> Izzy's Thief
>  by David Silver
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 - Hey, Wait a Second...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Izzy applied some sparkles. It was a careful balance. Sure, to other ponies it looked like she was just sprinkling wildly, but this was a lie! A careful deception! She had to get just the right amount. Too much and it wouldn't make a sparkly even layer. Too little and it just wouldn't sparkle in the first place. She had a lot of practice shaking out just the right amount in one pass and slashing glue in a quick swipe right afterwards. Her horn made that trick a lot easier, giving her more hands to work with.

Her creation was coming together! She giggled with manic glee as she thrust a hoof into a compartment that should have held her thin and long metal shavings, but came back with nothing at all. "What the?" She pulled the entire compartment out and shook it vigorously, but no shavings came loose. There was no metal inside, not even a tiny taste. "But..." She hadn't used that many since last she checked. She should've had tons!

She shoved the little cabinet back in its space and hopped to the floor. "I will find it!"

"You looking for something?" Zipp popped out of nowhere, a talent she had in abundance, much like Izzy. "Thanks to a certain pony, I'm even better at that, lately." She pulled down a rather fancy set of goggles that allowed her to see things normal ponies could not. "What's gone missing?!"

Izzy pointed at the little container. "My six inch metal filings are missing! I know I had more!" complained Izzy in a bit of a whine. "I got more of them just a few days ago. There's no way I used them all so fast."

Zipp inclined her head. "Wait, what color were they?"

"Um..." Izzy wobbled a hoof. "Metal colored? They were all kinds of colors, but six inches!" She held up her hooves six inches apart. "Very important for crafts, and that's what I want to do! I either need to find the filings, or go get more, and that's a big pain, lemme tell ya."

"I'm on the case!" Zipp back flipped out the window of the lighthouse, rapidly lost to sight.

Would she find them? Izzy moved for the door with a soft humm. Whether that worked or not, Izzy was determined to do her part. She'd either find the filings or make new ones. Funny thing about filings, you almost never found them in the wild. You found metal, and you made filings out of the metal. Not the same thing!

She popped a detective cap on her head on the way out. She had a case to crack!





"I thought you would be more excited about this."

Remington had her arms crossed as she glared at her equine boss. She was not that. She was a fox, a kitsune to be specific about it. "I was enjoying the day, and then this."

"So enjoy this." Soft typing could be heard. "Besides, it involves the homeworld of your wife. I was certain you'd be excited about it."

"Is..." Remington rolled a paw in the air slowly. "Is this back when she was still there?"

"Hardly." More typing, her hippogriff of a boss conjuring a sphere in the air, bright and holographic. "This is far past the point she left. We aren't trying to damage the flow of time, I'll remind.

"Right right." Remington put a paw over her face. "Don't mess with the flow. You've repeated that a few times now."

"And I will keep doing so!" He snorted as he zoomed in on the view, coming into a city on the shore, busy and bustling. "This is Maretime Bay, home of earth ponies, like your wife used to be. Isn't that nice?"

"Obviously not," cut in Remington, returning some of that acid wit. "Or we wouldn't be visiting. What's wrong that you want me to fix?"

"Something is supposed to be made, that now doesn't get made. See that it gets made."

Remington blinked softly at the image of the busy city. "Can you narrow that down a little bit? That's even vaguer than usual."

"As if it was so easy." He swiveled the chair towards her. "Looking so far in time is like holding a straw up to your eye to see something fifty meters away and describing the threadwork of that person while they're jogging."

"Right, sure." Remington did not sound as supportive as one might have hoped. "I still need something to go with besides 'make sure something gets built. Something could be anything from a space station to a macaroni art. Narrow it a little."

"Straw." He was looking through no literal straws, instead hammering at his keyboard busily. "Ah. A unicorn is involved. They are a minority in this city. Female. Find a unicorn female that's struggling to make something, and be sure they succeed. That narrow enough for you? Can we get on with this?"

"As close as I bet we're getting." Without further todo, Remington stepped out of that secret place between whens and wheres and arrived at a specific place in time to jump out of the way of an oncoming cart. "Don't be in the middle of the road," Remi chastisted herself, starting down the sidewalk. "And fit in with the locals." She fell to all fours, becoming a fox-shaded pony with a suspiciously foxy tail, but still, pony!

She just had to find a certain unicorn.





"Boo do doop!" Izzy threw herself bodily into the dumpster, joining the other critters that enjoyed the fine art of swimming around in there. "Good afternoon!" Fortunately, she was on good terms with them. She couldn't talk to them, that was not her thing, but lines had been drawn and nocreature bit the other so long as she followed them. Good enough!

"Now, don't mean to bother..." Which meant she was bothering them. Some of the racoons scowled at her for daring to start a conversation during swimming time. "I know! Something stole my metal shavings." She held up her hooves six inches apart. "Each this big. See anything?"

A blackened banna peel was tossed at her, draping over her face. "That's a no?" She was pretty sure that was a no.

Still, she was in there. She saw no reason not to at least take a peek. She dug and swam and threw things around. It was a lot of fun, really, but it turned up no metal shavings. Sure, some things made of metal. With work, she could shave metal off of them to resupply, but that wasn't an answer for what happened to her collection!

Still, that toy car was waiting to be added to something else. She kept that little faded-white number and hopped out of the bin to the pavement outside. "See ya later!" Unfortunately... "That was a bust... Was it a pony, or something else?!" It could have been a racoonicorn! But she was on decent terms with most of them. They'd just ask her if they wanted some. Not like she'd say no if they made those big adorable eyes...

"Sorry!" She had run right into a pony. It was more confusing that the pony was looking right at them and didn't veer out of the way. Also Izzy didn't recognize them. Not that this was entirely new. It was a big city! "Hi! Nice to meetcha."

"You have a  very familiar energy," started Remington, considering the unicorn. "And you are a unicorn."

"Yep, 100% unicorn." She stood proudly at that. "With the morehead on my forehead! How can I help? Is your energy familiar?" She squinted at Remington, gauging their energy. "Kind of vibrantly red-purple, nice! But also..." She leaned in slowly. "Feels off..."

"Not familiar then," finished Remington with a fake smile. "But nice to meet you. I'm Remi." She waved a hoof at herself. "And I was wondering if you are a unicorn that likes to make things, or is in the middle of making something, or know another unicorn that likes to make things?"

Izzy's eyes sparkled. "Oh! That's what I've been doing all day!" She threw her hooves wide. "Something stole my metal filings! Shavings, six inches long." She held up her hoof to demonstrate. "I was trying to find them."

Remi reached out and knocked the banana off Izzy. "Looking in interesting places, it seems. Well, can I help?"

"Would you?!" Izzy began to dance around the fox-colored pony. "Now we are friends. You're Remi, right? I'm Izzy! Only fair to trade both ways."

"Nice to meet you, Izzy." She turned her attention inwards, "Is this the one?" she asked silently to the one she knew was watching her.

"Could be," came the gruff reply of her boss. "See if you can't get her back to making whatever she was making."

"So where did you last see these shavings?"

"Over here," sang out Izzy as she began the bouncing prance towards the lighthouse. "I have a nice thing to organize them too. I thought I'd never lose another thing again, but noooo! Pow, gone, today!" She grunted with annoyance. "Something had to take it! Had to! There's no other way it could have gone missing like that."

"Who would take your things? You seem like a very nice pony." Remi matched paces with Izzy. "Let's find it so you can get back to making...?"

"Yeah!" Izzy did not answer that question. "The sooner the better." She threw open the door to the lighthouse. "Zipp! Find anything?" 

Zipp was not wearing her fancy headset anymore. "No luck so far. The trail goes cold there." She pointed to the ground not far from the desk. "Who's your new friend? Hey."

"Hello," greeted Remi in kind. "I'm here to help hunt down the missing metal." She curled a hoof to her chin. "Now, just checking... but if we got new filings, would that work?"

"You have some on you?" asked Izzy with amazement.

Zipp rolled a hoof. "Yeah that would be kinda out there. Do you?"

Remi colored through her fur. "No, but I'm good at finding things. If you want, I'll go get some if that'd help."

"But if we don't know why they vanished, any new filings will go poof too!" She made a poofing gesture with her hooves. "And we won't get anywhere! Oh, this is Remi. Remi, Zipp."

The two ponies waved at one another, properly introduced. "So, show us your skills." Izzy waved over the area. "If you're good at finding things."

"Already on it." Remi sniffed at the ground a bit more than ponies usually did, but as fit a fox perfectly fine, her vulpine tail swishing. "You said they're normally... here right?" She pointed a hoof at the many cubbies that held art supplies."

"Yep!" Izzy propped herself, hooves on the desktop as she beamed at the collection. "I've made quite the collection so I can get to making whatever I want."

"Very impressived." Remi poked at the collection, testing how easily each cubby came loose before pushing them back into place. "Alright." She pulled out the one with barely anything in it, sniffing it. "This had the shavings?"

"Yeah," sadly noted Izzy. "Any clues?"

Remi took a fresh whiff and set the cubby down. "Let's find out!" She followed that scent trail slowly, wandering away from the display. She arrived at a point in the floor where the trail just... stopped.

"Told you." Zipp was looking vindicated. "It goes cold, right there. Still, props for finding it without the goggles. You have a really good sniffer." She pointed at her snout with a smile. "If I could smell that good, it'd help in my investigations, but not today!"

"Find it," commanded a voice in Remi's ears, leaving no room for question, much to her annoyance.

Remi groaned. "Well, we aren't going to give up that easily. Those shavings have to be around here somewhere. Why would there be any trail if it didn't go to... something." 

The case wasn't cold, it was just warming up!
> 2 - Bringing in Experts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remi returned to the desk where it all started, snuffing around. "There are none left," assured Izzy. "Not a single one." She grabbed the little drawer and pulled it free from the rest. "See?"

Remi arched a furry brow. "Did it always have a hole in it?"

"Wha?" Remi turned her hoof and the drawer with it, allowing her to see there was a round hole in the back. "I didn't put that there! The mystery, it deepens..."

Zipp snatched the little drawer, her fancy goggles ready to scan it. "Let's take another look where this whole thing began! Hm. The nibbles are small, like something eency was doing it, rather than something bigger taking one big chomp." She wobbled the drawer as if that'd make it easier to see what she was seeing.

Izzy took the drawer between her hooves and brought it close enough that her eye was practically touching it. "Very interesting... You're good at this." She put the drawer down and pointed into the space it came from. "But whatever did that had to come from somewhere!"

"Good point." Zipp adjusted the side of her goggle, changing what it was seeing with loud clicks. "No, no... there we are." She began to scan the collection of drawers filled with artistic bits and bobs and the empty one that didn't have the chewed drawer in it anymore. "Hm..."

Remi rolled a hoof. "See anything?"

"I'm looking." Zipp hopped up onto the desk to get closer, peering into each hole one at a time. "I could be wrong, but I'm suspecting a rodent."

Izzy gasped with amazement. "Alright, well... At least that counts out any ponies, phew." She wiped off her brow. "I'd hate to think any of you would take it."

Remi raised a brow at the mystery. "That doesn't get your shavings back."

"No," sighed out Izzy miserably. "How big is this rodent thief?" She held up her hooves close together and slowly moved them apart. "Here? Here? Or here?" She was holding them far apart.

Zipp laughed at the idea. "If they were that big, they'd knock the whole thing over just trying to get to it. Let's be glad they're not that big." She set her hooves on Izzy's hooves and moved them far closer together. "Still guessing, but more like this." A few inches long at most. "A little thing, and I see how it got in."

She twirled away from Izzy and pointed into the back of the display. "See, another hole."

Izzy hopped up to join Zipp, gasping at the new damage. "I'm gonna have to fix that... But there's no point until after I have my shavings back! Still, if they're that small, it isn't the racoonicorns either, which is good. I'd feel super awful if it was them after that."

