Chapters Dear Princess Celestia,
Things here in Ponyville have quieted down tremendously. My friends and I still get summoned by the Map to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria, but the actual goings on in the town is much slower. Although we do have to thank Discord for keeping the days from becoming truly boring; he knows when to pop up to keep us from going out of our minds.
My attempts to convince Sunset Shimmer to return to Equestria for a visit have proved successful. She promised that she would be visiting a week from now. We agreed on an afternoon tea, 3 o’clock. You are invited as well, I am sure that you would like some time to catch up with her.
Now, there is the matter that you entrusted me. There are a few more tests that I would like to subject the mask to before I declare that I do not know what it is. There seems to be some residual magic of some sort hanging around it, even after all these years! It feels much like when the holes between Equestria and Canterlot High were being ripped open.(My other self is still apologizing for that whole affair.)I believe that the relic has something to do with interdimensional travel. Hopefully Starlight and I will have an answer by tea time in a week.
Your faithful former student,
Twilight Sparkle
Princess of Friendship
“There all done. Spike!” The lavender alicorn princess called out for her faithful assistant dragon, but the drake was not there.
“Probably with Rarity. Oh well, guess I’ll just have to do this myself.” With a flare of magic in one movement the letter was bound with a red cord and vanished into thin air.
“So glad I learned that spell.” Twilight thought aloud. Sparing a moment Twilight looked down at the photos on the desk she had been sitting at. So many wonderful memories smiled back at her; from the first group photo that her friends took together through all their adventures that had taught her so much about friendship. There were more than six years of memories displayed in front of her. However, she was slightly saddened when she started getting closer to more recent photos. The unicorn turned alicorn frowned as she watched her figure change over the course of the photos. Before her ascension to alicorn she had stopped growing, but it would seem that the power flowing through her now is causing her to grow more towards the stature of her mentor. Her mane was also becoming ethereal, with star sparkles flashing occasionally. However, Princess Celestia promised that these features wouldn’t become overbearing in their appearance until later in life, but they were still enough to set her apart from most ponies.
Her contemplation was interrupted when the door to her chamber opened. In stepped a unicorn with a pink coat and a predominately purple mane with a blue streak running through it.
“Hey Twilight, the lab is all set up.”
“Thanks Starlight! Thanks again for helping with this.”
“No problem. But I still don’t know what this is.”
Standing up from her desk Twilight levitated a nearby saddle bag over her back and walked out into the main hall.
“I was entrusted with a special research project from the Princesses; an artifact from an otherworldly being.” This got Starlight’s attention,
“Another world? How is that possible?” Starlight asked as they headed for the castle’s laboratory.
“I’m not sure. According to the Princesses our world was visited in the time before the mirror to Canterlot High opened up; but from their description, the visitor sounds like a human.”
The two ponies arrived at the lab. After bolting the door shut from the inside Twilight removed the item from inside, a metal mask encased in transparent crystal.
“Culturists have been able to place the symbols as strikingly similar to Japonies kanji. If it is the same language then we have: earth, heaven, forest, light, darkness, and gate. It radiates a kind of time-space energy, just like when those holes in the sky were being ripped open by my human counterpart.”
“Why is it encased in crystal?”
Twilight became very serious, “Because the power residing in this mask has driven more than one pony researcher insane being around it. The crystal is able to block the mask’s ambient effects, but apparently you shouldn’t look it in the eyes for very long. That is what drove the researchers insane.”
Starlight forced a laugh before turning away from the mask,
“So what are we going to do?”
“First, let’s look over the finds of the other researchers. I’m sure that we can find something that they missed.” Twilight said placing the mask down on a pedestal away from where they were working. The two ponies got talking about the findings of past researchers. Not noticing the eyes of the mask beginning to glow.
A small crack formed in the crystal casing, then another, and another. The cracks spider webbed their way all across the surface of the containment crystal. As each crack formed a strange voice entered the room. Inaudible at first but it grew louder and louder,
“Nekaw eht rewop fo eht stneicna. Tnarg eht nesohc eno eht tfig taht I dloh. Tnarg reh eht rewop ot ssap otni neewteb-ni. Tel reh dnif eht cinomrah lessev. Tel reh dnif eht dlihc.” This phrase repeated itself over and over again.
At first the chanting went unnoticed by the working mares. Their own voices covered over the chanting and the cracking crystal. Eventually both ponies’ ears twitched and looked at each other,
“Do you hear that?” They asked simultaneously.CRACK!
The containment crystal around the artifact shattered completely. Tiny pieces of the crystal flew across the room, but more than a few large chunks hung in orbit around the now free mask. The artifact levitated from its place and turned its gaze upon the lavender alicorn. Both mares were a mix of scared and brave, trying to think of a spell that might work against the mask; however, none were coming to mind.
With a sudden pulse of power Starlight was thrown from Twilight,
“Starlight!” She cried to her friend.
The chunks of crystal floating around the mask turned into molten energy. The substance flew toward the Princess of Friendship, slinking toward her like snakes through the air. She backed away from the incoming tendrils but it was getting harder for her mind to register the incoming energy as a threat. Her flank hit the wall behind her and she came to a complete stop. The burning light completely obscured her vision as it began to encircle her.
At this Twilight felt very light headed and a pressing against her mind. It like was standing up too fast and having your head stuck in a vice grip. In the midst of her sensory bombardment Twilight swore she saw someone standing in the burning light. A human form, their features greatly distorted by the light that they seemed to be a part of; but if Twilight actually saw anyone in the flaming energy it was only for a brief instant.
Starlight was coming around from the blast that had thrown her away from Twilight. She couldn’t bring herself to stand up yet, so she had to lay and watch as the energy surrounded the princess. The burning power grew brighter and brighter until she could no longer look without her eyes hurting. Even behind her scrunched eye lids the light was intense. The chanting that emanated from the mask pounded against her brain until she was certain she could recite the strange speaking by heart.
Without warning there was a crash like thunder, and then, silence. Starlight opened her eyes just in time to see the mask falling. When it made contact with the ground, instead of banging against the crystal floor and bouncing, it shattered like pottery. Breaking into small chunks and dust the mysterious and obviously powerful artifact ceased to exist. Starlight’s mind was racing,
“Metal should not do that.” She said to Twilight, but was met was no response. Worried the unicorn turned her head to where Twilight was supposed to be.
“Oh no… Twilight! Spike! Anypony!” Starlight cried as she hurried to her hooves and out the door. She did not know what happened in the light, but there was one thing that she was certain of, Twilight Sparkle was gone.
It was the day after Naruto’s magical outburst and Twilight was doing the only thing that she could think of doing, staying by the boy’s bedside. She had begged the Hokage to stay by Naruto’s side. Apparently she could still muster the cutie eyes and made the man crack against his better judgement.
There was just something about this boy. It was more than just the presence of the Harmonic forces that drew her to the colt, boy. Despite all the hardships that he had gone through in his short life he still had a warm glow like Celestia’s sun and radiated a peaceful aura like Luna’s moon.
Hiruzen was currently meeting with the village’s council to discuss what would happen now. Twilight didn’t understand why the entire village leadership had to meet to discuss the fate of one child. Perhaps the village laws required a meeting when it came to orphans? Twilight had explained about magic to the Hokage and the event that had happened. She even made a case to become Naruto’s magical mentor.
She knew that she couldn’t just leave Naruto. He had too much untrained power within him. She gathered that the warriors of this world were able to muster a power of their own and they could probably figure out how to teach him; but this was a power that came from Equestria. There was no way in good conscience that she could leave him to stumble through when she could readily teach him how to be as powerful as Starswirl the Bearded.
‘But what about home?’ Came the reoccurring thought.
She didn’t know how to get home, even if she could. She should make some attempt to make it home. Again the thought came,
‘What about Naruto?’
“Oh, I don’t know what to do.”
“Maerd fo sgniht taht thgim eb.” An unknown voice came from behind Twilight. Before she could gather her wits to turn around her eye lids felt very heavy. She laid down on the hospital floor and shut her eyes. Behind her the stranger in the mask stood there. Nodding in satisfaction he approached the sleeping pony and touched the tip of her horn,
“Remember this word, Transverse!”
With a small blink of light the man was gone.
Twilight walked the halls of her castle outside Ponyville. She was on her way to see how her most prized student was fairing. She opened the doors to the practice room to a sight that made her beam with pride. The boy had his hands extended out in front of him, concentrating on a weighted block and had successfully levitated three feet above the ground.
“Well done Naruto.” Twilight praised. At hearing her voice the boy dropped the weight and ran to embrace her in an enthusiastic hug.
“I did it mama! I did it! Did you see how high it was?” Twilight chuckled at her boy’s happy demeanor.
“Of course I saw it Naruto. I would say that you are ready for the next set of spells. But what do you say we go grab a treat at Sugercube Corner to celebrate?”
“Ya!”
It was the middle of the night when a gentle knocking sound came from Twilight’s chamber door.
“Come in,” The door open to reveal a pajama clad Naruto holding onto his little toy alicorn.
“Mama, I… I had a bad dream again.” Maternal sympathy swept through Twilight and she gestured to the spot on the bed beside her,
“Don’t worry my little ninja. I’ll protect you.” Naruto smiled a little and climbed into the bed next to his pony mother. She held him close to her and kissed his head.
“Good night Naruto.”
“Good night mama.”
The scene changed to be in front of a building that must have been in the Hidden Leaf Village. There were many young children listening to the Hokage welcome them to the Ninja Academy. Twilight couldn’t take her eyes off the head of blond hair in the throng of potential genin. A sense of concern and excitement filled her heart. Concern that she wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on her foal at all hours of the day but excited that Naruto was starting a new chapter in his life.
After the Hokage ended his address the new students returned to their parents to say their last goodbyes before entering the academy. Naruto embraced Twilight firmly around her neck and Twilight retuned the hug.
“Be good Naruto and be sure to make plenty of friends.”
“Yes mom.”
“I will be by to pick you up after class.”
“See you later mom.” The two broke their hug and Naruto rejoined his peers as they moved inside the school. Naruto spared a minute to look back at his adopted mother and gave her a thumbs-up,
“Don’t worry mom! I’ll make everypony proud! That’s a promise!”
Twilight was once again standing outside the Ninja Academy waiting for Naruto, but today was a different kind of anticipation than just seeing her son again. The alicorn didn’t have long to wait before the children came out of the building. Naruto was running with the world’s biggest smile on his face. The most prominent feature was the headband engraved with the Hidden Leaf icon.
“I did it mom! I did it!”
Naruto’s back was all that Twilight could see. He was older now, a teenager. Twilight couldn’t see past the shadow beyond him; or was it that he was protecting her from the encroaching darkness?
“Don’t worry mom. I promised that I would protect Equestria and that is what I am going to do!”
Twilight stood on the dais in the castle of Canterlot with the other princesses in full regalia. That feeling of pride and joy was threating to make her burst into tears. Celestia was giving an address but her last words caught her attention,
“Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present for the very first time, Prince Stormdawn.” The two large doors on the far side of the chamber opened wide and music filled the air. Then all at once the vision ended.
“Transverse!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi was having an interesting time. He had just told the entirety that a pony princess from another world had shown up in the Hidden Leaf and now Naruto was blessed with the power of the strongest magical force from Equestria. Yah, that made everyone really believe he had gone senile. If it were not for the testimonies of the ANBU that brought Twilight in earlier and the witnesses of Naruto’s power outburst they may have called the Hokage’s sanity into question. Although, presenting Twilight’s request of mentoring Naruto had more than a few people upset.
“Hiruzen, surely you don’t mean to turn over the village’s most powerful asset to a creature whose loyalties are untested?” The question came from the old war hawk Danzo. He was of course worried that he might lose his chance at educating the jinchuriki himself.
“Danzo, not every new factor in life is going to be a threat to the village. Princess Twilight Sparkle does not have any ill intent to the village.” Hiruzen, “However that might not be the case if she finds out how some of the village has been treating Naruto.” That comment got more than a few people squirming in their chairs. Mostly from those who belonged to the civilian sector.
“We’ve seen just how powerful this new ability is. Just an accidental release under duress shattered every window in the village and took the life of the assaulter.” Came the cool impute of the Aburame clan head.
“Indeed,” Came the response from Fugaku Uchiha, “The police force has had its hands full maintaining the peace.”
“The destruction could have been much worse if the Princess had not been there to stop it.” Hiruzen added, “Which is why I am inclined to take her up on her offer to teach Naruto how to use this new power of his.”
This got a reaction from a good deal of the assembled. Mostly it was surprise,
“How can you be so fast to trust her?”
“You are turning over the vessel to another power?”
This was the general consensus of those in the council room. Hiruzen waited for them to tire themselves out before he took control of the room.
“I of course mean to negotiate with the Princess. This is a chance to open up new possibilities for revenue and perhaps a summons contract if they are capable of such a thing. By doing this exchange we will gain both the promise of a more secure and a more wealthy Konohagakure. “
Most parties could see where the Hokage was coming from, and although there were still a few prejudiced voices of dissent the Hokage’s idea was accepted by the village council. The council was about to disperse when a very out of breath clerk burst through the door holding a bunch of loose papers.
“Sorry my lord, it took a bit longer to find them than what I thought.” Everyone present looked at the disheveled clerk in confusion. When he saw the look of confusion on everyone he pulled one of the loose papers off the top,
“The Clan Establishment Act? The clan that protects children with new bloodline limits and interested adults joining the village? The one that was established in the days of the First?” He ventured not getting any positive response. Letting out a sigh the clerk explained,
“In the days when there were mass influxes of clans with bloodline abilities the First Hokage initiated the Clan Establishment Act. The act gave rights to protect the knowledge pertaining to their abilities from the general public and the right to establish themselves as noble houses in the Hidden Leaf Village. There was one other part of the law that never really came up.” The clerk crossed the room and handed the paper to the Hokage.
Hiruzen read the paper, and then he read it again, and again. Each time the shock on his face grew wider until his shock was replaced with a smile.
“Well then, this makes things more interesting.” The Hokage got up and headed for the door, “If you will excuse me the need to establish our relationship with Princess Twilight has just grown dramatically.”
His smile prevailed on his way out the door,
‘Looks like you will be getting something that you always needed Naruto.’
Reviewing the Past for the Future
Twilight's head and horn hurt as her eyes opened. She was still on the hospital floor. Apparently no one had come to wake her after she fell asleep. She stood up and turned her attention to the sleeping boy. She didn't know if those dreams were visions of the future but they did wake something inside her. As Twilight looked down at Naruto in his hospital bed this feeling swelled in her heart.
'Is this what a mother feels like?' She asked herself. This feeling of wanting to give the entire world to the child before her; to protect him from any harm and danger; to make his life the best that she could; to help him achieve his dreams.
With a gentle hoof she brushed a few stray hairs away from his face and kissed his forehead.
"Don't worry; I will look after you from now on." She said soothingly.
It was at that moment Naruto stirred from his sleep. His eyes opened to sight of the lavender hovering over him.
"It's… It's you."
Twilight was slightly startled at his awakening but her surprise was replace with a genuine smile,
"Hi there, my name is Twilight Sparkle." She introduced herself helping the boy to sit up in the bed so he could be a bit more comfortable.
"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."
"Well Naruto, how do you feel today?" The boy rubbed his ribs,
"A little sore but I think I will be ok." Then he realized something, "My horse! Where is it?" He asked in a panic looking around. Twilight chuckled and walked over to a satchel that rested on one of the chairs,
"You mean this?" Twilight asked levitating the surprisingly similar replica of her from the bag.
Naruto let out a sigh of relief when he saw his prized possession, then he did a double take,
"Wait, how is it floating?"
"Magic Naruto," Twilight explained as she brought the toy closer to Naruto, "Where I come from some ponies are capable of magic. With the right amount of study and practice one would be able to do just about anything. For example,"
The light around Twilight's horn grew brighter as did the aura around the toy pony. Naruto watched in awe as the years of dirt and ware vanished from sight. In a matter of moments the toy alicorn was restored to its original glory.
"That was an application of restorative magic. Makes repairing broken vases a snap."
Naruto's eyes were wide, amazed at what had just happened.
"That was so cool!"
"Glad you think so. Of course there are much larger spells and unique abilities. My mentor is able to move the sun and her sister is able to move our moon." This statement only made the boy more excited.
"That is so awesome! I wish I could do stuff like that."
"Actually Naruto, you can." Twilight stated. This statement only confused the blond boy.
"Huh?"
"Yesterday Naruto I saw you using a great amount of magic. Magic that is just like mine. It will take some time but if you want I can teach you how to use it."
"You mean you want to teach me?" The little boy asked curiously.
"Of course, I haven't seen anyone with as much potential as you. I could see you becoming as great as Starswirl the Bearded; and he is known as one of the greatest users of magic in the history of Equestria. That's my home." Twilight explained.
"In other words Naruto you could learn to be as strong as me." A new but familiar voice said from the door. Both occupants looked at the entry and saw the kind face of the Hokage.
"Gramps!" Naruto cried excitedly. The old ninja chuckled as he came to take a seat on the other side of the bed from where Twilight stood.
"So, Princess Twilight, are you serious about taking Naruto as a student?" Hiruzen asked the pony.
"Of course I am. I would be honored to teach him." To this Hiruzen nodded.
"And you Naruto? I know that this is all very sudden but you are being offered something that will help you become strong." Naruto thought for a minute before looking to the old man,
"Can I still be a ninja like you Gramps?"
"We will just need to check to see if your magic will permit you to use chakra still; but I see no reason why you can't be a ninja."
Twilight wasn't sure what this world's ninja were like but if it was a dream of her potential student she would try not to quell it.
"Princess Twilight, may I have a word with you in private?"
"Sure," Twilight responded.
"Try and get some rest Naruto, we'll be back in a bit." The Hokage told Naruto who dutifully slinked back under the bedsheets. The two grownups proceeded to leave the room and into a private waiting room.
"Princess Twilight, you must understand that there are circumstances around Naruto's birth that make him an important figure to the village's future. This new power of his and your desire to teach him makes things more complicated."
"How so?" Twilight asked.
"For starters, you are an unknown foreign power. Well, your home world is. If Naruto were any other child then certain members of the village council would not be opposed to you teaching him."
"What about Naruto sets him apart from every other foal?" Twilight asked a little agitated. She always hated the political plays made by the Canterlot ponies. It was bad enough when she was Celestia's personal student but with her ascension to the title of princess members of the noble class would seek her favor for a bill they were trying to get Celestia to pass. That was why she liked to spend more time in Ponyville than up in Canterlot. Now there were political hoops to jump through here as well. To be honost she realized that she should have expected this.
