//------------------------------//
// Healing isn’t Easy... 
// Story: The Truth of Bonds and Friendship 
// by Gadman85 
//------------------------------//

Dear Princess Celestia,

I was surprised to receive a letter from you as soon as we entered the Library after defeating Discord. I guess it was easy figuring out he was stone again. I was happy to read you were making a new stained-glass window for the occasion. I do ask you include Naruko, since she kept Discord busy while the rest of us got ready to make our move. Back to the topic at hoof. I am happy to hear this and the others were as much as can be expected.

However, though a ceremony would be nice, we don’t feel like we can make it. The price of defeating Discord already feels too high and we don’t even know how much it costs us yet. We are all concerned about Naruko and don’t wish to be parted from her for something such as a ceremony for a new stained-glass window and we all need to heal in a way.

You may believe a ceremony would be good for Equestria, and maybe you are right, but we… I… have to think about Naruko right now. She still hasn’t told us what it he did to her, but it was something bad and she needs us right now. We need her as well. Discord may have caused them to do things they would never think of doing, but they can’t act like those things didn’t happen.

We all wish you well and are glad Equestria is once again safe, but we need time now to heal. We weren’t magically healed like the land was once he turned to stone again. I beg you to please understand.

Sincerely your student,

Twilight Sparkle

P.S.: Please be sure to ask Princess Luna to pay extra attention to Naruko’s dreams over the next few nights if she can.

“Done…” Twilight sighed as she handed the letter over to Spike. Spike didn’t even need to ask where to send it to before he flamed it away. Her letter might have been rushed, but she needed to get it done with and quick. She had to get it out of the way.

Twilight walked back into the main area where the others were. They were all on the quiet side, but the atmosphere was still that of friends caring for each other. Twilight helped her self to a sip of her drink. It was amazing how sometimes it was the simplest things that helped you feel a little better. They weren’t partying it up like many would think ponies who just saved Equestria from a literal God of Chaos would. They might have done so, if things were different.

However, they all had a good bit on their minds. They may have not been through the worst of it as a whole, but seeing Naruko at the end really got to them. In a way it kind of made things feel more real. The Elements of Harmony may have saved the day in the end, but due to their lack of understanding of their elements they were first useless. Naruko was extremely powerful especially with Kyuubi by her side and yet Discord wasn’t defeated until the Elements were used properly after Twilight got the others out of the spell.

This showed them their necklaces and Twilight’s crown were merely tools. If the users weren’t able to use them then they were useless and little better than jewelry. Fluttershy’s words on becoming the avatars of their elements seemed more important than they did before and not something to wait on tackling. It seemed to make sense if they were able to connect directly to their elements in that way than even Discord wouldn’t be able to stop them. When they learned Fluttershy wasn’t turned the same way they were, it was more proof she had a better grasp on what they needed to because of her trial.

At the moment, the group of friends were just sitting quietly drinking juice with each other. Naruko finally let out a sigh. “Well… I sure am glad that’s over with. Sorry for not being too excited. I’m just really exhausted after that fight.” Naruko then gave a small smile as she said, “I think I’ll need a spa trip in the next few days. And I might even try the Rarity Package.”

“It is simply marvelous, Darling! I wonder if you will be able to enjoy trips in the future without that package once you’ve experienced it,” Rarity said beaming. She then gave a little laugh, “I bet you’ll be singing a different tune about seaweed wraps after you have one.”

“I’ll try it, but probably only the once,” Naruko said. After that, the others seemed to be more talkative as well. They didn’t really address Naruko’s breakdown. It felt that was something for her to mention first. Hopefully she wouldn’t force them to act on it though by keeping it all bottled up inside her heart.

{-} {-} {-}

When the others left and it was just Twilight and Naruko, the blonde unicorn sighed again. “I’m sorry for how I acted after the battle, Twilight…” Naruko said in a small voice proving her earlier words were mostly for putting on a brave face around the others.

Twilight came over and sat down right next to Naruko as the other pony leaned on her. “You have nothing to be sorry for Naruko. Nothing. You went through something really tough I can tell and that was before you fought Discord to distract him,” she said in a caring voice. “I do wish you would talk about it, but I know such things can be difficult.”

Naruko was in thought for a moment while she chewed on her bottom lip. She knew she probably should talk to someone about it and Twilight was the best for that. “I guess I’ll tell you some of it, but not everything and I am not telling anyone else. Trust me… You don’t want to hear everything,” Naruko said.

“Discord trapped me in something he called a Dream Reality. However, something went wrong with it. Maybe its because I’m not from here originally or my connection to Kyuubi or something else completely. I’m not sure. But it started off nice enough. The spell actually uses your own dreams, desires, memories and fears to make it a realistic dream you won’t want to wake up from. But like I said it went wrong,” Naruko said giving a shudder.

“How wrong are we talking here and in what way?” Twilight asked. She felt a little apprehensive about this. If it caused Naruko to act this way it had to be really bad, but she wanted to help her girlfriend.

“It started off with me just going through several realities and not fully remembering the previous one, but knowing I just did something. Then the spell started to corrupt or degrade or who knows what,” Naruko said with a frown. Twilight grimaced to that thought.

“This resulted in reality literally falling apart around me. I was stuck for a long while watching as memories of my time here started to clash and try to combine with memories of my life as a ninja. I saw estimations of what my classmates would look like now and it would switch between happy times and dark times at the drop of a Bit. It did the same with my times as a pony. Then it somehow spliced it all together in some way and I ended up seeing myself as a half pony half human. It was really scary and strange…” Naruko said.

