Chapters The sun was shining bright this day, as it always does in Equestria. Several weeks had gone by so fast since Princess Luna had returned. Princess Celestia looked out upon her domain from the castle as she thought fondly on those past weeks. Luna was slowly adjusting to her new life, her vocabulary needing the most help, but Celestia didn’t care. She was just glad to have her little sister returned to her.
The Day Court had finished earlier than expected, so Celestia had some rare free time. She was unsure of what to do. Should she awaken Luna so they could spend some time with each other? Or should she find some way to amuse herself to pass the time? Those thoughts were interrupted as a sudden jolt shook her castle from above. Now, the Princess was worried. She rushed out of the room and headed towards a secret part of the castle. So secret that only those directly involved knew it existed. Not even Luna was aware of this room and what it contained.
As Princess Celestia opened the doors, she took in the sight that was before her. A bright light shone from the lone object in the room. It pulsed and hummed loudly as it shook the very walls that surrounded it. Celestia feared that this day would come. She spoke to the lone guard outside the door.
“Summon Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony. Tell them to come to Canterlot immediately.”
The guard saluted and walked off to relay the message. Celestia stayed in the entrance to the room, transfixed on the object. She feared what she was about to have her student and her friends do.
“Dear mother, give me strength,” she prayed.
***********
It was a normal day in Ponyville for Twilight Sparkle. She was slow to adjusting to her new home, but her friends made it much easier for her and Spike to fit in. Of course, there were problems here or there. Such as when her mentor, Princess Celestia, had sent her two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala and all of her friends wanted to go. Twilight had been chased throughout the town when everypony found out. In the end, she returned the tickets, not wanting to leave any of her dearest friends out. Princess Celestia had sent seven tickets in return, one for each of her friends and Spike.
Then there was the small problem with Applejack a couple of weeks ago. Her older brother, Big Macintosh, had injured himself and she was left to harvest this year’s crop by herself. The farm mare nearly worked herself to death because she refused to accept anypony’s help. She wanted to prove to her brother that she could handle the entire harvest herself. It wrecked her life outside the farm because she was so exhausted. After a while, and thanks to Twilight’s badgering, she finally gave in and accepted her friend’s help. That was an Applebuck Season that nopony will ever forget, or want to have again.
Twilight was in her library, though, today. She was deep in research, magical research of course. The bookmare was always looking for new things to learn. Of course, living in a library didn’t hurt either. It has been only three months since she moved to Ponyville, and she was only half way through her new collection. She felt she could do better, but her friends still needed her from time to time. Her studies were interrupted, however, by the sound of a burping dragon.
Spike appeared in her doorway a moment later. “Twi!” he called. “I got a letter from the Princess for you!” He showed off a scroll in his claw to prove it. Twilight smiled, always enjoying whenever the Princess sent her a letter. She took the scroll from her assistant with her magic.
“Thank you my number one assistant!” She unfurled it and continued to speak as she read. “I wonder what Princess Celestia has to say?” When she finished reading, Twilight was confused. “Huh. She wants girls and I to come see her in Canterlot. I wonder what’s going on that she needs us to come see her.”
“Want me to go gather everypony?” asked Spike.
“Yes, Spike, that would be wonderful. Tell them to meet me at the train station as soon as they are packed. Who knows how long we will be gone.”
Spike walked off and out of their home, heading out to gather their friends.
Two hours later, six young mares and one dragon were waiting for the next train to Canterlot. Spike was staying behind to mind the library, but he wanted to see his friends off. “Just remember to do your chores, Spike,” Twilight said as she continued to list off his duties for however long they would be. The young dragon was trying to focus on what she was saying, but his eyes kept dragging towards Rarity, his crush.
The others were excited to be going to Canterlot, especially Rarity. “Oh, I here Canterlot is so lovely this time of year! The fashion, the culture, the magnificence of it all!”
“Yeah, yeah. We get it already!” huffed Rainbow Dash. The rainbow mare was getting really impatient while waiting for the train. “Ugh! What is taking so long? I could have flown to Canterlot by now!”
“Sure ya could, sugar cube,” retorted Applejack. “But then ya couldn’t enjoy Rarity’s talk about Canterlot.”
“Ugh!” was Rainbow’s only response.
“I can’t wait!” said Pinkie Pie. “We are gonna have so much fun!”
“I hope the train doesn’t take too much longer,” said Fluttershy meekly. “I don’t want to be away from my animal friends for too long.”
“That’s a good question there, Fluttershy,” said Applejack. “Not the train, but, Twi, how long will we be in Canterlot?”
“I don’t know Applejack,” she answered. “Princess Celestia only said for us to come as fast as we can, nothing else. It has me really confused and worried.”
“Hey! We’re the Elements of Harmony! Defeaters of Nightmare Moon! We can handle anything the Princess can throw at us!” retorted Rainbow Dash. The train arrived moments later and they bid farewell to Spike as the train took off. They made idle chit chat between each other, but nothing much else during the three hour train ride. They arrived in Canterlot around early evening. Twilight took in the sight of her old home with a sense of nostalgia. Her friends, though, were marveling in the city before them.
They all wanted to go around and see the sights, but Twilight reminded them that they needed to see the Princess. They could sight see later. When they approached the castle, they were met by the Royal Guards. The two of them recognized Twilight and escorted her and her friends to Princess Celestia in the throne room.
“Princess,” one of the guards said. “The Elements of Harmony have arrived.”
“Thank you, now please leave us,” she answered back.
“Yes, your majesty.” He and the other guards took their leave, leaving the six mares alone with Princess.
“Princess!” said Twilight who approached her mentor and nuzzled her leg. Celestia giggled a little and did the same to Twilight’s neck.
“It is good to see you as well, my faithful student.” Celestia brought her gaze to the others in the room and noticed that they were bowing to her. “Now, now, none of that. You do not need to bow to me when we are alone.” The rose and smiled at her.
“Princess?” Twilight asked. “Why did you need us to come see you? Is something wrong?”
Princess let out a deep sigh and looked directly at them all. “What I am about to tell you all is not to leave this room. Understood?”
Twilight and the others were surprised at their Princess’ words, but complied with her request. “Very well, follow me.” The seven ponies walked for some time before approaching a guarded door. “Has there been any activity?” she asked the guard.
“Vibrations have been continuing and growing with time. Thankfully, nowhere near what occurred earlier,” she responded.
“Thank you.” She turned to the Elements. “What you are about to see is very important and is a great threat to Equestria. Now, come.”
The others were now very worried of what they were about to be shown, but still followed their ruler. Once inside, they all beheld a single stone in the middle of the room, suspended above the floor by magic. The stone seemed to be pulsing with energy and it looked eerily familiar to Twilight. Then it clicked.
“Princess, is that another Element of Harmony?!” Twilight asked out of shock. The rest of her friends were at a loss for words as well.
Princess Celestia regarded her student with look of pride. “Yes, my faithful student. This is the seventh Element of Harmony. But, it is extremely dangerous.”
“Why?” asked Rainbow.
“What Element is it?” asked Twilight.
They had asked their questions at the same time and Celestia answered both. “This Element is completely unknown to me, Twilight. It suddenly appeared after you six became the new bearers. Why it is so dangerous, is because it is highly unstable. It seems to be incomplete and keeps sending out bursts of energy.”
As the solar princess spoke those words, the stone began to glow with ferocity and then let out a big burst of energy, sending several of the ponies to the ground and shaking the castle around them. It took a moment for Celestia to regain herself and spoke to the others as they too began to stand again.
“See? The problem being that the bursts keep getting stronger and more frequent. I fear that the Element may be beginning to collapse itself. If that should happen, there would be no way that I could stop the destruction that it would create. I believe that it could easily destroy Canterlot, as well as the surrounding areas.” The girls all paled at what Celestia was insinuating.
“That is where you all come in. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack. I need you all to dispose of this Element before it goes critical. You will be given a special container to hold this Element and be protected from the blasts. You will rid this the world of this time bomb in the one place where no pony will be harmed: The Grand Chasm!”
Twilight and the others stared gaping at what Princess Celestia had asked of them. Rarity was the one who spoke out, though.
“Princess Celestia, no disrespect, but you truly want us to go to the most uninhabitable place in all of Equestria? Also while carrying an object of immense power that is currently awaiting self-destruction? It just screams danger!” Rarity protested.
“Yeah it does!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “This sounds awesome! I say we go, now!” Princess Celestia inwardly giggled at the mare’s enthusiasm. Then she addressed them all.
“I know that this is a highly dangerous mission, but I am confident that you will succeed. Being the bearers of the other Elements will also give you an additional barrier to the energy that is being output by this one.”
“I believe you are right, Princess,” said Twilight. “This is an Element of Harmony and we have a responsibility to see that it causes harm to nopony. It is our duty!”
Pinkie began to giggle. “She said ‘duty’!” Several of them glared at her for her outburst. “Sorry.”
“Ah for one think that Twi is right. We can’t let this blasted rock hurt somepony. Let’s just get to the Chasm and chuck it the bottom.”
Celestia’s eyes widened. “NO! Whatever you do, do not do that!” They all reared back at the Princess’ tone. “I’m sorry for startling you, but if you were to simply throw it into the Chasm, it could explode when it reaches the bottom before you all got to a safe distance. Please, you must be careful with this Element. I don’t want any of you to get hurt either.”
“We’ll be careful, Princess. You can count on us!”
Several hours later, the six mares were on their way to the Grand Chasm. The only way there, however, was to trek through the Everfree Forest. So far, nothing had gone wrong. They thought that they had heard predators in the bushes, but none ever approached. Fluttershy was the most scared of the group, but not because of their location.
“T-twilight?” asked the shy mare. Twilight turned her head around, but continued walking.
“Yes, Fluttershy, is something wrong?”
“I-it’s just that, I don’t know anything about this ‘Grand Chasm’, so I’m a little worried.”
“Oh! Why didn’t you say so, Fluttershy? You see, the Grand Chasm is a massive gorge at the edge of Equestria. No ponies live there, however, because plants refuse to grow in the area. On the other side of the Chasm is the Samareian Desert, and the entire ravine itself is impenetrable rock. As such, no pony can live there. Its history is that of a place of banishment.” Twilight shuddered as she said that word. “Usually reserved for the greatest monsters of Equestria.”
“M-monsters?” asked Fluttershy with fear in her eyes. Twilight wave a dismissive hoof at her.
“Not to worry, Fluttershy! There is no way any of those creatures could survive in the harsh landscape of the Chasm. This mission may take some time, but the only danger would be falling into the Chasm.”
“O-oh. Ok.”
The rest of the way was silent as they trudged on the forest path. After another hours walk, they arrived at the Grand Chasm and they stared in awe at the sight before them. The Grand Chasm was well over a mile wide and when they leaned over the edge, none of them could see the bottom as it was shrouded in darkness. There was a group gulp as they lobbed a rock down there and never heard it hit the bottom. Twilight spoke up.
“O-okay girls; let’s get moving. The princess is counting on us.” They found a thin pathway that led into the gorge. They inched their way along until they found a wider path and they trotted further down. Some time passed and none of the girls ever spoke. Except Rarity.
“This dirt better wash out! All this trudging is going to ruin my beautiful coat!” After a while (a few minutes) Applejack had had enough.
“RARITY!! Enough with your whining! It’s not helping anypony and it’s just plain annoying!”
“Girls!” said Twilight. “Both of you need to stop arguing! You may start an avalanche for all we know!” As if on cue, a loud sound shook the six mares to the core.
*ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
“That didn’t sound like an avalanche,” Rainbow pointed out. Heavy breathing then came from the cave that the girls were standing in front of. The six of them slowly turned around to a horrible sight. Standing well above the ponies was a massive Cyclops with large pointed teeth and a blood shot eye. It looked mad and roared in anger at them.
The six mares screamed and ran off down the path, the monster following and gaining on them.
“Run into the cave girls!!” screamed Twilight. A cave was coming up on their right and they turned right into it. They kept running and running until they saw light ahead. When they pulled into the light, they were confused beyond all understanding. They had somehow come out on the other side of the Grand Chasm!
“W-what?” asked Rainbow.
“How in tarnation did we get over here?” said Applejack.
Twilight was in bewilderment. “I-I don’t know!! That should not have been possible! I was hoping we would lose the Cyclops in the darkness and then run back out of the cave; not end up coming out of another cave all together!” A roar came from behind them as well as footsteps shaking the earth beneath them. “Let’s figure this out later! RUN!”
As one, they fled from the beast. Along the way, more and more creatures made themselves known through the massive gorge. Every time they lost the Cyclops, another monster would come from the caves and start chasing them, hoping to have ponies as its next meal. They ran for what felt like hours until they finally found a cave that was uninhabited and lost the great bear-like monster that had been after them for the past half hour. They sat on their haunches, trying to catch their breaths.
“W-what the hay, Twi?!” panted Rainbow. “I thought you said that nothing could live out here! If that’s so, then why are there monsters everywhere?!”
“I am inclined to agree with Rainbow Dash, dear,” said Rarity.
“We need to get out of here!” said Pinkie Pie. “I can’t throw anymore parties if I get eaten by monsters!! That is no fun!”
Before Twilight could even respond, another sound came from deeper in the cave. “Psst.”
They froze, fearing that there was another monster living in their ‘sanctuary’. When they looked, they saw a shadow in the darkness; a pony shadow. It was waving a hoof at them, beckoning for them to follow. “Come with me,” the voice whispered. “More are coming; they will be here soon. Now, if you want to live, then you will come with me.” The shadow turned and walked off into the darkness.
Twilight and her friends sat where they were, not knowing what they should do. “Should we do as it asked?” she asked her friends.
“What choice do we have, darling? Right now, that pony may be our only hope.”
“What if it’s a trap?!” said Rainbow. “This seems far too fishy.”
“I think we should!” beamed Pinkie. “That pony is willing to help us; wouldn’t hurt to just follow, right?”
After a moment, Twilight made a decision. “Right, let’s go!” They followed the pony into the darkness of the cave. The group of seven ponies came out another cave in the Chasm. The new pony looked left and right down the path, as if making sure nothing was in sight.
“It’s clear; let’s move. Quickly now!” She ran off down the path. She was clearly a mare because of her rounded body shape. Now that they were in the light, Twilight could see the pony much clearer. She had a tan colored coat and deep brown mane and tail and was clearly a unicorn due to the horn on her head. Her eyes were also a deep blue, but were solid and focused. They turned a corner and found themselves trapped by a giant boulder. “Hold on,” was all she said. She approached the boulder and put her forelegs on it. Applejack knew that it was futile.
“Ah don’t mean to be rude, partner, but there ain’t no way you can move that rock. It’s far too big.”
The mare only turned and gave the group a smirk. Then began to put pressure on the rock and with a small grunt of effort, the rock easily rolled away, revealing a hidden cave. Everypony was stunned at her ability to move the rock with very little effort. She turned to them, still smiling. “Inside, now! Night is coming and that is the worst time to be out in the canyon! Hurry!”
With suspicion in their eyes, everypony did as she asked and entered the cave. Their eyes widen in surprise at what they saw. It looked like a home. The back wall was clearly made from collapsed rocks, probably to keep monsters from enter the cave accidentally. All around them were trinkets and other knickknacks. There was a large couch, a chair, and a small kitchen; all looked as if they were molded from the earth itself. As they gawked, the mystery mare walked in and began to push the rock back into place. As it rolled back into place, the girls turned around to face her and realized that they were trapped. Twilight began to panic inside her mind.
“W-why did you put that rock in place?” she asked nervously.
“No monsters are allowed in my home,” she answered as she finished putting the boulder in place. “Whew! That was close. The worst ones come out after dark. Trust me, you do not want to be out there with them! That’s bad idea written all over it!” She chuckled to herself as she approached the kitchen. “Can I get you girls anything? I don’t have much, but I can easily make dinner for seven tonight.”
The six of them just stared at her. One moment, she was hard and serious, but now she was warm and welcoming. The mare noticed their looks and gave small laugh. “Oh, where are my manners. Perhaps introductions are in order, hm?”
Pinkie snapped out her trance and smiled. “Oh goody! I love meeting new ponies. My name is Pinkie Pie! These are my friends!” Pinkie walked around and pointed to each mare as she recited their names. “This is Rainbow Dash!”
“Fastest flyer in Equestria!” the cyan pegasus said proudly.
“She’s Rarity!”
“A pleasure, darling,” the white unicorn said nervously.
“And Fluttershy!”
*EEP* was all the yellow pegasus said as she hid behind Rainbow.
“This is Applejack!”
“Howdy, partner,” the orange earth pony said with a tip of her hat.
“And this the protégé of Princess Celestia herself, Twilight Sparkle!”
“It’s very nice to make your acquaintance. Would you be so kind as to tell us your name? We would like to know who it is that saved us,” said the purple unicorn.
“Oh, right. Sorry about that. Welcome to my home. The name’s Naruko. It is very nice to meet all of you.”
As the mare in front of them began to prepare a dinner for them, Twilight and her friends were still trying to understand who she was. Naruko was certainly not any known Equestrian name and her demeanor was unlike anypony they ever met. She seemed like a nice pony at first glance, but how she acted outside in the chasm was similar to that of a trained soldier. So many questions were flying through Twilight’s mind and she desperately wanted answers. So she took the initiative,
“So, Naruko, would you mind answering a few questions I have?”
Naruko looked up from her cooking and nodded her head at Twilight. “Sure thing, Miss Sparkle. I have no problem filling in any blanks,” she said with a kind smile as well as returning to her task. Twilight beamed and clapped hooves together in excitement.
“Thank you, thank you! Oh, I have so many questions! For one, what are you doing here in the Grand Chasm of Equestria?” Twilight asked. Naruko stopped what she was doing, appearing to think upon that question. A moment later, she resumed her chore and replied,
“I live here. Have for some time now, I suppose. It’s hard to tell how much time passes here.”
The six mares looked at each other and then at Naruko. None of them were quite sure how to take that information.
“What about your parents? Or your family?” asked Applejack.
Naruko answered almost too quickly. “I haven’t spoken to my parents in a very long time and my brothers and sisters live all over. I rarely see them except on certain holidays. That was before I moved here, that is.”
“But why would you live out in this, ugh, filthy hovel?” asked Rarity. “This Chasm is supposed to be uninhabitable by ponies.”
Naruko chuckled a little. “This ‘hovel’ is only uninhabitable if you don’t know what you are doing. As to why I am here, well it’s because of the monsters. I am sure you noticed that this place is crawling with them.”
“Yeah we did!” said a cheerful Pinkie. “They’re everywhere!”
“Hey, you’re right!” realized Rainbow Dash. “I thought Twilight said that all the monsters in this place should have died off a long time ago! What the hay Twi?!”
Twilight was about to respond, but was interrupted by Naruko, who was chuckling. “Wow, everypony really doesn’t know much about this place, do they?” They all looked at her questioningly. “You see, there are many enchantments that have been placed upon this land. You may have noticed that when you ran through the caves. Normally, the caves would have no end, but an ancient spell connects all of them to one another. It took me a long time, but I was finally able to map them all, thankfully.”
Twilight’s eyes began to grow with curiosity upon the mention of these maps, but Naruko continued. “Another spell that I have noticed is that no monster here that lives in Chasm ever ages. Every monster that has ever been banished here still lives, untouched by time. From the Cyclopes to the Giant Spiders, every single one of them is alive and well. Which means that anypony brave enough to enter the Grand Chasm can be hunted down by them, as well. That’s why I am here, to make sure that others are not hurt by these creatures. I also make sure that none of the beasts ever escape. It’s a hard job, but somepony needs to do it, I suppose.”
