Twilight and company showed the four foxes into her castle. The skulk was definitely impressed by the large foyer. Almost everything sparkled and was all made out of crystal. Some of the younger foxes could hardly take in the stunning interior.
“Whoa! This place is a lot bigger on the inside,” Kichiro commented.
“It’s huge!” Reiko added.
“So shiny,” Emi mused.
Twilight smiled at the skulk as they were taking in their new surroundings. They looked very impressed by her castle. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle and squeal internally as she stood in front of them. A new species was in Equestria and in her very own castle; she wanted to let it all out. But she knew she had to keep it professional.
“I’m glad you like my castle. There’s a lot more to see, I assure you,” Twilight said, causing the foxes to turn to face her. “But before I can give you a tour, why don’t we go around and introduce ourselves. I already told you my name, care to give me yours?”
“Of course, your highness,” Ryota responded. “My name is Ryota.”
Ryota turned to the rest of his siblings, starting with Reiko.
“This is my sister, Reiko.”
“Sup?” Reiko greeted.
“My brother, Kichiro.”
“Nice to meet you,” Kichiro said, and then noticed a certain earth pony glaring at him.
“And a pleasure to see you again, angry farmer mare who’s name I still don’t know,” he chuckled, causing Applejack to growl at him in annoyance.
Ryota continued, “And my other sister, E-”
Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed that Emi was no longer standing next to Kichiro. Instead, there was just a an empty space next to him. He turned to Reiko.
“Where’s Emi?” Ryota asked.
“I thought you were watching her,” Reiko replied.
“Twilight, help!”
Everyone turned to find the source of the cry. Just a few feet away was Emi lying on her back, tossing Spike around with her paws. She kept on throwing him into the air as if he were some kind of ball. Rainbow Dash, Discord, and Trixie all bursted out into laughter at the sight.
“Found her,” Kichiro said.
“When did she…?” Reiko stammered.
“I’m! Not! A! Toy!” Spike yelled in between tosses.
“Yes you are!” Emi laughed.
“T-That’s actually kind of cute,” Starlight admitted, trying to contain her own laughter. Twilight turned and stared at Starlight.
“Starlight!”
“Emi, put him down,” Ryota demanded.
In one swift move, Emi caught Spike with her paws and pinned him to the ground, much to the young dragon’s distress.
“There! He’s down!” Emi chirped.
Spike struggled to knock the young kit off, but found it hard to do so. He was not expecting her to be so strong, considering she was about the same size as him. He felt her claws poking him. His heart nearly stopped when he felt how sharp they were, like tiny needles about to pierce his scales.
“Now get off of him,” Ryota added.
“Do I have to?” Emi complained. “You said that I could conquer a dragon later.”
Everyone turned and stared at Ryota in confusion, especially Spike who was still pinned down by the young vixen. Ryota couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed by this whole situation. He certainly wasn’t expecting something like this to happen today.
“Oooo! This should be interesting!” Discord chuckled.
Reiko eyed Discord. It was strange enough to view him from a distance, but it was downright freaky being in the same room with him. She didn’t know what, but Reiko could feel an uneasy sensation from Discord.
Probably best to watch this one, she thought.
Ryota rolled his eyes and sighed, “Not this one.”
Ryota went over and picked up Emi by her scruff. As soon as she was off, Spike took off in an instant, hiding behind Twilight. Ryota dropped her next to Kichiro.
“No fair,” Emi complained.
Ryota turned to face the ponies who were all still staring at him.
“Did you really say she could do that?” Starlight asked.
“Technically, yes,” Ryota admitted. “But I didn’t expect we would actually meet a dragon today. Forgive me.”
“Oh, I hope she didn’t hurt him,” Fluttershy said.
“She can if you want to,” Kichiro joked.
“Yeah!” Emi added.
Spike’s eyes widened. He bolted out of the room and returned wearing pots and pans like a knight’s armor. He was also wielding a small broom for self defense. Even though he was now protected, his knees still shook.
“Don’t worry, she can’t hurt anyone,” Ryota assured. “She’s just a kit.”
“Y-You sure about that?” Spike stammered.
“Yes.”
“Why don’t we continue with introductions,” Twilight suggested.
One by one, each of the ponies and other creatures introduced themselves to the foxes. While some of the foxes already knew some of the ponies, they didn’t seem to mind a second introduction. Although, some of them were a little over the top with their introductions, namely a certain blue unicorn mare. Rarity went to introduce herself next to the foxes.
“Hello, I am Rarity,” she introduced.
“So, you’re the ‘Rarity’ that Emi has met?” Ryota wondered.
“Why yes I am. And I must say, it is a pleasure to meet you all. It’s not everyday that you would meet creatures as exotic as yourselves. Plus, you’ve already given me bold new ideas for my next set of dresses!” Rarity exclaimed.
Oh great. She’s one of THOSE girls, Reiko thought to herself.
“Ok, Rarity, let’s not go and make coats out of the newcomers,” Starlight teased.
“Please don’t,” Fluttershy whimpered. Emi giggled and Rarity huffed.
