Naruko let out a sigh as she snuggled with Twilight under a couple of shade trees. It had been a couple of weeks since she last visited HQ, but she was still off. Today was wonderful and perfect for being outside with your special somepony. It was warm and there was a slight breeze every now and then. Naruko could really get used to this whole time off by Royal Decree business, especially if she got to spend so much of it with Twilight.
“You know I really wish it was under better circumstances we were like this, Naruko,” Twilight said as she smiled lovingly at Naruko.
“Hmmm?” Naruko hummed in question too busy gazing into Twilight's beautiful purple eyes to ask her question properly.
“Well I wouldn’t feel so guilty at loving this side of you so much if we were like this for a different reason other than what Discord did to you,” Twilight said as she blushed and looked away.
Naruko smiled and turned Twilight to face her as she said warmly, “I don’t care about that… I’m really enjoying every moment we have like this. It really helps. You shouldn’t feel guilty for loving snuggles and hugs with your girlfriend under any circumstance.” Naruko held on to Twilight a little more.
“And laying next to each other under a tree outside?” Twilight asked with a smile.
Naruko nodded. “And rarely leaving each other’s side,” she said.
“And even touching each other in the simplest of ways? I really like how much you enjoy those lately. Though I really love how you react to this…” Twilight said as she gave Naruko and affectionate nuzzle causing Naruko blush as she returned it.
“And…” Naruko started her cheeks turning redder. “More importantly… Kisses…” Naruko leaned in to place her lips on Twilight’s. Twilight was blushing but she was really happy and slowly came to meet Naruko’s lips.
“Ohhhh… This is so precious… This is going to be so much fun!” a familiar voice said as they were less than an inch away from each other. Both ponies froze in place and their eyes widened as they looked over to where the voice came from.
“Awww… Did I interrupt the moment?” Discord said with an exaggerated disappointed sigh. “I was so close to squealing in excitement. After all you two are my favorite couple, even if you aren’t my favorite ponies.”
Twilight and Naruko were now standing together and glaring at the Draconequus. “What are you doing here? How are you here?” Naruko demanded.
Discord shook a finger at them as he tisked. “Someone is rather demanding today.”
“We can defeat him again! I don’t know how he got here or why he is speaking to us like this… But we did it once we can do it again. I’ll grab the girls. You’re strong enough to hold him off until then,” Twilight said as she was about to leave.
“Yes. Yes. Because that clearly worked out so well last time,” Discord said in bored sarcasm.
“This time Kyuubi and I will destroy your statue and even Princess Celestia won’t be able to stop us!” Naruko said as she was about to summon Kyuubi.
Before she could, Discord was right next to her and he said lowly, “You really do think you all defeated me… Don’t you?” He then placed his lions paw right on Naruko’s chest again right where he did last time. She panicked as she looked to him with scared eyes. Discord gave a dark chuckle. “What did you think I was doing when I gave you my gift?”
Naruko looked around quickly. It seemed as if everything was frozen except for her and Discord. “Honestly, it truly amazes me every time I use the Dream Reality spell. If it wasn’t for my connection to the very essence of Chaos, even I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”
“You’re… You have to be lying…” Naruko said in a broken voice.
“Ohh… Are you about to cry?” Discord said in a mocking weeping voice.
Naruko seemed to snap as she growled and glared at Discord. “So… Scary,” he said mockingly.
“That’s it! To hell with all of this! To hell with everything! Kyuubi!!!” She roared.
The fox appeared to her in his full might and grinned menacingly at Discord. “You really have done it this time… Little Chaos God.”
Naruko’s appearance changed it looked as if she was transforming into some kind of Fox/Pony hybrid. It was as if anger allowed the girl to reach some new level of power. Discord could feel it. He shivered in delight.
“Oh how I wish we could play like this!” he said cheerfully. He then sighed as he said, “Sadly, we can’t.”
“That’s right! Play time is over!” Naruko shouted her voice taking on a tone similar to Kyuubi’s.
“No. That’s not what I meant…” Discord then took a thinking pose. “Actually, it is what I meant, but not in the way you think. Your caretaker is arriving.”
Naruko blinked as she asked, “Caretaker…?”
Discord was nodding. “Yes. I find the guy boring and gloomy… But he is powerful. Especially now… Especially with those special talents of his. The ninja world is truly a scary place if they can easily produce people like him. No wonder they love him so much. Unlike they did with you.”
“W-w-who… is it?” Naruko asked her voice small and scared again.
