MLP: Equestrian Shinobi - Episode 1: "The New Pony in Town"

Night finally fell over the town of Ponyville and in the local library, Twilight Sparkle just put Spike to bed and was now sitting on her floor rug and catching up on a little reading by candlelight before heading to bed herself. She was in the middle of an adventure-romance novel about a daring adventurer rescuing a damsel in distress while trying to solve the riddle of an ancient civilization which could unlock a lost treasure. Twilight wasn't usually a fan of these kinds of stories but this one was a real page-turner.
Her eyes were intently glued to the words or they would have been if Twilight hadn't suddenly jerked her head up and found her horn glowing brightly.
"What in the-?" she said then she disappeared in a flash of purple light and reappeared at her highest balcony where she had a telescope set up.
She quickly got a bearing of her situation, "That never happened to me before."
Her attention was turned to an extraordinary sight in the night sky: a small ball of yellow light falling from the sky and heading straight for the Everfree Forest. Without a moment to spare, Twilight sped over to the telescope to get a better look at the anomaly but she was too late since the yellow ball of light vanished behind the treetops.
"What was that? And why did my horn react like that?"

The morning sun cast its light over the entire Everfree Forest and it's newest guest whose sleep had reached its end as the day began. Naruto sat up with a groan as his vision came back into focus just in time for him to see that he was surrounded my large amounts of various foliage.
"Ugh . . ." said Naruto as he reached up to rub the top of his head, "damn. What the hell just hit me?"
He rose to his feet and walked off in a random direction in the hopes of finding a way out of this forest and he was still a bit dazed to realize that he was walking on all fours. Naruto walked for about three minutes when the sound of rushing water filled his ears then he followed the sound for at least twenty feet and he came upon the sight of a small stream. Time was not wasted as Naruto rushed over to the water's edge and took a drink of cool water. The cold temperature of the liquid was just the shock his senses needed for them to fully wake up.
Naruto pulled his head back and caught a sight of a orange horse with a blond mane and blue eyes.
He said, "Hey there, horsey. What're you doing in the water?"
He reached out to give the horse a gentle pet but instead of his hand, he pulled out a orange hoof and that made him fall on his butt in shock. He quickly looked over his entire body and saw he was covered in orange fur, his hands and feet were replaced with hooves, he had a blond-colored tail, and a mark similar to his clan's symbol on his hind flank then rushed back to the stream and saw his reflection on the water since now he knows it's himself.
Naruto reached up to his head and fiddled with his ear, "How did this happen?"
The answer quickly hit him like ton of bricks, "The jutsu! It changes the user into a local native and the natives of this world are . . . horses?"
He looked at his fingerless front hooves and gained a sad expression, "So I can't use jutsu anymore?"
Then he put in his hooves together then felt a familiar surge of energy throughout his body and said the one thing he could out of instinct, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
White smoke exploded in the area and once it cleared, about a hundred more clones of Naruto could be seen. The real Naruto saw this and exploded in happiness then dispelled his clones.

The shinobi-now-turned-pony was able to find a dirt path which led him out of the forest and along the way, he was contemplating his most recent and joyful discovery.
"At least I can still use my jutsu. That gives me an edge in this world but I still wanna know where the heck I am," said Naruto thinking out loud.
He was quickly pulled from his thoughts as he gazed upon the sight of a large rural-looking town only a few miles away from him.
"Maybe there's something in that town that can help," he hoped then burst into a gallop towards his destination but slowed down as he reached the outskirts and entered the town itself.
As he strolled on through, Naruto could see many other horses of colors and they all had various markings on their hind flanks; he could also see that most of these equines were female because of their famine eyelashes.
'So this place is inhabited by only horses? What kind of world did I land in?' thought Naruto.
His train of thought was derailed by the sound of giggling to his right; he turned to find three mares gazing at him, fluttering their eyelashes and giggling at him. One mare was light magenta with a lime green mane and two daises on her flank, the second mare was pink with a blond mane occupied by a lily and three lilies on her flank, and the third was a cream color with a burgundy mane and a rose on her flank.; the three were standing in front of some sort of plant shop.
"Hi there," said the pink pony, waving at him.
'The horses talk?! Wow, this place is just fool of surprises,' thought Naruto then he answered with a wave of his own, "Um, hi."
They just giggled like giddy school girls.
'Maybe these three can help,' he thought as he strolled over to them, "Excuse me ladies, but could you tell me where I am? I'm new to the area."
"You seriously don't know where you are?" said the lime green-maned mare.
Naruto answered with a head shake as he halted before them.
The rose-flanked mare answered, "You're in Ponyville."
'Ponyville, huh?' he thought.
