The Fox Who Cried Wolf

Chapters

Chapter 1: After Him!
Chapter 2: High Treason
Chapter 3: The Mistress of Steam

Chapter 1: After Him!

"Come on, come on..."

Another book is placed in the ever increasing 'No' pile, placed on the table near-by. The wooden, pale purple bookshelves are scanned again for anything regarding precious stones. His tails flick from side to side in his frustration and urgency. The scarlet, white-tipped brushes threatened to knock over the globe with every swing. Frayed and abused hairs occasionally dropping as he turns all too sharply in the frantic movements. There's a lightness of step as he turns but a heavy plodding as he stalks the shelves.

"Come on! Breaking and entering isn't welcomed anywhere!" He bends low, he stretches high. Another check over his shoulder towards the front door before returning to the search.

Is he feeling warm? He pulls at his T-shirt collar while stepping back, looking at the top shelf. Weirdly well-organised these books. Either his eyesight was going or what he needed was simply not here. He pulls off his black shirt, dumping it on the table along side his weapon: a scuffed, well-worn object. Heat appears to have made small burns at the edges, dulling the shine. The 'blade' was clearly blunt yet shaped like a fox, the tail curling around as a handguard while the head made up the 'blade'. If it wasn't for the obvious wear and tear, you'd swear it was purely decorative.

He was running out of time.

The creature accidentally kicks over a stack of volumes in his haste, tripping over them. His eyes fall on a long scuff across one of the book spines. The mysterious medley of grass, muds from plenty of places and general grime with a pinch of who knows what permeated the lower legs of his jeans. It was like grotesque bellbottoms. He'd never really stopped to look before now.

This concoction was now smeared across a book spine.

He grabs his shirt from the table, attempting to wipe the stain away hastily. He seemed only to be spreading the dirt further, helping it penetrate the material it was bound in. He was about to consider trying to add some spit before:

"Hoo-hooo!"

"DAAAAAGH!" The mahogany eyes open wide as he jerks into standing, readying a fist at whatever made that noise. There's a clatter behind him, the book he held landing. His gaze darts around the room, up at the small bedroom atop the stairs, around the tops of the bookshelves before settling on a windowsill. An owl was sitting there, watching with saucers for eyes. The small lump of brown feathers seemed to be perfectly still but fascinated in the new library user. The bird wasn't going for him, no matter how long they stare at each other. The sounds of his breaths matched by the drum solo taking place in his chest. He calms slowly, all of his muscles relaxing as he turned back around to look at the top shelf.

That one maybe? All the other books on jewels had turned up absolutely nothing!

He moves to the ladder, dragging it over from one side of the room, grinding across the floor. The creature attempted to simply pluck the ladder up with one hand but only managed to embarrassingly struggle with it and reside to pick it up with his second hand. Ladder in place, finally he climbs up when the front door opens wide.

"And that's why we've got to be prepared for when this fox...arrives..." Both pony's stop in their tracks. This stranger is now clinging to the ladder with a python grip, imagining the gaunt expressions of disbelief that were likely burning into the back of his head. You can probably hear him start to crush the wood ever so slightly within his anxious grip. The two ponies and the baby dragon that have arrived stare, dumbstruck for a second. Imagine if Satan himself had actually walked into the room after uttering that related phrase.

"Twilight, isn't that-?" The dragon says, raising a purple claw. He couldn't finish the sentence, it seemed frankly too much of a coincidence to have actually happened.

The stranger steps down from the ladder, eyeing up the newcomers. He needed an exit strategy fast and only had the seconds of shock to form one. The best thoughts he had were out the window or through the new arrivals.

Well, the dragon looked adorable so he'd likely get through with only a nip. He'd seen dragons and this one looked like a cub in a costume. The green mohawk of spikes seemed oddly hilarious combined with those wide emerald eyes. He knew of hulking creatures with armoured scales, teeth like blades and powerful wings to saw over the landscape. The dragonling before him seemed tiny compared to even to other dragonlings. They bite, they have claws but he had an inkling this one was better suited to giving cuddles.

Has...Has this one been domesticated? Blimey! This is a tree. How has everything not burned down yet?

Stay on track! The Dragon's no trouble and the yellow pony? A puff of wind could deal with the shying creature as she pulls her face behind the pink fringe. If he kept himself large and scary, he could make them both cower.

It was the tenacity of the middle unicorn that concerned him. There was fear in those eyes for a moment before she lowers her head. Her face turns to a scowl; a nasty, hateful look. Her front hooves spread a little, her two-tone fringe moving slightly over her eye. That look of daggers seemed to be a concentrated beam. As the old saying begins: if looks could kill, the one from this little pony could blast holes through walls.

Offering a friendly, falting smile across his white muzzle, he inches towards the table with his things on. The time to leave should have been a minute ago but this would have to do. He didn't think he'd be able to get through this middle pony. A window, it will have to be.

What the heck did he do to her?!

"Yes Spike, it's him." The purple mare answers. Both Spike and the yellow mare slide behind Twilight as her horn begins to glow.

"Ha, right!" The Stranger laughed nervously, black-furred hand scrambling on the table for his things while keeping both eyes on the horn. He clutches his possessions to his chest, edging slowly around the unicorn and inching towards the stairs leading up and - hopefully - out. "I'm not looking for trouble so I'm gonna leave. Sorry about the mess."

His paw lands one spot too far for the unicorns liking, clearly. In one burst of light from her horn, the mare snares the stranger in her magic. The purple energy wraps around him and forces him back against a bookcase. A few volumes clatter to the floor with the impact. The fox grimaces then looks from the staircase to freedom back to the unicorn stepping towards him.

"You are not going anywhere!" Twilight declares. The gang of two behind her cheer with relief.

"Yeah! Nice one Twilight!" Spike congratulates, moving to Twilight's side.

"Is it safe now?" The yellow mare whimpers from behind, emerging slowly. It was as if a startled rabbit had checked to see if the nasty wolf had gone yet. Behind the triumphant but still distressingly serious Twilight was where the fox hoped he could be right now too. He could handle something slobbing with anticipation to eat him or something but the dirty glares he was getting from the mare just gave him chills. They were fascinating to him but this wasn't the time to chat.

The Stranger Fox inspects his bonds. A little wriggling in the glow of her magic wasn't getting anywhere. He was held in a really tight grip. Looking to Twilight, it seemed like she could probably keep this up all day. Or at least until some officials turned up. The library offered little in the way of opportunities to distract but if his arms where hugging his chest, what go would they be?

There was only one other thing for it. If he didn't look like a monster before, he would now.

"Look, Twilight, was it?" He asks as the purple glow holding him in place began to falter. "I don't know what I've done to get you so mad at me but I really can't stay."

The fox closes his eyes, shutting them tightly with to concentrate. Twilight's magic falters and fades, the glow loosening. In response, Twilight pushes harder. Sparks fizzle from her horn, a grunt through gritted teeth as she fights to maintain the grip on the stranger. Something was simply snatching the magic right out of the air, she could feel it. Her power was vanishing faster than she could replace it. The violet grip turned to a lavender haze, Twilight's horn fizzling to a stop as she pants heavily, her head drooping to the floor.

She saw Spike rush to the stairs, watching her: "He's getting away!"

Twilight's head jerks back up. Before she could move, the Strange Fox's voice rings out through the library:

"Sorry for the mess!" There is then the noise of something large slamming into the ground outside, the foxes shadow on the frosted window pane as he picks himself up and bolts. He must have jumped from the balcony.

Twilight turns to the yellow mare quickly: "Fluttershy! You know animals! What do you know about that fox?"

"N-n-nothing" Fluttershy stammers. "No fox around here wears clothes, apologizes for a mess or has two tails."

"Two tails..." She mulls that around for a moment, finding that it didn't match anything specific. She must have absorbed the contents of every book in here by now but nothing immediately clicked with a fox with two tails. "Then we need to read up on them. I've never heard of somepony dissolving a spell like that." Twilight begins scanning the bookshelves herself, pulling relevant ones as she sees them then handing them to Spike.

"We need to be careful if we're to take him in."

