Fox Hunt Pt. 1
"He did what?!” Twilight asked.
“Ya heard me! He killed a crow and gave it to me as a ‘gift!’” Applejack answered.
The four foxes were gathered in the throne room along with Twilight, Spike, Starlight, and Applejack. The farmer brought Winona with her as well. Rarity was also in the room to return Emi’s clean ribbon. Out of all of the eyes in the room, hers had to be the most shocked. All other eyes turned and glared at Kichiro. The three tailed foxes looked at the others with his head tilted.
“What?” he asked.
“What do you mean ‘what?’ Why did you do that?!” Twilight asked.
“It was my apology gift to Applejack and I stand by it,” Kichiro replied.
“In what way is that an apology gift?”
“Yeah! Not cool dude!” Spike added.
Winona burped and a black feather came floating out and landed on the round table.
“Well I’m glad someone appreciates my sincerity,” Kichiro said.
“Kichiro!” Twilight scolded.
Ryota sighed. “Do forgive my brother, Twilight. There is something I forgot to mention. Sometimes our kind would offer our food to other creatures as a peace token. We would often do this as a means of thanks, apology, or out of kindness.”
“Really?” Twilight wondered.
“Yeah. And one of our favorite choices on the menu are crows,” Kichiro added. “Or any bird really. But I like crow personally. They’re so crunchy”
“Did none of ya’ll notice us ponies are vegetarians? I thought ya would’ve known by now,” Applejack said.
“Vege-what-ians?” Emi asked.
“It means they don’t eat meat. They only eat fruits, vegetables, and such things. No animals,” Ryota explained.
“Oh! So they only eat rabbit food!”
Twilight blinked. “That’s….a blunt way of putting it, but technically correct. Yes. And we also don’t use dead animals as gifts, or anything else for that matter.”
“Good thing Fluttershy isn’t here,” Starlight whispered to Spike.
Emi slowly walked away from the others and towards one of the thrones. She slowly slipped out a small, wrapped box with a bow on it. She tried her best to sneak it out of the castle, tiptoeing with the wrapped box on her back.
“Emi, What’s that?” Rarity asked, pointing to the gift on Emi’s back.
“Uhm, what? Oh, this?! It’s, uh...nothing! Yeah! Just...wrapped this box...because I was bored. Yes. That’s it. Hehehe,” Emi chuckled nervously.
Emi bolted out of the castle before anyone else can ask anymore questions.
“I’ll be right back!” she yelled.
The ponies and foxes looked on in confusion as the tiny kit ran out of the castle with the mysterious gift. Ignoring that, Twilight and Applejack focused their attention back to Kichiro.
“Regardless, that thief still hasn’t paid me back for the apples he’s stolen!” Applejack pointed out.
“Kichiro, when you told me you had a plan, I wasn’t expecting you to go with this option,” Ryota said to his brother.
“You never asked for any specifics. Or any pink berries. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with going for something traditional,” Kichiro replied.
“We’re in a completely different country now, K. Their ‘traditions’ are much different from ours,” Ryota said.
“Well what am I supposed to do?”
“Here’s an idea: how bout you work on my farm?” Applejack suggested. “I’d prefer that than receiving a dead bird from you.”
“That could work out nicely,” Twilight added.
“Kichiro?” Ryota asked.
The thought of doing any physical labor against his will plagued the young fox’s mind. Just the mere thought of it was enough to send shivers down his spine. He might as well wear a collar around his neck labeled “fido” at this point.
"Ehh," Kichiro said.
“Why don’t you just do the work on her farm?” Rarity wondered.
“Because that would require me to actually do ‘work,’” Kichiro replied.
“Lazy tod,” Reiko muttered.
Kichiro tapped his claw to his chin. He really didn’t want to deal with this problem. All he was doing was surviving. That wasn’t a crime, wasn’t it? Kichiro felt baffled by these ponies and what they considered legal. An idea popped in his head. He decided to have a little fun with these new ponies.
“Very well then, I shall work to pay off the apples I devoured,” Kichiro finally said.
“Good,” Applejack replied.
“I’m glad you’re taking responsibility, Kichiro,” Twilight said. “Who knows? Maybe you and Applejack might become clo-”
“However! I’ll do it on one condition,” Kichiro said.
Everyone stared at him in confusion. What did he mean by “one condition?” They all thought he was just going to work for her on the spot. They didn’t know what he was planning.
“Condition?” Twilight asked. A smirk appeared on Kichiro’s face.
“I challenge you to a game!”
The room was silent. Everyone stared at him, not knowing how to respond to that. What did he mean by game?
“Beg yer pardon?” Applejack asked.
“You heard me.”
“Are you sure you want to do that, K?” Reiko asked.
“Huh? What’s going on?” Emi said, returning to the room.
“Kichiro just challenged the farm pony to a game.”
“Oooohhh!” Emi replied, surprised. “You’re so gonna lose.”
“Can somepony explain to me what’s goin’ on here?” Applejack demanded.
