MLP: Equestrian Shinobi - Chapter 7 Part A

Chapter 7 : “Three Crusaders and One Shinobi”

 

            The peaceful air around the quaint town of Ponyville was soon decorated with the delightful chimes of a bell and the gleeful cheers of happy fillies and colts exiting the Ponyville Schoolhouse after a day of expanding their young minds. Among the group of foals was the trio of friends who call themselves . . . the Cutie Mark Crusaders - Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Like their classmates, they were filled to the brim with happiness except the reason for them feeling the pleasant emotion was different.

            “Okay Cutie Mark Crusaders! Today’s the day,” said Apple Bloom in an enthusiastic tone.

            “Yeah! Today, we finally find our special talents-” exclaimed Sweetie Belle.

            “And get our cutie marks!” finished Scootaloo, matching her friends’ enthusiasm.

            “Let’s do it!” all three said together.

            Their high-flying mood was brought to a sudden crash landing when mocking laughter filled the air followed by a voice, “Get real. You guys have no chance at getting your cutie marks.”

            Another voice rang out, “Yeah, no chance.”

            The Crusaders looked to see the voices were of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the snobbiest foals in school and the Crusaders’ ‘arch-enemies.’

            “What makes you think we got no chance?” growled Scootaloo.

            “Well, duh. You three are no talent losers. Always have been, always will be,” Diamond Tiara said in an arrogant tone.

            “Oh what do you know about anything?” asked an irritated Sweetie Belle.

            “I know I have my cutie mark and you don’t. And I doubt that’s gonna change in only one day. It wouldn’t surprise me if you guys stayed blank flanks until you’re a hundred and ten years old each.”

            “This time will be different,” said Apple Bloom.

            “Oh really. How so?” asked a sarcastic Silver Spoon.

            “We’re gonna get a little help . . . from a friend of ours,” proudly answered the Apple pony.

            “Who? Another blank flank?” Diamond Tiara giggled arrogantly.

            “Nope, he already has his cutie mark but he’s like one of the best ponies in all of Ponyville.”

            “Yeah right. If he’s friends with you, he must be a total loser,” smirked Silver Spoon.

            “More like . . . the king of total losers!” said Tiara then she and Spoon started laughing.

            “Well that’s not a nice thing to say about somepony. Especially if you haven’t met them,” said a voice from behind the two cackling kids.

            Spoon and Tiara ceased their laughter, looked behind them, and saw the voice belonged to Naruto Uzumaki, one of Ponyville’s most notable stallions.

            Upon seeing him, the two rich ponies morphed their expressions of joyful cruelty into those of sweet innocence though the pink filly went the extra mile to put on a matching smile, “When I said, ‘king of the total losers’, I meant it in a . . . good way.”

            “A very good way,” said her gray furred counterpart in an attempt to play innocent as well.

            Naruto arched his brow and gave a tiny smirk before speaking, “Oh I know. You know what else I know?”

            The duo shook their heads while smiling sweetly.

            He leaned in close, “That flattery . . . is a cheap way of saving face.”

            Tiara and Spoon’s smiles turned into ones of nervousness for they knew they were busted.

 

--(Equestria Girls Movie Opening)--

 

            The shinobi-turned-pony was still smirking at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon when the Crusaders shouted, “Naruto!”

            Naruto directed his attention to them before opening his front legs, “There are my three favorite fillies.”

            The trio ran right into his awaiting appendages but knocked him backwards onto the ground in the process where all four of them proceeded to tumble around on the ground and laugh. Despite the cute scene before them, all Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon felt was anger and jealously from seeing Naruto playing with the three blank flanks. While it is true he was rather popular with mares the same age as him and older, Naruto was somewhat the same with fillies since practically all of them either saw him as the ideal big brother or were crushing on him a little; Tiara and Spoon were a mixture of both.

            Fearsome frowns appeared on their faces as Naruto and the Crusaders started doing a little wrestling match with the stallion playfully pinning Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle holding his neck, and Scootaloo pulling on one of his ears with her mouth when another voice rang out, “Why hello, Naruto. I’m afraid you’re a tad too late for some playtime with the children.”

            The voice was Cheerilee’s as she was coming out of the school with a smile on her face upon seeing the four of them play. Naruto was known to come over to the schoolhouse once in a while and play with the kids during recess. Nopony knew why but kids seemed to like him; it was almost like some kind of unseen magic or something.