“I said they were giving me ideas, Starlight. Not new materials! Who ever heard of fur dresses anyw-...” Rarity began, and then her eyes lit up. “Yes…who did ever hear of fur dresses? I need to order some fake furs when I get home! My winter line of clothes will be amazing!”
Ryota just blinked. “...Is she serious?”
Reiko looked at Rarity with a suspicious look. “What do they even make fake furs from?”
“From fake animals, of course!” Kichiro grinned.
“No, obviously not.” Rarity said, deadpanned.
“Regardless, it’s still nice to meet you, miss. Emi has told us a lot about you,” Ryota said.
“Oh has she?”
“Yes. She told us how you gave her one of your ribbons after you...tried to hit her with your broom.”
Rarity blinked. “Oh, yes. Sorry about that. It was all a misunderstanding.”
“Since Emi has already forgiven you, I shall as well.”
This made Rarity smile, knowing Emis brother had no ill-feelings towards her.
“Hey, didn’t Emi say you run a thrift store?” Reiko jeered.
Rarity’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?! Why do you foxes keep mistaking boutiques for horrid little thrift stores?”
“No, Reiko! I told you, she runs a NOT-thrift store!” Emi corrected.
That had to be twice in the same day that a fox had called her boutique a thrift store. Only this vixen called it that on purpose. Or at least, she thought she did. Emi turned around to face Rarity.
“Don’t worry, I got your back,” Emi said with a wink.
“Well I’m glad you're on my side,” Rarity replied, sarcastically.
Applejack went next to introduce herself, more or less. She was glaring at Kichiro the whole time while the three-tailed fox just stood there and smiled as if nothing happened. His innocent look made the farm mare’s blood boil even more. She turned her attention to Ryota.
“Hey you!”
“Me?” Ryota asked.
“Yeah. You’re his older brother, right?” Applejack asked as she approached Ryota.
“That is correct.”
“Well, did you know he stole an’ ate some apples from mah farm?”
“He did what?” Rainbow asked.
“I am aware of that and I apologize. I assure you, I’ll make him pay you back,” Ryota replied.
“I don’t care if h-”
Applejack was a little shocked by his reply. He was nothing like Kichiro. He wasn’t wacky, crazy, or spewing nonsense about creatures on the moon. He was actually sane. Applejack soon found herself looking into his golden eyes. She didn’t know what, but something about those eyes seemed very calm and soothing. It was like she was in a trance, she couldn’t look away. She also noticed his nearly torn left ear. The sight of it nearly made her gasp.
“Oh...well, I appreciate that,” Applejack said.
“Now hold on a minute,” Kichiro said. “Is it really stealing if the apples were still in the tree? Surely that doesn’t call for slave labor, does it? I’ve already zapped three grimlocks today and I don’t want to stress myself.”
“K, don’t make things worse for yourself,” Reiko groaned. “You’re confusing as it is.”
“I’ll say. And yes, it’s still stealing. Me an’ mah family own the trees, and the farm they stand on.” Applejack said.
“Everything will be fine,” Ryota said.
Starlight stepped up and approached the foxes next.
“Hi, I’m Starlight Glimmer,” she introduced. “It’s really nice to meet new creatures like yourselves. I thought Reiko was the only one.”
“Sorry for disappointing you,” Reiko replied, sarcastically.
“Still, it feels kind of strange meeting the rest of you up close like this,” Starlight admitted.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, miss Glimmer,” Ryota chuckled.
Starlight also took notice to Ryota’s ear and eyes. She found it difficult to look away as well. Something about Ryota’s presence just felt a little off to her. She wanted to look away but felt mesmerized by his eyes. She tilted her head as she could definitely detect something was off about him.
Reiko groaned. “Don’t go and start a forced romance now.”
One by one, the other ponies introduced themselves to the foxes. As soon as the introductions were over, Twilight made her move. She saw this as an opportunity to fully welcome the foxes into their home. However, Pinkie beat her to it.
“Now that that’s out of the way, It’s time for the welcome party of all welcome parties!” Pinkie proclaimed.
“Oh no,” Reiko groaned.
“This looks like a job for my PARTY CANNON!”
Pinkie pulled a small blue cannon out of nowhere and slammed her hoof on it. Confetti, party hats, snacks, a punch bowl, flashing lights, and a whole bunch of other party essentials exploded out of the cannon and covered everything in the castle. What looked like a royal foyer now looked like a huge get-together. The foxes were definitely stunned by the random power of Pinkie’s cannon.
“Interesting,” Ryota said.
“I want one of those,” Kichiro commented.
“Pinkie, why don’t we finish our meeting with the foxes before we start any wild parties,” Twilight suggested.
“Aww, really? I already got the party cannon out,” Pinkie complained.
“Yes, really. We want them to feel welcomed. We don’t want to mess this up like LAST time.”
Pinkie still had vivid memories of the time the yaks came to visit and how their chances of welcoming them completely backfired. These foxes were their second chance of welcoming a new species and Twilight definitely didn’t want to screw it up again. Of course, it was Pinkie’s party that saved the day with the yaks, but Twilight had a feeling that these foxes weren’t as hostile as the yaks, and were definitely more confused.
“Oh alright. But it’s going to be a pain to clean up,” Pinkie said.