Remi grinned. "Now we're getting somewhere." She looped around the desk and pulled it away from the wall, making the ponies on it yelp with their surface moving under them. "Let's take a peek at where the problem came from." She wriggled into the new space, sniffing as she went.

Zipp hopped to the ground with a flap. "Hey, uh, your friend's eager, but also, who are they?"

"Their name is Remi," began Izzy, bouncing in place with a joyful grin. "Their color is interesting and I can't quite place why. I don't think she's from around here."

"You sure?" Zipp watched Remi search around behind the desk. "Looks like an earth pony to me." They were in an earth pony city, so that checked out. "Interesting tail cut. Sis would love it."

"Thanks." Remi shoved against the desk, forcing more room for her exploring. "Ah ha." She vanished from sight, except for that tail that wagged eagerly from around the corner.

Izzy bounced over for a better look. "What'd you find?!"

Zipp zoomed to Izzy's side. "Don't keep us in suspense. Did you find the filings?"

"One." Remi popped up, one bit of metal stuck to her hoof. "But, more importantly, there's another hole back here, and I'm gonna guess our perp came in through it."

Izzy gasped with amazement. "That fiend! But did they go back out through it?" She pointed to the middle of the room. "Why did the trail go there?"

Remi dropped the lone metal shard and wriggled free. "That I couldn't tell you. Zipp was it? Ideas?"

"Hm." She adjusted her goggle's vision. "Yeah, the same stuff..." She slowly craned her head around, examining the wall behind the desk and the room as a whole in a slow survey. "If I had to guess... which I do..." She slowly walked towards where the trail ended. "There has to be..." She drove a hoof down on a tile, forcing it to pop up in the rebound, revealing a third hole beneath it. "Another exit right here."

Izzy clapped with joy. "I knew you'd be a pro detective." She shoved her eye against the hole without delay, peering into the dark depths. "Anyone got a flashlight?"

Zipp clicked her goggles a few times until it glowed brightly. "You made this," she reminded with a little laugh, replacing Izzy at the hole to peek inside. "Huh, wow... goes kinda far... Don't see where it... It turns." She pointed, but it was all she could do. "Not idea where it goes after that."

Remi crossed her arms, hoof bobbing just under the opposing arm. "That hole is way too small for me to fit into." A glance verified the others were about the same size, making that... "Ideas?"

Zipp laughed. "That's the second time you asked that. Good question... How do we...?" She popped her goggles off, still glowing. "Get down there..."

"I got this!" Izzy casually hopped into the hole, her horn glowing brightly. Being the talented unicorn she was, she fell, plummeting through the pipe and into the darkness beyond, until she smacked into the bottom with a loud, "Ow! I'm alright," she called back up into the tunnel she couldn't see more of than the circle of light at the top.

"You sure?" Zipp lowered her goggles to shine its light into the hole and the tiny Izzy within. "You're so small, it could chomp you to bits."

"They wouldn't do that." Izzy waved away the idea. "If they aren't a racoonicorn, maybe I just haven't met them yet. A little talk and we should be settled." She bounced out of sight of the bright light, exploring further down the pipe.

Remi raised a brow at where once there was a unicorn. "Can she talk to animals?" She hesitated a moment. "Um... Is that a thing ponies do often?"

Zipp shook her head quickly, leaving the goggles on the ground near the hole. "No way. Only pony I know of that does that kind of thing is Hitch, Which she is not. She's just a nutty unicorn and we love her and hopefully she isn't getting into trouble down there..."

"Yeah..."

"Yes," barked a voice in Remi's ear. "If she's the one who needs to make a thing, her becoming seriously harmed, or worse, will ensure that she will not make the thing. Can't you follow her?"

"If only we could get smaller," Remi sighed out, replying to the voice in her ear in a way she hoped wouldn't arouse suspicion.

Zipp grabbed her headware and stuffed it away. "I wish! I didn't even know she could do that! Unicorns are wild, am I right?" She flapped her wings with a little laugh. "At least what I can do is written right on the tin. I'm a pegasus, I fly. You're an earth pony... You can grow plants and stuff, right?"

Remi shrank back at that. Growing plants was not one of her skills! "My... earth pony magic is right here." She pointed to her snout. "I'm a really good sniffer."

"Neat!" Zipp did not seem at all offended at the idea. "That's really cool, like my visor, but for your nose. You can 'see' things other ponies can't. I'd love to try it. I bet a super sniffer would be really helpful for investigating things."

"It is!" Remi snuffed softly. "Definitely some kind of rodent, I think... Like a mouse maybe? Or a rat, never was good at telling those two apart."

"So..." Zipp inclined her head at her new friend. "Remi, right? Nice to meet you and all... But what are you?"

Remi went rigid a precious moment. "What? I'm just an earth pony! Like all the other ponies in this city." She laughed a little hysterically. "Like you, without the wings."

"Now, I'm not an expert..." Zipp pointed at Remi's black hooves. "But earth pony magic is usually related to that. Don't get me wrong, Hitch has a thing with animals, and that's not hoof related at all! We're still new at this, but... Izzy said your color is off. I don't get what her colors mean, but she can see them, whatever they are, and I trust her."

"She's a curious pony... Is she safe down there?" Remi peeked down the hole that seemed less concerning than the curious pegasus.

"Nice deflection." Zipp slid a hoof in the way. "She's fine, I trust her. She'll be back with a wild tale, probably. So, let's hear yours. Remi, what are you?"

"You sure do like investigating things..." Remi sat on her haunches, shuffling in place. "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me anyway."

"I don't believe you right now, so what's the harm? You seem nice enough, but I can't be friends with some...thing... that is lying to me, so it's time for the truth."

"Right..." Remi rubbed her hooves together slowly. "Well, you asked... I'm actually--"

"Don't tell her!" barked the voice in her ear.

Remi rolled her eyes, proceeding without pause, "from far away."

Zipp blinked with amazement. "Wow... Another tribe?! Woah... Cool! So, what do you call yourself?"

"Kitsune."

"She did not need to know that," shouted the ear loudly enough for Remi to flip an ear back. "What are you thinking?!"

"Wow." Zipp circled the new kind of pony curious. "Never heard of that. Well, um, we greet you." She made a, perhaps overly so, dramatic bow towards Remi. "So how did you get involved in all this? A diplomat probably should not be chasing someone's missing craft supplies."

"I had a good feeling." Remi pointed to the hole. "About her, and what she's making. I'm following that urge to help her. That's all there is to it."

"Huh... Alright." She accepted it with a little nod. "Well... not sure how we can help now. Zipp's gone to a very small place, and we're both kinda big..." She worried her hooves, looking at the hole. "I hope she comes out alright..."

"You already said she would." Remi patted Zipp on the back. "Don't doubt yourself, or her, now. We can cheer her on."

"Yeah! If that'll help... Go Izzy! Show us your colors!"

Down below, Izzy heard the faint echo, "colors..."

"I'm not seeing a lot of colors. Oh!" She concentrated on her horn, casting light over the area. "Bumping into the walls was getting silly." She laughed at her own folly and trotted forward with increased confidence. "Here, mousey mousey mousey! If you give back my filings, I won't even be mad, promise!" The whole thing had gotten her a chance to see a whole new world. Being mad was not really a high priority in comparison. "You have a really nice home here. Love what you've done with it." The bits of gunk clinging to the walls really drew attention to the color scheme of the place.

"But where are you hiding?" She ran into a new intersection. She could go left, or right, or right down further. "Oh no..." She couldn't sniff the mouse out, like Remi, or spot whatever Zipp could see. How was she going to find that little mouse! Which probably wasn't that little compared to how small Izzy had gotten.

"Hm.. Hm..." She had to pick a direction!
> 3 - We Must Go Deeper
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Throwing caution to the wind, Izzy bounced down the hole leading further into the depths. The floor proved way slippier than she had guessed, causing her to careen wildly down along it with an emphatic, "Whee!" as the wind rushed past her.

She jumped over a lump of whatever in her way and did a twirl on the landing, giggling wildly as she almost flew down the pipe. It evened out under her, causing her to slow down  until she was properly standing on her hooves again. "Now where am I?" She had no idea, but it wasn't diminishing her cheer as she resumed her forward walk. "Mousey?"

The tunnel opened up into, well, a much larger tunnel. She didn't even need to be small anymore, so she stopped being small. Full sized, Izzy looked about in the sewer tunnel she had found. "Neat!" And something was shining against her horn-cast light. "Hm?"

There was a little mound of things that shone when her light reflected off them just so... Wait... "My filings!" The little hut was constructed of assembled metal bits, taken from her supply! "Why would...?" She tilted her head left and right, trying to get a better angle to the little thing. It was so small! Like... "A house?" A house for a mouse? Did mice make hices? Er, houses?

A small furry snout peeked out suddenly, peering at her with little mouse eyes behind it.

"Oh, hi there!" She waved at the teeny thing eagerly. "Sorry to bother, but you took my stuff. What's up with that?"

The mouse withdrew back into its hut, vanishing from sight instantly.

"Um..." That didn't go as well as she had hoped, but she wouldn't give up! "Nice place you've... built here." She crouched down to be closer to the level of her stuff. Could she just take her stuff? Probably. What would a mouse do to stop her? But that also felt super mean to snatch a little critter's house, even if it was made of her art supplies. "A little minimal... but..."

The mouse peeked out at her. Was it curious she was still there? Maybe it was less scared with her admiring the mouse house! "I could make it even fancier if you want. A few buttons would really make it pop."

But it didn't come out to discuss housemaking tips. It hissed at her! Izzy backed up a step from the irate rodent. Apparently pleased, the mouse withdrew into its house. A small form poked free for just long enough for the larger mouse to grab it in its teeth and pull it in.

"Oh gosh!" That mouse was a mom. That was a little baby mouse! Aw, so cute! "Look at you!" Which was hard to do, as momma mouse had already brought them inside to safety. "This isn't just a house! It's a nursery!" She danced in place with a giggle. "You shoulda just said that! I can't..." All will to deprive the mouse of her metal evaporated. As if she could deny the little fuzzy critters of their home. "If only Hitch were here..." He'd be able to chat it up with the mice, and then maybe she'd get to pet a little baby mouse! Aw, that'd be so cute...





Zipp let out a weary sigh. "She's been gone forever!"

Remi shuffled her hooves on the floor. "She has to come back."

"You haven't failed yet," noted the voice in her ear, her cantankerous equine boss. "So, probably?"

"I have a good feeling." It was all Remi could do to pass on what she had heard without being too obvious. "She's a clever pony."

"I'm not sure clever is the word I'd use." Zipp folded her arms. "But she can make it... She's hard to keep down." She smiled with surfacing memories. "I bet she's doing something dumb... but amazing."

"I know a pony like that..." Remi thought back to her energetic earth pony of a friend. "Somehow just as magic..." Anyone that tried to claim Pinkie wasn't magic was blind, or lying. "If they have the same energy, or color as they put it, they'll be fine and we're silly for even worrying, but we should root them on."

"Yeah... How do we do that? Shouting into the pipe feels kinda silly." Zipp considered the hole in the floor. "We really do need to fix those holes. Sunny would be upset to hear we have holes so far. It shouldn't be hard to fix..."

Remi perked. "I'd help, but let's not close anything until after Izzy is back."

"Good call." Zipp hopped to her hooves. "So, instead, let's make Izzy's favorite snack so she has something to look forward to."

Remi rose in a smooth motion and a swish of her fox-like tail. "That sounds like a great idea. Let's do it."

The two went to the kitchen to make something sweet for their sweet friend.





