Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or MLP. Original idea for the story, as always belongs to Raja-Ulat
“Naruto, is everything alright in there?” Fluttershy called from the hallway. She was waiting on the blonde human boy to finish his bath. He hadn't had one since before he arrived, and while Fluttershy wasn't quite blunt enough to tell Naruto he smelled...Rainbow Dash was. Fluttershy was incredibly grateful that her friends were helping out, especially for such a big day. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were coming to meet him today, and it wasn't just the child who was nervous.
Twilight seemed even more on edge which, to be fair, wasn't unexpected as it happened every other time Celestia visited Ponyville. And nobody had seen Princess Luna since she had come to Ponyville for Nightmare Night. Rarity had dropped off the first of Naruto's 'new wardrobe' as she had called it. Fluttershy wasn't sure she liked the sound of that, but the fashionista had informed her that at some time during the night, she had been hit with a wave of inspiration. Fluttershy had to admit though, the new clothes Rarity had made were very nice looking. She had decided to make his clothing all-purpose, and had made a pair of sweat pants, in basic black. With the pants, she had provided a choice of two shirts, a gold-colored t-shirt, and a black long-sleeved shirt. Both were made of a light, breathable, and almost stretchy material. Over those, she had created a black sweat-shirt, trimmed with gold, that could be zipped up like a jacket. The clothes were perfect for working, casual wear, and still looked nice enough to wear for meeting the princesses.
They had plenty of apples, thanks to Applejack, and Pinkie Pie was already going overboard in the sweets department, but they still hadn't figured out just what it was that humans ate. Unfortunately, they couldn't seem to get him to focus long enough to tell them. He had a very short attention span, which was an even greater reason he seemed to get along well with Pinkie Pie. The most they could get out of him was that he enjoyed eating something called 'Ramen'
“I'm almost done!” he replied, the small boy just finishing cleaning between his toes.
“Rarity is here. She brought you some new clothes,” Fluttershy announced. Naruto blushed. It was bizarre. Back in Konoha, everybody wore clothes. Being naked was something to be embarrassed about after a certain age. But here, nobody thought it odd to be nude, which had been made clear when Fluttershy had waited for him to remove his clothes so he could take his bath. I mean, sure he was a kid, and she did have an excuse, as he still had a few bandages she had to remove, but still.
“Can you leave them outside the door, Ms. Fluttershy?” the blonde boy asked, and said mare giggled. It was strange to see such a small creature be so embarrassed just from a lack of clothing.
“Of course. Please try to hurry. The Princesses will be here soon, and you want to be presentable, right?”
“Thank you,” was her reply, and with a roll of her eyes, she placed the clothing right outside the door, as requested. Returning to the living room, she sat on the sofa next to Rarity, who was eagerly awaiting Naruto's grand entrance in his new clothing. When he finally did come out, the fashionista's eyes had stars in them. Fluttershy smiled brightly as well. The black and gold complemented each other quite well, and the full sweat suit on such a young boy.
“Oh my dear, you look absolutely fabulous!” Rarity practically squealed. “I think I might have outdone myself on this one! Fluttershy couldn't help but to agree.
“You do look very nice, Naruto,” she said, and the boy blushed at the compliments. Rarity leapt to her hooves and began to circle the boy.
“A rather simple design, but it did turn out absolutely amazing,” she beamed. “Is it comfortable?”
“Oh yeah,” Naruto agreed emphatically, twisting and stretching. “A lot better than my old clothes.” Before she could say anything, the boy leapt up and hugged her, causing the unicorn to giggle. “Thank you so much, Ms. Rarity!”
“You're most welcome, Darling. But please, you can just call me Rarity. I like my formalities, but for my friends, I make exceptions,” she replied, smiling at the boy. Naruto's eyes widened and began to water. Never before had anyone call him their friend. Even with as kind as the old man was, he never once called him his friend. But he wasn't going to cry. Not in front of these two.
