Apple Thief of Everfree

Chapters

Getting Use To It
The Feeling Notion / Jackie! What the Buck?!
Compatability
Memories of Days Passed
Enlightenment (Conflict)
Enlightenment (Buried Sorrows)
Enlightenment (The Born Shadows)
Enlightenment (The Return)
Naruto
The Deal
Enlightenment (Relinquish the Nightmare)

Getting Use To It

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen to Apple Thief of Everfree’s Third installment. So as some, or maybe none of you have noticed, I put some stuff down in my blog about what I’m planning for this story.

Opening statement, I'd like to apologize. My writing once more got out of control. End opening statement.

This chapter is definitely going to be one of the longer chapters, of that I assure you! So...on with the story!

Edit: This will be Chapter 3, but there’s a 3.5 in the works, so chapter FOUR with actually be the FIFTH or SIXTH of the set. The chapter numbers have changed by the way.

LOOK AT MY BLOG!

Enough shameless promoting, onwards to the story!

Disclaimer: It’s on Chapter ONE! I’m not going back to that dark place again!
P.S. This first scene was suppose to come at the end of chapter 2, but I forgot to add it in.

~X~

Location: Canterlot, late night

Luna had taken her leave of the particular "grilling” of the one named Rarity when she took notice of how low the Sun hung in the sky. It would soon be time for a nightly duty and she usually preferred to do it in the comforts of her own home. So with some words of parting to her current company, she took off towards Canterlot.

As her figure flew through the evening air, she slowly allowed her magic to help with the transition between night and day. The sky growing darker as she grew closer to the city of nobility and the high-esteemed.

As she passed the gates, giving a nod to the guards around the perimeter of the city, she mulled over what had been learned on this endeavor into Ponyville. A new being having taken homage there and his, now that she knew it was a he, pursuits.

She was glad that Naruto had been of the affable sort. He didn’t seemed to want to bring harm to Celestia’s-no, their ponies.

She was going to have to get use to that.

Anyway the one named ‘Naruto’ seemed far more pleasant than her sister had worried about. Sure he was a thief apparently, she wasn’t there for that bit, but if anything he seemed to have a surprisingly good rapport with the Apple family.

She wouldn’t be “delving out some smackdowns” any time soon.

She really needed, to start learning these new phrases and idioms of today’s time, Celestia seemed to love teasing her because it.

It wasn’t her fault! It’s been over a thousand years! She was a little bit behind the times is all!

…maybe.

She shook her head of such thoughts as she came up to her balcony in the castle. She landed with the grace of one of her station required, though she was a bit rusty but she would admit this to no one!

She entered her room, and exited through the doors, coming to the ones beside her own.

“Dear sister, we have returned with a recounting of the state of affairs in Ponyville! Wouldst thou please open your doors?” She asked.

“You can just come in Luna,” a voiced called out from behind the door.

Upon receiving permission the moon mistress went beyond the wooden entrance. Taking in the room, and its sole occupant.

Standing at 6’7, well when she stood currently she was sitting, and adorned in a pair of yellow sweatpants and white tank-top, Celestia cut a regal, yet casual figure at the moment. Though Luna could never understand these “sweat” pants her sister liked to wear when “off the clock”.

Hey she might be getting better at this!

“What is it Luna? How did the checking in on my pupil go?” Celestia asked, as she sat cross-legged on her bed. Her eyes roamed the papers in her fingers before she focused on her little blue familia.

“She’s quite fine. Excitable as you’ve said, though we’re more surprised by how well received we were by her and her company, after what happened recently,” Luna answered honestly with a small bow of her head. She brought her head back up as she was embraced by her sister, and reciprocated in earnest.

“I told you, our little ponies will come to regard you as they do me with time. Ponyville is just a little ahead of the curb with being a more open community,” The sun goddess stated as the two of them separated and sat on her bed. Luna closed her eyes and nodded, before she brought attention back to the previous topic of importance.

“As for the reconnaissance, we are happy to inform thee that no hint of Discord being in Ponyville was found, though we did stumble upon a…subject of interest in our stay.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow to this, while hearing that nothing was amiss with Ponyville was always good news, the way Luna worded that statement left much to imagination of what was going on.

“Do tell.”

“Like we had stated before, the chaotic energy originating from Ponyville was in no way of Discord’s ilk, but it was from another creature whom may have some sort of relation to Discord,” Luna stated evenly.

Now that caught Celestia’s attention. The idea that there may be a second Discord was concerning, but from the way Luna was handling this, it may not be as serious as she was making it. She gestured for her to continue.

“His name was Naruto, and he called himself a Unique...”

~X~

Location: Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Sensei! Please, you can't!"

"...You've made me immensely proud Naruto. And if he were to be anything like you, I'm sure he couldn't make me any prouder"

...

"DAMMIT!"

The form of one Naruto shot up with a gasp, sweat trailing down his unclothed form as he fought for control of his heartrate. He let out a few quick breaths before he sighed, releasing tension from his body.

“Huh?”

He looked around, mind trying to piece together where he was, before he remembered the events of what was supposed to be a normal Tuesday. After which, he got up and stretched. Currently he was left in nothing but his boxers, with his jumpsuit folded and put on the edge of the bed, so the Unique felt inclined to consider his current condition.

He frowned.

He was slightly sticky and sweaty, his tails probably worse off with them being more fur than muscle, no doubt from before when he was dealing with his…nightmare. Feeling more than slightly uncomfortable with the thought of revisiting the dream, he went about rectifying his current physical situation. If anything, from the way it was still kind of dark out he assumed it was early in the morning.

He was happy he didn’t need to wash his clothes though. Few applications of the concept of water left his clothes more than just clean. Dirt and grime slid off like magic, he he, and he was never really in need of more than necessary unless he suddenly outgrew his jumpsuit, which was unlikely, he was 21 after all.

He looked over to the corner of the room where a mirror stood. He looked at his reflection, his eyes narrowing as they focused in on the large sunburst-like scar upon his navel. His stare seemed eternal before he turned away, hands clenched but face neutral.

Now where was that bathroom again?

~X~

Applejack awoke this particular morning with a strange feeling of giddiness. She wasn’t really sure why. Maybe she was just being optimistic about today? Possibly, it was getting close to Applebuck Season, so maybe. She did enjoy her job and bucking apples was always a nice workout whenever it came up.

Good ol’ Apple family genes, none the better.

She got up from her bed, her form clad in the same nighttime outfit as usual, before heading to the door. She stretched as she walked down the hallway towards the bathroom. Her mind set on brushing her teeth and preparing for the day.

As she set herself down the hallway, she took notice of a crack in the guest room door and the sound of the shower running. All the while, her mind was barely taking note of it, her hand on the doorknob, before she heard the sound of someone talking.

“Huh, didn’t know Jackie had her own personal rubber ducky?”

*quack, quack*

Her eyes shot wide as she recognized the voice and it all started coming back to her.

Tuesday, the game, the bet and their win. It all flashed into her mind in moments and she realized that she was just about to walk in on the blond thief in the shower. Her hand shot back away as if burned.

“Hmm?”

She froze.

“Someone there?” Came Naruto’s confused voice. She remained still, heart beating in her chest for reasons beyond her comprehension, before she relaxed as she heard the sounds of the water splashing.

“Must have been my imagination. Man never had a hot bath like this before, in so long.”

She quickly made a plan to leave the immediate area, and in her haste chose to go in the guest room. Door shut behind her, she released a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. She leaned against the door before taking the room she was in.

“The guest room? Ah need to get out of here and fast,” she announced, before she put her hand on the doorknob, but just as she did she saw something on the bed.

“Must be his clothes.”

She’d made no other observations, but for some reason this one kept her planted in her spot. She shook her head of a weird thought.

“Nah, now hold it there Applejack,” she chided herself, “That would be more than a bit creepy, and I reckon he wouldn’t want anypony just touching his clothes like that.”

That’s what she said at least, but she found herself moving towards the linens. She stopped above the clothing, her head snapping back towards the door, straining her hearing and giving a sigh at the sound of small quacks in the distance.

She brought the jumpsuit to bear in front of her, unfolding it and taking a good look at it. She took notice of the fact that it seemed just about her size, if not a bit wider across the waist. She was not too surprised by this, considering the blonde male was just about her height and he was more than just fairly muscled, if his arms were anything to go by.

“Huh that’s weird,” she stated as she felt the fabric, before she took a sniff.

Now Applejack was no creep in any sense of the word, but she was surprised that the clothing smelled of the Unique, yet at the same time pure water. Heck it felt like it was slightly cool to the touch, and it was like it just came off the clothesline!

She gave it a weird look, before she got an idea. The area on the bridge of her nose grew red, as she went through the paces of putting on the jumpsuit. Once done, she couldn’t help but comment.

“…This feels really nice.”

She turned to a mirror in the corner of the room, and took herself in. The jumpsuit definitely clashed against her fur, something Rarity would no doubt find some objective horror in. The outfit fit snug to her frame, with the wider waist being compromised by her bust to fit almost perfectly. Her tail was fine once through the hole near the base of the spine. To finish it off, she flipped the hood over her head, sliding her small ears into the holes at the top.

She moved her arms around, feeling the freedom of movement in the joints, noticing that her arms didn’t fully fill the arm holes.

“Guess he got more muscle on his arms than Ah first though,” she whispered. There was another item she noticed.

A necklace. A cord strung though a small metal loop that held a crystal of some sort in it. She picked it up from the desktop, and marveled at it, the crystal in question was a light shade of turquoise. She carefully placed it around her neck, looking in the mirror at it. So occupied she was, that she didn’t notice the creaking of the door being opened.

~X~

“Maybe I shouldn’t have taken so long,” Naruto commented, as he left the bathroom, towel around his waist. He currently had another towel on his shoulders, one hand rubbing one of ends of the towel ferociously into his follicles with the other hand squeaking with the rubber duck he found in the baths.

“Still can’t believe that Jackie’s got a rubber duck,” he commented as he played with the rubber animal with the letters “A.J.” written on the bottom.

*quack, quack*

Oh the fun he could have with this thing. If anything, he'd blame his canine side.

He looked up at the guest door, to find it closed which brought a confused expression to his face.

“Didn’t I leave this open?”

He thought for a few moments, before shrugging it off like no big deal. Continuing into the room, with the duck now in his frazzled tail, as he rubbed both hands into the towel on his head. Vision obscured, he didn’t know what scene he would find once he removed the towel.

“What the-?!”

*quack!*

~X~

Applejack could have summed up the current situation eloquently.

“Uuuuuhhhhhhh…”

She froze in place, before slowly, but surely, turning around. Eyes closed from when she got caught, she cracked them open to face the music, and if they weren’t attached to her person they might have just as well popped out of her head.

Now let it be said that the farm mare was interested in guys. She’d seen her fair share of magazines in newsstands with some very good looking stallions. That’s the thing though, they were stallions pretty much made for the front page to catch the eyes of wandering mares to snatch up and buy the pieces of parchment.

So she always knew what reality was, and what was for eye-candy. They were good to look at, but nothing to really go gah-gah over. That was more Rarity’s shtick. She’d seen mares go googly eyed over her brother when he takes off his shirt, so it’s not like guys like that didn’t exist, but for her it wasn’t that simple.

Applejack Apple was not shallow, not in the least, yet at that point in time her mind chose to defect against the idea. Eyes trailing down the form of one former-apple thief named Naruto.

“You okay over there Jackie, you looking at me all weird?” The blond in question asked, as he moved closer. To her.

Her voice got caught in her throat as she watched the half-naked blond walk forward, abdominals and pectorals in full view.

Naruto, she was sure if not before then definitely now, was fit. She’d known this. How could she not? He had to be to give her family and friends the runaround for as long as he did before, but it never occurred to her HOW fit the blond was. Now here in front of her without his jumpsuit, which she was still wearing by the way, in his full glory she was speechless.

Water dripped down his shoulders to his lower body. The liquid going in almost slow motion in her eyes, as it trailed down the firm contours of his body, only ending once it hit the “V” near the end of his firm abdominals, and a surprisingly large scar, disappearing into the towel around his waist.

It was from that point on, her mind chose to go directly into the gutter.

~X~

The blond found himself in a weird position, as he stood front of Applejack. Her form unresponsive to anything he’d said up until this point, and it was worrying. Her face just kept getting redder and redder before he was sure she’d become just like one of her own apples.

Not even squeezing Mr. Quackers was working!

*quack, quack*

He’d finally decided to just shake her awake. What’s the worst that could happen?

“Come on AJ! Wake up!”

“Huh?!” She exclaimed out of her stupor before coming eye to eye once more with Naruto, and then once again becoming completely and totally aware of the blonde’s half-naked state. Also his…

*snap, snap, snap*

She brought attention to his fingers once the spiky haired one finished his motions.

“Yeah, we are NOT going through that again,” he stated, eyeing her with a raised eyebrow. She had the decency to blush and look away from him.

“Seriously. One, are you okay? Your face is like totally red, might want to get that checked out. Two, why are you in here? And Three, I need you to pay attention to this one, why are you wearing my stuff?” He fired off question after question.

With each question Applejack grew redder, and even more nervous. She needed a way out of this situation.

Come on Applejack, improvise!

“Um! A-ah was, uhhh….Coming to get ya!” She spouted.

He raised his other eyebrow, as she continued.

“Ye-yeah that’s right, we get up early in the morning to start chores and since you’re here now, Ah thought Ah would make sure you’re up to speed on how things are done around here!” She ran with this, it was the closest truth she could play right now without flubbing any of the words.

He gave her a narrow eyed look causing her to sweat, before he shrugged and nodded.

“Okay, I can see that.”

*sig-*

“But that doesn’t explain why you’re wearing my clothes.”

“Urk!”

Now he was giving her a truly curious look. She started sweating even more now. Damn him for being so observant, her diversion had failed! Him and his distracting body!

Stupid, sexy Naruto!

“Uhh…” She trailed off, waiting for something to come to her. She was a horrible liar, this was going to end up a disaster.

With her drawl, Naruto leaned forward waiting for the answer. Yet, just as she opened her mouth to answer Granny Smith’s voice rang from downstairs.

“Come and get it while it’s hot!”

Applejack chose that exact moment to thank Celestia and Luna for small blessings. And Granny Smith.

“Well as you can see we gotta go downstairs! Time’s a wastin’ and we got chores to do! Hahahaha.” There was a forced laugh at the end as she maneuvered around the blond as they walked to the door.

“See ya down-Wha?! *quack*”

“Jackie watch it-Oomph!”

As the farm mare was planning to leave, she found herself tripping over her rubber duck towards the floor, with Naruto diving after her to stop her fall.

“Ugh…” The blond male groaned as he rub his head, back to the floor with the towel around his waist keeping his modesty intact. He blinked away the blur in his vision, only to take notice of Applejack on his chest.

He stared hard.

Naruto was many things, but a person who was familiar with girls he was not. How would he be? The orange mare on top of him was basically his first, and only, female acquaintance of this world outside of Everfree, and everything in there wanted to kill you. This new experience right now was sending a lot of signals to his brain he didn’t understand, yet he couldn't help but find his eyes stuck this mare.

It was just like when he found her in his room, wearing his clothes and his necklace. He'd thought he'd be angry, but he wasn't, which was strange. Seeing her in his necklace, her his present and the necklace his past, a clashing of his timelines. More troubling yet, he found himself focusing more on Applejack wearing his necklace, than the indignation of his necklace being wore by somebody else.

It made him feel a type of way…happy? Sort of? He wasn’t sure, but it did in a way, but he'd never bring it up. He just knew that it would be an awkward subject to approach, and he wanted to steer clear of it.

So he just sat there with a dumb look on his face, as Applejack was straddling him in his doorway, in his clothes and jewelry, with her hands on his chest.

He didn’t know how to deal with this situation!

~X~

Applejack knew the second her vision cleared up, she was in for something.

She wasn’t expecting that something to be this.

She just stare at him, and he stared back. The both of their faces growing redder by the second. It seemed like neither of them wanted to address the elephant in the room, but they both knew they couldn’t stay like this. Applejack especially since she knew that anyone could take this situation in the wrong-.

“Hey Naruto ya seen- Sweet apples?!” A voice cried out, causing both the downed blonds to look up in horror as Apple Bloom stood there in the hallway, hands over her mouth. They had just enough time to suffer this before Big Mac stepped out of his room, and have his mouth drop at the current predicament.

On the bright side, they didn’t have to focus on their current situation. Down side, everyone else was now.

~X~

They didn’t meet anyone’s gazes, and breakfast was a quiet affair…Oh who was he kidding, they teased the ever loving Tartarus out them!

“So you finally got straight to it, did ye?” Granny Smith.

“What were yall doing on the floor like that?! Is this another one of those adult things Granny Smith keeps talking about?” Apple Bloom.

“…” Big Mac was not amused.

He groaned as they finally got to the chores. He didn’t need any more Big Brother Stares™ nor any questions on the intricacies of the adult world from the Apple filly. So here they stood, him decked out in a pair of dark orange sweatpants and white muscle shirt.

His own makes of course, decorated with a few of the same concepts threaded into its fibers as his jumpsuit. The others themselves were decked out in the blue get-ups from before. He was glad to see them put those to good use, than to just chase him around.

Currently they were lined up, with Granny Smith walking in front of them like some sort of drill sergeant, though he and Jackie still couldn’t maintain eye contact for too long, but it was getting better.

That had to count for something, right?

“Okay, all in attention!” The eldest, female Apple exclaimed, the three of them coming to attention.

“We got chores to do, and since we got a new worker with us for the foreseeable future, we’re gonna run down the chores of the household!” She announced, as she came to a stop.

“First off, Big Mac get to plowin’ the fields…”

“Eeyup.” The Eldest and only male Apple on the farm answered, trailing off to the shed. Granny nodded before turning to a smiling Apple Bloom.

“You go and get Milda ready for the evening milking won’t cha, Sugercube?”

“Ah’m on it!” The filly zipped to her work in the barn, leaving both Naruto and Applejack to stand at attention in front of the Apple elder.

“Normally I’d set Applejack off to go start bucking some trees, but since we need one of ya to help you,” she pointed to Naruto, who finally along with Applejack, realized what was about to happen, “I set to it, to see the both of you working together. Now hop to it!”

Before they could protest, she was already on her way to the rocking chair on the porch, leaving them before they could get a word in edge-wise. They just kind of sat there in awkward silence for a bit, before Applejack decided that they should get to work and keep themselves distracted.

She started with having them get to looking around the farm for any form of repair it may have been in need of.

“Now usually, Ah would start with the fences. Check for any mold, rotten or otherwise unwanted pieces. After walking the whole way we check the barn, shed and the outside of the house to see if there’s anything in need of repairs, and give it to Big Mac to look over and get the materials for.” She stated, as they proceeded to do just that.

By the end of the small trip around the blocked off perimeter, they came up with: 4 pieces of rotten fence planks, the barn needing to be washed off and the house being in “okay” condition. Writing things down on a little checklist on the side of the shed door. Setting it down, she continued.

“Now we need to go weed the fields, replace the hay for the cows and…”

And that’s how things continued until they got to the “main course” so to speak of the chores. They washed down some of the equipment, the plow after Big Mac was done with it, weeded the fields, and checked out the chicken coups for some eggs. Until finally they came to the last, yet most expected…

Applebucking.

At this point all of them, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom included, were in front of the orchard. The apples going from one side of the acres to the other 3 fields of Apple property.

It was a LOT of apples.

“So this is the “final destination” so to speak, huh?” He summed up his thoughts.

“Eeyup.” The red stallion answered, a smile on his face. The rest of them were like this too, save Apple Bloom who seemed to have a determined look in place. Granny Smith noticing this on the little filly, nodded her head at her, watching in amusement as red haired sibling rushed at one of the trees with a battle cry.

It wasn’t a moment later that a large *Thwack* was heard, along with multiple thumps as apples hit the floor. Apple Bloom came back with a dizzy, but proud look, before falling on her rear.

The others chuckled at this before they set off.

Granny Smith collected Apple Bloom before the two went off to get the carts, while Big Mac went off to start bucking his own set of trees.

“So is this going to be one of those things that looks easy, but is actually a lot harder than it looks?” The spiky blond asked, his hands behind his head. AJ grinned at him, making him sigh. Yup it was going to be exactly like that. So she set him up near twos that were right next to one another.

“So yeah, applebucking ain’t as easy as we make it look, nor does it involve any sort of head trauma,” they snickered at the joke. Apple Bloom aimed to amuse.

“Ah want ya to keep a close look at how Ah do it first.”

She then set herself in front of the tree trunk, before rotating at the hip, lashing out with a leg. The hoof-end made contact with the center of the tree with *thwack* before being following by the thuds of apples falling into baskets.

He clapped a little, watching as the orange farm mare flustered for a second before bowing, and then aiming himself towards his own tree. He closed his eyes and envisioned the picture of AJ’s form. The start-up rotating of the firm hips, the momentum swinging lean, raised leg, the knee shooting outward along with her hoof. The well-muscled mare striking wood…His eyes snapped wide, causing him to choke up, as his leg whipped out awkwardly, leaving him off balance.

“Wha-whoa!” Leading to his inevitable position on the ground.

Applejack’s guffaws, didn’t help either. Though she was nice enough to give him a hand up.

“Y-ya okay there, s-sugarcube,” she tried hard to keep the amusement from her voice, but ultimately failed. He grumbled, eyes aimed towards the tree with ferocity, though that didn’t stop him from thinking about what just happened.

‘What the hell was that?’ His thoughts were going in circles. Where did all that extra information come from? None of it had anything to do applebucking!

Gah! Stupid, sexy AppleJack!

He set himself in front of the tree once more before launching into action. His leg whipping forward like a piston, pawed foot landing square into the tree trunk. Several fallen apples later, and he was feeling pretty good about this. They continued for a while, before they stopped for a break. They sat on a stump of some old tree, back to back with some distance between them.

He looked out to the section he had dealt some justice too, after his humiliating failure. Though he wasn’t the only one to feel some pride for his efforts.

“Not bad! Ah mean ya messed up your first, but ain’t nobody perfect, especially not when it comes to applebucking.” AJ complimented, as she took a good look at his latest tree trunk, before scrutinizing it. He came to her side, and gave a worried stare.

“What? Ah man, there’s something wrong with it isn’t there? You’ve been doing that to almost every tree I’ve kicked today.” He whined.

She shook her head, though he wasn’t sure if she meant that towards him or the tree. He was left in the dark for a moment before she elaborated.

“It’s nothin’ like that, just making sure the trees alright.” She said with a certainty.

He gave her a look. Seeing his expression, she was about to fill him in, but someone else explained.

“When it comes to applebuckin’, it’s a lot more than just some strength and a kick. Well, technically it is, but control is also important.” The two of them looked to the voice to find Granny Smith and Apple Bloom back with carts in tow, with Apple Bloom carrying a couple bottles of water as well.

“Right, it’s like Granny said,” Applejack continued, accepting a bottle from her sister before pointing to the tree he’d kicked last, “see here? Your power seems pretty good and you’ve got the spot right, but your control is a smidge bit off.”

He looked to the trunk, and noticed the imprint of his foot lay into the bark. He took a moment to look at all the other trees in the orchard, and found them missing such marks in the shape of hooves, and sighed.

He frowned at that, but he honestly felt like he had been doing well so far.

Apple Boom chose this moment to speak up.

“Ah remember Granny saying that we gotta treat the trees with respect. That the land is always watchin’ and stuff, right?” She looked to the eldest Apple who nodded at her.

“Ya gotta be able to leave the tree intact, form and all, and fill it with positive vibes. That’s one of the basics of earth pony groundwork.” Granny finished, fixing them all with a smile.

He thought about this for a second, and decided he’d give it another go, but in his own way.

Standing and walking over to another tree, before, instead of getting into start-up position, and lay his hand against the tree. It wasn’t even a second later that the tree started to shake abruptly for a moment, before stopping, yet not before all the apples fell from the tree’s branches.

He grinned at this, before fist-pumping, right as the rest of the leaves and some branches fell from the same tree.

*twitch, twitch*

He stood stock-still in victory position, before letting out a yell of indignation.

“FFFFFUUUUUUU-!”

The string of curses leaving his mouth were definitely not child friendly, and Granny had foreseen this outcome and planned ahead. Apple Bloom being none the wiser of why her grandmother had given her earplugs, but did as told and counted to 10.

Meanwhile Applejack just sat there with an amused deadpan look, eyes half-lidded as she sipped her water. And she would have continued to sip her water, were it not for a line dropped by the eldest Apple.

“Boy’s got the curses of a sailor, and frame of a well-built wagon, I’m sure he’ll be a good husband for ya.”

Cue spit-take.

Big Mac who had just came to get a cart, looked at the scene of a yelling Naruto and a flustered Applejack for a moment and went on his way.

“Nnope.”

Granny Smith just smiled.

~X~

The blond allowed himself to sigh as they brought the haul to the Apple home. They’d been at this since early morning and finished in the afternoon.

Meaning he had a whole afternoon of tinkering to do!

Or at least that was the plan, after he took a bath. So first of things to be taken care of.

List:
-Set up his clothes
-Attain Mr.Quackers
-Get in water
-Bath Time!

So it was a surprise that on his way to his room to attain Quackers, that he was stopped by Jackie. She was leaned up against his door, with a stern look on her face.

He had a feeling that he’d be doing nothing of what he planned after his bath.

~X~

And he was correct.

Currently, they were walking down the path from the Acres to Ponyville proper, back in their normal clothes. In each of their arms was a basket of apples, and his tails were holding some eggs in a bag.

He was dreading this trip.

“So explain this to me, one more time,” he spoke, as they came closer and closer to the heart of Ponyville. He was already noticing some of the looks he was getting from those who were mulling about. Up in the sky he noticed some pegasi moving clouds, and even one gray one who seemed to be wearing some sort of uniform moving slowly but surely over the rooftops.

He’d never even thought he’d be back here again after his last trip into this town some years ago.

Well at least not in full daylight.

So with that mindset in hold, they entered the heart of the town. Every so often, somepony would stop to look and stare as they passed. It was getting unnerving, but he just dealt with it by focusing on Jackie’s reply. Better curious stares, than angry ones.

“Just ignore ‘em,” she started, not oblivious to the looks he was receiving form the towns ponies, though she was sending some narrowed eyes in a direction behind him.

“And like Ah said before, we got some deliveries to make and since you’re going to be around for a bit, ya might as well learn how we run things.” She reasoned, though she couldn’t help but glare, subtly, in the direction of another set of mares who were eyeing her company's well toned arms with more than friendly looks. She snorted.

What did they know about him? Absolutely nothing.

“Right, I get that, so why is it that we’re heading towards what looks like a clothing store?”

As he said, they were closing in on a place that looked really fabric orientated. Whether it was the fabric exterior or the ponnequins in the windows, they clearly labeled this a place of fashion and that phrase set off some alarm bells in his mind.

Didn’t this place look familiar?

Applejack just kept quiet as they came to the doorstep, knocking lightly, causing him to tense for whatever reason. When the door was answered by a familiar looking white filly, with a fidgety smile.

“Welcome Applejack, and…Naruto?” She sounded surprised, nervous and confused. Not that he didn’t understand her confusion, this would be his first true passing in Ponyville. He’d involuntarily relaxed a little, but for some reason he couldn’t fathom he was still tense. Why was she nervous to begin with?

Wasn’t there something about Sweetie Belle he was forgetting?

They’d been let inside, and he was sure now this was a clothing store. The dresses and suits he saw lined up across each wall, and the display window said the whole story. He cut his observations short to listen in on the conversation.

“…you can tell your sis we’re here.” Applejack finished. He missed a lot of content in that conversation, but that last bit stuck him. Wait who was Sweetie Belle’s sister again?

“…” She looked off to the side, before commenting.

“Well you see, my sister has been downstairs the whole time, he he…” She trailed off with a false laugh, her eyes widening behind him. Naruto heard the door slam behind him and knew.

He wasn’t leaving this boutique, without some form of fight.

~X~

A fight he lost oh so completely.

So here he stood, in nothing but his boxer shorts and tank top, as Rarity moved from place to place around his form. Measuring tapes, threads and needles spread about him in mid-air suspended by light blue magic. The white mare herself, seemed to zip around his form in a blur, arms wrapping all forms of measurement tools to his body.

“*sigh* Are we finished yet?” He called out, annoyed. His eyes turned to the side of the room containing the three other occupants of the boutique. One of them being Sweetie Belle who had an apologetic expression on her face, and the two other traitors.

AJ seemed to find much amusement in his predicament a light blush to her cheeks, if her smirk was anything to go by, and then there was Pinkie.

Seriously, what the actual hell was she doing here? Though he had the thought that they planned this beforehand. It was the only thing that made sense. What with how they tackled him once Rarity had a hold on his arms.

He’d be getting even sooner or later, of that he swore.

He felt a prick in his side, as a needle passed.

He knew she was getting some form of revenge out of this.

~X~

He cricked the side of his neck, as they walked down the street from another delivery, throwing another sour look Jackie’s way. She seemed to just wave him off with a shrug.

“Oh quit yer bellyachin’, ya deserved it and you know it.” She stated.

“Yeah, next time you get into it with Rarity, I’m sure to just hold you down as she has her way with you,” he retorted with a “harrumph”, before crossing his arms. His tails holding the last two deliveries. One with eggs and the other apples.

She rolled her eyes, before nipping that in the bud.

“Right, and Ah’ll make sure you never taste another apple treat for a whole year.” THAT caused his eyes to widen to comical amounts.

“You wouldn’t…” He shot back nervously, but upon seeing her grin he knew right then and there…

Applejack was pure evil.

He slumped over in defeat. As they came up to the last delivery of the day. They walked along the barrier to Everfree moving to a cottage in the distance.

He’d looked up to find AJ giving him a look, before he sighed and straightened out. Bringing the eggs and apples to his arms as the front door opened and he found a rabbit, giving him weird looks.

He looked to Applejack for some form of help but she just walked inside. He turned back towards the rabbit who was cross examining him, before he hopped back inside, with the blond following after.

The cottage was homey for sure, and he took notice of all the nooks and crannies filled with animals that seemed to all be watching. Watching him.

Yeah sure that was just dandy.

They headed out back to find Fluttershy talking with some foxes.

“I’m sure the eggs will be here soon,” she reassured them, before taking notice of him and AJ.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry, I had to take care of these two and didn’t notice you knocking.” She replied nervously, thanking Angel, the rabbit from before, for letting them in.

“Ain’t no problem Flutters, just here to drop off the eggs ya asked for,” the farm mare said, nodding to Naruto who handed over the white ovals and apple bushels before he found himself in front of two head-tilting foxes.

“Uh, hey Fluttershy? You explaining to me about why your animals all seem to have some sort of problem with me?” He asked, moving from side to side, the foxes following his movement. He noticed that Applejack was walking towards the corner where he could hear some barking, before disappearing around the edge of the house.

“Oh, they’re probably just interested in your looks.” She said with a smile at the display of the foxes around him. He then noticed that the number of vulpine creatures around his being had increased three-fold. Though the additions seemed to all be quite a bit smaller than the previous two.

He sat down for a moment, and they chose to pounce not a second later. Two jumping onto his chest, while the others were just messing with his tails. The two adults standing by, watching with apt interest. He flinched back in memory.

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He watched as the skull's fleshy eyes turned his way, it's crimson optics burning with fury beyond his own comprehension.

*thud, thud*

He looked down towards his chest where a pair of black beady eyes gave him a seemingly worried look. He relaxed slightly, reaching out and scratching one underneath its chin, before the other accosted said hand with it's small body.

He allowed them to do as they pleased as he waited for AJ. The young kits moved in and out of his own furry appendages, with glee. Nipping at his fur in painless ruffles and the like. He was actually enjoying it a little.

Before they all tensed and jumped off him leaving him confused, but not for long.

It wasn’t a moment later he felt something clamp painfully down on his tail. He yowled, and ran around the clearing doing his best to dislodge whatever had chosen to smartly latch onto his backbone extensions.

“Winona!”

Applejack came running around back, causing him to stop and look to his rear finding a mass of white and brown fur latched onto his tail with its own wagging happily.

He was not amused.

The orange mare came around and removed the fur-ball allowing him to caress and smooth over his bristled fur. He felt the sting down to the base, and couldn’t help the curse.

“Fucking dog.”

~X~

They’d finally gotten home, the sun setting on the horizon at their backs.

“Ugh, that was way more tiring than it needed to be.” He said stretching once they got into the house, his eyes keeping track of Winona, as she passed by, though he would swear up and down she shot him a mischievous grin on her way in.

Clever girl.

AJ came up beside him, scratching her head sheepishly.

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. Winona ain’t never did that before. Now that Ah think about it, you’ve never been around when she’s been around, actually.” She gave him a curious look.

“Why do you think I set up to never come around on any other day? I knew that Tuesday was the day you sent that ball of pain of anguish away to get checked.”

She found herself surprised to realize that, he was right. She did always get Winona checked up on Tuesdays.

She’d honestly never noticed before.

~X~

He stretched out on his bed. By this point it was already late in the evening. Most anyone else was either getting ready for bed, in bed or finishing up some small bit of cleaning.

He’d taken a shower, not a bath, and was just laying out on his sheets in an orange tank top and white boxers. He was definitely looking forward to catching some Z’s soon, but before that he set up up his room some more.

His pictures were up above the bed, with a few of his tools put into the desk drawers. He had a small mantle set up on top of the desk to hold his spear and glove, with his Senju necklace on a small hook beside it. His bag was on the back of the chair by said desk, and his jumpsuit was folded up neatly on the cushion.

A set of jars, concepts within or not, were set up on the shelf above the desk. With a few on the desk itself. Left there for tinkering once he had the time to do so.

He got up and walked over to the desk, before running his thumb over some of the jar lids. He inspected the few on the desk, before setting them to a side. He reached over into one of the drawer, retrieved a set of green goggles, pulled his notebook out of his jumpsuit pocket, and began scribbling down some notes.

He didn’t hear Applejack come through the door before he found a mug of warm milk and an apple fritter set by his hand on a dish. He looked up with a jolt, luckily keeping the chair on its feet, before turning to the room’s intruder.

Back in white tank top and short shorts, she cut the same strangely entrancing sight as the first time, but he was more wondering why she was here. She gave a gesture at the window, and he took notice of the fact it was pitch black out. He released a sigh, before biting into the apple sweet, enjoying every moment of it.

“So what’s got ya up so late?” He heard her ask, looking over to his notes before looking into the book itself. He pulled up his goggles, watching in amusement, all while sipping his milk, as she tried and probably failed to recognize what was written down in the book.

“What’s with all this weird chicken scratch?” He rolled his eyes before pulling it from her fingers, flipping a few pages forward and setting it back within her hands. She looked over it again, this time eyes probably narrowed in probably concentration.

“Structural Concept Thesis Encoding?” She gave him a look, which he answer by taking the book away again and setting it on the desk.

“It means that whenever I write my notes, and stuff, I write it down in my own personal code to make sure it stays safe,” he explained, as he set to his mug down.

“The words you see are written in another language, probably not found here in Equestria, or at least not in the more populated places. My teacher taught me this, which is Japanese, German, Latin and a weird alien tongue I’m still not sure about.” He finished with a shrug.

“Ah don’t get it, you definitely don’t talk like one o’ them intellectual types, and yet from what Ah can read in this here book, you might be just as smart.”

“Well why would I want to? I don’t like stressing out big words, period. And honestly, would you really want a second Twilight running around?” He joked before chortling, she followed along. He finished off his milk, and removed his goggles from his head before setting them both back on the desk.

“But yeah, I should be getting some sleep, we got more applebucking to do tomorrow don’t we?” His voice turn sour, and a grin appeared on her muzzle.

“Yup, but luckily we won’t be doing as much as we did today. So we’ll focus more on your bucking technique. Who knows in a year ya’ll be bucking like an Apple in no time.” She stated in confidence.

“I’ll hold you to it.”

“Oh yeah, that reminds me, how’d you do that thing with the tree earlier today. All ya did was touch it, and it all came falling down like a beaver dam.” She was a touch curious about that.

He had to remember what she was talking about, before he snapped his fingers.

“Oh that? It was something I was testing out. I applied the concept of “vibration” to the tree and sort of over-exerted it.” He explained with a sagely nod. She gave him a confused look.

“Exerted it?”

“Yeah, it’s like…I pushed it beyond its limits so to speak. I gave it a rumble, and with some extra pushing I pushed past the concept’s limit.

He walked over to her, raised his hand where a small yellow orb, before pushing the orb into the hem of her tank-top. It wasn’t a moment later that she felt the fabric start moving on it’s over. She could help but laugh a little.

“It kind of t-tickles.” She said with a small snicker. He grinned slyly at her before pulling up another yellow orb. This time he forced the magic through his arm into the small sphere, turning it red. It rumbled almost viciously, before he sent it into her shirt.

The change was instantaneous.

Instead of just giggle her whole body start shaking, and she couldn’t stand straight. Every part of her looked like a small blur before it all stopped, leaving her fur frizzy, and her mind dazed. She almost fell back, before being caught under the armpit by a pair of arms.

“Oh Jackie, you should learn that when Naruto Uzumaki is wronged, he gets his payback. No if’s, and’s, or but’s.” He grinned down at her. She looked up at him, and her face flush for a moment before she pouted to the side. He just chuckled at the childish display before setting her back on her feet. She wobbled for a bit, before shaking it off, and going towards the door.

“Oh just remember ya sugarcube Ah’m going to enjoy putting you through your paces tomorrow.” She said, steady once more.

“Oh don’t worry Sheriff Jackie, Ah don’t want no trouble,” He retorted, his voice dripping with a fake southern accent.

“Well we’ll see ya varmint.” She played along, before they laughed it off.

“I’ll see you in the morning AJ, night.” He said.

“Yup! See yall in the morning.” And with that she walked back down to the room. Once more he found himself watching her tail swish side to side, before he flushed and closed the door.

Running a hand down his red face, before he jumped into bed. Making sure to turn off the lamp on the desk first, he turned in for sleep.

Today wasn’t so bad.

Author's Note

And that's a wrap. Not much to really say about this chapter, other than it was supposed to be longer. As in include all of the Applebuck season longer, but I scrapped the idea once I got to the end scene.

I realized I want to end all my chapters like that and just went for broke with it. So yeah, much wow, yadda, yadda, yadda ending compliments to the reviewers.

P.S. Big Mac is an awesome character to sort of play jokes off of, huh.

P.P.S. Who like's short-shorts? Naruto likes short-shorts. Well that and Apple-bottoms. *badum-tish*

P.P.P.S. Something, something, something, third line!

Now I know many of you are probably wondering, what is the deal with Naruto and Rarity, right? Once more I wanted to elaborate on that, but I fell short of the inspiration. Make no mistake, I KNOW what I would write for that but I just don't feel like it.

Renewal: Another one down with two more to go, before I'm all caught up. Not gonna lie, I enjoyed going back through my work and adding a little bit more to the build-up in some sections. I added a few more flashback scenes, or really "Memory Breaks", as I like to call 'em. I added a few words to the Fluttershy scene, a definite few new things to the morning scene between him and AJ, and his slow revelation.

Overall not much, but stuff was added on so we have a better full picture of what's to come. A few more spacing and spelling errors, and we're done and ready to go.

Kick back, and enjoy a read!

~NRK Out~

The Feeling Notion / Jackie! What the Buck?!

3.5

And we’re back once again with this baby! And may I say that I’m happy to see how many followers and favorites I’ve gained in the time this has been up. Though it’s nothing big, combined between here and Fanfiction main site, I’ve got over 200 in both categories. With more on FF.Net than here, but oh well beggars can’t be choosers.

Now onto some more info!

This is, to reiterate, chapter THREE POINT FIVE. This and one more chapter will happen before the finale to the main story. After which I’ve got a new Naruto idea in the brain that I’ve already thought up the beginning chapter for. It will be an Anthro, and it’s pairing is what I’m having trouble with finalizing.

I’m stuck between Fleetfoot (Is this all one word or separate?), Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust or, strangely enough, Coco Pomel. So yeah, putting that on the back burner for a while.

Also I want to thank a certain reviewer who sort of helped me run the train on the beginning of this chapter with a certain idea. I had thought of the idea, but I was always on the fence about whether to run with it, so thank DragonPony022 for helping me decide.
Because not only did this help me with going through with that idea, but I’ve also thought up a great introduction to one more of Naruto’s skill-set, and another REALLY Fluffy moment for Naruto and Applejack.

So yeah, look forward to that this or next chapter.

The Renewal Overview is at the bottom portion of the chapters. Forgot to tell you guys this, so if you just want to know what's changed, just skip to the Author's note at the bottom part of the chapter.

Now that that is over with…hold up let me think do I need to say anything else?
…
…
…
Nope!

Disclaimer! : I don’t own this, LOOK ON THE FIRST CHAPTER!

Onto the chapter!

Location: Sweet Apple Acres, Morning

*sling, cut, clang*

It had been three weeks since he had started working and living at the Apples’ farm.

He swung his body to the side.

Things had been going okay for the Unique, to generalize. He’d been getting more familiar with some of Ponyville, though he didn’t exactly make that easy. If anything, he more often than not just stayed out of town, and if he had to make deliveries by himself (which had started happening once AJ was sure he was ready for it), he snuck around and stayed out of sight. Only showing up on the steps of the requester for apples of that time.

Few ponies knew of his true presence, and he’d like to keep it that way. Ninja skills had done their works once again.

*stab*3, thud*2, crackle, squelch*

He knew Jackie wouldn’t exactly appreciate that, but really he hated the fact that every time he was in town there were always stares. Whether it be from some ponies passing through the town, or, strangely enough, giggling mares who seem to stare at his back. Or even at him up-front, with those familiar, weird looks.

AJ never seemed to like those though, so he considered them bad for his health, one way or another.

*Smack*2, thud, sling*

Bringing up Jackie...there had been more strange developments between them. Besides once he started going out back into the Deeper Depths of Everfree, normally to go and fight down some of its more conceptually nasty inhabitants, he’d come back tired and accomplished, but she’d get all sorts of fussy with him and start checking him over for injuries.

Not that she’d find any, even if he kept patching up his jumpsuit from some of the more nasty tears.

He slide forward and jumped to the side.

Then there was the nightly meetings between him and her. They would usually talk about random stuff at the end of the day, and he’d tell her of the more intricate details involved in living in the forest of natural, unnatural, happenings. He was honestly enjoying those talks, and if he wasn’t mistaken so was she. It was nice, and they would learn some things about each other. Likes, dislikes, dreams...Sigh he was thinking about Team 7 again.

He jumped and came down with a heavy slam.

*squelch*3, drip, drop, sling, squelch*

He finally came to a stop, watching the life blood of the Magic Primal fall from its various puncture wounds. The lacerations on its soft under belly were deep enough for him to see the visceral of its innards and rib-cage.

It was a moderate sized beast. Maybe as tall as two carts when standing, with large sloth like appendages that ended in obsidian colored points. Its fur was tan and slightly glossy, but now was matted down with its own blood and his. Two bloody holes lay where it’s eyes had been, destroyed by his spear in quick succession. Its body was lean, with more muscle up top than bottom.

He let out a huff, before walking forward and appraising the corpse. He went down to the magical being’s four limbs, lopping them with a reinforced swing of his spear. The spear’s tip flickered slightly with small wisps of electricity flowing at the tip.

He just knew that this was something he would NEVER tell Fluttershy. Celestia knows what she’d do to him if she ever found out about this. Mare was a nice soul, but these beings were not animals to be tamed. Not animals nor were they Magical Beasts like Manticores. They were Magic Primal.

Primal were definitely the living definitions of what made the Deeper Depths of Everfree so dangerous. Primal were large amalgamations of creatures who were more magic than organic. They went through most of the normal functions of everyday beasts but were different on a fundamental scale.

He gathered up the four parts into a pile, quickly followed by him cutting his palm and laying a circle around the gathered materials. He focused inward, his form glowing blue as luminescent lines sped down the right side of his face to the end of his third whisker mark on his right cheek. Lines fell down the length of his arms and feet, before traveling the distance between him and the circle of his blood.

The circle glowed blue, before it turned red. Lines shot from the edges of the circle to the center forming his insignia underneath the materials. The material gained red lines of their own, before they glowed and started to mix into one form. The glowing shape than shrunk, before taking the shape of a rectangle that seemed to absorb the light around it into its inky colored depths. A foot long, and 2 inches thick, it was a bar of magical properties he was more than pleased with.

He released a breath as the glowing came to an end. All the lines among his body and the circle disappeared, leaving nothing in either of their places save the bar of obsidian coloring.

Retrieving it, his eyes lit a light green, and his grin nearly split his face. His hands shot upward in victory.

He’d finally done it! His first A-class concept! He couldn’t wait to mess around with it.

Pocketing the material, he looked to the body of the Primal, before he raised his hands to it. Lines shot out towards the massive corpse, before they shined purple upon covering its body.

With a quick pull and twist motion of his hands, the lines spiraled and seemed to pull the body in on itself. It all pulled inward, before he clenched his hand, its form flickering for a moment before dissipating into dust. He gathered the dust with a wave of his hands, pulling it towards an open pouch he’d retracted from his side. Tying the bag once the last bit fell into it, he went about cleaning up his form.

He tugged at the corded plate around his neck, and injecting magic into the blue artifact. The yellow sphere in the middle glowed as it lit up his own form with the same colored light. Wounds garnered on his person seemed to close in seconds, with the bruises he held disappearing leaving his tan skin or colored fur in their places. It was a nice replacement for his former-tenant's healing factor, though it wasn't nearly as

He was really going to give Jackie a heart attack if he came back with zero injuries and a torn jumpsuit again. Yet, there was nothing he could do about it, it was just something she did, and if he had to be honest he was glad she would fret over him. The feeling being foreign to him after his master had died some time ago.

He frowned for a bit, eyes looking off into the deeper portions of the forest, where a large rock structure could be seen, with a disdainful look.
He shook himself free of the thoughts.

It didn’t matter anymore, it was dead. No matter what, that thing would not be coming back, just like his teacher…

He clenched his hands before taking off towards The Divide. The faster he left this portion of the forest, the better.

Kyuubi...
~X~

Reaching the other side of the large river bank, he stopped and looked down his current state of clothing.

For the most part he looked okay, but from the slight wind he could feel against the skin of his back, he wasn’t without some form of casualty. Then there was the hole on his leg where he’d been punctured through the right calf.

He’d always be thankful for the plate around his neck, because more likely than not, he’d have been in far more dangerous situations without it. The makers of this thing, were some really awesome people for their <>.

His dip in The Divide had cleaned any and all blood from his person, but he was left wet. He shook himself of the access water, before hightailing it towards the Apple home. The wind doing well in drying him off for the most part before he reached the house.

He checked himself over, finding himself dry enough, and stepping inside. The home was quiet, seeing as it was early still. Maybe 6:45 a.m. at the most. They’d be waking up soon, what with Apple Bloom having school and the rest them having chores to do. Oh right, his applebucking still sucked big cahones!

That hadn’t changed in the passing weeks, and it wasn’t likely to change before season kicked in probably.

He made his way up stairs, tip-toeing past the rooms of the others, though he could hear Big Mac in the bathroom if his humming was any tell. He’d just made it into his room, before he froze, catching sight of Applejack sleeping in his bed. He noticed that she was half sitting/laying as she slept, making him feel slightly guilty.

He knew that while he didn’t do his “hunting” often, but when he did she was always the one to put him in check once he came back. Normally he’d be getting fretted over, as it were. So with a small frown, he gently woke her up. Hands to her side he jostled her slightly.

“Come on, Jackie. Time to rise and shine. It’s a brand new day, and there’s chores to be done~” He whispered, as she groggily came to. Her eyes daze, before she stretched and got up. Mind in a daze, she began to walk forward before bumping into him. He made sure to catch her before she fell over.

She stuttered for a moment, not knowing where she was, before yawning. She did stand back up-right, but he kept himself at the ready, just in case.

“*Yawn* Na-Naruto? W-where were you? I was up at six e-expecting you to be here 15 minutes after,” she droned out, mind still slightly tired.

Her eyes still half-lidded, were still awake enough to give him The Look™, and he was obligated by some intangible notion to answer.

“I was out…Concept Hunting like I usually do. It’s been three days, and I needed some new materials.” He explained, scratching the back of his head, before helping lead Applejack back down the hall towards her room. She turned around on him and slowly checked him over, taking note of the hole near his shin in his get-up and giving him another once over. He made sure to not let her see his back, heaven above knows what she’d do if she were awake enough to recognize a claw tear in his suit.

She’d go from slight worried to frantic in record time, and he didn’t need her worried. He didn’t want her worried, so he kept that out of sight.

“Jackie, come on, I’m fine. I’ve yet to come back with so much as a scratch on me. I’m fine.”

She finally relented, after finishing her inspection. She allowed him to finally lead her to her room to get herself together. Shuffling in and closing the door behind her. He shook his head, before going into his room.

They had the whole day ahead of them.

~X~

He found it weird, that this was the exact situation he had been trying to avoid for the most part.

"Come on, Naruto! Ah gotta get to school before the bell rings!" Cried Apple Bloom, as she ran.

How'd he get roped into this again? Oh right, Mac was currently taking a second shower after a spill in maple syrup from breakfast. Applejack was already out doing the rounds of the fences by then, and Granny couldn't exactly take her. So it fell to him to handle getting her to school.

This was some sort of karma wasn't it?

He did little more than sigh, easily keeping up with Apple Bloom, as they rushed towards the school. Small mercy was that it was still early in the day, so there weren't as many citizens out and about. He kept contemplating just disappearing on Apple Bloom once they got there, but he knew that wouldn't cut it for two reasons.

Granny Smith had said to make sure that he spoke to the teacher, essentially making sure that Apple Bloom's teacher was aware of who he was, and that he was one of the few who she might see leaving and picking her up form school.

He snorted, as if this would fall to him again. Really what were the chances of that happening again?

He ignored the gnawing feeling of impending annoyance, before focusing on point number two.

He was damn sure, that Applejack would learn of him just ditching the little filly in front of her school.

He was in no way, trying to get a talking to from Applejack about that. Never mind the fact he didn't want her getting hints on what he's been doing on his deliveries. He shuddered. The Look™ held a hold over him for whatever reason, and he'd be damned if he got hit by it again.

He was broken out of his musing, as he and Apple Bloom came upon the market square. They'd been passing by the last house before the market place, when they heard a commotion.

It seemed like a gray mare, with criss-cross yellow eyes was trying to calm a small mulberry gray filly with a sad expression on her face. He had been slightly tempted to intrude to find out what was wrong, but he didn't want to bring attention to himself.

Too bad, that didn't stop Apple Bloom from bring attention to it. She tugged on his clothes pointing to the two, making him sigh as they made their way over, catching the end of the conversation.

"-for mommy, okay?" The sad expression on the gray pegasus's face was obvious. The filly herself seemed close to tears at this point, before she nodded sadly. Apple Bloom chose that very moment to intrude.

"Um, uh, is something wrong Miss Whooves?" The Apple filly asked, a sliver of nervousness in her voice. The pegasus looked up in time to catch sight of the farmer filly, before looking farther up to take a look at him. He wasn't exactly sure how he knew, but he got the feeling her eyes were specifically focusing on the different parts of his body. Probably coming to the conclusion that, no, he wasn't a bunch of different animals packed together in a jumpsuit and was one being.

Truly, he hated bringing attention to himself and his state of being.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" She asked nervously, shying away from his gaze, focusing on the filly to his side.

"Ah'm Apple Bloom! And this 'ere is Naruto! We were a wonderin' what's got you so upset this morning," she filly stated, slightly rudely and yet politely at the same time. He made sure to flick her once behind the ears, and whistling off to the side when she looked to him with a glare.

The cross-eyed mare seemed to release a small amount of tension at their interaction, before she regained a sad look again.

"Oh it's nothing, just trying to convince Dinky here," she gave the unicorn filly by her side a pat, "to go to school."

"But I don't want to go alone! Can't you just keep me company for the walk there?" Dinky seemed to sniffle, her mother giving her a hug she quickly returned. Though her frowning visage still stayed.

"Dinky, baby, we've been over this. I have work, and I'm already late as it is."

"But can't you-"

"I wish I could."

"But momma!"

The two left on the sidelines just watched this go down, one feeling uncomfortable being audience to the scene, with the other looking contemplative. The second he saw the determined look on Apple Bloom's face, he knew what was coming.

"Um, does she go to Miss Cheerilee's class?" The arguing parent and child turned to the bow wearing filly.

"Uh, yes. I normally would walk her to school early, but today I was running late. Then the toaster was messing up, and then I couldn't find my bag and, and *sigh* I just don't know what went wrong." The mare stated with a sigh, gaze going to the floor.

"Well she could come with us! Ah mean, we're going to the same place, and I don't see the problem with her coming along." The Apple filly stated with conviction, making him sigh.

She was definitely like her sister.

The gray mare look slightly relieved for a moment, but she once more fell back into a depressed state. Trying to decline Apple Bloom's offer.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. It's just, I don't want to bother other ponies with my problems."

"It ain't not problem, right Naruto?" The filly was giving a doe-eyed look, and he knew that he'd have given in before, but now it was pretty much inevitable.

"Yeah it's fine. I don't see a problem, everyone has got places to be, and we just happen to be going in the same direction. Besides, if we don't hurry up now, we're ALL going to be late." He stated before pointing at the sky. They all looked taking notice of where Celestia's sun was with panicked expressions.

"Oh no!" Apple Bloom.

"School's going to be starting soon." Dinky.

"I'm gonna be late!" Derpy stated with a slump.

He just sighed, before making a decision.

"Okay, okay would all of ya just calm down, I've got an idea..."

~X~

"Aaaaaaiiiiyyyyyyyeeeeehhhhh!"

"Scream a little louder Derpy! I'm sure I'm still able to hear right now!"

He knew that he would be getting some reactions form this route of travel, but the screams from the gray pegasus were right behind his sensitive rabbit ears.

He could do without a busted eardrum.

"Faster!" Came the bubbly reply from the filly in his second tail next to her mother. The tails were curled around their forms, and keeping them clutched together near his back, as they shot off above another building top. Their moving form a blur among the rooftops. As they started to slow slightly he felt the magic in his system spiral at the bottom of his paw pads, before he felt it spin, rotate...

And then disperse, launching him forward at increased speed. He reinforced his perception of the world with a quick reinforcement of his mind. The lines running down the right side of his face to his eye. The world became less of a blur, and he watched as they came closer to mid-town.

"Hey, there! Funny finding you here!" A voice sounded off to his right, as he caught sight of a prismatic mane, and blue fur.

"Rainbow Dash?" The pony in person gave him a smirk, as she beat her wings.

"I'm surprised to find you of all things speeding across the rooftops." She said, as he dispersed one more incomplete Rasengan. He shot forward with more velocity, and he took notice of the fact that Rainbow kept up with minimal effort.

"Heya Raiinnbow! Me 'n' Naruto were tryna get ta school~ We picked up Ms. Whooves on the way!" Came the voice of Apple Bloom as she shouted over the winds as they sped past from atop the Unique's head and back. Rainbow's eyes went to the back of the blond, as she took notice of a terrified Derpy and an overjoyed Dinky. She grinned at the scared pegasus.

"Yeah, so I was just trying to get there as fast as possible! And since she, Derpy, needed to get to work on time and drop off her kid..." He trailed off, though Rainbow nodded in understanding. She looked forward, before she got a challenging smirk to her muzzle.

"Bet you, I could beat you there!" Came her taunting words, as she shot forward. His eyes trailed after her, before he felt a wicked smile that sent tremors of fear into Derpy's own optics.

"No! No, no, no, no, no!"

"Hold on tight everypony!"

~X~

Miss Cheerilee stood outside the entrance to her school with a slight frown on her muzzle. Her eyes looking out for a certain pair of children as the time grew nearer for school to start.

Cheerilee loved her job. She was fond of spending time with and teaching the young fillies and colts, so she was a little concerned when she took notice of two fillies missing. Apple Bloom and Dinky should have been here already and in class. Dinky especially since her mother was usually one of the first parents to come and greet her in the morning before going off to her job. So to put it simply, finding both missing was worrisome.

She was about to turn in, to start teaching, before she caught the sound of someone yelling her name. As well as someone yelling at the top of their lungs.

"Later guys!" Called a streak of color that passed overhead.

"Miss Cheerilee, please say we're not late!"

"EEEEEeEeeeeeeek!"

She looked around only to have to cover her face as a group of ponies, crash landed in front of her. She lowered her arms, watching as the two missing fillies from her class showed up in a most spectacular fashion, along with one of their mothers.

~X~

Naruto looked up at the new pony in front of him. Having a color palette consisting of dark magenta, pink and light pink, this Cheerilee cut a figure of teacher, with her green floral skirt, white short-sleeved shirt and brown vest. Hair styled neatly with small puffs near the end of both edges of her mane.

He stood up with a grin. The roof hopping had been an awesome idea if he had any say in it. Plus he felt a lot more relaxed afterwards. Maybe not Miss Whooves, but she'd balance out in a bit.

"I've got two fillies here ready to learn, front and center." He announced, with a wave to the fillies in his tail and on his head.

"We're not late are we?"

Cheerilee just shook herself free of her shock, before chuckling a little. Never a dull day in Ponyville.

"Why no Apple Bloom, you're just on time." Her words causing the filly to relax from her position on top his head. Dinky was just getting over her latest set of giggles from his tail end, while Derpy slowly but surely came to.

"Did the world stop moving?"

He allowed them down, as the two fillies said their goodbyes.

Dinky gave her mother a hug, that she shakily returned, before running ahead inside. Yet, not before giving him a thank you hug as well.

"Thanks a lot Naruto! We gotta do that again, sometime, it was so fun!" She giggled before giving him a big hug, and running off inside, just as the bell rang. He waved her off, before turning to the dark magenta mare giving him a thankful smile and holding out her hand.

"Thank you for bringing them to school, mister...I'm sorry I don't think we've met." He grasped her hand, before shaking twice.

"I'd be more surprised if you did. Names Naruto, and it was no problem. Just helping out a bit here and there." He responded in kind, before turning to now settled Derpy.

"Oh hey Cheerilee, just dropping off Dinky, before I head off to work."

"No problem Derpy, I don't want to hold you up or I fear you might be late." That caused the pegasus to freeze, before she deflated. Her eyes forming crocodile tears, as she slumped.

"I'm going to be late!" She sobbed.

He rolled his eyes at her, before giving his final departing words to the teacher.

"It was nice meeting you miss Cheerilee, make sure Apple Bloom stays out of trouble. Come on Derpy, we gotta get you to work, then I can just relax for a bit."

The gray pegasus, seemed to look up at him in shock and then nervousness.

"That's o-okay. I'll just make sure to fly to work as fast as I can. It's not problem, he he he," she said eyes shifting to the right. Amazing how they stayed cross-eyed while doing so.

"Do you want to get there late?" She froze once more, before slowly following after him, drooping as if going to her execution gallows.

"Besides since the kids are gone, I can carry you better and go even faster." Her whines, were amplified as her coat seemed to shoot down a color.

Cheerilee, just shook her head, before walking inside.

Yup, just another day in Ponyville.

