The Four Foxes

by colt alchemist

Fox Hunt Pt. 2

Kichiro was hopping from branch to branch throughout the orchard, doing his best to avoid the two mares who were in hot pursuit of him. He laughed as he jumped from each branch like it was nothing. Wind and leaves were constantly hitting his face, but he didn’t let that stop him. The two mares were having anything but fun. Their faces were full of determination to capture the three-tailed fox. Applejack tried to spot Kichiro from the ground while Rainbow Dash flew to the sky to get a bird's eye view, but they kept losing him through the trees. Rainbow grunted, knowing she had still not found him yet. Applejack in particular was still a little cross with his exploding eye trick.

The ponies, dragon and other foxes were also having difficulty keeping their eyes on Kichiro. The only sign of his presence was the small fire trails he left behind and the rustling of leaves in the trees. They all looked up in the sky and saw that the timer now read 00:56:47. Time was running out and the two mares were nowhere close to capturing him.

“I can’t believe they’re still going at it,” Rarity said.

“Kichiro is persistent, I’ll give him that. I just hope he won’t pull another extreme trick,” Twilight said.

“Oh don’t worry, I’m sure he will,” Emi chirped, much to Twilight’s dismay.

“How is that supposed to make me less worried?” Twilight asked.

“It’s not,” Emi said with a smile. Twilight stared blankly at the tiny fox.

“Emi, you’re weird,” Sweetie Belle stated.

“I would hardly call Kichiro’s last trick extreme,” Ryota said.

“He made it look like his eyeball exploded! How is that not extreme?” Twilight asked.

“He’s done it before,” Ryota replied. Twilight had no response.

Back in the orchard, Applejack was still chasing down the fox and trying her best to capture him. Time was running out and she knew it. She couldn’t just let a thieving fox go without paying for his apple-based crimes. The mere memory of that fox nonchalantly eating apples in her tree was enough to make the farm mare feel sick. Applejack eventually reached the wisp border and made a quick U-turn.

As she was running, she couldn’t help but feel like something was near. She hoped that it was Kichiro so that she could finally catch him. She felt something run past her. All she saw was a blur and a breeze to follow. She felt the same thing run behind her. She swerved her head to find nothing but trees.

“Kichiro! If you’re trying to trick me by runnin’ around in circles, it ain’t workin’!” AJ yelled.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she felt the ground shake and heard a small booming sound. The shaking nearly made her trip but she quickly regained her balance. The small earthquake quickly ended. The others watching also felt the small tremor. Some of the smaller creatures, like Emi, the CMC and Spike all fell to the ground, while everyone else kept their balance. Luckily, nobody got hurt.

“W-What was that?” Fluttershy stammered.

“Felt like a small tremor. Is everyone Ok?” Twilight asked.

Everyone nodded yes.

“That was weird, where did that come from?” Scootaloo wondered.

“I have a hunch,” Ryota muttered, looking off in a different direction.

Twilight turned to see what Ryota was looking at. All she could see was the town behind her. She gave Ryota a puzzled look before focusing back on the game. As Applejack kept on searching, she felt the breeze again, nearly blowing her hat off her head. She scanned all around to find the fox but could never get a clear vision. It felt like he was using that same hunting technique from before, only further away.

“Hey, Applejack!”

Applejack turned around and found Rainbow Dash floating behind her. “I think know where he went!”

“Well lead the way then!”

Rainbow took off with Applejack following suit. Rainbow led Applejack through the orchard and towards her house. They soon found themselves in front of Applejack’s barn with both doors wide open.

“I saw him run into the barn,” Rainbow whispered.

“No doubt trying to steal mah apples again!” Applejack yelled and rushed on in.

She entered the barn to find Kichiro and to end the game.

“Alright, Kichiro! It’s over! I have ya now!”

Applejack scanned the interior of the barn and found nothing but space. Her heart began to race as she suspected something wasn’t right. Before she come to a conclusion, the barn doors slammed shut behind her. She swerved around as the sound of nails pounding into the wooden door hit her ears. She rammed right into the closed doors hoping to bust them open, but they had already been nailed shut. Applejack slammed and bucked, but the door remained closed. On the outside, Rainbow had just finished nailing the last board onto the door. She chuckled as she threw her hammer away.

