Absolution 2

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Chapter 4

Chapter 2

They quickly headed for the center of the gym, where Roxanne was already waiting for them with the ultra ball held anxiously in her hands.

“Finally!” Roxanne exclaimed, though Matt could see the smile on her face. “I thought you two would never get here.”

“It’s only been about ten minutes since you left our apartment,” Matt pointed out to her as he trudged his way next to her side and leaned onto his crutch.

“I know, I know, I’m just excited!” Roxanne replied leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I found a new Pokemon, Matt!”

“And you can’t stop thinking how this will boost your career as a Professor,” he said with a small smile.

“Well, that too,” Roxanne said with a mischievous chuckle before she glanced down at Cres. “You ready to defend us if she gets out of hand again?”

“Of course,” Cres replied, nodding his head simply.

“Great,” Roxanne said as she moved the Ultra Ball up and pointed it at the center of the gym, she pressed the center button and unleashing the odd ponyta like creature out in a red flash.

“Okay! Enough of that!” a familiar voice rang in Cres’s ears.

“By Arceus, no...” Cres moaned just from the sound of it.

Applejack’s ears perked up and her head snapped towards Cres. “You...” she said in a low tone as her eyes narrowed upon him. “You did this didn’t you!”

“Why? Why? WHY?” Cres growled between clenched teeth before he glanced back at Roxanne. “Put her away! Put her away!”

“He’s telling you to put her away,” Matt translated, and it was a good thing he did for not a moment later Applejack burst into a charge towards Cres.

The Absol was the only thing standing between her and Matt, and he knew that the man couldn’t take a charge from the brute. So he did what he had to do and lowered himself into a crouch as Roxanne tried to get a bead on Applejack but she was moving too fast.

Before the earth pony could hit him however, Cres stepped an inch to the side, the dull part of his blade sliding into her foreleg and allowed him to lever her into the air in the direction she’d come. Applejack tumbled into the ground and rolled about, settling in a mist of dirt from the gym’s floor. The mare hefted herself up, and rubbed a hoof, and before she could manage anything else, a red beam hit her, and she returned to the Ultra Ball.

Cres let out a drawn in breath and shook his head. “How in Arceus’ name did she even get here?!”

Matt frowned slightly as he walked over to him. “Wait... Cres have you seen her before?”

“Remember how Giratina sent me to another world?” Cres asked slowly. “Well, she lived there. She’s a complete salope and despises me. I have no idea why she can go in a Pokeball though... so that’s new to me.”

Matt blinked blankly in shock. “I see...” he glances up at Roxanne, or more importantly the Ultra Ball, seeing it rocking back and forth slightly. “Well honey... sorry to disappoint you but... I don’t think that’s a new Pokemon....”

“Really?” she asked, her voice sounding rather crushed.

“Really... she’s apparently from the world Giratina sent him too...” he replied, his voice still a mix of shock and worry.

“That’s... not nearly as interesting,” Roxanne said with a pout. “Well, to me anyways, I’m sure there are a bunch of others who’d like to examine her.”

“I really don’t think that would be a wise idea dear,” Matt interjected. “We would be violating her... rights I think... she’s more of a guest than something to be experimented on.”

“Fine...” Roxanne said dejectedly. “Well,” in a huff “There goes my latest thesis...”

“I can’t believe Giratina would bring her of all ponies here,” Cres growled angrily at his side, causing Matt to look down at him. “Oh no, he couldn’t have brought Fluttershy, or heck, Celestia, oh no, he had to bring crab apple.”

“Just calm down Cres,” he told the Absol. “I’m sure we’ll sort this out with Giratina later... but right now... I think we should let her out again... I doubt being held inside the Ultra Ball is winning us any favors.” He glanced up at the still rocking ball in the woman’s hand.

“True, bring out Nok please... I don’t want either of you to get hurt by her,” Cres said quickly, his voice full of concern.

“Probably a good idea,” Matt said as he wrap his hands over the handles to his crutches and head over to PC. He tap his fingers over the screen for a few seconds before another Ultra Ball was teleported next to the machine. Matt grabbed it and toss it out. “Come on out, Nok!”

The Ultra Ball popped open, and the large Aggron emerged onto the gym floor.

“Uggh, it’s good to be out of ball,” he said in his deep, rolling accent which sounded slightly as if it had been flavored by vodka. He stretched his mighty metal shoulders around while cracking his neck from side to side. “So, what is it you want of me?” he ask, craning his eyes down at Matt.

“Just stand guard.... we have a visitor who is a bit... hostile at the moment,” Matt said. Nok tilted his head in confusion.

“I’ll just iron tail her into submission if she gets past me,” Cres added sharply.

“No, just block her path,” Matt overruled firmly.

Nok glanced between the two, his head still tilted in confusion but he shrugged his shoulders and said “I really don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll keep ‘guard’ like you say Matt.” He nodded his head at the man and began to walk forward to Roxanne, his tail dragging against the ground.

“Thank you Nok,” Matt said while giving Cres a sharp look.

“She trapped me in a pit,” Cres replied indignantly. “And that’s just the start...”

“You know, I really wish I could speak Pokemon, I feel so left out sometimes,” Roxanne muttered just loud enough for Matt to hear.

Matt shook his head as he began to head back to the center of the gym. “Well whatever happened between the two of you, I need you to not let it stir up anymore strife between you two. We need to help her, not make her day any worse.”

“Bah, as if I’m any way at fault,” Cres said with a snort.

“May I release her again?” Roxanne called to her husband.

“You may,” Matt called out as he stood up straight and took the pose that a gym leader would take when a challenger entered the building. Roxanne smiled slightly despite her mood, she loved when Matt stood like that... it was so very attractive and full of confidence. She tapped the ball again, putting Applejack out a good distance away from her husband and Cres.

“I’m really getting tired of you doing that to me!” Applejack roared before her eyes widened and her face drop when she spotted Nok standing in front of her. “Sweet Celestia....” she uttered as she took a couple steps back out of instinct.

“That’s Nok,” Cres said, drawing her attention. “You probably shouldn’t try and attack either Roxane or Matt, he wouldn’t like that much, would you Nok?”

“Ya,” the Aggron rumbled out, lifting his tail and letting it fall to the ground with a shaking ‘thump’.

Applejack swallowed a lump in her throat before regaining a bit of her confidence. She then glared over at Cres. “So this how it is now? You kidnapped me and take me prisoner!?” she demanded.

“No. If it were up to me you’d be lying dead in the middle of whatever road Roxanne found you on,” Cres replied flatly, getting a flat look from Matt. “I have no idea why you’re here or who brought you. Now shut up and stop glaring at me.”

“Why should I? You probably were the one who brought me here!” she stated with a stomp of her hoof.

“Cres... are you able to communicate with her?” Matt asked.

“Yes, she’s being her typical self, argumentative, arrogant, and accusatory,” Cres replied, looking away from Applejack for half a second. “Actually, why am I doing the talking? Can you not understand her?”

“Not in the slightest...” Matt replied with a small frown as he rubbed his chin. “The only thing I can make out is the accent... it sounds like an accent I heard up in Unova.”

“Huh, strange,” Cres said before glancing back at Applejack who was still glaring at him. “Once again, I didn’t bring you here crab apple, stop glaring at me.”

“And why should I believe you?” she asked with a snort.

“Because why on Earth would I want you here?” Cres asked with a raised eyebrow. “I despise you, but I wouldn’t want to make Celestia, or Arceus forbid, Discord, angry by bringing you here. That and your company is appalling.”

“Well too bad for you, ‘cause once my friends realize I’m missing, Celestia will be here and-”

“Yes, they’ll probably show up in three months or so snorting and angry,” Cres stated flatly. “Time flows differently between my world and... ‘yours’,” the Absol added with a roll of his eyes. “Actually, if I remember correctly, that made you laugh when I was missing months with Belle...” his eyes narrowed at her.

Applejack growled in anger. “Why you little varmint... you’re just yucking this up aren’t you?”

“No. If I was ‘yucking it up’ then Nok would have already crushed you,” Cres said flatly, glancing at the Aggeron who still looked rather confused, yet keep a stance to whirl into action. “Or I’d have just slit your throat myself.”

“Cres...” Matt said flatly with a judging look, while Applejack only growled low in anger. “Remember what I said, we don’t need any more strife between the two of you.”

“I’m not the one causing strife,” Cres replied. “She is.”

“Not from the way I’m seeing it,” Matt stated as he glanced over at the mare. “I don’t think saying how you would’ve liked to kill her is helping,” he said, glancing at the Absol with a sharp look. “Put the past behind the two of you.”

“She’s accusing me of kidnapping her, I’m simply explaining what I would do if I had kidnapped her, which I haven’t,” Cres replied irritably.

“And it’s not helping us... you don’t just say something like that to others Cres...” Matt said with a hard sigh as he rubbed his forehead with the tip of his fingers.

“Whatever, what would you prefer me to tell her?” Cres asked with a small frown.

“Just ask her if she knows anything about how she came into our world,” the man replied. “And do it polity, and don’t snap back if she says anything hostile to you, just let it go.”

Cres rolled his eyes but turned back to Applejack. “Dearest Applejack, my master Matt here, has asked me to inquire of you if you are in possession of any information pertaining to how you came to be on our world,” the Absol asked, his voice dripping with false politeness.

Applejack scowled at the two. “And why should I assume you will actually ‘help’ me? For all I know you’re behind this,” she stated.

“Because simple Applejack, it would get you out of my fur,” Cres replied with a small shrug. “Besides, Matt wants to help you so I may as well assist him.”

Applejack glance between Cres and Matt, a debating look crossing over her face. Finally she glanced away and let out a hard, steam, sigh. “I don’t know... all I know I went to bed and woke up here exhausted....”

“Well... that’s not very useful,” Cres said before glancing up at Matt. “All she knows is that she went to bed and then woke up exhausted.”

Matt frowned and rub his chin. “Ask her if she’s sure if she felt anything during the night, or heard something.” he told the Absol.

“Did you feel anything during the night, or maybe heard something else when you woke up?” Cres asked Applejack.

“I didn’t feeling anything during the night... but....” She frown slightly as she closed her eyes in thought. “I think I did hear someone... talking to me as I was waking up.”

“Who? What did they say?” Cres asked, pressing forwards without Matt’s advice.

“I can’t really remember what happen... it feels like... a nightmare I can’t remember..” Her body began to shiver slightly uncontrollably before it pass. “All that I can remember is... it sounded male and... didn’t sound very... natural...”

“That certainly clears things up,” Cres said dryly before glancing up at Matt. “Apparently she remembers thinking that she had a nightmare of some kind and that when she came too she heard someone’s voice that sounded unnatural and male.”

Matt frowned as he closed his eyes and continued to rubbed his chin in thought.

“Mind giving me an update sweety?” Roxanne asked archly as she leaned against Nok’s side, sensing that the danger had passed. “Because at the moment, I’m getting about as much as he is,” she added, tapping lightly on Nok’s side.

“We got ‘Applejack’ to tell us what she knows about how she got here,” he replied, pointing a finger at the mare. “At the moment, she’s a bit clueless, and the only thing she remembers is going to bed, feeling as if she had a nightmare, and hearing a male voice as she woke up.”

Roxanne frowned for a moment. “It sounds familiar for some reason... I feel like I’ve read something similar that happening to others....” she trailed off for a moment and shook her head. “I’ll check my databases when we get home.”

“You do that... though in the meantime, I think we should probably get Applejack home,” he said, bringing his hands down and glancing over at the mare. “I’ll bring her to the summit on Mt. Coronet, and have Giratina transport her back.”

“And there goes our romantic weekend,” Roxanne lamented jokingly. “Would you like me to come with you at least? I’m not that pregnant.”

“I think it’s best if you stay and search your hunch... maybe if you find something I can tell Giratina and he can make sure this won’t happen again,” Matt told her as he walked over to her. “Okay?”

“Fine, fine,” Roxanne said before she gave him a short kiss on the lips before handing him the Ultra Ball. “You’ll need this then, I don’t think she’s going to be able to avoid attracting attention if she’s out and about.”

“True...” Matt said with a small frown as he as slightly toss the ball up and down in his palm. He glanced over at Applejack who was looking over at them, her eyes narrowed slightly at the man. “Though I don’t think that will be easy to do...” He turned around and walk back to Cres. “Cres... I need you to explain to her we might have a way to send her back home, but in order to get there, see needs to be inside the Ultra Ball.”

Cress let out a sigh and rolled his eyes as he turned back to Applejack. “We might have a way home but in order to get you to there you’re going to have to get in the Ball,” the Absol explained slowly, as if he was talking to a toddler.

“Oh no, I am not getting into that.... thing again!” she exclaimed, pointing a hoof over at Matt and the ball.

“Oh, so you’re not going to abide by our laws,” Cres drawled in a fairly good imitation of Applejack’s accent. “I guess I should be forgiving of that because you’re not from here but if y’all are anything to go by, I shouldn’t bother.”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed at Cres, clearly unamused at what he was doing from both the mimic of her accent and using her own words against her. “And here I thought you weren’t yucking this up...”

“My dearest Applejack, I wouldn’t dream of it,” Cres replied, still drawling. “In fact, I’m simply replying in kind to the hospitality you gave me.”

Cres felt a small tap against his side. “Let it go, Cres,” Matt said to him as he straightened his crutch.

“Anyways, you really do have to get in the ball,” Cres stated.

“And why should I?” the mare asked with a hard huft. “How do I know you not going to toss me over some cliff or in a river?”

“Because Applesnack, while I would do that, my Master is much, much nicer than me,” Cres said calmly. “Now then, allow yourself to go back in the ball or I will treat you like I would any other rebellious Pokemon.”

Applejack growled at the Absol. “I’d like to see you-”

She was stop when Nok slammed his tail into the ground. Applejack stumbled about a bit, while Cres deftly stood through the shock.

“I might not know what is between you two,” the Aggron said, glancing at Cres and Applejack. “But if you do wish to fight, it will be two against one,” he continued, looking back at the mare. “Not good odds for you I think.”

“Not to mention that I’m a hundred times stronger and faster then I was when we last ‘talked’,” Cres added smugly. “So even if it was 1 on 1 you’d still go down, hard.”

“Not only that, but I don’t want to start a fight,” Matt said, mostly looking down at Cres. He glances back up at Applejack. “I only wish to help you, and the first step in doing so is returning back into ball.”

Cres sighed and then translated his master’s words for Applejack. The mare frowned as her eyes darted between everyone with distrust.

“If you can’t take the Numbskull words, take mine,” Nok said, gesturing his head at Cres. “Matt keeps his words, he’s a good man.”

Applejack closed her eyes and let out a hard sharp sigh. “Fine... but you better not be lying,” she said reluctantly.

“Once again, why bother?” Cres replied before nodding to Matt. “She’s ready, Master.”

Matt nodded his head and held the Ultra Ball out in the air. “Return.” The red beam shot out from the center and hit Applejack, condensing her down to energy and bring her back inside. The ball shrunk in the man’s hand, and he clip it onto his belt with some of his other Pokeballs.

“I still can’t believe that she’s here,” Cres said, his eyes narrowing.

“Well she is, and we need to help her get back home,” Matt said as he pulled out another Ultra Ball and pointed to Nok. “Nok, return.” The Aggron was caught up in the beam and returned to his ball where the man placed it next to Applejack’s on his belt. “It’s the right thing to do.”

“Bah,” Cres replied, shaking his head but he said nothing else other than. “Let’s get to Mt. Coronet as fast as we can so that Belle and Xav don’t miss me tonight.”

Matt nod his head. “Right.” He grabbed ahold of his crutches from beneath his shoulders and started to head out to the gym where Reva was patiently waiting for them. Cres followed behind, his mind troubled and dark.

Author's Note

And there we have it, the beginning of a new adventure. This story will updated weekly for the next oh... I'd think 9 weeks thanks to the fact that Omega and I have gotten that far ahead and we're both busy with other things at the moment. Anyways, sorry that this took so long to come out, our other editor went AWOL so I had to look for another one. That being said, gigantic thanks go to DaedricPrinceSheogorath (Shine on you crazy cheese diamond) for his help and editing!

Chapter 3

Applejack floated in the void like world, hearing only the clip clop of hooves. Her forelegs were crossed over each other and she had her eyes closed as she contemplated her thoughts. Of all the places I could’ve ended up in... I end up where he lives... grrrh. Her forebrow furrowed in distaste. I’m sure he has something to do with this... this ain’t no coincidence, and he’s laughing it up in the background.

Her exhales vented slowly as her tail swished sharply. I’m sure whatever that voice was from before, he’s some friend of his... and why do I have this bad feeling that whatever they’re planning is something to just mess with me more. Help me, humph, I can’t even believe I allowed them to trap me in this... damn contraption! Her hooves bucked out hitting an invisible wall, bouncing off with seemingly little consequence.

She let out another sigh, this one more quick and worrisome. I just hope Apple Bloom, Big Mac, or Granny weren’t dragged into all of this... that’s the last thing any of them need. Her forebrow furrowed once more. But if they are... I’ll kick that Cres so hard he’ll be seeing stars all his life.

The trip to Mt. Coronet’s summit took only about three hours for Reva to reach with Cres keeping up the whole way, he’d made the climb many times before after all. As he’d traveled, the Absol’s thoughts had taken on a fairly regular circuit.

I can’t believe that she of all ponies is here. Thank Arceus we’re getting rid of her. I can’t believe that...

Over and over again those words had spun in his mind.

All the while, Matt was quite during the whole trip, his mind on the duty of keeping a look out for anything dangerous. But none came and soon the trio walked onto the snowy, cold, summit where the man dismount. He reached down and grabbed two Pokeballs from his belt. “Applejack, Emilia, come on out.”

The balls flashed open with the mare and a Glaceon appearing on the field. Applejack eyes widen slightly as her body was washed over with a wave of cold wind and began to shiver slightly, while Emilia simply smiled as she closed her eyes and took in a deep, relaxing breath.

“Ahh... I always love it when Matt pays a visit here,” she murmured to herself.

“Hey Em, been a while since you’ve been out and about,” Cres said as he walked up and gave her a friendly nuzzle. “Thought Matt would keep you in there forever,” he added with a chuckle.

“Nah, only until when he needs a new reflective surface that is,” she added to the joke as she returned the nuzzle. Her eyes then locked onto Applejack, who was staring right back with the same confusion as the Glaceon. “Oh, who is this?”

“Hopefully someone who you can help us be rid of,” Cres replied, a bit of his good cheer leaving his voice. Applejack simply narrowed her eyes at the Absol, which he returned in kind.

Emilia glanced between the two, a puzzled frown crossing her face. “Okay?”

Matt simply shook his head slowly in minor disappointment. “Anyways, if you would be so kind to make us a nice sheet of ice Emilia?”

The Glaceon nodded her head slowly. “Of course,” she replied as she took a deep breath. A faint blue ball of light form over her mouth and shortly shot out in a crackling blue beam. Applejack jumped slightly out of shock as the beam hit the ground and coated it with a thin layer of ice. Emilia swept the beam back and forth until a good sized portion of the ground was sheeted in a blanket of reflective ice.

The beam died down and Emilia nodded her head in approval. “There you go Matt. One mirror of ice.”

“Thank you Emilia,” Matt said with a small before gesturing his head outwards. “How about you enjoy your stay while we’re up here. Relax a bit since it seems like I never let you out of your Pokeball.”

The Glaceon chuckled a bit and nodded her head once more. “I think I’ll do that. Thank you Matt.” She flashed a smile at him before he legs quickly carried her away in a fluid series of rapid movement until she hit a bank of snow and dived in, disappearing completely within the bank.

Applejack walked slowly to the side of the ice, her head peering over and down to see a mirror like reflection of herself with some minor defractions. Matt walked up to her, though he kept a good distance between them, not wanting to be fully within her personal space. He peered down into the ice as well and simply called out.

“Hey Giratina, we need to talk,” he said in a loud voice.

Applejack craned her head up slightly to look at the man with a puzzle frown for him shouting out loud, but as she looked back down her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. The ice had changed from being a mirror to a window looking out into a starry looking sky with some floating islands. But what really shocked her was the large golden mask with two peering red eyes staring right back.

“SWEET CELESTIA!” the mare nickered as she leapt back several feet in the air.

The being looked at her for a moment before looking back at Matt. “Matt... why is there a pony standing next to you?”

“It’s a long story Giratina, right now we kind-of need her to be sent back home,” the man replied.

“Right...” Giratina said slowly as he looked back at Applejack once more before back at Matt. “Just to be clear, I didn’t have any part in this.” He glanced back at the mare. “Now them, please step through the ice.”

Applejack shook her head quickly. “Nah uh, how do I know this isn’t some sort of trick... or you’re going to eat me?” she demanded.