~X~

He landed back in the Apple yard after getting Derpy to her job. Wait does tossing someone bodily at their place of occupation count as getting them to their job? Had to be, she did thank him mid-arc...

Or maybe she was screaming. Either or.

He stepped into the Apple home, before heading upward to his room. He switched into his work clothes before setting out into the fields. He took notice of the fact that Granny Smith wasn't in the normal place, and decided to wonder the property for any clue as to their whereabouts. He decided he needed a birds eye view, and later found himself on roof, by the weathercock.

He strained his eyes, pushing the, to look across the acres of land to find hide or hair of a pony. It was on his third sweep through the area that he took notice of an larger than average tree. Though large, it was dead and would bear no fruit, and he couldn't help but take notice of slight shaking of its branches.

He stuck a thumb in his mouth before holding said thumb out into the air. The wind wasn't blowing at all, and he knew he'd found the location of his missing Apples.

With this evidence he leaped off the roof and began to sprint in the direction of the dead arbor as soon as his feet touched the ground.

He had some Apples to find.

~X~

He came to a stop to the sight of Big Mac, Applejack and Granny Smith around the trunk of the old dead tree. He walked forward, greeting the group of Apples.

"YO~" He greeted, causing them to jump for a moment before he took place among their ranks. They turned their gaze back onto the very thick dead wood. He started off, by asking about what the deal was.

"So...giant dead tree is in the acres...I'm guessin' we're doing something about it?" He stated, though it came out as a question. They'd turn to him, before explaining the dilemma.

They wanted to get rid of the old apple tree. Yet, they couldn't due to how big it was, and that it was likely to come bowling down on them before they could cut it all the way through.

After which the four of them stood in line, with hands to their chins, in thought. Jackie turned to him with a small frown.

"So ya see, this is where we currently stand with this thing. And we don't really have the funds to get a professional to do this. Ya got anythin' in that bag of tricks of yours?" She asked, mouth in a thin line, as she took off her Stetson and scratch her scalp in annoyance.

He thought about it for a moment before he snapped his fingers.

"Maybe I can do to this tree what I did to the other one last time?" He looked to the others for some form of approval. He saw Granny and Mac nodding their heads slowly, with AJ being slightly skeptical.

"Well the last time, it's not like you took down the tree. How will that help us here?"

"Easy, while it probably won't bring down the tree, I can bring down all the dead branches and stuff. It's the best plan I can think of without resorting to more violent ideas." He said as he closed in on the tree trunk. It was a good 3 meters in diameter, and 2.5 times as tall as he was, so he assumed it was pretty hefty and sturdy.

He went to work. He laid his hands down on the trunk, eyes closed and mind focused. Lines spread from his hands to the bulk of the trees trunk, before the shaking starting. This time though, unlike before, the effect was much larger scaled. The tree shook, that it did, but the ground around it began to tremble as well. Loose sediment and unprepared Apple family ponies shook with it. The two Apple siblings seemed to be doing there best to stay upright while the eldest Apple just seemed to comment.

"T-t-t-h-h-is-s-s gr-r-re-a-a-t-t f-f-fo--r-r- ma-a-ah- b-a-c--kk-k-k!." She responded with shaking enthusiasm, as her chair shook at high speeds.

The shaking continued until multiple cracks were heard up above in the tree. Naruto stopped, before he jumped backwards, avoiding the large falling branches. He'd reach back to the group and they all watched as the loose and numerous branches fell, kicking up a huge cloud near the base of the tree.

They watched as the branches stopped falling, leaving a good amount of dead wood by the base of the tree. The main tree looked like just one big hollow trunk at this point, though they knew it was as thick as any other.

"Okay, so all's that left is the big boss, huh?" The Spiky blond of the group said, as he smacked his fist into the palm of his hand.

"First we gotta move all these branches before even thinking about the tree itself," Applejack supplied, as the group moved forward to the pile. They actually took notice of how much there really was, the pile reaching well above their heads.

"Well ain't that mess! This is going to take some serious time to put away, much less focus on the main thing." The cow mare said, as they looked on.

"Why not get your friends? I'm sure they wouldn't mind helping out with some wood removal," her brother said, as he already began moving to group some branches together. Applejack sent him a stern look, causing the spiky haired blond of the group to take a step in the other direction from her. It was no The Look™ , but he wasn't taking any chances.

"Now it was one thing with Naruto over here, but not with this! This is an actual Apple family land problem. We're Apples and we don't need no outside help to solve the mess with our land." She was adamant about that, for one reason or another. Stubborn Jackie, was stubborn. Big Mac seemed to think the same, because all he did was shake his head and start walking back with Granny Smith.

AJ let out a huff, before she moved forward to take a bundle herself. She looked over to Naruto who was crouched near the pile, before giving her a questioning look.

"Hey Jackie, do we need ALL this wood by any chance? Like is it necessary for something or another?"

She thought over what he said and couldn't help but wonder what he was getting at with this, but she answered anyway.

"Well not really, but it makes good firewood and I could use some whittling wood fer when I'm bored. But, honestly its all just one big hassle."

"SO if I were to make this all super manageable, it'd be fine even if there was less of it?" He asked as he stood up and stood over the pile. She gave him a look, before slowly nodding her head.

"Well yeah, but watcha plannin' t-"

"Alright! Lets get all this back to the household! AJ! Make sure you tell Mac to stay near the house,, I've the rest of this stuff covered." She saw him shout, getting himself pumped, doing all manner of stretching and warm-ups.

"Sugarcube ya can't be serious! This is a lot of wood, and I can't -"

"AppleJack!" She looked at him, and he just gave her a determined grin with a thumbs up.

"I've got this." He said with conviction, so much so she felt convinced right then and there. She just nodded dumbly,, to which he just gave a full grin and continued back to warming up.

She just shook her head, before turning back to the barn. Leaving the blond to his business. Had she stayed a little longer, she would have heard the blond say some choice words before leaving.

"Haven't had a chance to use this technique in a while!"

~X~

The Apples couldn't help but tap their hooves as they waited for their blond worker. It'd been ten minutes and they hadn't seen hide nor hair of him, since his earlier proclamation. Applejack was just contemplating going back and making sure that nothing had happen before they heard a shout...

Actually multiple shouts, that all sounded familiar for one reason.

"Hup, hup, hup, hup!"

They watched as a large form was seen being brought out of the forest, but it was who that was carrying it that caused most of their brains to nearly short circuit.

"Come on you slackers, I want that wood by the house sometime today!"

"OSU!"/ "Yes boss!" / "I'm on it!"

Out of the forest came Naruto on top of a large bundle of wrapped up wood, but there was also a copy of him at the front ends and one at the back middle. All dressed the same, but the strange difference between them was the fact that each one save for the one at top had some taken a specific portion of the blond and reproduced it for all their parts. One with wolf features, another with rabbit ones and with kangaroo like ones.

"Okay right here's here good!" Said the Naruto standing at the top of the pile, before he jumped down and greeted the gaping family.

"Yo! Brought the wood like I promised! Sorry it took a while, but I had to find all the right stuff for the rope and well, things got complicated with trying to wrap it all up." He finished by rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. That seemed to snap them out of their stupor. Applejack rounding on the blond who spoke to them, while Big Mac and Granny went about inspecting the copies of the blond they knew was one person when they left.

"Naruto what the heck is all this?!" She exclaimed, gesturing to the multiple clones of his person. He looked over to them and turned back to her with what looked like a amused look. He explained it like it was the most normal thing in the world

"They're clones, duh."

She took a moment to let that comment pass, her mind needing all the available capacity to process what was going on in front of her at that moment. The blond went about Hi-5-ing his copies before they disappeared into motes of blue light that absorbed into his person. He turned back to find Applejack giving him another look, before she just counted this down to Naruto being Naruto and moved on with her life.

He turned towards the wood bundles, before setting out with his plan.

Making an incision on his palm, he made a full circuit around the bundles, apply pressure to the wound to keep it running before he finished.

"You might want to stand back," he advised before he did the same thing to the materials in front of him, that he did to the monster parts from this morning.

The bundles glowed, before their forms shifted. Each bundle becoming long and rectangular. with a width of 1-in. Once done he allowed the ritual to stop, before he presented them to the Apple family.

"Stallion and mares, I present you your wood." He announced with a flourish of his hands towards the materials. Big Mac went over and checked each stack. With the bundle he had, the one AJ brought and large one Naruto and his veritable self brought there were three stacks of planks. With Naruto's being the biggest stack for obvious reasons.

The blond was caught off-guard when the blond mare of the group took hold of his hand and started bandaging up the wound. Grumbiling about "Crazy blonds who did stupid things to themselves, causing her to worry."

He grinned at the attention.

Macintosh ignored the scene, looked at the wood, and pressed his hand against one of the planks, giving it a surprised look.

"This is some mighty fine wood, there Naruto. The quality is something I'd have to normally pay a little extra for." The stallion commented, as he lifted one pile on his shoulder and brought it to the barn., making quick work of the stack.

"It wasn't much, remember what I said on my first day here? This is that Ritual that's inborn into my body. I just altered it with a spell usually used in forging my <<Trinkets>>." He said before he helped put away the rest of the wooded piles of planks.

With all the wood dealt with, they found themselves back to square one with the large trunk. It was still early in the noon, when they revisited the dead tree. The blonds gave it a look, before two of them turned themselves in the direction of the third spiky haired one. Upon noticing their gazes, he gave them a confused one in return.

"What?"

The gazes continued before Big Mac spoke up.

"Well Sugarcube, it's just that it seemed like all day you've been the one with all the solutions. So it just seems like you might have something fer this last bit." The bright red stallion supplied their reasoning, causing the Faye to scratch the back of his head. Naruto turned toward the tree with a thoughtful expression before asking.

"Hey Mac you don't got a saw do you?"

~X~

They couldn't help but wonder what the blond had in mind for this stunt.

The blond stood in another circle of his making, to which Applejack would be giving him an earful for he was sure. The saw in hand, and the blond focused on the tree. He set his arms crossed in front of him, saw in his right hand. Then the light show began. The circle glowed blue, with wisps of light blue energy shooting from the edges into the object in his hand.

The whips of energy seemed to flicker outward before all arcing over into the saw in his hand. The tool glowing the same color as the energy being funneled into it, before the whole process stopped. What was left in the concept user's hands was the glowing form of what was the saw from before.

With light blue sheen, and dark wavy markings decorating it tot he tip, it gave off small waves of magic as it left trails of light with each movement. The spiky blond motioned back at them to move further back.

"You guys stay back, I don't want to lose control of this thing!" The blond shouted, before turning his face towards the tree. If they could see his face right now, they'd have been thrown off by the now slightly psychotic grin in place. He proceeded to shout with glee,as he swung the saw in both hands behind him.

"It's time to cut, CUT, CUT!" With each reiteration of the word, the saw grew larger and larger, before the blond began to giggle maniacally. There was some action going on with the saw as water seemed to burst outward from its edges before rotating around them. He exclaimed once more, with a mighty yell before jumping towards the tree.

"MAELSTROM CHAINSAW BANZAI!"

He swung it horizontally, cleaving the tree from the base in one quick slash. The saw seemed to gain a numerous amount of cracks on it in exchange, though the blond made little note of it. He cackled once more before swinging again.

"Once more with feeling! Kekekeke!"

He split the falling tree down the center, after which the saw in his hands broke its job done. The tree fell with a large thud, causing the floor to shake and then settle. The spiky one fell onto his back riddled with giggles before he petered off in a single breath. He soon found both of the Apple siblings shadows over him, giving him some concerned looks.

"Uh, you okay there, Sugarcube?" Big Mac asked, looking down at him. The Unique seemed to finally calm down, before he giggled once more.

"Cutting trees is fun."

~X~

They had finally gotten the long pieces of wood back and taken care. A quick application of clone usage and alteration, made it so they had an excess of planks that they could possibly sell back in town or even to more Apples around Equestria. All that was left to remove was the base stump of the tree.

For this portion, Big Mac had chosen to take it upon himself to help him remove the stump. With Applejack helping them try and keep steady by being distance adviser.

"Okay so let's make this quick shall we?" The blond stated before he then shoved his arms to the base of the stump. Soon after which, the earth shook for a moment, before stopping once more. He continued you do this several more times around the perimeter of the stump's roots, before stopping on one side, with Big Mac on the opposite.

"Make sure to be careful of the loose dirt okay yall? One, Two Three! PULL!"

It should be said that in another universe this went off without a hitch. They'd plucked the stupid thing from the ground and made quick work of getting rid of it.

Sadly this is not that universe.

It was when they both started pulling, that things went wrong. A hoof slipped, a foot was trapped beneath some rubble and a stump came crashing down.

~X~

The blond walked down the sidewalk with sigh. That had turned into a big disaster. It could have been worse, had he not freed his foot in time kick the stump off Macintosh before more damage was done. Yet, the damage was worrisome as he'd let Applejack and Granny Smith keep an eye over the doctor, as he went to get Apple Bloom.

He'd just entered into the market square, when he was come upon by a certain purple librarian.

"Oh Naruto! I didn't expect to see you here!" Spoke the Element of Magic, as she stood up from where she was looking over the bullet board in the center of the square. He noticed how she had several books in her hands, as she came up to him.

"Oh hey Twilight, didn't expect to see anyone here honestly." He raised an arm in greeting, and continued walking. Not even a moment later he found Twilight by his side, and sent her a questioning glance.

"You wouldn't happen to be heading towards the school, would you?" She stroke up conversation.

He answered in affirmative, and she responded with how she was going there herself, bringing books Cheerilee had asked for. They walked and talked, with Twilight commenting on the blonds apparent limp and him giving her the story about why he was the one picking up Apple Bloom.

"Oh, I hope nothing too awful happened. Applejack must have been so worried." She frowned in concern, with him scratching the back of his head. He went on to tell her that things weren't as bad, and that the big stallion was currently getting looked over by a healer, calming Twilight's worry. It was by the end of this conversation that they, arrived at the school, joining a bunch of other parents as they waited.

Naruto did his absolute best to ignore the stares he got from the other adults in the room, going so far as to pull his hood up and hang off in a corner by a wall. He took notice of the fact that Twilight had taken up residence by his person, she shuffled nervously as the his caught hers, before he shrugged and went back to waiting. When he asked her what time the fillies would be let out, she responded with ten minutes. Which left him with a slight dilemma.

Applejack had wanted him to interact more with others. He wasn't that social of a person, how could he be with his track record, but he would have been willing to make small talk with Twilight. The problem was that Twilight certainly didn't seem to be the talkative type. She, from what he knew of her, seemed picky about things that interested her, but he would need to do something to bring about her interest.

So with that in mind, he jumped on a topic he knew would get him to some talk time.

Magic.

He made small wavy gestures with hands in front of him, garnering her attention before her eyes shot to the spectacle in his now line-covered hands and clothes. It was also interesting to note that, if there was one, Twilight would have the world record for whipping out objects out of nowhere, if the notebook now on top of her book pile was anything to go by.

The scratching of pencil over paper intensified, as the orb of water in his hands continued its dance around his fingers

~X~

At Sugarcube Corner, one Pinkamena Diane Pie froze mid-action while stirring a bowl of batter. Her eyes narrowing, before she looked off into the distance.

Someone was challenging her place in the universe, and that just wouldn't stand.

"Gummy," she whispered to the toothless reptile on the counter, pointing dramatically to the sky, "there's a challenger in our midst!"

She vowed she would find them, and make them know who was King...Queen!

~X~

He got what he asked for as Twilight shot off question after question. Some rhetorical, and some directed at him, which helped fill the gap of time. It was by the point that Twilight had almost finished drawing several formulas and was a quarter through the notebook that a small stream of kids, colts and fillies alike, came spilling out of the school.

He turned to the small outburst of children, idly noting that some of the adults had been eyeing his little water show, keeping an eye out for Apple Bloom. He looked out for head wear, watching as caps, ribbons and even tiaras of all things flooded out the entrance. He was quick to catch the sight of a big, pink bow. Flagging down the filly who was accompanied by several heads of other children, he saw Twilight make a beeline to Cheerilee and let her go.

Mainly following her were Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. The orange pegasus's orange tank-top and purple shorts matching her color scheme, while Sweetie did the same with a white sundress with purple and pink curls about it. He greeted the two with a wave, which was quickly reciprocated by Scootaloo, while Sweetie curtsied slightly. He turned his eyes to the new additions. He saw Dinky, who was giving him a shy look, to which he tried to smile disarmingly, the light colored unicorn filly wearing her white T-shirt with a whale on it, and yellow shorts. She tugged on her back pack, as he switched his gaze to the pair of boys in the group.

A pair of unicorns they were, and they couldn't be more different. With one being short and chubby, the colt had a slight overbite, and wore a tan shirt with brown splotches decorating one side along with his green shorts, with short orange hair that kind of frizzed outward. The taller of the two bringing up the rear with his lanky form. Wearing a green sweater, white dress shirt underneath and tan three-quarters. His hair was a dull teal, matching the slightly vacant look the boy wore.

Short and tall. Blue and dull orange. One seemed to have a spark for snark and the other kind of dull. They were a match made in Tartarus and he couldn't help but wonder what sort of hi-jinks a duo of these two would get into. Meh, probably nothing too exciting, but they had to have a fun routine if they were friends.

"Naruto? You're picking me up today as well? Why didn't ya say so this morning?" Apple Bloom asked, causing him to scratched the back of his head in slight discomfort.

"Yeah, well you see there was a small accident at the farm, and your sister and Grandma are keeping an eye on things..." He trailed off, making her curious.

"So why didn't Big Mac come and get me? You don't normally come into town much if you can avoid it." She said as he crouched near them. He took notice of the fact that the two unicorn boys were paying some mean attention to his tails, with Dinky not too far behind. He paid them no heed, even as they began to mess around with them. Why bother? They weren't causing any problems to him.

"Uh, yeah, well Big Mac is kinda one of those involved in the accident."

"What?! Tarnations is he okay? Did he finally manage to cut-off one of his arms and now has to wear a weird bionic arm?!"

That sentence alone made his brain stop, before he gave the three fillies in front of him a disbelieving, gaping gaze. He saw Sweetie Belle facepalm, as Scootaloo slowly slid what looked like a comic book back into her backpack, all while whistling an unassuming tune.

For the sake of his sanity, he just continued with his explanation.

"Nah, nothing like that, just some accidents with slips and falls. I'm sure your bro will be making a full recovery."

"Oh thank goodness. Fer a second I thought somethin' bad had happened." Let out a relieved sigh, and he couldn't help but sweatdrop.

What the heck did these ponies consider abnormal or even bad around here? An invasion of another race? A bat infestation? Cooties?! Every moment he spent in town, he felt like these ponies weren't as normal, as he originally thought.

"So do you want to introduce me to the two new guys, or am I just going to have two unknowns on my tails." He said, pointing back with a thumb towards, the three children currently bouncing on his tail length.

"I'm Snips!" Said the chubby, blue one as he bounced high.

"I'm Snails!" Said the other, though it was with a slight decrease in speed, as a normal pony's.

He took notice of the fact that Dinky seemed to be using his other tail, not the one the two unicorn comedy routine-in-the-making was using. She noticed his gaze, and shifted herself to slid down to his back. From there he found her taking place on his shoulders, looking down at him from atop his hair.

"Dinky, what's up? Is your mom not here yet?" HE watched her nod in the negative.

"Mommy usually doesn't show up on time sometimes. So I usually just wait for her with Miss Cheerilee." She supplied, planting her head in between his rabbit ears before flopping them over her own.

"Ah yes, some of the parents can sometimes be held up, so I usually look after the kids for a bit until they come." Came the voice of Ms. Cheerilee, as she and Twilight came up from the school building. The bulk of the parents having left, and leaving a few stranglers, waiting on their children.

"Well I don't mind waiting here until Dinky's mom gets here." He added, as Dinky hugged herself to his head, forming a ring of arm around his forehead. He stood up, his tails straightening out, popping two adolescences into the air before snatching them up mid-flight with his tails, setting them to the floor.

"But Naruto, what about Mac? Ah wanna go make sure he's okay!"

"Come on Bloom, don't you wanna make sure that Dinky here gets to her mom?" He said gesturing to the filly on his shoulders with a shrug. Said filly gave a small smile, to Apple Bloom who deflated, before she took a seat next to him.

"What are we suppose to do while we wait then?"

He grinned at the oh-so convenient question.

~X~

When one Derpy Whooves AKA "Muffins" AKA Ditzy Doo, found herself getting to her daughter's school late, she felt guilty. Leaving her little girl alone for so long, was not on the schedule, but it was due to an unexpected hiccup at work.

So she was more than a little surprised finding what she did when she got there.

"Higher! Higher!" Her little girl's voice was filled with glee, as she sat on what looked like a bubble of water. Beside her on several platforms moving up and down in rhythm, were other children. Along with what looked like a slightly queasy looking Miss Cheerliee.

"Oh, oh dear. Please stop..." The teacher was looking worse for wear as her platform of water slowed, letting her off to wobble over and greet the grey pegasus mailmare.

"O-oh, hello Ms. Whooves, how ar-are you?" She seemed to be starting to settle, before she proceeded to lean on the nearby wall. Her eyes in swirls.

"Um..." Derpy had no form of response, but seeing as the teacher was doing relatively okay, she turned towards the rest as they finally took notice of her.

"Mommy!" The mulberry grey unicorn filly's platform lowered to the floor, before she ran to her mother engulfing her in a hug. A hug that was quickly reciprocated by Ditzy herself.

"It was so fun! Mr. Naruto and Apple Bloom stayed with me and some other kids until you came. Then Mr. Naruto started doing Water Magic and we all played on them!" The excited filly, explained, as Derpy turned her eye(s), to the blond himself. He was situated on what was a throne of water, a crown of water on his head tilted to the side. His arm with fist where he rested his head with a lazy grin, before he waved at her.

Next him, on a small platform of her own, was the town librarian, Twilight Sparkle, and she was currently writing down numerous scribbles in what looked like a third notebook. Mutters of "fascinating"s and "application"s coming out of her mouth every so often. Though she didn't seemed to notice that the spiky blond had set a pair of glasses, made of water, on her snout. Either she didn't notice, or didn't care. On the blond's other side sat Sweetie Belle, who was just kicking her legs back and forth, while seemingly drawing in a notepad. She would than show the blond "king" and he would nod or shake his head. With each nod, he would gesture with his hands and a construct would be formed in front of him. With each shake, Sweetie would grumble before drawing anew.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and two unicorn colts were jumping around on several levitating water platforms. Moving from each one to the next with small jumps. All the children wearing small jester hats made of water, with scepters in their hands.

There was never a more confusing picture of regal water fun. It was only then when, his eyes flickered to her and his grin widened, that she made her mistake.

Her daughters squee of delight did little to divert the nausea from being on the floating, spinning platform.

Well at least Dinky was having fun. Blerg...

~X~

It was AJ's snorts that he met that evening. Once more they were in his room, with him telling her of his adventure of the day.

"Ya probably scared the livin' daylights outta Cheerilee and Derpy today. Though, Ah gotta wonder. 'Water magic'?" She said with a raised eyebrow, a small smile on her face. He had a smile of his own before he picked up his jumpsuit, since currently he was in a orange shirt and black shorts. He motioned to the now glowing lines along the pants portion's bottom.

"I showed you guys this the day of explanation. It's a water concept that can truly only be found in Everfree. There's a special pond, that's little over flowing with magic. The water is so saturated, it's basically classed as an S-rank concept when conceptualized. " He said, as he gently fondled the jumpsuit before setting it back up by the desk.

"My teacher, was the one who taught me the way of adaptations of concepts into cloth. Heck he's the one who helped me get the alteration spell down." He trailed off into a frown, one AJ reflected on her own face. She gave him an expectant look, to which he just shook his head at, causing her to sigh. This action causing him no small amount of guilt, but still he held strong.

This wasn't the first time she had been trying to get him to open up about that. They had even argued about it sometimes, but he just couldn't. He didn't want to drum up the past, but she was adamant in making him see "reason". She said it was good that he wasn't always bogged down by it, but at the same time that he needed to find some form of "release". It would be better for him to lay it all out on the table and faced it head on.

Problem was, when put into those words, he didn't want to. He feared her reaction to his opening up, and he didn't want to risk that.

He valued her...companionship too much. This line of thought caused him more problems. There were many things that had changed since he started living here, but one of the main things, was how he was noticing Jackie. Like really noticing her.

From her hips, legs and chest. Now this would have been slightly worrying, but he would like to say he understood what physical attraction was. That is, if it were just that he would understand it a little more at least, but it wasn't. He'd then start focusing on her other qualities, like her hair, how he wanted to kind of just play with her knot tied hair sometimes. He enjoyed her smile, loved her laugh and was entranced by her honest-personality and down to earth, no pun intended, attitude. And her eyes! Her eyes of liquid emerald...

And then there was that! He'd been getting freakin' poetic about her in his thoughts! Metaphors, hyperbole and similes! Nothing was left untouched, and it was driving him slowly, but surely, up a wall.

He needed to talk to someone about this. Problem was...

Man he had a lot of problems to deal with today!

Anyway, problem was he didn't know who to talk to about this. He was more often than not thinking of confronting Big Mac about this, but that thought usually stopped mid-way for some reason. Though he was hard pressed for answers, he would need to get some air tonight.

~X~

It was close to midnight that he crept out of the guest. His steps careful, and silent. Something he thanked his pawed pad feet for. Passing by the rooms, taking note of the sleeping positions of each of the siblings as he passed their rooms.

Big Mac was laid up in bed. Top bare, with the only thing on his body being his night pants and the bandages wrapped around his mid-section.

Then there was Apple Bloom tucked into a big ball of blankets.

Last but not least, Jackie who was seemingly asleep, but he took no chances. He strained his rabbit ears to the max, and could hear her breathing. Slow but steady.

Making his way downstairs, he took a step out onto the porch, where to his surprised was a currently awake Granny Smith sitting in her rocking chair.

He'd made to go back inside, but she called out to him before he could.

"Hey there sonny! Surprised to find you down here and not up there chattin' up mah granddaughter, ahehe." As usual her commentary on his relationship with AJ always left him feeling a burning sensation stretching across his cheeks. Though maybe this was the right pony he needed to talk to? She reminded him a lot of Hokage-jiji, and he knew she was a good listener, so maybe.

It was worth a shot.

He closed the door, and made way to the side of the rocking chair. He proceeded to crouch at her side, looking out into the night of the Acres. Neither of them really said anything, as they were wont to let silence reign. He looked up at the moon, Luna's work very apparent as the stars twinkled and shine brightly.

He spoke up first, eyes still on the night sky.

"I'm confused."

His answer was silence, to which he kind of expected slightly. The eldest of the Apple family tree hummed for a moment, before letting out a small snort.

"Ah can honestly say that you've got more than a jus' a little confusion." Her answer was crisp, but solid. He snorted, but made no move to correct her.

After all she was probably right. This confusion had been growing since he started living here and had that first night of conversation with AJ.

"I don't understand her." He responded. Granny gave a small, knowing smile, before responding.

"Sounds like yer problems are of the heart. Those sorts of problems always have the biggest mysteries, take that from one whose gone on the road of life for as long as Ah have."

"Of the heart?" He pressed a hand against his chest, and thought. He thought about it for a moment, before turning to Granny Smith.

"Can I tell you something?..."

From there he spilled most of everything, the looks, the contact, the new appreciation he had for her form and even the poetic nonsense coming from his head. By the end of it, he could feel his face burning, and he didn't know why.

Granny Smith just took his confession in stride, before she chuckled the way only old people could.

"Yall, don't seem to understand it, but there's nothin' wrong wit' ya! You're going through what people your age normally go through." He gave her a look, head snapping to her direction. So she knew what was up with him?

He jumped at the answer.

"Yall're in love! Ya silly boy. Your mind can't get off Applejack. You're fixated on her, and your mind just does what it does and tries to find ways to express it! And when ya fall in love with an Apple, ya fall hard!" She cackled, the noise freezing him in place along with the revelation.

...What? Th-that couldn't be true! That didn't make sense! He couldn't...he...

Was he in love with Applejack?

And that's a wrap people! I was happy to get this out to you guys....HAHAHA!

Oh man, nah I'm not done with this yet. I did promise Applebuck Season, no?

On With The Show!

Roll the Episode!

~~X~~

He awoke with a gasp. His mind racing, his face burning as he recounted exactly what he had just dreamed of. He rubbed his hands up and down his face, in hopes of putting the metaphorical fire going across his face out.

It wasn't working, and he wish it had. He looked towards the window, the skyline being a very light violet. It was possibly 5 a.m., maybe even a little earlier, but he wouldn't be going back to sleep. Not with what was awaiting him.

He looked on,a s he stepped downstairs. The Apple home was strangely empty, and he didn't hear the normal work and toiling sounds of chores being had. Not even the animals were making noise, which was weird in itself.

The silence had been unnerving, but it was the next sound which sent a strange shiver move up his spine. Hoofsteps. The clops were steady and constant, and it sounded like they were coming from all over. The noise continued for a moment before it stopped.

"Ya looking for someone Sugarcube?~" A familiar voice snapped him out of his reverie, but there was an added tone to it. It was a smooth, low tone. Husky, possibly even...

Sensual.

He felt the arms encircling him from behind his back, before hot breath could be felt on his neck, sending his hairs on edge. He felt a body press into his back, and the definition of what he was feeling sent his blood into overdrive. His mind being mutinous in that moment, decided to tell his body to turn, and he found his face full of the pure form of Applejack.

Uncensored imagery presented itself to him, and he went reeling.

He splashed the water on his face, as he stood over the sink, mind still playing over the dream. He leaned over the sink looking into the mirror.

"Today, is going to suck hard."

~X~

He leaned against the tree, as both Big Mac and AJ conversed about the beginning of Applebuck season.

"Are yall saying that mouth is making promises my legs can't keep?" Said the eldest female Apple sibling, as she gave her brother narrow eyed look, hands on her hips.

"Eeyup." The big red stallion responded, giving Applejack an even look. To which she returned with a stern glare, she turned her gaze to Naruto.

"Naruto can you believe him. Mah own flesh and blood, saying I might be "biting off more than I can chew". You think I can do this right?"

His eyes snapped into focus, and he sweat a little, he hadn't been paying attention. He just looked over the acres of orchard and couldn't help but think..

Was it just him or did the amount of trees here seem to multiply exponentially?

He snapped his gaze, back to Jackie, finding her giving him a worrisome glance, as she walked closer. He froze, his mind replaying the scene from his dream, causing him to jump when AJ snapped her fingers.

"YES! I-I mean, sure we got this! We'll be able to hold up the slack until you get better Big Mac. With my helping you heal every so often, we'll have you up and running within two weeks." He nearly shouted, before calming down. If this was love, was there a setting to allow him to ignore the feelings for a while?

The big stallion looked down to the cord now around his own neck in place of his yoke. The plate shining in the sunlight every so often. He gave Naruto a look, before nodding his head and heading back to the house.

The former apple thief watched as the eldest sibling left the group, leaving only him and Applejack. Nothing but silence reigned, and cripes it was uncomfortable.

When did it all become so awkward?

He was snapped back to attention once more by AJ, who held a stern look.

"Naruto Ah need ya to focus. If we're planning on having all this done before Big Mac gets better. We're gonna have to start early." She said, as she began to go to the first tree of the season. One firm kick and the apples fell into the baskets surrounding the base. He shook his head, before he began to walk towards her.

Froze mid-step when his mind caught up.

They were going to do WHAT before Big Mac got back?!

~X~

They'd been at this for a bit now. Several hours had passed, since they started, and AJ was going strong. He was doing his best in supporting her by having his clones come and go with baskets. Bringing the bushels back to the barn and setting up baskets by the next tree before Applejack could get to it.

He wished he could make clones like he use to, but ever since coming here his techniques had to be altered to fit magic". His chakra had been converted, according to Yahiko-sensei way back when. It altered the technique's characteristics significantly. For a breakdown: His clone limit was reduced almost hilariously, to a measly FOUR. In exchange though, their durability had increase to the point that it would take a killing blow to dispel them forcefully. The energy requirement had also became such that after creation they were sort of self-sufficient.

Having been going for a couple hours now, and he wondered if Applejack even felt any burn right now. It was once more he found himself admiring her form as her legs snapped outward towards the tree. Her hair being flipped to the side of her face, as she whipped her head around, dispelling it of sweat.

She stopped for a moment, and he came up on her left pulling out a bottle of water and pressing it to the side of her face.

"Tarnations!" She jumped at the touch, before catching the drink, punching Naruto in the shoulder as she took a gulp.

"Easy there mare. We've got time, but were you really serious about doing the whole orchard before Mac got healed?" He voiced his question,as they stood in the shade of a tree. She turned to him with a grin, which caused his heart to skip a beat. He fought the feeling down, and gave her his full attention.

"Yep! I figure with you moving the bushels constantly, I don't need to stop and can stay on the move. Heck Ah betcha with a little more elbow grease we could take care of a quarter of this here orchard in a couple of days." She seemed convinced that they could do this.

"I don't know Jackie. Even if all you're doing is kicking the tree, you'll eventually get tired and sore." He frowned as he turned his gaze skyward, watching the sun high in the sky. She gave him a displeased look.

"Come on Naruto, Ah can't have ya giving me this defeatist talk too. Ah'm an Apple. We're built tough, and can handle more than just a little applebucking."

He was sure this counted as more than a little applebucking, and something told him it was more than just the bragging rights to proving her brother wrong that was pushing this.

"AJ you know I believe in you, but this. All this," he waved his hands to the area around the alone. "We're going to have to run this train up and down for days."

She frowned, giving the area a look herself, before her gaze fell back down to the drink in her hands. She held a determined look as she looked back at him.

"Ah can't stop. This is really important to our family, to me, Ah can't stop just because somepony says it might be too tough."

He looked at her for a moment, before he had a thought.

"This is more than just you being a little stubborn. You feel responsible for this whole thing," he said, to which she gave no reply. He just sighed, before smiling slightly. He put a hand to her shoulder.

"Alright come on, we got a whole lot of trees to get through before the days over. I don't know about you, but I want to have this area looking like me from the past went a little stir crazy and snatched all your apples up." He said, giving her a shake, to which she responded by chuckling and than pumping herself up.

"Alrighty! No more break time. Best to get started now, while the Sun is up." She said, to which he grinned. They were about to begin when the earth started to rumble slightly. He looked around confused, before Applejack took off with an "Oh, no". He took off after her.

~X~

Everyday seemed to bring something new when it came to Ponyville, he learned. It's like this place of a hot spot for happenings, if the stampede of cattle was anything to go by.

They'd come upon the stampede of cows, making their way to Ponyville. The citizens in a panic, as they rushing group of cattle rushed forward. The two of them rushing the moving group from behind with Winona to the side.

"We gotta put a stop to them before they run through town!" Applejack stated, as the two of them started catching up to the back of the herd. The spiky haired blond's eyes narrowed, before he gave out commands.

"I'm going to go block off the entrance of the bridge! You need to find a way to lead the herd away, before they collapse the bridge and bring more harm to themselves!" His piece said, he shot forward, arms and legs pumping even faster. He reached to the side of the front of the herd, eyes catching sight of AJ and Winona jumping from cow to cow.

Aj had made it to the front cow, hands quick to try and aim her elsewhere, but to no progress. She caught eyes with Naruto, before shouting to him.

"Ah can't lead her off! We need something to deter them!" He nodded his head at her, before lines shot down to the right temple. Arms and legs being covered in lines themselves, before he seemed to blur forward before sliding the last bit of distance between him and the bridge. no time to think, he acted.

His slide turned into rotation, as his pants legs glowed with bright blue symbols. Water built around his rotating legs, as he spun like a break dancer, building into a small torrent that encompassed the width of the bridge.

The cows seemed to take notice, and that was all the que AJ needed to take the cow by the horns and steer her to the side. Winona doing her part by pushing the animals into the same direction. The whole group of cows angled right, to the side of the bridge, before slowing to a crawl. Naruto stopped rotating before flipping back on his feet. He heard a comment about a viper that scared, and made a note to look into that.

He ran up to AJ, before the two hi-5'd.

A job well done.

~X~

A couple of days had passed since the stampede. Him and AJ had been working around the clock, each tree bringing in more apples per bushel. Some having more baskets than the usual three, going up to five or even six. At first, it was fine. He and the clones were keeping good pace, but as soon as the number of baskets per trees kept growing they fell behind.

Applejack didn't seem to be faring any better. Continuously kicking and bucking all day for days had been having an effect on her. She would sometimes kick a tree and let out small whimpers, before shutting it out and continuing on. He'd been keen on letting her actually take a break. At times, she would, but not for long. Other times, it was like she didn't hear him and just kept going, singlemindedly kicking despite herself.

The worst part of it all was that, when she had a rest when he was still out in the fields gathering baskets, she'd made some promises with her friends. Those and an appearance for the ceremony at the end of the week, for saving the town.

Seriously, what was with these ponies? There's no way a stampede would have seriously destroyed the town right?

~X~

The ceremony was, well, a dud. AJ couldn't really stand straight, him having to support her himself, and he wasn't doing so hot either. He was at least getting more sleep than she was, that's for sure. He knew he heard her getting up early in the morning just to go straight to bucking. It was like she had no off switch, and he was getting worried. Her hair in disarray as they continued their work, he watched as Applejack proceeded to kick a tree, the fruit up top falling down, before she fell on her rear. He made his way over to her, as she now laid splayed out on the orchard floor.

"Hey...AJ...Applejack come on, speak to me!" He kneeled by her daze form. his shadow over her, giving her a view of his face, hands slapping her cheeks. She barely acknowledged it, but made a noncommittal grunt in response to his question. He sighed, before he helped her stand up, right as he made sure to catch her again.

"Naruto? Applejack? Oh my gosh, is something wrong?" The voice of Twilight Sparkle broke the silence of the orchard, bring both of their attention to her incoming form. The blond had to blink twice before he registered her, with Applejack not recognizing anything at this point.

"Oh...Heya Twilight, what's up? *yawn*" Celestia's protegee gave him a worried look, before turning to Applejack. Her expression only intensified.

"I came by to see what was going on with Applejack, but I see you're also not doing so well."

He let out a sigh, as he helped prop AJ up against a tree. He turned to the unicorn with tired eyes.

"Yeah, I guess we're not, huh? AJ over here has been working herself into overload trying to get Applebuck Season done in record time." He explained, while he stretched.

"What's Applebuck Season?" She asked.

"Oh it's the time of year that the Apple family apparently harvests. Something about this being the time of year where apples are at their finest. All the apples seem to coordinate to be ripe by this time of year." He explained. They noticed Applejack coming to, before she jumped up with an "I'm Awake!", listing off to the side slightly.

"Applejack, I'm worried about you and Naruto." The Apple mare seemed to just stare at her for a second, before nodding her head.

"Yeah, don't worry I gotcha some hay for the celery."

"What? No, Applejack I'm worried that the both of you are working yourselves into a fervor!"

"You want to get a beaver? You might want to talk to Fluttershy about that."

"No! I'm worried about you! You're working yourself sick, and I'm sure Naruto agrees with me!" Twilight exclaimed, before the two of them turned to find Naruto asleep as he stood. He was half-way over a low hanging tree branch, and snoring loudly.

"Now I'm mighty sure ya mean well Twilight, but we've got this! We don't need no help from no pony else! Come on Naruto!" She then proceeded to drag the sleeping blond by the foot, unmindful of his sleeping state.

"Zzzzzz..." The sleeping blond's snores were ignored all the way.

~X~

The blond shook himself awake, as he felt his back against a fence post. His eyes adjusting to the bright sun, before he heard voices.

"Come on Applejack! I thought I was dealing with Ponyville's best athlete here!" Sounded like Rainbow Dash had found them...What was she talking about? Weren't they in the orchard a second ago?

His vision focused, as he took in the scene of Applejack wobbling on a platform, with Rainbow dash splayed out on the farthest end of a See-Saw.

It took him a moment to realize what was going, and likely to happen in the next moment.

Oh fuck no.

He gathered all the energy he could, before he dashed forward with a shout, his matching Rainbow's own.

"Jackie!/Applejack! No!"

He got to Rainbow in time to push her off, before AJ jumped. HE should have realized how his legs were crossed over the edge of the See-Saw, but he was too late.

*TWACK!*

For the second time today, he knew nothing but darkness.

~X~

The pain. The pure scorching, unadulterated PAIN. His mind did not recover enough, but he could make some form of image of where he was. It looked like the Apple house. There was a feeling of coldness near his nethers was the only thing helping his mind focus at the moment.

He needed his parents' <<Trinket>>. ASAP, Hah...

The pain was fierce.

Dropping the bag of ice off his crotch, he found himself almost immediately hard pressed to even support himself on the couch. His vision was blurry, but he navigated the Apple home easily form memory. Pure iron will was what pushed him up the steps, and lead him to Mac's room. He knocked and found the stallion of the hour reading, before he looked over to the blond in surprise and than worry.

"Y'all alright there Sugarcube?" The question got the dirty blond a glare from the spiky haired one.

"Just give me my damn <<Trinket>> for a minute, Mac." He wheezed, his voice hoarse.

He needed to put a stop to this, NOW, before anymore casualties were had...

His poor kiwis.

~X~

He felt himself stumble as he maneuvered the orchard, heading in the direction of the sound of thudding in the distance. At his back was Big Mac, whose expression was stern. They'd been traveling the apple trees for a while now, and the blond took in the fact that notably most of them were barren of apples.

Had they really done this much work? It certainly showed.

Was it worth it though?

He dropped the question, as they came upon Jackie. She seemed to be seemed to have had a tornado pass over her by this point. Hair in disarray, closes wrought with sweat, wrinkled and in some places looked chewed. Her eyes had collected black rings by this point, and he was sure she was running on empty at this point.

"APPLEJACK!"

She barely looked up in time, before he blindsided her. He pinned her almost immediately, it wasn't exactly like she could struggle with what little energy she had. Or at least he assumed so.

"AJ! This is enough! You can't keep doing this anymore, you're running yourself ragged and doing more harm than good!" He shouted at her, her face now focused with an angry frown. Which lead to him being surprised as she struggled for a moment and threw him off in a surprising show of strength.

"No! I gotta do this one now!" She rushed off to the last tree she had been at with him on her heels. She reached it first, since he'd been stumbling half way, and bucked the tree. All the apples came free, before he once more bodily slammed into her.

It was at this point that a very annoyed Twilight teleported in to catch the two of them rolling around, battling for dominance. This time he won and made sure to use his tails to entangle her own and her legs, respectively.

"Applejack, this has to stop. Your applebucking has caused trouble for more than just you. It's nearly over propelled a pegasus, practically poisoned plenty of ponies," this information was news to him, which caused him to frown.

How long had he been out for?

"..terrorized bushels of brand new, bouncing baby bunnies and let's not forget almost cause impotency in a living being. I don't care what you say, you need help." Twilight finished, and Naruto couldn't help but shudder at the last bit of reasoning. He still hadn't fully recovered, but that wasn't important right now. What was important was that AJ was looking awfully smug right now, for someone being pinned.

"Hah! No Ah don't, look. We got every tree in the Acres. How ya like them apples." She said with a smug smile, as they looked and noticed that as far as the eye could see, every tree was bare of apples. Well he would say that, if he and Big Mac weren't looking in the other direction. Applejack took notice, finding the position she and Naruto were in and flushing, before saying something about it.

"What?"

"Well, how do I say this? Big Mac would you please?" Naruto said as he gave the stallion the lead, who took it with a wave of his hand to the other portion of the orchard.

"how'd ya like them apples?" He said, before AJ got a good look at what was possibly another got 3/8's of the orchard stock full of red fruit. Her eyes, shrunk,, before she struggled, however weakly, to try and get over there. Naruto just gave her a flat look, before rolling his eyes, getting off of her. Yet, before she could get up to try and trek towards the fields again, he picked her up from underneath the knees and behind the shoulders.

"And up we go! No more work for you Jackie. Time for some TLC," the former thief said, as the group began to walk back towards the house. Applejack tried to struggle, but with how weak she actually was, it took him no effort to keep hold of her.

"Na-Naruto, come on let go! Ah gotta, gotta get t-to the apples," her protests were ignored by those around her, but the blond responded.

"Nuh-uh. You need to get some rest, and relax. You've been working yourself into a frenzy and it pains me to see you do so. I was holding out for so long, because I'd hope you'd have seen reason, but you didn't. So say whatever you want after you get rest." He said with finality. One of his tails took the position of wrapping themselves her own, keeping them intertwined.

She struggled for a moment before stopping, dropping her head against his chest.

"Ah won't forgive you, ya know. We Apples know how to hold a grudge," is what she said, but she proceeded to make herself comfortable against him, nuzzling into the crook of his neck causing him to flush a little.

"Sure AJ, just be prepared, I got all the time in the world." After which she went to sleep in his arms, breaths coming out more slowly. Big Mac smiled, while Twilight gave the two of them and Big Mac a confused look.

Did she miss something here?

~X~

It had been a few days since then, with Applejack well rested, and Big Mac healed enough to help pull carts things had been progressing at a smoother pace than before.

"Geez Naruto, you sure you're okay? I mean she hit ya right where it hurts, didn't she?" Said Rainbow, as she carried a basket full of apples. Her eyes on the blond who was currently resting on a bench.

He gave her a pained look, shuddering in phantom pain.

"Never again. Next time that happens, I don't think I'll be able to have kids."

The others had come to help out, even Spike and Apple bloom and her three friends, now including Dinky. The two unicorn fillies trying to emulate Twilight as she levitated trees worth of apples from their homes and put them into carts.

The two turned their heads, watching as Applejack rolled in a cart full of apple juice. The others coming over as she set up near the table.

"I wanna thank you guys. I was being a bit stubborn-" She started before Twilight commented.

"A little stubborn?" The librarian said with a raised eyebrow. AJ flushed a little as she chuckled sheepishly.

"Okay, a might stubborn. Now I know that the town gave me that trophy, but he real award is having friends like ya guys."

"No problem, dearie." Rarity.

"Silly! I'm always ready to help a friend!" Pinkie.

"I don't mind." Fluttershy.

"Always ready to help a friend in need. I mean what are friends for?" Rainbow Dash.

"Applejack, it's always okay to ask for help. We'd do what's in our power to help." Twilight.

She smiled at each of them, before turning to Naruto.

"Ah'm real sorry about how much I worked ya Naruto. Ah know Ah might not have been the most...accommodating pony lately, so thanks for putting up with my nonsense the past two weeks." She gave an apologetic smile, to which he waved off in nonchalance.

"Jackie, it's no prob. I'm just glad you finally accepted some outside help. My shoulders still hurt from the basket lifting." He said rubbing his arms.

"Ah know what you mean. Ah'm still sore form all that bucking Ah did. Remind me to never do that again." She added on as she took a seat, and rubbing her sore legs.

~X~

He let out a sigh of relief. After taking a shower after doing the last of the applebucking for the season, he felt like it was time to relax. His window let in a breeze, and he was sure it probably felt awesome outside...

He just had an awesome idea.

~X~

"Boy howdy, nothing like a good shower to sooth the muscles after workin'." Said the cow mare, as she took the towel and ruffled her blond locks. It felt good to run some hot water over her legs, especially after the recent stint she had been on.

She sat down on her bed, looking out the open window. She watched as the stars twinkled over the moon, before noticing a glint of waving blue light passing over the Moon's front.

"What in the world?" She whispered, before she noticed the sound of steps on the roof. She moved out her room, looking down the hallway noticing that Naruto's room door was open, leading her to believe he had some hand in it.

With this, her next course of action was decided.

~X~

He knew this would be a good idea. The cool wind against his back as his jumpsuit rustled, and the night sky bright and full of stars, he decided to make good use of it. His ears twitched at the sound of a pretty close door/hatch being opened.

"Naruto?" The familiar voice of Applejack rang through the night air. He turned his head back to give her a grin before he continued his fun. Slashing his arms upward, diagonally and to the side, he moved the water in the air into various directions and turns. His form highlighted in moon reflected water drops. With each movement, his body contributed more, before he swung into it with abandon.

~X~

She couldn't move her eyes from the sight. Finding the ladder that lead to the attic and then the adjacent one that lead to the roof had been easy.

Yet that still didn't prepare her for what she saw. The blond she had come to know in the past month, had been a, dare she say it, necessity to her life. And she didn't understand why. He was supportive, yes, but so was her family. She'd known them her whole life, and nothing would ever change that, but when Naruto's image popped into the picture...she felt more complete. The notion was something she dismissed, as her finally having a sort of true rival of sorts. He was just as good as she was in most physical activities, and even better, but she enjoyed the challenge.

He never went out of his way to back down from her, he fought back with a determination to match her own stubborn pride. He was a straightforward fella, who had no problem speaking his mind, and she could admire that honesty, beyond obvious reasons. He was rough, and didn't do well in social situations, but that was fine. Everyone was different and she'd be damned, if that deterred her. Yet, that was the question...

Deter her from what?

The notion that someone/pony would cause her to feel this way was not unwelcome. Yet, the fact that the one who made her feel this way. The butterflies, the heat across her face and belly-flops. The very fact that it was this one in front of her, the irony of this person being a former thief of her goods, brought a sense of elation to her being.

Her eyes trailed him as he moved, the water flowing around him before he came to a stop. The liquid merely staying in rotation around him, as crystal blue met her vivid greens. He smiled at her, and that elated feeling breached the surface again. He was in front of her the next moment, before they just stared at one another, before chuckling.

Play Song: Stay Awake by Ellie Goulding

They settled down, before he walked to the edge of the roof. She tried to stop him before noticing that the moment his foot stepped off, a spinning circle of water appeared beneath his feet. He took another step, before he turned to her with a hand outstretched.

She looked to him with a nervous expression, before grasping hold. Her form lit up, a white glow engulfing her, before dimming slightly. He let go and continued walking the ascending platforms. She looked down at herself, and then at the small platform leading to Naruto, before gulping and taking the step.

She'd felt like she was standing on solid ground, and with more courage took the next step. With each solid footing her confidence renewed, she walked up the platforms rising higher into the night sky, before they ended at a larger platform that probably could hold half her home on it.

In the center of the rotating platform of water stood Naruto, with a grin, before he began to move. Water teased the tips of his fingers, as he spun with a grace, she was surprised by. She watched as more water gathered in the air above the blond, right as he stopped. His arms out wide, before he swung his arms in tandem. Water moving in numerous in motion droplets, as they circled the platform. Her eyes watched the display as each drop caught the light of the moon above, acting like stars. The next moment they stopped, frozen in time, before the blond at the center jutted his arms outward and up above.

The coalescence of H2O moved across the sky line in shapes and sizes of various objects and animals. Her eyes entranced, and had she seen Naruto's so were his. He dipped down before swing back up. The drops following through, forming a solid cylinder of slow moving particles i the sky. Naruto moved on with the final performance of the night.

He spun, arms swinging out before pulling inward as if to cup something. The water particles quickened in motion, before coming together high in the sky over the moon. And with one last unleashing of his arms, the orbs center burst out into slow moving particles that orbited the sphere.

They both stood there in the center, Applejack having moved sometime during the display, before sitting down back-to-back. He closed his eyes as he relaxed, feeling the mare rest her back against his own.

Applejack's eyes looked down at her hands clasping around her knees, before she rested herself against the blond behind her. A smile glued onto her face, as she asked.

"And what brought this on?" He knew her eyes were probably closed, but he was sure she was listening. He chuckled.

"Maybe I'm just..." He started, before smiling.

~~~~~~~
"Yall're in love! Ya silly boy. Your mind can't get off Applejack. You're fixated on her, and your mind just does what it does and tries to find ways to express it!.."
~~~~~~~

"Expressing myself." Eyes up towards the small swirling nebula. She chuckled, before her smile shifted onto something gentler.

"Ah'm glad you're here."

"Yeah, me too."

She would never know that the last bit he did was more hand a nebula. She would never take notice of the Konoha insignia pulsing throughout the night sky.

~X~

Author's Note

LONGEST. CHAPTER. EVER!

That's another one down! We're entering the final stretch, but it ain't over yet!

Naruto is a Mad little genius isn't he? Makes meh so proud~ *wipes away tear*

There was a lot I wanted to do with this chapter, but when I remember that this is going to be a short story, I usually take a smart way of transitioning to help me cut down on explanations. When it comes down to the main story, I'm not looking to really branch out the world too much, otherwise I become a tease, and I don't want to do that.

...Maybe.

There was a lot of slight fleshing out of what it means to be a Faye/Unique here. It's a sort of mad scientist mind-set born from constructing and then using their own products to see how far they go. After which they remake and do again.

Who doesn't love a little ROMANCE?!

You have no idea how close I was to having Naruto sing Hercules Go the Distance! It was so close, but I chose the song I did, because it fit the setting more. It perfectly helped set the emotion

Renewal: So yeah, this chapter had the biggest scene added to it, with more info added into the first portion of the chapter. I felt it weird that Naruto never really interacted with Rainbow up to where I currently am with the story. So we got the new scene, and more lines for some characters.

Another small set of spelling and spacing errors, along with a little bit of addition to the running mystery throughout the story.

~NRK Out~

Compatability

It’s that time again!

Its chapter FOUR out of SIX (Even if it’s technically FIVE out of whatever number), and the finale is up next! This will be the last chapter before we hit Boast Busters! I’m going to prepare for the final bend and then we’ll be able to get some more flexible episode chapters.

When I feel like it.

This chapter is something of a little filler to show a little bit of the dynamic has changed. They’re close, but they’re at the cusp. They need that one push to go over the edge.

As for continuation of this story, it’s in the process of being an “Epilogue:” series of chapters where it’ll be, for example, “Epilogue: Apple Family Reunion”. So on and so forth. (By the way, that is going to happen! No if’s, and’s, or but’s. That’s an epilogue I’m looking forward to.)

Also this is going to be a chapter that runs alongside Griffon and the Brush Off. So if you’re wondering where we are in the episodic timeline, there you go. I’m going to be deepening the relationship to the rest of the Apple siblings and the CMC (plus possibly Spike), since Naruto and AJ are where I need them to be right now. He and Granny Smith have a sort of mentor and student accord going on, though it may not seem like much.

Now the humor is going to be hit-or-miss for one portion of the chapter. Whether you like it or not will be a coin toss, slight SOD is necessary. You’ll know when you get to it.

With all that said, let the story continue.

Disclaimer! : It’s in the first chapter. Why don’t you GO READ IT!

~X~

He swung his head to the side, as the piercer made itself present. Armed with nothing but his fists, he lunged forward under the belly of the beast as its tail flew overhead. He slid to its backside before jumping atop its back and slamming a palm between its wings, causing it to freeze in place.

He was on the move before the effect even started. His tails glowed as he strengthened them, elongating before finding purchase in ground, just as he secured his arms around the neck of the horns and mane.

“GGGGRRRRAAAHAAHHHH!” He shouted with a twist, flipping both Unique and Beast, before coming to a stop in full bent back position. The Beast’s form flopping over on its belly, letting out a groan. He came back to standing position, just as the magical beast wobbled to its feet.

*clap*3* “O-okay, that’s enough.” Came the voice of the butter-colored resident animal caretaker as she walked in between them, causing both sides to relax. She walked to the manticore, giving its head a good rub, before letting it go off into the Everfree Forest.

“Good-bye Corey!” The pony whispered-yelled as the manticore took its leave, the blond Unique coming up to her side giving her a raised eyebrow.

“I’m still more than a little confused, why I needed to do that,” Naruto stated, stretching all the while.

“Ah, well you see manticores in Everfree are few and far in between. They’re only so many of them in Equestria that when in contact with one another they see each other as-“ And the normally shy pony rambled on as they walked to her cottage, waving at the animals as they pressed past the small entrance into Everfree from Fluttershy’s backyard.

Seriously, some of these ponies lived with danger near their backyards! Why?! There’s Fluttershy’s backyard entrance into Everfree and then there’s the fencing by the Apple Orchard, which he could forgive, considering it was gigantic.

“-Corey just doesn’t have many others around for him to test himself against and since I figured you wouldn’t mind, you don’t do you?” She ended on a slightly worried note, to which he just shook his head.

Best not to get her worked up. Besides, he’d done worst to a few Magical Beasts before meeting her. Better to keep that to himself.

Luckily none of those beasts would ever be seen again, but that was beside the point. He assured her and stated he’d be leaving back to the Acres.

“Oh do you really have to go so soon? Mr. and Mrs. Faux Paws were so looking forward to you spending more time with them and their kits.” She stated as they continued through her house to her front door. He gave a smile to that, but apologized.

“Sorry, but I’ve kind of got some things planned with Big Mac for today. It’s been week since Applebuck Season ended, and I finally convinced him into hanging with me today.” He clapped his hands together in apology. She took in stride with a small smile.

“Oh, that’s fine. It’s good to see that you’ve finally been getting more open with the public. I know how hard that can be.” This sentence caused him to scratch the back of his head, unabashedly.

“Oh so you noticed that, huh.”

“You exhibit a lot of the habits that some of my animals show when they’re...ahem uncomfortable, around others.” He gave her a slightly shocked look.

Huh, guess the animal traits were far more than he originally thought they were. He'd honestly thought it was just his normal aversion to being looked at with not so angry stares.

~X~

“So yall are gonna be around town just hangin’ out?” The question came from Apple Bloom, who at this point in time was just getting home from school. It was a Friday, and with Applebuck Season being over and done with, chores were over pretty quickly. She looked over to the figures of Big Mac and Naruto standing by the doorway.

The two of them, dressed for their evening trip through the town, gave the rest of the Apple family pause. Big Macintosh was wearing a simple ensemble of dark blue jeans and black polo. Naruto meanwhile, wore a white long-sleeved dress shirt, the buttons at the top being opened to show slight amounts of his pectorals, with silver cargo shorts that came past his knees but also had a pair of small gold links running at the midpoint of each leg. Also his spiral insignia was sown onto the back of each article of clothing in dark teal.

Overall, they looked ready to go out into town and enjoy some good times. Though Applejack took special notice of Naruto’s clothes for more than just eye candy reasons.

“Them be clothes Rarity made fer ya, right?” Her question came out, causing the spiky haired blond of the group to confirm it.

“Yeah, though I swear to Celestia, I’m never showing her another of my skills again. Not after the…clone abuse.” He gave with a dead tone, his skin paling slightly. Jackie just gave him a look.

“Now Ah’m sure it wasn’t that bad.” She said with a hand wave.

His mind jumping back to when a prank went all wrong.

It was just supposed to be another damn prank. Sure he may not have learned to stop and think for a second in context of his current bearing with Rarity, but it was just to get back at her for the needle pokes!

His mind decided to ignore the fact that he’d chucked the first stone, so to speak, in this instance.

It was just going to be a small thing really! Just to mess with her for a bit. He planned on just having each one of the clones coming to her door and entering in while saying “hi”. Then, he’d pretty much josh her for a bit, before enjoying the expression on her face.

Things did not work out the way he wanted them to do. He’d expected a shocked expression, hell, even a dropped jaw! What he got was HORROR.

He’d remember after he was done, that he and his clones lined up and gave her a mocking salute, before they all shot back in fear.