“I was afraid of this. When a fox wants to settle a dispute, they challenge their opponent to a ‘game.’ Our kind created this option as a way to settle a small conflict in a more peaceful manner. And once the game has been called, there’s no backing out,” Ryota explained.
“Why not?” Spike asked.
“Not only does it go against our honor as foxes, but refusing to play the game is a way of saying you want things to get bloody,” Ryota replied.
“Oh…”
“Ah don’t really have a say in this, do I?” Applejack asked.
“Not unless you want to hurt our feelings,” Kichiro mocked. “But really.”
“So, if I beat you at this ‘game,’ then you’ll work?” Applejack asked. Kichiro nodded in response.
Applejack thought about this. It was strange that Kichiro would challenge her like this. Then again, she could never resist a good challenge. Perhaps this was the best option, especially since she couldn’t back out according to their code.
“Alright. I accept!”
“Excellent,” Kichiro responded.
“Fascinating!” Twilight commented.
“So how do we play this game?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything,” Kichiro said. “But not here! Meet me at the scene of the crime at exactly 7PM. And don’t be late!”
The three tailed fox sped right out of the room before anyone could object or question him anymore. Smoke cluttered the air, causing everyone to cough. Once the smoke cleared up, Kichiro was gone. All that was left were some fire tracks leading outside. The ponies stared in confusion at the fiery trail.
“W-What just happened?” Rarity asked.
“I’m assuming Kichiro went to go prepare for his game,” Ryota said. “Or take a few naps, I don’t know. He’s always hard to figure out.”
“No kidding,” Spike remarked.
“He said the ‘scene of the crime.’ Was he referring to Sweet Apple Acres?” Starlight wondered.
“Unless you know any other apple farms in this village,” Reiko replied.
“Well at least I’ll be having a home field advantage,” Applejack said.
“Are you sure you’re Ok with this?” Ryota asked. “I should warn you that these games can be very unpredictable. And knowing K, I’m sure he’ll have a few tricks down his den.”
“Ya said it yourself, Ryota. There’s no backing out. If it means getting that rotten, no-good, bad-mannered-”
“Ahem,” Ryota coughed.
“Sorry, no offense. If it means getting that fox to pay for his crimes, then I’ll be more ready than sleeping cow in a stampede!”
The remaining foxes tilted their heads at Applejack’s choice of words.
“I’m just going to assume that means you’ll be ready to kick his ass,” Reiko commented.
“Language!” Rarity scolded.
“Besides, I’m always up for a little competition,” Applejack added. “I’ve never backed out of a good challenge before and I’m sure as hay aint gonna start now. Anyway, I gotta get back to the farm now. Still got a whole day worth of chores to do. C’mon Winona.”
The dog barked in response and followed Applejack out of the door, leaving the remaining foxes with the three other ponies and dragon in the room.
“So now what?” Emi asked.
“I don’t know about you, but I told Reiko I would show her around Ponyville today,” Starlight said. “Let’s get going.”
“Right behind you,” Reiko replied and began following Starlight out the door.
“I should probably head back to the boutique. Still have some orders to fill out. Goodbye,” Rarity said as she left the castle too.
“Ok bye! Thanks for fixing my ribbon!” Emi called out.
“Well, we’ve got a while before Kichiro’s game starts. What should we do until then?” Ryota asked. A wide smile creased upon Twilight’s face upon that question, and a look of concern on Spikes.
Several Hours Later.
Ryota, Emi, Twilight and her friends all arrived at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. It was evening and the sun was only a few hours away from setting. Rarity made sure to finish all of her orders before arriving to witness the event. Fluttershy and Pinkie soon heard word of this and joined the rest of the group to watch.
“So, um, what’s going on again?” Fluttershy asked.
“Kichiro challenged Applejack to some kind of ‘game,’” Rarity explained.
“Ooooo! I love games! What kind of game is it?” Pinkie asked. “It is a board game, a party game, a video game, a game where you don’t know you’re playing a game until the pony reveals that you were playing a game and end up losing?”
“Who knows, Pinkie. Ryota said that these games foxes play can be very unpredictable,” Rarity replied.
The CMC were also accompanying the ponies and foxes. They weren’t going to pass up a match-up between Ponyville’s champion and an otherworldly creature.
“I hope Applejack wins this one,” Apple Bloom said.
“Ha! Only in her wildest dreams,” Emi remarked.
“Hey, where’s Starlight and that other fox?” Sweetie asked.
“Reiko? Oh, she and Starmight will come by later,” Emi replied.
“You mean Starlight,” Scootaloo corrected.
“Her too.”
Out of all of the ponies, Twilight was the most excited. She had difficulty putting on a serious face. Her wide smile spoke for itself.
“This is so exciting! Witnessing fox magic up close and personal! There’s so many notes to take,” Twilight mused.
“Oh boy. I have a feeling Twi will turn this thing into a study session or something,” Spike groaned.
