//------------------------------// // Interlude: A Playdate With a Fox // Story: Guardian of Equestria // by Armyidiot //------------------------------// Ding-a-ling!~ The shop’s bell rang as a pair of customers came in, regulars and established friends of the established owners. Heaross and Twilight, human and pony, walked into Sugarcube Corner. “What if we tried a ruby instead?” Came the lavender alicorn’s question. “I’m not quite sure how the red would interact with the green, but it might be a nice touch around the centerpiece, if we wanted some extra decoration.” “Well, what if we tried a sapphire instead?” Heaross hummed at the thought for a moment, imagining the look. “I think that might work. Blue and green do go together nicely.” Sugarcube Corner was currently empty, considering it was Saturday and a few hours after the lunch rush. As such, Carrot Cake was dozing on the counter, a small line of drool poking out of his mouth. The pair that came in snickered at the sight before Heaross slightly nudged him, startling the confectionist awake. “Hey, hey, I’m awake!” The yellow-orange earth pony shook his head for a few moments, blearily trying to wake up. After wiping the drool from both his mouth and the countertop, he noticed the customers. “Oh! Hello, Twilight, Heaross. What can I get you?” “A dozen cookies, please.” Twilight smiled at him, more out of amusement than familiarity, but the sentiment was still there. “Coming right up!” Mr. Cake went into the kitchen, coming back moments later with a plate high of cookies. He set it on the counter, ringing up the price. “That’ll be six bits.” Heaross pulled out the amount requested, placing them on the counter while grabbing the plate. “Thank you, sir.” He led Twilight over to a small table where they sat and continued their conversation, now with cookies. While they did eat, the Guardian kept hearing something coming from upstairs, most likely Pinkie Pie’s room. It didn’t sound like the party pony, however, it sounded more like a mess was being made. “You hear that too, right?” Twilight asked after a moment’s silence. “I do. I can’t say I know Pinkie as well as you do, but I don’t think it’s like her to just start making messes.” Mr. Cake heard their conversation however, calling out to the pair, “She’s taking care of the twins right now. They might just be giving her a hard time.” The Guardian hummed, finishing off the cookie he held in his armored hand and wiping it off before standing. “If neither of you mind,” He said to both ponies in the room, “I shall visit her. I don’t think I’ve met Pound or Pumpkin Cake yet.” “That should be fine, Heaross. Just be gentle with them!” Carrot Cake waved to him while the human walked upstairs, Twilight remaining to finish her cookies. Heaross wandered up the stairs from the dining room of the confectionery shop. The sounds of a mess being made grew louder until he heard them directly from an open door, light spilling into the darkened hallway. Taking a curious glance, the warrior saw many toys and playthings scattered about, as well as some other, more liquid items splattered across the walls and ceiling. Running across the room was Pinkie Pie, covered in various substances and chasing the Cake twins. Heaross had to stop and grip the door frame to prevent from falling at the sheer adorableness of the pair. A pegasus, his coat a light golden gray, flying astride his sister, a light yellow colored unicorn, while they both managed to keep ahead of their caretaker for the afternoon. Both were very small and had eyes as large as their hooves, full of innocence and mirth. Regaining control of both mind and body after the near heart attack from seeing such adorableness, Heaross decided to help the pink pony out. Using some shapeshifting magic, the human transformed into a slightly-larger-than-average red fox. As opposed to most normal red foxes however, his tail was gray before fading into a brown and then into a bright golden color at the tip. Using his newfound speed, Heaross the Fox ran side-by-side with the foals managing to pull them away from the party pony, who stopped in confusion at the scene. Managing to bring them to a stop, the Guardian bounded around the foals, jumping and skipping around them. He playfully barked and yipped at the two, using his tail to get a surprise tickle attack off on Pumpkin. Using his fox snout, he ran up to Pound and started to sniff all over him, tickling with his nose and the bares of his teeth. The shapeshifter remained cautious of how he was playing with the two, since he was still incredibly strong. While the trio played, Pinkie took the opportunity to straighten up the room, cleaning away the messes of wet goop, picking up all the toys, and straightening the furniture that had been knocked askew. All the while, the red fox continued to play with the Cake twins, now using his tail as a makeshift lure. He would slowly bring his tail in close to the pair, only to yank it away when either of the duo tried to grab it. The game continued for several minutes, with the foals sometimes managing to actually grab it. Whenever one of them did, he would treat them to small ride around the room on his back, fast enough for excitement but still slow enough that he could catch them if they fell. Back downstairs, Twilight made some small talk with Mr. Cake, slowly finishing up her last cookie. Returning the plate to the stallion, the lavender alicorn decided to join her friend and boyfriend with the Cake twins. She slowly made her way up the stairs, listening for anything. The most prevalent of sounds was cooing and baby talk, accompanied sometimes by… yips, barking, and high pitched laughter? The sound of a broom being swept did filter through, but that only made things more puzzling. Reaching the open doorway, Twilight saw a most curious sight. A strange, slightly-larger-than-average fox with a strange gray, brown, and gold tail was giving Pound and Pumpkin a ride along its back. The sight was extraordinarily adorable, but what most confused her was no sign of Heaross with Pinkie over in the corner, sweeping a pile of dust and debris over to a bin. Luckily, her friend noticed her before the fox did, too occupied with giving the foals a ride. “Hey, Twily!” Pinkie Pie jubilantly announced, pronking over to her. “What are you up to?” “Hey Pinkie,” Twilight returned with a smile. “I came here with Heaross. We heard you having some trouble with the twins and he came up to help you out. It seems that fox is doing a good job of that, but where is Heaross?” “Oh, you silly filly! The fox is Heaross!” Twilight had to stop and ask Pinkie to repeat herself. She did, which only bewildered the pony even more. The alicorn turned to the trio of playmates, now noticing more clearly the fox’s tail. Grey, brown, and gold. Heaross’ colors. When she realized it, she could much more clearly see him playing with the foals. The way he moved, how he kept his entire attention on the two, how he was so gentle, because even as a fox he was still so incredibly strong. Twilight couldn’t help it. Tears sprung up, unbidden to her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hooves, sitting on her back ones so none gathered would hear her start to whimper at the sight. The fox’s ear turned towards the noise of her whimper, noting the talking earlier but paying it no mind. Now however, he turned towards the source and saw her. Twilight sat, staring directly at him, tears threatening to start leaking from her. Keeping as neutral and safe a face as he could, with the foals still on his back, Heaross slowly walked over to her. His paws were silent against the wooden floor, even until he was directly in front of her. Warm, brown eyes stared directly into hers. Heaross saw the tears much more closely now, moving his fox tail to use the tip to wipe them away. Twilight sat completely still while he did, almost shaking. The fox tilted his head at her before circling around the pony, nuzzling and rubbing up against her. When he was done, he laid down in a circle around her, foals on his back now asleep from the soft and slow ride. The purple pony couldn’t help but lay down with him, drawing the foals closer and closing her eyes against his soft, fuzzy orange hide. As she did, the only thought that went through her mind was, I love him. I love this strange, strange man so much.