~~|~~

Bright daylight slowly makes the street in the town, keeping everything warm while various ponies trot past on their own business. The buildings were all built from brightly coloured wood, randomly spaced along the street towards the town square. There was quiet, flowers being watered, a couple of mares chatting to each other as their children bounced and chased each other around their hooves. Pegasi swoop overhead to deal with each and every wayward cloud in the sky, bursting through each one, coloured blurs streaking through the white puffs.

The Fox clashes to earth. He lands on his paws, his knees instantly buckling under his own weight. He finds himself slamming delicate hind quarters into the ground with considerable force. A pained whimper and he begins to rise, shaking all the while. He straightens and arches his back, hearing a few too many clicks to deem himself fully healthy. With an awkward hobble that subsides at it's own sluggish pace, he moves off into town past the onlooking ponies around him. He slips back into his shirt.

He now had the tall task of moving across town without being seen. Or at least raising further alarm. Invisibility is never there when you need it. Today would have been fantastic for the ability to become more of a spectre than a sore thumb but alas. Ignoring everyone and hoping that they ignore you seems to be the best course of action right now. Just keep up the pace. Don't stop for anything, just keep going. However, he towered over every single pony here and was bright red in colour. Red is the most visible colour of the spec-

Something pink was hopping up and down in front of his face when the stranger stopped grumbling in his head. It's strange, wide grin; it's untamed pink mane and it's wide, excited eyes meeting his while he walks on. The pony was managing to bounce up and down along with him.

"Hello! I've not seen you here before! And I don't think I'd forget a face not that I do miss a face ever but I'd never forget a face like yours so that must mean your new. What's your name?" She stares expectantly at him with each moment of air time. The fox thinks, biting his lip a little. Well, what could she do with the information? He's probably got wanted posters all ready anyway.

"Tyro." He reluctantly lets the pony know, with a cautious look over the shoulder. "Now, I should really be-"

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" She replies, now bounding in circle around Tyro like an orbiting rubber ball. Her high pitched voice sing-songing through almost everything she was saying. "Welcome, welcome, welcome to Ponyville!"

Pinkie stops hopping on the spot to extend her forelegs in a large ta-da, complete with bright confetti flittering to the floor. Tyro couldn't help but question every aspect of the creature behind the grin. Like where the confetti came from when Pinkie clearly had no sleeves. Or even how that candy floss mane seemed as springy as the pony herself. He was snapped back into the urgency of his situation as she peers around at something behind Tyro, waving a hoof.

"Twilight! Fluttershy! Spike! Come meet my new friend over here! Come an' meet, Tyro!" She looks back, only to find a Tyro-shaped pocket of nothing where there used to be a fox. She stares at it for a moment, possibly hoping Tyro would just appear once more or maybe just figuring out what happened. But Pinkie took this in her stride, understanding completely very soon. A grin spreads across her face.

"I love hide and seek! I'll count!" And with that, Pinkie speeds to the nearest wall and covers her eyes. "One, two, three, four."

"Oooohh! There must be something we can use in these." Twilight says as the three of them gallop past Pinkie. Several books float in her magic, hooves pounding over and over as they gallop onwards.

"Magic doesn't work. Could Applejack round him up?" Spike suggests from behind the stack of books in both arms while his tiny legs keep up. It didn't sound like too bad a plan actually. If she couldn't secure the fox then Applejack could easily run circles around the fox. One strong rope and she'd have him easily if she could keep up with timberwolves. She'd be able to have things done before this Tyro hurt anyone.

"Good idea. Go find Applejack, she'll be at her store. Quickly!" Twilight urged, watching Spike meander to the side at quite a speed, heading towards the market stalls with the piles of books still in his arms. The two mares push onwards, reading and running after the fugitive fox. They peek around the volumes in order to check whether they're avoiding every pony in their way. A few trips and bumps into the occasional wandering pedestrian as they continue after the the large fox turning heads.

"Uh, Twilight?" Fluttershy asks suddenly. "How do you pronounce this?"

Twilight moves the book from Fluttershy to in front of her, closing the others. She canters to a stop, followed by Fluttershy, her eyes scanning the symbols expertly.

"Ki..kits...kistuneh? Kitsoon? Kit, kit...It's an old language. I'm a little rusty." She explains, placing the other books in a pile while she attempts to decipher. The book seemed more of a diary created from scraps of paper and details. Notes were drawn and written between them, the page full of scribbled diagrams and sketches. Twilight tries her best to read the only alien part of the page, looking over the ornate, brushstrokes lining the paper.

As Twilight mutters to herself, Fluttershy watches somepony storm past with a lasso over their head.

Tyro could hear hooves behind him. Well, that's the purple and the yellow ones from before, right. They seem to be keen to collect a bounty maybe? There might have been several bounties on him but this didn't look like a place where he'd gain another. He wasn't looking to find out just what he could get from here. Maybe a little more picking up of the pace should lose them.

And then he found that his face was scraping along the ground. The change was instantaneous. And painful! He had a moment of confusion, catching up to a point where he was aware of what was happening again. His weapon drops to the ground, slipping from his hand beside him.

Why was he on the floor? He was running, wasn't he? Why are all the ponies here out to get him? Why not just leave him alone? Since when were small horses able to cause such harm?

He finds that his ankle had been tied to a rope and this peach coloured pony in a cowboy hat was now around his feet, adding more layers of rope to his ankles to bind them together. A hard tug yanks his ankles together.

"You be a might bigger than the critters I round up but I guess yeh ain't no different." She said through clenched teeth, pulling the rope nice and tight.

"Look, I'm not a threat to you." He pleads.

"Can it, fox! You ain't goin' no-wheres. My knots don't undo!" She said, eyeing Tyro up and clearly finding little threat in the trapped fox.. "Now you gonna play nice?"

"Nope! Sorry! I can't stay here!" Tyro raises his ankles into the air, takes in a breath then releases it. It bursts forth as a ploom of fire that engulfs his paws, burning through the rope quickly as if it was simply tinder.

"What in the hay!?" Applejack ducks low as the flames dissipate over her hat. A hoof on her head keeps her headgear in place while she slips backwards, stepping away from the heat. With nothing but ashes remaining of the lasso, Tyro rolls to his paws, grabbing his strewn weapon from the ground, working back into a quick pace.

It's at this point that we get Twilight's half-absorbed shout from behind everything: "Applejack! He breathes fire! Be careful!"

His muzzle aches in protest for being smashed against the ground. His face seemed to be stiffening a little from the pain and bruises taking hold. Tyro skids to a halt, soothing his face while jerking his head one way then another for a place to hide. Standing out in the open was a stupid move, clearly. He should have been doing this from the start. He was making sure he still had teeth on the side on his mouth his sight landed on when it struck him. Why not move behind the houses? This place is like a hamlet, the only cover is there. If it was a city, he could hide anywhere but this town was too rural and open to hide in plane view. Maybe one of these homes will have an open window or something to hide. Applejack was storming straight for him with the other two following on behind, hooves thundering towards him. He makes a beeline for the nearest house, leaping straight over a largely oblivious grey pegasus fussing over a mailbox.

Applejack easily makes the same jump, brushing the pegasus' saddlebag on the way over in the pursuit for Tyro.

Fluttershy looks ahead between the multitasking Twilight and the pegasus. The collision course was imminent. She had to act in an instant!
"Twilight!" She warns! It was all she had for that amount of time.

"Huh?" Twilight does look up from the book, sees the imminent crash and lets out a fantastic scream, Each and every hoof is dug into the ground with all the effort she could. Fluttershy even takes to the air, the journal Twilight was reading falls from her magic's grasp. Fluttershy wraps her hooves around Twilight's middle and pulls back, joining in the frankly silly pantomime of simply attempting to stop. Dirt was kicked up, both mares shut their eyes and made their peace with their fate. She was able to skid to a halt just close enough for the cross-eyed gaze of the pegasus to meet her full in the face. The unicorn smiles sheepishly, feeling anxious about being so close to the wall-eyed expression of the pegasus: "Um...Hi Derpy!"

Derpy Hooves breys, her wings flapping in the excitement: "That was funny. Can you do it again?"

