Scientific Discipline

No one expected to just stumble upon a hidden forest/underground civilization while chasing a rare species of butterfly. No one expected said civilization to be sapient foxes. No one expected said sapient foxes to be proficient in some form of magic. Yet the world is always full of surprises.

Knowing there was an entire species literally hidden underneath their noses, one would assume that there’d be mutual benefit for both pony and fox to now coexist peacefully without any problems.

If only things were that easy.

There had to be political negotiations, of course. Though the chance of war was almost non-existent, the four princesses of Equestria arranged a summit with the elders of the Fox Tribe, the civilization was discovered on what was originally thought to be Equestrian territory, after all. The Equestrians had agreed to give their land to the foxes, as well as exchange their information, knowledge, and a little bit of magical power. However, this deal seemed to benefit the foxes more than the ponies, so they would have to prepare their offering. Though they wouldn’t disclose what exactly it was, the foxes explained that it would help the youngest princess, Twilight Sparkle, with her studies.

Soon, the exchange of knowledge took place, each one handing the other an encyclopedia’s worth of information. However, the foxes had one last thing to offer.

“And, in order to make this exchange fair, we give onto your youngest princess one of our finest scholars, he shall serve you well, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the elder said, bowing and stepping aside.

Another fox stepped forward. This one had white fur, but long, flowing silver hair that reached his chest. Similar to the other foxes, he had markings along his arms, legs, face, ears, and tail, colored the same silver as his hair. “Artemis Alexander, at your service.”

“We have given you one of our smartest foxes to be your servant..” the elder explained.

“Wait, servant?” Twilight tilted her head in confusion.

“Yes, Artemis here will be your personal retainer, if that word makes you feel better.”

“Uh, I’m not entirely sure I need a servant of any kind.”

“Why not? With that little dragon of yours running around doing everything, I figured your kind would have no problem with enslavement,” Artemis muttered under his breath.

“Oh, but we insist! It’s how we can make this exchange of information fair. So please, use him as you see fit,” The elder said, nodding.

“Uh...alright, then.” Twilight didn’t exactly like the concept, but she certainly wasn’t going to be cruel to him. Twilight extends her hoof out. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Artemis.”

“Please, the pleasure is all mine, princess,” he says, giving her a toothy grin.

After the exchange was over, Twilight and Artemis returned to Twilight’s castle.

“Well, Artemis, I don’t exactly need a servant, but I am interested in learning more about you. Do you mind answering questions I have about your species?”

“Sure, ask away,” Artemis said, hopping onto the couch and reclining.

“Well, foxes use magic, right? How does that work?” She asked, putting a quill to her notepad.

“Oh, every time a fox is born, the parents and elders hold a ritual. We go into a special section of the forest, where we have an altar. It’s shaped like a bowl, balanced precariously on a pile of stones. The parents place the kit in the altar, and they sing the traditional enchantment song, and that is what imbues the kit with magical energy. That’s also what gives us longevity, you know. A few years means nothing to us.”

“I see, this is very interesting!” Twilight nodded, writing all the information down.

“And what about eating habits? What do foxes usually eat?”

“Well, we usually eat what we can forage or hunt for. The usual stuff, you know? Birds, mushrooms, duberries if we’re lucky, seeds…”

“Duberries?” Twilight looked up from her notepad, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah, Duberries are these rare berries that are half red, half blue. they taste like two fruits in one. You stumble across a ripe patch of duberries, you eat like royalty for like a week.

“Fascinating…” Twilight began scribbling down more notes.

“But, there is one thing that’s even rarer than the duberries. We consider it the finest of cuisine.”

“And what’s that?”

“The satisfaction of telling an airheaded princess absolute bullshit,” Artemis said with a coy smirk.

“What.”

“Oh yeah, I was making that shit up. Figured someone smart would’ve caught on way before, but, oh well,” he chuckled.

Twilight kept trying to make the best of her new servant without trying to be cruel, but every time, Artemis had fouled up his duty, claiming it was an accident. Even the most menial of tasks, Artemis found a way to make a mistake on. Eventually, Twilight’s patience wore thin.

“Artemis, I don’t think that you’re taking your position here seriously…”

“Oh, guess I’m sorry. I’m just some slave that was unceremoniously dumped onto a princess I never met and am forced to work under ‘til I die. Sorry I don’t live up to your sky-high expectations, your highness.” Artemis scoffed, crossing his arms as he leapt onto the couch.

“Look, Artemis, I know you feel pretty bitter about this situation, but I’m trying to make this work out for both of us. I won’t use you as a slave, but at the very least, can you cooperate with me?”

“Listen here, princess,” Artemis growls, invading Twilight’s personal space. “Where I’m from, the other vixens would do anything just to get the chance to do whatever I wanted them to do. I’m only here because I’m so smart, they didn’t know what to do with me. So fine, I’ll do whatever your precious little princess heart desires. But you would be the dumbest creature alive if you think for a second I have to like it.”

“...I see...very well, I’ll leave you to do as you wish for now,” Twilight said, starting to walk away. “Just don’t destroy anything, alright?”

“Sure thing, princess,” Artemis said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Twilight began walking outside the castle. She still didn’t like the idea of having Artemis as a servant, but at the very least, she expected some respect for her instructions and rules. She needed a little outside help, and seeing as there was an animal she needed to control, she knew the perfect pony to go to.

“Oh my, this Artemis fellow sure sounds like a lot of trouble…”

“He really is, do you have any advice for how I can control him better, Fluttershy? Maybe teach me how to use The Stare or something?” Twilight asked, sitting across from her friend in her cottage.

“Twilight, The Stare is only meant for a last resort!” Fluttershy said sternly. “But, I think there is something else you could do…I think that you need to have more of a commanding presence. Even though you’re not using him as a servant, you still need to make him understand you’re in charge.”

Twilight blinked. The concept of Fluttershy telling her to be more assertive left her stunned for a moment. “Alright, so how do I do that?”

“Well, it seems like the root problem is his behavior. You need to give him some corrective discipline and break of him his bad habits, alright?”

“Yeah, I think I get it now!” Twilight nodded.

“Do you need me to come with you to help out?” Fluttershy offered. “I don’t know how much different this Artemis is from the foxes I know, but I’m sure I could try something.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy, but I think this is something I can handle on my own.” Twilight smiled, a plan already forming in her head.

“Oh, alright. Good luck then, Twilight!” Fluttershy said, waving goodbye to Twilight as she left.

Twilight headed back to her castle, finding that Artemis hadn’t moved from his spot on the couch. As long as he stayed there, she could start studying uninterrupted. She went into her library, looking over the massive collection of books.

Though Twilight had gathered a good collection of book on pet control, she felt that they were a bit lacking. Artemis had a lot more sapience than a common house pet, she needed something different. Twilight continued searching through her library until she found a group of books that seemed to suit her needs. They were a bit saucy, but upon further inspection, she found that the characters in the story were able to completely dominate the other. She began to study those for reference, adding more of those stories to the pile of reference material.

By the time that Twilight had finished studying, it was already evening. The sun was setting past the horizon. Though she had an idea of what to do, it would take a bit more preparation to execute. She got to work on her second phase of her plan, hopefully she would be done by morning.