Chapter 1

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Time...Space...Reality...Fantasy. We all know what these are, yet how do we truly define them. Time. For some, seconds feel like hours, and for others, millenia like minutes. Not many realize that if you fall into a black hole, you will see the entire future of the universe unfold in front of you in a matter of moments, and you will emerge into another space time created by the singularity of the black hole you just fell into. Space. Space is dependent on time. In the spot you are standing, approximately 65 million years ago, a dinosaur stood in your place.

Reality. Fantasy. Is anything truly real? Or is your reality the fantasy of others. There is a theory. The theory states that there is more than simply a universe. More than a mere singular, linear stream of time. The theory persists even today. That of a multiverse. An interconnected web of worlds where every mere possibility – or impossibility – is reality. Like a world where men and women are trained as powerful warriors, wielding skills many would consider supernatural. Or a world where humans never existed, and the dominant species is in fact, ponies.

What happens when worlds collide? The healing of a wounded soul, through the sheer kindness of another...

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Eyes squeezed shut in concentration, Twilight Sparkle, Unicorn student to Equestria's Princess Celestia, breathed in slowly, centering herself for what she was trying to do. A veritable magic junkie, Twilight was always ready to learn and attempt a new spell, and this looked to be the most difficult one yet. As her horn began to glow with a magical aura, her concentration was broken by the voice of her assistant, a young dragon named Spike.

“Twilight, are you sure about this?” he asked the purple unicorn, who cracked her eyes open as the glowing aura around her horn vanished. “This spell sounds like it might be dangerous.” Twilight rolled her eyes and Spike and scoffed.

“We've been over this, Spike,” she replied, confidently. “It's perfectly safe. The spell creates a bridge between two beings, whether they be from Equestria or one of the theoretically infinite other worlds beyond our reality. Nothing to be worried about.”

“You know, except for the possibility of you being trapped in another world...or pulling something really dangerous into our world,” the dragon replied sarcastically, but Twilight again rolled her eyes.

“Spike, in order to make a bridge, I would need a willing being to connect to on the other side. Since nopony knows that I'm using the spell, they can't willingly connect to make a bridge. This is completely safe,” she announced, matter-of-factly. “What could possibly go wrong?” Spike felt a chill go down his spine as she said that, knowing that just the mere uttering of those words would cause everything that could possibly go wrong to do so. Not wanting to be around when something did go wrong, Spike high-tailed in out of the Library.

Closing her eyes again to regain her focus, Twilight's horn again began to glow with magic, brighter this time as the library was free of distraction...kinda.

“HI TWILIGHT!”

“GAH!” the unicorn shouted in fright and irritation at the three loud voices behind her. Leaping into the air, she turned and took in the sight of three fillies. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, collectively self-dubbed as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Can I...help you three?” she asked, trying to get her breathing under control.

“Do you have any books on Magic and Flying?” Sweetie Belle asked, the young Unicorn stepping forward with a bright, hopeful smile. Twilight was confused, and for good reason.

“Huh?” she exclaimed. “But you can't use magic yet,” she said, before turning to Scootaloo. “And you can't fly.” Scootaloo scoffed.

“Yet,” she countered. “But maybe with a few books we could both figure it out. I wanted to ask Rainbow Dash, but we couldn't find her.” Twilight rolled her eyes, thinking her rainbow-maned friend was probably napping up on a cloud.

“Alright,” she conceded. “I guess I can see what we have-”

“YEAH!” the fillies shouted excitedly, beginning to zip from bookshelf to bookshelf, ripping books from their places and throwing them to the mare, who could do nothing but stare in shock as her neat and tidy library home was reduced to a state of total disarray in a matter of moments. Somehow, even with as fast as they were rushing, the Crusaders each picked out a book, with Apple Bloom even picking out a fiction story. She didn't want to be left out. “We'll take these, please!” At a loss for words, Twilight simply checked out their books for them, eye twitching.

The moment the three fillies had left the large tree that served as Twilight's home and the town library, the purple unicorn turned with a sigh as she looked at the chaos before her. A look of determination and irritation crossed her face as her horn began to glow, letting her levitate the books and assorted objects back to their proper places on the shelves. Even with magic though, the job would take Twilight quite a while.

When she had gotten things back to the way they were, she dashed around the library, locking the door and shutting the windows and curtains. Breathing a sigh of relief, she dove to her own book, once more finding the spell she was attempting to learn. Looking to her left, then her right, she closed her eyes again once it was confirmed that she was totally alone. For the third time, her horn began to glow, the aura increasing in intensity, beginning to encompass the unicorn's whole body. To be truthful, she didn't actually know how to tell if she was doing it right without having somepony to connect to. But better to learn the spell than to find herself in a situation she might need it.

“TWILIGHT!” The unicorn screamed as one of the floorboards beside her creaked open like a trap door and a pink-coated Earth Pony shot out. Her concentration gave way and her fright caused the magical aura to fluctuate, culminating in one massive pulse of magic that rocketed both Twilight to the ceiling and her Pink friend was sent crashing into a bookshelf, knocking a pile of books down on top of her. And then the magic just stopped expanding, and instead shot back and receded, imploding back in on itself at the tip of Twilight's horn.

“Oh, this isn't good,” the unicorn said, cringing, knowing she was no longer in control of what she had set in motion.

All around Ponyville, residents turned their attention to the beam of light and magic that erupted from the library and into the sky.

“Whoa,” groaned Pinkie Pie, popping out from beneath the books. “I haven't felt this shaken up since I fired myself from my Party Cannon.” A singed and battered-looking Twilight shook off her own shock, staring at her friend in bewilderment.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Outside of the Konoha Shinobi academy, a young boy, with blonde hair and whisker-like markings on his cheeks, sat on the lone swing, watching the other children get picked up by by their parents. The boy, at only six, had just started at the academy recently, and already he hated it. But only because the academy hated him too. He still didn't understand just why it was that nobody seemed to like him. He tried being nice, but nobody ever treated him any better. He tried playing jokes to get the other kids to like him, but they found him more annoying than anything.

He watched with a longing and a bitterness that no child should ever have to feel. Looked at the happiness that filled the eyes of the other children, while his own held none. Many of the adults looked at him with disdain. A couple of them possibly even gave him a look of pity, but did not reach out to him.

Then and there, Naruto made a wish. A wish that came from the heart, from the soul. A wish that came from every fiber of his being. “I don't want to be alone anymore,” he thought. “I wish I had a family...I wish I had friends...I wish my life wasn't so...empty.” Little did he know the impact such a wish would have. The magical link Twilight had released used the wish of the blonde to tether itself to Naruto, sensing that although he didn't realize it, the boy was willing to do anything to get what he desired. And that desire sealed his fate.

Like the unicorn, a magical aura began to surround the blonde, who looked at his glowing self in wonder, before the magic fluctuated, pulsing outward into a dome of energy, in which Naruto was the center. A spark, a flash, and the dome became a beam of light which shot into the sky, parting the clouds above. Children and parents alike screamed at the sight, mirroring the frightened boy within. Slowly, the beam began to narrow in width, and those who stayed long enough to watch the entire scene gasped in awe and fear as the light swallowed the boy entirely before fading out of existence.

Vomiting was the first thing Naruto managed to be able to do. Around him was a vast expanse of many-colored lights, zooming passed at high speed. Looking at the many spinning colors, Naruto turned his attention to his own body, which despite being unable to feel anything seemed to be stretching and compressing, distorting and shifting shape at alarming rates. He tried to scream, but no sound escaped his lips. Trying to move, he desperately swung his arms and legs trying to get a hold of something, but could not. A scream broke the silence now, and he instinctively knew that it was his failed scream from moments ago, escaping now despite his lips holding closed.

“What's happening?” he thought, afraid to try and talk again. Suddenly, he felt something snake around his wrist, though he could see nothing there. This only served to frighten the child further as he was suddenly pulled by the arm towards a tiny green dot, serving as a break in the neon expanse. As he got closer and closer, the dot got bigger and bigger, and he braced himself. Preparing to crash, he was surprised when he first felt a breeze before hitting the disk, which hurled him out of the bizarre, twisted place. And then the crash finally did come.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“What was that?!” Sweetie Belle asked, she and the other crusaders hearing a rather audible 'thump' sound coming from outside their club-house. Closing their respective books, they walked outside, eyes going wide at the sight of a strange creature laying on the ground, covered in leaves and broken branches, looking for all it was worth as if he had fallen out of a tree, breaking all the branches on the way down. Sure enough, they looked up and saw that several branches that had previously been in the tree above were now missing.

Inching forward, Scootaloo nudged the new, rather bizarre creature with her hoof, jumping in shock when it groaned and turned over. “Any idea what it is?” asked Apple Bloom, moving in to look at the face of the unconscious thing.

“No clue,” Scootaloo admitted. Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up as an idea struck her.

“Hey, I bet Fluttershy does!” the unicorn filly announced. “She knows all about weird animals.” The other two seemed to accept her idea. Apple Bloom turned to the pegasus pony.

“Scoot, you're the fastest on that scooter of yours. We'll wait here and you go find Fluttershy,” she said. Scootaloo gave a salute, before taking off as fast as she could. She at first tried Fluttershy's cottage home, but the pegasus pony was nowhere to be found. Deciding instead to try the town, Scootaloo managed to come out with more luck, finding Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, doing a bit of shopping.

“-And the whole place just went 'BOOM!' And I was like “WHOA.' And then I crashed into a bookshelf. I mean, all I wanted to do was see what she was working on.” Scootaloo skidded to a stop in time to hear Pinkie finish whatever story she was telling. Unfortunately, the cloud of dust she created shot all over the three older mares, nearly giving Rarity a heart attack from how dirty she now was. But Scootaloo ignored the shocked, yet enraged glare, instead turning toward the Pony she was searching for.

“Fluttershy, you gotta come see this!” she shouted, more excited than frantic. “There's some kind of creature we've never seen before. We think it might be hurt, because it crashed from a tree and wasn't awake.” The older Pegasus gasped. If Scootaloo was right, then some sort of animal needed her help, and there was no way she could ever deny it that help.

“Scootaloo,” she asked, and both Pinkie Pie and Rarity recognized the tone that was only in her voice when some kind of animal was in trouble. “Where exactly did you find this creature?” Turning her scooter, the orange filly motioned for Fluttershy to follow. The normally slow-flying Fluttershy, knowing some poor creature might be in pain, now easily kept pace, flying just above the younger pegasus. Pinkie and Rarity both followed as well. Neither wanted to miss this.

When they arrived back at the site of the Crusaders' club-house, the first thing they noticed was that the new creature, who even Fluttershy admitted she'd never seen nor heard of before, was still out cold. It was Rarity that made the more subtle observation.

“Is it wearing clothes?...I mean, if you can even call those hideous things 'clothing.” she asked, and indeed, it did dawn on the other ponies that the thing was wearing clothing of some kind. “Perhaps it's intelligent...or an exotic pet whose owner just has horrible taste in fashion?” she theorized, while Fluttershy inspected what she instinctively knew to be a child. She just couldn't discern what species of animal the child was. After giving the child a thorough inspection, noticing only a few minor injuries that were already on their way to healing, she turned and addressed Rarity's assumptions.

“Well, firstly, it is actually a he...” she began. “And I don't think he's anyone's pet. There's nothing on him that would identify him, or an owner.” Turning to Apple Bloom, she asked the filly, “Apple Bloom? Could you go see if you can borrow your sister's cart, please? I think we should bring the poor little thing to my cottage. I have my supplies there, and I don't want to shake him up more than we have to on the way.” The three Crusaders agreed, before taking off to go get the cart, while the mares waited with the unconscious child now.

“I've never seen anything like him,” Fluttershy announced when the fillies were out of sight. Moving closer to the child. Already, the bruises he had from his crash landing had shrunk. “That's odd,” she mused, looking at the damage he and the tree had done to each other.

Pinkie too was examining the boy, looking at him curiously, particularly his hands. Sure, she had seen creatures that had hands, but they were usually clawed and sometimes scaly, like Spike. Rarity was looking him over, though more mentally taking his measurements. She would have to get them later. Once the kid woke up, he was going nowhere until she had given him something decent. The rag of a shirt he wore was ghastly, and that was only the one half of his current outfit. It would never do.

Without warning, Pinkie gasped, causing the other ponies to leap back in surprise. “Hey!” she practically shouted. “If Fluttershy doesn't know what he is, maybe Twilight does. She has a book for everything!” The subject of their attention groaned slightly, and Fluttershy rushed to him, looking him over, but noticed he was still out of it. Blowing a strand of mane from her eyes, Fluttershy jumped in fright at the shrill sound of the Crusaders announcing their return, cart in toe. Being careful not to jostle the child too much, Rarity and Fluttershy moved him to the cart, which Pinkie Pie had quickly taken to pulling, making their way to Fluttershy's home. Along the way, the older pegasus hovered just above the slow-moving transport, watching the eyelids of the strange creature twitch, but not open. He would likely be out of it for a little while yet, at least.

Laying him in her own bed, Fluttershy moved down-stairs, addressing the other ponies. “Well,” she said. “He's still out of it, but I think once he gets some rest he should be fine. Pinkie, would it be too much trouble to ask you to find Twilight and see if she might be able to identify just what he is?” Pinkie adopted as serious of an expression as she could, before giving her timid friend a salute, bounding out the door.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Head throbbing, Naruto opened his eyes, and immediately closed them again. The light was simply too bright. Despite the ringing in his ears, he could at least make out the voice, sounding like a young girl. “Fluttershy!” she shouted. “I think he's wakin' up!” Naruto mumbled something, and the whoever was speaking seemed to have heard him. “And I think he can talk!” noted a bizarre accent, but put it out of his mind. The sound he next heard at first sounded like multiple foot-steps. However, there was a somewhat different sound to them then normal feet. Of course, he had no idea at this point what hooves on wooden stairs sounded like. He tried to sit up, but was held back down on the bed by said hooves.

“Oh, please,” a soft voice almost pleaded. “You've obviously been through a lot, and you're not healed fully yet.”

“The light...” groaned Naruto, and he heard a small gasp.

“Oh dear, I'm so sorry. Here.” From through his eyelids, he noticed the room got darker, hearing the rustling of curtains being pulled closed. “There, is that better?” the voice asked, as Naruto again attempted to open his eyes. His vision was still kinda fuzzy, but began to clear, and Naruto noticed he wasn't in any hospital...he also noticed that his current caretaker wasn't exactly...human. Rubbing his eyes, he could only stare at the strange, winged horse with a yellow coat and a pink mane. It kind of reminded him of that girl who he had met last week in class, Sakura.

“I must have hit my head harder than I thought,” the young blonde said, falling back onto the pillow as Fluttershy moved closer, examining his forehead.

“Oh yes,” she announced, either oblivious to his disbelief, or ignoring it. “You do have a nasty bump, but it's already starting to go down. Can I get you anything to make you more comfortable?” Naruto tilted his head in confusion. Fortunately, one perk of being a child meant that he was far more accepting of the fact he was being cared for by a...pony. Unfortunately, he had no idea what was going on or why, and his brain had to shut down for a while.

Fluttershy worried that maybe he had suffered a concussion, and waved her hoof in front of his face, receiving only a few blinks as a reaction. She turned to Apple Bloom, who had stuck around longer than the others. “Could you please go get some water?” she asked.

“Sure thing,” replied the little filly, rushing out of the room. Returning to the still frozen child in her bed, Fluttershy took stock of his injuries, which in only a few hours had gone leaving very little trace of them. Vaguely hearing the return of small hoofs, she was completely unaware that Apple Bloom had no idea what Fluttershy wanted water for. Which is why the little pony improvised, hurling the water into the blonde boy's face. Despite the alarmed look on Fluttershy's face, she noted the water did have the desired effect, getting the boy to snap out of his stupor, sputtering.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!” Fluttershy said, rushing from the room, returning with a rather fluffy towel, drying the boy. “So, um...what's your name?” The blonde was muffled by the towel, so couldn't reply, but when it was removed from his face, he managed to answer.

“I'm Naruto,” he said. “My name is Naruto Uzumaki.” Fluttershy couldn't help but smile at the boy's enthusiasm in the face of his near total confusion.

“My, that's an interesting name,” she said. “I'm Fluttershy, and this little filly is Apple Bloom,” she announced, motioning to herself and the young pony respectively. “We found you unconscious after you crashed into a tree. Naruto's eyes widened.

“A tree? Is that what I hit?” he asked in surprise.

“Yup!” said Apple Bloom, jumping up on the bed to get a better look at the stranger. “What were ya doin' up there? Trying to fly.”

“No!” shot back Naruto, defensively. But he added as an afterthought, “But that would be cool.” Apple Bloom just laughed.

“Well, maybe you could teach my friend Scootaloo to fly. You and her are about the same level at it already,” she giggled. “And you ain't even got wings.” When the filly said that, it again drew Naruto's attention to the mare, who was currently fluffing up his pillows...yeah, this was way better than a hospital. But his gaze was drawn to her wings, something which Apple Bloom was quick to notice. “Whatcha lookin' at? Ya look like you never seen a Pegasus Pony before,” she said, and Naruto nodded.

“I haven't,” he admitted. “I've never even seen or heard of any pony that could even talk before.” That caught the attention of the two ponies, who looked like the young boy had grown a second head.

“I have some friends that should be here shortly...maybe when they get here, we can try and understand what is going on here...oh, if it's not too much trouble,” she added as an afterthought. Naruto shook his head, the little boy just as confused as the ponies.