            Naruto and the fillies stopped playing and he turned his attention towards the schoolmare, “No playtime this time, Cheerilee. I’m actually here to pick up these three before we start our mission.”

            “Mission?” asked the teacher.

            “Yeah, Naruto’s gonna help us get our cutie marks,” said Scootaloo after releasing his ear.

            “Oh. Well, I wish you four the very best of luck,” said the magenta-furred mare.

            “Speaking of which, we better get started if we want our cutie marks by nightfall,” said Sweetie Belle enthusiastically.

            “Sweetie Belle’s right. Now’s not the time to play in the dirt,” said Apple Bloom with the tone of a leader, “Cutie Mark Crusaders and guest. To the treehouse!”

            With that declaration, Apple Bloom went zooming away with her two friends following close behind before Naruto got up and looked at Cheerilee, “See you later, Cheerilee.”

            “See you around, Naruto,” giggled the teacher then the stallion raced after his pseudo-siblings.

            The mare was about to leave when she caught sight of the still-present Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon still glaring at the retreating Cutie Mark Crusaders.

            “Shouldn’t you two be heading home?” she asked them with a smile.

            Her voice snapped them out of their state of mind then they both gained sheepish facial expressions and walked into town as Cheerilee chuckled and headed home.

 

            The Crusaders and Naruto were now in the treehouse that doubled as the headquarters for the CMC and was located within the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. They were currently going over their plan for the day.

            “Okay. I say we first try our hooves at something simple. Something almost guaranteed to give us cutie marks,” said Sweetie Belle.

            “Like what?” asked Scootaloo.

            The unicorn filly rubs her head, “I don’t know. Washing windows maybe?”

            “Washing windows? Seriously?”

            “What? What’s wrong with washing windows?”

            Scootaloo sighs, “It’s freakin’ boring. Who wants to have a ‘window washing’ cutie mark?”

            “I don’t know. Window washers?” Sweetie Belle shrugs.

            A deadpan expression appears on Scootaloo’s face upon hearing her friend say that.

            “Maybe we should try it. Couldn’t hurt,” said Apple Bloom.

            “No way. C’mon guys, we’re better than this. I say we try something even better. Like shark jumping or rocket skating. Or maybe bear wrestling,” said the pegasus filly in a enthusiastic tone.

            “Shark jumping? Bear wrestling? Are you nuts?” asked her unicorn friend.

            “What? They’re a whole lot better than window washing. Besides, a cutie mark for bear wrestling or shark jumping would look totally awesome!”

            “We’re not doing this to get cool-looking cutie marks. We’re doing this to find our special talents then get our cutie marks,” said Apple Bloom.

            “Well doing something more exciting than washing windows might get us cutie marks faster,” the pegasus crossed her front legs.

            “So, you want us to get our cutie marks . . . while recovering in the hospital?” sarcastically asked Sweetie Belle.

            “If that is what it takes,” said Scootaloo whose voice reflected determination.

            A couple of seconds of silence passed before Apple Bloom spoke, “I vote we stay away from stuff that can wind us up in the hospital.”

            “I second that,” agreed the unicorn of the trio.

            “Oh come on,” complained the orange pegasus.

            During this whole debate, Naruto was sitting quietly and watching them with a small smile on his face. He couldn’t explain it but Scootaloo’s words seemed very familiar and it was not until she started talking about ‘how they were better than this’ and expressing her disappointment when it suddenly clicked. Her words were almost similar to what he used to say back in his days as part of a Genin team; the good old days he would call them.

            His reminiscing was interrupted when Scootaloo walked up to him and spoke, “Naruto, help me out here. Tell Sweetie Belle I’m right.”

            Sweetie Belle decided to play the same card, “No Naruto, tell Scootaloo I’m right.”

            Apple Bloom decided to step in with a sigh, “Naruto, help us out here please. What should we do?”

            “Naruto!” the trio said in unison since each filly wanted to here what he had to say.

            Naruto always hated getting caught in the middle of an argument between females whether they were his age or not; it never ended well for him. He agreed with Scootaloo on them trying more exciting things to get their cutie marks but he also believed Sweetie Belle had the right idea of trying something easier. It was then another quick flashback popped into his head followed by an idea he was sure could work for them.

            “Well, Scootaloo does make a point about trying something exciting,” said the stallion.                  The pegasus looked triumphant as her unicorn friend looked annoyed though the situation switched when he spoke again, “But Sweetie Belle is right about doing something safer.”

            “So . . . what should we do?” Apple Bloom asked.

