, he needed to know where she’d last seen her cat. Rarity came out from the back of the store as he entered, and the bell on the door had signaled his arrival. She frowned for a moment, then seemed to recall herself and put on an awkward smile.

“Oh my, it’s the dearie with the cute fox tail! How are you?” That cheery greeting caught him off guard. Why had she frown then? Maybe it was a mixed expression; being offended by Naruto’s fashion- or lack thereof - but happy to see his foxtail again.

Why wouldn’t these ponies stop admiring his foxtail?

“I’m fine. I came here about your missing cat, was wondering where you saw it last?”

“Oh, you’re here to find my precious Opalescence?” she said with glee. She slammed her hoofs on the counter as she looked at him, her face contorting to a display of pure glee.

“Oh I’m so happy you took my request, Naruto. I don’t know what I would do without my poor, sweet, fluffy Opalescence. She means the world to me, you see. Ever since she ran away I’ve been distressed and worried. Please find her. Please!” she despaired, flinging herself at Naruto,her hooves flying around his neck. He stumbled backwards, catching a whiff of her shampoo as she hugged him tightly, to the point at which he couldn’t breath.

“Alright, Alright. Uh, I can’t breath Rarity.” Rarity obliged, letting go of his neck and backing up a few paces grinning sheepishly. “Now, where was it that you last saw Opalescence?”

*****

“This is more trouble than it’s worth.”

An hour had passed since he’d left Rarity’s. The last time she’d seen her cat was in her boutique, then she said that it must have wandered somewhere in town, most likely around Ponyville Square, so that’s where he was going to start. He looked around the marketplace, the request board, and even under a couple of boxes and barrels, but there was no sign of the cat.

How can something so white and fluffy be so hard to find?

As he searched around he heard the sound of a hammer on metal. The sound led his eyes towards a small little shop. He peered inside, finding a black stallion with a gray horn. His fur looked a bit puffed out and he had a couple of scars on his face. A picture of a hammer and an anvil was on the stallion’s butt. Naruto kept wondering what was with the pictures. Then he noticed the furnace and anvil within the store.

“There’s a blacksmith here in Ponyville?” He wondered out loud. He could see an array of weapons and armor on display, ranging from long swords to daggers to small kitchen knives, and tools requiring a craftsman’s touch. The black stallion looked up at him, not showing much emotion in his voice.

“You here ta look or ta buy?” he said in a deep and grizzly voice. Naruto merely shook his head.

“I’m just here looking… I didn’t know a blacksmith existed here in Ponyville…” Naruto said. The blacksmith just shrugged as he went back to smacking his hammer against the anvil. Naruto looked closely at the Blacksmith’s work, and realized he was using unicorn magic to move the hammer and hold the blade in place.

The blacksmith looked up a few moments later as he realized Naruto wasn’t leaving. “Not many people need weapons these days… Or armor for that matter. Some say there isn’t enough bloodshed to warrant it…” The blacksmith began to say, Naruto listening intently. “There hasn’t been a war in a very long time… You have these royal soldiers from time to time, passing by. But they seem to be mostly for show. Most ponies just buy weapons and armor as collection items, and not for practical use… it’s an insult to a blacksmith’s pride.”

Naruto saw some wisdom in the blacksmith’s words. “Peace is a good thing to have though, right?”

“Of course it is, but you have all these lollygaggers being all talk about being all rich with their fancy words of etiquette… You would think some ponies would be cautious nowadays. No one has a mind for war, but instead they have a mind of being show-offs.” The blacksmith gave a bored stare at Naruto. “But that’s not the point. The point is my skill is going to waste.”

“So why do you keep doing the things you do?”

“I gotta make a livin’ somehow. Selling weapons is what keeps me fed these days.” the blacksmith said. As he moved his head from side to side, relieving the stiffness from his neck, he looked at Naruto.

“So, ya interested in buying something to show-off with?” The blacksmith asked. Actually, now that Naruto thought about it, this opportunity right here was perfect. If he was going to be hunting for a Manticore, he would need a weapon or two. He couldn’t chop something off with his bare hands after all.

“Actually… I was hoping to buy a weapon, for hunting purposes.” Naruto asked. The blacksmith raised a brow.

“Hunting what, bunny rabbits?” the blacksmith said with a chuckle.

“A Manticore.” Naruto said without hesitation. The blacksmith went wide-eyed at Naruto’s response before chuckling heartily.

“A Manticore, heh, that’s a good one, filly. You’re ten years too young to be hunting big game like that…” he said as he kept on laughing. “But fine, I’ll humor ya… Why do you want to fight a beast like a Manticore?”

“It’s a request on the Request Board. There’s a reward for getting a Manticore Tail.” Naruto said. This made the blacksmith laugh even more.

“Filly, there’s no way you can take on such a beast. Most of ‘em tends to be ten to fifteen hoofs tall, with monstrous claws, and a ferocious bite. Not to mention the scorpion tail. You’d be a dead colt before you could say ‘Oh no, I’m dead.’”

“I’ve probably fought worse…” Naruto retorted.

“Oh really… what have you fought before?”

“I’ve fought giant toads, giant snakes, and I’ve even had to fight monstrous abominations that were too distorted to even let live in the world.”

The unicorn blacksmith just lost all control, stopping his work as he held his gut in laughter. Naruto was getting annoyed at the black unicorn not believing him. While the blacksmith flailed about in his laughter, he slammed his hoof on a nearby barrel. Something white jumped out. Naruto’s eyes widened as he noticed that it had white ears and white fluffy fur, though covered in black spots, likely from the smithy materials.

“Rarity’s cat, it’s here!” Naruto shouted. The blacksmith stopped laughing as he saw what Naruto was talking about.

“What in Equestria is a cat doing in my material barrel!?”

Startled by the shouting, Opalescence ran off. Naruto widened his stance as the cat bounded towards the door.

“Oh no you don’t you puff of fur!” Naruto was suddenly across the room with the cat in his teeth. The blacksmith could only stare, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, at the pony that had just seemingly teleported to the doorway. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen. Or rather what he hadn’t. The pony’s speed was amazing..

Naruto walked back towards the blacksmith with teeth full of fur. “Now do you believe me?”

The blacksmith blinked a couple of times as he gave a smile. “You’ve got speed filly, but that doesn’t mean you have combat experience,” he said.

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders, “Well anyway, it was nice talking with you. But right now, I have a reward to collect for this troublesome cat…” Naruto said. He was about to walk away until a voice from behind him shouted out.

“Hey, wait a sec filly.” Naruto looked back to see the blacksmith walking towards him. What he said gave Naruto a smile that spread across his entire muzzle.

“The name’s Blackie. Filly, you make me laugh. You pay the bits and I’ll make you whatever Manticore fighting weapon you like.”

*****

AN: Just a FYI: The filly term is used on purpose. Yes, I know it means a female horse. Yes, several comments have pointed it out. And no, I am not using it wrong. There’s a reason why I’m calling Naruto a ‘filly’. :o

CH10: Preparation

Special Thanks:

Editor: Pissfer

*****

A tale of sadness

A tale of regret

An Alchemist’s tale,

You should never fret

*****

Chapter 10: Preparation

With his business at the blacksmith’s concluded, and a ball of fur in his mouth, Naruto headed back towards Carousel Boutique. It didn’t take him long to reach as it was only a short walk away. The only issue he had on the way there was that Opalescence was constantly trying to scratch his nose, or any other part the cat could manage to reach. Especially that one time he’d sneezed in response to the black soot the cat was covered in. She even managed to escape his mouth a time or two, but they managed to reach the boutique without any substantial problems.

As he entered the building with the bundle of fur in his mouth, he placed the cat down on the nearby counter.“Rarity, are you in here? I found Opalsass… um, however you pronounce her name,” he called out. Naruto caught the cat sneaking towards the door, promptly using his tail to hold the cat in place. The cat struggled as it shrieked wildly.

Rarity’s head popped out from the stairs. “Oh dear, what is all of this noi—OPALESCENCE!” She screamed in delight as she discovered the creature that was being held down by Naruto’s tail. She rushed towards the cat as Naruto just kept it in place. The cat stopped for a moment as it’s owner stepped into view, before looking the other way in disgust. Rarity furrowed her brow towards Naruto.

“Why are you holding my cat down with your tail?”

“It’s trying to get away from this building. I think it still has a grudge against you Rarity.”

“Nonsense, my cat is of high class, and I know Opalescence loves me.” She said as she nuzzled her cat. “Don’t you Opalescence?” In response, the cat took a swipe at Rarity’s nose. Rarity immediately reacted, managing to get away without a scratch. She squinted her eyes as she ignited horn.

“Naruto, release her. I’ll take care of her.” Naruto gave a nod as he lifted his tail away from the cat. It tried to take the opportunity to flee, but a purple aura quickly surrounded the cat, lifting it off the ground. Naruto stood in awe of Rarity’s magic. As Opalescence was suspended in mid-air, Rarity noticed that it was covered in black powder.

“My word, Naruto, how did my cat get all dirty with all this… soot?”

“It was hiding at the blacksmith’s shop in a nearby barrel. I guess she got into some materials and she ended up like this?” Naruto guessed. Rarity replied with a small nod. Using her magic to hold the cat in place, she went over to a nearby cabinet, opened a drawer and withdrew a small pouch that jingled in her grasp. She walked back over to Naruto with the bag in her mouth before placing it on the counter.

“There’s your pay Naruto. And thank you for finding my cat. I would’ve found her myself, but there was just so much work to be done, and I just didn’t want to dirty myself finding her.”

“You don’t like getting dirty?”

“Not at all, a lady needs to have class after all.”

Nobles, always holding themselves to such ridiculous standards. Or maybe she’s just the type of pony that likes to feel pretty and important. Women are weird that way. He shrugged as he finished his thought, looking at the bag for a moment before placing it in his jacket pocket, beside the other one.

“Well… anyway Rarity, I hope to see you soon.”

“Of course, darling…”

As he was about to exit through the door, he heard something else from behind.

“Before you go, there’s one more thing, Naruto.”

“Yes?”

“I hope to see business from you in the future. It means a lot to me that you found my precious Opalescence, it really does. ” She said. Naruto couldn’t help but give a grin.

“It’s no problem Rarity.”

“Well then! Now that that’s taken care of…” She looked back at Opalescence. “It’s time for your bath. I cannot BELIEVE you would run away AND get dirty at the same time, the nerve! You are a cat of class, not some trash digger or such!” Her horn ignited once again, floating the cat along behind Rarity against its will as it futilely tried to struggle out of the aura. Naruto couldn’t help but chuckle nervously as he walked out the door.

*****

As he returned to the Ponyville Square, he found that the sun was quickly approaching the horizon. . It still baffled him that it required two particular princesses just for the night and day cycle to function correctly. But this also meant he had to be quick if he wanted to prepare for tonight. That’s right, tonight, Naruto thought. He looked towards the square and quickly located the request board. He ran towards it to see what other requests were up there. Nothing seemed different than from when he checked last. He soon found himself looking at the Manticore request once again.

He smiled briefly before ripping it off the Request Board with his teeth. After laying it on the ground and placing a hoof on it to keep it from blowing away, he started to read. All he knew from earlier was what Twilight had told him; the reward money and that the requester was some person from Canterlot, so he needed to read it thoroughly.

~~~~~~~~~~

HUNTING REQUEST:

MANTICORE TAIL

REWARD: 300 BITS

REQUESTER: GARY CLOPPER OF CANTERLOT

PLEASE SEE REQUESTER BEFORE UNDERTAKING TASK FOR MORE DETAILS

~~~~~~~~~~~

A picture of some guy in a top hat and in some kind of brown formal suit. Well, not some guy. More like some pony. He looked to be a stallion and had a white coat and black mane, a horn affixed to his forehead just like Twilight and Rarity.

This unicorn looks like a noble. Now it made sense as to why he was offering such a big reward, but why did he need a Manticore Tail?

Well, he would have to talk to the requester if he wanted to know any more about it. As he tucked the request sheet into one of his jacket pockets, he started to trot off towards Canterlot. And promptly stopped dead in his tracks. He had just realized that he had no idea where Canterlot was, nor did he have a map of the area.

As he looked around, there were still ponies wandering about. He talked to a few of them to see where he could get directions or a map. It didn’t take him long to learn that he could get a map from a nearby bookstore. He located the sign that was carved in the shape of a book right next to him when the ponies pointed to it. He scratched his head, wondering how he could miss such a thing.

Entering the bookstore, he smelled the faint aromas of aging wood, dust, and old paper. It was a pretty big bookstore, shelves of books too. But he didn’t have time to be gawking at how great it looked. He needed a map. He saw an earth pony stallion with a light red coat and a yellow mane.

“May I help you sir?”

“Er, yes. I’m looking to purchase a map of the area?” The stallion raised a brow at the strange request, but merely sighed.

“Why would you need a map of the area? You don’t live here?” Naruto found that response rather rude, but he kept his cool as he kept on talking.

“No, I guess you could say I’m new here, and I’m just trying to get a feel for my surroundings.” Naruto responded. The stallion merely sighed once again as he pointed his hoof towards a stack of paper pamphlets.

“1 Bit for a map, would you like to purchase a book too while you’re at it?”

“No, just the map is fine…” The stallion raised his hoof and banged on the counter, causing Naruto to flinch in surprise. The red stallion placed both his hooves onto his head and started to mumble.

“Why is business so slow? You end up having a customer and you’re supposed to be happy. But noooo, they don’t want a book, they just want to either look around or purchase a paper map…” He then spread his hooves wide, as if showing off the store. “WE HAVE BOOKS ALL AROUND! This isn’t some tourist attraction!”

Naruto couldn’t help but scratch his chin in confusion.

“Um… Sorry, I think?” Naruto’s response only pissed off the stallion even further as he banged both hooves on the counter. Naruto couldn’t help but just say something in the form of advice. “Er, look… I’m sure you’re having a bad day, we all do… I’m at least giving you some kind of business… right?”

“That’s not the point!” The stallion replied. “The point is that these books are going to waste. Don’t you love the feel of a book, the fine print, the texture of a hard-covered book? These ponies are insane I tell you!”

Naruto only gulped. This pony was the insane one, and he really didn’t want to talk him anymore. He took a Bit from his pocket, placed it on the counter, and grabbed a pamphlet map with his teeth before slowly backing away.

“Well, um… It was nice knowing you too Red Stallion, um, thingy… But I have to get going…” He hightailed it out of there, not wanting to deal with anymore of this clerk’s shenanigans.

*****

Naruto started to familiarize himself with the map. As he looked at it, he found many different locations. He found the Everfree Forest, it was pretty close to town. That was where Twilight had said that he would probably find a manticore. In the other direction he found Canterlot, but the path looked fairly long. It would likely take him a full day just to get there. He was examining the map, trying to figure out how to get to Canterlot more quickly, when he suddenly ran into something, causing him to fall flat on his butt.

He looked up as he rubbed his head in pain to find Pinkie Pie on the ground in front of him. “Ow… man, that hurt… I didn’t see you there Pinkie Pie…”

Pinkie Pie, who had also been rubbing her head as well, immediately perked her ears up and gave a very cheerful smile before tackling Naruto. He gave a yelp as he suddenly found Pinkie Pie on top of him.

“Ooh, Naruto! Good to see you again! How are you doing?” She said as she lightly hopped on his stomach. “Did you have a good day? Did you do anything great? Ooh, or maybe…” She trailed off as she suddenly disappeared mid-sentence. Naruto turned his head to find out where she’d gone, only to realize that she was nowhere to be seen. Naruto slowly got up before he suddenly found himself back on his ass underneath Pinkie, who had suddenly fallen on top of him. “Or maybe you’re lost, because I don’t like being lost. Being lost is scary and spooky. I knew a friend named Spooky, but he was nothing but air, but I liked talking to him. He’s all whoosh or breezy, but he’s a kind friend.”

Naruto got up once more, not understanding a word Pinkie had said. How he kept running into her was a mystery, not to mention he doesn’t understand how Pinkie can be so damn hyper all the time.

“Ugh… no, Pinkie… I’m trying to figure out the quickest way to Canterlot.” Pinkie stopped hopping from Naruto’s comment. Her mouth formed an “O” before hopping all around him once more.

“Ooh, what for? Business, friends, enemies, animals, flowers, riches, bits, um, candy?”

“Business, mostly… I need to meet somebo—er, somepony named Gary Clopper.”

“Gary? Clopper? Mr. Cloppity clop clop, hahahah,” she said in laughter. Her enthusiasm was enough to cause Naruto to chuckle as well.

“Eh heh, good one… But seriously, I need to meet him. But according to my map,” Naruto paused as he picked up the map in both hooves, “it’s going to take me a good while just to get to this place called Canterlot,” He finished, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. The sun was going down, so it was possible that he would have to delay it until tomorrow. He didn’t want to, but he really didn’t have a choice at this point. Pinkie took a peek at the map and gave Naruto a cheerful smile.

“Aw, put that frown upside down Naruto! Maybe Twilight can help you?” Pinkie Pie said in her cheery state.

“How is she going to help me?” Naruto wondered.

“Silly filly, she has Magic! She has that horn for a reason, Naruto! Just ask her to make you go poof and appear there! You’ll end up getting there before you could say ‘Cotton Candy’!”

Twilight… That was the last pony that he wanted to ask. He couldn’t let her find out he was going to accept this task too, so he would have to be careful…

“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea Pinkie Pie. Thanks for the advice.”

“Noooo problem!” She said as she hopped away.

“Hey wait, where are you going Pinkie Pie?”

“I’m just going to see Spooky. He’s probably all lonely!” Naruto half-closed his eyes in disbelief. He watched her hop along road.

That pony is insane…

*****

“Why do you need to get to Canterlot, Naruto?” Twilight asked.

It hadn’t taken long for Naruto to get to Twilight’s house to ask her for a teleport to Canterlot. But she obviously wasn’t going to do it without any reason. Fortunately, he’d already thought about that when he was on his way here.

“I just have some business over there to do. Some ponies in town said there’s a guy I could talk to over there for some work. Maybe even a job.”

Twilight gave Naruto a polite smile. “Really, what kind of job?” She asked. Now this response Naruto didn’t prepare for. Funny how he forgot to think about that part of the excuse. He laughed nervously as he tried to think up a good excuse.

“I um… Oh! That’s right. Someone’s looking for a dishwasher pony over there, and I hear the guy is short on help over there in terms of servants, so I figured I could go over there. I hear the pay is pretty good too.”

Twilight raised a brow at Naruto’s response. “A dishwasher, huh… Well, that wouldn’t be a bad job to have, and Canterlot is always looking for servants these days.” She paused, loosing a sad sigh, “Nobles though… they always depend on other ponies to do their work for them. It’s sad to think about.” Naruto gave her a small nod. She stopped what she was doing and looked straight at Naruto.

“Alright then, we can go. But can it wait until tomorrow?” Naruto shook his head at Twilight’s response.

“I need to see if I can get that position today. Its good money and I’m sure that the position is in a lot of demand…” Twilight looked towards the ceiling and then towards Naruto again, and gave him another smile.

“I guess that’s true… Alright, come near me Naruto.” She asked him. Naruto walked up next to Twilight, waiting for whatever she was about to do.

“Spike!” she shouted towards Spike, whom was dusting the bookshelves. He turned towards Twilight’s direction and gave a nod. “Take care of the library while I’m gone, it won’t take too long.”

He didn’t want to lie to Twilight to begin with, but he didn’t want to tell her he was going to hunt a Manticore. He was sure that it would just worry her. She closed her eyes and focused magical energy into her horn, a flash of shining light blinded Naruto, as he felt himself whisked away into the unknown…

*****

When the shining light dissipated, his stomach was churning as his hooves returned to solid ground. He keeled over; he felt like he was about to puke. It was a strange sensation, or maybe it was a strange pain. Either way, it felt like his body parts were stretching in several different directions while being teleported. Twilight placed a hoof on his shoulder.

“Naruto, are you alright!?” Twilight asked.

“Y…Yeah, I think so, it just felt like my limbs were being pulled into several different directions…” Naruto said weakly, as he slowly tried to find his bearings and get his mind off his stomach.

“You’re probably just not used to teleporting. I know it was like that with some of my friends. But you get used to it after a while, at least!”

Naruto just shook his head. “I doubt I’ll get used to it…” He raised his head and blinked his eyes a few times. He found himself surrounded by really expensive buildings. The cobblestone roads, the pure white buildings, the unique architecture. Everything just shouted elegance and class.

Is this really Canterlot? Wow... It looks so... amazing...

Twilight looked at him for a moment and then looked at the town.

“Welcome to Canterlot, Naruto.”

So this was Canterlot. He could see a few unicorns here and there, all wearing suits or other really exquisite clothes. It was more of a noble’s town than anything he’d ever seen. He took a few steps forward as he took a quick look.

“So this is Canterlot… I didn’t expect it to be such a… high-class place around here.” Naruto said out loud. He then turned back towards Twilight. “Twilight, I’ll meet you back here in about an hour or so, is that alright?”

Twilight raised a brow, she was wondering what Naruto’s rush was. First it was Canterlot, and already he wanted to head off after just arriving here. “You don’t want me to give you a tour?”

“Nah, it’s alright Twilight! I need to hurry anyway; I wouldn’t want that position to be taken before I get there!” He said, running off into a random direction. Twilight blinked a few times, thinking it strange that Naruto would do that.

“Maybe it was a really good dishwashing position?”

*****

Once he managed to get away from Twilight, he took a look around as he got the request paper out. He needed to find this Gary Clopper fellow, and fast. The sun was sliding down the horizon as he trotted along. Maybe he could ask a few unicorns around here on where this Gary might be?

He began showing the picture around to the unicorns that passed by, but was consistently ignored by all of them. Naruto raised his brow, confused at the actions. When he approached another lone unicorn stallion, he promptly shrieked before taking off in the opposite direction. That sure was a girly pair of lungs on that stallion.

Naruto repeated his inquiries, but made no headway. Everypony either shooed him away, took off or told him how filthy his clothes were. Though the last one was a bit more than he would normally take, he was running short on time and didn’t have enough to waste on being angry at them.

Eventually he took a seat on a nearby bench, grumbling a little as he wondered why everyone was treating him like such an outcast. Maybe they had a higher standard here in Canterlot? As Naruto pondered how to search for this Gary Clopper guy, he looked up to see another unicorn he hadn’t talked to yet. He was wearing a brown suit and had a black mane on him, a top hat, and what looked to be a lightning bolt on his rear end. Again, what was with all the markings on everyone’s butt? But nonetheless, maybe this guy knew where this Gary was. He gave him a poke on his back and the stallion turned around.

“Hello. Do you know somepony named Gary Clopper?” Naruto asked, while showing him a picture of the guy. Naruto was expecting another negative response, like all the others, but what he was expecting didn’t happen. The stallion adjusted the glasses on his nose, and gave a nod towards Naruto.

“Indeed, I know this Gary Clopper. What is your business with him?”

“He placed a request on the Request Board back down in Ponyville. I’m here to accept it.” The stallion blinked for a moment as he took a good look at Naruto. He took in Naruto’s appearance briefly, squinting his eyes as he took in his hair, his clothing, the bandana that Naruto wore.

“Follow me; I’ll lead you to him.” Naruto gave a big smile at this unicorn’s response.

“Wow, really!? You know where he is, and you’ll lead me to him!?” He couldn’t believe it. After spending however long he’d spent searching, he was finally going to meet this Gary Clopper guy. As they trotted along, they stopped at what looked like a medium-sized house; it was white and red, with a small gold trim along the sides of the house. It was a noble’s house, very exquisite. Naruto looked at the stallion in the brown suit and waved his hoof towards the house.

“This is Gary Clopper’s house. I’m sure he’s expecting you.” The stallion said. Naruto raised a brow at the stallion’s response.

“He is? But, I haven’t even made an appointment, or even met him yet…” The stallion grinned at Naruto’s response.

“That’s because he’s right in front of you, my dear boy.” Naruto blinked at the Stallion’s response. He looked at the picture in the request sheet, and then back at the stallion. The face Naruto gave was that of surprise, confusion, and excitement.

*****

As they entered the house, Gary led the way to his study. Naruto marveled at all the exquisite decorations; a few statues carved in the likeness of Gary, various antique pottery, even canvases of fine art. Naruto, of course, didn’t recognize the famous ponies were depicted in the extravagant art. As Gary led the way, he used the magic from his horn to open a slightly dark room. As Naruto entered, his nose and eyes felt like they’d been bashed in.

All around him the sight and smell of tomes, paper, books, ink—it made him blink for a few moments as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Gary looked at Naruto with a chuckle.

“Ah yes, forgive me. It tends to be rather dark here in my study. Allow me…” His horn shined once more with magic as the area was lit up instantly. A flame crackled in a nearby fireplace, making Naruto blink once more as his eyes readjusted to the light.

The room was full of bookshelves, which were in turn full of books, and what appeared to be a variety of plants and mushrooms. He even saw a few bottles of liquids with metal brewing stands below. Naruto raised a brow at this. The shapes of those bottles seemed… familiar, to him.

“Please, take a seat, we have much to discuss, I’m sure…” Gary said to Naruto. He looked at Gary and gave a nod. He sat in a nearby sofa seat. It was really soft, and it felt fantastic; solid smooth wood with plush cushions that just felt amazing. Gary sat in the sofa chair across from him. There was a coffee table between them, holding a picture frame of somepony, and a couple of books. There was also a small tea set sitting there as well.

Gary brought his front hooves together, as if thinking and studying Naruto in an intelligent and elegant matter.

“So then… What is your name, young one?”

“It’s Naruto, Mr. Clopper.”

“Please, no need for formalities. It’s flattering, but please, call me Gary.” Gary corrected. Naruto scratched his head as he gave a nod.

“Alright then, Gary it is.” Naruto said. Gary used his magical horn to pour himself a cup of tea from the kettle into an exquisite cup, having that of yellow and blue rims around the cup. With the magic enveloping the cup, he took a small sip of tea.

“Tea, Naruto?”

“I’m fine, Gary. But thank you.”

“Very well then…” He placed the cup on a saucer and eyed Naruto carefully. “What brings you in search of me, Naruto?”

Naruto took out a sheet of paper from his pocket and showed it to Gary. “You made a request on the request board down in Ponyville. I came here to accept it.” Naruto began. “You’re in search of someone to hunt down a Manticore to get its tail. It was rather annoying trying to get here to Canterlot, but I’m here to make your request come true.”

“Yes, this is true. I am in search of a Manticore tail. But tell me Naruto.” Gary began, leaning back in his chair. “What’s driving you to take such a dangerous task? Every other pony didn’t want to take it due to how fierce and dangerous Manticores are these days, especially since there has been an increase of them as of late.”

“My reason…” Naruto began, and Gary merely nodded. “I’m hoping to get the money from this request so I can purchase a house in Ponyville. Plus, it sounds like this Manticore business sounds exciting.”

Gary raised a brow at Naruto’s reasoning. “A house? You mean… you don’t live in Ponyville?” Naruto shook his head. “Where do you live then?”

“I’m temporarily living in a friend’s house.” Naruto began. “You could probably say I’m a traveller, and that I’m hoping to settle down in Ponyville. But since I don’t have much in terms of bits, this Manticore request should get me a house. At least, I hope so…” Now that Naruto thought about it, he didn’t know how much houses usually cost around here. He could imagine it would be expensive in Canterlot, but Ponyville, he had no idea.

“A house, hm… Well, yes, 300 bits would certainly get you at least a small house of your own…” Gary started to ponder aloud, as he used the magical power of his horn to bring to him what looked like a wooden pipe. He placed the tip of the pipe into the fireplace, letting the cackling flames light it up for him. Using his horn, he placed the pipe into his mouth, taking a small toke before removing the pipe and blowing the smoke across the room.

Gary gave a small sigh as he held his pipe with his magic. “It’s a decent reason for taking this request, I suppose… Unlike some other ruffians who just want to make riches just for the fame and such…”

“Others have tried to take it too?”

“Only two… One of them I greatly denied of them taking the request, because he looked like the suspicious sort, always grinning and twitching like a madcolt. I tell you my boy; there are some weird ponies in this world… Ah yes, and then there is one named Tasgon. He seemed like the hunter sort, carrying a crossbow and had muscles all over. So I did give him the request at one point, but…”

“But…?”

“He disappeared without a trace, and this was 2 days ago. So he either got eaten, or he ran away. I only pray it was just running away… He was rather a bit of a boaster, which made me hesitate slightly.” Gary gave a small chuckle. “Ah… He was funny though. It gave me a good laugh.”

Naruto gave a nod. “Sounds like he could boast about how well he runs away.” Gary chuckled at Naruto’s joke.

“Indeed… But anyway, yes, a house sounds like a decent reason. You are aware of the Everfree Forest, correct?”

Naruto shook his head. “I saw such a location on my map, but other than that, I do not know it.”

“I see… It’s a rather dark and dangerous forest that contains all sorts of creatures and beasts; including the Manticore itself. Most ponies tend to stay away from it. It is surprising that you don’t know about it. But then again…” He stopped for a brief moment as he took another puff from the pipe, before looking at Naruto once again. “You’re not from this area, after all.”

Suddenly there was a silence between the two of them, only interrupted by the crackling of the fire. Gary seemed to be a pretty nice unicorn, compared to the other nobles around the area. Very content, sophisticated, and appeared to be well-off, but didn’t act like a greedy snob like many of the others. Naruto simply nodded towards him. Gary seemed to be lost in thought. As Naruto looked back towards him he blinked a couple of times and straightened up into a more rigid sitting position

“Care to hear a little story, Naruto: A story that explains why I need a Manticore tail?”

Naruto gives a nod. “Actually, I was hoping to ask you about that. Why do you need a Manticore tail? As a trophy?” Gary sat up for a moment, thinking about Naruto’s words, and walked towards the fireplace.

“No, not as a trophy, but to save a life: my daughter’s life.” Naruto went wide-eyed at his sudden declaration.

“You have a family?”

“I used to… My wife had passed away a long time ago, and the only surviving pony in my bloodline is my daughter… She’s in that picture frame in front of you.”

Naruto blinked a couple of times as he looked at the glass coffee table, remembering the small picture frame. With both hooves, he reached out to take a closer look at it. In it was an adult earth pony with a gray coat and a pink mane, wearing what looked like eye-liner and lipstick, and there was another pony, who appeared to be Gary Clopper himself, on the right side of the picture. They both looked so happy together. In the middle stood a gray mare with a stylish black hairstyle, and a sophisticated smile that could probably shatter a pony’s sanity with cuteness.

“Ah, my wife, Termione… She played very sweet music when it came to the piano… always elegant, very classy, like a sweet little flower in a blossoming field…” Naruto looked back up at Gary and blinked a couple times.

“When I hear her music, it is like a sweet symphony of heaven; you could just lose yourself to her tune. You could say it could manipulate any male stallion out there, and use that to puppet others into her dirty work…” Naruto went wide-eyed at this, but Gary only gave a small chuckle.

“That last part was a joke my dear boy. But regardless, I was the luckiest stallion to have her as my wife… And the luckiest stallion to have a daughter with her… Which brings me to my reason with Octavia.”

“What’s your reason?” Naruto asked.

“My daughter is dying, you see… with a disease that my wife had.” Naruto almost dropped the picture frame in response to what he just said. Dying? His daughter was dying? Gary continued, but looked down towards the fireplace. “My wife had a genetic disease, a disease that infects the heart with some sort of virus. I am not too keen on medical knowledge, but it was like winding up a grandfather clock. Once you wind it up, and time runs out…” He began, and then looked back at Naruto. “…it is over.”

Naruto looked down back at the picture frame, while Gary continued on with a frown on his face.

“I had a chance to save her… But no matter the components I had for my potions, I could not save her…” He said as he placed a hoof on part of the fireplace. “I wanted to save her, but I couldn’t… Just because there wasn’t a known cure, because my knowledge of alchemy didn’t save her, and because the hospital didn’t know how to save her either… I had been researching my days away to figure out how I could’ve stopped this, to see if there really was a chance… And yet…”

“When I actually did find a cure, after several weeks of studying, I told myself ‘what was the point? She was dead, you couldn’t do anything, and it’s not like you could revive the dead’. I wish I could revive the dead, only to see her again…” Tears ran down Gary’s eyes, all the way down his cheeks and landing on the edge of the fireplace. Naruto couldn’t help but be moved by all of this. Here was a father finding a cure for his daughter, but he was guilty of not saving his wife. Naruto sat up a bit to pat him on the back.

“Don’t be like that Gary. While her life was short, I’m sure she had wonderful memories with you. I bet they were the happiest times of her life, and she couldn’t have been happier.” He said with a smile. “What you should focus on now is actually saving your daughter… She’s your pride and joy, isn’t she?” Gary’s head shot up as Naruto spoke, and he gave a firm nod as he wiped his tears away.

“Yes… Yes, you’re right. I… I need to focus on the now, I need to focus on the very thing I can defeat that I couldn’t defeat before…” Gary sat back down to collect his thoughts, Naruto promptly doing the same.

“Alright… yes, yes… Anyway, my daughter, Octavia, has the same genetic disease, and so far, the hospital has kept it in check, but I do not know for how long… which is why time is of the essence. I have already researched a cure, and already have all of the components for it… except for a Manticore’s tail. And as I’ve said before, no one has succeeded in getting me one. It would be a miracle if anyone were to take down such a beast… this, is why I sent out the request. I lack combat experience, and my magic is not the type for combat.

“This is why, Naruto…” Gary leans forward towards Naruto, “please, accept my request and bring me the tail, and I will forever be in your debt. My daughter is the only thing I have left.”

Naruto stood up and gave him a smile. A smile of hope, a smile of glee and, most importantly, a smile of determination. He pounded his chest.

“That tail is as good as mine, Gary. I won’t let your daughter die from some stupid disease. Not a chance. And you can believe it!”

CH12: Like Father, Like Daughter (Revised)

AN: This chapter is kinda short, since I’ve been rather busy during the past week or so... but it gets the point across. Enjoy everyone!

*****

First Blood Has Been Gained

But this Achievement Leaves one Detained.

One Does Wonder: What of the Fox?

Especially When it’s Small Enough…

To Fit Inside a Box

*****

Chapter 12: Like Father, Like Daughter

Naruto was cold. Not the normal kind of cold but the dank, wet kind. He drifted in and out of consciousness, his mind swimming with fatigue. The brief moments of clarity were spent trying to figure out his predicament. What happened to him? Where is he now? This mind-numbing cold was all to familiar. Finally, his vision decided that the coffee break was over and the room around him came into focus.

No longer was he in the depths of the Everfree Forest, surrounded by wild fauna and the cliff. He found himself in... a familiar place, one that he frequented on occasion. Home, perhaps? No, he found himself in a massive sewer pipe, knee-deep in frigid water, staring at a wall of gigantic iron bars. A red, blood-like substance lined the surrounding area, more concentrated around the iron bars than anywhere else. However, those weren’t ordinary bars. They were part of a much larger contraption meant to keep anything big—human or monster— from escaping. A massive prison.

Naruto shook his head a couple of times in disbelief, staring at the broken seal mark. It all came back to him. It was the place where the Kyuubi was imprisoned; the same Kyuubi that he met so many times in this sorry place. Did this mean the Kyuubi was calling out to him? No, that’s impossible. Yet here he was, within throwing distance of the Kyuubi’s cell.

Naruto slowly got up on his legs, wobbling a little from the combination of fatigue and cold. The fight with the Manticore took a lot out of him and, even now, he was having trouble standing up. But he couldn’t stay here. He forced his legs to comply, ignoring the pain, and he eventually stood up completely. He needed to walk... he needed to find a way out of this accursed place.

As Naruto took a few steps forward, he could feel the water beneath him, cold, dank and murky. Even though his legs consisted of bone, skin, and fur, it didn’t make him resistant to the cold. Strangely enough, he felt as though he had never left his old world, due to the discovery of the Kyuubi’s prison.

“It doesn’t make any sense… I thought the Kyuubi was gone when I died… but then, what was that familiar voice I had earlier…”

He remembered it vividly. When Twilight and Pinkie were attacked by the Manticore, he was angry beyond belief. Sitting there just agitated it, making him even more angry as the seconds passed. He wanted to do something, anything, to help them. Yet, he physically couldn’t. That was when it happened… he somehow attained another tail. He looked back at his rear end, to confirm what he saw before. The tails in question just moved of their own accord.

“So it wasn’t just a dream… I really did grow another tail…” Did his feelings have something to do with it? As of this moment, it didn’t seem all that important. He still needed answers to other questions. He watched his tails move a few moments more, before turning back to the front. The cold had seeped down into his bones now, sending him into full body shivers every few seconds. This is nothing. I’ve been through much worse, he thought, pushing the the cold to the back of his mind. He stopped for a moment, looking further down the tunnel and then back the way he came.

It soon occurred to him that he was in a two-way tunnel. No branching off, no intersecting tunnels, just forward and backward. Occasionally, a small pipe would open up into the main one, its opening covered by wrought iron bars. Each one he looked into had the same thing behind it, darkness. There was nobody—or pony—in sight. He was alone in this place...wherever he was.

His ears perked up, catching something on the still air in the tunnel. A small voice, something he never would have picked up on unless it had been this quiet. It was soft, gentle crying. It didn’t sound aggressive nor did it sound frightening. It was plain old crying.

He marched forward, now listening intently, trying to hone in on the tiny voice. He tried to keep his hoof steps as quiet as possible while moving as fast as possible, hoping to not spook whomever was crying. The sobbing grew louder as he proceeded further down the tunnel, indicating he was closing in.

He kept a watchful eye out for anything out of the ordinary, still trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Multiple pipes , wrought iron fences on all of the openings, were the only things he could see in front of him. As he trotted forward, the sounds started to grow quieter. He froze in place, turning around to look back the way he came. He took a couple steps backward, confirming that in fact he had passed where the voice was coming from. The only thing that was in the tunnel were those obstructed openings whose contents contained nothing but darkness. Of course.

“I must have passed it… But who’s crying?”

Listening carefully, he found his way toward a medium-sized opening with the bars now missing. He swore that all of those passages were barred up when he passed the first time. Maybe he just missed this one. Nonetheless, he strode forward into the passageway. It opened up into a small ante-chamber, much like the one he woke up in except that it was maybe half the size at best. Rust covered just about every exposed surface and more bars, like the ones outside, cut off any further progress. However, these seemed worn out, as if someone had gone and scratched them repeatedly. In the center, an iron bar door filled in a section of the fence. Naruto walked up to the bars, trying to get a closer look at whatever was inside. It was a rather big... no, in this case, a small surprise.

The room through the door had a ceiling light hanging from above casting its dull, yellow light on a circular section of floor. In the center, lay a small figure—nay, a small creature—who was scrunched up into itself. It was a small dark orange fox, complete with yellow beastly eyes, dark and mystical wavy stripes on its entire body, and not only that…

“9 tails…? It can’t be…”

On the small fox, 9 orange, white-tipped tails swayed, as if caught in an imaginary breeze. Naruto blinked, trying to comprehend what he was looking at. Had the Kyuubi shrunk in size? No, this wasn’t the Kyuubi... It was too different.

For starters, the Kyuubi that he knew was one hell of a sadistic beast. And yet, here he was, staring at a mini-Kyuubi in the fetal position, crying... Demons like that wouldn’t—or couldn’t—cry, right?

It left him confused. The fox kept crying, every now and then wiping away some tears with its fury , white-tipped paws . In fact, despite the freaky looking striped patterns and the resemblances to a demonic entity capable of flattening mountains with a single swipe of a tail, it was quite adorable. Naruto found himself wanting to go inside the cage, to comfort the poor fox. He pushed open the small gate and strode forth into the fox’s cage. As his hoof touched the ground beyond the door, the crying stopped. The fox looked up, apparently startled by the yellow intruder who just entered his domain. It looked on in what Naruto could describe as shock and confusion. Naruto was the first to break the brief, yet tense silence.

“Um, hi there…” Naruto said. The fox went wide-eye, the yellow of it’s eyes now more pronounced than before, eying Naruto. It blinked a couple of times before it started to growl menacingly. Naruto flinched, not expecting such a deep, monstrous growl from a tiny fox. Although, the fox did have resemblances to a much bigger and meaner fox, so he can’t say he wasn’t completely surprised.

“Who are you, and where’s Daddy!?” The fox demanded.

If he could have, Naruto would have pissed in his pants... except he no longer wore pants. The deep and threatening voice reminded him of the Kyuubi, but what confused him even more was that the fox was asking for its Daddy...whoever that might be. Naruto blinked a couple times before waving his hooves around, trying to calm down the menacing fur ball.

“I-I don’t know? I’m just lost down here, and, um… I heard you were crying, and it sort of… led me here? Eh heh heh… hehhhhh…” Naruto said with a forced smile.

“LIAR, I WANT TO KNOW WHERE DADDY IS!” the deep-voiced fox growled even more, now on its four legs ready to pounce.

“W-wait, I don’t know who or what you are, but I’m telling you, I don’t know where your dad is… whoever that may be.” Naruto said as he cautiously stepped forward into the light. The light revealed more of his body to the fox. The fox stopped growling, now staring at Naruto in the light. In fact, the fox didn’t even feel hostile anymore. It just stared at Naruto with a look of disbelief.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. First the fox was threatening him... and now it wasn’t? He was meeting all sorts of animals with confusing problems, it seems. The fox slowly walked towards Naruto, its eyes locked not on him, but at a spot directly behind him. He followed the foxes line of sight. It was staring… at the two tails Naruto had.

“Are you… Daddy?”

Naruto fell face first into the water below him, sending a new batch of shivers cascading through his body. Did he just call me his Dad?!, he thought. Naruto immediately jumped to all four hoofs and pointed one at the fox.

“Do I look like a damn fox!? Sure, I’ve got the tails, but I’m a huma—a pony, or a stallion… god dammit, I don’t even know what I am anymore!” Naruto said, scratching his head in frustration from his own identity crisis. The fox merely tilted its head at the amusing sight before him.

“No… you are my Daddy… You have the tails, and…” The fox leaned forward, sniffing Naruto, before grinning, “...you have Daddy’s scent… Or, maybe… you’re Daddy’s cousin, or maybe my Mother? Maybe even my Brother but… you smell like Daddy…”

Now that any trace of anger within the voice was gone, the voice sounded strangely… feminine. Was the fox a female? He let go a sigh of relief. In that case, it couldn’t be the Kyuubi. What still confused him was that the fox said he smelled the same as her Daddy. How was that even possible? As he thought about the implications, the fox circled around him, constantly sniffing him. He grew uncomfortable being in such close proximity to her. He took a couple of steps back.

“Look, I’m pretty sure I’m not your daddy… Heck, I’m not even married! Nor have I done anything like that… So I’m pretty sure you’re not my kid… Besides…,” Naruto said, looking around, “I was expecting to find the Kyuubi in here… not a pint-sized fox.”

The fox flicked its nine tails, squinting at Naruto, his mouth now sporting a grin.

“Pint... sized?” The fox slammed a tail into the ground, emphasizing each word. Each impact sent tremors throughout the ground on the level of an earthquake. Naruto lost his balance and fell flat on his ass, where the cold water was. He yelped, jumping up almost instantly, the only part of his body that was dry was now waterlogged. The nine tailed, pint-sized fox was powerful enough to shake the entire room using just a single tail. Not only that, but it has nine of them. He gulped.

“Now, who is pint-sized, hmm?” The fox said, delighted at Naruto’s reaction.

“Y-Yeah… Definitely not you…”

“Good… I’m glad you realized that.” The fox walked up to Naruto and eyed him carefully, a small, threatening smile graced her face. “Don’t you ever call me pint-sized, small, or anything that associates me with little. You got that?”

“Yeah, loud and clear… loud and clear…” Naruto said, each repetition quieter than the last.

“So… The Kyuubi… You said the Kyuubi, right?”

“Uhh, yeah…” Naruto began. “Do you know where… the Kyuubi is? Wait, stupid question… The Kyuubi can’t be here anymore… And yet…” He looked at the small fox. “You’re here, but you can’t be the Kyuubi either, you’re too sm—er, I mean you’re not what I was expecting… Uh…”

“You call him Kyuubi… What did he look like?”

“Well… He looked a lot like you, except he didn’t have all those black patterns you have on your fur… really evil and mean too… Didn’t care about humanity. Kinda like the big bad wolf or something… or was it the big bad pig? I don’t know how the story goes, um…” While he tried to figure out how to describe the situation, the fox just frowned in annoyance.

“Did he glow really red when he gets angry, really sharp teeth, and had nine tails just like me?”

“Y-Yes, that sounds like him alright!”, he said. The fox just smiled back.

“He’s my Daddy.”

Those three words were like being hit by a falling anvil… No, make it a million anvils to his entire god damn body, mind, and spirit… and maybe his soul too. Naruto’s lower jaw fell, his mouth gaping open in disbelief at what he just learned.

“EHHH!? HE’S WHAT!?” Naruto shouted out loud, having regained use of his mouth.

“He’s my Daddy… What’s wrong? You look like someone just died and got killed again.”

That didn’t even make a lick of sense.

“What? No, that’s not it! You… how the hell!? When did… Who… You’ve got to… ARGH!”

First it was dying. Then it was the pony world. Now the realization that the Kyuubi had a daughter. How the Kyuubi even managed to have a daughter without a potential mate—inside his own seal even—was disturbing enough. So he decided to do the next best thing:

He limped to the closest wall and set about banging his head into it repeatedly.

*****

AN: A rather short chapter, but this would answer some questions… and raise a shit ton more.

EN: DaMobbs here! Expect all future chapters to be proofread and edited by yours truly. I’m working on the other ones ATM so as I finish them, the revised versions will replace the originals. Nothing big will change except for wording and grammar but Dragon and I welcome you to read through the revised chapters as they become available!

CH15: Hospital Visit Pt. 2 (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

Thus Number Two, with More friends visiting

And yet there still seems to be something missing...

When the Blonde One Realizes Something is Gone...

His Sanity, temporarily, becomes less than none.

*****

Chapter 15: Hospital Visit Pt. 2

Once Gary had left, Naruto began to slip back into the boredom he staved off before. He attempted to alleviate said boredom by counting the individual specks of dust floating lazily in the air. He counted up to eight before throwing in the towel. As fun as it had sounded, he was bored to death. This drove him to find something else to occupy his time. He went over the recent conversation with Gary, talking to himself just to hear a voice and break the quiet.

“At least the tail arrived safely even with interference from Blackie…” Naruto still didn’t understand. Sure, Blackie was a bit of a jerk but that probably came with the job description of a blacksmith. But not honoring his side of the deal? What could the reason for that be?

“This is giving me a headache,” he said, rubbing his temple with an unbandaged hoof. As he shut his eyes, a sudden feeling of drowsiness swept throughout his body making it quite hard to move. A big yawn escaped his mouth slightly popping his ears in the process. With a tired sigh, he let his hoof fall back onto the bed before mumbling to himself.

“I guess I’m more tired than I thought.” With nothing better to do, he saw no reason to deprive his body of sleep any longer. It was better than sitting here bored, he thought. Each blink made it harder to keep his eyes open. Soon, he found himself falling into a deep, dreamless slumber…

*****

The moon slowly slid through the dotted night sky towards the horizon. Quickly nipping at its’ heels was the red morning sky followed shortly by the ever present sun as the moon slipped out of sight. Sunlight spread all over the quaint town of ponyville, drawing the ponies out of their slumber and into a bright new day. At Ponyville General, the sun’s early morning rays found its’ way into one blonde ninja’s room...

… and fell onto his face. He awoke slowly, the light blinding him even though he had his eyes shut tight. Stupidly, he opened his eyelids to find the bright sun staring right back making his eyes water in pain before shutting them quickly. He rubbed his eyes with his unbandaged hoof, wiping away any built up sleep from the corners of his eyes. This time, he opened his eyes very cautiously, allowing them to adjust to the light before opening them further and further. Naruto took a deep breath as he yawned, satisfied from his sleep. He stretched his hoof out into the air, his spine following with a quick couple of pops.

It didn’t take long for Nurse Redheart to come in after he woke up, a cart with what appeared to be his breakfast in tow. She placed it on his lap before going about her morning routine of checking his vitals as well as his bandages. The tray contained what looked like a small portion of carrots, white flowers, and a glass of water. The carrots and water he understood but the flowers puzzled him. They weren’t even in a vase of water or something... just laid out as if they were meant to be eaten. He looked at the nurse in confusion.

“What’s with the flowers, Nurse?” Naruto asked. Redheart looked back with a smile on her face.

“They’re white daisies, part of a balanced diet for our patients.”

Naruto blinked. “Wait… so I eat the flowers?”

“Well of course! That is if you want to grow up into a big stallion! Hee hee,” she said in a joking manner. Naruto, however, didn’t find it funny. Sure, he was a pony, or a stallion, or whatever… but eating flowers was new even for him. He sniffed at the flowers.

“Smells like grass…” He said.

“Well, yes. Daisies are from the ground after all. Everypony eats them… You’re not allergic to flowers now, are you?”

“Oh, no, it’s not that. It’s just…”

“It’s just…?”

“I’ve never eaten flowers before,” Naruto admitted. This earned a few blinks from Nurse Redheart.

“You’ve never eaten a flower?”

“No, I’m not exactly the flower type... or maybe it’s because I’ve never tried them… but then again…” Naruto picked up one of the flowers on his tray, staring at the white pedals and the yellow center. He plucked a white petal into his mouth, slowly crushing it to a plant-y pulp. He gagged before spitting out the soggy petal where it hit the opposite wall and slowly began its’ descent.

“Blegh!” He gasped, grabbing a carrot to rid his mouth of the taste. The carrot filled his mouth as he chewed on it rapidly, his cheeks bulging as he shoved more and more into his mouth. At the end, he looked like an overgrown chipmunk. The nurse was a bit dumbfounded at his actions, but still managed to smile… albeit a nervous one.

“Well, um… I guess everypony?” She said. Naruto kept chewing on the carrots in his mouth before taking a swig of water to wash it all down.

“I’m picky alright! Picky enough to not eat flowers! Bleh… it feels like someone shoved grass perfume into my mouth!”

“I’m sorry about that. If I had known about your food palate before hoof, I would have asked the ponies down in food services to prepare something different…”

“No! I mean… It’s alright, I just… kind of knew what my reaction was going to be. Besides, the carrots are good! It got the bad taste out of my mouth.”

“Well, glad to hear it,” the nurse said,” I think?”

*****

After Naruto finished his meal, Nurse Redheart had to gave Naruto a more comprehensive physical exam involving a round object with tubes going to her ears, a small rubber triangle hammer, and her clipboard.

From what the nurse could tell, Naruto was indeed healing quite quickly. She removed his bandages to check the scarring to find that the scars were practically gone. He experimented with his freed appendages by moving them all around. He still felt sore from the ordeal, but today his body wasn’t hurting as bad as yesterday.

When he turned to make a comment about his condition to the nurse, he found her furiously scratching in her clipboard under the section marked ‘Additional Comments’. A quick glance at what she was writing and he immediately started to sweat. The words ‘Experimentation’ and ‘Testing’ stood out on the paper and he audibly gulped before grabbing the attention of the nurse, intent on finding out what she was writing about in more detail.

The nurse giggled in response saying that she was only joking around. Naruto didn’t like the fact that she considered that as a joke. He took it quite literally in fact and for good reason as well.

Eventually, the Nurse concluded that he would be well enough to be discharged later in the afternoon as long as no other complications arose. This left Naruto with a big smile on his face, now looking forward to getting out of this white box they called a room. However, the fact that he still had to sit around waiting was ticking him off.

As the nurse exited the room, he heard a small commotion outside ending with an apology from the nurse before the door opened once more. He went wide-eyed when he saw who stood in the doorway: A familiar purple unicorn and a hyperactive pink pony.

“Twilight? Pinkie? Is that you?”, Naruto said with a bright smile. Twilight also went wide-eyed with surprise as she saw Naruto. Pinkie’s ever present smile seemed to double in intensity the moment she saw him laying in bed.

“Naruto… you’re… you’re awake! You’re looking a lot better than last I saw you!” Twilight couldn’t help but walk to Naruto’s bedside, mouth agape. She blinked a couple of times before she adopted an angry frown and slapped him with a hoof. Naruto recoiled in surprise, placing a hoof over his cheek which was now turning red. Twilight had just slapped him in the face! Pinkie Pie was also surprised apparently.

“Twilight, why did you slap him!?” Pinkie Pie yelled.

He jerked his head back towards Twilight, not sure of what had just happened before he saw it. Tears were in her eyes.

“Why… why did you…” Twilight began shakily, tears flowing down her face. “Why did you go and fight the Manticore… It could have killed you and nopony would have known until we saw you were gone… Were you that desperate for bits, hmm!? Answer me!”

Naruto just looked at her. He had no idea what to say next. Should he play it off as just another shenanigan or should he apologize for his actions? He just didn’t know.

He opened his mouth to say something only to grunt as Twilight flung herself onto his chest, now bawling into his fur. Naruto couldn’t help but rest his hoof on Twilight’s head, while shedding a tear of his own… not from the slap but from the fact that he had worried her to the point of crying.

“I’m sorry for worrying you Twilight... I really am. But if you knew why I was going out there, you would’ve gone after me. I didn’t want to put you in any danger—”

“Of course I would have followed you! That’s what friends are for... They help each other!” Twilight shouted, tears still running freely down her face. “I could’ve helped you… Instead, I…” Twilight sniffled. “…I only got in the way and did more harm than good… I wanted to help regardless, but I—“

“Twilight… stop. That’s enough, it’s alright now… We’re all alive and well. It’s over…” Naruto said as he stroked her mane with his hoof. Twilight looked up as she felt his hoof move over her mane, looking up at him with those big purple eyes. She sniffled once more and just wrapped her hooves around Naruto’s neck, pulling them into a hug. He went wide-eyed in shock, but eventually wrapped his hooves around her neck as well, returning the hug.

“Yay! Group hug time!” The party pony said, grasping them both in her deadly, pink vice grip of a hug. The touching moment they were having devolved into a fight to breathe as Pinkie squeezed the air out of their lungs. They flung their hooves about trying desperately to breath and eventually managed to extricate themselves from the ironhoof grip of Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie! Don’t choke us like that!”

“Hee hee! Sorry about that! I’m just sooooo happy that you’re all better now Naruto! You looked like a mummy when we last saw you!”

“I looked like a what!?” Naruto asked.

“A mummy! Wrapped in all those white bandages. All that was missing was a mummy ‘grrr!’ or a mummy walk!” Pinkie said, trying to imitate how a mummy walks by dragging her back hooves around with the front two out at a ninety degree angle moaning. It earned a nice chuckle from Naruto and Twilight.

“Speaking of a mummy… I wonder if I’m even able to walk yet. My bandages are gone, so…”

“Should you even get up so quickly though Naruto?”, said Twilight, concern laden in her voice,” Nurse Redheart said you’d be here for another month minimum.”

“Really? She just told me I can leave this afternoon if I want.”

Twilight and Pinkie gasped. Pinkie started to bounce around the room with a renewed vigor.

“Really really Naruto!? That’s super duper awesome news! I should throw a party for all those boo-boos that left so fast!”

“Well what’s stopping you Naruto? You could just leave right now, seeing as your bandages are off and the nurse said you’d be fine.”

“Maybe… but…” He recalled his previous attempt at leaving the hospital and he started to sweat just thinking about it. Of course, no other pony saw it, but he knew… Oh the pain...

“I should just rest until the afternoon,” he said rather quickly,” I’d rather not push my body or anything but in the meantime, there’s a question I wanted to ask you two now that I’m awake.”

Twilight and Pinkie Pie looked straight at him giving him their full attention.

“What happened the other night? After I was unconscious, that is. ”

Twilight and Pinkie looked at each other and then back at Naruto with a frown.

“It wasn’t pleasant, Naruto… if I were to say ‘the blacksmith threw a fit’, it would be the understatement of the year... It all started when...”

*****

As soon as he collapsed, I ran over to his side. I saw Pinkie run up next to me as I checked to see if you were alright.

“Naruto? Naruto!? Wake up! Come on, this isn’t funny!” I yelled. I wanted a response, a twitch or something to make sure you were still alive. I noticed the cuts and bruises all over your side, some of which were still bleeding. I widened my eyes and almost turned away in fright not from the blood but fro something else. There was a reddish smoke oozing out of the majority of the wounds in front of me.

“What…” I gasped. The low lighting in the forest made it easy to see the smoke swirl out and fall to the ground where it fizzled into nothingness. Not only that but the wounds seemed to be slowly closing by themselves! It was very slow but noticeable as once bleeding cuts had stopped and were smaller than before. While a feeling of relief shot through me, I still had to get him to a hospital for proper treatment. I looked at Pinkie with a worried look on my face and she returned it with one of sheer horror. Her hair was no longer puffed up but instead draped down the side of her face like a curtain.

“Pinkie, we need to get Naruto to a hospital! We ha—“

“BUCK! MY MANTICORE!” A deep voice yelled throughout the forest. I turned towards where the shout had come from just as that perverted pony barreled through a bush and into the clearing. I cocked a brow, wondering just what the hay he thought he was doing yelling at the top of his lungs about the Manticore. Here was Naruto, all bruised and battered, and all that the blacksmith had on his mind was that stupid beast. He kept on running towards the cliff where the monster had fallen to its doom without slowing down. I actually thought he was going to jump off the cliff but he skidded to a halt at the very edge.

He looked over the edge and I could see his body start to shake from something. One thing tugged at my mind though... just how HAD Naruto been in two places at once? I mean, it couldn’t have been magic right? He’s an earth pony, not a unicorn. So how?

“DAMN IT!”

I was startled out of my thoughts by that sudden exclamation. Not only that but it was the fact that he swore that caught me off guard. Nopony swore nowadays and anypony who did was looked down upon in disgust. The fact that he had to the nerve to swear told me a lot about his character.

“My Manticore... my ingredients... my profits... GONE!” He shouted. “I had so much riding on that deal… The deal…. THE DEAL!!”, he said as he turned around to face me… no, at Naruto. He furrowed his brow and the rest of his face seemed to darken in anger. He slowly walked towards the group and began to speak in a very quiet and shaky voice.

“That blonde filly… I had so much confidence in this idiot… Such an easy payday ahead of me… but no, he had to get himself nearly killed and deny me an opportunity of a lifetime!”, he said, his voice escalating to a shout by the end. It was clear now. This excuse for a stallion had no respect for Naruto nor did he care for the state he was in. He had only one pony at the top of his list and that was himself alone.

I stopped myself from spouting off the first derogatory statement I could think of. I was enraged at this pony’s actions and not only would it be a waste of breath, Naruto needed to see a doctor immediately.

“What in Equestria do you think you’re doing!? Worry about that later and help me get Naruto to the hospi—!”

“He’s better off dead!”, he interrupted harshly, ”He’s a worthless excuse for a pony if I ever did see one! He couldn’t even kill that thing normally... Had to go and throw it off a cliff for good measure! All of that wasted... because of HIM!”

“What did you just say!?”, I shouted back, prepping a kinetic burst spell inconspicuously, ”He just saved our lives and you have the NERVE to call him worthless!? I can’t believe this... is that manticore THAT important that you would forsake the life of a fellow pony!?”

“Me and that filly had a deal, and he ruined it!”

Naruto’s body was enveloped in a black silvery glow as he shot up about five feet into the air. I flinched. That momentary lapse in concentration made me lose control of my spell and it went flying towards the black pony It hit him square in the chest and he went flying backwards into a nearby tree.

Naruto was still floating in mid-air but once the spell had hit the unicorn, the magic that had kept him aloft let gravity take over once more. That fall wasn’t a fatal one but if Naruto was more banged up inside than outside, anything that stressful and jolting could prove detrimental. I turned around, ready to cushion him with my magic when I saw Pinkie Pie already in mid-leap with her hooves under his body. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Now I just had one more problem to deal with. However, I still needed to get him to a hospital quickly.

“Pinkie, take Naruto to the cart at the entrance of the forest now! I need to take care of this troublesome unicorn…” I said, anger dripping off of every word. No one messes with my friends and gets away with it... especially Naruto.

Pinkie nodded quickly before scooping up the limp body of Naruto onto her back before making her way to the forest’s exit. Before she left, she turned around and looked at twilight with an apprehensive face.

“Be careful Twilight!”, she said before running off. As she disappeared into the forest, I turned back towards the sorry excuse for a pony to find that he was already halfway to his hooves. He didn’t seem to be injured if only just banged up slightly from his quick flight. I didn’t wait for him to fully recover before I placed a hoof on his shoulder and pressed him up against the tree. I might have gone and used a little more force than necessary but I didn’t dwell on it too long. He gasped as he was pinned against the tree. I readied another spell and aimed my horn once more at his chest before I started to talk.

“Now listen here you perv! I don’t take kindly to ponies assaulting and insulting my friends like that. In fact…” I remembered my prior offering of dumping him in the pond and smiled deviously. I was thankfully starting to cool off already.”I could also teach you how to dive as well. Or I could see just how long I can levitate a full size pony using the cliff as a handy distance calculator. Then again...” I looked behind me. I could see the severed Manticore tail lying amongst some of the debris and fallen trees. Naruto needed that for the request he took up. She could have levitated it out, but that would be pain in the flank due to its size. So for now…

“If you could help us deliver the tail to its owner and get Naruto to a hospital as soon as we leave this forest, I could postpone your ‘trip’ indefinately. Do you understand?” I finished my question with a rather delightful smile that seemed to put him even more on edge. He nodded his head quickly in agreement

“Good, now come and help me with this thing!”

*****

Naruto couldn’t help but keep his mouth agape through the entire story. These mares hadn’t just brought him to the hospital to recover. They had protected him from the rage of an angry Blackie and seen that the tail was hand-delivered— or, hoof-delivered in this case, to Gary. He scratched his chin with a hoof, thinking out loud.

“Why would he get all mad like that? I mean sure the body went over the cliff but he didn’t have to get THAT mad over it… even to the point of trying to kill me…”

“Naruto, I’m not even sure if he was trying to kill you, but he definitely looked like he was going to. What kind of deal did you two have anyway!?”

“In return for the spoils, he’d knock off a nice chunk off the cost of the daggers and haul the tail to Gary. Why?”, he rattled off absentmindedly.

He blinked.

“Oh... that’s why...”

Twilight face-hoofed and sighed. “After that, the black unicorn—“

“Blackie.”

“What?”

“His name is Blackie, the blacksmith.”

“Okay… well, ‘Blackie’ was fairly quiet during the time it took us to bring you to the hospital and figure out who the tail was for. I teleported ourselves and the tail to Canterlot and went to the address we got off that flier. Then Blackie went and—“

“—Took a swing at Gary.” Naruto finished.

Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How’d you know?”

“My tails told me.”

“How did your—wait, what!?”, said Twilight flummoxed.

“Gary stopped by and paid a visit yesterday. He told me all about it. Well, of the parts that he knew about at least. I still can’t believe that Blackie went ballistic on you girls. I thought he was a real stand up guy— I mean stallion or whatever. He’s a few noodles short of a ramen bowl!” Naruto then froze as he realized something of dire importance. Something he should have realized much sooner than now.

Ramen.

