//------------------------------// // Chapter 17- The Foxy Turnabout (Part 1) // Story: Daily Life of an Equestrian Ninja // by PianoPony //------------------------------// Chapter 17- The Foxy Turnabout (Part 1) It was late at night, yet not everypony was asleep. One little filly, by the name of Sweetie Belle, woke up with a strong sense of thirst to quench. After drinking some much needed water from the sink in the bathroom, the sleepy filly slowly trotted back to her room. The hallway was dark, but she did not need to see anything. She could navigate her own house blindly. Hearing a faint snoring sound, she looked to her right, where was the sound’s origin. “Odd… This is the guest room, I thought nopony sleeps there now…” she muttered to herself. Eventually, her curiosity had won her over, and she pushed the door open to a small creek, and peeked inside. Under the gentle light of the moon, she could see the silhouette of somepony sleeping in the bed. The Unicorn filly tilted her head in confusion when she noticed how oddly shaped and unusually big the creature was. Taking a few small steps inside, she could also see another shape on the floor next to the bed. Suddenly, the form shifted, and a blood red eye with a narrow pupil opened to look at her. Sweetie Belle froze, horrified and unable to look away from that eye. “Grr… Get out…” a deep, terrifying voice said from its direction. But Sweetie Belle could not bring herself to neither move, nor make a sound. She was frozen with fear. “GET OUT!” the voice roared again. That was when the young filly finally managed to move herself. “Ahh! Rarity! There’s a monster here! RARITY!!!” she cried as she ran outside. This woke Naruto up, who slowly opened his eyes. “What was that noise?” he muttered while still half-asleep. “Nothing,” the fox answered briefly, before returning to his slumber. ***** “Morning, Rarity,” Naruto greeted as he walked down the stairs, and the alabaster Unicorn entered his line of sight. He made sure to ‘unsummon’ the fox before heading out of his room. “Good morning, Naruto,” she greeted back. “Tell me, did anything unusual happen last night?” she asked in a worried tone. “Umm, not that I know of. Why?” “Well, Sweetie Belle came over to my room at the middle of the night, yelling something about a monster in the guest room.” “Did she see me in my human form?” Naruto asked, worried. “I don’t think so. She said something about a monster wolf with red eyes. Honestly, it sounds like she had a nightmare and naught more.” “Oh… Sorry, no idea,” Naruto shrugged it off cluelessly. “Although… Didn’t Luna say she was going to get rid of ponies’ nightmares?” he pondered. ***** After eating the routine breakfast of omelet and salad, Naruto headed straight for Sweet Apple Acres (after transforming into a pony). As usual, he worked with Applejack and Big Mac, bucking apples and handling some of the other chores at the farm. This went on until noon, when the trio sat down at the middle of one of the apple groves to take a lunch break. Naruto was taking a big bite from one of Granny Smith’s prized apple pies when suddenly… “Naruto!” he could hear Apple Bloom’s voice. The filly ran up to him, catching her breath a bit before she could continue speaking. “Hey, Apple Bloom. Want some pie?” he offered with a smile. “No time for pie! Cutie mark emergency! All crusaders are to meet in the treehouse right away!” she called between her breathes. Naruto looked at her two older siblings. “Is it okay with you?” he asked. “Eyup,” Big Mac replied concisely. “’Course it is. Have fun, now!” Applejack added. Naruto nodded and put the rest of the pie in his mouth. He then got up and followed his fellow Crusader. ***** Naruto and Apple Bloom trotted into the treehouse, which was also the Crusaders’ headquarters. It was located on the outskirts of the apple grove closest to Ponyville, on one of the larger apple trees. It was a few days earlier that Naruto, along with the rest of the crusaders, fixed up Applejack’s old treehouse. A few hours of painting and redecorating were all that was needed to turn it into a functioning meeting place for the four cutie-mark-less ponies. “Hey, Naruto,” Scootaloo greeted him. “Morning,” Naruto smiled back at her and at Sweetie Belle, who was pacing impatiently back and forth next to the square small table in the middle of the room, a serious, troubled expression on her muzzle. Naruto, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo each took a seat on the floor next to different sides of the tables. “Okay, I’m officially opening the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ official meeting!” Apple Bloom announced ceremonially. “So whatdya call this meeting for, Sweetie Belle?” she then asked not-so-ceremonially. “I’m glad you asked, Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle answered, still pacing back and forth in front of the table. “My fellow Crusaders!” she then called, and finally stopped to stand in front of the others. Today is the day we’ll all get our… Mystery Solving Cutie Marks!” she exclaimed. An excited glint appeared in Scootaloo’s and Apple Bloom’s eyes, and Naruto’s interest piqued too to hear what she had to say. “Tonight… I was confronted… By a really mysterious… Mystery!” the Unicorn filly announced dramatically enough to make her sister proud. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom leaned forward in anticipation as Sweetie Belle started elaborating. “I got out of bed to drink some water… And when I came back… Suddenly, I heard loud, malicious snoring in the guest room!” That’s when Naruto started to get alarmed. “She really did go in?! …And do I snore?! No way, it’s gotta be the fox…” “No. It was definitely you,” the fox replied. Naruto ignored him. “So, how do you know it wasn’t a dream?” he asked, hoping to get her to believe just that, and avoid discussing the dangerous topic. “Hehehe…” Sweetie Belle chuckled. “I thought you may doubt it, so I returned a few hours ago there to find some evidence. Behold: Exhibit A!” she announced proudly and pulled out a few strands of orange fur from under the table. They were about ten inches long. “I found them on the floor next to the bed.” Naruto nearly fell backwards when he recognized it. “You’re shedding?! Aren’t you made of chakra?!” he asked the fox. “Don’t blame me for it. You should have noticed that if you were trying to keep me a secret,” the fox replied condescendingly. “Hmm… Come to think of it, don’t they look like part of Naruto’s coat? They look the same color to me,” Scootaloo noted as she went to get a close look at the strands. “No!” Naruto replied quickly, trying to divert any attention away from himself. “My coat is… Uh… Shinier?” “Tch. Don’t flatter yourself,” the fox growled angrily. “’Sides, those hairs are way too long. I think they came from some wild animal,” Apple Bloom added. “But that makes no sense! Why would there be a wild animal at your house?” Scootaloo asked. “I’m actually not sure about that,” Sweetie Belle replied, quite baffled herself. “We only have Opalescence, but she’s hardly a wild animal. Plus, she’s white.” Naruto was pondering how to explain the mysterious hairs without compromising neither his identity as a ninja, nor the fox. The first issue was really just on a need-to-know basis to him, but the other had to be a complete secret. Otherwise… “So, that’s it for exhibit A. Let me go on to exhibit B now,” Sweetie Belle said as she put the strands of orange fur on the table and shoved her head under the table. “There’s more?! It can’t be worse than the fox’s fur, right?” Naruto thought hopefully. “Presenting: Exhibit B!” Sweetie Belle announced between her teeth, as she pulled out none other than one of Naruto’s kunai knives. Naruto’s jaw fell down completely as he gazed in horror at the small instrument held in Sweetie’s muzzle. “What?! How?! I don’t even—“ “It fell out of your bag and rolled under the bed last night,” the fox explained, his voice barely containing his laughter. “And you didn’t think of telling me?!” Naruto asked furiously. “Hmph. That’s not part of our deal,” he answered concisely. Scootaloo gazed at Naruto. “What’s wrong, Naruto? You look kinda pale,” the orange filly asked. “Uhh… I’m just wondering… What the hay that is… Hahaha…” he muttered sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “Me too. I ain’t never seen anything like this,” Apple Bloom said, deep in thought over the strange item. “Same for me,” Scootaloo added. “So, it’s settled then…” Sweetie Belle said. “We’re gonna solve this mystery, and get our…” “MYSTERY SOLVING CUTIE MARKS!” the three fillies yelled together so loudly it caused Naruto to cover his ears. “Yay…” the orange stallion muttered with a grin that couldn’t be any more nervous. ***** The Crusaders first headed off to Carousel Boutique’s guest room, or ‘the scene of the crime’, as Sweetie Belle put it. They all searched the room thoroughly for more clues Sweetie could have missed. Or more accurately, Naruto was looking for clues to hide from the others, who looked for more evidence to help identify the strange creature Sweetie Belle saw. About thirty minutes later, the four ponies concluded that there were no more clues there, much to Naruto’s relief. “I guess Rarity’s cleaning my pajama…” he thought in relief and gratitude, since it was nowhere to be found. “Sweetie Belle! I told you not to enter here!” the white mare’s voice reached them from the doorway. A hint of panic was heard in it. “Wait… Naruto? What are you doing here?” she then added in surprise, when she noticed the young stallion. Naruto quickly walked over to her. “Sweetie Belle caught a glimpse of me last night, and now she’s insisting on solving the ‘mystery’. Could you cover for me?” he whispered. “Why? It would be simpler if you just told them…” Rarity whispered back. “I don’t want too many ponies to know I’m a human. They’ll stare at me like I’m some kind of—” “What are you two whispering about?” Scootaloo asked with a suspecting glare. “Oh! Uh… Nothing at all!” Rarity quickly said. “Why don’t we all go downstairs and talk over this whole ‘monster’ nonsense, alright?” she asked as she walked