Applejack rounds the corner into the backyard of the house. Other than an empty clothes line, nothing was here. Perhaps a tree or he ran for the hills out into the distance. The rolling fields of green would tire him out trying to run over them, any filly could tell you that. A pegasi could spot him and get him back easily.

Unless he climbed the tree? Applejack approached it with caution. That fox had breathed fire. You didn't have to sit near a hiccupping Spike after too many ciders to understand how dangerous throwing fire around could be. Lost a hat and half her tail, she wasn't looking to lose the rest. Her eyes were centered on the leaves above as she moves underneath. One whiff of brimstone or smoke or anything, and she'd back away. If she got the chance, she'd buck that fox all the way to the ground!

Nothing! The tree's limbs were bare. Nothing with teeth, weapons and breathes fire up there.

"FOUND YOU! You're it!" Pinkie? Applejack wheels back around to see Pinkie Pie looking right up at the fox, balanced on a window-sill far above her. He watches him silently motion for her to keep quiet, go away or both. Kinda funny in a way. "You know, you're pretty good at this. It took me all of five seconds to find you. That's a new record! How about we play again!" Applejack and Tyro's eyelines suddenly converge as the fox looks up. He visibly panics, as so he oughta. It was a one-way trip to Canterlot if she caught him. He seems to consider giving Pinkie a whack with the silvery weapon his his hand still but clearly shakes his head at the thought. She didn't know what she'd do if he had but it wouldn't have been pretty.

"Come down from there!" Applejack calls out.

Tyro drops from the window sill, onto Pinkie.

Twilight pulls away from under Derpy as Fluttershy landed again. Derpy Hooves was still chipper all though was disappointed she didn't get to see the amazing, two-pony floorshow again. She took off to carry on into the air.

Twilight snatches up the journal. It was now roughed up a little; dirt dusting the cover, a few superficial scratches and a dent on the spine. It was a catastrophe to behold. They may as well have been deep gashes in a family pet according to Twilight's pained reaction. She wipes the cover off with a hoof, inspecting the damage intently. The post-mortem only made her curse herself for being so careless with an old journal such as this. It was history, it was a one of a kind. And apparently the only lead on their fox. However, she could hear hooves galloping towards her.

"Twilight! It's Pinkie! She ain't right!" Applejack had the pink pony slumped over her strong back, face hanging close to the ground with her eyes closed. She was inert and quiet. Distressing and peculiar, to say the least, for the pony that would throw a party anywhere with the slightest excuse. That innate Pinkie Sense must have slipped for once.

"Is she dead?" Twilight asks, moving in for a closer inspection. She was breathing, which was good. Twilight raises one of Pinkie's hooves then let's it go. It immediately falls back down as if Applejack was carrying a remarkably lifelike doll. Pinkie murmurs something about sprinkles, limply waving her hoof in a formless gesture.

"Nah! She's sleepin'." replies Applejack, "Fox fellah leapt on her an' did somethin'!"

"What exactly?" Twilight tries giving Pinkie Pie a jab in the side. Nothing. Pinkie didn't stir but she did very kindly ask the doughnut to wait his turn in the sternest way her tired slur could manage. She was truly out for the count, whatever this Kitsu-thing did. This was eery...It was cats chasing dogs. It was checking a list only three times. It was Rarity rolling in mud.
Somethings simply shouldn't be and a quiet, sedated Pinkie Pie was one of them.

"I dunno. All he did was put a hand on her head. Ever heard'a ju-ju that does somthin' like this?" Applejack asks.

"The book mentions energy a lot...Maybe it's a leaching effect?" Twilight proffers, opening the journal again and flicking back to her previous page.

Applejacks' face fills with concern: "Like a vampire?"

"Almost."

"Well then!" Applejack said, drawing herself to full height, "We gotta vampire to find! No pony sucks mah friends blood and get's away with it!"

"Energy."

"Whatever! He's gettin' away!"

Brighter greens gave way to darker tones. Denser plantlife and a foreboding aura to the place. The shadows were thick. You could stare into them and be certain something was staring back. The wild, overhanging leaves met with the tangle of bushes and ferns. The mood seemed grimey as if heading into a swamp. The maw of Everfree Forest gave no indication of what sat in the dense overgrowth, not that it seemed a pony - or fox - was not welcome in anyway.

"Charming..." Tyro mumbles before giving a quick check behind him. He'd gained a good lead on those ponies. He could easily lose them right here in this forest.

A streak of colour catches his eye as it blurs past his vision. He spins and follows it, coming across a blue pegasus hovering in front of him. She had this self-affirmed little smirk on her face. The wind-ruffled quiff of her main was rainbow coloured. He couldn't think of anyone other than sport players that did anything like that. If the cocky little madam had dyed it, at least she paid the same care to her tail. Her eyes were darting from him to something surrounding him.

Tyro looks, spotting more pegasi moving into a cordon. They kept their distance but were clearly not going to particularly close individually. None of them seemed any bigger than the blue one so, there wasn't anything to worry about, right? Tyro's odd weapon was raised. He grips the handle like a batter rearing up for a pitch. He keeps as many of the pegasi in his sights as possible while he spreads his paws out a little, dropping his stands to keep him stable. He lowers his shoulders, tails swaying gently behind him absentmindedly.

"Easy..." The blue one commanded. "...Now!" All at once, the pegasi charge in from all angles. Tyro swings his weapon through the high speed streaks of colour fruitlessly. He turns, carving an arc through a red streak, only finding his blade sail through nothing. The pegasi keep swirling, darting and avoiding the fox, kicking up wind while Tyro severely menaces the space around him. A hoof flies at his hands, hitting hard to knock his weapon free. The blunted blade lands in the dirt, too far a way to simply reach while pegasi swarm him. Another hoof strikes his cheek, then his stomach. Then a final shunt into his chest staggers him backwards.

The pegasi assemble, watching him carefully for any sudden moves.

Panting, Tyro turns for the forest. The blue pegasus with the rainbow mane blocks him before he can move. He considers charging them just a she's flanked by the rest of the team.

There's a dark curse uttered under his breath. He reaches for a chain around his neck. It's a blotchy, old looking necklace chain that he pulls over his black, triangular ears and shaggy hair then out from his T-shirt. On the end of the chain is a small, orange gemstone that throbs threateningly. The metal that the stone is seated in has been warped and scorched, much like his weapon. You might have been able to tell that they used to look like tails once. He holds the pendant in his palm and points it right at the ground. The pendant glows and belches fire into the ground from the stone in the centre. Like a furness belching into the ground, the tremendous heat spreading from the strong glow. The heat blackens the dirt, leaving a thin, charred crust of soot where there was once grass. Tyro points the pendant at the pegasi.

"This is a warning! You lot can just hand me back the Tail and I won't roast you, clear?" The pegasi back off a little. Clearly, he had their attention. He wouldn't really hurt anyone, but as long as that never came through on his eyes, there's a chance he could blag through this. After all, it was more than simply fireworks and glowing sitting in his palm. It was practically a tiny volcano. They all seemed to back way behind 'Rainbow Mane', for some reason. He had them quaking but they weren't getting out of the way.

"Did you not hear me?" Tyro barks at the pegasi. "I got a pretty big range with this thing."

He could hear galloping behind him. Oh no, not more witnesses! Hopefully, he wasn't making a massive scene and wouldn't have to go all 'super villain' here just to be allowed to move on. He had a job to do. He just turns his head to-

The blue pegasus zips towards Tyro within a second. In his momentary lapse of attention, the kick from 'Rainbow Mane' hits him right in the stomach. All air is squeezed out of his lungs with the force of the blow, leaving Tyro to flop to a crouch, wheezing. His arm is only just managing to keep the pendant aimed upwards while shaking. Within a flash of colour across him the pendant is snatched from his hand. As he coughed hard, he looks up to see the blue pegasus wearing the pendant around her neck.
"Ain't so tough! I dunno how the guards at Canterlot has so much trouble. I barely broke into a sweat!" The boasting from the pegasi was met with grumbled curse. "What? You you feelin' bad after I beat you?"

"Rainbow Dash! Get away from him!"

The pegasi look up to see the arrival of Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack, breathless from chasing all over town.