“I kinda wanna know what's going on myself,” he replied. Deep within child, something dark stirred for only a moment. It went unnoticed. Noises from downstairs alerted Fluttershy of her friends' arrival. She ceased the pillow fluffing, before easing Naruto back onto them.

“You just wait here, alright?” she said. “We'll be back in a few minutes, and then we can try and figure things out.” As she and Apple Bloom prepared to leave the room, Naruto decided to say one least thing.

“Ms. Fluttershy?” Turning back around, she let the blonde know he had her full attention. He just gave her a smile. “Thanks.” Smiling back, she nodded in response.

“You're most welcome,” she replied, before turning again to go meet her friends. Again, a dark force within Naruto came alive, only for a moment. But this time, down in Fluttershy's living area, the horn of a purple unicorn glowed. She looked up the stairs and tried to peak at what exactly might be causing it, but couldn't see what was in Fluttershy's bedroom. Whatever it was, she knew she should be wary.

Chapter end.

Peace to all my Fans

Fan of Fanfics

Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or MLP, nor do I own the original idea that created this story.

“So...is he awake?” Rarity asked, attempting to break the silence brought on by Twilight's hard stare up into Fluttershy's bedroom. Fluttershy nodded.

“Yes, he just woke up a few minutes ago,” she replied, standing in front of the stairs to prevent her friends from going up just yet. “He seems relatively fine, but he's rather confused. He said he's never seen a Pegasus before...or even heard a pony talk.”

“Oooh, he can talk?!?!?!?!” Pinkie asked excitedly, practically bouncing twice her normal height.

“He's never heard a pony talk OR seen a Pegasus pony?” Twilight questioned, almost incredulous at the very idea. “That seems very unlikely.” Fluttershy shook her head.

“I don't think he's lying. He's young, possibly the same age as the Crusaders...at least in terms of whatever his species is,” she rebutted. “Poor thing is probably just as scared as he is confused.” Moving to the side, she gave one final piece of advice. “Go easy with the questions, please. We don't want to upset him.” Walking into the room, Twilight's horn began to glow again, but only for a moment. The ponies who hadn't seen him yet gawked as the little blonde boy tilted his head, eyes transfixed on Twilight's horn. Had anyone paid attention, they would have noted his eyes flash the same color as Twilight's magical aura. It was only a split second though.

“Naruto,” Fluttershy said, moving alongside the bed. “These are my friends. This is Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash.” As she went through the names, she pointed a hoof toward whom each name belonged to, and one by one, they gave a little wave of their own hooves. “You already know Apple Bloom. The one right behind her is her older sister, Applejack.” Said pony gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned in kind. “These two fillies are Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.” The two, plus Apple Bloom leapt up onto the bed next to Naruto.

“We're the one's who found you!” Scootaloo announced excitedly, before Sweetie Belle took over.

“Why did you crash into a tree?” she asked. Rarity's eye twitched. Her younger sister was many things...Subtle was not one of them. Naruto just rubbed the back of his head.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he answered.

“Um, anyway, and last but not least, we have...um, where is Pinkie Pie?” At Fluttershy's question, all the ponies began to look around the room for their more energetic friend. From out of nowhere, the blankets on Fluttershy's bed were thrown off, along with the Crusaders, revealing Pinkie beneath. How she had been hiding beneath without being seen was a mystery...as was where the large amount of confetti came from. Before they could ponder it, Pinkie was in Naruto's face, much to her friend's embarrassment and Fluttershy's horror.

“Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie. Your name is Naruto right? That's a funny name, but I like it! What are you? Where did you come from? Are you gonna stay long? What's your favorite flavor of cake, so I know what kind to get for your welcome party?” Naruto stared blankly for a moment, his eyes spinning, before he literally shook away his shocked stupor.

“Um, nice to meet you Pinkie Pie, yes, my name is Naruto, it's not a funny name, I am a human, I come from the village of Konoha, I have no idea how long I'm stuck here, and I've never had cake before, so I have no idea what flavor I'd like.” Most of the answer's were taken in stride by Ponyville's resident party pony, until the boy had said he had never eaten cake. With a gasp so long and so deep it threatened to remove all the oxygen in the room, Pinkie Pie dashed out of the cottage, leaving a trail of dust in her wake.

“Sorry about Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said. “She's always like that.”

“It's ok,” Naruto replied after a moment or two. “It's not the weirdest thing that's happened to me today.” Again, Twilight's horn began to glow, and it was beginning to get some attention from more than just Naruto.

“Ok, what is going on with that horn, Sugar Cube?” Applejack asked. “It's been doin' that since we all got here.” Twilight shook her head and fixed her gaze on Naruto.

“It's reacting to Naruto for some reason, but I don't know what that reason is...” she admitted, making the child feel even more uncomfortable. “Even in my books, I don't recognize any species resembling him...and I can't say I've ever heard of a 'human' before. I think our first course of action should be to send a message to Princess Celestia. She'll know how to handle this situation.” The other mares in the room agreed. The basic answers Pinkie had gotten weren't exactly informative, and with as young as he was, they were unlikely to get anything better, at least at the present time. “In the meantime, just because I haven't read about humans, doesn't mean they aren't in the books at the library. Fluttershy, would you mind coming over and taking another look through the books with me? Oh, and we'll need to find Spike. I haven't seen him since before the, um...accident, earlier.”

Fluttershy gasped. “Oh yes,” she said. “Pinkie Pie told us about that. What happened? Nopony got hurt, did they.” Twilight shook her head and the Pegasus sighed in relief. Eying Twilight, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“What were you doing anyway? I saw that pillar of light from clear across Ponyville.” Naruto tilted his head. Pillar of light? Twilight just face-hooved.

“Not my fault. Pinkie Pie jumped out of nowhere and scared me, and it caused me to lose control of the spell I was learning,” she said, and the others mares in the room just nodded understandingly. They knew how volatile Twilight's magic was, and they also knew, a little too well, how unpredictable their Pink friend could be. Honestly, if this was the first time something like that had happened, each and every one of them would be surprised.

“And what exactly does your new spell do?” inquired Rarity. But before Twilight could speak, she once more glimpsed at Naruto and something in her brain clicked. A 'human' appearing from nowhere, with no knowledge of Ponies or Equestria. That was the reason her horn was reacting to him. Her spell must have overloaded and attached to an unaware 'human.' Her mouth snapped shut into a panicked smile and her eyes darted around the room.

“Oh, you know me,” she said quickly, nervously laughing for good measure. “I care more about learning the spell than what it does.” Her friends stared at her curiously, Applejack going so far as to look skeptical. Darn Element of Honesty.

“Well... I guess...” Fluttershy began, embarrassing Twilight further. She didn't really have that problem, did she? Of course she did scoff at the idea of her earlier spell going wrong. She was glad when attention turned back to Naruto and she continued. “Naruto, do you think you're ready to move around some?”

“Finally!” shouted Naruto, leaping out of the bed, landing next to the giggling crusaders. “Man, I hate being pent up. I wanna stretch my legs and go meet more ponies!” The Mares giggled now, though Twilight was still giggling more nervously than for mirth. Fluttershy stepped forward.

“Alright then, but I don't want you overdoing it. I really think you should take it easy and ride in Applejack's cart.” Naruto groaned.

“But Ms. Fluttershyyyyy!” Laughing at his childlike whine, Applejack moved lower to Naruto's level, looking him right in the eye.

“No 'buts' Mister,” she said. “If Fluttershy says you should ride, you should ride...but if you don't like the cart, I got another idea for ya.”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“WOOOOO!” Naruto cheered, riding through Ponyville, Applejack playing the part of his trusty steed. Looking that how much Naruto was being bounced and jostled, Fluttershy didn't know whether to scold her friend or to thank her, as it certainly seemed to be cheering the blonde up immensely.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“Dear Princess Celestia. You'll never believe this...” Celestia smiled. Before her floated one of Twilight's letters. She loved reading them, and often looked forward to them. “We discovered a new species today. I've never seen anything like it...” The Princess tilted her head as the word 'it' appeared to be scratched out, and was replaced by 'Him.' “... he called himself a... human. That name is strange in and of itself. Have you heard of anything like that before?”

“I don't believe I have...” Princess Luna nodded as she passed by several of the palace guards. She heard her sister mumble, and nearly trample over her out of distraction. “Hmm... oh?” Celestia smiled down at her sister, who turned away with a light blush. “Sorry, dear sister.”

“It's fine.” Luna spoke, only to blink as the floating letter hovered before her face.
“Sister...” The note straighten out, and Luna read some of it. “Have you ever heard of... a human, before?”
After a moment, she shook her head. “...no. I... would have to see what it looks like first.”
Celestia nodded, and kept reading. “Hopefully we will be able to. Soon...”
“Anyway, Fluttershy has seemed to take a rather quick liking to the creature. At the very least we should be able to count on her to keep this 'human' somewhat comfortable...” Celestia grew a rather amused expression. Beside her, Luna took to peeking at the letter as they resumed their walk. “But I wrote this letter because we are in great need of your guidance. We know nothing of this creature, which we require if we are to care for him.” Luna looked up to her sister as she suddenly stopped. Luna glanced to the next line.

“What does she...” Luna began, only to see her sister's face marred by a concerned look.

“We will be urgently waiting for a reply. Your faithful subject, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia glanced down, and saw that there was more. “P.S. I really need to speak to you about a private matter. One I cannot put on paper.”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Twilight watched as Spike sent the letter to Celestia. Now she just had to wait for the reply. But first, to figure out what they should do about that creature. What did he eat? Was he anything like Spike? Would they be able to get Naruto home, or would he be forced to adjust to their way of life. And worst of all, how would the blonde-haired child, let alone her friends, take the news that this very well could all be her fault? She looked out the window at the boy, who looked around excitedly as her friends, sans Fluttershy and Spike, who were each going through and looking for books, respectively now, pointed out shops and places in Ponyville and what they were.

“Let's hope the Princess replies soon,” Fluttershy announced. “If Naruto is going to stay here, I'll need more information about him, and so far, I haven't found anything about 'humans' in these books.”

“I don't see what the big deal is,” Spike said. “I mean, he can talk, right? Why can't he just tell you what he needs?” Twilight sighed.

“He's a child, Spike,” she explained. “He needs somepony to look after him and make sure he has what he needs, not just what he wants, or thinks he needs.”

“She's right,” Fluttershy agreed. “Poor thing needs somepony to take care of him until we find out where he came from and send him back to his parents. I'm sure they miss him terribly.”

“I don't have parents.” Turning to look at the now very depressed child, the two mares and young dragon watched his brilliant blue-eyes dull in sadness as he rode in on Applejack's back. A collective gasp filled the air at the words and the sudden change in the bubbly blonde. Fluttershy practically froze from guilt, feeling responsible for touching on such a sore subject. For the moment, Twilight forgot her own guilt and stepped forward, ignoring the pulsating glow caused by her horn.

“You're an orphan?” she asked, receiving a nod in reply.

“But you must have family, or friends that take care of you,” Rarity said, hopefully. She of course knew that there were those without family. A frown marred her face when he shook his head in the negative.

“Nobody,” he said quietly. “Just the old man Hokage, but he has to run the entire village, so I never get to see him...” Seeing a chance to change the subject to something less depressing, Fluttershy spoke up.

“Hokage? Is that the leader of where you come from?” Naruto nodded. “Well, we have the Mayor of Ponyville, and then we have Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna.” Naruto perked up a bit.

“Princesses.” he said, getting excited now. “Are they Ponies too?” From beneath him, Applejack nodded, crouching low to let the young boy off her back.

“Yup,” she said. “But they're a bit different. They're Alicorns, which is a pony with wings like a pegasus, and a horn like a unicorn...and speaking of the Princesses...” She looked at Twilight expectantly.

“I sent a letter to Princess Celestia, but I haven't received a reply yet.” Applejack nodded. Made sense. She couldn't expect to receive a reply so soon after sending it out. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind, than Spike belched out the reply to their message. Levitating it over to herself, Twilight read the letter aloud.

“My dearest, most faithful Student. I have knowledge of nearly all creatures in Equestria, but never before have I heard of a 'human,' as you called it. Likewise, my sister, Princess Luna has no recollection of such a creature. We shall both consult the Royal Archives for any information, but the odds are most certainly against us.” The five mares shared a look, before Twilight continued reading. “If he truly is a new species, this is a remarkable discovery, and I will personally come to Ponyville tomorrow to speak with you and find out about this 'human.' Your mentor, Princess Celestia”

A crash took their attention away from the letter as they saw Pinkie Pie leap in through the library window, doing a combat roll and returning to her upright position. “Nobody move!” she shouted. “I have cake.” Naruto just tilted his head, staring at the pink pony in wonder as she strolled forward and, from seemingly nowhere, pulled a very large pastry. It even had a stick-figure of him drawn out of frosting. Looking from the cake to Pinkie, Twilight was just shocked she hadn't expected this of her.

“Two questions, Pinkie,” she said. “One, why did you go to all the trouble of baking a cake for Naruto instead of just buying him a single piece to try?” Pinkie Pie tilted her head now, staring at Twilight as if it was the unicorn that was the crazy one.

“Well duh,” she replied, as though it was common knowledge. “I can't let him try just any cake for his first. If anything was wrong with it, it could turn him off to cake for life. I can not let that happen.” She stomped her front hoof for emphasis. “Since this was way to important to leave to chance, I decided to make one myself. And everypony knows that freshly backed treats are the best anyways.” After a moment to process, Twilight just nodded. It did make sense, in a sort of bizarre, Pinkie Pie kind of way.

“Alright,” she said. “Next question...why did you break my window instead of just using the door?” Again, the earth pony scoffed.

“Cause then it wouldn't be a surprise, silly.” As Twilight's eye began to twitch, she giggled, snorting a bit. Crouching to eye-level with Naruto, she sliced the cake and had one on a place in front of him faster than his eyes could follow. Seeing her expectant look and smile, Naruto tentatively reached out and grabbed the fork she had brought. For a second, he wondered how ponies could use forks, but then he realized Spike had fingers, so maybe there were other species that did too. Taking a small chunk of cake, he put it in his mouth. It took him less than a second to figure out that cake was the only thing he had ever eaten that came close to Ramen. It took less than five second for him to scarf the rest of his piece and an entire other piece.

“Oh, Naruto...” Fluttershy said, worriedly. “Don't eat so quickly. You'll make yourself sick!”

“Mission Accomplished,” Pinkie Pie said, giggling as the boy, mouth full of cake, leapt up and hugged her around her neck. “Don't ever worry about your sweet needs,” she told the blonde. “You just come to Auntie Pinkie Pie. I could always use a taste tester.” Naruto nodded vigorously, causing the others to laugh at his enthusiasm. His mouth still full of cake, the blonde uttered something that sounded only vaguely like 'thank you.'

“Wait until he tries some of your apple goods,” Spike snickered to Applejack. “He'll never want to leave.” Fluttershy perked up at that.

“That's probably not a bad idea,” she said, turning to the farm-mare. “He obviously likes sweet things, and while they might not be the right diet for him, apples are usually pretty healthy. I can use them to hold him over until I find out his proper diet.” Applejack nodded, asking her how many she thought she'd need. “Oh, maybe start with three pounds,” the Pegasus replied. “If I need more, I can always buy more.”

“Three pounds, comin' up,” Applejack announced, moving toward the door. “I'll drop 'em off at yer place.” Fluttershy nodded.

“I'll have the bits for you when you do,” Fluttershy replied. With the food at least taken care of for now, it was Rarity's turn to do her thing. With her horn aglow, a tape measure popped into existence levitating around the still-eating boy.

“Hold still, please, Naruto,” she said, and the boy stopped what he was doing long enough for the measure to snake its way around his chest, waist, arms, legs. It was actually rather uncomfortable, and Naruto didn't even want to know what he was being measured for. “Hmm, definitely not what I'm used to, but I can make it work...Some dress clothes, casual wear...Fluttershy, darling, are you going to try and see if he can attend school? If so, I should make a few outfits for that too.” Naruto paled as the other four mares shared a look, before collectively looking down at the blonde, who turned a little pale at the mention of school. If it was anything like the Academy, he was sure he wanted nothing to do with it.

“...It probably wouldn't be a bad idea,” Twilight said after a moment. “It would help him learn more about Equestria, which will be useful if he's stuck here. Not to mention, it will give him something to do while he's here...”

“Yeah, but school is kinda boring,” blanched Rainbow Dash. She was prevented from continuing when Pinkie leaped out from behind her, toppling her over.

“Yeah, but he might also make some super-cool friends there!” she announced. Naruto watched in a combination of fear and confusion, more from the fact they were talking about sending him to pony-school...and doing so right in front of him. “He already knows Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.”

“It might be nice for him to hang around others his own age...” Fluttershy agreed.

Naruto paled as the girls started to agree that school probably wouldn't be such a bad idea. He gulped.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Applejack smiled in victory as some apples fell into her basket. As soon as she left the group, she immediately went to a tree that was just ripe with the red fruit. It was better to get Fluttershy and Naruto fresh apples straight from the source. But, she was very curious to what Naruto's kind ate. Regardless, she hoped apples would suffice.

She was about to buck the tree to bring down some more fresh apples, only for an apple to land on her head and roll right into the bucket. “What in tarnation?” She turned back to the tree, only to see her little sister. “Huh? Apple Bloom?”

“Hiya...” The little pony grew a look of concentration as she bucked the tree, only for the apples to swing, but not fall. “...c'mon, you.”

“Mind if I ask what brought this on?” Applejack raised a brow at her little sister, but she had a small smirk hidden on her face.

Bucking again, Apple Bloom didn't bother to look at her sister. “I found him, and I feel that I should be helping.” One apple fell this time, which Applejack quickly move the bucket for it to fall in. “...somehow.”