All the other mares around the room were in shock. This lone mare was responsible for keeping Equestria safe from an invasion of deadly monsters! How strong was she? Then a thought came to Applejack,
“Hey, wait a minute. Did you say that other ponies have come here as well?”
Naruko nodded as she began to stir a broth in a pot. “Yes. It’s uncommon, but there are those daredevil ponies who come here seeking the thrill of vast Chasm. I have met climbers, scientists, adventurers, and etcetera. That does bring a question to my mind, though. What are all of you doing here anyway?”
“It’s classified!” shot Rainbow. She wasn’t so ready to trust this newcomer with information from the Princess. While her friends shot her disapproving looks, Naruko only nodded.
“Alrighty, then,” she replied.
“You’re not curious?” she asked, completely stunned by Naruko’s reaction.
“Of course I am, but if it’s classified, then that is fine. I know a thing or two about classification,” she replied cryptically. The others were a little surprised by this turn of events, but Twilight felt that this pony could be trusted. Despite how weird she seemed to be.
“We are here by order of Princess Celestia to dispose of a dangerous artifact that is a threat to the whole of Equestria,” she told Naruko. “We are to travel to the bottom of the Grand Chasm and leave it there before it can harm anypony.” Twilight felt proud of herself for telling Naruko the truth, but Naruko was staring at her in horror.
“Y-you’re going to the b-bottom of the Chasm?” she asked in fear. The six mares nodded their heads slowly, not exactly sure what was going on. “NO!! You can’t go down there!!” Naruko shouted, her voice filled with terror.
Rainbow was dumbstruck by Naruko’s sudden actions and voiced her own thoughts. “Why? What’s so dangerous about it?”
“Do you see that wall over there?” Naruko gestured to the wall at the far end of the cave. All over it were strange knickknacks and trinkets that seemed to all be unrelated to each other. There was mechanical equipment, a messenger bag, an adventurer’s hat, and many others. “I tried to stop them,” Naruko said as she approached the wall, her voice distant and mournful. “I tried to warn them, I told them not to go down there. None of them ever listened,” she hung her head as she spoke. “These are all that remains of those that were foolish enough to venture into the darkness of the bottom of the Grand Chasm.”
Now the mane six were scared. They figured that Naruko was just afraid of the dark or something, considering that you could not even see the bottom of the canyon. But it seemed that maybe something did live down there in the depths. They were brought out of their fear-filled thoughts as Naruko spoke again.
“Its name is…Igneel,” she said with fear. “He is the most dangerous creature to ever live in Equestria. Nothing is more powerful than him and he is the only one of his kind. Igneel is the only creature that lives at the bottom of the chasm and not even the other monsters are brave enough to venture past the bars. That is what is beyond the darkness: the entire bottom of the chasm is encased in steel bars, like a prison door, through the entire length of the canyon. They are there to make sure he never escapes. Very few ponies have ever escaped him when they ventured down there. There was only one in recent memory. She gave me this hat, my favorite hat by the way, as she came back through the chasm,” Naruko held up the hat in her right hoof as she spoke. “You kind of remind me of her, Ms. Dash. You both seem quite daring, she was even a pegasus, too.”
Naruko turned to face her guests. “I beg of you, please do not venture forth into the darkness. Find another location where you can get rid of this ‘artifact’ because if you go down there, it is more than likely that you will never return.” She stared at them with a hard, yet pleading look. A small ‘ding’ came from the kitchen and Naruko immediately changed her mood to happy. “Ooh! Soup’s done! Come on everypony, let’s eat!”
And now they were really confused. This new mare switched from foreboding and frightened to happy and cheerful in less than second! She was a strange one alright; not Pinkie Pie strange, but strange nonetheless. Still, they followed her and sat down around a marble tabletop as Naruko passed around several bowls of soup. Once they all had food, they ate together in relative peace. Pinkie was the first to praise Naruko’s food.
“Mmm, mm. This is yummy Naruko!”
“Thank you, Miss Pie. I’ll admit I am not the best cook, but when you are own your own like me, you have to be able to make your own meals,” Naruko replied with a smile and a shrug.
“Oh, yes darling it is quite good. You give yourself, too little credit. But, if I may ask, what is it that we are eating?” asked Rarity.
“Potato soup, Miss Rarity. I grow my own vegetables in that planter over there,” she said gesturing to the back corner of the cave. There indeed was a small planter with plants growing out of it with a small skylight directly above it. Twilight was the first to question the skylight.
“How is there a skylight in here?” she thought out loud.
“Simple, Ms. Sparkle. I made one.” They all looked at her like she had a grown a second head. “It’s true! I made everything in here. From the table we’re eating on, to the skylight in the roof, to the shelves on the walls. Everything was hoof-crafted by me! I am very good with the earth, I guess. I have always been good at digging and I can understand most things about rocks and gems just by looking at them.”
“Oh?” asked Rarity. She brought a small gem from her saddlebags and pushed it in front of Naruko. “Then, darling, think you can tell us about this little beauty?” she said with a tone of challenge.
Naruko narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow at the gem. After a single moment, Naruko knew everything. “Diamond, circa 15,000 years ago. Cut, obviously by a professional. Carbon formation is highly dense, probably could make for a good cutting tool if necessary. Price… no idea.”
Rarity’s eyes bulged as Naruko continued to list of every single detail of the diamond she put on the table. “My, my, my. You truly are gifted Naruko. Is that what your cutie mark is about?” Rarity asked pointing at her flank where three yellow, multi-pointed stars overlapped each other.
“My what?” She looked where Rarity pointed and realization dawned on her. “Oh, is that what those are called? I thought they were just symbols of talent. Oh, well. And no, that is not my special talent, despite how good I am at it. No, what I am most skilled at is fighting to protect others. You could say that fighting in and of itself is my special talent, even if it is kind of violent.”
Fluttershy seemed a little more frightened of their hostess now, but a question rang in her mind. “H-how do you n-not know a-about cutie m-marks, N-naruko?” she asked.
“Probably because I don’t have an education,” she replied as she began to put away the dishes she used for cooking. Twilight looked aghast at Naruko’s revelation.
“What?! You can’t be serious!? How could you not have an education?!” she practically screamed at Naruko.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she replied, ignoring Twilight’s tone, “I did have plenty of home schooling, but I have never had an official education you could say. I left my home at a very young age and never looked back. Because of that, I really don’t know a whole lot about Equestria, other than what I have picked up from the other travelers.” Naruko then let out a sigh longing. “It gets pretty lonely out here, ya know? I don’t have anything to talk to, aside from the rocks.”
Suddenly, Naruko was rushed by a teary-eyed Pinkie who hugged her fiercely. “That’s so sad!!” she exclaimed as she pulled Naruko in tight. Naruko was too stunned to offer anything in return. “Don’t you have any friends who come and visit you?” Pinkie asked, letting up on Naruko just enough for her to respond.
“I’ve never had any friends, Miss Pie. Not a single one in my entire life. The closest that I had was kind dragon who kept me company for few years. She was kind and very intelligent, but one day she just disappeared without a trace and I haven’t seen her since.” As Naruko finished talking, Pinkie increased the output of her hug, lifting the unicorn mare of her hooves.
“You haven’t ever had any friends?” she asked Naruko. “Well, then!” Pinkie immediately let go of Naruko, who promptly fell the floor with a light thud, and she appeared right next to the others. “We’ll be your friends; right girls?” The rest of the mane six were surprised at first, but once they looked over at Naruko whose face was filled with confusion, and maybe a little hope, their expressions softened to ones of compassion.
“Of course we’ll be her friends, darling!” replied Rarity.
“Ah don’t see why not!” said Applejack.
“Sure, she’s pretty cool,” said Rainbow Dash. “Not as cool as me, but still.” The others rolled their eyes at her.
“Um, I-I’d like to be friends,” replied Fluttershy.
“I’m willing to be friends with her, especially if she is willing to share more about this cavern!” said Twilight with a look of wonder in her eyes.
Pinkie then turned back to Naruko. “Look at that Naruko! You have six brand new best friends! Ooh! You should come back with us to Ponyville and then I can throw you the bestest party you have ever been to!”
Naruko was looking at them with eyes wide and her mouth agape. This was completely unexpected for her. “W-we’re friends?” she asked still in shock. All six shook their heads with smiles on their faces. Tears began to form in the corners of Naruko’s eyes. Several of her former visitors had mentioned wanting to be friends with her before, but for some reason only the friendship of these six ponies seemed genuine. “Now, I really don’t want you to go,” she said hanging her head. “You’ll all be killed if you go down to Igneel’s domain.”
“Don’t worry, Naruko!” said Rainbow. “If things get bad, I can just fly us out of—“
“NOOO!!!” Naruko interrupted. Her sudden outburst frightening her new friends. “Whatever you do, do not fly in this chasm! That is a death sentence all on its own!” she said with a look of horror.
“What are you talking about?” asked the cyan pegasus. “I’ve been flying all day and there have been no problems.”
“Yes, but did you fly out past the canyon wall?” she asked.
“Well, no. But I don’t—“
“Exactly! Besides Igneel, the other greatest threat in this place are the piranha bats! They swarm anything that flies out over the walls and strip them to the bone! I have seen many pegasi fall to such a fate and I don’t want that to happen to either you or Miss Fluttershy.”
The group was revolted by Naruko’s tale and all agreed to keep near the walls. Another question popped into Twilight’s mind.
“Naruko? What is exactly is this Igneel creature? What makes him so dangerous?” the book mare asked.
“Igneel is the last of the most powerful race to ever exist. His scales repel any kind of magic, his claws tear through all forms of flesh. His breath alone can kill almost instantly! Just by staring into his eyes you will be paralyzed completely. He breathes fire and acid, too. The only thing that is good about this is that he can’t fly! Maybe he could have at one point, but I wasn’t going to take the time to study him when I first met him! Igneel is the most dangerous creature you will ever meet; he is… a drakon,” Naruko explained, her voice growing more and more ominous.
The girls gasped in shock, but eventually Fluttershy was able to speak. “What’s a drakon?” she asked.
Twilight explained. “A drakon is similar to a dragon, but is much larger and much fiercer in appearance, though their appearance varied highly, very few looked like each other. They supposedly went extinct over a thousand years ago. Their size coupled with their ferocity made them very, very dangerous. I can’t believe that one of them is here! It would be a great chance to study them, but we would not doubt be eaten before I got the chance.”
Now all of them fully understood why Naruko feared for their safety. The Grand Chasm seemed as if it was entirely made to kill anypony who ventured into it. There was nothing safe about this place at all! And Naruko dealt with this place every single day. She was much braver and stronger than any of them knew. While they were going through this thought process, Naruko was looking to her skylight.
“It’s pretty late,” she said pointing to Luna’s moon that was high in the sky. “You’re going to need your rest if you are going to continue your adventure. I have no right to stop you, but I still must advise you that if you go down to Igneel’s domain, you will die.”
“We understand the risks, Naruko,” said Twilight. “But Princess Celestia tasked us with keeping this artifact away from Equestria’s citizens and we will fulfill this mission.” Twilight then walked over to the tan mare and put her hoof on her shoulder. “We’ll be fine and we will be sure to stop by on our way out of the Chasm. Our friendship will prevail.”
Naruko sighed in defeat and pulled out seven cots from a small storage area. She set them out in a circle in the middle of the cave. Naruko climbed into one and gestured for the others to do the same. They eagerly complied and were soon sleeping soundly in their beds, none of them eager to what awaited them tomorrow.
***********
The morning came almost too soon and the others were ready to depart. Naruko was still trying to convince them otherwise all through a meager breakfast of dry oats. The others simply refused to listen, despite their massive fears. Once they were all packed and ready to move out, Naruko once again pushed away the massive boulder with little effort.
“Ah still don’t know how ya do that, Naruko,” remarked Applejack. “Unicorns aren’t known to be very physically strong.”
She simply shrugged in response and then motioned her hoof to a path off to the right of her home. “This path will take you where you need to go; just follow it and you will be in Igneel’s prison in an hour or so,” the mare explained. Her expression was very sad and the others picked up on it very easily. Twilight decided to reassure their new friend one last time.
“We’ll be just fine, Naruko. All we need to do is to hide the artifact down there and we are done and gone. In and out. And will be sure to stop by on our way back, that’s a promise.” Twilight smiled reassuringly to try and calm her fellow unicorn’s feelings. Naruko sniffled a little and wished them well as they trotted down the path she had indicated. Naruko retreated back into her home and resealed her door.
You shouldn’t have let them go, spoke a voice from within her home. Naruko sighed, as if expecting for ‘it’ to talk.
“What could I do?” she asked rhetorically. “I have no right to tell ponies that I just met what they can and cannot do. It’s not my place.”
And despite only just meeting you, offered you the one thing that you desperately need; friendship! it said undeterred. You shouldn’t let this opportunity slip by, Naruko. They will need you if they meet the drakon down there.
“I know that!” she snapped back. “Those ponies were the first who actually ever asked me to be their friend. They didn’t want anything in return; not help defending them or tricking me into digging precious gems for them. All they wanted was my friendship. You really think I wanted to give that all up?!”
No, I don’t, the voice responded back, its tone changing to one of discipline. But could you ever forgive yourself this time if any of them get hurt? The voice tone then changed back to one of calm reason. Don’t let this happen, Naruko. Now you can save them from their fate. Don’t let your first friends fall.
Naruko let the voice’s words replay in her mind for some time. She was mentally going through all of the possibilities that could happen if she intervened here. She knew that acting on this could have drastic consequences down the line, but her heart was crying out to her to go after her very first friends.
“Friends”
That word was constantly rolling through her thoughts. Friendship was one of few things that she had never had, but desperately wanted and needed. Like Pinkie Pie had said, everypony needs friends. And now, Naruko had six friends who were all a lot of fun. Each one was different and she felt at peace being around them. ‘Peace’ . Another thing she has rarely ever had.
Then a sound rang out from outside her home. It was a sound that she desperately had hoped would not be heard. From beyond Naruko’s sealed home, she could clearly hear the sound of six mares screaming loudly in fear. She knew what had happened, Igneel had her friends now and try as she might, Naruko couldn’t hold back the tears as they began to roll down her muzzle. Then a prickling at the back of her mind forced her to stop her crying; something deep within her told her that her friends were still alive, probably not for long though. She turned her head towards the seal on her home, not certain of what she should do.
Go, Naruko, the voice urged. Go and save your friends, GO!! That was all the push that Naruko needed as she rocketed towards the only thing in her way. She crashed into the giant boulder causing it to be sent flying right into the wall on the opposite side of the Grand Chasm. With gusto, Naruko raced down the path to the dark prison. She ran and ran and ran, never stopping, never looking back. The only thing she needed was the lone thought in her head that was urging her ever forward: Hold on, my friends! I’m coming!
Her confidence over flowing, Naruko raced past giant prison bars that were covered in darkness and rushed off to the rescue.
Twilight just couldn’t understand where everything went wrong. Their mission had started off easy enough: take the explosive Element to the bottom of a chasm, leave it there, and then return home. That was how everything was supposed to go; she even made a check list for the mission! But running for her life with her friends from a bloodthirsty drakon was not on that list!
After walking down the path that their new friend Naruko had indicated, the girls had marveled at the massive iron bars that spanned the darkness. What amazed them was that once they were past the cloud of darkness, everything was bright and sunny again. Well, as much sun as the bottom of a massive chasm could have. A little while later, all six of them found a good enough spot to discard the seventh Element of Harmony.
“Right here should be good enough, girls,” Twilight said to them indicating a small rock pile. Applejack was the one holding in the artifact in her saddle bags, took it out and let Twilight take it in her magic. “Now let’s get rid of this thing and get back to Naruko before Igneel shows up.”
“Looks like we are running out of time, Twi,” said Applejack, indicating the pulsing container that held the Element. “That thing is glowin’ and shakin’ more than Vinyl at one a those raves!” Twilight took a moment to look over the unknown Element. The light was so intense, she could no longer even see the stone within the glass. It was true; they were running out of time. They needed to get rid of this thing and get out of here.
“WAIT A SECOND!!” screamed Pinkie, who was immediately shushed by the group.
“Pinkie!” Twilight growled. “We are trying to not draw attention to ourselves! Igneel could be close by for all we know!”
“He he. Sorry. But I just thought of something!”
“What’s that, darling?” asked Rarity.
“If we leave this Element thingy here, then when it goes kablooey, won’t it destroy the Grand Chasm?” Pinkie asked turning her head to the side.
“That’s what will most likely happen, especially with how much energy it is outputting,” Twilight explained. “Why?”
“Then what will happen to Naruko?” Pinkie asked with sadness in her voice. The girls took a moment to think on that, their faces contorting in horror at the realization.
“Oh no!” said Fluttershy. “If we leave the Element here, Naruko and her home will be… destroyed!” she said beginning to shake in fear.
“I can’t believe I never thought of that,” Twilight replied hanging her head. Then a thought came to her, “I guess then we need to take Naruko with us back to Ponyville.” The others raised their heads when she spoke those words, surprise present on their faces.
“Hey, yeah! Since we can’t leave her here to die, we just need to convince out mountain mare to come with us. Shouldn’t be too hard,” said Applejack. They all nodded, agreeing to the plan almost immediately. Twilight began to shift the Element into the small rock pile, trying to hide it, but that is when everything went wrong. What none of them realized is that they were right outside a large cave, the low light obscuring it from sight. That was until a low, but loud growl came from deep within.
The girls froze in fear and slowly turned their muzzles toward the sound, already knowing that there was only one creature that could make that sound. Slowly, a large hulking beast emerged from the darkness of its cave. Its massive body was covered in sharp spikes, razor sharp teeth obviously visible. The fire-orange eyes practically screaming ‘fear me’ into the minds of the six young mares. This was the great and terrifying creature that Naruko had warned them so dreadfully about; this was the last drakon, Igneel.
It was Rainbow Dash who broke them all from their trance by screaming, “RUUUUUUUN!!!!!!” As one, the girls took off into the chasm, Igneel chasing after them, relishing in the chase of his prey. Twilight turned her head around to see him gaining on them, as well as to see the still pulsing Element in her magical grip. So not only was the most dreadful and terrifying monster in existence chasing after them, but they also had an artifact that was about to explode with them. Perfect. Just perfect, Twilight thought to herself as she and her friends ran for their lives.
Suddenly, Igneel lunged over them and landed right in their path. The girls screamed louder than they ever had, no doubt alerting every other creature in the chasm that Igneel was about to feast. The drakon let out a thunderous roar in return and began to corner the girls into another cave, only this one was blocked by a cave-in. The girls began to cower together and said their goodbyes.
“I am so sorry, girls,” Twilight said to them. “I never meant to get you all killed.”
“It’s not your fault, Twi,” said Applejack.
“That’s right; we all agreed to this,” exclaimed Rainbow. “This was supposed to be an easy adventure, but I guess we don’t get the happy end.”
“WAAA! NO MORE PARTIES!!” cried Pinkie Pie.
“Oh no. What will my animals do without me?” Fluttershy asked before beginning to cry herself.
“At least I went out looking my best,” Rarity said to herself.
The six of them then braced themselves as Igneel began to lower his head in for the kill. Seconds ticked by to what felt like hours. All of their eyes were closed waiting for the inevitable, but it never came. Instead the sound of a crashing rock rang out in front of them. They opened their eyes to see Igneel shaking off pieces of rock. Then another voice rang out in the chasm,
“HEY UGLY!!” The ponies and drakon turned towards the sound and were met by the sight of a very angry tan-colored unicorn. “NO ONE HURTS MY FRIENDS!! YOU GOT ME?” As Naruko said this, she lifted another massive boulder with her forelegs and chucked it right at Igneel’s face colliding with a smash. Faster than anypony could tell, Naruko raced forward and put herself between her friends and the drakon.
