//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: Filly, Drills, and Stir-Fry 
// Story: The Mystic Fox 
// by Mysticfox 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 6: Filly, Drills, and Stir-Fry

( GGGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAWWLLL)

"ugh hungry." I said while my stomach demanded food. I slowly opened my eyes and started to notice something. I was not in my room but what appears to be a hotel room. I looked around the small room as I began to sit up from the comfy bad. It was still pretty late with the moon full and hi in the night sky. There was a small writing desk by the door and a small couch sitting between the desk and bed. And on that couch was a sleeping purple pony laying on her side snoring away. I could help but grin a little bit until my stomach reminded me why I'm awake. I slowly and quietly moved out of bed and found my shirt and vest beside the bed. Luckily I still had on my slack so I just slipped the shirt on before I heard Twilight rolling around on the couch. Turned to look and almost busted out laughing.

"Jeez that can't be comfortable." I whispered looking down at Twilight laying halfway off the couch with her head and forelegs upside down on the floor. I gently scooped her up and placed her on the bed. I couldn't help but notice how soft she was. I kinda just wanted to pet hear but that would probably be rude so I slowly moved the covers over her and left her to sleep. I gently closed the door and started the hunt for the kitchen… for 30 minutes.

"How big is this place and didn't I just pass this hall and You would figure there would be some guards around." I said while looking around. I walked down another hallway and came to a set of double doors and decided to peek in. And found the dining hall and a door with the world kitchen written above it.

"Alright found ya." I whispered as I headed for the kitchen. I looked in to see if anyone was here and found no one.

"This is a nice kitchen. I sorry for borrowing your kitchen and I promise to pay for what I use and clean any mess." I said to no one and set out to make a simple midnight snack but when I found their fridge and was left in awe of their food stocks. It was like they had a full big city market.

"Ok so simple is out. Wait isn't that a Daikon radish and there's some shiitake mushrooms. It's a whole Oriental section; they even have some Kombu and Bonito flakes. Oh I got an idea something light but filling." I said as I began to gather the ingredients to make a vegetable Ramen. I found a large pot and brought some water to boil while I cut the veggies. When the water was read I used the Kombu and flakes to make a Dashi and in a few seconds I pulled them out. I pulled some special herbs from my house with magic and put them in a tea egg I found. I slipped it into the water along with the veggies and set it to simmer. I grabbed a smaller pot to boil for the noodles and while it was heating up I found some big bowls and grabbed me one. I put a little bit of hot oil and soy sauce into the bowl before turning up the heat on the veggies and added a couple of whole eggs to cook. I pulled the noodles from my house and put them in to cook. In a few short minutes I pulled them from the water and shook them before putting them in the bowl and adding the veggies and broth. I finished it with some green onions, soft boiled egg and it was done. I pulled my own chopsticks from the house and lifted the bowl.

"Awesome, this looks great. Time to ea-." I said before looking up and froze at what I saw. Sitting at a counter beside me were three ponies but not your normal ponies. They had a black coat with a dark gray mane, red eyes, fangs and what looked like bat wings. They also had on very dark armor but what I noticed was that they all had drool running from their mouths and starry eyes locked on my bowl.

"Um hungry?" I asked before getting a fast nod from them.

"O-Kay give me a second." I said before grabbing more bowls and in a few minutes they were full and ready. I gave them their bowls and picked up mine.

"There you go enjoy." I said before taking a sip of the broth and with a happy sigh I slurped up some noodles. I looked over at the bat ponies and found them eating happily.

"So how is it?" I asked before eating some of the veggies.

"It's amazing I've never had anything like it. Oh I'm Starry Night and this is Moon Shadow and Night Breeze." Starry Night said as she pointed her right then left before slurping up some noodles.

"Its nice to meet you. I'm Fox Lilly but please call me Fox." I said before they stopped eating.

"Wait, you're that Mystic Fox guy that fought the Changelings Queen yesterday." Moon Shadow said in surprise.

"Yeah that was me. By the way do you know what happened after the fight?" I asked as I finished my bowl.

"Well we didn't see what happened but a body of might in the day guard said you kicked her flank right out of the castle and when you passed out princess Celestia placed you in a guest room." Starry Night said after finishing her bowl.

"What about the wedding?" I asked before taking there empty bowls to the sink.

"It was postponed until this afternoon." Moon Shadow said while Night Breeze nodded her head. I guess she didn't talk much.

"WHAT GOING ON HERE." Said a loud female voice at the door to the kitchen. I looked up from the sink and found a tall dark night blue alicorn with a flowing mane that looked like the night sky.

"Starry Night, Moon Shadow and Night Breeze why have you left your post." The alicorn said looking sternly at the mares.

"I'm sorry it was my fault. I woke up very hungry and went to look for the kitchen and got lost. Until I ran into these three and they showed me the way. As thanks I cooked them something to eat." I said give them a discrete wink.

"Is this true Starry Night?" The alicorn asked as she walked up to use.

"Um yes we found him wandering around and helped him then he cooked for us." Starry Night said before Night Breeze spoke up.

"Really good." Night Breeze said in a soft sweet voice.

"Well then now that you've helped him you can return to your posts." The alicorn said with a bit more ease.

"Yes Princess Luna and have a wonderful night." Moon Shadow said before they hurried out of the kitchen and Luna walked up to the counter.

"Would you like something to eat Princess?" I asked with a smile.

"Well I was just going to get a snack but after what those three said I don't think a snack will do." Luna said with a warm smile.

"Well I do still have some left." I said before grabbing a clean bowl and fixed it up.

"Well it looks like my sister was right you look just like your mother." Luna said with a hint of sadness.

"Here enjoy." I said as I placed a bowl on the counter and went back to cleaning.

"This looks great thank you." She said before taking a sip of the broth and with a smile she began to eat. I put the rest of the broth and vegetables in some containers and sent them to my fridge before washing the pot.

