Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Unexpected Turnsby SedgewickChaptersChapter 1: Mission FailedChapter 2: RevelationsChapter 3: Surprise Visitor(s)Chapter 1: Mission Failed“Carine, look! There’s five indentations in the tablet. I bet those are for the time gears,” A young cyndaquil by the name of Dust exclaimed to his Eevee partner, pointing towards the glowing tablet before them. “You’re probably right,” Carine agreed. “I better get these in quick,” she began to make her way towards the stairs leading up the tablet, with her partner Dust in tow. Before they could even step foot on the stairs, a bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of the duo, sending them flying backwards. They landed several feet away with an audible thud, still sliding back from the momentum of their flight. Dust was the first to recover, the flames on his back becoming more fierce and defined. He scanned the area, searching for who could have launched that bolt at him and his friend. Carine soon joined him in his search for their mysterious assailant. The clouds soon began to darken, as if a threatening storm was just rolling in above them. Dust took a step back, worried for what awaited him and his partner. He took a moment to look towards his partner, making sure she was okay. She seemed to be just as worried, if not a bit shaken as well. Can’t say I blame her, really “So it’s you!” a voice yelled out to them, seething in anger. “You seek the destruction of Temporal Tower!” The voice accused. Dust’s eyes darted back and forth once again, searching for where the voice had come from. “What do you mean destruction of Temporal Tower? We’re trying to prevent time from stopping!” Carine tried to reason with the voice. “Time… stopping… ” the voice roared out, shaking the very foundaries of the tower itself. A bright light flashed before the duo, effectively blinding them for a short time. They brought down their arms only to find a large deep blue being that resembled a dragon with slabs of what looked like metal covering its body, along with a blue gem embedded in its chest. Its eyes were glazed over a deep red. It stared down at the Cyndaquil and Eevee in front of it. “You dare bring ruin to this tower!?” “Dialga, please! We’re trying to prevent the tower from collasp-” “Silence!” Dialga ordered, cutting off Carine plea. “For all those who threaten the tower.” “I don’t think he’s gonna listen. There must be something corrupting him, and I can only imagine there’s one way to go about this,” Dust called to his partner. “As much as I don’t want to fight him, I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Carine responded, uneasiness clear in her voice. “I will show no mercy!” Dialga finished as boulders began levitate around him. Dust and Carine knew full well what would come next. “Bail!” Carine called out to Dust. They jumped to opposite sides of each other as the boulders came crashing down where they once were. Dust sprinted towards the rampaging dragon, flames beginning to cover his form. He continued to dodge the onslaught of boulders careening towards him until he got close enough to Dialga. He sprinted up one of the boulders and leapt off it, ramming Dialga in the chest with a flame charge. Dialga stepped back but otherwise seemed fine. Dust stared, dumbfounded that he had effectively done nothing, or at least seemingly so. “Dust! Move!” he heard Carine scream at him. Snapping back to attention he jumped back, just barely dodging Dialga’s large claws. The force of the impact alone causing Dust to lose his footing, tumbling to ground. “So much for a graceful landing,” Dust said to no one in particular. Dialga growled nearby, prompting Dust to get up and move, and fast. Using his quick attack to get a good distance between him and Dialga before he started the circle the corrupted dragon. Before long Carine ran towards Dialga, using her double-team to throw him off. Dialga threw more boulders and random debris towards what he thought was Carine, only to hit a decoy each time. In the final stretch, Carine charged Dialga at full speed, recklessly crashing into the side of him. Dialga grunted and stumbled, nearly losing his balance from the impact of the attack. Carine landed several feet away from Dialga, struggling to keep on all fours due to the recoil of her attack. “You alright?” Dust called out to her, hoping she wouldn’t be in too much pain, the dragon was partly steel after all. “Never better,” she managed to reply back. Dust nodded, despite knowing she wouldn’t see it. He turned his attention back to Dialga; the dragon hardly looking like it took much damage from their attacks. How are we supposed to fight this thing? “I don’t suppose you’re ready for a duo attack now would you, Carine?” Dust called out to his partner again. The dragon inching closer to them. “Should be,” Carine answered after catching her breath. She breathed in, a large ball, the colour of the night sky, began to form. Dust took in a deep breath, holding it in for a second longer while his partners shadow ball was ready. Carine then exhaled, releasing the shadow ball, and following soon after, a trail of fire. The fire from the engulfed the shadow ball, enlarging the attack as it flew towards Dialga. Dialga noticed the incoming projectile, planting his feet into the ground and bracing for impact. The attack hit home. The flamethrower covered shadow ball connected with Dialga’s face, creating a large explosion on impact. Smoke covered the area where Dialga had once been, debris falling from nearby towers finally giving out. Dust and Carine looked on in awe, hoping they had finally defeated the steel dragon. They looked to each other, large smiles adorning their faces. Dust opened his mouth to speak but was abruptly cut off by a booming roar, accompanied by a bright blue light shining through the smoke, that seemed to shake the world itself. “W-what is going on?” Carine managed to ask before seemingly being struck by something invisible, as if something was attacking her from the inside, and falling to the ground. She brought her arms to her temples and screamed. Dust tried to move to her but was stricken with seemingly the same fate as his partner. Dust fell, screaming from the pain as well, unsure of what to do, if he could possibly do anything at all. Dust managed to open a bloodshot eye, seeing something he never thought he would in his life. Time was at a near stand still. For what seemed like hours, everything slowed down. Debris slowly made their descent to the ground, the clouds above barely moving in the sky. His partner was also moving in slow motion. Even Dust had troubles moving like he had been able to before. Moments passed and everything soon went back to normal, as normal as things could be that is. Debris fell, clouds continued their trek across the sky and Dialga made his way towards them at a normal pace. Dust attempted to get back on his feet but to no avail. He tried and tried but only kept collapsing. He growled in frustration, lifting his chin and eyeing his partner who lay motionless on the ground. Dust had resorted to dragging himself closer to her, but only managed a few inches before Dialga was towering above him. Dust looked up at Dialga, staring into those near emotionless eyes. A glint. Dust had seen it in the dragons eye, a glint that inside, the real Dialga was so sorry for what he was about to do. The dragon lifted his right leg into the air, the claws beginning to glow a brilliant white. So… this is it. Dust thought to himself, a single tear running down his face. This is how it all ends. I’ve failed. Dust managed a glance at his partner, no, not just a partner. A true, great friend. “I’m sorry,” was the last thing he said before everything faded to black. *** Dust awoke with a start. He sat up, bringing a deep purple claw to his head. What… what happened? He thought to himself. He then realized his body, a deep purple coat with arms that ended in three claws as well as legs that ended similarly as well as what looked like a gem embedded in his chest. He brought his claw down to feel his facial features. A mouth that wasn’t always there apparently with two spikes that poked out the back of his head, as if he had an ear that split in two and then facing the wrong way on both sides of his head. He then noticed that his eyes were seemingly never able to close, as if he had no eyelids and large hexagonal shaped eyes. Everything seemed… wrong. He felt as though he didn’t belong in this body despite his current situation. It felt completely off and alien to him. He waved it off for the moment and took in his surroundings. He was in a forest filled with seemingly dead yet alive trees that looked like they bore unsettling faces. Lifting his gaze upwards he noticed that the canopy of the forest was extremely dense, so much that he couldn’t tell if it was day or night. He brought his head back down and got to his feet. Upon getting up he noticed a slight glint of light to his right, an object of some sort, probably made of some type of metal. Dust made his way towards the object of interest, getting a good look at it. He picked it up, examining it. It was a brilliant gold with no sign of wear or tear. It looked brand new. “A badge if I’ve ever seen one,” he stated to himself. He had no idea what the badge symbolized however. Turning the badge over he noticed that there was some writing etched onto the back of it. A name. “Hang on… that’s my name,” he trailed off, unsure of what to think or say at the find. A gold badge with his name etched on the back of it? There must be some explanation for this, but what? No matter how hard he tried to search his mind, nothing turned up. He couldn’t find anything relating to this badge. “Your mission is not yet done, Dust,” a voice sounded out, seemingly echoing in the the area Dust was at. “My mission? What do you mean? I don’t understand!” Dust cried out, looking around him in hopes of finding this mysterious entity. “A being trapped within a stone. Achak. Find him. He will help you see through your destiny, but first, you must recover your memories before he can be of any help,” the being answered, its voice being carried through the air. “Trapped in a stone? Lost memories? But how do I go about all of this?” Dust asked the strange being. He waited several moments in silence before he concluded that he wouldn’t get another response from the entity. He let out a sigh and looked back down to the badge clenched in his claw. The badge was slightly cold, no doubt by being out in the forest for who knows how long before he had claimed it. He couldn’t remember prior events but he could remember species. Pokemon, to be more precise. what his kind was referred to as. He also managed to remember his own name, but aside from that, he couldn’t quite place a claw on