Applejack smiled. “That's the spirit, Sis!” She smiled. It looked like her sister had found a new friend. One she wanted to help feel more at home. Apple Bloom kicked again, but alas, the apples only swung from the impact. But slowly, one apple fell and struck the little filly in the head. Then another which was followed by a third. The scene caused Applejack to laugh, and swirls to appear in Apple Bloom's eyes. “Alright, I think that'll 'bout do for the order. Unless you could do with a few more lumps on your noggin'!”

“Ow...” Apple Bloom mumbled. She shook her head, and stared at the apple before her. Maybe Naruto wanted a nice, juicy red apple right about now. She hoped Applejack wouldn't mind.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“No, no... that will not do.” Rarity's horn glowed as she tossed a large piece of cloth to the side. Come on, girl. I have to think... Before her was one of her mannequins. But, Naruto didn't walk on four legs. He had two legs he walked on, and a pair of arms. If she wanted to pull this off, she would have to think of Spike. Luckily, she had a Spike mannequin made for just the occasion. But Naruto was a tad bigger, and lacked a tail Well, as far as she could see.

Her horn glowed once again, and she brought in her little tape measure. She would have to modify the Spike mannequin, until she could get a Naruto one made. “Now... what would be a color that would go with the child. Perhaps a blue to match his eyes?” She kept mumbling to herself, but to an outsider, she was nothing but a blur. It was like there were ten of her. Tape measures, cloth, needles and other items flew around everywhere.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Inside the library, it looked like Pinkie had one of her parties. Books were in a pile, and the pony and dragon were zipping about the entire place on their mission.

“Not this one. And not this one. Maybe this one? Ah, nope. Ooh!” Spike grabbed a book, and held it up in triumph. “Found you!”

“What? You found it!” Twilight yelled with a smile.

“Hmm?” Spike looked back at the book. “Oh, no. I was looking for this one last week. Must've fell over and got lost.”

“Spike...” Twilight mumbled. Around the library, books lie scattered. “Not a single mention of the word.” Twilight brought another book to her face. On it was the word, 'Dimensions'. She flipped it open, but like the others, not a single mention of human. But, the book held other information.

“Anything?” Spike asked as he tossed another book onto the pile.

Using her magic, she flipped through page after page. “...I don't know.”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Dash flew around Fluttershy and Naruto as she pointed to the shops, in which Naruto looked in awe. Around them, many ponies looked at the young child in curiosity. But to Naruto, it was strange. The looks weren't filled with hate, or anger. Some even smiled and nodded to him.

“And over there is the Carousel Boutique. Rarity's shop.” Naruto looked in awe as Dash pointed to building nearby. It looked almost like a castle. No place in his home looked like that. Especially the colors. “...and over there is the evil place that Fluttershy wants to send you too.”

Naruto looked further down the road, and saw a red building with a red flag in front of it. That was a school? His school never looked like that.

“D-don't say that. I'm sure Naruto will love attending school.” Fluttershy smiled down at Naruto. She was about to continue, but was interrupted by a loud growl. She glanced to Dash, who only shook her head in the negative. Then she looked back down at the now very red child, whose stomach was growling. “Oh, my.”

“Whoa, kiddo. Didn't you just eat an entire cake?” Dash flew down and examined the child.

“Still hungry,” he replied, embarrassed. Rainbow Dash simply laughed, while Fluttershy began to think she'd need more apples. And looking at the blushing blonde, she also realized she would need all the help her friends could give her.

Chapter End

Chapter 3

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or MLP. Original idea for the story, as always belongs to Raja-Ulat

“Naruto, is everything alright in there?” Fluttershy called from the hallway. She was waiting on the blonde human boy to finish his bath. He hadn't had one since before he arrived, and while Fluttershy wasn't quite blunt enough to tell Naruto he smelled...Rainbow Dash was. Fluttershy was incredibly grateful that her friends were helping out, especially for such a big day. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were coming to meet him today, and it wasn't just the child who was nervous.

Twilight seemed even more on edge which, to be fair, wasn't unexpected as it happened every other time Celestia visited Ponyville. And nobody had seen Princess Luna since she had come to Ponyville for Nightmare Night. Rarity had dropped off the first of Naruto's 'new wardrobe' as she had called it. Fluttershy wasn't sure she liked the sound of that, but the fashionista had informed her that at some time during the night, she had been hit with a wave of inspiration. Fluttershy had to admit though, the new clothes Rarity had made were very nice looking. She had decided to make his clothing all-purpose, and had made a pair of sweat pants, in basic black. With the pants, she had provided a choice of two shirts, a gold-colored t-shirt, and a black long-sleeved shirt. Both were made of a light, breathable, and almost stretchy material. Over those, she had created a black sweat-shirt, trimmed with gold, that could be zipped up like a jacket. The clothes were perfect for working, casual wear, and still looked nice enough to wear for meeting the princesses.

They had plenty of apples, thanks to Applejack, and Pinkie Pie was already going overboard in the sweets department, but they still hadn't figured out just what it was that humans ate. Unfortunately, they couldn't seem to get him to focus long enough to tell them. He had a very short attention span, which was an even greater reason he seemed to get along well with Pinkie Pie. The most they could get out of him was that he enjoyed eating something called 'Ramen'

“I'm almost done!” he replied, the small boy just finishing cleaning between his toes.

“Rarity is here. She brought you some new clothes,” Fluttershy announced. Naruto blushed. It was bizarre. Back in Konoha, everybody wore clothes. Being naked was something to be embarrassed about after a certain age. But here, nobody thought it odd to be nude, which had been made clear when Fluttershy had waited for him to remove his clothes so he could take his bath. I mean, sure he was a kid, and she did have an excuse, as he still had a few bandages she had to remove, but still.

“Can you leave them outside the door, Ms. Fluttershy?” the blonde boy asked, and said mare giggled. It was strange to see such a small creature be so embarrassed just from a lack of clothing.

“Of course. Please try to hurry. The Princesses will be here soon, and you want to be presentable, right?”

“Thank you,” was her reply, and with a roll of her eyes, she placed the clothing right outside the door, as requested. Returning to the living room, she sat on the sofa next to Rarity, who was eagerly awaiting Naruto's grand entrance in his new clothing. When he finally did come out, the fashionista's eyes had stars in them. Fluttershy smiled brightly as well. The black and gold complemented each other quite well, and the full sweat suit on such a young boy.

“Oh my dear, you look absolutely fabulous!” Rarity practically squealed. “I think I might have outdone myself on this one! Fluttershy couldn't help but to agree.

“You do look very nice, Naruto,” she said, and the boy blushed at the compliments. Rarity leapt to her hooves and began to circle the boy.

“A rather simple design, but it did turn out absolutely amazing,” she beamed. “Is it comfortable?”

“Oh yeah,” Naruto agreed emphatically, twisting and stretching. “A lot better than my old clothes.” Before she could say anything, the boy leapt up and hugged her, causing the unicorn to giggle. “Thank you so much, Ms. Rarity!”

“You're most welcome, Darling. But please, you can just call me Rarity. I like my formalities, but for my friends, I make exceptions,” she replied, smiling at the boy. Naruto's eyes widened and began to water. Never before had anyone call him their friend. Even with as kind as the old man was, he never once called him his friend. But he wasn't going to cry. Not in front of these two.

“We should get moving to the library,” Fluttershy announced, crouching low so that Naruto could hop onto her back. Naruto hadn't ridden her or Rainbow Dash yet, unfortunately, which caused her a bit of pain and discomfort as the small boy tried to get settled around her wing joints. But as he did, that discomfort subsided, and she actually felt a strange warmth in its place. She always felt good caring for small creatures, but this was different. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but there was something about this 'human' child. “Twilight will be waiting for us.”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Twilight was indeed waiting, but it was for someone of the more...royal variety. She had sent Spike off with Pinkie Pie, just so she could have some alone time with Princess Celestia. The Princesses were coming early in order to discuss Twilight's problem. Just the stress of it all had her in shambles. She had for the most part been avoiding Naruto, for fear her horn reacting might give away her part in bringing him here. She was pacing the floor, blowing strands of her mane out of her face, as a glow from behind her caught her attention. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood before her now, using a teleportation spell to arrive unnoticed by anyone else.

“Now then, my trusted student...care to tell us what has you so...frantic?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow at her student's disheveled look. Even Luna looked very curious. She was slightly surprised when the normally composed pony bowed so low in shame her horn actually punched a hole in the floor.

“OhPrincessit'sterribleIt'sallmyfaultandIdon'tknowwhattodooooooooo!” Celestia could barely space out the words her student was spewing faster than Rainbow Dash could fly. Using her magic to stand the unicorn back up, she looked Twilight right in the eye.

“Care to run that by me one more time, Twilight Sparkle?” she asked, now confused beyond belief. Twilight took a deep breath, trying to calm down. After all, the Princesses were here now. Surely they could figure out how to fix the mess she had created.

“It's my fault!” She announced. “I was working on a new spell to create a bridge between worlds, and it backfired...and if I'm correct, it's that spell that dragged Naruto, the human child, to our world...And I have no idea how to break the news to my friends or him.” She looked away at the stern look her mentor shot her. It wasn't angry, but it was definitely stern.

“Twilight Sparkle. You of all people should know the dangers of practicing magic without full comprehension of the spell you're attempting to perform,” she announced. “How exactly did this spell of yours backfire?”

“...Pinkie Pie...”

Celestia lost her serious look and just let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, at least it had a reason to backfire,” she replied. “But Twilight, you need to tell your friends, and the human, the truth. I'm sure they will understand. But besides that, you are running yourself ragged worrying about this.”

“But Princess, how can I tell them? What if they all hate me?” Twilight cried, worried. “What if they don't want me to be their friend anymore?!”

“Twilight, you need to have faith in your friends,” Celestia reminded her.

“Indeed,” Luna said. “Just as you had faith in me when last we met.” Her sister nodded.

“I sincerely hope you tell them, and soon, my student,” Celestia continued. “But let's put that out of our minds for now. The others should be arriving soon.” Twilight would have said more, but conceded the point and relented.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Naruto swallowed hard, sweating under the scrutinizing gaze of the two Princesses. Even at the age of six, he knew what kind of trouble he might get in if he wasn't on his best behavior. Celestia and Luna kept alternating from looking at the blonde child, to looking at each other. All while circling the human as though they were sharks, rather than alicorns. “He is...interesting, isn't he, Sister?” Luna announced after a moment. Celestia nodded.

“Indeed. No fur, no scales. Merely some flesh and a strange-looking mane,” she replied. “I've honestly never seen anything quite like him before.” There was something odd about him though, as though some part of him was...out of balance with the rest. Luna felt it too, she was sure. The way she looked at her spoke incredibly loudly of the fact.

Celestia leaned down to look Naruto in the eyes. “If we're going to learn more about you, I need you to relax, alright?” Now Naruto was getting worried. Normally when people told him to relax, it was not a good sign.

“What are you going to do?” he asked nervously. Luna, knowing exactly what Celestia had planned, also leaned down to speak at the boy's eye level.

“In order to learn more about who you are, where you come from, and what you humans are like, we are going to take a look into your mind, and get the information we require from your memories,” she explained. Naruto's eyes were practically swirls. He didn't understand a thing Luna had just said. He didn't have any time to clarify, as the princesses began to be overtaken by the glow coming from their horns, before they each gently touched the tips of them to his forehead. All three sets of pupils dilated, and they all three suddenly went rigid, as though frozen in time.

Fluttershy looked on, a tad worried, but Applejack assured her that everything was going to be just fine.

The place was dark, damp and all around depressing. And as soon as the two Alicorns landed, they immediately felt the pressure. Their hoofs were half-way submerged in the inch deep water that seemed to stretch throughout the entire passage. A frown crossed Luna's face as she realized that something was very wrong.

“This is...” She announced. Her voice was barely above a whisper. She didn't have to finish that sentence as her sister already figured it out. Both mare's were speechless at the sight of Naruto's mindscape. Tunnels stretched for what seemed like miles, and they didn't want to think on the strange stench. “I've never seen any... anypony with a mind so... in disrepair. ... and for it to be a child...” Celestia watched the emotions cross her sister's face. “... his whole world should be filled with joy. Care. Fun.” She would've went on, but chose to just stop there. “But this... this is an abomination!”

Celestia had far less experience walking the minds and dreams of beings. Her sister was way above her in that regard, so she trusted her. And she completely agreed that something was wrong. She was used to the sun. Ponies filled with joy, love, and friendship. But the depressed feeling that washed over her like a tidal wave, was something she did not enjoy. She watched as her sister contort into a face that could only be described as rage.

And for Luna, if there was one thing she hated in the world, it was the harming of children. Be it mental or physical. “I believe... it may have been a good thing that your student's spell backfired, Sister.” Celestia heard a deep growl from her sister, and for a moment, she feared that the Nightmare power may be appearing once again. Luna's face contorted several more times, and she appeared to be almost out of breath. “Poor child...If I ever meet the vile, despicable beings who have desecrated the mind of one so young...I'll...I'LL...!”

“Sister!” Celestia shouted, concern screaming in her eyes. The rage was new on her sister's face, and she feared what her sister would do. Luckily, her voice seemed to calm the Moon Princess, who took a few moments to compose herself as best she could, breathing deeply to help reign in her fury. When she was finally calm enough to think clearly, she gave a slight nod to her elder sister.

“We should move,” Celestia said, turning to look down one of the many passageways. She could make out only the tiniest speck of light at the end, and figured it would at least be a good place to start looking for the answers they were seeking. Slowly, she and her younger sister began to make the trek down the aforementioned hall. But the closer they came to the light, the further away it seemed. After what seemed like an hour, Celestia built up the curiosity to look over her shoulder, and her eyes widened.

For all their walking, the two of them had only managed to walk about ten feet. Both exhausted and exasperated, she sighed as her horn glowed. “Enough of this!” she practically demanded, as she and Luna were engulfed in what seemed to be a miniature sun, before launching down the hall at incredible speeds. Whatever was altering the hall to impeded them couldn't keep up with the sheer velocity with which they were moving, and that's why the two princesses came to an abrupt stop in front of a massive cage.

Celestia looked to Luna for guidance, but like her, the Princess of the Night had never seen a gate so massive and dreary, either in the real world or the mental one. But they could hear a distinct sound coming from behind the bars. The sound of breathing. It became a slight rumble, and as they looked up into the sheer darkness behind the gate, they watched as a single, glowing-red eye snapped open, nearly piercing them with its gaze alone.

How peculiar a deep, echoing voice rang out from the darkness. “Here I lay, awaiting to meet my host, and I instead see two...ponies, is it? Such exquisite creatures too...I wonder how you taste.” Without warning, a giant claw slammed into the bars, but neither Celestia or Luna flinched. They could sense the strike for what it was...a probing attack. Not meant to harm them, merely see if they were afraid of him. It told them that this creature was intelligent, whatever it was. They could hear a low, rumbling laugh as the creature pulled back its claw.

“I see there is more to you both than mere flesh...” the eye's gaze moved specifically to Princess Luna now, and it unnerved both sisters. “And yet, despite the power, you try to cast away the darkness you once accepted so readily into your heart...You, my dear, are worthy of my interest.”

“The darkness that once tainted me is nothing but shame and poison, shadowed one,” Luna bristled. “I care not for your interests, nor who you are. I will wipe you out of existence.” As he horn glowed dangerously, the fox merely chuckled.

“Please do,” he announced in a rather bored manner. “Perhaps the blame from the others outside, coupled with your guilt shall bring back the dark being you claim to be ashamed of.” The glow around Luna's horn faded as, confused and somewhat taken aback, she stared at the shrouded creature before her.

“What are you talking about?” demanded Celestia, fully aware that she probably wouldn't care for the answer. The creatures mouth came into view now, a huge maw of razor sharp teeth, larger than the princesses themselves.

“The boy and I are separate beings, but we have what you might call a...symbiotic relationship. If he dies, I die as well. And if I die, he will be robbed of the energy that runs through him...a very slow, agonizing death, to be sure.” The princesses grit their teeth, frustrated by this shrouded entity. But Celestia was smart. If this was about survival, he wouldn't have revealed himself to them at all.

“What do you want?” she asked, hesitantly, as though the words disgusted her merely leaving her mouth. The great beast grinned.

“My grudge is not with you, but the humans, save for the child I call my jailor. He is innocent in all of this,” the beast announced, almost somberly. “Be that as it may, being cooped up in a cage is not my idea of fun. It is dank, and dare I say...lonely...” As he said the last bit, he eyed Luna again, making the Night Princess even more uncomfortable. But it was only a moment before he continued.

“I will teach the boy what I know about how to utilize his natural abilities, as well as teach you ponies about the vile, pathetic race that calls themselves 'humans'...and in return, all I ask is two things. You both seem to have vast mental abilities...perhaps even the ability to shape the mindscape into a more...pleasant living space...And I wish for company...You, Dark One, once each week, shall return here, speak to me, and be all around pleasant...” he demanded, before muttering a barely audible, “Kami knows I could use the company of someone pleasant after my last jailor...”

Luna looked ready to refuse, but Celestia cut her off. “The terms are...fair,” she said, though quite begrudgingly. Luna looked almost indignant.

“But Sister-!”

“Princess Luna, sometimes you must do what is right, despite our personal feelings,” she announced, and her sister took note of the anger lacing her words. Anger that was not being directed at her, but the beast behind the bars. “This creature holds vast knowledge of not only Naruto's species, but their abilities, whatever they may be...the boy deserves that.”

“So we have a deal?”

