The Truth of Bonds and Friendship

by Gadman85

New Blood and a New Mission

Naruko rinsed out a glass of juice she just finished as she heard a loud boom sound and saw plume of smoke coming from Twilight’s room. Naruko ran past Kyuubi who was sitting almost like a small fox statue on their table unperturbed by the explosion. Twilight was coughing as she used a magic spell to disperse the smoke.

“Are you okay?” Naruko asked.

“Yeah. I am now,” Twilight replied as she frowned at a piece of paper in front of her. She wondered what she did that was wrong.

Naruko came over to look at the remains as well. Naruko right away saw what went wrong. “You messed up your writing. You used the wrong word and you seem to have rushed some of the strokes. I’ve told you to be extra careful when making a seal. You can take your time and should,” she explained.

Twilight’s frown deepened. “You write them so fast though and does it really matter?” she asked.

Naruko nodded. “Yes, it does. You have to keep in mind you are writing in a completely different language, that for all we know, didn’t exist on this planet until I first started writing it.”

“I know details are important, but just how important is it with this Kanji?” Twilight asked.

Naruko decided a demonstration was in order. She grabbed two sheets of paper and used a brush to write two different kanji that looked extremely similar. She then wrote out their meanings. “As you can see, there are several kanji that are very similar to each other and a slight difference can completely change the meaning. This is why I’ve stressed the importance of learning the written language before you really try seals.”

Naruko smiled and gave Twilight a quick nuzzle as the other pony blushed a little and smiled. “Your lovely head is actually working against you here, Twilight. You’re already seeing the basics of sealing and filling in some of the other aspects of it with your knowledge on runes, but the two are still very different in their own ways, even with their similarities.”

Twilight smiled softly as she looked at the kanji again. “I guess I just feel really left behind compared to you. You know how eager I get when it comes to learning.” Twilight then gave a sigh. “I still don’t get how you know all of this stuff so well. I mean you were pretty much already a master from what I can tell before you even came to Equestria!”

“I don’t know about being a master back then, but it helps I grew up with the language,” Naruko said. She then giggled and added, “There’s also the fact it is literally in my blood. My clan was famous for their knowledge and power in Fuinjutsu, what we called the sealing arts.”

She sighed, “It led to their destruction just before the third shinobi war began.”

Naruko smiled again, “Both my parents were sealing masters and I’m pretty sure if I wasn’t already as good as I am in it. My mom would find a way to drag me into my mindscape and teach me all about it without letting me leave until I was a master.”

“I still find that hard to wrap my head around, but it is good your parents are still with you in some manner,” Twilight said. She then stood up and stretched. “I need a little break I think. I’ll get back to practicing writing again later instead of jumping right into seals.”

The two made their way back downstairs. Twilight went into the kitchen and Naruko sat at the table Kyuubi was on. The fox opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times. “Hello, You,” Naruko said with a smile as she hugged him quickly and didn’t let him escape before he could move. Kyuubi just went with it.

As she broke off the hug, she asked, “Did you find anything out on what it was Discord said?”

“I did actually. Your father and I have put our grievances to the side. Your mother as well, at least for now… I’m not so sure it’s completely good there. She still has her temper it seems,” Kyuubi said. Naruko chuckled. She was envisioning her mom scolding the tailed beast as he rolled his eyes and sighed at her while drowning out her words like a teenager.

Kyuubi stood up and hopped off the table to move around some after sitting still for so long. “It seems he only sealed half of me into you. My yang half in particular,” he said.

“Wow?! Really?” Twilight asked from the kitchen. Kyuubi nodded to her. “I’m going to go ahead and make us lunch,” Twilight then told them so they could continue the discussion.

“But you’re so powerful. Why did he do that?” Naruko asked the fox.

“That’s exactly why he did so in the first place. Sealing all of me inside of you the way he did would have been too much, even for an Uzumaki,” Kyuubi explained.

“Is the sealing part of the reason you’ve been growing more powerful yourself lately then? Where did he seal the other half?” she asked.

“It is exactly why I’ve been growing from what we can tell. The seal he used is powerful and crosses time, space, and even dimensions. That’s why it requires a sacrifice to the Shinigami,” he said.

“So, the other half of you is sealed inside the God of Death?” Naruko asked in thought while also hiding her shock.

“More specifically inside your father who is inside the Shinigami.”