anything else. “H-hello?” A feminine called out behind Dust, knocking him out of his stupor. He turned around on spot to find a small creature that almost resembled a ponyta, however not at the same time. The creature had a yellow coat with a red mane and tail and a bow accompanying it’s hairstyle. Her big orange, with a tint of red, eyes staring at Dust. In that moment, he realized that something was very wrong with what was going on. He doubted he was in the world he was supposed to be in. “Uh, hello there,” Dust managed to respond back. Creature seemed taken aback by the response, whether it was because he effectively had no mouth at the time being or if it was because she wasn’t expecting him to actually talk, he didn’t know. “A-ah heard somepony talkin’ and came to c-check it out,” she stammered out. Dust simply nodded as a response. The creature took a step closer to Dust, curiosity starting to overcome her fear. Dust just sat there, unable to comprehend what was going on. Something happend and he ended up in a forest he didn’t know in a body that felt completely alien to him and quite possibly into an area that wasn’t where he should be. “ah haven’t seen anythin’ like ya’ll before…” she trailed off, bringing Dust back to reality. He must have gotten lost in his thoughts once again. He noticed that the creature couldn’t be much taller than him in his current state. “I can’t say I’ve seen anything like yourself either, young one,” Dust responded. “Are ya’ll an alien!?” She suddenly exclaimed, catching Dust off guard. “Well…” he trailed off, thinking of what he could say. This young creature could help him out immensely. He wouldn’t want to scare her off by accident. He decided to go with a more truthful explanation. “I suppose I could be, but I’m honestly not sure how to put it,” He answered. The jaw of the creature before him was locked open. He wasn’t sure what she was about to do at that very moment. “That’s so cool!” She exclaimed, walking in circles around Dust, getting a good look at him. She doesn’t seem to be so afraid now. Dust smiled at this, however, after doing so the creature backed off, seemingly shaken by something now. “What? Is there something around here?” He questioned. “Y-yer teeth… they’re all sharp and pointy,” she said, quite noticeably shaken by this fact. “I’m sorry. I’m not quite… familiar with this body,” Dust responded, putting claws in the air as a sign that he would not attack. The creature seemed to calm down slightly by this. “What’s your name?” Dust questioned the young creature in front of him, hoping she wasn’t too frightened to answer. “Mah name’s Applebloom. What about yers?” “You can call me Dust.” “Dust, huh? That’s a bit of a strange name,” she said, giggling to herself. Dust only shrugged in response. “I suppose it is. Do you know where we are and what kind of a creature are you?” Dust asked, hoping to get as much info as he could out of Applebloom. She tilted her head, confused about something. “Well we’re in the Everfree forest in Equestria, and I’m a pony!” she exclaimed. This definitely confirmed some suspicions. He certainly wasn’t where he was supposed to. He brought a claw to his head, deep in thought, until Applebloom broke the silence. “Hey, ah was just on mah way to Zecora’s hut! Would ya like to come with? Maybe she’ll be able to help ya’ll,” Applebloom offered. Whoever this “Zecora” character was, maybe she could have some answers as to what is going on. At the very least, she may be able to give directions. “Lead the way, Applebloom,” Dust responded, extended a claw to his, signifying for her to go ahead. They walked together in silence, well, except for Applebloom’s humming a song that Dust had no idea as to what it was. In that moment he noticed that the forest seems to be a very, very quiet place, and that was unsettling. He buried the thought as he saw lights coming into view in the distance. “There’s Zecora’s hut, we’re almost there,” Applebloom called over her shoulder. Dust nodded, acknowledging her statement. Soon enough they were standing in front of the door of a hut seemingly made out of a tree with a small window near the door with light pouring out of it. Applebloom rapped on the door with her hoof multiple times until a creature similar in stature to her, but with a grey coat and black stripes with white stripes in her mane and tail. She had gold rings around her neck and her right hoof as well as a couple earings of gold. “Hey, Zecora, guess what I found in the forest! His name is Dust!” she burst out, pointing a hoof at Dust. Remembering what happened last time, he tried not to smile. Instead he lifted a claw and waved it in a greeting manner. “Hello there.” “What an interesting creature young Applebloom, his appearance resembles one of gloom,” she responded skeptically, looking Dust up and down. “Yes, well, I seem to have recently just woke up here in this forest with no memory of what has happened up to that point. Applebloom offered taking me here in hopes that maybe you may know more,” “Do come inside, take a seat and bide,” Applebloom trotted in, a bit of a spring in her step, Dust following in after. The inside of the hut was covered in things ranging from masks to herbs and other plant life and vials filled with lord knows what. Dust took a seat on a chair in the corner of the room next to a bookcase, just taking in the environment. He looked over to see Applebloom standing over a cauldron of some sort while Zecora was rummaging around some old books. Unsure of what to do he decided to just sit in silence until Zecora found something of interest that may or may not help him. That is, until he spied a mirror in the other corner of the room near Zecora. He had to know for sure. Dust shot out of the chair he was seated in and made his way towards the mirror. Once to it, he stared intently into the mirror, finally realizing what he was. “I’m a… Sableye,” Dust whispered, placing a claw on the mirror, it replicating his exact motion. He looked over to Zecora who looked confused as ever, staring at her strange house guest. Dust took this as a time to explain some things. “I’m a Sableye,” he said louder this time. “That’s what the species is called, at least. The darkness pokemon they’re common referred to as. They mostly live in caves and scavenge off gems and such alike. But this changes so much more than I could have imagined. I knew something felt alien and wrong,” he explained, his claw dropping from the mirror. “Whatever do you mean? What could you have unforeseen?” She responded. Dust looked down at Applebloom, who had joined the conversation not long after he started his explanation of what he was. He then turned to Zecora, letting out a sigh. “It means that I’m dead.” Chapter 2: Revelations“Dead!? What do ya mean yer dead? Yer standing here talking to us!” Applebloom exclaimed, clearly unsettled by the revelation. “That is true, but what your kind defines as what is dead is a far different one than my own,” Dust explained, looking to Applebloom, a frown plastered to his face. “If that is the case, then explain ones fate,” Dust turned his gaze to Zecora for a moment before staring out the lone window of the hut. “When a pokemon dies, sometimes that’s it, they die, who knows what happens to those ones, but if a pokemon dies and they have enough sheer force of will, they may return to the land of the living, but as a dead being. A ghost if you will,” Dust turned his head to look at the other two with him. A mixture of emotions were evident in their features. Fear, curiosity, confusion and… sympathy? Zecora opened her mouth to say something but Dust cut her off. “I don’t know what happened for me to end up like this, let alone how I ended up here,” Dust looked from Zecora to Applebloom, neither knowing what to say at the moment in time. He let out a sigh and turned to sit in the chair in the corner again when he felt something touch his arm, prompting him to turn around. Before he fully figured out what was happening, Applebloom threw her hooves around Dust, pulling him into hug. Dust just sat there, staring at Applebloom before returning the embrace. They parted soon after, Applebloom just staring at Dust. “Ah thought ah would have fallen right through ya,” Applebloom said just barely above a whisper. Dust remained there, unsure of what to say, so he settled on a simple nod and began searching the room for Zecora. She had apparently excused herself from the conversation and went about looking for something around the room. She soon trotted up to Dust and Applebloom, dropping a book in front of them and opening to a seemingly random page. “I require you two, venture out and find this flower for my brew,” she said in her rhyming way of speech. Dust looked over the page to see that the plant she was looking for was something called a purple coneflower. He began reading over the page to himself until the book was abruptly slammed shut by Applebloom. “Ya got it, Zecora! C’mon, Dust, lets go!” She exclaimed, shoving the book in some saddle bags set near the door and putting them on. “Please go with her, keep her safe should danger occur” Dust turned back to Zecora and nodded. “Of course,” was Dust’s only response before heading out the door with Applebloom. *** It had been several minutes since the duo left Zecora’s hut in search of purple coneflowers. They looked to and fro, leaving markings on trees and other such things to find their way back. All was silent in Everfree, just like it had been when Dust first found himself in the forest. Never thought a forest would be this quiet all this time, Dust thought to himself. “How’s it like?” Applebloom suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. “How is what like?” “Ya know… being a ghost and all. Being… dead,” she questioned, seemingly wanting to take back the question immediately after. Dust glanced at her and then returned his gaze up front, thinking of how he could put it. “I’m not sure, really. I feel… empty. Like my entire being is just a shell,” Dust answered, though whether he felt that way because he was dead or because he had no memories, he didn’t know. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Don’t be. Knowing that I’m dead is as bad as things can get, I figure,” Dust reasoned. He turned to give Applebloom a smile but remembered how that worked out last time. He returned his attention forward yet again, his smile turning into a frown. CRACK Dust spun around, looking in the direction of where the sound came from. Bushes rattled around following after the first initial sound. Unknowingly, Dust’s right claw grew a few inches longer and turning from a deep purple to a jet black as he approached the rattling bush. He brought his right claw up while using his left to move the bush. He peered behind it to see nothing other than a snapped in half tree branch. He looked left, right and even above him but found nothing of interest. “Wh-what was that?” Applebloom stammered out, finally finding her voice. “I’m not sure,” Dust replied, making his way back to Applebloom. “What happened to your claw? It got longer and scarier…” she trailed off. Dust brought his right claw up, staring at it intently. “I guess I know what one of my attacks are then,” he mumbled. “Attacks? What do ya mean?” Applebloom asked, taken aback by what she heard. “I’ll explain it to you later. Right now, I think we should find these flowers and bail,” Dust suggested. Applebloom just stared at him a while longer before nodding and continuing down the path they had chosen. They continued on in silence, just taking in their surroundings more intently, as to make sure nothing sneaks up on them again. Despite this, Dust couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. He feared for what could happen. “Look! There’s a small clearin’ with what looks like those flowers,” Applebloom called out. Dust then realized that he had fallen behind, caught up in his thoughts and worries. He quickly closed the remaining distance between him and Applebloom and looked out over the clearing. Applebloom made her way to some of the flowers, pulling out the book she borrowed and looked from the picture in the book to the flower in front of her. “Yup, these are it,” she stated, using her mouth to gather the flowers and putting them into her saddlebags. Dust cantered over to Applebloom, taking the liberty to take guard and make sure nothing attacked. He hoped that nothing would jump them, he wouldn’t feel comfortable trying to fight in his unfamiliar body. He was more worried for Applebloom than himself, considering that he was already dead, but he had no idea what kind of creatures inhabited this forest or what they were capable of. “Ya think this will be enough?” Applebloom questioned. Dust turned around and peered into her saddlebags, noting several of the flowers bundled together. “Yeah, I think this should be fine, lets head back,” Applebloom nodded in agreement, making her way towards where they entered the clearing. Dust lingered a moment, looking behind at the clearing. “Why does it feel like I’ve been to a place like this before…” he trailed off. “Dust, you coming?” Applebloom yelled out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He turned back and ran towards Applebloom, apologizing for the holdup. They backtracked, following the markings they had left, to the hut. “Do you live with Zecora, Applebloom?” Dust suddenly asked. “Nope! I live mah big sister and big brother on Sweet Apple Acres!” She answered enthusiastically. Seems her family bring her quite a bit of joy. Dust thought to himself. “I see. In that case, can ask you to do me a favour?” “What kind of favour?” “I want you to not tell anyone of my being here. I’d rather not attract unnecessary attention,” Dust stated. “Aw, but what about mah friends?” She whined, clearly disappointed that she couldn’t share this with her friends. “Especially your friends,” Dust stopped and turned to Applebloom. “Please,” he pleaded. “Oh alright,” Applebloom relented. Dust put a claw on her shoulder, whispering his thanks to her and returned to the objective at hand. They soon found themselves at Zecora’s hut yet again. Applebloom opened the door, barging into the humble abode. “We got them!” Applebloom shouted, dropping the saddlebags by the door and taking the flowers out. “Welcome back, I hope you didn’t mind the tracks,” she retrieved the flowers from Applebloom, dropping a couple into her brew. “It wasn’t bad, we managed,” Dust lied, climbing onto the chair in the corner. This really is a surprisingly nice chairhe thought. “Applebloom it is rather late, I’m sure your family awaits.” “Oh, ponyfeathers! Ah should’a been home ages ago!” Applebloom moaned. She darted for the door, swinging it wide open. “Wait, what are you going to do now, Dust?” She inquired. “Hm, I never thought about it. I guess I’ll stay here with Zecora, that is, if she’ll have me,” he looked to Zecora, who had been working on her brew ever since they got back. “I am fine with that, I’ll finally have someone with which I could chat,” she replied, looking towards Dust, a smile on her face. Dust returned his attention to Applebloom. “Well I guess I’ll be here then, but if you’re going out, allow me to accompany you,” Dust offered. Applebloom brought a hoof to her chin, appearing to think on it. “Okay, but we should hurry, lets go!” She darted out the door without much warning. Dust quickly jumped out of the chair and ran out the door as well, chasing down the foal. Applebloom slowed down enough for Dust to catch up, and catch up he did. Together they ran down the main path leading from, what Dust would only imagine a town, to Zecora’s hut. Dust could now see the break in the treeline, which lead into what looked like an orchard of some sort. “There’s the farm,” Applebloom panted out between breaths. Without the trees blocking out much of the sky, Dust got a good look at the moon above. It shone brilliantly, enhanced only by the stars that surrounded it. It was entrancing in a way at how amazing it was. He took a couple steps officially out of the forest but abruptly stopped when he heard shouting from the distance. Another feminine sounding voice. He glanced to Applebloom before reminding her. “Remember, don’t tell a soul about me,” then swiftly darted back into the forest, standing behind a tree a fair ways back. He watched on as Applebloom and what he assumed was her sister talking to each other. Well it was more like a one sided conversation with one yelling at the other. After a few moments of yelling, Applebloom’s sister made her way back to the farmhouse while Applebloom lingered a second longer, looking behind her in the direction of where Dust was standing and then galloped after her sister. “Guess I should head back,” Dust muttered to himself. *** The trip back to hut was filled with silence. Well, the kind of outside world silence, as Dust’s mind was running like mad, trying to make sense of what was going on. Before long he found himself standing on the doorstep to Zecora’s home. He reached out to open the door but stopped when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He glared in the direction of interest but found nothing worth noting. He finally opened to door, bringing his attention to Zecora, who was standing front of him with a book in her mouth. She dropped the book in front of him. “This was all I could find, perhaps it will explain what you defined,” she explained. The books title read “The Book of Equestrian Legends.” Dust picked up the book, making his way back to the chair he liked so much. He climbed atop it and opened the book, flipping page after page with nothing of interest. He kept skimming over pages, haphazardly turning then until he was nearing the end of the book. He was close to losing all hope until he found a crude drawing of a large dragon and what looked like a gateway behind it, followed by some writing. Legend says that there was once a dragon of white who opened a gateway. A gateway that led from its world to ours, with several strange creatures accompanying it. They used that gateway for days, even weeks before sealing it off and disappearing entirely. Some say that these creatures traveled to the ends of the worlds, seeking salvation, only to die in the process. Others say that there’s more to it than just an old pony folktale. Dust brought the book down, seconds from calling to Zecora but found that she was asleep on a bed not far from the chair he was in. “Guess I’ll have to wait till tomorrow,” he sighed. Chapter 3: Surprise Visitor(s)Dust sat there for what seemed like hours, mindlessly casting his gaze from one thing to another. Books, cauldron, vials full of who knows what, creepy masks that seemed to penetrate the soul. There wasn’t much else that he noticed now that he didn’t earlier. Dust pulled out the badge he had picked up on the forest floor from earlier, staring at it. He noticed that it was still relatively shiney, given where he found it and what it no doubt has been through. He kept his eyes fixed on the object, as if it would give him all the answers he was looking for. If only he could be so fortunate. Sighing, he stashed the badge under the cushion of the chair he was in, hoping Zecora wouldn’t find it. He then started for the door, figuring that now would be as good a time as ever to get some training in. He grabbed the handle to the door, turning towards Zecora for a second then opening the door and walking out. He was greeted with silence yet again. Something that Dust was becoming gradually unsettled of. You can’t seriously be telling me that there’s nothing else in this forest, Dust thought to himself. Dust picked a direction that was opposite from his earlier venture with Applebloom, hoping he’ll run into a clearing or something at some point. He went on, mindlessly wandering the forest and marking trees for what seemed like hours before stumbling across a small clearing. The clearing before him held several flowers of different kinds, ranging from blues to yellows. The moonlight from above casted brilliantly in the center of the clearing, over a lone flower that seemed to glow. Dust took a few tentative steps towards the lone flower, until a stabbing pain lanced through his head and he dropped to his knees. “Me? Captured? How insulting! Captured? Impossible, that’s for sure!” The memory ended just as quickly as it started, leaving Dust dumbfounded and slightly in pain from the lingering effects of the memory. He brought a claw up to his head, the other digging into the earth below him. His mind raced, looking for some sort of explanation to grasp onto. He didn’t get a chance to think of anything as something from his right plowed into him, sending him flying across the clearing. He rolled twice when he hit the ground. Dust staggered back to his feet and looked in the direction of his assailant. Multiple wolf like creatures that looked to have been made out of the surrounding trees stared back at him with deep glowing yellow eyes. “Not what I had in mind, but I guess it’ll work,” Dust said to no one in particular, watching the movements of the beasts in front of him. They inched closer and closer to him ever so slowly, those eyes always watching him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw it, one of the beasts beginning the attack by charging him. a wicked grin spread across his features, his claws growing and turning pitch black. The wolf closed in on him and he jumped out of the way, reaching out and clawing at the creatures right hind leg, severing it from it’s body. The wolf lost it’s balance and footing and crashed to the ground, sliding to a halt near the edge of the clearing. “Next,” Dust