"So, what's a pony as cute as you doing around here?" the blonde pony asked flirtatiously.
'I'm a PONY?! That's just what my pride needed - a swift kick in the crotch. And did she just say I'm cute?' then he answered by using one of a shinobi's greatest aspects, "I was just doing a little traveling. You know, seeing the world and trekking great distances but now I feel it's time for me to settle down somewhere and this place seems really nice to me. Is there anything else you tell me about . . . Ponyville?"
The green-maned pony spoke, "If it's info you're wanting, there's a library just down the street and around the corner from here."
He glanced down the spoken way then turned back to her, "Oh thanks very much, Miss . . ."
"Oh I'm Daisy," she turned to the blond, "this is Lily," then looked at the third pony, "and that's Rose."
"Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet ya. And thanks again," he then made his down the street.
"See you around, Naruto!" called out Rose.
"Oh you will!" he called back then he turned the corner.
Once they say that the orange pony was gone, the three mares quickly huddled together.
"Oh my Celestia, did you see him?" asked Daisy.
"I know! Wasn't he totally cute?" squealed Lily.
"I think you made that kinda obvious," said Rose.
"I sure hope he sticks around. He's quite a hottie," said Daisy.

The second he rounded the corner, Naruto was given the sight of a huge tree that looked like it doubled as a building. He started to think that this couldn't be the library but the thought was pushed from his head when he spotted the sign with a picture of an open book standing in front of the place; the stallion made his way towards the door and hoping this place had anything that can help him.

At the same time, Twilight Sparkle and her assistant Spike were having a serious discussion down in the library as the unicorn was looking through an astronomy reference guide in hopes of figuring out what she saw last night.
"You sure it wasn't just a falling star?" asked Spike.
"My horn doesn't react to regular falling stars, Spike. I'm telling you it was something totally different," retorted Twilight.
"Could it just have been your imagination?"
"No Spike, it wasn't my imagination! It was real."
"You sure it had something to do with this?" Twilight quickly turned to see Spike holding the novel she was reading last night."
"What does that have to do with what I saw?"
"It concludes that it was just your imagination. Stories like this are meant to rile up anypony who reads them. Mostly lonely young mares."
"For the last time Spike, it wasn't my imagination! My horn doesn't give that strong of a reaction to my emotions. And I still say that falling star had something to do with it, I just can't explain why."
"Maybe you should just give it rest. You'll just drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out. Remember trying explain Pinkie's Pinkie Sense?"
Twilight looked up from her book and gave sigh, "Maybe you're right. What I need is a good distraction but what?"
The door suddenly opened and walked in a blond-maned orange stallion who went by the name of Naruto Uzumaki who spoke, "Excuse me? Can someone help me?"
'The perfect distraction: helping out a pony,' thought as she closed the book and went over to this newcomer then she asked, "Yes, how can I help you?"
Naruto attention was quickly drawn to this lavender unicorn.
'A unicorn? Whoa! What the little girls back home would do if hey found out they were real,' thought Naruto but quickly answered, "I'm new to the area and was hoping to find out more about this town."
"Well, you came to the right place. I'm Twilight Sparkle," she introduced herself then turned to the baby dragon behind her, "this is my assistant Spike. And well be more them happy to help you."
Upon seeing Spike, Naruto only thought of one thing, 'There are dragons here? Dragons exist in this world and I get stuck as a PONY!? That's so unfair!'
He spoke with his trademark smile, "Name's Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise. Say if you're new around here, I could give you a personal tour of Ponyville. I'm sure a walk through the town would help you in getting a good lay of the land," Twilight suggested.
"Sounds perfect and a tour would really help," answered Naruto.
"Great," she turned back to Spike, "Spike, think you can handle the library until I get back?"
"No worries. Go on," the baby dragon said with confidence.
"Okay," Twilight looked back at the orange stallion, "shall we?"
Naruto stepped to his left, "After you, m'lady."
The unicorn walked outside and giggled, "Such a gentlecolt."
The 'gentlecolt' then followed her out.
Once the ponies left, Spike's attention was brought back to the novel in his claws, "Never thought Twilight would become one of those lonely young mares."

During the tour, Twilight Sparkle showed Naruto the various stores and sights and Naruto was able to make out the citizens of Ponyville; there were many other unicorns like Twilight and regular ponies like himself and the three mares he met earlier but what really got him were the winged ponies flying in the sky above.
"So Naruto, what do you think of Ponyville so far?" asked Twilight.
Proving he was paying attention, Naruto answered, "It's pretty nice here."
"Good to hear. Now just ahead of us is the most prominent farm in all of Ponyville - Sweet Apple Acres," Twilight announced, showing Naruto the sight of farm surround by acres of . . . well, apple trees.
