//------------------------------// // The Fox and the Pegasus // Story: The Four Foxes // by colt alchemist //------------------------------// “Ok, Kichiro. Your job is simple,” Applejack started. She dropped three to four bags filled with garbage right in front of the three tailed fox. The stench reeked of thrown away leftovers, apple cores that were still in the decomposing process, and stale candy wrappers. Kichiro wondered how small ponies could have so much trash. “There’s a big garbage bin just outside of the farm. All you have to do is take these here bags and throw em away,” Applejack instructed as she motioned towards the trash bags. “Is that it?” Kichiro asked. “I’ll have more for you to do when you’re done,” Applejack replied. Kichiro groaned, “Why would you say my job is simple when you have more for me to do? Why not have me pick some of those delicious apples for you.” “After the last time ah caught you up in one of my trees, not gonna happen,” Applejack retorted. Kichiro was about to let out another annoyed groan when he spotted something behind Applejack. He noticed a decent-sized chicken coop not too far away from their barn with some hens waddling in and out of it. The memory of him hiding behind it while creating the giant dirt spider during their game suddenly came back into his mind. “What about that chicken coop. I’m sure you have some eggs that need to be collected,” Kichiro wondered as a small grin formed on his face. “The day I trust a fox with mah chickens is the day Tirek comes back to make amends with the princesses,” Applejack objected. Kichiro tilted his head at her remark, “Who?” “Nevermind. Ah’m off to get some apple bucking done. When I return with a basket, those trash bags better be gone. After that, ah’ll give ya your next chore,” Applejack said. “Seriously, I can be a great help with your chicken coop. I have a thing for gossipy hens,” Kichiro noted. “Just take out the trash,” Applejack ordered and left for the orchard. Kichiro turned to the pile of trash bags. The scent was still seeping through the bags and stung the inside of his nose. He rubbed his nose on the ground to try and get the smell out, only to have no effect. Kichiro glared at the trash bags. His one hopeful prayer for the day was that his job wouldn’t take that long, but it was dashed away when he remembered that Applejack would have more for him to do. “‘Take out’ the trash?” Kichiro asked. He started to get an idea of what Applejack wanted him to do with the trash. “Oh, I think I get it.” Fifteen minutes later, Applejack trotted back towards the barn while she carried a basket full of red and green apples on her back. The apples themselves weren’t heavy and she managed to balance them perfectly on her back. With one basket done, that just meant there were more apples to buck and carry. “Kichiro, did ya finish taking out the-” The apple farmer came to a halt when she noticed a large pile of garbage scattered all over the ground. The bags were torn and all of the leftovers and wrappers were everywhere, flies even started to buzz around the smelly area. Applejacks jaw dropped at sight of the mess. Out of nowhere, the last of the trash bags was thrown onto the ground. Kichiro pounced onto the bag and sunk his teeth into it. He growled and thrashed his head around with the plastic of the bag in his jaws. In one violent yank, Kichiro tore the trash bag open and spilled its contents onto the ground. The garbage inside poured everywhere and the stench was now free. Kichiro stood upon the defeated bag as more trash covered the ground. He spat the torn up piece of plastic out of his mouth and smirked.   “Kichiro!” The three tailed fox turned his head to find Applejack staring daggers at him. “What in tarnation do ya think you’re doing?” she chided. “I’m doing what you told me. I’m taking out the trash,” Kichiro replied, innocently. “How is THIS taking out the trash?” Applejack asked. “Simple,” Kichiro replied. He hopped off of the trash pile and pointed towards the recently torn trash bag. “I sunk my teeth into the bag's neck and thrashed around until its head came off or until I ripped its throat out. How else would I ‘take out’ the trash?” Kichiro explained. Applejack was speechless. She just stood there with her jaw gaping. Her mind was unable to process how this fox was able to get the wrong idea in all the wrong ways. “I wanted ya to take these bags and place em in the bin outside of the barn like I told ya! Not tear them open like a raccoon foraging for food! How does this even happen?” Applejack scolded. “Uh, you’re