(Ponyville: Fluttershy’s Cottage)

It had been about an hour since they arrived at the timid Pegasus’ home and had immediately set to tending the unconscious Naruto. After washing the dirt from his face and hair, replacing his stained bandages with a fresh roll and placing him into the mare’s bed with a moist towel on his forehead, the seven ponies were now gathered in the living room of the cottage. At the moment the room was silent, the only noises heard being the various animals in Fluttershy’s care.

Each pony’s attention was on something; Fluttershy watched the stairs for any sign of Naruto waking, Rarity was scanning the room and silently judging the décor, Derpy looked at the table (and part of a wall), Rainbow Dash would glance between Fluttershy and Applejack, the latter of whom had leveled a hard stare at her younger sister, who was currently staring at the floor, and Pinkie Pie was grinning at a parakeet that she could see outside the window.

“Apple Bloom,” the hat-wearing mare began, her stern tone causing the filly to flinch and garnering the attention of the other mares present, “Would you care to explain just what happened earlier?”

Apple Bloom lifted her head to properly answer her big sister, “About half an hour after you left, the thing from the crater woke up. He had a dry throat, so Ah went and fetched him a couple glasses a' water. After he drank a few, he started talking to me, saying that he shouldn’t have been able to. Ah asked why and he said he wasn’t from around here. Apparently by “here”, he didn’t mean he was from another town or something: he came from another world.”

“What?” Rainbow exclaimed, but was shushed by Rarity, who was curious of the newcomer’s origins.

“He told me his name was Naruto Uzumaki, and asked me where he was. Ah told him he was on our apple farm in Ponyville, and he got real curious about it, so Ah offered to show him around. Ah guess he realized that he’d stand out like a rotten apple, so he made some weird shapes with his hands and the next thing Ah know, Ah’m staring at a pony with long ears and a bushy tail!”

“He used magic?” Rarity asked, “But only Unicorns and Princess Celestia can use magic.”

Pinkie hopped in place, “Maybe he can use some kind of spiritual energy to do what he does!”

Rainbow scoffed, “I doubt it: he must be some kind of spy!”

Fluttershy looked at her fillyhood friend, “But if he was a spy, why would he save me?”

“To get on our good sides and keep his cover!” The brash Pegasus retorted.

Apple Bloom grunted in annoyance, “Can Ah continue, or do ya’ll wanna keep going?”

After the others quieted down, she continued, “Ah took him into part of the market, where he looked surprised at seeing Unicorns and Pegasi. Ah asked him about it and he told me that they were considered mythical in his world. He mentioned something about a contract and got all silent for a moment, before he just burst into laughter. That was when Pinkie Pie showed up (*hearing her name, the mare waved at... something*) and started laughing along with him. He talked to her for a little while and she asked where he was from. Now, we couldn’t just go ahead and say that he came from another world, so Ah had to think of something fast. Ah realized that the way his name’s pronounced was similar to Neighpon, so Ah said that he was from there and was a friend of the family who came to help out for the celebration in a few days. Then Pinkie Pie’s tail twitched and Miss Hooves fell from the sky right on top of Naruto (*Derpy grinned sheepishly*). Rainbow Dash came along and they started talking to him, and Naruto seemed to be in a hurry and tried to end the conversation, but then Pinkie dragged us all to Sugarcube Corner where Naruto ate too much. After that, he told us that,” Apple Bloom hesitated for a moment, “that he grew up alone: his parents died the day he was born and he didn’t have anypony to take him in.” Tears escaped her eyes once again, “He didn’t tell me that earlier, and it made me realize just how bad someponies have it: Ma and Pa are gone, but Ah still have you, Big Mac and Granny, but there are ponies out there that have nopony, like Naruto. It made me (*sniff*)...”

Big Sister instinct kicking in, Applejack swiftly pulled Apple Bloom into a warm hug and held her as she cried again. Seeing as Apple Bloom was in no shape to continue, Rainbow Dash picked up where the filly left off, “We heard Fluttershy scream and were scrambling to get moving, but Naruto jumped from the street to the roofs and started heading for the Everfree Forest. I got ready to start flying after him, but then he... Well, I saw a pony when the smoke appeared, but not when it disappeared. I don’t think you can hold it against me for being surprised to the point where I came to a halt. When I saw the look of surprised recognition on her face, I knew that she knew something. While we were chasing after him into the forest, she gave us a basic summary of what had happened up to that point.” She frowned, “You’d think I would’ve noticed something like a flaming object falling from the sky.”