The orange stallion's jaw dropped in shock and he said, "Wow. That's a whole lot of apples."
"You better believe it. One of my friends lives here. C'mon, I'll introduce you if she's home," Twilight then trotted ahead with Naruto following close behind.
They entered the barnyard to hear the sounds of thumping on wood coming from their left. They saw the earth pony named Applejack: a blond-maned, freckled-faced, orange pony wearing a cowboy and with three apples as her cutie mark also one of Twilight's best friends; she was just finishing up her chores for today since the last thing to do was buck a few trees and take the apples into the barn.
"There she is," said Twilight then she turned to Naruto, "Come on. You just have to meet her."
She then lead the way over to the bucking pony and called out, "Applejack!"
The farmer pony stopped what she was doing and took notice of her unicorn friend, "Howdy Twilight! Whatchu doing around these parts?"
Twilight stopped before her, "I'm showing a new friend around Ponyville," she stepped aside to reveal Naruto, "Applejack, this is Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, meet Applejack."
The two orange ponies approached each other and Applejack held out her front right hoof, "Well, howdy-do, Naruto. Put 'er there."
This is when Naruto made his first mistake: he gave Applejack his own right hoof; the second he did, she shook it wildly in an overly-friendly manner so much that his whole body felt it.
"Any friend of Twilight is a friend of mine," she said releasing him.
The stallion quickly got over the 'aftershock' and said, "Likewise."
Twilight giggled a little since the same thing happened to her when she first met Applejack. Naruto spoke again, "So whatcha you doing there, Applejack?"
"Just a little applebuckin' is all," she answered,
"Applebucking? What's that?"
"You don't know what applebuckin' is?"
He just shook his head then Twilight said, "Why don't you show him, Applejack?"
Applejack nodded in agreement, "Can do," she then turned to Naruto, "You see Naruto, applebuckin' is when a pony kicks an apple tree," which she did and got her desired results of apples falling into the buckets below, "to make the apples off so she can harvest and store them."
The orange stallion was somewhat impressed, "That's it?"
"That's it. Why don't y'all give it a try?" Applejack motioned to the tree beside her which had buckets all ready to receive apples.
"Go on, Naruto," encouraged Twilight.
Seeing no harm in it, the shinobi-turned-pony strolled on over to the tree in question, turned around so that his tail was facing it, and kicked the trunk with both hind legs but all that did was cause the apples to shake.
"Try a little harder," said Applejack.
He took her advice and kicked harder; the results turned out to be a little too good.  Instead of the apples falling in the buckets, the apples fell right on top of him and buried him. The two mares quickly to his aide but he was able to dig himself.
"Applebucking is a lot more dangerous than I thought," he said as he rubbed his head.

After that hazardous moment, Naruto and Twilight volunteered to help Applejack store the apples which she was more than happy to let them do; she even agreed to join them on their tour. They were now currently in the middle of the town square where the mares were showing Naruto the central pavilion.
"So Naruto, whatchu think of Ponyville so far?" asked Applejack.
"It's a whole lot different from MY hometown. Ponyville's a lot more quiet," Naruto answered.
The so-called quiet was interrupted by the sound of a gust above their heads.
"Never mind," he said snickering.
The three looked to the sky to see winged blue pony, with a rainbow mane and tail along with a cloud and rainbow-lightning bolt cutie mark, soaring in the sky and performing aerial acrobatics.
"Who's that?" asked Naruto.
"That's Rainbow Dash, one of our friends. I bet she'd like to meet you," said AJ.
"Rainbow!" shouted Twilight and was able to catch the pegasus' attention, "Come down here."
Rainbow Dash landed on the ground and greeted them, "Hey guys. What's up?"
"Nothin' much. Just showin' our new friend around," said Applejack then Naruto walked out from behind them.
"Rainbow Dash, meet our new friend Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, this is -" Twilight trying to get the introductions on the way but Dash interrupted her, "Rainbow Dash, the greatest flyer in all of Equestria and the most awesome pegasus in Ponyville."
Twilight and Applejack rolled their eyes at Rainbow's bragging as Naruto thought with a smirk, 'And Sakura said I had a big ego. And a winged pony is a called a pegasus, huh? I'd better remember that.'
Then he spoke, "Saw you up there with those moves of yours. I can see why you're the greatest flyer."
Rainbow gained a look of pride, "So true."
Naruto decided to turn the tables, "And you were the most awesome in Ponyville."
Twilight and Applejack turned to him, looking surprised as Rainbow's pride turned to anger then said, "What did you say?"
It was the stallion's turn to become full of pride which manifested as another smirk accompanied with a pose, "You see, I was the most awesome . . . pony back home. My speed was unmatched by any who dared to challenge me."
