Remi sat atop a building, the wind rustling through her soft fur as she watched the town below. They filled it with ponies, countless ponies. The sun was shining warmly down on her in battle with the light chill of that wind, creating a pleasant day. But she was no normal fox. She was far more accustomed to space than any land. And even then, a lot of land required protection.
There she was, wearing nothing, just enjoying the naked air and exposed sun without dying. It was, even, kinda nice. Those ponies had a really pleasant world. Did they even know what sort of blessing they had? Probably not.
"Hey." She wasn't addressing anyone. At least anyone around her. "So what am I looking for now? A hint would be nice."
"I'm working on that," cut the annoyed voice in her ear. "Your interactions will also help reveal where the snags are, so stop moping on a roof and interact."
"I'm interacting already." Remi was pressing down on the roof, and it was pushing back at her. She was stopping bajillions of photons from ever reaching the ground. She was forcing wind to redirect around her. Just by existing, she was altering the world. One of the neat parts of just existing.
"You know I don't mean that way. Do as the ponies do, and make some friends."
Remi rose smoothly to her hooves. "Speaking of ponies, is Octi already? I did not sign off on this little trip."
"You 'signed off' on all little trips," came the acidic reply. "She's still breathing. You'll be able to return to your Octavia soon enough. Besides, I'll return you to your point of origin and you know that! Or you should."
"Yeah..." She'd been returned minutes, hours, or even days after she'd been yanked away. It was kind of a crap shot at best. There was that one time she was returned before she left. That had been quite awkward. She had to avoid... herself... for a few days to avoid tangling time in knots. Casuality! It was a thing, and got grumpy when you started messing with it.
"Hey." Zipp landed next to Remi and sank to her belly next to the thoughtful pony. "How'd you get up here? You don't have wings."
"No." That didn't stop Remi from peeking at where wings would be, if she weren't a terrestial pony that was also a fox. "But you can get surprisingly far by jumping."
"You did not jump straight up here, get out." Zipp waved the very idea away. "Tell the truth."
"Well..." Remi stood and moved to the side of the building. She pointed at various points, boxes, a fire escape, a window sill, and a pipe. "I jumped there, and there, and then there, and up along that and then..." She tapped the floor she was standing on. "Here. I never said one jump, but jumping still gets you places."
Zipp whistled. "Impressive! Now, me, I like my wings." She sprang up in a backflip that ended with her hovering in the air. "But I like a good jump too. Parkour was how I got around before my wings worked, so I get that, really. In fact..." She landed next to Remi and pointed down the road and its many buildings. "Wanna race? No wings, but gotta stay up on the roofs. Fall? Gotta climb up to where you were before you continue."
"That sounds fair." Remi looked in the direction Zipp was pointing. A few long jumps... A few ascents and descents... "Looks tricky... but possible."
"My favorite." Zipp pulled out a belt and soon had it around her center, keeping her wings tightly bound to the rest of her body. "There we go. First to that building--" She pointed to one in the distance, taller than most around it. "Up on the roof, wins."
"Alright, but one thing." Remi lifted a hoof. "Are we wagering something, or just for the fun?"
"Hm. Oh!" Zipp tried to hover, wings wriggling uselessly on her back before she came back down. "Loser pays for dinner for the winner, and we get to laugh it off, together."
Remi pawed at Zipp. "Love it! I'll look forward to dinner then, win or lose. But I won't lose."
"Bold! Get ready..." She pawed at the ground, hoof scuffing the rooftop. "Get set..." Remi lowered her front to the ground, rump raised. "Go!" They took off together in bolts of speed. As promised, Zipp was no stranger to the art, jumping and scaling with fluid speed.
Remi scaled as quickly as she jumped, rising with the flow of one building and coming down onto the next one without a pause. They were both going at full speed, and against a fellow professional of the fine art, which left no room for slowing down. Remi landed on the edge of the next building and the world began to swirl backwards. She had come down, a hoof just far enough to slip and require a desperate scramble to not crash to the ground. Dang hooves! Paws were better at that...
"Watch it," Zipp cried as she galloped forward. "Idea isn't to have you paying for dinner while in a full body cast." She jumped and flipped between two close walls, ascending rapidly.
"If she's needed for the future, getting her killed or seriously wounded could throw things off," noted her helpful ear voice.
"Oh, but it's alright if I get hurt." Remi scowled, but she had a race to win. She didn't follow Zipp, instead darting around that tall obstacle and jumping right across to the next building, which meant ascending its fire escapes. Which were not entirely empty.
"Hey!" A startled mare jumped back at Remi zipped by. "Watch where you're going!" Remi ducked under a laundry line and over some potted plants in a bid to make up for lost time. She yanked herself the last few inches to the roof just in time for the sharp clip-clop of Zipp landing next to her. "Back in the game." Remi hurried ahead of the winged pony, knowing the contest was even again.
