MLP : Equestrian Shinobi - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: "Ponyville's Newest Bachelor"

    Two weeks have passed since Naruto opened up A Little Taste of Konoha and it was proving to be highly successful. Every pony in Ponyville seemed to love his homemade ramen and thanks to all the profits being made, he was able to buy numerous other ingredients so he could cook up some new dishes for his menu. The stallion now offered a sort of 'egg ramen' (cooked with an egg broth and boiled egg halves), a creation called 'apple ramen' (vegetable ramen except the veggies were replaced with apple slices and apple chunks), 'carrot ramen' (the name says it all), a kind of 'breakfast ramen' (basically oatmeal with fruit and the noodles were actually pan-fried doughnut strings), and something he dubbed 'sweet ramen' (made with threads of licorice as the noodles, chocolate milk as the broth, and pieces of candy) which is something he whipped up for the foals but Pinkie Pie seemed to like it too; he even served makeshift dango dumplings accompanied with a sweet red sauce, pan-fried vegetables, and teacakes along with a larger assortment of beverages. This array of foods and excellent service were helping make Naruto's restaurant Ponyville's newest major hot spot.

    Not only was he able to buy new ingredients, Naruto used some of the money he earned to buy furniture for the housing area. He purchased a sofa, a couple of armchairs, a floor rug, a coffee table, and a tall lamp for the living room along with two chairs, utensils, and a small icebox for the kitchen as well as a dresser drawer, a bedside table, a reading lamp, an alarm clock, sheets and pillows for his bed, and a windowsill planter for the bedroom; the whole place became a lot more cozy. The     orange pony made sure to also set some money aside for the property payments.

    Naruto's new life in Ponyville was turning out to be great but he still felt like there was something missing and Naruto knew exactly what it was this time - he hadn't been with a single girl since he arrived. Naruto both had Sakura and Hinata around for companionship and intimacy every day back in Konoha and while he may have the Mane Six, he wouldn't dare try anything with them or he might run the risk of losing his closest friends in Equestria though the stallion would be lying if he said he didn't find them overall attractive. His desire to be with a female grew stronger when he took up the habit of checking out the local mares then his thoughts started to become perverted as he begun envisioning the mares as attractive, naked human girls but they quickly came to a stop whenever a colt or a senior pony walked into the picture.

    At moments like this, Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox, would begin teasing his partner about having such thoughts or would start egging him to give in to his perverted fantasies but he hadn't spoken a word since Naruto arrived in Equestria. The shinobi-turned-pony found out why the other day.

    Naruto decided to pay Kurama a visit during a mediation exercise to find out why the tailed beast hadn't spoken a single word recently. When he entered his mind, he found himself in his regular human body and inside the dark sewer that represented his subconscious. He journeyed a long way until the sewer became replaced with the lush green forest Naruto created for Kurama to live in. He and the fox became closer after the war and soon were like brothers; they would tease and encourage each other just like any other siblings. His friends back in Konoha would joke about how Naruto and Kurama might actually be long-lost brothers which the blonde would think might just be true.

    As he ventured into the forest, the shinobi arrived at the giant den Kurama liked to nap in. Naruto knew his partner was in there since he could hear the snoring of some large creature; he entered and found the slumbering beast just a couple of miles from the entrance. The apparent drool oozing from the corner of the fox's mouth and the sleeping on the back were visual evidence that Kurama was in a deep sleep.

    "Must be hibernating again," said Naruto as he walked up to the fox.

    He placed both of his hands on Kurama's wet nose and started pushing, "Wake up Kurama."

    No response except snoring.

    "C'mon bro, wake up!"

    Still no response.

    "Wake! Up!"

    The response this time was the fox rolling over onto his stomach, still asleep; Naruto quickly moved out of the way so he wouldn't get squished.

    "He's definitely hibernating again. Better let him sleep," he placed his hand on Kurama's nose again and patted it, "sweet dreams Big Guy."

    The shinobi then left the mindscape.

    Naruto knew that Kurama would wake up whenever he wanted to so it really wasn't a big concern. Right now, he had an itch that needed to be scratched.

    Ponyville was in the clutches of a lovely sunny day and practically every pony in town was outside enjoying it. Naruto was basking in the sunlight at the park; he decided to close the restaurant today so he could have the day off. He was also there to keep an eye out for any potential mares he could ask out on a date but he had to be careful about who he asked. The last thing we wanted to do was ask out somepony's girlfriend or a mother whose time was mostly devoted to her foals. He did see a lot of couples and families at the park today but his eyes quickly caught the sight of a group of single looking mares and they sure did look pretty.

    He got up to go talk to them but he froze in his tracks when he heard, "Hey Naruto!"

    The stallion looked above him and saw Rainbow Dash flying down towards him. 

    "What's going on?" she asked.

    "Oh nothing much. Just hanging around the park and enjoying the day," he answered.

    "Cool. Hey, I thought up this new trick last night. Wanna see it?"

    Naruto looked back in the direction of the mares but they were gone so he looked back at Dash and said with a smile, "Show me what you got."

    If Rainbow were to look at him closely, she would tell his smile was kind of forced and he had small tears in the corners of his eyes.

    Naruto decided to take a walk through town after he saw Rainbow Dash's new trick, which he had to admit was awesome, but he was a bit depressed from missing his chance to ask out one of those mares at the park. He had just reach the marketplace when his sadness quickly lifted as he saw two cute mares over by the carrot stand. A smile broke out on his face, his spirits lifted, and a spring in his step appeared as he started trotted his way over to them.

