//------------------------------// // Chapter 12- ‘Ninja’ is not a Valid Occupation (Part 2) // Story: Daily Life of an Equestrian Ninja // by PianoPony //------------------------------// Chapter 12- ‘Ninja’ is not a Valid Occupation (Part 2) A while later, Naruto pulled the heavy wagon behind him into the barn. He unstrapped himself from the heavy contraption and smiled in satisfaction. “You down there, Big Mac?” he heard a voice calling from behind him. Naruto looked around. The red stallion wasn’t there. “Nope,” he called back. He then realized just how Mac-like it sounded. “Don’t you be lying to your elders, sonny!” the voice scolded. Soon came into view from the entrance to the barn an elderly, green mare. Her mane was white and her eyes orange. She had a pie for a cutie mark. Naruto looked at her questioningly as he trotted towards her. Her eyes widened when she saw him clearly. “Oh! You’re that apple bucking legend Applejack told me ‘bout!” This earned her a puzzled look from the orange colt. She grabbed his chin and pulled his head down with remarkable strength for somepony her age. “Hmm… Looks good to me,” she said as she looked into his blue eyes. Naruto was getting nervous. She then examined him as she walked around him, just as Rarity had done when Naruto first met her. “You’re… Granny Smith, right?” Naruto asked cautiously. She stopped right in front of him, and suddenly smiled. “Yes siree. Now, that gal Applejack sure knows how to pick her colts. I can’t wait to be a great-granny!” “W—What?!” the young orange stallion screamed and took a few steps back. “Oh, it’s just a joke, sonny,” she laughed. Naruto was surprised, he didn’t take her for the joking kind. “Are all you city folk so uptight? You’re from the city, ain’tcha? You don’t smell like you’re from around these here parts,” she said as she sniffed the air around him. “What was the city Twilight asked me about again…?” he thought. “Oh, yeah! I came from… Manehatten,” he quickly said. “And do I smell foxes here? Darn creatures won’t leave our chickens in peace!” she added as she looked around. A warning flare flew up in Naruto’s mind when she mentioned ‘foxes’. “Nope! No foxes here!” he quickly exclaimed. “Well, Applejack needs me in the market, so I’ll be going now! Bye!” Before Granny Smith could get another word in he was already on his way. The green mare still looked at him suspiciously, but then shrugged and walked away. ***** As Naruto walked among the crowd of ponies in the marketplace, he finally noticed the two sisters standing to a very empty cart, which probably used to hold apples. From Applejack’s angry expression, he quickly gathered that things weren’t going very smoothly. “Sorry, little sis, but your apple-selling days are over,” Applejack said as she took off the white apron Apple Bloom was wearing. “What?! But how else am ah gonna get my cutie mark?!” the filly cried in protest. “Home. Now,” Applejack growled. Apple Bloom huffed and walked away angrily, looking down. She didn’t even notice Naruto as she marched past him. “Oh, there you are, Naruto,” Applejack said as she saw him. She let out a sigh, looking quite saddened. “What am I gonna do with that filly…” “No success at a cutie mark, I see. Maybe I could help out?” he offered. “That’s mighty kind of you! Could you go hang out with her for a while?” the orange mare asked. “Yeah, sure,” he replied and trotted off. “Oh, before I forget!” Applejack called after him. Naruto stopped and looked at her. “There you go,” she said as she tossed a small bag towards him. Naruto caught and balanced it with his hoof, then shoved it into a pocket in his jump suit. “That there’s some payment for all your hard work,” she smiled. “There’s fifty bits in there.” “Alright. Thanks, Applejack!” Naruto called as he went after Apple Bloom. “None of them ninja business though!” Applejack shouted after him, worried for her little sister. ***** Naruto soon caught up to the filly. “So, how are you doing?” “Bad,” Apple Bloom replied concisely, still trotting angrily. “Why are you so stressed to get a cutie mark now?” The yellow filly finally stopped and looked at him, a tear in her eyes. She took a deep breath and began explaining quickly. “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are havin’ a cute-ceañera this afternoon, and I’m gonna be the only one there without a cutie mark! Everypony will laugh at me!” she cried. “Well… A cutie mark represents your job, right?” Naruto asked to reconfirm. “Yeah… I guess?” Apple Bloom replied, a bit unsure herself. “Rarity told me today that the best way to get a job is to start as somepony’s apprentice. Let’s go together and see who could use a pair of awesome ones, alright?” Apple Bloom immediately lighted up, a smile of joy on her face. “Yeah, alright! You’re the best, Naruto!” she called as she jumped around him. “So, you wanna try some sewin’ at Rarity’s?” she asked, since he mentioned the white Unicorn. Naruto immediately somehow got a strange hue of blue on his face. “No! No, no, no!” he called as he walked in the direction opposite to Carousel Boutique. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Apple Bloom called as she ran after him. ***** Naruto and Apple Bloom stood in front of Fluttershy’s cottage, right at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Naruto smiled. “I worked a bit with the animals when I came here. It shouldn’t be too hard, right?” The yellow filly beamed. “Yeah! I can’t wait to get some awesome cutie mark of animals! I wonder which one it will be…” As Apple Bloom took a ride on her train of thoughts about animal-related cutie marks, Naruto knocked on the door. A while later, it opened slightly to reveal large, aquamarine eyes. After a moment the door was wide opened to reveal Fluttershy, who was smiling at them both. “Oh, if it isn’t Naruto and Apple Bloom. How can I help you?” she asked in her usual, quiet voice. Naruto nudged the filly standing next to him, returning her to reality. “Oh! Right!” she exclaimed and smiled at her. “We’re here to be your CUTIE MARK APPRENTICES!” she yelled. Fluttershy flinched and covered her ears. “O—Oh! I see. Please come in,” she said as she moved away to let the two enter. “Just be a little quieter, alright? We don’t want to frighten the animals,” she whispered. “Hey, there are a lot more here than last time…” Naruto noted as he looked around. Nearly every corner in the house sported a treehouse, a burrow or a small bed. “Yes…” Fluttershy replied sadly. “After the incident with Nightmare Moon, many creatures fled the Everfree Forest, and they don’t want to return. So until they are ready to leave or until somepony adopts them, they’ll be staying here.” After letting her sadness out, however, Fluttershy smiled. “Well, it seems like you two arrived right on time for lunch. So you could help me feed them all?” “Yeah, ‘course we will!” Apple Bloom replied cheerfully. Naruto nodded. The three ponies then walked to Fluttershy’s kitchen. From one of the cabinets, Fluttershy pulled out a huge brown bag, then went to the fridge to take out a large blue bowl filled with salad that she prepared earlier. “There are tasty nuts here for the squirrels, chipmunks and mice,” she motioned to the bag. “And yummy vegetables for the bunnies,” she pointed to the bowl. Make sure every animal gets a fair amount, alright?” “I’ll take care of the birds,” the yellow Pegasus said as she took out another bag from the top cabinet and flew out of the kitchen. “I’ll take the nuts. They seem heavier,” Naruto suggested. Apple Bloom nodded and started pushing the bowl with her head out of the kitchen. Naruto dragged out the bag with his mouth. “Well, this ought to be easy…” Naruto smiled as he took out some nuts and put them inside a bowl, which lay in front a small burrow. “Wait a second!” he looked at one of his hooves. “How did I even—?!” Before he could complete the thought though, he heard a rustle coming from behind. Having a bad feeling about it, he looked back to see what sort of creature came to eat them, and immediately frowned when his eyes fell upon an unfortunately familiar animal. “Bunny,” he muttered slowly as he gazed at Angel stuffing his small face with nuts. Angel stared back at him, grinning deviously with his stuffed-full mouth. Then he shook his tail tauntingly at Naruto and jumped away. “Hey! These aren’t for you!” the orange colt yelled and ran after him, knocking over the brown bag in the process, and spilling its content all over the floor. Hearing the noise, the animals poked out of their burrows to see the feast laid out in front of them, and immediately charged in to eat in a messy pile of nuts and fur. “Apple Bloom, stop that bunny!” Naruto yelled as Angel was about to pass near her. “You got it!” the filly called just as she finished laying out some vegetables into a small dish, and jumped on Angel. However, she missed horribly, and instead manage to knock the salad bowl into the air, where it flipped and sent the vegetables flying into a pile right next to that of the nuts. Immediately that pile too was swarmed by bunnies, and other critters who simply preferred it to nuts. Fluttershy’s entire living room was in a state of pure chaos. ***** A while later, Fluttershy flew inside through the front door, having finished feeding the birds outside. She gazed in shock and horror at the scene: The room was a mess, with nuts and salad strewn everywhere, Apple Bloom was half-covered in the green nutrients with a confused expression, and Naruto was holding Angel, a deathly glare on both of their faces. “Outside, now!!!” Fluttershy yelled. Every living creature there simply stared at her, completely and utterly stunned by the level of her voice. “Please,” she added in her usual tone. With a final, nasty gaze from Naruto, he put down Angel (dropping him from a few inches in the air), and trotted to the door, Apple Bloom just behind him. “Are you really sure being an animal caretaker is for you?” Fluttershy asked in a soft, yet stern voice, as she stared at the duo. She looked back to make sure none of the critters were eavesdropping. Naruto noticed Angel sticking out his tongue at him. “Grr… What’s with that bunny’s attitude?!” “Actually, no offense, but it is kinda boring,” Apple Bloom answered. Naruto nodded. “Yeah, and