Walking on Frozen Paws

by Saysy

Chapter 03: Is it a Fox?

<<What!>>

…

…

<<Oh, it was only a dream,>> I said after I calmed down. I tried to move only to realize, that I still was on my back covered in ice.

So, that I’m a fox now wasn’t a dream after all. Or was this a dream in another dream. Can you even dream of being asleep and dreaming in a dream? I should really stop thinking about this or else I get a headache. I hope, what he… or should it be she… No! I only believe it when I see it for myself.

Argh, I should stop with that. There were possibly more important matters right now than my gender.

First on my agenda should be to get out of here before that pony with the hammer chose to follow the ‘call of nature’. I certainly wouldn’t be amused to see a fox in my bathtub frozen in water when I go. I again tried to move my paws, still to no avail. The only body motions I was capable of, were above my shoulders. Meaning neck, mouth, eyes and ears. Still not used to the last one. I thought for a second to bite my way out, but I threw that idea out of the window after I realized that I couldn’t even touch the ice with my snout. That meant that I need to wait for the ice to melt or for someone to help me.

Growl!

My ears instantly stood at attention.

GROWL!!

I panicky looked around my field of vision. Considering my current position, I only could see the front entrance and a little bit from the left and the right site. After the third growl, I finally figured out where they are coming from. In this case, my stomach. I then realized how hungry I was. The last time I ate, was back when I was still human, and this was only breakfast, consisting out of cereals and milk. That said, I was very low on energy and need to wait with an empty stomach.

…

…

…

A good thing that I couldn’t feel the chilling coldness from the ice. That would be really annoying.

…

…

…

To my horror, the first thing that happened was the sound of hoofs making contact with the floor instead of ice braking. I looked at the door holding my breath. The sounds of clopping grew louder every second. The door was lit in dark blue light as it swings open. Through the door came a blue horse or is it an overgrown pony? But what really took my attention was the spiraled horn on its forehead and the wings hanging lose on its side. If you took human facial expressions and compare its face to a human face you would came up with the same conclusion as I had.

You would see that in front of you, is a serious case of morning-zombie.

This is also the reason, that she —yes, I think it’s a she— didn’t take notice of me laying in her tub until she wanted to take a bath and landed face first on the frozen surface with a loud thud and a crack coming from the ice.Oh, that must have hurt.

I grew a little bit worry, after a few seconds of her not moving or making any sounds. So, I am doing the right thing, that every nice being should do at this moment, and asked her if she was alright.

<<Are you alright, miss?>>

The response that I got, was a groan and a little movement as she tried to get back on all fours. At least I know now that she is still alive.

I asked again. This time she showed a little bit more reaction to my question. Her head moved, and our eyes met. I smiled and the look I got in return was bewilderment.

“What?”

<<I said if you’re alright?>>

…

<<Hello?>>

…

<<I asked, if you->>

Well, I would like to say that she finally showed any reaction to my question. She did, but not in the way my ears and I would consider safe for them.

“Guards, what is a critter doing in my bathroom?”

My ice prison shattered, and I was flung head first into the left wall. To say, that my ears were the only body parts handing in a complaint would be the understatement of the day… Month? Year? Eh, doesn’t matter right now.What does matter, is my head splitting pain in my… head.

And with that out of the way. I passed out.

---

Luna POV

My evening started so well. I awoke one hour before nightfall enveloped in my bedsheets made from silk, stayed there for half an hour before I went to prepare for my royal duties. Everything went fine until-

Thud

that happened.

What? Was all I came up with as my head made contact with something cold.

<<Bark?>>

What in Tartarus was that? I let out a groan and tried to stand up.

<<Bark?>>

I turned my head to the position where the sound was coming from.

“What?”

<<Bark?>>

I couldn’t believe my eyes. In the tub was a roughly five months old fox cub encased in ice. What caught my eyes was its blue fur, never had I seen a fox with a blue coat and its eyes. The eyes of the cub shone with intelligence not meant for a critter. Then again, foxes shouldn’t have blue fur.

