Adventures of the Equestrian Ninja

by hussbek

An Unwanted Visit of a Dark Past

ADVENTURES OF THE EQUESTRIAN NINJA

Chapter 36: An Unwanted Visit of a Dark Past

“Well, looks like we’re back at Ponyville,” said Applejack as she gazed ahead to see the town just a couple kilometers ahead of them.

“Yup, we weren’t gone for that long and yet it made us feel like we really missed it AJ,” Naruto came up next to her.

It was a couple of days since they left the Whispering Woods where the nymphs are now freed and the satyrs were banished. Naruto looked sideways at Applejack and felt heat rise to his face before quickly looking away, the trip was a slightly awkward one ever since the kiss he received on the cheek from Applejack as he has been finding it very hard to get it out of his mind, not to forget the ones with Fluttershy and Luna too. He snapped back into focus when he heard Applejack call out to him.

“Hey Naruto, whatcha standing there for?” said Applejack with a quirked eyebrow as she stood a fair distance away from him and was wondering why he wasn’t following her.

“What-oh right! I’m coming!” Naruto quickly galloped over to the cowmare and both continued their approach to the town, upon entry they were happily greeted by the residents while walking along the streets with one of them being Derpy dressed in her work-clothes who flew close to have a small chat.

“Hello Naruto, Applejack! Welcome back,” said Derpy happily.

“Hi Derpy, it’s good to be back here,”

“Howdy Derpy!” Applejack greeted too.

“Where did you two head off to? I passed by your place some time ago and they told me that you both went out on a trip,” Derpy tilted her head in curiosity.

Applejack spoke up “We went looking for some special apples to serves as a new addition for the farm and were lucky to get some,”

“New apples? Will you use them for apple cider?”

“Who knows? We’re gonna have to test them first making any plans to put them on sale,”

“Can’t wait for that day to happen, I’ll have to get on with delivering of the letters so I’ll have to see you guys later,” said Derpy before she flew away to her next destination.

“Bye Derpy, and tell Dinky I said hi!” Naruto called after her.

“I will!”

“Let’s get this here apples to the farm, granny and the folks are gonna be so surprised to learn that the story is true!” said Applejack excitedly.

“I’ll send a couple of shadow clones to call Twilight and the others over too. Knowing Twilight, she would want to take notes about them and also inform Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to come over,” said Naruto before channeling his chakra to create a couple of shadow clones to perform the task assigned to them, then they continuedtheir walk to the Sweet Apple Acres. They had just gone past the front gate when they saw Apple Bloom galloping towards them with a smile on her face.

“Naruto, big sis! You’re back!” the filly went to hug Applejack and received a hug in return “So did you find the scarlet apples like you said you would?”

“That we did,” Applejack replied.

“Let me see! Let me see! Let me see! Let me see! Let me see!” Apple Bloom was hopping up and down excitedly that Naruto had to hold her down with his tail.

“Not yet, you go get Big Mac and come over to the house, we also called Twilight and the others to come too so we can show you the apples,” said Naruto.

“Okay, don’t start without me!” Apple Bloom took off towards the orchards as fast as she could.

Applejack and Naruto walked up to the front and found Granny Smith dozing off on her rocking chair at the front porch, Applejack then called out to wake her up from her slumber.

“Granny wake up, we’re back from our trip!”

Granny Smith woke up with a start and looked around before setting her eyes on the familiar pair before her “Ah you young’uns are back from your road trip, so how was it? Hope ya’ll weren’t having any hanky-panky on the road,” she smiled playfully when she saw Naruto and Applejack blushing beet red.

“N-nothing happened Granny!” Applejack shouted, though she recalled when she kissed Naruto on the cheek and felt her heart thumped harder.

“Aaah, to be young again. I remember how my mammy asked me questions like these when I introduced your gramps to her,”

“Granny!”

The old mare chuckled at how embarrassed her granddaughter is acting and the blonde stallion was no better in that scenario “I was just pulling your hind legs is all, so did ya’ll find the scarlet apples while ya’ll were out there?”

Applejack nodded in affirmation “Yes indeedy, we found them and even met voices of the forest!”

Granny Smith raised an eyebrow in surprise and then interest “You did? What were they?”

“Hang on Granny, we’re waiting for the others to arrive so that we’ll tell you what happen…” said Naruto, then they heard knocking on the door “…that must be them right now,” he created a chakra arm to stretch over and open the door for Twilight and the others mares with Apple Bloom and Big Mac following from behind.

“Naru!” Pinkie Pie flew across the room and glomped Naruto, almost knocking him down to the ground “Welcome back, this calls for a party!”