“NARUKO!!??” they exclaimed as one.
“Hey girls,” she said conversationally. “Stay behind me. I won’t let him hurt you.” The girls were aghast at her proclamation. How could she take on that hulking monster? they all thought.
“Naruko, you have to get out of here,” Twilight said. “You can’t fight that…that…that thing!”
“Doesn’t mean I won’t try. We friends, aren’t we?” Naruko turned her head to meet her new friends’ eyes. “Trust me, we will get out of this.”
“But—“ they all said until Naruko interrupted.
“TRUST me,” she pushed. For some reason, all of them did. The determination in her voice and in her eyes made of all them feel calmer, more at peace. They nodded their heads and Naruko smiled, but it soon disappeared as she turned back to the now recovered drakon. Igneel looked furious.
“Now you listen here, you stupid handbag! No one, and I mean no one, hurts my friends. So just go back to your cave and leave us alone!” Igneel only growled and let out a massive roar right in her face. She only scowled and glared right back. “So it’s gonna be like that? FINE! I’ll show you how to really roar!”
Naruko took in a big breath and caused something to appear in front of her that had Twilight staring, bug-eyed. What appeared in front of Naruko was as glowing, spinning, magic rune circle! Twilight couldn’t believe the magic she was sensing from it…no, not from the circle, the magic was pouring from Naruko! Her attention was drawn away from the new magic, however, as the seventh Element began to shake uncontrollably in her magical grip and the pulsing light was much more erratic.
“Oh no!” Twilight let out in a scared whisper. “We’re too late! The Seventh Element! It’s going critical!” The others turned towards the artifact as its magic began to shake the very earth around them, its power was going out of control, but Naruko paid no attention to it. She was focused on defending her friends, even if it meant revealing her unique magic. With her cheeks practically inflated with air, she spoke aloud,
“EARTH DRAGON ROAR!!!! " Then with a deafening sound, Naruko let out a massive roar that put Igneel to shame, but that was not the only result. As her voice hit the magic circle, the sound wave turned into a massive sand twister that was spiraling into Ingeel’s very being. The drakon roared in pain, but Naruko knew that this attack would not be enough to kill him. It wasn’t strong enough. Then a miracle happened, she felt a sudden jolt of magical power burst into her being as her sight was blinded by a bright light. The same was said by the mane six who could no longer see anything as the Element burst forth with massive magical energy.
As Naruko let the power flow into her roar, its power doubled, tripled, and kept increasing! She could feel every ounce of energy empower her…no she could feel her friends giving her power! It was their friendship that gave her the power to protect them. So Naruko let the power loose, the roar growing in ferocity and sound. The massive sand twister then engulfed the drakon, pouring over him and flying past him as well, down into a cave that was right behind him.
If anypony could see the Grand Chasm from above, right about now, they would see the caves with in suddenly spewing out massive columns of sand stretching from cave to cave. That was a defect of the chasm, as each cave was directly opposite another, and with each linked in a set fashion… Well, right now the Grand Chasm was in the middle of a massive sandstorm, the likes of which had never been seen.
Slowly but surely, Naruko’s attack began to lose its viciousness and ended soon after that. The blinding light was gone, the sandstorm was over, and Naruko felt exhausted. “Nighty night,” she said as she collapsed in front of her friends, who were still cowering from the explosive Element. After Naruko spoke, though, they began to slowly open their eyes and stand up. Of course, it was Rainbow Dash, who was the first to speak.
“Uh, what the hay just happened? Aren’t we supposed to be blown to bits?”
Twilight had no explanation for it, especially when she looked back to the container. “THE SEVENTH ELEMENT! IT’S GONE!!”
The girls looked over to see the container was completely empty! No light, no shaking, no stone. “Where could it have gone?” asked Fluttershy.
“Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
“Yes, Pinke?” Twilight asked like a teacher.
“Naruko has it!” This caused all of them to turn to the unconscious mare in front of them. Applejack approached her slowly and cautiously rolled her over. They gasped at what they saw. Around Naruko’s neck, just above her orange scarf, was a gold banded necklace with a red-orange, muti-pointed star in the center; a complete rendition of Naruko’s cutie mark.
“Wait, wha?” said Rainbow. “Naruko is the bearer of the seventh Element of Harmony?! How does that work?”
“I don’t know Rainbow,” said Twilight. “But we can figure it out later, she needs help!” True to her words, Naruko looked pretty worse for wear. The magic of her spell put a lot of strain on her body and it definitely could use a once over from a doctor.
“EEP!!” exclaimed Fluttershy. The others looked at her like she was crazy.
“What’s wrong dear Fluttershy?” Rarity asked out of concern.
Fluttershy pointed a hoof outside of their cave. “Ig-ig-IGNEEL!!” All of their muzzles turned to look at what she was pointing at and gasped in fright. Before them, was the massive dragon, still leering at them. They hugged together out of fright and waited for him to strike. After a few moments of silence, Applejack opened her left eye. Then she noticed that something seemed off about their predator.
“Hold on a second,” she said as she approached the monster. Her friends were watching her with fear as she neared the creature that tried to eat them only moments before. Applejack cautiously brought her hoof up and touched the tip of his snout…and it disintegrated. All of the mares’ eyes bulged at this development and Twilight approached the drakon.
“Incredible,” she said analytically. “It seems that Igneel has been fossilized! He’s completely turned to dust. How is that even possible?” As she spoke, a pile of sand suddenly landed with a thud in front of Fluttershy who freaked at the surprise. The girls looked up and saw even more sand falling from the sky. As one neared them, Twilight grabbed it with her levitation spell and brought it close to her for examination. What she was incredible. It looked like a piranha that had large batwings where its gills should be. “A piranha bat!” she let out in a surprised whisper. Twilight began to examine her surroundings and noticed the cave behind Igneel.
“I don’t believe it,” she said as she got near the cave. As she took in the sight of the cave entrance, which the edges looked run down by a sander of the highest quality. “I-I think Naruko’s attack went through this cave!”
“Yeah, so?” asked Rainbow not understanding what was going on as she prodded the sand statue, causing more of it to fall to dust.
“Don’t you remember what Naruko said; all of the caves in the Grand Chasm are magically linked. Which means that… whatever that was, went through this cave and came out another somewhere in the chasm! Which means, that if that attack was enough to destroy Igneel, I think Naruko just killed every monster in the entire Chasm! Incredible!”
The others just gaped at Twilight and then turned their attention to the still unconscious form of the aforementioned mare. Then, she began to stir, groaning all the way. “Unhh.” The six of them rushed to her side; even if she did have super powers, they were still friends.
“What happened?” Naruko groaned out.
“You saved us silly!” Pinkie said while bouncing.
“Oh? Really? Cool.” Naruko could barely move, she was so exhausted. “I’m gonna take a nap. See you girls in the morning.” She began to rest again, but Twilight interrupted her sleep.
“Wait Naruko. We need to get out of here, is it alright if we take you back to Canterlot with us?”
“Sure, why not?” said Naruko, not really caring. She just wanted to sleep. Then a thought occurred to her. “Wait, if we’re leaving, then please, someone grab my guardian. He is all I have. He should still be in my house wearing my favorite hat like I left him.” With that Naruko once again fell unconscious. Her steady breathing calmed her friends’ fears that she was worse than they thought.
“Should we?” asked Fluttershy. Twilight nodded in response.
“If it means so much as to ask in this state, then I think we should grab this guardian of hers. Rainbow,” she pointed directly to the cyan pegasus. “You and Fluttershy should be able to lift all five of us out of this chasm if you flew, so let’s get to it.”
“Wait, I thought we decided we shouldn’t fly in the chasm? Why the change of heart? I really don’t want to get stripped to the bone, ya know.”
“Naruko destroyed all of the piranha bats. They were those sand piles that fell from the sky. You’ll be fine. I think.”
“Fine,” Rainbow huffed. It took some time, but eventually the two pegasi were able to lift their friends out of the once deadly chasm. After dropping them all off at the top of the Grand Chasm, Rainbow turned back into it. “I’ll go and grab this ‘guardian’ of hers. It’ll be much faster if I go alone. See ya in bit!” She sped off back to Naruko’s abode.
While she was gone, Twilight sent off a magic bolt into the sky that exploded like a firework. “What was that?” asked Fluttershy.
“Magic flare,” Twilight explained. “Princess Celestia told me to let one off into the sky when we were ready to be picked up. She wanted us to come straight to Canterlot when we finished.” Several minutes passed before a golden chariot pulled into the air above them and then landed nearby. As the girls approached, the two pegasi pulling the chariot regarded them.
“Miss Twilight Sparkle and friends?” he asked in a deep voice. Twilight nodded. “Good, the Princesses are expecting you. Come.”
“Hold on, we are still waiting for another friend. She’ll be back soon.” True to her word, Rainbow Dash flew in not even a minute later.
“Sorry I took so long, girls,” Rainbow explained. “Naruko’s house was completely wrecked by that sandstorm of hers. Everything was destroyed; well almost everything.” Rainbow then lifted up a stuffed animal. It was white in color with a green markings on it and had ears that were longer than it was tall that ended in three points. It also had beady black eyes, but a comforting smile was on its face. Kind of looked like a mutated bunny rabbit. What they also noticed was that it was wearing the adventurer’s hat that Naruko had said was her favorite. “I think this stuffed thing is Naruko’s guardian. Kind of foalish if you ask me.”
“It probably has sentimental value to her, Rainbow,” explained Fluttershy.
“I guess. Here you go, Naruko.” Rainbow placed it near Naruko, who the girls had lifted into the chariot. As soon as she did so, it was if Naruko could sense the stuffed animal’s presence as she immediately threw her hooves forward and pulled the toy in close. She even nuzzled it affectionately.
“Aww,” said Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight. Applejack only smiled at her warmly, while Rainbow snickered.
The six of them then piled into the chariot with her and they sped off to Canterlot Castle. They all watched Naruko like comforting hawks. Each one of them knew that this mare was their friend, but another nagging thought kept running through their minds. Just who are you, Naruko?
The royal chariot flew through the air at break-neck speeds, making the many, many hour long walk to the Grand Chasm complete with in the hour by air. The expanse of the grand city of Canterlot was soon in view and not much longer, it landed at Canterlot Castle. Its seven occupants began to pile out on to the landing platform, the purple unicorn lifting out a tan unicorn with magic. Twilight began to carry the unconscious Naruko to the medical ward of the castle, her friends falling in behind her. After checking her friend in, the girls watched in silence as the doctor examined their friend. A few minutes later, he declared that she was perfectly fine, but would most certainly need some rest. As he left, the good doctor said that he notify the princesses of their arrival.
The six mares continued to watch Naruko as she slept, still cuddling with the strange doll she was insistent on bringing. Not long though, two regal alicorns walked into the room, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Celestia was the first to speak.
“Welcome back my faithful student and little ponies. I take it you mission was a success?”
“Not exactly, Princess,” said Twilight nervously.
Celestia looked at her with confusion. “Explain,” said Luna simply.
“Well, we did make sure that the seventh Element of Harmony was taken care of. Just not how we planned it. You see our friend here, Princess?”
Celestia and Luna looked up to finally notice the unknown mare that was sleeping in the room. “Yes, and now we are wondering who she is.”
“She’s our new friend Naruko!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “She’s awesome! Do you know where we found her? She was living in the Grand Chasm! Can you believe that?! Ooh and she is the bearer of that big bad Element!”
Both princesses were aghast at Pinkie’s words. Neither of them could believe what they were told. To think that this strange mare lived in that desolate landscape as well as being an Element bearer. “Is this true, Twilight?” asked Celestia.
“As strange as it sounds, it’s completely true. In fact, Naruko is still wearing the Element.” Twilight motions towards the necklace that was still wrapped around Naruko’s neck. Princess Celestia trotted forward to examine it.
“Remarkable,” she says after a moment. “This is the seventh Element’s true form. It is quite beautiful. Though, I suppose it must go with the rest for safe keeping.” Celestia then lit her horn and began to cast a levitation spell on the Element. As soon as she did so, Naruko’s eyes suddenly opened and she jumped off the table with amazing speed. She landed near the back wall and growled defensively at the solar princess. Everypony in the room were surprised by her actions.
“Oh my,” said Celestia.
“Thou dare to growl at our sister?! Thou shalt pay!” shouted Luna. Naruko’s response was completely unexpected.
“Just try it you blue coated freak!!” Naruko growled.
This stopped the lunar princess cold, never having one of her ponies react as such to her. Twilight walked in between the two of them, hoping to defuse the situation. “Now, now. There’s no need for harsh words. Naruko, there was no need to address Princess Luna like that! And Princess Luna, Naruko is new to all this and is in a strange place; she didn’t know.” Everypony began to calm down with that, though Naruko was still in a defensive position, until she began to wobble.
“Woah!” she groaned as her knees began to buckle. Rainbow Dash was immediately by her side, keeping her up. “Thanks Rainbow.”
“No problem! I never let my friends fall.” The rainbow-mane pegasus then helped Naruko back on to the hospital bed. Naruko then laid back down with her ‘guardian’, but stayed awake to find out what was going on.
“Well, after all that,” Naruko began, “can somepony please tell me where I am and what’s going on?”
“You are in Canterlot, my little pony,” Celestia answered. “I am Princess Celestia and the ‘freak’, as you put it, is my younger sister Princess Luna.”
“Eh heh heh heh,” Naruko laughed nervously, while blushing, embarrassed by her words. “Sorry about that. I was just surprised is all. It’s nice to meet you Celestia and Luna!” The girls gasped at her. “What? Did I do something wrong?”
“Naruko, you need to show the Princesses some respect,” scolded Rarity.
“No I don’t,” she replied. The others just stared at her like she was crazy. “I only just met them. Why would I show them any respect? Just because they are princesses? HA! That means very little to me.”
“B-b-b-but they are the PRINCESSES!!” screamed Twilight with a twitching eye. Celestia and Luna were watching with true interest, but waited for Twilight to finish her rant. “They raise the sun and moon! They deserve your respect!”
“We only just met Twilight and titles mean nothing to me. Even if they do raise the---,“ Naruko stopped abruptly, her face suddenly contorting in confusion…massive confusion. “Wait a second . . . THEY DO WHAT?!?!?!?!? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!?!?!?” Naruko screamed.
Now the others were really confused, just as much as she was. Twilight then went into lecture mode. “Princess Celestia is the ruler of the sun and raises and lowers it every day. Princess Luna does the same with the moon every night. Why do you ask? How did you think it worked?”
Naruko’s right eye began to twitch. “You are breaking my scientific mind Twilight. The planet orbits around the sun as well as rotates itself. While the moon is in a synchronized orbit around the planet. That’s how the days happen; it’s all gravity. Nopony controls them…right?” Naruko asked sounding scared. The Princesses stole a glance of confusion from each other.
“I don’t know where you got such a ludicrous idea, Naruko, but we do in fact control the sun and moon respectively. It has been that way for over a thousand years. Before us, it was a group of very powerful unicorn mages who performed the task for generations.”
Again, Naruko had an uncontrollable twitch. “I am gonna let the lie for now. Don’t feel like adding a brain aneurism to my fatigue. *Sigh* So what am I doing here, and what is this around my neck?” Naruko asks pointing to the Element of Harmony.
“That would be the artifact we told you about,” explained Twilight. “And you are here because you collapsed back in the chasm and we couldn’t just leave you there. This is the hospital ward of the castle.”
“Oh. Well thanks girls. But why am I wearing the artifact?” Naruko then put a hoof to feel the charm and her eyes widened. “And why is putting out so much magic power?”
“I am surprised you can sense the power of the Element,” said Celestia. “And as much as it confuses me, the seventh Element of Harmony has chosen you as its bearer. Now the only question is, what does this Element represent?”
“I think I know,” whispered Fluttershy who raised her hoof in response. All eyes fell on her and she shrunk back.
“Don’t be shy, sugar cube,” encouraged Applejack. “Come on, speak your mind.”
“Um, okay. I think that it’s the Element of Trust.” They all looked at her confused. “Think about it. What was the last thing Naruko said to us before she saved us?”
“’Trust me’. Of course!” proclaimed Twilight. “Fluttershy, that’s brilliant! Naruko is the Element of Trust.” All eyes returned to the mare on the bed, whose head was tilted to the side, looking confused.
“Um, I have a question,” said Naruko. “What the hay is an Element of Harmony?”
“The Elements of Harmony are Equestria’s last line of defense. They represent the true friendship and harmony of the land. There were six of them: Generosity, Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, and Magic. But now, there is a seventh: Trust,” explained Princess Celestia. “You and your new friends represent them. Rarity is generous, Applejack is honest, Pinkie Pie is laughter, Fluttershy is kindness, Rainbow Dash is loyal, and my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, is magic. And you, my little pony, are trust.”
“Wow. That is a lot to take in. Definitely cool, though,” responded Naruko.
“Yeah it is!” announced Rainbow Dash. “But now I have a question.” She turned to face Princess Celestia. “What the hay, Princess!! Why did you send us to a deadly chasm filled with monsters?! We could have been killed!”
Princess Celestia looked appalled. “Wha-what? What do you mean filled with monsters?”
“Yes, indeed, Princess Celestia,” said Rarity. “That dirty canyon was filled with ghastly creatures who tried to make us their next meal.”
“Princess?” began Twilight. “Would you happen to know about a drakon named Igneel?”
Princess Celestia and Luna’s eyes bulged. “How dost thou know of that foul creature? Those records are restricted,” said Luna.
“They know about him, because he nearly ate them,” said Naruko matter-of-factly. “And based on your confusion, neither of you seemed to know that every monster ever banished to the Grand Chasm was still alive and well. Especially Igneel. He was the worst to deal with.”
“What dost thou mean ‘deal with’?” asked Princess Luna.
“Well, I made it my personal mission to protect anypony who traveled through the chasm that I called home. Though, whenever it came to seeing Igneel, very few ponies believed me and met their doom by his hoof. That reminds me, what happened to big, scaly and ugly?”
“You killed him!” said Pinkie.
Naruko’s eyes went wide. “I WHAT!!!!!”
“It was quite ingenious,” responded Twilight. “That magic of yours not only fossilized Igneel, but also killed every other monster in the entire Chasm. There was a cave behind the drakon and your magic flew into it.”
“That-that’s not possible!” exclaimed Naruko. “The Earth Dragon Roar is not powerful enough to do that kind of damage. Unless…” Naruko lowered her head to look at the necklace around her. “This. That power I felt; it was the Element. It supercharged my spell.” Naruko was silent for several moments, her face unreadable. Then out of nowhere, “AWESOME!!” she yelled.
“I knew I liked her,” said Rainbow Dash thoughtfully.
“Indeed,” Luna noted. “Now wait, though. What is this ‘Earth Dragon Roar’ thou speakest of?”
Naruko shifted her legs uncomfortably. “It’s kinda hard to explain.”
“You can trust us, sugar cube,” said Applejack. “Just as we trusted you.”
“Oh it’s not you girls that’s the problem. It’s them,” Naruko said pointing at the princesses. “I trust you girls fully, being the first to offer me true friendship, but I only just met the princesses and I am not really comfortable around them. No offense Celesta and Luna, but my family just has had some bad dealings with royalty and governments before. They didn’t end very well, so none of us really put too much trust or respect in authorities. It’s not you, it’s us.”
Luna glared at the young unicorn, but Celestia smiled warmly. “We understand completely, Naruko,” she said. “So let us remedy that. Why don’t you tell us about yourself and this strange magic of yours? We promise that we will not tell a soul.”
