Equestrian Heroes

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Naruto x Rarity x Twilight x Fluttershy x Applejack x Pinkie Pie x Rainbow Dash x Ditzy x Luna x ? x ?

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For Normal Speech

Inner thoughts, Text read, Italics used to represent characters speaking in different language.

Demonic rage, Demonic characters, Kurama Speak

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Story Start

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'Surprising'

'Shocking'

'Speechless'

And many other words followed this statement.

This Was family appreciation day and Scootaloo had not been looking forward to it at all.

So when he had entered the Pegasus was shock.

"I am captain of the Lunar Guard Naruto and Scootaloo's father."

It was only really now setting in for the filly Pegasus.

Naruto seemed more like a big brother than a father. It was weird to think of him as so.

And what followed was a canopy of questions from many curious fillies and colts.

Some exasperating Cheerilee to which more than once Naruto would assure her throughout the session was okay.

"Why is your name funny?"

Aah straight to the clincher. "I come from lands outside of the Equestrian borders. The way we named others was closer to our clans or familial herds then our appearances or hopes of our parents." If there was an easier way to explain things he wasn't able to think of a way.

"Have you ever fought a dragon?"

"Occasionally I fight dragons. Normally when I do so I have the support of my team."

"Did you really fight Nightmare Moon? How scary was she?"

"Not alone. The other Elements of Harmony and I have encountered Nightmare and her followers twice and succeeded both times. And understanding what Nightmare is and what she does to others, yes she can be considered quite frightening."

"What's an Element of Harmony?" One colt with weird stringy limbs had asked him much to his surprise.

He knew some children could be rather clueless and did not often looked at the world around him, but he would thought being the epicenter to so much of the Elements ongoing practically everypony in town would have some cursory knowledge of them.

When many of the other colts and fillies also seemed similarly unaware Naruto knew he had quite the explanation on his hands.

"The Elements of Harmony can refer to two things. Either the mystical gems themselves or the Bearers that emphasize these traits." Much of what he would imply or say would probably go over the young one's head, but that was because the nature of Harmony itself was not so simple.

"Now who can tell me about Honesty?" he asked, expecting Applebloom to leap at the chance but to his surprise she seemed to shy away at the question, trying to make herself seem as small as possible. He had the inkling of wonder did something in class happened earlier.

"I can! I can!" Dinky gave an enthusiastic wave.

"Well then miss Do can you enlighten us?" Dinky was a bright filly after all. If any young pony would be observant it would be her.

"Honesty is important because it allows us to build trust with one another. You can believe what other ponies tell you and if you tell them things truthfully they'll believe you."

"Aah yes excellent. Honesty is important because it allows us to know the ties and information shared are genuine. Honesty is important to prevent unnecessary harm being done to each other. This is the trait of the Bearer Applejack of the Apples."

Some of the students began whispering in surprise at this. Applebloom's big sister was famous? Others understood this but weren't exactly clued in why the bearers were heroes or what exactly they had done due to being sheltered by their parents of the darker elements of society.

It was a shame. Pony culture seemed to have a bigger emphasis on sheltering their young than the humans one.

"Next we have Generosity." As soon as he said this Sweetie Belle was practically out of her seat.

"Yes miss Bell would you care to share your thoughts?"

"Well yeah, being generous makes you a really nice pony. Like my sister Rarity. She's always helping ponies and giving stuff to others that need it. "

"Yes, Generosity is another important virtue that ties us together. We give to those who can support themselves and help elevate them. We encourage bonds and good will towards others by doing so. You'll be hard pressed to find a more generous pony than Rarity. Now let's move on to our thoughts on Loyalty."

One by one the young ponies were given a brief description of the virtue of the elements along with the identity of those bearers.

It hadn't even mattered if Naruto went over the time limit. He was the last speaker of the day and Cheerilee had been absorbed into the discussion as much as the children had.

She couldn't say she interacted with any element that wasn't Naruto, Twilight, or Pinkie.

