Part 13: The Truth of the Matter
Sunset gritted her teeth in frustration. It had been scant minutes since Fiddlesticks miraculous musical save, but it felt like an eternity for her. ‘Honestly, I’m still surprised laughing defeated the ghouls. I know they react negatively to positive emotion, but come on.’ Of course, she stopped herself from thinking too hard about it. Laughing did save her life. So, technically, she owed Fiddlesticks one for this. ‘That’s not a comforting thought.’
Sunset wasn’t used to owing others. Actually, she wasn’t used to help at all. Yeah, she got help from her mother and brother. That was a given, but complete strangers? No universe, she did not like help. Just knowing that she was helpless and at the mercy of some spiritual essence was its own can of worms. The term ‘violated’ sprung to her mind. Not to mention that her magic reserve was somewhat depleted. It wasn’t to a dangerous level, but she needed to watch herself for at least the next hour or so.
She cast a glance over to Fiddlesticks, who was trotting alongside her. The country mare was humming a small tune, exactly like the one she played earlier. Sunset couldn’t help but ponder her mindset. She pretty much laughed away several ghouls which was, at least to her knowledge, unheard of. Usually, ponies either slew or ran away from ghouls. ‘What is your secret, country bumpkin?’
Her head was pounding, still upset from the shadowy intrusion. ‘That’s not the only reason its pounding.’
“And then I told her ‘Mayor, you’ve got to stop dying your mane’,” Pizzelle told their ghoul companion. He was walking right alongside her, listening to her with rapt attention. No doubt he was hungrily eating up any tidbit he could get his hooves on about the world since his death. “Her mane is such a lovely shade of pink, but she’s so ashamed of it. Oh, she never says it, but she is. She thinks it makes her look goofy and ‘off’, but that’s just poppycock. I didn’t tell you, but she wasn’t always like that. She was such a lively mare back in the day. The talk of Canterlot, she was. Stallions from all around were at her beck and call.” She giggled.
‘Shut up, shut up, shut up!’ Sunset screamed inside her skull. Pizzelle hadn’t been able to shut her trap at all since the earlier incident. Sunset couldn’t help but lament on how she wished she was still knocked out.
“Ah know PIzzelle can be a bit of a yapper,” Fiddlesticks spoke up. “But she aint that bad, once ya get to know her.”
“I know enough about her to last a lifetime,” Sunset rolled her eyes.
Fiddlesticks chuckled. “Nah, ya know just about everyone else as far she’s talkin’. She doesn’t talk a lot ‘bout herself. She aint the boastin’ type…Most of the time.”
“I don’t care about who’s she’s talking about,” Sunset folded her ears back, in an attempt to block out the infernal mare’s voice. “I just want her to stop.”
Fiddlesticks laughter grew louder. “Get her to stop? Lordess, ya don’t know a lick about Pizzelle, do ya?”
“Yes,” Sunset gave her a deadpan stare. “Yes I do.”
“CANTERLOT?!!” Pizzelle exclaimed, causing Sunset and Fiddlesticks to jump up into the air fright. “You lived in the holy city?”
“Jeez,” Sunset spoke up, putting a hoof in her ear to try and get some feeling back. “Could you be any louder? I mean, it’s not like we’re in a forest filled to the brim with monsters and heretics. Please, scream some more. I’m sure the beings in the forest next to this one didn’t hear you.”
“Wow,” Fiddlesticks said. “Layin’ it on thick, aint ya?”
Sunset just glared at her in response.
Pizzelle put a hoof to her mouth and blushed in embarrassment. “Oooh, sorry about that. I get carried away sometimes when I talk to new ponies.”
“And old ones,” Fiddlesticks put in. The two chuckled, to which Sunset rolled her eyes with a soft smile.
Sunset couldn’t help but feel a little cozy inside, being around the group. Maybe it was because they saved her, but it felt more than that. She couldn’t put her hoof on it. ‘I’ll check out the library when this thing is done. Maybe I’ll find the answer in a book.’
“To answer your question,” the ghoul said. “I did live in the holy city, but that was many years ago.”
“Why’d ya come this way south?” Fiddlesticks asked.