“Why would we bother?” Cres demanded, speaking up for the first time in a while. “This is Giratina, the only one who can get you home, either go through the ice or feel free to stay here on the mountain until you starve to death.”

“That and I don’t need to eat,” Giratina added. “And I know Celestia, and to be honest I’d rather not have her on my bad side along with another celestial being.”

The mare was still hesitated to move forward but closed her eyes and walked forward. She stopped at the edge of the ice and opened her eyes as she lifted up a hoof and slowly touch the surface.

The next she knew a painful blot of energy slammed up into her hoof and she was sent flying high into the air. She landed hard on her back and let out a groan. Everyone, even Cres, was stared in shocked surprise at the unexpected event. Matt was the first to react as he hobbled over to the mare and knelt down, while Cres stared at the sheet of ice in confusion.

Giratina was looking right back at him from the other side. “Don’t look at me, I have no idea how that happened, or even why.”

“It couldn’t be that easy could it?” Cres asked with a frown and a sigh. “Not with her.”

“I KNEW IT!” Applejack shouted as she pushed her up and away from Matt. “I knew y’all were lying to me!”

“We did no such thing,” Cres replied, frowning at her before he attempted to dip his paw through the ice. His paw sank in as if it had been dipped into water, the ice even rippling a little. “See, it works for me.”

“Yeah right,” the mare said with narrowed eyes. “You probably staged this whole thing to convince me otherwise, but I’m not going to be fooled no more!”

“Does she always yell like this?” Giratina asked Cres.

“Always, it is unbelievably annoying,” Cres answered with a snort. “And if she’s not yelling she’s attempting to frame me or accuse me falsely of a crime I did not commit.”

“I know how that feels... somewhat,” the Legendary replied.

“Tell me about it-” Cres cut himself off as he sensed Applejack charging him from behind.

With a single lithe movement, Cres sidestepped her charging form and hooked the dull half of his blade around her leg. He then gave her a mighty lunge before she could realize what was happening and threw her into a nearby snowbank. The snow crunched and concaved under the mare’s weight, making a faint impression of her whole body. Applejack groaned a bit before getting back onto her hooves and charged forth once more.

Cres fell into a fighting stance again and this time when she’d almost reached him he sprang into the air, landing directly behind her. Applejack twirled in an attempt to come down on him with her forehooves but Cres’s blade once more caught her leg before it could do any damage and before she knew it, Applejack was thrown face first into another bank of snow.

“Oi! Stop it both of you!” Matt said as he stepped between the two.

“It’s not as though I’m doing much,” Cres said smugly with a short shrug. Though it did nothing to rid the smirk on his face though. “You don’t have to yell at me.”

Matt gave the Absol a hard glare, one which caused Cres’s smirk to disappear. He was angry, and not in the mood for Cres’ attitude. The man gestured his head at the mare who was still half buried in the snow. “She’s crying,” he stated.

Cres glanced in Applejack’s direction and found that she was indeed crying, though he couldn’t see the tears on account of her still snow-bound face.

“She attacked me, twice,” Cres said flatly, turning away from the mare. “All I did was redirect her, like you taught me.”

“It is your right to defend yourself, but not your right to smirk like that,” the man replied. “You enjoyed that a bit too much to my liking, and I want this to end. I don’t know what happened between you and her, but that’s in the past and it doesn’t matter now. One of of you needs to let it go, and that should be you. We need to help her not make it worse.”

Cres rolled his eyes, but nodded. “Very well, but I shall defend myself as often as need be if I am attacked.” Matt nodded his head and went to Applejack’s aid while Cres turned his attention at Giratina. “Any ideas on why we can’t shove her through?”

“None...” Giratina said in a troubled tone. “Only one other being can mess with portals to the Distortion World, and that is Arceus, but doing something like this is not in his hat of tricks.”

“Wonderful...” Cres replied with a sigh as he watched Matt help Applejack out of the snow bank, not that she looked at all pleased about it.

“Indeed... I shall do some investigation of course, check the portals to Equestria and even visit the world in person to see if I can find anything,” Giratina said as he too watch from his mirror. “Hopefully I find something to the cause of this.”

“Yes, because once you find the cause, you can get rid of her,” Cres agreed, nodding his head. “Her name is Applejack by the way.”

“Noted,” Giratina said as his head flew backwards. “I shall be back hopefully soon. In the mean time, don’t hurt her too much. Like I said, you don’t want to get on Celestia’s bad side.” The ice began to fog up before the image faded away.

Cres let out a small sigh before he ambled over to another of the snow banks where he spotted Emilia peeking out, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

“I tried not to send her into the ones you were in,” Cres told her as he sat down beside the bank.

“I thank you for that,” she said as she stepped out and up to him, her head craned over to Applejack. Her face was red and the look of defeat weighed heavily across her features. “I’m guessing things got a lot more complicated, huh?”

“Yep,” Cres agreed. “I was hoping to be rid of her... but it seems she’ll be with us for a bit longer.”

“It shouldn’t be all that bad... we just have treat her as if she’s part of our family, and things should go smoothly till we find a way to help her,” the Glaceon said with a small smile.

“I wish it were so simple, knowing her, she will protest and antagonize each of us over any number of things,” Cres replied with a shake of his head.

“Then we just have to try and show her differently,” Emilia stated with a nod. “It might not be easy, but it’s the best we can do.”

Cres let out a moody sigh and slumped to the ground beside her. “All that effort to leave her behind and she still managed to find me...it’s not fair.”

Unbeknownst to those on the mountain top, a pair of teal eyes watched them with amusement.

“Oh this was such a splendid idea,” the darkly playful voice that Applejack had heard upon her first awakening murmured to itself. “I shock even myself when I come up with stuff like this... I should write it down...”

The being then frowned.

“Oh right, no paper...”

“Or pencils...”

“Or pens...”

“Heck, I don’t even like to write,” the voice commented to itself before breaking into a dark chuckle as it returned its eyes to the goings on of the mountain, eager to continue enjoying the show.

Chapter 5

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Chapter 6

Matt walked through the door of the apartment to find Roxanne wearing only her purple bathrobe, laying sideways on the couch. She was tapping away on her laptop with one hand, as she casually pet Belle’s head with the other. The crimson Absol had a book of her own in front of her, and was nestled against the woman’s chest.

Matt smiled as he walked up to her, sitting at the small opening near the end of the couch. “Any luck in your research?” he asked as he leaned his crutch next to a small table. “Because Applejack was rejected from walking through a portal, so if you have something we can have some form of progress.”

“Hmm?” she asked as if she hadn’t heard him, both she and Belle were apparently sunk deeply into their research.

“I said if you got any luck on your research, because trying to take Applejack through the Distortion World is a no go,” he restated.

“Well, you didn’t really give me much to go on,” the woman said as she stretched slightly and glanced back at him. “There is only one Pokemon who can access the Distortion World, Giratina so that’s a debunked line of searches. The more probable solution is the “one came from the whole ‘nightmare’ angle”, but that has its problems too Matt.”

“Many pokemon have the ability to induce nightmares into others, mostly Psychics or ghost types,” Belle added helpfully.

“So we’re still on square one, huh?” Matt said with a sigh.

“Not quite, I’ve managed to rule out Drowsy and Hypno, if she’d run afoul of them... then we wouldn’t be finding her in one piece,” Roxanne said matter of factly. “They tend to leave profound damage both mentally and... physically.”

“That still leaves a whole lot of other Pokemon that could be our culprits,” Matt said as he rubbed a hand to his forehead.

“Yes, yes it does,” Roxanne agreed as she leaned all the way up, doing her best not to disturb Belle too much as she brought herself over to lean against Matt’s chest. “How did the little mare take it, and what did Giri say about it?”

“Applejack didn’t take it very well... and Giratina was as surprised as the rest of us when she was... shocked away from the portal,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “He went to see if he can find anything at her end... so he’s gone for a while, but hopefully be back soon.”

“Well... that’s not helpful,” Roxanne murmured with a frown. “I was kind of counting on him to help out with this, him being so old and all, I thought he’d be able to help narrow the search.”

“I’m sure too... but for now, we need to make Applejack feel welcome at least while she’s with us,” Matt said, reaching down to pull out the Ultra Ball she was in and simply held it in his hand. “She’s depressed and needs comfort.”

“That strangely doesn’t surprise me,” Roxanne said with an empathetic frown. “She must be so scared being separated from her family and friends, stuck in an alien world, and being forced into a Pokeball over and over again.”

“Yeah... which is why I think we should try to make room for her to live here,” he said, glancing up to his wife. “She’s no bigger than a Luxray, so I think she can live here comfortably, the only problem is well... Cres.”

“I’ve already talk to him about it,” Belle answered. “For now he going to mostly stay in the master bedroom... though I did advised him to make amends for whatever is between them. We can’t have them having fights inside the house.”

“No we can’t, I’m trusting you will keep an eye on them?” Matt asked.

Belle nodded her head. “Of course.”

“My little Belle, so responsible,” Roxanne said with a smile as one of her hands left Matt’s chest to stroke her gently. “She was being responsible, wasn’t she?”

Matt smiled and nodded his head. “Yes, she was,” he agreed as he reached out to scratched the Absol across her back, much to Belle’s appreciation.

“Thought so,” Roxanne said with a smile. “So, are you going to bring Applejack out or stick her in the PC for the next month?”

Matt looked at her a bit flatly, but shook his head. “I don’t think that’s really appropriate to joke about.”

“Sorry, too much research with not enough wine,” Roxanne joked. “By which I mean, none at all.”

“Well, we don’t want our little girl to develop any problems now do we?” Matt asked, moving his head away from Belle and over Roxanna’s slightly swollen stomach.

“No, we don’t,” Roxanne agreed with a smile as she stroked a hand through his hair. “Though, what I meant was that you should probably bring her out now dear.”

Matt nodded his head and move his hand away. “Right... Applejack, come on out,” he said tossing the ball lightly in front of the open space in the living room.

The ball popped open and the mare emerged sitting on her rump, a disheartened frown crossing her face. She glanced up slightly to study her surroundings, and her eyes shortly locked onto the three of them. Her eyes narrowed slightly upon Belle, showing a deep level of distrust towards the Absol.

“Oh great... more...” the mare said, mostly under her breath.

“Hello there, my name is Belle,” Belle said as she got up from the couch, a smile on her face. “You must be Applejack.”

“Yes...” the mare said slowly as she kept her spot on the rug, her eyes glance back up at the two humans before around the house. “Now where in tarnation am I?”

“The house that you’ll presumably be living until we find you a way home,” Belle replied without a hint of hostility in her voice. “Unless you’d rather stay in the ball,” she added helpfully.

Applejack glanced around the living room once more, a faint note familiarity crossing her face. “I would rather not be sent into that... contraption again...” she said before looking back at Belle. “But the thought of living in a place where Cres lives doesn’t sound all that appealing either.”

“Yes, well it is my hope you can both put aside your differences,” Belle said, still smiling. “After all, it all started because of several misunderstandings, most of which were caused because my dear mate’s best skill is not ‘on his paws thinking’.”

“Hmph... right, ‘misunderstandings’,” Applejack said with a small snort. “If you ask me, he wasn’t confused on what he was doing.”

“That’s your decision,” Belle stated before shrugging. “Of course, I’m obviously biased where Cres is concerned. All I ask is that you don’t yell at him in front of our son. If you do, I will take offense.”

The mare raised an eyebrow but glanced away. “Then maybe you should tell him to keep his trap shut.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Belle replied before glancing towards the rear of the apartment. “Oh, and don’t disturb Ohm.”

“Who?” Applejack asked as she looked in the direction Belle was gazing, only to have her eyes widen slightly at the sight of the large, fierce looking cat whose black and blue fur cast an obvious shadow over himself.

“Ohm,” the Absol said with a nod towards the Luxray. “He’s very polite and mostly keeps to himself so you shouldn’t have too much trouble with him, so long as you remember to do the same.”

“I’ll keep that in mind...” Applejack said as she turned her head away, a feeling of uneasiness creeping down her back.

“Wonderful,” Belle said, nodding her head. “The house is yours to wander although, I’d avoid the master bedroom, Cres and our son are already asleep in there.”

“And where am I going to sleep?” the mare inquired.

“Probably the couch once they’ve gotten to sleep,” Belle answered with a nod to Matt and Roxanne had been watching the proceedings curiously, Matt quietly translating the half of the conversation he could easily understand to his wife. “That’s Roxanne, my Master, by the way.” The woman gave a friendly wave of her hand once Matt translated.

“Yeah... you’re the one who trapped me into that ball...” Applejack said, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“And kept you from dying in the middle of the road as I understand it,” Belle interjected.

The mare closed her eyes and lowered her head with a small frown, she really couldn’t deny that. Though before she could say something else, another thing voiced its opinion. Applejack’s stomach growled lowly, upset that it hadn’t been fed for nearly the entire day. Her ears perked up in a bit of surprised, a bit shocked she hadn’t noticed how hungry she was before. The mare’s ears flattened in embarrassment.

Matt facepalmed and shook his head. “Silly me, we never fed you did we?” he said as he began to lean over to grab his crutches. He was stopped however by Roxanne he gently laid a hand on his back.

“Actually, let me handle that, she is my ‘pokemon’ technically,” she told him as she stood up, a slight amused smile on her face.

Matt shrugged his shoulders as he slouched back down into the couch. “If you want to.”

“It’s not that hard to make a salad,” Roxanne replied, shrugging as she gave Applejack a smile on her way by. The mare tilted her head as she followed the woman as she walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge. “Let’s see... lettuce, tomato, carrots, olives, and some olive oil should do well enough,” the woman mused to herself as she began to rummage around within the fridge.

“What exactly is she making?” Applejack asked Belle, her eyes not turning away from Roxanne.

“I believe it’s a salad,” Belle answered simply. “I don’t much care for them, no meat and all, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

The mare eyed the Absol for a moment before, a small discerning look crossing her face before she glanced back at the woman. Roxanne didn’t take too long to make the salad and when she was done she set it down on the floor in a bowl in front of Applejack, a smile on her face.

“There you go, Applejack, enjoy,” she said before she walked back to the living room. The mare looked down at the bowl with suspicion, lowered her head and sniffed at it.

“You watched her make it, it’s not poison,” Belle said with a deadpan expression, the mare’s attitude beginning to tire out her cheeriness.

“Sorry if I want to make sure,” Applejack said a bit dryly as she sat on her rump and picked up the bowl with a hoof. She glanced around the room. “You got any place for me to sit while I eat?” she asked. However she began to notice some of the stars from Belle, Roxanne and Matt. She frown a bit in confusion. “What?”

“How are you holding the bowl with just a hoof?” Matt asked, his voice filled with a bit of awe.

“That... is a very good question,” both Roxanne and Belle said simultaneously.

Applejack glanced between everyone once again. “What?” she asked in a demanding tone.

“You don’t have any digits attached to that limb,” Belle said blankly. “You shouldn’t be able to physically do that without some sort of adhesive substance at the very least!”

The mare glanced at the bowl in her hoof then back at the Absol. “So I can hold a bowl, it’s nothing fancy to stare at me awkwardly about.”

“Are you a psychic type?” Belle inquired with a frown. “Then again, you don’t seem to be using your mind to do that, there’s no energy around the bowl itself...”

Applejack looked at the Absol with a puzzled frown before shaking her head. “Look... is there some place I can just sit down and eat that isn’t on the floor?” she asked.

Belle stared at her for a further moment before nodding to the table against the wall. “That… should work...”

“Thanks....” Applejack said as she place the bowl on her back and walked over to the table before moving it on top.

She glanced back at three who were still looking at he, and she let out a short sigh before turning her head away and tried to ignore them. The salad was... okay, to say the least. It wasn’t anything like she was used to, the taste wasn’t as flavorful, and the lettuce wasn’t very crunchy. But it was food at least, and what goes down to her stomach was okay by her book. She glanced over her shoulder one more time, seeing that Matt and Roxanne had ceased in staring at her and were talking to each other. Belle on the other hoof was gone, apparently deciding that things were calm enough for the moment, though Applejack saw her tail disappear into the bedroom.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she turned away as she resumed in eating her salad in peace.

The white Absol lay in the bed that he and Belle shared with a small, worried frown on his face. What if Applejack yelled at Belle? What if she threatened her like she had him so many times? What if she attacked her? Cres shook his head at the last one; Belle was fully capable of fighting Applejack, killing her if she had to really. That line of thought was of course assuming that Emilia or Ohm didn’t intervene first, which was in and of itself an almost non-existent posability.

Still, the thought of his beloved mate being forced to suffer beneath the mouth of the incredibly annoying Applejack was... well, it was enough to make Cres’s teeth grind together in anger at just the slightest imaginings.

The door opened slightly as Belle walked in, only to close it behind her with one of her hind legs. She let out a small sigh as she came up next to Cres and lay down. “Paranoid isn’t she?”

Cres nodded his head and leaned over to nuzzle Belle. “I’ll slit her throat if you want me to my dear,” he told her. “Just say the words.”

Belle looked at him a bit flatly. “Cres... if you ever say something like that again, I will zap you.”

“She deserves it,” Cres replied dourly. “But anyways, how paranoid is she at the moment? I’ve been doing my best to tune out her voice.”

The crimson Absol let out another sigh as she stretched out her legs and back. “Well, she immediately distrusted me when she saw me, though not acting like you probably did, I showed that I can be friendly if she is too.” She settled back down and shifted her body around on the bed. “I introduced her to Matt, Roxanne, and Ohm, telling her not to disturb him. Her reaction was... well, she a bit more than a bit uneasy upon seeing him.”

“Good, he’ll eat her faster then I will if she tries to hurt Matt or Roxanne, or Xav,” Cres replied with an astute nod. His fur stood up as a small jolt of electricity zapped him from Belle’s blade as she lightly touched it on the base of his neck. “Owe, that was uncalled for Belle.”

“I did warn you before hand,” she said, lifting her head back up. “I know you probably harbor grudges against her my mate, but now is not the time to plot behind her back. It was hard enough convincing her that the food we gave her wasn’t poison, I don’t need to add her worrying that my mate will murder her as she sleeps to the list.”

“I was just saying that if she tries to do something with neither of us around that Ohm would be able to stop her, I wasn’t plotting anything,” Cres said with a frown.

“Then say it that way instead of the other,” Belle instructed. “For they both hold different meanings to others minds.”

Cres let out a sigh. “Sorry my love... you know I don’t really think that much when I speak.”

“I know... which is why I’m trying to teach you to be mindful of what you speak then,” Belle replied. “So again, if you say anything like you did before, I will zap you.”

“That doesn’t seem very loving of you,” Cres told her with a nudge of his hips against hers. “Hardly something a good mate would do.”

Belle smiled slightly. “A good mate would tried to make sure her partner doesn’t make too many enemies because he couldn’t control his tongue. Remember what happened when you insulted that Corphish when we were making our way through Kalos.”

“... I got hydropumped through a sand dune,” Cres replied sourly. “How was I supposed to know that talking about how much I liked buttered Krabby would offend it?”

“You didn’t, but the point is you still need to watch what you say and how you say it my dear,” Belle said, giving him a small nuzzle. “For you don’t know what they can do to ‘bite’ back.”

“I suppose,” the Absol stated doubtfully. “But I do know what Applejack can do, and it primarily consists of nagging, bullying, and shouting.”

“All of which can be ignored and don’t need to repay in kind,” Belle said as she moved her head up. “For if you do, you’re just making the fire of her anger bigger Cres, and right now we need to reduced its size not make it worse.”

“Or we could just take her out into the wild, let her roam around aimlessly until she either starves to death or gets a better attitude,” he replied.

*Zap*

A higher voltage of electricity coursed through Cres, as Belle’s blade touched his neck once again, causing some of his fur to stand on their ends.

“Stop that!” Cres said irritably. “If I’m not allowed to speak freely around you my love, then I’m sure these thoughts will come out when I’m around her instead and that would be counterproductive wouldn't it?”

“Not when I hear some anger in it Cres... plus you know Matt would never do that,” Belle replied lifting her horn up.

“I know... he’s far too good of a person,” the Absol agreed with a scowl. “Honestly, he’s the only human I’ve ever known who could put up with someone like Applejack.”

“And why is that such a bad thing my dear?” the female Absol inquired.

“I suppose not,” Cres said flatly, staring into the bed. “I just... I hate her so much Belle... she was so awful to me, so unreasonable... such a salope.”

Belle looked at him dryly. “I’m restraining myself to zap you for using that word Cres... but you just need to put your anger against her aside. I doubt you can hide here in the bedroom forever.”

“I’m not hiding,” he defended. “I’m making myself tactfully absent so as not to cause an incident.”

“Yes, and you’re doing so by hiding in the bedroom,” she remarked. “No matter what you called it.”