Portholes were made to be heavy and secure. This did not stop Izzy from crashing up through one. It flipped in the air, coming down right behind her right back over the hole it started in. "Ta da!" She was back on the streets of Maretime Bay. "Now let's see..." Fortunately, the lighttower was... kinda bright, making starting her way back towards it easy to do, with a free giggle tossed in at no additional cost.

She reached the lighthouse to teasing scents coming from within. "Mmm! Somepony's been cookin' something great!" she declared, throwing the door open. There were her friends, all of them, gathered around a table with a fresh blast of tastiness reaching her from the food upon it. "Wow! This day just can not get any better!" She rushed over to sit between Sunny and Hitch. "You would not believe what I've been up to."

Zipp waved Izzy closer. "I was just telling them about the whole thing, at least until you vanished. Why don't you pick up there." 

Izzy shoveled some tasty food into her mouth, chomping noisily a moment. "With pleasure! So there I was..."

Sunny looked over at their new guest. "You showed up at just the right time. You're--"

"A kitsune pony," noted Zipp with a knowing nod.

"Kitsune pony... That's new. But if you don't have a place to be, why don't you stay around here?"

"I don't need that." Remi waved away the idea. "I should--"

"--You're not done. The timeline still needs repairs, and you're already there."

"--probably stick around, on further thought," allowed Remi with a defeated sigh. "Thanks for being awesome."

"And she had the cutest little baby mouse!" Izzy had not paused her retelling of her adventure. "Can we get a pet mouse? They're so cute!"

Hitch rubbed at his right cheek slowly. "Wild mice and mice you get at a pet store are't the same thing you know."

"They'd be just as cute." Izzy nodded, confident her match checked out. "So can I?"

Apparently the one being asked, Hitch chuckled nervously. "We'll see."

Pipp looked up from her phone. "I can't give much help taking care of it, but if it's well trained and wants to show up, it'll probably draw in a few hits if it's half as cute as you claim."

"The cutest!"

Sunny was looking at Remi. "We'll get a bed for you then. Any idea how long you'll be here? Wow, this is the first new tribe we've hosted before." She rubbed her hooves with growing excitement. "I look forward to hearing all about you and your ponies."

"You had to tell her this, and now you have to make up more lies. Coulda just stayed quiet," chastised the voice in Remi's ear. "You deserve what you get."

"Well, right now, I'm tired... It's been quite a day!"

Zipp raised a hoof at that. "No arguments there. Hey, Remi. Come on, let's get your bed ready and then hit the hay."

Thankful for the excuse, Remi went off with Zipp to prepare sleeping arrangements.

Sunny patted Izzy gently. "I'm glad that had a happy ending. We should fix things so that never happens again. All that effort remodeling, and we have mice holes? We can't let that continue."

"Nuh uh, even if they are cute." Izzy saluted sharply. "Consider me ready for duty. Tomorrow." She took another big chomp of her food. "Today's all done."

That would be a project for after all the ponies there got some sleep, even if one of them wasn't entirely a pony.
> 4 - Surveying the Scene
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remi sat atop a building, the wind rustling through her soft fur as she watched the town below. They filled it with ponies, countless ponies. The sun was shining warmly down on her in battle with the light chill of that wind, creating a pleasant day. But she was no normal fox. She was far more accustomed to space than any land. And even then, a lot of land required protection.

There she was, wearing nothing, just enjoying the naked air and exposed sun without dying. It was, even, kinda nice. Those ponies had a really pleasant world. Did they even know what sort of blessing they had? Probably not.

"Hey." She wasn't addressing anyone. At least anyone around her. "So what am I looking for now? A hint would be nice."

"I'm working on that," cut the annoyed voice in her ear. "Your interactions will also help reveal where the snags are, so stop moping on a roof and interact."

"I'm interacting already." Remi was pressing down on the roof, and it was pushing back at her. She was stopping bajillions of photons from ever reaching the ground. She was forcing wind to redirect around her. Just by existing, she was altering the world. One of the neat parts of just existing.

"You know I don't mean that way. Do as the ponies do, and make some friends."

Remi rose smoothly to her hooves. "Speaking of ponies, is Octi already? I did not sign off on this little trip."

"You 'signed off' on all little trips," came the acidic reply. "She's still breathing. You'll be able to return to your Octavia soon enough. Besides, I'll return you to your point of origin and you know that! Or you should."

"Yeah..." She'd been returned minutes, hours, or even days after she'd been yanked away. It was kind of a crap shot at best. There was that one time she was returned before she left. That had been quite awkward. She had to avoid... herself... for a few days to avoid tangling time in knots. Casuality! It was a thing, and got grumpy when you started messing with it.

"Hey." Zipp landed next to Remi and sank to her belly next to the thoughtful pony. "How'd you get up here? You don't have wings."

"No." That didn't stop Remi from peeking at where wings would be, if she weren't a terrestial pony that was also a fox. "But you can get surprisingly far by jumping."

"You did not jump straight up here, get out." Zipp waved the very idea away. "Tell the truth."

"Well..." Remi stood and moved to the side of the building. She pointed at various points, boxes, a fire escape, a window sill, and a pipe. "I jumped there, and there, and then there, and up along that and then..." She tapped the floor she was standing on. "Here. I never said one jump, but jumping still gets you places."

Zipp whistled. "Impressive! Now, me, I like my wings." She sprang up in a backflip that ended with her hovering in the air. "But I like a good jump too. Parkour was how I got around before my wings worked, so I get that, really. In fact..." She landed next to Remi and pointed down the road and its many buildings. "Wanna race? No wings, but gotta stay up on the roofs. Fall? Gotta climb up to where you were before you continue."

"That sounds fair." Remi looked in the direction Zipp was pointing. A few long jumps... A few ascents and descents... "Looks tricky... but possible."

"My favorite." Zipp pulled out a belt and soon had it around her center, keeping her wings tightly bound to the rest of her body. "There we go. First to that building--" She pointed to one in the distance, taller than most around it. "Up on the roof, wins."

"Alright, but one thing." Remi lifted a hoof. "Are we wagering something, or just for the fun?"

"Hm. Oh!" Zipp tried to hover, wings wriggling uselessly on her back before she came back down. "Loser pays for dinner for the winner, and we get to laugh it off, together."

Remi pawed at Zipp. "Love it! I'll look forward to dinner then, win or lose. But I won't lose."

"Bold! Get ready..." She pawed at the ground, hoof scuffing the rooftop. "Get set..." Remi lowered her front to the ground, rump raised. "Go!" They took off together in bolts of speed. As promised, Zipp was no stranger to the art, jumping and scaling with fluid speed.

Remi scaled as quickly as she jumped, rising with the flow of one building and coming down onto the next one without a pause. They were both going at full speed, and against a fellow professional of the fine art, which left no room for slowing down. Remi landed on the edge of the next building and the world began to swirl backwards. She had come down, a hoof just far enough to slip and require a desperate scramble to not crash to the ground. Dang hooves! Paws were better at that...

"Watch it," Zipp cried as she galloped forward. "Idea isn't to have you paying for dinner while in a full body cast." She jumped and flipped between two close walls, ascending rapidly.

"If she's needed for the future, getting her killed or seriously wounded could throw things off," noted her helpful ear voice.

"Oh, but it's alright if I get hurt." Remi scowled, but she had a race to win. She didn't follow Zipp, instead darting around that tall obstacle and jumping right across to the next building, which meant ascending its fire escapes. Which were not entirely empty.

"Hey!" A startled mare jumped back at Remi zipped by. "Watch where you're going!" Remi ducked under a laundry line and over some potted plants in a bid to make up for lost time. She yanked herself the last few inches to the roof just in time for the sharp clip-clop of Zipp landing next to her. "Back in the game." Remi hurried ahead of the winged pony, knowing the contest was even again.

"Homefield advantage." Zipp stepped off the side of the roof instead of running ahead, plummeting out of sight in an instant.

"Wait what?" Remi slid to a halt, staring at the spot that once had Zipp. "That isn't funny! You alright?"

Zipp's wild cheers caught her attention. Zipp was bouncing from awning to awning down the street with the force imparted on her by the long fall. "You bastard!" Remi had been played. She tried her best to catch up, but it was too much. Two mistakes? Not when they were both good at what they did. She arrived to find Zipp standing victoriously on that last roof. "Ugh! You won... That drop was dirty pool... I thought you were hurt!"

Zipp pulled her belt free and stashed it away, freeing her wings. "Hey, sorry. I was showing off, not trying to scare anypony." She patted Remi on the shoulder. "But thanks. Good to know you care." She winked a bit more than needed. "Since being a good pony is part of why you lost, how about we pay for our own dinner, but I know just the place."

That was a good moment to realize... "I don't know if I have local currency."

Zipp cocked a brow at that. "You are new in town... but how did you plan to pay in the first place then?"

"I planned to not lose." Remi stood proudly, but it crumbled shortly. "And lost. Ugh, sorry... So... How do you get any around here?"

"Bits? Getting a job is the easiest way." She tapped her hooves. "Or you can just work for ponies directly and get them to pay you." She tapped again. "Or you can just ask ponies and hope for the best..." A last tap. "I don't recommend that last one." And yet, there was Remi, giving her big, hopeful eyes. "You wouldn't!" The eyes only got bigger, Remi's lower lip trembling. "I swear..." Zipp shoved a hoof into a pocket and pulled out her bit purse. From there, she got a small collection of coins. "Here, to tide you over. You need to get a job or something if you plan to stick around."

"Thank you kindly." Remi stuffed the newly acquired money away with a pleased smile. "Do you need any documents to have a job?"

Zipp looked baffled at the idea. "What kinda 'documents' are you thinking about? Just walk into a place with a help wanted sign."

"Uh huh..." Well, she wouldn't have to make up an identity and fitting paperwork. That was a plus. "I'm on the case." She jumped off the roof, but not down to the awnings, instad bouncing from windowsill to other contact points as she bounced down to the street. "I've had better displays."

"Speaking of Displays!" Pipp was hovering in front of her with a huge smile. "I want to interview you! The Pippsters deserve to hear from the newest tribe to appear, and you want to say hi to all of them, don't you?"

"Woah, hey." Terrestial ponies loved to pop up out of nowhere, like living on a world full of Pinkies. "Your sister just finished telling me to get a job."

Pipp rolled her eyes. "That's so like her. You're a diplomat! That's already a job." She leaned in, hovering closer with a smile. "Don't they pay you back home?"

"Well, technically, yes... But our money is not your money and that doesn't work." She dug out her slick future communicator. "It's all in here."

Pipp's eyes went wide. "You keep your money on your phone?! And look at that!" She clapped her hooves on the communicator. "I've never seen this model before! You have to show it to me. Wait. Wait." She fished out her own phone and eagerly mashed buttons. "Pippsters! Emergency broadcast!"

It was at this time that Remi realized she may have messed up... or not? She put on her best smile anyway and hoped for the best.

"Why did you show her that?!" boomed Tinker's voice in Remi's ear. "She didn't need to see that. That isn't even from her world, let alone her time. You may as well set off a flare letting the universe know you're in the wrong place, and she's broadcasting? She's going to share your mistake with who knows how many other people?! What were you thinking? Scratch that, you weren't thinking at all. Why did I even ask?"

"We're here today with Remi!" Pipp waved eagerly at Remi, bringing in the phone for a selfie with herself and her new friend. "Check out the tailcut." She casually batted at the vulpine tail with her free hoof. "Loving it! Remi, tell the Pipsters out there about your tribe?"

Remi could see a dizzying field on the map of rapidly emerging emojis, typed by the ponies watching? "Hey... I'm Remi." She pointed to herself. "A kitsune. Kitsune means fox." She wagged her tail behind herself. "And we love fox tails."

"Oh, wow, that's so cool." Pipp managed to dance in place without bouncing the camera in a fit of practice. "But about that phone of yours. You won't believe this, but 'kitsune' have a phone of their own, and it isn't like the pegasi ones at all! Show them!"

