Griffon of Canterlot
Chapter 104.5: Skipping Twilight
The pink kitsune using his making rearranged the seats with some lighting and a table by each seat, with a set of note pads and pencils too, Skip made sure to put them in the right angle near the wooden gold unicorn head carving on the round wooden table with book holders on. He step back and rubbed the underside of the muzzle than readjusted the seats again with the lighting.
“Nah that won't do, I need zas to get the right effect and it just need to be that perfect for me, Twily and Spiky.” Keeper use his magic to turn a small trig on a pile of them he brought with him into a few pillows placing them on the seat. “Now that perfect~” He sang happily using a small rift portal to send away the rest of the trigs.
The front door open with Twilight and Spike walking in. “-morrow is the Running of the Leaves, I am really looking forward to it Spike.”
“Yeah Pinkie Pie even said I can commentate with her in the Hot Air-balloon! I am really looking forw-” Spike pauses staring at the set up Skip put up. “Twilight...”
Twilight turn to what Spike was pointing to. “Wh-what the name in Celestia is all this!? Skip why is this in the library!?”
Skip pat a paw on one of the seats. “You wanted to know more about me and the Kitsunes didn't ya? So I put together this for it, cool right?”
Twilight saw the note pads and pencils, the tables, seats and walked around them with the lamps over to give the perfect lighting for a interview. “You went to all this trouble to set up this for me to learn about you?”
Skip grinned waving his eight tails around. “I had fun having tea with Fluttershy, flying around with Rainbow Dash, cooking with Pinkie Pie, making some cool suits with Rarity for me to wear and helped clear a lot of rotten apples from Applejack's tree! It was a lot of fun! Now it our time!” He jumped up pushing down sunglasses that were not on his head a second ago. “Oh and still got to hang out with Spiky.” He push the shades down slightly to show a part of his eye to Spike winking.
Spike gave a thumbs up. “I look forward to it Skip!”
Skip point his paw to the chairs. “Come on and sit down, time to chit-chat Twily!”
Spike sat down on his seat and Twilight jump up onto hers. “Could you call me Twilight please.”
Skip tilt his head. “Why? Did I say something offensive?”
Twilight shook her head. “No you haven't. It just something my big brother calls me, hearing it from someone else feels weird and off.”
Skip shrugged. “Ah I see Twilight, that makes a lot of sense, it a sister brother bond you share.” Skip pull out from behind him holding up a wallet to open it up and show pictures of him and a punch of kitsunes. “I got six brothers and sisters, we each have our own little names. So I completely understand where your coming from.” He flick it to close the wallet up and put it behind him vanishing from their view.
“Younger or older?” Twilight asked.
“That something we don't talk about outside our kind, sorry I can't answer that.” Skip mood changed to a sombre one.
Twilight could sense the tension in his voice. “I gather it a tight nit family thing?”
“Yeah it is, even I am 299 years old and don't give a care to my age, there are others that do and asking a kitsune their age is a massive insult to them.”
“How come?”
Skip wave his eight tails. “It to do with our tails mainly, the more tails you have the longer you live and even we know that we do not know exactly why that happened. So instead of looking at how long we will live for, we look at the lives we have and live them to the fullest.” He fluffed his wings a little. “But I am allow to tell you the rough length of life each Kitsune could have depending on the number of tails though.”
“I gather this is connected to the magic levels on each tail gives?” Twilight asked.
Skip nod as she start to write it down on the pad. “Depending on a Kitsune number of tails depend on the level of magic and life span, two tails a Kitsune life scan is somewhere around 80 to 110 years of age, three tails is around 100 to 130 years. That when things get crazy with age average shooting up to 180 to 230 years for four tails, five close to 300 years and six onwards unknown.”
Twilight paused writing down the ages per tail. “Are you saying that those with six tails onwards you have no idea how long they live for? How come?”