Discord gave a chuckle. “I think you know who it is. You see the thing is… Twilight, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and all of the others. I defeated them awhile ago. I got bored so I used my chaos powers to make my way over to Konoha and the rest of the ninja world. Rather dark place it is. But so exciting and sometimes fun! I really love the two guys wearing green spandex and their constant and ridiculous challenges they make for each other.” He chuckled, "I've even given them suggestions a couple of times."
Naruko looked to him confused. “Sorry… I got distracted," he started again. "You see when I went there I met your caretaker. He was an actual challenge unlike you two. I was impressed and promised him some power. He so gladly took the offering and we made a deal. I get to have a little fun with using the dream reality spell. He gets you whenever needed and I help him better understand ways to use those eyes of his. They actually have a link to the essence of chaos in a way. It truly is remarkable.”
Naruko’s blue eyes seemed unfocused as she looked to the ground. “You can’t mean…”
“You see all of this? You’re time in Equestria. It was all part of that dream reality,” Discord explained and then giggled. “He really is such a sadist though. I mean he encouraged me to make you feel so wonderful, happy, and loved here. Just so it can everytime be ripped out from under you so suddenly. Did you honestly think you could just disappear from that world?! That’s something only beings with powers like me can do."
Naruko’s blue eyes seemed to turn darker as she stared blankly down to the ground. Kyuubi wasn’t able to respond without her concentration.
Discord gave a cruel smile as he said, “Did you honestly think you would be able to achieve so much at such a young age? I mean you aren’t even 17 yet. Why would you be the head of some amazing and important group like that Ever-Free Patrol you conjured up? Why would you be given such status of Contract Guardian?”
“That’s enough, Discord…” a cold but familiar voice said, even if it was slightly deeper than she remembered. Naruko gasped at hearing it. The man who spoke was tall with pale skin and had black hair. It was longer than it used to be and his bangs were framing his face.
“But I was having so much fun,” Discord sighed.
“Hnn…” the owner’s voice replied.
“Does she really have to go? Please let her stay a little longer, Sasuke old buddy,” Discord whined in an overly dramatic and comical way.
“She’s needed…” he answered coolly. He then looked to Naruko and smirked as he said, “Besides we all know its my job to break her every time.”
Kyuubi snarled as he looked at the hated Uchiha before him and jumped to attack as he roared “Uchihaa!!!!”
“Obey… Fox…” Sasuke intoned deeply as the three tomoe of his Sharingan spun and the eyes seemed to glow red.
Kyuubi immediately fell to the ground and seemed to be calm. “No… hypnotized… He’s lost who he is…” Naruko thought as she felt her power from earlier leaving her. She also felt as if some of her own willpower left as well and she fell to the ground. She looked at Sasuke and glowered at him as he smirked at her. His smirk was even worse now than it was in school. She hated him. She hated him so much, but even she had to admit he was handsome. These conflicting thoughts annoyed her to no end and he loved every minute of it.
“Why am I thinking that… I love Twilight…” she thought as she looked to the purple unicorn. Naruko noticed she was at the same eye level as Twilight despite knowing she had collapsed to the ground as the power left her. “What? But I’m on the ground and she’s standing tall…” Naruko said.
“Humph… I still can’t believe she loves multicolored ponies so much. Come on Naruko. Stand. You know you have a human figure,” Sasuke said as Naruko stood even though she didn’t want to stand. Her eyes were wide. “look at me,” Sasuke said as she did so almost as if she was hypnotized herself through her link to Kyuubi.
Sasuke smirked at her as Kyuubi came and positioned himself next to the Uchiha looking almost like a massive overgrown dog. “Really... You can be such a pain with how worthless you are. At least you are stronger than those insufferable fan girls and you aren’t half bad looking,” Sasuke cruelly grinned at her a little.
Naruko placed a hand to her face as she took in a quivering breath. Images flashed before her. She almost wanted to puke at what she saw and heard from them. The sounds of flesh against flesh and moans of ecstasy were sickening as she saw the middle of a battleground surrounding her.
“It seems someone is remembering her true memories and self now,” Sasuke said coldly with an amused smirk.
“Like I said,” Discord giggled. “Total sadist…”
Naruko wanted to collapse but her body wouldn’t let her. “Focus…” Sasuke intoned. Naruko’s body felt less sickened and the memories faded into the back of her mind. “It’s time we go,” Sasuke said as Naruko frowned at him and glared but followed never the less. Kyuubi seemed to disappear as if he was unsummoned or something.
“Bye bye, Naruko. I have so much more planned for the next time we visit. I just know you’re going to love it. Well… Until it comes to end at least,” Discord said with a laugh as Naruko and Sasuke entered a portal and left the area and everything faded.
