It was the morning after Naruto's acceptance of Celestia's mission, and the residents of Ponyville were going about their usual morning. Also up and about during this time was Naruto, who was gathering supplies for his mission to explore the Everfree Forest. Ponies would wave cheerfully as he passed, but then they would level death glares at the pony walking behind the human. Trixie was out with Naruto carrying all the supplies as they went from shop to shop, and she was not happy about it in the slightest.
"Why can't you carry all this stuff yourself, human? The great and powerful Trixie refuses to be your mule." The sound of braying made her look to her right. "Um, no offense to you of course."
"None taken." Replied the mule beside her.
"Would it kill you to at least use my name?" Naruto asked as they headed for a camping supply store.
"Trixie refuses to sully her tongue with your name, human." She answered. Naruto was ready to start beating his head against a wall. After their arrival in Ponyville last night, Naruto had taken Trixie to Twilight's, seeing as Sasuke refused for her to stay with him. Trixie and Twilight didn't exactly hit it off, requiring Naruto and Spike to help diffuse the situation. Now things were heating up again this morning, as the townsponies had been far less than pleased with Trixie's most unwanted return. So far, Naruto had quelled a rioting, but that wasn't stopping them from glaring and insulting the mare. Soon the two reached the supply store, and Naruto left a shadow clone out with Trixie so to protect her should anypony try something. Fortunately, all anypony did was glare and shoot out an insulting remark. Soon, Naruto exited the store with everything he needed from it, and deposited the items into Trixie's saddlebags. Just as he was finished, Trixie levitated the bags off of her and cast them aside, nearly spilling their contents on the ground.
"Trixie, please put the bags back on." Naruto asked her.
"No." Trixie replied, turning her nose up and looking away.
"Trixie, stop this. You're supposed to be helping me."
"Trixie is only required to help you in the Everfree Forest. Trixie has already stated she will not carry your things, so find somepony else to do your manual labour." Naruto slapped a hand against his face. He wasn't sure how much more of Trixie he could take.
"Trixie, you're my assistant for this mission, meaning you're supposed to be helping me with anything regarding the mission."
"Trixie doesn't care. She refuses to carry anything she doesn't want to." She answered, holding her defiant pose.
"Trixie, please."
"No." Now, Naruto was not in any way a patient person, thus it was a testament to his self control with how he was handling Trixie, but even he had his limits and Trixie had shoved past them.
"That's it. Trixie, pick up those bags or I swear to Celestia I will let the town loose on you." Trixie's eyes snapped open at that, and she looked at Naruto.
"You wouldn't dare." She said, a drop of fear colouring her voice.
"Try me, I dare you." He answered, his aggressive tone and straight face destroying all doubt of the sincerity of his threat. Wordlessly, Trixie levitated the bags and placed them upon her back once more, and the two resumed their shopping trip. Soon the two were finished and heading back to the library, Trixie remaining silent since after being threatened. Once the two were inside and the supplies set aside, Naruto turned back to the light blue unicorn.
"Trixie, I'm sorry for threatening you, but you forced my hand. Why do you have to be so defiant? Why can't you just cooperate?" He asked.
"Trixie refuses to cooperate because you have made a mockery of Trixie. She'll be lucky if at the end of all this, anypony notices her now." Something about that statement nagged at Naruto, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why.
"So you're still hung up about that magic show? Trixie that was months ago, can't you just let it go?" At this, Trixie got angry.
No, Trixie will not let it go. Trixie hates you, she despises you, and she will prove herself superior to you and all others, and be remembered as the greatest and most powerful unicorn in Equestria." Again, something about that statement niggled at Naruto, but he had no time to think on it as Trixie opened the door.
"Trixie, where are you going?" Asked Naruto in worry.
"Trixie is going out." She said simply as she walked through the doorway.
"Trixie wait. If I'm not with you, you might get attacked."
"The great and powerful Trixie is not afraid of the populace, and can easily defend herself if anypony gets violent." With that, Trixie slammed the door closed. She then decided to head to Sugarcube Corner for something to eat. Reaching the bakery without incident, Trixie entered the establishment and walked up to the counter.
"Hiya Trixie." Said pinkie Pie as she cheerfully bounced out of the kitchen and behind the counter. "What can I get you?" Ignoring the overly cheerful pony in front of her, Trixie pondered her choices.
