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.

1. 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.

1. 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~