Rarity’s expression at the time could only be considered…monstrous. Her face had been shadowed over, with the only thing being visible were two shining circles where her eyes use to be, and a disturbing shining, up-facing crescent moon in place of her mouth.

“Oh Naruto~!” Her voice seemed to come out distorted, and its pitch was seemingly garbled and disgustingly saccharine.

Oh fuck all kinds of duck.

He shuddered in memory. It was from then on that Rarity would call on him to help model for her male clothes line in repayment for the prank from six years ago.

So much fabric.

“Whatever you say Jackie, just remember this. Once she has you in her grasp, she’ll suck out your soul and turn you into a ponnequien.” He voiced out in suppressed terror. Applejack just shook her head at him and came to the door.

“Well that’s mighty nice of ya, Mac over here doesn’t get out nearly as much as Ah wish he did,” The middle Apple sibling stated, to which Big Mac gave her a narrow eyed look, to which she responded with a sheepish chuckle.

“Uh, come on big brother. Ya know I only want what’s best fer ya?” It came out more like a question, to which he raised an eyebrow.

“Now Ah’m sure Ah don’t need to worry about “getting out” any more than necessary.” The red stallion said in certainty.

“Ah didn’t mean it like that! Ah just meant ya could use more guy friends is all, and Ah’m sure you and Naruto can bond a bit is all Ah’m saying.”

“That’s mighty fine. Ah have no problem with havin’ male friends in Ponyville, and Ah ain’t got no problem with Naruto. Guy’s been a pretty alright fella since he’s been here.” The eldest Apple sibling stated, causing the Unique to his side to grumble in slight indignation.

“I’ve always been an alright, upright dude! Come on Jackie, back me up on this! Uh…” He’d made himself known, and when he turned to AJ for some support, he found himself at a loss of words for the dry, half-lidded look she sent his way.

“Sugarcube, ya were a thief.”

“A thief with morals!” He retorted. Her expression didn’t change.

“A thief all the same.”

“All ya’ll just haters!” He grumbled before turning, opening the door and nearly walking straight into the duo of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

“Whoa! What are you two doing here?” He questioned the fillies. Apple Bloom and Granny Smith came to the door, before turning to face the trio of Applejack, Big Mac and Naruto.

“We’re going to be helping Granny Smith go shoppin’ today.” The Apple filly said, before joining the two other fillies in cheer.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders SHOPPERS! YAY!” They zoomed off ahead, towards the fence, leaving three gobsmacked expressions in their trail.

“…”

“Well…That’s a thing now?” Naruto couldn’t help but ask.

~X~

Later on it was just him and Big Mac, seeing as Applejack left off somewhere around entering Ponyville proper to check in with Twilight and Co. Though she didn’t leave before taking him to the side and giving him a few words.

“Listen Naruto,” Applejack started, absentmindedly fixing his the collar of his shirt. “Ah really want you and Big Mac to really bond, ya know become friends, pals even.”

“Jackie, why you stressing this, it’s ME and Mac! We’re just going to just do what guys do…Which I actually don’t know yet, but we’ll figure it out!” He said, giving her a confused gaze. She tossed him one right back, though it had a tick of anxiousness thrown in.

“Whadya mean? Ah haven’t been stressin’ nothin’…right?” She started off strong, but it trailed off into an unsure remark.

“Well, I’d say so, otherwise I have to say you must REALLY like the collar of this shirt. You’ve been fixing it for the past 3 minutes.” He explained, causing her to look at her hands in shock. The digits wrangled in the cloth of the shirt top, before they jumped off as if burned. She turned her head to the side to hide her blush, hands now unoccupied. He tilted his head to the side, but catching the profile of her blushing face, caused his own to heat up in response before he looked off to the other side.

This conversation didn’t end up being of the comfortable sort.

He shook his head of the memory, before he focused more on what he and Mac were going to be doing with their time in Ponyville.

“So Mac, what’s the plan on the agenda for today? I’d offer an idea, but you know why I can’t,” He started conversation. Not as hard as getting Twilight to speak up, but the method was a lot harder in comparison. To start…

What did he really know about Big Mac?

As long as he’s “known” the Apple family, he’s been able to glimpse plenty of the personas of the family of farmers, and could normally nail them down pretty decently.

Granny Smith was an elder, and she usually enjoyed just watching things for the most part. Were she here, he’d just offer to roll her throughout the town and they’d sightsee.

Apple Bloom was even easier, in that she often was just curious about most anything. Especially if it involved Cutie Marks. He could probably have a solid conversation with her about his thoughts on the how’s and why’s of the much vested after flank & hand tattoo.

Applejack was a lot of things. Stubborn, athletic, hard-working, compassionate and also VERY family-orientated. For the most part though, he could get her talking a bit about farm-life and have that trail off into other topics. Though the whole Elements of Harmony thing, always threw him for a loop. He’d seriously need to get a close look at one soon.

Back to the matter at hand, for the most part he knew Big Mac was family-orientated. Being a big bro to Jackie was a huge clue on where she got it from, though she might have developed a sort of obsession over it.

He loved being on the farm…okay so just like AJ, save for the fact that Mac’s pride was on the farm. Naruto doesn’t think he could keep up a conversation on farm work for too long, without trying to edge it into uncomfortable directions.

What else did he know about him? Big Macintosh was the biggest stallion he ever knew. Strongest he’d seen up to this point as well, so maybe that could work. He returned from his thoughts as Macintosh started talking to him.

“…Nothing really comes to mind, though I guess we can walk around for a bit until something hits,” the red vibrant red stallion said, as he and Naruto walked through the square. They moved along the streets, passing some stalls which held a variety of things from produce to clothing.

“I’m surprised by the fact that this place isn’t running into some disaster right now. It’s like this place has some craziness kicking in every other week. First that whole Nightmare Moon thing I heard about, then there was that mobbing of Twilight and her friends with those weird tickets for some Gola thing. Then there was the stampede and Jackie going crazy and running us ragged during Applebuck Season.” The blond ran down the list of events, each black finger ticking off respectively.

“Hmm, though Ah do reckon there’s plenty of happenstances around here, Ponyville’s still one of the homier, more peaceful places in all of Equestria.” He responded, though he also had a question.

“How’d ya miss the Sun Celebration festival? How’d you miss Nightmare Moon even?”

The Unique scratched the back of his head, before he explained.

“Well back then, I was still in the Deeper Depths. Stuff was getting weird around there, there was a strange kind of magic being absorbed into the forest and I was trying to keep track of it. That went…” He stayed silent, his expression darkening, before it changed back to a slight frown.

“It didn’t really go anywhere, after a giant flash of light from your guys’ end, most of the energy disappeared. From there I just gave up on it.” He ended with a shrug, leaving Big Mac to ponder the spiky blonde’s brief downward spiral in emotion. Before he decided it wasn’t his place to bring it up.

They’d kept walking down the street before coming upon the form of Spike resting on a bench outside of Sugarcube Corner. The drake was enjoying a cupcake with green icing and an emerald on its side, dressed in purple long sleeves, and the same shorts from before.

The two figured they might get something to eat, during which they could decide on what to do. The drake waved them over, once he noticed them.

“Hey guys! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“No problem Spike, we were honestly just walking around looking for something to do at this point.” The former-apple thief said. He told Big Mac to get them whatever he felt like, while the shorter blond chatted up Spike.

“Really? That’s pretty cool I guess, I mean it’s probably great to just hang around and be guys.” Twilight’s assistant responded, his own treat finished with one more bite, before he licked his lips clean.

“Yeah, thing is, I’m not sure how to go about “hanging out as just guys”. Still new to this whole “social etiquette” thing.” Naruto stated, while scratching the back of his noggin. It's not like he had ever really had the time back in the Elemental Nations once he'd become a Genin with everyone else. It was usually one back to back situation with another. That's also not factoring in his previous pariah status.

“Well think of it like just hanging around doing stuff friends normally do. Except it’s you know, “Guy Time”.”

“Well what does that even mean? I mean me and AJ hang out, but she’s a girl, so does that make it different?” The blond asked, making Spike cross his arms and close his eyes.

“It’s sort of different. It’s like, a time when guys can be just themselves around each other? It’s really hard to explain…Um, guess, it’s just like being friends with your buddies, who are guys. Normally with no girls involved.” Spike wasn’t sure if this would get across to the spiky blonde, but did his utmost to get him informed.

Naruto sort of understood what Spike was getting at. It was sort of true, though Naruto didn’t really make it so he acted any differently around anyone, so he was just an oddity. At least he assumed so. It was at that point Big Mac made his exit out of the store, two milkshakes in hand.

“Thanks.” Naruto said, receiving one of the offered beverage treats.

“Hey Big Mac.” Spike greeted the eldest of the group, who nodded in return.

“Howdy Spike, Ah’m surprised to see you out and ‘bout like this.”

“Yeah, well today Twilight decided that she wanted to go reading in the park, and we closed down the library. I came here to just enjoy my day, but I’ve honestly got no idea what to do with myself.” The small dragon said, idly kicking his legs.

It was at that point Naruto had an idea.

“Well why don’t you hang with us? That is if Mac doesn’t mind,” Naruto offered, giving the eldest Apple sibling a questioning look, to which he smiled and nodded his head. Spike grinned, before jumping to his feet.

“Cool! U-um, I mean, if you want to, that’d be uh….cool?” It came out like a question to which both older males of the group just chuckled. The now duo turned trio ventured off into Ponyville once more, making idle chatter or in Macintosh’s case grunts and snorts, as they ventured the town.

“Well, why don’t we just throw out some stuff, and see if we can get an idea out of it?” Asked Spike, as the trio of males walked past the market area. Saying “hi” to a walking by Fluttershy, who was leading some ducks across the way.

“Hmm, training?” Naruto threw out, making the other two look at him.

“Trainin’ like what kind?” His ears perked, even Spike was leaning in as they listened the second oldest male of the group.

“In Everfree, especially the deeper section, I always had to keep up my conditioning, nay even more, had to push my limits so I’m never the next piece of lunch for some kind of hungry creature in that place. So anything of that nature would do.” He ended with a shrug.

“Hmm,” the bright red stallion hummed hand, bearing his Cutie Mark, rubbing his chin.

“Ah might know where we can go.”

~X~

They arrived at what looked like a gymnasium. The building was mainly white. The structure being round upfront, but extending out back into a rectangle, with a field out back. The top of the structure had pictures, of towels and a power bar, in the forms of light blue clouds and soap suds.

The trio entered the double doors in front, coming to a large square room. The area had two hallway entrances with the signs of “Spa” and “Gym” on the left and right, respectively. In front of the doorway was a counter where a blue furred, pink haired Earth Pony female stood.
With a white top that came down to just above her knees, and a bandanna to hold back her hair, Aloe greeted the trio with a smile and greeting.

“Welcome to Sores, Pores, and More. I’m Aloe, and how may I help you today?” She greeted them, looking over the group, eyes turning curious as they landed on Naruto but friendly nonetheless.

“Howdy there miss Aloe. We were just planning on doing some workouts while we were here.” The large stallion said, as he came up to the counter and signed the three of them up. Once done, they were directed to the right hallway. After entering they came to the sight of dozens upon dozens of exercising equipment. From Treadmills to incline press to the ab burner. Some machines were in use by various other groups of stallions and mares, or singular folk. In the corner lay a boxing ring, where a group of stallions lay about, with punching bags strung across the area and several in the ring practicing the art of fisticuffs.

Taking this in the group entered the dressing room, before coming out in the workout clothes. Matching white muscle shirts and blue sweatpants. Blue headbands and towels thrown over their necks.

“So what’s first on the regimen, Big Mac?” Said Spike, as they oved along the row of machines, coming to an area free of any sort of machinery before they spread out to start stretching. Big Mac grunted as he reached down to touch his horseshoes.

“Well I reckon we go down the list of exercises. First off…”

Going from the Incline, to the leg press to treadmills until they came down to the bench press. They were sore by the time they reached the station of four benches. One of which was currently in use.

“YEAH!”

By an abnormally muscled white Pegasus(?). With the pony’s white coat, blond crew cut and red eyes, even decked out in the same as them looked beyond their muscle class.

“Howdy Bulk,” Big Mac up to the side of the bench greeting the body builder in a familiar fashion. His name was Bulk “Snowflake” Biceps, if they heard him yelling it right. When they said they were going to be using the machines around his person, he readily agreed. Even offering to spot for Mac as Naruto spotted Spike.

“So this is “Guy Time”?” Naruto observed, as he held his hands out slightly, prepared to catch the bar should Spike fail to bring it up. The drake was going strong with one 45 on each end, bringing him up to 135 lbs in total.

“Y-yea…It’s part of…it,” The youngest of the group grunted out, as he strained coming up to 20 reps before he let Naruto help him put the bar back into place and throw him a towel. The blond switched into place after adding 55 to each end of the bar, before setting into position. He started to pump away, looking at Big Mac and Bulk as the red stallion was pumping 3 45’s on each end with moderate amounts of effort.

“It’s a lot more complicated than just this, but you can’t really categorize Guy Time as anything other than guys being bros with each other and sort of competing with one another.” The dragon stated, eyes moving up and down in time with the bar. The spiky haired one hitting 10 without stopping.

“Being bros with each other,” The blond said absentmindedly, before he grew a look of determination. He looked over to where Big Mac and Bulk were, noticing the fact that they were currently resting and chatting. He set the bar back into place before sitting up.

Time to take this to the next level.

~X~

“Seems like things are going well fer ya,” Macintosh said as he set the bar back into place.

“Yeah! Things have been going good for me! The spa twins have noticed my expertise,” The muscular pony said, as he pumped some hand weights.

“Mighty fine of ‘em to be so accomodatin’ of ya. The top of the building says it all.” He rubbed down with the towel in hand.

“Whose the weird guy and little dragon?” The question made the two of them look over to Naruto and Spike, as the latter helped the former attach more weights to both ends before they ended up with 3 45’s on each end.

“Hmm, he’s a family friend whose helping out on the farm, nice guy for as long as Ah’ve known ‘im. The little dragon there’s Spike. He’s the assistant of the new pony who moved in some months ago, Ms. Sparkle.” Big Mac said, both of them watching as the blond proceeded to lift the weights slowly but steadily, with Spike spotting him. The Unique blond saw their looks, and gave a wink before continuing his counting, which made Big Mac’s eyes narrow for a moment.

“Well they seem to be pushing some serious iron! Yeah!” The bulky Pegasus said, as he was now doing two handed push-ups. Arms moving in tandem, and smooth motions.

“Eeyup. Applejack seemed to be real happy about us hangin’ out today. Ah’m pretty sure she had some hand in this. Was going on about how Ah don’t got many friends and such.” With that said, Big Mac went back to lifting his weights, but not before adding on two more tens to both sides of the bar to the twitching eye of one Unique.

He tried not to smirk.

“So you don’t like him?” One handed push-ups.

Mac let out a grunt as he began pumping once more, eyes focused, even if he one of them flickered to the blond and dragon across the way.

“Between you and me, Naruto’s an A’ ok guy, pretty friendly if he’s familiar enough with ya, He’s not really super social, but he wants AJ happy, and she wants me and him to bond over stuff. Not that Ah wouldn’t want him as a friend, but Ah think he’s just as clueless about how to go about it as she is.” He hit 10 reps, and let out deep breaths.

“So he doesn’t get guy stuff?”

“Pretty much.”

“Him and your sister close? Oh yeah little guy! PUMP THAT IRON!” Bulk asked, before shouting encouragement over to Spike who was trying and failing to push up the bar with 1 45 and 25 on each end. Naruto was doing his best to help, but didn’t seem to know where to stop helping, Spike telling him to let up and then not let up every few seconds.

“Well that’s the thing. Ah’m pretty sure the two of ‘em are head over hooves for one another. Heck they got this little routine where they keep looking away from one another and start blushing if left alone for too long.” They both noted that Naruto helped lay Spike out on the ground for some rest before the blond had a copy of himself help start pumping. The 3 45’s from before were back, with the blond adding 20 to each side and pumping again.

He gave Mac a huge grin, as he made it seem like he was doing it with ease, though both stallions could see him straining to maintain the façade. Though Macintosh couldn't help the snort that came to his nose, before he got up and replaced the additional 10’s on each sides with 25’s.

Bulk Biceps, seeing this, couldn’t help but grin. So this was happening, was it? Alright then.

~X~

Aloe knew she was in for a spectacle when she came to check up on Bulk’s portion of the building. That stallion seemed to have a knack for having various kinds of crazy happening every other week. Whether it be that spontaneous fight club phase that seemed to have happen over here that one time, or the time that they managed to try and turn this into a pub. Or even the races that they had.

She chalked it up to normal Ponyville zaniness. She still didn’t understand where the Pegasus had found the time to repaint the entire gym that week without anyone noticing. She just chalked that mystery up to Pinkie help.

When in doubt, blame Pinkie.

So when she came into the gymnasium portion of the structure she felt like she was in for a treat.

Oh how right she was.

“YEAH! Next batch of bodies!”

She really hoped there was some less than gruesome context to that sentence. She didn’t want to walk in on another cult demonstration!

She found a crowd a stallions encircling the boxing area, though that’s not what caught her attention once she came to the station. It was more the pile of groaning bodies that lay on either side of the ring, in which stood two figures.

The two eldest of that trio she had seen from earlier hung on opposite ends of the ring. Both sat in their corners half-naked, with both of them substituting their pants for some shorts, and having athletic tape wrapped around their palms. They breathed easily as they looked across the ring to one another, before they stood up in unison, giving each other a beckoning look.

“Hey Bulk! I don’t think anyone else wants to go a round with either of them anymore.” That sounded like the dragon from earlier, whom she found standing on the side by Bulk Biceps.

She made a beeline towards him post-haste.

“Very true young Spike, there are no more competitors but those left in the ring!” Bulk seemed to be smiling as the two in the ring stood up. Each of them attaching to their hands the gloves that sat by their corners. Those gloves special made for the MMMA. The Magical Mixed Martial Artes display tournaments she had heard about being held in the some of the more urban places of Equestria. Cottinghoof, Manespire and Manehatten to name a few.

She remember Bulk asking for special permission to be able to host few matches here and then but she and Lotus always denied them with the reasoning that the sport was simply too dangerous to hold here. Bulk after much consideration had compromised, but they still got him the gloves for the sake of the normal MMA.

She was so happy that they had waivers for this kind of thing. She swore some of the ponies in this town just loved getting themselves into some sort of danger.

Especially the stallions. Though she would admit that they could get quite the crowd of mares down here whenever they had one of bulk’s rare MMA nights.

So many bits! She honestly couldn’t refuse! Oh dear she was getting ahead of herself again.

“Ah Ms. Aloe, how goes it.” He turned to her with an amicable expression to which she returned.

“Good evening Bulk, I was just checking in to make sure everything was going well-“

*Groans*

“Relatively speaking,” she finished with a sheepish smile.

“Things are going most adequately! The two in the arena are the only ones left, and they seemed prepared to throw down! YEAH!” He stated, causing the three to the side to take notice of the fact that the two had come together to bump gloves.

“You may have won the Bench Press, but I got Treadmill! Don’t expect this to go to you just because you’re a little big.” The spiky blond said, as they brought both gloves together, before separating. He took stance across from Mac, mirroring the red stallion’s boxing position.

“Ah am called BIG Macintosh for a reason. ‘Sides it’s not like you were giving it your all. Yall got yer magic to fall back on.” It may have sounded like complaining but the stallion, had a small smile.

“I won’t use it because it’s not fair! Far be it from me to use something you can’t control to my advantage, now put up your dukes! This settles it!” The blond said as they slowly started to circle one another.

As they began what would be considered the Brawl of Manly Males™, the three at the sides looked on.

“I’m going to be perfectly honest and say that some of you stallions really don’t know when to quit.” Came Aloe’s statement, as the duo in the ring began to trade blows. Both physical and verbal.

“Hah! Mah grandma throws better punches than you!” Big Mac’s barb was met with crossed arms as Naruto blocked his straight.

“How dare you! My punches are the fists that shall move the heavens!” He responded with a jab to the stallion’s solar plexus.

“Pow! Right to the Solar Plexus!”

Meanwhile…

“Hey Dash you hear that?” Questioned the gryphon, and Dash’s past flight school compatriot.

“Yeah, sounds like somepony just got punched in the Solar Plexus.”

“Oi mate! Ah don’t take too kindly to that!”

“Ohh stuff it in ya britches ya blimey! Have at you!”

Aloe wasn’t exactly sure what she was listening to, so she turned to the two at her side for an explanation. Spike chose to do the speaking.

“Well the best way to simplify it is this. Welcome to the world male bonding. A world full of bad cheesy accents, stock references and hammy one liners.” The drake spoke with a flourish.

“MUDA MUDA MUDA!”

“ORRYYYAAAA!”

Aloe decided that she’d just enjoy the spectacle.

Phhfft! Males.

~X~

“Ahhh~” x 3. The three of them couldn’t help but release a sigh of relief as they left the building. Arms stretched above their heads in unison, back in their normal clothes the trio continued on into another part of the town. Naruto moved his arms in circles, as he lifted his head to the sky, revealing a couple of bruises and a black eye. Big Mac himself wasn’t without his fair share of pains either. The stallion was sure he had more than a few scuffs around the eyes and had some bruising near his abdomen.

Spike just walked between them, claws in his pants pockets, whistling a tune.

“So what’s next up on the agenda gentlemen? We have some sunlight left to burn, and I’m not expected until later.” Spike announced, as they discussed outside of S.P.M.

The two of them looked to the other with an unsure expression.

“You guys take a pick then. I had my turn, and I’m sure we don’t want to keep going with my idea if we keep ending up like this.” Naruto said, before gesturing towards his own bruised appearance. When they got home he planned on applying some good healing to the both, or all if necessary, of the injured of the groups.

“I say Big Mac take this one! It’s not like I was originally part of this, so he gets seniority. Besides I’m pretty sure we don’t have that much time left in the day.” Stated Spike, as they turned to the Sun. It lay somewhere between evening and night.

“…” Macintosh thought out their next plan of action, wondering what they could do when it was getting this late in the day. Walking around town wouldn’t really offer much time to do another thing. They needed a location, and now.

The three of them looked up once they heard the doors to Spa/Gymnasium open and close. They found Bulk, in white tank top, red cap, and light blue jeans, looking at them with a violin case in his hands.

“Mac? Naruto? Young Spike? You guys are still here?” The largely muscled Pegasus asked, as he walked over to them.

“Bulk? Don’t you have work?” Naruto responded back with a question of his own. The tallest of the four of them grinned at him, before showing his case.

“Today’s one of my early days. Plus it’s Friday! YEAH! Time for some rocking at the Music Mausoleum!” He announced with his signature catchphrase, the others well used to his antics at this point.

Big Mac’s eyes lit up, as those words left Bulk’s mouth.

Eeyup.

~X~

They had added Bulk to their little entourage of males. Idle chatter easier now that the group had evened out. It was in little time that they found themselves in front of the Music Mausoleum. Large and rectangular with a bit of a fin-like protrusion near the back, its front had an enlarged short section of a music sheet with each stage of note on it.

They entered through the black and yellow double doors before making way to the counter up front. They met their second rectangular area of the day, but it was almost similar set up, difference being that the two hallways here had “Amphitheater” and “Sound Halls”; Left and right respectively. Signing themselves into the registry, before entering down the hallway to the right of the clerk’s counter.

“It’s been a while since Ah’ve been down here. Last time Ah came here was back near the middle of Applebuck Season to practice with the other Pony Tones.” Big Mac said with a smile, as the group of fur passed a room with a pony dressed as some sort of Valkyrie trying to hit a high C.

“Really? Why’d you stop going?” Spike asked, as they passed another room, whose door was locked, which held a group of teenage fillies doing karaoke. A very familiar group of teenage fillies.

“Applebloom?/Scootaloo?/Sweetie Belle?” Came the questions of Mac, Spike and Naruto respectively. The males stopping for a moment to look through the door window to watch the fillies.

It seemed like Sweetie Belle was trying to coach the other two through a series of lyrics, if the fact that she was wagging her finger at them was anything to go by. They felt themselves jump as they heard a scraggy female voice behind them.

“Big Mac? Naruto?”

“Whua?!” The grouped jumped, with Naruto and Big Mac noticing the other familiar voice.

“Granny Smith? X2” Both took notice of the mirth on her lips, before sheepishly chuckling. She cackled a bit.

“Ahehehe, Ah wasn’t expectin’ to see you two here. Ah thought yall’d be off doing who knows what elsewhere! Especially if those shiners are anything to go by.” She spoke, taking in their bruised forms. Greeting Spike and Bulk with a nod, to which she received a “hello” and a “Yeah!” in return.

“Ah, nothing big Granny. We actually came here to find something to do.” Mac said, as they proceeded to walk into the room with Granny leading.

“Come on you guys, you gotta just- Granny! Big Mac? Spike? Naruto? And Big Pegasus Pony I’ve never met before!” Sweetie Belle squeaked out, even as the half of whom she named took a look around the room.

“This place is real nice.” Naruto commented as he took in the room proper, his voice echoing slightly, Spike at his side.

“Man you’d think I would have knew about a place like this already. The walls are definitely-” Spike started before Bulk completed his sentence.

“Sound proof! Also built to help throw the sounds you’re making right back at you!” The bulky Pegasus said, as he demonstrated by taking out his violin, and playing a small tune. Those in the room closed their eyes and listened in before he finished.

“Sounds like ya got plenty of practice here Bulk. Mighty fine tune ya playin’ there.” Mac said, as the Pegasus stallion in the room grinned.

“5 years!” The reply was said with his normal enthusiasm, meanwhile Spike went over to the Crusaders.

“Spike? Ah did’t expect to find you wit’ mah brother and Naruto! You weren’t there when they left earlier today?” Apple Bloom pointed out with a tilt of her head.

“Yeah, I know. We met outside of Sugarcube Corner, and they asked me to come along! After that we’ve just been going around doing whatever.” He finished his explanation with a shrug, idly looking over at Naruto who was having the concept of “karaoke” pounded into his skull by Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo making some entertainment for herself as she spun around on a rotating seat. Eyes closed with headphones around her ears.

“I didn’t expect to see you guys here either. What’s been going on?”

“Nothin’ really. We were actually helping Granny get some groceries, but she had a scare in the market. Something about a rattler, or ‘nother. We brought the stuff back home, and Granny thought we could spend the day just walking around until we found this place.” She stated, legs kicking from her own seat on a rotating seat.

“Then Sweetie Belle got all googly eyed, and dragged us in here. Since then we’ve been in here ever since!”

“Hey! I’ve thought it was fun for us! Don’t gotta make it sound like I dragged you here against you will,” Sweetie said, as she and Naruto rolled up to them. Scootaloo, deaf to the world around her, just kept spinning, her seat going in the reverse direction.

“Ya it was fun until ya started tryin’ to be all “perfect finch” with us!”

“It’s perfect “pitch”, and I just wanted you guys to be able to follow me on vocals!” Sweetie stated with a huff, and crossed arms, Bloom longing out her tongue in her direction. The two continued the childish display of annoyed faces at each other, before they were interrupted by Granny.

“Now hold your horses, everypony! This is a place for love of music, and nothin’ else! Now friends don’t need to act like that!” The elder said with a disapproving frown. The two fillies looked to each other before sighing.

“Sorry” x 2.

“Now why don’t yall come down from there and let Big Mac and them make some music fer us,” Granny said, to the shock of Naruto, Spike and the CMC. That was before the trio of fillies hurried off, and sitting down facing the males expectantly. Them and Granny finding seats on the wall chairs affable enough for their liking.

The blond and drake kind of sat there for a moment before turning to a smirking Bulk and Macintosh.

“We’re doing WHAT?”

~X~

“Still can’t believe we’re doing this,” Naruto said, as he felt the length of the guitar strap slung over his shoulder. His fingers flicking slightly against the strings, as he turned his head in Big Mac’s direction. The earth pony stallion just let out a small smile, hands holding both drumsticks in front of him.

“I’m more surprised Naruto knows how to play guitar,” Spike commented, as he cracked his fingers over the keyboard, as he looked over to Bulk who’d just finished setting up the microphone near his person. Bulked had changed into a short sleeved, yellow shirt and black dress pants, muscles stressing the shirt slightly with each arm movement.

“Always be ready for surprises little dragon!”

“Though Ah gotta ask, since when could you play guitar?” Mac said, as he absentmindedly started tapping his drumsticks in no discernable rhythm. Naruto looked upward in thought for a moment, before shrugged.

“My teacher always said that I needed a “cool down” from the Everfree from time to time. So he gave me some options. Either write something, meditate or make music. I went with the least boring of the three.” He responded, not telling them just where he had found a guitar of all things. Let them imagine he made one.

Better to keep the truth behind closed doors they say.

“So how are we doing this?” The spiky blond asked, as that had them all the males in the room to freeze at that moment.

“Hmm, Ah hadn’t gotten that far. Ah thought Ah’d have to fight you guys to get up here,” the red stallion of the group said, as he rubbed his chin.

“Well why don’t we treat this like we did with today’s decisions?” Spike suggested, running off a few notes, claws flickering in between each key with familiarity.

“I can dig some improvisation.” The large Pegasus male said, as those on stage nodded to one another.

“Come on yall! What’s the hold up?” Apple Bloom.

“You guys need to just play something already!” Scootaloo.

“Make sure it’s something catchy! Like SUPER catchy!” Sweetie Belle.

“Ahehehehe.” Good ol’ Granny Smith.

“Alright, alright… Bulk and Spike, lead us in.” Naruto said, as he adjusted his mike in front of him. It was with this cue that Spike nodded to Bulk, before he played a long soft set of note with Bulk’s violin sounding along with him. A little after they started Naruto began with some vocals.

~CLOSER Joe Inoue English Cover~

All that is near us we must know (Naruto)
Could disappear any day be careful (Naruto)
The main key to finding happiness (Naruto)
Lies nowhere else but in my soul (Naruto). Not a moment after these words were said, did the farm worker and Unique jump into the beat with their own instruments.

You could reminisce you could recall (Naruto)
The very last time you felt joy (Naruto)
Or maybe you are so blessed to a point (Naruto)
Where you can't remember anything (Naruto)

It's a harmony, a miracle (Naruto)
Being able to breathe and live at all (Naruto)
So here is your one and only chance (Naruto)
Life is an opportunity (Naruto)

All that is near us we must know (All)
Could disappear any day be careful (All)
The main key to finding happiness (All)
Lies nowhere else but in my soul (All)

You know the closer you get to something (All)
The tougher it is to see it (All)
And I’ll never take it for granted (All)
Let’s go! (All)

Some people may call a kind deed (Spike)
An act of mere hypocrisy (Spike)
But never mind those who have lost faith (Spike)
You shouldn't give in to what they say (Spike)

As a matter of fact let me tell you (Naruto)
Even if it was a selfish choice (Naruto)
A salvageable hypocrisy (Naruto)
Is superior to murderous honesty (Naruto)

Everybody tells you from time to time (Naruto/Big Mac)
To never give up like a phrase from a movie (Naruto/Big Mac)
They tell you to stand up for yourself (Naruto/Big Mac)
As if it was always that easy (Naruto/Big Mac)

Gather a handful of courage in my heart (All)
To go on and survive another day (All)
And I’ll never take it for granted (All)
Let’s go! (All)

It was here that Bulk pulled through with a solo, accompanied by Spike. Naruto and Big Mac falling slightly into the background, though Naruto wasn’t inactive as he motioned with his tails towards the CMC who were quick to come forward. Sweetie Belle with her violin on hand stood beside Bulk, before following along. Apple Bloom was quick to jump to Big Mac’s side where he allowed her to hit the Bass drum.

Scootaloo taking a seat beside Spike simply followed along with a swinging tempo, shoulder to shoulder with the young drake as he moved his claws up and down the keyboard. The blond Unique grinned at the additions before he and Big Mac started to pick up in tempo and volume.

All that is near us we must know (All)
Could disappear any day be careful (All)
The main key to finding happiness (All)
Lies nowhere else but in my soul (All)

You know the closer you get to something (All)
The tougher it is to see it (All)
And I’ll never take it for granted (All)

Everybody tells you from time to time (All)
To never give up like a phrase from a movie (All)
They tell you to stand up for yourself (All)
As if it was always that easy (All)

Gather a handful of courage in my heart (All)
To go on and survive another day (All)
And I’ll never take it for granted (All)
Let’s go! (All)

The music died down, the group let out slight hoots and cheers, the CMC being the most vocal about it.

“That was so cool!” Scootaloo said, Hi-5-ing Spike, as she and the rest of the CMC cheered.

“That felt amazing! The sounds~ the vocals~ the sync-synco- We worked great together!” Sweetie Belle said as she giggled in barely contained excitement. Bulk grinning all the while.

“Ah didn’t yall and Big Mac could play and sing like that!” Apple Bloom said, as Big Mac ruffled her crimson red mane. Scootaloo jumped up with excitement, hands waving to and fro.

“We gotta do one more! Except bigger! It’s gotta be 20% more awesome than this!” She stated to the amusement of those in the room.

“Now Ah don’t want to know how we could top what we just did. It’d have to be pretty good,” Big Mac said, with the males around him nodding in agreement.

“Easy!”

~X~

It wasn’t even that much later when they found themselves in a bigger room farther down the hall, though this one didn’t have any door. The walls of this room were lined with more instruments than the one from before. The stage in here was FAR bigger than the one in the room before for sure.

Yet, that wasn’t what apparent grabbed the CMC’s attention, who rushed over to a corner of the room with a door on it. It wasn’t even a second later that they went through the door before they came back out with a cart of...costumes?

“These’ll do the trick! Now quick we have an awesome theme to for you guys!” Scootaloo said, even as she pushed Spike and Naruto towards said cart.

The two gave each other a side stare.

A moment later they were dressed in what could only be considered as “Colorful Pirate” gear. Wearing an assortment of color coated pirate clothes: Naruto was wearing a red captain’s jacket and pants with a straw hat on his head, Spike was adorned in dark blue open top and pants with fur lining the shirt opening and a dark blue hat.

Big Mac was in a green ensemble with a mishmash green jacket that had light green fur lining its front. Bulk wore a light blue set up, with a dark blue bandana that held fake dreads in its depths. He had also switched out his violin for a horn.

The CMC even switched out for costumes. With Sweetie Belle is an, modified to be modest, purple get up with a medium sized hat with fake fur lining its edges. Scootaloo was in a sleeveless yellow mini-captain’s jacket, with a ruffle of white cloth at her neck, along with a tiny captain’s hat. Apple Bloom found herself in an orange, white and yellow coat that closed around the waist that bled down into a pink skirt, orange hat with a ruffled feather bit in its place on her head.

Even Granny wore a costume of a really glossy dark purple with a slightly large captain’s hat on her head, as she sat in front of them.

“This get-up seems weird in the strangest way.” Naruto said, even as Spike gave him a look.

“In what way? Besides I’d assume strange and weird went hand in hand.”

“I don’t know I just felt like there’s a really weird irony to this get-up,” The blond said with a shrug, guitar strap ever taut. Scootaloo just pumped her fist in the air from her place next to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. The CMC stood with their own triplet of microphones by them at their place in the center of the stage, each with a small trumpet in their hands.

“Let’s get this party started! Big Mac and Spike hit!” The aforementioned by Scootaloo nodded at each other, before they started, shortly followed by Naruto, Bulk and Scootaloo herself.

~Wake Up (OP Opening 17, feat. Daniel Alvarez, MOMOKI and Amanda Lee) English Cover~ (Fun Fact: The group are all dressed like one of the characters in the picture for this YT video, make a match)

Come'on, We're Shining! Running! Forever! (Naruto)
The Sea is calling out, so ride the waves (Naruto)
We're all together as one, so let's set sail in the sun. (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)
All our dreams our never-ending, so let's (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)
Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up! (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)
HeartBeat! We will be One! Go ahead! (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)

Even though our hearts have traveled different paths (Naruto)
(We are best friends) (CMC)
Our Freedom is our only compass that's pointing us (Naruto)
Along the many roads that come together. (Naruto)
We will keep on running forward every day (Naruto)
(Go east, Go west) (CMC)
As long as we keep looking to the horizon, we'll see everything all crystal clear (Naruto/…CMC)

We're all so thrilled that we can't wait until the dawn arrives (Sweetie Belle)
(I can't wait)(Scootaloo/Apple Bloom)
So we'll just bring the sun ourselves and know, (Apple Bloom/…Scootaloo)
"If the wind's blow is leading where we should be going, go!" (CMC)

That's Right, We're Shining! Running Forever! (Naruto)
All of our dreams will merge into one piece (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)
No matter where we go, we'll be fine and free (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)
Cause all our treasure is our strength (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)

Come'on, We're Shining! Running, Forever! (All)
The Sea is calling out, so ride the waves (All)
We're all together as one, so let's set sail in the sun. (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)
All our dreams our never-ending, so let's (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)
Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up! (All)
HeartBeat! We will be One! Go ahead! (All)

*Instrumental*

We'll ride non-stop and travel farther than we've ever gone (Sweetie Belle)
(I can't Stay) (Scootaloo/Apple Bloom)
And then, tomorrow, we will find suspense, (Apple Bloom/...Scootaloo)
And then commence, (Apple Bloom/Scootaloo)
To live out another day so intense (Apple Bloom/Scootaloo)

That's Right, We're Shining! Running Forever! (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)
Let's Go along with curiosity (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)
Our feelings lead the way straight to a brand new day (Naruto)
And to another adventure! (Naruto/Sweetie Belle)

Come'on, We're Shining! Running Forever! (Naruto/CMC)
Open the map inside your heart and see (Naruto/CMC)
No matter where we end up, our bonds will never give up (Naruto/CMC)
There's a fire in our dreams, and you can (Naruto/CMC)
Never, Never, Never, Never Stop It! (Naruto/CMC)
We Will Be One, Go Ahead! (All)

*Whistles, clapping, cheers*

They finished off with a shout of joy, to which they found themselves surprised by a load of applause they got from a supposed to be empty room. It was only now that they notice the crowd they drew, to which they lined up and bowed for their audience.

This was definitely a good idea. Of that they were all sure.

“Hanging out” Complete.

~X~

He flopped into his bed. His shirt removed before even making contact with his sheets. He groaned in relief, as he felt the tension of the day finally begin to fade away. They’d made it back just in time for sundown, though he could currently hear the Cutie Mark Crusaders, weird name but whatever, in AB’s room. He was sure that they’d be dead asleep in under 30 minutes.

He did wonder where Big Mac went off to after they were in the Ponyville Square, but he knew the stallion could take care of himself.

Meanwhile…

“What are ya doing here Sugarcube?” Big Mac said as he sat on the lonely park bench. The only company he’d received were small sniffles and silent sobs.

*sniff, sniff*

*Yawn* His eyes fluttered for a bit, before he stretched out. He felt the area round his eye, the healing was well assured. He look to the side of the room where his desk was, with his <<Trinket>> on the desktop.

He grinned. Today had been more fun than he was expecting. Well without the whole excitement of daily crazy, but he was kind of fine with that. With such a normal day, the event of the coming days was sure to be interesting. He let out one more yawn, before letting his eyes droop.

Time for a nap.

~X~

Applejack slowly walked down the hallway, eyes moving along the sides to the doors of her siblings. Eyes checking in on them, seeing if they’re asleep before she continued on. She came up to the guest room, and quietly looked in catching sight of a sleeping spiky patch of hair.
Naruto had fallen asleep perpendicular to his bed, arms splayed out to his sides in a “T” shape. The blonde’s ears limp, with one against the mattress and the other flopped over the left side of his face.

She took in this scene for a moment before she walked in and sat to his side. Her eyes caught sight of his two tails, which were haphazardly limp and splayed out. She ran a single hand over one of the furry appendages before she trailed off, running her fingers through the blonde’s scalp near the base of one of his ears.

“ZZZZzzzzz…Munya~” The former thief’s sleeping countenance was hilarious, and she had to hold back her laughter as practically purred.

“Yall did real good today. Ah didn’t hear anything about things going wrong, save for what happened with that “Gilda” gal today. Dash’s friend was a real piece of work Ah tells ya.” She started and continued on with telling the sleeping blond of the day’s activities, all the while moving her fingers along the edges of his ears, trailing from one to the other. She nodded when she was finished her story, before blinking some sleep away.

The thought of the trek to her room seemingly far more tenuous now more than ever, but she moved with the intent to get up and leave.

At least that was the idea, before she found her waist besieged upon by one of two furry appendages. The other doing its own thing as it wrapped itself around her own tail. She gave the sleeping blond a suspicious look, but when she received no sort of smug or teasing expression, she found herself at a loss of what to do.

She looked at the door, which was just barely cracked open. The door to her room. The door that lead to the long and arduous trek back to her own room when she was tired enough as it was. She gave the blond beside her a half-lidded stare.

“This is yer fault ya know.”

The only response she gained was a slight tightening sensation around her waist. Not painful or even that strong, but it was a sort of grip that said “You’re not going anywhere”. Her cheeks flushed at the thought of what she would have to do in this situation, though the small smile that played on her lips betrayed her true feelings.

So it was with much (not really) reluctance that she found herself laying on her side next to her fellow, non-family member blond. She made herself comfortable in the crook of the Unique’s side, using his arm as a sort of pillow.

“Just remember this is all *yawn*, yer fault…” She said drowsily before allowing her eyes to close for the world of dreams. Her snores and breathing matching along with the ones of the male beside her.

Neither of them being aware of the smile on both of their faces or the giggling coming from the cracked door.

~X~

“See, Ah told ya. They’re totally head over heels for each other.” Said one awake Apple Bloom, to another awake Sweetie Belle. The unicorn herself nodding after taking a look inside, doing her absolute best to squeal at the, in her opinion, absolutely romantic scene.

They had seen enough and proceeded to creep away back to AB’s room. Ever unaware of a pair of magenta colored eyes watching from the crack of Big Mac’s room door. After the two fillies were back in the room, the eyes disappeared from the door, presumably whomever they belonged to closing the door before the sound of a single mattress creak before silence.

~X~

Author's Note

That took WAY too long to finish! But there it is! Done and over with so we can move on the Boast Buster’s episode. Also if anyone is wondering, it’s been close to 3-4 months since the start of the series, just to be relative with the show’s episode timeline.

Does this mean each episode will take the same amount of time passing for each episode in correlation to their Episode number? Nope. As/if I do more chapters the time will be spread up, but up to Season five is basically 4 years. So yeah, have fun with that.

Over all this chapter had about two less songs than I was hoping to fit into it. Though one of them will be used in an upcoming chapter.

Also that “Epilogue:” idea thing, when I do them they will not need to be in chronological order, but I will keep them consistent to each other. I believe there’s a word for that but it fails me at this point in time.

P.S. There will be two hidden pairings in this story. Though one should be obvious, and the other is will show later on. Probably in the Epilogue both will come to light…Yeah that’s about right.

So yeah like always Read, Rate, Review and stay lovely.

Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go read the newest chapter of Heart Invasion. Also does anyone know how to just get a document to out into this thing with all it's formatting intact? It takes a serious toll to go through this thing just to re-do all that stuff.

Renewal: Honestly nothing was really changed save for adding a line or two. No errors I've caught up to this point, so it's largely the same, so you can skip re-reading this one if you want.

Now I know I wanted to get this done and re-hauled before Halloween hit. I actually wanted to do a sort of Halloween bit for this story but I never could get to the idea because Tales of Zestirial, school, work and Actual Halloween got in the way. So expect me to kind of fill that role once I finish the flashback chapter.

Adios.

~NRK Out~

Memories of Days Passed

Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you to what IS the last chapter before the climax of the story! Much thought and deliberation was put into this chapter as it will highlight and explain several things to you the audience.

As I was going through this piece of literature, I had more ideas for stories and pairings for those stories. It was a weird thing to know that I've written over 50k words and I'm not finished yet. It's highlighted the fact that I really like writing and that I'm happy to have picked this back up. Writing that is.

Just for your wondering minds, here was some things I've been a pondering:

- Secret Monster Service Fox / M3A Tendencies
- OPieto (Name play)
- Crippled Aero Instructor
-Time Traveling Performer
-Mafia against Fashion
-Gangster's CH

Just a couple keywords. I'll let you guys take a couple shots at the pairings as well as who would be involved, and what the main focus of interest would be in those prompt keywords.

Onto other news, it’s November and shit is getting real in a bad way on my end, school wise. Lotsa financial aid nonsense with college and I'm probably going to have to get another job until things tide over. Hopefully things won't go pear shaped for too long and I can relax easy in the coming weeks.

Now for the Disclaimer, which I'll actually do in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own the property rights to Naruto or MLP. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Hasbro/Lauren Faust respectively. This is done for fun, and to help move my creative juices onto paper. Thank you for reading.

~X~

He focused hard, his goggles over his eyes, as he inspected the metal contraption in front of him.

"Wrench."

"Wrench...Got it." He felt the tool fall into his hands. He brought it forward, and applied rotational force. He laid it to the side, before calling out once more.

"Inscriber and chisel."

"Chisel and...Inscriber?" He felt the chisel fall into his hand, before an unsure hand handed him another implement. He looked at the second item, before nodding, getting a sigh of relief in return. He felt the Inscriber glow light orange, as he used it and the chisel to mark around the grooves of the contraption. He finally let out a sigh, as he leaned back, and took off his goggles.

"One more touch and it's done Scootaloo." He announced to the orange Pegasus filly to his side, who was currently wearing a heavy smock and goggles. She leaned over in anticipation.

"Are you sure? I mean couldn't it use a few more, marks or something? Make it super dynamic or awesomely light?" He gave her a look.

"It's just a scooter, Scoots." The blonde said, as he stood up and cracked his back from long time position over his desk. He looked down at the scooter on the desktop and felt the pride of a work well done set in.

"Yeah, but it's my baby! Plus we gotta make sure it's at least 100% more awesome than it was before! We must bring it back from its fatal injury in the field of battle." She said with as much charisma she could muster. He gave her a flat look.

"You mean before you basically broke the front wheel off, cried to Spike about it, before he brought you to me instead of a real mechanic just because I could, in your own words, "Make it 100% more awesome after its fall in the line of duty"?" He stated, adding air-quotes as he came the last portion of his sentence. She turned her head in a huff.

"It was a dire emergency!" She said with the utmost urgency.

"It was a wheel." He said with the utmost deadpan, before sighing and placing his hands on the scooter itself. An application of magic later saw the metal joy vehicle light up with small streams of electricity-like lines of magic. They died off, leaving the scooter with several lines of light green on it’s from and back tires. The frame holding a spiraling helix going up the flat of it, in orange. Plus it's new addition of s flipper like extensions were lines by red spirals.

"My baby!" The filly immediately started cooing the contraption, leaving the blond to just shake his head.

"You can come in now Spike." The Unique said to the door, kind of loudly, as he went about cleaning up the work area. A reptilian head popped into the room, before glancing around.

"So you're finished? It's been like an hour! Wasn't it just a wheel?" The drake commented as he let himself in. Taking stock of the spiky blonde's room for the first time. He noted Scootaloo currently babying her scooter in a corner in a smock, but gave his attention to the blond packing up his tools. The drake helping by sweeping up some dust and stray metal shavings to the blonde's gratification.

"Thanks, and yeah. Scootaloo wanted her scooter to get an upgrade, and well I do enjoy a little tinkering ya know?"

"Hmm, true, I doubt she would have let you leave without something being done to it." It was at this point that they finished cleaning up the small amount of debris that Scootaloo entered the conversation.

"Spike, you gotta just look at it! The smooth feels, the grip, the control! It's all so beautiful!" The filly gushed, as Spike himself inspected the joy ride. The drake nodded, taking in the lines and commenting with a claw to his chin.

"You do some really good work Naruto, I think I might have to get a skateboard made by you if this is what just fixing a scooter entails." The small dragon said with a grin. A grin that was all of a sudden matched by a certain Pegasus in the room almost an instant later once the concept of "Spike wants a skateboard" came to mind.

"YES! Yes! A million times yes! We can run over designs right now! Quick Spike! Get the drawing board!" The filly's excitement seemed to erupt. It seemed to be contagious because the drake found himself getting pumped, before he dashed off into the household followed by the sole winged CMC. The blond just smirked, taking a seat at his desk. He looked skyward, removing his own smock.

Nothing like his youth, or even his second one when he first came to this world.

13 Years Ago...

Everything hurt. His chest, ribs, legs, stomach and head hurt so badly. He let out a groan as he felt a flaming pain travel between his heart and navel. He could feel bandages on his person, but something was...off. His body felt awkward.

He let out another groan before slowly opening his eyes. His orbs flickered to and fro, catching sight of trees. Yet, these trees were unfamiliar. They were nothing like trees around Konoha.

"I see you're awake. Good then, it would do you some good to be able to feed yourself." A voice spoke, causing the injured blond to turn quickly, which caused him more harm than good.

"Careful, your wounds are still somewhat severe and I wouldn't want to have to patch you up again." The voice was slightly low, but sharp. The sound calling his attention to a figure at the entryway of this room he was in.

It was a male figure, with slight long spiky orange hair with two teardrop like markers going down the bottom of his brown eyes to his chin. He was wearing a short dark red jacket with the buttons near the navel undone, allowing for his stomach to be shown to the world. For bottoms he wore a pair of maroon pants, finishing off with a weird pair of shoes.

The genin looked over this person and was finding the only positive of his situation that there was an even a person here.

"Now I'm sure that you must be filled with questions, but I think you'd want to fill your stomach first." The person said, right as the blonde’s stomach let out a loud growl, to Naruto's embarrassment. He scratched the back of his head with a bandage-wrapped hand. He idly noted that his hand felt kind of off but attributed that to the wrappings themselves.

A moment later, after leaving, the man from before came back with a pair of fruit.

"Apples?" Naruto questioned, to which the man gave him a curious look before smiling.

"Yes, I feel that maybe fruit would be better for your stomach right now." the orange haired man offered the ninja an apple, to which he reached for with reckless abandon. Once the fruit was in his grasp though, he froze for some reason. He noted that the apple was kind of large. He took in the fact that the apple was big enough for him to have to hold it with both hands, and he felt something cold settle in his stomach. He looked down to his bandage limbs, seeing that they seemed kind of thin and small.

"You'd best eat. Growing boys need their food, one your age especially so." His words kind, but confusing to Naruto. What did he mean "...one your age especially so"? The blond did follow his orders on the account that he was hungry. Though after the first bite into the apple, he had little control of his mouth as it bit and tore into the delicious red fruit. He smacked his lips, the juices being lapped up to dance flavors across his palette.

There was no way that was a normal apple. That was too delicious for some random fruit this guy had just found. Yet, as he looked over and saw the man enjoy his own treat, he was envious. This guy probably had fruit like this for all his life.

"Even a year here, and the fruit is as delicious as always." Hearing those words, kind of relieved the blond, but also confused him. Was this guy a traveler? Where could he have come from if he'd only spent a year in the Elemental Nations? Better yet, where did he find such delicious fruit in the Elemental Nations that it wasn't already being sold?!

"Now I believe that we've filled our stomachs, we can get down to business." The obvious elder of the two of them said, turning in his seat by the bed that the blonde was laid up in, towards the spiky head in question.

Naruto shot up.

Time to get some answers.

"Where am I...!" He spoke up, but his mouth shut close in alarm.

What. The. Hell.

He brought his hands to his throat, before he spoke once more.

"What...?" The sound of the voice coming out of his mouth was higher pitched than it should have been. He brought attention back to his throat before he looked at his bandaged hands. His eyes shot open in alarm, before he frantically asked.

"Do you have a mirror?!" His voice squeaked, the man in front of him giving him a curious look before he nodded, leaving and returning to the room with a life sized mirror in tow. The blond shot out of the bed to stand in front of the mirror, before he froze.

His reflection...What the hell had happened to him?!

He brought his hands to his younger face. The small digits pressing prodding at his round cheeks. His now slit like pupils trailing down to his bandaged upper body, before going downward to his messed up orange pants, where he noticed the lack of shinobi sandals and in their place were a large pair of paws. The fox tails that moved behind his person froze upon his catching sight of them. He almost didn't want to even think about the uproar such things would cause in Konoha, much less everyone who hated the Kyuubi and him, by extension. How could this be...Wait was this...

Orochimaru!

The boy turned on the man who sat next to the bed with raging fury. He snarled at the other person before pointing angrily at him.

"Where is he?! Where's Orochimaru?!" At the sound of his exclamation, the man frowned before tilting his head. This action only seemed to spur the blonde on more as he held up his fists, and took a more aggressive position.

"..."

"Don't fuck with me you bastard! Why? Where's Orochimaru?! Where's Kabuto?! Where's SASUKE?!" He roared, before launching himself over towards the orange haired occupant of the room.

The man did little more than tilt his head to the side, watching the small child's punch push past his face, before he brought a hand up into the blonde's abdomen. The boy froze, before he started to scream bloody murder, as he fell to the floor, hands over his stomach.

"What. The. Fuck...the hell did you do to me?!" He gasped out, his body spasming rapidly as he tried to move. The man gave him a stern look, before speaking.

"I do not know of who you speak. I know not of this Orochimaru, Kabuto nor Sasuke. All I know is that a child I found in the depths of the Everfree Forest has raised his hand against me and I defended myself." He spoke in precise language. His eyes roaming the small child's form, even as he got closer.

Naruto flinched away, trying and failing, to make some distance from the man who obviously, in his eyes, wanted to do undue harm to his being. Yet, he found his body unresponsive. The blow to the stomach had done untold amounts of damage for some reason, and he couldn't help but feel that the Kyuubi was delaying his healing for its own sick amusement. Though the thought was strange, for it rose within him two questions:

Why would the Kyuubi refuse to heal him now of all times, when they were in the midst of Oto territory??

And

Why did he feel a slight emptiness in his stomach? It wasn't the sort of emptiness from hunger so much as a more spiritual one.\

By the time the man had come up to his position on the floor, he kneeled before he reached into his coat and brought out what looked like a weird piece of plate. The symbols and patterns on it meaning little to the blond, though that didn't stop him from concluding it was a piece of vile equipment that someone like Orochimaru would create just to test on him!

So it was with a snarl that the blond glared up motionlessly at the man who was probably about to administer some serious pain to his body. And he was partially correct, once the smooth plate made contact with his abdomen, he all but howled out tortured screams. It was then that he felt something else through the haze of misery and curses he was spewing at the man mentally.

...Comfort? Relief?

He unclenched his eyes, taking in the soft glow coming from the small seemingly metal plate. The man in red stopped, and let up, the blond almost whimpering form the leaving warmth but feeling better than he did before.

"So you really ARE him, but at the same time..." The man trailed off, causing the blond to look at him before he slowly got to his feet (paws?) before he had to steady himself on the wall. He eyed this man who healed him, and grimaced. He healed him and the man didn't truly have too if he didn't want to.

Great now he felt like an asshole!

"Come sit, and you may continue asking your questions."

So he did. Over the next few hours he asked, and asked. Each question's answer doing nothing but bringing more and more confusion and dread to the blonde’s soul.

Konoha? Head shake.

Elemental Nations? Frowning shake of head.

Orochimaru? Hokage? SHINOBI? Nope, nope but he did know what a "ninja" was now, but the description left him bereft of any real clue of WHERE he was.

What the hell was Everfree Forest? Who the hell were Celestia and Luna?

Where the fuck was EQUESTRIA?

His next question was his last shot.

"Can you take me to where you found me? Please! I need to get back!"

~X~

They had walked through the forest for what amounted to an hour. The pace wasn't as quick as the blond would have wanted. Due to his new...limbs, he had to get used to balancing on his own two feet (paws?!) again! Not only that but the blonde, with some more time than he wanted, he pondered his predicament.

Where was he? The forest around him seemed so much like the Forest of Death, yet the trees were barely half the length of that foliage. He made sure to keep an eye on his feet (PAWS!) to not stumble over them, since he still had trouble getting use to them.

The farther they walked it seemed the forest would dim more and more. To begin with the place was dark enough as it was, but it got worse with each mile. They'd finally stopped once they entered an area by the side of a mountain. Unlike the trail before getting here, this area was devastated.

The ground was bare, with what looked like vile red vapors tapering off at 8 ft. up. The mountain side held a large scorch mark over its side, with the ground near the wall suffering from a crater of strangely molten, red rock. He took careful notice of how there was a seal of some sort over the area. Symbols, letters that he couldn't read and other such markings decorated the ruined floor and it seemed to contain the area.

He wasn't sure why but the area brought up a dredge of emotion.

Sadness. Why? Why, why, why, why?!! Why was there sadness to be felt here?! Why is it that the area of his entrance making him sad?!

His voice was flat, but trembling. He asked the question.

"How?" The man to his side looked at his face, and frowned sadly.

"It was a portal...Not unlike the one that brought me here, but not the same."

"A portal?" His mind going a mile a minute, but the sadness hadn't left yet. If anything it grew stronger the more words that fell from both their lips.

"When certain conditions are met between two corresponding forces of energy, it is possible to rip one's way to another dimension..." He trailed off, watching as water built near the tips of the blonds eyes.

"And to get...back?" The child's voice was heart-wrenching, but he answered all the same.

"...You can't."

Tears fell. Angry raged, words were spat and curses were roared to the clouds. The blond broke down, he thrashed with his now tiny fists.

Everything...He'd lost everything! His years! His life! His home! His promises!

A ninja that never goes back on his word! That's is my ninja way!

All...Gone.

*Sniff* "D-dammit...It's all...gone." The blonde's sobs took hold of the clearing. The orange haired man who had brought him here, did nothing but stand back and allow him to vent. Hours passed, as the blonde’s cries slowly died down. The elder of the two walked over to the blond, who now took stance on all fours, head down with dried tear marks crossing the ones over his cheeks. He took a seat to the blonde’s side, looking forward away from the blond to the forest surroundings.

"Come, we must leave."

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The vapors in the area churned and flickered. The red waives of "smoke" listed to and fro. They had nothing, they felt nothing and were nothing.

Ever since the weird being came through the rip in space and time, they existed. Remnants of a greater force. They were all that remained of the transfer. They did not think, they did not feel.

At least they didn't originally.

That all changed when the weird being came back. They didn't "watch" so much as sense his presence, and when they did they reacted. They felt, they sought and they thrived as the being became more recognizable. Yet, they only truly came into being, when the dimension moved being lashed out.

Rage, anger, sadness, shame, guilt, betrayal, envy...WRATH.

These emotions caused the "smoke" to churn and flicker endlessly.

Host.

That word. What was this feeling of being incomplete? They felt it, yearned for it, sought after it, but they could not move. The other thing that came with The Being, took him away before they could move.

So they sat there. They themselves felt lost.

A host. They needed a host. They could not thrive! They needed-

"GGGGRRRREEEEAAAAHHHH!" A sound! Something alive. It could feel the absolute, raw presence of the being nearby. It was not unlike the presence of the area, but stronger! More intense!

It was here that the lingering intent and power of the Kyuubi no Yoko, found itself slowly but surely, seeping into the body of its new vessel. The waives of energy vapors encircling the creature silently, before embedding itself into the being's body.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
~X~

The return had been a quiet affair. The blond hadn't so much walk, as he was dragged by the shoulders by the stronger gentlemen. He'd lead the genin to his temporary place of rest, before leaving him to his own devices.

