//------------------------------// // CH4: Brainstorm // Story: My Little Naruto: Friendship is--WHERE AM I!? // by DragonLS //------------------------------// Special Thanks To: Editor: DaMobbs Proofreader & Pre-Reader: Axel_Nyan & Lord Sunder ***** The Unknown has Lifted, No Longer is one Dinted But Knowing Where one is Will one fall into bliss? ***** Chapter 4: Brainstorm “Well, you’re in my house, the library section, to be more precise. You know... full of books, novels, and poetry amongst other things. I mean where else could you be?” Twilight giggled. Naruto scratched his head with a hoof. He paused, bringing it back down in front of his face to get a good long look at it. The feeling still threw him off. It made him nervous. So, he was in a library. Made sense, but that wasn’t what he wanted to know. “Actually, that’s not what I meant... um… what was your name again?” Naruto asked, slightly embarrassed. Twilight smiled. “Oh, I’m sorry, I haven’t even introduced myself yet! I’m Twilight Sparkle,” she said as she put a hoof on the lizard’s head, “And while we’re on introductions, this here is Spike, my number one assistant.” Her gentle patting evolved into a small noogie on the purple lizard’s head, which he batted off almost instantly, looking slightly aggravated. “Hey, I’m not just some assistant, I’m a handsome dragon who gets all the ladies!” … There was a brief silence as Naruto stared at the purple dragon, a single sweat drop rolling down his face. Did he just call himself a dragon? he asked himself. Naruto merely shook his head, trying to get his brain back on track. “I’m, um, Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you, I think?” he nervously stated. What a weird name, he thought. Spike sounded normal enough, but Twilight Sparkle? Was that her first name or was that a combination of the two? He didn’t know. Twilight wrinkled her brow. “Nah…rue... toh?” Twilight enunciated, trying to sound out the odd name. “That… is a rather strange name. Sorry, but I’ve never heard of such a name or pronunciation before…” “Yeah… I guess everyone finds my name a bit strange…” He never understood why his name sounded strange to everyone he met. Maybe she just thought the pronunciation was weird. He just shrugged. “It’s my name, though, so…” “Oh, of course! Don’t take it the wrong way, I just-” “No, course not!” Another awkward silence. That is, until Spike spoke up, tugging on Twilight’s mane. “Why are you so quiet, Twilight? I thought you’d be bombarding him with questions by now,” Spike whispered, glancing back at the orange pony. “I’m thinking, Spike. It’s not often we have a foreign pony over for a chat…” Twilight whispered back. “Um…” Naruto tried to speak up. He still had questions that needed answers, and the sooner he got them, the better. “Yes, um… Naruto, right?” “Yeah… Um, just exactly ‘WHERE’ are we? What country am I in? What city is this? Where’s the nearest ramen shop? You know, the important things.” Twilight looked at Naruto with a mixture of understanding and confusion written on her face, the latter mostly at his last question. She giggled quietly before standing up and motioning towards the door with a hoof. “In that case, let’s head down to the living area. I’m sure we can find the answers to your questions, either through me, Spike, or the library’s books. Besides that, I have a few questions of my own that I need answered. I sense a mutually beneficial trade in the foreseeable future.” Naruto couldn’t disagree with that. He didn’t know where he was nor how he arrived here in the first place. It was a good opportunity. As he followed Twilight down, he kept stumbling, still not used to using four legs instead of two. Twilight raised a brow as she turned her head. “You okay?” “Yeah, just give me a second. Grrr... I’ll have walking mastered by the end of the day, believe it!” Twilight blinked, confused by Naruto’s strange answer. ***** In the living area, Naruto sat down on a comfortable two-seater couch, a brown wooden coffee table in front of him, while Twilight and Spike sat across from him on a similar couch. Spike was leaning back, relaxing, having just gotten back from making tea for everypony. Twilight poured herself some tea before sipping from the teacup gingerly. In Naruto's’ eyes, she looked sophisticated. The times he’d dealt with sophisticated people had been far and few between, mostly having dealt with nobles and royalty. The clatter of tea-ware brought his attention back to the present. “So then,” Twilight said, putting her front hooves