Naruko’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that pretty much hell?! We have to save him! What can we do?” Naruko asked as she stood up. She wasn’t about to let her father suffer like that.

“Calm down,” Kyuubi said causing her to sister back down. “There isn’t anything we can do about that. Once I finish absorbing my other half, your father will pass on into the afterlife. Once the absorption is completed, the Shinigami’s half of the bargain is fulfilled. Your father knew what he was doing when he sealed us, Naruko. Do not worry about him.”

Naruko still wasn’t happy with this, but she could rest a little easier knowing her father would eventually be free. “Do you have any idea how much you have absorbed?” she asked.

“Knowing now what I do. I can say I have absorbed about 50% of my other self. As you were thinking, the power increase I have felt wasn’t from growing stronger myself, but from gaining more of my full power,” he said. He was a little bummed that he wasn’t technically improving as much as his partner was. Naruko had grown so much since they came to Equestria. She’d already be one of the strongest ninjas if she were to return to Konoha.

“I still can’t believe your old planet literally has a God of Death,” Twilight said as she served up lunch to everyone. Spike was spending the day with the CMC at Scootaloo’s house today.

“There are many gods in the land we are from and several entities, such as myself, called demons. That does not mean all things labeled god or demon there are as such,” Kyuubi explained as they started their meal.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruko made her way to Patrol HQ. She was working the afternoon and into the evening today. As she approached, one of the new recruits nervously saluted her. She saluted back and said, “We don’t need to do that. We aren’t as formal as the Royal Guard.”

“Yes, Grand Captain Uzumaki!” a cheerful pegasus stallion with a dark blue coat and orange mane and tail said. His cutie mark consisted of a book with a pair of wings.

“You don’t have to use my full title either. You can just call me Naruko,” she said.

The pegasus looked a little uncomfortable, “Can I call you Captain Naruko?” he asked.

She smiled and said, “If you want.” He felt more at ease and relaxed as he returned to his lunch and she entered HQ.

She soon saw another of the new recruits and Trixie gathered around a table with stacks of posters. Naruko made her way over to look at them. The new recruit at the table was an earth pony mare with a pale pink coat and bright yellow and green mane and tail. She had a cutie mark with an art brush and a pencil crossed together.

“Looking good, Joy” Naruko said catching the pony off guard as she quickly stood straighter.

“Thank you, ma’am!” she said. The pony’s full name was Artful Joy but she preferred to just be called Joy. She saw herself as a part-time artist and now a full-time patroller. She designed a few recruitment posters and Trixie was making copies of them with her magic. Joy smiled as she looked over the posters again, “I decided to use the first patrol members for inspiration, as you can see with the pony silhouettes.”

The first poster Naruko looked at showed a silhouette based off of her in her dress uniform. Her horn was glowing light blue and she was pointing with a hoof to the opposite side of the poster. There were Bon Bon and Lyra ponies charging that way on the ground and in the sky above Cloud Kicker and Derpy were flying in the same direction. Naruko chuckled a little as she noticed Derpy was saluting the poster’s viewer. On the top of the poster were the words, “For Equestria! For your Home! Join the Patrol today.”

The second poster Naruko saw showed Lyra, Bon Bon and Cloud Kicker holding each other’s hooves in the shape of a triangle around the Two Sisters Symbol. There were words by each corresponding pony as well. The words were, “Earth!”, “Sky!”, and “Magic!” At the bottom of this poster the words read, “The Earth you live on. The skies we love. The magic surrounding us. Protect it all! See if you have what it takes to join the Patrol today.”

A third poster showed Naruko and Derpy working together to help protect a group of forest animals. The poster was also split in half with the sun on one side and the moon on the other. This poster had the words, “The Ever-Free Patrol! We help all our neighbors. Either by sunshine or moonlight. Join today!”

“Trixie requested a poster of her own as well,” the showpony said.

“I figured why not. She will be starting the Hooffington Contingent and she helped come up with the slogans,” Artful explained.

Trixie used her magic to display a final poster. This poster showed Naruko and Trixie working together while leading a generic pony out of the woods. Naruko was in the leading the others while she looked forward. Trixie was behind her looking back at the pony they were leading and offering them a hoof. The wording on this poster read, “Help and protect those in need! Find your true self in the process. Speak with Trixie Lulamoon, Captain of Ever-Free Patrol: Hooffington Contingent.”

“Nice,” Naruko commented.

“I found the last one especially fitting for me,” Trixie said with a smile as she again reflected on how her life changed after meeting the patrol.