“Business,” the ghoul stated. “I worked for the fruit families of our beloved nation and there were reports of a remarkable apple that looked to be of rainbows and magic. Naturally, I thought it a great opportunity…Until it resulted in my death of course.”
“So yer talkin’ about Zap Apples?” Fiddlesticks stated.
“Zap Apples?” The ghoul raised its one good eyebrow. “Is that what they’re called?”
“Right you are, sugar,” Pizzelle said. “Our little town of Ponyville wouldn’t be anything without Zap Apples. Why, we’d be nothing more than a few shacks scattered in the landscape if it wasn’t for our local hero; Granny Smith. Did you know she took on a whole pack of Timberwolves and won? I certainly can’t believe it. It’s not like it’s unprecedented. Our royal guard can certainly handle their own, bless their hearts. A filly to do so? Well, unheard of.”
“She just banged on some pots,” Fiddlesticks butted in. “Timberwolves aren’t fans of loud noises…for some reason.”
“Well, it’s actually a simple reason,” Sunset put her own two bits into the conversation. Sure, she wasn’t their friend, but she was getting bored. Besides, showing off a little intellect would surely impress them. “Timberwolves are creatures mostly comprised of pieces of wood held together by a unique assortment of magic: chaos, druid, soul. This combination is not found anywhere else in the world and makes them incredibly hard to put out, since they can just reform themselves. However, the mixture isn’t a stable one, so loud noises and vibrations can shake them loose and dispel the magic keeping the timberwolves alive.”
“Whoo-wee,” Fiddlesticks remarked. “That’s one fancy explanation.”
“Yes it was,” the ghoul looked at her curiously. Well, as curiously as a corpse could. “Did you attend Canterlot University? You seem to be cut from the same class as I.”
“You’re right on the money, sugar,” Pizzelle put a motherly wing over Sunset, to the younger mare’s surprise. “Her mother spared no expense with her education. Why, I heard Princess Celestia invested nearly twice as much money into the university after Sunset arrived. Visited whenever she could. Our sun goddess is just the sweetest mother you ever heard of and that’s a fact.”
The ghoul’s eye widened. “You’re the daughter of Celestia? The Celestia?”
“There’s a lot you need to catch up on,” Sunset remarked.
“Yes,” a mysterious, stallion voiced spoke up. “Like your imminent demise, for instance.”
Fiddlesticks tapped her chin. “Nah, nothin’ like that. Aint got any 'imminent demise'. Ya might want to check with Granny Smith 'bout that.”
“Wow,” the voice said after a short pause. “How did a dolt like you actually best my curse?”
“With some country twang,” Fiddlesticks puffed out her chest in pride.
“With a lot of heart,” Pizzelle spoke up. “I don’t know about you, but Miss Cheerilee, she’s the local school teacher by the way, a real sweetheart. Anyways, that’s how she beats her problems. Well, they’re more school related problems…and the occasional stalker, but that comes down to earth pony muscle rather than love….”
“SHUT UP!” The warlock stallion teleported in front of them. He was younger than Apostle, somewhere in his early twenties with a similar color palette. Warlocks didn’t really differentiate much in the regard. “I’ve had enough of your blathering nonsense, you blithering moron.”
“Well,” Pizzelle put a hoof to her chest and gave him a stare of indignation. “Somepony woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I know I can be a bit mean spirited here and there, but usually I just bake the stress away…Have you tried baking? Me and my friends find it a great way to relieve stress.”
“No,” the warlock growled. “I haven’t tried baking. I won’t try baking, because it’s stupid.”
“Because it’s stupid?” Sunset scoffed with a roll of her eyes. “Great comeback.”
“Why you…” the warlock’s scowl deepened.
“Kindly get out of our way,” Sunset motioned a sweeping move with a hoof. “We don’t want this to get ugly, now do we?”
The warlock smirked. “Oh, but I do. I want this to get real ugly.”
“Wait, how ugly are we talking about?” Sunset asked, with a quirk of her eyebrow. ‘This is going to be good.’ “Because it’s pretty ugly now that you’re here.”
“Oooh,” Fiddlesticks motioned a hoof for her to bump. “Good one.”