Hiruzen looked conflicted until he nodded to himself,
"Princess, what I am about to tell you are counted among the village's highest secrets. I tell you these things in good faith between Equestria and the Hidden Leaf Village as potential allies; and unless I say otherwise not a word of this is to be repeated to anyone, not even Naruto."
Twilight indicated that she understood before he continued,
"Naruto's parentage, if it were made known, could make him a target to the other Hidden Villages. His father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Minato made many enemies who would not hesitate to attack Naruto if his existence was known. To hide him he uses his mother's maiden name of Uzumaki."
"What happened to his parents sir?" Hiruzen was dreading this topic.
"Six years ago a demon attack the village; a giant nine-tailed fox which we call the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Minato fought against the demon, but a being such as the Kyuubi could not be killed by conventional means. So, Minato preformed a sealing technique that bound the demon in the body of a newborn child."
Not missing a beat Twilight realized,
"Naruto."
"Yes. Naruto's parents died stopping the demon. They wished Naruto to be seen as a hero to the village, but that has not always been the case. I have done what I can to ensure that Naruto be able to live life the best I can, but those who know the truth only see him as the demon. The unfinished work of Minato that they wish to see ended."
The newfound maternal instincts that Twilight was feeling suddenly kicked into overdrive. She no longer wanted to just teach Naruto. No, she wanted to get him back to Equestria and raise him there. Never to bring him back to the place that wanted to see him dead. In her anger she must have triggered her magic cause when her temper flared a nearby vase shattered.
Seeing the sudden protectiveness of the powerful being before him Hiruzen attempted to placate her,
"I know Princess, and I do not tolerate such behavior from my villagers. That is why I wish to see Naruto end up with someone who will treat him like any child deserves."
"You bet I will. I will take him as my own son and raise him to the best of my own ability."
"Good. I was hoping you would say that." At this Hiruzen presented the paper that the clerk had given him earlier,
"This is an excerpt from a law that was established when this village was first formed. The law ensured that any clan that was established here was given full rights and protections; including the right to proper guardianship. The Village council is unfortunately biased against Naruto and has made it so that none of the civilian population will adopt him. As for the already established shinobi families, any move on their part to take the boy as one of their own would be seen as an act of aggression."
"How would…"
"Believe it or not this is not the first case of a demon like the Kyuubi being sealed in a human host. There are eight other demon spirits out there, collectively called the Biju. Hidden Villages seal them within human hosts so that the host can draw upon the chakra, the power, of their tenant. These humans are then called Jinchuriki. So to answer your question, any Shinobi that is seen trying to adopt him would be seen as trying to secure the power of the Fox for their own purpose.
"However, now that he has shown a power unique to him and hopefully any future posterity he falls under the protection act; thus allowing him to have someone, or perhaps somepony, to look after him as long as Naruto retains a degree of fealty to the Village."
"You mean that I can adopt him?"
"You can as long as he promises to become a ninja. I would also like to open up a relationship between the Land of Fire and Equestria, to help appease the more narrow minds of the council."
Twilight only had to think for a minute,
"I think that once I establish that I have a method home I can find a way to bring somepony who can make those kinds of agreements on behalf of Equestria. Until then, I think that we can consider each other friends."
The Hokage and the Princess reached out and shook on the agreement,
"Why don't you go tell Naruto the good news and I will work on drawing all the needed paperwork together?"
'For once this will be a batch of paper work that I will do gladly.'
Twilight beamed. A part of her was unsure where all this pent up motherly love was coming from but she was getting a new student and a son so she took it all in stride.
"I will go tell him the good news."
Twilight! You Have Some Explaining to Do
Things in Equestria were hectic. It had been six days since Twilight had disappeared in a lab accident and there was no trace of her. The royal guard were conducting patrols around Equestria and every able bodied pony was being asked to contribute in the search for the missing Princess of Friendship.
Five ponies in particular were in a bind. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were working with the Royal Sisters and Starlight Glimmer analyzing the castle to see what they could find. Even though Rainbow Dash thought her time could be better spent with the other Wonder Bolts in the search, but she had been ordered to wait in Ponyville in case she returned. With nothing productive do (she was never much of one for 'egg head' stuff) the cyan Pegasus paced the halls of Twilight's castle. Being extremely loud about her displeasure,
"This is so lame! We could be out there helping the search and we're stuck here!" She complained to her farmer friend Applejack. The orange Earth pony let out a sigh of her own frustration,
"We know Sugar cube, we know. How do you think Ah feel? Ah have relatives all over Equestria looking for Twi. Heck, even Applebloom is bein' more active in the search than Ah am right now. The only thing that we can do now is wait for somepony to find something."
As if on cue a nearby set of doors were thrown open and there stood the pink Earth pony aptly named Pinkie Pie,
"I found something!" She loudly declared. The two ponies looked at her expectantly only for Pinkie to produce a trombone seemingly from nowhere, "My old trombone, I thought I left it here." She then proceeded to start playing on said brass instrument.
She didn't get five notes in when Rainbow Dash hoofed the instrument away from her pink friend,
"Now is not the time Pinkie! Twilight is missing and we have no idea where she might be!"
"Weeelllll, let's take another look." Pinkie said as she took off at her iconic ridiculous speed down the hall, "She's not here," Pinkie said opening a set of doors. She then proceeded to the next set of doors down the hall, "Not here." Then to next set of doors, "Not here. Not here," Her voice carried on down the hall as she disappeared from sight.
Applejack gave a small sigh,
"Don't let Pinkie get to ya Dash. This is just how she's dealing with Twi's disappearance. She's just being Pinkie Pie.' She consoled Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus took a calming breath before responding,
"I know Applejack. I just can't stay cooped up here in the castle while other ponies are out looking for our best friend."
Meanwhile down the hall with Pinkie Pie, the pink mare was still going through room by room,
"Nope, nope, nope, negative, absolutely not," All of a sudden, she had a strange tingling sensation run throughout her body. The impact this had on her muscles was astounding for it made her shake like a baby shaking a rattle. "Ohhooh, this time is different. But where is it… The Map Room!" Like lightning she shot down the halls, following what her instincts told her to do.
The other two members of Twilight's circle of close friends, Rarity the fashionista and Fluttershy the animal caretaker, were taking turns watching the Friendship Map in case by some miracle Twilight's location would be revealed. With those two ponies was a very agitated young drake, Spike. He had taken Twilight's disappearance the hardest. The purple dragon paced anxiously around occasionally scratching where his budding wings were sprouting on his back. The tension was thick enough that someone could cut it with a knife.
All of a sudden Pinkie burst into the room,
"HI EVERYPONY!" Her sudden interruption sent the room's occupants into a panic. Rarity nearly fell out of her chair where Fluttershy quickly hid behind hers. Spike let out a surprised yelp and let out a burst of green fire.
"Was that really necessary darling? You gave Fluttershy quiet the scare." Rarity gently scolded.
"Oops, sorry Flutters," Pinkie apologized.
"It's… It's no problem Pinkie."
"Sorry. I had this doozy just now and I felt it would be happening here in the map room." Pinkie explained to her two friends. Without another word Pinkie pranced to her place and sat down. With eyes wide she stared at the map. The other occupants could swear they heard the tick-tock of a clock, even though there was no clock to be seen. After a few seconds of this Pinkie cried out,
"How long is this going to take?!"
All at once the map of Equestria started to bubble and shimmer until it turned into a sea of energy. All ponies, and dragon, present all let out a shout of surprise but then fell silent at what they saw next. Something began to rise from the map, a very familiar something.
"Twilight!" Everypony shouted.
Sure enough, on the map table there was a lavender colored alicorn with a very recognizable Cutie Mark. At the moment she had a wing wrapped protectively around something, but at the moment that was secondary to the fact that Twilight was home. Without waiting a moment Pinkie beset her in a tight hug, tears jetting out of her eyes like a drinking fountain,
"We were so worried about you!" She sobbed out.
"Darling, where in Equestria have you been? We've been worried sick." Rarity asked.
"Everypony, please calm down. You're startling our guest." A new voice came from the door. Everyone in the room looked to the door and saw the Royal Sisters and Starlight Glimmer. The two royals walked calmly into the room where as Starlight hurried to find Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
It was at Celestia's comment that made all present in the room to look at the figure that was hidden under Twilight's wing. Twilight smiled and whispered to the one she was holding onto,
"It's alright, these are my friends." Very gently Twilight removed her wing to reveal a nervous and slightly bandaged Naruto. The boy looked around at the baffled group of ponies and gave a small wave,
"Hi," He was unsure how the ponies would react to him. Would they be nice like Twi- like mother? Or would they be like the villagers and be mean to him? But if his new mother was friends with them could they be all that bad?
He suddenly found himself in Twilight's mystic aura as she levitated him down from the table. She followed shortly after making sure he was safe on the ground.
"Everyone, I would like to introduce Naruto Uzumaki. He is my new personal protégé and my adopted foal."
The collective reaction was immediate,
"WHAT?!"
It was about an hour later after Twilight's return and everypony, plus the human and the dragon, were gathered in the lounge. Every seat and cushion was occupied as everyone waited for Twilight to explain what happened to her. Twilight occupied a large pillow on the floor and had Naruto tucked under her wing again, encouraging him to rest. Celestia noticed how protective her former student was being of the boy and decided to bring it up to her later.
With Naruto tucked under her wing, being lulled into a blissful state by his new mother's presence and her warm wing, Twilight began her story. When she got to the part about the power of the Elements being within Naruto those that had wielded the power before took a surprised gasp while Celestia and Luna shared a sidelong glance to one another.
Intermittently Twilight would make a loving gaze to her new son and rub him gently with her muzzle, reassuring him while he slept. Finally Rainbow asked,
"Uh Twilight, I know that you're his new mom and everything but why do you keep doing that?"
"Oh hush up Dash, I think it is quiet sweet." Rarity countered, "A child to love is just what you need darling after Flash…" She quickly cut herself off, very nearly hitting on a sensitive subject. Twilight visibly flinched and held onto Naruto tighter.
"This isn't just for me Rarity. Something happened yesterday in Konoha. I nearly lost him."
"What'ch ya talkin' about Sugar cube?"
"Well, I had been with the Hokage, the village leader, for most of the day, finalizing my adoption of Naruto. I told him to his home and start packing what he wanted to take with us to Equestria. When I was finished I went to go meet him at his apartment when I saw smoke rising from where his apartment was. Not sparing a moment I hurried to his apartment. The building was engulfed in flames. Naruto said that someone pulled him out of the fire before he was injured too badly, but he did get a few burns. Just knowing that I almost lost him… I can't let go of him."
Fluttershy looked like she was on the verge of tears and every other conscious occupant looked shocked,
"I've already lost Flash; I don't want to lose anyone else." Twilight's circle of friends quickly abandoned their seats and took their friend in a group hug, being very careful not to disturb the sleeping child. Luna cast a sad look to her sister who returned it.
The loss of Flash Century of the Crystal Guard was hard on Twilight. The two of them were enjoying a budding relationship about two years ago. Flash was going to request a transfer to Canterlot so he could be closer in case Twilight formed her own guards. However, on an escort mission to Yakyakistan the ambassador was attacked by a monster by the roadside and the procession was never heard of again. Though Twilight put on a strong face her mentor knew that her heart was secretly aching. Perhaps this child was just what she needed to mend the broken heart.
Leaving her seat Celestia approached the group of hugging ponies. She got down low and joined in the group embrace. After a minute the group broke apart and Twilight smile at them,
"Thanks Everypony. It really means a lot."
"By the way Twilight, how did you get back?" Starlight asked.
"Oh, well that whole light show with the mask must have given me the power to move across worlds; at least between Equestria and the Shinobi lands. I don't think it would be a good idea for me to try jumping to other worlds. All I have to do is concentrate on where I want to go and say the word, 'Transverse,' it came to me in a dream if you would believe it. Oh and Princess, the leader of Konohagakure would like to have a meeting to discuss a treaty between nations. Mostly it is for show, to appease some of the nobility of the village."
"Well, once you have your new son settled to life here in Equestria we will need to make a journey to this strange new world. The Hokage actually sounds like an interesting person to meet." Celestia chuckled, "By the way Twilight, who is going to tell them?"
"Huh?"
Celestia shot her former prized student a cheeky smile,
"Your parents of course, and Captain Shining Armor and Cadence. Oh and Flurry Heart is going to be so excited to meet a new cousin, one that is about her age too."
If it were possible for fur to pale Twilight's coat would have faded a few shades,
"I hadn't thought about that!"
Naruto woke up on the pillow still being sheltered by Twilight. He realized that he must have fallen asleep sitting next to his new mother. He was still getting used to having someone who was willing to keep him close all the time, but he didn't mind that she was a pony. In fact he thought it was pretty cool. How many other children say that they were rescued by a magical pony princess? Someone that would give him hugs and holds him close while they fell asleep each night. Someone who insisted that he call her: mother, mommy, mama, or even just mom. And right now, he was going to enjoy being close to somepony.
Twilight must have noticed his stirring because she lifted her wing up a bit and looked down at him,
"Hi Naruto, how are you feeling?" She said with a smile. Naruto rubbed the sleep put of his eyes,
"Alright I guess." All of a sudden a very pink pony was in Naruto's face,
"Hi there, I'm Pinkie Pie. Your name's Naruto right? That's a funny name. Do you like parties? What's your favorite flavor of cake? When's your birthday? Would you like to be friends?" Naruto's young mind was not able to comprehend what had just happened. It all happened so fast and was so pink. Seeing her new son's confusion Twilight explained,
"Naruto, this Pinkie Pie. She is Ponyville's resident party planner. To answer your questions Pinkie: he's never had a party of his own; his birthday is October the Tenth; as for cake, they don't have our kind of cake in the Shinobi lands that I could see; and of course he will be your friend, you're one of his new aunts now."
Naruto was shocked a bit at this revelation. True Twilight had told him about her close friends but he didn't realize that they would be added into his new family. Pinkie on the other hand was having a great internal meltdown. A colt that has never had a party of his own, or had ever eaten cake? This was blasphemy, a transgression against her character that she needed to amend immediately. Without another word she shot from the room in a pink blur, leaving behind a dust trail and a very confused Naruto.
"Don't worry 'bout her Sugar cube, she's just bein' Pinkie." Applejack explained, "Nice to meet ya little feller, name's Applejack. My family owns Sweet Apple Acres here in Ponyville. Ya should come on by some time, give ya a taste of our sweet apple pie." The orange farm mare playfully messed up his hair which elicited a small playful laugh from the boy.
Next up was Rainbow Dash,
"Hey Nar, the name's Rainbow Dash. I'm the cool aunt. I also happen to be the fastest flyer in all of Equestria." She told the boy doing a few summersaults in the air to show off for him.
Rarity took Rainbow Dash's place and introduced herself next,
"Hello darling, I'm your Aunt Rarity. I am one of Equestria's premiere fashion designers. I must say darling that I would love to have you come and model for me, you might be the piece of inspiration that I have been waiting for." Rarity then turned her attention to Twilight,
"You simply must bring him by the shop soon. I must make him his own wardrobe. No nephew of mine is going without a decent set of clothing."
A soft whisper caught the fashionista's attention and she looked back at Naruto,
"What was that dear?"
A bit louder than before Naruto repeated,
"Your mane is very pretty." This brought a bright smile to Rarity's face,
"Oh my, such a compliment." Rarity bent down and gave a small kiss on his cheek. The action brought a tiny blush to Naruto's face,
"Better be careful Twilight. When he is old enough the mares will have a hard time leaving this gentlecolt alone." The comment got a chuckle out of the other ponies in the room but made Twilight pale for the second time that day. She immediately shook her head free of the thought,
"I don't think we will have to worry about that for a while." Twilight said.
"Take it from an older sister Twilight, it happens sooner than you think." Rarity said with a wink. Naruto was very confused at what was going on. When he voiced his concern Twilight just patted his head and said,
"When you're older Naruto."
Finally up came a butter yellow mare with a pink mane,
"Hi Naruto I'm Fluttershy." She said in a very calm voice, "Oh wow, your whisker marks make you look like a little fox." Seeing a visible flinch from Naruto she quickly and rather worriedly added, "I like animals Naruto. I just thought that you looking like one made you cute." Her face radiated her concern. She was worried that she just made her surrogate nephew mad at her. Fortunately Twilight intervened,
"Auntie Fluttershy didn't mean it like the villagers do Naruto. She didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Twilight elaborated. Seeing that his new aunt was a nice mare Naruto got up from his position next to Twilight and did his best to put his arms around the timid Pegasus,
"It's OK Auntie Fluttershy." There was a collective 'aww' from the present mares. Although Rainbow Dash would deny that she did till her dying day.
"And that just leaves big brother Spike." A voice said from the door way. There stood the purple dragon with green spikes, a small pair of wings protruding from his back. In his claws he held a plate full of cookies and cups full of tea for the older mares and a thing of juice for Naruto.
"Thank you Spike, I don't know what I would do without you." Twilight said as the dragon placed the tray down in the middle of the group. Spike then handed the cup of juice and a cookie to Naruto,
"Here you go my little bro Naruto." Spike laughed at his own attempt at rhyming. Apparently it was also amusing to Naruto because he started to laugh as well. It was then and there that Naruto decided that he loved his new family. Some of them might be weird like Pinkie, but right now he wouldn't trade them for the world.
But then the child noticed something,
"Where are the other princesses?" He asked his mother taking a bite into the sweet baked good.
"They had to return to Canterlot. They have to spread the word of my safe return. Starlight Glimmer volunteered to go out and get some needed things for your new room."
"My room?" Naruto was excited at the prospect of having a nice room for once.
"You bet your sweet little blond mane Naruto," Applejack said taking a long dreg from her tea cup, "True it aint goin' to be anthin' fancy right now but as ya get older ya'll be able to make it any way ya want."
"But you'll still need to have a bed and furniture for your room." Twilight explained before munching into one of the cookies. Naruto nodded to show that he understood at least a little about what the grown-ups were talking about.
"Oh that reminds me, Spike," Twilight turned to the dragon, "Please make a note to prepare a diplomat room for whenever the Hidden Leaf decides to send a representative with me."