Ryota couldn’t help but chuckle as they all finally reached Sweet Apple Acres. They were all standing just outside of the orchard, waiting for someone to arrive. Applejack walked out of her home and entered the orchard with a face full of confidence.
“Alright, Ah finished all of mah chores. Ya ready to settle things, Kichiro?” Applejack asked.
The sound of snoring hit her ears. Applejack scanned the orchard to find the source of the snoring. She looked up one of her trees to find a snoozing Rainbow Dash.
“Rainbow,” she sighed. “Wake up!”
“Huh? Wha-?” the rainbow flyer stammered.
Her eyes blinked open and she let out a mighty yawn. She stretched her wings and hoofs and rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. She looked down to see Applejack glaring at her.
“Oh, hey AJ. What’s up?” Rainbow asked as she floated down.
“Look, Ah don’t have time to scold you for napping in mah trees, again. But right now, ya gotta get out of here,” Applejack advised.
“Why?”
“Yes, Applejack. Tell her why.”
Both mares turned to find the three tailed fox smiling at them. All three of his tails were waving in the wind, his smug grin was complimented by his scheming, slanted eyes. Most of the ponies were surprised to see Kichiro appear out of nowhere, whereas Ryota and Emi expected him to do so.
“Oh, hey, it’s that guy,” Rainbow said. “What’s this about?”
“Remember when Kichiro ate some of mah apples?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I told him that if he wanted to pay off the apples he’s eaten, he would have to work on the farm.”
“I never said I wanted to pay for them!” Kichiro remarked.
“Shut it!” Applejack retorted. “Anyway, he said he would only work on mah farm if I can beat him in some kind of game.”
“A game, huh?” Rainbow asked, becoming interested. “What kind of game?”
“Ah...I’m not sure. He didn’t say.”
Kichiro took notice of Rainbow’s sudden interest in the game. He could already sense the strong and fast potential within her. He scratched the back of his head in curiosity.
“I’d be happy to explain the rules,” Kichiro said. “It’s a very special game for me and Applejack. A dangerous game. A game full of twists and turns and fire from the pits of hell. A game that would be too difficult for any mere mortal!”
Rainbow soon became very interested in this strange game that Kichiro was describing. If Applejack was brave enough to participate in it, than she can be even braver. Any thoughts of beating AJ at a challenge always brought a smile to her face.
“Alright, explain away,” Rainbow said.
“What? Rainbow, what are ya doing?”
“I want in.”
“What? No, Rainbow this is between Kichiro and me,” Applejack retorted.
“It’s ‘Kichiro and I,’ AJ,” Twilight corrected.
“Not the point!”
“Yeah, besides I challenged Applejack for a reason. Not only is this her farm, but she is obviously the strongest, and prettiest, mare in all of Ponyville. A fox’s game is only worthy to those who deserve it,” Kichiro taunted.
“Wha? Are you saying I’m not worthy?” Rainbow asked. Now it was time to reel her in.
“Of course not. I’m just saying a fox game is not for children.”
Rainbow growled and her blood boiled. She flew right up to Kichiro’s face, whose smug grin never left for a second.
“Listen here, bub! I don’t know where you get off saying stuff like that. But I’ll have you know that I’m the fastest and most awesome pony in Ponyville. Quite possibly in Equestria! Not to mention a member of the Wonderbolts!” Rainbow boasted.
“The who now?” Kichiro asked.
“Uh, only the most elite and awesome flyers in all of Equestria!”
“They can’t be that cool if they chose a sloth like you to be a member.”
Many of the ponies watching gasped, including Applejack. Rainbow was about to reach her breaking point, her face was riddled with rage.
“Ok, That’s it! Nopony slanders the Wonderbolts name and gets away with it!”
“Fortunate for me, I’m not a pony.”
“Just you wait. Anything Applejack can do I can do better!”
Kichiro leaned in. “Prove it.”
Rainbow flew back to Applejack’s side, ready to take on the challenge.
“Don’t worry, AJ. I’ll help you take down this guy.”
“Gee, thanks,” Applejack replied, sarcastically.
Kichiro smiled. “So, now that we have both players ready, It’s time to reveal the game I have chosen. It’s one of my personal favorites: cat and mouse.”
Everything was silent. The two mares stared blankly at Kichiro, not knowing how to respond. The ponies and Spike had similar reactions. All that build up and that’s the game he’s going with? Something didn’t feel right. The air was a little too tense.
“Uh oh,” Emi said.
“What is it, Emi?” Rarity asked.
“That’s…that’s not good.”
“That’s it? That’s your deadly game?” Rainbow asked.
“It’s just a game of tag?” Applejack added.
“Sure, let’s go with that. Now let’s go over the rules, shall we? Rule 1,” Kichiro began as he raised one of his tails for emphasis. “To win the game, you must capture me and hold me down for exactly three seconds...Or more if you want to get physical.”
Both mares groaned, much to his amusement.