"This is very good. It’s light but filling and I feel a bit more awake then normal at this hour. What did you put in this?" She asked before taking a long sip of the broth.

"Oh it's this." I said as I held up the tea egg.

"Tea?" She asked before taking it in her magic.

"Kinda. It is actually an assortment of herds that have health and medical properties. There's a culture in my world that uses herbs like this in a lot of different things. What these herbs did was add more essential vitamins in the soup." I said taking the tea egg back so I can clean it.

"I'll have to get the recipe from you. How did you learn this?" She asked before finishing her bowl.

"With a lot of research and practice. Plus mom could not cook." I said with a laugh before taking her bowl.

"Oh yes. I remember when she tried to make me and Tia breakfast. I don't know what it was but it was looking at me." Luna said with a giggle.

"Oh that's nothing. Did you know applesauce is explosive? It was everywhere." I said having a good laugh.

"I'm glad she had someone to look after her." She said with a sad smile. I could tell that there was something on her mind but before I could ask a pink blur shot passed us and out the door.

"What was that." I asked while I watched the door swing.

"By my guess it was that pink pony friend of Twilight sparkle." She said before holding up two chocolate chip cupcakes with a chocolate frosting smiley face.

"That mare is not right but man can she make some good treats." I said taking a bit of the sweet goodness.

"That she does. Well Fox sadly I must get back to my duties, it's almost time to lower the moon. And feel free to use the kitchen whenever you're here just make sure to save me some." She said before taking her cupcake and headed out the kitchen.

"Have a good morning Aunt Luna." I said before I finished cleaning and headed back to my room and to my surprise it was right around the corner.

" really after all that walking." I whispered as I slowly open the door and found Twilight still asleep on the bed. I quietly shut the door and headed for the bathroom to shower. Know there's something you should know, I'm in a good mood. I sometimes sing in the shower but not what you would think. I like goofy songs and I was in a good mood and started to sing.

(PLAY BREAKFAST BURRITO HAHAHA)

As I finished the song I was all clean and shut the hot water off before opening the shower curtain.

"AAHHHH(POOF) DAMIT. Twilight what are you doing in here." I said before hopping out of the shower after the surprise made me change to mini Fox. After shacking off the water my fur and tail puffed up and Twilight hit the ground laughing.

"Great now I have to find a brush." I said before sitting down.

"Sorry…Sorry(HAHA) but that's…song and (haha) POOF." She tried to stop laughing.

"It's alright. Just help me find a brush." I said as I tried to depuff my fur.

"Alright Fluffy come on I got a brush in my room across the hall." She said before getting up with a giggle and headed for the door.

"Well someone's in a good mood this morning." I said as I followed her out and int her room.

"Well yeah after that goofy wakeup how can I not be…and I'm glad your ok." She said with a slight blush. I couldn't help but blush too. Was that why she stayed in my room last night because she was worried about me.

"Twilight thanks for being my friend." I said with a warm smile.

"Well I'm happy to be your friend." She said, returning the smile before picking up a brush and passing it to me.

"Twilight before I came here it was just me and mom. I was homeschooled and I didn't go to any nearby towns so the only friend I had was mom but when I got here I was alone. Then I met you and spike. What made you want to be my friend?" I asked looking at the brush. After a brief silence she spoke up.

"I felt like you needed one. After you told me what happened I could tell that you felt lonely and sad. I wanted to help you feel better and hopefully a little less lonely. Good friends are like family and will always be there for you when you need a shoulder to lean on." She with an honest smile. I couldn't help but shed a tear before I quickly grabbed the brush with my magic. As soon as I brought it to my fur my magic flicker before I dropped the brush.

"Ok that's weird I didn't mean to drop it." I said before trying again but with the same results.

"You might have used too much magic yesterday. Hold on I'll do a quick magic scan." She said before her horn lit up and a purple light bar ran down my tiny body.

"It looks like your magic is slowly coming back by the way it looks. It will be a few days before your magic will be back. But don't worry it will be back." She said before picking up the brush with her magic and began to brush my fur. And I must say it felt nice I could help but sigh and relax getting a giggle from Twilight.

"So what's the plan for today Twi?" I asked while she brushed.

"Well after what happened yesterday the wedding was moved to the gardens this afternoon. So most of the morning me and Spike will be checking in on things and make sure it's on schedule." She said before making a clip board with a checklist appear.

"Oh I just thought of something. Hey Twilight, how would you like to help me experiment with my magic. So far I don't know what my limits are besides that I used too much." I said before I looked up and saw a big sparkling eye and huge smile.

"YESYESYES I WOULD LOVE TOO." She screamed before hugging me tightly.

"Need air…..air." I said trying to escape her grasp.

"Sorry hehe but yes I would really like to help you." She said with a smile and blush as she let me go.

(Knock Knock)

"Twilight are you awake." Said a familiar voice from the door and in a second Twilight was at the door with Cadence.

"Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake." They both said while doing a little dance and shaking their flanks in the air. That did it for me.

"HAHAHAHAHA THAT TO FUNNY!" I yelled while holding my sides and rolling on the bed laughing. But stopped when Cadence scooped me up in a tight hug.

"YOUR SO FLUFFY. It's like holding a Fox plushie." Cadence said while Twilight was now laughing herself.

"Well I'm happy to see your feeling better." I said as I tried to free myself. Note to self stay away from schools when mini.

"I cant thank you enough for saving my Shining Armor and the wedding." Cadence said before setting me back on the bed.

"I couldn't just sit by and watch. I didn't want those I care for hurt or sad so I did what I had to to protect my family and friends. Plus it was kinda fun that I could test out my magic like that." I said with a happy smile.

"You know even if you just found new friends and family, I can tell that you love them a lot." Cadence said with a warm smile.

"Thanks Cadence. Anyway how's the wedding going." I asked before hopping off the bed.

"Oh right Twilight do you mind if we can check on everything. After yesterday I wanted to check if things are going ok." Cadence asked with a hopeful look.