"Darling is this world hopping business going to take a toll on you? I mean, you're an Alicorn and can handle the trip; but as far as we can tell you are the only one that can make travel possible. Surely you'll wear yourself out doing trips repeatedly." Rarity voice her concern to her princess friend. Twilight nodded,
"Yes, the Hokage and I thought it would be best if we find a way to duplicate the effects of the mask. Make a more permanent portal, like the one to Canterlot High. However, to give me a resting place and for Equestria to establish an embassy, Lord Sarutobi is looking into any available real estate that can be purchased. It can also serve as Naruto's future family compound. He is the progenitor of a new shinobi clan after all."
"I have to say Twilight that these shinobi sound awesome," Rainbow Dash commented, "I can't wait to see how cool your little guy becomes." Naruto blushed a little at the statement.
"I promise that I will do my best to become the best ninja I can!" Naruto declared enthusiastically. This got a positive response from the tomboy,
"Aww yah, that's the spirit! Put 'em there." Dash reached her hoof out for Naruto to hoof bump but it only elicited a look of confusion from the boy. Twilight whispered in his ear, and then Naruto gave the proper response a little unsure of himself.
"Well Twilight, shall we go introduce the little dear to the rest of Ponyville? It will also do the town good to see that you really are back with us." Rarity suggested.
"That's a good idea Rarity. It will also give Pinkie time to get ready." After hurrying with their tea and a few cookies the troop departed the castle. It only was a short walk from the castle to the town of Ponyville. A few passing ponies noticed the lavender Princess coming up the road,
"Hey look! It's Twilight!" One stallion called out.
"She's back! She's really back!" A mare followed.
Soon enough there was a growing crowd in front of the heroes of Equestria. It became a din of ponies expressing their relief for their Princesses' safe return. In the midst of the talking one of the foals saw something hiding behind Twilight,
"What in Equestria is that?" The child's question got the attention of the adults who took notice of the strange creature with Twilight and company. Seeing as there was no more prolonging it Twilight nudged the creature forward so the crowd could get a better look,
"Everypony, I would like you all to meet Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure. He is a human colt that I met during my accidental dimensional travel. He is my new personal student," She then draped a hoof around his shoulder, "He is also my adopted foal." There was a three second pause,
"WHAT?!"
Yah, this was going to take some explanation.
For the third time that day Twilight recounted her story. The assembled populace of Ponyville listened with great intent as their princess told of a world of warriors and of finding a human that was capable of Equestrian magic. For many of the assembled ponies this new life form, a human, scared them. They took courage however in that Princess Twilight trusted him. So with a willingness to give him a chance the crowd dispersed to go back to their lives. Satisfied that they could get on with the tour without much more interruption the group went on their way into the town.
From the shops and homes ponies would call out to the group, welcoming their princess home. They would also shoot glances at Naruto, but they were not the glances that he was used to. Back in the Hidden Leaf the other villagers would focus their gaze full of anger and hate at him. Here however? The ponies were filled with varying degrees of fascination. Some of them had heard of humans from Twilight's journeys to Canterlot High but this was the first time any of them had seen an actual human. Many of the ponies who noticed that Naruto caught their gaze waved and said hello to him.
Their kindness touched the youth's heart as he and his group walked through the town. He immediately decided that this place was much better than Konoha. Twilight pointed out spots of interest to her son as they walked; Rarity's shop, the Apple family stand, Sugar Cube Corner, the school house, town hall, and the site where the town was planning on building a new library.
Eventually they made it back to the castle. By that time Celestia's sun had begun its decent over the west horizon. The mares were all sharing a knowing glance with each other as they came closer to the castle. Naruto was feeling a bit worn out; the tour around most of Ponyville had taken most of the day and all this input was a bit taxing on his mind. He was seriously debating to fall asleep where he sat, riding on Twilight's back. The new mother recognized her son's weariness as gave him a little jostle,
"Try not to fall asleep yet Naruto, I suspect that Auntie Pinkie Pie has something for you."
"Are you sure about that Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked, "I mean I didn't see her at Sugar Cube Corner when we were there."
"You know Pinkie, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said, "Won't let the young colt go until she has properly welcomed to Ponyville."
"True dat," Applejack concurred, "But it'll do the little critter some good." By this point Naruto was very confused.
"What are you all talking about?" He asked his new family.
"You'll see in just a moment." Twilight said as they approached the doors to the castle. The doors slowly opened at first but then were flung open,
"SURPRISE!" A cacophonic blast hit the boy's ears and his eyes beheld the most peculiar sight. There were ponies gathered in the main hall of the castle wearing colored hats. Along the sides of the hall there were tables overflowing with food of different kinds and drinks of at least seven different verities. The most prominent dessert however was a three layer cake sitting under two banners that Naruto couldn't read, but his face decorated one banner in a big smiling face and Twilight's was displayed on the other one. Fortunately for the boy Twilight read them both for him,
"They say, 'Welcome to Ponyville Naruto,' and, 'Welcome back Twilight.'" Pinkie was soon up in their faces,
"So do you like it?"
Naruto was having a sensory overload. He knew that ponies here in Equestria were nice but he didn't realize just how far some of them were willing to go for a stranger. He asked for Twilight to help him down, which she was happy to do. The little boy then proceeded to embrace the pink party pony and cry a little,
"Thank you Auntie Pinkie Pie." The rock farmer daughter's expression changed from excited to compassionate and returned the hug,
"You're welcome," The mare replied before readopting her enthusiastic face, "Now enough with the sad faces. It's time to PARTY!" This got a rise out of everyone present and the welcome to/ welcome back party swung into full gear.
Naruto was introduced to a whole verity of different sweets. Cupcakes, lemon bars, brownies, ice cream, but to Pinkie's pure delight he found his favorite in the chocolate cake. To Twilight's delight he was able to personally meet some of the faces from around Ponyville. He was introduced to the Cakes, along with their children Pumpkin and Pound. There was also Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, all of whom took to Naruto rather quickly. There was even Starlight Glimmer who told Twilight that the furniture company wouldn't be able to deliver till later that week.
Eventually Naruto found Twilight talking to a couple of older mares,
"Ah Naruto, there you are. Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Yes mama. Auntie Pinkie Pie threw us a great party." With a smile and a motion of her wing Twilight drew the human child close to her,
"I am glad you are having a good time."
All of a sudden a chair that a pony was sitting on came to life. To Naruto's amazement the chair started walking away with its occupant. At first the gray Pegasus sitting on it was confused until she decided that the walking chair was fun and started laughing. Naruto could only look on in confusion,
"What is-"
"Twilight!" A new male voice, "I'm so glad to see you safe and sound." The new voice came from above the party and all eyes turned to look. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at the creature before him; it was a hodgepodge of different animals with horns and wings and a long serpentine body. Said being was just floating in midair, without any effort from his wings.
"Discord, where have you been?" Fluttershy asked with a semi stern now named Discord looked at the usually timid mare and shrugged,
"The same thing that everypony else was doing, looking for Twilight. However, unlike the rest of you I was looking in other worlds. Without knowing which world she may have ended up in I had too search them one by one." Discord disappeared in a flash of white light only to reappear next to Fluttershy, "And that my little pony takes a while to do." He then teleported next to the new family,
"So Twilight just where were you…" Discord trailed off when he got sight of Naruto, "Oh my, so what they are saying is true. A human has finally returned to Equestria." The brief silence that followed was broken when Twilight cleared her throat,
"Uhm, did I hear you correctly Discord? You said, 'returned to Equestria,' correct?"
"Oh, indeed Twilight! There was a time that quite a few humans, or human look alike, roamed Equestria alongside the pony. Of course that was when I was a very young spirit of chaos, barely old enough to change a cloud into cotton candy."
"Well then what happen'd to all the humans?" Applejack asked. By now the conversation between the newly established family and tone the spirit of chaos had drawn the attention of every pony in attendance. To the farm mare's question Discord shrugged,
"No one really knows what happened to them Applejack. One day they all just disappeared. Before they did however I was gifted something that has come in handy." Without being asked what the gift was Discord took his talon hand and sliced open a rip in time and space. Looking into it one couldn't see past the swirling blue mist inside the portal but everyone got the idea,
"The power to travel dimensions." Discord clarified in his deep, somewhat menacing voice. With a snap of his fingers the rift closed and Discord's mood changed,
"Oh but where are my manners. I haven't introduced myself to the little angel." Discord got down low till he was at Naruto's eye level. The two gazed into each other's eyes for a good minute. Naruto could feel the mismatched eyes of the intimidating but silly being in front of him bore down into his young soul. Finally Discord broke the contest and smiled even larger than before,
"Hello little one, I am Discord!" The being of disharmony reared back and made an enormous neon sign that looked like it came right out of Las Pegasus appeared out of nowhere flashing the name, Discord. The little boy in Naruto started acting up. To the sudden appearance of the sign and the showmanship Naruto's eyes lit up like stars,
"That is so cool!" Discord heard the boy's compliment and teleported beside him, pulling him in for a side hug,
"I'm glad that you think so my boy. I can tell that you're really going to shake things up here in Equestria, and I like change." With another series of flashes he appeared on the other side of Twilight,
"You certainly know how to pick them don't you Twilight. And knowing you, you'll be earning, 'Mother of the Year,' in no time." With a snap of his talons a white flash appeared around Twilight. When it disappeared Twilight was wearing a T-shirt that said, "World's Best Mom," across the front.
A few ponies laughed at Discord's antics but then let out an aww when they saw that Twilight was not the only one to be on the receiving end of Discord's playful shenanigans; for now Naruto was dressed in a white shirt that read, "I love my mama!" Even though he couldn't read what was printed on his shirt the sudden direction of attention made him feel slightly embarrassed at his current state Naruto hid himself against his mother.
The party went on for a while longer until it was time for Naruto to go to bed. Of course since he didn't have his own yet Twilight offered to share with him, or he could use the room that was set aside for Shining Armor. Naruto decided that he wanted to share, at least for that night. So it was that Naruto was found sitting on the bed in his pajamas waiting for his adopted mother to return.
He didn't have long to wait before Twilight came in levitating a book beside her.
"Well Naruto, did you have a good time at Pinkie's party?" The little blond nodded enthusiastically.
"Yep! Best party ever."
"We will be sure to write her a Thank-You note for giving us a party on such short notice. Now," Twilight moved the sheets back and allowed Naruto to climb in before she did the same, "Are you comfy?" She asked her foal. Naruto adjusted himself until he was in the crook of her wing and firmly pressed against her. Twilight delighted in the closeness that her son wanted, he really did fill the hole that Flash Sentry's disappearance had caused, just with a different kind of love; the love of a family.
Twilight pulled the covers over them with her magic and cracked open the book to the first page,
"I thought you might like a little story about one of Equestria's founders, her name was Clover the Clever." Twilight went on to read from the book that was designed to help foals understand some of the history behind the founding of Equestria. Probably not the most exciting read in the world for a child but her library was lacking in enjoyable fiction outside of the Daring Do series, which was just a bit out of the range that she wanted Naruto to start reading at.
After about fifteen minutes Twilight could feel the gentle rhythmic breathing of her child against her. Twilight set the book aside and dimmed the lights before leaning into Naruto. She didn't know what she did to earn such an honor as being a mother, but she was so grateful for the chance.
Unbeknownst to the loving family there was someone watching them. On the cliff behind the castle the man in the metal mask watched the interaction between the two through a small tare in time and space.
"You know that some might find this a violation of privacy." A voice said from behind him. The man quickly dispelled the rift before addressing the one that had spoken,
"If this were your project, wouldn't you be interested in how it is going?" He asked. Turning around the man came face to face with Discord,
"Oh, you're probably right old friend. Still in the game I see." Discord observed.
"It always was and always will be my game to play Dizzy." The man retorted.
"And now you bring Twilight onto the board. I warn you that she is a friend I will not have her manipulated."
"Such fierce loyalty to your friends Discord? You have changed so much since we last ran together. But do not fear, my intention for Equestria and your friend are pure and my methods are to benefit those who I meddle with."
"So Naruto, is he…"
"Yes Discord, he houses one of the nine tailed beasts. It is an unfortunate but necessary fact."
"How is having a beast that has enough power to flatten an entire city a necessary thing?"
"It will be made clear in time, as are all things. For now though," The man made another gesture and opened the rift again to watch the new Sparkle family as they dreamed happily beside each other,
"It is time to enjoy life's greatest treasures."
Interim
Twilight didn’t know how to feel at the moment. She supposed that the best way to describe way to describe it was anxiety mingled with joy. Her parents were standing at Ponyville station unannounced. She had hoped to have at least a week before having this confrontation; but now things were happening fast. It was Naruto that brought her out of her panicked state.
“Mama, who are they?” He asked watching the two unicorns make their way towards them. Shaking herself free of her stupor she responded,
“Naruto, these are Twilight Velvet and Night Light. They are my parents.” She felt some reservation in introducing them as his adopted grandparents, she didn’t know their opinion on the matter. The mare suddenly felt her heart rate elevate when her passenger slid from her back and run forward to the older ponies.
“Naruto wait!” But the bundle of energy was already putting his arms around Twilight Velvet,
“Hi Grandma! I’m Naruto!” The shock was apparent on her parent’s faces. The boy then extended the same greeting to his new Grandpa. The two elder ponies exchanged looks of surprise before Night Light caught the little boy up in a hug,
“Well hello little guy. I’m your Grandpa Night Light, and this lovely mare next to me is my wife Twilight Velvet, she is your Grandmare. But I suppose you already know that?”
“Come on Night stop hogging the hugs!” Twilight Velvet reprimanded, butting into the embrace and encompassing the blond in a hug of her own.
Relief washed over Twilight seeing her parents react to Naruto in such a way. She sighed and walked over to her child,
“Mom, Dad, allow me to introduce Naruto Uzumaki. He’s the colt from my letter.”
“And he is just plain adorable Twilight.” Her mother told her.
“Perhaps we should head to the castle? I’m sure the little guy is hungry.” Night Light suggested. As if right on cue Naruto’s stomach let out a loud growl. His embarrassment solicited a round of laughter from all present, minus Naruto of course.
On the edge of the Everfree forest there resides a quaint cottage surrounded by different animal shelters. The occupant of said cottage is none other than the kind Fluttershy. Here she tends to her animal friends and help the animals of the Everfree recover when they are injured before they return to their homes in the forest.
Today the butter yellow Pegasus was helping a new addition to her care. Earlier that morning a vixen had come pawing at her door, in need of a place to stay and very ready to deliver a litter of fox kits.
Now there was a new littler of baby foxes taking up residence in the corner of her cottage, with a very frightened Angle Bunny hiding upstairs from his natural predator. Of course, Fluttershy’s attention was on the newborns and their nursing mother. Fluttershy had taken the liberty of draping a small blanket over the new family and was checking if the new mother,
“Is there anything else that you need Misses Fox?” The kind mare asked. The vixen shook her head with a content look on her face.
“Oh, good.” Then Fluttershy’s expression fell. Concerned the vixen barked at her.
“I’m alright Misses Fox, I have a lot on my mind.” Curious, the fox’s expression asked the mare to explain.
“Well, my friend Twilight found a child to call her own. I see how much love the two have for each other and I guess it makes me kind of jealous.”
The fox’s expression changed again and Fluttershy backed up,
“Oh no! I could never be angry at her for having something that I don’t! It’s just that… Well, I think I want a foal of my own. I want to feel the same kind of love; but I don’t know if I…”
A low growl from the she-fox caught her attention. Several minutes passed as the fox lectured her in language only understood by other woodland animals and Fluttershy. When the vixen was done Fluttershy nodded,
“Thank you for the advice. I guess I should make an appointment.” Taking a pencil in her mouth Fluttershy left herself a note: “Make appointment with doctor.”
With a feeling of confidence Fluttershy puffed up her chest, she hadn’t felt this resolved about anything for a while.
“I’m going to do it.” She told herself and all the animals that were listening, “I’m going to be a mother!”
“And that concludes today’s business. Everyone understand what they need to do?” The chief secretary of the Hokage asked all the clerks that served the office. They had been reviewing the schedule for the next day. The Hokage had officially ended his day in the office a few hours earlier but those that served under him had to finish sorting out the approvals and mission requests. Some of these were chunin that were off season of teaching at the academy, but some of them were full time hired professionals.
The group broke apart so they could get to their assignments, heading to their varying offices to file paperwork. One clerk, Kenshi Yakamoto, was the last one to enter his dark office space. He entered the darkened room and flipped the switch. When the lights didn’t come on he came to attention. Trying the light switch a couple more times he closed the door and looked to the dark space,
“I thought we were finished.” Kenshi said into the darkness. Seemingly from nowhere an orb of light came into existence and illuminated the Man in the Mask sitting on the desk that occupied most of the room. When he didn’t say anything Kenshi continued,
“You said that if I presented the village council with that excerpt from an all but forgotten law that you would leave me alone. No more contact until Naruto was much older. That I could live something close to a normal life.” The Man in the Mask finally spoke after Kenshi said this,
“There has been a complication. There are forces plotting to kill you.” Kenshi groaned,
“And I have my involvement with you to thank for that.”
“You volunteered to join up with me. You have no one to blame but yourself for accepting my initial deal for power.”
“Yah, some power. All the good that’s come from it is being stuck behind a desk playing faithful clerk while you and everyone else is out running around having grandiose adventures.”
“We all play a part Kenshi. Many of the others consider yours the hardest role to play. You have to deceive everyone around you into thinking that what they see is what is really who you are.”
Shaking his head at his superior’s stubbornness Kenshi got back to the original topic,
“So just who is it that is out to get me?”
“Mostly Danzo and his men. There isn’t any major gain from your death other than a form of petty revenge. They see you as the reason why Naruto is out of their grasps.”
“In other words you want me to watch my back.”
“I will have something watching you at all times. I’m keeping it in shadow mode until your life is threatened.”
Kenshi’s mind tried to process who or what would want to remain in shadow mode for extended periods. Shadow mode was dimension hopper’s lingo for being in a world but not fully there. It was like being invisible and intangible at the same time, however your view on the world was distorted as well. The experience of Shadow mode drove most insane, to have someone in there constantly…
“Just who or what are you keeping there?”
“Pray that you never have to find out.”
With that the orb of light vanished and the office’s overhead fixtures turned on. With the room illuminated again, just as Kenshi expected, the Man in the Mask had vanished. Letting out a sigh Kenshi moved to his desk and started working on his tasks. Other people thought his job was hard? Tedious was more like it.
At that moment Hiruzen Sarutobi was making his way through the last place anyone would have guessed, the Uchiha district. Under usual circumstances he would have summoned the Uchiha patriarch to his office, but for something like this Hiruzen wanted to show his earnestness in the request. He also wanted to give the family a sense that they were in some degree of power by meeting them on his home turf.