“Can I have a few copies?” Naruko asked. She could use them to decorate her room at home and her office in Canterlot.

“Sure,” Artful Joy said delighted her Captain approved of the posters that much. She then gave a giggle, “The others have asked for copies as well.”

“Thanks,” Naruko said as she helped herself to two of each of the first three and one of the fourth which pleasantly surprised Trixie.

{-} {-} {-}

After dropping off the posters in her office, Naruko checked in with Derpy and made her way around the HQ. Naruko wanted to make sure she checked in with all of the new ponies she could. Her next stop was to the med bay. One of their recruits made it his home rightfully so. She was actually really happy this pony ended up joining them. He was inspired by the way they helped ponies during both the Parasprite Infestation and Discord’s Escape. He was a dark grey unicorn stallion with a dark blue mane and tail. He had a first aid bag with a red cross as his Cutie mark and his name was Iron Cross.

Iron Cross was looking through the medical supplies and making a list. He originally worked for Ponyville’s hospital under Doctor Hoof. Iron Cross was a medical pony, but he wasn’t a full doctor yet, but he was very knowledgeable and his particular expertise would greatly help the patrol. He loved helping ponies and even made his own medicines. He was particularly skillful in what even Dr. Hoof called Battlefield Medicine.

The stallion at one time tried to join the Royal Guard because of this, but they said there weren’t any openings for a pony specializing in first aid. The nobles in charge he spoke to thought he was trying to make up an officer position or something. They didn’t specialize guard members outside of some officers. They couldn’t believe his audacity to try something like that.

Iron Cross went full time patrol member pretty much as soon as he was inducted into the patrol. He still made sure the hospital he worked at previously knew he was available to help if there was ever an emergency and they were short staffed. Doctor Hoof was very grateful for this. Iron Cross may be good at Battlefield Medicine, but he was also one of the best at assisting and even stabilizing patients and prepping them for surgery.

“Good Afternoon, Iron Cross,” Naruko started as she entered.

He turned and gave her a polite smile and bow of his head. “Good Afternoon, Captain Uzumaki,” he greeted. Naruko didn’t bother correcting him. Iron Cross was very much formal with everypony. He wasn’t stern or anything like that, but he insisted on using titles for the ranking officers in the Patrol. He even referred to Trixie as Captain Lulamoon. “Supplies are looking good and everything is far from expiration. I even found a way to make some room for the ingredients I use for making my own medicines,” he said in update as he wrote something down on the clipboard he was holding in his magic.

“I see you also got Trixie to expand the med bay as needed to include a proper sanitation area. Did you cordon off a separate area for making your medicines?” she asked. He nodded and pointed to what looked like a new door leading to a small room that could almost pass as a storage closet.

“The area is small, but it will work just fine for my needs and prevent accidental contamination,” he replied.

“I have to admit I’m impressed with how you’ve improved our med-bay since you joined a little while ago. It will be nice to have a proper medic pony in our ranks. Princess Luna and I have even been discussing setting up some form of training for other contingents and to at the very least have a Lead First Aid pony. We will be using some of the enhancements you have made here as a basis for the other HQs when they are created and needed,” Naruko said looking around the area.

Iron Cross actually grinned and looked to the ground trying to hide it. “Thanks, Ma’am… That means a lot to me. You have no idea,” he said.

“You’re Welcome. In the Ever-Free Patrol, we aren’t opposed to ideas that will improve our set up. Feel free to mention anything else you think will improve things,” Naruko said before she left the med-bay. Iron Cross smiled to himself and continued doing what he was doing.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruko had one more stop she wished to make today at HQ. She made her way to the workshop building. As she neared it, she could hear the obvious sounds of tinkering going on inside the building. The last new recruit for today was a mare Naruko remembered overhearing talking to her friends when she visited HQ after Discord. The earth pony mare had a light gold coat and light brown mane and tail. Her cutie mark had an electrified wrench and the mare’s name was Electra Wrench. She was a pony who was good at tinkering and creating gadgets and such.

Electra Wrench worked as a toy repair pony in one of the local Ponyville shops. She was going to do both for as long as she could, but it was clear the mare preferred her time as a patroller. When Naruko asked her about this, the pony replied, “Well I usually just worked the cashier at the store. Sometimes I would repair a filly’s or colt’s toy, but most times they just moved on to a new toy instead.”