“Yeah man, you and AJ have been gone for a while,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Your clones told us to come over here, though I’m guessing that you both were able to find the Scarlet apples,” said Twilight.

“You’re right that we did, and more,” Applejack took off her saddlebags while Naruto brought in a platter from the kitchen and placed it on the coffee table, then she poured the apples onto it for everypony to see.

“Woow, so these are the scarlet apples…” Apple Bloom looked at them in wonder.

“Eeeyup,” Big Mac replied.

“Well I’ll be a llama’s auntie, so these here are the apples that gran-mammy used to talk about,” said Granny Smith “Wish she was here to see them now,”

“They’re redder than well…red,” said Rainbow Dash quizzically.

“Rubies is more like it, Rainbow. Their luster is certainly to behold,” Rarity admired the apple’s shine as she spoke.

“If they look good, then they’ll taste better. Let’s try it out!” said Pinkie Pie excitedly at the thought of making baked goods from them.

“Pinkie has got right idea, this is a great chance to update the information in the library,” Twilight nodded in agreement.

“Then hang on a minute, while I go for the knife,” Applejack went back into the kitchen and moments later came back with the knife. Twilight carefully manipulated the knife with her magic to cut some of the apples into pieces for everyone to have a piece each.

Naruto put a piece into his mouth and chewed on it but the moment his tongue made contact with its juices, he left as if his mouth had just been hit with a sledgehammer of a sensation which made him want to keep chewing and not swallow at all, he willed himself to swallow and felt it slide down his throat as smoothly as water flowing down a stream, then there was a tingly and yet pleasant feeling in his stomach.

“A-amazing…I’ve never tasted anything like this before in my life…or should I say lives. It’s lusciousness is just beyond what I can think to rate it!” thought Naruto, glanced to the side and saw some sporting the same stunned look and others were still chewing on theirs.

“Woooweee, eating just a piece makes me feel twenty years younger!” Granny Smith burst out in excitement.

“You said it granny, it tastes beyond amazing!” said Apple Bloom.

“Eeeyup!” Big Mac was in agreement.

“I-it’s really delicious,” said Fluttershy softly.

“It is simply divine!” said Rarity.

“It kinda gives me the shivers when I think of you guys making cider out of them,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Its tastes far surpasses that of the Princesses’ golden apples,” Twilight was currently taking notes after eating her piece of the apple.

“How about we go and plant the seeds now?” asked Naruto.

“I’ve already marked the spots for the planting before we left Ponyville,” said Applejack “In the meantime, we’ll tell you guys what happened in our search for the scarlet apples,”

The group exited from the house and were walking towards the orchard, along the way, Naruto and Applejack were telling them of their encounter with the nymphs and how they helped them rescue their queen and drive away the satyrs from the forest, then were later given the scarlet apples as part of their thanks before making their return to Ponyville.

“So nymphs really exist, it makes me wonder if the creatures I read about from the books are also out there too?” said Twilight as she recorded Naruto and Applejack’s story into a scroll before sealing it away in her medallion.

“Man, I should have gone with you guys. Would have had some fun kicking the rear ends of those satyrs,” said Rainbow Dash.

“But it was nice that they’re all safe now,” said Fluttershy.

“Well we won’t be seeing them again, that’s for sure,” Naruto replied.

“We’re here,” Applejack spoke to catch their attention, there was a large empty field ahead of them with a couple of small holes already made. It could be figured that Applejack had prepared this place in advance before leaving with Naruto “Now to plant this here seeds and have them grow up into a nice scarlet apple trees,” she placed on of the seeds into a hole and covered it up with dirt before watering it with a watering can that she brought along with her, she was moving on to the next hole when suddenly the ground began to quake violently, much to the surprise of everypony in town.

“What the hay is going on?!” Rainbow Dash cried out.

“Guys look over there!” Pinkie Pie pointed for the others to see, the group looked and at the spot where Applejack had just planted a seed is now a plant already sprouting. They watched in fascination as it rapidly grew from a young sapling to a giant tree towering at heights surpassing that of a great oak tree as white flowers blossomed before bearing fruit for all to see.

“Whoa, I’ve never seen an apple tree or any other tree grow that fast before,” said Naruto in wonder.

“Me neither, I’ve never read about any of this back in the library,” Twilight nodded in agreement.

“Maybe it’s a super tree!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Looks like we’ll be getting that apple cider sooner than I thought,” Rainbow Dash drooled at the thought of it.

“Um, there’s a large hollow hole in the middle,” Fluttershy spoke up.