together, “What exactly do you want to know, Naruto?” This was as good a time than any. There were so many questions that required answers,  that trying to choose one was like forcing him to say what his favorite flavor of ramen was. Needless to say, that was impossible. However, he needed to start somewhere. Might as well start with something blunt and direct. “What am I?” There’s always a thing when it came to Naruto’s first question. It was always a doozy. Twilight’s face stayed neutral, although slight twitching was evident around the eyes and mouth. Eventually, she responded. “…You’re kidding, right?” “No, I’m not… Believe me, it’s going to get weirder... heh heh…” Naruto said, chuckling awkwardly. He didn’t know why he thought that was funny, but he needed to laugh at something. This was all too surreal to be just a dream. Twilight rubbed her chin, before shrugging and continuing on as if nothing had happened. “Well, we’re all ponies, or if you want it scientifically, Equus Caballus. There are three kinds of ponies. For starters, you,” she said, gesturing in Naruto’s direction, “Are an earth pony. Out of the three species, you are most in tune with the earth and nature. Now I’m a unicorn, as you can see by my horn,” Twilight tapped her horn with a hoof a few times for emphasis. “You at least know what a unicorn is, right?” Naruto nodded. Indeed, he had heard of a unicorn before, at least in fairy tales. He used to sneak into the bookstore now and again to read. That is, unless he was being pelted with rocks and slander by the other villagers for being a Jinchuuriki. Those were dark times for Naruto. Very dark times. “I’ve heard… what unicorns are, but I never thought I’d actually get to meet one.” Twilight looked slightly taken aback. “Wait, you mean you have never, in your ENTIRE life, seen an actual unicorn?” Naruto nodded in confirmation. Twilight just grew more confused and irritated. “You… I mean, for Celestia’s sake, were you born yesterday?!” “Maybe… I don’t know where I am, what I am, and I certainly didn’t have these hooves before,” he said, waving a fore-hoof around for emphasis, ”I had fingers and feet, like that lizard thing has.” He pointed at Spike, who straightened up and pounded his chest with a clawed fist. “Hey buddy! I ain’t no ‘lizard-thing’! I, am a dragon. Try calling me a lizard one more time, I dare ya.” “Geez, calm down. Big baby...” Naruto said with a smirk. Spike simply looked at him with scorn, picking up a piece of random paper and setting it alight in front of Naruto’s eyes. Naruto looked at the pile of ash at Spike’s feet, gulping, before saying, “... who can breathe fire at will.” Twilight’s head spun at Naruto’s answers. The only pony who confused her to such a level was Pinkie Pie. Even then, it was Pinkie Pie. Her crazy shenanigans were extremely frustrating to figure out. Even her analytical skills proved useless against the force that was the pink menace. She chalked up everything involving the pink pony to just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. No explanation necessary, but for a rather normal earth pony... She leaned forward, placing her hoof on Naruto’s forehead, trying to see if he was delirious from a fever. It made Naruto flinch, apparently not expecting physical contact. Twilight furrowed her brow, trying to feel for anything out of the ordinary. “Are you sure you’re alright? Fever? Headache? Nausea?” “No, I’m fine…” Naruto waved her hoof off of his forehead, but as he did, he realized what bugged him about the touch. His Konoha forehead protector was missing. He looked around frantically, hoping to see a glimmer of steel anywhere in the room. “Twilight, was I wearing a headband with a plate of metal on the front?” Naruto asked. Twilight widened her eyes, as if discovering something previously undiscovered. “Yes! That’s right! Your headband! Spike, you know where it is, don’t you? Could you go grab it from my study?” She said as she nudged Spike with her hoof. “Me? Why?” he grumbled back in response. “I need to talk to Naruto more. You’re not doing anything else after all… are you?” Spike grudgingly nodded back. “I’m relaxing on the couch. It’s more important…” “No, it’s not. Go grab the headband, Spike.” Defeated, Spike got off the couch and started the march up the stairs to her private study. He mumbled under his breath, mostly incoherent with a few tidbits about how much of a slave driver Twilight was. Naruto just snickered to himself, enjoying Spike’s annoyed reaction. Twilight coughed forcefully, grabbing