> The Four Foxes
>  by colt alchemist
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Apple Thief
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was another sunny day at Sweet Apple Acres. The orchard was filled with apple trees, there was a gentle breeze, and Celestia’s sunlight was beaming down on everything. Applejack gave her next tree a hard buck. Apples dropped from the tree and landed in the wooden basket below. Applejack wiped the sweat off her brow. 

“Hoo-wee!” she sighed. “Apple Bloom, can you take this one down to the house?” 

“Sure thing, sis!” Applejack’s little sister replied. 

She managed to get the basket on her back and slowly trotted towards the house. 

“On second thought, Maybe I should take that?” Applejack asked. 

“Nah, I got this,” Apple Bloom replied. 


Applejack smiled as her sister walked away with the basket. She went over and picked up an empty basket and trotted on over to the next tree. She placed it under the tree and prepared for another buck. She reeled her hind legs back and gave the tree a hard buck. She heard the apples land in the basket. However, when she turned around, she only found apple cores in the basket. She gasped and her eyes widened. 

“What in tarnation?” she exclaimed. “Something’s been eatin’ mah apples!” 

She picked up one of the apple cores and inspected it closely. It had very peculiar bite marks surrounding it, not like any bites she had seen before. There were so many questions going on in her head. What had been eating her apples? Why would they leave the cores in the trees? How did nopony see them? 

“It aint bats this time, that’s for sure,” she said to herself. “So what is it then?” 

Her question was half answered when she heard something take a large bite. She swerved her head around to find one of her trees rustling. Soon after a single apple core dropped to the ground. 

“Oops,”  a voice said. 

Applejack raised her right eyebrow, curious to find her culprit. She trotted on over to the apple tree. She decided to go behind it to see if she could spot her apple thief, and sure enough she did. Her mouth dropped at what she found. She spotted a very strange and peculiar creature resting on a branch in her apple tree. It wasn’t a bat and it wasn’t a pony; it was a fox. A red fox with black ears and green slanted eyes was casually resting on the tree branch, twiddling a fresh apple in it’s paws. It opened it’s mouth to take the first bite. 

“Hey!” Applejack yelled. 

“Hm?”

The fox closed it’s mouth and looked down, noticing the young farm mare. 

“Oh hello,” the fox greeted. He sounded rather young and Applejack could tell it was a male. “Lovely day isn’t it? Not a sour grape in sight.” 

Applejack cocked her head at his statement. She shook her head and focused back on the thieving fox. 

“What do you think yer doing?” Applejack asked. 

“What am I doing? I’m sitting in a tree, talking to you. I don’t see what else I would be doing,” the fox replied. “Though I would love to explore an old ruin and hopefully discover a mysterious artifact. That would make for an interesting adventure book, wouldn’t you agree?” 

“I mean what do you think yer doing with mah apples?” 

The fox in the tree turned and looked at the apple in his paws, then back at the irritated farm mare below. 

“Your apples?” the fox wondered. “I found them first. Finders keepers. Snorers sneezers.” 

Applejack stared blankly at the fox. He was getting more random by the minute. She wasn’t going to let his strangeness get to her though. 

“Yer not from around here, are ya?” 

“What gave it away?” the fox asked, sarcastically. 

“Look, this here is private property. And unless you intend to pay for those apples, I suggest ya get out of here.” 

“Pay for them? With what? My soul? My body? I’m sorry, but I’m saving myself for when I find a mate,” he joked. “Would you like to be my mate? Then I can pay for these apples.”

Applejack grumbled. “Ya know what I mean! With money! Bits!” 

The fox cocked his head at Applejack. 

“Bits of what?” he asked. 

“Just bits.” 

“Yes, bits of what?”

“You have to pay with BITS!” 

“Bits of what? Bits of a shattered crystal? I haven’t come across one yet, but I’m sure something can be arranged.” 

“Ya gotta pay with money called BITS!” 

“Ok, I hear you. But bits of WHAT? You’re not making sense here.” 

“Oh, I’M not making sense?” Applejack scoffed. 

“Applejack?” 

Applejack turned around and noticed Apple Bloom staring at her with her head tilted. 

“Who are you yelling at?” she asked. 

“I’m tryin’ to get this here fox out of our tree. He’s been eatin' our apples,” AJ explained. 

“A fox has been eatin’ our apples?” 

“Apparently. C’mere. He’s up there,” AJ explained, pointing to the tree. 

Apple Bloom walked over to the tree her sister was at to see what she was talking about. However, she didn’t have the reaction Applejack was expecting.

“Uh, AJ, there’s nothing up there.” 

“Huh?!” 

Applejack turned her head around and her eyes shrank when she noticed that the fox was gone. 

“What the? But he was right there!” she stammered. 

“You sure about that, sis?” 

“Yes I’m sure. You know I never lie.” 

“I know. It’s just strange that you would find a fox in our trees.” 

“Believe me, I’m just as confused as you are. But don’t worry, I’m gonna take care of this pest.”

“If there is one,” Apple Bloom teased. 

“Just go get mah lasso,” Applejack ordered. As soon as she was gone- 

“What a cute tiny pony.” 

Applejack gasped and swerved around. She found the fox lying on a new branch in another tree, tossing the same apple around in his paws. Applejack trotted on over to the other tree. 

“Is she your daughter?” 

“No, she’s not. She’s mah sister.” she grumbled. 

“Yeah, I kind of figured. You look way too young and pretty to be having kits.” 

Applejack was taken back by this, she could feel her own face turning as red as the apples the fox was eating. First he stole her apples and now he was complimenting her? More questions raced around in the farm mares head. 

“W-what?” Applejack stammered. 

“Or whatever small ponies are called,” the fox finished. 

“Flattery won’t get ya nowhere. Especially after what you’ve done.” 

“What is it I’ve done?” the fox wondered. “There are no centaurs on the moon.” 

“Don’t play du-wait what?” Applejack decided at this point that it was useless to try and make sense of this creature. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and looked up at the fox. “I don’t know where you get at, wandering into mah orchard and eating mah apples and claim them to be yours.” 

“But they are mine. I have proof if you want to see it,” the fox interrupted, pointing to his stomach. 

“Well obviously not the ones you’ve already eaten!” Applejack sighed. “Look, I’m not sure where ya came from or how things work there, but here in Ponyville, taking somepony’s apples without paying for them is called ‘stealing’. And that makes you, a dirty thief!” 

“How dare you! I just took a bath this morning!” 

“What? Alright, fine, that makes you a ‘clean thief!’ better?” she grunted. 

“Thank you. But doesn’t it seem kind of ridiculous?” 

“What does?” 

“This whole scenario. Paying for food and all. Doesn’t it seem a little silly if it means starving? If one is hungry, then they should eat whenever they want. It’s bad enough that they’re starving, you don’t need to pour salt on the wound by making them pay for it. If they want something, then they should get it themselves. I am one of those ‘ones.’ I am merely surviving.” 

“Surviving?!” 

“Yes, surviving. I must do what I can to stay alive, just like you.” 

“You and I, are not the same. I’ve worked really hard to farm these apples, and I’m not going to let a thieving fox like you steal them from me!” 

“Applejack!” 

AJ turned around and noticed Apple Bloom running with her lasso in her mouth. She turned and made sure the fox was still in the tree, which he was. She glared at him while her sister got closer. 

“Don’t move!” 

Applejack turned and faced her sister. 

“I got yer lasso!” Apple Bloom chirped. 

“Thanks, sis.” 

Applejack started swinging her lasso around with her tail, ready to wrangle some fox. 

“Now it’s time to-” 

Her rope dropped to the ground once she found the fox was no longer in the tree. 

“What?!” 

She looked all around and noticed all the other trees were empty. Nothing but leaves and apples on all of them. This didn’t make sense at all. Applejack looked down at her sister, who had her right eyebrow raised at her big sister. 

“He was right THERE!” Applejack yelled. 

“Sis, are ya sure the heat isn’t getting to ya?” 

“I’m not making this up! There was a fox in the tree, eating all of our apples! There are apple cores in the basket over there! Go look for yerself!” 

Apple Bloom trotted on over to the basket to see what her sister was talking about. Once again, her reaction was not at all what Applejack was expecting. 

“Applejack, I don’t know what yer talking about? These apples look fine.” 

Applejack’s eyes shrank as she ran over the basket. Her jaw dropped when she found that the basket that was supposedly full of apple cores was now full of fresh, uneaten apples. 

“W-What the?” Applejack stammered. 

“Maybe it was Discord playing pranks again?” Apple Bloom suggested. 

“What? No, he’s off somewhere on a trip with Fluttershy.”

“Oh, ok...Well, I’m just gonna go ahead and take these apples back to the house,” Apple Bloom said. 

As she trotted back, Apple Bloom thought to herself, I think sis needs a vacation. She seems a bit over-worked again. 

AJ’s mind was in circles. First the fox speaking in random quotes, then the apple cores suddenly turned into freshly-bucked apples, and to top it all off no one could spot the fox but her. She rubbed the back of her head and began to fan herself with her hat, hoping to blow the heat away. Something didn’t sit right with her. 

“You lose again.” 

The farm mare turned around and, yet again, found the fox. Only this time, he was walking out from behind one of the apple trees. 

“You’re really bad at hide and seek, aren’t ya?” he teased. 

As the fox walked out from behind the tree, his whole body was revealed. Applejack covered her mouth when she noticed that the fox did not have just a single tail... There were three long, wavy, and bushy tails on the young fox. Applejack couldn’t believe her eyes. 

“What are ya?” 

“Well I’m obviously no ordinary ‘thieving fox.’ Nor am I a talking umbrella. Just a simple fox spirit. I’m called Kichiro. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, whatever your name is,” the fox introduced. 

The three tailed fox took a large bite out of his apple, juice spilling from his lips. Applejack shook her head and started to swinging her lasso again. The fox known as Kichiro noticed this. 

“Huh?” 

The lasso was thrown, flying right towards him. Kichiro jumped back and tossed his apple into the air. The lasso wrapped around the apple and was brought back to Applejack. The farm mare caught the bitten apple and growled at the three-tailed fox. 

Kichiro chuckled nervously. “Sayonara!” 

With that the fox bolted off. 

“Get back here!” Applejack yelled as she ran off after him. 

The fox laughed as he evaded in and out of the various trees and made sure to avoid the raging farm mare at all costs. He ran and jumped between trees until Applejack lost track of him. She panted and growled to herself. It was bad enough that she had a new pest problem, but the pest itself was something that she had never seen before. She didn’t even know how to comprehend this situation. 

“Applejack, c’mere!” Apple Bloom yelled in the distance. 

Applejack’s ears perked up. She raced back to the apple house and found her family in the kitchen. Apple Bloom was near the bucket she had recently taken in. 

“Sis, we’ve got a problem!” 

Applejack looked in the bucket and noticed that it was full of apple cores again, all with the same fox-like bite-marks. 

“I knew it!” 

Outside, Kichiro was resting behind one the trees outside of Sweet Apple Acres. He peaked his head around the trunk and looked back at the farm. He couldn’t help but form a curious smile as he gazed back at the apple’s house, barn, and orchard. He chuckled to himself, very amused with his first encounter. 

“That was fun.” 

Kichiro got back up and began to walk away from the acres and ventured deep into Ponyville. 

> The Carousel Thrift Store
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Carousel Boutique, a fancy and fashionable clothes store in Ponyville. The mare who ran the place, Rarity, was upstairs in her room designing her latest creation for one of her clients. It was a very flashy dress with various shades of purple and loose fabrics all around it. She was humming a little tune to herself as she was adding another piece to the dress. 

“Hmm, this fabric is very divine, but I feel like I could add a little more to it,” Rarity said to herself. “Either way, Lavender Thread is going to look lovely in this piece!” 

After some time, she decided to take a small break and walked downstairs to the kitchen. She made herself some tea and relaxed. She looked all around her shop and noticed how messy it really was, fabric and gems scattered everywhere. 

“I suppose I should clean up. I can’t have my boutique looking like this.” 

She took another sip of her tea and sighed. She then heard a faint scratching at her door. She looked up and noticed that the sign wasn’t flipped to “Closed,” so who could be scratching at her door? 

“I guess Opal got out again.” 

She got up and walked on over to her door. She opened it up which triggered the bell to make a lovely chime. As soon as she opened the door, she felt something zip right past her, causing her mane to flow with the sudden gust of wind. 

“Opal?” 

She turned around to find nothing but her same messy area. She shrugged it off and closed the door. 

“That was odd.” 

She sat back down at the table and continued to drink her tea. She kept on wondering if that was really Opal who was scratching at the door. Either way, she felt glad that the noise was gone. While she was drinking her tea, Opal jumped up on the table. Rarity gasped and jumped back. 

“Oh, Opal darling, don’t scare me like that. And try not to get out again.” 

The white fluffy cat tilted her head at her owner’s comment. Just then, Rarity heard something fall from upstairs. She faced Opal with her own head tilt. This didn’t seem right. If Opal was here, then who was upstairs? 

Perhaps that was Sweetie Belle? Rarity thought. 

She set down her tea and went upstairs to investigate. She went up to her room and noticed that the door was slightly open. This didn’t sit well with the designer. She knew she closed the door when she went downstairs. Perhaps her sister went into her room to borrow something? She pushed the door open and came across a peculiar sight. Her mouth dropped and her eyes shrank when she noticed a tiny fox staring at her latest dress. Raritys heart stopped when she noticed the red fox sniffing the dress with it’s tail waving side to side. The door creaked which caused the fox’s ear to perk up. It turned around and noticed Rarity, it stared at her with its big, golden eyes. The small fox formed a toothy grin on its face. 

“Hiya!” the young kit chirped.

Rarity noticed that the fox sounded like a young filly. But she didn’t really care about the fox’s gender at the moment, all she could really do was scream. She scattered backwards and away from her room, holding her beating chest. 

“Rarity? What’s wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked, who appeared out of the corner. 

“Sweetie, do not go in there!” Rarity ordered, pointing to her room. 

“Why? What’s in there?” Sweetie asked, approaching Rarity’s room. 

“No, don’t!” 

Sweetie Belle poked her head into the room and noticed the tiny vixen.

“Hi, I’m Emi! Nice to meet ya!” The young fox greeted. 

Sweetie’s jaw also dropped, and her eyes lit up like falling stars. 

“Oh my Celestia! Rarity, she’s so cute! Can we keep her?” Sweetie chirped. 

“Absolutely not! Get away from the door!” Rarity ordered. 

“But look at her!” 

The tiny fox, Emi, slowly approached Sweetie Belle. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty great. This is a nice place you have. Do you really live here, in a thrift store? That’s so cool! You wouldn’t happen to have any cute scarves or bandanas I could wear, do ya? Or maybe some nice pheasant I could hunt? I’m starving! I haven’t had anything to eat in ages!” Emi asked, rapidly. 

Sweetie and Rarity noticed how quickly she was talking, she sounded like someone who could give Pinkie Pie a run for her money. Then, Rarity realized what the fox had said.

"T-Thrift store...? THRIFT STORE?! YOU CALL THIS A THRIFT STORE, YOU UNCULTURED FURBALL?! THIS IS THE CAROUSEL BOUTIQUE!!! Ponyvilles finest clothes store!"

Emi just stared at her in confusion, not sure how to react to the pony's sudden outburst. 

Sweetie injected, "Sis... Calm down. Deep breaths. Inhale... Exhale..."

Rarity managed to almost calm down, and then engulfed Sweetie in her magic and brought her downstairs. They hid in the kitchen as they tried to come up with a plan.

“Come now, Sweetie, let’s go get Twilight. She’ll know what to do.” 

“Wouldn't it be better to get Fluttershy? She’s the animal expert,” Sweetie suggested. 

“Normally, yes, but don’t you remember? She’s on a trip somewhere with Discord.” 

“Oh, yeah.” 

“And seeing how she’s out of the picture, we’ll have to go to Twilight. Now come on!” 

Rarity was making her way towards the door with Sweetie close behind her. All of a sudden, Emi appeared right in front of the door, blocking their path. Rarity and Sweetie came to a halt. 

“Hey, where’re ya going? I still have so many questions,” Emi chirped. 

Rarity backed up and took Sweetie with her. They approached the broom closet and Rarity started desperately looking for, well, a broom.  

“Rarity, what’s the big deal?” 

“What’s the big deal?! We have a fox in our boutique! Do you know what kind of diseases those vermin could carry?” 

“Vermin? She didn’t seem to be dangerous. Plus, she can talk.” 

“So?”

“So, wouldn’t that mean that she’s no ordinary fox?” Sweetie tried to reason.

“If so, that just gives me more of a reason to get her out of here! Do you know what would happen if word got out that a fox was found scavenging around my boutique? I’d be ruined!” 

“So? You still have the other boutiques all across Equestria,” Sweetie replied, deadpanned. 

“Where is that broom?!” 

“Hey, looking for this?” 

Rarity and Sweetie turned around and noticed Emi with the broom under her paws, still wearing an innocent smile. 

“Yeah I’d figure you would go for this thing, so I brought it out to you to save you the trouble. So, happy birthday!” Emi said. 

“Oh, why thank you, darling,” Rarity replied as she took the broom with her magic. 

Her eyes shrank once she realized who had given it to her. She’d been so scared that she wasn’t paying attention to who was who. She stared down at the little fox, who was still wagging her tail. 

“So, what’re you going to do with that? Spring cleaning?” Emi wondered. 

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” 

Rarity brought the broom down onto Emi. Luckily, the little fox dodged out of the way before the broom could hit her. Rarity went for another strike but missed again. Emi started running around the boutique while Rarity was constantly swiping at her with the broom. Sweetie tried to calm Rarity down, but to no avail. Surprisingly, the fox was laughing the whole time, as if it were some kind of game. 

“Can’t catch me! Can’t catch me! You’re too slow!” Emi laughed. 

“Hold still and I’ll get you!” Rarity retorted. 

Little did she know, Rarity was making more of a mess while she was chasing the little fox. Rarity chased Emi right back up the stairs with her broom. Emi ran right into Raritys room with the designer following. Raritys eyes shrank once she noticed the fox getting closer to her unfinished dress. 

“Step away!” Rarity barked. Emi turned her head in confusion. 

“Huh?” 

“Don’t you dare mess up that dress!” 

“Why would I do that? It looks pretty.” 

Rarity blinked. She was a little taken back by what this strange little fox just said. 

“I beg your pardon?” Rarity asked. 

“I mean look at it. The nice colors, the interesting design, and not to mention the fabric.” 

Emi picked up one of the loose pieces of fabric from the dress and rubbed it on her face. Her eyes closed and she sighed as she nuzzled against the fabric. 

“It’s been awhile since I’ve felt something this soft,” Emi mused. 

“Oh, you really like it?” Rarity wondered. “I wasn’t so sure if I needed to add more ribbons or not.” 

“No way! If anything, it doesn’t have enough ribbons. There’s nothing wrong with adding some more ribbons to life.” 

“You really think so?” 

“Yeah! I think it’s nice just the way it is. But with a few more ribbons!” 

“Well, it’s not really complete yet, but I appreciate the thought.” 

Rarity slowly lowered her broom and looked down at the little fox. She was starting to have second thoughts about chasing her away. Sure, she might’ve ran all around the place and caused a mess in her boutique, but at least she had a nice taste in style and fabric. 

“Yeah. Not bad for a one tail,” Emi commented. 

“Thank you...I think,” Rarity replied. 

She didn’t really know what to make of her random comment. 

“You’re not so bad, now are you?” Rarity wondered. 

“See! I told you!” Sweetie exclaimed. 

“That depends, can I keep this soft ribbon? Please!” Emi pleaded.

“I’m afraid not, darling. I need that for my dress.” 

“Aww,” Emi pouted. “Then no, I’m terrible! I will now bring down a horrible curse upon you! You shall go blind forever! Never to see your own work! You will never see the light of day again!” 

This made Rarity giggle a little. She was definitely the energetic type. As she was looking down on the tiny fox, she couldn’t help but ponder something. 

“Where did you come from?” Rarity wondered. 

“Oh that’s easy! I came from your front door,” Emi replied. “I scratched and scratched until you let me in. And here I am!” 

“No, I mean where did you actually come from? We normally don’t get foxes around here. Especially not ones that talk,” Rarity explained. 

Emi perked up and looked at Rarity. She then scanned her surroundings, swinging her head side to side. After that, she faced Rarity again. 

“Ok, come closer,” she ordered. Rarity did so and lowered her head towards the fox. 

“Closer.” 

Rarity leaned in more. 

“Closer.” 

Rarity was at eye level with Emi. The young fox walked up and placed her mouth mere inches from Rarity left ear. 

“It’s a secret,” she whispered. 

Rarity blinked and stared at the fox. Emi tried her best to hide her smile, but it proved to be impossible. She burst with laughter and landed on her back. Both Rarity and Sweetie Belle cocked an eyebrow at the laughing kit.  

“Well, this was interesting, but I really must be getting back to work now,” Rarity said. 

“Do you have to? I was just starting to like you,” Emi whined. 

“I’m afraid so, darling. Besides, I think you should head on home. I bet your family misses you.” 

“Haha yeah, home,” Emi chuckled. 

She looked down at the ground afterwards. Rarity didn’t know why, but she couldn’t help but detect a small amount of solemn from the fox. Something was a little off with this fox, apart from being, well, a talking fox. 

“Darling? Are you Ok?” 

“Never better!” the fox chirped. “It was great meeting you! Miss...?”

“Oh, My name is Rarity,” Rarity introduced. 

“And I’m Sweetie Belle,” Sweetie added. 

“It was nice to meet you both. We should hangout again sometime!” Emi replied. 

“But maybe with less broom swinging,” Sweetie teased, earning an annoyed grumble from her sister. 

With that, the little fox was making her way towards the front door. Rarity couldn’t help but feel a little mixed at the moment. She didn’t like the idea of a fox finding her way into her boutique, but was surprised to see that she had some decent taste. Then there was that moment where she was silent, considering she’d been making nothing but noise since she entered Raritys home. Something wasn’t right with that fox. Rarity turned back and looked at one of the loose ribbons on the dress. Emi was just about to walk out the front door. 

“Wait!” Rarity called out. 

Emi turned around and looked up at the unicorn mare. 

“I think you should have this after all.” 

Rarity levitated one of the violet ribbons from her unfinished dress. It came as no surprise to her that Emis eyes lit up. 

“You mean it?” 

“I do. Here.” 

Rarity used her magic to tie the ribbon around Emis neck to make tiny bow. Emis wide smile was enough for Rarity to know that she loved it. 

“Thanks lady! You know, even though you tried to kill me, I think we’re going to be great friends!” 

Rarity chuckled and rubbed the back of her head nervously. She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about her previous actions and blushed a little. Emi ran around in circles happy to receive her new gift. 

“Well, consider it my way of saying, I’m sorry.” 

“Aw, it’s ok,” Emi replied. “I would’ve tried to kill me too.” 

Rarity blinked, she wasn’t exactly sure she heard that right. 

“What?” 

“And I’m sorry I called your boutique a thrift store. There was a big mess, so I honestly couldn’t tell.” 

“Yes, well, I’ve been meaning to clean up. So, I guess that’s understandable,” Rarity admitted. “Just be careful with your words next time.”

“That room is almost always messy like that,” Sweetie added. 

“Pff, quiet Sweetie Belle. It is my WORK room after all. Work rooms are supposed to be a bit messy,” Rarity explained. 

“A bit maybe. But yours looks a war zone sometimes,” Sweetie retorted. 

“It’s called ‘Controlled Chaos!’ I know exactly where everything is in there!...Well, almost everything, anyway.” 

Emi couldn’t help but laugh at the sisters little banter with each other.

“Anyway, it was nice meeting you both. Have fun with your not-thrift store. Bye!” 

With that, Emi exited the boutique and ventured into Ponyville. Rarity couldn’t help but crack a smile as she watch the little filly disappear into the distance. Her sister, Sweetie, soon joined her. 

“Well that was fun,” Sweetie commented. 

“Yes. However, there’s still something I don’t understand.” 

“Like how there was a talking fox in our home?” 

“Other than that. She behaved rather strangely when I told her to go home.” 

Rarity tapped her chin in thought. She obviously knew this was no normal fox, and she could’ve done a lot more damage to her boutique. This whole situation was very peculiar to Rarity. 

“I think I should probably tell Twilight about this after all.” she thought to herself as she closed the door to the boutique. “After I’m done with the dress.” 
> Fox-Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The outside market was swarming with smiling ponies. They were all either selling their products or socializing with one another. It didn’t seem like anything could ruin their day. That was, until they spotted it. As every pony was busy walking around and chatting with another, a strange creature appeared. Every pony stopped what they were doing and gasped. They couldn’t look away as a large red fox with five tails casually strolled through the market. The foxes many tails waved as it strolled, its piercing green eyes were enough to turn a few heads, and the black tips on its ears were very noticeable. Whispers and mutters could be heard among the crowd, so many voices and so many scared faces all around. Almost everything seemed to go quiet as the fox passed by a stand and ponies immediately got out of the way when it came near them. Even though it was still smaller than them, it was rather big for a fox. The fox glared at all the scared faces it was getting. 

“Yes, I am a fox. Don’t let me interrupt your day,” the fox said. 

All of the ponies could tell it was a vixen from her voice. All of the ponies in the market tried to resume to their individual days, but still couldn’t help but feel intimidated as the fox strolled by. The vixen felt no better, every stare she was receiving felt like a stone was being thrown at her. 

What is it with these midget horses? The vixen thought. They’re acting like they’ve never seen a different creature before. What a bunch of weirdos. Of all the places to appear in, it had to be THIS kind of place? It’s way too colorful. 

She turned to her right and noticed some of the ponies at the stands averted their gaze. Some of them turned their heads as soon as the vixen spotted them. There were even some ponies who were pretending to whistle as if they didn’t notice her. The vixen rolled her eyes. 

“I know you’re all staring at me!” 

All the ponies turned their heads and avoided eye contact with the fox. The vixen grunted in response. Her first day and the citizens were already afraid of her. 

Mind your own business. Judgemental donkeys. 

“Hi there!” 

The vixen jumped back. She soon found a strange pink and poofy pony standing right in front of her. 

“Oh my gosh! Are you new? You must be new cuz I’ve never seen you here before! I love meeting new ponies! But you’re NOT a pony! You’re a fox. But you can’t be a normal fox because you have more than one tail! That’s weird, but so cool!” The pink pony exclaimed rapidly. 

The vixen didn’t know how to respond, but at least one pony didn’t show any apprehension towards her, but she couldn’t tell if this was better or worse. 

“I-I blinked, what happened?” the vixen asked. 

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie!” the pink pony introduced. 

“I’m leaving.” 

The vixen walked away from the strange pony, but soon found her right in front of her again. 

“Nice to meet you, leaving!” 

“What the? How did you...?” the vixen stammered. 

She looked back at where Pinkie was previously standing and only found a pink outline blinking in the air. The vixen rubbed her head and grunted. 

“Don’t you worry! Most ponies here are super friendly! And I’ll make sure you’ll have lots of friends at my party tonight! Gotta go, got so much to do. Bye!” 

With that, the pink pony zipped off before the vixen could raise a paw. She just stood there with her eyes widened and her mind in scrambles. She shook her head and just stared at the empty space. 

“Ok then.” 

The vixen continued her stroll. 

‘Don’t draw too much attention to yourself.’ How am I supposed to do that if everything in this village either sees me as a freak or is random as scat?! I have no idea what this place is, but I already hate it. 

The sound of magic suddenly hit her heardrums. Her right ear perked up and she turned her head. She noticed a big, shiny, and crystal-like castle at the edge of town. However, the castle wasn’t what caught her attention. Instead, she focused on what was going on behind it. She could see small sparks going off in the air behind the crystal castle. The vixen cocked her head. She decided to make her way towards the castle to see what was going on behind. 

Starlight Glimmers horn was smoking with magic. It was just another day of practicing spells for her, not that she minded it. She wore a confident smile on her face as she stared at the book, nest, and tissue box that lied before her. Normally she would be practicing her magic inside, but decided that practicing outside in the open field behind the castle would be a nice change of pace, and sure enough it was. 

“Good, but I think I can do better,” Starlight said, as she was writing something down in her book. “Why don’t we try five this time. You ready, Trixie?” 

She looked over to her blue, magician friend who’s eyes were barely open and looked rather tired and impatient.  

“Do we have to?” Trixie complained. “You’ve already mastered this spell, why do you feel like you should practice it? Besides, you said that we could go to Sugarcube Corner today. I am craving a chocolate oat shake.” 

“I told you. I want to see how effectively my transfiguration spell can work on moving targets. You never know when a technique like that could come in useful,” Starlight explained. 

“Yeah, like if you needed to turn a bird into a magic teacup or something,” Trixie joked. “Hey! I just thought of a new trick for my next show!” 

“Don’t go and steal my ideas,” Starlight laughed. “After this last test, we can head on over to Sugarcube Corner. Ok?” 

“Oh alright.” 

Trixie walked away from Starlight and got ready in her position. 

“Ready?” 

Trixie nodded. 

“Now!” 

Trixie used her magic to launch five flying discs into the air. Starlight focused on each of the flying discs and drew five mental pictures. Once she had the pictures in her mind, she fired her horn. Her magic beam hit the first disc and zapped it into a red rubber ball. She quickly fired her second beam and turned the next disc into a carrot hotdog. She turned the third one into a hat, the fourth into a guitar, and the fifth into a watermelon. All five objects landed on the ground in one piece. Starlights horn was smoking again, so she blew it out. 

“Amazing!”

“Thank you, Trixie,” Starlight said.  

“That wasn’t me,” Trixie replied. 

“Huh?” 

Both unicorns turned their heads to find the source of the voice. Their jaws dropped once they noticed the five tailed vixen standing next to the castle, watching them. The vixen realized she had been caught and stepped towards the two unicorns. 

“Uh, hello,” she greeted. 

Neither Starlight or Trixie knew how to respond. Out of all the many creatures they had come across, this one was by far the strangest. Starlights heart was pumping and her head swarming with questions. The fox noticed the stares she was receiving from the two unicorns, filling her with the same uncomfortable feeling from the market. 

“Q-Quit staring, would you,” the fox said. 

“Oh, sorry!” Starlight replied. 

“I’ll just be going now.”

The vixen turned around to leave, but Starlight wasn’t going to let a new creature get away like that. 

“Wait! Don’t go,” Starlight called out. The vixen turned around and faced Starlight and Trixie. “We didn’t mean to stare, did we Trixie?” 

“Well-”

“Trixie!” 

“No, we didn’t.” Trixie replied, deadpanned. 

“Sorry, but can I ask you a few questions?” Starlight asked. 

“Fine,” the vixen groaned and approached the two unicorns. 

As she walked up to Starlight she realized how tall she really was. The vixen was shorter than Starlight but but taller than an ordinary fox or filly. 

“Wow, you ponies are a lot taller up close,” she commented.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that,” Starlight replied.

She still couldn’t believe that she was coming into contact with a new species, she couldn’t wait to tell Twilight this. 

“My name is Starlight Glimmer. Who...What are you?” Starlight asked. 

“I’m a fox, obviously,” the vixen replied. 

“Really? Because last time I checked, foxes didn’t have five tails,” Trixie remarked. “Or could talk!”

“You’re a real charmer, aren’t you?” the vixen snarked. 

Trixie grumbled in response. 

“I’m really a fox spirit. But don’t expect me to grant you any wishes.”

“We won’t, just questions,” Starlight assured. “What’s your name?” 

“Does it matter?” 

“Well, kind of. I already told you my name. Plus, we’ve never seen a creature like you before and we’d like to get to know you more. Are you new around here?” 

“Please don’t tell me YOU'RE throwing me a surprise party too?” 

“Something tells me she met Pinkie Pie,” Trixie said. 

“Clearly,” Starlight giggled. “We don’t want you to go. We just want to know who you are.” 

“Aren’t you scared of me?” 

“Not at all. Why would you think that?” 

“Take a wild guess,” she said as she eyed some bystanders. 

The two ponies passing by quickly averted their gazes and bolted away from the trio. Starlight rolled her eyes. 

“Don’t let other ponies get to you, they’ve just never seen anything like you before.” 

“So it would seem.” 

Starlight tapped her hoof to her chin to figure out a way to make the fox more comfortable. 

“You said that my magic was ‘amazing.’ Did you like what you see?” Starlight asked. 

The vixen couldn’t help but blush a little. Having her little outburst was embarrassing enough, having someone remind her of it made it all the more awkward. She looked at the ground and avoided Starlight’s gaze. 

“D-Don’t talk down to me,” the vixen muttered.

“I’m not talking down to you. I was just wondering if you liked it?” 

The vixen lifted her head and looked at Starlight. The unicorn stared at the vixens green eyes. Starlight couldn’t look away, something about the vixen’s eyes really caught her attention. Maybe it was the fact of how bright the color was or how fierce it made her look. Starlight could also sense something from the vixen’s eyes. Loneliness? No, that wasn’t it. Whatever it was, Starlight decided not to focus on that at the moment. 

“I noticed you were turning those flying discs into random stuff. I thought it looked cool,” the vixen admitted. 

“You mean my transfiguration spell? Thanks, I’m glad you liked it,” Starlight replied. “Do you know any magic?” 

“Sort of, in a way. But I don’t think it’s magic you’re familiar with,” the vixen replied. 

“Foreign magic? That’s so interesting! If Twilight were here, she’d be freaking out,” Starlight said. “Do you want to show us some of your magic?” 

“What? But you said that we could go to Sugarcube Corner after this last test,” Trixie complained. “They don’t have an unlimited supply of chocolate oat shakes, y’know.” 

“Can I demonstrate my magic on her? I’d be more than happy to,” the vixen asked. 

“Trixie, we have a new creature with unknown magic, we can’t pass up an opportunity like this!” 

“I don’t know,” the fox replied. “I really shouldn’t draw any more attention to myself than I already have.” 

“You’re a talking fox. I’d say you have enough attention,” Trixie retorted. 

The vixen growled at Trixie, not appreciating her snide remarks. 

“How do we know she isn’t lying to us? Foxes are sneaky creatures after all,” Trixie added.  

This made the vixen growl even more, her ears were folded back and her sharpest teeth were exposed. 

“Trixie!” Starlight scolded. 

“I’m just saying! Only unicorns and alicorns can use actual magic. Besides, how do we know this isn’t just some regular fancy fox who’s all bark and no bite?”

The blood in the vixen’s body had reached its boiling point. It was one thing to judge foxes as a whole, but openly suggesting a sign of weakness was too much for the fox. She could literally feel the fire within her burning. 

“You want to see some magic?! Alright, I’ll show you,” the vixen growled. 

Trixie huffed and walked off to her position to load the next set of discs. Starlight couldn’t help but glare at Trixie for her rudeness. The vixen calmed down before smoke could form and followed Starlight to where she was previously standing and firing her magic.

“I’m sorry about my friend,” Starlight said. 

“Is she always like that?” the vixen wondered. 

“Well, yes,” Starlight replied. “But she’s not so bad once you get to know her.” 

“Not sure if I want to know her.” 

Starlight ignored that last comment and prepared her notebook to write down her observations. 

“So, you ready to show us what you got?” Starlight asked. 

A toothy smile formed on the vixen’s face as her heart began to pick up the pace, ready to make the blue unicorn eat her words. 

“Oh yeah,” she chuckled. 

Starlight couldn’t help but feel a little anxious at the vixen’s new attitude. Just to be safe, she stepped back as the vixen prepared herself. Trixie was getting ready with her discs, ready to get this last test over with. 

“Ready?”

Trixie nodded, reluctantly. 

“Now!” 