“At your suggestion,” he reminded her dourly.

“True... but hopefully it’s only temporary. It would be better if you and Applejack could find a way to put aside your differences,” she said.

“Probably, but it probably won’t actually happen,” Cres told her before letting out a sigh and giving her a nuzzle. “Whatever else happens, I love you Belle.”

“I love you too,” she nuzzled him back with a small smile. “Now... if you’ll excuse me... I need to take a small nap.”

“I shall guard you then my sweet,” Cres replied, setting his head down.

“Thanks,” she said as she lay her head next to his and let out a deep breath.

Cres moved his head a little closer to hers, and let out a sigh, whatever challenges Applejack put in front of him, at least he’d have his Belle beside him to help face them.

Chapter 7 Author's Note

This chapter contains something a bit darker then normal, viewer discretion is advised after the first page break.

Also, thanks to Speven for additional editing

Chapter 7

Matt and Roxanne had said their goodnights to Applejack after leaving a spare blanket and a comfy pillow out on the couch for her to use, but the mare just couldn’t get to sleep. Too many thoughts rushed through her head. Instead, she sat at the kitchen table thinking over her day.

What is happening to me? I’m trapped in a world full of… of monsters and predators and even Cres is here, she thought with a small irritated growl. Out of all the beings in this world, and I had to run into him? I thought I was done with him when he ran away from his crimes, now I’m stuck with him for who knows how long. She let out a slow, drawn out sigh. And I can’t shake the feeling that he’s part of the reason I’m here. Why else would I be here and run into him? This is not a coincidence, this was planned!

Her right forehoof rubbed against the tile on the kitchen floor as she frowned in thought. It has to be that... Giratina fellow... I mean, how else would I get here and be stuck here? Cres must have made some deal with him to keep me trapped here so he can-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of paws on the kitchen floor. Her ears perked up and she quickly turned around to faintly see a crimson shape moving through the dim light of the kitchen. Whoever it was, was clearly smaller than ‘Belle’ had been and certainly a lot less careful with their steps as it approached the fridge. Then it opened the fridge up and Applejack saw the small shape of a male Absol kit with brilliant crimson fur as it rummaged through the fridge for a moment before pulling out a slice of... meat of some kind.

Applejack narrowed her eyes with cautioned as her legs spread out to- What am I doing..?

The mare blinked a bit at the thought for a second. It was a kit, probably Belle’s and... Cres’s, and right at the moment it was harmless to her, so the need to take a defensive stance was absurd. So she just stood still as she watched the kit devour the slice of meat, his surprisingly sharp teeth dicing their way through it like a group of knives. Though she shouldn’t be too surprised, he was a carnivore after all, he should have sharp teeth and claws... and she could bet on that horn of his to be sharp too, remembering the clean cut Cres made across her back once with his.

The kit finished his meal and closed the figured door, licking his paws a bit before turning and his eyes glance past her before his head did a double take and his body stiffened slightly. As if he’d been caught with his hoof in the cookie jar.

“Ah!” the kit squeaked out in surprise before getting a better look at her. “Oh! Hello! I’m Xav! You’re the mean Ponyta thing who made my dad stay in the room all day!” Despite the words, he didn’t seem very angry, more like he was excited to meet her than anything else.

The mare eyes fell a bit flat. “I’m not a ‘Ponyta’... I’m just a pony,” she corrected, not even knowing what a ‘Ponyta’ is. “And yes... I might be the one who your... dad is talking about,” Applejack answered, deciding to sit on her rump.

“Well whatever you are, you shouldn’t be mean to my dad, he’s the nicest, strongest, most awesome Absol ever,” Xav said with a frown at her before shaking his head. “Though not the smartest, that’s my mom!”

Applejack couldn’t help but scoff. “Your dad is a criminal... he ran away from my world before he could even be arrested.”

To her surprise, the kit only frowned at her. “What were the charges?”

“Breaking several of our laws that keep predators such as himself in line and resisting arrest,” the mare answered.

“Yes, because that tells me so much,” Xav said, rolling his eyes before shaking his head. “I don’t believe you, and it’s not a good thing to tell lies about people,” he added with a small shrug before he began to walk past her.

“I’m not lying you little pup,” Applejack said with a firm edge to her voice. “Your father murdered animals who were protected, resisted us for trying to contain him for that, and he breathed fired near my little sister. And before I could properly get him arrested, he ran away.”

Xav frowned for a moment before shaking his head. “You’re wrong and a liar,” he told her before shrugging. “And I’m tired,” he added before walking into the far room where she briefly caught sight of the kit hopping up beside the blue furred lion and snuggling up against him.

Applejack rolled her eyes. What did she expect? Him to see past his blindness of his ‘kind’ father? The mare shook her head as she lifted a hoof to her now tired eyes, finally wanting to seek some sleep. She let out a small yawn, as she shook her head and slowly made her way to the couch. She pull herself up and wrap the blanket around her as head lay down on the pillow. She gazed aimlessly as her heavy eyelids shortly fell down, embracing her in darkness of night.

Applejack frowned. The world was hazy and incomplete. The sun was too bright. The smells too strong. One smell permeated the air. Apples. She was home! She smiled as she looked around herself to find that she was standing on the road to her house! A grin crossed her face as she walked up the old porch, though for some reason it seemed brittle and incomplete. As she pushed the door open she found herself staring at the sight before her eyes.

A gasp of horrified shock left her mouth as her eyes went wide, taking steps back and muttering. “No.... no... no... no...”

Blood dripped from the walls, pooling the on the floor, and flies buzzed around the corpses of Granny Smith, and Big Mac. Their bodies were sliced open, the color to their fur a sickly pale, and their eyes... their eyes....

Applejack closed her eyes and physically fought down her gag reflex before a thought sprang to her mind. Apple Bloom! Her heart began to race as her strength returned and she got on all fours and bolted up the stairs.

With a mighty buck she slammed door to Applebloom’s room open and found herself staring at blood red sheets. Applebloom lay there, struggling for breath, a gaping hole in her shoulder.

“Ap-Applejack,” she crooned weakly. “Why-why weren’t you here?” she moaned. “Why-why didn’t you stop him?”

“Apple Bloom!” the mare shouted as she rushed up to her, only to be stop as something rammed into her side, knocking her down to the ground. She growled as she glanced up to see Cres, his face and coat soaked in blood, and a vicious smirk on his lips as he licked a few drops of Apple Bloom’s blood off of them.

“So glad you could join us for dinner, Applejack,” the Absol said with a grin as he bent down and sank his teeth into her shoulder, tearing off a portion of her coat and the flesh beneath it before scarfing it down. “My my, you DO taste like apples.”

The mare let out a painful grunt as she pushed her forehooves up to knock him off of her, but he simply danced around them and his blade flashed out twice. She let out a scream of pain as her hooves stopped obeying her commands, he’d slashed her tendons.

“We wouldn’t want you doing that, would we?” Cres asked her as he lowered his muzzle to her shoulder and lapped up the blood leaking out of it. “You might hurt yourself and that would be just the worst possible thing.”

“You’re low sinking varmint,” she growled as she spit into his face. “I knew you were a monster all along!”

“Then why didn’t you stop me?” he asked, a sick smirk on his face as he turned his back on her and got back onto the bed beside Apple Bloom. “Instead you let me walk around like I owned the place, and I guess I kind of did,” he added before he leaned down and licked Apple Bloom’s cheek. “After all, I could kill you at any time you know.”

“Just you wait, once Celestia finds out she’ll-”

“Oh, her? I already killed her, first on the list actually,” Cres said, letting out a laugh that made Apple Bloom cringe. “What’s wrong little apple? Did I scare you? I’m so sorry, oh, and you look like you’re bleeding, let me help you with that.”

The Absol opened up his lips and unleashed a stream of fire over Apple Bloom’s wound, causing the filly to let out a heart rending cry of pain and allowed the smell of cooking meat to drift down to Applejack’s nose.

“APPLE BLOOM!” the mare screamed, but as the fire settled down, the filly was... still alive... but a good portion of her shoulder was covered in deep, third degree burns.

“All better,” Cres told her, giving the wound a lick. “Mmm, and tasty too.” Then he took a large bite out of it, causing her to let out another scream of pain. He turned back towards Applejack as he munched on her sister’s cooked flesh. “I’m going to make you watch me eat her alive, Applejack, and then I might just leave you here, I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

Applejack gritted her teeth. “I swear Cres... I WILL KILL YOU!” she screamed out in anger.

“Oh goodie, I just love hearing people say that,” the Absol stated before taking another bite out of Apple Bloom, getting another scream out of her as she shook against him. “Mmm yod knod thish isth REALYHTS godth,” he told her in between bites as blood leaked down his jaw before he swallowed. “You know, I would feel just awful if I ate ALL of this by myself.” With that, he tore off another chunk of meat and got off of the bed, padding up to her and plopping it into her open mouth before he used his paws to close it and begin to force her to chew it. “Doesn’t she taste magnificent?”

The mare’s stomach turned as she tried to spit it out, but Cres held a firm hold over her muzzle. With nothing else to do, she swallowed the chunk, it’s unnaturally wet flesh slid down her throat. Cres released her and let out a chuckle at her pain. “Oh my, it looks like you liked it so much that you want some more...”

Applejack began to scream, it was an awful, indescribable scream of pure terror and pain as Cres-

Her body jumped as something shocked her at the base of her neck, her fur and part of her mane was standing on their end. She jolted herself upright, panting heavily as her heart pounded against her chest.

“Be at ease, you are awake,” a calm, male voice told her, causing to whirl her head to see Ohm standing next to her. His yellow eyes seemingly glowing in the dark.

“GAH!” she yelped in surprise and one of her hoof lashed out reflexively and hit Ohm in the face. It wasn’t very effective, and she felt like she was hitting a wall of solid brick. Ohm for his part, let his head roll with the punch, and returned his gaze back at the mare.

“Feeling better?” he asked, his tone reaming its calm and neutral state.

The mare blinked at him blankly, her breathing slowing down as her heart ceased in its rapid movements. “Yeah.... I’m... sorry...” she said, retracting her hoof to lay next to her once more.

“Wow! I’ve never seen anyone have a nightmare like that!” Xav’s voice said from beside his ‘uncle Ohm’. “You were screaming and shaking but no noise was coming out! You’re lucky Uncle Ohm has such good hearing!”

“Xav, this is not the moment to be amazed at,” Ohm told the kit in a instructive tone.

“Sorry Uncle Ohm,” the kit replied before looking up at Applejack. “But still! Her fur was all white and pale! I didn’t know that could happen to orange fur!”

Ohm shook his head slightly as he looked up to Applejack. “Excuse young Xav, he’s still a kit. But for now, do you need anything?”

Applejack let out a sharp sigh as took in deep breath. “I just need... I just need some room,” she said, shoving off the blanket and slid off the couch. “I just need some room to walk.”

“Of course,” Ohm said, backing away from her while using a simple paw to pull Xav in the same direction.

Applejack got up and began pacing around the room. She went around in circles for a long time, but it wasn’t helping. With every pass her legs getting anxious as she felt some of her muscles tense. She needed to do more than walking, she needed some kind of work. She looked at Ohm, who was simply sitting down watching her with Xav who was sitting in the same pose as copied the lion.

She frown slightly as she let out sigh. “You wouldn’t happen to have any trees nearby that I can buck?” she asked, feeling a bit silly asking the question.

Ohm tilted his head slightly. “There is a forest near the city, but it isn’t safe to go there during the night. But if you’re looking to burn off some energy, I can take you to Matt’s gym.”

“At night?” Xav asked with a frown. “I thought we weren’t supposed to leave the house after dark Uncle Ohm?”

“You aren’t, for you are still too young to explore the city by yourself,” Ohm replied. “As for me, I have permission.”

Applejack rubbed her right hoof against the carpet, remembering the place Ohm was probably describing. “As long as it just you and me... no one else,” she said.

“That is agreeable,” Ohm said with a nod of his head. He looked down at Xav. “Return to your parents, and if anyone ask, tell them of our location.”

“Aww... okay Uncle Ohm,” Xav said disheartedly before he shot an irritated glance at Applejack and walked off.

The mare frown at the glance, but Ohm walked up to her and he gestured his head at her. “Follow me,” he said as he headed for the door. Her frown deepened slightly as she thought about whether or not to really trust him... but he did seem more tolerable than Cres ever had been. The mare got up on all fours and followed Ohm as he unlocked the door and walked out of the apartment.

Chapter 8

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 9

Cres looked up at Matt with a small frown. “So, how does our schedule look for the day Matt?”

The man looked at a notepad on the table, as he sipped his morning cup of coffee. “Hmmm... it seems we have three sixth badge gym matches, and two third badge matches, and one first badge match.”

“So, three for me and the gang and three for your low tier team,” Cres said, nodding his head with a smile. “Anyone interesting?”

Matt took another sip as he read some of the small notes he made. “One had some fairy types in her team, another had an Absol with them... the last had couple of bug types,” he replied.

“Huh, get someone with dual typing for the last person but I’ll gladly give the Absol a blade lesson,” Cres replied, a small smirk on his face at the prospect of the challenge.

“And for the one who has some fairy types with her?” the man inquired.

“... we’ll probably lose it,” the Absol said, chuckling a little at the end. “Unless you use Nok.”

Matt joined in with the chuckle and then took sip of coffee. “No, I don’t think that would be allowed,” he said with a small shake of his head. “But yeah, if she plays her moves right, I think I might lose that match with her.”

“Oh well, two out of three isn’t bad,” Cres replied as he got up and gave the man’s good leg a nuzzle and stood up on his rear legs so that his head was in an easier position for the man to reach. “Especially when it means I’m fighting with you Matt.”

The man smiled as he reached a hand down to scratch Cres’s favorite spot right behind his chin. “I’m glad you think that Cres.”

Cres let out a rumbling purr before climbing up slightly and giving the man’s head a nuzzle, careful of his blade, and then gave him a lick as well before he got down. “So, shall we head out?”

Matt took a final sip of his coffee before grabbing his crutches and stood up. “Let’s go, you can go on ahead. Reva and I will meet up with you at the gym.”

“Don’t you mean halfway there?” the Absol asked with a small chuckle.

“Only if you don’t run fast enough,” Matt replied with a small chuckle as he headed for the door and opened it. “I’ll even let you get a running start.”

“Fair enough,” Cres said with a small shake of his head. “According to my sleepy son, that’s where Ohm and... Applejack are, so we shouldn’t be too lonely this morning.”

“Oh really? Hmm... okay,” Matt said as the two entered into the hallway. “Of course that means I don’t want you to cause trouble with her then.”

“I’ll be ‘on the clock’ Matt,” Cres replied with a frown as they entered an elevator together and began to head down. “I’m a professional Gym Pokemon, I can block out annoying background creatures easily enough when I’m in that mindset.”

“Good to hear, now I’ll meet you at the gym. I have to make a stop on the way, so I will actually be a bit late,” he said as the elevator came to a stop and they exited onto the first floor. “Seems like Roxanne wants me to buy a reference guide to legends involving dreams, and she’s too ‘busy’ on her laptop to get it herself...” he said, shrugging a bit at the end.

“That sounds like both of our mates,” Cres agreed, a small chuckle escaping his lips. “Did she ask for chocolate to go with it?”

“...Yes, yes she did. Though I won’t bring as much as she is asking for; she needs to watch her weight, and the last thing I want is our daughter to be hyperactive all the time,” Matt said as the two exited the building, Reva awaiting for him all saddled up with Zeb dozing beside her.

“Don’t let her catch you saying that she needs to watch her weight,” Cres advised before giving Reva a smile. “Good morning Reva,” he said with a grin.

“Good morning Cres,” the Rapidash said with a small bow of her head. “And he is right Matt, you should never mention weight around a woman,” she added with a chuckle as he mounted her.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. There’s really no easy way around that subject,” he said with a small sigh. “Anyways, I’ll see you at the gym Cres.”

“The same to you,” Cres said, giving them both a smile before he set off down the nearly abandoned road at an exhilarating run, feeling his worries slip away as he worked up a sweat before coming to a stop in front of the Gym and quickly gaining entry. As he walked into the lobby, he saw Ohm sleeping curled up on one of the large couches set aside for just such an occasion. His head was resting on his paws and his tail laid right underneath it, like a kitten.

The Absol walked over to Ohm and gave him a light nuzzle on the cheek. “Wake up Ohm my friend, don’t want any trainers to walk in on you like this, they’d die from the adorableness.”

The Luxray opened a single eye. “I hope that doesn’t happen, it would really disturb my sleep as they fell to the ground,” he said as he opened both of his eyes and did some minor stretching and rested his head back down again. “Besides, I needed to catch up on my hours since I spent all of last night training Applejack.”

“The entire night?” Cres asked aghast.

“Yes... whatever nightmare she had was bad enough that she had to be completely exhausted before she could get to sleep,” Ohm replied, closing his eyes and let out a small yawn. “At least her fighting skills have improved somewhat.”

“Well that’s ‘wonderful’ for her,” the Absol said with a scowl. “But I’ll leave you to your nap, sleep well Ohm.” Cres gave his face a light nuzzle and then began to walk away. The Luxray murmured his thanks and Cres made his way inside the gym.

Cres glanced around the Gym and nodded his approval, it looked like Joe and Eclair had done an excellent job getting it set up for the day’s battles, as usual. The large boulders were set up perfectly, neither completely symmetrical nor set up in a wholly random arrangement. His gaze drifted to the stands where he easily spotted the sleeping form of Applejack with his keen eyes. She appeared to be sleeping heavily, laying over one of the more ‘bleacher’ like seats though they were covered with soft padding instead of metal.

Cres turned away from her, closing his eyes and doing his best to swallow down his anger with the mare. Despite that, he had the urge to unleash a flamethrower in her direction and char broil her where she slept, if only to get her out of his life. However, he knew that neither Belle nor Matt would approve of that and they were the ones who really mattered. Instead, he turned away from the mare and walked towards the washroom, as was his habit, he’d grown to enjoy a shower before his day of battles.

As he stepped into the room he glanced around and caught sight of their ‘night guards’ curled up against each other, Eclair on top of Joe, her tentacles slightly constricting around him. The Absol ignored them and walked into one of the shower stalls, quickly setting up a shower for himself. He let out a sigh as the warm water flowed over his fur and washed away his anxieties from the day before. So what if Applejack was here? He had a job to do and another Absol to crush. That always made him feel good.

His shower complete, Cres walked out of the stall and shook himself off and walked over to the ‘hair dryer’ that Matt had installed against one wall that blew hot air directly down on whoever was beneath it. He reached up to paw at the mechanism and a stream of warm air began to wash over his body, eliminating the excess water from his coat. When he felt he was dry enough he walked out from under it and shook himself once. As usual, his fur stood up on end, making him look more like an inflatable doll then an Absol. Cres rolled his eyes as he stepped out into the gym and sat down beside where Matt would stand as he began to smooth down his fur.

Cres sat there, licking his fur down for a few minutes before the sounds of the gym main doors opening faintly echoed in his ear and Matt’s voice saying. “Hey Ohm,” before the doors to the gym arena opened and the man strode in with his crutches in hand.

“I see you’re all set for the day,” the man with a smile as he made his way over to the north side wall.

“Just about,” Cres replied as he took one last lick and flattened out the last of his fur. “Just finished my ‘flattening session’ so your timing is excellent.”

“It normally is,” he said with a small chuckle as he placed the palm of his right hand on a panel and the wall opened up to a small safe containing a set of pokeballs. “Now it’s time to allow everyone else to have their morning stretches.”

“Everyone except Eclair and Joe,” Cres commented as he himself began to stretch a little. “I think they had quite enough stretching last night.”

“I see,” Matt said with another small chuckle before glancing up to the stands where Applejack slept. “So, how is our guest doing?” he asked as picked out two pokeballs and released an Umbreon and a Zorua from their balls.

“She appears to be sleeping soundly,” Cres replied while giving the Umbreon and the Zorua a smile each. “Morning,” he called to them.

“Morning,” the two said in unison as they did some stretches and headed to the showers themselves.

“Ohm tired her out with his late night training?” Matt asked, releasing a Nuzleaf and a Houndoom next.

“It appears that way,” Cres said noncommittally as he nodded at the pair. “She seems to be asleep.”

“She must had a long work out if she can sleep comfortably on the stands,” the man mused as he sent out a Bisharp and a Krokorok to the showers.

“I suppose so,” Cres replied, his voice neutral and uncaring as he went through another series of stretches.

“You’re probably happy she’s sleeping there aren't you?” Matt asked nonchalantly.

“Is it that hard to see that?” Cres replied dryly as he walked up to Matt, giving the Houndoom, the Nuzleaf, the Bisharp and the Krokorok a nod and a smile each. “If she’s sleeping then she’s not talking, and thus not yelling at me.”