"Of course I was about to go through the checklist. Let me just wake up spike." Twilight said walking to the end of the bed where a sleeping baby dragon snoring away.

"Wow heavy sleeper." I said while Twilight nudged him with a hoof but did nothing to wake him. With a sigh she picked him up with her magic and placed him on her back.

"He'll wake up soon. So let's go check on things. Fox you want to come?" Twilight asked before heading to the door with Cadence.

"Na I think i'm just going to wander around a bit." I said before I hoped out of the room.

"Well its that's the case Shining Armor was wanting to talk with you. He should be out running some drills with some new recruits. They should be in the courtyard, just head down the hall and you can't miss them." Cadence said, pointing out the hallway before her and Twilight left with a wave. I left down the hall and it wasn't long until I came to a double door with a sigh above that said courtyard. I pushed the door open and was met with the bright morning sun.

"Alright rookies I want ten laps around the courtyard and if I catch you slacking you'll have to clean the barracks for a week." Said a white unicorn in front of a group of nine armored ponies who groaned before turning and jogging away. I walked up to Shining Armor while he watched his troops.

"Yo." I said, causing him to jump and look around.

"Down here bud." I said, waving a paw, getting a very confused look from him.

"Um, can I help you?" Shining asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's me Fox Cadence said you wanted to talk to me." I asked while I noticed the troops staring at me when they passed.

"Wait, you're that guy with the mask that saved fought off Chrysalis?" Shining said with wide eyes.

"Yeah that's me in my normal form. This is my mini Fox form." I said with a smile and tail wag.

"Um ok then. I wanted to thank you for what you did not just for saving me but for saving my sister and Canterlot. Without you who knows how many citizens would have been hurt if you didn't step in and give us some time to get the shield back up." Shining said before he bowed his head in thanks and some of the rookies walked up.

"Wait you're the thing that stopped the Changelings." Said a colt pegasus guard with blue eyes.

"Yeah I'm that "Thing". I said getting a little agitated at the word thing.

"Watch what you say Bolt if the rumors are true he could kick your flank any day of the week." Said a female unicorn with pink eyes.

"Bubbles is right. Hi I'm Flash Sentry. This is Pink Bubbles and Sun bolt." Said an orange pegasus with a blue mane.

"Why have you three stopped running laps?" Shining said with a stern glare causing the three to straight out.

"Sorry sir we finished the laps and wanted to see if the rumors were true." Flash with a wing salute as the other recruits walked up to us.

"Well Flash the rumors are true. This is Fox Lilly and he was the one that beat Queen Chrysalis." Shining said pointing a hoof towards me and getting some awes from the rookies.

"I still can't believe that little thing stopped the Changelings." Bolt said, turning his nose up. Ok this guy is starting to piss me off. I glared at the pony before an idea popped in my head.

"Hey Shining Armor Cadence said y'all were doin some training drills today right?" I asked with a large smirk.

"Yeah I was just about to set them up why?" Shining asked tilting his head before I hopped on his back to whisper in his ear and after I explained my plans he smiled and turned to the rookies.

"Alright rookies line up." Shining said sternly before they all quickly lined up in front of us.

"After yesterday I realized that anyone can slip through our defenses. So for today we are going to do an Intruder drill. You will have one hour to catch the intruder." Shining said with a smile.

"Um sir who is going to be the intruder?" Bubbles asked before I hopped up on Shining's head getting a giggle from some of the rookies.

"That would be me." I said, smirking at the confusion on their faces.

"We have to catch that little thing." Bolt said in disbelief. I had enough of him.

"Bolt if you don't show him som-." Shining said before I cut him off by hopping down in front of him.

"Its fine Shining. So you think just because I'm this tiny "Thing" that I be hard to catch." I said before I disappeared and reappeared on his head.

"If that's what you're thinking then you shouldn't be a guard." I said before lifting him up in my magic and turning him upside down and looked him in the eye.

"I'll make y'all a bet if y'all can catch me before time runs out I'll give you each Fifty bits but if you can't y'all will have to clean the whole castle grounds. Is that ok with you Shining Armor?" I asked not looking away from Bolts eyes with a big toothy smile, scaring to colt.

"That should be fine but can you please put Bolt down it looks like he might pass out." Shining said before I let the pony fall to the ground and walked next to Shining.

"I'll even make it easier for you. I won't use magic and I will not go into any private rooms and I will stay within the castle walls. And hey I'll cook y'all some lunch to if you all can catch me." I said before I stretched my tiny body.

"Alright rookies Fox will have five minutes head start then we'll start. Are you ready Fox?" Shining asked before I stopped and thought of something.

"Shining do y'all have a way to communicate with each other?" I asked with a paw on my chin.

"Only face to face reports." Shining said while I looked at the recruits. I use my magic to create ten earbud communicators and linking them before passing them around to the rookies and Shining.

"Here put these in your ears. These little things are long distance communicators. With these you can talk to the others by pressing the button on the side. Only y'all and Shining Armor will have them." I said as I passed one to Shining.

"Shining you can help if they need it but they have to figure things out themselves if that's alright with you." I asked while he put on the head set.

"That's fine with me. Can I set a team leader for this drill." Shining asked before I nodded.

"Flash you will be in charge. Can you handle that." Shining asked as he walked up to him.

"Yes sir." Flash said as a random thought ran through my mind.

"Hey I just noticed this but why are you orange while the rest are white and blue?" I asked looking at the other recruits.

"Oh I can answer that. The Armor of the royal guards are enchanted with a spell that changes our colors so we match like a uniform. Flash here just got his worked on but the unicorn that places the spell is out sick so hes stuck as the odd one out." Bubbles said with a giggle.

"Well ok then. Let's get this started. You can use any non lethal tactics you want. Shining when they are ready, start the timer. Good luck rookies." I said with a smirk before taking off into the castle. Oh this will be fun. Once my five minutes were up Flash divided the up into three pony teams and the set out for the castle. Little did they know I doubled back to give Shining Armor.

