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// Mission N°1: Enter Star Fox 
// Story: Star Fox Equestria 
// by Pronche 
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A few days have passed since Fox’s arrival on Equestria. The news of his presence was spread all around the country. The guards stationed at the castle were slowly changing their behavior, they became less aggressive and nervous in his presence and wherever he walked, the disgusted looks had almost stopped. But he couldn't say the same about the civilians… mostly because he hasn't left the castle since his forced landing. Unfortunately, the vulpine didn’t receive any answer to his S.O.S but wasn’t losing hope. He knew that one way or another, he’ll go back to the Lylat System and to his mothership. 

But there was one thing he feared the most….his friends' reaction to his prolonged absence and possible death.

The morning after his crash, he began to work on his ship with the help of the scientists and engineers, not before explaining for a few hours what the G-Diffuser was and how it worked. Firstly, they repaired the weakened left wing by using small iron bars and then, the group replaced the damaged parts of the Bombs' Launcher. In the end, it took them three days to repair those two things. But the hardest problem was still to be done.

Fox and the others had to partially remove the G-Diffusers placed on each side of the engine to have access to the cooling system and replace it. The worst part of this job was to secure the extraction of the plasma engine and its instable Zero-point energy core, thanks to the high electron density in it.

After a quick talk with the scientists, the vulpine decided to let them study the Arwing a little longer before working on the last part of the project. Not that he was in a hurry or anything but he preferred take him his time to do things correctly rather than rush it and mess up. During his first real dinner in Equestria, in the dinner room with Celestia and Luna, Fox had the misfortune to meet Prince Blueblood. Said Prince which declared he was a filthy creature who doesn't belong there and shouldn't be authorized to stay in the castle. He even called Fox a "thing".

In his youth, the vulpine had to deal with this kind of guy at the Cornerian Flight Academy and wasn't offended at all. He simply laughed and ignored him. Fortunately, Celestia stopped the verbal assault from the unicorn before it could go further. Fox was a diplomatic guest and had to be treated as such. During the whole dinner, the vulpine could see the hate behind Blueblood's eyes but didn't care… unless he was a threat to his plans.

Today was Fox's fifth day since his apparition in Equestria. He had met the two Princesses at breakfast and he talked a little more about his life and his team mates. There was a part of sadness and an ounce of hope in his eyes.

Actually, the mercenary was admiring Canterlot and its buildings from his balcony. A sigh escaped his muzzle. This world was truly magnificent and peaceful, living in an era that he only heard about in books. He was happy to see they didn’t have to live in the prospect of a war, contrary to the Lylat System which had to deal with a conflict every few years.

The feeling of the wind against his fur made him close his eyes in delight and smile. Yeah, he definitively liked this planet. Heck, he could come back here in a few months or years for a vacation.

Unfortunately, his train of thoughts was interrupted by three knocks at his chamber's door.

"Who is it?"

"I'm a messenger, sir. Her Majesty sent me to fetch you."

Fox could sense the haste in his voice. He walked back inside to open the door. In front of him was a light grey Unicorn Guard in his golden armor.

"Why?"

"I don't know but she said it was very important and related to your contract…or something like this."

Just at the moment the pony finished his sentence, the fox was running like a madman in direction of the throne room. He pushed aside the ponies waiting for day court and entered in the room. Celestia was sitting on her throne, looking at the bipedal creature who interrupted the actual session.

"Ah Fox, just the fox I was waiting for."

He smirked and rolled his eyes at the bad pun.

"I heard from your messenger you need my help?"

"Yes." She then signaled for the civilians and guards in the room to leave them alone before continuing. "Luna detected a magical presence in the Everfree Forest, not far from Ponyville, a rural city. Unfortunately, we don't know precisely where it is. Your mission is to go there and investigate. If you find anything about what we're dealing, report ASAP to us or your local referent, Twilight Sparkle."

The mercenary crossed his arms and nodded.

"The Element of Magic, if I remember right."

"And my personal student too."

"Okay, anything else I need to know?"

Celestia stood up from her throne and walked to Fox before stopping in front of him. Her long horn glowed gold and the communicator/P.D.A wrapped around his left wrist glowed too. After a few seconds, it disappeared.

"Thanks to the researches made by our scientists on your Arwing, they were able to make magic interact with your technology without damaging it. I memorized the actual map of Ponyville, the Everfree Forest and the important cities in Equestria before transferring this knowledge in your P.D.A."

Fox looked at his device and checked. Just like the Princess said, the map of the castle and Canterlot were displayed on the screen.