“Actually, it is I who has you!” Rainbow boasted.

“What the?”

Rainbow turned around to find another Rainbow Dash floating behind her with her jaw dropped.

“Oh, perfect timing!” the imposter chirped. “And here I thought I was going to have to look for you to show you what I’ve done.”

“K-Kichiro?” Rainbow wondered.

The imposter backflipped into the air. Once back on the ground, the imposter revealed itself to be the mischievous three-tailed fox. Kichiro smirked at the stunned Rainbow Dash.

“You know you’re doing something wrong when you fall for the world’s easiest setup,” Kichiro remarked. “I’m surprised she didn’t see it sooner.”

Rainbow didn’t respond at first, she was still too surprised by the fact that Kichiro could shapeshift. The others watching were equally shocked and dismayed. Ryota and Emi of course saw this coming, but the expressions on everyone else’s faces spoke for themselves.

“He can shapeshift?” Rarity asked, then turning to the two foxes. “YOU can shapeshift?”

“Illusions, Rarity. Just another trick down his den,” Ryota answered.

“Amazing. The only other creatures that can do that are changelings,” Twilight said.

“What’s a changeling?” Emi wondered.

“Horrid bug-like creatures that can take the form of anypony,” Rarity explained.

“They’re not so bad now thanks to Starlight,” Spike pointed out.

“Why is that?” Emi asked.

“It’s a long story,” Twilight said. “I still can’t believe that you can also do that.”

“Like I said before, it’s all just illusions, Twilight. If we can imagine it, we can create it,” Ryota said.

“Why did you lock her in there?” Rainbow asked, coming out of her shocked trance.

“I thought I’d even the odds a little. Give Apple Bottom a break. She looked a little worn out,” Kichiro answered.

The locked doors jerked and AJ’s grunted could be heard from the inside.

“Yeah, she looks really tired,” Rainbow replied, sarcastically. “Why don’t you tell me why you really did it?”

“Anything goes in this game. My goal is to avoid capture. And if it means locking one of you up to increase my chances of winning, then so be it.”

“What? That’s cheating!”

“Ha! Yer one to talk!” Applejack yelled from the inside. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“Really? How? It’s not violating any of the three rules, is it?”

Rainbow tapped her chin and thought back to the rules. There were only three like he said and really easy to remember. Her eyes widened once she realized that he was right, he wasn’t breaking any rules.

“I guess you’re righ-”

The fox that once stood in front of her was now gone. She grumbled as she began to look around for the three-tailed fox. She heard leaves rustling and turned around to find a trail of fallen leaves in the orchard. Rainbow looked back up at the clock, it now read 00:53:45.

“Alright, AJ, sit tight! I’ll catch him before the sun sets!” Rainbow declared.

“Nah! I’ll be out of here long before you catch him!” AJ assured, giving the door another hard buck.

“Yeah, sure you will.”

Rainbow took off before her trapped friends retort. She soared into the orchard and followed the leaves. She looked up and quickly spotted Kichiro hopping from branch to branch. She increased her speed and soon passed him. Once she was ahead of him, she turned around and flew straight for him. Kichiro could see Rainbow soaring through the branches and aiming right for him. Thinking quickly, he raised both paws in front of him and covered his chest and face.

Rainbow made impact with the fox and knocked him right out of the tree. He landed on all fours and quickly jumped out of the way before Rainbow could stomp on him. All the while his sly smirk never left his face. The smirk alone was enough to drive Rainbow crazy.

“You can’t get away from me that easily!” Rainbow barked.

“Then come get me,” Kichiro ordered.

“Wha…?!”

Rainbow growled and lunged at him. He jumped up and grabbed the nearest branch with his claws. Rainbow’s face connected with the tree trunk, causing the whole thing to shake. Rainbow was soon smothered by a large amount of apples with Kichiro landing on top. The fox hopped off as Rainbow poked her head out of the apple pile.

“You’re going to have to try harder than that, Rainbow Rabbit,” Kichiro mocked.

Rainbow’s blood boiled. “What did you call me?!”

