//------------------------------// // CH21: The Great and Powerful Bit-- I mean Trixie! (Revised) // Story: My Little Naruto: Friendship is--WHERE AM I!? // by DragonLS //------------------------------// Special Thanks: Editors: DaMobbs ***** A unicorn with such “special talents” Should deserve a thrashing of one hundred mallets When one’s lies are caught and exposed How will this ‘small’ problem be disposed? ***** Chapter 21: The Great & Powerful Bit- I mean, Trixie! It didn’t take long to arrive at the place where this supposedly ‘Powerful’ unicorn had set up shop. In the middle of Ponyville square was a small wagon. Not exactly a small wagon per say, but more like a tiny house on wheels. “A caravan?”, he muttered to himself. Naruto rubbed his hoof as he saw the big crowd crowding around the caravan, which he assumed is here to see this powerful unicorn. As he shoved himself through the big crowd, he began to think. “I guess she must be powerful seeing as the entire town came to watch,” he thought. All he could do is wait and find out. As he weaved through the crowd, Pinkie Pie in tow, he caught sight of a tan stetson and a stylish purple mane a short ways away. “So Applejack and Rarity came too then.” He made a beeline straight towards them, wriggling his way through the already packed crowd. A moment later, he found himself face to face with the two mares in question. “Hey there, what’s up?”, he said. “’Ey there Naruto, we’re good. How ‘bout you?”, Applejack replied with a smile. Naruto shrugged. “I’m okay. Me and Pinkie heard about some new unicorn in town. Do you know what’s going on?” Rarity shook her head. “Unfortunately, I don’t know either. Trust me dear, I was as surprised as you when I heard about this pony today from Aloe and Lotus during my spa visit. It’s not everyday that we get a new arrival in town you know.” Now that he was closer to the front than before, he could clearly see the caravan. At first glance, it didn’t seem to be made of anything special; Just some old wood, some weathered tarp for a roof, and a couple small windows. He scratched his chin with a hoof and sighed. Now why would someone who is so great and powerful travel in such a bland way? A small cough caught his attention somewhere to his left. He looked over to find that Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow had now joined their group. He locked eyes with Twilight and found a smile starting to creep onto his face. Twilight mirrored his smile but before they could do anything else, they were interrupted by a loud voice. “Come one, come all! Come and witness the AMAZING magic of…” It sounded extremely obnoxious, maybe even smug. The voice was definitely female too. What shocked Naruto even more was that the Caravan seemed to be collapsing! No, it was actually falling apart systematically into a stage! As it unfolded, out popped a purple curtain along the rear which was flanked by a handful of trumpets on each side. A second later came the rest of the stage’s accessorys; A blue moon surrounded by a ring and stars, a purple and white rocket, and a circular disc with what seemed to be fireworks on the edges. And in the middle of the stage, covered in a star-laden purple magician’s cape and cap was... “The GRRREAT and POWERFUL TRRRRRIXIE!” As she shouted her name, she unraveled herself from the purple cape and sprung up onto her two back hooves, opening her front two in a, for lack of a better term, ‘Behold my Amazingly Awesome Greatness’ pose. Fireworks and explosions followed suit, lighting up the area in a spectacular combination of reds, blues, yellows and every color in between. The majority of the crowd was impressed and was now stomping their hooves in what Naruto assumed was their form of applause. “My, what boasting!” Rarity said with a tone of disgust. Naruto turned his head in surprise to find that the 6 mares and dragon were not applauding the showmare’s opening performance. He didn’t understand. She wasn’t that bad, what with the pyrotechnics and all. “I wouldn’t really call it that, it’s more like she’s showing off… But wow, pretty fireworks…” Naruto was actually impressed, but not by much. He did like the colorful fireworks that she fired up into the air though. “Watch in awe, as the Great and Powerful Trixie, performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by PONY EYES!” Trixie exclaimed, firing off a very similar volley of fireworks into the air. Naruto’s grin turned into a frown instantly. “…On second thought, never mind. If she thinks those balls of lights are that impressive, then color me unimpressed,” Naruto said, changing his mind. Both Spike and Applejack agreed, nodding their heads. “Yup… nothin’ but a show off…” Applejack said. “Yeah, I mean c’mon! No pony’s as magical like Twi—“ Before Spike could finish, he seemed to have become tongue tied. Naruto raised a brow as he watched Spike repeat the same syllable over and over again until he ran off, mumbling something about a moustache or something. “A what? Is that Dragon in puberty now or something? Can dragons even grow moustaches?” Naruto thought. The blonde ninja watched as the crowd exchanged glances and whispered to one another, some arguing about what they thought of Trixie. Everypony, including the six friends, were questioning her ability. He couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw Rainbow Dash try to a show-off, saying how she’s better than anyone there, along with changing her mind and negatively ‘booing’ about