welcome,” Kichiro retorted. “And now, I shall take these lifeless trash bags to the bin.” Kichiro was about to grab one of the empty trash bags with his jaw but Applejack was quick to stop him. “No! Forget it!” Applejack intervened. She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her hoof and sighed in annoyance. It was clear to her that she couldn’t take her eyes off of Kichiro for a minute. “Apple Bloom!” she called out. A few seconds later the tiny earth pony filly came running and appeared in front of her big sister. “Yes?” she noticed Kichiro standing next to Applejack. “Oh, howdy! Kichiro right?” “That depends. Are you a tiny grim reaper?” Kichiro wondered. “If so, just give me more time, please!” Apple Bloom merely tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Huh?” “Just ignore him,” Applejack sighed. Apple Bloom turned her head and noticed all of the garbage that laid across her and was spread out everywhere. The smell got to her too as she quickly covered her nose with her hoof. “Ulgh! What happened here?” Apple Bloom asked. “I’ll tell ya later. But for now, clean this up, I gotta go show Kichiro his next job,” Applejack ordered. “Seriously?” Applejack nodded and her little sister left to go fetch a broom. When she returned and started sweeping and scooping up some of the garbage, Applejack led Kichiro to his next job. She led the fox to some of the apple trees she was going to buck today. Kichiro noticed that some of the trees in front of him had long, green, leafy weeds growing out from the bottom of the trunk. They were all near the roots and easy to spot. “Here’s your next job. This one is even more simple than the last one,” Applejack said. “If you say so,” Kichiro shrugged. “And since ah can’t trust ya to be by yourself, I’m gonna show ya what you’re gonna do next and watch ya,” Applejack added. “Does that mean you’ll carry out the task all by yourself as a demonstration for me to observe so I can know what to do for future purposes?” “Nope!” “Dang.” “Ya see these weeds? We need to get rid of them so that they won’t suck up all of the rainwater that’s meant for our apple trees.” Applejack walked over to one of the trees that had the leafy weeds growing out. She leaned down and grabbed a pair of weeds with her jaw. With a strong tug, the weeds were yanked right out of the ground with the roots that dangled. Applejack spat out the weeds onto the ground. “Just pull them out like ah did and put them into little piles. And since I’ll be apple bucking all day, I can keep a closer eye on ya, to make sure ya don’t climb up my trees. Or somehow add more weeds. Got it?” Applejack explained. “Got it! Nap in trees and add more weeds!” Kichiro exclaimed. “What? That’s the complete opposite of what I told you to do!” Applejack replied. “Alright, fine. I’ll get to it. I swear, you have little to sense of humor,” Kichiro remarked. Applejack grumbled as Kichiro approached the weeded tree. He started to dig a tiny opening in the ground with his paws until he could see the roots of the weeds. Once the roots were in his sight, he chomped down onto the weeds and tugged them right out of the ground. The weeds dangled in his muzzle and Kichiro spat it out onto the previous set of weeds. “Ok good,” Applejack said. Kichiro went to the next set of weeds and did the same thing. He yanked out another pair of weeds after that. After one minute, Kichiro has managed to pull out several weeds from one tree, and there was still more to go. Despite Kichiro doing a good job, Applejack kept an extra close eye on him. She had to make sure he wasn’t going to try anything funny this time. Her expression started to soften up a little bit when Kichiro created another pile of weeds but nevertheless kept her focus on him. She slowly approached an apple tree near her where she had already placed an empty basket underneath it. As she kept her eyes on Kichiro, she gave the tree behind her a hard buck. Apples fell into the basket like it was nothing. All the while, Kichiro had been making more piles of weeds. While she was impressed, she couldn’t help but be suspicious. Applejack knew he was up to something strange, but she couldn’t figure out what. As the day went on, her guard was loosened by a small amount as the fox continued to pull out more weeds, but she kept her word and remained a watchful eye on him. Elsewhere, Reiko was wandering through the mysterious flora of the Everfree Forest. It was quiet, the air was cool and shadowy trees took up the majority of space. She sauntered through the forest and searched her surroundings. No