Twilight placed a comforting hoof on Naruko and started rubbing her back. Naruko soaked in the contact. “I did manage to get out of there by finding the anchor point and rewriting the runes eventually. It wasn’t easy because my own mind was fighting back as hard as it could with more of those terrible images.” She gave a shudder at the thought of those images.

Naruko let out a suffering sigh. “It was so bad that when I first came out I wasn’t even sure I was out. Hell! Discord’s world was like sunshine and daisies compared to what that place was like. Then when Discord touched me at the end...” she broke off for a moment.

Naruko looked away and sobbed a little. “He did something to me Twilight… I don’t know what. But I know he did something. I can feel it inside and I have no idea what it is.”

Naruko stood up and she started to pace a little, “He called it a gift, but this is a guy who thought it was fun playing with ponies for his own amusement. I-I don’t think I want to know what he did to me, but I do want to know what he did to me. Which I hate!” Naruko said louder than necessary as she stomped a hoof on the ground in frustration and anger as she started to breath shallowly.

Twilight got up and held Naruko again. Once more, the blonde unicorn seemed to soak in the touch as if it was the only thing keeping reality from again falling apart. “T-t-thanks. Twilight. I don’t know what I would do without you right now.”

She gave a humorless chuckle. “Grand Captain of the Ever-Free Patrol and I would probably collapse to the ground crying if you weren’t holding me. I guess I’m really not all that cool of a marefriend right now.”

Twilight nuzzled her a little as she softly said, “Maybe not. But you still are the best one ever.” She tried to smile brightly in the hopes it would make things better. Naruko swallowed as she nuzzled Twilight back. She then seemed to feel relieved at the success of returning such a minor intimate gesture and she held on to Twilight even more.

Twilight hated how she had mixed feelings about this. She hated how Naruko was suffering so much. At the same time, she loved how attached Naruko was acting towards her. “Are you going to be okay to sleep tonight? I’m pretty sure rest is going to be very important for you the next few days,” Twilight said in worry.

Naruko sighed as she thought it over. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t be, but she didn’t want to bother Twilight anymore with such things. She couldn’t lie either. “Maybe… But only if I get to snuggle with you a good bit tonight first,” she said blushing a little. It sounded childish, but she kind of felt a bit like a lost filly at the moment.

Twilight responded by hugging her tightly and saying, “I can definitely make that happen. I won’t even have to use my magic.” She gave a musical giggle the sound of which made Naruko feel warmer.

Naruko and Twilight got refills of their drinks and sat down together snuggling. Naruko loved feeling Twilight’s warmth next to her. Dream Twilight didn’t really have that warmth. This meant she was still in the actual real world.

“You do realize once you're doing better you are going to have to give me make up snuggles, right?” Twilight asked with a smile.

“Sounds fair to me,” Naruko said with a giggle. She wasn’t sure what Twilight meant by this, but it was something she looked forward to anyways.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruko woke up and quickly looked around her dark room. She was breathing shallow and fast as she looked around in panic. She looked outside her window quickly. The outside world was still there and how it should be. Naruko gave a sigh in relief.

She shouldn’t have been surprised really. She should have counted on this happening a lot after everything. She saw just the slightest hint of what she thought was a glitch in her other wise happy dream and immediately woke up in a panic.

Naruko let out another sigh as she placed a hoof on the temple of her forehead. She let out a groan and gave a stretch. She then took in a calming breath and let it out before quietly making her way to her restroom. She splashed some water on her face and sighed as she looked at her exhausted face in the mirror. She got some water to drink before heading back to bed.

“I really need my rest…” she said to herself. “It wasn’t real. That wasn’t real. It didn’t really happen,” she said trying to convince herself it was okay to go back to sleep. She used the word it because she dared not use the word dream given the name of Discord’s spell.

It took a while for her to fall back asleep. This time she was met by a pure white space as her boss stepped out of a portal. Naruko took a certain level of comfort in this. Princess Luna never appeared in that place. “I’m glad to see you Princess Luna,” Naruko sighed.

“I meant to appear sooner but your dream ended oddly quick and seemingly for no reason. Is everything alright?” the Night Princess asked.

“Discord… He did something to me that made things seem close to reality and then it went all wrong quickly. I suddenly thought that was going to happen,” Naruko admitted. She didn’t fully explain, because she didn’t want to worry her boss anymore than she already was.

“I see. Well it is good Twilight suggested I pay you a visit then. I want you to take some time off from your duties as Grand Captain. I know we are expanding soon, but your health is important and we still have preparations we can do before we are fully ready to begin the expansion,” Princess Luna said.

“Does that mean everything?” Naruko asked warily. She was hoping to get back to working soon and get back into a routine again. That would help she thought. That would be familiar, but then again that is what that spell did before ruining everything as well. Maybe work wasn’t the best idea after all.

“Yes. You can visit but you are not to work. No Paperwork. No meetings,” Princess Luna said hoping Naruko would be on board with this decision because of the last two things.

Naruko frowned a little.

Princess Luna frowned as well. “It isn’t permanent. I expect you to get back to your usual self again or as close as you can. I figured you’d be happy to be out of doing paperwork and meetings.”

“I guess I just feel like I’m… useless or something,” Naruko said as her shoulders slumped.

“Useless?! Hardly. I can’t think of any other ponies that could take on Discord like you did,” Princess Luna said.

“I had Kyuubi with me… It also didn’t really do much more than give Discord some pain. I didn’t even defeat him. Twilight and the others could have probably beat him anyways,” Naruko said as she looked to the side not meeting Luna’s eyes.

“Let us not dwell on what might have happened. Let us think on what did happen. You were able to actually hurt Discord and you kept him from further interfering with The Elements and allowed them to defeat him by surprise,” Luna said.