    Joy was radiating throughout the stallion's body until, "Naruto darling!"

    The white front legs of Rarity wrapped themselves around his neck as he came face to face with the unicorn and she said, "I knew it was you. I'd recognize your lovely orange fur anywhere."

    "Rarity, a lot of ponies have orange fur," Naruto said.

    "But none as gorgeous as yours, sweetie," she battered her eyelashes at him, "anyway, could you help me with a teeny-weeny tiny favor?"

    "W-what is it?" He quickly started to regret asking.

    "I was going to the fabric shop to pick up some material for a new fashion line I came up with this morning. The only problem is I'm going to need a lot of material for each of these ensembles. Could you help me carry them? Pretty please? I would be incredibly grateful." She started giving him a puppy-dog eyes, duck pout, and battering eyelashes combination which Naruto officially dubbed, "Rarity's Flirty Pouty Face" and the worst part was that he was vulnerable to it every time.

    Naruto groaned in defeat as he was forced to forget the mares and said, "I'm at your command."

    After helping Rarity, the orange stallion galloped his way back to the marketplace in hopes of asking out one of those two mares he saw earlier but his eyes caught the sight of another mare who was sniffing at some flowers on the edge of a street road. He decided to go for it as he galloped his way over to her until he was tackled to the ground.

    The dust cleared to reveal the culprit to be Fluttershy, "Oh I'm so sorry Naruto but you would've galloped into those ducks if I hadn't stopped you."

    Naruto looked over to see a large family of ducks making their way through town then he looked at her, "There's just one thing I gotta to say Fluttershy."

    She looked a little scared now, "What?"

    "Nice tackle," he then plopped his head down to the ground.

    Naruto made it back to the marketplace where he discovered that the two mares from earlier were gone but before his heart could sink, he saw another pretty pony checking out some pots at a cookingware stand. The stallion made sure to look around for any duck families in the area before he started galloping towards her. The coast was clear so he broke out into a run which was cut short due to him tripping on something and falling flat on his face; pretty stars appeared before his eyes. The object turned out to be a few apples or whatever he could make them out to be since he was kind of dizzy from the fall.

    Next, he heard a voice, "Sorry 'bout that, pardner."

    Turns out it was Applejack in her selling apron, ten feet away from her cart.

    "Wha-what happened?" he asked in a dazed manner

    "Oh, Apple Bloom volunteered to help me sell some apples and accidentally knocked over a bucket," said Applejack as her little sister came over with a small bucket.

    "Yeah, sorry about that," said the filly as the stallion rubbed his head.

    The sisters begun picking up the spilled apples when Naruto looking over to where he saw the mare but she had already left. Once he saw that, he sighed and helped pick up the apples.

    The ponified shinobi was becoming frustrated when he departed from the Apple sisters and the source of this frustration was coming from all these interruptions in his mission to ask out a mare. Now he was just wandering around Ponyville but he froze at the sight of two mares talking to each other. Determination quickly took hold of his entire body as he pawed the ground and broke out into a sprint towards them. 

    He was about thirty feet away from them when Pinkie Pie zoomed in front of him from out of nowhere, "Hi Naruto!"

    Naruto gasped and quickly put on the brakes; he skidded right up to her and fell onto his back after he stopped.

    "Pinkie? Are you crazy? I could've crashed right into you," he said as he sat up.

    "But you didn't. And you wanna know why? Because you're the kind of pony who just doesn't go crashing into random ponies on the street. Anypony who does that is a real big meanie-pants and you're no meanie-pants. You're a super nice guy," she said quickly.

    Naruto had a stunned look upon his face.

    "Anyway, I just tried out this tasty new recipe for chocolate cake and I need somepony to taste it. And since I just happen to see you, you get to be the lucky pony who tries it."

    "Actually Pinkie, I'm kinda-" Naruto tried to explain.

    "No time. Everypony knows that the best time to taste a cake is when it is fresh from the oven," she took hold of his tail in her mouth and started pulling him away.

    "But wait a minute! Pinkie!" Naruto's pleas and objections fell on deaf ears, figuratively of course.

    Despite the delicious chocolate cake, Naruto's frustrated demeanor stayed even as he walked through the streets of Ponyville. Alongside his frustration was his determination which grew when he caught sight of a mare who was relaxing underneath a tree. 

    He was about to burst into a gallop when his body froze at the sound of a voice calling him, "Naruto!"

    He gave a quick weep then he turned to face Twilight Sparkle who was levitating a large stack of books in front of her which was clear evidence that she had just returned from the bookstore and making her way to him.

    "Thank Celestia that I came across you at such an important moment," said the unicorn as she walked trotted up to her male friend.

    'So that's who I should blame for all the crap that's been going on with me today," he thought.

    Twilight stopped in front of him, "Could you give Spike and I a hoof with organizing all these newest additions to the library? It will only take a few minutes or so."

    Deciding to go along with it, he answered in a slightly defeated manner, "It'll be my pleasure."

    The good news was that Naruto was no longer feeling frustrated but the bad news was he now felt completely depressed. He realized trying to ask out a mare to a date was a losing battle and all he wanted to do right now was to go home and curl up into his bed, even if it was the middle of the afternoon. The poor stallion would usually try to be more optimistic about such things except this was not like trying to learn a new jutsu. He had to admit asking out a girl was a lot more difficult since he didn't account for his friends hindering his plans. So he decided to just give up for now as a way to prevent any further disappointment.