“We should get moving to the library,” Fluttershy announced, crouching low so that Naruto could hop onto her back. Naruto hadn't ridden her or Rainbow Dash yet, unfortunately, which caused her a bit of pain and discomfort as the small boy tried to get settled around her wing joints. But as he did, that discomfort subsided, and she actually felt a strange warmth in its place. She always felt good caring for small creatures, but this was different. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but there was something about this 'human' child. “Twilight will be waiting for us.”
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Twilight was indeed waiting, but it was for someone of the more...royal variety. She had sent Spike off with Pinkie Pie, just so she could have some alone time with Princess Celestia. The Princesses were coming early in order to discuss Twilight's problem. Just the stress of it all had her in shambles. She had for the most part been avoiding Naruto, for fear her horn reacting might give away her part in bringing him here. She was pacing the floor, blowing strands of her mane out of her face, as a glow from behind her caught her attention. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood before her now, using a teleportation spell to arrive unnoticed by anyone else.
“Now then, my trusted student...care to tell us what has you so...frantic?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow at her student's disheveled look. Even Luna looked very curious. She was slightly surprised when the normally composed pony bowed so low in shame her horn actually punched a hole in the floor.
“OhPrincessit'sterribleIt'sallmyfaultandIdon'tknowwhattodooooooooo!” Celestia could barely space out the words her student was spewing faster than Rainbow Dash could fly. Using her magic to stand the unicorn back up, she looked Twilight right in the eye.
“Care to run that by me one more time, Twilight Sparkle?” she asked, now confused beyond belief. Twilight took a deep breath, trying to calm down. After all, the Princesses were here now. Surely they could figure out how to fix the mess she had created.
“It's my fault!” She announced. “I was working on a new spell to create a bridge between worlds, and it backfired...and if I'm correct, it's that spell that dragged Naruto, the human child, to our world...And I have no idea how to break the news to my friends or him.” She looked away at the stern look her mentor shot her. It wasn't angry, but it was definitely stern.
“Twilight Sparkle. You of all people should know the dangers of practicing magic without full comprehension of the spell you're attempting to perform,” she announced. “How exactly did this spell of yours backfire?”
“...Pinkie Pie...”
Celestia lost her serious look and just let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, at least it had a reason to backfire,” she replied. “But Twilight, you need to tell your friends, and the human, the truth. I'm sure they will understand. But besides that, you are running yourself ragged worrying about this.”
“But Princess, how can I tell them? What if they all hate me?” Twilight cried, worried. “What if they don't want me to be their friend anymore?!”
“Twilight, you need to have faith in your friends,” Celestia reminded her.
“Indeed,” Luna said. “Just as you had faith in me when last we met.” Her sister nodded.
“I sincerely hope you tell them, and soon, my student,” Celestia continued. “But let's put that out of our minds for now. The others should be arriving soon.” Twilight would have said more, but conceded the point and relented.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Naruto swallowed hard, sweating under the scrutinizing gaze of the two Princesses. Even at the age of six, he knew what kind of trouble he might get in if he wasn't on his best behavior. Celestia and Luna kept alternating from looking at the blonde child, to looking at each other. All while circling the human as though they were sharks, rather than alicorns. “He is...interesting, isn't he, Sister?” Luna announced after a moment. Celestia nodded.
“Indeed. No fur, no scales. Merely some flesh and a strange-looking mane,” she replied. “I've honestly never seen anything quite like him before.” There was something odd about him though, as though some part of him was...out of balance with the rest. Luna felt it too, she was sure. The way she looked at her spoke incredibly loudly of the fact.
Celestia leaned down to look Naruto in the eyes. “If we're going to learn more about you, I need you to relax, alright?” Now Naruto was getting worried. Normally when people told him to relax, it was not a good sign.
“What are you going to do?” he asked nervously. Luna, knowing exactly what Celestia had planned, also leaned down to speak at the boy's eye level.