What was he to do now? His life of before, gone. No more shinobi, no more Konoha, no more Hokage. Dammit, no more promises can be kept!

It was that last one that caused his eyes to burn once more. He promised Sakura he'd bring back Sasuke! Damn it all. She had to make him promise that! He had to make that last promise!

She loved Sasuke and not him.

The very idea of it had occurred to the blond on more occasions than one, but that one promise had been the straw that broke the camel's back. He'd known that she had no feelings for him after his first few years of chasing after her affections. Yet, he'd thought that if he just kept at it, kept trying and maybe she'd see him, even for just a moment in a more affectionate light.

Once more another dream brought down by this change in circumstances. He'd brought his hands over his heart and clenched.
What did he have to live for? He had nothing! No ninja, no nindo, no Hokage! Nothing!

Before he could continue this train of dangerous thinking he was disrupted from his mental processes by the entrance of the orange haired man from before. With him he carried what looked like soup of some sort. The blond former-genin did not outwardly react to his presence. The man settled into the chair by the blonde’s bedside before setting the bowl of soup by him on the nightstand. They sat there in silence, with the blond wondering what this unknown wanted with him after he lost everything.

They sat in silence. Each passing second was permeated by the breathing of one individual in the room. The blond was growing irritated with each passing second of silence. He knew it was unfair to be angry at this man who knew nothing about him, but come on! Say something! He looked up over at him, finding the carrot-top's hazel eyes staring intently at him.

"What?" It came out sounding more harsh than necessary, but he felt little for this person he didn't know. Yet the man remained silent, ever watchful.

"What? What is it?! Don't just look at me and say nothing! Say something! Say anything!" He began to shout, but the man remained unmoved, causing the blond to have his hackles raised.

"Do I look like some sort of attraction to you?! Is that it?! I'm some sort of show for you, dammit!"

"..."

"Fucking say something! What do you just plan to sit there and have me shout at you?! Do you think this will make me feel better?! I don't WANT to feel better! I want to go home! To my friends, my team, my village, my dream, my FAMILY!" He shouted, voice going hoarse, before he broke down once more.

"I don't want to be...alone. Not anymore, not again. I want my friends and family."

"...You must realize that that's not possible. You must learn to accept the past, and move on." The first words out of his mouth, and the blond wanted to do nothing more than just beat it closed.

"Don't fuck with me! This isn't like losing some pet! I'm never going to see my home again! I've lost everything!" He shouted at the carrot-top, before he finally noticed a change in his disposition. The man's eyes while calm held a hint of animosity, before he stood up abruptly shocking the blond. The next moment he placed his hands on Naruto, and the two of them were in another room accompanied by the sound of moving land.

Naruto looked around, and found them in some sort of underground cavern. The room was empty save for a small mound with a stake of wood at its center. The blonde’s mind took a few moments to process this, as they walked over to the mound. They stood over it, and the blond finally noticed just how small it actually was. The grave was at most 2 feet long.

...Who was buried here?

Question in mind, he turned his head to the now sad looking elder man, before he turned his head away in shame.

"There are many things in the world that we wish we could get back to. Many things we wish we could change, just to make a better outcome, but we can't. That is what I've learned of life and it has never stood more true to me than looking at you now, and thinking back to a year ago." He moved his hand over the grave, gesturing to the mound.

"This was a life I was unable to protect after we were ejected from our home. I made an oath to protect this life, and I failed not even a week after coming to this dimension. I wanted to do as you did. I wanted nothing more than to fall into despair and ignore everything around me. For a time I even wandered this forest and killed anything I possibly could, just to make myself feel something. Yet, at the end of my wandering, I remembered something I was told by a great pair of people."

"What did they say? How could anything anyone says make any of this feel okay?" The blond looked down and clenched his hand over his heart.

"The soul is masterpiece of all living things. When born it starts as a blank canvas and with each new experience it's painted a new shade."

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"...When we experience suffering, it's like dragging a paintbrush heavily across the paper canvas with a new color. It will either gain a new vibrant shade or rip down the new mark. I asked him the same thing you just asked me, and his partner said. We endure suffering because it's what helps me us unique, it's a part of life that all beings will receive, but it's only those who can let their suffering not destroy them that can value life." He had a sad smile, even as he turned his eyes to the crying blond at his side.

"Bu-but it hurts so mu-much!" He watched the blond for a moment, before he turned his head skyward.

"I won't ask you to move on, but for yourself, try and release that sorrow one day. Garner a purpose to follow after, and one day you might find your own version of what I did." He saw the blond rub at his eyes, before he looked to the grave.

"What was their name?" The question lead the orange haired man to smile, if not chuckle.

"His name was Naruto." He said, causing the eyes of the blond beside him to widen.

Present...

He chuckled at that portion of the memory. Not much longer after that, he'd taken up being the man's apprentice. He introduced himself as Yahiko, and taught him what it meant to be *snort* Unique.

The man never seemed to understand puns.

The blond shook his head, before walking out of his room, and going down stairs. He idly noticed Spike and Scootaloo in the kitchen, eyes and hands running over a large piece of parchment. The two sat side by side, throwing out ideas, some of which were completely asinine but they thought he could do. Which with some time he might be able to, but he wasn't going to go promising that. Scootaloo's hand on Spike's shoulder as she leaned over his side with the drake taking the time to slowly map out their little project.

He gave the scene one more look, before going outside.

He felt the rays of sunlight hitting him from up above. He felt like taking a small stroll through the acres, and went off in some random direction.

~X~

"Who’s a good tree? Don't you worry none, you'll be just as big and strong as every other tree in this orchard. Yes you will! Yup!" He had come upon the sight of AJ babying a young tree.

Rupert was his name. Yes apparently it was a "he", the Unique figured it was better for his health that he not worry about the genders of foliage before Jackie hit him with some arbitrary knowledge on the how's of tree gender equality or something.

Not enough love in the world to make that conversation go anywhere but down.

Though thinking on his target of affections, brought to mind the first "meeting", so to speak, between him and the Apple family.

10 Years ago...

It had been three years since he'd come to this strange plane of existence. It was weird to have to grow up again, but he dealt with it with the grace of a shinobi...

Not really, but he got better after a while...And some explosions.

It was a long session of burying himself in new things. Learning about Everfree and Equestria as a whole was time consuming. Then there was the revelation that there were other living beings in this strange world, but the kicker was that they weren't human.

Ponies, griffins, manticores, minotuars, zebras, lions, bats and so much more. The very idea of such things had nearly sent the blond into a tizzy once Yahiko had shown him the undeniable truth. Anthropomorphic ponies lived in a settlement a couple of miles from here. When the blond asked if he could go to see them when he first learned of it, back when he was 9, Yahiko had said no.

When asked why, he responded with the fact that Naruto needed to get stronger first. He'd given him a weird look when his teacher had said this, but the orange haired man responded with a paragraph.

"You're young, currently, not only that but the magic in you has been acting very volatile the past year. I believe it's this "Chakra" you said you had harbored. It along with the new magic system in your body are trying to find equilibrium. They want to mesh, but currently have a rocky settlement."

So with those reasons in mind, he trained and (ugh) studied. For the next two years, he would be under constant supervision. Whether it be his studies or training. Once he had progressed far enough, after 2 and half years, the man had started him on learning about his new body.

"A Unique's body is special, besides the obvious. Each part of your body while that of an average animal's gains special properties over time." He had said, and the blond was up for believing him. An example was that the blonde’s paws were immensely good at softening impacts and sounds. He marveled even now as he traveled alongside his master, towards the settlement.

3 years and Yahiko had decided that he was capable enough to keep up with him and stay out of sight, at the most. The blond kept his rabbit ears perked and ready. They were to keep moving, and keep silent. Yahiko-sensei had filled him in a little about what lurked in these woods. There were some things in here that he described as "Primal" something or another, though the blond couldn't help but want to meet one out of morbid curiosity.

They had come to what had to be the weirdest thing Naruto had seen in his time in Equestria, which wasn't much all things considered.

It was, for lack of any flowery prose, a big river with a giant black, stone sphere in the center of it. The blond and his teacher stopped at the riverbed, where upon his teacher leaped across with the grace of a jounin. The blond followed after, the shift in atmosphere the second he crossed the middle causing him to flop into the water just short of reaching the other side. HE could hear his teacher's laughter as the blond swam to shore.

He glared at the smiling visage of one orange haired man, looking all the more smug at seeing his student look like a wet rat. He pat down his wet, patched up, adjusted orange tracksuit pants. The only things that had survived the blonde’s entry into this world were his pants, necklace and, funny enough, his underwear. He'd been given a red shirt and green cloak with a hood by his teacher.

"Oh haha!"

Yahiko just smiled at him.

~X~

The blond couldn't help but gape at the town before him. This place, full of bipedal, walking, talking, anthro ponies. Ponies!

He needed to see it all. His eyes running over the sky, from their place in the treeline. He spotted assortments of color you'd never see on a normal horse, much less most animals. They traveled from tree to tree, something that plucked at his heartstrings. He found them getting farther and farther away from the town before they ended up at what looked like...

"A farm?" He spat out, before taking notice of what was on the trees in the orchard out back, before he began to drool. He was moving before he knew. He could hear his master calling out to stay hidden so they didn't cause a fuss, but the blond went farther into the apple garden. He moved his eyes to and fro, form moving about the trees in glee, before he stopped before a clearing holding one of the biggest trees here. This one was more comparable to something from his own world, a large one for sure.

He grinned, before he leaped onto the bark, scaling it with reckless abandon. He made it to the first branch and took a seat. His black hands darting out to snatch up some fruit to fill his gullet. He held the fruit in his palms before he dug in, savoring the rich taste. He did this a few more times, never feeling that the taste would ever be considered bad.

So delicious.

He continued his little buffet of deep reds, before he heard the sounds of something from the bottom of the tree. He looked down to see the form of one of those ponies. He could hear them talking, and he thanked his lucky stars for his master teaching him the Equish language, otherwise he'd be on a boat without a paddle.

"Come on Big Mac! We gotta go and check the apple trees in the deeper part of the orchard!" The voice came from a young, orange pony with white freckles, green eyes and blond hair held underneath a weird hat. He was dressed in an orange t-shirt and tan shorts. Small bandages adorned his fingers, as he called out to someone (pony?) else.

"Calm down Applejack! Hold yer horses, them trees ain't going nowhere." This time a taller, and slightly lanky form of another pony stepped into the area. He was adorned in white shirt and blue jeans. His fur being deep red, with his own set of freckles, not unlike the orange male (colt?), with strawberry blond hair and green eyes.

The blond up above in the trees, watched as the two discussed one thing or another about their produce, before he decided that it wasn't his problem. He turned back to his meal, he was honestly done with bonds to this point.

It was (un?)fortunate for the blond that this meeting would be one he was going to have. Whether he wanted it or not.

~X~

Applejack couldn't do much else but grumble at her big brother as he took his time walking towards her. Once he reached they began to argue some about the importance of making sure to check for the trees just in case anything happened to 'em.

Not that he was making it easy.

"All Ah'm saying AJ is that ya need to calm down. Ya'll literally just got ya fingers burned from yer first time baking, ya taking to this with just a smidgen more enthusiasm than is necessary." The stallion said, his eyes lazily drifting about the orchard, not noticing the perched blond up above. Naruto while not obvious, made sure to bring his hood up over his head just in case, before he made sure to take quiet bites of his apple.

"And all Ah'm saying is that you shouldn't worry 'bout me none. Ah can handle this. Ah got the treat cooked right anyway, so what's it matter if my hands got a little hurt?" The orange filly said, hands tucked into her pits as she crossed her arms, eyes closed as she turned her nose upward and away from her brother. She made sure to pack her back pocket, feeling the bulge of the treat as it was half shown out the back pocket near her tail. Big Mac just shook his head.

"Man you go to the city for just a little bit and ya'll start acting like that Rarity filly that visits the town every now and then. Also, why'd ya bring the dang treat out here, if yer gonna lose it?" This comment caused her eyes to snap open, before she turned on her brother with a snarl.

"One, no Ah ain't. Two, Ah can't believe my own brother would think of me being anything like Rarity!" She made an disgusted face before she found Big Mac walking past her. He merely shrugged, before going on his way.

"Now you hold on one second! Get back here Big Mac, ya better take back what ya said!" She chased after the form of her brother walking deeper into the orchard. Never noticing that the treat in her back pocket, covered in paper towel, fell to the floor of the clearing.

~X~

And there goes his show, leaving him with his meal. He shrugged before going back to his latest apple conquest, finding that the seeds inside were edible was a pleasant surprise. He finished off the treat with a last bite, before leaning back. Arms rested behind his head, he looked out over the clearing towards the high-in-the-sky sun. He sighed in thought.

So long since he'd seen some proper civilization, but he'd been away from it for so long. Not like he was a social bug to begin with, at least as he grew up. Well that was kind of spat on, when he realized he had friends in Lee, Gaara, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji and so on. Even Sasuke. Man the blond hadn't thought about him in two years! He always wondered whether he did get the Uchiha to stay down in the end. He like to think he did, so that his last promise would be achieved and he could be remembered for keeping the "Last Uchiha" alive and in Konoha. He let out another sigh, and realized.

If he were to ever leave the forest, he'd probably just keep coming here to this tree, and nowhere else. It was quiet, nice and high up, and smelled delicious.

Wait what?

He looked around, nose sniffing at the air, before his gaze was brought downward. An object of interest at the base of the tree, brought the blond to his feet before he jumped down and landed with a soft "thud".

"*sniff* Well, well, what do we have here?" He asked, as he picked up the baked good. Unfolding the paper towel his eyes shone from the delectable looking treat in his grasp. He cautious took a bite, before his world seemingly sung.

Oh Kami, this was beyond delicious. He looked down at the treat with a blasphemous look.

Could this be even better than...Ramen?

He cringed at the thought, but he made slight reconciliation with the thought when he remembered that there was no ramen in this place. He shivered at the memory.

Only a sick and cruel world. He was lucky that Yahiko-sensei knew how to cook, otherwise he'd be-

"Oi! Who the hay are you- Is that my apple treat?!" A very familiar voice shouted, causing him to freeze, before he slowly turned himself to the location of the sound. He saw the kid from earlier. Now that he was looking closer, the pony was maybe a year younger than he was. That is if ponies here aged the same way humans did. His thoughts were interrupted by his immediate personal space being invaded by an angry 10(?) year old.

"Who are you?! Did ya steal mah treat while Ah wasn't looking? Oh you're going to get it you varmint!" The apple owning kid seemed to have it out for him. What was with those jumps in logic?!

"Hey AJ, what’s got ya running yer mouth so loudly over he-?!" In came a running tall red stallion who, upon sight of the scene, turned his running into a charge towards the blond former shinobi.

"Whoa!" He let out a shout, before he jumped over the rushing male. He skipped back a step or two, setting him in between the brother and his sibling.

"Now hold on a second! I think we can all come to a very peaceful understanding." The blond tried diplomacy. Not much of a user of it himself, on most occasions, but he could try and appeal to their (Read: the elder stallion's) sense of decency.

His words caused the taller stallion to pause in his attempts to ram him into some bark, giving the hidden blond some relief. Though the orange one, why did it betray him, made it clear of his dislike for Naruto.

"Big Macintosh, what’re ya doin'?! This here varmint done stole and ate mah baked goods!" Those words caused the strawberry blonde's eyes to turn to the hooded male in slight contempt. Naruto sought to fix this before it got any worse.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute! I didn't steal any treat of yours! It was on the ground when I came outta the tree." The blond quickly explained, gesturing to where he found the food, and where he had come from. This line caused the older brother to ease down for a second, looking over to a flustered AJ.

"Let's not add to the fact that, if I DID want to steal it, which I don't by the way, why would I stay around?" The blond laid on the additional logic, sending a metaphorical arrow into Applejack's previous statement. Big Mac turned his deadpan expression towards his sister, who at this point was feeling a good bit of shame.

"AJ..." Big Mac drew out the younger sibling's name, causing them to look up at his frown. Naruto crossed his arms and nodded sagely.

"You should really teach your little Jack to hold onto things more carefully." He added, only to get stumped when the younger "brother" started fuming, while the elder gave him a confused look.

"Jack?" The big stallion asked, all the while AJ's fuse was set to blow.

"Well yeah, you call him Applejack, so I figure. Just call him Jack." Naruto commented, never noticing the steam pouring out from atop the farm “colt’s" noggin. Big Mac gave him a sheepish look.

"Jack?"

"Yeah Jack. What, do you guys, like, not use nicknames around here? In Ponyville I mean."

"Well, not that we don't. It's just that...You called Applejack, well, Jack."

"I'm not following."

"Ya see the thing 'ere is-" Big Mac started before he got interrupted by his sibling's shout.

"Ah'm his SISTER you igit!" The revealed farm filly shouted, her face red with rage and embarrassment. The cloaked blond took a few seconds to process this, before the two saw the mouth of the mysterious intruder gape wide open.

"You're a girl?! Since when?!" The blond exclaimed pointing at the once more fuming filly.

"Ah've always been one you stupid rat!" That got the blond to flinch back, before he, presumably, glared at her.

"Well maybe if you looked like one, we wouldn't be having this problem!" He smirked at the shocked look she gave him, before her face burned in rage. She looked one second away from blowing up and just rushing him, to which he would have welcomed if only to knock her down a peg.

"Now all ya'll hold your horses, we can settle this like calm, civil folk. Better question mister why were you in our orchard in the first place?" The question caught the blond off-guard. So off-guard in fact, that he answered truthfully by mistake.

"Well I was hungry and I was digging into some of the apples on these trees," he stated as he smiled, before he froze after realizing what he'd just said.

"..."

"...Thief! Big Mac! Get 'im!"

~X~

The two watched as the three blonds, one unknown included, went at it. Big Mac and Applejack doing their absolute best in trying to physically restrain Naruto via any means. They even went about trying, and failing, to use some spare rope AJ had found to catch the blond. Sadly AJ wasn't skilled in rope-play yet, and Big Mac was far too slow to even bring the blond in close. In all actuality, it ended with the two of the siblings tied together instead.

The cloaked Naruto taunted them for a moment before raising a single black finger from within the cloak. He set about, making a circle around himself, while the Apple siblings made progress in freeing themselves. He finished making a circle while also drawing a smaller circle in the circle, before the two broke out. They looked murderous, or as murderous as these young ponies could look, before it looked like the blond was explaining something to them.

Yahiko sighed. The blond was so childish for someone who, supposedly (he kind of doubted it now), was mentally the age of a fifteen year old.

"He's quite the nimble, that youngin'," came a comment from his side, as he and the elder Apple matriarch watched on as the new Unique dodged Applejack and Big Mac left and right. All while staying in the smaller circle.

"He's young, but foolish. Otherwise he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. I can only guess what he did to get your granddaughter all wound up." He responded.

"Applejack's always been the rowdy sort. She's made of tough stuff, but she's got a temper on 'er. Probably got called a boy by yer one over dere." This observation made the orange haired man sigh. She was probably right. If anything the blond had probably got into some sort of verbal dispute with the young farmer. Though this interaction made him curious. The blond had been ducking and hiding everything around Ponyville pretty cautiously.

Yes, he did it too, but not to the degree the blond did it. He seemed to go above and beyond to not get seen, by anyone. It spoke of a habit the boy had, more so than just experience as a ninja. He watched the blond interact with the two farm kids, and it made him wonder. The blond never took off his hood, and kept s much of his body hidden as possible...

Ah, his curiosity was peaked.

They watched as the blond finally took some action besides dodging. He twirled as AJ came past, and caught her under the arms, leading her into the incoming Big Mac, sending both of them out of the larger circle. Seems like things were coming to a head.

"It seems I should get prepared to get us home soon." Yahiko got up from his position besides Granny Smith's rocking chair, the old mare smiling up at him.

"Good bye, Mrs. Smith."

"All the same to ya, Yahiko."

~X~

The siblings did nothing but stare up at the evening sun. They lay on their backs after their defeat at the hands of their apple thief. The thief in question sat in his circle still, fist presumably on his cheek, as he gave a cheeky grin. He was about to speak to them, before he flicked his ears. His head turning towards the far off forest, seeing his teacher in the distance in the trees, beckoning him over. The blond nodded, before turning to the defeated siblings.

"Well guys," he got and dusted himself off, "it's been fun, but this guy has got to go." He finished, before he began to walk away, though not before being stopped by a petulant Applejack.

"No! We're gonna catch you, and you're going to pay for dem apples!" She announced, before she fell back to the floor exhausted. The blond just stood there for a moment and looked at her down form. He looked up for a moment, before he grinned.

"You say that, but you can barely stand. You wouldn't be able to catch me for as long as we're out here right now." He stated, causing her to growl and look at the ground. She was about to refute his words, before the cloaked blond took up a small rock.

He walked over to the large tree in the clearing, before he started marking something. It seemed like a circle, with several ?'s in the center, 6 in total. At the left of the circle was Applejack's name written in an oval shape, while Big Mac's was at the top. He turned to them with a grin, tossing the rock up and down in his palm.

"So I'll give you the chance. I'm going to be, giving you the chance to get me back! Over a set of games we'll compete, and if you can figure out my full name by the end of it...I'll stop taking your apples and pay you back 3 times as much for each one taken." He offered, though the two look offended.

"And what's to stop us from hogtying your hide and sending you to them government officials?" Stated Big Mac, though the blond stayed smiling much to their consternation. He simply raised an eyebrow to them, with a smug smirk.

"Do you honestly believe that you could catch me? Like really? You're going to have to try real hard to catch me Mac 'n' Jack" He waggled his eyebrows, before he started to walk off.

This would be the day the Apples gained an arch-nemesis (?). This was the day Naruto gained something to look forward to outside of his isolated life.

"Keep an eye out for me, guys. Never know when I'll show up."

~X~

Yahiko couldn't help but smile softly, as he carried his charge back to their little home in the Everfree. He had to snort as he heard the blond snoozing away the trip backwards.

He had expected this of course. The blond, while energetic, was probably already feeling the drain of being out of Everfree for so long. His body was still adjusting to its magic, and being around the magic intensive area of the deeper portions of the forest was doing wonders for his adjustment. It wouldn't be long before the small blond could make these trips on his own, without worry of being drained after being out of it for a while.

The blond jostled for a moment before settling back down.

"Sasuke...Sakura-chan wants you back so badly. I'll do anything to get you back, dattebayo."

That line caused him to grimace. The blond while more expressive around him was a lot more subdued on the topic of his past. Yahiko had done his absolute best with trying to get the blond to open up and move on, but he remained steadfast in his stubbornness of the past. Rearranging the blond onto his back as they crossed back into the territory of the more dense area of Everfree, he vowed.
He'd do what he could for the blond on his back. If not just for him, but in replacement of failing the one that didn't have the chance to live before him.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
It flicked its bony claws outward. It could smell the blood of its latest meal on its sharp fingers. A quick shake of its head threw the carcass from its mouth onto the cave wall. The corpse of the strange lower being, for nothing was greater than itself, was quick to slide down the wall with its form lacking any kind of appendage above its shoulders. The insides being open to the world, revealing what was left of the organs inside. The rib-cage was half-bitten, diaphragm and stomach devoured, legs ripped off and swallowed. It was a sad excuse of a corpse, but one nonetheless.

It felt more flesh pulsate on its own form. Replenishing. Growing. Covering another small portion of its skeletal form. The flickers of energy visible inside its own body, regardless of the small amounts of flesh starting to enclose its main body.

Its head had changed. From the weird primate like shape to a more canine like one. Bony skull with some flesh over the vertebrae and its more recent eyes, were great new accommodations. The fleshy orbs hadn't grow eyelids yet, like it had seen on so many other creatures, but it gave it time.

Yet, with all this, it still felt empty. This vessel had been all of just a bare bone thing. Strong, almost euphorically so, but still empty. Its own new emotions lashed out with its long bony right arm, crushing the corpse into the wall into mush. The wall was cratered, but it paid the concavity little attention. It curled in on itself for rest. Its two tails flickering side to side.

Soon. It would hunt for its true vessel. Crystallize this power within it, and move onto crushing the world under its palm. To do nothing more...

Its eyes red irises in the center of pulsating black sclera.

Then watch the world BURN.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Present...

He moved behind Jackie with a quick application of soft steps. He waited until she was on her hooves, before he caught her unaware with some fingers to her sides.

"EEEP! HAhhahaa! Naruto stop! Please eeek!" She squealed under his nimble digits. This went on for a little bit, before they tumbled backwards, the spiky blonde’s arms wrapped around the farm mare's mid-section. They tumbled for a bit, before they ended up with Naruto on top of her, arms on each side of her head. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before the blond tapped her once on the muzzle/nose, causing her to blink before he got up and offered her a hand. She moved to take it, and was pulled up with ease.

They chuckled for a minute before the blond moved on to help her with Rupert. They moved the small tree onto a different section, with Apple mare thanking him for his help, offering the idea of apple treats. Next second had her in his arms as he raced back to the orchard, Applejack holding onto her hat and yelling at him to slow down and to put her down all the while. He hold onto her tighter and wen faster just to spite her.

Though this reminded him of another occasion where he had to carry her back to house in a hurry.

9 Years ago, a few months after Naruto turned 12)

The blond couldn't help but grimace as he trudged through the snow, his paw pads on the bottom of his feet doing wonders for getting through the lumps of frozen winter.

He wondered what the new game of the day would be. It was only a few months since the blond had entered this routine. Though this is one of the times where he would be going alone. Yahiko-sensei had started allowing him to go out on his own to the orchard, whenever the blond felt the need to.

He let out a breath of frost air, cloak billowing around him. He raised an arm, before focusing on it for a moment. His eyes scrunched in concentration, before he saw three lines run down his arm before blinking out. He sighed.

So much for Reinforcement. He'd been practicing this trick for a while now, and he could get it to work maybe, 25% of the time. Teach had said it would be a while for him to get it, but the blond was notorious for being stubborn and had made to accomplish this before the end of the year.

Back on track, the blond had been quick in coming up with games for the trio of them to play in his away from them. He'd been working over having a game theme for every month. It was weird, but the blond enjoyed spending time with the siblings. The relationship had been antagonistic for a bit, but he felt that they were starting to warm up to him. Especially since he had been chasing away those stupid bats that kept trying to come into the orchard.

He finally started getting into the clearing where he spotted a standing AJ, with herself being wrapped from head to hoof in warm clothing. An orange vest, over plaid sweater and sweatpants. The girl gave him a narrow-eyed look, before she started tapping her hoof at him.

"Come on, ya'll need to hurry this up so Ah can get this over wit! Freezin' out here!" She turned herself towards him, arms on her hips. He wondered where Big Mac was, and she must have saw his confusion and decided to give him some info.

"Big Mac is busy with the farm round-up since it's heading into winter." She provided, before she set herself into a crouched stance. He nodded his head at her. Before he started walking a circle around her. Once the circle of footsteps was done, he walked back into the center with AJ.

Game on.

~X~

He looked down at the wet and defeated farmer. Her clothes clinging to her legs with wet spots all over.

Another win in the bag for the Unique Challenger!

He looked down at her with a cheeky grin, to which she responded with a rude expression.

"AJ!" A voice called out, causing her to freeze, metaphorically, hiding her finger behind her. The coming form of her big brother doing giving her a disappointed look made her look away in defiance. Big Mac settled into a trot as he came up beside the fallen form of his sister with a frown, nodding his head towards Naruto. He turned his head back to the wet farm filly.

"Ya'll should know better than to be using such language!"

"Ah didn't even say anything!"

"Those fingers of yers say otherwise."

The blond in between the two just shook his head, and walked over to a downed AJ. She gave him a grimace before getting up and shivering from the cold wind air. She reached into her pocket, bringing out a wrapped up apple tart, begrudgingly handing it over to the Apple Thief. HE took it with a grin, before chowing down.

"I'll be back in a couple days’ time! Don't wait up for me Jack." He announced before he started off towards the forest once more. HE was barely out of range of them before he heard some talk between the siblings.

"AJ come on, time to go in and get yourself dry and warm. Maybe you should lay off the feller for a bit."

"No! Ah'll beat him yet! Any day he comes here, Ah'll be ready fer 'im! No matter how many days it takes or that Ah gotta wait out here!"

He'd never realize until later on how much he regretted making his return so vague in the coming week.

~X~

He trudged through the snowy land of Winter. Cloak tightly wrapped around his form.

Seven days to get back here. All because some of the more agitated Primals in the Everfree were getting rowdy. Luckily they usually calmed down just as much in the winter. Typically you could call the Everfree's Deeper Depths, patent pending, were bound to silence come winter.

He landed down from a tree, kicking the snow off the branches as he touched down. He walked forward a little bit, finding a spot to wait by the tree. He'd come a little early, just to wait on AJ. The blond waited for some 10 minutes before he heard the sound of coughing, and turned towards the form of an entering AJ. He was set to start off with the usual taunting (she always gave some good responses), before he stopped as he got a good look at her.

She was set up in the same clothes as last time, but she herself was looking worse for wear. She had slight bags around her eyes. Her eyes closed as she held a hand to her head, with the other covered her mouth. She took slightly off steps, and he came closer out of concern when she listed off a bit.

"Uh Jack, you sure you should be out here right now? You're not looking so hot." He pointed out, though he noted that she glared at him.

"Ah'm fine ya igjit. *cough* Just a little tuckered out. Now get on with the game!" She said irritably, her form crouched slightly. He gave her a glaring look. Before he started up an again. She never took notice of the fact that he didn't make the circle as usual.

~X~

He grimaced as she stumbled past him once more, before caught her. Moving away slowly as she lethargically swung her arm out at him. He moved only a short distance away before she repeated this action again. Never noticing that they'd traveled somewhat farther out away from their usual spot.

He didn't like this. Not one bit. She wasn't taking her health seriously here. She was barely even trying at this point. It had been all of five minutes, and he could already tell just how out of it she was.

She would move like a zombie. She tilted at times and made him worry she'd fall, before straightening. Sometimes she'd stop to hold her head, headaches probably. She even at times would swing her arm out to try and catch some kind of phantom of himself.

He had to put an end to this farce of stubborn idiocy. He did nothing as she came forward this time, it seemed as if she was going straighter this time, but he held no hope for her to be feeling better. The second she came close, he stepped forward encircling her in his arms. She didn't even seem to realize she had caught him yet. He held her close, before bringing his forehead her own. Her eyes widened at this act, cheeks burning before he pulled away turning an angry look at her. She flinched for a moment, before she found herself lifted and carried.

"LE-let me go darn it. Wha-what game ya playin' a-at?!" She tried and failed to fight his arms once, before giving up to loss of energy. She'd fainted in his arms, leaving him in a panic, before he started rushing towards the Apple home! His steps hard, and his speed slower than he'd wanted. He'd felt himself trip slightly, before he turned to his side, keeping Jack close as he took the brunt of the fall. Her hat fell off, before he got them both back up and continued running. The hat left behind.

~X~

By the time he got back to the main home of the Apple family, he was greeted by the frowning form of Big Mac. The stallion lead them in, where the blond shook off his body any snow falling off his shoulders and AJ's head on his shoulder. They trio of ponies and Unique were quick to put her onto a couch, and throw a blanket over her. A cool rag splayed over her head.

They took her near the fireplace, before watching over her. Naruto had long since pulled his hood down, to the utter bewilderment of those awake and in the room. Granny Smith merely gave him a once over before turning her eyes back to Applejack. Big Mac gave him wide eyes, before the blond asked them a question.

"Why is she out there when she's like this? What could possibly possess her to come out into the freezing cold like this?! Why is she even looking like this in the first place?" He wanted to know. How could this possibly even happen?!

Big Mac gave an emotionless look to him, before motioning to the kitchen. They moved from the living room to the kitchen where the else teenager sat in a chair and held his head in his hands. He looked up at an expecting spiky blond, and started talking.

"AJ...Applejack is a bit...A might stubborn. She's hardheaded to a fault and don't take too well to words of concern." He said at first, the Unique nodding his head to this info.

"Ever since we...We lost our parents, she always saying how she want to be a farmer to impress 'em. To make them think we're alright and even better because she's around to keep things in shape. Thing is, she ain't ready for farm work just yet, so she takes to anything she can with a gusto," here he smiled before he continued.

"She'll take even the smallest task and put her all into it. Whether it be egg picking, planting seeds or trying to carry the basket of apples," here he chuckled before he frowned.

"Thing is, that's just not enough for AJ at times. She's always trying to push herself to take up more chores, but we don't let her because she's still a kid. She should be out there and being one, but AJ is stubborn so..." He trailed off with a wave of his hand, Naruto taking the hint. Jack was obsessed to the extreme. The blond didn't comment on the parents thing, all things considered. Mac continued.

"Then you come all of a sudden after she done made her first baked goods, and you know that story. Point is you became a new challenge. Something to keep up with when it comes to the farm. Didn't help when you were the one who chased away the bats, something she couldn't do and that didn't help. You inadvertently helped out on the farm, and she didn't take too well to that." This line caused the blond to feel slightly guilty. He'd only chased off the bats because they were eating the apples he was going to eat.

"She's got you in her sights, and she ain't lettin' go anytime soon. Though if Ah had to be honest...Ah'm kind of glad you showed up," he stated to the shock of the Unique.

"Applejack...You're playing games, but Ah can tell ya don't mean any true malicious intent. You play games and taunt us, but you never go too far, and it's not like your challenges are very difficult. Ah mean tag, really?" He rose an eyebrow to the other blond who just rolled his eyes, to the amusement of the older blond, who then sighed and stood up before traveling to the next room, though not before leaving one more piece of advice.

"No matter what, please keep being her friend. Ah can see it in both yer eyes, you and AJ, ya'll seem to fancy each other just fine and Ah appreciate AJ having someone her age to mess around with every now and then. The teenager then left, leaving Naruto to his thoughts. Later on the Apples would find the blond gone from the house.

And a few days later, they'd find him with a small pouch of herbs on their doorstep.

~X~
Some days later...

AJ found herself waking up slightly groggily. She looked around the perimeter of the living room, taking in the forms of her four family members...

Wait four?

She counted again. Big Mac slept in an upright position on the edge of the couch she lay on. In his arms was a book, opened to some random page with a bookmark in it. To her left on the two-seater was the small form of her little sister Apple Bloom. The smaller filly had been only recently walking, so she laid curled up on the smaller couch with a blanket underneath and over her.

Granny Smith sat in her rocking chair, eyes closed yet she rocked the chair involuntarily. Her snores came out in small cackles, which brought a small smile to the farm mare's face.

All her family members accounted for she turned to the last occupant of the room.

It was their thief for sure. She’d recognize the white cloak anywhere. He looked like he was posted up near the fire place, with a various array of leaves and plants strewn about in front of him. A bowl full of some kind of water and a grinder sat by his crossed legs, showing his orange, patched pants and large canine like feet. She couldn't see his face from where she sat on the couch, and from how she was feeling, didn't have the energy to try anyway.

She made to make herself comfy, the couch squeaking every little bit, before she let out a small expulsion of air at the sight of two sapphires looking up at her. Naruto's head snapped upward to attention, taking note of Jack's new take on being conscious before he let out a relieved sigh. He stood silently, making nary a sound, before he made his way over to her position. Kneeling by her bedside, he'd laid his hand to her head and held his to it too quickly for her to process.

If one were to look in on the two, it was like the upper half of AJ's face had entered the shadowy depths of the blonde’s hood. Naruto pulled back with a smile, never noticing Applejack's slight flush, before he narrowed his eyes at her.

"What you did was really stupid, you know that, right?" He whispered angrily, the tone catching her off-guard before she retorted with a huff.

"Ah don't want to hear that from a no-good thief." She whispered hotly, to the irritation of the blond across from her.

"This same thief is the main reason you don't have something worse than a fever right now!"

"Maybe if you didn't steal from us in the first place, Ah wouldn't be in this situation!"

"I didn't think you were stupid enough to get sick, and still come out into the freaking cold!"

"What do you care?! You probably enjoyed the fact Ah was barely able to do somethin'!" She whispered with venom, to which he had to restrain himself from outright yelling, lest he awaken the rest of the family. He breathed in once to center himself, before he turned on her with a fierce gaze. Intense enough to get her to flinch back, the overwhelming feeling of his eyes causing her to look away.

"Don't try and pull that shit with me! You want to play tough gal, fine! But don't go running your mouth and then causing others to worry about your well-being when you make a stupid mistake! You think it was fun for everyone else involved to look after you? You did more harm than good doing what you did! Look around you!" This got her to look further down in shame, before the dressing down blond caught her expression and drug his hand down his face with a sigh. He moved and took a seat next her on the tip of the couch cushion edge, pulling her face up with two fingers and catching her gaze with her own. Strangely enough, all she could see from this close was his eyes and lower mouth.

"Jack you gotta understand they are your family. No matter what you do, they'll love you and help you. What you need to do is make sure you don't hurt them with that love, by going off and doing stupid stuff like this." The explanation brought her eyes downward once more, before she opened her mouth.

"...Ah'm sorry. Ah didn't want to cause no one, no trouble but this was something Ah had to do. Ah was the only one who could go and continue the game with Big Mac busy." Her response reminded Naruto of the words of her older brother's words from before. He scratched the back of his head, before he gave her an even look.

"Choose a letter."

"Huh?" She looked up with a confused look.

"Choose a random letter, any letter, I don't care." He repeated. She gave him a weird look before just complying.

"X."

"Choose another one."

"Wha-Mmmm!" She started before he shoved a finger over her lips, causing her to glare at him with a flush to her cheeks. He gave her a mock-glare, before he repeated.

"Another one." He removed his finger, to which she simply huffed.

"S"

"Nope." His response caused her to growl.

"O!" This time he stopped for a moment, before he nodded and got up. He moved over to the front door, leaving her confused. He looked back to her with a sly grin. Before he opened and slammed close the front door upon exiting. Causing the entire house to erupt into noise. Applejack had only one phrase t put to this action.

"Darn varmint!"

~X~

It was a couple days later after she had fully come into good health, and got a dressing down by her family on the matter of her stubbornness that she found herself out by the tree again. This time with her emerald orbs bound to the tree's base, where one of the ? marks in the center had been crossed out and replaced with an "O".

"Like what you see?" A voice from up above asked, causing her to look skyward and catch sight of a certain thief in white cloak grinning down at her.

"Everypony gets one, Jackie."

Present...

He looked up over from his place on the living room couch. Applejack having left earlier, after giving him his fix of baked goods for the day. He lazed around for a bit, saying goodbye to Mac and Apple Bloom as they passed him to the front door. Winona seemed to pick up on his lazy mood, and decided to not give him hell for the day and went about her own business elsewhere.

He could hear the two in the kitchen still going at it, though he could also imagine them eating some of the baked goods that AJ and Spike had made. The young dragon knew his way around a kitchen, who knew? He'd complement the drake later on his smooth baking skills, before grilling him on his lady luck skills in other areas.

He decided that he would just laze about, thinking back on some memories that gave him a laugh. His mind went to a rather particular memory. A short one, but a goodie.

7 Years Ago...

He moved with calculated leaps. He tugged on the new rusty red cloak, arms wrapped in bandages to conceal his colored digits. This was a mission of silence. He'd slipped past another tree, taking but a moment to check his surroundings.

He'd been keeping on the down low of night, as he approached the night-lit city of Manehatten. He slipped in on top of a carriage, his form shadowed by the dark lights of the city. He came here for one thing, and one thing only.

Fabric.

Now one would ask why he'd come all the way out here for fabric when he could just get some from Ponyville. Well, well-informed stranger it was because the fabric of Ponyville wasn't exactly up to snuff for the things he needed it to do. He needed better quality fabric, and Manehatten had been the place his master had said was the best place, next to Canterlot, to get some.

Fashion designers from all over came and went. There impressive lines of fabric and thread coming and going with them. IT was here he was to attain some good materials for his supposedly future garments and working clothing.

He dashed from atop the carriage to above a street lamp, eyes prowling down upon all moving ponies in the city. He looked over and over every which way. Once he had some targets in sight, the blond scaled the side of a building before getting to the rooftop. He called upon the energy swirling within himself, and with a muttered "Kage Bushin" he felt his magic/chakra energy slip from his form before separating into four separate bodies. Clones of himself looked at him with grinning expressions matching his own. He gave a nod to all, each of them bringing their hoods over their heads before they were off.

The blonde’s idea for getting fabric had differed from his teacher's who wanted to get Granny Smith to buy some for them. Problem was that the blond didn't see that not being suspicious by the rest of the Apples. So the blond had recommended this one. His teacher had called him slightly crazy for it, but the blond had supplied that he could easily do this without being caught.

Then Yahiko-sensei would bring up his failure with keeping hidden form AJ and Mac, and the blond would play dumb. That wasn't important right now! What was important was that he needed to get in and out of this city before dawn.

He just finished grabbing a swash of cloth from another clothing store before he caught sight of a newspaper. Normally he wouldn't care for the printed word, but this one had a very interesting headline on it.

FASHION FROM ALL OVER! DESIGNERS COME TO THE MANE HIGH HOTEL FOR THE CONFERENCE OF THE CENTURY!

His eyes read over the title multiple times, before he grinned.

Jackpot!

~X~

He looked down on the large exquisite building, before he began his plan. He and his clones had moved in form the roof and decided to work their way down. He couldn't help the excited grin that formed on his face, as they went about scoring slight amounts of fabric. Testing some for quality before deciding whether to drop or keep it. Of the 20 floors, they'd gone through about 6 from the top. With some holding rolls of very nice blue and orange fabric. Others having pouches to fill with sewing materials in them.

The original blond hadn't found anything yet, but he was working his way through the 12th floor, on the prowl.

"Ah gee, Ms. Suri *yawn* sure runs a tight shift. It's been a while, and ever since we decided to work together after being apart for so long she seems to have been getting more and more obsessed with winning. Oh I hope she doesn't do anything too severe, we were supposed to enjoy working together. Maybe Big Sis, might have some ideas." The voice of a wandering teenage mare into he dim hallways, caused him to jump and stick to the ceiling.

The hallways were dim and dark, but he could see perfectly fine the drowsy form of the moving light blue maned, light tan furred mare wandering down the hallway by the staircase. He watched as she listed slightly off to the side, dangerously close to the staircase itself, eyes unfocused. She made to open a nearby door with a key, but missed it at every point. It was getting to the point that it started to irritate him, before he decided to take things into his own hands.

Coco Pomel missed the mark with the key once more, before she found her hand steadied. The key being input into the door lock and opening it. Her unaware mind looking to the side to see a blurry figure helping her with her door, and rationalizing it away with a stray thought of bellhops. He watched her go into the room, and watched as she left the door open as she stumbled her way over to one of the two beds in the room. He watched this display for a moment before he groaned. He entered into the confines of the room and caught the stumbling mare before she ran into the wall.

He idly noticed that she was just barely above him in height, him being 5'1, so she couldn't be that much older than him. Maybe a year or two at most. Deciding to get this over with, he silently lead her to one of the two beds. The other one being occupied by a mare wearing a sleeping mask. He led her to the mattress slowly, but surely, getting her to lay down.

It was here he would have been on his way, making sure to lock the door behind him as he left.

Fate didn't like his plans going straightforward, oh no, fate loved fucking his day up. It was here where, just as he was about to release the mare from his arms to lay on the bed, that he found a pair of slender arms wrapping themselves around his form and dragging him into the bed with her.

His eyes widen in panic, before he saw that she was still asleep. The blond was quick to call upon his last clone in reserve and switching places with it.

Naruto couldn't help but look at the scene with a sense of exasperation. That clone was supposed to be for emergencies! How! Why?! This was not a part of the plan!

Now he was down an emergency clone, until this chick went to sleep! He groaned silently, before signaling his clone to abide by his orders. The replica nodded his head slightly, making sure not to move too much lest he awaken the mare holding onto him. The real blond left the room, but not before flashing the clone a thumbs up.

Left alone with the sleeping mare holding onto him, the clone surveyed the room to the best of his ability. He saw it was pretty pricey looking, and saw the rolls of cloth all around. His night-vision doing good work in inspecting some of the fabric in the corner of the room, identifying the quality somewhat and deciding it might be worth trying to go for it.

He move a bit, and felt no resistance. A couple more movements had him going face to face with the teenage filly and he idly noticed that she was cute. Well Jackie was cute too, but she was special (Not that he'd ever admit that). This mare was cute in a sort of normal way, and it didn't help his hormones that she was close to being bodily pressed up against him.

He made to move some more, but found his progress impeded by her arms. He was about to take a shot in the dark and move away before she spoke in her sleep, tightening her hold on him into her own body. His eyes went wide, as she started to mumble.

"Oh Bale Baget, you didn't have to bring out here to Paris. I would have been fine with just a walk through the park." It came out in small mumbles, but it sent a chill down his spine as she let her fingers trail slightly down his back. He was starting to sweat, and shake.

This situation just entered into some dangerous territory! Play it cool! Play it cool!

It was on this night that the blond would forever scorn (thank?) his teacher for teaching him Prench.

"Ma dame il n'y a rien que je ne ferais pas pour vous. Je voudrais voyager les étoiles pour apporter you la lumière du jour si je pouvais." He hammed it up for good measure. Not like this mare could understand Prench, right?

"Oh Baget~ that was so romantic, but I don't need stars. I just need you~" Holy shit, she understood that?! That was his first surprise of the night.

Quickly came the second.

He didn't know how he didn't notice. All he knew was one second, they were just face to face, the next she was pressing against him with her lips over his. His body went stiff, for more than just metaphorically. He felt soft lips upon his own, and he damned his teenage hormones for making him kiss back. He'd have been slightly guilty if it had ended there, but no it got worse.

He felt her still developing body press against his own. The feel of her form compressing against his own sent his testosterone into overdrive. Where the hell was this dream going?! This wasn't as innocent as he had pegged her to be!

The clone would forever remember that night as the night of almost lost vigilance, discipline and chastity. The less said, the better. It would be later on that night that one Uzumaki Naruto would be hit with a veritable fountain of testosterone filled fantasies. The likes of which felt too real, almost like memorie-

Holy shit, was that tongue?!

~X~

After leaving his clone alone in the room, the original went off on his own once more. Scouring the rooms and hallways. Pick-locking his way into rooms, tumbling through fabric and surprisingly stopping a kidnapping from even starting, but that was for another time.

~X~

He was on the fifth floor and he decided it would be the last. The sun was due in maybe two hours and he wanted to be out of Manehatten by the time dawn hit. He made it to the last door for the night, getting into it was easy. He looked into the room, eyes picking out all the smallest details, before getting to the fabric in the corner. He idly noticed a strip of light coming from the bathroom. He could hear talking, an older mare and a younger one. He was struck frozen.

He couldn't stay here! This was bad! Why were these frickin' ponies awake?! Didn't matter, he needed to exit the premises pronto.

It was in the middle of this tizzy of thought processes that he tripped over some cloth on the floor. He stabilized himself a second before he hit the floor with all the strength his tails were worth. He sighed in relief, before he felt the feeling of fabric on his foot. He looked down at the blue looking material, running his paw over it, before his mind complimented how good and strong this one felt. He bent down and picked up the roll he tripped on, and felt the same quality from before.

Oh ho~ this was damn good fabric! Maybe some of the best he'd felt tonight! He was admiring the fabric for more than necessary when the door of the bathroom opened up.

"I'll be a moment mother, just keep waxing, and enjoy your music!" The accent he couldn't place, but it was slightly snobbish, but eloquent all the same. He was quick to leap towards the ceiling with the roll in hand, looking down as he saw a pristine white pony, with dark violet mane, walk out in a dark opaque teddie. She was definitely older than him, if the curves were anything to go by. Three years at the least.

"Now where is that-ah ha! Here it is! ~" She reached around for a bit in the dark by one of the beds, finding an object before heading back into the bathroom.

He waited a moment, hesitant to come down lest she come out once more, before he detached from the ceiling. He landed softly, before turning to the window ASAP. He wasn't going to stay around for any longer than necessary. He'd literally made it to halfway to the window, before disaster struck. And it came in the form of bars on his way out of here quickly. Rushing to them, he felt his luck was bad enough.

Now this wouldn't be so bad, if the same mare from before didn't come out just at the right (WORST) time to catch him by the window, and freezing in place.

They looked to one another, time coming to a slow, before he rushed her, quick to cover up her mouth with a hand. He gave her a serious look, pointing to himself with one finger, before pointing to her and making a silencing motion. She nervously looked at him for a moment, as he let go of her. Slowly but surely, he walked backwards to the door. He was about several steps away from it, his tail reaching out and opening it, when she saw the roll of fabric in his hand. He froze as he heard the sound of something growling at him, and turned up towards the former-scared mare.

She sported eyes like ghastly flames, as she now held in her hand a hair-straightener. A glow of her horn was all he needed to see before he decided to screw all pretense of silent exit, and tossed a pre-made paint pellet towards her. It would be harmless, and came off easy with water, but it was more for distraction than anything.

He was out the door and down the hallway, before a horrified shriek awoke the whole building. He could hear doors opening from up top and didn't doubt that there were some to soon open on this floor as well. He made it to the door of the stairwell and dropped straight down all the way to the first floor. He was greeted to the sight of the rest of his clones following after him. Exiting out and moving past the main lobby, where a set of tied up stallions and mare sat in the center of it. He gave them a salute as he and his copies made tracks out the hotel.

It was barely a minute later that found the tied up group of kidnappers surrounded by hotel staff and policeponies. Not only that, but a group of enraged fashionistas as well, with one sporting murder in her eyes for those in the center of attention.

Present...

He blushed at first, before snorting at the memory.

Definitely one of his more memorable nights. He was quick to get up and enter the kitchen.

Maybe those two had finally finished their little project by now. If not, well he had time to spare.

It's form broken, but not unfixable. The large outburst of magic from some months ago was a hearty meal to help bring it back to full strength. The following months had been spent fixing, and enhancing its current state. Specifically after that damn object got in the way of its hunt the last time. It felt the flickers of electricity move about its form.

It had lost flesh. Too much from that one encounter, its defenses were weaker now, but its power was greater. It was smarter now. And its obstacle was corrupted and should have been dead for some time by this point.

So close. So close, the hunt would be on. And no one, person or thing would stop it from being complete!

Uzumaki Naruto...Your time for hunt would be soon. Soon.

An eye flickered in and out inside a cavern decorated in symbols. Yet, the symbols would flicker with light before petering out periodically.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

~X~

Author's Note

Finally we're hitting the last obstacle. The sort-of full backstory for this story. The games, the thievery, the connections, and the moment.

Damn his chapter came out to be long! I wasn't expecting it to break past 10k honestly, but it did and it was chock full of delicious continuity. So enjoy the hell out of it!

We're now on the final chapter of the main storyline! Are you guys as excited as I am?! No?! Well you better! Cuz we're going to tackle my own version of Boast Busters!

Featuring a competent Trixie, so look forward to that.

I'm just gonna lay this out here, just to keep everything straight. AGES:

Celestia/Luna (1000+)
Granny Smith (100+)
Big Macintosh (23-25)
Rarity Belle (23-24)
Naruto Uzumaki (21)
Applejack Apple (20-21)
Rainbow Dash (20)
Twilight Sparkle/Fluttershy (19-20)
Pinkie Pie (18)
Spike (13-14)
CMC (11-12)
Winona (4)
Time Turner (Unknown)

NRK Out

Enlightenment (Conflict)

Well here we are. The last stretch of this piece of fiction before it can be put to rest for now. The final chapter, and it was one hell of one.
This was a lot of fun to write about, and definitely good for me as a writer. The experience in writing this was a fantastic one, and I can honestly say that writing every bit of it, regardless of how it made me feel at times, was my favorite.

The characters were what I honestly felt would be my ultimate downfall, but apparently that’s not the case, and I did a good job at giving them a showing here in this fic. So yay, me?

Anywho...It’s amazing how I felt like I wanted to write so much down, but I feel kind of drained. This is the last chapter of the main plotline, and I can’t help but feel that it doesn’t need to be bogged down by unnecessary words.

So without further ado.

Disclaimer: I do not own the properties of Naruto and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. They belong to their respective owners and companies Masashi Kishimoto and Hasbro, respectively.

~X~
~X~

~Play: Get Scared - Stumbling In Your Footsteps~ (Imagine this playing in the background at low volume before the argument climax, where it begins to get louder)

He’d known that things weren’t done, once they’d come back from Trixie’s show. Much less how angry AJ had seemed from it all. He frowned in annoyance though.

Why was she taking this so seriously though? Seriously, so maybe he was having a little fun up there as he traded back and forth with Trixie as the duel went on. So what?

“Ah can’t believe you Naruto.” She started off, once they got upstairs. He could hear Big Mac in his room, but paid the sounds little heed.

Time to get to the bottom of this.

“Seriously, what is your deal Jackie? You’re totally blowing this outta whack!” He retorted, though seeing her turn her gaze on him with anger wasn’t the most pleasant thing.

“What’s wrong with me? Naruto you just went up there and had fun with the darn mare who was making a fool of us!” She shouted back, before his frown deepened.

“You guys kind of brought it upon yourselves, when this all started!”

“How can you even say that with a straight face?! You saw what she was doin’! Going around spewing all that nonsense about being better than us! You should have had mah back!” She flung her hands out in wide gestures, all the while her voice got louder.

“She only riled you guys up, because you guys let her. I told you all too just leave it alone, but no, you guys had to go all gung-ho about some mare you’ll probably never see again!”

“Oh! So Ah’m just supposed to let everything she said slide and go along with my business! Hell no!”

“Stop being so prideful about this! She won’t be here in two days, and you just won’t let this go?! What are you twelve?!” He knew he shouldn’t have, really he did, but she was being way to stubborn about this. When he saw her stare turn from angry, to shock and then furious, he knew he’d made this argument worse.

“Oh ho ho! As if you’re one to talk! Every night! Every Celestia damn night, we talk and you won’t say a peep about what bothers you! And you want to call me a child?!”

“You know DAMN well, that that and this are two different things, Jackie!”

“Don’t you fucking “Jackie” me! You’d think that after all this time together that you’d at least give me a hint of why you’re holding onto this! You want to call me a child? Well ain’t you the coal callin’ the mamba black!” She responded, which caused him to bristle. What did she think she’d have some freaking high ground by throwing that in his face?!

The fuck she was.

“Don’t you even try and make that out as something that’s like this! It’s not even close!” He wasn’t about to let her try and lead him into that territory. Too bad, Applejack didn’t seem to get that memo.

“Oh sure, something that happened years ago is something that you can’t let go of?! For fuck sakes, than give me a damn reason for why?! Be honest with me for at least one second, and tell me! Don’t yall think Ah deserve to know at this point?!” That line threw him over the edge. He was going to be coming from an angry place, and he wanted to.

“Deserve? Deserve, nothing! You don’t deserve to know! There are you happy, Miss Element of Honesty?! You don’t deserve anything!” It was here he knew that something broke between them. He didn’t realize it until he’d finished, but once he got a good look at her angry tears, he knew he’d said the last straw.

“O-oh so that’s it? That’s all I mean to you, huh? After all this time…” The words came out in croaks that caused his own heart to contract in agony.

She’d stared at him with tears in her eyes before abruptly turning away and stomping down the hallway, hat shadowing her eyes. Slamming of her door was all he heard, as he did his own in unison. He stood there for a moment feeling angrier than ever, and he knew that he didn’t want to see anyone at that point.

He’d probably attack them out of rage, and even in his agitated state he understood that was wrong, and so he took it upon himself to just lash out in the safety of his room. It started with the jars on his desk, and then the shelf above it. He moved to the mirror before his own black fist laid a single blow to its reflexive surface, the pain that came from the shards of glass in his hand was a good distraction for him.

He’d continued this little ramp around his room, before he’d damn near broken everything save the bed. That being relative since it had a cross of claw marks from his own hands on it. He’d done what he could with himself in here and he was still angry.

…He needed out of this house, and away from her.

That night two souls fell to sleep with angry visions of their conversation egging them on into deeper, exhausting slumber.

~Song End~

~X~

Big Mac looked out the crack of his door. Apple Bloom and him just watching as the scene in front of them took place. He shook his head as he watched both blonds heatedly argue for all of five minutes. Emotions riled high, and the words becoming more and more hurtful as time went on. Then it got to the point to where the Unique finished the conversation with a shout.

He facepalmed as he watched his sister stomp away before dual slams were heard, both doors of Naruto and Applejack closed. He dragged his hand down his face before he sighed and closed his own door. He put his back against it before looking up into two sets of eyes.

Apple Bloom and Rainbow Dash gave him worried looks. He seriously doubted that those out there would be coming to terms anytime soon without some outside intervention. Much less, he didn’t want to get into their business, they had to figure this out for themselves.

Many would have probably thought that Big Mac would have gone out there to either: A) Help them through their problems, or much less likely, B) Try and back his sister up in her argument against the latest blond of the household.

Thing was that Big Mac was there when things went down. He’d seen all this move along, and quite honestly, he had to side with Naruto for that moment in time. He knew Rainbow had an ego problem, so that was bound to happen, but AJ had a pride thing going on as well. Of this he was well aware and wanted to get her off the stage himself before she went and did what she actually did. Especially when Trixie had said those words that she did.

Then once the Unique had been coerced by the daughter of Ms. Hooves to go up. He honestly thought the blond might end up in the same predicament his sister and her friends had ended up in. Thing went North for once in that regard, seeing as the blond was able to stay a step ahead of that Trixie mare, but for all his position as the one in control of the show, the stage performer was truly the one who reaped the profits in the end.

He saw Rainbow giving him a look, to which he responded with his own.

“Come on! We gotta go out there and make Naruto apologize to Applejack after what happened!” There it was. This outcome he was expecting, better yet he knew how inevitable it was that Rainbow would come to Applejack’s defense. Especially since she had been in the same position herself.

He shook his head, much to her irritated confusion. He gave her a flat look, Apple Bloom looking between the two of them with a renewed worried look. He saw the bemused scowl on her muzzle, and he sighed. He didn’t want to end up in a situation like Naruto and AJ, right now. He had to do this in steps

“Rainbow, Ah’m mighty happy that you’d come to my sister’s aid whenever she’s in a stint. Here and before, but this,” he gestured to the door where they heard some crashes coming from Naruto’s room and some thrashing in Applejack’s. “Isn’t something that can be solved with bravery, or magical purification powers, this here is a situation that requires tact.”

She frowned at him in disappointment. How could he just stay in here while his sister was dealing with Naruto’s bullshit? They were family, and Naruto wasn’t and she was about to make this point before she saw him narrow his eyes at her. She flinched back.
Did he know what she was about to say…wow he was good.

“Now listen here Ms. Dash. Ah understand where you’re about to go with this. Ah’ll have you know that no matter what, mah sister will always have the support of the Apple family. Yet, this right here. This isn’t something that you can go all “friendship will solve all our problems” thing. Their friendship is at the core of this spat.” His words caused her shoulders to hunch, her mind running back to the event that happened recently, before she looked up in determination.

He gave her an apologetic look. He didn’t want to dash her hopes, but this wasn’t something he was knew Rainbow would be too great at. He saw her perk only slightly, before giving him a look. He raised an eyebrow once she spoke again.

“No.” It came out a slight mumble.