“Speaking of which, you have to hold me with your own hooves. No ropes or magic. It has to be direct contact or else it won’t count. Rule 2,” he continued, raising his second tail. “You must play within the wisp border.”
The two mares looked on in confusion. “Wisp border?”
Kichiro’s tails started rubbing against each other, igniting small sparks to fly off. His eyes began to glow, as bright as Reiko’s eyes once were. In a single flash, a small creature appeared before the fox. The mares couldn’t make out what it was. It was a tiny, blue fireball that floated in place and had small, bright dots for eyes. No mouth, no nose, not even a real body. It looked to be the size of an average apple. The tiny wisp looked up at Kichiro, to which the fox nodded in response.
The little wisp disappeared. Before the mares could question what just happened, thousands of them appeared out of nowhere. They all formed a line surrounding the barn, the orchard, and the open field that was near the farm. They kept on appearing until they created one large circle and enclosed the majority of the acres. Some of the wisps even appeared before the ponies and other foxes that were watching. Twilight and Fluttershy couldn’t help but gasp and smile at the tiny fire creatures.
“Wisp border!” Kichiro exclaimed. “This is to make sure there’s no outside interference with our game. If you or your friends get too close to the border, well…”
Kichiro picked up a nearby stick and tossed it towards the wisps near the observers. The stick made impact with an invisible force that was right above where the wisps were floating. The stick incinerated upon contact with the invisible wall. The ash fell down onto the wisps below, burning into nothingness. Suddenly, the wisps didn’t look as cute as the ponies once thought.
“Are you insane?!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“No, I just don’t want there to be any cheating in our little game. And one thing I hate more than strawberry flavored milkshakes, are cheaters. I really REALLY hate cheaters,” he said with a smile.
The way he said it and they way he smiled made the mares even more uneasy.
“Rule 3,” he said, raising his third and final tail. “You must catch me within the time limit. And seeing how the sun is about to set, I’d say five hours should be plenty of time.”
“Pfff! Five? We could catch you in half the time,” Rainbow boasted.
“Five isn’t an even number, Rainbow,” Applejack remarked. “But really though, I doubt we’ll need five hours.”
“Ok, how bout….two hours?” Kichiro asked.
“Two? Why not go with four next?” Applejack wondered.
“Look, you want to start a time auction or do you want to see some action?” Kichiro retorted.
“Fair enough,” AJ shrugged.
“Alright! The time limit is two hours! If you can’t catch me by then, you lose and I get to go home debt free!”
The fox snapped his paws and more wisps appeared high above the sky. They all formed one, big countdown clock, starting from 2:00:00 for all to see. The ponies were very impressed at what the wisps could do, Twilight and Spike were taking lots of notes on everything, and the game hadn’t even started yet.
“We got this, AJ,” Rainbow said.
“Yeah.”
“Oh, and one little bit of advice: do NOT hold back on me,” Kichiro requested.
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Applejack said.
“Good. And the game starts...now!”
Kichiro sped off in a flash, leaving another fire trail behind. The mare could hear his laughing as he ran away. The mares looked up at the timer above. The wisp clock had already started counting down, each line of wisps burning away and forming a new number. They started burning away from 2:00:00 to 1:59:59, 1:59:58, 1:59:57 and so on. The two mares wasted no time and sprinted off to find their target. Applejack and Rainbow sprinted between trees to find the fox.
“Where did he go?” Rainbow asked.
“No idea. Just follow that fire trail!” Applejack ordered.
The two mares continued to follow the fire trail the three tailed fox left behind, hoping to catch up to him. The ponies and foxes watching could see Kichiro sprinting and dodging between trees within the orchard. Rainbow was gaining speed at following the trail. Suddenly, Rainbow disappeared.
Kichiro looked behind him and Rainbow was no longer on his tail. He chuckled to himself as he continued to run. He looked forward and saw nothing but apple trees. Not a pony in sight. His peaceful run was interrupted when Rainbow landed flew out of a tree and landed mere meters in front of him. His eyes shrank.
“Goin’ somewhere?” Rainbow asked.
She stretched out her hooves and became ready to catch him. Kichiro didn’t have time to stop, so he improvised. He took a very sharp turn before Rainbow could grasp him. The rainbow pegasus caught nothing but air as Kichiro veered left and sprinted right by, leaving behind another fire trail. Rainbow grumbled and flew after him. The ponies watching were very impressed by Kichiro’s quick thinking.
“Whoa! His reaction time was incredible! He was able to dodge Rainbow and switch courses all within a matter of seconds!” Twilight exclaimed.
“We know, we just saw it,” Spike remarked.
Rainbow flew ahead of Kichiro to try to catch him again, but he veered into another direction as soon as she was in front of him. Rainbow kept on flying ahead and Kichiro bolted and dodged every time, leaving behind several zig-zagged fire trails. Rainbow grumbled every time she missed him and caught nothing but air.
“This Kichiro guy is pretty fast,” Apple Bloom said.
“Yeah, but he’s got nothing on Rainbow!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“True. But it’ll take more than speed to catch someone like Kichiro,” Ryota said.
