“Yo,” Lightning knocked on Pizzelle’s door. “Pizzelle. Open up for sec, I’m starving.” Her knocks weren’t the least bit soft, but she was a pegasus after all. There wasn’t enough power in her blows to do any lasting harm. She waited a few minutes, tapping her hoof impatiently on the ground. “Come on, open up. I’m starving out here.”
There still was no answer.
Lightning huffed in irritation. ‘What the hay is taking her? I mean, I don’t normally go to her shop for snacks, but isn’t that what friends do? They go over to their places and eat their food. Cloudchaser never has a problem when I do that with her.’ She flew up to a window and spied through it. “Lights are on, but where is she.”
For a moment, the brash pegasus thought about coming at another time. Obviously Pizzelle was busy with something. All Lightning would need was patience. However, Lightning was not a baker nor did she have patience. She didn’t know how long bakers needed to do things and really didn’t care. She was going to get a snack here or just go snack on a pidgeon. There were a few flying around already, but feathers weren’t something she was found of. She tapped the window. “Hello? Anypony home? Come on!”
Just then the door opened. “Yes?” Pizzelle’s dreary voice called out.
“Finally,” Lightning huffed, flapping downwards. “You know, I don’t normally go for breads and stuff, I prefer….” She paused when she saw how ragged Pizzelle looked. She was covered in flour and all sorts of food products, her normally poofy mane was in shambles, and she looked positively drained. “Whoa, what happened. It looks likes you took a ride in a food tornado or something.”
“Hikaru,” Pizzelle tiredly huffed. “The name of that tornado is Hikaru.”
“That cute little kitsune?” Lightning quirked an eyebrow. “You sure? I didn’t think he’d be that destructive. Got to hoof it to him though. Sounds like he’s got a lot of spunk.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Pizzelle sighed. “Oh he’s so adorable and well mannered, but… He’s really playful and I don’t think the darling likes to admit it, but he’s not exactly… How do I say it, good at a lot of things still.”
“Like baking?” Lightning couldn’t help but snicker at Pizzelle’s predicament. At her frown, she tried to stop. Well, try was the correct word. “Okay, okay. He’s a little troublemaker. Say, where is the little guy?”
“Probably lounging on the couch,” Pizzelle stated. “He ate nearly his own weight in pork. Went right through my supplies. Gave him a little tummy ache, the poor dear. I gave him a little medicine, so he should be doing alright.”
“So why is he here anyways?” Lightning asked. “Shouldn’t he be at the orphanage.”
“Not anymore,” Pizzelle smiled brightly. “I adopted him.”
Lightning blinked a few times in confusion. “You adopted him?” At Pizzelle’s nod, Lightning quirked her head sideways. “So how is he taking having a new mom?”
Pizzelle frowned. “Well, technically I’m not his mother yet. I’m more of his guardian for a week until I can formalize it with High Sun Priestess Bon Bon at the end of it. I’m crossing my wings and hoping she’ll let me take him. Until then, I’m just his legal guardian. It’s nice, but having him with me now makes me wish for Bon Bon’s approval all that much sooner.”
“Pfft,” Lightning scoffed. “‘Course she will. I don’t really know you that well, but you seemed to really care about the little fox. She’d have to be brain dead to not see it.” She gave Pizzelle another glance over. “Say, how about I take him off your hooves for a bit? Maybe teach him a few hunting tips.”
“I don’t know,” Pizzelle rubbed the back of her head nervously. “I’ve never been much for hunting, what with my mother being an Earth pony and all. I never did get my father’s carnivorous habits and I’m not sure if he should have them.”
“Come on,” Lightning said. “It’ll be fun. You need a little time to relax and he needs a little time with the hunting master of Ponyville.” She smirked, putting a hoof to her chest in pride. “You need the rest and he needs some practice. Everyone know pegasi are the best predators and what better teacher than me?”
“Well….” Pizzelle glanced around, looking unsure of what to do. “The dear does need to get out…”
“Exactly,” Lightning nodded.
“Miss Pizzelle, who are you talking to?” Hikaru asked from further inside.
“Come over and see, deary.” Pizzelle happily called out. “It’s that nice pegasus, Lightning Dust. You remember her, don’t you?”
Hikaru seemed to materialize next to Pizzelle. “Hello, Miss Dust.” He bowed.
It took a moment for Lightning to remember that he used illusions, else she might have suspected he just teleported or something. She smiled. “Hello squirt. How’ve you been?”
Hikaru frowned and looked away. “Alright….” He nuzzled Pizzelle’s side. “Miss Pizzelle has been really nice to me, so it’s not all bad.”
Lightning’s smile faltered. ‘Poor kid. I know how it feels to lose a parent, but two at the same time? Harsh.’ She was just thankful the little kitsune didn’t end up with someone like her father. “Good to hear. Say, I was just talking with Pizzelle here and I was wondering if you’d like to go hunting with me. A little time with ‘The Master’-” Lightning flared her wings and puffed out her chest in a show of bravado. “-would really do you some good, don’t you think?”