"Trixie will have the large lemon cranberry muffin." She said after making her mind up.
"Inside or to go?" Pinkie asked
"To go." With that, a warm paper bag was handed to her.
"Here you go, fresh from the oven." Said Pinkie. Paying the necessary bits, Trixie took the bag and began to leave. "Don't I get a thank you?"
"I suppose." Said Trixie. "Trixie thanks you for being so fast with her order."
"Well it was a thank you, so I'll take it. I was going to throw you a welcome to Ponyville party, but nopony wanted to come. You can't have a party without guests after all."
"That is fine. Trixie hates parties anyway." That caused Pinkie's jaw to drop.
"What!? How in Equestria can you hate parties? Parties are super duper fun, and everypony loves them."
"Just because everypony else likes them, doesn't mean Trixie likes them as well."
"But why?"
"Trixie has no need or desire to tell you." Was the showmare's reply, and with that she left the bakery, muffin securely in her magical grasp. However, Pinkie was not giving up that easily.
"Can you pleeeease tell me why you hate parties?" Pinkie asked as she appeared out of a flowerbox beside Trixie, startling the unicorn.
"Trixie has already told you she won't say. Leave Trixie alone." She stated angrily, and walked away from the pink earth pony. This continued for a bit, Pinkie would constantly hound Trixie for answers while appearing out of nowhere, while Trixie would turn her away, getting angrier after each time. Finally, she had had enough.
"Enough of this! I've told you over and over that I won't tell you why I hate parties, so why can't you respect that and just leave me alone?!" Trixie screamed, and with a pulse of magic, shoved Pinkie Pie away from her. That got the townsponies attention. "All I want is some peace and quiet, but I can't get any with you constantly badgering me with questions I don't want to answer. Now go away and leave me alone." Just as Trixie said that, a rotten tomato impacted her in the side of her face, which was soon followed by other spoiled produce. The townsponies had thought Trixie was deliberately hurting Pinkie, and were retaliating. Trixie summoned up a barrier spell to protect her from the onslaught of rotting projectiles, but they would not relent.
"How dare you hurt Pinkie Pie. What's she ever done to you?" Hollered one pony
"So trying to destroy our town not enough for you? You have to go hurting innocent ponies now?" Yelled another. Pinkie's eyes widened when she saw what she had done.
"Everypony, wait. Trixie didn't do anything, it was all my fault." She said to the crowd, but everypony ignored her.
"Great and Powerful Trixie? More like weak and worthless if you enjoy picking on ponies all the time." When Trixie heard that, very unpleasant memories filled her mind, and her barrier began to waver.
Trixie, Trixie, such a stupid filly.
Trixie's barrier shimmered and weakened as a chorus of foal's voices echoed in her head.
Trixie, Trixie, such a stupid filly.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier, and Trixie was unable to concentrate magic into it to sustain it.
Can't do right, what a sight, such a stupid filly.
"With the sound of breaking glass, the barrier collapsed, leaving Trixie exposed to the insults and projectiles the ponies were throwing at her, the townsponies having stopped with spoiled goods when they had run out, and were now throwing sticks and stones. Trixie immediately ran, tears streaming from her face, the mob in hot pursuit. Soon she was running down a dirt road studded with mud patches. on pursuer's stone struck Trixie's leg, causing her to trip and fall, getting mud and dirt all over her. Her pursuers immediately caught up to the mare, and began tormenting her, pounding her with hooves and showering her with insults, all the while the sing song chorus of bullying foals rang through her mind.
Trixie, Trixie, such a stupid filly. Can't do right, what a sight, such a stupid filly.
"Enough!" Screamed a voice, and in a flash of yellow Naruto appeared, chakra cloak blazing, sending ponies flying back with the force of his sudden appearance. "I expected better of all of you." He snarled angrily. "Would somepony care to explain why you're all beating on Trixie here?"
"She was attacking Pinkie Pie." Replied one of the mob members, whom Naruto recognized.
"For your information Thunderlane, Pinkie Pie had been bothering her with questions she did not want to answer, She just pushed Pinkie to get her to stop."
"She brought that ursa down on us. She could've destroyed Ponyville." Said another pony in the group.