“C’mon. I can’t be the only one who sees the resemblance. Quick speed, wide-eyed, not to mention those cute ears of yours.”

Rainbow covered her ears with her hooves and grumbled. She flew straight out of the pile of apples and aimed right for Kichiro. The fox veered out of the way and made a run for it, leaving behind another fire trail. Rainbow growled and flew after him. This was a first something referred to her as a small, long-eared, mammal. She did not like it one bit. She kept chasing him around in zig zags and lightning bolts. Kichiro did his best to avoid her at all costs, but she always found a way to be hot on his tails. Kichiro eventually lost Rainbow in the trees and ran straight for the chicken coop. He hid behind the wooden structure and panted, trying to catch his breath. Not only did he felt glad to be rid of Rainbow Dash but also at the fact that the chicken coop was big enough for him to hide behind.

“What else can I do?” he asked himself.

There was only so little time left in the game but he knew he could get captured at any moment. The gears in his twisted head began to turn as he looked around. He then felt a sharp pain in his head. He groaned, shut his eyes, and began to rub his temples. He squinted and noticed that his vision was starting to get a little blurry.

“Not now,” he groaned.

He had to think fast. Kichiro opened up his eyes and his vision became clear again. He spotted a nearby cart, twice the size he was but big enough for an average pony to haul. He turned his head and noticed a tiny spider hanging out in its web in the corner of the chicken coop. A devious smile creased upon his face. He rubbed his eyes and began to focus.

Rainbow followed the fire trail out of the orchard. She could see the apple home, the barn that AJ was still trapped in, the pig pen and the chicken coop. That’s when she realized that the trail lead to the coop. There was still time.

“Aha! I got you this time!” Rainbow declared and flew ahead.

She followed the trail and flew behind the chicken coop. She came to a halt. The good news was, she found Kichiro. The bad news was, she found something else too. Rainbow landed on the ground and became motionless as she stared in the eyes of a grotesque creature. A huge, hairy, demented-looking spider stood before her. The beast was about the size of the cart AJ used to carry apples and apple products in. It had eight eyes, two of which were much bigger than the rest and could rival pony eyes. The spider also had razor sharp teeth, two huge mandibles, and even a red orange mane around its head. It gazed down at Rainbow with drool dripping from it’s jaw, and laying on top of it’s abdomen was none other than the three tailed fox.

“Uhh…” Rainbow stammered.

She had never seen anything this sick before. The spider itself looked ready to do horrible things to her. Rainbow had never been a fan of spiders but this creature looked like something out of a nightmare. All the while Kichiro just smiled at her.

“I’d start running if I were you,” Kichiro said.

Rainbow wasted no time in getting out of there. She screamed and got the hell out of there. As she flew she didn’t dare look back to see if that gross spider was behind her. Sure enough it was. The spider sprinted after Dash with Kichiro riding on top of it. Rainbow flew past the observers where they could all get a glimpse of the spider sprinting by. They all pretty much had similar reactions, mixed emotions of fear and disgust. Rarity wasn’t even playing the game and she still screamed at the sight of it. She fainted soon after. The CMC all hid behind Pinkie, who was trying her best to look brave.

“Aw, what a cute spider,” Fluttershy cooed.

“Are you serious right now?!” Emi asked.

“What? I know some spiders can look mean but they’re just misunderstood,” Fluttershy said.

“Uh, did you not see the creepy bug that just ran past us? Did you not see it’s eyes?! How is that cute?” Spike retorted.

“I have to agree with Spike. What in Equestria is that thing?” Twilight asked.

“Dirt spider,” Ryota answered.

“Huh?”

“They’re also referred to as a tsuchigumo, but I like to call them dirt spiders for short. They were common pests back at home that would sneak up on foxes and steal their food and possessions while they weren’t looking. And believe me when I say that they’re usually bigger than this.”

“What?”

Twilight stared back at the sprinting spider. It was hard to believe something that creepy could exist in Ryotas home and that they could get bigger. Simply looking at the arachnid was enough to send shivers down her spine.

“But it’s just another illusion right?” Spike asked.

“Of course. But I think Rainbow forgot about that,” Ryota said.