matter where she turned her head, all she saw was trees, bushes, dirt and more trees. There weren’t even any birds chirping. She grumbled and her tails waved as she continued to trek through the vacant forest. Before she could call it quits, the bushes right in front of her started to rustle. Reiko came to a halt and glared at the bush. Leaves fell as it continued to move and create an unsettling crackling noise. Reiko planted her paws on the earth and readied herself for whatever was about to pop out of the bushes. She bore her teeth and her tails were about to flick against each other. The leaves of the bushes shuffled around some more when a brown hare leaped out of them and sat right in front of it. It was a medium-sized hare with ruffled fur and black eyes. Reikos tails stopped waving and she stared curiously at the hare. It hadn’t even noticed her yet, it was too busy grooming itself with its front paws. Reiko saw the opportunity she was looking for right in front her. Finally, she thought to herself. Her muzzle began to water and she began to position herself for a pounce. While she was doing that, the hare finally looked up and noticed Reiko. It froze at the sight of her, sweat was already starting to shoot off of his tiny head. The hare began to quiver as Reiko shifted her shoulders for her attack. The five tailed vixen lunged towards the hare. Luckily, the hare snapped out of its trance in time and jumped out of the way. Unluckily, Reiko landed in the bushes it jumped out of. “Yipe!” she yelped as she landed head first into the bush. Leaves were caught in her fur and the branches scratched her legs and tails. She popped her head out of the bush with some leaves caught in her muzzle. The vixen growled and spat the leaves out. She scanned the forest until she finally spotted the hare in the distance. It was running away and towards the opening of the forest. Determined to not lose her lunch, Reiko leaped out of the bush and pursued after the hare. She sprinted so fast that her paw steps couldn’t be heard. The hare didn’t even notice that Reiko was gaining on it. Reiko sprinted until the hares pointy tail came into clear view. The more she sprinted, the emptier her stomach felt. She didn’t care though, because she knew it would be worth it in the end. The hare took a sharp left and Reiko was about to run right into a tree. This time though, she caught the sight of the tree in time. She landed on the side of the tree and jumped off the trunk and sped right for the hare. Reiko smiled as she was getting closer to her prey. The hare took another sharp turn with Reiko following. In one final jump, the hare leaped right out of the forest and towards a cottage that rested at the edge of it. Not a moment later, Reiko leaped out of from between two trees and spotted the same cottage. She was about to charge right for the small house. However, she spotted someone familiar and planted her paws in the dirt. Reiko came to a complete stop, while ended up making a small dirt trail. She could feel almost all of her energy panting out of her. Her chest inflated and deflated repeatedly. After she caught her breath, Reiko looked up to see who stopped her. In front of her was the hare she was chasing after, with its head and face buried in the chest of a stunned Fluttershy. “R-Reiko? What do you think you’re doing to this poor hare?” she scolded. Reiko sat up straight as she started to recognize the yellow pegasus in front of her. “Oh, hey. You’re one of Starlights friends. Flutter-by, right?” Reiko asked. “It’s Fluttershy,” the timid pegasus corrected. “Whatever. I believe you have my lunch in your hooves,” Reiko said as she pointed to the hare. Fluttershy gasped. “Don’t tell me you were chasing this poor hare because you wanted to eat him!” “Why else would I refer to it as ‘my lunch?’” Reiko asked, rhetorically. The hare buried its face deeper into Fluttershy’s fluffy chest and began to cry. “Oh, it’s ok,” Fluttershy hushed. “I won’t let her hurt you.” “There’s no point in lying to it. Look, I’m really hungry. Just give me my food and I’ll be on my way,” Reiko demanded. “It will only take two seconds.” “I will not! I’m sure Twilight has something in her castle for you to eat,” Fluttershy replied. “Really? I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m not a pony. I can’t rely on cupcakes and carrots like the rest of you,” Reiko pointed out. “I need meat.” “Well, there are other ways for you to get protein, Reiko. You don’t have to bully animals to do so,” Fluttershy said. “Bully animals?” Reiko asked.   