//------------------------------// // Chapter 5- Naruto-Aplenty (Part 2) // Story: Daily Life of an Equestrian Ninja // by PianoPony //------------------------------// Chapter 5- Naruto-Aplenty (Part 2) “Oh, Naruto. I cannot simply stress how much your presence here is helping me. Although, yesterday it seemed like there were many of you at once, considering how quickly you finished setting up all the ribbons. It’s such a shame all that work was in vain,” Rarity said as she looked upwards. Naruto’s clone couldn’t even afford to make a comment. He was standing on top of a ladder that extended all the way to the roof of the town hall with his back two hooves and left front hoof, a flag with a nail stuck in it was in his mouth, as he was pressing it against the wall, and a hammer was in his right front hoof. “Oh, if only she’d leave I could use my shadow clone jutsu and chakra and be done with it! Why did I have to make being a ninja so secret?” the clone lamented, as he was struggling to muster the dexterity required for the job. “We were unable to find any free Pegasi to help out, but luckily the mayor provided us this ladder. She said she’d simply hate to see all of your enthusiasm go to waste,” the white mare said happily. The clone rolled his eyes. “Yay, I’m so lucky she found that ladder,” he thought. “Now let’s see… what color goes best with the new flags…” the white Unicorn muttered to herself as she pondered how to decorate the front stage. Just then, the door opened, and Twilight Sparkle and Spike walked inside. “Beautiful…” Spike muttered, his voice unclear and far-off. “Yes, the décor is coming along nicely. Quite beautiful indeed,” the Unicorn said, and then froze when spotted a familiar-looking pony working on it, standing on a ladder nearby the ceiling. “Not the décor. Her!” Spike called and pointed at Rarity, a dream-like smile spreading all over his face, and the look in his eyes growing more and more distant. “How are my spines? Are they straight?” he asked as he combed them with his claws. Twilight once again decided to ignore this. “No way it’s the same pony…” she thought. She smiled at her companion and was about to talk to the white Unicorn, when a loud crashing voice resounded from behind them. Everypony turned around to see what caused the noise. Nearby the ladder were a flag and a hammer, dropped by the orange colt. “Sorry, Rarity. Could you get those for me?” he called from above. “Oh, it’s no problem at all, Naruto,” the white Unicorn answered as she levitated the fallen items towards him. There was no doubt now as to the orange pony’s identity. “Okay, that’s it!” Twilight yelled. “I’ve been seeing you all over the place and I demand to know—“. “Wah!” a sudden shriek cut her short. “Good heavens, whatever happened to your mane?!” Rarity cried as she stared at Twilight, flabbergasted. She was so shocked she dropped the flag and hammer mid-air, which created another loud sound. “Oh, it’s a long story. Don’t worry about it. I’m just here to check on the decorations, and then I’ll be out of your hair…” “Forget my hair! What about yours?! Come, we must rectify this fashion disaster posthaste,” she said as she dragged her outside. “Naruto! I’ll be leaving for now! Please carry on as usual!” she called as the two Unicorns left, the small Dragon hovering behind them, hearts in his eyes. The Naruto clone slid down the ladder and landed softly on the floor. “Thank you, fashion disaster,” he laughed as he changed back into a human in a cloud of smoke. “Now for some ninja-style, ultra-quick decorating,” he said as he prepared the shadow clone jutsu once more. ***** Some time later, nearby Fluttershy’s cottage, the yellow Pegasus floated in front of a flock of small birds, all standing on the branches of a small tree, conducing over them in a song. “Now, just a pitch higher…” she instructed softly. Meanwhile, in the grass next to it, the Naruto clone was looking for Angel. “Here, Angel, Angel. Who’s a good bunny?” He’d spent quite a long time searching for the white critter, head in the grass, looking for small burrows or other crevices he could be hiding in, and frankly, he was growing tired of it. A rustle from behind him got his attention, and he quickly turned around to find said white bunny tailing him from behind. “Ah, there you are, finally. Now let’s go and get your medi—“ The bunny stuck his tongue out at him, wagged his tail towards him tauntingly, and then ran off. “Oh, so that’s how you wanna play? Fine by me, bunny,” Naruto said and started chasing after him, his