Trixie launched five discs into the air with her magic. The vixen spotted the flying discs and closed her eyes to focus. Starlight cocked an eyebrow at this action. Why close her eyes when the targets were right in front of them? Her answer soon came when the vixen opened up her eyes. Her green eyes started glowing a bright golden light brighter than fireflies. Starlight noticed some sparks igniting from the vixen’s mouth. Before she could ask what was going on, the vixen shot a fiery beam out of her mouth and right for one of the discs. The beam struck a flying disc and it exploded into a big, fiery cloud. The cloud spread to the other discs, incinerating them in the process. All that was left was a smoke cloud in the air. Both unicorns eyes had shrunken to the size of bits. Starlight turned to the vixen, who’s glowing eyes were beginning to dim. Smoke was emitting from the vixens jaw as she panted. To say that Starlight and Trixie were surprised would be an understatement. 

“W-W-What was that?!” Trixie asked. 

“Fox-fire,” the vixen breathed. 

“Good thing Twilight is at the train station, she would’ve flipped out for sure!” Starlight exclaimed. “When you said your magic was different, you weren’t kidding!” 

The vixen turned towards Trixie, causing her to yelp. 

“Still think I’m all bark and no bite?” she chuckled, smoke still emitting from her jaw. 

Before she could answer, or hide behind Starlight, the sound of voices and hooves trotting suddenly hit their ears. They turned around and soon noticed a large group of ponies making their way towards the castle. Starlight had deduced they were concerned about the loud noise. 

“Looks like we got company,” Starlight said. 

“Yeah, I think I might’ve overdone it,” the vixen admitted. “Well, it was nice meeting you, time to go!” 

The fox exited the area before the herd of ponies could reach them. 

“Hey wait!” Starlight called out. The vixen turned around. 

“Can you at least tell me your name?” 

The vixen thought about it, avoiding eye contact with the mare. She tried her best not to draw attention, but had failed from the start. Figuring that there was no point in trying to lay low anymore, she faced Starlight. 

“Reiko!” 

With that, the vixen bolted on out of there, before Starlight could ask anything else. 

“Reiko?” she wondered. 

“Um, Starlight?” Trixie muttered. 

Starlight turned around and noticed the large crowd of concerned faces and worried ponies. They kept on flooding the air with questions like ‘are you ok?’ and ‘what was that noise?’ Starlight didn’t know how to answer the crowd as she chuckled nervously. She just felt glad that Twilight wasn’t around to see this. 
> An Everfree Encounter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight and Spike had met up with Fluttershy and Discord at the train station. They had just come home from the trip and Twilight decided to greet their friends while everyone else was busy. Fluttershy took the train but Discord, being the chaos lord that he was, unzipped a dimensional rift above the platform and appeared out of it. This surprised absolutely nopony. 

“Welcome back. Did you two have fun on your trip?” Twilight asked. 

“Oh yes. It was so good to visit the breezies again. And Discord enjoyed meeting them for the first time,” Fluttershy replied. 

“Yes, delicate little things aren’t they?” Discord replied. “I’d say they had a blast leaf surfing with me.” He added.

Fluttershy explained to Twilight and Spike how Discord found it funny how the breezies could be overpowered by a simple leaf and decided to “join in on the fun.” Needless to say, it was an unusual experience for the two friends and the breezies. Once again, surprising nopony. Twilight and Spike expected this kind of behavior of Discord. 

“He didn’t hurt them or anything, did he?” Spike asked. 

“Oh no, he was very gentle,” Fluttershy assured. 

“Hey, not my fault they can’t have a good time,” Discord said, earning a glare from Fluttershy. “I mean, yes, I treated them with utmost respect and care.” 

Fluttershy’s glare turned into a smile, causing the chaos lord to smile as well. 

“Well, I’m glad you two had a good time. Maybe we cou-”

Reiko’s explosion went off before Twilight could finish her sentence. Everypony on the platform jumped at the noise. Spike hid behind Twilight as Fluttershy hid behind her own wings. 

“W-What was that?” Fluttershy stammered. 

“Not to fear, Fluttershy! I shall protect you!” Discord proclaimed, zapping a knight’s armor, sword, and shield onto himself. 

He stepped in front of Fluttershy into a defensive position. Twilight rolled her eyes at Discord’s new look. 

“It sounded like it was near the castle. C’mon!” Twilight ordered.

The two ponies, dragon, and draconequus ran off towards the castle to see what was going on. The explosion wasn’t just heard from the station. It was so loud that creatures from the Everfree forest were starting to freak out, running and flying out of their homes. Even the forest zebra, Zecora, heard it from inside her hut. 

“What was that? An explosion?” Zecora wondered. “Whatever it was, I hope it will cause no commotion.” 

The smoke cloud rose into the air, disappearing as it ascended and the noise died down. A rather large fox spotted the smoke cloud from the forest. He gazed upon it with his bright, golden eyes. A gentle breeze blew by his red fur and made his seven tails wave. The fox knew who had caused that sudden boom and formed that smoke cloud in the sky. He sighed and rubbed his head with his paw. 

No doubt Reiko’s work, he thought to himself. 

He dug his sharp claws into the earth, figuring out where to go next. He turned away from the smoke cloud and continued to trek through the forest. As he strolled, he noticed many of the forest creatures, mainly rabbits and birds, race past him. He didn’t find it hard to believe that they were still spooked by the loud noise. He scanned his surroundings to see what lied within the forest. They only thing he could spot was the surrounding plant-life and many creatures run by him, some of them could provide a snack for him later on. 

Meanwhile, Zecora was resorting all of the potions on her shelves, just like how Twilight often reorganizes her book shelves. As she was readjusting everything, she noticed an empty bowl. 

“Hmm, it seems I am out of purple mushrooms,” Zecora said, grabbing her cloak and basket. “I just hope there are no poison joke are abloom.” 

The shaman zebra stepped out of her hut and ventured into the forest for harvesting. The fox was still walking along the forest floor, trying to figure out where to go next. It seemed like he was going in circles. The fox’s nearly torn left ear perked up when he heard a faint growling in the distance. He turned his head, only finding trees and bushes, nothing out of the ordinary. He kept on walking but stayed alert. He heard the growling again, only louder. He turned around to find nothing but more trees and bushes. His eyes scanned the whole area, but found nothing. He closed his golden eyes and focused. His ears began twitching and scanning the entire area for sounds; until he finally picked up something. In his right ear, he could hear the rapid heartbeat of some large creature. His left ear kept on receiving the same mysterious growl. The noise was getting louder and louder. The beats and growls didn’t slow down, they kept on rising and filling the fox’s body with noise. 

His golden eyes shot open. The fox jumped back as a mysterious force came pummeling through the trees. The mysterious being stopped before it could crash through another set of trees. The fox regained his senses and faced his attacker. The beast turned around, revealing a lion’s body, head and mane, but with a large scorpion tail, and a huge set of bat wings. The fox knew what this was. A Manticore. It sniffed the air and turned around, finally spotting the fox. 

The seven tailed fox got into an attack position, not backing down for a second. The Manticore licked it’s lips and snarled, drool spilling from it’s hungry jaw. The fox growled and bared his teeth as he continued his stare-off with the beast. The Manticore lunged at the fox, swiping it with it’s claws. The fox leapt out of the way and chomped down on the Manticore’s paw, causing the beast to roar in pain. It swung its paw around, trying to shake the fox off, but to no avail. When the manticore swung close to his face, the fox used his back claws to strike it’s snout. The beast roared again, slamming the fox into the ground. The fox let go and coughed, quickly jumping out of the way of another strike. The fox leapt past the Manticore, striking the beast in the side with his sharp claws. 

The Manticore reeled back and prepared for another attack. The fox, however, was too fast. He kept on running and leaping past the Manticore, striking it with every chance it got. Streams of red flew everywhere. The Manticore eyed the speedy fox and fired it’s tail at it. The fox dodged out of the way, but it did not see the oncoming lion claw. The claw hit him and he was launched back into an old tree, cracking the trunk in the process. The fox slowly got back up and spat. Before he could strike back, the Manticore rammed him through the tree trunk. The fox stumbled and grumbled. The Manticore grabbed his body with his jaw and began thrashing the fox around like a rag doll. The beast spat him out, causing him to crash into a shrub. The fox grunted as he slowly got back up, pain coursing through his body. 

He peaked out of the shrub and noticed the Manticore charging again. The fox jumped out of the way and into another shrub before the beast could make contact. The fox escaped the shrub and hid behind a tree as the beast searched. The fox couldn’t help but growl at the beast. Not even a week in this place, and he was already having difficulty surviving. He glared at the Manticore, his mind and body aching with frustration. Smoke suddenly clouded his vision. The fox looked down and noticed smoke emitting from his jaw. He looked around and noticed the various trees and plants that could easily catch on fire. He shook his head to make the smoke go away. 

No, he thought. Too risky.

He didn’t know what to do. He tried to come up with a plan to try to stop the monster, but nothing came to mind. His ideas either sounded too weak to defeat it or so strong it would risk destroying everything else too. His mind was racing. 

Can’t burn it, the forest could perish. Can’t overpower it, given it’s size. Perhaps more quick hit-and-run attacks? 

He peaked out and noticed the very tiny scratches and bite marks he had inflicted on the Manticore. They were definitely strong enough to break its skin, but not serious enough to kill it. 

But speed and agility will only get me so far. What do I do? 

His thoughts were interrupted when the tree was knocked over. He gasped as he found the Manticore looming over him, drooling with hunger. The fox growled and prepared for whatever attack were to come to him. The Manticore fired his tail again. Without thinking, the fox extended one of his own tails to block the attack. His tail carefully wrapped around the Manticore stinger before it could hit him. The Manticore growled as he swung his right claw, only for it to be stopped by the fox’s own paw. He went for the fox’s left, but was blocked yet again. The beast used his weight to try and crush the injured fox. The fox could feel the beast crushing him, the energy and strength slowly leaving his body. One of the fox’s other tails extended and slapped the Manticore dead center in the face. The beast stumbled back and held his snout from the sudden tail whip. The beast wailed and held it’s face to the ground. 

The seven tailed fox noticed this and couldn’t help but chuckle. The Manticore glared at the fox and prepared for another attack. However, before it could pounce, something came flying and hit the Manticore in the head. It was a slight tap than a full hit, but the fox still took notice to this. He saw the object fall to the ground, revealing it to be a small purple mushroom. The fox tilted his head in confusion. The Manticore turned to see who had assaulted him with the fungus. Both fighters were surprised to find a zebra with golden and tribal-looking earrings and necklace staring at them. 

“Feral beast! Step away from the kit! Or prepare for another hit!” The zebra warned. 

Confused didn’t even begin to describe what the seven-tailed fox was feeling. The Manticore, on the other hand, knew exactly what to feel. Irritation. He charged towards the zebra. The fox’s heart skipped as he saw the beast about to attack the innocent. He couldn’t let another creature perish. 

However, before the creature could even touch her, the zebra spun around and swatted the beast in the back of the head with a wooden staff. The beast fell with a thud. The zebra then began searching her saddlebags and pulled out a small bottle with a strange violet liquid inside. The fox didn’t know what to make of it. The Manticore shook its head and got back up. It turned around and roared at the zebra, no doubt tired from all the beatings it was getting today. It charged again with it’s stinger ready. 

The zebra opened up the bottle and spun around, splashing the elixir towards the charging beast. The stuff covered its whole face. Upon contact, the Manticore slowed down it’s charge, it’s wings and tail becoming limp. It suddenly found itself unable to keep it’s eyes open. In a matter of seconds, the beast fell to the ground, defeated and snoring. The zebra smirked as she put her empty bottle away. 

“Sleep well, Manticore. I hope you enjoy your peaceful snore.” 

Zecora turned and faced the seven tailed fox. She couldn’t believe what she had saved today. It was unlike any creature she had come into contact before, she knew it was no resident of the Everfree forest. The fox was equally surprised by this. Out of all the creatures to save him, it was a zebra with a magic elixir. All he could do was stare at the mysterious creature. Zecora slowly approached the fox. She lowered her head so that she would be at eye level with him. Even though he knew she wasn’t a threat, the fox couldn’t help but step back. 

“Do not be afraid, I will not hurt you. I am very amazed at what you can do,” she assured. 

The fox just stared in confusion. He couldn’t tell if that was her personal way of speaking, or if all the residents spoke that way. Either way, he could clearly see that she was no harm to him. He at least felt safe knowing that he was in the presence of an intelligent creature. 

“Thank you,” he spoke. 

Zecora was taken back by this. Not only did she not expect him to talk, but she didn’t expect his voice to sound so deep yet soothing. Almost like some of the younger stallions in Ponyville.  

“So, the new friend speaks? And here I was, expecting nothing but squeaks,” she teased. 

The fox tilted his head. New friend? Squeaks? He didn’t dwell on that comment for too long. He let out a small chuckle, not knowing what else to say or do. Zecora decided to do introduce herself. 

“I am a resident around these woods. Zecora is what I am called. What is your name, fox who has brawled?” 

“Ryota,” the fox introduced, bowing his head. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” 

“The pleasure is all mine,” Zecora replied. She then took notice of all the injuries on the fox’s body. “Come, let us return to my hut, seeing this many scratches is never a good sign.” 

Zecora led the seven tailed fox, Ryota, away from the sleeping Manticore and towards her home. Once they arrived, Ryota was a little surprised to find an actual hut in the middle of this strange forest. He thought she was kidding. He decided not to make a big deal of it and followed her inside. Once inside, she began healing some of his injuries with some herbs and potions. She then explained to him how she was out foraging for purple mushrooms when she heard growling in the distance and went to check it out. Ryota didn’t mind the rhyming, he was too busy staring in awe at all the trinkets, items, scrolls, and other bottles the zebra had in her tiny hut. His jaw was practically left half open. 

“What was that blue stuff that you threw at the Manticore?” Ryota wondered. 

“That was the extracted essence of the sleepy sage. One drop of it, and it will calm down your rage,” Zecora explained. 

“Luckily I’m not a very angry fox,” Ryota replied. 

“Precisely.” 

“Do you really live in this forest?” 

“Indeed, it is my home. Some of the creatures here can get quite muddy, but not as long as you make them your buddy,” Zecora explained. 

“Home, huh?” Royta mused. 

“I can tell you are not from around here. Tell me, where do you come from? Do you live near?” 

Royta paused. He didn’t know how to answer her question. He barely liked thinking about his old home, much less telling someone about it, and especially a stranger he’d just met. He just looked down and avoided eye contact. Zecora could quickly sense the somber aura he was emitting. Guilt soon filled her body. 

“I am sorry. I did not mean to strike a nerve. You do not have to tell me, if keeping it private, you prefer.” 

“It’s Ok. It’s not your fault.” 

Zecora had just finished healing Ryota’s injuries. The young fox was amazed at how well she healed him, it felt like he wasn’t even injured at all. True, the marks and scratches were still there, but he still felt mobile. That’s when a thought struck his mind, or rather something that he remembered. 

“Thank you, Zecora. I’ll be heading off now.” 

Ryota made his way towards the door. He turned and faced Zecora before leaving. 

“Where are you going now, without a bow?” Zecora asked. 

“I have to meet up with my skulk.” 

“I understand,” she smiled. “I will leave you to your walk. And you are always welcome to come by, if you ever want to talk.” 

Ryota nodded and exited her hut. Zecora couldn’t help but smile, making a new friend with a strange and mysterious creature entering Equestria. The thought of Twilight Sparkle freaking out was enough to make her laugh. Ryota strolled through the forest, becoming more alert with his surroundings. He felt glad that he made a new friend in this strange new land, and that his new friend was just as strange as he was. After some more walking, and avoiding of any other creatures, Ryota headed for the exit of the Everfree forest and towards the entrance to Ponyville.
> Foxes Among Ponies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The herd of Ponyville citizens that had approached Starlight and Trixie were filled with concern and panic. As soon as the explosion went off, ponies started gathering and forming a small crowd around Starlight and Trixie, asking questions and wondering what caused the explosion. 

“It’s alright, everypony! I was just practicing with some spells, that’s all!” Starlight assured. 

“What? No it wasn’t,” Trixie replied. “It was that fo-”

Starlight quickly placed a hoof on Trixie’s mouth before she could finish the sentence. Trixie tilted her head at Starlight’s actions. 

“We don’t want them panic even more, do we?” Starlight whispered. 

Trixie rolled her eyes as Starlight removed her hoof. 

“Starlight, what’s going on?” 

Starlight looked over and noticed Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, and Discord staring at her with confusion. Her heart almost dropped when her mentor appeared before her. She had no idea how to explain herself in front of Twilight. She knew she couldn’t tell Twilight about her fox encounter here and now, not in front of this anxious crowd. She would tell Twilight later, when they were alone, inside the castle. For now, Starlight nervously chuckled as she tried to come up with an excuse. 

Meanwhile, Reiko hid behind one of the many cottages in Ponyville. She peeked around the corner of one of the cottages and noticed the majority of the village crowded around Starlight and Trixie. She tilted her head once she saw Twilight and the others appear. She couldn’t help but eye the bizarre creature sporting the knight armor. 

“What is that thing?” she wondered. 

She spotted more ponies walking towards the castle and retreated behind the cottage. She paced in place, trying to figure out a plan. 

“Ok, I gotta meet the others soon. But how do I meet them without being noticed?”  she asked herself. 

She peered around the cottage to look back at the large crowd. She couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for all the commotion. She could feel some of the guilt building up inside her. 

“This is what I get for being curious,” she remarked. “I just wanted to show my stuff. Is that so bad? Of course not! I already know I’m great with magic...But I’m in so much trouble. What will the others think?” 

“HI REIKO!” 

Reiko yelped and turned around. Her ears were ringing and her heart pounding. Her eyes narrowed once she found a tiny fox standing behind her, wearing an innocent smile and wagging her tail. 

“Geez, Emi! You don’t have to shout,” Reiko hissed. 

“I know. I just wanted to let you know I’ve returned!” Emi chirped. 

“I can see that.” 

That’s when something caught Reiko’s eye. She couldn’t help but notice a little purple ribbon wrapped around Emi’s neck. 

“Hey. Where did you get that?” Reiko wondered, pointing to Emi’s ribbon. 

“Hmm? Oh, this?” Emi asked, holding her ribbon. “I got it from a nice lady who runs a not-thrift store. I found this ribbon on one of her dresses and she saw how much I loved it and decided to give it to me and then-”

“Hold on,” Reiko interrupted. “You mean one of those ponies just GAVE you a ribbon? For free?” 

“Yeah, it’s nice isn’t it?” 

Reiko was taken back by this gesture. 

“Emi, we don’t know anything about these creatures. I wouldn’t accept free stuff like that on the spot. In case you haven’t noticed, some of these ponies are capable of using magic. Some of them might have dark magic. Who know’s what they could’ve done to that thing?” 

“It’s a ribbon. I don’t think they would be mean enough to put a curse on a soft piece of softness,” Emi replied, deadpanned. 

“First, you said soft twice. Second, you really need to break the habit of finding and taking soft things, especially from strangers. Third, I would just be careful If I were you. We have no idea if these ponies can be trusted or not.” 

“I trust them,” Emi huffed.  

“That’s another bad habit you need to break. You’re too trusting.” 

“Oh, what about YOUR bad habits? Hmm? Biting your claws and finding random places to hide for no reason,” Emi retorted. 

“I stopped biting my claws ages ago!” Reiko argued. 

“But you still hide in random places. Like this one,” Emi pointed out. “I don’t think this is the place where we’re supposed to meet.”

“I know. I’m just trying to find a way to avoid the crowd.”

“What crowd?” 

“What crow- ...Are you blind?!” 

Reiko walked out from behind the cottage and pointed to the large herd with her paw. Emi’s jaw dropped at the large group of ponies walking towards the castle. Both vixens retreated behind the cottage before they could be spotted. 

“Wow, there’s A LOT of ponies here,” Emi said. 

“Yeah. How did you not notice that?” Reiko asked. 

“Eh, to be fair I did travel here by rolling around in a barrel. See?” 

Emi stepped out of a way to reveal a tipped over and empty barrel with the lid off. Reiko switched from looking at the barrel to looking at Emi, and then back at the barrel. 

“What the? Why?” Reiko asked. 

“Well, my private reason was because I found the wrapper of a blueberry muffin in there and there were still some berries stuck onto it. And you know that I would NEVER let perfectly good berries go to waste,” Emi explained. “My public reason was because I always found barrel river rafting interesting. And so, I thought to myself, ‘here’s a barrel, might as well try it out!’” 

Reiko paused before she tried to reply. She just stared at the fox’s random explanation. She didn’t even know where to start. 

“Wha...Wha...What? That’s not a real thing! Also, you kind of need a river in order to, oh I don’t know, go barrel river rafting!” 



A Few Minutes Ago


Many ponies were trotting their way towards the castle to find the source of the explosion. While that was going on, a single barrel was rolling away in the opposite direction. Some ponies didn’t bother to question it, didn’t notice it at all, or were too busy running towards the castle to care about it. After all, strange random stuff was normal in Ponyville these days, so most ponies ignored small stuff like self-rolling barrels. 

“Hold still, you stupid spinning wrapper!” Emi shouted within the rolling barrel. “This is the worst river rafting experience ever!” 



Present


“Yeah, that idea wasn’t really well thought out,” Emi admitted. 

“Just like most of your brilliant ideas,” Reiko retorted. 

“I can have dreams, Reiko!” 

Reiko rolled her eyes and peered around the cottage again, only to see the same crowd still making a fuss. She noticed a purple winged unicorn step up and stood next to Starlight. Reiko cocked an eyebrow at this. Out of all the ponies she’d seen, she was the only one who had both a horn and wings. It was very strange to her. 

“Why is there a crowd anyway?” Emi wondered. 

Reiko turned around to face Emi. She felt ashamed to tell her the truth, to see how she might react this time. She knew though that she had to tell Emi. Reiko told the story of how she met Starlight and Trixie and how impressive Starlight’s magic was. She also told her how Trixie made her upset to the point where she decided to show off her own magic, which resulted in blowing up a few training discs and causing an explosion that was bigger than it needed to be. Once she was done, she looked away and prepared for Emi’s reaction. Surely, it was exactly what she expected. 

“Ooooo! You’re in trouble,” Emi teased. 

“I swear if you tell him, I’ll throw you back in that barrel and send you down a real river!” Reiko shot back. 

“You always say things like that, but you never go through with it. You’re just talk,” Emi retorted. 

“Wanna bet?!” Reiko seethed. 

“Sis, you’re smoking.” 

Reiko looked down and noticed the large amount of smoke that was emitting from her jaw. She shook her head to make the smoke go away. Sure enough there was still some left over. Reiko huffed some more smoke and looked at her little sister. 

“Even if I don’t tell him, he’ll find out eventually,” Emi added. 

“I know. I just don’t want him to find out what I did just yet.” 

“I already know.” 

Both fox sisters yelped and jumped back. Ryota stood before his sisters with a stern expression and his seven tails waving casually. Reiko’s heart nearly stopped when she saw the seven tailed fox stand in front of him. Her guilt was soon replaced with unease as she glared at the fox. 

“Hey Ryota!” Emi greeted, casually. 

The seven tailed fox stared at the two vixens. He turned his head and glared at Reiko. The five tailed vixen could feel his cold stare pierce through her fur and into her mind and heart. Reiko didn’t move. She couldn't move.

“Is it that obvious?” Reiko finally asked. 

“There’s no mistaking your smoke clouds,” Ryota replied. Reiko averted her gaze and grumbled. “I told you not to draw any unneeded attention to yourself.” 

“Well, to be fair, we already stand out like a broken claw,” Emi pointed out. “Being foxes among ponies and all.” 

“But that should be the only attention we should be getting,” Ryota lectured, turning back to Reiko. “I told you to scout out the area, not set some of it on fire. You don’t need to blow something up every ten minutes.”

“That’s not true! It’s only seven and a half minutes since we’ve been here!” Reiko retorted. 

“I rest my case,” Ryota replied, deadpanned.

“What about Emi? She took an offering from one of those ponies! An offering that could be rigged!” 

Ryota turned at Emi and approached the tiny vixen. He then noticed the purple ribbon wrapped around her neck. He lifted up the ends with his paws and examined it. He then turned his attention towards the smiling kit. 

“Did one of those ponies really give this to you?” 

“Yes!” she chirped. 

“It looks nice.” 

This made Emi’s smile grow bigger and Reiko’s jaw dropped. 

“Wha...What?” Reiko stammered. “Are you serious?! You too? What if the pony who gave it to her cursed it? We have no idea if that thing is dangerous or not.” 

“It’s a ribbon, Reiko,” Ryota replied. “The only ‘danger’ it will bring is if Emi accidentally chokes herself with it.”

“Oh, you mean like how she is doing right now?” 

Ryota turned around and noticed how tight the ribbon had gotten. Emi’s paw was planted on one end of the ribbon as it constricted her neck, making her cough. Ryota approached her and unsheathed one of his claws. He then used his single claw to loosen the ribbon. Emi gasped as oxygen began to flow within her once again. She panted and Ryota retracted his claw. 

“Are you alright, sister?” Ryota asked. 

“Yeah, thanks,” Emi panted. “I thought it was a bit loose, so I tried to tighten it up a little.” 

“I think you might’ve overdone it,” Ryota teased. 

Emi sheepishly chuckled. Reiko grumbled at her brother’s attitude change towards her sister. She then noticed the many scratches all over Ryota’s body. They looked like they’ve been made by some kind savage animal. They were definitely fresh but with no blood left dripping or anything, as if they had been treated by a healer shortly after being inflicted.

“Whoa, what happened to you?” Reiko asked. “I’m assuming the forest wasn’t very gentle with your body?” 

“I’ll explain my story later. Right now let’s regroup at the place we were supposed to meet at,” Ryota ordered. 

Ryota, Reiko and Emi all ran and hid between cottages to avoid being caught by any pony eyes. They kept on running and hiding until they reached their meeting point at the edge of the Everfree Forest near the school house. They hid between the trees and bushes so that they wouldn’t be spotted. They all waited patiently for one more member to arrive. 

“Kind of weird place to meet,” Emi admitted. 

“As long as we can’t be seen we should be good,” Ryota assured. 

“Ugh, this is taking forever!” Reiko complained. “Where’s Kichiro?” 

“Present!” 

Reiko jumped back. She noticed the tree next to her had eyes planted on the trunk. They were green and slightly slanted. She grumbled as she recognized the green eyed tree. 

“Dang it! I hate it when you do that, K!” Reiko yelled. 

“I only do it because I love you,” the fox chuckled. 

“Tsk, liar,” Reiko retorted.

“Kichiro, come out of there,” Ryota requested. 

The eyes then stretched off of the tree trunk, taking the form of a fox with three tails. Kichiro looked the same but his fur color matched that of the tree bark. He shook his body, reverting his fur back to its original red-orange color. He noticed that some of his claws still looked like twigs, he shook them which made the effect wear off. Once he was back in his original form, he cracked his neck and joined the other foxes. 

“I never get tired of watching that,” Emi said. 

“Oh trust me, you will once you live with him for the rest of your life,” Reiko said. 

“How long have you been waiting, brother?” Ryota wondered. 

“As long as the river of the Kappa,” Kichiro replied. 

“What?” Reiko asked. 

“Oh, so not very long then,” Emi said. 

“Nope.” 

“What?” Reiko repeated. 

Even knowing him for her entire life, she still never understood the randomness that was Kichiro. Everytime she spoke to him her mind was being scrambled like a nest of eggs. Questioning him would confused her even more. 

“Alright, now that we’re all here, let’s return to the den and discuss on what we’ve discovered,” Ryota said. 

With that, the four foxes retreated into the forest to discuss their next plan of action. While that was going on, Twilight had managed to calm down the curious crowd and sent them all to their homes with cool heads. Twilight, Starlight, Trixie, Spike, Fluttershy and Discord were all in the map room discussing what had happened. 

“Starlight, what happened while I was gone?” Twilight asked. “Something tells me you were doing more than just practicing spells.” 

Starlight grew nervous. She didn’t know how to tell Twilight that she met a new and strange creature that she had never seen before, let alone tell her that it could use magic. She kept trying to find the right words, but nothing came to mind. She wasn’t even sure if twilight would accept the news lightly. Or if she would even believe her at all. 

“Yeah, I’m not sure you would believe me even if I told you,” Starlight said. 

“Starlight, as your mentor and friend, I’ll listen to what you have to say. You can tell me anything. You don’t have to feel like I wouldn’t believe you. All I want is the truth,” Twilight assured. 

Starlight felt a smile forming on her face. She felt a little comfortable knowing that her friend wouldn’t doubt her if she told her what she encountered today. 

“Well, the thing is,” Starlight started. “You know how there’s a lot of creatures that reside in Equestria?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you think it’s possible that we haven’t encountered all of them yet? Or that some of them could possess magic that we’re not familiar with?” 

“What are you talking about? What does that have to do with anything?” Twilight asked. 

Starlight grew nervous again. She knew she couldn’t dodge around the question for much longer. She couldn’t just tell her straight up what happened without it sounding confusing. She started biting her hooves, thinking of a response. 

“You see the thing is, I was practicing spells with Trixie, and when I was about done-”

“Oh for the love of, we met a fox that can use magic!” Trixie blurted out, frustrated. 

The room was silent. Trixie just stared awkwardly at Trixie while the rest were trying to process what they just heard. They weren’t even sure if they heard her correctly. 

“What?” Twilight finally asked. 

“Uh, yeah,” Starlight said. “We met a vixen earlier with five tails and she looked interested in my magic. So when I asked her if she knew any magic herself, she demonstrated one of her ‘spells’ and made some of my discs explode.”

A forced smile appeared on Starlight’s face in a hopes that Twilight understood that, or to make herself not sound too crazy. Twilight cocked her head, still not knowing what she just heard. Discord, had a much different reaction. He was floating up in the air laughing up a storm. 

“D-D-Did you say you met a fox, that could use magic?” he laughed. “I’ve never heard of anything so absurd in my life. And I’m the lord of chaos! What’s next? A tap-dancing spider?” 

Discord snapped his claws where said tap-dancing spider appeared, tapping away on the cutie map. Discord fell onto the floor, rolling around in his own laughter while everyone else stared blankly at him. Trixie could help but feel little creeped out by the tap-dancing spider and slowly backed away. 

“Discord!” Fluttershy scolded. “Well I for one think that’s adorable.”

“A magic fox? That’s new,” Spike said. 

“I agree with Spike. I’ve never heard or read about anything like that,” Twilight added. “That actually sounds interesting! A ne-”

The doors opened up before Twilight could finish her sentence. They all turned around and noticed an irritated Applejack storm through those doors. She approached the large group. 

“Howdy Twi, can I ask you something real quick?” The farm mare asked. 

“Maybe later, Applejack. I’m kind of in the middle of something here with Starlight. She just told me that she discovered a new creature!” Twilight replied, excited. 

“A new creature ya say? It wouldn’t happen to be a sneaky, thieving, three-tailed, talking fox would it?”  

Everyone’s eyes went wide at what Applejack had said. Twilight quickly approached Applejack, almost getting too close to her face. 

“You too?” Twilight asked. 

“Huh?” 

“Starlight was just telling me that she made friends with a fox that could use magic!” 

Applejack stared at Starlight in shock. “Seriously?” 

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t exactly say I made friends with her,” Starlight said. That’s when she realized something. “Wait, you said a three-tailed fox?” 

“Yeah why? You having trouble with him too?” 

“Him? No. The fox I met was clearly a vixen, and she had five tails instead of three.” 

“What? You mean there’s more than one of them?!” Applejack said, growing worried for her apple farm. 

“Apparently,” Trixie replied, still eyeing the dancing spider.

“This is fascinating! Not only is there a new creature in Ponyville, but there’s two of them! Who know’s how much more could be out there!” Twilight exclaimed. 

“I don’t plan to find out. This is actually why I came down here, Twi,” Applejack said. “I found that strange fox eatin up my apples and ah was wondering if ya knew any spells that would help keep him away.” 

“What? Applejack, there’s a new type of creature out there! We can’t let an opportunity like this go to waste. I need to see them for myself!” 

“Do ya hear yerself? They ate my apples! We have no idea if these things are dangerous or not!” 

“That just gives us another reason to study them! I’ve never heard of a creature like this before,” Twilight turned to Starlight. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“Because I knew you would act like this,” Starlight joked. 

“Act like what?” 

“And also there was that crowd of ponies. No need for the whole town to know about this, at least not yet.” Starlight added.

“HI TWILIGHT!”

Everybody jumped back as Pinkie randomly appeared behind one of the thrones. Then again, this was Pinkie Pie, so they weren’t really surprised to find her popping up out of nowhere like that. She often did. 

“Can I borrow your castle tonight? I need to prepare for another one of my super amazing welcome parties tonight!” Pinkie chirped. 

“What? Sure, but can you prepare later?” Twilight asked. “I’ve just been informed that we might have some new creatures in Ponyville that we’ve never heard of before.” 

“Really? Oh! You should invite those creatures to my welcome party tonight! Then they could meet my new fox friend!” 

Once again, everyone was silent. Even Discord’s tap-dancing spider stopped dancing. 

“Wait. YOU’VE met a fox too?!” Twilight exclaimed. 

“Yeah! But she wasn’t like any fox I’ve seen before! This one could talk and had more than one tail. It was kind of weird, but super cool!” 

“How many foxes have you met?” Trixie wondered. 

“Seriously. How many?” Twilight asked. 

“Umm, just the one. Why do you ask?” 

“Because those new creatures I was talking about might be that fox you invited to your party tonight,” Twilight replied. 

“Really? That’s awesome! Then tonight will be a foxy night!” 

Trixie groaned at the lame pun. 

“Hold on, how many tails did this here fox have?” Applejack wondered. 

“Hmmm, about five,” Pinkie answered. 

“Yeah, that’s definitely the one we met earlier,” Starlight confirmed. 

“Ok, has everyone met a strange talking fox while we were gone? Because I’m starting to feel left out here from all of this commotion,” Discord said.  

“It would seem that way,” Applejack said. 

“We don’t exactly know how many more are out there. It seems right now that there are only two,” Starlight added. 

“Either way, this calls for some researching. Imagine, all of us discovering a new species in Equestria! A species that’s intelligent enough to use magic? We need to look into this,” Twilight said. “Let’s gather up our friends and search for these foxes. This is so exciting!” 

“Oh boy,” Spike groaned. 

In the middle of the Everfree forest was a small, makeshift den near a large tree. Underground the skulk of foxes were talking about their recent discoveries in the new land. Some of the stories were interesting while others were more than average. Either way, it was still a lot of information that the foxes needed to know. Kichiro was telling his story about Sweet Apple Acres while having a run-in with an angry farm mare. 

“And you ate their apples?” Reiko asked. 

“I did. And they were delicious,” Kichiro replied. 

The sounds of low growling hit their ears. All eyes were aimed towards Emi. 

“Great, now I’m hungry,” Emi whined. 

“You’re welcome,” Kichiro said. 

“Kichiro. I told you to scout out the area, not to steal from the natives,” Ryota informed. 

"Funny how some of us don't always follow your orders," Reiko remarked. 

“I told you, I was hungry and needed to find something to eat,” Kichiro reasoned. 

“That doesn’t change what you did. You may have been ‘surviving’ but it’s still theft no matter how you look at it. You’re going to have to pay for those apples.”

“I would, but I don’t know what this place’s currency is. The angry farmer mare kept yelling ‘bits!’ of something. But she never told me what.”

“Well that’s just not specific,” Emi added. 

“Agreed. When we do find out what they use here, you have to make up for the apples you ate,” Ryota ordered. 

“Fine. Buzzkill,” Kichiro muttered. 

“What about you, Emi?” Ryota asked. 

Emi told her side of the story of how she wandered into the Carousel Boutique, met Rarity and Sweetie Belle and how she acquired her new ribbon. Her story was definitely less striking than Kichiros, but Ryota knew that she still brought a little too much attention to herself than what was needed. 

“So, in other words, you made contact with these creatures as well?” Ryota asked. 

“Yeah. But I swear I didn’t steal from her shop, she gave this ribbon to me!” 