Naruko sighed to that and nodded to show her agreement with the princess. “Is there anything else, Princess Luna?” she asked.

Princess Luna thought it over before smiling and giving Naruko a hug. “Thank you for helping save Equestria once again.” She then gave Naruko a motherly nuzzle before backing up. “I will make sure you have nothing to worry about the rest of tonight while you sleep, Naruko. Enjoy your time off.”

Naruko felt really warm as she smiled at Princess Luna and teared up a little in happiness and relief. “Okay. I will do my best,” she said as Princess Luna exited via another portal.

Princess Luna really hoped Naruko would be okay. The Grand Captain didn’t seem to realize just how important her role played in Discord’s defeat. Some ponies still out and about during the fight witnessed it all and many ponies actually felt relieved and safer as a result of what she did.

Some ponies watched as the Elements failed that first time. Seeing the Elements fail to stop Discord was very disheartening for those who still had their awareness about them. Some of them ran for the barracks hoping to ride out Discord’s reign hidden. These ponies explained what happened to the others already and that caused them to feel hopeless.

Those same ponies who felt hopeless would later hear from witnesses, or see for themselves, as Naruko dared challenge Discord. Seeing the Ever-Free Grand Captain fighting strong despite everything gave them a sense of hope. The fact it seemed to observers Naruko was actually a challenge to Discord, even if it was with the help of Kyuubi, really gave them a reason to hope. When they moved in closer and noticed Discord tried something on Naruko but it failed, they felt encouraged his reign would not last. Once the Elements showed up again, they caught the Draconequus by surprise and won. The ponies who witnessed this went to tell everypony.

Surprisingly during the tales it ended up being Naruko’s bravery that really stood out to them. Sure, the elements were the ones who defeated the Draconequus, but that was expected of them for using the Elements of Harmony. Naruko was known to be powerful, but the fact she beat all expectations and went hoof to claw with Discord was something else.

Sadly, as happens with many ponies, Naruko didn’t fully realize how important she was. Princess Luna wanted her favorite pony to realize her value to not only her friends but Equestria as a whole. Luna couldn't try to pretend to be unbiased when it came to her personally picked Grand Captain.

Naruko was one of the few ponies who would actually be better off from such a realization. Lesser ponies would gain an air of arrogance if they were in her position. Princess Luna believed wholeheartedly Naruko would become an even better pony and more dedicated Grand Captain if she learned her true value to the nation and those around her. She might have a bit of a freak out at first, but she would recover and grow even more as a pony from this realization.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruko woke up slowly the next morning, “Kami damn it all… Why the hell does Celestia have to make the sun so damn bright?” Naruko was also cursing the sun a little, which was not something she usually did while here in Equestria. Princess Luna had helped her out, but Naruko remembered their exchange and she was not fully happy about it as a whole. One of the last things she ever wanted to do was look weak in front of Princess Luna. She loved the Night Princess and wanted to be the best Grand Captain she could be for her. Discord had to go and ruin that too apparently even after he was gone.

Naruko gave a mighty yawn as she slowly made her way out of bed. “I actually need coffee…” she muttered to herself. She wasn’t allowed to work today, but she still needed coffee to wake up. She also wanted to at least pay a visit to HQ and let them all know she was okay. Naruko gave a yawn as she muttered in response to this idea, “Even though I am clearly not okay.”

The blonde unicorn looked at herself in the mirror. She noticed small bags under her eyes. She supposed it made sense. She did wake up early in the night and had some trouble falling back asleep. Naruko ignored the part of her angry at Discord for possibly ruining her looks as well because of those bags under her eyes. She wasn’t a very vain pony but she liked being cute and pretty for Twilight at least. Sadly he had to go and decide it fun giving her some horrific images that would only serve to fuel her nightmares, even before Princess Luna could fix them and keep her from a proper sleep. At the moment, she didn’t care that he had done this completely by accident and if he had it his way she’d be all happy and smiles with dream reality Twilight.

Naruko sighed after she took a shower and made her way to the kitchen for breakfast. She was immensely relieved Twilight decided to cook despite it being Naruko’s turn. When asked about this, Twilight responded, “What kind of Marefriend would I be if I didn’t decide to make you breakfast after all you went through?”

Naruko didn’t have any answer apart from a mighty yawn. “See? Further proof I made the right choice. All you can do is yawn,” Twilight answered with a smile. Naruko blushed a little as Twilight gave her a quick hug. Naruko wanted to express her feelings at such contact, but felt she had to try and play it strong.

Twilight felt Naruko’s yearning at the simple contact despite the other pony’s attempts hiding such feelings. Twilight was concerned Naruko was still taking such warmth and love from even the simplest romantic contact in such a large way. She hoped a night’s sleep would help with that. Twilight was really glad they were completely finished with Discord and would never have to see him again in their lifetimes if he got to Naruko this bad. She also decided to be sure to give Naruko more affectionate gestures for her sake.

Naruko wasn’t sure what to feel. Twilight was there with her and very close, even during breakfast. Naruko wanted to be seen as strong and not needing help. She was also deep down very desperate to receive as much love and comfort as she could possibly feel from her girlfriend. Naruko was actually terrified how clingy she could possibly get after everything. It didn’t help she wanted to be just that way.

There was a huge part of her which wanted to grab on to Twilight and never let go ever! There was also a part of her that feared such actions would scare away the best pony she ever knew and leave her an even bigger mess than she already was. Naruko hated feeling like this. She almost wished she could go back to how things were in Konoha. Sure it really sucked, but she never had to worry about coming off too attached with a girlfriend there. She was just mostly left alone. She hated that but she never feared losing someone she grew close to through her own actions.