head still low at the grass so he would not lose sight of him. Angel then suddenly jumped in a burrow, which was immediately blocked by a purple object. “Wow, this music sure is beautiful…” the object’s owner said, causing Naruto to raise his head in surprise, only to bump it against the pony’s head. Luckily, it wasn’t strong enough for the clone to vanish. “Hey, watch where you’re—,” the pony he bumped into started, but then froze. Her expression quickly changed into a furious one. “I’ve had enough of this! This is the fifth time I’ve seen you today, and I demand to know why! Are you following me or something?!” she growled, narrowing her eyes at him, and walking closer and closer to him. “W-Wait. This is just a mistake!” Naruto said in worry, having no idea what she was talking about. He started taking equally paced steps backwards, worried at what she’d to him. Any little mistake he made could cost him his secret of being a ninja and a human. However, the both of them didn’t notice they were heading straight towards Fluttershy and her birds, until Naruto’s back hit the yellow Pegasus. Her eyes widened, as she let out a high-pitched squeak, causing the birds to fly away, and she herself after them. Twilight broke her intense stare from the orange Earth pony and towards Fluttershy. “Ah, I’m so sorry! I was just here to check up on the music for the Summer Sun Celebration, and it sounded beautiful! I didn’t mean to scare you like that...” Fluttershy landed behind Naruto, and just stared at her silently. “Uh oh,” was Naruto’s immediate thought as he saw her behaving this way. He knew where this is going, and unfortunately, it didn’t look like the purple Unicorn in front of them had a magical fox tail like him. The purple mare smiled a bit awkwardly at her. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. What’s your name?” “My name is Fluttershy…” she answered so quietly, even Naruto was barely able to make it out. “One more time please?” Twilight pleaded with a supportive smile. “Umm… It’s Fluttershy,” she answered so quietly Naruto didn’t think it was even humanly—or ponyly—possible. “Didn’t quite get that!” Twilight asked, but Naruto had had enough of it. “It’s Fluttershy,” he vocalized with an annoyed sigh. “Oh… Um, well, Fluttershy… It seems your birds are back…” Twilight said as she saw the feathered creatures landing back on the tree. “So I guess everything’s in order. Keep up the good work.” Twilight walked away and approached a small, reptilian creature which Fluttershy and Naruto had only just noticed. Naruto wondered at what the strange creature would be, until an unexpected voice shouted right into his ear. “A baby Dragon!!!” sounded the uncharacteristically loud voice of Fluttershy. She ran next to its side, knocking Twilight over in the process. “Oh, I’ve never seen a baby Dragon before! You’re so cute!” “Well, well, well!” the small Dragon said, giving a smug grin to Twilight, who was now lying on the ground behind him, and turned back to the Pegasus for some more praises. Naruto noticed a small, white figure a short distance to his right, and grinned to himself. Angel the bunny was watching the scene unfold, laughing. Most likely at the purple mare’s misfortune. “Gotcha!” Naruto exclaimed as he lunged at the rabbit, finally catching the elusive critter with his front hooves. Angel once again stuck out his tongue at him, turning his head away from him snootily. “Gah! What’s with your attitude?! I hope Fluttershy’s medicine is as bitter as possible!” Naruto yelled, having his patience with the bunny reaching its end. Holding him firmly with one hoof (and forgetting to even question how it is possible), he walked back to Fluttershy’s cottage on just three hooves. He missed out an unusual sight—Fluttershy driving Twilight out of her mind with Dragon-related questions—as the latter walked to her next destination with Spike on her back. The little Dragon was more than eager to answer all of the yellow mare’s inquiries. ***** “This looks perfect, Naruto!” Pinkie exclaimed, overjoyed at the new party preparations completed. Balloons were hung everywhere, streamers dangled from the bookshelves and the ceiling, and the blue cannon Pinkie enjoyed using was fully loaded with colorful armament. On several small tables they brought were many pastries, snacks and drinks. “I’ve always wanted a little sidekick! Even though you’re not exactly little.” “Wow, Pinkie. This party doesn’t look anything like mine!” “Of course! No two parties are ever, ever, EVER the same! That’s why making