Remi considered her options. Running was an option... But that would upset Pipp and close off future doors. "It's not that different from yours," she demurred instead, pulling out her communicator, which wasn't a phone! But close enough? "I bet you have more apps on yours."

"Ha! That's not even a fair comparison." Pipp waved at her own phone. "I have, like, all the cool apps on here! I'm checking for new ones almost every day, just to see if I can bring it to the Pippsters out there." She batted her lashes at the screen as heart eye emojis exploded. "Let's take a look at that phone."
> 5 - Doing it Live!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remi brought up her communicator. "It's not that different. The trick is that yours works on pegasus technology, right? Mine work on kitsune technology, and there is none of that around here, so... No calls for me!"

Pipp gasped with offense. "You poor thing." Shocked emojis exploded on her phone, her fans agreeing. "We have to get you a phone that works. Pipsqueaks, what do yo say?!" Hearts and smiles sprang up by the dozen. "That looks like a yes to me. Detour!" She began walking off with a big smile. "We're going to get our foxy friend a nice phone!"

Pipp stuffed her phone away with a parting wave. She had a new job, and her fans knew what it was. "Now let's get you something nice! Got a favorite color? You like big, or small and compact?" She considered Remi's communicator. "That looks on the compact side."

Remi stuffed hers away with a grin. Emergency handled! "You are so nice! You'll just get someone you barely met a phone?"

"Mare, please." Pipp waved that off. "A pony without a phone is barely alive. I won't tolerate that. Besides, I have the bits, so don't even worry about it." She knocked open a door with her wing and headed inside. "Show me your selection!" she half sang out as she came in.

"Hey there, Pipp!" The pony behind the counter waved at her as if they were old friends. "Getting a new phone?"

"I love the one I have." Pipp waved back at her foxy friend. "But she doesn't have any."

The pony gasped with alarm. "Say it isn't so! Well, let's get that fixed." They looked Remi over critically. "Have you had a phone before?"

Remi laughed at that. "Yes. I know how phones work. I--"

"--is from way out of town. Her phone doesn't even work here!"

The pony blinked. "Wow! Alright." They hopped right over the counter. "We have a selection of awesome phones waiting for a good home. All the way from basics that mostly just call and text to the big bad ones here." He tapped at the larger smart phones. "This is the kind Pipp has, minus the customizations."

Remi thought back to the golden sparkly wonder that was Pipp's phone. "It really matches you."

"Right?!" She seemed quite pleased at what she took as a compliment. "But we're here today for something that matches our new friend, Remi."

"Remi, dig it." He nodded with a considering look. "Well... What about this one." He picked a slender phone up and flipped it open with a flick. "Compact, but it has all the features."

Remi clapped her hooves. "Ooo, it's like you read my mind." Sure, she hadn't planned on a phone at all, but that one looked nice. She clasped the phone between her hooves, examining it with turns and twists. Odd thing about the local ponies, her hooves could hold things whenever they wanted, as if they were sticky on command, which was handy for opening and closing the phone. "mMmm, I do like it..."

Pipp threw a leg over the store-keeping stallion. "I knew you were the best pony to ask! We'll take it. And set her up with some service while you're at it. A phone without service? That would be sad."

"Of course." He hop-trotted back over the counter and got to typing wildly on a computer. A new phone popped up, same as the other. "This is yours." He was still typing, setting it up to actually have service. "Sorry to ask, but who's paying?"

Pipp slapped down a sparkling card. "Put it on me. I will not abandon a pony to a life without a cellphone."

"You got it!" He slapped the card with a hoof and pulled it over for a quick swipe. "And... done! Enjoy!"

Remi claimed her box, which the store pony had open even while she held it. "Thanks." She reached inside and drew out a new copy of the same phone. "And it's all mine?" He nodded. "Thanks." She flipped it open... and nothing happened. Fortunately, the idea of turning something on was not beyond her and she soon had it turned on. Primitive technology. "There we go."

Pipp clapped eagerly before she whipped out her own phone. "Hey Pippsqueaks! Check out Remi and her new phone!" She sang out that word. "Looking stylish!"

Remi posed with her phone, giggling. "Does it suit me?" She flicked it open and closed and whirled it about, spinning it up into the air just to catch it on the way down. "I've joined modern society." Modern was debatable, but still.

"Lovin' it!" Pipp gave the store pony a hug in thanks. "The best! If you're in Maretime Bay, stop by this pony! He'll hook you up!" She let the camera linger on the nervously waving pony before she zoomed for the door. "One emergency down! See you later, Pippsqueaks!" With a click, she ended the stream. "Seriously, like it?"

"It's great." Remi stuffed the phone away. "And that it's a gift makes it all the better."

"Aw." Pipp let the door close once Remi was past it. "It's nothing, really. That's a big bummer that your money doesn't work around here. Hm..." She rubbed thoughtfully at her chin. "But we can fix that..."

"Your sister was telling me to get a job." Remi hiked a brow. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Tons." Pipp waggled her brows together. "You could work for me, or... I can do mom a solid."

"Mom?" Remi glanced about, but there were no other pegasi lingering about. "What mom?"

"I'm a princess." Pipp took on as glamorous a stance as she could. "Which means I have a royal mom. She's queen of the pegasi! And I bet she'd love to touch hooves with a new pony tribe. So... I could get a favor out of her by hooking you two together." She brought her hooves together. "And, in return, I can finance you while you're here. Everypony wins!"

Remi weighed the options. Being financed sounded good...

"What's wrong?" Pipp leaned in, looking ready to bounce, but not bouncing. "You've already given two interviews, what's one more? Queen Haven, that's my mom, is super nice! I bet you'll love her!"

Remi suddenly smiled. "Actually, I would like to talk to her."

"Are you sure?" asked the voice in her head.

"I'm here to make friends," Remi said, speaking to both of the people she was with at once. "What do we have to do?"

"That's just the spirit! Ooo, Sunny will be happy to hear you said that." Pipp lifted on her wings. "I'll give her a call and set an appointment." She darted away on her fluffy wings, already chatting on her phone. With the queen? Remi couldn't know from there. "Maybe I shoulda went pegasus..."

"It's way too late for that. They know you without wings."

"Yeah yeah." Remi trotted away from the electronic store, drawing her phone out on the way. "Wait a second." She tapped around on the screen. "There's a number already in here."

"Pipp Petals," it read as the name. "When did she sneak that in there?!" Remi laughed as she swiped away from the number list with only one number in it, only to reconsider. She went back to the list and poked Pipp, then message.

"Hey!," she typed busily, sitting down to focus on the words. "I saw your number in here, sneaky girl. Just in case you don't have my number, here it is. Peace  -Remi" She mashed send and nodded, mission accomplished. 

"Today's been a real productive day..." Oh, there was one more thing. She quickly texted Pipp a new time.

"Hey, do you have Zipp's number? We're supposed to do dinner."

The reply came almost instantly, "Dinner?! I'll be there. I know the place." With a chime, an address appeared next. "Be there! See you soon!" An emoji of a pony with heart eyes followed and a red heart and a purple heart.

Remi was, alas, not trained on the meanings of emojis, accepting it all at face value. "Cute. But Zipp had a place in mind..." That was between the sisters to hash out, she figured. Instead, she tapped on the address and the phone began giving direction to reach it. It was much closer to the center of the city.

She had to hike along the streets, navigating the cross lanes and traffic to get much further into Maretime Bay. "This place feels larger when you're actually in it..." It had all seemed so small looking at it from above. But nothing crashed into her, and she arrived at the place. It showed a picture of a pony reeling in some great fish overhead. "Lucky Jack's Fine Sea Food," it read. "Hm."

Sea food wasn't something she had often, at least actual fish. Reconstituted fish-like stuff, sure... But actual fish? "A treat..." Remi hastened into a lively trot. "Now where are they?"

Zipp landed in front of her suddenly, forcing her to recoil instead of ramming into her. "Hey! Pipp invited herself to our celebratory dinner. Sorry about that! She can be like that sometimes. Love her, even when she's a pain." Zipp turned away, facing the seafood place. "It wasn't too hard to find, was it?"

Remi fished out her phone. "She sent the address."

Zipp turned right back around and came in close to peek at the messages and address. "Great! Oh... Um... I need to ask her a question later. Don't worry about it."

"Getting a tick," reported the voice in her ear. "I think you're on the right path."

"This looks like the right place. So, sea food? Sounds tasty." It smelled slightly of, well, fish, pungent as that was. "Have you been here before?"

Zipp shook her head quickly. "No. I was going to take you somewhere way more informal. At least they don't have a dress code. If this is too... everything... I'll tell her."

"Don't even worry about it." Wasn't like Remi was paying. She had a hunch Pipp was volunteering that responsibility. "Where's she hiding? Is she inside?"

"She sh--" Zipp trailed off as a chime came from her phone. "That might be her." She dug out her phone. "Yep! She says she got us a table. I don't even know how she does it. You're supposed to reserve ahead of time at this place. Let's go."

Remi took a hesitant step forward. "That offer goes for you too. If you'd rather go somewhere more comfortable, I can tell her that."

Zipp flashed a brief smile. "Nice of you, but you already came all this way, and you don't even fly. I wouldn't even dream of it. You came all this way for some sea food, so let's see the sea food!"

"Aye aye," cried Remington as they headed inside for a culinary adventure.

Maybe time traveling had some perks?
> 6 - Lucky Jack's Fine Sea Food
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remi walked in alongside Zipp. Though the outside had some scent to it, inside was absent of it. It smelled nothing but delicious! Zipp had reached the pony standing near the door first. "Party for Pipp?"

"Right this way." He turned smoothly in place without stepping forward, only moving once he was pointed the right way. "She's waiting for you just here." He led the short way past a few other tables of ponies merrily chatting, drinking, and eating. "Please enjoy yourself."

There was Pipp, waving eagerly. "Glad you both made it! Hope you brought your appetites."

Remi hopped up across from Pipp, nodding at Zipp as she slid down between them. "I really did." She was feeling extra ready to eat! "Where's the menu?" In the far future, those were usually floating LED displays she could see. No such displays were around.

Zipp snorted out an aborted laugh. "Sorry, that's rude, but right there." She pointed to the folded paper right in front of Remi. "Miss it?"

Remi blinked at the paper. "Right!" She unfolded it to reveal the menu of options. So many options... Too many of them. "Hm... Any... suggestions?"

Pipp reached for the menu, drawing it down to slap at it. "Can't go too wrong with the linguini and clams. Pasta's nice and safe, with a nice taste of the sea added."

"Sure!" Going with the suggestion felt a lot safer than flailing in ignorance. "Let's do it."

Zipp leaned on a supporting hoof. "That's your entree. No starters?"

Pipp bobbed with Zipp. "I'm covering. Get a whole meal!"

Oh no. Remi flipped back to the section labeled 'starters'. "Okay..." Ah ha, she knew what that was. "How about the salad. Crab and Avacado." She'd had both, simulated, but she knew what they were basically about. "Looks great."

Pipp clapped with a great smile. "Lovely! We'll pick desserts afterwards." She slapped down her menu, clearly ready. "Mommykins says she can stop by tomorrow." She grinned at Zipp beside her. "By the way, she's coming, to meet Remi here!"

Zipp tensed at this news. "Really? Great..." She glanced away a moment. "Why?"

"Duh." Pipp waved a hoof at Remi. "She wants to meet the new tribe of ponies officially.  And then I can support Remi properly."

Zipp laughed awkwardly. "I don't mean to... throw doubt on our new friend, but we don't even know what a 'kitsune pony' even is. And we've only seen one." She pointed at Remi, that one. "We have no proof, at all, that she's a spokespony for other kitsune ponies."

