Friendship is Magic:Equestrian Heroes
Chapter 76: Equestria's Seven Heroes! The Ceremony!
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Naruto x ?
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Story Start
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“The reason why I have called you all here today is to honor seven courageous ponies whose actions saved our nation four months ago.”
At long last it was finally happening. The sun was high in the sky and shining brightly and the weather was the clearest it had been the past few weeks. This was a special occasion after all.
There the seven of them sat and waited for their name to be called and honored. They were outside as thousands had gathered. Naruto’s eyes scanned the area as he looked over at the mass of occupants that had gathered for this momentous occasion. A good portion of the section off to the side on their own platform were many of the nobles and council members. They numbered in the hundreds as many political heads and well known figures from across the nation had arrived for this important ceremony.
In another section was the castle’s staff, the maids, the cooks, and the rest of the staff were also present.
The majority of the attendees made up citizens of Canterlot, but the noticeable section among them was the fact that up front and center was the element’s family. Celestia had been sure to forward the invitations all expanses made so that their family members could attend.
There at the podium was Celestia with Luna and Cadance alongside her. She was in the process of giving a speech and detailing an edited version of the events that would be more palatable to the public. “…Applejack for her strength of character and honest nature…” As Applejack stood up to go receive her medal it was easy to see she was a bit nervous.
While Naruto was wearing his standard uniform the mares were actually doing an early preview of their gala dresses. Applejack was wearing a western theme ensemble with a green skirt, green boots, and gloves with a red and white ring at the end that ended before her elbows and her top a steel-boned corset, textured apron, and fringe made from synthetic leather with the emblem of the apple sewn in the middle of her top.
Applejack was presented with her medal.
“…Pinkamena Diane Pie who showed great character in the face of danger…”
Pinkie’s outfit was that of a confectionary or candy store maker which suited her. Her gown seemed to bounce when she walked which made sense since Pinkie preferred bouncing over walking.
The bodice was colorful with alternate stripe of blue and white strips of satin eventually ending up as a diagonal candy cane pattern top off with a pink dark bow at the top.
A large poofy pink skirt was tent-like also made up part of the ensemble as the front part of it was white. With the under layer of the outfit having tons of frills under it. To top off her outfit she had pink shoes, little bows top off on various parts of the body and a white little cap with a blue stripe at the bottom of the hat.
Pinkie bounced her way to the podium, giving her family members a happy wave as she was presented her medal.
Naruto’s focus was taken away by the motions of the Pegasus by him. Naruto reached out and grabbed Fluttershy’s hand and gave her a comforting smile to help her relax.
“…Fluttershy Hurricane who kept to her principals and showed kindness to a being that others would dismiss as a mindless monster.”
Fluttershy slowly and nervously made her way to receive her medal.
Fluttershy’s dress was an organic and lovely marble. Green sandals with a green vine head dress with a green neck adornment of a large blue butterfly. The flowing light green dress had arrangement of plant life on it. The embroidery was as lovely as the heart of the mare wearing it.
“…making a personal sacrifice Rarity showed her generous nature and helped one in need.”
With all her grace Rarity made purposeful strides and received her medal from Celestia.
Rarity’s dress was rather elaborate combination of velvet, taffeta, and silk used in this dress. The pink was a sheer embroidered silk.
The front of the skirt had yellow swags on the front of the skirt. Cascades flowed from the side and back not to mention an arrangement of gemstones were on the dress. As always Rarity’s creative flare shined through as his eyes roamed over the intricate design of the dress.
“…sacrificing her desires and avoiding temptations Rainbow Dash showed true loyalty by sticking by her friends.”
Dash of course couldn’t help but strike a few poses, ever the show off. Dash’s outfit was one that showed the most skin, only having a single strap on the right, showing off her left shoulder. It was the same color as her fur, with the torso and second layer skirts sharing the same color of her mane and tail with clouds making the outlines of this second layer. She had a pair of gold sandals, a pearl necklace with grapes at the center, a pair of olive branches that rested on the head.
“…and of course, my faithful student Twilight Sparkle, the spark that brought them together. Through the bonds of friendship with these five heroes brought the last element back to our realm. Who preserved and fought to save Equestria no matter the personal dangers that would befall her.”
One would think Twilight would be used to ceremonies considering she was Celestia’s protégé. Naruto had to admit it was a bit cute to see how nervous she was. Twilight’s dress while being a bit vanilla was no less fantastical than the others. The fabric was eye catching, a magnificent shade of dark and light blues, the former being prominent while the latter made of the fabric of her abdomen and star ornament in her hair not to mention the open semi-collar that showed off her shoulders. A shade of violet that was the same shade of her fur made up the back portion of the leg portion of her dress. On her bosom was a star, like her cutie mark.
The bottom of it was designed like the night sky with stars and the faint coloring that reminded him of the majestic glow of Luna’s mane.
“And finally one who is a hero for his selflessness. A stallion of many achievements, Naruto Uzumaki has worked for the past year for the benefit of Equesnia. Made an officer for the events to come he has shown impeccable character and it is with this honor I present him with this medal.”