“Weeelll, alright. If my friends trust you, I suppose that should be enough for me. But I got my eye on you two,” she warned. Celestia only nodded, while the girls were beginning to look worried. “Alrighty then. Well, my name is Naruko and I hail from a land that is far from Equestria. I have been on my own for many years, but I do have family. They just happen to be spread out pretty thin so that we rarely see each other. I called the Grand Chasm my home for… what year is it?”
“It is the month of August in the year 1874 AD. AD meaning ‘After Discord’ of course,” said Celestia.
Naruko blinked once, not knowing what that meant, but shrugged. “Okay, then well as I was saying I called the Grand Chasm home for three years. Within that time I decided to uncover the secrets of the chasm and to protect my fellow ponies who entered there. I fought tooth and hoof in there to protect others. That is what my cutie mark represents: my ability to fight. I am a warrior, a soldier, a guardian. Oh and I am also fifteen now, I suppose.”
“What???” exclaimed the group. Naruko was only fifteen years old?! That was something none of them could tell. She seemed much older than that. She was pretty young compared to the other Element bearers. The youngest was Twilight, who was 17 at the time, then came Pinkie who was only a few months older. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were all 18, leaving Fluttershy the oldest of the group at age 20.
“Hold on a second! You mean to tell us that you have been living in that monster infested hole, fighting to survive on your own since you was only twelve years old?!” asked Applejack who was completely stunned.
“Yep. As you have seen, Applejack, I can handle myself quite well. I did have an excellent teacher.”
“And who was that darling?” Rarity asked.
“Remember that dragon I mentioned that stayed with me for a while? She was my teacher; she taught me how to be strong as well as use that unusual magic you saw. You see, what you saw was…dragon magic. The reason I didn’t want to tell you this is because this magic is incredibly ancient and very few dragons exist that know it, let alone teach it. Even fewer now that this kind of magic exists.”
“That magic of yours was different from any I have ever seen,” remarked Twilight. “Especially that rune circle. Your magic must be pretty strong to allow you roar like that.”
“Um, actually…The roar itself was me. The sand twister was the magic.” And once again, stares of awe and confusion. “Let me explain. Dragon magic is far more complex than any other form of magic, as such it has a certain requirement to be able to use it fully.”
“What is required to perform this magic?” asked Luna.
“You must let the magic merge with you; you have to let the magic flow through your very being. Gaining dragon magic does not just give you power, it changes you. To use this magic, you must, basically, become a dragon.”
There were several moments of silence at this revelation. Nopony could understand what they were just told. “Soooo,” started Rainbow Dash, “you’re a dragon?”
“Well, partially. I have heightened senses, special tastes, and a few other tricks. I can also alter my body to have dragon features, but it requires a lot of magic to do so. The roar just comes naturally, though.”
“Can we hear it? The roar, I mean,” asks Twilight.
Naruko shrugs in response. “I don’t see why not?” She instantly inhales and let loose a terrifying roar . So terrible that the guards standing watch outside the room burst in to protect their princesses. The leveled their spears at Naruko and charged forward.
“Wait! Stop!” cried Princess Celestia, but the words went unheard. The guards were on Naruko in seconds. It did not go how anypony expected. Naruko suddenly back flipped and used her hind leg to kick the spears of the guards straight up. Using her left foreleg, Naruko contorted her body into a spin and once again brought her hind legs towards the guards and kicked both of them into a nearby wall. The two stallions collapsed into a heap, leaving a small crater in the wall where they impacted. Naruko turned back to her friends her were looking at her in surprise and shock.
“Sorry about that,” Naruko said folding her ears back. “Force of habit.”
“Perfectly understandable,” said Celestia whose face betrayed her words. Even in all her years, she had never seen such moves by a pony, especially not one of little age and with injuries. Before anypony else could talk, the doctor returned to the room, but he looked a little worse for wear.
“Hello once again,” he said trying to be cheerful. “Oh, your majesties. I am glad you’re here. Can I speak with the two of you and you six,” he said pointing at Twilight and her friends. “In private.” The ponies looked at each other, but followed the doctor out of the room. Naruko watched with curiosity at what would be happening right outside her room.
“What do you need to speak with us about Doctor Hindsight?” asked Twilight once the door was closed.
“It’s your friend in there, Miss Sparkle. I was going through some of the medical results from the test we conducted and, well…”
“Come, now Doctor,” prodded Celestia. “What is the matter?”
“It’s her entire body, Princess. No matter where we looked, we couldn’t find a single part on her that didn’t have some kind of wound! She has bruises, cuts, scrapes, and scars out the bucking wazoo!!”
The girls were aghast at the doctor for his language, but more so for what he was telling them. “Is it really that bad Dr. Hindsight?” asked Fluttershy.
“I will give you an example Miss Shy. Her back… there is no saving it. Miss Naruko’s entire back is one hundred percent scar tissue; every nerve is dead. It’s like it was mutilated time and time again for years on end. I bet I could jab our thickest needle in her back and she wouldn’t even feel a thing. But that is not even the worst of it,” he says with a sour look.
“Then what is, dear doctor?” asked a very frightened Rarity. All of the mares were close to tears after hearing about Naruko’s grave injuries and now truly wondered how she could be so strong.
“The worst problem is that not a single one of these injuries is recent!” Bug-eyed mares all around! “Some of these scars are over a decade old, but, as far as we can tell, none of them have happened with the last five years. Which means…” he prodded to Twilight.
“Which means that none of her injuries could have happened while she was staying in the Grand Chasm. All of these injuries happened while she was still a little filly!!” she finished. Even Princess Celestia looked sick from that. It was truly a horrifying thought.
“Tia?” asked Luna. “Dost thou think it was fair Naruko’s parents that did her harm?”
Princess Celestia was silent for a moment. “I think we should not jump to conclusions, not yet anyways.” She turns to the Mane Six and begins again. “I want you girls to look after Naruko. She has obviously been through a lot and could definitely use some good friends right about now.”
The girls turned to one another and then back to princess. As one, they nodded in confirmation. “Don’t worry, Princesses,” said Twilight. “We will be sure to make her comfortable.” Princess Celestia and Luna accepted this and then made their leave, allowing the girls to return to the room. Upon entering, they found Naruko had once again fallen asleep on the hospital bed, clutching her toy tightly in her sleep. The guards she had so easily beaten were also still passed out in yonder heap. The girls smiled warmly at the sight of their friend at peace, but once again there was a nagging voice in their thoughts. But this one spoke not of fear of Naruko, but for her. What have you gone through, Naruko? What happened to you?
“Now tell us Dr. Hindsight, why did you need to speak with us away from my faithful student and her friends?” asked Celestia. She and Luna had been asked later that night to have an audience with the doctor overseeing Naruko’s recovery. They were suspicious at first, but felt that the good doctor had his reasons and accepted his audience request.
“I wanted to get some direct answers, Princesses. I feared that Naruko’s friends may not tell the full truth about her or her condition. With your experiences, I thought we could complete her medical file,” he replied with sincerity.
The princesses nodded in understanding. “What questions dost thou have good doctor?” asked Luna.
“First off, I need her age. Miss Sparkle mentioned that Naruko’s injuries must have happened at a young age, but I need to know how young.”
“Naruko told us that she is fifteen,” answered Celestia. The doctor ended up breaking his quill. “Something the matter, Dr. Hindsight?”
The doctor stared at the princess in horror. “I should say so! Princesses, several of those injuries of hers are almost thirteen years old! You truly do not understand how serious this is!!”
“Please explain, doctor. Enlighten us,” said Princess Luna.
“I am sorry if I am speaking out of turn, but this is awful, just awful Princesses. I cannot call this abuse, this is full blown torture!! There are cuts and lacerations that run down to the bone. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, no matter how powerful either of you are, not even you two can heal these wounds. They can never fully heal.” Both princesses stepped back in aghast at the doctor’s words. Torture? Never heal? Was Naruko destined to be forever scarred?
“This cannot be true. Surely there must be something that can be done?” asked Princess Celestia who truly worried for her student’s new friend.
“I am sorry, Princess Celestia. There is nothing we can do; her wounds are far too deep.”
The doctor left them to their thoughts, not wanting to speak on this matter before he himself was sick from going through those test results. Princess Celestia and Luna only looked to the heavens, for once in a long time, having no idea how to help to help one of their little ponies.
**********
Naruko began to awaken the next morning, stirring silently until fully awake. Her eyes fluttered as she adjusted to the lower light in her room. Using her heightened dragon sight, Naruko was able to tell that she wasn’t alone in her room anymore, either. She could see the silhouettes of her six friends sprawled in the chairs and on the floor, still asleep except for two.
“Oh! You’re awake, Naruko!” Twilight exclaimed quietly.
“Indeed, darling. You look much better after a good night’s rest,” said Rarity. “Would you care for some water, dear?”
Naruko couldn’t shake her head fast enough. Rarity passed her a glass of cold ice water and Naruko downed it in a second. “Oh, by the Force that was good. I haven’t had water like this in weeks.”
“What do you mean?” asked Twilight whose head was tilted to the side.
“Uh, hello? I was living in a cave in a large, dangerous canyon in the middle of a desert! Water was pretty scarce, ya know. I haven’t had fresh water since that last rain storm a few months ago.”
Twilight and Rarity looked stricken. “Then how have you survived without water?” questioned Rarity.
“Easy. I saved the rain water in a pots that I hid all around the Grand Chasm for emergencies. Unfortunately, I used up the last of my reserves with our potato soup the other night. I knew it wasn’t the best idea, but nopony can call me a bad hostess,” Naruko replied with a small smile.
“You used the last of your water… to feed us?” they both asked in unison.
“Yep! And I don’t regret it in the slightest. Especially not when we’re friends now. Like I said, not my best idea, but I wanted to do something nice.”
Both mares stared stupidly at Naruko’s generosity, but let it pass a moment later, a more pressing matter needed to be spoken about. “Naruko, we wanted to ask you about something… personal. Could you please tell us how you got those scars of yours?”
Naruko’s face paled. “How did… of course!” Naruko face-hoofed. “They conducted medical exams when I came in. Sorry you had to know about that, girls. It’s more of a personal secret that happened a long time ago. I am not really comfortable talking about it.”
“Now darling, we can understand that you don’t want parents to be hurt, but they must pay for their crimes.”
Naruko’s face then turned to dangerous. “You think my parents did this to me?” Both mares nodded, not comprehending what was happening in front of them. Suddenly, Naruko’s entire demeanor changed; her eyes became more like a dragons as her pupils turned to slits and they glowed gold as well as her teeth somehow becoming much sharper. Her tone darkened as well. “Don’t you ever speak of my parents like that! They had nothing to do with my injuries and I never want to hear you say so ever again!!”
The mare’s voice boomed throughout the room, instantly waking the other occupants as well as practically shaking the very foundation around them. Twilight and Rarity stared in fear and horror of what their friend had become. Naruko recognized their faces and her face and tone returned to normal in an instant when she noticed the others staring in terror at her as well. “G-girls, I am so sorry,” Naruko whispered in fear as tears began to well-up in her eyes. Naruko tried to pull as far away from them on the bed as she could.
Twilight and the others looked at one another, a little more than confused about Naruko’s sudden shift in personality. It was Fluttershy who came to the rescue, though. “It’s alright Naruko. We know you didn’t mean it, but what got you so angry?”
Naruko sighed loudly, out of resignation and relief. “I am so so sorry, everypony. I didn’t mean to get so angry with you. My parents are just… a very sensitive topic for me. They aren’t the ones that hurt me, though, and let’s leave it at that. Please.” Naruko looked at them with pleading eyes, eager to end this topic of discussion. The others were more than a little worried about this, but Naruko seemed sincere enough about it. Hopefully, they could get her to open up to them in time.
“Well, with that little mess out of the way, we have a question for you darling.” Naruko wiped away her tears and then tilted her head, her face showing confusion, but also a wanting to know more. “Well, Twilight does anyway.”
Twilight moved forward, a smile upon her muzzle. “Naruko, would you like to come back to Ponyville with us? I could offer you a room at my home, too. With your home destroyed and everything we were hoping you would be more open to the idea.”
“Ponyville? Little on the nose for a town name don’t you think?” replied Naruko.
Twilight blushed and laughed nervously. “I suppose it is, but it’s a very peaceful town where everypony lives in harmony with one another. Sure there are the occasional problems, but it is a really great place to live.”
“’Peaceful’?” Naruko parroted. “That’s a word I rarely get to say. Huh, maybe you girls are right. Maybe I could use a little bit of peace after living in that hectic chasm for years. Sure, I’ll come with you girls to Ponyville. But are you sure you want me to be in your house, Twilight? I don’t want to impose.”
“Oh you won’t be a bother at all, Naruko,” Twilight beamed. “I have plenty of room in the library. That’s where I live and work, the Golden Oaks Library of Ponyville. You’ll have all the books you can read! Isn’t it great!?” Twilight even clapped happily, while her friends shook their heads with smiles at the book mare.
Naruko stared at her with an unreadable face. “Books?” she asked, her voice a little louder than a whisper. Twilight nodded happily and Naruko’s face lit up like a Heart’s Warming tree. “YAY! Knowledge! YAY!” Naruko was now bouncing on her bed happily with a giddy smile on her face. “Books, books, books, books!” she repeated like a happy mantra.
“You like reading, I guess?” asked Twilight with a sly smile. Naruko nodded happily in response.
“Of course! Who wouldn’t be excited about learning! It’s a rare privilege so I take it any chance I can, especially when it comes from books! I never had any growing up so any I find I make sure to read it until I have every line memorized completely!” Twilight smiled brightly at her friend’s eagerness to learn and she was eager to appease Naruko’s appetite for knowledge. Speaking of appetites, Naruko’s stomach let out a rather large grumble indicating an instant need for food. “Eheh,” Naruko laughs embarrassed. “Anypony got some food?”
The others giggle at her actions. “Sure thing dearie, here.” Rarity grabs a tray of food the nurses had left behind with her magic and put in on the bed in front of Naruko. Naruko on the other hoof was staring in wonder at Rarity. “Something wrong?”
“How did you do that?” Naruko asks.
“Do what dear?”
“How did you pick up that tray and put it on my bed? I didn’t know you had telekinetic abilities? Is that common around here? Do you have other powers?”
Rarity and Twilight’s eyes widen at her questions and Twilight walks forward to ask her a question. “Do you not know how to use your unicorn magic, Naruko?”
Naruko once again turns her head in confusion. “Unicorns have magic?”
Now everypony was gawking at her which just made the reclusive mare even shyer. “Yes they do, Naruko. Don’t worry, though. When we get to Ponyville, I’ll be sure to teach you how to use it. But for now you need to eat so you can rebuild your magic supply.” Naruko looked down at the hospital food and sniffed it. Her face immediately contorted in disgust and she pushed it away, sticking her tongue out and turning away from the food. “Come on, Naruko. This is the only way you will be able to get better.”
Naruko ignores her and turns to Rarity. “Rarity? Can I see that diamond you showed me the other day?” Rarity looks at her confused, but pulls out the said gem and hoofs it to her friend. Naruko examines it again and then asks, “Rarity are diamonds rare in Equestria?”
“No, darling, they are quite common and cost very little. Why do you ask?”
“I wanted to know how much I was going to need to repay you,” replied Naruko.
Rarity once again looks confused. “Repay me? Whatever for—“ Naruko immediately takes a bite out of the gem in her hooves. Her friends are all stunned at this development and are unsure as to exactly what just happened. “H-how and why did you do that?!”
“It’s a part of my dragon abilities. I am part earth dragon you see. As such, my magic is powered by the earth itself and is resupplied by it as well. To restore my abilities, I need to eat what gives me power. So, rocks, gems, dirt, stones, even certain precious metal are edible to me. And trust me, I have seen stranger,” Naruko explains and then takes another chomp into the diamond.
“How much stranger?” asks Applejack.
“Believe it or not, I have met three others who have power like mine. I haven’t seen them in years, though. One was raised by a fire dragon and was able to devour fire like cotton candy. Another was trained by an iron dragon and was able to eat steel as if it were nothing. Another ate the very air itself as she was raised by a sky dragon. I wonder what happened to them?” she asks herself more than anything. “Oh well, probably won’t ever see them again anyway. Out of the three of them only the girl was smart, even though she was much younger than them. The two colts were always fighting with each other and anything else for that matter. Morons the lot of them,” she says shaking her head. She finishes off the diamond with one last bite and then asks, “So, when are we leaving?”
“When you are discharged from the medical wing. Then we will see the princesses and let them know you are alright and then we will be off to your new home,” says Twilight.
“Wow, it’s like you have a checklist for this stuff,” says Naruko sounding impressed.
“I do!” Twilight then summons said list right in front of her, levitating in her magic. Naruko looks it over and nearly flips.
“Why do you have a spot for ‘Naruko explains her dragon powers and others like her’?”
“I thought it might happen.”
“That is… disturbing. Ah well, like I said, I’ve seen stranger. Would somepony mind finding a doctor so we can get out of here? I don’t like being in hospitals.”
“I’m on it!” says Rainbow Dash who makes a beeline for the door and is off in a matter of seconds.
“By the Force, she’s fast!” Naruko looks around her and finds confusion again. “What did I say now?”
“What is ‘the Force’?” asked Pinkie Pie.
“The Force is an energy field created by all living things,” explains Naruko. “It surrounds us and penetrates us; binds everything together. Certain creatures are even able to use it to their advantage. I’ve even dabbled in it myself, but to very little success. There are members of my family who dedicate their lives to its practice, though.”
Twilight filed that little bit of information away in her mind for later study. To her, the idea of an all-encompassing energy field sounded fascinating. Before the conversation could continue, Fluttershy asked a question. “Um, Naruko? Who is your little friend, if you don’t mind that is?”
Naruko looks down and notices what Fluttershy is referring to and Naruko lifts up the toy in her hooves. “This little guy?” The shy mare nods her head. “This little fuzz ball has been my only companion for years. He’s always been there for me and is always ready to listen when I need to talk. It’s definitely saner than speaking to rocks. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie, meet my guardian, Terriermon .” Naruko is beaming with joy as she once again hugs her guardian tight.
“’Terriermon’?” Applejack repeats. “That’s quite the peculiar name for a stuffed rabbit.”
“I wasn’t the one who named him; he came with it. Also, he is not a rabbit, despite how much he looks like one. He is actually supposed to be like a dog; you know, a terrier.” Now the girls were really confused. “Yeah, I don’t get it either. Gave up trying to figure it out years ago.”
Rainbow returned to the room a moment later, ending their talk. Dr. Hindsight followed behind her and approached Naruko. “And how is our patient doing today?” he asked with a cheery smile.
“Ready to bail this place. Can I go now?” Naruko asked.
The doctor seemed a little taken aback. “Now Miss Naruko, it takes a while for your magic fatigue to wear off. I recommend that you stay for another…night…?” Naruko had suddenly sprung up from her bead and was beginning to trot around the room, stunning the doctor, especially when she started to cartwheel.
“TA DA!” she said as ended with a backflip. She smiles smugly at the doctor who was staring agape at her. “So, can I go now?”
“Remarkable. How you healed this fast is beyond anything I have ever seen. Would you mind if I take a blood sample, Miss Naruko? Your blood could have plenty of healing properties that could be applied to our research.”
“Uh, sorry, doc. No can do. I want to help really, but my blood is not safe for others to use. My special magic literally runs through my blood and is very powerful. Especially when not kept in check. It’s just not safe,” Naruko informed him hanging her head.