I don’t think me and animals get along too well,” he chuckled, a certain fox and a certain bunny on his mind. “Alright then, good luck with your cutie marks,” Fluttershy said. “And don’t worry about the mess, I’ll clean it up after they’re all done eating.” “Okay. Let’s go, Naruto,” Apple Bloom said as she walked away. Despite her cheery expression, he could hear she was a bit disheartened. ***** Naruto and Apple Bloom were heading back to town, still pondering where they could go next. “Hey, Naruto! Heads up!” somepony called from above him. He immediately dodged by jumping backwards. “Woah!” Apple Bloom yelled as she saw him do that, surprised with his amazing agility and quickness. The area next to her immediately got washed by rain from a small, dark cloud hanging above it. “You really should change the routine, it’s getting old,” Naruto smirked at the light blue Pegasus hovering above the cloud. “There’s just no surprising you, Naruto. Oh well, guess I’ll prepare for next time something extra-special just for you,” Rainbow Dash grinned back at him. “So what got you under the weather?” she asked as she pushed away the cloud and landed on the ground, seeing Apple Bloom’s gloomy expression. Apple Bloom took a deep breath as she began explaining in a rapid tempo. “There's-a-cute-ceañera-this-afternoon-and-everypony-in-my-class-will-be-there-and-they'll-all-have-their-cutie-marks-and-I-wanna-get-my-cutie-mark-but-I'm-no-good-at-sellin'-apples-or-handlin’-animals-but-I-really-wanna-go-to-the-party-but-how-can-I-go-to-the-party-if-I-don't-have-my-cutie-mark-which-my-big-sister-says-I'm-gonna-get-eventually-but... I WANT IT NOW!” “Cutie mark? I can get you a cutie mark like that!” she exclaimed as she snapped her tail at the air like a whip. “Are you in too, Naruto?” she asked as she tapped on his vacant flank. “Yeah, of course,” the orange colt smiled, feeling certain that Rainbow will make this ordeal very interesting. “But Applejack said gettin’ a cutie mark takes time,” Apple Bloom said as she remembered her sister’s words. “Don’t worry about a thing, just leave it to me! After all, I was the first one in my class to get my cutie mark!” the Pegasus flaunted. “So how’d you get it?” Naruto asked, intrigued. “Glad you asked!” Rainbow called as she briefly said what happened back then. “I always liked flying an' all, but I was going nowhere in a hurry. It wasn't until my very first race that I discovered a serious need for speed,” she told, her expression indicating she was enjoying the memory. “And KAZAM, this sweet baby appeared as fast as lightning,” she motioned to her rainbow colored bolt of lightning on her flank. “So what are you waiting for?! We have a lot to do if you want that cutie mark!” Rainbow Dash urged as she took to the air and hovered slightly above them. ***** Rainbow took Apple Bloom and Naruto to a field just outside Ponyville. Telling the two that the quickest way to get a cutie mark was by doing a sport they’re good at, she coached the two through an intense warm up. She was wearing a sweatband, as was Apple Bloom, and had a whistle around her neck. As Naruto and Apple Bloom were doing some push-ups, he couldn’t help but admire the little filly’s determination. She was clearly having a hard time with the exercise, but she wasn’t complaining. He, however, had no problem at all, and hardly broke a sweat. “That's right, stretch out those legs. They gotta be nice and loose. The key here is to try as many things as possible as quickly as possible. One of them is bound to lead to your cutie mark,” Rainbow said from above them. “Can’t argue with that logic,” Naruto commented with a grin. “And you!” Rainbow called as she flew right in his face. “Don’t think I forgot about our rematch!” Apple Bloom gazed at them, puzzled. “Heh, don’t worry, kid. This is between the two of us,” Rainbow said as she smirked at the blond-maned Earth pony. “I’ll be running with you two,” she said as she landed on the ground. “All the way to the tree up ahead!” she pointed to a lone tree on a small hill about three hundred meters away. “Finally coming down to the ground? You’ll regret this,” Naruto warned, smirking as he felt the adrenaline already taking over his senses. “I don’t need my wings to beat a rookie pony like you!” Rainbow announced cockily. Apple Bloom again gave her a baffled look, but the Pegasus didn’t afford to look left or right, as her blood boiling and her hooves were itching to race. “Get ready…” she said as the three took a deep breath. “Set…” The three got in position, and Naruto once more pumped chakra to his legs. “Go!” Naruto and Rainbow Dash took off in a speed that seemed unrealistic to Apple Bloom, leaving her in the dust as she also did her best to run for her cutie mark. The pair of orange and blue ponies ran as quickly as they could, each of them highly determined to be the winner. They ran at nearly equal speeds, up and down on the hilly terrain. For a few seconds Naruto took the lead, then he was preceded by Rainbow. The lead switched between them a few times as the tree was getting closer by the second, and soon enough, it was just on the next