    "Naruto!" called a voice.

    He flinched and looked over to his right to see Daisy, Rose, and Lily in front of the plant shop with Daisy waving at him. Since he figured that fighting was futile, Naruto just walked on over to the mare as her friends gathered behind her.

    "Hi girls," he said flatly.

    "Hi. Lovely day, isn't it? The pegasus ponies really have outdone themselves this time," said Lily.

    "And best of all, the sunshine is excellent for the flowers," said Rose.

    "At least someone is having a good day," Naruto said sadly.

    The mares took notice.

    "What's wrong, Naruto?" asked Daisy.

    "Let's just say, I've been having a nonproductive day," he answered.

    "How so?" asked Rose.

    Naruto took a breath, "I was trying to ask a girl out on a date all day but certain 'interruptions' keep preventing me."

    Once the word 'date' got out, the mares' ears stood up and smiles broke out on their faces.

    "Really? A date?" Rose asked excitedly.

    "Yeah. I never thought it could be so hard to try and ask out a girl. I haven't been able to at least talk to one today. Well except for Twilight and the others but that doesn't really count," he ranted slightly.

    "But you're talking to us," Daisy pointed out.

    Naruto's eyes widen as he quickly looked at them then looked at his surroundings to make sure nopony was around.

    "Then I'd better not waste anymore time," he grinned his signature smile, turned to the mares, and said, "Daisy, Lily, Rose, will you do me the honor of going out on a date with me?"

    "Yes," all three said at once as they looked at him with dreamy expressions.

    His smile grew wider but quickly vanished when the mares started glaring at each other. "He asked me!" said Daisy 

    "No, he asked me!" yelled Rose

    "You're both wrong. He asked me out!" exclaimed Lily

    The rose-flanked mare turned to him, "Who did you ask, Naruto?"

    "All three of you," he answered.

    "Wait a minute. You want to take all three of us on a date at the same time?" asked Lily.

    Naruto shook his head, "One at a time. Tomorrow, I'll take out Daisy then you the following night and Rose the next. Make sense?"

    They thought for a second then said, "Okay!"

    "Great," he cheered as he turned his attention to Daisy, "I'll see you tomorrow evening then. Say around six o'clock?"

    "I'll be counting the seconds," she responded.

    He chuckled as he turned and trotted back home; Naruto even gained a new spring in his step.

    The joy inside of Naruto swelled to tremendous levels and leaked out in the form of humming, slight dancing, and a huge smile on his face. His new demeanor clung to him for the rest of the day even during now at dinner with the Mane Six plus Spike. Since the restaurant was closed, Rainbow Dash still wanted the rest of her free dinners and she invited everypony else. She was lucky the stallion was in a good mood and that he already had plenty of leftovers from yesterday. The mares were currently surrounding the coffee table in Naruto's living room as they sipped their various drinks while he reheated the food in his upstairs kitchen; clockwise, it was Rarity, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow, an empty spot for Naruto, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Twilight, and back to the white unicorn mare.

    He came out seconds later, balancing a tray of eight ramen bowls on his head.

    "So who's hungry?" he asked as he made his way to the table.

    "Bring 'em on over, pardner," said Applejack.

    He did just that; he set the tray on the table and slid it into the middle then everypony there each took a bowl and started eating. Twilight and Rarity got vegetable ramen, Spike, Naruto, and Rainbow took a bowl of egg ramen, Fluttershy chose carrot ramen, Applejack partook in apple ramen, and sweet ramen was Pinkie's order. Naruto took his bowl and sat in his spot with Dash and AJ on his right, Pinkie and Fluttershy on his left, and the unicorns and baby dragon across from him.

    "So Naruto, what did you think of my new move?" asked Dash.

    "Absolutely spectacular! Once the Wonderbolts see it, they'll be begging you to join," he answered happily.

    The pegasus gained a look of confidence and pride.

    "And Naruto, I just want to thank you for your gracious assistance in carrying my fabrics and materials," said Rarity.

    "It was my pleasure and I'm sure the outfits you'll make with them will be truly beautiful, just like you," he flattered her which got her to blush and giggle.

    Spike just got an annoyed look on his face as he munched on a noodle.

    "Again, sorry about tackling you," said Fluttershy.

    "And for having tripped you," apologized Applejack.

    "Don't worry about it. Nopony got hurt so no big deal," he said in a cheery manner.

    "Did you like my cake? Was it any good?" Pinkie asked eagerly.

    "Good doesn't describe it enough. Your cake was a carnival of flavor and a wonderful masterpiece of baking," said the stallion joyfully.

    The pink pony just gave a huge smile.

    "And thank for your assistance at the library. It really helped," said Twilight.

    "Well, I like to be helpful. Especially to my friends," he smiled and slurped up a noodle.

    "Well, you seem to be in a better mood than before," observed the purple unicorn, "what's the occasion?"

    "I guess I might as well tell ya since you'll all find out eventually," said Naruto then took a breath, "I have a date tomorrow."

    The announcement caused Rarity to spit out her beverage which drenched the stallion in question.

    "A d-d-d-d-d-date!?" exclaimed Rarity.

    He shook himself dry, "Yeah."

    "You casanova. Who's the lucky mare?" asked Dash.

    "Daisy," he asked slurping a noodle.

    "Daisy?!" Rarity nearly shouted.

    "That's right," he took a sip of broth.

    "So what are you two gonna do for your date?" asked Twilight.