“And that’s likely to change when the first battle starts,” Matt said releasing Shade the Spiritomb and a Weavile out.

“What’s likely to change?” Shade asked curiously with his trademark grin.

“The annoying orange mare up there will wake up,” Cres replied blandly. “You should entertain her if that happens Shade, I bet she’d get a real kick out of you.”

“Really?” Shade asked, his ghostly green grin growing wider.

“Don’t,” Matt shot down instead while giving Cres a hard look. “I don’t want stir up any problems in my gym, understood?”

“I wasn’t trying too, I was just suggesting good company,” Cres replied while giving Shade a smile. “After all, Matt, are you saying that Shade isn’t a friendly, nice guy?”

“No I’m not, but I don’t like you suggesting for him to annoy Applejack,” Matt replied.

“Is anyone going to tell the rest of us what’s going on, or are we just ‘extras’?” the Houndoom asked with a puzzled look.

“I will in a minute, all of you just get any stretches done and meet back here in the center of the gym,” Matt answered, indicating to all of the pokemon.

“Alright Matt,” the Houndoom, Brooke, said as she began to jog lightly around the gym, getting her muscles ready for the day ahead. Many of the other pokemon followed her example, save for Cres and Shade.

Matt looked down at the Absol. “Look... I know you have some resentment against Applejack, but I don’t want that to interfere with your duty as a gym pokemon, alright?”

“It won’t,” Cres replied. “Once the match starts, it will have all of my attention, I promise.”

“Good,” the man nod his head as he glanced at Shade. “Shouldn’t you be warming up too?”

“I’m assortment of spirits trapped in a rock, I think we’re kinda past the point of needing some stretches,” Shade replied with a small chuckle.

Cres simply sat down beside Matt, leaning against his good leg and purring slightly. It was time to do what he did best, fight.

The mare’s mind was drowsy as her right ear flicker as it began to registered noise to her. It sounded like... shouting? The stands she was sleeping on suddenly shook, snapping Applejack awake as she grasped her hooves on the edge to keep herself from falling off and a small wave of air washed over her.

“What in tarnation!?” she hollard in surprise as she turned in the direction of the shock wave and her eyes widened in shock and utter bafflement.

In the center of the arena was Cres and a willowy green ‘woman’ who looked as if she was wearing a white dress standing to the side of him. Applejack blinked as she saw Cres dodge to the side, almost too fast to see as the ‘woman’ shoot out a bright ball of light at him.

“Have to be faster than that!” she heard Cres’s voice shout before her eyes blinked and she lost sight of him for a moment before he appeared in front of the ‘woman’ his blade glowing darkly as he slashed across her chest four quick times and then leapt away. Though, as he did so, the woman held out a arm out and a wave of electricity ran over his body, causing Cres to jerk and his body began to spasm slightly.

“Okay, I had that coming,” the Absol admitted through clenched teeth.

The woman chuckled as she held her arms closed together. “Just shows you, don’t be a smart mouth near a lady,” she said thrusting both her arms out and a blue ball of energy hit Cres square in the chest.

*Pishow*

The blue sphere of energy detonated and sent Cres rolling backwards through the air and into a rock, causing a shower of rubble to fall down upon him.

“Cres is out!” a male voice shouted, causing the mare to glance up slightly to see a man in a black and white striped shirt raising a green flag to his right. “The winner of the battle and match goes to Tracy!” he said, point the flag to a young girl who smiled and pumped her a hand in the air.

Applejack returned her gaze over at Cres, who was already on his paws again, walking over to the woman. “Good match, great strategy getting me close enough to use Thunder Wave too,” he told her with a small chuckle.

“Why thank you,” the woman said with a small bow. “It was all Tracy’s idea, but I accept the compliment nonetheless. You did a good job landing four Nightslashes in a row, a few more and you would definitely have knocked me out.”

“Thanks,” Cres said with a nod before walking back over to Matt who took out a bottle of some kind and sprayed him with its contents. Applejack frowned slightly as she squinted her eyes to get a closer look, and she could faintly see some of roughed up furr smoothing back to it’s normal white color.

Her eyes then glanced over to the woman and the girl, ‘Tracy’, walking up to them and Tracy did some moments with her hands.

“She says thank you for the thrilling match, she thought she was going to lose for a second,” the woman translated.

Matt smiled as he got up to his feet. “It was no problem, you did well in commanding your pokemon, even if you have no voice to speak to them. It shows me you’re an excellent, adaptable trainer.” He reach inside a pocket and pulled out a small box and open it to her. “Here, the Dark Star Gym badge is yours,” he said, his smile growing wide as he hand it over her.

Tracy’s hands shook wildly up and down as a very wide grin grew on her face and she accepted the badge and did another motion with a hand.

“She says thank you, in a very squealish way,” the woman said with a small chuckle.

“Well-” Matt put his crutches under his arms and did a motion with his hands too. “You’re welcome,” he said while his hands move.

A big smile crossed the girl’s face and both she and the woman bowed once to him before turning and walking back across the gym floor, exiting through the door.

“Bah, fairies,” Cres said once they were gone. “Still, it was a good match, that’s for sure.”

Matt nodded his head. “Indeed, a trainer who never said a word in her life and is that strong is something to keep an eye on for the League,” he said with a small chuckle.

“Agreed, on the bright side, our next match is the one against the boy with the other Absol for me to take to task,” Cres said with a grin. “I’m going to enjoy that.”

“Oh I’m sure you will, and maybe Applejack will enjoy that too,” he said, casually glancing up to the stands of the awake mare. The mare’s head perked up slightly from being noticed and turned her head away as if she saw nothing important.

“I doubt it, though I’m sure she enjoyed seeing me go down,” Cres replied with a small shrug. “Still, freaking fairies... I can take attacks from everyone else but fairies...”

“Stop being such a sour puss,” Matt said with a jesting chuckle as he walked over to the wall to sat down on a bench.

“I’m not, I just don’t like them,” Cres replied, following him over and leaning against his good leg.

“Right....” the man said slowly as another chuckle rolled through him and he grabbed a bottle of water, taking a sip. He then glanced up at Applejack. “So, are you going to come down or sit up there all day?” he asked her.

The mare frowned slightly as she ponder the question. If she came down, that meant having to bare being next to Cres, if she stayed up where she was, she’d only have to bare being in the same room as him. “I’m fine up here... though I am a bit hungry,” she replied.

Matt spared a glance at Cres for a translation. “She says that she doesn’t want to be near me but she’s hungry,” Cres supplied, cutting to the chase.

“I see... hey Brooke,” he shouted as he tilted his head to a back door.

The back door opened and a... large black dog with a pair of curly bone horns growing out of its head and a skull like collar walked into the room, glancing over at Matt with a ‘smile’ on her dogish face.

“Yes Matt?” the dog asked in a smooth voice.

“Mind if you led Applejack to the break room and help her grab some lunch/breakfast?” he asked, gesturing his head towards the mare in the stands.

“Okay, one escort to the break room coming right up,” the dog said as she bunched her legs and then jumped up into the stands, coming to rest in front of Applejack with a smile, two rows of razor sharp teeth on full display. “Hi, I’m Brooke.”

Applejack’s head reared back in fear at Brooke’s appearance, which to her look like a cross of a timberwolf and a pile of bones. “Hi...” she said weakly. She then shook her head. Get ahold of yourself Applejack, you know better than to lose your nerve to something like this.

“Applejack right?” Brooke asked, cocking her head to the side, tongue lolling out slightly.

The mare looked straight into the dog’s face. “Yeah, that’s right. And aren’t you supposed to be leading me to a break room?” she asked back.

“Wow, Cres is right, you are rude,” Brooke told her as turned around. “Follow me, grouchy.”

The mare frowned at her retreating back. Rude... hmph, that’s something Cres would differently make up, she scoffed in her mind before getting up and following Brooke.

The large dog led her through the stands and through a door she hadn’t seen before and down a long corridor until they came to a stop in a room with several couches one of which was occupied by the still slumbering Ohm, a pair of fridges, and a table with a few chairs set up.

“Fridge on the right is pokemon food, fridge on the left is human food, take your pick,” Brooke told her before heading back to the door and laying down. “Oh and keep your voice down, Ohm is still asleep.”

Applejack glanced at the sleeping lion, his chest slowly heaving in and out as he rested comfortably on the couch. “Noted...” she said before heading for the fridge on the left, stopping a bit and turning her head at the dog. “Thanks...” she added as she walk up to the fridge door and opened it.

“Welcome,” Brooke replied simply as Applejack studied the contents of the fridge. Inside were several tupperware full of berries, a few full of color squares along with some containing... meat. The mare ignored the meat and reached inside for one tupperware full of the blue berries she remember being on the salad she ate yesterday. She pulled the container out and glanced around with a small frown.

“Where do I get a plate?” she asked Brooke.

“Bottom cabinet on the right,” the dog answered without looking up.

The mare walked up to the cabinet and open it, only to find a stack of dog bowls inside. Letting out a small annoyed grunt she turned to the dog. “I said plates, not dog bowls.”

“They’re plates,” Brooke replied with a small shrug. “If you want a human plate then you’ll have to get it from up there,” she added, pointing her nose in the direction of a cabinet that was far above AJ.

The mare frowned as her head craned up to the cabinet. She glanced around to look for something easily moveable to stand on, only spotting some wooden chairs to do so with. Applejack pondered whether to move the chair to climb up or not. There’s no way I’m lowering myself to eat from a dog bowl... she finally decided as she put the tupperware down and move to the chair, putting her head against the base and began to push.

She scooted the chair over to the counter, the wood making several squeaking and grinding noises during the process. She pulled herself on top of it and stood on her hind legs while she balanced her front on the counter and used her mouth to pull the cabinet door open. As it did, the mare let out a small disheartened sigh as she saw plates, but they were all stacked on top of one another. Applejack frowned, determined to get one and pushed herself further up while lifting one of her front hooves to grab a plate from the bottom. She did well for the first few seconds, pulling one as gently as she could while it slid out underneath the others. Unfortunately she forgot to focus on her balance and the chair’s legs were not quite as even as she’d thought.

She shifted her weight slightly and-

*CRASH*

Her, the plate she was pulling, and the rest fell to the ground, breaking into dozens of pieces and causing both Brooke and Ohm to jump awake in surprise.

“I wasn’t being serious!” Brooke snarled, flames forming around her jaws. “Now look what you’ve done!”

Applejack only groaned a bit, one of her sides aching with a sharp pain while other burn with some small cuts she’d obtained as plates fell ontop of her.

Brooke let out an annoyed growl, even more fire building around her jaws. “What are you doing? Stand up and help with this!” she snarled, her tail flicking back and forth angrily.

“Be at ease, Brooke,” Ohm said as he walked up to the mare, his paws not even noticing the porcelain as he helped the pony up to her hooves. “Are you majorly hurt?”

Applejack shook her head. “No, I’m fine,” she said as the sharp pain in her chest began to fade away, probably going to leave a large bruise she figured. The cuts weren’t that deep and only broke the skin, nothing worse.

“Still, rest a bit before you clean up the mess you made,” Ohm said as he guided the pony to one of the couches. He glanced at Brooke. “Tell Matt what happen and do not stretch the truth.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Brooke snapped, flames still swirling around her jaws as she glared at Applejack for a moment before she snapped them shut and strode out of the room.

The mare returned the glare as the dog left but let out a sigh as she leaned into the couch. That didn’t go well as planned... and why does everything here breathe fire?!

“Don’t mind her, she won’t really burn you, she just has a short fuse,” Ohm told the mare reassuringly. “At least, unless you attack her, but I doubt you’d do such a thing.”

Applejack scoffed at the thought but she slowly shook her head. “I don’t see why she’s so mad... she told me if I wanted a plate to go up there and get one.”

“I’d imagine that she was being sarcastic,” Ohm replied with a small shrug. “As for why she was mad, as I said, she has a short fuse along with a low tolerance for what she views as stupidity.”

“What’s stupid was her telling me it was okay to grab them and not telling they weren’t,” the mare remarked sourly.

“Perhaps,” Ohm replied, shrugging slightly. “Or perhaps you should have noticed how difficult it would have been for someone so short to reach the plates and not have done as you did.”

“Hmph... well I wasn’t going to eat from some dog bowl, so what else could I do but try?” she stated indifferently.

“They’re Pokemon bowls, I eat from one,” Ohm said with a small shrug. “And now, they are your only option if you wish to have a plate at all.”

Applejack frowned at the thought. “I’m not a ‘Pokemon’, I’m a pony. I’m not some pet... I’m an independent being,” she stated as she crossed her front hooves over each other.

“As am I,” the lion said before turning his back on her and leaping onto the other couch. “Eat how you’d like, I’m going to return to my rest.”

The mare frowned as she hung her head down in thought. ...I am not a Pokemon, I don’t have to live like them. I’m better than that, and soon I’ll be out of here... hopefully that ‘Giratina’ fellow keeps to his word... I just hope he doesn’t take too long...

Chapter 10

Giratina’s mind buzzed as a splitting headache pierced his skull. He groaned a bit as he placed a hoof to his head and rubbed it slightly. I haven’t felt this ways since... my small scuffle with dad... he moaned in his mind.

“Ah, you are awake,” a stern, yet very familiar female voice said, her voice lowered politely.

His eyes snapped open and he glanced to his left to see a tall dark blue alicorn standing next to the medical bed he was laying in. “Luna... I see you’re back,” he said casually as he began to stretch out his stiff neck.

“Indeed I am,” the blue alicorn said, her eyes never leaving him. “Thanks to a certain purple alicorn you met.”

The changelings brow furrowed a bit. “Ah yes, Twilight, the third installment of this royal system,” he said as he went back cracking a few bones... which shouldn’t really be possible, causing him to frown a bit.

“Fourth actually,” Luna replied, causing Giratina to perk his head to the side slightly. “Also, I would not recommend your getting out of bed at the moment, your doppelganger did a real number on your body.”

“That’s the problem, my body shouldn’t be aching this much,” he said as he moved his very sore body around a bit. He felt every muscle, bone, and a felt a heart pumping as if... he wasn’t a ghost type anymore. “....damn you dad and your bloody types changing trait...” he muttered under his breath.

“Yes, I’m afraid that you appear to be very real at the moment my dear friend,” Luna said, her expression softening a little. “Honestly, what were you doing here without contacting Tia or I?”

“Originally it was going to just be a quick stop to figure out a small mystery, now it’s seems to be much more than small,” he said with a frown as he began to push himself off the bed, despite the pain his body was sending to him.

“I see,” Luna said, bringing a hoof up to his chest and easily pushing his weakened form back down to the bed. “And yet you still didn’t think to contact Tia... or I.”

Giratina rolled his eyes. “Look I don’t need help for every little thing, and how I supposed to know about that... doppelganger? No one else should have my abilities to freely open Distortion World portals without my say so.”

“That is hardly what I’m talking about,” Luna replied, her eyes narrowing slightly. “The first time in around two thousand years since you and I last spoke to each other and it’s not because you came to visit me but is instead because you ended up hospitalized?!”

“Well, first off I didn’t even know you were free yet. Second, I was on a tight time schedule, and thirdly... I haven’t thought that up yet but give me time,” he said with a small thoughtful frown. “Speaking of which... how long have I been knocked out?”

“Around a day,” Luna answered. “And don’t change the subject Giri, you could have at least asked this ‘Cres’ to look into things... I thought you cared more.”

“Considering Cres nearly got arrested here, I thought against it... and I do... it’s just... I’m been very busy,” the changeling said with a stiff sigh. “Look... we can talk more about this later, but right now I need to head back to the Pokemon World and warn Matt about this and find a way to bring one of your subjects back.”

Luna looked down at him with an indecisive frown for a moment before she let out a sigh. “Please promise me that you’ll come back Giri... you didn’t last time.”

“I’ll... try,” Giratina said with a small sigh as he rested his head against the pillow.

“Thank you,” she said, bending down to give him an affectionate nuzzle before her horn lit up and a large mirror floated to his other side. “You had best go.”

“Right...” the changeling lifted a hoof up in the air and touched the mirror to... gently push against it. Giratina frowned as he pushed hard, only resulting in shoving the mirror slightly away from him. “Come on!” he shouted in annoyance as he began to rapidly tap against the mirror with no hint of succeeding at summoning a portal.

Luna pulled the mirror away and frowned. “It would seem that you’re not capable of doing it at the moment,” she said carefully. “Which is for the best really, you are very wounded. What would happen to you if you were ambushed within the Distortion World by your doppelganger in this state?”

“It shouldn’t matter... I’m my strongest in the Distortion World and my body rapidly heals inside of it,” he answered with a frown as he study his hoofs. “What doesn’t make sense is why I can’t summon a portal... maybe... “ he closed his eyes and his horn began to glow, but nothing happened. A sudden look of dread fell across his face. “All of my ghost type moves are blocked...”

“You do appear to be bug type at the moment,” Luna replied with a frown. “So it would make sense for you to lose access to your ghost type abilities... as far as I understand your realm’s way of doing things... it has been two thousand years since we last saw each other after all.”

“But that’s the problem... if I’m a bug type and can’t use my ghost moves... I’m stuck here... forever...” he said his eyes glancing down in dismay. He then frowned and pounded the side of the bed. “That bloody doppelganger must have done something to me to change my type! I just need to figure out a way to reverse it and-” He was cut off as a jolt of harsh pain traversed through his body starting in his spine and traveling all the way up to his neck.

“Giri, lay down, and calm down,” Luna commanded, her magic glowing around his body and forcing him against the bed, holding him there. “Nothing will be solved by you working yourself into a rage and being inconsolable.” She paused for a moment. “Besides... I hate seeing you in such pain.”

Giratina glared at her with irritation for holding him down before closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh. “You’re right... I need to focus... I need to rest... I need... some food I think?” he said with a small puzzled frown as he began to notice a bubbling groan in his chest.

“Well that should be simple enough to solve,” Luna said as she bent down to lay a light kiss on his cheek. “After all, this is hardly the first time you’ve been hungry here in Equestria.”

Giratina blinked blankly for a moment both from the kiss and from her tone of voice. “Refresh my memory about changelings...”

“They feed off of Love Giri,” Luna replied as she gave him a light nuzzle. “How you’ve managed to forget that, I don’t know.”

“Ah... that’s right,” he said with a small nod, feeling a warm spot growing in his chest... not knowing if it was some sort of blush or him starting to feed. “Heh... lucky me I don’t have to search that far... huh?”

“I’d agree with that,” Luna replied as she laid another kiss on his cheek. “Of course... you realize that this means that you and I are going to be having a very serious talk very soon.”

“I’m counting down the time till then...” he replied, the warm feeling in his chest only growing.

“Good,” Luna said, her lips touching gently against his, a small sigh building within her throat.

Giratina could only just stared at her in mild shock, mostly from the kissing, and the rest from the surge of warm growing inside him. Definitely feeding off of her... he commented to himself.

Luna pulled away and looked down at him with a small frown. “Are you not going to kiss me back Giri?”

“I... got a bit distracted by how natural my body seems to be feeding off of your love...” he said casually as he could. “You seem to have lots of it in you....” he added softly under his breath.

“Two thousand years worth... one thousand of which was spent on the moon,” Luna replied quietly, looking away.

“...yeah... I’m... sorry I didn’t try to come back when you were released... I... lost track of the time...,” the changeling said slowly.

“I imagined as much,” Luna said softly, letting out a small sigh. “You never were on time to our dates.”

“Blame my sister,” Giratina said with a small chuckle, which shortly faded away. “She can never keep our time streams straight...”

“Oh well, you always showed up eventually,” Luna replied with a small sigh before she bent down to kiss him on the lips again.

Yet it’s never at the right moments... thought with a mental sigh as Luna kissed him.

The lunar alicorn held the kiss for a bit longer before she pulled away. “How do you feel now?”

“Better,” Giratina replied, feeling his hunger pang fading away a long time ago. “Thanks for... filling me up I guess.”

“You’re welcome,” Luna stated before her expression softened. “Giri... I know that you’d prefer to solve this mess by yourself, but I am going to help you.”

The changeling closed his eyes and let out a small sigh. “It’s not like I can really stop you at the moment.”

“Good, I’m glad you realize that,” Luna replied with a smile before she bent down and kissed him again, just as the door behind them opened and Celestia walked in. Luna pretended not to notice.

The solar mare smile softly to herself. “Ah, I see the two of you reunited somewhat,” she commented in a casual, friendly voice.

“You could say that...” Giratina replied as Luna pulled away.

“Ah, hello sister,” Luna said, a fake smile on her face. “You always had ‘excellent’ timing before and it seems you’ve kept it.”

“At least I don’t walk in when it really matters,” Celestia remarked with a small chuckle.