“Why is that?” Fluttershy asked.
“Uh, have you not met the guy?” Emi remarked. “You’ll see.”
Applejack stopped to catch her breath and scan her surroundings. All she could see were rows and rows of her own apple trees. She felt something run past her, but wasn’t sure if it was the fox or Rainbow. She continued followed the trail while keeping an extra close eye out, Although the limited light made it difficult for her. She looked up at the evening sun.
“The sun’s settin’ fast. I better find him quick,” she said to herself.
Kichiro was hiding behind one of the many apple trees. He looked behind him and watched as his fire trail slowly died out. He soon spotted Rainbow soaring before the whole trail could be put out. Kichiro ducked behind the tree just as Rainbow flew by. He peaked his head out, his heartbeat slowing down a little. She had passed him. The three tailed fox looked up at the evening sun and the limited light that illuminated the area. A small smile creased upon his face.
Time to have some fun.
Applejack was still running through the orchard in search of Kichiro. Unfortunately, his fire trail had already burned out. Applejack looked far and wide to see where he could’ve gone. Her search didn’t take long, as she heard a familiar chuckle behind her. She swerved around and found the grinning fox standing right behind her.
“Aha! Gotcha!” Applejack yelled as she lunged at him.
She tackled him to the ground. When she opened her eyes to see his defeated face, she was greeted by a pile of orange dust. A small breeze came and blew the dust into Applejack’s eyes, causing her to cough. She rubbed her eyes and looked on in confusion.
“What the?”
He was gone. Kichiro was there one moment and now he wasn’t. Applejack didn’t know how to respond.
“I’m over here!”
Applejack turned around and found Kichiro smiling at her again. She lunged forward and tackled him again. Like last time, the fox became dust upon contact. The farm mare looked down completely baffled.
“Just kidding! I’m over here!”
Kichiro was standing against a nearby tree and Applejack tackled him, vanishing before she could catch him once more.
“No I’m over here!”
It started to turn into a pattern. Applejack would hear his voice, find him, lunge at him, and he became dust before she could capture him. She started hearing his voice and seeing his body all over the orchard.
“No I’m over here!”
“Just kidding, right here!”
“No, here!”
Applejack was surrounded by voices. Her eyes were swirling around like a tornado. Her head was starting to get dizzy, she was starting to see three tailed foxes all around her. The increasing darkness of dusk wasn't helping her situation either, it was starting to cloud her vision. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could still see that smug grin of his. She shook her head as she grumbled to herself.
“Applejack, what’s wrong?”
The farm mare looked up and noticed Rainbow flying towards her. She was floating right in front of her with looks of concern.
“I’m fine. I think the dusk is messin with mah eyes,” Applejack replied.
“Well, did you track down that fox?”
“No, did you?”
“Clearly not!”
“Hey ladies!”
Both mares turned their heads to find Kichiro waving his paw and wearing his cocky smile. He bolted out of there before either mare could come up with a response. Applejack and Rainbow took off, determined to catch him. His fire trail was more visible in the dusk and could be followed easier. They saw that the trail turned right, so they wasted no time in following it.
However, when they veered right to follow the trail, they were met with an unusual sight. There was a gap between the rows of apples trees where Applejack would leave most of her wagons for apple bucking during the day. There was no wagon in the open area between trees. Instead, there stood a large group of three tailed foxes. Applejack and Rainbow were motionless, their eyes were unable to fool them with what they were looking at. There had to be at least ten Kichiro’s, all smiling and tails waving. The ponies watching outside the border had the same reaction. Their jaws dropped and unable to look away.
“Uh...you guys see this too right?” Spike asked.
“Yup!” All the ponies responded.
“Oh my gosh! There’s more of them?” Fluttershy wondered.
“I know! Look at all of them! Where did they all come from? Now I gotta plan another welcome party for all of these foxes too!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“They’re all the same fox, Pinkie,” Emi said. “Although I wouldn’t mind another cake tower.”
“Fascinating!” Twilight said. “An illusionary spell that can make him appear in multiple places at once! That’s usually a difficult spell to master for unicorns.”
“But it’s mere child’s play for us,” Ryota said.
“How is he able to do that?” Spike asked.
“Well-”
“Look! You want to sit here and ask questions or do you want to see all out fox hunt?!” Emi interjected.
“I..I don’t know how to answer,” Spike said.
“Just watch,” Emi ordered.
Applejack and Rainbow were stunned by the many Kichiro’s. At least Applejack knew she wasn’t the only one going insane. The foxes all began to chuckle as the mares were trying to process what they were looking at.
“Ok, either the dusk is starting to mess with me too, or there are now ten foxes in front of us,” Rainbow said.
“Eleven, now,” Kichiro said, coming out from behind a tree.
“Twelve!” Another Kichiro added, appearing from another tree.
“What’s the matter? Are your eyes playing tricks on you?” One of the Kichiro’s teased.