"Ugh, will all of you get over it. That was months ago, and she's been punished for that. It's not like anything was destroyed or anypony got hurt, so there's no need to hold on to past grudges." After a bit more convincing, Naruto got the mob to disperse. Deactivating his cloak, Naruto turned to face Trixie, only to get shoved back by pulse of magic. "What the heck was that for?" He said angrily as Trixie got up off the ground.
"I didn't want your help!" Trixie screamed. "I don't want your pity. I never asked for your charity. Just leave me alone!" With that, Trixie tore down the road as fast as her legs could carry her.Soon the path gave way to plain grass and trees, and unaware of her footing, Trixie tripped over an exposed root. Tumbling and rolling, the mare slid to a stop in a jumbled heap of cloth and limbs. Trixie didn't bother getting up. Remaining on the ground, she cried and sobbed, her memory tormenting her still with a sing song rhyme.
Trixie, Trixie, such a stupid filly. Can't do right, what a sight, such a stupid filly.
Big Mac was taking a leisurely stroll through his family orchard. The trees were all bare of leaves, so there wasn't much in the way of scenery. However, the sky was clear, the wind was crisp and fresh, and the ground firm beneath his hooves, and that was all that mattered to him this fine November morning. He was pulled out of his peace of mind, when he heard the sound of crying. Deciding to investigate the source, Big Mac headed for the origin of the sound. It wasn't uncommon for a pony to come to the orchards to cry, the trees provided all the privacy a pony needed to let out their sorrows. Big Mac never did like seeing ponies cry, and would always try to help cheer them up if he could, be it a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, or just a few kind words. Upon reaching the source of the cries, Big mac saw that it was the self proclaimed 'great and powerful' Trixie who was crying in his orchard. While not a fan of her arrogant attitude, Big mac held no resentment with the mare, thus he decided to help her.
As he came forward, the sound of his hooves alerted Trixie to his presence, as she jerked her head up and looked at him. Big Mac could then see how filthy she was.
'Townsponies must have gotten to her.' He thought to himself. Sitting down a short distance in front of Trixie, Big Mac waited for Trixie to speak first, having found this the best tactic for crying mares.
"What do you want?" Trixie asked, "Come to hurt Trixie as well? Come to call her names and throw things at her?"
"Nnnope." Answered Big Mac in his usual way, then he pointed to his right with a hoof. "There's a stream down yonder, if' y'all wanna wash up, though it's prob'ly goin' tah be mighty cold in this weather."
"Trixie does not want your pity." She lashed out. Big Mac only raised a brow in response.
"An' ah ain't givin' yah any pity, ahm just statin' facts. Stream's not mine, so ah can't dictate what anypony does with it. If y'all want's tah use it, be mah guest. If not, that's fine too." Trixie's eyes cast themselves downwards and she said nothing. With that, Big Mac turned around and headed back to his farm house. Fetching a towel, he headed back to Trixie's location, only to find her gone. Shrugging, he headed for the stream he had pointed out earlier, and found Trixie finishing up washing herself off. Upon exiting the frigid stream, Trixie came face to face with Big Mac once again, a towel held out for her. "Here, y'all can use this tah dry off." He said.
"Trixie did not ask for your charity." She said coldly.
"Well it ain't exactly charity if y'all ask for it. 'Sides, you'd rather freeze?" Trixie couldn't argue against that, and a pink glow surrounded her horn and the towel, which floated over to her. Once she had dried herself off, she handed the towel back over to Big mac, a mumbled thank you making it's way past her lips.
"Well then, the great and powerful Trixie must be off. She still has several errands to help run today." Said Trixie as she trotted past Big Mac, only for her stomach to loudly growl, reminding her that she had yet to eat anything today.
"Eeenope. Sorry Trixie, but nopony leaves Sweet Apple Acres on an empty belly. Yer comin' with me, a good meal will do yah wonders." With that, Big Mac led a mildly protesting Trixie to the farmhouse. Upon reaching the Apple family's home, he opened the door for the unicorn and beckoned her inside, following along after she had entered. After the two had entered, Applejack trotted over to see who was home, and saw her brother.
"Big Mac, there yah are. Granny's just settin th' table fer lunch." She said happily, then she noticed Trixie. "And what in tarnation is she doin' here? You know she brought that ursa inta' town." She stated angrily, causing Trixie to wilt a bit under the tone.