“True,” Luna agreed before she frowned slightly. “Any news on the doppelganger?”

Celestia frown slightly and shook her head. “None... whoever attacked you Giratina left quickly after Applejack’s house collapsed,” she replied.

“Figured... I’m not his target and he probably guessed I wouldn’t be going anywhere soon,” the changeling said with a small grunt. “Though next time we battle, he won’t be so lucky.”

“Indeed he will not!” Luna agreed fiercely, her eyes glowing blue. “Together we will smite him!”

Giratina tilted his head at her. “I forget how frightening you can be sometimes,” he commented.

“You know you love it,” Luna replied, a wide smile on her face as her astral mane whipped around her head. The changeling smiled, his first since he’d woken up as a fond memory played through in his mind.

“Mh-hm,” Celestia said, clearing of her throat. “I know the two of you have lots of catching up, but I just need to know if Giratina is going to be staying here longer than today.”

“It would seem like it,” Giratina answered with a small frown. “I’m not a ghost type anymore, and till I can find a way to change back... it seems I’ll be staying here for a while longer.”

Celestia nodded her head. “Then I shall start making the arrangements around the Castle... not many of my subjects will be used of having a changeling about, but I will make sure they won’t be hostile towards you.”

“Thanks... I guess?” he said, his frown turning a bit puzzled as Celestia left the room. “Am I missing something on the whole ponies ‘not liking changelings’ bit?” he asked Luna.

“Chrysalis, you remember her? The loud obnoxious changeling queen or were you not with us when she first appeared? I cannot remember,” Luna said with a puzzled frown.

“I don’t think so... her name doesn’t ring a bell,” Giratina replied with a shake of his head.

“Ah, it was after you’d left then,” the alicorn said, shaking her head. “At any rate, she attacked the city last year and as a result, there has been a rather unfortunate hatred towards all changelings in Equestria.”

“I see... well, that would explain a few things when I was in that town, and why Twilight was ready to blow my chest open,” he murmured in slight amusement.

“She is a spirited young mare,” Luna agreed with a small nod. “But do not worry, she has a good heart, I’m sure she will adjust to you well enough if given the chance.”

“I’m sure she will... I just hope the rest of your subjects will feel the same. As much as I’m used to seeing beings flee in terror just at the sight of me, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t get tiresome... or painful,” he commented.

“I know the feeling,” Luna replied sympathetically as she gave him another nuzzle. “But don’t worry Giri, the ponies of the palace are very quick to believe Celestia and I, if we tell them that you are an honored guest, then that is how they will treat you.”

“Good to hear,” he said with a nod of his head. “Now I have less to be worried about when trying to find a way back home.”

“Exactly,” Luna said, a happy smile on her face.

“So... where am I going to stay while I’m stuck here?” he asked with an inquiring look at Luna.

“Well, you should probably stay in this room for the rest of the day while you heal, but after that... well my room is open and my bed is big enough for the both of us if you’d like,” Luna replied slowly. “Only if you’d like to of course, I won’t force you to sleep with me.”

Giratina chuckled lightly. “Heh... no... I think that will be okay... it’d be like old times huh?”

“Just like old times, though with less of your moping about your dad, and me worrying about trying to put down angry unicorn rebellions and settling the differences between unicorns and pegasi,” the mare said with an amused chuckle.

“Hehe...yeah, a lot less...” Giratina said with a small nostalgic smile.

“Speaking of which, how is your family doing?” Luna inquired thoughtfully. “Obviously Celestia is doing fine on my end but last I heard indirectly from Cres your father was still up to his old tricks.”

“By old tricks you mean letting young humans solve major crises? Yes,” Giratina replied a small nod of his head. “Even though the ‘order’ of Human Savants are unknown to the major populace of the world, my dad keeps using them to keep the balance between human and Pokemon.”

“Ah yes, the Savants are the ones capable of speaking to both humans and Pokemon correct?” Luna asked, her brow furrowing, it really had been a long time since she’d heard the term.

“Yes... I even befriended one to help stop a team from trying to use my brother and sister to destroy our universe,” Giratina said, a small smile crossing his face. “You wouldn’t believe how embarrassed they are from me saving their behinds, let alone how much they owe me for doing so.”

“Oh, I believe it,” Luna said with a small smirk. “And it’s wonderful to know that you’ve made another human friend after... what happened.”

A deep, dark frown crossed across the changeling’s face. “Yes... but it came out helping in the long run.” His frown faded away to a small proud smile. “Matt married a woman looking to become a Pokemon Professor, someone who dedicated their life to solve the ‘mysteries’ of Pokemon, and she wrote a paper, helping clear my bad reputation in a way.”

Luna’s smirk widened into a wide smile. “That’s wonderful Giri!” she said giving him another nuzzle. “I’m glad to hear it! You received far too much flack for what happened. It was not even your fault!”

Giratina's frown returned slightly. “It was my fault slightly Luna... the only thing Roxanne cleared up were some of the false legends about me... the past of my rampage is all true.”

Luna frowned but shook her head. “Regardless, you are long past what happened and it has been more than long enough for you to stop paying for it.”

“Maybe...” he simply said softly as he let out a sigh. “Still... I probably should allow my body to heal now... I think all that love you're feeding it is helping it recover faster.”

“Good,” Luna said, giving him another nuzzle. “Once you are better we can begin to unravel the mystery of your Doppelganger, and then not even your father himself could protect the scum from us!”

Giratina chuckled lightly. “Oh I bet...” he glanced up at the mare for a moment before raising his head up to kiss her on the lips. Luna blinked in surprise before deepening the kiss and leaning into it fully. They held that for a long time before Luna was finally forced to pull away to take a deep breath, her cheeks pink.

“I missed you so much Luna...” the changeling said in between pants. “You had a thousand years to wait... I had nearly two. I’m sorry I didn’t try to visit sooner.”

“It’s... it’s alright Giri,” Luna said softly as she recovered her breath and gave him a nuzzle. “I knew you would return to me eventually... and that thought kept me sane while I was up on the moon with an insane voice in my head.”

“Still... I should’ve tried to help you... I was a fool to just sit back while you-”

“Hush,” Luna said softly as she put a hoof to his lips. “Get some rest Giri, I shall focus on helping my sister spread the word of your presence, and hopefully this evening we will have more time to talk hmm?”

The changeling nodded his head. “Yeah... that sounds like a plan.” He lowered his head back down on the pillow. “I’ll see you later?”

“Of course,” she replied, leaning down to kiss him gently, lovingly, on the lips before she pulled away and her horn glowed, the lights dimming down. “Good night Giri,” she added before she walked away, her tail brushing happily from side to side.

“Good night... Lulu...” he said with a small smile as he closed his eyes, letting his mind to slowly drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 11

After her disastrous attempts to retrieve a plate, and Eclair making a brief stop to pick up the broken pieces, and getting a plate down for Applejack, the mare sat at the table slowly eating an array of berries. The mare marveled a bit at how they tasted similar to other fruits and vegetables she ate back home, save for the lack of looking anything like them. She also swore that every time she finished one, she felt something ‘perk’ in her body, whether it be one of her senses, or feeling a jolt of energy run down her spine.

Applejack shook her head. Nothing here is simple is it? she asked herself as she tossed a red berry in her mouth and began to chew. Her eyes snapped open as the smouldering juices washed over her tongue and burned their way down her throat. She spit the chewed berry out and quickly reached over for the glass of water and began chugging it down in large gulps.

She let out a relieved sigh as she pulled the glass away from her mouth as the spiciness began to fade away. Note to self, don’t eat the red, skinny one, she told herself as she picked the plate up with her teeth and walked over to a trash can to dispose of the leftovers, before placing it in the sink.

Afterwhich, she glanced at the doors leading back to the arena, debating whether or not to return. She glanced over at Ohm, who had long ago walked back to the couch and was now fast asleep, laying down the length of the couch. There really was nothing else for her to do in the room, so with a small sigh Applejack set off down the hallway and back towards the arena.

When she arrived, she saw that there was yet another new human standing across from Matt, he had a determined look on his face, blonde hair close cropped and neat. Standing in front of the new human was a crimson Absol that looked much like Belle except for the fact that it was clearly a male.

“Okay, Bucky, you can do it!” the new human shouted.

Facing off against the red Absol was Cres who stood a little in front of Matt, looking infuriatingly calm and confident.

“Shall I do this myself Matt, or would you like to have some input?” Cres asked over his shoulder.

“I’ll give you input if you need it,” he replied. “Though... I don’t think I will have to do that much,” he added with an analyzing look over at the human and the red Absol.

“I don’t either,” Cres agreed with a small grin as he stepped forwards and waited for the referee to start the round. The referee looked at both humans before raising both flags and swinging them down.

“Begin!”

The red Absol took off like a jet, aiming right for Cres, but as he approached, Cres almost daintily stepped to the side around the first swing and brought his blade slashing down across his opponent’s back. Bucky let out a small yelp of pain as he skidded to a stop and turned to face Cres, an annoyed growl leaving his throat.

“You’re fast, but you could use a little bit of practice as far as coordination go,” Cres said with a confident smile.

“I’ll show you coordination,” Bucky growled before the human shouted.

“Use Quick Attack!”

Again, Bucky took off like a pegasus, leaving a small red trail behind as he made a beeline for Cres. Cres for his part remained completely still as the red blur shot at him until the last second, his paws moved to the left as his blade dipped down, flat edge first, and Bucky was suddenly airborne.

“AH!” Bucky yelp in surprise before landing with a hard ‘oomph’ on the ground.

“In the wild that would be the feeling of you losing a leg,” Cres called over to him. “It’s best to avoid that oddly enough.”

The red absol just growl more in annoyance as he glared bitterly at Cres. “Stop being so preachy and just fight!” he exclaimed as he got back onto his feet.

“I will once you start fighting,” Cres replied, pretending to dust himself off slightly with a paw. “At the moment all you’ve done is stir up the dust.”

“Stirring up dust!?” Bucky shouted, insulted by Cres’s remarked. “I’ll show you stirring up dust!” His blade glowed a brownish color and he lowered his head down to the ground swiped it up, creating a whirling sandstorm inside the gym. Applejack covered and turned her face away, closing her eyes before sand could really get into them.

“Hey Bucky, I didn’t tell you to used Sandstorm!” she heard the other human yelled over the raging wind.

Meanwhile, within the sandstorm, Bucky grinned. Clearly, the white Absol hadn’t been expecting that!

“Neat move,” Cres’s voice suddenly spoke from beside him. “Too bad I’m kind of used to it.”

Bucky’s eyes widened as he whirled around, swinging a Nightslash at where he heard the voice. He touched nothing and heard only a mocking laugh.

“Reflexes need a bit of work too don’t they?” Cres asked from his other side. “Yours are a little slow for someone so fast.”

Again Bucky swung wildly at where Cres was mocking him, only to slice nothing once more. Bucky panted in place as grains of sand slapped him across the face, digging painfully into his fur. Then he heard an odd sound, it was as if the wind pouring the sandstorm had been... claimed. Then like a head butt from an Aggron, the winds whirling around him crashed into the crimson Absol, sending him slamming into the ground as the sandstorm ceased to exist.

“Bucky is out!” the referee shouted, as the red Absol’s eyes spun and the man raised a red flag at Matt. “The winner of the match and challenge is Gym Leader Matthew!”

Cres smirked and bounded back to Matt. “Ah, nothing I like more than teaching younger Absol what it really means to battle,” the white Absol said with a smirk.

“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Matt said with a small chuckle as he grabbed one of his crutches and head off to speak with the other human.

Cres on the other hand smiled happily and glanced around the Gym until he spotted Applejack staring at him. In response, he met her gaze and smirked darkly. The mare just narrowed her eyes at him and scoffed as she continued to head for the stands like she should’ve done before. Except now she had layers of sand to shake off because of Cres taunting.

The white Absol just smirked and walked over to where Bucky was laying on the ground, panting.

“In the future, I’d recommend taking your time a bit more,” Cres said as he plopped himself down in front of the other Absol. “And listening to your trainer a bit more couldn’t help.”

Bucky scowled a bit at him as he rubbed a paw over his head. “Yeah, yeah... you didn’t seem to have that problem of listening. Your trainer didn’t say anything, and how is that supposed to be fair to us!?”

“Matt didn’t need to tell me anything because I already know how to fight,” Cres answered calmly. “You and your trainer are young though so you need more help. As for being fair, it’s really more of an advantage for you. Humans are by and largely better at strategy then we Pokemon are so if you’d been listening to your trainer, maybe you wouldn’t have ended up eating so much sand.”

“Hmph... yeah, whatever, next time you won’t so lucky,” Bucky said as he turned around and headed for his trainer.

“Ah, to be young and Tauros-headed,” Cres mused to himself as he followed Bucky up to where Matt was talking with the other human.

“Thanks... I wish I could have done better,” the teenager was saying.

“It’s no problem,” Matt replied with a small shrug. “And hey, this was your first high level gym battle. It not going to be easy, you need to train harder and focus your training on your Pokemon’s stronger points.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” the teen said, bending down to pat Bucky on the head. “Don’t worry Bucky, pretty soon you’ll be so fast that he won’t even be able to see you!” Bucky smiled at the thought of that as his trainer petted his head.

Cres just smirked.

“Anyways,” Matt spoke up. “You can rechallenge me next week or so if you want to, but based on your skill, I would recommend you to head over to Canalave City and take on the gym over there. I think some of your fire moves will work best there.”

“Thank you for the advice sir,” the teenager said with a small nod. “I think I’ll do that,” he added before he turned and started walking away. “Come on Bucky, lets go get you and the Team some Poffins, you deserve em.”

As the pair walked away, Cres glanced up at Matt, a smile on his face. “So, how long till they’re back do you think?”

“Maybe for their seventh badge... or eighth if we’re lucky, which could mean a couple of months,” Matt replied as he rubbed two fingers under his chin.

“I hope so, I always love eighth badge battles,” Cres replied. “No one has to hold anything back and you get a real rush out of it.”

“Indeed,” Matt said with a chuckle of agreement.

Cres smiled and cracked his neck from one side to the other. “That’s all our challengers for the day right?”

“For your team anyways, I’m still waiting for the first timer to get here,” he said looking at his watch. “And she should come around in an hour or so.”

“Alright then, I’m going to head home, if you don’t mind,” the Absol said with a small shake of his head. “Maybe catch a shower first, get some of this sand out of my fur.”

“Probably a good idea,” Matt said with a nod of his head as he glance up to the stands. “You and Applejack both need to hit the showers to get sand off,” he noted as he watched the mare rubbing a hoof through her mane multiple times.

“Oh wonderful,” Cres said before he glanced up at the mare. “Showers are down here if you need them,” he called up to her before he turned on his heels and headed for the shower room. The mare’s ears perked up as she glanced over to watch the Absol head off to a side of the gym, going through a set of doors.

She frowned a bit in thought. A shower would help get rid of this sand... but being so close to Cres... Her frown deepened as the thought took a couple of moments to think about, before scratching a hoof over her coat. I just hope it has separate stalls for the showers, she mumbled in her mind as she reluctantly got up and headed down the stands.

When she arrived in the shower room, she found that it did indeed have separate stalls and that the one on the very end was being used along with the sound of scrubbing from within. Figuring that was the one Cres was in, she choose to go into the stall at the far end opposite of that one, closing and locking the stall door behind her. Thankfully for her, showering wasn’t anything different back home, and while it took time to figured out which bottle held the shampoo and which had conditioner, it only took her a few minutes to quickly scrub all the sand off of her coat, mane, and tail.

When she exited the shower, soaking wet, she saw Cres standing beneath an odd metal thing that was making a very loud racket. The Absol’s fur was being buffeted by blasts of hot air and he seemed to be enjoying it well enough, a small peaceful smile on his face, as he presented different body parts to the air dryer.

She glanced around to see another metal contraption next to his, but opted out of it and looked around for a towel to use instead. Thankfully for her, she saw a rack of folded towels to the side and walked over to grab two before walking off to the side and begin drying herself. Cres pretended not to notice her, and instead opted to continue drying himself, enjoying the feeling of the incredibly warm air washing over his fur. The mare did the same, simply pretending Cres wasn’t there as she work rubbing the towel around her body.

Eventually, the silence became uncomfortable.

“So, did you enjoy the matches?” Cres asked her, the hot air ceasing, leaving him with the task of licking down his fur again.

The mare’s ears simply twitched at his voice. “Enjoy trying to figure out why you fight each other? Not really,” she replied.

“We fight for badges,” Cres answered, as if it was obvious. “And because it’s fun.”

“Fun... hmph, that’s something a being like you would say,” she remarked dismissively. “And badges?”

“It’s actually something that any Pokemon would say, not just ‘beings like me’. You saw that Gardevoir earlier, did she look anything like me?” Cres asked with a roll of his eyes. “And yes, badges.They’re a proof of a Team’s strength.”

Applejack frowned slightly at his explanation and just shook her head. “Battles to prove each other’s strength... is that all you do every day?”

“That and spend time with my family and friends,” Cres answered with a small shrug. “Why?”

“It just sound very dull and repetitive,” she stated flatly.

“Maybe to you,” Cres replied. “But to me, it’s a wonderful life. I get to do all of the things I enjoy most while spending time with the ones I care most about all the while. Of course, you spend all day kicking trees if I recall correctly, so I don’t think you have any right to judge my life on being repetitive.”

“I kick trees to produce food for all of Ponyville and some parts of Equestria,” Applejack countered. “It’s a living that benefits me and other ponies, and I’m not going on some adrenaline rush to bash my hooves against someone else’s face.”

“And what I do helps young trainers and Pokemon reach their goals and make money to live by,” Cres replied pointedly. “And I don’t just do it for ‘some adrenaline rush’. I do it because it’s fun, battling is one of the best ways that a Pokemon can really get to know another and themselves, and have a great time while doing so.”

The mare shook her head once more, not really seeing the logic behind it. “Whatever... I really don’t see why that is,” she said, picking up her very damp towels and discarding them in the hamper.

“Then that’s your own fault,” Cres stated blandly as he finished licking down his fur and headed for the door. “Follow me if you’d like to go back to the house or stay here if you’d prefer to go with Matt.”

“I prefer to follow someone I trust a bit more,” she replied.

“Whatever,” Cres said, walking out the door, leaving her alone in the shower room. The mare rolled her eyes and stayed in the shower room for a moment.

Battle to get to know each other better... how in tarnation does that seem logical? she thought to herself with a shake of her head. Pointless violence is all I see...

She shook her head once more and head out of the gym, hoping that whatever is going to happen next that it wouldn’t ruin her coat and mane again.

Cres made his way home easily enough and found that there was only one other resident out and about, Emilia. The Glaceon was curled up on a bed specially made for ice type pokemon, making blankets feel incredibly cold. With a small sigh, Cres walked over and layed down in the sun beside her bed.

“Emilia, you’re always cheerful and happy, I think I need your help,” Cres announced after a while.

The Glaceon let out a small yawn as she open her eyes and look down at Cres from her bed. “What?” she ask, rubbing one of her paws over her eyes.

“I need help dealing with Applejack,” Cres said with a sigh. “You’re always able to keep a cool head, or at the very least just smile your way through whatever happens... I on the other hand cannot.”

“I see... you need some advice on how I do so?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

“If you can,” Cres answered with a nod of his head. “Otherwise Belle is going to keep giving me little shocks.... and not the fun kind.”

“Hmmm....” Emilia cross her forepaws over each other and rest her head on top of them. “Well... for one, smiling helps. If you can keep a smile, either big or small, it helps keep down some aggressive thoughts.”

Cres frowned faintly. “I see... I supose that can work.”

“Next, count to ten, or even twenty, or between,” she continued. “If you give yourself time to think, then you won’t say anything rash.”

“Right... and that has always been something I’m fond of doing,” Cres said, nodding slowly.

“Last, but not least, think positive,” Emilia said with a smile. “Your words reflect what’s going on in your mind, if you think about the good things in your life, your words will mimic your nature.”

Cres mulled that all over for a moment before he smiled and leaned over to give her cold cheek a lick. “Thank you for the good advice Emilia, you may have just saved me from a rather painful few nights.”

“You’re welcome Cres,” she said with happy smile. “I’m always glad to help out of member of our family.”

“Well know that you truly have,” Cres replied before he curled up beside the bed. “I think I’ll lay beside you if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” she said with a light chuckle as she curled back up in her bed. “Could always use a napping buddy since Ohm is away.”

“Indeed,” Cres agreed with a small smile as he closed his eyes, though he spent quite a while thinking about what she’d said before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 12

“Oooh, this will be a fun one to watch,” a familiar, female voice said from beside Applejack as she sat on the edge of the bench. The mare glanced over her shoulder to see that Brooke was sitting near her, causing her to jump slightly, she hadn’t heard her approach.