    "Well I figured we could have a nice dinner, maybe go for a nice quiet walk so the two of us could be alone, possibly sit down and talk in the park, and we might even gaze at the stars during the night," he explained.

    "That sounds so lovely," said Fluttershy sincerely then she turned to the white unicorn, "don't you think so, Rarity?"

    She was shocked to see Rarity whose face was distorted in a glare, a growling sneer, and giving off snorts from her nose; in lamest terms, she was pissed. Having Naruto announce his date with somepony else was enough to make her mad but hearing him plan out the entire event was making her blood boil.

    But since she saw herself as a lady and a close friend, Rarity sucked it up and answered the yellow pegasus through clenched teeth, "It sounds wonderful, Fluttershy. Just wonderful."

    "It does, doesn't? We could even go see a feature at Ponyville Cinema or go for a swing at The Dancing Pony Club," he continued.

    'Why don't you just stab a knife through my heart while you are at it?' Rarity thought angrily.

    "Sounds like a hoot, Naruto," said Applejack.

    "Yeah. Kinda makes me wanna ask you out myself," Rainbow said jokingly.

    "My dear Rainbow Dash, I had no idea that you felt so strongly about me," Naruto said playing along with her joke, "makes me wanna take you into my arms."

    He moved over to her only to be stopped by a small tap from Dash's spoon to his forehead as she replied with a chuckle, "Down loverboy, I'm trying to eat."

    'Loverboy' rubbed his 'wound' as the others laughed.

    Tomorrow evening had come and Naruto made his way to the flower shop to pick up Daisy since she, Rose, and Lily lived above it. He arrived around six o'clock as he said he would, entered the shop, and found Lily behind the counter while Rose tended to some potted flowers; they quickly took notice of him.

    "Hey Naruto," greeted Rose as Lily winked at him.

    "Hi girls. Is Daisy ready?" he asked.

    "We'll get her for you," said Rose as she wet over to the staircase leading to the upstairs living quarters and called up, "Daisy! Naruto's here!"

    The sound of galloping could be heard coming from above and making its way to the top of the stairs where it stopped and down came Daisy in a relaxed and casual manner.

    "Oh Naruto, you look handsome," she said batting her eyelashes.

    He looked at himself; the only big difference about him at this moment was he recently showered so his fur had a shiny clean look to it.

    "Thanks, you look pretty too," he returned the compliment.

    She too had just recently washed up and she was wearing a daisy flower behind her right ear.

    "So, shall we go?" the mare asked.

    "Ready when you are," he replied then they walked out the door.

    "See you girls later," Daisy called back to her slightly envious friends.

    As the couple discussed their first move, they were being watched from afar by somepony in a trenchcoat, a pair of sunglasses, and a fedora.

    Naruto and Daisy decided to catch an evening movie at Ponyville Cinema.

    "What would you like to see?" asked Daisy as they started looking at the various movie posters on the front wall.

    "I could go for anything," he half-lied.

    He actually didn't want to be stuck watching some mushy lovey-dovely chick flick but that fear greatly rose when he heard Daisy give a small gasp of excitement. Naruto turned to see her grinning at a poster featuring three stallions: one had a shaved head, another styled with a bowl-cut mane, and the third's mane was curly yet frizzy.

    "The Three Stallions! Oh my Celestia, I love these guys!" she exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

    "Who?" he asked.

    She gained a look of pure disbelief on her face as she faced him, "You don't know about the Three Stallions?!"

    He shook his head.

    "Then you'd better buy our tickets so you can experience something truly amazing!"         She begun pushing him towards the ticket vendor booth.

    "Okay okay," he chuckled.

    He walked up to the vendor stallion, "Two for The Three Stallions, please."

    "That'll be four bits, sir," the stallion behind the glass said.

    Naruto gave the employee the money who gave him the ticket in exchange.

    "Enjoy the show," said the vendor.

    "Thanks," the couple said then walked inside.

    Just as the vendor was putting away the newly received profits in the cash register, he heard the sound of coins on the counter and a voice saying, "One for The Three Stallions."

    He looked up to see a mare in a fedora and tenchcoat handing over two bits.

    The dating duo purchased some popcorn and a couple of sodas for the movie; it was about the comedic misadventures of three stallion brothers named Parry, Joe, and Murray. Such tales included the brothers joining a sort of 'mare haters' club then falling for the same mare, becoming plumbers but to only end up nearly flooding a mansion, enlisting in the Equestrian Royal Army and trying to survive their mean drill sergeant, selling a 'miracle medicine' to wind up causing trouble in a hospital, and many more.     Naruto found The Three Stallions to be highly entertaining with their cartoonish slapstick antics and fast-talking dialogue. He and Daisy practically had tears in their eyes from all their laughter as did everypony else in the theater including the disguised pony who was also watching the couple from the back row.

    The pony couple decided to head back to Naruto's place for dinner which Daisy was all for. They reached their destination and Naruto started cooking dinner by placing a pot of water on the stove, chopping up vegetables, and making noodles with his Shadow Clones. While he was busy preparing their meal, Daisy settled herself into one of the booths and begun fidgeting with her appearance a bit but she quickly stopped when Naruto brought her a glass of apple juice and a plate of dango with dipping sauce on the side as an appetizer. 

    They still had no idea that they were being watched by the pony in disguise who was lurking just beneath the front left bay window of the ground floor. Whoever this mystery equine was, they knew how to stay hidden and showed great determination in sticking to their targets. All he or she had to do now was keep their cover by sticking to the shadows and --

    "Rarity?"