called out as he looked back at the group, noticing that another wolf jumped at him, taking the opportunity to attack while he was busy with the other one. Out of instinct, his body sunk into the ground, combining with the darkness. The wolf landed where Dust once was and looked around, confused. Dust dragged himself out of the shadows behind the wolf. “Boo,” he whispered, digging his claws into the back of the wolf and ripping it apart. Wood mixed with tree sap began to litter the ground of the clearing. He turned around just in time to see a wolf get nailed by a stream of water, causing it to sail through the air and smash into a tree just outside the clearing. Dust looked on for a few moments as a light blue creature, that couldn’t have been much taller than Dust, with a rather long jaw and red spikes going down it’s back, jumped out of a neighbouring bush and into the clearing. A Totodile. “A party and I wasn’t invited? C’mon now,” He called out to Dust, a large grin adorning his features. “Surprise?” Dust replied meekly, unsure of what exactly was going on. “You shouldn’t have,” the totodile responded, moments before getting pounced by one of the few wolves still sticking around. Dust let out a heavy sigh and shook his head as he turned his attention to two other wolves left in the clearing, assuming the totodile could take care of the one. They both jumped at him. Dust waited till they got closer and then stepped out of the way of one and grabbing the other by it’s leg, forcing it to lose it’s footing and driving it into the ground, it’s neck giving off a satisfying crack. It’s friend was knocked off it’s feet from the impact of the other. Dust strolled over to it, just as it was recovering, and drove a claw through it’s head. Dust turned around to see that the totodile was walking towards him, that large grin still plastered across his face. Dust’s claws returned to normal, now that there wasn’t much danger around now. “So I’m going to assume that you were the one spying on us,” Dust accused. “Spying? Maybe…” he responded. Dust glared at him, one of his claws turning deep black again. “Alright, alright, so I was! Can you really blame me for being curious?” He confessed, throwing his claws up in a defensive manner. “Right,” Dust shook his head and began to make his way out of the clearing and back onto the path he had taken to get there. “Hey! Wait up!” The totodile called out, running to catch up to Dust and walk beside him. “You won’t mind if I tag along don’t you?” the totodile questioned. “Shouldn’t you have something else to do or somewhere else to be?” Dust shot back. “Nope! Not really, so how bout it?” Dust glanced at the totodile beside him. He didn’t approve of his “friend” here spying on him and Applebloom, but figured that keeping him around would be a good idea. Afterall, he was the only other pokemon that he has found in this world. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” Dust conceded. “Alright! This is gonna be great! We can be awesome friends and party and stuff!” Or maybe he would regret this one day. “Oh, by the way, my name’s Calder! What’s yours?” Calder exclaimed. Dust realized that it would take a long while to get used to Calder’s out-going personality. “You can call me Dust,” “Alright then, Dust. So what’s next on the agenda?” Calder questioned, staring intently at Dust. “Well, I think it’s time to explore more of what’s outside this forest.” *** They found their way back to hut and proceeded down the path that lead to the farm, all the while Calder talked up a storm about what he and his friends did to some poor store owner back at home. Dust blocked out most of it, only picking up on something that multiple planks of wood, a wheelbarrow, a barrel of water and some ice. Eventually the duo found their way to the edge of the farm, just as the sun was taking it’s rightful place in the sky. “Pretty neat place here,” Calder stated, taking in his surroundings. “Yes, I suppose it is, now keep low and don’t get seen. I’d like to take a look around,” Dust responded, taking careful steps outside of the forest line and making way towards the orchard. Calder followed suit, except he didn’t even try at being subtle. “Not get seen? Where’s the fun in that?” Calder pouted, looking to Dust. “I’d rather not cause a ruckus in a town that most likely doesn’t know we exist,” Dust retorted, glaring at Calder. “Well that zebra and the other small one knows about you and they didn’t create a ruckus,” Calder argued, crossing his arms. “I’d rather not take any chances here, Calder. In due time, but for now, stay low,” Dust pleaded, his gaze softening. “Alright, whatever you say, chief, as long-” “See ya later, Applejack!” A familiar voice cut of Calder, coming from nearby the barn. Dust reached out and grabbed Calder’s arm, pulling him behind a tree. He raised a single claw over his mouth, signifying for Calder to be quiet from then on. Calder just shrugged and complied, looking towards the barn. Applebloom was running away from the barn and house and down a path, leading to a set of fences and to where Dust assumed was a town, a set of saddlebags filled with who knows what draped across her back. Standing in the doorway of the house itself was an older looking mare with an orange coat and yellow mane and tail that were tied at the ends and wearing a brown stetson. Dust gathered that this was Applebloom’s older sister Applejack. The older mare began to make her way towards the orchard, Dust taking that as a sign that they better go. He nudged Calder. “I think it would be best if we leave,” Dust whispered, pointing in the direction that Applebloom had ran off to. Calder nodded and followed Dust out of the farm. A few minutes of walking and they found themselves right outside the town of… something. Dust still didn’t know what the name of the town was. He’ll find out soon enough he figured. Dust and Calder made their ways around the outside of the town, hiding behind anything they possibly could. From trashcans to stands to trees and houses. Thankfully to their small stature, they were able to hide fairly well behind most objects. They had a few close calls, namely because Calder couldn’t bear to stand in one spot for too long and began to wander, but they managed. Dust made a mental note of a couple of the more important locations. Such as a hollowed out tree with a sign reading “Golden Oak Library.” He’d have to pay that place a visit when it went dark. Another being a large building that was the Town Hall, positioned in the middle of everything. He also took note of the types of ponies that were around town. Some with horns and others with wings and then some sporting neither one, just like Applebloom and her sister. “Oh wow, that place looks awesome! It’s like it looks like it’s made out of candy!” Calder nearly shouted, his mouth beginning to water. Dust grabbed Calder’s mouth, clamping it shut and pulling him into a bush. “Hush, or you’ll bring attention to us,” Dust lectured, releasing Calder’s mouth. “Hi Dust and Calder!” A high pitch voiced greeted. Dust snapped his head in the direction of the voice to see a bright pink pony with an equally pink mane and tail bouncing along, as if nothing wrong was with this picture. Dust sat there, stunned and unsure what to make of the situation that had just transpired. He looked over to Calder to find that he only looked back with a rather amused look on his face. “I don’t want to hear it,” Dust deadpanned. “Whatever you say, Dust,” Calder snickered. Dust sighed and grabbed Calder by the arm and led them out of town. *** Once on the outskirts of town they relaxed, moving around more freely instead of sneaking around. They haven’t seen any of the ponies wander this far out of town, apparently the forest was something to be feared and with the incident with those wolves, he could kind of understand. They made it back into the forest and found the path once again to get back to the hut. Calder hummed a tune to himself along the way. “What is that song you’re humming?” Dust questioned. He shifted his head slightly to get a slight look at his companion. “Oh, it’s just a song my mother used to sing when I was much younger. Don’t remember the words anymore though,” Calder responded. He tilted his head up at the canopy above, as if searching for the sun in the small breaks in the leaves and branches. “I see. Where is your mother now? I’m sure she’s worried about you being out here,” Dust asked, though soon regretting it. “Dunno. She left to run some errands one day and just never came back. I never found out what happened,” Calder’s tone was filled with sadness. He cast his gaze to the ground, no doubt in thought about being reminded about his mother. “I… my apologizes, Calder. I wasn’t aware,” “Don’t worry, you couldn’t have known about it,” he put a claw on Dust’s shoulder. Dust merely nodded, not wanting to say something stupid to cause more of a problem. The rest of the walk back was in silence. Soon enough they reached Zecora’s hut. “Hopefully Zecora won’t mind this,” Dust muttered to himself, reaching out with a claw and grabbing the doorknob. He slowly opened it, calling out. “Hey, Zecora, I hope you don’t mind some extra company…” Dust trailed off. Upon opening the door, he was faced with not only Zecora and Applebloom, but two other fillies as well. One was orange with a purple mane and tail as well as a pair of tiny wings to boot. The other was a bright white pony with a purple and pink mane. This one also had a horn atop her head. Dust stared at the two and vise versa. Complete silence filled the room for what seems like minutes. Until Applebloom broke it. “Surprise?” She chuckled sheepishly. “Applebloom I told you not to bring anyone here!” Dust nearly shouted. Applebloom winced. “Sorry! I kinda sorta told them about you they had to see you and wouldn’t take no as an answer…” she trailed off, looking to the down and digging at the floorboards with a hoof. “You sure like your surprises, don’t you?” Calder mocked. Dust sighed and looked back to the other two fillies in the room. The one with wings seemed to have moved closer and had a look of awe in her features while the other one was just about to cower in fear. “This is awesome! Aliens, this is so cool!” The orange one blurted, her tiny wings flapping like mad. A large smile found its way across her muzzle as she looked to Applebloom. “Well… this is Scootaloo,” Applebloom pointed to the orange one. “And the other is Sweetie Belle,” she proceeded to point to the white filly that was cowering by Zecora, who sat in silence just watching the scene unfold the whole time. “Alright, well, my name is Dust,” he placed a claw on his chest and then pointed it towards Calder. “And this is-” “I’m Calder!” He exclaimed, a large toothy grin plastered across his mouth. “Speaking of you, Calder,” Dust shifted his attention to Zecora. “I hope you don’t mind housing another.”