While that was going on, Starlight and Reiko were finally making their way towards the orchard. They looked up and noticed that the sun was about to set. At least they could catch the ending to the game Kichiro, Dash and AJ were playing.

“Do you think anyone will notice?” Starlight asked.

“They’ll only notice if you ask,” Reiko replied.

“Then I won’t ask.”

“Good.”

The two finally made it to where everyone was gathered. Starlight tilted her head at the line of wisps above the ground. She couldn’t help but find the little fire balls cute as they stared at her curiously.

“Hey, what did we miss?” Starlight asked.

“Starlight! Reiko! You finally made it,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, well, we got a little distracted,” Reiko admitted.

“Is that so?” Ryota asked, raising an eyebrow. Reiko grunted and avoided eye contact.

“So, how is this game thing going?” Starlight asked.

“Well…”

The sound of Rainbow screaming hit her ears before she could answer. The dirt spider sprinted past the observers once again. Starlight was speechless. Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground like everyone else.

“Huh, that’s something you don’t see everyday,” Reiko remarked.

“W-Was that a giant spider?!” Starlight yelled.

The dirt spider chased Rainbow through the orchard, no doubt scaring her into not sleeping tonight. Kichiro looked up and saw that the clock now read 00:44:26. He then looked down on the young pegasus mare he was chasing with his giant spider.

Just need to drag this on for a little longer.

Rainbow flew and hid behind one of the trees. She panted as she felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest. She peeked from behind the tree and noticed the spider stopped and scanned the area. Its jaw was still open with drool and it’s many eyes looking around for anything. Rainbow quickly hid behind the tree again to avoid being spotted. She looked in front of her and noticed a small pile of orange ash. She then remembered the Kichiro clone she and AJ fought not too long ago.

“It’s only a trick. It’s only a trick,” she told herself.

She took a deep breath and jumped out from behind the tree. She spread her wings and flew straight for the dirt spider. She had her eyes closed the whole time so that she wouldn’t have to stare into it’s huge, pony-like, front eyes. The dirt spiders other eyes soon spotted this and jumped into the air. Rainbow flew right by and hit a trio of apple baskets. The dirt spider landed on the ground and gazed at the fallen pegasus.

“That has to be the hundredth time you’ve crashed into something,” Kichiro laughed. “This is just not your day is it?”

“Because you keep throwing these tricks at me!” Rainbow retorted.

“You don’t have to shout when I’m right in front of you.”

Rainbow growled and flew towards Kichiro. The three tailed fox jumped out of the way as Rainbow soared right past him. He landed back on the spider’s abdomen and turned around.

“I thought you were supposed to be fast. Like a dragonfly.”

“Oh! I am way faster than any bug! I’ve managed to outfly your gross pet, haven’t I?” Rainbow retorted.

“I just assumed that you hated spiders. No doubt full of prejudice. But then again, who wouldn’t be terrified.”

The spider gazed into Rainbow’s eyes, filling her with dread. The fact that the spider was staring directly at her with it’s jaws open was what really got Rainbow on edge. She look at it’s face and slowly flew further away, fearing it might lunge at her. The spider even hissed at her, as if it wasn’t scary enough already.

“There’s no shame in losing,” Kichiro teased.

An idea suddenly struck her head. She looked around at the trees and then back at the fox on top of the spider. She felt sweat beads forming on her brow and her heart picked up the pace. Rainbow took a deep breath.

“I’m not going to lose! Especially not to a mangy mutt like yourself!”

“Mangy mutt? Really? Is that the best you can do? You may be fast, but you’re slow on originality,” Kichiro replied.

“Alright, what do you prefer then? Shifty eyes? Foxy freak? Creepazoid?”

“Ok, now you’re not even trying.”

“Oh, forget it!”

With that, Rainbow flew off. Kichiro tapped his spider on the back and he began to chase after her. Rainbow flew through the orchard. She looked back and noticed Kichiro slowly gaining up on her. She did her best not to stare at the dirt spider directly into it’s eyes. The beast opened its jaws and cried another creepy hiss. She looked forward and noticed a stray branch and smiled.

“Haven’t done this trick in a while. Hope it works!”