“Because all that have six tails and more are still very much alive and young, we have zero idea why those with that many tails and more stay young and healthy, no matter whatever we eat even the most fattest diet you could think of, we don't put any of it on, seriously I ate about ten times my own weight one time at one sitting and I never put any weight on! It nuts!” Skip pat his stomach area with a forepaw.
Twilight and Spike looked surprised. “Wait what?”
Skip chuckled. “Instead our flames get huge in brightness! They get so bright and we get so energized that we come beacons, when I ate all that food, for a few weeks my gasses flames above my tails were so bright I was grounded in my bedroom till the brightness died down. Never again I would go that bright!” He laughed.
Twilight wrote it down and drew a diagram. “Weird... Could it be that your bodies remove the excess food that not needed in your body through the flames? Burning it all off?”
“That is a theory we came up with, but if so why only those with six tails and not with five or less? They put on weight and it shows on their bodies.” Skip brought up a point to the theory.
Spike scratch his scaly head with a claw. “That is odd, that doesn't even make any sense at all, there no logic in that.”
“Agreed, what should work for one should work for the other, not limit it to those who have six or more tails, that is a curious thing that I would like to investigate, maybe it could do with how the Kitsunes came to be.” Twilight said writing it down to make note also to investigate it.
Spike thought about what Twilight said and raise his claw. “You want to ask Skip the next question?” He nod. “Go ahead.”
“Skip I know we want to learn much about your kind as possibly can, if you don't feel comfortable to answer it, don't force yourself.”
“I like where this is going, shoot the question.”
“Why is your clan and the land of Nowhere in myths and legends books as Tricksters?”
Skip knew why Spike had said what he said, this was a subject that shadowed the Kitsune race and even they keep their past known. “We all taught this in class and it something we believe in strongly, it not really something we like either.” Skip raise his paw to stop them from speaking. “I know it a uncomfortable thing for us and I will tell you two what we know. Our kind always been around, there are kitsunes out there that are pretty much animals, they use their transformative abilities to keep hidden, it part of our nature too.”
Twilight writes it down. “So your clan the only kitsunes that are sapient?”
“Yes, something or someone magically changed my kind in their early days, they also found high level of amusement to tease, plan tricks and annoy the heck out of the dragons. They found Nowhere and set up shop there to cause maximum chaos with the dragons.”
“That explains what Princess Luna said about the dragons Twilight! They feel threaten by the Kitsunes and wouldn't dare go against them knowing all too well their magic is highly effective against the dragons!” Spike recalled what Luna had told them all at Applejack's home.
“Exactly, but that changed when Thunderous the Dragon Lord over 1000 years ago emerged, he had force the dragons to fight us endlessly, it was a war between the Dragons and the Kitsunes in the Dragonlands, no one was winning and both sides were losing lives... It was brutal from what the history books told us, it took a special kind of dragon a silver dragon giving up everything she had to knock the Bloodstone Spectre away from him.”
Twilight writing it down look up from the page at Skip. “That was when Anubis used his magic to seal Nowhere in that pocket universe, 500 years of fighting between Thunderous and Silvite she regain her senses, when Silvite became sisters to your mother Pom-Pom.”
Skip nod lifting up a chocolate milkshake with both forepaws slurping it out of a strew. “Yep.” He said with the strew in his muzzle. “I was born into the raining pocket universe and lived with no idea what the sun be like till a few weeks ago, my aunt is one of a kind dragon and showed we tricksters can be more than enemies to our neighbours, we can be their friends and do small harmless pranks to them once in a while.” He pulled the muzzle away from the strew putting the glass down on the table beside him.
Twilight tap the edge of the pencil against the side of the notepad. “Still leaves unanswered questions on who or what allow the Kitsunes of the No-Yanic Clan to become big magical kitsunes that even eat gems like dragons do.”
“That is true, we love gems as much as a dragon does, they sooooo tasty.” He licked his muzzle thinking of the gems he could chow down. “Hmmm... Rubies...” He said dreamily with drool coming out of his muzzle a little.
Spike quickly got off his chair running out of the room and coming back with one ruby in his claw. “One ruby coming up!” He toss it at Skip.