She slammed her party cannon a second time and all the party decorations were all sucked back in. The cannon consumed all of the party stuff like a vacuum, and even burped once the foyer was restored to it’s original glory.
“Hoo,” Pinkie sighed as she wiped the sweat off her brow.
The fox’s eyes could not unsee what they just witnessed. In an instant, the cannon fired an entire party out and then it sucked it back it. They had no idea whether it was some kind of magic or what, but they could tell there was something strange with Pinkie.
“Ok, how did you do that,” Reiko asked.
“Trust me, I have trouble understanding it myself,” Discord admitted. Reiko jumped back when he approached.
“Getting back to point, I believe we have things to discuss, princess?” Ryota asked.
“Yes. Everypony...and foxes, follow me to the throne room,” Twilight said.
The ponies and other creatures followed Twilight to another room. The foxes were a little intrigued when she mentioned the throne room. Ryota especially wondered what kind of throne this princess might have. The skulk soon followed Twilight and the others through the crystal castle’s corridor. They were amazed at how big some of the halls were. Reiko still kept her eye on Discord as they were strolling. There rows of doors within each hallway, someone could easily lose their way in this crystal castle.
“Here we are,” Twilight said.
They all walked through a set of double doors and entered Twilight’s throne room. The foxes were amazed by the sheer size of the throne room. They were even more amazed when they noticed that there were actually a total of seven thrones in the room, Six large and one smaller next to one of the large ones. They were all surrounding a round table with a six-pointed star imprinted on it. Ryota didn’t know what to ask first: what the giant star represented? Or why there were seven thrones?
“Whoa,” Ryota said.
“I know, it’s pretty awesome,” Rainbow bragged.
Twilight and her friends all took their seats at their respective thrones. Spike sat down at his little throne next to Twilight while Starlight, Trixie and Discord stood next to some of them. The foxes didn’t know where to stand. They all shrugged and stood together in the space between Pinkie and Fluttershy’s thrones, so that they would be facing Twilight. The four foxes still felt a little anxious once everyone settled down. Twilight didn’t know where to begin. The three foxes, plus the seven tailed one, she had heard from her friends were right across her. Her heart was aching with questions. She took a deep breath and smiled.
“So, why don’t we start with why you’re here?” Twilight suggested.
The skulk all exchanged looks and whispered among themselves. Twilight was definitely curious about what they were talking about. As they were talking, Twilight couldn’t help but notice Ryota’s torn ear. That alone sparked some curiosity as she stared at it. She quickly averted her gaze as Ryota directed his attention towards the princess.
“If I may disagree, your highness, we-”
“Just Twilight is fine. There’s no need for that ‘your highness’ stuff,” Twilight interjected.
“Yeah, cuz that will get old real quick,” Rainbow added.
Ryota blinked. “Very well, Twilight. If I may disagree, my skulk and I have been through a lot today. And we have never set paw in a place like this before. We would really appreciate if you would give us some insight first before we can discuss our situation.”
Twilight turned to each of her friends to see what they think. Most of them shrugged while others sat there and blinked. Twilight turned back to the foxes.
“Ok then, what would you like to know?” Twilight wondered.
Ryota turned to his foxes and they all nodded at him. “I guess the first question we all have is, where exactly are we?”
“Oh, that’s easy. You’re in Equestria. Land of ponies and all sorts of other creatures,” Twilight answered.
“Yeah! It’s only the most happiest and fun-filled land of all the lands!” Pinkie added. “The place where ponies are always ready to become your best friend!”
“I see,” Ryota said. “Are you the ruler, Twilight?
“Oh no. The real rulers here are the royal sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” Twilight explained. That’s when she realized something. “Oh my gosh! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! They don’t know you’re here!”
“Huh?”
“They’ll want to know what we discovered today. Spike!”
“I’m right here, Twi. No need to shout,” Spike replied.
“Right, sorry. It’s been awhile since we’ve done this, take note.”
The little dragon took out a quill and parchment. Some of the foxes grew a little worried about what Twilight was doing. Ryota turned to his siblings and noticed each one looked as concerned as he did.
“Uh, Twilight, what are you doing?” Ryota asked.
“I’m sending the Princess a letter. We’ve never had talking fox creatures before and she’ll want to know that you’re here,” Twilight answered.
“Wh-what is she going to do when she finds out?” Ryota asked.
“Well, I imagine she’ll want to meet you,” Twilight said. The foxes grew even more worried.
“And, would this meeting be immediate?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just, I thought you were going to give us some answers today,” Ryota said.
“And not ship us off to someone else,” Kichiro added.
“Need I remind you that we have no knowledge of this place and have no idea what to do or where to go?” Ryota said.
“Yeah, and the last thing we need right now is an interview from your Princess,” Reiko added.
Twilight paused. She knew where the foxes were coming from with this. They were new in Equestria and have no idea what was going on or how this place worked. She thought the least she could do was give them some answers before informing the Princess. It would only seem fair.
“Very well, I’ll answer some more questions before I send my letter.”
“Thank you,” Ryota replied. “So, these ‘royal sisters’ are the true rulers of Equestria?”
“That is correct,” Twilight replied, proudly.
“And what does that make you?” Reiko asked.