The mystery pony, now identified as Rarity, looked around and saw her friends making their way towards her.

    "What in tarnation are you doing there?" asked Applejack.

    Her answer came in the form of Rarity tackling them down to the ground.

    "Quiet! You'll blow my cover!" she hissed.

    "Blow your cover?" asked Twilight.

    She wriggled out of her friend's hold, moved up to the bay window, and peered inside to see Naruto and Daisy talking.

    The realization shocked the unicorn, "Rarity! I'm surprised at you. You're spying on Naruto and Daisy on their date!"

    Rarity popped up next to her, "I am doing no such thing. Now get down or they will see us."

    She pulled her friend down to the ground with her as the others walked over to them; Rarity quickly hissed at them, "Get down!"

    They did just that as she asked, "What are all of you doing out here?"

    "We could be asking you the same thing, " whispered Rainbow Dash.

    "I asked first!" Rarity retorted.

    "Well, Naruto made star gazing sound nice so I decided to do it and I invited everypony else to join me," said Twilight.

    "We went over to your boutique to invite you too but all the lights were off so we thought you might have went to bed," said Fluttershy.

    "But it sure was a big coinkydink that we found you here," said Pinkie Pie.

    "Well you got your question answered, now answer ours," said Dash.

    Rarity sighed, "Very well. I have been keeping a close watch on Naruto and Daisy's date. I felt it was my duty as his friend to make sure that Daisy didn't try anything inappropriate with him . . even if it meant dawning this highly unstylish outfit."

    "So ya'll got jealous and decided to do some spying on those two," said Applejack.

    "Oh please Applejack. A lady doesn't succumb to jealously."

    The orange mare just gained a 'yeah right' look on her face then continued speaking,     "Ya'll do know it is just plain rude to snoop in on somepony's business, right?"

    "I am not snooping! As I said before, it is my duty to watch over this entire fiasco."

    "But there isn't a pinata or any chips and salsa anywhere," said Pinkie.

    Every pony there looked at the pink mare with confusion.

    "Anyway Rarity, Applejack's right. This is a total invasion of Naruto's privacy and could mean big troub-" Twilight was interrupted by her lips being covered by Rarity's hoof.

    "Please dear, I cannot hear what they are saying," The white unicorn mare had apparently turned her attention back to the date where the couple were still having a conversation.

    The talented magic user pulled away from her restriction then her attention was drawn to what seemed to be a pencil sticking out of Rarity's coat pocket.

    "What's that?" she asked as she used magic to pull out the contents of the pocket which were a pencil and a pad of paper with some writing on it.

    Twilight looked at the scribbling then let out a gasp, "Notes? You're taking notes?"

    Rarity brought her attention to the other unicorn, snatched her pencil and notepad back ,and pocketed them.

    "That's none of your business," she said before looking back into the window.

    Twilight tried to reason with her friend, "This is serious. If Naruto catches you-"

    "Please Twilight, I'm trying to stay focused. Why don't you girls go do your star gazing or something," the seamstress waved off her lecturer.

    Giving a sigh of defeat, Twilight said, "C'mon girls, let's go."

    "Sounds fine to me," said Applejack then she turned to the amateur spy, "So long Rarity."

    They begun walking away as Dash said, "Don't come crying to us when you get caught."

    "Uh huh," was she said as her friends walked away.

    Rarity kept to her post as she diligently watched Naruto and Daisy have their supper and strike up conversations. Ever now and again, she would catch Daisy flirting with the stallion then sometimes she would laugh at things he said and vise versa. Those two ponies seemed to be having a real good time and it just drove Rarity crazy. The unicorn just couldn't stand the sight of seeing some mare try to move in on the one her heart desired; the night took a turn for the worse when the dating pair decided to take a walk in the park but Rarity followed them, still sticking to the shadows, to make sure nothing would happen.

    "The stars are sure pretty tonight," said Pinkie Pie.

    "They sure are," said Applejack as Twilight nodded in agreement.

    The five mares were all in the park, lying on their backs, and just looking up at the night sky.

    "I can't believe Rarity is missing out on this," said the pink mare.

"    Well, she made her choice and now she will have to face the consequences of her actions," said Twilight, "let's just forget about it now and enjoy our star gazing."

    They did just that until their ears caught the sound of a mare and stallion laughing; the girls looked over to see Naruto and Daisy on their backs and having a conversation as they looked up at the night sky. They couldn't make out what the couple was saying but it was obvious from the grins on their faces that somepony said something funny.

    "Well, would look at that. Those two loveponies are here as well," said Applejack.

    "And wherever those two are," said Twilight as she scanned the surrounding background until she saw a certain fedora peeking out from the bushes, "Rarity won't be far behind."

    "You gonna try and talk to her again?" asked Rainbow Dash.

    The unicorn sighed and stood up, "It couldn't hurt to try one last time."

    She and her friends made their way towards Rarity who was hiding in a bush ten yards away from the dating pair; they walked around it to find their friend who was keeping a vigilant eye on her targets.

    "Still at it, Rarity?" said Twilight which resulted in the dressmaker shrieking in surprise.

    "Don't you know it is rude to sneak up on somepony?" Rarity asked angrily as she faced her friends.

    "So is spying," said Applejack.

    "When are you gonna give this up?" asked Dash.

    "Yeah Rarity, Naruto's bound to find out that you were spying on his date," said Pinkie.

    "But aren't you girls the least bit curious?" asked the white mare.