She tilted her head in disbelief. It was like she was unable to process what Fluttershy was trying to say. “I’m not bullying anything! It’s just nature!” Reiko retorted. “Don’t you have predators here that have to find their own food?” “That only happens in the Everfree Forest. All of the other animals have to rely on me and other ponies to feed and take care of them,” Fluttershy explained. “That’s dumb,” Reiko replied flatly. Fluttershy's jaw dropped at Reiko's remark. “It most certainly is not! They have to be protected so that they can live happy and healthy lives.” As if on cue, the hare nuzzled against Fluttershy for emphasis. “They won't be living 'happy and healthy lives' if you keep pampering them. You'll just end up making them lazy and too dependent on you. What will they do when you’re not around?” Reiko shot back. “How will they get their love and care then?” Fluttershy looked back at the hare in her hooves as she tried to come up with a good answer. She even had difficulty trying to form a single word. Even the hare shrugged its shoulders at such a question. “Why would you even ask something like that?” Fluttershy asked. “Just being realistic,” Reiko replied. “Now if we’re done here.” Reiko lunged for the hare in Fluttershy's hooves, to which the hare quickly buried its face into Fluttershy's chest again. Fluttershy flew up just before Reiko could make contact. She stared down at the five tailed vixen below as she glared back up at her. A soft whimper escaped from the hare as Reiko growled at the floating pegasus. “Reiko! Stop that! You could’ve hurt him!” Fluttershy scolded. “That’s the idea!” Reiko replied. She leaped upwards towards Fluttershy who dodged out of the way. However, Reiko kept ascending into the sky. Fluttershy looked up to see Reiko nearly touch the clouds above her. She couldn’t help but be amazed at how high Reiko had gotten from one jump. “Oh my,” she gasped. It didn’t take long for Reiko to fall back down. She passed by Fluttershy as she descended and landed on all fours on the ground. Fluttershy blinked, she didn’t even hear her paws touch the dirt. “You jump good,” Fluttershy commented. “I know,” Reiko replied and went for another jump. Fluttershy floated out of the way again as Reiko basically soared upwards. She quickly landed back on the ground and readied herself for another leap. Fluttershy gently floated back to the ground before she could do so. “Reiko, I’m warning you. Please leave this cute hare alone,” Fluttershy demanded. “Or what? You’ll throw a pillow at me?” Reiko scoffed. Fluttershy completed whether or not she should use her secret weapon, but ultimately she decided there was no other choice. She at least needed to calm her down. Fluttershy looked down at the hare who stared at her with confused eyes. “Cover your eyes, little one,” she whispered to the hare as it quickly shielded its eyes with its long ears. “Reiko, I’m sorry for doing this. I hope you can forgive me,” Fluttershy said. “Oh please, I’m not afraid yo-” Before she could finish, Fluttershy flew right up to Reiko and unleashed her secret weapon. Her eyes shot wide open with her teal eyes staring daggers at Reiko. At first, the vixen tilted her head at the pegasus, unsure of what she was trying to do. “W-What are you doing?” Reiko asked. Fluttershy didn’t answer, she just kept her stare locked onto her. Reiko could’ve sworn she saw her eyes sharpen like literal daggers. It felt like her eyes were slowing getting closer and closer to her. Reiko could feel her cold teal eyes starting to seep into her. She could feel her eyes impale themselves into her chest and slowly started to swim around in her heart. It was like she was staring into the gaping mouth of a giant serpent creature. Reiko could feel all five of her tails began to frizz up. Her knees suddenly felt unstable and loose. What is happening? She thought. What’s going on? Reiko looked back into Fluttershy's stare and noticed that she didn’t blink once. She found herself in an empty void, the only thing she saw was that small scowl and those sharp, glass-like eyes impaling into her own. Reiko grunted and was about to bore her teeth. I don’t get it. They’re just eyes! Reiko couldn’t look away from Fluttershy's stare. She growled and gave her own glare, but that just made those teal eyes even stronger. Her knees finally gave in and she found herself sitting on the ground. She didn’t understand. All she could do now was shake her head until she couldn’t see the eyes anymore. “Ok! I’ll let the hare go! Just stop glaring at me, it’s creepy!” Reiko yelled. After all that, Fluttershy