"Hey Shining I have something else for you." I said before making a small computer tablet and four tiny fly cameras. I passed the tablet to Shining as the flies took off to find there targets.

"What is this thing?" He asked as he took it in his magic.

"This is what people in my world call a tablet. This one is linked to fly cameras that will follow us around so you can see how the rookies handle themselves. See look at the bottom left of the screen you should see me and you." I said while waving my paw at the fly that will follow me.

"Wow wish we had stuff like this around the castle." He said before I was spotted by Bubbles' team.

"I found the intruder. He's currently in the courtyard." Bubbles said as her team began to run towards me.

"Well that didn't take long. Now the chase begins." I said before taking off toward the castle with Bubbles hot on my tail.

"FOUND YOU!" Bolt yelled from above me. He was closing in from the front while Bubbles was gaining from the rear and just as Bolt got close I jumped over him causing him to crash into Bubbles.

"You'll have to do better than that rookies." I said while they picked themselves up and started to argue.

"Hey, watch what your doin Bolt." Bubbles said as she helped her team up.

"You should watch yourself. I had him and then you jumped in my way." Bolt said before his team came around the corner.

"Bolt you saw us right behind him." Bubbles said while I slowly backed up to a set of doors with a sign for the throne room. Those two didn't even hear me close the door. I looked around the room and found Celestia talking with one of the guards. I ran up to the guard and jump on top of his head, making him look up at me in surprise.

"Good morning Aunt Tia." I said with a warm smile.

"Good morning to you as well Fox. It seems you're feeling better this morning." Celestia said as she returned the smile.

"Yep physically I'm fine but my magic is a little low. Oh here." I said before creating another tablet and earbud.

"What's this for?" Celestia asked, taking them with her magic.

"I should probably explain what's going on. Right now I'm helping Shining Armor run a drill for some new recruits. It's an intruder drill and they have one hour to catch the intruder, me. This tablet is linked to small flying cameras. You can watch what's going on and the earpiece will let you hear them." I said as I showed her the fly camera.

"Well this is interesting. Silver Shield, tell the Patrol leaders about this drill and not to interfere." Celestia said to the guard before he left with a quick salute as I jumped off his head.

"Thank you for that. Didn't want more ponies chasing me." I said with a smile before Celestia gave me a smirk.

"Uh what's that look for." I said with a worried look.

"GUARDS THERE'S AN INTRUDER IN THE THRONE ROOM!" Celestia called out before Bubbles and Bolt burst through the side door.

"Oh that's cold. Betrayed by my own family. You will Rue this day." I said in fake drama before darting out the room.

"GET BACK HERE!" Bolt yelled as his team ran after me.

"WAIT BOLT DON'T JUST RUN AFTER HIM! Excuse us Princess." Bubbles said as her and her team ran past the Princess.

"Well this should be interesting." Celestia said as she watched me from the tablet. It didn't take Bolt and Bubbles long to catch up with me as I ran down the hallway. As I turned the corner I ran into Flash and his team.

"Stop right there. Bolt blocks his escape and Bubbles blocks the hall with a shield." Flash ordered through the earpiece before a pink magic wall blocked the path behind Flash and his team.

"You have nowhere to run, surrender." Flash said as the three teams closed in.

"Surrender, HA not happening." I said as a plan came to mind. I ran toward Flash and before Bolt and Bubbles could catch me I slid under Flash. I ran at the pink wall then up it before jumping off the wall and over the team.

"Always be aware of the size of the enemy. In tight places the smaller the better." I said before bolting down the hall and around the corner. I noticed a door with a large pink sign with balloons that said party. I slipped through the door before the recruits could turn the corner, giving them the slip.

When I turned around I found that the whole room was covered in streamers, balloons and a bunch of confetti. At the back wall was a long table full of sweet treats and punch. I noticed Applejack with Cadence and Twilight who was munching some apple treats.

"Yo Fox dude. Whats up." A familiar mare called from the other side of the room. I looked over to a stage that was set up with a massive DJ booth with large speakers on both sides and long strands of lights running over the top and along the ceiling. On the front was a neon sign that said DJ-PON3 in red and a familiar unicorn mare standing there alongside Pinkie Pie.

"Hey sup Vinyl. Hey there Pinkie how's the party set up going?" I asked as I ran up to Pinkie and hopped up on her head. I don't know what kind of shampoo she used but I want it. It was like I was on a pink cloud that was warm and smelled like cotton candy cupcakes. I could help but sink in and get comfy.

"Hi Foxy. We just finished setting up Vinyl's booth." Pinkie said with a big smile.

"Yep I was just about to test the lights and it's ready. What are you up to?" Vinyl said before flipping some switches turning on the light.

"Oh just playing with some new recruits." I said from my cozy spot.

"Hi Fox. What do you mean by that…and why are you in Pinkie's mane?" Cadence asked walking up to us with Applejack and Twilight.

"To answer your first question I'm helping Shining run an intruder drill where the recruits have one hour to catch me and to answer your second question…it's warm and cozy and smells delicious." I said with a wiggle to try to go deeper causing Pinkie pie to giggle.

"You mean those guards." Applejack said pointing a hoof at Bubbles and her team walking into the room.

"Crap. I'm not here." I said as I quickly covered myself with pink puffs. I could hear their hooves getting closer.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you and your friends Princess but have you seen a tiny white fox with a fluffy tail run through here." Bubbles asked with mild annoyance.

"Is everything alright Honey Bubbles?" Cadence asked while I tried not to laugh.

"Yes ma'am. We are in the middle of a training drill and one of the team captains can be a pain sometimes but he can be pretty crafty if he can keep calm." Bubbles said with some happiness at the end.

"Oh well I did see something white run down the hall towards the kitchen." Cadence said.

"Thank you Princess. This is Bubbles, reports said the target was headed for the kitchen on route now." Bubbles said before heading out the door with her team.