“Come again, Sugarcube?” Big Mac asked, before Rainbow’s determined look turned defiant.

“I said ‘No’! I’m not going to sit back here and let my friend stay grumpy for any longer than necessary. One day…One day, I’ll see Gilda again and I want to reconnect with her, but right now a friend that’s close by needs my help.” She got up in his face, having to flutter her wings a bit to keep eye with him. He frowned at her words.

“Rainbow ya probably don’t understand what Ah’m trying to say ‘ere. You can’t go butting into others business like this. This is a friendship problem between those two. Not you, not me, not us.” He tried again, but her defiant look held strong and even turned a little disappointed.

“Where’s that stallion from before who went out of his way to help a crying girl in the park, huh? Last I checked that counted as a friendship problem between me and Gilda, and yet you still came over and let me talk your ears off.” She retorted causing his eyes to widen, before he nervously looked off to the side.

“I know where he is. He’s right in front of me. The kick-flank guy who came to help me out when I didn’t even want my friends to find out. The same guy who kept a promise to not say it to anypony else, even if he thought it would be better if my friends did know about it.”

He clenched his hands at that. He could see where she was coming from, really, but what did she expect them to do? They couldn’t make those two kiss and make-up that easily. Even worse is if they had to fix the problem, then the two blonds would never be able to absolve things between themselves by themselves.

Rainbow Dash saw his clenched hands, before she held up a fist and knocked the back of her knuckles against his chest.

“You’re a lot better than that Mac. You obviously don’t want to just sit back and see this play out. You want to go and help right?” This question made him clench his eyes shut. Rainbow stared at him for a little bit longer, before she deflated and set herself correctly on the floor. She gave a sad look, before surprising him with a hug.

He looked down at the hugging mare as she looked up at him with a small smile, before letting go. She turned away and walked towards the door.

“I get it. You do try but, stuff like this is scary. I’m sure you’ve probably seen it before yourself…”

Mac’s eyes closed, as his mind ran back to his younger days with his parents. When they’d occasionally argue. Sometimes it was light. Sometimes it was ugly. Yet, after a little while, things always got better. They’d make up, Ma or Pa would always come to the other, say sorry and take ‘em out for a trip through town those days. He, strangely enough, imagined Naruto and Applejack in those positions and it hit his heart slightly.

“I can’t say I understand that stuff. He he, I never really got to meet my mom. It was just me dad, and my big brothers. All of them looking out for me and doing their best to make sure I grew up loved. That’s family for ya.” She chuckled near the start, before putting a hand to the door.
Mac imagined himself with AJ. Him telling her how to do certain things, and about how worried he’d be for her sometimes. His thoughts then went to Naruto. Back when they were kids, and AJ was still getting to the orchard, the two of them would random talk about stuff. Sometimes the former thief would ask inane questions, but the Apple brother would answer them to the best of his ability. Now that he thought about it, even back then the blond sought even a little guidance from him. Thinking about the outing the quartet of him, Naruto, Spike and Bulk had, he could understand the blond’s small amount of social awkwardness.

Even when he thought he wasn’t listening back at Sugarcube Corner.

“I know it’s scary, I know sometimes you may feel like if you got involved it might make things worse, but sometimes you gotta try. Yeah, it’s more likely to make things worse from time to time, but even that small, tiny percent of it working is worth giving your all for.”

Big Mac’s thoughts went back to the image of Naruto and Applejack being in his parents’ position, and expression might have turned nervous. Those two weren’t together like his parents were. They honestly didn’t have to stay the way they did if they didn’t want to, and he couldn’t’ necessarily change that, but...

He didn’t want that for them. He wanted his sister happy with someone they both overall approved of. Was it selfish? Yeah, but Mac felt that it would be a good thing for AJ. Plus Celestia knows how long it’d take for her to even come back from this. Heck she might even give up on love entirely! He wanted to be an uncle with some fire in him one day!

“Rainbow “Bound-For-Flight” Dash doesn’t do things, half-flanked. It’s all or nothing! That percentage is still higher than zero and I’ll make the best of it. Just you watch Big Mac, I’ll make that awesome stallion proud!” She pumped her fist skyward, before she began to open the door. A moment later it was closed by a red hand. She heard a sigh, before turning to the stallion in the room with a confused frown.

She watched him rubbed the bridge between his eyes, before he smiled in defeat.

“Alright, alright. Let’s hear this plan of yours on how to help those two, Sugarcube.” He said to her temporary confusion. Not a second later did she process what he said, before she grinned and gave him another surprise hug around the neck.

A second later, they separated with her coughing into her fist, looking off to the side with a dust of pink over her face.

“Y-yeah, cool. I knew you’d see it my way, one way or another. Not that I ever doubted you with my cool persuasive skills!” Her slightly off-kilter acceptance of his help turned into a slight return to character that had him chuckling, before she turned to him with a sheepish expression.

“Uh, so yeah a “plan”…You wouldn’t happen to have any ideas, huh? I mean, I have some great ones, but too cool ideas could make this situation complicated with all the super-complex stuff involved.” She announced, causing him to deadpan. This was the mare who just got him involved a second ago?

All while this was happening, one Apple Bloom sat back and look back and forth between the two adults in the room. She wore a confused expression, before tilting her head.

What the hay just happened here?

~X~

It was morning that found him lying in the large tree with the “Flower” on it. He’d come up here, as soon as he could. Madly picking and smashing apples from the tree’s branches with well practice shots of water. He’d simmered down some, but not all the way.

He kept himself busy as Celestia’s orbiting sphere rose, and greeted the day too sunnily for his current mode. He gather a small orb of water and shot it out into the orchard at an abrupt speed. He twirled his fingers as the water orb around the tree branches of other bunches of apple bearing foliage.

His mind began to focus on his moving orb. His eyes flickering to the right and left in accordance to the projectile’s movements. His fingers were jumping in small units of measurement as they controlled the H2O sphere. He watched as the sphere moved with speed beyond sight not his own. He willed it to go faster as it traced across the orchard.

This was fine right? Who needed Applejack anyway? No one needed a self-serving mare, who thought she deserved anything from-!
Yet, as the ball began to go beyond his own vision, it went out of his control for a moment before it came rushing back towards his person. His eyes widened in shock before he ducked the large aqua bullet. It dug into the wood above his position before bursting outward from the hole it made. He stayed in ducked position for a moment, before he wiped the sweat from his head. He let out a loose chuckle, before commenting.

“Well that’s definitely out of consideration or the day.” His words came out slightly meek, before he looked down to his hands. He flexed them for a moment, frowning, before he heard some footsteps from the area at the bottom of the tree.

It was Big Mac, as it were, and he stopped at the tree base before looking up at the blond. His expression was flat and lacking in emotion, before he spoke.

“Come, let’s go and have a talk.”

~X~

The sunny-haired blond looked down at Ponyville from the hill above, with the lone tree on it. He sat on one of the two stools he’d formed from the bedrock below, as he waiting for Big Mac to come back.

His eyes trailed over the town, and watched all the color-coated furs move about with purpose. Purpose for living the lives they did, as they milled about. Most flanks, if shown, and hands marked with some form of symbol or picture.

His mind idly ran over the theories he and Yahiko-sensei had come up with about the Cutie Mark™. So many questions that racked their collective minds for so many years, and even now the very idea that one’s “Special Talent” would appear on your rump/hand seemed even more ridiculous.

All these ponies…diverse as they were, there shouldn’t be a possibility for one to not have similar Cutie Marks. Take for example the Apple family Cutie marks.

Granny Smith’s – A pie (Probably apple-flavored, more data is necessary)

Big Mac’s – A Big half-apple. Probably emphasizing his importance to farm’s upkeep. Or representation of self-importance to it.

Apple Bloom – Inconclusive.

Applejack’s…three shining apple marks. Born of life choice of farm life continuity. Possible representation of family life at the time of conception.

For the most part, from what he remembered of past…nightly talks with a certain Apple mare, her entire family was named after apples. It was even more ridiculous when he considered just how big her family was. There had to be more Apples than actual apples! Since when could the words Caramel apple count as a name?! Were they doing this just for some sick kick to the nads to guys like him who wondered about this stuff?

Bastards.

He would have continued this train of tantalizingly inept thoughts, were it not for the feel of something cold on his face causing him to jump in shock. He looked up to find a glass mug filled to the brim with a frothing tan liquid. Said beverage was currently being offered to him by a red hand with a large half-apple Cutie Mark.

“Zonin’ out there quite a bit, huh Naruto?” Came Big Mac’s inquisitive statement, as the Unique received the drink from his hand. The blond looked down into the liquid, taking a couple sniffs, before he sipped it a little. He let a few coughs, the red stallion next to him taking a seat before patting his back.

“Easy there bronco, that’s strong stuff.” The strawberry blond warned, though the amusement he heard in his voice could not more obvious. The Unique paused to give him a slight stink eye, before he let out a long sigh, staring into the liquid confines of his mug.

Taking a few more sips, Big Mac also doing so, they sat in silence. They both knew of the looming question, but neither was too eager to approach it just yet, so they simply sat there in neutral silence.

They watched Ponyville’s day progress, idly sipping nicely chilled alcohol. Both could feel the fluid burning in their throats, the Unique even more so, as they nursed the mugs with one hand each.

It was at the one hour mark that the Unique cracked. He turned his gaze skyward, barely taking notice of the Pegasus ponies moving about. The gray fur of a passing Derpy did her best to dart across the blue expanse, on her way to do her daily rounds.

“I’m honestly surprised you’re so calm about this. I’m pretty sure I made your sister cry just the other day and here you are having a drink with me.” Naruto started, taking another small sip of alcohol. Big Mac made no remark on that, leaving the sunny blond-haired male to continue.

“There’s so much you should be so angry with me by this point, but you’re not and I don’t get it. I’ve done nothing but caused you guys some grief one way or another. I was taking your apples, I was making a game out of it but it was your produce I was messing with. I’m the reason that your sister was out in the cold that day, the whole reason she got sick. That wasn’t exactly male-bonding material, getting a guy’s sister sick.”

“Hmm, Eeyup.” Macintosh’s response made the blond raise his eyebrow for a moment, before he continued. The blond made sure to take a large gulp of liquid courage before continuing on. He’d done his best to stop his internal systems form dissipating the alcohol in his body.
He’d need it, now more than ever.

“Ever since I’ve even been here the past few months, I’ve been causing you guys some trouble. Taking time away your responsibilities to teach me how to farm, dodging meeting other ponies,” Big Mac raised an eyebrow at that line to which the blond answered and continued. “I’m getting better at it. Plus I got you injured, still sorry about that, I didn’t stop your sister from getting herself worked up AGAIN and allowed her to run herself into the ground. And let’s just finish this up with the fact that I’ve made her beyond just pissed all because I didn’t back her up, thinking her childish. I insulted her! And I FUCKED UP! All because I couldn’t just let go. I should have been more supportive than that! I knew why she was angry, but I scolded her and look where we are now!” The confessing blond had been on all fours by the time he finished, and with a shout he slammed his fist into the floor.

Big Mac watched it all, even as the blonde’s line covered fist came down on the floor. Even as the earth beneath them shook and cracked beneath his seat, he watched on as the blond vent for a moment, before he stayed on all fours crying. The frustrations of a man who’d made mistakes. He’d seen it before from others, and it was from those experiences that had him bring the blond on this hill, far away from anybody to vent.

He sighed, before he walked over to the sniffling Unique. He crouched before he offered his two bits.

“Now yall, may not believe this, but ya did far more than just cause problems fer us, ya hear? Ah don’t want to hear all this talk about you feeling sorry for us havin’ ta put up with yah. Quite frankly, Ah’m sure all of us are glad yer here, especially Applejack.” Big Mac started, the blond to his side sniffling, before wiping his face and looking up. He opened his mouth to retort, but the red stallion cut him off with a raised palm.

“Nuh-uh, my turn to speak, yall had time to say your piece. You were partly right that you did bring in some smidge of ill will here and there, but you did just as much good, if not more so.” He paused making sure to keep the non-equine’s attention.

“Did you take some time away from us? Ah wouldn’t have notice, since we’ve been getting more done around here. Dodging meetings with others isn’t necessarily a good thing, but you got the deliveries done on time, possibly even faster. My gettin’ injured isn’t a problem you caused, so much as it was a happening of circumstance.” Each word that came out of the stallion’s mouth, caused the blond just think. Eyes downward, expression contemplative.

“Yeah AJ did get worked up again, but Ah’m happy that she wasn’t out destroying herself with no one to watch for her. She wasn’t alone in that endeavor, and Ah’m happy for that, and also because yall did get most of the work done. Much less the, ahem, blow you took for Ms. Dash,” that wound up a memory that caused both of them to shudder, before Mac continued.

“Now Ah bet you’re thinkin’ that Ah’m going to agree with you on making AJ mad and will throw in some sort of lesson to ask ya to make-up with her, but Ah’m not.” That line sent him for a loop, and he snapped his head to Big Mac’s location, noggin tilted.

“Ya see, Ah was sort of expecting this to happen…” The wide-eyed look the other blond sent him, had the Apple stallion scratching his cheek.

“Well, things were going too well, fer yall two. Not that things couldn’t have gone on, without something happening, but it was way to possible for something like this to happen. The both of ya are two headstrong individuals. There was no way in Tartarus that something wouldn’t happen. Much less, if all those romance stories Ah have, ahem, glanced over in my spare time, were anything go by.” At this point the blond had given him his full attention. Though when Macintosh got to the romance portion of his explanation, Naruto found his cheeks turning bright red, much to Big Mac’s amusement and the Unique’s consternation.

The blond on the floor hid his face, but he looked downward in thought. Big Mac’s words making rounds in his skull, as he tried to process them. He’d done more than his fair share of damage, hadn’t he? He was sure. Applejack was still mad at him though, and that brought his mood down a bit, but not as much as it would have before this talk.

He let his mind stop for a moment, before he stood back up. He finished the rest of the liquid in his mug before handing it back to Mac. The blond proceeded to pull the hood of his jumpsuit over his head, before he started off down the hill. Though not before throwing out some thanks to eldest Apple male.

“Thanks Big Mac. I…I needed that. I’m still not sure about how things are at the moment, but it’s nice to have a second perspective. I need to take a walk, you don’t mind do you?” He said, as he turned his head back to the red stallion who just waved him off. Nodding once more, Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets, before shuffling off. Though Big Mac made a final shot at advice.

“Naruto! Don’t forget that talking is always an option!”

Big Mac not sure if he heard him or not, just shook his head. He turned back to the mugs and seats. The seats were probably okay to be left here, good for later endeavors. As for the mugs, he’d take them inside.

“Sometimes it takes a steady, but active hand Ah guess.” He said with a small smile, his head taking a look around the area with some interest.

“That guy, it’s a wonder that he didn’t use his magic back then.”

He finally began his trek down the hill. He made sure to step out of the way of the crack traveling down the mound in the earth with the tree on it.

“Really hope no one pays to much attention to this place, besides us.”

He wondered if Rainbow Dash was having a better time with “Assignment”.

…

Probably not.

~X~

Rainbow couldn't help but grunt in slight agreement, as she and the others listened to Applejack.

She remembered going to AJ's room, and doing her best to not just break down the door and wrangled the farm mare out of her place of rest. She also remembered how the female Apple looked once she'd opened the door of her own accord. Needless to say that, she had made the mare agree to meet her and the others the next day. After doing that, she'd made rounds to all their friends, and got them to agree with her to help meet with Applejack. They were especially worried when they heard from her about the fight between the farm mare and the Unique.

That had been yesterday, and at present they were all sitting in Sugarcube Corner in a circle. Each of the Element Bearers having a sort of beverage of sweet delight. They'd started chatting idly about things, latest gossip, info, tips and the like before they came upon the topic of the evening.

Initial breaching of the topic, came with...less than spectacular results.

"Ah said, Ah don't want to talk about that bastard! Ah ain't got nothing to do with 'im no more!" Declared Applejack, as she shoved a spoonful of her Apple Crostata into her mouth.

"Applejack, dearie, I think you'll understand that we're worried about you. You and Naruto both. We just want to know what happened that has you two on...less than speaking terms." Provided Rarity, low-fat vanilla yogurt parfait in front of her. She gestured with her spoon at the end of her sentence. She saw Pinkie off to her left, with a contemplative expression before the party mare turned her gaze skyward, away from her slice of Strawberry-Chocolate Surprise Cheesecake, in deeper thought.

"And Ah said, it's nothing yall need to worry about. True colors just came out is all, and Ah'm better off for it." This was punctuated with a rather vicious stab into her dessert. Twilight on her left, seemed to regard her with a nervous twirl of her mane. She was seated in front of a vanilla milkshake, with striped curly straw.

Twilight saw this as one of her defining flaws. She had no such experience, considering the girls were her first friends, so she was in for a learning adventure. She just wasn't sure if she'd like the whole trip for this one. Especially considering she was still running over the whole Trixie ordeal still. The lavender Unicorn was currently wondering where in Ponyville the performer was right now.

"O-oh, um. Did you guys at least...try and talk? If you don't mind me asking?" Out came the soft voice of Fluttershy, as she nursed her carrot cake, fork parting it in nervousness. Applejack looked up at the butter colored pegasus with a flat look, that caused the animal-lover to look away.

"Ah said nothing needs to be talked about."

"Applejack you've been in a bad mood since yesterday! Come on, this whole thing could have been a big misunderstanding!" Rainbow's words made the farm mare turn her annoyed gaze towards the blue pegasus's direction, which caused said flying equine to glare back in defiance.

"And Ah already sai-!"

"We've all heard what you said, but that's not doing anything for us trying to help you!" Dash cut off Applejack, before the mare could get a word in edgewise. Her expression softened a bit.

"You keep saying that it doesn't bother you, but if that's the case then explain it to us. It shouldn't be a problem right, unless you're lying?" Rainbow had seen enough cop movies to corner someone effectively, at least in her own mind.

And it seemed to be working, because the prism-maned pegasus's words caused the farmer to freeze. The hand around the fork she held, tightening.

The others watched with curious or worried looks, as the farmer didn't move. Some were worried that maybe Rainbow had pushed too hard, while blue pegasus looked on with a stern stare. Eyes keeping over AJ's frozen state.

It was a few seconds later that Applejack let out a small shudder before she looked up uncertainly. She caught the gazes of the croup before releasing both a sigh and the story of what had happened between her and the Unique the day before.

Throughout the whole retelling they all listened. Some nodded upon certain parts, while others were slightly more nervous as the story came to an end. Rainbow having already known the story, was trying to piece together a plan of action of how to help her friend get out of this mood. She saw that once Applejack had finished retelling she had tears running down the sides of her face, with her hands over her head.

Fluttershy had, by story's end, moved over to AJ's side and helped comfort her. It was reassuring that at least one of the group had some semblance of an idea on how to help. Didn't mean that things were solved. They still needed to get the two blonds to make up with one another.

By the time that AJ had calmed down, Rarity seemed to finish her parfait. The fashionista's eyes were focused in thought, as she slowly and daintily tapped her spoon against her glass. She seemed to be gritting her teeth slightly with frustration before letting out a sigh. She lay her spoon out on the table, before tenting her fingers in front of her face.

The others took notice of this, and gave her their full attention, Applejack included. With all the eyes on her, Rarity spoke.

"I can understand how Applejack's feeling in this midst of affairs, but at the same time I can't condone it." The verdict left her mouth, and as soon as the others heard it, they were shocked to say the least. Rarity raised a hand in stopping them. She brought it back to her position before she focused her eyes on Applejack.

"Applejack dearest, I do feel for you, but I can't necessarily say that either you or Naruto are in the right here. From what you've told us, this is something Naruto has been holding on to for years. As much as I detest Trixie for what she did to couture, the fact remains that we did indeed initiate the situation to begin with." This seemed to stop frozen, all the while Applejack kept her eyes on Rarity. Rarity matched her gaze for the moment, before hers softened, Applejack noticing the change turned her head away in slight guilt.

"AJ I can understand that what Trixie said got you a little...riled," Rarity started.

"Riled?! That damn showboat had to barrels to judge me and my apples! Ah don't take kindly to insults, but trying to pass my apples off as something they're not ain't right by any standard yall can come up with! Besides she then continued to say..." The apple farmer stopped, before she gave the pristine unicorn a frown. Twilight frowned herself, recalling back to when Applejack had been hogtied by Trixie on stage.

"Perhaps Trixie should be a farmer on the side," the light blue magician said, as she took a smug bite out of the apple in her hand.

"Obviously it can't be that hard."

Applejack's eyes widen to a alarming degree, before they narrowed in the direction of Trixie. Emerald eyes offering description into the depths of fury she wished upon the Azure unicorn at that very moment.

Her eyes widened, for a moment before she turned back to the Element of Honesty. She stopped nursing her milkshake, before she brought up a question.

"Would it have anything to do with what Trixie said?" The Lavender unicorn's words brought attention to herself.

"Uh Twilight you're gonna have to be more specific than that. Trixie didn't exactly throw out a bunch of nice things yesterday." Rainbow pitched in, as she gave the Magical Element a weird look, eyebrow raised. Twilight shook her head in the negative, and spoke once more.

"No, no, no! I mean, when Trixie gave Applejack her..."rebuttal", I couldn't help but notice that Applejack wasn't very pleased. If anything I feared she might have done something more than just glare at her. I feared that you might have done something you might have regretted." The librarian explained, as she fiddle with her straw. The others were giving her thoughtful looks, though Applejack wasn't exactly to pleased.

"Now hold on there Twilight! Look Ah wasn't pleased with what was said, but h wasn't about to go on a killing spree or somethin'." The farmer appealed her case, but Twilight held her with a stern stare.

"Applejack, can you honestly tell me you weren't thinking of doing something to Trixie when she said that?" The question caused the orange mare to chew on her lower lip. She'd thought for a few seconds before answering.

"Ah'm still saying that Ah wouldn't have done anything...permanent." At the others' stares she was quick to add on, "Ah might have thought some less than kind things, but it was in the heat of the moment! Ah know better than that! You guys believe me, right?"

The others looked to one another. Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"AJ we'd understand if you were a little angry..." the wonderbolt-wannabe started off.

"But can you say that if you were not tied up at that moment you wouldn't have done something to Trixie?" Finished Twilight. Applejack raised a finger to retort before she found herself unable to bring up a good argument. She tried time and time again, but everytime she came to an end. All because she knew they were right.

Applejack sighed, before she allowed her head to fall to the table top. The others gave her a sympathetic look before she looked up at them. She left herself to being resigned.

"Look. Yeah, Ah would have done something Ah wouldn't have been very proud of. Yah gotta understand though, those things Trixie said. Ah couldn't handle the idea that anything she might have said would be...true." She let her head fall onto the top of her arms, and she crossed them on the table.

"Applejack, we would love to help you. You're not okay, you and Naruto aren't talking isn't helping you right now. Yet, we still don't know why what Trixie said got to you. There's no way this is just about how she insulted your produce." Twilight provided. The others nodded their heads in unison.

"That's just the thing there Twilight. It IS about what she said about my produce." She started, before she went on to explain. She told them about the loss of her parents when she was young, about how hard things had become around that time. She told them about how she wasn't as useful around the farm back then due to her age.

They listened and began to understand just why their friend had been so upset. The very idea that she tried so hard to live up to her parents memory was something to be admired. Applejack sought after that ideal from as far back then. So it made sense that she wasn' none too pleased with Trixie's comments.

She had spoke about the few years that followed, before things were getting a little better. Her expression relaxed, and she started to smile a little bit as she spoke of the few later years. How Big Mac had gotten into the routine of things and when she started being able to help around the home by learning to cook and bake.

"And that's around when Naruto showed up, huh?" Pinkie interceded, causing AJ to look up before she looked back down. Though the smile on her face wasn't missed by those around the table. They listened in as she included the Unique's introduction into the story. They shared some laughs as she spoke of the exploits of their shared past.

"Ah tell ya, it's so weird how we continued the games and such. Then once apple Bloom was old enough, she started to join us in trying and getting him as well. As a matter of fact, she's the reason we got the second letter way back when." Applejack stated to the confusion of those around her.

"How?" Was the collective response she received. They had all tussled with the unique int he last game. They had to collectively do their best as a group to even get him. Were it not for Fluttershy they still wouldn't have won in the end with how slippery he was. At this Applejack let out an annoyed snort, before she pouted.

"She asked." She stated, sounding more than a little put out.

"Excuse me mister Naruto, can Ah catch ya?"

"..."

"...hmm, sure why not?"

This caused the others to laugh, and AJ joined them not a moment later. It was when they were coming down from their chuckles that Pinkie got them back on track.

"Don't you find it strange?" Pinkie asked, as she tapped her fork against her tongue. The other took notice of the party planner's new expression.

"Watcha mean Pinkie?" Applejack asked, as the others gave the pink pony the floor, so to speak. She smiled at them before turning to Applejack.

"Well Naruto, from what you've told us doesn't seem like he would do what he did without good reason. I mean you're his really special friend and he didn't even tell you about it? It must have been a really big doozy of a secret if he wouldn't share it with someone special to him like you AJ." The observation caused the farm mare to stutter for a moment. HEr hand came up to her head, where she started to constantly start messing with the tuff of hair above her forehead.

"Ah don't know what you're talking about Pinkie." She muttered, but the Element of Laughter was quick on the prowl.

"Come on, Applejack! I can see how much he cares for you. I'm pretty sure Rarity did too."

Rarity gave Applejack a sly smirk, as the farmer turned her way. Cheeks burning even more, as the implication of what Pinkie said settled into the group. Twilight and Fluttershy seemed lost for a moment before it dawned on them. They turned their gazes to Applejack, as she tried to cover her head with her hat, face flaring red from the very thought of what Pinkie said.

"W-wait, you mean...that...Naruto likes..." Twilight seemed to be trying to catch up, as the Element of Kindness just let out a silent "Oh my".

"Yeah, it was pretty obvious." Stated Rainbow nonchalantly, fake-buffing her finger nails. Obviously the others didn't know that she'd only recently learned of the fact that those two had the hots for each other, but she played it up well. Rainbow Dash was observant, is what they'd think. Why ruin the chance for an image like that? Seeing Applejack snap her horrified gaze her way only made it all the sweeter.

Before the Element of Honesty could begin to wish to have the Earth swallow her whole, Pinkie spoke up.

"It's true. Naruto treats Applejack way different compared to everypony else. That's why I find it so strange he wouldn't have shared everything with her by this point. Considering that they spend so much time together." The comment brought the main subject of discussion back to focus. While Applejack couldn't help but feel her mood drop, she didn't feel as angry and distraught as before.

"Well from what Applejack has said, Naruto doesn't want to talk about it. Yet, he's not exactly "moving on". It's more like...He's holding onto it and for a while." Rarity stated, with the others running the information in their minds. Twilight thought for a moment, before she threw out a suggestion.

"Maybe, it's something he's ashamed of?" They looked to one another, before turning to Applejack. She thought about it, before she remembered the conversation they, her and Naruto, had on his first night here. The topics hadn't been something to talk about out loud, but...

"...So when we were asking questions earlier and you said you had a teacher...He's gone isn't he?" She asked quietly. He didn't respond, but she didn't turn to look at him.

Naruto from his position stayed silent, and closed his eyes, mouth shifting to a frown.

She closed her eyes, and sighed. She didn't want to speak about that out loud, but at the same time she was sure that it was kind of prodded at back when he was explaining himself to them. So she'd speak up, but she'd let them sort it out.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but think that this was the right idea from her seat. She told Big Mac that helping them would be a good idea, and she was right. She turned her attention back to AJ as the farmer began to explain her thoughts on why the Unique may have been acting the way he was.

Throughout the whole explanation, Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but wonder. Off-topic as it may be.

Where was Spike?

~X~

The blond walked away from the hilltop, mind moving sluggishly from the inebriation form moments ago. Though even with the limitation, it didn't affect too badly.

With his head angled towards the ground slightly, hood up and hands in pockets, he strolled. His feet taking him anywhere, and everywhere. Evening was upon Ponyville and the blond felt better after a good hour of walking. It was here that the blond found his thoughts clearer than usual, and he looked up in the sky. The orange and light purple hues made for a beautiful picture. It was in the sky his mind decided to overlay a image of Applejack, and he just looked back down in exasperation. Both at himself and the situation.

He'd need to apologize. No matter who was right or wrong in that setting he wanted to make things up with her. At this point he wasn't sure what he wanted to do though. Let it be known that Uzumaki Naruto does not do things in half-measures. He needed to get a gift, even if she was more likely to not accept it, he felt that it was the least he could do. As for what to get her, well he had a couple ideas.

It was during this thought session that he came across the sulking form of one Spikoran "Spike" Sparkle. The little drake let out a huff, as he sat on a bench. The Unique could see he wasn't the only one with some problems tonight.

So with a this as his small distraction for the evening, he sat himself next to the purple dragon. The shift in seating caused the drake to look up in surprise at seeing the Unique. Naruto gave Spike a small smile before the two turned out to the slightly muffled sounds of Ponyville proper closing up for the day. It was a few minutes in that Naruto saw Spike back to his huffing self, and decided that he might as well get to the bottom of his younger friend's sullen mood.

"So what's up, Spike? You don't seem to be yourself right now." He inquired, as he leaned back into the seat. The smaller male between them, let out another errant huff before expositing.

"*Sigh*, I needed to get out of the house. I'm more than a little disappointed with Twilight, too." The drake said, a he pouted.

"Why?" Naruto egged on.

"She wouldn't go up there and show up Trixie! I mean we all know that you and Twilight are the best at magic around here. And no offense Naruto, Twilight knows so many spells, and she wouldn't go up there and shove Trixie's ego where the sun don't shine." The teen crossed his arms in indignation, even as the Unique next to him subtly drug his hand down his face.

"That's not even everything! I went to hang out with Scootaloo, but after a while she said she couldn't take my "complaining" and told me to get lost and come back "when I'm fun again"! Can you believe that?"

'Yes, yes I can.' He thought, but he considered it best to give Spike some advice. Better helpful suggestions, than smart ass cynicism at the moment.

"Well, did she tell you why she didn't go up there?" The blond said, to which the drake nodded his head.

"Yeah, something about how she didn't want to show off her magic and cause the others to hate her. Like come on, Twilight! They're your friends, they're not going to just throw you out of the circle just because you went up there and showed up the egocitri, egocentron...Really big headed mare." The drake complained, fumbling on the last word before giving up on it.

Naruto looked up for a moment, before he turned back to his younger companion.

"I can understand that you might be a bit miffed by that, but Spike if I can ask a question?" Naruto asked.

"Sure what?"

"Did Twilight have any friends before you guys came here?" This caused the drake to stop and think for a moment.

"...Well, it's more like she had friends around her, more than she had friends. As in, I don't think that the Twilight back then considered them "friends" unless the topic was something she had in common with them. Lemon Heart, Twinkleshine, Moondancer, Minuette and Lyra Heartstrings." He rattled off. The blond listened, and thought that one of the names sounded familiar. Wait a minute.

"I think I know a "Lyra Heartstrings". Yeah, she was on the orders lists for a delivery. Besides that, Spike this is the first time, from your own admission, that Twilight's ever truly got the "Friends experience"." He stated to the dragon's shock.

"Lyra's here, huh? Besides that, well I can see where you're coming from, but still! Why would she think that any of them..." He trailed off mid-tirade, before facepalming to the Unique's amusement and confusion. the fire-breather decided to elaborate.

"Twilight isn't the most down-to-Earth pony when it comes to new experiences. She's so crazy-cautious, while at the same time super thorough. I can't believe I forgot that, oh man." The drake sighed into his palms.

"Well no time like the present to fix a mistake, no?" Naruto suggested, causing the young drake to look up at him before nodding. He hopped off the bench, before stopping and turning around.

"Thanks for the advice, but what are you doing out here Naruto?" The question he'd been expecting for a while came and Naruto gave a nervous smile.

"I'm kind of in the same situation with Applejack, that you are with Scootaloo." He confessed, and Spike cringed with a slight "oooh" in response.

"Well maybe you should do what you told me? 'No time like the present to fix a mistake', right?" He repeated back to the blond, who just scratched his head bashfully.

"Yeah that was another reason I was out here. I was thinking about a present to say 'I'm sorry' to give to Jackie. I have a few ideas, but I'm wondering what's the best route to go with this." He slumped forward some, but caught the drake's thinking face.

"Well Applejack's a hard-worker by nature, so maybe something handcrafted from you would be a good idea..." The drake started, before he rattled off information like her star constellation, birthday date with accordance to the Equinese calendar, and such information. By the end of it, Naruto was just giving Spike a weird look, to which the drake just shrugged.

"I told you, Twilight's VERY thorough when it comes to new things. Sometimes she goes...overboard, hehe." The drake said in a nervous tone. Naruto just shook his head, got up and proceeded down the opposite direction to Spike's own path.

"Well Spike it was good talking to you. And you were right about the handcrafted thing, probably for the best too. I'm pretty good with my hands anyway. Don't forget about Scootaloo. You kind of were complaining," the Unique spoke one last time, before he continued on his way, leaving a waving Spike in his wake.

"Yeah later! Wait, ah man, now I gotta go and apologize to Scootaloo! Well a present is what I told Naruto, and thankfully I don't think that Scootaloo would care if it was handmade...I have an idea!" With that the drake darted off. Never knowing he would run into two colts, and egg them on in an stupid adventure that would disturb the town more than it would have originally.

Naruto shook his head, as he walked away. Hearing the entirety of the young dragon's mutters, before he thought about what they spoke of. The image of applejack came to mind, and he focused on it. From the tips of her hooves to the top of her head, hat included. He focused on the image for a moment before the idea hit him. He dashed off towards Everfree with reckless abandon. His eyes focused and his mouth in a grin. Roof hopping like in the old days, he zoomed across Ponyville. Mid-way he made a detour to the Apple home, picked up a few things, before he was back on track towards the forest.

"I have the best present for you Jackie! Dattebayo~!" He whispered to himself, as the wind rushed past him. His form zooming over the expanse of Ponyville's rooftops and into the Everfree forest.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
It moved it's body. Testing the limits of each of its limbs as they rattled from their previous set positions. The flesh along its spine and main body was slightly more plentiful, but still a degradation in the defense it once had. There was a point of enthusiasm to be found. This form had altered in aspects once more.

The Fox shape had stayed the same, but it's coloration had changed from the orange-red hue to a violet. It was back up to four tails, the fourth different from the others. Possibly due to the weird energy from the months before, but that came with benefits.

Nightmares.

The concept was alien to it, but the inclination that it had the ability to harness the lower level instincts of its foes, was salivating. Something happened out of the corner of its eye. Its attention snapped to the entrance of the cave. The lights. Those symbols had flickered out. The seal was not reawakening itself like it would normally.

It's eyes stayed fix on the circular entrance. One minute turned to three, three to five then five to ten, and still nothing.

Testing the waters, it moved it's front right limb to the cave front before laying it at the boundary between stone and forest. Moments passed, before it pushed it outward some more. With each milestone its eyes widened, before at the final milestone it brought its arm back to it's standing form. Its mouth became crooked into what would be called a "smile", or some savage mockery of one.

The time of the HUNT had come.
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Enlightenment (Buried Sorrows)

~X~

He strolled through the Deeper Depths. The force of the magic intensity around him being a familiar reminder of the locale he was use to. HE steady himself, as he walked over a large Tree root that bridge over a running river. He crouched down, looking into the water depths. He watched as slight glows flashed at random positions in the water running past the branch.

A moment later, an errant flash happened in front of him before a small animal hopped in and out of the water.

It was a fish. Not just any fish though, but a Dimeon. Named after a special sort of attribute these fishes held.

He watched as it jumped twice more before on some odd jump a small portal opened in front of it, the fish going in and the portal closing. Watching for a little longer as a flash later, farther down the stream the fish appeared.

Watching as the fish swam off, he looked down into his reflection in the water. The reflection of the man in front of him made faces in the water. He ran through numerous expressions, before settling on a smile. The corners of his lips dipped, as his smile turned into a frown. His stare into the water, let his mind wander down a dark memory.

6 Years Ago...

The 15-year old blond looked up from the river, snapping out of his gaze. He looked farther down the beaten path, seeing his teacher waiting for him. He got up from his position over the waters, blue and orange jumpsuit slightly baggy on his frame, before going over to Yahiko.

"So explain to me again. You said those fishes, the..." He fumbled.

"The Dimeon." Yahiko provided.

"Right, them. You said they can use dimension portals. So why haven't we, or even you, tried to use them to get home?" The blond made sure to hop over a slightly upturned root in the ground, before focusing back on his master.

"I've stated before to you about how attributes work yes?"

"Yeah. Some attributes are stronger than others in specific creatures. In most there's a main central attribute they specialize in, that can decide what "rank" of it will be. Usually the main attribute is an special quality that the material/creature carried throughout its life."

"And that the mastery of said concept throughout its life helps determine the quality of the concept to be harnessed. For example, Dragons. From birth, dragons are born with a high concept of "Flame". As well, I also remember telling you that some creatures have the capacity to have other attributes. Rarely do they have secondary attributes that match up to, or even come close to their main attributes." Yahiko continued to explain, as his gaze went to his wayward ward. The blond in question, had taken up a thinking expression, before it took on a disgusted expression.

Naruto couldn't help but pinch his nose, as the smell of acrid flesh penetrated his senses.

'Ugh! What kind of Primal makes a smell like that?! Oh Kami, please tell me there aren't stinkbug like Primals!' He thought, his eyes moving every which way to try and locate the source of the smell. The farther they walked, the stronger the smell got. It was as they were breaking through a patch of low hanging foliage that they came across a carcass.

"...Holy shit..." The blond whispered, as the both master and student stopped and took in the sight of what had to be the largest Beast they'd laid eyes on.

The half-eaten carcass lay on its side, innards visible to the world. The corpse had to be at least over four stories tall, with fur that looked like the night sky turning to day. The blue to orange-red hues of the fur lay matted down against the dead animal by its own blood. It was missing one of its ears and eyeballs. Though that wasn't saying much with half of its skull caved in. Naruto had been expecting to see gray matter, but strangely enough the skull looked excavated. As if something had made sure to clean out the skull in full measures.

The biggest thing about this thing was the sight of the edges. Each "edge" that he could find on this thing, which looked kind of like a bear, was smeared over by a reddish tint. Not unlike blood, but different. If anything it looked like the "edges" were being eaten away at. His eyes widening at the word that popped into his mind.

Corrosive.

"What the hell did this?" Asked the blond as he walked around the carcass. He took notice of what looked like a large chunk of flesh missing from the neck area, with the same kind of hints of corrosivity. He wasn't sure whether that had been done before or after the Beast faced it's untimely death, but it was twisted in such a way that caused the blond to rub a hand across his own throat.

Whatever did this was beyond him. Maybe his teacher would know whatever did this, and what this animal was. He turned back to Yahiko, question on his lips before it died at the stare of the older gentlemen. The man's eyes traced over the corpse for a moment, before he turned his gaze to the surrounding forest. His eyes moved every which way, before they changed color. From their original color, to a light green coloration.

Naruto watched as Yahiko's eyes moved from the corpse before gliding across the clearing. The movement of the teacher's eyes leaving small traces of light in their motions.

"Naruto, come here." The words were spoken calmly, in a whisper, but he heard them all the same. The rabbit ears on his head flattened involuntarily, as he turned to his master.

"Wh-" He tried to speak, but his teacher held up his hand gesturing a shushing motion.

"Shhh..." He moved his hand in a "come hither" gesture this time. The blond was succinctly freaked out, but followed Yahiko's orders. Whether it was by his own doings, or not, he applied the softening characteristics of his feet's paw pads. The softened blows of his feet on the forest floor reduced to what amount to small displacements of air.

"Slowly..." The orange haired man whispered, as he began to move forward at the same pace of his student. His eyes still moving about the clearing. They inched forward until they stood in front of one another. Naruto went still, as the orange haired man stood in front of him. Yahiko checked the clearing and once more, before bringing his eyes to his student's still form. Locking eyes with him, he spoke in near deathly silent whispers. The octaves picked up by the boy's rabbit ears easily.

"Do not move, and do not overreact." He stated simply, eyes coming to his student's. The apparent curiosity and slight fear was betrayed by the boy's eyes. Yahiko blinked his eyes several times in front of the Unique male, before Naruto got the message. The blond's upper right forehead slower lit up, before his eyes changed to the green color not unlike his teacher's were currently. From here Yahiko's eyes flickered to the corpse, leading the blond's to follow.

His eyes moving, but his head tilted only at the slightest degree, he gazed upon the carcass. His eyes noticing that the red "edges" glowed with a sort of energy. That energy seemed to trail up from it, before moving haphazardly across the clearing.

His eyes moved to follow every trail, yet it was once it moved to the bushes and disappeared as they moved behind him. The blond's thoughts were running a mile a minute, as he tried to understand what that meant.

The trail disappeared from his sight as soon as it began to move behind him. He wouldn't be able to keep looking at it, unless he turned around to look behin-!

His eyes went wide, his pupils dilated as his ears began to pick up...something. He felt a pressure on one of his toes, and saw it was his teacher's foot pressed on the digit. He looked up and caught his teacher's gaze. The intensity was there still, as the orange haired man removed his foot. The message was clear.

Stay focused. Do not panic, and THINK.

Whatever did this, wasn't just strong enough to kill whatever that corpse was, but it had some sort of corrosive liquid/acid/saliva/whatever...

And it was currently in the clearing with them, behind him.

The sudden snap of a twig, damn near set him off. The snap had come from behind him, so yes whatever was here, was in that general direction.

The reaffirmation of this fact did a number on his nerves again. He could hear the "ba-dumps" of his heart pounding against his chest, as his breathing picked up. His sense of smell was compromised by the carcass, and he was within visual sight of some sort of predator. The thing was silent enough that had it not been for Yahiko-sensei, he'd have been none the wiser.

That fact alone pushed him to the edge. This wasn't like back in the Elemental Nations, where he'd had the Kyuubi's healing, some which he had taken for granted. Speaking of said Bijuu, he had to wonder why his stomach was starting flare up at that moment. It was a strange pulling sensation, as the blond kept from turning around and alerting whatever was behind him to his knowledge of its existence.

When he'd first come here, he hadn't truly thought of what the lost of the seal on his stomach had meant. It was maybe a year down the line that he'd question Yahiko about it. The orange haired man had theorized that the blond's travel here had probably ripped it from his being in exchange for the cost of movement to this dimension. It had been strange at the time, but not something he'd thought was bad.

That is until he'd gotten into his first scrap with the forest's Primals and decided he was more than a little dependent on Kyuubi at the time. That had rattled him when he was younger, seeing as it meant most of his head-on tactics had FAR more outreaching risks than ever before. It was only thanks to Yahiko-sensei that he was as well developed as he was now. Yahiko-sensei who was currently gesturing for him to pay attention right now.

Knocked out of his introspection, the blond watched as the man locked his gaze with him, before looking down. The blonde following his gaze watched as the area around the man's ankle's began to glow. it was a dim light, but it was enough to catch the blond's attention. He moved his gaze up to see his teacher's eyes moving up and down, to which the blond's own followed. He felt the power of the energy coursing through him move itself from his core to spread to his legs. Not brought to the surface, but it was set in preparation.

The sound of something breathing, fast unpaced breaths. Sounds the blond was sure he hadn't heard before due to be not reinforced, but there was something else. Dripping and hisses. Not being able to use his eyes left the blond feeling more than a little nervous. His eyes caught the movement of yahiko's hand, as it made a gesture towards himself. He flicked his eyes to the side, before his hand started ticking down from five fingers.

Five

The sounds of breathing intensified, small clicks of something clacking together.

Four

The magical energy swirled in their bodies, ready and waiting for imminent use.

Three

The earth felt like it had trembled slightly. His eyes widened, at the implication of such a detail.

Whatever they were dealing with was big

Two

There was a creak. The sound of something that rattled against the forest floor.

One

A large form burst it way out from the trees behind Naruto, just as both the Unique and his caretaker removed themselves from the clearing.

The clearing came to life, as two sounds not unlike bullets, erupted from the center. Following after these was the sound of roars, erupting ground and screeching.

Two moving blurs shot their way across the passing treelines, as the sound of moving destruction followed behind them. They zoomed past the low running brook from before, bodies flying across the water followed by a large shadow. Yahiko turned his gaze from in front of them to his side, watching as his student's body moved with arms angled backwards.

They needed to lose whatever was behind them, and fast, but it seemed hell bent on making such a goal impossible. Yahiko found this beyond strange. This anomaly had to be a Primal of the Deeper Depths. He'd mapped these woods in the year he'd been here and, barring a certain dragon from a cave down below near Rambling Rock ridge and a few creatures that lived in the Depth Chasm who never left their territory, there shouldn't have been anything powerful enough to bring down an Ursa so easily.

Then there was the Ursa itself. They didn't even EXIST this far in to begin with, yet there it was. Also, a male URsa that was in the development stages of becoming a Major...The very idea of such a thing was terrifying. The strongest thing in the Deeper depths was a Ghoul Skeleton, but those things didn't have any sort of acidic mutation. Much less they didn't "eat", but sucked the magic out of other Primals for feasting. Something about this didn't add up and they were running out of options.

They were near the Ridge when they had started, but after 10 mins worth of running they were already nearing the divide between Everfree's Intensity Divide (Naruto's naming, not his own). They were going to end up leading this thing to Ponyville at this rate, and he wasn't fond of the idea of destroying the livelihood of small town, so with a jerking motion of his head he and his protege pivoted.

The second their feet met the ground and twisted to their left, they were gone in a flicker of magic and static by Student and teacher, respectively.

Naruto could hear the large crash as the monster behind failed to catch purchase in the ground as quickly as they could, but the roaring and immediate shaking stomps of limbs against the floor told him it wasn't deterred for long. Feeling the magic/chakra burning through his limbs was ignored for thinking of a plan. He was happy for his teacher changing directions, Naruto didn't want Applejack brought into this, AT ALL.

There was still the problem of figuring what was following them. The fact that his mind was kind of in panic mode wasn't helping. Damn animal parts, helpful for the qualities they carried, but the instincts that meld together made it terribly hard to focus when they were all screaming, "get the fuck outta here" at him.

They were currently on the path to Ghastly Gorge. They would be able to at least get some room to figure out how to deal with this thing once they were in open space.

It was more than a few minutes later that they found themselves at the beginning of the canyon, when things took a turn for the worse. The sounds of destruction behind them had all, but fallen silent, and foolishly in hindsight they stopped. This alone was alarming, but then the instinct telling him to run hadn't stopped, and with each passing second it was growing.

The main reason for that was that it was getting weirdly darker where they were stood, and yet it was only midday. Yahiko's shout of "Move!" was all that it took to have them both jump to the side to avoid the meteoric fall of a large shadow. The ground beneath it gave way and spread out past where they both stood, and the cracks seemed enlarge the their way to the beginning of the canyon.

All was silent as the two of them froze in place. Eyes locked on the large eruption of dust in the center between them. A moment later Naruto saw what could only be a pair of glowing red stars, before he had to dodge out of the way of something extending out the cloud in his direction. Jumping over the protrusion from the cloud, he got a first look at what they could possibly be dealing with.

It looked like a hand. Four fingers, including thumb, but it's form was covered in sinewy muscle and misplaced fur of various ranges of Red and orange. That along with the fact that the arm retracted itself back into the cover of the cloud of dust was disturbing. There wasn't anything supposed to even be remotely human in Everfree, save for the Ghoul Skeleton. Yet...

"Naruto, prepare! We may not have the luxury of getting out of this without a fight!" The orange haired man said, before his hands began to hum. Many bouts of electricity teasing the tips of his fingers, as 3 rings of light circled his wrists and ankles. The blond followed through on his own battle preparations, as his lines drew down the left side of his face. The shining shapes running down his arms and legs, and even his tails where the glowing lines coalesced at the tips.

They didn't have to wait long to get a look at their attacker, because just as they got ready they had to jump skyward to avoid a horizontal sweeping limb that extended beyond into the canopy. From their place up above they saw dust cloud disperse and got a first time look at their attacker.

"...!"

Yahiko looked over to his protege to see the blond's eyes widen in terror, as his eyes fell on the monstrous being down below. Moving his own hazel orbs towards the being below, his mind grasping the structure of the beast below.

Monstrous was a good term to use here, seeing as there was no better word for it. It was big, easily just as big as the Ursa Magna from before, if not slightly smaller, at possibly three-four stories tall. The creature bore up to 6 limbs in total. Two of them being the legs, reminiscent of a fox's. The arms was where this being's monstrous nature started to kick in, because of the make-up of the limbs themselves. The two front ones were human like with four digits, but were covered in corded pink muscle and speckled in flickering red-orange fur. The second set of limbs emerged from the beast's back, skeleton in nature, two times as large as the front paw/hands and they were attached via what could only be tendons emerging from the monster's back.

The form of the body is what drew his eyes. The head was a mockery of a mix between a human's and fox's. Made all the more horrifying by the fact that it was missing a decidedly large amount of flesh around the jaw and upper left side of it's face. More muscle than skin adored it's frame, with large amounts of what could only be Ursa quality fur flickering in red and orange hues. At the sides of it's main body the chest portion seemed to expand outward with each breath it took. The second to last thing he noticed were its tails.

Four large wavy tails. Massive, relative to two of them, moving spires of fur and flesh. They were the same color of it's body, and they seemed to be the most covered by fur, with only the barest tips of each being uncovered by fur showing flesh.

That strangely didn't seem to take up precedence to its eyes. Eyes of crimson, that spoke little of any sort of true intelligence. Eyes of a beast. Eyes of a monster that were focused solely on the form of his, currently terrified, student.

Said blond was doing all he could to try and not run away from the monstrosity before him. He couldn't help but shiver once he saw it's eyes land on him and stay there, an eerie chill creeping down his spine in response. This shouldn't be possible, but there it was staring him in the face. Regardless of the amount of tails it currently had showing, he'd never forget the years of neglect he suffered because of the beast before him.

"Kyuubi..." The words left his lips before he registered them, and he wished he could have. At the very moment the whisper left him, the eyes of the beast focused in on him. The head tilting at an angle, before a sick grin bore on it's jaw, only made more scary by the disfigurement.

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The very air shook, as the world resonated with the roar of a beast borne to bring calamity. The sound was enough to make the blond's ears pop. He held his head as the ringing brought upon his sensitive organs nearly caused him to collapse, were it not for his hand steadying him. He did his best through the noise to stay stable, luckily his ears weren't bleeding.

The beast stopped roaring, just to lunge forward towards the duo. The two jumped above the lunging fox ghoul, before bounding off the wall to their ba

"Keep from getting hit, I don't trust whether or not the corrosive ability is passive or active!" Yahiko said, before he launched himself at the monstrosity. His hands glowing blue, flickering with electricity before he released several small torrents towards the beast's direction. The bolts of discharge crashed into and around the raging beast, though it seemed to do little as it move through and then around the shots before charging at them.

Naruto seeing this, let out a small shudder before he moved forward, dragging the beast's eyes to him. Gritting his teeth the blond got as close as two meters from the large beast before he darted to the side at the last second. His form covered in glowing lines arced around the right forearm before he let loose a kick to the wrist, before deflecting off the wrist to the side. His attack doing little to disturb the thing's footing. Thouogh he made sure to jump away before the right arm on the back of thing lashed out to grab him.

Turning to it's left the kyuubi's incarnate released a roar that shot out a shockwave, nailing the blond on his left, sending him rolling into a random tree. Yet before it could continue its assault it was made aware of the presence of the other one. Yahiko rounding on the ghoulish fox's right bound forward in a flash of electricity. His right arm's rings clumped together before he let loose punch in the monster's direction. The rings burst apart towards the forearm before a list sphere of electricity was produced.

The sphere itself was as tall as the man it came from and 3 meters in circumference. the moving ball of electricity found home in the fox's right side, pushing it off-kilter, before the ball exploded. The monster let out a roar in pain as it's flesh burned, small arcs of electricity running down the left forearm. Taking the opening provided by his attack the orange haired man continued to pelt the fox in spheres of varying size from the both of his arms. The rings pumping in tandem to give the beast no quarter.

During this barrage against the fox, the master's student was crouching a distance away. His eyes focused, as a yellow ball of light as large as his hand formed. He pushed it further as it began turn dark red, the form rumbling fiercely before he created several more one for each appendage, bar his feet. With these in tow, he plunged all four into the ground.

The effect was instantaneous as the ground ruptured under the Yonbi no Yoko. The earth depressing viciously into a sinkhole with the fox being pulled in. Yahiko continuing his barrage on the beast followed through as he let his barrage die, only to pull his hands back. Energy flickered between the rings before they clamped together. The rings merged together into singular large ones, before he brought his arms together forward towards the hole.

The two rings merged into one before multiplying into three over his extended limbs. There was a flash of light before the man shouted.

"Burst Flare!"

Dark blue energy burst outward and engulfed the hole in heat and destruction. The cone of energy extending outward, blasted out towards the Gorge ahead, as it tore apart the ground. Yahiko allowed the blast to die, as he separated his arms. Naruto jogging up to the older man, before looking down towards the hole, which now was smoldering as the ground lay melted. His blue eyes flickering to and fro in search of any form of movement within the hole. Ears pressed flat against his head, as he approached the hole.

The blond looked over toward Yahiko, before he asked the man in question.

"Do you think that's it?" Kami, he hoped it was. The young man held a deep rooted fear of the Kyuubi, and seeing any form of it after so long was a frightening thing to think about. Yahiko regarded the young man, before he looked into the hole. He searched with his eyes, before they turned light green once more before he judged them useless. The hole was saturated by his own energy, but that was the weird part. Even if the "Kyuubi" were dead, there should have been some form of its energy down there. His eyes narrowed, before widening as he grab the collar of his student's jumpsuit before jumping into the air.

Not a moment too soon either, for at that exact moment a large pair of skeletal arms ripped themselves out of the ground clasping anything in between them together. The airborne two watched as if in slow motion, as the beast breached the ground floor. The attack from before having done some damage as the coating of fur that had littered the upper portion of the body was gone and in place of it was a myriad of burnt patches of flesh. Yet, that seemed to be the worse of it, seeing as the thing came out of it no more worse for wear.

~Play: Naruto Shippuden OST: The God Awakened~

The next moment things changed, as the breaching foxed screeched in their direction, throwing them farther skyward. Naruto had a hard time seeing the demon fox, as the rushing air made it hard to see, but once he could he found nothing.

The ground where the fox-ghoul once stood was missing the body fo the very creature, which didn't bode well for either of them. So it came as a shocking revelation when the two felt the presence of a body hovering just above them. The very idea of it being that fast was ludicrous. It shouldn't have been possible for something that big, but they were proven wrong once more as beast proved itself more than just an impossible scenario as it brought both pairs of hands down on the Unique and the orange haired man.

They shot down in large pillars of dust, as the beast landed, crushing the ground underneath. The creature started radiating a crimson aura, before it began to do something which filled the blond with dread. The two skeletal hands tha came from it's back came together in a gesture. A gesture that was too familiar. The hands brought together with the pointer fingers on the four digits held together out of the firm grip the hands had on each other.

A Hand-sign.

His eyes widen, as scant energies and magic began to move from around the surrounding area to gather around the bijuu incarnate. A moment later the bright energies circled it's form before clinging to its body. The magical energy form and molded itself to the shape of the bijuu before stabilizing. It was by this point that they stood in front of what could only be considered the devil incarnate.

Its form now lay covered by thick, opaque, swirling energy. The features of uncovered flesh hidden from sight, and leaving flickering wisps of red aura in its place. The skeletal hands looked more like energy arms than anything by this point, the whole monster looking like one colored being.

"What the fuck? How? How does it know handsigns?! That doesn't make sense!" The blond crowed as he stumbled backwards. Yahiko took a single step back, as they beheld the beast in it's new form. The energy the beast was outputting trumped anything the blond had ever felt before. This felt like more than a few levels above what he had used at the Valley of the End. What he'd used at the VotE was but a drop in the ocean of energy this beast was outputting.

The bright red stars from before were distinguishable from the red magic/chakra body as white stars. flickering within the depths of the light of its eyes was a slit pupil.

Just as it finished, it's attack began. Its form left barely a blur behind as it appeared in front of them both. Even to his Reinforced perception, the kyuubi was too faster. He barely felt the blow before he was sent careening off into and then through the last vestiges of forest before finding himself floating over the Ghastly Gorge. The sense of no gravity didn't last long as he felt the pull towards ground soon after.

Hitting the river did little to alleviate the pain emanating from his back and tailbone, especially since he bounced off the surface to crater the ground next to it. He lay flat against it floor, as his bruised and sore form refused to stand. He heard the whistling of something flying through the air, before he was treated to the sight of Yahiko-sensei hitting the hard ground to the right of the stream. Watching the humanoid struggle to get up only highlighted how messed up things were. Seeing the drips of green fluid leaking from the man's forehead and arms, through the torn clothes, showed how much damage the man had taken. The rings of light from before had flickered out, leaving behind the marred skin of his mentor and the gashes along his arms. The blond doubted he looked any better than the person in front of him.

He saw the man tug out the <> of his creators before the two of them were surrounded in soft gold. Wounds were slowly being knit together, but not fast enough as far as they both were concerned. There was little doubt that the kyuubi would be upon them soon.

Naruto groaned before he stumbled to his feet. Knocked out of his reinforced state long since he fell down here. They couldn't do this. The very idea that the thing was stronger was laughably insane and that was mostly because they could barely register how strong it was before its transformation.

Yahiko looked to his stalwart disciple with sadness. This wasn't how things were to suppose to go. This situation was outside of any parameters to consider and went beyond anything even remotely possible. The darkening sky was doing little wonders for his vision, so he altered his his to "Night mode", before the Sun lowered any further down below. His gaze lowered, as he looked out to the chasm they now lay in. His gaze trailing along the walls, before he found himself focusing on the horizon in the Gorge.

They needed something, anything! They didn't have options, and Yahiko was sure that even going Full Conduit may not be enough to handle this. His eyes traveled the walls of the chasm, before he felt something beating him in the back of the head. He was forgetting something. This area...this place...!

It may just work...No! It would work, but they needed to get further down into the Gorge. He looked towards Naruto, before he leaped to his student's side of the stream.

"We must run!" He was curt, and simple. The blond gave him but a single look before nodding, and they took off down the gorge. They powered up in their respective ways as they ran. Their forms glinting in the night as they traveled lower and lower. It was as they were running that they looked back and saw something.

A light at the beginning of the Gorge. The light flickered, and flickered. They weren't sure what it was until they looked further behind it. The aura was unmistakeable. The crimson that seemed to float skyward, and it's bulky form left little to the imagination of what was at the mouth of the Gorge.

"Get out of the way!" The Unique shouted before the light erupted into a beam of solid destruction that cut its way down into the Gorge and beyond it. The beam itself was hot enough to dry up the stream that was running between them, and leave magma in it's wake. They didn't allow themselves to stay around and gawk, as they continued down toward the lower end of the Gorge. The Kyuubi took several pot shots at them before it shot forward into the chasm.

The two made sure to dodge around the miniature blasts of lethal energy. They moved up and about the high rising walls, doing their utmost best to dodge the balls of doom. The sounds of something tearing across the expanse of the Gorge told them they needed to high-tail it out of there.