“-If you agree to MY stipulation,” Luna cut in, causing Celestia AND the eye to look at her in genuine curiosity. “No matter what I do to make the mind of the child a more comfortable place for you, it is now and will likely remain in disrepair. I bet my right hoof that he has no idea you exist within him, and letting him know now could potentially shatter his mind. I cannot allow that to happen. And so, I will come and visit every week, I will change the décor, and you will tell us the information we wish to know...but you will have NO contact with the child until such a time as I deem him ready to learn of your existence.” There was silence, as the eyes and mouth disappeared. They heard the clicking of hooves on the floor and quickly descended.

Both of their sets of eyes widened in shock and surprise when not only a pony, an alicorn, with a coat and mane of dark red, entered their vision. They took note that the stallion bore the same, glowing red eyes that they had been speaking to previously. He stuck his head up against the bars, which had shrunk in size to prevent his escape, smirking. “Done.”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The Princesses both blinked as they took a few steps away from the blonde boy, each holding a look of concern. The being known as 'Kyuubi' had show them quite a bit of Naruto's life before Twilight had unintentionally dragged him here. Despite that, it seemed only a few minutes had actually passed by in the waking world. Celestia looked at the child, then to the tiny dragon, Spike, and she smiled sweetly.

“Spike, would you please take Naruto to Sugarcube Corner? You can tell them that anything either of you gets they may bill to the palace. The rest of us have important matters to discuss.” All but Luna seemed confused, but Spike complied, grabbing the hand of the young boy and leading him out of the library.

The moment they had left, Luna and Celestia explained what had happened within Naruto's mind, much to the shock and horror of the six mares who had befriended him. They told about Naruto's sad existence in Konoha, and about who exactly explained all this to them. When they came to the deal struck with Kyuubi, Rainbow Dash had had enough.

“What?!” she demanded, slamming her hoof on the floor. “Why would you make a deal with something like that. If it's as demented as you made it sound...” She left her sentence hanging, knowing her friends could fill in the rest. Even Pinkie Pie noticeably paled when they said her friend was the host of a demon, and Fluttershy was trembling...more-so than usual.

“It was our only course of action,” Luna replied solemnly. “I could not remove it, and we dare not use the power of the Elements of Harmony to do so either.” Twilight was confused by the statement, and voiced that confusion.

“What do you mean, Princess?” she asked, and Celestia filled them in on the other piece of information Kyuubi had informed them of.

“The demon's energy constantly flows into Naruto's, taken from the seal keeping him contained. If we remove that energy, it would essentially shut down his entire body, killing him.” The six mares gasped, and tears even streamed down a few faces.

“Is there anything we can do?” Rarity asked, and despite the seriousness, they saw Celestia smile.

“Yes, actually. Our deal with Kyuubi means Naruto won't learn of him until we deem him ready to. That being said, his seal is linked to his mental state and emotions. So long as he is allowed to be cared for and treated with love, as we would treat any filly or colt, it will actually serve to strengthen the seal. To that end, I have decided on a proper course of action,” the Sun Princess announced.

“And that is?” asked Applejack.

“I would like Fluttershy, seeing as she has taken it upon herself to act as caregiver already, to legally take Naruto in as his guardian.” She saw several surprised looks, but none so surprised as Fluttershy herself.

“What?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You mean like, you want her to adopt the kid?” Celestia nodded, with Luna in agreement.

“Physically speaking, he is indeed a different species,” the Moon Princess replied. “But he is still just a child, and mentally speaking, very much like the children of ponies. I see no reason that adoption shouldn't be a valid option.”

“What do you say, Fluttershy?” Celestia asked, hopeful that Fluttershy wouldn't find the responsibility too daunting.

“Well,” she stuttered. “He is an orphan...I suppose just thinking of having a mother, rather than simply a watcher would be good for him...ok.” Celestia and Luna both smiled appreciatively. It was a lot to ask of the timid pony, they knew, but it was in the child's best interests.

“Then I leave him in your capable hooves,” she said, turning toward Twilight. “We shall take our leave then, my most faithful student...and remember what I said. Have faith in your friends.” In a blinding flash, both of the Princesses had gone. Applejack raised an eyebrow and turned to Twilight.

“Just what the hay was that last part about, Sugarcube?” she asked, and Twilight swallowed before taking a deep breath.

“We should find Naruto. This concerns him too,” she replied.

“Yeah, sure,” replied Rainbow Dash, slightly snickering. “And besides, we should probably go tell him that Fluttershy's his new mommy-”

“-Oooh, yeah!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “He'll be so happy! And that means I have to plan a party for THAT too...hey, maybe he could call you 'Mothershy” The timid Pegasus pony just blushed as Rarity and Applejack gave Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie a light smack, respectively, to the backs of their heads.

“Cut it out, you two,” Applejack demanded. “Alright, let's head on over to Sugarcube Corner...besides, if we leave him there too long, he'll wipe out the royal treasury...”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

When they arrived, they saw Naruto and Spike chowing down on a veritable mountain of sweets, at least compared to them, much to the curiosity, and slight disgust, of passersby. They still had yet to find out where exactly the boy's stomach led too, but it was obviously some pocket-dimension. Deciding to indulge as well, Pinkie dove into the pile like one would dive into a lack. Nobody was sure how she did it, seeing as the pile wasn't even near big enough to conceal the mare, yet she somehow disappeared into it.

“Naruto, could you come here, please?” Fluttershy called, and the boy readily responded, cinnamon bun still in hand. “Naruto, I have something very important to tell you.” The boy almost dropped his treat. He'd heard those words before...they almost always signaled bad news. Leaning down to meet him at eye level, Fluttershy smiled brightly at the human boy.

“Naruto...would you like to stay with me?” Naruto seemed confused. Wasn't he already staying with her?

“What do you mean?” he asked. She bit her lip...the moment of truth.

“Well, what I mean is...I kinda...sorta...well, I just adopted you...” This time, Naruto did drop his treat, as the weight of what she had said truly hit him. His eyes began to water now and Fluttershy was afraid she might have upset the boy. Her fears were alleviated when he instead threw his arms around her neck, pulling her into a giant hug. It would have been a more touching scene, had Pinkie Pie not covered them in a mass of confetti.

Clearing her throat, Twilight stepped towards Naruto, drawing everyone's attention. At least by this time, her horn had ceased reacting to him. “I, uh...also have something to say, Naruto. I'm sorry.” The boy just tilted his head in confusion. What did Twilight have to be sorry about. “It's my fault...I'm the one that brought you here...It was an accident, but still.” Her friends looked at her like she had sprouted a second head.

“What in the world are you talking about?” Applejack asked, and Twilight blushed.

“When I was working on that spell...the one Pinkie Pie scared me into overloading...” As everypony stared at their party-loving friend, she just smiled and waved. “...That spell is supposed to use two people as bridge points to travel between different worlds. I had thought, though, since nobody knew I was attempting the spell, it would just cancel itself, as the magic needs a willing being on the other side to connect with...” Naruto thought long and hard before his eyes widened.

“And then I made my wish...” he said, and the others looked confused.

“You made a wish?” asked Rainbow, and Naruto nodded.

“Before I woke up in Fluttershy's house, I was wishing that I had friends and family, and a better life...Now I have all three!” He said excitedly, looking to his new mother...it would be strange thinking of a pony as his mother, but who cared. Fluttershy was nice, and awesome. Twilight's anxiety seemed to shatter into a look of realization.

“Of course!” she shouted. “Now it makes sense. With the overload of my spell, the magic latched onto your wish, considering it as a willing acceptance, to form the bridge between your world and ours.” Her anxiety returned when the boy gave her an unreadable look. “But I'm still sorry. Despite everything, I basically took you away from everything you knew...”

“...but everything I knew sucked,” he replied. “Besides, you said it was an accident right? Then that means it's not your fault in the first place.” Astounded by the simple logic of the small child, she looked into the chuckling faces of her friends.

“So, you guys aren't mad at me?” she asked, getting a snort from Applejack.

“Nah,” she said. “Least you're being honest about it, an owning up to it...besides, it looks like it all worked out pretty well...” The five mares looked on at Naruto, now sitting contentedly on Fluttershy's back, laughed with mirth, his adoptive parent just smiling up at him.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I learned that even when it looks like you've made a large mess, your friends will always be there to help get you through it. Everyone makes mistakes, and hiding them is never a good thing. You just need to have a little faith, and know that real friends will not spurn you, but instead help you fix what you messed up. Mistakes are how we learn, after all, and we make them all the time. It's what we choose to learn from the mistakes that strengthens that friendship.

Your most faithful Student

Twilight Sparkle

Celestia smiled as she read her student's 'Friendship report.' She was truly glad that Twilight had come clean and everything worked out alright. But still, as her thoughts drifted to the human boy, and just what he contained within him...she knew there would almost certainly be difficult times ahead...but he was also certain that the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony could get through it.

Chapter 4

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Hi guys, I'm back. It took some time, but I feel the chapter is at a sufficient quality for you all to enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or MLP. Original idea for this story, as always, belongs to Raja-Ulat

The room was simple. Four walls, bare for but a few decoratory weapons. A coat of arms bearing a kanji inscription. For one occupant of the small, yet quaint space, the kanji was unreadable, as she hadn't taken to learning the written language, but the other, quietly sipping tea, knew what it said quite well. Roughly translated into the language of his companion, it stated 'Power is Peace.' The male smirked a bit, knowing full well that even if she could read it, the lady before him wouldn't understand its true meaning. Most beings didn't. A lesson which too often fell on deaf ears.

Levitating his cup of tea back to the table, the red aura surrounding it diminishing, Kyuubi looked across the table to the Princess of the Moon. She was an intriguing creature. An enigma which the old fox wished to understand. Using his demon chakra to manipulate the object before him, much in the same way the alicorn used magic to levitate and manipulate various things, sliding it across the game board. Looking up at her with a smile bizarrely filled with mirth and good humor, unnerving the Princess, who had never before met a demon that acted in that manner, he motioned to the board.

“Check,” he announced, and she did indeed note that her King was in imminent danger. One thing Kyuubi had going for him, he was a very competant chess player. He knew it too. But Luna was no slouch either. It was really only while focussing on the game that she found herself calm enough to keep her end of the bargain and remain civil while dealing with the fox demon. They had been immersed in the match since shortly after she had arrived for her first weekly visit, entering through the dreamscape. They had been going for nearly an hour.

Chess was one of the few things the two had found they had in common with each other. Kyuubi, being a manipulator of the highest degree, as evidenced by how easily he had gotten the two Princesses to concede to such a deal as this, easily filled a chessmaster role. He had spent quite some time sealed away in not just Naruto, but others as well. He understood emotions far better than most, and could very easily predict how others would react when pushed in just the right direction.

For Luna, it was one of the few things she had come to enjoy about her own childhood. It was one of few things she was better at then her older sister. Despite knowing the game and being a chessmaster in her own right, Celestia always played trying to retain as many pieces as possible, usually to her detriment, as she didn't think sacrificing pieces to achieve the main goal was acceptable. It appeared though, after imprisoning Luna in the moon for a thousand years, Celestia had gained a far more appreciative view of things, and had even developed a manipulative streak, though the Sun Princess mainly manipulated to benefit others, rather than herself...usually. She did seem to enjoy messing with her Student and friends. Like at the last Grand Galloping Gala.

Luna shook the thoughts from her head. Now was not the time to be reminiscing. She needed to get her king out of harms way. “Tell me, Demon,” the Princess demanded. “When we first met, how did you know about my fall.”

><Flashback><

“I see there is more to you both than mere flesh...” the eye's gaze moved specifically to Princess Luna now, and it unnerved both sisters. “And yet, despite the power, you try to cast away the darkness you once accepted so readily into your heart...You, my dear, are worthy of my interest.”

“Please do,” he announced in a rather bored manner. “Perhaps the blame from the others outside, coupled with your guilt shall bring back the dark being you claim to be ashamed of.” The glow around Luna's horn faded as, confused and somewhat taken aback, she stared at the shrouded creature before her.

><Flashback End><

“I indeed let myself be tainted by the darkness once. How did you, who had never met, or even heard of me, know about the being that calls herself 'Nightmare Moon?” Luna continued, desciding to castle her King, sliding it around the Rook and out of harm's way. Kyuubi just closed his eyes, as though deep in thought. Taking a sip of tea, he responded.

“You ask a demon this?” he asked, almost sounding amused. “We all have a darkness within us. When someone, anyone, succumbs to that darkness, even if they have shaken it off and begun to repent, it will ultimately leave its mark...I could see it in your eyes.” Despite herself, Luna blushed. He had gotten that all simply by studying her eyes. Cracking a smile, Kyuubi again spoke. “Now let me ask you something, dear Princess...why in the world would you, having been stripped of that power, try to repent, and hold your darkness at bay?” Luna's face darkened.

“The Nightmare forces granted me great power, yes...but at a price.”

“All power comes with a price,” Kyuubi announced evenly, sipping his tea. “And you were willing to pay that price, once. What's stopping you now?”

“It isn't worth it,” Luna replied softly after a moment, and Kyuubi quirked an eyebrow.

“...You're afraid of what you become...” Luna's wings flared out dangerously as she snorted in indignation.

“You have no idea what you're even talking about,” she snapped. “I'm not the only one who paid the price for that power. Everyone I hurt paid it, my Sister paid it when she stopped me. Nothing good comes from the Nightmare Forces, and that is why I refuse to accept them again. Do not ever accuse me of being afraid.”

Kyuubi was silent for a moment, before raising his hoof and tipping over his king. Luna looked on in a strange mix of rage and confusion as the fox-turned-stallion stood, making toward the door to his new bedroom. He didn't even look over his shoulder as he spoke. “So, you're either afraid of what you become...or afraid that you like what you become...” Infuriated, Luna used her magic to send Kyuubi's now empty tea-cup smashing into the wall, inches from the door frame and his head. This time, Kyuubi turned and was once again wearing that eerily cheerful smile.

“I think this is the beginning of a very beautiful friendship between you and I.” He chuckled as Luna, stil enraged at his behavior, disappeared with a burst of magical power. “Very soon, you and I will see just what your limit is, dear Princess. And then, I will see if you break...” Looking to his king, laying fallen on the board, his smile grew even greater. “But I concede this first battle to you. There will be many more in the war to come.”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Fluttershy smiled brightly as she prepared breakfast, her adoptive son still asleep, and looking as if he wouldn't be getting up any time soon. She just hoped she was preparing everything correctly. After having gone through Naruto's memories fully, the Princess Sisters had sent her notice of what the human diet consisted of. She was a little disturbed at the idea of Naruto eating meat, but knew enough about carnivores to settle her down. Besides, there were other things he could eat for protein. But she would figure that out later. For now, she was too concentrated on the work at hand, preparing the dish the humans called 'Ramen.' It was very new to her, and would take some time to get just right, but she had quite a while to learn.

She set the table, before making her way to the boy's room...well, her room technically. The two were sleeping in the same room until they could afford to make an addition to her cottage. Entering, she saw her tiny, white rabbit, Angel, attempting to wake the slumbering child, doing everything from shaking him to slapping him across the face. All the bunny got in return were even louder snores. He pawed his face and shook his head, turning to the Pegasus pony with a look that simply said 'He's your kid, you deal with him.'

She nudged the child, who groaned in his sleep, pulling the blanket over his head. “Naruto, it's time to get up.” His head now went beneath the pillow. “Rise and shine!” She again tried, beaming brightly, but to no avail. “Come on, Naruto. We're going to go see about getting you enrolled in school...” The boy now wrapped himself tighter in the blankets. Blowing some mane from out of her face, Fluttershy just sighed, before turning toward the door. “Well, alright. I guess I'll just find somepony else to eat this ramen with me-”

The Pegasus' mane was sent flying in all directions by the sudden gust of wind, consequently blowing the blanket over her. Thowing it off, she looked to see the blonde was already down the stairs. Smiling down at Angel, she raised her hoof. The bunny in turn bumped her hoof with his paw, smirking. Descending the stairs, she saw the boy already half-way through his bowl.

“Naruto, slow down,” she said, worriedly. “You'll make yourself sick if you keep eating like this.” Naruto slurped up a large amount of noodles, making sure not to speak with his mouthful. Rarity gave him an earful the last time he did so in front of her.

“But Fluttershy...” he whined. “I haven't had ramen in sooooo long! It's been days!” The Pegasus Pony just sighed and shook her head. As of yet, Naruto hadn't refered to her as his mother, and she was perfectly fine with that. This was an adjustment for the both of them, and while she knew it was in the best interests of the young blonde, it was still kind of bizarre for her to think of herself as the boy's mother.

“You still should slow down,” she replied, smiling at the child. “Then you could actually taste it.”

“I can taste it just fine,” Naruto argued, as his adoptive mother giggled at him. “It's amazing. And I've had some pretty awesome ramen before.” As he thought about Ichiraku's, Fluttershy beamed at the complement to her cooking. She would have to make the dish more often. As she sampled some of her work, she was actually surprised at how good it turned out.

“So, are you ready to go meet Miss Cheerilee at the school today?” the Pegasus asked, hopeful that the boy would come around. His slowed eating and fallen face dashed those hopes, but again, it was in his best interests. “I've told her all about you. She's really looking forward to meeting you. In fact, she wants to learn a bit about your world from you. Not many students get to teach the teacher.” The boy smiled just a bit, but quickly returned to his sour face, which he stuffed further with noodles. Sighing, Fluttershy looked to the human boy in her charge. “Please, Naruto. Just try this, for me...? The girls will be there with you, they can help you out.”