Naruko looked around as she was inside a cage of some kind. She then looked to the cold black eyes of Sasuke Uchiha and glowered at him. “Do calm yourself, Naruko. It’s rather boring when I have to waste part of my powers on something like you and force you into behaving better,” he said.
Naruko calmed down but the anger in her dark blue eyes kept looking at him. Sasuke smiled. “I love that look in your eyes. It is so much better than the brightness they once held. So much closer to my own.”
“I hate you…” Naruko said in rather subdued voice.
Sasuke chuckled. “That’s because all there is in this world is hate. Love. Bonds… Foolishness all of it. You know that better than anyone else, Naruko…”
Naruko huffed a little. She hated how he was right. She gave a sigh. She really missed Discord’s dream reality. There she at least felt some happiness. She stood up as Sasuke unlocked the door to the cage. This cage was designed as the place for Discord to meet with her and have his fun with the Dream Reality spell. It kept his chaos energy from leaking into the rest of Konoha as per their agreement.
“You should be happy I let you have this little mercy and reward for being a good little demon fox container,” Sasuke said to her.
Naruko hated that. He acted like he did this for her. He only did it for himself. Discord helped him learn how to make Naruko’s connection with Kyuubi much stronger and taught him how to control them. With this new set up, Konoha was the most powerful and feared ninja village in all of the land because of her and him. Even that group led by the man claiming to be Madara Uchiha didn’t stand a chance against them in the end.
The Madara of that group was exposed to be an impostor who was an Uchiha long thought dead. He had some silly plan that required him to extract all of the tailed beasts from their Jinchuriki and then he was going to cast some kind of everlasting Genjutsu on the land where everyone would be happy. It was similar to Discord’s Dream Reality except it covered the whole world instead of just one person’s mind.
However, Kurama was no longer a tailed beast in the same way the others were since Naruko was no longer a Jinchuriki. Their new bond was much stronger and the two far more powerful. Naruko was so powerful now that she was nicknamed the Nine-Tailed Fox Goddess and they were nigh untouchable. Sasuke controlled them though, thanks to Discord’s help. He was also very powerful in his own right. When their enemies tried to take Sasuke out thinking he relied on her strength alone, they were destroyed by him. Their two person Konoha team was unstoppable. They were seen as heroes by the ninja world at large. Things weren’t very good for Naruko though.
She was also seen as a hero in her own way, but Sasuke was held in higher regard than her. He was after all the Last and Loyal Uchiha war hero and the Tamer of the Fox Goddess. The world thought the two of them were in love. Sasuke loved fooling them like that, and made her play the part otherwise she would be… punished… He could do some really nasty things to her thanks to his power and control over her.
Sasuke also achieved what was called the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. It was the last stage of the Sharingan and he used his brother’s eyes so it wouldn’t have any of the defects that came with the powers it granted. He loved toying with her by saying it was his “love” for her that let him unlock the last stage and gave him what he needed to kill his traitor of a brother.
He unlocked it by letting her actually rage at him for once and fight him with all she could. He claimed it was him giving her a gift of love. He was strong, but they would have won if it wasn’t part of his plan all along to use them as a way to push to his eyes to the edge. Sasuke claimed to have seen his own death in a very realistic fashion and that was enough to mimic the whole “Kill your best friend” requirement for the last stage of the eyes to unlock. As soon as they were about to kill him and were less than an inch from doing so, he shouted “Obey!” and that was the end of it.
He many times enjoyed making her life miserable privately after that while having her play the part of elegant lover in public. She was a damn good actress so it worked wonderfully. She also kept the fan girls away because even with how crazed they were. They wouldn’t dare cross the Fox Goddess. They also wouldn’t befriend her either, because they were too jealous of her for stealing their beloved Uchiha's heart. Naruko literally had no one close to her other than Sasuke and what they had was the most twisted relationship possible in her mind.
Naruko and Sasuke passed by a vanity near her cage and they stopped. Sasuke sat in a chair nearby and waited. Naruko sighed and sat down at the vanity and looked herself over. She always did this every time Discord visited. She had to in a way make sure she was herself again and that it was real. She looked over her current clothes which were a mess. She started undressing as Sasuke sat there and watched. She had little to no privacy in her life now. It didn’t really bother her too much because she was used to it. Sometimes Sasuke would look away other times he would drink in the sight of her naked body in with every detail.