“Why is that?” Applejack asked, scooting slightly away from the canine.

“It’s a first timer who only has their starter,” Brooke answered with a doggy grin, tongue hanging slightly out the side of her mouth giving the hellhound a strangely... comical appearance. “That’s the type that Matt really puts on a show for. Oh, and sorry about earlier, you made me mad and I have kind of a short temper, fire in my belly and all that.”

The mare frown slightly but nodded her head slowly. “Apology accepted... I’m sorry for causing a... mess with the plates.”

“It’s alright, everyone makes mistakes,” Brooke said before she leaned over and licked Applejack’s cheek with a tongue that would make Winona blush. “I just react poorly to them.”

The pony’s eyes went a bit wide from the wet lick and rubbed a hoof over the cheek. “Right... now what’s this about putting on a-” suddenly the lights went off “-show.... what in tarnation?” Applejack said a bit out loudly as she rabidly looking around the dark room unsuccessfully.

“Shh,” Brooke whispered in her ear. “Relax, this is all part of the fun.”

The mare frowned at what she meant but then at the edge of her vision she could see the doors to the gym opening, letting in a small stream of light, fog dancing across the beams of light, distorting and twisting them. Slowly walking through all of that was a young girl, her arms hunched together across her chest as she gazed around in the darkness, her face masked behind a fearful expression.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” the girl called into the darkness. “I’m... I’m here for my first gym battle and the Luxray pointed me this way...”

A soft chuckle rolled through the abyss. “You’re in the right place Alice, welcome to the Dark Star Gym.” A snap rang in the air and suddenly large braziers alight with fire around the corner of the arena. Matt was standing on the far end, looking over at the girl with a mysterious, yet readily friendly, smile.

The girl jumped in surprise at the sudden fire but gulped once and did her best to put on a brave face. “Thank you,” she said with a small smile. “I’m here to challenge you!”

The man smiled as he held out his hand dramatically. “And I accept your challenge,” he said. “I hope you’re ready, for even if this is your first Gym Battle doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you.”

“I can take it,” she replied with a frown as she reached for her Pokeball. “Me and Bubbles!” She held out her hand and a Piplup emerged from the Pokeball.

“Let’s do this!” the female penguin cheered enthusiastically.

“A Piplup huh?” Matt said with a small smile before snapping his fingers once more. From the darkness behind him a Poochyena leaped out and ran forward into the battlefield. “Well, let’s see how well you do against Scorch,” he told Alice as the Poochyena growling at the Piplup challengingly.

“Go get her Scorch,” Brooke said with a smile as she looked down at the Poochyena, pride in her eyes.

Applejack frowned slightly as she looked over at Brooke, recognising the look on Houndoom’s face. “Is Scorch your... pup?” she asked.

“Yes, yes he is,” Brooke said with a happy grin. “He’s been working so hard for the past year that Matt’s finally letting him fight.”

The mare’s frown deepened slightly, still not seeing the point of working to just... fight like this, but decided not to voice her opinion. This seemed to be a big moment for Brooke and the last thing she wanted was to light that short fuse again.

“Hah! Just a little puppy? I can take you easy!” Bubbles exclaimed with a grin as she stretched her neck.

Scorch’s growl deepened as he barked out. “HEY! I’ll show you little, you little pipsqueak!”

Matt let out a short mental sigh as he glanced over at Alice. “The challenge is simple. Both of us can use up to three Pokemon and will fight till either faints. You can switch out at any time but I will stick to the Pokemon I call out to the very end.”

“I only need Bubbles! We kicked all kinds of butt on the way here!” the girl replied with a smirk. “Let’s do this!”

“Very well then let’s begin!” he made a dramatic gesture, or as much as he could, and pointed a hand straight out. “Scorch use Shadow Ball!”

The Poochyena charged forwards, opening his mouth a ball of dark energy building up quickly and he flung it towards the Piplup. Bubbles’ eyes widened in surprise but Alice remained calm.

“Bubbles! Use Bubble to block it!” she shouted.

“Right!” Bubbles shouted back, even though the girl couldn’t understand, before she drew back her head and let out a string of bubbles at the incoming ball of shadows. The two attacks collided, causing a burst of wind to spring out as the Shadow Ball dissipated.

However Matt already had the next move in mind. “Scorch, use Torment!”

Scorch smile as he flash a smile at Bubbles. “Come on, is that all you got!? I’ve seen Magikarp throw a better Bubble than that!”

Bubbles’ face turned red and she let out a cry of anger before charging forwards. “I’ll show you who the Magikarp is!”

Alice’s eyes widened at the sudden aggression but regained control of the situation by shouting. “Bubbles! Use Peck!” the girl shouted.

The Piplup leapt at Scorch, its beak glowing as she tried to peck at him.

“Sucker Punch!” Matt called out and immediately Scorch dodged the attack and lashed a paw out, glowing bright purple as it hit the side of Bubbles’s face.

Bubbles let out a disbelieving gasp of pain as she went rolling head over webbed feet in the opposite direction. She stayed down for a moment before struggling back to her feet.

“Yes! Great punch Scorch!” Brooke barked from the stands, a grin on her face a mile wide.

Applejack jumped slightly from the volume and shifted her eyes at the Houndoom for a moment before looking back at the battle. Not really getting what... fun there was in it, but somehow she wasn’t bored or disgusted from watching the fighting.

Scorch smiled proudly from hearing his mother bark her praise at him while he continued to keep his eyes on the Piplup. Matt too was watching the Piplup before shifting his attention up at Alice, waiting for her next move and observe how she was taking in the battle.

Alice grit her teeth as Bubbles stood in front of her, panting heavily. “Come on... come on... I want to win!” the Piplup growled.

Alice came to a decision. “Bubbles! Get close and use Bubble!”

The Piplup grinned and charged forwards again, blowing bubbles at Scorch the whole way there.

“Scorch, dodge and use double team!” Matt quickly ordered. The Poochyena quickly began to weaved and waved through the onslaught of bubbles and was moving faster as hazy doubles of himself started to appear everywhere.

Bubbles’s head snapped from one direction to the other in an attempt to keep up but it was no good at all and the only thing it accomplished was making her wobble about dizzily.

“Oooh where are you?!” she shouted as she struggled to put one foot in front of the other.

“Everywhere and nowhere!” Scorch answered, picking up a line he remembered Shade using once before.

“Scorch, use Shadow Ball once more!” Matt shouted, and all the copy of the Poochyena all began to form a large ball of shadow in their mouths as they aimed at Bubbles. Bubbles let out a squawk of fear but Alice’s jaw hardened.

“Use Water Sport to launch yourself into the air!” she shouted to Bubbles. The Piplup’s eyes widened as she heard the command but did as she was told. She aimed her head down to blast a jet of water into it, sending her flying into the air, the Shadow Balls, or rather, illusory ones and the real one hitting the ground harmlessly.

An intrigued eyebrow arch on Matt’s face while Scorch’s doubles began to fade away leaving one confused Poochyena. “What!?” the pup shouted in disbelief.

“Pound!” Alice shouted as Piplup fell towards the Poochyena like an avenging blue missle, her front wing glowing white. She hit and Scorch went flying in the other direction. As he landed he rolled on the ground and went out of bounds of the arena, skidding to a stop.

“Ouch,” Brooke winced in sympathy for her son. “That’s not going to do his little ego any favors.”

Applejack winced too, her mind imagining the rough feeling of being ragdolled like that... and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling to say the least. Scorch pushed himself slowly up, before going down flat on his side.

“Scorch, return!” Matt called out as a red beam hit the Poochyena and scooped him up back inside a Pokeball. He looked down at the Pokeball. “You did good for your first match,” he said softly with a smile before letting it shrink and placing it onto his belt. He glanced back at Alice, who had the biggest grin on her face.

“Yes! Great job Bubbles!” she cheered enthusiastically.

“I’m the best around!” Bubbles agreed, pushing out her chest, a grin on her beak.

“Don’t get too proud you two, the match isn’t half way done,” Matt said with a small chuckle before holding out his hand once more. “Cutter, come on out!”

Again, out of the darkness a small red and black figure leapt out in the air and landed in front of the man. The figure stood straight up displaying that its arms ended with two sharp blades, it’s chest had two lunar crest blades sticking out of it, and a small bladed horn standing out of its forehead.

Applejack’s eyes open widen. “What in tarnation is that?” she asked Brooke.

“That’s little Cutter, he’s a Pawniard Matt rescued from the rest of his pack,” Brooke answered as if it there wasn’t a creature with blades for hands standing in front of Matt. “He’s a Dark/Steel type so this battle is pretty much over. That, and he’s a vicious little guy in battle.”

“Vicious?” the mare asked, not liking the sound of that word. “Why would Matt keep a Pokemon like that with him?”

“Well hopefully, to make him a bit less so,” Brooke answered with a small shrug. “But really, it’s not surprising, his species has a very ‘kill or be killed’ mentality, only the strongest ones get to eat or mate so it ends up making them a bit... nasty.”

Applejack frowned deeply as she glance back at Cutter, who was just standing there like a statue as he just looked down upon the Piplup. A part of her now a bit worried about the young penguin Pokemon.

“Bring it!” Bubbles shouted defiantly. “I can take you, you lump of brass!”

Cutter simply remain quiet as Matt called out his first move. “Cutter, use Slash!” In the blink of an eye the Pawniard was racing towards Bubbles, it’s bladed arms lowered in a readying swing.

“Bubble!” Alice shouted, Bubble’s eyes widening as the Pawniard got closer with every second before she let out a string of bubbles at him.

“Dodge them!” Matt called out and Cutter easily maneuvered around the bubbles and got right in front of Bubble’s face, his right arm already held up.

SMACK

Bubbles was sent flying as the Pawniard’s thankfully dulled blade smashed into her face, sending her spiraling through the air. She landed hard in front of Alice, eyes blinking blearily for a moment before her head slumped.

“Bubbles!” the girl shouted, kneeling down and picking up the unconscious Piplup worriedly. Thankfully the Piplup was still breathing, a soft groan of pain leaking out of her beak.

“And the match goes to Cutter,” Matt said as the Pawniard walked back to stand in front of the man, a large, satisfied ‘expression’ plastered across his lipless face. “Is Bubble okay?” he asked over to Alice.

“She’s breathing,” Alice said, wincing a little as she pet the Pokemon. “She’ll be okay right?”

“She should, return her to Pokeball and take her to Pokemon Center once our battle is over,” Matt informed her with a nod.

“Right... right,” Alice said unsteadily as she brought the Pokeball up and touched it against Bubbles’ head and the Piplup vanished into it.

“Heh, thought so,” Brooke said with a small smile. “Scorch did a good job weakening her up.”

Applejack was still trying to process what just happen. Cutter moved very fast and she didn’t even see the hit that sent Bubble’s flying. “That still seem cruel to do to Bubbles... I mean, did he really have to hit that hard if she was already weak?”

“Of course, otherwise she might have gotten up again,” Brooke answered nonchalantly. “You fight till the other Pokemon faints or is unable to keep fighting. If they’re still standing then you should hit them with all you’ve got.”

Applejack shook her head. “I really don’t see why you do this... this seems more abusive to others than ‘having fun’.”

Brooke frowned. “Abusive? It’s not abusive,” her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Matt doesn’t beat us, or mistreat us, or make us do things we don’t want to do! We fight because we like to fight Applejack.” She let out a small sigh, venting her anger downwards in a small stream of fire for a moment before shaking her head. “Right, sorry, anyways... Matt’s one of the nicest humans I’ve ever met... and I’ve met a lot. He took me in off of the streets when I was still a little Houndour after my old master... well I’d rather not talk about that. But really, Battling is fun, you should give it a try sometime.”

The mare rolled her eyes. “I think I’ll pass,” she replied with a shake of her head.

“Fine, keep judging me without actually trying to understand, I’m sure that’ll work out well for you,” Brooke said with a roll of her eyes before she got up, stretched once, and then leapt from the bleachers into the ring, walking up to nose Matt’s side as he walked to Alice.

Matt smiled as he gave the dog a rub across her head before looking at Alice. “So, was Bubbles your only Pokemon?” he inquired from her.

“Yes...” Alice said with a frown as she stroked the Pokeball. “I thought she was all I needed.”

“Maybe in some instances, but she can’t do all the work of battling by herself,” Matt told the young girl in a soft, lecturing tone. “You’ve got to remember, Pokemon can get tired too, especially in battles. The support of a team helps lighten the load and gives you a greater chance of success. Now that doesn’t mean Bubbles can’t still fight most of the battles, but having backup and support can really help in the long run in becoming the best trainer you can be.”

“Right... thanks,” she said, letting out a small sigh before glancing up at him and offering a hand to shake. “I’m going to come back here and we’re going to be stronger than ever!”

The man smiled as he accept her handshake. “I’ll be waiting until then. Good luck out there Alice.”

The girl smiled slightly before she frowned and looked up at the bleachers as the lights came on. “Oh... and if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of Pokemon is that?” she asked, pointing at Applejack. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in any of the books.”

Matt frowned as she glanced over at the mare and tried to think of an explanation. “She’s... a rare breed of a Ponyta.”

“Okay... without any flames?” the girl asked in bemusement.

“That’s why she’s a rare breed,” the man said again with a small chuckle. “I’m... mostly just looking after her for now for my wife, the Professor living here in the city.”

“Oh, okay then,” the girl said, satisfied with this explanation. “Well, I’ll be back, count on it!” she added with a grin before she turned and started back the way she came.

“Heheh, she’s got spunk,” Brooke commented, leaning up to lick Matt’s hand. “And Scorch did very well for his first time!”

The man let out a short sigh of relief before smiling down at the Houndoom. “That he did, want me to heal him so you can congratulate him yourself?”

“Yes!” Brooke barked with a grin, thin tail weaving back and forth excitedly.

“Alright then,” Matt said with a chuckle as he gripped a hand on one of his crutches and headed for the wall containing the healing machine.

Though in the back of his mind he made a note to bring Applejack back home with him. It was one close call for lying of who she was... and hopefully news wouldn’t go spreading around about a new species of Pokemon being held in Hearthome. The last thing he needed was Professor Oak showing up at his door, no matter how happy it would make Roxanne.

Applejack for the most part barely noticed being pointed out or Matt lying about her species. Her mind was still pondering what Brooke said to her. A small frown crossed her face as a hoof tapped lightly on the bleacher she was resting on. As she did so, she saw Matt put the Pokeball containing Scorch into the machine from yesterday before pulling it out and releasing Scorch.

The puppy came out frowning unhappily but Brooke began to lick him and soon he was bounding around full of energy, acting out different parts of the battle, Brooke at his side playing his ‘enemy’. Despite the loss, he looked... incredibly happy.

Applejack watched him for a bit longer before frowning thoughtfully. She really couldn’t see what the appeal of battling was... and most likely never really would, but at the same time, she couldn’t form a solid opinion to something she’d never done. Her mind wandered back to last night... with the ‘sparring’ she’d done with Ohm. While she never could land a hit on him... she always kept trying to. Now that she was thinking about it, she had to wonder: why?

Part of her thought because she just didn’t want to go back to sleep after having that... horrible nightmare, but a part her realized something was just... urging her to land a hit on the lion. The mare blinked blankly for a moment at thought. It reminded her of how she’d felt when she and Rainbow Dash competed. At the same time however, while some of the contests that they’d had were... stupid, she admitted that... they’d never seemed as poorly thought out as these battles were.

The tapping of her hoof went silent as a thought ran through her mind. Maybe... maybe I should at least try one battle... then I can say what I want about them. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she got up and headed out of the stands and to the main lobby, thinking of only one Pokemon she could trust with such a request.

She walked up to the couches standing to the side and took in a deep breath. “Ohm... I would like to go through a battle with you.”

Chapter 13

Cres let out a soft sigh as his mind restarted from its deep sleep. A yawn left his lips as his eyes opened and he found himself in the very middle of a four way napping pile. On one side was Emilia who was still sound asleep amidst her cold bed. On the other was Belle who was only lightly sleeping, he could tell that she hadn’t been for long, and leaning against Belle’s belly was Xav, curled up in an adorable red ball.

I love this... Cres thought to himself very quietly, leaning over to lick Belle’s head softly. Arceus... I love this feeling. Belle’s head leaned up into the lick and her paws stretched out as a small yawn escaped her lips. She glanced over at Cres and smiled, giving him a loving nuzzle.

“Good afternoon,” she said with a soft purr.

“Mhm you too,” Cres replied, smiling as he nuzzled her lovingly before he let out a sigh. “Belle... I think I need to talk with you about something.”

The red Absol continued her stretching her paws and neck, careful on not to disturb Xav from his slumber. “And what’s that?”

“I’d... I’d like to talk about it in private,” Cres answered, glancing at Xav. “It’s not the type of thing he should hear.”

Belle frowned slightly, but nodded her head as she slowly got up, letting the young pup slide off of her. Xav muttered softly under his breath as he readjusted but he didn’t awake and remained curled up. Belle then looked over at Cres and gestured to the door leading to the master bedroom and headed through it. Cres got up as well, careful not to disturb Emilia as he got up and walked after his mate, closing the door behind him with his tail.

“Thanks Belle,” Cres said, sitting on his rump in front of her.

“You’re welcome, so what is it you want to talk about?” she asked as she sat down in a similar manner.

“I... I just want to explain why... at least why I think I feel the way about Applejack being here that I do...” Cres said softly. “I’ve been keeping it to myself... and well...” he looked down at the floor before looking back up at her. “If I can’t trust you with it then I can’t trust anyone.”

The shiny Absol frowned slightly. “Well, tell me then; you know holding things to yourself doesn’t usually help,” she pointed out with a curious tilt of her head.

“Yes... you’re right,” Cres closed his eyes and then nodded. “Okay... please don’t laugh at me for this...”

“I promise,” Belle replied truthfully.

“... she scares me Belle,” Cres said softly.

Belle blinked in absolute shock and surprise as if she didn’t quite hear him right.

“I’m... I’m not afraid of fighting her... I’m... I’m afraid of what she could do to our lives together,” Cres said quietly. “The... the entire time I’ve known her she’s done nothing but try to instil fear of me in people, well, ponies in this case but... I’m scared that she’s going to turn you and everyone else against me... I... I don’t want her to ruin the life that I’ve worked so hard to make... I... I’m scared that I’ll do something to make Matt kick me out... I’m scared that you’ll hate me... I’m scared that Xav will turn his back on me... all because of her.”

Belle’s face softened at her love and she walked up to him and nuzzle the side of his head reassuringly. “I see... well, don’t worry too much about it my dear. If you running away for two years wasn’t enough to make me leave you, nothing will. Xav is our son and he looks up to you too much to ever suddenly turn against you. As for Matt... well... he’s Matt, I doubt he would ever abandon a Pokemon out in the middle of no where just because of bad behavior.”

“I know... but...” Cres lowered his head. “She’s so determined to vilify me... I... I’m sure... I don’t know what to do Belle.” He shivered and pressed himself against her.

Belle continued nuzzling him, offering her body for support as he leaned into her. “Cres, you’re letting her get to you, and not only that but you’re having little trust in me, your own son, or even the rest who know you. Why would they suddenly hate you because the words of one mare?” The crimson Absol shook her head. “Don’t take our actions of trying to prevent a fight between the two of you as a sign we are suddenly disliking you, it’s more of trying to stop arguments between you and Applejack.”

Cres sighed. “I guess... I just... I’m not good at this Belle...” he said quietly. “I don’t know what to do. If it was a battle then I’d beat her and be done with it but it’s not and no one will let me fight her like I should and... and you kept on shocking me and I started to worry that you hated me and-”

“Cres, I only shock when you’re going to say things that were based off of hate and just going to cause more trouble if you were to say it in front of Applejack. Second, I only do it because I want you to think a bit longer before saying things, because I know you can do it and it won’t cause you or Applejack any more hurt.” Belle titled her head at him. “I love you Cres, and I only do things for your good, to help you improve, never doubt me in that.”

Cres stared at her for a moment before a long sigh left his body and she could tell that he was holding back tears as he pressed himself closer to her. “I know... I know... I’m sorry... I just... I don’t know... I don’t know what to do... I’m a fighter Belle... that’s all I’m good at...” he trailed off and pressed his face into her neck. “I’m not a thinker, I’m not a plotter, I’m not a... a genius. I’m stupid and I know it. I just... I just want her to leave me alone.”

“Then don’t give her reasons to slander you, or just ignore her, Cres,” Belle told him. “Or better yet, try to fix the problem between the two of you. If there’s no reason to hate you, there’s no reason for her to ‘mess’ with you.” She then nuzzled him lovingly. “Also, you’re not stupid.”

“I don’t know... I feel like it most of the time,” Cres replied with a small half choked breath. “Others always know better than me when it comes to anything... I always screw things up... I’m not good at anything other than battling.”