"…empathy is what allows us to understand one another. To appreciate our family and loved ones. To appreciate our bonds. Together with Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty, Kindness, Laughter, and Magic our Empathy creates Harmony. And Harmony; the peace is the very thing a soldier like me protects." He began to wonder how he had strayed so far off the purpose of him being here. "Anyway enough of that, you tykes still have no idea what a Guard Captain does right?" he asked as most of them sake their heads. "Well it's a position in the military. Despite the name Captain its no longer associated with the rank captain. As captain of the guard my duties are associated with bodyguard duty for royalty or head of state. In my case that means serving and protecting Princess Luna. Though my rank can also refer to military security fore within a city or region such as a province, state, or territory. Though I am also a Brigadier general."

"What's a Brigd-bridga-brid…that?" Berry Pinch, daughter of Berry Punch asked, giving up on trying to pronounce the name.

"It's a senior rank in the armed forces. It means I am among the lowest ranking general officers below a colonel or major general. That means I serve as the advisor and Deputy Commander to a Major General commanding a division-sized unit of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers, and assists in overseeing the tactical planning and coordination of division operations." And once more he started to go over their heads. "I advise a lot of other ponies in our service who doesn't wear more stars than me on my vest." He said indicating his star, dumbing it down for some of the less academically inclined students.

It didn't help that everytime he explained one thing several hands would shot up asking him even more questions. That was born out of jokingly mentioning in his off time he fought Hydras and Manticores.

Thankfully Cheerilee had cut off the questioning before it could continue on until the end of the day.

One thing was certain. Naruto had solidified his status as the cool dead among Scootaloo's classmates.

That much she was nothing as the two of them were walking down the streets of Ponyville.

"It was the coolest thing. Everypony kept approaching me and asking questions and…" He wasn't sure Scootaloo could be any more enthusiastic then she was right now unless she was literally walking on clouds. "…and Diamond Tiara looked so mad that everypony kept on talking about how you were the coolest dad. It was so awesome."

"Now Scootalo, it was not a competition for who had the best dad…" he preceded to lecture her causing the filly's enthusiasm to deflate momentarily. "…as we all know competitions like those are usually decided by looks and in my unbiased opinion I was of course the best looking father there."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and snorted. "Maybe if you put about twenty percent more effort into your mane." She jested causing him to narrow her eyes at her.

"I'd joke about you and Rainbow spending too much time together and suggest you two spending less time together if I wasn't sure you'd maul my neck."

"Ankles are an easier target." The filly suggested.

Naruto's face cracked into a smile. His influence was shining through.

"Whoo! Why hello bees, Beatrice, Beecher!" The two of them heard drawing their attention.

They looked over to a stall that contained bees to which they saw Granny Smith with a beard of a bees as she poured the honey from the nest into a jar. Applebloom was by her side, wearing a bonnet. "Ooh, you've all been busy little bees, haven't you?" She began making buzzing sounds afterwards.

Applebloom lowered her head in embarrassment and looked around. "Granny, isn't there a less... silly way to get the honey?"

As she spoke, Naruto noted it was those two little troublesome fillies. He couldn't remember their names, the only reason he could even remember them was because that's when the same moment the Crusaders were formed.

The tiara wearing one seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason.

Nonetheless, Applebloom gasped at the sight of them and hid behind a nest of bees.

"Oh, isn't this just precious?" Granny Smith commented loudly as she grabbed Applebloom and picked her up.

"Please stop!" She desperately asked in a whispered tone.

"And it is perfect for makin' our zap apple jam!" Granny Smith announced loudly, beginning to gain the attention of the other ponies around her.

"Shh! Stop it, Granny!" Applebloom pleaded, but the fillies that were walking by her stopped and began laughing. "Granny, please! Those ponies over there are watchin' me!" She pointed to the fillies.

"What?" Granny Smith questioned and looked at them. "Are those fillies your friends? Hello, Half-pint's friends!" She waved to them.

