Naruto: Apples and Cinnamon

by Karasu87

Chapter 2

Zecora made her way through the Everfree forest. She had her familiar hood on, and in her mouth, she chewed on an apple. Despite the events earlier, she was in a good mood. It was an adventure everyday with those ponies around.

As her left hoof crushed a fallen branch, her ear twitched under the hood. She stopped her trek, and tilted her head. It was weird. She hadn't heard nor seen any animals during her walk from town. Through the opening in the trees above, the sun shone brightly. She kept walking until the foliage opened up and she entered a clearing that wasn't very far from her home.

And then she felt it. A presence, no, a disturbance. Her turquoise eyes grew wide. A second later, a sonic boom followed. It sounded as if Rainbow Dash was practicing her Sonic Rainboom. But this was different. She didn't even realize that her feet were frozen. She noticed that she had bitten almost all the way through the apple. Deciding it was probably nothing, she continued to munch on the fruit.

And just as she swallowed the rest of her apple, she felt it again, The grass around her moved as if a torrent of wind swirled around her, but the trees were unaffected. It was strange, and felt as if something was pressing against her. The ground beneath her hooves began to crack. Sweat dripped down her face, and her teeth grounded together. She even felt the apple threatening to come back up.

She tried to managed the strength to look around. Her neck popped, but she managed it. The grass, which was green and lush, was now gone and barren. With a grunt, she managed to look up. Her hood flipped off, and her eyes grew wider.

"Ah!" She yelled as she mustered a final show of strength and leapt to the side. She slid, just as a small abject flew by her head. Just before the object struck down the ground, she saw orange. She sucked in some air to get her breath back. "Meteorite?

Her nerves went wild, and she couldn't find a rhyme in her throat.

The sun was still high above. She briefly wondered if Celestia was on her way. The clearing was now filled with smoke, and the smell that entered her nose had a strange scent. Almost like a mix of copper, burnt fur, and maybe, flesh? She didn't know, and she doubted anypony in Ponyville heard or even saw the disturbance. But surely some ponies in Canterlot saw the object. But the feeling she had earlier, before the object appeared. It lasted barely a second. It was as if something summoned the object. Called it.

"Uh..."

Her eyes immediately went to the small crater. Smoke still rose from it. Her hooves clacked against the ground as she made her way closer. The smoke stung her eyes and caused it to water. She coughed. The smoke was think, but luckily it was flowing upwards. Dipping her head, she saw into the crater. It wasn't real deep, but deep enough for a pony to stand in and have their head visible. She hated to see such a scar in the land.

The moan was heard once again, and when she finally managed to see the source, she gasped.

Blue eyes slowly opened, only for them to squeeze close again. The sunlight entered through the only window like a laser beam. Their target? His eyes. He took a breath and was actually about to drift back off to dreamland. In his dream, he could remember several little things. Something about ramen, pink hair and a bikini. Ramen juice dripped down the bikini, going into every crevice as it...

Clack...

Or was it a click? Another one followed, then another in a steady rhythm. His right eye opened in annoyance. He blinked a few times in confusion. He thought he would be in his own bed, or at least, the hospital. But from what he saw, it had to be a hut. It looked like a single room. But who in Konoha had a hut?

He tried to reach out in an attempt to get up from the bed, but instead, he froze in shock. "H-hooves...?" Because of his shock, he made a quick movement that shook his bed. Which was a hammock, and then, gravity did the rest. He yelped as he struck a shelf that was under the bed, then another on his way down. He landed flat on his belly with a groan, "...ow..."

From his downed position, he stared in shock at his flank, which was high in the air. But that wasn't the surprising part, what made his shock grow was the waving appendage attached to it.

He was in complete shock, that he didn't realize that he actually thought of the term flank instead of another word. Many thoughts and possibilities flowed in his mind, but one stuck out above the rest. 'Did Kyuubi do something?'

He had always been afraid that the demon within him would do something like this. Sure, they learned to trust each other after all they been through, but Kurama was still THE Nine-tailed Fox Demon. But...

...was that a bed? Why the hell was he in a hammock above all those shelves?

Anyway, he figured he would be turned into a fox. Not a... horse? Hooves? Oh, yeah. Tail? He shuddered at that one. His eyes watching it wave back and forth in a similar rhythm as that clacking. And then, he crossed his eyes. A long snout greeted him.