parties is always super extra-special!” she called joyfully. “By the way, why all those hot sauce bottles?” Naruto asked. “Cakes go great with some hot sauce, didn’t you know?” Pinkie beamed. “Welll… Alright then,” Naruto said. During his time spent with Pinkie today, if there was one thing that he’d learned, it was that when Pinkie says something, it’s probably true. No matter how odd what she said was, she was always right. And for some reason, it was always preceded by some sort of bodily twitch. He was saved at least twice today by her from falling flower pots, which the pink Earth pony had somehow predicted to occur beforehoof. “By the way, you should really go now. You’ll be coming here pretty soon, you know. I’ll help you out,” Pinkie said cheerfully. Without even getting the chance to ask for an explanation on what she just said, Pinkie bumped the clone on the head and he vanished in a cloud of smoke. “Hehehe. That was really fun! Just like popping the leftovers balloons, or eating the leftover cake, or throwing up to the air all the leftover confetti, or—“ The knocking on the door interrupted her multiple situation comparison, and Pinkie opened it to let inside many, many ponies. “PARTY HATS FOR EVERYPONY!!!” Pinkie shouted as she fired the cannon for the first time during the party. With a loud *BANG* a shower of pointy, colorful hats descended on the crowd. The ponies cheered and put the hats on their heads. ***** Naruto was standing next to the library, back in his human form. He was peeking into one of the first floor’s windows. The lights were all turned off and several giggling voices came from inside. He easily recognized most of them as Pinkie’s. Not long before that, roughly at around the same time, all of his clone’s memories came to him as they vanished. He finished decorating the town hall in a flash after Rarity went to fix Twilight up, and then quickly dispelled himself. He had done the same after forcing Angel to take a few spoonfuls of syrup medicine Fluttershy had prepared for him, and yet again after he parted with Rainbow Dash, telling her he needed to get something done before the party. The orange ninja let out a sigh of relief. It had all worked out. That is, except for a certain purple Unicorn and her Dragon companion, which somehow ended up seeing all of his clones and his real self. Whoever she was, he was hoping she won’t pop up again and started questioning him… That is, until sunrise, when he’d finally be able to leave and tell the ponies his real identity. He watched the sun slowly set in the horizon. “After tonight, I’ll finally be back home. I wonder how Sakura and the rest will react…” He enjoyed the thought, at least until he envisioned Sakura sending him flying with a punch for disappearing for two days without letting anyone know. This broke his concentration and he looked around. The town was vacant, most ponies waiting for the guest of honor inside the library. At the end of the street, he could see Twilight approaching, Spike on her back. Behind them was floating a familiar yellow-colored Pegasus. Twilight’s expression made her look like she was in pain. He could hear the talkativeness of Spike and Fluttershy and made the connection, which made him chuckle. “Oh right, better get out of here before she sees me,” Naruto muttered. He collected chakra into his legs and ran up the library tree. Finding the window of the bedroom, he pushed it open and jumped inside, landing smoothly and silently next to the bed. He then closed the window and let laid back on the bed, his feet still on the floor. ***** Naruto lay there for a good ten minutes or so. He wasn’t quite sure exactly. The orange shinobi finally took some time to process and review everything that had happened to him over the last two days. He had found himself in some kind of magical land filled with colorful, talking ponies. They apparently don’t know anything about humans, or ninjutsu, judging by Pinkie’s reactions. Having no way to get back home, he decided to just help around. And so he met Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. He also met this town’s mayor, and Applejack’s brother, Big Macintosh. Then today, he met the irritable and uptight Twilight Sparkle, and her Dragon companion Spike. He finally sat up, stretching his arms. “I guess I should go see that pony Pinkie is throwing the party for,” he figured as he walked down the stairs. He then performed the transformation jutsu, turning himself back into a pony, and reached out for the door, only to have it slammed open