She also admitted the main reason she kept doing the job at the toy store was because she loved seeing little ponies smile on the rare occasion they came to get a toy repaired. She had a few toys she made herself on special occasions, but it was never really satisfying to her in a way. She got her cutie mark when she tinkered around with some of her dad’s old junk he wouldn’t throw out. That being the case she found herself right at home in the patrol’s workshop.

Naruko blinked and ran in when she heard a loud clank sound as if something just fell. “Dang it!” Electra shouted just as Naruko entered. Something heavy did just fall, luckily it didn’t land on the tinker pony. It seemed like nothing was broken either.

“Are we going to need to reinforce the protective runes in here?” Naruko asked with a bit of a chuckle.

“Oh! B-b-boss!” Electra jumped in surprise. She then gave a nervous giggle, “Ummmm… Sorry about that. I’ll be more careful in the future. I should have stored it better.”

Naruko nodded to her, but mentally decided to improve the runes anyways. Maybe that new soft impact runeseal she and Twilight created would be a good idea. Naruko made her way over to Electra and looked at what she was doing. “So, what are you working on?” Naruko asked.

“Well you mentioned Fluttershy’s armor she wore for that mission you won’t go into detail about. She let me look at it not too long ago. I’ve been working on ways to make something like that for the patrol but a lot less… seemingly put together… and a lot more practical,” Electra said.

“That’s a good idea. It is something I wanted to look into myself, but well… it gets kind of busy being the Grand Captain,” Naruko said with a smile as she looked over the design. There was a lot of technical parts to it, but she got the idea of it. It was looking good in her eyes.

“I’m not saying it will stop the jaws of a timberwolf, though maybe it will eventually with the proper iterations, but it should really help out a lot with most things we will face,” she said in thought as an idea came to her mind and she scribbled something down.

“I would like to see some more once you have a better idea about it. Who knows. Maybe we can end up adding some runes that will improve it,” Naruko said.

Electra nodded to that. “I will see later. But probably much later in the design,” she said.

“Agreed. Runes should be seen as additional improvements and the base of the armor should be strong even without them,” Naruko said.

Electra smiled to that. “Usually unicorns would just rely solely on the magic of the runes. I’m glad you aren’t that way, Boss Naruko.”

“I’m different in many ways. Besides… This is the Ever-Free Patrol. A unicorn who only utilizes their magic and nothing else is very unlikely to make it for long if at all. Both Trixie and Lyra are very proficient without their magic by this point. Iron Cross already set up his own approved training regime to fix his shortcomings in such ways as well,” Naruko said.

She mentally added, “Twilight would probably be the only unicorn I can think of that could rely just on her magic alone.”

Naruko looked around the workshop some more as Electra Wrench got back to her work. The pony wasn’t scheduled for any patrols for today, but she considered herself still on duty. When Naruko finished looking around, she turned and said, “I’ll leave you to it. It’s nice seeing the Workshop being put to good use already. Do be careful and come to either Derpy or me if you need anything else or have ideas on materials you need for your project.”

“Will do Boss,” Electra said with a smile and wave as Naruko headed to her office for some work.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruko gave a hum in thought after she’d been working for a while and came up with an idea. She decided she needed to speak with Derpy about this and get her second in command’s opinion on the matter. Naruko knocked on the First Lieutenant’s office. “Come in!” Derpy replied as she just finished setting up the schedule for next week. Naruko had been busy with other paper work regarding things like funds and such so the pegasus pitched in to help with assignments.

“Boss!” Derpy said cheerfully with a pleasant smile as she hovered above her desk.

“Everything going well in here?” Naruko asked.

“Sure is! Did you need anything?” she asked.

“Yes. I was looking at some less well known and encountered creatures again. I really think we need to find a way to better to train for Changelings. I know they haven’t been seen here for hundreds of years. I still think we need to be ready for creatures that can so easily infiltrate, even if we never run into them,” Naruko said.

Derpy nodded to that. “Any ideas on how to train for them? Being able to detect them and reveal them would probably be the best. I believe there is a reveal spell and us pegasi can feel the magic they use if we hone our senses enough.”

“I was hoping there was a way for pegasus ponies to also reveal or at least detect. I was thinking we could get Feather Wing to help teach our pegasi if there was. I think he’ll agree, especially if we tell him why we’re doing it,” Naruko said.