"Who was she talking to?" Twilight said as I resurfaced from the pinkness with a cupcake.

"I made them long range communicators and Pinkie did you know you had a cupcake in your mane?" I asked, passing the sweet treat down to her hoof.

"I was wondering where that went." Pinkie said before tossing it up and into her mouth.

"Yeah… I'm just going to go now. Oh hey anypony see Rainbow Dash anywhere?" I asked as I jumped out of Pinkie's mane.

"Last time I saw her, she was flying around the castle." Twilight said while I headed for the door.

"Thanks for the help guys and Vinyl please let me try that awesome system later." I said before I left the room.

"As long as you don't blow out the windows this time." Vinyl said, getting a good laugh from me before closing the door.

"Let see. They're probably in the kitchen now. What to do." I said to myself before looking around. I found a staircase that led up to the second floor and decided to head up there for a bit. It's been about thirty minutes since we started the drill and for the last five it's been quite a little bit too quiet and I didn't like that.

"Hhhhiiii." Said a voice from above me. I looked up and found Bolt quietly flapping his wing.

"Shit." I said before he dove down to catch me but I managed to duck down before he could grab me and ran for the stairs.

"Flash he's heading your way." Bolt called out as he began to chase me with his team right behind him. When I got to the stairs and found Flash with his team and Bubbles right behind them. The only way I could go was up. So I quickly shot up the stairs and when I got to the top I was stuck. I was on top of a castle tower with nothing but a telescope. I quickly looked around for any way out and it didn't look like there was one until I noticed a flash of color and with a loud whistle I found my out.

"There's nowhere else to run and Bubbles blocked off the stairs with a wall so just surrender." Flash as they closed in, making me backup towards the window with the telescope.

"Your right I can run any more but I can't surrender either because I have a flight to catch." I said with a smirk before I back flipped out the window and on the back of Rainbow Dash.

"Hahaha awesome timing dash. Hey you want to help me mess with the guards a bit?" I asked as we rounded the tower.

"Sounds fun. What are you doing anyway?" She asked, turning her head to look at me.

"Running from some rookies in training and you got two on your tail." I said pointing at Flash and Bolt chasing us.

"HA lets see what they got. Hold on." She said as she picked up speed with the rookies right behind. The wind rushed past me as we weaved between some clouds before dropping back to the castle courtyard right above Shining Armor. Me and Rainbow gave him a quick salute while we passed him before shooting back into the sky.

"Rainbow passed through that cloud. I got a plan." I said before we dove right through the cloud and when we came out I had a clump of cloud in my paws. I don't know how I could hold clouds but I blame magic. I quickly molded it to look sort of like me.

"What's that for?" Rainbow said looking back at me with a bit of confusion.

"Decoy. Can you drop me off by the courtyard door and as soon as we turn the corner and lose sight of these guys I'll jump off and you'll have decoy me and hopefully they'll follow you until they figure it out. Thanks for the help Rainbow, I'll cook you up some lunch sometime." I said before we headed back to the courtyard with the rookies slowly catching up. We turned for the court yard and I quickly jumped off and rolled into a nearby bush and as soon as Flash and Bolt passed I hopped out and ran back into the castle. I could have sworn I heard Shining Armor laughing while I ran inside. It didn't take long before Flash and Bolt to realize that it was a fake. I had hid behind a pillar to listen in.

"That fox has us running in circles like it's some game to him." Bolt said as they entered the main hall.

"I must admit this is getting kinda fun." Flash said with a smile.

"Fun? He's playing us. How can you find this fun?" Bolt asked, stomping his hoof.

"When was the last time you got to fly like that? This may be a training drill but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it." Flash said before Bubbles and her team walked up.

"Bolt you need to calm down. I talked to a few other guards and I got some good intel I think we can use but we need a clear head so we can win this." Bubbles said as she placed her hoof on Bolts shoulder.

"Fine what's this intel you got?" Bolt asked with clenched teeth while Bubbles smirked before bringing the teams together.

"Well I think I leave them to plan their next move." I whispered to myself before I ran down a nearby hall. There was only fifteen minutes left and I couldn't help to be excited about what they came up with. I was just aimlessly walking around when I heard some laughing that sounded like a group of foals.

"Alright my little ponies when we get back it will be nap time then lunch." Said a sea blue unicorn mare with dark blue mane and a smiley face for a cutie mark. The mare was leading a small group of foals down the hall.

"Aw do we have to take a nap Miss Smiles." Asked a small forest green colt.

"Of course. Getting plenty of rest and proper lunch will help you grow big and strong." Miss Smiles said as they passed me. I was about to head on my way but stopped when I saw a little rose red pegasus filly with a soft pink mane and a white fox plushie under her wing. Her large pink sparkling eye looked on me as the rest of her group left down the hall.

"Um hi." I said while waving my paw as her eyes got wider. She looked at me then her fox plushie and back to me before dropping her toy ran toward me.

"Fluffy!" She said before I yelped in surprise as I turned to run.

"Wait Fluffy." She said as I ran up some stairs to the second floor.

"I was only supposed to be running from the guards, not a little filly." I said before I hide behind a decorative curtain.

"Fluffy where did you go? (Sniffle) I… just wanted(sniffle) to (sniffle) play with you.(sob)" She cried as I peeked out of my hiding stop.

"Aw man I made her cry. Hmm I guess I could pla-." I said before somepony shouted.

"What is that infernal noise? You there filly stop that racket this instant." Said a white tall unicorn with a blonde mane and a suit caller and bowtie.

"I just(sob.)" She cried before the unicorn nudged her with his hoof.

"Why are you up here anyway, this is my personal wing of the castle. Now be gone." The unicorn said as he pushed her to the side and made her roll down the stairs. She cried until there was a thud at the bottom then nothing.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU PUSH A LITTLE FILLY DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS." I yeld as I jumped out of my spot.

"Oh what filthy hole did you crawl out of." He said with his nose in the air.