They looked to see and sure enough, there was a large hollowed out hole in the trunk of the tree. The group wanted to take a closer, but then there was a bright light erupting from the hole which forced them back. Then there was the sound of footsteps and someone familiar to Naruto and Applejack stood in front of them. She is a feminine humanoid with a pale skin color, her arms and legs are plantlike appendages that look like wood, hair long enough to reach the ground and is as white as the apple blossoms, she wears a laurel wreath adorned with many flowers , a red gown covering her feet and could trail along the ground.

“Queen Epimeliades!” Applejack called out in surprise.

“So she’s a nymph!” was the universal thought of those unfamiliar with her.

Said queen of nymphs smiled fondly upon setting eyes on the two saviors “Why Applejack, Naruto, it’s good to see you two so soon again…and I believe that these are your friends, hello,” she waved at the stunned audience who could only wave back in shock.

“But how did you get here?” asked Naruto.

“I simply blessed the apples so that the first seed planted would grow very quickly and serve as a gateway from here to the Whispering forest and back. This is mostly Patellae’s idea and most of the nymphs supported it, wanting to see you all again and meet the ponies as well,” said Epimeliades with a smile.

“Will the other seeds do the same when we plant them?” asked Applejack.

“No need for worry, the rest will grow at a normal pace,”

“Well allow us to introduce you to our friends, this is Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Granny Smith, Big Mac and Apple Bloom,” Naruto gestured to each as he called out their names.

“Greetings Your Majesty, it is an honor to meet you,” Twilight bowed in greeting.

“Hey, what’s up?” Rainbow Dash raised a hoof only to get prodded by Twilight for her lack of respect.

“Hi! It’s nice to meet a new friend, I hope to you can come to your welcome to Ponyville party!” Pinkie Pie hopped about excitedly.

“It certainly is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, though I must ask who designs your clothes? They are quite stylish,” said Rarity with an appraising look at the queen’s robes.

“Hello,” Apple Bloom waved a hoof with Big Mac bowing his head.

“In all my years, I’d never thought I would meet anything out of my grand-mammy’s stories,” said Granny Smith.

Epimeliades smiled back in return “It is a pleasure to meet you all, Naruto and Applejack had spoken of each of you during their time in the Whispering forest, I am hoping to meet the princesses so that we can speak of an alliance,”

“Then I’ll have Spike send a letter to the Princesses right away!” Twilight made to leave for the library when they heard the flapping of wings and a familiar voice called out to them from above.

“There’s no need for you to do that, my dear student,” they all looked up to see that it was Princess Celestia and her sister Luna.

“Celestia? Luna? When did you get here?” asked Naruto looking surprised.

“We sensed the surge of energy from Ponyville and quickly flew over to find out the source of it, we never would have thought to meet a nymph after all these years,” Luna explained as they landed on the ground before them.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Queen Epimeliades,” Celestia bowed to the leader of the nymphs who bowed in return.

“The feeling is mutual, I came here to propose an alliance with you,” said Epimeliades.

“Then perhaps we could use Twilight’s library to hold our discussion,” said Luna.

“By all means, lead the way,”

“In the meantime, I’ll be heading home to check up on Trixie and Scoots since I was gone again for a while,” Naruto spoke up.

“Very well, we’ll be seeing you then Naruto,” said Luna, Naruto nodded in affirmation then walked away and left the farm before making headway to the Whirlpool which was currently open. He went inside to find Trixie sitting behind the counter with a bored look on her face, she perked up and beamed happily upon seeing the blonde stallion.

“Naruto, you’re back!” said Trixie.

Naruto smiled back at her “Yeah, sorry I took so long, AJ and I got involved in some serious stuff but we came through and we’re about to get some new friends around here soon,”

“New friends?”

“I’ll tell you and Scoots all about it over dinner tonight, I’m heading to see Scoots before resting since it’s been a long journey,” Naruto turned around for the door while withholding a yawn when Trixie called out to him.

“Naruto wait!” Trixie appeared nervous when said stallion turned to her “Um…do you remember about what I asked before you left with Applejack a few days ago?”

“Oh about me escorting you to Canterlot? I haven’t forgotten about that, we can go this weekend,” Naruto replied.

Trixie smiled at that “I’ll be ready by then!”

“Okay, then I’ll see you at home,”

Minutes later, Naruto arrived at the Uzumaki mansion and passed by the tree house to check if Scootaloo was there and sure enough she was. The filly must have seen him coming for she ran down the wooden spiral staircase and went to hug him tightly.

“Big bro, you’re back!” said Scootaloo happily.

“That I am, how were things while I was gone?” asked Naruto with a smile.

“It’s the same old boring stuff, and we still haven’t gotten our cutie marks from the stuff we’ve been doing. So were you and Applejack able to find the scarlet apple?”

