Ch.7 Shy Embers..."This is NOT what it looks like!"
Autumn's eyes fluttered open, her sleep-fogged brain only able to register a few key details as she blearily took in her surroundings. The first couple things she noticed was that it was dark out and that she was laying outside. The next thing she noticed was that she felt really dizzy, a typical side-effect of drinking too much Dragon's Tar. While it didn't get her hungover, it did make the world spin a little too much for a couple hours. She also noticed that she felt really warm in spite of the fact that she was laying out in the middle of nowhere. She tried to raise her head to get a better idea of where she was, only for a foreleg to come up around her and pull her close to something warm and fuzzy. She let out a startled yelp as she weakly struggled against the limb, then relaxed when she took note of what kind of foreleg had her and the color of the fur that covered it. Laying at her left , sprawled out with the grace of a sack of potatoes on his side was Alex. She giggled a bit at how goofy the Kitsune looked as he laid with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth and his mane all askew in the grass.
"Sleep tight buddy," she whispered.
She tried to carefully wiggle out of his grip, only to let out a soft eep! as he grabbed ahold of her with both of his forelegs and rolled over. She blinked dizzily as she waited for the world to stop spinning and the sleeping Kitsune nuzzled his face into her mane. Frowning, she crossed her forelegs as she mulled over her current situation, shrugged, then decided to make the best of it.
He is pretty warm, she thought with a yawn as she rested her head against his shoulder. And I don't think he'll mind if I stick around for an hour or two.
With that, she let out a yawn and let herself drift off, kind of liking playing the roll of teddybear for the sleeping fire fox.
***
Yet again, I found myself cursing the sun as the fucking fireball in the sky dragged me awake. The only thing that made it a bit more tolerable this time was the unmistakeable smell of pancakes and syrup. That, and a strong scent of cinnamon and campfire smoke that seemed to cover everything for some reason.
I let out a groan as I raised my head and opened my eyes. Sure enough, about a foot away from me sat a tall stack of fluffy goodness with a small bowl of what looked like glazed peaches right next to it. My mouth watered at the sight of something I thought I would never see again, but some movement caught my attention before I started heading off to attack my prey. Autumn was curled up against my chest in my forelegs like a plush toy.
I blinked. Then did it again. Then I rubbed my eyes with a paw and looked again.
Yep. Still there. Well then...WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO LAST NIGHT?!
I quickly let go of the cute dragon-horse creature and tried to remember what the fuck happened last night.
Let's see. First her name is Autumn....something. Autumn.....Phase? I think it was something to do with fire? Okay, just Autumn for now. We were talking about stuff and drinking. Then there was.... something about some shit called ....Ninetalesia or something? GAH! FUCK! I can't think straight!
I paced as I tried to remember what the hell happened last night, but all I got where a few blurry memories and random sounds. That didn't make things any better for me given what I knew about Pokémon breeding habits. Most of them had some to the weirdest breeding partners out there! Hell, there's a reason Skitty x Wailord was a meme before I got dumped here! Since Autumn was technically a fire-type, she already had a pretty good shot of being what Arceus would consider a match for me! Hey, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the damn thing was real too so don't judge me!
My mini freakout was interrupted as Autumn sleepily dragged herself to her haunches. She blinked sleepily and smacked her lips as she looked around.
"What smells so good?" she yawned.
I gulped and pointed at the plate. She dopily looked at the plate, blinked a few times, then used her weeping angels powers to suddenly appear next to the plate. I blinked dumbly at her for a second, then smiled as I sighed before making my way towards the food. Or at least tried to. See, I knew I drank a lot yesterday, but I wasn't really hungover. Instead, I was just really dizzy. I guess panic kept me steady earlier because at that moment the world decided to do a backflip and I fell over.
I let out a groan and closed my eyes as I waited for the the world to stop doing gymnastics.
What the fuck did I drink last night?
"Need some help?"
I opened my eyes and was greeted by a smiling Autumn looking down at me. I felt my face heat up as I nodded, refusing to look her in the eye. I heard her giggle as she walked off and I tried to salvage a little bit of my pride. I watched her use her Jedi powers to break up the pancakes. Not gonna lie, being so helpless ate at me, but it was kind of nice having someone helping me out like this.