That was sorta true since for the past two years, Naruto trained himself to enhance his speed and it worked. The only who could possibly beat him in terms of speed was Might Gai.
Dash's competitive nature kicked in as she jumped into the air and hovered right in front of his face, "Is that so? I can easily speed past anypony and that includes you, pal."
Naruto brought face closer and got his game face on, "You think so? Then I see a race in our future, a speed race. I can see it now - it begins at dawn as all of Ponyville comes to witness the moment of greatness. You and I at the starting line that doubles as the finishing line then we take off at the sound of the starting bell. Our hearts pound and our brows sweat as we desperately try to keep up with each other during the three huge laps around Ponyville or whatever our course will be. And as the final stretch comes up, we are giving it all we got and then some as the finish line comes into view. We are neck and neck then the winner is decided in a super-close photo finish. How does that sound?"
Dash looked him square in the eye, "That sounds . . . . AWESOME!" she then flew down next to him and put an arm around him, "Naruto, you and me are gonna get along just fine."
Naruto's response was a smile.

True to her word, Rainbow Dash and Naruto got along as she joined the tour to show him around Ponyville and talk about this race of theirs.
"How about we include some caverns or canyons in our race?" Rainbow Dash offered her suggestion to Naruto.
"Maybe filled with monstrous creatures that could eat us in a single bite?" suggested Naruto.
"Then we have to definitely included a trek through the Everfree Forest," said Dash.
Twilight and Applejack just giggled on how much those two were getting along so well after that rocky first impression.
Unfortunately, the lavender unicorn had to interrupt, "Anyway Naruto, we've arrived at our newest destination. Welcome to the Carousel Boutique."
Naruto looked ahead his gaze became focused on the building before him; it seemed to be true to its name since it looked like it had aspects of a carousel built into it as well as looking like one of those feminine clothing stores that Ino would drag him into back in Konoha.
"I'm guessing some kind of dress store?" asked Naruto.
"Yup and all run by our friend, Rarity," said Applejack.
"Just a quick warning before you meet her," said Rainbow Dash, "Rarity's one of those prim and proper ponies so be careful how you interact with her or else she'll label you as uncivilized or something."
"Now come on Dash. Rarity is not that bad," said Twilight then the other two mares looked at her with those 'who-are-you-kidding' faces.
"Okay maybe she can be little uptight sometimes," Twilight said rephrasing her answer.
"Maybe we oughta put a bow tie on Naruto to spiffy him up a little," said Applejack.
"And top hat so that he could get past the door," said Dash.
Naruto lowered into crouch, turned around, and started crawling away, "On second thought, I don't wanna meet this Rarity of yours."
He didn't get too far since Applejack stepped on his tail to trap him then Twilight said, "Don't be that way, Naruto. I'm sure Rarity will like you."
He looked back at her, "I don't know."
Dash spoke up, "Would it help if I said that Rarity's a babe?"
'By pony standards maybe,' thought Naruto then he got up, "I guess there's no harm in meeting her."
"Excellent. Just try to make a good impression on her," said Twilight then they all approached the door.
She then opened the door slightly and poked her head in, "Rarity! You home?"
A voice rang out in response, "Come in. I'll be right with you."
They did just that as soon as a white-gray unicorn with a styled purple mane and three diamonds on her flank appeared; this was Rarity.
"Hello girls. What can I do for yo-" Rarity's sentence was cut short the second she laid eyes on Naruto. Sparkles and colors surround as he turned his gaze upon her and she became mesmerized by his eyes which she could've have sworn that they were actual sapphires. His golden mane moving with the wind and his amber-orange coat shone like the jewel itself. The unicorn could only believe in her wildest dreams that such a dreamy-looking stallion would wander into her store; she could feel her heart pound like drum and her own eyes began to sparkle as if she were looking at a rare gemstone.
"Uuh . . . Rarity?" asked Applejack who walked up to her left side and waved her hoof in front of her friend's face, "you okay?"
The unicorn snapped out of her stupor, "What?"
"You blacked out there," said Rainbow Dash who ws hovering at Rarity's right.
The fashionista regained her composure, "I'm just fine," she then walked up to Naruto, "forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I'm Rarity," she said batting her eyelashes and holding out her right hoof in a dainty manner.
Taking Twilight's advice, Naruto took hold of her hoof and spoke, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Thank you for making me feel so welcomed," then he bent down and kissed her hoof.
The other three mares became surprised while Rarity took back her hoof, giggling and blushing, "My my, such manners."
Naruto smiled, "A lady such as yourself deserves to be treated as such."