"Well, thanks. I'm sure it will be useful."

"Now go. A royal chariot is waiting for you at the main gate. It will drop you at Ponyville's Library, where my protégé lives. Good luck."

He didn't say anything and dashed in the direction indicated by the princess. Two white pegasus in full armor, tied to a golden chariot, were indeed waiting. There was no need for words between the fox and the two ponies.

The mercenary jumped in it and the cart immediately took off.

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Twenty minutes later

From his position, Fox could see the outskirt of Ponyville. The city was indeed very different from Canterlot. He didn't have to wait long to fly above the city. The houses were made of wood and not cement, contrary to the capital of the country. The duo of guards began their descent and softly landed in front of a house…a tree house. There was a sign on the left of the house with something written on it: Golden Oak Library.

"Must be here." whispered the mercenary, walking to the door and knocking three times.

He didn't have to wait long before a purple aura surrounded the door and opened it.

"What can I do fo—" began a pony with the same color as the aura and with a horn on the head, stopping in the middle of her phrase when she saw who was in front of her.

"Twilight Sparkle, I suppose?"

"Y-yes, it's me."

He presented his left paw.

"Fox McCloud of the StarFox Team. A pleasure to meet you."

She shook it with a look of shock which quickly changed into one of utter joy.

"Princess Celestia told me in her letter you were coming and I'm so excited! It's not every day you have the chance to encounter and talk with an alien species, after all!"

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "If only you knew. I've met a lot of intelligent species, some were coming from the past and others were mechanicals creatures."

Her excitement almost doubled when she heard this.

"How so?"

"Well, I'd like to talk about it but—"

Before he could say anything else, Fox was interrupted by the arrival of a yellow mare with pink mane and wings, followed by two fillies.

"Twilight, I need your help!" said the pegasus in a soft voice but with a worried look on her face. She took a few steps back when she saw Fox.

"What's wrong?"

One of the two fillies, with white coat and a two-tone mane talked. "It's Scootaloo! We were collecting a few plants for Zecora in the Everfree when a group of Timberwolves attacked us! She distracted them so we could alert Fluttershy."

Hearing this, Fox's eyes widened and he let out a growl before manipulating a few buttons on his wrist communicator.

"ROB, could you send me a Landmaster, pl…" He shook his head and sighed. "Damn! Old habits die hard, I guess. Twilight, I want you, yellow pony and the two foals to stay here. I take care of this."

The librarian was about to protest when he quickly trotted to the chariot.

"Guys, to the Everfree's border."

One of the guards turned his head in the mercenary's direction.

"But sir, our orders were to…—"

"Listen carefully what I'm going to say: this is an emergency, there's an innocent life in danger. I have the grade of Captain in the army so technically, I'm your superior. I don't care about your orders, I'll assume the consequences of my acts even if the Princess banishes me on the moon. Drop me to the forest, nothing more nothing less. Understood?"

Twilight looked at him, impressed. The way he acted and talked was very familiar to her. She could clearly see he had the spirit and heart of a leader, just like her brother. The Sun Guards obeyed and the cart flew off in direction of the forest.

Flying low and at full speed, it took them less than two minutes to arrive at their destination.

"Thanks for the ride, and sorry for being harsh with you but the situation forced me to do it." He patted one of them on the back and jumped.

When he touched the ground, Fox rolled on the side to lessen the impact and the pain. But it didn't stop him from letting out a grunt of discomfort. Just as planned, the ex-leader had landed in front of the forest. He stood up and ran inside the Everfree, not knowing the dangers waiting for him.

The forest was dark and thick, blocking most of the sunrays. There were a lot of trees, some dead and others full of life. The atmosphere coming from this place was strange, almost evil. Even if he knew what he was going to do could be the death of him, the fox called for the filly. It was giving his position for anyone who wanted to kill him but it was his only option at the moment. The mercenary continued to run, looking everywhere for something out of the ordinary, something with bright color.

His left ear flickered, hearing a distant voice. A plea coming from someone young. Fox instantly changed his original direction and accelerated. The filly’s life was in his paws and he didn’t have the right to mess with it. She was his main objective at the moment, nothing else. Lowering his head to dodge a branch, he entered into a small clearing. An orange filly with violet mane and eyes was facing five creatures made of wood, her back against a tree. From where he was, Fox could see the terrified look in her eyes.

“Hey!”

All the people present in the clearing turned their heads in the direction of the newcomer. Wolves, thought Fox. Theses creatures are wolves made of wood. Fucking great. Wherever I am, you always find a way to be there, coincidence or not. 