Finally, he reached the house he was looking for. He knocked and a short while later Mikoto answered the door,
“Lord Hokage! What brings you here?”
“Good evening Mikoto, could I speak with you and your husband?”
“Of course, please come in.”
Mikoto led the Hokage into the famiy room where she invited the aged leader to sit while she went to retrieve her husband. Hiruzen reviewed his plan, hopefully this would not only further what they could expect from Naruto, but also diffuse the tension between one of the founding clans and the rest of the village.
It was a few moments before the two returned and took sitting positions across from him. Fugaku was as stoic face as ever.
“Lord Sarutobi, what brings you to my home?” He asked politely. However, the Hokage could tell that there was some of the resentment within him that was building as the distrust of the clan grew.
“Fugaku, I was wondering if you would be interested in a proposition. It is in regards to your son, Itachi.” This made the patriarch raise an eyebrow as the student of the first two Hokages continued.
“Within the next week or two I expect Princess Twilight Sparkle to return from her home land with one of the Diarchy that governs her land. We will establish a trade agreement to fully legitimize Twilight’s adoption of Naruto. As part of that agreement I will insist on a Konoha influence within her homeland. Something to ensure that the village’s best interests are met. As part of this presence, I was hoping that you would permit Itachi to join them.”
The request took the parents of said ninja by surprise.
“Surely Lord Hokage you could just give him this as an assignment, seeing as he is one of the village’s ninja.” Fugaku commented, not seeing the bigger scheme that Hiruzen was playing at.
“Indeed I could. Itachi is a fine ninja. Skilled, loyal, everything that a Leaf ninja should be proud of. There is but one skill he is lacking though for the plans I have for the future. I hope that by having him play a part in the land of Equestria he will fulfill two roles. The first will be to mentor Naruto in the shinobi arts. Help the boy establish the basics of what he needs to know once he comes to the academy. Princess Twilight all but begged for someone to teach Naruto since she very well could not.”
“And the second?” Mikoto asked.
“I want Itachi to learn how to play in an international theater. To learn the rules of diplomacy and how to help your country and people get ahead.”
“Why would you want…” Fukgaku started but then realized the ramifications. Seeing that the father understood Hiruzen confirmed it,
“I want Itachi to become my successor.”
At the Park and In the Dream
Evening was descending upon Equestria. Soon Celestia would set the sun to rest and Luna would raise the moon. Twilight and her family were enjoying this time at the park. Earlier that day Twilight’s parents got the full story of what happened in the Elemental Nations and were now enjoying a surprise picnic dinner in the cool of the evening.
Night Light and Naruto had been playing a game of catch. The game however quickly dissolved into a game of keep away. Unfortunately for Night Light his new Grandcolt had a surprising amount of stamina and the stallion wasn’t as young as he once was. So soon Night Light was breathing heavy and sweating just as heavy. The grandpa collapsed in a comical heap next to his laughing wife and they watched the new addition to their family play on the nearby swing set with his “big bro,” Spike pushing him.
“You were very lucky to find him Twilight.” Her mother commented watching the boy and the dragon laughing together.
“Sometimes I wonder if it was more than luck mom.” Twilight commented.
“Naruto!” The adults all snapped their heads back in the direction of the swinging child only to see the swing was empty with the kid nowhere to be seen. Their concern was focused in a new direction when they hurt a sharp yelp from the missing child. They looked over to the source of the sound to see Naruto rubbing a sore spot on his face. There was a ball at his feet and standing behind him were two very startled looking fillies.
Twilight quickly teleported over and a surge of over protective mother hit her as she inspected her son,
“Are you alright Naruto? What happened?”
“Hey kid! Are you all right?” A young stallion’s voice interrupted. A bunch of young mares and stallions were running over. They were older than Naruto by at least five years and they all wore concerned looks on their faces.
“I’m OK.” Naruto responded to both interested parties, “I’ve had worse.” He said truthfully. He then turned and looked at the fillies, “Are you both OK?”
Twilight recovered from her maternal rush and let herself take in the look of the two fillies, a Pegasus and a unicorn. The unicorn bore a striking resemblance to Fleur de Lis in terms of her slim build and mane style; speaking of her mane and tail, they were a brilliant ruby red with a stripe of orange running through them. Her eyes were burnt orange and had a lovely goldenrod coat, but her flank was blank.
The Pegasus on the other hand was a very light peach in color. Her mane and tale was cherry blossom pink with a grass green stripe running through it. Her mane was very wild with a cow lick covering her left eye. To Twilight’s surprise she had a tornado as her Cutie Mark.
The unicorn nodded before she responded,
“Ye… Yes, thank you.”
“Naruto,” Twilight switched to a more commanding tone to get everypony’s attention, “What happened?”
“Oh, well I saw a ball coming to hit these two fillies and wanted to stop it from hitting them. Next thing I knew I was standing in the ball’s path, and then it hit me in the face.”
“Sorry about that.” Said the spokesman for the group of older children, “One of us hit it just a little too hard and I missed it.” Satisfied Twilight sighed in relief.
“Well, just as long as there was no ill intent.” Twilight stated as she levitated the ball back to the group. The group apologized and went back to playing their game. Naruto turned his attention back to the fillies,
“Hi, weren’t you at the school earlier?” The unicorn nodded,
“Ya, I’m Charmed Symphony, my friends call me Caster; and this is my friend Spring Twister.” Spring Twister looked at Naruto and simply nodded before averting her gaze.
“Sorry about that, she is a bit… shy when it comes to new ponies.”
“Well then she’s in luck, I’m not a pony.” Naruto and Caster laughed a bit at the funny truth. The next words out of Naruto’s young mouth would forever influence Caster’s life forever,
“I like your eyes.” Indeed, Naruto did like the color orange that her eyes were. Caster, being a young girl with a liking for love stories took this a bit deeper than what Naruto may have intended. A blush creeped onto Caster’s face, she did her best to hide it.
“Th… Thanks. I’ve never really been complimented on my eyes before.” She said flustered.
Fortunately for her Twilight’s mind was on other things.
“Naruto, I think you just teleported.” She said pleased and surprised, “We may have to start your lessons sooner than I planned.” This got Caster’s attention,
“Lessons?” She asked curiously.
“Yep, mama is going to teach me how to use my magic!” Naruto said enthusiastically.
“Oh, lucky. I’m going to try to get into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns; but I don’t know if Canterlot is the place for me,” She leaned in close to Naruto and loudly whispered, “My auntie tells me that there are a lot of stuck up nobles.”
Twilight was suddenly struck by an idea,
“You know; I happen to know a pony who was able to go hoof to hoof with me a few years back. I might be able to convince her to give you a few lessons if you want.” This caught the young unicorn’s attention,
“Really? That would be amazing!”
Twilight took stock of the fading light around them,
“Well Naruto, we had better get back to the castle. We have another big day tomorrow.”
“Yes mama.” Naruto then smiled to his new friends, “I’ll see you both around! Bye!”
With that the family departed the park to head back to Twilight’s castle. The two fillies watched as the mixed family departed for home. When the group was out of earshot Spring Twister nudged her friend and said,
“You’re doing it again.”
Caster shook her head,
“What?”
“That silly thing with your face. You need to stop turning yourself red.” This comment got Caster flustered even more,
“Well, don’t you think he is kind of cute?” The blank expression from Twister was all she needed, “Of course you’re not worried about that.”
One of the duties that Luna, Equestrian Princess of the Night, took upon herself was to walk the world of dreams and help the ponies while they slept. Tonight she had a special person she wanted to visit though. She had looked last night for the mind of young Naruto Uzumaki and had only succeeded in finding the door into his mind, but tonight she would one up on her sister and get to know Equestria’s newest and most unique citizen.
It was about midnight when she began her dream walking. She immediately went to the child’s door and entered. Inside was the most confusing dream that she had ever laid eyes on. It looked like someone had taken Ponyville, carved it in half and slapped it with another town altogether. She could only guess that this second village that fought for space was Naruto’s birthplace, Konoha. What made this place even weirder was the fact that the dream was standing perfectly still. Frozen in time and she was the only one unaffected. One other thing,
“Where’s Naruto?”
Back in Ponyville Twilight had risen from her sleep feeling the need to get a drink of water. She glanced under her wing to look at a blissfully sleeping Naruto,
“I’ll be right back sweetie.” Giving him a quick kiss on the forehead she slipped from the bed and covered Naruto with the blankets. As soon as Twilight had left the room Naruto let out a small whimper as his dreams began to be disturbed by the forces within.
“HELP!” A voice rang through the dream plane. The piercing cry was followed by. Luna’s ears perked up in the direction that the sound came,
“Naruto?” She asked, then she realized the distress the voice conveyed, “Naruto!” She hurried into the unfamiliar portion of the dream scape. Listening for the sound of echoing sobs she traced it back to a fenced off section of large trees. Certainly the size of these ancient arbor specimens dwarfed the old and wild Everfree that stood around the old Castle of Two Sisters.
The source of the sound came from somewhere within the trees, so with a powerful bound Luna cleared the fence and took off into the trees. The ancient giants formed a tight canopy overhead, but there more than a few holes in it to allow light through. Even still, the forest was very dark and foreboding, not at all a place for a child. This made Luna wonder,
“How did someone so young get such a place such as this in their mind?” She asked herself as she continued to hurry through the forest.
She burst into a large clearing only to have her hooves submerge into water. Taking a quick stock, she noticed she was now in a bog; but there was something was off about the water. There was a tint of red energy flowing through it. Looking around for Naruto again she saw him, curled up in a hollowed out tree stump. Sobbing to himself and begging,
“Someone, please… help.” The scene broke the dark blue alicorn’s heart. As quickly as she dared she navigated the marshy ground until she was in front of the sobbing child.
“Naruto?” The little boy looked up at the unfamiliar voice and went wide eyed at who he saw.
“You’re one of the princesses.” Luna couldn’t help but chuckle,
“Indeed little one. We didn’t get to really meet when you first arrived. I am Luna, Princess of the Night. It is my duty to… umph!” She was taken by surprise by a hug from the child. She had rarely been shown such affection from foals, the last time it was a hug from Flurry Heart, Cadence and Shining Armor’s child.
“Thank you for coming.” Naruto said. He then looked around at the swamp, “Where are we? Where’s my mother?”
“This is a dream Little One. I possess the power to enter dreams and end nightmares. I wanted to meet you but the best time for me to do that was while you dreamed.” Luna took another look around the bog, “Though this is a strange place for a dream. Tell me, do you recognize it?”
Naruto shook his head,
“No Princess.”
“Strange. Normally dreams are normally made of bits of memory and our thoughts. But this swamp is not of you. It does not feel like you.”
Suddenly a rushing wind ripped through the bog forcing Luna away from Naruto,
“Wha… What’s happening?” A frightened Naruto asked.
“You are waking up Little One. I must leave your mind. I will try to see you again in the waking world!” With that Luna disappeared from view and the world bleached out around Naruto.
Naruto’s eyes snapped open when he felt the weight in the bed shift. In hope he asked,
“Mama?”
Twilight froze in her action before resuming to get back into bed,
“I’m sorry for waking you Naruto. Were you having a dream?” She asked as her sheltering wing came over Naruto again.
“Ya. Do you think Princess Luna ever visits twice in the same night?” This got Twilight’s attention.
“Oh, Princess Luna was in your dreams?”
“Ya, she came and saved me from a bad dream that didn’t feel like a dream to her.”
“A dream that didn’t feel like a dream? That’s odd. What was it about?”
“A swamp with red colored water. The red stuff made me feel scared until Princess Luna showed up.”
Twilight resolved to write Princess Luna and get more details on it later, but right now her focus was on Naruto,
“Think you can fall back asleep?” A tiny yawn followed by even smaller snores was her answer. With a quick kiss on the forehead Twilight joined her son in dream land.
It turned out that Luna would not be joining Naruto again that night. In fact, she spent the rest of the night plowing through the Starswirl the Bearded section of the archives looking for some kind of reference to what the bog might have been. He might not have known much about the realm of dreams but he had some interesting theories about the planes of the mind. However, none of them seemed to match what she had found in Naruto’s mind. She was so wrapped up in her work that she was startled when one of the archive workers set another set of books on the table she had commandeered.
It had been a while since she had stood here. As the sun began to rise it was the perfect time to attempt the crossing, not many students were here at the time. Sunset Shimmer looked at her reflection in the mirror that made up the base of the Wonder Colt statue outside her old high school. True she hadn’t gone far since graduating. She was working on an Associate’s degree at the local community college, but at the request of Principle Celestia and Vice Principle Luna she had turned down applications to universities outside of the region.
“Dear Twilight Sparkle, I wish to know if I can come and discuss something regarding a dream Naruto had. The nature of said dream disturbs me and I wish to find out what it means. Regards, Princess Luna”
Sunset could see the concern form on Twilight’s face. Something in Sunset’s mind wondered how Twilight could grow so attached to the young child so fast.
Sunset was pacing the floor of the library. She momentarily thought of retreating back through the portal and not coming back, but she had agreed to this. She knew that if she ever wanted to get on with her life she had to close old wounds. In this case there was a lot of cleaning to do before it could heal.
The Works of Silver Stem the Bewildering
It was about a half hour later before the reunited mentor and student were able to think of anything besides each other. They were still teary eyed when the rest of the Sparkle family and Luna entered the library. It was then that Luna explained the dream state that she had found Naruto in the previous night.
“After being evicted from Naruto’s mind I spent the rest of the night searching for reference to exploring the mind realms. I was directed to the works of the reportedly insane unicorn Silver Stem the Bewildering. The works of the mage were difficult to understand but I believe I have found a spell that should allow me to better explore his mind and give me additional control of the mental plain.”
“So what will we need for the journey?” Twilight asked. Luna’s ears perked up at this,
“We, Twilight Sparkle?” The dark colored alicorn asked.
“Well he is my son, I want to know what is happening first hand.”
“And it would hardly seem fair to make you bear this burden by yourself sister.” Celestia said.
“I for one would be interested to see such old magic at work.” Sunset Shimmer added.
The rest of the assembled ponies, human and dragon included, expressed their desire to make the journey into Naruto’s mind a group effort. Luna’s face contorted into a look of disappointment,
“I am sorry everyone, but I cannot take you into Naruto’s mind with me.” She said sadly, “The spell that I will be using is too foreign to me to risk a large group. In fact, I am confident to only use the spell on myself at this point.”
There was a general sense of disappointment but all present relented to Luna’s reason. So about fifteen minutes Luna was making her final preparations to enter the child’s mind. The old tome by Silver Stem lay nearby open to the mind walking spell with a curious Twilight Sparkle reading it,
“I can see why many have never heard of Silver Stem before, this stallion is absolutely insane.” The Princess of Friendship stated, “These are more along the lines of a crazy pony then a scholar. Thank goodness the archivist also gave you an annotated version. How anyone could understand these passages is beyond me.”
“Silver Stem was at one point a well-respected mage,” Celestia stated, “During his youth he was heralded as the next Starswirl the Bearded.”
“You knew him sister?” Luna asked curiously.
“Indeed I did Luna. He was one of my first students after I opened my school for gifted unicorns. He was also my personal protégé for many years. He was also my first failing as a mentor.” This got everyone’s attention.
“Princess, wha… what happened?” Sunset Shimmer asked with wide eyes. Everyone could see the Princess of the Sun struggle to find the words to speak her confession,
“I gave him too much freedom of study. He dabbled in strange magic and artifacts; some ponies even accused him of trying to raise the dead. He ran away from my teaching and vanished without a trace until I received a letter from him asking to store his life’s work in the archives. For his sake and my own, I discouraged the inclusion of Silver Stem in any contemporary work.”
Celestia shook her head,
“It seems that I have many skeletons in my closet; but I regret every last one that I was never ever able to help or make amends to.”
This statement made by the princess made a lot of heads hang in sadness for the white alicorn. The mood was broken when Naruto said,
“Well, don’t ya keep on trying?”
The simple wisdom of the child snapped everyone out of the sullen mood and made Celestial smile,
“Thank you Naruto.” The princess of the sun walked over to the child and embraced the little human. Naruto was more than happy to return the embrace; he was not going to pass up any opportunity for a hug. Everyone smiled at the display of affection,
‘His family just keeps growing.’ Twilight thought to herself.
After Celestia ended the embrace Luna resumed her work on preparing the spell. Once it was ready Luna gave her assurance to everyone gathered.
“We should be gone for at least an hour, maybe more. Silver Stem made it seem that time is convoluted when on the mental plain.” Then she turned her attention to Naruto, “I’m going to cast a small sleeping spell. It is dangerous to mind walk when a brain is active. Are you ready?”
Seeing her foal’s small amount of nervousness, Twilight got on the couch and had the boy lean up against her. With his mother beside him the kid nodded his head,
“I’m ready.” With the confirmation Luna lit up her horn with magic. Naruto let out a little yawn and leaned into the pony next to him. His eyes closed and his rhythmic breathing was a telltale sign he was asleep. Luna then touched the tip of her horn to Naruto’s forehead. As soon as contact was made there was a small flash of bright light and Luna’s body remained completely still signifying the spell was in effect.
What went unnoticed by the ponies and dragon in the room was what had happened to the book by Silver Stem. When the light had erupted from the spell working a small bolt of violet energy shot from the pages of the book and into the mind of the unsuspecting sleeping human.
It was completely dark around Luna. Nothing but an empty inky blackness around her; but in spite of the darkness she could still see herself, like she was illuminated by her sister’s sun. Not seeing the young human, she started calling out,
“Naruto! Naruto!”
“The mind you are seeking is not here.” A strange voice said from behind her.
Luna quickly turned about and gasped in surprise at the sight of another pony standing behind her. However, this one did not look like a regular pony. The body build would suggest a unicorn mare with that was made of sapphire crystal. The eyes of the pony startled Luna, those eyes were completely empty. They were simply two white voids. The other strange thing about the pony before her was her mane and tail. They were comprised of pure violet energy.
“Who are you?” Luna asked the strange pony. In a seemingly fake voice the mare responded,
“I was designated as L.O.G.I. Librium Operated Guidance Intelligence. My master created me as a means to store his research notes when he was travelling in the realm of the mind. May I ask your designation?” With her mind a buzz with questions Luna responded,
“I am Luna, Princess of the Night and Moon raiser for Equestria.” L.O.G.I’s face shifted into a confused expression,
“I am unfamiliar with that name. My master informed me that the ruler of Equestria was designated Celestia.”