"She's here cuz' ah invited her to lunch, and that was months ago Applejack, get over it. Nopony got hurt, and nopony lost nothin'."
"But I, uh, she, er, oh fiddlesticks, fine." Applejack huffed, unable to counter her brother. That wasn't stopping her from getting the last laugh, however. "Oi, Granny!" She hollered into the house. "Set th' table fer five, Big Mac brought home a mare!"
"He did!?" An elderly voice hollered back. "Well it's about darn tootin time. My Big Mac's finally got himself a mare." If Big Mac wasn't already solid red, he would have been then.
"It ain't like that Granny!" He shouted, glaring at his sister, who was giving her elder brother a triumphant smirk in response. Soon, everypony was gathered around the dinner table eating lunch, potato soup with toasted tomato sandwiches. Conversation was light, then Trixie became the subject.
"So Trixie, where yah from?" Asked Applejack.
"Trixie is from Hoofington originally." She answered, sipping up a spoonful of soup.
"So what does yer cutie mark mean?" Apple Bloom asked the unicorn mare.
"It means that Trixie's special talent is magic itself, though Trixie specializes in illusions."
"Ooh, how'd yah earn it?"
"Well, Trixie was being bullied at school for being a blank flank, and she finally had enough. Trixie cast a spell on the bullies to make them think they were going bald. It was quite funny to see them running around screaming that their manes were falling off. Trixie got into loads of trouble with the teacher for it, but Trixie earned her cutie mark, so it was worth it."
"Now don't go puttin' ideas inta mah sister's head, Trixie. She an' 'er friends get in enough trouble as it is with all their cutie mark crusadin'."
"Me? Corrupt an innocent filly into troublemaking? Perish the thought." That got a laugh out of everypony. Trixie was honestly enjoying her time with the Apples, but then Apple Bloom asked the wrong question.
"So Trixie, what's yer family like?" At this, Trixie went silent, then her spoon dropped into her empty bowl with a clatter.
"Trixie is sorry, but she must leave now to help Naruto with his errands. Trixie thanks you for the meal Granny Smith, and apologizes for leaving so abruptly." With that, Trixie excused herself from the table, and left the farmhouse, much to everypony's confusion.
"Now what th' hay is wrong with 'er?" Applejack asked aloud.
:"Was it somethin' ah said?" Asked Apple Bloom in confusion. Meanwhile with Trixie, the mare was trotting down the road back to Ponyville, hot tears leaking out of her closed eyes. Of all the things that filly could have asked about, it had to be about her family.
'What family?' Trixie thought bitterly to herself. Finally she made it back to Ponyville, and while she was still getting looks, nopony was insulting her. Upon reaching the library, Trixie opened the door and stepped inside, earning the attention of the three occupants within.
"Trixie, there you are." Said Naruto as Trixie walked into the library.
"Trixie, are you hurt? I heard about what happened from Naruto and Pinkie." Asked Twilight in concern.
"The great and powerful Trixie is fine as you all can plainly see. Now then human, Trixie supposes we still have some errands to run?"
"Argh, could you please use my name, and not just call me human." Groaned Naruto, his hand pressed against his face. Trixie just smirked at the reaction she got out of Naruto. Just then, a pink blur careened into Trixie, enveloping her in a hug.
"I'm so, so so soooo sorry. I didn't mean to get all the townsponies mad at you like that. Please forgive me, I'll never pester you with questions you don't want answered again." Pleaded Pinkie as she continued to hug the unicorn. Trixie wanted nothing more than to shove her away and refuse, but decided that that was not the course of action she should be taking.
"Very well, Trixie accepts your apology, though she didn't even get to eat her muffin." Just then, a warm paper bag was handed over to her.
"I made you a new one, your old one kind of got trampled." Said Pinkie, her usual cheer returning. Letting go of Trixie, Pinkie Pie bounced for the door, but Trixie stopped her.
"Pinkie, wait." When Trixie had Pinkie's attention, she continued. "Trixie does not like parties because every party Trixie has been to has always ended badly for Trixie."
"Well whoever made those parties wasn't very good at it. A party's only good if all the guests leave happy." Said Pinkie.