“What are you planning to do today?” Twilight asked.

Naruko took in a breath and answered. “I was actually planning to pay HQ a visit.”

“You weren’t planning on working, were you? Princess Luna got in contact with me and said I needed to pay extra attention to you just to be safe and make sure you didn’t try to work yet,” Twilight admitted. Naruko didn't really have a problem with Twilight paying close attention to her like that.

“Maybe a part of me is still that little girl seeking attention from others no matter what,” Naruko thought to herself. She wasn’t about to lie to herself. She still loved getting attention from other ponies. The blonde unicorn hated how there was still that small part of her that wanted as much attention as she could get from those closest to her. She had easily kept it from getting out of control, but after Discord everything changed. She wasn’t so sure she wouldn’t revert back to the overly desperate for affection girl she was, even if she acted closed off back then at times.

Twilight placed a hoof on Naruko’s back and smiled as she said, “I want to spend the day with you, Naruko. I’m coming with you to the Ever-Free HQ.”

Naruko smiled as she felt warmth flowing through her from Twilight’s touch. “Oddly enough… I’m perfectly okay with that,” she said with a smile as she grabbed the purple unicorn in a tight hug.

“I think I can get used to Naruko’s new behavior. I just really wish it wasn’t because of everything Discord did to her,” Twilight thought. Her eyes then narrowed in anger as she thought, “I will never forgive him for all he did to her…” Twilight wasn’t keen on forgiveness when it came to that… horrible vile loathsome creature thing.

{-} {-} {-}

As the two walked towards HQ, they noticed some ponies were acting a little strange around them. The ponies were looking towards them in awe, especially Naruko Twilight noticed. “I wonder what’s up with everypony?” she asked quietly so only Naruko heard her.

The blonde unicorn gave a shrug before saying, “Maybe it’s you. You told me Princess Celestia wanted to have a ceremony for you all to show off a new stained-glass window.”

“That was just yesterday… I highly doubt the ceremony, if she still held it without us being there, would have already been held. Also… You do realize you were included in that right? It wasn’t just us,” Twilight said the last part sternly to get the point across. She wasn’t about to let her marefriend act like she hadn’t done anything at all, especially after the price she ended having to pay for it.

“You were the ones who…” Naruko caught Twilight’s face and sighed. “I was just saying maybe they know about you all defeating Discord.”

“You were the one who actually put in the work. It's obvious they're looking more at you than me,” Twilight said.

Naruko looked around and noticed several of the onlooking ponies blush and go about their business once her eyes met their own. She wasn’t glaring at them or anything to set them off and they acted like that. She found it weird but guessed maybe Twilight could be right. “If that’s the case… I hope it’s a good thing,” she thought to herself as they neared their destination.

They stopped in their tracks as they looked forward. They hadn’t expected to actually see a couple of Night Guards standing guard out front. They were also a little caught off guard when the two snapped to attention and saluted Naruko. Naruko easily returned the salute.

They also saw a tried Lyra seemingly on break as she smiled at them and waved. Naruko and Twilight approached her. “Hello, Lyra. What are you doing out here?” Naruko asked.

“Hey, Boss!” Lyra grinned and hugged Naruko who happily returned the friendly gesture and once again soaked it in. “I’m taking a bit of a break. Things are pretty crazy in there. You’ll see that soon enough I guess. Bon Bon and Cloud Kicker are out patrolling right now. I was with them earlier to help scan for residual chaos energy readings. It seems there is one place Discord’s magic couldn’t fully touch and that is the Ever-Free Forest, but there’s still been some effects on the wildlife there,” Lyra said.

Naruko nodded in thought as Twilight blinked a little in thought. “First Lieutenant recommended we look into it. Bon Bon and Cloud are getting an eyes on report. I can scan for it but getting too close would cause problems due to the opposing natures of Unicorn magic and uncontrolled chaos energy. You guys whooped Discord so it is going unchecked even if it is slowly deteriorating. By the way, thanks for doing that and please tell the others I thanked them as well.”

“How did the evacuation go?” Naruko asked. She knew Derpy would have done so as soon as things got bad.

Lyra sighed. “About as well as it could really. We didn’t have much notice and not only are we limited in number, but also reach of our location.”

Naruko gave a sigh. “I wish we had enough ponies in the patrol to have an outpost on the other side of Ponyville. Not a full HQ, but enough of an outpost we can use it as an evacuation shelter.”

Lyra gave a nod in thought. “That might end up being possible… As for the Outpost itself. We could easily copy the protection and expansion runic matrixes. I bet we could even come up with some maintenance runework as well. We might need a little help, but that way we would only have to check in on it instead of having a pony there at all times just for cleaning and such.”

Naruko nodded to this. Twilight blinked and then shook her head as Lyra looked to her questioningly. “Sorry…” she started as she gave a nervous giggle. “I kind of forget you too were at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns… I wasn’t exactly the most sociable pony back then.”

Lyra gave a smile and a chuckle. “Understandable. We weren’t all Celestia’s private student like you were and Boss was later, but there are actually a couple of us here in Ponyville and we can be smart when we want or need to be.”

Twilight frowned to that. She hated getting this information now. She should have found it out herself sooner. Now she felt a little bad at not having been a better pony and friend to the others at school. She didn’t hate them or anything like that, but she wasn’t really interested in others apart from her family and Princess Celestia. The first pony she was genuinely interested in was originally a human and that was kind of what started their friendship which grew into a relationship. She didn’t want to dwell on these things now because she felt Naruko needed her focus.