Derpy’s eyes were a little starry as she said, “I still can’t believe we managed to get the Wonderbolts trainer to help us! He even quickly agreed to help teach us winged patrollers. It’s an honor learning from him every time we train together.”

“Yeah. I think Luna could have easily gotten him to join us via a direct order, but she told me he was extremely eager when she mentioned it before getting to the point of making it an order. I guess he isn’t kidding when he says he feels the Wonderbolts are now an aerial stunt team pretending to be military instead of actually a part of the guard, like they were in the past,” Naruko admitted.

“That takes care of us. What about the unicorns and earth ponies?” Derpy asked.

“I’m a little stuck on how to best handle training earth ponies in this regard. The obvious answer is for them to learn more about changelings and to just be as aware of their surroundings and fellow ponies as they can be. Changelings can look and sound like other ponies, but personality wise and a pony’s history is a different story,” Naruko said in thought.

“That can help… Unless there is more to earth pony magic than we know currently," Derpy thought out loud. "What’s your plan for teaching unicorns?” Derpy asked.

“Well the reveal spell works on illusion disguises in general,” Naruko said.

“Oooo! That means you can use that… what was it called… Oh yeah the Henge, right?” Derpy said cheerfully. She liked it when she connected ninja Naruko to pony Naruko abilities. Naruko was just relieved Derpy and her hubby already knew that about her because they had, during their own adventures, visited the ninja world briefly.

“That’s what I’m thinking. I can even teach other unicorns that spell to help with training if they have the power. I know Lyra and Trixie should be able to use it. That will help give Trixie something else to help when it comes to training Hooffington Contingent once she gets it started,” Naruko said.

“This sounds like a good plan. It’s no surprise Boss already put a lot of thought into it,” Derpy said with a grin.

“I wasn’t sure what pegasus ponies could do that would help with this. I wish we had a better idea for earth ponies, but if we can train both pegasi and unicorns in this then odds are the earth ponies can at least hold out until somepony who can reveal changelings appears,” Naruko said as Derpy nodded in agreement.

“I’ll run this across Princess Luna and get the official okay on our plan. Running the plan by you and getting your support will help with that,” Naruko said.

“Glad to help, Boss!” Derpy said with a playful salute and a smile. Naruko rolled her eyes and playfully returned the salute.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruko and Twilight just finished breakfast when Spike handed over a letter. Twilight opened it and read it to herself first. Her purple eyes sparkled as she grinned and tried her hardest not to clap her hooves together while jumping around.

“What’s up, Twi?” Spike asked. He only read the letters if Twilight told him to read them.

“The princesses want Naruko, Apple Jack and me to meet them regarding a mission to a new temple! I get to finally go along!” Twilight shouted for joy and preformed what Spike and Naruko dubbed her ‘Yes’ dance.

Naruko used her magic to get the letter from Twilight. She believed Twilight, but the unicorn was very excited and Naruko had a feeling she wouldn’t really be able to focus enough for details. The note told them to gather their friend and wait by the Apple Family farm’s entrance gate for their chariot and what time to expect it.

“I’m glad you’re coming along this time Twilight, but we do need to get going. We have to get Apple Jack,” Naruko said as she hurriedly cleared her spot on the table.

“Oh… Yes… Of course!” Twilight said as she did the same with her own plate. “Spike. Watch over the library while we’re gone,” she said to the baby dragon.

“Yes, Ma’am!” Spike said with a salute.

{-} {-} {-}

The two unicorns made their way to Apple Jack’s farm, but Twilight really couldn’t contain herself very well. She was skipping and more or less doing her ‘yes’ dance the whole way. Naruko couldn’t help but giggle at Twilight’s antics. She was still prepared to reel her friend in if needed on their way to the palace though.

They met AJ on their way to the Apple family’s home. “Well howdy there you two. What brings ya’ll here today?” she greeted them. She then noticed Twilight’s dance and repeated use of the word ‘Yes’. “And why is she so darn excited?” she added in question.

“We have a rather important meeting we need to attend in Canterlot and you’re supposed to come with us,” Naruko said.

AJ grew serious. “I’ll tell my folks and we can get going. How are we gonna get there?” she asked.

“There will be a chariot waiting for us by the gate,” Naruko said. AJ nodded and quickly told her family the news and joined her friends at the gate.

As the three ponies greeted the chariot flyers and Twilight calmed down, they climbed into the back. “We’ll need to use disguises. I don’t have the teleport runeseal fully setup for traveling to my Canterlot office yet,” Naruko explained.