"Don't worry Twilight." Rainbow Dash assures, a smirk across her face as he points a hoof to her defeated opponent. "I got him right where I-"

As Rainbow Dash can only see a fox shaped space of nothing. They all look in different directions for him. Nothing towards town, nothing towards the hills. However, the clothes the fox had been wearing - a pair of jeans and two types of shirt - lay strewn along the path into the Everfree Forest. The jeans lay on the road and the black shirt was draped over a bush. "Shoot!"

"Oh, *gasp*, no..." Twilight breathes, puffed out from the sprint. "We, lost him."

The fitter Applejack seemed to be able to handle the sprint better despite the weight. She wasn't sucking in air like
"Is everypony OK?" She asks.

"It's not us you need to worry about!" Rainbow Dash answers, throwing jabs into the air. "That fox never stood a chance. He never saw me coming! He was like "I'll burn you with my necklace!" and I was like "No way!" and then I downed him in one hit one he lost his swordy-thingy!"

"Swordy thingy?" Applejack inquires.

"Burn you with his necklace?" Twilight presses further.

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash raises Tyro's pendant with her hoof by the chain. Heat was rising from it as if it had been baking in the sun.

Applejack looks over the forest, eyeing up the strewn clothes with a frustrated huff.
"I think we lost him now. That forest'll need more than just us to look through it and even with the pony-power, we can't afford to lose anypony."

"We might be able to find out more about this fugitive from these belongings. He might also come back for them so we'll have to make sure they stay somewhere secure. We could get a second chance to catch him." Twilight discerns. "Take the necklace back to the library and can someone pick up his clothes too?"

Rainbow Dash turns up her nose: "I'm not touching them. They look like they fit in with the place."

Author's Note

Version 1.3
- Greater attempt at characterisation and setting up hints of character conflict to continue in later chapters

Chapter 2: High Treason

The worrying thing about this scene was not how the fox seemed to be running for his life or that the entirety of the trees in this gloomy, dangerous place might swallow him up just for fun.

It was that his leg was completely white. At least, as far as Tyro was concerned this was worrying. Well, spitting blood is hardly considered something reasonable for you, why would having limbs alter colour be any different?

Sure, his paw was a more healthy black raising up to around the joint as though he had long socks on but past that up to his shoulder was snow white. It didn't sting. No, thanks to the blue, umm...something unprintable with the crazy mane, it was his stomach that still crackled with new aches and pains. It didn't react differently either but Tyro couldn't produce fire with his altered fur. Yes, fire. When he had fingers, he could easily create flames with his right hand. With his left, however, all he got was multi-coloured sparks. It's been a bit of a worry since Canterlot.

Now, when he was...umm, smaller, his paws were more for staying upright than throwing fireballs. Being a biped was handier but here, he'd need a smaller profile if he was to stay out of sight. Standing at around six feet tall in a world of small ponies was akin to strapping a rotating light to his head.

He'd just have to be smarter. And breath fire a lot more. It's not a terrible thing; just spitting the stuff on to the ground is intimidating enough, usually. He wasn't particularly popular as it is and random acts of arson seemed like the easy path towards torches and pitchforks.

~ | ~

"Pinkie? Pinkie, are you all right?" Twilight asks as the pink pony wearily raises her head. They're back in the Library, surrounded by friends and scattered books. The recovering pony was laid out over Twilight's bed, on her back, her friends surrounding her. She stretches out, looking up and around at the concerned looks.

"Hi." Pinkie's usually shrill, quick-paced tones were absent. Instead, she spoke with a sluggish, muted voice that barely had the energy to tumble out of her mouth. Her slack face had "exhausted" written all over it. Her eyelids seemed to be fighting over her concerning whether or not to close now or right now. They lazily bounded up and down over and over. "What am I doing here?"

"Shush, shush, shush!" Rairity said, holding a hoof up to Pinkie's mouth. "There's no need to exert yourself, dear. You're safe now and the nasty monster's run off."

"He ran away before he got his turn." Pinkie had little left to put some emphasis behind the words but the pout would have to convey all of that meaning instead.

"Ah, ah, ah! Not another word! You can't spare the energy. I would just concentrate on resting till your feeling better." Rarity said in manner similar to a mother reasoning with a child.

Rainbow Dash covered her mouth with a hoof and whispers to Applejack: "Pinkie Pie sounds a lot like Fluttershy like this, don't you think?"

"Oh yeah! I was tryin' to figure that!" Applejack replies.

"Figure what?" Rarity inquires, looking over her shoulder.

"Nothin'." A quick dismissive shake of the head from both. Rairty blows past that. Pinkie was in dire condition.

"That means staying put." She adamantly states "You'll have to stay in bed the whole day." Rarity explains slowly, returning to Pinkie.

Oh, the face of heartbreak! That quivering lip, those welling eyes! Where Pinkie managed to find the oomph to show her distress, shall likely never be known but good grief, I don't believe anything quite as tearful could have been conceived by the minds of ponies. It was like telling birds to power-walk for the summer instead of flying.

Rarity composes herself has best as she can, managing to find some resolve. It was melting fast: "Oh please, Pinkie. It's only for a day...Just...umm..."

~ | ~

A zebra stops in her tracks. There was a disturbance in the leaves. She stood on the vaguely outlined path through the trees to Ponyville. Although, it's only a path because the overgrowth hadn't encroached yet. The new items from her shopping trip might be attracting something that was clearly hungry. This forest was dangerous but the animals could be avoided without too much trouble. If anything though, this appeared to be heading for her. The dense bushes rustle. The rings running up the length of her neck clatter as she looks behind. The slender eyes dart back and forth as the dark bushes of the forest betray the movements of something running past. Dark leaves are kicked up as the creature streaks around her. She takes a hoof forwards and the commotion starts up again.

"Little fillies should come out,
This is not a good place to play and shout.
Large creatures have teeth to bite,
And might think to give a fright.
I will help you get back home,
Away from this dangerous zone." There wasn't any reaction from the damp, dark trees. After a wait of a second or two, she started to move again.

There! She sees a long form. Something darting in front of her.

"Creature, there's no need to distress,
I wish not to cause you further stress." Her eyes dart around, looking for any sort of reaction from the leaves. She gets one. A shaggy scarlet and white head pops its head out of a shrub, staring at him.

"So...Your not from the town? All right..." Tyro hops out of the deep greenery. "I'm looking for a map of the area?"

She watches the fox wonder over to her with his his one white leg. The...well, for want of a better word, hair on his head was ragged and unkept. A few stray twigs in it at the moment. It had a fringe that seemed to threaten his sight while also travelling down the back of his neck. The black triangles of his ears stick out of this matted mane. He cautiously trots over to Zacora, two long, white-tipped brushes sweeping behind him. The zebra takes a step away from Tyro. Afterall, foxes don't often talk...or have two tails.

She knew what this was.

"These lands of apple trees and green,
Are not a place where you should be seen." Her voice had dropped into a displeased decree. The entirety of the zebra's verse went over his head.

"I...what? Sorry? Apple trees? Where?" The zebra recovers the space she backtracked, standing tall in order to lock eyes so that they could burn into Tyro's.

"The likes of you should not be here,
Kitsune create a bad atmosphere.
Farms are drained, wither and die,
Nothing can grow on soil that's dry." The zebra said. A little light of recognition flicked on in Tyro's head. He'd heard all this sort of talk before. It seems he's found another farming community...wonderful...

"Oh! Right! Yes, now I'm on the right page. Err...I don't take what I don't need. Don't worry! But I am looking for a map!" Tyro reassures, waving away any accusations with his front paws. He attempts what he hopes it a pleasant smile. The pumping nervousness could be making this into something more sinister for all he knew. The Zebra seemed OK.

"Then what is the map's purpose,
If not to find an orchard's surplus?" Tyro was beginning to feel even more uncomfortable underneath the zebra's glinting glare. Although, he had to give respect to the consecutive couplets she was getting. Why this pony was doing it? He'd no idea. Then again, this looked like the sort of place that you just roll with the punches on here...