A few minutes later Autumn's walking towards me with a plate of broken-up pancakes and a bowl of fruit slices floating next to her. By that point my dizziness had dropped enough for me to raise my head and open my mouth. She just smiled as she levitated a few pieces of pancake into my mouth. I was in heaven the second I started chewing. After days of eating nothing but fruit and fish, the sweet fluffiness of that mouthful of pancake was like a gift from god!
"Pretty good, huh?" Autumn smirked, popping a few pieces of pancake into her mouth.
I nodded, licking some syrup off of my lips.
She chuckled as she levitated another cluster towards my mouth. I froze with my mouth open and a head just a step away from (probably) literally bursting into flames when I spotted a smirking orange Earth Pony out the corner of my eye a foot away. I never knew a person could give a literal shit-eating grin until that second. I would've lived a happier life without that knowledge.
"Havin' fun?" Applejack smirked.
I chomped down on the offered mouthful of pancake so I couldn't dignify that question with a response.
"Morning Applejack," Autumn smiled.
"Mornin'," she laughed, walking towards us. "Glad yall like the pancakes."
"Yeah, there great!" Autumn smiled, levitating a cluster of pancake into her mouth. "You really need to give me the recipe."
"Maybe later, sugarcube," she chuckled. "Looks like yall had fun yesterday."
"Eh," Autumn shrugged. "It was just a few drinks. No biggy."
"Damn good drink though," I chuckled. "What was that stuff anyway?"
"Just a couple bottles of Dragon's Tar," she smiled. "Fluttershy gave me a whole cellar of the stuff when I moved to Ponyville."
I grimaced as a pang of guilt shot through me. I really needed to work out my shit with Fluttershy. It's not like I hate her or anything. Hell, I haven't even had a real conversation with her yet. The fact that she hasn't cussed me out for wrecking parts of the sanctuary is a miracle at this point.
"You okay?" Autumn asked with a concerned frown.
"Yeah," I sighed as I dragged myself to my feet. "I uh...need to stretch my legs for a minute. See ya around?"
"Sure," Autumn smiled.
Applejack just nodded.
I nodded in thanks to them and started walking back to the tree line.
I can't leave until I make things square between us, I thought bitterly. It just doesn't feel right. But how do I talk to her? Gah! Why the hell did she have to remind me of "her"? Why?! What are the fucking odds anyway?! No! Seriously! WHAT ARE THE FUCKING ODDS!?
I just started crossing the tree line when a sudden realization made me freeze. I thought about Fluttershy and my bad memories didn't come. I looked over my shoulder at the cabin a good twenty feet away from were Autumn and I passed out. The cabin that reeked of Fluttershy's scent. I let out a sigh before I looked forward again and started walking.
I wonder if Treehugger's up.
***
Autumn sighed as she made her way towards the cabin, bottles of booze and an unfinished breakfast floating behind her fallowed by a nervous-looking Applejack.
"So, what did ya' think?" the cowpony asked.
The Kirin leveled a flat look at the Earth Pony and said, "Tea first. Questions later. That Dragon's Tar really packs a punch and I'm sick of seeing everything spinning."
"Right," she cringed. "Still don't know how you and Fluttershy can handle that stuff. Ah think Big Mac used a cup of it to peel paint once."
"Well that's a waste," Autumn frowned. "If you can't drink it, don't grab a bottle. That stuffs expensive, you know."
"Right," Applejack chuckled, rolling her eyes.
"Besides," the Kirin added. "You know that stuffs for fire creatures right? Says so on the bottle."
"Then how can Flutters drink it?" Applejack asked.
Autumn shrugged then said, "Probably has something to do with dating Discord. That mare's a bigger mystery than Pinkie Pie sometimes."