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, you choose…”

One of the timberwolves snarled at him and ordered one of his companions to take care of him with a move of the head. Fox immediately understood the movement and snickered. He exhaled loudly and unsheltered his blaster, which was tied to his right leg. Fox almost could feel the adrenaline in his veins and his heart against his chest. Despite his little run, he was still breathing calmly. A smirk grew on his white muzzle.

“You want it the hard way? Perfect, that’s what I was expecting.”

The wolf chosen to do the dirty job jumped at his prey, his maw wide open and ready to kill. Fox sidestepped and punched it in the chest. The creature broke into tiny pieces of wood. Seeing this, the others timberwolves ignored Scootaloo and began circling their new target. One of them lowered itself to the ground, ready to pounce, and leaped at the ex-leader who kneeled down to dodge it. Then, he raised his weapon to the nearest opponent and pulled the trigger a few times. One laser finished its course in the wolf's head. Again, pieces of wood fell on the dirt where it once stood.

Seeing he was in a vulnerable position, Fox rolled on the side to evade any attack and stood up with one knee on the ground. His blaster was still raised in front of him.

Heck, despite the fact he was outnumbered, the orange vulpine was on the winning side, thanks to his training, his weapon and his survival instincts. The now-three wooden wolves didn't mind at all the lost of one of their pack members… and that what was worrying him. At the same time, the trio lunged at him. His eyes widened when he saw this and unfortunately, reacted too late.

Fox jumped on the side but had his blaster knocked away by one of the timberwolves' paws. Before he could do anything to take it back, one of the wolves had it under its leg.

"So, no weapon then? Alright, bring it!" he said, clenching his fists and raising them at eye level.

This time, it was Fox's turn to be on the offensive. He dashed to the group and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to one of them on the face before punching the second on the head. The third creature leaped, paw raised. Fox's instincts kicked in and he leaned on the right to dodge the blow. Unfortunately, the claws touched his skin, leaving three gashes soon filled with red blood.

The fox growled in pain and swore. Luckily, he could easily deal with the pain and the wound was just superficial. One of the wolves used the wound as a distraction to jump on Fox. The latter saw this from the corner of his eye and anticipated the move. He quickly stood up and stopped the creature's move by grapping its throat. Without hesitation, he snapped its neck.

More wood pieces fell on the ground.

Fox turned his head in direction of the two creatures still alive.

"You should go away if you value your lives."

The duo gulped and ran off with their tails between their legs. The vulpine exhaled loudly, feeling the adrenaline wearing off. A small whimper brought him back to reality and he slowly walked to the small filly. She was looking at him with a frightened look. Fox was almost on her when she closed her eyes, sobbing and waiting for the final blow but it never came. Seeing this, he sat on his knees, a tiny smile on his face.

"Hey, don't worry. Everything will be just fine."

She looked at him with a surprised look.

"What the heck are you?"

"Fox McCloud, at your service. I suppose you're Scootaloo?"

The orange pegasus nodded.

"You can thank your friends because without them, you wouldn't be here."

"How so?"

"They alerted a yellow pony, I think her name was…Fluttershy who rushed to Twilight for help. Fortunately, I was here so I decided to look for you by myself."

"That's completely crazy!"

"Yeah but it was my only option at the moment."

He stood up and began walking where he had dropped his weapon.

"Thank you for saving me."

"No probl—"

Fox was interrupted by a beeping noise coming from his P.D.A. He looked at it and saw a message on it: High amount of magical energy detected! A dark blue and black mist entered the clearing. It split in three smaller fogs and each one flew in direction of what was remaining of the timberwolves. Then, they dashed against each other, creating a bigger timberwolf but this one had white eyes and looked far more dangerous than the others. The mercenary's eyes narrowed.

"I think it was what the Princess was talking about" he whispered, to himself. "Well, I have to use a bigger weapon to kill it."

His hand reached his belt and he took a circular object from it. The mercenary pushed a little button on it and aimed before launching it with all his strength, right into the Timberwolf King's throat. The latter swallowed it and a few seconds later, its chest exploded. The dark mist flew away from the corpse, retreating in the forest. Scootaloo watched this, a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Follow me, we should leave this place before something else want to eat us. And I have a rapport to write to the Princess, one more reason to not stay here longer than needed."

She snapped out of her trance and quickly trotted to Fox's side.

"It was so awesome! How did you do it?"

"Grenade."

"Could you do it again?"

The vulpine chuckled while looking at his map to find a path to get out of the forest.

"I don't think it would be a good idea."

Mission N°1: Mission Accomplished