            “Well, I say . . . we combine both ideas.”

            “You want us to wash windows while we wrestle bears and rocket skate?” asked Sweetie Belle.

            “That would be kinda cool,” admitted Scootaloo.

            Naruto chuckled, “No. I mean start with something like washing windows then work your way up to bear wrestling or rocket skating.”

            “Huh?” they asked collectively.

            “We used to do this back in my home village. To find our special talents, we were given small tasks to get us ready for the bigger stuff. Sooner or later, we each found our talents and gained our cutie marks,” half-lied Naruto, “I think this method could possibly work for you three.”

            “You think so?” asked the earth filly.

            “Only one way to find out,” Naruto gave them a half smile.

 

            Naruto’s words of wisdom helped the Cutie Mark Crusaders finalize their plan of attack and now with the stallion guiding them, the three fillies started doing certain small tasks around Ponyville like he once did during his days as a fresh-faced Genin in Konoha. The shinobi-turned-pony first had them try their hooves at weed pulling at one of Ponyville’s flower gardens ran by Daisy, Rose, and Lily. It was no surprise Apple Bloom was doing very well since she came from a family of farmers with Sweetie Belle doing fine as well. Scootaloo was very enthusiastic though some would say a bit too enthusiastic since she accidentally pulled out the flowers while getting rid of the invasive plants. Needless to say the three flora specialists were rather annoyed at this but Naruto managed to smooth things over with them yet he would be lying if he said he did not find this situation the least bit funny . . . and maybe a little bit familiar.

            The next task Naruto had the Crusaders do was take an animal under Fluttershy’s care for a walk around the town. Scootaloo decided to play it safe this time and volunteered to stroll with a rabbit while Apple Bloom chose a squirrel though Sweetie Belle decided to go big by choosing a full-grown Grizzly Bear. The bear itself was a gentle giant so there was no real danger but he just wasn’t a very good listener and this caused problems for the unicorn filly. Every time she wanted him to go one way, he went the other way and when she told him to either stop doing something or to not do something, he basically did it anyway. This attempt at gaining a cute mark was a failure for all three of them in the end yet this did not deter the fillies in the least.

            Garbage collecting was the third task the Crusaders were assigned to by Naruto and it seemed to be going well for all of them . . . until Apple Bloom accidentally slipped on a rotten banana peel and knocked over a garbage can. Matters only got worse when the can went rolling down a hill and crashed into a tree, resulting in an explosion of trash. The poor fillies had to clean up the mess and have a bath afterwards though the worst part was they did not receive their cutie marks thus forcing the orange stallion to think of something else.

            Naruto did not have to think hard since his mind came up with many new ideas for simple tasks the Cute Mark Crusaders could try out though unfortunately, nothing seemed to work for them. They tried helping a housemare with her laundry but they accidentally dirtied her cleanings after they were washed then they tried making and selling lemonade only to have their endeavor come to a sour end. Landscaping was another talent they tried except they completely butchered any shrubbery and hedges they were assigned to pretty up yet the time they helped Rarity get Opalescence out of a tree was worse for the aforementioned cat showed her gratitude in the form of painful scratching; they even tried window washing and they just winded up soapy and wet.

            It took some effort on their part but the trio of fillies managed to convince Naruto to let them try some stuff higher up on the difficulty level. The Cutie Mark Crusaders first tried their hooves at pottery with each of them making a simple clay pot though their pots looked more like lumps of mud. They soon went on to putting together 100-piece jigsaw puzzles with their eyes closed; needless to say they failed big time. They tried juggling while balancing on giant beach balls and it seemed easy enough yet this just proved they were not meant for a life in the circus. Another task they tried was bird watching since it involved probably one of the hardest things they ever had to do - sitting still for hours on end. It almost looked like they were succeeding until they yelled in frustration and started to run around all over the place however Naruto would be lying if he said he enjoyed it as well and did not want to do the same thing.

            After that, the Crusaders went forward with trying many new things and it always ended the same way with them failing and not obtaining their cutie marks along with Naruto smoothing things over with any ponies that got caught in their mishaps. It was the time of the setting sun when the four of them were at the park and resting from their excursions while the trio of friends sulked at their failures and lack of cutie marks.

            “We couldn’t do it,” Sweetie Belle said sadly, “we couldn’t get our cutie marks.”

            “As much as I hate to say it, Diamond Tiara was right. One day didn’t change a thing,” said Scootaloo with Apple Bloom nodding in agreement.