"Unless the sole purpose of the party was to humiliate me." Said Trixie quietly, but not quietly enough.
"What!?" Everyone else exclaimed.
"Trixie, what do you mean by that?" Asked Twilight.
"Trixie does not wish to answer that." Trixie answered, and everyone got the hint.
"Well, I got to get back to work, break's over. Thanks for accepting my apology, Trixie, I was scared you wouldn't." With that, Pinkie bounced out the library and back to Sugar Cube Corner.
"Well, Trixie, we need to get going too. There's still a few things we need before we head into the Everfree Forest." Said Naruto, and with that, the two headed out. Twilight remained lost in thought. What Trixie had said about not liking parties had her head spinning.
'Why in Equestria would anypony make a party just to humiliate Trixie?' She thought to herself. She soon derailed such thoughts when she knew she couldn't work on them seeing as she knew practically northing about the unicorn. With a sigh, Twilight soon returned to her magic studies, though Trixie's words still hung in the back of her mind.
"Thank you for your patronage." Called Aloe and Lotus as another satisfied customer left the spa. Soon, the door jingled again to announce the arrival of another customer. The two sisters looked at who had entered, and were quite surprised to see none other than Rainbow Dash.
"Uh, hi." She said nervously, then presented a ticket to the two spa ponies. "I get a free massage with one of these right?" Aloe took the ticket, and saw it was one of their promotional vouchers. After Sasuke had massaged a few of the weather ponies here in Ponyville, their performance at work was nearly doubled. Aloe and Lotus decided to give massage vouchers to Ponyville's weather crew in hopes of attracting more clientele.
"Of course, come with me. I'll take you right over to Sasuke." Said Lotus, and brought Rainbow Dash to the back of the spa. "Sasuke, another customer for you." She called from in front of a closed door. there was a bit of rustling in the room, and soon, Sasuke opened the door. Immediately he took notice of his rainbow maned friend.
"Well I wasn't expecting to see you here, Rainbow Dash." He said, causing the pegasus to laugh nervously.
"I'm just here for the massage. I'm hoping it can improve my stunt practice." She replied. Sasuke soon beckoned her in, and shut the door behind her.
"All right, just lie down on the table and I'll be with you shortly." Doing as bidden, Rainbow Dash lied down on the table, stomach down. Sasuke then brought over several odd looking coloured sticks. "Could you smell each one and tell me which one you like most." He asked. Deciding there was no harm in it, Rainbow smelled each of the sticks, and told Sasuke the red one on the far left was what she preferred best. Sasuke then took the sticks away, and after several seconds, Rainbow heard him snap his fingers. Soon the entire room was filled with the smell of hot peppers and wood smoke, causing Rainbow to relax into the table.
"So what were those stick things anyway?" Asked Rainbow.
"Incense." Answered Sasuke. "I've found that aromatherapy helps the massaging process become much more enjoyable." Upon seeing Rainbow's lost face, Sasuke dumbed things down. "It will make your massage feel better."
"Well why didn't you say so in the first place." She said, and Sasuke could only sigh.
"Let's just get started." With that, Sasuke began applying massaging lotion to his hands.
"Hey Sasuke, can I ask you a personal question?" Asked Rainbow.
"Depends on the question I suppose."
"Do you think I'm pretty?" That made Sasuke pause in his lotion rubbing.
"Before I answer that, why do you ask?" Rainbow was silent for a minute as she organized her thoughts, then she spoke.
"Well, I've got my eye on this stallion, but I don't exactly think he notices me all that much. Wouldn't surprise me really, I'm just pretty much a garish, scrawny tomcolt." Finishing up with his hands, Sasuke came over to Rainbow Dash.
"Well Rainbow, I'm not exactly the right guy to discuss this with. Personally, I don't care too much for looks. For me, strength and skill is what I find attractive, something a lot of girls back in my world didn't get." Sasuke then began massaging Rainbow's shoulders. "Let's take you for example. You're a very strong mare, and very skillful in the air, which is what makes you look attractive in my eyes. Yes you have a lot of bright colours going on with you, but to be honest, your mane suits you. Furthermore, you're not scrawny." Sasuke emphasized this by beginning to massage her body. "Yes you have a slender build, but it gives you a very toned and athletic look to yourself. Another thing is your tomcoltishness, or tomboyishness as how it's said in my world. Personally, I like a girl who isn't afraid to do something usually reserved for males, it just shows how tough she is. add that to your skill and strength, and I find you a very pretty mare, though I can't say for that stallion of yours." Sasuke could feel Rainbow trembling and letting loose shuddering breaths as he continued to massage her, having added fire chakra to the mix.