magic. “I guess Rainbow is no different…” “Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience?” “We wouldn’t be neighsayers if you kept your big mouth shut and left it at a fireworks show... Haha! Neighsayers! That’s funny haha!” He thought, stifling a laugh. He figured that if it was just a fireworks show, it would be one thing, but boasting that she was the most magical pony in the land? He wasn’t seeing it. He’s seen magic, and fireworks were definitely not magic. He mentally sighed as he heard her continue. “Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they’re in the presence of THE most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?” “I know I’m in the presence of a phony; a big, fat one too!” Trixie furrowed her brow and scowled, scanning through the crowd to see who would say such a thing. Some of the ponies were actually chuckling and laughing as a result. Little did they know that it was actually Naruto who had shouted his response, stifling a laugh that would have given him away right then and there. Twilight facehoofed at his antics while Rainbow Dash was starting to have trouble stifling her laughter with Naruto. “Who dares question the Grrrreat and Powerful Trixie!?” She shouted at the crowd. “No one at all, oh ‘Great and Powerful Phony’.” Naruto couldn’t help it anymore, and fell down laughing at his own joke. Rainbow could no longer hold back her laughter and let loose, the crowd following suit a moment later. Trixie stomped her hoof in anger as she saw who was defaming her title. “Hmph, some of you may not believe Trixie, but who else could have used magic strong enough,” she boasted, throwing her hooves up into the air once again,” to defeat the dreaded URSA MAJOR!” More fireworks materialized out of nowhere as she finished her exclamation. However, these didn’t seem to be ‘normal’ fireworks, as they coalesced into a gigantic, blue bear that seemed to be made out of stars. Naruto raised a brow at such an animated firework. A bear, easily dwarfing Ponyville’s city hall, hovered over the crowd while it growled menacingly. Trixie smiled as the crowd gave her their undivided attention. She lived for this kind of attention. “When all hope was lost,” she said confidently,”the ponies of Hoofington had no one to turn to... but the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in and with her awesome magic…” Another firework went up into the air and exploded, leaving behind a floating image of Trixie next to the Ursa. The bear turned around and attempted to squash her with his over-sized paw, but she fired a beam of light at the bear, sending it flying over the crowd before it disintegrated into particles of light. ‘It took magic to defeat an over-sized bear? What in the… Anyone could kill a bear with the right equipment! How is this any different!?’ “...vanquished the Ursa Major and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!” ‘…She chased it away into a cave? Is that even something to brag about?’ How is sending an over-grown bear back into its’ cave a heroic feat? This world’s logic was beginning to annoy him... either that or Trixie was off her rocker. ‘Who would believe this stuff anyway!?’ Naruto thought. “Wow… Trixie truly is the most talented most magical unicorn in Ponyville…” “No, in all of Equestria!” ‘So there is someone dumb enough to believe her lies’, he thought. An odd looking pair of ponies got in front of the stage, already showering Trixie with gratuitous amounts of praise. One was a short blue unicorn, a pair of scissors as his cutie mark and the other a tall, golden colored unicorn with a pink snail on his rear. So wait… Does that mean that Unicorn is exceptional as a barber and that the snail pony is good at… wait, what WOULD a snail represent? Slow as a snail? He didn’t know but he could tell that these two were completely oblivious to who Trixie truly was. Some ponies in the crowd were starting to hop on the band wagon as well, apparently impressed by her ‘true’ story. “How do you know? You didn't see it! And besides, Twi--mmph!”, came an exasperated dragon. Before he could finish, his mouth was, literally, zipped closed by Twilight and her magic. He didn’t even know that was possible. “It’s true, my enthusiastic little admirers,” said the showmare with a laugh,“Trixie is most certainly the best in Ponyville.” At that, silence fell over the crowd like a thick blanket, all chatter ceasing as everypony stared at Trixie. Naruto could have sworn he heard an orchestra of crickets nearby to contribute to the silence. “Do all ponies have some kind of mood problem?”, he whispered. ”They were just cheering for her but now look at em…” “I don’t know… maybe it’s because she just declared herself as the best pony in Ponyville, but what can we do?” “Why don’t you show her who’s boss?” “Because I’m beyond that Naruto,” she quipped,” I don’t want to look like a show-off. Everyone will probably hate me for it...” “Compared to her?,” he snickered, ”Hah, I doubt that…” Trixie grinned at the audience, regardless of the crowd’s… less than predicted reaction. “Don’t believe the Great and Powerful Trixie? Hah, well then… I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians: Anything you can do, ‘I’ can do better. Any takers?” The crowd looked amongst themselves, confused on how to react, before Trixie repeated her question. “Anyone? Hmm? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!?” Fireworks flew and fanfare played in the background as she took her signature pose once again. The show was interesting at first, but it had quickly turned into a one trick pony. However, that was about to change. It was then that Trixie pointed Twilight out in the crowd, challenging her to see who would be the best unicorn. Twilight hesitated at first, obviously not wanting to participate in her show. Trixie berated her for being spineless before Applejack broke away from the crowd, fed up with this mare’s tricks and lies. Applejack started off by twirling her lasso around in a dazzling array of complex patterns and maneuvers. Naruto stared, utterly fascinated by her skill with the rope and the things she could do with it. He was mostly impressed with her precision when she lassoed an apple off her stand and took a big chunk out of it. He clapped like a madpony when she finished but Naruto went wide-eyed when he saw Trixie remove her hat, revealing her rather… beautiful, silver hair. She used her magic and picked up the rope Applejack had used, distracting her with one end before hogtying her up and shoving an apple in her mouth with the other. While cruel, he couldn’t help but wonder if Trixie actually did have some decent magical abilities on her hoofs. Then again, he’d only seen just her telekinesis and illusory skills. “Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie prevails!” “There's no need to go struttin' around and showin' off like that,” explained Rainbow Dash. A second later she flew up onto the stage and looked Trixie right in the eye. “That’s my job.” With that, Rainbow flew into the sky. Beautiful was an understatement, Naruto thought. She sped towards the windmill at a breakneck pace before spinning the windmills blades around and shooting off towards a row of clouds. She punched through them like they weren’t even there, leaving behind a pony-sized hole in each one. At the apex of her flight, she pulled off a hairpin turn and dove back down in the opposite direction before ending up at the stage once again, striking a victory pose. Not only had she nailed the landing, but her finale was in the form of a miniature rainbow forming behind because of the water she pulled off the clouds. “They don’t call me ‘Rainbow’ and ‘Dash’ for nothin’!” Naruto clapped even harder, wondering just what else these ponies had up their proverbial sleeves. …That is, until Trixie stepped in. “When Trixie is through, the only thing they'll call you is ‘loser’.” Trixie used her magic once again and took control of the rainbow, morphing into a twister with Dash at the center. The pegasus took a short flight through the air before landing back on the ground, ready to lose her lunch. “She can manipulate a damn rainbow!?” He was starting to think that Trixie wasn’t all bark and no bite now. She controlled a freaking rainbow! That had to amount to something! “It seems anyone with a ‘dash’ of sense should know better than tussling with the Great Trixie!” She scoffed, zapping Rainbow Dash with a thunder cloud she had just conjured up. “Hey, that’s just adding insult to injury!” objected Naruto. While using lightning magic was something that further impressed him, he couldn’t just sit idly by and watch his friends be pushed around like this. Trixie merely ignored him and… was the crowd laughing at them? Just whose side was the crowd on: Trixie’s or the challengers? It reminded him of—no, he didn’t want to think about that dream. Not now, not ever. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the stage. Spike mentioned something about another unicorn challenging Trixie, something about equal grounds. Rainbow and Applejack agreed with him wholeheartedly but Rarity didn’t, explaining that she was above such ruffian tactics. “Finally, someone with some logical sense…” Naruto said obliviously, despite the fact he’d been trying to mock Trixie the entire time. “Ooh, what’s the matter? Afraid you’ll get a hair out of place in that rat’s nest you call a mane?” Trixie taunted, earning a ferocious glare from Rarity. “Oh… It. Is. ON!” Rarity spat out. Naruto face-hoofed at Rarity’s sudden change of heart. She stated that a unicorn needs more than just muscle but style as well. Using her magic, she grabbed a nearby curtain and spun it around her at dazzling speeds, cutting off any view of the white unicorn they had. A moment later, Rarity appeared with a breathtakingly beautiful dress and a hairdo to match. Naruto felt his jaw drop involuntary, her beauty stunning him momentarily. It’s strange though, why did he think a pony like her was beautiful? It was an odd feeling, something he couldn’t place a finger on. Was it because he still thought like a human and not like a pony? Maybe it’s just because it was an amazing act and the gratuitous amounts of magic he’d seen today was starting to get to him. In fact, that might be why he was impressed by Trixie’s magic; It’s magic! …Why was he impressed with someone who was hurting his friends? It didn’t take long for the stage to light up again as Trixie used her magic, her horn glowing a cool blue color. Naruto brought his eyes back to Rarity before having to look away in fear of enraging the prissy, white unicorn. He almost didn’t stifle his bout of laughter in time. Rarity started to panic, asking for a mirror to look at her now dark green mane. Naruto stood there, hoof in mouth to block the laughter, not wanting to break the news which everypony seemed keen on doing as well… except for Spike. Her hair was now seaweed green in color with a couple of actual rat tails