That’s right, ever since he woke up here, he hadn’t even had a single bowl. His stomach gurgled as soon as the thought of a hot bowl of ramen crossed his mind. Drool started to eek its way out of the corner of his mouth as he thought of its’ delectable flavor.

“Speaking of Ramen,” he said wiping the drool off his mouth with the back of his hoof,” I could go for a bowl right about now.”

Twilight raised a brow. “Rah…men? What’s that?” Naruto blinked a couple of times as those three words took root in his brain.

“You know… Tasty, handmade noodles boiled to perfection and served in an equally perfect and savory broth of beef, fish, pork, or miso that made life possible?” Naruto explained tentatively.

“You mean Spaghetti?,” she asked questioningly,” We have that here in Ponyville but i’ve never heard it called ‘Ramen’ before…”

“No no no! It’s not Spaghetti…in fact, I don’t even know what that is… but besides the point! Are you sure you’ve never heard of Ramen before? Slurpy noodles? The king of foods? The dangly things that taste like bits of heaven in your mouth?” Twilight shook her head at each example he gave and Naruto’s face grew grimmer with each shake. He turned towards Pinkie with a desperate look in his eye.

“Pinkie! You know how to cook, right? Surely you’ve heard of Ramen?”

“Nope! The only thing noodle related I know of are party streamers, spaghetti, string…” She went on and on, listing out anything string-related. Naruto placed a hoof on his temple, feeling a slight headache coming on.

“No ramen… here?” He mumbled to himself. “No…. Ramen!?”, he repeated as he placed another hoof on the side of his head. His mouth and brow twitched rapidly as if he was having a mini-seizure. He snapped his head up and looked at the ceiling, tears starting to form from in his eyes. He couldn’t believe it. He just couldn’t. He opened his mouth and and then...

*****

“Ah told ya Rainbow, if ya want to build up yer strength, ya need to buck apples just like ah do! Flying around and movin’ those puffy things ya call clouds isn’t going to build up yer leg strength!” Applejack said, bucking an apple tree for emphasis.

“But it’s so booooooring…”, Rainbow Dash said, a rather bored look on her face.

“Oh come on Rainbow. It’s not that bad! See?” Applejack went up to the next tree and placed a few baskets around the trunk before turning around. She brought up her rear hooves and kicked at the base of the trunk. As her hooves hit the wood, a shock wave sent the unsuspecting mares flying across the field and into a neighboring tree. Rainbow Dash was sent into the tree branches and Applejack had been flung back first into the trunk. The only thing they could hear was the sound of a high pitched scream for a few seconds until the wave of air and sound let up, letting them fall back onto the ground unceremoniously. Applejack was the first to recover and looked in the direction it had come from.

“Ow! What the hay was that!?”

*****

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! NO RAMEN!!”

Naruto lost it. He lept out of bed and ran around the room screaming at the top of his lungs. Pinkie Pie and Twilight were caught completely off-guard at the exclamation and had covered their ears to stop the painful ringing. When she looked up, she saw that the window had broke and that Naruto was acting like a mad-pony. Not only was he acting ridiculous, he was running on his back hooves only.

“NO RAMEN! WHY DEAR GOD IS THERE NO RAMEN IN THIS PLACE! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS!?”, he shouted.

A few moments later, Twilight and Pinkie attempted to stop his needless rampage... Well, at least Twilight did. Pinkie Pie had opted to run along side, screaming at the same intensity while laughing at the same time. Twilight grunted in annoyance and levitated them both off the ground. She had some words to say to Naruto and they weren’t going to be pretty.

CH16: Y U NO BRING DEAD ANIMAL!? ლ(ಠ益ಠლ) (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

Revenge is such a fickle thing…

Especially when cursed with random mood swings…

And this obsession over a lost corpse…

…Gives him no excuse to show any remorse

*****

Chapter 16: Y U NO BRING DEAD ANIMAL? ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

“I want my ramen…. Uwooo…” Naruto moaned while sucking on his hoof.

“Naruto, I can understand that you’re sad but screaming like a fil— I mean, madpony isn’t going to change anything! You’re lucky the hospital isn’t going to charge us extra for that window you shattered!” Twilight said with an intimidating glare.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… it’s just…” He began with a sniffle. “That there’s no Ramen in this place… or, heck, I’m surprised that you’ve never heard of it. How does one live without the king of all things tasty!?”

Twilight gave a small sigh as she tried comforting him once more.

“Naruto, it’s only Pinkie and I… maybe somepony else would know what ‘Ramen’ is?” Twilight said. Pinkie followed up her statement, bouncing up and down with a smile on her face.

“Yeah Naruto! I’m sure whatever this noodle heavenly goodness is someone is bound to know! I specialize in candy and cake, not noodles! Ooh!” In a blink of an eye, she disappeared from sight. A heavy weight pressed down on Naruto’s head causing him to flinch in surprise. “Maybe I should make licorice? Or maybe Licorice with tomato sauce!? Tomatoes are sweet, it would be a Licorice a la mode! Or maybe—” Her mindless babble was cut short when Naruto collapsed onto the ground, no longer able to support himself and Pinkie Pie’s weight. Struggling for air, he lifted his head up slightly to speak.

“Too… heavy…” Pinkie Pie merely stuck her chin up in the air, emitting a ‘hmmph’ before jumping off his head.

“No need to be all rudey rude pants!” Pinkie said with distaste.

Twilight couldn’t help but facehoof at Pinkie’s antics.

Naruto’s mental breakdown and Twilight’s recap of her story burned through so much of their time that it was already getting late. The nurse walked back in with the release papers and since nothing else came up during his stay, he was free to go. It feels good to be able to move around again, he thought. With his trusty Konoha headband on his head, his friends at his side, and the notion of a bigger reward, everything was right as rain. At least, everything was until he realized he was missing his jacket. The last time he had it on was in the forest and it wasn’t what you would call in great shape.

He felt somehow naked without it. Maybe they know where it went, he thought. He looked towards Twilight and Pinkie as they walked out of the hospital.

“Twilight, do you know what happened to my jacket?” Naruto asked..

“Oh, I almost forgot. We dropped it off at Rarity’s after we took you to the hospital. It was in tatters and covered in dried blood but we thought that if anypony could save it, she could. As a matter of fact, didn’t you save something for Rarity a while back?”

“I did? What did I save?”

“Don’t you remember? You found Rarity’s cat, Opalescence! When she saw the jacket, she told me all about what you did for her. She said that she was still very grateful for what you did.”

“It was nothing, really. I’m just glad to help, even though it was a request…”

“What do you mean?”

“Searching for her cat was a task that got posted on the Request Board.”

“So, that means you saved her cat in exchange for bits?”

“Pretty much… I was happy to help, regardless… although I do feel sorry for that cat… It looked like, um… what’s her name… ah right, Opalescence. It seemed like she didn’t want to go back to Rarity. Almost like it had a grudge or something against her…” Naruto said with a small cough. Pinkie Pie spoke up as well as she hopped behind him.

“Ooh, ooh! Maybe the poor wittle kitty cat hates her so much that she loves her? Love comes in different forms after all!”

“I... guess?” Naruto said in confusion as he scratched his head. Opalescence wasn’t his, so maybe it was just something that came from actually owning one? In fact, it did in fact remind him of a mission back when... wait a second.

Naruto paused mid trot. “Wait… Rarity is sewing my jacket back together?” Twilight nodded.

“Well yeah, I just said tha—”

“Rarity, right?”

Twilight hesitated. “Ok, just where are you going with this Naruto?”

“She hates my personal taste in clothes, heck, you saw it too! Why on earth would she agree to fix it?”

“Oh come now… I’m sure she doesn’t hate it.”

“She fainted when she looked at me,” Naruto rattled off. This earned a nervous laugh from Twilight and a furrowed brow from Pinkie. Pinkie hopped in front of Naruto and placed her face up against his, her eyes staring into his and her warm breath tickling his face. He froze, not wanting to trigger the pony into doing anything he might regret. Seconds ticked by and she just stood there..

“Um…?” Naruto hesitantly asked.

“BOO!”

“AHH!”

Her outburst caught him by surprise, sending him sprawling back onto the ground in pure shock. Pinkie Pie just laughed when he landed on his rump.

“Did she faint like that?” she asked playfully.

“NO AND DON’T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN.” Naruto shouted in response. Pinkie laughed even louder as Naruto dusted off some dirt and grass from his fur.

“C’mon silly fillys! Be happy! It’s always talk talk talk and think think think! What you need is to have fun with one of my Pinkie-rific Parties!”

“A party?”, Naruto asked skeptically.

“Of course silly! You were supposed to have one the other day, but since you had all those boo boos, I had to postpone and change the theme! But now that they went bye-bye, we can have the party! Yay!”

“Don’t I get a say in this somewhere?” Naruto asked Pinkie, but he never got an answer as Pinkie Pie zoomed off in a cartoony manner leaving a trail of smoke in her wake. Naruto’s mouth fell agape.

“I… guess I don’t.” Naruto said, slightly annoyed.

“Ugh… that Pinkie Pie is always such a hoofful” Twilight mumbled.

*****

Eventually, they arrived at the door to the Carousel Boutique. The door opened as a grey mare with wings stepped outside and took flight. Naruto watched as she flew off until some nearby clouds cut off his line of sight. Something about her seemed familiar though, as if he had seen her somewhere else before…

Naruto just shrugged and they both entered the store to find Rarity standing in the middle of the store. She donned a sophisticated smile as she walked up to her friends.

“I hope my jacket is in one piece now...” He thought.

“Well now dearies! What brings you here to—oh my?” Rarity gasped. Rarity walked behind Naruto before pausing. Call it a sixth sense, he immediately grabbed his tails.

“I swear, if another pony grabs my tails…” Naruto said with a frown. Rarity cocks a brow at his comment.

“I wasn’t going to Naruto…” Rarity said.

“Liar…” Naruto thought. He just KNEW she was going to pet his tail, like everypony else. He got all touchy-feely when someone touched his tail and it ticked him off some some random reason. In fact, WHY did he get ticked off whenever someone touched his tail? Was it because of the freaky, spine tingling sensations? He didn’t know and the only explanation he could come up with was that he just ‘knew’.

During his inner conversation with himself, Rarity took advantage of a hole in his tail’s defense and reached in. She placed a hoof on each side of his tail and simply pulled them apart, separating his two tails. An electric jolt flew up Naruto’s spine, startling him out of his thoughts. He jumped forward, pulling a 180 spin mid-air, and landed facing the perpetrator.

“I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO TOUCH ‘EM! I KNEW IT! I FREAKING KNEW IT!” Naruto shouted. Rarity gave a dainty chuckle, covering her mouth with a hoof.

“Oh come now, I was merely curious. It looked so fluffy that I couldn’t resist,” she said before adopting a slightly more serious expression, “Although I am also quite curious to know how you grew another tail.”

Twilight gasped. She had been with him that entire time and she didn’t even notice the extra tail. A quick peek at Naruto’s tails confirmed that he did, indeed, have two and that she was not hallucinating.

“Wow, I can’t believe I didn’t notice it until now! You somehow obtained another one during that battle with the Manticore!” Twilight said.

“How in the world does one forget when someone... somepony gains another tail!?” He thought. “Is she that blind? Did they just blend together into one tail? Gah, I don’t know… thinking about this is making my head hurt.”

“Ah, yes. Twilight did mention that you bested a Manticore. You’re very lucky you’re still in one piece! What in Equestria drove you to willingly fight one?”

“It’s… a really long story… but let’s just say it was to save a life.”

“And bits.” Twilight added.

“Er, yes… and for bits, too. But the ‘saving a life’ part was much more important!” Naruto said.

“I see… you’re saving all sorts of lives aren’t you? First Pinkie Pie and Twilight and then yet another… You’re a rather heroic stallion aren’t you?” Rarity said.

“Well, I wouldn’t really say that… Right time, right place I guess?” Naruto said with a bashful smile.

“Now I’m curious. How in Equestria do you have TWO tails now?” Twilight asked

The topic he was attempting to skirt had come up anyway. The question now was should he tell them that he had a demonic entity sealed in his body capable of flattening mountains and creating tsunami’s with a flick of a tail or that he’d always had two tails?

…

Maybe they’d buy the ‘I’ve always had two tails’ story instead, he thought. He shook his head and straightened his forehead protector before deciding to feign ignorance for the time being.

“It’s a mystery to me, to be honest. Even I don’t know my body that well.” That was only part of the truth. He knew that Princess had somehow given him the tail but the process eluded him. Even now, he still wondered just what he did to trigger the transformation and release some of Princess’s chakra. Twilight and Rarity exchanged gazes for a few seconds.

“You don’t know?” Twilight asked.

“Nope. Remember when you first found me and how confused I was? Only Go—er, Equestria knows what else my body could do without my say so! I’m as freaked out as you are hehe.”

The explanation was simple, and even though it was more of an ‘I don’t know answer’, Twilight and Rarity let the topic slide. At least for now.

“A-anyway! Enough about my tail! Is my jacket fixed yet Rarity?” A shiver went through Rarity at the mention of that horrific excuse for clothing. A small, but nervous chuckle escaped her lips.

“Oh… yes… ‘that’ dreadful thing.” Naruto rolled his eyes.

“Dreadful…?”

“Yes… that… torn up rag… it was absolutely more hideous than it was before. All those scratch marks and torn pieces here and there… and my... all of that BLOOD! I can’t believe that your... jacket... survived as long as it did in your capable hoofs!”

“Uh… just in case you had forgotten… I was ALMOST TORN UP BY AN OVERSIZED FELINE!” Naruto said, shouting the last couple words.

“Which you shouldn’t have fought in the first place,” she retorted.

“Ugh… look, Rarity. Is my jacket back to the way it was before it was destroyed?”

Rarity bit the bottom of her lip for a moment then gave a small nod. She turned and walked to a corner of the shop laden with bolts of cloth and pony mannequins strewn almost haphazardly about. On one of them was his jacket, just as pretty and sleek as the day he bought it. Rarity levitated it off and floated it over to his now outstretched hooves. Naruto grabbed it and smiled, looking at it like it was a long lost relative. It had survived yet another brush with death and now it was even softer and cleaner than before!

However, he came to realize that he had left the majority of his possessions in their pockets, namely his bag of bits. He stuck a hoof into each pocket, feeling around for that bulge of money. As he went through each pocket, he grew more and more frantic, finally upending his jacket and shaking it. A piece of white string lazily floated out and onto the ground.

Twilight noticed that something was troubling Naruto. “What’s the matter Naruto?”

“My money! It’s gone!”

*****

After the small freakout, he asked Rarity if she had seen his bit bag in his jacket, to which she stated that he had nothing of the sort tucked away in the pockets. Naruto’s mood took a nosedive, the realization that he was broke until Gary paid him his reward and that he couldn’t pay for her services. Rarity waved him off, stating that it was unnecessary seeing as he had done so much for her already, but if it made him feel better, he could pay later. Naruto beamed and bowed in gratitude for her generosity.

As they walked out, Naruto’s jacket felt much more snug and comfy than before. He couldn’t help but hug himself. Twilight found that to be a tad creepy as they walked down the path.

“Enjoying yourself Naruto? Do you want some time alone while you two catch up?”

“Oh hah hah Twilight, but yes I am. I thought I had lost it for good. If it was a girl, I’d kiss it!”

“T-Too much information Naruto!” Twilight exclaimed.

Naruto laughed at his own awkwardness mostly for the benefit of Twilight. So far, the past two days had been a mixed batch of surprises. The hospital released him with a clean bill of health and he’d lost his prior earnings but now his jacket was better than ever. Not only that, but Gary had even promised him a substantial increase in what he was going to be paid. All of that would go towards making Naruto’s future in ponyville much easier. Twilight giggled, catching his attention once more.

“Well Naruto, it’s been a rather long day. Ready to go home?”

“Definitely! I’m just about ready to—“, he started before feeling a tug at the bottom of his stomach. No, not exactly at the bottom of his stomach… but he felt a… tingling sensation between his legs. He blinked a couple of times as he looked at his flank, wondering what was going on. However, the feeling grew exponentially stronger until he realized what exactly what was about to happen.

Naruto jerked his head left and right, looking for an area to hide from prying eyes. However, there was nothing but houses and open street surrounding them at the moment. Twilight tilted her head to the side, wondering what was wrong now.

“Naruto? What’s wrong? You look like you’ve—“ She didn’t finish her sentence as Naruto rushed by her as he talked in a nearly unintelligible fast way.

“ohmygodgottagogottagogottagogottagoitsgonnaburstmeetyouatthelibrary!” Naruto spurted out before dashing down a sidestreet. Twilight couldn’t get a word in edgewise as naruto had already fallen out of earshot.

Twilight just stood there in the middle of the street, eyes locked on where he had disappeared from sight. She sighed. Just when she thought he was a normal pony, he would do something spontaneous and weird enough to make her second guess herself. It reminded her a little of Pinkie Pie but having one around was more than enough. In the end, she just chalked it up to being a stallion, hoping he’d be back to normal, or at least as normal as possible, when she saw him again.

Twilight sighed once more before continuing down the street to the library. As she turned the corner, she collided with another pony, sending them both into the ground. She rubbed her head where they had hit and almost immediately sprung into an apology before realizing just who she had bumped into.

It was none other than Blackie, the blacksmith. She had hoped to never run into him again, but unfortunately, when you live in a town as small as ponyville, it’s easier said than done. He picked himself up off the ground before scowling, obviously still angry for what they had done to him earlier. She braced herself for the verbal assault. However, his scowl turned into a smirk.

“Why hello there... fancy meeting you here on a glorious evening such as this? All alone I take it?” Twilight couldn’t believe the nerve of this pony, having the gall to strike up a conversation after all that happened a couple days ago. Twilight grew irritated

“I don’t see why it’s any of your business…”

*****

“Ahhh, god that felt great…” Naruto said as he walked out of a group of bushes. He chuckled.

“Hard to believe I held my bladder in for nearly a week… Maybe I just forgot all about it because of this whole ‘new body’ sort of deal… But since I’m getting used to it, maybe my body is returning to normal?”, He said to himself. He looked up at the sky, then at the ground, and then at sky once more. “...Maybe I’m just thinking too much… whelp, which way was the library again?”

Naruto walked in a random direction, hoping that he would end up on the main street eventually. A few moments later, he turned a corner and froze mid-step when he looked down the street. He jumped back around the corner and pressed against the wall, taking another peek around the building.

Blackie and Twilight were talking at the other end of the street.

“What’s Blackie doing here with Twilight?” He asked himself. Naruto could see their lips moving, but he wasn’t skilled in reading lips and he was still out of earshot. He couldn’t exactly hear much from his current position and he couldn’t move down the street without being noticed. A quick look at his surroundings and he grinned when his eyes fell on a cardboard box lying next to a garbage can.

He dashed over and brought it back to the corner. Thankfully, it was big enough to accommodate his entire body and it even had a conveniently placed hole where he look out from. A devilish snicker escaped his lips and he slowly walked down the street, now camouflaged.

He managed to close the distance quite quickly and was soon in eavesdropping distance. His tails flicked around, with curiosity abound to know what was going on. He leaned his ear in to listen.

“—telling you, it’s not Naruto’s fault he lost the Manticore… or well, maybe it is… but you shouldn’t have done what you did that night!” Twilight said to Blackie.

“Ya don’t get it do ya, you stupid foal! Me and Naruto had a deal. I give him a discount and a free delivery service, and he lets me have the Manticore corpse. He broke his side of the deal so I can take whatever the buck I want. Plain and simple!”

“You are being completely unreasonable! Naruto, Pinkie Pie, and I were in mortal danger! What other choice did he have?”

That’s when Blackie acted, picking up Twilight with his magic. His horn glowed with a dark aura as Twilight was engulfed in the same color. Twilight was caught off guard and her attempts to dispel his magic was rendered ineffective once he had her completely wrapped in his magic. Blackie flung her a short distance away and into a nearby bush. She yelped as she hit the bush but thankfully the branches and leaves cushioned the impact. She tried to extricate herself from the bush but Blackie placed a hoof on her shoulder, pinning her down.

“He had a choice ya whore of a foal! He could’ve just sacrificed you two to complete the deal. But no, that goody-two-shoes decided to try and play hero. Well I’ll tell ya somethin’ missy.” Blackie leaned his mouth towards Twilight’s ear, and whispered “That filly ain’t right, and if he can’t honor a deal, he should just drop— AH, what in tarnation!?“

Blackie was interrupted by a sharp pain in his flank. He whipped around, ready to face the... box. He blinked, momentarily surprised to find not a pony, but a box had hit him. However, that was just the outside. Whoever was inside going to pay dearly.

“Grrrr, do you know who you’re messing with you twit!? Come out of there and face me like a stallion!”

Silence.

Blackie growled in anger before deciding to take the initiative. “Fine then! Have it your way!” He used his magic to rip open the box. A white cloud of thick smoke erupted from the inside as the flaps fully opened, sending Blackie into a coughing fit. As the smoke cleared, he looked back down at the empty shell of the box, flummoxed at what just happened. The only thing left inside was a small slip of paper, with a picture of a rather familiar face, whiskers, and a wide grin.

Then Blackie recoiled as something hit him in the head. He yelped, mostly in shock, before rubbing the spot where it hit. Unknowingly, he had removed the hoof pinning Twilight down and she moved a few feet away. Blackie spat at the ground when he saw the pebble that had hit his head now lying in the grass. He turned around to find a yellow pony leaning casually against a wall, tossing another pebble in the air with a free hoof.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve Blackie… I wanted to believe that you were a good pers— I mean pony, but obviously I was wrong. You don’t respect me or my friends,” Naruto said as he let the pebble hit the ground. He began to slowly walk towards the black unicorn. “All of this over a stupid manticore? I know persistence but this is just you being a stupid, greedy idiot… and I’m usually the local village idiot around here!”

Blackie frowned in anger. “Buck that! You knew what our deal was and you should have honored it!”

“I did honor the deal Blackie. I ran into complications, in case you’ve forgotten…” Naruto took a deep breath and then exhaled before looking Blackie in the eyes. “The Manticore had the upper hand and the longer we kept fighting, the more likely I was going to die. Sending it over the cliff was my only option. Then the girls showed up…” Naruto’s gaze shifted towards Twilight then back. “All the more reason to end the fight quickly. Lives are more valuable to me than bits Blackie, and you should respect that.”

“I want my corpse, dammit!”, he fumed.

“Tell you what, if you want that body so bad just jump off that cliff. It should still be at the bottom even now. Besides,” Naruto began with a smug smile, “What about the wings? I chopped them off, and they didn’t go flying over the cliff… unless the wings had minds of their own.”

“The wings were gone by the time I went back to grab them.”

Naruto blinked. “Wait, what?”

“By the time I was done being this whore’s delivery boy, the wings disappeared from the Everfr—“

Blackie never got the chance to finish that sentence. Naruto charged into Blackie, tackling him onto the ground, pinning him in place. Blackie grunted in pain from the impact of the ground and the constant pressure from Naruto above.

“Don’t you EVER… call her such a thing! Apologize, now!”, Naruto said angrily.

Blackie smiled. Naruto was confused until Blackie’s enveloped him in his magic, lifting him high into the air.

Twilight gasped. He had had everything under control until now but he was powerless while in the clutches of his magic. Twilight began to charge up her counterspell, her horn growing brighter as the spell grew in power, until Naruto turned his head towards Twilight.

“No, wait Twilight! I’ve got this!”

“But Naruto! You’re suspended in the air! You can’t do anything!”

“Just trust me! This is my problem. Watch and learn!” Naruto turned his head towards Blackie. One could say he was in quite the pickle; Suspended in midair, no way to counter, and no normal ways to fight. A delightful smile graced the black unicorn’s face.

“Oh she’ll be watching alright, when I fling you into the sky, filly.”

“Oh really… tell me. Who are you flinging into the sky?” Naruto said with a sheepish grin. Blackie blinked a couple of times, wondering what he was playing at. He had to be bluffing so he just kept smiling.

“You, of course, who else could I be sending in the sky, filly? I guess you really are as stupid as they come!”

“Hmm… If this was a normal case, then yes, I seem to be powerless…” Naruto said, still sporting his grin. He flicked his tails into a familiar cross position. “But what if I said this wasn’t a normal case?

“PONY STYLE: SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!”

Blackie flinched from the sudden shout. His ears picked up a very faint popping sound from behind and turned to see what caused it. He was met with a solid hoof uppercut from below. The punch was so powerful that it flung him into the air, doing his best impersonation of a corkscrew, before landing on the ground with a thud. Naruto, no longer held aloft by magic, fell to the ground as gracefully as an elephant, that is to say, with a heavy thud.

Naruto grunted in pain but still kept smiling. Twilight just stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape. She saw TWO Narutos! The one that punched Blackie was laughing as he picked up the other Naruto who joined in laughing. They both strode over to where Blackie’s unconscious body lay before they began prodding him with a hoof.

“Hey boss, he’s out cold. What should we do?”

“Just leave him there. I’m sure he’ll have learned his lesson when he wakes up. Besides, I’m sure he’ll have a field day figuring on what happened, hah hah.”

She rubbed her eyes, not believing what she was seeing.

“How… who… what… two of them… but how!?” It made absolutely no sense. He was an earth pony. He just used magic. He had no horn and yet the proof was standing next to Naruto that he just used magic.

“Thanks for getting me out of there Naruto Number Two!”

“Heh heh, no problem boss! Just doing what I’m made to do!” They gave a high-hoof, the clone disappearing into smoke as they touched hooves. Naruto felt good after knocking Blackie out, mainly for the trouble he had caused his friends... and especially Gary. Naruto continued to smile as he walked up to Twilight.

“Are you alright Twilight? Guess it’s a coincidence we’d both show Blackie whose boss, heh heh…”

Twilight just stood there, eyes open but unfocused, attempting to rifle through her brain trying to make sense of what just happened. Naruto tilted his head, wondering what was wrong with Twilight. He waved a hoof in front of her to no avail. He scratched his head with a hoof and sighed.

“Great, I think I broke her…”

CH17: Chakra, Snort Snort (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

Confusion Galore,

For there is always more,

Chakra and its inner workings,

And let’s not forget the flank markings!

*****

Chapter 17: Chakra, *snort snort*

*****

“Naruto, how did you do that?”

Those were the first intelligible words that came out of Twilight’s mouth in the last two hours. She had followed Naruto back to the library all the while mumbling incoherently to herself. After they arrived, she plopped down on one of the many cushions on the floor of the library before she snapped out of her stupor.

“You mean my Shadow Clone?”

“Yes, you yelled those words when you were fighting Blackie and then ‘poof’, there was another you! How did you do that?”, she said questioningly, tapping her chin with a hoof. “Come to think of it, that explains what happened in the forest with Blackie, but Earth Ponies can’t use magic of that kind... Only Unicorns and Alicorns can. Just... how?”

“That’s…” Naruto paused mid-sentence. He didn’t know how to go about explaining this to her. Should he tell her the entire truth or hold off until a possibly better time? He opened his mouth but closed it a moment later. Now was probably not the best time to divulge the whole truth. Nonetheless, answering her question was going to be slightly difficult.

“Well, how should I put this… It’s not magic, but I guess it’s similar to it.”

“It’s not magic? What is it then?”

“It’s a technique that I’ve known for a very long time. It’s saved my hide so many times that I’ve lost count… Back when I was—“ Naruto immediately caught himself. He didn’t want to spill the beans now. “Anyway, I used to use it a lot, but now I’m limited by quantity apparently. I can only summon clones in certain amounts…”

“Certain amounts?”

“Yeah, hold on, let me show you.” Naruto took a couple steps back as he crossed his tails. Twilight just stood there and watched, her eyes scanning every inch of his body. He yelled out the name of his jutsu before he was enveloped in white smoke. As it cleared, where there was once one was now two Narutos: The hair, the headband, the jacket, everything was completely identical. Twilight’s eyes widened in awe. Spike ran into the room investigating the commotion and skidded to a stop, mouth agape

“Wow, how did you do that Naruto!?” Spike said in glee.

“I’m trying to explain it Spike… Now as you can see, it’s a perfect clone. Same hair, same voice, and we think the same way too. Needless to say, it has a LOT of uses.” Naruto said while the clone nodded along.

“That’s my boss, and I’m his partner in crime!”, the clone said while wrapping a hoof around Naruto’s neck. Naruto chuckled.

“That’s as simple as I can put it. The clones can do everything a normal pony could do, with the same limitations, given a few exceptions like…” Naruto ducked out from under the clone’s leg and whacked it upside the head. The clone grunted in pain, and Twilight and Spike gasped.

“Naruto, what was that fo-!?”Twilight was interrupted as the room was once again filled with white smoke. As it cleared, there was now only one Naruto left. She stared at him in confusion.

“How did…?”

“One hit.”

“Huh?”

“The clones are very vulnerable to physical strikes. They’ll disappear once they get hit or if I choose to dispel them. Rarely, a clone can take two more hits before it disappears, but that’s only if I’m focusing hard enough. I used to be able to summon more than one, but I’m limited for some odd reason.”

“Wow… So that’s how you do it…”, she said as she levitated an ink jar, quill, and paper over. Naruto blinked a couple of times as he pointed a hoof at her.

“Uh, what are you doing Twilight?”

“I’m writing this all down. It’s so interesting! Do you know what this could mean for all of Equestria? If we could replicate this technique, it would be a colossal breakthrough in physical labor, jobs, and maybe even other things!”, Twilight said, scribbling down this information as fast as she could. Naruto gave a nervous chuckle as he placed a hoof on her quill. Twilight looked up.

“It’s not that simple… You need fingers in order to perform the technique… or, tails in my case.” He looked at Spike and then back to Twilight. “Besides, you can’t use it with normal pony magic.”

“You mean… unicorns can’t use it?” She said with a frown. It earned a shrug from Naruto.

“At least as far as I know… Unicorns use magic, right? In order to use the technique I have, you need chakra.”

“Chalk…rah?”, she said, trying to say the rather foreign word. “You’re giving me so many words I’ve never heard of lately, Naruto…”

“Yes, well... I guess, heh. But anyway yes, Chakra; It’s what I use to perform any of my techniques. You could think of it as a form of magic or fuel but the execution is completely different. Instead of, for instance, magic coming from Unicorn horns, Chakra comes from the entire body, or, the Chakra… circulatory System, I think? Anyway, without Chakra, you can’t perform any of these techniques…. um?” Despite the fact that Naruto said writing it all down was pointless, she went back to writing down the details anyway. Naruto sighed but smiled anyway.

“Even when I say that it’s not possible to do for a normal pony, you’re still going to write it down?”

“Well, you’re a pony, aren’t you?” Twilight said with a smile. Naruto grinned.

“Well, not a normal one, but point taken.”

“These are a lot of details… so how do you implement this ‘chakra system’?”

“Um…” That was a tough one. He knew the processes of molding chakra by heart, but by explaining it in words was going to be a lot more difficult. He scratched his head, looking for an easier way to explain it to a pony with zero knowledge on the subject.

“That’s… hard.”

“Why?”

“Well… let’s just say I was never the brightest ki—er, colt in school when it came to studying.”

Twilight frowned and Naruto chuckled nervously.

“B-besides, developing the chakra inside your body takes time and training… It can’t be learned in just a few hours… But… I suppose it can be learned much more quickly if you have a trainer.”

“Alright, then explain!” She said with a slightly forced smile.

“I just said it’s not that sim—“

Before Naruto could finish, there was a knock on the front door. Twilight merely sighed in disappointment and frustration, the notion of something new being so close yet so far away was nerve wracking, to say the least. Twilight stood up and walked towards the door.

“Who is it?” Twilight said through the door.

“It’s, um, me…”, came a small and timid voice. Twilight smiled as she opened the door with her magic. Outside stood a familiar canary yellow pegasus with a pink mane, a trio of butterflies adorning her flank. Speaking of butterflies, Naruto raised a brow as he eyed her, eying her ass… well, the small butterflies on her ass anyway.

“Another one with a marking on her butt? What gives? Is there a special meaning behind them?” Twilight, Rainbow, and even Gary had these markings on their flanks but each was different.

“Oh hey there Fluttershy, how are you?”

“I’m fine… um, can I come in? If it’s okay, I mean…”

“Of course Fluttershy, come on in…” As she walked in, she gave a small gasp as she saw Naruto. In fact, it was a rather low-pitched gasp, and it seemed kind of cute the way she did it. But this did make Naruto tilt his head in confusion, seeing that she was staring right at him.

“YOU!”, she immediately shouted in a low-pitched voice that managed to convey her anger.

“Oh no… what now. Seriously, what, of all THINGS, is going to go wrong NOW!?” Naruto thought to himself. First it was the Manticore, then the hospital, then Blackie, and now a crazy pony is about to go ballistic over some random misunderstanding and will tackle him to the floor, rape him, and leave him for dead.

…He needed to stop thinking up these convoluted scenarios. Fluttershy stared at Naruto. For some reason, he started to feel weaker and more minuscule the longer he looked into her eyes. He wanted to look away, but something was forcing him to keep staring. Fluttershy moved towards him.

“How could you do such a thing to that creature? What did that Manticore ever do to you?! You had no right to march into that forest and start killing that little innocent animal! How would you feel if he did that to you!?”

“…Er,” Naruto tried to say, feeling her ‘stare’ dig into him even deeper, “For your information, I wouldn’t call him, um... little. He was pretty big, and, um… he tried to kill me?” Naruto said, trying to defend himself. She continued to look at him as she touched her forehead with his. He tried to ease back but she followed him until his back was against a wall.

“You should be ashamed of yourself! If you hadn’t killed it, it would be happily frolicking around the forest right now!”

“Um… I think you’re a few noodles short of a ramen bowl here… I’ve seen how nasty that Manticore can be, and it didn’t look… lonely or innocent. In fact, it seemed quite happy to see me as its’ next meal!”

Twilight intervened and stepped in, separating them with her hooves.

“Alright alright, that’s enough you two. Fluttershy, Naruto has his own reasons for going after a Manticore. I know you’re upset, but it’s just a misunderstanding! Um…” Twilight was desperately thinking of a way to justify Naruto’s actions but was coming up short. She glanced around for another way to defuse the situation and found it in the most unlikeliest of places.

She grabbed Naruto’s tails and shoved them into Fluttershy’s face.

Fluttershy went wide-eyed when she felt the soft furry texture splash against her face. She involuntarily took a breath and the scent of strawberries with lemons invaded her nose. She momentarily forgot that she was scolding Naruto and relaxed her stance.

Naruto yelped as he immediately jumped towards the ceiling and planted his hooves on it, said hooves chakra infused. He was like a frightened cat hanging from the ceiling. Fluttershy and Twilight gasped while Naruto glared angrily at Twilight.

“Dang it Twilight, what part of ‘don’t touch my tails’ do you NOT understand!? You know I hate it when anyb-pony does that!”

“N-Naruto!? How are you doing THAT?”, she said while Fluttershy stared in disbelief.

“How… how are you up there? You don’t have wings… Are you a bat perchance?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’M NOT A BAT! I’M JUST A PONY WITH TAIL ISSUES!”

*****

After Naruto got down from the ceiling, he had to explain to the group that it was another application of chakra and that they should just leave it be for now. This thoroughly confused Fluttershy but he promised to explain it in more detail later. Fluttershy also decided to put the Manticore scolding on the backburner for now but she wouldn’t let this slide so easily.

“So what brings you here Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, um yes… Pinkie Pie told me to give a message to you Twilight… It’s um…” She brought her mouth towards the purple unicorn’s ear and whispered into it. Naruto just stood back, not able to hear a word of what the yellow Pegasus was saying. While that went on, he stroked his own tails with his hooves, nurturing it, hugging it… defending it.

“I’m getting tired of these ponies hugging my tails… It’s like it’s fox season or something, and they all want to go hunting for a fur coat… That would be pretty scary if that was the case…” He muttered to himself.

After what seemed like a minute, Twilight turned to face Fluttershy again and nodded her head. Fluttershy turned towards Naruto and gave a small smile, despite the fact she was still peeved.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, um, Naruto. But I need to get going now… The next time I see you, I hope you feel sorry for yourself.” She said shyly as she walked towards the door. This only caused Naruto to blink in in either disbelief or confusion. He couldn’t decide between the two, mainly because it was such a sudden switch from an angry, confident pony to a timid, shy pony. He looked at Twilight.

“Does… she always act like that?”

“Not always… she’s usually very shy and reserved around new ponies. It’s weird she would explode like that… but then again…” She nudged an elbow towards Naruto, “You did kill a Manticore… so you kind of deserved it. She loves all animals, hostile or not.”

“Yeah, I kind of gathered that from the whole evil eye stare and such.”

“Yeah… So anyway, want to head out somewhere?”

Naruto raised a brow. “Go where?”

“Just… somewhere, maybe take an evening walk?” Twilight said. Naruto looked out the window. It was already evening and the sun was already dipping below the horizon. Naruto started to wonder why she would want to take a walk with him anyway. Eventually, he just shrugged.

“Alright, why not.”

*****

Luna’s Moon peeked over the opposite horizon as it began its nightly trek across the night sky. Crickets were abundant and chirping constantly, owls hoo’d the night away, and not a single pony was out tonight.

Everypony, that is, except Naruto and Twilight, who were taking an evening stroll, at least, that’s what Naruto had assumed. Since they were out alone, he had a chance to ask Twilight some more questions. Questions… For some reason, questions have been the only thing he’s been asking and answering since he got to Equestria. When will they ever stop, he wondered? When will it just be joyful conversation instead of questioning every single damn thing he sees?

The subject of many was Twilight’s symbol on her butt. Naruto stared at it for a bit, wondering what it meant. Twilight caught Naruto staring at the symbol on her flank, or just her flank, and glared at him.

“Um, why are you staring at my behind?” Twilight asked bluntly. To Naruto, it sounded like a hostile response, as if she was offended. He immediately realized what she meant by it and gave a small blush.

“Y-Your behind? I’m staring at that picture on your behind!” That made it sound worse, but Twilight was slightly more shocked at his lack of knowledge of cutie marks. She looked back at her mark and then back at Naruto.

“…Of all things, I can accept not knowing about money, or our race… but what a cutie mark is, Naruto?!” She said, almost shouting. This in return made Naruto slightly chuckle.

“Well… I’m like a newborn, like you said when we met, remember!? Little ones need to learn more about the world, right?”

“Don’t take my words out of context Naruto…” Twilight said in frustration. “I find it amazing how you don’t even know what a Cutie Mark is… okay, let me explain. A cutie mark is something that ponies all get eventually. It shows what their special talent is, or what they’re really good at. Mine for example is a star, which shows that I’m good with magic.” She explained. “And yours is… wait…”

Twilight stopped walking and turned on the spot. Naruto stopped as well and soon found Twilight making her way towards his rear. He grabbed his tails and held them closer to his body in defense. Twilight rolled her eyes.

“I’m not going to grab your tails Naruto… I need to see your cutie mark.”

“And you got mad at ‘me’ for looking at your flank…” Naruto mumbled to himself.

“What was that?”

“Oh nothing… Proceed…”

“Now, I’m sure I saw it somewhere bef—ah, here it… is?” Twilight walked around towards Naruto’s left flank, and could see he did indeed have a cutie mark, but what he had was really… strange. It was a swirly circle, similar to a whirlpool, and it had these other tiny markings on four points of the giant circle. Twilight blinked a couple of times, not recognizing what this cutie mark could mean. Naruto found it odd to see Twilight in silence like this, especially since she had a habit of talking to begin with. He turned his head to his left flank so he could see what his mark was.

Even Naruto was confused. If this thing was supposed to represent what he’s good at, then he wasn’t seeing it. But for some reason, it looked really familiar, like he’d seen it somewhere before but he couldn’t put his finger, or hoof in this case, on it.

Giving up, Twilight met her gaze with his. “Do you know what this cutie mark is Naruto? This is a first for me…”

“It looks familiar, but I don’t really see what it represents…”

“Me neither, it’s very odd… Might be worth looking it up in the books once we get back, that is, if you’ll let me?”

“Sure, if it doesn’t involve touching my tails again…” Naruto said bluntly, but this only made Twilight giggle as she playfully shoved him with a hoof.

“I can’t promise that, but I’ll try.”

As she said this, a small cold breeze blew towards them, causing Twilight to shiver slightly from the cold.

“Brr, I forgot how cold it gets during the night… I should’ve brought a coat or something…”, Twilight said, rubbing her forelegs to warm them up. Naruto looked at her for a moment as they walked along the road, and gave a small sigh.

“God I hate seeing a girl like this… You better damn well appreciate what I’m about to do…”, Naruto thought. He brought one of his tails around Twilight, comfortably hugging her with it around her neck. Twilight flinched slightly as his tail circled around her neck..

“W-what are you doing?”

“Well, you’re cold aren’t you? I’m just sharing my warmth.”

“D-d-don’t be silly! I’m fine N-Naruto, it’s not l-l-like I can’t handle… oh my…” Twilight stuttered, but then she started to feel how soft his tail was and the warmth that it carried. It was as good as any hoof-knitted scarf she had ever worn. It’s as if she could just melt in its warmth. She just gave a small smile and sighed as she leaned more into it.

“…Thank you Naruto…” She said to him quietly as they walked through the empty, moonlit park.

“He’s so sweet…”

*****

CH18: It's Party Time! (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

Partying Like it’s Nineteen Sixty-five

Unfortunately, It’s about to take a nosedive

But before such a disaster

One must bow before the Party Master!

*****

Chapter 18: It’s Party Time

Now that he thought about it for a second, Twilight never did say where they were going. She did mention that it was just an evening walk. However, why were they standing in front of Sugarcube Corner? He furrowed a brow wondering why she stopped here. He looked over to Twilight for an answer.

“Why are we here?” Naruto asked.

“I just need to pick something up… Won’t take long”, Twilight said as she opened the door. The door gave way to complete darkness on the other side. Not a single light was on and even though the moon was out, they could only see a foot or two into the shop. Naruto looked back towards Twilight.

“I think they’re closed… and forgot to lock the door.” Naruto grinned. “Oh well, let’s rob the place, I’m hungry anyway!”

“Hey! Touch the goods and you’ll regret it!”, came a random voice through the door. Shuffling and muffled voices could be heard in the darkness. Naruto glanced back and forth between the door and Twilight.

“Uh, the house just spoke to me. Is this place haunted?” Naruto said, confused.Twilight sighed in frustration as she bumped him through the door and into the shop. He yelped at the unexpected nudge and tripped over his own hooves onto the floor. Then the doors slammed shut without warning, plunging the once moonlit entrance into inky blackness. That did it. He was creeped out now.

“Uh… hello?” He spoke to the darkness. The lights turned on a moment later, blinding him.

“SURPRISE!” Several voices yelled out at once. Naruto scurried backward until he hit something cold and solid in shock. He squinted, trying to get his eyes accustomed to the light before opening them fully. His jaw hit the floor.

Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Mrs. Cake stood in front of the other ponies who were crowding the shop. He didn’t seem to recognize any other pony in the shop at the moment. However, he wasn’t gasping in awe at his friends but at the bakery itself.

Balloons, streamers, ribbons, glitter, and confetti covered almost every surface inside the shop. Hanging in the middle of the room was a big cloth banner, the words “Welcome Naruto” in bright gold letters. Tables lined the walls, each filled with an eye-catching assortment of cakes, pastries, and food that smelled heavenly even from afar. A gigantic bowl of what seemed to be fruit punch was in the corner, some ponies already helping themselves to the sweet concoction. His stomach gurgled in anticipation of the feast ahead.

He stood there, stunned and surprised, waiting for his brain to catch up.

“Wha… what the... What’s all this?!”, he managed to blurt out.

“It’s your surprise party silly filly!”

In the space of a second, Pinkie Pie had managed to appear next to him with a party hat, shoving it onto his head. Naruto looked back and forth between where the pink pony was before and where she was now.

“I’ve been meaning to throw you one, but then I had to help out the Cakes on some orders, and then make sure all the treats were perfect, and then feed gummy and bathe him and then break the- mmph.” She was interrupted mid-sentence when Twilight put a hoof over her mouth, muffling anything else she said. Surprisingly, she just kept going even though none of it was understandable.

“I think he gets it Pinkie… Sorry about not telling you where we were going by the way. I mean it’s not called a ‘Surprise’ party if i told you!” said Twilight. Rarity stepped forward.

“Indeed dearie, I think it was about time we formally welcomed you to Ponyville and there is no better way than one of Pinkie’s fine parties. I still haven’t forgotten about my dear Opal, you know!”

“And Applebloom too,” chimed in Applejack, ”don’tcha forget ‘bout that either!”

“Eh, I’ve seen better but I guess you do deserve some thanks. We still lost the real fox with you and that whole ‘fox disguise’…” said Rainbow Dash. Naruto sighed in irritation.

“I’m not a fox. How many times must I say it for it to sink in!?”

“Well... but... um, then why do you have fox tails...?” Fluttershy timidly asked Naruto. Before he could answer, Pinkie Pie playfully nudged Naruto.

“Aww who cares!? I thought we were having a surprise party, not a debate on the facts of life! That’s next week’s party. Let’s try to stay on target!” Pinkie hopped away from the group of pony friends and into the middle of the room. She stood on her back legs so she towered over the rest of the ponies before taking a deep breath.

“IT’S TIME TO PAHHHHTAYYYY!”

*****

So despite the inevitable inquiry about his tails, it was quickly placed on the back burner as ponies enjoyed dancing, talking, and stuffing their faces full of food. The crowd was bustling and lively as party streamers and confetti stayed aloft in the air, as if they too were dancing to the music. Pinkie Pie rocketed around the room dancing, occasionally stopping at the food table to grab a cupcake or two before flying off once more into the crowd. Twilight was talking with Applejack by the punch table while Rainbow was animatedly gesturing and talking with Rarity and Fluttershy in the corner.

“So you’ve never heard of ‘Ramen’ before?”

Naruto was now talking to Mr. Cake, whom Mrs. Cake had introduced him too soon after the party had gotten completely underway. They started off with idle banter about their daily lives in Ponyville before it eventually ended up with Naruto constantly questioning the baker about ramen. Maybe it was just a fluke that both Twilight and Pinkie didn’t know about it. He needed to here it from a cook... or qualified baker in this case. Mr. Cake shook his head.

“Nope, can’t say I have Naruto, sorry.”

“Oh…”, he said, his stance noticeably deflating. Three strikes and that’s that, Naruto thought. Ramen didn’t exist in this world... or he was just asking the wrong ponies. Regardless, he still had no leads on finding ramen again. Mr. Cake placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder.

“Keep your head up Naruto,” he said cheerfully,” I’m sure somepony knows about it. From your description, it sounds like a foreign delicacy. Maybe you’d have better luck in one of the bigger towns. Then again, you could always make it yourself since you seem to know a lot about it!”

Now THAT was an idea. Naruto making his own Ramen? A while back, he did help out Ichiraku when they were in a tight pinch. Ichiraku taught him and his friends the steps on how to prepare and cook the perfect bowl of ramen. How could he have forgotten such a thing!? He could open his own shop and eat ramen whenever he wanted! As Naruto drifted off into Ramenland with a lifetime ticket, he was jerked away by Pinkie and dragged onto the dance floor.

“Wh-what are you doing Pinkie!?”

“What do you think silly? You’re going to dance with me!”, she said, twisting her body in such ways that made even Naruto cringe. He watched as she danced across the floor gracefully avoiding some ponies and purposely nudging others during her maneuvers. Naruto panicked as he was suddenly flung around the room by Pinkie Pie’s hooves. Despite the incredible G-force he was undergoing, he couldn’t help but wonder. How was Pinkie bending in such ridiculous ways and how was she holding onto him with no fingers!?

Naruto was beginning to get dizzy from the crazy dancing, trying to tell her to stop.

“P-Pinkie, s-stop! I don’t even know how to dance, and this is definitely not ‘dancing’!”

“Of course it is silly pants! Everypony dances like this!”, she said as she dropped Naruto to the floor in a tangled pile of limbs.

“Who in the world dances like this!?”

“I do!”

“That’s not the point!” Naruto thought once more as he shakily stood up.

As the party continued, everyone seemed to be having a spectacular time... that is, except for Naruto who was still being flung around the room like a rag doll. After what seemed like an eternity, Pinkie Pie finally let Naruto go and ventured off to find some hot sauce of all things. He honestly didn’t care at this point what she did as long as it didn’t involve him for a while. With each step, a twinge of dull pain shot up his front legs as he made his way to the nearest seat.

He sighed in relief as his legs were now off the ground. He eyed the crowd as he sat there and he soon found himself deep in thought. Back home, he never recalled attending such a large party. In fact, when was the last time he even went to a party? It felt alien to him... probably because the ‘parties’ he attended weren’t of the happy kind. A tear fell down his face as thoughts of the Third Hokage’s funeral passed though his mind. Even though it was a long time ago, he could still remember it as clear as though it was yesterday. However, this was not the time to reminisce.

As he wiped the tear away, he noticed something in the corner of his eye; A certain somepony that seemed rather familiar. Next to the doorway was a gray mare with a rather sophisticated black hairstyle. She was fiddling with a wooden object—a violin Naruto guessed—and it sent a blaring alarm into his head.

“Where have I seen her before…?” She definitely looked familiar to him, but he couldn’t place a finger, or hoof, on it. Something was telling him to go up and talk to her but he didn’t know why.

As he got up, Twilight walked over to him. “What’s wrong Naruto? Not having a good time?”

Naruto smiled. “Oh, yeah I am. I swear, this party is crazy with Pinkie Pie around, ha ha…”

“Heh, I know what you mean. I saw that she was really having a good time. I’ve never seen Pinkie dance like that with someone before…”, she said rubbing her chin.

“And let’s leave it at that… my arms hurt from dancing with her…, he said, rubbing his arms for emphasis.

“That rough, huh?”

“Yeah… I didn’t know she could bend that way while dancing… Or hold onto someone like that… or even headstand like that… or twist her arm in so many different directions… It’s like she’s not even a pony!”

“Well you know her… Pinkie Pie doing the impossible…”, Twilight giggled.

“Although I wish you danced with me…”, she muttered afterwards.

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing! Ahaha…”, she said with a nervous chuckle. Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

“Erm, alright… By the way Twilight…”, he said as he pointed at the gray mare, “Do you know who that is? She looks familiar… but I can’t remember right now for some reason.”

“Hmm…” Twilight followed his hoof and locked eyes on the mare in question. She was fine tuning a violin as if to pass the time. She frowned and looked back at Naruto. “I’ve never seen her before. Maybe she’s a friend of Pinkie Pie since she’s the one who sent the invitations.”

“I see… Thanks anyway Twilight…”, he said as he shook his legs out, trying to regain some sensation, “I’m gonna see who she is. Something about her is bugging me…”

“Er, wait Naruto!” Twilight exclaimed. Naruto turned around. “What’s up?”

Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but no sounds came out. She gave a small blush, trying to figure out what to say to him.

“Is something wrong?”

“…you could dance with me…” she said in a barely audible whisper.

“Er, come again?”

Twilight gave a small sigh as her blush grew a little brighter, the lump in her throat threatening to jump out. “C’mon Twilight, you can do this…”

“I was wondering… Once you’re done talking with the gray pony… ifyoucoulddancewithme?” She finally spurted out in her best imitation of Fluttershy. She held her breath, the lump in her throat now mysteriously gone after saying what needed to be said. Naruto frowned.

“But I can’t dance...”

“I can show you how… if it’s alright?”

An invitation to dance... from Twilight. This was a first. Nobody had ever asked him this before and he didn’t know how to go about answering. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, he just nodded and grinned.

“Alright, sure. Why not? Can’t turn down free dance lessons now can I?”

“Y-Yeah, of course! A free dance lesson, hee hee…” She said, forcing a giggle. Naruto didn’t exactly get what was so funny about it but he followed suit.

Once Twilight walked off to do something else, Naruto finally focused his vision on the gray mare. For some reason, her violin was now tilted against the wall and she was still sitting in the same spot next to the door.

Naruto swerved through the crowd of ponies. Why did she seem so familiar? He wracked his thoughts to find an answer but he came up with a big, fat nothing. As he got closer to the girl, she turned her gaze towards Naruto and went wide-eyed when she saw him. It developed into an angry glare before she turned her head away.

“What’s got her noodles in a bunch?” Naruto thought. He stopped in front of her.

“Hi, enjoying the party so far?” Naruto said with a cheeky grin. The angry mare looked at Naruto with a quizzical look before sighing.

“So the guest of honor comes to talk to me. Quite the friendly colt, aren’t you?”

“Well, I wanted to ask you something…”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“Just… have I seen you somewhere before?” One of her eyes developed an involuntary twitch as he finished his question. She made a small ‘hmmph’ before rapidly turning her head away. Naruto couldn’t help but scratch the back of his head on confusion.

“Er, what did I do? Did I make you mad?”

“I’m madder that you don’t know who I am. How can you not recognize me?”

“That’s why I’m asking you if we’ve met before? I’m not that good with new faces.”

The gray mare sighed in irritation as she stared angrily at Naruto.

“Are you serious? Grr… maybe you’re not the one Father mentioned… probably just a look alike or something…”

Naruto grew more confused. Just who was she? She had a sophisticated air around her... and what exactly did she mean by her father.

“Do… I know your father?”

“You don’t remember him!?”

“Maybe we’d get somewhere if you’d actually answer my question with an answer and not another question…”

“And I wished you would remember who I am, if Father’s description of you is correct, or else I wouldn’t be wasting my time here!”

“Why does this angry mare remind me of Sakura…?” Naruto thought to himself. A woman who doesn’t get to the point and argues over trivial manners, or someone that just loves to argue for the sake or arguing? Yep, sounds like Sakura-chan alright... Although the lack of physical abuse is quite lovely.

As they argued, there was a solid thump on the front door. Naruto glanced at the door a split second before it slammed open, sandwiching him into the wall. Naruto grunted in pain as the door continued to squish him against the wall. He wondered who in the world would open a door so violently.

“I do not want to go to the hospital again…”, he muttered to himself. He went wide-eyed when he heard an all-too-well familiar voice though.

Naruto couldn’t see him, but he could hear him. A coarse voice, like gravel on gravel, shouting out obscenities as the party came to an abrupt stop. The other ponies stared at the doorway to find a black stallion with a Hammer cutie mark and a busted, swollen lip.

“Alright, where is that blonde of a filly? I know he’s in here!” Naruto sighed in annoyance

“Oh no… not again… For the love of god, not AGAIN!” Naruto muttered to himself, while doing something he was finding himself to be doing a lot lately.

Banging his forehead against the door as quietly as possible.

CH19: Revenge Issues & Home Shambles (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

This is not Revenge, and this is not a Mockery

This is just stupid, and is only an atrocity

A late guest comes to stop it with a magical fall

Well so much for another brawl…

*****

Chapter 19: Revenge Issues & Home Shambles

“One of ya better tell me where he is! I have a score to settle with that filly!” Blackie shouted.

The partying ponies looked at each other in confusion, wondering just who this pony was or what he wanted, everypony that is, except for Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Twilight and Pinkie took one look at who it was and frowned, knowing that their night was about to take a wrong turn. Blackie’s eyes scanned the room before they met theirs. They widened in surprise and his scowl turned into a smirk as he stood in the doorway.

“Well now, if it isn’t the filly’s friends, Ms. Smartass and Sugar Bitch. So nice to see you again”, he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “Where’s the filly?”

Pinkie and Twilight didn’t even have to look each other to know what their answer would be. Twilight stepped forward.

“Blackie, you just don’t give up, do you? Just what is your problem!?” Twilight said in anger.

“Yeah you mean old meany pants! Take a hint and leave us alone!” Pinkie chimed in, her hair slightly less poofy than usual.

The other ponies stood there in almost complete silence, small whispers traveled through the crowd like cherry blossoms on the wind. Then the gray mare stepped in front of Blackie and locked eyes with his. She squinted, as if analyzing him to see what he would do next.

“Good sir, I believe you are trespassing into an event that you are not invited to. I suggest you leave immediately, especially with that ‘Hotheaded’ attitude of yours.”

“I’m not leaving any of you alone until I get compensation for that filly’s stupidity!” Blackie exclaimed. His grin took on another level of smug ass-ery.

“In fact… maybe you whores can give me that compen—OOMPH!“

Before he could finish, the door was slammed shut with a shockingly powerful force, sending him flying out onto the ground outside. Naruto fell from his improvised seat on the wall and landed on his four hooves.

“I’m getting sick of him…” Naruto muttered as he rubbed his nose, reassuring himself that it was still intact.

“Naruto, are you alright?” Twilight and Pinkie ran up to him to check to see if he was okay, but Naruto just waved it off like it was nothing and sat on a nearby chair. He arched his back and sighed in relief as his back popped back into place.

“I’m fine… I just want to know how Blackie found me here…”

“Who was that guy? What he did was so uncool,” said Rainbow Dash as she pointed outside.

“I completely agree. That was certainly very rude and uncouth for a stallion. He seems rather familiar,” Rarity added.

“That would be the local Blacksmith, Blackie… A unicorn who just won’t give up a grudge…” Naruto said.

“Ah grudge? That’s one mighty way of showing ah grudge. Just what the hay did you do to him?” Applejack asked. Twilight spoke up before Naruto opened his mouth.

“It’s a long story. We’ll explain it later once we take care of this current situation,” she said with a glance at the still closed door, “But we need to send everypony home before anypony gets hurt.”

Naruto sat up and jumped up onto the table, knocking a bottle of sarsaparilla over. “I’m sorry everyon- uh pony. Thank you all for the fantastic party and I really enjoyed it. I hope everypony has a good night...”, he said gesturing to the backdoor, “Because mine just turned sour.” He jumped off the table and opened the front door, Twilight following right behind him.

“I’m not going to get that dance tonight, am I…?” She thought.

*****

“That filly is dead… DEAD I SAY!”

Blackie was sprawled out on the middle of the road after his short flight through the air. For the second time today, he was face to face with the ground, and this time it wasn’t even because of a pony, but a door! He slammed a hoof on the ground in anger before pushing himself onto his hooves. He was annoyed... No, he was pissed beyond belief. The past couple of days were filled with enough disappointment and frustration to last him a lifetime and he needed satisfation.

“I’ll murder that damn filly… just wait ‘til I get my hooves on him… I’ll punch the living daylights out of him… I’ll pick him up and throttle him like a ragdoll before grinding that smug grin off that arrogant face! I want revenge!”

“I can hear you you know…”, came a familiar voice said.

Blackie looked at the house, eyes wide to find Naruto and Twilight standing a few yards away in the open doorway. The purple mare closed the door behind them as they walked towards Blackie. Twilight glared at the black stallion and Blackie growled in anger.

“So what, it’s not gonna change one da—“

“What the hell is with you Blackie?” Naruto interrupted.

“Huh?”

“Why don’t you just let it go already? I’ve already served your ass up on a silver platter and we’ve already explained to you why it all happened! Why can’t you respect that?” Naruto asked. Blackie spat on the ground in front of them.

“Because I want what’s coming to me and I want it now!”

Naruto facehoofed at Blackie’s response. Twilight moved next to Naruto.

“Why can’t you just leave us alone and move on? This issue is already dead, and you’re only causing more harm to yourself than anything by pursuing it further!”, Twilight tried to calmly explain the obvious to Blackie. However, it seemed to be the final straw. With a snort, Blackie stomped on the ground like a colt having a tantrum.

“This issue is NOT dead! It’s BEYOND dead! It’s REVENGE!”

“Revenge for what?”

“FOR MAKING A MOCKERY OF ME!”

The crickets stopped chirping and the wind seemed to hold its’ breath as Blackie’s voice reverberated throughout the town. Naruto blinked. Did he just hear what he think he heard? A glance at Twilight revealed that she had face-hoofed, having come to the same realization as Naruto. This went on for a few moments longer until Naruto decided to break the awkward silence with a small cough.

“…Um, Blackie, no one’s making a mockery of you,” Naruto pointed out,” You’ve kind of been doing that to yourself since you went insane-”

“SHUT UP!” Blackie interrupted.

Naruto and Twilight didn’t even flinch at Blackie’s shouts anymore. This was past ridiculous now and bordering on insanity. It was rather sad, they thought, almost to the point of being humorous. Blackie’s horn began to glow ominously as it lit up the area in light. They both sighed as Twilight readied her horn as well, but Blackie merely smiled.

“I’ll show all of you… I’ll get my reward… AND YOU’LL ALL—“

*BZZZZZZT*

“Oh dear.”

*Thump*

Blackie grunted in pain and surprise as he was tackled from above, pancaking and knocking him out.

“Sorry for being late chaps, had a doozy of an errand that I had to run.”

Naruto and Twilight jaws fell open at what had just transpired. The black unicorn now laid on the ground, having been used as an impromptu landing pad by a white unicorn with a black mane. He wore a stylish black suit and had a smoking pipe perched in his lips, slightly smoking at the end.

“Gary!?” Naruto gasped. Gary acknowledged Naruto and Twilight with a firm nod, apparently still unaware of the pony under his hooves.

“The very same, chap. I got an invitation from that Pinkie fellow of yours. Quite a peculiar pony, but it was a party invitation in your favor, so I just had to drop on by. However, I had a few small errands that I had to run so I sent my daughter in—hello?” Gary finally looked down, wondering why the ground was as squishy as it was. He blinked a couple times before the realization of who he was standing on sunk in.

“I say old boy, what are you doing down on the ground like that? It’s not smart to take a nap outside in the middle of the night.”

“Uh… Gary? That’s Blackie…”, Twilight pointed out.

“Quite…” Gary poked Blackie with his wooden pipe, not getting any reaction from the black unicorn.

“He seems to be sleeping too.”

“Father, you landed on him when you teleported in. You really need to focus more on where you’re going to be.”

All three ponies turned towards the door to Sugarcube Corner and found the familiar gray mare that Naruto was talking to before standing in the doorway.

“What’s she still doing here? I thought I sent everybody home.” Naruto thought. Gary took a small puff from his pipe as he stepped off a Blackie.

“Ah, Octavia. How did the party go? Exciting as usual I hope?” Gary asked.

“It was rather boring… upbeat, but boring…” Octavia said.

“Wait… that name…” Naruto’s brain clicked when he heard her name. He heard that name mentioned from Gary before, back when he first met him and talked about the job. The picture, the name, his wife… it was all coming back to him. Naruto went wide-eyed when he gasped in surprise, pointing a hoof at Octavia.

“You… YOU’RE OCTAVIA!?”

“My savior finally remembers me I see… It took you long enough,” she said with a grin.

“But… but… Hospital…Sick…” Naruto said obliviously. Octavia face-hoofed, not wanting to believe that her ‘savior’ was a thick-headed colt.

“Did you forget!? You helped my father in order to rid me of that sickness, how can you not remember that!?”, she yelled out. Gary chuckled at the scene in front of him.

“I say, is that any way to treat your knight in shining armor, Octavia my dear?”

“Tell that to someone who can actually remember what he did!”

“Hey, c’mon, cut me some slack Octy? I’ve been overloaded these past few days and it didn’t get much better—“, Naruto said, pointing at Blackie, “—when he started acting up.”

“Don’t call me Octy...”