Skip quickly sit up on his hind legs with forepaws hanging in front and caught the ruby in his muzzle, happily chewing on it with the crunching sounds of happiness from him. “Does that make your kind close to the dragons if you can eat and digest gems too?”
Skip put his forepaws down on the seat as Spike sat back on his. “That a good question, I never really thought about that, we do have a tail flame that specialises in effecting dragons only.” He wave four of his tails.
“I gather the more tails of one type of unique magic, the more stronger it is?”
“How easy it is to change me into a griffon?”
“Yes and yes, also I use my silliness to get a paw on Thunderous when Silvite wasn't around. My tranformative and dragon effective magic helped keep my home out of harms way, I was the one that designed the awesome paint job that gave the effect of a forest where our home sat on near the lake from the sky to about 30 degrees angle.” Skip brought forwards to them a whiteboard showing a ariel photo of the forest. “Can you see my home in this?”
Twilight and Spike took a good look at the photo. “No I can't see it.” Twilight responded. “You camouflaged your home so well, what about the kitsunes? They all different colours aren't they?”
Spike took a closer look. “The camouflage is magical, isn't it? They look like the forest from the eyes above correct?”
Skip smiled. “Correct, it one of my biggest pranks!” He laughed. “I hehe fool everyone that fly over hehe!” He tap the tip of his muzzle. “There was that airship with the Finch Griffon Big Rig that beat my camouflage, I need to figure out how he did that so I can improve my magic.” Skip said with praise to Big Rig. “I am excited to see that someone can get the upper paw on me and show I still need to improve.”
“At least it was a friendly and not someone wanting to do harm.” Twilight stated.
“True so true.” He said with a t-shirt on saying 'Big Rig Rocks'
Spike and Twilight stared at the shirt. “When did you put that on?” Spike asked.
Skip flick his tails. “Like the ones you two are wearing?” They look down to see they were wearing white t-shirts with Skip on it flying with balloons around him.
Spike pulled on it slightly to get a good look. “How the heck did this get on me!?”
“Keep the eye on the tails of an Trickster!” Skip grinned.
Twilight giggled. “We got pranked.”
“You sure did.” He said with a laugh, they laughed too. “When a kitsune is in a pranky mood, keep a eye on the tails, our magic flames with change patterns the moment we cast a spell.” Skip showed them when he did it on them removing the shirts. “Not noticeable if you are not sharp with the eyes right?”
“Yeah I noticed, that is something.” Spike was amazed by the skill of the magic casting Skip had and able to do it without them even noticing him pull it off.
Twilight wrote down the experience they just had with the pranky nature of the Kitsunes from Skip, she came to her next question in mind. “What can you tell us about your clan and the settlement?”
“The clan currently runs on a hierarchy of who has the most tails as the Alpha or in your terms Princess, that would be Pom-Pom my mum. She as you seen has 12 tails and with that come quite the amount of magical power behind her mum is very respected by the other kitsunes too.” Skip explain their hierarchy system to Twilight.
Spike brought up a moment he recalled in Applejack's home. “Not you since she had to punish you by biting your ear and dragging you away.”
Skip laughed nervously with a paw rubbing his ear. “Hehe, yeah I'm her son and push the boundaries to a degree, but I know when to stop and learn how to easily escape her grasp.” They blinked to find him not at the seat but on his hind legs leaning on the Twilight's chair from behind.
Twilight looked up at him as he look down grinning. “I have no idea how you just did that and will not try to even figure that out, but on the subject at hoof. When she was away Spike told me that you were the temporary Alpha till her return and when you two where here, a kitsune called Lucky Seven was temporary Alpha.”
Skip rolled his eyes leaping over the seat to shift around and land back on his seat perfectly, he sat down and with a twist of the forepaw to make it a bit more clearer to Twilight. “The system I explained, that put me as Beta cause of my eight tails, the other with the next most is Lucky Seven with seven tails, yippy for me.”