Starlight couldn’t help but detect a sense of sharpness in Reiko’s tone. The way she was glaring at Twilight was also a little off-putting. Regardless, she still paid attention to their discussion.
“Well, I am her student. Or, was her student,” Twilight answered.
“Student?” Ryota wondered.
“Was?” Emi added.
“Did you get expelled?” Reiko asked.
“What? No!”
“Oh, so you dropped out then? That’s cool,” Kichiro said.
“I didn’t drop out either! Why would I do that? I would NEVER drop out of Celestia’s school!”
Twilight looked around and noticed all eyes looking at her. She calmed down a little as the blush started to form on her face.
“Wow. Way to keep a cool head in front of the foreigners, princess,” Trixie jeered.
“Trixie, not the time,” Starlight hissed.
Twilight grumbled and ignored Trixie’s jab.
“No, I did not get expelled nor did I drop out,” Twilight explained. “And frankly, why would you think that would be ‘cool?’ There’s nothing cool about dropping out of school.”
“Ahem!” Rainbow coughed.
Twilight turned and noticed the blank stare she was receiving from Rainbow Dash. Sweat started drip once she remembered that Rainbow was considered a flight school dropout.
“Sorry, Rainbow,” Twilight chuckled, nervously. Rainbow rolled her eyes.
Twilight focused back onto the foxes and started to give her story. She explained the basics about the royal sisters and how she was connected to them. She mentioned how she used to be Celestia’s student at her school for gifted unicorns and how she spent most of her time studying magic. She also told them how Celestia sent her to Ponyville in order to make friends and learn about friendship.
However, she did her best not to mention how her sister, Luna, became jealous and turned into the evil and corrupted version of herself, Nightmare Moon, and how she was banished to the moon. She also did her best not to mention her return after her banishment and how Twilight and her friends defeated her. She knew that these foxes needed answers, but she also knew not to give out too much information.
“I see,” Ryota said, after the story was done. “And so there’s been peace ever since?”
Twilight didn’t answer. She wanted to explain how Equestria has a lot more danger than what they may think, but she didn’t want to bring up the artifacts that are capable of defeating any threat. She wanted to trust these foxes, but she didn’t know if they could be trusted.
“In a sense, yes,” Twilight answered. “We get the occasional monster here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary.”
Her friends looked at her in confusion. They didn’t know how to respond. Why not tell them the truth? Why not mention the elements of harmony? Applejack found this very peculiar.
“What do ya mean, Twi?” Applejack wondered. “We’ve faced more than just typical brutes from the Everfree Forest.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow added. “And what about the-”
“Girls, Spike, Discord can I talk to you for a moment?” Twilight interjected.
The ponies and other creatures all huddled up in a corner in the room, leaving the four foxes at the round table.
“What’s up, Twi? Why don’t you want to mention the elements?” Rainbow asked. “Don’t you want to tell them how awesome we are with them?”
“That’s the thing, Rainbow. I don’t think we should tell them,” Twilight answered.
The ponies all looked at her with puzzled faces. Whispers and mutters could be heard among them. Some of the foxes noticed this.
“What are they talking about?” Emi wondered.
“I dunno. Pony stuff?” Reiko guessed.
“I’m sure it’s nothing important,” Kichiro said.
Ryota didn’t say anything. All he did was raise an eyebrow at the ponies while they were having their conversation. He figured it was none of his business and ignored it for now. Perhaps Kichiro was right, it was probably nothing.
“What? Why don’t you want to tell them about the elements?” Spike wondered.
“Think about it: these are four, mysterious creatures that NONE of us have ever seen before. We can’t just go a give our secrets away like that.”
“It’s not really a secret. Lots of ponies knows about the elements, Twi,” Rainbow remarked.
“They’re not ponies, though. And they DON’T know about them,” Twilight reasoned. “We need to be sure that these four can be trusted. If they knew about the elements, or the tree no less, they could find a way to destroy it behind our backs.”
“You sure about this?” Applejack asked. “Ya know how I feel about lying.”
“We’re not lying, Applejack. We’ll tell them what they need to know, but we have to leave out anything regarding the elements or the amount of enemies we’ve used them on,” Twilight assured. “And that includes you, Discord.”
“Oh what? Me? I would NEVER do something like reveal your darkest secrets, Twilight,” Discord replied.
“Yes you would,” Spike muttered.
“We’re only doing this to see if they can be trusted. So until then, don’t reveal too much.”
“Ok,” everybody replied.
“Discord, what did I just say?” Twilight asked, making sure he understood.
“Don’t mention the elements and keep my mouth zipped. Got it, mom,” Discord replied, literally zipping his own lips.
The rest of the ponies finished up their little huddle and resumed their original places around the table.
“Sorry about that,” Twilight said. “We were just discussing something that had come up recently. It’s nothing important.”
“I knew it,” Kichiro laughed.
“Riiiight,” Reiko replied.
Reiko’s stare at Twilight was oozing with suspicion, and the princess could sense it. She tried her best to ignore it and move on.
“So, there’s the story of how I was sent to Ponyville and met all of the friends around me,” Twilight said. “Any other questions?”
Reiko saw this as the best chance to address the chaotic elephant in the room.