“In order to learn more about who you are, where you come from, and what you humans are like, we are going to take a look into your mind, and get the information we require from your memories,” she explained. Naruto's eyes were practically swirls. He didn't understand a thing Luna had just said. He didn't have any time to clarify, as the princesses began to be overtaken by the glow coming from their horns, before they each gently touched the tips of them to his forehead. All three sets of pupils dilated, and they all three suddenly went rigid, as though frozen in time.
Fluttershy looked on, a tad worried, but Applejack assured her that everything was going to be just fine.
The place was dark, damp and all around depressing. And as soon as the two Alicorns landed, they immediately felt the pressure. Their hoofs were half-way submerged in the inch deep water that seemed to stretch throughout the entire passage. A frown crossed Luna's face as she realized that something was very wrong.
“This is...” She announced. Her voice was barely above a whisper. She didn't have to finish that sentence as her sister already figured it out. Both mare's were speechless at the sight of Naruto's mindscape. Tunnels stretched for what seemed like miles, and they didn't want to think on the strange stench. “I've never seen any... anypony with a mind so... in disrepair. ... and for it to be a child...” Celestia watched the emotions cross her sister's face. “... his whole world should be filled with joy. Care. Fun.” She would've went on, but chose to just stop there. “But this... this is an abomination!”
Celestia had far less experience walking the minds and dreams of beings. Her sister was way above her in that regard, so she trusted her. And she completely agreed that something was wrong. She was used to the sun. Ponies filled with joy, love, and friendship. But the depressed feeling that washed over her like a tidal wave, was something she did not enjoy. She watched as her sister contort into a face that could only be described as rage.
And for Luna, if there was one thing she hated in the world, it was the harming of children. Be it mental or physical. “I believe... it may have been a good thing that your student's spell backfired, Sister.” Celestia heard a deep growl from her sister, and for a moment, she feared that the Nightmare power may be appearing once again. Luna's face contorted several more times, and she appeared to be almost out of breath. “Poor child...If I ever meet the vile, despicable beings who have desecrated the mind of one so young...I'll...I'LL...!”
“Sister!” Celestia shouted, concern screaming in her eyes. The rage was new on her sister's face, and she feared what her sister would do. Luckily, her voice seemed to calm the Moon Princess, who took a few moments to compose herself as best she could, breathing deeply to help reign in her fury. When she was finally calm enough to think clearly, she gave a slight nod to her elder sister.
“We should move,” Celestia said, turning to look down one of the many passageways. She could make out only the tiniest speck of light at the end, and figured it would at least be a good place to start looking for the answers they were seeking. Slowly, she and her younger sister began to make the trek down the aforementioned hall. But the closer they came to the light, the further away it seemed. After what seemed like an hour, Celestia built up the curiosity to look over her shoulder, and her eyes widened.
For all their walking, the two of them had only managed to walk about ten feet. Both exhausted and exasperated, she sighed as her horn glowed. “Enough of this!” she practically demanded, as she and Luna were engulfed in what seemed to be a miniature sun, before launching down the hall at incredible speeds. Whatever was altering the hall to impeded them couldn't keep up with the sheer velocity with which they were moving, and that's why the two princesses came to an abrupt stop in front of a massive cage.
Celestia looked to Luna for guidance, but like her, the Princess of the Night had never seen a gate so massive and dreary, either in the real world or the mental one. But they could hear a distinct sound coming from behind the bars. The sound of breathing. It became a slight rumble, and as they looked up into the sheer darkness behind the gate, they watched as a single, glowing-red eye snapped open, nearly piercing them with its gaze alone.
How peculiar a deep, echoing voice rang out from the darkness. “Here I lay, awaiting to meet my host, and I instead see two...ponies, is it? Such exquisite creatures too...I wonder how you taste.” Without warning, a giant claw slammed into the bars, but neither Celestia or Luna flinched. They could sense the strike for what it was...a probing attack. Not meant to harm them, merely see if they were afraid of him. It told them that this creature was intelligent, whatever it was. They could hear a low, rumbling laugh as the creature pulled back its claw.