"Hiii, Granny Smith!" Silver Spoon waved as she greeted her. Diamond Tiara began to wave as well, but by the look on her face, I could see she was up to no good. "Hi, Half-pint!" She resumed in a mocking tone and laughed with Diamond Tiara after.

Applebloom then lowered her head and looked around uneasily.

"Hey Bloom! Granny! No trouble over here right?" Naruto approached as Scootaloo followed after him. "Fillies."

Silver Spoon backed down instantly. 'The stallion from the party.'

Diamond Tiara merely sneer before making her leave with a contemptuous hmph. "Come Silver we have other things to do." With that they were on their way.

"What dolls. Why, when I was little, ponies didn't come that purdy."

Naruto rolled his eyes as Scootaloo helped up Applebloom. "Ignore miss snitty Bloom. She's just soar because she wasn't the center of attention for once."

If Applebloom took any solace in Scootaloo's words she didn't show it, instead turning to her grandmother. "Are we done shopping, Granny? 'Cause I'd like to get back to the farm, fast."

"Hold on, smellybelly." She began walking on her own. "I got my honey, gooey-goo!" She hopped cheerfully as she sang, attracting much more attention from the ponies around her. "Got my honey, gooey-ooh! Got my honey, iddley-hoo!"

Applebloom placed her hand on her bonnet and lowered it towards her face.

Even by Granny Smith's standards this was a bit weird. He knew just who he had to ask for answers which meant a slight detour.

---

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique where everything is Chi…" In mid slogan she was cut off by a pair of lips against hers and an arm around her waist.

She needed only one guess of who was bold enough to pull off something like this. "Why hello beloved." Rarity greeted him with a slight breathiness to her voice. "I am afraid I am a little preoccupied at the moment for us to spend any time together." The tinge of regret in her voice could not be mistaken.

"Oh? Is Dinky over?" he wondered. Dinky was Rarity's little apprentice after all.

"Why yes."

"Well if its not too much trouble. Could Scootaloo stay over for a few hours? I think we might be having a Harmony lesson with Applebloom incoming and I'm banking she'll want to open up to me if I go alone."

"Why of course. My doors are always open to any of our families. " The relationship shared between was not quite mother-daughter, but more than her baby sister's friend or fiance's soon to be adopted daughter.

Scootaloo all the while had already been happily chatting with Ditzy, going by when the two adults were sucking lips.

"I'll be back in a few hours kiddo. Try not to cause too much trouble."

Scootaloo snorted at that. Like she would risk being on the receiving end of whatever Rarity deemed as appropriate punishment for unacceptable behavior.

---

Arriving at the farm Naruto took sight of Applejack hauling a small cart of tin cans used for watering flowers and plants. Big Macintosh was slightly ahead of her, pulling a larger cart of the same items. Applejack spotted him and greeted me loud and warmly.

"Hey there Sugah. Thought today was papa Naruto time!" She waved.

He smiled and replied back. "Oh it was, but it might be ending as big bro/uncle Naruto giving advice time."

"That was needlessly long."

"Hey, I was hired for my ability to kick flank first and foremost. So am I missing something? What are all these watering cans for?"

"Zap Apple Harvest! You see, Granny Smith can tell all the signs of zap apples, which are these amazing apples that are magic!"

"Oh right!" he exclaimed. He had been out of town during the harvest, only hearing about it upon his returns. He really needed to stop leaving town at times these events were occurring. If he remembered correctly the Zap Apple Jam only appeared in Ponyville. "Wait, isn't this really early for them to be occurring?"

"Believe me ah know. Coulda been the Elements or somethin' else we don't know. All ah know is Granny says the Zap Apples are a comin'."

"How long do you have to harvest them?"

"Not long, after the fifth day of the Harvest, they disappear. Just plum vanish!"

'Intriguing.' Naruto. Though his reason for coming there made her way to them instead of the other way around.

"Applejack!"