It was silly but it again felt like there was some force out there trying to drag her away from Naruko for some reason by mentioning ponies she should be friends with near her. She wasn’t going to let it win. She would worry about making amends with former classmates later. She chose to listen in on Naruko’s conversation with Lyra which helped her put those thoughts to the back of her mind for the moment.

“I see where you are coming from, but what do you mean by that being possible? The expansion hasn’t started yet and there hasn’t really been too much interest from local ponies apart from you and the others in joining up,” Naruko said.

Lyra fought back a huge grin from bursting out. She instead chose to say, “Just go inside. You’ll find out. Trixie’s also really helping out again as well. She wanted to talk to you about something so hopefully she can get a break soon and you can talk to her,” Lyra said. She then gave a hum in thought and asked, “Are you coming back to work already?”

Naruko was a little sheepish as she said, “No… I want too, but Princess Luna told me last night that I’m taking time off. She said I could visit, but I’m not to get back to work yet. She thinks I need some rest after the whole Discord thing. She’s probably right, but I still dislike not helping you all.”

Lyra looked to her with a reassuring but stern expression as she said, “We are all Ever-Free, Boss. Let us do our job as well and don’t hog it all. Besides with Derpy getting her promotion, which we still need to have the party for mind you, things are to the point you can take a bit of a break after going head to head with a God of Chaos.”

She tapped Naurko’s shoulder with a hoof and said, “You passed us all and you’ve trained with us. Give us some more credit. If we have to fight some other ancient mean god we’ll give you a call and I’m sure that will be an exception to the ‘no work for now’ rule. You deserve some more time off, even if you’ve been better at managing it lately. Derpy’s been full time since she joined and she still gets more time off than you do.”

“Alright. Alright. It doesn’t matter because I have orders from my boss to take time off, but I get you. I do really appreciate each and every one of you patrollers. That’s why I do my best as your Captain, friend and Grand Captain,” Naruko said with a smile as she placed a friendly hoof on Lyra who smiled back.

Twilight wished she could better understand this level of comradeship with Naruko. She was a little bit jealousy, but also happy for Naruko. She figured this bond they had grew from the way they’ve been through danger together while working for the Ever-Free Patrol. It was more reason she wished she could go on a temple mission with Naruko so she could reach that level too.

“It’s good to see you after that all happened. I’m sure Derpy and Trixie will also be glad to see you again. Bon Bon and Cloud would like to see you too. If they don’t arrive before you're finished visiting today please visit again,” Lyra said.

Naruko smiled warmly to that. “I will. Thanks, Lyra.” Lyra smiled back and nodded even if she wasn’t fully sure why she was being thanked. Naruko knew her patrollers were close to her, but hearing Lyra say they wanted her to visit helped her some more.

{-} {-} {-}

If Twilight and Naruko were surprised to see Night Guards outside, they were even more surprised by what they saw going on inside HQ. The ponies were actually so very surprised that they both instinctively reached out to the other to touch them with a hoof just to be sure they hadn’t somehow fallen asleep and ended up in a dream. This gesture meant a lot more to Naruko than it did to Twilight.

There were a few more Night Guard ponies inside by doors as a huge commotion was heard from the main lobby and break room areas. There were ponies of all different colors everywhere in the rooms excitedly talking to each other. Several were filling out forms and others were there in support. There were stallions, mares, unicorns, earth ponies and pegasus ponies all together.

The two were only noticed by some of the nearby night guards who all saluted Naruko. No pony else had noticed her for the moment which was probably for the best. As they walked around carefully to avoid drawing attention to themselves, they overheard some of the ponies’ conversations.

“I really wish there was an Ever-Free Patrol Contingent in Baltimare… I really want to be the kind of pony that helps others in situations like that. I heard about the parasprite invasion and I was here visiting you during the whole Discord thing. I used to think only ponies like the elements and recently the Grand Captain could actually help ponies. When that earth pony Bon Bon showed up and brought us here… That was when I realized I might be able to help out in smaller more meaningful ways. I don’t care about having to do that other stuff like patrolling the forest as well. I’ll do what I can to help out there too,” a bright blue mare with a green mane said to a friend.

Her friend was an earth pony mare with a light gold colored coat and a light brown colored mane. She had a cutie mark with what looked like an electrified wrench. “That’s why I’m signing up now. I hope I can make the cut and get in. I was happy working at the toy shop and seeing all of the little fillies and colts smiles, but I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. During the parasprite invasion everypony was brought here. I saw many children here and I simply wanted to do something more to help the patrol protect those kids,” she said.

The first pony gave a chuckle. “You’ve always had a soft spot for children, Electra. I think you can make it. You do actually keep in shape and such and if anypony has the drive. It’s you.”

Electra Wrench gave a smile. “I hope you’re right. I’ll do what I can to make sure you’re right. The forms say you can try more than just once. You just have to wait six months to a year before trying again. Lots of ponies here are only interested because of how the Grand Captain held off Discord and they might not make it and that time period is enough for them to lose interest if they are only wanting to join because they think it would be cool. I'd use it to improve myself to pass next time.”

There were several other conversations of similar exchanges going on in the area. Naruko was happy about this. Sure, it might be like that one pony said, but that didn’t mean Discord could have been the final push some ponies who will actually make it needed to get serious and reach their final decision. She also liked how there were ponies from around Equestira here visiting family or friends. These ponies could end up helping spread the word to others and that would only help with the expansion.

Twilight smiled as she gave a Naruko a hug. She knew what hearing these conversations meant to her friend. Naruko returned the gesture and they finally went to the front desk. They were a little surprised who was working it at the moment. They momentarily forgot Lyra telling them outside.