Hikaru smiled and nodded. He then looked up at Pizzelle. “Can I go? Please, Miss PIzzelle?”
Even if Pizzelle was against it, there was no way anyone could say no to that cute little face. She smiled and nuzzled him. “Just be safe and play nice, hun. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Okay,” Hikaru happily chirped back and walked up to Lightning.
“And don’t go swimming in the lake without Lightning,” Pizzelle commented. “It can get very deep at points and you just ate. A little thing like you could cramp up and then….” Pizzelle gulped nervously. “Maybe this isn’t the best idea. Perhaps we could stay home and bake? That sounds like a marvelous idea, does it not? Oh yes, a simply marvelous idea. I’m sure I could teach you both a few things. Baking is a much safer activity than swimming.”
“We’re not going swimming,” Lightning Dust rolled her eyes. “And he’s not going to cramp up. I’ll teach him a few stretching exercises and the basics. No biggee. He’ll be a pro in no time. Besides, I’ll be watching him the whole time. What could go wrong?” When Pizzelle’s eyes widened in fear, Lightning chuckled. “Seriously, nothing’s going to go wrong. This isn’t a story you know. Just tempting fate like that isn’t going to come bite me in the flank later.”
It was at that exact moment that a certain white rabbit decided to take a trip to Whitetail Woods.
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Whitetail Woods was a little park near Ponyville. Like most of Equestria, minus the Everfree Forest, the ponies regulated the seasons and such here. While they didn’t do it as much as they did with the town, leaving for some ‘wild’ weather to pop up now and again, it was kept at bay well enough that none of it affected the town. It was a nice walkway for ponies and they often went here to relax by themselves or with family. The few animals here were tame and practically harmless. That made Whitetail Woods the perfect spot to train young pegasi how to hunt, or in this case, young kitsune.
“Now the first step is to get yourself nice and limber,” Lightning said, stretching out her body and flexing her wings. “You don’t want to cramp up during the hunt. Your prey is either going to get away, or turn on you.”
“Okay,” little Hikaru answered, stretching himself.
Lightning kept an eye on him through her own stretches to make sure he didn’t pull something. The last thing she wanted was for the kid to get hurt. Well, that and an angry mother. Yeah she didn’t know Pizzelle all that well since they hadn’t really met till the whole Nightmare Moon fiasco, but she had enough dealings with Ditzy to teach her about mothers. You never mess with their kids...Ever.
“Alright, I think you’re ready.” Lightning stopped stretching. Hikaru followed suit. “Now, the second step is to find out where your prey is. Thankfully, this is Whitetail Woods. There are little creatures running around everywhere. So we’ll just move on to the third step: Stalking. Now I’m not one for hiding, but you can’t just go charging around when on the hunt. You need to find a good place to hide so they can’t see you. Since you’re not a flyer, I can’t teach you in the air. So we’ll stick to bushes and the like.” Lightning trotted over to a bush. “A bush will do for now.”
“Okay, Miss Dust.” Hikaru ran over and leaped into the bush.
Lightning trotted into the bushes herself. “Now follow me,” she kept her voice leveled and crouched lower to the ground. Hunting like this wasn’t the pegasi way, since they preferred to dive bomb and chase their prey, but again, Hikaru wasn’t a pegasus. The two crept along the bushes until she found a suitable target.
A white rabbit.
Lightning predatorily grinned. ‘Too easy.’ She turned to the young kitsune. “Just watch, kid. I’ll bag this rabbit quicker than you can blink.” She crouched low to the ground and licked her lips. Rabbit was a little too lean for her tastes, but she wouldn’t complain about it. Besides, she didn’t get to eat meat that often, since most of Ponyville was made out of Earths and a few unicorns. They were herbivores and obviously found carnivorous traits...undesirable.
The rabbit was nibbling on some grass. You know, normal rabbit stuff. It didn’t notice her. Her muscles tensed and she licked her lips. Then, with a practiced motion, she lunged forward. With quick strides in less than two seconds she closed the gap. Her fangs were bared and she bit down….on air. She blinked a few times. “What the….” She looked down to see a rabbit hole. She growled. “I hate it when they do that.”
Just then, the rabbit popped out of another hole. An older and more experienced pegasus would probably quit just about now. Once a burrowing creature was in the ground, there was little chance of catching it. Unfortunately, Lightning wasn’t one to give up. So she lunged again. Like the last time, she only bit nothing.
The rabbit appeared again. It had the audacity to actually blow a raspberry at her. “Oh you are so dead.” She put extra effort into her next strike, leaning her head downwards….
Only to get her muzzle stuck in a rabbit burrow.
Lightning pulled herself free after a couple of seconds and started digging. While pegasi weren’t the greatest diggers, she was going to try and flush him out. Unfortunately, for her, the rabbit had other holes to pop out of. When she felt a small rock smash into her rump, she jumped up in surprise, yelping. She quickly looked to see the rabbit give her a ‘come get some’ posture with an infuriating smirk. She accepted his challenge.