They finally came to the section they had been hoping for. In front of them lay a deep drop in altitude, made clear by the huge loss of running ground at the same position they were. It would have been a waterfall, but the Kyuubi made sure there wouldn't be any running water coming this way any time soon. Many didn't know that the falls had this sort of drop, and it was for the best that it stay that way. You wouldn't see it from the train that passed over near the beginning portions of Ghastly Gorge. Down below where the falling waters gathered were a series of caves. Caves that contained creatures that Equestria was lucky the creatures were strangely content to stay where they were. It would take an unnaturally large amount of energy to attract one of these things.

Which was exactly what Yahiko was hoping for. He was more surprised by the fact that the Gorge hadn't been crawling with the damn things with how much magical energy the Kyuubi had been releasing all over.

They turned away from the sight of the drop to the sight of the incoming Yonbi no Yoko. The form shooting down the Gorge, straight at them.

Perfect.

They stood still as the night winds blew their clothes in the breeze, watching as the beast of carnage came closer and closer. It's back arms extending into the Gorge walls slingshot-ing it forward with added speed. Naruto's eyes gazed at the oncoming, before turning them to his teacher. He wasn't sure what the man had in mind for this plan of his. At most it would save them a couple seconds at best, but he'd trust his mentor and got prepared.

He summoned a clone, and began setting out to begin creating his ultimate technique. The clone dragged the space above the blond's palm as energy gathered. The potent magical chakra in his systems brought out into the orb of multi-directional energy strings.

The Rasengan created in hand, he and the clone continued to shape and mold it as it increased in size. It was as they finished, that the Kyuubi was upon them. Well it would have been with one more slingshot, yet as the fox's back two arms shot into the walls of the Gorge, they were simultaneously dislodged by a pair of clones wielding a set of glowing orbs.

"Rasendarendan!" Cried the copies before the slammed their respective orbs into the Kyuubi's outstretched legs. The beast twisted forward into a uncontrolled roll. The duo jumped away from the crashing monster. The Kyuubi made one last bid for purchase into the flooring before the drop, only to be besieged upon by a jumping blond and carrot-top.

"Odama Rasengan!"

"Arc Burst!"

Getting slammed by a falling electric axe kick was one thing, but it being supported by the large rotating ball in the blond's hand was enough to not only dislodge the Yonbi no Yoko from the edge, but it launched the demon fox down into the lower levels into the large lake below, as Naruto and Yahiko landed back on the overlooking edge.

They looked down to watch as the fox broke the surface. The water steamed as it fell past the energy covering the vu;pine menace. It looked around before launching itself out of the watery depths. It's form lit up the dark beyond that was down below, along with the glowing blue waters.

Naruto took a step back as the fox turned its gaze upward at them. Just as the blond was about to turn, he felt the hand of his teacher land on his shoulder in a calming motion. Eyes shooting to Yahiko, he was surprised to see the man not looking at him but down below with the Kyuubi. The blond followed his gaze, not knowing what he would find. The few seconds he looked, he noticed something.

Caves. A large number of caves. The entrances littered walls of the area down there, with one exceeptionally large one in the back wall, and the blond was filled with a sort of curiosity. He was even more curious, though in a morbid kind of way, when the fox's ears perked. It's expression flattening as it turned its head to peer over the large network of concavity in the walls.

What could gain the fox's attention enough to rip it away from them? It was then that he started to hear it.

What started as singular sound akin to scuttling, began to fill the Gorge, as they two up above watched. Naruto in shocked horror, while Yahiko watched in expectancy. Tens and hundreds of moving animalistic skeletons started to move out into the open on their perches in the walls. They decorated the area in gleaming white, as the skeletons varied in size and type of animal but they were similar in several regards.

-They bore a skeletal appearance, with the rib cage surrounding a sphere-like core of pulsating energy.

-The smallest was the size of a large dog, with the average height being somewhere around the size of a house.

None walked on less than all fours, not counting those that held more than four appendages.

-They all had their gazes locked on the Kyuubi.

When they all stopped coming and just sat there looking at the bijuu, the blond was left wondering what was next.

He got his answer in the form of a large skeleton exiting the depths of the cavern. Easily larger than every other one down there, this one stood at almost the same height as the Kyuubi itself, towering at 3 stories. It's back was adorned with a crown of bone, with the orb of energy on its being being a myriad of colors, and that it held a human like skull with four red eyes. It walked on four appendages and bore a skeletal tail, and large fangs not unlike the rest of the things in the cavern.

Its gaze turned towards the Kyuubi in curiosity, before it's very being began to flicker with the arcs of the same color as the orb that was its core. Within seconds the entire cavern was a cacophony of growls, howls and screeches. The Kyuubi roared its way back in challenge, before it was set upon by a flood of whatever those creatures were.

The two up top just watched, as the horde attacked the Yonbi no Yoko with fervor. Their multiple forms swarming the glowing red mass of energy that was the monster that chased them.

The blond couldn't believe what he was seeing. Whatever these things were, numbered in the hundreds and moved like a army of angry red fire ants. The question of what they were was on the tip of his tongue, but was answered by none other than his teacher a second before he could vocalize it.

"Ghoul Skeletons. That's what you're currently looking at." Yahiko stated simply, his expression while still focused relaxed slightly so he could smile at his student, whose eyes widened in shock and amazement.

"You knew they were here. That's why you had us run down the Gorge, because you knew there was a nest here." To this Yahiko shook his head, much to the blond's confusion.

"Yes I knew they were here, but that's just it. There is no "a nest", they ONLY exist here, thankfully. They feed off the nearest high intensity of magical energy they can find. The only thing that keeps these set of creatures from rampaging all over Equestria is the sole fact that they can't survive outside of a magic intensive environment for too long." Yahiko explained, as they watch the Kyuubi do battle with the horde below. The monster fox thrashed as any of the Ghoul Skeletons came near.

Sweeps of its tails slammed numerous ones into the walls, and some into the waters. Yet, the creatures proved durable as they renewed their attack on the beast. Fangs of every one glowing purple as they tried to latch onto the source of magic that was the Kyuubi. WIth every one destroyed the fox would find several taking their place. The beast rammed itself bodily into the walls, upsetting large chunks of rock that came crashing down into the groups of ghouls. Its form began to flicker as the others drained what they could of its energy before they met their demise.

It came as no surprise that the largest one entered the fray as soon as the fox squashed a decent squadron of the skeletal mini-monsters. The two titans of flesh and bone met, as the largest of the ghouls tackled the fox into the floor. The large fangs glowing a sick purple before it latched onto the fox's neck region. The monstrous vulpine was roaring/wailing in pain, as the red energy that was recently bound to its form began to drain away into the fangs of the large Primal. The moment of roaring pain didn't last however as the fox had had enough of the leech on its body. With a fist to the face of the ghoul the fox freed itself of the PRimal but the damage was done.

The fox's original form was revealed to the world once more, save for the medium amount of red energy entangled around its back arms. Its eyes flickered to and fro around the cavern, before it screeched out a shockwave that knocked back the horde of Ghoul Skeletons. The fox leaped from its position on the ground to the area above it. Maybe around half the distance from the rock edge, to the cavern floor, it began to gather energy into its maw. The blue and red orbs gathering faster in its rage before it unleashed the ball of destruction upon those below.

~X~

The sound of the explosion made the blond Unique turn his head backwards in the direction of the Gorge. The bright red explosive energy that burst outward from the deep end, made the blond gulp audibly, before he continued on running. They had made the trip back to the back way of Everfree Forest before they stopped to rest. Naruto sat against the trunk of a tree, as his teacher sat on an upturned rock. They allowed their racing hearts to slow, as they took what downtime they had.

The soft glow of gold washed over the blond as he closed his eyes. the scrapes and bruising he may have had leftover began to slowly heal and soon enough disappeared. He let out a sigh of relief, as he watched his teacher's wounds disappear just the same. They allowed themselves this time of rest.

"I can't believe that we did it. Hehe, We did it! HAHAHAH!" The blond let loose a howl of laughter, as he felt the relief kick in. He let a few chuckles, before releasing an explosive breath of air.

Over. It was finally over. Oh man, Jackie was not going to believe this!

Yet, during his merrimaking the blond slowly began to notice that Yahiko-sensei was rummaging around in his pockets. The man clutched something from his pants pocket before bringing it out and adjusting it to his right hand. The glove stained maroon in color, bore a triplet of symbols that ran across the knuckles of the back of his hand in yellow.

The blond's eyes widened as he took notice of the equipment. He wondered why his teacher saw it as necessary to adorn the glove he now wore. The blond saw the grim expression on his face, and felt his heart sink. No, no, no, no no! Dammit! Kami fucking dammit!

Yahiko turned to see the expression of anger on his student's face, before he quirked a sad smile.

"So you understand what this means? We're not done, yet." He stated, before the blond jumped to his feet angrily.

"WHY?! We just fed that thing to the essential dogs, and we're still not done?!" He exclaimed, as he slammed his fist into the tree.

"Naruto once the fighting starts, I want you to run." The words barely left his lips before the blond turned on him with startled outrage.

"You want me to WHAT?!" The blond couldn't believe his ears! This had to be some sort of mistake, otherwise he'd call his teacher outright insane and drag his ass away to see a Psychologist. Secrecy be damned, the man needed help if he thought the blond would abandon him here with the Kyuubi on the loose! He saw his teacher frown at him in disapproval.

"Naruto this isn't up for debate! The Kyuubi is after YOU!" The man exclaimed to the shock of the blond. He stopped as his mind caught up.

'W-What?' Seeing the blond's expression turn shocked, Yahiko allowed his expression to soften.

"Naruto..." He started but received no response. The reason he didn't call out once more was the flicking of the blond's rabbit ears.

"I know you may not like this, but it's the way things have to be. The Kyuubi will stop at nothing to find you, and I honestly can't risk you being caught much less what might happen should the Kyuubi actually catch you."

The blond looked down when this point came up. He let out a sarcastic chuckle, as he felt that weight appear again. Once again. Once again, he was the cause of misery for others, and he couldn't do a damn thing about. He'd thought things had changed since he'd accepted living here, and leaving the Elemental Nations. He mentally snorted at the foolish, naive thoughts. Nothing had changed here. Only difference was that here the damage would be far more wide-spread before anyone could do something about it.

It was during his moment of self-depreciation that he felt a set of arms rest themselves on his shoulders, before he was pulled into a hug by the taller man.

Yahiko looked down at the blond mop of hair before he slowly ran his hands in between the ears. He kept up his ministrations until he felt the blond relax. He held the blond out at arms length.

"You make me proud Naruto. I never thought I'd truly ever see the days where I would ever get to feel this way. I'd lost one light in this world, and you gave it back to me. So let me reiterate once." He let out the most sincere smile

"Naruto I'm so proud of you."

The words shook the blond to the very core. The words rebound within his very soul, and it brought to mind one very special moment in the blond's life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Congratulations on passing, Naruto!" The now headband-less stated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The very dredge of memory overlaid itself over this moment, and the blond couldn't help the tears that fell at his teacher's statement. He did his best to rub away the tears.

'Iruka-sensei.'

Yahiko simply watched on as the blond did his best to hide the tears. It was at this moment that they both heard the sounds of encroaching destruction. The howls and roars full of nothing but rage and malice did little to entertain the thought that it was anything but the Kyuubi. Yahiko quickly turned back to the blond, and ordered.

"Run."

"Wait!" The order caused the blond to stop for a moment before turning back to his teacher, who wore a contemplative look. He looked up determined at the blond before speaking.

"I need you to leave me two clones."

~X~

The blond shot off at a speed that made Yahiko proud. The light of the teen's Reinforcement darted through he trees at a rate that he was already gone from sight in a matter seconds. Yahiko let out a breath before he'd turn in the direction of the incoming Yonbi no Yoko. His eyes closed, as he held up his gloved right hand. The three symbols that lay upon it began to glow a shining white.

He looked to the two clones left behind by the blond, and pulled something from his pocket and gave one to each of them. He nodded his head to each of them as they leaped off into the forest. He watched them go, before he turned back to the direction of the Kyuubi. Time to make himself known, no?

"Full Conduit - Battery Outbreak"

~X~

The Kyuubi could feel nothing more than desperation and rage as it wreaked havoc across the terrain. It needed the boy NOW. Too weak, too much energy loss. The loss of one of it's back arms and tails were reminders of what had been lost in its eradication of all those obstacles down below. It made sure not one would see the light of day ever again.

By the time it had made it out night had fallen, and world had taken on a purple hue. This did little to deter it. It would have the boy, and be whole. The Obstacle would be destroyed for its insolence. That's what had led it rampaging towards the forest, when it saw a flash of light. It's mind set on going after it, it never registered the blow that slammed into the side of its jaw before it was sent flying off into another section of the forest. Crashing into and through multiple canopies of trees, and the like it made a stop once it hit the wall of a mountain. The destruction its sudden flight caused, made a clear path from where it once stood to the mountain wall.

Its head rang, and it shook it to regain some of its scattered senses.

What had hit it? At this unbidden question it heard the sounds of footsteps, before it felt its skull rattle against the mountain wall once again. The stone behind it cracked as the body of the Yonbi no Yoko slammed against it for the nth time. The fox having enough of this, had swept its arm out in front of it to batter whatever was attacking its frame, but found itself hitting nothing.

~Play: Naruto Shippuden OST: Kokuten~

"Not so fun, when you're on the end of a beating, is it?" A voice rang out. The best had the fortune of being able to see the form of its aggressor, before it found its head summarily crashing into the rock face of a mountain wall again.

Hair that seem to bleed light and elongated towards the floor. Eyes that contained no pupils stared in its direction, as the entire form glowed white. Two long lines connected to the bottom of the being's eye ran down its cheeks to its chin, along with two lines that went from the tips of its mouth to the chin as well. Said glowing lines of yellow made it look like a mockery of a puppet. On it's right hand it bore what looked like a glow with three yellow marks on it.

Watching as the being lifted an arm up towards it, before the Kyuubi found itself blasted by what could only be described as white lightning. arcs of intense bioelectric energy ran up and down his form, as Yahiko allowed his arm to fall. He watched the fallen form of the Kyuubi stagger to its feet, before the arm on the back shot out towards him.

His perception of the move made it seem like the arm was coming at relatively normal, if not slightly slower, speeds. It spoke of the beast's very capability in its agility.

Yet, all the same, he was still faster.

He ducked under the blow meant to take his head off, and shot forward with a haymaker to the thing's snout.

Curious, was it wrong of him to enjoy the feeling of his fist caving in the face of this creature?

...More experimentation is required. So with that thought, he disappeared in a bolt of lightning to appear behind the Kyuubi's still flying form and brought himself down on it's spine, bringing the fox's horizontal force to a vertical end. They crashed into the forest floor in a cloud of dust. The form of Yahiko appeared outside the cloud before he held up his hand. Electric traveled up and down the limb before he clenched it. The dust cloud was illuminated by sparks for a moment before an explosion took its place.

The rushing hot winds did little to even cause the humanoid conduit of lightning to even close his eyes, as energy reverberating around his form did little to allow any particles into his eyes. He watched as the smoking form of the Yonbi no Yoko lunged out of the smoke at him.

It was just a little bit away before it found itself held up in the air by what could only be a wave of dark sand. the dark grains rover its body before tossing the vulpine through several trees. Yahiko watched in silence as the fox regained its bearings, as the iron sand retreated to back around his person. He sent a quick look to the glove on his right hand, and saw one of the symbols fade out.

'3 minutes left' He'd known that this wouldn't last long. The Rune Reactor Glove wasn't necessarily meant to be. It wasn't meant to be used for long periods of time, and he was fine with that. All he needed was to deal with the Kyuubi. What that entailed wasn't necessarily synonymous with destroying it though. His sharp eyes watched as the beast rose from its place on the forest floor. pupil-less eyes taking the smallest of details, and he saw it.

The flesh that was charred and peeled away on its stomach revealed an orb. An orb not unlike that of the Ghoul Skeletons. Even more so he saw to the smallest speck of it's flesh that the ends were small specks of flaking magic particles. It had proven his hypothesis right. The both of them.

The "Kyuubi" wasn't truly a being of its own flesh. It was an energy construct that simulated flesh. The main reason its skin was so difficult to pierce was because of the animals and Primals it had eaten since coming here. It picked and chose what would be the best qualities of the creatures it ate and incorporated them.

Second hypothesis was that it had somehow melded its way onto the body of a Ghoul Skeleton. The base was the Primal itself, and Kyuubi had overridden the psyche, but kept the traits.

So it wasn't possible to "kill" it. The only thing that would do is release it from its current form, and Yahiko wasn't sure whether that'd be for the better. Who knew what it could possibly do should it not be limited to a living breathing body? It wasn't a risk he could take. So the only option was to seal it for now.

He had no illusions about being able to seal it away forever. Not without something fully capable of being the container. He'd never damn his blond student to that fate, but he himself couldn't house it. He had not the capacity for that much energy to roam free in his frame.

The best bet was to seal it away temporarily, and come back with another angle of attack. And seal it as far away as possible from any living thing.

With that in mind, he needed to get the Kyuubi into position before his timer ran out. So with renewed determination, he continued his assault on the monster fox.

He lifted his hand and iron sand began to flow and form around the appendage. A second later the vulpine monstrosity found its face being beat in with a barrage of punches from a iron covered fist moving at a speed beyond its comprehension. The fists moved with great velocity, enough such speed that they began to ignite the air between its face and the metal. On the final fist, lightning gathered before being unleashed in an explosion of liquid flame and lightning, sending the two and a half story fox sailing over the canopy before finding itself floating over the expanse of the Ghastly Gorge.

The beast fell the great distance until it hit flooring. Cratering the valley and probably making the beginning sections a little bit deeper than Equestrian cartographers originally mapped it as being.

Is form was a shamble of what it use to be. The last arm on i's back had broken upon contact with the ground, the flesh on its face may very well have disintegrated, revealing the skull and a bit of grey matter. It's eyelids gone, it turned its gaze towards a sound of static, as the Obstacle made himself known again. He looked down on the fox with an expression compared to pity.

Yahiko took one last look at the foxes before he saw that he was on the last sigil of his glove. He'd looked up a the fox, as it weakly got to its paws. The lumbering form of the fox decidedly brought him no happiness, so he set into motion the last bit of his plan. Naruto was going to hate him for this.

With a quick step he was gone in a burst of lightning. Around the fox, flickers of movement were made as Yahiko moved, and within next second Yahiko appeared in front of the monster and began to pummel it into the rock walls.

Every single fist coated with lightning pushed the fox deeper and deeper into the rock face of Gorge walls. Each bringing its own portion of agony to the vulpine abomination. Once Yahiko had forced the monster at least 4 of its body lengths into the wall, he moved out. He let out large breaths as the white around his form dissipated, he began to bring his hands together as if in prayer. Symbols, runes and markings came life around the cave and began to circle the opening of the fox's current place of being.

The next moment Yahiko coughed up blue liquid as his body shuddered. A large extended bony fore arms skewered the man, form within the cave. The fox's lone red eye glaring out of the darkness in unyielding rage, as it slowly but surely crawled the length of cave towards the bloodied man. Yahiko's eyes turned tired, as he felt the life fluid leaking from his being. His eyes met the fox's lone one as its form finally reached the sunlight.

So it was to its surprised that once it finally reached the light of its escape, that Yahiko's form flashed back to what it was but a moment ago. His arm coming up slowly to the face of the fox, as Iron sand harden around it into several thick tendrils that formed a cylinder around his sparking arm. The cylinder began to rotate, as electricity jumped between each of the moving tendrils. The speed picking up as the spark jumped from each side, before it multiplied more and more before the inside began to look like nothing but white light.

"Rail...."

The Kyuubi found its face engulfed in burning light.

"...gun"

The head followed by the body was engulfed in the large release of energy. Electricity and Heat washed over the inside of the cave , washing everything away in it's light, before erupting and spewing out immense heat. Yahiko who had been dislodge from the Kyuubi's forearm moments before, just watched as the rebounding flames came back towards him before he found himself move by two bodies.

He lifted his head up and looked from where he lay on the upper walls, as a gold glow washed over him. Watching as his student's clones held their hands over the <> as their hands were stricken with glowing lines. Their eyes had been full of desperation as they tried to patch the hole in his stomach, and once the hole in his abdomen had started to heal up, they breathed twin sighs of relief.

The last sight Yahiko had seen before blacking out was a large hole in the wall surrounded by glowing symbols, with three new additions. Two large vein rocks that pulsated with every other moment . The last addition being a bright blue symbol at the very top of the Kyuubi's new cage.

Present

After bringing him back to home base, the blond had hoped things would go back to the way they were.

Obviously things had changed. Several things in fact:

The Kyuubi had been sealed, but only temporarily. 10 years was the time limit Yahiko-sensei had given him. 10 years to set up counter-measures and a plan to deal with the Kyuubi before it gained back it's fourth tail, and broke out.
That same day, a couple years later the Equestrian Mappers Committee had an upheaval over a discussion about the change in landscape. With the Gorge being expanded unknowingly, to them, the rail system had to be altered to accommodate for longer travel time to Appleloosa.
Finally, and most importantly, Yahiko was slowly being eaten from the inside out.

None of the two before number three was something Naruto truly cared about. At the time, they had been content to go back to their lives, even with the overarching threat of the Kyuubi returning. It was 2 months later that Yahiko had started to feel the aftereffects of the Kyuubi's "corrosive". Or that's what they thought at the time. It wasn't a "corrosive" aspect that the Kyuubi had, but a "corruptive" one.

The false cells that made up Yahiko's body had been revolting against those that remained unturned. As tiem passed, red veiny lines would gradually begin to spread over his body starting from his navel outward.

By 2 months, his control of his inner energies had began to decline. By the third, he'd been more lethargic than usual. Enough so that he stopped visiting with Naruto whenever the blond went to the Apple farm.

Come the mid-year mark, the humanoid had been becoming more aggressive. Small things had started setting him off. A chick of metal against metal, sweeping and even rushing water could lead the man's body to shuddering uncontrollably to rein in his temper. Before long things had come to such a point that he retained himself to his own room.

It was during a long stint of Yahiko remaining restricted to his room for a whole month, with Naruto being kept in the dark that the blond had finally been called in to see him, that Yahiko had told him about his deteriorating condition in complete rundown.

The Kyuubi's Corruption had been trying to turn him. Here the man had revealed his upper body to the blond and to Naruto's horror, the skin that had been there had been eaten away and replace by what could only be red aura. The blond could see the inner workings of his teacher's body through the translucent energy.

When asked why he only told him of this now, Yahiko had admitted to the fact that he thought could fight the infection. He'd spent his time studying it, and experimenting whenever he was able, but couldn't find a way around it. Well that wasn't entirely true, he'd told the blond. It was Naruto's blood which had helped him survive as long as he had. He'd stated how at one point the infection had been worse about halfway in, and only the accidental breaking of a beaker had saved him.

A beaker containing the blond's blood from when he'd first come here to Equestria. When Naruto had offered his blood again, they had tried and it came with...mixed results.

When coming in contact with the Unique's blond Yahiko's body had almost entirely shutdown and became temporarily paralyzed. When he had recovered, they discovered that the blond's blood didn't so much stop the infection, so much as contain it. That said, with how much it the Corruption had spread across Yahiko's body, it was more detrimental than anything.

So with options exhausted, Yahiko made a final call.

Conceptualize him.

The blond had been horrified to the point of almost just running away, but the man had stopped him with these words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I know what I've said may, horrify you. It may make you want to just deny everything, but you can't Naruto! This is life! This is reality! You're someone who requires an honest, heavy hand, so here it is. I am basically DYING! I don't have any much time left."

"So please, while I can retain whatever qualities of humanity I have left, do this for me. Do this for a man who doesn't want to hurt you. Allow me to help pave a way for your future by letting it continue. There were many things I don't think I'll ever understand. Things of great mystery that I wish I would have had the time to learn of. *Sigh* but it didn't work out that way. Even still I've gained many things. My most precious being my student who regardless of how thick headed he is, he's got a good heart and mind. He will learn, he will grow, he will fall in love and one day have a family. Possibly with a farmer, hehe."

"So as a man whose still wants to hold onto these memories, please."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One thing with Naruto was that no matter how much anger had gathered in his being on those passing days, he'd knew that he could never turn to revenge as the answer. He'd seen first hand what a revenge-filled life could lead a person to. So he shut it aware, and over the years that anger turned to shame, as no matter what he did, he felt like he would never be strong enough to live up to his mentor's expectations.

He'd remembered, spending a few last days with the man just talking about their life up to that point. They joked, debated and had an overall good time. It was in those last few days that Yahiko had given the blond the Potential Burst and the spear he now owned. The spear he'd named Bringer Of Lasting Thunder, or BOLT for short, after the "passing" of his teacher.

He allowed a few scant tears to fall, as he looked into the water.

"I am forever grateful for the time we've spent together. I love you my student, Uzumaki Naruto."

He wiped away the tears and continued on his path. There was still many things for him to do before the Kyuubi ever showed up again. Yet, none of that matter at the moment, because in the present he had to focus on one thing.

'Applejack.'

Enlightenment (The Born Shadows)

He delved deeper into the forest, following the path of the stream. Ducking past aggressive Primals, and sneaking past any kind of over enthusiastic plants that thought he'd make for some pretty good fertilizer. By the time he'd reached the base of the pond, Luna's night had fallen. A glow originated from the center of the body of water, illuminating the shadows of the small fish beneath the surface. He made sure remove his jumpsuit, before diving in.

'Now where is it?'

An hour later, found the blond pocketing something before he began his travel back out of the forest.

"That took a while, but it was well worth it. I knew I'd find another one, but this one beats the one in my suit out of the water." He said, as he made his way across the Intensity Divide, before he heard something.

"You sure...Major...'re?" He someone's voice. Strange, he didn't think any of the residents even came into the Everfree. You knwo besides maybe Fluttershy...and Twilight... and the rest of their friends.

Why was this portion of the place dangerous again? Oh right! The wild Manticores, cockatrices, and especially the Timberwolves!

Whoever was in here was either brave as all hell, or dumb beyond their years. He really hoped it was no one he was-

"Come on snails! We just gotta find that Ursa and have Trixie banish it, so she can show us she's the best unicorn!" A VERY familiar voice, that had him slowly turning his head in one direction.

"So we, uh, snuck out. Do you think our brothers are going to be happy with that?" Came the dull voice of what could only be Snails.

The blond facepalmed so hard, he was sure that his hand had left a mark, before he took off after the only possible duo of idiots in ponyville.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Passing sites of familiarity did nothing for it. The only memory that might have incited any sort of emotion would have been the cave of its previous containment, and the large gaping hole it had jumped over.

Those incited rage beyond the comprehension of normal beings. Its eye glowed in the shadowy darkness of Nighttime in this portion of the forest. It had finally come to a stop, as it raised what was left of its nose. Allowing the smell of its prey settle on its olfactory senses, before it continued forward. Its tails slicing through any unwanted distractions, whether it be another living being or a inanimate object. Just as it made its way to a large moving body of water, its ears perked.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?!" A voice shouted in the distance.

The slit pupils for its one lone eye thinned, as a violet aura flickered over its body.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

~X~

The blond couldn't believe what he was dealing with, as he watch the two unicorn colts twiddle their thumbs as they looked down. They looked up, only to catch the blonds glaring blue eyes, before they looked back down.

"Kami I feel a headache coming on, I really hope you guys have a good reason for being here!" He said as he massaged his the bridge of his nose. The two just looked at each other for a moment before they started babbling out excuses in rapid order.

"Wejustwant.../WewantedTrixie..." They both started, and kept talking over one another much to the blond's headache.

"Spikesaid/Ursatoprove/Trixie/Unicorn." They continued, before the blond put a stop to their reasons. With a held up hand they stopped talking, only to find themselves held up in the air a second later by the blond's two tails.

Holding up to eye-level, he decided that he really didn't want to deal with this right now.

"No more talking. When we get back we're going to make sure this doesn't happen again. Am. I. CLEAR?" He allowed some energy to run to his eyes, as he kept both within his sight, the moonlight casting a shadow helped to emphasize his slit pupils. The rapid nodding of the two colts assuaged him little, but he got his point across. It was when he was when they started walking back that the adult of the trio, gave their surroundings a look. Eyes moving about as he took in the forest, keeping an eye out for anything that got too brave.

It was during one of these little checks that saw something. It was a lingering wavy trail of something, until he realized that it was energy. He had just pushed some of his own into his eyes, probably activating his magic sight. Which meant that what he was seeing was a trail. The purple looking haze traveled along the forest line behind him. If he was right, it looked like it was still a ways beyond the river.

~Play: Naruto OST Blind Animal~

...Something was wrong here. There was absolutely NOTHING that would come this close to the line between the Everfree's division. It was something that he considered impossible due to the fact that over the decade he'd been here, there had never been such an occurrence. With that in mind, he perked his ears up, and caught the sound of soft breathing, and froze. Snails took notice, while Snips crossed his arms and pouted in his own furry limb.

"Uh, Mister Naruto? We're going back to Ponyville, right? Why'd we stop?" Asked Snails, as Snips finally took notice. Naruto's eyes were looking down at the shadow of a passing cloud, as his ears stood on end.

"No..." The blond near-whispered, as his eyes stayed wide and transfixed, as far as they were concerned, on tails' shadows. Snips didn't care, and Snails liked the feeling of the furry on his body. He looked down at the shadow of the blond's tails and did his best to distract himself. So he counted.

"One, Two, Three, Four...Five and Six!" He seemed pleased with this number, before his mind caught up to his lips, and he counted again. He also noticed that the two of the blond's tails that held the both of the colts were much smaller than the four free shadows. Slowly blinking, he brought his gaze up to the moon and froze.

Up above on the very tops of the trees was a large shadow. Easily bigger than the school ground they played around in. It was smoky looking, but one fact that stood out on it was the lone glowing red eye, and shining white teeth.

Snips finally noticing that both others were frozen. One looking down, the other up. He decided to follow his friend's example and looked up. It should be summed up that the second he spotted the monster he screamed loud, after which everything was in motion as the group and the shadow moved.

The trio of Unique and two colts shot away, in a pulse of light. The blond pulling the two close to his own body, before putting on the gas. The distinguishable roar of the beast behind them, did little to calm their beating hearts. The two young boys let out screams of terror as they dodged around the various trees in the Everfree Forest. The blond's mind was in turmoil, as he dashed on through the forest. Jumping every which way, never stopping for moment. Every moment spent on a surface was followed by a moment of dodging.

'Whywhywhywhywhywhy?!' He couldn't help repeating in his mind, as he jumped over a troupe of running Timberwolves. Leaping over head of them, the blond didn't stop moving. The Timberwolves just turned their head to watch the blond go, and such were not aware of their imminent destruction, as something sliced its way across the tree trunks. The next moment the section of the forest they occupied found itself demolished by sweeping shadows.

The blond looked behind at the creeping shadow of what could only be the Kyuubi with a grimace, before facing forward again.

This was bad.

REALLY Bad.

Hearing the screaming of two colts in his ears, made the situation all the worse. He needed to remove these two form the situation first before he did anything. So with a cross handsign, he spun before flinging the two unicorns to his left, only for them to be caught by his rabbit and wolf based copies. They launched off towards Ponyville without a thought, leaving the lone blond to entertain the shadowy Kyuubi.

"Hey now, focus over here! You want a piece of me don't you?! Well come and get it!" The blond shouted. The shout caused the lone eye of the moving shadow to focus back on the blond with mismatched traits instead of the clones before its eye focused in on him with an eerie glow.

Naruto really hoped his clones could get the kids and the town to evacuate.

~X~

Back At Ponyville...

The town had been in an uproar. Sounds coming from the forest had awoken the town, and many were wondering what was going on inside the Everfree Forest. Mayor Mare was doing her best to try and calm the citizens, as whispers and murmurs were spread throughout the crowd. Most were wondering whether or not, some sort of monster had been released from Everfree.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie, demands to know what the hay is going on in this town! Trixie was having a nice dream and all of a sudden she hears roaring in midnight! What gives!" Announced a certain azure show performer. Statements and questions exactly like this had taken hold of the crowd in front of the Mayor's office.

"Mayor Mare! What's going on here? Why's the whole town in front of the Office?" Came the inquiry of a incoming Twilight Sparkle. Along with her was her assistant Spike and most of the rest of the Elements of Harmony, sans Applejack. The others looked worried, as they turned to the mayor for an answer.

"I don't know. It's silent one moment, then loud and roaring the next. I've been trying to calm the townsponies, but to little effect. None of them will stay silent long enough for us to retain some order. We're still trying to figure out what's going on, and it's coming from the Everfree." She said, as she pointed towards where a flock of birds took flight before it was followed by a large screech that shook the surrounding forest.

All those in attendance were made quiet by the sound. Some already trembling, while children were crying or pulling on their parents clothes to make the noises stop or to hold onto them. Rainbow Dash separated from the others to fly up with several other Pegasi, to see if they could figure out what was going on.

Their eyes were blocked for the most part by some of the taller foliage in Forest. Every now and then though, there was a sight of something moving across the forest tops. It was seemingly white in nature, but it disappeared too quickly for those above to see. The darkness of the forest prevented them from seeing anything, though that was quickly becoming irrelevant when the next moment sprouts of light started to come out. Those lights would quickly race across the forest illuminating it some before being followed by explosions. The sight brought the pegasi back down to relay to those waiting below.

Rainbow touched down for a moment, before she was swarmed by her friends. All wanting an update to the current situation, though she tolld them to shut up so she could speak.

"Would all of you guys shut up for a moment?! *Sigh I don't what I saw out there, but there was definitely something in there moving. That and the fact that it can apparently cause explosions, doesn't make me think this is one of Everfree's normal guys." She relayed to the group of her friends minus Applejack, but plus Mayor Mare. With that said and done, she was about to help sort out the crowd before there was cry from within.

"There's something coming out of the forest!"

That line had sent the town into a panic, and barely anyone stood still long enough. The crowd went into a small frenzy as they seemed to be doing their very best to try and push themselves out of the crowd, only to end up in someone else's way. Watching all this go on, the Mane 5 and Mayor mare couldn't help but feel helpless. At least they did for a moment before Twilight's eyes narrowed, her horn and hand glowed and let out a shout.

A shout that was echoed from within the crowd.

"That's enough!/Trixie's had it!" The shouts came out at once, before the whole crowd was caught by waves of magic from the podium by Twilight, an the form it's center by a rather incensed Trixie. They all stopped in place, each of the unicorns letting out a breath, before looking to one another in surprise. It was at this time that whatever was coming out of the forest did, and it revealed itself to be a twin pair of familiar looking blonds.

"Naruto! Over here!" Pinkie Pie shouted to the blond Unique emerging from the forest. By the time he got to the square he dropped off the two unicorn colts to a pair of stallions that bore a resemblance to them. The clones walked up to the podium, before one went to the girls and the other began to discuss things with Mayor mare.

When he had reached them, they had bombarded him with questions. Was he okay? What had happened? Why was he out in the forest with Snips and Snails? What was going on? What was in the forest causing all that noise?

He gave them all a look, before he noticed one of their numbers missing and asked.

"Where's Applejac-"

"What in tarnations is going on here?!" There was the southern belle accent he'd been hoping, and dreading silently, to hear. The others turned to see the Apple family coming up on her rear. Big Mac with Granny Smith and Apple Bloom on back, ran up to them with little difficulty, before setting his two family members on the ground.

"Applejack we wondering where you were." Rarity said, as the rest of the bearers of Elements of Harmony gathered around the Honesty bearer. Applejack replied with how her family had been one of the first to hear the roars and had gone on to quickly pack things up before rushing here. This explanation given, she turned towards the clone of the Unique, whose back was turned to the group. The awkward atmosphere between the two was palpable, but before anyone could comment on it, all attention was stolen by a slightly fearful Mayor Mare who the other copy of the Unique nodded to before he disappeared into flecks of blue energy.

"Attention, everypony! It's been brought to my attention that there's a serious threat heading towards the town as we speak." The announcement had brought the crowd back to near panicked status, but the magic still holding them kept them still. Nodding her thanks to Trixie and Twilight, she continued.

"I know everypony doesn't want to, but we need to evacuate the town for a while before we can get assistance from Canterlot to help deal with the monster, I mean." The Mayor spoke, before realizing her slip up. The mention of the word "monster" had done more than enough to the crowd's mentality, as they actually broke free of the spell on there bodies before going into a frenzy. The sight of her townsponies going crazy because of her own words filled the mayor with guilt. Watching as they disorganized crowd began getting aggressive in their fleeing.

The Harmony bearers watched on in shock as the townponies reduced themselves to desperate animals that did their absolute best to look out for their own. Some watched as few ponies, Like Thunderlane and Bulk biceps tried to keep crowd control but were soon overrun by the erratic citizens.

"This is horrible." Commented Fluttershy with a sad look, as she watched the townsponies run about. They reminded her so much of her animals earlier. Frightened and cornered, and doing their very best to find a safe cubby or hole to hide in. Twilight laid a hand on her shoulder, as she too looked out into the ensuing chaos of pony bodies, with a distraught look. She was quick to notice that Trixie, for all her bravado, was getting pushed around in the crowd herself. Unable to get away from the rush of bodies.

Strangely enough there were even a few ponies who had gathered around the azure unicorn. Shouting things, pleas for her to banish the monster and even some asking her to take them away from here with her magic. One after the other some more joined the group before the ponies of that group started fighting over who Trixie would help. It got to the point that some had actually started to threaten the poor mare, that Twilight had seen enough.

She wanted to go and help her, but found herself to not be the only one because not a second later the form of Rarity rushed past into the crowds.

Doing her absolute best to maneuver between the townsfolk, before she got to Trixie. She felt the pushes and shoves, but paid them no mind as she reached the downed Trixie and the angry posse. With a quick move in between the group and lone unicorn, Rarity set herself up as a wall between the two. Noticing her barring their way they turned on her.

"What are you doing, she's going to take us outta here!"

"No she's not! She's going to go and take care of that damn monster coming towards the town!"

"Forget that! I'm not going to gamble my life on some random unicorn to try and save us. She's got transportation! 'm having her take me and my family outta here the first moment I get!"

"You, are you trying to get her for yourself?!"

"Who do you think you are?! We were here first so you better get your flank outta here before we get violent!"

With the crowd around her growing bigger Rarity began to sweat. What was wrong with them? Didn't they realize the more time they spent here arguing that the closer danger would get?

"You all need to calm down! You heard Mayor Mare! We need to concentrate on evacuating the town!"

"Don't feed us that bull!"

"Yeah you just want Trixie all for yourself!"

The very crowd she had come to stop going after the very unicorn behind her, had turned on her instead. The Element of Generosity backup with Trixie copying her movements, before the two found themselves between an angry crowd and a wall. Before the angry crowd could come closer they found themselves restrained by a light lavender aura.

"Rarity! Trixie! Run!" Came the strained voice of Twilight, as her horn and hand glowed in their direction. The two didn't get time to respond before they found themselves getting dragged by the hand by both Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. Trixie looked at the back of the farmer's head, who turned back and gave her a rose eyebrow.

"No talkin' right now. We need to get back to the group!" They continued on before finding themselves back with the others, with the addition of Scootaloo who was helped over by Spike.

The group huddled together with their backs to one another. They watched as the frozen group from before had come undone and turned their eyes on them. Right as they were about to be set upon by a mob of angry townsponies, they all stopped as a sharp whistle rang across the town. All movement stopped, as at the podium stood two figures. The Unique and one Pinkamena Diane Pie. The pink pony''s hair while puffy had begun to straighten slightly, as she removed the whistle from her lips before gesturing to Naruto.

With the Unique taking the podium, he had a few choice things to say.

"What the actual FUCK is wrong with you?" He'd said this with a slow drawl, catching the attention of most of the angry mob-goers, who'd turned their madness his way.

"What's wrong with us?! What's wrong with you, you freak?! You wasting our precious time just to start yelling into a microphone?!" The insult washed over the blond like water on oil, as he focused in on that particular question at the moment.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize running around with like chickens counted as you being productive. Surely, that's the most important thing right now, huh? Or maybe it's attacking random unicorns out in the streets while there's a fucking monster roaming its way throughout the woods, getting closer to the town?!" His words were like a smack to the face of those in the crowd currently. The Element bearers, Trixie, Scootaloo and the Apple family just watched on as the blond verbally tore apart those down below.

At this point, there was silence as another ferocious roar erupted from the Everfree Forest. The town looked towards the forest, before turning back to the blond at the podium.

"What are we supposed to do?!"

"I don't want to die!"

"Will all you ponies shut up and THINK for a moment?! Ya ever thought about the option of, oh I don't know, GETTING OUT OF THE DAMN TOWN?!" Naruto shouted at them, before that one guy started up his shit again.

"You keep saying that, but what happens when it comes here in the middle of us packing up and moving huh?! What are you gonna do then?!" This caught the crowd as true and very possible. They turned back to the blond on the podium before he sighed at them. He pinched the middle of his nose, before giving them a dead stare.

"You say all that, but have you guys even for a moment wonder why you can hear all that noise, but it hasn't reached here yet?" He stated, to them as he walked around the podium. He continued on until he was standing in front of the same heckler from before. The stallion, Earth Pony being a dark purple with a black mane. He wore wire-frame glasses, and a button up shirt and jeans combo.

The blond sweeped his gaze across the crowd, who all looked away, before he focused back on the stallion.

"Right now, in front of you is a clone. Boss, the real ME, is out there keeping that thing occupied so you all CAN get your asses up and outta town!" The blond didn't need to look back, as he heard a shout of "what!" ring out behind him.

"Why should we believe you?! Maybe its your fault that that damn thing is here in the first place!" This seemed to gain momentum in the townponies, as they all turned on him with anger. insults, names whatever they could. He bore the gazes, the hate, in stride. The blond looked back as he saw that more than a few of those in the group behind him were getting ready to jump to his defense, before he shook his head in the negative.

He looked back at the angry ponies, before his gaze turned intense. The lines running down the side of the clones face, and the increase of light in his eyes caught them all unaware and they flinched, before he spoke.

"You're not wrong that I could be the reason that it's here. But guess what? Right now I'm the one fighting it and keeping it away from the town,s o you have two options." He held up two fingers.

"You can either move out now, while you have the chance with it being preoccupied..." He ticked one finger.

"OR you can wait until I'm DEAD and be ready for it to come after you next. And let me tell you this, what's out there right now, isn't some princess who just wanted eternal night. Haha, at least she wanted you all ALIVE." That caused them all to recoil back in horror.

"What's coming this way isn't going to care about royalty, race, wealth or anything. The second it's freed up its schedule it's going to come down to the closest place full of ponies like YOU, and do the same it probably will do to me. So tell me?" It was deathly quiet, by the time he was finished.

"What do you plan on doing?"

~X~

By the end of the blond's speech most had all but, huddled together and shut up. Those in the element bearers group, just stood shocked and silent as the blond outright stated, that it was very likely he would be dead by the time things were over. None more so than the Apple family were struck silent by this decree, and none more than Applejack were as deeply affected.

The clone proceeded to walk back to Mayor mare, before giving her the go ahead. He turned his back to the Mayor as she started delving out instructions to the citizens, who obeyed in almost terrified silence.

He'd turned towards the rest of his group and was met with what he'd expected to be the normal reactions.

"What the fuck was all that? What are you talking about you DYING, huh? Speak up Naruto?!" Finding his collar cuffed by none other than AJ, did little to make this easier. It was all the more difficult when the others started to pitch in their two cents on the matter. He heard it all, but shook his head all the same. He looked down into angry emerald eyes, before he looked over to Big Mac, and Granny Smith.

"Macintosh I need you to make sure that you get your family out of here." He ignored the way the fists clenching on his collar tightened all the more, seeing the red stallion expression tighten before he nodded, relieved him some. Though Applejack's fiery gaze intensified with each passing second.

Apple Bloom, Spike and Scootaloo watched the proceedings go on. Each of their expressions forms of conflict, that shouldn't have been seen on kids their age, as far as he was concerned. He turned his head towards Twilight's direction.

"Can you get a message to the Princess? I don't care how long, but if she can get here fast enough she may be able to do something about this. Possibly those Element of Harmony things as well." The shocked librarian barely had it in her to nod her head. Spike, already ahead of the game, was writing as fast as he could, before he finished it and sent it off. It was barely a moment later that a message was sent back. The drake was quick on the draw and finished reading the letter before relaying the message.

"She's on her way! But...She said it'll take at least 30 minutes to gather enough help and get here." The Naruto clone nodded to this, before his attention was brought back to the pony still in front of him. His eyes saw the clenched digits shaking, the hat shadowing her eyes. He let out a sighed, before bring an arm up behind and bringing her into a one armed hug.

Head tilted down and eyes closed, he spoke.

"Applejack, you need to leave with the others and get outta here."

"NO! You think you get to choose to do what you want huh?! Well guess what, Apples are stubborn and we don't listen easy!" The words were muffled by his shirt, but he understood all the same.

"This isn't something you guys can face! You guys may be tough, but the Kyuubi is tougher." The name caught interest, as vocalized Twilight.

"Kyuubi?" He nodded his head in her direction.

"Kyuubi, or honestly it's a Yonbi at this point. A nine tailed monster fox of mass destruction. A beast unlike no other. I've mentioned before that I've lived int he more dangerous part of the Everfree Forest. Well the Kyuubi is the top of the food chain there. If I had to be completely honest with you. It's truly only comparable to being on power scale as Princess Luna."

It was a statement said with such certainty that it caused the group as a whole to shudder. Twilight, ever focused latched onto any possibility of hope.

"But why is it it here, now? You said it was top of the food chain, but what caused it to come now?" Food sources? Territory? Anything that could be useful was what she craved at that moment. The blond saw where this train of thought lead, and shook his head in the negative once more.

"The Kyuubi ISN'T natural even to the Everfree. IT does not eat for any other reason than to grow stronger. It shouldn't even be out here right now, or anywhere specifically. We...Me and my teacher, we sealed it away 5 years ago. It should have taken at least another 5 years for the Kyuubi to have four tails again and be free. This is too early, and its form changed from what I remember it being. Purple instead of red, it's even got this whole shadowy thing going on with it, now."

"Heh...My master died to prevent it from coming back too soon, so that I might have found a solution to it, but I haven't and it's here now. Some student I turned out to be."

That caused them to look away, with Applejack flinching into his shoulder.

"Can't we just seal it again? I mean you guys did it once. What's to stop you from doing it again?" Rainbow asked, arms crossed. She didn't like where this talk was going, and with the state Applejack was in, trying to find a way for Naruto to cause the least amount of hurt to himself was the best way to knock her out of her funk. Naruto gave them a stare, before he sighed once more.

"I know the method of how to seal again, of course I do. The problem is that the way we beat it the first time, to even get a chance to seal it is more than likely impossible right now. Originally we trapped it with a horde of magic-feeding Primals in the forest, but that won't work anymore." He explained, finally held AJ at arm's length, before he looked to all of them.

"I need you guys to get out of here. The forest isn't going to last long. Soon enough there probably WON'T be a forest anymore by the end of this." He said, as he finally let his arms drop from Applejack's shoulders, before he turned back towards the forest.

"You say that you'll hold it off, but what do you plan on doing?" Twilight got one last question in, before the clone dispelled. Naruto gave her an over the shoulder stare.

"What I do best...Survive." Were his last words, before the clone disappeared.

~X~

The blond ducked under a wide sweeping forearm, the bony appendage barely missing the tip of his hair as he ducked underneath, as it continued on to slice through several trees with ease The glove on his right hand lit up as two of the four lines that ran down the glove lit up a bright blue. The third line out of the glove's was slowly humming as it its dim glow started to become brighter and brighter, while the fourth remained faded. The spiky haired adult moved his body to the side, as the fox snapped its head forward, teeth bared. His eyes tracked the movement of the head before he swung his fist outward into its cheek. The blond's empowered fist sent the face of Kyuubi in another direction, before he flipped backwards over the scything tails. Touching ground he crouched.

Holding onto BOLT with both hands, it sparked to life, before the blond lunged forward. His charge met air as the fox dodged to the side, before it twisted mid-air to swing two of its tails at his person. The blond was quick to hop over the moving appendages but found the wind pressure enough to blow him away from the vulpine. He spun away before landing on the side of a tree, before looking up only to meet the fist of the Kyuubi's left arm.

*Thawck!*

His body flew through the forest at insane speeds. The world around him was only able to be perceived due to him heightening his senses. He felt his body going through an array of trees, before he came to stop face down on the ground. He groaned, but didn't allow himself to stay down.

'Just a little more time.' He thought as his eyes flicked to his right hand. the glove's third line had grown in brightness, before it it flickered in between glowing and not. It was after he turned his eyes back to the Kyuubi that he saw something that unnerved him.

The fox was looking away from him. Much more, its attention was on something that was beyond his sight and in the direction of Ponyville.

That was a big NO on his scale of things that should be.

"Hey ya dumbass! I'm over here! Oi!" His shout seemed to gain its attention for but a moment before it turned its head back toward the direction of Ponyville. He barely had time before he was hit with a pack of memories, and he blinked. Oh. Oohhhh~.

Shit.

The damn monster wasn't focusing on Ponyville, but was probably feeling the aspiring chaos going on in the town. That and the fact that the Princess(es, he hoped so much for the plural) was probably on the move and flaring up her magic power all the way from Canterlot.

It was at this moment that the fox let out a howl, before its form began to seemingly vibrate. Every fiber of itss being would move in grotesque fashion, as a veil of shadowy aura reached over its form. This was all before it shot off in the direction of Ponyville! The blond's eyes turned to pinpricks as he watched the beast speed out of the forest towards the town. The town full of bystanders trying their best to leave the place.

His mind was quick on the draw as he shot off after the damn thing. He sped through the forest, eyes illuminated by his own power, as they watched the Kyuubi move with horrid purpose. He couldn't let the fox get to Ponyville! At least not before he did!

So it was with this mindset the blond pushed himself forward, the lines shining down his body flickered in wisps before he blurred forward to catch the fox. The glove's first two lines seemed to do the same as his body ones, as the third was starting to shine brighter.

'Almost time!' He had a job to do first. His mind ran over the tactics he could manage at the moment, before he put one in action. His hands came together before all five of his clones fazed into existence, running beside him before they launched out at the Kyuubi in bursts of light streams.

The first of five aimed straight for the Kyuubi's middle. Launching head first into the shadowy form in the night, this Naruto's entire body glowed brightly before it exploded in a shower of blue light. The force of the explosion while doing little damage, disturbed the bijuu incarnate's balance. Seeing this the others aimed for several other points of contact before exploding in tandem, toppling the fox before it rolled to a stop into the forest floor.

It looked up just in time to catch sight of the original Naruto holding a large rotating sphere.

"Odama Rasengan!" The mass of whirling forces of energy aimed directly for his face, before making contact and exploding. It enveloped the 3 story tall fox's face, enlarging to cover three-fourths of its form before blasting it back into the forest. He gave little thought to sticking around before he busted his chops to the town

~X~

The evacuation was going, but slow moving. Families moved in droves down to any possible route of escape. The first thing to be loaded over was the trains. Being the fastest travel option, it was swamped with ponies trying their very best to squeeze onto it. Those choosing to head on over to Canterlot were many, but there were others who cared less about destination and instead focused on taking a train anywhere else but here. Appleloosa or Canterlot, they just wanted out.

Those who owned carriages were quick to make use of them. Many tried to hitchhike along with them, and many carriages ended up with possibly two to three families on each depending on size.

Others sought to just start running down the path to Saddle Lake. Most those going had pack plenty of their belongings, before going off the earliest next to the train departures.

The Mayor stayed behind to oversee the large movement of ponies. Many times was she suggested to leave, but just as many times did she deny them. This was her town. HER ponies, who needed guidance at the moment and the last thing she planned to do was leave them be.

Most others were either still packing or gathered in groups before going down into cellars or basements, hoping to wait out the oncoming attack.

The Elements of Harmony were situated by the main office building. They helped to provide guidance throughout the town. The Apple family loaned what carts they could to evacuators, and Miss Cheerilee was helping to administer help with keeping eyes out for children lost in the chaos.

Big Mac just looked on as the town moved. Eyes roaming over the motion of evacuation, as he watched his little sister and her friends helped move the evacuees out onto the right paths.

"You don't think anythin' bad'll happen, right Big Mac?" A small voice from behind said, as he looked back at a single cart occupied. Apple Bloom, Spike and Scootaloo sat inside the last cart, they weren't willing to part with should things go south. The dragon and pegasus had their own little skateboard and scooter inside as well, as they looked to him for an answer. He gave the trio a smile, and with as much bravado he could muster he spoke.

"Ah ain't worried about nothin'. Naruto is a tough guy. Besides remember that he's lived those woods for as long as he's been alive. He'll have no problem dealin' with whatever comes this way." He did his best to coax out a little optimism of his little sister, whose only reply was a small weak smile. While not what he was hoping for, it was the best he could hope for at the moment and he turned back to the vision of Ponyville's central plaza.

His eyes moved over the moving crowds before they fell on the pale blond hair of a certain wall eyed mare, fluttering in the air. She looked left and right in worry, as she moved about. He decided to call out to her.

"Ms. Hooves!" He waved her down. The mare seeing him, flew on over before landing. She looked decidedly worried.

"Hey Big Mac, I could really use your help right now! I can't find Dinky and I'm afraid she might be lost in the crowd somewhere!" Ditzy seemed pretty frazzled, and it was only now that he noticed that her daughter was nowhere to be found. He turned to the side in search of one of his sister and her friends, but was coming up short. They all seemed to be swamped with trying to bottle the citizens to safety. As he was looking out for them, he didn't notice that Spike was looking out into the crowd with a determined expression before the drake jumped out of the cart, before zooming off on his board.

"Spike, what in tarnations are ya-Scootaloo?!" Mac looked on as the two began to pull away on their mini-modes of transportation.

"BM we'll go and see if we can find Dinky!" Yelled Spike as he hopped over a line of ponies before grinding off a roof down into Ponyville. Scootaloo wasn't that far behind as she prepped her safety pads, before revving up her scooter.

"We'll do our best to find her Ms. Doo!" Was all that she said, before she sped off into a different direction than Spike.

Apple Bloom looked every which way, as her two friends still in Ponyville ran off to go and help out in doing something. Here she sat, useless as everyone else was off doing their very best.

She'd looked down for a moment, before she felt the cart start to shift, before it started moving. She looked up as Ms. Hooves was now in the cart and Big Mac started pulling them throughout the town. His eyes focused as they moved every which way. Ditzy was also doing her best, as she shouted out for her daughter at every opportunity she had.

Seeing all them working so hard, pushed her into going along with Ditzy and calling out for Dinky as well.

~X~

Naruto had finally broken through the barrier that separated the forest from Ponyville and saw the sight of the town moving to evacuate. He stopped for a moment, before he was running around through the town. He took notice of the fact it was far emptier than it used to be, and he was happy to note that if anything it seemed like the evacuation was all but complete.

"Naruto!" Came the voice of Spike, as he skated down the path to the blond, much to his confusion.

"Spike! What are you still doing here?! Wait. Oh kami, this means that the othes are still here too aren't they?!" He wanted to pull his hair out, as drake caught up to him.

"Me and the others were helping the town evacuate. The last few ponies are being shuffled out of here to the Lake as we speak. The others and Mayor Mare are by the central plaza."

"We need to go, and tell them to leave now!" The blond didn't wait. Spike barely had enough time to grab his board before the Unique had whisked them off towards the center of town.

"What's going on?! I thought you said that you were keeping it busy!"

"I was! Things changed though. The Kyuubi's heading to town whether I like it or not!" The statement caused the drake to pale, as they moved on to the main office building.

~X~

The group had gathered in front of the podium, giving in the last few reports on the situation.

"All things are set to go Mayor Mare. All ponies evacuated a jiffy and a half ago." Pinkie Pie announced, much to the mayor's relief. Her, the element bearers, and Big Mac had been the last few to stay behind. With Apple Bloom and Scootaloo having been sent onward to the lake with Granny Smith, Spike had chosen to stay behind, reasoning that he was the only one with a direct link to the princesses.

"So all we need to do is get Spike and leave." Stated Twilight, before she heard the sound of her assistant's/little brother figure's voice calling out.

"That's everypony, Twilight!" She and the others looked out to see the sprinting form of a Naruto, with Spike in hand.

"Spike! Naruto!" The group were shocked to see the Unique. Much less the blond with the drake under arm. They took notice of thee blond's state of attire, as his signature blue and orange jumpsuit, looked frayed. The blond himself was sporting a mark along the right underside of his jaw, but paid it little attention.

~Play: Naruto OST - Crimson Flames (Kouen)~

"Naruto! I thought-" Applejack started, but the spiky blond cut her off.

"You guys need to go now! There's no time to explain, we gotta get outta here while we have the chance!" He barely got that out, before he was interrupted by a belch from none other than Spike. The young dragon let out a small flame before a scroll dropped into his grasp. Opening and reading it over, he relayed the message.

"The princess says that the preparations for the evacuees have been made and that she...Sent the Elements of Harmony?" The dragon said, before he ended up on the scale of confused. What did she-

"We are glad We made it in time to help, Elements." A familiar voice rang out, before those gathered watched as the form of Princess Luna appeared within their midst. They all watched as she presented a box of oak, carved with gems on the side. a second later it opened to reveal none other than the Elements of Harmony. Each of the mares picking up their title, before adorning it on their person.

The princess of the night turned her head to the male Apple farmer and mayor, before bestowing some wisdom upon them.

"We believe that it would be in thou's best interest to leave like the rest of Ponyville's population."

The Mayor and farm stallion looked to each other with complicated expressions, before the weather team captain and librarian spoke up.

"Big Mac, you need to go and keep an eye out for your family. They're not going to be able to stay calm without the big stallion of the family around with them. I'm pretty sure that Scootaloo is with them as well, and I hope you can do me a solid by keeping an eye on her too." Spoke Rainbow Dash, as she locked eyes with the red stallion.

"Mayor Mare, with all due respect I think you need to go as well. The rest of the ponies need your guidance now more than ever. Especially after everything settles down when this is done." Supplied Twilight. Banking on the mayor's sense of responsibility to convince her to leave.

Big Mac locked gazes with Rainbow for a moment longer before nodding his head. The quick hug that accompanied the confirmation did make him feel a little bit better about the situation.

"Okay, but make sure you all come back. That means you too Mr. Naruto. I want ALL my citizens back to town once this is all over." The mayor state, before she and Big Mac took off down towards the Saddle Lake, leaving the rest of them.

Those of Equine nature, that were left behind, looked to the pair of the Unique and Princess looking out into the forest. The blond of the two looked back at them, before he sighed.

"*Sigh* I really wish you'd guys had taken my advice and left while you had the chance," the blond said, as he ran his hand through his hair. He really didn't want ANY of them here.

"That's not fair! We've got the Elements of Harmony! With a little "boom", "bang", "zap" we'll have this problem done in no time!" Pinkie made gestures and acted out each of the onomatopoeia with gusto. He gave her a flat look.