Naruko was very much the Beauty of Konoha as well, despite Ino’s claims otherwise. She was a little bit shorter than the average girl, but not by much. She still had her light peach tanned skin and long blonde hair she usually wore in twintails. She would sometimes let it flow loosely when at more formal occasions or by Sasuke's request. Her body was one girls would die for. Her hips had the perfect width. Her waist was narrow and her chest was large, but it wasn’t too large. The Whisker marks on her cheek were still there, but seen as a mark of beauty as opposed to the cursed mark they once were in the past.
It took only a small demonstration of the control she had over the fox’s power and Sasuke’s power and control over her if things somehow got out of hand for the village to finally accept her. She hated how easy it was with Sasuke by her side to go from demon child pariah to village goddess. Sasuke told her it was because they hated their enemies more than her now and that was why they accepted her. She fully believed him considering everything she had seen and experienced by that point.
He may not love her and she may not love him, but they both had a deep twisted lust inside themselves for the other. Naruko hated that as well. She would genuinely love him if he wasn’t such a terrible person to her, but he saw her as less than human for the most part. In fact, part of the reason he was controlling her like he did was because she attacked and killed a would be rapist back before she even graduated the academy. She had given into Kyuubi’s power when that happened. Her Old Man Hokage managed to stop her before it got really bad and he didn’t fully blame her for it, but he was deeply disappointed in her and made different plans on how to deal with her after that.
Sasuke was given even more care and attention afterwards. They even let him have access to the full unedited Konoha archives apart from the Uchiha Clan Massacre, which he didn’t want to see anyways. They told Sasuke his Sharingan could control the Kyuubi. They didn’t know how it was done since only Madara Uchiha managed to accomplish it. Sasuke found out about other ways Tailed beasts were contained and how powerful some of those methods were and what drawbacks they had during his research. Shortly after that was when Discord decided to visit Konoha on a whim and thus Sasuke’s and Discord’s pact was made.
Naruko fluffed her hair so it wasn’t stuck in her orange and black half zipped jacket with the Uzumaki Symbol on the back and straightened her short battle skirt. Naruko finished changing into her other clothes by adjusting her jacket so her black choker necklace with the Uchiha clan symbol medallion was hanging in the center perfectly. She noticed Sasuke gazed at her intently the whole time while she changed. She knew what he would want to do tonight and there was a part of her that really looked forward to it.
For better or worse her life wasn’t fully devoid of pleasure. Most of the time it was nice things like a quiet dinner somewhere fancy with Sasuke as company. Sometimes it was sharing a meal with other Kunoichi, even if they never really went beyond being polite and accepting of each other. Sometimes it was a quiet night in where Sasuke was reading over scrolls and memos for the next Clans Council meetings. During those nights, she was allowed to do whatever she wanted as long as she didn't disturb him too much. She understood this because he was an important member the Clans Council and needed to be on top of everything at the meetings.
At the worst of times, pleasure came from the middle of a battlefield after a fight with her naked and Sasuke taking her rough sexually from behind. When you were a ninja or kunoichi, you sometimes had to get it where you could. She still had plenty of urges as well and Sasuke was the only person really in her life. He also had plenty of urges because he wouldn’t dare be with anyone else apart from a strong and beautiful girl deemed a goddess by everyone, even if he didn’t hold her in such high regard personally.
“This… isn’t right…” a voice seemed to whisper from somewhere.
Naruko looked around and narrowed her eyes. “What is it?” Sasuke asked bringing his guard up. There was at least that they had in common. Both of them were sworn to protect the village no matter the costs and despite everything they took that vow to heart.
After a minute, Naruko frowned. “I thought I heard something, but it seems it was nothing. Just in case…” She formed a shadow clone and it disappeared to look around the area for any signs of trouble.
Sasuke gave a “Hnn…” before lowering his guard just a bit. He then stretched and said, “Let’s go then. We're having dinner tonight with Shikamaru, Temari and Tsunade.” Naruko nodded and took in a deep breath before taking Sasuke’s arm and exiting the building.
She liked Shika and Temari. Tsunade was a bit annoying though. The fifth Hokage liked to drink and while she seemed to hold Naruko in high regard and was friendly enough, she never dared get any closer than a friendly professional relationship. The third retired a while ago, but he was deeply consumed by guilt for having failed Naruko and Minato though he never said it out loud and he had more or less retreated from civilization.
As they walked through the streets, several people greeted them both warmly and smiled to them. Naruko wished this had happened before she was attached to Sasuke. There was always a part of her that felt this was somehow the case, but it was in a different world. She chalked it up to Discord’s fun he had tormenting her in that dream place. She could see him making that a normal habit there just to enjoy the way she felt when it was taken away from her.
