//------------------------------//
// First Light 
// Story: The Peaceful Morning Breaks 
// by inoeitall 
//------------------------------//

The scent of lemongrass wafted through the air, carried by a dainty breeze. The same breeze which rustled the leaves of the oak trees overhead. My new ears flicked involuntarily at the noise, tracking the movement of the wind through the branches. I forced them back to their natural position. Stillness was crucial for meditation, meditation is crucial for understanding, and understanding is crucial for action. These immutable facts had been drilled into my head from my childhood. These same facts have helped me countless times throughout my life.

When I woke in a grassy meadow, I had been startled to discover my new form. Even before I opened my eyes, I knew things were different. My whole body just felt strange. Not unnatural or bad, just strange. It reminded me of that sensation one gets when awaking after a long nap. The next thing I noticed were my senses. They seemed a hundred times more active than they had been in my previous life. Even without opening my eyes, I could hear the life around me: the plants, the insects, even the small squirrel watching me on the tree about 20 ft away.  I could feel the sun on me, the wind rustling my fur coat. I could smell the grass, the trees, the animals, everything. 

Then I opened my eyes.

The sun's glory was faintly muted by a passing white cloud in a sapphire sky. This incredible sight stole my breath away, but there was still more to see. The heavens were framed by the verdant leaves of the surrounding forest, and the light of the sun flickered through the moving branches, leaving moving patterns of light, dancing across the meadow of pale green grass.

Finally my eyes turned to myself. As my other senses had already told me, I was different, new. I now had the body of a fox. A fiery orange pelt covered my body, though my ears faded to black as though charred. My other extrimities were tipped with white. The only feature that immediately distinguished me from a normal fox would be the number of tails which I sported. Three tails extended out behind me as natural as though I had been born with them. I could feel so much energy and balance flowing from these appendages. 

My new body was so exceedingly different from my old one, but I already felt as though I had spent my whole life in this form. To test myself, I began to move around, reveling in my new form. I would be lying if I said I didn't get a little carried away. I may have even frolicked a little bit.

My mirth was interrupted as I noticed something laying in the grass near where I had awoken. I paced through the tall grass till I could make out what had caught my eye. 

In the grass lay a katana in a ruby-red sheath. The hilt was wrapped in black with glimpses of white leather beneath it. The brass fittings hugged the glistening red-lacquered saya, accenting the black metal designs lining the sides. On top of the sword was a white, silken scroll. Curious, I used a paw to unfurl the scroll on the ground. Inside I found a message from Amaterasu, giving me more information about my body and this new world in which I found myself.

I read of this world, this place called Equestria and many of its inhabitants. While there was no map, nor were there pictures, I could feel the life and energy of each creature as Amaterasu's words described them. From the magical abilities of the Unicorn to the incredible flying of the Pegasi, I could picture each one in my mind, and my awe of the majesty of this world continued to grow.

Then the letter turned to me. She told me of my new form, that of a "kitsune." I had already heard of this name many times in the stories from my father. Stories of mystical fox spirits the could either be mischievous tricksters, or the most loyal of lovers. Inari was their ruler, and now Amaterasu's previous mention of him now made sense. He had lent me one of their bodies to use.

She then explained what my tails meant. The number of tails a kitsune had was representative of their wisdom and magical power. With three tails, I was granted short range telekinesis, selective telepathy with other telepaths, and the ability to shapeshift into one other form. 

Now, even after reading this information, I had no idea how I was supposed to actually make use of these so called powers. Amaterasu's letter was quick to inform me that when I needed to use the powers, I would be able to use them.

I then read the final paragraph. This was the one that really surprised me. I had been somewhat prepared for a new world and a new form, but not for a companion.

The sword was named the Kogitsune-maru, which translates to English roughly as the Little Fox. This was a magical sword forged by the Shinto Blacksmith God, Munechika, with the help of the fox spirits of Inari. 

Now, in Japanese folklore, everything has a spirit. The best swords of legend had very strong spirits. So strong that they dictated how the sword would perform in combat. The Kogitsune-maru was famed for having a strong good spirit. It would not cause any unnecessary harm.

Apparently, Amaterasu had chosen this sword to be my "travel companion." I was quite confused at this. How could an inanimate object be my companion? 

My silent pondering was interrupted by a voice which pierced my thoughts. "Excuse me, mi'lady?" The voice actually had spoken in Japanese, but for the sake of the story, I will translate what he said into English.

At the sound of these words, my head shot up, peering through the tall grass to find who had spoken, but despite my new senses, the speaker could not be found.

Once again, I heard the male voice, rich and deep, call to me, "I apologize for interrupting your perusal of Madame Amaterasu's letter, but I feel I should introduce myself."

It was then I realized, both times I had heard the voice, my ears hadn't reacted, but my left tail had. From what I knew now from Amaterasu's scroll, that meant this voice was not speaking to my ears, but to my mind.