inside and herded the three fillies out of the room. Naruto followed her, letting out a sigh of relief. ***** “So, what was it again you were doing in the guest room?” Rarity asked after gathering the group in her store downstairs. “I told you! It was about the monster I saw last night! The one you didn’t believe I saw!” Sweetie Belle replied angrily. “I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle, but without some kind of proof I simply cannot believe all this ‘monster’ business,” Rarity said sternly. “TAKE THAT!” Apple Bloom suddenly yelled, making everypony gaze at her. “What?” “You don’t need to shout, Apple Bloom. We’re right next to you,” Scootaloo said. “Oh, right. Sorry,” Apple Bloom said before turning back to Rarity, showing her the orange strands of hair. “Sweetie Belle found these in the room this morning. Seems awful lot like monster hair to me!” “Ack!” Rarity gasped, as her claim was shattered. “Well… They could have come from some other animal, right?” she asked, beads of nervous sweat starting to make her face sparkle in the light. “OBJECTION!” Sweetie Belle yelled. Everyone stared at her. “What? I was just going with the mood,” she shrugged. “Uh… Anyways, the only animal around here with such long hairs is Opal, and she’s white!” “Noooooooo!” Rarity called, before magically bringing over to her a fainting couch from the other side of the room. “I’m sorry! I told you all terrible lies!” she cried as she jumped on top of it. “I’m such a HORRIBLE pony! Waaaaaah!” she wept in an over-the-top manner. “So, will you talk?” Scootaloo asked with a triumphant smirk. Naruto desperately shook his head towards her. The young orange Pegasus turned back to look at him with a suspecting glare, which caused him to look away and whistle innocently. “Yes! Yes!” Rarity cried. “I… Don’t know anything,” she then said flatly, stopping her crying all of a sudden. “Oh,” the three fillies said in unison. “Really?” Sweetie Belle asked, arching a brow at her. “Really,” Rarity replied. “How should I know about some out-of-this-world monster?” she asked, winking towards Naruto. “That’s a bummer,” Apple Bloom pouted, looking down. “How about this thing, then?” Sweetie then asked, pulling out Naruto’s kunai seemingly from out of her mane, even though it wasn’t quite big enough to hide it. “I don’t know it,” Rarity immediately said, looking away. That’s despite knowing perfectly well what it was. She even saw it being used once. “Oh, well. Maybe somepony else will know something,” Scootaloo suggested. “How about Fluttershy? She knows a lot about animals, so she might know what creature has this kind of fur,” Apple Bloom said. “Alright. Let’s move, crusaders!” Sweetie Belle said as she led the team outside. Naruto, however, stayed behind for a moment. “Thanks, Rarity. I owe you one,” he smiled. “Oh, it was no problem at all,” Rarity said as she got off the couch. “It was actually quite an enjoyable performance. But, are you sure you should not let them know as well? I mean, being a human does not seem like much of an issue to me, dearie.” “If there’s no choice, I’ll tell them. But I’d rather as few ponies as possible know. I don’t like being stared at by everypony like I’m some kind of monster,” Naruto explained. “Well… I suppose so. Alright,” Rarity nodded, although she did not seem to fully agree with his reasoning. “Hey, what in tarnation’s taking ya so long, Naruto?!” Apple Bloom’s voice was heard from outside. “Oh, coming!” Naruto called back as he went out to rejoin the group. ***** The Crusaders approached Fluttershy’s cottage at the outskirts of Ponyville, and Sweetie Belle knocked on the front door. A few moments later, the door was opened by the owner of the house. “Oh, hi girls,” Fluttershy said happily. “And Naruto,” she added when she raised her eyes to see him standing behind them. “What brings you all here?” “The Cutie Mark Crusaders are investigating a mystery to get our…” Apple Bloom began explaining. “MYSTERY SOLVING CUTIE MARKS!” the three fillies yelled together, causing Fluttershy to wince. “Oh! That sounds fun!” the yellow Pegasus said after recovering. “Can I help you with anything?” “Actually, we found some suspicious hairs at the scene of the crime, and we wondered if you know what they are,” Scootaloo said as Apple Bloom hooved over to Fluttershy the hairs. “There’s no way there’s anything like the Kyubi here,” Naruto thought in relief. “She’d never guess—” “Oh, these are fox hairs. They’re quite longer than regular ones, but there’s no doubt about it,” Fluttershy responded happily. Naruto’s jaw headed straight to the ground at that moment. “Alright! Then we’re one step closer to solving the mystery!” Scootaloo cheered, high-hooving with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, not noticing Naruto’s expression. “Judging by the length, it should be a fox about Naruto’s size,” Fluttershy added as she looked at him. Naruto quickly shook his hoof in front of himself. “No, no, no! Don’t turn their attention to me!” he desperately tried to telepathize to her. Fluttershy, however, didn’t get