The doctor was surprised to see how much she was upset that she couldn’t help him, though he still felt a little depressed at being unable to use her blood. “That is quite alright, Naruko. I wouldn’t want to endanger anypony, after all. Thank you for telling me the truth. I’ll just fill out some papers real quick and we shall get you out of here.” He left and allowed the others to follow. After several minutes of paper work, Twilight and her friends were leading Naruko to the hangar where they would meet with the Princesses before leaving. It took a while, but eventually they managed to reach their destination where the two regal alicorns were awaiting them.
“Good morning my little ponies. That includes you as well Naruko. Even if you do not recognize my authority I still consider you one of my subjects,” says Princess Celestia.
Naruko shrugs in response. “Whatever floats your boat, Celie. As long as you don’t expect me to bow to you or anything I think we’re good,” responds Naruko with a smile. The girls, however, were aghast with how informal she was with their beloved Princess.
“HEY!” shouts one of the day guards. “You will address her as 'Princess Celestia' and nothing else!”
Naruto barely even turns her head to regard him. “Or what? We gonna have a repeat of yesterday? I was still pretty fatigued when your buddies rushed me and I still put them down. Though I guess if you are really willing to try, I think you would make a good heap,” she says with an evil grin. The guard reals back in fear of her and returns to his post, standing perfectly still as if trying to blend into the background. “That’s what I thought. Hmmph, wimp.”
“Thou hast quite the courage, Naruko,” admires Luna.
“Courage ain’t got nothing to do with it. It’s all skill. I know how to put the fear of Tartarus in somepony that much I promise you.”
“We shall take thine word for it.” As the girls bid goodbye to the princesses, they climb aboard their chariot and it begins to move as they wave.
“Farewell, my little ponies. Be safe,” calls Princess Celestia. Luna is content with just waving. Naruko, however, is wondering what is happening.
“Um, why are we in a chariot? Wouldn’t be much faster to take a train or something?”
“Don’t be silly, silly!” responds Pinkie. “Flying is always faster than the train!”
“Oh! Well why didn’t you say we were---, wait a second! We’re what?!” Naruko asks in fear. Her fears are soon realized as the chariot ascends from the ground as the pegasi pulling the carriage take to the air. Naruko suddenly freezes up in fear and curls up in a fetal position in the carriage. “Not good, not good, not good, not good!”
“What’s a’ matter?” asks Rainbow. “You scared of flying?”
“Deathly! I’m an earth dragon; we don’t fly. There’s no safety in the air, no ground to keep me safe. I’m exposed; vulnerable.” Naruko begins to shake rapidly and the girls can see the shivers running down her spine. She starts to hyperventilate and starts to have tears fall from her eyes. “Let me off this thing. I want to be back on the ground. I don’t want to be weak,” she says with a whisper as her fears takes hold. As Naruko rocks herself back in forth, she starts chanting to herself, “Not safe, not safe, not safe, not safe…”
Applejack recognizes this kind of reaction and embraces Naruko tightly. “Shh, shh. You’re gonna be alright sugar cube. Nothin’s gonna hurt ya. Not while we’re around. You got friends now partner and we’re gonna protect ya.” AJ turns to her friends, away from Naruko who is silently sobbing into her barrel. “Anypony know a lullaby or two? Naruko’s having a panic attack.” The girls gasp softly in shock, but Fluttershy pushes forward.
“I know one,” she says as she moves in closer to her unicorn friend and hugs her other side. “Hush now, quiet now. It’s time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to go to bed .” Fluttershy repeats this song until she can hear Naruko softly sleeping between her and Applejack’s hooves. “She’s gonna be just fine, just needs to calm down a little. And will probably happen again if she wakes up and we’re still in the air. Being up in the air must awaken some kind of deep fear inside her.”
“I suppose it does,” said Rarity. “Did you hear her mumbling? Something about being vulnerable and weak. Do you think it has to do with those injuries of hers? Being off the ground must remind her of when she was injured, when she was weak.”
Twilight nodded in return. “That must be it Rarity. Why else would she react like this? That was a full blown panic.”
“When we land, I am going to need to get started on Naruko’s party right away!” declares Pinkie. “After so much awfulness, nothing cheers ponies up like a Pinkie Party! I’ll make is extra-extra-super-special for her!”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate it Pinkie. Just please don’t throw a surprise party in my library again. It took a month for me stop finding confetti in my books.”
“Okie dokie lokie!”
“Shh!” shushes Applejack. “Naruko needs her rest. We don’t want her freakin’ out again.”
“Heh heh, oops. Sorry,” whispers Pinkie Pie. The rest of the trip is silent as they watch over Naruko, who was sweet peaceful dreams being surrounded by true friends for the first time in her life.
Naruko awoke once the chariot landed safely outside of the Golden Oaks Library and was highly embarrassed. “Sorry you girls had to see that. Flying is not a fun thing for me.”
“Oh it was no problem, darlin’,” shooed Applejack. “Everypony’s got fears; it’s perfectly natural.”
“I suppose.” Naruko then began to take in the sights around her. “Wow, so this is Ponyville. Quaint.”
“That’s it?” asked Twilight.
“Well I haven’t exactly seen the whole town yet, now have I? Just an observation.” Naruko shrugged.
“Well, darling, I think that nice tour around the town will do all of us some good,” suggested Rarity.
“Good idea Rarity,” said Twilight. “Let me grab Spike and we’ll be off.” Twilight entered the library while the others waited outside.
“Who’s Spike?” asked Naruko.
“Spike is Twilight’s assistant at the library and pretty much her little brother. He’s such a cute little dragon,” explained Fluttershy. Naruko looked pale.
“D-dragon?” she stammered. The others nodded. “As in, magical, fire-breathing dragon?” Again, the girls nodded, not sure what was going on. They didn’t have time to think on it thought as Twilight and Spike walked back out of the library. Spike walked toward Naruko and stuck out a claw.
“Hiya! My name’s Spike and I’m Twilight’s number one assistant! It’s nice to meetcha Naruko!” he greeted the unicorn. Naruko stared at him and then shrieked, jumping up into the branches of the library.
“Eek! Fire dragon! Stay away from me!!” Everypony stared up at her as she clutched on the branches, shaking in fear.
“Hehe, silly Naruko. You don’t hug trees like that! You give them nice big one around the trunk!” Pinkie explained helpfully. “Now come down and meet Spike properly!”
“Nuh uh! I am not going anywhere near a fire dragon!”
“Why not?” asked Rainbow.
“Personal reasons! You really think Terras was the only dragon I’ve met?”
“Who is Terras?” asked Spike.
“I think Terras is the name of the dragon that trained Naruko to defend herself while she lived in the Grand Chasm,” mused Twilight. Spike stared at her in awe.
“You didn’t tell me that! If she’s lived with a dragon then maybe she can tell me more about them!” he exclaimed.
“Maybe later, Spike. Now, Naruko get down here. You two will be living together from now on so you need to get along! He won’t hurt you and definitely won’t burn you. So please come down,” Twilight pleaded. Naruko hung there for a few moments to ruminate on the other unicorn’s words. She sighed in defeat and climbed down from her branch. Once she was on the ground, Naruko approached Spike and shook his claw.
“Sorry about that Spike. The last fire dragon I met wasn’t very friendly.”
“S’okay I guess. But why do you keep calling me a fire dragon? Every dragon breathes fire.”
“Maybe in Equestria, but there are dragons of other types that exist. My teacher, Terras, was an earth dragon and she breathed sand. Maybe I’ll show you some time.”
“Huh?”
“Naruko is part dragon thanks to her special magic, Spike. Her magic allows her to imitate her mentor’s powers. Trust us, we’ve seen it in action,” Twilight informed him. Spike nodded, but didn’t really understand. The group of seven ponies and one dragon headed out on the town afterwards. The first stop was Carousel Boutique.
“Welcome to my home and place of business, Naruko. I call it Carousel Boutique where everything is chic, unique, and manifique!”
“Oh, so you’re a fashion designer, Rarity? That’s cool. I can honestly say I have never met a designer before. Mind if we take a look?” asked Naruko.
“Of course, darling! Come in, come in!” Rarity ushered them in and Naruko was met with dresses the likes of which she had never seen. Each one was unique and embroidered with gems. The colors, the design, all of it, made Naruko’s jaw drop. While not a fashion mare in the slightest, Naruko knew talent when she saw it and if Rarity really designed all these then that mare was a genius!
“Rarity, did you make all these?” asked Naruko in awe.
“Why yes, every one of them was designed and made by Moi. Do you like?” Rarity could see it in Naruko’s eyes how much she appreciated her work. Rarity was almost ready to giggle see how in awe her friend was.
“They’re, they’re, breathtaking! These dresses are amazing Rarity! I want one each and I don’t even like wearing dresses! They’re so beautiful!”
Rarity beamed at Naruko’s praise. “Oh I am so glad you like them! I just might make one just for you, Naruko,” she hinted and Naruko nodded her head.
“Really! That’s so generous Rarity. Thank you!”
“Well, I am the element of generosity, dear. It’s just how I am.”
“Yeah, yeah, enough with the frou frou!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “Let’s get going and show her the rest of town already!”
“Okay, Rainbow. You don’t have to be so impatient. It’s very unbecoming for a lady,” Rarity chided. Rainbow blew a raspberry in response causing Naruko to chuckle.
“Yeah come on Naruko! I’ll show you where I live!” yelled Pinkie. She grabbed Naruko by the hoof and sped off with Naruko screaming,
“Whoa!!!” The two mares stopped outside of a building that looked like a giant gingerbread house with a cupcake on top. Naruko’s eyes widened at the sight. “Can I eat this?” Naruko said in awe.
Pinkie giggled. “Of course not silly! But you can eat what’s inside! This is Sugar Cube Corner. I live and work here with Mr. and Mrs. Cake. It’s a bakery that sells the greatest sweets in town! So do ya like? Do ya, do ya, do ya, do ya?”
“Does ‘me likey’ count as an answer?” Naruko asked. Pinkie nodded feverishly. “Then, me likey!! Can we get something to eat?”
“I think I might be able to get you a cupcake on the house. Be right back!” Pinkie ran inside the delicious looking building and Naruko had to use everything in her to not go right out and take a bite out of Pinkie’s home. Thankfully, her other friends finally caught up to her.
“There you are!” said Twilight.
“Hey girls! Pinkie went to get me a cupcake, so she’ll be back soon.”
“You alright sugar cube? Pinkie can be pretty hyper at times,” said Applejack.
“Yeah, I’m good. Believe it or not, I’ve gone through stranger. Trust me, there are some messed up things out there.” They took her word on that. Pinkie came out and moment later holding the most sugar coated baked good that Naruko had ever seen.
“Here you go Naruko! Hehe that rhymed! Enjoy, I made it especially for you!” Pinkie hoofed her the cupcake.
“Aw, thank Pinkie. It looks delicious.” Naruko held the cupcake in her hooves and then ate it all one big bite. As she chewed, Naruko felt as if she were heaven from the taste. It was the best dang cupcake she had ever eaten. “Mmm! That was awesome Pinkie! I loved it!” Pinkie bounced in place at her friend’s praise.
“Well, now that Sugar Cube Corner and Carousel Boutique are done, time to getcha to the main attraction, Naruko. Come one, I’ll introduce ya to mah family down at mah farm.”
“You run a farm AJ?” Naruko asked as they headed off to the edge of town.
“Eeyup. Sweet Apple Acres. Myself, my older brother, younger sister, and mah granny take care of it all on our own.”
“What about your parents AJ?” Naruko asked, but instantly regretted it. AJ stopped in place and looked down at the ground and then high into the sky.
“They’re in a better place now,” was all that the farm mare said. Twilight and the others shifted uncomfortably as none of them liked bringing up Ma and Pa Apple around Applejack. Her usually happy mood would almost instantly turn somber and sad. Naruko looked at her with sadness and then hugged her. This caused the others’ eyes to widen in surprise as Naruko had so far been the only one not to show any sort of emotion besides anger, sadness, and glee.
“I’m sorry that happened, AJ. I know that means very little, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart.” Something in Naruko’s tone caught AJ’s attention and she looked Naruko dead in the eye. She saw sadness in those eyes, loneliness that nopony should ever have. Applejack realized that day what Naruko had said and why she was so defensive of her parents. She’s just like me! Naruko’s all alone.
After that tearful moment, the rest of the walk to Sweet Apple Acres was a silent one. As the group crested the hill, Naruko saw apple trees as far as she could possibly see. Even from this far away, Naruko could tell that this was a thriving orchard. “Wow, Applejack. Your farm is massive.”
“Eeyup. We try to make sure we can grow enough apples to provide for all of Ponyville as well as other areas all over Equestria. Quite the sight ain’t it?”
“I’ll say!” As they entered the farm and approached a barn-shaped house, Naruko saw a big red stallion in the orchard kick one of the trees causing all of the apples to fall into the baskets below. The sight confused Naruko to no end, but she was really more interested in who the pony was, hoping that he belonged in the orchard and wasn’t a thief.
“Ah see that you noticed mah brother, Big Macintosh. HEY BIG MAC!” The stallion looked up from his work. “GIT OVER HERE AND INTRODUCE YERSELF TO OUR GUEST!” Big Macintosh trotted over to them from his work and stopped next to his sister. “Naruko, this is mah big brother, Big Macintosh. He’s the muscle of the family.”
“Eeyup,” he said simply.
“Don’t talk much, though,” Applejack added.
“Nope.”
Naruko looked Big Macintosh over, criticizing every aspect of him. She looked him right in the eye and he did the same. After a moment of glaring, he smiled and stuck out a hoof. Naruko responded in kind with a hoof bump.
“Eeyup,” said Big Macintosh.
“Mm hm,” responded Naruko. With that, the stallion returned to his work and the girls and Spike went back towards the house they were approaching earlier. Though, all of them were confused on what just happened.
“So what was that all about?” asked Spike.
Naruko explained. “We were judging each other’s strengths. We recognized each other through such an act and respect between us has been formed.”
“So, what did you think of him?” asked AJ trying to be smug.
Naruko ignored the innuendo. “He’s stronger than those pitiful guards back in Canterlot, I’ll give him that. But it would be a losing battle if he were to fight me. I’d put him in the ground.”
The way Naruko said that, so nonchalantly, made AJ’s eyes bug. “But Big Mac’s the strongest pony ah know!”
“Second strongest,” Naruko corrected. “You haven’t even seen the extent of my abilities dear Applejack. My magic and my strength do not completely correlate. Plus, I have a few more abilities as well.”
“Like what?” asked Twilight who was truly curious.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out if I need to use them,” she replied cryptically. Twilight grumbled something about not getting knowledge, but the group finally arrived at Applejack’s home to find an elderly mare sleeping in a rickety old chair.
“Granny, wake up. We got company!” said Applejack.
“Who? What?” said the mare waking up from her sleep. “Oh, Applejack welcome back. And you brought friends. Wait a second,” she said looking right at Naruko. “Who’s this pony? Ah don’t recognize her.”
“This is Naruko, Granny. She saved me and mah friends on our mission for Princess Celestia. Naruko, meet Granny Smith. The pony that knows everything about anything.” That statement confused Naruko, but decided not to make a point about it.
“Nice to meet you ma’am,” Naruko greeted.
Granny Smith looked deep into Naruko’s eyes, making the young mare very uncomfortable. Then the old mare spoke, “You got the eyes of a pony whose seen a lot of pain, youngin’.” Naruko’s eyes widened in shock. “What kind of pain have you experienced, little filly?”
“That’s, that’s none of your business! Stay out of my past!” Naruko practically growled at Granny Smith. The others recoiled, but stood firm that Naruko would not do anything. “What happened back then is not meant for anypony else but me and that is how it’s gonna stay. SO STOP ASKING!!”
“Naruko, please calm down,” said Twilight who pulled in front and began to hold Naruko tight. “She didn’t mean to pry, Naruko. Can’t you forgive her?”
Naruko’s eyes began to return to their normal, as they had once again became those of a dragon in her rage. “I’m sorry,” she whispered in shame and hung her head. “Just please stop asking about my past. It hurts too much.” Fresh tears began to grow in her eyes, but Twilight on clutched her tighter.
“We’re here for you Naruko. No matter what.”
“Sorry if I strutted on improper ground, youngin’,” Granny Smith apologized. “Sometimes being honest means ya say things ya shouldn’t.”
“It’s alright, Miss Smith. You didn’t know.”
“Now, now. None o’ that! Ya’ll call me Granny! Now what say we get somethin’ ta eat?” The groups’ stomachs grumbled in response. Granny laughed heartily as she went inside to cook up some treats.
After a filling lunch, and a quick introduction to Applejack’s energetic younger sister, Apple Bloom, the eight friends were off to Fluttershy’s cottage. One there, Naruko was amazed at all of the animals. There were animals of every kind: beavers, chickens, a bear, other birds, and a one very grumpy bunny. Angel Bunny and Naruko did not get off to good start as Angel had kicked her leg in greeting. Naruko responded with a kick back which ended up causing a bunny shape hole in Fluttershy’s house. After a quick lecture to the both of them and a very un-heart filled apology to each other, Fluttershy let them two be.
As Naruko began to play with one of the bats, she noticed Rainbow watching her. But what surprised Naruko was that Rainbow was watching her while laying down on a cloud! Naruko put all of her attention on it and began to make Rainbow Dash very self-conscious. “Somethin’ up Naruko?” asked the pegasus.
“How are you do this?” Naruko said trying to prod the cloud. “How are you sitting on a cloud? This defies the very laws of the universe.”
“Duh, I’m a pegasus,” said Rainbow like that explained everything. To Naruko, it didn’t help a bit.
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“Pegasi magic helps with the weather, Naruko,” explained Twilight from behind her. Naruko jumped in surprise.
“Ah! Don’t do that!”
Twilight blushed. “Sorry. Anyway, pegasi have the ability to manipulate clouds and weather with their innate magic. Rainbow here is actually the head of the weather team here in Ponyville.”
Naruko’s left eye began to twitch. “B-but that’s… how does… what? That flies right in the face of Mother Nature! Next you’re probably gonna tell me that ponies manually change the seasons, too.”
“Well…”
Naruko deadpanned. “Seriously!? This place is messed up! This defies nature dang it!” The twitch was getting worse.
“Well, Naruko that’s just how things work here in Equestria. This stuff doesn’t happen on its own.”
“Wow, you really don’t know anything, do ya Naruko?” quipped Rainbow.
Naruko gave her a hard glare and then smirked. “The length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle can be found using the Pythagorean Theorem, which states that the square of the length of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides. For example, if one of the other sides has a length of 3 (when squared, 9) and the other has a length of 4 (when squared, 16), then their squares add up to 25. The length of the hypotenuse is the square root of 25, that is, 5.”
By the end of Naruko’s little explanation of the hypotenuse of a triangle, Rainbow’s eyes had glazed over and Twilight was taken aback in surprise. “How did you know all that?”
“I was a vagabond, not a moron, Twi. You needed to learn things to survive and mathematics are a basic survival tool that many ponies underestimate.” Twilight beamed at Naruko’s explanation and now truly believed that Naruko was ready and willing to learn anything.
“Great to hear, Naruko. You’ll be the perfect student!” She clapped her hooves. “Ooh, I’m so excited to begin your lectures!”
Surprisingly, Naruko smiled back. “Sounds like fun!” With fun animal time over, the group had to get moving. Fluttershy had to stay, though, as she had dinner to prepare for her animals. Naruko and Angel shared one last glare as the rest trotted off. Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack had to get going too as the sun was beginning to set. Same with Rainbow Dash, but promised that she would show Naruko her cloud home sometime. Naruko was eager to see what that would be like. Twilight, Spike, and Naruko then went home so Twilight could show off their home.