poking out at random intervals. Trixie did mention something about a rat’s nest, so Naruto assumed that’s what she meant. After a small drama freak out from Rarity, she ran off from the stage. All of whom was left was Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. However, he couldn’t find Fluttershy anywhere in the crowd, and Pinkie Pie seemed visibly depressed now, her hair no longer poofy but flat. That’s when Spike drew the line. He couldn’t take it anymore and suggested that Twilight go up there and show her who’s boss. She vehemently declined, saying that she’d be no better than the showmare if she showed her up. It was a solid argument until Trixie started to jab at her. “Hah, you think you’re better than the Great and Powerful Trixie? You think you have more magical talent? Well, come on, show Trixie what you’ve got. Show us all!” Apparently, Trixie misunderstood Twilight’s reasoning as ‘I’m better than you’ than ‘I don’t want to’. Twilight tried once more, shying away from the stage and repeatedly pointing out that she was just a normal unicorn like the rest. Despite that, Trixie kept badgering her until she was figuratively backed against a wall. Naruto started to shake in anger. No one messes with his friends and that was the final straw. He jumped in between them, locking eyes with the blue unicorn. “Hold it! You’ve still got one more challenger before her!” The crowd’s and Trixie’s focus went to Naruto. He could feel all of their stares drill into him. The crowd whispered to each other, mostly along the lines of who the mystery pony was or about his fox tails, but Naruto ignored them. “You think you can treat my friends like this and get away with it!? Well, you’ve obviously never met anypony like me then! I can certainly do something better than you can, and I bet you won’t--no, can’t match it! Believe it!” Trixie stared blankly at him, as if she didn’t believe a word he said. But it was sorely for another reason. She pointed at Naruto in confusion. “Trixie demands to know why you have fox tails instead of a norma—“ “Oh for the love of Equestria…” He momentarily paused, surprised that he said the pony equivalent of a swear. “Why won’t you or anypony stop talking about my tails? Listen to what I’m saying: I’m challenging you, you big fat phony!” The crowd gasped and Trixie reeled from the insult. “F-fat!? How DARE you! No one tells Trixie she is fa—“ “Then let’s see you prove it!” He interrupted. He hopped onto the stage, staring down Trixie with confidence. He didn’t want this magical show-off to get the last laugh. His tails flickered wildly, a little bit excited to one-up her. “N-Naruto, what are you doing!? This isn’t a time to show off!” Twilight shouted. “You’re right, it isn’t.” Naruto agreed. “Well of course it—huh?” She could have sworn that he just agreed with her. Naruto looked at her seriously. She blinked. Naruto never got serious. “It’s about pride. I’ve stood here, watching her belittle and mock your friends one by one. It’s only fair I knock her off her high horse.” Then Naruto gave a smirk. “…Besides, I wonder what face she’ll make when she’s beaten by an earth pony.” She couldn’t help but sigh. “Are you two done yet? Trixie is waiting!”, interjected Trixie. Naruto looked back at her opponent, who was smirking. She held on to her cape and placed it in front of her. “Show your moves, Blondie.” She said as she flipped her cape around, but this only earned a confused look from Naruto. “Why would she do that? Oh no matter… time’s a wasting.” Thinking he should act some what like a magician too, he looked at the crowd, and gestured with his hoof at the crowd. “Come one and all, and witness the Great and Powerful Naruto Uzumaki, perform a dazzling stunt that NO PONY has ever seen before!” He said as he got onto his two hooves and mimicked Trixie’s pose. He assumed that by doing this, more fireworks would launch into the air... …But nothing happened. The crowd just stood there staring at him and Twilight facehoofed at his ridiculous antics. “Are you done stealing Trixie’s routine or are you going to do something?” Trixie deadpanned. “I’m just getting warmed up!” He adjusted his tails to form the familiar cross-pattern he has always used. Twilight went wide-eyed when she realized what he was going to do. “What in tarnation is he doing? Is he just gonna’ stand there with them tails crossed—wait… I thought he had one tail, not two?” “It’s a long story, AJ…” Twilight mentioned. “Regardless, Earth Ponies can’t use magic,” Rainbow Dash began, “and I’ve never seen him pull off anything as awesome as I have. There’s no way that—“ “PONY STYLE: SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!” Naruto shouted. An explosion of smoke enveloped the stage. As it cleared, there was now two Narutos standing where there was once one. “Hah hah, I’m back, boss!” The clone said. “Yeah, good to have you back!” The real Naruto replied. “He could… use… mag…ic?” Rainbow finished, dumbfounded at what Naruto just did. She could have sworn she was seeing double. The entire crowd was speechless. How could an Earth Pony perform magic? It was unbelievable. The crowd ‘Ooh’d’ at the spectacle before them and Trixie’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Naruto chuckled. “Meet my clone, Naruto Number Two! Say hi Number Two!” “Hi there fatty. How’s it going?” “Wh… you dare insult the Great and Powerful Trixie!?” Trixie said angrily, snapping out of her stupor. She did not like being called fat. “Not really,” the clone began,” it’s more like—” “—We just one upped you. Let’s see you top that!” Naruto finished. “Ah... Ah can’t believe it. How’d he pull that off?” said a shocked Applejack. “It’s something called Chakra, Applejack.” Twilight said calmly. “Chalk-what now?” “I don’t know myself, but Naruto said it was similar to magic, magic only ‘he’ can use.” “But that’s impossible, how’s an earth pony like him supposed to use magic without a horn?