“I believe you,” Ryota replied. “But did you do anything else that would make this ‘Rarity’ apprehensive of you?” 

“Well, she was a little scared at first, but once I told her I liked her dress she started to calm down,” Emi said. 

“A little shallow much?” Reiko remarked. 

“Hmm?” 

“It sounds like she was only nice to you because you had similar interests. If you were into something else like cliff diving, tree climbing, or spray painting, would she have spared you?” Reiko asked. 

That thought did strike Emi in a way. What would have happened if she wasn’t into dresses and soft fabrics like Rarity was? Would she have killed her on the spot? Would she have some more powerful ponies take her away? Emi didn’t dwell too much on that as she found herself distracted by her soft ribbon. 

“There’s no need to put that thought into her head, Reiko. What’s important is that Emi was able to befriend a potential ally that we could trust in this world. If anything, she should feel lucky that her interest in soft things saved her life,” Ryota reasoned.  

Emi smirked at Reiko, who in turn grumbled at her. Reiko then noticed all the wounds on Ryota’s body again. 

“What about you? What happened in the forest?” Reiko asked. 

Ryota told his side of the story and his fight with the Manticore. He also told the others about his encounter with Zecora. Rhyming patterns aside, he felt that she was definitely a creature they could trust. With her knowledge of the forest and the beasts that reside in it she could prove to be very useful to them. Ryota also explained how she was able to heal his wounds. However, one of the wounds on his right paw started to bleed again. Ryota brought his paw to his muzzle and licked his wound until the blood was gone. 

“That doesn’t look good,” Kichiro commented. 

“It’s just a little blood. I’ll live,” Ryota assured. 

“You’re no good to us if you’re dead,” Emi laughed. 

Ryota then turned and glared at Reiko. The five tailed vixen noticed this and blinked. She soon saw that Kichiro and Emi were also looking at her funny. 

“What?” 

“Do you want to explain your encounter?” Ryota asked. “Or should I?” 

Reiko knew this would happen. Messing up was bad enough, but having her older brother about to scold her for her actions made her feel more uncomfortable. She tried to not to bring a lot of attention towards herself but her anger got the best of her, it wasn’t the first time this had happen either. 

“What? Ok. There’s a perfectly good explanation for that explosion.”

“Enlighten us then,” Ryota said. 

Reiko really didn’t wanted to be lectured by her older brother. So she tried her best to explain her encounter to make herself sound as innocent as possible. Of course Ryota could tell she was obviously trying too hard. 

“So, there’s my side of it,” Reiko finished. 

Ryota just stared at her. 

“Told you were going to be in trouble,” Emi teased. 

“Shut up!” 

“Seriously, you stood out more than flaming sword shouting, ‘don’t look at me! I’m just a sword on fire!’” Kichiro added. 

“I said shut up!” 

Ryota was about to scold his sister for her recklessness, when a sudden thought came to mind. He remembered a key element from Reiko’s story that could prove to be useful to him and his siblings. 

“Wait. WHERE did you say you met this ‘Starlight Glimmer,’” Ryota questioned. 

“Huh? I told you, I met her just outside some kind of castle castle,” Reiko replied.  

That’s when it hit him. His face froze as thoughts and ideas started to fill his head. Thoughts that would involve whoever resided in that castle.  

“A castle? Do you know if anyone lives there?” Ryota added

“I don’t know. Probably Starlight lives there. Why?” Reiko wondered. 

“Because, where there’s a castle, there’s usually a ruler living there.” 

“So?” 

“SO, if this village does have a ruler living in that castle, then we should consult them immediately.” 

“What?” Emi wondered. 

“Face it, if we’re going to adjust to living here, we’re going to need all the help we can get. Right now, we have very little knowledge of this place. All we do know is that it’s mostly inhabited by ponies. So if we can gain help from the ruler and prove to them that we’re not a threat, then it could increase our chances of survival,” Ryota explained.

“Now that’s a plan I can get behind,” Kichiro agreed. 

“Also, perhaps he or she could accord us with a proper home to live in,” Ryota added. 

“What? What’s wrong with this one?” Reiko asked. 

“The forest here is too dangerous for us to live in. I’ve experienced that first paw,” Ryota said, reminding his siblings of his Manticore encounter. “For all we know there could be a dragon’s cave nearby.” 

“Oh! That would actually be awesome! I’ve always wanted to conquer a dragon!” Emi mused. 

“You really do have bizarre dreams,” Reiko commented. 

“You can conquer a dragon later. Right now we need to focus on getting out of this hole and gain some assistance from the ruler,” Ryota assured. 

Reiko thought about Ryota’s reasoning. On one hand, the den they were currently in was cozy and out of sight from all the other creatures of the forest. However, she couldn’t help but notice how stuffy it was underground. Her nose had been sniffling ever since they dug their den. It didn’t feel as comfortable as she thought it would be. 

“Now that you mention it, yeah, I do feel a little primitive living in a den like this,” Reiko admitted. 

“Of course you would feel like that, our kind haven’t lived in dens for years. Now let’s get going,” Ryota ordered. 

All four foxes climbed out of den and began walking through the forest. The tried their best to avoid as much of the wildlife as possible, Ryota didn’t need another Manticore encounter, he already had enough wounds. As they were trekking through the woods, a thought came to Reiko. 

“Wait!” she yelled, causing everyone to stop. “How can we be sure this ‘ruler’ can be trusted? How can we be sure any of these ponies can be trusted?! What’s to stop them from attacking us right on the spot? In case you haven’t noticed, but K and Emi didn’t exactly make a good first impression on them.” 

“Hey!” Kichiro yelled while Emi looked down in shame. Ryota went over and placed a paw on her shoulder. 

“That’s why we’re going to them, Rei. To see if they CAN be trusted. We can’t blame K and Emi if the ponies decide not to accept us,” Ryota reasoned. “If they are willing to help, then great. If not, we’ll do everything in our power to defend ourselves.” 

“We’ve dealt with worse situations,” Kichiro added. All the other foxes muttered and nodded in agreement.

“Besides, you trusted that Starlight pony, didn’t you?” 

Reiko thought about that. Sure, she admired the unicorn’s skill in magic and felt glad to show off her own, but she wouldn’t exactly call that ‘trust.’ It was more like a friendly first meeting. She still didn’t know Starlight or anything about this world. She didn’t know what, but something about Starlight Glimmer really intrigued Reiko. She wasn’t sure if it was her magic or her personality or what. She couldn’t put her paw on it. Reiko knew she could fight it and decided it would be best to follow her brother. This time. 

“Let’s just get this over with,” Reiko muttered.  

Ryota nodded and led his skulk out of the forest and towards Ponyville. While that was going on, Twilight and Starlight had just finished gathering her friends and were all grouped up in front of the castle. During that time, Rarity had told Twilight about her own fox encounter. 

“You too? Why didn’t you tell me?” Twilight asked. 

“I was going to. I was actually just about to leave to tell you the news when Spike came by and told me everything,” Rarity replied. “Has Ponyville received a new fox infestation?” 

“That’s what I plan to find out.” 

Twilight turned towards the rest of the friends and went over the plan. 

“Alright, everypony, dragon, and draconequus. I’ve just been informed by Starlight, Trixie, Rarity and Applejack that we have a new creature residing in Ponyville,” Twilight announced. 

“Magic using foxes to be exact,” Starlight added. 

“As the princess of friendship, it is my duty to welcome these foxes into our home and show them that we mean no harm,” Twilight finished. 

“For the most part,” Applejack muttered. 

“It won’t be easy to find them, but I want to make sure these foxes don’t feel threatened and that they can make friends with us. With a new species in Equestria, who knows what could happen? Perhaps they came from another nation that we don’t know of, and if we can make friends with their kingdom then it could expand our friendship beyond Equestria. Are you with me?”

All her friends, save for Trixie, all cheered with excitement. They were ready to meet these new creatures and the possibilities that came with them. Twilight was the most excited with her big and toothy smile. 

“Let’s spread out and search for them!”

“Yeah!” They all cheered. 

“Or perhaps we could just wait for them to come to us,” Discord suggested. 

“Huh?” Twilight asked. 

She turned to where Discord was looking at and her jaw dropped. In the distance, the four foxes emerged from the forest. They all scanned the area until one of them spotted the castle with the group of ponies and other creatures waiting for them. 

“Aw man, I was kind of hoping for an awesome searching montage,” Pinkie whined. 

The four foxes all faced the same direction and began walking towards the castle. Ryota was in the middle to make sure his siblings stayed in line. Even though he knew they had to do this, he couldn’t fight against the butterflies in his stomach. His siblings all shared the similar anxious feeling, especially Reiko. She narrowed her eyes towards the colorful group of friends, but soon eased up once she noticed Starlight. Emi’s eyes lit up once she spotted Rarity in the crowd and waved to her. The designer mare noticed the cheerful kit and waved back. Applejack glared at Kichiro as he got closer. The strange three tailed fox didn’t feel worried once he saw Applejack, instead he felt quite the opposite and wore the same innocent smile he used when he first met her earlier. 

Twilight’s heart picked up the pace. The strange new foxes she had been hearing about from her friends were mere feet away. Her heart beated faster as they got closer. Twilight couldn’t help but smile once all four foxes reached her castle. The skulk stood in front of the elements, Spike, Starlight, Trixie, and Discord in silence; tails waving in the breeze. This was it; finally meeting the ruler of this nation. Or at least this village. All kind of thoughts and concerns swam around in Ryota’s head. Most of the ponies recognized the other three foxes, but they were all surprised to find Ryota leading them, since no one in Ponyville had encountered him yet.  

“So, is anyone going to say something or are we going to continue this staring contest?” Reiko finally asked. 

“Wait, we were having a staring contest? I didn’t know that! Can we start over? I blinked,” Emi exclaimed. 

Some of the ponies couldn’t help but chuckle at Emi’s outburst. Discord noticed Fluttershy’s eyes lit up and her jaw slightly open. 

“Oh my gosh! Actual talking foxes!” Fluttershy squeaked as she approached the skulk. She lowered her head so that she was at eye level with them. “I didn’t think these animals could exist! They’re so cute!” 

“Aw, I know I am,” Emi replied. 

Kichiro approached Fluttershy and started sniffing her hoof. 

“Oh, hello there,” Fluttershy giggled. 

Some of the ponies couldn’t help but be taken back by this gesture. They didn’t know if this was how the foxes greeted each other or if it was just him. Fluttershy didn’t mind though. The same could not be said for Applejack and Discord as they both glared at the three tailed fox. Kichiro looked up and smiled at Fluttershy. 

“You smell delicious,” Kichiro teased. 

“Huh?” 

“Ok! I think that’s enough friendliness for one day,” Discord interrupted, snapping his claws making Fluttershy disappear from where she stood,  and re-appear next to him. 

“I’m sorry, but which of you is in charge?” Ryota asked.

“That would be me.” 

Twilight stepped forward and approached the skulk. They were impressed by Twilight’s appearance and voice. Out of all of the ponies in front of them, they were a little surprised to find out that SHE was their leader. She looked so young. Even though she appeared calm, Twilight was secretly screaming, Ohmygosh!ohmygosh!ohmygosh! On the inside. 

“I am Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight introduced herself, trying to contain her excited screams. 

“It is an honor to meet you, your highness,” Ryota replied. 

Ryota, Kichiro and Emi all bowed their heads to the alicorn princess. The only one left standing was Reiko, who was just looking around in confusion. 

“Really?” She remarked. 

The five tailed vixen rolled her eyes and bowed her head as well, finally acknowledging the princess of friendship.
> Understanding One Another
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight and company showed the four foxes into her castle. The skulk was definitely impressed by the large foyer. Almost everything sparkled and was all made out of crystal. Some of the younger foxes could hardly take in the stunning interior. 

“Whoa! This place is a lot bigger on the inside,” Kichiro commented. 

“It’s huge!” Reiko added. 

“So shiny,” Emi mused. 

Twilight smiled at the skulk as they were taking in their new surroundings. They looked very impressed by her castle. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle and squeal internally as she stood in front of them. A new species was in Equestria and in her very own castle; she wanted to let it all out. But she knew she had to keep it professional. 

“I’m glad you like my castle. There’s a lot more to see, I assure you,” Twilight said, causing the foxes to turn to face her. “But before I can give you a tour, why don’t we go around and introduce ourselves. I already told you my name, care to give me yours?” 

“Of course, your highness,” Ryota responded. “My name is Ryota.” 

Ryota turned to the rest of his siblings, starting with Reiko. 

“This is my sister, Reiko.” 

“Sup?” Reiko greeted. 

“My brother, Kichiro.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Kichiro said, and then noticed a certain earth pony glaring at him. 

“And a pleasure to see you again, angry farmer mare who’s name I still don’t know,” he chuckled, causing Applejack to growl at him in annoyance. 

Ryota continued, “And my other sister, E-”

Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed that Emi was no longer standing next to Kichiro. Instead, there was just a an empty space next to him. He turned to Reiko. 

“Where’s Emi?” Ryota asked. 

“I thought you were watching her,” Reiko replied. 

“Twilight, help!” 

Everyone turned to find the source of the cry. Just a few feet away was Emi lying on her back, tossing Spike around with her paws. She kept on throwing him into the air as if he were some kind of ball. Rainbow Dash, Discord, and Trixie all bursted out into laughter at the sight. 

“Found her,” Kichiro said. 

“When did she…?” Reiko stammered. 

“I’m! Not! A! Toy!” Spike yelled in between tosses. 

“Yes you are!” Emi laughed. 

“T-That’s actually kind of cute,” Starlight admitted, trying to contain her own laughter. Twilight turned and stared at Starlight. 

“Starlight!” 

“Emi, put him down,” Ryota demanded. 

In one swift move, Emi caught Spike with her paws and pinned him to the ground, much to the young dragon’s distress. 

“There! He’s down!” Emi chirped. 

Spike struggled to knock the young kit off, but found it hard to do so. He was not expecting her to be so strong, considering she was about the same size as him. He felt her claws poking him. His heart nearly stopped when he felt how sharp they were, like tiny needles about to pierce his scales. 

“Now get off of him,” Ryota added. 

“Do I have to?” Emi complained. “You said that I could conquer a dragon later.” 

Everyone turned and stared at Ryota in confusion, especially Spike who was still pinned down by the young vixen. Ryota couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed by this whole situation. He certainly wasn’t expecting something like this to happen today.  

“Oooo! This should be interesting!” Discord chuckled. 

Reiko eyed Discord. It was strange enough to view him from a distance, but it was downright freaky being in the same room with him. She didn’t know what, but Reiko could feel an uneasy sensation from Discord. 

Probably best to watch this one, she thought. 

Ryota rolled his eyes and sighed, “Not this one.” 

Ryota went over and picked up Emi by her scruff. As soon as she was off, Spike took off in an instant, hiding behind Twilight. Ryota dropped her next to Kichiro. 

“No fair,” Emi complained. 

Ryota turned to face the ponies who were all still staring at him. 

“Did you really say she could do that?” Starlight asked. 

“Technically, yes,” Ryota admitted. “But I didn’t expect we would actually meet a dragon today. Forgive me.” 

“Oh, I hope she didn’t hurt him,” Fluttershy said. 

“She can if you want to,” Kichiro joked. 

“Yeah!” Emi added. 

Spike’s eyes widened. He bolted out of the room and returned wearing pots and pans like a knight’s armor. He was also wielding a small broom for self defense. Even though he was now protected, his knees still shook. 

“Don’t worry, she can’t hurt anyone,” Ryota assured. “She’s just a kit.”  

“Y-You sure about that?” Spike stammered. 

“Yes.” 

“Why don’t we continue with introductions,” Twilight suggested. 

One by one, each of the ponies and other creatures introduced themselves to the foxes. While some of the foxes already knew some of the ponies, they didn’t seem to mind a second introduction. Although, some of them were a little over the top with their introductions, namely a certain blue unicorn mare. Rarity went to introduce herself next to the foxes. 

“Hello, I am Rarity,” she introduced. 

“So, you’re the ‘Rarity’ that Emi has met?” Ryota wondered. 

“Why yes I am. And I must say, it is a pleasure to meet you all. It’s not everyday that you would meet creatures as exotic as yourselves. Plus, you’ve already given me bold new ideas for my next set of dresses!” Rarity exclaimed. 

Oh great. She’s one of THOSE girls, Reiko thought to herself.  

“Ok, Rarity, let’s not go and make coats out of the newcomers,” Starlight teased. 

“Please don’t,” Fluttershy whimpered. Emi giggled and Rarity huffed. 

“I said they were giving me ideas, Starlight. Not new materials! Who ever heard of fur dresses anyw-...” Rarity began, and then her eyes lit up. “Yes…who did ever hear of fur dresses? I need to order some fake furs when I get home! My winter line of clothes will be amazing!”

Ryota just blinked. “...Is she serious?”

Reiko looked at Rarity with a suspicious look. “What do they even make fake furs from?”

“From fake animals, of course!” Kichiro grinned.

“No, obviously not.” Rarity said, deadpanned.

“Regardless, it’s still nice to meet you, miss. Emi has told us a lot about you,” Ryota said. 

“Oh has she?” 

“Yes. She told us how you gave her one of your ribbons after you...tried to hit her with your broom.” 

Rarity blinked. “Oh, yes. Sorry about that. It was all a misunderstanding.” 

“Since Emi has already forgiven you, I shall as well.”

This made Rarity smile, knowing Emis brother had no ill-feelings towards her. 

“Hey, didn’t Emi say you run a thrift store?” Reiko jeered. 

Rarity’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?! Why do you foxes keep mistaking boutiques for horrid little thrift stores?” 

“No, Reiko! I told you, she runs a NOT-thrift store!” Emi corrected. 

That had to be twice in the same day that a fox had called her boutique a thrift store. Only this vixen called it that on purpose. Or at least, she thought she did. Emi turned around to face Rarity. 

“Don’t worry, I got your back,” Emi said with a wink. 

“Well I’m glad you're on my side,” Rarity replied, sarcastically. 

Applejack went next to introduce herself, more or less. She was glaring at Kichiro the whole time while the three-tailed fox just stood there and smiled as if nothing happened. His innocent look made the farm mare’s blood boil even more. She turned her attention to Ryota. 

“Hey you!” 

“Me?” Ryota asked. 

“Yeah. You’re his older brother, right?” Applejack asked as she approached Ryota.

“That is correct.”

“Well, did you know he stole an’ ate some apples from mah farm?” 

“He did what?” Rainbow asked. 

“I am aware of that and I apologize. I assure you, I’ll make him pay you back,” Ryota replied. 

“I don’t care if h-”

Applejack was a little shocked by his reply. He was nothing like Kichiro. He wasn’t wacky, crazy, or spewing nonsense about creatures on the moon. He was actually sane. Applejack soon found herself looking into his golden eyes. She didn’t know what, but something about those eyes seemed very calm and soothing. It was like she was in a trance, she couldn’t look away. She also noticed his nearly torn left ear. The sight of it nearly made her gasp. 

“Oh...well, I appreciate that,” Applejack said. 

“Now hold on a minute,” Kichiro said. “Is it really stealing if the apples were still in the tree? Surely that doesn’t call for slave labor, does it? I’ve already zapped three grimlocks today and I don’t want to stress myself.”

“K, don’t make things worse for yourself,” Reiko groaned. “You’re confusing as it is.”

“I’ll say. And yes, it’s still stealing. Me an’ mah family own the trees, and the farm they stand on.” Applejack said.

“Everything will be fine,” Ryota said.

Starlight stepped up and approached the foxes next. 

“Hi, I’m Starlight Glimmer,” she introduced. “It’s really nice to meet new creatures like yourselves. I thought Reiko was the only one.” 

“Sorry for disappointing you,” Reiko replied, sarcastically. 

“Still, it feels kind of strange meeting the rest of you up close like this,” Starlight admitted. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, miss Glimmer,” Ryota chuckled. 

Starlight also took notice to Ryota’s ear and eyes. She found it difficult to look away as well. Something about Ryota’s presence just felt a little off to her. She wanted to look away but felt mesmerized by his eyes. She tilted her head as she could definitely detect something was off about him. 

Reiko groaned. “Don’t go and start a forced romance now.” 

One by one, the other ponies introduced themselves to the foxes. As soon as the introductions were over, Twilight made her move. She saw this as an opportunity to fully welcome the foxes into their home. However, Pinkie beat her to it. 

“Now that that’s out of the way, It’s time for the welcome party of all welcome parties!” Pinkie proclaimed.

“Oh no,” Reiko groaned. 

“This looks like a job for my PARTY CANNON!” 

Pinkie pulled a small blue cannon out of nowhere and slammed her hoof on it. Confetti, party hats, snacks, a punch bowl, flashing lights, and a whole bunch of other party essentials exploded out of the cannon and covered everything in the castle. What looked like a royal foyer now looked like a huge get-together. The foxes were definitely stunned by the random power of Pinkie’s cannon.  

“Interesting,” Ryota said. 

“I want one of those,” Kichiro commented. 

“Pinkie, why don’t we finish our meeting with the foxes before we start any wild parties,” Twilight suggested. 

“Aww, really? I already got the party cannon out,” Pinkie complained. 

“Yes, really. We want them to feel welcomed. We don’t want to mess this up like LAST time.” 

Pinkie still had vivid memories of the time the yaks came to visit and how their chances of welcoming them completely backfired. These foxes were their second chance of welcoming a new species and Twilight definitely didn’t want to screw it up again. Of course, it was Pinkie’s party that saved the day with the yaks, but Twilight had a feeling that these foxes weren’t as hostile as the yaks, and were definitely more confused.

“Oh alright. But it’s going to be a pain to clean up,” Pinkie said. 

She slammed her party cannon a second time and all the party decorations were all sucked back in. The cannon consumed all of the party stuff like a vacuum, and even burped once the foyer was restored to it’s original glory. 

“Hoo,” Pinkie sighed as she wiped the sweat off her brow. 

The fox’s eyes could not unsee what they just witnessed. In an instant, the cannon fired an entire party out and then it sucked it back it. They had no idea whether it was some kind of magic or what, but they could tell there was something strange with Pinkie. 

“Ok, how did you do that,” Reiko asked. 

“Trust me, I have trouble understanding it myself,” Discord admitted. Reiko jumped back when he approached. 

“Getting back to point, I believe we have things to discuss, princess?” Ryota asked. 

“Yes. Everypony...and foxes, follow me to the throne room,” Twilight said. 

The ponies and other creatures followed Twilight to another room. The foxes were a little intrigued when she mentioned the throne room. Ryota especially wondered what kind of throne this princess might have. The skulk soon followed Twilight and the others through the crystal castle’s corridor. They were amazed at how big some of the halls were. Reiko still kept her eye on Discord as they were strolling. There rows of doors within each hallway, someone could easily lose their way in this crystal castle. 

“Here we are,” Twilight said. 

They all walked through a set of double doors and entered Twilight’s throne room. The foxes were amazed by the sheer size of the throne room. They were even more amazed when they noticed that there were actually a total of seven thrones in the room, Six large and one smaller next to one of the large ones. They were all surrounding a round table with a six-pointed star imprinted on it. Ryota didn’t know what to ask first: what the giant star represented? Or why there were seven thrones? 

“Whoa,” Ryota said. 

“I know, it’s pretty awesome,” Rainbow bragged. 

Twilight and her friends all took their seats at their respective thrones. Spike sat down at his little throne next to Twilight while Starlight, Trixie and Discord stood next to some of them. The foxes didn’t know where to stand. They all shrugged and stood together in the space between Pinkie and Fluttershy’s thrones, so that they would be facing Twilight. The four foxes still felt a little anxious once everyone settled down. Twilight didn’t know where to begin. The three foxes, plus the seven tailed one, she had heard from her friends were right across her. Her heart was aching with questions. She took a deep breath and smiled. 

“So, why don’t we start with why you’re here?” Twilight suggested. 

The skulk all exchanged looks and whispered among themselves. Twilight was definitely curious about what they were talking about. As they were talking, Twilight couldn’t help but notice Ryota’s torn ear. That alone sparked some curiosity as she stared at it. She quickly averted her gaze as Ryota directed his attention towards the princess. 

“If I may disagree, your highness, we-”

“Just Twilight is fine. There’s no need for that ‘your highness’ stuff,” Twilight interjected. 

“Yeah, cuz that will get old real quick,” Rainbow added. 

Ryota blinked. “Very well, Twilight. If I may disagree, my skulk and I have been through a lot today. And we have never set paw in a place like this before. We would really appreciate if you would give us some insight first before we can discuss our situation.” 

Twilight turned to each of her friends to see what they think. Most of them shrugged while others sat there and blinked. Twilight turned back to the foxes. 

“Ok then, what would you like to know?” Twilight wondered. 

Ryota turned to his foxes and they all nodded at him. “I guess the first question we all have is, where exactly are we?” 

“Oh, that’s easy. You’re in Equestria. Land of ponies and all sorts of other creatures,” Twilight answered. 

“Yeah! It’s only the most happiest and fun-filled land of all the lands!” Pinkie added. “The place where ponies are always ready to become your best friend!” 

“I see,” Ryota said. “Are you the ruler, Twilight? 

“Oh no. The real rulers here are the royal sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” Twilight explained. That’s when she realized something. “Oh my gosh! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! They don’t know you’re here!”

“Huh?”

“They’ll want to know what we discovered today. Spike!” 

“I’m right here, Twi. No need to shout,” Spike replied. 

“Right, sorry. It’s been awhile since we’ve done this, take note.”

The little dragon took out a quill and parchment. Some of the foxes grew a little worried about what Twilight was doing. Ryota turned to his siblings and noticed each one looked as concerned as he did. 

“Uh, Twilight, what are you doing?” Ryota asked. 

“I’m sending the Princess a letter. We’ve never had talking fox creatures before and she’ll want to know that you’re here,” Twilight answered. 

“Wh-what is she going to do when she finds out?” Ryota asked. 

“Well, I imagine she’ll want to meet you,” Twilight said. The foxes grew even more worried. 

“And, would this meeting be immediate?” 

“I don’t know. Why do you ask?” 

“It’s just, I thought you were going to give us some answers today,” Ryota said. 

“And not ship us off to someone else,” Kichiro added. 

“Need I remind you that we have no knowledge of this place and have no idea what to do or where to go?” Ryota said. 

“Yeah, and the last thing we need right now is an interview from your Princess,” Reiko added. 

Twilight paused. She knew where the foxes were coming from with this. They were new in Equestria and have no idea what was going on or how this place worked. She thought the least she could do was give them some answers before informing the Princess. It would only seem fair. 

“Very well, I’ll answer some more questions before I send my letter.”

“Thank you,” Ryota replied. “So, these ‘royal sisters’ are the true rulers of Equestria?” 

“That is correct,” Twilight replied, proudly. 

“And what does that make you?” Reiko asked. 

Starlight couldn’t help but detect a sense of sharpness in Reiko’s tone. The way she was glaring at Twilight was also a little off-putting. Regardless, she still paid attention to their discussion. 

“Well, I am her student. Or, was her student,” Twilight answered. 

“Student?” Ryota wondered. 

“Was?” Emi added. 

“Did you get expelled?” Reiko asked. 

“What? No!” 

“Oh, so you dropped out then? That’s cool,” Kichiro said. 

“I didn’t drop out either! Why would I do that? I would NEVER drop out of Celestia’s school!” 

Twilight looked around and noticed all eyes looking at her. She calmed down a little as the blush started to form on her face. 

“Wow. Way to keep a cool head in front of the foreigners, princess,” Trixie jeered. 

“Trixie, not the time,” Starlight hissed. 

Twilight grumbled and ignored Trixie’s jab. 

“No, I did not get expelled nor did I drop out,” Twilight explained. “And frankly, why would you think that would be ‘cool?’ There’s nothing cool about dropping out of school.” 

“Ahem!” Rainbow coughed. 

Twilight turned and noticed the blank stare she was receiving from Rainbow Dash. Sweat started drip once she remembered that Rainbow was considered a flight school dropout. 

“Sorry, Rainbow,” Twilight chuckled, nervously. Rainbow rolled her eyes. 

Twilight focused back onto the foxes and started to give her story. She explained the basics about the royal sisters and how she was connected to them. She mentioned how she used to be Celestia’s student at her school for gifted unicorns and how she spent most of her time studying magic. She also told them how Celestia sent her to Ponyville in order to make friends and learn about friendship. 

However, she did her best not to mention how her sister, Luna, became jealous and turned into the evil and corrupted version of herself, Nightmare Moon, and how she was banished to the moon. She also did her best not to mention her return after her banishment and how Twilight and her friends defeated her. She knew that these foxes needed answers, but she also knew not to give out too much information. 

“I see,” Ryota said, after the story was done. “And so there’s been peace ever since?” 

Twilight didn’t answer. She wanted to explain how Equestria has a lot more danger than what they may think, but she didn’t want to bring up the artifacts that are capable of defeating any threat. She wanted to trust these foxes, but she didn’t know if they could be trusted. 

“In a sense, yes,” Twilight answered. “We get the occasional monster here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary.” 

Her friends looked at her in confusion. They didn’t know how to respond. Why not tell them the truth? Why not mention the elements of harmony? Applejack found this very peculiar. 

“What do ya mean, Twi?” Applejack wondered. “We’ve faced more than just typical brutes from the Everfree Forest.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow added. “And what about the-”

“Girls, Spike, Discord can I talk to you for a moment?” Twilight interjected. 

The ponies and other creatures all huddled up in a corner in the room, leaving the four foxes at the round table. 

“What’s up, Twi? Why don’t you want to mention the elements?” Rainbow asked. “Don’t you want to tell them how awesome we are with them?” 

“That’s the thing, Rainbow. I don’t think we should tell them,” Twilight answered. 

The ponies all looked at her with puzzled faces. Whispers and mutters could be heard among them. Some of the foxes noticed this. 

“What are they talking about?” Emi wondered. 

“I dunno. Pony stuff?” Reiko guessed. 

“I’m sure it’s nothing important,” Kichiro said. 

Ryota didn’t say anything. All he did was raise an eyebrow at the ponies while they were having their conversation. He figured it was none of his business and ignored it for now. Perhaps Kichiro was right, it was probably nothing. 

“What? Why don’t you want to tell them about the elements?” Spike wondered. 

“Think about it: these are four, mysterious creatures that NONE of us have ever seen before. We can’t just go a give our secrets away like that.”

“It’s not really a secret. Lots of ponies knows about the elements, Twi,” Rainbow remarked. 

“They’re not ponies, though. And they DON’T know about them,” Twilight reasoned. “We need to be sure that these four can be trusted. If they knew about the elements, or the tree no less, they could find a way to destroy it behind our backs.” 

“You sure about this?” Applejack asked. “Ya know how I feel about lying.” 

“We’re not lying, Applejack. We’ll tell them what they need to know, but we have to leave out anything regarding the elements or the amount of enemies we’ve used them on,” Twilight assured. “And that includes you, Discord.”

“Oh what? Me? I would NEVER do something like reveal your darkest secrets, Twilight,” Discord replied. 

“Yes you would,” Spike muttered. 

“We’re only doing this to see if they can be trusted. So until then, don’t reveal too much.” 

“Ok,” everybody replied. 

“Discord, what did I just say?” Twilight asked, making sure he understood. 

“Don’t mention the elements and keep my mouth zipped. Got it, mom,” Discord replied, literally zipping his own lips. 

The rest of the ponies finished up their little huddle and resumed their original places around the table. 

“Sorry about that,” Twilight said. “We were just discussing something that had come up recently. It’s nothing important.”

“I knew it,” Kichiro laughed. 

“Riiiight,” Reiko replied. 

Reiko’s stare at Twilight was oozing with suspicion, and the princess could sense it. She tried her best to ignore it and move on.  

“So, there’s the story of how I was sent to Ponyville and met all of the friends around me,” Twilight said. “Any other questions?” 

Reiko saw this as the best chance to address the chaotic elephant in the room. 

“Yeah, I have a question, what is THAT thing?” Reiko asked, pointing to Discord. The chaos god unzipped his lips and literally looked down on the fox. 

“Didn’t you pay attention when we were introducing ourselves?” Discord replied. 

“Nope! That part was deleted,” Kichiro said. 

“I am Discord, the lord of chaos. And might I say, it is a pleasure to meet you all.” 

Discord reached out his paw to Reiko. She backed away from the bizarre creature and stared at him. She really didn’t want to touch him, Reiko could easily sense the devious aura from his body. Everything about him just rubbed her the wrong way. Despite that, she knew she had to make a good impression on these ponies. Even the other foxes were still a little freaked out by Discord and his abnormal body. She reluctantly reached out her paw and shook Discord’s. However, Discord’s paw broke off and continued to shake Reiko’s paw. The other foxes gasped. 

“Yeah, didn’t see that coming,” Reiko muttered, sarcastically. “You’re a real mischief maker.”

Discord grumbled at her remark. It was like she already knew what was going to happen. Discord huffed and snapped his talons. All at once, his body parts flew off his body and started flicking and kicking different parts of Reiko’s body. Needless to say this disturbed her more than his first trick. The various body parts poked and touched her as she squirmed in place. She kept on swinging her claws around to smack the limbs away, but every time she did they would just dodge her. Ryota and Emi jumped back at the chaotic limbs. They had never seen anything so bizarre in their life, they looked like they were ready to storm right out the castle. 

“Eh, I’ve seen worse,” Kichiro shrugged. This made Discord grumble more. 

“Discord! Stop disturbing our guests, you’ll scare them away!” Twilight scolded. 

“She started it,” Discord retorted, pointing his eye at Reiko. 

“Discord!” Fluttershy yelled. 

“Oh alright.”

Discord snapped his claws and all of his limbs flashed away and reappeared on his body, fully attached. 

“Well, there goes my sleep tonight,” Emi commented. 

“I feel violated,” Reiko remarked. 

“I’m so sorry about him. He’s usually so kind,” Fluttershy assured. 

“I find that hard to believe,” Reiko retorted. 

“Oh, trust me. He’s not so bad once you get to know him,” Fluttershy added. 

“That’s the second time I’ve heard that today,” Reiko said, turning to face Starlight and Trixie. “And once again, I’m not so sure if I want to know him.” 

“Please give him a chance,” Fluttershy pleaded. 

Reiko stared into Fluttershy’s pleading eyes. She didn’t know why, but she found herself unable to look away. Her eyes just looked so innocent. Reiko didn’t know how to respond next, it felt like she was staring into an adorable time bomb. 

“J-Just keep your grandpa under control,” Reiko said, averting her gaze. 

“I beg your pardon?” Discord asked. 

“Ha!” Trixie laughed. 

“Do I really look like her grandpa?” 

“Do you really want an answer to that?” Reiko retorted. 

“Enough!” Ryota interjected. “We’re getting off topic. But, Reiko does have a good point. Just what exactly is….Discord, was it?” 

“The one and only,” he boasted, causing his horn and antler to explode like fireworks. 

“Discord here is,” Twilight paused, trying to find the right words. “A very special friend of ours.” 

“Is that all? How about the god of chaos? The master of mischief? And the one true best friend of my dear Fluttershy,” Discord declared, wrapping an arm around Fluttershy. This alone was enough to make Fluttershy blush. 

“Why is he holding her like that?” Emi wondered. 

“THAT’S your first question?!” Reiko blurted out. 

Fluttershy wanted to tell them about how he used to be evil, but remembered that it would involve mentioning the elements. She decided to say nothing for now to respect Twilight’s wishes. 

“I don’t understand,” Ryota said. 

“What’s there to understand? I have chaos and I can spread it. There’s nothing more to it.”

Discord then formed his claw into a long snake and made it slither it towards the foxes. Reiko was especially creeped out by his ability. She bit at his snake arm but he pulled away before she could land her mark. He chuckled as his arm turned back to normal, or at least close to normal. 

“I see...I’d appreciate it if you didn’t terrorize my skulk like that,” Ryota said. 