Remi sat up straight and stiff. "Oh."

Pipp wasn't as tense as the other two. "Relax! Why don't you tell us more about your ponies, Remi? We'd love to hear about it."

Zipp nodded with that. "Yeah, I'm really curious."

Fortunately for Remi, the waiter arrived and began taking orders, putting off the conversation. "Anything to drink for the table?"

Pipp thrust up a hoof. "One bottle of your best white and a glass for each of us, thank you."

Remi offered a more timid hoof. "Water's good?"

Zipp just nodded, not adding to the drink order. The waiter hurried away to make it happen as Zipp focused on Remi. "Please, go on."

Remi's helpful ear voice spoke, "You started this."

Remi flashed a bright, if awkward, smile. "Alright, you got me." Zipp looked pleased. Pipp, on the other hoof, aghast. "I'm the only kitsune pony I represent. I can tell you about me, but I don't speak for others."

Pipp slumped forward onto the table. "But I already told mom!"

Zipp patted the top of her deflated sister. "You should calm down a little. Well, if you're one of a kind, that may be worth her coming by anyway. So tell us about you, Remi."

Remi's ordered salad was slid in front of her, and her gloom evaporated at the sniffing of it. "Mmm." She grabbed a fork and gave it a try. Oh... Yes... Real food, it couldn't be competed with. Her tail swished left and right as she savored that first morsel with slow bites.

Zipp laughed at the sight. "Wow, really digging that? You look--" She paused as her own starter arrived. "Time for me to at least enjoy mine half as much." It wasn't even a fair competition. She was a spoiled princess, in the end. Good food was much more standard for her. "When you're ready, do go on."

Pipp forced herself up to get her plate into position. "And no more lies! Friends don't lie to friends." She snorted softly. "So who is this mysterious pony we're sharing dinner with?"

The wine arrived, the pony making a showing of popping the cork free, sniffing it discerningly, then pouring out a glass for each of them. They left the bottle there at the table to be used. "Enjoy."

Did she dare? She dared. Remi sipped from the light wine and chomped her crabby salad together. "Mmm..." Yep, they worked together nicely. "Thank you, Pipp. This is fantastic."

Pipp put a hoof to her chest, a smug smile on her face. "I know where to get a quality nibble. "

Zipp poked at their guest. "Go on. You're just teasing now."

"Alright, so...truth time!" Remi set her fork down next to her plate. "I'm not a pony."

Zipp raised a brow high at that. "Sorry? You... look like a pony."

"Because I wanted to." Remi curled her foxy tail upwards. "That's the most honest part of me.  The ears too." She did have foxy ears to go with that tail.

Pipp put her phone where it could capture the table and those sitting at it. "Well! Now I'm curious, and I'm sure the Pippsqueaks are too! So, gonna share what you really look like?"

"I'm not even going to remind you how dangerous this is. You have a plan, right?"

Remi casually ignored the voice. "Hello... Pippsqueaks?" She waved at the phone, imagining the others watching her. "You've caught a special broadcast. I am not, as we suggested before, a pony. I'm actually--" She was not a changeling, so there was no rush of fire. She changed, flesh flowing like hot wax as she lost her equine features and was able to sit up properly as the biped she was born as. She was no pony. She as a fox person, a kitsune. "Ta da!"

Pipp glanced at the flood of surprised emoji and question marks filling her screen. The Pippsqueaks were interested! That she was chatting with an alien creature rated lower on her list of things to be worried about. "Fascinating! Hello. So you're... just a kitsune then, slash the pony?" She sliced the air with a hoof.

Remi pointed at Pipp with her restored fingers. "Exactly. Also, this is really good." She took a fresh nibble with an appreciative noise. "Did you tell your Pippsqueaks to try it?"

Pipp jumped in place. She had failed to do that. "We're at Lucky Jack's Fine Sea Food. Don't come rushing in here and filling the place. The cozy atmosphere is a part of it. I love you all--" She blew a kiss at the phone. "--but let's not make too much noise, hm?"

Zipp chuckled at her sister. "You tell 'em. Now, Remi... That is your name, right?"

"Technically, Remington is the whole thing." She spread her hands with that proper reveal. "But Remi is what I use most of the time, so it's really fine. I come in peace!" She fired a peace sign at the phone. "Maretime Bay has been nothing but so great to me so far."

Zipp clapped slowly. "Hey! Wait..." She lowered her hooves. "If this is you..." She waved over Remi's biped form. "I only won because you were not being you. I demand a do-over! That wasn't even a win if you were busy pretending to be a pony when we were doing it."

Pipp leaned in towards her sister with a big grin. "You have to explain this, sis. Tell me and the Pippsqueaks what you 'didn't win'."

Remi took a fresh chomp. "We were racing across the roofs." She pointed up. "It was a great race, but I made a few bad moves and lost. Technically! I owe Zipp a dinner, but I didn't have any money."

Zipp rolled her eyes at that. "I'm not going to ask for what you don't have, but the next one, you wager something you can actually give up if you lose. And there is a next time, because I'm challenging you. I want to race you at your best!"

Remi steepled her fingers. "Alright, but be ready. If you're challenging me at my foxy best, I will pull out all the stops. We kitsune have tricks..."

"Bring it on." Zipp clopped her forehooves. "I'll keep the wings bound. Hardly a parkour race if I just sail over it all. Oh, that goes for you too. If you have any foxy flying tricks or something, none of that. We have to climb and run, or it isn't really parkour, is it? All about the smooth climb."

Pipp applauded the both of them. "Now that sounds exciting! Tell me where the finish line is so I can capture the winner." And share it with her fans. She didn't say that, but did it really need to be said? "Now, Pippsqueaks, gonna end this stream, because I see a pony coming with the main course. Love you all, later!" She pressed the end button on the phone just in time for plates of food to arrive.

The waiter tried to claim Remi's salad, but she put a hand over it. "Still working on that." Give up on that? No! "But, please, let's see the rest." So her available options to chew on expanded. "Aw yeah..."

Zipp laughed as she attacked her primarily pasta dish, no sea food in sight in her main course. "This is ritzier than I had originally planned... But it's alright."

"Thanks for the approval." Pipp smirked at Zipp's words. "Now, really. I want to know when and where. I'll cheer you both on, promise."

Zipp waved at Remi. "Fine fine, but you're not even going to ask about... this? Look at you, being all... not pony..."

Remi slurped up some of her fettechini, chewing on the more solid fishy bit. "Um... Yeah, not a pony." She had no pony parts left to her. "In my defense, I didn't have a brand of destiny and you didn't notice."

Zipp cocked up a brow. "A what of whonow?"

Pipp grinned. "Could be wrong, but I think Remi's talking about a cutie mark, though that's a really odd way to think about them."

Zipp looked back at her own mark. "It's not a brand... You have to put a brand on something. Mine came to me without any help." Still, it did click. "And you had no cutie mark." She clopped a hoof to her head. "Way to not see the clues! Still... adult blanks do happen, sometimes... rarely..."

Pipp inclined her head towards Zipp. "In our defense, maybe this 'kitsune' tribe handled cutie marks different. How would we know? Well, without asking." She sipped from her wine gently. "Which is why we're here, asking and learning! The power of friendship is thick in the air. Poor Sunny, missing out."

Remi perked an ear. "Why not invite Sunny? Not the first time you mentioned her."

"Maybe next time," sang out Pipp. "This evening, you belong to us, sorry! Also mom's still coming, and I have something." She clopped her hooves. "Not a tribe, but a whole new kind of creature. That still counts! You do want to meet some royalty, hm?"

Remi considered Pipp's hopeful face. "Um... Sure yeah."

"There we go," came the voice in Remi's ear. "You're coming close. Something about this must be related. Keep an eye out on them, and their mother. Maybe something happens..."

Remi rolled her eyes at the vauge advice. "I'd be delighted. For now, food?"

Food! They got to chomping.
> 7 - Is That?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Izzy sang as she worked. There were no words, but it didn't need them, just syllables and beats she gladly provided. "Doo be do da!" She slapped some glue and turned what she was working on around in her hooves. "La de hmm?" She squinted at it critically a moment. With a careful placement, a few popsicle sticks put to rest whatever her concern had been. "Absolutely perfect!"

Sunny peeked over Izzy's shoulder. "Whatcha making?"

Izzy span around in her chair, holding up what looked like a unicycled crown. "A present!"

Sunny considered the curiously glittering crown. "Who for?"

"For our new friend. Think she'll like it? I hear she's the only one of what she is. That must be kinda sad. I wouldn't want to be the only unicorn." Izzy rubbed at her cheek with a hoof, thinking about it. "Nope."

"Alright, but she's just a creature, not royalty." Sunny waved both hooves over the crown. "So why this?"

"Because she's royalty in my eyes! At least for right this moment. Silly, it's just for fun." Izzy set the crown down on her own head and hopped down to the floor the few inches. "It'll be fun."

Sunny followed after Izzy with a little smile. "I meant to ask, how's the magic coming along?"

"Coming along?" Izzy peeked over her back at Sunny. "Whattaya mean? Did we lose it again?!" She reached up to clop her horn between her hooves protectively. "We just got it back!"

Sunny patted at one of Izzy's arms. "It's alright! We still have our magic, promise. I meant, how are you doing in learning your magic? Unicorn magic's still a new thing. All of our magic is."

"Oh, that's way different." Izzy lowered her hooves to the floor and resumed her bouncy walk. "It's going great! I think about things and they happen! What could I complain about? Try me."

Sunny frowned with thought. "What about... a peach."

"What about the peach?" Izzy crashed to her haunches, making a peach shape with her hooves in quick turnings about the theoretical fruit. "Do you want one?"

"Let's say... yes. I would like a peach, please."

"No problem!" Izzy grunted with effort, her horn glowing as she focused her magical power. "Peach, peach.... peach!" With a final cry and a bright flash, a fruit did appear. But it wasn't a peach. A strawberry landed on Izzy's waiting hoof. "Close enough?"

Sunny took the strawberry, sniffing it lightly before taking a nibble. "Not bad. Wrong fruit, but still pretty cool. How hard was that?"

"Harder than I thought if we're being honest." Izzy raised a hoof to her chin. "Maybe it'd be easier if I was grabbing a peach from somewhere instead of making a new peach?"

"That makes sense." Sunny bobbed her head. "But I was just checking. I've heard of less sudden accidents, so unicorns are better about holding things where they don't slap into other ponies. That's good."

"We don't want to make other ponies mad, promise." Izzy held up a hoof in a solemn vow. "We're all getting used to our powers. Speaking of that! How's the earth pony thing shaking out?"

Sunny reared up and clopped her hooves together, green magic swirling with the promise of natural magic. "Going strong! Now, I should admit..." She came back to all fours, light fading. "I haven't been putting in a lot of time into that. I still have... this." She popped her wings and horn into being with a nervous smile, though she let them fade about as quickly. "It's a lot to take in."

"Wow, I imagine. I wouldn't mind trying out some wings." She reached back to her lack of wings. "Can you share?"

"I don't think I can." Sunny raised a brow with a smile at her sometimes silly friend. "I don't think it works like that. I don't have a... thing... to give you. How would I?"

"I dunno! Just an idea. It'd be pretty nice though. Oh well! If you're still all scattered, then I'll get better at unimagic faster than you." Her horn sparked in sympathy with her words. "Not that it's a race or anything."

"That didn't stop you from rubbing it in." She booped Izzy on the nose directly. "Silly. But you're not wrong. I seem to have a lot of 'oomph', but grace comes with practice, which you're getting more of, no argument."

"Good day!" Remi descended the stairs quietly. She had her pawfeet back instead of hooves. Hirrah for a lack of clopping. "Nice crown."

Izzy squeaked, grabbing the crown off her head and hiding it behind herself to limited effect. "What crown? I don't see any crown." She laughed nervously, eyes dancing.