in his face, finding himself face to face once more with Twilight “You!” Twilight yelled. Naruto gulped and stared at her nervously. “What are you doing in my room?!” she demanded. “I… Thought nopony lived here?” he questioned. “The mayor said I could just crush here for as long as I wanted.” “Argh! This is just great! I thought Princess Celestia sent out a letter about me coming here!” she grumbled and walked past him. She then marched straight up the stairs and landed face-first into the bed. “Oh, this has just been the worst day ever! All I’ve wanted to do was to get some reading done on Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony, but because of all of these crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time, I couldn’t get even a tiny bit done!” This piqued his interest. “What did you say about Nightmare Moon?” After reading that story and having that nightmare about her, Naruto just couldn’t get the thoughts of her out of his head. Twilight raised her head from the pillow and gazed at him, surprised. “Do you… Actually believe me?” she asked, completely stunned. “Yeah, right! Raising the sun and the moon, as if!” he wanted to say, but decided to not to get even further more on her bad side. She’d somehow reminded him of Sakura too much to be comfortable. “I’ve read that book over there,” he gestured to the one sitting on the stool not far from them. “But it wasn’t really specific or detailed… Can you tell me more?” Twilight looked at the book. It was the same book she read earlier today. She smiled slightly as she sat up and began sharing what she knew. “As you’ve read in the book, the older regal sister, banished the younger one to the moon a thousand years ago. I believe that the older sister is Princess Celestia.” “Wait, why didn’t you just ask her?” he asked, gathering from how she spoke about her earlier that she was in close relations with her. “I did… But she told me to stop thinking about fairy tales… Wait, that’s not the point!” she exclaimed, and then sighed, continuing her story. “Anyway, I found out that an old prophecy foretold Nightmare Moon’s return a thousand years after her banishment. ‘On the longest day of the year, the stars will aid in her escape.’ That is the Summer Sun Celebration, today!” “So, can we even stop her? The book mentioned some ‘Elements of Harmony’, but didn’t specify what they are. Do you know anything about them?” “I was going to look for some info but—” Twilight started, when the door opened. “Twilight! Pinkie just started ‘pin the tail on the pony’! Wanna play?” Spike called, on his head a lampshade covered with streamers and confetti. “Oh, there you are, Naruto! Everypony’s been wondering where you are!", he said as he tilted the makeshift hat up. "Umm... Am I disturbing anything?" he added in worry as he saw Twilight and Naruto laying/sitting on the bed rather closely to each other. "No! We're not doing anything at all!" Twilight quickly exclaimed, her muzzle turning bright red, as she shoved Naruto to the floor. He gave her a confused, slightly angered gaze at her. Spike shrugged. "Whatever. Are you coming down to party or what?” he urged them. Naruto had completely forgotten about the party when he talked to Twilight. “Yeah, of course I’m coming!” he said happily. Twilight groaned. “I’ll pass,” she said briefly and promptly used a pillow to cover her head. With no pony to talk to about Nightmare Moon and the prophecy, she seemed to return to her gloomy self. Naruto shrugged and followed Spike downstairs to the party. ***** A few hours later, the party was over, and every pony in Ponyville had gathered in the town hall. Naruto stood next to Twilight, Spike, Applejack and Pinkie amidst the large crowd of ponies who gathered there, awaiting the sun raising ceremony to begin. Rainbow was hovering above them, along with some other Pegasi, and Naruto could see Fluttershy hovering in front of her bird choir on one of the balconies. Rarity was on top of the central balcony, preparing to pull up the curtains to the entrance of Princess Celestia. “Isn’t this exciting?! Are you excited? Cause I’m excited! I’ve never been so excited! Well, except for that time I found Naruto yesterday and then when I saw you walking in town today and I went *deep gasp*, but I mean really, what can top those?!” Pinkie said ecstatically to Twilight, who didn’t seem really amused, unlike Spike and Naruto. “Huh? Weren’t you from Ponyville originally?” Twilight asked in surprise. “Ah! Oh, me? I came from… Uhh… The east?” Naruto immediately said, picking