“Yeah, I have a question, what is THAT thing?” Reiko asked, pointing to Discord. The chaos god unzipped his lips and literally looked down on the fox.
“Didn’t you pay attention when we were introducing ourselves?” Discord replied.
“Nope! That part was deleted,” Kichiro said.
“I am Discord, the lord of chaos. And might I say, it is a pleasure to meet you all.”
Discord reached out his paw to Reiko. She backed away from the bizarre creature and stared at him. She really didn’t want to touch him, Reiko could easily sense the devious aura from his body. Everything about him just rubbed her the wrong way. Despite that, she knew she had to make a good impression on these ponies. Even the other foxes were still a little freaked out by Discord and his abnormal body. She reluctantly reached out her paw and shook Discord’s. However, Discord’s paw broke off and continued to shake Reiko’s paw. The other foxes gasped.
“Yeah, didn’t see that coming,” Reiko muttered, sarcastically. “You’re a real mischief maker.”
Discord grumbled at her remark. It was like she already knew what was going to happen. Discord huffed and snapped his talons. All at once, his body parts flew off his body and started flicking and kicking different parts of Reiko’s body. Needless to say this disturbed her more than his first trick. The various body parts poked and touched her as she squirmed in place. She kept on swinging her claws around to smack the limbs away, but every time she did they would just dodge her. Ryota and Emi jumped back at the chaotic limbs. They had never seen anything so bizarre in their life, they looked like they were ready to storm right out the castle.
“Eh, I’ve seen worse,” Kichiro shrugged. This made Discord grumble more.
“Discord! Stop disturbing our guests, you’ll scare them away!” Twilight scolded.
“She started it,” Discord retorted, pointing his eye at Reiko.
“Discord!” Fluttershy yelled.
“Oh alright.”
Discord snapped his claws and all of his limbs flashed away and reappeared on his body, fully attached.
“Well, there goes my sleep tonight,” Emi commented.
“I feel violated,” Reiko remarked.
“I’m so sorry about him. He’s usually so kind,” Fluttershy assured.
“I find that hard to believe,” Reiko retorted.
“Oh, trust me. He’s not so bad once you get to know him,” Fluttershy added.
“That’s the second time I’ve heard that today,” Reiko said, turning to face Starlight and Trixie. “And once again, I’m not so sure if I want to know him.”
“Please give him a chance,” Fluttershy pleaded.
Reiko stared into Fluttershy’s pleading eyes. She didn’t know why, but she found herself unable to look away. Her eyes just looked so innocent. Reiko didn’t know how to respond next, it felt like she was staring into an adorable time bomb.
“J-Just keep your grandpa under control,” Reiko said, averting her gaze.
“I beg your pardon?” Discord asked.
“Ha!” Trixie laughed.
“Do I really look like her grandpa?”
“Do you really want an answer to that?” Reiko retorted.
“Enough!” Ryota interjected. “We’re getting off topic. But, Reiko does have a good point. Just what exactly is….Discord, was it?”
“The one and only,” he boasted, causing his horn and antler to explode like fireworks.
“Discord here is,” Twilight paused, trying to find the right words. “A very special friend of ours.”
“Is that all? How about the god of chaos? The master of mischief? And the one true best friend of my dear Fluttershy,” Discord declared, wrapping an arm around Fluttershy. This alone was enough to make Fluttershy blush.
“Why is he holding her like that?” Emi wondered.
“THAT’S your first question?!” Reiko blurted out.
Fluttershy wanted to tell them about how he used to be evil, but remembered that it would involve mentioning the elements. She decided to say nothing for now to respect Twilight’s wishes.
“I don’t understand,” Ryota said.
“What’s there to understand? I have chaos and I can spread it. There’s nothing more to it.”
Discord then formed his claw into a long snake and made it slither it towards the foxes. Reiko was especially creeped out by his ability. She bit at his snake arm but he pulled away before she could land her mark. He chuckled as his arm turned back to normal, or at least close to normal.
“I see...I’d appreciate it if you didn’t terrorize my skulk like that,” Ryota said.
“Well, you’re no fun,” Discord replied.
“Anyway, is there anything else you’d like to know?” Twilight wondered.
“I’ve got a question. What’s with those thrones?” Kichiro asked.
He then leapt onto the table and began walking all around it. He passed by every throne as he circled on the table. Most of the ponies were surprised by this move, but they didn’t really see the harm in it. Except Applejack who was still staring daggers at him.
“Why are there so many? And why do they have those symbols on them? Are you all secretly evil queens banning together to devise a plot to take over the world?”
“N-No!” Twilight replied. “We-”
“You hear that, brother and sisters? Even evil rulers such as them can learn teamwork. This is what happens when you put your differences aside and work together. There’s still hope for us all!....Well, maybe more so for them than for us.”
“W-What?” Twilight stammered. “It’s not like that at all. Do we seem evil to you?”
“I don’t know, are you?” Reiko wondered.
“Reiko, don’t. K, get off of there,” Ryota ordered. Reiko shifted her gaze away as Kichiro leapt off the table rejoined his skulk. “Forgive them. If you were truly evil, then you wouldn’t have invited us in to help us.”