Sunset hesitated for a moment. She still wasn’t used to being around others for such a long while, so a hoofbump was foreign to her. Still, she wasn’t going to leave Fiddlesticks wanting. Sunset gave her a reluctant hoof-bump.
“You think you’re something, don’t you?” The warlock nearly roared, stomping his hoof in anger. “You think just because you’re the daughter of a false goddess, that you can best a servant of the true goddess? HA!”
Sunset rolled her eyes. ‘If he wants a fight, I’ll give him a fight.’ With just a quick check of his aura, she found him wanting in the power department. He was barely above average. “Then show me what you’ve got.”
The warlock’s scowl quickly turned into a satisfied grin. “I shall and it will be the last ‘show’ you’ll ever see.” His horn lit up with dark magic.
Sunset prepared herself with a quick defensive spell. She gauged his level, so she knew he wouldn’t be able to throw spells that quick in succession. She just needed him to throw a spell at her, so she could block it and quickly get a shot in of her own. She’d have him down in a heartbeat. She turned back to the others. “Don’t worry. This’ll only take a minute.”
“Uh,” Pizzelle held up a hoof, questionably. “I may not be an expert on magic and I should know I’ve talked to some. Let me tell you, Professor Magic Pulse is a killer on the dance floor.” She started to fan herself. “And his wingspan…”
“What she’s tryin’ to say,” Fiddlesticks butted in, blushing like mad. “Is ya best look behind ya.”
Sunset quirked an eyebrow. “Okay, but I don’t see….”
The warlock’s magic was doing something she didn’t expect. It arched around him, causing what looked like a considerable amount of pain, judging from his face. His form seemed to pulse and within seconds his muscles started growing.
Sunset could sense his power level rise. ‘But that’s impossible. Even if he had magic enhanced crystals, I should have been able to detect them.’ Some magical crystals were known to enhance unicorn magic. They weren’t that common and were extremely hard to craft. Still, they each give off a small tinge of magic, making them detectable with magical scanners. It was a policy set up in the event of cheating during shows and events.
Here, there was no indication of where his extra power was coming from. It just came out of nowhere and that honestly frightened her. ‘Maybe ticking off a warlock wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.’
When his magic was finished, the warlock stood a few feet higher. His muscles bulged outwards, like you’d see on a professional weight lifter. “Think you can best me now?” His voice was much deeper now, with an underlying sense of wrongness to it.
Sunset gulped. “Yeah,” she did everything in her power to keep the tremble out of her voice. She wasn’t going to appear weak before a heretic.
“We’ll see,” the warlock, without another word, struck with a mighty bolt of magic.
Sunset stood her ground, relying on her shield spell to save her. Unfortunately, she had only formed a weak shield, since she didn’t take into account her foes’ recent power upgrade. So while her shield held up well enough to save her, it blew her off her hooves, ceasing the spell.
The next instant, the warlock teleported himself right dab in the middle of the group. He quickly used his magic to blast them apart, sending them flying this way and that.
Sunset yelped in pain as her ribs impacted against the bark of an incredibly sturdy tree. Falling to the ground, she lamented ‘That’s going to hurt in the morning.’ Suddenly, she felt a tingling sensation on her tail. It took her only a second to register what it was. ‘This is going to hurt even more.’
The warlock used his magic to pick her up by the tail. Laughing, he span her around knocking her head right into the tree. It happened too quick for Sunset, so she wasn’t able to counter it. Now that she was dazed, magic wasn’t going to save her right now.
“FEEL THE POWER OF THE NI….” The warlock was cut off when a rope wrapped around his upper body, pulling him off his hooves to the ground. The magic around Sunset’s tail cut out, letting her fall to the ground.
The warlock raised his head to send Fiddlesticks, who gripped the rope firmly in her teeth, a baleful stare. “You dare!” With a surge of his horn, the rope untangled itself from around him.
Fiddlestick’s eyes widened as the warlock used his magic to tie her up with her own rope. He pulled her over to himself and put a hoof on her side.