“I am her sister. I assume by your master you mean Silver Stem the Bewildering?” An image of a tall silver wizard pony materialized between L.O.G.I and Luna.
“My master’s designation is Silver Stem. He has not updated any of my information banks for many cycles. Tell me, what has happened to my master?”
Luna felt great unease, did this life form before her feel sadness? Should she tell L.O.G.I that Silver Stem was dead? Would she even recognize the idea of death?
“Your master is unable to, um, update you anymore.”
“Has my master ceased function?”
L.O.G.I’s emotionless voice and blunt question of confirmation took Luna by surprise, but she nodded her head in response.
“Logical. Master tried to impart the idea of mortality to me. He explained it to me that… death, is a total ceasing of all functions of the body. Last update to me he stated that his functions were becoming slower, that some might cease soon. Factoring the number of cycles since the last update it would make sense that he has ceased function.”
“You don’t seem very sad about your master’s death.” Luna observed.
“My master did not include emotional feeling in my creation. In his last update he began uploading texts about emotions. I have been awaiting more information before integrating emotional reaction into my operating procedures.”
Luna’s next thought was cut off by the sound of humming coming from somewhere in the void. It was the sound of a child humming a little tune. That was when the true purpose of her mission here came back,
“Oh no, I have to find Naruto.”
“Then it is my prerogative to help you.” L.O.G.I stated, “I assisted my master whenever he explored the realm of the mind. I can assist you if you desire.”
Luna only spent a moment in considering the offer to help. She needed to find Naruto and this L.O.G.I was her best bet, that is if her origin was truthful.
“Very well, you may help.”
“Excellent. I believe the emotion that I should be feeling in this case is elation? I am… pleased to return to my original function.”
Luna suddenly became aware of a growing light behind her. Turning around she gazed in awe at what had materialized. A magnificent set of large double doors made of stained glass stood proudly before her. The scene confused Luna a small bit. In the foreground was Naruto; he looked like he was asleep leaning up against Twilight who in turn was allowing Naruto to sleep against her. The two were in the shade of a tree that appeared to be a cherry blossom tree.
“What you see before you is a representation of what occupies the forefront of the subject’s mind.”
“His name is Naruto,”
“Noted, subject’s name is Naruto.”
Luna approached the door and asked,
“How do we enter?”
As if in response the doors swung open revealing a field of white light. Bracing herself Luna approached the wall of light with L.O.G.I following right behind her.
Back in the outside world Twilight anxiously sitting on the couch with Naruto still leaning against her. Twilight’s parents had stepped out to go bring back some food for the company as they waited for answers. Finally, Sunset Shimmer let out a long groan,
“Twilight, you need to calm down. They only started ten minutes ago.”
“Sorry, I am just on edge.”
“We all are my faithful student.” Celestia added moving her eyes off of Luna, “But we must put faith in my sister’s skills, and Silver Stem’s understanding of mind magic.”
This silenced Twilight’s physical apprehensions but her mind remained a torrent of worry. The alicorn princess turned her gaze to the floor in deep concentration. Sunset Shimmer took note of this and decided to divert Twilight’s attention,
“So Twilight, what are the plans for Naruto’s future?”
Thankful for the diversion Twilight began,
“Well for starters he needs to learn to control his magic. Yesterday at the park he demonstrated that he is capable of teleportation.” The new mother said with a not so subtle hint of pride. This statement really caught the attention of the other two mares in the room,
“Teleportation? At such a young age Twi?” Sunset asked incredulously.
“Yep, he did it to protect a couple of fillies from being hit by a wayward ball.”
“It seems we may have a future guard in young Naruto.” Celestia commented.
“If he wasn’t bound for the shinobi forces in the Hidden Leaf Village I’m sure that he would jump at the chance to be a member of the Royal Guards.”
“I see no reason why he cannot be part of both.” The Princess of the Sun stated, “If Naruto receives magical training from you and physical training from a member of the Royal Guard then he can be presented as an Equestrian Battle Mage when he is to enter his village’s ranks.”
“That would really put him at an advantage over his peers. It may just earn a few favors from the village when they see how well Naruto turned out.”
“What about his future education?” Sunset asked.
“Well, most shinobi stop their formal education after they graduate from the academy…” Realization dawned on Twilight’s face and was replaced by horror, “No child of mine is going to stop their education at the age of twelve!”
“You could always enroll him at Canterlot High School.” Sunset jokingly added.
“Sunset!” Twilight exclaimed, “You’re a genius!”
“Umm… What did I do?” Sunset asked.
“I will enroll Naruto at Canterlot High! Well, once he is of age that is. Until then I can continue to teach him here.”
Princess Celestia allowed a gentle smile as her two former students got to talking about curriculum for the young human.
‘Motherhood suits you Twilight. This journey to another world is the best thing that could have happened to you.’ The Sun Princess thought to herself. Celestia took a look at the still forms of her sister and Naruto. Celestia did a double take when she saw tears forming at the edges of Luna’s eyes,
“Luna?” Celestia’s sudden comment drew everypony’s attention to the entranced duo. They too saw the tears coming down Luna’s face.
“Princess, what is going on?” Twilight asked.
“I do not know. Luna just started crying. She must have found something that has upset her enough to reflect on the outside.”
‘Sister, what is going on?’
Far to the north of Ponyville, near the border of Equestria there is the Crystal Empire. A fascinating kingdom protected by the magic of the Crystal Heart. Currently ruled over by Princess Mi Amor Cadenza, otherwise known as Cadence, and her husband Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Guard. They had been in charge of the Empire since the curse placed on the realm broke a few years back. Normally, the great castle in the middle that rose high above any other building was a place of great peace and serenity; this morning however, that was not the case.
For you see there was a pink and violet blur zooming through the halls of the palace. This little blur was laughing uncontrollably as it dodged around the staff, guards, and visitors as it successfully evaded a perusing orange and white unicorn stallion with glasses.
“Princess Flurry Heart! Please! We must get ready to leave!” Sunburst yelled after the young alicorn princess. Even though she had the majority of her rampant power bound when she was a newborn it didn’t stop her natural development over the last three, nearly four years. Her magic was still in check for the most part; it was her flight however that she was endowed in, much to the distress of her mentor and Crystaler, Sunburst.
Like any healthy filly her age Flurry Heart was filled with too much natural energy and an attention span that lasts a minute for every year of her age. Her normal distractions were not available this morning, the servants that normally greeted her in the morning were busy helping prepare for their ruler’s departure. So, it fell to her teacher to keep the princess entertained. Unfortunately, the wizard’s knowledge of magic did not translate well to foal care.
The chase continued through the halls of the castle until suddenly Flurry Heart bounced off a purple spongy magic barrier.
“Flurry Heart, are you giving Sunburst a hard time?” Shining Armor asked making his presence known.
“Daddy!” Flurry Heart exclaimed as she tackled her father in a hug. A huffing and puffing Sunburst caught up and just about collapsed on the ground.
“I’m sorry Captian, she just won’t stay still.” Sunburst apologized. A smile appeared on Shining Armor’s face as he ruffed up his daughter’s hair,
“Maybe I should have the guards chase after you for their morning exercise.”
A new voice broke the conversation,
“That would be almost unfair to them.” Cadence said as she came into the conversation, “Flurry, I know you’re bored but we are getting ready to go see auntie Twilight. Won’t that be fun?” the filly’s face practically grew hearing this news.
“Really? We going to see auntie Twili?” She asked.
“Yep.” Shining Armor confirmed, “All your aunties will be there. And some one new.”
“New?”
“Yep, Twilight adopted a foal.” Cadence said, “That means that you have a cousin now.”
Flurry Heart’s mind started to process this news. Cousins were family members; family members were ponies to play with; ponies to play with equaled fun. When her brain clicked the filly broke into a big smile.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” The little alicorn celebrated while bouncing around, “New friend! We can eat cookies and cake and we can play princess together!”
“Uh, Flurry Heart,” Her father started watching his jubilant daughter, “Twilight didn’t adopt a filly.” With almost an audible screech Flurry Heart came to a stop.
“She didn’t?”
“No, she adopted a colt.” Flurry’s mind went back through the thought process,
Colts, they didn’t like to play the same games as fillies. They were more rough then her filly friends, but they were still fun. She could work with this.
“OK, we can find different games to play!”
“Your highnesses.” A guard in golden armor approached, “The train for Ponyville will be leaving in twenty minutes.”
“Thank you, dismissed.” Shining Armor said, sending the guard off with a salute.
“Come along dear, time to go to the train.” Cadence ushered her daughter. Flurry Heart took off at a happy gait followed by her parents and teacher. In hushed tones the royal couple conversed,
“Should we tell her?” Shining Armor asked.
“We hardly understand what Naruto is ourselves. We should just let her unbiased foal mind make a decision.”
-Ponyville
Back inside the mind of Naruto, Luna was wandering through the mindscape of Naruto Uzumaki. It was much like the dream from the night before, a mesh of the human village and Ponyville, and again no sign of Naruto.
“This is an interesting mind.” L.O.G.I mentioned, “My master never explored a mind so young. Has subject Naruto undergone a major change recently?”
“He was just adopted and moved from another world.” Luna informed the artificial pony.
“Acknowledged. Severe changes in life can often times cause shift in the mindscape.”
The princess and the construct made their way through the shifting landscape looking for the forest from the night before. Sure enough they found it. Its very appearance gave L.O.G.I pause,
“Princess Luna, something is not right about this place. I do not perceive it as any mental phenomena that my master recorded.”
“Are you able to figure out what it is?” Luna asked.
L.O.G.I froze for a few minutes before responding,
“It appears to be a foreign but accepted addition to subject Naruto’s mind.”
“Foreign but accepted?”
“This is not an area of the mind that matches subject Naruto’s own; however, this addition was most likely introduced shortly after birth as such it is not perceived as a threat to subject Naruto’s natural defenses.”
Luna ventured forth into the dense forest and didn’t have to go very far before the ground became the swamp from the night before.
“This place seems to be distilling memories.” L.O.G.I said looking down at the tinted water. Before Luna could ask for an explanation the artificial intelligence elaborated, “This manifestation is showing memories boiled down to their base emotions. Physical contact with the water should reveal the actual memories.”
Luna looked at the water with fixation. It was a self-appointed rule that she was to never disturb the buried memories of whomever she is dream walking with. She would touch the surface memories to understand what the pony was feeling. Now she was presented with an opportunity to see what Naruto’s life was like, better than what he could express with words; but should she delve where she was not invited? L.O.G.I noticed the pondering look on the princess’ face,
“You are facing a dilemma?”
“It is considered rude to enter the memories of someone without their consent. But I wish to understand the colt.”
“Interesting. My Master did not express any such concerns when exploring the realms of the mind before.” L.O.G.I stated. Then before the princess could object the construct touched the waters.
The swampy water stirred and swirled as a window formed within the depths. Next thing that Luna knew she was looking from Naruto’s point of view as he sat in a long dark hall listening into a conversation.
“I’m sorry Lord Hokage. As long as he remains here no one will come to adopt any of the other children.”
This statement made by a woman on the other side of a door that Naruto was sitting next to, Luna realized that this must have been an orphanage. An older voice, weighed down by sad wisdom responded,
“He has nowhere else to go. You know that.”
“I understand that; but his presence here is hurting the other children. They need love just as much as anyone. But nobody loves him, I don’t love him.”
A pang of hurt shot from the memory like a cold wind. The scene changed again and again; and each time it was a memory focused on Naruto being alone, that no one was there to love him. The animosity from the villagers, the outright hate directed at him, the darkening feeling hearing parents telling their children to keep away from him.
As much as Luna wanted to look away from the shifting memories but she couldn’t. The loneliness reminded her of somepony. The questions that underlay each memory viewed, the sinking darkness that she felt, the only fleeting bits of happiness that were just not enough and only made you crave to have more, all of these feelings were all like her own. Her own time before she was Nightmare Moon.
She could understand such loneliness being focused at her. She was Princess of the Night after all and back then was an era of prejudice. Night time was associated with fear and darkness was something to wish away until the coming of the day. She could not comprehend why the people of the village she saw in memory be directed at such a young and innocent child. Unbeknownst to her, her emotions here elicited a tear in her physical body.
“Princess,” L.O.G.I interrupted her thoughts, “I have detected a foreign presence further in. Recommend proceeding to investigate.”
Luna tore herself away from the sight in the water and headed in the direction that her guide dictated. The flow of the water seemed to coincide with the direction they were travelling. Whatever they were going to find at the end of the flow was using the negative feelings of the memories.
After pushing her way through a thick bramble of trees and low hanging moss Luna gasped at what she saw. She didn’t know how it could have been possible, or why it was here, but there it was.
Standing on an island surround by the murky water was a tree. A hole in the canopy above shone a ray of gold light upon it. It was not like any of the other trees in the swamp, and much younger too, just a sapling in size. Despite its diminutive size it was very clear what it one day become. Luna had only seen one other tree like this before.
“The Tree of Harmony? But how could it…” Luna began to question when memories long buried resurfaced. Memories of the strange man in the vault, the man who took a sample of power from the Elements.
“Princess,” L.O.G.I said pointing out into the water to where a stone spire that resembled a lighthouse was sticking out. Drains on the side allow water to flow in to an unseen sewer through the spire. “The presence I am detecting is coming from down there.”
Resolving to revisit the issue of the tree later Luna flew to the top of the tower to where a circular staircase hollowed out the inside of the structure. L.O.G.I simply teleported to where the alicorn had traveled. Without saying a word Luna and her companion walked down into the darkness.
Water cascaded down the walls and flowed down the floor but the place was not flooded as the surface might have suggested. The whole place smelt and felt wrong, it was oppressive. Water sloshed under hoof with every step as the two navigated down the twisting halls of the sewer complex. There was no need for magical light, as a red tinted light that seemed to follow them would keep alight their path for a few yards, never allowing them to see too far ahead.
Finally, the narrow hall opened up into a vast chamber. From the roof massive roots descended down to the floor burrowing into a large shadowed mound. Lines of energy traveled up from the mound, through the roots, changing into multicolored lines as they disappeared into the roof above.
“It would seem that these are the tree’s roots.” Luna stated looking at the scene before her.
“Princess…” L.O.G.I’s next comment was cut off by a deep rumbling.
“I was expecting somebody to find me eventually; but I was expecting my prison keeper, not strange looking horses.”
The voice was deep and powerful like a thunderstorm or the voice of an ancient dragon. There was a great groaning as the mound shifted under the weight of the root system. Accompanying the groaning of wood there was the clanking of chains, not just one link but of many. The next thing that the ponies knew they were looking at two enormous eyes and a row of fierce sharp teeth.
-Elsewhere-
Gentle crashing of waves filled the ears of an equine figure as she walked down a shoreline. There was no sun or moon in the sky, only stars. Not like an inky blackness as is seen in the night sky, but it was more like standing in a nebula looking out at a massive cluster of stars.
The little pony walked down the beach with a cloak and hood covering her entire body, but it was tight enough to reveal a feminine figure and the bumps that were her wings on her back. She was looking for someone, someone that had called for her. Soon she spotted him. A robed figure sitting on a rock with their face shaded by their hood.
The figure on the rock said nothing as she got closer until she was right next to him,
“You called?”
The figure looked up and revealed the Man in the Mask,
“Yes, I need you to be ready to play your part.”
“So soon? I wasn’t expecting to be called in for a few years more.”
“Things have progressed faster than I had anticipated.”
“Faster than you anticipated? I thought you had the power to see the ends of the strings of fate and change them to your desire? Or was that sacrifice you made for naught?”
The man just shook his head,
“I cannot control the individual actions of a person, or pony. I am still subject to the free will of others. Not even the price I paid can free me of that.”
“Fair enough.” She relented, “It would make you too much like a god if you had the power to make a person do what you want.”
“A true god would not force the world to follow their will. But we are getting off track.”
“We are? I guess we are. So what’s the plan?”
From within the folds of the man’s cloak he extracted a glass sphere that had glowing lights like stars coming from within. To most anyone else it would just be a curious sight; but to those who knew, the lights inside contained the address of a particular world.
“Go to this world and wait. Soon enough they will come and I need you there to establish yourself as a face they can trust.”
The mare thought about it for a minute before nodding and taking the orb,
“Understood.” The hooded pony then turned her gaze out to the ocean where the Masked Man was looking before her arrival. The orange and violet tinted sky of stars and gas reflected in the waters with no clear detail, making the sea look like a patchwork of colors,
“Why do you look at this all the time? It can’t be good for your mental state.”
If the man’s face could be seen there would have probably a somber look on his face,
“Sometimes it is good to remember all that you’ve lost. And I have lost more than most. My people, my planet…”
“Your own name?” The pony offered. To this the man nodded,
“Only I remain to remember what I have lost, but there are none
The mare inwardly cringed at his words. Even for all the good that the Masked Man did in the wide cosmos he still felt very much alone; something that she couldn’t fix at this point in time.
“I should go.” With that the mare disappeared into thin air leaving the man alone once again.
Looking up into the sky the man whispered under his breath,
“One day I’ll bring you all back. I promise.” to remember me.”
The Prisoner and the Prison
-The Mind of Naruto Uzumaki-
Of all the things that Luna had prepared for on her journey through the mind of Naruto Uzumaki she had not prepared for this. A creature of some sort being crushed by the roots of a Tree of Harmony sapling. Any sort of distinct features was darkened out in the low light but the red slitted eyes and gleaming teeth served as a good indicator as to the sheer size of the beast before her and L.O.G.I. The creature before them was easily larger than Tirek when he was powered by all the magic in Equestria. Slowly the dim light grew around them until they could see the beast for what it truly was.
"A… a fox?" Luna stuttered out at the sight of the creature.
The massive fox under the roots was a reddish orange color with nine long tails flowing behind it. Even though the weight of the roots had the beast pinned down, each tail, paw and its neck were bound with a grey metal collar and chained by links as large as ancient oak trees to the floor and walls.
Although the appearance of the fox was intimidating, Luna notice something. It looked tired and its fur was matted, like it hadn't been groomed in years. Even the fox's voice, though powerful on its own, was filled with exhaustion,
"So, does not my appearance strike fear into your hearts? Does not my voice make you quake to your core? Stand in awe foolish creatures for I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, or in the common tongue the Nine-Tailed Fox."
It took Luna a moment to find her voice before she responded,
"I am Princess Luna of Equestria, Moon Raiser and sovereign of the night. Are you the one that torments the dreams of Naruto Uzumaki?"
The fox gave a low chuckle at the Princess' response,
"So that is the brat's name? Eh, he has never stood out to me before so I never really bothered to learn his name. But yes, I am the one who disturbs the brat's sleep."