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I wish I knew myself, but I think the tails are the catalyst in this matter… See how he forms a cross pattern with them? That must be why.” “So, are you calling it quits, Trixie?” Naruto said to Trixie, confident in his victory. “Hmph, hardly… It’s a nice trick, I’ll give you that, but it pales in comparison to mine… Hm hm hm…” Naruto was about to wonder what she was talking about but her horn lit up again. But this time, it wasn’t aimed at Naruto, she was aiming it right in the air? “What is she up to…?” He muttered to himself. “I don’t know but I have a feeling we’re about to find out,” the clone muttered back. A few beams of light arced off her horn and hit the stage at multiple locations. The beams of light quickly formed… “Oh no…” In no time at all, Trixie had out-cloned Naruto. What stood in place of the beams of light, were multiple clones of Trixies! “No way!” The clone said in disbelief. The Trixies giggled ominously as they pointed their hooves at him. “It is no use blondie, Trixie has won again!” They all spoke together. The crowd cheered at the spectacle, while Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow stood there miffed. Naruto was even more annoyed that he was out-cloned. But how? “They can’t be the same as my shadow clone. It’s just some more of her stupid illusions. I bet those clones she produced aren’t even solid…” “Oh, and just for good measure…” The Trixie’s added, their horns glowing together and pointed directly at Naruto, or Naruto 2 to be precise, and fired off another beam of light. As it hit, another blast of smoke hit the stage and a monstrous roar rang out through the smoke. When the smoke cleared, his clone had turned into a orange and black striped tiger! Caught off-guard, Naruto screamed in shock. “AAAHHHH!” The tiger pounced on him, only to be flung away by Naruto with a quick back-roll. The tiger flew off the stage and hit a nearby pole, disappearing in a quick puff of smoke. Naruto couldn’t believe what just happened. She turned his clone into a tiger and his own clone attacked him! Trixie turned to the crowd, already starting to gloat. “Ha! Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie has proven herself to be the most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria. Was there ‘ever’ any doubt?” With that, the crowd started to disperse, seeing as nopony else would go up to the stage and challenge her. Trixie retreated backstage and said something about taking a break. Everyone actually believed her to be the greatest now, despite the fact she was a boastful bitch… at least, that’s what Naruto thought. He stood there on the stage still, his mind running through different scenario’s for what had went wrong and when. He’s NEVER been out-cloned before. Then again, he was limited to one clone for some stupid reason. And yet, he didn’t have the power to create so many at once anymore. He cursed himself for this. If only he had more power. “Are you okay Naruto?” Naruto looked down to find only Twilight next to the stage. The rest of the ponies must have gone home, including AJ and Rainbow. He sighed and hopped off the stage. “Not really, I was so confident I could beat her at her own game, but I was wrong. She just seemed to be all talk at first, so I thought…” Naruto looked at the ground in distraught. Twilight gave a small smile and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it Naruto. Everyone has their own abilities and limitations, whether it’s you, me, AJ, or anypony else. Don’t let it get to you…” She stared at the stage with a frown. “Still, I wish you didn’t go up there. You just added fuel to the fire by giving her another excuse to show-off…” “Hey,Twilight?” “Yes, Naruto?” “Just… what’s an Ursa Major anyway? From the fireworks, it looked like an over-grown bear.” “I’m not sure myself. I’ve heard of them, but I need to look them up again back at the library. Why?” “Because… If what Trixie says really is true about it being absurdly powerful,” he smacked a hoof into the other, “I want to fight it!” Twilight stared at Naruto dumbfounded but looked at him with concern a moment later. “Naruto, haven’t you learned from your experience with the Manticore!? You nearly died!” Naruto laughed in response. “What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger.” He said, backed by his ‘Naruto Logic.’ Twilight butted her head against Naruto’s, close enough that they could feel each other’s breaths. Naruto could see she was rather angry. “Listen Naruto, you got lucky last time,” she said, accentuating each word with a hoof poke, ”I don’t want you doing another dangerous stunt like that ever again. Do you realize how worried Pinkie and I were? You might not get so lucky next time!” Naruto returned the pressure on his forehead against hers. “I understand that you’re worried Twilight, but don’t be. I’ve fought much worse and come out on top.” “I don’t care what you fought; I just don’t want to see you hurt!” They glared into each other’s eyes for a full minute, neither wanting to back down, until Naruto realized something. Her breath… There was a faint hint of lavender on her breath and he just noticed how close their lips were. A blush started to creep onto his face. “Um… Twilight, mind backing off a tad?” Twilight went wide-eyed when Naruto mentioned that, not realizing it at first. She immediately pulled her head away, a blush adding a faint red hue to her face. She coughed a little and just turned her head, starting to walk away. “J…Just don’t do anything that will put you in danger, a-alright? I need to go… R-Research and such…” As Twilight walked off to do Celestia knows what, Naruto just stood there confused. It didn’t last long as he just grinned and pounded his chest. “Eh, whether it’s an over-sized grizzly, an over-sized furball, or anything else in this place, I can take it!” But then he looked around him, making sure that no one was around, and gave a small sigh. “…I hope.” ***** After the events at Trixie’s Caravan, Naruto found himself walking randomly around Ponyville, thinking of the events that had occurred. He couldn’t help but wonder why Twilight was getting so worried about him. He was a ninja, a fighter, a mercenary... A ninja… Did the word ‘ninja’ even exist in Equestria? There are guards in fancy armor, sure, but is there anyone with enough skill and prowess to be called a ninja in this world? As far as he knew, he was the only one. Being a ninja… the word crept into his own memories once more, reminding him of Konoha and— “No!” He shook his head, trying to stop the flashbacks. He didn’t want to start reminiscing again; it would only make him cry again. He needed to think to occupy his mind and he had the perfect pony. “Trixie… yes, her.” How was she able to turn his clone into a tiger? That must have taken some really fancy magic to do that. Now that he thought about it, Trixie’s own clones… They spoke when she spoke. Was it some kind of Gen-jutsu or was it just a simple parlor trick with mirrors and her reflections instead of actual clones? Still, that wouldn’t explain how she morphed his shadow clone into a tiger and had it turn against him. It dispelled when the tiger hit a nearby pole, so does that mean his clone was still a clone, but just in a different ‘shell’ per say? But then why did it attack him? He wasn’t that familiar with magic, except for those in books and fairytales, but seeing it all first hand was quickly changing his perspective on magic. “I guess there’s all kinds of magic out there… kinda like my ninja techniques…” Ponyville seemed nearly crime-less too. Save for Blackie, there weren’t any fights or criminals running about causing mischief. It’s all rainbows and butterflies. “I guess it truly IS peaceful here… no conflicts, no reason to lock your doors, or even risk being attacked…” Was the Manticore he killed peaceful too? No, wait, that’s right. He had to kill a wolf in the forest too. They were both carnivorous creatures. The Manticore may have hesitated in attacking, but the wolf didn’t. Naruto couldn’t help but scratch his head in confusion. Understanding the logic here of this world was giving him a headache. Was this place really free of conflict and strife, or was there some hidden evil lurking just out of sight? He decided to stop thinking about it for now, in fear of dredging up any past memories of home... …And once again he found himself taking a stroll down memory la— “NO! Bad brain, stop it! I need to do something, anything to get my mind off it!” He shouted. Several ponies who were passing by stopped and looked at him like he was crazy. He looked at his surroundings and before giving a small toothy grin while scratching the back of his head. “Ah heh heh… um… don’t mind me, just your local crazy pony here! Ah ha, AHAHAHAH!” He said, trying to laugh it off. The ponies stared for a moment longer before shaking their heads and continuing with whatever they happened to be doing. He sighed as he continued to walk in a random direction, head looking at the ground below him. However, he neglected to watch in front of him when he started to walk and collided with a sign. He ricocheted back, more out of shock then pain. “Agh, who put this sign here…?” He looked up to see a sign that said “Soaps & Bubbles”. It was outlined in silver and had a mop, bucket, and a yellow soap bar surrounded with bubbles underneath the name. To the right, was the store in question, the same logo plastered above the doorway. That’s when it hit him: He may not be able to repair the house at the moment but he could at least make it livable. That’s what he can do! Clean the house! ***** Naruto rushed back with his new cleaning supplies in gear: A mop, a bucket, a couple of spray bottles filled with cleaning solution, some mold remover, sponges, a broom and dustpan, and even a few scrub-brushes for the tougher areas. In total, it cost him 30 bits for the supplies but it was worth it just to get the house cleaned up! Now that he thought about it, he never did get a good look at his bathroom. Only one way to find out! Reaching the entrance to his house, he kicked open the door, as if trying to make a grand and badass entrance. It would have worked too, save for the fact that he was the only there to see it. He dropped his cleaning supplies onto the floor before rushing to the bathroom to see just how bad it was. TO be honest, he was scared of what he may find there after this place hadn’t been used in a long time. He stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath before slamming the door open. The bathroom was in dire need of cleaning. Mold and dust stuck to the walls and the silver sink, tub, and toilet in the corner. Thankfully, nothing else seemed to be wrong... at least at first glance. Speaking of which, where in the hell was all the rats and cockroaches? If he didn’t know any better, this place should have been crawling with those pests and yet he hadn’t encountered any of them yet. Now why was that? Ignoring this for the moment, he went to the sink to see if the water was still running. Surely enough, water flowed out of the faucet and went into the drain without problem. Naruto was thankful that the plumbing in the house still worked. Unfortunately, the water was also brown and murky, which meant that it hadn’t been used in a long time. That meant that for the moment, he was without a fresh water supply in his house until the pipes were cleaned. He left the water running for now so it would drain out all the gunk that rested inside the aged pipes He recalled there being a river nearby that ran parallel to the road a little ways away. Summoning a Shadow Clone, he told it to go and fetch some water from the river while he’d get started with the cleaning. Hours seemed to fly by as he cleaned up the first floor of the house: Sweeping up the bigger pieces of debris, mopping the floors, and scrubbing out the thinnest lines of grime and dirt in the tubs and faucets. He couldn’t get to the walls just yet but he at least wanted to get the floors and appliances clean before night. The tub was especially important: Naruto can’t recall the last time he’d taken a proper bath ever since he came to this world. It was already… well, the sun was already beginning to dip down into the horizon, and Naruto didn’t have a clock to tell the time, so he assumed it was pretty late. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, exhausted from all his hard work and took a look at what he had accomplished: The living room floor and his bedroom floor was free of dust now. The floors sparkled and shined after being forcefully scrubbed and mopped with soap and water. Not only that, the air was laced with the scent of vanilla from the cleaning solution. He didn’t get to the ceiling or the corners of the house yet, cobwebs and the like, but the floors was his priority. He wanted it clean enough to eat off of... Well, not literally, but clean regardless. There was a lot less dust in the air too, but still, some of it remained, despite the fact that the house he had ventilated the house twice already. The silver tub and sink were definitely clean as well; shining and clear enough to see Naruto’s reflection through it. Even the mirror above the sink was looking good, especially the toilet itself. Naruto couldn’t help but point his hooves at the mirror and go: “Are you talkin’ to me bub? Because you’re one handsome pony…” He said to himself through the mirror, giving off different facial expressions. He couldn’t help but laugh, feeling both tired but content with the hard work. He looked over at his clone to find it covered in dirt and dust but grinning nonetheless. “Heh heh, we did it pal! We’ve actually cleaned up some of this mess.” “You said it boss!” They high-hoofed for a job well done, the impact dispelling his clone into a puff of smoke. It was only the beginning, as he still had the rest of the house to clean up, but it was a start, a foot in the door, so to speak. He took off his jacket and hung it off a nail before walking into the bathroom, ready to take a long hot soak. ***** “Who was that blonde pony?” That was the only thing running through her mind for the last couple hours. The fact that the blonde was able to use such similar magic to her own, baffled her. “And those tails… they were kind of cute, but why is Trixie thinking so much of it?” The soft furry texture, the way they swayed around, it was almost hypnotic to her, like she had some sort of attachment towards it. Trixie went wide-eyed and just shook her head. “No, Trixie must not think such things, especially to that low-life of a stallion. Trixie is Trixie, the greatest unicorn of all of Equestria!” She praised herself. She looked through her caravan window, watching the moonlight light up the surrounding area in a silvery glow. “Hoofington… Trixie has not been there in such a long time… The home of the illustrious Trixie, too… How I miss it…” She was starting to nod off slightly, feeling the embrace of sleep starting to take her for the night. She blinked her eyes a couple of times and shook her head, trying to stay awake a little longer. However, it was a losing battle, as her eye lids grew heavier and heavier with each successive blink. She sighed once more, looking at the small bed in her rather small caravan. “Well, no use in thinking about it. Tomorrow’s another fantastic show in Ponyville, and Trixie is aiming to show she is the greatest of all!” Before she could head to her bed, however, a series of loud knocks brought her out of her sleepy mood. She cursed herself, wanting to sleep instead of answering whatever imbecile would disturb her during the night. But the knocks kept up, now shouting for Trixie to get up. Extremely irritated, she got up off the bed and stomped to the door. She looked through her window and saw Snips and Snails, the ones from earlier this morning. She just shook her head as she opened her window and poked her head out. “Trixie thought she said the Great and Powerful Trixie did NOT