Once Naruko entered the tree for the first time, she was in awe at the vast amount of books that were at her disposal. Twilight looked at the unicorn and smiled. “See anything you like, Naruko?”
Naruko slowly nodded her head. “I am going to read… everything.”
Twilight giggled at her new roommate’s reaction. Spike just rolled his eyes. “Great. Another book worm, just what we need. I’ll go get dinner started.”
“Thanks, Spike. I’ll show Naruko to her room.” Twilight then pulled Naruko from her book induced trance and showed her the room where she’ll be staying. It was technically the guest room, but it was the only spare they had. “We’ll get you some more furniture later this week, but it should be just fine for you and Terriermon. You got your own bookshelf in here that you can use as you like. The bed is over in the corner and a desk filled with parchment, quills, and ink is in front of the window. Spike will have dinner ready soon, so just get comfortable.”
“Thanks Twilight. Really. You are doing so much for me, so if there is ever anything you need, don’t be afraid to ask me. I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality.”
“It’s no problem at all, Naruko. I’ll come get you when it’s time to eat.” With that Twilight walked out of the room, leaving Naruko alone with her doll. Naruko put her guardian in the back corner of the bed and went to the desk. She pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and began to write. As she wrote, the voice returned.
Glad you took my advice, it said sounding smug.
“Don’t get cocky. You know that we can’t stay here forever. Our mission is what comes first and foremost.”
What mission? How many times do we have to go over this Naruko; your only ‘mission’ is to observe and advise the local populace. Nothing more, so why not enjoy it? It’s quite nice here.
“We can’t get too attached to this place. I won’t get what I need here; this is just for the archives.”
Keep telling yourself that. If you need me, you know where to find me.
“Right where you always are; at my side.” Naruko finished up her writing with the quill just as she heard Twilight calling her.
“Naruko! Time for dinner!”
“Coming Twilight!” As Naruko trotted out of the room, a letter to an unknown being left on her new desk.
Dear brother,
I have made contact with local inhabitants. They call this place Equestrian and the natives are of equine in nature. A powerful artifact of this world has also declared me as its bearer and made me a part of a group of heroes called the Elements of Harmony. I have taken up residence with their leader, Twilight Sparkle, and will be staying until further notice. I will continue to observe this world and report back my findings. DO NOT contact me through our normal means as their technology is reminiscent of pre-industrial Earth. Maintain contact through letters only! I think the other Elements are wary of me and I think I may becoming compromised through them. I do not understand these feelings, brother, but for some reason, I feel… at peace here. I don’t understand it at all.
I will write again at my earliest convenience,
With love, your sister
Naruko
A moment later, the parchment was consumed in an icy-blue flame and disappeared in a wisp of smoke into the night air.
**********
Later that night in Canterlot Castle, Princess Luna looks out amongst her and her sister’s kingdom. Out in the distance she could see the town of Ponyville where she uses her magic to walk amongst the dreams that plague her subjects’ minds. That is what she usually did, as her duty as Princess of the Night, but tonight she was focused on one mare in particular. The mare that had been through so much in her short life: Naruko, the Element of Trust.
With her sister, Princess Celestia at her side, Luna looked into Naruko’s sleeping mind hoping to find some hint of what had happened to this filly in her past. She found the unicorn’s mind and began to pry it forth to speak with her, but something went wrong. Luna’s eyes popped open and she gasped in shock. Celestia was immediately there, trying to help her suddenly frightened sister.
“Luna what’s wrong? What did you see?” she questions the younger alicorn.
“Nothing,” Luna responds after a moment to regain her composure.
“There is no need to lie to me Luna. What did you see?”
“Nothing, sister! Because we couldn’t enter her mind!” Celestia gasped. Nopony was immune to her sister’s dream walking, not even her.
“How?”
“We tried to enter her dreamscape, but came across something that we have never seen before. There was a wall sister! Naruko has a mental barrier, one whose strength is unsurpassed. I could not even scratch its surface. And then…”
“Then…” Celestia egged her sister on.
“Then, she was there sister. Naruko approached me through the wall. She spoke to us as if she knew what was happening. She said, ‘Do not even try it Luna. My mind is impenetrable through your or your sister’s magic. Do not attempt this again, or you will know how it feels to have your mind invaded.’ Sister, does this mean that Naruko knows of such spells?”
Celestia stared out at Ponyville, digesting what had transpired. The only thing that she could say was, “Just who are you Naruko? Who are you really?”
Far, far away, a man sits at his desk in front of a wide array of computer screens. His wife sits not too far away, still looking as young as when they first met. The man stares at the screens, contemplating on the events that happen far away from them. Next to him, a small circle lights up and the figure of a human female appears in holographic form.
“A letter from Naruko has come through,” it says simply.
“Thank you Cortana, you may return to your tasks,” he says in response.
“Like I need your permission for that,” she replies before disappearing.
The man gives a hearty laugh as he begins to read the letter. He is not surprised, as Naruko always did things by the book, something that was rare amongst their peers.
“Anything new to report, Luke?” speaks his wife.
“Naruko has made contact with the natives after three years,” the man, Luke, answers. “This world seems to be completely at peace. I hope this is what gives Naruko what she needs, Rose.”
Rose, the wife, approaches behind him and wraps her arms around the still youthful man. “She will find her way, Luke. I know that you worry for her safety, we all do, but everyone in the family must find their own way. This is what you’ve tried to preserve.”
“I know, Rose, but it pains me that we couldn’t give Naruko what she deserves, especially what happened to her. The Lazarus Event didn’t help with that either, since we had to tear her away from that world temporarily and almost got Naruko killed along with a lot of others. These ‘Elements of Harmony’ are interesting, though. Maybe they will finally help Naruko see the light through the darkness that clouds her heart.”
“One can only hope,” Rose says wisely.
Luke looks up to the ceiling of their homestead. “May the force be with you, my sister.”
Naruko awoke the next morning feeling more refreshed than she had in years. After sleeping on cold hard rock for three years, a good night’s rest on a comfy mattress felt like heaven. Still, Twilight had told her they needed to get an early start today, so she awoke just as the sun was beginning to rise. Naruko still found it hard to believe that Celestia was the one who was bringing the star across the horizon, but Twilight seemed pretty adamant about it last night. After a nice hot shower, Naruko made her way down to the lobby of the library. There she could smell the wafting scent of… pancakes!! Naruko rushed into the dining room to see Spike piling on stack after stack of flapjacks on the table just ready to be consumed. Naruko was practically drooling from the sight. Twilight, who was sitting at the table eating her own portion of the breakfast, noticed her glazed look as well and giggled.
“Good morning, Naruko,” she greeted still holding back her fit. “Want some breakfast? Spike made plenty and we’ve already eaten, so did in!” Naruko practically jumped from her position to the seat that was opposite Twilight and began to chow down on the delicious breakfast confections. “I see you like pancakes,” Twilight commented.
Naruko didn’t even look up to answer. “Who in their right mind doesn’t? I haven’t been able to have pancakes in years and these are definitely up there with the best of them!”
“Thanks,” Spike said taking the compliment. “I learned from the royal chefs when Twilight and I lived in Canterlot. They taught me on how to cook a lot of things.”
“That so cool, Spike, but can we stop talking so I can fill my stomach? Thank you!” she said going back to her buffet. Twilight and her assistant watched in awe as Naruko ate cake after cake, never losing her pace. When Naruko finally considered herself full, there wasn’t even a crumb left on the plates. She ate everything!!
“Wow! I haven’t seen anypony eat like that, not even Pinkie Pie,” commented the dragon.
Naruko patted her stomach. “Family trait. Our stomachs are legendary in certain places for being almost bottomless. Definitely comes in handy at buffets. Mmm mm.” Naruko licked her lips for emphasis.
Twilight just stared at her for a moment, but shook it off. “Well, at least we know you have a healthy appetite. Now Naruko, let’s go over today’s agenda, shall we?” Twilight summoned a checklist to her side.
“Sure thing, Twilight. You’re the boss.”
“Great! Okay, first off is to see Mayor Mare. We should be able to get you a residence permit from her and she should be able to recommend a place of employment for you. And then we have to pick up a few things from Sugar Cube Corner. After that, it’s free time for the rest of the day.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Naruko. Twilight got up from her seat and grabbed her saddlebags and headed for the door.
“Then let’s get to it!” replied Twilight. “Spike, keep an eye on the library for me while we’re out. Come on Naruko.”
“Coming!” Naruko said bounding after the mare. As the two young mares walked towards town hall, Naruko took in the sights of the town. She saw ponies going about their daily lives. One was opening his shop that appeared to sell quills and sofas (Naruko doubted there could ever be a weirder store), there was a young filly on her way to school, and then she saw a grey pegasus heading straight for her! Naruko was so enthralled by the town that she failed to notice the pony flying clumsily into her. “Woah!” she yelled as they crashed.
“Sorry,” the pegasus said picking herself off of Naruko. “I just don’t know went wrong.” Twilight helped Naruko up off the ground, chastising her friend’s assailant.
“You should be more careful! You could have hurt—“
“That’s enough Twilight!” Naruko said over her ranting. “She obviously didn’t meant it, you don’t need to be so harsh.” Then Naruko turned the pegasus, “I’m sorry about my friend, she’s a little overprotective, I guess.”
“No, it’s okay. This happens a lot actually,” the mare replied sullenly. “Everypony makes fun of me for it, too.” Naruko could have sworn there was a small tear falling from the mare’s eye.
“Well, it’s not okay for me. I can see that you have an ocular problem, so it can’t be completely your fault. My name is Naruko and I’m new in town. It’s nice to meet you…”
“Derpy,” she answered. “Derpy Hooves.”
“It’s nice to make your acquaintance Miss Hooves. Well, this has been fun, but Twilight and I have an appointment with the Mayor. It was good to meet you Derpy and I hope to see you again soon. Come on, Twi. Let’s get to our appointment.” Twilight complied, not completely understanding what happened, while Derpy waved them off, looking much happier than she was.
“That was very nice Naruko, but a little out of character for you,” said Twilight once they were walking again.
“I could tell that she was upset, and I really can’t stand by when others are bullied. I have had my fair share of experiences and I will not stand to have it happen to anypony else. Plus, Derpy seemed very nice. What does she do for a living?”
“Derpy is our local mailmare. She delivers everything from letters to packages. She may be a klutz, but her work is excellent. I shouldn’t have snapped at her,” Twilight said looking a little upset at her outburst.
“I’m sure Derpy forgives you. Why did you react like that anyway? You know that I can take care of myself.”
“I-I really don’t know, Naruko. I guess I really don’t like seeing my friends hurt, is all.”
Naruko smiled at her friend. “You don’t have to worry about me, Twilight. As you know, I have been through much worse. There is a saying in my family that has describes us quite well.”
“What saying is that?” Twilight asked with curiosity.
“You can’t kill me that easily,” Naruko replied with a bright smile. Twilight looked at her with wide eyes at the bluntness of the saying. “I think we’re here.” Twilight was brought out of her stupor and looked forward to see that Naruko was right.
“Oh, you’re right. Well, let’s head on in, the mayor will be expecting us.” Twilight and Naruko proceeded inside. The assistant waved them into Mayor Mare’s office and Twilight introduced the two of them. “Hello, Mayor Mare. This is Naruko, the pony I told you about. We’re here to help Naruko find a job.”
“It’s good to see you too, Twilight, and very nice to meet you Naruko. I believe that I can be of help with you predicament,” said the tan, grey-mane mare. She shuffled out some papers from her desk. As Twilight and Mayor Mare went through them, Naruko decided to look around the office. She noticed several pictures of Ponyville throughout the years, but what really caught her eye was a piece of parchment of the far table. Naruko picked it up and examined it. There was a picture of a large rock formation that appeared to have tunnels in dug into it.
“Hey, Madam Mayor?” Naruko asked over. The mayor looked up from the paperwork to address her.
“Yes Naruko? Something catch your interest?”
“Well, I was just wondering about this document here. What’s this a picture of that’s on it?”
Mayor Mare looked it over and smiled. “Oh this is the old quarry just to the south of town. It ran dry a couple of decades ago and has since been abandoned. Not something worth going into. Ponyville has actually been thinking about building over it and expanding its borders.”
“Oh, well that’s a shame. What a waste.” Naruko shook her head. Now Twilight and the Mayor were curious.
“Why’s that?” they asked in unison. Naruko took back the parchment to look at the picture.
“Whoever mined this quarry in the past really didn’t do a very good job. Look at this! See this dark line here in the rock?” she asked and pointed to a slightly darker brown rock line in the cliff. “This is pure cobblestone right there! And this shade here; it is limestone. And these specks along lower bottom? That’s an indication that there are still gems in the rock. There could be anything in this quarry. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was silver, platinum, or even gold!”
The mayor’s eyes were widening with every little bit Naruko described about the cliff face, but they bugged when she mentioned the existence of gold. “G-gold?? There’s gold in that quarry?”
“I see several signs that indicate as such,” Naruko said, still examining the photograph.
Twilight was also in shock. She remembered Naruko showcasing her examination abilities with a diamond, but didn’t know it extended to other rocks, too. “How did you know all that, Naruko?”
“Earth powers, remember? Over the years, I have learned how to distinguish certain signs that indicate certain rocks. It made it much easier when I was hunting for food.”
“Food?” asked the mayor.
“My magic allows me to ingest certain materials, madam mayor. Rocks of all kinds have their own unique tastes and textures. Mining these rocks has become a hobby of mine. My digging skills are matched by nopony, not even anypony in my own family can keep up with me.”
“So you would be considered a professional in this field?” asked the mayor
“In a sense,” Naruko replied.
“Well then, I think we can make a deal Miss Naruko,” the mayor said with a smile. Naruko looked at her curiously at urged her to continue. “If this quarry can still be profitable, then it would be a shame to destroy it. So, what would you say about mining it for the town of Ponyville, Naruko? You would get free range in its use and all we ask in return is fifteen percent of your finds. A salary will also be provided of course.”
Naruko stared at Mayor Mare in surprise. Not just because she was suggesting a stranger take over such a large operation, but also how much they wanted in return. “Fifteen percent?” she parroted.
Mayor Mare looked back her. “Oh, is that too much? I willing to go as low as ten.”
Naruko shook her head. “No. You will take forty percent, no less.”
Now the mayor was shocked, as was Twilight. “You want to give us a higher percentage?” she said back in honest surprise. “Why?”
“I am a mare who has no use for material possessions madam mayor. I am only looking for employment so that I may repay Twilight Sparkle for her kindness in letting me into her home. Other than food, and maybe a Rarity dress or two, I can’t think of any reason that I would need much money. I would rather it go to good use instead of piling up,” Naruko explained.
“Well, that is rather generous of you Naruko,” Mayor Mare said, still shocked. “But are you really sure?”
“Madam Mayor, let me assure you that the only reason I am doing this is so that I am not asking my family for money. I prefer to earn my keep and not depend on others to do things for me,” Naruko said with a look of determination.
“I thought that you didn’t talk with your family?” asked Twilight.
“Oh no. I contact them regularly through letters. I just don’t like asking for money. Not that it would do our fortune any harm.”
“Oh?” they asked in unison.
“Let’s just say that my family never has to worry about being low on funds,” she answers cryptically. They agree to drop the conversation there and got to work on hashing out the details of Naruko’s rental of the quarry. She refused additional salaries for workers as she would be the only one working the quarry. Her excuse being that anypony else there would be endangered as she uses her magic at high power levels to drill through the rock. Everything else was figured out relatively easy and it was decided that Naruko would start on Monday, five days from now.
With everything settled, Twilight and Naruko took their leave. Naruko wanted to go out and explore her new job site, but things were interrupted by a pink bundle crashed into Twilight. “OOF!” the unicorn let out as she hit the ground. Naruko was surprised, to say the least. I should have been able to sense her. Why didn’t I?
“HI TWILIGHT!” said Pinkie Pie in a smiling greeting. Pinkie was sitting right on top of Twilight’s stomach, with Twilight giving the pink mare a deadpan stare. Naruko was just watching from the side, slightly amused by the sight. “You and Naruko are coming over to the bakery soon, right?”
“Yes, Pinkie. We were just on our way.”
“Goodie!! See you then!” Pinkie practically disappeared from sight. Naruko’s eyebrow raised quite a bit.
“How did she do that?” she asked.
“No pony knows. It’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie,” Twilight answered. “So, shall we go to the bakery?”
“Sure,” Naruko said with a shrug. The two mares then made their way to Sugar Cube Corner. Once at the door, Twilight ushered for Naruko to go first. She shrugged and went through the door to find the bakery pitch black. Naruko knew it was not empty though, so she took a deep breath and entered. With a loud boom, the room was lit and Naruko found herself surrounded by not only her new friends, but by a good amount of ponies, too. Above them all was a large banner that read, “Welcome to Ponyville, Naruko!” The sight made Naruko smile, and inwardly thank herself for making sure she didn’t freak out at the surprise.
“Were ya surprised? Were ya? Were ya?” asked Pinkie who was right in Naruko’s face.
The mare chuckled a little before answering. “Yes Pinkie, it was quite the surprise. This is very nice of you.” Naruko pulled Pinkie into a hug.
“Aw, not a problem. I do this for everypony new and you are no exception. SO! Are you ready to party?”
“Yes, yes I am,” Naruko said with a large smile. Might as well indulge in the local festivities and customs. Who knows how long I’ll be here?
The party wore on for hours, allowing Pinkie to introduce Naruko to nearly everypony in town who had decided to attend. There was a mint green unicorn named Lyra, a tan earth pony with a navy and pink mane called BonBon, an orange maned earth pony named Carrot Top, and so many more. Naruko was glad that Derpy had shown up and they talked for a while. Eventually, Naruko found herself in the company of her six friends.
“How are you enjoying your welcome party, darling?” asked Rarity in her usual fine voice.
“It’s great. Considering that I only have holiday parties to go on, that’s saying something. My sister really knows how to go all out for the holidays, so good job Pinkie. I think you could really give her a run for her money.”
“Don’t you have birthday parties?” asked Pinkie who was suddenly somber.
Naruko didn’t understand the sudden change in attitude, but still answered. “I don’t even know when my birthday is,” she said with a shrug. The girls gasped causing Naruko to become even more confused. “What? I know how old I am, so what does it matter if I don’t know when?”
“Because everypony deserves to have a birthday!” replied Pinkie.
“Not a pony like me,” Naruko mumbled.
“What was that sugar cube?” asked Applejack.
“Nothing! A-anyway,” Naruko said, trying to change the subject. “Did Twilight tell you that I got a job?”
“Oh that sounds wonderful,” said Fluttershy.
“Sure does. What’s the job?” asked AJ.
“I’ll be in charge of the old quarry to the south. My job is to mine the goods inside and sell ‘em at the market. The town gets a cut in exchange.”
“Why would you want a job like that?!” asked a hysterical Rarity. “So much dirt! Why would anypony want to do something so, ugh, dirty?”
“Must I remind you that I lived in a dirt chasm for three years? Or how about the fact that I am an earth dragon? I feel at home underground, Rarity. It’s where my power is at its strongest. Plus, I get all the rocks and gems I can eat! Mmm!” Naruko said with a dreamy look and licking her lips.
“You are one weird pony, Naruko. Ya know that?” quipped Rainbow.
“If you think I am weird, then you should meet my family. Some of the strangest things I have seen have been what those lunatics are capable of.” A shiver ran down the unicorn’s back. “And certain things that can’t ever be unseen.”
“Maybe another time, darling.”
“Hey wait a minute!” Applejack piped up. “Isn’t that old mine done run dry a long time ago?”
