Of Magic and Flame

This place isn't so bad. I always imagined a land from a show like this would include more singing and magical creatures. So far, it's not living up to my expectations. As we approached the schoolhouse, it almost seemed deserted. A swing rocked back and forth making an irritating creak, that was the only movement around.

"Well Blaze, I don't see anything. Shouldn't there be a teacher or at least a janitor? It's not that late." Said Shellshocker. I really need to get used to that.

"Yeah, I don't see a single thing. Let's just try and find the assistant. Any idea what he looks like?"

"No, I don't, Bruteroot. Although, maybe we should look inside before we leave, hmm?"

They both nodded in agreement and we walked up to the door. I looked at Bruteroot and tilted my head towards the door. He put a smile on his flooked at me questioningly. I gestured this time with more force, almost slamming my head into the door. He finally took the hint and knocked. We waited for quite some time before we heard. "Just a minute!"

we waited some more until the door opened to reveal a purplish female pony with a pink mane. She seemed distracted as she was glancing to the side. She smiled and asked, "How can I help you?"

I stood forward and said, "Um, hi. We're looking for Miss Applejack's sister. Do you think you could..."

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Slam!

"Well," I knocked on the door, "miss, are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"No! Get away you monsters! You're not gonna hurt me or Apple Bloom!"

I sighed, "Miss, we're not here to hurt anybody. We just want to figure out how to get home. Could you please come out?"

"Hey!" A voice came from behind us. When we turned, we were confronted with a small, bipedal, green and purple lizard. He had his hands on his hips and was glaring at us. "Who are you and what did you do?"

Shellshocker replied, "We wanted to find out how to get back to our world, and Applejack said that her sister, err... Apple Bloom I think, was hanging out with the assistant of one of her friends. She thinks the friend can help us."

       He calmed down after we said this and put a smile on his face. "Gentlemen, you're in luck. Said assistant is yours truly. I can take you to Twilight, but I don't know what she can do for you."

Bruteroot smiled, saying "Let's go!"

We approached a giant tree which seemed to be hollowed out and converted into a building. As we approached, the lizard turned to us and said, "Oh, I forgot. My name's Spike, resident dragon here in Ponyville. And who are you?"

"My name is Blazewing," I replied, "I am a charmander. This is Bruteroot the bulbasaur, and Shellshocker the squirtle." I pointed to each as I introduced them.

Spike looked at me quizzically, then asked, "Blazewing? I don't see any wings, unless they're hidden."

"No no no, I don't have wings, but my final evolution does. It'll make sense when it happens." I smiled and tried to look convincing. Spike raised his eyebrow, unimpressed. We reached the door and Spike knocked. "Twilight! I'm home! And I brought some guys who wanted to see you."

We heard a voice coming from above.

"Just a minute Spike! What do they need? A book? A spell?"

He glanced at us in thought. "Ummm. I don't know. Why don't you ask?"

We heard some shuffling and some hooves walking down steps. "Ugghh. Fine. Welcome to Golden Oaks Library. My name is Twilight Sparkle, how can I help you?" She said without looking up. She was engrossed in some book that looked to be hundreds of years old. I pulled the top of the book down and said, "Hi."

"Hey! Don't touch! Do you know how old... Oh my Celestia! You're on fire! Spike get some water!" She began to run around in panic. It was almost comical.

"Uhh, Twilight. He's been like this the whole time. He's fine. This is Blazewing, and these are his friends Shellshocker and Bruteroot. They need help getting back to their world."

"Wait, you're from another world? Ooooooh! This is a great research opportunity." I heard Spike groan loudly at this, as though this is a common event. "I would love to be able to study you. But, first, why do you need to go home?"

Bruteroot spoke up, "We don't belong here. It's not home. Can you send us back?"

Twilight sighed and looked at the ground. "I can't send you back, so that's why it's so interesting for me to see you. If we could transport between worlds, we'd do it in a heartbeat. The only ponies who would have a clue is the princesses. I'm sorry, but I can't do anything."

"It's fine miss Sparkle. We can find our way in this world, right guys? All we need now is a place to stay. Do you know of someplace that we could use while we're here?"

Twilight perked up at this. "I have a basement you guys could stay in until you find a permanent home. I would love to research err... Host you!"

Shellshocker walked up to her and smiled brightly. "Thank you very much miss Sparkle. We appreciate it a lot." He gazed around the expansive collection of books and tomes. "So, which is your favorite?" The two began discussing the finer points of literature almost immediately. I was amazed that he hit it off so well with her. Back on Earth, he always was reading in middle school and even recess, so we called him Facebook. I guess once a Facebook, always a Facebook.

"C'mon. Let me show you downstairs." Spike said. He led us down a flight of wooden stairs that led to a large room filled with lab equipment. "This is where Twilight likes to do all her chemistry, alchemy, and potion making, so we needed all this to record stuff.  Don't worry though, she's past that part of her studies. And, here are some mats and quilts." He passed us three of each that he had just pulled out of a nearby storage closet.

"Thanks." I said. "For everything."

A broad smile grew on his face. "Don't mention it."

We were all laying in the basement trying to fall asleep. I sat there thinking to myself for some time before speaking. "I just realized that we were turned into Pokémon, transported to a world of magical talking ponies, and we're staying the night at one of the pony's houses, and I'm the only one who has completely lost it. That's not right."

As I began talking, the weight of what I was saying began to sink in on Bruteroot and Shellshocker. The latter began to curl into a ball and rock slowly in place and the other kept trying to slap himself out of it. He was telling himself over and over again that "this is just a dream. It's just a dream..." I sat down, staring at the floor. I don't know what happened at all, and I'm just going with it. Either something is seriously wrong with me, or I'm... No I'm crazy. That's the only explanation. Slowly, we all drifted to sleep while trying to make sense of the day.

A bright figure stood, alone. It was singing a song like that of a chorus of chickadees. The voice entranced me, and I floated towards it. Something about it was familiar, as though the being had just spoken with me. As I drew closer, I began to feel the raw power emanating from the figure. Along with the power, came a sense of compassion and gentleness, though. I reached its side and it turned its head to me. I gazed into its eyes for a few moments until it said "Greetings, child."