“Well, you’re no fun,” Discord replied.

“Anyway, is there anything else you’d like to know?” Twilight wondered. 

“I’ve got a question. What’s with those thrones?” Kichiro asked. 

He then leapt onto the table and began walking all around it. He passed by every throne as he circled on the table. Most of the ponies were surprised by this move, but they didn’t really see the harm in it. Except Applejack who was still staring daggers at him. 

“Why are there so many? And why do they have those symbols on them? Are you all secretly evil queens banning together to devise a plot to take over the world?” 

“N-No!” Twilight replied. “We-”

“You hear that, brother and sisters? Even evil rulers such as them can learn teamwork. This is what happens when you put your differences aside and work together. There’s still hope for us all!....Well, maybe more so for them than for us.”

“W-What?” Twilight stammered. “It’s not like that at all. Do we seem evil to you?” 

“I don’t know, are you?” Reiko wondered. 

“Reiko, don’t. K, get off of there,” Ryota ordered. Reiko shifted her gaze away as Kichiro leapt off the table rejoined his skulk. “Forgive them. If you were truly evil, then you wouldn’t have invited us in to help us.” 

“It’s alright,” Twilight assured. “And to answer your question, we have these thrones because my friends and I sometimes act as a...friendship council.” 

“Friendship council?” Ryota asked. 

“Yes. If there’s ever a problem it’s our job to try and fix it. We even try to make friends with other nations to gain allies.” 

“Is that so?” Reiko asked. Starlight noticed her sarcastic tone was getting stronger. 

“Yes. And the symbols on our thrones are our cutiemarks.”

“Cutiemark?” Ryota questioned. 

Twilight did her best to explain the importance of their cutiemarks and how it represents a pony’s talent. She and her friends then showed the foxes all of their marks that were located on their flanks. The amount of information the foxes were receiving were both fascinating and confusing at the same time. The idea of someone’s special talent being imprinted on a creature’s skin was very unusual for the foxes. Reiko scratched her head at the idea. 

“So, these cutiemarks represent your talent and are located on your flanks? And every time we want to know what someone is good at we have to stare at their bums? I like this place already,” Kichiro commented.

“Thank you...wait what?” Twilight asked. 

“I have one more question,” Reiko interjected. 

“So do I!” Emi chirped. “What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?” 

“How does Starlight and Trixie play into this? I mean, they’re here for a reason right?” Reiko wondered, ignoring Emi’s question. 

Twilight turned around and stared at her talented student. She noticed the uneasy look on her face. It seemed like she couldn’t go a single day without being reminded about her past. Twilight sighed and faced the foxes. 

“First, it’s mint chip. Second, Starlight Glimmer is my student.”

Starlight blinked. She was a little surprised that Twilight would avoid talking about her past. Then again, she already mentioned that she didn’t want to reveal too much to the foxes just then. Nevertheless, this made Starlight smile. 

“As for Trixie she’s....a friend of ours.” 

“A great and powerful friend, I might add,” Trixie boasted. 

Ryota could see Twilight’s left eye twitch a little. “I see.”

“You got all that, right?” Kichiro asked. 

“Got all of what?” Reiko replied. 

“You wrote all of that down?”

“What?” You mean what we just heard?” 

“Yes. This will be great for the story we’re working on. Did you, or did you not, write all of that info down?” 

“K, I have ZERO idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Don’t worry! I got everything,” Emi chirped, holding a familiar quill and parchment. 

Spike looked down and noticed the quill and parchment he was holding were not in his claws anymore. “What the?!” 

“Thank you, Emi. I knew I could count on you,” Kichiro thanked, making Emi smile. 

“What? When were you taking notes?” Reiko questioned. 

“I’m sorry, but that information is classified,” Kichiro replied. 

“Yeah!” Emi added. 

“W-what?” Reiko stammered. 

“Are you sure those two aren’t pets of Discord?” Trixie asked. 

“Hey, trust me, I would know if I had any pets,” Discord retorted. “And they certainly wouldn’t be strange little dogs with wavy tails. They are random though, I’ll give them that.” 

Reiko groaned in annoyance. Ryota just stared at his siblings in confusion. He didn’t really know how to react to their antics half of the time. 

“I mean, it’s good that they wrote down all of the basic information when it comes to this place,” Ryota admitted. “But anyway, I think that’s all of the questions we have so far.” 

“Excellent. Now that we’ve told you about where you are and what we are, perhaps you could answer some of our questions now?” Twilight suggested. 

“Very well, what would you like to know?” Ryota wondered. 

“You can start with why you’re here?” Rainbow asked, flying up to Ryota. 

Ryota took a deep breath and stared at the flying rainbow mare. He could feel his heart picking up just from thinking about what he was about to say. 

“To make a long story short, we’re here for only one thing,” Ryota started. “To find a home.” 

Some of the ponies were taken back by his response. They didn’t really expect the answer he just gave them. They looked at all the other foxes before turning back to Ryota. Rainbow noticed a lack of worry from his face, even when she flew right up to him. 

“Really? Where are you from?” Rarity wondered. 

The foxes all exchanged looks with each other. Each one was filled with worry and doubt. Ryota didn’t know how to answer without giving too much away.

“That’s….a sensitive question,” Ryota answered. 

“Let’s just say we’re not from around here. And that’s all you need to know,” Reiko added. 

Twilight could definitely tell something was bothering them, and that making them talk about it was just making it worse. She really didn’t want things to go wrong this soon. In fact, she didn’t want anything to go wrong at all. 

“I see. I understand. We won’t pry on the subject,” Twilight assured. 

“Yeah, sorry,” Rainbow said as she flew back to her seat. An idea popped into Twilight’s head. 

“So we know who you’ve met already. But, I’d like to hear your sides of the story,” Twilight said. 

“Very well,” Ryota replied. 

One by one, each of the foxes told their side of their individual stories. Kichiro with Sweet Apple Acres, Emi with the Carousel Boutique, and Reiko with Starlight and Trixie. Ryota then told his own story, about how he went head to head with a Manticore and how he was treated by the forest zebra, Zecora. By the end of his story, Twilight and the others were very fascinated.  

“Wow, I can’t believe you met Zecora,” Twilight said. 

“You know her?” Ryota asked. 

“Yeah. She’s a good friend of ours. I’ll have to send her a letter as well.” 

“What? You don’t trust me?” Ryota joked.

“What? It’s just I want to hear her side of the story. I want to know what she thinks of you and how you met,” Twilight assured. 

“Fair enough.” 

“So, what made ya’ll four decide that you wanted to meet us?” Applejack wondered. 

“Two reasons. One: we wanted to make sure you can be trusted with our existence. And two: we currently have no place to sleep and we were wondering if you could help find us a home?” 

Twilight turned to each of her friends to see what they thought. After that, she faced the foxes again. 

“Very well. You four don’t seem to be dangerous and are obviously in need of a roof over your heads. So, why not stay here in the castle?” 

The foxes were speechless. They didn’t know how to react. They just met this princess today and she was already offering them a home in her very own castle. Emi and Kichiro heart’s burst with excitement for a warm home. Reiko’s mind was swimming with suspicion. Ryota was the most taken back, he didn’t expect her to be this friendly with them already. 

“A-Are you serious?” Ryota asked. 

“Of course,” Twilight responded. 

“I mean, we only asked for your assistance to find a home. We don’t want to be a bother-”

“It’s no bother at all,” Twilight assured. “There’s plenty of spare rooms in the castle.” Starlight and Spike nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah I can even share my room with Reiko,” Starlight suggested. 

The mere mention of sharing a room with someone, much less a different creature, made Reiko’s face turn red. Reiko wasn’t sure what it was, whether it was sharing a room with someone she just met or the mere wording of the sentence, but something just didn’t sit well with her. 

“What’s the catch?” Reiko questioned. 

“What do you mean?” Spike asked. 

“Why would you just give us a place in your castle like that?” 

“Because, like Ryota said, you’re new to this kingdom and have nowhere else to go. I just can’t let a group of interesting creatures like you perish,” Twilight answered. 

“I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem ri-”

“Plus, I’m actually really fascinated to learn about your species. What you're good at, what kind of magic you use, how you make friends with one another, and so on!” 

“Ah, there it is.” 

“You wish to study us?” Ryota asked. 

“Technically, both yes and no. Study is the wrong word. I want to get to know you, I want to know what your culture is like, I want to become friends with you, but also learn more about you.” Twilight explained, gleefully. 

The room was silent. Ryota focused on Twilight and the other ponies. They’ve given him no reason to not trust them. But even he had to admit, the way she would just offer her home like that didn’t feel right to him. He looked at his skulk. He knew he had to do what was best for them. His siblings just looked at him expecting some kind of answer. Their eyes were enough to let him know what to do next. His heart beated with confidence as he looked at Twilight in the eyes. 

“One more question. When you do send a message to your mentor, do you think you could ask her not to meet us immediately?” Ryota requested. 

“Huh?” 

“It’s just that, it would be awkward if we just arrived here today and we would already have to meet the true ruler of this land. No offense.” 

“Non taken.”  

“So, do you think you could ask her to give us a few days to settle down before we meet her? Just so we can become familiar with this kingdom and everything in it. That way, we won’t have as many questions for her.” 

Twilight thought about his reasoning. True, Celestia and Luna should know about them. However, meeting them on such short notice would not only be inconvenient to them, but to the foxes as well. Not to mention it would add a lot of pressure onto them if they met the highest authority in all of the land. Judging from their behaviors, Twilight could tell that they must’ve recently been through something tough. 

“I can’t really say what Celestia’s schedule is like, but I’ll do my best to see what I can do,” Twilight said. 

“Thank you.” 

The room became silent once more. Ryota focused all of his attention towards Twilight. The princess found herself unable to look away from his golden eyes. Something felt off in the room. 

“Twilight,” Ryota started. “We appreciate what you are doing for us. And we look forward to meeting your mentor.”

“Thank you. I’m sure she’ll be very-”

“That being said, I hope we can find some way to live in peace,” Ryota interjected. 

Twilight blinked. “Well, that kind of goes without saying.” 

“Hear me out, please. As I’ve said before, we only wish to find a home in this land. If you respect us, we’ll respect you...However, if you hurt us, we’ll hurt you.” 

Most of the ponies and other creatures jaws dropped. Some of them even cleaned out their ears to make sure they heard him correctly. The air suddenly felt heavy. 

“E-Excuse me?” Twilight stammered. 

“‘An eye for an eye,’ as the saying goes,” Ryota continued. “We don’t want any trouble. You can study us all you want, but leave us out of any experiments that could cause harm to us, or to yourself. We won’t showcase our abilities to make a quick orb, there’s no honor in that.” 

Rainbow Dash and Trixie felt like a couple of arrows just struck their hearts. Being ponies who loved to show off their skills didn’t quite like Ryota’s words. They even grumbled at him. 

“We will find work to earn our stay, so that we won’t be feeding off of your hospitality. However, if the need arises, I can assure you that we will defend ourselves until the very end. This is not a threat. This is just some information to remember. We’re merely survivors who will always watch out for one another. All we want, is to live a peaceful life. But, I will do everything in my power to ensure the safety of my family. That’s all I’m saying.” 

The room became dead silent. Nopony knew how to react. Twilight could tell from his speech that Ryota was serious. Applejack had mixed emotions. She admired his devotion to protect his family, but at the same time she couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated. Rainbow wanted to fly up to his face and challenge him to fight, but she realized that all he was doing was looking out for his siblings. If she were in his situation, she’d probably do the same. Twilight continued to stare at Ryota in shock. She knew she wasn’t being threatened, but felt like she was about to be attacked for some reason. 

“I understand,” Twilight finally said. “I can assure you that nothing bad will happen to you or your siblings. I really do want to get to know the four of you.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Well, now that all the serious stuff is done, it’s time to prepare for the foxiest party in Ponyville!” Pinkie announced.

“Did she really just say that?” Reiko groaned. 

“Oh! I’ll help!” Discord chirped. 

With a snap of his claws, fake fox ears and tails rained down upon everyone in the room. Reiko picked up and examined one of the pairs of ears.

“Seriously?” Reiko muttered. 

“What? I think it’s cute,” Emi said. 

“I see no harm in it,” Ryota added. 

“Time to send out the invites!” Pinkie chirped.

“Hold on, Pinkie!” Twilight interjected. “I don’t think having a party for these foxes is a good idea. If they aren’t ready to meet the princesses, then I doubt they would be ready to meet all of Ponyville.” 

“Aw what?” Pinkie whined. 

“Yeah and considering we’re the only ones who truly know about them, I’d say the rest of Ponyville might not be so open with them,” Starlight added. 

“Party-blocked twice in one day? What is this world coming to?!” Pinkie complained. 

Ryota noticed the somber look on Pinkie’s face. She looked like a puppy who just lost their milkbone….down a sewer...after it was kicked out of their jaw. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for the pink mare. 

“Is having a party that important to you?” Ryota asked. 

“Are you kidding? That’s like saying baking cupcakes to give to regular cakes to start a family isn’t important!” 

Ryota blinked. Then an idea came to his head. “Alright. What if we had a private party then?”

“Huh?” most of the ponies and foxes said. 

“Starlight said it herself, only the ones in this room actually know us. So, why not just throw a party for just the fourteen of us?” Ryota suggested. “You could even invite Zecora if you want to, since she knows about me too. And it could give Twilight a chance to talk to her in person.”

“And then it could just be the fifteen of us having a party,” Emi added. “Oh! What about Sweetie Belle? She knows about me, too! That makes sixteen! That’s like four fours!”

The idea sounded pretty good to everybody. Ryota did make a good point, there would be no harm in throwing a party of only fifteen or sixteen guests. Plus, it meant that Twilight would only have to send out two letters tonight. The idea wasn’t half bad. 

“I like that idea,” Twilight agreed. “I mean, we’ve had private pinkie parties before.” 

“I can get behind that,” Rainbow added. 

“Eh, not like I have anything better to do,” Trixie shrugged, causing Starlight to chuckle. 

“Alright, then it’s settled! Time to throw the best private foxy pinkie party ever!” Pinkie proclaimed. 

Her blue cannon then popped out of nowhere, surprising the foxes again. Pinkie hopped on the cannon and made all of the foxes tilt their heads in confusion. 

“C’mon, Discord! We’ve got to go prepare for tonight!” 

Pinkie slammed on her cannon and blasted right of the room, laughing and firing confetti everywhere. 

“Right behind you!” 

He snapped his claws again and exploded into a big mass of confetti, which landed on the floor in the shape of his outline. The foxes just accepted his chaotic nature by this point. 

“Well he seemed nice,” Kichiro said. 

“So, anything else you’d like to know before we move on?” Twilight asked. 

“I actually have a question for HER,” Kichiro said, pointing to Fluttershy. 

“Me?” she wondered. 

“Yeah. Do you have any kids?” 

“You mean like foals? No, I don’t.”

Kichiro smirked. “Do you want some?” 

Just like that, Fluttershy’s face turned completely red. 

“Don’t even think about it!” Rainbow growled, flying up to his face. 

“What? Am I not allowed to ask her to be my date to the party tonight?” Kichiro wondered. 

“K!” Reiko scolded.  

“I’m kidding,” Kichiro laughed.

“Good thing Discord isn’t here,” Fluttershy mumbled to herself. 

“While Pinkie is preparing for the party, why don’t I show you around my castle?” Twilight suggested. 

“That would be appreciated,” Ryota replied. 

The remaining creatures soon left the throne room as Twilight began to show the foxes their new home. Emi started to walk behind Spike. The young dragon could feel her presence behind him. 

“You better watch your back,” Emi teased. 

Spike started sweating and hopped onto Twilight’s back. Emi giggled at the scared dragon as she continued to gaze at him. Starlight walked next to Reiko. 

“So, how do you like it here so far?” Starlight wondered. 

“This whole place is nuts,” Reiko replied. “Are you really friends with these ponies...and other creatures?” 

“Of course. They helped me through a tough time in my life. So to speak,” Starlight replied. 

“Lucky you,” Reiko muttered. 

“Huh?” 

“Nothing!...So, do we really have to go to this party tonight?” 

“Of course! You haven’t lived until you’ve been to a Pinkie Pie style party.” 

“Sounds great,” Reiko replied, sarcastically. 

“Just give it time, Reiko. You’ll adjust to this place in no time.” 

“If you say so.” 

Twilight continued to show the foxes around the castle. She showed them some of the spare rooms they could have as well as all of the essential areas, such as the kitchen, bathrooms, dining hall, and library. The foxes could tell that this was the beginning of something amazing.
> Party and Apology
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Night came quicker than everybody thought. The foxes were so busy with the tour of the castle they all lost track of time. After they had seen everything, the sun was gone and Pinkie’s private party had just started. All of the ponies and other creatures from the meeting were all gathered in the dining hall, including Zecora and Sweetie Belle. Naturally, Twilight and Rarity allowed Sweetie to invite her friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Once they heard about the foxes existence, they became very eager to meet them. 

Soon, every guest had arrived and waited in the dining room that was now decorated with all kinds of balloons and streamers. A snack table with all kinds of treats was set up, a record player standing next to it, some small tables throughout the room for the guests to sit at, and even some classic party games like bobbing for apples. There was even a banner showcasing the ponies smiling next to the foxes. Twilight was definitely impressed with how Pinkie and Discord set everything up. 

“Great! Now that everybody is here, let’s FINALLY get this private Pinkie Party started!” Pinkie exclaimed. 

She slammed down on her party cannon causing confetti to fire out and explode everywhere. Once Pinkie was finally able to fire her cannon without being “party-blocked,” music started playing and the foxes, ponies and everyone else started to mingle. Twilight and Zecora were having a conversation at one of the tables. 

“So, how did you meet him, Zecora?” Twilight wondered. 

Zecora could tell from her tone that Twilight was very excited to know everything. 

“It is true that I found him full of might, but I only met him at the end of his fight,” Zecora said. 

She explained her side of the story of how she met the seven-tailed fox. While Twilight already knew about his encounter with the Manticore, it was still shocking to hear it from Zecora’s point of view. She turned and looked at Ryota, who was talking to Kichiro by one of the other tables. It was hard to believe that a creature that was half her size was able to fend off against a creature of the Everfree forest. 

What kind of magic did he use?

“Well, it’s a good thing you saved him in time,” Twilight said, directing her attention back at Zecora. “I still can’t believe he fought off against a Manticore by himself.”

“Indeed. He is unlike any other creature I have met before. I was very surprised to hear that there were more,” Zecora replied. 

“Did you meet any of them?” 

“Not yet, but they hold much promise. Out of all of them, Ryota seems to be the most modest.” 

“Yeah. He does, doesn’t he?” Twilight wondered. 

She found herself staring back at Ryota. He was still standing by one of the tables talking to his brother. Twilight found it difficult to look away from him. Her mind was aching with questions. She wanted to know everything there was about him and his siblings. 

“You do realize you’ll have to pay Applejack back in some way,” Ryota said to his brother. 

“Don’t worry, brother. I already know how I’ll do it,” Kichiro assured. 

“Are you sure?” Ryota asked, raising an eyebrow.  

“Pff! Yeah! I realize what I did was wrong and I want to make it up to her.” 

“Well alright. Go have fun.” 

Ryota sent his strange brother off to go interact with the ponies. Even though he had given his word, Ryota couldn’t help but feel a little worried about what Kichiro had in stored for their pony hosts. Right now, he decided to just relax with the others. That is, if he knew how. He tapped his claws on the floor and looked around the dining hall, trying to figure out what to do next. 

He saw the snack table to his right. It was full of all kinds of fruits, candy and cakes. Basically anything sweet and delicious. His own stomach growled at the sight of the display. 

“Might as well,” he said with a shrug. 

Ryota made his way to the snack table and grabbed a plate. He started filling it with mostly fruits. He noticed some of the more sugary sweets were vanishing into thin air. He looked down and saw Emi rapidly filling her plate with cakes, giggling like a crazy fox. He couldn’t help but chuckle at his sister’s excited face.  

“Don’t overdo it now,” he warned her. 

“But I want to overdo it,” Emi giggled. 

Ryota rolled his eyes and made his way back to his table. Emi placed her plate on her head and balanced back to her table. She found it difficult to walk with a ten story cake tower on her head, but she managed. She carefully placed her cake tower on the table and immediately sat down. Her mouth was watering and she already found herself vibrating, despite not eating any sugar yet. 

“Hi Emi!” 

Emi looked down from her table and noticed Sweetie Belle looking up at her with a smile. 

“Oh, hey mini Rarity!” 

The tiny vixen then noticed two other fillies standing next to Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom couldn’t help but stare at Emi with excited eyes. Emi tilted her head at the trio. 

“Huh? One? Two? Three? There’s three of you?” Emi asked. 

“Yep! These are my friends Scootaloo and Apple Bloom,” Sweetie introduced. “And together we are…”

Some of the older ponies like Applejack and Rarity saw what was coming next and covered their ears. 

“THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” 

Emi found herself shaking and her ears ringing. She started cleaning out her ears with her claws to check if they were still functional. 

“You call that loud? My ears are still asleep,” Discord teased. He snapped his claws where his ears were zapped into tiny beds and snoring up a storm. 

“Discord!” Fluttershy said.

“Nope! Still not loud enough.” 

The crusaders ignored Discord’s comment and joined Emi at her table. 

“So you’re the fox that Sweetie’s been talking about?” Scootaloo asked. 

“The one and only!....Well, unless you count Kichiro, Reiko and Ryota. Whom she’s also met….just now,” Emi replied. 

“Who?” Apple Bloom asked. 

“Her older siblings,” Sweetie clarified. 

The three fillies looked around the room to try and find the other three foxes. They spotted Ryota awkwardly eating his fruit at one of the tables. They found Reiko standing near Pinkie, who was dancing next to the record player that was playing some classic, funky party music. 

“C’mon Reiko! Dance with me!” Pinkie insisted as she started dancing like a broken bird.

“Riiiiiight,” Reiko replied as she walked away. 

They found Kichiro last, he was playing a game of pin the tail on the pony with Spike and Rainbow Dash. The two smiled in confidence as they waited for the fox to finish his turn. He ended up pinning the tail right onto the pony’s eye. Kichiro lifted up his blindfold to see how he did.  

“I did it!” Kichiro exclaimed as he did a little victory dance. 

Rainbow and Spike stared at each in confusion. Rainbow mouthed “What?” to Spike while he replied with a simple shrug. 

“They seem….nice,” Apple Bloom commented. 

“Yeah, we’re pretty great,” Emi replied. 

“So is it true that you can spew fire?” Scootaloo asked, excited. 

“Well, I mean, some of us can. If we want to.” 

“That’s so cool! Can we see?” 

“Oh, uh, that’s not really up to me,” Emi said. “That’s really up to Reiko. She was the one who brought the whole town to the castle.” 

“The one with the three tails is your brother too, right?” Apple Bloom asked. “Because Applejack told me that he stole some of our apples.” 

“Yeah. But it’s not the first time K has taken something without asking. It’s actually one of our favorite bonding experiences,” Emi said. 

“Cool...wait what?” Scootaloo asked. 

“Nothing! Anyway, you said you three are crusaders? So do you explore ruins, fight monsters, and go on life-threatening adventures?” 

“Eh, sort of. We help ponies find their special talents and help them better understand their cutie marks,” Sweetie explained. 

“Oh. That’s cool too. So you basically help out with their talents and stuff?” 

“Eeyup!” Apple Bloom replied. 

“Awesome. I’m good at a lot of stuff!” 

“Like what?” Sweetie asked. 

“Well, um….finding soft things like this ribbon,” Emi said, showing the fillies her ribbon. “And, OH! I conquered a dragon today! So that’s something!” 

“You did?!” they all exclaimed. 

“Not really.” 

The fillies turned around and saw Rarity approaching their table. 

“Spike barely counts, Emi. He may be a dragon but he’s only a baby,” Rarity said. 

“Still a dragon! And I defeated him in battle!” Emi retorted. 

“You caught him by surprise and tossed him like a ball. Not much of a battle,” Rarity giggled. 

“Still counts! And next time, I shall have his head!” 

The three fillies couldn’t help but laugh at Emi’s childish enthusiasm to defeat Spike. Emi’s proud pose didn’t last long until she rediscovered the plate full of sweets right in front of her. An idea popped into her head. 

“Oh! You three want to help me eat this cake tower?” Emi asked. 

“Uh, yeah! Pinkie really outdid herself with the cakes this time,” Sweetie replied, eyeing the cake tower. 

“I’m down for that!” Scootaloo agreed. 

“Me too!” Apple Bloom added. 

“Great! Cake eating race! One two three go!”

Emi grabbed one of the small cakes from the tower with her jaw. Before any of the fillies could take a piece, Emi violently thrashed her cake around in her mouth. Frosting and filling splattered everywhere, Rarity had to cover her eyes to avoid the oncoming cake storm. Emi tossed her maimed cake into the air and caught it with her mouth, chomping on it until she swallowed. She sighed of satisfaction as the cake made it’s way towards her stomach. She noticed all the blank stares she was receiving from the fillies and Rarity, all covered in frosting. 

“Alright! I like the way you think!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she took a piece of cake and started following Emi’s example. 

“Emi, you got yourself and all of us filthy!” Rarity said as she approached Emi. “And your ribbon is covered in frosting.” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll clean it,” Emi assured.

She took off her ribbon and stuck it in her mouth, licking all of the cake away. 

“Don’t do that!” Rarity said, taking Emi’s ribbon away. “I’ll have to clean it myself. Did you have to eat you cake so….violently?” 

“I don’t know what you expected. That’s how I always eat my food,” Emi replied. 

“Well, do you think you could learn to chew? I know you're the guest of honor but you should at least have some manners.” 

Emi huffed at the fashion designer. 

“In case you haven’t noticed, foxes do not have cheeks! Just teeth! See?” Emi pulled back her muzzle with her claws and exposed her razor sharp teeth.

“Whoa!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie jumped back. 

“So cool!” Scootaloo mused. 

“We don’t exactly have a choice when it comes to chewing.” 

“I’m sure you must learn at some point. Now do you think you could...put your teeth away?” Rarity asked. 

Emi retracted her claws and covered up her teeth. 

“But I kind of like how Emi eats her food. It’s more wild,” Scootaloo said, resuming her cake thrashing. 

“Yeah, that’s right! Freedom to the children!” Emi chirped as she started chomping down on another piece of cake. 

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shrugged and started to copy Emi, grabbing their own cakes and started eating them like wild animals. Rarity just rolled her eyes at the scene. 

“Children,” she sighed. 

She turned and noticed Kichiro having a conversation with Spike, Rainbow and Pinkie Pie. 

“I wonder what they’re talking about?” 

The two ponies and dragon were all staring at Kichiro while he was finishing up a story. 

“And that’s how I ALMOST found the One Piece!” Kichiro concluded. 

Rainbow and Spike stared at him with blank stares. Pinkie was the only one who looked remotely fascinated by his story. Spike tilted his head at the three tailed fox. 

“Uh, what?” Was all Spike could say.   

“Welp! I’m off to somewhere else!” Kichiro said as he walked away from the trio. 

“Did anypony understand what he just said?” Rainbow asked. 

“Nope,” Spike answered. 

“Well, duh! It’s so obvious!” Pinkie said. “It must be exciting to be a pirate.” 

Rainbow and Spike stared blankly at their party crazy friend. It was like they understood her less than before. While that was going on, Starlight had just finished a conversation with Trixie and was looking around for Reiko. She soon spotted her standing next to the snack table, leaning on the wall behind her. The unicorn approached the five tailed vixen. 

“Hey,” Starlight greeted. 

“Huh? Oh, hey,” Reiko replied. 

“Why aren’t you joining the party? Everyone’s waiting to meet you,” Starlight asked. 

“I don’t know. Too many new faces, I guess. I don’t really do well at big events.” 

“Well, that’s the whole point of a party. To step outside of your comfort zone and to meet new ponies. Besides, there’s not that many ponies here. Just some friends.”

“Yeah, YOUR friends.” 

“They can be your friends too if you give them a chance.” 

“Ehhh,” Reiko said, avoiding eye contact. 

Starlight felt like she wasn’t getting anywhere with her. She could tell she was anxious and confused about everything. She of all ponies knew what it felt like to start over in a new place. 

“Reiko. I know this can be a little scary at first, trying to make new friends and all. But you aren’t going to get any help unless you let us.” 

“Pff, who said I was scared?” Reiko asked. “I’m not scared.”

“Then prove it. The only way you’ll really get to know this place is if you make friends with the ponies who live here. So c’mon. Loosen up. Come socialize with me.” 

Reiko looked back at Starlight. Persistence shimmered in her big, beaming eyes. Reiko knew she meant well. Out of all of the ponies, there was something about this particular one that filled Reiko with a warm feeling. Her magic looked cool to watch and her attitude seemed trustworthy enough. Reiko couldn’t help but shake the feeling that there was something special about this pony. 

“Tsk. What is this ‘socialize’ thing you speak of? I’ve honestly never heard of it,” Reiko jeered. 

“C’mon,” Starlight laughed. 

Reiko rolled her eyes and decided to follow Starlight into the party. The moment she left her spot, Reiko was already filled with regret. Her worst fear has arrived: socializing! 

Ryota was still sitting at his table, eating the last pieces of his fruit. He scanned the dining room to see what everyone else was up to. He could spot Kichiro making his way towards Fluttershy and Discord, Twilight was still discussing things with Zecora, and Emi seemed to be getting along with the three fillies and splattering cake everywhere, which even Ryota chuckled at. He could see Starlight dragging Reiko along throughout the party and even Trixie striking up a conversation with Pinkie Pie. 

“Howdy.” 

Ryota turned around to find Applejack approaching him. She sat down at his table with a smile on her face. 

“Oh, hello,” Ryota said. “Applejack, right?”

“That’s mah name. So, you enjoying the party?” Applejack asked. 

“It is...nice,” he replied. 

“Really? Then why are ya just sitting here twiddling some grapes?” 

Ryota looked down and noticed the grapes he was poking around with his paw.   

“You’ve got me there.” 

Applejack chuckled. “Why don’t you come join us?” 

“And do what?” 

Applejack gave him a blank stare. “Ya have been to parties before, right?” 

“Not really,” Ryota shrugged. 

“Well we can’t have that, now can we? C’mon.” 

Applejack got up and and started making her way towards the record player. She stopped and turned around to see Ryota still sitting there with his head tilted. 

“Ya coming?” 

“Oh, uh, sure.” 

Ryota got up from his chair and followed AJ to the dance floor. Pinkie was still dancing to the funky music and still like a crippled ostrich. Rainbow and Spike managed to get all the crazy out and danced to the music too. Applejack and Ryota made their way to the others and Applejack began dancing as well. Ryota stared at her in confusion. 

“C’mon! Dance with us!” Applejack insisted. 

“I can’t dance,” Ryota admitted. 

“You don’t need to know how to dance, silly! You just do it!” Pinkie exclaimed. 

Ryota shrugged and joined the others. He slowly started to move to the rhythm of the music, and by move he merely side-stepped to the entire song while bobbing his head up and down. He knew he should be having fun, but he couldn’t help but have an empty feeling in his stomach. He felt his face burning up and his heart racing. He tried his best not to make eye contact with anybody, to avoid looking weird, but that just made him more alert. He always found himself staring back at Applejack, who was having a great time smiling and jumping around to her own beat. Ryota wished he could just move around like her.  

Hours passed and the party was just about over. Everyone was heading in their own separate way home and Pinkie was quickly cleaning up the party. And by cleaning up, she just pressed one button and vacuumed everything up in one second. Each of the ponies said their goodbyes to the foxes. Discord literally zapped himself out of reality and back to his realm with a snap of his fingers, Zecora made her way back to the Everfree forest, The CMC were walking home with their sisters, and Trixie made her way to her travel wagon. Twilight was showing the foxes the spare rooms that they would be staying in. 

“So, this will be your room, Emi,” Twilight said. 

“Cool,” she yawned. “In that case, I’m going to hit the hay.” 

“I’ll come by shortly to tuck you in,” Ryota said. 

“Tch-Tch-Tch! Not out loud!” Emi said between her teeth. 

Spike tried his best to cover his chuckling with his claws, but it didn’t really work. 

“What are you laughing at? At least she doesn’t sleep with a Rarity plushie,” Twilight teased. 

“Wha-I do not!” Spike retorted. 

Twilight and the others all shared a laugh as Emi entered her new room. 

“Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” Emi whispered as she passed Spike.  

The young dragon felt a cold shiver run down his spine as the young kit closed her door. Even as he walked away, he couldn’t help but feel her eyes burning a hole through his head. As they were walking, Twilight couldn’t help but notice something. Out of all of them, Reiko seemed the quietest. She hadn’t said a single word since the party ended. Twilight couldn’t put her hoof on it, but she felt like something was wrong. 

One by one, Twilight showed each of the foxes their separate rooms and bid them all a good night. Reiko was the last one to receive her room. Even when it was only herself, Reiko and Spike, Twilight still couldn’t shake the uncanny aura she was giving off. 

“And this is your room, Reiko,” Twilight said. “If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Ok,” Reiko replied. 

She was about to enter her room. 

“Y’know, if you want, I can ask Starlight if she would share her room with you. She seemed pretty eager about it earlier,” Twilight offered. 

“Nah. I’m good.” 

Twilight couldn’t take it. Something about this fox was really eating at her. It was the same feeling of doubt she was giving off earlier at the meeting. Twilight could feel an uneasy aura emitting from Reiko, as if she was being clouded with suspicion. 

“Is something the matter, Reiko?” 

The vixen inhaled and turned around. She glared at Twilight. Even though Reiko was shorter in length, Twilight couldn’t help but feel like she was the small one. 

“Ok, I’m just going to come out and say it: I don’t trust you.” 

Twilight and Spike blinked. “Excuse me?” 

“Think about it. Four mysterious creatures you’ve never seen before enter your town and what’s the first thing you do? You invite them into your castle and allow them to sleep in your own home. That’s pretty sketchy if you ask me.” 

“I was only trying to-”

“Let me finish. I’m not sure what it is, but something about you REALLY pisses me off. I don’t know if it’s your voice or your attitude, but something about you just rubs me the wrong way. And you may be the ‘Princess of Friendship’ or whatever, but I’m not going to give you my faith just because you ask for it. If you want MY trust, you’re going to have to earn it.” 

The hallway was silent. The air became heavy. The cheery tone that had been there just moments ago was quickly replaced with seeds of mistrust. Twilight didn’t know how to respond. She was nothing like Ryota. Every word she spoke felt like a small sting in her chest. She could understand her being a little on edge, but she didn’t expect her to be this harsh about it. Twilight continued to stare at the five tailed vixen. 

“That is all I have to say to you,” Reiko finished. 

With that, Reiko entered her room and shut the door. Spike looked up at Twilight, who was still trying to process of what just happened. 

“You Ok, Twilight?” Spike asked. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Twilight replied. “Let just get that letter to Princess Celestia.” 

“Are you sure? Because what she said was not cool!” 

“Really, Spike, I’m fine. I can’t blame her for being a little skeptical. She’s just being cautious,” Twilight assured. “C’mon. Let’s get going.” 

The two friends made their way down the hall and into Twilight’s room, where they would send a letter to Princess Celestia. Twilight was very excited to hear what her reaction would be like. Her heart was racing just from the thought of it. 


The Next Day


Another day at Sweet Apple Acres meant another day of hard work. Applejack hummed to herself as she placed her first basket underneath the first tree. She turned around and prepared to give it a hard buck. Before she could though, she spotted something in the distance. She spotted Kichiro walking towards her. Her face turned from happy to irritated within a second. She noticed that Kichiro was carrying something in his mouth. She couldn’t tell what it was because it was wrapped up in a blue piece of cloth, most likely “borrowed” from Rarity’s boutique. Either way, she still didn’t like where this was going. 