“You’re good at being a father, you’re good at being a friend, including being a napping buddy for Ohm,” Belle listed out. “Along with many others things too Cres, you’re just letting this ‘fear’ of Applejack blind your eyes.”

Cres sniffled. “Thank you my love...” he said softly, pulling his face out of her neck to reveal small tears.

Belle leaned down and lick his face clean of some tears. “You’re welcome my dear.” She nuzzled him once more.

A sigh left Cres’ lips and he sat down, nuzzling her back desperately. “I don’t want to lose you again,” he whispered.

“Neither do I,” she whispered as she sat down with him. “So stop acting foolish and be that energetic, courageous Cres I knew once before.”

“I’ll try,” Cres said softly. “Though if I was still him I’d be smacking Applejack out of the house with the flat of my blade to protect my family.” A wry smile crossed his face at the mental image.

“True maybe, I guess there are some adjustments that need to be made.” Belle chuckled lightly with a soft nudge of her head. “Still, feeling a bit better?”

“A bit, I’ll admit,” Cres said with a small nod of his head. “Thanks my love.”

“You’re welcome,” she lean over to give a single lick across his cheek.

Cres returned it and then glanced at the door. “I suppose we should get back to sleeping before Xav notices that we left,” he said with a small smile before a thought struck him. “What do you have him learning right now anyways?”

“Mathematics and a small bit of physics, if he wants to be a good ‘swordsman’ as he puts it, then he needs to know the math and science behind what he wants to do,” she replied. “You know, angle of trajectory, velocity and accelerations and such.”

“...” Cres just kind of stared at her blankly, blinking twice. “You have such odd ideas sometimes my love.”

Belle rolled her eyes slightly. “Only to you my dear, only to you.” She chuckled lightly.

Cres chuckled as well. “Then again, just because I don’t understand it doesn’t automatically make it foolish.” he shook his head and licked her cheek once.

“Indeed,” she agreed with a smile as she nuzzled him once more and began to head to the door leading back to the living room. The other Absol followed along behind her and let out a soft sigh, talking to Belle always helped him.

Chapter 14

Ohm blinked twice. “You want to battle me?” he asked Applejack with a raised eyebrow. “Why?”

The mare frown as she closed her eyes and her head bowed down slightly. “Because... I keep hearing these battles are important to you... Pokemon... and I just don’t see why.” She opened up her eyes once more with a slight hesitation in her face. “So, if I want to know the ‘why’ the best way is to go through one myself... and I trust you enough to think you can do that. You seemed knowledgeable in... fighting during last night’s ‘sparring’.”

“Ah,” Ohm said, getting to his paws on the couch and stretching his whole body like a cat. “I can provide you with a good battle, though I won’t lie to you when I say that young Scorch or Xav would be opponents more to your skill level.”

“Yet I don’t think they’ll be able to give a better reason why Pokemon battle than you,” Applejack remarked. “I’m not looking to win... I’m just looking for the reason. I can tell you can probably give me that.”

Ohm nodded his head. “Very well then, let’s go give it a try,” he told her before he leaped from the couch, crossing several feet to the door in an easy bound and landing lightly on his paws, beginning to lead Applejack towards the main gym room. The mare turned around and followed him through the doors, seeing Matt and his other Pokemon gathering around him.

“You all did a good job today,” he was telling them, a small proud smile on his face. “And while I didn’t get to use all of you, the rest will have their chance tomorrow. We have a big day tomorrow with six scheduled matches. Two are mostly beginners but the rest are trying to get their seventh or eighth badge. So let’s do some final bit of training, wash up, and everyone will rest for tomorrow.”

“Right!” came the enthusiastic cry from around twenty different Pokemon who scattered around the gym floor, beginning to have mock battles against one another.

“Matt,” Ohm called, padding over to his master and nuzzling his hip ever so slightly. “Applejack wishes to have a battle against me, could you perhaps clear the center of the floor?”

The man blinked blankly. “She wants... a battle... with you?” he asked as if he didn’t hear the Luxray quite right. “She does know you’re one of my most experienced Pokemon in the field of battle, right?”

“She wants to learn the appeal,” Ohm answered with a small, casual shrug. “I intend to teach her it.”

“Okay... just don’t hurt her... too much that is,” he said slowly before taking in a deep breath and slowly let it out. He glanced up to the center ring. “Brooke, Xerox, clear the center ring,” he called out to the Houndoom and the Zoroark, both of whom gave small confused looks.

“Why?” Brooke called back, jaws half an inch from the Zoroark’s neck.

“Applejack and I are going to use it,” Ohm replied, gesturing his head to the orange mare behind him. When he said that the whole field grew quiet as all eyes turned towards Applejack. The mare’s eyes began to dart around them with a small weirded out look while also feeling a sense of quiet dread.

“Really? Okay then... heheh, this should be fun,” Brooke said with a grin as she leapt away from the Zoroark. “Come on Xerox, we can finish this little dance later.” The Zoroark rolled his eyes slightly as he got up and rubbed a paw over his throat as he followed the Houndoom. The rest of the Pokemon seemed more interested in what was about to happen than continuing to fight as they formed a large circle around the inner ring.

Ohm strode forwards and took up a spot in the middle, his body lowering into a crouch, his tail flicking back and forth around his rear. His whole body had transformed before Applejack’s eyes from that of a laid back, rather large, cat to that of a predatory lion. A wedge of fear slammed into her chest as a dreadful memory crept into her mind, but she close her eyes and took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“Whenever you are prepared,” Ohm commented.

The mare stood still for a moment as her racing heart slowed down enough for her to collect herself and she exhaled once more before opening up her eyes. She took a stance that she’d worked on last night and faced Ohm, a hoof prodding into the ground. “I’m ready.”

Faster than she could react, Ohm was in front of her, paw swatting out and cuffing her across the side of her face, the sheer unexpectedness of it throwing her off of her feet as the Luxray leapt back to where he’d been standing before.

“Were you?” Ohm inquired wryly.

Applejack pushed herself back up and shook her head to clear it up the dizziness clouding her mind. She shot her head up at Ohm and narrowed her eyes at him, part of her just wanting to rush forwards to try to hit him back, but knew that would be pointless. Instead she began to straff to her left.

Ohm followed her, moving with the mare before suddenly he was in front of her again, his paws, claws extended as they whistled by her face. The mare weaved out of the way reflexively and she followed up with a swing of her hoof. Ohm countered by ducking beneath the attack and out of the corner of her eyes, Applejack saw his teeth glowing bright as his head surged up and into her shoulder, chomping hard.

The mare yelped a bit from the pressure then from shock as electricity was sparking out of his jaw. Yet other than that, it didn’t really... hurt per-say, at least, not like she thought it would. Her mind acted quickly as she tried to knock him off, a hoof springing out to hit him under the jaw. Ohm let go of her and leapt away from the hoof.

“Hmm, no effect from the electricity, you must be a ground type,” Ohm stated with a small nod of his head. “Good, that will make things last longer.”

Applejack didn’t have chance to respond or question what he meant being a ground type before Ohm was in front of her again, claws slashing down her neck, dancing away from her surprised counter attack and slashing her across the flank. The mare winced in pain as she tried to buck him in the face, but he simply sprang back and away from her hoofs.

“If you’d rather not try to battle then I can end this now,” Ohm suggested calmly as he circled her, leaping forwards again and slashing around but never actually hitting Applejack’s face before he leapt away again, shaking his rear at her.

Applejack gritted her teeth. “We just started and I’m not out of this yet!” she shouted back as began to run towards him, not really planning on hitting him but more to keep up with him and be mindful of any attacks he tried to make.

“Come now, attack,” he prodded her, leaping away and shaking his rear at her once again, tail flicking tauntingly in front of her. “Otherwise this is a waste of our time.” A seemingly annoyed snarl left him and he leapt to the side before leaping at her flank and slashing along it, producing blood. “Attack!”

The mare grunted again, feeling something building up inside her. “Then stand still!” Her hooves sprang rapidly underneath her and she suddenly found herself bashing the whole side of her body against his.

Ohm let out a soundless grunt as he took the hit, barely moving an inch before a small chuckle rolled out of him as stood over her. “That’s better,” he told her with a smile before his paw lashed out and slapped her across the face, once, twice, three times, small scratches appearing with each one.

The mare took all of them as she felt something else building up inside of her, with each scratch it seem to grow stronger. Once Ohm was done she reactively lifted up her hoof and slammed in it down into his side with a lot more force than she thought she could do with it. Ohm was knocked back a few feet away but he nodded in approval.

“Better!” he informed her as he strafed to her right and brought a paw slashing up under her right rear leg, flipping her onto her back as he darted in, slashing across her now vulnerable stomach and neck, his claws leaving shallow bloody trenches in their wake.

Pain and and panic suddenly began to filled Applejack’s body as she frantically bent her hind legs beneath Ohm and delivered two powerful kicks around his lower chest and dangerously close to his crotch. Ohm grunted as knock in the air, but he landed on his paws not far away.

“Not bad,” he told her with a nod of his head. “Now come and get me.”

Applejack rolled back upright and onto her hooves. She was breathing heavily and can feel her muscles were sore, but the adrenaline pumping through her heart gave her the energy to rush up to him. Her hooves began to rapidly jab forward as she bucked and turned around to follow up with swings of her fore hooves. Ohm wove through each attack gracefully, his claws swatting out and slashing her in between blows.

The mare grunted in pain as her eyes shot open in anger at the lion. She suddenly reared into the air and slammed her forehooves into the ground, the earth shaking violently. Ohm’s eyes widened in surprise but the strong magnitude rolled over him ineffectively as he fell into a lower crouch. Before the quake could fully end, he leapt forwards and tackled Applejack to the ground, claws on her chest, teeth at her neck.

Applejack’s whole body went stiff in fright from the position she found herself in before it relaxed in a defeated pose. Ohm gave her neck a lick and then leapt off of her, landing easily on his paws once again.

“And that is why we battle,” he said with a small smile before he brought one of his paws up and began to clean it of her blood with his tongue.

The mare blinked blankly. “...that... was something...” she said slowly between heavy pants.

She felt worn out, tired, and beaten... but she also felt... stronger too. As if her body had actually gained strength from the fight rather than getting weaker. Her mind couldn’t fully understand what exactly happened, but she was certain that whatever it was she could tell she felt a bit of... accomplishment. Like bucking apples down a hundred trees in one day kind of accomplishment.

She slowly pushed herself up back onto her hooves, winced every now and then from the dozens or so scratches stretching over her body.

“You should probably go take a shower Applejack,” Brooke commented from the slowly dispersing circle of Pokemon. “Get those cuts washed out in case you catch something.”

“As if that’s needed,” Ohm stated flatly. “But you should probably go wash up, after that Matt can apply a potion to heal your wounds.”

The mare nodded her head slowly as she made her way to the door leading to the showers. Her hooves burned like if she’d run a marathon, but she continued to walk as she left the gym room and into the showers. Her mind buzzing with information to sort through, causing most of her actions to be done in autopilot.

...what in world happened to me? I moved faster than I ever did in my entire life. Took blows that would most knock a pony off of their hooves faster than an eye blink. Electricity just ran through me and I felt nothing of it, and I caused the earth to quake!? She felt water beginning to pour down onto her as she stood under the shower head within the stall.

How in tarnation can I do that now... even know how to do it? It all just happen so suddenly and after most of Ohm’s attacks. Was some part of me reacting to that or part what Ohm told me. She frowned deeply. ’The reason why we fight’... I didn’t see a reason other than getting beaten around learning about these... magical powers that I somehow have.

“It’s the best way to get to know each other,” Ohm’s voice said from behind her. Applejack’s body jumped a half a foot in the air as she whirl around to see the lion standing casually at the entrance to the stall. “Let me ask you, do you not know me better now than you did before?”

The mare glared at him sourly for the startle before closing her eyes. “...you held back on me even though you could probably shred me with a single swipe of your claws,” she said, thinking to the shallow scratches around her back and chest.

“Indeed I did,” he agreed with a nod. “And?”

“And your jaws could crush my neck if you wanted to... but you never went beyond a firm hold,” she listed off again. “Meaning you were mindful in not hurting me too much.”

“True,” Ohm agreed before stretching. “But what did it really tell you about me?”

Applejack frowned slightly. “...that you’re skilled in fighting, which is why I asked you in the first place. To show me what a battle is and why you do it.” She let out a sharp sigh as she shook her head. “I’m still fully trying to understand the why.”

“Hmm, allow me to tell you what I learned about you,” Ohm said with a small half smile. “You’re determined yet slow at first, your temper takes some time to rouse but once it is fully emboldened you become lost in it. You lose sight of everything but the battle you are fighting, even the safety of those around you.”

The mare’s frown deepened slightly. “While you are very precise and focused in what you do... you always seemed to just weave or stand through any attack I gave you and a way to counter it. Though always mindful to make sure it doesn’t cause me too much harm.”

“Good,” Ohm said with a small nod before he smiled. “Now then, something I would like to discuss with you.”

Applejack’s head tilt slightly to the left. “And that is?”

“Cres,” he answered simply. “He is a good friend of mine and if you continue to provoke him, or attack him, then you will feel the same returned to you.”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed down at him for the gall to say that to her... but she could understand. She’d said something similar to Cres if he dared to harm anyone of her friends. “Then tell Cres to stay out of my way and we won’t have a problem... which is probably for the better.”

“Yet it is Cres’ house in which you are staying and Cres’ family who you will be around,” Ohm replied, sitting on his haunches. “How is it fair for him to have to avoid you all day?”

The mare closed her eyes. “Well then maybe he just shouldn’t talk to me and I won’t talk to him, that way I won’t feel the urge to buck him.”

“Or perhaps you could both cease acting like children and simply talk to each other about your problems with one another to see if you can’t find some sort of middle ground,” Ohm retorted. “I haven’t been told the tale of what came between you but after battling you both I can say that there is a good chance that it is not as bad as you seem to think it is.”

Applejack resisted the urge to snort. “There’s a good reason Ohm... Cres disrespected our laws and mocked them. I didn’t like that and took precautions around him that he could be a dangerous predator because no one else would.”

“I see,” Ohm replied with a nod. “The question that springs to my mind however is, upon being told your laws, did Cres break them? Additionally, did any of your fears come to pass? Did he hurt anyone?”

“He breathed fire near my sister and while thankfully he didn’t harm her, he still broke the law for his small act of recklessness,” she replied.

“Was he aware of that law?” Ohm asked her curiously. “As you’ve seen from our dear Brooke, breathing fire is hardly an uncommon thing here.”

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. The law doesn’t care if you knew it or not, it just cares if you break it,” Applejack replied. “Not only that, but he did it near my sister, who’s still only a filly and he could have greatly harm her!”

Ohm’s eyes closed and low levels of static (but much more impressive) electricity began to fill the room yet it never touched Applejack or the water she was rather consciously showering in. The mare took a couple of steps back out from under the water, steering clear of the electricity dancing around the stall. “I am using it near you and despite your typing I could still cause you great harm, yet I’m not,” he told her simply. “If Cres did not harm your sister then he did not intend to. I know from experience that he has rather excellent aim.”

Applejack frowned at him ftaly. “So? Does it give him the right to just fire it in the open just to scare away my sister?”

“Most likely not but I am rather curious to hear what Cres has to say about this particular charge,” Ohm replied with a shrug as the electricity died down. “I believe you may simply be jumping at Ghastly in the dark, misunderstanding and misinterpreting what Cres did.”

The mare blinked blankly at the expression he used but shook her head. “Or maybe I understood Cres well enough and his attitude and actions were enough reason for my cause of caution around him.”

Ohm gave her a slim, catlike smile. “Tell me about Cres then.”

“What is there to tell that I haven’t said before?” she started out with a small scoff.

“I don’t know, what makes you hate him so much?” he inquired patiently. “Unless of course you don’t have a reason too.”

“Oh there’s a reason, his attitude for one and his constant belittling he did against our laws,” Applejack replied. “He kept acting like they didn’t matter to him and I don’t take kindly to predators who act like that.”

“Ah, you were afraid that he would eat you then?” Ohm inquired, latching onto the word ‘predators’.

“I was ‘afraid’ that he would harm one of my friends or family,” she retorted, sounding a bit sour at the way Ohm phrase his sentence. “I’m not afraid of standing up against predators who would do that even if meant my death,” she stated firmly.

“He would not have though,” Ohm replied simply. “Even back then, Cres was the honorable sort. He would not have attacked unless he was attacked first.”

“Well excuse me for taking caution if he did,” Applejack stated with a roll of her eyes. “He didn’t make himself sound like the sort, nor did his actions and behavior really strike me of the ‘honorable’ predator.”

Ohm was silent for a moment before shrugging. “Then I am sorry that he came off as the opposite but from everything that he has said or done to me or the rest of Matt’s family, I feel like he has proven himself to be honorable, friendly, and even very kind upon occasion,” Ohm said. “Though by his own admission, he is not the sharpest blade as far as his mind is concerned and that brings him down.”

“Well that doesn’t make up for the way he acted in Equestria,” Applejack said with a huff. “So it’d just be best if Cres and I stay apart.”

Ohm let out a sigh. “As you wish, but remember, if you do harm him I will not hold back in his defense,” he stated, giving her a nod before he turned and walked off.

The mare rolled her eyes slightly. “Then he better not give me a reason to buck him in the face,” she murmured as she reached to turn the water off, heading out of the stall to get dry.

Chapter 15

“Well, I believe we won’t have any problems when Giratina is finally able to walk around the castle,” Celestia said as she walked into her room, Luna following a few steps behind. “Would you like some tea?” she offered to her sister.

“Well... I would like that,” Luna replied with a small smile. “It will keep me from looming over Giri as he sleeps. I do NOT need him snarking about that.”

A light chuckle rolled out of Celestia’s throat. “No, you don’t, but speaking of Giratina, I wish to talk to you about that.” Her horn lit up and brought over a teapot and two cups.

“You cannot talk me out of being with him Tia,” Luna said flatly. They’d had that discussion once or twice before.

“I wouldn’t dare to think of doing so Luna,” Celestia replied as she poured the tea and offered a cup to Luna. “However, I would like to urge you not to go too fast on catching up with him. I am happy that the two of you are finally together again, but the last thing that needs to happen is for you to basically crawl underneath him and-”

“Tia!” Luna exclaimed with a furious blush. “I would never do that!” Celestia gave the younger alicorn a slightly disbelieving raise of her eyebrow. “... I would never do that anymore...” Luna corrected herself, blushing further. “It’s hardly my fault that he usually shows up in my once a century Heat Cycle... which he thankfully avoided this time.”

“Still, the two of you should take this a bit slower,” Celestia suggested, taking a sip of her tea. “It has been a long time for the both of you, and Giratina seemed to be here for a different accord than normal.”

“Yes, I believe that from what Twilight told me, the Bearer of the Element of Honesty has been trapped within his world,” Luna replied with a small frown. “Applejack is amongst Giratina’s friends but eager to return home.”

“Mostly because of that doppelganger that fought him,” Celestia said with a small frown. “I am assuming you are going to help Giratina in finding a way back to his home and bringing back Applejack?”

Luna just gave her a flat little smile by way of answer. Of course I am. She thought to herself.

The elder alicorn simply nodded her head. “Just making sure my dear sister. I will just have to take care of your court duties during your absence then.”

Luna closed her eyes and looked down as that occurred to her. “Sister... I would not ask you to do this for me lightly. I know that you will say yes ahead of time but...” She looked up at Celestia and opened her eyes. “Know that I do not plan to make this a habit.”

Celestia turned her head to fully face at Luna with a warm smile. “Sister, I do not mind the extra work, and knowing that you are happy and with the one you love is good enough cause for your leave of absence. It’s a far better one than during the last thousand years of your imprisonment.”

The blue mare smiled and leaned over to nuzzle Celestia. “Thank you sister.”

“It is no problem my little sister,” the white mare said with a small chuckle.

Luna smiled. “Still, it needs to be said. You have done a great deal of lifting on my account and this is yet another one.”

“Only because that what older sisters should do... and part of it because I expect you do the same whenever I decide to take a vacation,” Celestia replied, teasing a bit at the end as she took another sip of her tea.

A soft look touched Luna’s face before she nodded. “Have no fear, when you need me to be there for you, I will,” Luna said with a smile. “Always.”

The white mare smiled and nuzzled her sister. “Thank you Luna... now, you should get the rest of your duties done and prepare your room for Giratina's visit. Don’t want him to get the idea that you’re a messy mare,” she teased once more with a jesting smile.

Luna rolled her eyes and her horn glowed, swatting Celestia on the rear with a bit of magic. “The mere implication that my room is messy.” She said, faux snootiness in every word as she rose to her hooves.