Derpy, who until then had been silent, asked, “So, what do we do now? I mean, it’s not like Naruto, something nopony has ever seen before, can just walk around in the open.”

Applejack closed her eyes, “Alright, let’s list some of his good points. From what we saw today, he’s strong.”

“He’s funny,” Pinkie piped.

“Pretty fast for something with only two legs,” Rainbow Dash admitted.

“He’s friendly,” Derpy added.

“And nice!” Apple Bloom, recomposed, continued.

“He protects somepony in danger,” Fluttershy contributed.

“He’s positively handsome!” Rarity practically squealed. When six (or five-and-a-half) pairs of eyes looked at her with varying degrees of surprise, she blinked, “What?”

Applejack nodded, “All good points. Well, most of them, anyway.” She then sighed, “Now we really need to think: what are some of his bad points?”

Pinkie’s eyes narrowed, “He might not like parties.”

“Pinkie, be serious.”

Rainbow Dash stamped a hoof, “We don’t know where his loyalties lie. For all we know, he could be a scout for some kind of interdimensional invasion force!”

“Rainbow, be realistic. But it is true that we don’t know who he works for.”

Rarity gasped in horror, “He might end up being more attractive than me!”

“Rarity... no, just no.”

Apple Bloom stood up, “That’s enough! Naruto is not bad!”

Fluttershy looked genuinely curious, “Why do you think that, sweetie?”

“Because he’s mah friend!”

Rainbow Dash brought a hoof to her face, “What kind of logic is that?”

“GOOD LOGIC!”

Derpy appeared to be getting a little uncomfortable, “Don’t you think we’re getting a little loud?”

As the argument steadily escalated, none of the ponies took notice that Pinkie Pie had disappeared from the room, or the sound of hooves traveling up the stairs.

(Fluttershy’s room)

Naruto groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. Fortunately, the curtains were drawn close and the room was comfortably darkened, though not at the point to rob one’s sight. As he sat up, the mostly dry towel falling from his forehead onto his lap, he realized that not only was this not where he collapsed (kind of easy to figure out) but this was also not the room he had awoken in before.

Before he could get a good chance to examine his surroundings, the bedroom door opened, revealing a familiar pink pony.

Pinkie Pie slowly approached the bed, allowing Naruto to notice something off about the mare: she wasn’t smiling. In fact, she had on a poker face that told less than an ANBU mask.

Moving past the bed, she slowly and gently brushed aside the curtain, allowing some of the afternoon sunlight into the room. She turned her head to look directly at him and said,

“So, you’re the one he told me about.”

Naruto blinked: her voice was completely serious. There wasn’t a hint of humor anywhere to be heard.

“What are you talking about, Pinkie? Who’s “he”?”

Pinkie’s face showed no surprise, “I see: he didn’t actually appear to you. Must've just plucked you from your world and expect you to do what he wants.”

“Who, Pinkie?!”

“The Observer.”

Naruto sat in silence: he had a feeling that things were about to get complicated.

Taking the silence as her cue, she began, while the air seemed to get kind of wavy, “Back before I got my Cutie Mark (the shape on my flank), I met a strange Unicorn: pretty much his entire body was covered by thick robes with the hood drawn, so I couldn’t identify him by physical appearance if we met again. The aura of his magic constantly changed, even as he used it, another addition to his camouflage. Really, the only way to recognize him is his voice: it’s always the same.

“Anyway, the first few times I noticed him, he would just watch me and say nothing, before eventually disappearing without a trace. After having this happen for about a week, I finally confronted him about it. His response was a question: “Do you want to know the truth?” I agreed, expecting him to tell me why he kept following me. What I got was something I could never have possibly imagined.” The wavy sensation subsided.

Pinkie looked Naruto square in the eye, “I now know things that nopony else knows. I can do things that nopony else can.”

She then glanced out the window, revealing the almost-euphoric peaceful environment, “And I know what will eventually happen.”