The warlock smirked. “Now you see what happens to those that…”
Using her magic, Sunset grabbed hold of the buffoon and threw him across the forest floor. While she would have liked to pummel him further, she still had to clear her head. So she needed to free Fiddlesticks first. She was the only other mare of the group that Sunset knew could fight. ‘Or at least distract him long enough for me to work up enough magic.’
Running to Fiddlesticks side, she undid the rope. “I didn’t know you were into this stuff, Fiddlesticks.”
Fiddlesticks rolled her eyes. “Oh, ha, ha, Sunset. Ya are just a riot, ya know that?”
Sunset smirked. “I know.”
The duo turned to face the warlock who was dead set on charging them with his horn lit. He sent several blasts of dark magic at them, to which they dodged. Sunset had to teleport in order to avoid being pierced by his horn.
She wasn’t able to get far, for her head started to hurt like never before. Gripping her head in her forehooves, she vainly tried to will away the pain.
The warlock chuckled. “The essence of our dark goddess tends to have that effect on ponies. I assure you, the pain won’t last long.” With nary a delay, he sent a bolt of dark magic her way.
Sunset was in too much pain to do anything but silently lament to herself. ‘So, this is how I go, huh?’
Thankfully, the universe was on her side, or in this case, a certain ghoul. He valiantly jumped over and pushed her to the side, clearing the both of them from the blast. They tumbled for a short while, before they stopped with the ghoul on top of her.
Standing up, he gazed down at her in concern. “Pardon the obvious question, but are you alright?”
Sunset grunted and nodded. The pain had lessened enough for her to get her bearings.
The ghoul sighed. “Thank the goddess.”
“Don’t thank her yet,” the warlock created two dark matter swords that hovered next to him. With a roar of anger, he charged….and was promptly bucked in the shin by Fiddlesticks, sending him flying. Even with his extra muscle, it was no match against the natural talents of the earth kin.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Fiddlesticks snorted. “Ya forgot about me.”
The warlock growled dangerously, trying to lean off his bruised leg. “How could I forget a wretch like you?” Two trees glowed with magic as the warlock uplifted them from their roots. “NIGHTMARE MOON ETERNAL!” He charged, swinging the large trees forward.
Fiddlesticks rolled to the right, dodging a downward strike from a tree trunk. She stopped herself just in time to avoid the other tree smashing down beside her. She was running on pure instinct right now, with a flare of Apple practices to boot. While the trees were uprooted, she could still sense them and their pain. Gritting her teeth, she knew she was going to put extra ‘oomph’ into her next strike. ‘No good varmint deserves it.’
The warlock ran down the middle of the trees, hoping to spear her on his horn.
Fiddlesticks smirked and pulled herself closer to the ground, readying herself for a high jump. Just as the warlock got close, she leapt into the air. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl for her. Fiddlesticks didn’t know how she could do it. She just could and that was all that mattered to her. She pulled off her hat and pulled out her trusty lasso. With a quick flick of her wrist and a keen eye, she sent the lasso flying. Before the warlock could even register her jump, she had it fastened around his neck.
Fiddlesticks landed on her back legs. Her front hooves clung to the rope and pulled it up and over herself. The warlock’s eyes widened as he was pulled into the air. Fiddlesticks planned to have him come smashing into the ground, so she could land some blows against him.
Sadly, the warlock was smarter than that. He teleported, or winked if you prefer, out of the rope. In the next second, he appeared slightly above the tree on her right. Using both his magic and new found strength, he came crashing down, splitting it in two. Using both halves, he tried to smash her again.
Fiddlesticks was a nimble mare, even by Apple standards. She somersaulted backwards, avoiding the strikes which broke the other fallen tree. She nearly made it to the ground, when one of the tree trunks smashed into her, sending her crashing into the forest. Her world went dark as she felt her head smash into a tree. Before she passed out, she swore she heard a yelp of some kind.
_________________________________________________________________________
The warlock grinned savagely. “Now that is what I’m talking about.”
Pizzelle couldn’t help but stare on in horror. It certainly didn’t look good for them. Fiddlesticks was out cold and Sunset was in too much pain to do anything. Their ghoul friend was standing protectively over her.
‘Come on,’ she thought to herself. ‘I’ve got to do something.’