Rainbow flapped her wings and picked up speed. She grabbed the branch with her mouth, causing it to bend back. As the branch bent back as far as it could, Rainbow let go. The branch whipped back and struck the spider right into his two, huge eyes. The dirt spider reeled back and cried, holding it’s face with it’s mandibles. The dirt spider then exploded into a pile of dust, causing Kichiro to fall to the ground. He landed face first into the spider dust pile.

“Aw man!” he groaned as he rubbed his head.

Starlight, being new to the game, stared in awe with her mouth open. She was having difficulty processing what just happened.

“Did that spider thing just explode?” Starlight asked.

“Yes. Although that dirt spider was never there to begin with,” Twilight replied.

“But why? How? Where did it come from?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Ryota said. “If I explained every little detail then we would miss the majority of the game.”

“He’s not wrong,” Emi added.

“This is crazy! How much time is left?” Spike wondered.

They all looked up and saw that the timer now read 00:38:15. Little more than half an hour. Rainbow turned back and saw that her plan worked and that the dirt spider was no more. She smirked as she flew back towards the three tailed fox. Kichiro got back up on his paws and shook some of the illusionary dust off his fur. He noticed that Rainbow was picking up speed and was heading right towards him. He looked up and saw how much time was left in the game. He then noticed that his vision was starting to get blurry again. He staggered as he had difficulty keeping his balance and the sharp pain from before was back. Twilight took notice of this.

“What’s wrong with Kichiro?” Twilight wondered.

“What do you mean?” Starlight asked.

“Look at him, he’s holding his head and having trouble standing up. I think he might actually be hurt this time.”

“It’s no doubt him trying to fool us again. I don’t buy it,” Spike said.

“No. This is different,” Ryota said.

Twilight could tell that Ryota actually looked worried this time. She looked back at the three tailed fox with a puzzled look. Why was he having trouble keeping still? She also noticed Rainbow about to catch him. Kichiro rubbed his eyes and could see clearly now. He saw Rainbow getting closer to him. He scratched his head, trying to come up with another idea. His eyes opened up as one more trick came to his mind. He rubbed his temples and groaned. He then raised his right paw into the air. Most of the ponies, except for a passed out Rarity, tilted their heads. Rainbow held both hooves out in front of her. Just when she was about to tackle him, Kichiro vanished. Rainbow came to a halt as she saw nothing but trees and dust.

“Huh?!”

A loud buzzing noise struck her ears. She looked up and found another wagon-sized bug flying above her. Only this time, it was a large, green kabuto beetle with a huge Y-shaped horn. Kichiro was dangling by one of the legs of the beetle as it flew by.

“Oh C’mon!” Rainbow yelled.

Kichiro swung and used his momentum to land on the beetle's back as it carried him away.

“The game’s not over yet, my Rainbow Rabbit!” He mocked.

Rainbow growled at the nickname again and took off after him. The flying beetle picked up speed as it was now high above the orchard but close to the timer than was near the border.

“Ok, did Equestria have a sudden bug invasion that I wasn’t aware of?” Starlight wondered.

“Trust me, you’re not on anything. I see it too,” Reiko assured.

“I told you. It’s all illusions created by Kichiro. That beetle isn’t real,” Twilight explained.

“Really? Because it looks real. And it’s carrying Kichiro like he’s nothing,” Starlight said.

“Yes. I still don’t really understand it either. Kichiro can ride his bug monsters like they’re actually there but when other ponies or objects touch it disappears.”

“Our magic can be tricky sometimes, Twilight. They may be illusions to you, but they are very real to us,” Ryota said.

Twilight looked back up at the sky at the flying beetle as she was slowly starting to understand what he was getting at.

Kichiro rode his beetle in the sky and evaded Rainbow Dash as much as possible. The brash pegasus tried to perform aerial strikes on the beetle and fox, but they dodged them every time. They flew around the dusky clouds and even performed tricks one might see at a Wonderbolts show. Kichiro and his beetle flew above a stream of clouds. The fox gazed upon the orange sky as the sun was close to setting. There wasn’t much time left in the game. He smiled, thinking that he was going to win. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t use his extra time to take in all the beautiful dusk sky. His train of thought was interrupted when Rainbow came bursting out of the clouds.