“I’ll be using a spell to change your hat, AJ. It will wear off soon enough so don’t worry. Naruko will be using a spell to change your looks as well. None of it will be permanent so don’t worry about that,” Twilight further explained as she was now calmed down.

“Well geez… Ah’m guessing this is one of them missions like the one you went on with Fluttershy then ain’t it?” AJ asked. Naruko and Twilight both nodded in reply as their horns started to glow.

“Any idea how long this here mission will take?” AJ asked.

“Not sure. It could take a while like the one with Fluttershy. It could also take just a couple of days like the mission with Vinyl and Octavia. It could even take longer. The princesses will tell us at the meeting,” Naruko explained.

“Ah hope it don’t take too long,” AJ admitted.

“Same here. Missions can get really draining if they end up being long ones,” Naruko said in agreement. Twilight didn’t say anything, but there was a part of her that hoped it took a while. She wanted them to do a lot of exploring wherever it was they ended up going.

“Well Little Missy Sunshine. Here we are. I hope you and your friends enjoy the stay,” one of the chariot guards said.

“Thanks again! I really wish there was a better way for me to visit,” Naruko in disguise said. She then took on a demure look as she hung her head a little. “I hate inconveniencing you guards like this.”

“No worries. Enjoy your day,” the guards said as they took off again.

AJ wanted to ask what that was about, but decided against it as they approached the palace. The trio entered the place through a side entrance AJ didn’t even know existed. It wasn’t long until they were inside the palace proper and made their way to the meeting room. Once inside, Naruko and Twilight dispelled all of their disguises.

“What was that Little Missy Sunshine business all about?” AJ finally asked.

“It’s the disguise I wear. It may be overly cautious, but hey… Ninja… remember,” Naruko said with a smile.

Before AJ could respond, the doors to the meeting room opened and the princesses walked inside. “It is good to see you all three could make it,” Princess Celestia said in greeting.

“Well, when both princesses ask for ya. You answer,” AJ said with a smile.

“Nevertheless, it is still good,” Princess Luna added as they sat down and motioned for the others to get comfortable. “We’ve found a new artifact hiding place.”

“Oooo! Where is it this time?” Twilight asked, her excitement showing.

“Ponlantis,” Princess Celestia said casually trying to hide a snicker.

Twilight’s jaw dropped open. She had of course come across it and even gave them the information they probably used to figure out an artifact was there, but still it was a rather mythical and amazing place.

“Well Ah’ll be…” AJ said in shock.

“This sounds like it might be a long one,” Naruko said keeping rather calm despite her friends’ reactions. She was actually excited as well, but her training allowed her to stay calm and attentive.

“Indeed, it will be. We did not send anypony in as part of an expeditionary force because we felt it would be best if you three went in first,” Princess Luna said.

“I see…” Twilight said. Inside her head she was screaming in joy, “We’ll get to be the first ponies to set hoof inside Ponlantis in eons!”

“Isn’t Ponlantis where Sea ponies come from?” AJ asked.

“We are not sure about Apple Jack. While it is underwater, it is actually an ancient earth pony city. We do not know everything about it, but we do know it has magic protecting it,” Princess Celestia said.

“The first part of your mission will be to determine if it is in fact safe to head inside after finding a way. If it isn’t, then we will have to try a different approach. Legends say it is safe to breath inside the city and it is dry due to the magic protecting it. We do not know for sure if this is the case,” Princess Luna said.

“This sounds like it will be a real longin’ of a trip,” AJ said with a slight frown.

“Which is why you three will have a full week to take care of any matters that first need your attention,” Princess Celestia assured them. She had a feeling she knew why Apple Jack was worried about such a long trip.

“I want to go right now!” Twilight whined for a moment. She then chuckled and said, “But I understand. Such a trip… No… Journey! Needs plenty of preparation.”

“What are our travel arrangements?” Naruko asked.

“You will all three be taking an express train to Horseshoe Sands. There you’ll meet with a pony named Aqua Life. She will take you to a supply ship we’ve been using for the base camp on Pony Rock Island. After a night’s sleep and you learn what they know so far, the first part of your mission will begin,” Princess Luna said.

“Pony Rock Island… That’s tha place with them fancy statues ain’t it? The one they tell us all about in school,” AJ asked.

“It is,” Princess Celestia said.

“That is so cool! Who would have thought it really was part of Ponlantis?” Twilight asked with a giddy laugh.