"Not the average pony, I see." The voice cut his shock short. His eyes snapped towards the voice, and stared. It was a zebra, but not a normal zebra. This one stood on its hind legs and stirred a stick in a large cauldron. His thoughts went from Kyuubi, to an old story Kakashi told him about a witch in the woods. How she lured young kids to her hut in the forest, and...

He gulped.

The zebra turned towards him, and he could see her eyes. Cyan. And the voice was feminine. "Come, have a talk with me." He gulped again, but strangely, he felt himself slowly starting to stand.

"Hmmm... so good," Juice ran down his muzzle as Naruto bit into an apple. Laying on his back, under a nearby apple tree, he watched as the clouds drifted by. "Shikamaru sure knew how to live."

He was so into his relaxation that he didn't see a small shadow creep up behind him.

"Whatcha doin'?"

Startled, Naruto bit deep into his apple, only for it to get stuck in his throat. He coughed and sputtered, until he spit it onto the ground. He gulped, and slowly looked up into the yellow eyes of his boss' little sister. Apple Bloom. She tilted her head as if to repeat the question.

"Um, working." The apple rolled away as if to escape the scene. The little filly, looked at the apple, then back to Naruto, who quickly shot to his feet. "What? It was dirty! It might have contaminated the others!" Her eyes stared, as if peering into his soul.

If he didn't know better, he would say she was trying very hard not to laugh.

She looked to the side, and her eyes lit up. "Hey, Applejack!"

That got his attention. Around him were at least ten apple cores. She'll kill me! It was rare for him to be scared, but over the years, he learned that women, er, mares, were scary. Especially ones that buck apple trees all day without breaking a sweat. Perhaps Zecora has a remedy she could give to AJ to erase her memory.

Apples swung freely in the tree he was sleeping under, as if mocking him. And without wasting another second, he turned around and took a quick breath. He kicked his hind legs a few times. Bucking was one heck of a workout. If they had that in the ninja world, he could only imagine the training.

The filly grew a wide smile. Am I really that funny? He blinked, ever since he met her, she had been a pony version of Konohamaru and his friends. With Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle thrown in, the resemblance was almost uncanny. It was always, 'Whatcha doin'? But in a way, it was a breath of fresh air. She was cute, curious, and had a positive air about her.

He continued to kick his hind legs a few more times. Dust and dirt flew up with each hit. Deciding he stretched enough, he kicked. Or at least tried too. His foot slipped, and he landed on his stomach with the air vanishing from his lungs.

"I think you're doing it wrong," Apple Bloom stated, but he could see the mirth in those eyes. The filly let loose a giggle, which she was quick to cover up.

One of the swinging apples gave one last swing, before breaking from the tree.

"Ow..." Naruto moaned as the apple struck home. But the stallion was quick to shake off the stars, which strangely resembled Pinkie Pie. He shook that off as well, and repeated the whole bucking process. But after the fifteenth or so buck, he noticed there was a lack of something. "Where's your sister?"

She knew she couldn't hold it in for very long. "Oops." She looked around, then, laughter exploded from her. Naruto's eye twitched when she rolled onto the ground with laughter.

Naruto shook his head, but smirked. "Alright. You got me with the spider one yesterday, don't push it." Yesterday, he was hard at work, well, more like training but making it look like apple bucking. Then the little demon walked over, yelled spider, then ran away. Of course, he learned from Twilight before that about how big spiders can get, so he promptly tripped over a bucket of freshly picked apples.

Applejack didn't take too kindly to having her apples all over the ground.

He didn't know why he had to buck apples. From what he learned, Applebuck Season is when they actually harvest the fruits. Perhaps she just loved to see him suffer.

Like sister, like sister. Naruto groaned as he looked at the laughing filly. As she laughed, he nudged his basket closer to the tree, then bucked. He watched in satisfaction as the apples landed safely into the basket. Inwardly, he thought back to what if Konoha had applebuckers. He laughed. Both at the sound of that, and the fact if Kakashi knew of it back during his first mission, that would've been intense.

He briefly had a depressing thought. Were they even missing him? Looking for him? One of them could even be in this world, and he would never know.

"Will ya show me, now?" He was shaken from his thoughts. Looking down, he saw the filly staring up at him. Her laughter completely forgotten, and a serious expression on her face.