“Whatever! We’ll just have to catch all of them until we get the real one!” Rainbow declared as she flew forward.
All the foxes dodged out of the way before Rainbow could catch one. She searched all around to see which one was the real Kichiro, but they all looked the same. All of the foxes kept running and jumping around her, taunting and laughing at her.
“Don’t blink!”
“Am I real?”
“Or am I real?”
“What’s your favorite number?”
“Why’s there no pumpkin flavored pudding?”
“What’s wrong with box turtles?”
“SHUT UP!”
Rainbow bolted right for one of the Kichiro’s. She tackled right through him, causing him to explode in a ball of dust. She ended up face first into one of Applejack’s trees, cracking the bark of the trunk.
“Rainbow, be careful! I grow apples on those trees!” Applejack yelled.
“I’m fine, thanks for asking!” Rainbow shot back, rubbing her muzzle.
An apple fell on her head with a thud. Or more correctly, thrown at her head.
“Ow!”
Rainbow looked up and noticed three Kichiro’s laughing. They began plucking the apples from the branches and throwing them at Rainbow. She covered her face and flew away from the tree until she was at a far away distance. The apples kept on coming.
“Hey! We eat those apples!” Applejack yelled.
“Well here! You can have them back!”
A Kichiro jumped from one of the trees and landed on the ground. He had an apple wrapped in each of his three tails. He swung around and flung all three of them towards the ponies. Rainbow and Applejack managed to dodge the first two. Applejack managed to catch the third one in her mouth. Her teeth did sting a little, but it was worth the catch.
She tossed the apple into the air, swung around, and bucked the apple before it could hit the ground. The apple flew and smacked Kichiro in the forehead, turning him into dust.
The clones in the tree winced at their fellow fox’s fate. Rainbow flapped her wings and smacked each of the foxes into dust clouds while they were distracted. Rainbow began to fly all around the area, rounding up all of the fake foxes and revert them into nothing. The ponies couldn’t help but cheer with every fake fox the two mares defeated.
“Amazing. He’s able to keep up with them and keep his remaining copies intact,” Twilight said.
“I still don’t see how he’s able to do that,” Rarity said.
“It looks like foxes can create illusions much easier than ponies can,” Twilight pointed out.
“Exactly,” Ryota said. “Creating illusions is a very common spell for fox spirits to use. We use our magic for various reasons. As you can see here, Kichiro is using his duplicates to outnumber and overpower Applejack and Rainbow Dash. And it’s clearly not working in Kichiro’s favor.”
“I see,” Twilight replied.
“And believe me when I say that this is only a fraction to what Kichiro can really do with his tricks.”
“Only a fraction?” Twilight wondered.
Applejack jumped, bucked, and swatted about five clones now, reverting them to dust. Even though both mares were doing their best, they still hadn’t found the real Kichiro. The foxes then began to circle around the mares. The two didn’t know what the point of this was, but they kept their guard up nevertheless.
“What’s he doing now?” Spike wondered.
“It looks like some kind of hunting technique,” Twilight deduced.
“That’s correct. This is another instance where we would use our illusions. We would often create copies of ourselves to circle around our prey back home and try to trap them,” Ryota explained.
“Oh my, he’s not going hurt AJ and Rainbow, is he?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight looked up at the wisp timer. It went from 1:03:28 to 1:03:27 to 1:03:26 and so on. That’s when she figured out what Kichiro was trying to do.
“I don’t think so, Fluttershy,” Twilight said.
The large group of foxes continued to circle around the two mares. Applejack and Rainbow Dash kept their eyes peeled out for the real Kichiro. One of the foxes lunged out of the circle and aimed for the two mares. Rainbow quickly noticed this and dodged.
“Whoa!” she yelled.
Another fox pounced from the moving circle. This time Rainbow spun around and bucked the fox, reverting him back to dust. Both mares looked up at the wisp timer as it read 1:03:15. Things were starting to look bad. As the foxes were running around them, Applejack noticed something out of the corner of her eye. One of the fox’s eyes seemed a bit different. One pair within the group shined a bit brighter than the rest. Applejack didn’t know what to make of it. That’s when she realized that it was getting darker by the minute. The more dark it got, the brighter the eyes glowed. An idea popped into her head.
“Rainbow, I got an idea!” Applejack yelled.
“Hit me!” Rainbow said.
“First, let’s break up this here circle.”
“Way ahead of you!”
Rainbow dove into the circle and began flying in the opposite direction. She held her right hoof forward as she flew, knocking out each clone in a big, orange cloud of fox dust. Finally, she managed to hit the real Kichiro. He was launched back by the punch. He manage to stop himself by dragging his claws into the ground. Even though he was dazed, that didn’t stop him from putting on his best smile. She shook his head and slowly approached the mares.
“Now back up, Rainbow,” Applejack ordered.
“What? But we have him right in front of us,” Rainbow argued.
“Just trust me.”