"I'm looking for a desert. There's something I need to do and your Princess along with plenty of other people are in danger and I've got around a week before everything goes belly-up. So! If you could be so kind, can I borrow a map, please?" As a finishing touch, a polite smile from the fox, baring lots of teeth. Hopefully. The zebra visibly mulled over Tyro's words. She still seemed uncertain of Tyro's intentions.

"If lives are at stake,
Then come with me,
But whether I believe you,
we'll have to wait and see." The zebra resumes her journey where it had been interrupted. Tyro bounds to her side in an effort to keep up.
"It sounds like you have more than one good tale,
But the one most recent, you should regale." She said. Tyro spent a good few seconds translating in his head.

"Umm...Oh! Right! Yes! Well, err...Ooo...Where to begin? Errrr..."

~ | ~

Her mane was smog. It curved around her face when she stood in profile, an ever moving wave of black and silver particles. The rest falls down one shoulder, almost to the floor where it vanishes into the air. Her white coat makes her quite visible in the pastel shades of the hallways here. The crest hanging round her neck clicks quietly at regular intervals. Small cogs snap to a new position around the edges of the shiny device every few ticks.
"Your Highness? She will see you now." She silently nods her thanks before slipping through the doors into the room. Her eyes fall instantly to the bed.

There, she saw the rainbow, flowing mane and the weary but pleased expression on that face. Entire legs were covered in plaster casts then hoisted into the air. There was a nurse behind the Princess, tending to a majestic, if battered, wing. Patches of the brilliant white coat had tinges of black. The smell of smoke hung in the air.
"Oh Celestia..." She said, concern flooding her face. "What did it do to you?"

~ | ~

"You have some interesting furniture." Tyro said, eyes darting all over the room as Zecora returned from another room. The cauldron bubbled in it's position in the centre of the slightly-dark, wooden shack Zecora had declared as 'home'. Masks decorated in feathers and thin paints hang from the walls. Books sit in their shelves and between all the bottles, each one unique in colour, shape and size. Zecora spread the map over a work surface in front of Tyro.
"Thank you, I do my best,
Now your story, please tell the rest." She sat down opposite Tyro. He stares off into the middle distance, trying to recall everything.
"Yeah...Umm....So, I'd travelled from Appleloosa to...Caaaan...Cann...Canterlot! That's it. Heading straight for the palace."

~ | ~

Tyro steps away from the wall, holding the weapon ready. Every step has as little weight placed on it as possible all the while he treads down the deserted hallway. The light has been lightly coloured by all the stained glass it passes through while entering what he gleamed was the Canterlot Palace Throne Room. Little ponies either fly about, or trot around the green landscapes shown with in them. Hanging baskets of flowers adorn every window in the silent place. Tyro reaches the door at the far end. With a delicate touch, he twists the handle with his fingers, inching the door open. He slips into the corridor through the crack. He keeps his two paws as light and delicate as possible. He knew he was a little tall for this place. It seemed everything here was a lot smaller than him by the virtue of being bipedal. It was like walking through a petting zoo.

The Tiara is supposed to be quite close. Hopefully, this place was planned out with a modicum of sense. From outside, it looked like the architect had made some sort of joke on the plans but no one noticed, so it was build anyway. This place was all high towers and tall roofs. Builders around here must have a heck of a job while not looking down or minding their step on the tall, thin roofs.

The darker corridor is blanker than the lavish one he'd just come from. The high ceilings dominates anything standing inside, making them appear small in comparison. Windows let the sunlight flood in and the off-scarlet carpet was soft under Tyro's paws. The furniture of desks and occasional containers of flowers seemed to be filling the space here. Checking in each direction, Tyro nervously walks in the direction that is almost certainly the treasure vault. Probably. Most likely. With the lightest of touches he could possibly manage, he grabs the handle of the door. Slowly, shooting glances over his shoulder at the currently quiet and empty halls, he twists and opens the door, slipping into the largest gap he could face making.

~ | ~

Fluttershy enters the Library to find Spike holding the pendant Rainbow Dash had taken from the strange fox creature. Rainbow Dash herself was hovering over the baby dragon with a wide gaze and a bucket of water clenched in her teeth by the handle. She was clearly on guard for something. Applejack had the black shirt clenched in her teeth. She dumps it and beats down on it to smoother the last remaining embers sitting in a pile of ash where the table was before she left for food. Beside the wreckage, Rarity attempted to console the distressed Twilight. One hoof was rubbing her back as Twilight caught her breath, holding onto a small pile of charred and tattered books. She was in clear, deep mourning. Fluttershy puts down the pot of soup hanging from her mouth.

"What happened here? Has Spike got the hiccups again?" She asks.

"Hey! It wasn't me! It was this thing!" Spike said, watching the stone in the centre for any sudden movements.

"Is everypony all right?" She asks again, closing the door behind her.

"Yeah. Twilight's a little shook up after the whole thing but that necklace should go some place else." Applejack explained, spitting the sooty shirt to the ground.

"The wretched thing decided to explode in her face." Rarity adds. "Perhaps we should place it somewhere where it's unlikely to any more damage? It could have taken the whole library with it. Why not put it in water, Rainbow Dash?"

Applejack shrugs."Better than leavin' it around."

So Rainbow Dash flutters down to a landing, placing the bucket on the floor. Spike turns and drops the pendant, chain and all into the water. It clunks as it hits the bottom. They both peer inside.
"Are those bubble supposed to be there?" Spike asks.

"What?" Rarity looks up with alarm. "Spike! What's happening?" The bucket starts to emit wisps of steam while a soft bubbling rumbles from within.

"Uh...We're gonna need another plan." Rainbow Dash said over her shoulder, "The necklace is boiling the water away."

~ | ~

"Continue please,
It's unkind to speak then freeze." The zebra urges. There seemed to be little there in her expression to suggest either sympathy or detestment for the fox's tale.

"Sorry, sorry." Tyro stares into the rising steam comming from the cauldren in the middle of the shack. "Just...collecting my thoughts. So, I eventually find this thing."

~ | ~

Tyro closes the door behind him. It clicks quietly as he steps through the lines of jewels and onate portraits. They were all of these various horses and ponies in armour or crowns. He still holds his weapon at his side, ready to whack anything that might just try and jump him. The strange, axe item that he held at his side. All the floor was coated the same plush carpet and velvet ropes keeping him from the glass cabinates that lined the room. The metal doors at the end was the goal. Electric blue lines are embedded into the dense metal. Their lattice across the doors interconnects and crosses over like a thicket hedge. The pattern ends in sharp thorns to flourish this ornate web across the surface. The cruel barbs are all linked back to a throbbing crystal in the centre of the door. There's a quiet hum in the otherwise still air of dust. He sweeps towards the door, giving it a quick looking over.

"Uh huh..." He moved a hand from his weapon to the door's surface, travelling slowly towards the buzzing blue streams. Blue lightning arcs from one of the thorns, attacking his fingertip harmlessly but enthusiastically.

"Huh...A magic lock, I think. Neat!" He smirks in amusement. "It's nice that they made it look so pretty."

He places all of his fingertips on the doors surface, blue sparks fizzing around the touch points. The thorns and the lines of the lock glow like a cigarette end. The energy that rushes through these leylines of the door fizzle at their brightest around Tyro's hands. The blue of the magical lock starts to ebb away at the edges. The life of the lock retracts towards his digits, spitting and hissing at its devoured. The crystal heart of the electric lock dims, flickers then comes to a defeated rest as the fox somehow wins out over it.

"Feels somewhat like cheating but I won't complain." Tyro grabs the edge of the door that now swings gradually open on it's hinges, as if limp without his surging energy. It would seem the only thing keeping it closed was the magic. The door is swung wide open to show the rest of the vault. Other tiaras twinkle on their small, pristine pillows along the walls, mirrored with other jewels, septars and fineary. Tyro had managed to gleam these might have been gifts. The latest of which was from a place known as Steam Peaks. Best guess was some volcanous region, guessing by the name alone. A click with his right hand summons a small flame to settle in his grasp, once the door opened. It seemed he may have killed any lighting in here too. As long as there is some system of lighting in here. Tyro walks in, making a beeline for just what he wanted.

"You," began a sudden, female voice from the other end of the vault. "Had better have the most brilliant excuse planned for being here."