“But I like that much better than Octavia—”

“I don’t care!”, shouted Octavia.

Gary took a look at Blackie and nodded slowly. “Hm, yes… The ruffian from a few days back… you say he has been causing problems?”

“That’s only part of the problem sir… Blackie here has been acting violently ever since Naruto completed your request,” Twilight said.

“I see… he really has it out for both of you, hm? Well what do you plan to do with him then?”

That was a good question. Naruto had already left Blackie alone to straighten himself out once and still the stubborn pony had it out for him, but in true Naruto fashion…

“Let’s just leave him there, I’m sure he’ll have learned his lesson after he wakes up…” Naruto said with a grin. Twilight placed a hoof on Naruto’s shoulder and shook her head.

“You did that before and he was angrier than ever. We should just take him to the authorities and—“

“No.”

“—then we could—wait, what?” Twilight pulled a double take and looked back at Naruto. She found a stern expression on his face instead of his usual carefree one.

“I’m giving him one more chance. He may be blindly stubborn, or stubbornly blind... wait, the first one instead, but anyway, I get the feeling he’ll learn his lesson this time”, Naruto said with an ‘I know I’m right’ kind of smile. Despite the thrilling reassurance by Naruto, Twilight protested.

“How can you just brush this off? He’s tried to hurt you several times now!”

“Just trust me Twilight. Like I said, I’m giving him one, more, chance. Understand?”

“…Alright Naruto. I don’t like this one bit, but I’ll trust you. I hope you’re right…”

“I say my blonde friend, you’re crazy…” Gary added while taking a puff off his pipe.

“An amnesiatic hero who is too friendly and forgiving for his own good…” Octavia muttered.

“…Yep, definitely sounds like Sakura.” Naruto thought to himself. His tails flicked behind him randomly as he wracked his brain over tonight’s events.

Blackie’s revenge issues, Octavia’s return, and Gary’s sudden appearance… Gary did mention that he was here for the party but had to run errands before hand. So why was Octavia here at the party instead? Gary nodded his head towards the road, motioning everypony to follow him.

“Come, we have much to discuss Naruto. You’re welcome to tag along if you’d like Miss Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh I’d love too and please, call me Twilight…”

“And call me Octavia”, she said, more for Naruto then anypony else.

“So Octavia, you’re Gary’s daughter?” Twilight questioned.

“That’s right; Daughter of Gary Clopper, renowned cello and violinist in Canterlot…”

“Octavia… Octavia… Ah! No wonder your name sounded so familiar. I’ve heard of you from other unicorns when I was living in Canterlot. I’ve heard that your concerts are breathtakingly amazing.”

“Indeed. The world of music is my life and nothing can replace it… It is no surprise that I gathered up a good deal of fame along the way...”

As the two girls made small talk, Naruto shifted closer to Gary and out of the girl’s hearing range.

“So why was Octavia at the party? You said something about being late?” Naruto inquired.

“Ah yes… quite embarrassing really… I had to send Octavia off towards Sugarcube Corner in my place until I was free. I was going to be a tad late you see…”

“Late?”

“Yes… I had misplaced some paperwork that I was planning to give you, and I was in a dire hurry to have everything ready to go”

“What kind of paperwork?”

“Well… the paperwork that is to be your reward of course.”

Naruto furrowed a brow in confusion.

“A stack of boring papers is going to be my reward?”, he asked in an incredulous tone of voice. Gary stifled a chuckle, succeeding only in muffling it with a hoof.

“Yes my dear boy, a stack of boring papers will be your reward, and they hold powerful magical spells,“ he said, leaning over to whisper into Naruto’s ear,”…beyond your wildest dreams.”

A grin slowly crawled across his face as he thought of just what spells he could learn. It was like when Ero-Sennin gave him training scrolls whenever he went off on those educational excursions. Then again, they were duds more then half the time but that’s besides the point. If he could incorporate spells into his jutsus, he would be unstoppable!

“Whoa! Really!?”

“Ah hah, no.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a joke dear boy, a joke. Now why would I give away something as dangerous as that? Besides, this is much more useful then a few dinky spells.”

Naruto’s grin turned into a frown. “I wanted the magic damn it…” He thought to himself. So if the paperwork he was gonna get wasn’t filled to the brim with spells, what else could Gary possibly have in store for him?

“You’ll find out soon enough, but in the meantime…” Gary brought a hoof inside his front suit pocket and pulled out a small bag that jingled with every motion of his hoof. He threw the bag of coins into Naruto’s jacket pocket. “Yes, two points!”

“Er, what?”

“Oh, um, nothing dear boy, just some lingo I picked up from a few younger colts down at the club… but anyway, there’s the first part of your reward, 150 bits. It’s a little less than what I promised from before, but the second part more than makes up for the slight difference.”

“Wow, 150 bits… that’s still a good bit of money… Thanks Gary!” He said to himself, patting the pocket the coins now rested in. At least he wasn’t broke anymore. He felt a pang of sadness as he touched the coin bag. Where did his other bits go? Did he drop them while fighting the Manticore? Or did someone steal them? As he thought about the many different possibilities, he also wondered what the second part of his reward is seeing as it required some kind of paperwork. Gary abruptly stopped walking and turned around. Naruto stopped as well, wondering what the hold up was?

“You played at the Gala before!? That’s where some of the greatest musicians play!”

“Indeed, it was last year, and I’ll be playing at the Gala this year as well—hm? Father, why did we stop? As a matter of fact, I’ve yet to ask you where we are going!”

“As dense as Sakura too…” Naruto couldn’t help but keep thinking about Sakura whenever Octavia opened her mouth. Why does she remind him so much of her? As a matter of fact… Fluttershy seems like the mirror image of Hinata as well.

“It’s like every pony out here is similar to the people I’ve met in my own world… Hinata is Fluttershy, Sakura—or hell, maybe Ino—reminds me of Octavia, Twilight reminds me of… who does she remind me of?” Did he even know of anyone who had been this nice? He couldn’t tell what Twilight reminded him of. Most of the people he met always treated him with scorn or like he was just a nuisance…

Gary looked at Octavia and pointed a hoof off to the side.

“Well, to this luxurious home of course! Feast your eyes chaps!”

“Whoa… that house looks… big!”, Twilight said.

“F-father, what are we doing at our old house?”

“Simple my dear, I’m giving it to Naruto. Isn’t that right Naruto…Naruto?” Gary looked over at Naruto who hadn’t responded to find him staring off into the distance. He waved a hoof in front of his face but he didn’t notice.

“She probably reminds me of Hinata maybe? No, Twilight isn’t as shy as Hinata… maybe Tsunade?” Naruto mentally shuddered. “…Fuck no. If Tsunade was Twilight, she’d rip me a new one… all the constant nagging and lectures…”

“Naruto?” Gary called out.

“Maybe Shikamaru? Calm, intelligent… yeah, maybe that’s it. But then again, Twilight isn’t THAT calm… she seems to ‘lose it’ from time to time and panics a little too easily…”

“Let me try… Naruto, is something wrong?” Twilight said a little louder than Gary.

“Ah! You know what? I bet she’s like a combination of Shikamaru and Chouj—wait, NO! That’s a disturbing thought… Chouji and Shikamaru combined? Twilight doesn’t eat THAT much… plus I’m sure women are always into that ‘slim figure’ set of mind… Geez, what is with women and their weight anyway?”

“Naruto, I believe you should snap out of it before I do it for you.” Octavia said in a sing-song voice.

“You know what else bugs me: Pinkie Pie. Insane, crazy, hyper, too friendly for her own good… Tsunade’s too damn serious and old, Jiraiya is too much of a pervert, maybe… huh, you know, maybe she’s a lot like Bushy Brows? Now he has tons of energy and he’s dedicated to anything he puts himself to. He’s crazy...”

“NARUTO!” Octavia said with a shout, bringing her hoof up.

“Boy I miss ramen… Hey, I wonder what would happen if I compared ramen to one of the other ponies here? Wait, what would—“

Naruto felt a brief but moderate amount of pain on the top of his head, snapping him out of his mental trance. He held his head in pain as he looked around for the one who hurt him with a scowl.

“What the heck was that for!? I was thinking Octy!” Naruto said angrily. Octavia merely huffed and stuck her chin up in dissatisfaction.

“If you were thinking, you would have noticed that we’ve been trying to call out to you for the past couple minutes!”

“I… what?”

“Are you deaf as well!? Pay attention to who is speaking to you and your surroundings for Celestia’s sake. And my name is Octavia you half-wit!”

Twilight tried to defuse the situation. “Now now, Naruto is back with us Octavia, there’s no need for violence…”

Octavia just sighed as she nodded her head. Naruto looked around confused, wondering why they were so angry at him. He was thinking about important things too! He huffed and looked over at Gary. He froze when he saw what was behind him.

What he saw was a two story house with white, wooden walls and a decent sized front porch. Six windows graced the front of the house and each had their curtains drawn over them. Did each of them signify separate rooms? He looked at Gary, his eyes wide in shock, waiting for an explanation.

“Welcome Naruto… to your new home. Octavia and I lived here when we called Ponyville home. Luckily, I still have the deed to the house, so there was no need to go about searching for a good deal for your home. I figured this was a more time-conserving way of getting to the point. As you can see, it’s a rather big house. There’s a kitchen, four guest bedrooms, a master bedroom, two bathrooms, a living room in case you want to get cozy near the fire in winter, and last but not least, a rather spacious backyard. It’s all yours my boy.”

Naruto was simply speechless. The only place he ever lived him was a one room apartment and now he had more room than he knew what to do with. He looked at Gary, trying to express his gratitude in some way, shape or form, but the only thing he could do was stare. Octavia stomped a hoof.

“But father! Why are we giving this wreck of a house to him? Surely he doesn’t deserve something THIS exquisite?” Octavia asked incredulously.

“I must admit, this is a really generous offer. But this house must be REALLY expensive,” Twilight agreed,” And you’re giving it to Naruto, just like that?”

Gary looked at the two of them, took a small draw off his pipe, and nodded.

“Well, yes. I’m not the type to go back on my reward. The house is now Naruto’s. Although…” Gary said, his voice trailing off as he looked at the ground.

“Although…?” Twilight asked.

“There is a small catch.”

“A catch…? This is too good to be a catch!” Naruto said, snapping out of his trance. He jumped on Gary and hugged him in a way that would make Pinkie shed a tear in happiness, beyond ecstatic to be living in a huge house as this. Gary tried to push Naruto off, but his rock hard clasp on his suit was making it difficult.

“Urk, if you could just get off my suit, I will… urgh, show you!” With extraneous effort, he managed to push Naruto off of him.

Gary walked to the front door and unlocked the front door. An ominous creak could be heard as the door fell off it’s hinges and hit the porch with a resounding thud. Octavia and Gary stood there un-phased, but Twilight and Naruto were more confused than ever. Gary motioned them all inside and they followed suit, albeit cautiously.

Inside, the floors were made of brown hardwood planks. Parts of the floor were chipped and everything was covered in a layer of soot, dust, or a combination of both. The walls didn’t look much better either. Splotches of multicolored liquid was splattered all over the once white wallpapered walls. Here and there, it peeled off, the adhesive having worn away after all this time. The ceiling was thankfully completely in tact with only a few areas where the paint had cracked and chipped. In front of them was what once was the living room, the fireplace holding a small pile of ashes.

The lack of furniture made the house feel dead. The only things they could see was a couple of wooden chairs in the corner of the room, but even those looked very brittle. Bookshelves covered half the room, but there were no books in sight. To the left was what appeared to be a staircase. Unfortunately, the entire ‘stair’ section of the stair way had collapsed and made it no longer climbable.

A glance into one of the many doorways revealed the kitchen, which thankfully was almost entirely intact. Thankfully, there wasn’t anything broken from his point of view. Dust covered every surface and a few stains on the walls were the only things that stood out. It was a fairly small kitchen, with a small table in the center, a fridge in the back next to the stove, and cupboards and cabinets flanking the sides.

Twilight and Naruto had only one question.

“What in Celestia’s name happened in here!?”, Twilight exclaimed.

“Yeah, what happened!?”, Naruto asked.

“That’s the catch my dear lad…”

Twilight and Naruto looked at Gary and he sighed.

“Basically, I was experimenting with a new spell back in my youth… which was probably… five years ago I suppose. I found a rather old tome in the basement that had an assortment of magic spells…

Of course, I got curious and decided to give one of them a try… And there was a spell… a monstrous one, that could be casted… a spell that could call forth a HURRICANE!” Gary said trying to be as dramatic as possible. Seeing as nopony was amused, he coughed and continued on.

“It was a complicated spell, but I did manage to cast it successfully but...”

“But what?”, asked Twilight.

“I didn’t think far ahead enough to cast it outside.”

“Wait… you summoned a hurricane… INSIDE YOUR OWN HOUSE!?” Twilight said with a gasp. “How could you not think that far ahead!? Casting a powerful spell like that has some serious repercussions! It could have broken through your house and moved onto Ponyville!”

“Now now, calm down young lady… the Hurricane was contained… sort of. It never got past the barrier I put up inside the house. It was barely even a category two. I swear, it had a mind of its’ own. It knew where to go to cause the most damage. Thankfully I had a counter spell to get rid of it, but it was already too late. So now… you see the house as it is.” He explained as he pointed some of the rooms out with his hoof.

“As far as I know, the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and one of the guest bedrooms here on the first floor, are still salvageable. There should be a spare bed still in the guest bedroom too. There is another guest bedroom down here too but its still blocked off with debris. The second floor is in the same state as you can see,” he said, gesturing at the shambles that was the staircase,” but with some fixing up, I’m sure this house will look spiffy again.”

“But if the house got trashed, why didn’t you just pay someone to fix it?” Naruto asked.

“It was much less expensive to just move to another house… Not to mention that it gave me an excuse to move to Canterlot. I had a golden opportunity there you see… But I digress. Another story for another time.”

“Wait, Mr. Clopper, why isn’t the outside of the house a wreck as well? I didn’t see any broken windows or anything—it looks like the perfect house on the outside!” Twilight asked.

“I wonder that too. Perhaps the hurricane thought the house was too beautiful on the outside? Ho ho ho…” Gary said laughing. Naruto smiled awkwardly at the horrible joke nonetheless.

“It’s not all bad… it could be worse…” Octavia and Twilight looked at him with a look that questioned his sanity. He just shrugged and sat down on the wooden floor.

“Hey, if you saw where I used to live, this is an upgrade. My house was nowhere near as big as this! It was actually pretty dreary. I’ve never had so many options before!” Naruto said happily.

“Well that’s looking at the brighter side of things… you’re easily impressed Naruto.” Twilight said with a smile.

“Plus…”

“Hm?”

“With a little bit of time, I bet I can get this house back to its full glory! Believe it!”

“Oh I highly doubt that… it would take a ton of time and money to get this house up and running again… Best do it one at a time, lad… Oh! Yes, there is one other reward I must discuss with you my boy.”

“There’s another reward!?” Naruto said with glee, jumping up and down. Gary looked between Naruto and Octavia, and gave a toothy grin.

“Indeed! Octavia, come here for a moment.”

“What for father?”

“Just come here, please,”said Gary.When Octavia was standing next to them, he nodded in satisfaction.

“Right then.” Gary grabbed Octavia’s right hoof and Naruto’s left with his magic. Octavia gasped in surprise and Naruto flinched from the unsuspected telekinetic grab. With the same toothy grin, Gary said something that scared the shit out of Naruto:

“I would like you to take my daughter’s hoof… in marriage.”

If the surprises weren’t enough tonight, this would took the cake… or hoof in this particular case. Naruto stared blankly at Octavia’s hoof for a moment, before looking up. Even Octavia thought her father was crazy, and immediately tried to jerk her arm back, with a slight blush in her face.

“W-wh…WHAT!?” Octavia and Naruto shouted at Gary.

“You’ve got to b-be kidding me! Why would I ma-m-marry this oblivious nitwit!? He may have saved my life, but he’s certainly not my type!

“Yeah! What Octy said!” Naruto paused for a moment when he realized what she said before looking at her angrily. “Wait, I’m not your type!? What’s so bad about me?”

Octavia looked back at Naruto with a growl. “Your fashion sense for starters… and your personality the other. ”

“My fashion sense!? Why is everyone complaining about the way I dress lately!? I’ll have you know that this is the attire of a ninja!”

“What in music’s name is a ninja!?”

“How can you not know what a ninja is!?”

Naruto was starting to lose the argument. However, he still had an ace up his sleeve. In a last ditch attempt, he turned around and brushed his tails in front of Octavia.

“#^@%#%!?” Her words turned into unintelligible garble as she got a mouthful of tail. Naruto thought it was working, and was cringing with the uncomfortable feeling he was getting from his tails.

No dice.

Octavia brushed away the tails with her hoof, after spitting out a couple of pieces of fox fur.

“Pweh! Why did you just do that!?”

“I’m trying to get you to love my tails!”

“Tails!? What is that monstrosity that you shoved in my face!?”

“You’re supposed to be in love with it! That’s what it is!”

“Why would I be in love with those… those things!?”

“Because… because um… Darn it, why aren’t my tails working!?”

Twilight had already fainted from the sudden arranged marriage she witnessed. Gary didn’t expect this kind of reaction from them though. He playfully brought his hoofs up as he separated the two bickering ponies.

“Now now, look at you two. Already arguing like an old married couple… and what do you know! You two are perfectly in-sync. You even think alike!”

“LIKE HECK WE DO!” They said together.

*****

Eventually, everypony had calmed down enough to have a civil conversation. Twilight had recovered from the impromptu nap as Naruto had signed the deed, the house now under his name. Despite the arguments, Naruto didn’t have any ill feelings towards Gary. It was a joke anyway and he fell for it head over hooves. With that, Gary and Octavia bade them farewell and teleported back to their house in Canterlot, leaving Twilight and Naruto at the empty house.

The moon’s radiant light shined down on Equestria and bathed Naruto’s new house in a milky white glow. He sat on the stairs of the front patio, looking out towards the stars. He finally has a new house… a new beginning. He can finally start settling down and living life here fully in Ponyville.

A tear streaked down his face, startling him with its’ descent down his cheek. He brought up a hoof and wiped it off. His eyes began to tear up. He didn’t know why and just kept wiping at it with his hoof. Why was he crying? He never cried. The only time he did was when he lost something really important. It hit him then.

“I’m not going back.”

Everything was so familiar to him and yet completely different. Maybe that was why he didn’t feel so out of place here with these ponies. He still wished he could see his friends once more at least, explain to them that he was alright and they needn’t worry about him. All of the promises he vowed to keep would stay unfulfilled and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. The only things he had from his back then was the Jinchuuriki, and even then, it wasn’t the true one but his child. Hoofsteps brought him out of his thoughts and he quickly dried his face with his jacket.

Twilight walked up to Naruto and sat down beside him, looking at the stars with him. She smiled.

“Today has been one big event, hasn’t it Naruto? A party, a new house… you’re a lucky stallion…”

“I-I guess I am… I never knew I could get such nice things from just one request… If only this happened with all the missions I’ve done before…”

“You’ve accepted things like this before?”

He took a deep breath, holding back his true emotions as he thought of the past.

“Back where I come from? It was an everyday thing of life. It’s how I earned money before. But now…” He said, a tear managing to get past his defenses,” I can’t go back. I’ve gotta make due here.”

“Well… why can’t you go back?” Twilight asked quietly. ”Is it because the town you live in is really far away, or…”

“No, it’s nothing like that… it’s just that I can never go back,” he said, letting the tears fall freely,” I’d rather leave it at that…”

“Why?”

“Bad memories, Twilight, just… bad memories.”

Twilight didn’t ask any more than that, not wanting to upset Naruto further. It must have been sensitive information, she thought, if he didn’t want to share a personal memory of his. Naruto caught on to this and smiled.

“It’s not like I don’t want you to know me. It’s just that part of my life I’d rather not discuss. You’re free to ask me other things like, um… my favorite food!”

“Ramen, right?”, she joked.

“Hey, how did you know?”

“You screamed like a siren about it back in the hospital remember?”

“Ugh… don’t remind me of that…” Naruto said, which earned Twilight a small giggle in response. He was already starting to feel better just through talking with her. They both looked up at the moon in the sky, with smiles on their faces.

Out of all the things he had been through, this was rather nice. However, he still had a promise to see through. Naruto stood up from the steps of the patio and pulled Twilight up as well. Confused, she was about to ask him just what he was doing until he spoke up.

“Would you like to dance under the moonlight, Twilight?” Naruto asked. Twilight went wide-eyed, but then smiled.

“D-dance? W-well, um… I thought you didn’t know how to dance?”

“And I thought you were going to teach me?”

“I…” She may have been the one to offer it earlier, but she didn’t expect Naruto to actually remember. Having been caught off-guard, she thought about what she should do. The books she read said nothing about this kind of situation. She’d have to wing it. She looked up at Naruto, a blush now peaking through her fur. “Alright Naruto.”

In the end, they both stood on their hind legs, hoof in hoof, dancing. In reality, it was mostly Naruto tripping almost every other step as he struggled to keep up with Twilight’s rhythm. Slowly but surely, he got the steps down and eventually they were traveling across the grass in sync. Under the moonlight, they danced the night away, with the sounds of crickets as their choir and Luna’s moon as their only witness.

*****

Thus ends one part of many for our hero’s tale…

Getting a start in his new life, he is a lucky male…

What awaits him in his new life of adventure?

His future looks free of conjecture…

A house, a new life and friends to assist…

A pony then suddenly appears from a random part of darkness, with a story book in its hoofs. Black and gray stripes adorn this pony’s figure, with flashy gold jewelry adorning its face… she closes the brown and ancient looking tome, looks towards the audience, and spoke out loud:

What will our hero do in this new found… bliss?

CH20: Purpose (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

A dream is a dream, nothing more nor less

But in this case, you’d better watch out for the Princess

Tales of magic and tricks fly through the town...

Make way for the mare with the Bragging Crown

*****

Chapter 20: Purpose

After their impromptu dance, Twilight asked Naruto if he wanted to sleep at the library for the night. He declined, saying that he needed to get used to his new house and Gary did mention there being a bed in one the guestrooms. Twilight was a little saddened but agreed with his reasoning and bid him a good night.

After their farewells, he stepped into his new home. Dust moved through the air, disturbed by his entrance, and floated haphazardly in the moonlight streaming in through a window. Piles of broken wood and other debris lay on the floor in seemingly random spots. Naruto sighed, taking in the sight of the messy interior. He wondered if he could even get this house fixed up by himself. Not only that, but it would probably require a substantial amount of bits that he didn’t have.

He was no carpenter, but he knew enough to get by. His old apartment always needed some kind of work done, whether it be plugging up rat holes or patching the roof. No one in his own village would really help with the repairs, so he always flew solo, so to speak. At least I still remember which end of the hammer is the business end, he thought.

He maneuvered his way through the mess that was the main hall and opened the door to the guest room. Besides the bed and closet, it was unfurnished. The mattress was ripped and torn but there was a pillow and bed-sheet in a tangled mess lying on the floor next to it. He cursed himself for telling Twilight he would be fine for the night and he was already regretting it. He couldn’t turn tail and tell her that he changed his mind; His pride wouldn’t let him. He needed to be a man, or stallion, and deal with the cards he’d been dealt. He picked up the sheets with his mouth to only spit them out a moment later, his tongue now covered in what he hoped was dust. The sheet sent up a small cloud of dust as it hit the ground, sending him into a coughing fit. He made a mental note of getting the dust cleaned up at least.

Thankfully, there was a window inside the room. He dashed to the windowsill and threw open the windows, allowing the room to ventilate. The dust began to filter out into the night, leaving behind nothing but a few stray particles of dust and breathable air. Naruto coughed a couple more times, taking deep breaths of the clean night air. Once he could breath without devolving into a coughing fit, he brought his head back in. The only object of interest in the room aside from the bed was the closet. He cautiously stepped over to it. The wood it was made of looked rather old, possibly meaning that this was an antique of some sorts. With a shrug, he swung open the doors to reveal the bare interior, save for a pair of hangers.

He grinned. Well, ain’t that something, he thought. In a fluid motion, he unzipped his jacket and took it off, carefully making sure that it didn’t touch the floor. He grabbed a hanger with his mouth and wrapped the shoulders around its’ arms. Unfortunately, it didn’t want to stay on the hangar when he tried to zip it up. He sighed as he used his tails to keep the hanger and jacket in place before zipping it up with a spare hoof. After placing it on the rack, he closed the old, wooden doors before taking another look at where he’d be sleeping for the night.

While the stained, white mattress was torn up, the sheet that flung up the dust storm was strangely intact. He patted it a few more times to make sure that all of the dust was gone. Nothing came out after a few pats with his hoof so he picked it up and flung it over the bed along with the pillow. As he forcefully knocked out the bumps in the mattress, something kept bugging him. Why was there a perfectly intact sheet in an unused house next to a tattered and broken down mattress? Perhaps the mattress itself was in this house for a very long time, but then what about the sheets and the pillow?

“But it doesn’t make sense… Gary said the house was unoccupied for five years now…”

Regardless, he’d take just about any mattress over the cold hard wood floor any day of the week. Crawling under the bed sheet, he took off his Konoha headband and placed it across from him, staring at it like one stares at an old friend.

“It’s been a week already and so much has happened… Appearing in Equestria, turned into a pony, and already I’ve risked my life to save someone else…”, he said, talking to his reflection on the band.

He still had memories of Konoha, his home… The home he grew up in. Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Gaara, Bushy Brows, and…

“Sasuke…”

Back in his world, Naruto was dead. There was no way back. With his old friends forcibly abandoned and his original mission all for naught… what was keeping him from jumping off the next cliff he came across? Was it because of his new found pony friends here in Ponyville?

He grumbled as he tossed around under the bed sheet. He didn’t know what to expect from the future. He’d lost everything, and now Sasuke was stuck to his fate, whatever that might be. He hoped that everyone else would find him and knock some sense into him in his place.

For the second time today, he cried.

*****

“There he is! Don’t let him get away!”

“No… please, leave me alo—ah!?”

“Demon! Go back to the hell hole you came from! Take another rock for good measure!”

“What did I ever do to you? Why are you calling me a demon? I just want some fo—urgh!?”

“You’ll get no sympathy from me demon! What about that piece of bread you stole from my store!?”

“I-I was hungry, no one would help me, and I—“

“SHUT UP! You have no right to tell us that!”

“Yeah, we should kill you just for good measure!”

“Damn straight!”

“Kill the demon!”

“No… No…! NO!”

*****

Princess stood there, in the dark, dank sewer that was her home, and watched Naruto’s dream unfold before her eyes like one would watch a television screen. She rubbed her chin with a paw and frowned.

“Such disturbing dreams Mommy has… and this demon these villagers call him… is itDaddy?” From where she stood, she didn’t know the entire story, but it was simple enough to understand. Mommy had had a rough time growing up and it was all thanks to her Daddy. Those naive villagers had no idea what they were dealing with.

Her tails started to glow with a ferocious red aura as they pointed down at the ground. A puff of smoke appeared where the tip of her tails was place and a small red cushion materialized. She sighed happily as she sat down, satisfied with her soft cushion. However, that didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t happy with Naruto’s dream.

“Such a tortured soul… and I’m just making it worse even now…” Princess grinned.

“And yet… it made him stronger than before, except for the constant yelling. He must have grown quite tolerable with torture. I wonder what-”

“Who gave you permission to look at my dreams?”

Princess raised a brow in surprise as she heard a rather familiar voice from behind her. She turned her head to find that her blonde ‘Mommy’ had come to pay her an unexpected visit.

“Don’t blame me. Weare in the same body, so it’s only natural I see the things that you do. Even ‘I’ cannot help it,” she said as she glanced at her magnificent, orange tails with a distant look. “These powers of mine are truly interesting… a shame I don’t have full control over it yet…” She grinned evilly. “…or else I’d be using your body to make my mark on this land.”

Naruto merely scoffed at her comment. “You definitely got your personality from the Kyuubi,” he said with a hint of laughter laced with a stern tone,”but there’s no way you’re taking over my body, not if I can help it. Believe it!” He was ready for just about anything she could throw at him.

Princess couldn’t help but chuckle. Seeing her mommy throw a fit over her words was definitely worth it. “Calm down, I am merely kidding… well, mostly.” She looked back at where Naruto’s memories were being displayed and sighed. “Tell me, how do you live with memories like these?”

Naruto blinked. He didn’t expect that. “Uh, what?”

“You’ve been tortured and mocked by people in your past. How do you cope with it?”, she asked again.

Naruto opened his mouth to answer but closed it just as quickly. This was something he had never shared with his closest of friends and now Princess was asking him about it like one asks about the weather. Sure, she shared his body but that didn’t mean she had earned the right to ask him such a personal question. Thinking about the past brought back memories of pain, misery and loneliness that he hadn’t experienced since those dark days. Was it hope, or maybe determination to stay alive through all that?

Naruto merely shrugged. “I didn’t want to give up, and I wanted to think that I had a bright future ahead of me. But I don’t see how it should matter to you. My dreams and my experiences are my business, not yours Princess. Leave it at that.”

Princess gave a small chuckle. “You can’t tell me what to do, Naruto. Or would you like to experience nearly dying once more?”

Naruto visibly flinched when she said that. He certainly didn’t want to go through that again, but he sighed in frustration.

“Just give me some leeway, alright?”

“I can’t promise that, Mommy. I see what you see and you’ve piqued my curiosity. Do you realize how boring it is in here? Seeing the outside world through your eyes gives me entertainment. Remember the Manticore? Now that was funny… he was treating you like a makeshift hammer!”, she said while stifling her laughter.” Oh oh, or that one time that you knocked Blackie out or when that Gary guy body slammed him... You seem to have nothing but violence around you...” Her laughter stopped and was replaced with a malicious grin, ”...and I like that.”

“Please shut up… I didn’t want to harm them, but they left me with no choice.”

“Psh… that’s boring… You need more violence in your life, Naruto. Especially…” She said with a grin. “When those villagers were pelting you with ro—“

She didn’t get a chance to finish as Naruto shoved his tails into Princess’s mouth. Princess went wide-eyed and cursed herself for letting her guard down.

“That’s enough! Leave my personal memories out of this!”

Princess growled as she flung her tails at Naruto, slamming him against a nearby wall and pinning him there. Naruto struggled to get out of her hold but was powerless to do so. She had the upper hand here. She spat on the ground.

“Hmph, you don’t have a choice in the matter. You think you can go all ‘personal and upset’ with your own memories, but all you do is whine and never share anything. Where’s the fun in keeping it all to yourself when you can share it with the others? I’m sure they’ll get a good laugh at it.”

Naruto raised his front hoof with a growl and tried to punch Princess with it, but it was quickly pinned by one of her other nine tails. She smiled wickedly.

“Nah ah ah… You wouldn’t want to do something you’ll regret. I can get angry when you get angry. I can get happy when you’re happy, and I can get sad when you get sad… Or I could just torture you all day long and hear your cries of agony that brings me so much joy…”

Princess stared at him for a moment, before unpinning him with a sigh. Naruto grunted as he landed on the ground and shook his head. He glared at her as she shrugged.

“…But I don’t really feel like doing those things. Just remember we share one body, and you nor I have a choice in this.”

“Tell me, what gave you the right to be the decision maker, you spoiled princess?”

“Because I AM spoiled, like you said. Princesses are supposed to be spoiled, are they not?”

Naruto stayed silent after that. She had no right in invading Naruto’s own personal memories and dreams but she had a point. He had no control over this, but she did: Complaining about it would only get him a slap in the head with one of her tails. He took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, trying to relax his body. He turned away from Princess and took up staring at the opposite wall.

“…Princess, look, I’m trying not to think about it, alright? I don’t want to be reminded of the past, especially since I had to fight for survival to get where I am now. It’s even worse that I died in my old world.” He turned around so he could get a clear look at her face. “We both lost something here, something important. You lost your father and I lost my old life. So please Princess, I’m asking you nicely... Please stop prying.”

Princess scratched her chin with her paw, pondering how to answer Naruto.

“I’ll do what I want,” she said with a shrug.

It seemed reasoning with her was out of the question if she was going to give this attitude. He sighed as he rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on; Funny, seeing he was actually inside his own head at the time.

“Oh, by the way Mommy…”

“Why are you calling me Mommy?”, he snapped out.

“Be quiet and listen.”

Naruto raised a brow. “What does she want to say now?”

Princess walked up to Naruto, looked at him quizzically, and grinned.

“Have you ever pondered what a pony’s head tastes like?”

The question caught Naruto off-guard. He was going to ask if he heard her wrong, but when he blinked, his vision was filled with razor sharp teeth and a deep, dark mouth.

*****

“AHH!”

Naruto found himself in mid descent, the floor quickly closing the distance to his head. He threw his forehooves up, managing to catch himself an inch or two from the floor. He propelled him off the floor and into the air before landing on all fours. He quickly looked around to find that he was back in his room. It was brighter inside the room than before, which probably meant that it was sometime in the morning. He placed his hooves on his head, making sure it was firmly attached to his neck and sighed in relief when it was in its’ place.

“That brat needs to stop scaring me…”

If Naruto was going to go back where Princess was every time he slept, it would probably kill him... Or maybe it wouldn’t, but he didn’t know regardless.

After getting up and setting the bed sheet back into its proper place, he took a quick look around the room, and noticed that it wasn’t as dusty as before. It was still dusty, but at least there wasn’t clouds of the stuff hanging around like last night.

He looked out of the open window to find the sun just starting to crest over the distant mountains.

“It’s still early…”

His first day by himself, and he didn’t know what to do with himself. He could always go check up on Twilight if he wanted, but he needed to be alone. He needed to think. With no way back, no plans for the future, and having Princess in the back seat all the time, just what was he going to do? Find a job and live out the rest of his confused life amongst these ponies?

“What would be the point?” He muttered out loud. Everything that he knew, everyone that knew him, anything that he did back then didn’t matter. No matter what he did, he was stuck here, and he had to live with it. No matter how hard it was to let go, he had to. He had to leave his old life behind...

An audible grumbling sound came from below him. He looked down and saw his stomach visibly grumbling. He gave a small sigh.

“So much for ‘being alone’ today…”

*****

After pulling on his jacket, he left his house in lieu of finding food at Ponyville square. It was a quiet and cool morning and it took him only a few minutes to make it to the market stands. Looking around, only a couple stalls were open despite it being early morning. Naruto assumed that every stand had to set up early if they wanted to meet their end with customers. Probably just too early then, he thought.

Naruto looked at a couple of stands that had already opened, to see if there was anything that stood out. Fruits, vegetables, and even books were on a few of the stands. However, that wasn’t what he wanted. The entire time he had been here, he had ate nothing but a vegetarian diet. He wanted, no, he NEEDED meat and absolutely nothing could be a substitute for his sole source of energy: Ramen.

But regardless, he needed meat. He looked at each open stall, hoping for one of them to have a stock of meat of some kind, whether it be fish or beef, but each one yielded no results. He even tried to ask some of the merchants if they knew anypony that sold meat, but their response was a glare and a ‘get out’ attitude. He wondered why they would be in a sour mood about meat. Unless…

“Do ponies even eat meat around here?” He wasn’t an expert on ponies, but he did recall that horses and ponies ate mostly greens. Surely horses eat some kind of meat, right? Right!?

Naruto merely shook his head. Whether it would be steak, fish, pork, or anything meat related… The thought of a succulent piece of pork grilled to perfection made his mouth water. Maybe he could just eat a pony and be done with this craving?

……

Naruto’s eyes widened in shock and fear. Had he just thought about eating a pony!? Naruto shook his head. No, he wouldn’t do such a thing to such peaceful creatures. Not to mention that he was seriously indebted to a few of them, Twilight Sparkle being the primary pony.

“I wonder what she’s doing right now…”

Having to reluctantly give up on his search for meat, he settled on buying a pair of apples from the apple stand. They were a bit each, so they weren’t expensive by any means. After giving two bits to the apple merchant, he took one in each of his tails and proceeded to take a big chunk out of the first one. He munched on it as the juicy apple-y goodness filled his mouth. One thing was for sure, it was damn tasty.

As he walked through town, he noticed that some ponies were staring at him, some with curiosity and others with fear. Naruto was used to such treatment so he could tell that they were staring. He turned his head to look back at the staring ponies, but as he did, they went back to whatever they were doing beforehand.

He assumed that is was because of what he was wearing. A couple already told him that to his face, but something bugged was still bugging him… was it about something else or was it really all about his jacket?

As he finished the apple, he used his tail to throw the core into a nearby trashcan, which went in perfectly. He was starting to get used to moving his tails and using them for precise movements. Princess’s influence maybe?

“YIPPEEEEEE!”

A sudden squeal from above shocked Naruto, causing him to drop his last apple. He looked up at where the sound was coming from. He didn’t see anything at first, but as the squeal got closer, the source became more apparent and pink...

…and landed square on his back.

To be more precise, a hyperactive pink pony landed on his back, her hooves digging into his back. Naruto grunted in pain as he tried to lift himself up. The pony merely began to laugh up a storm.

“Omigoshomigosh that was fun! I wanna do it again!” She said as she clapped her front hooves together.

Hello to you too, Pinkie Pie, he thought sarcastically. To be honest, he wasn’t really angry but more along the lines of completely perplexed at how she managed to get that high up in the air. Ponies don’t just fall from the sky. But then again, it IS Pinkie Pie.

“Urgh… Pinkie, get off me… Your hooves hurt…” He grumbled. Pinkie Pie looked down and gasped as she immediately got off of him.

“Naruto? What are you doing you silly filly? Did you come to catch me?”

“Yes, I came all the way here, laid out on the ground and waited fo-No of course not! You appeared out of nowhere and landed on me!”

“Whoops, sorry! Hee hee!” She said, giggling like it was no big deal. Naruto just sighed as he got on his legs and popped his spine back into alignment.

“Ugh… it’s okay; just don’t do that again, alright?” He said while Pinkie hopped around him. “How can she be so carefree when disaster strikes? It’s like she’s not afraid of anything and just laughs her troubles away…”

Some ponies passed them by walking the way that Naruto had came from talking to each other. He noticed that it was two mares, one a light cyan unicorn and the other a pale cream earth pony that had a mane of navy blue with a pink stripe. He could have sworn that one of the ponies had a cutie mark shaped like a harp: Was her talent making music with a harp then?

“There’s a new unicorn in town?” The light cyan colored unicorn said.

“Yeah, some blue unicorn with a caravan came in and she’s boasting about how she’s the greatest magic user than anypony in Equestria!”

“Wow, really? She must have a lot of guts to say something like that!”

“I know, right? Wanna go see what it’s all about?”

“Sure, why not? If she’s as great and powerful as she says, it’s got me curious! Let’s go!”

As they passed by, chatting amongst themselves, he couldn’t help but wonder who this unicorn was. He had nothing better to do either, except Pinkie Pie hopping around him.

“Stay still Pinkie, I need to tell you something. What were those two talking about?”

“Oh, you mean Lyra and Bonbon? It sounds like they’re talking about that new unicorn in town!”

Pinkie didn’t say anymore and kept bouncing up and down, leaving Naruto slightly confused.

“…and?”

“And that’s it! Ooh, she’s supposed to be the greatest at magic in all of Equestria!”

“It sounds like Pinkie was only repeating what those two ponies have said, which means she’s as clueless as I am…” Naruto thought.

“Hmm… I see… Still, it might be worth checking out… oh, by the way Pinkie…”

“Hmmmmm?”

“What were you doing in the sky?”

Pinkie laughed and shrugged.

“I don’t know. I just felt like flying through the sky.”

“But you don’t have wings,” Naruto said incredulously.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t try to fly.”

“But you could have gotten hurt.”

“Nopony gets hurt by flying silly. Even I know that!”

“That’s not what I meant, I mean… HOW did you get into the sky to begin with?”, he said, his frustration already reaching the breaking point.

“Oh! How did I get up in the sky? Well, why didn’t you just ask that in the first place!? Hmm…”, Pinkie said, tapping the side of her head with her hoof. Naruto stood there, waiting for a good explanation as to how a ground-bound pony could fly.

She shrugged.

“I don’t know. But it was fun!”

Naruto face-hoofed.

“Damn ponies…”

CH21: The Great and Powerful Bit-- I mean Trixie! (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

A unicorn with such “special talents”

Should deserve a thrashing of one hundred mallets

When one’s liesare caught and exposed

How will this ‘small’ problem be disposed?

*****

Chapter 21: The Great & Powerful Bit- I mean, Trixie!

It didn’t take long to arrive at the place where this supposedly ‘Powerful’ unicorn had set up shop. In the middle of Ponyville square was a small wagon. Not exactly a small wagon per say, but more like a tiny house on wheels.

“A caravan?”, he muttered to himself.

Naruto rubbed his hoof as he saw the big crowd crowding around the caravan, which he assumed is here to see this powerful unicorn. As he shoved himself through the big crowd, he began to think.

“I guess she must be powerful seeing as the entire town came to watch,” he thought. All he could do is wait and find out. As he weaved through the crowd, Pinkie Pie in tow, he caught sight of a tan stetson and a stylish purple mane a short ways away.

“So Applejack and Rarity came too then.”

He made a beeline straight towards them, wriggling his way through the already packed crowd. A moment later, he found himself face to face with the two mares in question.

“Hey there, what’s up?”, he said.

“’Ey there Naruto, we’re good. How ‘bout you?”, Applejack replied with a smile. Naruto shrugged.

“I’m okay. Me and Pinkie heard about some new unicorn in town. Do you know what’s going on?”

Rarity shook her head. “Unfortunately, I don’t know either. Trust me dear, I was as surprised as you when I heard about this pony today from Aloe and Lotus during my spa visit. It’s not everyday that we get a new arrival in town you know.”

Now that he was closer to the front than before, he could clearly see the caravan. At first glance, it didn’t seem to be made of anything special; Just some old wood, some weathered tarp for a roof, and a couple small windows. He scratched his chin with a hoof and sighed. Now why would someone who is so great and powerful travel in such a bland way? A small cough caught his attention somewhere to his left. He looked over to find that Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow had now joined their group. He locked eyes with Twilight and found a smile starting to creep onto his face. Twilight mirrored his smile but before they could do anything else, they were interrupted by a loud voice.

“Come one, come all! Come and witness the AMAZING magic of…”

It sounded extremely obnoxious, maybe even smug. The voice was definitely female too. What shocked Naruto even more was that the Caravan seemed to be collapsing! No, it was actually falling apart systematically into a stage! As it unfolded, out popped a purple curtain along the rear which was flanked by a handful of trumpets on each side. A second later came the rest of the stage’s accessorys; A blue moon surrounded by a ring and stars, a purple and white rocket, and a circular disc with what seemed to be fireworks on the edges. And in the middle of the stage, covered in a star-laden purple magician’s cape and cap was...

“The GRRREAT and POWERFUL TRRRRRIXIE!”

As she shouted her name, she unraveled herself from the purple cape and sprung up onto her two back hooves, opening her front two in a, for lack of a better term, ‘Behold my Amazingly Awesome Greatness’ pose. Fireworks and explosions followed suit, lighting up the area in a spectacular combination of reds, blues, yellows and every color in between. The majority of the crowd was impressed and was now stomping their hooves in what Naruto assumed was their form of applause.

“My, what boasting!” Rarity said with a tone of disgust. Naruto turned his head in surprise to find that the 6 mares and dragon were not applauding the showmare’s opening performance. He didn’t understand. She wasn’t that bad, what with the pyrotechnics and all.

“I wouldn’t really call it that, it’s more like she’s showing off… But wow, pretty fireworks…” Naruto was actually impressed, but not by much. He did like the colorful fireworks that she fired up into the air though.

“Watch in awe, as the Great and Powerful Trixie, performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by PONY EYES!” Trixie exclaimed, firing off a very similar volley of fireworks into the air. Naruto’s grin turned into a frown instantly.

“…On second thought, never mind. If she thinks those balls of lights are that impressive, then color me unimpressed,” Naruto said, changing his mind. Both Spike and Applejack agreed, nodding their heads.

“Yup… nothin’ but a show off…” Applejack said.

“Yeah, I mean c’mon! No pony’s as magical like Twi—“ Before Spike could finish, he seemed to have become tongue tied. Naruto raised a brow as he watched Spike repeat the same syllable over and over again until he ran off, mumbling something about a moustache or something.

“A what? Is that Dragon in puberty now or something? Can dragons even grow moustaches?” Naruto thought.

The blonde ninja watched as the crowd exchanged glances and whispered to one another, some arguing about what they thought of Trixie. Everypony, including the six friends, were questioning her ability. He couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw Rainbow Dash try to a show-off, saying how she’s better than anyone there, along with changing her mind and negatively ‘booing’ about magic.

“I guess Rainbow is no different…”

“Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience?”

“We wouldn’t be neighsayers if you kept your big mouth shut and left it at a fireworks show... Haha! Neighsayers! That’s funny haha!” He thought, stifling a laugh. He figured that if it was just a fireworks show, it would be one thing, but boasting that she was the most magical pony in the land? He wasn’t seeing it. He’s seen magic, and fireworks were definitely not magic. He mentally sighed as he heard her continue.

“Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they’re in the presence of THE most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?”

“I know I’m in the presence of a phony; a big, fat one too!”

Trixie furrowed her brow and scowled, scanning through the crowd to see who would say such a thing. Some of the ponies were actually chuckling and laughing as a result. Little did they know that it was actually Naruto who had shouted his response, stifling a laugh that would have given him away right then and there. Twilight facehoofed at his antics while Rainbow Dash was starting to have trouble stifling her laughter with Naruto.

“Who dares question the Grrrreat and Powerful Trixie!?” She shouted at the crowd.

“No one at all, oh ‘Great and Powerful Phony’.” Naruto couldn’t help it anymore, and fell down laughing at his own joke. Rainbow could no longer hold back her laughter and let loose, the crowd following suit a moment later. Trixie stomped her hoof in anger as she saw who was defaming her title.

“Hmph, some of you may not believe Trixie, but who else could have used magic strong enough,” she boasted, throwing her hooves up into the air once again,” to defeat the dreaded URSA MAJOR!”

More fireworks materialized out of nowhere as she finished her exclamation. However, these didn’t seem to be ‘normal’ fireworks, as they coalesced into a gigantic, blue bear that seemed to be made out of stars. Naruto raised a brow at such an animated firework. A bear, easily dwarfing Ponyville’s city hall, hovered over the crowd while it growled menacingly. Trixie smiled as the crowd gave her their undivided attention. She lived for this kind of attention.

“When all hope was lost,” she said confidently,”the ponies of Hoofington had no one to turn to... but the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in and with her awesome magic…”

Another firework went up into the air and exploded, leaving behind a floating image of Trixie next to the Ursa. The bear turned around and attempted to squash her with his over-sized paw, but she fired a beam of light at the bear, sending it flying over the crowd before it disintegrated into particles of light.

‘It took magic to defeat an over-sized bear? What in the… Anyone could kill a bear with the right equipment! How is this any different!?’

“...vanquished the Ursa Major and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!”

‘…She chased it away into a cave? Is that even something to brag about?’ How is sending an over-grown bear back into its’ cave a heroic feat? This world’s logic was beginning to annoy him... either that or Trixie was off her rocker.

‘Who would believe this stuff anyway!?’ Naruto thought.

“Wow… Trixie truly is the most talented most magical unicorn in Ponyville…”

“No, in all of Equestria!”

‘So there is someone dumb enough to believe her lies’, he thought.

An odd looking pair of ponies got in front of the stage, already showering Trixie with gratuitous amounts of praise. One was a short blue unicorn, a pair of scissors as his cutie mark and the other a tall, golden colored unicorn with a pink snail on his rear. So wait… Does that mean that Unicorn is exceptional as a barber and that the snail pony is good at… wait, what WOULD a snail represent? Slow as a snail? He didn’t know but he could tell that these two were completely oblivious to who Trixie truly was. Some ponies in the crowd were starting to hop on the band wagon as well, apparently impressed by her ‘true’ story.

“How do you know? You didn't see it! And besides, Twi--mmph!”, came an exasperated dragon. Before he could finish, his mouth was, literally, zipped closed by Twilight and her magic. He didn’t even know that was possible.

“It’s true, my enthusiastic little admirers,” said the showmare with a laugh,“Trixie is most certainly the best in Ponyville.”

At that, silence fell over the crowd like a thick blanket, all chatter ceasing as everypony stared at Trixie. Naruto could have sworn he heard an orchestra of crickets nearby to contribute to the silence.

“Do all ponies have some kind of mood problem?”, he whispered. ”They were just cheering for her but now look at em…”

“I don’t know… maybe it’s because she just declared herself as the best pony in Ponyville, but what can we do?”

“Why don’t you show her who’s boss?”

“Because I’m beyond that Naruto,” she quipped,” I don’t want to look like a show-off. Everyone will probably hate me for it...”

“Compared to her?,” he snickered, ”Hah, I doubt that…”

Trixie grinned at the audience, regardless of the crowd’s… less than predicted reaction.

“Don’t believe the Great and Powerful Trixie? Hah, well then… I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians: Anything you can do, ‘I’ can do better. Any takers?”

The crowd looked amongst themselves, confused on how to react, before Trixie repeated her question. “Anyone? Hmm? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!?” Fireworks flew and fanfare played in the background as she took her signature pose once again. The show was interesting at first, but it had quickly turned into a one trick pony.

However, that was about to change. It was then that Trixie pointed Twilight out in the crowd, challenging her to see who would be the best unicorn. Twilight hesitated at first, obviously not wanting to participate in her show. Trixie berated her for being spineless before Applejack broke away from the crowd, fed up with this mare’s tricks and lies.

Applejack started off by twirling her lasso around in a dazzling array of complex patterns and maneuvers. Naruto stared, utterly fascinated by her skill with the rope and the things she could do with it. He was mostly impressed with her precision when she lassoed an apple off her stand and took a big chunk out of it. He clapped like a madpony when she finished but Naruto went wide-eyed when he saw Trixie remove her hat, revealing her rather… beautiful, silver hair. She used her magic and picked up the rope Applejack had used, distracting her with one end before hogtying her up and shoving an apple in her mouth with the other. While cruel, he couldn’t help but wonder if Trixie actually did have some decent magical abilities on her hoofs. Then again, he’d only seen just her telekinesis and illusory skills.

“Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie prevails!”

“There's no need to go struttin' around and showin' off like that,” explained Rainbow Dash. A second later she flew up onto the stage and looked Trixie right in the eye. “That’s my job.”

With that, Rainbow flew into the sky. Beautiful was an understatement, Naruto thought. She sped towards the windmill at a breakneck pace before spinning the windmills blades around and shooting off towards a row of clouds. She punched through them like they weren’t even there, leaving behind a pony-sized hole in each one. At the apex of her flight, she pulled off a hairpin turn and dove back down in the opposite direction before ending up at the stage once again, striking a victory pose. Not only had she nailed the landing, but her finale was in the form of a miniature rainbow forming behind because of the water she pulled off the clouds.

“They don’t call me ‘Rainbow’ and ‘Dash’ for nothin’!”

Naruto clapped even harder, wondering just what else these ponies had up their proverbial sleeves.

…That is, until Trixie stepped in.

“When Trixie is through, the only thing they'll call you is ‘loser’.”

Trixie used her magic once again and took control of the rainbow, morphing into a twister with Dash at the center. The pegasus took a short flight through the air before landing back on the ground, ready to lose her lunch.

“She can manipulate a damn rainbow!?” He was starting to think that Trixie wasn’t all bark and no bite now. She controlled a freaking rainbow! That had to amount to something!

“It seems anyone with a ‘dash’ of sense should know better than tussling with the Great Trixie!” She scoffed, zapping Rainbow Dash with a thunder cloud she had just conjured up.

“Hey, that’s just adding insult to injury!” objected Naruto. While using lightning magic was something that further impressed him, he couldn’t just sit idly by and watch his friends be pushed around like this. Trixie merely ignored him and… was the crowd laughing at them? Just whose side was the crowd on: Trixie’s or the challengers?

It reminded him of—no, he didn’t want to think about that dream. Not now, not ever. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the stage.

Spike mentioned something about another unicorn challenging Trixie, something about equal grounds. Rainbow and Applejack agreed with him wholeheartedly but Rarity didn’t, explaining that she was above such ruffian tactics.

“Finally, someone with some logical sense…” Naruto said obliviously, despite the fact he’d been trying to mock Trixie the entire time.

“Ooh, what’s the matter? Afraid you’ll get a hair out of place in that rat’s nest you call a mane?” Trixie taunted, earning a ferocious glare from Rarity.

“Oh… It. Is. ON!” Rarity spat out.

Naruto face-hoofed at Rarity’s sudden change of heart. She stated that a unicorn needs more than just muscle but style as well. Using her magic, she grabbed a nearby curtain and spun it around her at dazzling speeds, cutting off any view of the white unicorn they had. A moment later, Rarity appeared with a breathtakingly beautiful dress and a hairdo to match. Naruto felt his jaw drop involuntary, her beauty stunning him momentarily.

It’s strange though, why did he think a pony like her was beautiful? It was an odd feeling, something he couldn’t place a finger on. Was it because he still thought like a human and not like a pony? Maybe it’s just because it was an amazing act and the gratuitous amounts of magic he’d seen today was starting to get to him. In fact, that might be why he was impressed by Trixie’s magic; It’s magic!

…Why was he impressed with someone who was hurting his friends?

It didn’t take long for the stage to light up again as Trixie used her magic, her horn glowing a cool blue color. Naruto brought his eyes back to Rarity before having to look away in fear of enraging the prissy, white unicorn. He almost didn’t stifle his bout of laughter in time.

Rarity started to panic, asking for a mirror to look at her now dark green mane. Naruto stood there, hoof in mouth to block the laughter, not wanting to break the news which everypony seemed keen on doing as well… except for Spike. Her hair was now seaweed green in color with a couple of actual rat tails poking out at random intervals. Trixie did mention something about a rat’s nest, so Naruto assumed that’s what she meant.

After a small drama freak out from Rarity, she ran off from the stage. All of whom was left was Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. However, he couldn’t find Fluttershy anywhere in the crowd, and Pinkie Pie seemed visibly depressed now, her hair no longer poofy but flat.

That’s when Spike drew the line. He couldn’t take it anymore and suggested that Twilight go up there and show her who’s boss. She vehemently declined, saying that she’d be no better than the showmare if she showed her up. It was a solid argument until Trixie started to jab at her.

“Hah, you think you’re better than the Great and Powerful Trixie? You think you have more magical talent? Well, come on, show Trixie what you’ve got. Show us all!”

Apparently, Trixie misunderstood Twilight’s reasoning as ‘I’m better than you’ than ‘I don’t want to’. Twilight tried once more, shying away from the stage and repeatedly pointing out that she was just a normal unicorn like the rest.

Despite that, Trixie kept badgering her until she was figuratively backed against a wall. Naruto started to shake in anger. No one messes with his friends and that was the final straw. He jumped in between them, locking eyes with the blue unicorn.

“Hold it! You’ve still got one more challenger before her!”

The crowd’s and Trixie’s focus went to Naruto. He could feel all of their stares drill into him. The crowd whispered to each other, mostly along the lines of who the mystery pony was or about his fox tails, but Naruto ignored them.

“You think you can treat my friends like this and get away with it!? Well, you’ve obviously never met anypony like me then! I can certainly do something better than you can, and I bet you won’t--no, can’t match it! Believe it!”

Trixie stared blankly at him, as if she didn’t believe a word he said. But it was sorely for another reason. She pointed at Naruto in confusion.

“Trixie demands to know why you have fox tails instead of a norma—“

“Oh for the love of Equestria…” He momentarily paused, surprised that he said the pony equivalent of a swear. “Why won’t you or anypony stop talking about my tails? Listen to what I’m saying: I’m challenging you, you big fat phony!”

The crowd gasped and Trixie reeled from the insult.

“F-fat!? How DARE you! No one tells Trixie she is fa—“

“Then let’s see you prove it!” He interrupted.

He hopped onto the stage, staring down Trixie with confidence. He didn’t want this magical show-off to get the last laugh. His tails flickered wildly, a little bit excited to one-up her.

“N-Naruto, what are you doing!? This isn’t a time to show off!” Twilight shouted.

“You’re right, it isn’t.” Naruto agreed.

“Well of course it—huh?” She could have sworn that he just agreed with her. Naruto looked at her seriously. She blinked. Naruto never got serious.

“It’s about pride. I’ve stood here, watching her belittle and mock your friends one by one. It’s only fair I knock her off her high horse.” Then Naruto gave a smirk. “…Besides, I wonder what face she’ll make when she’s beaten by an earth pony.”

She couldn’t help but sigh.

“Are you two done yet? Trixie is waiting!”, interjected Trixie.

Naruto looked back at her opponent, who was smirking. She held on to her cape and placed it in front of her.

“Show your moves, Blondie.” She said as she flipped her cape around, but this only earned a confused look from Naruto.

“Why would she do that? Oh no matter… time’s a wasting.” Thinking he should act some what like a magician too, he looked at the crowd, and gestured with his hoof at the crowd.

“Come one and all, and witness the Great and Powerful Naruto Uzumaki, perform a dazzling stunt that NO PONY has ever seen before!” He said as he got onto his two hooves and mimicked Trixie’s pose. He assumed that by doing this, more fireworks would launch into the air...

…But nothing happened. The crowd just stood there staring at him and Twilight facehoofed at his ridiculous antics.

“Are you done stealing Trixie’s routine or are you going to do something?” Trixie deadpanned.

“I’m just getting warmed up!” He adjusted his tails to form the familiar cross-pattern he has always used. Twilight went wide-eyed when she realized what he was going to do.

“What in tarnation is he doing? Is he just gonna’ stand there with them tails crossed—wait… I thought he had one tail, not two?”

“It’s a long story, AJ…” Twilight mentioned.

“Regardless, Earth Ponies can’t use magic,” Rainbow Dash began, “and I’ve never seen him pull off anything as awesome as I have. There’s no way that—“

“PONY STYLE: SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!” Naruto shouted. An explosion of smoke enveloped the stage. As it cleared, there was now two Narutos standing where there was once one.

“Hah hah, I’m back, boss!” The clone said.

“Yeah, good to have you back!” The real Naruto replied.

“He could… use… mag…ic?” Rainbow finished, dumbfounded at what Naruto just did. She could have sworn she was seeing double. The entire crowd was speechless. How could an Earth Pony perform magic? It was unbelievable.

The crowd ‘Ooh’d’ at the spectacle before them and Trixie’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Naruto chuckled.

“Meet my clone, Naruto Number Two! Say hi Number Two!”

“Hi there fatty. How’s it going?”

“Wh… you dare insult the Great and Powerful Trixie!?” Trixie said angrily, snapping out of her stupor. She did not like being called fat.

“Not really,” the clone began,” it’s more like—”

“—We just one upped you. Let’s see you top that!” Naruto finished.

“Ah... Ah can’t believe it. How’d he pull that off?” said a shocked Applejack.

“It’s something called Chakra, Applejack.” Twilight said calmly.

“Chalk-what now?”

“I don’t know myself, but Naruto said it was similar to magic, magic only ‘he’ can use.”

“But that’s impossible, how’s an earth pony like him supposed to use magic without a horn?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I wish I knew myself, but I think the tails are the catalyst in this matter… See how he forms a cross pattern with them? That must be why.”

“So, are you calling it quits, Trixie?” Naruto said to Trixie, confident in his victory.

“Hmph, hardly… It’s a nice trick, I’ll give you that, but it pales in comparison to mine… Hm hm hm…”

Naruto was about to wonder what she was talking about but her horn lit up again. But this time, it wasn’t aimed at Naruto, she was aiming it right in the air?

“What is she up to…?” He muttered to himself.

“I don’t know but I have a feeling we’re about to find out,” the clone muttered back.

A few beams of light arced off her horn and hit the stage at multiple locations. The beams of light quickly formed…

“Oh no…”

In no time at all, Trixie had out-cloned Naruto. What stood in place of the beams of light, were multiple clones of Trixies!

“No way!” The clone said in disbelief.

The Trixies giggled ominously as they pointed their hooves at him.

“It is no use blondie, Trixie has won again!” They all spoke together. The crowd cheered at the spectacle, while Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow stood there miffed. Naruto was even more annoyed that he was out-cloned. But how?

“They can’t be the same as my shadow clone. It’s just some more of her stupid illusions. I bet those clones she produced aren’t even solid…”

“Oh, and just for good measure…” The Trixie’s added, their horns glowing together and pointed directly at Naruto, or Naruto 2 to be precise, and fired off another beam of light.

As it hit, another blast of smoke hit the stage and a monstrous roar rang out through the smoke. When the smoke cleared, his clone had turned into a orange and black striped tiger! Caught off-guard, Naruto screamed in shock.

“AAAHHHH!” The tiger pounced on him, only to be flung away by Naruto with a quick back-roll. The tiger flew off the stage and hit a nearby pole, disappearing in a quick puff of smoke. Naruto couldn’t believe what just happened. She turned his clone into a tiger and his own clone attacked him!

Trixie turned to the crowd, already starting to gloat.

“Ha! Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie has proven herself to be the most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria. Was there ‘ever’ any doubt?”

With that, the crowd started to disperse, seeing as nopony else would go up to the stage and challenge her. Trixie retreated backstage and said something about taking a break. Everyone actually believed her to be the greatest now, despite the fact she was a boastful bitch… at least, that’s what Naruto thought. He stood there on the stage still, his mind running through different scenario’s for what had went wrong and when. He’s NEVER been out-cloned before. Then again, he was limited to one clone for some stupid reason.

And yet, he didn’t have the power to create so many at once anymore. He cursed himself for this. If only he had more power.

“Are you okay Naruto?”

Naruto looked down to find only Twilight next to the stage. The rest of the ponies must have gone home, including AJ and Rainbow. He sighed and hopped off the stage.

“Not really, I was so confident I could beat her at her own game, but I was wrong. She just seemed to be all talk at first, so I thought…”

Naruto looked at the ground in distraught.

Twilight gave a small smile and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it Naruto. Everyone has their own abilities and limitations, whether it’s you, me, AJ, or anypony else. Don’t let it get to you…” She stared at the stage with a frown. “Still, I wish you didn’t go up there. You just added fuel to the fire by giving her another excuse to show-off…”

“Hey,Twilight?”

“Yes, Naruto?”

“Just… what’s an Ursa Major anyway? From the fireworks, it looked like an over-grown bear.”

“I’m not sure myself. I’ve heard of them, but I need to look them up again back at the library. Why?”

“Because… If what Trixie says really is true about it being absurdly powerful,” he smacked a hoof into the other, “I want to fight it!”

Twilight stared at Naruto dumbfounded but looked at him with concern a moment later. “Naruto, haven’t you learned from your experience with the Manticore!? You nearly died!”

Naruto laughed in response. “What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger.” He said, backed by his ‘Naruto Logic.’ Twilight butted her head against Naruto’s, close enough that they could feel each other’s breaths. Naruto could see she was rather angry.

“Listen Naruto, you got lucky last time,” she said, accentuating each word with a hoof poke, ”I don’t want you doing another dangerous stunt like that ever again. Do you realize how worried Pinkie and I were? You might not get so lucky next time!”