Applejack struggled to come to terms with that twist in the universe as Autumn used her magic to pull the cabin's front door open. Both mares rolled their eyes when they were greeted by a living room full of sleeping mares. What made the Kirin raise a brow was the fact that Twilight, Starlight, Rarity and Fluttershy were passed out by the window facing the patch of grass she and Alex had slept on the day before. She leveled a flat stare at her farmer friend who gave her a sheepish smile in return. Autumn sighed and shook her head as she crept her way towards the kitchen.
She placed the loaded plate onto the kitchen table, then let out a tired sigh as she filled a kettle with water at the sink with her magic. As she set the kettle on the stove to boil, she dragged herself towards the kitchen table and took a seat. While a little hazy, what she remembered of last night made what she learned about Alex's past all the more heartbreaking as she popped pieces of pancake into her mouth. While she found him to be a little crass, he was a lot of fun to be around and she could see a lot of good in him where it mattered. She also felt a kind of kinship with him in a way. When she was banished by her village, it hurt her in ways that she couldn't properly understand at the time. She tried to make the most of it at the time, but that betrayal cut her deeply all the same.
A gentle voice pulled her out of her gray musings.
"Are you okay?"
Autumn looked up from her plate and smiled as Fluttershy took a seat at the table.
"Yeah, just a little out of it," she chuckled weakly. "Dragon's Tar, you know?"
The shy mare nodded, all too familiar with the brew's effects on those who indulged too much in it.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Autumn waved her concern away with a hoof as she levitated a bit of glazed fruit into her mouth. For a few minutes, the two mares sat in silence as Autumn ate. All the while, Fluttershy struggled to find her words. Finding out that she reminded Alex of such a horrible creature was a huge blow to take, but what bothered her the most was how helpless it made her feel. She wanted to help him, to prove to him that she wasn't the monster he thought she was. The only thing that kept her from acting on her plans was the way he reacted to her when they first met. That look of fear she saw mixed with his anger made her sick to her stomach, not towards Alex but the monster that hurt him. If she ever met the Kitsune that did that to him, she didn't know what she would do to her.
"W-What is he like?" she managed to whisper out.
Autumn thought for a minute, then swallowed a mouthful of food and said, "A bit rough around the edges, but a pretty good guy."
"Really?" she asked, leaning in.
She nodded, then chuckled as she added, "He's also got a mouth that'd make a Griffin sailor blush."
"Oh my," Fluttershy blinked.
Autumn laughed at that and gave the shy mare a light playful shove.
"Oh come on. I'd think you'd be used to that kind of thing with Rainbow around."
"Oh, I am," she frowned. "I just don't like that kind of language."
"Fair enough," she shrugged. "He's also really blunt. So if you ever get the chance to talk to him, don't be surprised if he gives you a straight answer."
"R-Right," she nodded, though she didn't see the odds of that happening being particularly high.
"He's also really warm," she added, a small blush coloring her muzzle as she stared at her plate with a smile.
Fluttershy blinked at that, then gave the Kirin a small sly smile as she let the silence settle through the room. The silence and her last words registered to Autumn, forcing the blush off of her face as an annoyed frown took its place. She then aimed said frown at the smirking mare she shared the table with. A raised brow was the only reaction Autumn got from her act of defiance.
"Its not like that," she grumbled, crossing her forelegs.
"Mm-hm," was all Fluttershy said as she got up from the table and stated walking towards the fridge.
"No, really!" she exclaimed, abandoning her almost empty plate as she trailed behind the still smirking Pegasus.
"I believe you," she smiled as she pulled a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge.
"Believe who?" Applejack asked as she stepped into the kitchen.
"No one!" Autumn exclaimed, her embarrassment keeping her Nirik form restricted to some flecks of pink and blue flames in her mane.
"Easy girl," Applejack said, putting a forehoof up in a placating manner. "Deep breaths."
Autumn glowered at the farmer before she rolled her eyes and humored her. After taking a few deep breaths, the flames snuffed themselves out and she gave her friend an apologetic smile.
"Thanks, and sorry about that," she said sheepishly.
"No harm done sugarcube," Applejack smiled, then asked, "What had yall so riled up anyway?"
"Oh, uh, just...Kirin things," she stammered, cheeks warming up again as her eyes darted towards the floor. "Don't worry about it."