"(POOF) I asked you why you pushed her down the stairs." I said after I turned normal and walked closer.

"Wait a minute, you're that thing from the wedding. You look familiar. Hmm you look like that fox whore that my aunty called sister." He said with a smirk.

"What did you just say." I said through clenched teeth. I could feel my anger rise and my eyes turned red.

"Oh I see you must be its offspring. I hopped that when she disappeared that would be it for your filthy kind. I don't see why my aunty would ever think of that harlot as fami-." He said before I cut him off with a fist to the jaw sending him crashing into the wall.

"DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT AGAIN." I yield as I began to walk towards the unicorn as he tried to stand up.

"Do you know who I am. I’M PRINCE BLUEBLOOD AND I WILL HAVE YOUR HEA-." Blueblood said before I grab him by his collar and lifted him up.

"I don't care." I said as I raised my fist but before I could hit him again a golden magic wall popped up between us making me drop him.

"That will be quite enough." Celestia said as she walked up to us.

"Oh thank the sun. Aunty I demand this thing be placed in the." Blueblood said before Celestia closed his mouth with her magic.

"One more word from you nephew and I'll place you in the dungeon." Celestia said with a cold glare.

"But aunty he hit me. That's assault on royalty." Blueblood said while cowering behind the magic wall.

"And you pushed a little filly down the stairs and insulted my sister. I will not let this be Blueblood. I will discuss punishment after the wedding. Fox I'm sorry for what he said." Celestia said with a bow as I placed my hand on the wall.

"Blueblood if you ever say anything bad about my mother again (crack) I won't hold back (SMASH). I said as I broke the magic wall before turning and walking down the stairs to check on the filly. When I got there I found Bolt, Flash, Bubbles and there teams. Bubbles had picked up the filly in her magic and the filly was in bad shape. On of her left wing was broken along with her right back leg and had a long gash along the left side of her head.

"How is she?" I asked as I walked up to them.

"We need to get her to the Infirmary. She has a broken wing and leg and most likely a concussion. What happened to her Fox." Bubbles said before Celestia walked down the stairs.

"Blueblood push her down the stairs." Celestia said with disdain.

"Please let me see her." I said as I reached out my arms. Bubbles looked at me with concern before gently setting the filly in my arms. The filly cringed in pain as I sat her in my lap.

"Oh my stars Rosy. I was looking everywhere for her. What happened?" Miss smiles asked before running up to us.

"Oh Miss smiles I take it that this little filly was part of your tour?" Celestia asked with a kind smile.

"Yes ma'am. She disappeared leaving behind her favorite stuffed animal. She never goes anywhere without me and I got worried but what happened to her?" Miss smiles asked looking at the filly in my arms.

"She had a little accident but I'll fix her up. It was my fault she was up there. If I didn't run from her she would still be with your group. I'm sorry Rosy I'll make you feel a lot better." I said before placing my hand on her small body and focused my magic to heal her painlessly as possible. It only took a moment for her wing and leg to straighten out and mend the bone. I was able to stop the bleeding from the gash and close it up but there will be a scar. It took a lot of my magic to heal her but I did it.

"(Pant) I healed the brakes (pant pant) on her lag (pant) and wing along (pant) with the gash but the scar (pant) will take time to heal." I said as I pet the little filly in my lap before my body gave out and I couldn't sit up.

"Nephew are you alright?" Celestia asked as she gave me support with her wing.

"I'm fine aunt Tia just used a lot of magic." I said while Celestia used her magic to check on mine.

"I would imagine so. It takes the magic of 4 unicorn doctors an hour to do what you did in seconds. Hmm you should be fine but I would advise you not to use your magic any further or you could hurt yourself." Celestia said with a warm smile as Rosy began to wake up.

"Rosy are you ok?" Miss smiles asked as Rosy tried to sit up.

"Miss smiles? What happened and where's my fluffy?" Rosy asked with tired eyes before she fell back on my lap.

"Don't try to get up, little one. You had an accident but you're fine now. Just rest for now and here I found your fluffy." Miss smiles said before passing it over to Rosy who took it in a big hug.

"Where did real fluffy go?" Rosy asked, trying to stay awake.

"I'm right here Rosy?" I said with a warm smile as she looked up to me. Even with tired eyes I could see the wonder in her eyes as they met mine.

"You have… very pretty…eyes." Rosy said before she fell asleep in my lap. I couldn't help but smile down at her while I pet her back. She curled up in my lap with the stuffed fox held close to her chest with a peaceful smile.

"Would you look at that? I haven't seen her smile like that since she was dropped off at the orphanage." Miss smiles said as she gently pet her head.

"Wait she's an orphan. What happened to her family?" Bubbles asked looking down at the sleeping filly.

"They died in a house fire about a year ago. The firefighters were able to save her but the house collapsed before they could get to her parents. This Fox plushie was the last thing her mother gave her and it the only thing to make it out of the fire. You can never see her without it." Miss Smiles said with tears rolling down her cheeks. I looked down at the little filly in my lap and I couldn't help but shed a tear myself.

"That's so sad." Bubbles said while sobbing.

"Bolt are you crying?" Flash said as he was wiping his tears away.

"No… I just got something in my eyes that's all." Bolt said while trying to keep a straight face.

"Thank you very much for what you did for her Mr. Fox. It's time I take her back the other foals are waiting in the courtyard for us." Miss Smiles said as she used her magic to take her from my lap.

"Um Miss smiles would it be alright if I watch over her for today. I promise I'll keep her safe and out of trouble." I asked the mare with hopeful eyes.

"Hmm I don't know." Miss Smiles said as she rubbed her chin with a hoof.

"I assure you miss Smiles that she is in good hoofs." Celestia said before placing a wing on my back.

"Well I can't argue with the princess so why not. Here this is the address of the orphanage. Just swing by when you're done for the day. I'm sure she'll be happy with you." Miss Smiles said as she passed me a card that said – Sunny Smiles foal home- before turning and heading to the courtyard.