the hint. “And it probably came from its tail, which should be all bushy and smooth. Also just like Naruto’s.” Naruto was ready to either give up on this or just cry due to Fluttershy’s cluelessness, accompanied by her innocent smile. “Wow, you’re amazing, Fluttershy! And here I thought taking care of animals was really boring,” Scootaloo smiled. “Oh, it was no problem at all,” she smiled as well, not taking offense to her remark. “Do you need anything else?” “Actually…” Sweetie Belle said as she was about to pull out the kunai. Predicting what was going to happen, Naruto galloped around the fillies and towards Fluttershy, giving her a bit of a spook. “Fluttershy! I’m trying to not let them know I’m a ninja! Please, don’t say anything!” he whispered to her. “Oh, really? Are you saving it for a dramatic rescue scene, just like you did with me and the girls?” she muttered back. “That’s… Uh…” Naruto mumbled when he failed to find a counter-argument to that. “Was I… Really doing that on purpose?” he wondered. “Hey, what are you two whispering about?” Scootaloo asked with a suspecting glare. “Oh! Nothing, girls!” Fluttershy said, giving a not very successful fake smile. “Anyways, look at this!” Sweetie called between her teeth, which she was using to hold Naruto’s kunai. “Do you know what it is?” Apple Bloom asked Fluttershy. Naruto and Fluttershy exchanged quick gazes. “Sorry, girls. I don’t,” she replied concisely. Naruto let out a mental sigh of relief. “Oh, well,” Sweetie sighed as she put the kunai back in her mane. “Thanks for all your help, Fluttershy!” Apple Bloom smiled. “You’re most welcome, Crusaders!” she replied happily. “Bye, now!” she said before she walked outside and closed the door. “Huh? You’re coming with us?” Naruto asked. “Oh no, I simply have some shopping to do in Ponyville. I’m running out of bird seeds,” she explained. “But do tell me if you find that cute little fox, alright?” she asked with a smile and flew up and into town. ***** “This is bad… They might actually find out about me and the fox…” Naruto pondered worriedly as they made their way back towards Ponyville. “Wait! I know!” he then thought when he got an idea, smiling naughtily. “If they wanna see a fox so much…” “Ah! Look over there!” Naruto yelled as he pointed towards the nearby Everfree Forest. The girls looked at his hoof’s direction. “What? What?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Yeah, I don’t see anything,” Scootaloo added. “There’s something in the bushes! Follow me!” Naruto yelled as he stormed into the bushes at the very edge of the forest. Naruto peeked outside to see the fillies running his direction, although it took them a lot more time. After all, not only he had longer legs, but he also had the speed of a ninja. “Transformation Jutsu, Release!” he called, crossing his forelegs, as he poofed back to a human. “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” he then continued with the usual hand seal. “You know what to do,” Naruto grinned to his clone. “Of course! Leave it to me!” the clone smiled back, pointing with his thumb to his chest. The real Naruto ran behind a tree some distance away. “Transformation Jutsu!” he then called and changed back into a pony. “And now,” the clone muttered to himself with a grin as he ran behind a nearby bush. “A very special… Transformation Jutsu!” The fillies all made it across the bushes and looked around. Even though they had barely entered the forest, it was quite dark already, so they couldn’t see very well. “Wow, Naruto can sure run fast…” Sweetie Belle huffed. “Speaking of Naruto… Where is he?” Apple Bloom called, since she couldn’t see the orange Earth pony. The three fillies exchanged looks. “Do you think he saw the fox and went after it?” Scootaloo asked. Just then, a rustling sound came from another bush, deeper into the forest. The three fillies stared at it in a mixture of curiosity and fright. “Grr…” a frightening growl came from behind it, as out of the bush walked out the nine-tailed fox. “THE FOX!!!” the three fillies yelled in terror. “But… Why does it have so many tails?” Sweetie Belle pondered aloud. “Grr… I’m gonna… Eat you…” the fox growled again. “And it talks!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “Wait… What does the fox say?” “I’M GONNA EAT YOU!!!” the fox roared and charged at the fillies. The three of them huddled together with their eyes closed, frightened by the humongous fox. “Stand back!” a familiar voice called bravely, seemingly echoing from all around the forest. The three fillies slowly opened their eyes to see… “Naruto!” they called in relief. The orange stallion was standing tall between them and the approaching fox. “Get lost, you stupid fox!” Naruto called as he stomped as loudly as he called on the ground with his front hooves. “Mess with them, and you’ll have to answer to me!” The fox growled again threateningly, but then turned around and ran away, back into the dark depths of the forest. “Come on, let’s get out of here!” Naruto said as he lend his hoof to help the rest of the Crusaders back on their legs.