Rainbow shrugged as she did what Applejack said. They both backed up until the touched a nearby tree. Kichiro began to walk a little faster towards the duo. As he did, his eyes shimmered and six more copies appeared out of him, three on each side of him.
“This trick again?” Rarity wondered.
“They’re so screwed,” Emi giggled.
That’s when Applejack saw it. The fox on the far left side was the only one whose eyes were glowing in the dark. It was Applejack’s turn to sport a confident smile.
“Rainbow, go for the one on the far left,” Applejack whispered.
Rainbow squinted at the foxes, to see what she was getting at. She noticed it too. The only Kichiro with glowing eyes.
“Got it,” she said with a smirk.
Rainbow spread her wings and soared for the far left fox. The real Kichiro realized he had been found out and his smile vanished. He wasn’t going to go down that easy though. Right before Rainbow could grab him, Kichiro lept forward and jumped on Rainbows head. The impact made Rainbow crash into the ground but it launched Kichiro high in the sky.
“Ha! Nice try!” Kichiro laughed.
His laughter stopped when he saw an apple flying right for him. Before he could react, the apple smacked him dead center in the face, propelling him to the ground. He tumbled and crashed into a tree.
“Bullseye!” Applejack exclaimed.
The ponies outside the border cheered. Emi looked at the fallen Kichiro with a worried look. Her eyes focused on him and her own smile was gone.
“You were saying?” Rarity teased.
The only one who didn’t seemed phased by this was Ryota. He barely had any reaction. Twilight and Spike noticed this and grew worried. Did he know something they didn’t?
Applejack went over and helped Rainbow up.
“Uh, you could’ve told me you were going to do that before he slammed my face into the ground,” Rainbow complained.
“Sorry about that,” Applejack replied. “But the game is not over yet. We still have to hold him fer about three seconds.”
“Ha! No problem!”
Applejack and Rainbow went over to claim their victory. They saw an unmoving Kichiro slumped back against a tree with his head down. His motionless body didn’t sit well with Rainbow.
“Uh, is he Ok? He’s not moving,” Rainbow asked.
“It’s just a trick. He just wants us to think he’s unconscious,” Applejack replied.
“Right.”
Rainbow went over to hold down Kichiro for three seconds. Before she could lay a hoof on him, Kichiro’s body shot up and he let out a bloody scream. This made the two mares scream in turn and jump back. Kichiro grabbed his face and started screaming and groaning in absolute agony. He dragged his head on the ground and held his face.
“It hurts!” He grunted. “It hurts!”
Everyone watching could see his freakout. They weren’t sure if this was still part of the game or not. Twilight stopped taking notes and just looked on with apprehension.
“Oh my! What’s wrong with him?” Fluttershy asked.
No one was able to provide an answer. Rainbow and Applejack leaned in closer to see what was wrong. Kichiro pulled something from his face and threw it on the ground. Applejack saw that it was the now crushed apple that she bucked at him moments ago.
“Are you Ok, dude?” Rainbow asked.
“Gah! She got me in the eye,” he groaned. “Is it swollen?”
Kichiro removed his paw from his eye. The two mares gasped as they gazed upon a black, throbbing orb where his right eye used to be. It was unrecognizable as an eye at this point. Guilt stung the mares chests as they looked in shock at Kichiro’s black eye.
The other ponies saw his mess of an eye and all had the same reactions. The fact that an animal was injured and not a pony was enough to make Fluttershy faint. Rarity and Twilight did their best to shield the eyes of the CMC and Spike. Even Emi was shocked by this, covering her mouth and unable to look away. Twilight turned to Ryota to see how he was handling this, only to find that his expression hasn’t changed. It was the same, focused look he had from when the game started.
“How can you just stand there and not be horrified by this? Your own brother’s been seriously injured! Don’t you care?” Twilight asked.
“Of course I care, Twilight. I just don’t believe this is that bad,” Ryota replied.
Twilight was speechless. “Not that bad?! His eye is swollen!”
“Swollen? From an apple? Does Applejack farm crab apples? Are her apples secretly made of iron? Or is it that Kichiro’s eyes are that fragile? That the tiniest of injuries can cause them to close shut?”
Twilight switched from scared and worried to confused and concerned. She looked back at Kichiro who was still holding his throbbing eye. Applejack and Rainbow just stared at the fox as he groaned in pain.
“Oh mah stars! I am so sorry, Kichiro! I didn’t mean to hurt you that bad,” Applejack apologized. “How did this even happen?”
“Yes. How DID this happen?” Twilight wondered to herself.
“Gah! I can feel it throbbing,” Kichiro said.
As if on cue, his black eye began to throb. It followed the same rhythm as a heartbeat. The mere sight of it almost made Rainbow gag. As it continued to throb, the eye began to grow bigger. Not in a swelling way, but more like it was inflating like a balloon. Rainbow tried to look away as the eye got bigger and bigger. His swollen eye soon became bigger than his whole face. Before Rainbow or Applejack could question it, Kichiro….blew up.