Naruko smiled slyly and retrieved the picture from her saddlebags (that Twilight had so graciously allowed her to borrow). “My guess is that nopony knew what they were doing when the mine was first running. See this long thin line running all across the rock?” She said pointing at the lightly colored line on the picture. The others nodded. “That, my friends, is pure marble! That stuff is worth a small fortune to the right buyer!” The wide eyes all around was enough of an explanation. Then, Naruko got an idea. “Hey, girls? Wanna see something cool?”
**********
About an hour later, the Mane Seven were at Naruko’s new quarry. The Pinkie Party had wrapped up sooner than expected after Naruko convinced them to come with her to the quarry. “So, were here. What now?” complained Rainbow Dash. Naruko ignored her and focused more on the rock face; studying every aspect of it, judging every little detail. “Hello? Anypony home?”
“Okay girls,” Naruko began, again ignoring Rainbow. “I promised to show you something cool, so now I will. Rainbow, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack. You six will be the first outside of my family to see what I am about to do. As such, I need all of you to swear you won’t say a word to anypony. Ever!”
The girls were very cautious about this. “Even the Princesses?” asked Twilight who sounded concerned.
Naruko picked up on this. “At this point, yes, even the Princesses must be kept in the dark. I will tell them at some point. Until then, they must never know what I can do.” The girls looked to each other, but each promised to keep the secret in their own way.
“Alrighty then! Ladies, prepare to be amazed at the power of dragon magic!” Naruko announced and Twilight’s eyes lit up. She immediately summoned a quill and parchment. Naruko noticed, but decided to give her friend this much. “First up, is what I like to call the Earth Dragon Iron Fist.”
Naruko leaped up into the air, much higher than any normal pony should, and twisted around so that she faced the rock and not her friends. From her height, Naruko picked out a single, large boulder and dove towards it. She outstretched her right foreleg and let the earth dragon magic flow. The draconic magic circle that indicated the activation, appeared in front of said hoof and Naruko roared as she hit the rock with all she had. “Hyaaaa!!!” As the magic-infused hoof struck the boulder, the power roared and Naruko flew right through it. As Naruko stood back up, she turned back to her friends who were staring in awe. Naruko looked at the results of her strike; the entire boulder was nothing, but a pile of dust.
“And that was one of my basic strikes,” Naruko announced proudly. The others were just staring at her that was until Rainbow spoke up.
“That. Was. AWESOME!!”
“Ah must admit, never saw that comin’,” commented Applejack.
“I never new magic could be so strong! Think of the possibilities,” said Twilight in thought.
“Well, if you thought that was cool. Then check this out!” Naruko raised her left foreleg and then slammed it to the ground. “Earth Dragon Pillar!” The magic once again flowed, but this time it flowed out of Naruko’s body and into the very earth at her hooves. Before her, a pillar of rock shot out the ground and rose at amazing speed. In front of that one, another stone tower appeared, and another after that. Naruko smirked at her handiwork and turned to her friends. “Now just imagine if another creature was below one of those.”
Pinkie was the only one still smiling as the others were just taken aback by the power of their friend. “Anything else?” Twilight asked, a slight terror in her voice.
“Well,” Naruko said putting her hoof to her chin. Doing so also broke the connection to the pillars, causing them to topple back into earth. “There is my Earth Dragon Planet Quake attack, but I think that would be too dangerous, since, you know, we’re in a bowl.”
“Does that do what I think it does?” Twilight asked.
“If you’re thinking that it causes an earthquake then you would be right. But, I would rather not cause a panic. Anything else I got is far too dangerous… oh! I have one more! It’s the most dangerous spell I have.”
“Are you sure you should do it then, darling?”
“Don’t worry Rarity. This may be my most powerful spell, but it is also my most subtle.” Naruko walked over to a random boulder and put a hoof on it. With a voice that was just above a whisper, Naruko proclaimed her strongest technique. “Earth Dragon Shatter.” A tiny magic circle appeared around her hoof and the magic flowed into the rock. A millisecond later, the entire rock shattered apart, leaving nothing, but dust in the wind. The others blinked.
“Did Ah miss somethin’?” asked AJ.
“All she did was touch the rock and it went ‘poof’; is it a new party trick she can teach me?” Pinkie Pie said.
“What did you do?” asked Twilight.
“That was Earth Dragon Shatter,” Naruko explained. “I focus my magic to a point on a body and then I release it. The overflow of dangerous magic causes the victim to crumble into nothingness. You just saw what happens to a rock, just imagine what would happen if I did that to a living being” Naruko lowered her head, while the others were aghast at her proclamation.
“Are-are you saying that you have used t-that on s-somepony?” asked a nervous Fluttershy.
Naruko nodded reluctantly. “They gave me no choice. I had to or they were going to hurt others. I don’t like admitting it, but someponies are beyond redemption.”
“Don’t worry, Naruko,” Twilight said as she embraced her roommate. “We won’t judge you for that. Just don’t do it here, ok?”
“I have no reason to use my powers here, Twi. You have nothing to worry about.”
After a few more hours of explanations and touring Naruko’s job site, everypony returned home for the night. Late at night, Naruko was once again at her desk. This letter would soon join its sibling from the previous night.
Dear brother,
I have met more of the natives today. They call themselves ponies and come in a range of colors and they are a quite peaceful. The Elements now call me a friend, too. I even got a job, if you can believe it. It’s perfect for me; I am now the lone worker of the large quarry that is to the south of the town. It is full to the brim with minerals. Whoever was in charge before had to have been a moron to overlook the simple signs of the goods that lay within. And, I know you won’t approve, but I showed the Elements a few of my powers. They know about shatter, roar, iron fist, planet quake, and pillar. I still don’t understand it brother, but I feel calm around them. As if I can trust them with anything, but I will stick to my mission. That much you can count on. I will write again soon.
With Love,
Naruko
It has been almost two weeks since Naruko came to Ponyville and life couldn’t seem any different. It was different for Twilight, having another pony living with her and Spike, but it was nice. Naruko was an amazing house guest. She always cleaned up after herself, was eager to learn, and brilliant. Naruko learned everything she needed for unicorn magic by her first workday, which highly surprised Twilight. As Naruko explained it, magic just comes easily to her.
Today, Twilight and the girls were having a marvelous picnic. Everypony had taken time off from their busy schedules to attend and it was going swimmingly. All except for one problem, Naruko was nowhere to be found.
“So, Twilight, darling. How has our special friend been adjusting to life in Ponyville?” Rarity asked before taking a sip of her drink.
“Naruko has done quite well actually,” Twilight answered with a proud smile. “She’s been quite well behaved and it is nice to be able to talk about magical theory with somepony. It still amazes me how intelligent she is.”
“So you’re both just spouting intelligent babble at each other?” Rainbow Dash quipped earning a glare from the unicorn.
“It is not babble, it is a highly educated discussion. She understands everything I tell her and she responds in kind. Despite her background, Naruko is very well mannered.”
“That is certainly good to hear, dear. I was worried that Naruko may not be able to adjust to civilization.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Twilight said reluctantly.
“Somethin’ goin’ on sugar cube?” Applejack asked in concern.
Twilight let out a sigh. “I haven’t actually seen Naruko for about a week now,” she admitted. The other girls gasped.
“Why? What happened?” Fluttershy questioned meekly.
“Oh, it’s nothing serious!” Twilight said urgently waving her hooves in attempt to ease their worry. “Naruko just went to work on Monday and hasn’t come back.”
“Why aren’t you worried!?” Pinkie asked in a panic.
“Because she left a note.” The girls all leaned in and Twilight recited it from memory. “To Twilight and Spike. I am off to work and may be gone for a few days. Don’t worry, I just get wrapped in my work sometimes; I’ll be fine. Though, if you don’t see me in two weeks, bring a rescue crew as a cave probably collapsed and I got trapped. Wish me luck! She worries me sometimes.”
“That is definitely one a the strangest notes Ah ever done heard.”
“How could she take something like that so lightly!?” Rarity asked in a huff. “The nerve!”
“Like I said, it’s been a week without a word and I’m getting really worried.”
“Well, why didn’t you just ask Naruko on your way here?” Pinkie asked.
“What?” Twilight was really confused.
“Didn’t you see Naruko at the market like me?”
“What!?”
“Yeah and it looked like her stall had a booming business!” Pinkie’s words were left unheard as Twilight rushed away from her friends, eager to see if Pinkie was telling the truth. Not that she doubted her, but Twilight thought Naruko would at least tell her that she was off work. Twilight reached the market soon enough and saw just down the way a brand new stand with a familiar unicorn standing behind the counter. It appears she was arguing with a customer.
“…Like I told you, I mined this myself and they are of the highest quality!” Naruko insisted to the earth pony in front of her.
“And I told you, there is no way a unicorn could be a miner! Now you are going to tell me exactly who you got this from before I go and report you to the authorities for trespassing!”
“Go ahead! I have authorization from the mayor herself to mine and sell anything I find in the quarry! I don’t care what ownership you say you have over the land, I know my rights, Filthy Rich!”
Ah yes, that was him. Filthy Rich owned a good portion of Ponyville, including his own store franchise. And it seemed there was a dispute over the quarry. As Twilight approached, Mayor Mare was walking by as well and went to the stand, too.
“Oh, hey Twilight!” Naruko greeted with a smile which changed to a frown as she turned back to Filthy Rich. “Now, if you aren’t going to buy anything, Mr. Rich, then I must ask you to leave. This ain’t the library; I have a no loitering policy.”
“Why you little…”
“Is there a problem here?” asked Mayor Mare who made her presence known.
“Ah Madam Mayor!” Filthy proclaimed, going from angry to smug in an instant. “Just the pony I need to see. I would like to report trespassing and the sale of private property done by this mare here. She claims that these stones of hers came from the quarry just outside of town, which is owned by me. If that is the case—“
“You don’t own that quarry, Mr. Rich. You sold it to the town of Ponyville three years ago because it was unable to turn a profit. And I have given the proper rights for Miss Naruko here to mine the minerals inside and sell them at her leisure in exchange for a thirty-five percent cut of her profits,” Mayor Mare said, trying to keep annoyance out of her voice.
“Oh…right…b-but how can a unicorn be a miner!? They don’t have spells for that!” Filthy Rich said trying to rectify the situation.
“Oh shut up!” Naruko said, making sure that her annoyance was known. “So you gave away something you didn’t want, but now that it’s making a profit you want it back. Get over it you big crybaby!” Twilight, Filthy Rich, and Mayor Mare were staring at her incredulously. “Are you gonna buy something or not? I got rent I need to pay, and,” she turned to Mayor Mare, “I thought we agreed on a forty percent cut? I told you Miss Mayor, I don’t need excess funds.”
“I will not take advantage of one of my citizens. Thirty-five.”
“Forty!”
“Thirty-five!”
“I don’t need money Madame Mayor! I’ve calculated everything and a forty percent cut makes sure that nothing is wasted! No excess! Forty!”
“You’re not gonna let up are you?” Naruko shook her head defiantly. “Fine. We will keep it at forty percent. But I will not raise it a single percentage more!”
“Deal!” The two mares shook hooves on it, leaving Filthy Rich and Twilight to watch in a stupor. With a quick huff, Filthy Rich made his leave, without buying anything and Mayor Mare left a moment later. “So, Twilight what brings you to my little stand?”
“I came here to scold you,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. Naruko just stared at her confused. “You leave for a week without saying goodbye and you don’t even tell me!? I thought we were friends Naruko?”
“Sorry, Twilight.” Naruko lowered her head, looking ashamed. “Like I said, I get wrapped up in my work. Still kind of new to this whole friendship thing, too.”
“I forgive you, Naruko. Just please let me know when you go into the mines and when you come out. I worry about you.”
“Okay Twilight. I’ll be home later today, so you go have fun. I still got some marble and limestone to sell.” Twilight and Naruko waved good-bye and went about their day.
***********
A few hours later and Naruko still had some remaining stones to sell. Business had gotten slower after lunch and very ponies even stopped by. Naruko let out a bored sigh and leaned over the counter. “And I’m bored again.”
“Let’s fix that!” said a voice right next to her.
“GAH!!” Naruko shot up in surprise and saw a familiar pink mare standing in her stand. “Pinkie!? Don’t surprise me like that! I could end up hurting you one of these days and I don’t want to do that.”
“Sorry, Narry!” Pinkie said a little glum, but then perked up. “I came here to invite you to a party!”
“Narry? Please don’t call me that, Pinkie. But, what’s this about a party?” Naruko’s eyes started to glaze over and her mouth began to water at the thought of more Pinkie Party food.
“Okie dokie lokie Narry! Here you go.” Pinkie hoofed Naruko a flyer and Naruko read it over.
WELCOME TO PONYVILLE GILDA!!
PARTY TODAY AT FIVE!!
GAMES, FOOD, AND FUN!!
It was simple in design, but Naruko felt giddy just reading it. “Who’s Gilda?”
“She’s Rainbow Dash’s old gryphon friend. She’s a meanie and I want to change that! You’ll be there right?” Pinkie put on the big puppy dog eyes.
“Uh, duh! Like I would miss a chance for more Pinkie cupcakes! I will be there!”
“Great! Good luck with the stand!” And with that Pinkie disappeared. Naruko blinked once, and twice.
“I don’t think Pinkie is explainable by the laws of nature.”
**********
A few hours later and Naruko found herself inside Sugar Cube Corner to wait in anticipation for this new gryphon arrival. The surprise went how it was suspected, knowing Pinkie’s ability to surprise everyone and everything. Naruko watched as the bird-lion was suffering through several pranks, including a joy buzzer and hot sauce. The tipping point came when Gilda refused to listen to Pinkie for pin the tail on the pony and ended up slipping on a piece of cake. Then she went on a yelling rant on Naruko’s friend.
“This is your idea of a good time? I've never met a lamer bunch of dweebs in all my life. And Pinkie Pie, you! You are queen lame-o with your weak little party pranks. Did you really think you could make me lose my cool? Well, Dash and I have ten times as much cool as the rest of you put together. Come on Dash, we're bailing on this pathetic scene. Come on Rainbow Dash. I said , we're leaving.”
“You know Gilda, I was the one who set up all those weak pranks at this party,” Rainbow admitted. Gilda looked at her stunned.
“What ?”
“Ooh,” Pinkie said for the drama.
“So I guess I’m queen lame-o.”
“Come on, Dash, you’re joshing me.”
“They weren't all meant for you specifically, it was just dumb luck that you set them all off.”
“I should have known,” Pinkie said. “That dribble-cup had Rainbow Dash written all over it.”
“No way,” Gilda insisted. “It was Pinkie Pie, she set up this party to trip me up, to make a fool of me.”
“Me? I threw this party to improve your attitude. I thought a good party might turn that frown upside down.”
“And you sure didn't need any help making a fool of yourself. You know, this is not how I thought my old friends would treat my new friends. If being cool is all you care about, maybe you should go find some new cool friends someplace else.”
“Rrgh. Yeah? Well you, you, you are such a, a flip-flop: cool one minute and lame the next. When you decide not to be lame anymore, gimme a call.” Gilda shriek and flew off. Rainbow Dash and the others said a few comments about Gilda while everypony else went back to the party. Naruko, however, had disappeared without anypony noticing.
Gilda was flying over the treetops of the Whitetail Woods, still angered over Rainbow Dash’s betrayal. “Stupid flip-flopping Dash. Who needs a friend like that?” Suddenly Gilda felt herself falling as a weight pushed her down out of nowhere. She crashed into the forest and groaned as she got up.
“If you ever come near my friends again,” said a dark voice from behind the gryphon. The voice was menacing in every definition of the word. “I’ll gut you and then have some decent chicken-fry. Maybe you should learn to be a better friend.” And suddenly the weight on Gilda’s back was gone, leaving her more scared than anything.
Naruko walked into the Golden Oaks Library late at night and Twilight started badgering her. “Where have you been Naruko? You disappeared from the party.”
“Just had to take care of a few things, Twi. Nothing important.” Naruko trudged up the stairs to her room. “It’s been a long day, so I’m going to bed. Goodnight Twilight, Spike.”
“Goodnight, Naruko,” they said together. Naruko entered her room and went right to her desk.
Dear brother,
Today, I learned something. Friends are always there for you, so you need to be there for them. A gryphon, yeah a real bird-lion thing, came to town and started being a real jerk to the ponies around town. She yelled at one of my friends and then flew off. I made sure she’ll never bother us again, though. I bet you’re wondering who these friends are, right? Well, there’s Twilight, a unicorn that I am living with. She is the student of the Princess here and is an expert in magic. She’s a great pony to theorize with. Applejack, a farmer of the local orchard, Sweet Apple Acres. She’s honest almost to a fault. Rainbow Dash is boastful, but I know I can count on her for anything. Then there’s Pinkie Pie. How do you describe Pinkie? She is an anomaly that loves to party and bake. We need to keep her away from your sister, that would be a disaster and you know why. Fluttershy is, well, shy and quiet but is excellent with animals. Rarity is a dressmaker and extremely nice. Her dresses are amazing! They are the elements of harmony and my first friends. But, I will continue the mission and continue searching for my destiny.
With love,
Naruko
“Come on, Twilight. You can do it!” Spike encouraged. It was another day in Ponyville at the Golden Oaks Library and today Spike was helping Twilight catalogue her spells.
“Okay, here goes.” Twilight fired up her horn and shot a burst of magic at Spike. An instant later, the young drake had a deep black moustache gracing his face.
“Ha ha! Ya did it! Growing magic, that's number twenty-five. Twenty-five different types of tricks and counting. And I think this is the best trick so far. Hello, Rarity. What's that? Aw, it's nothin', just my awesome mustache.” Spike was enamouring himself in the mirror and caused himself to laugh a little.
Twilight just rolled her eyes. “Sorry, Romeo. As attractive and enticing as you look, it's just for practice, and it's gotta go.”
“Aw rats!” Spike whined as he brushed where his moustache had once been.
“Hey! You two mind keeping it down! Some of us are still trying to sleep!” came a voice from up the stairs. The dragon and unicorn looked up to see a sleepy and angry Naruko glaring down at them. Twilight took this chance to attack Naruko’s work habits.
“Well, maybe somepony wouldn’t be so tired if they actually got some sleep instead of working for four days straight!”
“Says the mare who I found passed out in a pile of books when I came home last night,” Naruko quipped. Despite the two of them being friends, Naruko was as stubborn, if not more, than Applejack when it came to, well, anything! Twilight’s biggest concern was Naruko’s work ethic which kept the other unicorn out for days on end, just digging and mining in the quarry. “Plus, I do get sleep there every now and then. I sleep in my office.”
“You have an office?” Spike asked looking confused. Twilight shared that look.
“Yeah. I found this shed near the center of the quarry. Well, it looks like a shed, but when I went inside it was full of papers and documents, even had a good sized desk. Nice place to sleep after a long day in the dirt. Plus, I can also hide my snacks there.” Naruko mumbled that last part.
Twilight just shook her head in exhaustion. “What am I going to do with you, Naruko?”
Naruko pretended to think on that for a second. “Let me do my job?” A glare was enough to silence any additional thoughts. “I’m going back to bed. Wake me up when it’s food o’clock.” Naruko trotted right back up the stairs to her room. Twilight and Spike just shook their heads as she disappeared up stairs.
Upon entering the room, Naruko got right up on her bed and curled up with Terriermon. She had roughly four minutes of quiet bliss before it was interrupted by her door opening. With a frown clear on her face, Naruko opened an eye at the intruder. “What do you want Spike?” she groaned out in exhaustion.
“Just came to tell you that Twilight and I are going out for a while. We’re locking up the library too, so you’ll have plenty of quiet.”
“Thanks Spike. Sorry I snapped at you.”