The comment got her giggling again; all the while, Rainbow Dash flew up next Applejack and asked, "What were we so worried about again?"
Applejack's response was a mere shrug then the both of them regrouped with Twilight. Meanwhile, Naruto's eye couldn't help but spot the dresses on the rack that Rarity had out for display; he wondered over to them to get a closer look.
"Wow. You made these Rarity?" he asked.
The unicorn in question joined him, "Yes I did. And I even designed them."
"You have some real talent. I tell you right now that many girls back in my hometown would just love these."
"Oh, you are such a flatterer," she chuckled.
He turned to her, "Flattery's not good enough for someone of your talent. I only offer you praise worthy of a lady."
Rarity's face went a bright red; Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash just watched the interaction between the two go on.
"So how do think Naruto's first impression went?" asked Dash.
"I would say that Rarity likes him," answered Twilight and Applejack nodded in agreement.

Rarity invited herself to come along on tour in hopes of being around Naruto a little longer and that was highly noticed by her friends as she stayed close to him the entire time. Right now, the girls were taking him to meet Fluttershy; they told Naruto that she is an expert in animal care which he found interesting.
They had just made it to Fluttershy's cottage when Twilight told Naruto another tidbit about her friend, "Another important thing to know about Fluttershy is that she can be quite shy so when you meet her, try to approach gently and let her warm up to naturally."
"No worries. I can do that," said Naruto.
"If that doesn't work, just do what you did with Rarity," said Dash.
"No!" shouted the unicorn in question which caused them all to stop and look at her but she quickly came up with a reason, "I mean no, that's probably not the best idea. Something so direct could push her away and make her fear Naruto instead."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each and had looks on their faces which shown that they knew Rarity's real reason for not wanting Naruto to charm Fluttershy.
"That's actually a good point, Rarity. It's better to take things slow," said Twilight.
They continued on their way towards the door which Twilight knocked on once but gained no answer.
She tried again and called out, "Fluttershy!"
They waited but still nothing happened.
"She even home?" asked Applejack.
Just then, the air was filled with the sound of singing and that give the mares a clue on where Fluttershy was.
"Sounds like she's out back. Must be feeding time for the animals," said Dash then they began trekking to the backyard.
Upon arrival, the group was greeted with the sight of a pink-haired yellow pegasus mare whose a cutie mark in the shape of three butterflies and her angelic sounding voice was creating such music as she was feeding all the animals around her; there were bunnies, birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and many other creatures waiting to be fed, eating, or already have eaten food given to them from the basket alongside her.
Naruto was instantly captivated by her voice alone then he asked the girls, "Is that her?"
"Yes. Just remember what I said," answered Twilight.
He nodded in response then everyone began the approach her as Twilight called out, "Fluttershy!"
The pegasus jumped at the voice and turned around quickly but smiled to see it was just her friends coming to visit her.
"Oh hi girls. How are-" Fluttershy started speaking but quickly stopped when she noticed the orange stallion next to Twilight and her shyness quickly took over.
They came to stopped in front of her and Twilight spoke, "Hello Fluttershy. The girls and I were just showing our friend around Ponyville and we told him he just had to meet you."
The pegasus gave a small nod then the lavender unicorn leaned towards Naruto and whispered, "Go."
He walked forwards and introduced himself, "Hi, I am Naruto Uzumaki."
" . . . . . Hi," Fluttershy squeaked as she held her head down and looked away from him.
Her friends were starting to think that this wasn't gonna go so well but Naruto spoke up, "I've heard a lot of good things about you."
"Really? Like what?" she asked quietly.
"Well, I've been told you're an expert when it comes to animal care, you're the kindest pony in Ponyville, and, from I just heard seconds ago, you have a beautiful singing voice."
Fluttershy smiled and looked up at him, "Oh well, um . . . thank you."
Naruto gave her one of his own small smiles as the others watched in amazement at seeing Fluttershy getting used to some new pony quicker than usual.
The stallions eyes roamed around only to see all the various animals, "So you take care of all these animals? All by yourself?"
"Oh yes," she said with a smile, "It fills me with so much joy to take care of animals. It's the most wonderful feeling in the world to me," her cheeks became slightly pink and her eyes looked away from him for a second, "probably sounds silly, doesn't it?"
That action got Naruto remembering about a certain someone back home then he answered, "Not at all. It just proves that you love what you and I admire that."
Fluttershy was touched by his words but her emotions were disrupted when she suddenly remembered that she hadn't finished handing out food.
"Oh my!" she said then looked back at Naruto, "Excuse me Naruto, but I have to finish feeding my animal friends."
In truth, the animals were entertaining themselves by watching the interaction between the two ponies. Fluttershy quickly reached into her basket to pull out food then Naruto spoke, "You want some help?"