The warlock walked over to where Fiddlesticks had flown into. “Wench, if you can hear me, hiding won’t save you. I shall tear your….” The warlock screeched in pain as a rock came colliding with this horn. The trunks he was carrying fell to the ground as his magic ceased. The warlock looked around for the source of his pain. He didn’t have to look for long.
Pizzelle smirked, holding up another rock at the ready.
“You,” the warlock said with much loathing.
“Sugar, of course it’s me,” Pizzelle said. “Who else would I be? A changeling? I don’t think I have the skills to be one, though I hear…”
Pizzelle ducked her head just in time. The fiery shadow-bolt sailed just over her and struck somewhere in the forest with a load boom.
The warlock’s horn grew ever brighter. “No more words out of you.”
Pizzelle gulped, glancing at the rock in her hoof. ‘I think I took one bite too big this time.’
Before the warlock struck, however, a deep guttural roar shook through them. The duo turned their heads to see the owner of said voice emerge from the forest.
They stared at it incredulously. It stood several times their height, nearing the size of an Ursa Minor. Its hellish red fur seemed as though it was on fire. It’s curved, black horns looked ready to pierce any hide and its hooves ready to stomp out any remaining life.
It was a Great Red Bull.
They were highly aggressive animals, attacking with nary any provocation. Your very presence is viewed as a challenge to their might. Very few ponies have faced them and lived to tell the tale, thanks to how hard they are to kill.
“Hmmm,” the warlock looked over at her. “Have fun with that.” He then winked out of existence.
‘I know I should have expected that, but still….’
Anymore thoughts were drowned out by the bull’s roar. The daemonic beast charged.
Pizzelle thanked Celestia that she was a pegasus. With a quick flap of her wings, she narrowly missed colliding with the bull. Still, she found something odd about it.
‘Why wasn’t I burned?’
Now it wasn’t a bad thing, but it was something to note. Great Red Bulls are being of fire. The very air around them burns, causing pain to any creature by just being near them. This bull wasn’t giving off the slightest bit of heat.
That wasn’t all. The whole beast seemed off to her. She didn’t know why, but it felt like it just wasn’t there. ‘Maybe I’m just imagining things.’
Turning around, the bull gave out another roar and charged. Again, Pizzelle narrowly missed being struck. The trees above wouldn’t let her climb any higher than she was now, which gave the bull the advantage in this fight.
Something was off about the bull and Pizzelle could feel it. She swore she’d seen something like this before, but couldn’t place her hoof on it. Of course, when the bull turned around, she looked into its eyes. And that’s when she felt it.
A spark.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Sunset couldn’t believe it. A freakin’ Great Red Bull just came out of the woodworks. ‘What the hay is that thing doing here? They’re supposed to be extinct in this area.’
Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. While bulls such as this were a credible threat, she had more then enough magic to best it, but now….She couldn’t even perform the simplest spell with her head feeling like it was going to explode. So, she just had to trust that Pizzelle could take care of the beast…..
“We’re going to die,” Sunset lamented. “Aren’t we?”
“Not all of us,” the ghoul stated.
“Yeah, you can’t exactly kill something that’s already dead.”
The ghoul gave her an annoyed gaze, before turning his one eye back to Pizzelle.
Sunset was actually surprised by Pizzelle’s agility. The mare certainly wasn’t the most fit pegasus, with some pudge to her figure. Yet, she was easily, or at least without much effort, side-flying the beast. She was impressed.
But then Pizzelle did something she didn’t expect. Something that made her question the pegasus’s sanity.
She froze up.
Now, Sunset knew some ponies would freeze up in the face of danger. They got so scared they couldn’t move a muscle. Pizzelle didn’t freeze up when confronted with the bull. She didn’t freeze up with the warlock, yet now she chose to stop? ‘Does she have a death wish?’
The bull started to prep itself to take another pass at Pizzelle. It rutted the ground with one of its hooves and lowered its horns.
“PIZZELLE!” Sunset yelled. “GET OUT OF THERE!”
“No,” Pizzelle answered.
“What?” Sunset cried in surprise. “Are you insane? It’s going to kill you.”