“I see there is more to you both than mere flesh...” the eye's gaze moved specifically to Princess Luna now, and it unnerved both sisters. “And yet, despite the power, you try to cast away the darkness you once accepted so readily into your heart...You, my dear, are worthy of my interest.”
“The darkness that once tainted me is nothing but shame and poison, shadowed one,” Luna bristled. “I care not for your interests, nor who you are. I will wipe you out of existence.” As he horn glowed dangerously, the fox merely chuckled.
“Please do,” he announced in a rather bored manner. “Perhaps the blame from the others outside, coupled with your guilt shall bring back the dark being you claim to be ashamed of.” The glow around Luna's horn faded as, confused and somewhat taken aback, she stared at the shrouded creature before her.
“What are you talking about?” demanded Celestia, fully aware that she probably wouldn't care for the answer. The creatures mouth came into view now, a huge maw of razor sharp teeth, larger than the princesses themselves.
“The boy and I are separate beings, but we have what you might call a...symbiotic relationship. If he dies, I die as well. And if I die, he will be robbed of the energy that runs through him...a very slow, agonizing death, to be sure.” The princesses grit their teeth, frustrated by this shrouded entity. But Celestia was smart. If this was about survival, he wouldn't have revealed himself to them at all.
“What do you want?” she asked, hesitantly, as though the words disgusted her merely leaving her mouth. The great beast grinned.
“My grudge is not with you, but the humans, save for the child I call my jailor. He is innocent in all of this,” the beast announced, almost somberly. “Be that as it may, being cooped up in a cage is not my idea of fun. It is dank, and dare I say...lonely...” As he said the last bit, he eyed Luna again, making the Night Princess even more uncomfortable. But it was only a moment before he continued.
“I will teach the boy what I know about how to utilize his natural abilities, as well as teach you ponies about the vile, pathetic race that calls themselves 'humans'...and in return, all I ask is two things. You both seem to have vast mental abilities...perhaps even the ability to shape the mindscape into a more...pleasant living space...And I wish for company...You, Dark One, once each week, shall return here, speak to me, and be all around pleasant...” he demanded, before muttering a barely audible, “Kami knows I could use the company of someone pleasant after my last jailor...”
Luna looked ready to refuse, but Celestia cut her off. “The terms are...fair,” she said, though quite begrudgingly. Luna looked almost indignant.
“But Sister-!”
“Princess Luna, sometimes you must do what is right, despite our personal feelings,” she announced, and her sister took note of the anger lacing her words. Anger that was not being directed at her, but the beast behind the bars. “This creature holds vast knowledge of not only Naruto's species, but their abilities, whatever they may be...the boy deserves that.”
“So we have a deal?”
“-If you agree to MY stipulation,” Luna cut in, causing Celestia AND the eye to look at her in genuine curiosity. “No matter what I do to make the mind of the child a more comfortable place for you, it is now and will likely remain in disrepair. I bet my right hoof that he has no idea you exist within him, and letting him know now could potentially shatter his mind. I cannot allow that to happen. And so, I will come and visit every week, I will change the décor, and you will tell us the information we wish to know...but you will have NO contact with the child until such a time as I deem him ready to learn of your existence.” There was silence, as the eyes and mouth disappeared. They heard the clicking of hooves on the floor and quickly descended.
Both of their sets of eyes widened in shock and surprise when not only a pony, an alicorn, with a coat and mane of dark red, entered their vision. They took note that the stallion bore the same, glowing red eyes that they had been speaking to previously. He stuck his head up against the bars, which had shrunk in size to prevent his escape, smirking. “Done.”
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The Princesses both blinked as they took a few steps away from the blonde boy, each holding a look of concern. The being known as 'Kyuubi' had show them quite a bit of Naruto's life before Twilight had unintentionally dragged him here. Despite that, it seemed only a few minutes had actually passed by in the waking world. Celestia looked at the child, then to the tiny dragon, Spike, and she smiled sweetly.