Her gaze was hard when it returned to him, “Your appearing in this world marks the continuation of the greatest conflict to ever occur in this universe.”

Naruto’s breath hitched. What?

Pinkie continued, “After receiving his gift, the Observer told me that one day, a being from another world would appear: a being that would be able to put an end to the darkest threat to our world: Bestias Calamitas. ”

Finding enough of his voice, Naruto weakly asked, “What?”

“The Beast of Calamity.”

Aw, dammit! Naruto hated being right when he didn’t want to be.

“Long ago, the Beast of Calamity appeared from beyond the stars and sought to devastate this world. A sole member of the Royal Family faced the Beast in seemingly endless battle: however, when the chance to turn the tide presented itself, the royal warrior did not hesitate. Using ancient magic from the time of founding, the Beast was imprisoned within the sun and held in place by a powerful seal, but the victor mysteriously vanished from this plane, leaving behind what would eventually be known as the Elements of Harmony.”

“Hold on, Pinkie,” Naruto held up his hand, palm facing the pony, “What makes you and this “Observer” think that I can end something that someone using ancient power couldn’t?”

Pinkie looked away, “That’s something he would know. I may know a lot of things, but I don’t know everything.” She looked back, “What I do know, however, is that there are too many things I love in and about this world to let it be taken away. I don’t know how you’ll manage to defeat the Beast of Calamity,” she approached the bed and placed a hoof on Naruto’s leg, “But I know that I’ll help you, no matter what.”

Naruto gave a soft smile, “Thank you, Pinkie.” He reached out and ran his fingers through her mane.

Pinkie sighed with... something in her voice, “Oh that feels so good!” Without asking or even warning, Pinkie climbed onto the bed and lay gently across Naruto’s legs. She stared at him, her shimmering eyes begging, 'Pet me more!'

Okay: Serious Time over, apparently.

Naruto ran his hand along her back, curling his fingers so that his nails would make contact with the skin beneath her coat, before repeating. With each pass, Pinkie would shudder and giggle with delight, which in turn would spur Naruto into continuing, enjoying the reactions the pony was giving. Eventually, one stroke caused her to roll over slightly: it was at this point that Naruto’s since-dormant prankster mind became quite active. Subtly positioning each stroke, he managed to coax Pinkie onto her back without her even realizing it.

Then he stopped.

Opening her eyes to try and give him a mock-glare, she was quite surprised to find herself in her current position. She then became quite aware of Naruto’s eyes shifting between her own eyes... and her exposed belly. She became even more aware that the more she shook her head “no”, the bigger Naruto’s grin became.

Down came his fingers and out came her laughter.

His digits danced across her tummy, and Pinkie didn’t need the Observer’s gift to know that everypony downstairs could hear her laughing, regardless of whether or not they were still arguing.

Her laughter became doubled when he leaned down, pressed his mouth to her belly and began to blow. Her legs flailed wildly as she laughed, yet never once did they touch his head.

“Sweet Celestia of Equestria!”

Two pairs of blue eyes flew to look at the doorway of the room: Applejack looked shocked as she used a foreleg to cover Apple Bloom’s eyes, Rainbow’s eye was twitching, both of Derpy’s eyes were focused on them, Fluttershy had a blush that rivaled Hinata, and Rarity was using her magic to fan hers and Fluttershy’s faces with a portable fan, a delightfully scandalized look on hers.

Naruto whipped to an upright position so fast, he winced when he felt something (or several somethings) pop. The moment his head was away, Pinkie’s legs curled over her belly, akin to a flipped-over potato bug. Both of them were sporting impressive blushes, though nowhere near as impressive as Fluttershy’s.

The sound of something sliding across the floor got Naruto’s attention: he looked down to see some kind of bag, designed to fit comfortably on a pony’s back. Noticing that the buckle was in the shape of an apple, he looked up to see that, while most of the ponies had already disappeared from view, Applejack remained. Naruto could tell that she was trying to keep her voice leveled, “Pinkie Pie, we’re heading downstairs so that Naruto can get fully dressed. Now.” With that, the orange mare left the doorway.

Pinkie rolled back onto her hooves, looking a little blue about the accidental scene they caused. She brightened up instantly with a giggle when Naruto patted her head. Smiling, she hopped off the bed and made her way to the door.