Applejack finished watering the tree and looked at Applebloom. "Oh, hey there, Applebloom."

"Can you or Big Macintosh please come to class for Family Appreciation Week?" She asked as she followed Applejack back to the cart. What had once been a day had been extended into a week this year to accommodate the busy nature of the expanding town. It was also part of the reason why the Everfree project had been so slow.

Applejack placed the can on the wooden cart as Applebloom looked at her worriedly. "I'm sorry, Applebloom. I already told you that we just can't take a break from harvest to come to your school. You know what'll happen."

"I know... after the fifth day the zap apples disappear..."

"Look!" Granny Smith rushed to them. "The third sign!" Out of nowhere crows had appeared as if blanketing the skies with dark clouds. The crows had formed an apple pattern in the sky. "Right on time! Hot diggity!"

Small blue glowing round objects formed on the trees as electricity cackled around them. The blue objects literally bloomed and formed the base for the apples.

"Wow!" They all emphasized at the sight of the magic.

After a moment of taking in the sight of the pre-zap apples, Granny Smith made her announcement. "Alright, you lazy daisies, move your caboose!" She left, along with Big Macintosh, to continue whatever she was doing.

"I'm sorry Applebloom, but don't you fret. Granny Smith's got no shortage of entertainin' stories to tell." Applejack assured, winking after and resuming to her work.

"I know. That's what I'm worried about…" She muttered.

"Applebloom, what's going on between you and Granny Smith? Why don't you want her to speak at 'Family Appreciation Week?"

"Didn't you see what happened earlier in town? I was embarrassed!"

Aah so that explains it. "It wasn't that bad Bloom. I mean that's just Granny being Granny. Having a loving family that cares about you is an important thing Bloom. You should cherish it."

She sighed and sat down. "You don't understand… I bet you didn't have a family who embarrassed you every time you were with them."

"Yeah little one…you're right…I didn't."

Realizing her mistake she began to profusely apologize. "Ah'm sorry…ah wasn't thinking ah…" Naruto ruffled her mane and bow. "Don't fret young one. Just heed my advice. Love and appreciate your family. Sometimes they can be embarrassing but that's part of the package. They can be a wealth of wisdom and love. You may not see it now but having a granny like yours is more blessing than a curse. Enjoy what you have Bloom. Every moment you share with your family is precious." It was his way of saying enjoying the time you had with her now because there was no telling when her last moments would come. He would only hope Applebloom would take his advice to mind.

---

Curious Naruto decided to see just how Granny Smith would perform and sat in on the presentation.

"Long ago, when ah was a little pony…" She pulled out a map and showed it to the others. "…things were very different here in Ponyville, 'cause there was no Ponyville! That's right, mah little ponies. Me and my family were pilgrim pony folk, back when ah was a little filly. Oh, we ventured far and wide, collecting new seeds and sellin' the old. But my pa was the finest seed collector in all of Equestria. Then, one day, the Smith family found themselves in the most brilliant, most grand, most magnificent of all cities. A place called... Canterlot. Well, ah bet your hooves to hindquarters I had never seen anything like it before nor since. And as if the beauty of that city wasn't enough, suddenly, she appeared. Princess Celestia, the most regal of all ponies. When lo and behold, she stopped to look at my pa's seed collection. Then Princess Celestia saw that we were plumb-tuckered, and hankerin' to find our forever home. And bein' a royal Princess and all, she knew exactly the place for us to lay down our stakes. My pa gave the Princess a mighty thanks. We quickly found that land near the Everfree Forest, and we built our first home. Next, we planted our first orchards. But an orchard don't grow overnight, and we were getting mighty short on food. Now mind you, we were cautioned about the forest, and we knew that it was not fit to enter. But ah knew there was critters livin' there. There must be somethin' to eat. It was dark and musty, and ah won't lie, it was scary. But every inch was covered in plant life, and before ah knew it wasn't ah standin' in front of the most incredible apple trees! Ah had never seen anything that bore this kind of colorful fruit! Oh ah started picking apples quick as a whip! But, somethin' didn't feel right. ah turned, and there before me stood the timber wolves! Ah've never run so fast in my life. Ah did the only thing ah could think of. Ah scared them away with pots and pans! The next morning, mah pa and ah planted those special apple seeds, and before our eyes they grew like wildfire. Well, we had full grown trees faster than you could say lickety split. Then each year, ah paid close attention to the signs of the zap apple special harvesting times. How the weather affects the Everfree Forest, how the timber wolves howl when the zap apples first start growing, and how they zapped away if you didn't pick 'em all in one day! And the fruits of our labor were the best fruit we ever tasted. Soon enough ah was mixing up batches of zap apple jam. Just like harvestin' the zap apples had its special rules, so did makin' zap apple jam. Ah learned that you gotta be extra friendly with the bees, otherwise their honey won't taste rightly sweet to mix in with the zap apples. Who'd'a thought that glass jars needed talking to? Or that zap apples like pink polka dots? But magic is as magic does. Just funny that way. Then ponies started comin' to our farm from far and wide just to get a taste of my zap apple jam. Some of them decided to stay, like Stinkin' Rich, Diamond Tiara's great grandfather. Matter of fact, the first thing he ever sold was my zap apple jam. And before we knew it, we had ourselves a nice little town, bustling with all kinds of ponies. And that is how Ponyville was founded."