Spike waved a claw. “Nah, don’t worry about it. You should see me when I don’t want to get up. Talk about fire power.” Spike didn’t notice Naruko cringe a little at the word ‘fire’. “Sleep tight.” The drake then excused himself from the room. A few minutes later, Naruko heard the sound of the front door opening and closing shut. She let out a blissful sigh and began to drift back to sleep, only to once again be interrupted.
How much longer are you gonna keep up this charade? The voice was back.
“Ugh! Can’t I just get some sleep? Do you have any idea what it’s like to dig through meters of dirt for hours on end? Well, it’s exhausting! Now let me sleep!!” Naruko snapped at the voice. Normally, Naruko enjoyed the voice as it was her only company in lonely Chasm, but right now it was just irritating.
This is one of the few chances we have to talk and this is how you treat me? How rude. Naruko just grumbled in annoyance. Seriously, though, Naruko. Isn’t it time you gave up on that destiny of yours? You have no reason to look for it anymore; you have people, err, ponies, who care about you now. Why put them through that?
“You know why! You weren’t there, I had no one. Absolutely nothing. Every time I do have something, it just gets taken away. Happens every damn time! Eventually, it’s going to happen here too.” Tears began to form in Naruko’s eyes at the very thought of her friends leaving her and the voice noticed as well.
Naruko. Don’t you see that the destiny you want will do exactly what you now fear? Is it really worth it? These ponies care about you, and you care a great deal about them. Don’t deny it, you know it to be true. I don’t even have Force powers like you to tell me that much. As your friend, please give this up.
Naruko was silent for several moment. She almost looked asleep, but then she spoke. Her voice was quiet, almost as if she were channeling her friend Fluttershy. “I’ll think about it.”
This seemed to satisfy the voice. That’s all I ask for now. Get some rest Naruko, you earned it.
Naruko sighed again and nuzzled her guardian. “How did I ever survive without you?” The voice never got a chance to respond before Naruko drifted into a deep sleep.
**********
Several hours later, Naruko was once again rudely awakened. Only this time, it was by a deafening roar! Her head shot up immediately from the bed. “Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?” she asked in rapid succession. The roar came again and Naruko shot off her bed and down the stairs. In the main library, Twilight and Spike were just on their way out as Naruko hit the bottom the steps. “Wait for me!”
They both turned to see Naruko run up to them. “Naruko? Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?” Twilight asked.
“Uh huh. But how can anypony sleep when there’s a giant roar billowing through the town!?” Twilight was not amused by Naruko’s sarcasm. “Come on, let’s go see what’s going on!” Naruko galloped right past them and into town. Twilight, with Spike riding, ran after her. As they reached the town proper, the three of them stopped by two young unicorn colts. One was tall and lanky, orange in color with a green mane and a snail for a cutie mark, while the others was rather short, pudgy, teal-colored with an orange main and a pair of scissors as a cutie mark.
“What’s going on?” Twilight asked in a panic.
“We brought an Ursa to town!” The short one said proudly, while the other smiled.
“You what?!” Twilight looked scared, while Naruko was confused.
“An Ursa? You mean a bear?” she asked.
“Well, it’s an Ursa Major!” the tall one explained.
“You brought a constellation to Ponyville?” Twilight was about to say something, only for them to be interrupted by the colts.
“Don’t worry about it! The Great and Powerful Trixie can take care of everything.”
“The who?” asked Naruko. The colts pointed over to a blue coated unicorn mare, who looked quite scared.
“I can’t,” the mare said after a minute. “I never have. No one can vanquish an Ursa Major. I just made the whole story up to make me look better.”
“MADE IT UP!?” the colts screamed in a panic. Their screams where died down by the town’s screams as a massive bear reared up on a nearby hose and took a big bite out of it. The bear was transparent and blue in color with dots all over its body that looked like stars. Naruko’s eyes widened.
“That’s a big bear.” Intelligent as always Naruko. None of the ponies had time to react as Naruko rushed forward into danger. She stopped right in front of the bear. “Yo big guy! Stop eating my town or I will give you such a pinch!” The bear looked down at her, unamused, and slammed a massive paw on Naruko’s form.
“NARUKO!!” Twilight screamed. Everypony else just stared where the unicorn had once been. Suddenly, the bear roared as if in pain and lifted its paw up. On the paw was Naruko. Only it was very weird.
“Did she bite an Ursa Major?” Spike asked the obvious as Naruko was hanging from the paw by her teeth. Twilight swears she heard Naruko growling as she held her grip. The Ursa shook Naruko off and she flew onto the ground next to Twilight. Naruko began to stand back up, but Twilight pushed her back down.
“Nuh uh. Let me handle this Naruko.”
“Bu-bu-bu-bu-but!” Naruko stammered out. Twilight’s glare was enough to silence the rest of her complaints. Naruko crossed her forelegs and ‘hmpf’ed. “Never get to do nothin’,” she grumbled.
Naruko then watched in amazement as Twilight performed several spells on the bear. The first created a melody that began to soothe the bear. The next made a giant milk bottle out of a water tower. From there, Twilight levitated the Ursa out of town and into its cave. Naruko was in awe, but as Twilight spoke with their other friends, Naruko went over to this ‘Trixie’.
“What do you want? Here to brag about your friend?” the mare said in a huff.
“Uh, no.” Naruko said confused. “I wanted to make sure you were alright. And to ask why those colts thought you could vanquish that bear.”
“Trixie is a show mare and she needed to boost her image. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Naruko nodded. “Understandable. Though, you may want to leave that part out from now on. What kind of a show do you do?”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie performs magic for the awe and amusement of her audience!” she boasted.
“Oh, you’re a stage magician! That’s sounds cool. Can I get a ticket to your show sometime?”
Trixie just blinked in response. “Y-you still want to see Trixie’s show? Even though I humiliated your friends earlier today?”
“You did what?” Naruko deadpanned.
“Nothing! Nothing, sure. I suppose I can return to Ponyville sometime for a show. But for now, The Great and Powerful Trixie must be off.” She threw a smoke ball and ran off.
“Well, that was unexpected.” Naruko then went to join her friends. They did not look happy. “What did I do now?”
“You scared us all half to death, is what y’all did!” Applejack scolded. “We done thought you got smushed!”
“Oh, please. I’ve gone through worse than having a giant paw trying to squish me. You should have seen the time I got eaten by a giant worm.” Naruko shuddered at the memory. “There are some things that cannot be unseen.”
“Please just try to be more careful Naruko. You could have been killed by that Ursa Minor.”
“Minor? I thought they said that it was an Ursa Major?”
“Oh, no. That was just a baby!”
“Say what? That was a baby? Yeesh. I’d hate to see the mother.” From there, everypony returned to their homes, eager to start repairs on the town in the morning.
Mother of the Mare (Extended)
It was a lovely spring Saturday as Naruko was walking through town merrily. The birds were singing, the sun was shining brightly, and she was done with work for a while. Her last big haul had been sold off earlier today so she had enough bits for a while. This meant that Naruko finally had some free time to spend with her friends.
Twilight had come by her stand earlier to tell Naruko that all of them would be doing a project at the library and she could join them when she closed up the stand. Naruko couldn’t wait as the way Twilight made it sound, it must be fun! And if Pinkie was there, maybe she had a cupcake with her she could spare. Once again, Naruko drooled over the thought of more Pinkie Sweets. After snapping herself out of her food-induced dream, Naruko quickened her pace to the library.
She arrived just as the sun was beginning to set and hurried inside. What she saw before her was definitely different. The main floor of the library was littered with pink, red, and purple paper. There was glitter here and there and a few glue globs around as well. It looked like Twilight had been teaching a kindergarten class. There at the main table, Naruko saw her friends all doodling around on some scraps of paper. She was utterly confused.
“Um…” Naruko said getting their attention. “Am I missing something here?”
“Oh there you are Naruko!” Twilight greeted happily. “You’re still good on time. Come on over and join us.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie added. “You can help us work on our cards and we can you with your card!”
“Card?” Naruko asked incredulously.
“Yes, dearie. We are making cards for Mother’s Day tomorrow,” Rarity said as she slowly spread some glue over her paper. Her magic adjusting it ever so slightly. “I know you don’t see much of your mother, but it would still be good of you to make one for her.”
Naruko’s eyes were the size of pinpricks. Tomorrow was Mother’s Day!? This was not good for the young mare. “Um, thanks, but I think I’ll pass if you don’t mind. It’s been a long day and—“ *Yawn* Naruko faked a yawn. “I really could use some rest, so night!”
She rushed up the steps, but was stopped by Twilight’s magic. Twilight levitated Naruko back over to the table, glaring at the younger mare unamused. “Come on, Naruko. You need to make one, too.”
Naruko was panicking inside, but couldn’t let it show, not in front of them. “I really would rather get some sleep Twi.” Not the best excuse, but it would have to do.
“Oh just do it Naruko!” Rainbow said annoyed. “I don’t have the best relationship with my mother, either, but I’m still gonna make her a card.”
Naruko raised an eyebrow at this. “What do you mean? Don’t you and your mother get along?”
Rainbow just shrugged. “My mom has never been fond of my dream of becoming a Wonderbolt. We even fought about it a few times, but that doesn’t mean I hate her.”
Naruko’s question gave Twilight enough time to bring Naruko over to her side at the table. Surprisingly, only Applejack was the only one not grilling her about why she didn’t want to make a card. Naruko just sat at the table in front of some scrap paper, not sure what she was going to do. Mother’s Day cards were supposed to tell mothers how their children felt about them, but such thoughts eluded Naruko. The girls worked for another hour as Naruko just stared away into space. That was until Applejack trotted over to Naruko and put a hoof on her shoulder.
“It’s alright sugar cube. I know that it’s hard, but maybe it will make you feel better.” Naruko looked at her in shock. How did she know? The other girls turned to the pair as well.
“Uh, what are you talking about Applejack? What will make Naruko feel better?” Rainbow asked.
Applejack just continued looking at Naruko. “You don’t have parents anymore, do ya sugar?” The others gasped. Naruko’s open-mouthed expression of fear and shock were enough of an answer. “Just what I thought. Only somepony else who had been through this kind of pain would have said what they did when I told you about my own parents. It’s okay now sugar cube, we’re here for you. We’re the same.”
It was those three words that hit Naruko directly in the heart. Only it was comforting. No, it was infuriating. “No,” Naruko whispered.
“Pardon?” Applejack asked pulling her head back a little.
“No,” Naruko said louder. “No! We are not the same! Don’t you dare compare us! None of you know the hell I’ve been through! You can’t possibly know that pain!” Naruko was seething in anger at them. Her family was one subject best left untouched.
“Excuse me?” Applejack sounded both hurt and angry at Naruko’s outburst. “I had to sit back and watch as my mother and father died of an incurable sickness for years. What makes us so different!?”
“Because at least you knew them!!” Naruko screamed at her with tears in her eyes. Everypony just gawked at her, but none of them had a chance to say anything as Naruko rushed past them all and out the front door, tears still falling from her eyes.
“Naruko! Wait!” Twilight called out to the mare as she ran out into the night. Twilight turned back to her friends who were completely speechless.
“What just happened?” Rainbow asked, completely confused.
“Poor Naruko,” Fluttershy said meekly, with Rarity nodding in agreement. Pinkie didn’t quite seem as happy as she usually was and her hair seemed to be getting straighter. Applejack looked ashamed.
“What have I done? I just caused one of mah own friends to run off in tears. That is not what an Apple does to her friends. That’s not what any friend does to others.”
Twilight pulled Applejack into a reassuring hug. “It’s alright Applejack, you didn’t know. But we need to find Naruko. She’s all alone out in the dark. Who knows what trouble she could get into?” The others all nodded in agreement and set out in search of their friend.
It was several hours later and still no sign of Naruko. Celestia’s sun was just beginning to rise and they were all exhausted. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity had returned to the library being unable to find any hints as to where their friend disappeared. Then, Rainbow came bursting into the room.
“Guys! I found Naruko! She’s at the quarry; come on!” With that, she took off in flight once again. The girls took a moment to understand what just happened, but when they did, they took off in a gallop. About ten minutes later, the entire group was at the entrance of the quarry. “She’s this way,” Rainbow said leading ahead. It didn’t take long for them to spot the familiar tan mare sitting in front of the rock walls. They started to move, but Twilight held them back.
“Wait, listen!” Twilight pointed a hoof at Naruko and they all trained their ears in her direction. Naruko was talking with somepony. No, Naruko was singing.
…Dear Mom and Dad please send money,
I'm so broke that it ain't funny,
Well I don't need much just enough to get me through,
Please don't worry cause I'm alright,
See I'm playing here at the bar tonight
Well this time I'm gonna make our dreams come true.
Well I love you more than anything in the world,
Love your baby girl
I know that I'm on my way,
When I can tell every time I play,
And I know it's worth all the dues I paid when I can write to you and say:
Dear Mom and Dad I'll send money
I'm so rich that it ain't funny
Well it ought to be more than enough to get you through
Please don't worry casue I'm alright
See I'm staying here at the Ritz tonight
What do ya know we made our dreams come true
And there are fancy cars and diamond rings
But you know that they don't mean a thing
Well they all add up to nothing compared to you,
But remember me in ribbons and curls,
I still love you more than anything in the world,
Love your baby girl
Your baby girl
(Dear Mom and Dad please send money,
I'm so broke that it ain't funny,
Don't need much just enough to get me through)
Your baby girl
(please don't worry cause I'm alright,
Playing here at the bar tonight
-dreams come true.)
As Twilight and the others listened to her singing, they could faintly hear her stumbling over some of the words and noticed it was due to the tears that kept streaming from her eyes. Naruko was truly sobbing in front of them and she couldn’t stop. Twilight felt her heart ache seeing her friend like this and approached her as the song ended.
“Naruko?”
Naruko turned around, surprised that she was found. “Twilight.” Naruko looked behind her to see the others. “Girls. What-what are you doing here?” she asked trying to rub the tears out of her eyes.
“Looking for you Naruko,” Fluttershy said quietly. “If that’s okay?”
“Why did you run off Naruko? We’re friends dang it!” Twilight’s little curse seemed to surprise several of the mares, Naruko included. “Stop trying to do everything on your own! You have us now and you can rely on us for anything. Don’t you know that?” Twilight’s pleading voice broke through what little remained of Naruko’s barrier around her heart.
“No, Twilight. I don’t know that,” she admitted. “I don’t what friendship is, girls. How could somepony like me who has been alone all her life ever know what to do with friends?” Naruko couldn’t even look them in eyes and just stared down at the ground.
“Whatever do you mean, darling? Surely you haven’t been alone all that long. What about your parents, or your brothers and sisters?” Then Rarity looked at the wall behind Naruko and saw something etched into it. “And what is one that wall behind you?”
Naruko looked up from the ground at the wall and sighed. “I haven’t been completely honest with you girls. I guess better now than never. This is my wall of remembrance.” Naruko used a hoof to point to the wall and the girls read what was upon it.
DJ, Shizune, Ahsoka, Dannie
Dooku & Siri
Tahl & Sasuke
Qui-gon & Angel
Vestara
Cole & Mizure
Alex & Silver
“What are all these?” Pinkie asked in awe at the craftsponyship.
“These are my family,” Naruko said with a longing look. She pointed at two of the names. “Tahl and Sasuke. My mother and father. The top four are my grandparents and great aunt Dannie. The rest are my aunts and uncles.”
“Why are these names here?” Fluttershy asked nervously, fearing she already knew the answer.
“This is something my brothers, sisters, and I do whenever we find a home. We carve these names into something permanent so that we always remember them. So we never forget what happened. Today just so happens to be the anniversary of that day, too. Why it had to end up on Mother’s Day this year is beyond me.”
“What happened Naruko?” asked Applejack. “What happened to your parents?”
Naruko let out a sigh and looked away into space. “They were murdered. All of them save for the first generation were all murdered a long time ago.”
The girls were aghast at her revelation. How could anypony do this, but Naruko was ahead of them. “My grandfather made many enemies long ago, many who wanted revenge. It was two years after he passed away that they struck. It was supposed to be a peaceful family reunion, but it ended in the death of the entire second generation of our family. That was fifteen years ago.”
“Wait a second, but you’re fifteen,” Rainbow pointed out. Naruko nodded sagely.
“Precisely. I never knew my parents as I was only a few months old when they were taken from me. That is where we differ, AJ. You knew your parents, you had family to look out for you. Me? I had no one.”
“What about your brothers and sisters?” she asked fearfully.
“They are actually my cousins. I have no real brothers or sisters. We call each other that because we are all that we have left. Our family is small, so we must try to stay together. This is the best we can do. Even then, I’ve only known them for five years.”
“Huh!?” they all questioned.
“The very night that my parents were killed, I was taken. Foalnapped you could say. I don’t know by who, all I know is that the next morning I was found by a caring creature who to this day I still see as a mother. And I miss her every day. One day I will see Terras again.”
“But I thought you said Terras taught you while you lived in the Grand Chasm?” Twilight asked.
“That was a lie. Not many know about what happened to our family as most assumed the entire family was killed that day. We want to keep it that way for personal reasons. I lied about Terras because it was easier for you to believe that I had someone watching over me in there, when in fact I was all alone for several years. I’m always alone. Everything good that ever happens to me is always taken away.” Tears were once again pouring from Naruko’s eyes, she just couldn’t stop. “I don’t want to live like that anymore! I just want to find a home! Where there are others who actually care about me and can be there for me! I’m tired of always being alone and in pain! WHY CAN’T I BE HAPPY, TOO!!??” The rest of Naruko’s cries were muffled as she poured out her sorrow into her hooves.
Twilight and the others couldn’t stand seeing Naruko like this. It hurt them all so deep that Naruko was hurting like this and had been hurting for a very long time. They all gathered around the crying mare and embraced her tightly.
“Nopony is ever gonna hurt ya sugar cube, never again,” Applejack said fiercely.
“If they do, they’re gonna regret it! Nopony messes with my friends!” Rainbow added.
“Please don’t be sad anymore Naruko! You have us! We’re friends!” Pinkie pleaded.
“Shh. Shh. Everything’s going to be alright,” Fluttershy said calmly.
“You poor dear. Don’t worry, we’re gonna be right here for you,” Rarity said cooing.
“No matter what you think, Naruko, we will always be there for you. You are our friend and nothing will ever change that. You are not alone anymore Naruko. You will never be alone again.” Twilight continued repeating this over and over again until Naruko finally calmed down. A little while later, all seven mares began to walk back to Ponyville, each one feeling better about what had happened today. For once Naruko no longer felt alone.
As they walked away, a slip of paper could be seen leaning against the stone walls of the quarry. It was large red heart that sparkled with three words only: Happy Mother’s Day!
Dear Princess Celestia,
This mother's day has been an emotional rollercoaster for all of us. We learned a lot about our friend Naruko, all of which have been included separate from this letter (with Naruko's permission). I have learned through this that you must always stick close to your friends. They will be with you through the toughest of times and always there when you need them the most. There is something I feel I must ask, Princess. Have there been any reports about a mass killing within the last fifteen years?
Always your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
Luke,
Another year has past hasn't it, big brother? Another year that we must go on without them. Isn't it ironic that it falls on Mother's Day this year? I wonder if that is to mean something. I did something I probably shouldn't have, brother. I told my friends about some of my past. They know about the murder of our parents and my true relation to you all. I couldn't help it! I can't lie to them anymore, Luke! I keep feeling that one of these days I am gonna let it slip about what really happened to me. They don't deserve to hear about that. No one does. But, I feel so at home around them. I think... I think that they are true friends. I think I finally found a home. Give my regards to the others.
With love,
Naruko