random direction to go with. “Huh. You don’t look like a city folk. Or maybe you’re not from Manehatten?” Twilight assumed, since Manehatten was the largest city in eastern Equestria. “Yeah, Manehatten, right. Well, I just like the simple town life, y’know?” he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. He seriously hoped she’d buy that. “Very well then. But you still owe me an explanation for what happened today,” she added as she gave him a stern gaze. “Oh don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything tomorrow,” Naruto smirked. “And speaking of tomorrow…” Spike said happily as music started playing, and Fluttershy began conducting over her birds in song. The spotlight turned at the mayor, who was standing on the stage in front of Ponyville’s ponies. “Fillies and Gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration! In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this—the longest day of the year!” The equines all started cheering, except for Twilight who looked worriedly at the moon just outside of one of the building’s windows. Naruto noticed this and looked at the moon as well. It was gradually lowering in the sky, as it started changing color from black to light purple. His eyes widened in shock and worry as the mare’s silhouette on the moon suddenly vanished. “No way… Could what Twilight said actually be true?!” he thought in worry. “And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day. The good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria—Princess Celestia!” Naruto turned his attention to the front balcony, looking forward to seeing the one who’ll allegedly send him back home. He’d hoped that for once, things wouldn’t go horribly wrong. Rarity pulled up the curtains… To reveal nothing behind them. The ponies all around Naruto began whispering, their voices sounding worried. Twilight gulped loudly. “This can’t be good.” Suddenly, black mist started creeping over the balcony. Naruto recognized it immediately. It felt as sinister and wicked as the pitch black mare in his nightmare. Then, out of the mist, emerged that same mare. She grinned evilly at the crowd of ponies around her. “Nightmare Moon…” Twilight whispered, fearful. Spike passed out on her back. Naruto got his first, calm look at her as he was trying to figure out what to do. She was far taller than the average pony, had larger wings than any Pegasus, and a longer horn than any Unicorn. Her eyes were light blue and had long, cat-like pupils. Her mane and tail, which fluttered with no wind were sparkling like the stars. She wore a helmet and a metal piece on her neck “Oh, my beloved subjects… It’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious, little, sun-loving faces,” she said quietly, smirking at the fearful crowd in front of her. “What did you do with our princess?!” Rainbow Dash yelled, clenching her hooves and ready to attack. Applejack stopped her by holding tightly to her tail with her mouth. “Whoa there, Nelly!” the Earth pony said through her clenched teeth. Naruto braced himself for an attack as well. Depending on her answer, he’d go at her there and now, secret identity or not. The princess was his only way to get back to Konoha. “Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don’t you know who I am? Does my crown no longer count now that I’ve been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legends? Did you not see the signs?” “I did! And I know who you are!” Twilight exclaimed, stepping from the crowd towards the black mare. “You’re the mare in the moon! Nightmare Moon!” The ponies all gasped in shock. “Well, well, well. Somepony who remembers me… Then you also know why I’m here!” Nightmare Moon said to her. “You’re here to… To…” the purple Unicorn muttered, not baring to finish the sentence, which would make the horrible implications known to all. “Bring eternal night, right? As if anypony would believe your little fairy-tale!” Naruto called as he stepped forward to stand next to Twilight. “Oh? You think my powers are a myth? A mere legend? In just a thousand years, was it enough for you to forget them?” Nightmare Moon asked as she eyed the rude orange pony. “Very well then, watch and despair at the night sky, my ignorant little pony. It will be all you have left from now on, as this was your last day! FROM THIS MOMENT FORTH, THE NIGHT WILL LAST FOREVER!!!” The black mare started laughing evilly, as the mist from her mane and tail rose up and enshrouded the ceiling, spinning around and shooting lightning at all directions.