Remi hopped down the last three steps to a graceful landing. "Is it a secret? I can keep a secret."

"Even you couldn't keep a secret in this case." Izzy grinned at her new vulpine friend. "Nope, no way. They'd find out instantly."

"I'm not that bad at keeping secrets." Remi rolled her eyes at the accusation. "Stop having so little faith in me. I will carry this secret to the grave."

"And they'd still know about it," half-sang Izzy, bouncing in place. "Sorry, but there's no way you could keep this a secret from them, not even for a second."

Sunny smirked at the exchange. "Stop teasing her. She can't tell you the secret because you're the one she's hiding from."

Remi started. "Oh, well, that makes sense... Why are you hiding a crown from me?"

Izzy pouted at Sunny mightily. "You told!"

"You didn't tell me not to." She stuck out her tongue at the pouting unicorn. "She made it for you."

"Aw." Remi crouched down to be on her level. "Why are you hiding my gift from me? Saving it for a special occasion?"

"Not really... unless it's your birthday soon? Is it your birthday soon?" Izzy's eyes sparkled with a refreshed smile. "Tell me it's your birthday soon!"

Remi held up a lone hand. "Sorry, can't do that without lying, and you don't want to celebrate a fake birthday, now would you?"

"I suppose not... but thanks for asking!" She pulled the crown out from behind her. "Oh well, guess I'll give this now, since the surprise is out and all. Ta da!" She held up the crown towards Remi. "Try it on!"

Remi folded her fingers around the menagerie that approximated a crown's shape. "What is it for? Besides wearing that is." To not be rude, she dropped it on her head, right between her twitching ears. "Does it fit?"

Sunny gave a hooves  up. "Perfect."

Izzy was too busy clapping hers. "Love it! You're the queen of the kitsune. There aren't any others around, so you're undisputed. Those are the rules, I checked."

Remi stood up and made motions as if flipping through a book of some kind. "Mmm, yep, you're right." She turned the imaginary book around. "Says right here. When did you become so knowledgable about kitsune?"

Izzy looked far too pleased. "I'm a smart pony, your highness." She bowed properly to the royal kitsune. "Now, I didn't plan to spend all day coronating you. Since that's done, it's time to help Posey with her flowers."

Remi threw her head towards the door. "And I'm meeting other royalty, a royal meeting."

"Ooo!" Izzy reared up. "Fancy fancy royal on royal scheming? How exciting. I won't pry. State secrets, I bet." She fell to all fours and began walking away, giggling along the way.

Sunny shook her head at where Izzy was going. "That pony... I should get to my stand. When's your meeting?"

"That is actually a great question." Remi dug out her phone and fired a quick text to the royal sisters asking just that. "One way to find out." Her phone buzzed with a little jingle. "Fast."





Zipp
— 
Today at 8:19 AM


Hey! Mom should be in by, what, the afternoon? Around 3'sh probably.



"Looks like I'm clear until the afternoon." Remi fired twin finger guns at Sunny. "Why don't you show me your stand?"

"If you want, this way." Sunny became the leader of their little caravan out of the lighthouse. "I sell smoothies."

"Smoothies?"

Sunny looked over her shoulder. "Smoothies? You never heard of those? Wow, do I have a treat for you." She accelerated with excitement, arriving at her garage and wriggling under a harness so her stand came along with her. "When we get there, you're my first customer."

"A customer usually pays," noted Remi. "A thing I am not well equipped for." She had a few bits, but not many. "Don't want to mooch."

"You're mooching, but it's alright. You're a friend from way out of town, I get it." She parked her cart and hopped inside of it. "Just wait right there. Got a favorite fruit?"

"Mmm." Remi considered, but then, any fruit from that world was likely foreign to her anyway. But likely sweet! "Surprise me. A local favorite."

"Local favorite it is!" A blender whirred to life loudly a moment, then again, slower and grindier as if the blades hit something harder the second time. "Almost... And..." She popped open the window on the side of her card, colorful cup attached to her hoof. "Ta da!"

Remi considered the off-green color of it. What was it? She couldn't tell. It smelled... a bit like sweetened grass and mint? "Thank you for being awesome." It was a gift, sneering at it would be rude. She took the plastic cup and sipped the inserted straw. Oh, yep, that was deffos grass, but, as it turned out, ground grass with other sweet flavors wasn't all that bad. "Mmm, liking i--- Ow..." She put a hand to her head as the sudden temperature change triggered the sharp pain of an ice cream headache. "Right, that's a thing... Slow down..."

Sunny laughed gently. "Sorry! Earth pony magic can't fix that. But it sure does take the edge off a warm day, and it feels like it's going to be nice and warm today. Not hot, but warm." She sighed with a happy expresison, clearly looking forward to the warmth. "Which will bring by customers, as a positive side effect. Oh, there's one now!" She waved eagerly at a pony approaching. "What can I get for you?"

Remi smiled at the exchange of bits for sweet treat. Old fashioned worlds had a real charm to them. You had to deal with an actual person, not ask a computer. Things were slower, but that was alright too, in the end. "Don't wax nostalgic for a time you never existed in," cut in the voice in her ear. "Good job gathering intel."

A compliment? "You feeling alright?" She sipped from her drink carefully. "You don't sound like yourself."

"I'm only angry when people around me screw up." He grumbled softly. "Which is often. Anyway, keep your eyes peeled. The static is getting louder. You are in it. It could be any time within the next 16 hours. You have a meeting coming up, right? Maybe it's that, or before, or after."

"Helpful."

"Best I can do," replied the voice with acid dripping. "I know you want to come home. The sooner we find what's off, the sooner we can make that happen."

"I've been on worse missions.. Is Octie alright?" Remi slurped from the smoothie, determining that grass was, surprisingly, alright when one got used to it.

"Let me see... Looks fine to me." Soft mumbles and clacks of keys could be heard across the line. "Your children have formed some kind of club with the other youths of your ship, a 'hybrid awareness club' of some kind. All very cute, and irrelevant. That's your catchup, mind back in the game?"

"Yeah yeah." Remi tossed her depleted cup in a nearby trashcan. "Point." Ah, the venerable tradition of throwing things through other things. A classic in about every civilization she's run into. "Let's have a royal meeting."
> 8 - Head of State
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Izzy sprung up next to Remi as the latter walked down the road. "Posy cancelled," she reported with a bit of a pout. "But that means I get to see some state secrets, so not all is lost."

Remi swerved an ear at the sudden pony. "It's a good thing I don't really have any 'state' secrets for you to hear that you shouldn't."

"Aw, don't be like that. You have to have at least one little secret." Izzy bounced around to Remi's front. "I have a good feeling about it, like you're some kind of crazy time traveler from another world! No, that'd be silly." She waved off the idea casually. "Tell me!" Her pleas were interrupted as she backed right up against another pony. "Oops, sorry." She quickly twirled to see who she had run into.

"It's alright," assured another unicorn with a frizzy mane and an unsure smile. "Hello, Izzy... Um..." She peered at Remi with some amount of confusion.

Remi held up a hand. "Heya. Remi's the name, and I come in peace, promise."

Izzy grabbed the uncertain unicorn close. "Remi! Meet Misty!" She pulled Misty forward a step. "Don't be shy. Two new friends, together! That's even better. Oh, I bet you both have secrets for me. Who'll tell me first?" She grinned at the two nervous creatures.

Misty laughed tensely. "No secrets here."

"Sorry," joined Remi. "Not a one."

"You're close," came the distant whisper in her ear. "Find out about that pony."

Remi dropped into a crouch, smiling at Misty. "So, really, nice to meet you. You have a unique hairstyle and I kinda dig it."

Misty smiled, shrinking with some coloring. "It's... Um... My mane doesn't do the long and flowing thing," she weakly murmured as if embarrassed by this. "What are you?"

"That's a popular question!" Remi put a hand on her chest. "I am a kitsune, a fox creature." She wagged her vulpine tail for emphasis. "And you are a unicorn. And your mane's pretty long by my view, but not straight. Who says it has to be straight?"

Misty considered the kitsune and her not-long hair. "I guess not..." She dared to reach up and Remi didn't stop her from gently brushing at the kitsune's hair, shoulder length at best. "Yours is nice and straight."

"I've experimented with other fashions." Remi shrugged with a grin. "This one just works, for me."

Izzy bounced with a sudden thought. "Oh! You should ask Pipp! She has this salon that can take your mane to another dimension of awesome! They'll color your hooves while they're at it. They know what they're doing." She squinted suddenly. "Maybe they know too much..."

Remi patted Izzy with her right hand, a thing the unicorn didn't object to. "Misty, is that your whole name?"

Misty peered at Remi suspiciously. "Is Remi yours?"

"Nope." Remi drew her hand back to point at herself. "Remington Melody, pleasure to meet you."

Izzy's eyes widened. "You have a last name? Why didn't you tell us?!"

"You didn't ask." Remi shrugged, still smiling at Misty. "And yours?"

"Misty..." Her eyes darted between the calmly smiling Remi and the bouncing Izzy. "Brightdawn!"

Izzy giggled. "Did you almost forget? I hate when that happens." As if forgetting her last name was a thing that happened often. "Since we're revealing last names today, I'm Izzy Moonbow. Can you imagine a moon with a big ole bow on it? That'd be so cute!"

Remi offered a hand towards Misty. "See, now we all know each other a little better, hm?"

Misty placed a hoof against Remi's hand, squeaking when Remi took hold of the end of her hoof and began to shake the arm slowly up and down. "Y-yeah!" She leaned off to the left suddenly. "Wait... Do you have a cutie mark?"

Izzy waved at Remi. "She's not a pony. Ponies get cutie marks, which she isn't, so she doesn't have one. That's just how that works."

Remi raised her hands. "Guilty. No mark for me." She turned in a shuffle without rising to display her rump. "Nothing but fur, no fancy picture." Her smile became a bit of a grin at Izzy. "And if that's so obvious, why didn't you notice I didn't have one back when I was pretending to be a pony?"

Izzy laughed nervously, called out. "I didn't notice! You're so energetic and I love it and I just wanted to be friends and didn't even look... Which is not very nice I guess. You should look at your friends, new or old." She leaned in, staring at Remi with sudden intensity. "You are a fox, a very nice fox stallion!"

Misty blinked slowly. "Stallion? She sounds like a she."

Remi colored faintly. "I am a she."

Izzy inclined her head. "Alright, she-stallion. Neat." She didn't argue the chosen gender.

Remi laughed, though, not seeming to be upset at it. "That's about right. I'm a lady with extra."

Misty looked between the two with a blink. "What?" She was shivering with some unspoken emotion. "This... I should go."

Remi brought down a hand on Misty's shoulder. "Hold up. Izzy, can I chat with Misty a moment?"

"Sure! I'm not stopping ya." Nor did she move away, just sitting and watching.

Remi resisted the urge to bury her face in a palm, barely. "Alone, I meant."

"Oh! Ohhh... Right. Have fun." She trotted away at a spirited jog, leaving the two behind.

Misty shied back a little. "Why do you want to talk to me?"

"Because you strike me as an interesting pony." Remi fired a finger gun at her. "And I don't know you, yet. Maybe we should change that?"

"Ha... ha." Misty forced out a strained laugh, eyes darting wildly. "I'm not interesting at all, just a unicorn..."

"Which is already interesting." Remi leaned forward on her paws. "Most of the ponies around here are earth. You from out of town too?"

"Oh, yeah!" She pointed at the departed Izzy. "Unicorns are not from here... Um, maybe that'll change, since there are a lot of unicorns now..."

Remi raised a brow. "Maybe. That'd be nice, right?"

"Y-yeah..." Misty managed a little smile. "So is me being a unicorn why you're here?"