<<Bark?>>

Still, the questions remain. How in Tartarus, is there a critter encased in ice in my tub and why is the water frozen to the core. A question my guards are hopefully able to answer.

<<Bar->>

“Guards, what is a critter doing in my bathroom!?” I cried, accidentally using the royal canterlot voice, shattering the ice and throwing the poor fox into the wall. I cautiously stood up and walked over to the cub looking for wounds. Surprisingly the fox had now outer injuries, but it wouldn’t hurt to check for internal injuries later.

“Princess, are you alright?” came the question from one of my guards as they are running into the room.

I turned around to address my guards. “Yes, everything is alright. Say, did you saw a fox entering my chamber today?”

“No, your highness, but the Day Guard has reported that they encountered a fox this afternoon. They lost track of it as one of them lost his ground in the corridor underneath the tower entrance. They all dropped to the floor some of them broking a leg or two. The interesting part, however, is that at the time they went through a maid was maintaining this part of the castle. Where the maid has washed the floor was a layer of ice instead of water.”

I raised an eyebrow at the last part. Could it be that the fox had frozen my tub and imprisoned itself on accident? I steeped aside and pointed a hoof at the cub. “Was it that fox?” I asked. My guards took a closer look before they nodded. “Then can you two explain to me why it’s in my bathroom?”

“Sorry, your highness, no guards were standing at the door as we took our shift and we never saw it enter.”

“Do you two know who was supposed to guard the door?” I asked growing more confused over the minutes.

“Only that they were from the day guard.”

Finally having enough of this guessing game, I ordered these two to take the cub to the medical wing. After that, I stepped out on my balcony to raise the moon as Celestia lowered the sun. Then I went to speak with Tia, she probably would be at her study now. On my way, I asked a maid if my sister was indeed at her study which she confirmed. After I arrived I knocked three times.

“Come in.”

I opened the door and walked through, in the room where my sister accompanied by Dusty Page, which bowed down as I walked in. Tia’s facial features brighten as she looked up from her paperwork that was five times bigger than mine.

“Evening Luna, can you make it quick I’m a little behind schedule,” she said, but I could clearly see that she wanted to be somewhere else right now.

“I had an intruder in my chambers today,” I stated bluntly which caused Tia to turn red from anger.

“What!!! How did somepony even got in there, did they do something to you, are you alright, are they in the dungeon!?” she yelled, much to Dusty’s charging whose ears folded against his head. I let out a loud lough which in turn let Tia let go of her antics. “What is so funny?” she asked.

“Nothing, it’s just that the intruder wasn’t a pony, but a fox.”

“A fox… Blue?” I nodded. “The same fox that sends four guards into the infirmary with broken legs. I hope you restrained it, I don’t want a dangerous beast to roam our castle.”

I cleared my throat, “The beast, you’re talking about is a roughly five-month-old fox and it is currently in the infirmary, too.”

I don’t know what the guards told them, but their faces told me that they said more than there is about the little cub. Tia was the first to recover.

“Why is it in the infirmary ward?”

“Well,” I began awkwardly only to be cut off by my sister.

“Has it something to do with the RCV I heard not long ago?”

I nodded before I explained the rest of the event that happened after I woke up. After I finished we made our way to take a closer look at our fox. It only took us five minutes to the wing of the castle that hold the infirmary. Nevertheless, I took the time to talk about Tia’s day and as always, she had hundred times more ponies in her court than me. All eyes were on us as we entered and all bowed, even the guards that hat splints on the foreleg. As Tia thanked the guards for there ‘Good Work’, I made my way to the cub who is laying under an orange dome. From body structure, I would say that this is a normal Fox if it wasn’t for the odd colors and the fact that it can freeze water.

“What do you think, Tia?” I asked her as she walked up behind me.