“Gah!” Kichiro yelped.

His beetle veered away at the last moment. Unfortunately, this made the beetle spin out of control, performing some unintentional barrel rolls. The beetle managed to regain balance in the air. Kichiro sighed in relief. He then felt a sudden jerk. At first, he thought it was turbulence, but as he looked down his eyes shrank. The kabuto beetle he was riding on was beginning to flicker, becoming near transparent. Kichiro focused on it and tried to make it fully solid again. When he fully opened his eyes though, he was struck with another sharp pain, like an arrow striking his temple. He grunted and rubbed his head. He looked up at the sky and saw 00:21:49 on the timer. He then looked down on his flickering beetle.

“C’mon. Just a little more,” he said as he tried to focus again.

Rainbow noticed the flickering beetle. She tilted her head at it, not knowing what to make of it. She then looked around to see that there were still some dark cumulus clouds present. She flew around some of the stray clouds and placed them all around Kichiro.

“What’s she doin up there?” Apple Bloom wondered.

“Something reckless, no doubt,” Starlight answered.

“You mean something awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

Rainbow had just finished placing many clouds above and around Kichiro. She took another deep breath and exhaled.

“Hopefully none of these will hit him,” she said to herself.

One by one, she hopped, stomped and bucked each of the clouds, firing lightning bolts towards the flying fox. Several bolts flew past Kichiro, he covered his eyes to avoid being blinded by the brightness. The ponies and other foxes couldn’t make out what they were witnessing, seeing how the two competitors were very high up in the sky. Kichiro could barely see what was going on himself. He directed his beetle to fly out of the bolts but couldn’t spot an opening. A stray bolt then hit the beetle on the tip of it’s horn and like that, the beetle vanished, sending Kichiro plummeting to the ground. Many of the ponies and foxes gasped at this. As he was falling, Kichiro tried to focus on creating another beetle to catch him. He focused and a transparent beetle appeared next to him. However, the pain in his head returned.

“Gah!” he exclaimed as the beetle disappeared completely.

He opened up his eyes and saw Rainbow Dash flying right for him. Only this time, instead of a face full of confidence, her face had looks of concern in them. Kichiro smiled as he fell. His three tails rubbed against each other and his eyes illuminated. He opened up his mouth and three wisps came firing out. Each wisp was aimed right for Rainbow Dash.

“Whoa!” Rainbow exclaimed as she dodged all three of them. “What wrong with you, dude?! I’m trying to catch you!”

“Exactly! My goal is to avoid capture! I can’t believe i have to explain this to you again!”

“Well your goal doesn’t amount to squat if you’re smashed into tiny pieces!” Rainbow shot back.

“Yeah? Well you fired lightning bolts at me! I thought shooting a few wisps at you would make us eve-AHH!”

His head pain returned, only this time it felt like a train was hitting him. He held his head again as he groaned.

“Kichiro?” Rainbow asked.

The three tailed fox felt something escape his nose. He looked up and saw that a small stream of blood was pouring out his nose and into the sky. Rainbow dodged the oncoming blood with ease, though the thought of it actually hitting her made her sick. Kichiro stared at the blood stream that was escaping from his nose. His vision became fully blurry this time as everything started to look like a big smudge to him.

“Well this sucks,” Kichiro groaned.

“Seriously?!” Rainbow asked.

Rainbow couldn’t figure out this guy. His vision was damaged, blood was coming out his nose, and he’s falling to his demise. Rainbow could tell the tone in his voice sounded more annoyed than in danger. He wasn’t even taking falling to his doom seriously. Rainbow picked up speed with her hooves held in front. She made it just in time, catching Kichiro right before he could hit the ground. She soared through the acres and looked for a place to land. She looked down at the passed out fox in her hooves.

“One. Two. Three.”

She looked up and saw that the clock stopped at 00:11:37. All the ponies cheered as Rainbow not only saved Kichiro but also won the game. She landed safely in the middle of an open field. She set Kichiro down on the grass below her. She smiled knowing that she had won the game. Her mind was already coming up with ways to boast about it to Kichiro and Applejack.

