"I don't like new things"
"Ash! Ash wake up," the young and moderately scared girl spoke as she grasped her brother by the shoulders and shook him up and down ever so slightly, being sure not to hurt him but still aiming on waking him up before the continuous downfall of rain got the better of them both.
In response to this Ash merely groaned and rolled onto his side, "Just five more minutes..." It seemed as though he had no grip on the reality that he was facing. He was completely oblivious to the situation and was clearly stuck in the world of his own dreams.
The girl sighed deeply and closed her eyes while still holding him by the shoulders, "I'm sorry for this," she said to herself before slapping him across the face as hard as she could.
With that, Ash sprung awake with a loud yelp and immediately began to rub his soon-to-be-red cheek, "What was that for, Lixie?" He complained and shot her a look of disapproval as he grit his teeth. He really didn't like being rudely awoken, especially with a slap from his sister.
"I tried to wake you but... well that was my last resort," she replied with an uneasy smile.
He grumbled to himself under his breath before countering her with, "Yeah well is freakin' hurt," still rubbing his cheek he soon became aware of his situation and looked up. He was drenched, as was his sister yet the heavy patter of rain didn't effect him one bit. He merely just stood up with droplets of water bouncing off of his red fur and began to look around.
This place was completely new to him, he had no idea where he was. All he remembered was going to bed one night and now, without warning, he was here. He recognised it as a farm but the landscape was still unfamiliar to him and so he began to freak out just like anyone would.
"How the hell do we get home from here?" he asked with a shakiness evident in his voice.
Lixie stood up too and walked over to stand by the side of her brother. Although they were both twin there was definitely a height difference between Ash and herself, with Ash being only being a tiny bit taller than her, but it was still visible to the naked eye. "I was hoping you would know..." she said in tone that resembled one of melancholy.
Ash, noticing his sister's hopelessness realised that he needed to be strong if they were going to make it home alive. With that, he smirked and turned to look at the her, "Don't worry sis. I'll get us home in no time," he said positively and in a tone that would no doubt spark confidence. This wasn't the first time that he had to be the bigger person, but it was definitely the first time that he was unsure about himself. His cockiness was merely and act when normally it would be arrogance that would lead him into an uncertain trouble.
Not too far away from the two teens was a cliff's edge that had been bordered off by a crudely made wooden fence with a sign stating 'danger'. Unsurprisingly this is where Ash ran off too who was closely followed by his very concerned sister.
"Ash! Don't get to close!" she called out after him, her voice echoed across the farming fields but was surely muffled by the uninterrupted rainfall.
"Don't sweat it, I won't fall. Careful is my middle name!" He grinned and leant against the fence to gaze over the cliff. He wanted to get a better view as to where he was so he looked around and took in his surroundings. Although the rainfall annoyingly made it much harder to see he managed to catch a glimpse of what looked like a town in the middle of the valley. "Hey sis! Come, look at this?"
"What is it?" she asked as she joined her brother by his side once again.
"Over there," he pointed to where he thought he saw the town, "Do you see that?"
"See what?" she asked, squinting her eyes to get a better look.
"The town? Do you not see it?"
"Give me a sec," she leant forward for get a better look, unfortunately this caused the fence to creak under the pressure, "Yeah! I think I see it."
"Oh good! I'm not crazy," the fence kept creeping as his sister leant closer and closer, "Hey Lixie. Maybe you should step away from that fence before you break it. It doesn't look too sturdy."
"Give me a moment. I'm tying to make out these buildings."
"What for?"
"To see if I can recognise any of them. We might be closer to home than you think."
"I doubt it. I don't remember living near a farm. Or near any hills. This place looks nothing like home."
She sighed, "Whatever Mr. Negative." just as began to pull away when the fence snapped and she fell forward. Without hesitation she began to scream even though Ash, who was standing right next to her, was able to catch her with ease. He placed a hand over her mouth and made a gesture for her to stay quiet.
"Don't scream so loudly. Someone might hear us," he scolded and set her down, "I told you not to lean so much. Are you hurt?"