Finally everything clicked into place. I looked at the sword on the ground. Feeling somewhat foolish, I thought at the sword, Yes?

I wasn't sure if I should feel relieved or worried when I 'heard' the voice again. Ah, yes, I was somewhat worried that you weren't able to hear me for a moment. He coughed as though clearing his throat and then continued, While I am sure you know who I am from the letter, please allow me to introduce myself. I am the one and only Kogitsune-maru, forged by the hand of Munechika himself! It is a great pleasure to be working with a descendant of Amaterasu herself!

There were many things which I can easily accept, but disembodied voices aren't on that list. I gulped and nodded. The pleasure is all mine, Sir. I, uh, thank you for accompanying me on my journey.

Pah! Think nothing of it, mistress. I started a bit at that title, but he continued before I could interject, Now, what are we going to do first? Slay some bandits? Fight some demons? He continued to rattle off questions in a rapid fire manner.

Finally, I cut him off, mentally shouting, Be silent! The peace of being left to my own thoughts for a moment was blissful. I then informed my talkative companion that I would be meditating over the information which had been given me in order to come up with a plan. Though he did not say as much, I did get the distinct impression that he did not care much for meditation.

This brings us back to the three-tailed fox meditating in a forest clearing with an impatient katana strapped to her back and a scroll in her lap.

My meditation continued for at least a solid hour. It may seem long to some, but this was quite the puzzle I was faced with. While I knew some about those who populated the land, I still did not know where I was, or what to do. I might have made slightly more progress had my thoughts not been constantly interrupted by, Are you done yet? Can we go fight something evil already? and other such interjections by the sword on my back.

Finally, my concentration was shattered entirely by a sound that I could not simply brush aside. The sound of a crying child.

My eyes flashed open, full of fury. The fury of a mother. I would not stand idly by when a child cries for help. Despite only occupying my new body for a few short hours, I nearly flew through the forest, leaping over fallen logs and bounding off tree trunks to add to my speed. While Kogitsune said nothing to me, I could feel his whole outlook change as well. Where he was yearning for conflict before, now he was tense, ready to defend and bring forth justice upon whatever had caused this weeping child to cry.

Finally, we came upon the source of the commotion. I could scarcely believe my eyes. I had only heard of such creatures from the legends that my mother told me of ancient China. Amaterasu’s letter had told me there would be many more creatures beside the ones she listed, but I never could have expected this. For there in front of me lay a tiny filly. A young horse or pony, but with batlike wings. A lóngmǎ?





I had been running from those bullies for at least half an hour now. Most of the time they'd give up after so long, but since I hit that jerk in the face, it didn't look like they were giving up any time soon. I looked at my small pair of leathery wings and wished they were big enough for me to really fly away. If only I were older, then these bullies wouldn't be able to catch me. 

A rock whizzed past my head, shocking me out of my thoughts. That darn Divine Justice. Ever since he'd been able to lift so much as a pebble, he'd been lording his magical talents over the rest of the school. Then you add the fact that his mom keeps telling he is the bestest little colt in the world, and his ego, you'll quickly see why I don't like the guy. I could have easily just shrugged off his stupid little antics, but when he started making fun of me for my wings, I got angry. When he started calling me names because I'm an orphan, I got freakin' angry. I'm not about to let some racist prick start making fun of me because I don't have parents. I know I probably shouldn't use words like "prick," but sometimes I just get so mad, that those type of words are the only ones I can think of! I remember my teacher used a word to describe ponies who are scared of things that are different. I think it was "xenofaber," um, no that's not it. "Senofibic?" Ugh, I don't remember what it was, but Justice was really being that!

Anyway, I kept on running through the woods behind the school, hoping I could lose them. I got hit by a couple of the rocks, and I scratched my left wing on a branch, but it could have been a lot worse. I mean, I did kinda make Justice's nose bleed when I hit him, and I don't really want to know what all they had planned for me. Finally, I ducked under a fallen log and hid there. I heard them all go rushing past me, but I decided to wait for awhile and let thembe the ones chewed out by the teacher.

While I sat there, my mind went back to the mean things the other kids said about me. How I was weird because I had different wings and eyes. How my parents must not love me since they left me at the orphanage. How nopony would ever love a freak like me. Once I started thinking, I couldn't stop. I'm not sure when I started, but pretty soon I was crying. I tried to stop the tears, rubbing my face with my forelegs, but I just kept feeling sadder and sadder. Eventually I couldn't hold back anymore and started sobbing. I didn't really care at that point. I mean, who was going to hear me way out here in the woods? The other kids had probably already gone home to their parents.

I was really at a loss of what to do, so I crawled out of my log and did something I'd never tried before. I prayed to Celestia. I mean, I didn't actually say anything out loud, but I thought at her really hard. All I really wanted was a friend. You know, someone who would be on my side when the other kids picked on me. Though, I really wish I could have a mommy...