            Naruto watched and listened but couldn’t stand to hear one more word of negativity so he walked over to the pegasus filly and rubbed her head, “Hey. Just because you didn’t find your special talent today doesn’t mean the world’s about to end.”

            She looked at him before he spoke, “So you failed. It’s no big deal. After failing, there’s only one thing you can do.”

            “What’s that?” asked Apple Bloom.

            Naruto smiled, “Try again and keep trying until you succeed.”

            “Yeah. And fail even more in the meantime,” said Sweetie Belle.

            “Maybe we should just face facts, Naruto. Even if you kept helping us, we’ll still be no closer to getting our cutie marks,” said Scootaloo as she took her head away before turning her whole body away from him.

            “And we tried practically every thing Ponyville has to offer. What’s left to do?” asked Apple Bloom.

            “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were right. We’re just blank flank losers and always will be,” said Sweetie Belle before she and her friends bowed their heads in defeat.

            “Let’s face it. It’s all over,” said her Earth pony friend.

            Seeing his pseudo-siblings like this almost broke Naruto’s heart but his emotions changed to surprise once the light of the setting sun hit their forms thus causing a memory to appear in his mind. An image of him as a young boy still in the Academy and sitting in the same position soared into his mental plain. He recalled how he at that age once believed his ninja skills were never going to get better no matter how hard he tried but he also remembered how he resolved to get stronger and give it his all no matter what.

            A rush of determination filled the heart of his current equine body then he spoke up, “No. It’s NOT over. Not by a long shot.”

            The Cutie Mark Crusaders heard his statement then Apple Bloom asked, “What do you mean? What else can we do? There’s no way anypony’s gonna give us a chance after today.”

            An idea replaced the memories in his head yet the determination he felt stayed, “Then we won’t ask anypony else for a chance. I know exactly what you can try.”

            “Really? What?” asked Scootaloo while she and her friends stood up.

            He looked at them, “Meet me here tomorrow afternoon and I’ll show you. In the meantime, I got some preparations to make.”

            With that said, Naruto galloped away into Ponyville before the Crusaders looked at each other and went home.

 

            Tomorrow afternoon rolled on by and just as he said to, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were back in the park and currently sitting underneath a tree casting shade upon them.

            “So what do you think Naruto has planned for us?” asked Scootaloo.

            “No idea but he seemed really determined yesterday,” said Apple Bloom.

            “I’m still wondering what’s taking him so long. It’s not like him to be late for anything,” said Sweetie Belle.

            “Who says I’m late?” suddenly came the voice of Naruto.

            The sudden vocalization spooked the fillies a little before they looked around for him and saw he was nowhere in sight.

            “Naruto? Is that you?” asked Apple Bloom.

            “I sure hope so or else somepony is running around with my good looks,” joked the disembodied voice.

            “Where are you?” asked Scootaloo.

            “If I told you that, you’d know where I am and that would defeat the purpose of hiding in the first place,” said the hidden stallion.

            “So is this what you want us to get our cutie marks in? Hiding?” asked Sweetie Belle.

            “Not exactly. Hiding is only a small part of what you are about to learn,” said Naruto.

            After those words, the orange stallion jumped down from his hiding spot in the tree and landed between the three fillies; donned upon his head was the headband Rarity made him and on his sides were his saddlebags.

            The CMC looked at him in surprise before he spoke while assuming the aura of a master, “Today, I will teach you the skills the ponies of my village honed for centuries then perfected and improved.”

            “What skills?” asked Apple Bloom.

            He looked at them in a calm fashion then gave a small smirk, “The skills . . . of the great and honorable shinobi.”

            His pseudo-siblings stared at him with confused looks before the Apple filly asked again, “Shi-what?”

            The stallion chuckled, “You might know them as . . . ninjas.”

            A huge and happy gasp came from Scootaloo, “Ninjas? Like real ninjas?”

            “Wait a minute, you’re a ninja?”  asked Sweetie Belle.

            “Something like that. Many ponies of my home village are practitioners of the ninja arts and have learned to harness their inner strength and become mighty warriors each possessing their own styles and skills,” he half-lied, “I will admit I was one of the best back home despite being . . . the worst of my generation. Now my skills are both feared by enemies and admired by my allies.”

            “No doubt that Brick fella fears ‘em,” said Apple Bloom said.

            A smile graced the shinobi-turned-pony’s lips upon remembering his victory against that arrogant former black belt then he said, “I see you heard about that.”