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There was never a name so ill befitting a being than the name of that rabbit: Angel. Oh how he loved the irony of it all. His Mistress was surely the greatest at naming. Although, she wouldn’t be happy that he left the safety of her forest to mess with ponies. She wasn’t the most fond of them, but she didn’t like him being mean to others. Still, what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.
The pegasus was proving to be a fun adversary. She was quick, he had to give her that. Quick and stupid. Oh yes, it was getting harder to dodge her as time went on. She was quick as lightning….
Actually, now that Angel popped out of a faraway hole, she looked like lightning arcing around the holes. Then he noticed something else. He was still over there, dodging her moves. He quirked an eyebrow at that. Then he heard laughter.
A golden fox was rolling on the ground, laughing up a storm. It was only a kid, but he was about the size of a grown fox. That wasn’t good for him either way. Foxes were much better at preying on rabbits then pegasi. The fox stopped rolling and looked at him, causing Angel to tense up.
“Hi, mister bunny.” The fox happily chirped. “I’m Aki Hikaru.”
Angel’s jaw dropped. A talking fox? That was a lot for him to take in. Still, he’d seen weirder. He gestured to the pegasi, in a questioning manner. Perhaps the fox knew how he was in two places at once.
“It’s a joke, silly.” Hikaru answered. “I like Miss Dust, but my mommy says that pranking others is a sign of friendship and I think it’s fun. Of course, my mommy said….” He chuckled then stopped. “Mommy….:” His ears flattened against his head and his head drooped. His eyes started to water.
Angel mentally groaned. He had dealt with enough pups and young creatures to know what was happening. This wasn’t going to be good for his ears.
Thankfully, a butterfly landed on Hikaru’s face. Given how he was an inquisitive child and a predator to boot, it immediately drew his attention. The young fox blinked a few times and then sneezed. The butterfly flew off and then back onto his face. He sneezed again and the butterfly repeated. The fox growled and swatted at the butterfly, causing it to fly away. The young fox ran after it. Angel sighed and followed just in case something happened. He wasn’t totally heartless.
______________________________________________________________________
Lightning huffed as stopped flying. She hadn’t really broken a sweat, but she was slightly panting. This rabbit was proving to be difficult. He was really working up her appetite. “Alright… Is that it?... I’ve seen faster turtles.” She lightly taunted, glancing around. “Where the hay are you?” She growled upon noticing the rabbit’s absence.
‘Great, he got away.’ Lightning inwardly groaned. ‘Can this day get any more aggravating?’
It was right at that moment that a red ball smacked into her head. “What the…” She grabbed it in her hoof.
“ARFF!” A loud cry sounded.
Lightning’s irises shrunk. She knew that voice all too well. “Buck me.” Not a second later, she was tackled by a light green unicorn inquisitor. Well, acolyte really.
“Arf!” Lyra grabbed the ball in her mouth, jumping off a battered mare. It was obviously a squeaky toy as it made the slightest sounds as she bit down. She rushed over to a nearby Priestess known as Bon Bon.
“Good girl,” Bon Bon smiled, patting Lyra’s head. Lyra wagged her tail. Of course, then she noticed Lightning. “Lyra, did you do that?”
Lyra’s eyes darted about and she spat out the ball. “Uhhh, no.”
Bon Bon sighed and walked over to Lightning and lent her a hoof.
Lightning shook her head. “Nah,” she flapped her wings, propelling herself onto her hooves. She bowed her head and fanned out her wings before the Priestess and Bon Bon bowed her head in return. A customary gesture to the devoted. “So what are you doing here? I thought Time Turner usually takes her for walks.”
“He’s busy at the moment,” Bon Bon stated. “Our fair Inquisitor seems to be on another adventure with the heart of Ditzy as his prize.”
“Like that’s ever going to happen,” Lyra piped up, chewing on the ball. She looked up when she felt Bon Bon’s glare on her. “You know it’s true. He can’t even talk to her straight.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t give you the right to say it.” Bon Bon chided her. She then turned her attention to Lightning. “So what brings you out here?”
“Well priestess,” Lightning stated. “I was just teaching little Hikaru a few hunting tricks.”
“By flying around a few holes?” Lyra asked. She pouted when Bon Bon took her ball away.
“No,” Lightning glared at her.
“Where is Hikaru anyway?” Bon Bon glanced around. “I do not see him in the vicinity.”
“Oh he’s right over there,” Lightning nodded over to the bush. “You can come out now.” No one came out. She frowned and trotted over. “Okay squirt, this isn’t the time for hide and seek.” She parted the bush to see no one there. “...Oh crud.”
‘I’m so dead.’
“Well?” High Sun Priestess Bon Bon, a mare with more than enough power to subdue her and order her execution, tapped her hoof in impatience. “Where is he?”
Lightning ears perked and her eyes scanned the area. Given her predatory ancestry, she had much keener ears and eyes than the those of the other tribes. With one look over, she knew exactly one thing: Hikaru wasn’t anywhere near.
‘I am so very dead.’