//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Territorial Dispute // Story: Tails of Innocence // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Tails of Innocence - Chapter 3 - Territorial Dispute 42 Years before Nightmare Moon’s Return ... as is in your kingdom, so be in ours. Guide us and keep us save from temptations of evil and sin, Kyuubi spoke telepathically to herself, kneeling next to a fireplace with a stack of books by her side. Her eyes were closed as she remained focused on her inner thoughts. Please look after Princess Celestia. She may not look like it, but I’m sure she works hard and cares for the ponies she rules. Please keep guiding her so her rule will remain wise and just. Her ears drooped as she recalled memories of her past. And please watch over my old home. Please help them restore the land so that people can live in prosperity and peace. Let them lead happy life and help them guide others so they may avoid sins.  Centuries after Luna’s banishment, the Princess of the Sun had often found companionship in a mischievous phoenix named Philomena. Though Philomena spent most of her time inside a cage in Celestia’s bedchamber, the door of the cage was rarely locked, allowing her to fly freely around the castle whenever she wished. Whether it was to take a morning flight or to wreak havoc on the sanity of the castle servants, she was as free as they come. Though she spent plenty of her time with the princess, it wasn’t unusual for Philomena to journey far from the castle of her own volition and, over a decade back, she had begun such a journey to the north. Several years had passed before Philomena landed back on the familiar balcony, ending her long explorations and travels to have a vacation inside the castle. She glanced at the massive city from the higher ground, allowing herself a moment of nostalgia before walking inside with a cheerful screech. The phoenix looked around lazily, finding her cage clean and ready, but her owner missing. Then, she spotted a creature covered by white fur lying down, but it certainly wasn’t Celestia. Narrowing her eyes and spreading her wings aggressively, she approached the intruder while examining its features. Next to the fireplace lay a fox, perched on its back atop three yellow pillows with an opened book levitating in front of its face. Size-wise, it seemed as big as a mare… Actually, only a three fourth the size of a mare as three tails made the fox look bigger than it actually was. She scowled at the intruder, yet failed to get its attention as it was lost in the literature, three stacked books by its side indicating that it had been at it for a while. Taking a deep breath, Philomena screeched aggressively, making the fox flinch as the book ended up pushed into the fire. The fox yelped in panic as it levitated the book away from the flames, smashing the fire with a nearby pillow before looking at the burned cover with watering eyes. Depressed whimpers escaped her mouth. Philomena screeched again, not tolerating being ignored in the least.  The large fox lowered the scorched book and turned around, staring back at her curiously. H-hello… Who… are you? Philomena tilted her head to the side, hearing a female voice in her head for whatever reason. The fox composed herself and held a forepaw on her chest. My name’s Kyuubi, nice to meet you. Philomena blinked as her attention focused on the aura around fox’s middle tail while still hearing the odd voice in her head. Are you confused? I’m speaking to you telepathically. Philomena rubbed the back of her head with her wing. So the creature before her knew magical means of communication. The fact that it actually read a book indicated intelligence. Intelligent magic caster or not, it was still an intruder and needed to be dealt with. With a flap of her wings, she flew onto a nearby bed, no longer looking up in order to meet the gaze of the taller intruder. She screeched a few times while pointing at the exit with her wing. You want me to leave? Philomena nodded. B-but why? This room is my home. Who are you anyway? Philomena narrowed her eyes, wondering what the heck was this creature talking about? She screeched louded, causing wind to move Kyuubi’s fur by flapping her wings aggressively.  Hey, stop that. You’ll make a mess. You already made me damage the princess’s book. Kyuubi took a defensive stance, stomping her thin paw before pointing at the entrance into the balcony. I must ask you to leave Her Highness bedchamber this instant. Philomena felt frustration burning inside her like a boiling lava as small flames started to form on her red-orange body. Did this intruder just tell her to leave? She was going to show this creature whose territory it is and she was done playing nice. She flew up, circling around the intruder while taking a deep breath. As Kyuubi didn’t take her eyes from her, she landed on the stone shelf of the fireplace and unleashed flames from her mouth. Kyuubi yelped, her tails flashed with a weak aura as a silvery bubble formed around her body, which turned red from the temperature. Philomena’s wings burst into fire as she flapped them, sending additional flames as they easily melted the magical bubble. Kyuubi wrapped her tails around the three books, jumping away while pushing the literature away from the flames. The pillows caught on fire in an instant. Hey, stop that! You’ll burn this room! Philomena frowned. She landed next to the burning pillows, spreading her right wing as it absorbed the flames into it over a few seconds.  Wait, you can do that? Philomena unleashed a screech of superiority before sending another portion of flames at the intruder, forcing her to raise a defensive bubble while walking backwards towards the balcony. Philomena pointed her wing at the exit before sending stronger flames, effortlessly burning through those pathetic defenses. To her horror, the moment her fire melted the silvery bubble, it struck the fox’s side, causing a loud scream of agony. Her face became pale as the white fur caught on fire and the smell of burned flesh filled the room.  “What’s going on here?” Philomena heard voices coming from the other side of the door before they opened as two unicorn guards ran inside. “Wait, Philomena? What have you done to the princess’ student?!” Philomena’s heart started beating faster than ever before. In a rush of emotions, she flew over to the burning fox who squirmed in agony, absorbing the flames in haste. Her face turned green at the sight of black flesh on the fox’s side and paws as panic and confusion overcame her mind.  How did it come to this? She used but part of her magic when unleashing her flames, something she sometimes did to prank Royal Guards as her attack left but a little burnt mark on their flanks. Yet the same intensity of her flames proved enough to pierce through defensive magic and nearly burn this intruder alive? How could a creature filled with magic be this fragile? “Kyuubi, focus, you must heal your injury,” one unicorn guard encouraged as he ran by the Phoenix, shaking the fox’s head as if trying to keep her awake. “Don’t lose consciousness. Focus,” another unicorn guard spoke before shooting Philomena an angered glare, causing phoenix to walk backward towards the corner of the room. Kyuubi grit her teeth as tears of pain fell down onto the floor. Her right tail shone with silvery aura as her burned flesh slowly recovered, though leaving a spot on her body without fur. Heavy breathing followed before Kyuubi whimpered and licked the furless part of her body. Philomena's eyes opened widely. What she saw wasn’t the self rebirth typical for phoenixes, but actual healing. While she could tell that there was a room for improvement as her magical flames left some lasting damage, it was still no less than impressive. She flew closer with quick flaps of her wings, only for the three-tailed-fox to hide behind a guard. Philomena lowered her beak, feeling guilt as Kyuubi trembled in fear at the very sight of her. As she opened her beak, screeching apologies, the fox surrounded herself and the guard with a silvery bubble. Informed by her guard about the fiery accident in her bedchamber due to Philomena’s return, Celestia flew through the hallway, stopping before the door. Due to the long absence of her pet, she hadn’t considered her return, nor that she would feel threatened or jealous of Kyuubi. Territorial fights between her two pets certainly didn’t cross her mind. Though after eight years of raising Kyuubi, she didn’t think of her as a pet anymore, she was too smart and too independent for that. Celestia opened the door and examined the room. Aside from scorched marks on the floor, and burned marks on three pillows and one book, she didn’t notice any significant damage. She bit her bottom lip upon noticing lack of fur on the left side of Kyuubi’s body, who ran towards her with tears in her eyes. Despite being almost as tall as a mare, the fox was still at the age of a filly, and she wouldn’t tolerate burning an innocent youth. The alicorn embraced her student with her wing and narrowed her eyes as a guard who remained in her bedchamber pointed at the cage with the saddened bird. Part of her wanted to deliver harsh punishment, but it was just in a phoenix’s nature to defend her territory, and she could tell that her pet showed honest regret. Celestia’s angry expression softened as she thought, Maybe a long lecture and no tasty treats for two weeks will be punishment enough. She glanced at the saddened face of her student that crept from behind her wing, who whimpered, climbed and hid behind her neck. With sixty kilograms of trembling fur on her back, she would need to play animal therapist today. “Kyuubi, are you okay?” Celestia asked, feeling paws wrapped tightly around her neck. Y-yes, but this angry bird... she... she… Kyuubi just closed her eyes and looked away.  Celestia sighed and nuzzled her. “I’m sorry my student. I forgot to tell you about Philomena, my pet phoenix. She had been gone for a long time so I forgot to tell you about her.” She’s mean… Kyuubi muttered, giving a small glare at the phoenix who just let out the bird equivalent of a sigh.  “I’ll talk to her,” Celestia said, while lifting her student up with her magic and giving her to one of the guards. “Why don’t you have some milk and cookies while I talk to Philomena?” Kyuubi nodded before the guards took the sacred fox out of the room, leaving the Princess to give a stern disapproving glance to the shirking phoenix. “I hope you are happy with what you have done, young lady?” Philomena only cooed in shame before turning her head away. How was she supposed to know her owner had taken a non-pony student? Celestia walked over and sighed. “I understand you didn’t know that Kyuubi was my student, and is an unnatural one at that. Some of your ignorance can be forgiven, but using your fire was a mistake. Not every pony, or creature for that matter, is as durable to your flames as me or my guards. You should have taken more consideration of the situation instead of acting so rashly.” Philomena nodded slowly before Celestia lifted her head up with her hoof. “Two weeks with no treats and you are not allowed to fly outside for a month. Deal?” Philomena nodded in agreement. “Now, let’s have you and my apprentice have a better second meeting than the first.” After letting Kyuubi calm down for an hour, the snacks helping, Celestia asked Kyuubi to formally meet Philomena, this time under better circumstances. Despite her worries, Celestia managed to convince the fox to agree to try again which led to the two staring at each other on the bed of the Solar Princess who watched in the back. Kyuubi, slowly shuffling her feet, looked at Philomena who just stood there and stared. She decided it would be best if her mentor also could hear their conversation so she put more magic into her tail. It was only last year that she finally managed to figure out how to talk to more than one person telepathically, but it was quite a headache afterwards. She could really only talk to two minds at once, and anymore was just too draining. Hopefully, as she practiced more and got older, the pain would lessen. Um, hi? Philomena gave a small wave with her wing and tweeted a greeting.  