"Oh no, that's alright. You don't have to," she answered but he reached a hoof into basket anyway and said, "I know but I want to. It's the least I can do since it's kind of my fault and plus, I like helping out my friends."
The second she saw his smile again, she just couldn't say no. Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack just watched the entire moment unfold before their eyes since they didn't want to do anything to disturb the two ponies . . . or at least three of them did; Rarity kept fidgeting the entire time she watched Naruto and Fluttershy.
"How did he do it?" Dash asked.
"I have no idea. Maybe Naruto is just good at making friends," answered Twilight.
"Well, I'm happy for them. It's sure nice to see Fluttershy come out of her shell so quickly. Right, Rarity?" said Applejack,
There was no need for a response since the other three could plainly see Rarity fidget. Feeding the animals took only a few minutes since the work was divided by the effort of two ponies
"Thank you for help, Naruto," said Fluttershy.
"My pleasure," he said, "hey if you're not busy, would you like to join the rest of us on the tour? You could probably tell me some stuff about Ponyville."
"Oh I don't know," she then shuffling her front hooves in the dirt.
"Please? Don't make me beg," he then lain down on his belly, lowered his head, and looked up at her with his big blue puppy dog eyes.
Even Fluttershy couldn't resist the power of the puppy dog eyes, "Ok.
He stood straight up and cheered, "Yay!"
The pegasus just giggled at his happiness.

So far Naruto has seen almost all of Ponyville thanks to his five tour guides and he had to admit that this place is a lot more relaxed than Konoha, but he was really getting used to all the peace since he didn't have to worry about an enemy ninja trying to stab him in the back or sending a kunai soaring straight for his skull. The tranquillity of this place was really doing him some good since he's been fighting for most of his life so it was nice to slow down for once. But the peace was quickly broken with a loud growl which made Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy jump and got Applejack and Rainbow Dash on their guard.
"What in tarnations was that?" asked Applejack.
Naruto raised his hoof and gave a guilty smile, "That was me."
They looked at him with confused looks then another growl sounded but it was much softer this time and they were able to tell it was just his stomach.
"I missed lunch," he chuckled and the mares giggled.
"Actually I could go for a little snack," said Twilight.
"Sugarcube Corner's just down the street. We could go there," suggested Dash as she pointed in that general direction.
Naruto looked that way and saw a building that looked more like a giant gingerbread house; the sight was made him hungrier.
"Sounds like a plan. Let's go," agreed Twilight then everypony strolled over to their next destination.
"Plus, Pinkie Pie is somepony you just have to meet Naruto," said Dash.
"Who?" asked Naruto.
"You'll find out soon, partner," said Applejack.
Once they reached their destination, Naruto's nostrils were assaulted with the sweet smells of baked goods and the scents only got stronger when they went inside; the stallion could tell that this place was some sort of sweets shop and bakery.
"Hey Pinkie! You around?" called out Dash.
"You called?" said a pink pony with balloons for her cutie mark appeared suddenly from behind the counter while balancing a large tray of cupcakes on her head; after he got over the shock of the sudden appearance, he concluded that this must be Pinkie Pie.
The pink mare took noticed of him, "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie"
"I know. Name's Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet cha," he said.
"I've never seen you around here before so that must mean you're new because I know every pony in Ponyville and I mean every pony," she said quickly.
"Uuuuuhhh . . . yes?"
"We were just showing Naruto around when we got a bit hungry," said Dash.
"Well you girls came just at the right time because I was trying out a new recipe for double chocolate chip cupcakes then I was gonna go looking for you guys so you could try them out but since you all came to me, you saved me the trouble of looking for to try them out," said Pinkie as she placed the tray down on the counter to reveal at least a dozen cupcakes and the sight got Naruto slightly drooling, "so dig in, everypony!"
Naruto and the other five each grabbed a cupcake, said their thanks, and begun eating their baked goods; they gave off moans of satisfaction from the deliciousness of the chocolate.
"Mmm . . . Pinkie Pie, you've outdone yourself with these," complimented Twilight.
"Thanks! And help yourselves to another, there's plenty," said Pinkie as she herself took a cupcake and ate it in one bite.
"Pinkie Pie, you got some real talent for making cupcakes. It's been a long time since I had a cupcake that was anywhere near as good as this one," said Naruto.
"Aww shucks," she said blushing a little.
""That's nothin', partner. The only thing that Pinkie does better than makin' cupcakes, it's makin' parties," said Applejack munching on her cupcake.
"Really?" he asked.
"Oh absolutely. Pinkie's parties are a must to go to," said Rarity.
"Yeah and not only that but she's also a grade-A prankster," said Dash finishing her cupcake.