Naruto’s attention once again. “Right then. While he does that, let’s continue where we left off. You said before that you don’t know where you are, right?” He nodded. ”Well, obviously you’re in my house. It’s a big library of books, but it doubles as my home. We’re not actually in the official library section, but the books here are of my own personal collection. I love to read,” She said, stretching her arms out to emphasize the amount of books in this room alone. She brought her hooves down before placing them under her chin. “Right now, you’re in Ponyville, located in the land of Equestria. Princess Celestia rules over this land, along with her sister, Princess Luna. Not only ponies live in Equestria. Diamond Dogs, Griffins, Dragons, and others inhabit the land. Anything else?” Naruto couldn’t help it. He just stared at Twilight, jaw slack and halfway to the floor. Had he just walked into a fairy-tale? He had to ask one more question, at the very least: How high exactly was he? Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to ask, still dumbstruck at Twilight’s brief summary. It felt like he was dreaming. A dream that he couldn’t force himself to wake up from. Twilight frowned, disbelief all over Naruto’s face. She got up off the couch and motioned for Naruto to join her by the window. “Maybe a visual aid is in order. Come here and look outside.” Naruto got up from the couch and followed her to a glass pane window. She got up on her hind hooves and pushed opening both sides of window. A cool breeze brought fresh air into the library, it’s cool touch making him shiver slightly. Twilight looked at him curiously before nodding with her head outside, inviting him to take a look. He took a calming breath, preparing him for what he was about to see, before sticking his head out the window. He almost immediately fell back on his ass, simply dumbfounded. He closed his eyes while shaking his head, trying to process what he just saw. I’m hallucinating... I’ve finally gone crazy, he thought. He decided to take a gander one more time, just to double check. Outside, it was a clear, sunny afternoon. He could see people… no, horses all around, or ponies as Twilight had said, going about their everyday lives. He saw one sky-blue pony in a heated argument with a merchant over what seemed to be cherries. A little further away, two ponies were chatting about something apparently humorous as they burst out giggling and laughing a second later. Below, a big, red stallion pulled a cart laden with apples, chatting with a smaller pony with a red bow in it’s hair as they moved down the road. A bright, pink pony caught his eye, bouncing around as though she just swallowed a handful of soldier pills and then some. Were all these ponies so damn colorful? Naruto slowly backed away from the window, shaking his head with his eyes closed, trying to wake himself up from this technicolor dream. But no, it was all real, and he was stuck in it. Stuck forever in this world of the unknown. Everything he worked for in his original world, everyone he met, all of his friends… meant nothing anymore… But wait, that reminded him. “How did I even get here to begin with…” Twilight raised a brow at his sudden question. “You don’t know? Spike and I found you near the Everfree Forest.” “What’s the Everfree Forest?” “You’re kidding... Right?” Naruto shook his head. Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes, before continuing. “You know, the Everfree Forest? Dangerous place. Tons of monsters that gobble up anything and everything. Clouds form on their own. Plants and animals grow by themselves… We found you sprawled out on the ground, unconscious, by the entrance. There was an explosion and purple smoke everywhere. Weird, now that I think about it, even if it was in the Everfree.” His headache came back, thumping away at his brain with a hammer. This was too much. Too much to take in all at once. He needed time to straighten out his thoughts and figure out his priorities. “Umm, Twilight Sparkle. Can I have a few moments to myself? I need to think about this... All of this... It’s... simply overwhelming...” Twilight simply nodded. “Of course Naruto, take all the time you need. If what you say is true, then this must be a lot to take in all at once. If I was in your hooves right now, I’d have been freaking out a long time ago. Besides, I need some time to think about this as well...” She proceeded out the door, muttering to herself. “Grr... What’s taking Spike so long? I swear, if I catch him eating some of my mint