“Applejack!” Rainbow gasped and flew straight towards the barn.

All of the wisps disappeared and border and timer was no more. The wisps faded away into nothingness. The ponies and foxes entered the acres to see if both fox and ponies were all alright.

Some Time Later

Kichiro stirred and groaned. A sudden surge of slight pain coursed through his head. He slowly opened up his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that his vision was slowly returning to normal. He rubbed his eyes as he carefully lifted his head. He saw that he was lying on a couch with a blanket covering him. He looked out a nearby window and noticed the stars in the dark sky. The sound of voices hit his ears. He turned to his right and noticed both foxes and ponies talking and eating in what he could assume was the dining room. The one thing he saw first was the worried look of his older brother.

“What’s this?” he spoke. Soon all eyes were facing him. “You’re having a dinner party without me? That’s rude.”

“He’s alive!” Emi chirped.

She wasted no time in running over and giving her brother a deadly hug.

“Ow,” Kichiro muttered.

“So how have you been?” she asked as she let go of him.

“Considering I got chased around, hit in the eye, and fell out of the sky I’d say I’m dandy,” Kichiro replied.

Ryota approached his brother. Kichiro looked up at him, not knowing what he was going to do. Ryota raised his right paw and flicked Kichiro in the middle of his forehead, causing him to yelp.

“It’s good to see you too,” Kichiro said, rubbing his forehead.

“That was for being reckless. You pushed yourself too far out there and your tricks were a bit too frightening for the ponies,” Ryota lectured.

“What are you talking about? I knew those were tricks all along,” Rainbow said.

“Then why did you fly away from K when he was riding a dirt spider?” Reiko asked.

“Hey, that was part of my plan to defeat him!” Rainbow retorted.

“Right, sure it was.”

“Look, the point is you could’ve really hurt yourself or the ponies. You nearly gave them heart attacks with that eye ball prank,” Ryota continued.

Kichiro nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, which was still hurting.

“Still don’t know how a heart can attack without a body,” he chuckled.

“Kichiro!” Twilight scolded.

Ryota sighed. “Honestly, I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Don’t turn this into a moment.”

Both brothers chuckled. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were next to approach the fallen fox.

“So,” Kichiro started.

“So,” both mares replied.

“Seeing how I’m lying on this couch I assume I lost?”

“Eeyup! And you know the deal. Ya gotta work on mah farm until yer debt is paid,” Applejack said, happily.

“Yeah! How does it feel to be beaten by a farm mare and a ‘sloth,’” Rainbow mocked.

Rainbow was expecting Kichiro to sound defeated and sulk, but much to her surprise a smile formed on his face. Next thing she knew, Kichiro started to laugh. He laughed some more. It wasn’t a twisted laugh like before, he wasn’t holding his head like a maniac. This time, his laughter sounded normal, childish, and sane. Rainbow couldn’t decide if this was good or bad.

“Uh, should we be concerned?” Applejack asked Ryota. In turn Ryota gave her an unsure shrug.

“Why are you laughing?” Rainbow asked.

“I lost! That’s awesome!” He laughed.

Both Rainbow and Applejack were taken back by this.

“Uh, what?” Rainbow asked in disbelief.

“I haven’t had that much fun in a long while! And I thought I was going up against a couple of boar god weaklings. For a pair of small, colorful ponies you mares have got some balls.”

Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other, not sure how to respond to that.

“It’s a compliment. He’s saying you’re tough,” Reiko said.

“Oh, well, thanks,” Rainbow said. “I mean, I don’t blame you for thinking so. I am pretty awesome.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “So does mean you’ll work on mah farm?”

“Well, you did catch me before the time limit was up. A deal is a deal. I am now your humble servant,” Kichiro said.

“Good,” Applejack said. “But I wanna make some things clear. First off, I don’t want ya to act like mah servant, I want you to act like ya have a professional job. Second, if you try to weasel your way out of work at all, I’ll buck ya to the moon and back.”

“Oooooo, I like the sound of that. I know you like to get physical, but I didn’t think you meant it in both ways.”