“Trixie has told you she is not a part of the patrol and she is only helping out! I have no say in who gets in or not. The fact you are trying to worm your way in probably means you won’t make it! That is Trixie’s thought at least. Fortunately for you… Like she said! I have no say in who joins. You can fill out the forms like everypony else and try whenever your appointed testing occurs,” she explained.

“Yeah… Well! What do you know?! You said it yourself you aren’t part of the patrol and are only some… some… errand pony for them…Besides! It’s just a volunteer organization. Can it really be picky like you’re saying?” the stallion said as he scoffed at Trixie.

Trixie let out a loud frustrated groan and was about to say something but her eyes widened and she sat up at attention.

“True. We are a volunteer organization. But we don’t have to accept just anypony who wants to join. You seem to be misunderstanding the reason we test everypony who wants to join. In the Ever-Free Patrol, you will at some point experience a life or death situation at least once. You need to have an appropriate drive and fitness to face such odds. We will not let just anyone join and put them in that kind of a circumstance. The patrol is a volunteer organization and even requires you to undergo a magical swear, if you make the cut. And we don’t pay you for all of this. We are and we aren’t part of the military. If you want to join for Honor, Glory, Achievement, and Recognition you are better of trying to join the Royal Guard,” Naruko said.

“What if that may be the initial reason we try to join, but we can change and we also want to help?! Huh what then?! What do-do-do…” the stallion started with some anger because he was already heated from earlier. When he turned around, that anger left him in less than a heart beat as his eyes widened. He still finished his statement in shock. “You have to say to that?” he finished lamely as he almost trembled. There was no way he wanted to piss off The Grand Captain. He saw some of what she can do.

Naruko didn’t smile too smugly at his reaction as she said, “Trust me. If you really can change and want to change, like you’re implying is possible, the test will sort that out too.”

The stallion gulped apologized to both Naruko and Trixie before quickly grabbing the forms and leaving. Several ponies were staring at the scene as it played out and luckily for the stallion they weren’t paying him any mind. They all instead took Naruko’s words to heart. After all, if anypony knew about the patrol it was the Grand Captain herself.

Naruko felt a little nervous with all of their eyes fixated on her at once, but she also liked how all of the ponies were looking at her. They were looking to her with respect and wonder. It wasn’t like when she was stared at back in Konoha. There it was with revulsion that people looked at her, even if there were the odd looks of pity she rarely got. It was also obvious these ponies weren’t looking at Twilight the Element of Magic but instead her. She gave a smile and waved to the ponies.

One pony then spoke out loud, “Are you really already getting back to work?” It was a little filly with her big brother. The big brother felt a little embarrassed by his younger sister making a scene like this and blurting out such a question.

Naruko gave a chuckle. “No. I am not. I’m just here to visit the others in the patrol. Apparently Princess Luna, our boss, decided fighting a chaos god meant I could have some time off.” She nervously scratched the back of her mane. Several ponies then started laughing.

Naruko then thought to drive home her earlier point as she said, “What I said is the truth. I am happy so many ponies are interested in the Ever-Free Patrol now, but you all need to realize what it means to join us. I look forward to hearing the results of everypony’s tests. I am sorry we have to schedule appointments, but there is a lot of interest and only so many of us currently.”

“Will you be testing us?” a young stallion asked.

“It depends on when your being tested, but odds are given I’m taking time off by Royal Decree.” a few ponies chuckled to that. “It will probably be First Lieutenant Hooves, Ponyville Contingent’s second in command, doing the tests. She knows fully well what it takes to be in the Ever-Free and you should all realize no pony in the patrol gets the respect they have or their position without proving over and over again they deserve it through their ability and dedication,” Naruko said with a smile.

The ponies then went back to filling out their forms as they finally realized Naruko spoke about a magical swear. It was mentioned on the forms, but they double checked and it was made real once she actually said it. Some ponies were rightfully thinking more on their choice to join. Many were still just as encouraged to give it their best and show they can fit in the patrol and help other ponies more.

Once everything was a little calmer, Trixie let out a deep sigh as she smiled at Naruko and almost seemed to shed a tear in relief. “It is good to see you are here, Naruko. I’m glad Princess Luna is forcing you to take time off.” Trixie then chuckled as she said, “Trixie otherwise believes you wouldn’t ever take it!” Naruko blushed a little as Twilight giggled.

Twilight then looked to Trixie and smiled. "I’m really glad to see you are helping everypony out, Trixie. I also heard things went well with you and Rarity. How are you doing?”

Trixie smiled. “Rarity is very much a wonderful pony. I have apologized a few times for what happened that day to her. Trixie is doing well, even if things get a little frustrating. There are so many questions and I can’t really answer them all. Everypony keeps thinking I’m part of the patrol despite my telling them otherwise. I haven’t earned the right to be considered a part of the patrol yet,” she said.

Naruko then looked around and noticed there weren’t any other ponies waiting for forms. She turned to Trixie and said, “Lyra told me you wanted to speak with me about something. It seems you have time now. Do you want to talk? I may not be working today, but I am allowed to visit and talk to ponies here.”

Trixie’s eyes momentarily widened as she then cleared her throat and blushed a little. “I umm… Do wish to talk to you about something. Can we talk in private?” she asked as she sort of hinted to Twilight’s presence. Twilight felt she should frown or maybe give Naruko a great big hug and kiss before letting them have this private talk.

Naruko placed a hoof on Twilight gently and smiled to her. Twilight blushed that she was thinking that way and returned the gesture. “Let’s go and talk in my office then,” Naruko said.

“You better not try to work while you are up there,” Twilight warned.

Naruko sighed. “I won’t. Trust me… I really appreciate having Princess Luna’s orders to avoid paperwork.”