"Fox I want to apologize for what blueblood said. I will make sure he won't do anything like that again." Celestia said with a small bow.

"And I'm sorry I hit him. I lost my cool for a second." I said as I stood up with Rosy in my arms.

"After what he did to that filly I probably would have done the same." Flash said with a glare.

"I hope he will learn from this but I doubt it. Now I must be off. The wedding will start soon and if I'm correct you all still have a drill to finish." Celestia said with a smirk before walking down the hall.

"I don't know what she's talking about. The drill is already over." Bubbles said with a sly smile as the three teams surrounded me. Bubbles put up a pink magic bubble around me.

"Well it wasn't the plan but this works too." Flash said as he, Bubbles, and Bolt walked up to the bubble.

"Oh no you caught me whatever shall I do now." I said dramatically before I tried to pop the bubble but when I poked it, it stretched out like a balloon.

"It's not your average barrier bubble. I can make bubbles like gum but way stronger." Bubbles said with a proud smile.

"Alright you win. Let's get back to Shining Armor and i'll get lunch goin." I said before the bubble popped which woke up Rosy. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around before looking up at me.

"Hello." I said with a smile before her eyes went wide.

"AHHHH PLEASE DON'T EAT ME." Rosy screamed before pushing herself from my arms and fluttered behind Flash.

"I'm not going to eat you. Do you remember the fluffy fox you chased earlier." I asked as I kneeled down. She started to look around in a panic.

"OH NO FLUFFY where did it go." Rosy said as tears came to her eyes.

"It's ok, it's right here, see." I said holding out the stuffed fox. She looked at the fox before slowly inching out from behind Flash. As soon as she was in grabbing range she quickly took the fox and hid again.

"Don't worry Rosy he may look big and scary but I promise he's really nice." Bolt said with a smile.

"Wow thanks Bolt I thought you hated me." I said with surprise. After all the things we talked about earlier I really thought he didn't like me.

"Sorry I can get a little cranky without my morning coffee. Shining Armor woke us up pretty early this morning." Bolt said with a sheepish smile while rubbing the back of his head. Rosy was peeking out of her spot watching me with caution.

"I know how that goes my mom was the same way." I said with a snicker as I remember my mom walking into the kitchen with a bedhead going straight for the coffee pot.

"Um who are you mister?" Rosy asked, looking at my ears with curiosity.

"I'm Fox Lilly. I was the fluffy fox you chased. See watch(POOF) now I'm fluffy agai-." I said before I was tackled by the filly.

"Fluffy." Rosy said as she gave me a bear hug.

"Aw that's too cute." Bubbles said with a warm smile.

"So fluffy." Rosy said as she nuzzled my head.

"I get that a lot haha. Anyway how are you feeling Rosy does anything hurt?" I asked before she let go and shook her head.

"Good, I was worried after you tumbled down the stairs." I said before I heard a stomach growl.

"I'm hungry. Huh oh no where's miss Smiles." Rosy asked as she looked around and when she couldn't find her she started to cry. I changed back to normal before I bent down to pet her head.

"Don't worry Rosy I already talked to her and she said you can spend the rest of the day here with me if you want to. I'm just about to make some lunch for my friends here and after is the wedding for princess Cadence. Would you like to meet her?" I asked, getting a vigorous nod from the filly before her stomach growled again.

"You're in luck, Rosy, a friend of mine in the night guard said he's a really good cook." Bubbles said with a warm smile and a little drool.

"Bubbles your drooling again." Flash said with a smirk.

"Oh hush you know how I get with good food." Bubbles said with a slight blush before wiping the drool away.

"Hahaha well I guess we should head back to Shining Armor." I said before looking down at Rosy who was looking up at me with starry eyes.

"You're really tall." Rosy said before I scooped her up and placed her on my shoulders.

"Now you're just as tall." I said getting a laugh from the filly before we all headed for the courtyard. It didn't take us long to meet up with Shining Armor and was surprised to see Cadence out with him.

"Took ya long enough." Shining said as he passed the tablet over to me.

"What's that thing Fox." Flash asked looking at the black screen.

"Oh this is a surveillance monitoring system. You see this little fly here?" I asked as I held out my finger for one of the flies to land on.

"This is not a normal fly, it's a camera. This device was set to follow each of you and watch what you do and they're magically connected to this table and can show what the fly sees. And don't worry the only ones to see what was happening was Shining and Princess Celestia." I said as I showed them the tablet and waved to a fly.

"I got to say Fox I would love to set this up around the castle." Shining said as he inspected one of the fly before it disappeared.

"I'll see if I can put in a more permanent set up. Now who's hungry. Would you like to join us Cadence?" I asked as I rolled up my sleeves.

"I would love to. Twilight told me not to pass up anything made by you and who's this little cutie you have with you?" Cadence asked before Rosy tried to hide behind my head making me chuckle. I reached up and took the little filly from my head and placed her down at my feet.

"This is Rosy. Rosy this is Princess Cadence." I said before Rosy quickly hid behind my legs.

"It's alright little Rosy, she's a very nice pony." I said as I kneeled down to pet her head.

"It's very nice to meet you Rosy." Cadence said with a warm smile before slowly peeked out from behind me.

"You're pretty." Rosy said with a blush before ducking back behind me getting a chuckle from me and Cadence.

"Thank you. You're pretty too. I heard what happened with Blueblood earlier on Fox, I'm sorry." Cadence said with a small head bow.

"There's nothing you need to apologize for Cadence. Now how about I get lunch started. I'll set up right over here." I said before moving over to set out my cooking stuff.

"Wait don't we need to go to the dining hall." Bolt asked with a raised brow.

"Nope I can do it right here. Hey Rosy, want to see something cool." I asked the filly and with a vigorous nod from her I set my magic to work. I pulled my outdoor cooking set from my house. First I set out the table, burner and wok along with my cutting board. After that was done I was met with a lot of wide eyes.

"Alright all set to get cooking." I said with my hands on my hips.