“It’s alright,” Twilight assured. “And to answer your question, we have these thrones because my friends and I sometimes act as a...friendship council.”
“Friendship council?” Ryota asked.
“Yes. If there’s ever a problem it’s our job to try and fix it. We even try to make friends with other nations to gain allies.”
“Is that so?” Reiko asked. Starlight noticed her sarcastic tone was getting stronger.
“Yes. And the symbols on our thrones are our cutiemarks.”
“Cutiemark?” Ryota questioned.
Twilight did her best to explain the importance of their cutiemarks and how it represents a pony’s talent. She and her friends then showed the foxes all of their marks that were located on their flanks. The amount of information the foxes were receiving were both fascinating and confusing at the same time. The idea of someone’s special talent being imprinted on a creature’s skin was very unusual for the foxes. Reiko scratched her head at the idea.
“So, these cutiemarks represent your talent and are located on your flanks? And every time we want to know what someone is good at we have to stare at their bums? I like this place already,” Kichiro commented.
“Thank you...wait what?” Twilight asked.
“I have one more question,” Reiko interjected.
“So do I!” Emi chirped. “What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?”
“How does Starlight and Trixie play into this? I mean, they’re here for a reason right?” Reiko wondered, ignoring Emi’s question.
Twilight turned around and stared at her talented student. She noticed the uneasy look on her face. It seemed like she couldn’t go a single day without being reminded about her past. Twilight sighed and faced the foxes.
“First, it’s mint chip. Second, Starlight Glimmer is my student.”
Starlight blinked. She was a little surprised that Twilight would avoid talking about her past. Then again, she already mentioned that she didn’t want to reveal too much to the foxes just then. Nevertheless, this made Starlight smile.
“As for Trixie she’s....a friend of ours.”
“A great and powerful friend, I might add,” Trixie boasted.
Ryota could see Twilight’s left eye twitch a little. “I see.”
“You got all that, right?” Kichiro asked.
“Got all of what?” Reiko replied.
“You wrote all of that down?”
“What?” You mean what we just heard?”
“Yes. This will be great for the story we’re working on. Did you, or did you not, write all of that info down?”
“K, I have ZERO idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t worry! I got everything,” Emi chirped, holding a familiar quill and parchment.
Spike looked down and noticed the quill and parchment he was holding were not in his claws anymore. “What the?!”
“Thank you, Emi. I knew I could count on you,” Kichiro thanked, making Emi smile.
“What? When were you taking notes?” Reiko questioned.
“I’m sorry, but that information is classified,” Kichiro replied.
“Yeah!” Emi added.
“W-what?” Reiko stammered.
“Are you sure those two aren’t pets of Discord?” Trixie asked.
“Hey, trust me, I would know if I had any pets,” Discord retorted. “And they certainly wouldn’t be strange little dogs with wavy tails. They are random though, I’ll give them that.”
Reiko groaned in annoyance. Ryota just stared at his siblings in confusion. He didn’t really know how to react to their antics half of the time.
“I mean, it’s good that they wrote down all of the basic information when it comes to this place,” Ryota admitted. “But anyway, I think that’s all of the questions we have so far.”
“Excellent. Now that we’ve told you about where you are and what we are, perhaps you could answer some of our questions now?” Twilight suggested.
“Very well, what would you like to know?” Ryota wondered.
“You can start with why you’re here?” Rainbow asked, flying up to Ryota.
Ryota took a deep breath and stared at the flying rainbow mare. He could feel his heart picking up just from thinking about what he was about to say.
“To make a long story short, we’re here for only one thing,” Ryota started. “To find a home.”
Some of the ponies were taken back by his response. They didn’t really expect the answer he just gave them. They looked at all the other foxes before turning back to Ryota. Rainbow noticed a lack of worry from his face, even when she flew right up to him.
“Really? Where are you from?” Rarity wondered.
The foxes all exchanged looks with each other. Each one was filled with worry and doubt. Ryota didn’t know how to answer without giving too much away.
“That’s….a sensitive question,” Ryota answered.
“Let’s just say we’re not from around here. And that’s all you need to know,” Reiko added.
Twilight could definitely tell something was bothering them, and that making them talk about it was just making it worse. She really didn’t want things to go wrong this soon. In fact, she didn’t want anything to go wrong at all.
“I see. I understand. We won’t pry on the subject,” Twilight assured.
“Yeah, sorry,” Rainbow said as she flew back to her seat. An idea popped into Twilight’s head.
“So we know who you’ve met already. But, I’d like to hear your sides of the story,” Twilight said.
“Very well,” Ryota replied.
One by one, each of the foxes told their side of their individual stories. Kichiro with Sweet Apple Acres, Emi with the Carousel Boutique, and Reiko with Starlight and Trixie. Ryota then told his own story, about how he went head to head with a Manticore and how he was treated by the forest zebra, Zecora. By the end of his story, Twilight and the others were very fascinated.
“Wow, I can’t believe you met Zecora,” Twilight said.
“You know her?” Ryota asked.
“Yeah. She’s a good friend of ours. I’ll have to send her a letter as well.”
“What? You don’t trust me?” Ryota joked.