***
"That's, like, a really tall order brother," Treehugger frowned as she pored me a cup of tea.
"I figured as much," I sighed, accepting the cup and taking a sip.
Once I made it to the sanctuary, I made a beeline for Treehugger's camp and told her my plan. While she didn't seem to have any problems with helping me get to Whitetail, that quickly changed when I mentioned the foxes. Now we were sitting next to her teepee trying to figure out what to do.
"It'll take a long time to get to Whitetail from here and kits need a lot of food," Treehugger frowned. "Fluttershy's sanctuary is way safer then anything we can give them on the road."
"Right," I groaned, dragging a paw across my face. "Thing is, I don't know if they'd stay if I left."
She brought a hoof to her chin in thought as she stared into her cup.
"That's a major bummer brother," she frowned. "Maybe Fluttershy can work something out with them. She's got a real way with nature's children."
"Figures," I groaned. "Think you could talk to her for me?"
Smiling softly, she shoot her head.
"This is something you need to do yourself brother."
"Right," I sighed. "What's she like anyway?"
Treehugger hummed in thought for a moment, then with her usual sleepy smile said, "She's warm like a sunny day, gentle as a butterfly's wing, strong as a mother, and patient as a mountain."
"Sounds nice," I smiled, staring at the ground. "Not too many people like that were I'm from."
A light chuckle from Treehugger dragged my attention back to her just in time to see her refill her cup.
"I don't know what a "people" is brother, but you seem like one of the good ones to me."
I laughed at that and said, "Don't know about that. I mean, yeah, I'm not the worst out there, but I don't think I'm all that good either."
Frowning, she set her cup down and placed a hoof on my paw as she said, "No brother. You're good, but scarred."
I wilted at that.
Scarred seemed like a pretty good description of me for the most part. Especially if someone got a good look at my back. While a lot of things changed about my body, the scars from that night still stuck around. Granted, my coat hid them well enough, but even I noticed how uneven some parts of my coat looked in some places back there. Course, I knew that wasn't what she meant.
"You've got a real way with words Treehugger," I sighed.
"I'm just telling the truth brother," she smiled as she pulled her hoof back. "You have a flame inside just begging to come out. Maybe now that your chakras are clearer it can come out."
"Chakras huh?" I snorted, then brought my cup up to my mouth as I asked, "What's gonna make it come out?"
"Meeting other ponies would help," she smiled, then casually added, "Maybe a vixen."
I choked on my tea as my brain took in what she was saying, not really a spit take, but damn near to it.
"Wh-Where the hell did that come from?" I sputtered, coughing into a paw.
She just smiled as she reached over to my shoulder and plucked a curly rust colored hair out of it. Her smile turned cocky as my face started to warm up.
Oh for fucks sake!
"Its not what it looks like," I frowned as I tried to get my blush to fuck off.
"Relax brother," she smiled. "We all find our mates when we least expect it. Especially when our auras become more open to others."
"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" I howled.
"Whatever you say brother," she chuckled.
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9937089
You're not far off.
I love the idea that Treehugger is a therapist who uses calming herbs that may or may not fall into a gray area of substance control depending on where you are and who you ask to help clear out her chakras during her off hours. Definitely a nice, fresh spin on her being a stoner just because she was portrayed as a stereotypical hippie. Lord knows a therapist's work must be stressful, especially for one who's especially empathetic and able to read others. I imagine such people might feel like some of their patient's stress becomes their own.
Now I'm imagining Treehugger's line 'I need a moment to clear out my chakras before I can hug you from a place of authenticity' from 'Make New Friends but Keep Discord' as being a Y-rated 'I need to step outside for a smoke real quick.' Though it's possible that was on a lot of bronies' minds just based on the stoner persona...
Nice work.
Spilled my love from laughting to hard and need to capture a few foxes for resupply.
*chirps and disappears into pink mist*
2 or so words that need fixing that I only really thought about after finishing but looks pretty good otherwise. That includes the content as well as the writing.
Damn. That would have been the perfect spit take moment! Hehe. Would also be funny if Treehugger was also on the receiving end of said spit take! As long as there was no literal fire.