Indignation filled Luna's heart. In her anger she fired a beam of magic at the Kyuubi's face,
"How dare you?! You feel no shame in tormenting an innocent's soul? You have no right…"
"GRRRAAAAHHHH!"
The fox lunged a clawed paw at the Princess for her remark. The speed of the retaliation would have landed a blow on the alicorn if not for what happened next. In mid swing the chain that connected the paw's shackle to the floor glowed a bright yellow before it became incredible shorter than what it was before. The sudden loss of length stopped the attack short. The glowing chain then sent a powerful shock of electricity through the fox that made it roar in agony. The fox collapsed in a heap, looking more haggard than before. It drew ragged breaths and its eyes were shut to push through the residual pain. Seeing the state of the fox suddenly made what should have dawned on Luna before click in her mind,
"You're… a prisoner."
"No right? No right?! I have not held any rights in decades." The fox responded tiredly not hearing her revelation.
"Who did this to you?" Luna's attitude towards the situation had shifted after seeing to what extremes the fox's imprisonment bound it and how easy it was for the fox to be hurt for any kind of rebellion.
"Humans. Humans are always the cause of the pain that fills whatever world they inhabit. They bind me and my brethren, they enslave us and force us to do their bidding. They never consider that we might have more to us then the power of destruction. I hate them…"
"Brethren? There are more like you?" Luna asked not sure if she should feel sympathy for the plight or fear knowing there were more nightmarish beasts like this out there.
"Out of Ten the Nine were made. Given precious names and direction by a father. But now we serve only as the tools to further the cycle of hatred."
The Kyuubi was not making any sense to Luna. The pain was obviously making the monster before her delirious.
"That does not explain why you are tormenting one who is innocent of any crime against you." Luna declared.
"This plant that holds me down drains my chakra to feed itself. I must feed on the anger and resentment of the child to remain alive."
The Kyuubi cocked its head and turned its gaze directly onto Luna again,
"I can smell it on you. You once felt the deepest despair and tasted true darkness It is a smell that never fully fades."
The laugh of Nightmare Moon echoed in the back of Luna's mind but she shook it from her mind,
"I have learned to forgive myself for the sins of my past. It does no good to cling to that pain."
The Kyuubi let out a long sigh,
"Your words carry His wisdom. But I have felt nothing but anger for so long that I cannot let go."
"You're wrong!" Luna exclaimed to the colossus before her, "I tried to plunge my entire world into eternal night and was banished to the moon for a thousand years. When I broke free I tried again to overthrow the world but it was thanks to my friends that I was delivered from my darkness. It was those friends who taught me the greatest lessons to help me truly return from my isolation. If I can return from the darkness, then you can as well."
The Princess' sermon merited a small chuckle from the fox,
"Maybe… Maybe… But perhaps you would see why I cannot let go so easy if you knew my story."
-Castle of Friendship, Ponyville-
It had been too long. Far, far too long and Twilight was getting anxious. The tears had stopped flowing from Luna's eyes for a short while before they resumed releasing their sorrowful waters again. It was sometime after that the eyes of princess Luna opened again.
"Sister!" Celestia exclaimed and rushed over to hug her sister, "What happened in there?"
Luna didn't say a word, not at first. Somberly, the princess of the night rose from her seated position and brought herself into nuzzle a still sleeping Naruto.
"Oh child, to bear such a burden. Why must fate be cruel to you?" She asked with a tear in her voice.
"Princess Luna?" The concerned mother asked. Bringing herself into a more composed state Luna asked,
"Do you mind if I keep him asleep for a while? There is much that he is not ready to know."
Trusting the older royal, Twilight nodded and telekinetically repositioned him so he was laying firmly against her. She then protectively spread her wing out to shelter him.
"Twilight Sparkle, are you aware that there is another entity bound within your son?"
This shocked everypony in the room. But the look on Twilight's face of guilt gave the answer for her. Celestia asked,
"Twilight, why didn't you tell us?"
Her response was filled with the guilt that is felt when a promise they made was accidentally broken,
"I promised the Hokage that I would not tell anypony, or anyone, about that." She turned her attention to the royal sisters, "You were both going to find out after the alliance between Equestria and the Hidden Leaf was finalized."
"Should I step out?" Sunset Shimmer asked, "I mean, I'm not of any high standing here in Equestria." Celestia's response was quick,
"No Sunset, please stay. You might not have any noble status but you are uniquely qualified to deal with humans. Seeing as you have lived among them for many years."
Sunset was not sure if her former mentor was completely sincere about the reason she gave but accepted it anyways.
Princess Luna then launched into a report about her journey into Naruto's mind. Interest was raised at the mention of L.O.G.I. and it was decided to look into the remnant of Silver Stem's work later. There was much shock at the revelation that there was a sapling Tree of Harmony growing within Naruto. Luna then told of her conversation with the fox.
"The beast was surprisingly talkative. I think that having its energy drained by the sapling made it more docile than it normally would have been," Luna explained.
"How could anyone do that to a child?" Sunset asked enraged.
"Because there wasn't much choice." Twilight defended. She then proceeded to tell the story that Hiruzen Sarutobi told her. Naruto's heritage came out as well to help emphasize the difficulty of the choice to seal the Kyuubi inside the boy.
After the story of the fateful night was recounted silence prevailed for a short while. Luna finally spoke,
"Sister, is it wise to expose our ponies to a race so cruel and selfish as humanity? The humans of Naruto's world are caught in a never ending cycle of hate, violence, and revenge. They do not understand what real friendship is; if they do they undervalue its worth. Do we want to have anything to do with them? We could simply not return to the village and change Naruto into a pony. They would never be able to follow."
"Princess Luna! I promised we would come back!" Twilight exclaimed, "More than that, even though the humans of Naruto's world are worse than the ones at Canterlot High it doesn't give us the right to deny them the opportunity of learning about true friendship and harmony from us!"
Luna's expression turned to one of shame,
"I'm sorry Twilight Sparkle, but seeing what the ninja can do has filled me with doubt towards them."
"Perhaps Naruto can help?" Celestia offered, "We have a unique opportunity to help teach humanity how to live in harmony with each other."
The room was in agreement with Celestia's idea. Plans were made to show Naruto the best of pony life and to teach him the aspects that the Elements of Harmony were based on. Twilight couldn't help but smile with even more affection than before at her surrogate son. A nagging thought however prevailed in her mind,
'Oh Flash, you would have loved to help Naruto grow up.'
-Beyond the Edge of the Map, the Land South-
There is only so much of the world that the Ponies of Equestria have filled in on their maps. Even Twilight's magical map only covers the known countries and kingdoms. Beyond what is known by the peace loving Equestrians to the far south there stands a solitary fortress. It is a forsaken place where prisoners of all sorts are kept. Their crimes are various, if they are guilty of anything at all. Oftentimes an innocent soul ends up there when their usefulness or potential usefulness as a slave or hostage is used up.
The corridors are all filled with the groaning of tormented souls, punctuated by the swish and crack of a whip enforcing some kind of imaginary discipline on the prisoners. The stone halls are all stained with dark splotches from unknown eras gone by. If there truly a dark place on the surface of the world it was here. Guarded by Minotaur, Griffin, and a few despot Ponies it stands sentinel on an island that could have once been the center of a great kingdom long ago. Indeed, the garrison of guards that now stood watch over this forsaken place were most likely descended from the ancient army that lived here.
On this night the seas were stormy and foul, churning with whitecap waves. Thunder and lightning roared overhead in the dark clouds. Rain fell in sheets drenching any unfortunate to be outside; and at the moment two minotaur guards were going to be in that category. They were making their way through the main hall heading to relieve the watch outside the gate,
"Can't believe we have to keep watch on a night like this. Waste of resources I say."
"Agreed. No one is foolish enough to come to the prison tonight, let alone attack it. Besides, they'd have to get through the port and all the off duty guys before they even reach this place."
Unlatching the small personnel door on the much larger main door the two walked out in the rain,
"Alright, we're here, go inside and…"
WACK-THUD!
Both of the despicable minotaurs stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the cause of the noise. One of the watchmen, a remarkably sized griffin, had just been pinned to the wall by a shaft of eerie blue fire. The shaft had gone through armor, skin and feather and yet did not look like it had even made a puncture mark on the flesh or iron.
A sudden groan of pain alerted the two to the remaining watchmen. They looked up just in time to see his minotaur companion fall to the muddy ground clutching his throat like it had just been slit. Again, no mark on the skin or blood to show a wound, just the wide eyes of a scared dead man.
In the dim lantern light, the two could see a dark figure standing over the dead minotaur. In his hand they could see what resembled a long dagger made out of the same blue fire that was currently holding the griffin to the door. A sudden flash of lightning above illuminated the intruder and reflected off a silvery mask.
"Normally, I prefer methods of subterfuge and stealth. However, tonight I am in a bad mood. So, I am in need of a catharsis. I will give you a sporting chance however." The Man in the Mask said as his ethereal sword shifted into a bow, "Make your move."
Both were stunned for a few seconds, standing in the door looking at the scene before them. Finally, their courage realized that it was absent and the two hurried back inside, slamming the door behind them.
"We're under attack! Raise the alarm!" One of them managed to call out to the halls of the fortress while the other pulled a lever to release the massive bar to seal the door shut.
No sooner had the bar reached its resting place when the door exploded inwards. Splintered wood, warped metal, and broken stone sprayed the entry hall burying the two guards in rubble. Outside in the weather the Man in the Mask stood with his bow raised, his stance suggesting that he had just fired a shot out of his weapon.
If the cry of alarm from the now dead guards did not rouse the fortress the sudden demolition of the front gate certainly did. Bells started ringing and shouts came from the depth of the prison as the entire garrison came alive. Shouts of, "To your battle stations!" came over the din of the bells as well as the encouraging shouts from some of the more hopeful prisoners whishing that whatever was happening would be the cause of their deliverance.
Without a care the Man in the Mask crossed the threshold. The clatter of armor came closer and a wall of griffin soldiers came into view from the nearest hallway. Not wasting a moment, the bow shifted form into a sickle blade on a chain that disappeared into the Man's left sleeve. In his right hand a blue flame chakram materialized,
"Alright boys and girls, let's dance."
The guards would have sworn that they were attacked by an army. The masked man seemed to be in multiple places at once with weapons dealing out death like a bladed whirlwind; but not a drop of blood fell from the slain. Each victim of the intruder would die in the manner in which they were hit, but their physical bodies were not hurt at all. Finally, the entire garrison, minus a few of the guards still watching the prisoners were trying to push their way into the main hall were the fight was while those within were trying to get out of the way of the swinging weapons.
A deep bellowing came from the back of the crowd. A large black colored minotaur stomped its way forward, long battle scars and tattoos adorning its skin, not caring who got in its way. It leveled its insane eyes at the Man in the Mask and let out a loud bellow before charging. Spotting the minotaur, the Masked Man said softly,
"I think I've let this go on long enough."
The Man reached up to his masked face after dispersing his weapons, not paying any mind that the rampant minotaur was getting closer. With one smooth motion, the Man removed the mask.
"Hsirep!"
The berserker never reached his target, and the guards never saw morning.
*Next Morning*
When the dawn came around the storm had subsided into a steady rain. The prisoners also had finally managed to work the locks off their cells. A few of the stronger brutes were pulling bars apart and others were searching fallen guards for keys to open the other cells. The prisoners had seen their chance for freedom when a wall of blue fire had torn through the halls of the fortress, causing the remaining guards and the more nefarious prisoners to fall lifeless to the ground.
Eventually, the masses of incarcerated ponies had migrated to the front entrance. Their eyes stung in the first natural light that many had seen in many years. One of the Pegasi started pushing his way through the crowd,
"Lad, what ya doing?" One of the older prisoners asked.
"I've got to get back. I have to get back. I have to find her." Was his chant.
"You'll never make it! You can't fly all the way back to Equestria in your state! We'll steal the ship down at port and we'll…" But the Pegasus threw himself into the air, and with driven determination took off into the grey sky.
-Unknown Beach-
Under the nebulous sky the Man in the Mask knelt on his hands and knees, allowing the tide to wash around him. It had been many millennia since he had felt this weak; his supposed catharsis had made him let a little too lose and he had been reckless with his power. It was hard to forget that even with his great power he had limits. It was foolish to remove his mask considering what it did for him.
Dismissing his weariness, he stood and sliced his hand through the air, making a rift appear in the space in front of him. In the rift he watched the lone Pegasus as he flew with all his might.
"Go to her. They both need you." He encouraged.
"Oh so that's where he's been." A voice came from behind the Man, "It's a wonder that he's still alive." The serpentine body of Discord slithered into view.
"Dizzy."
"You should know that she nearly broke when he turned up missing. Everyone thought he was dead."
"His misfortune was not my doing."
"But you still didn't do anything about it." Discord said with a touch of ire in his voice.
"You never asked." The Man responded not taking his eyes off the flying Pegasus.
Discord leveled his gaze right into the Man's concealed eyes,
"He had better make it back." The Spirit of Chaos hissed out.
"He will. I will insure it."
"Good." The mood of Discord shifted suddenly from angry to cheery, "Well, I should be going I have tea with Fluttershy in a few minutes." And with a snap Discord disappeared in a white flash.
"Good luck Discord. She'll be needing your help here soon." The Man said in a hushed tone. He gazed up into the sky and said sadly, "I'm so, so sorry. I've become a monster, haven't I?"
If there was anywhere that Naruto Uzumaki felt safest these days it was being snuggled up next to his mother with her wing covering him, shielding him from the world. There was something reassuring in the darkness that encompassed him every time he was hidden. The heartbeat of the alicorn, the warmth of her body, and the softness of her fur were intoxicating to his love starved heart.
It was like this that he woke up next to his mother on the couch. The older mares were happily chatting about something with the occasional clatter of dishes. Whatever was going on outside his comfort zone was not directed at him so Naruto decided press himself closer into Twilight. His stirring must have alerted Twilight because the wing lifted a bit to let her face poke in,
“Have a nice nap?”
“Yes Mama. Did Princess Luna find what was wrong?”
“Why don’t I let you ask her?” Without another word, Twilight withdrew the wing from over Naruto and helped him sit up. The others in the room had plates of cookies and cups of tea floating in air, being held up by magic. Seeing the boy alert, Princess Luna sat her tea down and approached Naruto.
“Hi auntie Luna! Did you find what you were looking for?” He asked happily.
“In a way, yes. I did find what was causing your nightmares.” Naruto looked up with big eyes.
“Naruto, it’s actually something we can’t really talk about.” Twilight interjected, “Lord Hokage made me promise that I wouldn’t tell you some things about you until you are older.”
Naruto looked at his mother, hurt that she was keeping secrets from him,
“Why would he do that? Why would you do that?”
“Your mother doesn’t want to hurt you Naruto.” Celestia intervened for her student, “Sometimes we withhold information from those we love because it would hurt them.”
“The things that the Hokage told me were meant to be told when you are older. That way you would be able to understand what was being told you.” Twilight finished giving him a gentle nuzzle, “But I can tell you that you are special in more than one way. You have a marvelous future ahead of you and we are all here to help you reach it.”
Then as a personal gesture Twilight leaned in close and whispered,
“And I am the luckiest mare in the world to be your mother.” She then planted a kiss on his forehead.
Mollified, Naruto leaned into his mother’s affection,
“You promise to tell me when I’m older?”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Twilight promised.
Just then the doors to the library opened and Twilight’s parents stuck their heads in,
“Twilight we’re back!” Night Light announced.
“And look who we found while we were out.” Twilight Velvet said as she opened the door wider to reveal three faces that Twilight knew very well.
“Twili!” Shining Amor exclaimed.
“Cadence! Shining Amor!” Twilight happily yelled as she hopped off the couch to greet her family. Twilight hugged them both when she felt a tug on her mane. Looking down Twilight gave her niece Flurry Heart a hug as well. Then came the question came,
“Auntie Twili, where is my new cousin?” The little alicorn almost demanded of the older mare.
“He’s right over here. Naruto, please come here sweetie.” Perfectly obedient, Naruto came and stood in front of Twilight facing the ruling family of the Crystal Empire.
“Naruto, this is my brother Shining Armor and his wife Cadence; and this is Flurry Heart. These are more members of your family.”
As soon as she laid eyes on Naruto, Flurry Heart’s mind was working overtime,
‘Hm, Mommy and Daddy said he was a colt. He doesn’t look like a pony. Does that mean he will be less fun? Auntie Twili likes him, and it looks like Mommy and Daddy do too. He is family now, I guess. Can I work with this? He looks like he can be lots of fun to climb when he gets bigger. I guess he can be fun. He is family, family gets hugs.’
No one in the room was prepared for Flurry Heart’s action,
“Cousin!” With a burst of speed the little alicorn propelled herself from where she stood by the door and full on tackled Naruto in the chest. The force of impact was enough to topple the boy and both human and filly toppled to the floor with a giggling Flurry Heart on top.
“Flurry!” Cadence reprimanded but her scold was lost on deaf ears as both children were now laughing at what had happened. Any worries the royal couple had about their filly accepting someone of a different species vanished in a breath.
“Hi cousin, I’m Flurry Heart; and we are family now!” The foal greeted overly happy. A large smile appeared on the human and did his best to hug his new cousin.
“I’m Naruto, nice to meet ya!”
The two children were left to their own devices while the adults talked about recent events. Eventually, it reached the time for Celestia to lower the sun and for Luna to bring in the night. Letting out a sad breath Sunset Shimmer headed for the portal,
“I guess I should be going. People might begin to wonder if I’m not at my apartment soon.”
“Hold a moment Sunset.” Celestia said as she rose from her sea, “I am serious when I say that I want you to help in matters relating to the human world. Could I count on you to help us?”
“Sure, I can help.” Sunset offered.
Before former student and teacher parted they shared a hug once again, with Sunset promising to be back again soon.
“Well, it is time for us to go as well.” Celestia said with Luna joining her by her side, “As much as we would like to stay we need to attend to our other duties.”
“But we promise to see you again soon.” Luna promised to the two young ones.
“Good bye Auntie Luna! Good bye Auntie Celestia!” The youngsters both said, giving the Princesses hugs in turn.
The Princesses departed the family and started their return to Canterlot. Sometime thereafter, the young ones were laid down for bed, leaving the adults to talk.
“We were all very worried about you Twili.” Shining Armor said as he, Cadence, and Twilight walked down one of the many halls of the Castle of Friendship.