want to be disturbed!” She said irritably. She just wanted to get some sleep, not deal with these two’s needless nonsense. “B-But we have a tiny problem!” Snips said, with Snails following up with the contrary. “Actually, it’s a big one.” She rubbed temples with both hooves, already feeling the makings of a headache. She glared at them, growing quite tired of their company. “What is so important that you cannot wait until morning to disturb Trixie!?” A loud ferocious roar could be heard in the distance, and her face scrunched up into unimaginable fear. She opened the door to get a better look at what was happening. And for the first time in a while, she felt afraid; very afraid. “Oh shit…”, she said. ***** “Aahhhh… God damn... this is the life…” Steam rose off the water of the tub. He lay there, fully submerged except for his head as the hot water did it’s job. He could already feel the knots in his muscles starting to unravel. He rubbed a bar of soap over his wet fur, cleaning it thoroughly with the soap before dunking it back into the water to wash the suds away. He went completely under the hot water and came back out with a satisfied sigh. The window was open, letting in a cool night breeze that clashed rather nicely with his hot bath. “Nothing could possibly go—” As if jinxing his wonderful night, a loud earthshaking roar cut through the night, powerful enough to rock the water inside Naruto’s bathtub. “Wah!?” He could feel the rumble for a few seconds before it settled down. He leaned over to the window and looked around his surroundings. “What the hell was that!?” He needed to investigate, because that roar was definitely not friendly. In fact, it was similar to a Manticore’s, except that it was much louder and scarier. He didn’t have time to grab his jacket off his improvised hook but he managed to snag his Konoha headband on the way out. He looked around for a towel, only to realize he had forgotten to buy one while at the store. He berated himself as he shook himself off like a dog, and only prayed the rest of his wet fur would dry off as he went outside. Stepping outside, he didn’t see anything at first, but he heard the beastly roar once more and it was coming from the direction of Ponyville no less! He wasted no time. He jumped into the trees, hopping through them one by one to travel towards the source… ***** She hadn’t been this scared in a long time. With her caravan now a pile of splinters and wood, she ran. Behind her, tailing her every move, was the dreaded Ursa Major: A several story tall Grizzly Bear that seemed to be made of the night sky itself but with teeth and claws . She ran as fast as she could, trying to get away from such a monstrous beast. “Why… Why did this have to bite Trixie in the flank so soon?” All her boasting had cost her and karma decided to come back and right the wrongs she had committed ever since her performance tour started.Worrying more about the Ursa behind her, she failed to notice the rock sticking out of the path in front of her. She tripped over it, sending her stumbling onto the road and skidding a few meters before coming to a complete stop. She tried to get up, but the leg she tripped on failed to comply, instead sending pain coursing up her leg. She was paralyzed with fear, unable to move even if she wanted to. She must have sprained her ankle or something when she fell. She needed time to recover but time was certainly not on her side. She leaned towards her back, only to be met by a rather grizzly fate, as the Ursa Major hovered over her, drooling and snarling at his incapacitated prey. Trixie started to cry, tears forming in her eyes and streaming down her distraught face. Her life had started to flash before her eyes: Not knowing her parents as a young filly, learning magic for the first time, being taken in by a stranger in Hoofington—everything. “Help…” She begged weakly. For the first time in a long time, she was begging for help. “Help Trixie… anyone… please…!” The Ursa stared at her for a moment, before lifting its front paw and sending it on a collision course towards Trixie. Trixie went wide-eyed as the tears fell from her face faster than she could control. “No…. NOOO!” She closed her eyes, not wanting to see her death. … However, there was no pain... no impact... no nothing. Was she already dead? She was afraid to open her eyes, but she slowly cracked open an eye, and was met with a wondrous sight. Naruto was there standing above her, holding the Ursa Major’s paw up… with his tails!? ***** “Urgh…” Naruto grunted. He couldn’t believe it. Here he was, saving Trixie. He watched as the bear cornered Trixie and was about to deliver the finishing blow. He could have let her die, but hearing her cries for help... he couldn’t let that happen to anyone or anypony. He still couldn’t believe that his tails was holding up this thing’s palm! He was crazy, but not THIS crazy. “Eh heh…” Naruto said with a grin. “You must be the Ursa Major I’ve heard about before, eh?! This ought to be fun then…!” He looked back at Trixie and then back at the bear, grinning even more than before. “I hope you’re ready, because once I’m done with you…” He began. “You’ll be my first Ramen Recipe: The Ursa Ramen Bowl!” ***** AN: Apologies for it being late, me and Mobbs had a technical hiccup, but it's all good now! Also, Chapters 6 and 7 have been revised, thanks to Pissfer, and the rest of the un-revised chapters will be edited out by him in the future. Check 'em out when you get a chance!