“Yup, that and even more, I’ll tell you more about it over dinner tonight,” Naruto walked towards the house with Scootaloo following as the sun slowly sets.

“Did you fight some monsters during your search?” Naruto turned his head and gave her a wink.

“Who knows? You might find out when I talk about it over dinner,” sometime later, Naruto along with Scootaloo and Trixie were at the dining table having their meal while the blond stallion told them of his adventure with Applejack in the Whispering Woods again “…and after that, we were given the scarlet apples and made our return here,”

“Whoa, that was so cool! You and Applejack fighting a whole tribe of satyrs is totally hardcore, and this queen sounds pretty powerful,” said Scootaloo with stars in her eyes.

“I must agree with Scootaloo, this is quite a feat though it pales in comparison to your battle against Nightmare Moon and the Ursa Major,” said Trixie.

“True, but it was a thing of its own,” Naruto shrugged his shoulders in reply, he glanced at the clock hanging from the wall to check the time “It’s getting late, you should turn in for the night Scoots since tomorrow’s another day of school for you,”

“Hmmmm, fine I’ll be going to bed then,” Scootaloo pouted as Naruto used his magic to levitate the dirty dishes to the sink to be washed.

“Awww, don’t be like that Scoots. I am planning to teach you some new freerunning techniques after school,”

Scootaloo perked with eyes full of hope “Really?”

“Yup, I’ve noticed that we haven’t been spending time together like we used to before so I want make up for the time lost,” Naruto nodded with a smile.

The filly ran to hug her brother joyfully “Thanks big bro, you’re the best!” then she went upstairs to her room to sleep.

Trixie watched Naruto with a soft smile, ever since she began to stay with him and work at him, she learnt a lot about what makes him tick. Naruto is hardworking and warmhearted to those close to him, he’s also forgiving once he understands the reason but can be very fierce to anyone that poses ill intent towards himself and loved ones. Naruto is always cheerful but can also be dense around girls who really like him like Twilight and others, even Princess Celestia and Luna were being affectionate with him…however she began to notice that he has been acting rather shy around them lately which is giving her a cause for worry, and so decided to invite him to escort her to Canterlot so as to get closer to him.

Soon the weekend finally came, Naruto and Trixie took the morning train to Canterlot with the trip taking a couple of hours before arriving at their destination. The duo walked along the streets and taking in the ever-changing scenes of the city.

“So which place is it that you want to go first?” asked Naruto curiously.

“I have a few places in mind to purchase certain items, I thought to have some opinion in the matter if you wouldn’t mind,” said Trixie.

“Sure, if you want me to,”

Trixie led the way to a shop close to the street, from the looks of the signboard, it happens to be a perfume shop. They went inside and saw many shelves ladened with bottles of perfume in different shapes and sizes that Naruto himself wouldn’t know where to start. Trixie strode down the aisle, scanning the rows of perfume before setting eyes on one which she picked a bottle full of brown fluid off the shelve with her magic. Trixie took off the cap and squirted a bit to her fore hoof and sniffed with a contemplative look on her face.

“What do think of this one, Naruto?” asked Trixie before holding her fore hoof out to him, the blonde stallion was a bit nervous at what he was about to do but reluctantly complied and took a sniff…it smelt like a mix of musk, amber and cinnamon which is heavy and strong scent.

“It smells pretty good, it has a rich scent,” Naruto responded, he didn’t that when he was sniffing, Trixie was blushing a bit from feeling his warm breath blow her hoof.

“O-okay…how about this one?” Trixie put the bottle back and took out another one to sample it.

“This one smells like sandalwood and spices, they’re okay,”

“Hmmmm, he didn’t really like it,” Trixie looked through the shelves much more critically “Maybe this one,” she took the selected bottle, and sprayed it on her hoof “How about this one?” Naruto took a sniff and this time she was surprised to see him smile.

“I like this one, it smells like a combination of flowers and fruits! You should take this one!” said Naruto happily, the scent reminded Naruto about the forest back in Konoha which made him feel nostalgic.

“Then I’ll buy it,” Trixie took the perfume to the counter while cheering inwardly at acquiring something which could attract Naruto. After making the purchase and sealing it into her medallion, the duo went window shopping at the Best of the Best Boutique to marvel at the clothes on display Naruto had to admit are masterfully tailored, but he strongly believes that Rarity will eventually reach that level and even go beyond it.

“I’m getting kinda hungry, what about you Trixie?” asked Naruto.

“Well it has been a while since we last ate, so I am a bit famished,” Trixie replied.