“What? It’s just I want to hear her side of the story. I want to know what she thinks of you and how you met,” Twilight assured.
“Fair enough.”
“So, what made ya’ll four decide that you wanted to meet us?” Applejack wondered.
“Two reasons. One: we wanted to make sure you can be trusted with our existence. And two: we currently have no place to sleep and we were wondering if you could help find us a home?”
Twilight turned to each of her friends to see what they thought. After that, she faced the foxes again.
“Very well. You four don’t seem to be dangerous and are obviously in need of a roof over your heads. So, why not stay here in the castle?”
The foxes were speechless. They didn’t know how to react. They just met this princess today and she was already offering them a home in her very own castle. Emi and Kichiro heart’s burst with excitement for a warm home. Reiko’s mind was swimming with suspicion. Ryota was the most taken back, he didn’t expect her to be this friendly with them already.
“A-Are you serious?” Ryota asked.
“Of course,” Twilight responded.
“I mean, we only asked for your assistance to find a home. We don’t want to be a bother-”
“It’s no bother at all,” Twilight assured. “There’s plenty of spare rooms in the castle.” Starlight and Spike nodded in agreement.
“Yeah I can even share my room with Reiko,” Starlight suggested.
The mere mention of sharing a room with someone, much less a different creature, made Reiko’s face turn red. Reiko wasn’t sure what it was, whether it was sharing a room with someone she just met or the mere wording of the sentence, but something just didn’t sit well with her.
“What’s the catch?” Reiko questioned.
“What do you mean?” Spike asked.
“Why would you just give us a place in your castle like that?”
“Because, like Ryota said, you’re new to this kingdom and have nowhere else to go. I just can’t let a group of interesting creatures like you perish,” Twilight answered.
“I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem ri-”
“Plus, I’m actually really fascinated to learn about your species. What you're good at, what kind of magic you use, how you make friends with one another, and so on!”
“Ah, there it is.”
“You wish to study us?” Ryota asked.
“Technically, both yes and no. Study is the wrong word. I want to get to know you, I want to know what your culture is like, I want to become friends with you, but also learn more about you.” Twilight explained, gleefully.
The room was silent. Ryota focused on Twilight and the other ponies. They’ve given him no reason to not trust them. But even he had to admit, the way she would just offer her home like that didn’t feel right to him. He looked at his skulk. He knew he had to do what was best for them. His siblings just looked at him expecting some kind of answer. Their eyes were enough to let him know what to do next. His heart beated with confidence as he looked at Twilight in the eyes.
“One more question. When you do send a message to your mentor, do you think you could ask her not to meet us immediately?” Ryota requested.
“Huh?”
“It’s just that, it would be awkward if we just arrived here today and we would already have to meet the true ruler of this land. No offense.”
“Non taken.”
“So, do you think you could ask her to give us a few days to settle down before we meet her? Just so we can become familiar with this kingdom and everything in it. That way, we won’t have as many questions for her.”
Twilight thought about his reasoning. True, Celestia and Luna should know about them. However, meeting them on such short notice would not only be inconvenient to them, but to the foxes as well. Not to mention it would add a lot of pressure onto them if they met the highest authority in all of the land. Judging from their behaviors, Twilight could tell that they must’ve recently been through something tough.
“I can’t really say what Celestia’s schedule is like, but I’ll do my best to see what I can do,” Twilight said.
“Thank you.”
The room became silent once more. Ryota focused all of his attention towards Twilight. The princess found herself unable to look away from his golden eyes. Something felt off in the room.
“Twilight,” Ryota started. “We appreciate what you are doing for us. And we look forward to meeting your mentor.”
“Thank you. I’m sure she’ll be very-”
“That being said, I hope we can find some way to live in peace,” Ryota interjected.
Twilight blinked. “Well, that kind of goes without saying.”
“Hear me out, please. As I’ve said before, we only wish to find a home in this land. If you respect us, we’ll respect you...However, if you hurt us, we’ll hurt you.”
Most of the ponies and other creatures jaws dropped. Some of them even cleaned out their ears to make sure they heard him correctly. The air suddenly felt heavy.
“E-Excuse me?” Twilight stammered.
“‘An eye for an eye,’ as the saying goes,” Ryota continued. “We don’t want any trouble. You can study us all you want, but leave us out of any experiments that could cause harm to us, or to yourself. We won’t showcase our abilities to make a quick orb, there’s no honor in that.”
Rainbow Dash and Trixie felt like a couple of arrows just struck their hearts. Being ponies who loved to show off their skills didn’t quite like Ryota’s words. They even grumbled at him.
“We will find work to earn our stay, so that we won’t be feeding off of your hospitality. However, if the need arises, I can assure you that we will defend ourselves until the very end. This is not a threat. This is just some information to remember. We’re merely survivors who will always watch out for one another. All we want, is to live a peaceful life. But, I will do everything in my power to ensure the safety of my family. That’s all I’m saying.”
The room became dead silent. Nopony knew how to react. Twilight could tell from his speech that Ryota was serious. Applejack had mixed emotions. She admired his devotion to protect his family, but at the same time she couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated. Rainbow wanted to fly up to his face and challenge him to fight, but she realized that all he was doing was looking out for his siblings. If she were in his situation, she’d probably do the same. Twilight continued to stare at Ryota in shock. She knew she wasn’t being threatened, but felt like she was about to be attacked for some reason.