“What can you tell us about Aqua Life?” Naruko asked. It seemed she would have to be the pony that kept them on task at the moment.

Princess Celestia gave them each a picture of the mare. “She’s one of the first ponies to actually discover Ponlantis. She’s also one of the best Ocean Research ponies in modern times and she’s certified to instruct ponies on scuba diving. Which you will need to get to Ponlantis,” she explained.

“Aqua Life… I read a few of her academic papers… She didn’t exactly have the best grammar. I hope she wasn’t hurt by my complaints about such in the past,” Twilight said with a frown.

Twilight loved reading academic papers and such and she even sometimes criticized or corrected the papers. Some ponies just either blew her off or thanked her for the help. Sometimes she could come off rather harsh to say the least and that could really ruffle a pony’s coat. The worst part was she didn’t realize this for a long while and was actually surprised how far her influence in academia went at times. She really hoped she hadn’t caused Aqua Life any problems and the pony wouldn’t hold a grudge.

“She is already expecting you three. She didn’t mention any concerns about you going on this mission, Twilight. I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Princess Celestia said.

“Let’s hope not,” Twilight sighed. She soon returned to her happy self as they discussed more details of the mission.

{-} {-} {-}

“So, we’re looking for an artifact called Ocean’s Heart?” AJ clarified as the three were discussing things themselves a little before they headed back to Ponyville.

“Yep. It’s supposedly a really pretty enclosed vase with a window showing the contents,” Naruko said.

“A Jewel of sapphire blue that is said to glisten as the ocean waves under moonlight. I have to say these artifacts tend to be really beautiful,” Twilight said as she happened to look into Naruko’s blue eyes that reminded her of a deep blue ocean under a clear sunny sky at times.

“Do you think you’ll be able to get everything taken care of in advance, AJ?” Naruko asked.

“Ah hope so, but it really ain’t helping we don’t know how long the trip will take. Cider Season is coming up real quick like. It’s a big deal for our family and the farm,” AJ said.

“I’ve heard some rumors about Cider Season. I’ve heard there’s never enough for everypony to have their fill,” Twilight said to her friend.

AJ gave a deep sigh to that. “We’ve tried a lot to help with that, but not even limiting sales helps. There’s a reason cider sales only run a few days. We try as much as we can, but Ponies really like cider and we can never really seem to make enough in time even though Granny, Apple Bloom, Big Mac and I all pitch in,” she said.

“What about the rest of your family? I remember there were a lot of them when we first came to Ponyville,” Twilight said remembering her first encounter with the Apple family.

“They came from all over cuz of the Summer Sun Festival. The only other time we get that many Apples in one place is when we have our family reunion. A whole lot of them got their own cider season ta worry about. Though, and I ain’t being too partial here, ours is the best of the cider,” AJ said a hint of pride coming through at the end when she smiled.

“Will you be able to get something arranged?” Naruko asked.

“Ah don’t like it, but I sure well. Can’t rightly say no to such an important mission. Hopefully we’ll all get back before then, but Ah ain’t taking the chance of leaving the others too under hoofed. Apple Bloom ain’t big enough to handle my part of the job. She usually takes and servers orders while accepting the payments,” AJ said as she started thinking of what she could do.

“Well, we should probably get back,” Naruko started. She gave a smile and said, “If we wait too much longer, we’ll have to crash here for the night. As much fun as a sleepover could be, I don’t want to have to rush back tomorrow morning.” Twilight and Apple Jack nodded in agreement as they took on their disguises again and left to get their chariot back to Ponyville.

Author's Note:

I decided to end the chapter here. Otherwise it would have been too big of a monster chapter. Hell, many people would probably say this one was too long as it was. I didn’t want to put off the start of the next artifact search any longer, so I should have the next chapter up about the same time as this one. I already had it written out. I just decided to split this into two chapters.

I feel like I’ve been dragging my feet when it comes to the action and adventure again. That should change from here on for a while. I’m not sure how much season two stuff I’ll write about. I do kind of have plans to get all of the mane six on at least one artifact hunt mission and progressed further on their Element of Harmony powers before we get to the Canterlot Wedding arc. I have a lot of that already written and I am really excited about it, but I am also heavily biased . I won’t go into too much detail about what happens there yet. Though I feel I should probably mention it was planned and worked on long before certain events in the show happened. The ramifications of the wedding will be very different here.