He looked down as a shadow of a cloud passed over the moon. Moving about at a slow pace...Before it seemed to separate into three slowly but surely growing dots. His face scrunched, before he looked up at the moon. His face slowly changed from confused to shock before he went into motion.

The Mane 6 were shocked when they found their male blond friend clone's grabbing each of them underarm, one with both Spike and Twilight, before a shout of "MOVE!" was heard, voiced by the princess of the group. Not a moment later of intense vertigo did the sound of an explosion go off. The Elements of Harmony, the ponies themselves, found their original position had been occupied by a rather large cloud of dust and broken earth. They got to their feet, as they began to get ready for battle. Naruto and Luna, were the weird ones out, as they looked startled by what had landed.

The blond couldn't help but think that the universe really hated him at that exact moment, as the cloud receded and revealed to all present their opposition.

The first was a Cylem. Best described as a giant rock, multi-segmented horizontally on its main body that was in the shape of a giant sphere. Various uneven partitions of rock, ledges and spikes jutted out at numerous angles, and large arms made up arm-shaped groups of segmented rock balls. It's stubby legs seemed to be thick cylinders that ended in circles. The main center of attention for it was a pyramid that acted as its head. In the center of what could be its face was a triangle for where its eye was, with a red pupiless iris in its depths. The coloration on the Cylem was almost pitch black. With shadowy purple being the only way to differentiate it's odd angles and shapes.

Next was what could only be a giant bird. Colored almost exactly like the previous monster, its differences were that its body was distinctly avian. With a wingspan that could probably envelop the main office building from left to right, it bore yellow shining marks on its under-feathers. It's form flickering with fiery shadows, and two glowing yellow trapezoids that possibly worked as eyes, it painted a majestically terrifying foe as the shadowy phoenix let out a ear shattering screech.

Last, but unfortunately not least, was the Kyuubi itself. The shadow aura that had first appeared over it, had seemingly lifted. Its full true form revealed to the world. The eyes of those not used to seeing a grotesque display of the nature of the fox were quick to cover their mouths, lest they lose the contents of their stomachs. Fluttershy almost looked physically ill at seeing the damage that had ravaged the Kyuubi's form, as if she would have made a beeline towards the injured monstrosity.

The veil of shadow being dropped showed the truly desolate state the fox was in. With no cover, they could all see the amalgamation of flesh, muscle, fur and skeleton that made up the Kyuubi's form. With the head being a mix of barely there skin, and the muscle-y flesh underneath, with only one eye left on the flesh covered side. The main body was seemingly just pure, open to the world, muscle flesh. One could see the ligaments connecting the spine to the muscle, with the vertebrae of the spine being enlarged to a point that the tips on the back of the spine seemed more like spines. The legs and arms were basically bones, some fur thrown around here and there, with sharpened edges that made some wicked looking claws. The bones held together by tendons and ligaments strung around. Last, but certainly not least, were its tails and colors. The first three were normal looking, with the fourth looking the same in shape but was transparent. the main color of the whole thing lavender not unlike Twilight's own causing the librarian to huddle backwards and shiver.

Eyes tearing up to the point of causing her vision to blur, Fluttershy was a few seconds away from rushing towards it, before she was stopped by locking her eyes with it.

Many didn't truly understand how Fluttershy's talent with animals was translated by her Cutie Mark. Though many came to see it as her just having an increased affinity with the lower sentient furry critters.

Many would be surprised to know that it kind of was that simple. They just didn't realize the very depth of the connection said affinity had. To Fluttershy, she could rarely say she could glance into the souls of animals. Much less, she wasn't so arrogant as to assume that she could calm every animal, if she could the Timberwolves would be a nice addition to her cottage.

No it was more that she gained an understanding of the animals from taking in their "natural state". Timberwolves, for one thing, were like a string of instincts laced together with wood. Magic given form in dead wood, but that was easy to understand. They weren't all normal, and the depth of their instincts were surface deep at best, with nothing underneath.

The Kyuubi was different. She "saw" what could only be negativity surrounded by a form given layer of HATE. Then at the core was hunger. HUNGER of a form that sort to destroy her being and assimilate it.

So it was with much certainty that Fluttershy could very well see the "fox", because there was no true term to base it on, for what it was.

A Monster given flesh. The very definition of what it meant to be in-equine.

The others weren't faring too well, but were quick to take steps away from the bijuu, and its compatriots.

Naruto couldn't help but look at the two besides the Kyuubi. The two house-sized monsters next to the much bigger Kyuubi were a surprise to the blond.

"A Cylem and a Phoenix? How?! The were never to leave the forest. Also why is that phoenix so big?" The blond couldn't help but question out loud, as he held BOLT to his side. The Alicorn to his side, slowly but surely slid into stance next to him. Her right leg left slipped forward, as she lowered her center of gravity. Her right hand held just above her right knee, as the left was crooked to a 90 degree angle by her open side. Her eyes trailed over the forms of all the beast in front of them.

"Young one," the blond besides her didn't move his head away from the Kyuubi and the unpleasant additions, but he grunted. Taking this in, she continued onto ask her questions.

"Pray tell, does the Kyuubi have any form of mastery over magics?" The question caused him to hum in thought, as the Kyuubi focused its eye on him.

"Not that I'm aware of. Like I've said, the Kyuubi was ripped away from two of its tails some time ago. The very idea that its got more than three tails right now shouldn't be entertained." He responded, tightening the grip on his spear.

"Then does it have some form of copy ability. Mimicry of some sort?"

The questions being asked lead the blond's mind in weird directions. Was she asking if it could use their magic against them? Or perhaps that it might learn new spells on the fly?

"I would say no, but this is almost out of the realm of possibility as is. If there was anything that had to due with magic that the Kyuubi may have some hand in, it would be the ability to absorb latent energies." He concluded, thinking back on the fact that the Kyuubi had overtaken a Ghoul Skeleton way back when. At least that is what his Yahiko-sensei had told him, though he still wasn't sure why she'd ask this now, instead of before. Pre-fight jitters? Could she have been jostled by the form that the Kyuubi had taken?

Luna closed her eyes for a moment, before letting out a single breath before shouting back to the girls behind the two of them.

"Elements of Harmony," the call of their title caught the attention of the mares and one dragon, "The use of the elements may have more use than originally thought."

What did she mean? What could she possibly be getting at by this point?

"I fear that the Kyuubi may have received some form of my power from 6 months ago." Seeing the blond's, to her right, eyes widen, she elaborated.

"Sometime ago, We were...afflicted with a curse of sorts. We became a being named Nightmare Moon, and moved to conquer all of Equestria in eternal night. Were it not for the efforts of those behind us, we might have met under far more, unpleasant circumstances. Beyond that point, as Nightmare Moon, We spread our magic throughout the forest to trap the mares within, and We fear the Kyuubi may have been able to consume some of the power from back then."

His mind clicked back to when he'd been investigating the weird draw of magic around the forest back then, and cursed. All the more to add to his list of screw-ups. Seeing his expression, Luna moved to relieve him of some of his guilt.

"Tis not your fault alone. Our desire for admiration from our own ponies also lead to this outcome. So allow us to bear some of the burden that fells upon your shoulders."

The blonde took a quick look at her, before nodding his head, and focusing onto the task at hand. As the Kyuubi and Co. began to make their move. His right hand glove's third magic line long since became a constant light blue glow, before the blond felt the rush of power enter him. His eyes closed as the marks that normally went down his face altered into curves around his right eye. The whisker marks on his face lit up a neon blue, as two lines shot down from the lower part of his eyes to his chin. The usual lines that decorated his arms and legs turned into bands upon his skin and fur. With a duo of lines running from limb to the center of his chest. His eyes opened up, his sapphire blues shining with power untapped, as his tails became riddled in blocks of light.

"It seems we all have a burden to carry." He stated.

"Indeed it does." The moon princess responded.

The lone eye of the Yonbi no Yoko watched them for all of a moment before its eye flashed. on that signal the two creatures at its side flew into motion. The golem seemed to duck any form of outside appendage into its body before it began a dangerous roll towards the group of ponies, Unique and dragon. Following closely behind, the phoenix took to the skies, as its flaming body began to loom in the sky.

"Your highness, I'm going to have to ask you and the others to deal with the cylem and phoenix."

"Pray tell, why?"

"I know the Kyuubi," the blond said, in the face of oncoming rolling rock, "right now it's the most dangerous of them all, and I'm the best shot at not being caught off guard and holding it off at least until you guys can finish up. I ask that you trust me with this." The midnight alicorn hummed, before giving the go ahead.

"Thank you." With that said, the blond shot forward in streaks of light. The Unique moved head on towards the rolling cylem, before he juked to side of it and slid. Along his slide, the glow of his cloths came to life, before a rush of water shot from the ground, sending the large rolling rock Primal off its route into another portion of the town. He transitioned from sliding to running, as he headed towards the Kyuubi, blue eyes locked to its lone blood red one.

The phoenix up above was quick to unleash a swath of flames down on the moving blond but found its attack stopped by a shield of dark blue., before the shield moved forward and bashed said bird of flame out of the air. Luna lowered her hand, as her horn's glow receded, before spreading her wings.

"Element bearers! The battle is nye and we must deal with the bird of flame. Can we entrust to you the being of earth." The words leaving her lips, got a firm nod from her ponies. she smiled for the moment before she took off in the direction of the crashed phoenix. Her body flew with great speed, as she hung in the air over the fallen bird. Said phoenix shook its head, before looking up to the shadow of the princess casted by the high moon, as her eyes glowed.

"Come now majestic beast, let us do battle!"

~X~

Twilight could only look on as both the Unique and Princess paired off to deal with their own enemies, leaving her and the others to deal with the rock monster from before. Watching as rock released its arms from its body, before slowly turning its body in their direction.

"So Twilight, what's the game plan?" Rainbow asked as the lumbering monster of stone rumbled in their direction. The rest of the girls and Spike gave the thing a good once-over. Twilight herself wasn't too fond of the idea of getting near anything that was a spawn between Nightmare Moon and the Kyuubi. At least it looked like it'd be easy to deal with.

At that moment the lone eye in the pyramid shape eyehole began to glow, causing her mane to stick out on end.

"Get out of the WAY!"

The group was quick to follow orders. They allow jumped away before a beam of encompassing light shot their way. The light stream plowed through most of anything in its way and stopped as moment later. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked down at the carnage wrought by the single attack, and couldn't help but be happy that they evacuated the town before hand.

The beam had traveled through several houses, before ending off. the track was big enough to hold a decently sized cart by the looks of it, and the floor was slightly smoldering. They gulped before looking back over to the stone creature, as it's head and limbs sunk back into its body before it started to rotate and move towards their position.

The ponies on the ground were quick to move again, with Spike using his board for extra speed. The cylem's moving body made a u-turn before heading back to their new location. The giant rock shadow coming at them with decent speed. Twilight was quick to try and blast it with some magic, but to no effect, as the blasts did seemingly little to no damage on the rolling behemoth. A quick movement to her right and left left watching on as Spike and applejack went forward.

"Spike!"

"I'm fine Twilight!"

The farmer and dragon began the attention of the cycloptic golem. The dragon kited around the golem while spouting out several gouts of emerald flame towards the body of the cylem with the same effect as Twilight's beams. The large golem was quick to stop moving so it's arms could reach out to try and grab the young dragon, but with speed of his board, Spike was easily able to remove himself from the golem's reach.

Applejack catching up to the now turned Golem. She twisted on the spot before kicking out at the leg. She was quick to regret this, as she felt the harden stone underneath her hoof barely give way. She let out a yelp, before getting lifted above and away from the swinging arm that ended up cratering the floor where she last was. She found herself in the arms of Fluttershy, who brought her back to the group. The two set down, before Applejack quickly began to massage her legs.

"Sweet Celestia, that HURT! What's that varmint made out of?!" The farmer exclaimed. Twilight looked on with a worried look, before she turned to Pinkie who was going at the cylem with a hand under chin. The unicorn was about to say something, before the party pony took off with good speed.

"Pinkie!"

The cylem saw the incoming Laughter Element, and lifted its arm up before bringing down on the floor. An upheaval of rock spires traveled in a wave towards the moving earth pony. Her friends looked on worried before sighing in relief, as the pink one jumped from onto one spire, before proceeding to jump from one to the other towards the earth-based cyclops. Reaching it, she jumped and climbed its body before reaching the head.

"Cupcake Delivery!" She shouted, just as reached behind her and pulled out a box's worth of cupcake and plastering the icing covered treats over the cylem's face. She jumped off, as the stone being made a swipe at its shoulder. Bounding back to her friends she grinned, before frowning.

"That's one hard to beat rock Twilight," she said before she grinned as an explosion went off. The golem was quickly blinded by an onset of fireworks and streakers.

"God job Pinkie!"

"Aye aye, Twilight!" She grinned.

"Good! We need to use the Elements! Gather around and fire!" Twilight ordered. The group spread out and the gems they wore began to pulse out the symbols of their Cutie marks. They resonanted before a large rainbow of power shot out towards the cylem. So it was to their surprise that the beam of harmony missed, as the rock made itself scarce. The rainbow light stream hitting the floor and dispersing.

"What?!" Shouted the group, as they watched the Golem surface a moment later, from the ground a distance away.

"Oh come on!" Yelled Spike as the group dashed away from what could only be a thrown house!

~X~

The alicorn princess watched as the bird of fire flew behind her. The phoenix screeching out blasts of combustion, the moon raiser moving about flaming balls of fire. She was quick up and overhead of the phoenix before firing down a blast of dark blue energy. Nailing the irregularly sized bird of mystical flames in the back, its body went off kilter, before stabilizing. Only for it to receive the full brunt of Princess Luna's glowing palm to the face.

"Fall!" The deity of the moon shouted with the Royal Canterlot Voice, before knocking the flaming avian down into the center of the market square. The bird's landing spot was quickly devastated by the bird's mass and falling speed. Seeing the bird splayed out for a moment, she turned her eyes towards the others. Seeing the blond male of the group faring decidedly well at the moment as he dodged the Kyuubi's wide sweeping swipes, that destroyed more of the forest, she turned her attention to the Bearers. She sought to quickly go and aid them, but found her attention focused once more back on the market area as it went up in dark and orange flames.

"Quite like our sister's pet, Philomena." She said as she looked down at her burned right hand. A quick application of magic numbed the pain,as she saw the former-fallen bird rise into the sky. It's body became engulfed in a large amount of fire before it rushed at her. She quickly moved about, dodging the living ball of flame.

Flying away from the flaming rusher, she ascended skyward. The ball of fire following after her , before they past by a cloud. The flames around the bird dried the cloud on contact and would possibly do more to her skin should she allow it the chance. So with that in mind she allowed herself to change directions again, and fly downwards. Making sure the phoenix was still following, she picked up speed as they approached the earth ahead, the bird following after without much thought.

At the last moment she allowed her wings to burst outward, shattering the dust underneath her frame before shooting up just barely past the flaming avian. The next moment it fell to the floor with a crash that spread its fire over the area. It staggered up to its feet, before glowering up at her and taking flight. At least it would have, were it not for small shining particles clinging to its outer feathers.

"Quite interesting aren't they? Stardust is by no means that much useful more than normal dust..." She started off before the air around her began to fill with little balls of light. The phoenix was already burning away the particles as if they weren't there, but found its location bombarded with spheres of light.

"But my connection with the starts allows for a good affinity to them." She finished as she continued to bombard the fallen bird. The constantly falling beams tore apart the surrounding area and probably did more damage than the bird's own fall did.

Several moments later, she allowed the show to stop and looked down at the defeat form of her adversary. The shadow animal was littered with holes in most places. In others, there seemed to be a curve inward that wasn't natural, with the limbs bent out of shape.

All in all, the non-rising of its chest cinched that she had indeed killed it. She gave it a once over in slight sorrow. She adored the phoenix her sister had kept. The bird had been alive for many a century, if what her sister had told of it was to be believed. She'd entertained the thought that she should get a gift basket for Philomena once this was over and done with, yet as she readied herself to help the Harmony bearers, she stopped and watched as the birds form lit up in flames. Not a moment later, the bird walked out of those flames looking none the worse for wear, before locking its target on her.

She flew away before a massive flamethrower could burn her, and the chase was on again.

~X~

The spiky haired Unique, couldn't help but look on as the fox sat there watching him make his way. He made it all of 6 meters from it, before he had to dodge to the side to avoid getting caught by a tail from beneath the ground. His body already in fight mode, he was prepared for the next two tails to make attempts at him, and jumped over one and slid under another. The lines trailing from his body and glove swept around the limbs just as he did, before proceeded to bring down a slice on one of the offending appendages.

The Kyuubi didn't take too kindly to that move.

With a pained roar, it began its true approach. Crouching low, it sprung forward in a burst of speed. It was far quicker than its usually burst of speed, but it hadn't approached the speed it did back then. Plus...The blond was a lot better fighter now than he ever was when they'd first done this dance of claws and fists. His ears caught the sounds of crashing and the floor shook slightly, but he kept focus on the Kyuubi.

He leaned forward underneath the first swing of its claws, before leading the other off with a heavy slash of BOLT. The weapon sparked to life, before the blond dove forward underneath the bijuu. His eyes zeroed in on the back right leg, before he unleashed a wave of electricity to the back limb's knee. Sliding out from underneath it's from, the fox listed off to the right as it lost control of its back leg.. Swinging its tails around back to brush the blond away.

Naruto found his face meeting the painful side of a house, before his body decided to be neighborly and greet it as well, leading to him going through the wall and out the next. He coughed out some dust and groaned. The sound of something charging had him moving out of the house's immediate vicinity. Not a second too soon as the same house found itself blast to smithereens a moment later. He looked over from his side at the Kyuubi's position as it began to bombard him with small destructive balls of light red color. He dashed off to the side, away from the area of the others as it let loose a barrage of the damn projectiles.

He could feel the heat of the explosions behind him as he ran the edge of the forestline. He eyed the Kyuubi's leg as it twitched.

He needed to get to it, before it recovered from his earlier assault. Thinking that quantity would be helpful, he brought both hands together in a cross sign, before he was surrounded by a set of ten clones. He was surprised, but not looking a gift horse in the mouth he sent the small group, to him, of clones out into the oncoming blaring red missiles.

Each clone seemed to do their personal best to try and navigate the field of danger. Yet, each met their end at the hands of the Kyuubi, whether it be by ball or claw swipe. The explosions did kick up a lot of debris though, blocking its vision. From within the cloud it saw a shadow, and launched a claw into it. Finding purchase in something, it reeled back the extended limb, only to find a large tree in its place.

"Knock Knock! Motherfucker!"

Its head swiveled to the side, as a blond passed by the front of its snout before it took that opportunity to open wide and close its teeth on him. It was more surprised to find that the blond dissolved into magic. Delicious as it was, that meant that-

It found its other back leg suffering from a case of paralysis like its mirrored part. Looking back it found another Naruto, this one holding BOLT as it sparked to life. With its head turned it didn't see the oncoming blast of water that sucker-punched it backwards, head over heels. Its back hitting soft mushy ground, before it felt the ground shaking. Like deja vu, it found itself falling into a sinkhole, and if its memory served it right-

The real Naruto looked on from his place in the forest canopy, as the clone with the spear rammed the electrical instrument into the muddy ground. Water puddles around the sinkhole that fed into it sparked, before the hole was filled with a screech of what was undeniably pain from the Kyuubi. It bolstered his spirits to know that he could cause the bijuu harm, but he was far from unguarded. He knew what the Kyuubi would do next, and prepared accordingly. With the additional amount of clones, he was more than ready for the Kyuubi's emergence from the space beneath the clones by the hole. He jumped above them holding the enlarged sphere of energy that flowed like his namesake.

"Odama Rasengan!"

Bring it down back into the hole it made, the ball expanded before exploding into light. Hearing another howl from the Kyuubi, let him know that it would come back with two times the ferocity and rage, but he twirled his spear as the clone returned it.

He'd be ready. He temporarily turned his attention to the Ponyville, as his clones kept watch on the new "Kyuubi Hole".

Hearing the sounds of battle from the town, he frowned.

Princess Luna was one thing. The girls were another. They were lucky that they had a slow, comparatively, opponent. The problem was they were going in blind, and he wasn't sure if they could afford the risks. It was when he was going through these thoughts, his eyes widened, before he created one more clone. Going into his pockets and retrieving a book, he handed it to the copy. Nodding towards the direction of the sounds of destruction, the clone nodded back and shot off with urgency.

He turned his head to his glove. The fourth line of the equipment was barely glowing, much to his consternation. HEaring the Kyuubi's warcries he prepared for the second round of this game.

~X~

Things weren't really looking good for those who harboured the Elements of Harmony.

The battle with the cylem hadn't truly gone anywhere since the fight began. Well "fight" wouldn't be the right term Twilight would use. More like a more literal version of "Dodge" Junction.

"Can somepony, PLEASE, tell me we have a...plan!" Came the huff of Rainbow, as she let out a few breaths. Surveying the rest of the group, Twilight took stock of their current performance level.

Applejack and Pinkie were probably the best off, stamina wise. With Pinkie pulling ahead, as the farmer was a bit more injured from taking a glancing blow from a arm swing. Rainbow was close behind, and was more tired than anything, though the pegasus was o the floor instead of the air to conserve strength. Rarity and herself weren't exactly faring too well. Twilight was trailing behind the fashionista though, considering that Rarity casted around less magic, but was far more in shape as it were. Fluttershy seemed to be the least injured of the pony section, and was dealing with mostly being the carrier for those who weren't air bound.

She turned her head towards Spike, and watched as the drake's nostrils snorted smoke as he glared at the stone monster. Relatively speaking Spike was fine. He road his board for most of the fight, and from the few altercations he had with it, he walked away unharmed. She remembered being deathly afraid when the drake had been hit by a rising spire, but he'd come back none too worse for wear.

She thanked whatever deity that made up dragon physiology, that her little brother figure remained unhurt.

All that said and done, they were worse off than when they started. The golem-like monster wasn't even that injured. From one interaction between them, where Rarity had used a gem cutting spell, Spike's fire and her own magic blast, rey had made a relatively small pothole on its body compared to before.

The cylem was about to turn to them, before it found itself in the presence of the twin rabbit feet of a reinforced Naruto clone. Knocking its block, metaphorically unfortunately, the copy quickly retreated to her before tossing something her way. She caught the object and it turned out to be a book! She looked up at the clone as it saluted her, as if reporting for duty.

Quickly searching through the book, some small of her reluctantly regretting that she had to skip over what looked like pages of study even in their current situation, she found a page label "Bestiary". Her eyes widening, she quickly flipped through the pages, blessing Naruto for his organization skills that it was in alphabetical order. Finding the page tabbed "Cylem", she power-read her way through it, before she looked up.

Most of the stuff in here they were easily able to figure. Things like its earth powers, its laser and its slow speed had been easy to catch. The legs being as dense as steel had been hinted at when Applejack had bucked it.

Several things were learned that could turn this battle though. Even though its body was made of tough materials, Rarity's gem cutting spell could weaken an effected area long enough for a simultaneous attack to pierce its hide. Also it didn't regenerate, correctly. The book stated it would use normal rocks to refill the gaps, but that was just it. Normal rocks, not the magically enhanced ones it had naturally. Also it was obvious to tell with this nightmare seeing as the normal rocks clashed with its own coloration.

Next, the laser had a timer, and could be disabled. That was a welcome bit of information to be had, plus it seemed that what Pinkie had done earlier would be the right way to go about this. Blinding it, and/or possibly destroying the eye right as it was prepared to fire would be the best outcomes.

Last, but not least, its earth based powers weren't completely omni-terrain. They didn't work on surfaces in which there was no earth to physically touch and/or move. So surrounding in something, putting it on something non-earth would mean that for the time it may lay on that material, it would lose any connection to the earth around it.

All new aspects to its powers that they could take advantage of. Looking to the clone, she thanked it before having him get into formation with the others.

Sadly, that also meant that they'd need more power than what they had.The thing barely even stayed still, so they would need a little mo-

"Trixie is truly disappointed in you ponies. She thought that this wouldn't be enough to stop you, Sparkle, but she was wrong. Fortunately, Trixie graciously came back to help."

"Eeyup."

Two familiar voices rang out, much to the group's surprise. Turning to find Big Mac and Trixie of a ponies to be there.

"Trixie?"

"Big Mac?!

Enlightenment (The Return)

~X~

The plan was set.

"Twilight are all things set?" The voice of the blond came from a small glow near her ears. The spell that Princess Luna had used on the group had been well received as the communication spellset was quite useful. She said it was one of the few spells that she and Celestia had made up together when they were kids. She wondered if the moon princess could teach it to her. She looked over the magically floating map of Ponyville. On it were several dots, all blue in color, with a single large black dot on the tip of the screen, in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

"Everything is set and ready to go on our end...Naruto are you sure this is safe? We mean what we said, about wanting to help, but this..." She wasn't so sure about the safety of one person involved in this plan, and he was right over the other line.

Naruto for his part in the center of town, just sighed before responding.

"This is a far better alternative to having anyone of you guys out here." He said, only to get an angry retort from none other than Applejack.

"The hay it was!" He groaned, before explaining to her AGAIN why this was the beast choice of action.

"I'm pretty sure that the Kyuubi just doesn't care for anything else but me at the moment. If it caught even a glimpse of you guys, I'm almost 80% sure it'd blast you to without a thought."

"...And the other 20%?" Came the small voice of Fluttershy.

"It'd eat you."

"...The Rubbery and Tangy Trixie would like to say that she's a lot more fond of this plan."

"Leave it to Trixie to bring the love into the room."

"...Eeyup."

"Come on guys! We gotta do this so I can finally throw Naruto's 'Welcome To Ponyville' party!"

"Wait a minute, my what??"

"You know what? I think that's the first we've heard of this. Pinkie, I thought you would've had this done and over with by now."

"You see Spike, the author had totally forgotten about it until just now."

"What?"

"We believe that we need to get back to the matter at hand."

Naruto couldn't help but shake his head, as the others spoke in accordance. Even now when things were looking this bad, they all seemed to make him feel like things would turn out okay.

He'd do his best to defend that feeling.

As things were about to go down, did he hear one last voice.

"Naruto...Come back safe, now ya hear?"

"...Yeah Jackie. Then you can yell at me all you want when this is over."

"Naruto! It's coming!" Came the shout of Twilight.

"Alright! We have only one shot at this you guys! Lets do this, and go home!"

"Right!" x 10

He took his lone hand away from his ear, as he looked out into the forest boundary. Eyes watching as the Kyuubi's six tailed form seemed to seep out of the tree line like inky smoke. The emaciated form of the vulpine monstrosity was a shock to those not in the know of its recent change, but they shook away the shock and slight fear, and focused on the task at hand. The fox's 'gaze' zeroed in on him.

The blond was quick to disable to the communication spell, before the fox could roar, lest the others be hit by the roar in stereo with their own hearing over the line. He looked down at the glove as the four lines came to line, and the circle in the center came to life . It was filled with a strange light as the words "Limit Release" ran across the shape's diameter. Feeling the power creep through his body, he closed his eyes as the lines wrote themselves over his body.

They started as thick lines that went down his arm and legs. Reaching his wrist and ankles before spreading out to envelop hand and paws. He could feel as they etched their way to his chest, forming a circle with his spiral in the center. Down the sides of his face lines curved to contours of his eyes, coming down the middle in between the eyes, with his whisker marks being lit up a light neon blue hue. A line drew itself around his hairline, before meeting another line that curved from the other end in the center of his forehead. The two met at the center and formed a circle., before the blond opened his eyes.

His form lit up, as wisp like energy flowed off the lines on his body. He took in all this, and simply took a simple breath. The ground around him gave way, as the energy shot off his form in sparks. It broke apart the floor, as rocks rose and turn to dust under the pressure.

His eyes gaze a half-stare to the large black fox. Next moment he was a blur of movement, as he slammed his foot down into the ground upending a large stone maybe two times his height, before he sent out a kick, sending it sailing towards the Kyuubi. The Unique was quick on the draw, because he continued this action more than once. Each kick, the blond's mind ran over the nature of the rocks, before he altered the "hardness" of the minerals. Each flying rock broke a part barely a second later, hailing the bijuu with a series of fast moving small bits.

Each rock sent its way obscured more and more vision of the blonde, before it had enough and swung its arm out. The wind pressure released blew back the cloud of dust, but revealed an empty space where the blond once stood. From the side of the 4 story monster fox, the blond whipped out a leg. The symbol on his cloth came to life, as the blond sent a blade of water towards the Kyuubi's position. The blade met a shadowy tendril of a tail, as the Kyuubi's appendage dispersed the liquid. That said, the blond pulled his hand forward before throwing it to the side. The dispersed water reshaped before the Kyuubi's "gaze" before it found contact with its face.

The ball of water slammed into its face with the force of a speeding train, knocking its head backwards at an odd angle. Though this was short lived since its 'gaze' snapped back to him,as did its head with a audible "click". Mouth opened wide, it let out a barrage of black spheres that aimed high in the sky at the position of the blonde. Naruto saw fit to vacate the airspace and shot off, as the spheres exploded, the Kyuubi quick to follow.

He dove under wild swing from the blackened anomaly that was the Kyuubi. dodging swiftly, he evaded a series of swipes, punches and bites. When it came to a tail swipe, he jumped over it as he watched it cut through the main office building. The lasting pieces of rumble were crushed under the weight of the tails, and pulverized.

Seeing little reason to stay still, he vanished in a pulse of light and moved about the Kyuubi. Moving faster and faster, images were left in his wake as he slipped in, out and about the Kyuubi's limbs and tails. The streaks of light that followed the blond tracing behind, as he continued to move. The Kyuubi having enough of this display of futile resistance swung its arms out with a screech, sending out a bulk of airwaves that hammered into Naruto and sent him careening into Sugarcube Corner.

Groaning as he looked up at a cupcake themed ceiling, his eyes widen before he dashed off, as the bakery met its end at the hands of a black sphere of destruction. He looked over at the destroyed eating establishment with a grimace, before jumping high into the sky, baring down on the Kyuubi with the moon at his back.

"You may have taken one of my arms..."

Seeing the blonde coming towards him from the sky multiply into a 25, the fox roared. the blond held a half hand sign in front of with a smirk. He created a water platform that faced the Kyuubi, before each clone and the original shot off of it and impacted the fox with impunity. The Real one coming down last, with a fist cocked back. Said fist was surrounded by a several small orbs of water that orbited the blonde's wrist.

"But that doesn't mean jack-shit! Spiral Fang!"

He unleashed it on the face of the large vulpine entity. The orbs of compressed water rotating as they orbited, burst outwards as the fox met the full force of rushing rapids upon a single concentrated area. The attack knocked it back over its own behind, before pressing it into the ground in an impressive crash.

Watching the fox tossed head over heiny for the second time this morning made the spiky haired blond feel a lot better about himself. Taking this time, he moved. Dashing off into the midst of the destroyed town, and making his way to a specified area. He could hear the heavy movements of the Kyuubi as it got back up and started its way after him. He barely made to the location in front of the Old Oaks Library before the Rokubi no Yoko landed heavily in front of it, destroying ground beneath its feet and slightly uplifting the roots from beneath the library behind him.

He gazed up at the monster fox, as it reached back a fist and shot it forward, only to be stopped inches from his face. Markings, of white spread over its form, as the Kyuubi stood frozen in its tracks. The form of the fox struggled as its body was prevented movement, as white marks spread from four corners of the area. A blurry distortion happened before three unicorns and an alicorn princess appeared at the four positions. The fox followed the lines as they reached from each magic user to the center where its body stood.

The next moment saw a pair of white symbol colored chains thrown around its two arms, before it felt tugs backwards as its arms were pulled in that direction. Spike, Pinkie and Applejack pulled on one chain, while Big Mac, Rainbow and Fluttershy pulled on the other. The combined effort helped to bring the fox falling backwards onto its tails. Each of those holding onto a chain bore glowing marks on their shoulders to their hands, as they held strong against the Kyuubi's bare tugs.

Try as it might, the Kyuubi could barely try and pull its body as the white chains glowed and tightened heavily against its surfaces. The sound of something whirling brought the fox back to focus, on the original purpose of its grandiose hunt. He stood on a platform straight above, as he held an arm up. No emotion could be read from the black entity that had been the Kyuubi, but one could almost sense a presence of anxiety as the blonde loomed overhead.

Above the hand formed an orb of spiraling energy. The blonde's eyes closed as he focused. Forming a normal Rasengan came first, before he allowed it to gain more in size. The orb seemed to gain more power as it doubled in size.

Odama Rasengan

He focused more as another step had to be added, the hardest one to date.

He allowed his magic to flow as his tattered attire lit up. The marks of flowing rivers near the cufs of his pants glowed bright as a pressurized stream of water flowed into the sphere above. The color of the Odama Rasengan becoming a dark shade, as three horizontal rings formed at the center, lower and upper portions of the orb. He scrunched his eyes even more as the rings glowed a dark blue, before he relaxed. Looking up at the completed technique, he felt a sense of majesty just looking at it. Fierce as a rushing whirlpool, simple in shape and majestic in form. This was...

Suiton:...

The fox's struggle renewed, as it strained its paralyzed body to do as it wanted. Those tugging on the chains felt their feet dig into the ground and slide forward, as the creature's arms budged and twisted. Those powering the seal below it, were dumbfounded as the black fox tried and gained more distance from the ground as it moved to confront the now falling blond. It pull on its left arm with all its might, removing the chains from the hands of Applejack's group, sending them flying backwards. Said arm reached forward to grab at the blond falling towards it. Naruto allowed his mind to clear, as he directed his path. Rolling forward mid-air, he landed on the hand, before twisting around the reaching fingers, and using the thumb as a spring board, launching into the center of the Kyuubi's chest. Wherein lay the core of the bijuu's existence.

"Sōdaina Kyūryū Rasengan!"

He slammed the orb into the center of the bijuu's chest. There was a flash of light, before the area where the bijuu lay spread began to be engulfed by a large sphere of light and rapidly growing torrents of water. Those at the corners of the seal, and by the chains were quick to stop what they were doing, before leaving the area. Meeting up a point and than having both the Twilight and Luna teleport them out. Just in time, as the size of the explosion doubled and the edges of it were encircled by rapidly moving waves of water.

The Kyuubi couldn't help but actually FEEL at that moment. As the outer layers of its shadowy body gave way under the erosion of the rapidly moving magical chakra liquid. Left bare, the water attack started to work on its main body.

A black scene.

Nothing moved, until a crack originated from the center and spreading outward.

It felt the bones that had constructed this body begin to break under the waters, and the skin and flesh it had shave away to little more but the bone beneath. And even that began to crumble.

The cracks spread even farther abruptly, as light began to filter in though them.

Its own skull was all that was left of the skeleton, as it cracked and broke. The singular red eye, fading outing the recessives of the noggin before it broke entirely.

Everything broke, as light took over the screen.

Once the light had died down, the others saw fit to look. The whole area had been pulverized. There being a giant hole where the Kyuubi last was, finding only a cracked circular orb where the once mighty creature stood. They all sighed in relief, before cheering. Hugs being dished out all around, even between Rainbow and Mac who blushed and looked away only to be enveloped in a hug by Pinkie, bringing them back together. Though most were celebrating, two were on the look out for a certain, blond.

Luna looked over the expanse of the large depression. Her keen eyes picking through all the dark brown to find the body of the Unique laying on the other side. Quickly looking to her side, as the farmer found him too, she teleported the group over. Applejack wasting little time, as she slid down towards the blond, going to her knees as she tried to jostle him. Said laying down blond groaned, much to her relief, before he tried to sit up. Only to fall back down onto his back, as he looked down to her right arm.

Bruised flesh, a little of the fur and skin on it had been shaved off. He could feel the bruising, and if he moved it slightly...Ow.

'Definitely broken.' He thought in a mock-sardonic fashion, before being engulfed in a hug by the farm mare. His body hurt, but he was content to lay there. Exhausted, but otherwise perfectly happy that things were over. Cost him an arm, literally, and a leg, figuratively, but it was well worth it.

"Twas a good effort young one. Much virtue was shown, and little to no lives lost." Luna pitched, though all in the crater knew not to say that in front of Spike. They looked up at the others, as they slid or flew down. They circled the blond, and passed out many pieces of congratulations. They were received with a tired smile, as the blond used Applejack as support to stand. When all was said and done, they turned towards the crack orb, that was seemingly leaking a barely there red vapor.

Time to end this for good.

~X~

~Play: Aimer - Last Stardust~
Watching as the rainbow of lights coalesced around the orb, made the blond feel a kind of way. Seeing these 'Elements of Harmony' in action made him hope that he'd get to study them at a later date.

Hopefully without some looming threat rearing its ugly head over the populace.

It was while the lights were finishing their work, that a new light broke out of the cyclone of colors. The beam ended, and in the place of the fox core was something different.

It was a floating, glowing, blue orb. the size of it was probably as tall as the Moon Princess, and just as wide as her height in diameter. Though the most catching thing on it was the fox skeleton that draped itself over the top, with a small, singular blue eye. Two small horns adorn the skull's head.

Those around it just watched it cautiously. None more so than the blond in front of it. Seeing the eye lock onto his own, he stared back. Blue met sapphire for an extended period of time. He sensed, no sort of true emotion from the thing.

Well that wasn't entirely true, he felt something akin to curiosity from the lone eye. He couldn't help but find himself drawn to it, but couldn't explain why.

"Naruto what are you doin'?!" A voiced called out over his thoughts, and snapped him out of his trance. One moment he's standing by the others and the next he was in front of the Vulpine Skeletal Orb. It took all his brain power to think of why he was suddenly in front of it. Yet, something was screaming out at him to move closer.

"What are you?" He whispered, and he noticed the recognition that glinted in the lone eye. A gleam that wasn't there before.

It was all in a matter of a second that the orb shot towards him, and straight into his chest. As if in slow motion, those around, and even the blond himself just watched as the last of the orb disappeared into his navel. Some just stood there mouth gaped, but none more so than the blond himself. He felt nothing. no harmful pains, no burning sensations, anything.

Well that wasn't entirely true. He felt...awfully...slee-.

He blacked out before he could finish the thought.

He awoke to find himself on a lone island. A white island that was barely bigger than maybe 5 meters in diameter. Surrounding it on all sides was large amounts of water. The skyline seemed to be in eternal twilight no matter where he turned.

"Glad to see you're interested in the new looks."

"Oh hush you, don't act like you weren't surprised by it as well. Dattebane~"

"I have been staring at a sunset for a while."

He heard voices?

Turning around, the blond had to stop and stare. There stood a pair of people. He didn't think he'd ever see a human again, but here were a pair.

A man and a woman. The woman's red hair was vibrant and long. Just reaching down to below her knees, even as she stood at a good 5'6 in height. Purple eyes that looked at him with a strange warmth, that he didn't understand but felt he had craved. She looked fairly young, and wore a white shirt underneath a long green dress. Finishing off the ensemble was something he never thought he'd see again. Ninja sandals.

"I wonder if he even knows who I am?" She said, the voice ringing in his pleasantly for some reason. He decided to focus on the man for the moment. He figure out these feelings later, probably.

The male for his part looked familiar. Blond hair that held smaller soft spikes than his own, with two long bangs that ran down the sides of his angular face. Blue eyes, and slightly feminine features yet still remaining mostly masculine. Wearing a set of blue pants, and long sleeve under a green vest under a long white coat with orange flames licking the bottom. He also wore a headband with the Konoha symbol on the plate, and wore blue ninja sandals as well.

There was this feeling that he'd seen this man before. Somewhere, but he wasn't sure where. Back at his home dimension? Only way it could be considering he was human. There were only so many blonds though, and he only remembered one besides himself who had that shade of hair...!

"Y-You're, the Yondaime Hokage!" He squeaked, mind boggled. This was the guy! This was the last Hokage before Tsunade-baachan!

"Mou! He knows who you re, but not me!" The women pouted, which brought his mind back to focus. He looked at her, and she noticed his gaze before she grinned at him.

"Hehe~ Bet you can't guess who I am?~"

He inspected her from her head to her toes, and was pulling up blanks. So, being who he was, he made a guess.

"Um, you're the Kyuubi?" The Yondaime sweatdropped and facepalmed. The next moment saw the younger blond of the group getting hit over the noggin by the red head's fist.

"Who's the Kyuubi?! Dattebane!" She shouted, her verbal tick sounding out. He winced and let out a small cry, before his mind caught up.

"Dattebane?" He looked to the woman, before him who huffed, before walking up to him with arms at her sides. He flinched back, waiting for the assault that never came.

"I've wanted to hold you for so long, musuko." She wrapped him in her arms, and he felt his heart nearly stop when she finished her sentence. Holding back at arm's length, she gave him a once over, seeing the missing arm she muttered.

"I hope he can fix this. I'm sure that Applejack girl wouldn't mind you having two hands again."

Nevermind the fact that she knew who Applejack even was, she'd just called him her...

He gave her a shocked look. Seeing the look sent her way, she smiled at him.

"Y-You just said..." He couldn't finish his sentence, as she grinned at him , pearly whites on display.

"Exactly as it sounds! Dattebane~!" She pumped a fist, as he noted the verbal tick, before grinning.

"Hehe 'Dattebane', dattebayo~" She grinned once more, and he joined her before they hugged. He let a few tears fall, as he held her close.

"Kaa-chan..."

~X~

Their emotional reunion done, but lasting, he asked the question that had been on his mind since seeing them.

"Kaa-chan, Yondaime...What are you guys doing her? Where ARE we?" He couldn't help but wonder, not with no small amount of fear. LAst he checked the Yondaime was dead. He really hoped he hadn't kicked the bucket, with his last stunt with Kyuubi. Kami above, Applejack would find some way to kill him, if he did.

Looking to each other, she nodded towards the blond Hokage of the group. He explained how they had sealed themselves in here, to help him, Naruto, whenever the Kyuubi got loose. That, and they wanted to see their son again. Their son. He'd had another small breakdown, before coming back with a fist to his father's face.

Kushina had never laughed so hard.

~X~

Once everything had calmed down, and father and son had a proper, non-fist related reunion. They explained that they were in his mindscape. The blond was sure that his mindscape hadn't been this pretty, and they agreed. They said that it had changed once the Kyuubi had been defeated, purified and entered him. Which brought up another question.

"Where's the Kyuubi?" He asked, too which they both looked to each other, he was wondering what was so funny before he heard a set of footsteps. Small ones.

-I've never walked like this, whoa!-

Seeing the form of what could only be a small boy, with hair that was far to long that made him trip was the last thing he'd thought he would see in his mindscape. The boys hair oddly enough, shadow most of his upper face, save for the one blue eye poking out from beneath his locks. He wore what could be considered monk garb, that were of black, blue and gold coloration. The main body and pants being a royal blue, with the rope around his waist being gold. The mantle with the hood down was dark blue and black, with gold embroidery around the rim.

The small boy grumbled, before lifting himself off the floor. After dusting himself off, he looked up, revealing his foxy features to the world. Dark hands, feet that crossed as a mix between canine and human's and two ears on the top of his head. Now that the blond could see him better, he saw that the hair this child had separated into 6 parts. Each of the long strands started out blue, but ended white near the tips. Also strange was a set of small horns on the boy's head.

There was no doubt about it, this was the Kyuubi that had been purified...Something wasn't right though.

-Hello! Nice to finally meet you!-

Hearing the voice in his head was shocking. The child didn't seem to move his lips as he spoke. Telepathy?

-Not Really? It's more complicated than that.-

Shaking his head, the blonde look down at the Rokubi no Kyuubi with a stern expression. The boy seeing this was quick to school his features. Moving forward, the Unique looked the Rokubi in the eyes. Blank blue met contained contained sapphire. Naruto held the lock for a moment before he sighed, and sat down cross legged. The Rokubi followed suit, as did the blond's parents. After which the blond told them about his life up until that point.

The early years of neglect by the villagers, the acceptance by the Ichiraku family and Hokage. His academy days, than his ninja ones. All consummating to point of when he came to Equestria. From there he explained his "Second Life", and the way of life he lived with Yahiko. Throughout all the parts, they listened, each sparing all the attention they could give and then some. By the time he finished, all other occupants were looking down. His parents looked between each other, before giving Naruto the true story. The story of Madara Uchiha and his position in the attack on Konoha so many years ago. By the end of it, there was a lot to sort through for both the blond and Rokubi.

Rokubi said that he had no memory of his own. After being blasted by the Element of Harmony he'd explained that his mind was dull, before the blond stepped forward. After which they ended up here. They sat in silence, before all noticed the fading phantoms that were his parents. Looking down they couldn't help but smile sadly at their son.

Quick to get in a few last words, they spoke.

"Our times running thin. Pretty soon, what chakra we left in you will be gone."

"It was fun while it lasted. I got to see my baby again, and to think he's already fallen in love! Yes!" She smiled a big one, hands on her hips. Minato just looked at her with a smile before turning back to his son. Naruto for his part smiled sadly. He would shed no tears when they leave, but he'd enjoy what time he had with them. So he listened as they spoke. The Rokubi for his part just sat, and watched the proceedings.

"Naruto, I can't even begin to tell you how proud of you we've become. There's so much I wish I could say, to make up for all the years you've had no one in your life. I can't change the past, but please live a bright future." Minato's last words were few, but the Hokage knew when he was finished.

His wife on the otherhand...

"Remember Naruto, no woman likes to wait for long! Applejack will be happy with whatever you give her, so be confidant she'll like it. Though that doesn't mean she won't appreciate what you got her though. If anything make it a pairing set, that'll really rattle girls like her!" Hearing all this at the last moment left his cheeks a permanent red, he just knew it.

"Don't forget that we love you! Dattebane~ All parents want their kids to be happy, and I want to know that when you die you left quite the legacy behind! Oh my goodness, he's already grown up so much, wah!," she started sobbing uncontrollably, "Be safe! Don't take too many chances except when they're bound to work out. I better see a ring on that finger whenever I see you again!" Minato by that point held onto his sobbing wife, as she shouted as many kinds of parental tips she could, before the two finally faded.

"We love you Naruto! Dattebane~!" The last few words, and she ended off with that.

Rokubi looked up at the blond, as he just watched the fading particles of light fade.

-Do you miss them?- He said with a tilt of his head. The blonde with the twin tails, just scratched his head. Before shaking his head.

"I don't need to, they're right here," he pointed to his heart, "I'll always have them with me no matter what."

The two just sat there. The blue haired one just looked out into the horizon, eyes slightly dull. The blond looked over to the remnant of a bijuu, before he too sought the eternal horizon.

-Can you tell me about it? So many things I've never seen, I'd like to know it all-

"Hm? What in particular?"

-Everything-

Sometime Later Real World...

Applejack couldn't cover the yawn, as she entered the ward. Meeting with Nurse Redheart at the counter, and going through the familiar motions.

"Nice to see you again Ms. Applejack. Room 009 as usual." The farmer thanked the nurse before heading on to the room. Nurse Redheart merely looked on with sad smile. Dr. Certain Stitch came up behind the nurse, and gave her a raised eyebrow. Seeing his expression, she gave a small shrug.

"She's been coming for over two months. I adore the dedication she has to her coltfriend. I just hope he can get to appreciate it, when he wakes up." she stated with a sigh, to which the doctor just gave her a pat on the shoulder. He knew about which patient she was talking about. One Naruto Uzumaki, weird name for sure, Coma via Magical Concentration wasn't something he had truly dealt with often. Usually it happened with small fillies and colts who'd pulled in more magical energies than normal, mostly from gaining a Cutie Mark. Though this wasn't always the case. Miss Sparkle had been a rare one, as she had been fine even after exhibiting a large discharge way back when.

Seeing the "Unique", as his friends called him, was going through similar pains, but on a much vaster scale. It was almost amazing how the blond's entire system seemed to be reshaping as he slept. Many of those in the department had wanted to get a good examination on the subject, with permission from the blond's friends and the princess herself, they'd made leaps and bounds in progress in the magical medical field. Most of the research had been finished a month ago though.

'I wonder when he'll wake up.'

~X~

~Play: Braveshine by Aimer~

As Applejack walked the halls, she couldn't help but let her mind wander.

Two months.

Two months ever since the attack of the Kyuubi. It had been a busy time since everyone came back to find the town destroyed. A large crater in front of Twilight's home, and an bruised and tired group, with one comatose, unknown at the time, Unique. It was surprising to say that anypony who'd been there at the time of the blonde's declaration to the town, when they saw him, had honestly thought he WAS dead. It had been almost heartbreaking to hear Dinky crying about it, but when reassured that the blonde was of the living there were mostly cheers.

They'd done their best to have the blonde rushed to a hospital in Canterlot. After being admitted, and given a thorough check-up, they'd announced that he was comatose.

It hadn't been a pleasant day to be Applejack at that moment. She remembered almost headbutting the doctor but was held back, by her siblings long enough to be told that the blond would eventually wake up. Something about magical condensation something or other. All she knew at the time was that she didn't like how the doctor was eying the Unique laid up in bed, and that she felt relief and another emotion she wasn't sure about. They'd stayed in Canterlot for about one month, during which she'd gotten letters and the like from family members from all over Equestria. Even one from her grand uncle Chili Pepper. All wondering how she was, and if the family was okay.

It'd taken a good amount of time to read, respond and send messages back to them all. Though it had kept her mind busy while they had been examining the blond to help with his affliction. She still wasn't all too fine with the idea of them poking the Unique around while he wasn't capable of denying it, but the others had reassured her that it was for the best. The rest of the month was actually spent going back down to Ponyville to help with the reconstruction. Many businesses were needing to be built back up again, and with the barn, thankfully, still in good shape the farmers had their work cut out for them, with ponies coming to buy lunch and the like. Even then she'd take up some time to go and see the spiky haired blond.

She came out of her thoughts, finding herself in front of the room, and entering without a second thought. She'd say the room was bare. White walls, teal floor tiles and a good open window. The wall was covered in various "Get Well soon" cards from plenty of their friends and even some of the Ponyville residents, like Ms. Cheerliee, Muffins, Dinky and a couple others. The blonde of the hour lay flat on the bed. During the two month stay in hospitals, he'd been transported over to the rebuilt one in Ponyville, much to the irritation of the Canterlot staff. Having the blonde moved back to Ponyville had been a lot more reassuring to Applejack, as it was easier for her to commute to him there and she trusted their own doctors more than any ones in the capital.

No disrespect to the princesses.

To say that nothing had changed since the blond had been asleep, would be a lie. It had happened a little bit after three weeks in that the first major change had come about.

His arm had returned, much to the confusion and utter astonishment of the Canterlot staff. They'd said it had happened over night. One second it's not there and the next morning, BAM, arm. This had been part of the reason the Canterlot staff had been so adamant in not allowing him to leave, though with a little bit of pushing from the political side of things, all went smoothly.

She'd took in the blonde's now longer locks, brushing back a strand. His hair had been one of the first things to grow out, but that was mostly accredited to time. Next had been that the blond's arms and legs had gone through a sort of, what the doctor call them...Let's just say that they streamlined, for lack of a better word. The blond's canine feet had gotten smaller, with the heel being mold to the same level as the ball of his paws. His toes had gone from slightly large, to strangely small, but fitting for their new size. The yellow fur on them had stayed and was soft to the touch, with there being a fifth toe compared to his four before. His arms had been another thing. They didn't change nearly as much as his legs had. The transition of his skin from his body to his arms had become a lot more smooth, if anything. The fur on the arms had thinned and became smooth. His hands hadn't truly changed much, but the claws on them seemed to have receded. Doctors said they had become retractable.

She sat down in the usual seat by his bedside, and began a sort of common thing she'd been doing since coming here.

"So yeah, Ah kind of left off last time. Real urgent stuff came up, and with Braeburn visiting to start helping with the sales to the town, things had been calming down as of late. The others are fine, what with them finally fixing the roots of the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight's finally going to move back into Ponyville from her old room in Canterlot. Her parents might make it a bit hard, what with the wanton destruction that happened, but I feel things will work themselves out." She began, as was her routine with these visits.

She said how Fluttershy's Cottage was still being repaired, and while the pegasus was staying with Rainbow Dash, she'd go out to look for and check up on some of her animal friends. Rarity had been staying with her sister and their parents in Baltimare, doing a little business here and there. She visited just as often as Twilight did. Pinkie was consistently meeting with them all. She even spent time in Canterlot every now and then.

Rainbow Dash was another thing. That pegasus seemed to be around the farm pretty often as of late. Always seemed to be helping out from time to time, especially when Big Mac seemed to be out in the fields.Applejack had been getting a suspicious vibe from the visits, but she had no real proof as of yet. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had been having fun basically living together what with Scootaloo's home being one of the few still in need of repair.

"Yeah, that's basically all that's been going on. Nothing really fancy like when the Princess's came to visit ya when you moved here. Man did that cause a ruckus." She chuckled at the memory, before sighing as she got.

"Hope you wake up soon Naruto. Ah'll come and see ya tomorrow. Might be a little late, we gotta harvest the apples sooner or later, fer more bakin'. On the bright side, there's going to be plenty of treats fer ya when ya wake up." She made it to the door.

"See ya later, Sugarcube."

~X~

He'd awoken sometime during the middle of the night. Eyes blurry from the moonlight coming through the window, he felt like somebody had turned his body into lead and than had it processed through the rigorous method of hitting it with a hammer.

"Ooooaaahahh~" He groaned, as he slowly turned his head from side to side. Eyes surveying the room, understanding he was in a hospital room just made him groan even more, though the wall of cards had been a nice touch. His eyes moved to the flowing drapes of the open window, where he had a good look into the still being constructed Ponyville. Hearing no real construction going on, he assumed it was that late. Feeling the wind from the open window was nice, but...

"I REALLY hate hospital beds." So with that he got up.

Feeling the muscles in his body resist was one thing. Sluggishly getting to his feet, he was quick to steady himself on the bed. His eyes traveling down to his feet, he was surprised. his feet reminded him of the Rokubi's own, save for the fact that his were a Wolf/Human mix to the Rokubi's Fox/Human ones. Gold in color, they bore real sharp nails at the end that looked like they could tear through the tile beneath his feet with ease.

"Gonna have to get used to this again." He snorted. Getting use to one's old feet? Hilarious.

The balance issue would take some time, but he was able to walk enough that he could shimmy out the window of the hospital room. Feeling weaker than ever, he knew the trip to the Sweet Apple Acres was going to be a painful one. He'd been quick to switch out of the hospital garbs, when he found his tattered, patched up jumpsuit. Though that had presented a brand new problem.

"Is it just me or did I get taller?" The outfit felt tighter on him now, and he couldn't help but grimace as he turned. From both the pain in his joints and limbs, and also the restriction he felt in the suit creases. He sighed, before making a useful rope out of the sheets he had.

~X~

Ugh. So much walking after being down for so long. He hoped this weakness would pass soon.

He finally finished coming up the path to the Apples' home, and couldn't be happier. He was quick to try and open the door, but found it locked. Knowing that he didn't want to wake anyone up at the moment, he decided that he would have to sleep outside for the night. Screw the hospital bed, he never wanted to be back in one again. Besides...

He already had the perfect idea of where he could sleep.

~X~

Finding the old tree with the "flower" had been easy. Getting up it would be hard, but with patience, perseverance and a good application of tree walking he was up in the branches and well on his way to sleep. Reaching into his pockets, the dimensional hole that sat in the pants' portion of the clothing he pulled out a shining blue stone. Clear and translucent, dark blue in coloration this was what he'd gone into the forest for.

Aqua Sapphire. Not unlike a Fire Ruby, but far more difficult to find. Seeing as they had to be found in places of high magical intensity, high pressure underwater and specific creatures. Crystal Mice.

Holding it up, he ran a little energy through the limb holding the gem, and felt a strangle pulse go up his arm before the item began to shine a soft blue hue. Small waves coming off it, before he stopped and put it away.

With that done, he set in for a long sleep.

~X~

When he awoke the next morning, it was to voices from down below. High up into the tree as he was, no one would truly notice him. Tucking his tails behind him, he looked down and noticed the sextet of the Apples along with Scootaloo as well as a newcomer. Flexing his right ear, he listened in on the conversation down below.

"It's been a few months and the doctor says that he'll wake up at anytime." That was Jackie, if he ever heard her.

"That's that there Naruto feller, yall been going on about? Still haven't seen 'im yet, but if he's anything like what you guys tell me, I reckon we'll get along just fine." The newcomer spoke. So he knew the Apples enough to be here? Relation maybe?

"Braeburn, it's gonna be fine. Ah'm sure the two o' ya will get along just as good as a house on fire." Big Mac always kicking in with wise words. This Braeburn guy sounded like an okay dude from what he could hear up here. Though that would have be until he met him. Hearing a weird "whoosh", he watched as the flying form of Rainbow Dash land in the clearing with the others.

"Rainbow Dash!" Came the excited squeal of the smaller orange pegasus, as her role model landed. The prism haired flyer was quick to rub the younger girl's head, before turning to the others. She gave a wave to the others, greeting them in kind.

"What's up guys? Been awhile since I've seen you I know." She started, with a scratch to the back of the head.

"No problem. Things have been sort of crazy with the weird weather going on lately. Besides yer here today, and that's all that matters." Mac said, smiling at the blue pegasus, who just grinned with red cheeks. He could see Granny smith's subtly raised eyebrow, and he had one too. So this was happening...Okay then, he'd grill Mac on this later. Right now he had to make himself known. He was about to jump down, before he heard an even better opportunity.

"Yeah well, it's going to be good to have the entire gang here for some lunch. Twilight and Spike are gonna be back today, finally moving back in, and Rarity's back to oversee the rebuilding for Carousel Boutique. We'll meet here in a couple hours. So with that let's get to work!" Rainbow announced, to everyone's amusement and delight.

"Finally! Me and Spike haven't had anytime to really hang since last week! I wonder if he got any new moves while they've been in Canterlot? Though he might not have the time. He said that he's been doing work with Twilight for the princesses, and they've been swamped. Hopefully, he's had some downtime since then." Exclaimed Scootaloo, much to the amusement of the adults around her. One more rub on the head from Rainbow had the group moving forward.

"I'm so sure it is squirt." Rainbow said, a hint of teasing in her voice, as Scootaloo felt her cheeks glow red. She was quick to run ahead, with a confused Apple Bloom running after her.

"Wait Scoots, what she talkin' 'bout?!" Shouted the youngest Apple sibling.

"Nothing! That's all it'll ever be!"

Seeing this most of the adults continued after the two. Most debating on who does what today, and Rainbow suspiciously saying that she'll seed the fields after Big Mac was done plowing them.

They'd never heard Granny laugh so much before. Leaving a confused Braeburn, suspicious Applejack and beat red blushing duo of pegasus and earth pony. As they moved Applejack couldn't help but stop and look back at the tree, before moving towards it. Noticing her lack of a friend near Rainbow called out.

"Hey AJ, you coming or what? We need to get those chores done before the others show up! Especially so we can watch Braeburn crash and burn with flirting with Fluttershy!"

"Hey! That's not even close to the truth! I just find her wings real nicely taken care of!" The now red-faced earth pony said.

"Who are you trying to convince?"

Applejack chuckled before she looked back to the tree with a good eye, and shouted back.