“What do ya want, Kichiro?” Applejack snapped. 

Kichiro dropped his wrapped item and approached the farmer mare with a smile on his face.  

“And a good morning to you too, Applejack,” Kichiro chirped. 

“Yer obviously here for a reason, so spill it,” Applejack demanded. 

“Oooo, hostile today aren’t we?” Kichiro replied. “Well, I wanted stopped by to bring you THIS.” 

Kichiro nudged his wrapped item towards Applejack. She eyed the cloth suspiciously, not really know what this was about. 

“What is this?” 

“It’s a gift. I felt really bad about what I did the other day, so I wanted to give you a gift as an apology.”

“.....What?” 

“I really am sorry about stealing your apples. I don’t want there to be any bad blood between us. So please accept my gift to you and let us start over. If I’m going to be here for a while, I might as well make a good impression on you.” 

Applejack tilted her head. She could definitely sense the sincerity in his voice but something about his gift seemed a little off-putting. She looked at his green eyes and saw that he did mean well. She felt a little surprised that he would just give her a gift out of the blue.

“Oh, uh, well thank you, Kichiro,” Applejack said. 

“Go on, open it up. I have a feeling you’ll like it,” Kichiro insisted. 

“Ok.” 

Applejack picked up the gift and began to unravel it. The gift felt as heavy as a couple of apples. She noticed a black feather fall out as she continued to open up the gift. That’s when she saw it. She finally unwrapped the gift and found a dead crow inside. 

“Gah!” 

She dropped the dead crow on the ground and jumped back. Her heart stopped and her eyes widened. She continued to stare at the dead crow on the ground. 

“Do you like it? I caught it myself.” 

Applejack looked up and glared daggers at Kichiro. His innocent smile made her blood boil even more. 

“Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?!” 

Kichiro tilted his head. He then looked around his surroundings to see if there was anyone else there. Not much of a surprise, there wasn’t. 

“What joke? I here no one laughing,” Kichiro replied. 

“Exactly! So why did ya think this would be funny?” Applejack yelled. 

“I never said it was supposed to be funny. I told you, this was my apology gift to you.” 

“Why would I want a dead bird as a gift?!” 

“Hey! Do you know how hard it was to catch this guy? Even with magic, these things are a pain to hunt down. You should be thanking me.” 

“Thank you?!” 

“You’re welcome.” 

“I wasn’t-” 

She was interrupted when her dog, Winona, came running and barking towards her. She sprinted past her owner, scooped up the dead bird, and ran off. 

“Winona, drop that this instant! That is not food, and it’s not a toy!” Applejack demanded as she chased down her dog. 

Kichiro smiled. “My work here is done."
> 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.
> 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.”
> Relaxing, Sightseeing, and Magic-Offing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


One Day Ago


Dusk fell upon the high-class city of Canterlot. Many ponies were calling it a day while others were getting ready for some night time luxury. Princess Celestia was in her room, sorting through some papers from the nobles. It felt like every day they had a new issue to address. That, or they wanted to praise Celestia before inviting her to a big event. Either way, the Princess was always occupied with something to do. She gazed out the window and spotted her sister, Luna, slowly raising the moon into the sky. Celestia smiled as she continued her work. As she did, a letter flashed and appeared before her. She could tell it was from Twilight seeing how it was emitted by Spike’s green fire. Curiosity got the best of her and she unscrolled the letter and began to read it. Her eyes lit up at the context of the letter.



Dear Princess Celestia,

I am writing to inform you that I have some exciting news. My friends and I have befriended some interesting new creatures today. They are not griffins, dragons or changelings, but they are something else completely. One by one, my friends have discovered four foxes in Ponyville. But these foxes have multiple tails, unlike regular foxes. They call themselves Kitsunes, or fox spirits for better understanding.

I suspect they might be from some other world, similar to the other world I visited through the Mirror-Portal, but a world where foxes are the dominant species rather than ponies or humans. Or they might be the result of some kind of magic anomaly somewhere here in Equestria. They haven’t told me yet. All I know is, their intelligence is on the same level as ours, they’re able to talk and reason, and they have magic unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I don’t think It’s Equestrian magic.

They do wish to meet you, but they also want to adjust to their new environment before they can take any big steps. We have never come across creatures like these before and I want to let them know that they are not in any danger. Is there a time in which they could all meet you in the future?

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle.




Celestia’s eyes grew wide with interest. A new species discovered, one of which was not common in Equestria. Celestia smiled feeling proud of her student, it looked like Twilight will have to add another accomplishment to her list. It seemed like something fascinating will happen yet again in Celestia’s kingdom, and this one didn’t sound world ending at all.

“Foxes? Very fascinating,” Celestia said.

She brought out a quill and some paper and began writing a response immediately. She looked out of her window and in the direction of where Ponyville was.

“They must be learning so much about them right now.”




Present


Back at Applejacks home, Kichiro and Rainbow Dash had finished their fifth mugs of apple cider. Kichiro hiccuped between sentences and Dash couldn’t stop giggling. The scent of apple belches could be smelt a mile away. 

“And you know what they *hic* did next? They made me pretend to be my friends! Just get a laugh out of it,” A drunken Rainbow Dash slurred, telling the story of the time when she was a newbie for the Wonderbolts.

“Dude. They *hic* sound like jerks! Let me track them down and put an end to their worthless lives for ya!” Kichiro replied, barely able to hold his mug straight.

“Nah! You don’t...I don’t...D-Don’t do that. They were just messing,” Rainbow added.

“Messing? Hehehe,” Kichiro laughed. “You want to hear about messing? Let me tell you a story...about a prank I pulled. Are *hic* you listening? A-Are you listening? Are you..”

“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded.

“Ok, s-shut up and listen. One day, for no reason, I stole ALL the doughnuts from my village in one night. And you know *hic* what I did next? I ATE them! Every. Single. One,” Kichiro explained.

“W-What was the joke?” Rainbow asked.

“My village had doughnuts one day. But they didn’t have any the next!” Kichiro replied with a small laugh.

Rainbow, in her drunken state, smiled and covered her mouth with her hoof. The Pegasus fell out of her seat and fell to the floor, cracking up. She held her stomach as she was unable to contain any of her drunken laughter. Kichiro joined in and fell back on the couch, laughing and squeaking. The sober ponies and foxes, who were sitting at the kitchen table, stared at the two drunken fools as they continued to laugh like hyenas.

“I don’t get it. It doesn’t sound that funny,” Spike said.

“No kidding! Stealing all of the doughnuts and not sharing them with anybody? That’s not a prank, that’s cruel and unusual punishment!” Pinkie yelled.

“Did he actually do that?” Twilight asked.

“Unfortunately, yes. You would be surprised at what Kichiro is capable of,” Ryota replied.

“Given what we just went through today, ah don’t doubt ya,” Applejack said.

“At least they’re getting along,” Fluttershy mentioned.

“That’s kind of what concerns me,” Applejack admitted.

“Same here,” Ryota said.

A loud belch filled the room before he could answer her question. All eyes turned towards Kichiro. Most jaws dropped once they witnessed Kichiro burping up a rather large flame in the living room. It wasn’t big enough to set the house on fire, but it was definitely bright enough to be spotted a mile away. The fiery burp quickly died down as the room resumed to its original dim light. Rainbow and Kichiro burst out into laughter once more.

“Charming,” Rarity remarked.

“Yeah. Maybe letting Rainbow offer that cider stuff to make him feel better wasn’t such a good idea,” Reiko admitted.

“You think?” Starlight asked, raising a sarcastic eyebrow.

Reiko shrugged and took a sip from one of the mugs. The cider slid down her throat and into her stomach, filling her taste buds with a sweet flavor and her body a warm sensation. She down in her mug, surprised by it’s warm and sweet taste.

“Huh, this is actually really good,” Reiko said.

“Thanks, it’s our family’s special recipe,” Apple Bloom informed.

“I want to try some,” Emi said, reaching for one of the mugs.

“Sorry there, Emi, but this is an adult drink,” Applejack said, sliding the mugs across the table and away from Emi’s reach.

Emi’s smile quickly disappeared when the mugs were out of her tiny reach.

“Aw C'mon! That’s suspension!” Emi declared.

“You mean oppression?” Twilight corrected.

“That too!” Emi replied.

“Emi, if Applejack says you can’t have it, you can’t have it,” Ryota said. “You probably wouldn’t like it anyway.”

“Hmph!” Emi pouted.

An idea then came to her head which brought a grin to her face. She coughed and lowered her head. When she looked up, her golden eyes shone brighter than usual and frowned at the mares. Ryota knew what she was doing and sighed.

“Really now?” Ryota asked.

Emi whimpered as she continued to eye back and forth between the mug and at Applejack.

Hehehe, nobody can say no to this face!

Applejack grinned and leaned inward to face the tiny fox.

“No.”

Dang it!

Emi reverted back to her normal face and pouted once more, disappointed that her simple plan didn’t work.

“I have a dog who constantly begs for treats whenever she can and a little sister who gives me the exact same look whenever she doesn’t want to go to school. It ain’t gonna happen, sugarcube,” Applejack smirked.

“Ha!” Kichiro laughed.

“Hey, I don’t do that anymore!” Apple Bloom protested.

“It was worth a try. You win this round, but I’ll be back,” Emi proclaimed.

“You’ll just get the same results,” Ryota laughed.

Twilight and Spike couldn’t help but laugh as well. Which made Emi pout even more and crossed her front paws.

“Anyway, I still can’t believe Kichiro created all of those monsters today,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Don’t remind me. I’m still trying to get the image of that spider out of my head,” Rarity shuttered.

“Why would you put an image of a spider in your head? Wouldn't your brain get a papercut?” Emi wondered. “Or is it one of those already developed photos you see in those tiny cameras? I guess you could get a headache either way.”

“What?” Rarity asked. Most of the other ponies didn’t know how to respond to Emi’s question either and just stared at her.

“I’ve actually been wondering,” Twilight said, ignoring Emi’s comment. “How did Kichiro create those illusions today?”

“As I said before, it’s an ability that all grown foxes can do. We use our illusions to fool our enemies or play tricks on other creatures we don’t really get along with. It’s one of the few things we’re best known for,” Ryota said.

“Are you not as good as Kichiro?” Twilight wondered.

“It’s not that. He just uses his ability more than the rest of us. And as you’ve all witnessed, it can leave a nasty strain on our eyes and minds if we use it for too long.”

Ryota looked back towards Kichiro who was still drunk talking with Rainbow Dash. Not surprisingly, they were still talking nonsense.

“So you see? It’s not WHY you’re *hic* chasing the rabbit. It’s what you’ll GAIN when you finally catch him!” Kichiro slurred.

“Whoa!” Rainbow exclaimed, making an explosion sound effect.

“Well, he seems to be feeling better now,” Spike remarked.

“Yeah. The illusion creating process is just as strenuous though. We can create an image in our heads and use our magic to bring it to life. Of course, we can only make it look like it’s there when it’s really not,” Ryota explained.

“Amazing,” Twilight said as she was writing all of the new information down.

“So ya can just imagine something in yer head, and it will come to life?” Applejack asked.

“Yes and no. Our deceptions are based on our memories. That’s what makes it difficult for us. We can only create objects we’ve observed or interacted with in our lifetime. But we would have to have an experience with said object in order for that to happen,” Ryota continued. “For example, I can create something like….a miniature version of one of you.”

Ryota snapped his paws and something appeared in one of the mugs. Applejack inspected the mug, only to find a miniature version of herself pop out of it. She was taken back by it as her mini self, smiled and waved at her. She then leaped out of the mug and shook all of the cider off. The ponies couldn’t help but laugh at the tiny pony, including Applejack herself.

“I can do that because I’ve had at least one interaction with you, Applejack,” Ryota said. “But I can’t create something like a chimera because I’ve never encountered one in real life.”

“Well we’ve got plenty of those here, so maybe you’ll get lucky,” Applejack said.

“Hey, tiny Applejack is back,” Apple Bloom laughed.

“Back?” Ryota asked.

“Don’t ask,” Applejack said.

“So those creatures that Kichiro created...?” Twilight asked.

“Were very common at our home,” Ryota finished. “And we’ve encountered them at least once or twice. They can be very deadly and persistent.”

“How so?” Twilight asked.

“I would go into detail about what dirt spiders can really do, but I don’t want to give the fillies nightmares,” Ryota said.

“Are they really that bad?” Sweetie Belle wondered.

“I’ll just say this: the spider that Kichiro created today was the safe version. If you were to see what a real dirt spider could do, then you wouldn’t feel as safe.”

The three fillies gulped. Dealing with creepy crawlies was one thing, but having to encounter them several times their own size was just unnerving. Scootaloo didn’t even want to know how dangerous dirt spiders can be, the very thought of it was enough to send a shiver down her spine.

“Good thing we have normal-sized spiders here. Hehehe,” Scootaloo nervously chuckled.

“So you do have spiders here? How big are they?” Ryota wondered.

“Oh don’t worry. The spiders here are no bigger than my hoof. And they’re very friendly too,” Fluttershy assured.

“A friendly spider? You’re making that up,” Reiko scoffed.

“No, I’m not. They may seem mean and scary but they can be very sweet,” Fluttershy said.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Reiko said.

“Ryota, you said earlier that your illusions are only real to you. What does that mean?” Twilight wondered.

“Exactly what it sounds like,” Reiko remarked.

Twilight stared blankly at Reiko. She already knew the vixen didn’t trust her, but does she have to be so cheeky with her? Twilight couldn’t help but feel a sting in her chest from Reiko’s comment. She decided to ignore it for now.

“Reiko!” Ryota hissed.

“It’s fine,” Twilight assured. “You were saying?”

“We put most of our magic into creating our false images. So much so that they even feel real at some point,” Ryota explained.

He then picked up the miniature Applejack and held her in his paw for emphasis.

“But since we use our magic to create them, we’re the only ones who can physically touch them. And vice versa. Much like how Kichiro rode his giant arthropods today. So if anyone or anything else were to touch them…”

Ryota tossed the miniature Applejack towards the real Applejack. The farm mare caught her, but the moment she made contact the tinier farm mare dissipated. However, it wasn’t in a small dust pile like Kichiros, but rather came apart in a series of small sparks. The sparks flew from Applejacks hooves and fizzled onto the table. The sparks fazed away as soon as they made contact with the wooden table. Applejack looked down at where sparks would have landed and back at her own hooves. There were some sparks that were still fizzing away. The farm mare couldn’t look away from her own hooves where her miniature self would’ve landed, but she was more baffled as to why Ryota's magic dissipated differently than Kichiros. Twilight looked at the sparks too, taking both a mental and physical note of it.

“Just like with Kichiro’s creations...in a way,” Twilight concluded.

“Wow, sounds like you guys had a wild time today,” Starlight said.

“No kidding! You two missed out on a lot today,” Spike said. “You should've been there. It was so cool. But also strange and creepy, but still awesome!”

“Well, we were a little...preoccupied,” Starlight said, rubbing the back of her head.

Most of the ponies and foxes focused their attention towards Starlight and Reiko, who in turn was trying to avoid as much eye contact as possible. Twilight and Ryota noticed this, unsure what happened with their day.

“Preoccupied with what?” Rarity wondered.

“Yeah, what did you two do today?” Fluttershy added.

Starlight and Reiko looked at each other, trying to figure out the best way to start their story. They figured that there was no point in beating around the bush and started to speak.

“Well…” Starlight began.

“Flashback! Voo voo voo voo!” Pinkie exclaimed, waving her hooves around live a flowing river.

“H-Hey does anyone else feel like that the room is swirling around?” Kichiro slurred.

“Wha…?” Rainbow asked before passing out.




 Earlier 


“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 to follow Starlight out of the throne room.

The unicorn and five-tailed vixen walked out of the castle’s big doors. Starlight was more than ready to get the day started. Her only concern was whether or not the ponies would still be worrisome towards the fox, she remembered how Reiko’s fox-fire managed to attract the attention of the whole town. Reiko walked slowly next to her pony guide, she scanned her surroundings and noticed a certain blue mare was missing. 

“Your magician friend not joining us?” Reiko asked.

“Trixie? Not today. She’s a traveling magician, so she comes and goes whenever she wants,” Starlight replied. 

“How convenient,” Reiko jested. 

“Huh?”

“Nevermind,” Reiko quickly replied. “So, where do you want to take me?” 

“I was thinking I just take you around Ponyville. You know, show you the sights,” Starlight said. 

“What sights? Isn’t this just a normal village but filled with ponies?” Reiko wondered. 

“Well, yes,” Starlight admitted. “But there are places around here that are worth checking out. I’ll show you.” 

Starlight led Reiko towards some of the sights she mentioned. As they were walking through Ponyville, Reiko couldn’t help but detect some unwanted eyes on her. The two looked around and noticed all of the nervous stares and whispers they, mostly Reiko, was receiving. A pair of ponies, a mare and a stallion, were walking in their direction. They trotted as they both shared a good conversation, their laughter could be heard from the crowd. Then they looked forward and noticed the five-tailed vixen. Their smiles vanished and they came to a halt as Reiko and Starlight walked past them. The two ponies gazed at Reiko’s waving tails as she continued to walk. The two ponies exchanged looks and tilted their heads. Reiko didn’t even bother noticing the pair. 

“I can’t shake the feeling that some of these guys remember me,” Reiko remarked. 

“Well you did show up here unannounced and caused a fiery explosion behind Twilight’s castle,” Starlight mentioned. 

“Fair point. But judging from their reactions it’s like they’ve never seen anything exciting happen before.”

“Oh trust me. Exciting things happen here more often than you think.”

Reiko chuckled. “Perhaps you’ll show me sometime.” 

The two continued their walk through Ponyville as they tried hard to ignore the constant stares and whispers from other ponies. Starlight and Reiko kept walking until they reached a gingerbread shaped building. 

“This here is Sugarcube Corner,” Starlight pointed out. 

Reiko looked up and down at the peculiar bakery. “Huh. For some reason, I want a snack.” 

“I guess just looking at it can make anyone hungry. C’mon, let’s go inside,” Starlight said as she trotted to the building. Reiko closely followed. 

The two entered the bakery to find that there weren’t very many customers today. The only ponies were three mares sitting at a table who didn’t even notice Reiko and Starlight enter. The two walked to the counter to see one of the owners, Mrs. Cake, putting some freshly made cupcakes on display. 

“Hey, Mrs. Cake,” Starlight greeted. 

“Hello, dearie-AH!” Mrs. Cake yelped. 

She jumped back and nearly dropped her empty tray at the sight of Reiko. Her yelp caused the other mares to look up and noticed Reiko, their jaws dropped. They immediately returned back to their meals, pretending they didn’t see her. 

“Oh, this is Reiko. She’s new here so I’m showing her around,” Starlight introduced. 

“What’s up?” Reiko greeted. 

“Oh. Well, it’s nice to meet you, dearie,” Mrs. Cake replied. “What can I get you two?” 

“Nothing for me,” Starlight said. “Reiko?” 

The vixen looked down at the glass display case to see what her options were. Most of the choices were mainly cakes, pies, and desserts. Most of the stuff they had at their welcome party last night. Nothing really piqued her interest, but her mouth was already watering. She looked back up at Mrs. Cake. 

“You wouldn’t happen to have any taiyaki by any chance, would you?” Reiko wondered. 

Mrs. Cake raised her brow at her request. “Tai-what?” 

Even Starlight stared blankly at Reiko. “I’ve never heard of it.” 

“Ok. How about red bean buns? Daifuku? Dango?” 

Mrs. Cake wasn’t sure how to respond. Only one thing came to her mind. “Um...wha?” 

“I don’t think she’ll have any of the desserts you’re familiar with,” Starlight informed. 

“Do you have anything that’s red and sweet?” Reiko asked.  

“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” Mrs. Cake chirped. She reached into the display and pulled out one of the red cupcakes. “I just baked a batch of red velvet cupcakes. They may not be what you’re looking for, but they’re red and sweet nonetheless.” 

“Great. I’ll take one of those,” Reiko requested. 

“That’ll be five bits,” Mrs. Cake said, as she put the cupcake in a small brown bag. 

Reiko turned to Starlight and jolted her head towards the cupcake bag. 

“Oh, right. I got this,” Starlight said. 

After she paid for the cupcake, the two said their goodbyes and left the bakery. Once they were out, Reiko immediately chomped down on the cupcake. The red velvet crumbled down her throat and landed in her stomach, filling her with a savory chill. 

“Not a red bean bun, but still pretty good,” Reiko sighed. 

“You’re welcome,” Starlight remarked. “I’m assuming those other things you asked about are deserts from your home?” 

“Yeah. Let me tell you this, you haven’t lived unless you’ve tried a red bean bun,” Reiko proudly stated. 

“Then I guess I haven’t been living,” Starlight quipped. 

“I kind of knew that gingerbread bakery wouldn’t have what I was looking for, but I wanted to keep my hopes up,” Reiko admitted. 

“So you were lying to yourself.”

“Essentially.” 

The two laughed at the small joke and continued on their way. They walked past other small areas throughout Ponyville and by some more staring ponies. Of course, Reiko ignored all of the stares she was receiving. 

“This here is the fountain,” Starlight stated as she walked past a pink fountain with a pony statue on it. 

“Thanks, I wasn’t able to point that out on my own,” Reiko remarked. 

Starlight trotted past the crooked water tower next. “That’s the water tower.” 

“That doesn’t look very stable,” Reiko pointed out. 

“Well it has been removed from its spot before,” Starlight explained. “More than once.” 

“Do I even want to know?” 

“Ehh.” 

The two approached a small and red schoolhouse where colts and fillies were walking towards. 

“That’s the school.” 

“How classy,” Reiko jested. 

They walked up a hill where a small and purple tent-shaped building was down below, it had a sign of a smiling pony hanging above the door. A wave of nostalgia was filled inside of Starlight the moment she laid eyes on the building. Reiko merely tilted her head at the place. 

“There’s the day spa where I met Trixie,” Starlight pointed out. 

“Your village has its own spa?” Reiko asked. 

“Yeah. Pretty cool, right?” 

“Ok, I may sound like an animal for saying this, but what’s the point in having a spa?” 

“What? You didn’t have one?”

“We actually had bathhouses, but that’s not what I’m asking,” Reiko replied. “Why would you pay someone to groom you when you can do it yourself for free?” 

Reiko brought her paw to her muzzle and licked it. She then used her paw to brush the fur on her head for emphasis. Starlight’s eyes widened and formed a half frown as she continued to watch Reiko naturally groom herself. It was like watching a normal dog clean its own fur. 

“You’re joking, right?” Starlight asked. 

“Sure…” Reiko replied as she finished grooming herself. 

“Ok, moving on.” 

Starlight and Reiko walked away from the spa. The tour was almost over as there was not much else to show within Ponyville. Starlight showed some sights she was familiar with, such as the Carousel Boutique, the bowling alley, and the hay burger joint. The tour was nearly finished and the two found themselves at the edge of the lake. 

“So how do you like Ponyville?” Starlight queried. 

“It’s alright,” Reiko replied. “I still can’t believe you have a place that sells ‘hay burgers.’ I can’t decide if that’s funny or just dumb.” 

“C’mon. Their food isn’t that bad,” Starlight defended. 

Starlight and Reiko walked along the beach of the lake as the sun slowly began to descend. The calm blue in the sky was slowly starting to be replaced with a warm orange. It was almost time for Kichiro’s game. 

“Looks like it’s almost dusk. Should we head on over to Applejack’s place?” Starlight asked. 

“What for?” Reiko asked back. 

“So we can watch her ‘game’ with Kichiro,” Starlight answered. 

“That doesn’t really answer my question,” Reiko said, flatly. 

Starlight stared blankly at the fox. “Don’t you want to support your brother?” 

“You mean cheer him on because he stole some apples from a simple farmer? Yeah, I’d love to support the fox who wants to become a thief and pull dirty tricks in order to get by in life,” Reiko stated. “Actually who am I kidding? He’s already doing that!” 

A small chuckle escaped from Starlight’s mouth, but she quickly covered it with her hoof before Reiko could notice.

“But in a seriousness, I don’t really care what K does. If he wants to steal from the lower class and not have to pay the consequences then that’s his choice. I can’t control him,” Reiko added. “Not that anyone can.” 

“Lower class? Applejack’s not poor,” Starlight said. 

“Whatever.” 

“And I wouldn’t say he’s completely uncontrollable. Ryota seems to have a good grasp on him. He is the one who told him that he needed to-” 

“Yeah, well, Ryota doesn’t know Kichiro like I do!” Reiko interjected. “He thinks he understands him, but he doesn’t!” 

The very mention of her brother was enough to make the inside of her head twitch. Her claws were even digging into the sand of the ground. Starlight’s heart started to beat faster once she noticed some faint sparks emitting from Reiko’s muzzle. 

“I can’t help but feel like I’ve struck a nerve,” Starlight assumed. 

“It’s nothing,” Reiko sighed. “Let’s just change the subject.” 

“Um. Ok.” 

What was that about? Starlight thought. 

“What do you want to talk about?” Starlight started. 

“I don’t know. What do you like to do for fun?” Reiko asked. 

“Not much. Just basic stuff. Like reading, studying magic, writing letters to friends. And...kites.” 

Starlight chuckled nervously at the very mention of her interest in kites. 

“Neat,” Reiko said. 

“What about you? What do you like to do in your free time?” 

Reiko tapped her chin with her paw. The gears in her head were turning as she tried to come up with an answer that wasn’t completely embarrassing. Simply thinking about her hobbies was enough to fill her heart with uneasy beats. The more she thought about them, the more her chest pumped. She bit her tongue and kicked a pebble. There were only a few safe answers she could think of. 

“Um...wow. Listen to music. Go hunting. Uh...Oh! Sometimes I like to practice my magic,” Reiko answered. “For hunting.” 

“I’ve actually been wondering about that. How different is your magic from ours? Are they anything like that fire-beam you used?” Starlight wondered. 

“It’s fox-fire,” Reiko corrected. 

The vixens ears perked up as an idea popped into her head. A toothy grin formed on her face and her heart started to fill with pride. Even a couple of faint chuckled escaped her muzzle. 

“But why tell you, when I can show you.” 

“Show me?” Starlight asked. 

“Why don’t we have a little game of our own? A magic off!” Reiko declared. 

“Magic off?” 

“I’ve also been wondering what other tricks you might have. So let’s show each other what we’ve got! Whoever taps out first buys dinner.” 

“Ok but why?” 

“Well, it’s no fun if there’s no wager involved.” 

“No, I mean why do you want to have a magic off with me?” 

“I just want to see how powerful unicorn magic can be. And since Trixie is not here and that Rarity chick doesn’t really seem that magically gifted, you’re the only candidate.”  

“Hey, I don’t think it’s very fair to judge Rarity like that.” 

“I’m just saying what I’m thinking.” 

“Still, you don’t know her li-”

“Like you do?” Reiko interjected. “I’ve heard the whole ‘judge a book by its cover’ bit before. Let’s just skip the morals and get to the showdown!” 

“Are you sure? Here? Now?” 

“Why not? It’s not like anybody’s looking.” 

“I don’t know.” 

“What’s the matter? Afraid to hit a little foxy?” 

Starlight scoffed. “Alright, I’ve never been one to back out of a challenge. I’m ready when you are.” 

The two creatures readied themselves for their short magic off. Reiko dug her paws into the earth as Starlight focused her energy into her horn. Even though they were showing off for fun, Starlight couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. She stared at Reiko as the fox continued to glare back at her. 

“So who’s going first? Should I go or-” 

Reiko jolted towards Starlight before the unicorn could finish. The vixen even left a small fire trail in her tracks. Starlight yelped and quickly formed a dome-shaped magic shield with a star emblem in front of her. Reiko struck the magic shield dead center, sending vibrations all over. Starlight rattled as she felt vibrations through her horn. Her eyes spun from the impact. Once she regained focus, Starlight got a good look at Reiko’s claws. They were much longer than she thought they were, longer than typical fox claws and even those belonging to a timberwolf. It was like she was staring at daggers that were sprouting out of Reikos paws. 

“Whoa!” Starlight exclaimed. “Are you crazy?!” 

“Oh relax, they’re not nearly as sharp as they should be,” Reiko assured. 

Reiko swung her other claw into Starlights shield, which caused to rattle all over once more. The vixen attacked the round shield with a flurry of swipes and slashes from both her front and back claws. Starlight expanded her shield to cover her face and body more. 

“See? If my claws weren’t so blunt that shield of yours would’ve been cut to ribbons,” Reiko proclaimed. 

“It’s a magic shield! You can’t destroy it!” Starlight retorted. 

“Want to bet?” 

Reiko vanished and resorted to a pile of ashes. Starlight stared down at the pile of ashes where Reiko used to stand. The dots in her head quickly connected. She turned around just in time to find Reiko reappearing in a fiery flash, dashing right for her. Thinking on her hooves, Starlight formed around round shield behind her. Reiko smacked the second shield as well and caused Starlight to shake. Reiko jolted away and left behind a trail of ashes, only to reappear at a different angle. Starlight raised her second shield and blocked Reiko's attack. The vixen jumped back from the shield and vanished again. She jumped in front of Starlight, only to receive the same results. This went on for a while as Reiko kept on appearing at different angles with Starlight blocking each of her attacks with her shields. 

“Teleportation, huh?” Starlight pondered. 

Reiko continued her attacks as Starlight formed an idea in her head. 

“C’mon, don’t just defend! Hit me with your best shot!” Reiko demanded. 

Starlight expanded her shields and launched Reiko back before she could strike again. The light from the expanding shields was enough to make Reiko shield her eyes. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes once the light died down. However, once Reiko regained her vision, Starlight was gone.

“What the?” 

A shimmer of light appeared out of the corner of her eye. Reiko turned around to find Starlight floating in the air, covered in a light green-blue aura. 

“Heads up!” Starlight yelled. 

She shot one of her round shields at Reiko and the vixen quickly dodged out of the way as the shield flew past her. 

“Ha! Missed!” 

The shield bounced off the ground and ricochet off a nearby tree which landed a direct hit on the back of Reiko's head. Starlight laughed as the impact was enough to make Reiko spin up in the air and hit the ground. Reiko grunted as she stood back up, literally shaking off the attack. Reiko glared up at Starlight. 

“What? You said ‘hit me with your best shot,’” Starlight reminded. 

Reiko growled at the floating unicorn. She jumped back and disintegrated into a pile of ash. Starlight made sure to keep an extra close eye out, she knew she could pop up at any moment. A warm fire emitted over her and Starlight looked up. She had no time to react as Reiko reappeared above her and swung all five of her tails onto Starlight, sending her to the ground. Luckily, Starlight’s aura was enough to break her fall and took no real damage, but did leave a small crater in the ground. Reiko landed back on the ground and Starlight stood back up at the same time. Starlight shook off her hard landing and focused on the fox. Reiko sprinted and began to circle around Starlight. Her tails were flickering as she ran and her eyes began to glow. 

“Another fox-fire?” 

It wasn’t the fire beam from before that Starlight was expecting. Reiko opened her muzzle and several fireballs came shooting out. Starlight gasped and shot her magic beams at the oncoming projectiles. She countered every fireball that was thrown at her, she circled around herself to be sure she shot at every fireball from every angle. A cloud of smoke covered the two creatures and blocked their vision. They coughed and closed their eyes so that the smoke wouldn’t blind them. Starlight rubbed her eyes and waited for the smoke to die down. Once it was clear, Reiko was standing still with all five tails waving. Starlight’s heart thumped once she realized the vixens tails were flickering against each other and her eyes were emitting a familiar bright glow. 

Reiko stood her ground as she prepared her fox-fire. Starlights brow furrowed as she readied herself as well. Tails were flickering faster and eyes were glowing brighter. Sweat dripped and Starlight’s horn was charged with aura. Reiko opened wide and let loose her fox-fire attack while Starlight fired her magic beam at the same moment. The two beams made an impact and unleashed an explosion full of sound and fire. It shook the ground which made both Starlight and Reiko loose balance and wobbled in place. A wave soared through the ground and past the lake which created many waves. The smoke cloud was full of red fire and blue magic, it evaporated into the air as the sound continued to echo throughout Ponyville. 

Starlight and Reiko had a sharp ringing in their heads and rubbed their temples. Starlight could feel her horn sting and Reiko felt her muzzle becoming stiff. They both noticed a small crater between them, Starlights eyes widened to see how strong their attacks were. Reiko slowly approached the crater, amazed and scared of what they had created. Then they both looked up at the cloud they created as if slowly began to flow with the wind. 

A sharp pain stung Reiko in the head like a wasp. She grunted and held her head with her paw and waited for the pain to go away. Reiko soon noticed Starlight staring at her with shocked eyes and a half-open mouth. She couldn’t help but chuckle nervously as she approached the unicorn, guilt slowly replaced the pain in her head. 

“I think we might’ve overdone it,” Reiko chuckled nervously. 

“WE?” 

The sound of ponies voices entered their ears. They turned their heads and noticed a group of frantic ponies making their way towards the lake, no doubt wanted to investigate where the explosion came from. Starlight looked up at the dusk sun and decided to take advantage of it. 

“Well, I think that’s enough sightseeing and magic offing for one day. Shall we make our way to Sweet Apple Acres?” 

“Yep!” Reiko complied and the two quickly exited the scene before anyone could notice. 


Present


“Voo voo voo voo!” Pinkie exclaimed as she waved her hooves and finished the flashback effect.  

“So yeah, that’s pretty much how our day went,” Starlight concluded. 

The remaining sober creatures had no responses, mostly blank stares either filled with intrigue or confusion. It explained the sudden surge they felt earlier during Kichiros game, but they couldn’t believe that they were the cause of it. Reiko had her eyes glued to the table the whole time and waited for the response she knew was coming once the story was over. 

Ryota was the first to speak, “So you explored Ponyville, bought some snacks, and had a small magic off to see how powerful unicorn magic can be and ended up causing an explosion that startled the majority of lives, including our own, that could’ve done some serious damage to yourself and Starlight?” 

“When you say it like that it almost sounds like a bad thing,” Reiko muttered. 

Ryota grunted and pinched the bridge of her nose with his paw, “In what way would that ever sound like a good thing?” 

“I was curious!” Reiko defended. 

“That’s exactly what the cat said before said curiosity turned on him and cut off his tails!” Ryota retorted. 

“Odd analogy,” Rarity said under her breath. 

“We’re trying to blend into this society and make it a new home. Not cause enough attention to make the locals fear us!” Ryota scolded. 

“Did you not hear the part where we mentioned that nobody got hurt?” Reiko hissed. 

“That doesn’t change the fact that what you did was reckless. We really thought something bad might’ve happened. What if somepony really did get hurt?” Twilight added. 

Reiko growled and bore her teeth. It was bad enough she was getting lectured from her own brother but now from the princess herself? The very sound of her voice defending Ryota's argument was enough to get the vixens blood boiling. 

“Uh oh,” Spike muttered. 

Reiko growled even more. Starlight could sense the tension building between Reiko and Ryota. Fluttershy ducked under the table in case if things were about to ugly between the two foxes. They were both glaring at each other as if they were having a dagger staring contest. Starlight knew she needed to think of something fast in order to avoid the oncoming drama. 

“Ryota, I understand what we did today got out of hoof, but the only reason Reiko challenged me was that she was eager to understand our form of magic and how it works.” 

Upon hearing her words, Reiko ceased her growling and stared at Starlight. She couldn’t believe that this unicorn whom she barely knows is defending her like that. This filled with a feeling that she hadn’t felt in a while. Reiko had the sudden urge to grip her chest but remained strong. 

“And what’s important is that we’re both safe, alive and that it’s all over. Shouldn’t that be what matters?” 

“I suppose so,” Ryota sighed and turned to face Reiko again. “At least you’re alright.” 

Reiko avoided eye contact with her brother, “Tss. If I had an orb every time I heard that.” 