Naruto returned the pressure on his forehead against hers.

“I understand that you’re worried Twilight, but don’t be. I’ve fought much worse and come out on top.”

“I don’t care what you fought; I just don’t want to see you hurt!”

They glared into each other’s eyes for a full minute, neither wanting to back down, until Naruto realized something. Her breath… There was a faint hint of lavender on her breath and he just noticed how close their lips were. A blush started to creep onto his face.

“Um… Twilight, mind backing off a tad?”

Twilight went wide-eyed when Naruto mentioned that, not realizing it at first. She immediately pulled her head away, a blush adding a faint red hue to her face. She coughed a little and just turned her head, starting to walk away.

“J…Just don’t do anything that will put you in danger, a-alright? I need to go… R-Research and such…”

As Twilight walked off to do Celestia knows what, Naruto just stood there confused. It didn’t last long as he just grinned and pounded his chest.

“Eh, whether it’s an over-sized grizzly, an over-sized furball, or anything else in this place, I can take it!” But then he looked around him, making sure that no one was around, and gave a small sigh.

“…I hope.”

*****

After the events at Trixie’s Caravan, Naruto found himself walking randomly around Ponyville, thinking of the events that had occurred. He couldn’t help but wonder why Twilight was getting so worried about him. He was a ninja, a fighter, a mercenary... A ninja…

Did the word ‘ninja’ even exist in Equestria? There are guards in fancy armor, sure, but is there anyone with enough skill and prowess to be called a ninja in this world? As far as he knew, he was the only one.

Being a ninja… the word crept into his own memories once more, reminding him of Konoha and—

“No!”

He shook his head, trying to stop the flashbacks. He didn’t want to start reminiscing again; it would only make him cry again. He needed to think to occupy his mind and he had the perfect pony.

“Trixie… yes, her.”

How was she able to turn his clone into a tiger? That must have taken some really fancy magic to do that. Now that he thought about it, Trixie’s own clones… They spoke when she spoke. Was it some kind of Gen-jutsu or was it just a simple parlor trick with mirrors and her reflections instead of actual clones?

Still, that wouldn’t explain how she morphed his shadow clone into a tiger and had it turn against him. It dispelled when the tiger hit a nearby pole, so does that mean his clone was still a clone, but just in a different ‘shell’ per say? But then why did it attack him?

He wasn’t that familiar with magic, except for those in books and fairytales, but seeing it all first hand was quickly changing his perspective on magic.

“I guess there’s all kinds of magic out there… kinda like my ninja techniques…” Ponyville seemed nearly crime-less too. Save for Blackie, there weren’t any fights or criminals running about causing mischief. It’s all rainbows and butterflies.

“I guess it truly IS peaceful here… no conflicts, no reason to lock your doors, or even risk being attacked…”

Was the Manticore he killed peaceful too? No, wait, that’s right. He had to kill a wolf in the forest too. They were both carnivorous creatures. The Manticore may have hesitated in attacking, but the wolf didn’t.

Naruto couldn’t help but scratch his head in confusion. Understanding the logic here of this world was giving him a headache. Was this place really free of conflict and strife, or was there some hidden evil lurking just out of sight?

He decided to stop thinking about it for now, in fear of dredging up any past memories of home...

…And once again he found himself taking a stroll down memory la—

“NO! Bad brain, stop it! I need to do something, anything to get my mind off it!” He shouted. Several ponies who were passing by stopped and looked at him like he was crazy. He looked at his surroundings and before giving a small toothy grin while scratching the back of his head.

“Ah heh heh… um… don’t mind me, just your local crazy pony here! Ah ha, AHAHAHAH!” He said, trying to laugh it off.

The ponies stared for a moment longer before shaking their heads and continuing with whatever they happened to be doing. He sighed as he continued to walk in a random direction, head looking at the ground below him. However, he neglected to watch in front of him when he started to walk and collided with a sign. He ricocheted back, more out of shock then pain.

“Agh, who put this sign here…?”

He looked up to see a sign that said “Soaps & Bubbles”. It was outlined in silver and had a mop, bucket, and a yellow soap bar surrounded with bubbles underneath the name. To the right, was the store in question, the same logo plastered above the doorway.

That’s when it hit him: He may not be able to repair the house at the moment but he could at least make it livable. That’s what he can do! Clean the house!

*****

Naruto rushed back with his new cleaning supplies in gear: A mop, a bucket, a couple of spray bottles filled with cleaning solution, some mold remover, sponges, a broom and dustpan, and even a few scrub-brushes for the tougher areas. In total, it cost him 30 bits for the supplies but it was worth it just to get the house cleaned up!

Now that he thought about it, he never did get a good look at his bathroom. Only one way to find out!

Reaching the entrance to his house, he kicked open the door, as if trying to make a grand and badass entrance. It would have worked too, save for the fact that he was the only there to see it. He dropped his cleaning supplies onto the floor before rushing to the bathroom to see just how bad it was. TO be honest, he was scared of what he may find there after this place hadn’t been used in a long time. He stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath before slamming the door open.

The bathroom was in dire need of cleaning. Mold and dust stuck to the walls and the silver sink, tub, and toilet in the corner. Thankfully, nothing else seemed to be wrong... at least at first glance. Speaking of which, where in the hell was all the rats and cockroaches? If he didn’t know any better, this place should have been crawling with those pests and yet he hadn’t encountered any of them yet. Now why was that?

Ignoring this for the moment, he went to the sink to see if the water was still running. Surely enough, water flowed out of the faucet and went into the drain without problem. Naruto was thankful that the plumbing in the house still worked.

Unfortunately, the water was also brown and murky, which meant that it hadn’t been used in a long time. That meant that for the moment, he was without a fresh water supply in his house until the pipes were cleaned. He left the water running for now so it would drain out all the gunk that rested inside the aged pipes

He recalled there being a river nearby that ran parallel to the road a little ways away. Summoning a Shadow Clone, he told it to go and fetch some water from the river while he’d get started with the cleaning.

Hours seemed to fly by as he cleaned up the first floor of the house: Sweeping up the bigger pieces of debris, mopping the floors, and scrubbing out the thinnest lines of grime and dirt in the tubs and faucets. He couldn’t get to the walls just yet but he at least wanted to get the floors and appliances clean before night. The tub was especially important: Naruto can’t recall the last time he’d taken a proper bath ever since he came to this world.

It was already… well, the sun was already beginning to dip down into the horizon, and Naruto didn’t have a clock to tell the time, so he assumed it was pretty late. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, exhausted from all his hard work and took a look at what he had accomplished:

The living room floor and his bedroom floor was free of dust now. The floors sparkled and shined after being forcefully scrubbed and mopped with soap and water. Not only that, the air was laced with the scent of vanilla from the cleaning solution. He didn’t get to the ceiling or the corners of the house yet, cobwebs and the like, but the floors was his priority. He wanted it clean enough to eat off of... Well, not literally, but clean regardless. There was a lot less dust in the air too, but still, some of it remained, despite the fact that the house he had ventilated the house twice already.

The silver tub and sink were definitely clean as well; shining and clear enough to see Naruto’s reflection through it. Even the mirror above the sink was looking good, especially the toilet itself. Naruto couldn’t help but point his hooves at the mirror and go:

“Are you talkin’ to me bub? Because you’re one handsome pony…” He said to himself through the mirror, giving off different facial expressions. He couldn’t help but laugh, feeling both tired but content with the hard work. He looked over at his clone to find it covered in dirt and dust but grinning nonetheless.

“Heh heh, we did it pal! We’ve actually cleaned up some of this mess.”

“You said it boss!” They high-hoofed for a job well done, the impact dispelling his clone into a puff of smoke. It was only the beginning, as he still had the rest of the house to clean up, but it was a start, a foot in the door, so to speak. He took off his jacket and hung it off a nail before walking into the bathroom, ready to take a long hot soak.

*****

“Who was that blonde pony?”

That was the only thing running through her mind for the last couple hours. The fact that the blonde was able to use such similar magic to her own, baffled her.

“And those tails… they were kind of cute, but why is Trixie thinking so much of it?” The soft furry texture, the way they swayed around, it was almost hypnotic to her, like she had some sort of attachment towards it. Trixie went wide-eyed and just shook her head.

“No, Trixie must not think such things, especially to that low-life of a stallion. Trixie is Trixie, the greatest unicorn of all of Equestria!” She praised herself. She looked through her caravan window, watching the moonlight light up the surrounding area in a silvery glow.

“Hoofington… Trixie has not been there in such a long time… The home of the illustrious Trixie, too… How I miss it…” She was starting to nod off slightly, feeling the embrace of sleep starting to take her for the night. She blinked her eyes a couple of times and shook her head, trying to stay awake a little longer.

However, it was a losing battle, as her eye lids grew heavier and heavier with each successive blink. She sighed once more, looking at the small bed in her rather small caravan.

“Well, no use in thinking about it. Tomorrow’s another fantastic show in Ponyville, and Trixie is aiming to show she is the greatest of all!”

Before she could head to her bed, however, a series of loud knocks brought her out of her sleepy mood. She cursed herself, wanting to sleep instead of answering whatever imbecile would disturb her during the night. But the knocks kept up, now shouting for Trixie to get up. Extremely irritated, she got up off the bed and stomped to the door. She looked through her window and saw Snips and Snails, the ones from earlier this morning.

She just shook her head as she opened her window and poked her head out.

“Trixie thought she said the Great and Powerful Trixie did NOT want to be disturbed!” She said irritably. She just wanted to get some sleep, not deal with these two’s needless nonsense.

“B-But we have a tiny problem!” Snips said, with Snails following up with the contrary.

“Actually, it’s a big one.”

She rubbed temples with both hooves, already feeling the makings of a headache. She glared at them, growing quite tired of their company.

“What is so important that you cannot wait until morning to disturb Trixie!?”

A loud ferocious roar could be heard in the distance, and her face scrunched up into unimaginable fear. She opened the door to get a better look at what was happening.

And for the first time in a while, she felt afraid; very afraid.

“Oh shit…”, she said.

*****

“Aahhhh… God damn... this is the life…”

Steam rose off the water of the tub. He lay there, fully submerged except for his head as the hot water did it’s job. He could already feel the knots in his muscles starting to unravel.

He rubbed a bar of soap over his wet fur, cleaning it thoroughly with the soap before dunking it back into the water to wash the suds away. He went completely under the hot water and came back out with a satisfied sigh. The window was open, letting in a cool night breeze that clashed rather nicely with his hot bath.

“Nothing could possibly go—”

As if jinxing his wonderful night, a loud earthshaking roar cut through the night, powerful enough to rock the water inside Naruto’s bathtub.

“Wah!?” He could feel the rumble for a few seconds before it settled down. He leaned over to the window and looked around his surroundings.

“What the hell was that!?”

He needed to investigate, because that roar was definitely not friendly. In fact, it was similar to a Manticore’s, except that it was much louder and scarier.

He didn’t have time to grab his jacket off his improvised hook but he managed to snag his Konoha headband on the way out. He looked around for a towel, only to realize he had forgotten to buy one while at the store. He berated himself as he shook himself off like a dog, and only prayed the rest of his wet fur would dry off as he went outside.

Stepping outside, he didn’t see anything at first, but he heard the beastly roar once more and it was coming from the direction of Ponyville no less! He wasted no time. He jumped into the trees, hopping through them one by one to travel towards the source…

*****

She hadn’t been this scared in a long time. With her caravan now a pile of splinters and wood, she ran. Behind her, tailing her every move, was the dreaded Ursa Major: A several story tall Grizzly Bear that seemed to be made of the night sky itself but with teeth and claws . She ran as fast as she could, trying to get away from such a monstrous beast.

“Why… Why did this have to bite Trixie in the flank so soon?” All her boasting had cost her and karma decided to come back and right the wrongs she had committed ever since her performance tour started.Worrying more about the Ursa behind her, she failed to notice the rock sticking out of the path in front of her. She tripped over it, sending her stumbling onto the road and skidding a few meters before coming to a complete stop. She tried to get up, but the leg she tripped on failed to comply, instead sending pain coursing up her leg.

She was paralyzed with fear, unable to move even if she wanted to. She must have sprained her ankle or something when she fell. She needed time to recover but time was certainly not on her side. She leaned towards her back, only to be met by a rather grizzly fate, as the Ursa Major hovered over her, drooling and snarling at his incapacitated prey.

Trixie started to cry, tears forming in her eyes and streaming down her distraught face. Her life had started to flash before her eyes: Not knowing her parents as a young filly, learning magic for the first time, being taken in by a stranger in Hoofington—everything.

“Help…” She begged weakly. For the first time in a long time, she was begging for help. “Help Trixie… anyone… please…!”

The Ursa stared at her for a moment, before lifting its front paw and sending it on a collision course towards Trixie. Trixie went wide-eyed as the tears fell from her face faster than she could control.

“No…. NOOO!”

She closed her eyes, not wanting to see her death.

…

However, there was no pain... no impact... no nothing. Was she already dead? She was afraid to open her eyes, but she slowly cracked open an eye, and was met with a wondrous sight.

Naruto was there standing above her, holding the Ursa Major’s paw up… with his tails!?

*****

“Urgh…” Naruto grunted. He couldn’t believe it. Here he was, saving Trixie. He watched as the bear cornered Trixie and was about to deliver the finishing blow. He could have let her die, but hearing her cries for help... he couldn’t let that happen to anyone or anypony. He still couldn’t believe that his tails was holding up this thing’s palm! He was crazy, but not THIS crazy.

“Eh heh…” Naruto said with a grin. “You must be the Ursa Major I’ve heard about before, eh?! This ought to be fun then…!” He looked back at Trixie and then back at the bear, grinning even more than before.

“I hope you’re ready, because once I’m done with you…” He began.

“You’ll be my first Ramen Recipe: The Ursa Ramen Bowl!”

*****

AN: Apologies for it being late, me and Mobbs had a technical hiccup, but it's all good now! Also, Chapters 6 and 7 have been revised, thanks to Pissfer, and the rest of the un-revised chapters will be edited out by him in the future. Check 'em out when you get a chance!

CH22: Magician's Lament (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

Our Hero is here, Whom is Least Expected...

And Will Never Abandon One That Is Not Respected...

A Bear of Mighty Strength, Comes Before All...

But With A Bit of Magic, It too will Fall...

*****

Chapter 22: Magician’s Lament

“HAH!”

With only his tails, he flung the Ursa’s paw away, sending the enormous bear off balance. Naruto couldn’t help but grin. Finally, a monster that was ‘banished’ by Trixie was here right in front of him. He didn’t know how or why it was here, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fight such a powerful creature.

He dug his hooves into the ground, took a deep, calming breath, and stared down the over-sized excuse for a teddy bear. He needed to focus on the fight and the fight alone until he came out the victor. He braced himself for the onslaught that the bear would inflict as soon as it regained its footing, but it didn’t come. Instead, the bear opted to stare back at him with a face that screamed ‘confuzzled’. How did such a tiny pony knock over a creature that he could have easily squished without a moment’s notice?

Seeing as the bear was still in a stupor, Naruto took the chance and surveyed the area for anything he could use to his advantage. The buildings were still intact save a few that had a missing wall or two from Kuma-chan’s entrance into Ponyville. Thankfully, it seemed nopony was seriously injured. Crying and sniffles came from behind. He took a quick glance over his shoulder to find the Great and Powerful Trixie in a small and trembling heap.

“Wait, what? Now is NOT the time to break down! This should be a cake walk for her...” He thought to himself. It was no use thinking about it; he needed her battle ready yesterday. He had a strong feeling that he would need her expertise to come out on top.

“Hey, Ursa slayer! We need to take care of this over-grown furball. Get off your butt and start fighting!”

Trixie visibly flinched as she slowly untangled herself and stood up. She tried to wipe away some tears with a hoof, but they were quickly replaced by fresh ones.

“I-I… But, I don’t know if…” She managed to squeak out between sobs.

“What’s gotten into you? You’ve fought this thing before so it should be a walk in the park, right!? That is unless…” Naruto didn’t get a chance to finish that sentence as he was cut off by a beastly roar. The Ursa decided action was the best course of action in it’s confusion and brought his paw up for another swipe.

He didn’t have a choice. Naruto leapt backwards, picked Trixie up in his hooves, and jumped. An earth crunching thud rang out as the paw slammed into where they were moments before. He landed a few feet away before having to jump again, the bear following his every move. Naruto cursed himself as he tried to out-maneuver the Ursa. Despite its’ size, it was deceptively fast, giving a Naruto a run for his money as he ducked, dodged and weaved between paw swipes. The process was made even harder as he had to drag Trixie along for the ride. The ninja needed a distraction and he knew just the person for the job. With a flick of his tails into a cross, he summoned a shadow clone that went on the offensive, pummeling the bear with quick, solid hoofstrikes.

The Ursa paused in its’ pursuit, staring at the second blond maned pony that had mysteriously appeared. It watched as it began to dish out punches and kicks that, it assumed at least, was meant to hurt. The only thing it felt was a mild tap wherever the pony hit. The clone, seeing his attacks were doing diddly squat, decided to take up a new approach. He dove between its’ front paws and delivered a solid buck to its’ toes. The Ursa roared in pain before locking eyes with the orange earth pony beneath him, now more pissed off than before.

“Aw, don’t be so upset! Would you prefer it a little higher?”, teased Naruto, jumping out from underneath the bear before it got any bright ideas. ”Come to think of it, can I even reach that high? You’re damn tall so—“

The Ursa had enough of the clone’s foolishness as it attempted to flatten him into a pony-sized pancake. Naruto just laughed and rolled away, smacking his rump a few times to aggravate the bear even further.

The real Naruto looked back, glad that the bear was distracted enough by the clone, giving him enough time to find out what was wrong with Trixie. Now hiding in an alley, he placed Trixie down whose face was still soaked with tears. Trixie looked away from her savior as she laid back against the cold, brick wall.

“Trixie, why are you crying? What’s gotten you all worked up like this? You said you could handle this Ursa Majora or whatever it's called and instead of you doing the saving, I’m saving you from being squashed to a pulp! What’s wrong with you?”

Trixie looked up at Naruto, absentmindedly wiping away the tears while still trying to emanate her tough mare routine. “H-Hmph, if you m-must really know,” she shakily answered, ”T-Trixie was o-o-only testing the Ursa Major. Trixie was merely judging its strength!”

“So… your plan was to cry like a little filly so you could get stomped on. How did that work out for ya?” Naruto asked, sarcasm dripping off every word.

“Quiet you foal!” She lashed back. It would have been much more resentful if not for her tear-stained face and quiet sobs. “If it weren’t for you… if it… weren’t for…” Her words devolved into incomprehensible mumblings as her crying started back up again. It did nothing to prepare him for what happened next.

She wrapped her hooves around Naruto and began to cry full-force into his shoulder.

He blinked. Here she was earlier today, boasting about how she banished an Ursa Major and was better than anypony else. Now, she was crying her eyes out, having to rely on the ponies she insulted to save her from a monster she had supposedly beaten before.

“Oh by Equestria, it’s all a lie, okay!? I made it all up! No one’s ever defeated an Ursa Major. I don’t have the power to do so, alright! You saved my life!”

“A lie…?” Naruto thought. “So she was lying this entire time… it was all just an act?”

“But what about all of that fancy magic you did back on the stage? You beat us all by a huge margin! What about those fancy rope tricks, or that lightning bolt? Or that shapeshifting magic you did!?” Naruto asked frantically.

“Oh please! Do you really think Trixie could tie up an Ursa, shock it to death, or turn it into a little insect or animal like I did to… whatever magic YOU pulled up!?” She barked.

“Actually, yeah…”

“What is WRONG with you?” She snapped, slowly getting out of her depressed state. “Even magic has its limits! That Ursa snapped the rope like it was nothing, it treated my lightning magic like bug bites, and that thing is WAY too big and powerful for me to transform alone!”

Naruto scratched his head with chagrin.

“You mean all those tricks you used back at the stage? You don’t have anything else in your repertoire?”

“Well of course I have other tricks! But…”, Trixie began confidently.

“But…?”

“…They’re… not really meant for combat. I mean, I can pull rabbits out of my hat, and I can make multiple illusions of myself…”, Trixie finished quietly.

A angry roar cut through the alley, drawing their attention away from the matter at hand momentarily. He could see the bear towering over the buildings, whilst a yellow blur shot ricocheted off buildings and the bear. It dodged swipe after swipe as the bear tried fruitlessly to end the yellow pony. Enraged at its’ shortcomings, the Ursa began to pound the ground, much like a kid throwing a temper tantrum. The earth beneath their hooves shook with each resounding thud and houses shook on their foundations. Naruto swore he watched an entire roof pop off for a split second, but filed it away under the ‘I’m tired and hallucinating’ section of his brain.

Naruto shook his head before turning to Trixie with a small glare. “You should have realized that lying and boasting can get you into a lot of problems Trixie. Lying is never the answer. I hope you’ve learned that because if I hadn’t shown up, you and the ground would be on much closer terms.”

“Trixie knows this!”, she shouted frustratingly.

“If you did, then why are we in this situation then!”, He said, trotting up to her. “You’re nothing but some sorry excuse for a show-pony.”

“Grr! What do you know!?” Trixie yelled, pushing him back. ”You try travelling in Trixie’s position once in a while!”

Naruto looked at Trixie with disappointment before looking back at the rampaging Ursa and his shadow clone. He needed to get out there; he knew his clone couldn’t keep it occupied for much longer

“Look, arguing isn’t going to solve anything. Stay here and I’ll take care of this.”

“You… You’re going to WHAT!?” She said, dumbfounded. “Are you CRAZY!? You can’t defeat an Ursa Major! That thing’s too powerful; it will rip you to shreds!”

“You have a better idea, Oh “Great and Powerful Trixie’?” He said sarcastically. She opened her mouth but closed it just as fast, her usually witty retort nonexistent. Naruto took her silence as her answer and sighed.

“I’ve fought monsters like this before Trixie so I’m used to danger; Apparently you’re not. Now stay here and let a ninja like me handle this.”

With that, he sprinted out of the alleyway and onto the main road in the direction of the fight. She was about to trot after him, but her sprained leg protested, pain shooting up her leg. She could only watch from afar, like how an audience watches actors up on stage. She wiped her eyes clean of tears and slid into a more comfortable position. This was a show she did not want to miss.

*****

Today had been an all out disaster. First it was Trixie’s mockery of her friends that she called her ‘show’ and now there was an enraged Ursa Major in town! Could this day get any worse? After Spike’s quick warning, she ran outside and towards the area where the Ursa was last seen.

“Why would an Ursa Major come all the way out here? It doesn’t make any sense!” Ursa’s weren’t the type to attack a village unless provoked. So why would one attack such a peaceful town like ponyville?

Several other ponies ran passed her in the other direction, trying to get away from the rampage and destruction of the Ursa. As she rounded the corner, she finally got her first look at the dark blue, star covered bear. It would have been almost impossible to tell it apart from the night sky, but the eyes, mouth, and its’ white mark shaped like a star on its forehead stood out like a sore hoof. She skidded to a stop, her body telling her to turn tail and run while she still could while her brain said to go and help anypony you could. She gulped.

“Wow... that Ursa Major is really tearing up the place…”

“Yeah, I thought Trixie could beat it…”, came a colt’s voice.

Startled, she looked to her right to find two unicorns, Snips and Snails, sitting there watching the Ursa as well.

“Snips, Snails, what’s going on here!?”

“We brought an Ursa to town!” Snips said obliviously to the purple mare.

She couldn’t help but stare dumbfounded at the two. When the realization of what Snips had just said clicked, her eyes widening in utter surprise and outrage.

“You… YOU DID WHAT!?”, she shouted in outrage.

“Yeah, we brought it here so The Great and Powerful Trixie could vanquish it!”, he continued, despite Snail’s unvoiced objections.

She couldn’t help but put a hoof on each of their shoulders, giving them a death glare. She wanted to slam their heads together for what idiots they were, but she stopped herself before she went over the edge. Physically hurting them was a job left for their parents, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t let out her frustration on these two colts.

“ARE YOU TWO CRAZY!?”

*****

Naruto and his clone dashed around the Ursa Major, hopping from roof to roof to both distract and avoid being turned into a pancake. Despite the overwhelming advantage the bear had, he was still in the fight, now sporting some rather big bruises. However, time takes it toll on everything. It didn’t take long for Naruto’s clone to slip up, taking a Ursa swipe across the chest. With a poof of smoke, the fight had just turned into a one on one fight and the odds tipped even more towards the Ursa’s favor.

It wasn’t even fair to begin with. The Ursa’s starry, blue... skin seemed to be impervious to any of his attacks that he used his hooves for. In fact, he had to stop using his hooves after the first couple of punches and kicks as it felt like he was punching solid steel. He could still feel the burning pain throbbing up each leg with each successive evasive maneuver. One would say it was almost too much to ‘bear’.

Thankfully, his tails seemed to be able to do more damage than his hooves did, actually drawing a response out of the bear than with hooves. Oh how he wished he still had those iron daggers that Blackie had made for him. While hand-to-hand combat, or tail-to-paw combat in this case, was interesting enough, he wanted an upperhand in some way, shape or form.

The Ursa took no time to rest as the clone disappeared before renewing the assault. He hopped towards another random roof and ricocheted back towards the bear, tails primed and ready for another lashing.

“Okay, enough Mr. Nice Pony! Take this!”

He lashed his tails out at the Ursa’s face once more, smacking it across the face. A small black bruise began to form on the grizzly’s cheek, the stars dimming slightly where the bruise was beginning to form. It placed a paw on it, rubbing it softly. Then all of a sudden, it roared like it never roared before, as if it were hit with an insatiable blood lust of destruction and chaos.

Naruto landed safely on the rooftops once more, but he was almost knocked over by the resounding shockwave. When the roar finally subsided, he could only hear ringing for a couple seconds after.

“Dammit, this is getting me nowhere! My tails can’t do enough damage at once! Oh, if only I could...”

Wait, was that even a possibility? It didn’t require any hand-seals, so maybe... just maybe...

“NARUTO!” barked a familiar voice.

He flinched and looked down at the ground from atop his perch to find a purple unicorn looking up at him worriedly.

“Hey Twilight, how’s it going?”, he asked nonchalantly. ”Beautiful night for a rampaging bear, is it not?”

“This isn’t the time for jokes Naruto! What are you doing!?”

“Long story short, I don’t know,” he retorted quickly.

“You… wait what?”

“I’m trying to figure out how to take this over-sized teddy bear down, but so far I’ve had—whoa, watch it!” He saw the Ursa lunge forward, jaws open wide to reveal multiple rows of razor sharp canines. He immediately jumped towards another roof as it bit into the roof, missing Naruto completely. He looked back at where Twilight was to find that she had managed to escape unharmed as well. The house, on the other hand, was another story entirely.

“I’ll tell you when this is over. In the meantime, SAVE ME!” Naruto desperately pleaded. He was out of ideas at this point. Everything he tried did nothing to the Ursa and it was getting harder to keep dodging it’s constant attempts to either eat or squish him.

Some ponies that hadn’t fled Ponyville stood there and watched as the Ursa rampaged around the town, trying to swat the yellow pony out of the air. He really wanted this to stop, but as long as the Ursa held him in his sights, he couldn’t get away.

“Tch, what a drag…”

*****

“Oh no… Oh no no no…” She couldn’t believe what she had heard and seen. Snips and Snails brought an Ursa Major to Ponyville and now Naruto was fighting it alone. From what she could piece together, that Ursa was for Trixie to vanquish. Snips and Snails would get a serious punishment after this was taken care of. Somepony could probably die from what these two dolts had done.

However, this wasn’t time to be thinking of that. She needed to think of a way to help Naruto and fast. A tug on her tail brought her attention to Spike who stood behind her. He was motioning at her and the Ursa, voicing something she summarized as ‘Help him’. She looked back at the Ursa, seeing Naruto distracting it, but then it clicked. A grin flew across her face faster than a sonic rainboom through the sky. She knew what she had to do.

*****

“ACK!?” He was getting sloppy now. That was the fifth time he’d undershot a jump, landing on the ground in a tumbling roll than landing perfectly. His legs were beginning to grow sluggish and the Ursa didn’t even look like it had broken a sweat yet. He bounded up onto the next roof, narrowly avoiding the ginormous paw, before jumping off to other roofs in quick succession. It wasn’t long until he found himself on the ground again, this time almost right in front of the Ursa. He tried to get back onto his four hooves, but they were burning from exhaustion and fatigue and buckled. He had pushed his body to its limits, dodging swipe after swipe in a furious pace, until he ran out of juice. He could have sworn that the bear had just started to chuckle as it readied the deciding paw smash.

“Shit, I’m too young to die!” He was completely out of options. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he watched the hoof that was going to smash him into mush began its quick descent. Time seemed to slow down, however, as the claw-tipped paw closed the distance. He shut his eyes tight, waiting for the inevitable crunch and that brief moment of excruciating pain...

...that never came.

Being enveloped in a blue aura of magical energy, Naruto was swiped out of the way in the nick of time, as the Ursa’s paw landed onto the ground.

*****

“Trixie!?” Twilight said in shock. Trixie had limped from where Naruto had left her and was now sitting a little ways away from Twilight. Her horn was aglow with blue light and her face was scrunched up in concentration. She followed Trixie’s eyes and gasped. There was Naruto, enveloped in her magical aura and was floating away from the Ursa at a rapid pace.

Naruto waved his limbs about frantically, scared about this method of escape and how high he was off the ground now. Down below, he could see the Ursa actually jumping up, trying to swat him out of the air, but thankfully he was out of range. He prayed to all of his ramen gods that the pony or whoever was helping him knew what he or she was doing. Nonetheless, he was happy to be out of harm’s way, at least temporarily. Looking down below, he could see Twilight, a few ponyvillians, and…

“Wait, Trixie?” He wondered how she had managed to make it this far from where he left her... and why was her horn glowing? Did Trixie save his life? He couldn’t believe it. He had the impression that she was a stuck-up bitch and a crybaby who worried only about herself. Then why did she save him? What did she hope to gain in helping him?

Regardless, Naruto was moved through the air and let go a foot above the ground. He bellyflopped, hugging the beautiful, solid ground that he would never leave again unwillingly.

Twilight rolled her eyes, already used to his shenanigans while Trixie furrowed a brow in utter confusion.

“Trixie, you saved my life!”, he gleefully began. ”I guess you’re not really a stuck-up bi—“

“An eye for an eye.”, she calmly interrupted. ”Trixie’s debt has been repaid in full.”

“Huh?”

“Trixie didn’t want her debt dragging her down to your level. You saved Trixie’s Life, so it is only fair that Trixie saves yours.”

Naruto scratched his head. “I guess that’s one way of putting it…”

“Heyyy, Trixie! There you are!”

Snips and Snails sprinted up to Trixie and she facehoofed, feeling the headache from before making its painful entrance one again.

“Not you insolent dolts again…” Trixie muttered.

“C’mon Trixie, we brought the Ursa Major! Vanquish it like before!” Snips said excitedly.

“Yeah Trixie, do it! When you ran away earlier, we assumed you were getting prepared to fight it!” Snails added.

“C’mon Trixie, do it!”

“Vanquish it!”

These stupid colts were making Trixie sweat nervously. She had already admitted to Naruto, but was she ready to admit the truth to other ponies? She could feel the stares of the group, each one eagerly awaiting her reply while the Ursa Major started biting the bajeezus out of one of the buildings behind them. Her sweat began to pour out, scared of their reactions when they found out she was a total fraud.

Naruto sighed, motioning her with a hoof to keep going and admit it. Trixie sighed heavily, feeling the lump in her throat grow slightly bigger. Of all possible things, she did not want to admit that she was a bragging liar. She was afraid of several things: What would they think of her? A liar... a fake... a phony... a fraud...and worst of all: her supposed fame completely destroyed.

“I…” She began, taking a deep breath. “I can’t… a-and I never have.”

Snips, Snails, Twilight, Spike, and Naruto waited for her to continue, the latter three slightly perplexed. She took a deep breath before saying, “No one’s ever vanquished an Ursa Major; I just made the whole thing up…”

Snips and Snails were shocked speechless. They looked to one another in disbelief before looking at the blue unicorn in sadness. Twilight stood there impassively, as if she had known all along about Trixie’s little secret.

Naruto started to realize something: While it was mostly Trixie’s fault for being a braggart on her talents, it wasn’t exactly her fault for bringing in an Ursa. No, she never brought it here; at least, that’s what he assumed.

In any case, there were bigger fish to fry, like an Ursa Major rampaging in their direction! While everyone bickered about Trixie’s faults, the over-sized, night-sky grizzly which was pushed aside and ignored for but a moment let out an earthshaking roar, reminding everypony that he was still there. Screams and shouts rang out through town as some straggling ponies doubled their pace, trying to get away from the angry Ursa.

Naruto spat at the ground. “This isn’t good. If we don’t stop that thing soon, it’ll destroy the whole town!” However, he was at a loss for what he could possibly do. Everything he threw at was completely nullified by its’ thick skin and the only skill he had in his arsenal was his Shadow Clone Jutsu.

No, wait! That wasn’t completely true! He had never tested it with his pony body yet, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t willing to test it now. He just hoped that his lessened chakra reserves could handle such a drain. He crossed his tails once more, summoning a shadow clone that immediately began to flail its tails around next to his. At first glance, it might have seemed like they were tail fighting each other, but a closer look revealed that they were coordinating with one another. Naruto closed his eyes, focusing on what Jiraiya had taught him from before.

He took a deep breath, isolating himself from the surrounding world, leaving just him and his clone. Already, he could feel the telltale build up of chakra on his tails. He could hear the chakra beginning to affect the air, the whooshing noise beginning to prevail over the Ursa’s roars. He opened his eyes and looked back to find a small, swirling ball of nearly visible chakra coalescing between his tails. It was smaller than before and a lot more transparent but it was still there. He grinned devilishly. A little bit longer and he’d have that bear sent halfway to kingdom-

“Wait, everypony stand back!”, Twilight barked out, interrupting his focus. Naruto flinched, his Rasengan dissipating into the surrounding air harmlessly. He stared at where the ball of raging chakra was and sighed. ‘So close’, he thought sadly.

Naruto immediately snapped back into real-time and looked over at the purple unicorn.

“What are you doing Twilight?” Naruto asked nervously, seeing the Ursa getting closer.

“Just watch and see!” She said with a smile.

Twilight levitated a book in front of her and glanced back and forth between the book and bear, as if comparing something in the text. Her eyes widened in what he assumed was surprise, but was quickly replaced with that of confidence. Her horn glowed fiercely as a giant cone-shaped aura enveloped her horn, circling around its’ surface. A cool, night breeze began to role in as the purple light grew in intensity.

That’s when he… did he hear music? It sounded like a baby’s lullaby a mother would hum. Naruto blinked a couple of times, wondering where the music was coming from. For some odd reason, he was suddenly feeling tired, but he willed himself to stay awake.

Everyone else could hear it too. Just what was Twilight doing? In fact, why hadn’t the Ursa reached them yet? Naruto took another look at the Ursa, and saw that it stopped dead in its tracks, a contempt grin plastered on its’ face as it rocked to the melody. The blonde raised his right brow a bit, even more confused.

“Is that bear… falling asleep?” He could see its eyes beginning to droop. Was Twilight trying to put it to sleep?

The bear was swaying back and forth with its funny grin, narrowly avoiding falling over multiple times. As Twilight’s horn continued to glow even brighter, Naruto heard something from behind him. Looking back, he almost fell over in shock: A giant brown metal can with a horseshoe symbol with a lid on top floated on by. He didn’t know what the blasted thing was, but it looked similar to a baby’s bottle, except really big and made of metal. How was Twilight able to lift such a heavy thing to begin with? Even he couldn’t lift something that ginormous.

“Remind me not to piss off Twilight…”

It amazed him at how Twilight was so magically adept. “If she showed off this much power during Trixie’s performance, there was no doubt she would have bested her then and there. Still, this is a good way of killing two birds with one stone: out-performing Trixie AND taking care of an Ursa.”

It didn’t stop there. She levitated the metal can into a barn house at Applejack’s farm. Several squeals and moos could be heard from the inside, puzzling Naruto.

“What is she planning to do with that thing? And were those cows I just heard? But… cows can’t speak, all they do is moo. Can every domestic animal talk!?”

As the metal can was brought back into light outside the barn, white liquid sloshed out of the lidded top which Naruto guessed was milk. As his focus shifted back towards the Ursa, he noticed that it was about to lose its balance. With a lullaby of that caliber, he wasn’t surprised that it was about to hit the sack, but there was another major issue: Trixie was right next to the Ursa!

“Wha…!? I thought she was right next to me?”, he said, looking back at where she once was to where she now was. ”How the hell—crap, I gotta save her!”

Naruto didn’t wait a moment longer, as he rushed towards Trixie’s side with his ninja-like speed. his already taxed legs screamed in defiance but he pushed onwards, drawing even more speed out of them. With a tackle, he pushed Trixie out of the way with his arms, avoiding the impact of the Ursa entirely or so he thought. It never hit the ground, but was instead levitated into the air surrounded by a purple glow.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he glared at Trixie, one which she returned with the same intensity.

“What were you thinking of being over there!? That Ursa was going to crush you!” Naruto asked.

“Trixie does not need your backtalk. Trixie will do whatever Trixie wants to do.”

“Oh sure, the same Trixie who cowered away from an Ursa wants to give herself a death-wish by standing next to it. You’re an idiot, you know that?” Naruto pointed out.

“How dare you! Trixie is no such thing!”

“Then tell me why you were standing next to that Ursa!”, asked naruto calmly.

“Trixie… was, um…”

That was when Naruto put the dots together. They were on the road that seemed to lead straight out of Ponyville.

“Wait… you were trying to run away, weren’t you!? You tried to make a break for it while we were distracted!”, he said, grabbing her with his hooves.

Trixie flinched as she tried to get out of Naruto’s hooves, standing up right. She shook her head, beads of sweat forming on her face.

“D-Don’t be ridiculous! Why would Trixie do that?”

“Think about it… The egotistic performance, the Ursa… You were afraid of what the town would do to you once this was all over. Why don’t you stay here and take it like a true pony!?”

As they bickered on Trixie’s reasoning for being near the Ursa, Twilight was still levitating the over-sized bear, complete with it suckling the metal can which now seems to be a baby bottle to it. They weren’t paying attention while this was happening since their argument seemed to be more important, surprisingly.

Trixie stood there silently, her eyes averted towards the ground, not saying anything. He shook his head as he got up from the ground and sighed.

“…Whatever it is, you’re not leaving Ponyville, understood?”

*****

It was taking all of her concentration to make sure that the Ursa was taken care of. She couldn’t believe the plan went off without a hitch! She was quite proud of her improvised milk bottle and the musical notes she performed on the reeds from a distance? Everything she researched from reading a book on Ursa’s, which she still held within her magic in front of her. She didn’t get the proper time to read everything about it, so it was a major help in keeping note of what to do.

As she lifted the Ursa into the air while it was sucking on the makeshift bottle, she had to make sure to send it back into the cave where it came from. It went further off into the distance, until it reached the Everfree Forest, making sure to put it back into the dark cave it came from.

Exhausted, she gave a breath of relief as she released her magical spell, knowing that the chaos was finally over… Several voices of amazement and cheering took place from behind her, and she couldn’t help but be surprised. Behind her was a vast majority of the town, everypony voicing their thanks and amazement at her skill. Shyly,Twilight went into an apologetic stance, saying she didn’t want them to hate her for showing off like that. It was quite the opposite actually.

As Twilight talked to some of the other ponies for her accomplishments, one of them mentioned how she was so powerful on taking on an Ursa Major. They were struck speechless when she told them that it was actually an Ursa Minor and not an Ursa Major. Unfortunately, she was interrupted with a loud bang before she could delve into specifics.

“Hey! Get back here!”

*****

Smoke clouded Naruto’s vision. He tried to wave it away, but the smoke was too thick. He cursed himself for letting his guard down.

“If I knew smoke bombs existed here, I wouldn’t have let her get away… Damn it!”

The moment he heard the screams and cheers from behind, he looked back at the crowd cheering and surrounding Twilight. In just that brief moment when he looked away, Trixie threw a smoke bomb at their hooves.

“That two-timing little… After saving her life, she decides to run away from it all… So why did she save me?” Trixie’s motives just confused him even more. As the smoke dissipated around him who in turn allowed him to see again, there was no sign of Trixie in sight, except for a little dot that could be seen moving on the dirt road at a gallop.

Naruto was about to run after her, but was stopped by Twilight’s angelic voice.

“Naruto, wait. Let her go.”

Now it was Naruto’s turn to be surprised. Twilight, saying he should let her go, despite the fact that it was HE who let Blackie go, and the fact SHE protested to it before. He looked at her questioningly, waiting for an explanation.

“Why?”

“Maybe someday she’ll learn her lesson.”

“Wha… Are you just copying me, Twilight?”

“No. Remember Naruto, she wasn’t the cause for bringing the Ursa Minor here to begin with. That was Snips and Snail. She has nothing to be blamed for except for the lies of being ‘The great and powerful’ and so forth.”

Naruto sat down and crossed his front hooves with a sigh. He looked back towards the distance, seeing the small dot disappear overtime. He then turned towards Twilight with a new question on his mind.

“Why did you call that Ursa a Minor? I thought it was a Major?”

“No, Naruto. That was an Ursa Minor, a baby.”

“Oh…Wait, that over-sized grizzly was a baby? A BABY!? I WAS ALMOST BEATEN BY A BABY!?”

He face-smacked himself on the ground, not believing the sheer contradictions this imposed, dirtying his face. “A baby, I was over-powered BY A BABY! A BABY!” He had once again lost it. If an Ursa Minor was enough to take him on, then what could an Ursa Major do? Blow him away with a single breath? As he continued to face-plant his face into the ground, Snips and Snails tried to sneak off from the crowd, until Twilight caught them trying to leave, ignoring Naruto’s mindless mumbling for the moment.

“Now then, what am I going to do with you two…”

She listened to their reasons about bringing in the Ursa, mostly explaining that they wanted to see some awesome magic from Trixie. She merely sighed at their excuses. Her inner gut was telling her to punish them with a trip to jail, but they were merely kids who didn’t know any better. So instead, she suggested to clean up the caravan that the Ursa Minor had broken and decided it was time to put a magic spell of her own on them.

At this point, Naruto stopped face-planting and watched as Twilight performed another magical spell on Snips, Snails... and Spike too? He didn’t hear most of what she had said she’d do, mostly something about #25. What that meant, he didn’t know, until a variety of moustaches poofed into existence on each of their faces.

He rolled his eyes. “Oh great, now there’s hair magic too? How much stuff can magic NOT do? And do Dragons even need moustaches? It doesn’t seem to look right…”

“…Although it is pretty cool.”

After that, the town ponies seemed to have wandered off back into their homes for the night, as if the chaos and destruction that just took place never happened. His guess was that repairs would take place tomorrow, but that was just a big guess. The things these ponies did freaked him out from time to time and their reactions are not what he would expect if they were actually human...

…And the fact that he was beaten by a baby was still lingering over his head.

“Naruto, are you alright?”

“Yeah… I am, sort of… Where’s Spike?”

“I sent him home. He knows the way back… Besides, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“What about?”

“Well, for instance…” Twilight lightly slapped him on the cheek. Not as hard as it was back in the hospital a day back, but enough to leave an impression on him.

“After everything I’ve said about staying out of trouble: WHY DID YOU ATTACK THE URSA MINOR!?”

It wasn’t common for Twilight to yell at him like that, but she had reason for doing so. Naruto just growled as he rubbed his cheek.

“Hey, it was rampaging around the village and I wasn’t just gonna sit there and let it do about its’ business! Plus it interrupted my bath time with Mr. Rubber Ducky!” As a matter of fact, he didn’t own a rubber ducky, which is something he needed to pick up when he passed by the general store later. He shook these thoughts out of his head.

“…Regardless, Trixie was about to be squashed. Again, I couldn’t just stand there. That was when the Ursa became a threat to the town and I protected everypony from harm..” Protect… He just said he would protect the town from the Ursa. Why did that leave a moment of inspiration in his mind? Protecting… protecting the ones who had helped him? His new ‘kind’ that he was now one of…? That moment didn’t last long though, as a small tear went down her eye.

“Darn it Naruto… You had me worried sick. You almost died… again! Do you realize what would happen if you died? I would…” She stopped for a moment, averting her gaze to the ground and back at Naruto. “I would… um…” A small blush ran across her cheek for a brief moment, before going ‘hmph’ and turning his back on him, walking away at a fast trot.

Naruto stood there and watched as she walked away, utterly confused. “What was she about to say just then? She’d better stop treating me like she’s my mother... And speaking of mothers…”

He couldn’t help but face-plant into the dirt.

“WHY DID I GET BEATEN BY A DAMN BABY?”

*****

CH23: Headaches All Around (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

A New day Beckons, New Opportunities Apart,

A Strange Eyed Mare with a Lot of Heart...

An Unwanted Guest, Pounding on the Door...

Will be a constant Headache, Forever More...

*****

Chapter 23: Headaches All Around

After Naruto finished beating himself up over his horrific loss to a baby, he trudged back home. There was no point in being in town after the Ursa was taken care of and that it was still the middle of the night. Still, it was puzzling…

‘Why would those two dolts willingly anger an Ursa? Were all kids here crazy? Or as a matter of fact, those kids… Snips and Snails, I think...are certainly lacking in the intelligence division. Are they even kids at all? That Snails one was pretty tall, maybe a teenager? Snips looked pretty young... Fat too. They should just be called Tall and Skinny, the Oblivious Brothers…’

‘...and then there’s Trixie… I was right the first time; She was trying to skip town to avoid her punishment. Come to think of it, I don’t even know what her punishment would have been. Probably a minor one, since she wasn’t the one who brought the Ursa, but being a show-off can only get you so far…’

‘I can’t believe she actually had a smoke bomb... an actual, working smoke bomb!That means there’s some form of technology here... and if there are smoke bombs, I wonder if they have explosives… Well without any explosive tags, I can’t cause any major damage or set up any proper traps. Ah, yet another item to add to my list: Obtain proper gear. Those daggers were great but now they’re collecting rust somewhere out in the forest. What a waste of good quality tools. I can only cause do so much damage with my own hooves and if I ever go on anymore monster hunts, that won’t cut it…’

‘But then there’s the house and money to worry about… Thefloors and bathroom may be clean, but the walls, ceiling, and second floor are a completely different story… Come to think of it, the kitchen doesn’t have the proper kitchenware either… Ugh.’

‘This is making my head hurt… I need Bits in order to fix the house, and my remaining 118 Bits isn’t going to cut it. I need more.’

As he thought all this, he found himself walking up the walkway that lead to the front door. He sighed, the object of his current frustration standing right in front of him now. Colorful swear words and names swam through his head as he looked over the outside of his house, bathed in the dim moonlight. He shook his head dejectedly before creaking open the front door and entering the house. Quickly, he made his way to the bathroom to retrieve his ill-forgotten jacket, still hanging up on the bent nail before retreating to his room. With a quick toss, it flew through the air and draped itself over one of the closet’s open doors. He staggered over to his bed and plopped down, falling asleep almost instantly, the day’s events now catching up to him in full.

*****

In the early morning, Naruto found himself out in his backyard. He had yet to actually explore this section, so he figured he might as well seeing as he didn’t have much else to do. The yard was fairly big, maybe an acre or two, but it was completely overgrown with weeds and random assortments of flowers. Vines climbed the once white picket fence, giving it an overgrown look that he was not fond of. Right in the middle of the yard was a dead tree. It’s bark was cracked and no leaves hung off the multitude of branches that spread out over the yard. Needless to say, it was a disaster. He stared out over the yard with a blank face, his eye twitching ever so slightly.

“Great,” he said sarcastically, ”so I need to cut the lawn too.” He grumbled a little bit more about stupid houses and stupid repairs and stupid money until his shoulders slouched. “This house is becoming a bigger pain than I originally thought! I need to hire someone to do all these repairs. No wait, not enough bits... Well, I guess I could read up on how to fix everything. It could save me a lot of money in the long run... but I can’t devote all my time to this.” He sat down on the wooden porch, the only thing out here that didn’t need any fixing and sighed dejectedly. ”There’s just so much to do…”

He figured Twilight could set him up with some books since she ran the library, but what about the bits he’d need? Should he get the books first or actually get the money together beforehand? As Naruto pondered this, a loud *BANG* came from behind. He turned around, seeing nothing there but the opened back door.

“From the front…?”, he asked himself.

He rushed into the house and opened the front door, only to come face to face with a rather humorous, yet aggravating scene. A gray Pegasus with a blonde mane and rather beautiful yellow eyes was stuck inside his cherry red mailbox. Her eyes rolled around from what he assumed was the impact, but she closed her eyes and shook her head to snap out of it. When she opened them again, they were no longer bouncing around but were cross-eyed. Naruto stared at the rather clumsy Pegasus, trying to imagine what happened for her to end up inside the mail box. The gray mare finally noticed Naruto and gave her most enthusiastic wave, shaking the box in the process.

“Good morning sir! Would you like a subscription to ‘Ponyville Daily’?” said the gray mare, with a rather light, boyish voice. She waved a newspaper around in her other hoof, as if showing him what she meant by ‘Ponyville Daily’. Naruto scratched his head, trying to connect two and two together: A mare was inside his mailbox, asking if he wanted to subscribe to a newspaper. But that’s not what he wanted to hear.

“Why are you in my mailbox?” Naruto deadpanned.

“I’m here to offer you newspaper service, of course!” She said, completely oblivious to the question.

“No, that’s not- I mean, why are you, a mare, inside my mailbox!? It’s completely ruined!” He said, anger in his voice as he gestured at the bulging metal. The mare tilted her head in confusion. She looked back at the mailbox, and then back at her body. Her eyes lit up in realization as she began to struggle inside her metal confines.

“Oh no! Help me mister, I’m stuck in this mailbox!”

“Is everypony in this town complete and total morons!?” Naruto thought as he face-hoofed. Regardless, he couldn’t just leave her there. It was his mailbox after all. He circled around, trying to determine the best way of removing her without further damaging his cherry red mailbox. With a sigh, he stopped at where her head and front hooves stuck out.

“Okay, drop the newspaper and hold onto my hooves. I’m going to pull you out, okay?” Naruto asked. The mare gave a quick nod as she held onto his hooves.

“Okay… One… Two… THREE!” He counted, firmly pulling as he reached the end of the count. He pulled with all his might, his back hooves digging up some dirt as he lost traction. She budged maybe an inch or two but she was still firmly lodged in place. Each try resulted in the same result; a few more inches of movement and the mailbox slowly bulging even more as her flanks disappeared inside. Thankfully, the fifth pull was the lucky one. She came flying out like a pellet from a slingshot accompanied by the sound of snapping metal. They were both sent flying backward onto the ground into a heap, Naruto on the ground and the featherbrained mare on top. He couldn’t help but blush as he was forced to look at her face in closer detail: Goofy yet beautiful eyes, silky blonde hair, a rather peculiar smile, and…

“Thanks for getting me out, sir!” She said with her dazzling smile as she stood up. Naruto blinked a couple times before getting up from the ground himself with a smile of his own.

“You can thank me by explaining how you got in there in the first place,” he said, gesturing to the broken scraps of metal that was once his mailbox. The mail-mare tapped her chin with her hoof.

“Well… I don’t remember it all too clearly… I know I was supposed to come here to meet the new resident to ask if he wanted a subscription to the Ponyville Daily—that’s the Newspaper service. So then I rushed on over and… I think I was trying something out with my wings and…” She poked at her chin a little harder before she shrugged in defeat. “That’s all I can remember.”

“You don’t remember CRASHING INTO A MAILBOX!?” Naruto said with disbelief.

“Nope! So would you like to sign up with the Newspaper sir?” She said with her oblivious smile. Naruto couldn’t help but facehoof. If it wasn’t for that amazing smile, she’d be halfway to the Everfree right now.

He couldn’t believe how many idiotic ponies he’d met lately… However, she seemed to be the clumsy type, maybe forgetful but nonetheless, clumsy. It dumbfounded him how she could just crash into a mailbox and not remember the how nor the why.

Naruto sighed in defeat as he nodded. “Sure… sure, I guess. Where do I sign?” He wasn’t familiar with the news around Ponyville, so he figured having a daily newspaper would do him some good. The mail-mare whipped out a clipboard, a quill, and a sheet of paper which he assumed was their contract. In one fluid motion, she threw the quill into the air, snapped the paper onto the clipboard, unscrewed the cap on the built-in ink well, and let the quill land point down in the well. The blond mare tapped the blank line on the bottom.

“Please sign your name here with the quill provided. Your newspaper will be delivered every weekday and if you want to cancel your subscription, you can mosey on over to the Post Office and they’ll take it from there,” she said happily.

Naruto firmly nodded as he took the quill in his hoof… only to drop it a second later. He looked at the ink-tipped quill for a moment on the ground and so did the blonde mare. They looked back to each other while Naruto grinned nervously.

“Uh, heh, hold on one sec…” He chuckled, bending over to grab the quill once more only for it to slip through his hoof again. He frowned irritatedly.

“What the hell,why can’t I pick it up? What, I can pick things up some times but not all the time? Do my hooves have minds of their own!?” It was quite a mystery to Naruto. Despite having no opposable thumbs, he could either pick things up with ease, or in this case not. “Well, there’s always the alternative...”, he thought to himself.

Clumsily, he bit down on the middle of the quill and picked it up. He tilted his head so he could get the lead tip onto the parchment. Slowly and carefully, he signed his name on the dotted line. He spat out the quill onto the clipboard, a small amount of saliva coating the feathery section he bit down on.

The mare looked at the clipboard, a little miffed at how sloppy Naruto’s name was... or was that just how it was supposed to look?

“Nah ru… um… wow, your name is pretty funny sir.”

“What?” He quipped irritatedly.

“Oh! Sorry, I just… Eh heh, I’m very sorry sir, it’s just I’ve never seen this name before. How do you pronounce it?”

“It’s Naruto Uzumaki… Nah-rue-toe Ooo-zoo-mah-key.”

“Na… ruto huh… well mine is Ditzy Doo, nice to meet you!” Ditzy said, offering a hoof. Naruto grabbed hers and shook.

“Nice to meet you too, I think?”

“Well anyway, your signature is all here, and here…” Ditzy began, taking a newspaper out of her bag and throwing it to Naruto, “…is your newspaper!“ He fumbled for a moment as he attempted to grasp the newspaper in midair. Thankfully, he managed to grab it with both hooves and not his mouth. ”I hope you have a good day sir!”

With that, she flew off into the sky to Celestia knows where... probably to destroy more mailboxes but he didn’t know. Naruto just gave a sigh as he looked at the newspaper in his hooves, and then at the mailbox. It suddenly occurred to him that his mailbox was in disrepair. He looked back toward the sky and was about to shout for Ditzy, but she was nowhere to be seen. He scratched his head in annoyance.

“I didn’t even ask if she’d replace it. Damn it…”

He decided to make do with what he had, and collected the broken metal into a small pile by the wooden post that held it up. The only thing left on the post itself was foundation and the base of the walls, its’ edges warped and jagged.

“At least it can still hold mail, or whatever other packages gets put into it…Somewhat... Now then.” He looked at the rolled up newspaper in his hoof, took the rubber band off, and opened it. He looked at the front page of the newspaper and a brow furrowed almost immediately.

Apparently, last night’s event was on the front page. The words ‘URSA RAMPAGE THWARTED’ were plastered in enormous letters on the top. It was talking about the damages the Ursa had inflicted, the appearance of Naruto, Trixie’s tomfoolery, and finished with Twilight’s dazzling display of magic that save the town from total destruction. It mostly talked about how Naruto and Twilight tried to subdue the bear. It even listed all the small details on how it was all accomplished, albeit briefly.

There was a photograph of the scene too: It showed the Ursa floating off with its’ improvised milk bottle and Twilight showing off her magic. There was a brief mention about Naruto’s tails too, but part of the article said ‘Who is this tailed wanna-be pony: Hero or Menace?’

Naruto gave a small grumble. “It’s hero you stuck up news-pony… At least, I would have been...”

The fight from yesterday… He was so close to pulling off the Rasengan. But if it hadn’t been for Twilight’s interruption, could he have been able to defeat the Ursa with his Rasengan? Granted he could form the ball of chakra in his tails, but he hadn’t even tested if it was combat effective in this form. For all he knew, the chakra ball could break apart on impact and do nothing. Needless to say, it required tests and training with his tails.

“…Everything I’ve done has been on the spot lately,” he said quietly, ”The Shadow Clones, the wall-climbing and water-walking techniques, my speed… I'm surprised they even worked! I need to train again...”

He looked at the road toward Ponyville, then at the newspaper, and nodded.

“Guess I’ll read the newspaper inside…”

*****

Naruto entered his humble abode. The house looked the same as before: the specks of dust that roamed through the air, the dirty, partially destroyed walls, the contrasting clean floors, and the living room furniture… or what was even in the living room to begin with.

He grabbed one of the nearby stools and placed it in the center of the room. With newspaper in hoof, he sat on the wooden seat, feeling it creak as the aged wood strained under his weight. He paid it no mind as he delved into the news.

There were a few comic book clippings in the newspaper, mostly something about an orange cat and a brown-haired stallion. One strip in particular made Naruto chuckle: The brown-haired stallion was going for his coffee, all tired and half-asleep. Suddenly, his cat shouts at him from behind. The stallion turns around, mug in hoof mid sip, wondering what the cat wanted. He spluttered his caffeinated drink all over when he saw the cat’s over-sized pupils staring at him. Then the stallion shouted at his cat to take his contact lenses out.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. “What are contact lenses, something for the eyes or something?” Still, the premise did give him a chuckle. He thought it was an interesting prank even though he didn’t fully understand

He gave a small yawn as he stretched his front legs in the air, until…

*CRACK-WHAM*

Naruto toppled backwards as gravity took the reins from the brittle stool. The stool crumbled and broke, no longer able to support his weight. Naruto laid in a wooden mess, cursing himself as he slammed a hoof into the now pile of lumber.

“Great, that’s one MORE thing to replace in this house!”, he shouted, his voice echoing through the empty house.

He got up and brushed himself off with the rolled up newspaper. He sighed. This was looking bleaker by the second. His stomach thought it best to voice its’ concern as well at that moment in time, grumbling in hunger. He looked at the pile of scrap lumber and then at the kitchen door. He shook his head in disappointment.

“I need a couch… but in the meantime, let’s see what there is for grub…”

Heading into the kitchen, he spotted the fridge in the corner and paused mid-stride. What horrors resided in a fridge that hadn’t been opened or cleaned in half a decade? He shuddered at the thought, but his stomach grumbled once more, pushing him to investigate what could possibly be his death. ‘That would make headlines,’ he thought, ’Death by curdled milk and moldy cheese’. He chuckled nervously as he inched closer to the refrigerator. He hoped that Gary and Octy had the brains to completely empty it or leave just the non-perishables. The latter meant he had food and nothing else to clean, but the former was a completely different story. The refrigerator door loomed closer and he soon found himself staring at the handle. With a courageous gulp, he grabbed it with both hooves. Taking a few deep breaths to prepare himself, he yanked open the door and shouted to challenge whatever lurked inside.

“YYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAA-Oh, it’s empty...”

He let out the rest of the breath he had held in relief. ‘Crisis averted’, he thought with a chuckle. There were three shelves worth of fridge space inside, and two bottom drawers for the more delicate goods, be it fruit or vegetables. As he took a closer look inside the fridge, he noticed a small brownish blur in the left drawer.

Curiosity begetting caution, he opened it, revealing a giant egg. It had to be at least 9 inches in length and the width of a small melon. Naruto’s eyes widened in shock as he picked it up. It was covered with brown and red spots as well as crisscrossing wavy lines that inter-weaved together.

“What is this, an eagle egg…?” He had seen an eagle egg once before in a book, but never sporting such a peculiar design.

He placed it on the kitchen counter, having forgotten his original mission, and looked at it from all angles. It was definitely too big to be a chicken egg... unless chickens were the size of ponies in Equestria. ‘Naw, that’s stupid’, he thought with a chuckle. However, it devolved into a nervous chuckle as he continued to stare at the possible chicken egg in front of him. He shook his head to destroy such thoughts in favor of rational thinking for once.

“Maybe it’s a Manticore Egg? Then again, do Manticore’s even lay eggs? Or maybe it’s something else…” It was a mystery to Naruto, so he decided to call it the ‘Mystery Egg’ for now.

Well, now that he had named the damn thing, he couldn’t really go and cook it. A knock came from the living room as he contemplated what possible use the egg was to him now. He sighed as he left the egg matter alone for now.

“Now who’d visit me this early in the morning?”

He walked towards the front door, and opened it. His somewhat cheery disposition took a sharp U-turn as he stood face to face with a black coated stallion named Blackie.

“Filly.” He greeted with a firm, but calm voice.

“Blackie.” Naruto said with a hint of anger.

None of them spoke for a good few seconds and stared at each other, neither wanting to be the first to blink. Naruto squinted his eyes in disgust. “What do you want Blackie?”

“My comp-”

Naruto immediately slammed the door right then and there. He heard yet another knock on his front door and he sighed, knowing full well who it was behind the door. He opened the door again to find Blackie in the same place he’d left him a second ago, although this time visibly pissed off.

“What do you not get, Naruto? You made this happen, and—“ Naruto slammed the door once more. Was he playing the game ‘How many words you can get in until the door slams shut’? Well, however fun that may sound, Naruto wasn’t having any.

Once again, the knocking came again, making him grit his teeth in aggravation to force himself from flying towards the door and uppercutting that pompous jerk again. He took a deep calming breath before opening the door once more.

“Now as I was saying, I want my-”

“Ok, that’s it!” Naruto exclaimed, his ounce of calm having been sucked dry instantly. ”What part of-*SLAM* and-*SLAM* do you not understand!?”, he shouted, slamming the door shut and opening it again as an example. “Now beat it!” With that, he slammed the door shut for, hopefully, the final time. The sound of the door shutting echoed through the house, leaving behind an eery silence... until it was broken by a trio of staccato knocks.

He needed to get rid of him somehow, but how? That’s when he realized something… he still had one basic technique in his repertoire he hadn’t bothered to try yet… something very simple he learned back in elementary school that didn’t require any hand-seals.

Naruto grinned devilishly.

*****

Blackie was not amused in the slightest. He decided it best to take the stealthy angle after his humiliating defeat at the hooves of that filly. Tailing them was easy enough and it even resulted in the uncovering of where the filly lived. He had his mind set on one thing: compensation for his work. One thing led to another and now he wanted another face to face to hopefully settle things peacefully. He waited until he was sure the blonde pony was awake and knocked on his door, forgoing violence for diplomacy. Blackie had attempted to negotiate with Naruto, but the blonde filly had slammed the door in his face, multiple times to boot! Nopony shut the door on Blackie and got away with it.

“Filly, get your bucking ass out ‘ere! I’m not budgin’ from this ‘ere spot ‘til you do!”