“Just trust me on this,” Pizzelle answered with fortitude. “I know what I’m doing. I’ll be fine.”
Sunset wanted to teleport the mare out of harms’ way. Pizzelle wasn’t a bad mare and Sunset couldn’t help but admit that she liked her. Not a ton, but enough to be friendly acquaintances. That’s saying a lot, coming from her. Yet, something told her that Pizzelle was telling the honest truth. That things would work out.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Sunset asked, to which she received a nod. Sunset snorted. “Fine, but it’s your funeral.”
Pizzelle hovered not far above the ground, staring at the beast head on. Sunset bit on one of her hooves in anxiety. ‘This is going to be hard to watch.’
The bull charged. Sunset held her breath. Pizzelle showed no fear as the monstrosity came ever nearer….and then passed right through her.
Sunset’s eyes went wide in surprise. “What?”
Pizzelle set herself down and turned to the bull. The creature seemed to shimmer for a few seconds, looking like it was made of water, before it just vanished. Pizzelle turned to her and smiled. “Sugar, you okay?”
Sunset just dumbly nodded, too confused to offer a response. “But…bull….gone.”
“Yes, bull gone,” the ghoul rolled his eye. “Good for us, I say.”
“But it just disappeared,” Sunset gestured to where the bull used to be. “Red Bulls just don’t disappear.”
“You’re right,” Pizzelle nodded. “He didn’t disappear, because he was never there. Neat trick, if you ask me.”
“What?” Sunset stared at her, incredulously.
“It’s an illusion,” Pizzelle said. “I once worked with the Great and Powerful Presto when I was a young mare. Let me tell you, those were the days. I travelled all over Equestria, seeing sights and ponies I’d never seen before….”
“Wait,” Sunset cut her off. “You know the Great and Powerful Presto? The greatest show magician of all time?”
That wasn’t an exaggeration. Presto was indeed talented, rivaling some of the greatest sorcerers in Equestria’s history. Combine that with his ingenuity and he could have been a feared general. Yet, he instead chose the life of entertainment, making others smile and delighting the population. Sunset didn’t understand why he would, though. Stage performances were a waste of time in her opinion. Still, that didn’t mean she didn’t look up to the stallion.
Pizzelle nodded. “Oh yes, we grew up together in Manehattan. He always had a dream of performing and our other friend, Orange Sherbert, delightful mare that pony. She’s always thinking of others. More often than not, her home would be filled to the brim with homeless ponies seeking a meal and a roof over their heads. It can be a bit strenuous for her at times, but she’s always pulled through and she just has the most adorable little filly. Anyways, given her wealth Orange helped fund Presto’s initial romp around Equestria. Naturally, I couldn’t help but tag along.”
“And how does that explain about your knowledge of illusion magic?” Sunset asked, even though she guessed the answer already.
“He taught me them,” Pizzelle said. “We never keep any secrets from each other, so he came clean with how his acts work. Unlike some of the more barbarous magicians, Presto never actually uses live animals in his acts. It’s too much hassle and the poor things tend to get hurt. So instead he just makes illusions and whatnot to make the audience think the beast’s there.”
“But…how?” Sunset asked. “Even with proper training, only unicorns can see through illusions.” Which is true. Had she been in a better state, she’s have seen the fake almost instantaneously.
Pizzelle shrugged. “I have a knack of seeing the truth of things. Presto called it a gift. I don’t really think much of it, really. I’m just a humble baker.”
‘A humble baker that can see through magical illusions.’ Sunset was a little suspicious of this, but quickly casted it aside. It wasn’t worth her time and Pizzelle did save her hide.
“Now, let’s go find our friend,” Pizzelle trotted off with the ghoul following close behind. “You know, I never did get your name.”
“It’s been so long since I’ve use it,” the ghoul said. “I’ve forgotten. Never cared to remember. Just call me Ghoul. Fits really.”
Sunset snorted and followed.
It honestly didn’t take them long to find Fiddlesticks. The poor mare laid unconscious on the forest floor, a noticeable dent in the tree behind her. ‘Impressive,’ Sunset admitted. The trees of the Everfree were incredibly strong and thick. Fiddlesticks’ skull must have been incredibly thick to leave a dent like that. She laughed a little internally.