"Thanks, Sasuke." Rainbow gasped out, though her tone struck Sasuke as odd. It wasn't the sound of a pony experiencing relaxing pleasure, but the sound of someone being relieved of emotional baggage.
'Must have confidence issues when it comes to her looks and attractiveness.' Sasuke thought to himself. "So, if I may ask, who's this stallion that's caught your eye?" He asked aloud. That caused Rainbow Dash to tense.
"Uh, well, I'd rather not say. I don't exactly want it to become public knowledge that I like the guy. I know you're trustworthy Sasuke, but if it's all the same to you, I'd like to keep it to myself." She answered. Sasuke finished with Rainbow's body, and began working on her legs, making sure to avoid the cutie marks.
"Well it's not my place to pry. Can you at least tell me about him?" Sasuke asked.
"Well, he's kinda hard to describe. He can be really intimidating to those that don't know him, but he lets his friends see his softer side. He usually comes off as uncaring, but he often cares a great deal. He can be violent, but he won't hurt anypony unless they give him a good reason to. But one of the things I like about him most, is his willingness to listen. No matter what he's doing, he's always willing to put everything down and listen to a friend's problems, and help them through it." Sasuke tried thinking of all the stallions he knew to see if he could match one to Rainbow Dash's descriptions, but nopony came to mind.
"Sounds like some stallion. I'm sure if you try hard enough, he'll notice you.." Said Sasuke as he finished Rainbow Dash's limbs and began on her wings. Rainbow was practically melting at Sasuke's touch, and all too soon, her massage ended. "All right Rainbow, that's all you get." Said Sasuke as he brought his hands away from the mare.
"That's it?" Whined Rainbow as she shakily got off the table. Never before had her body felt so good and relieved, even after a good nap on a soft cloud. "Wow Sasuke, no wonder why Rarity tried to jump your bones, I feel awesome." Rainbow had to hold in a laugh at Sasuke's face.
"J-just get going already, before you convince me to quit my job." With a giggle, Rainbow trotted out of the spa, a slight prance in her steps. Upon leaving the building, Rainbow Dash took to the skies, her takeoff swifter than before, and flew to her cloud home above the town. Alighting in front of her doorway, she swiftly entered, closing the door shut behind her.
"Who's my mystery stallion, Sasuke?" Rainbow muttered aloud, secure in the privacy of her home. "Look in a mirror, and see for yourself.."
Fluttershy was nervous. Scratch that, she was petrified. She was standing in front of Golden Oaks Library, hoof raised to knock, but she just couldn't do it. Too many things could go wrong.
'What if he says no? What if he laughs at me? What if he says no while laughing at me.' These thoughts and many similar ones were currently raging through her mind, freezing her in place. Just as she was about to give up and leave, the library door swung open, revealing Spike.
"Oh, hi Fluttershy. What brings you here?" Asked the dragon.
"U-um, I-is Naruto here?" She asked, bringing her raised hoof down.
"Yeah, he and Trixie just got back from finishing all their shopping for the expedition." He then leaned closer to the pegasus. "You came at just the right time. Twilight's going crazy making sure Naruto remembers what to do when he comes across anything new. You need to come to the poor guy's rescue." At that, Twilight walked by with a book while raving to Naruto about how he couldn't get anything new and already discovered mixed up.
"And another thing you two, make sure whatever it is that you two find that's already discovered, is the thing already discovered. Who knows how many subspecies and variants the Everfree has within it. For all we know, poison joke comes in red as well." Said the aforementioned unicorn as she trotted by.
"Um, maybe this is a bad time. I think I'll just..." That was as far as Fluttershy got before Naruto came skidding into the doorway.
"Sorry Twilight, got to go. Flutters needs me for something, and it sounds big by the way she's acting. Make sure Trixie understands everything so she can tell me later." With that, the blonde ninja swept Fluttershy into his arms and dashed for the pegasus' cottage, and not a moment too soon.