~ | ~

Zecora begins to wince, shuffling uneasily in her seat.
"I don't like where this is going,
Maybe I'm better not knowing."

"No! Look, no-one else has sat down and listened to all this yet. They've either attacked, thrown nets or tried to cast spells on me!" Tyro pleads, "I know it was stupid now but it's the truth! Someone should hear my side of the story. You know more than anyone else so far, so just hear the rest, please?. Now...err..."

~ | ~

"You had better have the most brilliant excuse planned for being here." The vibrant, ethereal mane frames the serious look of the alicorn staring at him. Tyro sheepishly turns, a tiara of ornate golds and silvers that clutched a large, red jewel in his grip. She was surrounded by armoured guards. Each holding or levitating a threatening weapon in his general direction. Their bright and shining armour seemed strong enough to take a few hits, Tyro guessed, but it didn't cover the whole of their burly bodies.

Even so...How'd he get found out?

"Heh...Look, Princess! If you weren't going to listen to my letters, then I have to take action." Tyro replies as he walks out of the vault, attempting to be as mindful as possible for exits without actively looking at them. He holds his hands up, weapon in one hand, the tiara in the other. "Please, let me prove what I said was true."

The Princess stands defiant, guards around her pointing their weapons and moving closer. The uninviting blades edge closer.

"I have heard enough of your slander against her. The stone is not dangerous and she couldn't be more disgusted with your accusations. Put my gift down if you're truly not looking for any trouble." The princess orders. She stands tall, meeting Tyro's eyes with a harsh glare.

Tyro nods.

He then puts the tiara into his mouth to hold onto with his teeth. Then, he tucks his odd weapon underneath and arm. Then, holding his hand out before him, small black strands form around his fingers. The small, black wisps knit together, weaving into some form of wood. They make a fretboard, a neck, a body, a head. The instrument forming was bizarre. Halfway between a guitar and sitar with this elongated neck. It seemed a strangely ominous looking lute or somesuch instrument; black details across the varnished but heavily scuffed body appeared to swirl like a storm. What was probably quite a pretty dark red body seemed to be beaten and scratched to an unrecognisable scrap. Solid looking but clearly having lead a hard life. The strings pull themselves taught, perfectly in tune within moments. Each give a short twang as they align themselves. Immediately, Tyro starts to play the instrument he held, backing off into the vault. With each note, the air in the room shifted, swirling around him with increasing voraciousness. As if invoking the wrath of some unseen force, the spiraling melody was creating a small hurricane within the room.

The guards dash straight for him as Tyro pulls the door to the vault closed. The air falters immediately after his hands move from the strings to grasp the door. It clatters closed with a shunting rattle on it's hinges that reverberates across it's dead surface. He can hear the guards stomp to a stuttering halt just before it.

The door, however, is opened easily. But it wasn't by the guard's or The Princess. It was by a gush of wind. Treatures were rattling in their places to the rhythm of the song. A few pedestals toppled around Tyro's paws, spilling their contents onto the floor. Crowns, jewels and gold roll around, swirled into the maelstrom around the fox. His fur and clothes flapping wildly as he plays. His paws gently leave the floor while this music plays.

The guards were attempting to advance but the wind was pretty concentrated within this vault. It had little else to go other than straight out the door they wanted to get in. They and the Princess dig in their hooves, gripping with all they could.

Tyro could see The Princess' eyes, dart around the area. They fell on his instrument, his face and then one of the blades a guard was carrying. It seemed she was hatching some sort of plan. The fox tenses, his own head attempting some mental gymnastics of it's own. He needed a counter if she was planning to att-

He suddenly thrusts the instrument into the air ahead of him.

The prang of cut strings somehow gained a gale force scream coming to a dismal, pathetic whelp of a stop. The air calmed, Tyro landing back onto his paws with a thud. He looks at his instrument.

It seems The Princess had just sent a spear through it, assumingly using her magic to slam into the wooden instrument. The edge of the blade had caved in the hollow curves of the body, chips and splinters coming along with the blade as Tyro pulls it free. Each of the strings were loose, curling up like loose springs. They all hung limp. Their apparent power over the wind had been silenced abruptly. He takes the tiara from his mouth.

"The heck did you do that ffff...." Tyro had started his little outburst strong but with the approach of guards, blades and a very angry Princess of the Sun, the anger petered out as the reality check came. Immediately, he drops the now useless instrument, retaking his weapon into his hands as he retreats into the shadow of the vault.

~ | ~

"So cornered, you are
How did you escape Celestia?" Zecora asks, still giving little leeway in her expression as to whether she was appalled or not. It unnerved Tyro a little. He wasn't sure if this was curiosity or an interrogation yet. Moving now would be a hastle. It always is when you try and play 'hide and seek' with every single thing with a pair of eyes. At least here, he could get some rest, lay low then have somewhere to move on.

Tyro thinks for a moment on how to word the next stage of this story: "Uuhhh. Well, they all fanned out. And...I just, dealt with them. One by one. Celestia had tried to light up the vault but there was so much stuff to hide behind in there, it was all too easy to stay out of sight."

"Your tale is surely not done." Zecora said, raising an eyebrow. She was pressing him for a little more details. "How did you dispatch each one?"

"Well...The guard ponies were kinda easy. I mean one came looking around this large chest as The Princess stood at the door, making sure I couldn't get out. I...umm..."

~ | ~

The guard trotted towards a half empty and upturned chest. The ornate object sat upon a pile of it's contents. He looks up and around, squinting in the gloom. His eyes scanned the area, back and forth, combing every single molecule for the elusiv-

Bam! One swat across the helmet and the guard stumbles. He feels hands grasp his shoulders, the areas turning somewhat cold and numb quickly. He looks back towards his fading comrades, tumbling into unconsciousness.

~ | ~

"Then!" Tyro collects his thoughts, his paws enthusiastically demonstrating who was there and when as she speaks. "Then I got two more with this...umm..."

~ | ~

There had been a clattering somewhere over here, they'd heard it. Rushing towards the source of the noise, they find their comrade on the floor. His helmet was askew, the rest of him pouring out from it with all the strength and rigidity of jelly. The pair of them looked down and then to each other.

Then out into the gloom. They part a little, peering as deeply as their eyes allowed for the fox, the vault was large but surely not tha-

The clatter was enormous. A small chest clatters against one guard, the weight slamming into his side with a sizable shunt. In the commotion of having to turn, another strike is given across the helmet of the second guard. The force was enough to set of a stumble, hooves attempting to keep themselves as stable as possible within only a few moments.

Those moments are eaten up with the chilling nausea running through both stallions as the dirty scarlet creature appears in their fading vision. One flops over into the pile of gold and jewels that covered the other guard, joining the other in the unexpected nap.

~ | ~

"So, from there, I could try and get past Celestia." The fox said. "I just had to slip past her somehow. I tried throwing gems and calling her out but she wasn't budging!"

~ | ~

"The tiara is dangerous! I will find another way out of here. I'm not letting you stop me." Tyro shouts from his hiding place, peeking out at the rainbow coloured flow shining against the only light streaming inside. The Princess was standing firm, apparently looking to hold out till the very end.

"You're leaving me little choice, Tyro. This is your last chance: give yourself up or I will lock you in here." Celestia calls, drawing herself up. Her horn glows brightly, only managing to cut so far into the darkness of the treasure vault. Her hooves dug into the dusty carpet, preparing to stand her ground.

Tyro thought. He couldn't come this far and just give in. Not really. He didn't really have the time. All of his work could be undone within a week if it took him that long to break out of wherever he's thrown into. He wasn't sure he'd be happy to risk an idle bluff either. Again, if he was locked in here, there's no guarantee he could get out. After all, he only really had a few weapons, jewels and enough gold that even a dragon wouldn't sneeze at. At best, he could kill time playing in the gold.

But the tiara would remain in here. That was unacceptable.

He steps out, raising a hand to shield Celestia's light from his eyes.

"Uhh...Sorry, I'm going to need you to shift." He said. Celestia remained still.

"Please?" She remains still. He puts the tiara into his mouth to clench between his teeth, his weapon at his side.

~ | ~

Zecora was watching him funny. He could just see how uncomfortable she was listening to this part. He could guess this next bit.