"Wow how did you do that Mr. Foxy." Rosy asked with wide sparkling eyes.

"Magic. I teleported all this from my house near ponyville. Now that I'm all set up time to cook. Um, remind me later to talk to the head chef here. I kinda took some veggies from the kitchen fridge." I said before pulling out the veggies.

"What are you making Fox." Cadence asked as she and the others sat in front of the table.

"Just a simple stir-fry." I said as I pulled out my good knife.

"What's Stir-fry?" Rosy asked while fluttering her wing to try to see what was happening.

"Haha hold on Rosy." I said before I pulled a kitchen chair from my house for her to sit on. I picked her up and placed her on it.

"There you go and a stir-fry is a quick way to make a lot in a short amount of time. See this pan it's called a wok. It can get very hot and its used for a lot of different foods. Hehe it's also a bit of a show to cook with it. Just sit back and watch, it won't take long. Hmm need some music. Got it." I said after I showed them the pot. I used my magic to make a display appear with a list of songs that was on my phone's playlist and after I picked the song all I had to do was start it.

(Play wild side by Gavin Luke).

"Alright ready for some good food." I said before I tapped my heart mark to start the music. The heart began to flash and pulse with the music. I took my knife and spun it around with my fingers before quickly cutting the veggies. First up was garlic and onion. Then I added some oil to the wok to heat up. The whole time I was cooking to the beat of the song. I put the garlic and onions in the pan and cut up the rest of the veggies. Carrots, green and red bell peppers, Broccoli, snow peas, and some zucchini once that was done the wok and oil was ready for the veggies.

"Alright, time for the cookin." I said pulling out a large spatula and put in the veggies. I turned up the heat and began to mix the veggies by shaking the pan back and forth making the veggies slide up the back of the pan and fall back in the center. I let that sit for a little bit as I pulled out some bowls and some cooked rice. I added the rice to the bottom of the bowls and then went back to the to add some sauce. With a quick stir I added some Sweet Soy sauce, a little bit of marin and hossen sauce. Once that was stirred it I quickly cut up some green onions and added them to the wok along with some sesame seed. With one final stir it was done and I put some on top of the rice.

"And done. Quick and easy lunch." I said as I passed out the food with my magic. I looked at Rosy who was looking at the bowl with sparkly eyes.

"Wow Fox this looks amazing." Bubbles said as she inspected the food.

"Well eat up yall." I said as everypony took a big bite and soon the only noise heard was a round of Mmmm.

"I take it that it's pretty good." I said as I began to make two more bowls.

"Good is an understatement, this is fantastic." Shining Armor said before taking another bite.

"Really Fox you can probably start your own restaurant. I know I would eat there any day of the week." Cadence said as she happily ate.

"Can I have some more please?" Rosy asked with rice on her mussel.

"hahaha of course you can." I said before filling her bowl back up. I looked up and noticed something on a nearby cloud.

"Hey Rosy watch this. I'm going to make this bowl disappear without magic." I said before holding the bowl above my head.

"And how are you going to do that?" Bolt asked with a skeptical look.

"Like this." I said before whistling loudly and a brief moment later there was a flash of Rainbow and the bowl was gone.

"Wow where'd it go." Rosy said as she looked up to the sky.

"Look beside you." I said while pointing at the rainbow pegasus.

"So good." Rainbow said as she scooped up a big bite.

"Hey its that Rainbow pony who helped you out earlier." Flash said pointing a hoof at the pegasus.

" Yep this is Rainbow Dash." I said as I teleported my bag so I can give Twink a bowl.

"Fastest Flyer in Equestria and future Wonderbolt." Rainbow boasted before taking another bit.

"Um what's a wonderbolt?" I asked before I sent my cooking stuff home and grabbed my bowl.

"How do you not know what a wonderbolt is." Rainbow asked with surprise.

"Not from here dash." I said as I sat next to Rosy.

"Oh right I forgot. Well the wonderbolts are stunt flyers and also part of the guard." Rainbow said as she finished off her bowl.

"Wow your going to be a wonderbolt?" Rosy asked with wide eyes.

"That's right. I've been practicing a lot. Well anyways thanks for lunch Fox it was awesome. See ya later." Rainbow said before setting her bowl down and taking off to the air.

"Thanks for lunch and helping with that drill but me and Cadence need to go get ready for the wedding." Shining Armor said before adding their bowl with Rainbows.

"We have to head out to our patrols start soon." Flash said as they finished their food.

"Alright have a good day you guys and if you're ever up to it I'm always up for another run." I said with a hearty laugh before Cadence walked up.

"Will this little filly be at the wedding too." Cadence said using a wing to pat Rosy's head.

"Well I don't know." I said before Rosy looked at me with puppy dog eyes.

"No not the face anything but that. It's too cute." I said before I scooped up the filly for a hug getting a giggle from her and Cadence.

"Well see you there then. Bye Rosy." Cadence said before she left with Shining Armor leaving just me and Rosy.

"Let me just clean up a bit and we can go. I don't know about you but I could use a nap." I said before I picked up Rosy and sent the rest of the stuff back to my house.

"But I'm not tired (yawn)." She said with droopy eyes and holding her plushie under her wing. I looked around and found a small cloud. I've seen Rainbow and other pegasus sitting on them and I want to see if I can too.

"Hmmm lets see if I can get that cloud down here." I said as I held out my hand and was able to grab the cloud with my magic and brought it down to me. I put Rosy on the cloud and put my hand on it.

"It looks like I can get on it. Well here I go." I said before I turned around and sat down and didn't fall through.

"This world keeps surprising me. It's so soft and warm." I said as I laid back and relaxed.

"Can… Can I sleep with you?" Rasy asked while looking down and nudged the cloud with a hoof. I didn't say a word. I just picked her up and placed her next to my chest and wrapped my arm around her.

"You don't have to ask Rosy (yawn)." I said before she curled up and fell asleep. I could help but smile and relax