The door creaked open once more to reveal somepony else instead of Naruto. Blackie was slightly taken aback by this new individual, having expecting Naruto instead. The unicorn stallion had a combed back, black mane and a creamy blue colored coat. He sported a pristine, white suit that covered his cutie marks and a crimson red tie. The unicorn had his eyes lidded as if scrutinizing his every move.

“May I help you, sir?”

“Who the buck are you?”, he spat out.

“I am the house butler, sir. You may call me Mr. Rain. Now, may I help you?”

“This filly has a butler? When did that happen…?” Blackie thought. He connected the dots: A butler, a huge, pristine mansion, and his utter refusal to pay him his compensation. he must have gotten a huge payout from that fancy pony who hired him and won’t pay back the pony who helped. That’s what he figured, anyway.

He shook the thoughts from his head as he stared down Mr. Rain. “I’m looking for the filly and I know he’s in there!”

“Filly? You mean Mr. Uzumaki, sir?”, rebuked the butler.

“The blonde pony!”

“Oh, yes… the young master…” Mr. Rain said, scratching his chin with his hoof. He glanced back inside the house before looking back at the disgruntled stallion.

“The young master said he would be leaving through the back door. He has an appointment with a Mr. Gary Clopper in Canterlot I believe, and said he won’t be back for at least a day or-”

“Canterlot!?” Blackie interrupted angrily. The butler nodded his head.

“He left out the back door ey? I’ll cut him off down the road then!” He turns around and runs down the path, before turning back to Mr. Rain with a smile.

“Thanks butler, you just saved me a bunch of time!” He said before galloping down the road.

Mr. Rain nodded once more as he watched Blackie run off into the distance.

*****

Mr. Rain closed the door and let out a sigh of pure relief. He began to chuckle, which soon escalated into an all-out bout of laughter. Mr. Rain was enveloped inside an explosion of white smoke which soon cleared to leave only a laughing Naruto pounding the floor with a hoof.

“Ahahahah, oh god, I can’t believe that worked! The look on his face was priceless, hah hah!”

The transformation technique… A ninja skill that allows the user to take on the physical appearance of another person. This proved true for ponies apparently, as he had just proved with stunning results. However, he couldn’t transform into a monstrous creature or something beyond his natural size. He was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to transform as a pony. It took a little bit of focus and chakra and poof, he was a new pony.

As Naruto’s laughter began to die down, he picked himself off the ground. He involuntarily coughed a couple times, trying to clear his throat and bring his laughter back under control. He hadn’t laughed that hard in quite some time.

“At least I won’t be running into him anytime soon. Whew…” He cracked open the door to see if Blackie might have caught on to his fib and came back. Thankfully he was nowhere in sight. He nudged the door open fully and let the morning air stream into the house.

“Hold on a second. Since I can pull off the transformation technique, could I use it to turn back into a human?” Naruto commended himself for his clever line of thought. If he had access to his human form again, he’d have access to all the techniques that required more complicated hand seals. The thought of having hands again made him shiver in excitement. Hooves were nice and all, but nothing could beat opposable thumbs. ‘Well, except ramen, of course...’, he added thoughtfully.

He clapped his hooves together as he began to focus and funnel the chakra throughout his body as close to the skin as possible. He closed his eyes, focusing on the picture of a human as hard as he possibly could. As he opened them, he shouted:

“TRANSFORM!”

He waited for the release of chakra that came with the completion of the technique and the tell-tale explosion of smoke… but nothing happened. The chakra was still in place and he was still in pony form. He let his focus drop, the chakra being let go, and sighed dejectedly.

“Darn it… So I’m still stuck as a pony… Is it because I’m limited to this species now? Well, a human does differ in terms of anatomy to a pony…So, I can’t say that I’m not surprised...”

As he thought about the reasons behind his failed transformation, he sighed. “No use thinking about what can’t work. Doesn't change the fact that I still can’t transform into a human… But at least I can ‘transform’ into another pony if need be.”

For now, he needed to do something else, but what? He looked back at the broken stool and nodded firmly. ‘Time for a trip to the market’, he thought.

*****

As Naruto trotted through Ponyville, he kept his eye open for any furniture store he might stumble upon on his trek to find food. As he rounded a corner, a store across the street caught his eye. Outside was a bunch of wooden chairs and tables organized in such a way that they were easily seen from anywhere on the street. The sign above the shop revealed the store’s name as ‘Wooden You Seat it’. He chuckled, finding their pun to be mildly humorous.

He entered the shop, a small set of bells heralding his entrance. He took a quick surveying glance, seeing several pieces of furniture displayed about on small slabs of wood, ranging from cushioned sofa chairs to beds. They even came in different colors and sizes too. There was quite a variety to peruse inside.

He immediately began his search for a couch. It had to be comfy enough to relax in, sturdy enough to last him a long time, and cheap enough to not break the bank. There was a salespony located in the back behind what he assumed was the cashier counter. The mare perked up at the sight of a new customer. The pony sported a red mane that conformed rather nicely with her pink coat. Her cutie mark was that of a wooden chair and a sheet of paper.

“So it signifies her ability as a salespony for furniture then?” He ventured. Regardless, the salespony waved at him and welcomed him to the store, reminding him that he needed not hesitate in asking for her help.

“I thought they usually try to negotiate with a customer when they’re doing business?” He didn’t mind it since it was a rather welcome change of pace. He didn’t notice it before, but it was easy to see that most shops here were rather similar in set-up. The fact that ponies were letting him into their stores was a big change since back in Konoha, he was always chased—

Naruto shook his head furiously. He really needed to stop thinking of the bad memories. He was in happier times now. A place where he was accepted for who he truly was.

He walked down the aisles, looking for the couch section. He stopped momentarily at the tables to admire the craftsmanship and marvel at the different kinds of wood used in each. The price tags made him cringe though. ‘400 bits for a coffee table!? That’s insane!’, he thought in dismay. Finally, he stumbled across the couch section, hoping that they had some decently priced items here.

One of them caught his eye almost immediately. It was a dark brown couch with nothing fancy or overdone about it. The neighboring ones all had intricate designs woven into their fabric and crafted into the wooden supports but this one was plain, which probably meant cheap. It was big enough to fit at least two ponies on it too. A love couch, perhaps? He took a seat and was impressed at just how comfy it was despite how plain it looked. The fabric intrigued him as well. He couldn’t put a finger on it but it felt like a mixture of silk and cotton.

“Aren’t couches usually made of leather?”

He couldn’t make heads or tails on what kind of material it was made of, but he found it rather comfortable. He looked at the price tag, and frowned.

“75 bits… That’s quite a bit…” He mumbled out loud. He glanced at all the other couches around him and he could already tell that this was probably the cheapest they had in stock. A hundred bits, two hundred bits, three hundred bit… The prices seemed to grow more ridiculous as he perused through the rest of their stock.

He soon found himself back at the brown couch, staring at the price tag. ‘Looks like you’re mine then’, he thought as he looked around for the salespony. He spotted her at the cashier reading a book.

“I’ll take this one.”

*****

Naruto walked out of the store with a smile on his face, satisfied with his purchase. He had managed to bargain the price down to 70 bits which he was rather proud of. He looked at the receipt in his hoof, entailing his payment and when the delivery would take place. He had some time to kill until the delivery was supposed to happen.

“A job well done I guess… Now I’m down to 48 bits. Which means I’m gonna need more bits in order to survive, I guess.”

After buying another apple for an impromptu breakfast, he started off towards the Request Board. This diet of apples and cake was fine and all, but it was getting old really fast. He needed something much more fulfilling. As he drew closer to where the board was, he noticed a familiar pony standing in front of it. The blonde maned, orange pony donning a Stetson hat was tacking something onto the request board.

“What’s Applejack doing in front of that board?” He wondered. He remembered that Applejack worked on the farm near here, so maybe she was looking for a few extra farmhands? Regardless, he trotted over to see if he could help.

Applejack looked crestfallen and a bit agitated, but perked right up when she noticed Naruto walking up, giving her biggest smile.

“Howdy there Naruto, what brings you here?” Applejack rattled off in her cheery, southern drawl. Maybe Naruto was over-thinking it and she was just in high spirits? He smiled anyway.

“Just here to look at whatever work is posted up.” Applejack went wide-eyed at Naruto’s response.

“Ya lookin’ for work? In that case, you came to the right cowpony!” Applejack proclaimed, leaving Naruto grasping at straws.

“I did…?”

“Darn tootin’! Ah could use an extra pair of hooves today up at the farm. Ya see… We ran into a problem this morning… Big Mac and ah were supposed to be bucking apples off the northern fields but Big Mac caught something. I’ve learned that ah can’t handle the farm by my lonesome the hard way, so I came to hopefully hire somepony to help out, at least until Big Mac is all better.”

“Big Mac?”

“My big brother, Big Macintosh. You haven’t met him yet but he works with me on the farm.”

“I see… so… bucking apples? Um…” He started to think back on what the word ‘buck’ would mean… he heard it being used by a couple of ponies around here and he could easily tell what it was supposed to mean.

He began to blush slightly and he looked down at the ground in embarrassment. “W-why would you run a farm that involves bucking apples?”

“Huh? Why wouldn’t ah be?”

“Well, you ‘buck’ apples right?” As she nodded, he continued. ”So you’re telling me you hump apples with your…” Naruto trailed off as his blush intensified. Applejack tilted her head in confusion, but then realized what Naruto was saying, her eyes going wide as saucers as a small blush formed on her muzzle too.

“Oh hay n-no! Geez Partner, you’re not very familiar with words around here, now are you? W-what made you come to such ah conclusion? We don’t do ‘that’ to our apples. What are yah, crazy?” Applejack said with a glare.

“Don’t blame me! I’m just… I’m still getting used to the vocabulary here…”, squeaked an embarrased Naruto.

“…Well, erm, as ah was saying,” she said with a cough, ”I mean kicking apple trees and harvesting their apples.”

“Ohhh… Kicking trees…” Now that made more sense to Naruto, but he wished she had been much more specific in her word choice... Double meanings and all that.

“Well… How long do you need me for? And what’s the pay?”

“You’ll be working ‘til the afternoon and possibly tomorrow as well. It depends on how fast Big Mac gets over whatever he’s got and ah’ll pay ya 35 bits for your time. Ah might throw in a bonus for ya if you do good.”

In Naruto’s opinion, 35 bits wasn’t a lot but Applejack definitely needed the help. Her eyes were drooped down a little bit, and she had that look that said ‘Please help me!’ Plus, it was an opportunity for Naruto to both test and work on his strength. He happily nodded.

“Alright, I’ll give it my all. Believe it!”

*****

CH24: An Unexpected Letter (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

Bucking Trees, Apples That Fall

A Hard Day’s Worth of Work, But That’s Not All

A Letter From a Peculiar Mare

And a Completely Forgotten Night of Flare?

*****

Chapter 24: An Unexpected Letter

It didn’t take them very long to reach Sweet Apple Acres, seeing as it was so close to Ponyville. As they passed through the front gate, they set off towards the apple orchard on the other side of the farm.

“So tell me Naruto, how strong are your hind legs; strong enough to buck some apples?” Applejack asked. Naruto shrugged in response.

“Well, I consider myself strong, but knocking apples off of trees? I don’t know. Only way to find out is to give it a shot I guess.”

“I guess we should. But from what I’ve seen, you’re definitely strong! You took on that der’ Ursa like it was nothing.”

“Y-yeah… shame I couldn’t take it down though.”

“Ah shoot, don’t worry your head over it. I’m just glad it didn’t destroy the town.” Applejack then gave a small frown. “Although I wish that boaster didn’t influence Snips and Snails to do what they did… That there Trixie gal didn’t know what she was doing…”

“Cut her some slack Applejack. To be honest, she did have some magical talent and overall, I was impressed… until she got in over her head with her boasting. She just indirectly—and accidentally—set the ball rolling. So it’s kind of half her fault.”

“Hmm… You’re probably right, but that don’t mean ah’m gonna go and forgive her just like that,” Applejack retorted.

“You got a point, I guess…”, conceded Naruto.

As they made small talk, Applejack picked up some small baskets strewn out at the entrance to the orchard proper and motioned for Naruto to pick some up as well. She showed him the ropes on what it meant to Applebuck: Placing baskets around the tree trunk, giving the trees a hard back kick, and watching the cascade of apples fall into one of the many baskets. She mentioned that most of the time, they all didn’t land in the basket but once you had gotten the hang of it, those were few and far between.

She gave a demonstration as she trotted up to the next tree in the row, swiveled on her front legs and planted a solid buck dead center on the trunk. Naruto watched as all the apples dropped from the tree at once and landed inside each basket, not one having missed their intended target. Naruto went wide-eyed in shock. Not a single apple was left on the tree anymore.

Applejack smiled, knowing that Naruto was dumbstruck. Happened to every pony she’d shown it too without fail. She waved a hoof at the next tree.

“Your turn. Give it all you’ve got Naruto!”

After taking a second to recompose himself, he walked towards the tree, its’ branches weighed down by the sheer amount of apples, and placed his baskets around the trunk like Applejack had done. He looked at the tree curiously, wondering how many he’d knock off on his first try.

“It can’t be that hard if Applejack can do it… but she does this for a living... Here goes nothing!”

His curiosity having peaked, he turned around and delivered the hardest buck he could have possibly mustered. There was a resounding thump as hoof hit bark, shaking off only a few of the apples at first. Moments later, a small cascade of apples fell from the tree and into the awaiting baskets on the ground. He looked up to find that only half the apples had fallen off the tree. He sighed in disappointment.

“Well, ah’ll say,” came a surprised Applejack, ”That’s not a bad first buck, if I do say so myself. Try relaxing your legs ‘fore you hit and then tensing ‘em up.”

He nodded at Applejack and bucked the Apple tree once more, taking her advice into account. This time, all of the apples fell off the tree instantly and landed square in the basket. Applejack grinned happily and applauded the blonde maned pony.

“Two kicks and already you’ve got one tree down… Not too shabby for a first timer.” Applejack said thoughtfully.

“Thanks… So we have to buck all these trees then? ”Naruto said, looking at rolling hills filled with apple trees. “That’s a lot of work.”

“Ah, you get used to it after a while. It’s easier if you’ve done it all your life; like me and my brother have.”

“Wow… All your life huh…” He said curiously. He wondered if he could buck all those apples in just one day. Well, he did need to get back in shape and he’d make money on the side to boot. “So we have to buck them all in one day?”

“Hah, ah wish partner. It would give us more time to do other things. We just buck all we can until we get tired and then we move on to the other chores like milking the cows, tilling the farmland for plantin’… There’s a lot to do ‘round ‘ere. Today however, we just got apple bucking.”

Naruto firmly nodded. It made sense to him, especially since he was pretty sure he couldn’t buck them all even if he wanted too. Not only would it take too long, he’d probably fall over midway from fatigue. Applejack nodded her head forward, signaling him to follow her.

“C’mon Naruto, these trees ain’t gonna buck themselves!”

*****

It was rather sweaty work and Naruto started to wish he didn’t bring his jacket with him. The sun was now high in the sky, bearing down on him with its full force making it feel like he was in an oven. He wiped the sweat out from under his headband as he continued to apple buck the trees.

“It feels like it’s been hours since I started…” He thought to himself. His legs were beginning to grow tired, but he pushed on, knowing that this was great exercise. He could feel his muscles screaming, begging him to stop, but he kept on, willing to get this job done and over with.

He looked over at Applejack on the next row and could tell she hadn’t even broken a sweat yet. Either that or she was damn good at hiding it.

“She doesn’t even LOOK tired... that’s one strong mare…” He couldn’t help but be fascinated at her determination with work. With a renewed vigor to prove that he could do the same, he continued on, matching Applejack’s pace as they worked down their respective rows.

As the hours passed, the sun began its descent down the western sky. Applejack had fetched a cart to load up all their baskets filled to the brim with apples. Naruto fell on his behind as he wiped the sweat off his face for the umpteenth time today.

“Whew… I’m glad that’s over… My legs are screaming…How many trees did we buck anyway?”, he panted.

“Quite a lot Naruto. Ah could tell you were getting better and better as we went along. Ah even saw ya buck a tree of its’ apples in one go too! Job well done Naruto.”

“Glad to hear it… so what now?”

“Now? Now we get these here apples over to the barn, store ‘em and we can call it a day.”

“We… we have to pull this cart?”, he replied meekly, gesturing at the overladen cart.

“Eeyup. Think you’re up for it, partner?”

He looked at the wooden cart overflowing with apples. It was a simple cart, built completely out of wood and held together by steel supports. It had definitely seen better days, the wood starting to split apart from age and rust covering most of the metal supports. Here and there, pieces of the wooden planks had broken off, allowing a peak into the interior that was filled with the red fruit of their labor.

He looked at Applejack and gave a small nod.

“You bet!”

Naruto walked up to the front where the reigns were. Applejack began fastening the belts around Naruto’s midsection before fastening them on her as well. When they were hooked up, Applejack began to pull and Naruto mirrored her actions, the cart lurching forward at a snail’s pace. Within moments, they had managed to get the cart up to a slow trot. He was happy that Applejack was there to help him, otherwise he would have a difficult time.

Minutes passed as they tugged the cart along, neither talking as they focused on pulling the cart over the dirt. They arrived a grueling five minutes later at the closed door to the barn. Applejack unhitched herself to open the door and Naruto struggled to pull the cart inside by himself. After stopping inside the barn, he collapsed to the ground exhausted, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He looked at his own fur, and could see it was all damp and covered in dirt from the day’s hard work. Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at the state of Naruto

“Tired ah take it?”

“Very much… so… That was hard... work. It’s been a while... since I’ve done... any pulling like that.”, he managed to say between pants.

“Not much pulling where you come from?”

“No, it’s not that… I just can’t recall the last time... I pulled something so darn heavy…”

“Well, if you’re ever lookin’ for work, ah’ll gladly set ya up with somethin’. In fact…” Applejack walked out of the barn with Naruto en-tow.

“We’ve been looking for part-timers for a good while now,” she said as they made their way towards the farmhouse, ”Nopony’s been free here to help us out since my little… um, well, let’s just say I had problems back then. Ah’d be mighty appreciated if you’d help us out again Naruto, if you have time…”

“Well… that’s quite an offer Applejack, and I’d love to help out, but I’m not sure what my schedule is like right now.” He looked out towards the field. “I’ve got a lot on my plate right now: I need to fix up my house and then there’s -” He cut himself off, stopping himself from continuing that list. He almost let slip his current predicament. Not to mention his purpose being here in Equestria.

His purpose… He didn’t exactly have a purpose here in Equestria, besides working on the house and helping out the other ponies. So what exactly was he pursuing? What was his goal for the future?

“Naruto?”

Naruto snapped back to reality and looked at Applejack. “Er, yes Applejack?”

“You feelin’ alright? Your eyes looked kinda distant.”, she curiously asked.

“I’m… well, I just have a lot on my mind right now, that’s all.”, Naruto rattled off quickly.

“Mind if I ask what it is? Maybe ah can help?”

“I… no, I’m sure I can figure it out myself…”

“Well, alright partner… But if you ever need anything, ya just holler alright?”, she responded sincerely.

“Yeah…”

“What are you gonna do now though?”

“Probably head home, I need to take care of some things over there.”

“Alrighty then… oh, right, hold on.”

Applejack rushed into her house and popped back out moments later, a bag of clinking metal in hoof. “Here’s your pay Naruto. Be sure to come back now, ya hear?”

“Yeah, I hear…”, he responded, taking his pay and making his way off the farm.

*****

It was already night time by the time Naruto reached his house. He gave a small sigh as he passed his tattered mailbox, only to notice that there was different about it from this morning. Taking a closer look, he noticed a white envelope lying there. Careful to avoid the sharp metal edges, he took it out. He flipped it around in his hooves to find that it had his full name written in fancy letters on the front. He raised a brow, confused.

“Why would anyone send me mail? Very few ponies know where I live…”, he mumbled to himself.

He was about to walk into his own house when he found something rather large blocking his advance. It was his brand new couch... which he had forgotten all about. His right eye twitched in annoyance, remembering why it was there in the first place.

“Right… the delivery order…” He hadn’t been at the house the entire day due to working with Applejack, so he assumed the delivery ponies just left it outside as he wasn’t there to let them in. With a heavy sigh, he conjured up a shadow clone and together they carried the couch inside. It wasn’t heavy by any means, but it was definitely a two pony job.

Tilting the couch to get it through the narrow door, they placed it in the living room across from the door for the time being. He figured that once he actually had other furniture, he could rearrange them then. It landed with a big *THUNK* as they dropped it to the floor. Both Naruto’s went over to the front and sat down, the clone dispelling in a small puff of white smoke.

“I’d like to know why I have to keep working after I just got DONE working!” He said out loud. He looked down at the letter.

“Right, I need to read it, let’s see…” Upon closer inspection of the letter, he read that it was from Octavia Clopper. He furrowed a brow. “Now what does she want?”

Opening the letter, a piece of parchment comes sticking out, which he unfolds and reads:

*****

Dear Naruto,

How are you doing? I haven’t heard from you since we left you at your new house. I admit I was rather... skeptical when father suggested we give you our old house, but after consideration, I suppose it is for the best. After all, you did save my life, so I can’t say that you don’t deserve it.

I must apologize for getting angry with you during the party.It was rather unbecoming of me, but when you didn’t even remember who I was, I lost my composure. So therefore, I apologize.

I would also like to come by sometime to offer you a job. A friend of mine named Vinyl is seeking some physical help, or in other words, a bodyguard. I was wondering if Vinyl and I could come over to your house and discuss more details eye to eye. We are available this weekend if you wish. Please reply back as soon as possible as time is of the essence.

Best Regards,

Octavia Clopper.

*****

“A bodyguard huh… That might be interesting… might be a nice change of pace…”

He looked at the letter’s date, and it read Wednesday. He didn’t have a calendar or anything to show what day it was… or as a matter of fact…

“What IS the date anyway? I don’t even know what month it is! I guess I can find out tomorrow and buy a calendar. Just ANOTHER essential thing to add to my list of ‘Last Minute Things to Buy’, bah.”

He placed the letter on the couch and sighed. He was exhausted after his impromptu work, and combined that with fatigue from the past couple days, he could have gone and fallen asleep standing and be none the wiser.However, he preferred not being uncomfortable as he slept, so he lazily went towards his bedroom doorway. Before he crossed the threshold, he turned to look back at the letter once more.

“…Maybe it would be interesting. Bodyguard work… I hope it pays well…”

*****

Naruto involuntarily winced as the sunlight hit his face. The warm light of Celestia’s sun made him groan as he tried to pull the covers over his face, trying to go back to the tender embrace of sleep. However, something seemed rather odd when he did.

The smell of sugar, cupcakes, and cherry licorice hit his nose. He found this smell relaxing but bizarre: why did he smell like that? He laid a hoof on the other side of the bed, but instead of feeling the mattress, he felt a soft lump.

He still had his eyes closed, but his hoof patted the soft unknown object down further and further, until there was nothing but mattress.

Not wanting to be in the dark anymore, he opened his eyes and sprang from the bed, landing on his hooves to face the mystery intruder. A flash of pink enveloped his face as he saw none other than Pinkie Pie, in his bed, asleep!

“What the hell…?”

Pinkie stirred in his bed, cracking open her eyes sleepily. Her hair was still poofy but in tangles as she yawned. She noticed Naruto standing there and smiled at him.

It was a seductive smile. Her eyes were lidded, as if she was staring at him with lust in her eyes. Pinkie gave a small giggle as she placed a hoof under his chin.

“Hey there handsome... sleep well?”

*****

“What a beautiful day…” said the purple librarian. Twilight Sparkle opened up her bedroom window to watch Celestia’s sun rise through the blue sky on the horizon. The wind blew through the trees, the leaves rustling as it passed, and bird’s songs travelled through the town, aided by the wind. However, one thing came up in her mind.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen Naruto yesterday or this morning. I mean, I’m sure he’s busy and all, but I wonder if he needs any help with that house of his?”

Naruto… every single day since the whole spiel with the Manticore, he kept creeping into her thoughts. What was making her think of him so much? Was it the constant danger he kept putting himself into? Or was it something else?

Twilight sighed as she leaned out the window.

“I swear, that pony is going to give me a heart attack If he keeps biting off more than he can chew…”

That’s when she heard an in-pony scream, sending her flying back from the window and onto her bed. She covered her sensitive ears to drown out the repulsive sound. Eventually, though, it did die down. She had heard a scream like that before… and it came to her instantly.

“That was Naruto! What did he get himself into this time!?”

*****

CH25: One Plus One Equals Possibilities (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

Awake and smelling the fresh air...

No Thanks to One Bubblegum Pink Mare.

Off to The Everfree to Find a Mushroom

And to Save a Boaster From Her Unconscious Doom.

*****

Chapter 25: One Plus One Equals Possibilities

“What the hell Pinkie!”, shouted a shocked Naruto. “Is ‘Personal Space’ non-existent in this blasted excuse for a town or do you just not care!?”

Pinkie stifled her laughter, successfully toning it down to a tiny giggle.“Well…”

“That was rhetorical,” he said with a frustrated sigh. ”What exactly do you want Pink- wait a second, what did you mean by ‘enjoyed last night’!?”

“Calm down Mr. Grumpy Pants and let me explainnnnn!” Pinkie said nonchalantly, blissfully ignorant of the current situation. She took a deep breath and exhaled, looking at Naruto with a smile.

“Well…” She began, “I saw you going home last night while I was doing some late night shopping in Ponyville and I’ve been looking for you all day yesterday because I need something done that just can’t wait and then Gummy went all bitey bitey on my mane and I discovered the secrets of the uni-”

“That doesn’t explain why you barged into my house and slept in MY bed!”, interrupted Naruto, a headache already starting to form from Pinkie’s mindless babble.

“Settle down Whiskers! I’m getting to that part,” she cheerfully admonished. “ANYway, by the time I found out where you lived you were already asleep seeing as all the lights were off and how you didn’t answer any of my knocks on the door or my knock knock jokes for that matter but when I turned the knob on your door, it was unlocked!”, she paused, taking a deep breath to recover from her long winded explanation.

“Note to self: Make sure my door is locked from now on.” Naruto noted.

“So I invited myself in like so,” She pantomimed opening a door, shaking her own hoof, and then bouncing in.”Oh, I don’t want to be rude, but your house is a big mess! It looks all dreary and droopy and woopy. I like the floors though—“

“I know my house is a mess, get to the point!”

“Sheesh, impatient much Whiskers?”

“Don’t call me Whiskers…”, muttered Naruto.

“Why not Whiskers?”, replied the giddy pony.

“Because it’s… ugh, just get on with it!”

“Ooookay then Captain Whiskers!” Pinkie said with glee. He didn’t know why the term ‘whiskers’ bothered him. Maybe it was with the different names he’d acquired since setting up shop? Foal, Filly, Whiskers… was everyone out to tease him?

“So anyway, when I found you so I could ask what I needed, you were asleep! I was going to wake you up, but…” She trailed off, glancing at the bed and then back. “Looking at the bed made me sleepy… so I joined in with you!”

Her explanation seemed like a childish reason just to frazzle Naruto. It didn’t help that he couldn’t tell if she was serious or joking. The fact remained that she came in through the unlocked front door. What if some murderer came in while he was sleeping? Naruto berated himself. It was a stupid mistake that would have cost him dearly if the right pony came by at the right time. At least Pinkie Pie was the wrong pony.

“If it was Blackie…”, he muttered deep in thought.

“Soooo Naruto!”, chimed Pinkie, ”Can you hear me out?”

“Still doesn’t explain why you asked if I ‘enjoyed last night.’ What the hell did you do to me!?”

“No need to get all angry and curse silly pants! I wanted to surprise you this morning!”

“Surprise me?”, asked Naruto curiously.

“Yeah! One time I read about it in a magazine that Rarity had at her shop when she was fixing my gala dress. It had this REALLY funny scene where two ponies were in bed, and this one pony said those exact same lines, and then they broke out laughing… although, you didn’t act like the stallion did in the magazine… You’re a bad actor Naruto!” She said with a giggle.

‘So Rarity keeps those kinds of magazines for her customers then...’, thought Naruto. Admittedly, he had read similar magazines at the shops back in Konoha so he knew what they entailed. Apparently, Pinkie didn’t. Either she was a very shrewd pony who knew exactly how to make other ponies uncomfortable or she was just that innocent and naive.

His bits were on the latter.

He sighed and shook his head in relief. “I see… So it’s all just a big misunderstanding then, whew…”

“What’s a misunderstanding?”, questioned the pink menace.

“Er, nothing… But please Pinkie, don’t barge into my house again and sleep with me. Everypony will get the wrong idea…”

“What wrong idea?”

“You know what, just come to the living room.” He said, frustrated at Pinkie’s level of naivety.

*****

“Sorry if the inside looks really drab,” explained Naruto, gesturing at the rather roomy living room, ”I’m still trying to outfit the house with furniture.”

“Oh it’s okay Naruto! I mean your house looks pretty ugly, but I’m sure with some elbow grease it’ll be fixed up in no time at all! Dragon will get around to it eventually!”

Naruto paused. “Wait, who?“

“I said you’d get around to it eventually.”

“Ah, yeah I hope so.” He plopped down onto his sofa, soon followed by Pinkie who cannon-balled onto her side. “So, what’s so important that you couldn’t come when I was awake?”

“Ooh! Right! Well…” She reached into her mane, pulled out a scroll, and tossed it over to Naruto. He unrolled it to find a picture of a red mushroom covered in white dots. He looked at Pinkie hoping for an explanation.

“And this would be?”

“It’s something Twilight showed me a week or so ago: A Party Mushroom!”

“You can’t be serious…”, he deadpanned.

“I’m very serious! I hear that if you make fruit punch out of a mushroom like this, the party will be a major success no matter what happens! I want this mushroom!”

“From a store?”

“No you silly whiskers you,” she said, bopping him on the snout playfully, “in the Everfree Forest!”

Naruto’s eyes shot open. “You can’t be serious!? The Everfree Forest is dangerous even for me! The last time I went in there, I almost died even though I had weapons to defend myself. ”

“Psh… not during the daytime silly! Besides, I’m not asking you to fight; just to pick a particular mushroom, that’s all!”

“Still… going into the forest… I don’t know…”

Saying that Naruto wasn’t skeptical was like saying that Pinkie Pie hated laughing. He already knew what to expect when he set foot in that forest. Creatures of all shapes and sizes roamed through there looking for their next meal, be it pony or something else. The question was WHAT he’d come across first.

“C’mon… I’ll make it worth your whiiiiile.”, nudged Pinkie.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m not letting you do this without some kind of payment of course!”

Naruto sighed. “Alright, what’s the pay then?”

“A strawberry cake!”

“Please tell me you’re not serious.” He looked her straight in the eye and found nothing hinting at deception or humor. “You are serious aren’t you...”

“Ooh, tough customer… okay fine, two strawberry cakes and that’s as high as I’m going buster!”

“You’re going to pay me with cake?”

“Well duh! I’m a baker. It’s what I’m good at! Plus, I know that you know that I know that you love what I bake, don’t you?”

‘Blasted pony, she’s right’, he thought in dismay. She had a point. He loved the things she baked at that shop. He glanced back and forth between the picture and Pinkie Pie. If the forest wasn’t as dangerous during the day, he might be able to grab the mushroom and book it before anything really big notices he was there. That and he’s good at running away if things get sticky…

He sighed again as he leaned back on the couch. “How’d you find out about this mushroom anyway?”

“Twilight’s Library. She showed me. Ooh, that reminds me! I asked her to get this particular mushroom a while ago, but when she brought it back, it was all bruised and broken, like someone stomped on it. I was soooo sad when it turned out like that!”

“I see… Figures it would be Twilight…”, mumbled Naruto.

*****

After agreeing to take the job, Naruto sent her on her way. He had a lot on his mind even before this impromptu job. He was beginning to make some headway on furniture but a single couch wasn’t really anything to brag about. Not only that, the house still needed repairs and that required bits. Bits that he was seriously lacking.

He was almost broke now, the majority of he bits going towards that couch. Pretty soon, he wouldn’t be able to buy any food. At least Pinkie’s job was rewarding him with two of her delicious cakes.

“Two strawberry cakes huh… I guess that isn’t too bad, although I still prefer money…” It was too late to change his mind now, but he just shrugged. There were still a couple of items he needed to take care of; Primarily, the request from the Octavia. He picked up the letter he left out on the couch last night and strode out the front door, making sure to lock it this time.

Since he didn’t have any proper paper supplies or quills, he went straight to the Post Office. Straight being the key word, as he still had no clue where some key buildings in town was. After asking numerous ponies for directions, he found himself in front of the Ponyville Post Office. It consisted of a white cube-like building with a wooden sign near the front door, which was labelled ‘Ponyville Post Office’. It had a couple windows on the front; one on each opposite side of the door. It looked to be a pretty normal building to him, without any of the fancy pizzazz the other places had, like Sugarcube Corner or the Boutique.

He stepped into the lobby and was assaulted with the smell of paper and used adhesive. It wasn’t crowded inside. A few ponies were in line waiting for the next available assistant and other than that, it was empty. To his immediate right was a counter stocked with paper, ink, and quills. Assuming it was a place to write letters, he grabbed a sheet of paper and began to write down a quick reply to Octavia. As he wrote it out, he realized he didn’t even know what today’s date was but with a quick inquiry with a nearby pony, found out that it was a Thursday. He made sure to declare that he was open on Sunday so they could stop by anytime then.

After writing the necessary address and return address, he sent it off through one of the nearby mail slots. He gave a small sigh, giving himself a small pat on the back for a job well done. Now he needed to get Pinkie’s request out of the way.

As soon as he exited the Post Office, he realized something of grave importance that he had completely forgotten about.

“Aw nuts… Applejack.” He had a job to do at Applejack’s farm but he already agreed to do Pinkie’s request. What was he going to do? No normal pony could be in two places at the same time...

…and he wasn’t no ‘normal’ pony. He had his Shadow Clone Jutsu at his disposal. What if he could do both at the same time; work on Applejack’s farm AND find Pinkie’s mushroom? It was a long shot, but… it was possible.

‘But wait… can my clone even handle that much time on its own? Hmm… wouldn’t hurt to experiment, I guess? But if this works…’, Naruto thought seriously. Naruto listed some of the possibilities: One, he’ll have more time on his hands, and two, he can handle multiple jobs at once as long as the clones aren’t dispelled. But seeing as how he only had one to use…

“Worth a shot, I suppose!”

He went into a nearby alleyway, making sure he was concealed from anypony's prying eyes. Crossing his tails over one another, he channeled the necessary chakra and pulled off the technique. A small explosion of smoke let him know that he was successful and as it cleared, a second Naruto was standing there.

“Alright clone, here’s your mission: Go to Applejack’s and help out with the farm until it’s time for you to be dismissed. And make sure you do NOT get hit by any falling apples! Understood?”

The clone grinned and gave a salute. “You got it boss!”

After that, the clone took off, jumping from rooftop to rooftop to its’ destination. He gave a small sigh as he looked down the alleyway and back up at the sky.

“This is going to be one hell of a day…”

*****

It didn’t take long to get to the Everfree Forest, and it certainly didn’t look all that dangerous during the day, but if one thing was for certain, it was that you shouldn’t judge a book by its’ cover. He began his trek on the beaten path that wove through the forest. He took the parchment out from his jacket pocket and looked at it.

“A red mushroom with white dots on it… it can’t be too hard in this forest, can it?”

As he walked through the forest, he gave a small sigh. Not too much had changed since his last time in the forest except that it was a lot brighter allowing him to see much further than before.

“Lessee, according to the picture and description, it seems the mushroom grows beneath the shade of trees… but there’s so many trees around here it’s going to be hard to find… why did I take this job…? I should have switched places with my clone… Working on a farm must be a cakewalk compared to this…”

A few minutes passed as he searched around the trunks of each tree he ran into, and while he did mushrooms, they weren’t the one he was looking for. He gave a small sigh.

“I wonder if some of these mushrooms are edible…” A familiar gurgle emanated from his stomach. He gave another sigh. “Damn, I skipped breakfast… I wonder if there are any fruits around here.”

He looked up at the canopy, hoping to find a fruit bearing tree, to only find massive branches and leaves crisscrossing. But that’s when he heard something. A tranquil, yet peaceful sound that mysteriously made him want to use the bathroom.

“Running water?”

After exploring the source of the sound a little further, he discovered a stream cutting its way through the forest. Naruto gave an ‘ooh’, fascinated by his discovery. The water was crystal clear, and the smooth running water sound helped Naruto relax, but that’s not all what amazed Naruto.

Upon closer inspection, he could see small fish swimming about downstream. He went wide-eyed with his mouth agape.

“Fish… meat… Fish… FISH!”

He was so overjoyed that he dove head first into the small stream-

*BONK*

-to find that it wasn’t more than knee deep. Naruto grumbled in the river, bubbles floating up due to his grumbling. ‘Next time’, he thought, ’I look before I leap’

*****

After extricating himself from that compromising position, he set out to catch as many fish as he possibly could. They were silver in color and covered completely in scales just as a fish should. The caught fish flopped around on the rocks of the river as he tapped his chin with his hoof.

“Right, I need a fire…”

After gathering a few branches here and there, he proceeded to start a small campfire with his own tails, rubbing two sticks together to get a fire going. He brought the fire up until it was hot enough to cook food, adding wood every now and then to keep the fire going strong. As he pierced each fish with a sharpened stick, he stuck each one around its’ perimeter, the fish hovering over the flame pit.

In the meantime, he decided to check his surroundings for any of the red mushrooms he was searching for. There was one tree that caught his eye… He could see a patch of red at the base of an old, gnarly oak tree across the stream. With a quick hop over the stream, he made his way over, keeping an eye out for the mushroom. However, there was only plain red mushrooms surrounding the tree. He slumped over in sadness, until something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Buried amongst the plethora of red mushrooms, was one covered in white spots. He plucked it from the ground to examine it. It was a bit dirty, but it was indeed a red cap mushroom with white spots. Satisfied, he placed it inside his jacket pocket, knowing that his job here was done.

He went back towards the campfire to see if his fish were ready. The smell was already making him drool and the sight was what did it. The fish were a golden brown color, the dancing flames licking each fish in tandem. Sitting down next to it, he quickly grabbed a stick. He waved it around for a few seconds until biting into the juicy fishy flesh.

“OW! HOT HOT HOT!” He burned his mouth and he swallowed the fish in his mouth immediately. His throat burned as it went down, but it was so worth it. “Ohhhh… Man, it tastes like… heaven…”

After waiting for the fish to cool for a few minutes, he tried again. This time he chewed the fish slowly, sampling its’ delectable flavor in his mouth. He almost fell unconscious from the sheer bliss. He missed this taste.

After some time had passed and he got to his second fish, he noticed something rolling towards him. With his mouth stuffed with fish, he looked at the rolling object more closely to reveal it to be a bottle. After polishing off his last fish, he picked up the bottle and examined it much more closely.

It was a brown bottle labeled ‘Apple Cider’ along with a picture of an apple on the front. It was empty too, and he brought the top of the bottle to his nose and took a whiff. He jerked away from it as he gagged.

“Urgh… this smells like alcohol…!”

He knew that smell anywhere, and it didn’t make him happy. ‘So there’s alcohol in this world too, huh… Doesn’t smell as strong though… maybe it’s a weaker type of alcohol? What is cider anyway?’

That’s when he noticed something else… looking in the direction where he found the bottle, he could see a couple more. He raised a brow at the spectacle, and investigated. Something brought these bottles out here. He picked up a couple more bottles just like it, wondering who brought them out here.

‘Odd… why is there cider bottles all the way out here in the forest? Unless there’s some cider shop around here, I don’t see how there would be any here… maybe some of the folks come out here and... nevermind. Images I can’t unsee...’

As possibilities flew through his mind, he heard a rustle inside some bushes where the trail of bottles seemed to end. He looked at the bottle he was still holding, and smashed the bottom on the ground, shattering its’ body. He held up the sharp neck as a makeshift shiv, prepared for the worst.

“Who’s there?” Naruto shouted towards the bush. He got closer to the bush as he held his broken bottle out in front of him. He wanted something between him and bush until he knew its’ intentions.

It could have been another wolf, or maybe a smaller Manticore. Anything was possible in this forest. But instead… it was neither a hostile creature or any of the above… in fact, a blue pony appeared out of the bushes, dirty and wobbly with silver hair—

“Wait… that’s… It can’t be… Trixie!?” He said out loud in surprise. Out of all the odds, it had to be Trixie. She had a rather big frown on her face and she paid no mind to Naruto standing in front of her. He tilted his head in confusion.

“B-blasted p-poniesh and their shtupid… shtupid… shtupidness!” She slurred as she took a swig from an apple cider bottle, which Naruto recognized.

“So that’s where the bottles came from… but the sound of her voice… is she drunk…?” It was amusing to see Trixie in a drunken stupor, but he was confused on why she was drunk in the first place.

“Or better yet… why is she even in the forest? Doesn’t she know how dangerous it is?”

She stumbled about as she chugged down the contents of the bottle. Her vision was blurry, and she could make out a figure in front of her. She hiccupped as she tried to focus on the figure before her.

“You… you’re that blonde pony…” She said with a drunken gasp… or at least, attempted to. She burst out laughing into the sky, earning a scowl from Naruto.

“Ah hah… T-trixie ish—I—am sheeing things… There’s no w-way a… eh heh, ahahahah, a pony such as *hic* yourself could be in… these woodsh…”

“I am in these woods, and you’re right in front of me. As much as I’d enjoy catching up with you, what in the world are you doing way out here?

“Ah heh… great, my… my imagination ish talking to me… that’s… a laugh.” Trixie said, all wobbly and tripping over her own hooves, as she walked closer to Naruto. From this close, he could see her flushed skin even through her blue fur coat. Judging from all the bottles as well, she was completely and totally hammered. She brought up a hoof and smacked him across the face. Naruto flinched as he backed off, rubbing his cheek. She didn’t smack it that hard, but he wasn’t expecting that.

“Wha… you’re one sholid illusion… T-tell me b-blondie… where did you come from… Illushionville?” She said with a drunk laugh. “You… You did thish to me, you know… the whole… the whole shomething… oh right…” She pointed her hoof in a random direction, “You ruined my… ruined my…”

She stopped talking and fell onto her side, snoring already permeating through the silence of the forest. Naruto couldn’t help but scratch his head.

“Great… a show pony that’s in the forest, drunk and passed out… Never a boring day, right?”

He walked over to Trixie and examined her more closely. She was thankfully still breathing and her magician’s attire was no where to be found. Dirt covered her body, her coat mangy and unkempt. Her silver mane had patches of black all over, probably just clumps of dirt. He looked over at the bottles again and then back at her, and started to think.

“Why would she be drunk in the forest? Surely that experience wasn’t THAT bad, was it?” He thought to himself, and rolled his eyes. “Then again, Snips and Snails DID ruin her reputation… or whatever reputation she thought she had. It still doesn’t explain why she’s in the forest though… Oh, why should I care. I’m getting out of here…”

*WHAM*

Trixie’s right hoof shot up into the air connecting with Naruto’s jaw on the way up, rattling his noggin withe the impact. He recoiled back as he yelped in pain.

“THAT… sssshould teach yous to… to…” She fell back down again with a snore. He rubbed his chin with a growl. He didn’t want to deal with this kind of nonsense anymore.

He decided to just walk in the opposite direction of Trixie. He got what he came here for and there was no longer any reason to stay in this forest any longer. He really shouldn’t care either way, but… He looked back at her, seeing her all defenseless and asleep. He looked up at the sky.

“Even if I’m to show sympathy for her… what am I supposed to do? Take her back to town? A lot of ponies are going to be angry if I do that, but…” He looked back at Trixie. “What’s the right thing to do?

He was conflicted but fate decided to lend a help hand, if you could call it that. A couple of beastly growls resonated from the bushes Trixie came out of. Naruto kept his guard up as the sources of the noise stepped out into the small clearing, teeth bared.

“Three wolves… Oh crud…” Naruto took a step back from the wolves, but a snore reminded him that Trixie was still here and completely defenseless. In the darker side of his mind, he could leave Trixie here and let the wolves feed on her while he escaped. He squashed that thought as soon as it came up. Nopony was going to die when he could do something about it. Even if it was Trixie.

The decision was obvious.

He stepped forward towards the wolves and cracked his neck left and right, with a grin on his face.

“Looks like I’ll be howling on wolf meat tonight!”

*****

CH26: Wolfy You So Fine (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

Working on the Farm and Fighting for your Life

Must Everything be Filled with Such Stressing Strife?

A Life Saved, Albeit Reluctantly

Shows Her True Feelings Rather Conveniently

*****

Chapter 26: Wolfy You So Fine

“Wow, for ah look alike, you sure got one hay of a kick!”

“Heh, what can I say, I’m the same as the boss in every way!”

It didn’t take long for Naruto’s clone to arrive on the farm. When it did, he brought Applejack up to speed on what happened earlier in the morning and why he was here in place of the real Naruto. Frankly, Applejack recalled the stunt Naruto pulled during Trixie’s show, but the whole ‘how’ matter confused her to no end.

Regardless, she let the matter go, seeing no inkling of a lie in the clone’s story or tone of voice. Frankly, she still had an able worker ready to go so it was no apples off her tree whether or not the real Naruto was here. Then again, it was Naruto who was here but not really here. The more she kept trying to think it through, the more confusing it seemed to get.

Despite the confusion, they were still bucking apple trees like a well-oiled machine: Quickly and efficiently. They were well on their way to filling up the first wagon and only an hour had passed.

*****

With most of the trees bucked, Applejack called for a break, taking a seat underneath a freshly harvested tree before motioning for the clone to do the same. The clone leaned back onto the trunk, looking up at the swaying leaves while Applejack just looked at him with a smile.

“It’s only been a day, and you’re as quick as a tumbleweed in a dust storm.” Applejack mused. It earned her a smile from the clone.

“I’m a fast learner, Applejack. Couple more hours and I’ll have bucked all these trees by myself!”

“Whoa now, don’t get too over-confident, ya’ hear? I’ve seen how tired ya get from bucking a single row.”

“You kidding? I could buck over a hundred rows if I had to and not even break a sweat!” He said with a chuckle. Applejack merely sighed as she laid her head on her crisscrossed forelegs, taking in the view of an orchard devoid of apples for once.

“Sis!”, came a cheery voice in the direction of the house, ”Big Mac is up, Big Mac is up!”

A small yellow pony with a red mane and a southern accent rivaling Applejack’s came running into view. Applejack immediately sat up and looked at her with a shocked expression. The clone couldn’t help but tap his hoof on his chin. He swore he had seen her before but it just wasn’t clicking in his head. She certainly looked familiar.

“Big Mac is up? Are you sure Applebloom?” Applejack asked quickly.

“Applebloom?” The clone shot up onto his hooves and looked at the small pony carefully. His eyes lit up in realization. “You’re that pony I saved the other day!”

Applebloom looked up at the source of the voice and went wide-eyed in gleeful surprise.

“Oh! You’re the mister who saved me from the pond!” Applebloom shouted happily. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m helping your sister out. She told me about the situation with Big Mac, so…”

“Wow, you’re really kind to be helping my sister like that!”

The clone couldn’t help but chuckle from Applebloom’s praise. “Yeah, well…”

“Don’t kid yerself Naruto, clone… um, thingy.” Applejack tried to say, not knowing how to address the clone. “You saved mah sister, it’s only natural. Hey now, ah have an idea! Why don’t you swing on by later tonight for an Apple family dinner? I didn’t get a chance to properly thank ya for saving Applebloom after all.” She asked with a sincere smile.

“Dinner? Me? Really?” The clone didn’t know what to say. It would give him a chance to properly acquaint himself with Applejack’s family... that and who could say no to free, homemade food? Beats eating just plain apples day in and day out. The clone nodded his head rapidly. “I’m in!”

“Glad to hear it Naruto!” Applejack said with a smile.

*****

After a quick visit to Big Mac, the clone left the apple family residence thirty-five bits richer and thinking about the upcoming feast. He could picture it now; home-made cooking covering a table completely filled with apple-related foods. He face-hoofed. Was there any place he could go that wasn’t Pinkie’s to escape that blasted fruit?

With a sigh, he began the trek back to the mansion. The clone could have just dispelled himself instead of walk back but his hard earned bits wouldn’t go with him.

As he entered the house, he noticed that the door was widely ajar. This earned a raised brow from the clone.

“The boss really needs to lock his door more often,” the clone muttered. Fearing that it might be Blackie ransacking the house, he stood on his guard, nudging open the door and cautiously stepping inside. His eyes darted about the room, looking for any inconsistency that would shed light on who was inside. Thankfully, everything seemed to be where the boss had left it... which wasn’t really saying much as he lacked a lot in the personal belonging’s department at the moment. The only other places a pony could be would either be the kitchen or his bedroom-

Muffled hoof-steps broke his train of thought, originating from somewhere to his right. The door to the boss’s room was also slightly ajar, much like the front.

“The boss’s room?” He muttered. They sounded light for hoof falls which ruled out any big stallions like Blackie. Then who would break in?

“Naruto? Are you here? Ohhh where is that insufferable-?”

It was Twilight’s voice. Before he could call out to her, the door was surrounded in a purple aura and swung open fully, revealing the purple unicorn mare. “Naruto, I’ve been looking all over for you!” Twilight exclaimed upon seeing him standing there.

“Er, you have?” The clone hesitated.

“Yes, who else do I know that can scream like you? I heard that from my house for Celestia’s sake! I was worried sick when I couldn’t find you.”

“Oh, er, that, hehe. I just had a rather surprising morning, that’s all.”

“And what was so surprising that it warranted a town-wide scream?” chirped Twilight.

“Pinkie Pie decided to pop in for a visit this morning… more or less.”

“More or less? Did she do something that freaked you out or something?” She questioned.

“More or less…”

“Somepony is being quite vague this morning.” Twilight said suspiciously, eyeing him up and down.

“Look, she just freaked me out this morning, alright?” relented Naruto,”I was asleep, and she decided to wake me up in the most awkward way imaginable.”

“Wait, she broke into your house!?”

“No, apparently my door wasn’t locked. Look, it’s a long story and I’d rather not delve into the details at the moment. Long story short, the boss was fine with it so leave it at that.

“Whew… that’s a relie—wait…” She paused, her tone of voice changing from concern to suspicion instantly.

“The boss?”

“Yeah, I’m just a clone. The boss is off doing an errand right now,” he replied nonchalantly.

“What kind of errand?”

The clone opened his mouth, about to divulge the boss’ errands before clamping his muzzle shut with both fore-hooves.

Oh crud. I forgot; Twilight doesn’t approve of the boss going in to the Everfree Forest. If I tell her where he is right now—well, I need to keep my mouth shut.

“An errand for Pinkie Pie.” The clone said quickly.

“Not the answer I was looking for.”

“Er, well…”

Twilight stared harshly at the clone, wondering what kind of errand Naruto could be on to warrant such secrecy. The shadow clone felt a bead of sweat leave his forehead and streak down his neck. He couldn’t keep up this charade for much longer.

“For the last time, he’s on an errand! Y’know, the kind where a pony goes out and gets something done? Pinkie Pie asked him to get her a mushroom this morning, that’s all.”

“A mushroom?”

“Yeah, a red cap with white dots on it. No big deal, right?”

“Hmm… well I suppose no—wait a minute…” Twilight was about to agree with him again but stopped herself this time. Something was off. Gathering her thoughts for a few seconds, she immediately went wide-eyed. She herself went looking for that mushroom and the only place it grew in was in the Everfree Forest.

“No, she did not just give you that task.”

“Huh?” Now the clone was confused. Her horn lit up and with a bright flash, she teleported in front of Naruto, the space of an inch separating their noses.

“She didn’t send Naruto to get that Party Mushroom did she!?”

“Urk, w-well, uh… Maybe it was a different mushroom? Yeah, that’s right…”, replied the clone hopefully. Her unchanged facial expression proved otherwise.

“No, Pinkie Pie gave you a job to do, involving a red capped mushroom with white dots. I remember now… She gave me that same job a week ago and now she asked your ‘boss’ right!?”

“I uh…” The clone was running out of excuses now. He had been backing up from her, trying to break away from her oppressive stance, but with every step he took, she did the same. His flank thumped against something hard and a with a quick glance, found it to be the corner of the room. He was backed into a corner, both literally and figuratively. There wasn’t much choice but to come clean. He slumped his head and sighed in defeat.

“Yeah, he’s after the party mushroom, but please don’t go after him…” He said weakly.

“Are you kidding!? Of course I’m going in after him!” Twilight snapped back, already turning towards the door.

“W-wait Twilight, don’t go! It’s too dangerous!” She ignored what the clone said and dashed out the door. The clone sighed as he held his head, feeling a headache coming on.

“The boss is not going to like this…” After placing the bag of bits down on the bed, he head-butted the wall and went up in a cloud of white smoke.

*****

The black wolf shot forward like a bullet at Naruto, fangs bared and claws ready to rip into his flesh. Quickly, he dashed to his side, letting the wolf sail right past him before whipping his tails around and slamming them against the already airborne wolf. The wolf howled painfully as it flew off into the nearby bushes.

“Tch, c’mon, I expected a challenge from you furries!” He taunted.

He eyed the other two wolves carefully. One of them was a normal wolf with grey fur, but the other one was completely different. Where there should have been fur was wood, cracked and chipped just like on the trunks on the surrounding trees. Whenever it moved, it emitted a creaking sound similar to wood on wood. He never saw anything like it, and he couldn’t tell if that wolf was made out of tree bark, or just a freak of nature especially with its’ glowing yellow eyes.

The grey wolf made the first move, dashing forward before leaping at Naruto much like the previous contender. ‘Predictable wolves are predictable’, thought Naruto as he prepared to dispatch the attacker.

Naruto jumped and landed on the wolf’s back, anchoring himself down with his tails and grasping each side of its head with his hooves. A quick jerking motion was followed by a bone breaking crack. The lifeless wolf landed on the ground in a mangled heap with the blonde pony still riding on top. He placed a hoof on the wolf’s body, proclaiming his dominance to the wooden wolf.

“Wanna come at me or do you wanna run away and live to take a whiz on another tree?”

The wooden wolf placed a paw forward, growling its’ challenge to the pony in front of him. Naruto cracked his neck from left and right, limbering up for what he hoped would be a good fight.

“Fine by me,” Naruto muttered.

Rustling bushes betrayed another contender from behind him which was soon followed by a loud growl. He averted his eyes to find the first wolf emerging from the bush he threw it in. The grey wolf’s growls were soon followed by the wooden wolf’s. They both leapt at the same time, their intended target the blonde-maned pony between them.

‘A pincer attack!’ thought Naruto.

With the wolves quickly closing in, he waited until the last possible second before launching himself up into the canopy. With their target out of the way, the only thing left to break their pounce was each other. They collided in a sickening thud of wood on flesh and bone before falling to the ground.

The black wolf’s skull shattered upon impact with the wooden wolf’s head. The wooden wolf growled as its’ wooden skin or whatever that exoskeleton was protected it from any serious damage. Naruto furrowed his brows as he looked at them from his perch on a tree branch.

“You’re a feisty one, aren’t you? I’ve never seen a wolf made of wood such as you… And the way you took the impact of that headbutt. Very impressive…”

The wolf just snapped his teeth at Naruto in response. Naruto just growled as he couldn’t get a positive response from it. He propelled himself off the tree branch at the wolf. Using his tails, he spun around before wrapping them around the wolf’s neck. He used his momentum to send it flying into a rather hard looking tree. Splinters and pieces of bark flew off the wolf’s face, flying in random directions.

Naruto flicked his tails on the ground, giving them a look over to make sure they weren’t damaged or bruised in anyway. Surprisingly, they looked prefect even after that little tussle with Mother Nature and its’ predators. He looked over at the wood wolf to find that it wasn’t moving. With a sigh of relief, he sat down and took a small breather.

“Whew, I’m getting better at fighting, thanks to the tails at least.”

Seeing as how all the wolves were now disposed of, he looked over as where Trixie lay. A loud rattling snore was proof enough that she hadn’t been injured during the fight and that she was still deep in her drunken nap.

“Now what am I going to do with you...” It was obvious that she was in no condition to defend herself and if he did leave her here, she wouldn’t last long. So he decided to play the part of the good Samaritan.

“Guess I’m taking you into town with—urk!?” Suddenly, a sharp pressure radiated out from inside his head. He held his head as he slumped down onto the ground, trying to fight off the unknown pain as best he could. He could feel his grasp on his surroundings starting to slip as they were replaced with flashbacks of memories that were most definitely not his.

“Wow, for ah look alike, you sure got one hay of a kick!”

“Sis! Big Mac is up, Big Mac is up!”

“You’re that pony I saved the other day!”

“Dinner? Me? Really?”

“No, Pinkie Pie gave you a job to do, involving a red capped mushroom with white dots. I remember now… She gave me that same job a week ago and now she asked your ‘boss’ right!?”

“The boss is not going to like this…”

After that had passed, his brain felt like it had been bludgeoned with a hammer multiple times before being pummeled back into his skull. His face brimmed with sweat, trying to resist the urge to throw up as he tried to stand back up.

“Urgh, what the heck was that? Why am I— wait, the farm, dinner, Twilight. These aren’t my memories! Wait... these are my clone’s memories?” He closed his eyes to sort out the memories in his head. He dove into each one, now understanding what had happened to the clone since he sent him to the farm this morning. The big question now was how in the world this was happening.

“So my clone did its job, it ran into Twilight, and now she—oh crap. She knows where I am.” He was still a bit addled on how this was possible, but he didn’t want to stick around while she was on her way here. Looking at Trixie and the wood wolf, he just sighed.

“Guess I’ll bring back a souvenir with me.”

*****

After summoning a clone to pick up the wood wolf, he placed Trixie on his back and proceeded towards the path that led back to Ponyville. He tapped his pocket to make sure he hadn’t lost the fungus during the fight. The slight bulge in his pocket was a welcome resistance as he stepped through the underbrush and onto the path. His thoughts began to creep up on him as he walked down the path towards the exit.

What are the odds of finding fish here in this world? So there’s definitely edible meat around here that I can hunt for if I ever so choose. Yet another reason to visit the Everfree every now and then. Now that I think about it, some of the ponies at the market a couple days ago shooed me away for even mentioning meat. I wonder why?

I also need to figure out why Trixie was in the Everfree to begin with. She should have known that it’s dangerous to even be there. Then again, she’s not from around here, so maybe she wasn’t aware of the dangers? Still doesn’t explain why she was completely smashed.

That wood wolf takes the cake though. I’ve never seen anything like it before. A wolf, made of tree and bark? It’s unheard of. Might be worth examining it more closely at my house.

What about the clone’s memories? How did they transfer over to me? Is it because it dispelled itself and transferred what it experienced to me? It’s worth experimenting on if that’s the case. I never knew my clones could actually do that. Then again, they never really lasted that long during combat..

As his thoughts wandered about, he reached the exit of the Everfree Forest, smiling at the sun shining on his face. However, his smile quickly turned south as Twilight comes into view further down the road, gasping for air. Beads of sweat were on her face, inhaling and exhaling as she walked—more like stomped, actually—towards Naruto.

“Na-Ru-To…!” She exclaimed, anger dripping off each syllable. Both Narutos involuntarily took a step back from the sheer intensity of her voice.

“Er, boss? I think we should run while we still have the chance...” His clone whispered into his ear. Naruto shook his head before taking a step forward with a nervous smile.

“Hey Twilight, what’s up? Beautiful day isn’t--” He was interrupted as his shoulder was occupied by Twilight’s hoof. She opened her mouth, ready to let loose a slew of angry words, when her eyes caught sight of the pony on his back. How she didn’t realize it sooner is anyponies guess. She pointed the hoof on his shoulder at the sleeping azure unicorn.

“What in Equestria…? Is that Trixie on your back?” Naruto nodded, shifting the mare on his back to a more comfortable position. Her eyes wandered over to the clone’s back and gasped, jumping behind Naruto. “And is that a Timberwolf too!?”

“So that’s what they’re called! I tell you, those things are durable bastards, much more than a normal wolf. This thing and a group of other wolves were about to chomp down on Trixie here.”

“But… but what was she doing in the forest? And why are you carrying a Timberwolf on your back in the first place!? Just why did you--” She was about to ask another question before Naruto placed a hoof on her lips and shook his head.

Naruto looked back at Trixie, and then back at Twilight. “I’ll tell you when we get home. I’m sure you need an explanation after all…”

*****

The small hike back to Naruto’s house was thankfully uneventful, save for Twilight’s constant badgering about what happened in there. When they did manage to get to Naruto’s house, he placed the sleeping drunk on his couch and the Timberwolf’s body in the corner. The clone dispelled itself shortly afterwards, its task completed.

Naruto took a seat on the wood floor and gave a small sigh. He looked up at Twilight who was still standing up. Her face was somehow portraying bewilderment, confusion, anger, and curiosity all in one go. He brought Twilight up to speed on everything that happened from when he woke up to leaving the Everfree Forest. He didn’t know why he was telling her this either. To say Twilight was angry is an understatement, but she managed to not wail on him even though she oh so wanted to. She took a deep breath and sighed, visibly calming down.

“Naruto, you shouldn’t have gone into that forest again. You of all ponies should know how dangerous it is.”

“That’s just it: I was told it wasn’t dangerous during the mornings. I guess Pinkie was wrong. But hey, I managed to find out some new things at least!” Naruto exclaimed.

“Which is?” Twilight curiously asked, her inner student getting the best of her anger momentarily..

“Because there’s fish here, all the fish I can eat!” He said in glee.

Silence followed Naruto’s revelation. Twilight just looked at him with a look that clearly said ‘Are you kidding me?’

“…How is that an accomplishment?” Twilight deadpanned.

“Huh?” Twilight sighed.

“Some ponies and animals around here have a taste for fish; I’ve even seen Fluttershy feed some to her animals sometimes.”

“Well… It’s just I haven’t had any for such a long time. I was beginning to get sick of eating apples all the time,” he said quietly.

“Why didn’t you just find something else to eat if you don’t like--” Twilight just shook her head. “Ugh, we’re getting off topic here Naruto. I’m not here to discuss food with you. What else did you discover?”

“I discovered there’s alcohol here too,” added Naruto.

Twilight facehoofed. The lack of knowledge that the pony in front of her lacked was astounding on so many different levels that it almost rivaled Pinkie Pie. Almost.

“Naruto, did you come from a different planet or something? Equestria always had alcohol. You don’t always see it in public, but we still have it. We do have grapes here in Equestria after all.”

“I never knew an apple drink could have alcohol in it too…” muttered Naruto.

“Apple drink?”

“Something called ‘Apple Cider’. I saw Trixie chugging some down in the forest.”

“That reminds me Naruto, why was Trixie in the forest anyway... and drunk too?”

Naruto took a look at Trixie on the couch, her snores breaking the silence rather noticeably. Its a wonder she wasn’t waking herself up with snoring like that.

“That’s what I want to find out when she wakes up. So until she sobers up, your guess is as good as any.”

“Naruto.” Twilight said in a firm voice. “What are you planning by bringing her here anyway? She may have just been a show off, but she caused a good amount of trouble and damage to the town when she was here.