When she finished speaking, she looked at the fillies as they were all shocked in a good way.

Surprisingly, Silver Spoon began clapping her hands, which everypony joined, excluding Diamond Tiara.

"Oh, thank you kindly, little ponies." Cheerilee announced. "Oh, now now, let's settle down."

"So if it weren't for you and the zap apples, Ponyville wouldn't even exist?" Scootaloo excitedly asked.

"Darn tootin', little filly!" Granny Smith answered, stomping a hoof on the ground.

"If it weren't for my Granny Smith, your daddy wouldn't have Barnyard Bargains." Applebloom told Diamond Tiara.

The rest of the fillies agreed as Applebloom sent her an "I've won" look.

Naruto couldn't help but smile.

Diamond Tiara looked at all of them and raised her hand up. Granny Smith walked up to the chalkboard and licked the four off from the four plus seven equation. "But she's just a... kooky old lady!" Diamond Tiara announced, causing the fillies to gasp.

Applebloom quickly sped towards Granny Smith as she was licking the chalkboard again. "She is not a kooky old lady! She is the most amazing pony in all of Ponyville!" She hugged her lovingly.

The other little ponies agreed, causing Diamond Tiara to groan and let her head fall on her desk.

When class was dismissed, he walked with them to Sweet Apple Acres where they prepared the final stages of the zap apple jam. "So I take it today went well?" Applejack asked.

"Did it? Granny Smith is super special!" Applebloom exclaimed as Big Macintosh joined them. "I just forgot that for a little while…"

"Aw, don't fret." Granny Smith added. "I forget things all the time. Now, I'll getcha... er... somethin'."

Nonetheless, Applebloom smiled and hugged her again.

"Who wants to help Granny sing to the water?" Applejack asked the foals before her.

"We do! We do!" The younger students of the class enthusiastically volunteered and hopped in the air and rushed over to help.

The little ones were placed on bunny suits and begin hopping over the watering cans.

"A, b, c, d, e f g..." They sang as they all hopped over the cans. They continued when Filthy Rich came over with Diamond Tiara, pushing her towards the children as she wore bunny ears. "Diamond Tiara?"

"But dad!" She tried to protest.

Nonetheless, she was pushed again towards the hopping.

Applejack and Applebloom looked at each other and began laughing.

Even if it would damage the 'reputation' of the filly it would take more than that to change her ways.

Seeing such a familial moment Naruto made plans to spend some more time with Scootaloo.

Next Chapter: You need a Friend! Estimated time remaining: 22 Hours, 48 Minutes