finally blinked and formed a happy smile on her face. “You’re free to go now, little one,” Fluttershy whispered to the hare. It uncovered its eyes from behind its ears and looked around to see if it was truly safe. Once it saw that the coast was clear, the hare gave Fluttershy one more nuzzle and hopped out of her hooves. It happily hopped back into the forest as Fluttershy waved goodbye. She turned back to Reiko who still shook their head violently and growled to herself. Fluttershy gasped and covered her mouth with her hoof and slowly approached Reiko. “I’m sorry I had to do that. But you weren’t giving me a choice,” Fluttershy said. She reached out her hoof to try and comfort her but Reiko smacked it away with her paw. “What the hell was that?” Reiko asked as she finally looked up. “That was my stare. I use it on my animals whenever they misbehave,” Fluttershy explained. “But I really am sorry that I had to use it on you.” Reiko looked into Fluttershy's eyes once more only to find that they returned to normal. They weren’t as sinister as they were before, but they looked more innocent and worrisome. The fact that she could easily shift from those gentle eyes to those eerie daggers baffled Reiko, she didn’t know how to feel at the moment. “Don’t worry about it,” Reiko muttered.   Fluttershy sighed, “Reiko, I understand that you do things in your old home that you consider normal, but hunting animals here is just...just...too scary to think about.” “How do you expect me to survive?” Reiko asked. “I’d be more than happy to show you other food you can eat here that’s not from Sugar Cube Corner. Or where you don’t have to hunt cute animals.” “You mean to turn me into one of your pets?” “Oh no, I would never do that to you.” A low growl escaped from Reiko’s stomach. The loud noise caused Reiko to emit small smoke from her muzzle and she averted her gaze from Fluttershy in embarrassment. “It’s not like I have much of a choice,” Reiko said. Just when Reiko was about to get up and leave, a bright flash appeared out of nowhere. Once the light died down, both Fluttershy and Reiko saw that it was Twilight who stood there with a huge smile. She quickly flew up to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, I’m glad I caught you!” Twilight yelled, happily. “W-What is it, Twilight?” Fluttershy stammered. Twilight then spotted Reiko out of the corner of her eye, who was less than amused to see her. “Good! You’re here too, Reiko!” Twilight added. Reiko didn’t even respond, she grunted at Twilight’s sudden entrance and looked away. Twilight decided to ignore Reikos rude response and focus her attention back on Fluttershy. “When you’re not too busy, I need you to attend to the castle. I have exciting news to tell you!” Twilight declared. “Oh my, what is it?” Fluttershy wondered. “I’ll explain everything. Just arrive at my place as soon as you can, I have to inform the others!” In a literal flash, Twilight was gone. Fluttershy merely gazed upon the spot where Twilight was previously standing on. She tapped her hoof to her chin and pondered. “What do you think Twilight has to say?” Fluttershy wondered. “Something big, I bet,” Reiko replied sarcastically. Later that day, every pony and fox were gathered together in the meeting room. Twilight had just informed everybody of the letter she received from Princess Celestia and how she was looking forward to meeting the foxes. Each pony and fox had their own reaction to the news. Some were excited, some were surprised, and some were confused as to what was being told to them. When Twilight was finished, she stood there with a confident and excited smile with actual sparkles in her eyes. “She wants to meet them next week?” Rainbow Dash asked. “That doesn’t sound like a lot of time.” “I thought the same thing,” Ryota noted. “But it’s not like we can change her mind now.” “Regardless, she has agreed to meet with them. This is so exciting! Imagine Celestia meeting creatures for the first time that aren’t from this region! Not dragons, or yaks, or griffons but something completely different!” Twilight rejoiced. “We need to prepare what we’re going to talk about.” “What we’ll wear,” Rarity added. “What snacks to bring,” Pinkie chirped. “What..uh...other things to...bring. Yes!” Emi giggled. “Mark your calendars everyone, we leave for Canterlot a week from today!” Twilight ordered, excitedly. Every pony and fox in the room cheered in agreement to the news. Well, almost everyone. “We’re meeting the top dog already? Huh, she really did have some big news,” Reiko said to herself. “Yaaay…”