“Spike, would you please take Naruto to Sugarcube Corner? You can tell them that anything either of you gets they may bill to the palace. The rest of us have important matters to discuss.” All but Luna seemed confused, but Spike complied, grabbing the hand of the young boy and leading him out of the library.
The moment they had left, Luna and Celestia explained what had happened within Naruto's mind, much to the shock and horror of the six mares who had befriended him. They told about Naruto's sad existence in Konoha, and about who exactly explained all this to them. When they came to the deal struck with Kyuubi, Rainbow Dash had had enough.
“What?!” she demanded, slamming her hoof on the floor. “Why would you make a deal with something like that. If it's as demented as you made it sound...” She left her sentence hanging, knowing her friends could fill in the rest. Even Pinkie Pie noticeably paled when they said her friend was the host of a demon, and Fluttershy was trembling...more-so than usual.
“It was our only course of action,” Luna replied solemnly. “I could not remove it, and we dare not use the power of the Elements of Harmony to do so either.” Twilight was confused by the statement, and voiced that confusion.
“What do you mean, Princess?” she asked, and Celestia filled them in on the other piece of information Kyuubi had informed them of.
“The demon's energy constantly flows into Naruto's, taken from the seal keeping him contained. If we remove that energy, it would essentially shut down his entire body, killing him.” The six mares gasped, and tears even streamed down a few faces.
“Is there anything we can do?” Rarity asked, and despite the seriousness, they saw Celestia smile.
“Yes, actually. Our deal with Kyuubi means Naruto won't learn of him until we deem him ready to. That being said, his seal is linked to his mental state and emotions. So long as he is allowed to be cared for and treated with love, as we would treat any filly or colt, it will actually serve to strengthen the seal. To that end, I have decided on a proper course of action,” the Sun Princess announced.
“And that is?” asked Applejack.
“I would like Fluttershy, seeing as she has taken it upon herself to act as caregiver already, to legally take Naruto in as his guardian.” She saw several surprised looks, but none so surprised as Fluttershy herself.
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You mean like, you want her to adopt the kid?” Celestia nodded, with Luna in agreement.
“Physically speaking, he is indeed a different species,” the Moon Princess replied. “But he is still just a child, and mentally speaking, very much like the children of ponies. I see no reason that adoption shouldn't be a valid option.”
“What do you say, Fluttershy?” Celestia asked, hopeful that Fluttershy wouldn't find the responsibility too daunting.
“Well,” she stuttered. “He is an orphan...I suppose just thinking of having a mother, rather than simply a watcher would be good for him...ok.” Celestia and Luna both smiled appreciatively. It was a lot to ask of the timid pony, they knew, but it was in the child's best interests.
“Then I leave him in your capable hooves,” she said, turning toward Twilight. “We shall take our leave then, my most faithful student...and remember what I said. Have faith in your friends.” In a blinding flash, both of the Princesses had gone. Applejack raised an eyebrow and turned to Twilight.
“Just what the hay was that last part about, Sugarcube?” she asked, and Twilight swallowed before taking a deep breath.
“We should find Naruto. This concerns him too,” she replied.
“Yeah, sure,” replied Rainbow Dash, slightly snickering. “And besides, we should probably go tell him that Fluttershy's his new mommy-”
“-Oooh, yeah!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “He'll be so happy! And that means I have to plan a party for THAT too...hey, maybe he could call you 'Mothershy” The timid Pegasus pony just blushed as Rarity and Applejack gave Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie a light smack, respectively, to the backs of their heads.
“Cut it out, you two,” Applejack demanded. “Alright, let's head on over to Sugarcube Corner...besides, if we leave him there too long, he'll wipe out the royal treasury...”