"Oh come one girls, you're embarrassing me," laughed Pinkie.
"A grade-A prankster, huh?" Naruto ate the rest of his cupcake then leaned against the counter, gazing at the pink pony, "I'm a prankster myself. Back home, I was known as the Prankster King."
"Really? How did you get that title?" asked Pinkie.
Knowing that he couldn't reveal the true story, he decided to cover it up a little, "Oh the usual stuff like whooping cushions on ponies' chairs, itching powder, sneezing powder, dribble glasses, and spiced-up sweets but my greatest achievement was painting the side of a mountain."
"That's an impressive feat but how's painting a mountainside considered a prank?" asked Twilight.
"Uuum . . . if you were somepony in my hometown, you would know why," he said sheepishly.
Then Pinkie Pie reached over and pulled the stallion into a hug, "I think that is so cool either way. I bet that you and I can pull pranks together! Just think how many smiles we got put on ponies' faces when it's the two of us. *gaaaaaaaasp* I just of thought of something incredible!" she made eye contact with him, "we should throw you a welcoming party! We'll invite everypony in Ponyville so that way you'll have lots of new friends! We should totally do it!" she then released him and he fell on the floor; the others just watched as they finally finished their food.
"You really don't have to, Pinkie," said Naruto as we got to his hooves.
"It's no use, pardner. Once Pinkie is set on throwin' a party, there's no point in talkin' her out of it," says Applejack.
It was true since the pink mare now jumped over the counter and started hopping in place in excitement, "We'll have balloons, streamers, and party games! This is gonna be so much FUN!"
"What's going to be much fun?"  a female voice asked and in walked Mr. and Mrs. Cake with saddlebags full of groceries.
Pinkie zipped right up next to them, "The welcoming party for Naruto, of course."
"Who?" asked Mr. Cake.
"Me," said Naruto waving at them as the looked at him, "I'm Naruto."
"We were showing him around Ponyville when we stopped by," said Twilight.
"That's great and all but back to the more important question - where are we gonna hold the party?" said Pinkie, "Ooh I know! The pavilion!"
"I don't think it's used for welcoming parties," said Dash, "how about the library? It's big enough."
"That's perfect! Now we just gotta pick some party supplies! Let's go!" shouted the excited pink pony as she hopped out the door but not before putting on her saddlebags.
"That one's just a ball of energy," said Naruto.
"You get used to it," said Mrs. Cake.
Pinkie Pie's head poked her back inside the doorway, "C'mon, you slowpokes!" then zipped back outside.
"We better go or Pinkie will really get excited," said Fluttershy.
"You're right. Let's go," said Twilight as she lead the others out and they followed, "Excuse us, Mr. and Mrs. Cake."
"Of course, dearies. You all have a nice day now," said the older mare then she called to the young stallion, "And welcome to Ponyville, Naruto!"
"Thank you. See you around!" he called.

For the rest of the day, Twilight was able to show Naruto the rest of Ponyville and the stallion paid attention to her every word  . . . though it was slightly hard to do with Rarity constantly nuzzling his cheek but luckily Applejack was there to make sure that's all she did. Pinkie Pie was busy the whole time gathering supplies and inviting various ponies to the welcoming party later tonight at the library but that only opened the floodgates of looks Naruto received of them. The guys looked at him with jealously since he was in the company of six mares and girls both gazed at him longingly and gave off envious glares at Twilight and her friends.
The tour had finally come to an end by sundown and it's end was it's beginning - the library.
"So Naruto, what do you think of Ponyville?" asked Dash as they all went inside.
"I gotta say, this place is great. I might just have to hang around here for awhile longer," he answered.
"Oh I sure hope so," said Rarity, nuzzling him once again.
Applejack rolled her eyes at her friend's persistence.
"Spike! We're back!" called Twilight then the little dragon scurried down the stairs and greeted them, "Hey guys. How'd it go?"
"It went excellently," answered Twilight then Pinkie Pie spoke up, "Yeah the tour may have been good but the party's gonna be even better!"
"Party?" asked Spike.
"Pinkie decided to throw Naruto a welcomin' party," said Applejack.
"Enough talking, let's setup for the party!" said Pinkie Pie as she opened her bag, which looked ready to burst, to take out stuff but the second she did, stuff flew all over the place and just made a mess, "see! The bags know how to get things started!"
Everyone laughed then began helping in getting the party ready by blowing up balloons, placing out food and drinks, setting up various party games, and hanging decorations. In fact, Rarity was hanging up a streamer above one of the bookshelves and she was standing on a foot tall step stool to make sure it was perfect.