He took a glance around. "I don't know..."

"Please?" Her eyes grew wide, and he immediately pictured the three kids back in his world. "It'll be our little secret!"

"Please, boss! Teach us!"

Could be worst, at least this time she didn't have her two friends with her. "Fine." Of course, she wanted to see his abilities. He didn't know why people, er, ponies made such a big deal. But so far, he did only see Celestia, Rarity and Twilight using magic.

Horns. He didn't have one. Celestia did mention that he was special in that regard. In a way, it felt as if his tail was a magic wand. A blue glow slowly covered his tail, then, he flicked it.

"Eeyup." Big McIntosh stood nearby overlooking Naruto's progress. In his mouth was a piece of grass. He rolled it around, then spoke to the mare next to him. "I think he earned his keep."

"I still don't think he learned his lesson," Applejack said. "Maybe we should have him make some apple cider. Season opens pretty soon."

"Don't ya think you're being a little harsh?" her brother asked. They both watched as at least ten Naruto's appeared around their little sister, who only laughed. "He was hungry and-"

"I know, I know. Twi has been telling me and telling me, but he won't learn if he doesn't work like part of the Apple family."

"Eeyup," Big Mac nodded, but he rolled around the piece of grass with a smile, since he caught the way she worded it.

Applejack ignored his smile, and focused on all the Naruto's cleaning up the scattered apple cores. "Besides, Pinkie is plannin' something, and she asked us to get any information on that stallion."

"Pinkie, dear, what in Celestia's name are you doing?" Rarity asked. Pieces of cloth flew by her head. Here she was, minding her own business, and trying to design a dress for a client, then Pinkie barged in

With a piece of felt in her mouth, and a long piece of silk on her head, she addressed her friend. "Naruto's party."

That didn't surprise her. But didn't Pinkie have her own stash of material? "What kind of party, if you don't mind me asking?" Rarity flinched when Pinkie pulled out a bunch of cloth and threw it on the floor.

But the question made Pinkie pause in her search for the perfect fabric. What was the party for? A new friend? A party to welcome him to Ponyville? A party to celebrate making Rarity and AJ angry?

Birthday? But, when is his birthday?

The fabric dropped from her mouth as an awesomerific idea struck her like a mouth full of sweets. "Pinkapalooza!"

"What-" Rarity sighed. "That doesn't exactly make sense, dear."

"Doesn't have too! It's a paaarty!" Pinke had managed to get into Rarity's face. "So... what have you found out about Naruto?"

Rarity slowly backed away, then composed herself. "Afraid not too much. He doesn't like to talk about himself." Using her magic, she picked up several of her poor materials.

"I must know his birthday! Then, I can decide the theme of... Pinkapalooza!"

Rarity shook her head. As her horn glowed, she began to clean the mess Pinkie made. "I thought this was Naruto's party."

"Huh? But Narutopalooza doesn't have the same ring to it."

Deception. A ninja's greatest weapon. Well, deception and stealth. No, wasn't seduction in there too? He was great at all three, not that he would ever mention the latter. But one question kept bothering him.

How did it end up like this?

At least eight foals surrounded him as if he was a circus clown. One minute, Apple Bloom was laughing her flank off as several clones dispersed themselves by having apples fall on their heads, then the next, Scootaloo popped up saying she had to get Sweetie Belle, and then, a whole class appeared.

Trying to calm the wild demons, er, foals was a mare with three flowers as her cutie mark. Her mane was some type of purple, almost cherry-like. Her two-tone mane was rose and gray. And when she smiled his way, he was surprised by his blush, which was almost the color of her coat.

Next to him, two annoying colts stood. Snips and Snail. Every move he made, they mimicked.

Could be worst, he thought. The filly, Diamond Tiara, just settled for a glare. He didn't like the fact she made fun of Apple Bloom, but he ignored it, for now at least. He still wasn't sure why she was glaring his way. Maybe his sexiness made her jealous.

"Awesome!" Scootaloo yelled as she was tossed in the air. Back in his world, using a jutsu like that one is frowned upon. But it all started one day when he was trying to recreate his favorite jutsu, the Rasengan. And for some reason, a twister appeared. He found he could also change the density of it. But he didn't have the guts to see what it could really do. No telling how dangerous it can be, especially since he found he could actually control wind at will.