Applejack and Rainbow screamed and covered their faces. They were expecting to be covered with blood or pus. Instead, it was confetti. They opened their eyes and saw confetti floating in the air and landing on the ground. Some of it even landed on the crushed apple.
“Whaaat?” Applejack asked.
The sound of crazy laughter hit their ears. Both mares turned to their right to find Kichiro, with both of his eyes intact, hanging upside by his tails in a nearby tree. He grasped his head as he continued to laugh like a madman...er, fox.
“I got you good!” he laughed. “Look at your faces!”
Feelings of regret were replaced with anger in the two mares. They both marched right up to the tree Kichiro was hanging from.
“You mean to tell us, that was all just a trick?!” Applejack yelled.
“Well no scat! Did you really think a tiny apple could do that much damage to me?” he laughed. “That’s rich!”
“We thought you were actually hurt!” Rainbow scolded.
“Ya gave us heart attacks!” Applejack added.
“A heart attack? Why would your heart attack you? Doesn’t it need your body to live?”
“We’re serious! Why did you do that?” Applejack chided.
“I told you: These games are unpredictable and not meant for children.”
Applejack and Rainbow were speechless. The ponies outside had mixed emotions. On one hand they were relieved that Kichiro was OK, but livid that he would pull such a sick joke on all of them. Twilight knew why Ryota wasn’t worried now, but she began to wonder who Applejack and Rainbow were dealing with exactly.
“If I see an opening for a weak spot, I’m going to take it. Always take advantage of everything,” Kichiro said. “You two should try doing that. Especially seeing how the game is almost over.”
With that, the twisted fox jumped out of the tree and dashed away, leaving behind another fire trail. Applejack and Rainbow looked up at the wisp timer. The wisps read 1:00:47 in burning blue flames, and was counting down by the second.
“So, all of this just for some apples, huh?” Rainbow asked.
“Now it’s personal!”
Applejack ran off to chase down the fox. Rainbow nodded in agreement and flew off with her. The two mares were now determined to catch that twisted fox and make him pay for pulling such a dark trick on them. The two mares have never lost a competition before, and they weren’t going to start now.
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Short description, first sentence: kitsunes, not Kitsune's. No capital letter or apostrophe needed. That's cringeworthy enough to drive readers away.
8317562
No Need to be a Grammar Nazi. There is no caveman speak anywhere in this fic. The Author is doing a fair job with the text, and a phenomenal job with the story as a whole. I absolutely love the foxes, especially the fox hunt chapter.
To the Author, keep up the great work. To those who would run pissing themselves from a great Fic simply because a word isn't capitalized, you got issues far larger than being A brony shut in.
Seriously? Personally I have a massive issue with authors who use the word "Chuckled" in their stories. On this website the word Chuckled is far over used, so I tend to lambast Authors who over use it. But hammering an Author over the capitalization of a single word is just being petty.
The Monk
You know, I think some of you need to be reminded of one simple fact. These aren't paid Authors. The majority of Authors on this site write as a hobby. They don't HAVE to write these stories, but they do so as a gift to the fan base and the site as a whole. I for one am thankful that Colt wrote this fic and that he/she has continued to update it for me. Colt has a full time Job as well as REAL WORLD responsibilities that they have to take care of, and yet, he/she continues to use his/her spare time to add to this fantastic fictional world. We need to think before making comments to these Authors who, to be honest, get absolutely nothing for wasting their time writing stories for us to read.
The Monk
8324597
I'm glad that someone understands how some authors work and that we have real lives in the real world with real problems. I'm also glad you're liking the story so far. Any other feedback you'd like to give or any problems you'd like to address? If not, that's fine and It's good to know there are readers out there who're actually supporting the story.
Aww, thanks user whom I've just met.
8324545
The apostrophe that was turning the word into a possessive was the larger source of cringe, which the author removed.
8325178
I thought we were passed this. Please move on. Besides, everybody has their own definition of what they find "cringe worthy."
K, I just finished going through the chapters up to the most recent, and I have to say I AM HOOKED! Start off, I love how the main OCs are Kitsune foxes, and how much you developed them as well. Awesome mythical animals, and makes this more special as a whole. Much of the pony characters are pretty well done here too, and nice adding Trixie, Discord, and Starlight as a stronger focus here - more variation and potential for what could happen
. And considering what the kitsune foxes could do, that's anyone's guess 
.
Keep up the good work. I'd go into more detail, but I think I'll do a video review of it to better say (if that's okay with you, of course
)
8339356
Hey, sorry with the late reply, I've been gone for a while. I'm still away on a trip but I found time to reply. Anyway, I'm glad you're liking the story so far and the foxes themselves. As for the video review, I do like the idea of it, but seeing how this story just started there might not be a whole lot to work with. Maybe once I get a few more chapters written out where the story is more fleshed out then you could do a review? Idk, it's just my personal preference. All in all, I'm glad you like the story so far and I can't wait to show you what I have in store for you all.
8356046
In that case I'll wait on the video review then, if you prefer it.