“It hopefully shouldn’t take long, Twilight. Trixie will force the Grand Captain out of the office if she has to,” Trixie said. Twilight felt comforted by this and felt a little sillier for her earlier thoughts. If it was what she feared it would be, Trixie wouldn’t be saying something like that. The purple unicorn gave her a nod and smile while Trixie returned the gesture.

{-} {-} {-}

“So. What is it you wanted to talk about, Trixie?” Naruko asked once they were in the office and she even chose to activate the protections.

Trixie responded by showing Naruko some forms. The blue unicorn was blushing as she did so. Naruko blinked a little bit and looked through them really quick. It seemed Trixie had been thinking about what Naruko thought she was thinking about. Naruko couldn’t help but feel happier. She even felt a little proud.

“Trixie knows she is supposed to turn in the forms to Derpy, but I wanted to show you first. I also wanted to again thank you for giving me the chance you did back then,” Trixie said with a slight sniff. “You had no reason to accept me here in HQ with open hooves. Maybe even less reason considering what happened that day to your friends, even if you weren’t there for it.”

Naruko smiled and quickly came around and hugged Trixie. “This really makes me happy, Trixie. I kind of had a feeling you were really thinking about this. Hearing you actual say it means a lot.”

Trixie blushed at the praise and hug. Naruko then looked her in the eyes as she said, “You have more than shown me and the others, including Princess Luna, that the chance was well worth taking.”

Trixie sniffed a little and Naruko used her magic to wipe away a few of the other unicorn’s tears. Trixie then gave a heart warming smile as she said, “I am very tempted to kiss you for those words and that hug. But I’m pretty sure your marefriend wouldn’t appreciate that.” Trixie then gave a giggle as Naruko was shocked for a moment or two before joining in on her laugh.

Naruko then calmed down and asked, “I guess this means you are getting close to finishing your trailer?”

Trixie nodded. “I’m pretty much finished with it, but I wanted to go through my patrol test and training before heading back to Hooffington. I might have overheard Princess Luna speaking to Derpy about the expansion plan and how my home town is a high priority,” Trixie said as she gave a nervous whinny.

Naruko shook her head and chuckled. “We knew it would be likely for you to overhear things while staying here. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot during that time. The fact you didn’t share any of this information is further proof we were right not to force you to take the magical swear in the first place.”

Naruko then looked to her a little more seriously as she asked, “Did you happen to overhear anything else regarding expansion plans?”

Trixie thought for a moment before shaking her head. “That was all I heard. I decided at that moment I should be more careful and not accidentally overhear anything else.”

Naruko nodded in thought. “Should I tell her?” she wondered. She eventually gave a sigh and reached a decision. It might just be an even greater push for Trixie knowing the plans for her. A push the pony might need for what is to come and to go ever further than she currently was with her magic and training.

Trixie was nervous wondering what Naruko was thinking. Naruko then seemed to come to a decision and motioned for Trixie to sit down. She wasn’t sure what to think of this, but she could tell it was something very important.

“I’m sure you know this, but whoever ends up testing you won’t go easy on you even though you’ve been helping out here this whole time,” Naruko said.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way. Like you said, no pony gets to where they are without proving they earned it,” Trixie said showing her seriousness and determination.

“Good to know you realize that, though I expected you would. The thing is… If you pass your test, which I think you will, we have plans for you already. These plans will only be set in motion if you pass your test,” Naruko said.

Trixie was nervous and excited. She listened closely.

“I am only telling you this because it is important information and an exception in a way. But if you pass your test. Princess Luna has already ordered me to train you not as a patrol member, but as the Captain of Hooffington Contingent,” Naruko said.

Trixie’s mouth fell open in shock. She was really happy about this, but she also felt pressure to do her best. Fortunately, when it came to pressure she was a show pony and knew how to thrive off of it and push herself further. Trixie’s dark purple eyes narrowed in determination. “I will do all I can. I will prove further I was worth the huge chance you all gave me,” she said.

Naruko liked her look and her words. She smiled and said, “That is part of the reason why we want you to be captain if you pass. You may have been a different pony at one time and it might have been before you went through the whole Ursa Minor incident, but you have since then risen as a different pony. If…” Naruko shook her head, “When… you pass and join us you will be more than just Trixie Lulamoon the show mare. I look forward to seeing the kind of pony you become in the patrol. A Captain of the Ever Free with show pony flare. You might just end up becoming a huge driving force behind our expansion.”

Trixie smiled to that and said, “Well… regardless of what happens with my test and before I even thought about trying to join. I already decided to spread word of the patrol on my way back home.” She then blushed as she added, “I wasn’t going to make myself the star either or really get out of hoof with it. I learned that lesson.”

She then looked down in thought for a moment as she said, “Maybe I should apologize to Applejack and Rainbow Dash as well before I go… I mean I did go a little overboard in dealing with them.”

Naruko was in thought here. “I wasn’t at the show. If you feel you should, then maybe you should. Applejack can be stubborn, but if you are honest when apologizing to her she will more than likely wholeheartedly accept it. She lives at Sweet Apple Acres with her brother, sister, and grandmother. You can usually find her there.”

Trixie was taking mental notes as she listened.

Naruko gave a sigh. “Rainbow Dash will be a problem. She has a lot of pride. Maybe even too much at times. She can be a good friend, but she really has a big ego and isn’t always the forgiving type. I would probably apologize to AJ first and even have Twilight or I go with you as you apologize to Rainbow. She’ll be more willing to listen that way and won’t just blow you off before shooting off into the clouds above. She might be tricky to track down too, but trying to set something up as a way to get her to come to you will only make things worse.”