"Nah." Remi leaned in close enough to almost touch noses, which sent Misty scurrying back. "There's something about you, something... big."

"Big?!" Misty was shaking like a leaf. "Not me! I'm just a regular unicorn with nothing going on, promise!"

A sudden ringtone distracted Remi. "Oh, one second." She stood up, grabbing her phone along the way in one smooth motion. "Yello?"

"Remi," came Pipp's happy voice. "Enjoying the town? Mom's almost here. It'd be really nice if we could meet her together. You up for it?"

"You look busy." Misty took a step away to the right. "I'll just..." And she erupted into a full gallop away.

Remi watched the unicorn flee. "Hm, well, I just became free, so sure, where?"

"I'll text an address, meet you there." Pipp kissed into the phone with a loud mwah, then the line went cold, the phone showing that the call had ended.

A soft jingle alerted to the arriving text. "And..." Remi tapped at the address, conjuring the map service to direct her there. "I am on the way."

"On the way where?" When did Izzy get back?! There she was, walking alongside Remi. "Did you have a fun talk with Misty? You're both from out of town, so I bet you had loads of things to talk about."

"Yeah... Heading to Pipp for that--"

"Oh! Then I'm really glad I'm still here." She bounced forward. "I wanna hear this. I bet three of Sunny's smoothies this is gonna be good."

"Three of them, huh?" Remi walked along, phone in one hand with the directions updating as she walked. "That's a pretty serious wager."

"That's how confident I am." Izzy tipped the hat she wasn't wearing. "Oh, do you like them? Everypony likes them, but you're not a pony, so..."

Remi thought back to the creation. "It surprised me how much I enjoyed it. She has other flavors too, right?"

"So many!" Izzy looked ready to fall over herself, thinking about it. "Strawberry, banana, licorice, chocolate, vanilla, pear, apple, and so many others! Like veggies? She has those too. Which one did you try?"

Remi folded her phone away, the target in sight. "I think it was grass? She didn't say."

"Grass?" Izzy perked an ear. "She was testing you."

"What?"

"Testing you." Izzy giggled with renewed force. "And you got an A+! She only gives ponies grass to see their reaction, and to see if they're being honest. But you actually liked it. I bet she was super duper surprised."

Remi made a face, tongue extended with a noise of disgust. "I thought I was trying a local favorite! I ate grass for a prank?"

"Yeah, great huh." Izzy seemed joyfully unaware of any potential problems. "So here, huh?" She stepped up onto what appeared to be a helicopter pad. "I don't need to come here often."

"Because you don't fly." Pipp came for a smooth landed, folding her fluffy wings away. "But mom does, and she has company, so..." She turned towards the center of the pad as the pegasus royalty came in, flanked with a small cadre of other pegasi that all stopped smoothly. "Hey, mom!"

Queen Haven rushed to Pipp. "I've missed you!" They shared a fond nuzzle and warm hug. "Now is that?" She was looking past Pipp to the only fox in the area.

Izzy clapped her hooves together beside her head. "Aw... But didn't you visit like a few days ago?"

"Shush dear." Haven marched past Izzy towards Remi. "A pleasure to meet you."

Remi offered her hand, and soon had a hoof in it. She cradled it properly. "A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."

Haven seemed pleased, ears up. "What a polite creature you are. Now, Remington was it?" Remi nodded. "Queen Haven." She waved over herself even as she began walking past Remi. "And I hear some thought of your identity has already been fixed. I would love to hear the true tale, hm?"

Remi glanced at the quiet guards. "Are they coming?"

"Don't mind them. They're just doing their job." Haven stepped off the landing pad. "Which currently includes getting my supplies safely to the brighthouse.

"Yes, ma'am!" Several saluted and got right to work getting the various bags off the pad and on towards the bright column of light that formed an easy landmark.

Remi fell in with the royal pony. "Your daughters have been great to me so far. I'm not an ambassador, which I gather you already heard."

"That I have." Haven kept Remi in view from the corner of her eye. "So what are you, Remington? I'd like to know."

"Things got quieter..." noted the hippogriff in Remi's ear. "I think you passed whatever it was, for today. Keep intel gathering."

Remi clapped her hands firmly together and kept them tied, fingers over fingers. "I'm a kitsune. A fox creature." she twitched the end of her tail. "And I come in peace. I can't claim to speak for 'all the kitsune' or anything."

"You're still a creature, and not a pony. That's a rare sight... very rare... The only one I've heard of recently is that little dragon. Have you seen him?"

"Little dragon?" Remi hiked a brow. "Can't say I have. Any relation to Spike?"

"W-what are you doing?!" demanded the voice in her ears.

"Spike?" Haven turned to Remi. "Who, or what, is Spike?"

Remi tensed, realizing she had taken a wrong step. "Just an old story, about dragons. I'd love to meet one, if they won't burn me to a crisp in their fire."

Haven laughed gently. "This dragon is very friendly, but also an infant, so is prone to all the follies of infancy. Which means you may get burned, but it won't be out of malice. Now, let's have a chat." She led Remi off with Pipp towards a hotdog stand, though it was unlikely any dogs there had meat.
> 9 - Royal Inspection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The queen was quite capable of manners, even eating a hotdog with proper decorum and minimal mess. There was no meat in that hotdog, made instead of a carrot with all kinds of toppings that made it a minefield of mess opportunities, but she chomped into it with precise motions that let none of it get anywhere but into her snout to chew on politely. "As you were saying?"

"Right!" Remi was not that neat. She had taken a handful of tissues to take care of herself as she went. "I'll be blunt. I came here because a mysterious patron of mine sees a potentially bad thing happening, and the jerk has given me basically no hints as to what it might be. I want to help, but have no real clue where to look."

Queen Haven blinked at this admission. "I say... Well, you found the right ponies for that task." She turned to wave at Pipp and Izzy. "These two love saving the day. I can't even imagine a way to stop them from doing so."

Izzy was giggling joyfully, while Pipp was blushing. "Mom!"

"It pains me that this is working, at all."

Remi flicked her ear at the unseen voice, a sly smile on her face. Sometimes, the truth was called for.

Pipp suddenly smiled. "Is that why Zipp caught you up on the roofs, scoping out the town?" She raised her phone, already streaming. "You hear that, Pipsqueaks?! We have a mystery on our hooves!" Emoji were exploding on her screen from interested ponies. "Now you have to share, what do you know?"

Queen Haven nodded along. "Yes, that is a fine question. Please do tell us."

Remi finished her carrot-dog. Not bad at all... "Well, alright. There was something first, but I took care of it." She pointed at Izzy. "Remember that mouse?"

Izzy's eyes widened. "Woah! You came at just the right time! Good job, Remarooni!" She danced in place with obvious joy. "Silly mouse, taking my shavings like that... But we took care of that, yup."

Pipp rolled a hoof in the air. "Right, so is somepony else going to lose their stuff?"

"I don't think so?" Remi snorted mid-shrug. "I don't know. That's the worst part, really. I've been just looking for anything going wrong."

Pipp turned her phone on herself. "That's a tall order. I'm not going to ask you all to look for anything odd, but if something really takes the cake, drop me a message! I'll keep you all posted." She ended the stream with a firm tap. "That's a real mystery, and not a lot to work with."

Haven sat, crossing her arms. "Well, that just won't do. Does it affect the pegasi?"

"Mom!" Pipp glared at her mother. "A lot of my Pipsqueaks are not pegasi, I remind."

"Yes, yes, I am aware. I just want to narrow down our search." She smiled at Remi gently. "If you at least have some clue as to what area we should be focusing?"

Remi pointed down. "I'm pretty sure around here, right?"

"Right."

"Right," echoed Remi. "Somewhere around here, this town... city." She turned to look at it. Maretime Bay was a city, not a town, even if the future promised far great densities in places. A thought tickled at  her. Was she even in the future? She had no idea what point in time she happened to be. "Say, off the wall question... Did you ever hear the story of Twilight Sparkle?"

Pipp sat up with a big grin. "Oh, that's a Sunny topic. She loves any story that has Twilight in it, like, OMG, seriously. What brings up that old mare's tale though?" She rubbed behind her head. "I mean, I have seen her once before..."

Izzy bounced in agreement. "We're going to make Sunny's day! Literally her favorite topic. Tell me this involves 'friendship' and 'unity.'"

"I do like those things, but I can't promise either is involved." She cracked a smirk. "I also can't promise they aren't involved."

Izzy clicked her teeth as she reared back. "I like the way you're thinking, Remilooney. Let's find Sunny!"

Haven raised a hoof. "Remington just asked about Twilight. Is this the avenue you want to explore?"

"I am very curious."

"Stay on topic," sternly reminded the voice in her ear.

"But that's not the mission... Twilight's not the one getting into trouble... right?"

Pipp raised a hoof to her lips, "Well, she did say there was some thing that might take all of magic away. Does that count?"

"Pardon?" That counted as news, and was confusing... "Did you meet Twilight in person?" That wasn't possible, so far she could see. How...?

"I was in person. Twilight was not," explained in the roundabout way that Izzy was in the habit of. "It was this crazy magical thing." She made wibbly motions with her hooves. "Like she was there but she wasn't. Like a three-D picture!"

"A hologram?" proposed Remi.

Pipp nodded quickly. "One of those. Does that help?"

"Whatever has her upset could be what's has my unspecific patron upset."

"Maybe."

Remi lifted her shoulders. "Worth looking into. Queen Haven, thank you for coming all this way. I feel just awful making you take the trip just to go running off. You deserve better than that."

Queen Haven, however, was looking pleased, not upset. "Such a kind thing you are. I've never had a nice conversation with a creature that wasn't a pony before, so I'd say this little journey was worth it, and I got to say hello to my precious daughter. Besides, I'll hang around a little longer, just in case. Pipp, does your darling little boutique have a spot open?"

Pipp perked at that. "Of course! I'll make room for you, mom." She gladly led Queen Haven off towards her shop. "Good luck!"

That left Remi with Izzy. "Do you know where Sunny's hiding then? I still feel bad, having her come all this way for a fake fox ambassador."

Izzy waved that off. "Pfft, did you see her? She's totally happy for the excuse to come and have somepony pamper her, and she knows Pipp knows how to make that happen. You're the best thing to happen today, promise." She took off in a bouncing trot, as if trying to work off all the energy she had nowhere else to put. "Now, about Sunny. She's only gonna be in one place. Her stand!"

They found Sunny right where she usually was, at her smoothie stand. She was forcing a big carrot into her blender with a loud whirring as it became pulped in its slow descent into the machine. "Hey there you two. Glad you're getting along." She was able to get the lid on properly, allowing it to whirr busily. "What can I get for you?"

Remi waved, her attention sliding between the blender and the mare working it. "It's about Twilight? Twilight Sparkle. Alicorn?"

Sunny was suddenly leaning over the counter. "Did somepony tell you about her?" She grinned at Izzy. "Was it you? I bet it was you."

"Nope, and you owe me a smoothie now. I'll take whatever that is." She pointed to the creation Sunny was in the middle of.

"Oh, right." She popped off the lid and began sprinking green things into it. "A new creation, carrot garden blast!" She popped the lid tight and got it going full speed. "I think it'll be a real hit. You can have the first one, since I lost that bet."

That reminded Remi. "I heard you were playing a joke on me! There I was, thinking Grass was a local pony thing, nope!"

Sunny colored at that, shrinking. "Sorry... It didn't... hurt you, did it? I admit I don't know much about how foxes eat normally..."

Remi folded her arms. "You had no idea. That's less than cool." She thrust up a thumb, the rest of her hand attached to her arm. "Topic change, Twilight Sparkle. What have you heard of her?"