“But the system works right? You know how to rule in her stead?” Spike asked.
He sloped his head down. “It does and lame for me, I am a random kinda vulpine. I love to be hip-hop happy kit and bring joy, laughter and smiles. I know how to be serious to do the job and that temp Alpha for mum, it just soooooo boring and I can't keep up with all the meetings, the paper work and formal events!” He raise both forelegs up with tails spread out and stretched out. “I have no idea even after all these years mum balance it all!”
Twilight giggled. “I wonder how Princess Celestia balance things too.” Skip lower his forepaws back in front and curiously looked at the purple unicorn. “She was my personal teacher, run a school for gifted unicorns and able to rule at the same time. Though she been at it for around 1000 years give it take.”
“True, mum be around for over 700 years and lead the clan for close to that.” He chuckled. “Guess my mum and your princess are somewhat alike, I heard Gilda calls her Trollelestia.”
Twilight's right eye twitched at that work. “Yeeesss... How about back to the topic of leadership. I gather you have somesort of council too?”
“Yep, the Delta Council, mainly made up of five and six tail kitsunes, there a few of two to four tails kitsunes that been part of it too, their own point of views bring what it means of the meaning of life not the length of life, they work and review our laws and such.”
Twilight writes it down getting a bit more details on how system of their settlement, it was showing to be almost like a kingdom made of many towns and cities. “That amazing, is there more then just one settlement?”
“You have the prime settlement Mystic KI, than you have Silverlight the small village that made up of kitsune farmers that live in the underground home of Aunt Silvy, than you have the inner mountain Deepkeeper.” He shuddered with a bit of fear. “They are just plain creeper, can't say much about them though, not without permission from my mum or Aunty Silvy.”
“That okay, we will move on to the history of culture.”
Skip lean back against his chair tapping the tip of his muzzle. “Hmmm...” He move the paw away rubbing it against the other foreleg as he spoke. “The culture of the kitsunes over 1000 years ago was that of tricking the dragons, stealing their gems for themselves and using magic to create chaos among the dragons. Disappearing into the fires, during that time from what I learned our kind where vulpines of chaos and cared only for our kind and little for those around. The Dragons feared our kind for the abilities we homed.”
“When Thunderous became Dragon Lord the cultural trickster way became threatened by his rein of terror he brought. Silvite before her greed endued rage to fight him changed the way No-Yantic Clan saw itself, taking a new path to settle in Nowhere and take on the roles of the Greedless Dragons once took, they helped a dragon for the first time putting aside their cultural trickster ways when they realised it was their fault.”
“Is this when Anubis pulled Nowhere to a pocket dimension?”
“Yes the way things were after Nowhere ended up in the pocket universe it was the toughest, in a culture wise the kitsunes from what mum told me about this had to live in cover of the trees of the Marshlands of Nowhere, No-Yantic Marshes, it kinda why we have two names for the clan, Kit-Yantic and No-Yantic.”
“Hiding from Thunderous and Silvite right?”
“That correct Spike, they had to eat a lot of Marsh Weeds, find ways to attempt to a endless raining lit up nighttime landscape.”
“lit up nighttime landscape?” Twilight asked.
Skip used his magic to block out the windows making it dark, then it lit up without any source of light. “This what it was like, it was semi dark but you can see distances, light sources made it easier to see but it was this and what I grew up in.”
“This is sooo creepy...” Spike shuddered. “Can stop it please.”
Skip does as Spike asked. “Sorry, but it was the best way to show you than explain it.”
Twilight wrote it down. “It a interesting thing to learn about how your kind grew up in, I hope you all adapt to the day and night circles.”
“We will, it will take time but we will.” Skip smiled. “Now about the early culture of our kind in the pocket universe... As you know we eat gems like dragons, because of how little they had they restricted the amount each kitsune could eat and slowly built tree huts to protect them from the elements as well stay out of sight of the dragons.”