“Pinkie?”

She stopped, looked back, and was surprised to see the look of determination on his face.

“I’m not sure how I’ll do it, but I’ll end the conflict.”

Pinkie’s smile shifted into a confident smirk, and she disappeared behind the doorframe.

Waiting a few moments before getting up, Naruto was surprised that he felt so good: almost exactly like he did back in his world, yet different somehow. More... alive. He knelt down and opened the bag Applejack had left, before peering inside.

Within the bag was a box with fancy designs, labeled “Carousal Boutique”. He took the box from the bag and carefully opened it... before his head was nearly split in two by the smile on his face.

(Downstairs)

The moment Pinkie Pie entered view, Rarity began giggling like a schoolfilly. So much so, not even a glare from Applejack could make her stop. Choosing to ignore the Unicorn for now, she turned to stare at her fellow Earth Pony, “And just what were you two doing?”

Stifling her giggles, Rarity commented, “Getting to know our mystery visitor just a bit better?”

Pinkie smiled, “Yep, and we were having a nice conversation before we decided everypony’s yelling was getting too loud and staged what you just saw.”

Derpy tilted her head to the side, “What were you two talking about?”

Pinkie waved a hoof dismissively, “Ah, nothing really.”

Rainbow Dash approached her, “Well, I think it was something. So what was it?”

“Nothing.”

“Something!”

“Nothing!”

“Something!”

At this point, the two of them were literally head-to-head, staring each other down.

“NOTHING!”

“SOMETHING!”

“SOMETHING!”

“NOTHING!”

“IT WAS SOMETHING AND I CAN PROVE IT!”

“IT WAS NOTHING AND I DON’T CARE!”

Pinkie immediately backed off with a giant grin, “Okey dokey lokey!”

The look on Rainbow’s face, a mixture of anger and shock, was just priceless.

Pinkie looked at Applejack, “I don’t see why you’re so worked up, Applejack: Naruto’s a nice guy.”

Applejack sighed, “I know that, Pinkie: he saved Fluttershy from that brute earlier. But he... well... he-”

“I don’t belong here, right?”

Seven heads turned to the stairs, and six jaws proceeded to drop, while Rarity’s eyes sparkled at her work. At first she couldn’t stand the combination of black and orange, but after working on them she came to marvel at the stark contrast. She was even considering a new line based off of it. Regarding her special addition to the ensemble, she thought she did quite nicely considering that, other than a damaged jacket and a fascinating shirt, she was pretty much working blind.

The Unicorn smiled with pride, “It’s magnificent, is it not? Since Applejack said you’d be on the farm for the time being, I got creative and decided to go for a sort of Mild West addition. How is it?”

Naruto descended the steps in the clothes he wore when he fell from the sky, carefully repaired by Rarity. Her contribution, however, was a long black coat with a pouch on the right side.

He smiled, “I really appreciate it, Ma’am.” He approached the Unicorn, knelt down and gently embraced her.

Startled and visibly flustered, she awkwardly patted him on the back, “It’s no trouble at all, dear. Do, however, call me Rarity: I’m much too young to be a Ma’am.”

“Thank you, Rarity.”

She tittered as she felt him just barely hug her closer, “Quite the touchy-feely fellow, aren’t you?”

He released his embrace of her and stood to look at Applejack, “That’s what you were going to say, right Applejack? I don’t belong here?”

Applejack felt as though somepony had just thrust the family pitchfork through her heart, “Naruto, I-”

“You’re right, you know? I don’t belong here.”

Apple Bloom started to tear up again: her new friend was going to leave because he was different and wouldn’t fit in?

“However...”

The ponies noticed the confident smile on his face, “Whether I belong or not doesn’t change the fact that I’m here in the first place.”

He glanced at Pinkie from the corner of his eye, “I may not know what brought me here or why, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

He looked back at the group and grinned, “Besides, I promised to help out with the festival, didn’t I?”

Applejack looked apprehensive, “Naruto, Apple Bloom told me what happened: you don’t have to help us.”

Naruto knelt and stared her in the eyes, “Applejack, there’s something you need to remember when you’re a friend of Naruto Uzumaki: I never break a promise.”