Several girls sighed as they watched the two pass them. “Awww…. I wish I was forced to always be with Sasuke…” Sakura said in a dream like voice that was oddly very much like it was during their academy days despite Sakura actually being a full grown woman. It didn’t have the confidence and strength it should. Naruko thought that odd.
“So unfair!!! I would love to be Sasuke’s slave if it meant he was taking me to bed every night!” Ino said with strong amount of envy and again sounding like she too was still academy aged.
Naruko blinked and looked downward as she briefly saw what looked like a chain attached to her necklace… no collar… being held by Sasuke’s other hand as he sneered at her. “Hear that Narubitch. They know you should be honored to be my plaything,” he said coldly to her.
Something caught her eyes and she looked to the side. She searched for it and found nothing out of the ordinary.
The blonde girl blinked this wasn’t right… Sasuke wasn’t Mr. Nice and didn’t think her human, but he actually thought that made her better. He was just kind of dark and a sadist, but she was a masochist so it was fine. It was a balance in their relationship and the closest either of them could have to love anyways.
She flinched as her clones were dismissed. It turned out the whisper earlier really was nothing. She blinked as she looked around. “Are you okay?” Sasuke asked very much concerned by her sudden stop. The deep loving care always present in his eyes, which others thought cold, shining bright for her alone.
“Yeah…” Naruko said slowly.
He smiled in relief. “Good… I really hate it when things bother you, NaruHoney. You know you saved my life and kept me from going down the path my father was. I don’t even want to think what it would be like for me without you.”
Naruko gave a giggle. “Much more boring that’s for sure,” she said giving him a loving and warm smile. Sasuke chuckled back and nodded in agreement. She happily blushed a little as she clasped his hand. She really loved even the smallest touches. Naruko next smiled as she said, “Come on, Sasuke. Old Man Hokage and Granny Tsunade are waiting for us. We shouldn’t keep them waiting and that ramen isn’t going to eat itself.”
“Hnn…” Sasuke said before smiling. “Even after all of these years you're still crazy for ramen.”
“Yeah. It’s the best food ever. I might even start a religion about it…” Naruko’s words trailed off as she vaguely remembered something about having actually done that with someone very important to her. She then blinked as she saw a large patch of the sky seem to break away and be replaced by something that looked like television static.
Her eyes widened as everything seemed to freeze. “Noooo…”
“Nooo!” Naruko yelled as she woke up in her bed and looked around. She was back home in Equestria in her bed. The sun was up high but it wasn’t midday yet. She was breathing quickly as she covered her eyes with her hooves. “Damn it…” she said as she cried a little.
The plan failed after all. She and Twilight came up with a plan to help with her sleep. Naruko was tired of having less than restful nights and bothering Princess Luna so much. The Night Princess had lots of ponies to look after, but Naruko had been taking up a lot of her time at nights. Twilight and Naruko luckily found a deep sleep spell. It would give the pony it was cast on a deep dreamless sleep.
The spell had worked well for a few nights, but that seemed to be over now. She didn’t get what it was that was causing this. “Is there something left over of the spell inside my mind?” she thought. She really had no ideas.
She was unaware of him as Kyuubi seemed to close his eyes and figure something out. He needed to prepare, but he had an idea on how to help her. It was a possible solution all along, but it was something that should be left as more of a last resort. If what he caught of her dreams before she woke up was anything go by, then it seemed that solution was the only one that would work.
“This could be bad… But what was that voice that whispered to her there in the end?” he asked himself. It wasn’t Naruko’s other self he was sure. The voice was familiar to him, but sounded distant and hard to make out for him.
{-} {-} {-}
Naruko was still in a bit of a panic as she decided to go and get something to drink and eat from the kitchen. She wasn’t really paying attention as she made her way there and was muttering about the dream to herself. She bumped into something purple and warm.
“Oof… Are you okay, Naruko?” she heard a very familiar and welcomed voice say.
Naruko looked up her eyes watering a little as she hugged Twilight tightly drinking in the warmth of her girlfriend. She sobbed a little as she said in a small voice, “It didn’t work…”
Twilight’s eyes saddened in concern as she held her marefriend tightly and asked, “Bad dreams again?” Naruko nodded. “Was Princess Luna unable to reach you because you were in such a deep sleep?” Twilight asked. Naruko nodded and sniffed. It was a possibility they thought might happen because of how the spell worked.
“It was really bad this time!” she started as she sobbed. “Discord was in it and he said everything that happened since I came to Equestria was all part of his Dream Reality spell. He said I never left Konoha in the first place!” Twilight was concerned by Naruko’s words as she looked around a little panicked, but there wasn’t anything she could do to stop her girlfriend’s emotions.