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
When they arrived, they saw Naruto and Spike chowing down on a veritable mountain of sweets, at least compared to them, much to the curiosity, and slight disgust, of passersby. They still had yet to find out where exactly the boy's stomach led too, but it was obviously some pocket-dimension. Deciding to indulge as well, Pinkie dove into the pile like one would dive into a lack. Nobody was sure how she did it, seeing as the pile wasn't even near big enough to conceal the mare, yet she somehow disappeared into it.
“Naruto, could you come here, please?” Fluttershy called, and the boy readily responded, cinnamon bun still in hand. “Naruto, I have something very important to tell you.” The boy almost dropped his treat. He'd heard those words before...they almost always signaled bad news. Leaning down to meet him at eye level, Fluttershy smiled brightly at the human boy.
“Naruto...would you like to stay with me?” Naruto seemed confused. Wasn't he already staying with her?
“What do you mean?” he asked. She bit her lip...the moment of truth.
“Well, what I mean is...I kinda...sorta...well, I just adopted you...” This time, Naruto did drop his treat, as the weight of what she had said truly hit him. His eyes began to water now and Fluttershy was afraid she might have upset the boy. Her fears were alleviated when he instead threw his arms around her neck, pulling her into a giant hug. It would have been a more touching scene, had Pinkie Pie not covered them in a mass of confetti.
Clearing her throat, Twilight stepped towards Naruto, drawing everyone's attention. At least by this time, her horn had ceased reacting to him. “I, uh...also have something to say, Naruto. I'm sorry.” The boy just tilted his head in confusion. What did Twilight have to be sorry about. “It's my fault...I'm the one that brought you here...It was an accident, but still.” Her friends looked at her like she had sprouted a second head.
“What in the world are you talking about?” Applejack asked, and Twilight blushed.
“When I was working on that spell...the one Pinkie Pie scared me into overloading...” As everypony stared at their party-loving friend, she just smiled and waved. “...That spell is supposed to use two people as bridge points to travel between different worlds. I had thought, though, since nobody knew I was attempting the spell, it would just cancel itself, as the magic needs a willing being on the other side to connect with...” Naruto thought long and hard before his eyes widened.
“And then I made my wish...” he said, and the others looked confused.
“You made a wish?” asked Rainbow, and Naruto nodded.
“Before I woke up in Fluttershy's house, I was wishing that I had friends and family, and a better life...Now I have all three!” He said excitedly, looking to his new mother...it would be strange thinking of a pony as his mother, but who cared. Fluttershy was nice, and awesome. Twilight's anxiety seemed to shatter into a look of realization.
“Of course!” she shouted. “Now it makes sense. With the overload of my spell, the magic latched onto your wish, considering it as a willing acceptance, to form the bridge between your world and ours.” Her anxiety returned when the boy gave her an unreadable look. “But I'm still sorry. Despite everything, I basically took you away from everything you knew...”
“...but everything I knew sucked,” he replied. “Besides, you said it was an accident right? Then that means it's not your fault in the first place.” Astounded by the simple logic of the small child, she looked into the chuckling faces of her friends.
“So, you guys aren't mad at me?” she asked, getting a snort from Applejack.
“Nah,” she said. “Least you're being honest about it, an owning up to it...besides, it looks like it all worked out pretty well...” The five mares looked on at Naruto, now sitting contentedly on Fluttershy's back, laughed with mirth, his adoptive parent just smiling up at him.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
“Dear Princess Celestia,
Today, I learned that even when it looks like you've made a large mess, your friends will always be there to help get you through it. Everyone makes mistakes, and hiding them is never a good thing. You just need to have a little faith, and know that real friends will not spurn you, but instead help you fix what you messed up. Mistakes are how we learn, after all, and we make them all the time. It's what we choose to learn from the mistakes that strengthens that friendship.
Your most faithful Student
Twilight Sparkle
Celestia smiled as she read her student's 'Friendship report.' She was truly glad that Twilight had come clean and everything worked out alright. But still, as her thoughts drifted to the human boy, and just what he contained within him...she knew there would almost certainly be difficult times ahead...but he was also certain that the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony could get through it.