This was it. It was finally happening. Naruto made his way and accepted the medal. He could feel the anticipation welling up inside of him.
That was when Princess Luna stepped forward. It was obvious that a lot of ponies were confused. Most of them still trying to adjust that their goddess had a sister. Others still had reservations because of her actions not too long ago.
“Sir Naruto, valiant warrior, you have honored myself and sister with your actions and service to the crown. Equesnia is going through a great transition and now more than ever her warriors of the night are needed. Will you do us…me…the honor of becoming the captain of the Lunar Guard?”
That brought much hushed whisper and excited chatter. Lunar Guard? Captain? This was not something many of them knew of. Some expected, but it was never clarified. It was obvious by the displeased expression on several members of the council they weren’t all for it. Some were confused and uncertain. A few of them were curious while others were thinking how to use this to their own benefit.
‘Aah, so he is the stallion that captured my little Flutters heart?’ Thought one mare. It was easy to see where Fluttershy got her looks from. She shared a good deal of features with Fluttershy. Then again there were other differences, one being her hair was much shorter and a look of confidence was on the mare’s face. Her mane was also a rose color and her wings were more developed and if she was a fair bit shorter. Fley decided she was going to keep an eye on this stallion, he was definitely going to play a part in Equestria’s future.
It was time to recite the oath Celestia had told him. Naruto kneeled on one knee and began to speak, “Princess of Night, mother of the moon and stars. Let my loyalty to thee be unyielding. By my pledge I shall serve you, thy sister, and Equestria for however long I may live. I shall be the shield to defend against threats and the blade that strike down her enemies.” He recited perfectly before adding. “Always and forever I will be your Knight.”
Luna was indeed pleased by this development.
Cadance stepped forward, bringing her aunt the ceremonial blade and wine. Luna after all was still the goddess of wine. This wine was a special wine, enchanted with Luna’s magic to strengthen the life force of her night guards. Naruto took the wine and drank it without spilling a drop. Naruto felt the weight of the blade gently tapped on both shoulders.
“Rise, sir Naruto, captain of the Lunar Guard.”
Finally the permission to cheer and clap had been given to the crowd. Joined by the six the round of applause had continued.
Luna than began to speak to Naruto. “Sir Naruto, your princess has own more gift to bestow upon you. Her blessing.”
Naruto’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head when Luna clasped his cheeks and kissed him. The outcry of surprise was quite varied and rather comically. Cadance’s squeals could probably be heard from miles as her eyes lit up with happy little hearts.
Celestia though felt a mixture of feelings. On one hand the rumor mill and questionings that were going to occur was going to be a pain in the haunches, but that was dwarfed by the sensation of happiness welling up in her chest. She was beginning to wonder if it was too soon to start thinking about little nieces and nephews to spoil? She had to admit the image of a testy Luna with a swollen stomach was quite a comical image. There was also one more nagging feeling, one that she was doing her very best to stamp out and not even acknowledge.
A feeling of wishing that was her instead of Luna, but she quickly locked it away. Let it never be said that Celestia could not be stubborn despite her wisdom. All those years ago she had taken the love and admiration of their subjects and it cost her Luna once. She would not under any circumstance consider taking Luna’s love as her own. She could not allow herself to feel anything stronger than a friendship for the blond. For the sake of everyone’s happiness it was better this way.
Then of course there was the reactions of others close to the blond.
“Didn’t know my bro had game like that.” Rainbow Dash murmured to herself, her shock was evident as the others. For a while Rainbow and Naruto had been drifting apart as of late. The former wouldn’t admit it, but the whole herding business was something she was trying to avoid like the plague, she had her dreams she was focusing on and becoming a house wife was totally not her.
Had she entertained the thought of being with him? Maybe once or twice, but she had dismissed those thoughts. After all the flame Naruto had been carrying for Rarity wasn’t subtle, somehow everyone but the fashionista could see it. Then again the same could be said for her. It was funny how two ponies who fancied each other could be so clueless.
Rainbow Dash figured it wasn’t worth the heartache to try. Stallions always went for mares with figures like Rarity anyway. She was the girly type who did all the girly things while stallions saw her as one of the guys. Naruto saw her as his friend, no sense getting worked up right?
But then one by one his little love shenanigans started to grow. Fluttershy was one Rainbow Dash could never hold a grudge against. Her oldest friend. A mare so shy she was frightened by her own shadow. You had to be a real sick or a cruel or uncaring individual to want to hate or hurt somepony who could be so fragile.
And that’s when he saw how good their relationship was. Flutttershy was so much happier now. She smiled more. She was becoming more confident and was growing less afraid. She was happy for her. Her friend. Her sister. Rainbow had yet to admit that particular feeling because she felt like she would be growing soft if she did.
Of course his escapades continued. Applejack. A good friend and worthy rival. The earth pony’s strength, stamina, and stubbornness made her a worthwhile competitor against the speedy and competitive Pegasus. It had been weird at first, one would have thought the two were family, he was practically an apple, but he two got along so swimmingly that it was hard to be mad at ‘em.