Naruto sighed, but nodded. He wasn't about to disappoint Fluttershy. Satisfied, Fluttershy finished the small bowl of noodles, while Naruto put away a second. He would have had more, but Fluttershy hadn't made very much, simply testing her recipe.

While Naruto went upstairs to change out of his sleepwear, Fluttershy went outside to make sure all the animals were fed and tended to.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“Well, he certainly is an interesting one, isn't he,” mused the Ponyville school-teacher, Cheerilee, as she watched the human child play outside with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. “To tell you the truth, I was worried about whether he'd fit in or not, but none of the children seem very bothered.” Fluttershy smiled and nodded.

“Oh yes. He's quite spirited, and doesn't seem to have much trouble making friends,” the Pegasus replied, looking out the window at her adopted son. “That's not what worries me. Back in the world he came from, he tended to be looked down upon by his teachers. He needs an education, but I think the reason he isn't thrilled with the idea of school is because he doesn't trust teachers. He needs to see that they aren't all mean and nasty.”

Cheerilee nodded. She didn't know exactly the circumstances behind Naruto's apparent lack of education, but knew he deserved the same chance as any filly or colt in her class. Neither noticed that the game of tag had been interrupted by the arrival of two more school-fillies. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. The school's resident bullies. And based upon the faces of Naruto and his friends, they were engaging in said-activity.

“I'm not exactly used to teaching 'humans,' but then again, you aren't exactly used to raising them either. But as long as he's willing to learn, he's welcome in my class.” Fluttershy beamed at the declaration.

“When can he start?” she asked, knowing they couldn't just drop Naruto into a classroom right off the bat. Again, the two paid no heed to the fact that Naruto had seemingly vanished from view, the Crusaders looking confused as to where he had gone.

Cheerilee seemed to contemplate that for a moment. “Well,” she began, thinking it over carefully. “Under normal circumstances, I would say he could join the class immediately, but we might want to wait until he gets settled...maybe some time next week?” Fluttershy nodded. It seemed like a fairly smart idea to her. Naruto, while certainly taking things pretty positively, all things considered, was still just a child. It would probably take him a bit more time to settle into his new life. Waiting another week certainly wouldn't hurt the boy, and would actually give them a bit more time to bond as a family. Considering that was Celestia's original intension, she really couldn't argue anyway. Before she could say anything though, a shriek from outside finally caught their attention. Immediately bounding outside, Cheerilee and Fluttershy went slack-jawed at the sight of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, covered in feathers and orange paint. The feathers, apparently, were held together with some kind of sticky paste, which also had the two stuck together at the flank.

Despite herself, Cheerilee had to fight to keep from snickering. Unfortunatly, as a teacher, remaining unbiased was something she had to do, and it taught the children the lesson that there were bullies in the world that they just had to deal with. But she would be lying to herself if she said that seeing the two as feathery, orange balls wasn't the funniest thing she'd seen in a long time. The rest of the class was also trying to at least restrain themselves, lest the fury of the two ponies be turned on them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, already the target of most of the two fillies bullying, were having an even harder time.

Hearing quiet laughter, Fluttershy sighed sadly, before moving behind one of the nearby trees, grabbing the back of Naruto's shirt, before bringing him out to join the rest of his new classmates...provided of course Cheerilee still let him join her class.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“Here's what I want to know...” Rarity asked, between sips of her tea, staring at the blushing Pegasus before her. “Where in Celestia's name, did he manage to find a gallon of paste, and enough feathers and orange paint to cover two fillies...in the schoolyard?”

“I asked him the same thing,” Fluttershy uttered. “I couldn't get a straight answer though. At least he apologized, and Cheerilee is still going to let him go to school.” Rarity just giggled. After going to meet with Cheerilee, and with the school-day wrapping up, Fluttershy just brought Naruto with her to Carousel Boutique, looking to share the experience with one of her closest friends.

“Well, from what I hear from Sweetie Belle, those two certainly deserved it. But even still, it sounds like you're settling into your new role...I would imagine it's still a bit easier than handling my sister and her friends,” she joked.

“It's all so new to me,” replied Fluttershy, setting down her tea. “Handling the girls is one thing, but I don't know if I can pull off being a mother to Naruto.” Rarity rolled her eyes.

“Fluttershy, you need to have a bit more faith in yourself. You seem to be doing a fabulous job. You already took it upon yourself to put him in school, you made sure that he apologized for his prank, and from the praise I heard earlier, managed to pull off his self-proclaimed favorite food,” The fashionista announced, trying to help encourage the timid Pegasus. “And besides, you have all of us here to help as well. Between us, the girls, and Spike, his seal will be strong enough to hold back ten demons, if the Princesses were correct about its workings.”

Fluttershy shuddered. That was another thing that was bothering her. How the demon came to be sealed into her charge to begin with. Why it was sealed. She just hoped Princess Luna could deduce the answers and relay them to her. She just hoped that if it was gifted with intelligence, like the Princesses claimed, that it might also be gifted with compassion. She finished her tea just as Naruto and the Cutie Mark Crusader's tumbled down the stairs in a heap.

“Ok...” Scootaloo grunted. “Cutie Mark Crusader 'Pony Cannonballs' probably wasn't my best idea...”

“Can we try something that doesn't cause everypony to fall on me?” announced Sweetie Belle, a dazed look on her face.

“Probably not a good idea to fall on the one with the horn,” Naruto agreed, pushing himself to his feet. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom just nodded, blankly staring at Sweetie Belle's horn as though they just had realized it was there. Granted, it wasn't necessarily sharp, but it would still be an uncomfortable experience.

As the four ran outside, Rarity giggled a bit. Sure, the antics of her sister and the other Crusaders often got on her nerves, but there was something about the human boy joining in that made it bizarrely adorable. The girls were a very close knit group, and to allow not only a boy into their midst, but one of a different species. Rarity was actually proud of Sweetie Belle. They treated him as if he were any other colt, which was exactly what Naruto needed right now. He needed to belong.

Hearing the sound of hooves, they turned to the door to see Twilight, with Spike on her back, entering the room. Not usually important, except for the scroll the dragon was holding. “Fluttershy, there you are,” Twilight sighed in relief. But Fluttershy didn't like the look present on her face.

“Twilight, darling, what's wrong? You look a bit green...” Rarity said, quirking an eyebrow at Twilight's disheveled appearance. And she had just gotten back to normal, too. Spike chose to answer instead.

“We just got a letter from Princess Luna!” he announced. “And she, I mean we, um...you might want to read it yourself...” Looking to one-another, Fluttershy and Rarity's eyes moved onto the now unrolled scroll, eyes growing wider with each line, until eventually Fluttershy was quivering.

Fluttershy,

As you are aware, I have agreed to meet with the demon sealed within your adopted son, once every week. I had thought the demon would be easy enough to handle, despite being unable to rid the child of it, but it has already begun to get under my skin. Despite its malicious, demon nature, it is inherently an animal. Given your skill handling animals, demonstrated by both your readiness to care for the child, as well as ridding us of a dragon merely though words, I believe it would be best, one week from tonight, for you to venture into Naruto's mind with me. Perhaps you can make the vile creature within him back down.

Sincerely

Princess Luna of Equestria.

Turning back to Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity and Spike's eyes widened as she was nowhere to be seen. Hearing a rattling, they turned toward Rarity's couch, and saw the bits of pink mane sticking out from beneath it. Twilight just sighed and used her magic to levitate the couch off of the Pegasus pony, who let out an 'eep' before covering her eyes with her hooves. “She wants me to try and deal with a demon that both Princesses couldn't?”

“I'm sure it won't be that bad,” Trilight said, trying to be reassuring. “The only reason they didn't take care of the demon is because of what it would do to Naruto. Plus, you'll have Luna there, and it needs her to keep Naruto's mindscape anything but the giant cage it originally was.” At the very least, it eased Fluttershy's fears enough to allow her to stand, but she still seemed visibly shaken. “At least I hope it won't go bad...” the Unicorn thought, watching the Pegasus pony walk outside to try and find her charge.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“There's some sort of...lingering energy...I can feel it. Whatever took Naruto, left us the key to follow it.” Looking at his former student as he spoke, Sarutobi grunted, acknowledging that he had heard the Toad Sage.

“And how long until we can follow Naruto?” he asked, and Jiraiya sighed, rubbing his temples.

“I can't be sure,” he announced. “Theoretically, I could capture and then channel the ambient energy into a seal array and re-direct it back to its source...but figuring out how to do so, and also how to properly design a functioning seal array is going to take time. It could take anywhere from a few weeks, to a few years, and by that time, most of the energy left over will likely have dissipated. Unless we get another surge, we may very well be stuck.”

Sarutobi said nothing. He ground his teeth into his pipe in irritation as he just stared at the sky above.

“I don't care what you have to do,” he replied, and Jiraiya recognized immediately the fire that had re-lit within the aged man. This was not Hiruzen Sarutobi. This was the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. And it was about damn time he truly came out of retirement. Jiraiya wanted to know Naruto was safe as well. It was for his safety that he left Naruto in the care of the village after Minato and Kushina died. But it appeared even Konoha wasn't safe anymore. He swore though, that he was going to get his Godson back, and make up for that lost time. Sarutobi agreed in full. “As of this moment, you have full reign over this matter, and access to all the resources at the village's disposal. If Naruto is alive, wherever he is, we will bring him home, and we will make his abductors rue the day they ever messed with the Legacy of the Fourth Hokage.

Chapter End

Chapter 5

View Online

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own MLP.

Fluttershy twitched slightly, her mane disheveled and a look of slight fear in her eyes. It was as though the week had passed by in only a matter of hours, and as she looked down to her adopted son, who was already fast asleep, she could only imagine the sort of things she would need to endure to bring this demon under control. If she even could...She shook those thoughts from her head. She needed to be brave, for Naruto's sake.

The boy was energetic, and fun-loving, and all around lovable. And he was depending on her. He didn't know it, but he was depending on her now more than ever. What would transpire within his seal that night between herself, Princess Luna, and the demon, would have far reaching consequences on the boy - some good, some bad - no matter the outcome. Making sure her charge was neither cold or uncomfortable, she began to prepare herself for bed as well. As she looked into the bathroom mirror, she began to think back on the last week. It had been rather eventful...

After his revenge on Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, the other students in class became abuzz, and were so eager to meet the strange 'human' child, that they had taken to coming to her cottage after class. While Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo were generally the go-to fillies Naruto spent his free time with, he had developed friendships with several of the fillies and colts in Cheerilee's school. So when he began class himself this week, Fluttershy was sure he would have an even easier time adjusting than either of them originally thought.

Speaking of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were already nearly inseparable, they were now spending nearly all of their free time with the blonde boy. It was actually rather cute. She just hoped he wouldn't get in the habit of needlessly placing himself in danger, which the three fillies tended to do on a regular basis. He already spent enough time playing pranks with his 'Auntie' Pinkie Pie. Granted, they were mostly aimed at each other, or teamed together against Rainbow Dash, but still...

Fluttershy crawled into the bed she and Naruto still shared. Beginning tomorrow, the addition to her cottage would finally get under-way, and the human child would get his own room. Not that she didn't enjoy letting her adopted son sleep next to her. He had a habit of snuggling into her in his sleep, wrapping himself under her wings in a manner that the Pegasus found adorable. But it would be nice, and she was sure Naruto would agree, for the blonde to have his own space. Despite herself, she fell asleep more focused on what Naruto's new room would look like.

In the field that was her dreamscape, Fluttershy was disheartened to find the Princess of the Moon was already there, waiting for her. The Pegasus was hoping she had perhaps forgotten. "I hope you are ready for what is to come. You must steel yourself. Just remember that he cannot harm you while I am around." Fluttershy shuddered, but nodded. Luna's horn began to glow, opening a rift in the dreamscape, motioning for the Element of Kindness to enter first.

The first step tingled somewhat, but the feeling dissipated shortly, replaced by awe and intimidation. Before her was a rather large, nearly castle-like mansion. Seeing the Princess pass her by and move toward the open door, she hesitantly followed, trying to hide behind the larger mare.

The inside of the mansion was actually very impressive. Very tastefully decorated, though the artwork was a bit unnerving. Strange images of what she could only assume were adult Humans, as well as paintings of strange animals, many of them with more than one tail. As they progressed up the stairs to the next floor, and down the hall, to the open door at the end.

Walking in, Fluttershy swallowed with an audible gulp. Seated on a large chair was the demon, masquerading as a blood-red alicorn. Smirking, his wings unfolded, revealing a rather impressive wingspan, before he swooped down and slammed into the ground before the now shaking pegasus. "Ah, fresh meat," he chuckled, before turning toward the glaring princess. "I take it I'm not allowed to eat this one..." Sure it was a joke, but all the same, Fluttershy let out a squeak and ducked behind Luna.

"Hehehehe..." he laughed. "A timid one. Not that I'm complaining, but why exactly did you bring the mother here? Are you attempting to play on my sympathy or emotion? Are you even sure whether I have either of those qualities?" The way he spoke caused a shiver to run through not just the timid Fluttershy, but Luna as well. It was rather menacing, more-so than the demon normally sounded. "So," he continued, summoning the chess-board from the floor. "Why are you here? I assume you brought this Pegasus here to at least attempt to find a good side for you to get on?"

"Actually, she's here to keep you in line," Luna replied, getting a snort in response.

"Her?" he asked. "You think this frightened little nothing can control me? Even with her...Element of Kindness, what do you think she could accomplish?" Luna glared and stepped aside, revealing the cringing Fluttershy, who again began to tremble as Kyuubi stared at her, that bizarre smirk ever present on his face. "Tell me, what exactly can you do?" Gathering what courage she could, she looked up to meet his gaze.

Luna watched as the Pegasus near her tried her best to stand up stronger, but she did notice a slight tremble in her legs. "I believe she might surprise you."

Fluttershy stared into the creature's red eyes. She stared at many beings in the past, but none made her fear more than the one before her. But despite that, she met his stare. Without realizing it, she stepped forward. Luna guessed that was to see if the beast would back down.

Instead, he raised a brow, but matched the hard stare. To him, he had a brief flashback to before he was sealed in Naruto.

Fluttershy kept up her gaze. Her eyes widened, and her stare got even harder than she thought possible. She knew this wasn't a normal creature from Everfree forest that would easily fold to her stare, but she had to try. For her son.

"A mother's love," Kyuubi decided to speak, not even breaking the stare. "How interesting." His smirk widened. "You think a little cage would hold me? One day, Naruto will cause ultimate destruction. It's inevitable. Will you still be by his side? Protecting a human child that could be so much more than a human. When the time comes, I will enjoy watching this world... break."

Fluttershy felt herself almost tearing away from the stare. She wanted to snap at him. To tell him that he was wrong. She wanted to believe that even Kyuubi could change. That was why she was here. To see what the beast within her son was all about. And now, she felt she knew why he was sealed away. But, she was the element of kindness, she could change him. No, she needed to change him.

Luna watched the exchange. Well, Kyuubi's exchange. She was surprised that the pink Pegasus pumped up her glare, but it didn't matter, Kyuubi just stared back. Half bored and with a smirk. She briefly wondered how long this could even last. One had to give out.

She felt something. It was like there was water flowing around her. Luna's hair defied gravity and gently began to float upwards. She glanced around, and didn't see anything. Until she looked at her companion. Fluttershy was still locked in the stare, but a red substance had started to crawl near her. And one look at Kyuubi again, she realized what it was. By allowing him greater freedom, he had found a way around the seal's protective presence. Luna jumped into action, leaving ripples in her wake.

Fluttershy stared. Not realizing what was happening around her. The red substance formed a tail-like appendage, and launched forward. Three of them. She didn't notice them as she was too focused on her task. As they neared her, they shattered into red shards that flew into the air.

Kyuubi didn't break the Pegasus' stare. "Well, that was surprising." Fangs poked from his lips as Fluttershy finally backed down and looked at Luna in surprise. "Who's keeping whom in line? How dare you attempt to force me under control!" The alicorn body he had adopted began to glow bright red before erupting, expanding furiously and retaking his original shape. The house around them crumbled to dust and bars once more separated the ponies and the demon. "You are interesting, Pegasus. But you are no Kushina...certainly no Madara..." Luna, surprised that the demon himself had restored the prison bars, picked up the names. She would have to remember them. They could prove useful later.

"But now I am tired," Kyuubi announced. "I'm sure you can find your way out. If you wouldn't mind restoring the mansion, since the seal prevents me from doing it myself. It's the least you can do, after this ridiculous stunt you just pulled." There it was again. That question that nagged at her. Kyuubi was powerful, and fast. And with the seal protections downgraded, he could have wiped them both out of existence. But instead, he had replaced the bars. Put them back, preventing himself from doing so. But why?

Within the mind of the demon, a fury unimaginable was building. Though he should have expected such a move from the princess, he hadn't expected it so soon. And it was infuriating. He had to get back at her somehow. He couldn't kill her, or the meek Pegasus, for a multitude of reasons, which is why he had restored the cage to hold back his anger. To be honest, he actually felt a tad bit of respect for the cowardly pony, attempting to induce a form of control over him. And despite the antagonistic nature between himself and the princess, she had been excellent entertainment...but perhaps she had outlived her usefulness. It was sad, as she was actually pleasant company. It was nice to be able to have a conversation, and not be bound in chains during.