"Ah'll catch up with yall in a moment. Ah wouldn't want to miss seeing Braeburn get tongue-tied again!" To which Rainbow gave a thumbs up, and laughed all the way back to the group, were a embarrassed Braeburn held his face in his hands. Waving them off, she looked back to the tree with a smile.

"This all started because of this tree and a critter who was too cocky. Though in retrospect, he might have had good reason to be...hmm," She took up a thinking face, hand raised to her chin, as she put her back to the tree. Seeing this the blond couldn't help himself, as he dropped down silently behind her. He idly noticed that she was wearing his necklace, before he leaned back against the bark.

"Well, well, well," He saw her freeze and her ears perk, to which he just smiled, "if I knew I had that kind of impression, Jackie we could just call it natural confidence." He was sure he saw her trembling before turning around and locking eyes with him.

He saw the slap coming before it happened, but knew that it was warranted.

*SMACK!*

His cheek red, he still smiled at her, even as he saw the tear falling down the sides of her face, before she hugged him with all her might. He returned said hug, with his own and they stayed like that for a moment.

"Ya idjit! I was so worried when ya..ya just fell like that!" He could hear her words muffled through his clothes, but understood all the same. Resting his head on top of hers, before he breathed in her scent. Apples and bake goods. Good ol' Jackie.

Once calmed, they stood back from one another, arm's distance apart. The Unique grinning at the farmer, who blushed, but didn't let go. She looked over the blond, seeing now moving features of the aim of her affections, before she noticed something.

"Wait a minute..." She said as she detached, and held a hand from her height to the former-ninja's before looking at him in disbelief.

"You got taller than me!" Her exclamation caused him to look at her, before realizing that he had to now look down a bit to catch her eyes. They locked gazes for a moment.

"Don't..." He let out a smirk.

"You..." He let out a few chuckles, before he laughed. She was quick to start poking him in the chest. This action did little to bother him, before he had her in his arms again, and twirled her around once. She was quick to ignore the blush on her face growing, before she laughed along with him.

"I'm home, Applejack!"

"Welcome back, Naruto."

~X~

Seeing those gathered out at the table from his place in the kitchen, set his prankster spirits running on high. No one besides AJ knew he was up yet. He'd had to make a quick trip upstairs to change into a pair of orange sweats, and a long sleeve white shirt, before coming downstairs. Seeing alll of them have fun and be merry was all the set up he needed.

He walked out casually the others too caught up in their merrymaking to notice the blonde, before he sat down in a space in between Spike and Fluttershy. Quick to capitalize on their still ignorant senses, he raised a cup full of juice before calling for a toast.

"A Toast! To my recovery!" He shouted, much to the joy of those around. Raising his cup up high, he watched them closely.

"A Toast!" x 12. Cheers were had before they all started to drink. He smirked before he counted down in his head, as they finally caught up with themselves. Applejack was doing her very best to not start chortling, as the slow realization settled in.

'Three, Two...One!" he ticked his fingers, before the wide open eyes of all those present settled on him.

Cue Massive spit-take.

He never knew that watching a group wide choke could be so hilarious!

"Naruto!" x 11 plus a confused "huh?" from Braeburn. The blonde of the day just grinned at them.

The gathering was quick to turn into a party, with the blonde's revealed presence.

~X~

One Month Later...

"A festival?" Came the group question, as they looked at the flyer in Pinkie's hands. They all sat at the round tables of the week ago rebuilt Sugarcube Corner, as they all eyed the flyer in the pinkette's hands.

"Yup!"

In the span of a month and a week, things had finally started to tone down. Most of the buildings around town had been rebuilt, with the help and assistance of the princesses, plus a newly awakened Unique, things had gone back to some sort of idea of normalcy. Though the main office building was still being finished, as were a few other businesses like Quills & Sofas, or the musical amphitheatre. Most of the group was taking some time off for the day to relax with friends, as they main group sat around with Spike and Crusaders close by on a bench listening in.

" What's it say? Hmm, 'Come see the festival of the century. Enjoy a special night on the town, as we light up the night. Rides, booths and prizes.' Who the hay are the Flim Flam Brothers?" stated Applejack, as she finished reading the paper, the blonde besides her just shrugged as the group listened to Pinkie talk.

"Come on! It's a great idea, we can all enjoy a nice night on the town. Who cares about who's throwing it? Come on, food, drinks, prizes! Atmosphere!" She waved her hands wildly in the air before tipping over backwards. They all thought it through for a moment, before basically agreeing to it.

~X~

The night sky was lit up, as the festival was in full swing. Lights, banners, decorations and sounds rang out as ponies moved about through the booths. Children were playing, running around with cotton candy, masks and balloons. The group could even see Ms. Hooves walking around with her daughters , and Carrot Top. Overall there were a fair amount of contraptions on display that toggled the group's curiosity and wonder.

"Come on! I want to see how they set up the food! Ooh, ooh, ooh do you think they have a dunk seat?! Ohmigosh, I can't wait to see it, Just might explode!" Was all that they heard, before the pink one practically vibrated before disappearing into the crowds of pony citizens. They all just shook their heads as the group separated off to go do their own things.

Twilight and Rarity were quick to go and inspect booths, and look after Pinkie. The librarian never having gone to a fair before and taking all the sights before her with awe. Rarity followed along because she knew Twilight would be the easiest one to be around in a festival setting, plus two ponies to help reign in a Pinkie were better than one.

Rainbow Dash had gone off in some direction or another with Big Mac going off into another one. Naruto was quick to take a good look at where they went. He saw a strange sight of Rainbow Dash flying far above in the clouds, her shadow moving across the opposite way where she normally went. Strangely in the same way of Big Mac's choice of direction. The blonde couldn't help but shake his head, the ears situated on top of his head in the short mop that was now his hair. Having cut it after a while of dealing with it during town build up.

"Oh dear, I hope they're fine. Oh my," Fluttershy was quick to wonder. The pegasus being taken in by the fish games.

"I wonder if they got any gems around here. Hey Naruto you wann-Whoa Scoots hold on!" Spike started, before being dragged off by the crusaders. Scootaloo in the lead with his hand in her own.

"No time Spike! We gotta go find the best prize in this fair and win it!" The orange pegasus said, as she dragged the young dragon off into the fair. Following closely behind them, were Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, both of whom were just looking around at all the sights as they ran.

"And then there were two." Naruto commented as he and Applejack, stood as the two left behind. Looking to one another, they just blushed a bit before the male blond gestured ahead a quick motion of his head. With that they walked onward into the fairgrounds.

~X~

~Play: Haven't Had Enough by Marianas Trench

The festival was in full throttle and both blonds were just overwhelmed by the numerous attractions. Every now and then they'd catch sight of the others before they disappeared, but they continued on before Applejack found the first game of the night for them to play.

"So the key of the game is just to knock back as many of the targets with the star, huh?" The blonde said, with an amused smile, as he tossed the toy shuriken up and down in the palm of his hand.

"Youse got that right sir! With a few bits you get five throwing stars. You gotta take five shots and you get what you win!" The boothman said, as the blond surveyed the several levels of prizes. The first three levels were basic plastic toys, the next level held some pretty good looking stuffed animals and playing cards. On the fifth level though the blond saw large stuffed animals the size of a child and fireworks. On the sixth level were only two objects, a music box and a mask that seemed strangely shaped like a fox. In front of each prize was a bull's eye. Each being smaller the farther up in level you went. All around them were others trying and failing to get any of the higher level prizes.

"Don't ya want to win one fer ya goirl ova there?" The boothman with the, in his opinion, awesome orange red mustache gestured secretly over to Applejack off in the corner. The farm girl was looking over a set of food options from a nearby stall. The blond blushed, before he gave the booth guy a challenging smirk, before he placed down a few bits.

"You're on." He said, before he picked up the shuriken on the counter. Feeling the weight in his hands, his eyes narrowed as he focused. Taking aim he threw the first star with great precision at a bull's eye for one of the large stuffed animals, hitting back the target that couldn't be more than 5 in. wide. The boothman looked at the target, before he smile nervously. Two more repeats of said stunt, had brought a small crowd to watch as the blond knocked down his third prize. Kids would cheer, and adult egged him on to aim for the highest targets. Applejack had come back over with food, only to see the blond focused and surrounded by the crowd. She smirked as the blond set his sights to the highest ones.

"Hold on there sir, wouldn't you like to make it more worth your while?" The nervous looking red haired unicorn of a boothman stated, catching the blond's attention. With a quick push of the handle underneath the counter the 2 inch targets for the sixth level began to move. The blond raised an eyebrow at the fairman who was quick to explain.

"For the sake of challenge! How would you like to take a shot at the moving targets, hit one and get the prize. Hit both and I'll return you bits, with interest."

Giving the thought a once over, he shrugged, before looking back at the targets. Focused, he tossed one at the moving top and found it miss the target by a few inches, causing the audience behind him to "oooh" with the slated miss. The unicorn running the booth let out a breath in relief, before he focused back on the blonde who was smirking.

"So say that I hit both targets with one star, it still counts right?" The confidence oozed from the spiky headed one. Flam was quick to sweat, but nodded his head anyway. He was quick to move the lever, the targets moving faster in accordance.

Naruto for his part looked on, before he cleared his mind. The world seemed to come to a slow, as the blonde took aim and released the throwing star with precision at the two posts around the prizes. The wooden star bounced off the wooden post from the right and sliced across the targets' centers knocking both down, before the star bounced back off the right post and the blond caught it. Right before he casually throw the star at booth guy's hat and leaving it right there by his horn. Looking down from his hat, to the smirking blond with the gaping crowd behind him, Flam gulped audibly.

"Now about those prizes and my money." The blond said, to the booth's horror.

~X~

"Darn good shootin' there Tex. Haha, did you see the face of that guy? Priceless!" Applejack couldn't help but comment, much to the Unique's own shit-eating grin. Patting a fanny pack that bore his symbol, before focusing back on Applejack. Being handed a fluffy caked item, he tossed it into his mouth as they moved forward, leaving behind a sobbing stallion.

"So what's next?" He asked.

~X~

Applejack couldn't help but feel the growing smirk, as she watched the blond miss with every shot from the toy gun.

"Nah man, nah! This is some bullshit!" The blond raged, as he missed once more with the wood rifle before he set the thing down and took some steadying breaths. Looking at Applejack's expression, the blonde pointed a finger at her.

"Not. A. Word." He grumbled, as she shook her head in amusement. moving to the front of the booth, she put down her own set of bits, before picking up the shooting implement. Watching from the sidelines, the Unique only felt his mouth fall open with each repeated shot. Seeing her quickly and surely bare down the rifle and shot down any of the moving bull's eyes as the points at the bottom right of the booth went up and up. Seeing her points start to reach past the 100 mark, and remembering his own meagre 20, he stared agape.

If there was one thing the blonde would admit that day, it would be this.

A confident Applejack was one damn sexy looking mare.

With a flourish she spun and put the gun back into its place, before walking past a stone frozen Naruto. Idly closing his mouth as she passed him. The short haired blond doing nothing but staring at the score of 999 on the board.

~X~

The two continued on, enjoying more and more of the fair attractions. Even now they could see and catch glimpses of their friends. Most notably now was them seeing Spike sitting there on a bench, before being approached by a food bearing Scootaloo. The two shared in a box of donuts, before the drake was quick to give Scootaloo a surprise peck on the cheek, before blushing and looking away. The pegasus seemed to freeze up for a moment before turning full on red, and then proceeding to hold hands with the drake leaving them both a blushing mess.

The two blonds spying from behind a corner, couldn't help but blush as they looked at each other, before going on their way. The distance between them small enough to have them tapping knuckles every now and then as they walked. The two looked at each other from the side, so close to holding hands before-

"Come one, come all, a test of strength and bonds to best ya! Can you get the bell to ring or shall you wallow in your weak selves!" The sound of a shouting boothpony left them rattled and had the two of pull their hands back with a burning going across their cheeks, Naruto looking up away and AJ looking to the side.

Both turned their attention, to the shouting boothman and the trying and failing pairs at the dual set of hammers. The attraction was being run by a very familiar looking pony with red hair but no moustache, as he tipped his hat off to the leaving couple.

"Nice try sir and madam, maybe next time, you will in-sync! You two! Yeah, you two blonds, how would you like to give this one a try. Test out your strength and see if you can do it!" Flim shouted to the two once he noticed them. He smirked, as he got on his "game face".

The two blonds were quick to walk over, and listen to Flim as he explained the double bell. The idea was that they had to be able to hit the plank at the bottom in perfect synchronization, was the apparent bid. Flim could help but watch as the two challenged each other in front of him with a grin. Ah simple, simple ponies. Never knowing a scam when they saw one. This was an old attraction him and his brother had found. The thing reacted to true, real-deal sync between two ponies. The very idea that there would be any pair so in sync that they'd-

*DING/DING*

He felt his mouth drop open as the two blondes' bells rung in unison. The bells at the top releasing an amazing chime and sending out purple and blue waves of bell shapes. All those stopped to watch, as did the two blondes below as they put down the mallets. Eyes transfixed, Applejack never noticed Naruto looked at her. The Unique found his eyes transfixed on the profile of his blond farm friend. Seeing her emerald eyes twinkle when they captured the lights sent out by the bells up top, just re-ignited that flame inside him. Understanding more and more of why he found her so beautiful.

Applejack let out a small gasp as Naruto's hand found its way around her own, face heating up, but the smile that got there stayed. So there they sat, two blondes holding hands and smiling like no tomorrow. Never noticing the group of some of their friends hunched up in a corner eying them with knowing expressions.

~X~

They'd found themselves venturing throughout the rest of the festival with eagerness. Whether it be dunking Pinkie...

"Pinkie, what are you doing in there?"

"Hehe, you see! There's a funny story about that!"

...playing more booth games, or just eating more fun food. By the time all was said and done, they and a good portion of the town found themselves by a bit in the central square.

"We'd like to thank all the ponies who came out for the festival today! To finish off the festivities we'll be setting off our state-of-the-art fireworks! Set it off brother!" Flim said, as Flam was on standby with the firework in the tubing.

"On it brother!" With that said, Flam set fire to string on the outside of the tube. With this done, everyone retreated to a safe distance, before the fireworks shot off into the sky. The bursts of lights in various colors and shapes exploded across the sky. Those down below in the square watched in awe as the lights came out.

Naruto and Applejack could only stare up at the sky, as the lights glowed and burst. The fireworks leaving hues on their faces as they went high up into the sky. All the while this was going on, the farm mare turned her head away from the display to look at the blonde beside her, his eyes enraptured in the fireworks above. She smiled at his expression of childish enjoyment before she blushed. Remembering what Spike had done with Scootaloo earlier, she could...maybe do it...herself?

It would just be on the cheek anyway, so with her mind made up, she moved in.

Naruto found his eyes etched onto the sight of the bright lights above, the shapes and colors all the more amazing by the sheer size of it all. He was quick to see a fairly large one that was going up, and turned to Applejack to bring her attention to it, only to receive his greatest, and most pleasant, shock of the night.

Feeling their lips on each others, sent a spark of electricity down their spines, causing both to look to the other in shock. The male of the two looked on, before closing his eyes and pressing forward, Applejack following soon after. That exact moment found the sky lit up with the image of a large flower, each petal a different set of colors, surrounded by smaller ones of various sizes.

Separating from one another, they looked to one another with bright smile even as the display of explosions ended.

"Thank you and goodnight!"

~X~

Naruto looked up from his place on his bed. Eyes trailing the ceiling, as his mind went back to that moment over and over again. He couldn't get the grin off his face, mind in a euphoric state, before he heard the tell tale signs of someone, or more somepony at his door.

Not that he had to guess who.

"You know Jackie, with how often you come in here, ponies could get strange ideas." He said, as he closed his eyes. Hearing the sounds of hooves against floorboard, before he felt the shift of the mattress beneath him. He splayed his arms out on the bed, before he found his left arm occupied by the head of Jackie. Both of them just sat there looking up at the ceiling, Applejack's head on his bicep before moved a hand down on the bed and let it comb through her untied hair.

Seconds. Minutes. They weren't sure how long they stayed that way, before they looked to one another.

"So, what are we at this point?" The question wasn't surprising. Though considering everything they'd gone through by this point, the Unique felt he had the perfect answer. Moving his head forwards towards her own, he pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss, before pulling back. The red face of Applejack met him, though she was fighting hard to not let the smile get to her lips.

"Couldn't think of any words, huh?"

"I'm more of a man of action, so speak."

For all of a moment they just looked at each other, before they laughed. They laughed at the past they shared, the games, the jokes, the challenges, all of it. They laughed at the past that pushed them together and they laughed at the way they danced around their feelings up to this point. They didn't laugh when they got to the memory of the fight they had, deciding to just stare at one another.

"..."

"...Ah'm sorry." The farmer was the first to say it, but Naruto wasn't far behind.

"I am as well." Though seeing Applejack fix him with a stern stare, he set in for the apology. The apology was strongly wordly for sure. She apologized for letting herself get ahead and being riled up by Trixie with the others. Sorry for not talking things out, instead of shouting at him. She went on to say that she hated how she basically made little of his past that she didn't know about. Sorry that she was angry at him for having his own secrets. Sorry that she had basically demanded him of them, when she really didn't deserve to have them told to her. This was where he stopped her, with his own apology.

He was sorry that he didn't try and support her when he knew she was dealing with more than Trixie's taunts. Sorry that he wasn't more understanding, and didn't try and sit down with her about this. Sorry he insulted her. Sorry that he said that she didn't deserve a look into the real him. Sorry that he pushed her away and hurt her the way he did.

By the time all was said and done, they both just embraced and stayed like that for a moment before naruto remembered something. Extending his tail and reaching over and into a draw, by pulling on the handle, he retrieved a set of items.

"After we had separated, I had a lot of thinking to do. I saw fit that to apologize I needed a present." He started, to her surprise.

"Yall didn't need to do that Sugarcube." She said, but he just smiled at her, before presenting to her a pair of earrings. Gold was the metal used to hold the blue gems that sat in its case. The blue crystal glowed slightly, and etched with the symbol of a spiral on the front, with light that filtered through the grooves coming out in slight flickers. Bring her hands up to them, she sent him a questioning look. He grinned, before parting down the collar of shirt to reveal a gold choker, with the same blue gem, but in the shape of a familiar looking set of three apples.

"Thought you might like a matching set." He quipped, as he saw her start to tear up before embracing him more tightly this time. He accepted both the hug and kiss he received after that with as much passion as he was given.

~X~

"I honestly can't thank you enough for this Rarity." And he meant it, as he twisted and turned in the mirror marveling at his new outfit. Rarity waved off his thanks goodnaturedly, eyes watching and observing as the Unique moved about in his new clothes.

Dark blue cargo pants that cut off at the middle shins, adorned with a orange bar on all four pockets that decorated the two pants' legs in total. Following up on that was short sleeve orange shirt, the material being thin, and slightly tight around the blond's upper body. Underneath which was a white tank top. Over that the Unique wore a blue coat with long sleeves and a hood. This was bordered by dark blue, with orange strings around the neck portion, and on the back in orange was his spiral with a pair of Yahiko's own insignia surrounding it on both sides. Last, but not least, were the pair of ninja sandals he'd been able to convince the shoemaker to make with the blond's memory of the footwear helping with the development.

Rarity had also given him a orange sleeveless vest for those days when the blond's coat would be hot for. It holding the same set of symbols on the back as his coat did. Or just for a change of pace, since the blond was sure to apply some of his water symbols to both pieces of clothing.

"Honestly, don't you know its rude to leave a lady waiting Naruto?" This comment caused him to freeze, before he was dashing out the Boutique with his thanks yelled along the way. Once outside, he found the waiting form of Applejack giving him a raised eyebrow, before smiling.

"Lookin' mighty fancy there Naruto. Thinkin' you might be tryin' to impress me or somethin'." She said in jest, one eye closed. He gave her a smile, before moving to her side as they began their walk down the street.

"Oh you never know, when I'm going to have to look my best for you, Sugarcube." He whispered the last bit into her ear, causing her to blush up a storm, before speeding up. He matched her the whole way, before getting a head of her to look at her flushed face, before quickly stealing a kiss and running back to the orchard. He let out a laugh, as she chased after him, gold and sapphire earrings clinking in the wind. The sun glinting off his own gold choker.

~Main Story FIN~

Naruto

Disclaimer: I don’t not own any media, franchises, songs or titles in this story. This is purely for entertainment of the public through non-monetary means.

Read the "Renewal" section down below for what was changed. Alright? Alright.

Chapter 1: His Name is…

~X~

“Please Naruto, bring Sasuke back!”

…

“I never give up, that’s my ninja way!”

…

“Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shikamaru…I won’t let you guys down! I’ll bring Sasuke back if it’s the last thing I do!”

…

“Did you know Naruto? This place is called the Valley of the End. This is the last place where two great shinobi clashed and rocked the ninja world!”

…

“I don’t care about that! You may think nothing of our relationship, but I…I see us as brothers! If this is what it takes, I’ll break every bone in your body and DRAG you back!”

…

“I guess this is it, Naruto”

“Graah!”

…

“NARUTO!”

“SASUKE!”

~X~

His eyes slowly opened. He looked over to his side at the tree walls, expression slightly bitter, before he released a sad sigh.

That dream again, no, that memory of what he was. What he’d originally had.

Gone.

He couldn’t believe how long it’d been. So many years since he gave up on a dream, and any notion of getting back.

13 long years.

~X~

He looked towards the ever mysterious foliage, of Everfree and took in the clearing.

Everfree was not a safe place for the inhabitants of Equestria. Regarded as an area of danger and mystique, this forest was definitely NOT on someone’s place to be list. Much less the areas he was in.

Living in the more dense portions of the forest, he was far more in-the-know about it’s more…dangerous classification of inhabitants. It was like being in the Forest of Death all over again, just…magical.

His large yellow, canine like feet* pressed softly against the grass, as his, (awesome) orange with white tips, twin fox tails kept low to the ground. His position in the bush kept secret from the creature in the middle of the clearing.

It was bug-like, with a dark green exterior. Shaped like a dragonfly in almost all its entirety, save for the weird bulbous orb on its tail end. The orb seemed, to release a soft light every few seconds.

He reached into his full body, sleeveless jumpsuit pockets, his hands rummaging around in the depths of the blue, and orange, clothing as he pulled out a rectangular object.

It was 8 x 5 in., the color being a light teal, with the carving of a spiral in red on its front. He clicked it opened via a button on its side, and peered into the pages within. Multiple scribbles of various make came into view before he skipped several pages and landed on one with a half-finished picture of the insect. His blue eyes, with black slit-like pupils, trained in on the bug Beast before they glowed a light green.
As this happened, lines of blue light traced down to the upper right quarter of his face. His eyes trailed over the bug’s form for 10 seconds, before he closed them. With the image in his mind, he held his hand over the page.

His clawed hand glowed a dull green glow before it died down. Removing it from the page, he took in the now complete image of the bug on paper, and the slew of information jotted down by its side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
General
Height: 2’0
Weight: 18 kg
Attitude: Docile/Wary
Classification: Beast
Habitat: Everfree Forest (Middle)
Frequency: Uncommon
Skills:
Sensory (Mid)
Flight (Low)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He nodded his head, the blond hair on top of it moving to and fro in accordance. He made sure to always keep it cut to his favored length, never too short, but never too long. He pocketed the device, as he pulled up the hood of his jumpsuit to cover his head, his brown and white rabbit ears popping through the holes in the top. With a nod of his head he took off.
He launched himself from tree to tree, careful to avoid weak branches and low hanging obstacles.

He laughed to himself, “That was a good find. Though it was a low class, its fine for what it was”

He tossed himself bodily out of the canopy as he reached an unusual portion of the forest. It reminded him of his past days, and so he kept doing it so he’d never forget.

“To be the Hokage is my life dream!”

It was a river of sorts, spread wide at about 10 meters across. The most notable characteristic of the stream was that about it had a large black stone in the center.

A 3x3 sphere, it merely seemed to stand on top of the water with no form of assistance whatsoever. Though the most notable piece of the riverbed, another aspect of this piece of Everfree was that, looking from where he was on the riverbed, the other side of it looked faded. Like a faded pair of pants’ fabric, and the weird effect seemed to originate from the center of the river where the big obsidian stone was. It was like a weird genjutsu, but he knew better, after all…

He’d crossed it many times before, and he’d do it again.

As a whole, it was a big piece of Everfree that was so surreal, he couldn’t help but stop every time he came to cross it.

He set himself on the tip of the riverbed before a brief glint of light covered his feet, and he launched himself over the river. Mid way as soon as he entered the air over the river, where the wavy was, he plowed through and found his breaths becoming lighter, along with the rest of his body.

Reaching the other side of the riverbed, digging his feet into the forest floor on contact, making a slight trough in the ground where he stopped.

He looked back, taking in the picture of the river again, but unlike the view before. It was a different view that would greet him. The other side looked distorted, instead of wavy. The vision of the other side far more intense and darker in contrast from the view on his side.
He shook his head and turned away, before moving onward farther into the “lighter” territory.

~X~

His feet took him away from the forest of natural, unnatural, environments to a field filled to the brim with apple trees. Far as the eye could see, apples littered every branch and space between leaves.

His eyes roamed the trees in appreciation before running through the orchard. His eyes danced over each tree before he found the one he was looking for. This tree was one of the bigger ones in the orchard. Ranging from maybe 10 to 15 meters tall, and a full 2 meters in diameter, it was a heck of a good tree. Yet, one of the most eye catching things about this tree was a certain carving he etched into the bark.

It was a Pinwheel of sorts. Though each of its “blades” were formed from names, save for the center piece. Going full circle one would hit: Applejack, Big Mac, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith; Going from West, North, East and South respectively. Though the “center” of the pinwheel was made of a big circle with 6 question marks in it. Two of which were crossed out to be replace with letters: “r” and “o”; taking the place of the 3rd and 6th question marks respectively.

It was also where he planned on waiting for them, so he jumped up from one of the nearby trees before launching himself onto another. He continued this 3 more times before he reached the first branch of the bigger tree. From there he swung up higher and higher until he found a nice crook to wedge himself into.

From his perch he waited.

~X~

“…and thank ya kindly! Come again!” Said a tall, orange mare, waving from her stall on Ponyville Square, to the leaving customer.

She let out a smile as she set about to the packing up of the day. That last sale being the final bushel of apples for the day. Wiping away the sweat from her head, being mindful to take her hat off her head, revealing blond hair ending in a ponytail before replacing it.

She went about dusting off her orange plaid, button-up shirt, the short sleeves cuffed. Finishing off her dusting by patting down her pants, jean shorts that came down to an inch past her knees with frayed ends. Coming out at an even height of 6 feet even, Applejack was one of the more exceptional examples of an Earth Pony.

“I’m telling ya Big Mac, that’s gotta be the fastest we’ve ever sold those apples,” Applejack conclude

“Hmm, nope,” responded a rather large, red stallion. If Applejack was an exceptional example of an Earth Pony, than Big Mac was the very epitome of what every Earth Pony wanted to be. Beating even his sister in height at 6 feet, 6 inches, he was one the tallest ponies in Ponyville.
Only beaten out by Bulk Biceps’ 6’10. With short blond hair and donning a red long sleeve, dress shirt, with the arms cuffed up to his elbows showed well-defined arms. With his dark blue worker jeans, Big Mac sat in a chair by AJ’s standing form coming up to past her waist.

“Really? I’d think Ah would remember that,” countered the farm mare, quite sure of her assessment.

Big Mac shrugged, before he began to help pack up the stall for the day. The two finished by early evening, just in time for them to catch sight of a certain purple unicorn, and her dragon assistant, walking down the street.

“Heya Twilight!” Exclaimed Applejack, catching the attention of the Element of Magic and her little brother figure.

“Hey AJ!” The small drake by Twilight’s side respond with enthusiasm. Being about 4’6, Spike was short for his age, being a few years older than Apple Bloom. Wearing a purple sleeveless jacket, with no shirt revealed his light green underbelly. The low portion of him disappearing into his purple shorts, with a hole in the back for his tail.

“Hello to you too Applejack, though Spike you’ve got to remember that we’ve got to get ready for the reorganization of the library.” Twilight greeted the Stetson wearing mare, before turning to her scaly assistant. Twilight herself was currently in an ensemble of white dress shirt, brown skirt & vest. Her hair, dark blue with purple highlights, straight and neat.

“Oh come on Twi, we’ve already organized the library three days ago!” Whined Spike.

“True, but we recently just got the new shipment of Daring Do books, and I want to have those added to the system as soon as possible,” the librarian retorted, making the small drake slump in defeat.

Applejack chuckled at the studious mare, before putting the last empty barrel into the cart. Big Macintosh, holding onto the front ropes, ready to pull.

“Oh so you’re finished for today?” Questioned Twilight, nodding to Big Mac who responded in kind with a “Howdy”.

“Yeah, we had a pretty good sale today and they sold faster than a Pinkie hopped up on Maple Syrup!” Boasted the Element of Honesty. Twilight, while confounded by the analogy, couldn’t help but to smile at the pride Applejack seemed to radiate.

“Hey you okay Big Mac?” They heard Spike asked the red stallion, whom was looking at the sun with a contemplative expression on his face. The two mares shared a look before motioning over to the front of the cart.

“Everythin’ okay over here Mac?” asked AJ. The large stallions seemed to hum for a second before giving her a look of confusion.

“Hmm, ya get the feelin’ that we’re forgettin’ something? Ah just can’t put my finger on it” He frowned.
AJ blinked before scratching her head.

“Well let’s list off what we have to do today. Plowed the fields?”

“Eeyup”

“…Cleaned the barn…”

“Eeyup”

“Dropped off Apple Bloom?”

“Eeyup”

“He’s in the orchard!” shouted a voice.

“Eey-uh?” Big Mac stuttered, before he and the rest looked to where the voice came from.

Coming down the street was an earth pony filly. With vibrant red hair, tied back in a small ponytail with an orange bow, wearing a yellow shirt with blue jean overalls. She seemed to be waving both arms as she ran, before coming to a stop in front of Mac. She came up to about 4-5 inches short than Spike, and looked at them with an urgent expression.

“Bloom?” wondered Big Mac and Applejack.

“It’s Friday, Ah got out early, but that’s not important! He’s waitin’ in the orchard for us!”

The two farmer ponies looked confused for a moment before realization broke out upon their faces. They made haste with AJ and Bloom jumping into the cart before Big Mac started running.

“Sorry Twilight, we gotta go! Faster Big Macintosh, we’ll get him this time!” She urged her brother forward. The group disappearing in a cloud of dust, leaving two shocked beings in their wake.

“The heck just happened?” Questioned Spike. The drake left wide eyed as the farm siblings ran off towards the Acres.

“I’m not sure, Spike,” answered Twilight, but before they could get their bearings, they caught sight of duo of fillies. One an orange Pegasus with dark magenta hair in a short cut with a curl near the end, and a white unicorn filly with purple and pink hair ending in curls. The small Pegasus seemed to stop at the two with the unicorn filly pulling up the rear.

“Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle? What the hay is going on here?” Spike muttered, catching the pair’s attention.

“Oh hey Spike, you haven’t seen Apple Bloom have you?”* Questioned the orange Pegasus, Scootaloo, while Sweetie Belle tried to catch her breath. Backpacks, on both their backs, with Scootaloo holding onto another one, which Twilight assumed was Apple Bloom’s.

“Well they just went all crazy and sort of took off towards Sweet Apple Acres. What’s going on anyway? It’s like Acres was burning or something”

“We’re not completely sure, but we think it has something to do with some guy stealing their apples,” supplied Sweetie Belle as she finally brought her breathing under control.

“Wait what?!” The librarian and her assistant exclaimed in unison.

~X~

“So wait, they have some guy that comes to steal from them every other Tuesday?” Asked a rainbow haired, blue Pegasus named Rainbow Dash. Floating with light flaps besides the group of 5 mares, a dragon and two fillies. Wearing a blue and white, short sleeved jacket over a white tank top, along with black spandex shorts. The Magenta eyed mare, that stood at 5’5 seem to look forward to the entrance of the Acres
with some excitement.

Twilight, after hearing the news from Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, had gone and gathered the rest of her newly made friends to come and help Applejack with her, apparently recurring, Apple Thief.

“Sounds like he could use a good, old-fashioned Dash-whooping, and I’m just the mare for the job,” the Element of Loyalty boasted. Scootaloo rallying behind her, with a complimentary “Hoorah”.

“Ooh, ooh, ooh, is it someone I know?! Wait, that can’t be, I know everypony in Ponyville! *Gasp* Do you think it might be someone new?! Yay! I get to throw another “Welcome to Ponyville!” Party! And so quickly too, considering you just barely came here Twilight!” Rabbled on a pink mare. With a poofy pink mane, and fur, this mare seemed to extrude the concept of happy bubblegum. With yellow jean shorts that came to her knees, and a white and blue striped shirt that revealed slight amount of her navel. Standing at a slightly below average 5’4, with blue eyes that shined with glee, this mare seemed particularly energetic.

“Dearest Pinkie, I don’t think Applejack would appreciate you throwing a party for the thief of her produce,” sounded a white coated unicorn mare. With pristine white fur, polished nails/hooves, and extremely well taken care of hair, anyone could tell this was a mare that enjoyed the classy things in life. With a black skirt that reached just above her knees, a long sleeved black dress shirt and a white vest with gold buttons to finish off her look, this was a mare who adored fashion. Standing as the second tallest of the group at a good 5’9, her dark blue eyes watched every step she made, as they walked past the gates into the farm property.

“Oh I hope they’re nice,” whispered a butter colored mare, as she walked beside the fashionista. Her posture, seemed to curl in herself slightly, a more submissive feel being emitted. With her Green turtle neck sweater, and long brown skirt that reached the end of her calves, this mare wanted little attention placed on her, though with a height of 5’8 (making her the third tallest) that didn’t make it easier. With light pink hair that came down to her back and curl slightly in the front, and teal eyes, she moved with a sort of sluggishness of one less likely to get involved in others business.

“Oh, well maybe I can throw them a “Don’t Steal Apples Anymore” party!” rebounded Pinkie, as she hopped along to the orchard. The group looked towards the Apples’ home taking notice off the fact that no one seemed to be in. Granny Smith wasn’t even at her usual place. Heck, neither was her rocking chair.

Where were the Apples?

Before the question could be vocalized they all stopped as they saw something in the distance. Five figures, one short one, another in a chair and the last three standing being of similar heights, save for one who was leaning against a rather large tree.

“Maybe that’s them and whoever this thief is, can anyone see whose with them?” Proposed Twilight, as her purple eyes zeroed in on them.

“I’m on it!” Announced Pinkie, as she cupped her hands over her eyes and peered into the distance. Strangely enough every time she seem to rotate her hands clockwise and vice-versa, they heard a strange “whirring” sound. With a couple more twists, she let up, though she came back with a sort of bemused expression.

“So what’s the verdict? Whose butt am I kicking today?” pushed the boastful Pegasus.

“Yes, what pony ruffian, will Miss Dash be tossing to the wayside this evening?” Asked the prim mare.

“Unless ponies have rabbit ears, fox tails and wolf feet, I’m not sure Rarity” said the Element of Laughter, as she shrugged her shoulders.
The others looked at for a second, before their brains caught up to what she said.

“Pinkie what are you talking about, there’s no such creature in existence,” stated Twilight’s number 1 assistant, as the rest of them seemed to show some form of agreement to the spoken statement of the drake teen.

“Pinkie are you feeling alright?” Voiced Twilight. The bookish mare giving Pinkie a weird look as of her previous statement.

“Perfectly fine, why?”

“Because what you just said makes no sense. The only creature that even comes close to that description is the Chaos Spirit Discord, and he was taken care of by the princesses some thousand years ago,” the very idea that he came back, being downright ridiculous in Twilight’s mind. As if.

Pinkie pouted at her friends’ apparent disbelief before her face bore a determined visage, “Than go see for yourself!” She announced before she disappeared in the direction of the Apples+1.

The group having no other course of action followed after her. As they got closer they heard the voices of the Apple Matriarch, Granny Smith.

“…and that’s the conditions ya hear? Do both sides agree?” the elder Apple announced.

“Eeyup” Big Mac.

“Darn tootin’” Applejack.

“I was fine before, but this just sweetens the deal, I’m in.” Said the unknown thief?

When they were close enough, they ducked behind some bushes before finally getting a good view of the gather ponies.
Or at least what they thought was just a gathering of ponies.

“Who, or what, in Equestria is that?” Whispered Rainbow, as the group couldn’t help but tilt their heads at the sight that greeted them.

Firstly was the Apple family. With Granny Smith being in her usual attire of orange and green dress, with white collar, but in her hand was a stopwatch.

The Apple siblings seemed to change out of their normal clothes, and into far more athletic attire. With a sort of uniform consisting of dark blue tight top and dark spandex bottoms. Though Apple Bloom wore shorts, while Applejack and Big Mac wore spandex pants and cargos shorts, respectively. AJ having a rolled amount of rope at her right hip.

Lastly was the apparent thief, who took the cake in the unusual looks department, leaning on the large tree in the orchard.Wearing a full body blue jump suit with a hood and no sleeves, the jumpsuit sides were borderline with a thick orange line going from the hood rim down to the pants’ cuffs, the lines swirling inward on the back becoming a spiral. The hood sat firmly on his head, with two white rabbit ears poking out the top. A pair of orange fox tails came out of a hole near the back of the pants, and his feet were canine like. Possibly wolf like, if a comparison had to be made, being yellow and slight large. His arms uncovered, and his hands were clawed, though unlike them (the ponies) he had five fingers to their four. Also the fur around the appendages was scarce, but the skin beneath was black.

Overall, a serious case of “what the heck was he?” ran through their minds.

~X~

The jumpsuit clad being seemed to grin, before he got off the tree and walked over to them. Hands in his pockets he brought out an item. Bringing it to his lips, he blew into it, allowing the object to expand before he stopped and the object gained shape. A ball, red in color, with yellow stripes.

“You have to take these bells from me, before the time limit is up. No bells, no passing.”

“So ladies and gents, stallion and mares, the name of the game is “Keep Away”! The rule of the game is to basically get the ball from me. Rules, I have to have the ball by the time the alarm goes off…” Granny Smith raised the watch in her hand, while the thief nodded, “…to win while all you have to do is get the ball away from me for five seconds or have it by the end of the game. Handicaps! I’ll will refuse to use my hands,” he said, to the astonishment of the crowd in the bushes.

“What?! It’s like he’s basically saying that he could beat them with his hands tied behind his back!” Rainbow whispered hotly, while glaring at the dual tailed thief.

“Maybe he’s just cocky, this seems to be something that he’s done before, considering that apparently he’s stolen from them more than once,” theorized Twilight, as she watched the proceedings play on. Rainbow seemed to glare harder.

“I hope they put this guy on his rear! Then I’ll give him the ol’ one-two,” She said while grinning, as she pantomimed said actions. “Then we’ll see if he ever comes back again.”

“Additional rules!”

“What?!” A muffled voice, shouted.

The group in the clearing looked around wondering where that sound came from…Well the Apple family did, the weird figure just smiled to himself, his ears twitching in one direction.

“…as I was saying, additional rules! The ball rules, to be exact. So whenever the ball is in the air for a time longer than 5 seconds, if you anyone other than me gets it, you win, simple no?” He stated with a tilt of his head.

Applejack seem to frown at this. If anything she felt not only was this unfair, but that it was some sort of show of pity? Pity, of ONE person, against 2+.

“Now hold on one darn second! Are you mocking us, again?! You did this last time when we soccer, where you couldn’t go without letting the ball stay on the ground for more than 5 seconds when you had the ball!” Applejack shouted to the thief. The group in the bushes were surprised, if anything. They thought that Applejack, of all ponies, would technically WANT to have the rules in her family’s favor all things considered.

Twilight found her previous theory about this happening before correct with this statement. Though still she didn’t understand why the Element of Honesty would still push for fairness in this situation.

The only ones of the group who seemed to understand what AJ was pushing for was Rainbow, and surprisingly enough Rarity.

The two ponies understood where AJ was coming from. Rainbow because she knew what it was like to compete against others. No one like it when someone wasn’t giving their best and you win only based on that fact. It was disrespectful, and made your win feel downright unfair.
In Rarity’s case it was because she understood that when one puts effort into something, they want the best result with all variables correct. Since she understood that this had happened before and that AJ was a prideful pony, also stubborn. She wanted her effort to be worth a full return, no matter the consequences.

“No, and must I remind you what happened last time, dearest Jackie?” The thief said, with what was presumable a raised eyebrow, and an amused tone.

The orange farmer mare flushed lightly at this, but grumbled in defeat all the same. Big Mac seemed to scratch under his chin as he looked to the left. Those in the bushes, left out of the loop, were even more confused when Apple Bloom started snickering, while Granny Smith was smiling in her own way, before she spoke up.

“Is that all? Then would the opposition please set the field.”

The hooded figure nodded his head before he reached into his pockets and pulled out what looked like five stones, before chocking them out into the orchard. Each stone landed about 20m from one another in a pentagon, containing the whole field, and even the hiding group.

“Field set up. No exit: Owner and ball,” he stated before lines shot from each stone to the other completing the shape. Also the thief and the ball were lit up for a second, before the glow died down. He nodded towards the Apple matriarch, who hummed, before holding up the stopwatch.

“Time limit: 4 minutes! Ready…”

The Apple siblings tensed, crouched and arms at their sides. Those in the bushes found themselves hunched forward in anticipation.

“Set…”

The mismatched figure seemed to smirk, before keeping his hands behind his back and a quick glint of light later had a set of cuffs on his wrists. The ball fell down into the possession of his tail, being rolled from tail to tail in a show of confidence.

“G- Oh deary, mind making sure the pies in the oven are taken out in time?” Granny interrupted.

All those who tensed found themselves falling on their faces. The thief himself twitched before he stood up, and ran his tail down his face, a nervous smile on his face. Those in the bushes found themselves slumped over at Granny Smith’s interruption. The Apple siblings were no different, though they sighed before Apple Bloom stood up and stepped outside of the stone field.

“Ah got it,” she muttered before taking off toward the household.
Granny Smith nodded before holding the watch up again. Everyone else set themselves back into place again.

“Ready, set...” She started, her eyes shifting to the thief.

He smirked before launching the ball up into the air, just as she shouted.

“Go!” She hit the switch and the watch let out a “Bleep”. Surprisingly, to the group in the bushes, two small rectangles appeared in the air above the stopwatch. One red, one blue. In the blue one they watch s it started from 04:00:00 and counted down, while the red one held a 00:00:00, in its depths.

Play Song: I Get Wicked, Thousand Foot Klutch

The instance the watch went off, the two sides came into action. AJ launched herself forward towards, not the ball, but the thief, with Big Mac setting himself forward towards the ball. The thief shot forward towards AJ, but faster, his hands bound behind him with his legs pumping forward.

Those in the bushes caught their breaths as the two were going to collide, while question the hooded figure’s intentions.

They found out soon enough for when the two were about to run into one another, the thief slid forward the rest of the distance before twisting into the air above the farm mare. Not only this, bit he used her as a platform to jump off of to the ball before snatching it with his right foot. Coming down he met Big Mac’s gaze and adjusted his body to the right, the ball held in the crook of his foot.

Big Mac’s eyes narrowed before he reached his right hand forward towards the figure’s ankle, instead of the ball. The figure gasped before he found himself thrown in another direction. He frowned for a second, as he watched as the ball fell into Mac’s possession.
Big Mac caught the ball and dashed in the opposite direction of the thief.

00:01:04
03:33:59

Those in the bushes were surprised to watch this play by Big Mac. The Stallion taking an aggressive approach such as he did was surprising. Though they watch as the clock went up and were about to cheer before they found themselves dumbfounded.

00:00:00
03:30:23

The group were surprised when the red clock stopped before they looked back to watch in shock as the thief’s foot found purchase on the ball, knocking it out of Big Mac’s grip and catching it with his tail.

“Ho, ho, ho so you DO learn. I’m impressed,” The hooded figure chortled, before he slid back to the right as AJ came barreling past. She stopped and turned around, setting herself next to her brother. They watched the jumpsuit clad male roll the ball between his feet, dribbling it for a second.

03:14:11

“Gotta try harder,” he taunted, before moving towards the Apple siblings. He jumped over Big Mac’s outstretched hands, as he moved forward his hands grasping air as the thief moved in the air above him. The hooded thief was airborne for all of a second before he came down in front of Applejack.

Those in the bushes watched as the two came to an exchange.

Applejack’s right hand went towards the mismatched figure’s shoulder, to which the thief responded by turning to his left dodging the limb. He noticed a small movement to out of the corner of his eye, before he bent backwards, watching as a length of rope past above his form. Those watching as the length of rope lead back to Big Mac, now noticing that the rope at the farm mare’s hip was gone.

“Hiyah!” Came a voice, to his back, causing his eyes to widen. His eyes trailing back to see Apple Bloom coming in towards him, or more likely his tail with the ball in its grip. She latched onto the fluffy appendage, causing him to freeze in place. This allowed Applejack to move fast enough to tackle his mid-section. He was caught off guard enough hat the ball hit the floor. He could see Big Mac making a rush for the ball before he slid towards it, sweeping it up into his arms and moving towards the opposite end of the field.

00:01:23
02:15:22

He needed to get out of this, and did so by bringing his tail, not in Apple Bloom’s possession up to Applejack’s armpit, flicking the underarm swiftly. The Element of Honesty had to let go, to cover her underarms while she laughed raucously.

00:02:59
02:13:46

Moving onto the Apple Bloom, he spun three times before flicking his tail in Big Mac’s direction, sending her soaring. He launched himself after her.

“Incominggggggggg!” Bloom shouted, as she sailed, catching Big Macintosh’s attention. He looked back to see him youngest sister flying towards him, making his eyes go wide before she nailed him in the chest making them fall out of the perimeter of the field and lose the ball,
causing the red timer to stop and reset.

The apple snatcher smiled before holding the ball underneath his feet, leaning forward in smug satisfaction.

00:00:00
02:05:10

The group in the bushes couldn’t help, but watch as this thief seemed to gain back control of the ball. Most of those in the bushes felt their hearts beating out of their chest at the match, the ball switching ownership so often was definitely not good for their health.

End Song~

“They were so close!” Rainbow ranted, as her eyes tracked the ball in the weirdo’s possession. Though she wouldn’t admit to the fact that she wanted to get a go at him herself, if only to just prove she was the best. Her flame for challenge being fanned the longer this game went on.

They watched with bated breath as the Apple siblings reassembled, both sides letting out some breath, but the thief seeming to breathe easier.

The thief looked towards the blue clock as it struck 02:00:00 before he bounced the ball twice with his foot. On the second bounce he kicked it high into the air.

01:45:00

All those watching saw it move higher and higher before it stopped at the height of the big tree, after which it began its descent. The hooded thief gave it a glance before he looked at the clock.

01:42:01

In the next second he jumped to meet it. The second the clock hit 01:40:00, he extended his foot to catch the underside of a pink blur moving out of the tree. With precision he guided the blur towards the Apple participants, before snatching the ball with his tailed and touching the floor.

The blur seemed to stop right in front of the two sides revealing it to be…

“Pinkie?!” Applejack exclaimed, catching the form of Ponyville’s resident party pony. The thief calling a timeout toward Granny Smith, stopping the clock at 01:32:55.

“You’ve been in that tree for a while now, huh? You’re no ninja, but then again you’re better than most. You probably came with that group in the bushes as well,” he said pointing his finger in the direction of the hidden residents. Those not in the know about them glanced towards the bush. The same bush seemed to jump, before several ponies and one dragon came out of hiding.

“What the-what are you guys doing here?” interrogated Applejack, eyes narrowed in confusion. The group form the bushes, looking distinctly nervous, or sheepish. Save for Rainbow who was marching forward towards the thief.

“We came because we heard that this jerk over here has been stealing from you guys and I’m here to make him stop. Via a good ol’ Rainbow Beat down,” stated the Element of loyalty, stopping in front of the thief.

“And who in Tartarus is this chick?” asked the thief, as he leaned away from the rainbow haired Pegasus. Startled once she started poking him in the chest.

“Listen here buster! The second you started stealing from my friend over there was the second you’re timer started counting down.” She said with a smug look.

“Oh yeah? Counting down until what?” He said, before he leaned to the side, watching as a blue furred fist sailed into the space where his head was previously. He stared for a second, before following the length of the arm down to the smirking face of the Wonderbolt-wannabe.

“Towards your imminent plot-kicking!” She finished with a shout before she sent another fist his way. He leaned to the other side, before hopping over the following kick. What followed was a set of movements and reactions. Every punch, he dodged. Every kick, he jumped over. Then every rush, he slid out of the way of.

“Will. You. Just. Stand. Still!” She grunted, and punctuated each word with an action of harm towards his being. After a solid minute of movement, they found themselves back to their original positions.

“Yeah, how about….No?” He threw out lazily. His eyes half-lidded, as he looked at her. This was definitely a throw back to when he’d first started these games with Applejack, and it was probably how Kakashi-sensei was with him.

Oh memories.

~X~

Meanwhile with Applejack and the others, she was being told of what lead up to them being in the bush, or in Pinkie’s case the tree.

“*sigh* Look Ah know you guys want to help and all, but this is a family matter. Besides,” She began, as they all watched the exchange between their mystery thief and Rainbow Dash. Also taking notice of the fact that the hooded individual still held the ball in his grasp, even if Rainbow wasn’t aiming for it.

“…Ah don’t think it would be fair. Heck Ah mean we got enough of a handicap as is,” she finished, as they watch the two come back to stationary positions.

“Come on AJ! This guy is literally getting away with stealing your apples in front of you! You can’t let that keep happening,” Spike supplied, as Twilight nodded beside him.

“Yeah, this isn’t right! We’re your friends, when we work together we can do anything.” Twilight added. The red stallion nodded to this, but frowned a little at this info as he looked to the side. He held a hand to his chin in thought.

“Look, this is different from that! This is different. This is an Apple situation, and Apples take care of their own problems.” She said unmoved, as they moved their eyes to the spectacle.

“You guys can help ‘em, I don’t have a problem with it.” The thief said as he continued to watch Rainbow, all while rolling the ball from side to side before balancing it on his knee and then head.

“Ah said we’ll take you down and find out your name ourselves, and don’t you forget it!” She retorted. The figure in the jumpsuit shrugged, before jumping over a rushing Rainbow, ball following along with him.

“Dearest Applejack, I assure you we have the best of intentions. You can’t keep letting this happen,” Rarity said, as she eyed the clothes on the unknown individual. Her keen eyes categorizing the jumpsuit from top to bottom, before holding her chin in contemplation. Her gaze narrowed as she took in the clothing, something on the tip of her tongue.

Applejack listened them with no small amount of annoyance. She looked back at the thief and then her friends, seemingly conflicted before the hooded creature gave the last nail in the coffin.

“Here’s an idea. Not only will I let this happen, but I’ll us my hands, AND I’ll fill in the rest of my name if you win. Heck, I'll even make it so that I'll help out on the farm one day for every apple I've ever eaten form your trees, since you last beat me” He added with finality, with his mouth running before his mind could catch up. He barely just registered what he said, before his eyes snapped wide with a *crack*, slapping his hand over his mouth.

Kami be damned.

AJ’s eyes widen, along with Big Mac’s and Bloom’s. The Apple filly started jumping up and down to her sister pleading her to let the others help.

“Ya know sis, this might be a good idea. Now Ah know, you want this to be done by us alone, but even you know you want to win. Besides he’s even allowing it, and we get him to stop handicapping himself, didn’t ya say you wanted a fair fight?” Big Mac said, and then elaborated, as his sister sent him a betrayed look.

Applejack seemed to fluster as she took in what they all said before sighing in defeat.

“Fine. Yall can help, but you better keep your end of the bargain mister!” She caved, before walking up to the hooded figure whose grin couldn’t get wider, before poking him in the chest.

“Yah, yeah, when have I ever gone back on my word, huh?” He shot back annoyed, as they assumed he rolled his eyes at her. The two stood chest to chest, showing that he was shorter than the farm mare.

“Whatever, you better watch out cuz this time, you’re going down. You’ll be tilling those fields until your paws drop tired,” she taunted. He crossed his arms, after dissipating the magic cuffs, in front of his chest, ignoring the height difference, and spat back.

“Keep dreaming apple mare, by the end of this little contest I’ll be munching on some delicious Jackie-made apple treats.” He retorted with a smug smile, as she flustered at the nickname. Those in the background tilted their heads, save for those of the Apple family who were smiling discreetly.

‘Jackie?’ They wondered.

“An-Anyway, we’ll show you up in just a moment,” she stuttered for a moment before shaking it off, and walking away with determination in her steps, leaving a smirking thief in her wake.

“Okay guys huddle up! We gotta make this good. Now yall don’t know ‘im, but as you have probably seen he’s quick and mighty agile.” The farm mare summarized, Mac and Bloom nodding at her sides.

“We got this. With all of us, hands or no hands, he doesn’t have a chance!” Loyalty psyched themed up. Everyone else feeling her enthusiasm, the group turned towards their waiting thief. He was tapping his foot on the floor while using his hands to toss the ball back and forth.

“I’m not getting any younger over here!” He stated.

“Hold your horses! We’re comin’, we’re comin’” Applejack said, as they walked over, to the thief’s satisfaction. They turned towards Granny Smith who held the timer.

“Now obviously I don’t need to say this, but no levitation on anyone’s being or the ball, everything else is fair game. That’s the only handicap I’ll be giving you guys.” He said, while spinning the ball on his finger.

The group nodded, after which they got into position. He smiled.

“Ready whenever Granny Smith!” he shouted.

“Alrighty! All of ya, on your marks! Ready…”

They looked to the mystery apple thief with narrowed eyes, save for Fluttershy who gave a worried gaze.

“Get set!”

He stopped tossing the ball, and set it by his right foot. His mouth shifting to a straight line, before he got into a strange stance. His body forward, with his chest facing the direction to the ball. Right hand on the ball by his foot, with his left arm angled behind him to his left.*

“Go!” With that the timer continued.

The Apple team had been set to move, but found themselves dumbfounded as the thief moved from where he was, to in the middle of the group in a matter of seconds, with the ball at his foot. The assembled ponies + dragon barely had the time to scatter, before the hooded thief latched his hands on both Rainbow’s and Rarity’s wrists. Them in hand, he twisted before throwing them in the direction of Twilight and Fluttershy, respectively. He ducked under the moving arms of Pinkie, scooping the ball up in his tail before spinning sideways dodging her follow up rush.

Touching the floor once more he bent backwards till he was parallel to the ground, seeing the muscled arm of Big Mac reaching over him. He adjusted his body towards the stallion, before sliding his foot to the back of the stallion’s forward hoof. He dropped to the floor and pull forward viciously, tripping Mac, before he latched onto the farm stallion’s other hoof and tossed him with a twirl.

Coming to a stand, he came face to face with a butter colored pony in a green sweater.

“Um, if you wouldn’t mind. Could I please have the ball? If you don’t mind?” She asked politely with a stutter. He gave a deadpan look.

“No.” He answered flatly, before he jumped away with the ball in his palm as Applejack came in with a slide.

“Fluttershy, Ah don’t wanna be mean but ya need to TAKE the ball from him,” she spoke, before rushing after the thief once more, leaving the Pegasus with thoughtful look on her face.

“But that would be mean.” She reasoned, with Spike facepalming next to her.

00:47:49

The thief looked around seeing the small fillies and Apple Bloom surrounding him. They rushed with the orange Pegasus filly first, and the unicorn and Bloom following after, respectively.

He walked towards the charging trio of children, sliding to the right after the Pegasus, using his tail to trip the unicorn before tossing the ball in the air, for a moment, and tossing Apple Bloom over shoulder just to catch the ball again in his tail.

“Hey!” Scootaloo.

“Whoa!” Sweetie Belle.

“What in tarnation?!” Apple Bloom finished off as they tripped into a pile. The hooded figure walked up to them with a pep in his step. Before bending down to the filly dog-pile. Them being upside down made it all the more hilarious.

“Maybe another time kiddies,When facing an opponent who’s stronger than you remember that your numbers matter,” he said, before ruffling all three of their heads with his hands & tail with protest on their part, before getting up. Walking away, right into a determined Rainbow.

“Prepare for your imminent defeat,” she stated.

“Oh yeah, by who?” He questioned before he took notice of the fact that there were 3 large piles of leaves around him that burst outwards revealing Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie. He eyes widened for a moment before he skipped backwards from Rainbow who followed him.
Twilight’s horn glowed for a moment before several small rocks in the field glowed lavender. With a mental nudge she tossed them towards him with flick of her head. His eyes trailed the incoming projectiles, before he used his tails to bat them away. Just in time to have his vision overtaken by AJ, who pushed through with an outreaching arm. Caught off-guard again, he titter backwards to regain distance but the damage was already done, as he felt something scaly wrap around his tail causing him to freeze again.

“Pinkie get the ball!” Came the shout of a small drake from behind him.

00:00:59
00:25:45

His eyes found themselves going wide, feeling empty air on the fur of the tail that was supposed to have be holding a ball. He could hear the pink haired one laughing, before the laughter was getting farther away from his location. He fell to the floor with AJ coming after, slamming and removing Spike along the way. He didn’t let that stop him though, because before she could land on him, and probably grapple him in place, he rolled while grabbing hold of her executing a circle throw. Tossing her right into the back of the Element of Laughter.

“Oof!” Came the sound he was hoping for form the pink pony before he dashed after her, Rainbow on his heels.

00:03:59
00:22:45

Noticing the timer still going, he jumped the last length between himself and the fallen Pony pile. It was all in slow motion what happened next.

He touched the ball slapping it out of the party pony’s hands, resetting the clock, before watching as it got taken by a blue fur covered hand.

00:01:13
00:20:12

He watched as Rainbow smirked at him before getting higher into the air. He narrowed his eyes, before he ran towards the trees.

00:03:50
00:18:49

Bouncing from one to the other he flipped form the tip of one to cut off Rainbow. He wasted no time in slapping the ball away from her hands, once more resetting the clock, before watching as she grinned at him. He was surprised to find her tackling him out of the air, away from the ball.

The clock was hitting 00:15:00, was when things got more heated. He couldn’t allow these ponies to get the better of him anymore. In a quick glint of light, his arms were covered in light blue lines. With reinforced strength he pried the Wonderbolts admirer away from his being, and with a quick application of force kicked off a nearby tree branch towards the ball. Grabbing it just as a glowing thread past where it was a second ago, his own glowing arms' brightness dying down.

‘They’re good, I’m actually being forced to put more effort into this than usual. They're a lot better than Team 7 ever was,’ He thought before he found himself grabbed from mid-air by red arms. He didn’t have time to be startled though when he found himself quickly traveling backwards for a painful meeting of head to ground.

With a grunt he tossed the ball back up to his tails, before his arms were covered in light again. Just as his body and head were to meet ground he shot his hands downwards, straining but stopping his momentum. Big Mac’s eyes went wide at this, before they went wider as he felt something glow-y circling his mid-section.

“Have a taste of your own medicine!” He exclaimed before twisting, his glowing tail wrapped around Mac pulling the stallion along before he slammed him into the ground on his back.