Applejack blushed as soon as she got what he was coming from. Some of the mares couldn’t help but snicker at AJ’s poor choice of words. She violently shook her head to try to make the blush go away.

“Y-Ya know what I meant! I want ya to start workin as soon as you’re well again,” AJ ordered.

“Whatever you say, master,” Kichiro joked.

“I’m gonna regret this, aren’t I?” Applejack asked.

“You’re not regretting it now?” Reiko asked back.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he complies,” Ryota assured.

“Well I for one think this was an interesting experience! I got to see fox magic up close and personal! And to think that this is only a small portion of what you can do,” Twilight mused.

“You have no idea,” Ryota said.

The foxes and ponies spent the rest of their night at Applejack’s home, eating dinner, cracking jokes and talking about the game they all witnessed or partook in. Twilight felt glad that the foxes and her friends were taking this time to really get to know each other better. She did her best to explain to Starlight how the foxes used their illusions with some help from Ryota. Kichiro was still lying on the couch with an injured head. He licked his lips and accidentally tasted some dried up blood. The saltiness was enough to make him squirm. Rainbow then approached him with a mug in her hoof.

“Hey, how are ya feelin?” Rainbow asked.

“Well that depends. Is my head still attached to my body?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Then I’m fine.”

Rainbow couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I gotta admit, those illusions you pulled off back in orchard were pretty cool,” Rainbow admitted.

“Thanks. Those flying maneuvers and aerial attacks were also amazing. And really fun to dodge.”

“Ha! I know….wait.”

Kichiro laughed and Rainbow grumbled.

“So, how long did it take you to master your tricks?” Rainbow wondered.

“It took years of practice to master them. And by years, I mean three weeks,” Kichiro answered.

“Seriously? It took me one week to master all of my sweet flying moves. And about a day to pull off my sonic rainboom.”

“What’s a ‘sonic rainboom’?” Kichiro asked.

“Only the most awesome thing you’ll ever see! I’ll have to show you sometime.”

“Great. And I’ll have to show you what other tricks I can pull off, once my eyes fully recover. With so many monsters comes so many lives to traumatize,” he said with an evil laugh.

“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Rainbow said. “Like how about just simple pranks?”

“Yeah, that could work too. Like me shooting fake lightning bolts at ponies.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Rainbow said. “I already got yelled at by Ryota and Twilight while you were passed out. They were not happy.”

“Eh, it happens,” Kichiro shrugged. “You were just trying to win. That’s understandable.”

“Well yeah! Winning is everything to me! It’s like the single most greatest feeling in the world!”

While they were talking, Reiko heard the words Rainbow just spoke. Even though she was surrounded by ponies and foxes laughing and having a good time, she couldn’t help but feel down at Rainbow’s choice of words.

“Yeah. I bet it is,” Reiko muttered.

“By the way, what’s in that mug?” Kichiro asked, pointing to Rainbow’s mug.

“Oh, this is Applejack’s famous apple cider. You haven’t lived until you tried some!”

Rainbow handed the mug to Kichiro. He took a big whiff of the mug followed by a large sip. Kichiro coughed as too much went down his throat.

“Wow! Good stuff!"

“I know right? This will be fun.”

Author's Note:

Thus concludes the fox hunt. Thanks again to TP Night for editing this chapter. Also, to help give you an idea of what the creatures Kichiro brought to life look like here are pictures of:

The Dirt Spider/Tsuchigumo

And the Giant Kabuto Beetle

Hope you liked the chapter and let me know what you think. Thanks.

Comments

[EquestrianKirin]

Boy, Kichiro is full of tricks, isn't he? x3 Nice choice on the bugs, especially with the Tsuchigumo Hope kichiro learns to hold himself back to avoid anymore dizzy spells like that in future ... though I doubt it

[colt alchemist]

8377361
Glad you liked the chapter. And we'll just have to wait and see. Kichiro can be very tricky sometimes.

[EquestrianKirin]

8381513
That I can believe

[Starlight Nova]

What's a skulk?

[colt alchemist]

8403830
It's what a group of foxes are called.

[Acadians6545]

Tsuchigumo are fucking terrifying.

[BurningBright]

8403830
collective noun for a fox family.