hill. Each pony would neither relent nor slow down, but eventually… Naruto stumbled and fell down, falling face-first at the grass. Rainbow Dash easily galloped past him and reached the tree, then took off to the air, raising her hooves triumphantly. “Yes! I did it, haha!” she exclaimed. “I am the fastest pony in all of Equestria and you better believe it!” Naruto got up and looked up at the joyous mare, and smiled to himself. “Heh. I used my chakra and yet you still won. Guess you really are the fastest pony in Equestria.” “That was a good race, Naruto” Rainbow said as she landed next to him. The Earth pony and Pegasus hoof-bumped, smiling to each other. “Hmm, I get the feeling I forgot something. Remind me why did we come here again?” Rainbow asked. Just then, the sound of heavy panting reached their ears, as up the hill climbed Apple Bloom. She then promptly landed on her stomach. “Cutie… Mark…?” she muttered between breathes. She was too exhausted to look back and see for herself. Naruto and Rainbow Dash glanced over her flank. It was still as bare as before. The two of them shook their heads at her. “Nothing on you either, Naruto,” Rainbow noted as she took a peek. “Though, by our third race I guess we should have known that,” she smiled. “Well, onwards to the next one!” ***** Sometime later, at the same field, the three of them were standing with a large basket full of small balls Rainbow brought. “Juggling- Go!” Rainbow yelled as she threw at the both of them balls, one by one. “Hey, this isn’t bad!” Naruto chuckled as he somehow managed to somehow balance on his two back hooves and juggle four balls with his fore hooves. “You’re doing well, Apple Bloom!” he cheered her. The filly seemed too concentrated on the task to reply. “This isn’t nearly enough for a cutie mark! Put some more backbone into it!” Rainbow yelled as she threw more balls at them. However, when he reached the sixth one, Naruto couldn’t keep juggling them and they all fell down. Apple Bloom, however, kept going on. Six balls, seven balls, eight balls. But eventually, she couldn’t do it either, and the balls fell down. With still no cutie marks, they moved on to the next sport. ***** The three of them stood next to a cliff. Apple Bloom and Naruto were both strapped to hang gliders. “How did you even get these?!” Naruto called over the strong wind. “Never mind the details! Now go!” the Pegasus called back, followed by a whistle. Naruto ran ahead first, and jumped off the cliff. The wind carried him far, even boosting his speed. “Woohoo! Look at that! I’m flying!” he exclaimed. Apple Bloom went next, but soon stumbled and began rolling, until she came to a stop upside down nearby the edge. “Oh well. To the next one!” Rainbow announced. “HOW DO I CONTROL THIS THING?!” Naruto yelled. He wasn’t even approaching the ground. The strong wind gave him too much lift and was carrying him farther and farther away, and he didn’t look like he had much control over it. ***** The three of them were in some kind of dojo, all wearing white karate clothing. “Where are we?! How did you even get these suits?!” Naruto demanded. Rainbow, however, flat out ignored him this time. “Karate- Go!” she called and blew her whistle. Apple Bloom jumped up to the air and the landed down with a mighty kick on a punching bag. “Hiiiiiya!” Her back hooves made contact with the heavy object, but instead of giving way, it made the filly shake like a gong, and she slumped onto the floor. “Alright, my turn! This is some weird ninja style there, but I bet it’s gonna be a piece of cake!” Naruto went along and did the same as Apple Bloom, only he gave a kick too powerful to stop, which made him roll all the way to the exit. Karate and Taijutsu just aren’t the same. Rainbow facehooved. “Next!” ***** “Kite Flying- Go!” Apple Bloom and Naruto both started running, in their mouths a roll of wire attached to green and orange kites. “Can you even get a cutie mark for flying kites?” Naruto pondered. However, in his lack of focus, his kite began swirling around Apple Bloom’s. The young filly herself wasn’t doing too great either, and her kite also began swirling uncontrollably. The two kits soon got tied together and plummeted to the ground, falling to pieces. ***** “Ultra pony roller derby- Go!” “Can this world get any crazier?!” Naruto thought in horror as he was trying his best not to fall. On his hooves were tied wheeled shoes. He was desperately trying to maintain his balance. It was only his fourth day as a pony, and while he got the hang of walking and running down completely, this was a whole lot different to him. It didn’t help that he’d never done anything like it back home. “Watch out, Naruto!” Apple Bloom yelled from behind him. She rolled towards him at an incredible speed, but didn’t seem like she had any control over it. Naruto tried his best to avoid her, but he was effectively handicapped by the four sets of wheels attached to him. The two ponies finally collided, spinning around all the track until they fell down face-first into the ground. Rainbow Dash facehooved once more at the pathetic sight as she shook her head in hopelessness.