    "Curious? About what?" asked Fluttershy.

    "About the date, about what is happening, what has happened, what they did, and how they did it? Or what might happen after tonight?" she asked.

    "I'm not followin' here. What do ya mean by 'after tonight?'," said Applejack.

    "I mean what's going to happen after tonight. What if Naruto and Daisy become a couple?" Rarity asked as she took off her sunglasses.

    "Well, I-I think they make a nice couple," said Fluttershy as she looked over at the couple in question.

    "It may be nice now Fluttershy, but what if Naruto spends all of her time with her? We could lose our friend."

    "Rarity, that's not gonna happen," said Twilight.

    The fashionista faced her friend, "And how can you be so sure?"

    "Well, . . . . I can't," was the only answer the purple unicorn could give.

    "Uh huh. Now if you excuse me," Rarity put her sunglasses back on and turned to the date in progress, "I have to keep an eye on our friend."

    Seeing as this has been nothing but a waste of time, Twilight sighed and shook her head, "C'mon girls, let's just go."

    She looked to find the rest of her friends joining Rarity in spying on the dating couple.

    "Girls! Not you too!" Twilight exclaimed.

    "Actually, we're more curious to see how this all goes than anything," said Dash.

    "In that case, I have important jobs for you," said Rarity as she gathered them together.

    "And then, I yelled out 'Pervert!' and all the mares came rushing out of the hot springs and chased the old horse down the street until they caught him and beat the snot out of him," Naruto said chuckling as he sat up straight.

    Daisy giggled, "Was he okay?"

    "Oh yeah. He was used to that kind of thing."

    "Heeheehee . . . . wait, what?" She quickly sat up.

    Naruto decided to entertain his date with a story about one of his adventures with Jiraiya, his late mentor and godfather. The couple had no idea they were being watched and overheard by Fluttershy who was hiding in one of the trees just yards away from the two of them. Meanwhile up above, a single small cloud drifted right over them which was actually Rainbow Dash using said cloud as a disguise as she listened in closely on the current conversation.

    Daisy took notice of Dash's cover, "What's that cloud doing there?"

Naruto looked at the object of Daisy's attention, "Must have been accidentally left by one of the pegasi."

    "Maybe it was Rainbow Dash. She has a habit of being a bit lazy," chuckled the earth pony mare.

    The pegasus in question got a scowl on her face from hearing the comment.

    Naruto started chuckling too, "Yeah. That does sound like Dashie."

    Now 'Dashie' was trying to fight the urge of not unleashing a torrent of rain upon their heads until she heard Naruto speak again, "But you can't really blame her. It's a tough job maintaining the weather over Ponyville."

    Daisy giggled a bit, "Point taken."

    Rainbow couldn't help but feel a bit touched to hear her friend stand up for her but she still wanted to drown Daisy in precipitation though.

    In one of the bushes on the far left side of the dating ponies, Applejack made sure to watch what was going on but her focus was quickly drawn to something else. She could clearly make out what appeared to be a lump moving underneath the grass and heading towards the targets. The lump opened up a bit at the front to reveal the face of Pinkie Pie who was concentrating on the date.

    "Oh for the love of Pete, Pink," Applejack whispered angrily, "they're gonna see ya."

    From her original post, Rarity caught sight of Pinkie's face and became annoyed.

    "What does that pony think she's doing?" she asked herself.

    A groan sounded behind her, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

    The voice was an upset Twilight with Rarity's pencil and notepad since her job now was to take down any new notes about the date.

    The captain of this whole 'operation' turned to the new recruit and said, "Twilight, make sure you watch those two. I have to go take care of our slight problem."

    The purple unicorn gave a small salute and flatly said, "Aye aye, mon capitan."

    Thinking it was sincere, Rarity saluted back and crept over to Applejack's position as she made sure to stick to the shadows and hide behind the surrounding flora. Twilight, with an uninterested facial expression, got started with the so-called duty she was just assigned to.

    She heavily sighed, "This is gonna end very badly. I just know it."

    The unicorn begun watching the two ponies interact with each other as they laughed, talked, and looked at the stars. There were even moments when Daisy would giggle and playfully hit his arm, nudge him, or nuzzle up to him. And for the first time tonight, Twilight started to become interested in her friend's date.

    "They really seem to be enjoying themselves," she observed.

    She continued watching with slight enthusiasm as she begun to jot down small notes; Twilight recorded on how Naruto would interact with Daisy and vise versa. The librarian even noticed how the stallion seemed to be enjoying his date's company and how happy he seemed to be. She had never seen him this happy before and it was here the unicorn started to feel a small twinge of concern. The levelheaded pony couldn't help but recall that he had never been this happy around her or her friends and this got her thinking.

    "What if Rarity has a point? What if Naruto does spend all of his time with Daisy?" she asked herself.

    A rustle came from her right then she heard Pinkie's voice, " . . . But I was well hidden, Rarity."

    Then out came Rarity holding Pinkie's tail in her mouth and pulling the pink mare along with her.

    She spat out the tail, "Your so-called 'well hidden' was bound to get us caught. You are going to stick with Twilight and I for the rest of our operation."

    "Okay," said Pinkie sounding a bit disappointed.

    Rarity turned to Twilight, "Anything to report, dear?"

    Without taking her eyes of the targets, Twilight levitated the notepad to its owner, "This is all I have."

    The white unicorn lifted up her hat a bit to expose her horn, took hold of the pad with her own magic, and looked over the newest notes then slyly smiled at her purple-coated friend, "I knew you would come around sooner or later."