“Naruko…” she started in a poor attempt to calm her that didn’t work at all.
“He told me I never became a pony. That I was still human! It was even worse because I was being used and controlled by the bastard Uchiha! He was even worse to me than he was at the Ninja academy when I was younger! I was pretty much just a weapon this time. A beautiful weapon but still a weapon… Why was it so bad?! What went wrong?! It felt so real…” Naruko said.
“Naruko…” Twilight tried again feeling even more panicked now even as she held her marefriend so close. She was thinking what she could do to help with this new problem. “Maybe a memory spell… I really don’t want to do that though,” she thought in worry as she looked to her side.
Naruko sobbed a little more as she held on to Twilight even more and said, “Hugging you like this and feeling your warmth is the only thing that’s keep me from thinking he was right and I am still in Konoha and a human… The dream reality never seems to be able to duplicate the feeling warmth from you and your hooves…”
Twilight decided to just hold Naruko for now. She would deal with damage control later. She only hoped she would be allowed to wait.
“Woah! Woah! Woah!!! What the hay is a human?!” a familiar slightly scratchy but still squeaky voice asked.
“What do you mean you aren’t a pony?” a soft concerned voice asked.
“Where is this here Ko NO Haaa place? AH ain’t ever heard of it,” a farm pony’s draw asked.
Naruko’s heart stopped. Her eyes widened and her pupils shrunk. She was trembling as she took in a rattling breath. She looked around Twilight. There at a table were the others sitting look to her in worry and concern.
“Clam down, Naruko… We’ll deal with this… I-i-it will be okay,” Twilight said pleadingly. She was partly mentally cursing her other friends at the moment, even if she really couldn’t fault them for anything. This just happened to be the literal worst time for this information to slip.
Naruko looked to each of them in turn with wild eyes. Rainbow swallowed and was thinking maybe she had made a mistake blurting out that question so soon. Naruko looked genuinely terrified before she then vanished in a flash of light.
“Naruko!!!!” Twilight called. She gave her friends a look asking them to stay there and ran upstairs. She heard Naruko rustling around in her room in a panic. Twilight knocked on the door.
“W-w-who is it?” Naruko asked in a worried voice.
“I’ll handle this Naruko. Trust me…” Twilight said.
Naruko swallowed but nodded before realizing Twilight couldn’t see her doing that. “O-o-okay…” she replied.
“Don’t do anything rash. Please… Please just stay here for now? I love you…” Twilight pleaded through the door.
Naruko sniffed and shed a few tears. Twilight still wanted to be with her even after that. It made sense and she shouldn’t have thought otherwise, but it still deeply touched her heart. “I love you too, Twilight… I’ll stay here for now,” she replied before lying in her bed and screaming into her pillow. She then wrapped her self up in her covers and worried what would end up happening. She didn’t want the others finding out about her deepest secret this way. She feared she would be forced to leave Equestria or banished to that place Twilight always fears Celestia will banish her when she's scared or worried and way overthinking things. Naruko was pretty sure she wasn't overthinking things though in this case.
{-} {-} {-}
Twilight gave a sigh as she walked back downstairs slowly hoping things would work out with her friends. She also hoped Naruko would be okay for the moment. She sighed again. “It isn’t even lunch time yet and I feel like I could use a drink…” she said to herself. She didn’t mean a regular juice either when she said drink.
The other elements were waiting as patiently as they could. Pinkie actually seemed extremely calm which was something Twilight found odd, but she was thankful for that at the moment. It was actually Rainbow who seemed to be the most excited. The purple unicorn gave yet another sigh as she magicked in some drinks for them all (juice for her friends and something a little more substantial for herself) and created a security bubble. Her friends realized she cast the same spell she did back when Fluttershy mentioned her trial to them.
Pinkie was glad she chose to listen to that part of her that said now wasn’t the time for laughter. It was still a part of her that she wasn’t sure about and had only come about recently. She was still worried about it. Laughter was always the solution in her book, but this other side or voice was saying the opposite at times.
“So… What was that she was going on about? I mean I know Discord did a number on her, but it felt like something else… Something deeper she was talking about and the way she reacted to seeing us here,” Rainbow said with a concerned look.
Twilight took a deep gulp of her drink and refilled it. She really needed to calm down when revealing Equestria’s biggest secret to her friends. “You know how we talked about Fluttershy’s trial?” she asked. The others nodded. “You remember the warning I gave you all about that?” They again nodded. Twilight sighed for a fourth time in the last few minutes.