However, it was time to get serious. He was not going to take such an attempt at controlling him, failure though it was, lying down. And again, it wasn't a bad attempt, and the fact that the fearful Pegasus had been the one to try it was actually kind of amusing. As he slunk into the shadows of his cage, and returned to his new Alicorn form, the prison vanished, and was replaced once more with the manor-house that Luna had originally created for him. Oh yes, the Alicorn would feel every ounce of his fury. The two had already gone, and as he stared into the flames of his fireplace, his dark gaze glinted with anger and mischief, his frown reforming into a sadistic smirk.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"He resisted the Stare?!" Rarity nearly shouted upon learning what had transpired in the seal. Fluttershy nodded, noticing the worried looks on the faces of each of her friends. This was bad. Fluttershy could easily quell the rage of the fiercest beasts in the Everfree with her Stare. Make them back down. Sure, the Kyuubi was supposedly a demon, but they had expected some sort of reaction.

"Princess Luna says that Kyuubi will probably be pretty angry, but she doesn't expect he'll try anything. She says he knows he can't afford to. If he breaks their deal, than he loses the better conditions, and the company," Fluttershy replied. Which was a relief. If he decided to take control of her son...She honestly had no idea what she'd do. There had to be some way to deal with the demon that didn't involve killing Naruto. But until they could find it, they were forced to play the game Kyuubi had designed. And with the Elements, the Princesses, and the Stare all useless, the Demon Fox had all the cards.

"You said he mentioned two names, right?" Twilight asked, intrigued. "When you tried the Stare, he compared you to two others?" Fluttershy nodded.

"Yes," she said simply. "He said I didn't compare to them."

"Which means that whoever these two are, they do know how to control him," Twilight announced. "If we could maybe find them, they might be able to show us how!" Rainbow Dash looked skeptical.

"But wouldn't these two be in Naruto's world?" She asked. "Plus, this demon is really, really old. How can we know if they are even alive now? For all we know, they could be long gone." Rarity nodded, but still had to point something out.

"While that is true, someone was able to seal that beast into that sweet child," she said. "Surely someone in his world knows how to deal with demons like this."

"But then the question is...how do we get to Naruto's world, and how do we find them when we get there." This final thought by Applejack brought a questioning look to the face of Princess Luna, who was just outside the Library, listening to each of them speak. After last night's debacle, she wanted to make sure Fluttershy had made it through, mentally unscathed. Fortunately, the pink-maned Pegasus was tougher than she looked. Spreading her wings, Luna took flight

Easily crossing the town in moments, coming to rest just outside the school, she used a spell to render herself invisible from the eyes of the students. She peered through the open window, looking at the fillies and colts within. But more importantly, she looked on with interest and deep concern for the one human in the group. He was different, no doubt about it, and yet he was so similar to the other children she had to wonder if he wasn't perhaps a pony in another life. But then, children rarely held prejudices, didn't dwell on differences. They had to be taught that.

Suddenly, the Kyuubi's words to Fluttershy echoed in her mind. "You think a little cage would hold me? One day, Naruto will cause ultimate destruction. It's inevitable. Will you still be by his side? Protecting a human child that could be so much more than a human." They could not allow such a creature to distort such a purity. But why did he hate so much. One must be taught evil to become evil. Did the same hold true of demons? The Nightmare Forces had once ensnared her mind, corrupting her. What made the Kyuubi the way he was...?

What was she to do? She needed more information. She and her sister had learned about the world in which Naruto had come from, and a few things about the boy himself, but she needed more. She didn't know anything about the Kyuubi. She didn't know why he was the way he was, how he came to be...she didn't even if he had a name besides 'Kyuubi.' Information was the key, especially in a dangerous game such as the one she was now immersed in. In having Fluttershy join her the night before, she had maybe made a bad move, but she had not really lost anything. If anything, she had gained some of that precious information. Now what she had to do was follow it. And Luna hoped desperately that the Fox would not force her hand.

She didn't want to admit it, but she was beginning to notice certain...similarities, between the demon fox and herself. Though both wielded great physical power, they each preferred to use their minds to get what they needed. And if perhaps Kyuubi had been benevolent at some point, the similarities became more apparent. However, there were severe differences as well. While her evil was spawned by the Nightmare Forces, gaining root in her mind and amplifying her inner darkness, Kyuubi seemed to be evil from sheer cynicism.

The fox trusted nobody. Discounting his attack against Fluttershy, he had used no more than scare tactics to intimidate others. To test them. And his words to the Pegasus asking whether or not she would stick by her son...The way it was worded and said implied that Naruto would be turned, but he never said anything about being forced or controlled. He had gone on record as saying that it was the humans he had hated, but still had insisted that the child was an innocent. Was the demon so cynical that he believed the blonde would fall into darkness on his own accord? Or was this merely confusing, misdirection tactics from a vile being of hatred.

Knowing that dwelling on the subject would leave her only further in madness, she attempted to put the thoughts out of her mind for now. She decided that it was time Cheerilee's class got a bit of excitement. A visit from a Princess would definitely qualify.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"-And then Princess Luna came, and we got to play games outside with her for the rest of the day!" Naruto announced excitedly, as he and Fluttershy crawled into bed. "I LOVE school here. It beats the dumb old academy big time!" Fluttershy smiled at her charge, knowing that he was at least enjoying himself here. Of that, she was grateful.

"Ok, I know you had fun today, Naruto, but you need to settle down now. Tomorrow is a new day and you need your sleep." Despite obviously not desiring to sleep, he complied, slipping under the covers. "Now, I'll be in shortly. Try to get some sleep tonight, ok?"

"M'kay," acknowledged the blonde. Nodding, Fluttershy began to leave, but was stopped when she heard something unexpected. "I love you, Mom," the young boy said. Fluttershy froze mid-step, hearing those words. Once they had finally processed, she turned and rushed back to the bed, kissing the blonde on the forehead.

"I love you too," she replied softly, smiling brightly at the boy who beamed back. "He called me Mom!" she practically screamed in her mind, more excited than she thought she would be. This was a milestone. She loved her animals but this went beyond that. Despite everything, this boy...this human boy...was well and truly her son. She knew of course that that was the plan from the get-go, but that wasn't what inspired her joy. This was not about some plan. This was about more than simply caring for some animal, as it was at first. Not even bothering continuing her preparations for bed, she crawled in with her child, wrapping her wing over him as both blanket and embrace. She need fear no demon tonight. Right now, it was her and her son. And she hoped beyond hope that it always would be.

Chapter 6

View Online

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I own MLP.

Outside of Konoha's ninja academy, a large area was blocked off from both student and civilian. Though still, many an onlooker stood absolutely shocked and mystified by the strangeness and beauty that lay before them. Several shinobi moved around, following direct instructions from the white-haired toad sage. From placing seal tags and scrolls across the area and scrawling seals directly into the earth itself, the group had made a massive array. Every now and then, the seals would glow with a purple aura, in a pulse-like rhythm, which Jiraiya noted. He also noted they weren't collecting near enough energy to try and reopen the door that Naruto had been lost behind.

Unfortunately, it would have to do. His seals were just taking what was there, and there wasn't nearly enough left after this long to fully collect. But with what he understood about the seal holding the Kyuubi in his Godson, he could in theory focus his own chakra into them and have them act as a filter, of sorts, converting his chakra into a match, or at least a close approximation, to whatever form of power this was. Naruto's seal could purify Kyuubi's demon chakra and convert it into his own. He had to hope he could do the same.

Overlooking even Jiraiya, stood Sarutobi, his eyes hardened, his Hokage's hat shadowing his gaze. This had to work. If Naruto was alive, he needed to get him back. Who knew what fate had befallen the boy. For once, the council seemed to be on his side, the shinobi side due to overwhelming like for the boy, the civilian council because they were certain it was the nine-tails plotting something and the elders...well, they couldn't let the idea of someone else taking possession of the village's Jinchuriki slide. Despite the reasons, next to nobody was fighting him on this, and that meant he could devote his entire attention to it.

“Alright! Clear out. We're gonna try it.” The shinobi nodded at Master Jiraiya's orders, stepping clear of the massive array. “And get the civilians out of here.” Once his commands had been met, the seal master began channeling as much chakra as he could, beginning to flow it into the numerous seals, which glowed blue as his energy began to activate the array. But it wasn't taking on the purple hue that the other energy did. And already he was beginning to tire. This was taking a good deal out of him.

Deciding on a different approach, letting the seals try to convert his chakra, he instead tried to use what he knew about elemental chakra, and tried to get a feel for the differences in the two energies. This was going to be much harder, as he had to try and mold his chakra into matching the secondary power consciously, rather than the seal doing so automatically. The power that had sucked in Naruto was strange, though. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something wrong...

“Sensei, you need to feel this...” Sarutobi raised his brow as Jiraiya ceased flowing chakra into the seals, motioning for the Hokage to take his place. Tentatively stepping forward, the Third crouched and began to feel the energy they had captured. Jiraiya hadn't been joking. He wasn't sure how, but this power was very familiar to the aged shinobi, and he knew why. Immediately, he called on his ANBU to retrieve for him...some chakra paper.

It didn't take long for the ANBU to return, and Jiraiya placed the paper atop the seals they had used to collect and store the strange, lingering power. Once more pouring his power into seals, Sarutobi, let out the barest amount of the collected energy, letting it flow into the paper and confirming the Hokage's suspicions.

The paper began to wrinkle, before splitting into three parts, one part bursting to flame, one crumbling to dust, and the third and final part becoming sogged. Jiriaya's eyes widened. So that's why it felt strange. Whatever this power was, it wasn't chakra. But that being said, this strange energy seemed to somehow mimic each nature of elemental chakra at once. Sarutobi luckily was more advanced than his student in this case, having mastered all of the element natures. Creating four shadow clones, each taking a place around the seal array, they again tried to focus their chakra through the seals. But this time, each clone attempted to convert the chakra into one of the elements, with each clone's element different than the others and the original.

Sweating profusely, the biggest issue for the Hokage was not converting his chakra to the elemental chakra, but rather merging them all together. Usually, this required a bloodline, but by separating himself into his clones, he could manipulate it much easier. Still though, it was no easy feat. But it was beginning to work, The elemental natures of the chakras began to merge into the captured power, causing all the seals to glow with a purple aura, brightly.

Sparking in an unnatural, almost ethereal way, warping the air above it, distorting it, the purple glow took on form, looking like a horse, in a way. But then, things got decidedly out of hand. The aura went from purple to white, blindingly white. As white lightning arced out from the large seal array, each of the clones were struck, dispelling them instantly. As Jiraiya rushed in to try and grab his sensei, the both were engulfed in a blinding light, which exploded and sent them flying. Each crashed into the ground, rolling and skidding, as the light they had created somehow collapsed in on itself, disappearing.

As the Hokage and the toad sage began to lose consciousness, neither saw what was left behind. If you looked very carefully, right at the exact point of implosion, you would see that anything behind it distorted, as if light itself was being bent around the singular spot.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Twilight gasped as her horn began to glow for a moment, before returning to its normal state. “What was that?” Spike asked, stopping his dusting of the library shelves at seeing the flash of magical aura. The purple unicorn blinked owlishly for a moment.

“I'm not really sure...maybe it's still reacting to Naruto somehow...”

“But it hasn't done that in weeks...” Spike pointed out. “Why would it start up again?” Twilight looked deep in thought, unable to come up with a good answer...or at least, an answer that didn't scare her. But deep in her mind, she had to wonder if her horn was perhaps reacting to something the blonde's prisoner was trying to do. After all, she and Naruto had a magically formed connection to one another through her world-bridge spell. Maybe she had connected to the demon as well. She shuddered, but tried to put the thought out of her head for now.

“I don't know. I think I'll head over to Fluttershy's to pay him a visit. You stay here and finish cleaning up, alright?” she asked, getting a salute from her assistant as she trotted out the door. Turning, the baby dragon sighed at the sight of the massive pile of books laying on the floor.

As she drew near Fluttershy's cottage, she began to calm down. The boy in question was out helping his mother feed the numerous animals that inhabited her cottage and the surrounding areas, under the watchful eye of Fluttershy herself. Calling to her friend, she watched the pink-maned pony jump in surprise. Giggling nervously, as she approached, Twilight got low to allow her surrogate nephew to climb up and take Spike's usual place on her back. “Sorry about that Fluttershy.”

“It's no problem,” the yellow pegasus replied with a smile. “In fact, I'm glad you're here. I was actually going to come ask you something.” Twilight quirked an eyebrow.

“Ask me what?”

“Well,” Fluttershy began. “Naruto's been doing fairly well in school, but there are some areas he finds himself needing a bit of help with...” Looking to the boy on her back, Twilight noticed him furrowing his brow and frowning. Twilight had to fight to keep from giggling at how cute the child was.

“Mooooom!” he groaned. “I can get it on my own!”

“I'm sure you can,” Fluttershy responded, never losing her quiet, but firm tone. “But just because you can, doesn't mean you should have to.” As Naruto crossed his arms and began grumbling, Twilight was actually surprised by what Fluttershy said next. “Now none of that, young man. Pride is one thing, but sometimes, asking for help is something we have to do.” Twilight had never heard her friend sound so...well, stern before. It really did sound motherly.

“I'd be happy to tutor Naruto, Fluttershy,” Twilight said with a bright smile. The pegasus pony's words reminded her of the time Applejack had all but insisted that she would completely harvest all of Sweet Apple Acres on her own. And that turned out to be a disaster. Maybe she'd get Naruto to go along with it if he heard that story. “What exactly are you having trouble with, kiddo?” Naruto again grumbled, but after a look from Fluttershy, he quickly answered.

“Well, I can talk and understand just fine...it's reading and writing that I'm having trouble with. It's way different than how we read and write back in the village,” he said, and Twilight nodded in understanding.

“Well, that makes sense. Well, I'm sure I can help you out with that, and anything academically associated.” Despite his child pride taking a hit, Naruto uttered a small thank you to the unicorn, leaning in and resting his head in her mane. “So how are you both doing?” she asked.

“Absolutely wonderful!” Fluttershy beamed. “He is a handful at times, but I love having him here with me.”

“Right here, you know...” Naruto protested at the 'handful' comment, earning giggles from the Mares. Stepping forward, Fluttershy nuzzled the face of her son.

“Naruto, would you go and make sure Angle Bunny is eating all his food? You know how he is when it comes to finishing his plate before going to play,” she asked, and the blonde nodded.

“Mmkay!” Naruto said, sliding off of his surrogate auntie, and rushing off to find the bunny rabbit. Turning back to her friend, Fluttershy smiled.

“Now then, what are you doing here, Twilight? I thought you normally correct the shelves in the library about this time...” Twilight just smiled nervously.

“Well, my horn started reacting to something again...” she began, seeing Fluttershy's eyes widening and looking off in the direction the small child had dashed off too. “I'm not sure if it has anything to do with him, or the demon. I just stopped by to check and make sure nothing serious was going on. By the looks of things, we have nothing to worry about.”

“Well,” Fluttershy replied. “If it wasn't Naruto, what else could your horn possibly be reacting too?” Twilight shook her head.

“I'm not sure, but all the same, keep an eye out. If this is the demon's work, we'll write to Princess Luna.” Fluttershy gulped nervously at her friend's statement, but nodded. Hearing several crashes from the cottage, the two turned to see Angel dash from the front door, a badly beaten up child chasing after the white rabbit.

“Get back here!” he shouted, trying to rush after the bunny, but as he passed the two mares, his shirt was gripped in his mother's teeth, holding him back. He looked up sheepishly at Fluttershy, who simply rolled her eyes. Letting go of the blonde once she was sure he wouldn't run off.

“It's alright, Naruto. I'll take care of Angel later. Besides, you should go clean up,” she said. “I believe you made a promise to go over to Sweet Apple Acres later to help out for tomorrow...” Naruto's eyes widened. He almost forgot. Twilight raised a brow.

“What's tomorrow?” she asked, as Fluttershy did her best to brush the dirt off the blonde boy and get his clothing to look less disheveled.

“Tomorrow is the start of Cider Season,” the Pegasus replied. “It's the biggest time of the year for sales in the Apple Family. The money is what helps them get through the winter, and it's a big deal around here. Their apple cider is practically famous around this whole area.”

“And I'm gonna help them out!” Naruto announced, smiling brightly. “Apple Bloom and I are helping Granny Smith watch the stand and serve the cider.” He seemed so excited about it. The girls giggled, despite the serious topic they had been discussing just previously. Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a smile, before climbing onto Fluttershy's back, and the three began to head toward the Apple Orchard.

As they headed across town, the two had heard a rumble, and turned to the human child, who looked sheepish as he rubbed his stomach. “Did you not have breakfast yet?” When he nodded in the affirmative, Twilight shook her head. “Where do you and Pinkie put it all?” The blonde just shrugged. He couldn't help being hungry all the time.

So, they stopped at Sugarcube Corner to grab a snack from Pinkie Pie, who was always prepared to cater to the human boy's sweet needs, to which Fluttershy was thankful. She was thankful for all her friends, all the help they were giving, all the affection they were sharing with her adopted son. Of course, she could do without Naruto's aunties Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash encouraging his pranking habits. Heck the two of them had gone so far as to take the blonde under their wing. And Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were his usual targets.

Granted, this DID help him get accepted much easier in school. And despite his inability to have a Cutie Mark, as a human, he was officially an Honorary Cutie Mark Crusader. Sweetie Belle even made him a cape...Rarity was apoplectic, unfortunately, but she forgave the Crusaders...eventually...