For all he knew, he could fly without wings.

I'd rather be wearing a dress, Naruto thought. He wondered how much torture Rarity could induce on him today. Because of his small prank, she still hasn't let up on him. But talking to her was nice, and much better than talking to himself. Although Zecora and Celestia visited him often...

"Sorry about all this," Cheerilee said. She made her way past the foals. "They all heard about you. 'The stallion with hornless magic'." She laughed. "They couldn't be stopped."

"Oh, really?" Naruto mumbled sheepishly. He tried his best to scratch the back of his head with his hoof. Snips and Snails followed his movement in hopes of copying his magic.

"I didn't get your name. I'm Cheerilee."

Scootaloo screamed in the background, both glanced at the filly, only to see her flying in the air again. "Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Strange name..." Cheerliee said. "But I've heard stranger." Naruto saw her glance at the two colts near him who were swishing their tails.

Pinkie Pie poked her head up from a haystack. Her face, and coat, had green camouflage stripes on it. Two black lines were under each eye. She watched Naruto in the distance.

Pulling out a piece of paper, she looked at a list of items. I already know his name, duh. Naruto was talking animatedly to Cheerilee. "Interesting."

"Pinkie?" AJ's voice startled her, and almost gave away her position. "What in Equestria are you doin'?"

"Shhh!" Pinkie clamped her hoof over Applejack's mouth.

"That didn't answer anything!" AJ mumbled as best she could. She resisted the temptation to clamp down on the appendage in her mouth.

"One word: Par---ty!" Pinkie smiled, ducking her head into the haystack, taking AJ with her. "Or is that two words? Who cares! I need to know what he likes, doesn't like, and apparently, he likes Cheerilee! Hehehe!"

Applejack just sighed as she was dragged into one of Pinkie's plans. She knew Pinkie had something planned. Naruto was a new stallion in town, friendship status wasn't exactly set yet and aside from his abilities, not much was known about him. She was actually surprised Pinkie didn't bring out her party cannon and surprise the stallion on the spot.

If somepony were to see the haystack, they would see a pink tail and a yellow tail hanging out along with two sets of eyes watching from the dark recess of hay. And also, it can make for a pretty spooky sight. Which was why a few young foals screamed when they wondered near it.

Pinkie had been following the stallion for a little over an hour now. What she learned so far; Naruto liked Cheerilee, is annoyed by Applejack, especially after she jumped out of the hay stack for, well, she wasn't sure of the reason. And once he left Sweet Apple Acres, he started to whistle a strange song.

Sherlock Pinkie is what she would've called herself. Everywhere he went, she was there. In the shadows like a ninja.

"Naruto?"

Naruto paused in his whistling and managed a small, "Huh?" He saw a familiar face looking up at him from a nearby apple cart. Spike. He first met the young dragon a few days ago, and well, that meeting was a tad strange.

"Ah! It talked!" Naruto yelled when Twilight showed him her place, and then, the dragon she introduced as 'Spike' spoke.

"Um, Naruto, you do know you're being followed, right?" Spike pointed to the haystack that was in the middle of the road. Several ponies were forced to walk around it. A pink tail swished back and forth in the back.

"I haven't noticed." Naruto smirked. He had several clones still at Sweet Apple Acres, so when a moving stack of hay left the farm, a clone dispersed.

"What are you doing out here? Doesn't Applejack have you harvesting apples? I hate to see what she has plans for Cider Season."

Naruto frowned. Cider season? "I thought I'd check around Ponyville-" Spike glanced up. "Without pranking." Well, ones that are not worth mentioning. "Kinda restless, ya know? Especially for what comes up in a few days."

Spike wracked his brain, but couldn't think of anything. "What's that?"

"Yes! What?" Came a yell from the stack of hay, which once again, startled everypony nearby. "Oops. Um, tweet, tweet..."

Naruto ignored that and continued, "The day I was born."

"What?"

"It comes up in a few days. The tenth. I have some extra bits for helping Rarity. Might buy myself something."

Spike was surprised the stallion wasn't more excited. He would be ecstatic, and waiting for Twilight to give him some presents. Especially a present from Rarity. A lovely costume made by Rarity herself.

Spike coughed as his thoughts got away from him. But Naruto didn't seem to notice. He glanced back to the stack of hay, only to see it scattered all over the road. Some were still in the air.