“What I’m about to tell you all is an even higher-level secret…” she started as a heavy atmosphere settled over the gathered ponies. It was appropriate in her books.
“As far as I know only me, Spike, Kyuubi, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia and Naruko know this secret. Not even Princess Cadance, my old foal sitter, knows yet,” she said. The gathered ponies were nervous and gulped as they waited. “Naruko wasn’t always a pony… She came from a different world. She was a human there. They are this… highly evolved primate creature that is just a capable as ponies are and maybe even more capable in some ways…”
“Really?” Rarity asked in awe at this information. It was tough for her not to over react to the landslide of information she just received earlier. She would have thought it a joke, but there was no way Naruko would have reacted like she did if it was.
“Yes. They even have something very similar to magic there. That is part of the reason Naruko is so powerful as a unicorn,” Twilight said.
“Wow… Seriously like super duper wow…” Pinkie said. She was even finding it a bit difficult to wrap her head around this whole a friend of her's came from a different planet. She did kind of think it neat and wondered if there were other ponies who came from somewhere different, but she didn't let her mind stray too far this time.
“Naruko had it really tough over there… So tough the things she said before she realized we weren’t alone actually seem very much feasible and realistic. They have ways of using stuff similar to mind control and such. The reason she is so very good and well versed in combat magic is because of her past. They excel at that stuff where she came from. She was trained to be a ninja since she was six years old. She was trained how to fight and even kill for the sake of protecting her home,” Twilight said.
The other ponies gasped at this realization.
“Naruko wasn’t really opposed to being a ninja and really wanted it, but she was treated really badly there. Her home was a ninja village called Konoha. When she was about 12 years old, shortly before she came here, she found a scroll of forbidden magic and used one of the spells that randomly placed her here. Princess Celestia was the first to greet her and Kyuubi to our world,” Twilight said. She really wanted to try an emphasize that both princesses knew about Naruko’s past and they were perfectly fine with it and saw her as a much beloved little pony just like they saw all of them.
“Naruko is 100% a pony now though. The magic she used changed her into a pony completely. She is just like us and even has the same diet as we all do, despite her old species being omnivores. I really hope you will all see her as Naruko, like you have always seen her. She has always been Naruko in my eyes. The pony I first became friends with. The pony I love…” she admitted hoping that would help as well.
Twilight deep down knew she would choose Naruko over all of them, but she didn’t like that she felt this way and knew it was true. She really hoped they wouldn’t force her to choose between them and Naruko. It wouldn’t matter to her if they suddenly hated Naruko for not being a true pony. Twilight would still stay by Naruko’s side. She didn’t want to be a bad friend, but Naruko was the pony she loved the most and had the strongest bond with in her life. Naruko and Twilight had helped each other out through tough times even before they came to Ponyville.
“So... Naruko is like a ninja pony?!” Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight nodded. Rainbow Dash gave a bright smile as she said, “That is like so totally cool!” She then started doing some karate moves where she was for a moment.
Twilight felt more at ease from that response. Rainbow’s outburst made her feel this would only bring them all closer together. She was still worried what the others would say about this whole situation.
Rarity was the next one to speak. “You aren’t bothered by the fact she’s from a different world? That she wasn’t always a pony?” she asked.
Twilight tensed a little in worry. She really didn’t want this to divide her friends. She really didn’t want that at all.
“Why would it? I don’t know about all of that magic stuff, but Naruko is Naruko. She stood up to Discord despite all odds for our sake and so we could get him by surprised and lock him away in stone again. Plus… Come on… Ninja pony!!! That is so cool it like goes beyond everything else!” Rainbow Dash said with a smile.
Rarity looked to AJ in question. Applejack gave a sigh as she took off her hat and wiped her brow. “Ah ain’t saying it is easy ta swallow Naruko being all from a different world and all that stuff. But she ain’t done nothing ta get on my bad side. Hay! She was there with us by our side when we all fought the Nightmare Moon and got our elements. It’s like Rainbow said. She’s been there fighting for Equestria every day of her life and all of that. Ah can’t say Ah will look at her the same anymore after learning this about her, but I still count her as a friend.”
Rarity then looked to Pinkie who was oddly quiet. “What?!” Pinkie asked. Rarity gave her a look and Pinkie seemed to understand. “Ohhh okay. I see her as a friend too. She is just a little different is all. It in a way makes sense she's from somewhere else given what she can do.”
Pinkie then frowned a little as she added, “If she came from such a place… Then I only want to make sure she smiles even more and laughs more with us as our friend. I know how sad and bad and mean things can get… That’s why I want to make everypony smile when I can!” she said giving a bright Pinkie smile in reply.