Chapter 1: Mission Failed“Carine, look! There’s five indentations in the tablet. I bet those are for the time gears,” A young cyndaquil by the name of Dust exclaimed to his Eevee partner, pointing towards the glowing tablet before them. “You’re probably right,” Carine agreed. “I better get these in quick,” she began to make her way towards the stairs leading up the tablet, with her partner Dust in tow. Before they could even step foot on the stairs, a bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of the duo, sending them flying backwards. They landed several feet away with an audible thud, still sliding back from the momentum of their flight. Dust was the first to recover, the flames on his back becoming more fierce and defined. He scanned the area, searching for who could have launched that bolt at him and his friend. Carine soon joined him in his search for their mysterious assailant. The clouds soon began to darken, as if a threatening storm was just rolling in above them. Dust took a step back, worried for what awaited him and his partner. He took a moment to look towards his partner, making sure she was okay. She seemed to be just as worried, if not a bit shaken as well. Can’t say I blame her, really “So it’s you!” a voice yelled out to them, seething in anger. “You seek the destruction of Temporal Tower!” The voice accused. Dust’s eyes darted back and forth once again, searching for where the voice had come from. “What do you mean destruction of Temporal Tower? We’re trying to prevent time from stopping!” Carine tried to reason with the voice. “Time… stopping… ” the voice roared out, shaking the very foundaries of the tower itself. A bright light flashed before the duo, effectively blinding them for a short time. They brought down their arms only to find a large deep blue being that resembled a dragon with slabs of what looked like metal covering its body, along with a blue gem embedded in its chest. Its eyes were glazed over a deep red. It stared down at the Cyndaquil and Eevee in front of it. “You dare bring ruin to this tower!?” “Dialga, please! We’re trying to prevent the tower from collasp-” “Silence!” Dialga ordered, cutting off Carine plea. “For all those who threaten the tower.” “I don’t think he’s gonna listen. There must be something corrupting him, and I can only imagine there’s one way to go about this,” Dust called to his partner. “As much as I don’t want to fight him, I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Carine responded, uneasiness clear in her voice. “I will show no mercy!” Dialga finished as boulders began levitate around him. Dust and Carine knew full well what would come next. “Bail!” Carine called out to Dust. They jumped to opposite sides of each other as the boulders came crashing down where they once were. Dust sprinted towards the rampaging dragon, flames beginning to cover his form. He continued to dodge the onslaught of boulders careening towards him until he got close enough to Dialga. He sprinted up one of the boulders and leapt off it, ramming Dialga in the chest with a flame charge. Dialga stepped back but otherwise seemed fine. Dust stared, dumbfounded that he had effectively done nothing, or at least seemingly so. “Dust! Move!” he heard Carine scream at him. Snapping back to attention he jumped back, just barely dodging Dialga’s large claws. The force of the impact alone causing Dust to lose his footing, tumbling to ground. “So much for a graceful landing,” Dust said to no one in particular. Dialga growled nearby, prompting Dust to get up and move, and fast. Using his quick attack to get a good distance between him and Dialga before he started the circle the corrupted dragon. Before long Carine ran towards Dialga, using her double-team to throw him off. Dialga threw more boulders and random debris towards what he thought was Carine, only to hit a decoy each time. In the final stretch, Carine charged Dialga at full speed, recklessly crashing into the side of him. Dialga grunted and stumbled, nearly losing his balance from the impact of the attack. Carine landed several feet away from Dialga, struggling to keep on all fours due to the recoil of her attack. “You alright?” Dust called out to her, hoping she wouldn’t be in too much pain, the dragon was partly steel after all. “Never better,” she managed to reply back. Dust nodded, despite knowing she wouldn’t see it. He turned his attention back to Dialga; the dragon hardly looking like it took much damage from their attacks. How are we supposed to fight this thing? “I don’t suppose you’re ready for a duo attack now would you, Carine?” Dust called out to his partner again. The dragon inching closer to them. “Should be,” Carine answered after catching her breath. She breathed in, a large ball, the colour of the night sky, began to form. Dust took in a deep breath, holding it in for a second longer while his partners shadow ball was ready. Carine then exhaled, releasing the shadow ball, and following soon after, a trail of fire. The fire from the engulfed the shadow ball, enlarging the attack as it flew towards Dialga. Dialga noticed the incoming projectile, planting his feet into the ground and bracing for impact. The attack hit home. The flamethrower covered shadow ball connected with Dialga’s face, creating a large explosion on impact. Smoke covered the area where Dialga had once been, debris falling from nearby towers finally giving out. Dust and Carine looked on in awe, hoping they had finally defeated the steel dragon. They looked to each other, large smiles adorning their faces. Dust opened his mouth to speak but was abruptly cut off by a booming roar, accompanied by a bright blue light shining through the smoke, that seemed to shake the world itself. “W-what is going on?” Carine managed to ask before seemingly being struck by something invisible, as if something was attacking her from the inside, and falling to the ground. She brought her arms to her temples and screamed. Dust tried to move to her but was stricken with seemingly the same fate as his partner. Dust fell, screaming from the pain as well, unsure of what to do, if he could possibly do anything at all. Dust managed to open a bloodshot eye, seeing something he never thought he would in his life. Time was at a near stand still. For what seemed like hours, everything slowed down. Debris slowly made their descent to the ground, the clouds above barely moving in the sky. His partner was also moving in slow motion. Even Dust had troubles moving like he had been able to before. Moments passed and everything soon went back to normal, as normal as things could be that is. Debris fell, clouds continued their trek across the sky and Dialga made his way towards them at a normal pace. Dust attempted to get back on his feet but to no avail. He tried and tried but only kept collapsing. He growled in frustration, lifting his chin and eyeing his partner who lay motionless on the ground. Dust had resorted to dragging himself closer to her, but only managed a few inches before Dialga was towering above him. Dust looked up at Dialga, staring into those near emotionless eyes. A glint. Dust had seen it in the dragons eye, a glint that inside, the real Dialga was so sorry for what he was about to do. The dragon lifted his right leg into the air, the claws beginning to glow a brilliant white. So… this is it. Dust thought to himself, a single tear running down his face. This is how it all ends. I’ve failed. Dust managed a glance at his partner, no, not just a partner. A true, great friend. “I’m sorry,” was the last thing he said before everything faded to black. *** Dust awoke with a start. He sat up, bringing a deep purple claw to his head. What… what happened? He thought to himself. He then realized his body, a deep purple coat with arms that ended in three claws as well as legs that ended similarly as well as what looked like a gem embedded in his chest. He brought his claw down to feel his facial features. A mouth that wasn’t always there apparently with two spikes that poked out the back of his head, as if he had an ear that split in two and then facing the wrong way on both sides of his head. He then noticed that his eyes were seemingly never able to close, as if he had no eyelids and large hexagonal shaped eyes. Everything seemed… wrong. He felt as though he didn’t belong in this body despite his current situation. It felt completely off and alien to him. He waved it off for the moment and took in his surroundings. He was in a forest filled with seemingly dead yet alive trees that looked like they bore unsettling faces. Lifting his gaze upwards he noticed that the canopy of the forest was extremely dense, so much that he couldn’t tell if it was day or night. He brought his head back down and got to his feet. Upon getting up he noticed a slight glint of light to his right, an object of some sort, probably made of some type of metal. Dust made his way towards the object of interest, getting a good look at it. He picked it up, examining it. It was a brilliant gold with no sign of wear or tear. It looked brand new. “A badge if I’ve ever seen one,” he stated to himself. He had no idea what the badge symbolized however. Turning the badge over he noticed that there was some writing etched onto the back of it. A name. “Hang on… that’s my name,” he trailed off, unsure of what to think or say at the find. A gold badge with his name etched on the back of it? There must be some explanation for this, but what? No matter how hard he tried to search his mind, nothing turned up. He couldn’t find anything relating to this badge. “Your mission is not yet done, Dust,” a voice sounded out, seemingly echoing in the the area Dust was at. “My mission? What do you mean? I don’t understand!” Dust cried out, looking around him in hopes of finding this mysterious entity. “A being trapped within a stone. Achak. Find him. He will help you see through your destiny, but first, you must recover your memories before he can be of any help,” the being answered, its voice being carried through the air. “Trapped in a stone? Lost memories? But how do I go about all of this?” Dust asked the strange being. He waited several moments in silence before he concluded that he wouldn’t get another response from the entity. He let out a sigh and looked back down to the badge clenched in his claw. The badge was slightly cold, no doubt by being out in the forest for who knows how long before he had claimed it. He couldn’t remember prior events but he could remember species. Pokemon, to be more precise. what his kind was referred to as. He also managed to remember his own name, but aside from that, he couldn’t quite place a claw on anything else. “H-hello?” A feminine called out behind Dust, knocking him out of his