“But we are glad that you are back safe and sound. Though your accompaniment took us by surprise.” Cadence commented.
“You don’t approve?” Twilight asked a little worried at her sister-in-law’s statement. Seeing the worry in the younger alicorn’s eyes Cadence quickly placated,
“Of course, we approve Twilight. I think you will be an excellent mother.”
“It was just how quickly you decided on adopting the kid. I mean, you were gone just a week and you made a decision that impacts the rest of your life.” Shining Armor pointed out.
“Maybe it was quick, but he needed some pony to watch after him. He grew on me so fast,” Twilight admitted remembering the dream of what might be, “It was like the universe was wanting us to be a family.”
The royal couple looked at each other, they were still concerned over the convenience of how things had worked out, but at the same time didn’t want to hurt Twilight and drive a wedge between them.
“Perhaps it did.” Cadence agreed.
“I’m just glad Flurry Heart reacted so positively to her new cousin.” Shining Armor commented, effectively changing the subject.
“I was worried her impact may have injured him.” Cadence stated with a degree of worry.
“Don’t worry about that.” Twilight reassured, “Naruto’s family line has a history of healing fast and being extremely durable. It will take a lot more to hurt him.”
“If he’s going to be a warrior of his home village that is a good quality to have.” Shining Armor said.
“Are you sure that’s the life you want for him Twilight?” Cadence asked of her sister-in-law, “I would have thought you would push any foal of yours to be a scholar or something.”
“It isn’t my place to deny him his dreams.” Twilight countered, “I may not be happy that Naruto is wanting to be a ninja, but I can do what a mother can to make sure he becomes the best he can be.”
These words made Cadence smile and nuzzle her old charge with familial love,
“Oh Twilight, you have grown up so much.”
“We’re all proud of you.” Shining Armor said mirroring his wife’s gesture.
The siblings bid each other a fond good night and went to their respective rooms. With no effort, whatsoever, Twilight lifted a snoozing Naruto from her bed long enough to slip in herself and put him close to her once again. A great weight of anxiety lifted from her mind, her entire family approved of her decision. For Twilight, this was better than a new book, or even a brand-new library.
She turned her gaze to the window and the star-studded sky above,
“Thank you, whatever forces brought me and my foal together. I never knew how empty life was before until I found Naruto. You gave me so much. Thank you.”
With this prayer of gratitude Twilight laid her head down and joined her little human in sleep. She didn’t know what was going on outside her window however. A glass orb the size of a billiard floated just out of sight. A light grew inside as Twilight offered her thanks to forces she didn’t know. The moment the mare was fast asleep and the orb was filled with bright light, the sphere disappeared into thin air.
-Unknown Beach-
The orb reappeared close to the shoreline, where the Masked Man sat looking out on the sea of colors, both in the water and the sky above. He took notice of the ball and beckoned to it. It came right up to his face and within the confines of its crystal-like surface replayed the events at Twilight’s castle.
“You owe me nothing, noble mare. I actually owe you more than you realize.”
The orb rocketed up into the sky above and disappeared into the mass of colors. The orb now gone the man stood up and looked behind him,
“Soon it will be your time little one, soon.”
There, sitting on the ground behind him was a cocoon made of sickly green material, roughly the size of a house cat. The protective shell was translucent enough to make out a sleeping black form inside. And this figure? Well, it definitely resembled a pony, but it was decidedly more insect than equine.
Author's Note
Alright everyone, finally after some delay is the next installment. I hope to get things going a bit faster here. I mean we are at the end of the third full day and we are already at chapter 16!
The sun had set more than an hour ago and the moon shone brightly across Equestria. Ponies had given thanks to Princess Luna for protecting them while they slumbered and had retired for the night. All except for the Princess and the night watch of Canterlot castle. The guards were on their toes, hooves, since the incident with the royal wedding. They felt that they had collectively disappointed Captain Shining Armor and now had to remain vigilant against another threat that might come their way.
“Where is the intruder?” The taller of the two, Princess Celestia asked hurriedly. Her statement caught both guards by surprise,
“What intruder your highness?” The one on the left of the door asked. It was Princess Luna, who responded,
“After the incident with Discord we placed a security spell on the inside to let us know when someone went into the vault without one of us. That alarm has been tripped.”
“But no pony has been through this way…” The guard began to reply but was brushed off when the horn on Celestia’s head shone yellow. The doors into the vault were thrown open and the royal sisters charged in. Confused the two at the door followed after, but were unable to catch up with their sovereigns. Suddenly a great groaning sound filled the air; not groans of pain but of metal bending out of position. All present stopped in awe at the sight before them. Some manner of two legged beast dressed in a long black hooded coat had its’ upper limbs extended out to the doors that hid the Elements of Harmony at the end of the hall of stained glass windows. Plaster cracked and dust fell as both doors were torn from their places.
“Halt!” Princess Luna called as she fired a bolt of magic at her target. The intruder turned around to face the one who had interrupted and raised a hand,
“Esrepsid!” A male voice filtered through a metal mask that hid his face from those present. The stream of Luna’s magic hit his outstretched hand and to all pony’s surprise promptly broke apart into tiny dust particals,
“Striking when my back is turned? How very cowardly; and I thought you Equestrians prided yourselves on your honor. Or is that the dragons the next kingdom over?” The man goaded. Trying to intervene, Celestia stepped forward,
“How did you get in here intruder?”
“How else would I get in? In-tru-da window.” The man replied laughing at his own joke.
“Laugh while you can, you are outnumbered.” Luna said recovering from the shock of seeing her magic dealt with so easily.
“You may have the advantage with numbers my dear princess, but you are all tragically outclassed. Feel grateful that I did not come here for a fight. Yats!” The two guard ponies were about to charge the intruder when suddenly their bodies froze in place, mid stride. Shocked and concerned Celestia’s tone changed to concern,
“What did you do to them?”
“Proved a point. Now if you excuse me I have some very important work to do and you are wasting my time.” With a cross wise motion of the intruder’s limb a line drew itself in the floor in front of the sisters and now statuesque guards. A shimmer of light rose up to the ground, indicating that a barrier spell was now in place to keep them from interrupting what was going to happen next.
The man turned to the now destroyed vault and reached out his arms like he was going to give a large hug,
“Cinomrah secrof emoc htrof!” The box that held the precious Elements opened and the six gems shaped like six particular ponies cutie marks drifted into the air. They took the positions that the two sisters remembered them being in when they rested in the Tree of Harmony.
“Srewop fo Ytsenoh, Ytlayol, Rethgual, Ytisoreneg, Ssendnik, Cigam, dnel rouy thgim ot a tnavres fo eht dlrow ot thgif eht gnimoc ssenkrad.”
The Elements began to glow, bathing the vault in a rainbow of color. Tendrils of magic seeped from the most powerful sources of magic in Equestria and drifted to the glass ball, filling it with harmony’s magic.
“What is your intent with that power? It will never work for someone with evil intentions.” Celestia pointed out to the man in the midst of his ritual.
“Then it is a good thing that my intentions are pure.” Came the reply as the flow of magic into the sphere cut off.”Ot eht rehto dlrow ylf.” The orb was encased in a white glow before vanishing from existence.
As soon as the orb was gone the barrier keeping the Princesses away from the intruder dropped. The two sisters only hesitated a moment before rushing the stranger who didn’t even acknowledge their oncoming assault. Chancing it Luna and Celestia charged their horns with magic and blasted the man who hadn’t moved since the barrier fell. The two beams of alicorn magic made contact and caused a small explosion. The coat fell apart, dumping what appeared to be sand all over the place. The metal mask was sent clattering to the floor several feet away. The six Elements fell to the ground and the spell that held the two guard ponies broke. Not paying much attention to the dazed guards Luna trotted over to the mask and levitated it up to her eye level.
“Such an odd design.” The mask had six comma marks that formed a circle around the face with strange symbols that resembled the markings of the Ja-ponies of the Far East. Turning the mask over she was met with another surprise,
“Sister, what do you make of this?” Showing her elder sister the glowing image of an alicorn’s face, the elongated horn suggested that the pony face on the back didn’t belong to just any unicorn. Celestia just shook her head,
“None of this is making any sense. Somepony with enough might to dispel an attack from you Luna breaks in here to perform a ritual; but that intruder turns out to be made of sand? I have never heard of such magic. Perhaps I shall ask Twilight to help me find any reference in the Ponyville library.”
“Sister, what do we do about this?” Luna asked motioning to the mess and destroyed vault. Celestia rubbed her chin with her hoof for a moment before shrugging,
“We tell nopony about what happened with the Elements. If word gets out there might be panic. In the morning we close the vault off and say it is undergoing renovations. And we keep that mask under lock and key. Who knows what kind of residual magic might reside in that thing… or who it really belongs to.”
-Scene Change-
A certain oppressive feeling hung on the air. Not humidity; even for a region that was in a semi tropic climate, the village of Konahgakure didn’t experience this kind of humidity in October. The feeling that clung to the air was the leftover raw chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsuni that had attacked the village not even a full three days ago.
For the civilians it meant a lot of clean up and repair work. The remaining shinobi force had to double their efforts in patrolling the village to prevent any enemy attack. Hospital staff was working over time dealing with the wounded. However, there was one place that was being closely guarded by two of the finest that the Hidden Leaf Village has to offer, the ANBU. This place was the neonatal ward. There was only one infant occupying the ward, a blond haired baby boy with little whisker marks on his cheeks.
The infant’s sleep was undisturbed when a whole in the fabric of reality opened up and a figure dressed in a black coat stepped out before it closed. The light in the room was dim but it was enough to glint off the metal mask he wore. Close behind him floated a glass orb filled with a rainbow of colors putting on a psychedelic display. In a voice that had just sounded in a world away he pointed to the sleeping child,
“Dees fo Ynomrah, wotseb ruoy gnisselb nopu eht nesohc dlihc.” The glowing orb floated over to the sleeping baby. Hovering over the infant’s naval the ball started depositing its multi colored contents. The streams of light flowed like water trickling down a rock face before entering the child. Upon contact with the babe’s skin an odd pattern appear, a swirl with some form of writing.
“Ah, the seal of the Reaper. You are a credit to your profession Minato Namikaze. This seal was expertly crafted and is well suited for my purpose,” The figure thought to himself, “If only you were around my friend to see what will transpire.”
By the time these thoughts had transpired the orb had finished depositing the force that it held. Suddenly six gray armored figures dropped from the roof,
“Step away from the Kyuubi.” One of the figures spoke. Instead of obeying the masked man stood there,
“You are not the ANBU. My guess is you belong to Danzo’s little ROOT project. Shame you will not be able to tell your master about this encounter.” At these words a small whine emanated from the floating orb. The man snapped his fingers and all the ROOT agents had a brief sensation that something was being pulled from them before they hit the floor. The orb took on a light blue glow, signifying that it was now full of new energy. In a white flash the orb vanished. The masked man reached into the confines of his coat and pulled out a small plush toy. It was a lavender colored unicorn with wings. On each side of its flank there was a six pointed star with six similar white stars surrounding it. The man placed the toy with the infant before turning to the window,
“Good luck, Naruto.” With that the man vanished into the night.
Twilight wasn’t sure what had happened. One moment she was surrounded by light after the mask had activated, there was a great sound like thunder, now she was standing outside; and she was feeling a little nauseous,
“Ok, I hope I will never to do that again. Check list, hooves?” Twilight looked down at the ground and was relieved to see that she still had four hooves, “Yes. Wings? Check. Horn? Yep still there. Magic?” Great relief washed over her as her horn lit up with her magical aura, “Thank goodness. Now, where am I?” The Princess looked around and found herself in some sort of fenced in yard. Grass was looking a bit overgrown and the flower pots riddled with weeds. The two story house in front of her looked more than a little worn. Paint was peeling off and the windows were covered with dust. Deciding to investigate, Twilight approached the old house.
“It doesn’t look like anyone has been home for a while. Wonder who lived here?”
Twilight grabbed hold of the nob on the front door with her magic and pulled. As expected it was locked. Twilight turned her attention to the filthy window. As she made her way to the window her hoof caught on something in the grass. Curious, Twilight brought her head down and parted the grass with her magic. There sticking out of the ground was a three pronged dagger. Its handle was disproportionately longer than the blades and inscribed with some kind of what Twilight believed to be a magical formula.
“What is this?”
“Halt!” A mare’s voice cut in. A knife barely missed Twilight’s head by just millimeters. Frightened Twilight reared her head back and blindly aimed a reflexive magical bolt. The bolt missed its intended target but must have found another because a stallion’s voice cried out in pain.
“That’s it, take it down!” The first voice said. Twilight finally was able to take in the sight of four humans in animal masks and grey armor surrounding her.
“Wait!” Twilight pleaded, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt anypo-body!” The four humans were taken aback by her plea and hesitated. The woman that had spoken earlier leveled another knife at Twilight,
“State your name, affiliation, and reason for being here.” She demanded. Twilight recomposed herself and stood tall as she introduced herself,
“I am Twilight Sparkle, Equestrian Princess of Friendship. I was sent here by a strange artifact that one of my friends and me were investigating. I do not know where I am or if I can get home.” Twilight explained to the humans around her, “Tell me, is Canterlot High anywhere near here?”
“Canterlot High? What nonsense is that?” The man that she had hit earlier asked, the pain that he was in still evidenced in the slight cringe in his voice.
“Perhaps the summons arrived here accidentally, and this Canterlot is a landmark in her homeland?” One of the others postulated.
“How do we know that this creature is not working with Iwa or one of our other enemies? I mean, look at where we are.”
“If this was enemy espionage they wouldn’t have made such a loud noise when arriving. That thunderclap was loud enough to be heard from the capital city.” The female responded. She returned the knife to a holster on her thigh before bowing,
“Our apologies Princess Sparkle,”
“Please just call me Twilight. All of my friends do.”
“Ma’am,” One of the other warriors interjected, “With all due respect, she could very well be an enemy to the village. We ought to take her to headquarters and have her questioned.”
“Quiet Bird; when you have been in the ANBU as long as I have you know how to identify both enemy and friend. The, ehm, Princess here is no threat to us; although I do find her title to be a bit strange. Princess of Friendship?” She asked with what could be amounted to a confused glance from behind her mask.
“It is a very long story, one that I would gladly share with whoever is in charge.” The four humans glanced at each other before nodding,
“Very well. We shall take you Lord Hokage. Follow us.” The ANBU led Twilight from the yard. One of the ANBU waited a brief moment behind his comrades. Without being seen he picked up the dagger that the pony had forgotten in the confusion before hurrying to catch up with his group.
Twilight was lead from the abandoned house through a village filled with humans. She felt very strange, about as strange as when she had first traveled to Canterlot High to get her crown back. Only this time she wasn’t a human, she was a lavender pony with wings and a horn. This was more than enough cause to turn the heads of the villagers.
As they walked through the streets Twilight took notice of the signs that hung on the outside of buildings. She really wasn’t much of a culturist, even when she was Princess Celestia’s personal student; however, from what she could see, the signs were written in the common scripts of the Japonies.
‘Odd, a world with no apparent connection to Equestria developed a written language so similar to one back home. Wait, home! How am I to get home?’ She thought to herself.
Unknown to her, or the care of the ANBU, a small blond haired boy was watching the procession. His blue eyes widened when he caught sight of the alicorn.
‘No way, could that be…’ He had to make sure before he approached the ANBU. He quickly left the alley that he was hiding in and hurried to a rundown portion of the village. He ran up a few flights of stairs before reaching an apartment door. Extracting the key from his pocket the boy hurried inside the extremely messy apartment and to the bed room. Reaching under the bed he found a loose floor board and lifted it up. He only had to probe the space under the floor for just a moment before he brought up the item that he sought.
No one was sure where it had come from, the little plush horse. Naruto Uzumaki had it since he was an infant. It was always assumed that a member of the hospital staff had given it to him but none of the nurses or doctors came forward to claim responsibility for the act of charity to the whiskered boy. The lavender color had faded from the toy and spots of dirt stained parts of the fur and mane. However, there was no mistaking the remarkable similarities between the toy and the horse that he had just seen. He had to talk to her, he just had too. Tucking the toy between his arms he dashed out of the apartment, only pausing a moment to close and lock the door behind him.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle had been led through the streets of Konohagakure, as she learned it was called, to the tower that rested directly beneath a great cliff. The most noteworthy aspect of the cliff was the four giant faces carved into the rock. Twilight made a mental note to ask someone about who the people were. Navigating the stairs upward Twilight and her escort ended up in a long twisting hall somewhere near the top. They then went to a door that was located perfectly at the half way point.
“Wait here please,” Was the command given to Twilight by her escort. So Twilight Sparkle waited outside the door, left alone to her thoughts,
‘Hopefully their leader will believe my story. How am I supposed to get home? Why here? Why of all the possible worlds or even timelines did I end up here?’ This was what her thoughts were like while she waited for this, Hokage. Eventually the door opened up and the masked mare, woman actually, nodded to Twilight,
“You may come in now Princess.” Instead of insisting to be called Twilight, the Princess of Friendship accepted the fact that some beings in existence were too polite to ever not call someone by their appropriate title.
Twilight entered the office. The guards that escorted her took up positions on either side of a big redwood desk. Sitting behind the desk was a wrinkled old man wearing white robes, a red and white hat sat upon his head. A polite smile spanned his face as he nodded his head in greeting,
“Welcome to the Hidden Leaf Village. I am Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage and leader of the village.”
Twilight bowed back to him,
“I am Twilight Sparkle; the Equestrian Princess of Friendship.”
“So Princess Sparkle, what can I do for you?”
“You see sir, I am afraid that I have accidentally found myself in your world with no way back.”
Twilight then proceeded to give a brief explanation about the incident with the mask and just a little about Equestria. After her story was finished Hiruzen thought deeply for a moment, his brow furrowed in contemplation. After a while the old Hokage spoke up,
“Princess, are you sure…” The Hokage never got to finish that sentence. For right in the middle of it, the entire world shook. A tremendous Wamm-Boom filled the air, knocking out glass windows and knocking everyone, and everypony, flat. The thing that was most surprising though was that with the shockwave of sound, there was a wave of rainbow colored light. This phenomena did not go unnoticed by a the pony princess,
‘A sonic rainboom? But… But how? Rainbow Dash?’ Her theory was quickly crushed when another wave of power washed over the village, one that she didn’t think she would feel ever again,
“The Elements of Harmony?”
Without waiting another moment Twilight got to her hooves and was out the now shattered window flying towards the epicenter, a convenient but worrying ball of sparking energy.