"Aannnnnnd . . . viola! A perfectly placed streamer. Now that's what I can call a party decor-" For one split second, Rarity totally forgot that she was on a stool and tried to step back to admire her work only to lose her balance and fall backwards.
"Whoa!" she yelled during her descend which was interrupted by Naruto catching her; luckily, he was behind her at the time.
"Rarity! You okay?" said Fluttershy as she and the others rushed over.
"Am I okay? I'm more than okay," Rarity said happily then she looked straight at Naruto, "and it's thanks to you, Naruto. You are my hero this day."
She started nuzzling Naruto's cheek again as he said, "It wasn't really a big deal."
"Yeah Rarity, you were only a foot off the ground. Y'all would have only just got a sore tail for about only hour," said Applejack.
"But thanks to Naruto, I was spared from feeling such agonizing pain," she said dramatically then went right back to nuzzling.
Twilight giggled then took notice of the smell of smoke next to her; she looked over and found it to be Spike blowing small streams of black smoke from his nose as he growled and glared at Naruto.
Everyone went back to setting up for the party after Rarity's 'dramatic' incident and finished up in a short matter of time but Spike's demeanor towards Naruto really didn't change since he was still glaring at the stallion who was oblivious to the hateful looks. Ponies started showing up five minutes after setup was complete and the party got into full swing very quickly as the guests showed up in groups until the library was full. This gave Naruto the chance to meet some of Ponyville's citizens who seemed to take an instant like to him. Of course, Daisy, Lily, and Rose were there and they took every opportunity they got to talk to him.
Right now, Naruto was able to pull away from them and decided to hang out with Twilight and the others when Applejack spoke up, "So Naruto, you got any place to stay while you're here?"
He answered, "Not really. The last place I slept was under a tree in the forest just outside of Ponyville."
This got their attention as Fluttershy said, "You stayed in the Everfree Forest? All by yourself? Weren't you scared?"
"Not really. I'm used to sleep outside," he spoke the truth because Naruto would usually sleep outdoors when on missions, "besides I was more or less knocked out so I really didn't get the chance to be scared."
This got the girls thinking that Naruto was some homeless drifter who had no choice but to sleep outside at nights then Rarity quickly got him into a hug, "Oh poor thing. I gladly open my home to you. I even have a spare bedroom that you can use . . . right next to mine."
Spike's anger just reached an all time level but before he could do or say anything, Applejack made her voice heard, "Better yet, y'all could stay with me and my kin at our farm. We have plenty of room for one more."
Pinkie Pie popped up in front of him, "Oh I know! You can stay with me! And we can have fresh blueberry muffins in morning for breakfast and eat them together!"
That sounded pretty good to him then Rainbow Dash flew down next to him, "No way! you can stay with me. We athletes have to stick together."
"Rainbow, you live in a mansion made of clouds . . . and he's an earth pony," said Twilight.
"Oh yeah. Never mind," said the pegasus.
"You can stay here at library if you want. I have an extra bed you can use," said the unicorn.
"Or . . . if you want, you can stay with me. I have space as well," said Fluttershy.
"That's very nice of you guys to offer," answered Naruto, "but I think I'd better stay here at the library."
Rarity made no hesitation to show her disappointed face as Dash asked, "Really? How come?"
"While I found the tour of Ponyville to be informative, " he said, "I still don't know much about Equestria. I come from a land far away from here and you probably won't find it on any globe or map."
He was lucky they accepted his answer then Twilight said, "Well alright then!" she called for her Number One Assistant," Spike, can you help me get the spare bed ready for Naruto?"
The ponies were oblivious to the joyful dance he was doing from hearing the stallion's answer but quickly stopped and gave a salute," Yes ma'am!" he turned zipped over to the orange stallion and gave him an one-arm hug, "anything for my new buddy, Naruto."
"Thanks, Spike," Naruto said.
Glad to see Spike's attitude change, even though it was obvious why, Twilight and the dragon went up to the living quarters to set up the extra bed as Naruto was surround by Daisy, Rose, and Lily once again.

The party went on until before midnight when ponies started leaving. Twilight and Naruto said good night to their friends then went up to bed themselves. Naruto was greeted with the sight of the spare bed complete with a pink sheet and white pillow.
"Hope it will suffice," said the unicorn as she carried Spike to his own bed.
"It's perfect Twilight. Thank you," said Naruto as he made his way towards it.
After tucking in the baby dragon, Twilight crawled into bed as Naruto did the same.
"Good night Naruto," she said.
"Good night Twilight."
Two seconds later he said, "Twilight . . ."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for letting me stay here."
She looked at him in a tender fashion, "You're welcome."
Then she laid her head down and fell asleep.
The orange pony soon followed her example, resting up for a new day.