stupor. He turned around on spot to find a small creature that almost resembled a ponyta, however not at the same time. The creature had a yellow coat with a red mane and tail and a bow accompanying it’s hairstyle. Her big orange, with a tint of red, eyes staring at Dust. In that moment, he realized that something was very wrong with what was going on. He doubted he was in the world he was supposed to be in. “Uh, hello there,” Dust managed to respond back. Creature seemed taken aback by the response, whether it was because he effectively had no mouth at the time being or if it was because she wasn’t expecting him to actually talk, he didn’t know. “A-ah heard somepony talkin’ and came to c-check it out,” she stammered out. Dust simply nodded as a response. The creature took a step closer to Dust, curiosity starting to overcome her fear. Dust just sat there, unable to comprehend what was going on. Something happend and he ended up in a forest he didn’t know in a body that felt completely alien to him and quite possibly into an area that wasn’t where he should be. “ah haven’t seen anythin’ like ya’ll before…” she trailed off, bringing Dust back to reality. He must have gotten lost in his thoughts once again. He noticed that the creature couldn’t be much taller than him in his current state. “I can’t say I’ve seen anything like yourself either, young one,” Dust responded. “Are ya’ll an alien!?” She suddenly exclaimed, catching Dust off guard. “Well…” he trailed off, thinking of what he could say. This young creature could help him out immensely. He wouldn’t want to scare her off by accident. He decided to go with a more truthful explanation. “I suppose I could be, but I’m honestly not sure how to put it,” He answered. The jaw of the creature before him was locked open. He wasn’t sure what she was about to do at that very moment. “That’s so cool!” She exclaimed, walking in circles around Dust, getting a good look at him. She doesn’t seem to be so afraid now. Dust smiled at this, however, after doing so the creature backed off, seemingly shaken by something now. “What? Is there something around here?” He questioned. “Y-yer teeth… they’re all sharp and pointy,” she said, quite noticeably shaken by this fact. “I’m sorry. I’m not quite… familiar with this body,” Dust responded, putting claws in the air as a sign that he would not attack. The creature seemed to calm down slightly by this. “What’s your name?” Dust questioned the young creature in front of him, hoping she wasn’t too frightened to answer. “Mah name’s Applebloom. What about yers?” “You can call me Dust.” “Dust, huh? That’s a bit of a strange name,” she said, giggling to herself. Dust only shrugged in response. “I suppose it is. Do you know where we are and what kind of a creature are you?” Dust asked, hoping to get as much info as he could out of Applebloom. She tilted her head, confused about something. “Well we’re in the Everfree forest in Equestria, and I’m a pony!” she exclaimed. This definitely confirmed some suspicions. He certainly wasn’t where he was supposed to. He brought a claw to his head, deep in thought, until Applebloom broke the silence. “Hey, ah was just on mah way to Zecora’s hut! Would ya like to come with? Maybe she’ll be able to help ya’ll,” Applebloom offered. Whoever this “Zecora” character was, maybe she could have some answers as to what is going on. At the very least, she may be able to give directions. “Lead the way, Applebloom,” Dust responded, extended a claw to his, signifying for her to go ahead. They walked together in silence, well, except for Applebloom’s humming a song that Dust had no idea as to what it was. In that moment he noticed that the forest seems to be a very, very quiet place, and that was unsettling. He buried the thought as he saw lights coming into view in the distance. “There’s Zecora’s hut, we’re almost there,” Applebloom called over her shoulder. Dust nodded, acknowledging her statement. Soon enough they were standing in front of the door of a hut seemingly made out of a tree with a small window near the door with light pouring out of it. Applebloom rapped on the door with her hoof multiple times until a creature similar in stature to her, but with a grey coat and black stripes with white stripes in her mane and tail. She had gold rings around her neck and her right hoof as well as a couple earings of gold. “Hey, Zecora, guess what I found in the forest! His name is Dust!” she burst out, pointing a hoof at Dust. Remembering what happened last time, he tried not to smile. Instead he lifted a claw and waved it in a greeting manner. “Hello there.” “What an interesting creature young Applebloom, his appearance resembles one of gloom,” she responded skeptically, looking Dust up and down. “Yes, well, I seem to have recently just woke up here in this forest with no memory of what has happened up to that point. Applebloom offered taking me here in hopes that maybe you may know more,” “Do come inside, take a seat and bide,” Applebloom trotted in, a bit of a spring in her step, Dust following in after. The inside of the hut was covered in things ranging from masks to herbs and other plant life and vials filled with lord knows what. Dust took a seat on a chair in the corner of the room next to a bookcase, just taking in the environment. He looked over to see Applebloom standing over a cauldron of some sort while Zecora was rummaging around some old books. Unsure of what to do he decided to just sit in silence until Zecora found something of interest that may or may not help him. That is, until he spied a mirror in the other corner of the room near Zecora. He had to know for sure. Dust shot out of the chair he was seated in and made his way towards the mirror. Once to it, he stared intently into the mirror, finally realizing what he was. “I’m a… Sableye,” Dust whispered, placing a claw on the mirror, it replicating his exact motion. He looked over to Zecora who looked confused as ever, staring at her strange house guest. Dust took this as a time to explain some things. “I’m a Sableye,” he said louder this time. “That’s what the species is called, at least. The darkness pokemon they’re common referred to as. They mostly live in caves and scavenge off gems and such alike. But this changes so much more than I could have imagined. I knew something felt alien and wrong,” he explained, his claw dropping from the mirror. “Whatever do you mean? What could you have unforeseen?” She responded. Dust looked down at Applebloom, who had joined the conversation not long after he started his explanation of what he was. He then turned to Zecora, letting out a sigh. “It means that I’m dead.”
Chapter 2: Revelations“Dead!? What do ya mean yer dead? Yer standing here talking to us!” Applebloom exclaimed, clearly unsettled by the revelation. “That is true, but what your kind defines as what is dead is a far different one than my own,” Dust explained, looking to Applebloom, a frown plastered to his face. “If that is the case, then explain ones fate,” Dust turned his gaze to Zecora for a moment before staring out the lone window of the hut. “When a pokemon dies, sometimes that’s it, they die, who knows what happens to those ones, but if a pokemon dies and they have enough sheer force of will, they may return to the land of the living, but as a dead being. A ghost if you will,” Dust turned his head to look at the other two with him. A mixture of emotions were evident in their features. Fear, curiosity, confusion and… sympathy? Zecora opened her mouth to say something but Dust cut her off. “I don’t know what happened for me to end up like this, let alone how I ended up here,” Dust looked from Zecora to Applebloom, neither knowing what to say at the moment in time. He let out a sigh and turned to sit in the chair in the corner again when he felt something touch his arm, prompting him to turn around. Before he fully figured out what was happening, Applebloom threw her hooves around Dust, pulling him into hug. Dust just sat there, staring at Applebloom before returning the embrace. They parted soon after, Applebloom just staring at Dust. “Ah thought ah would have fallen right through ya,” Applebloom said just barely above a whisper. Dust remained there, unsure of what to say, so he settled on a simple nod and began searching the room for Zecora. She had apparently excused herself from the conversation and went about looking for something around the room. She soon trotted up to Dust and Applebloom, dropping a book in front of them and opening to a seemingly random page. “I require you two, venture out and find this flower for my brew,” she said in her rhyming way of speech. Dust looked over the page to see that the plant she was looking for was something called a purple coneflower. He began reading over the page to himself until the book was abruptly slammed shut by Applebloom. “Ya got it, Zecora! C’mon, Dust, lets go!” She exclaimed, shoving the book in some saddle bags set near the door and putting them on. “Please go with her, keep her safe should danger occur” Dust turned back to Zecora and nodded. “Of course,” was Dust’s only response before heading out the door with Applebloom. *** It had been several minutes since the duo left Zecora’s hut in search of purple coneflowers. They looked to and fro, leaving markings on trees and other such things to find their way back. All was silent in Everfree, just like it had been when Dust first found himself in the forest. Never thought a forest would be this quiet all this time, Dust thought to himself. “How’s it like?” Applebloom suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. “How is what like?” “Ya know… being a ghost and all. Being… dead,” she questioned, seemingly wanting to take back the question immediately after. Dust glanced at her and then returned his gaze up front, thinking of how he could put it. “I’m not sure, really. I feel… empty. Like my entire being is just a shell,” Dust answered, though whether he felt that way because he was dead or because he had no memories, he didn’t know. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Don’t be. Knowing that I’m dead is as bad as things can get, I figure,” Dust reasoned. He turned to give Applebloom a smile but remembered how that worked out last time. He returned his attention forward yet again, his smile turning into a frown. CRACK Dust spun around, looking in the direction of where the sound came from. Bushes rattled around following after the first initial sound. Unknowingly, Dust’s right claw grew a few inches longer and turning from a deep purple to a jet black as he approached the rattling bush. He brought his right claw up while using his left to move the bush. He peered behind it to see nothing other than a snapped in half tree branch. He looked left, right and even above him but found nothing of interest. “Wh-what was that?” Applebloom stammered out, finally finding her voice. “I’m not sure,” Dust replied, making his way back to Applebloom. “What happened to your claw? It got longer and scarier…” she trailed off. Dust brought his right claw up, staring at it intently. “I guess I know what one of my attacks are then,” he mumbled. “Attacks? What do ya mean?” Applebloom asked, taken aback by what she heard. “I’ll explain it to you later. Right now, I think we should find these flowers and bail,” Dust suggested. Applebloom just stared at him a while longer before nodding and continuing down the path they had chosen. They continued on in silence, just taking in their surroundings more intently, as to make sure nothing sneaks up on them again. Despite this, Dust couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. He feared for what could happen. “Look! There’s a small clearin’ with what looks like those flowers,” Applebloom called out. Dust then realized that he had fallen behind, caught up in his thoughts and worries. He quickly closed the remaining distance between him and Applebloom and looked out over the clearing. Applebloom made her way to some of the flowers, pulling out the book she borrowed and looked from the picture in the book to the flower in front of her. “Yup, these are it,” she stated, using her mouth to gather the flowers and putting them into her saddlebags. Dust cantered over to Applebloom, taking the liberty to take guard and make sure nothing attacked. He hoped that nothing would jump them, he wouldn’t feel comfortable trying to fight in his unfamiliar body. He was more worried for Applebloom than himself, considering that he was already dead, but he had no idea what kind of creatures inhabited this forest or what they were capable of. “Ya think this will be enough?” Applebloom questioned. Dust turned around and peered into her saddlebags, noting several of the flowers bundled together. “Yeah, I think this should be fine, lets head back,” Applebloom nodded in agreement, making her way towards where they entered the clearing. Dust lingered a moment, looking behind at the clearing. “Why does it feel like I’ve been to a place like this before…” he trailed off. “Dust, you coming?” Applebloom yelled out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He turned back and ran towards Applebloom, apologizing for the holdup. They backtracked, following the markings they had left, to the hut. “Do you live with Zecora, Applebloom?” Dust suddenly asked. “Nope! I live mah big sister and big brother on Sweet Apple Acres!” She answered enthusiastically. Seems her family bring her quite a bit of joy. Dust thought to himself. “I see. In that case, can ask you to do me a favour?” “What kind of favour?” “I want you to not tell anyone of my being here. I’d rather not attract unnecessary attention,” Dust stated. “Aw, but what about mah friends?” She whined, clearly disappointed that she couldn’t share this with her friends. “Especially your friends,” Dust stopped and turned to Applebloom. “Please,” he pleaded. “Oh alright,” Applebloom relented. Dust put a claw on her shoulder, whispering his thanks to her and returned to the objective at hand. They soon found themselves at Zecora’s hut yet again. Applebloom opened the door, barging into the humble abode. “We got them!” Applebloom shouted, dropping the saddlebags by the door and taking the flowers out. “Welcome back, I hope you didn’t mind the tracks,” she retrieved the flowers from Applebloom, dropping a couple into her brew. “It wasn’t bad, we managed,” Dust lied, climbing onto the chair in the corner. This really is a surprisingly nice chairhe thought. “Applebloom it is rather late, I’m sure your family awaits.” “Oh, ponyfeathers! Ah should’a been home ages ago!” Applebloom moaned. She darted for the door, swinging it wide open. “Wait, what are you going to do now, Dust?” She inquired. “Hm, I never thought about it. I guess I’ll stay here with Zecora, that is, if she’ll have me,” he looked to Zecora, who had been working on her brew ever since they got back. “I am fine with that, I’ll finally have someone with which I could chat,” she replied, looking towards Dust, a smile on her face. Dust returned his attention to Applebloom. “Well I guess I’ll be here then, but if you’re going out, allow me to accompany you,” Dust offered. Applebloom brought a hoof to her chin, appearing to think on it. “Okay, but we should hurry, lets go!” She darted out the door without much warning. Dust quickly jumped out of the chair and ran out the door as well, chasing down the foal. Applebloom slowed down enough for Dust to catch up, and catch up he did. Together they ran down the main path leading from, what Dust would only imagine a town, to Zecora’s hut. Dust could now see the break in the treeline, which lead into what looked like an orchard of some sort. “There’s the farm,” Applebloom panted out between breaths. Without the trees blocking out much of the sky, Dust got a good look at the moon above. It shone brilliantly, enhanced only by the stars that surrounded it. It was entrancing in a way at how amazing it was. He took a couple steps officially out of the forest but abruptly stopped when he heard shouting from the distance. Another feminine sounding voice. He glanced to Applebloom before reminding her. “Remember, don’t tell a soul about me,” then swiftly darted back into the forest, standing behind a tree a fair ways back. He watched on as Applebloom and what he assumed was her sister talking to each other. Well it was more like a one sided conversation with one yelling at the other. After a few moments of yelling, Applebloom’s sister made her way back to the farmhouse while Applebloom lingered a second longer, looking behind her in the direction of where Dust was standing and then galloped after her sister. “Guess I should head back,” Dust muttered to himself. *** The trip back to hut was filled with silence. Well, the kind of outside world silence, as Dust’s mind was running like mad, trying to make sense of what was going on. Before long he found himself standing on the doorstep to Zecora’s home. He reached out to open the door but stopped when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He glared in the direction of interest but found nothing worth noting. He finally opened to door, bringing his attention to Zecora, who was standing front of him with a book in her mouth. She dropped the book in front of him. “This was all I could find, perhaps it will explain what you defined,” she explained. The books title read “The Book of Equestrian Legends.” Dust picked up the book, making his way back to the chair he liked so much. He climbed atop it and opened the book, flipping page after page with nothing of interest. He kept skimming over pages, haphazardly turning then until he was nearing the end of the book. He was close to losing all hope until he found a crude drawing of a large dragon and what looked like a gateway behind it, followed by some writing. Legend says that there was once a dragon of white who opened a gateway. A gateway that led from its world to ours, with several strange creatures accompanying it. They used that gateway for days, even weeks before sealing it off and disappearing entirely. Some say that these creatures traveled to the ends of the worlds, seeking salvation, only to die in the process. Others say that there’s more to it than just an old pony folktale. Dust brought the book down, seconds from calling to Zecora but found that she was asleep on a bed not far from the chair he was in. “Guess I’ll have to wait till tomorrow,” he sighed.
Chapter 3: Surprise Visitor(s)Dust sat there for what seemed like hours, mindlessly casting his gaze from one thing to another. Books, cauldron, vials full of who knows what, creepy masks that seemed to penetrate the soul. There wasn’t much else that he noticed now that he didn’t earlier. Dust pulled out the badge he had picked up on the forest floor from earlier, staring at it. He noticed that it was still relatively shiney, given where he found it and what it no doubt has been through. He kept his eyes fixed on the object, as if it would give him all the answers he was looking for. If only he could be so fortunate. Sighing, he stashed the badge under the cushion of the chair he was in, hoping Zecora wouldn’t find it. He then started for the door, figuring that now would be as good a time as ever to get some training in. He grabbed the handle to the door, turning towards Zecora for a second then opening the door and walking out. He was greeted with silence yet again. Something that Dust was becoming gradually unsettled of. You can’t seriously be telling me that there’s nothing else in this forest, Dust thought to himself. Dust picked a direction that was opposite from his earlier venture with Applebloom, hoping he’ll run into a clearing or something at some point. He went on, mindlessly wandering the forest and marking trees for what seemed like hours before stumbling across a small clearing. The clearing before him held several flowers of different kinds, ranging from blues to yellows. The moonlight from above casted brilliantly in the center of the clearing, over a lone flower that seemed to glow. Dust took a few tentative steps towards the lone flower, until a stabbing pain lanced through his head and he dropped to his knees. “Me? Captured? How insulting! Captured? Impossible, that’s for sure!” The memory ended just as quickly as it started, leaving Dust dumbfounded and slightly in pain from the lingering effects of the memory. He brought a claw up to his head, the other digging into the earth below him. His mind raced, looking for some sort of explanation to grasp onto. He didn’t get a chance to think of anything as something from his right plowed into him, sending him flying across the clearing. He rolled twice when he hit the ground. Dust staggered back to his feet and looked in the direction of his assailant. Multiple wolf like creatures that looked to have been made out of the surrounding trees stared back at him with deep glowing yellow eyes. “Not what I had in mind, but I guess it’ll work,” Dust said to no one in particular, watching the movements of the beasts in front of him. They inched closer and closer to him ever so slowly, those eyes always watching him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw it, one of the beasts beginning the attack by charging him. a wicked grin spread across his features, his claws growing and turning pitch black. The wolf closed in on him and he jumped out of the way, reaching out and clawing at the creatures right hind leg, severing it from it’s body. The wolf lost it’s balance and footing and crashed to the ground, sliding to a halt near the edge of the clearing. “Next,” Dust called out as he looked back at the group, noticing that another wolf jumped