“I understand,” Twilight finally said. “I can assure you that nothing bad will happen to you or your siblings. I really do want to get to know the four of you.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, now that all the serious stuff is done, it’s time to prepare for the foxiest party in Ponyville!” Pinkie announced.
“Did she really just say that?” Reiko groaned.
“Oh! I’ll help!” Discord chirped.
With a snap of his claws, fake fox ears and tails rained down upon everyone in the room. Reiko picked up and examined one of the pairs of ears.
“Seriously?” Reiko muttered.
“What? I think it’s cute,” Emi said.
“I see no harm in it,” Ryota added.
“Time to send out the invites!” Pinkie chirped.
“Hold on, Pinkie!” Twilight interjected. “I don’t think having a party for these foxes is a good idea. If they aren’t ready to meet the princesses, then I doubt they would be ready to meet all of Ponyville.”
“Aw what?” Pinkie whined.
“Yeah and considering we’re the only ones who truly know about them, I’d say the rest of Ponyville might not be so open with them,” Starlight added.
“Party-blocked twice in one day? What is this world coming to?!” Pinkie complained.
Ryota noticed the somber look on Pinkie’s face. She looked like a puppy who just lost their milkbone….down a sewer...after it was kicked out of their jaw. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for the pink mare.
“Is having a party that important to you?” Ryota asked.
“Are you kidding? That’s like saying baking cupcakes to give to regular cakes to start a family isn’t important!”
Ryota blinked. Then an idea came to his head. “Alright. What if we had a private party then?”
“Huh?” most of the ponies and foxes said.
“Starlight said it herself, only the ones in this room actually know us. So, why not just throw a party for just the fourteen of us?” Ryota suggested. “You could even invite Zecora if you want to, since she knows about me too. And it could give Twilight a chance to talk to her in person.”
“And then it could just be the fifteen of us having a party,” Emi added. “Oh! What about Sweetie Belle? She knows about me, too! That makes sixteen! That’s like four fours!”
The idea sounded pretty good to everybody. Ryota did make a good point, there would be no harm in throwing a party of only fifteen or sixteen guests. Plus, it meant that Twilight would only have to send out two letters tonight. The idea wasn’t half bad.
“I like that idea,” Twilight agreed. “I mean, we’ve had private pinkie parties before.”
“I can get behind that,” Rainbow added.
“Eh, not like I have anything better to do,” Trixie shrugged, causing Starlight to chuckle.
“Alright, then it’s settled! Time to throw the best private foxy pinkie party ever!” Pinkie proclaimed.
Her blue cannon then popped out of nowhere, surprising the foxes again. Pinkie hopped on the cannon and made all of the foxes tilt their heads in confusion.
“C’mon, Discord! We’ve got to go prepare for tonight!”
Pinkie slammed on her cannon and blasted right of the room, laughing and firing confetti everywhere.
“Right behind you!”
He snapped his claws again and exploded into a big mass of confetti, which landed on the floor in the shape of his outline. The foxes just accepted his chaotic nature by this point.
“Well he seemed nice,” Kichiro said.
“So, anything else you’d like to know before we move on?” Twilight asked.
“I actually have a question for HER,” Kichiro said, pointing to Fluttershy.
“Me?” she wondered.
“Yeah. Do you have any kids?”
“You mean like foals? No, I don’t.”
Kichiro smirked. “Do you want some?”
Just like that, Fluttershy’s face turned completely red.
“Don’t even think about it!” Rainbow growled, flying up to his face.
“What? Am I not allowed to ask her to be my date to the party tonight?” Kichiro wondered.
“K!” Reiko scolded.
“I’m kidding,” Kichiro laughed.
“Good thing Discord isn’t here,” Fluttershy mumbled to herself.
“While Pinkie is preparing for the party, why don’t I show you around my castle?” Twilight suggested.
“That would be appreciated,” Ryota replied.
The remaining creatures soon left the throne room as Twilight began to show the foxes their new home. Emi started to walk behind Spike. The young dragon could feel her presence behind him.
“You better watch your back,” Emi teased.
Spike started sweating and hopped onto Twilight’s back. Emi giggled at the scared dragon as she continued to gaze at him. Starlight walked next to Reiko.
“So, how do you like it here so far?” Starlight wondered.
“This whole place is nuts,” Reiko replied. “Are you really friends with these ponies...and other creatures?”
“Of course. They helped me through a tough time in my life. So to speak,” Starlight replied.
“Lucky you,” Reiko muttered.
“Huh?”
“Nothing!...So, do we really have to go to this party tonight?”
“Of course! You haven’t lived until you’ve been to a Pinkie Pie style party.”
“Sounds great,” Reiko replied, sarcastically.
“Just give it time, Reiko. You’ll adjust to this place in no time.”
“If you say so.”
Twilight continued to show the foxes around the castle. She showed them some of the spare rooms they could have as well as all of the essential areas, such as the kitchen, bathrooms, dining hall, and library. The foxes could tell that this was the beginning of something amazing.