            “Applejack told me everything,” said the earth filly.

            Sweetie Belle decided to speak up, “Rarity told me too. She said you gave him a well-deserved flank kicking with your Pony Style moves.”

            Pride filled his being as he gave a small cocky smirk, “Yeah but it was no big deal.”

            “You think you could teach us Pony Style?” asked an excited Scootaloo.

            Naruto’s smirk turned into a full smile, “I don’t see what not but only if you pass the initial lessons.”

            Next to come was a loud cheer from the fillies so loud Naruto had to cover his ears, “YAY! We’re gonna learn Pony Style!”

            They started skipping around in circles and it took some time for the stallion to get them settled before he spoke, “So, you three ready to start learning?”

            His new students nodded their heads rapidly before their teacher reached into his saddlebags and said, “Good. But first, put these on.”

            He pulled out and presented to them with three pairs of green goggles.

            “Goggles?” asked Sweetie Belle.

            “Back home, wearing goggles like these signifies you being a student in-training and are learning the fundamentals of being a ninja. I thought it only right this tradition continued,” he said.

            The Crusaders shrugged to each other, each took a pair of goggles, and secured them onto her heads; they looked rather adorable.

            “Okay, now follow me,” Naruto said before turning and walking away.

            They followed when Scootaloo asked, “Where are we going?”

            “To our training ground,” he simple answered.

 

            It did not take long for the fillies to find out the training ground Naruto mentioned was a clearing within some nearby woods where three wooden posts stood in the middle.

            “This is a training ground?” asked Scootaloo.

            “Doesn’t look like anything special,” pointed out Sweetie Belle.

            “It may not be special but it’s more than enough for what we are gonna do here,” replied Naruto.

            “About that. What exactly are you gonna teach us?” asked Apple Bloom.

            “I told you. The basics,” he answered then he set aside his saddlebags under a tree, “and the first lesson will be . . . hiding.”

            “Hiding?” asked Scootaloo.

            “That’s right. It may sound strange but hiding is a valuable skill all ninja must possess. It is used a lot whether to wait for a time to strike or to evade an enemy.”

            The fillies looked at each other and shrugged but their newest teacher suddenly spoke with a serious and grim tone, “But remember - it is crucial you remain completely out of sight . . . or else. Understand?”

            They nodded their heads rapidly then Naruto’s cheerful demeanor returned, “Alright then, here’s what we’re gonna do. I’ll look away and count to ten while you three run into woods and hide from me.”

            “So now we’re playing hide-and-seek now?” asked Sweetie Belle.

            “You could say that and if at least one of you can stay out of my sight for an hour, I’ll reward you guys with some fresh sweet ramen afterwards. Deal?” offered the stallion.

            The Crusaders instantly perked up at his offer of sweet ramen for they had a real love for his cooking thus causing them to speak in unison, “Yeah!”

            “Alright, let’s do this,” he turned around and covered his eyes, “One . . . two . . .”

            Once the numbers left Naruto’s lips, the trio of fillies ran into the woods and each found their own hiding places; they made absolutely sure to completely conceal themselves.

            Back in the clearing, Naruto was finishing the countdown, “Eight . . . nine . . . ten!”

            He uncovered his eyes and looked around, “At least they got the ‘completely out of sight’ part down.”

            ‘Unlike me on Day One’ he thought to himself in an embarrassed manner as he remembered immediately challenging Kakashi instead of hiding but he set those thoughts aside for now then he shouted into the air, “Ready or not, here I come!”

            Naruto quickly galloped into the woods and started searching for his three students; he  downgraded his stride into a trot as he looked everywhere for any sign of the fillies. The stallion soon stepped into an area riddled with bushes and it was not long until he began sensing that one of his apprentices could be close. He deployed all of his tracking skills as he walked through the section of the woods by first using his keen vision to catch anything out of the ordinary but found nothing, so he tried listening and all he heard was the birds in the background and the occasional flow of wind. When his two initial methods failed, he decided to resort to sniffing for any strange scents yet his nose turned up nothing.

            The stallion was close to leaving until he stopped beside a small cluster of bushes and caught a whiff of a fruity scent. Something about this smell seemed rather off because none of the trees or bushes around were bearing fruit then something clicked in his mind. He turned to the nearest bush, closed his eyes, dove his face into one of the floral bunches, latched his teeth onto something furry, and pulled it out in only matter of micro-seconds as a short scream filled his ears.