Pizzelle walked over and lowered her head to Fiddlesticks’ neck. Laying her lower jaw down, she closed her eyes for a few seconds. Letting out a breath she’d been holding, she raised herself and looked to the others. “She’s alright.”
Sunset let out a sigh of relief. “Thank my mother,” she quickly collected herself. She wasn’t going to get overly attached to some mare she just met…even though she did worry about her. “Not that I was worried or anything.” Sunset stuck her nose up into the air. “I’m sure that this country bumpkin has been through worse.”
Pizzelle shook her head and chuckled. “As you say, sugar….But let’s say hi to our little guest first.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Guest?”
Pizzelle didn’t utter a word as she walked past her. Sunset didn’t know if she was relieved or concerned about her sudden silence. What was stranger is that Pizzelle was trotting over to a rock about the size of her head….that was slowly inching away.
“Little one,” Pizzelle said softly. “Don’t be shy. You can drop the act now.”
Before Sunset could openly voice her concern for Pizzelle’s sanity, the rock disappeared. Instead, in its place was a golden fox. No ordinary fox, mind you. It was a little larger, around the size of a young filly or colt and its body seemed more proportionate to that of a child itself. Its big eyes seemed red and puffy as if it had been crying hard. Its fur was matted and dirty, with some scratches here and there.
He was so cute!
Sunset had to stop herself from gushing over him. It wouldn’t be right, especially seeing that this was no ordinary fox: it was a kitsune.
He was trembling, looking up at them with wide, fearful eyes. “P-p-please don’t hurt me.”
Pizzelle shushed him. “We’re not going to hurt you, sugar,” she tried to walk closer, but the young kitsune stumbled backwards until he bumped into a tree.
“St-stay back,” the kitsune stuttered. “I’m warning you.”
Pizzelle frowned. “There’s no reason to be scared. We aren’t going to hurt you.”
The kitsune shook his head. “That’s what the other ponies said.” He was sniffling, holding back another batch of tears.
Sunset let her eyes wander. Something was missing. “Hey kid, where are your parents?”
And just like that, the kitsune started bawling his hardest.
Pizzelle quickly scooped him up into a comforting hug. He struggled weakly against her embrace, before finally submitting. “Shhh, calm down. We’re here. We’ll find your parents.”
“Th-they’re dead,” the kitsune cried out. “The bad ponies killed them.”
Now Sunset couldn’t help but feel lower than dirt. Her ears fell flat against her skull. ‘Oh that’s just great, Sunset. Bring up his dead parents. Really helpful.’
Pizzelle started nuzzling the young kitsune, stroking his back. A soft and pleasant hum escaped her, soothing the child. The lullaby she softly hummed was a common tune to put kids asleep in Equestria. Soon, after a moment, his crying turned into mere sniffles.
“Why?” The young kitsune asked, managing to say that through his sobs.
Pizzelle was silent for a moment. “Because the world isn’t fair.”
“Ugh,” Fiddlesticks groaned, standing back on her hooves. “What happened?...Is that cryin’ ah hear?”
Sunset nodded. “We found a young kitsune?”
Fiddlesticks just stared at her. “A what now?”
Sunset tilted her head to the child in Pizzelle’s arms.
Fiddlesticks frowned. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Nightmare cultists killed his parents,” Sunset explained, not hiding the ire in her voice.
Fiddlesticks snorted angrily and pawed at the ground. “That just aint right.” She trotted over to the pair. “Hey, there lil’ one,” she sweetly cooed. The kitsune looked up at her. Without warning, Fiddlesticks pulled a funny face.
The kitsune looked at her for a couple of seconds, before he started to giggle.
Fiddlesticks smiled and hopped to her front legs. She pointed a forehoof to him. “That’s the spirit.”
“Say,” Pizzelle said softly. “What’s your name?”
“Aki Hikaru,” the kitsune sniffled.
“That’s a lovely name, Hikaru,” Pizzelle nuzzled him deeper into her chest.
“So…” Sunset started after a moment of silence. “What now?”
“We take him with us of course,” Pizzelle gently bit the scruff of his neck and placed him on his back.