    "I'll admit that at first I thought you were being paranoid," said Twilight as she turned to face the disguised mare, "but after watching these two, I'm starting to see what you mean."

    She looked back at the couple as the other unicorn joined her, "Just look at him. I've never seen him like this. What if he does leave us for Daisy? What if we do lose him?"

    "Do you think that might really happen?" asked Rarity.

    "I don't know Rarity, I just don't know."

    "You know what I could go for?" Naruto asked as he sat up.

    "What?" Daisy followed suit.

    "Some dessert," he answered,

    "I know what you mean," she got a longing look in her eyes and started cuddling up against him.

    This action caught the Mane Six by surprise.

    "Great! So how about we go back to my place and have some sweet ramen with a side of vanilla ice cream?"

    Daisy gained a dumbfounded look but that was replaced with a thinking expression then she smiled and licked her lips at the thought of dessert, "That sounds delicious."

    "Then what are waiting for?" The two of them stood up and made their way out of the park.

    Once the couple was out of sight, the six mares all gathered together outside of their original hiding place.

    "Did either of you two you catch what they were saying?" Twilight asked the pegasi.

    Ignoring the fact that Twilight seemed to be interested now, Fluttershy spoke, "They said something about sweet ramen and ice cream back at his place."

    "So now what?" asked Rainbow Dash.

    "We follow them, of course," said Rarity.

    With their next course of action chosen, the six ponies carefully followed the couple back to Naruto's residence. Naruto had just started serving the sweet ramen and ice cream when the six of them arrived under the same window they were at earlier that night.

    Rarity took a quick peek inside and ducked back down, "Okay girls, let's keep this up."

    "Keep what up?" somepony said.

    "Spying on Naruto and Daisy's date, of course," she said looking at Applejack.

    "I didn't say anythin'," she answered.

    Rarity looked at the others.

    "Me neither," said Pinkie as Rainbow and Fluttershy shook their heads.

    "Uh . . . girls," squeaked Twilight as she looked behind Rarity.

    Everypony else looked in that direction to find the bay window open and Naruto leaning over the windowsill with Daisy behind him; he was tapping his hoof impatiently and angrily.

    Rarity smiled nervously, "Oh good evening Naruto, we were just-"

    "Spying on my date?" he interrupted.

    She gulped in fright, "Naruto, I can explain."

    "Explain what? That you were spying on us? Following us from the very start? From the moment me and Daisy left her place?" he said in an irritated manner.

    "Ho-how did you know?" she nearly shouted.

    "It's very hard to not notice a pony in a trenchcoat following us but what really gave it away was I caught a glimpse of a white hoof and purple hair. And last time I checked, you were the only pony I know with white fur and purple hair. I even heard you laughing in the movie theater," he half-lied.

    In truth, Naruto was able to sense Rarity's presence due to his shinobi training.

    He turned to the others, "I can't believe you guys are joining her."

    "To be honest Naruto, we didn't wanna do this in the first place. Rarity kinda convinced us," said Applejack.

    "That doesn't matter. You guys still invaded my privacy. Friends don't do that to each other," Naruto lectured.

    Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie felt highly ashamed, Rainbow Dash couldn't look him in the eye, and Fluttershy was close to tears but the worse was yet to came as he looked at Rarity.

    "But Rarity, you started this whole thing. I'm really, really, really disappointed in you the most. I'm not sure if I can even forgive you for this."

    If somepony were to listen very carefully, they could hear the sound of Rarity's heart shattering into a million pieces as she became stunned and stiff.

    "Now, I would be most grateful if you six please just leave."

    Twilight hung her head low, "Let's go, girls."

    She and the others started to walk away except for Rarity who was still frozen in shock and had to be carried by Applejack. Once he saw his nosy friends were out of sight, Naruto closed the window then he and Daisy went back to their table.

    "Maybe I was a bit tough on them, but it just got me upset that they spied on us," Naruto said as he sat down.

    Daisy sat opposite of him and placed a hoof on his as a way of trying to comfort him, "Despite all that, I've had the most wonderful time with you."

    "I can honestly say the same," Naruto said sincerely.

    They began to look into each other's eyes and before they knew what happened, the couple leaning over to each other and their lips interlocked into a passionate kiss.

    The following morning, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy arrived early at Sugarcube Corner where Pinkie had just came out of the kitchen and was carrying a large box on her back.

    "Got the muffins, Pinkie?" asked Twilight.

    "Uh huh. At least two dozen," she answered in a sad demeanor.

    "Y'all really think that Naruto's gonna forgive us?" asked Applejack.

    "We can only hope so, Applejack. We had no right to do what we did. And worst of all, I knew something like this would happen and I did nothing to stop it. It's all my fault we're in this situation," said Twilight.

    "We're all responsible, Twilight. Not just you," said Fluttershy.

    "Yeah and besides, nothing says 'I'm sorry' like a big box of Pinkie's homemade chocolate chip chocolate muffins," said Rainbow Dash.

    "Then we had better get Rarity before we go to see Naruto. I know she'll probably want to apologize to him as well," The unicorn led the way out the door as they made their way to Carousel Boutique.

    The five mares arrived at Rarity's shop and residence moments later.

    Twilight knocked on the front door and called out, "Rarity! Are you awake?"

    There was no answer; Twilight twisted the knob and to their surprise, the door was unlocked. They went inside, climbed the stairs, and came to the door that marked the entrance to Rarity's bedroom.