“That sound really like a bad time for your kind, the Kitsunes to live day to day and just survive...” Twilight said feeling bad for the kitsunes. “Reminds me of the three pony tribes in a tale we tell, maybe it really happened and they suffered with hunger for many moons...”
Spike hugged his tail. “I hope we all never have things end up that bad... It sounds scary...”
“It happened slowly for the ponies Spike, for the Kitsunes it most likely was sudden, harsh and they had to act fast to find a way to survive giving up on their pervious cultural ways.”
Skip nod. “That was correct, this time around we were prepared because of Anubis giving us a heads up, we had a year to get ready for the shift from endless rain to the rising of the sun and to the first night, it was really something for us.”
“How did they fix things to create the culture you have today?” Spike asked.
Skip smiled warmly to that question. “Things started to loop up when mum was born, she had six tails at the day of her birth, no Kitsune had no more than four tails and started off with one tail at the beginning of their lives.”
“What happened next after Pom-Pom was born?” Twilight got interested to hear how they started changing things from surviving to the one they have today.
“The elders decided to focus everything on mum and the other kits, gamble on giving them a brighter future, train, support and give them a childhood they never had.”
Spike looked surprised. “They gambled everything on Alpha Pom-Pom to save the clan?”
Skip nod lightly and answers Spike's question. “The elders knew they had to change, remove the old ways and create new ones, scavenge the Forgotten Ruins use magic and technology to create a culture that would be far better their own. Create a system that when mum came of age she would lead the new generation to teach our past, learn from our mistakes and improve upon them to grow.”
Twilight looked at her notes and going through them. “It look like the new cultural reform of the Kitsunes worked out, changing the system paved ways to allow your kind to grow in a harsh environment, the fact Alpha Pom-Pom as well helped Silvite when she regain her senses to magically reducing her size over small magical treatments is a impressive feat in itself.”
The pink kitsune felt happy talking to Twilight Sparkle about this, he was right on the money with her. “That is very true Twilight Sparkle, todays culture kinda similar to many I seen so far. We have homes, markets, town halls, lakeside fishing, movies, picnics, farming, some trouble with those that break the laws and so on. Just a extra push for pranking which a norm for us.”
Spike had to admit what Skip said and what they learned from Princess Luna sound very much like it. “I would like to see Mystic KI, sound like a lot of fun!”
“I don't see why not. You, Twilight and her friends could come over for a few days, share about seasons like this autumn! I love the all the colours on the leaves! They so rustic!” Skip point his paw out the window at the sight of trees in view showing the orange and brown colour leaves. “I even looking forward to seeing winter too! It going to be interesting for sure.”
Twilight's eyes lit up upon hearing he would allow them to visit his home, even learning about their changing seasons. “I would love to go, I am sure my friends would too! But we would need to arrange it for all of us to be covered though. And I would love to teach you about our seasons too!”
“Sweet! Well that's that for the interview.” He jump off the chair. “I had fun telling you a bit about us, I know what I said is small to the whole and hope it something.”
“It more than enough, all these notes will take time to go over and getting any books from your home when we visit will help more!” Twilight beamed. “I am glad we did this too!”
“Goody! Now it Skip and Spike time! Come on little guy, let's do something you want to do!”
Spike jump down from his seat. “Cool! Come on I got a few ideas in mind!” He ran over to the door opening it up.
Skip walk to the door and turn to Twilight. “See you around Twilight and I will talk to mum about you all visiting.” He leaves and close the door.
Twilight looked at the seats and tables. “I'll have to sort this out later, these notes are amazing. I look forward to going over them and seeing if there anything I can add to them. Learning about the Kitsunes is something I never thou-” She pause seeing a title of a book was out of place, she pulled it out looking at the binding title. “That odd, this should be over...” She saw more titles were out of place and in the wrong order. “...there?”
Twilight looked around the whole room her right eye twitching at the sight she soon came to realise they were all shuffled around, her horn glowing brightly, her purple fur around the face turning very red.
“SSSKKKKKIIIIIPPPPPP!”