Despite her response, Ryota cracked a smile at the vixen. Applejack was the most confused out of the ponies, the way the two siblings interacted with each other boggled her mind. At least when she compared them to how her own siblings usually acted towards one another. 

“Seriously? That’s how they’re gonna end it,” Applejack asked. 

“Yeah. I cherish these sweet moments,” Emi sniffed with a smile. 

The farm mare tilted her head at the tiny fox. She did not understand their dynamic at all. After some more idle conversations, it was about time for everybody to call it a night. All the ponies, dragon, and foxes left the apple house with Fluttershy lugging a passed out Rainbow Dash over her shoulder in flight and with Twilight carrying a drunk Kichiro on her back. Ryota turned around to face Applejack before he left. 

“I’ll bring K over tomorrow first thing in the morning!” Ryota called out. 

“Much appreciated, partner!” Applejack replied as she tipped her hat to him. 

Ryota bowed and went to go join the others on their journey home. As the group was walking along the dirt path, Reiko walked up next to Starlight. 

“Hey.” 

Starlight turned and looked down at the five-tailed vixen walking beside her. 

“I-I appreciate what you did back there. Telling Ryota and Twilight off like that,” Reiko muttered. 

Starlight smiled. “You’re welcome. But I wasn’t telling them off, I was just explaining what really happened.” 

“Still. It was nice,” Reiko admitted. “B-But could you not do that again?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Starlight asked. 

“No offense, but I can defend my own arguments on my own pretty well.”

“Really? Because all I saw was you growling and struggling to say your first words.” 

“Jerk.” 

The two shared a quick laugh as they both walked out of Sweet Apple Acres.

“But don’t worry, I won’t defend you all the time,” Starlight joked. 

“Thanks,” Reiko replied. “And I guess I might’ve gone a little overboard with my fox-fire.”

“A little?” 

“Ok, maybe a little bit more than a little. But not a lot.” 

Starlight rolled her eyes at Reiko. 

“My bad.” 

“Don’t worry about it. And hey, if you ever want to practice magic again just let me know,” Starlight assured. 

“Really?” Reiko asked. 

“Of course. Just try not to do anything that will cause half of Ponyville to come and investigate what we’re doing.” 

“No promises. Now, about that wager.” 

The two friends continued to talk and laugh about the things that happened today as they made their way home. Twilight looked back at Starlight and Reiko talking to each other. Even though she knew Reiko didn’t trust her, she still felt glad knowing she made at least one new friend in Ponyville. 

“This has been an interesting first day in this village,” Ryota said. 

“Yeah. And I have a feeling that you and your siblings will fit in just fine,” Twilight replied. 

Ryota looked back at all of his siblings. Reiko chatting up a conversation with Starlight, Emi laughing and jumping around Rarity as she walked, much to a small dragon's great envy, and at Kichiro who was snoring away on Twilight’s back.

Ryota smiled, “I hope so.”
> Getting a Letter Back
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Ryota and Kichiro were walking the dirt road that lead to Sweet Apple Acres. The two brothers had just finished breakfast and were making small conversation as they made their way towards the orchard. Ryota couldn’t help but have this uneasy sensation in his stomach, mostly dealing with the idea of his younger brother having a job for the first time in a while.

“I want you to be on your best behavior today. It would be the least you could do for her,” Ryota instructed.

“Yeah yeah, listen to the apple pony and don’t blow anything up,” Kichiro replied.

As they were walking, Ryota couldn’t help but notice that Kichiro had something long and shiny wrapped around his neck. His eyes widened when he realized that his brother had a chain wrapped around his neck and dangling to the ground. It dragged along the dirt as he walked.

“Hold on. What is that?” Ryota asked as he pointed to the chain.

“Oh, what? You mean my new necktie?” Kichiro held the chain with his paw. “I figured I would dress accordingly for the job. Look nice for the first day and all.”

“What ‘job’ do you think you’ll be doing?” Ryota asked.

“One that involves the boss using their authority to make the workers carry out their dirty deeds, obviously,” Kichiro answered. “Might as well give them something to tug on, hehehe.”

“Take that chain off,” Ryota ordered.

“Fine.”

With a snap of his paws, the chain dissolved into dust and fell to the ground. The wind quickly blew the dust pile away.

“Applejack is already annoyed with you for taking her apples, you don’t need to make her more irate with your…choice in neckties.”

“Hey for all we know she could appreciate the fact I spent so long to look sharp for the first day.”

“Materializing a chain around your neck takes up a lot of time?”

“Yep! A full eight seconds!”

Ryota rolled his eyes and let out a small groan.

“By the way, I’ve been wondering, what did you do yesterday while the rest of us were busy with our own things?” Kichiro asked.

“I spent the day with the princess and answered her many many questions,” Ryota replied. “She was curious about our kind and wanted to understand everything about us. Our anatomy, culture, and obviously our different magical abilities. I have to admit, I’ve never seen anyone so enthusiastic to understand everything about fox magic. It was kind of funny and a little creepy.”

Ryota couldn't help but shudder at the mere memory of Twilights big, toothy smile every time she wrote down notes when one of her questions were answered.

“Ok. Did you tell her about your ‘crystal balls?’” Kichiro quipped.

The three-tailed fox let out a cheeky laugh as Ryota froze in place. The comment alone was enough to make him ignite sparks in his muzzle. If his face wasn’t covered with fur the red would’ve been more noticeable.

“Grow up,” Ryota said.

“Make me,” Kichiro retorted.

Ryota grumbled as Kichiro continued to laugh at his own joke.

“We each have only one orb, you do know that?” Ryota questioned.

“Of course I do. Don’t ruin the joke like some kind paper lizard monster,” Kichiro remarked.

“Then you must also know why we can’t reveal them to the ponies. Not yet at least.”

Despite all of his joking, Kichiro knew the importance of their magic orbs. He had difficulty trying to come up with another quip to counter his brother's reasoning, he wasn’t wrong. Deep down, Kichiro hoped that their orbs would stay hidden as long as they continued to survive and breathe air. He also prayed that none of his other siblings revealed their orbs either.

Not yet at least? How bout never? 

“Did you tell princess Twilight?” Kichiro wondered.

“Of course not. Despite her hospitality, there’s still so much we don’t know about her. I only told her the basics about us yesterday. Nothing else,” Ryota assured him.

“I should hope so. You of all foxes should know how important those crystal balls are.”

Ryota raised an eyebrow at Kichiros words of choice, “Were you repeating the same joke or were you serious?”

“Yes.”

Not wanting to add more confusion, Ryota shrugged it off. As they continued to stroll towards the farm, Ryota had to admit that Kichiro had a point. Of course, he would never admit it to him out loud. It wasn’t until long for both brothers to arrive at the farmhouse at Sweet Apple Acres. Ryota approached the front door and gave it a hard knocking. Five seconds went by and Applejack opened the door with a bright smile. Ryota noticed that she was more looking in his direction as opposed to Kichiro.

“Howdy partner,” Applejack greeted.

“Good morning,” Ryota said with a bow of his head.

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at his polite gesture.

“Do ya do that every time?” she asked.

“It’s just a standard greeting,” Ryota replied as he rose his head.

“The how come he’s not doing it?” Applejack wondered as she pointed to Kichiro.

Ryota turned and noticed his brother just stood there with a bored expression and half-open eyes.

“Because he lacks any manners,” Ryota responded flatly.

“I don’t doubt ya,” Applejack said.

“Eh,” Kichiro muttered with a shrug.

“Anyway,” Ryota paused for a moment, unsure what to say or do next. The awkward wind blowing was enough to make his muzzle dry. He wasn’t sure why, but he found himself unable to formulate a sentence. Applejack noticed this and gave a blank stare.

“Here he is,” Ryota finally said.

Applejack chuckled again, “Ah can see that. Thanks, Ryota, ah think I can take it from here.”

Now it was Ryotas turn to give a blank stare to Applejack.

“Are you sure about that?” Ryota wondered.

“Yeah, ah’m sure. Ah’ve dealt with younger siblings before and ah know how to handle them when they get out of line,” Applejack stated.

“Does one of your methods include tattle-telling on me to the princess?” Kichiro replied, snidely.

“Excuse me?”

“Kichiro,” Ryota said.

“What? I’m only curious,” Kichiro defended.

“Maybe I should stay and watch him,” Ryota offered.

“There’s no need. Whatever he can throw at me, ah can take it, bundle it up, and throw it back at him like it was a hay-chucking contest,” Applejack assured.

She looked and saw that both foxes had their heads tilted towards her. The farm mare figured that they still weren’t used to her style of metaphors, but she didn’t blame them.

“That means ya can trust me,” Applejack translated.

Ryota switched glances from Applejack to Kichiro. Part of him wanted to stay and monitor his brother. However, there was a small piece of him that told him to trust this farm mare. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt like he knew who was watching his brother, despite barely knowing anything about them. Ryota looked back at Applejack, just from one glance he could feel her strong and determined energy, and a confident smile looked even more convincing.

“Ok, I’ll leave him to you then,” Ryota said. “But if does something that you don’t like, can and tell me. I’ll be at the castle.”

“Will do,” Applejack said as she tipped her hat to him.

Ryota turned towards his brother, “As for you, I want you to-”

“Be good, listen to the tyr-I mean boss, and don’t do anything foolish. I get it, we’ve been over this already,” Kichiro sassed.

“Alright. I’ll be back to pick you up by the end of the day.”

Ryota bowed goodbye to Applejack and began to walk on the dirt path out of the acres. Before he left, he turned around and waved goodbye to Kichiro, to which he waved back. After their distant goodbye, Ryota started to make his way back to the castle. As soon as he was out of sight, Kichiro smirked and snapped his paws. Applejack looked down and saw that something long and shiny was materializing around his neck. Her mouth dropped when she saw a long chain wrapped around the young fox’s neck. Kichiro grabbed his chain and twirled it around like it was a mini lasso.

“When do we get started?” he asked.

Applejack let out a heavy sigh, “This gonna be a long day.”

Back at the castle, Spike was just finishing up washing the dishes from breakfast, all while sporting a bright pink apron. Suds covered his claws and bubbles floated everywhere as he washed. He felt glad that none of the foxes were picky eaters, which meant no extra heavy duty. As he was washing, he couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something was watching him. It was like he was being scanned by an invisible ray of magic. Spike turned around to see if anyone else was in the kitchen, only to find nobody there. No matter how many times he glanced over his shoulder, the kitchen would be empty save for a few dishes that still needed to be cleaned.

“Ok then,” Spike said to himself.

However, when Spike turned around to resume his dish duties, an orange blur tackled him to the ground.

“Gah!” he yelped as he felt something pinned him down. He looked up to find a familiar set of golden eyes gaze down at him and a ribbon dangling down onto his snout.

“Ha! Conquered you again!” Emi declared.

Spike groaned in annoyance. “Please get off of me, Emi.”

“Not until you say ‘please,’” Emi informed.

“I just said that!”

“Ok geez. You don’t have to yell.”

Emi huffed and hopped off of Spike. The young dragon got back up and brushed off any dust that might’ve gotten on his apron while Emi scratched the back of her ear with her back paw.

“So watcha up to?” Emi asked.

“I was washing the dishes from breakfast,” Spike replied.

“Sounds boring,” Emi commented.

“It can be sometimes. But chores are chores.”

“What’s the point in washing dishes anyway? I mean, aren’t we going to use them again later today? Why not eat off of the ground, it would save a lot of water.”

Spike stared at Emi with his tongue sticking out in disgust, “H-Have you done that before?”

“Hehehe, no,” Emi chuckled nervously. “Why do you ask?”

“Because...nevermind,” Spike said.

He walked towards the sink to resume his dish duties. As he was doing that, Emi walked around in circles, she whined and groaned and acted like she was about to explode from nothing.

“Oh, I have an idea. Why don’t you take a break and play with me instead?” Emi suggested.

“Sorry, I can’t do that. I’ve got plenty of other chores I need to finish today,” Spike replied. “That and I don’t really want you pouncing on me.”

“C’mon! There’s nothing to do around here! Play with me!” Emi whined.

The tiny fox then rubbed herself against Spike in the hopes of breaking his dishwashing routine. All Spike did was grumble as he tried to ignore Emi’s constant pestering. He even spat in the air when some of Emi’s hairs got caught in his snout.

“I told you I can’t,” Spike reminded.

“But you have to! You’re my servant,” Emi complained.

Spike turned and glared at Emi with his jaw dropped.

“No, I’m not!” Spike replied.

“I know but wouldn’t it be cool if you were?” Emi laughed.

Spike groaned and pinched his nose.“Why would you even say that?”

“Because I conquered you.”

“So?”

“So, that means I can either play with you or eat you.”

Spike stared at Emi again, this time with a feeling of anxiety and confusion. He couldn’t decide which fate was worse.

“You’re joking right?” he asked.

“Uhh….sure,” Emi smiled, innocently.

“Look just because you ‘conquered’ me the way you did doesn’t mean I’ll play with you whenever you want.”

Emi pouted and plopped down on the kitchen floor. She could feel a slight crunching sensation in her head as the young dragon continued to wash the dishes. That’s when she remembered the words Spike had just told her.

‘The way I did?’ So he wants to go with the other method? She snickered to herself.

Emi looked up at the cabinet above Spike and noticed some bowls and plates were inside. She smirked as she started to come up with an idea.

“Do you think you could at least give me one of those bowls?” Emi asked as she pointed to the cabinet.

“Sure,” Spike said.

He reached above and grabbed one of the bowls from the cabinet above. After he closed it, he reached back and offered the bowl to Emi without looking back.

“Here ya go.”

Emi chuckled to herself. In one swift move, she grabbed Spikes claw and dragged her tongue along his scaly limb.

“GAAAH!” Spike yelled as he lost balance and toppled over.

He hit the floor and clung onto his wet claw. The scales on his head were sprung up and a cold shiver crawled up his spine. Spike looked up at Emi who bore a cheeky smile on her face.

“W-What was that for?!”

“Hehehe! I have officially claimed you! You’re my dragon now!” Emi exclaimed. “And I hereby order you to take a break from drowning the plates and to play with me instead!”

Before Spike could refute or fight back, Emi grabbed him by the apron with her teeth and proceeded to drag him out of the kitchen.

“What just happened?” Spike asked himself.

His head was going in circles as he was trying to process what Emi did to him. He could still feel the wet drool on his claw. When he was being dragged out, he felt his stomach began to rumble. A burning feeling was swelling up in his throat. Not long, Spike belched green fire and a scroll appeared when the flames died down.

“What the? Did you just burp a baby?” Emi wondered. “That’s so cool! I wanna do that!”

“Oh look! I better get this letter to Twilight!” Spike yelled and bolted out of the room before Emi could stop him.

He ran so fast that his apron fell off and landed right over the tiny fox. Emi quickly shook it off only to find Spike was no longer to be seen.

“Heh, wait til the boys back home see that I have my very own dragon,” Emi laughed and she ran off to find Spike.

Meanwhile, Twilight was lying on her couch in her study room and reading a good book. The sound of a door being closed struck her ears. She turned her head and noticed Ryota entering her study, her smile grew when the seven-tailed fox approached her.

“I just dropped off Kichiro at Applejacks,” Ryota said. “Now we wait for the anarchy to start.”

“You think he’ll do something crazy on the first day?” Twilight wondered.

“Knowing him, probably something a little crazier than crazy,” Ryota said. “I feel like I should’ve stayed to keep an eye on him.”

“How come you didn’t?”

“Because Applejack told me that she could handle him. She said that I could trust her.”

“That does sound like something she would say. She may not have magic like me or wings like Rainbow Dash, but she more than makes up for that with her strength. Both physically and mentally.”

“You have faith in her?”

“Of course I do. Don’t you?”

Ryota thought back to Applejacks assuring words, her confident smile and her upbeat energy. She seemed more than capable of keeping his brother in check. He didn’t know why, but he had a hard time doubting her.

“No, I do. I’m just worried that Kichiro might do something thoughtless.”

“If you’re that worried, you could check up on them later during the day,” Twilight suggested.

“Yeah, maybe,” Ryota shrugged. “Anyway, I imagine you might have some more questions about us today?”

The moment he said that Twilight’s smile grew three times bigger. She slammed her book shut and brought out a quill and notepad that was twice as big as a normal one. The eerie feeling from before was crawling it’s way back up Ryota's fur again.

“I thought you’d never ask! It was so fascinating to know all types of fox magic yesterday!” Twilight chirped.

“I didn’t tell you everything about fox magic,” Ryota reminded.

“Well, that’s why we’re here today! Tell me more!”

“I can’t tell you everything. But I already told you as much as I could about our illusion magic.”

“Oh I know, here are the notes I took on them yesterday!”

Twilight’s horn illuminated its light purple aura and in a flash, a large scroll pile landed on top of the two. Ryota struggled to breathe under all of the parchment. His eyes shrank from the size of the length of one scroll.

“I didn’t tell you that much about illusion magic, how many notes did you take?” Ryota asked.

“Oh only the basics: the advantages, disadvantages, withdrawals, limits, the functions, how much energy it takes, the creation process, how only other foxes can touch them, the different types of illusions, just the normal things,” Twilight giggled.

“I don’t think I told you about our different types of illusions,” Ryota pointed out.

“Oh, I know. I just took some estimated guesses,” Twilight smiled.

Ryota laughed nervously, “Why don’t we move onto something else.”

“Very well. I’ve noticed that when Kichiro used some of his magic his tails would often rub against each other. Do all of your abilities stem from your tails the same way a unicorns magic comes from their horns? Or do you get it from an outside source? Like some kind of artifact or magic battery?”

Ryota's mind froze for a moment. He knew Twilight was a curious mare, but he didn’t realize she would look into every little detail. When she mentioned artifact, the first thing that popped into his head was his orb.

 Did you tell her about your ‘crystal balls?’

We each have only one orb, you do know that?

He knew he couldn’t tell her, but he also felt like he needed to give some kind of answer. Though he remained calm and stared at Twilight in the eyes, his heart was racing. Before he could give a good answer though-

“Twilight!”

The unicorn and the fox turned and saw Spike bursting into the room with a scroll in claw. He stopped right in front of Twilight, he placed his claws on his knees and panted. The young dragon kept on gasping for air and sweating a rainstorm. Ryota managed to knock all of the paper off of him by the time Spike was able to catch his breath.

“Spike, what is it?” Twilight asked.

“A-A L-letter!” Spike gasped as he held up the letter.

Twilight levitated the letter and unrolled it with her magic. Her eyes carefully scanned down the page. By the time she finished, her smile grew even bigger than ever, if that was even possible. She even let out a high-pitched giggle.

“What is it?” Ryota asked.

“It’s a letter from Princess Celestia! She said she would meet with us next week!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Next week?” Both Ryota and Spike asked.

“And it sounds like she’s very eager to meet you all! I need to tell the others! We’ll have to continue this later. I’ll be back in a flash!”

In a literal flash, Twilight vanished. Ryota's heart managed to slow down the pace once the alicorn had left the room.

“Next week? How long have we been here for?”

“Only a couple of days,” Spike answered.

“Oh. Still, that’s pretty soon. I thought Twilight said she would have her mentor give us some time to settle down before we all met,” Ryota noted.

“Maybe next week is the only she can meet you. When you’re the ruler of Equestria your schedule tends to get filled up,” Spike reasoned.

“True. But I still can’t shake the feeling like we’re being rushed.”

“Well, next week is still a long ways away. Who knows? Perhaps you and your siblings will be used to Ponyville by then. And you never know what might happen in these next few days.”

“A fair point.”

Ryota then noticed the sweat that was dripping from Spikes scales.

“Hey, how come you were running here? I know Twilight's castle is big, but not THAT big,” Ryota asked.

“Oh, uh, I was just trying to escape,” Spike answered.

“Escape? From what?”

“Fro-GAH!”

Emi had pummeled and pinned him to ground once more before Spike could finish his sentence. The tiny fox sat on top of Spike’s belly and gazed down at him with the same cheeky smile. Suddenly, the dots connected in Ryota's head.

“Found ya! You almost got away, pet,” Emi laughed.

“Help. Me,” Spike breathed.

“Good grief,” Ryota sighed.

As things weren’t strange enough. Deep down, Ryota knew he was wrong. Things would only get stranger from here. He could only imagine how things were back at Sweet Apple Acres.
> The Fox and the Pegasus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ok, Kichiro. Your job is simple,” Applejack started. 

She dropped three to four bags filled with garbage right in front of the three tailed fox. The stench reeked of thrown away leftovers, apple cores that were still in the decomposing process, and stale candy wrappers. Kichiro wondered how small ponies could have so much trash. 

“There’s a big garbage bin just outside of the farm. All you have to do is take these here bags and throw em away,” Applejack instructed as she motioned towards the trash bags. 

“Is that it?” Kichiro asked. 

“I’ll have more for you to do when you’re done,” Applejack replied. 

Kichiro groaned, “Why would you say my job is simple when you have more for me to do? Why not have me pick some of those delicious apples for you.” 

“After the last time ah caught you up in one of my trees, not gonna happen,” Applejack retorted. 

Kichiro was about to let out another annoyed groan when he spotted something behind Applejack. He noticed a decent-sized chicken coop not too far away from their barn with some hens waddling in and out of it. The memory of him hiding behind it while creating the giant dirt spider during their game suddenly came back into his mind. 

“What about that chicken coop. I’m sure you have some eggs that need to be collected,” Kichiro wondered as a small grin formed on his face. 

“The day I trust a fox with mah chickens is the day Tirek comes back to make amends with the princesses,” Applejack objected. 

Kichiro tilted his head at her remark, “Who?” 

“Nevermind. Ah’m off to get some apple bucking done. When I return with a basket, those trash bags better be gone. After that, ah’ll give ya your next chore,” Applejack said. 

“Seriously, I can be a great help with your chicken coop. I have a thing for gossipy hens,” Kichiro noted. 

“Just take out the trash,” Applejack ordered and left for the orchard. 

Kichiro turned to the pile of trash bags. The scent was still seeping through the bags and stung the inside of his nose. He rubbed his nose on the ground to try and get the smell out, only to have no effect. Kichiro glared at the trash bags. His one hopeful prayer for the day was that his job wouldn’t take that long, but it was dashed away when he remembered that Applejack would have more for him to do. 

“‘Take out’ the trash?” Kichiro asked. 

He started to get an idea of what Applejack wanted him to do with the trash. 

“Oh, I think I get it.” 

Fifteen minutes later, Applejack trotted back towards the barn while she carried a basket full of red and green apples on her back. The apples themselves weren’t heavy and she managed to balance them perfectly on her back. With one basket done, that just meant there were more apples to buck and carry. 

“Kichiro, did ya finish taking out the-” 

The apple farmer came to a halt when she noticed a large pile of garbage scattered all over the ground. The bags were torn and all of the leftovers and wrappers were everywhere, flies even started to buzz around the smelly area. Applejacks jaw dropped at sight of the mess. 

Out of nowhere, the last of the trash bags was thrown onto the ground. Kichiro pounced onto the bag and sunk his teeth into it. He growled and thrashed his head around with the plastic of the bag in his jaws. In one violent yank, Kichiro tore the trash bag open and spilled its contents onto the ground. The garbage inside poured everywhere and the stench was now free. Kichiro stood upon the defeated bag as more trash covered the ground. He spat the torn up piece of plastic out of his mouth and smirked.  

“Kichiro!” 

The three tailed fox turned his head to find Applejack staring daggers at him. 

“What in tarnation do ya think you’re doing?” she chided. 

“I’m doing what you told me. I’m taking out the trash,” Kichiro replied, innocently. 

“How is THIS taking out the trash?” Applejack asked.

“Simple,” Kichiro replied. 

He hopped off of the trash pile and pointed towards the recently torn trash bag. 

“I sunk my teeth into the bag's neck and thrashed around until its head came off or until I ripped its throat out. How else would I ‘take out’ the trash?” Kichiro explained. 

Applejack was speechless. She just stood there with her jaw gaping. Her mind was unable to process how this fox was able to get the wrong idea in all the wrong ways. 

“I wanted ya to take these bags and place em in the bin outside of the barn like I told ya! Not tear them open like a raccoon foraging for food! How does this even happen?” Applejack scolded. 

“Uh, you’re welcome,” Kichiro retorted. “And now, I shall take these lifeless trash bags to the bin.”

Kichiro was about to grab one of the empty trash bags with his jaw but Applejack was quick to stop him. 

“No! Forget it!” Applejack intervened. 

She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her hoof and sighed in annoyance. It was clear to her that she couldn’t take her eyes off of Kichiro for a minute. 

“Apple Bloom!” she called out. 

A few seconds later the tiny earth pony filly came running and appeared in front of her big sister. 

“Yes?” she noticed Kichiro standing next to Applejack. “Oh, howdy! Kichiro right?” 

“That depends. Are you a tiny grim reaper?” Kichiro wondered. “If so, just give me more time, please!” 

Apple Bloom merely tilted her head to the side in confusion. 

“Huh?” 

“Just ignore him,” Applejack sighed. 

Apple Bloom turned her head and noticed all of the garbage that laid across her and was spread out everywhere. The smell got to her too as she quickly covered her nose with her hoof. 

“Ulgh! What happened here?” Apple Bloom asked. 

“I’ll tell ya later. But for now, clean this up, I gotta go show Kichiro his next job,” Applejack ordered. 

“Seriously?” 

Applejack nodded and her little sister left to go fetch a broom. When she returned and started sweeping and scooping up some of the garbage, Applejack led Kichiro to his next job. She led the fox to some of the apple trees she was going to buck today. Kichiro noticed that some of the trees in front of him had long, green, leafy weeds growing out from the bottom of the trunk. They were all near the roots and easy to spot. 

“Here’s your next job. This one is even more simple than the last one,” Applejack said. 

“If you say so,” Kichiro shrugged. 

“And since ah can’t trust ya to be by yourself, I’m gonna show ya what you’re gonna do next and watch ya,” Applejack added. 

“Does that mean you’ll carry out the task all by yourself as a demonstration for me to observe so I can know what to do for future purposes?” 

“Nope!” 

“Dang.” 

“Ya see these weeds? We need to get rid of them so that they won’t suck up all of the rainwater that’s meant for our apple trees.”

Applejack walked over to one of the trees that had the leafy weeds growing out. She leaned down and grabbed a pair of weeds with her jaw. With a strong tug, the weeds were yanked right out of the ground with the roots that dangled. Applejack spat out the weeds onto the ground. 

“Just pull them out like ah did and put them into little piles. And since I’ll be apple bucking all day, I can keep a closer eye on ya, to make sure ya don’t climb up my trees. Or somehow add more weeds. Got it?” Applejack explained. 

“Got it! Nap in trees and add more weeds!” Kichiro exclaimed. 

“What? That’s the complete opposite of what I told you to do!” Applejack replied.

“Alright, fine. I’ll get to it. I swear, you have little to sense of humor,” Kichiro remarked. 

Applejack grumbled as Kichiro approached the weeded tree. He started to dig a tiny opening in the ground with his paws until he could see the roots of the weeds. Once the roots were in his sight, he chomped down onto the weeds and tugged them right out of the ground. The weeds dangled in his muzzle and Kichiro spat it out onto the previous set of weeds. 

“Ok good,” Applejack said. 

Kichiro went to the next set of weeds and did the same thing. He yanked out another pair of weeds after that. After one minute, Kichiro has managed to pull out several weeds from one tree, and there was still more to go. Despite Kichiro doing a good job, Applejack kept an extra close eye on him. She had to make sure he wasn’t going to try anything funny this time. Her expression started to soften up a little bit when Kichiro created another pile of weeds but nevertheless kept her focus on him. She slowly approached an apple tree near her where she had already placed an empty basket underneath it. As she kept her eyes on Kichiro, she gave the tree behind her a hard buck. Apples fell into the basket like it was nothing. All the while, Kichiro had been making more piles of weeds. While she was impressed, she couldn’t help but be suspicious. Applejack knew he was up to something strange, but she couldn’t figure out what. As the day went on, her guard was loosened by a small amount as the fox continued to pull out more weeds, but she kept her word and remained a watchful eye on him. 



Elsewhere, Reiko was wandering through the mysterious flora of the Everfree Forest. It was quiet, the air was cool and shadowy trees took up the majority of space. She sauntered through the forest and searched her surroundings. No matter where she turned her head, all she saw was trees, bushes, dirt and more trees. There weren’t even any birds chirping. She grumbled and her tails waved as she continued to trek through the vacant forest. 

Before she could call it quits, the bushes right in front of her started to rustle. Reiko came to a halt and glared at the bush. Leaves fell as it continued to move and create an unsettling crackling noise. Reiko planted her paws on the earth and readied herself for whatever was about to pop out of the bushes. She bore her teeth and her tails were about to flick against each other. 

The leaves of the bushes shuffled around some more when a brown hare leaped out of them and sat right in front of it. It was a medium-sized hare with ruffled fur and black eyes. Reikos tails stopped waving and she stared curiously at the hare. It hadn’t even noticed her yet, it was too busy grooming itself with its front paws. Reiko saw the opportunity she was looking for right in front her. 

Finally, she thought to herself. 

Her muzzle began to water and she began to position herself for a pounce. While she was doing that, the hare finally looked up and noticed Reiko. It froze at the sight of her, sweat was already starting to shoot off of his tiny head. The hare began to quiver as Reiko shifted her shoulders for her attack. The five tailed vixen lunged towards the hare. 

Luckily, the hare snapped out of its trance in time and jumped out of the way. Unluckily, Reiko landed in the bushes it jumped out of. 

“Yipe!” she yelped as she landed head first into the bush. 

Leaves were caught in her fur and the branches scratched her legs and tails. She popped her head out of the bush with some leaves caught in her muzzle. The vixen growled and spat the leaves out. She scanned the forest until she finally spotted the hare in the distance. It was running away and towards the opening of the forest. Determined to not lose her lunch, Reiko leaped out of the bush and pursued after the hare. She sprinted so fast that her paw steps couldn’t be heard. The hare didn’t even notice that Reiko was gaining on it. Reiko sprinted until the hares pointy tail came into clear view. The more she sprinted, the emptier her stomach felt. She didn’t care though, because she knew it would be worth it in the end. 

The hare took a sharp left and Reiko was about to run right into a tree. This time though, she caught the sight of the tree in time. She landed on the side of the tree and jumped off the trunk and sped right for the hare. Reiko smiled as she was getting closer to her prey. The hare took another sharp turn with Reiko following. In one final jump, the hare leaped right out of the forest and towards a cottage that rested at the edge of it. 

Not a moment later, Reiko leaped out of from between two trees and spotted the same cottage. She was about to charge right for the small house. However, she spotted someone familiar and planted her paws in the dirt. Reiko came to a complete stop, while ended up making a small dirt trail. She could feel almost all of her energy panting out of her. Her chest inflated and deflated repeatedly. After she caught her breath, Reiko looked up to see who stopped her. In front of her was the hare she was chasing after, with its head and face buried in the chest of a stunned Fluttershy. 

“R-Reiko? What do you think you’re doing to this poor hare?” she scolded. 

Reiko sat up straight as she started to recognize the yellow pegasus in front of her. 

“Oh, hey. You’re one of Starlights friends. Flutter-by, right?” Reiko asked. 

“It’s Fluttershy,” the timid pegasus corrected. 

“Whatever. I believe you have my lunch in your hooves,” Reiko said as she pointed to the hare. 

Fluttershy gasped. “Don’t tell me you were chasing this poor hare because you wanted to eat him!”

“Why else would I refer to it as ‘my lunch?’” Reiko asked, rhetorically.

The hare buried its face deeper into Fluttershy’s fluffy chest and began to cry. 

“Oh, it’s ok,” Fluttershy hushed. “I won’t let her hurt you.” 

“There’s no point in lying to it. Look, I’m really hungry. Just give me my food and I’ll be on my way,” Reiko demanded. “It will only take two seconds.” 

“I will not! I’m sure Twilight has something in her castle for you to eat,” Fluttershy replied. 

“Really? I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m not a pony. I can’t rely on cupcakes and carrots like the rest of you,” Reiko pointed out. “I need meat.” 

“Well, there are other ways for you to get protein, Reiko. You don’t have to bully animals to do so,” Fluttershy said.

“Bully animals?” Reiko asked.  

She tilted her head in disbelief. It was like she was unable to process what Fluttershy was trying to say. 

“I’m not bullying anything! It’s just nature!” Reiko retorted. “Don’t you have predators here that have to find their own food?” 

“That only happens in the Everfree Forest. All of the other animals have to rely on me and other ponies to feed and take care of them,” Fluttershy explained. 

“That’s dumb,” Reiko replied flatly. 

Fluttershy's jaw dropped at Reiko's remark. “It most certainly is not! They have to be protected so that they can live happy and healthy lives.”

As if on cue, the hare nuzzled against Fluttershy for emphasis. 

“They won't be living 'happy and healthy lives' if you keep pampering them. You'll just end up making them lazy and too dependent on you. What will they do when you’re not around?” Reiko shot back. “How will they get their love and care then?” 

Fluttershy looked back at the hare in her hooves as she tried to come up with a good answer. She even had difficulty trying to form a single word. Even the hare shrugged its shoulders at such a question. 

“Why would you even ask something like that?” Fluttershy asked. 

“Just being realistic,” Reiko replied. “Now if we’re done here.” 

Reiko lunged for the hare in Fluttershy's hooves, to which the hare quickly buried its face into Fluttershy's chest again. Fluttershy flew up just before Reiko could make contact. She stared down at the five tailed vixen below as she glared back up at her. A soft whimper escaped from the hare as Reiko growled at the floating pegasus. 

“Reiko! Stop that! You could’ve hurt him!” Fluttershy scolded. 

“That’s the idea!” Reiko replied.

She leaped upwards towards Fluttershy who dodged out of the way. However, Reiko kept ascending into the sky. Fluttershy looked up to see Reiko nearly touch the clouds above her. She couldn’t help but be amazed at how high Reiko had gotten from one jump. 

“Oh my,” she gasped. 

It didn’t take long for Reiko to fall back down. She passed by Fluttershy as she descended and landed on all fours on the ground. Fluttershy blinked, she didn’t even hear her paws touch the dirt. 

“You jump good,” Fluttershy commented. 

“I know,” Reiko replied and went for another jump. 

Fluttershy floated out of the way again as Reiko basically soared upwards. She quickly landed back on the ground and readied herself for another leap. Fluttershy gently floated back to the ground before she could do so. 

“Reiko, I’m warning you. Please leave this cute hare alone,” Fluttershy demanded. 

“Or what? You’ll throw a pillow at me?” Reiko scoffed. 

Fluttershy completed whether or not she should use her secret weapon, but ultimately she decided there was no other choice. She at least needed to calm her down. Fluttershy looked down at the hare who stared at her with confused eyes.

“Cover your eyes, little one,” she whispered to the hare as it quickly shielded its eyes with its long ears. 

“Reiko, I’m sorry for doing this. I hope you can forgive me,” Fluttershy said. 

“Oh please, I’m not afraid yo-” 

Before she could finish, Fluttershy flew right up to Reiko and unleashed her secret weapon. Her eyes shot wide open with her teal eyes staring daggers at Reiko. At first, the vixen tilted her head at the pegasus, unsure of what she was trying to do. 

“W-What are you doing?” Reiko asked. 

Fluttershy didn’t answer, she just kept her stare locked onto her. Reiko could’ve sworn she saw her eyes sharpen like literal daggers. It felt like her eyes were slowing getting closer and closer to her. Reiko could feel her cold teal eyes starting to seep into her. She could feel her eyes impale themselves into her chest and slowly started to swim around in her heart. It was like she was staring into the gaping mouth of a giant serpent creature. Reiko could feel all five of her tails began to frizz up. Her knees suddenly felt unstable and loose. 

What is happening? She thought. What’s going on?

Reiko looked back into Fluttershy's stare and noticed that she didn’t blink once. She found herself in an empty void, the only thing she saw was that small scowl and those sharp, glass-like eyes impaling into her own. Reiko grunted and was about to bore her teeth. 