“It looks like a fox except for the color, but I can feel magic coming from it. By the way is it a he or a she?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Never really checked it,” I said and then called for the doctor.

“What can I do for you, your highnesses?” came the voice of a mare I’ve never seen in here before. She is an Earth Pony with a sapphire blue coat and a pure white mane as a cutie mark she has a pony leg in a plaster.

“Ms. Lovely Care, what can you say about the fox?” My sister asked already knowing her name.

“Not much, except that it is female, that it is physically fife months old, that’s if she is aging like a normal fox and that she can freeze water in contact with her paws-” as she mentioned the part with the freezing she gestured outside to a line with four cloths bathing in the moonlight looking stiff as a board as they flew in the wind. “-that’s it,” she concluded.

“Didn’t a unicorn doctor make a scan?”

“No, Princess Celestia, the unicorn doctor is sick and none of the unicorn guards in here know how to make a full body scan,” she admitted slightly nerves that they couldn’t do what I ordered.

“There is no need to be nerves little pony,” my sister said with a smile that she copied from our mother. Then she dismissed her, so she could resume her work. In the meantime, I scanned the cub.

“And?” Tia asked.

“Well… Internally I would say it’s a fox except for one thing.” I scanned her again to be sure. “And that she has a thaumaturgy network in her body centered in near her heart and focused in her mouth and her paws.”

“So, she can do magic,” Tia stated.

“Yes, but not like a unicorn, I would say that it’s more like a Phoenix just instead of fire it is ice.”

“It is clear that we couldn’t let her roam free she could accidentally hurt a pony or freeze something. So, what should we do with her?”

As Tia thought about it I came up with an idea that fills me with glee. I unintentionally let out a happy squeal which in turn alerted my sister.

“Luna, do you have an idea?”

“Yes, sister I have.”

“And?” my sister asked as I didn’t follow up with my idea.

I struck a pose, “We hereby decree that we make her the hound of the night,” I said with my voice a little amplified, not like the Royal Canterlot Voice but not so loud that you lose your ability to hear.

“WHAT!!” came the reply from Tia, and every other pony in the room.

“You can’t just take here,” Tia said.

“And pray tell why not?” I asked her with a slightly angry face.

“What if she is dangerous.”

“So, was your pet phoenix Philomena, with her spontaneous self-igniting when we took her in years ago,” I rebuke which was very effective.

“Ugh, fine, but if she does something bad you’ll be held responsible,” she said before she bit me goodnight and walked out of the infirmary.

“How made this shield?” I asked the guards in the room.

“I, your Highness,” said the guard next to the vixen’s bed.

“Can you lower it, please.”

He nodded and powered up his horn, shortly thereafter the dome disappeared, and I could pick up the cub and teleport to my chamber where I took the cub and laid the fox onto a pillow that I took from my bed. Then I placed a spell on her that’ll let me know when she wakes up. Then I prepare for night court even, so I thought that no one will visit. Still, I wouldn’t let my nightly duties down. This doesn’t mean that I couldn’t make plans for my pet while doing so. Mmm, what should I do first… Oh yes, of course, I should think of a name for her.

---

3^rd POV

The whole court long, Princess Luna thought about a name for her little pet, that is, until her spell activated to alert her that the vixen has awoken from her slumber or knock out what ever you want to use.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long pause, but I was on vacation.

Now, I already have some names for my little character, but I hadn't decided yet. So, now is your chance to give me name suggestions.

Until next time.
Saysy

Comments

[Factorisimo122]

Glad to see another chapter was wondering where this story disappeared off to. Also for a name you could use "Glacies" it's the Latin word for ice. Luna is rather stright forward and using "old equish" for a name suits her.

[rikusorasephiroth]

I will admit I was hoping the whole becoming female thing was a literal case of the mind playing tricks on the individual.

That said, it ultimately doesn't bother me.

[Killjoy1221]

Little nitpick, but baby foxes are called kits, not cubs.