Fluttershy was brought back to the present at Pinkie Pie's shout of 'Camping Party!' The Pink mare managed to pull a tent from behind her back, from out of nowhere. Naruto, Twilight, and Fluttershy stared at their friend. “What?” she said. “I keep it in case of tent emergencies. And the start of Cider Season is definitely a tent emergency!” She just smiled and the three shook their heads. “I need to go pack some snacks, and then go get in line! Hey, I bet there are lots of other ponies who would wanna join in!” With that, she had dashed out of Sugarcube Corner, forcing the three to duck beneath her as she shot through the air, looking more like a Pegasus Pony than an Earth Pony.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A kunai sailed through the air, entering the pocket of distorted air, disappearing for a moment, before sailing out the other side. A rock followed. As did many more random objects thrown into the strange hole ripped right in the empty space. The battered Jiraiya and Sarutobi were throwing several objects into the void, watching them disappear and reappear in space and time. “Why is it just spitting these back out?” asked the Anbu member. “The objects that enter are obviously going somewhere but why are they coming back?”

“I think I can explain, Inu...” Jiraiya replied. Turning to the crouched toad sage, the Anbu and the Hokage saw him scrawling out three circles in the dirt. Two small, and between the two, a larger one. Pointing to the first small one, he spoke. “This is basically a space-time jutsu, and much like any space-time jutsu, there are three layers. These layers are as follows. The first circle here, is us, our starting point.” Scrawling a few lines to connect the first small circle to the larger center one, he continued.

“The other smaller circle represents our destination point, our exit. The larger circle represents the path, carved through space and time itself. It is a place beyond them, that we or the object travel through, to instantaneously cut from the start point to our destination. The Summoning Jutsu works in this manner. But we haven't re-opened the exit point that Naruto had traveled to. Just the entry. So in other words, an object goes in, and gets momentarily stuck, unable to find an exit, and bounces back out through the same point it had gone in.” The explanation seemed incredibly simple. Kakashi knew that it was far more complex than that, but still, it was a very good way of explaining the principle.

“So we try again,” he said. “And hopefully manage to pierce through to the exit.” A hand on his shoulder and a shake of the head from the Hokage shattered his thought.

“It isn't that simple,” replied Sarutobi. “Space-time jutsu are very tricky. And we're not simply trying to break an exit. We're trying to break the proper exit open, the one Naruto traveled through. With as long as he's been gone, the scar left by the jutsu will still be there, but finding it and forcing it open from the inside will take a lot of time and experimentation with the strange chakra that originally activated the jutsu.”

“However, if the user of this jutsu knows we're trying to follow, and have gotten this far, they may in fact show themselves, trying to seal this 'door.” The new voice called the attention of the three shinobi to a heavily bandaged man walking toward them. “And this gives us the advantage, Sarutobi.” The Hokage frowned slightly.

“Indeed. We can prepare for their arrival, and all the while continue to try and find a way through. We need to get Naruto back...even if it's only his body.” Danzo grunted.

“Uzumaki should never have been let out of our sight. As the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, he is one of our most valuable assets. If any of the other villages learn of his disappearance, we will be seen as vulnerable.” The elder announced. While Sarutobi didn't agree with Danzo's reasoning, at least the old war-hawk was fighting for the same goal as he himself. The safe return of Naruto Uzumaki to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. By any means necessary. And he wasn't sure if it was because whoever responsible had discovered his status as Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, or perhaps...his parentage...Sure, Naruto was the spitting image of the Fourth, but children for years have emulated their heroes. Most would assume it was Naruto's choice to revere the Yondaime.

Either way, either reason was a grim choice, as the former would likely mean Naruto was being trained as a weapon, and the latter meant he was likely to be killed. He hoped Naruto was just taken through dumb luck, but he knew hope was a dangerous thing in times and situation like this. He stared into the pocket of non-space, bending light around it as though it were some orb of distorted wind.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Through that light and out the proper exit, Naruto raced around, catching apples as quickly as he could. His first Cider Season could be his last, if he and his extended family lost this contest. The other day, two Unicorns, named Flim and Flam, had arrived in town and made a lot of boasts, claiming higher efficiency and quality than even the Apple Family. This evolved into a contest, with the winner being named the only one allowed to sell Cider to Ponyville. And Naruto wasn't going to let the Apples lose their orchard. At the moment, he, Apple Bloom, and Pinkie Pie, were all catching the falling fruit, desperate to catch up with the Flim Flam Brothers' 'Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.'

Catching a rock with his foot, Naruto cried out as he fell forward, flinging his apples into the air at Pinkie. Luckily, her tail twitched, letting her know they were coming, allowing her to catch them. Growling, Naruto got back up, grabbing his basket once more. Taking a deep breath, he tried to remember what he had been taught about Chakra in his short time at the academy. He hadn't been taught how to tap into it yet, but knew that it could make a ninja very strong and fast. And if they could tap into their chakra, than so could he. Reaching deep within, he opened his eyes, determined to win.

Within his seal, the Kyuubi, unseen and unheard by the boy, decided that if the boy wanted access to his chakra so early, than who was he to deny his container. A subtle burst of his own demon chakra, keeping care to remain undetected, forced Naruto's own to the fore-front, allowing him to utilize it. Whether he could control it...well, once his plans played out, he very well may be teaching the boy very soon. He just had to...persuade the moon princess to follow through with his plan. Whether she knew it or not.

Chakra began to flow, and Naruto could plainly feel it. It wasn't tight and controlled, but he could feel it in his muscles. His fellow Apple catchers stared at him as a slight blue aura permeated the air around the boy, extending maybe half-an-inch off the blonde's skin. So transfixed was she, that Pinkie Pie didn't even notice her tail begin to twitch as the apples began to fall. But Naruto, whose reflexes were heightened due to the permeation of chakra flowing into his muscles, moved twice as fast as he had previously, dashing to Pinkie and jumping on her back, his basket held high. He heard a small 'oof' from the mare as he landed on her, but she did congratulate him on the save. By this time, the other ponies had taken note of his increase in ability, and Fluttershy looked to Twilight nervously.

“Fluttershy, has this happened before?” the Unicorn asked, getting a shake of the head.

“No, but it can't be the demon,” she whispered back. “His power looks and feels different. When it's visible, it's bright red.” Twilight nodded, sighing in relief. If Chakra was anything like Unicorn magic, the color of it's aura was not something that could just be changed. From what Celestia had told her, Naruto could eventually tap into and channel his chakra, but it hadn't been expected so soon, nor was it known what the difference was between the demon and human variations of the energy.

“Look at him go!” cried Dash, from the treadmill operating the Cider press machine. “That kid is a natural athlete.

“Eeyup!” agreed Big Macintosh, himself quite impressed by the speed the small child was now using to dash from one point to another. His baskets were twice as full now as they had been getting filled, meaning he was also much stronger for the chakra running through him. This greater speed and strength allowed him to gather more apples quicker, which meant they arrived at Rarity, who was examining the quality, much quicker.

By the time the contest time had expired, all the ponies had dropped, exhausted. For Naruto, this was far worse. The small boy had not only tapped his chakra at such an early age, but made constant use of it for nearly twenty minutes. Most children didn't do more than feel out their chakra the first time, and didn't learn how to utilize it for practical use for weeks. Naruto felt so drained, he didn't even manage to stay awake for the end of the contest. The boy managed to walk over to Fluttershy, climbed atop her, and promptly passed out, his small form unable to handle such strain yet.

He would be told when he awoke that while the Apples hadn't made the most cider, the town had ruled that the Flim Flam cider wasn't worth even a single bit, and the two had been run out of town in humiliation. He was also informed that everypony had seen him use his chakra. He beamed with pride when Fluttershy and his adopted Aunts all showered him with praise.

Twilight, now that he had his chakra, wanted to help him learn to use it, both for his sake and for the sake of knowledge regarding humans. Rainbow Dash was envisioning taking the role of his personal athletic trainer. Pinkie Pie decided to plan a 'Congratulations on finding your Chakra' party. Applejack told him that after the great job he did, that she would gladly take him on as a hand at the orchard whenever she needed the help. Rarity decided to make him a new outfit, inspired by his performance, telling him he had to have new clothes to train. And his mother even made him another batch of Ramen, which the two shared with the other ponies. All in all, it was a good day.

From inside, Kyuubi sipped his tea, smirking. Only a matter of time now. Only a matter of time.

Chapter end

Chapter 7A

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own MLP.

“ACHOOO!” Flecks of snot and spit flew in various directions throughout Fluttershy's hut, scaring the animals within and without as the small child reflexively shot up in bed and let loose a mighty sneeze. Fluttershy sighed as she wiped his mucus-covered face with a wet rag --- much to his unspoken annoyance --- and looked at her son with a look of pity. The boy had caught what appeared to be a very nasty cold, and was looking worse for the wear. Unfortunately, the only things the doctor could prescribe were a mild cough medicine, and some sleeping medication. Since Naruto was a human, none of the doctors or nurses at the hospital felt comfortable giving him any actual pony-specific medicine. Though she couldn't blame them, she knew she'd need to visit Zecora at some point. The Zebra could likely come up with something safe to quash the blonde's cold.

“Oh dear,” she muttered as the small child curled into a ball beneath the blankets. “Would you like me to make something to eat?” Naruto shook his head, worrying Fluttershy. The blonde was never not-hungry. She gently placed her lips to his forehead, and was discouraged and alarmed to feel just how high Naruto's fever was. She paced nervously. She didn't want to leave the boy alone, but she also knew that this was likely not an ordinary cold, and her boy was getting worse. A knock on her door caused the timid mare to leap, but she rushed to the door anyway. Maybe it was one of her friends, come to help. She hoped it was. Then they could keep watch on Naruto while she went to fetch Zecora. She knew the Zebra could and would help the little blonde human.

She opened the door to her salvation, Twilight Sparkle, standing like a majestic goddess on the other side. She gave the pegasus a look of pity. She had spent many a night doting on a sick Spike in the past. And unlike Dragons, nobody knew anything about humans...well, except Lyra Heartstrings, but with her, it was all speculative. Twilight had seen Lyra in passing many times, but hadn't really spoken with her more than a few words. When Naruto had been introduced to the townsponies at his party, Lyra's eyes had gone wide as dinner plates and BonBon had begun grumbling about an apparently lost bet of fifty bits. Shaking herself back to the matter at hand, she barely registered what Fluttershy was saying. It was so fast it was like talking to Pinkie Pie.

She managed to make out 'Getting worse,' 'Zecora,' 'watch him.' Despite missing several things, she figured it was something about Naruto's condition worsening, and asking if she would stay with the little human while she went to see Zecora about it. The unicorn nodded in agreement, as Fluttershy shot from her cottage like a rocket. Twilight shook her head. That Fluttershy rushed off herself to see Zecora, instead of asking Twilight herself to venture into the Everfree Forest, spoke volumes about how much Fluttershy genuinely cared for the boy.

She hastily made her way to Naruto's room, a little heartbroken to see the little ball of energy sick in bed. She at first thought he may have been sleeping, but he groaned and turned over to lay on his other side, his eyes meeting hers, and a weak smile flashing for a second. “Hey Naruto,” Twilight greeted quietly. “How are you feeling?” The blonde was silent for a moment as another chill ran through him, and he curled up tighter.

“Not sure...” he groaned. “I never got sick back in the village, so I don't think I've ever felt like this.” His musings were punctuated with another large sneeze, and Twilight found herself instinctively putting up a shield. At least when Naruto sneezed, he didn't send bursts of fire at her. The first time Spike ever got sick, almost cost her her mane. When the blond shivered more, Twilight conjured an extra blanket over him, while simultaneously fluffing his pillow and tucking him in. The extra warmth seemed to help fight away his shivers. Hopping onto the bed, Twilight curled up around human child, while at the same time, levitating a book from within her bag. A good book always helped her when she was under the weather. But since Naruto hadn't quite gotten down reading Equish, she would just read to him.

Naruto looked at the floating book hovering in front of the two. While Twilight had been helping him a lot with his reading and writing, he still could only make out a few words. “Da-ring Do?” He asked.

“Daring Do,” Twilight corrected with a smile. Aside from pronunciation, he was beginning to show recognition of the Equestrian alphabet. “But you're getting there. That was very good. Whenever I'm sick, I always like a good story. Would you like me to read it to you?” Her only answer was the blonde backing up, snuggling closer into the unicorn. She'd take that as a yes.

Naruto was only half-listening. Between Twilight's help and getting him comfortable and the additional warmth from her own body, Naruto was beginning to get very drowsy. By the time Twilight had gotten past the second page, Naruto had fallen asleep. Twilight just shook her head and suppressed a giggle. Poor guy was probably up half the night, sneezing and coughing. She gently nuzzled the boy's sleeping face. Fluttershy may have been the one to adopt him, but Twilight knew she was responsible for the boy as well, being the one who had pulled him here. Maybe she was just as much Naruto's 'mother' here as Fluttershy, she thought. The two were magically bonded due to her spell. But for the moment, she was content to be the doting aunt. Mothering the blonde human was doing worlds of good to Fluttershy's demeanor. The normally timid and frightened pegasus would have been frozen with fear at even setting foot in the Everfree. She just now dashed in without hesitation, for Celestia's sake. All because of the sleeping child before her.

Placing the book down, Twilight laid her own head on the pillow. She could use a nap herself, and staring at the passed-out blonde wasn't helping matters. It was for that reason that Fluttershy and Zecora entered the room to the adorable sight of Naruto, bundled in his blankets, snuggled into the likewise sleeping Twilight Sparkle, and the mare and boy were snoring in perfect sync with one another. The Pegasus and Zebra looked to one another with knowing smiles, before bursting into giggles. Not only was the sight precious, but Fluttershy made a mental note that the two looked like they could even be related.

“Twilight Sparkle, open your eyes,” Zecora said softly, gently shaking the mare. “Out of this bed, it is time to rise.” Twilight's eyes groggily opened, and she yawned.

“Back already?” she muttered, lifting herself and stepping down from Naruto's bed as Fluttershy gently woke Naruto. Zecora wouldn't be able to help much if Naruto couldn't communicate what was wrong.

“Fluttershy came with such a worry, so I felt that it was better to hurry,” the Zebra replied to her Unicorn friend. “We raced here with in a haste, as Fluttershy said there was no time to waste. The human I had expected to meet, when we arrived to a scene so sweet.” Turning to the now awake Naruto. “Now, young human, tell me how you feel. Whatever may ail you, I'm sure I can heal.”

“...You talk funny,” was the first thing out of Naruto's mouth, and Zecora let out a hearty laugh, intrigued by the child, taking note that he was very pale and if what Fluttershy said was true, he was feverish. Turning to Fluttershy and Twilight, the Zebra nodded, and the two understood she would prefer them not to be in the room. Fluttershy was disheartened by this, but trusted that Zecora knew what she was doing. The Zebra stopped them, however, and they watched Zecora pull some herbs from out of her bag.

“Use this to make some herbal tea. And when it is ready, bring it back to me. Together, they create a special brew. Excellent for fighting the flu.”

“The Flu?” Twilight asked. “Is it really something so simple?” Zecora nodded again.

“Because his body is not accustomed to our plane, it's battle against disease is all but in vain,” she said. It made sense to Twilight. If Naruto was to be believed, he never got sick at home. He had a functioning immune system in his world. But here, he was extremely vulnerable to germs and disease. It wasn't really fair. Maybe there was something in the library that could help. Some sort of ward or charm she could create to boost his immunity, since the doctors weren't too keen on accidentally harming the boy should he not take well to pony immunizations.

The two went down to begin brewing the tea, while Zecora took out a few more things from her bag. “What did Zecora mean when she said you walked in on a sweet scene.” Fluttershy just smiled and blushed.

“Oh, I'll tell you later,” the pink-maned pegasus replied, gingerly tapping her hooves together.

“Fluttershy...?” Twilight asked, not so sure she wanted to know. “What was I doing in my sleep?”

“Well...has Spike ever told you that you snore...?” Twilight looked taken aback.

“Wha-I-I do not snore.” she said, almost indignantly.

“Snore, you certainly do, young Mare,” announced Zecora, now coming down stairs. “A trait you and the human both share. We found you both snoring away in time, as true as my penchant for speaking in rhyme.” Twilight blushed furiously, refusing to meet the amused gaze of the Zebra.

“How is he?” asked Fluttershy, the worry returning. Seeing the look in her eyes, Zecora waved her off before she could re-enter panic mode.

“Your son will be fine, don't worry your head. He just needs some fluids, some love, and to stay in bed.” Fluttershy let loose a sigh of relief, and while she hadn't really been all that worried, Twilight did as well. The three made small talk as they waited for the tea to brew. With all the chaos of the human addition to Ponyville, the ponies has been quite busy, and unable to visit the Zebra as of late, so it was nice to catch up.

According to Zecora, the herbs she gave them to make tea with were great for boosting an individual's immune system, which would be important until Naruto's immune system adapted. She also made certain to add a bit of something to help him sleep. The blonde human had barely managed to finish his cup before he was out like a light. And as before, he was snoring quite contently.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“You seem disinterested in my being here.” Kyuubi quirked an eyebrow at Luna's observation, but otherwise said nothing. “Was it not you who wished for a visit weekly? If you do not wish me to be here, I could perhaps come another night.”

“No,” Kyuubi replied, adamant. “I've just had my hands full these last few days.” Luna tilted her head, confused, before motioning for the fox-demon to continue. “I've been having to regulate and boost his immunity. Or would you prefer he be plagued by more than simply a flu?” Luna's eyes widened in recognition for a moment. She wasn't aware that the fox could affect the boy's body in such a manner. But then they widened for a much more important reason.

“It was you who gave the boy access to his chakra, wasn't it?” she demanded. “We had a deal that you would not interfere with-”

“Don't impugn my honor!” Kyuubi barked, and to her credit, the Princess of the Moon didn't even flinch. “As the most revered and powerful of the Bijuu, I will not have my reputation besmirched. The terms of our agreement was that I was not to communicate with the child or reveal my existence within him. When he attempted to tap into his chakra reserve, tiny though it is, I simply gave it a push. He remains unaware of me, and so our bargain holds true.” Luna reigned in her irritation at being spoken to like a child, instead focusing in on something Kyuubi failed to tell her before.