I don’t get it. They’re just eyes!

Reiko couldn’t look away from Fluttershy's stare. She growled and gave her own glare, but that just made those teal eyes even stronger. Her knees finally gave in and she found herself sitting on the ground. She didn’t understand. All she could do now was shake her head until she couldn’t see the eyes anymore. 

“Ok! I’ll let the hare go! Just stop glaring at me, it’s creepy!” Reiko yelled. 

After all that, Fluttershy finally blinked and formed a happy smile on her face. 

“You’re free to go now, little one,” Fluttershy whispered to the hare. 

It uncovered its eyes from behind its ears and looked around to see if it was truly safe. Once it saw that the coast was clear, the hare gave Fluttershy one more nuzzle and hopped out of her hooves. It happily hopped back into the forest as Fluttershy waved goodbye. She turned back to Reiko who still shook their head violently and growled to herself. Fluttershy gasped and covered her mouth with her hoof and slowly approached Reiko. 

“I’m sorry I had to do that. But you weren’t giving me a choice,” Fluttershy said. 

She reached out her hoof to try and comfort her but Reiko smacked it away with her paw. 

“What the hell was that?” Reiko asked as she finally looked up. 

“That was my stare. I use it on my animals whenever they misbehave,” Fluttershy explained. “But I really am sorry that I had to use it on you.” 

Reiko looked into Fluttershy's eyes once more only to find that they returned to normal. They weren’t as sinister as they were before, but they looked more innocent and worrisome. The fact that she could easily shift from those gentle eyes to those eerie daggers baffled Reiko, she didn’t know how to feel at the moment. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Reiko muttered.  

Fluttershy sighed, “Reiko, I understand that you do things in your old home that you consider normal, but hunting animals here is just...just...too scary to think about.” 

“How do you expect me to survive?” Reiko asked. 

“I’d be more than happy to show you other food you can eat here that’s not from Sugar Cube Corner. Or where you don’t have to hunt cute animals.” 

“You mean to turn me into one of your pets?” 

“Oh no, I would never do that to you.” 

A low growl escaped from Reiko’s stomach. The loud noise caused Reiko to emit small smoke from her muzzle and she averted her gaze from Fluttershy in embarrassment. 

“It’s not like I have much of a choice,” Reiko said. 

Just when Reiko was about to get up and leave, a bright flash appeared out of nowhere. Once the light died down, both Fluttershy and Reiko saw that it was Twilight who stood there with a huge smile. She quickly flew up to Fluttershy. 

“Fluttershy, I’m glad I caught you!” Twilight yelled, happily. 

“W-What is it, Twilight?” Fluttershy stammered. 

Twilight then spotted Reiko out of the corner of her eye, who was less than amused to see her. 

“Good! You’re here too, Reiko!” Twilight added. 

Reiko didn’t even respond, she grunted at Twilight’s sudden entrance and looked away. Twilight decided to ignore Reikos rude response and focus her attention back on Fluttershy. 

“When you’re not too busy, I need you to attend to the castle. I have exciting news to tell you!” Twilight declared. 

“Oh my, what is it?” Fluttershy wondered. 

“I’ll explain everything. Just arrive at my place as soon as you can, I have to inform the others!” 

In a literal flash, Twilight was gone. Fluttershy merely gazed upon the spot where Twilight was previously standing on. She tapped her hoof to her chin and pondered. 

“What do you think Twilight has to say?” Fluttershy wondered. 

“Something big, I bet,” Reiko replied sarcastically. 



Later that day, every pony and fox were gathered together in the meeting room. Twilight had just informed everybody of the letter she received from Princess Celestia and how she was looking forward to meeting the foxes. Each pony and fox had their own reaction to the news. Some were excited, some were surprised, and some were confused as to what was being told to them. When Twilight was finished, she stood there with a confident and excited smile with actual sparkles in her eyes. 

“She wants to meet them next week?” Rainbow Dash asked. “That doesn’t sound like a lot of time.” 

“I thought the same thing,” Ryota noted. “But it’s not like we can change her mind now.” 

“Regardless, she has agreed to meet with them. This is so exciting! Imagine Celestia meeting creatures for the first time that aren’t from this region! Not dragons, or yaks, or griffons but something completely different!” Twilight rejoiced. “We need to prepare what we’re going to talk about.” 

“What we’ll wear,” Rarity added. 

“What snacks to bring,” Pinkie chirped. 

“What..uh...other things to...bring. Yes!” Emi giggled. 

“Mark your calendars everyone, we leave for Canterlot a week from today!” Twilight ordered, excitedly. 

Every pony and fox in the room cheered in agreement to the news. Well, almost everyone.

“We’re meeting the top dog already? Huh, she really did have some big news,” Reiko said to herself. “Yaaay…”
> What's Home Like?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryota wandered through the hallway towards Twilight’s room. The thought of meeting Equestria’s leaders was hard to believe, it was so soon. His pawsteps didn’t echo throughout the hallway like hoofsteps, it was almost completely silent. Ryota didn’t know how to feel about the situation. He knew it would be about time for him and his siblings to meet the rulers, but he had no idea what to expect from them. His head was straight, but it felt like there was something else swimming in his mind.

He approached Twilight’s door which was cracked open. When he peeked inside he spotted Twilight, who was marking her calendar by drawing a big red circle on the square just below the current date. Twilights smile had not disappeared since the announcement. In fact, Ryota thought it had gotten even bigger. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled through his muzzle. With his head cleared, he slipped out a claw from his paw and lightly tapped on the door. Twilight turned her head at the soft knock. 

“May I come in?” Ryota asked. 

“Of course,” Twilight replied.

Ryota gently nudged the door open and entered the princess’s room. He looked around and took in all of the fine decor her room had, from the huge bed with purple drapes to the shiny blue floor to the tiny library she had. The fact that a huge room was given to a pony of her size was fascinating to him. He couldn’t help but feel tiny in her huge room. His eyes kept on scanning the room and marveled in its elegance. 

“Nice room, isn’t it?” Twilight asked. 

Ryota snapped out of his trance and shook his head. 

“Sorry. I’ve never seen your room before. It’s so sleek,” Ryota complimented. “At least, compared to the rest of the rooms in the castle.” 

“Thanks. It is a room fit for a princess,” Twilight joked. 

“So modest,” Ryota replied, sarcastically. 

“I’m not really like that you know,” Twilight giggled. 

Ryota nodded and smiled back at Twilight. 

“Was there something you wanted to talk about?” 

Ryota’s smile went away as he remembered what he wanted to ask Twilight in the first place. 

“Yes, actually. It’s about your mentor,” Ryota said. 

“Oh?” Twilight asked. 

“Princess Celestia, what’s she like?” Ryota wondered. 

“What’s she like? Where do I start?” Twilight chirped as her eyes lit up. “She’s undoubtedly one of the most caring, knowledgeable, and courageous ponies in all of Equestria! I remember the day I took my entrance exam to get into her School for Gifted Unicorns. At first, my magic didn't work. I thought I was done for. But then, a huge magical explosion occurred outside and I experienced my first magic surge."

“Magic surge?” Ryota asked. “As in, you’re first time experiencing magic?” 

"In a sense, yes,” Twilight answered. 

“What was the magical explosion?” 

“That's a story for a different time. Anyway, I was freaking out and my magic was going haywire, at one point I accidentally turned my parents into plants.” 

Ryota jerked his head at that last statement. He wasn’t sure if he heard her correctly. She turned her own parents into plants? How was that possible? He thought it would be better to ask her about that later and continue to listen to her story.

“Everypony else was understandably afraid to get close or even be in the same room as me...but not her. Not Celestia,” Twilight explained fondly. 

“What did she do?” Ryota wondered. 

“She cantered right up to me without a fright on her face and nuzzled me down from my freakout. That was how I first met her, and how I became her personal protégé."

Ryota was at a lost for words. From the way she described it, Twilight sounded like she had no control over her magic. Until this Celestia figure calmed her down in the most nurturing ways, it sounded like something a mother would do. Ryota couldn’t help but smile when Twilight’s story was over. 

“Wow, it sounds like she’s a very-” 

“And don’t even get me started on her accomplishments!” Twilight interrupted. 

“Oh Ok…” Ryota muttered. 

"She's taken down many threats across Equestria from a shadowy unicorn obsessed with crystals to a literal power hungry centaur! Both she and her sister, Luna, have done so much for our kingdom, they’re strong enough to hold back a blizzard that would’ve froze an entire empire! They always keep their subjects safe and will fight for them until the end."

Ryota blinked and waited to see if there was anything else for Twilight to say. After a few more seconds of silence, it was made clear that she was done. 

“Is that all?” Ryota asked to make sure. 

“Yeah. Sorry, I can get a little carried away,” Twilight said, sheepishly. 

“I can tell,” Ryota chuckled. “From the way you described her, she sounds like an honorable creature. Especially if she was willing to help you during your exam despite never meeting you prior.” 

“She really is. I’ll never forget that day,” Twilight said with a soft smile. 

“What about her sister? Luna, right? What is she like?” Ryota asked. 

“Luna is a different story. She wants the same thing Celestia wants, which is to make sure that all of the ponies of Equestria are safe and sound. But her past is a bit more complex. I’m sure it would be a subject she would want to explain herself,” Twilight explained. 

Ryota could tell something was a little off. From the brief description of Luna, it almost sounded like she had some sort of shady past she didn’t want to reveal. Twilight didn’t exactly slump to the floor, but her expression was a little more uneasy, staring off nervously. 

“Oh. I understand,” Ryota replied. “I just have one more question.” 

“You can ask as many questions are you want. It’s not like you’re on a limit or anything,” Twilight assured. 

“But this is something I’ve been most concerned with. How do Celestia and Luna feel about...outsiders?” Ryota asked. 

“Oh, they’re always open to meeting new creatures beyond Equestria. They rarely declare war on any nations. They’ll even make alliances with other creatures in order to stop a common threat. The only way they would act harshly is if you would to attack them first.”

“I don’t see any reason to attack them.” 

“Then you don’t have anything to worry about.”

Ryota sighed, “That’s a relief. Truth be told, I’m a little anxious to meet them. I didn’t think it would happen so soon. We haven’t been in Ponyville for that long.” 

“I can understand if you’re nervous. Meeting the ruler of a nation can be a scary thing. If I was in your...uh, paws, I’d be freaking out too.”

“I mean I’ve met leaders before.” 

Twilight’s eyes widened at that last statement. 

“You have?” she asked, surprised. 

“Yeah, but it was always with those belonging to other skulks, packs or other tribes. But never have I met with someone who rules over an entire kingdom.”

Ryota began to rub his leg with his paw and darted his eyes to the floor. Even some of his tails began to frizz up from thinking about it. Twilight calmly approached Ryota and placed a gentle hoof on his shoulder. He looked up at her purple eyes and smile. 

“Believe me, Celestia and Luna are some of the most welcoming ponies I know. They would never distrust a species just because they were different. Where would we be now if they did?”

Ryota stopped his shaking and his tails returned to their normal and fluffy selves, but his eyes returned to the ground. He didn’t say anything, but Twilight could tell he was still a little nervous. She rubbed the back of her head in thought. 

“What if we talk about something else to take your mind off of it?” Twilight suggested. 

“Like what?” Ryota asked as he looked up again.

“Well,” Twilight paused. “There’s actually something I’ve been meaning to ask you. You and your siblings have been in Ponyville for some time now, even if it’s only been a few days. I would very much like to know where you all came from.” 

Ryota froze up once more. He stepped back from Twilight, but this time his eyes never left hers. His eyes didn’t change in size and the shiny gold color of the iris was still the same, but Twilight couldn’t help but detect a sense of emptiness from them. She stared into his eyes, they were gold but started to lack any emotion. 

“Twilight, you know that’s a sensitive subject,” Ryota said. “We only arrived in Ponyville the day before we met all of you.” 

“I know and I’m sorry for bringing it up. But at some point you’re going to have to talk about it,” Twilight stated. 

“I’m aware of that,” Ryota replied. 

“What will you say to the princesses if they ask you about it?” Twilight added.

The seven-tailed fox remained completely still in the room. Twilight knew she had to get answers, but she couldn’t help but feel the guilt that was slowly filling her chest as she held it. She looked back at Ryota and felt bad about asking him. 

“How about this: you don’t have to tell me the whole story. Why not just tell me one or two things about your home. I don’t want to force you to get personal,” Twilight suggested.  

“I guess I owe you that much.” Ryota took a deep breath in and exhaled. “We were born in a place called New Shrine.”

“New Shrine?” 

“I don’t know where to begin. It wasn’t a big city or a rural town, it was more like a small and rustic village. But It’s not like we minded living in a limited area. I remember every fox there was living lives of passion and peace. Whether it was relaxing at the arcade or creating false images to fool one another for fun, there was always something to do. And whenever our home was threatened by some creature or mystic force, our best warriors would gather to defend our home, using our claws, teeth, and magic. And we wouldn’t stop until the threat was either gone or surrendered. Those were fun days.” 

Twilight was absolutely astonished by what she heard. She found it nearly impossible to wipe the intrigued smile off of her face, not that she actually tried or wanted to. A soft smile also appeared on Ryota's muzzle by the time he was finished describing his home. 

“It sounds like a wonderful place, Ryota,” Twilight said. 

“It really was,” Ryota sighed. 

“How do you feel?” Twilight asked. 

“A little better, actually,” Ryota admitted. 

“That’s great to hear. Sometimes reminiscing about the past can help calm your nerves and remember the fond times you once had. It can also make you look forward to the future, and you didn’t even have to tell explain everything to me.” 

“But I will have to eventually.” 

The two stood there in silence, they weren’t exactly sure what to do next. They could only stand and let the awkward silence take over. Ryota couldn’t help but feel responsible for some of it, even though he knew it wasn’t that big of a deal. 

“Yes, soon. But not today. I’m glad you’re not feeling nervous anymore,” Twilight said.  

“Oh, I still am,” Ryota admitted. “But not as much. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. That’s just what friends do for each other.” 

Ryota smiled at the princess, who kindly returned the gesture. The silence returned, but it wasn’t as awkward this time. Ryota could definitely feel the more pleasant feeling in the air. 

“I should probably go check on my skulk,” Ryota said. 

“Sounds good to me,” Twilight replied. 

Ryota bowed his head and turned to walk towards the door. 

“Hey, Ryota.” 

The seven-tailed fox stopped and turned his head and stared at Twilight. 

“Everything will be fine.”

Ryota nodded and exited the room. His chest was empty of anxiousness and was replaced with a warm reassurance. He walked silently through the corridor and back towards his room. While his heart was more calm, the inside of his head still felt a strange fuzziness inside. He didn’t know why, but he felt like something was swarming in his head the moment he brought up his home. He grunted as he rubbed his head. It was probably some leftover nerves, it had to be. He tried to ignore it by shaking his head and continue his walk. 


Meanwhile, in the library of the castle, Kichiro was browsing through some books. He gently dragged the tip of his claw across the books to see which one would grab his attention, which also created a soft clicking sound when he walked. His three tails waved as he strolled along the long line of books neatly stacked in the equally long shelves. He eventually stopped and placed his claw on one of the books and pulled it out of its shelf. The book had a brown cover with a blue swirl on it. Kichiro stood in one place as he flipped through the pages of the book, he found himself surprised to find that the pony’s language appeared similar to his own, save for a few strange pictures. 

“Huh,” he said. 

At the same time, Spike entered the room and spotted Kichiro attempting to read the book. He was a little hesitant about approaching the fox, but his instincts ended up getting the better of him. 

“Kichiro?” Spike asked as he walked up to him. 

Kichiro turned and noticed Spike looking up at him. 

“Oh, hello tiny dragon. Word has it that your Emi’s new servant,” Kichiro said. “Of course, she was the one who told me.” 

Spike groaned and pinched the bridge of his snout with his claw. 

“I am not her servant,” he said. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Would you prefer ‘pet’ instead? She mentioned how much you love being called that,” Kichiro teased. 

Spike growled and tried his best to keep his frustration down. He rubbed his face and tried to think of something else to forget the incident from this morning.  

“What are you doing in here?” Spike wondered. “I thought you were working at Sweet Apple Acres.” 

“I was. Now I’m taking a break,” Kichiro answered, holding up his book for emphasis. 

Spike let out a nervous breath, “Applejack’s not going to like you taking a break without her permission. Won’t she notice that you’re missing?” 

“Highly unlikely,” Kichiro chuckled. 



	A Few Minutes Ago


“Ok, Kichiro, back to work. Ah need ya to scoop all the weeds ya yanked out and put em in these here bins,” Applejack ordered as she gestured her hoof towards a set of empty, little straw bins. “Got it?” 

“Yes, master,” Kichiro replied as he bowed his head to the ground. 

Applejack rolled her eyes and trotted off to continue her apple bucking. Kichiro raised his head and checked his surroundings. Once he saw that Applejack was no longer in sight, he formed a toothy grin. His eyes illuminated and he started to walk forwards. He continued to walk until he grew a pair of eight paws and six tails. While he was walking, his shell remained in the same place he originally stood. Kichiro kept walking until he was completely separate. 

He shook his body until his fur was all fluffed up again and he turned around and marveled at the glowing mold where he used the stand. The glow died down and a second three-tailed fox stood where Kichiro was originally standing. The fake fox opened its eyes and stared at Kichiro. 

“I need you to scoop up these weeds and put them into the empty bins,” Kichiro instructed as he motioned towards the bins and the piles of weeds. 

“Ok,” the copy replied and immediately got to work. 

Kichiro smiled as he watched his copy grabbed a pile of weeds with his muzzle and dropped them into one of the small bins. Once he knew his replica got the routine figured out, he sauntered off and out of the orchard. He chuckled to himself as he made his way towards the castle. 



	Present


Kichiro flipped through more pages of the book he was holding, only to find more of the strange pictures of ponies and other creatures. Ranging from a giant bear with stars for fur to a huge and bull-like creature. His brow raised with interest and he continued to skim through the book.

“Interesting,” he muttered. 

“Uh, Kichiro,” Spike said. 

“Huh?” Kichiro broke his focus and noticed Spike staring at him with his head tilted. 

“Why is it unlikely that Applejack will notice you're gone?” Spike asked. 

“Don’t worry about it.” 

Spike blinked. “Ok.” 
Kichiro stared down at Spike with his brow raised. “Aren’t you going to ask what I’m up to?” 

“I’m a little scared to ask,” Spike admitted. 

“You should be,” Kichiro smirked. 

Spike didn’t blink this time, his eyes were wide with anxiety and were afraid to even move. He looked back and noticed that the door he entered through was wide open. Yet all he did was stare up at the fox who still wore that smirk on his face. 

“You’re not very good at holding conversations, are you?” Kichiro teased. 

“I know I’m going to regret asking this,” Spike muttered under his breath. “What are you up to, Kichiro?” 

“Since you’re so eager,” Kichiro started. “I thought I might kill time by checking out some of these books and find out what secrets your home has to offer. I have to admit, I was amazed to discover that you also read and write Vulpusian. Oddly convenient.” 

“Read and write what?” Spike asked, unsure if he heard him correctly. 

“Our native tongue,” Kichiro clarified. “I thought I was going to have difficulty learning a new language and then translating it to ours. But it looks like that’s not the case. Your native language is actually very similar to our own, save for a few strange phrases and subpar puns.” 

“Really? I mean, I know most creatures here can understand Ponish. But you guys are clearly not from around here,” Spike pointed out. 

“Not sure if we’re just easily adaptable or your pony overlords have secretly snuck into our country, got inspired by our culture, and practically stole our language.” 

“I doubt that Celestia and Luna would do that. Anyway, I never really took you for a bookworm, Kichiro.”

“Why not? You think I’m all about theft and silly games and dead birds?”

Spike stood there in silence as he tried to pick out his next words carefully. What he said was spot on, but he felt afraid of what would happen if he actually told him the truth. Spike quickly dashed those small fears aside, since deep down he knows that he’s dealt with worse situations. 

“Uh,” Spike muttered. 

“Well, you’re right!” Kichiro chuckled. “For the most part. But you really shouldn’t assume such things, even if eighty-nine percent of what you see are correct to your accusations.” 

“Weird number to go off on,” Spike noted. 

“Right now I’m just amazed that you have a library that’s bigger than the one we had.” 

Spike paused his next thoughts upon hearing that. What did he just say? 

“Wait, you have a library back at home?” Spike wondered. 

“Well, had. What with our home being GONE and all.” 

“Oh yeah, sorry,” Spike said as he rubbed the back of his head. 

“Still. I remember the good old days. I used to spend hours in mother and fathers library, stacking my plate with books and consuming the words off the pages and into my head, my brain slowly digesting the knowledge until I became full,” Kichiro recalled. 

“Was that metaphorically or literally?” Spike asked. 

"Pick one," Kichiro replied. 

Spike shook his head and ignored his last remark. 

“Then there were days where mother had to kick me out of the library,” Kichiro continued. 

“Because you were spending so much time inside reading books and she wanted you to make friends?” Spike wondered. 

“Pfff! No!” Kichiro laughed. “Because I was learning too many new and destructive tricks to play on my neighbors!” 

Spike stared blankly. In hindsight, he should’ve expected that kind of response from Kichiro. 

“I learn ONE new spell to make it appear as though undead skeletons have invaded the village and everybody treats it like the end of the universe is upon them. Big babies. Don’t even get me started on the cruel and strange punishment mom put me through. Ugh!”

“Please tell me you’re not going to do that here,” Spike pleaded. 

“Oh, tiny dragon. If I was going to do that, I would've done so already. And you’d probably pissing your scales with your arms clung around the horn of your dear Twilight. Although, I can make that happen if you love her head spear so much. No judgment.” 

Spike had no idea how to respond. He merely stood there with his head tilted and his left eye twitching. His mind grew more blank the more she gazed into Kichiro’s eyes and big, toothy smile. He could’ve sworn he was staring at a second Discord in front of him, he was too afraid to ask, not knowing which answer would be worse. The three-tailed fox extended his arm and planted his paw on the tip of Spike’s snout. 

“You have such a small face lump,” Kichiro chirped. 

Spike flinched, “I’m...I’m gonna go now.” 

“Ok, nice chatting with you,” Kichiro smiled as he waved goodbye. 

Spike left the library with unwanted thoughts as Kichiro continued with his reading. He flipped through more pages and read the passages that caught his interest. 

“Oh, I could make good use of these spells,” Kichiro said as he read. 


Elsewhere, Emi was at the Carousel Boutique assisting Rarity with a new dress, mainly with gathering supplies. The tiny fox was gathering as many spare ribbons as she could find. She dragged a big pile of tied of ribbons with her jaw and placed them all onto Rarity’s bed. The pile of ribbons was placed next to a stack of small and colorful buttons that Emi has managed to salvage from within the drawers. Emi leaped onto the bed and began to rummage through the pile she created. While that was going on, Rarity was putting the finishing touches on one of the dresses she was making for her current client. 

“And done!”

Rarity turned around and was met with the sight of Emi rolling herself into a wrap made out of the ribbons she found. She squeaked with every roll and with every new ribbon that was wrapped around her. Rarity covered her mouth at the sight. 

“What are you doing?” Rarity asked. 

“Having fun!” Emi chirped as she continued to roll around in the mess of ribbons and fabric. 

Rarity giggled, she was amazed at how such a creature could be easily impressed by the smallest things. Then again, she was friends with Pinkie Pie. She lowered her gaze and noticed the pile of buttons that were toppled over on her bed. 

“Emi, I understand why you like the ribbons, but why did you put together a pile of my spare buttons?” she asked. 

“Because they’re pretty!” Emi answered as she unraveled from her ribbon cocoon. 

She picked up a bright, blue button with her paw and held it close to her eye. 

“They’re small but they stand out like fireflies. They hold stuff together, they go with any type of clothing, and when I press on them nothing bad happens! Not like those other buttons. They just make loud noises.” 

“Yes, well, every piece of the dress has a role to play, no matter how small they are,” Rarity replied with a smile. 

“Plus, look at what I can do with them!” 

Emi took two random buttons from the pile, closed her eyes, and placed them over her eyelids. Rarity let out another muffled laugh when Emi put on her button eyes. 

“Grrr, I’m a possessed doll! I will come to life when you’re not looking! Specifically when you turn your head to see if there’s anybody behind you! I’ll haunt your dreams and eat your babies! Mwahahaha!” Emi joked. 

Rarity was speechless. She honestly did not know how to react to such a display, she could only stand there. 

“Quite the imagination you have there,” Rarity said, deadpanned. 

“Aww, thank you,” Emi replied, she shook her head and knocked the buttons off. “I still can’t believe we’ll be meeting your rulers next week!"

“I know, it’s so soon too,” Rarity replied, happily. “But I’m not complaining. I always enjoy our visits with the princesses. The radiance, the elegance, the royalty.”

“Is she nice? Do you think she’ll like us?” Emi wondered. 

“Oh absolutely, darling. It’s not every day you get to meet a new species from a faraway land,” Rarity assured. “And I don’t see how anypony could despise such a fluffy face like THIS.” 

Rarity pressed her hooves against Emi’s face and ruffled her fur around. She cooed as she scratched Emi’s face with delight. Soft and faint giggles escaped Emi’s muzzle as Rarity went for the back of her ears. 

“Help, I’m being attacked!” Emi giggled. 

Rarity laughed and stepped back, the fur on Emi’s face was all ruffled up but it didn’t take long for it to return to normal. One quick shake of the head and Emi’s fur retained it’s normal, soft look. As Emi fixed her fur, a sudden thought popped into Rarity’s head. Something that she had been secretly wondering about ever since she met Emi. She figured now would be a good time to ask her. 

“Emi. There’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Rarity began. 

“Yes?” Emi replied. 

“What’s home like?” 

Emi sat on Rarity’s bed in silence but the smile never left her face. Instead, it merely shrunk in size. 

“Huh?” 

“It’s just that you‘ve been here in Ponyville for a while and I still don’t know that much about you. And you’ll be meeting Princess Celestia and Luna soon and I’m sure they’ll want to know where you came from,” Rarity reasoned. 

Emi’s ear twitched in confusion on her small smile shifted into a neutral frown, unsure what Rarity was talking about. Luckily, it didn’t take long for her to figure out as her big smile soon re-appeared across her face. 

“Oooohhh! Why didn’t you say so?” Emi exclaimed. “Yeah, I can tell you stuff about home.”

“Really? That would be helpful in getting to know you better,” Rarity replied. “Of course, you don’t have to explain every detail if you feel as if it’s more comfort-”

“We lived in a pretty village!” Emi interrupted. 

“Oh, really?” Rarity asked a little cut-off. 

“Yeah! Our village was small, but it had big spirit! There were bright skies, falling flower petals, rivers with tasty water, and each fox had a HUGE home to live in! There were even arcades where some kits and I liked to hang out. We’d spent hours on a single game trying to reach the top score, but it never happened. Those dumb ghosts kept getting in the way.”

“I see,” Rarity said. 

Her eyes were widened and her smile shone with curiosity. She was starting to feel like Twilight as she absorbed the information Emi was spewing. 

“And we lived in the most BEAUTIFUL home! It was big and shiny and taller than a...than a normal home. Like two homes stacked on top of each other, but not really. Mom and dad gave me my own room filled with the softest plushies in the whole world! I had a crane, a monkey, and a husky! Those three were my favorite,” Emi explained, excitedly. 

“Fascinating,” Rarity said. 

“Oh! You should come and visit!” Emi exclaimed. 

Rarity blinked and was taken back by this. Did she just say visit her home? 

“What do you mean ‘visit?’”

“Exactly what it sounds like! When this vacation is over, I can take you to see my home! And Spike can come too! And Twilight, and Sweetie Belle, and...the other ponies whose names I can’t remember at the moment.” 

Now Rarity was even more confused. Her head tilted and she gazed at Emi’s innocent smile and bright eyes. She could’ve sworn she heard Ryota say that their home was gone. Not to mention the sad look Emi was giving when they first met. Perhaps she misheard something. 

“Emi,” Rarity started, trying to come up with the right words to ask her. “If my memory serves me correctly, Ryota mentioned that...the main reason you’re here is to find a new home.”

“What do you mean?” Emi asked, still wearing her innocent smile. 

“It’s just that,” Rarity muttered as she bit the tip of her hoof. “I was under the impression that you were here to stay. Why would your brother say that if it wasn’t true?” 

Emi’s eyes lit up. 

“Oh, that’s just a cover-up,” Emi giggled. 

The young fashionista became even more confused, so many questions swimming in her mind. 

“Cover-up?” 

“Yeah. There was a little ‘accident’ at home. Mom and Dad sent us on this vacation while they fix up the house. But that’s obviously a white lie they created to keep us from finding out the truth. They’re actually just remodeling the house! So that when we go back, they can surprise us! But I know Ryota knows something about the new house, but he won’t tell me.” 

The room was silent, Rarity didn’t know how to respond to that. She couldn’t tell if she was lying or blissfully unaware of something. Either way, she could feel her eyes becoming heavy. 

“But what about the day we first met? You looked very sad when I first asked you about your home,” Rarity wondered. 

“Oh, that? I was just homesick,” Emi replied. “No big deal, it happens to everybody.” 

“Yes, I suppose so,” Rarity said. 

Her head was aching with doubt while her heart was sorrowfully beating. She wasn’t sure what to feel in front of Emi now, all she could do was gaze down at the kits cheery smile. The tiny kit rummaged through her ribbon pile and picked up a single button, and plopped it in her mouth. 

“Nom.” 


Fire rose in the fields behind Twilight’s castle. Reiko had set another log ablaze with her magic. She growled up a storm and smoke seethed out of her muzzle, nearly filling the air above her head. The fur on her back was on the verge of sticking up by itself. Starlight Glimmer stood a good five feet away from her, eyeing her, making sure she doesn’t blow herself up. 

“And the worst part is, she treats it as though I’M the bad guy! I was just trying to find a decent meal, but then SHE comes along and basically says, ‘no! You can’t eat this bunny because it’s too cute and precious,’ ugh! Who even does that!” Reiko raged. 

Starlight Glimmer slowly scooted towards the fiery fox and had her extinguisher spell ready. 

“Did you antagonize the hare?” Starlight asked.

“NO! Weren’t you listening?! I just wanted to eat him!” 

Without warning, her five tails flickered together, her eyes lit up, and an orange-red beam shot out of her jaw. The beam made contact with a nearby boulder and obliterated it upon contact, tiny fiery bits of rock flew everywhere. Starlight quickly activated her shield spell to block the oncoming debris. 

“And now, I’m stuck with THIS,” Reiko held out an apple and took a big chunk out of it. “Not terrible, but not enough!” 

She tossed the rest of the apple in her mouth and swallowed. After that, she grumbly paced around and waited for the apples juices to calm her down. 

“Have you tried hunting further into the forest? I’m sure there’s plenty of animals you can hunt there,” Starlight suggested. 

“But what if they all go running to their mama bird pony for protection?” Reiko retorted. 

“I doubt that will happen. The Everfree Forest is a whole lot bigger than what most creatures believe. Some of them have never even met Fluttershy before. But knowing her, she can befriend any living creature,” Starlight explained. “All you would have to do is to hunt in the areas where Fluttershy won’t spot you or create a tight spot where the animals can’t escape.” 

“Huh, I never thought of that,” Reiko said. “You sure know how to strategize and come up with traps.” 

“Hehehe, yeah. I guess it’s just something I’m naturally good at,” Starlight nervously chuckled. 

She didn’t like to be reminded of her own devious deeds from the past, she felt glad that Reiko hasn’t found out about it. 

“Ok, then,” Reiko said, eyeing her. 

“If you want, I can show you some areas that I think would make great hunting spots,” Starlight offered. 

“Thanks, but Flutter-floof is already making me go with her to a river to hunt for some fish.”

“You can do both. Or I could even talk to her if you want. I don’t see any reason why you can’t double your food source.” 

Reiko sighed and stared at the ground, “I’m not just mad about not catching my prey.”

“Hm? What do you mean?” 

“Those eyes. Those big, bright, creepy, unexpectedly sharp eyes. They were like tiny spears piercing into soul and mind.”

Reiko shivered at the memory of Fluttershy’s eyes. A burning shame formed within her chest, she gripped it tightly with her paw and grumbled. 

“Oh, you mean Fluttershy’s stare? I still can’t believe she used that on you.” 

“I don’t get it!” 

Reiko stomped on the ground and fire erupted out of her back and into the air.

“How is it that a single stare was able to paralyze me?!”

“That’s the stare for you. I’ve never experienced it myself, but I don’t need to, given the reaction your having,” Starlight shuttered. 

“I’ve taken down monsters double my size and incinerated packs of creatures on my own. And yet, two evil eyes is what got me stumped? How does that even happen?” 

Starlight raised a brow. 

“Monsters? Packs of creatures?” 

“Oh yeah, back in New Shrine I used to hunt all kind of monsters. Sometimes for food but mainly out of self-defense,” Reiko snickered. 

“What’s New Shrine?” Starlight asked. 

“Oh sorry, that’s the name of the village we used to live in,” Reiko clarified. 

“Gotcha.” 

“I remember the days I would head into the misty forest to hunt for squirrels or the occasional forest goat. A horde of ghouls would show up and try to devour me. But I never made it easy for them, I would incinerate those losers and send them back to the dirt. They never got a chance to sink their teeth in me.” 

Reiko fired another beam and destroyed an empty crate. The falling, flaming pieces of wood scattered everywhere. Reiko sighed as she was reminiscing the fond memory as the flaming debris continued to fall. Starlight quickly extinguished them. 

“Were monsters like that common in your village?” Starlight asked. 

“Oh yeah, they were everywhere. We had giant ogres that could smash mountains, tanuki’s that lived in the trees, most likely stolen from the squirrels and owls, and ugly turtle creatures who would always hog the rivers for their parties and baths. Most of the time these creatures would stay out of our village. Because we made it clear we were not to be messed with. Never grab a kitsune by their tails!” 

Reiko tilted her head back and fired another flaming beam. This time, it was shot up directly into the sky and not aimed at anything in particular. Starlight didn’t hesitate to form a mage dome over herself and Reiko as the flares from the beam descended down onto them. 

“You can handle all those creatures but not a single stare?” Starlight remarked. 

“Don’t remind me,” Reiko growled. 

Starlight released her dome and quickly put out any leftover fires on the grass. Fortunate for her, they weren’t very big and there wasn’t a whole lot of them. 

“I’ll still talk to Fluttershy to see if I can convince her to let you hunt,” Starlight said. “If that will make you feel better.”

“Thanks,” Reiko muttered. 

Starlight and Reiko began to clean up the mess behind the castle. In her head, Reiko was counting how many seconds it would take this time for ponies to notice. However, that wasn’t her main thought. The only other thing on her mind at the moment was the meeting of the two princesses. Everything was happening all too fast. It was only a matter of time until she met the true rulers of the kingdom….
> Protection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days have passed since the foxes have arrived in Ponyville. The day to meet the princesses were shortly coming up. Ryota sauntered through the Everfree Forest. The wind was blowing with cool air that hit fur, sending mellow vibes throughout his body. He came across a small stream midway through the forest. In it, he noticed several small silhouettes that were swimming with the current.  

His golden eyes squinted and backed up away from the stream. He lowered his body towards the ground wiggled his legs, his sight never leaving the stream. With one leap, he pounced right into the stream, water splashed and he landed right on his target. His head dived down into the river and quickly emerged with a flopping trout on his jaws. He flung the trout on the trout where it continued to flop around, fins waving and gills gasping. After that, he lunged out of the stream and onto the trout, where he pinned it down and performed the killing bite. 

It didn’t take long for Ryota to devour it, all of it’s remained were scattered around. The feeling of fresh trout filled his stomach with delight, he smiled and licked his lips. He turned to the stream and pounced back in for seconds. This time, he came out with two trouts in his jaw. He flung both of the fish onto the ground and ended them as he did with the first one. The fox was about to beginning feasting on one of the trouts when the sounds of hoofsteps hit his ears. 