"Yep! This...This is one of the stupidest things I've ever done. I beat up one of the Princesses of Equestria."

~ | ~

The bolts of lightning yellow that crackles from the Alicorn's horn were incredible. Each one arcs through the air and never missed. They did genuinely feel like cigarette burns as they dissipated across his body. While Tyro's body winces and recoils at each one, he didn't stop charging forwards. He raises his weapon and cleaves for her with a wide arc.

Horn and metal clashes. It actually kinda burned as Celestia's magical bolts slammed into his body like that. They felt very different to anything else he'd ever been hit with. A little part of his head suggested it might have actually be an indicator of just how much he'd managed to tick Celestia off but he was in a clash right now. Full concentration was paramount.

As Tyro attempted to push both arms into forcing the sparking horn away from him, Celestia struggles back. The curious thing was just how easily Tyro's push buckles. His arms bend, his entire body flicked backwards as Celestia moves forwards, her hooves stepping into Tyro's space. She rears upwards and stamps both front hooves downwards at him. Tyro raises his weapon in defence but finds he hasn't the strength to deflect her.

His knees give way, his body simply unable to give enough of a shunt to get him out from under her. Celestia's weight was pushing down on his turned weapon, pinning the fox far harder than he could manage. His arms shake with the effort of attempting to toss the Alicorn off him. Celestia's horn begins to glow threateningly.

"Give up, Tyro! This isn't worth it." Celestia said. "You can't win this."

Tyro huddles under his weapon, thinking carefully. Actually, he probably could but...oh man, would it sting for her. Well, he couldn't move his hands or he'd be pinned under her clearly superior strength. And he certainly couldn't push back. She was either too strong or he really couldn't find the strength anywhere. So, that left him with cheating.

He drops the tiara from his mouth.

"I'm really sorry about this." He takes a sudden breath in, his mind taking just one last run through of his possible other plans only to find little else outside of random acts of deities, and blows out underneath Celestia as hard as he can.

The air ignites within his mouth, sparking off into a harsh burst of fire underneath the Princess. Her scream was anguish incarnate. She recoils backwards as the carpet underneath her catches alight, a few of the feathers in her ornately plumed wings begin to glow a bright orange, spreading alarmingly fast. She stumbles backwards, her eyes shut hard in the pain. Desperately wishing to curl up but still managing to definitely remain on all four hooves. Her eyes crack open, raising herself up despite the pain. Tyro was approaching slowly, arm outstretched.

He grasps her by the horn. Her eyes don't remain open for long. She barely feels the floor rushing up to catch her.

~ | ~

Zecora remains silent. She simply watches him from her seat, giving very little in the way of a response.

"I...I put her out." He said, hoping it would be of some comfort. After all, he's had just admitted to her he was a treasonous fugitive. He was amazed she was still listening up to this point. "There's enough guards in the place and I'm sure they found her. I was able to slip out of the castle with the Tiara but I had to hide it. I could make better headway on foot and, if I was caught, it was as far away from me as feasibly possible. Plus, I didn't come away entirely unscathed." He raises and waves his largely white foreleg, the one that grasped Celestia's horn.

"I'm sure the tiara is dangerous, or Cydonia wouldn't be so eager putting it in Celestia's hands. Do you think I'm crazy?"

Zecora finally speaks:

"Your heart is in the right place
Little fox, it will be a race
To clear your name of infamy
It will not be done simply
To be very crass
You have acted the ass
Equestria will turn against you
I know the story of your coup
This is why I do not fully
Cast you out as a bully"

Tyro processes then nods. It seemed fair enough. She wasn't utterly revolted. She seemed to understand.

"I'll have to find evidence. Afterall, everything I saw in Appleoosa has to tie into other stuff she's planning. Mainly now not only to make sure Equestria isn't completely screwed over but also as the biggest damn apology I can give to her. I really can't imagine what state I've left her in..." he said, his ears pressing against his head in shame. "Thanks for understanding. And! And listening to the whole thing."

"Please take heed,
I do not approve of your deed
If you are telling the truth,
Then I will not regret sharing my roof
But only one night
Then you must go and prove your right." Zecora said sternly, some of that innate, curiosity seemed to have drained from her voice.

"Yeah...Yeah, all right. Thanks."

Author's Note

Version 1.0.0

Chapter 3: The Mistress of Steam

"So...we're here because?" Applejack asks as she, like the others that didn't fall back to look after the downed and unusually quiet Pinkie Pie, followed on behind Twilight. She felt a little out of place in the palace. The opulence is lovely but it's one of those places that you can either see yourself living in or not. The shiny-shiny fanciful fantasy of having more lavish rooms than you could possibly ever need, ever in your entire lifetime was simply frivolous for Applejack.

Well, unless she invited her entire family to live with her. Regular reunions were one thing but she couldn't think of some cousins staying together longer than a day without dire consequences. Bad apples in every group somewhere.

The thought was pushed to the side. Twilight needed their focus. Her, Rainbow Dash and Twilight could probably figure this one out. Come on! Twilight read enough on detectives to absorb a little Private Eye skill, along with enumerable subjects and Rainbow Dash was fast. Plus, flying could help out. She would be the slow comb and they'd have this licked in an afternoon, tops!

"We're here to look for clues." Twilight assures her. The door ahead of the trio had been where Twilight had stood for about thirty seconds now. If there were any clues, they'd surely be on the other side where Princess Celestia was resting. Twilight had been just sitting there, staring at the door. You could practically hear the little gears in her head jamming. It was obvious what was happening here. She was petrified.

"OK, should we stand outside while you talk to the Princess?" Applejack asks. If it was any of her family, Applejack would be inside in an instant but this was a fallen idol in there. The unicorn looks back at her.

"N-no you don't have to."

Confirmation, if ever she needed it. It was awful to think Twilight would be mainly aiming to bring the entire group to Canterlot just to see the injured Princess. But, she also couldn't blame her. It was kinda obvious. They'd seen the creature rush off into the trees. She gave some cockamamy idea about looking for the creatures likely next move by studying the scene of the kitsoonie-whatsit tussled with the Princess. Maybe he dropped something. 'Maybe somepony knows something!' Twilight had buried her head in that book she'd found and didn't take it out for hours.

She watches Twilight sigh. She drew in a long breath, possibly to steel her courage. Maybe to inflate her body to keep her upright. The doorknob glows and turns.

"We'll be at the vault if you need us, OK Twi?" Applejack said. Twilight nods and trots inside. As soon as the door closes, both ponies turn and head back along the corridor. Applejack on hoof, Rainbow Dash hovering beside her.

"I don't think I've seen her so bummed out." Rainbow Dash said, glancing back at the door.

"She looks up to the Princess. Like a superpony, you know that. She spent the whole of the Great Galloping Gala tryin' to chat to her." Applejack replies, also glancing back at the door for a moment. "Heck! She went nuts tryin' to find something to write about that one time. Had the whole town going haywire over some little stuffed toy, d'you remember?" It was quite the story when she heard it from Twilight herself. At first she barely believed it but then finding the toy itself in Big Mac's room brought it into sharp focus for a moment.

Made his birthday gifts a lot easier to figure out from then on.

"Yeesh! I got no idea what that's like. She'll be OK though. Twilight's tough. In her own way. I know she'll be alright." Rainbow said, keeping her sight ahead of her. She seemed to be trying to stay focused on the job at hoof.

Applejack nods: "Yeah, in time. This is just a wobble. She's just scared. Twilight'll be right as rain once she sees that the Princess will recover." She gives a small smile to Rainbow, who returns it.

"Now! We got ourselves a little-"

"Excuse me." Both ponies freeze at this new voice and turn around in an instant. They both look up to the source, right into the soft eyes of Princess Luna. "I believe you are harbouring something. Some items you took from the fugitive?"

"Items? Oh!" Applejack smiles in realisation. "The weird knickknacks? Sure! The glowing necklace and the metal thing that fox was swingin' around are back at the hotel room with Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie."

"We're kinda keeping the necklace in a bucket. In the bathtub." Rainbow adds. Luna frowns, clearly, and rightly confused.

"Why would it be in there?" She asks.