Rarity then looked to Fluttershy. Fluttershy didn’t blush or hide or backdown in any way as she seemed to stand tall. “I went through a tough and terrible temple adventure with her. I’m not about to see Naruko as anything other than a dear friend of mine.”
Fluttershy then blushed a little as she looked away and spoke a little softer, even if she was still clearly heard by the others. “She really helped me out… I also ummm… well…”She looked to Twilight briefly before blushing more and admitting really fast. “I kind of had a crush on her while we were in the temple… I mean I got over it now and I don’t have a problem with her dating Twilight and I’m happy… ish for them… But yeah… Even my other self liked Naruko.”
She looked again to Twilight and got low on the ground as she said, “I’m sorry… I don’t want it to be a problem with us.”
Twilight looked to her and said, “Your other side already told me about your crush… It is alright.”
Fluttershy sighed in relief. “Well… This certainly explains why she got a little defensive when I asked her about her past at the temple when we were resting.”
She then took in a deep breath and let it out. Fluttershy then looked to Rarity with determined blue eyes as she asked, “Why have you been so keen on how we would answer, Rarity?”
Rarity blushed a little. “Don’t take it the wrong way! I love Naruko as a friend. Just like I love all of you as my friends. I was just making sure we were all on the same page.”
She then took a sip of her drink and wished Twilight had given her something a little stronger than juice, even if it was still morning. It wasn’t every day you learn one of your dear friends is from another planet and was a different species. Rarity then calmly said, “Naruko’s modeled for me twice now. She was also there when I really needed help the most.” After seeing the others’ faces, she quickly added, “I mean no offense and do not wish to open old wounds. I am just pointing out where my feelings regarding Naruko lie.”
She then looked to AJ as she told the others, “I am with Applejack on this matter. I can’t possibly go back to seeing her as I once did.” AJ nodded in understanding. “That doesn’t I won’t come to see her as something even more than I once did as we get to know her even better.”
Twilight gave a smile and sigh in relief. “I am so glad you all are accepting of this, even if it might take time to fully swallow that information. It means a lot to me. It will mean a lot to Naruko as well.”
Twilight took another sip and offered the others a refill. Each of them gladly took the offer. “I think we should all go and see her once we finish here… Leaving her alone wondering for too long will only hurt everyponies’ feelings,” Pinkie said as she took a sip.
The others agreed with a nod, but they wanted to savor their juice before that moment. They needed some time to figure everything out. They rightfully figured Naruko needed some time to sort through everything as well. They only hoped she wouldn’t need even more time. The group friends weren’t aware that Naruko would need a lot more time to process everything. However, thanks to Kyuubi she would have the time she needed.
{-} {-} {-}
Despite placing her full trust in Twilight, Naruko was still worried how her other friends would react to the news of her being a human originally. She was hoping for the best but planning for the worst. One of her plans included living out the rest of her days in the Ever-Free Forest with Zecora if the zebra would allow her to do that.
Naruko even had plans for if that didn’t work. “I’ll simply go to the Temple of Life and live with the Bunnicans!!! I’m sure they’ll help the Guardian from the Stars and the Celestial Fox… Yeah… they will have to… right?” she asked her shadow.
She gave a sigh. “I will do whatever they want to allow me to stay there. I don’t want to be thrown out of Equestria. It is more of a home than I have ever had in my life.” She then sobbed as fresh tears fell from her eyes. She loved her home. She didn’t want to have to leave it.
Naruko was in the middle of crying and cursing how much that dream had messed with her emotions and her control over them when there was a small flare of flame in the middle of her floor. The flame left no trace because it was purely magical.
Kyuubi jumped up on the bed. He walked until he was staring the blanket covered Naruko right in the eyes. If things were different, he would enjoy the sight and even tease her for being such a cute pony. She couldn’t help it. Ponies were just naturally cute.
Naruko looked to Kyuubi curiously.
“I have a possible solution to your problem,” he said to her gently but still with some sternness.
Her eyes were a mix of shock and deep relief at this prospect. Kyuubi then spoke in a deeper voice than normal as he said to her. “It is time you return to your Mindscape.”
Naruko’s blue eyes widened in apprehension. She was scared of going there. She hadn’t really been there since coming to Equestria. She worried what it would be like without Kyuubi's presence.
Kyuubi was not looking at her any softer as he said sternly. “You have been there since coming to Equestria. It is time you return there. This time alone and without your other self,” he said.
Naruko swallowed as she now realized something she really didn't want to realize. It regarded where that spell was placed. If it really was her mindscape, she was scared how it would be now.