Lixie shook her head, "No. I'm okay. Sorry," she looked down, ashamed. In a time like this she didn't want to be a burden. She wanted to stand up for herself and to show that she was strong too. She wanted to take care of Ash just as much as he would take care of her. If so, then they would be on par and work effectively as a team. Yet as it stood at the moment, Lixie not that resourceful and if it had been Ash about to fall off then she would have just stood there paralysed with shock and unable to do anything. He would have surely died - lucky it was her in the predicament and not him.
"Oi! Who's there!" boomed a voice that sounded as though it belonged to a very big brute of a man who had little smarts and the mind set of a threat.
Ash and Lixie immediately retreated to the safety of a nearby thick tree that was also dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. They hoping that the tree would be enough to mask their presence from the stranger. However they had left behind an obvious clue that unfortunately lead right to them. The rain had made the ground muddy and therefore their footprints could easily be seen and tracked. Ash gulped as he saw the stranger step out from the corn field holding a shotgun and immediately notice the footprints. The stranger looked different to any other being that Ash or Lixie had seen. They surely had come to a strange place. The stallion grumbled under his breath, he had a face that matched his personality, angry and blunt. He too was drenched from the rain but it didn't look as though he cared as he certainly was hot on the trail of the two foxes.
"Ash what do we do?" Lixie panicked and asked under her breath
"Leave it to me. Just climb the tree quietly and wait for me to settle it," he replied, and as she began to climb he stepped out from behind the tree.
To say the least the man was more than shocked to see the young fox boy, "Wha' the hell are ya?" He demanded and aimed the shotgun at him.
"I would ask the same of you. I don't think you have the right to complain about my appearance, have you looked in the mirror yet. You're a freak."
"Ya not too bright are ya?" he held the gun up against his face, "Ya look like a fox, but there ain't no foxes like ya in Equestria. They're all feral."
"Equestria? What the hell are you on about you crazy psycho?"
The man laughed, "Ya really are stupider than you look," with that he hit Ash in the gut with the butt of the gun. He then watched him collapse to the ground clutching his chest in pain. The stallion then pointed the barrel of the gun at the fox's head, "Ya broke my fence too! You'll pay for tha'!" Just before he was about to pull the trigger on the helpless kid, Lixie spoke up and jumped down from the tree.
"No! He didn't break the fence. I did!" She stood in between of Ash and the stallion, acting as a body shield. He had saved her from falling to her death on cliff so there was no way that she would let him die without repaying the favour. Now it was her time to be the hero.
"Lixie what are you doing?" Ash groaned.
"I'm not letting you die out here, brother."
"Ya broke my fence? I'll kill ya too!" the stallion yelled.
"Wait!"
"What?"
"If you kill us it'll be murder won't it?"
"There's ain't no law against hunting foxes!"
"Right... Well... Then we're clearly in a place that we don't belong. You said something about us being in Equestria, what is this place?"
"It's the land of ponies. Not the likes of ya!" he growled and aimed the gun at her, "Now gimme one good reason not to blow ya head off!"
"Because we mean no harm. We just want to go home. That's all. Can you help us?" she pleaded and pulled the most innocent face she could.
"Why the hell would I help ya? I want ya gone!"
"If you take us home then we will be gone. You won't ever have to see us again. And I can guarantee that out parents can pay good money if you help us."
"Hmmm..." the stallion lowered his gun and thought to himself for a bit. As he did, Lixie managed to help Ash to his feet as they eagerly awaited his response. They didn't want to make any sudden moves in case he took it as a threat. So they stood still but the idea of running away was looming ever closer and becoming a very real possibility.
The rain continued to pour and it was getting heavier and heavier, at this rate they would surely get sick, not to mention that the mud that lined the ground in place of the dirt covered them and their clothes. If this guy was to help them out then they would need a warm place to stay for a couple of days and a new change of clothes. Yet it was highly likely that they wouldn't get such treatment, but for now they were sitting prey and all they could do was wait.
After a few moments the stallion groaned and said, "Don't make me regret this. Follow me closely and don't ya do anything stupid. Make any sudden moves and I'll kill ya both."