“There are others like you?” Kyuubi just smirked.

“Not like me,” he bragged. “But, my eight brothers and sisters are still quite powerful. Hopefully their containers are less runty than my own.” It took a moment for his words to sink in, and the horror they implied caused her to tremble with rage.

“There are others. Others like you. Others like Naruto...” The realization that even more children were suffering the same fate as the blonde, but were still in their world of warriors, being tormented and likely made into living weapons, hit her like a ton of bricks. This was unacceptable. Unconscionable. A dark aura began to permeate the air around her, causing Kyuubi to smile. His smile faded, however, when Luna's anger began to reign in and the aura dissipated. The mare was taking deep breaths, trying to control herself. “Something must be done about this!”

“Oh? And who's going to do that? You?”

“Perhaps,” Luna said, her wings extending to their full span. “To visit such horrors on a child is something I will not allow. Pony, or not.”

“Do you understand now, Princess,” Kyuubi whispered, circling Luna like a shark. “The humans are the real demons. The real monsters...” Getting in close, right in her ear, he finished by saying, “Perhaps you, the regal Princess of the Moon, should go and teach them a lesson.” Luna shuddered, feeling his breath flow over her ear. She knew it was wrong, but part of her demanded that she listen to the nine-tailed fox. The vile humans deserved to feel her wrath visited upon them.

Kyuubi just continued to circle the Dark Alicorn, whispering to her, eager to coax her rage out once more. “Twilight Sparkle has opened the door. Are you going to deny those...poor children...the opportunity to live in peace.”

“ENOUGH!” Luna demanded, slamming her hoof into the floor hard enough to crack it. “I know what you are trying to do, but I refuse to be swayed by the desires of a demon.”

“And yet you were swayed by the desires of a Nightmare.” Luna's face reddened in rage as she glared at the fox demon, who masqueraded as an alicorn. “Why fight me on this? You became the Nightmare Queen out of pettiness. I simply believe that you could put your hatred...to good use...”

“Silence!” Luna bellowed again, her eyes glowing white as her anger began to boil over. Her wings flared and her horn began to glow. “I take my leave of you this night. I pray that next we meet, your attitude has improved.” In a flash of light and crack of sound, the Alicorn Princess vanished from Naruto's mindscape.

Watching a few puffs of smoke rise from the scorched floor where she once stood, Kyuubi smiled darkly, his grin twisted and cruel. “Goodbye, Princess Luna,” he said, before making his way toward his bedroom. “Oh,” he continued, looking over his shoulder. “And Checkmate.” His chuckle held a cold mirth as he envisioned the horrors he had just unleashed.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Out doing a bit of shopping, Fluttershy had stopped to have a conversation with a few friends, seeing as she had been cooped up in her cottage tending to the sick child. Applejack was watching him at the moment, giving Fluttershy some time to run errands in town, and at the moment, she was having a rather pleasant conversation with a cream-colored pony, named BonBon.

“So how is the little guy?” BonBon asked between customers.

“Oh, still sick,” Fluttershy announced, and BonBon noticed just how tired the Pegasus pony seemed. “But after Zecora's visit yesterday, he's starting to feel better.”

“That's good,” BonBon announced with a small smile. “You know, Lyra hasn't been able to stop talking about him. She's always believed in the existence of humans. But she's never had proof until now.”

“I was a little surprised by that,” Fluttershy announced quietly with a yawn. “When Naruto first arrived, even the Princesses couldn't find anything about him in the royal archive...” BonBon just rolled her eyes. “And she never said anything about it...”

“Lyra is...imaginative,” BonBon admitted with a blush. “And she never mentioned her human obsession in public because I kind of told her if she did, I'd move out...” Fluttershy gasped. “Yes, I know, it was harsh, but one of us had to be realistic. She wrote her dissertation on a species that, until recently, nobody had heard of. To be fair, I am really glad she turned out to be right...even if it did cost me fifty bits.”

“Well, I'm glad everything worked out,” Fluttershy said after a moment, not noticing the unicorn and dragon pair racing toward them until they were right upon them. At the sound of the frantic voice directly behind her, Fluttershy leapt into the air, before ducking behind BonBon's stand, peaking out to see a rather frazzled Twilight, Spike looking equally panicked.

“Fluttershy, thank Celestia we found you,” Twilight gasped, slightly out of breath. “The Princess wants to see us in Canterlot as soon as possible...” Eyes shifting to BonBon, she bit her tongue before saying more. “We need to take the next train, so get anything you might need.”

“Um, Twilight, I can't go with...” Fluttershy announced timidly, ducking below the stand again. “I can't go to Canterlot. Naruto is still too sick to go with, and I can't just leave him alone.”

“Lyra and I can watch him,” chimed in BonBon. The two Element Bearers and Spike looked to the cream-colored pony as she continued. “I can watch him when I'm not working the stand, and given the chance to take care of a human, I'm sure Lyra would drop whatever project she might be working on to help.”

“Oh, I don't know if that's really-” Fluttershy was cut off when Twilight spoke.

“Sorry Fluttershy, but on such short notice, you really don't have another option.” Fluttershy bit her lips nervously, before nodding. BonBon just smiled.

“Great,” she announced as the two began to run off, raising her voice so as to be heard by the retreating ponies. “On my next break from the stand, I'll bring him over to our place, if it's ok. And get some sleep on the train-ride!”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The girls all met up at the train station an hour later, and the confusion was evident on the faces of each of the girls, save the grim look on Twilight's face. “Alright, spill it. Why does the Princess want to see us all?” demanded Rainbow. Twilight bit her lip, before motioning for the others to gather in close.

“This has to be kept a secret. If word got out, it could create a mass panic...Princess Luna has gone missing.”

“WHAT!” the other mares shouted, causing all eyes to move to them. Because of this, nopony seemed to notice the manic chase happening off in the distance, the jumbled mess of ponies rapidly moving and constantly being engulfed in a bright light.

Nervously, Twilight shuffled her friends onto the train as quickly as possible. “How could she be missing?” Dash whispered, causing Twilight to shake her head.

“I have no idea,” the unicorn admitted. “And neither does Princess Celestia. But given what last night was, she seems to have a pretty good idea of the cause.” Fluttershy's eyes widened in understanding, while the others just seemed confused, so Twilight continued. “Last night was Princess Luna's weekly visit to Naruto's demon.” The mares looked to each other, nervously, before Pinkie popped up between them.

“But wait, didn't we figure that foxy wouldn't try anything to mess up his deal with the Princesses?” the pink party pony questioned.

“I agree with Pinkie,” Rarity announced. “Granted, I've never met the beast, but it does seem rather odd that he would just break his word. From what I've heard, he seems far better off in the seal now then he did before the Princesses came.”

“But he DID try to attack Fluttershy when she went in to meet him,” Dash countered, earning a quiet 'eep' from Fluttershy. “And, he made it clear that he knows we can't use the elements to remove him.”

“But he was pretty angry that we tried to use the Stare against him...” Fluttershy said, her voice trembling and quiet. “I'm not saying that it was right, but sometimes, we do things in anger that we wouldn't do otherwise.” Dash's jaw dropped.

“Don't tell me you're defending that thing,” she questioned, her gaze causing Fluttershy to hide behind her mane.

“No, not at all. I'm not saying he was justified...just that his actions, if he did do something, can be understood as being done in anger,” Fluttershy replied, and Dash just facehooved. Leave it to the Element of Kindness to make excuses for a monster doing horrible things.

“Let's not argue, y'all,” Applejack interjected. “It doesn't matter why the fox did it, what matters is finding out what happened to Princess Luna, and gettin' her home safe, lickety-split.” Twilight nodded.

“Applejack is right,” the Unicorn announced. “Once we get to Canterlot, Princess Celestia is going to give us the elements, just in case, and then we're supposed to investigate where Luna could have gone.” The others nodded in understanding, save for Pinkie and Dash, who saluted instead. Fluttershy squeaked out something unintelligible, really wishing she had stayed home with Naruto.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

They began in Luna's room, the place she was last supposed to be. It was there she had entered the dream realm to reach Naruto's mind. Element of Magic gleaming atop her horned head, Twilight's horn began to glow brightly. “All unicorns leave a magic signature wherever they go.I'm casting a spell to isolate Princess Luna's personal magical signature. Once we have that, we should be able to find a trail of her residual magic to follow, and hopefully lead us right to her.” The girls nodded, as Luna's bed began to glow, a blob-like aura appearing, coalescing from the air.

“Well, she was most definitely here,” Rarity announced, silently wondering what kind of magical prints she had left around Ponyville and shuttered. She knew it was only natural, but that blob, despite its being magic, looked rather unseemly.

“And fairly recently. I'm not sure on the decay period of alicorns as compared to unicorns, but if I had to wager a guess, I'd say she hasn't been gone long, probably an hour or two before dawn,” Twilight agreed, trying to remain focused on the situation as the magical residue began to form a trail from the bed, moving in a thin path toward the window, which still hung open.

“What now?” Pinkie Pie asked. “If we need Twilight's magic to find Luna's magic, and Luna's magic jumped out a window, how are we supposed to follow it?” Dash just laughed, before flying at high speeds out the window. The ponies were confused for a moment, before Dash returned, pushing a rather large cloud.

“Still remember that cloud-walking spell, Twilight?”

Within moments, the ponies were soaring through the air, pushed by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, Twilight's horn guiding them along the trail Luna had left behind. Luckily, being an Alicorn, Luna's magic was stronger, or the trail would likely have dissipated already. It was Applejack who made the next observation. “Is it just me, or is this trail headed back to Ponyville?”

“Not just Ponyville...it's headed toward Sweet Apple Acres,” Fluttershy noticed.

“Ooh! Ooh! Maybe the Princess wanted some apples!” Pinkie said. “But she ate too many and got a tummy ache and so she fell asleep and hasn't woken up yet!”

“We'll...find out when we get there,” Twilight said, knowing that while Pinkie meant well, that was likely not the answer. With Dash pushing, even with Fluttershy, the group made great time to the orchard, but it was there they reached a dilemma. “Huh?” Twilight sputtered, surprise and worry permeating her tone. “The magic...the trail just...stops?”

Indeed, the trail they were following had indeed ceased right above the apple orchard. “What could that mean, Darling?” Rarity asked, not quite as versed in the magical arts outside those of her special talent.

“Ordinarily, I would assume she teleported...” Twilight began, pointing to the point where the trail simply broke. “That would explain the sudden stop. But teleporting leaves a huge amount of residual magic. If she had teleported, the magic here would have spiked drastically, not simply break away.”

“...girls...”

“So, what other explanation is there?” Dash asked, stumped.

“Well, maybe Princess Luna knows how to conceal her magic signature, and knowing she'd be followed, decided to throw any pursuers off her tail,” Twilight theorized.

“...Girls...”

“Now what the hay would Princess Luna do a thing like that for?” Applejack questioned. “It don't make a lick of sense.”

“Unless the demon really did corrupt her, and she turned back into Nightmare Moon,” Dash announced, only to be met with stern glares. “What?” she demanded. “It's a possibility.”

“HEY!” The other mares turned to Fluttershy, who seemed to realize just what she had done, and blushing, hid behind her mane once again.

“You have an idea Fluttershy?” The pink-maned pegasus just nodded before pointing down. Dash and the four ponies peaked over the edge of the cloud to see a clearing below, in which the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse stood.

“You think she's hiding in the clubhouse?” Twilight questioned, tilting her head in confusion.

“Or maybe the Crusaders were trying out for a foalnapping Cutie Mark,” Dash deadpanned. Fluttershy just shook her head.

“No, it's just...this is the spot where the girls first found Naruto,” she said.

“Yeah?” Dash intoned. “So this is where the little squirt ended up. What's that have to do with the Prin...cess...” Dash's questioning ceased as a look of panic and horror rushed to each of the mares' faces, as they realized just what Fluttershy was implying.

“Unless Princess Luna used the rift scar to go to the human world,” Twilight squeaked, breaking the silence.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

“Oh, do we really have to do this, Twilight,” Fluttershy asked as the group approached the home owned by Lyra and BonBon.

“It's time I met this demon,” Twilight announced. “I want to know what his endgame is. Princess Luna wouldn't have just gone to a different world for the fun of it. She needed to be given the idea from somewhere, and the fox is the only one I can think of who could or would do such a thing.”

“But you've never mind-walked before,” Fluttershy continued. “Are you sure you won't hurt Naruto?” Twilight just gave her a reassuring smile.

“It'll be fine, trust me.” As she gripped the doornob with her magic, Twilight and the others turned to give Fluttershy a knowing look. They knew just how much the little human meant to the pegasus pony. As Fluttershy looked down, finding her hooves absolutely fascinating at the moment, nopony saw the massive flash of light that illuminated the door frame for a split second.

Pulling the door open, the six quirked their eyebrows as they looked on at the sight of a full house. Lyra was passed out asleep, lying on her back while Naruto lay on her mint-green stomach, also asleep. It was actually rather adorable to watch the little blonde rise and fall with each of Lyra's breaths. Also in the room, was BonBon, who looked somewhat winded. However, the normalcy of such a scene ended there.

Also in the room were Vinyl and Octavia, Spike, Big Mac, the Crusaders, and the Apple family dog, Winona, all of whom looked dazed, stumbling a bit as though just struck with Nausea. “What in the hay are you all doing here?” Applejack asked.

“Um, I came to check up on Naruto,” Spike said hastily.

“Uh, yeah, us too,” Scootaloo said, speaking for all the crusaders. Apple Bloom chimed in next.

“And uh, Big Mac was just here to walk us home,” she said, refusing to look her big sister in the eye.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said, a tad nervously, and Winona just yipped.

“We came to see if Lyra and BonBon wanted to go out tonight,” Vinyl announced, her shades blocking her eyes from view as Octavia nodded furiously.

“Uh, yeah,” BonBon continued. “We hadn't had a girl's night in a while, so...” Silence permeated the room as Applejack's eyes narrowed. She knew a lie when she heard one. But she couldn't be certain what they were lying about. Before any more could be said, Octavia cleared her throat.

“Yes, well...We'll see you both later tonight then,” she said, motioning toward BonBon and Lyra, the former of who nodded while the latter still slept. Grabbing Vinyl, the two made a hasty exit, followed by the others, sans the residents and the human boy.

Glaring, Applejack stared out the window, trying to read their lips as the makeshift group had a very short conversation outside before dispersing. “I know them ponies are up to somethin' and I know I ain't gonna like what it is...”

“We can deal with that later,” Twilight announced, her horn aglow once more.

“Please, be careful,” Fluttershy said, unsure of whether or not her words were even heard as Twilight touched the tip of her horn to Naruto's head, her magic easily piercing the walls of his mind. She sighed in relief when Naruto didn't even stir, instead beginning to snore.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Hurrying through the corridors and halls, Twilight used her horn to try and find the fox as quickly as possible. Turning a corner, she found him, slamming into the disguised fox demon, falling on her flank as he looked at her with disdain and a twinge of curiosity. Not liking those cold eyes staring at her, Twilight rose, brushing herself off. “You must be the Kyuubi,” she announced, trying to be as polite as possible to hopefully not draw his wrath upon her. “My name is-”

“Twilight Sparkle,” he said, beating her to the punch. “I know who you are. What do you want? Why did you enter this place.” Swallowing nervously, a look of determination entered Twilight's eyes as she stood her ground.

“Princess Luna has vanished. It seems she's gone to the human world.”

“And this is my problem...why?” Kyuubi asked, though his ever present smirk told the real story.

“Because you're the one who convinced her to go there.” The smirk became a wide, fang-filled grin now, and Twilight knew she was dealing with a predator.

“I may have suggested it.”

“Why?” Twilight demanded. “You have everything to lose from this, and nothing to gain?”

“Quite the opposite, actually,” Kyuubi countered. “I'll just come out and say it. The Princess needed to learn her place after what she and the mother pulled.”

“You mean Fluttershy's Stare?” Twilight asked, her confidence beginning to wither as Kyuubi sat, looking down on her, like an evil counterpart to her mentor.

“Yes,” he replied. “And to your previous point, it is I who have everything to gain from this. The way I see it, no matter the outcome of Luna's little romp with the humans, I lose nothing. You see, there really are only four possible ways this will end. Either Luna crushes the humans...or the humans seal her away as they did me...” Twilight's eyes widened in horror at that. Princess Luna being forcibly bound to a human child, her magic wrenched from her to make a living weapon. Deep down in the pit of her stomach, she did not want to believe that that would happen, but looking up at the fox, she realized it was indeed a possibly.

“And the other two?” she was almost afraid to ask, but did so anyway.

“Of course, there is the chance she makes it back here in time, in which case, I've still not lost anything...”

“What do you mean, 'in time?” Twilight demanded, and that was when Kyuubi's grin threatened to consume his entire face. And unlike when Pinkie did it, this smile was filled with so much malice, she thought she might actually vomit.

“Ah yes, my favorite outcome,” Kyuubi announced. “If Princess Luna has not returned to meet with me by the end of the night in one-week's time, she will have broken her half of our bargain, which means...”

“Which means you have free reign to reveal yourself and contact Naruto,” Twilight squeaked in realization, paling considerably in fear. Kyuubi's tail simply broke apart into nine separate strands that began to swish every-which-way in his malicious mirth.

“Precisely...”

Chapter end.

Fox in Equestria (Revamped)

by Fan of Fanfics

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7A