“That’s perfect, Rarity recommended me to a place sometime ago when she came to Canterlot to acquire a few catalogs for references,” Naruto walked off while using his tail to pull Trixie along lightly.

“What kind of place is it?”

“It is an outdoor café called Cinnamon Chai’s Tea and Cake Shop, I passed by once during one of my deliveries and memorized its location,”

Naruto and Trixie arrived at the place and went to sit on the chairs underneath one of the shaded tables then one of the waitresses, not knowing what exactly they would like to buy, the two decided on ordering shop’s main attraction which is it’s a chocolate cherry cake with custard filling and buttercream rosettes along with some tea. They found the baked good to be very delicious that Naruto ordered for one to take home for Scootaloo and the other fillies, and another for Pinkie Pie and the rest too. He sealed the baked goods, they continued with the walk around in the streets of Canterlot.

“So where else are we going?” asked Naruto curiously.

“We’re going to the Library of Magic so that I can return the books which I had taken sometime ago and acquire some more,” Trixie replied.

“But why not go for books over at Twilight’s place?”

“I had checked earlier before but they weren’t available, so I had to come here for them,”

“I see what you, maybe you should tell Twilight later so she can make an update,” Naruto suggested.

“I think I’ll do that when we get back,”

Naruto and Trixie reached their next stop and went inside, Naruto walked off to find any books with an interesting title which could catch his fancy whilst Trixie went towards the spell book section to place the books back and went to browse for the ones she needed. It took them a while before meeting up at the counter, apparently Naruto found some books about certain tribes which shared certain aspect of a ninja and wanted to find out more, and there’s another about ancient civilizations which he wanted to check out in due time since his last adventure with Daring Doo had him get the urge to go treasure hunting at times and Twilight would definitely want to study about them too.

“I believe I have what I came here for now…but um,” Trixie glanced at Naruto “…would it be okay for us to walk around for a little while longer before returning to Canterlot?”

“Sure, I don’t mind…but can you wait a bit? I need to pick out the latest issue of power ponies for Spike and Scootaloo over at the House of Enchanted Comics,” said Naruto feeling sheepish about nearly forgetting their requests.

“Okay Naruto, I’ll wait here for you,” Trixie watched Naruto gallop off with a smile on her face “He can be so considerate of others, it’s one of the many reasons why I like him,”

Suddenly there was a strong breeze which blew Trixie’s hat off her head and away from her, Trixie ran after it and tried to catch it with her magic but it seemed as if the breeze wasn’t allowing her to do so. The chase took them all the way into an alley where the hat finally settled on the ground, Trixie picked it up and dusted the dirt off before plopping it back on her head.

“I better hurry back before Naruto notices I’m gone,”

“Awww, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Don’t you have time to see an old friend?” a female voice suddenly spoke up from Trixie, a chill raced down along her spine and with heart thumping hard against her as she slowly turned her head towards the source of the fearfully familiar voice to see a pony dressed in a black cloak with a hood covering the head as it approached her.

“That voice…it can’t be! Please anyone but her!” Trixie stepped back with a growing fear in her heart as the pony slowly approached.

“It’s been a while…” the pony took off the hood to reveal a face which only confirmed her worst fears “…Trixie,”

“M-Midnight Rose,” Trixie replied fearfully “W-what are you doing here?”

“Well I was passing through when I saw you standing in the streets and thought to say hello in a much seclude setting. It’s been a while since we last saw each other. The rest of the gang had been wondering where you’ve been since you ran out on us?” Midnight rose smirked evilly.

“I didn’t want to be a part of it anymore,” said Trixie.

“But why not? We both shared something in common and that is deception. Pretty sure you still do so,”

Trixie glared in defiance “No I don’t, now leave me alone so I can leave in peace,”

Midnight Rose smiled darkly “You seem to have forgotten, all those that join Kaleidoscope can never leave and those which attempt to do so…will be severely punished,”

Trixie’s eyes widened in realization of what her old ‘friend’ implied and prepared to use her magic to fight her way, but then she began to notice that her eyelids felt very heavy and her body was losing strength quickly “What’s…happening…to me?” her legs wobbled before buckling from her weight as she fell to the ground, Trixie just barely raised her head to look up at Midnight Rose who towered over her.

“I had used that breeze earlier to spray your hat with a concoction which induces paralysis and sleep, we have a looooot of catching up to do when you wake up,”

Trixie couldn’t do anything to resist, before completely losing consciousness she mumbled out “Help… me…Naruto,”

Comments

[looker2611]

Trixie was a thief? Neat idea, and kaleidoscope kinda reminds me of the thieves guild mixed with the black hands assassins guild.

[Invincentility10]

When is the next chapter I’m looking forward to it