I’m Kyuubi, Princess Celestia’s apprentice, and I’m from another country. I got sent here for my safety and I’ve been here for some time, Kyuubi explained, slowly tilting her head. Are you really a phoenix? Philomena proudly puffed out her chest with pride. It’s just, all the phoenixes where I come from died a long time ago. I always thought you were extinct. This made Philomena’s eyes widen as well as Celestia’s. Phoenix's were known for many things: their songs that could lift up spirits, their tears able to heal others even on the brink of death, their flames, and their ability to lift twice their size with their talons. However, the most important thing was their virtual immortality. Phoenixes, when they were killed or died of old age, were reborn in a matter of minutes into a new young body no worse for wear. The only way a phoenix could die was when they allowed it of their own free will, otherwise they could live to be thousands of years old. Philomena herself didn't fear taking risks and adventuring for this particular reason. “Kyuubi,” Celestia asked with an alarmed look on her face. “How could anyone kill a pheonix? They cannot die. I have seen Philomena return to me from multiple dangers. Even deadly spells that could kill a grown stallion have never kept her from returning to me.” You mean you don’t know? Kyuubi asked, getting a shake of the head. Well, I read a lot of books in my spare time when the priests were busy and it was raining out. I mean I preferred playing, but I hate getting my fur wet. I read once that an evil wizard sought for a way to make himself immortal. He discovered that phoenixes could do such a thing and so he began to experiment on them. Celestia felt herself growling, silently, but it was there.  During one of those experiments, he completely froze the ashes after the phoenix died and stopped it from being reborn. After a while, they unfroze and the ashes were still just ashes. The phoenix never returned, even when they got warm again. The dark wizard was killed before he could find a means to resurrect himself, but rumors of how he killed the phoenix spread and soon many were hunting them down for their ashes since they possessed really strong magical properties. Eventually, the phoenixes were never seen again so many just assumed they all died. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Now that I think about it, it sounds similar to what happened to my species. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be too special. Upon hearing this Philomena felt something she had not felt since she was a little chick hatched out of her egg. It was fear. If what this little fox was saying was true then she wasn’t as immortal as she believed. Philomena always believed she would let herself pass away whenever Princess Celestia did so, but to be taken away from her before she was ready? Seeing the worried and scared look on the bird's face quickly erased any worries Kyuubi had of the bird and instead she quickly raised her paws in apology. Of course, the phoenixes  could have just flown away to some other land. Maybe they all came here instead? I mean it was a long time ago. You being here is proof that you’re not all gone, right? “I think that would be a safe assumption,” Celestia said, stepping in. “You can find many phoenixes in our lands. Perhaps they made the trip and migrated here to avoid being eliminated and established themselves, or maybe they migrated from here to your land and learned it wasn't worth such danger.” She then nuzzled Philomena who quickly stopped shaking. “Worry not, my dear, you will not be taken from me.” Turning to kitsune, she then said, “Kyuubi, I must ask you to never tell this to anypony else. While I like to have faith in all my subjects, there are those who would use such knowledge for the wrong reasons.” Oh, of course, Princess. My lips are sealed... or rather my tail is since that’s the only way I can talk to ponies, Kyuubi answered before turning to Philomena. As for what happened between the two of us? Well, ’forgiveness is one of the most important virtues’ as Father Rodrigo says. So I forgive you, if you promise never to do that again. She tapped her forepaws together And no flames. I don’t think I’ll appreciate any kind of fire for a long time. Philomena raised her wing over her heart and nodded. Great! So... what do you like to do for fun? Kyuubi asked.  “My little bird here likes to play the occasional practical joke. Often on the newer guards,” Princess Celestia replied, smiling. This made Kyuubi’s smile stretch wide. If pranks are what she likes doing then I got an idea, but I will need your permission to allow your phoenix to leave the castle, at least temporarly. Celestia gave her student an encouraging smile. “If this will help you two get along...“ Private Kickfield groaned as he made his way down the barracks after another harsh training session. Not that it would last long as the Royal Guard lowered their standards over centuries to the point where guards on duty just needed to look tough and didn’t need to train. Unfortunately, recruits still needed to go through the basics as ironically they were the best the Royal Guard had to offer. Part of his training regime involved performing mock battles which always ended up poorly for Kickfield. “I can’t wait to get out of my armor, head home, and go to sleep...” he muttered to himself as he made it to the changing rooms. He checked the signs and paused.  “Wait, wasn’t the stallion's room to the left?” he asked himself upon checking the signs again. Shaking his head, he smacked himself. “Must have gotten hit a lot harder than I thought.”  He entered the right room and started taking off his armor, but paused upon entering through the door. At least eight other guards were there, but all of them were mares. Each out of their armor, halfway done, or in towels from the showers at the other end of the room. They all silently stared at Kickfield with red cheeks and wide eyes. “Um, oops?” “PERVERT!”  Philomena and Kyuubi could only laugh their tails off upon hearing the pains and shrieks of Private Kickfield as the sound of female vengeance could be heard for miles.