I so like where this story is going.
Got wasted
I am Treehugger in this scene
So he still believes everyone is a Pokemon despite nothing acting like a Pokemon?
9940037
No, he's just making a comparison here and admitting to being open to the idea that pokemon god might be real.
9939921
Is it bad that every time I hear Treehugger say "Brother" I read it in the voice of "The Macho Man" Randy Savage?
I liked the back and forth in this chapter, whether or not you have Autumn and Alex get together it was funny to see their friends teasing them. And yes, I would think that Alex calls Treehugger a friend. Someone taking the time to listen to you vent and helping you through a traumatic experience? Yeah, that's someone who's friend material.
Still trying to force their way into his heart, huh? Fucking morons, it doesn't work like that. Even if you do wear him down and make him your friend, you just prove yourself a bad friend by showing you don't care what they think or feel. So what if you think you're helping, a hungry person will still duck if you throw food at them. Really, the problem is that they're ignoring him and acting to satisfy themselves, thinking that if they get what they want then he'll be happy as well.
But that bit with the morning pancakes and the ponies watching them drunk together? That's fucking creepy, and more than a little disturbing. Of course this is assuming you're making a "Pancakes" reference.
More AWESOME chapters!
I really don't like to start with miserable main characters.
There are only two main ways to use them:
Dedicate story to healing them or add scars only for character depth.
Both are boring and very depressing.
The only liberation is interesting romantical arcs sometimes, but we will see.
I really don’t understand all the critical comments on this story. I’m enjoying it so far, mostly because I have a soft spot for kitsune. The interpersonal dynamics can be a bit frustrating at times, but they’re not at all unrealistic. That kind of past does things to you, and it’s not easy to put aside habits and personal biases that you’ve developed as a survival response.
You sir, has given me the mental image of ponies and Pokemon with lightsabers. Good work.
This is Very good so far, and I can't wait to read more of it.
Glazed
Yeeeeeeah, I ship it.
9960914
Unrelated, but I love your avatar. Not too many Steampunk-themed Pegasi out there.
9961022
Finally! Someone figured it out! Tha k you for the compliment. I didn't do the art, but the character was made with steampunk in mind back when I was full on steampunk phase. Steampunk still holds a special place within my heart, and I still love it, but I've found several other interests.
"So was my former girlfriend," I said, "until she stabbed me in the back. Literally. That's why I'm so scarred. And scared. Got anything to help with that?"
" I replied.
"More of what Autumn Breeze was giving you 'til you can't even see the yellow pegasus sitting in the same room should work. Then ween yourself off of it 'till you can start talking again. Oh, and a dozen vixens in between--maybe throw in a kirrin, or two while you're at it. That should clear up your Chakras. Or at least fix it so you won't care about the wakizashi Flutters keeps with her whenever visiting the woods. You don't need to worry. She only has it--just in case something won't back off whenever she gives them the stink eye for going too far."
"
more do not fall me
This story is different from other pokemon stories. But like alot great stories, got a feeling you wont finish it.
9967031
Oh yeah? Well then. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
9967244
9967322
Uh....I'm confused. Are you saying I will finish this or not?
9967339
nope
9967353
Admittedly, my track record isn't very good. (Shrug) But I do intend to finish this. Hell, I'm working on the next chapter right now. I'm just dividing my focus between this and another story at the moment so it will take a while for chapters to come out.
9967381
all jokes aside. Really do hope you finish this. very unique story then the rest of the pokemon. Most of those stories have alot or just all pokemon. People cant keep up with each personalities. And then the plot just cant keep track. inconveniences keep getting in the way of things. Like a side story from a forgettable character or another character we the viewers never heard of or cared for. Mostly the stories they cant keep the main character involved. Not going going to lie, the ponies keep bugging Alex was a little annoying at first. But glad you point that out later in the chapters.
Waste
9967414
Or they get so involved with moves, powers, or evolutions that they don't actually bother to develop characters.
Pretty sure this is the wrong word
askew
crept
Looks like we got a whovian in our crosshairs, soldiers!
Great story so far, awesome work.
role*