Then there was Ditzy Doo, the natural disaster as some called her. Clumsy. Uncoordinated. Struggling mother of two. Rainbow held no ill will towards the Pegasus of course, but it was hard to think of someone fondly when you were on the receiving end of one of their disasters a fair number of times. While it wasn’t as easy to get a gauge on their relationship like it was the others it was easy to see Naruto cherished her. He cherished the family.
Rainbow snorted. Like that needed to be said. The blond adored children.
The blond seemed to have a magnetic personality. That had to be it considering he was bagging a princess apparently. Rainbow was happy for him, so why did her heart hurt?
Pinkie couldn’t help but let out a little whoop of joy. Their family was growing even bigger. There was no way their stallion was going to let Princess Luna feel unloved ever again. Now all she had to do was to get Dashie to stop lying to herself and maybe get Princess Celestia to also step up. The Princess may be fooling everyone else, but nopony better than Pinkie knew a strained or false smile when seen. Especially a half happy smile and the princess was wearing one if Pinkie had ever seen one.
Twilight’s had finally rebooted after what she had seen. Naruto and Princess Luna? ‘Breathe Twilight breathe. Don’t panic?’ None of her books said anything about how to treat royalty in the herds. Oh she was going to definitely have to browse through the royal library for information. For a brief moment Twilight had considered asking Celestia, but quickly decided against. Not only was it far too embarrassing she wouldn’t dare bother her teacher with something as insignificant as her love life when she and her sister had something as important to do as running a natio…’Is she using tongue?’ Twilight mentally interrupted herself as her cheeks darkened. Twilight couldn’t help but be engrossed by the sight as she felt an unfamiliar feeling began to stir in the pit of her stomach and an unfamiliar warmth as well. This was a phenomenon she was going to have to study. Very thoroughly.
“Done gone and bagged himself a Princess.” Applejack was as shocked, but not as heavily as the others. Still didn’t mean she wasn’t wondering how this would affect things. A small part of her had a fleeting fear that Luna would take Naruto away from them, but she squashed that thought. He may not have been an element, but Naruto was pretty damn loyal. Hell Applejack was surprised the element of loyalty hadn’t been split between Rainbow and Naruto. It could have been a distinct possibility if he hadn’t been sent elsewhere by Nightmare Moon during the incident. At this rate the stallion was going to end up bagging half of Equestria. Maybe there was some merit in creating a special prison and keeping the blond locked up after all. ‘Ah gosh darnit.’ Her cheeks burned red as her thoughts immediately turned to rather dirtier thoughts at the thought of taking the blond to a private room and leaving him tied up. ‘Better be ready when mating season comes around this spring. Ah might end up ridin’em raw.’
“Oh my,” those were the only words that would escape Fluttershy’s mouth. This was a rather interesting development, but Fluttershy was happy for Luna. Now she finally understood the hints the mare was giving her in the letters. Unknown to anypony else besides Spike and Twilight, Fluttershy and Luna had been exchanging letters ever since Nightmare Night. Luna was one of the most fascinating mares Fluttershy had ever met and hearing all about those exotic animals thrilled the Pegasus very much. Seeing the two now Fluttershy’s cheeks darkened. Maybe. Maybe Luna could help her learn how to be more confident.
‘The Princess’ Rarity couldn’t help but feel rather alarmed by this development. A part of her was nervous. Very nervous at losing the love of her life. How could she match against Luna? A beauty only matched by her sister? Wealth and power beyond anypony’s dream? A grace she could never match. A pony of her experience and knowledge would make her seem like a school filly in comparison. How could she…how could she ever hope to compete?
That was then a touching memory hit her. The two of them were curled up on his couch. Rarity snuggled comfortably in his lap. ‘You know, if I was a dragon, I don’t think I’d ever let you go?’
A smile was on the mare’s lips. ‘Oh? And why is that?’
‘Because Rare you’re a treasure. You’d be my greatest treasure.’
‘Oh that was terrible,’ she lightly admonished him, but placed a loving, tender kiss on his lips. “But sweet nonetheless.’
A lone tear cascaded down before Rarity wiped it away. ‘Oh forgive me…my love. To think I was being so foolish. You would never abandon me.’ Rarity vanished the fears from her heart as quickly as they had taken hold. Naruto was very loving and had a big enough heart for all of them.
A herd always had its fair share of difficulties. Fears of inadequacies. Sometimes there were favorites. It was a struggle to make them work, but the love shared between the ponies, that bond and the nature of family often made it worth it.
Rarity had fate in Naruto because she dearly loved him. No matter what happened or who she was with she had fate that he would always come home to her.
Home.
That was right. Because home was being with him. And that was a feeling she would never let go.
After what seemed like an eternity the kiss ended. Air had been the first thought on Naruto’s mind before he finally regain semblance of sentient thought. Well, Luna couldn’t have been any clearer about how she felt if she tried.
Well, at least a few of the issues were cleared up. But now Naruto had realized something. If he wanted things to keep on moving and developing, it was time for him to stop being so passive and time to finally take charge. He was now going to start making some decisive decisions and put his life in order.