Trixie frowned. She would still apologize. She just wished it was easier than this. It isn’t like Rainbow was just some innocent bystander she forced to get on the stage. The mare did that on her own to show off. Honestly, they should both apologize to each other. Trixie went a little overboard dealing with Rainbow, but Rainbow pretty much barged on to her stage during her show just to show off herself.

Trixie sighed. “Why does this have to be so difficult? I honestly probably shouldn’t even apologize to Rainbow Dash…”

Naruko looked her over in thought. She partly agreed from what she heard. “Again. I wasn’t there. So, I don’t know what all happened. There is a belief out there that forgiveness can sometimes be for the pony offering it instead of the pony receiving it. Perhaps in Rainbow’s case that is the reason for you apologizing to her. You are in a way forgiving her for what she did at your show and admitting you also made a mistake. I can tell it bothers you, Trixie. If it helps, think of this as you moving on from the pony you were, into a Trixie worthy of being the Ever-Free Captain of Hooffington Contingent.”

Trixie sighed as she thought that over. “It shows I still need to work at it if I have to be motivated like this to apologize,” she said.

She then stretched and stood up. “I need to go and do all of this apologizing before I really think about all of that stuff too much. I think I’ll go and turn in my forms to Derpy now.”

As she was about to leave she turned around and asked one last question, “Trixie never asked this, but why weren’t you at my show? I mean most of Ponyville showed up for it.”

Naruko blushed a little to this. “I was ummm…  with Fluttershy getting teased by both Princesses for our exuberant and alcohol induced behavior the night before… in Canterlot…”

Trixie blinked to that. “You mentioned that trip a little before. Wasn’t Twilight with you both?” she asked.

Naruko nodded.

“How did she get back in time for my show? Even with teleportation that would be tricky if you were all drinking,” Trixie asked.

Naruko gave a little chuckle. “Well we were all three in Ponyville and crashed at Fluttershy’s house that night. Twilight was so drunk she more or less decided the rules of teleportation regarding space and time no longer applied to her and she teleported us all back.”

“Really?” Trixie asked in surprise.

“Yep… It was probably something she will never do again and it involved a lot of soot and a lack of caring for anything but finding a bed on our part,” Naruko said with a chuckle. The three of them were kind of mess by the time they all snuggled up in Fluttershy's bed together.

Trixie chuckled a little and shook her head. “That oddly seems likely to me. See you later, Naruko,” Trixie said as she left.

“Later, Trixie,” Naruko replied. She then stretched and made her way back to Twilight.

Once she was in the lobby area, she found Twilight and there were a lot fewer ponies around since most had finished their business. Twilight smiled and waved. Twilight was sitting with Lyra and they were seemingly catching up. “What did Trixie want?” Twilight asked.

“She wanted to tell me she filled out her forms and was going to try to join the patrol before she headed back to Hooffington,” Naruko said.

“Was that all? You two were gone for a good while,” Twilight said.

“We talked about some other things as well. She wants to apologize to both Applejack and Rainbow Dash too,” Naruko said.

“Ouch,” Lyra said. “I mean Applejack will workout I’m sure, but Rainbow…”

“Has too much pride and ego to even admit at the very least she too was in the wrong there, even if I do think she was the pony actually in the wrong instead of Trixie,” Twilight said. She then sighed. “I shouldn’t talk about my friend that way…”

Lyra shrugged. “It’s true. Everypony knows it.” She then chuckled and said, “Even Rainbow knows it. She just doesn’t really see a problem with it.”

“Well I did kind of tell Trixie to have one of us go along with her. Sorry for kind of volunteering you… I didn’t think it would matter,” Naruko said feeling a little guilty.

Twilight shrugged her shoulders. “It’s logical to have one of us go too. I don’t mind helping out and would have volunteered myself if I knew she was going to apologize.” The three ponies then talked to each other some more.

Right as Twilight and Naruko were going to leave Bon Bon and Cloud Kicker returned. “Hey you two. I came by to see everypony,” Naruko greeted them. She was not fully prepared for the two to tackle hug her at the same time.

“Good to see you, Naruko.” The two ponies replied at once both smiling.

“We were a little worried,” Cloud said first.

“Yeah… It isn’t every day your Captain takes on something like Discord. We heard you all beat him, but we were worried something happened as a result,” Bon Bon said after they finished their hug and she stood next to Lyra.

“Well… I’m not really over it all, but I’m working on it. Princess Luna has me taking time off from working in the patrol. I can still visit. I really should get back now though. I’ll have to say hello to Derpy some other time. Trixie’s talking to her right now,” Naruko said as they parted and the others waved goodbye. The Night Guards at the doors saluted again as Naruko left and she again returned it.

As they were walking back home, Twilight finally asked, “What's up with the Night Guard?”

“I guess they were there to make sure no pony got into trouble inside the HQ since there were so many in that relatively small space,” Naruko said.

“I gathered that. I was asking about the whole saluting thing,” she said.

Naruko blushed and cleared her throat. “I am technically… Their second in command just under Luna.”

Twilight paused in her steps. “Wait… You’re not only head of the Ever-Free Patrol but also of the Night Guard?!” she asked.

“Yes. I don’t really get too involved with them, since they usually work directly under Luna’s command, but yes I am. I’m also here in Ponyville instead of Canterlot,” Naruko said.

“Wow…” Twilight said. She shook her head and smiled a little as she gave Naruko a hug and kiss and said, “One of these days you’re going to stop surprising me so much, Naruko.”

Naruko giggled, “Wouldn’t things get boring then?”

“Maybe they would,” Twilight said as they both giggled together and continued home.