""Narutoooooooooo!!!" Screamed the two unicorns he left behind.
"Well what do you know, Trixie finally used my name." Remarked Naruto in surprise. Soon, he and Fluttershy were at the aforementioned mare's cottage, and Naruto gently set Fluttershy down. She was a bit disorientated from the sudden takeoff, but recovered quickly. "So Flutters, what did you want to ask?" Asked Naruto, causing Fluttershy to nervously fidget as she hovered at eye level.
"Oh, um, I-it's nothing. Goodbye." Fluttershy tried to flee, but Naruto grabbed her long tail before she could get away.
"It's alright Flutters, I don't bite." Naruto reassured the mare.
"It's, um, would...." The rest was uttered so quietly, Naruto couldn't catch it.
"You're going to have to speak up, Fluttershy." Said Naruto, smiling in amusement at Fluttershy's timid actions. Fluttershy was hiding her face in her mane at this point.
"Would you go out with me?" Again Naruto couldn't hear a word she said.
"Flutters, I can't help if you won't tell me what's wrong. Besides," With his free hand, Naruto gently parted Fluttershy's mane, revealing her face once more. "hiding that pretty face of your's isn't helping." Fluttershy could feel her cheeks flush at Naruto's words.
"Would you go out with me?" Her response was very quiet, but Naruto almost caught it.
"You wanted something from me Flutters? What is it?" He asked.
"I, I, it's nothing, don't worry about it." Responded Fluttershy, desperately trying to free her tail from Naruto's grip. Suddenly, Naruto pulled her closer, and wrapped his arms around the yellow pegasus, eliciting a cute 'eep' from her. setting himself down cross legged on the ground, Naruto began gathering natural energy.
"It's okay Fluttershy, you can tell me." he said, scarlet pigmentation appearing around his eyes.
"No, it's not okay. You'll laugh, you'll say no, you-" She was interrupted from her physical and verbal struggling when the soothing presence of Naruto's sage mode slammed into her full force, causing her to sag bonelessly in his arms.
"Fluttershy," He whispered into her ear. "no matter what you ask, I won't ever laugh at you, and I'll only say no to anything you need only if I'm doing something a lot more important." Naruto then began stroking her mane, relaxing the mare further. "So ask away Fluttershy. You don't have to be afraid."
"Would you go out with me, Naruto?" That question gave Naruto pause.
"Out as in a date?" He clarified, and Fluttershy nodded. This brought only silence from Naruto, and Fluttershy feared the worst.
"I knew you wouldn't want to." Fluttershy said in dejection, but was stopped from speaking further with one of Naruto's fingers pressing against her lips.
"When did I say I didn't want to? I'm just shocked is all. No one's ever asked me out, and I didn't think any of you would be interested in me seeing as I'm not a pony." at this, Fluttershy's fears began to drain away, and soon elation rose to replace her melancholy.
"So, you'll go out with me?" She asked hopefully, to which Naruto simply smiled.
"Sure, I'd love to. And you're sure you're okay with me not being a pony, right?"
"I'll admit it might be a little strange, but ponies having relationships outside their species isn't unheard of, so I doubt anypony else will mind. So, tomorrow at seven?" Naruto thought to himself, then nodded.
"Yup, that works." With that, Naruto's sage mode fell away, and he released Fluttershy from his embrace.
"Well, I guess I'll see tomorrow then, Naruto." Said Fluttershy.
"Yup, see you at seven Fluttershy. Now if you'll excuse me, I got to break up Trixie and Twilight before they go at each other's throats, again." With that, Naruto vanished in a swirl of leaves. Not bothering to contain her excitement, Fluttershy raced into her cottage and slammed the door behind her, bracing herself against it. Sucking in a deep breath, she let loose a tremendous scream of elation
"Eeeeeeeeeeee." Well, tremendous for Fluttershy that is. "He said yes. He said yes. Oh yes yes yes, he said yes." Fluttershy was hopping about in elation, screaming her joy for the world to hear, and pretty much just acting like Twilight in a bookstore having a clearance sale. Suddenly, at the exact same time, both human and pegasus realized one key thing they had forgotten.
"Wait a minute, I've never gone on a date before. What do I do?!"