Naruto ran through the streets, hurrying to the old man’s office. He just had to meet the horse who looked so much like his toy. The prized possession was still tucked in his arms. He turned a blind corner and ran headlong into the tall form of an adult.
“Sorry sir!” The young boy apologized. However, the apology was lost on the man. The older man in question had been guzzling down his who-knows -which bottle of sake for the day. He had the rim of the bottle to his lips when the eager boy ran into him. The sudden impact caused the less then sober man to jerk the bottle and the sudden change in the bottle’s altitude sent the liquid spilling down the face of drunkard. Needless to say, this did little to improve his mood. In fact, this made him livid.
“Watch where you are running you… brat,” The man had cleared the drink sufficiently from his eyes and saw just who it was that ran into him. This man once was a shop owner, and then the shop was crushed under the foot of the Kyuubi. This man was never a shinobi as such he did not understand sealing arts. He did not understand that the boy in front of him was not the demon that had destroyed his livelihood and his life; he just saw the demon in human form that had made him spill his sake.
“You wretched demon! You take my home, my business, my source of income, wasn’t enough for you? Now you have to make me spill my sake all over me?” The man’s angered words were slightly slurred but his drunken rage was clear enough. The small boy did the only thing that he could think of, run. The plan would have worked, if the boy’s shirt was not immediately seized by the drunkard,
“You aren’t getting away that easily!” He roared and threw Naruto into the wall. Naruto curled up into a defensive ball on the ground as an onslaught of kicks began. With each kick there came a profane insult from the man, mostly tied with the words, “Demon, brat, fox,” and, “Murderer.” A small gathering of people came around and cheered on the man in his abuse to the village pariah.
There was no help coming. No one was coming to help him. Naruto clung for dear life to the toy in his arms, failing to hold back the tears as they came down from his eyes.
‘Please… Make him stop…’ He didn’t know who he was directing these thoughts to but these were still his pleas.
A strange fire began to burn within Naruto’s stomach. This strange warm sensation grew in intensity until it was the only feeling that Naruto could register, even the kicks from his tormentor were no longer perceivable. On the outside a rainbow aura shrouded the lad, making all those who still had half a mind to stand back.
“Wha… What is that?”
“Is it the demon?”
“No, this is different. For goodness sakes man stop!” Came the cries from the villagers who were now afraid of the growing lightshow and the strange sensation that accompanied it. However, the assaulter was either too drunk or far too idiotic to notice the veil of power emanating from the boy. That is, until a high pitched whining filled the air,
“What the-“
Waam-Boom!
A tremendous shockwave of rainbow light exploded from the boy throwing everyone who was close by into buildings. The drunk who had unwittingly set off the explosion unfortunately caught full blast of the Rainboom and never saw the sun set that day. The thing that got people afraid though was when Naruto began to levitate; still in a defensive curl and eyes closed tight. That was when lightning started sparking off him. A ball of white light that radiated some kind of power that felt nothing like chakra formed around Naruto. The sphere grew until it took up most of the street that his abuse had taken place on. Somehow oblivious to the display of power Naruto was filled with the memories of his treatment at the hands of the village. All of the abuse, lonely nights, and insults, just wishing that there was someone who he could look to.
‘Help… please…’
From the sky above Twilight Sparkle landed a few feet away from the magical epicenter. She could make out the shape of a foal, child rather, in the midst of the mystic sphere.
‘I’ve got to help them, but how?’ Twilight thought. Then all at once it hit her, ‘This is just like when I got my Cutie Mark. And if the Princess’ method worked then, it should work now.’ Gathering up her courage she walked straight into the sphere.
Twilight turned her attention to the child and spied the blond form of a colt, boy rather, curled up around something. From what she could tell, this boy was both the origin of both the Power of Harmony and the sadness. As Twilight came closer to the child she began to hear gentle sobs.
‘Should I say something?’ Twilight asked herself. A different idea presented itself in her head, and for one reason or another, she chose to go with that one. She quietly walked to the boy and took him in her forelegs. She then proceeded to shield him from the outside world by wrapping her wings around him.
Naruto snapped out of his shock when he felt something warm and soft press up against him. Horse legs and a set of magnificent lavender wings were wrapped around him. He turned his attention upward and was met with a very kind gaze. It was the lavender horse from before, she found him, she rescued him, she was giving him a hug, he felt safe. He pressed himself into the mare, absorbing all the affection that he could from the embrace.
As Naruto calmed so did the storm of magic that roared around him. Soon there was no sphere of magic surrounding the two. Everyone who remained stared in awe of the creature that had just stopped Naruto’s outburst.
“Just who are you miss Sparkle?”
Meanwhile on top of the Hokage monument there stood a solitary figure in a dark coat and a mask similar to the artifact that had banished Twilight to this place,‘Not how I expected the scene to play out, but this works out my favor. Just a little more pushing and things will be as they need to be.’
Beginning of the First Day
The next morning in the city of Canterlot broke with great relief for the ponies that lived there. The return of the Princess of Friendship had been announced the previous night by the royal sisters. With contentment two unicorns, Twilight Velvet and Night Light were eating breakfast. It had been a full week since they had been able to eat a meal without feeling concern for their missing daughter.
"I think we should go to Ponyville next week. Make sure that she is alright." Velvet suggested.
Night Light nodded,
"That would be a good idea. We hardly ever get to see Twilight these days."
A sudden knock on the door summoned Night Light from the table and to the front entry to their home. Hardly any time passed before he returned with a letter levitating beside him,
"It's a special delivery from Twilight," Velvet was relieved to hear from her daughter so soon. At least she had the decency to write with updates, unlike Shining Armor who had a tendency to wait until the last minute to share what was going on in his life. Breaking the seal on the envelope Night Light began to read,
"Dear Mother and Father,
"I am so sorry to make you two worry. This time the trip into another dimension was not planned,"
"This time?" Velvet asked.
"Don't you remember her telling us about that realm full of those creatures called humans?"
"Oh right, from when she had to get her crown back."
"Precisely, anyways," Night Light continued, "I ended up in a strange new world. Not the one I went to before, but a completely different one. There were humans there but they could do something close to magic by manipulating energy within their body.
"Well, while I was there I met this colt. No mother not in that way! I am talking a foal. I do not know how but he has both his world's power within him and Equestrian magic. Even more strange is that he has the power of the Elements of Harmony residing in him.
"Mom, dad, he was living in the worst conditions imaginable. He was treated badly for something that was out of his control and his fellow villagers called him despicable things. So, I have taken him as my own foal…"
"She what?!" Velvet exclaimed as she nudged her husband aside to read over his shoulder. When she read the section for herself the rest of the letter was disregarded as the mare charged up the stairs to her bedroom. Night Light soon followed to find his wife throwing stuff together into a suit case.
"I guess that trip to Ponyville just jumped up in priority.
Meanwhile back at the castle of friendship Twilight was having breakfast with Naruto, and going over the day's itinerary with Spike.
"Alright, letter to my parents was sent out earlier today so that is done. We also are going to go by Rarity's shop to see if we can't get Naruto outfitted with some new clothes; then to the book store to pick up some story books. Also on that priority list is to go to the school house and talk to Miss Cheerilee about getting Naruto in school next year."
"Why are you waiting so long Twilight? Shouldn't he get involved as soon as he can?"
"Spike, I am not going to throw Naruto into school when he knows very little about Equestira. I am also waiting a year to help him learn how to read Equestrian. We may have many things in common between our worlds but the language he was taught to write in is not one of them. If he is going to survive in both worlds than he needs to be able to read write both ours and his native language."
"Fair enough. One more thing on your list for tomorrow: Visit from PC and SS. Twilight does that mean…"
"Oh dear, that's right! I have Sunset Shimmer and Princess Celestia coming for tea tomorrow! Spike, can I count on…"
"I'll work on it while you're shopping with Naruto."
"Thank you Spike, you are a life saver."
Both native Equestrians looked at Naruto who was fervently digging into a plate full of pancakes.
"Naruto, slow down! If you eat too fast you will make yourself sick!" Twilight reprimanded. Naruto immediately stopped and hung his head in shame,
"Sorry mama." Twilight's heart melted at his pathetic sad face. With a gentle hoof she raised his head,
"Hey, it's too early for sad faces. I'm only worried that you will be too sick for all the things that we are supposed to do today." Naruto nodded,
"Alright, I understand mama." With a kind smile Twilight kissed his forehead, which got a giggle out of the young blond human and a groan from the dragon. The door to the dining room opened up to show a familiar cyan Pegasus,
"Hey Twilight, hey Spike, hello squirt." Rainbow Dash greeted.
"Good morning Auntie Rainbow Dash, what brings you here this early?" Naruto asked eagerly. The boy got down from his place at the table and bolted over to give his winged aunt a hug,
"I had early morning weather team today." The mare replied with a groan, but she still returned the affection that her new nephew showed her, "So to brighten my morning I thought I'd come and see how my little nephew was doing."
"That was nice of you Rainbow Dash. Would you like a bit of breakfast?" Twilight offered.
Needing no further encouragement Rainbow Dash somehow made it over to the table carrying Naruto in a hug and took a seat, her eyes looking hungrily at the spread on the table. So breakfast resumed with a Pegasus joining in the meal.
The family plus Rainbow took this time to talk a bit about what Rainbow Dash did for the town. He found it fascinating that the ponies in Equestria were in charge of making sure the weather happened. Rainbow Dash even promised to take Naruto up to Cloudsdale one day to show him around the weather factory. Twilight made the duo that seemed to feed off of each other's need for all things awesome promise that before they tried going to the weather center that they made sure that the cloud walking spell worked for Naruto.
After the human and ponies were finished with breakfast Spike cleared the plates. The mares with human in tow proceeded to the town of Ponyville.
"So what's the first stop?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Rarity's boutique; she should have the skills to make clothes for a nonpony body." Rainbow's eyes widened in fear,
"I just remembered, I've got a lot to do at home; um, late summer cleaning. Later Squirt!" With that Rainbow was off like a shot, leaving a rainbow trail behind her.
"Why didn't Rainbow want to go to Auntie Rarity's shop?" Naruto asked from beside Twilight. The alicorn laughed at the memory,
"You see Naruto; a couple weeks ago Rainbow Dash was practicing some new tricks when she lost control. Rainbow ran into Rarity while she was trying out a new dress and ruined the gown she was wearing. Rarity swore that if Rainbow Dash ever stepped into her shop she would use your athletic aunt as a model for a new line of dresses. Rainbow Dash has done everything she can to avoid the boutique ever since."
Naruto laughed at his aunt's expense. The laugh only got louder when he thought of the ever active Rainbow Dash being used as a fashion model. His laughter brought his gaze up to the clouds above him, more specifically the occasional Pegasus that flew by. Deep within his heart a yearning awoke, he wanted to fly.
"Naruto, what's wrong?" Twilight asked, taking notice of the way his laugh tapered off, not at all like his usual laughter. Deciding to be honest Naruto responded,
"Mama, do you think that I'll ever be able to fly one day?" This caught twilight by surprise,
"What do you mean sweetie?"
"Well I, um…" Then he pointed up at the Pegasi, "I feel like I belong up there with them."
Twilight thought hard on the subject then nodded to herself.
"Well, I don't know if you will be able to every fly on your own but I will definitely take you flying soon." Of all the things that Twilight had planned to do with Naruto she had hardly ever considered flying as one of the things to do. Certainly wasn't an option in Konoha, too many potential security risks. Here though was another story.
Their journey came to an end inside Rarity's elegant shop. Already the white unicorn was hard at work at an extravagant dress.
"One moment, I'm in the zone, as it were." Rarity said not even looking back at who it was that just walked into her shop. With a quick flourish with her needle she attached the last threaded gem in place.
"Now, what can I do for," She then caught sight of her best friend and her son, "Oh Twilight! Good morning." Rarity then came over and gave the little human a hug, "And good morning to you as well darling."
"Good morning Rarity." Twilight responded.
"I take it that the little darling here is here for a new wardrobe?"
"If you have the time," Twilight clarified.
"Oh of course I have time. Now," Rarity summoned a measuring tape over to her and with fire in her eyes that scared the child she said, "Let's get to work."
The next half an hour were the hardest for Naruto's active young mind and body, he was forced to stand still as Rarity took measurements, asked questions about preference, and held different color swatches up to him. Soon she was in her back room toiling away on the new attire for the boy. While they waited for the prototype of Rarity's 'Biped Line of Fine Fashion,' Twilight started giving Naruto his first magic theory lesson. Just as they started to get to a practical portion Rarity came back with a set of colored T-shirts and pants. Naruto was then forced the try them on and model for his creative aunt and mother. The fashionista made notes and asked questions on how the clothes fit. After the hassle of standing there buffering the storm of questions Naruto left the store grateful to his aunt for the nicest clothes that he had ever had.
The book store was put on hold until after a visit to the school house. As they got closer to the school the duo became aware of the sound of laughing and the raised voices of foals.
"Oh, it must be recess." Twilight observed.
"What's recess?" Naruto asked from where he sat on her back.
"Recess is a time during the day when children are allowed to go outside and play. It's a great time to make friends."
"Did you make a lot of friends when you were a kid mama?"
Naruto could see Twilight's face fall,
"Well, when I was a filly I wasn't good at making friends. I really didn't know how important friends were back then. I had my older brother, Cadence, my parents, Spike, and a few others; but back then I was more interested in my books and learning than I was in making friends. It wasn't until I came to Ponyville that I actually learned how important it is to have friends." Twilight became very serious and looked back at Naruto,
"Naruto, can you promise me something?"
"What is it?"
"Never pass up on an opportunity to make a true friend. While learning and books are good if you don't have friends then life is empty. The worse thing about it is that you don't even realize that you are hurting inside. So please Naruto, don't make the same mistakes that your mother made. Make friends and become a well-rounded person."
Naruto was surprised by Twilight's request. He heard her story about the Summer Sun festival of years past when she first came to Ponyville, but he didn't know that she had almost discounted friendship when she was younger. The little human leaned in and hugged his mother's neck,
"I promise mama. I promise that I will never pass on an opportunity to make a true friend. And Naruto Uzumaki never breaks his promises."
Twilight fought back a tear of pride. She knew that she had nothing to worry about for her son's future. He was going to be a great man and a great son. She leaned back into the hug Naruto was giving her and lightly muzzled him the best she could from that angle. The two finally broke and shaking tears from their eyes they resumed their journey to the school.
When the school came into perfect view so did the source of the cacophony. Some of the foals were running around playing tag where others were enjoying a play set. It really looked fun but Naruto was also scared. The kids back in the village never let him play with them, nor did their parents. He hoped, no, he silently pleaded to whatever divinities might exist in Equestria that he might have a chance here.
At the Princess' approach the playing foals all paused and looked at her. A moment of silence followed, until,
"Princess Twilight!" Then it was pandemonium as the fillies and colts rushed in and crowded the lavender alicorn. She was peppered with questions and invitations to play until a commanding voice from behind the mob sounded,
"Alright everypony back up." The young ponies split up allowing the teacher Ms. Cheerilee to pass through.
"Good morning Princess, what can we do for you this morning?" The kind school teacher asked.
"Well, I wanted to speak to you about getting my foal Naruto," Twilight motioned to her passenger, "Enrolled here starting next year." With a smile the teacher responded,
"Of course! Why don't we leave the foals to get to know each other while we work out the details?"
Twilight got down low to let Naruto off,
"Will you be fine for a while honey?" Twilight asked the blond. To be honest he would rather stay with Twilight where he knew it was safe, but he remembered the promise he just made and his own desires to make friends,
"I think I'll be fine." He responded, getting a hug of encouragement in response.
"This may take the whole of recess. Be good!" Twilight said as she trotted after the older teacher.
The crowd of ponies stood in silence looking at the nervous human. One could hear the imaginary clock tick; that is until a colt wearing a stylish black hood that hid most of his body but left a cheery dark blue face plain to all the world,
"Hi there, my name's Midnight Crescendo. What's your name?" Gathering up his courage Naruto responded,
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My adopted mother is Twilight Sparkle. I am a human." Midnight grinned at this,
"Finally, it's nice to finally get some more non ponies around here."
"What do you…" Midnight reached up and pulled down the hood and Naruto's eyes went wide. Instead of regular pony ears these ears were aimed more like a human's and angled to a fine point,
"You see, I'm a siren. We are a different race that inhabits Equestria. My species is able to use different forms of music and sound to channel magical abilities. My family primarily uses our voices."
"That's pretty cool." From that first introduction the colts and fillies were no longer nervous about this human in front of them; and any anxiety that Naruto felt melted away as well. Soon enough the assembled adorable mob was showing Naruto how to use the play equipment and how to play different games.
It seemed all too soon when Twilight and Miss Cheerilee exited the school house, a bundle of registration papers tucked into Twilight's saddle bag and called out to her child,
"All right Naruto, we have to go." The foals plus human let out a collective groan of disappointment. It was then that one of the fillies approached the adults and asked very sweetly,
"Um Princess Twilight, would it be alright if Naruto came back to play soon?" The big pleading eyes of the little filly tore Twilight's heart apart. Then she made the 'mistake' of looking at her son, surrounded by the foals and for the umpteenth time since she first met Naruto her heart broke a little. Only his first full day here and in the space of a half hour he had made more than a dozen new friends.
Looking over at the teacher, Twilight asked,
"Do you mind if we came back during recess another day Miss Cheerilee?"
The teaching mare surveyed the scene and nodded,
"I have no problem with it." A cheer came up through the young assembly. After a moment of jubilation Twilight collected Naruto and levitated him securely onto her back. With a last few good byes to Naruto's new friends the two headed back into the main part of town.
"So Naruto, did you make lots of new friends today?"
"Oh ya I did mama!" He then proceeded to recount all the colts and fillies that he had met during that brief recess period and the games they had played. Twilight was so proud of him she made a mental note to pick something special up for him next time she traveled to the Elemental Nations.
The two's talk was suddenly interrupted by a loud blaring whistle.
"What was that?" Naruto asked.
"That was the Friendship Express. It sounds like it is getting ready to pull into Ponyville station. Would you like to go watch?" Naruto had expressed some interest in trains when they were still in the Hidden Leaf so he was a little eager to see one on action. So with a quick trot Twilight got the two of them to the station in time for the train to arrive.
Naruto quivered in awe at the mechanical monstrosity that was still warm and inviting. He was pulled from his musings of the train when his mother suddenly exclaimed,
"Mom?! Dad?!"
Author's Note
Hello all,The Littlest Siren .