"It...err...It get's really hot. Like, really, really hot. It boiled water."

"How...Bizzare." Luna said, intrigued. "You must show me."

"We can take you back to the hotel room, if you want." Applejack offers.

"Very well. Lead me there." The two ponies nod and turn. They begin moving with the Princess in tow.

"We should let Twilight know where we are." Applejack comments.

"I will leave a message for her to come find us." Luna assures them. "Tell me, how many tails did this fox have?"

Rainbow Dash answers, not really sure how it was relevant: "Uuuhh...Two? Yeah, two."

"Hmm...Interesting." Luna ruminates. "This one is young. That may explain his aberrant behavior. Thankfully, that limits the damage he may do."

"It does?! How?" Applejack asks.

"Any more tails and he'd be harder to track. Older Kitsune know more tricks."

~ | ~

"Fluttershy dear, there must be something you can think of!" Rarity insists, looking from the deeply asleep Pinkie to the yellow jittering bag of nerves hovering next to her.

"I-I've never had to resuscitate somepony before. Usually, I find it's best to just leave them be and let them wake on their own." Fluttershy responds quietly, placing down remedy #9: 'The Hot Sauce Douche'. Trying to make the dreaming pony sniff or breathe in the fumes didn't even make her flinch. Inversely, Rarity's eyes were like a running tap for a good ten minutes.

"But it's Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie, the party mare! She should have enough energy to power a whole town! I dare say the only reason she doesn't is the matter of keeping her still long enough." Rarity gestures in a grandiose manner to the sleeping pony; flank high in the air and face smushed into a pillow. Apparently this was comfortable, although Pinkie appeared so drained that being fed into a mangle would only illicit slight irritation. "This is...This is! This is abhorrent! It's a crime against nature!"

"I'm not sure it's that bad." Fluttershy descending to land next to Rarity. "But it is bizarre to see her so quiet. You'd think she'd be more like this all the time, what with all the sugar she eats."

Rarity's eyes widen in sudden epiphany. Every little cog of her mind that would ordinarily be knitting together patterns had a wonderful little idea stitched together in no time. She giggles, smiling to Fluttershy: "I have it! What if we could give her something so sugary sweet, she has to wake up and get moving? Thus breaking whatever that horrible fox did to her!"

"I don't know..." Fluttershy retreating her head into her shoulders a little. "Are you sure it's OK to pump her up like that?"

"Fluttershy, this is Pinkie Pie we're talking about: she practically lives on sugar. I'm sure this will work perfectly fine."

~ | ~

"An ancient race of magic, ghost foxes." Applejack says out loud, just to see how it hangs there in the quiet that Princess Luna's explanation had created. To her, it seemed hideously paradoxical. She wasn't stupid but that just seemed to make as much sense as as a tree that grew potatoes. "How can a ghost be solid?"

As the chariot flies over the streets, the royal transport carrying the three over Canterlot. Princess Luna looks out over the passing rooftops, almost avoiding eye contact just to garner a little more time to formulate some sort of response that wasn't simply 'because it can'. The details were sketchy, information limited to some journals and chance encounters smeared in either bigotry, exaggeration or fear when it came to their recorded retelling. There were conflicting details everywhere, with only the predominant theme of danger trending through each account.

"Because...They can." Luna replied, a little embarrassed at her bland response. "Information is scarce and what I do have is unreliable at best. Little more than ghost stories otherwise. From what can be believed is that they are tricksters. Often praying upon the arrogant and the cruel, tormenting them for their ways in any manner available to them. Some ponies claimed to marry a disguised Kitsune, only discovering their true form decades later."

"How about stealing stuff?" Applejack asks. "They supposed to do any of that?"

Luna shakes her head: "No. This Kitsune does not conform to what is expected. He chooses to be in the open. He chooses to steal from my sister. He chooses to attack directly. He appears to be on his own. This may be an outcast or simply a wondering nomad."

"So what if it acts weird?" Rainbow adds, hovering overhead because why sit in the chariot when she could be stretching her wings a little. "We find it, we beat it, case closed! Why can't we just find the fox and dish out a little Rainbow Justice?"

"Any creature such as this can ensure it cannot be found as a second sense, as if melting into a shadow. It would be as if tasked with bottling smoke." The Princess replies, her mane billowing in the wind like a shimmering night sky.

Rainbow Dash frowns in confusion: "Huh?"

"She means finding this guy would be as hard as findin' a needle in a haystack, probably 'cause of some ghost ju-ju." Applejack explains, adding a sigh. "I got harvests to buck. I ain't got time to play detective."

"Hey! You got me here!" Rainbow Dash giving a big, determined grin. "Nothing outruns me."

"Ah, I know, Sugarcube." Applejack smirks at the hovering pegasi. "Princess, is there some way of lurin' this ghost out?"

"Hmm...There are possibilities."

~ | ~

"I-I still don't think this is a good idea." Fluttershy protests with the force and gale of a feather fluttering to the ground.

"Nonsense! We need Pinkie Pie's account, sooner rather than later." Rarity hushes, her magic whisking up some thick, slopping substance inside a bowl hovering by her side. It would occasionally puff little clouds of icing sugar into the air as she mixed. The bowl is moved in front of Rarity's face, inspecting the mixture. "There is a monster on the loose. There's a chance Pinkie has a vital clue. Besides, this does not look healthy for her."

"Neither does the remedy..." Fluttershy mumbles.

Rarity sets the bowl on the bed, grabbing a spoonful of the dribbling, viscous substance. There wasn't just three types of sugar. Oh no! There was honey, maple syrup, candy floss, melted chocolate, sprinkles, glazed cherries and a little hot sauce. Why not? It's to kick her back awake, right? She spins the spoon to catch as much of the runny excess as possible before moving the spoon over to the specially prepared Pinkie. She was now sitting upright, mouth open with Fluttershy on hand.

In goes the spoon, into Pinkie's mouth. Fluttershy helping her eat the viciously sweet liquid and massaging the throat to help her swallow it. It seemed to work, the majority of it hitting it's mark and...

Pinkie's eyes open. Her eyes are wide as she falls forwards onto her hooves, the other two keeping their distance.

"Pinkie! How do you feel?"

The pink pony smiles, licking the excess from around her mouth: "Mmmmm! That's so good! Needs more chocolate, less maple syrup. It sounds crazy, but it's true!" She jumps, up off the bed and next to Rarity. She then hops around the room to the window. "Huh! When did I get here? Oh! Are we in Canterlot?! Oooo! Are we seeing a show? Or is Twilight taking another test? Oh, oh! We're here to deal with another meanie monster bad guy, right?"

"Well, close enough." Rarity answers. "Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are checking the scene of Celestia's fight with the fox thing for clues. We were trying to figure out how to cure what the brute did to you."

"Oh! You mean Tyro! I never forget anypony! He was really weird. We were playing hide and seek and I spotted him so he jumped down and..." Pinkie screws up her face in thought. "Aaaaand...uuuhhhhh..."

"We don't know for sure, but we think he laid a curse on you." Rarity answered. "We found you deeply asleep. You've been out cold for hours. You didn't even budge one inch all the way here."

"But, it's OK! Because you've made a super special, anti-fox, funky-flavoured, super miracle cure!" Pinkie giggles, going back to hopping around in place. "We should be totally safe from any more curses."

"Pinkie! I don't think you should be so active so soon. Your still recovering!" The pink pony apparently didn't listen to Rarity at all as she bounds for the door.

"I feel great! Come on! I've been sleeping long enough! Let's go hit the town!"

Rarity looks to Fluttershy with concern, seeing a similar expression back at her. They both rush for the door.

They don't need to go far to find Pinkie Pie. The pony had slumped against the door opposite, hanging from the door knob by her hooves and snoring quietly. She seemed somewhat stable, despite having a tiny amount of room to perch upon.

"Oh! Oh dear..." Fluttershy said as they inspect her. "Do you think it wore off?"

"All we accomplished was giving her a sugar rush." Rarity picks Pinkie up as best as she could, dragging her back to their room. "It worked but I assume she burned through it too quickly. I think it best we let her rest before trying again."

~ | ~

Author's Note

Version 0.0.4