at him, taking the opportunity to attack while he was busy with the other one. Out of instinct, his body sunk into the ground, combining with the darkness. The wolf landed where Dust once was and looked around, confused. Dust dragged himself out of the shadows behind the wolf. “Boo,” he whispered, digging his claws into the back of the wolf and ripping it apart. Wood mixed with tree sap began to litter the ground of the clearing. He turned around just in time to see a wolf get nailed by a stream of water, causing it to sail through the air and smash into a tree just outside the clearing. Dust looked on for a few moments as a light blue creature, that couldn’t have been much taller than Dust, with a rather long jaw and red spikes going down it’s back, jumped out of a neighbouring bush and into the clearing. A Totodile. “A party and I wasn’t invited? C’mon now,” He called out to Dust, a large grin adorning his features. “Surprise?” Dust replied meekly, unsure of what exactly was going on. “You shouldn’t have,” the totodile responded, moments before getting pounced by one of the few wolves still sticking around. Dust let out a heavy sigh and shook his head as he turned his attention to two other wolves left in the clearing, assuming the totodile could take care of the one. They both jumped at him. Dust waited till they got closer and then stepped out of the way of one and grabbing the other by it’s leg, forcing it to lose it’s footing and driving it into the ground, it’s neck giving off a satisfying crack. It’s friend was knocked off it’s feet from the impact of the other. Dust strolled over to it, just as it was recovering, and drove a claw through it’s head. Dust turned around to see that the totodile was walking towards him, that large grin still plastered across his face. Dust’s claws returned to normal, now that there wasn’t much danger around now. “So I’m going to assume that you were the one spying on us,” Dust accused. “Spying? Maybe…” he responded. Dust glared at him, one of his claws turning deep black again. “Alright, alright, so I was! Can you really blame me for being curious?” He confessed, throwing his claws up in a defensive manner. “Right,” Dust shook his head and began to make his way out of the clearing and back onto the path he had taken to get there. “Hey! Wait up!” The totodile called out, running to catch up to Dust and walk beside him. “You won’t mind if I tag along don’t you?” the totodile questioned. “Shouldn’t you have something else to do or somewhere else to be?” Dust shot back. “Nope! Not really, so how bout it?” Dust glanced at the totodile beside him. He didn’t approve of his “friend” here spying on him and Applebloom, but figured that keeping him around would be a good idea. Afterall, he was the only other pokemon that he has found in this world. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” Dust conceded. “Alright! This is gonna be great! We can be awesome friends and party and stuff!” Or maybe he would regret this one day. “Oh, by the way, my name’s Calder! What’s yours?” Calder exclaimed. Dust realized that it would take a long while to get used to Calder’s out-going personality. “You can call me Dust,” “Alright then, Dust. So what’s next on the agenda?” Calder questioned, staring intently at Dust. “Well, I think it’s time to explore more of what’s outside this forest.” *** They found their way back to hut and proceeded down the path that lead to the farm, all the while Calder talked up a storm about what he and his friends did to some poor store owner back at home. Dust blocked out most of it, only picking up on something that multiple planks of wood, a wheelbarrow, a barrel of water and some ice. Eventually the duo found their way to the edge of the farm, just as the sun was taking it’s rightful place in the sky. “Pretty neat place here,” Calder stated, taking in his surroundings. “Yes, I suppose it is, now keep low and don’t get seen. I’d like to take a look around,” Dust responded, taking careful steps outside of the forest line and making way towards the orchard. Calder followed suit, except he didn’t even try at being subtle. “Not get seen? Where’s the fun in that?” Calder pouted, looking to Dust. “I’d rather not cause a ruckus in a town that most likely doesn’t know we exist,” Dust retorted, glaring at Calder. “Well that zebra and the other small one knows about you and they didn’t create a ruckus,” Calder argued, crossing his arms. “I’d rather not take any chances here, Calder. In due time, but for now, stay low,” Dust pleaded, his gaze softening. “Alright, whatever you say, chief, as long-” “See ya later, Applejack!” A familiar voice cut of Calder, coming from nearby the barn. Dust reached out and grabbed Calder’s arm, pulling him behind a tree. He raised a single claw over his mouth, signifying for Calder to be quiet from then on. Calder just shrugged and complied, looking towards the barn. Applebloom was running away from the barn and house and down a path, leading to a set of fences and to where Dust assumed was a town, a set of saddlebags filled with who knows what draped across her back. Standing in the doorway of the house itself was an older looking mare with an orange coat and yellow mane and tail that were tied at the ends and wearing a brown stetson. Dust gathered that this was Applebloom’s older sister Applejack. The older mare began to make her way towards the orchard, Dust taking that as a sign that they better go. He nudged Calder. “I think it would be best if we leave,” Dust whispered, pointing in the direction that Applebloom had ran off to. Calder nodded and followed Dust out of the farm. A few minutes of walking and they found themselves right outside the town of… something. Dust still didn’t know what the name of the town was. He’ll find out soon enough he figured. Dust and Calder made their ways around the outside of the town, hiding behind anything they possibly could. From trashcans to stands to trees and houses. Thankfully to their small stature, they were able to hide fairly well behind most objects. They had a few close calls, namely because Calder couldn’t bear to stand in one spot for too long and began to wander, but they managed. Dust made a mental note of a couple of the more important locations. Such as a hollowed out tree with a sign reading “Golden Oak Library.” He’d have to pay that place a visit when it went dark. Another being a large building that was the Town Hall, positioned in the middle of everything. He also took note of the types of ponies that were around town. Some with horns and others with wings and then some sporting neither one, just like Applebloom and her sister. “Oh wow, that place looks awesome! It’s like it looks like it’s made out of candy!” Calder nearly shouted, his mouth beginning to water. Dust grabbed Calder’s mouth, clamping it shut and pulling him into a bush. “Hush, or you’ll bring attention to us,” Dust lectured, releasing Calder’s mouth. “Hi Dust and Calder!” A high pitch voiced greeted. Dust snapped his head in the direction of the voice to see a bright pink pony with an equally pink mane and tail bouncing along, as if nothing wrong was with this picture. Dust sat there, stunned and unsure what to make of the situation that had just transpired. He looked over to Calder to find that he only looked back with a rather amused look on his face. “I don’t want to hear it,” Dust deadpanned. “Whatever you say, Dust,” Calder snickered. Dust sighed and grabbed Calder by the arm and led them out of town. *** Once on the outskirts of town they relaxed, moving around more freely instead of sneaking around. They haven’t seen any of the ponies wander this far out of town, apparently the forest was something to be feared and with the incident with those wolves, he could kind of understand. They made it back into the forest and found the path once again to get back to the hut. Calder hummed a tune to himself along the way. “What is that song you’re humming?” Dust questioned. He shifted his head slightly to get a slight look at his companion. “Oh, it’s just a song my mother used to sing when I was much younger. Don’t remember the words anymore though,” Calder responded. He tilted his head up at the canopy above, as if searching for the sun in the small breaks in the leaves and branches. “I see. Where is your mother now? I’m sure she’s worried about you being out here,” Dust asked, though soon regretting it. “Dunno. She left to run some errands one day and just never came back. I never found out what happened,” Calder’s tone was filled with sadness. He cast his gaze to the ground, no doubt in thought about being reminded about his mother. “I… my apologizes, Calder. I wasn’t aware,” “Don’t worry, you couldn’t have known about it,” he put a claw on Dust’s shoulder. Dust merely nodded, not wanting to say something stupid to cause more of a problem. The rest of the walk back was in silence. Soon enough they reached Zecora’s hut. “Hopefully Zecora won’t mind this,” Dust muttered to himself, reaching out with a claw and grabbing the doorknob. He slowly opened it, calling out. “Hey, Zecora, I hope you don’t mind some extra company…” Dust trailed off. Upon opening the door, he was faced with not only Zecora and Applebloom, but two other fillies as well. One was orange with a purple mane and tail as well as a pair of tiny wings to boot. The other was a bright white pony with a purple and pink mane. This one also had a horn atop her head. Dust stared at the two and vise versa. Complete silence filled the room for what seems like minutes. Until Applebloom broke it. “Surprise?” She chuckled sheepishly. “Applebloom I told you not to bring anyone here!” Dust nearly shouted. Applebloom winced. “Sorry! I kinda sorta told them about you they had to see you and wouldn’t take no as an answer…” she trailed off, looking to the down and digging at the floorboards with a hoof. “You sure like your surprises, don’t you?” Calder mocked. Dust sighed and looked back to the other two fillies in the room. The one with wings seemed to have moved closer and had a look of awe in her features while the other one was just about to cower in fear. “This is awesome! Aliens, this is so cool!” The orange one blurted, her tiny wings flapping like mad. A large smile found its way across her muzzle as she looked to Applebloom. “Well… this is Scootaloo,” Applebloom pointed to the orange one. “And the other is Sweetie Belle,” she proceeded to point to the white filly that was cowering by Zecora, who sat in silence just watching the scene unfold the whole time. “Alright, well, my name is Dust,” he placed a claw on his chest and then pointed it towards Calder. “And this is-” “I’m Calder!” He exclaimed, a large toothy grin plastered across his mouth. “Speaking of you, Calder,” Dust shifted his attention to Zecora. “I hope you don’t mind housing another.”