chocolate chip ice cream again... ” her voice trailed off as she left the room, leaving Naruto to wallow in his thoughts. ***** Equestria. Ponies. Unicorns. Ponyville… Stuff that would fit right in a fantasy book and he was living in it. Hell, even he had been turned into one too. He tried to remember his last few days in the Land of Fire. He thought back to when he had arrived in Konoha after a grueling escort mission. Yajirobi came to the forefront of his memories, him and that straw hat of his. This situation was caused by him. Teasing Naruto about alchemy, giving him that vitamin potion, lying about how it would help him, everything was a lie. What did it get him? A one way ticket to the next life. His last memory was of excruciating pain and something flat, hard, and cold. No... Wait... It was fuzzy, but he could recall something else. A black robed person, going on about how he was dead, giving him a new life… and something about marrying a caveman and a horse. He face-hoofed, feeling very disturbed at what he just recalled. But getting back to his memories in hand… He was given a second chance in life… just not the one he had left. He banged his hoofs on the window sill, anger coursing through his veins. If he was going to be given a second chance in life, it should have been in his own world, not this world full of magic and ponies. Was this his version of a sick joke? Or was there another reason for it... So many questions and so little answers, Naruto thought. As he started to flesh out other important details, such as the possibility of returning to his own world or if they have a pony equivalent to ramen, the sun dipped below the horizon, darkness blanketing the town. Naruto snapped out of his memories from the absence of light. How long had he been standing there, thinking? He took his hoofs off the window sill and proceeded to stretch, much like that of a cat. He finished by cracking his neck twice, once to the left and right, before sighing in relief. Turning around, he found Twilight a few paces away sitting down, facing him. She waved at him with a small smile on her face. “Hey, are you alright?” “Yeah… I’m… fine, I think. Thinking about things helped me clear my mind a bit, I think.” Twilight nodded. As she did, Naruto noticed a metallic sheen on her forehead, right above where her horn stuck out from her head. He pointed at her forehead, more specifically, at the swirling symbol now visible through her hair. “Is that my…” Twilight blinked. She followed his line of sight to her forehead and tapped on it with her hoof, eliciting a metallic ping sound. She gasped before using her magic to take it off and fold it onto itself, the metal plate facing skywards.“Oh, right. Uh, I kinda forgot I had that on. I found Spike asleep on my cushion in my study. That baby still tries to shirk his responsibilities, I swear…” Twilight said, as she rolled her eyes. “It was still on my table so I picked it up to hand it to you. I put it on to see what it would feel like and...” She twiddled with her front hooves nervously. “I guess I forgot I even had it on. Hehe...” She placed the small bundle of fabric in front of him. At least some things haven’t changed, he thought. The metal was polished to a shine, the scratches embedded into the plate stuck out like a sore-thumb, souvenirs of past missions and training. The black strap was still as soft as the first day he donned the protector. The icon of the Village of the Leaves embedded into the plate dead center, a constant reminder of his duty as a ninja. He couldn’t help but smile weakly at it, knowing that he probably would never see his home again, stuck in this world or his friends ever again. Regardless, it was a part of him. A part which he would never ever give up. Reaching out with his hoof, he tried to grab the headband, only to realize halfway there that he lacked opposable thumbs. He furrowed his brow and then lifted his other hoof to help pick it up… only to fall flat on his face when his frontal support disappeared. He rubbed his nose in pain, irritation at his new body growing bigger. Twilight was dumbfounded. It really did look like he was born yesterday. She stared at him a few moments more before lending him a helping hoof. She levitated the headband onto Naruto’s forehead. Still not being used to the sight of magic, he froze, his eyes watching the protector float onto his head. She wrapped the headband around his head, and tied a firm knot in the back. Naruto closed his eyes and placed a hoof on his forehead, the solid weight easing away some unknown tension. He felt more complete now, this headband took him into many successful battles back in his own world. This headband that he received from Iruka-sensei all so long ago... He took a deep breath and exhaled, opening his eyes once more. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.” Naruto said smiling. Twilight merely smiled back. “You’re welcome Naruto… Oh, and drop the Sparkle. My friends just call me Twilight.” “Well, feel free to keep calling me Naruto then, heh heh…” It only took a little chuckle for the tension in the room to finally break, making them both laugh well on into the night.  ***** Since Naruto had nowhere to go for the night, Twilight graciously offered him her spare guest room. Naruto didn’t want to intrude but Twilight insisted. Having a pony with no knowledge of the outside world wandering around at night was stupid to say the least. Naruto couldn’t believe this show of hospitality. Anyone else would’ve just tossed him out like the demon he was. As Naruto fell into the clutches of dreamland, Twilight stared at his sleeping form. Despite the confusion and weirdness of this particular pony, she couldn’t help but find him somewhat cute. Especially that fox-like tail of his and those whisker marks on his face. The things she could do with-Oh by Celestia! What was she thinking? She merely shook her head as she retreated off to her own study. In her study, Spike was organizing all the books she used from her last study spree. As she walked in, Spike turned around, books in one hand, the other with a handful of scrolls. “Took you long enough Twilight. You think you could lighten up on the study binges to twice a week? I’ve re-shelved the entire study at least five times this week!” Spike placed the books on the shelves and shoved the scrolls into a bin labeled ‘In Progress’. “You feeling alright Twilight? You’re face is a little red-” “What!? No I’m fine! Nothing wrong here. Nope!” “Uh huh... well if you say so. Anything else you need done before I hit the sack? My blankee is calling my name.” “Oh! Spike, take a letter. We need to let Princess Celestia know about this. I might as well include this with my friendship report.” Spike merely nodded, pulling out a scroll , quill, and inkwell before looking back at Twilight. Twilight took a deep breath as she said: ***** Dear Princess Celestia, It has come to my attention that when it comes to helping someone in need, no matter how strange or confused they are, it is always right to help them out in their time of need, always going as far as making sure they are safe and comfortable. I have found a strange and odd pony near the Everfree Forest. He’s unlike any other pony I’ve ever seen before. It’s as though he wasn’t born a pony. My first thought was amnesia, but I've ruled that out from our conversations with each other. I am hoping to hear from you soon about this matter. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle P.S. He seems to have a fox-like tail, if that helps at all. ***** As Spike finished the letter, he rolled it up and set the quill back into his pouch. A second later, the scroll went up in green flames, the smoke traveling out the open window and into the night sky. Twilight walked over to the window and looked in the direction of Canterlot, its bright lights visible through the dark despite the distance. “I hope she can help… She always has…” ***** In Canterlot, more specifically in the Royal Castle of the Princesses, a white alicorn lay next to a crackling fireplace, trying to fight off the night chills ever so prevalent in the castle. Sporting a majestic, multi-colored mane that moved as if caught by a slow underwater current, Princess Celestia was relaxing after another hard day’s work. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth the fire gave her before a slight popping noise caught her attention. She opened her eyes to find a scroll bearing the mark of her pupil lying on the floor in front of her. A delightful smile grew on her face. After a long day’s work, hearing from her pupil on her studies on friendship and such was a treat. She picked up the scroll and unraveled it in front of her, the fire illuminating the entire paper. As she progressed through the letter, Twilight’s mention of this strange, foreign pony peaked her interest. There’s always a first time for everything, she thought. What she found most peculiar about this pony was that he had a tail like a fox. This was something she would follow very closely for the time being.