    Twilight knocked again, "Rarity? Are you in there?"

    "Go away!" came Rarity's answer.

    "No can do, girl. We're comin' in," said Applejack as she opened the door.

    They went inside to be shocked by the sight of Rarity with puffy eyes as if she had been crying for a long time, her false eyelashes missing, no eyeliner, and her mane and tail all messed up as she was laying on her bed while used tissues were strewn about her; she was even sniffling a bit.

    "Whoa, never thought I would see Rarity like this," said Dash.

    "Rarity, what's wrong? You don't normally look this horrible in the morning," asked Twilight.

    "Yeah! You usually have that green gunk on your face that makes you look like green monster," said Pinkie.

    "What's the point in looking beautiful? I have no reason to look beautiful anymore. I have already lost the stallion of my dreams and he hates me with every fiber of his being," Rarity said dramatically.

    "He doesn't hate you, Rarity. He was just mad," Twilight tried to comfort her.

    "No! He utterly despises me," said Rarity, "Oh Twilight, if only I had listened to you and stopped myself when I had the chance. But my jealously overpowered my judgment and now Naruto will never see me as a potential lover."

    The five of them were slowly starting to feel less sorry for their friend due to her overdramaticness; Rainbow flew over to the white unicorn, pulled her into an upright position, and slapped both her cheeks.

    "Get a grip on yourself!" said the pegasus, "this is what you're gonna do. You are gonna get out of this bed, make yourself pretty, and come with us to Naruto's to apologize for spying on him last night. You got that?"

    The fashionista nodded slowly then Rainbow let her go; Rarity did exactly what she was told as she went into the bathroom to get herself ready.

    "What was that all about?" Twilight asked the blue pegasus.

    "I just hate quitter talk," she answered.

    Once Rarity got herself all dolled up, all six ponies made their way to A Little Taste of Konoha where they went around to the backdoor. Applejack toyed with the knob to see if it was unlocked which it was then once they entered the kitchen, the mares got hit by the smell of oatmeal cooking for breakfast ramen.

    "Mmmmm, nothing like the smell of breakfast ramen oatmeal in the morning," said Pinkie, "perfect to go with my muffins."

    "Before you start chowing down, we'd better speak to Naruto first," said Twilight then she called out, "Naruto? Are you home?"

    "Twilight?" came his voice from a top of the stairs.

    Naruto made his way down to them and asked once he stopped in front of the group, "What are you girls doing here?"

    The purple unicorn started to speak, "Naruto, we would just like to honestly say-"

    "I'M SORRY!" interrupted Rarity who pushed herself past her friends and before him.

    "I'm SO very sorry!," she then kneeled down in front of him, "I promise, from now on, to never invade your privacy or to interfere with your private life! I'll be a better friend, the kind of friend you deserve. Just please don't hate me!"

    The entire scene kind of scared him but he was able to hear the sincerity in her voice.

    "I don't hate you, Rarity. I was just mad," he said as he gently rubbed the top of her head.

    She looked up at him, "So . . .you forgive me?"

    He gave her a gentle smile, "I forgive you," he looked at the rest of his friends, "all of you."

    Their reactions were smiles and sighs of relief except for Rarity's who sprung to her hooves and cried, "Thank you!"

    She then wrapped her front legs around his neck and kissed his cheek; he blushed.

    Pinkie Pie hopped up to him and showed him the box on her back, "In celebration of us still being friends, let's dig into these chocolate chip chocolate muffins."

    She did a small bounce and the lid opened up to reveal the delectable cargo within; Naruto's mouth started to water a bit at the wonderful sight but he quickly snapped out of it.

    "Actually guys, now's not really-" he started to say until a voice sounded from upstairs, "Naruto?"

    Down the stairs came Daisy as his friends gained a look of shock except for Rarity whose look was more of fear and instantly froze in place.

    The daisy-flanked mare spoke again, "I heard noises. Is something wron-"

She caught sight of the new arrivals as she reached the bottom of the stairs, "Oh, hi girls. What's going on?"

    Pinkie spoke up, "We were just about to dig into these muffins. Want one? There's more then plenty."

    "Sounds great. They should go very well with the breakfast ramen," said Daisy.

    "That's totally what I just said," then a small click went off in her brain, "hey, wait a minute. Whatcha doing here this early in the morning at Naruto's, Daisy? The restaurant doesn't open for like another hour."

    Naruto and Daisy stiffen up a little before the stallion wriggled his way out of Rarity's hold and walked up to her, "Well, ya see uh . . ."

    "Hold on, I get it now," she said as everypony else awaited for her to speak again, "You and Naruto . . . . had a sleepover. Didn't you?"

    The two ponies in front of her each gave a small sigh of relief while her friends, except for one, looked at her with confusion.

    Naruto spoke, "Yeah. You could say that, Pinkie."

    "Oooo! Was it fun?"

    "On yeah! We had lots of fun," Daisy said as the two of them started blushing.

    As if on cue, Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow started to slightly blush as well while Fluttershy's blush could be compared to Hinata's.

    The sound of boiling oatmeal reached Naruto's ears, "Why don't you all go take a seat and I'll get the ramen ready?"

    "Sounds great! C'mon girls," Pinkie Pie skipped out of the kitchen as the other mares followed but Rainbow Dash had to pick up the still frozen Rarity and carry her out.

    Once breakfast was done, Naruto served it up and everypony had a lovely yet slightly uncomfortable meal.