“Ya darn tootin’ we will,” Fiddlesticks put her forehooves on her hips and nodded.
Ghoul piped in. “It’d be poor sport to leave him on his own.”
Sunset sighed. ‘Well, leaving him on his own would be pretty much death for the little guy. I’m not that heartless.’ “Fine, but keep an eye on him. We don’t need any more distractions. We’re on a tight schedule.”
Fiddlesticks scoffed. “Tight schedule, mah flank. Aint no harm in a lil’ fun on the way.” She pulled out her trusty fiddle from her hat, which Sunset was still curious as to how it worked, and started to play a happy tune.
As the group marched on, Fiddlesticks skipped around the child, playing and making faces. Hikaru chuckled as Pizzelle’s wings made for a nice, warm blanket.
Sunset just couldn’t help but wonder who else would make it into their band of misfits. ‘What’s next? A river serpent?’
Stats
Page generated in 0.022 seconds
Total duration
1,064 users online
244,611 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
The party gets bigger and bigger; not a bad thing considering they'll need all the help they need.
And at last... Sunset seems to have a heart... It was really annoying a few chapters before.
I see what you did there.
[It was a Great Red Bull.]
Aint now harm in a lil’ fun on the way.”
no
Sunset just couldn’t help but wonder who else would make it into their band of misfits. ‘What’s next? A river serpent?’
4839735 Why?
What does Aki Hikaru mean in English?
4840362 Because this:
thedrinksbusiness.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/redbull1-2.jpg
I honestly thought it was something from naruto
4840366 'Bright Radiance', although the names have a few other meanings, but that's the choice I went with.
4840518 Nah, a lot of things based on Japanese folklore have Kitsune. (Never watched that show myself.)
4840600 I knew someone was going to make that joke.
...Though that's not the thing I was playing homage too.
A Last Unicorn reference I see?
Having both these lines, separated by only a couple lines of dialogue seems, I dunno, redundant? You're just telling us something we already knew. Plus they're practically worded the same.
4841102 That would probably be my bad. As I put in the notes, this chapter went through several rewrites and I scrapped quite a bit of it. So, something like that doesn't surprise me.
4841102 FINALLY!
Someone got what I was referencing.
4841674
I'm surprised no one else did.
I love the book and movie
I love how you introduced more culture into this with the briefest of glances, this chapter focused on the entirety of the group and gave more character to each one in its own way. Sunset finding comraderie with them, Pizelle's illusion noticing eyes and Fiddlesticks who has been mainly all laughs and giggles a serious side...though the granny smith joke was great.
Lovely shout out to the Manehattenverse there, glad to see we're attracting enough attention to warrant that.
4842373 The Manehattanverse is what inspired me to write the 'Shimmerverse'. I just hope I can gain nearly as much attention and devotion as those art pieces.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
You know, somehow I suspect that should Sunset Shimmer defeat an ACTUAL red bull, she would become an alicorn on the spot... I think it's pretty obvious why.
4840518 I believe your thinking about the kyubi.
Nightmare Moon doesn't deserve this.
(In other words, this is going to be epic.)
4867085 Doesn't deserve what exactly?
4867089
Being on the receiving end of Sunset Shimmer restoring harmony to the universe. (I notice that this does have the "Dark" tag.) But I should get reading...
Suddenly Last Unicorn reference out of nowhere!
Kitsune... *eye-roll*
Tell me, do people introduce mythical creatures of Japan b/c they really want to write anime or something? There's no reason for those to exist in Equestria at all.
so who are the spanish, australian, russian, chinese, jamacian, mexican, indian,
5162910 and an obscure mayan/incan monster does?
Gentle-Ghouls, Red Bulls and Kitsunes. Oh my!
5162910 and what part of 'a world of magic' doesn't make sense to you
4845817
witch was based on a nine tailed Kitsune
I think you forgot how to grammar.
I believe you mean, "spared no expense." "Paid no expense" implies something else entirely.
Damn, that's one perverted bull!
If it was any other story, I'd raise my eyebrow at the kitsune. But I'm actually quite hopeful and curious where this is going.
4839735
Is that a last unicorn reference I spy?