“I wonder that myself sometimes…” pondered Naruto.

“You don’t even know why you brought her here?”

“It’s better than leaving her in that forest for the predators to lash out on her. Did you want me to leave her back there like this!?” he snapped back.

“No, of course not! I didn’t mean it like that Naruto.” She turned her head away and took a breath. ”I just mean you need to be more careful. Do you know how worried I get when you go off on your own like that?”

“At least it was worthwhile. I saved another pony! Heh heh.” He said with a chuckle. Twilight wasn’t however.

“Anyway, why bring that Timberwolf here anyway? Fluttershy’s going to throw a fit if she finds out you have one in here.”

“I’ve never seen a wolf covered in wood before, so I figured I’d take a closer look at it, and see if it’s edible.”

Twilight blinked. She rubbed her ears, thinking she misheard him.

“I’m sorry, what was that last part?” She said nervously. Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

“Huh? I said I was going to check if it’s edible. When something is as hard and tough as that, it’s gotta have some good meat inside!”

Twilight didn’t know how to respond. Her face contorted in a multiple range of emotions: Disgust, fear, and even confusion. She took a small step back.

“I… really hope that was a bad joke Naruto.”

“Why would it be a joke?”

She held her tongue, instead choosing to give him a cold hard stare. He stared back, blinking every now and then without any hesitation whatsoever. He was serious.

“Naruto… you do realize that ponies don’t eat meat from animals?”

“They don’t? But what about the fish then?” Naruto asked, confused.

“That’s different. Fish are a sustenance from the sea, I'd go into long and complicated details about it, but that's not the point. The point is, what you’re saying to me right now, is that you plan to eat that sentient animal?”

“Sheesh, now you’re acting like that Fluttershy pony… What’s so bad about eating a wolf? Also, intelligent? You’ve got to be kidding… The first thing that they did was try to make me into their next meal!” Naruto countered.

“That still doesn’t make it right to eat it, Naruto. It’s considered cannibalism around here and ponies won’t take too kindly to it!” She countered back.

Naruto merely sighed as he shook his head. “Fine,” He said with a shrug. “I won’t eat it, since it’s such a sin around here.”

“Thank you…”

“I’ll eat it in secret…” he muttered.

“What was that?”

“I said I’m a bit peeved by it though,” He lied.

Twilight sighed at his answer but then went wide-eyed. Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

“What? Just because I’m peeved at something doesn’t mean you should give me that look.” She continued staring at Naruto, with a quivering lip. He just furrowed his brow and sighed, not noticing something breathing down his neck.

“Look, I said I won’t eat it, alright? Stop giving me that puppy dog-eyed look. Hm?” That’s when he felt something wet hit his shoulder. He placed a hoof on it and pulled it back, a sticky tendril of drool stretching between the two. Twilight pointed a hoof behind Naruto in fear.

“N-Naruto, behind you!”

Shit!

Out of instinct, he immediately leaned his head to the right, avoiding a nasty chomp that could have landed on his head. He turned around to see the Timberwolf, no longer dead but very much alive and very pissed off. Out of reaction, he punched the wolf in the face hard, yelping as it backed away. Naruto waved his hoof. He was right. It had a ridiculously hard head.

“Damn, you bastards are tough… Is that how you treat ponies that bring you into their home!? You’re a guest, dammit! Act like one!” Naruto mocked.

The wolf merely growled in response. Naruto sighed angrily.

“Fine, you want it translated in your language? Here then: Woof woof wha woofey woof woof. There, you satisfied?”

“Naruto, this is no time to be fooling around! You need to get rid of that thing!”

“Why not? I’m having fun!”

“You call danger fun!? Watch it!” She shouted, pointing a hoof at the wolf.

The wolf pounced on Naruto while the two of them bickered, but Naruto rolled onto his back and propelled the wolf over him with his hooves. Before it sailed complete past him, his tails snaked around its neck, effectively choking him. The wolf snapped backwards from the momentum of his leap and Naruto’s taught tails, landing hard on the floor with a yelp. The wolf snarled, twisting and turning in Naruto’s hold in its attempt at breaking free. As time passed, its thrashing and movement began to lessen to the point where it no longer moved. When Naruto let go, it slumped back down onto the floor.

“Now, as I was saying Twilight…” He said while turning around, as if nothing had happened. “I won’t eat it.”

“You killed it Naruto!” shouted a distraught purple unicorn.

“Wrong. I thought I killed it earlier but then it sprung back to life like it was a zombie. So then I decided to just choke it to unconsciousness. It’s merely asleep now.”

“Huh?”

“You said it yourself: If these things are sentient creatures, then I guess it wouldn’t be right to kill it, right?” Although I’ll have to eat it when I have the chance…

“I, well… I didn’t expect you to change your mind so quickly,” explained a rather shocked Twilight. One second he wanted to eat it and the next he was all for not eating it.

‘What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her’, thought a smug blonde pony.

“Can someone tell Trixie what the racket i—Agh… My head…!”

Naruto and Twilight froze in place. They slowly turned their heads towards the couch to find the once snoring pony awake and slowly getting up.

*****

Trixie looked at her surroundings. No longer was she in that blasted forest but inside a house of some sort. Her head was thumping out a painful rhythm further intensified by the light in the room. She looked to be in a fairly large room lying on what felt like a couch. She cursed under her breath.

Where am I? What is this place? Last I remember I was in my tent drinking a fine bottle of hard cider and—urgh…

She held her head in agony. It hurt to think, and everything else she could recall was a fuzzy mess.

How did I get here though? It’s a bit of a dump, but it doesn’t explain why I’m not in the forest.

She weakly got off the couch and onto her hooves. Almost immediately, nausea hit her in full, and she had to fight back to the urge to puke. Her limbs felt like gelatin and combined with her headache, she felt like crap. Not the best way to wake up.

She took a quick glance around the room. Thankfully, it seemed she was alone at the moment. At least nopony would see the Great and Powerful Trixie in this-

“Hey there Trixie, feeling better?”

She stood there, paralyzed. That energetic voice struck a chord deep inside her. It belonged to that pony that saved her all those days ago. She slowly turned her head towards the voice to find the blonde, clad with his jacket. On his forehead, that stupid metal headband that was bending light directly at her eyes.

“You… You’re that blonde!” She turned her head to see somepony else beside him. At first, it was a fuzzy blotch of purple but it cleared up quickly. It was that lavender unicorn that showed her up and stole her spotlight. Her frown was soon joined by an angry glare.

“You’re… You’re that bitch that—argh!” She kneeled down, holding her head in agony.

*****

CH27: New Party Members Pt. 1 (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

Proofreaders: Meeester

*****

A Sleeping Drunken Mare

Awoken Rudely, Who Would Dare?

Fox, Wolf, and Ponies shall partake

In the confectionery blessing known as cake

*****

Chapter 27: New Party Members Pt. 1

He could already tell this wasn’t going to end well. She seemed rather happy when she saw Naruto, but when she caught sight of Twilight…

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, Naruto,” whispered Twilight. ”She looks pretty mad.”

“She’s in pain too, don’t forget that. It’s better than leaving her in the forest in this state.”

“What is the meaning of this!?” Trixie shouted, only to hold her head as the pounding headache repeatedly reminded her she was in no condition to be raising her voice. She opted for a small whisper, which thankfully didn’t aggravate her headache. “Did you kidnap Trixie? I bet that purple bitch wants to show off her powers even more!”

Twilight stared at her incredulously. “For what reason would I do that Trixie? You know full well that it wasn’t for the sake of showing off, but to save the town.”

“And you blondie, you had to get in Trixie’s way and ruin her stunning reputation as well!” Trixie continued, not even acknowledging that the lavender mare had spoken.

“Says the mare who was crying and begging for help…” Naruto countered.

“Y-yes, well… Trixie is… um…” She didn’t know how to come back from that, seeing as it was entirely true. She just went ‘hmph’ and stuck her nose in the air.

Naruto and Twilight looked at each other, rolling their eyes simultaneously at the fact that she hadn’t changed a bit despite the Ursa incident. Naruto merely sighed as he looked at Trixie.

“Trixie, in case you didn’t know, I found you in the Everfree Forest... about to be eaten alive.”

Trixie froze, her stubbornness falling apart momentarily before it returned in full force. She lunged at Naruto, grasping his shoulders in her hooves and shaking him left and right.

“You kidnapped Trixie from the Everfree Forest!? How dare you! Wait until Trixie gets her hooves on you—“

“Urgh, your hooves are already on me!” shouted Naruto.

“Shut up you twit! You shouldn’t have kidnapped me in the first place!”

“In case you’ve forgotten, you were almost eaten alive!”

Trixie stopped shaking Naruto. She stared at him dead in the eye, looking for any sign of hesitation. “What are you talking about?”

“Apparently, you were too drunk to remember, but you were about to be a full course meal for a pack of wolves. I saved your flank when you oh-so-graciously passed out. You’re lucky I had business in the Everfree Forest, or else you wouldn’t even be here right now.”

Trixie blinked a couple of times, still trying to find proof that he was deceiving her. However, everything pointed out that he was indeed being truthful. In the end, she turned around with yet another ‘harumph’ and stuck her nose up in the air.

“I don’t believe you,” she quipped.

“How about you ask ol’ Woody over in the corner then, hmm?” shot back Naruto with a grin.

She looked over to the corner, the massive bundle of bark that was the Timberwolf occupying most of it. She went wide-eyed and opened her mouth to speak, nothing coming out. Then she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Naruto and Twilight covered their ears from the high-pitched scream. The only thing Twilight could think of was that her scream rivaled Naruto’s. Luckily, no windows broke this time and the wolf was thankfully still knocked out. Trixie quickly backed away into another corner of the house as she tried to process how they even managed to subdue such a monster. She pointed a hoof at it as her teeth chattered.

“Wha… what is that Timberwolf doing here!? Why is it in this house!? Have you lost your mind!? That thing is going to e-eat Trixie!”

“Would you calm down, Trixie. It’s not even awake,” said Naruto, jabbing at it with his hoof. “This one was with a pack of normal wolves and was, like I said, about to tear you limb from limb.”

“But why bring that thing HERE!?”

“Simple, I was going to ea—“ Naruto stopped himself mid-sentence when he looked at Twilight. She was giving him that scrupulous stare, complete with twitching eyebrow. He stumbled with his words until he reached more convincing ones.

“Er, I mean examine it. I’ve never seen such a creature before, so I brought it back here, along with you.”

“Y-you’re going to feed Trixie to that animal!” she concluded dismally.

Naruto facehoofed. “Are you serious!? Why would I save you from being eaten alive if I was going to feed you to a wolf later? Think about it!”

Trixie didn’t know what to say. Her gaze shifted towards the floor, and then back at Naruto, trying to find truth in Naruto’s words. Eventually, she just sighed.

“Why save Trixie though?” Trixie asked in a hushed tone.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Naruto asked.

“Why save somepony that brought nothing but harm to the town? Trixie isn’t worth your time.”

“Everypony is worth my time… well, except for a certain black unicorn, but still! You were in danger, and I never leave anyone defenseless. In fact, there’s something I need to ask you.”

“What?”

“Why were you in the Everfree Forest and drunk to boot? That forest is dangerous, and you should have known better.”

“Trixie wasn’t aware that stupid forest had carnivorous wolves in it!” snapped the unicorn. “That place was supposed to be my temporary home!”

“Your temporary home?” Naruto and Twilight looked at each other in confusion. Naruto stepped a little closer to Trixie. “What do you mean ‘temporary home’? Don’t you have a home in this… Hoofingeiger or something?”

“It’s Hoofington you dolt! And…” Her demeanor went from anger to depression instantly.

“…Trixie doesn’t really have a home to return to. Hoofington is my hometown, yes, but Trixie cannot afford a home.” she said, absentmindedly digging an imaginary groove into the wooden floor. ”I live on the road, in my former caravan as a travelling performer. Now that Trixie’s caravan is destroyed, her money gone, and her reputation destroyed... Where else could she possibly go?”

Naruto honestly was at a loss for words. A mare with no home to return to and no money to support herself? Naruto tapped his chin a couple times, pondering how to respond in a situation like this. Trixie continued looking down at the floor despondantly.

“And with no money,” she continued sadly, ”Trixie has no way of travelling or eating. Those cider bottles were the only thing she could salvage from her wagon. They were her celebratory drink after accomplishing the performance at Ponyville.” Trixie stifled a giggle. “Heh, this is the definition of irony. The spoils of victory ending up being the cause of her final downfall. Go ahead, laugh. Laugh at the show mare, and laugh at the pitiful star that had fallen from the spotlight and into a miserable hell.”

Naruto merely shook his head in response.

“Why would we laugh at you?” quietly asked Twilight. She could tell that Trixie was vulnerable at the moment. A few wrong words and she might spiral deeper into despair.

“Why shouldn’t you?”

“Because I don’t see this as a laughing matter.” Naruto added. “You were lost, you had a hangover, and that forest almost became your grave, but I don’t see why you would go this far. I’m not an expert on magic, but I can tell that you have a lot of talent, Trixie. Lightning bolts, illusions, telekinesis… It would be a waste to see you die despite the potential you have.”

“Naruto’s right. You shouldn’t give up after an event like that,” consoled Twilight, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder, “And although I’m still a bit mad at how you treated the town…” Twilight trailed off, trying to find the right words to say to her without having her pissed off.

“Well, I’m willing to forgive you.” Twilight ended.

Silence fell as Trixie looked at the two ponies standing before her, willing to forgive her previous misdeeds and let bygones be bygones. She had lost everything on that fateful night, and they were willing to help her out. She looked at the hoof on her shoulder thoughtfully before it turned into a pout. With her hoof, she smacked the consoling purple hoof away.

“Tch, I don’t need your forgiveness. I just want to be left alone.” Trixie said.

“First you ask us to laugh at you and then you want to be left alone. You sure have some weird mood swings, Trixie.” Naruto pointed out.

“Bah, who needs you anyway!?” She immediately stood up but fell over momentarily afterwards. She was still wobbly from her hangover, and being weak wasn’t helping her cause. She lightly pounded her hoof on the floor, clearly frustrated at her physical state.

“Urgh… This is humiliating.”

Naruto merely sighed at the spectacle. “Twilight, give me a hoof and put her on the couch.”

Twilight nodded as Naruto went on one end of Trixie and Twilight on the other. Trixie weakly fought back, something about how they should unhoof her at once, but with her current strength, it was more like a pathetic wiggle.

They brought her back to the couch to lay down, Trixie now mumbling something about how they’re a bunch of idiots. In reality, she was rather tired, and that nasty headache was still chipping away at her head. She looked at them rebelliously for a moment before burying her face into a cushion on the couch.

Naruto waited a moment longer before walking out the front door of his house and into the sunlight. Twilight, still confused at the proceedings, followed him out. He took a look up at the clear, blue sky and sighed.

“This is a fine noodle of a mess I’m in…”

“You mean we’re in.”

Naruto just stood there in silence for a few seconds, wondering what course of action to take.

No home to return to, huh… similar to my situation. I’m dead in my own world, and I have no way of going back. She’s almost like me. He thought.

“What are you going to do with her?”

“I’ll let her rest for a while. Then I’ll just go from there.” he turned to face Twilight. ”For now, you should head home. It’s been a long day, I’m sure.”

“Oh no, you’re not getting rid of me that easily. I want to help.” She pleaded.

“Trixie is still sore with you Twilight. I wouldn’t want to risk pissing her off any—“

“Language, Naruto…” scolded Twilight.

“Sorry, can’t help it.” he shrugged. “Anyway, I don’t want to anger her further, and with you here, it probably will. When she calms down, then you can help but trust me. I’ll take care of it, alright?”

“If you say so Naruto, but let me know if you need help, alright?”

“Of course.” he nodded.

“And don’t you go near the Everfree Forest again!” she said, already trotting away from the house.

“No promises, Twilight.” He chuckled.

*****

After Twilight had left his house, he went back inside to see that Trixie was sound asleep. After all that, he’d be surprised if she wasn’t.

Now he needed to figure out what he was going to do with her, including the Timberwolf. Speaking of which, he still needed to see if it was edible. Peeking out the front door to see if anypony was around, he slammed it shut.

Naruto stopped for a moment, hooves poised over the lock . He placed a hoof in his pocket to see that he still had the Party Mushroom, and sighed. He crossed his tails to summon a shadow clone and in a cloud of smoke, it appeared. He tossed it to the clone, telling him to get it delivered to Pinkie Pie and pick up the payment.

After the clone gave a salute, it dashed out the door and off into the distance with ninja-like speed towards Sugarcube Corner. He couldn’t help but smile.

This is going to make jobs so much easier…

He closed and locked the door again. Making sure Trixie was still asleep, he picked up the unconscious Timberwolf with his tails. It was rather heavy and awkward to hold, but thankfully it fit through the narrow doorway into the kitchen.

He placed it on the floor, and looked around the kitchen, hoping that Gary had left behind cooking utensils and pots. The egg that he left on the counter earlier caught his eye again.

He scratched his head in confusion.

“I really need to figure out what’s with this stupid egg. Maybe I can make a really big omelet with it?” He said out loud. “Still, maybe I should ask Gary about it? It was in his house after all, and he used to live here… maybe he left it here by accident?”

A rather disturbing growl coming from somewhere. He looked down at his stomach and patted it.

“Hungry again huh? And I thought that fish was enough.” The growls were audible once more, this time with a more aggressive rumble. He frowned at his stomach, as if it was begging for food. “You had fish damn it! What else do you want from me!?”

The growls grew even louder and more disturbing. That’s when it clicked. He turned around to have his vision filled with bark and fangs. The Timberwolf was awake, and it wasn’t angry. It was pissed. Naruto suddenly found himself holding the wolf at bay with his hooves and tails. The wolf’s mouth leaked saliva as it dripped onto Naruto’s face.

“Dammit, you suck at playing dead!”

*****

“Hmm?”

Back in Princess’s lair, in which she was laying on her soft cushion, she felt a slight tremor. Assuming something was going on with Naruto, she waved a paw and a bright hole the size of a pony materialized before her. The wooden wolf that Naruto had fought before was there, viciously snapping his jaws as Naruto fought to keep it back. She tapped her chin with a paw, utterly fascinated at the beast before her.

“Amazing. That Timberwolf is quite durable… Smashed into by a wolf, slammed into a tree, choked into unconsciousness, and it’s not even bruised... I think. He’d make a spectacular ally.” She merely sighed at her own response, however. “However, it’s a shame that it only listens to its animal instincts…”

She walked off her cushion, stepping closer to the bright hole, and placed a tail on it. She grinned devilishly.

“What if I gave it intelligence? Or perhaps I could rob it of its free will and turn it into my obedient slave. Both sound rather nice…”

Princess looked up at the distant ceiling, devoid of any color or defining physical qualities, before shaking her head.

“Nah… Too cliché.”

*****

“Urgh, you darn dirty mutt, get off me already!”

As Naruto fought to keep the wolf at bay, he lost feeling in his tails. In fact, he couldn’t control them at all! The tails wiggled and went berserk as they shot out in random directions, each snaking through the air to the same destination; the Wolf’s forehead. Both Naruto and the wolf stopped for a moment, wondering what this unknown phenomenon was.

In an instant, red chakra burst through his tails and into the wolf’s forehead. The wolf stumbled off of Naruto, holding its head as it writhed in pain, letting out pained growls and yelps. The chakra began to slowly envelop the wolf’s body, starting at his head and moving backward until it encompassed even its tail. Its limbs collapsed underneath him as he succumbed to the chakra ravaging its’ body.

Naruto couldn’t believe his eyes. Was it Princess that did this? Regardless, he couldn’t stand to see the creature tortured like this, especially with that red chakra. Ironic, seeing as moments earlier he wanted to cut it open to eat it.

The beast’s wood color slowly changed from a brown tone to a dull white color, almost to the point of snow-like. All the swirling energy began to drain from the body towards a single point: its forehead. As the last traces of red chakra flowed into that point, it began to rotate, forming a miniature whirlpool. Almost instantly, the chakra exploded out leaving behind a circular swirl similar to the whirlpool that was there before. The symbol dimmed from a bright red light to a subtle glow that you could see if you paid close attention.

The symbol looked very similar to the one on Naruto’s flank, except it didn’t have the extra markings. Seeing the wolf transform from a dark brown to a dull white was rather interesting to say the least.

Just what did Princess do to that thing?

He looked at the wolf for a moment, only to watch as it lifted itself off the floor and onto its own legs. It wasn’t angry anymore, and it certainly didn’t seem hostile. Its glowing yellow eyes were much different than before. They were glazed over when he was face to snout with it but now, they were much more clearer. It looked at its front legs, then its chest, and then the rests of its pale, white body.

The white timberwolf looked up at Naruto and stared at him.

“This one wonders what you have done to it.”

Naruto blinked a couple of times, wondering if his ears had finally betrayed him. He rubbed them, wondering if he was hearing things all of a sudden. He stood there silently, not bothering to answer what he thought he had imagined. Assuming Naruto didn’t hear him, he repeated its statement.

“This one repeats itself, and wants to know what you have done to it.”

His jaw hit the floor.

You’ve got to be kidding me… It’s speaking, it’s actually speaking! Princess, what in ramen’s name did you do to it!? He thought, panicking slightly inside.

The wolf was speaking. He could understand what he was saying. No growls, no barks, not even a howl. To say he was utterly flabbergasted would have been a drastic understatement. Naruto dumbly pointed a hoof at himself.

“Are you… speaking to me?”

“This one is speaking to you.” It said, flicking its timber-like tail around. “Will you not answer this one’s question?”

“I-I don’t know. My tails did something to you, but I-I don’t know what—”

“Interesting. You claim you did something to this one, but you do not know what.”

“’This one?” Naruto asked, catching on to its weird way of addressing itself.

“Yes, you are speaking to this one. You are speaking to no one else. Is there a problem?”

“No, but, geez, this is weird. Where’s Twilight when you actually need her?” he sighed.

“This one does not understand. Who is this ‘Twilight’?”

“Would you stop calling yourself ‘this one’! It’s getting annoying!” shouted Naruto.

“This wolf offends you?”

“No, I mean… argh! You know what, give me a second okay? I need to think this through.”

He didn’t know how to go about talking to the wolf, despite the fact it was actually able to talk. That’s the weird thing though: how was he able to speak to it? He had a feeling it had something to do with Princess. But for what reason? What did the Princess hope to gain by making it actually sentient? It didn’t make sense.

Then again, nothing made sense when it came to Chakra and magic. He was pretty much at his wit’s end whenever he tried to question anything around here anymore. Naruto merely sighed as he looked at the white wolf who sat there patiently. He smacked himself once, hoping that it really was a dream. Sadly, it wasn’t and now his cheek stung.

“What do you remember before you started realizing you could speak my language, wolf?” he said, massaging away the pain.

“This one does not seem to remember much, other than it attacked you. This one assumes it was hungry and desperate. Then, a crumbling darkness as a sea of red enveloped this one, a demonic figure with a gaze so powerful, it melts even the coldest and hardest ice.” he finished with a visible shudder.

“So Princess does have something to do with it…” Naruto mumbled.

“This one wonders who this ‘Princess’ is?”

“Probably the cause of your language and your… transformation.” He concluded. “I don’t know how she did it, but it seems you’re able to speak, and you’re a different color to boot. That little brat confuses me to no end.”

“This one sees… A demonic figure whom is named Princess. I believe this is what you would call ‘Irony’.”

“Irony, really?” questioned a curious Naruto.

“Demons and monsters alike do not wish to be called a Princess, but merely a figure of destruction.” he said in a monotone tone. ”This one thinks such a name is cute, instead of feared.”

“I don’t know why she likes it so much. Probably because—urgh, look at me, I’m talking to a wolf about the nature of irony.” he laughed

“This one does not understand your statement.”

“I’m talking to something that tried to kill me and Trixie! This is so damn weird…”

“Ah, this one believes you mean the Azure horned one? This one watched her for a long time.”

That caught Naruto’s attention.

“Huh?”

“This Azure horned being seemed to be incapable of walking and muttering to herself, always going back into this triangle-like cave and yelling at the brittle barked ones like it was howling at the moon. It was a weird spectacle that this one and its friends found truly disturbing.”

Sounds like she was drunk off her ass and yelling at trees, or yelling at her tent… When you’re drunk, anything could happen.

“It drove this one and its brethren to watch her closely, and then…” The wolf trailed off, muttering to itself. Naruto tilted its head in confusion.

“And then…?”

“This one does not remember. It is a blur.”

“I see… Do you know how long she was in that forest for?”

“This one believes two moons have passed since then.”

“You stalked her for that long?” Naruto asked skeptically

“This one and its kind could not help itself; it is upon instinct and curiosity that brought this one to her.”

“You were planning to eat her.”

The wolf stood there silently, nodding its head. “It is a possibility.”

“You’re awfully nice for someone who just got hit by a blast of red chakra. Aren’t you mad? Angry? Spiteful? Anything?”

“It is strange, and yet, this one likes it. This one is calm, content, and—“ The wolf was interrupted by a loud growling sound. Naruto looked at the wolf with a blank face.

“And that was?”

“It seems this one is hungry.” It said, looking down at its stomach. “It admits that it has not eaten in some time. Is there a source of nourishment nearby?”

“I don’t have anything in this house at the moment. I just moved here, actually,” he gestured around the kitchen for emphasis, “so I’m still furnishing the place. I just wish the fridge was furnished…”

“This one sees… This one will need to eat something soon, preferably food or wood.”

Naruto blinked at the last response. “Wood is part of your diet?”

“It is the natural digestive system of this one. This one is made of wood, is it not?”

“It makes sense now that you mention it… You’re made of wood after all.” he added thoughtfully.

“Indeed. However this one needs a mix of other nourishment. Wood on its own is not enough to sate this one’s hunger.”

There was a loud knocking noise coming from the living room making Naruto freeze on the spot. If anyone found out that he was harboring a Timberwolf in his house, he’d be in deep trouble. The wolf tilted its head, looking at the spot where the sound came from.

“Hey! Why is this door locked!? Open up boss!”

Naruto relaxed, glad that it was only just his clone. He looked back towards the wolf.

“Well, lunch’s here!”

The wolf raised a wooden brow.

*****

After opening the door for his clone, his clone hoofed him one of the two boxes he was balancing in each hoof. Apparently, the clone had to knock on the door with its hind legs. The clone was a little startled to see the Timberwolf up and about, but Naruto re-assured him that it was harmless for the moment.

When the clone placed the two large boxes on the kitchen counter, he high fived Naruto and went up in a cloud of smoke. The wolf was rather confused on how there were two of him in the first place.

“This one wonders how there were two of you?”

“It’s one of my skills.” he said with pride. ”Basically, I can produce a complete clone of myself. It has my abilities, my personality, almost everything. It’s just not as strong as I am.”

“That… is confusing.”

“Trust me when I say you don’t want to hear the complicated version of it.” he chuckled out.

“This one wishes to hear about it later, though.”

Naruto opened the boxes as he talked to the wolf. “I’ll think about it.”

As he opened them, he was met with an air of aroma that he never thought possible. Browsing through the thoughts of his clone, he found that Pinkie was extremely excited when she received the party mushroom. The application however still creeped him out.

What is with her and fruit punch anyway?

Mixing a mushroom into fruit punch… That seemed rather weird, but she was the party pony, and she knew what she was doing, so Naruto merely shrugged it off.

Getting back to his senses, he looked at the cakes and couldn’t help but be amazed. Two cakes covered in contrasting frostings: One was red in theme, and the other was blue. The red cake was adorned with an assortment of strawberries, cherries, and raspberries. The blue cake was adorned with blueberries and blackberries.

The cakes looked incredible. Almost too good to eat actually, but he’d find a way around that momentarily. The aromas of both cakes mixed together, assaulting his nose with a mixture of fresh fruit, hot cake, and frosting.

“It smells really good…”

The wolf placed his paws on the kitchen counter to lift himself up and took a whiff. He brought his head back and gave a nod.

“This one appreciates the smell of the fruit and this… what did you call it?”

“Cake.”

“Indeed, cake. It seems satisfactory to eat.”

The cakes were already cut into small slices, there being ten on each cake. Thankfully there was a dining table in the center and a few kitchen chairs, but with his past experience with the leftover furniture, he was skeptical that they could hold his weight.

He set the cakes up in the middle of the square table, seemingly made of oak. Bringing up a chair, he slowly lowered himself onto it, ready to spring up at the first sounds of cracking wood. He felt the chair creak and groan under his weight, but it held up under the strain. He gave a sigh of relief, while the wolf looked at him, puzzled.

“This one wonders why you are so silent?”

“Oh, sorry. It’s just I had a chair break on me earlier before, and I was prepared to take a dive if this one broke on me.”

“Understandable… This one will eat on the floor.”

“Oh come now, take a seat and eat at the table.”

“This one does not wish to intru—”

“Nonsense, now get your tail in this seat and eat with me.” he interrupted.

The wolf complied with Naruto’s wish, and hopped into the seat next to him, its seat also creaking under the added weight.

Well, that’s two chairs that won’t break on me, he thought happily. A thump from the living room caught his attention and he froze. He knew who made that noise and here he was eating cake with the same wolf that tried to eat them both.

“Trixie demands to know this delicious aroma that Trixie smells!”

Naruto turned to find Trixie standing in the doorway, cradling her head with one of her forehooves and her eyes closed.

Oh lord, here we go…

Trixie, with her dirty coat and couch hair, strode into the room a lot less wobbly than before. It seemed that a nap was what she needed to get rid of that nasty hangover she had from before.

“Trixie has to say blondie, your house is a mess, but it must be nice if you can cook something as good as—“ She froze mid-stride, he eyes wide open and taking in the scene in front of her. The wolf and Naruto looked at each other befuddled, the former wondering what made her shut up for once.

She went wide-eyed. Her bottom lip quivered, and she fell on her rump, her rear legs no longer able to keep her standing.

“Ahhh! It’s awake! Kill it, blondie! Quickly!” She yelled. They both covered their ears as she kept on screaming about different ways in which he could take care of it. It reminded him of a particular bedtime story, actually…

“Trixie, stop yelling! For pete’s sake you’re going to make me go deaf!”

“This one agrees with fox pony!” The wolf exclaimed. Trixie immediately stopped shouting like a madpony out of sheer shock. As if her eyes couldn’t get any wider, hers were about to pop out of their sockets. If Naruto looked closely enough, maybe he could see the internal gear locking up in her head.

“D-did… did that wolf just talk!?” She said, scooting backwards away from it. “W-what in Celestia’s name…?”

Naruto just shook his head. “If you’re done yelling, want some cake? We’ve got plenty to go around.” He said, hoofing a slice into his mouth.

“W-with that thing? B-but it’ll eat Trixie!”

“Do not let this one put fear into your heart. This one comes in peace.” The wolf said calmly.

“And why is it speaking all weird? Trixie does not understand what is going on!? Explain Blondie!” Trixie meekly commanded.

“Trust me; you’re not the only one, but the wolf is harmless from what I can see. Now do you want to eat or not?” Naruto said, motioning for her to sit down.

Trixie was skeptical with the wolf at first. She stepped a few inches forward, cautious of what the wolf might do. It merely dipped its muzzle into the box and grabbed a slice of the red cake and placed it on the table, gnawing at it like it was a chew toy.

She eventually brought up the courage to sit next to Naruto, keeping an eye on the wolf the entire time. She looked towards Naruto.

“Are you going to tell Trixie what is going on?”

“Like I said, your guess is as good as mine.” he said after swallowing his third slice. “Just accept the fact that there’s a talking wolf in my household.”

“But Trixie cannot accept this! This is unheard of!”

“Like it’s unheard of to see you drunk in a forest…” Naruto retorted.

“This one is disturbed at how loud you are, especially when drinking that strange liquid.”

“Why you…!” Trixie was about to leap over the table, but Naruto kept her down by placing a hoof on her shoulder.

“Calm down, both of you!” He said, slamming a hoof on the table. “I’m not exactly comfortable having a drunk showpony and a talking wolf in my house. Also, Trixie?” He looked at the mare in question. “I need to know what you’re going to do after you’re done eating.”

“Why should Trixie tell you?” she quipped.

“Because I’m concerned. You told me earlier that you don’t have a house anymore, so where will you go? Without any money, you don’t have many options.”

Trixie was about to retort, but she kept her mouth shut. She hadn’t given it any thought. Being drunk in a forest would be a good way to spend the last of her days, but that didn’t seem logical anymore. She shook her head.

“I don’t know…” Trixie said, giving up her 3rd person for once and grabbing a blue cake slice from the box. She examined it carefully before taking a small bite from it. She stopped in mid-chew, and immediately shoved the entire thing into her mouth.

“This is delicious!” She said grabbing another helping, although chewing on that one much more slowly. Naruto found this scene to be odd though. It almost seemed like a setup to a joke too.

An Illusionist.

A talking wolf.

And a ponified human with the spirit of a fox demon’s child.

Calling them an odd combination would be a start, but it wouldn’t do them justice. Everyone sitting at one table, eating together. It was weird, but he would quickly adapt. Trixie was still a little freaked out over the wolf, but it was understandable, seeing as that same wolf tried to eat her.

Huh… this is weird…

“Hey, I never caught your name, wolf.” Naruto asked.

“This one does not have a name.”

“What?”

“Must this one repeat itself? This one does not have a name. It never had one.”

“Great, you’re sounding like Princess now…”

Trixie stopped munching on her cake and looked at Naruto, confused. “Who’s Princess? You mean Princess Luna or Celestia?

“No, someone else… Alright, look.” He said, finishing his cake slice. “It seems pretty obvious that you don’t have a home to return to, Trixie. Wolf, I don’t know about you; what are you planning to do?”

“This one plans to stick by you.”

Naruto blinked. “Stick by me? Why?”

“You bested this one in combat not once but three times, you granted this one speech and you fed this one too. This one feels somehow… drawn to you. Like this one was made to be with you, to honor you, to be by your side. Therefore, this one will do as such.”

“You don’t have to go that far.” he said slightly abashed.

“Nonsense, this one feels obligated to do so. Please grant this one’s wish.”

A timberwolf by his side. A part of him wished Kiba was here to tell him how to properly take care of a wolf, but since it could speak, he probably wouldn’t need him. The wolf spoke in an articulate way, as if it had a air of wisdom around it. Naruto merely sighed as he came to a decision. Having a wolf around could have its uses.

“Alright, fine. I’m Naruto by the way.”

“This one finds it a pleasure, Naruto.”

“Hey! Don’t leave Trixie out of this!”

The wolf and Naruto looked at Trixie puzzlingly.

“What do you mean?”

“Trixie wishes… Trixie wishes to stick with you too.”

“…Say what.” Naruto deadpanned. He didn’t plan on her sticking around too. This loudmouth would quickly gnaw at his patience the longer she stayed here. It would be for the best if she’d go as soon as she’s able.

“I don’t think so Trixie.”

“What!? Why not?”

“I can see your potential, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to stick with me, in my house of all places… You’ve already caused a ton of problems for the town as is.”

“But Trixie can be useful to you. Please, I’m asking you to let me stay here for at least a short while to get back on my hooves.” She pleaded, once again dropping her 3rd person speak. “I have no home to return to, I have no money, and I smell like a pig. Please, I’m asking you to let me stay.”

Naruto looked at her for a moment. She looked sincere, despite her earlier attitude, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t lying about it. He leaned back in his chair for a moment, tapping his hooves together in thought. Then an idea struck him.

His house was still a wreck, and even by himself and his clone, there was only so much they could do. The fact that he didn’t know much about carpentry didn’t help. Plus, Trixie had telekinesis and other types of magic spells. Having a Unicorn would be handy in the long run.

“Fine, you can stay... but on one condition.” Naruto began. Trixie perked her ears up. “There’s a room barricaded by debris and wood just outside this kitchen. If you can make it accessible, it’s yours. Don’t make me regret this.”

“That’s it? Hah, with Trixie working on it, its as good as done!” she said proudly.

“That’s quite a bit of confidence you’ve got there, but besides that, you’ll need to help me around the house too. I don’t want any slackers around here. Are we clear?” He looked at the wolf, who nodded and then back to Trixie, who also nodded.

“Good… Oh, also, wolf? I have a special condition for you as well… huh?” That’s when Naruto saw the wolf gnawing its teeth on the wooden table. When the wolf saw him staring, it stopped chewing, puzzled.

“Yesh, Narutoh?” The wolf said, its mouth still clamped to the table.

Naruto looked at the table for a moment and then looked at the wolf with a frown.

“Don’t eat the furniture…”

CH28: New Party Members Pt. 2

Special Thanks:

Editor: DaMobbs

Proofreader: Meeester

*****

A help of friends, or the help of foes?

Are willing to assist, such as those.

A wolf, a mage, seems like an unlikely alliance.

But one mare will do anything, for science.

*****

Chapter 28: New Party Members Pt. 2

It hadn’t been long since these three souls decided to live together: the Timberwolf, bound by Naruto due to the Fox’s Chakra; Trixie, the Showmare and Illusionist that was rescued twice by Naruto; and the notorious fox-pony himself who gave these two the second chance they deserved.

A strange alliance, forged with but a simple goal in mind for the moment: fixing a house.

It wasn’t long before Naruto and his group arrived in front of the doorway filled with debris and wood. Naruto sighed half-heartedly whilst Trixie and the wolf stared at it.

“Alright, so this one’s yours, Trixie. As you can see, it’s blocked up pretty well,” Naruto said, kicking one of the wooden planks in the pile. “It’s been like this ever since I moved in.”

“Why would you move into a broken-down house like this though?” Trixie queried.

“This one agrees,” the wolf added. ”It is disadvantageous to obtain this home through trading means.”

“I got this house for free. The disrepairs came with it,” he astutely replied. “Besides, I didn’t have a home at first, so I couldn’t really complain anyway.”

“A house… for free!?” Trixie exclaimed, shocked. Naruto nodded. “You’re lucky, blondie. How big is this house anyway?”

“You didn’t see the outside yet?”

“I was asleep, remember?” she blandly replied.

“Ah, well it’s a two story mansion. I haven’t really had the chance to do a lot of exploring yet, what with other things popping up. Since the previous owner created a hurricane in here, most of the house is in disrepair, so I gotta do most of the repairs myself.

Trixie went wide-eyed at the part with the hurricane. The wolf raised a leafy brow.

“A… hurricane?” the wolf repeated.

“Yep…”

There was a brief silence whilst Trixie pulled off a good impression of a goldfish.

“Why would he summon a hurricane in his own house!?” Trixie finally exclaimed.

Seeing as how he wasn’t getting anywhere with the small tidbits of the full story, he sighed and resigned himself to explaining the the events leading up to his fortunate acquisition. By the end of it, Trixie had resumed her goldfish motif but the wolf hadn’t moved nor responded the entire time, electing to continuously stare instead.

“You destroyed the scorpion-tailed animal to save a sick one,” the wolf finally replied. “An admirable feat.”

“You… you’re suicidal,” Trixie pointed out, finally finding the correct words. Naruto merely shrugged.

“Well you wanted the story… Now then, still want to stick with me? Last chance to back out,” Naruto asked.

The wolf and Trixie looked at each other. Trixie gave a frustrated sigh as she held a hoof to her head.

“Trixie’s going to regret this, isn’t she?”

“This one will be by your side, Naruto.”

Looking at each of them sternly, he could see the determined look in their eyes. Naruto crossed his hooves in deep thought.

A wolf and an illusionist… Never thought I’d end up with a group like this, but they’ll be nice to have around. Out of the two, Trixie seems to be the wildcard here surprisingly. I’ll have to see.

He nodded, happily grinning as he motioned to the pile of wood and rubble behind him.

“Alright then, first we need to get all of this wood out of the way. Trixie, can you use your magic?”

“Hmph, Trixie can do anything with her magic, just watch!” she boasted, stepping up to the edge of the pile.

Trixie stood firm and stared at the piles of wood. She smirked and a small magical aura formed around her horn. One by one, each broken plank was enveloped in her aura, as they whizzed past into the corner of the room into haphazard stacks. Naruto watched, impressed with her telekinetic abilities thus far. Trixie’s face started to sweat as each one was tossed aside. Trixie looked at Naruto through the corner of her eye and growled.

“Well don’t just stand there, help Trixie!” she exclaimed irritably. Naruto couldn’t help but chuckle at her though.

“Alright, I’m helping,” Naruto quickly responded, walking over to the side of the pile. ”Wolf, get the other side.”

“This one is willing to help.” The timberwolf barked.

Time passed as they dug the doorway out, slowly but surely removing the blockade piece by piece. It was looking less like a mess and more like a doorway. Naruto pulled a rather stubborn piece of lumber out of the way and tossed it into the ever-growing pile of assorted debris. This would have taken a good day or two by himself, but with Trixie’s magic and the wolf’s strong physique, they’d be done before nightfall.

At last, the final piece of debris was shifted out of the way and the doorway was officially cleared. Everypony—or everyone—sat down to take a short break, wiping the sweat from their brows. The white wolf bent over and picked up a loose piece of wood lying on the ground with its mouth and began chewing on it. He sat down and stared at the door, interrupting the panting of both ponies in the room with the occasional crunch of wood.

“Uh, what’s with the wood?” asked Naruto hesitantly.

“This one needs it in order to help regain lost strength,“ he noted, demolishing the rest of the plank in his teeth and swallowing. ”It also happened to be of the oaken variety, which this one finds most satisfiable. It was an exhausting effort, but this one is pleased with the result.”

“Eh heh, look who’s talking about ‘exhausting effort’, it’s like you didn’t break a sweat, wolf.”

“This one does not merely ‘sweat’ nor ‘break’ one either, but is a little tired, yes,” the wolf said, squinting at nowhere in particular.

Trixie mere panted heavily as she growled at the wolf. “Trixie’s been doing all the work here! Did you really expect me to remove every single piece of debris? My magic can only go so far!”

“Wasn’t it you who said that you can do anything with your magic?”

“There’s a difference between skill and stamina, and this was not of the former!” Trixie barked at Naruto. He scratched his head and chuckled.

“Alright, alright… no need to get fussy,” Naruto reassured, smiling at the doorway. “Why don’t we take a look and see what’s inside.”

The group nodded their heads, and walked through the torn up doorway, stepping over stray pieces of wood or plaster they missed. The first thought that ran through Naruto’s head was that the room was torn up, but even that was an understatement. The ceiling was perforated with holes the size of a full-grown pony. There was a small bed inside the room, albeit caked in dust, and a couple brown dressers complete with faded white drawers. Paint was peeling off the dresser and the walls and the walls that were still in tact looked extremely dingy.

In short, this room needed fixing as well.

Trixie took a step back, her face flush with anger as she pointed a hoof at the room, glaring at Naruto. “W-what is this abomination!? You expect Trixie to live in this... this garbage?” Trixie yelled at Naruto. The blonde took another glance at the room, and scratched his head.

“Wow, and I thought the living room was bad,” Naruto muttered out loud. The wolf raised a wooden brow at Trixie and Naruto, giving a small sigh.

“The chaos this one believes, will be a long one.”

“You’re tellin’ me… I guess I won’t be fixing up this room anytime soon.”

“W-what!? You’re just going to give up after what Trixie went through?”

Naruto spread his hooves toward the room. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a repair pony. At best, all I can do is makeshift repairs, but we need something more permanent—Ah!” Naruto bumped his hoof into his open one. “There’s no tools here except for cleaning supplies, but… hm.”

Naruto looked at the room once more. The fact there were several holes in the ceiling was going to be a pain. He really needed to know how to make actual repairs. Trixie merely sighed in frustration as she began magicking in the pieces of wood that were still salvageable.

“Naruto,” she began, “I’ll need nails, a saw, and a hammer. I can use the leftover wood to make some repairs here. Do you think you could gather those three things for me?”

“You… can repair this?” he said, casting scrupulous glances at the room in question.

“What do you expect? Trixie’s a travelling performer, and my caravan wasn’t indestructible. I had to make repairs from time to time. A pony needs to learn to be adaptable to certain situations.”

“Like getting drunk in a forest?” Naruto mused.

“Yes, like getting drunk in the—Hey!” Trixie glared at Naruto, stomping her hooves on the floor. “Don’t you ever mention that incident again, you hear me!?”

“Yeah yeah, sure…” He looked at the wolf, who apparently had been silently watching the two of them bicker.

“This one does not understand the norm of conversation,“ he commented, shaking his head. ”Are you two fighting?”

“No, just some harmless teasing,” Naruto said with a toothy grin.

“Hey, are you going to keep this up or actually get what I asked!?”

“Fineeee,” Naruto said, walking out the doorway. “I doubt we have any of those here in the house, so I’ll just go see if there’s a store that has ‘em.”

*****

Naruto walked on the dirt path in search of a tool store. He twisted and turned the map in his hooves and frowned.

“You would think that by having a map, I’d know the store’s location, but nope, nothing listing under tools or nails and whatever.” He pocketed the map and sighed. It was rather quiet, save for his own hoof steps, but another pair joined him a moment later. He looked over to find the timberwolf keeping pace.

“Uh, yo? I thought you were staying behind with Trixie?” asked Naruto.

“This one cannot tolerate the blue one’s yelling. It makes this one cringe and whimper.”

“You’re tellin’ me. She’s got quite the mouth. Makes me wonder how she managed to perform with such a personality as hers. Do performers even act that way outside of their shows?”

“This one does not know. What is a ‘show’?”

“Ah, that’s right, other than being a wolf, you don’t know much on how things work here, huh?” The wolf shook his head, and Naruto sighed. A light bulb lit up inside his head as he grinned. “Ooh, I’ve got an idea! Let’s go to Twilight’s! Maybe she’d know how to solve this problem, and maybe help us find a tool store!”

“Who is this Twilight? She is not similar to the blue one, correct? This one’s ears do not want to ring again.”

Naruto stopped for a moment. He looked at him with a raised brow.

“What do you mean?”

“The blue one sings a chorus of painful disasters within this one’s ears. It is unnerving. Do all four-legged ones yell such indescribable syllables?” the wolf asked. Naruto tapped a hoof on his chin, thinking.

“Well,” Naruto said, giving a small chuckle, “from my experience, they only do that when they’re extremely scared, in intense pain, or extremely angry. So you’ve got nothing to fear, buddy!” He put a hoof on the wolf’s wooden shoulder, but the wooden predator’s expression didn’t change, if he had one at all.

“This one sees… let our group continue to this ‘Twilight’ then.”

“That’s the spirit! On to Twilight’s!” he exclaimed, marching forward. “I’m sure she’ll treat you with open han—er hooves.”

*****

After arriving at Twilight’s front door, he rapped the door with his hoof three times, eliciting a small commotion from within.

“Who is it? I’m in the middle of something right now!” came a female voice, which Naruto recognized as Twilight’s. He gave a smile at the door.

“It’s me, Naruto! I need a favor!”

After a few seconds had passed, Twilight opened the door with a loud creak and a smile on her muzzle. Her hair appeared to be a bit ruffled, along with a small quill pen tucked behind her ear. Naruto raised a brow at her and pointed at it. “What’s with the quill?”

“Oh, I was just making a friendship report to the Princess.”

“A… friendship report?” Naruto asked. First time he’d heard of such a report. “What’s that?”

“It’s simple! I write a report to the Princess every week on the lessons of friendship that I’ve learned. Like you, for instance. You taught me something about not abandoning a pony in need, especially since you were lost that week ago.”

“Oh. That seems... interesting?” Naruto replied questioningly.

A report on friendship? Weird.

“You speak of words dealing with the problems of other four legged kind. This one thinks that is unselfish of you.” the wolf mused causing Twilight to blush.

“Well thank you Mr… huh?” She looked around, only to find Naruto and nopony else. “Er, who said that?”

“This one asks you to look outside to your left, four-legged purple one.”

Twilight peeked her head out of the doorway and looked left, only for her eyes to dilate with what her vision is looking at. A white, four-legged animal made of bark was looking at her with perceiving eyes. Twilight’s mouth gaped, her mouth quivering. The wolf raised its wooden brows and immediately covered its ears.

“This one does not want to hear the ringing sounds of pandemonium again!” the wolf exclaimed.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Naruto said, confused. A loud shriek assaulted Naruto’s ears as Twilight screamed her lungs out. The blonde covered his ears in agony as the lavender unicorn shuffled backwards as fast as her hoove could carry her.

“What’s that Timberwolf doing here!?” she said as she charged up her horn. “Get back, Naruto!”

Naruto looked blankly between the wolf and Twilight, realising a moment later why her horn was glowing. He quickly stepped between the cowering wolf and angry Twilight. “Wait, Twilight, don’t hurt him!” he exclaimed. “He’s completely harmless!”

“A timberwolf, harmless?” Twilight asked, surprised. “Don’t be ridiculous! You saw how hostile it was back at your house!”

“You four-legged ones do not understand this one! This wooden one does not understand why these ponies have the ability to sound like the sirens of old!”

Twilight’s eyes widened when she heard the animal speak. “D-did that Timberwolf just talk?” she stammered out in surprise. The timberwolf uncovered its ears and nodded.

“You heard this one correctly. This one speaks in your language, and is harmless,” the timberwolf confirmed. Twilight just stood there, blinking. She couldn’t quite believe what both her eyes and ears were telling her. This wasn’t just some rudimentary parlor trick or an illusion. Naruto sighed in relief when Twilight relaxed her stance and the glowing aura around her horn dispersed.

“What’s going on here, Naruto?” questioned the confused, purple mare.

He looked back at the Timberwolf, and then at Twilight before motioning inside. “How about you invite us in and I’ll explain everything?”

*****

Naruto and Twilight sat down near the coffee table, while the Timberwolf roamed around the library, perusing its vast rows of condensed knowledge. The wolf’s eyes scanned over each of the books, reading each of their titles before moving on down the rows.

Meanwhile, Naruto began explaining how the wolf came to be. To say Twilight was confused was an understatement.

“So the wolf gained intelligence after your tails touched him? But how did that happen?” Twilight asked.

“I’m not sure,“ he partially lied. ”These tails have a mind of their own. Who knows what they could be planning?” Naruto answered.

I really should talk to Princess about this at some point. I need an explanation myself…

“What they’re… planning?” Twilight said, tilting her head to the side. “They have a mind of their own?”

“Er, well… sometimes they act without my permission,” he quickly fibbed. ”They’re weird like that.”

“Still... a sapient Timberwolf.” Twilight got up and ran up to the wolf, grasping its head in her hooves and turning it in every which way. The wolf arched a brow at this sudden intrusion of personal space.

“What is it you wish of this one? Are you planning to sing more notes of pain and agony?” the wolf blandly asked. Twilight hesitated in her examination.

“Er, what do you mean?”

“He means are you going to scream in his face again? The wolf’s been getting that a lot lately.” Naruto chuckled, to which the wolf growled.

“Becoming deaf is not this one’s wish.”

“I’m only joking, lighten up already…”

Twilight carefully examined the wolf’s face, noting the slight discoloration compared to other timberwolves out there. She also took note of the strange symbol that was embedded into its forehead.

“It’s strange though…” Twilight said. “Such a transformation with the addition of intelligence. I-It’s practically impossible!” The lavender mare squealed in glee. She couldn’t help but grin at Naruto.

“Can I study and experiment on it?”

“No!” Naruto shouted, knowing full well what Twilight’s ‘examinations’ usually dealt with. “Just… just leave him be, alright? I don’t want anymore crazy things happening to him. He’s been through a lot already as it is!”

“No need to yell, Naruto. It was just a question…” Twilight looked at the wolf and frowned. “It’s a shame though. You could’ve opened up previously unexplored areas of magical theory and biology that nopony ever dreamed of.” She looked between the two with a barely perceptible glint in her eye. ”Maybe just a little—”

“I said no, Twilight!”

“Oh come on, pretty please?” she begged, tapping her hooves on the ground in frustration.

“Why do you want to experiment on him so badly!?”

“Well you don’t see any other white, talking timberwolves out there, do you?” she replied smugly.

As the two bickered on, the wolf continued to scan the books with his eyes. Oddly enough, he could understand the words placed on the tomes of knowledge. ‘Gods and Goddesses’, ‘Preek Mythology’, and ‘Ancient Nature’ only a few off the top of his head in this section alone. However, the book ‘Ancient Nature’ caught his eye.

The wolf pawed the book off the shelf. It made an audible thump as the book burst open to a random page. He laid down and let his eyes roam across the words imbedded into the book. The book seemed to deal with mostly nature and its past, and the history behind several plants, animals, and even food sources.

“C’mon, Naruto, just let me borrow him for a day; we’d be missing out on an important discovery!”

“I said no! Go find another timberwolf to borrow.”

The timberwolf had enough of their wailings and merely glared at them.

“This one is absorbing knowledge; please do not disturb the white-legged one.”

Their arguing ceased almost immediately. They both locked eyes on the wolf, who was now laying down, head bent down and eyes roving over the open book. Twilight was the first to break the tense silence.

“You’re… reading?”

“Indeed. This container of knowledge seems to hold vast amounts of history on this one’s kin, including several other creatures and myths.”

“Oh, you mean ‘Ancient Nature’? I’ve had that book for ages! You’re right, though.” She levitated the book away from the wolf, only for it to sigh in disappointment. Twilight flipped through a few pages, smiling. “It’s been awhile since I’ve read this. Many millennia ago, there were ancient forest creatures of unknown kinds that are either extinct, or just mythological beasts. Most of them are from Preek culture, which was several thousand years ago beyond my time, and—“

Twilight stopped mid sentence when she noticed the wolf was eying the book she held in her magical grasp. She exchanged glances with the wolf and the book before realization dawned on her.

“You want to check this book out?“ she politely asked. ”It seems you have an interest in it.”

“Is that what that container is called? A ‘book’? It has peaked this one’s interest, yes.”

“Oh, well, I can let you borrow it for a while, if you wanted. I’m sure there are many things unknown to you about pony culture. Heck, why not check out a few more books while you’re at it?”

“This one is… curious. You have vast amounts of… books, some reeking of extremely old age. Are you a collector?”

“I’m a librarian,” she pridefully announced, motioning at the library in its entirety. ”It’s my job.”

“A… librarian. A rather strange title for such a position but yes, this one would be overjoyed to have a few more books of its choice, namely something dealing with your species.”

While Twilight and the wolf discussed their similar interest in books, Naruto couldn’t help but rub his head. A wolf interested in reading? That was something but there was one thing he couldn’t help but wonder.

“I just hope he doesn’t eat the books…”

CH29: Eyes of a Demon

Special Thanks:

Editors: The Gweat and Powaful Twixie, DaMobbs

*****

The pursuit of knowledge is always good.

Especially for a wolf made of wood.

A meeting of a family, and an old granny.

Will find out what it means to see the uncanny.

*****

Chapter 29: Eyes of a Demon

After the group’s hijinks with Twilight’s pursuit for knowledge and the wolf’s curiosity for books, Twilight asked Naruto why he was in her house to begin with. He needed to get to the tool store.

After getting directions to its whereabouts, they left, their quest ever closer to completion. Before they left, Twilight had given Naruto a special library card, giving him access to every section of the library. The wolf took the liberty immediately and checked out Ancient Nature.

It was only a short time before they got what they needed from the tool shop, also known as ‘Board & Nails’. It was crippling twenty bits out of Naruto’s finances, but as long as it involved getting the house fixed up, it was a wise decision. With supplies in a small bag between Naruto’s teeth, he set course for his home.

“Liffing thengs up vith your teeth ith hard. Pony life mush really be a pain,” Naruto said, his jaw barely moving with the bag in his teeth.

“The brown one offered to put the bags on your back, did he not?” The wolf said, teeth still clenched on the leather tome.

“Rell yeh, but I didn’t have any ‘saddlebags’. What, does heh thenk I’m a horsh?”

“You have the shape and characteristics of the trotted ones, yes.”

Naruto placed the bag down, his jaw aching. His eyes narrowed on the wolf. He didn’t quite understand what the wolf was trying to question.

“What do you mean?”

“You have the hard structure of hooves, the long snout of a horse, and the love for the small yellow strings you call ‘hay’. So, yes, this one believes you are a horse.”

“But, I’m not a horse, I’m some kind of… what did that lady call me in that tool store? A stallion?”

“A stallion is similar to a pony.”

“Would you get to the point? What am I to you?” Naruto was getting a little tired of the wolf’s riddles. The wooden animal looked to his left at a nearby field, puzzled on how to explain it simply enough for the stallion. It then let out a snouted sigh and looked back towards Naruto.

The wolf dropped the book in its mouth and opened it up to a random page, pointing to a particular text in the book. Naruto looked at it only to see it was pointing at the definition of what a ‘Stallion’ was.

“Here.” The wolf pointed. “This is what it means. Basically, male stallions are those of adult ponies. They are one and the same. The female term for ponies is considered ‘mares’. It would be redundant to call a male pony a horse.” The wolf flipped a page, curious on the magnificence wonders of the book. “Hmm, it would seem this one was mistaken. You are indeed a stallion, but you are also a pony as well. Therefore, you are not a horse.”

“When did you get so knowledgeable all of a sudden?” Naruto said, slightly peeved by the wolf’s suspicious intellect. It stared at Naruto blankly, and pointed a wooden claw at the book.

“This one learned from the containers of knowledge. Do you not enjoy the wonders of new things and fascinations?” The wolf spoke in its usual monotone voice and Naruto couldn’t tell if that was an insult, or encouragement for him to read more. The blonde pony rolled his eyes and trekked on, bag in teeth.

“Of course I do, but not from reading books that are one thousand pages long! I’ll never understand bookworms, always fascinated by the wonders of a book.” With Naruto saying what needed to be said, he trotted ahead of the wolf, who just sat there staring at the book. The it closed and bit the book, trying to keep pace with the blonde.

“It would seem Naruto considers one page to be a thousand pages. This one finds this concerning…” the wolf muttered.

*****

When Naruto reached the door to his house, he opened and shouted “Trixie, I’m home!”

The house was deathly quiet and the air was still. He quickly placed the bag of supplies next to the couch and scrambled off to Trixie’s room, only to see that most of the leftover debris had been cleaned up. In fact…

“Why does the floor look so shiny in here?” Naruto asked.

The wolf peered down at the polish of the floor. “The floor is considered clean enough to see one’s reflection.”

Naruto looked up to see that the ceiling was still in disrepair which held stark contrast to the shiny floors. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the cleaning supplies he had used previously in a nearby corner. Naruto dipped a hoof into the mop, feeling it slightly moist. The ninja scratched his head in confusion.

“I didn’t expect her to go the extra mile of cleaning up the floor…”

“It is her room. This one believes that one’s possession must be comfortable.”

“Of course, stupid question for me to ask…” Naruto was impressed, and started to look at Trixie in a slightly better light, but one question lingered in his mind:

Where did she go? I didn’t see her when I walked in…

All of a sudden…

“La la la, la la♪” An audible melody came from outside the room. It was slightly off-tune, but hosted a rather beautiful voice, a voice he couldn’t quite place on whom it was. Naruto looked at the wolf and told him to stay put so he would investigate further.

He walked out of the room, following the sounds of the melody.

It’s coming from the bathroom.

Naruto immediately opened the door, only to be met with a confusing sight. Steam blew through the open doorway as it clouded his vision. The melody stopped, and when the steam subsided, he could see Trixie inside the tub: complete with a rubber ducky in the steamy water.

Trixie frozed as she saw the intruder in the bathroom, and so did Naruto. A minute seemed to had passed in their frozen states, and Trixie couldn’t help but quiver her lip in fear. Naruto tilt his head with a raised brow.

“Trixie, what are you doing?”

Trixie gave a small gasp as her fearful face quickly scrunched up into anger, her brows furrowed and her gritted teeth showed that hell was about to break loose. A scream broke loose from Trixie’s mouth and tore through Naruto’s ears, and possibly the rest of the house. He covered his ears, growling in pain.

“How DARE you peep on Trixie’s bath time! Get out, get out, get OUT!” Trixie yelled, splashing water at Naruto. she screamed and thrashed like a wailing banshee, and boy was Naruto afraid of her when she was in this state. He quickly ran out as the hot water seared his coat. He slammed the door shut.

He leaned his back against it with a sigh of relief, he was soaked hoof to toe, but alive. It took a moment for him to register that Trixie was taking a bath this entire time, and that he had walked in on her. He placed a hoof in front of his face, grumbling.

“She needs to lock the door next time… Huh?” Naruto looked up to see the wolf staring at him, dead in the eye. The wolf looked back at the door, and then back at Naruto. The wolf just shook its head in disagreement.

“What’s wrong?”

“Intruding one’s business is certainly an interesting pastime for you, Naruto.”

“Hey, it was an accident, how was I supposed to know she was in the bath!? The door wasn’t even locked!”

“Whichever passes the time, Naruto.” The wolf walked off.

“Hey, where are you going?! I’m telling the truth!” Naruto yelled.

*****

At the kitchen table, Naruto was being scolded by the blue mare herself. Her soapy scent filled the room as she started belittling him for his ‘crime’. The wolf quietly sat there, observing the two.

“You have a LOT of nerve intruding on Trixie’s bathtime. Have you no decency!?”

“It was an accident! I didn’t even know you were in the bath!”

“And how is Trixie supposed to believe that? Trixie saw your lustful eyes looking down at Trixie’s body,” Trixie said with anger in her eyes. “She knows she is beautiful, but Trixie will not tolerate being peeped on!”

“Then lock the damn door from now on. It’s my house.”

“Hmph, Trixie did lock the door. You must’ve used a key or something to unlock it.”

“I did not! It was unlocked when I turned the knob. Get your damn memory right!”

“Trixie did lock it.”

“Did not.”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“DID TOO!”

“Look, what does it even matter? You don’t even have breasts for cryin’ out loud. What is there to ‘look’ at!? You’ve got nothing that is even remotely revealing!

Trixie was about to shout back, but nothing came out of her mouth, due to not realizing how to retort to that statement. Her eyes darted back and forth, biting her lip, until her eyes lit up with confusion.

“Trixie does have breasts—What does that have to do with anything?”

“It has a lot to do with everything. Why else would you be so offended with me walking in? You don’t have two oversized balloons on your chest, for one!”

Trixie gawked at the stallion. “What are you even talking about? Trixie could have balloons on her chest if she wanted to if that would keep you away!”

“No, that’s not what I...” Naruto’s words were stuck in his throat. “I mean, I didn’t literally mean balloons, but...”

No look of revelation came over the blue pony’s face. That’s when he realized that he was explaining human anatomy to a pony. He facehoofed.

“Argh, just lock the door when you’re using the bathroom next time,” he said, clicking his tongue. Trixie just gave a small ‘hmph’ and kept quiet. The sounds of flipping pages were audible from both ponies ears. The wolf attempted to ignore the two by browsing through its book, but the wooden animal gave a snorted sigh, its reading time too noisy to even bother. The wolf looked up at the two.

“This one thinks you are both too loud. The argument between closed doors and the art of bathing is deemed ridiculous.”

“For your information, we mares need our privacy when taking a bath,” she sneered, glaring at Naruto, “especially when living with a peeping tom.”

Naruto slammed his hooves on the table in anger. “I am NOT a—,“ Naruto started, but he held his tongue. He realized it would’ve just been another ongoing loop on how he’s the bad guy. He merely sighed and shook his head. “I’m not going to correct you again.”