            Naruto opened his eyes to find his catch was Apple Bloom with a somewhat pouty expression on her face then she spoke, “Guess I’m no good at hiding.”

            Her teacher smiled then set her on the ground, “You did a very good job, I’m just more experienced. You actually did better than me when I first started.”

            A smile graced the filly’s lips then her mentor asked, “Can you find your way back to the clearing.”

            She nodded in response.

            “Great. Head back there. Me and the others we meet you there soon . . . maybe,” he said with a smile and the two split off their own directions.

 

            It was not long until Naruto came upon another section of the woods though this part was mostly compromised of trees and it was here he felt the presence of one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He soon went back into tracking mode and deployed all of his senses to seek out any sign of his student as he started walking through the area then a subtle sound came from the bottom of his front hooves; he looked and saw it was leaves. The shinobi-turned-pony initially thought it was normal to see leaves on the ground but upon a second look, he noticed these particular leaves . . . were still green and healthy.

            Naruto wasn’t the bright guy around but even he knew there was no reason for perfectly healthy leaves to be on the forest floor unless something forced them to fall. He began circling and inspecting the tree he found the leaves under and soon found something interesting - marks on the bark. Most of these markings were centered around the lowest branch then a thought entered the stallion’s mind as he looked up at the treetop before giving a small smirk. He took a few steps to his right, turned around so his hindquarters were facing the trunk, and unleashing a mighty bucking kick.

            His strike sent strong vibrations through the whole tree and it was not long before Scootaloo fell from the leaves with a loud “Whoa!”

            The pegasus filly didn’t fall far before her new mentor leapt into the air and caught her by the scruff of her neck with his teeth; he landed on all fours and held her up.

            “Awww, you found me,” said Scootaloo with a pout.

            Naruto chuckled and set her down on the ground before speaking, “Looks like it. Though I’m more impressed you were able to get up there since you can’t fly yet. Used the branches to climb, huh?”

            “Uh huh but how did you know I was up there in the first place?”

            “Sometimes it’s best to cover your tracks,” he said before pointing to the leaves on the ground.

            Scootaloo hung her head and said, “Guess I’m bad at hiding, huh?”

            He looks at the treetop she fell from, “No, you hid yourself pretty well.”

            She perks up, “Really?”

            Naruto nods his head, “Yep. I’m just more experienced.”

            A large smile graced the filly’s face.

            “Now you head back to the training ground and wait with Apple Bloom. I got a Sweetie Belle to find,” said Naruto before he and Scootaloo went their separate ways.

 

            Trees and bushes were nothing but blurs as Naruto raced through the woods in search of his third and final student whose presence he was feeling getting closer and closer. As he moved forward in his trek, the sound of water in motion filled his ears and it was not long until he arrived at a moving river being fed my a small waterfall and along the bank on his side were numerous logs arranged in a large pile.

            ‘Very clever, Sweetie Belle’ he thought to himself with a smirk as he looked at the log pile.

            The stallion definitely believed Sweetie Belle was hiding in one of these logs so he started examining the pile to see which log contained the unicorn filly. Most of these fallen trees were hollow thus it provided his student with plenty of places to conceal herself and judging from the size of the mound, it was going to take him a while to thoroughly search the whole thing. He started poking his face into every hollow trunk in sight yet his efforts came up with nothing and the shinobi-turned-pony was beginning to think his students were going to win the challenge though his thoughts changed when his ears picked up a subtle sound.

            Naruto stopped doing anything in order to listen more carefully so he stood still and moved his ears to pick up the sound again and it paid off because he soon heard it. It sounded rather rhythmic since this soft noise seemed to have a pattern that seemed . . . familiar; he quickly figured out what the sound was - breathing. The stallion knew the respiration must belong either to Sweetie Belle or a beaver but he was pretty sure it belonged to the former.

            He kept his ears focused on pinpointing the sound and it was not long before his search brought him to an opening to a hollowed log; he poked his face and there was Sweetie Belle crouched down right in front of him.

            All she said upon seeing him was, “I guess this means no sweet ramen?”

            Naruto just laughed and pulled his face out of the log then climbed down the pile with the unicorn filly following him.

            “I have to applaud you Sweetie Belle. You picked a very good hiding spot. It took me a while to find you,” said the orange stallion.

            “Thanks,” said Sweetie Belle with a smile.

            “Now let’s head back to the training ground. Can’t keep the others waiting,” he said with a smile before the two of them journeyed back to where they began.