“Interesting sight, to say the least. I hope I’m not interrupting your feast.” 

Ryota looked up to find Zecora on the other side of the stream, smiling down at him. He then noticed the scattered remains from his last meal. 

“Oh, hello,” he said, averting his gaze from his own mess. 

“I may not know much of a fox’s hunting habits, but don’t you usually prey upon rabbits?” Zecora wondered. 

“We do. But I found out that Reiko and Fluttershy had an argument the other day involving one of her hares. She ended up using something called ‘the stare’ on her,” Ryota explained. 

“Ah, the infamous stare. A mysterious ability I would say, demands those who wronged her to stay away,” Zecora commented. 

“You’re aware of it?” 

Zecora nodded in response. 

“Oh. Anyway, I decided to have a talk with her. I told her of my disapproval of her forcing my sister to quit hunting and explained how we needed protein in our systems. After what felt like endless bickering about what’s ‘ethical’ we came to a compromise. Of course, Reiko wasn’t happy to hear that. I don’t blame her.” 

“Hopefully that vixen won’t start a riot, but are you sure that deal would fit into your diet?” Zecora asked, concerned. 

“I think it would. As long as we don’t harm any animals that are within Fluttershy’s care. Which is strange, because it seems as though every squirrel, bird, and rabbit in this forest knows her.” 

Ryota turned his head and spotted a small rabbits eyes in the bushes. The moment he spotted him, the rabbit leaped out and ran right out of the forest. Most likely headed towards Fluttershy’s cottage. 

“Besides, I was in a fishy mood,” Ryota said as he poked the fish with his paw. “In that, I meant I felt like eating fish today. N-Not that I was suspicious about anything. I don’t see anything to be suspicious about.” 

Zecora couldn’t help but chuckle. “Not to worry, my friend. I knew what message you were trying to send.” 

Ryota chuckled back in response and scratched the side of his head where his chipped ear was. 

“If at all you grow tired of food from the river, I know of a place further into the forest where your stomach won’t quiver. There, a castle stands where you’ll find some animals that can get by without the assistance of Fluttershy,” Zecora informed him. 

“Yes. I think Starlight told me about that. She said she would take us there some time,” Ryota replied. “But, she never mentioned any castle.” 

“It is an old place, one I often pass by when I am out searching magic fungi,” Zecora said. 

“Sounds like an interesting castle,” Ryota commented, his curiosity grew upon hearing news of this castle in the middle of the forest. 

“I hope all works out for you. Now come, bring those fish back to my hut,” Zecora ordered as she pointed to the fish Ryota has caught. “I will prepare you a fish stew that is sure to fill your gut.” 

“Oh you don’t have to do that, I don’t mind eating them raw,” Ryota replied. 

“I insist. I was out and about foraging for some herbs anyway. I’d like to catch up with you and talk about what you’ve been up to, ever since we’ve met that other day,” Zecora added and smiled. 

Zecora turned and began walking back towards her hut. Ryota couldn’t help but smile at her peculiar yet helpful nature and decided to follow. It would’ve been rude to reject her offer. He picked up his fish and leaped across the stream. Once he was across, he carried his fish and followed Zecora back to her home. 

Back in her hut, Zecora had finished preparing the fish stew. She poured it into two bowls and brought them over to Ryota, who sat patiently at the table. The steam entered through his nose, the scent of fresh stew cooked to perfection swam around in his mind. 

He pressed his front paws together and said, “I humbly receive,” before digging into his stew. The steamy flavor of the trout made him moan in delight. 

“I am glad you are enjoying the fish stew, I made sure it had enough ingredients to satisfy you,” Zecora said as she began digging into her own meal. 

“It’s perfect,” Ryota complimented. 

Zecora smiled. “It’s been a long time since we’ve last spoken a while back, how has pony life been treating you and your pack?” 

“For me, everything has been good. I found myself adapting well to this place rather easily,” Ryota replied. 

“We like to live a simple life, one that is not filled with strife,” Zecora said. 

“Yes. I made some friends and I’ve already got a grasp on how this realm works. I have to say, seeing clouds being moved like boxes by flying ponies will have to be something I gotta get used to,” Ryota added. “I’m honestly more concerned about my siblings.” 

“Oh? Do tell how they dwell.” 

“We’ve all been adjusting at different paces. Some of them have adjusted to their new home. Kichiro is working, although I’m certain he’s slacking off somewhere while his illusions do his job. Emi has been doing nothing but running around the place. Literally, she runs through Ponyville every day to make new friends or have a big adventure. It’s kind of funny, she doesn’t have any magic yet she has the most energy out of all of us. She’s already ‘attacked’ Spike ten times in the past two days.” 

Zecora chuckled to hear of the other foxes shenanigans. 

“The one I’m most worried about is Reiko,” Ryota added. 

This time, Zecora raised an eyebrow and a soft “hmm?” escaped from her lips. 

“She’s having the most difficulty adapting. Not just from ‘the stare’ but from this whole situation. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she has something of a temper problem.” 

“Oh, I could sense her rage from afar, it feels as hot as a star.” 

“Reiko has always been like this. Whenever she can’t figure something out, she loses herself in her own frustration. Most of her spells end up in fox-sized infernos. I’ve tried to help her control that temper, but that somehow makes it worse. And finding ourselves in this realm hasn’t helped. We’re supposed to meet the princesses in a few days, but I have no idea what will happen.”

Ryota looked down at his stew. His doubts were starting to come back to him. Not just from his own anxiety, but also out of fear of what his sister would do. His concern for her only grew the more he thought about it. 

“Forgive me for saying this, don’t take this as a jeer, but I feel as though you have nothing to fear. I may not have known you for that long, but I can tell you’re compassion for your siblings is very strong. I do not know what causes Reiko's wrath, that will be something you must discover on your own path. The best advice I can give is to watch out for your sisters and brother, for even if you are lost you still have each other,” Zecora advised. 

Ryota’s anxiety began to melt away again. He truly didn’t know what causes his sisters fiery temper. Zecora was right about one thing, he still had his siblings no matter what happened. He felt more confident now, but still needed answers. For the moment, Ryota resumed eating his fish stew. 





Meanwhile, the CMC were all playing catch in the open field behind Twilight’s castle. They bounced the bright, red ball towards each other, giggling and smiling with every turn. Apple Bloom kicked the ball to Scootaloo, who then head-butted it towards Sweetie Belle, who smacked it with her front hoof and back to Applebloom where the cycle started all over again. They ran around in circles to make the game more interesting, which made their smiles grow even bigger. 

“Just a few more rounds, girls. Ah got chores to do,” Apple Bloom said. 

“Boo!” Scootaloo laughed. 

“Ah can’t help it. Heads up, Scoots!”

Apple Bloom had kicked the ball to Scootaloo, but when it got close to her head an orange blur sped past and caused her mane to get in her eyes. 

“Hey!” Scootaloo yelled. 

She brushed her mane out of her eyes and found that the ball was gone. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stared at the blank space where the ball was. 

“Where’d it go?” Apple Bloom wondered. 

All three fillies turned their heads to find someone familiar playing with their ball. Emi was lying on her back, giggling as she played with the ball. She tossed it around in her paws before kicking it high into the air only for it to land in her playful paws again. 

“Hey, Emi!” Sweetie Belle greeted. 

The tiny fox stopped her playing and noticed the three fillies. She flipped over and stood back up. 

“Hi, Sweetie! And...other Sweeties!” Emi replied, not remembering the others names. 

“It’s Apple Bloom and Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said. “We met at Pinkie’s party.” 

“Yes. I know. Sorry, you’re all cute and tiny, it’s hard to tell the difference.”

The three fillies blinked and exchanged looks with one another, unsure how to respond. 

“Really?” Apple Bloom asked. 

“Yeah. You and winged-Sweetie are a bit confusing because you look at act alike and you’re almost the same shade of yellow-anyway what are you up to?” 

The CMC just starred with their heads tilted. Even more confused than before. They couldn’t tell if she was serious or if she was just being cute. Regardless, Sweetie approached her. 

“We were just playing catch. You want to join?” Sweetie asked. 

“Yeah!” 

Emi picked up the ball and balanced it on the tip of her nose. She bounced it up and down, every time she did the ball would land back on her nose like she was a sea lion, much to the fillies amusement. Emi then tossed the ball into the air. When it came back down to her, she spun around and hit the ball with her tail. It soared to Sweetie who caught it and bounced it off of her head. The fillies continued their game with their fox friend. 

“Have you gone on any adventures today?” Emi asked she tail-whipped the ball. 

“What do you mean?” Sweetie asked as she bounced the ball towards Scootaloo. 

“You’re called the cutie-mall crusaders! I thought that meant you go on crusades every day!” Emi chirped. 

“Sometimes we do. But when there’s nobody to help we just do this,” Scootaloo said as she kicked the ball. “Nothing wrong with that.” 

“If I could go on adventures every day, I’d become a monster hunter!” Emi said. 

“Why would ya want to do that?” Apple Bloom asked. 

“Because it would be fun! Conquering dragons, getting orbs for it, learning magic and looking pretty while doing it. What’s not to love?” Emi added. 

“I dunno. It sounds kind of dangerous. Even for us. And we love our danger!” Scootaloo bragged. “Nothing scares me!”

“This coming from the filly who stayed up all night because of a silly ghost story?” Apple Bloom teased. 

“H-Hey, shut it!” 

Emi giggled as the blush formed on Scootaloo’s face. 

“Still. Sneaking up on Spike is one thing, but there are really scary creatures out there. Looking for monsters just to fight them doesn’t sound like the safest job,” Sweetie said. 

“Why not? Foxes fight monsters all the time!” Emi exclaimed. 

“What? No, they don’t,” Scootaloo scoffed. 

“Yes, they do! I saw-” Emi tail-whipped the ball and it flew right over Sweetie’s head. “Oops.” 

The bounced and rolled off straight into the Everfree Forest. The ball became a small speck, becoming unseen in the dark woods. 

“Aw man!” Scootaloo complained. “That’s the second ball we’ve lost!” 

“Not my fault. Somebody put too much air in it,” Emi said. 

“It’s a ball. There’s nothing but air in it!” Sweetie retorted. 

“Alright! I’ll go get it!” 

Emi raced off towards the forest after their ball. Soon she also disappeared into the woods. 

“We better go after her, she doesn’t know what’s in there!” Apple Bloom ordered. 

The other fillies nodded and chased after Emi into the forest. The tiny fox ran through the forest in pursuit of the runaway ball. Needless to say, she didn’t the spooky environment she had just entered. The sounds of wild animal calls fell deaf to her ears, the bent branches and creepy trees went unnoticed by her. All that mattered to her at that point was finding and retrieving the ball. She eventually found it floating in the middle of a green pond. There was a set of rocks that led right to the ball, almost like a perfect path was laid out in the murky water. Emi came to a halt at the edge of the pond. She was about to take her first step on the stones. 

“Emi, wait!” 

The tiny fox turned around to find the three fillies running up to her. 


“Hey, girls. I found the ball!” Emi chirped. 

“We can see that. But ya shouldn’t go runnin off into the Everfree Forest like that. It’s dangerous here,” Apple Bloom said. 

“Really? But Sweetie told me that you three explore this forest all the time,” Emi replied. 

“Yeah, but we usually have our sisters with us,” Sweetie said. 

“Or if we’re just going to Zecora’s,” Scootaloo added. 

“Ya can’t just wander into the forest without knowing the ins and outs of it,” Apple Bloom said. 

“It doesn’t seem that bad to me, it actually kind of reminds me of home,” Emi smiled, much to the fillies concern. “I’ll just grab the ball and we can go back to our game.” 

Emi turned and hopped on one of the stones, then another. Once she was on her third stone, the pond began to form bubbles and the stones shifted. Emi quickly jumped off the stone she was on and back onto the ground. The three fillies gathered around Emi to see the stones rise up from the pond. All their eyes widened upon seeing a cragadile emerge from the water and wander onto dry land. The ball fell off the stoney reptile and landed right in front of it. The fillies heart raced, skipped beats, and jaws dropped. 

“Cragadile!” they all screamed.

“Cragadile?” Emi wondered. 

She stared at the beast more with interest than with fear. Her head tilted as the cragadile slowly started to walk towards her, it stepped on the ball and popped it. 

“Run for it!” the fillies screamed and bolted away from the cragadile. 

It didn’t take them long to realize that Emi wasn’t with them. They stopped and saw that Emi was still looking at the beast with intrigue, even with it approaching her. 

“Emi, what are you doing?!” Sweetie yelled. 

The tiny fox turned around and ran towards the fillies while unknowingly avoiding its massive jaws. 

“Did you see the size of that thing?” Emi asked. 

“Yeah, we saw it, now let’s get out of here!” Scootaloo yelled. 

“What about the ball?” 

“Are you blind? It’s gone! That giant lizard popped it, now let’s go!” 

Emi turned back and saw the cragadile crawling towards them at a rapid speed. At the same time, Emi’s heartbeat started to pick up, but not out of fear. A small smile formed on her face. 

“Don’t worry, girls! I got this!”Emi exclaimed and charged at the beast. 

“Emi, no!” the fillies screamed. 

It was too late, Emi was already running straight for the cragadile. She lunged forward and headbutted the beast on the tip of its muzzle. The impact launched both of them back and they both rubbed their heads. 

“Ow! That wasn’t smart!” Emi groaned. 

The fillies stared at her, they couldn’t believe how strong she was. Emi shook her head and got back up. She charged at the cragadile while it was still recovering, she slid next to it and slashed its feet with her claws. Unfortunately, her claws barely left any scratches, not enough to draw blood. She looked down and noticed her claws were already becoming dull. 

“What the?” she gasped. 

She noticed the hard stone-like armor the cragadile was covered in. Emi growled and jumped on top of the beast and began biting down on its scales. She tore, gnawed, and chewed at every scale she could spot, but to no avail. After useless biting, she spat out the rocky taste from her mouth. She then made her way towards its head and sunk her teeth in it. The scales there were softer, and the bite was enough to make the beast roar. However, the cragadile shook its head until Emi came flying off and it smacked her with its large tail. 

“Emi!” 

The fillies ran to the fallen fox. 

“I don’t got this,” Emi moaned as she gripped her stomach. 
“Now what do we do?” Sweetie asked. 

Before her question could be answered, the cragadile approached the defensive trio and the injured fox. They all gathered and shielded their fox friend and waited for the worst to come. Suddenly, they noticed that the looming force had disappeared. They all opened their eyes to see the cragadile being dragged back, even the cragadile had a look of confusion. The fillies and the fox looked and saw something pulling the beast by its tail. When the cragadile moved its head, they all saw Ryota pulling back with his teeth. Their hearts resumed their normal paces as they looked on with relief and awe. With one thrust, Ryota swung the cragadile away from the four and into a tree, cracking the trunk in the process. Ryota growled and spat out a scale. He walked past the fallen cragadile and approached his sister and the trio. 

“Ryot-Ah!” Emi winced as she held her stomach again. 

Sweetie was quick to comfort her. Ryota’s eyes became more narrow upon seeing his sister in pain. 

“What happened?” Ryota asked. 

“We were playing ball!” Sweetie started. 

“Then Emi joined in,” Apple Bloom continued. 

“The ball bounced into the forest,” Scootaloo added. 

“And next thing we know, we’re being attacked by a cragadile!” Sweetie finished. 

“But it was nobody’s fault! Because the ball bounced itself here,” Emi chuckled while still holding herself. 

Ryota sighed and patted his sister. “Mother and I have told you not to take on larger prey.” 

“I-It’s not her fault!” Sweetie pleaded. “That cragadile attacked first! She was just trying to protect us.” 

“Y-Yeah!” Emi added. 

“I know that.” 

Ryota’s chipped ear twitched before he could say anything else. He then tackled the four of them out of the way of the oncoming cragadile. The rocky reptile collided into another set of trees and growled. Ryota got back up, looked down on the tiny group and made sure they were unscratched. He led them to a safe spot behind a boulder. 

“Stay,” he ordered. 

The four peaked around the boulder to see him approach the cragadile, the fillies found it difficult to look away from his seven tails and chipped ear. Ryota growled and bore his teeth as the cragadile turned around and hissed at him. The beast charged at Ryota, he slid under the beast and slashed at its legs, which proved useless. 
“Ryota! His scales are super strong! They won’t chip away!” Emi yelled. 

The seven-tailed fox turned to respond to his sister but got smacked by the cragadile’s tail. Emi cringed at the attack, feeling somewhat responsible for it. Ryota got back up and shook his head. He glared at the cragadile, smoke began to cloud his vision. Fear stirred up as he looked down to find smoke emitting from his jaw again. He violently shook his head to clear the smoke away. 

“No!” he hissed. 

Apple Bloom tilted her head at the gesture. She wasn’t sure why he freaked out about the smoke, but she was more concerned about his survival. Ryota continued to shake his head until the smoke was completely gone. The cragadile charged again, but Ryota dodged out of the way. Its tail was about to smack him, but he evaded the attack. He turned and noticed the frightened faces of the young group, especially Emi’s. Her frown and sad eyes had a mixture of sorrow and fear. While distracted, the cragadile chomped down onto Ryota. A surge of pain coursed through him as his right side and front right paw was caught in the beast's jaws. He screamed while blood dripped from his jaw. 

“Ryota!” the four screamed. 

The fox felt a small strike in his chest. His tails flickered together, small sparks emitted from them. He let out a static growl. His whole body became covered by bright electrical energy and forced the cragadile to let go. The young group all covered their eyes. When the light dyed down, the fillies gazed at seeing Ryota’s eyes glowing and the uninjured claws were engulfed by a bright blue aura. His tails were nearly covered with bright bolts. Emi gasped and pointed at Ryota in excitement. 

Ryota charged at the cragadile, leaving behind a trail of lightning. Using his illuminated claws, he easily slashed right through the cragadile’s legs, it roared. Ryota sprinted all around the beast and struck him with lightning quick attacks. He leaped off trees and boulders and landed a strike on the beast, he struck it several times in the face and muzzle, scales teeth fell off with every strike. To finish it off, he sunk his teeth into its tail and swung it back into the pond. When it splash landed, Ryota leaped up and landed on a nearby tree branch. There, he fired a lightning bolt into the pond, electrocuting the cragadile until its skeleton could be seen. The cragadile fell and sunk into the pond, it’s body still slightly twitching. Ryota landed in front of the fallen beast and his body returned to normal, though he was still bleeding. The fillies and Emi approached Ryota.

“That was awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed. 

The fillies then attack him with compliments and ‘thank you’s’ and kept replaying the moment back in their heads. Emi approached Ryota with her head down. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. 

Ryota smiled and gently patted her head. 

“I’ll show you some time. How to take on bigger prey.”

Emi looked up upon hearing those words. A wide smile formed on her face and she nuzzled up against the uninjured part of his body. That was all Ryota needed. His worried from before were still there, but he felt like they died down a little, knowing that she was safe because of him. It was clear to him that he needed to protect them even more now. 




Back in Ponyville, Reiko was walking down the dirt path to Sweet Apple Acres. When she got there, she noticed Applejack and Rarity speaking to each other in the orchard. Reiko noticed that they both had worried looks on their faces. She approached the two mares. 

“What’s going on?” she asked. 

The two mares turned and noticed Reiko. 

“Oh, howdy partner. What are y'all doin here?” Applejack asked. 

“I figured I would check up on Kichiro, make sure he didn’t drown this place in apple juice or anything,” Reiko replied. 

“Can he really do that? Is he able to?” Applejack wondered with more concern in her voice. 

“You wouldn’t happen to have seen Sweetie Belle, have you, darling?” Rarity asked. 

“Huh?” Reiko replied. 

“She and my sister and Scootaloo were all playing together. Apple Bloom was supposed to help with sorting out the apples, but she hasn’t returned,” Applejack explained. “Ah’m startin to get worried.” 

“What do you want me to do about it?” Reiko asked. “And by that, I mean is there any way I can help? Not trying to be rude.” 
“It can be hard to tell sometimes,” Applejack muttered. 

“What?”

“Nevermind! I have no idea where she is. Ya think ya can pick up her scent or something?” Applejack asked. 

Reiko blinked. “I’m a fox, not a bloodhound.” 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean nothing by it.”

Reiko stared at the farm pony, unsure how to process what she just said. She sighed and regained focus. 

“I’ll see what I can do. But I promise I’ll find them,” Reiko assured. 

“Thank ya, kindly, Reiko,” Applejack replied. 

“What about your brother?” Rarity asked. 

“Eh, he can wait. Be right back!”

With that, Reiko ran through the orchard and out into the field, determined to find the missing fillies. She formed a cocky smile as she began to run faster, even though she has no idea where they are. Her smile quickly disappeared upon seeing the fillies and Emi emerged out of the forest. She stopped running when she spotted an injured Ryota limping out with his paw hanging and his entire right nearly covered with blood. Her heart sank as she knew she had already failed at her task. 

“What the hell happened?” Reiko asked. 

“All I wanted was some fish,” Ryota chuckled. 

“Apple Bloom!” 

“Sweetie Belle!” 

Reiko turned around to see Applejack and Rarity run out of the orchard to hug their sisters, Scootaloo and Emi. The four of them then told them of what Ryota did. Applejack and Rarity walked past Reiko and towards Ryota. 

“The girls told us what ya did for them,” Applejack said. 

“Yeah. I was-”

Ryota found himself crushed by the mares embrace. 

“Thank you!” Rarity exclaimed. 

“Ow,” Ryota groaned, as the pain returned. 

“Oh, sorry!” Applejack said as she and Rarity backed off. 

Ryota noticed a small smudge of blood on Rarity’s chest. 

“I think I got some blood on you,” Ryota pointed out. 

Rarity looked down and nearly gagged at the sight of the blood splatter on herself. 

“I-It’s alright, darling. It will wash off. I hope,” Rarity winced. 

“Y’all can clean up at my place,” Applejack assured, then turned her attention to Ryota. “And as for you, we gotta patch you up. That paw of yours doesn’t look too good.” 

“I suppose. But I do-”

“Now don’t give me none of that, ‘I don’t want to be a bother,’ nonsense. We’re cleaning up that wound and that’s that.” 

“I guess I have no choice here,” Ryota chuckled. 

Applejack smiled and began to lead Ryota back to her house. Before she did, she turned and face Reiko. 

“And Reiko. I mighty appreciate what you were trying to do. I mean that.” 

With that, Applejack began to lead Ryota back to the house and Rarity following. Reiko claws dug into the earth as she watched Ryota disappear into the orchard. She could feel her blood boiling again. A task she was willing to do and Ryota already did it. She growled and smoke escaped from her jaw. The smoke quickly dyed down and her anger was soon replaced with something else. Something more melancholy, and she couldn’t place her paw on it. 

Ryota limped through the orchard as he tried to keep up with Applejack. Luckily, the farm mare noticed the pain in his movements. She slowed herself down and wrapped his uninjured paw around her neck. 

“Here, lean on me,” Applejack said. 

Ryota released his weight onto Applejack. Even though he was much taller than his siblings he was still pretty light. She held onto his paw as they walked. 

“Thank you,” Ryota said. 

“Ah can’t believe ya took down a cragadile by yourself,” Applejack replied. 

“It must’ve been a truly grizzly fight, given your injuries,” Rarity added. 

“I’ve actually fought worse monsters back home. I’m not trying to brag, I’m just saying I’ve tackled these sort of things before,” Ryota said. 

“Yeah, like way worse! Like monsters more scary than..than..than a cragadile! Or dirt spiders!” Emi exclaimed. 

“I don’t find that hard to believe,” Rarity replied. 

“Ah remembered the first time we fought off a cragadile,” Applejack mused. 

“You’ve fought those monsters before?” Ryota asked. 

“Yep. It’s quite the interesting story. Some of it, anyway.” 

The group of friends made it to the farm house where Kichiro emerged out of the barn and saw his wounded brother.

“Hey, Ryo!” Kichiro greeted. “That looks fatal. Can I touch your paw?” 

“Kichiro, that’s your brother!” Rarity scolded. 

“I can see that. I don’t need two monocles,” Kichiro said.  

“Quit foolin around and come help us!” Applejack ordered as she, Ryota, Rarity, and Emi entered the house. 

“Uh, fine!” Kichiro groaned. 

The three-tailed fox returned to the barn where five copies of him were busy moving crates of apples around and leaving out the empty ones for bucking. All the copies turned to him as he approached. 

“Alright, fellas. Break time.” 

He snapped his paws and all the copies turned into piles of dust. After that, Kichiro made his way to the front door. 

“So, Ryota, how many animals did you hunt today? Can we tell Fluttershy?” he teased as he entered the house, ready to be of little help and instead gaze at his brothers bloodied body.
> Train Ride to Canterlot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today was the big day. Both ponies and foxes alike waited patiently on the platform for the train to arrive to take them to Canterlot. Twilight was talking to her friends about how they were about to make history, most of which laughed off her enthusiasm. While she was doing that Ryota, who now had a cast around his front leg, was speaking with his siblings. 

“Oh boy! Today’s the big day! We’re going to meet with the goddess’ of this kingdom!” Emi chirped. 

“They’re not goddess’, they're princesses for some reason,” Reiko corrected. 

“Yes, which is why I expect everybody to be on their best behavior today. We don’t want them to think we’re a threat,” Ryota said. 

His siblings all muttered in agreement. 

“Kichiro, what did I just say?” Ryota asked, making sure his irregular little brother understood. 

“Be on our best behavior, don’t kiss anyone without permission, yadda yadda,” Kichiro replied. 

“I’m serious,” Ryota asserted. 

“Of course you are. When are you not serious?” Kichiro retorted. “We’re only meeting with creatures who could potentially annihilate us with a blast of their long, firm, horns. No big deal.”

“Eh, it kind of sounds like a big deal,” Emi said. 

“We don’t want to give off the wrong idea about us. It’s important that we make a good impression,” Ryota said. 

“And what better way to do that than with a little cultural exchange,” Kichiro replied as he pulled out a present from behind. 

Ryota eyed the present, this all felt too familiar to him. He approached the box and gently lifted the lid to peek inside, where he found a dead rat lying there. Once the closed again Ryota stared blankly at Kichiro, who had an innocent smile across his face. 

“Get. Rid,” Ryota ordered. 

“Fine. Killjoy,” Kichiro groaned. 

He took the rat corpse out of the box and tossed it over his head, where Emi spotted it and caught it in her mouth. She giggled as she devoured the dead rat while Ryota sighed. 

“By the way, Ryo, you sure you should be walking on that leg? It looks as though it could snap at any moment like an anorexic chickens spine,” Kichiro wondered. 

Ryota lifted up his cast and examined it, everything was still intact. 

“It will be fine. I actually feel a lot better today,” Ryota replied. 

“How? It’s only been a week,” Reiko pointed out. 

“Yeah, but Applejacks home remedies and Twilight’s healing magic does wonders,” Ryota explained. 

“Getting fixed up by two girls? Not a smart idea, that’s how tails are lost, you know,” Reiko teased. 

Ryota didn’t even bother with a retort and let out a low groan. While that was going on, Twilight was discussing a certain issue with Fluttershy. 

“Do you really think that’s fair, Fluttershy?” Twilight wondered. 

“I mean, the way she went about it was very mean,” Fluttershy replied. 

“It sounded like she was just looking for some grub to me,” Applejack said. 

“And how is that any different from when you feed your other animals fish and stuff?” Spike added.  

“Yes. I have been thinking about our encounter the other day. And I am starting to feel bad. Was I too harsh? Oh, I hope I didn’t hurt her feelings,” Fluttershy said, worried. 

“Nobody is to blame here. You can talk to her after the meeting if that makes you feel better,” Twilight assured. 

“Didn’t we come to an agreement on this? I thought this issue was resolved,” Starlight wondered. 

“Yeah, but obviously Flutters still feels guilty about it,” Rainbow replied. 

“I just hope she’s willing to listen,” Fluttershy said. 

Twilight turned to see the foxes talking to one another. 

“I’m going to go check on them,” Twilight said as she walked over to the foxes. 

Ryota noticed her trotting towards them and turned to face her. 

“Hello, Twilight,” Ryota greeted. 

“Hey, Ryota. How’s the leg?” Twilight asked. 

“Getting better. I’m able to walk on it again, more or less,” Ryota replied. 

“I still can’t believe you defeated a cragadile by yourself,” Twilight said with much amusement. 

“Yes, we know, you’ve said that four times already. Keep your dress on,” Reiko remarked. 

Twilight shot a quick glare at Reiko and focused back on Ryota. 

“Are you ready to meet the princesses? This is such a big honor you know. Not just because you’re meeting with Celestia and Luna, but also because you’re creatures that have never been seen in Equestria before. We’re making history right here!” Twilight exclaimed. 

“I’m still a little nervous though. She’ll want to know where we came from,” Ryota mentioned. 

“That’s understandable. Just remember what we talked about. Princess Celestia and Luna will be eager to meet you all.” 

“It’s not me I’m nervous about.” 

Ryota turned towards his siblings, specifically at Kichiro and Emi who was playing tug of war with the rats tail. Twilight tilted her head at this, unsure of what he meant. Reiko caught sight of this too, but she knew what Ryota concerned about. 

As if on cue, the train to Canterlot pulled into the station. With a release of steam and the opening of doors, ponies exited the train and caught glimpses of the foxes. Most of them smiled with awe while others averted their gazes. Once the ponies have left, Twilight, Ryota, and the others boarded the train. The conductor gave a nervous glance towards the foxes as he collected their tickets. With everybody on board and seated, the train pulled out of the station. Their train ride to Canterlot had begun. As the train rode the rails, Ryota gazed out the window at the passing scenery. 

“You sure you want to go through with this?” 

Ryota turned to Reiko who was eyeing him. Not in a suspicious way, but a mix with concern and irritation. Her eyes were locked onto Ryota with an eyebrow raised. 

“It’s about time we tell them about our home. There’s no point in hiding it. Especially if there’s nothing to hide,” Ryota replied. 

“I know that. But what about THEM?”

Reiko motioned her head towards Kichiro and Emi who were sitting in their own seats. Kichiro was telling another one of his trickster stories to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, much to their amusement. While Emi was zig-zagging in between seats to see the passing view on both sides of the train car. 

“They’ll know eventually,” Ryota said. 

“But does it have to be today?” Reiko asked. 

“Reiko, it’s-”

“Still too soon,” Reiko interjected. “I don’t know care if a year has passed. They shouldn’t have to go through that same experience twice.” 

“Keeping the truth from them will only make things worse,” Ryota said. 

“I’m not saying we should keep it from them forever, just a little longer until they’ve fully gotten used to this place. Don't show the harsh truth all at once. I mean, would you feel all happy-go-lucky if you were reminded that your original home was taken from you?” Reiko reasoned. 

“They will understand, I’m sure of it.” 

“How? How can you be sure they won't have another mental breakdown that can cause them even more damage? Did you look into their minds to see if they'll understand? Last time I checked, foxes can't do telepathy.” 

“Reiko. They still think we’re all on vacation, that’s not a healthy mindset to have given what really happened. They deserve to know.” 

“At least give them some more time to adjust. I don’t want them to break down in front of everyone, it will just make things more hurtful. If they become broken again I’m sure their brains will melt out their ears.” 

Ryota thought about his sister's words, tapping his chin with his unwounded paw. He couldn’t deny that Reiko had a point. 

“Denying them the truth won’t make the pain any easier,” Ryota said. 

Reiko let out a low growl. She knew better than to try and convince him. 

“But it doesn’t have to be today.” 

Her ears perked up and she turned towards Ryota again. 

“We will have to tell them at some point, but for now they can believe whatever they want to believe,” Ryota added.  

Reiko relaxed upon hearing those words, as it was so rare for something to go her way. 

“It’s reassuring to know you do care for their happiness,” Ryota finished. 

“One of us has to,” Reiko replied and walked back to her seat. 

Ryota let out another sigh and returned to his daydreaming as he gazed out the window again. After some time, the train finally made it to Canterlot and pulled into the station. The foxes looked out at the city before them, Kichiro and Emi especially had their jaws open, unable to take their eyes away from the sight. 

“Whoa,” they said. 

“I know, right?” Spike replied. 

“Welcome to Canterlot!” Twilight announced. 

They all exited off the train and onto the platform where they took in their new surroundings. Once everybody was together, the foxes and ponies made their way to Celestia’s castle. The foxes marveled at the luxurious city around themselves, they all spun their heads around and gazed at all of the buildings, making sure they got a good view of everything. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at how wide-eyed the foxes were.  

“You ponies built this place?” Reiko wondered. 

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Starlight asked back. 

“Eh, it’s alright,” Reiko quickly replied as she tried to hide her delight. 

Starlight chuckled at Reiko’s quick and denied answer. 

“It’s beautiful,” Ryota admired. 

“Of course it is. Nothing but luxury in Canterlot. Oh, I must show you the Canterlot Carousel and Tasty Treat some time,” Rarity mused. 

“One thing at a time, Rares. We don’t want to overwhelm them now,” Applejack said. 

“I don’t mind the overwhelming. In fact, I’ll take all of the whelms! Give them to me!” Emi chirped. 

As they were walking, they caught glimpses from some of the Canterlot nobles. While they all recognized Twilight and her friends, none of them could figure out the foxes. They all stared at the new creatures with curiosity and a little concern. Most of them muttered to each other, questioning who and what the foxes were. While others whispered about the arrival of new creatures. 

“Are those foxes?” 

“I didn’t know Equestria had foxes these.” 

“Look at their tails. They’re so pretty.” 

“They better not plan to invade us.” 

“Quiet, Gem, they’ll hear you.” 

“What strange creatures.” 

The foxes noticed some of the comments they were getting but they ignored them. It was only natural that the nobles would be nervous about them. 

“I’m getting some serious Deja vu here,” Reiko said. 

“Why didn’t we land here?” Kichiro asked as he winked at some Canterlot mares. “This place is much more stunning.” 

“Yeah, the city is stunning,” Rainbow said, sarcastically.  

Finally, the ponies and foxes reached the castle. The guards let them in while giving their own nervous stares at the foxes. Twilight led them through the halls until they reached a huge set of doors. Ryota could feel his heartbeat racing, beating faster with every step. He breathed in and exhaled before he approached the doors. 

“Are you four ready?” Twilight asked. 

“Yes,” Ryota replied. 

“Whatever,” Reiko muttered. 

“Of course,” Kichiro said. 

“No!” Emi exclaimed. “Wait, can I change my answer?” 

Twilight opened up the doors with her magic. There, waiting on their thrones were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They sat there with welcoming smiles on their faces with the manes and tails flowing. Ryota’s eyes widened, his heart skipped a full beat. He and his siblings began to approach the princesses, as they did they noticed the many stained glass windows in the room, some of which contained images of Twilight and her friends. Reiko averted her gaze from the windows, she felt as though she didn’t need to see more than one Twilight. The others were filled with nervous bugs as they walked closer towards the princesses. Kichiro leaned towards Reiko during their walk. 

“Am I the only one getting moody teenager vibes from the blue one?” he whispered. 

“Shut it! Don’t screw this up for us,” Reiko hissed. 

The foxes now stood in front of the rulers of Equestria. Celestia and Luna smiled down at the newcomers, showing no signs of hostility. 

“You must be the four foxes Twilight told me about. Welcome to Equestria,” Celestia greeted. 

“We are honored to finally meet you, your royal highnesses,” Ryota replied. 

Just like before when they met Twilight, the foxes bowed their heads to the two alicorns. All, of course, except Reiko. 

“Again with this?” she asked. 

Ryota slapped her paw with his own which caused her to immediately bow her head. Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle at this. Just from one glance at the four, she could tell that this was the start of an interesting new friendship. 

"History!" Twilight silently squealed.