Naruto looked out at the window, realizing it had grown a bit darker outside. There was still the matter of heading to the Apple residence. He needed to find out if his clone’s memories still hold true. He got up from his seat and headed out towards the doorway. Trixie and the wolf raised a brow.

“Where are you going, Naruto?” the wolf asked.

“I gotta head out and do some errands.”

“But what about dinner,” Trixie complained. “Do you expect us to starve?”

“What am I, your mom?” Naruto retorted. “There’s still some leftover cake here.”

“But Trixie is sick of cake. One can only handle such sweetness for so long! Can’t we have something else?”

“In case you didn’t realize, I just acquired this house recently, and I barely have anything edible here. But…” Naruto reached into his jacket and pulled out a few bits on the table. “If you get sick of cake, go out and eat.”

Trixie looked at the three shiny coins and gave Naruto a glare “Three bits? How will that get us anything?”

“I don’t know? Buy an apple or something. Like I said: I’m tight on money, so manage with what you can,” Naruto explained, but Trixie merely puffed her chest out.

“Fine…” Trixie agreed finally.

Naruto looked at the wolf. “Make sure Trixie doesn’t get into any trouble.”

The wolf barked in agreement.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!?”

Naruto just ignored her and headed on out.

*****

Arriving at Sweet Apple Acres, Naruto passed through the front gate and towards the front door of the house. He gave a small sigh, seeing all the windows lit up from the outside. In fact, their house looked pretty big in size, and looked similar to the barns around the field.

“Well, they certainly don’t live inside a barn. It’s just a house after all…” Naruto muttered to himself. He knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” said a voice from the other side of the door, which was a voice that was all too familiar to him. Naruto gave a small smile.

“It’s Naruto, Applejack. You invited me to dinner?” he yelled through the door. A couple of small metallic sounds came from the door, and it suddenly opened wide with Applejack in its place. Applejack was cheerful, adorning a warm smile on her face. She waved a hoof into the house.

“Well, don’t jus’ stand there. C’mon in!”

*****

Naruto sat at the dinner table with the family gathered for a traditional Apple family dinner. Apple Pies, Apple Cobbler, Apple juice—everything on the table was apple-related. It was the first time he’s ever seen anything like it. Regardless, he couldn’t say no to a free meal. There were only a few guests of the family around the table from what he could see: Big Macintosh, Applebloom, and Applejack.

From what Applejack told him, the Apple family was much bigger than this, but were scattered all over Equestria. They gathered here in Ponyville for a grand celebration weeks before, but only for a short while before departing back home. Naruto was surprised that the Apple family would be so huge and seemingly affluent.

Meanwhile, however, some small banter was exchanged here and there as Naruto continually ate an Apple Pie in front of him.

“So, mister, how’d ya save me?” Applebloom asked from across the table. Naruto gulped down a slice of pie and looked at her.

“How did I save you?” Naruto said, confused.

“Well yeah, Ah don’t quite remember it neither; all I remember is fallin’ in the lake, an when Ah woke up, Ah was in mah bed,” Applebloom said, unsure of herself.

“Hey there, Ah’m curious too,” Applejack said from across the table. “How’d ya’ll rescue Applebloom anyway? Was it some of that same fancy magic ya used back when Trixie was all a holler?”

“Er, heh, sort of. I guess you could call it magic? It’s magic only I can use,” Naruto explained. Applebloom raised a brow at Naruto, her face riddled with confusion.

“Magic?” Applebloom, unsure of herself. “How can ya’ll use magic? I thought only them unicorns could use that?”

“It’s special magic. Where I come from, it’s called chakra. It’s what we ninjas use.”

“Neen…jah?” Applebloom and Applejack said in unison. They looked at each other with mirrored, perplexed faces, and then looked back at Naruto. Being the listener that he is, Big Macintosh sat there silently as he watched the three talk it out. Naruto rubbed his neck, trying to see how he could explain it to them.

They’re not familiar with the word, huh? Come to think of it…

Naruto never did research to see if the pony equivalent of a ninja existed here. Given how different things were here with unicorns and pegasi, he didn’t think there would be an equivalent. It would be a topic that should be brought up to Twilight, however.

“You don’t know what a ninja is?”

Applejack and Applebloom shook their heads.

“Never heard of such a thing ‘round these parts. Does it have something to do with that magic act you did in front of Trixie?” Applejack asked, in which Naruto just shrugged.

“Well, yes and no. We ninjas are agile beings that can cling to walls, walk on water, and even use elemental ‘magic’ as you call it. Let me demonstrate…” Naruto got up from the table and walked over to a wooden support beam, knocking on it.

“See this wooden beam here?” Naruto asked, with the two of them nodding and watching intently. “Well, watch this!”

He closed his eyes and focused chakra into his hooves. A slight blue glow could be seen radiating beneath him. Finding the right balance in each hoof, he lightly pressed against the beam with one hoof, and then another, and kept on until all four were on the solid surface. Applejack, Applebloom, and even of all ponies, Big Mac, gasped as they watched the spectacle unfolded. Naruto was practically walking on the impossible at a particular angle.

Naruto smiled as they watched him do his fancy walking on the support beam. He let loose one hoof to pretend that he was about to fall, which made them jump out of their seats, but he placed it back on like a suction cup, saying he was alright. He gave a small chuckle.

“See? Nothing to it. It takes months and maybe years of practice to balance and control chakra.”

“Wow… that’s amazing mister! Could ya teach me to do that?”

“Eh heh… I’d love to, Applebloom, but it’s not that simple.”Naruto walked up the beam until he got to the second floor, and frowned at her. “It takes a LOT of practice. So much practice that I had to study it since I was a child—er, a colt,” He quickly corrected. “But even then, it wasn’t easy. It takes a lot of dedication to be a ninja, and only the talented and gifted can do so.”

Applebloom frowned at Naruto, disappointed. Naruto saw this and gave a frown of his own. He hopped off the beam and landed right in front of her. He placed a hoof, rubbing her head. “But don’t worry. Maybe someday, when I’m not busy, I could show you the ins and outs of what they do.”

Applebloom’s eyes lit up with a smile. “Really!? Do ya think Ah could get a cutie mark for being a ninja too, maybe?”

“Er? I don’t know? Do they even have ninja cutie marks here?” Naruto had no idea himself. That’s when a stick started poking at his rear end. Naruto’s pupils shrunk as he was surprised on who could be poking him.

“Who put this yeller table here? ‘Er we decoratin’ again?” said an elderly voice from behind. “It’s all soft. Ya didn’t order something from that furniture store that gave us that broken rockin’ chair, did ya? I have half a mind ta know what kinda cheapskate would take advantage of us like that!”

With Naruto’s rear being poked even more, his tails flicked the stick-like thing away and he turned around, only to see an venerable, green mare, white hair tied into a bun, and she looked… wrinkly. The elderly mare frowned as she got a good look at Naruto, and proceeded to shout at Applejack.

“Applejack? When’d ya get a coltfriend? ‘Er ya hiding something from yer dear ‘ole grandma again?”

Applejack gagged on her apple strudel and Naruto immediately jerked back, hit the table and yelped.

“H-heck naw, Granny! Why would I do that!? N-Naruto’s not mah coltfriend!”

“W-what she said. I’m just a visitor!”

“Oh, a visitor?” The old earth mare asked, in which case she smiled at Naruto. “Welcome ta our home. Ah’m Granny Smith, and this is my wonderful family!”

A granny with lapses in memory... this isn’t going to be fun.

“Er, sure. Nice to meet you, Ms. Smith. I’m Naruto Uzumaki.” Naruto said formally, but Granny Smith shook her head in disapprovement.

“Aw, ya don’t need to be so formal, just call me granny, grandma, anythin’s fine.”

Naruto rubbed his head in confusion.

So, that’s what an older pony looks like, huh? She sure looks old and wrinkly. At least she doesn’t smell like wet socks or anything.

“Hmmm… Naruto? What a strange name...” She leaned her head to the left of Naruto, staring at the two tails from behind. She pointed her cane at it.

“Oh my, do we have a fox infestation?”

“Those are my tails, actually…”

“Yer tails? Yer one weird lookin’ earth pony to have fox tails waving about. Let me git a good look at ya.”

“I don’t think that’s—“

“Now, now, just let me take a small look at ya.” She circled Naruto very slowly. She took a close look at Naruto’s oddities, poking his tails with her cane.

It was a agitating for two reasons. For one, she walked very slowly; even a snail could beat her with that kind of speed. Two, he didn’t like being poked. Eventually her broken merry-go-round came to an end, stopping in front of him. He could’ve sworn that whole ordeal took five minutes.

“You have a very strange cutie mark. What’s it supposed to represent?” She asked him. It was something that Twilight had pointed out to him once before and even he didn’t know.

“I don’t know?” he replied honestly.

“You don’t even know what you’re good at?”

“Well, maybe I’m good at fighting? That’s what ninjas do after all.” He guessed.

“Fighting? Now who’d wanna cutie mark like that? And what’s this Neenjah thing?” Naruto was about to say something, but Granny Smith just placed a hoof on his mouth. “Ah it’s no matter. Here, let me look at yer face.”

Now Naruto was getting uncomfortable. Why did this grandma want to examine him so badly? Was he that strange of a pony to her? Or maybe she just wanted to give him a kiss? Such a thought made Naruto shudder.

Well, given how I have fox tails, anyone would strike that strange… But I hope to god-or Celestia, whichever—that she doesn’t kiss me.

She placed a hoof on his chin, and looked deeply into his face, with her hoof adjusting the angle of his face.

“My my, you’re a handsome young feller. Back in my younger age, there were colts and stallions like ya. Always hard working, and even full of energy. Ya seem to have that trait.”

“I’m always aiming to help others, ma’am.”

“What did I tell ya ‘bout being formal? Young’uns these days… Hm?”

That’s when she started to stare deeply into his eyes. Naruto’s sapphire-like eyes drew her close to him. Naruto couldn’t tell what she was so fascinated about, though. It did make him uncomfortable. He gritted his teeth and gave a slight blush when she kept drawing closer to him.

What the hell is she doing!? Did I just jinx myself!? Oh please no, don’t kiss me! Don’t you grandmas know what it feels like to be kissed!? Wait, I don’t think I do… But don’t friggin kiss me!

Granny Smith stopped for a moment, before adjust her pupils toward him. But then, her eyes dilated to small pins as she immediately backed away, as if someone smacked her across the face. If she was slow before, she was going maddeningly fast on trying to get away from Naruto. He stood there, dumbfounded on what was going on. Granny Smith backed away into a corner and pointed a hoof at Naruto.

“D-Devil! Demon! From the d-depths of Tartarus,” Granny Smith shouted, with her trembling like a madpony. “K-keep away from me!”

“W-what the hell!?” Naruto blankly said.

*****

“There! All fixed up!”

Meanwhile, back at the house, Trixie had just finished repairing the ceiling of her new room with satisfaction on her face. It wasn’t a perfect job, but at least she didn’t have to worry about anything falling on her due to disrepair. It’d keep the rain out.

She walked over to a small bag in the corner of the room and grabbed an apple from the bag, biting into it. The soft flavor of the apple flavor filled her mouth before giving it a small swallow.

“That stupid Naruto, making Trixie buy such an inadequate dinner for herself. Does he not know how to treat a mare?” She was still bitter for having to shop for her own dinner, but given Naruto’s money situation, she had to bare with it. She gave a small sigh as she looked around the room. She took another bite of her apple before giving a small sigh.

“At least Trixie has a roof over her head, but I still demand something better!”

“This one believes you demand too much.”

Trixie looked to her left to see the wolf at the doorway, still reading the book he had checked out from the library. Now that Trixie thought about it, she wondered where the wolf had gotten that book. She trotted up to it and took a peek at the book.

“Trixie demands to know where you got that book.”

“This one has received this from the horned purple one.”

“Horned purple one?”

“Yes, the unicorn that lives in a tree. This one wonders why she would desecrate a tree and make it a home, but it’s not the business of this one.”

She tapped her chin, trying to figure out what it meant by the ‘horned purple one.’ Then, thoughts of Twilight came into her head, and it suddenly connected.

“You mean Twilight Sparkle? That bitch?”

“This one does not believe her to be a dog, but that is her name.”

“Why did you pay a visit to… to… that show-off?”

“This one and the blonde one were lost, and sought directions from her.”

“Hmph, and she let you have that book too, I imagine?”

“Borrow is the proper term. This one merely used a library card to use it for a brief time.”

“That hussy is always being the good pony around here. ‘Ooh, I’m a librarian and I read books all the time’, fah!” She gawked at nothing. “Trixie will have her revenge with her one time or another.”

The wolf sat there silently, continuing to read its book. Trixie was expecting a response, but nothing came. That’s when she stomped her hooves in front of the wolf, in which it merely looked up.

“What is it you wish of this one?”

“Trixie expects you to agree with her!”

“This one remains neutral” It said nonchalantly, flipping a page in the book. The wolf squint its eyes as he found something interesting. “Hmm, did you know that the Preek Goddess, Gaia, is a rough translation for 'earth' and 'land'? It’s based off of Preek Mythology. A curious legend,” the wolf mentioned as it continued reading.

“Stop ignoring me! You are supposed to support Trixie in her time of need!”

“This one neither hates nor loves the purple one; therefore this one has no positive or negative opinion of her.”

Trixie’s eyebrow twitched, pissed off with the wolf’s neutrality. She merely sighed as she looked out the window, looking at the full moon of the night sky.

“Trixie swears she will hop back on top once she is in a better situation than this trash heap.”

“Hmm… it talks of giant ponies that are the mother of Gaia, even of other gods, a truly interesting myth…” The wolf shuts the book and looks at Trixie.

“Blue legged one, this one has decided with a name.”

Trixie raised a brow at the wolf, “Why would Trixie be interested in this?”

“Everyone needs a name, and this one believes it should have one too.” The wolf concluded.

“Alright, how ‘bout Trixie calls you ‘Slave’, how about that?”

The wolf squints its eyes, disappointed. “This is not a satisfactory name. This one believes you are angry, too. Perhaps you should take a nap?”

“Trixie is not angry!”

“This one sees steam coming from your ears.”

“Urgh, you know what, just get out of Trixie’s room,” she said as her good will snapped. She hurried the wolf out of her room. “Trixie needs her beauty sleep, and will astound everyone when she is at her tip-top shape! So leave Trixie alone!”

After that, she slammed the door right in the wolf’s face, but it stood there unphased. The wolf gave a small sigh. The wolf bit into the book and walked off toward the couch, where it made itself comfortable. It laid its head down and thought about what it had read.

“Yes… this one is nameless no longer. This one will call itself…” The wolf paused for a brief moment as it muttered its speech, while slowly closing its eyes, off towards a deep slumber. One word escapes its breath.

“…Gaia.”

Meanwhile, back in Trixie’s room…

She stomped toward her bed, and sat on it. “The nerve of that damn wolf, thinking it has Trixie all figured out. Trixie will show everyone, even that Naruto pony.” But then she looked at herself, and the room around her. She couldn’t help but be thankful for the blonde pony, however. In fact, her emotions were a bit of a wreck.

“Trixie is lucky that Naruto brought her into his home, unlike some other ponies out there…” She muttered. Not many ponies were willing to give her the time of day to help her out in her past. In fact, she had become something of a minstrel; Always performing her acts alone, gathering the bits from her performances to survive, and all of that came to a grinding halt because of the Ursa. She sighed as she laid her head on the pillow. She attempted to grab some sheets to cover herself up, only to realize that she was grabbing thin air.

She looked up, only to see she had no such sheets. In fact, it was just a bed cushion she was lying on, with nothing to cover her up. She rolled her eyes as she tried to drift asleep, giving a slight shiver to the cold air around her.

“If it weren’t for Naruto, I wouldn’t have anything to sleep on…” Her last thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.

*****

“Man, what a crazy day…” Naruto said, opening the door to his house.

The Apple Residence’s house went to hell that night. After Granny Smith kept shouting the devil’s name at Naruto, he thought she finally went senile. He wondered why she acted that way. If it wasn’t the devil’s name, it was how Naruto’s eyes were that of a demon’s. Despite Smith’s senile moment, Applejack sent Naruto on his way, and thanked him for coming over. It was rather hasty, but she did have to handle Granny Smith after all.

He had a feeling Princess had something to do with this, but it was only a guess. Right now, he was just tired and wanted to go to sleep.

He walked in inside, to see that the house was deathly quiet. A snore could be heard from the couch. Naruto took a peek to see that the wolf was sleeping, and only smiled at him. He then walked over to Trixie’s room, only to see it closed. He gave a small knock to see if she was awake. Part of him wanted to open it, but given the events in the bathroom, he decided against it. He only assumed that she was asleep as well. After all, he didn’t want to have another shouting match with her.

Naruto couldn’t fully keep his eyes awake either, judging how that whole thing at the Apple Residence took a lot out of him.

Sleep sounds really pleasant right about now…

He walked into his room, which was only lit up by Luna’s Moon in the sky. He really had to consider getting some lights for this house, or maybe a few candles. He took his jacket off and threw it in the nearby closet, and collapsed onto the bed. As he got under the covers, he realized something felt a bit off on the bed, like the bed had sunk in a little bit. He sighed.

Damn bed is probably collapsing. It’s old after all.

*****

The sun shined brightly on Naruto’s face. He groggily rubbed his eyes. His vision blurred as he tried to get a good visual of his room wall. As his eyes fully opened, he attempted to get out of his bed, only for something to pull him back.

“Mmh… don’t leave me Mr. Fuzzum Wuzzums…”

That really woke Naruto up. He flinched as something wrapped around his lower stomach, holding him firm to the bed. He could smell a slight, soapy scent coming from behind. He turned his head, only for a flash of silver to meet his eyesight. Naruto went into a silent panic as he sees Trixie sleeping next to him.

“T-Trixie!?” He shouted out. Trixie didn’t like the loud voice that much, and squinted her eyes open, trying to get rid of the sleep in her eyes, but to avoid the glare of the sun that met her face. She let go of Naruto and blinked, trying to piece together what was in front of her. Her eyes opened wide when she realized Naruto was with her in the same bed. She handled it the best way she could, given the situation.

She screamed in his face.

Author's Note

Note: May have some future minor fixes, but this is more or less complete.

CH30: The Wub Wub Lives On Pt. 1

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs & Comrade Sparkle

Proofreaders: Parallel Black & The11thWonder

*****

A rude awakening, Who would Dare?

It would be none other, than the shouting Mare.

A meeting takes place, those seeking assistance.

Away from the one with such life-threatening persistence.

*****

Chapter 30: The Wub Wub Lives On, Pt. 1

Trixie’s deafening shriek sent him tumbling onto the floor in a tangled mess of limbs. In the split second he took to extricate himself, one thought popped into his head. Trixie was in his bed... or was she? He quickly looked around the room to find that it was indeed his room, not hers. But then why was she—

“What are you doing in Trixie’s bed?” Trixie exclaimed, interrupting his line of thought. “Was it not bad enough that you ruined Trixie’s bath that you had to invade her privacy again!?”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, glaring at her all the while. “This is my room. Take a look around!”

Trixie’s mouth opened wide, ready to deliver her hasty rebuttal, but quickly shut it as her eyes darted around the room. She blinked a couple of times, her mouth slightly agape in surprise. She looked back at Naruto with that same expression, only to then furrow her brow in what appeared to be anger. Naruto tilted his head in confusion before her hoof smacked him in the face. He held the area with his own hoof as it began to sting.

“How dare you kidnap Trixie, and take her to your room!” she exclaimed, jumping off the bed and going nose to nose with Naruto. “Your perverted desire of getting into Trixie’s bath time wasn’t enough, so you brought me here to have your way with me?”

He remembered that he did indeed barge into the bathroom yesterday by accident but that was all it was; An accident. That didn’t warrant him being labeled as a pervert. It didn’t stop him from defending himself, however. Naruto shoved her off of him, sending her onto her rear. He stood on his hind legs and pointed a hoof at her.

“Kidnap!? I was sleeping peacefully until I found you in my bed!” he retorted, gritting his teeth. “Are you an idiot or something, because you’ve been like this since yesterday!”

“An idiot?” Trixie gasped before launching herself forward, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him left and right. “How dare you, you… you idiot!”

Naruto did the same, finally fed up with her attitude. “You’re the idiot here. Try listening to what your big mouth is saying!”

“You’re one to talk, smart-ass!”

“No, you’re the smart-ass!”

“No, you are!”

“Would you stop copying me!?”

“Why would I want to copy you anyway, idiot!?”

The next ten minutes consisted of this back and forth nonsensical argument. Neither side wanted to be the first to back down. Naruto still couldn’t figure out what was going on despite the fact that he was completely in the right.

“You dare copy the Great and Powerful Trixie!?”

“More like the Severely Lacking Trixie!”

“You have some nerve, slandering Trixie’s—”

A loud, piercing howl forced the two ponies to clamp their hooves over their ears, interrupting their pointless argument.

‘What is that racket!?’ Naruto thought. He turned his head to find the timberwolf he knew all too well howling as if the moon was out. After a few seconds of excruciating pain, it ceased. Naruto shot a glare at the wolf.

“Now that your noisy chatter has ceased...” the wolf began, fixing his eyes on Trixie. “Horned one, do you recall what you were doing back when the moon was still high?”

Trixie, still a bit stunned, stared right back at the wolf. “Y-yes, I was sleeping in my own room,” she said, before eying Naruto disapprovingly, “until THIS pervert kidnapped me!”

“I just said I didn’t!” Naruto argued.

“Do you want to find out what it’s like to fly!?” Trixie yelled, her horn beginning to glow. However, the wolf howled again to shut them both up. All attention focused on him once more. The wolf shook his head at Trixie.

“Blue legged one, you walked into the tailed one’s room intentionally, of your own free will.”

“W-what!?” Trixie gasped, not believing a single word coming from the wolf’s mouth. She pointed a hoof at him in anger.
“What makes you think Trixie would intentionally sleep with this… this… pervert!?

“This one could not sleep well, therefore I was awake,” the wolf said, stretching out its hind legs before focusing back on Trixie. “This one saw what you were doing. You walked past this one, legs walking and eyes closed.”

“Eyes closed, walking…” Naruto mumbled to himself. Suddenly, it all made sense. “Trixie, you sleepwalk!?”

Trixie’s cheeks suddenly turned slightly red as she rubbed her forehead. “N-never! Why would the Great Trixie sleepwalk? Such a trait is unbecoming of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Is that what you equine beings call it?” the wolf asked, puzzled over the words. “This ‘sleep-walking’ is unfamiliar to this one. Is it a common trait in every animal?”

“I don’t know about animals, but I had it happen to me a couple times when I was little. It depends.” Naruto looked back at Trixie with a grin. “But it’s kinda cute that you’re still sleepwalking at your age.”

Trixie’s blush deepened even more, not expecting such a remark to be said to her. Her eyes darted back and forth, desperately looking for a way out of this situation. “Wh-what nonsense is this? Trixie would never… um…” It was becoming hard to find the words to defend herself. Despite her flustering, it almost seemed like her body language was betraying her as if she did find it cute. Before she could say anything else, Naruto spoke up.

“It’s pretty funny though. I mean, sleep-walking? I’m surprised you didn’t run into a wall or fall down the stairs. It must be really hard to—“

Her fidgeting stopped, and Trixie gritted her teeth in anger as she smacked Naruto upside the head once more. “You… how dare you!” She turned tail and ran out of the bedroom, leaving behind a stunned Naruto. He looked at the wolf.

“W-what just happened?” Naruto asked, to which the wolf sighed before looking at where Trixie departed.

“You angered your own kind. Is this a common occurrence with you, Naruto?”

“Of course not, why would it be?” Naruto asked, puzzled. “I don’t know why all these ponies are getting angry at me for no apparent reason.” The wolf looked him over from the face down to his tail, before his eyes drifted off towards the door once more.

“You, blonde one, are unpredictable. You speak words of kindness and mercy, but then immediately anger the one you were being kind to. It is merely confusing on why such an approach is admissible. You must think before you speak, or similar things may happen in the future,“ he stated, moving towards the door. ”This one does not want to be involved in the crossfire.”

After the wolf left, Naruto just stood there, tossing the wolf’s words in his head. Thinking back to the times he had gotten into his arguments, especially the ones with Blackie, he didn’t think things through. Granted, he was a knucklehead when he was a lot younger, but he changed alot since training with the perverted sage Jiraiya.

But is it possible that his old habits haven’t died off yet? More importantly,

“Did he just call me an idiot?”

*****

It didn’t take long for the three to gather at the table in the kitchen. In the middle sat a small bag of apples, which Naruto, Trixie, and the wolf split amongst themselves. The only exception was the thoroughly gnawed piece of wood laying next to wolf which it chewed on every so often.

Trixie and Naruto didn’t look at each other as they ate their respective meals. It didn’t help that it was completely silent. Naruto looked between the wolf, and reluctantly at Trixie, and sighed. He placed the half-eaten apple down.

“Trixie,” he began, catching her attention for a split second before she continued eating. “I’m sorry about earlier. If I knew that making fun of your sleepwalking was mean, I wouldn’t have said it.”

“Oh sure, like an apology is going to make everything better,” she huffed.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked, puzzled. She looked back at him, as if he didn’t get the hint. She just sighed and put her apple down, staring straight at him.

“Let’s get this straight. Trixie is not a sleep walker. I may have wound up in your bed, but now Trixie knows you didn’t kidnap her.”

“Then… how did you get in my bed?”

Trixie rolled her eyes at that.

“Let’s just forget it ever happened.”

“But--” Naruto was about to protest until she glared back at him.

“Forget, it ever, happened.” She said firmly.

Naruto sighed and he went back to eating his apple.

She’s stubborn… He just couldn’t wrap his head around her. One moment, she’s boastful and the next she shouts at every little misfortune that comes her way.

“I wonder what’s wrong with her…” Naruto mumbled to himself. He wasn’t absolutely sure if Trixie was telling the truth, though. Did she sleepwalk, or intentionally go to his room but not realize he was sleeping in it? So many scenarios ran through his mind, but he couldn’t isolate just one. He had to put it on the backburner for now.

“So,” he began timidly, “what did you two do while I was away yesterday?”

“It’s really none of your business, is it?” Trixie quipped. Naruto frowned looking at the wolf, still gnawing on the piece of wood, for support. He locked eyes with Naruto and nodded.

“We wandered around this town you call ‘Ponyville’. The blue legged one was shouting at how many of these little metal coins she had, and she even shouted at a couple of other multi-colored equines until she got what she wanted,” the wolf explained bluntly.

Trixie’s jaw dropped when she heard the wolf’s story. “T-that’s not what it was like at all!” Naruto raised a brow at Trixie. Seeing her flustered, a small grin appeared on his face.

“Oh? So what was it then, Trixie?”

“W-well, the Great and Powerful Trixie was certainly shouting, but she did it with elegance and style!”

“That’s not something to be proud of…”

“Oh, be quiet!” Trixie snapped. “Anyway, continuing my wonderful tale of adventures in the market district… I kindly strolled along the area finding food for the right price. With a few bits and a mangy mongrel, though, it was quite hard to find a good deal,” Trixie explained. The wolf looked at Naruto and nodded.

“Some of the townsfolk were avoiding us. This one believes the cause to be this one’s form.”

“I’m not surprised about that. The timberwolves are usually hostile to ponies here, right?” Naruto guessed.

“Normally, yes.” The wolf nodded. “This one’s kind takes a greater joy in the fine oak and the meats of our prey. We eat the fruits and plants of nature as well, but not through greater enjoyment.” The wolf looked down and huffed. “This one’s kind are feared through that alone.”

Princess’ power was still a mystery. If she could turn a predatory animal such as this timberwolf into an ally, what else could she do? If only there was some way he could get in touch with her anytime he wanted…

“If this mutt is done with explaining why his kind are so dangerous—“

“It’s Gaia,” the wolf interrupted.

Naruto blinked a couple of times. “Huh? Who’s Gai?”

“This one is,” the wolf re-assured.

“You named yourself?” Naruto tilted his head, confused. “Why would you name yourself after Bushy Brow’s sensei? You’re not even wearing green spandex.” He had to admit that he hadn’t heard the name ‘Gai’ in a long time. While he was a crazily determined shinobi obsessed with training and constantly challenging Kakashi, he wasn’t that bad.

It was the wolf’s turn to tilt its head in confusion. “Who is this Bushy Brows? This one said Gaia, Ga-Ai-Ya, and what is this ‘spandex’?”

“Oh you said ‘Gaia’,” Naruto said, knocking a hoof on his head. “Sorry, I misheard you.” He put a hoof on his chin in thought. “So how’d you come up with that name? It’s... different,” he asked as he repeated the name under his breath. The wolf brought out a book from underneath the table, placing it upright. He flipped it open to the bookmarked page and placed a paw on it.

“H-hey, what about my story?” Trixie spoke up, but Naruto ignored her and looked at where the wolf was pointing.

“A Preek goddess from mythological legend, and the embodiment of Nature. It seems to be a suitable name for this one.”

“Never expected you to give yourself a girl’s name… Wait, you are male right?”

“This one is male.”

“That’s even weirder!” Naruto said, throwing his front hooves into the air as if it was a big deal. “Why call yourself a girl’s name?”

“A… girl? What is this ‘girl’?” Gaia asked, looking confused again.

“Hey, are you going to keep ignoring me!?” Trixie shouted. Trixie slammed a hoof down on the table.

“You know, a girl. What Trixie is,” he added, pointing a hoof at Trixie. She raised a brow and shook her head.

“Excuse me, but I’m a mare, not this ‘girl’ as you call it,” Trixie tried to explain, but Naruto just shook his head at her.

“It’s better than asking if he’s a colt or a mare. That just feels awkward,” Naruto retorted.

“No it doesn’t. Male or female, colt or mare, they’re the same thing, sort of,” Trixie retorted.

“To you, maybe,” he muttered quietly.

“What was that?”

“Nothing at all…”

The wolf looked between the two waiting for another argument to break out. However, they stayed silent, allowing him to continue his explanation. “Regardless, this one is male. To this one, Gaia is its name whether it sounds male or female. This is this one’s opinion.”

Naruto shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat, wol—er, I mean Gaia.”

Trixie smiled as their conversation died down. Finally, she would be placed back into the spotlight to tell the wondrous adventures of yesterday.

“Now, Trixie couldn’t find any good prices with her mongrel companion, so therefore I had to—” Before Trixie could finish, a loud series of knocks came from behind them. Naruto got up from his chair and sighed.

“Wonder who that could be,” he said to himself. He looked at Trixie and rubbed his head. “What happened last night will have to wait, Trixie. Wait here.” With that said, he walked out of the kitchen. For Trixie, that was the last straw.

“Urgggh! Why does Trixie have to deal with this!?” she said as she banged her hooves on the table once more, with the table legs slightly buckling under her weight.

“It is not polite to leave a guest waiting outside, horned one” Gaia commented.

“And it’s not polite to walk out in the middle of Trixie’s story,” she scoffed.

“You mean ‘our’ story.”

“Hmph, Trixie’s story is more fabulous than yours.” There was an awkward silence as the wolf looked at her curiously, but merely shook its head.

“This one does not know how it arrived to such a conclusion, but as Naruto said: ‘Whatever floats your boat’.” The wolf then blinked at his own words, mumbling a bit at the word that he said last. He looked at Trixie with confusion.

“Horned one, what is this ‘boat’?”

*****

Naruto walked up to the door and placed his hoof on the handle, but stopped himself before opening it. He sincerely hoped that it wasn’t Blackie. He didn’t want to deal with him again so soon after yesterday.

He looked out the window next to the door and, to his utmost disdain, it was Blackie. He noticed there were a few scratches on his coat, and even a few spots of dirt like he had been rolling around on the ground.

Is it possible he’s that desperate to get his share? Naruto recalled that he did say he would go to Canterlot just to search for him, but surely he didn’t?

Naruto sighed. He needed to end this once and for all. One thing he needed was information, though. Against his better judgement, he opened the door. Standing there was a teeth-gritting Blackie. Naruto almost regretted ever opening the door, but Blackie must have noticed his reaction, and immediately calmed down.

“Filly,” Blackie said in a calm matter, which was unusually uncharacteristic of him but Naruto kept up his guard.

“What do you want now, Blackie?”

“I think it’s rather obvious at this point.”

Of course he did. That was the only thing that kept him from leaving him alone. It was going in circles and it needed to stop. Naruto sighed as he leaned against the door, with his eyelids halfway down.

“Alright, Blackie, how much?”

“I said I wa—huh?” he asked, backpedaling in slight surprise.

“I said ‘how much’,” Naruto repeated, glaring at him. “All this time I’ve been driving you away without asking how much I owed you. So, how much?”

Blackie couldn’t help but smile as he saw a ray of hope shine upon him.

“One thousand bits.”

But the ray of hope obviously didn’t give a crap anymore as Naruto slammed the door in his face again. One thousand bits was not only a lot of money, but it was a completely ridiculous sum. It only showed him that Blackie was just a selfish corrupted bastard lacking any moral fiber whatsoever.

“The nerve, filly! Let me back in, I want my bits!” The door jumped on its hinges as Blackie banged on it. The only reason it was staying up was thanks to the fact that Naruto was pressed up against the other side.

“Go away already! Can’t you see I’m broke!?” Naruto yelled through the woodwork.

“Don’t lie to me! If you can afford that butler, then you’re obviously loaded!”

Naruto flinched. He recalled back when he transformed into a butler just to get Blackie off of his tail. He didn’t think it would bite him in the ass later, but now it did.

“Terrific, just terrific…” he mumbled to himself. “Now what? He’s never going to listen or leave me alone at this rate…”

“Is there a problem, Naruto?” Gaia walked up in front of Naruto from the kitchen, curious of what the noise was all about.

“Huh? What are you doing here, Gaia?”

“This one was bored of the blue mare’s speeches of her…” The wolf darted his eyes down and back at Naruto, mostly disturbed. “‘Fabulous Adventures’, as she calls it.”

“She’s a hand—er, hoofful, I’ll give you that, but I guess she just needs time to adjust here. An overgrown teddy bear did ruin her life after all…”

The door shook again as Blackie tested his mettle against it, followed by words of loathing, hate and ignorance. Frankly, Naruto was tired of it. He looked at Gaia for a moment, and an idea popped into his head. Naruto couldn’t help but smile as Gaia tilted his head in confusion.

*****

Meanwhile, two ponies were on their way to Naruto’s house. One, a grey earth-pony mare with elegantly stylish, black hair sporting a white neck collar along her neck and a pink bowtie. The other was a white unicorn mare with a striking neon blue hairstyle, along with purple sunglasses covering her eyes.

The white mare was leaning her head on the grey mare’s shoulder, but she immediately pushed her off.

“Geez, Vinyl, don’t lean on me like that in public,” she said with a blush, “It’s embarrassing.” Instead, she just wrapped a hoof around her neck, bringing her closer.

“Aw, don’t be like that, ‘Tavi. I don’t care if anyone sees us,” Vinyl said in a slurred kind of voice.

“And you’re not right in the head right now. You pulled another all-nighter at your last DJ session didn’t you?” she asked her, to which Vinyl nodded lazily. “I told you we’d be going to a friend’s house yesterday. It’s your fault for partying all night long.”

“But Taaaaviiiii! They were pleading for an encore! You should’ve seen how full my tip jar was getting! It was practically overflowing onto the floor!” she exclaimed, rocking them both from side to side as they walked. “C’mon, this isn’t fair to treat me like this. What about our little night together?”

“Wh--!?” she yelped as Vinyl rubbed a hoof in her hair. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“Oh come on… you know when we got into bed together…”

“Eep…” she said with a blush.

“And we got under the covers and-”

“A-ah… n-no more… Don’t say anymore…” she whimpered with a blush on her face.

“Played Checkers, Hah!” Vinyl said and laughed. The grey mare, obviously, was not. Her entire face was blushing. Vinyl wiped a tear from her eye, her laughter finally dying down. “C’mon, ‘Tavi, keep up with me here. We got into bed and played checkers one night. We were bored out of our minds. What did you think I meant?”

Frustrated, Octavia grabbed Vinyl by the chest, with Vinyl still grinning.

“Now see here, you—!“

Before Octavia could get anything out of Vinyl, a piercing mare-ish scream got their attention.

“AAAHHH! HELP!”

From further up the road, a white timberwolf was chasing a black unicorn, its teeth bared and snarling. The unicorn bolted pass the two without noticing them, the timberwolf following a moment after. The two mares watched, slack-jawed as they tore down the road.

Eventually, the wolf stopped in its tracks, watching as the unicorn continued to run into town. It panted, with its wooden tongue flopping out of its mouth.

“I-Is that…” Octavia stuttered, filled with fear. She knew exactly what it was and every muscle in her body tensed, ready to run at a moments notice.

“Ooh, it’s a Timberwolf; awesome!” But Vinyl held no such fear. Octavia just looked at Vinyl in fear, her teeth chattering as she wrapped her hooves around Vinyl’s neck.

“A-awesome!? It’s a timberwolf! What’s it doing out of the forest!?”

The wolf slurped his tongue back into its barky mouth. It turned towards them, ears perked up and its beastly glowing eyes staring right at them. They both flinched, with Octavia holding her mouth agape, while Vinyl just stared in curiosity.

“I-I think it’s going to eat us!” Octavia stammered, holding onto Vinyl for dear life.

“Shhh, don’t worry…” Vinyl reassured her, petting Octavia’s fine-combed hair. “If it attacks us, I’ll protect you, alright?”

“Y-you will?” Octavia asked with her purple eyes, finding hope in Vinyl’s. Even though she couldn’t see her eyes through her thick sunglasses, in her heart, she could see them.

“C’mon, would I ever lie to you?” Vinyl added with a glance before quickly locking eyes with the wolf again, charging up a self-defense spell. The wolf tilted its head at the strange ponies. Was it a threat, or thinking about how best to eat them?

The answer came when it scratched itself with its back paw.

They couldn’t believe it. The wolf sat down, and scratched its back with its hind leg, not caring that they were there, either. Vinyl’s battle-ready face softened as the wolf yawned. It took another look at Vinyl and sighed.

“The black one runs at a magnificent speed; this one has underestimated the legs of the equines.”

Time seemed to stop when the wolf spoke. The two friends stood there, mouths agape. Octavia and Vinyl looked at each other in confusion.

“Did that wolf…” Octavia began.

“Just speak?” Vinyl ended.

They looked back at the wolf again and met its intimidating stare head on.

“Heyyy, wait up, Gaia!”

A voice from their right caused them to turn their heads as Naruto came dashing in from up the road. Octavia sighed in relief, recognizing who it was that was coming to their rescue.

“It’s Naruto! Maybe he’ll save us from that timberwolf!” Octavia cried with glee. As he closed the distance between himself and the timberwolf, she expected him to break out with a buck or a lunging tackle. Instead, he slid to a stop next to him and patted it on its head.

“Geez, Gaia, I had no idea you were that fast.”

“I am as light as the wood of the tall ones, Naruto. The legs this one is born with is made for running.”

“Still, though, that was amazing. I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of this before. Did you see how fast he was running?”

“Yes, but this one does not understand.” The timberwolf frowned. “Why did you want this one to chase him?”

“Er, eh heh… it’s a long story, Gaia. I’ll tell you when we get back,” Naruto said, standing back up and stretching lightly.

The musical duo stood there, glancing back and forth between Naruto and the wolf. Questions riddled Octavia’s mind. Why wasn’t it attacking him? Why was Naruto talking with it? Most importantly, why was it talking!?

Naruto finally noticed out of the corner of his eye the two mares off the side of the road. He flashed them a grin, locking eyes with Octavia.

“Oh, hey Octy, what’s up?”

*****

It didn’t take long for all four of them to reach Naruto’s house. The entire way back, he repeatedly assured the two mares that he’d explain everything once they were there. The grey mare couldn’t believe her eyes at the condition of the living room: It was well on its way to being livable.

“Wow, you’ve been busy, Naruto,“ she complimented. “Did you hire someone to help fix the place?”

“I cleaned the living room; I had some help with the rest of the house as well. It’s not fixed up yet, but we’re working on it,” Naruto explained, guiding Vinyl and Octavia toward the couch. They both looked at each other, and shrugged. They sat down on the brand new couch, getting comfortable. Naruto brought in a chair back from the kitchen for himself, sitting in it backwards with his hooves crossed over the backrest.

“I’d offer you something to drink, but we’re a little tight on money at the moment. It took quite a few bits to get us to where we are now.”

“It’s quite alright, Naruto. Vinyl and I had lunch before we got here,” Octavia said with a smile. Vinyl crossed her hind legs and leaned back.

“Wow, this couch feels great,” Vinyl said with a smile, but leaned forward with a grin. “So, you must be Tails then, the great savior that ‘Tavi goes on and on about huh?”

“T-Tails?” He certainly wasn’t fond of the name, especially since every pony out there keeps going head over heels for them. “Why Tails? Why not just call me Naruto?”

“Nah, your real name is definitely lacking. Instead I’ll just call you Tails, alright? Of course it’s alright,” Vinyl explained with a cheeky grin. Octavia glared at Vinyl, but took on a softer expression when looking at Naruto.

“Forgive Vinyl, Naruto. She’s a bit of a wild mare with her own set of rules she follows.”

“That goes without saying ‘Tavi,” Vinyl chuckled.

“Oh course it does…” Octavia added sarcastically. She looked back at Naruto with a faltering smile. “Now, I believe re-introductions are in order yes? As you know, my name is Octavia Clopper, cello and violinist. And this is—”

“Vinyl Scratch,” interrupted the unicorn, throwing up both her hooves as if in front of an audience. “the best Disc Jockey in all of Equestria!”

“In that case, I’m Naruto Uzumaki and I don’t know what I am right now,” Naruto admittedly said. While he was, in fact, a ninja, most ponies here obviously had nothing of an equivalent nature. It was probably best to keep that himself for now. Vinyl raised a brow at this.

“You serious? Like, are you jobless or something?”

“I’ve been freelancing, mostly; Taking odd jobs in town to get by. I haven’t decided on anything permanent yet.”

“I thought you were a mercenary, Naruto,” chimed in Octavia with a thoughtful look.

“Huh? I am?” Naruto said, confused.

“Well, what else could you be? You obviously have the fighting prowess required of one. I was telling Vinyl about it before.”

He had not only risked his life to kill a Manticore to save Octavia, but also Trixie from timberwolves. He guessed it was accurate to call himself a Mercenary, since it seemed to be a common thing around here in Equestria.

“Yeah… I’m a Mercenary, I guess. It’s about as close as I’m going to get to being labeled a ninja again,” Naruto explained, realizing his slip of the tongue a moment too late.

“Neen-ja?” Vinyl sounded out curiously. Octavia looked at Vinyl with the same expression.

“What, pray tell, is a ninja?” Octavia inquired, her curiosity piqued. “In fact, I remember you saying that while we were walking with daddy to this house.”

Naruto bit his lip. Him and his big mouth. In fact, why was he so hesitant in hiding this information? Then again, once he thought about it a bit more, a ninja was similar to a mercenary.

“Well… I guess it would be similar to a mercenary, except we’re more technique-oriented and stealthy. It’s… a job I used to have back where I once lived.” He wasn’t exactly lying, but he wasn’t telling them the whole truth, either. He hoped that they wouldn’t press any further than that though.

“I see, so you know your way around combat rather well?” Octavia asked.

“I guess you could say that, yeah…” Naruto nodded in agreement.

Let’s not forget that my abilities are stunted because of this stupid pony form… Naruto thought sadly.

“Well, in any case, that brings me to the reason for our visit. You sent us a message saying we could come by this weekend to discuss details on a job,” Octavia announced.

“Wait, it’s the weekend already?”

“Heh, wow, and I thought I had lost my sense of time these days,” Vinyl said with a cheeky grin, her front hooves scratching her cheek. “Then again, when you drink during the after-parties, time just flies.”

Octavia glared at Vinyl. “That’s because you get completely inebriated! I worry that one night, somepony is going to take advantage of you.”

“Oh come on, ‘Tavi, they wouldn’t do that. My fans love me!”

“That’s exactly what I’m scared of.”

Naruto had no idea what they were talking about, especially this ‘after party’ stuff. In fact, he didn’t even know what a disc jockey was but that was besides the point at the moment.

“I’ve just been busy lately. That’s all. When you’ve got a talking timberwolf in your house and a noisy showmare, you lose all sense of time, trust me,” he explained with a sigh.

“Showmare?” Vinyl asked.

“Who’s that?” Octavia added.

“Just a random pony that I ran into along with the timberwolf here,” he said as he petted Gaia. “We all met in the Everfree Forest. Decent place to make friends, huh?” He added sarcastically.

“Speaking of which…” Octavia locked eyes with the Timberwolf, its eyes revealing something akin to intelligence. It set her teeth on edge, wondering how such a fierce beast could have such intellect. She looked back at Naruto after taking a deep breath.

“How is that timberwolf tamed,” Octavia asked as she scratched her chin, “and how is it talking?”

Naruto looked back at the Timberwol, then back at Octavia. He scratched his head and shrugged. “Frankly, I don’t know. I took it back to my house, and some stuff happened when I tried to ea—“ Naruto immediately clasped his mouth shut. He couldn’t very well tell them he was going to eat it, given Twilight’s warning. He gulped as the two musical mares eyed him in confusion.

“A-anyway, I brought him here and some weird stuff happened. It’d take too long for me to explain so just accept the fact that there’s a talking wolf.”

“Naruto, this one believes you have said that before,” Gaia reiterated, laying his head down on the floor.

“Well what do you want me to say? How do you think I feel about this? It’s just too weird…” Naruto said with his face in his hooves. Octavia briefly looked at Vinyl, but just gave a nod.

“I… see. Then I won’t push the matter any further, although I still wish I could know more about it,” Octavia said, her eyes full of curiosity.

“If it is because you are afraid of this one, then please don’t. This one means you no harm,” the wolf re-assured.

“But who is this showmare you were talking about?” Octavia asked.

“Oh, I’m talking about—“

“—the Great and Powerful Trixie of course!” interrupted Trixie.

All heads turned towards the voice to find the show mare in question standing in the doorway. She stood on her hind legs and spread her hooves wide. “Feast your eyes on her splendiferous form, audience!”

An awkward silence quickly fell as they continued to stare at the blue mare. Naruto could care less, while Octavia just stared in disbelief. Vinyl, on the other hand, smiled as she adjusted her sunglasses.

“Hey, you’re that street performer that got chased out of Canterlot! What brings you here?” Vinyl asked nonchalantly. A resounding thump as Trixie crashed to the floor in what appeared to be utter surprise rang through the house.

So they know each other then, Naruto thought curiously. A distant friend perhaps, or one of the misfortunates that Trixie included into her act? She got up and pointed a hoof angrily at Vinyl.

“How dare you! Trixie was never chased out of anything!” she pronounced proudly, giving a wide grin. “All she did was make a hasty retreat as her fans could not handle Trixie’s glorious performance.”

“Sure, after they threw tomatoes and rotten vegetables at you,” Vinyl retorted with a snicker.

Naruto raised a brow. “Is that really what happened, Trixie?”

“W-well… um…” Trixie stuttered out, obviously at a lack for words. In the end, she stomped her hoof and shook her head. “W-what does it matter? Those ponies had no sense of taste or sophistication whatsoever, so I took my act elsewhere! End of discussion!” she finished loudly, snout in the air. Vinyl sighed in frustration.

“The true story, Naruto, was that Trixie here performed back in Canterlot. All of what I know is just second hoof information, but apparently she was chased out of town due to her…” Vinyl explained, stifling a giggle in the process. “Heh, sorry. I can’t help but laugh when I hear she lit somepony’s mane on fire with a lightning bolt. I really wanted to see-- mmmph!?”

Vinyl’s mouth was suddenly surrounded in a pale light blue aura and forcefully kept shut. She growled as she stared at the offending mare whose horn glowed with the same color.

“Grrr, shut up shut up shut up! Can’t anyone understand that it was an accident!? Trixie’s performance isn’t perfect!” Vinyl chuckled some more at Trixie’s reaction to all of this. Naruto couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

“You lit somepony’s mane on fire?” Naruto asked, to which Trixie glared back.

“Trixie was experimenting with a new trick. The stallion in the front row should have known better than to look at me with his lustful eyes, throwing off Trixie’s concentration and—“ Trixie explained before clamping both hooves over her running mouth. She elected to stare at each pony in utter disdain before regaining some semblance of her old self.

“Trixie is in no mood for this. She is retiring to her room.” With that, she marched —or stomped —back out of the room. A moment later, they heard the sound of a door slamming shut.

“You really got under her skin with that, but was it even necessary?” Naruto commented with a frown. The DJ pony grinned ecstatically.

“I wanted to. Her reactions were so cute!”

“Vinyl, you really shouldn’t tease other ponies like that,” she admonished. “It’s a bit unnerving.”

“Aw, she’ll get over it. You know how those show ponies are: she’s used to ponies like me. At least I hope she is, or she’s gonna be in store for a rude awakening,” Vinyl said with a shrug, giving Naruto a more serious expression as her brows furrowed.

“What I’m trying to say is, you need to handle criticism when you’re in show business. Otherwise, it won’t end well for you. Take it from experience,” Vinyl explained, letting off an air of seriousness. “I had to go through a lot of harsh times and take a lot of flak until I got where I am today. Always listen to what the audience is saying, and you just might make it out there.”

While it was a bit unexpected, he agreed with everything Vinyl Scratch was saying, despite her rather tenuous methods. He even got to hear of a side of Trixie that she probably would never had told him had he asked. For some reason, he found her reactions… cute. He could’ve sworn she was blushing too. Perhaps she was coming down with something? Regardless, Vinyl’s advice was rather sound, but he detected a hint of sarcasm in her words. Silence filled the room as everypony and wolf took in what just happened at their own pace.

“At any rate…” Octavia started, breaking the silence. “We need your help, Naruto.”

To be honest, he had almost completely forgotten that they were here for something serious. All this side-tracking was rather interesting though.

“Well, what’s wrong?”

“You don’t remember what I wrote in the letter I sent you?” Octavia said, a little peeved.

Naruto leaned back a little, looking up toward the ceiling as he went over what he remembered. Only one part was one hundred percent clear.

“You said you needed a bodyguard, right?” ventured Naruto.

“Correct,” Octavia confirmed, smiling as she gestured to Vinyl. “Care to fill him i,n or should I?”

“Right… well, my life might be in danger.” She paused for a moment, as if letting that bit of information set in. After a few seconds, she continued. “As you know now, I’m a DJ by trade and I travel a lot to different venues and gigs for my job. However, the last couple jobs had…” Vinyl explained, pausing as she took off her sunglasses, revealing her blood-red eyes to Naruto. “…well, they each had an interruption, two in total. The first was when I was playing at a charity party to raise money for a local farm. I narrowly avoided getting hit by an arrow.

“I was lucky that the DJ booth I was behind had a thick glass window in front of me. Needless to say, it scared the crap outta me,” she added, running a hoof through her hair. ”I made a hasty exit because of that. It also didn’t help that the authorities or the club staff couldn’t find any leads.” Vinyl’s eyes darted down as she let out a heavy sigh.

“The second time was in Canterlot. I was taking a break during half-time, drinking some good ol’ apple cider. Nothing beats an ice cold glass of cider when you’re parched. You know what I mean, Tails?”

“No, I don’t. I don’t drink.”

“Well that’s lame,” Vinyl stated with a chuckle. “Anyway, while I was getting another at the bar, one of the stage crew was checking on one of my subwoofers when BOOM!” she spoke loudly, throwing out her hooves in exaggeration. Naruto and Octavia both flinched.

“The speaker exploded. Thankfully, I was nowhere near the blast. But the pony who was checking the equipment,” she murmured sadly, frowning, “he wasn’t so lucky.”
Silence fell as the meaning behind those last few words sunk in. He stood up from his chair, determination evident in his eyes.

“When’s your next gig?”

“It’s tonight here in Ponyville, at a little club called ‘Bat Crazy’. It’s a frequented place for freelance DJs, making it a perfect spot for me. The owner and I are good friends and he is aware of the situation. However…” Vinyl darted her eyes toward the floor. “I was very lucky to have survived the first two times, but I don’t think I’m going to be so lucky this time. Do you know the saying ‘third time’s the charm’? Well, I think the charm’s going to be me getting killed.” She looked back at Naruto. “With the way ‘Tavi’s talked about you, you could be my best hope in ending this problem permanently. If it all goes well, I’ll compensate you for your time and effort.”

Naruto didn’t know who was attempting to take Vinyl’s life, but the fact that it happened the last two times, meant it would most definitely happen again. But what if the assassin didn’t make its attempt tonight? What if that was the end of it and the assassin just gave up?

No. Such thinking got people killed. Whoever it was would most likely try again, seeing as nopony had seen neither hide nor hair of him. He noticed they were holding each other’s hooves tightly, Octavia silently supporting her in her time of need. Gaia, silently observing till now, stepped forward and nodded.

“This one does not completely understand the strange words you have said. However, this one believes you are in danger,” Gaia said, staring back at Naruto. “It would be the right thing to accept this strange haired mare’s request,” he expressed, a nearly unnoticeable grin on his face . “I will be at your side, assisting you as necessary.”

“I hate to butt in… but pets aren’t allowed in the club. It’s kind of mandatory, especially since you’re a timberwolf,” Vinyl sadly said. This raised a brow from the wolf.

“What manner of nonsense is this? This one’s presence cannot be accepted?” Gaia objected, not fully understanding her point.

“It’s the club rules,” Vinyl answered. Gaia growled lightly, but reined himself in before laying down on the floor quietly.

“Ah, yes… of course it would be. One must have restrictions to live a comfortable life, this one believes.”

“Sometimes the rules are a pain in the flank, but what can you do?” Vinyl said with a frown.

Naruto’s decision was obvious: Of course he would help Vinyl. After all, it was thanks to Octavia’s family that he had this house. It was only fair that he help out her friend too.

“Don’t worry, Vinyl,” he smiled, thumping his chest with a hoof. ”I’ll protect you while you’re at your gig. Believe it!” He exclaimed with his trademark grin. Vinyl lunged forward, encompassing him in a giant bear hug as she profusely thanked him.

“Oh thank you thank you thank you! I knew I could count on you!” Vinyl cried out in excitement and relief. “If I didn’t already have a special somepony, I’d kiss you right now.”

“Er, I uh…” Naruto really had no idea what to do next. Did he hug her back? Pat her on the head? Push her away? “Could you, er, get off me?” he decided, voicing his distress. ”You’re suffocating me…!”

“Oops!” she squeaked as she loosened her vice-grip, giggling like a madpony. “Sorry, I got carried away!”

“I do have a question, though,” Naruto added, ruffling his fur a bit.

“Sure, anything!” Vinyl excitedly replied.

“What’s a DJ?” Naruto meekly replied. “Is it some kind of food?”

Author's Note

Part one of two, everyone! It was originally going to have Parts 1 and 2 combined, but due to a lack of time (and how monstrously long the chapter was getting), I decided to split it up for next time. Consider it a cliffhanger for ya. I'd also like to add that I just got a twitter account about a week or so ago. I use it mainly for updates on any stories or what I'm currently doing in my life. It'll be your best bet to find out what I'm working on currently/next. You'll find it on my user page. :)

Now... Naruto in a dance club, as a bodyguard. How long until you think he's going to go out screaming on how noisy it is? Hah!

CH11: Big Game Hunter (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

Hunting season has begun

And the deed shall be done

With one such fool

...And an array of new tools

*****

Chapter 11: Big Game Hunter

The Everfree Forest. A dark, vast forest teeming with unknown fauna and wildlife; some harmless, most deadly. Naruto knew exactly what he was looking for in this unfamiliar but dangerous place. He stopped moving at the forest’s mouth, where the trail would deeper into its depths. A final check of his new tools was in order.

Belted onto Naruto’s front legs were a couple of brown sheathes, each containing two iron daggers. The grips of the daggers were colored a dull red while the outer rim was a dull gray. Each blade was sharpened to a razor-sharp edge. They even weighed as much as his old kunai. Naruto lifted one foreleg and unsheathed a dagger using his mouth, holding it firmly between his teeth. He grimaced as he tasted the iron in his mouth; it almost made him want to spit it out.

But he couldn’t. He needed to get used to it if was going to kill a Manticore… which come to think about it, had absolutely no clue as to what it looked like. Sure, he knew the general characteristics but that would only get him so far. Naruto sighed as he closed his eyes, thinking back to when he got his gear.

*****

“So there’s no changin’ yer mind, eh? You’re really itchin’ to get yourself killed in the Everfree Forest?” Blackie said, as he used his magic to strap the belts with the two sheathes onto Naruto’s legs.

“For the last time, It’s not a death wish; it’s an opportunity I don’t want to ignore; especially with what the client said”, Naruto answered back.

“And that would be?”

“Saving a loved one…” Blackie blinked, apparently not expecting that answer. He finished strapping on the sheathes before levitating the 2 daggers into their respective slots.

“So let me get this straight… He wants a Manticore tail... so that he can save a loved one? C’mon filly, do you even know what a Manticore tail is?” Naruto shook his head. “It’s a bloody scorpion tail, which means it’s also poisonous. One stab, One cut, One prick and bam, yer dead; poison ain’t something to trifle with.”

Naruto’s face went from that of confidence to extreme doubt in a nanosecond. His last brush with poison was what led him to die for the first time. What was stopping the same thing from happening again?

A scorpion tail filled with poison, he thought. If it was poisonous, why did Gary even need it? To kill his daughter that much more quickly? Naruto furrowed his brow a bit as he closed his eyes momentarily before opening them to look at Blackie. Poison or no poison, he promised Gary he’d bring one back and he always kept his promises.

“I doubt he’ll do anything bad with it. He seems like a good pers- I mean pony, in my eyes.” Naruto then smirked. “Besides, it’s a good chance to stretch my legs.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s just say that I haven’t fought anything like this before... or anything else for that matter in a while”

“You’re nuts, filly… You really are.”

As Blackie finished the preparations for Naruto, a sigh escapes his mouth as he counts off the daggers that are strapped to Naruto. As he did that, Naruto took the time to survey the surrounding town. It was the brink of night. No one was around, and silence reigned supreme throughout the marketplace. Everyone was probably sound asleep he guessed. As he looked, he swore that he saw a small patch of pink in his peripheral before it mysteriously vanished into thin air. Naruto blinked a few times. It came from a nearby alleyway. What did he see, he thought; a list popped into his head, ranging from a stray cat to a ramen burglar. Oh how he hoped it wasn’t the last one. But then again, it was probably just his mind playing tricks on himself.

“You sure you don’t want a sword? I don’t think daggers are gonna’ help ya in there.” Blackie said. Not hearing a reply, he looked up at Naruto to see him looking over his shoulder at the market. “Filly, if you’re eyeing some hot flank, now is not the time. Do it when your not wasting somepony else’s.” It took a second before Naruto broke out of his stupor, registering what the blacksmith just said. Naruto shook his head, a slight blush invaded his face.

“Oh, um, no… It’s nothing. Come again?”

“I said are you sure you don’t want a sword? Daggers aren’t that powerful to begin with.”

“I probably couldn’t even afford it. Besides, I’m much more skilled with a dagger than a sword.”

“Suit yerself filly, but you’ll still be surprised at just how much these darn toothpicks are gonna’ cost ya.” Naruto raised a brow at Blackie’s comment. They couldn’t cost that much could they?

“They can’t be that expensive…”

“They’re 100 Bits for the whole set…”

*****

As Naruto gathered his thoughts, he brought his eyes back to the dark forest ahead of him. The tension of the fight ahead is already starting to screw around with his nerves.

“So this is the Everfree Forest, huh… I can’t believe I’m finally going to be tackling a Manticore…”, Naruto said as he sheathed his dagger. “There’s just one thing I don’t get…”

“Why the HELL did you have to not only come with me, but also make me drag some wooden cart, while YOU rode on it!?”, Naruto shouted as he pointed an accusing hoof at Blackie. He only shrugged as he relaxed in the seat of the cart and tipped what seemed like a straw hat on his head up slightly to look back.

“Because that was the deal. We agreed that I would knock 75% off the set if you not only pulled my cart and me to the forest, but also gave me free reign over the rest of the Manticore. I can make some good quality gear from its body parts… Of course, if you die in there, I’m not helping ya, and you make my bartering risk null and void.” Blackie explained to Naruto. Naruto merely shook his head in disbelief.

Naruto didn’t really have a choice in the matter either. He didn’t have 100 bits so he got lucky when he tried to reason with Blackie for a compromise. 25 Bits is as far down as Naruto could get it. As long as he fulfilled Blackie’s conditions that is. What bothered him even more was that Blackie wasn’t coming into the forest with him.

“Let’s not forget that you’re not even coming into the forest with me, but just ‘standing guard’ or whatever next to the entrance.”

“Yup… That sounds about right.”

“That’s what I don’t understand. If you’re here, why not come help me?”

“Oh, it’s definitely ‘cause I want to fight a Manticore in the middle of the Everfree. C’mon kid, I’m the only blacksmith in this whole town. I’m not gonna go gallivanting off with some filly who has a death wish every day of the week. I prefer to stay in one piece, thank you very much. Besides…” Blackie leaned up from his cart seat and eyed Naruto for a brief moment. “How are you going to haul a Manticore tail all the way to your client? They’re pretty large, and one pony can’t do it alone.”

Blackie had a point, Naruto thought. Maybe this deal was a small blessing in disguise, since he wouldn’t have to drag anything that big around. He still didn’t understand why Blackie was being a bit of a coward though. Naruto turned towards the forest once more before beginning the trek.

“Whatever Blackie… You just better be here when I get back.” Naruto said.

“Don’t worry… I’m not going to turn tail and abandon ya. I’ll be here when you get back… unless you’re dead, of course.”

Naruto glared back at Blackie, but only shrugged as he looked back towards the forest. “I’m not going to die that easily, I’m afraid.” Naruto said, unknowing of the irony in his words. As he took another step forward, black flying creatures swarmed out of the trees, making several flapping sounds and squeaks, disappearing off into the night sky. Bats, Naruto thought. He was almost out of hearing range of Blackie before the blacksmith chimed in once more in a singsong voice.

“Have fun in there. Say hi to the wolves when you get a chance.”

What an asshole, Naruto thought.

*****

Naruto walked on the forest path taking in everything around him at once from the surrounding trees to the random tufts of grass on the path. He thought that it wouldn’t be that intimidating when he first started out, but he was dead wrong; the entrance was only the tip of the iceberg. It only got darker as he pushed through the forest. Sounds from creatures of the night to moving shrubbery assailed his ears, not giving him a chance to relax. A couple of frogs hopped out a nearby shrub, startling him slightly before they hopped across the road into a murky pond. An owl, visible only by the light reflecting off his two eyes, hooted from a nearby tree branch, adding to the creepy factor.

“This place gives me the creeps…” Naruto said in an obvious manner. “I wonder how I’m gonna go about with this Manticore anyway… Part lion, part griffon, and part scorpion… poisonous too… It’s funny how I have to watch for the tail to begin with, since I need that tail in the first place…” He continued talking, trying to calm his nerves. None of his friends knew he was here, so he was alone this time. He looked up through an opening in the tree canopy, catching a glimpse of the night sky.