"Homefield advantage." Zipp stepped off the side of the roof instead of running ahead, plummeting out of sight in an instant.
"Wait what?" Remi slid to a halt, staring at the spot that once had Zipp. "That isn't funny! You alright?"
Zipp's wild cheers caught her attention. Zipp was bouncing from awning to awning down the street with the force imparted on her by the long fall. "You bastard!" Remi had been played. She tried her best to catch up, but it was too much. Two mistakes? Not when they were both good at what they did. She arrived to find Zipp standing victoriously on that last roof. "Ugh! You won... That drop was dirty pool... I thought you were hurt!"
Zipp pulled her belt free and stashed it away, freeing her wings. "Hey, sorry. I was showing off, not trying to scare anypony." She patted Remi on the shoulder. "But thanks. Good to know you care." She winked a bit more than needed. "Since being a good pony is part of why you lost, how about we pay for our own dinner, but I know just the place."
That was a good moment to realize... "I don't know if I have local currency."
Zipp cocked a brow at that. "You are new in town... but how did you plan to pay in the first place then?"
"I planned to not lose." Remi stood proudly, but it crumbled shortly. "And lost. Ugh, sorry... So... How do you get any around here?"
"Bits? Getting a job is the easiest way." She tapped her hooves. "Or you can just work for ponies directly and get them to pay you." She tapped again. "Or you can just ask ponies and hope for the best..." A last tap. "I don't recommend that last one." And yet, there was Remi, giving her big, hopeful eyes. "You wouldn't!" The eyes only got bigger, Remi's lower lip trembling. "I swear..." Zipp shoved a hoof into a pocket and pulled out her bit purse. From there, she got a small collection of coins. "Here, to tide you over. You need to get a job or something if you plan to stick around."
"Thank you kindly." Remi stuffed the newly acquired money away with a pleased smile. "Do you need any documents to have a job?"
Zipp looked baffled at the idea. "What kinda 'documents' are you thinking about? Just walk into a place with a help wanted sign."
"Uh huh..." Well, she wouldn't have to make up an identity and fitting paperwork. That was a plus. "I'm on the case." She jumped off the roof, but not down to the awnings, instad bouncing from windowsill to other contact points as she bounced down to the street. "I've had better displays."
"Speaking of Displays!" Pipp was hovering in front of her with a huge smile. "I want to interview you! The Pippsters deserve to hear from the newest tribe to appear, and you want to say hi to all of them, don't you?"
"Woah, hey." Terrestial ponies loved to pop up out of nowhere, like living on a world full of Pinkies. "Your sister just finished telling me to get a job."
Pipp rolled her eyes. "That's so like her. You're a diplomat! That's already a job." She leaned in, hovering closer with a smile. "Don't they pay you back home?"
"Well, technically, yes... But our money is not your money and that doesn't work." She dug out her slick future communicator. "It's all in here."
Pipp's eyes went wide. "You keep your money on your phone?! And look at that!" She clapped her hooves on the communicator. "I've never seen this model before! You have to show it to me. Wait. Wait." She fished out her own phone and eagerly mashed buttons. "Pippsters! Emergency broadcast!"
It was at this time that Remi realized she may have messed up... or not? She put on her best smile anyway and hoped for the best.
"Why did you show her that?!" boomed Tinker's voice in Remi's ear. "She didn't need to see that. That isn't even from her world, let alone her time. You may as well set off a flare letting the universe know you're in the wrong place, and she's broadcasting? She's going to share your mistake with who knows how many other people?! What were you thinking? Scratch that, you weren't thinking at all. Why did I even ask?"
"We're here today with Remi!" Pipp waved eagerly at Remi, bringing in the phone for a selfie with herself and her new friend. "Check out the tailcut." She casually batted at the vulpine tail with her free hoof. "Loving it! Remi, tell the Pipsters out there about your tribe?"
Remi could see a dizzying field on the map of rapidly emerging emojis, typed by the ponies watching? "Hey... I'm Remi." She pointed to herself. "A kitsune. Kitsune means fox." She wagged her tail behind herself. "And we love fox tails."
"Oh, wow, that's so cool." Pipp managed to dance in place without bouncing the camera in a fit of practice. "But about that phone of yours. You won't believe this, but 'kitsune' have a phone of their own, and it isn't like the pegasi ones at all! Show them!"
Remi considered her options. Running was an option... But that would upset Pipp and close off future doors. "It's not that different from yours," she demurred instead, pulling out her communicator, which wasn't a phone! But close enough? "I bet you have more apps on yours."
"Ha! That's not even a fair comparison." Pipp waved at her own phone. "I have, like, all the cool apps on here! I'm checking for new ones almost every day, just to see if I can bring it to the Pippsters out there." She batted her lashes at the screen as heart eye emojis exploded. "Let's take a look at that phone."