"Guardian of harmony and friendship," sighed out Sunny as she poured out a big glass for Izzy to get to slurping down. "An alicorn, like me." She smiled dreamily. "Helping ponies everywhere to be the best she could be." Thinking of that lofty state, of helping ponies everywhere, it was too much for her. She flashed as she went alicorn, wings spread and that dopey smile on her face. "She's my idol..."

Remi hiked a brow. That was not the Twilight she knew, but she was from a different place, a different time... "And she visited you, I hear?"

"Oh, right." Sunny pointed up at the brighthouse. "At the crystals. She warned us that something may try to take our magic away. Isn't that awful?! Nnng, I wish I could do something about it..."

"Contact." Remi could hear furious typing. "You're in the right place at the right time. This is it. Find out more."

"Sunny!" Izzy leaned over the counter with a smile. "Two things. One, this? This is good." She plunked down the drained cup. "Ten out of ten, will recommend! Two, you're alicorning it up."

Sunny squeaked, spotting her new wings. "Not now!" She swatted at them. It took some effort to make her wings and horn vanish back into the air they had sprung from. "Sorry about that. It happens at the funniest times... I swear..."

"It's cool." Remi let her arms swing loosely. "Not like I'm not a shapeshifting fox, I will remind. A little form looseness won't bother me."

"Even her gender is a bit loosey goosey," added Izzy with a nod. "Are all foxes like that?"

"Not all of them." Remi admitted with a shrug. "But this one is. So, Twilight warned about something trying to take your magic, huh?"

"Something was trying to take it before, when she was here. She sealed the magic away. We only recently unbottled it, which let the rest of the world get in." Sunny rubbed behind her head softly. "It's a long story... Either way, she saved us, but now that protection is gone, and our magic is back. Good and bad... We can't let them, whoever they are, have our magic!"

Izzy wobbled a hoof at Remi. "Which is also why we weren't that surprised you showed up. The barrier's gone, so odd critters can show up! Just kinda figured you were the first, yay! Wait... You aren't the creature that's going to try to steal the magic, are you? I hope not! I like you way better as a friend."

"Let's keep it to friends. I have enough magic of my own." She rubbed her magic tails against one another with a few little sparks that ran between them with the promise of her vulpine magic. "You ponies deserve to keep your pony magic. Fair's fair. I'd get really mad if someone tried to steal our fox magic."

Izzy pounced! She grabbed the many swishing tails, holding tight as they shook and writhed, threatening to shake her free, but she would not be dissuaded. "Whee!" No, she was having way too much fun being waved about by the kitsune that was looking back at her with an expression of mild annoyance and amusement. "This is too great, and kinda tingly." Her tails hadn't stopped their mild electric dance, which was not dissuading Izzy even a little.

Remi put a hand on Izzy's head, grabbing the pony across the whole of her skull and rubbing gently. "You are very silly."

"I've been told that before." Izzy let go of the tail, dangling from Remi's grip for a brief moment before she was dropped to the ground. "That really was fun though."

"There are not many creatures that would dare to casually touch fluffy tail." Remi's tails danced behind her as she crouched to Izzy's level. "Bold little thing. You're lucky I'm a taken kitsune."

"Taken? Taken where?" Izzy inclined her head with confusion.

Sunny laughed tensely. "Ha... Remi is saying she has a special somecreature, I think?"
> 10 - Pony Magic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yes, a pony actually." Remi let out a little sigh. "A pony I miss."

Izzy let out an emphatic 'aw'. "That's too bad. Gonna head to them as soon as this is all cleared up?"

Remi nodded quickly. "That's the idea! Now." She looked back to Sunny. "What did Twilight tell you exactly?"

Sunny sat back in her cart. "Well, for one, she noted earth pony magic was here for the first time, which..." She clopped her hooves, prompting them to glow green with the potential of the living magic. "checks out with what we've seen. Then she noted somepony once tried to steal all the magic before and almost succeeded."

Izzy hummed curiously. "I'd like to hear more about that, but they already messed up, so they aren't the problem, right?"

Remi rolled a hand. "Probably not, if this is before Twilight left."

Sunny's breath caught. "I don't..." She let it out. "She is long gone."

Remi tensed with the realization that a miscommunication had happened, but that was perhaps for the better. Arguing that Twilight was alive and well, in the future/past/somewhere/somewhen, on some spaceship, felt like a losing proposition on all fronts. "But something is a problem right now?"

"Something... It started with an O, I think?" Sunny shrugged helplessly. "All I got." She got to making a new smoothie. "Now, I'm really sorry for that trick I pulled. Let me make it up!"

Remi rubbed her paws together. "Started with an O, that's a start. Know any ponies that fit that?"

Sunny and Izzy shared a negative shake of their head. Sunny soon had a new smoothie she thrust forward at Remi at the end of her hoof, reminding Remi that the ponies of that time and place were pretty good at sticking things at the end of them. "Here you go, no grass, promise!"

Remi took the cup gingerly in her hand. "I'll be the judge of that..." But no, bananas, and strawberries, mmm. "Not bad." She slurped softly from the drink, turning slowly. "That isn't a big hint... Anything else? No matter how tiny; how small; how eency weency."

Sunny scowled, face scrunched with heavy thought. "She said a barrier was gone. We thought you came in through it."

"I toldja!" Izzy looked quite pleased with the backup to her claim. "A creature from beyond the barrier. It all makes sense, right?"

Sunny nodded at that. "Exactly. A creature, or pony, from beyond the barrier is what I thought she must be talking about. But how can we know which of those?" She threw up a hoof. "She didn't give us many hints outside of that. You know as much as we do now."

Izzy jumped and came down facing the opposide ways, looking in the eyes of a nervously smiling Misty. "Where did you come from? Hi! C'mere." She grabbed Misty, pulling them forward. "We were just talking about spooky warnings from the past."

"O-oh..." Misty laughed with the same tension, looking between Remi and Sunny. "What kind of spooky warning?"

That was when Remi noticed something. From that angle, and looking at her, it was hard to miss, really. She felt quite silly for only noticing it just then. Misty's cutie mark was drawn on. It wasn't even drawn on very well. Like some little kid had grabbed a crayon and tried their best, which wasn't very good...

"One left by Twilight," started Remi. "A long time ago. She said somecreature, or pony, would show up to snatch pony magic away right when things were getting good." She dropped to a crouch, leaning forward. "Creepy, huh?" That Misty shrank back was a bit of a hint. "Their name starts with an O. You're Misty, right?"

"Oh!?" Misty flipped both her ears back. "O... Ha... I can't help, sorry." She twisted to flee, but Izzy was still holding her.

"Where ya goin'?!" Izzy pulled Misty right back. "Do you know any Os?"

"N-no..." Misty trembled with poorly hidden fear.

"You are right on top of it," warned the voice in her ear. "Can you see the problem?"

"I think I can." Remi casually grabbed the unicorn, hand wrapping around her skull much as she had done to Izzy. It was her official unicorn grab. "We need to talk."

Misty squealed with a primal horror, perhaps fitting as she was a pony in the clutches of a predator. Well, true, she was more of an omnivore, but those sharp teeth were not letting her mince the meaning between the two as she trembled and dangled in the air. "I'm sorry!"

Sunny clopped a hoof down firmly. "You're scaring her. And me, a little. Stop that and put her down."

Remi brought the dangling Misty closer. "After our little chat. You're not busy, are you?" Not that she was waiting for an answer, already walking off with her and all. "I think you know who 'O' is, and I'd love to compare some no--" The O in that word extended as she listed over forward. Her right foot was snagged in magic and she tripped forward, crashing her jaw into the sidewalk. "Ow..."

Misty sprang away from the prone fox. "Crazy fox, crazy fox!"

Izzy slipped between Misty and Remi in a defensive position. "I think that's normal for foxes, but we won't let you get foalnapped!"

Sunny joined a moment later, getting out of her stand to stand defiantly. "Calm down, Remi. You can't just take ponies off to who knows where like that!"

Remi sat up, tails lashing as she rubbed at her sore jaw. "I wasn't going to hurt her, but she knows things that I want to know that maybe could resolve everything."

Izzy turned to pat Misty gently. "You're safe now. Besides, if you did know a bunch of secret stuff, you'd tell us, right? That's what friends do, which we are, friends."

Misty forced her best false smile. "Right..." She crashed to her haunches. "Right..."

"It's getting louder," chirped the voice in Remi's ear.

Remi raised her paws. "Sorry for getting pushy. You have things on your mind, Misty. Want to talk about it? I'll keep my hands here." She folded her arms, hands in her lap. "No more grabbing."

"Good." Misty looked instead to her two pony friends. "I just came to give an in-invitation." She curled on herself, grabbing a letter free of her pocket and transferring it to a hoof to hold out towards Sunny. "For you, specifically."

"We have max level," sternly warned the voice. "I'm gonna guess that letter's it. Get it, burn it. Whatever!"

Options flashed in Remi's mind. Burning it was an option. A crude option that would close many doors for her in the future if she just did it and ran. She'd be the bad fox forever more. On the other hand... "You've been tricked!" All of them looked at her as she hopped upright. "Madame O gave you that." That Misty looked genuinely horrified was a mixed bag. Had Remi guessed correctly? "I'll free you." With a swishy-swish of her agitated tails, and a snatch of foxfire, she...

Her fire was caught in Izzy's magic, taking the shape of a growling firefox. "Phew, close! You can't go burning letters like that. That's against the law, and that'd make Hitch really mad!"

Hitch, the lawkeeping guy of the group. Remi had met him once or twice. "Normally, true, but that letter has a trap." She snapped her fingers, ending with a double pointing at the letter. "Nothing stopping Misty from saying what she wants to say, but the letter has to go, for her sake and the rest of you."

Sunny sat slowly. "You seem very serious about this... more than I've seen you be before... If it's that important..."

"It is." But Remi didn't try again, instead waiting on Izzy's go ahead. Her first fire was still, somehow, reduced to a little flaming fox. She didn't even know that was an option! "May I?"

Misty rubbed the back of her head. "The fox is right. I can just say the invitation." She dropped the letter to the ground. "So if you want to, go ahead... Um." She turned back to Sunny. "Thanks for standing up for me."

Remi didn't get a chance to set the letter on fire, or do much of anything else. She wasn't there. She wasn't then. Time and space became the same thing, which was nothing.

She appeared in the cramped workshop she knew well. "The hell?! I didn't get to destroy the letter."

"And it doesn't matter." The hippogriff man circled his chair towards her. "What I get for reaching so far... You did your best, but that timeline is going on its own strange path, and we won't be adjusting it, for the better or not."

Remi grumbled, trembling with fury. "You dragged me over there to do nothing?! What was all this for?"

"To see. To try." He clasped his taloned hands together. "Sometimes, that's all we can do. I'm sorry this doesn't come with a fancy little bow for you. On the bright side, you did help. She really did need her files back."

"Grand!" Remi stomped away several steps. "We could have ended it there. Whatever... Can I go back to Octi now?"

"If you wish." A false question, as if Remi wasn't eager to get back home. "But, before you do, a question. I've been monitoring that place and time. I may have need for you again, there. You know them now, and they know you, assuming it takes place after that, and I think it will. Are you--"

"No." Remi crossed her arms. "Not without my family, who you'll have to ask nicely. If they say yes, then whatever. Octavia would fit right in, one more pony in pony-town. Our kid looks like... our kid. I doubt we'll have that hard a time. So ask them, and if they say yes, only if, then maybe."

"You are a very particular assistant." He turned back towards his console, resuming his typing. "Not sure why I put up with you at all. You know the way out. Have fun back then and there."

Remi glared daggers at him, but, alas, to no physical harm. "Later." A curious statement for any timelord. She stomped for the front door and threw it open, hurling herself back into the time of the far future, of space and exploration.

"Thanks," he said, though she was long gone." He hit the enter key with finality, closing that report.