“It’s a shame I lied to Twilight about what I truly was in Canterlot for… But she already did so much for me. What was I gonna do, walk up to her and flat up tell her I was going to slay one of these beasts? She’d probably lecture on and on about how stupid it is and then force me to not do it… Or then again, maybe she would of actually helped… Oh well, what she doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”

“Or maybe it’s backwards… and I’m just being an idiot like always? What if I’ve finally gone and bitten off more than I can chew? That’s a laugh. Hah, I don’t think even a Manticore can kill me. I mean, I’m sure it’s not even that big to begin with. Yeah, that’s it… Hah hah! Nothing can take me—“While Naruto was giving himself confidence—or boosting his own ego—He was distracted by some low growls from his left. He immediately scuttled backwards, fear dripping off his face as he turned to face the growls.

Naruto immediately grabbed a dagger from his left leg, holding it in his teeth, combat ready. Sweat dropped from his brow as he remained steady, ready for whatever would attack.

A small frog, no bigger than his hoof, hopped out from the bushes, croaking before hopping away. He relaxed his stance, blinking in disbelief. Just a frog. A frog that could growl.

“That’s odd… Since when do frogs growl… Never heard of su—“ Naruto was immediately interrupted when he heard a loud snarl from above. He immediately looked up and saw a greyish blue wolf, trying to tackle him from above. Naruto leapt back to dodge the wolf’s tackle, narrowly dodging the surprise pounce . A rookie mistake. Any distraction, no matter how small, can get you killed.

The wolf was drooling, its’ razor sharp teeth clearly visible. The wolf growled constantly as it leaned backwards, preparing for a second pounce. Naruto clenched the dagger even harder as he waited for the wolf to pounce. Agonizing seconds ticked by. But instead, it slowly shifted to the left, as if trying to circle Naruto. Not one to let an enemy get the best of his a second time, he parroted the wolf’s movements. They continued circling each other, nothing changing save for their positions on the field. Naruto was the first to break the silence.

“Tell me Mr. Wolf, would you prefer me to kill you or turn you into a fur coat? Honestly, I don’t care. You’re in my way. Leave now while you have the chance.” Naruto taunted and tried to reason with the wolf. The wolf’s response was an increase in the intensity of the growling. Naruto merely shook his head.

“What’s wrong, you don’t speak our language? Then I guess there’s no reasoning with you.” Naruto said to the wolf. As if the wolf was tired of Naruto’s talking, it immediately rushed towards Naruto. Clenching the dagger even harder, Naruto dashed towards the wolf seeing that the negotiations were futile.

Naruto jerked his head to swing the dagger down on the Wolf’s head, but it ducked and tried to take a bite out of Naruto’s back leg. Naruto immediately brought his front hoof down hard and pivoted around, jerking his dagger down towards the wolf once more. The wolf wasn’t expecting such an acrobatic feat. The dagger lodged itself into the wolf’s back, piercing hide and drawing blood. The wolf yelped as it tried to get away from Naruto. However he was still holding onto the dagger, each movement dragging the sharp dagger further down the creatures back. Seeking this as an opportunity, Naruto brought both back hooves up as high as he could before sending them down onto its’ skull. Blood splattered everywhere from the wolf’s back, all the way up towards the wolf’s head.

It lay there, motionless, with an oozing knife wound and a crushed skull. Naruto wiped the sweat off his brow as he tried controlling his breathing, trying to calm down. He stood up straight and sheathed his dagger before stepping off the grey mass of fur and blood. He blinked softly at the wolf as he shook his head.

“It’s a shame it had to come to this, but you started it, Mr. Wolf.” Naruto could see that the wolf was still moving. Amazing. Even with a crushed skull it still had some fight left. The wolf slowly tried to get up, trying to bite Naruto’s leg again. In reaction, he curb-stomped the wolf’s head once more, making a loud crunching sound. The wolf coughed out more blood and possibly part of an internal organ. Naruto frowned down at the wolf.

“Dammit Mr. Wolf, you should have stayed down instead of just trying to bite me… You probably would have lived…” Looking at the wolf’s head again, he sighs. “Okay, maybe not… But you would’ve lived slightly longer.”

*****

Twilight sighed as she read another one of her books downstairs in her house. Turning the page with her magic, she looks up at the window and out into the night, Luna’s moon still high and bright.

“What’s taking that pony so long… He said he was just going on a walk for some fresh air, but it’s been 30 minutes now… Maybe it’s a long walk?” She said to herself. She shrugged before settling back down and delving back into her book. However, a loud and annoying voice caught her attention.

“Twilight, where are you!? I need to see you! It’s also really dark in here.” Twilight jerked her head left and right, wondering where that voice came from. It sounded really familiar.

“Who and where are you?” Twilight said in a random direction.

“I’m here, silly! Where else could I be?”

The voice came from the nearby drawer in her desk. She paused momentarily , but opened the drawer anyway. A head immediately popped out in a cartoony manner and papers flew everywhere. Pinkie Pie. Of course. Twilight got a bit annoyed as she used her magic to sort out the flying pieces of paper.

“Pinkie, what are you doing in my desk!?” A quick glance at the desk and then back, “Or, better question, HOW did you even get in my desk!?”

Pinkie frowned at Twilight as she hopped out of the drawer and brought her forehead against Twilight’s, bringing her hoof toward Twilight’s chest. Twilight eyes went wide as she blushed, but immediately shook those thoughts out when the pink pony spoke.

“Trade secret but that’s not important right now Twilight! We have a super duper huge problem!”

“What kind of problem?” Twilight asked.

“Do you know where Naruto is right now?” Pinkie Pie asked in a rushed manner.

“Well, yeah, he said he was taking a walk… why?”

“I think he went into the Everfree Forest!”

Twilight looked confused. “Wait, what? He couldn’t have, there’s no way. I doubt he even knows where the forest is to begin with… Plus,” She said with an air of certainty, “He said he was only taking a walk.” Pinkie shook her head after hearing Twilight .

“No no no no! Okay, listen Twilight! I don’t know what kind of walk he told you about, but I know his walking is going towards the Everfree Forest! I was walking home when I saw Naruto talking to a black pony, the one that makes stuff with metal and fire, and that black pony was putting some cloths or blades or something on Naruto’s legs, and one of them mentioned of going to the Everfree Forest because of some tail! I was like ‘why wasn’t he high-tailing it out of there instead?’ but then he mentions something about an opportunity!” Pinkie Pie said in one breath, tears starting to form in his eyes. “Naruto’s going to get hurt if he goes in there!”

Twilight just stood there, mouth agape. Why would Naruto go into the forest, she thought. But when Pinkie mentioned the tail, she started to think back. She swore they had had a conversation about this not too long ago.

“Now where have… oh no… no, he couldn’t have…” It then occurred to her. The request board that had the Manticore request. Naruto couldn’t have been that desperate for money, she thought. But the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and it matched Pinkie’s story too. Twilight immediately got up and turned towards Pinkie Pie.

“C’mon Pinkie, we need to stop him before he gets killed. He doesn’t understand what he’s getting into!”

*****

“Oh yeah, I’ve still got the moves and nothing can stop me, hah hah…” Naruto kept walking down the path as he boast to no one in particular about how well he did in combat. As soon as that wolf started attacking, his combat instincts just took over. He just wished it didn’t have to involve the death of the wolf, but it left Naruto no choice. He frowned as his mouth pulsed with pain.

“Using that dagger in my mouth is going to take some getting used to, it’s like I’m using muscles I’ve never used before.” As he adjusted his jaw, he looked around the forest, trying to spot a Manticore, but so far, nothing fit the description.

“You would think that it being big would be easy to spot, but I guess it isn’t… Maybe they’re deeper in, or they’re all just asleep?”

*growl*

“You’re telling me, they’re probably just asleep.”

*growl*

“Hey, I agreed with you the first time, you don’t need to re…peat…it?” Naruto blinked a couple of times, before realizing he was replying to a couple of beastly growls from behind him. He stopped dead in his tracks,the look of fear clear on his face, just now noticing the drool on his left shoulder. Naruto immediately turned around to see the ever growing jaws of something about to swallow him whole. He jumped away from the mouth a mere millisecond before the mouth closed at where he was just standing. Naruto landed safely a few feet away and saw what had almost been his demise for the second time today.

The Manticore had the body and face of a growling lion, with red hair, brown fur, and his giant mane. However, upon closer inspection, Naruto could see a pair of small wings, a large black scorpion tail, and what looked like bat ears. The Manticore roared loudly at Naruto, spit flying off his teeth as it roared. Some of it even landed on Naruto’s face. He blanched, wiping it off with a hoof before fixing the Manticore with a hard stare. The foul creature paused, wondering just why this puny pony neither ran nor screamed in terror at his appearance. Maybe he was losing his touch?

Naruto began walking in circles around the Manticore, taking in each and every single detail. The beast only looked on in rampant curiosity. After Naruto took a lap around the fierce Manticore, he stopped and stared it right in the eyes, pointing at it.

“You must be the Manticore, I take it?” As if the Manticore understood Naruto’s language, he gave a firm nod. Naruto flinched slightly, slightly taken aback. It understood what he just said. Then suddenly, Naruto just smirked before it evolved into small giggles and on to full laughter as he collapsed on the ground, unable to control himself.

The Manticore leaned back in genuine surprise, eyes as wide as saucers, staring at the very, very strange pony in front of him..

“Ah hah hah hah, oh god… Look at you! You look like a funny pussy cat with bird wings… I can’t take it… Ahahahahah!” As Naruto kept on with his fits of laughter, the Manticore realized that the pony was laughing at him. It roared and swiped a massive paw at where Naruto was..

Naruto immediately stopped laughing as he rolled away from the attack, developing a smirk as he evaded. Naruto stood up and looked at him some more while giving one more chuckle.

“Heh… Sorry to have pissed you off, but I just couldn’t help it… But I guess you’re not in the mood for any joker business.” The Manticore nodded at Naruto, and Naruto merely shrugged.

“Very well then…” Naruto lifted his right leg, clenching a dagger in his mouth and unsheathes it. The blade emits a dull shine from the filtered moonlight coming through the thick overhead canopy. The Manticore eyed the dagger warily and immediately leaned his legs back, forming a battle stance, his scorpion tail pointing right at Naruto.

“Let’s see what you are: A cat, or a lion! Or maybe both! Um…” Naruto paused for a moment, trying to think of a good one liner, but then just shrugged. “Oh screw it, that tail is mine you pussycat!” Naruto charges at the Manticore who reples in kind.

*****

“Hurry Pinkie, we can’t waste any time!” Twilight shouted.

“I’m trying Twilight, my legs aren’t made of rockets. Ooh, actually, maybe I should get rockets after this, and I’d be as fast as the speed of--!” Pinkie Pie shouted back, but Twilight interrupted her.

“This is no time for one of your jokes Pinkie! Hustle!”

It took them a good bit, but they managed to reach the entrance of the forest. Next to the entrance, a wooden cart with a black pony caught Twilight’s eye. Whoever it was happened to be sleeping. Twilight tilted her head in confusion and then looked at Pinkie.

“Are you sure Naruto went in there? I see a black pony there, but—“

“That’s him! That’s the pony Naruto was talking to! We need to talk to him. Maybe he knows where Naruto is!? Or… maybe the Manticore ate him already! Oh no no no, we’re too late!” Pinkie frowned as she started tearing up, her mane slowly deflating. Twilight just rolled her eyes at Pinkie’s behavior, knowing it was just her being over-dramatic.

“Let’s just talk to that black pony, maybe he knows where Naruto is.” Twilight proposed. She walked up towards the black pony that was sleeping, and shouted. “Hey! Wake up!”

Blackie’s eyes slowly opened, a rather obnoxious voice waking him from his slumber. He blinked a couple of times and lifted his straw hat, and looked to his right to see a purple unicorn. He smiled in response, albeit with an air of fatigue.

“Well well ladies, it’s not nice to be shouting at a sleeping stallion such as myself, it’s rather rude…” Blackie said with a snort. Twilight merely kicked the wooden cart, shaking it slightly as Blackie almost lost his balance. “Oy oy! Don’t ding up the cart! What do you want anyway? This isn’t the time of night to be wandering around here,” Blackie shouted out.

“We’re looking for a blonde pony in a black and orange jacket. You seen him around?”

“Ooh, ooh! That’s the black pony Naruto was talking to! I bet he knows where he is!”

“A blonde pony, eh… Why hang with a weirdo like him when you can hang with me?” Twilight growled at Blackie’s comment. In response to his lame pick-up comment, she did what she felt necessary. She picked him up. “Oy oy! Put me down! Assault I say!”

“Tell me where Naruto is, now!” Twilight shouted with an angry frown. A quick glance around and she developed an innocent smile. “...Or we’ll see just how far you can swim,” she said gesturing to the lake a few pony lengths away. Blackie gulped.

“Okay okay, put me down and I’ll tell you, sheesh! Confound mares these days…” Twilight unceremoniously released Blackie from her telekinetic grip a few feet off the ground, eliciting at startled grunt from the black pony. Blackie shook his head while righting himself, trying to get his thoughts in order on how crazy mares these days were. Pinkie immediately got up onto Blackie’s back, pinning him down, and turning his head so it faces hers.

“Tell us where Naruto is now bub, before I give you a party dose of Pinkie’s hoof!” Pinkie Pie said to Blackie in a threatening way. Blackie squinted through one eye, wincing.

“He’s in the forest, alright? Gosh darnit, stop with the tough mare routine alright? Now would you get off me? Geez…” Pinkie brought her eyes nearly an inch away from Blackie’s, but backed off, allowing Blackie to get off the ground and onto his feet.

“Are you two that filly’s marefriends or something? Because you two are awfully offensive… you both must be feisty in bed.” Both girls glared at Blackie, and he immediately took his comment back. “Er, nevermind… Forget I said anything… Anyway, that filly your looking for is in the forest, hunting for a Manticore. I’m just here because we struck a deal.”

“What sort of deal?” Twilight asked.

“In a nutshell? He kills a Manticore. I haul said Manticore out of the forest back into town. He gets the tail and a huge discount on the weapons I made for him while I keep the rest. Simple enough?”

“Not in the slightest.” Twilight said, deadpanning towards the forest.

“Ah well, I can’t expect ya to understand…”

As Twilight interrogated Blackie for information, an explosion-like sound assaulted their position. Several bats and other creatures appeared in the entrance of the forest and immediately scampered off into the dark, running away from the horrendous noise. Twilight, Pinkie, and Blackie immediately looked towards the direction it came from. Twilight looked at Blackie, then Pinkie, and then back at the forest.

“Oh no, Naruto didn’t find the Manticore already, did he!? He’s in danger! Pinkie, come on!”

*****

Naruto climbed up a tree, infusing each hoof with chakra so he could keep running up and out of the beast’s reach. Naruto looked backed down towards the Manticore and stuck out his tongue.

“Nya nya, can’t catch me!” The Manticore didn’t take kindly to his taunting and immediately swiped at the base of the tree with both hands. With some slight effort and shaking involved, the Manticore broke the tree off at its’ base, now holding it in its massive front paws. Naruto went wide-eyed as he latched onto a branch, the Manticore having turned the tree into an improvised pinata stick while he was still on it. Failing this, it spun the tree around before letting go, sending it careening off towards more trees.

Naruto immediately ran down the tree as it flew into the air before jumping off at the last moment onto the branch of a passing tree. Naruto tree-hopped, heading back towards the Manticore. He landed on all four legs right in from of the Manticore. Naruto could feel his limbs shake slightly from fatigue. This was probably the first real strain that he’s put his body under since arriving in Equestria.

“You’re one tough, over-grown puss, aren’t you? I’m impressed.” The Manticore didn’t show any sign of acknowledgement as he swiped its tail towards Naruto. He hopped over it, and then once again when the Manticore took a second swipe. It employed a change of tactics. Feigning a swipe, the Manticore followed with a series of quick, stabbing motions with his tail. Naruto was hard pressed to avoid each jab.

“I can’t let that tail hit me or else I’m done for…” He said to himself. He momentarily took his mind off the fight, looking for something to turn the tide of battle. A gigantic tree caught his eye. That was it. Naruto ran to the tree and then turned back to face the enraged Manticore.

The Manticore walked up towards Naruto, thinking he finally had the slippery blonde devil cornered. His jaw dropped. Not only wasn’t the pony doubled over in fear, it was shaking its rear at him! He roared loudly, using his tail for the final blow, sending it careening towards the pony’s chest.

Right on cue, Naruto flipped up onto the tree, dodging the fatal attack. A loud ker-thunk rang through the forest and he grinned. The Manticore, seeing that his prey escaped unscathed yet again, brought his tail around to swat him off the tree. Nothing happened. The tail was stuck in the tree!

Naruto smiled, bracing the dagger in his mouth before jumping towards the Manticore. A direct hit, the dagger plunging into the base of the tail from the top to the bottom. It roared loudly in pain as its’ tail came clean off. Naruto didn’t stop there, however. After slicing off the tail in a firm swing, he immediately rebounded off the ground towards the 2 bat-like wings on its back. A quick duo of slashes and a pair of wings joined the massive tail on the ground.

The Manticore flew into a wild swing as a mix of poison and blood sprinkled around the area. The Manticore, now in a wild blood-rage, grabbed Naruto from his back and brought him to where he could see his stupid face for the last time. Naruto felt he might have over-done it... slightly.

“Uhh… Nice kitty? Good kitty? I’M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!” Naruto pleaded. The Manticore had enough of hearing the stallion’s wise-ass remarks. In response, he pounded Naruto into the ground repeatedly, sending out shock-waves that shook leaves off the nearby trees. Feeling content with the amount of damage he wrought with his improvised hammer, he threw the blonde haired pony into the thickets. Debris and wood chips flung up into a dazzling cloud of destruction as Naruto slammed through the trees before landing on the ground. He coughed up blood, the dagger falling out of his mouth, before collapsing onto the forest floor gasping for breath.

He overdid it. He shouldn’t have sliced off the Manticore’s wings. Overconfidence took the better part of his judgement and now it left him with a bloody and bruised body. And if the blood loss didn’t kill him first, the pissed off Manticore would. His jacket was torn in quite a few places, with deep gashes, each staining the insides of his jacket a crimson red. He had a bloody lip, and it felt like some of his ribs were broken, or whatever you call pony bones these days, he thought. He crawled over to a nearby tree, propping himself up to look over the surrounding wreckage.

If one good thing came out of this mission, it was that he succeded. The tail was no longer part of the Manticore. However, the other part of that tail didn’t take too kindly too losing it along with its’ wings. As Naruto breathed in, his broken ribs forced him to take small shallow breaths, each bigger breath sending a pulse of pain throughout his chest.

“D-Damn it… He’s… a tough kitty… isn’t he…” Naruto gasped out between breaths.

He couldn’t stay here much longer. Every second he stayed there was another chance the Manticore could come and finish the job. He checked his extremities, one leg at a time, before pushing himself off the cold forest floor. A quick glance behind the tree he was hidden behind revealed the beast, prowling through the wreckage, looking for his body. It still looked pissed off. But what could he do? He lost the rest of his daggers during the fight, had no access to any of his jutsu, and exhaustion was finally taking its toll. This was it...

“Wait… who’s that?” He whispered to himself. He could see a figure in the distance—two, in fact. And they both looked oddly familiar. He squinted his eyes, trying to make out the ponyish shapes converging on his location. He almost jumped for joy, realizing that he was found and would get out of this alive.

“No… They figured out where I was. Dammit, they’re walking into a trap…” He tried to signal them, without giving away his hiding place, but they didn’t notice. Twilight and Pinkie came within 10 feet of the Manticore before it roared in utter glee, having found new prey. Girlish screams wracked the surrounding area as they both tried to escape from the Manticore’s deadly paws and teeth. Naruto slammed his hoof into the trunk of the tree, leaving a small crater in the wood.

“Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!”, Each swear accompanied by a hoof slamming into the nearby tree. “Why am I do useless!?” He said to himself. He couldn’t just sit by and let them take on that blasted monstrosity by themselves. Each time he tried to pull himself over the fallen logs and bushes, he fell back down, adding even more injuries to the already long list.

“Dammit… dammit…” He said with tears in his eyes. He really was a useless ninja. Couldn’t even save a pair of colorful ponies from a damn fuzzball. As a tear hit the ground, something remarkable happened. Heat. He felt something unusually warm on his rear, slowly gaining intensity as time passed, pulsating in sync with his heart beat.

“God dammit, what's going on now! I need to—huh? Wait… that’s…” As he looked at his own butt, his entire rear end, from flank to tail, was encased in a red aura. Naruto’s eyes bulged. He simply stared in disbelief

*****

“C’mon Pinkie, the hoof prints lead this way!”

“I’m coming Twilight, I’m coming!”

As Twilight and Pinkie followed the hoofprints, they could hear the crashing of trees and wood up ahead. Twilight immediately stopped, something in her peripherals catching her attention, before she witnessed a horrible event. She watched as Naruto was slammed repeatedly into the ground by a tail-less, wing-less manticore. She could feel the tremors from where she stood. She gasped, as Naruto was sent careening off towards the opposite treeline. He disappeared from sight, hidden amongst a cloud of destroyed vegetation and dust. She couldn’t look on anymore, her lips quivering in horror. Pinkie couldn’t believe her eyes and was immediately started shaking. Twilight was the first to recover before snapping Pinkie out of her fear induced panic attack.

“Do you think he’s alright Pinkie?!” Pinkie just stared back. Twilight closed her eyes, calming herself down.

“I’m an idiot for asking that, I’m sorry… C’mon, we need to see if Naruto’s alright!”

“But Twilight… The Manticore…”

“I’ll distract him; You grab Naruto.”

“But Twilight, that’s dangerous! You’ll get hurt!”

“Just trust me, Pinkie. I’ve got this.”

As they bickered, the Manticore took the chance to close the distance, letting out a terrifying howl of rage and pleasure. The two ponies jumped back in fear. They bickered so loudly the Manticore overheard them. They both ducked and wove through the Manticore’s attempts to smash them into a pulp. Moments later, they were cornered, their back up against a gigantic tree. The Manticore grabbed his prey, one in each hand. The creature smiled wickedly at his captured prey. Their struggles got them no where. It’s grip was just too strong. They thought that this was it.

Wrong.

A rock flew through the air and hit the Manticore square in the head. And then another. And then five more. He spun around, eyes searching for the creature that dared throw rocks at him. There, in the trees, he could see a familiar blonde pony, holding a small rock in its hoof. His eyes gained even more bloodshot veins before he roared in pure rage. Twilight and Pinkie looked up, both ecstatic at seeing their fox-tailed friend alive.

“Naruto! You’re alive!” Twilight shouted out in glee, but winced as the Manticore’s grip tightened around her. Naruto flinched. He couldn’t let the manticore get away with hurting his friends. Naruto disappeared in the blink of an eye. The Manticore went wide-eyed, wondering where the blonde pony just went. For his reply, Naruto reappeared in front of the manticore, smacking his face with both of his tails.

Twilight blinked. Another fox tail on Naruto! How Naruto got another fox tail, she didn’t know, but she wanted to. Thoughts of her having a purple fox tail sprung up in her mind, each one more embarrassing than the last. She shook her head, ridding herself of these thoughts... for now.

As the grip loosened around her, she renewed her attempts at squirming out from his grasp. Pinkie followed suit, albeit a little more erratically. Naruto brought his twin-tails down on the manticore in rapid succession, each blow more powerful then the last. Both ponies got out of his grasp before sprinting away, out of the Manticore’s reach. It got a lucky shot in, sending naruto flying away with a swipe of its paw.

However, he disappeared once again, only to reappear above it’s head, slamming both of his tails onto the Manticore’s head. It backed away slowly, clutching its head with both paws as it tried to regain its bearings.

“Grabbing my friends, huh? You’ve got a lot of nerve grabbing me, slamming me into a bunch of dirt and trees, and then leaving me to die, huh? Well look at me.” He said as he stretched his arms wide, showing his various battle wounds on his body he had earlier. His tails flicked wildly, still not in complete control over the extra tail yet. “You really think that that would stop me? Well then. I think my new friend here has something to say about that...”

The Manticore was furious. He swiped at Naruto, but Naruto merely hopped onto his paw as it swiped. The Manticore went wide-eyed once more. “Surprised? Good.” He used the arm as a springboard, propelling his hoof into the Manticore’s face, then using that momentum sped off in a random direction.. The creature roared in fury, finally fed up with the blonde’s nonsense and mockery, as it gave chase.

What Naruto didn’t know is that there was a cliff in his direction. He ran through a thick area of bushes, coming out the other side before slamming the brakes. He skidded to the very precipice of the cliff, rocks tumbling down into the almost pitch black floor below. It was a very long fall. He furrowed his brow, before looking back towards where he came from. Naruto smiled, another plan in the making.

“Guess it’s the end of the line…” Naruto said to himself, turning around to stare at the shaking bushes sitting down. “Well, it was a nice life while it lasted…”

Twilight and Pinkie was hard pressed to keep up with Naruto’s running speed, but managed to come out of the thick forest further down the cliff face. They turned to their left, seeing Naruto sitting down at the edge of the cliff, a smug grin on his face.

“Naruto! What are you doing!? That Manticore wi-!”

The Manticore charged through the bushes snarling. He turned his head towards Twilight, tears now streaming down her face..

“Twilight… thanks for taking care of me… It meant a lot…” The Manticore body slammed Naruto, and with the momentum, flew over the edge of the cliff. Gravity took effect, pulling them both down into the dark canyon.

Twilight and Pinkie immediately rushed towards the cliff, not bothering to hold back their tears.

“NARUTO, NO!” They both shouted. Twilight collapsed onto her hind legs, not wanting to believe this just happened. She stared down into the murky darkness, hoping that she might see that blundering fool’s blonde hair or fox tail. Nothing. Pinkie’s mane deflated to a fraction of its’ original size, while she cried a river. Twilight couldn’t take this.

She slammed her hoof into the ground. “Why Naruto…” She began. “Why did you sacrifice yourself just for a stupid tail…? Why would you do such a stupid thing like that? You had so much more life to live… I wanted to take care of you a lot longer…” She looked beyond the horizon of the cliff and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“I DON’T WANT YOU TO LEAVE US NARUTO!”

“What are you talking about?” said an unknown voice.

“Naruto’s dead… what do you think!?” She looked down at the ground, lost in her sorrow.

“He’s dead? I’m pretty sure he’s alive…”

“What do you know!? I just saw him fall off a cliff! How can he be a…live?” She turned around, ready to berate the living hell out of the thoughtless pony who asked that question before staring, flabbergasted. It was Naruto! Pinkie turned around, her hair poofing up instantly, as a gigantic smile graced her tear stained face.

Naruto pounded his chest, wincing slightly as he hit a broken rib, giggling slightly.

“Yo”, said Naruto with his trademark grin.

*****

The red aura coalesced together, forming a very wavy copy of his tail next to the original. The light grew stronger, before it immediately vanished, as though it wasn’t even there in the first place. He now had two fox tails.

“I grew another tail!?” He thought. It was wagging along with the other. He felt slightly stronger and the fatigue he had accrued from the battle seemed to magically vanish. But how was he going to take on a beast like the Manticore without any tools!? Just then, his head started to ache. A voice… no, not just any voice, but a deep and evil voice that he hadn’t heard in a long time spoke to him . The Kyuubi’s voice! No, it couldn’t be. This voice was actually helping him. Most of the chatter was incomprehensible save for a few random tidbits here and there.

That’s when his tails went wild, darting here and there. He stared in awe and fright as the tails went about like they had a mind of their own. All of a sudden, they stopped mid wave, as though frozen in time. They then formed a simple cross and froze yet again. Naruto couldn’t believe his eyes, and gave a very dark smile when he realized what it meant. Then he yelled out as loud as he could.

“SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!”

XXXXXXX

If it hadn’t been for growing another tail, he wouldn’t have been able to re-access the Shadow Clone technique. But for some reason, he couldn’t summon more than one. Was he still limited in his abilities? Or was it because his chakra pool was no longer as big as it once was? All of these questions...

“Naruto… I can’t believe it…You’re alive… I just can’t believe it…” Twilight said, tears still flowing down her face, these filled with joy instead. Naruto limped towards Twilight as he gave a weak smile.

“Yep, I’m fi—“, was all that Naruto could say before the world turned sideways.

And he collapsed on the ground unconscious.

XXXXXXX

AN: This is probably the longest-ass chapter I’ve ever written, in like, ever. Over 7000 words; new record, hooray! Anyway, this may look slightly rushed, but when it comes to battle scenes, they tend to be my #1 priority. Think of it like tunnel-vision. But I think it still got the point across, in my opinion. With Naruto growing a new fox-tail, and re-learning the Shadow Clone jutsu in a limited way; what was that voice? What made him grow a new fox-tail? Stay tuned for Chapter 12 for those kinds of answers!

CH13: Stubborn (Revised)

*****

Being Stubborn is Very Rude

But The Reason is Rather Crude

It’s Really Quite the Hassle

But this Princess Isn’t in Another Castle

…Unfortunately

*****

Chapter 13: Stubborn

Naruto repeatedly banged his head against the wall. He lost count somewhere around the thirty mark. He continued on, hoping that he could somehow force himself to accept the knowledge that the Kyuubi had a daughter inside the seal. He started talking to himself, oblivious to his surroundings.

“Dammit all. Why is everything so messed up,” He banged his head once more. “First it’s dying, then Equestria, then ponies, then trying to live here…” The dull throb of pain in his head grew with each subsequent blow. “Then fighting a manticore. Now I wake up in this hellhole… and now…” He stops mid-motion, looking up at the dark abysmal ceiling momentarily, before banging his head into the wall once more for good measure. “The Kyuubi is not only gone… BUT HE HAS A DAUGHTER!”

The fox found it amusing to watch Naruto bang his head repeatedly against the wall, eliciting a small chuckle after a rather vicious one. Even though this was rather entertaining, she found herself confused listening to Naruto’s rant.

“How. The. HELL. Does. That. Even. WORK!?” Naruto ranted, each word punctuated with a solid thump.

“I don’t really know myself…”, the fox said out loud. A wicked grin spread across her face as she looked at Naruto. “But maybe my daddy did something to you and you became my mommy?”

Naruto paused his rather pointless assault on the wall. A full body shudder ran through him. The implications of what she just said thoroughly disgusted him. The Kyuubi mating with... Naruto. Almost immediately, his brain decided to venture further on down that mental path, thinking of how it would actually work. However, Naruto, on the other hand, felt that that was a road meant to be left untraveled and reeled his brain back in.

“S-screw that! I’m a male and the Kyuubi is a male! T-That would NOT work!”, he said, rather flustered.

“Well in that case, I don’t know. But here I am, tails and all…” said the fox with a small grin, “...but doesn’t that make you happy, having a rather...’foxy’ daughter?”

“NO!”

The fox laughed once more as she picked on Naruto. Naruto could already see that this fox was indeed related to the Kyuubi, her personality a step down from the old monster. It even seemed to have gained a good sense of humor. Or is it dark humor, Naruto thought. Regardless, he grunted, eyeing the fox in front of him.

“Look… enough with the insults. If you really are that demonic fox’s daughter…” Naruto began, after taking a small, but deep breath, “How do you even exist? Unless he hid you from me from the start, which I highly doubt… The Kyuubi doesn’t even have a mate, unless… he’s able to re-produce by himself, which would be…”, Naruto said with a shudder, “rather disturbing.”

“Hah. I should agree with you just to see your pathetic expression…”

“Just tell me…”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Because you’re in my damn body, and I’ll kick you out if you don’t tell me.”

“Oh? I’m in your body? I guess you really are my mommy. It wouldn’t be nice to abort your daughter, now would it?” The fox had once again turned Naruto’s comment into a dirty, but rather disturbing, joke. Naruto scratched his head in frustration as his already small amount of patience was stretched out to the breaking point. Naruto stomped his hoof down in the cold water.

“Answer the damn question!”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I don’t feel like it.”

“Stop being such a brat.”

“Thank you.” The fox said with a smile, teasing Naruto even more. She muttered to herself, “You should be more appreciative. After all, I did just save your life."

Those mumblings were quiet enough that he could barely hear them. He only caught a few of the words, but he swore he heard her say what he thought she said. “Saved my life? What?” Naruto asked with a surprised look.

“Hmm? I didn’t say anything.”

“No, I heard what you said…” Naruto began, “You said you saved my life. How? Were you in this place when I was fighting or actually with me?”

“Hmm… Maybe, maybe not…” The fox once again dodged the question. Naruto decided to let it be for now. Apparently the fox wasn’t going to answer all of Naruto’s questions completely. In fact, she’s been acting like a stubborn brat since they started talking. He gritted his teeth, trying to keep himself from snapping the fox’s neck out of sheer frustration.

“You sure have a lot of questions, don’t you? Why do you want them answered so badly?”

“What the hell do you think!? You’re the daughter of the Kyuubi. There’s no end to them!”

“Really… And these questions are really that important to you?”

“Yes!”

The fox bit her bottom lip for a moment. Naruto tilts his head in a puzzling way, wondering what the fox was thinking about. The fox stared at Naruto with those demonic eyes of hers, and gave a smile.

“Very well, I’ll humor you… If you can answer a question of mine, I’ll answer a question of yours. I believe you call this... An eye for an eye, I believe.”

Finally, Naruto was getting somewhere. If it was just a question exchanged for a question, then maybe he can finally figure out how she got here; Or better yet, how it even saved his life.

“Fine… ask your question fox, and I’ll answer it.”

“Okay then… tell me, do you know where Daddy is right now?”

Naruto opened his mouth, the answer on the tip of his tongue, before he stopped midway. He was about to tell her, the daughter of the Nine-Tailed Fox, that her Daddy was dead. Almost immediately, different thoughts about what would happen formed in his head, each ending up with him being beaten to death. However, she had to know. Not to mention that this was his body to begin with. He brought up his courage and responded with two words.

“He’s dead.”

Naruto shut his eyes, bracing for the backlash. However, it never came. He opened one eye, and then the other. The fox sat there, eyes as wide as they could go and mouth hanging loosely from her head. She blinked a couple of times and, for the first time, Naruto heard her voice shudder with disappointment and sadness.

“He’s… dead? Daddy’s dead?”

“Yes…” Naruto looked up at the ceiling and then back at her. “He died when I died. Or, at least, I WAS dead until I was given a second chance. But I don’t know if your dad even had the same deal,” he said as he took another brief look around the room, “Because I haven’t seen him since.”

“I see… Daddy’s… dead…” Her eyes closed, small, shining tears made their way down her face. Naruto didn’t want to tell her the truth, but she asked and had the right to know. Although, it was surprising that the fox would even show this kind of emotion for her dad, even in front of Naruto. She hung her head, trying to wipe away the tears with her paw, looking at the water. A sniffle escaped a couple times but they subsided as she cleaned herself up.

“So what he said… what he did… was just to protect me?” Naruto cocked a brow at the fox’s response. “He forced me into that red barrier… that red monstrosity... to protect me?”

Naruto didn’t know what she was talking about now. But he did have to know. “Your dad protected you?”

“That counts as your question, you know…” She said, forcing a grin. It did little to hide the fact that behind that mask, she was in tears.

“I answered yours now answer mine… Actually, let me re-phrase the question: If you really are the fox’s daughter, how did he protect you? He’s dead, so I don’t really see how.”

“He put me in some kind of red circle dome thingy… I didn’t understand it myself, but he said it would protect me… He said his life was in danger and he couldn’t protect himself any longer. I don’t know what he meant… Everything after… is a blank spot in my memory. When I woke upin here, he wasn’t there anymore.Everything was empty… I was alone. I don’t even know how many days have passed since then, but… I’ve been here… all alone…”

From what Naruto heard, they both were dying when Naruto was about to kick the bucket. The Kyuubi had protected his own over anything else. In a way, it didn’t make sense. Since they were all about to die, shouldn’t he have saved Naruto from the poison? The Kyuubi could have saved all three of them. It didn’t make much sense. Unless… the fox was powerless to stop the poison.

As he got answers to his questions, more just seemed to pop up along the way. Naruto was even beginning to question his own assumptions of the Kyuubi. After all that they had been through, was there more to the Kyuubi than met the eye? Was he more than just a demonic entity hellbent on destroying everything around him?

“I’m still very confused, but...” Naruto walked up to the fox and placed a hoof on her shoulder reassuringly, her 9 tails flickering wildly. “You’re alive and that’s what matters. You could say that I knew the Kyuubi on a very personal level. The fact that he saved your life is something to think about. To be honest, I always thought he was a selfish prick and an asshole at best, but now... I don’t know.”

“Daddy’s always angry… but he’s always nice to me. Maybe he was just scared? Or maybe he was just constipated all the time?”, the fox said, trying to cheer herself up with her own joke. However, the tears rolling down her face carried her true feelings. Naruto merely sighed, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything…”

“No.Believe it or not, I’m grateful for what you’ve told me. I’ll… I’ll try to get over it. It’s just… a big shock, that’s all…”

“Right, I understand…”

They both stood there in silence for a moment, the slow drip-drop of the water the only thing breaking the oppressive silence. The fox looked back at Naruto, staring at him. She flicked her tails around in the air, thinking of what to say, but Naruto beat her to it.

“So... are you going to tell me how you saved my life?”

“No.”

“Good god, you’re impossible…” Naruto said, trying to hold back a laugh. At least it looked like the fox that he knew was back. That had to be a good thing. Maybe... He could still ask her later. It’s not like she could go anywhere, right?

Naruto brought his hoof up to his forehead, trying to straighten out what had happened since the fight: He got knocked into the Kyuubi’s prison to find the Kyuubi gone with her daughter in his place. He was very much relieved to find that she had almost the same personality as her father. Yet she had gone out of her way, apparently, to save him. But that was just it: The Kyuubi was an asshole. He had no sympathy nor remorse. However, that didn’t mean that he felt the same way towards his daughter. It still made no sense. As Naruto thought these things out, he face-hooved. He didn’t even know her name. Maybe she doesn’t know his name either. Probably wouldn’t hurt to ask, he thought.

“I forgot to mention, I’m Naruto. What’s your name?”

“I don’t have one.”

Naruto blinked.

“Come again?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Why? Didn’t your Dad think to name you?”

“I don’t know.”

Once again, it seemed like she was toying with him with the short replies. But maybe she was telling the truth, Naruto thought. Maybe the Kyuubi never had the time to name his daughter? Yet another question to add to his list. He scratched his chin with his hoof.

“Well, how about I name you then?” Naruto asked. He figured that if this was the Kyuubi’s daughter, Naruto had to at least name her since the Kyuubi never had. The fox looked at Naruto, slightly taken aback.

“Why give me a name?”

“Well, if your daddy didn’t take the time to name you, then I guess it’s the responsibility of the mother to do it. Besides, it’s getting tiresome calling you a fox.” He said, pressing a hoof against his chest. He also took a jab at her earlier joke about being its mother, and decided to use it against her. The fox just rolled her eyes at Naruto’s antics.

“Well then, what do you have in mind?”

“Hmmm… oh, how about Tiny?”

*****

Naruto opened his eyes. He found himself staring up at roof of the cage, the surrounding water drowning out any ambient noise. How did I get here?, he thought. His entire face felt numb. It all came back to him at once. He threw himself to his hooves to find the fox a few feet away staring at him angrily.

“Hmm, only 5 minutes. You seem to have a really hard head...” Naruto pointed an accusing hoof at her.

“Did you have to hit me THAT HARD!?”

“I said don’t call me anything that has to do with my size, did I not?”

“It had nothing to do with your size!”

“You said ‘tiny’. As in small, inferior, weak, kid, grunt, etc.. It can mean many things and they’re all weak.”

As much as he hated to admit, she did make it clear NOT to call her small. He drew in a breath before letting it go, his face now starting to feel the pain from the tail smack.

“Fine, how about… wait, better idea. What would YOU like to be called?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t really care.”

“You certainly cared about being called Tiny!”

“You knew better.”

“Wha-”

“C’mon, think of something else. Name me something that has power to it.Something that people can fear. Something they’ll remember!”, the fox said with an evil smile. It was getting very hard for Naruto to please this stupid fox. But he had to think of something... something that could reflect the ‘fox’.

“How about Brat?”

That earned him a front row ticket to experience drowning in under a foot of water. The fox used a single tail to shove Naruto under the murky water and keep him there. He struggled to hold his breath, water starting to find its way into his lungs. Feeling satisfied with his suffering, the fox let go of Naruto’s head, who immediately resurfaced gasping for air. After taking a few moments to recover, he stood back up on his hooves unsteadily before glaring at the fox.

“WOULD YOU STOP TRYING TO KILL ME!”

“Why? You keep coming up with those ridiculous names. It’s like you enjoy the pain. Are you a mas-?”

“That’s not the damn point! I’m trying here, alright? You’re acting like a damn princess since you can’t make up your own mind to begin with!”

“Princess… I’m acting like a princess?”

“Yes, you are. A spoiled one at that!”

Naruto found himself flying sideways into the wall, impacting it with a solid thump and the sound of cracking stone. He slowly slid down the wall and he fell into the murky water. He managed to catch himself on his hooves, trying to recover from his quick flight. The fox walked up to him and smiled.

“Princess… call me that. I like that name.” Naruto looked dumbfounded at her response. He gritted his teeth as he shoved his forehead onto the fox’s, staring straight into her eyes.

“WHY DID YOU HIT ME THEN!?”

“You already got hit twice. Might as well make it three. It’s a nice odd number.”

“GAH! Fine! Whatever… Just don’t hit me again. You’re pissing me off enough as it is.”

“I’m glad I am.” Princess said with a smile.

“Urgh…” He walked a around the immediate area, trying to catch his bearings. Now everything was starting to hurt. “Can’t I just get out of here and go home already? I’ve had enough of this stupid place and your games…”

“Sure.”

Naruto blinked a couple of times. That response surprised him and he hadn’t even resorted to banging his head against the wall yet. He turned to face the fox. “What do you mean ‘sure’? You can get me out of here?”

“Well, of course.Just slam your head repeatedly against the wall and you can just, you know, wake up.”, Princess said with a sadistic grin. Naruto only frowned at her advice.

“Yeah, right, like I’m falling for that.”

“Aww, but I wanted to see you suffer morreeeee…” She pouted. Naruto merely shook his head.

“No, I’m done with being hit and abused like this. Isn’t there a simpler way of getting back to reality?” Princess merely sighed at Naruto’s question. She walked up to him and stared into his eyes. He then realized that even though she was smaller than he was, why was she on eye-level with him? A quick glance down revealed that she was walking on the water itself. He looked back up into her eyes, another question on the tip of his tongue. The fox only grinned as she wrapped her tails around Naruto’s head.

Naruto could only yelp as his vision was assaulted with fur and tails. He took a small whiff of her tails and couldn’t help but think that they smelled really nice. He detected a hint of strawberries and lemons, believe it or not, but that was the last of his problems. He could feel his eyelids starting to droop. With each breath, he felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier. Eventually, his eyelids completely dropped, sending him falling into a never-ending abyss.

*****

AN: I swear to god, it felt difficult getting this chapter typed up, mainly due to writers block. But there should be an improvement in the next chapter, so I apologize if the chapter looks a bit rushed.

EN: We have a name! (insert Fluttershy *woohoo*) I still prefer Tiny... But this is just as good.

CH14: Hospital Visit Pt. 1 (Revised)

Special Thanks:

Editors: DaMobbs

*****

Rest No More, for you are Awake

A visitor is coming for Pete’s sake

A small explanation, and it isn’t done

For this is just the first part, thus number one.

*****

Chapter 14: Hospital Visit Pt. 1

Naruto started, shooting up from from the bed with his eyes wide open in shock. His breath was ragged as if he had just ran a hundred mile marathon in an hour. His heart was beating just as fast, threatening to jump out of his chest. Sweat poured from just about every pore on his body making him damp and cold. Starting to calm down, he glanced around the new room he found himself in to find that everything was a shade of blur. A couple seconds of rapidly blinking his eyes gave him his first clear picture of the surroundings.

Looks like I’m in the hospital again, he thought. The walls were a bland egg-shell white, devoid of anything eye-catching except for the wall clock. To his right he saw a metal chair positioned below the window through which he could see the clouds floating by. Up against the bed was a small table made out of what he assumed to be wood. He turned his head to the left to find a rolling table stocked full of bandages, medicine, and other tools that he assumed were for medical use. Beyond that, a brown door stuck out against the white of the room on which a clipboard hung against. If he wasn’t in a hospital, then he was crazy.

As he sat up, he cringed and clenched his teeth in pain, falling back onto the soft bed with a small whimper. His body was covered in a bright, white bed sheet but what was under said sheet was what interested him right now. He threw them off to find that his entire upper torso, from the base of his neck to his flank, was wrapped up tightly in bandages. On the parts not mummified with wrappings, smaller patches and gauze were found here and there mostly along the legs and forelegs. Absentmindedly, he rubbed the side of his face with an un-bandaged hoof only to flinch slightly when he found something covering his cheek.

Naruto sighed, laying his head back against the pillow. Something felt off though, like something was missing but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He jolted up once more only to fall back against the bed in pain as the realization hit him. His headband. Where had it gone? One more glance at the room revealed that it was lying on the bedside table, wrapped up neatly and thoroughly cleaned. However, he didn’t see his jacket anywhere in sight. He sighed deeply.

“So the fight with the Manticore was real…I guess I was in worse shape than I thought…” He said to himself. The fight with the Manticore… it was more brutal than he expected. “If I hadn’t cut off that Manticore’s wings, maybe I wouldn’t even be in such a sorry shape... heh...”, Naruto chuckled. “This place ain’t as boring as I expected. That Manticore gave me a run for my money, or bits in this case.”

As he conversed with himself, he slowly pushed his upper body off the bed into a sitting position. A slight pain went through his flank as he sat up. His first thought was of annoyance at how even his butt was injured until he realized that it was just his tail being compressed in a weird way. Using his fore-hooves, he lifted himself off the bed very slightly, sucking in a breath to compensate for the pain, until his tail popped out from underneath the covers. He sighed once more, closing his eyes momentarily in relief before opening them once again. He blinked. Where there should have been only one tail, there was now two.

“So I really did grow another tail… and then… ah!” The memories of Princess came flooding into his brain, everything from finding himself in the Kyuubi’s prison to the scent of strawberries and lemons. He pounded his hoof on the bed, sending a sharp needle of pain through his torso. A pained sigh escaped his lips. “Princess… so that really wasn’t just a dream… Ugh…” If he could have moved, he’d have gotten up and banged his head against the wall but that was most certainly out of the question. So he face-hoofed.

“Princess… and the Kyuubi… If that’s not messed up, I don’t know what is…” He mumbled, trying to get the nasty thoughts out of his head. As if on cue, hoof steps came from the his left, although slightly muffled. His eyes darted towards the door as it swung open to reveal a white, female pony. She had on a white doctor’s coat with a matching nurse’s hat, a red cross surrounded by four pink hearts emblazoned on the front. His eyes traveled to her flank to see that her cutie mark was the same symbol, a red cross and four hearts. Her pink hair stood out quite nicely amongst all the white themed clothing and just about everything else in the room. The red cross pony looked over at Naruto before breaking out into a smile.

“Well, good morning Naruto. I take it you’re doing well?”

“Um… I could be better. I’m in a bed, wrapped in bandages, and I can barely move without cringing in pain. That aside, I’m fine. Who are you?”, asked Naruto but the mare merely smiled back.

“I’m Nurse Redheart and I’ll be your primary caretaker during your time here at Ponyville General.”, said Redheart. So what Naruto thought was right; he was in a hospital. It didn’t really come as much of a shock that he was, indeed, a patient at the hospital. Fighting with a creature three times your size that has razor sharp claws and fangs, not to mention the poisonous stinger on its’ tail, does imply a trip to the hospital sometime in the near future. Still, he wondered how he had managed to end up in the hospital after that ordeal. Last he could remember, he fell unconscious after defeating the Manticore.

“Uh, how did I get here?” Naruto asked sheepishly.

“Your friends brought you here. To be honest, I was quite surprised when you were brought in covered in cuts and bruises. You must have had quite the night to have gotten those!”

“You have no idea… Um, what were their names?”

“Hmm… their names... I can’t quite recall their names but I have seen them around town before. One of them was a purple unicorn and the other was a pink pony I believe. They sound like anyone you know?”

Naruto shot up in surprise, but fell back down onto his bed as the dull pain in his chest exploded with renewed energy. It must’ve been Twilight and Pinkie that brought me here, he thought. The Nurse frowned, walking over to his bed and checking on the bandages covering his torso.

“Nah ah ah… No sudden movements now. There’s a reason why almost your entire body is covered in bandages you know.”

“These ponies,” he said, his voice strained due to the pain, “where are they now though?”

“They left at noon, so it’s been around four hours now. In fact, they’ve been visiting every day, checking in on how you were faring. My my, if only I had friends like yours that care about me that much… you’re a lucky stallion.”

“Heh, I guess I am… Although, I wouldn’t be here if I actually was lucky.” he said chuckling painfully.

“You ARE a lucky stallion Naruto. You came in here with...”, said Redheart, moving to the door to look at the hanging clipboard,” … three broken ribs, a severe concussion, multiple contusions, both major and minor, and a handful of chest lacerations. It’s a wonder that nothing vital was damaged during... whatever it was that you were doing.”

Was he really hurt that badly? He always had a knack for getting injured over stupid stunts or battles which sometimes ended with him in the hospital. He didn’t many visitors and so far, nothing seemed to have changed. That was all back in Konoha though. Naruto sighed quickly and deeply as he exhaled.

“So, what happens now, Nurse?”

“What happens now? To put it simply; You rest and I check up on your recovery. To be fair though…” She said, placing the clipboard back on its holder, “the majority of your wounds have all but disappeared. There are still some tender areas however, mostly focused along the upper torso region. Still... I can’t believe how fast you’ve healed! With injuries like those, I’d estimate that you would be bedridden for a month at minimum! Are you sure that you aren’t part superpony?”

When Redheart mentioned the rapid healing, he found himself thinking about Princess. The Kyuubi’s residency did come with some rather useful perks, like the massive chakra pool and the fast healing. Maybe Princess inherited those ‘qualities’ from her father as well?

“I heal quickly. What else can I say?” Naruto said to the nurse.

Over the next couple of minutes, nurse Redheart set about her daily routine with Naruto. She took off the bandages and replaced them with fresh ones, checked his vital signs, and then proceeded to ask questions now that the patient was actually awake to answer them. She had gotten the basics down from the two ponies that visited him daily but it was the specifics she needed, such as how and why he had obtained such injuries. The only answer she received from Naruto was that he was helping a friend in need. Anytime she tried to press on that subject matter, she’d get a rather condoning look from Naruto and she’d push on in respect for his privacy. She ran over her notes one last time before looking at Naruto with a smile.

“Alright, I believe that’s everything. Would you like your hospital room to be open for guests?”, the nurse asked.

“Oh, yeah of course. Wouldn’t hurt to see some friendly faces around here.”

“Alright… Now go and rest up! With how fast you’re recovering, I wouldn’t be surprised to see you discharged by dinner tomorrow. That is, if you don’t strain yourself anymore than necessary,” she said, playfully nudging his arm in jest. He yelped in surprise as he pulled his bandaged arm away. The nurse gasped, covering her mouth with a hoof.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry! I got carried away,” she apologized. Naruto had adopted a painful look on his face. It lasted a total of three seconds before he broke out into choked giggles, a smile on his face.

“Heh, gotcha!”

“Why you… don’t scare me like that.”

*****

Naruto stared at the abysmally white ceiling bored out of his very mind. There was simply nothing to do. He had taken to counting the white squares on the ceiling and after counting out the 28th tile for the tenth time, he stopped due to pure boredom. Just how long had he been in here? A quick glance at the clock revealed that he had only been alone for a grand total of ten minutes. Nurse Redheart excused herself because she had other patients to attend to. Come to think of it, he should have asked what there is to do around here to pass the time. He looked around the room once more. There weren’t any hospital TV sets or reading material anywhere. The lack of a TV he could probably understand, since this world probably hasn’t even reached that level of technology yet…

“No magazines though… I find that really odd,” he mumbled to himself. Now that he had time to think again, he wondered just what level of technology these ponies seemed to have. It did seem quite similar to the Shinobi nations: A monarchy, most likely... although he did wonder if they had other government positions lower on the ladder that did all the mundane work such as minor laws and policies. He hoped there wasn’t, since that also meant politics. And with politics, comes a delay of action, and with no action comes trouble.

...

Why did he just start thinking about ponies and politics?

Was he really THAT bored that thinking about political ideas and structures was actually FUN?

He shuddered and pounded his hoof on the bed, making soft thumping noises every time he hit the sheet.

“Is there really nothing to do in here but sleep?! I’m bored…” That reminded him of something… He remembered the whole ordeal with Rock Lee and his life-changing battle with Gaara. Not only did he lose the fight during the Chuunin Exams, Gaara had sought fit to make sure he would never fight again by crushing both his left arm and leg. Doctors and other Shinobi said that he’d have to abandon being a Shinobi entirely, something that bushy brows had fought hard to become ever since they were young. Even then, he still trained despite doctor’s orders.

He could still remember that day in his mind very clearly from where everyone else stood to the bone-shattering crunch of the sand crippling Lee’s arm and leg. He watched from the sidelines as bushy brow fell into a depression after hearing he’d never fulfill his dreams. It was something he couldn’t bear to watch. Then Tsunade came along and changed all that. She brought her own knowledge of medicine to the fight and fixed Lee’s arm and leg, placing him on the path of becoming a Shinobi once again. He didn’t know the exact procedure she used, but it worked and that was all he needed to know.

Naruto sighed, looking out the window as the sun slid behind the distant mountains. It was late and darkness would soon cover the entire town. Nostalgic thoughts aside, an idea sprang up in his mind.

“I should try escaping.” Such an idea left him grinning like a madman... or mad-pony in this case. Hospitals and him didn’t get along well together for extended periods of time and since he was almost fully recovered, there wasn’t any reason to stay in bed for another day.

Naruto kicked the covers off and wriggled towards the edge of the bed. He would have just picked himself up and trotted out, but the bandages hampered his movements severely. So he improvised.

Gravity is a cruel, heartless mistress.

He fell to the floor squarely on his chest. Now, trying to sit up a few hours ago was painful enough so getting a huge thump on the chest sent his body through painful wave after wave. Instantly, he tried to pick himself off the ground using his hooves, but the bandages proved worthy adversaries, hampering his movements significantly. A ripping sound came from behind him and the tension on both of his hind legs were gone. He pulled himself off the ground finally and found himself on four hooves, wobbly at best. He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain now realizing that trying to escape let alone move was a bad idea.

He panted heavily, trying desperately to keep his balance and not tumble over. The bed was, thankfully, only a foot away. He inched towards the bed and pulled himself back onto it quickly but tenderly. His breathing slowly returned to normal, the pain starting to quickly subside as he lay on top of the covers motionless. He gave a pained sigh before looking at his rear. That ripping sound had been from the bandages on his hind legs breaking apart. They were ripped in numerous places, probably due to the amount of strain he placed on them from trying to stand up.

“I’m never doing that again…” He knew that was a reckless idea but it didn’t even pay off in the end. Now resting in bed, he resigned to just keeping still and relaxing, pulling the sheets back over his body. He could already feel the weight of the short day on his eyelids and he didn’t bother fighting back. He closed his eyes peacefully and enjoyed the warmth and comfort of the bed. That is, until a rather loud knock came from the door followed by its’ opening. He grudgingly opened his eyes to find a rather familiar pony in the doorway; The white unicorn with the black mane who he met in Canterlot, now featuring a stylish brown suit and matching top hat. The unicorn adopted a toothy smile, tipping his hat towards Naruto.

“Well my dear boy, it’s good to see you again. Resting well?” He said shutting the door behind him. Naruto couldn’t help but smile.

“Gary! I didn’t expect to see you here!”

“Well now, surprised are we? After hearing about your condition, I deemed it necessary to visit you in person to ‘check up’ on you, so to speak. After all, you did just slay a Manticore per my request only two days prior… In fact, I would have come earlier, but other pressing matters required my attention, you see…” Gary said, taking a seat on the nearby chair.

Gary’s presence and the mentioning of the Manticore caused Naruto to realize something. He did indeed fight the Manticore but it also jogged another memory of his battle: The tail. Naruto felt the grip of fatigue disappear as the realization took hold. He bolted up in panic but cringed when the pain hit him again forcing him to stay on his back.

“No… Gary, the tail! Where is it!? Last I remember, I chopped it off but then I lost consciousness and—!“

“Whoa there my dear boy... Calm down. Everything is fine. The tail is currently in my possession.”

“What? How was it delivered? I was—well, am—in no condition to do that.”

“Ah, yes… the delivery…” Gary began, rubbing his chin with his hoof. “Your friends were the ones handling it, I believe. Twilight Sparkle and Pinkamena Diane Pie, if I remember correctly. There was one other—a black unicorn—who was with them at the time. He was quite rude, if I might add.”

“You mean Blackie? He’s the Ponyville Blacksmith. I struck up a deal with him involving the delivery of the tail to your place.”

“The blacksmith, you say? Well for a blacksmith, he was rather adamant about keeping the tail even though he had no use for it.”

“What do you mean?”, asked Naruto in confusion.

“Well, as I was saying my boy, he was rather rude when he and your other friends arrived on my doorstep. He said things like, ‘After what that filly put me through, he shouldn’t deserve it!’ or ‘He didn’t come through with his part of the bargain!’. Your friends were trying to keep him in check, from what I could tell…”, Gary said as he rubbed his forehead. “The ruffian even tried taking a swing at me.”

Naruto’s jaw dropped. The fact that his friends went that far to deliver the tail themselves was just… unbelievable. First, it was bringing him to a hospital to recover. Now he found out that they delivered the tail in his stead. A peculiar smile grew across his face rather quickly.

“Those two… chocked full of surprises…” Naruto mumbled. What was that about Blackie though? He figured he was a jackass but a greedy two-timer? That didn’t sound right at all. Naruto sighed in frustration.

“What do you mean Blackie didn’t want to uphold his side of the deal? That’s just crazy.”

“Just what kind of deal did you make with this wanker? He certainly doesn’t have much respect for you from what I can tell… calling you a filly nonetheless.”

“Speaking of which Gary, what does a filly mean?” He always heard that term from Blackie. He thought it was just common slang for a pony but that was just his own assumption. Gary’s mouth went agape, evidently not believing what he just said.

“Are you sure that battle didn’t rattle something loose in your head Naruto?” Gary asked.

“Oh it rattled something… but I’m perfectly fine,” Naruto said with a chuckle, thumping his chest for good measure. He recoiled with a slight hiss before adding, “...well, almost.”

“He was calling you a female pony, a young one to be exact.” Naruto blinked a couple of times at Gary’s explanation.

“Wait, what?”

“He called you a female pony. By Celestia boy, are you really that thick?”

“No… I didn’t know.” So Blackie was mocking him from the very start. That stubborn unicorn had no confidence or trust in him whatsoever it seemed like. Maybe it was just Blackie’s way of talking to others? Several explanations ran across Naruto’s mind, but none of them fit the way he acted.

“Well then, the whole filly fiasco aside… back to the matter at hand then, hmm? Exactly what kind of deal did you make with him?”

“Well, I needed weapons to take on the Manticore, so I stopped by the local blacksmith to have them made. They were expensive though, so in exchange for letting him take half the spoils—minus the tail—he would not only cut 75% off the price, but help haul everything in. It seemed like a good deal at the time…” Naruto said, Gary giving a small smile.

“That does indeed sound like an appealing deal… now if only he were more enthusiastic like you are, then perhaps he wouldn’t have taken a swing at me. He’s one hostile deal-maker, I say. There is one thing i find strange about all this however…”, Gary said, shifting in place slightly.

“That is?”

“Why were you acquiring your tools AFTER you accepted the job? Did you not have your own yet?”

“No, I didn’t.”, Naruto said with a straight face. Gary looked at him in disbelief.

“You didn’t?”

“I just said I didn’t…”

“I find that hard to believe”, Gary scoffed.

“Why’s it hard to believe?”

“Because it IS hard to believe Naruto,” said Gary, his voice rising slightly, ”accepting a request before having the necessary equipment? Are you insane?”

“Do you want to pet my tail?”

“No I don’t want to—what?”

“My tail, do you want to pet it?”, Naruto repeated slightly slower.

“Why would I want to pet your tail?”

“Everyone else has and every time they do, they focus on it than anything else for a minute. It’s like this tail is psychic or something… It creeps the hell out of me.”

“Well if your tail creeps you out, why did you ask me to pet it for you?”

Naruto opened his mouth to say something but paused midway. Why DID he want Gary to pet his tail? Is it because he wanted to move the conversation onto a different topic or was it just to see how he’d react? Naruto merely sighed as he shook his head.

“Never mind Gary… what were we talking about?” Naruto asked. Now Gary was the one to sigh as he rubbed his temples with his hooves.

“Ahem.. regardless, the Manticore tail arrived safely despite the issue with its’ delivery. You’ll have to talk to this Blackie fellow or your friends if you want more details. I can only speculate on what happened between the forest and my house.” He leaned back on the chair, staring up at the ceiling. “I must say Naruto, you have done me a marvelous deed… If it weren’t for you, I don’t think I’d have gotten the proper ingredients in time… You saved a life, doing what you did. And… to be frank,” he said, turning his eyes back to Naruto, “I didn’t expect you to survive.”

Naruto grinned. “You don’t know me then Gary.”

Gary blinked. He burst out laughing a moment later, catching Naruto by surprise. After a minute or so passed, Gary calmed down enough to speak.

“Heh, it seems that I do not. When I first met you, to be honest I was skeptic. Out of everypony else who stepped into my office to take the job, you were probably the youngest and least experienced. I was, honestly, going to show you the door after hearing you out. However, you had a certain air about you, my dear boy... A look of a fighter... A look that said ‘I get stuff done’. I had a feeling that you would be the one to do it... and I’m glad that I went with my gut feeling…”, Gary said, standing up from the chair, his eyes still on Naruto, “…which is why I’m increasing your reward. I don’t believe that three hundred bits is an adequate payment for what you have done for me nor the actions you have set into motion... You have my deepest thanks Naruto,” he said bowing to Naruto.

“You’re welcome Gary. I’m just glad I could help.” A mix of joy and happiness flowed through Naruto filling him up. Saving a life and an increase in the reward? Maybe suicidal missions like this were worth the risk. However, something else came to mind right now. “Wait, what do you mean ‘increasing your reward’? Are you just adding more bits or something else?

“Heh… in due time Naruto. Once you’re out of the hospital, you’ll see. Until then, focus on getting some rest.” Gary walked over to the door, using his magic to open it. “Now then, I believe I must be going. It is rather late and I have a daughter to attend to,” he said with a grin. “You take care of yourself now. If I run into anymore of your friends, I’ll be sure to let them know you’re as fit as a whistle... well, mostly anyway. Everypony needs some good news, hmm?”