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Well at least make sure the sound cancellation wards are recast; I don’t want to explain why there were loud screa-”

“Tia!” she exclaimed, blushing again. “Weren’t you the one who just told me NOT to do that sort of thing?”

“Yes, but that was more of doing it right away the next time you meet him, and I do know you my little sister,” Celestia said with a coy smile. “Catch up first, and if he’s willing, feel free to truly ‘catch up’. Just make sure the wards are strongly cast okay?”

Luna blushed crimson again and then nodded. “Knowledgable as ever...” she said with a roll of her eyes.

Celestia shrugged her wing slightly. “Hey, we are sisters, I’m entitled to poke a bit of fun with you.”

“So long as you let me return the favor, thunder thighs,” Luna replied with a wicked smirk.

“Hey, my thighs are just the right shape you know,” Celestia said with a small chuckle. “And besides, don’t tell me you can’t resist eating strawberry cake now and then.”

Luna just smiled. “True, though I’ve never taken it to such err... extremes,” she raised an eyebrow at Celestia.

Celestia looked at her flatly. “...I’ll have you know, I do a fair enough amount exercise afterwards. Besides, after a long day of court hearing the drone of nobles, eating a whole cake is far more entertaining.”

“Whatever you say sister,” Luna replied, chuckling softly. “I’m off to finish up my duties, I’ll see you... whenever I happen to see you again.”

Celestia nodded her head. “Farewell then.”

Luna gave her a little joking half bow and then left, a smile on her face. Celestia shook her head slightly and took another sip of her tea and let out a small sigh. Ahhh... things are about to turn a bit more normal after a long time...

Giratina stood beside the medical bed he’d slept in over the night and was stretching out his body. “Ugh.... I haven’t been this stiff in... well, forever really,” he commented to himself as the feeling of bones cracking echoed in his ear. After once final crack of a stiff part in his neck, he turned and made his way to the door, opening and stepping through.

He ran face first into Luna. “Omph,” the mare grunted before chuckling. “You know it’s a cliche way to meet when WE first met each other doing something similar.”

The changeling shook his head slightly and chuckled lightly. “Yes... though this isn’t a cave and we’re not flinging attacks at one another,” he replied with a small smile.

“True, and I must say, I’m very grateful for that,” Luna replied before she gave him a loving nuzzle, doing her best to feed him. “So how are you feeling?”

“Better, a lot better,” he replied with a short nod of his head, and letting out a short sigh as the feeling of her love filling him. “Still a bit stiff from sleeping in a bed for over twenty-four hours, but nothing a little walking around can’t fix.”

“Well then why don’t I show you the castle?” Luna replied with a smile. “After all, you’ve never been to this one.”

“Technically... I only saw it from the outside a couple of times I’ve visited to check up on you,” Giratina said with a small nod of his head. “But I would rather like to resume in finding out who attacked me and possib-”

“Later.” It was not a suggestion, it was a direct order. She eyed him warningly.

Giratina meet her gaze with a frown and closed his eyes, letting out sigh. “Alright... but let’s do this as fast as possible, please.”

“It’s a tour Giri, I can’t rush it,” Luna said as she put a wing across his back and drew him closer to her warm furred side. “Besides, can you really say that you’ll regret spending more time with me out of my armor?”

“.....not really,” he replied, leaning a bit more into her side as his mind recalled the feeling it hadn’t felt in a very long time. He let out a sigh. “I’m sorry Luna... I’m just worried that whoever is behind this could be targeting Matt and Roxanne I... don’t want to lose them.”

Luna was silent for a moment before she pressed her neck against his. “I’m sure they will be fine Giri,” she said quietly. “And this may sound incredibly selfish of me... but I just want some time with you after all this... time.”

“I know... so do I... I just wish it was at a better time,” the changeling said with another sigh, leaning a bit more against the mare’s body. “Don’t get me wrong Luna, I love you with all of my heart, but I owe Matt and Roxanne a lot for what they did. If they did get hurt or even... die, I don’t know how I could ever really... forgive myself.”

“You love so much,” she said softly. “And it’s something that would surprise many... but not me.” She nuzzled his cheek with her own. “Because I know that beneath those armored sides, you have a big heart Giri.” She kissed him. “I just... I ask for a single night with you, it does not even require us to make love... I just want to remember what it was like to have you there beside me.”

Giratina remained silent for a moment as he looked down at the mare’s teal eyes. “...alright, for you... my lovely moon.” He leaned down to kiss her lovingly, putting aside the idea of resisting any longer.

Luna’s eyes sparked with joy as she kissed him back deeply and he felt another large flow of love work its way into his system before she broke the kiss, a little breathless. “I guess you really did... miss me,” she said with a large smile. Then she shook her head and used her magic to straighten her mane, wing still clutching his side tightly. “Well then, let’s go see the castle shall we?”

“Let’s,” the changeling agreed with a soft smile, nuzzling her once.

The tour was winding down and while Giratina had noticed that he was getting curious looks from both the Guards and the castle’s residents, none of them looked frightened or afraid of him. In retrospect, that might have been because Luna hadn’t taken her wing off of his side the entire time. He paid them and their looks no mind and just continued to focus on Luna as she described the part of the castle they were in.

“And finally we’re approaching my bedro-” Luna paused as she saw the stallion who was waiting for them outside her door. He had white fur and a blonde mane, held aloft in a golden magical glow was rather lovely looking cake.

“Auntie Luna,” the stallion said with a smile. “I was just beginning to think that I would have to put this cake in the refrigerator.”

Luna smiled. “Oh, Blueblood, that was very kind of you,” she said with a nod of her head. “Giri, this is my darling nephew Prince Blueblood.”

Giratina raised an eyebrow as he looked at the unicorn. “Nephew?” he asked, giving a small questioningly look at Luna.

“Auntie Tia adopted me when I was a foal,” Blueblood said, walking forwards, delicious smelling cake floating beside his head all the way. “My parents had... well they’d fallen sick and she’d come to our bakery that day and saw me working by myself.” The stallion sounded sad but it was clear that he’d long ago come to terms with the way of things. “At any rate, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Giri was it?”

“Giratina,” the changeling corrected, raising a hoof for a shake. “And it’s nice to meet you too Blueblood.” He glanced at the cake. “I’m guessing it’s been freshly baked?”

“Ah, my mistake,” Blueblood said before shaking his hoof. “And yes, I’d heard that a friend of Auntie Luna’s was sent to the hospital and had been seen up and about so I baked up a quick little cake.” He looked over Giratina. “Though I’m afraid I don’t know if it’ll do a changeling any good.”

“To be honest, I don’t know either,” Giratina said with a small frown at the thought if he could still eat food.

“I believe we discovered that you could long ago,” Luna told him, nudging him with her hips. “And even he can’t, it’s still a lovely thought, thanks you Blueblood.” She bent down and gave the blonde stallion a nuzzle before taking the cake from his magic. “Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you,” Giratina added with a polite bow of his head.

“You’re both very welcome,” Blueblood said with a smile, returning the nuzzle before taking a step away. “Ah well, time to go see what the other nobles are gossiping about now, most likely you two to be honest but it’s good to keep an ear to the ground with them, heh.”

“Indeed,” Luna agreed, giving him a mock salute. “Stay safe, Prince.”

He chuckled and gave her a mock salute of his own. “And yourself, Princess.” With that and another chuckle, he walked off.

“What a dear,” Luna said once he was far enough away not to hear.

“He seems like a nice fellow,” Giratina commented. “I guess Celestia knows best on choosing who to be her adopted son.”

“She always has been good at choosing family, myself being the exception I suppose,” Luna agreed as she pushed open the door to reveal her room.

Its walls were a light blue that got darker the closer to the ceiling they got until they became a steady black, small ‘stars’ were painted within the darkness forming the constellations. A bookshelf took up one of those walls, well dusted with the books protected by glass. A few other odds and ends lay about the room though it was clear that the only things Luna really cared for were the bookshelf and the neatly made, alicorn sized bed with light blue sheets attop it.

“I see your book collection is as strong as ever,” Giratina said with a small chuckle.

“Indeed, please let me know if any of the titles interest you, the glass is enchanted to... dissuade ponies from trying to open it,” she said with a small blush as she set Blueblood’s cake down on the bedside table and used her magic to cut a small slice. She took a bite of the chocolate cake and smiled. “Mmmm, good little baker.”

Giratina raised an eyebrow at her. “Dissuade huh?” he asked with a small chuckle as he walked up to one of the shelves and began to scan through the titles. “What do you do, give them embarrassing dreams?”

“No of course not, that would be an abuse of my power,” she replied. “No, it shocks them.”

Giratina rolled his eyes slightly. “It was just a joke, though I mostly made it of how you reminding me that I can ‘eat’.” He glanced up at her. “To be fair, I was mostly still a ‘ghost’ at the time, and anything that entered into me mostly just got... absorbed to put it lightly.”

Luna shrugged and finished her slice before cutting off another small one and sending it over to a fridge hidden in the corner and gently placing it within it. “Oh well, it was still a lovely gesture by Blueblood.”

“Indeed, and he seemed to be a bit more... above par compared to some of the other nobles I’ve seen around the castle,” he noted as he walked back towards Luna. “He didn’t stick his nose high in the air at the sight of me.”

“Idiots just don’t know how lovely you smell and how to appreciate it,” Luna stated slyly, leaning over to nuzzle him.

The changeling chuckle lightly. “Yes, I’m sure that’s the reason why they do it,” he said with a small shake of his head.

Luna chuckled as well before looking him over. “Odd question but have you gotten taller?” she asked as he sat down beside her on the edge of the bed.

He frowns slightly as he quickly judged their heights. “I... really don’t know, I thought I was always taller than you?”

“You were... you just seem a little bit more now,” she said, frowning faintly. “And... well you seem more powerful too.”

Giratina gave her questioning look. “More powerful? How can you possibly figure that out?”

“I don’t know... you feel more like your father,” she confessed with a small frown. “But that could just be my imagination.”

Giratina scoffed lightly. “Maybe... it has been a while since we’ve been together like this, you’re probably just picking up something you never noticed before till now.”

“Yes, that’s probably it,” she agreed with a chuckle. “Sorry to worry you Giri, I know you’d prefer to have nothing to do with him.”

“Hmm... it’s hard to do considering I’m his oldest son.” The changeling shakes his head. “Still, the tour around the castle was... good. This places looks a lot bigger that it seems to be.”

“I’ve noticed that as well, I have looked into it multiple times but Tia will not tell me what spell she used to do it,” Luna agreed with a small shake of her head.

“I guess your sister needs to keep some secrets away from you huh?” he said with a small chuckle.

“I suppose,” she agreed with a small chuckle as she leaned against him, a sense of true love filling him from just the gesture alone. “Anything more you’d like to say to me Giri?” she asked, her horn glowing as she closed her eyes. “Because I’m moving the moon.”

“Hehe... well, I guess I can say... thank you.” Giratina lowered his head to nuzzle the back of her head. “I can tell how much you miss me and how happy you are to see me thanks to the constant love you’re feeding me with... I wish I could return the gesture.”

“Just having you with me is enough,” Luna said with a soft smile as she leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Unless you’d like to see if you can’t find another way.”

A small smirk cross the changeling’s lips. “Maybe... though I might be a bit rusty on the technique of doing so.”

“Hey, we’ve got all night,” Luna replied, nuzzling him. “And tomorrow we leave to see if we can’t track down this doppelganger and run my sword through his chest.”

“Heheh, ah, my little moon,” Giratina said, moving his head away to look at her with a smile. “Pretty as the rays that shines off her, but has thorns like a rose.”

“I like to think that my Greatsword is a bit more potent than a thorn my dear Giri,” she replied, smirking before she kissed him on the lips. “But that was still a lovely thing to say.”

He shrugged his wings lightly. “Thanks, I tried my best. After all, I did say I am a bit rusty,” he said with a smile. He then crawled a bit closer to her. “So, how about we work on taking a bit of that rust off?” he ask, leaning forward for a kiss.

Luna just leaned into the kiss, the fleeting feeling of having forgotten something in the back of her mind as she deepened it.

Chapter 16 Author's Note

Omega_code: Hey, hey, hey. We’re back from the clutches of holidays takeover!

Ed2481: On my part it was more of laziness and the need to do something other than stare at my computer all day... which I ended up doing anyways, but I did it without being productive and that’s what’s important about the holidays!

Omege_code: Mine was I had a seasonal job that started at 10 pm. to 6 am. doing overnight stock work for a Toy R Us store, so I didn’t want to do anything when I woke up. If there is one thing I learn from that job is, always put things back where you find them. ALWAYS! Other than that, I hope you’ll enjoy the chapter. Except another later on as we try to get back onto scheduled releases. Key word, try.

Ed2481: Yeah, I’m starting my next semester at college soon so I don’t know what my writing schedule will be like, we’ll see.

Chapter 16

Cres blinked awake sleepily, it had only been an afternoon nap, but he felt like it had dragged on for weeks. He raised his head and let out a yawn, looking to the left and the right. Belle’s muzzle rested on his back and little Xav was curled up against her stomach. He smiled and leaned over to lick her muzzle gently once before slowly, stealthily getting up. The Absol shook himself once before glancing at one of the windows.

“Hmm, long nap,” he mused, seeing that night was falling. He took a step forwards and stretched, his eyes glancing around the room, seeing that Emilia’s special ice bed was empty and that Roxanne was plopped down on the cushions doing some research. She caught his gaze and smiled.

“Must have been a good nap,” she said with a chuckle as she continued to type on her computer. “Matt should be home soon.”

Cres nodded his thanks and walked off towards the kitchen, a small frown on his face as he leapt up onto the counter beneath the main window. He looked out at the lights of Hearthome and smiled faintly. It was a very pretty place at night and he saw people and Pokemon walking through the streets chatting happily amongst themselves. A sigh left his lips as he thought about what he was going to do.

I must speak with Applejack... she is bull headed, annoying, and all around intolerable... but that is no reason to involve my family with it, he thought to himself. For their sake, as well as my own, this ‘feud’ must end.

He looked at his own reflection, red eyes looking right back, majestic blade and mane in near flawless formation. A shiver ran down his spine and he nodded at the reflection. He didn’t run away from things, not any more. Running lead to nothing but problems.

“I’m stronger than I ever was before,” he said quietly. “I was never afraid of her before, I have even less reason to be now. Xav and Belle will love me no matter what I do, it’s time to prove that.”

His reflection repeated the word motions flawlessly and Cres smiled slightly before he turned and leapt easily down from the window.

Now I must simply wait till she arrives, he thought as he moved towards the front door and sat down. And then... we will talk.

A couple of minutes passed before the Absol could hear familiar sound of a footstep and the clanking of some crutches. The lock on the door clicked and turned, swinging out to show a spent Matt. The man smiled at seeing Cres sitting patiently. “Hey Cres, enjoy your half day?”

Cres moved forwards, purring as he threaded gently between Matt’s legs, nuzzling the good one.

“Yep, spent most of it napping,” Roxanne said with a small smile as she got up from her seat, moving over to Matt and giving him a peck on the lips before looking over him. “And you look like someone who’s not up to making dinner tonight.”

“Long day at the gym,” Matt replied with a very small chuckle as he walked inside the apartment, closing the door behind him. “You know, battling, training for tomorrow, responding to emails, you know, gym leaders stuff.” He started to make his way to the kitchen. “By the way, if anyone comes to your lab asking to see a rare Ponyta, can you tell them she’s not exactly available?”

Roxanne blinked once before chuckling softly. “Oui, oui, she’s currently doing a few tests in the back, I’ll see if I can’t find a time for you though,” she replied casually. “As for your day, I’m sorry, it sounds like you worked your butt off.”

“One way to say that,” the man said with a half nod. “I mean, I could finish work early, but had to put a halt on training for a moment. Applejack wanted to battle with Ohm believe it or not.”

“Oh?” Roxanne asked with a raised eyebrow before she glanced at him. “I take it she’s alright?”

“Yes, is she?” Cres inquired from below him, a skeptical look in his eyes. “I’m curious to know how that particular battle went.”

“She’s fine, Ohm only inflicted small cuts on her. After she washed them clean I used a potion to heal them all up,” Matt replied, getting himself a glass of mago berry juice and taking a large sip from it. “Happy to say that those reinforced foundations to the gym are working. She used a very strong Magnitude attack.”

Cres’s eyes widened slightly. Hmm, I hadn’t expected that. Hmm, no matter, we won’t be fighting, and even if we do, it will be more about preventing property damage than anything else.

“I told you they would,” Roxanne said with a smirk. “I only buy from quality you know,” she added as she walked over to the fridge and opening it. “What do you want for dinner? Something with pasta?”

“Sure, I could use some light food tonight,” the man replied, taking another sip of his juice. “Still, the fight went... well, it wasn’t really a battle per-say, more of Ohm just dodging and taking her hits. Which weren’t affecting him much because of all the training and experience he has.”

“I’d expect as much,” Cres said before glancing up at Matt. “Speaking of, I would like to talk with Applejack.”

An eyebrow arched on Matt’s forehead as he glanced down at the Absol. “May I ask why?”

Roxanne glanced up from her cooking before catching who he was talking too and went back to cooking. Sometimes when your husband could talk to Pokemon you just had to deal with him ‘forgetting’ that you weren’t part of the conversation.

“I’d like to try and end this little ‘feud’ of ours,” Cres replied simply. “It’s carried on far too long and I’d like it to end.”

Both of the man’s eyebrows rose a bit in surprise. “Well... sure then. I’m glad you came to your senses about that, Cres.” A small smile forming at the edge of his lips. “I guess you had a small talk with Belle eh?” he said in a small teasing tone as he set his glass down and head back to the living room.

“I can be sensible by myself you know,” Cres said sourly, following the man along. “Belle does not help me make every smart decision.”

“I know, but she does do it often,” the man remarked with a small chuckle. “But, I shouldn’t tease you on it. My mistake.”

“Indeed it is,” Cres agreed, leaping onto the sofa beside where the man usually sat. “Shame on you Matt.”

The man shook his head as he sat down on the couch and set his crutches aside causing Cres to lean his front half over and lay on him. Matt gave Cres a quick scratch on the side of his head while he reached his other hand down to his belt full of Pokeballs. The man brought out Applejack’s, pressing the release button and the ball opened. A flash of energy was sent out into the large opening in the living room where the mare quickly materialized.

Applejack blinked several times, not quite used to the sudden adjustment of being in a dark place to a suddenly bright one. In fact she hadn’t really gotten over being inside one of those... Pokeballs in the first place. She took glance at her surroundings to see that she was back in the living room of Matt’s apartment and felt being watched from behind. She turned her head to glance over and her eyes reactively narrowed slightly upon seeing Cres.

“Applejack,” Cres said with a polite nod of his head.

“Cres,” she replied back, doing nothing of the similar but she didn’t sound all too sour.

“We need to have a talk, you and I,” Cres continued, doing his best to imitate Belle’s way of formal talking on occasion.

“Oh do we?” the mare said, almostly flatly her eyes showing a small sign of disinterest.

“Yes, it doesn’t matter what you did to me or what I did to you before,” Cres began. “None of that matters. What matters is that you’re stuck here and unless you’d like to keep on clashing, with me winning any physical ones, we’d best learn to deal with each other.”

The mare looked at him for a long moment before she turned her head away. “That’s one thing you said that I can agree on....”

“Wonderful,” Cres said before settling into Matt’s lap and purring.

“....so... have you heard back from that Gearatinat fellow?” she asked, turning her body around to face them. Cres translated for her, while also correcting what she meant, nuzzling Matt’s stomach as he did so, eager for more pets after his success.

Matt frowned. “You know... I actually haven’t heard back from him.” He glanced over his shoulder to the kitchen. “Hey Roxanne, heard anything from Giratina?”

Roxanne glanced over from the kitchen. “No, can’t say that our lovely golden masked friend has said anything,” she replied. “Also, I couldn’t find anything in any of the lab databases on a Pokemon who could do to AJ what he did... no normal Pokemon is that strong. I mean, sure you have some freak cases like that one giant Gengar from a few years ago but... that doesn’t happen often. Unless it was the Unown, and really, we’d have noticed them by now.”

The man’s frown deepened. “Huh... that is not good. I mean, Giratina did say he would be back soon. It’s not like he would go back on his word.”

“I’m sure something just came up,” Roxanne replied, thankful to be in the kitchen and not having to hide her worried frown. “Maybe Arceus wanted a word with him or he and his brother got into a fight or something.”

“That kind of battle is noticeable Roxanne,” Matt pointed out to her. “Still... hopefully he will come back soon, so don’t you worry too much,” he added, looking back towards the mare.

Applejack let out a small sigh, having to stay here another night. At least she knew she wasn’t going to expect any more problems with Cres, if he truly kept to his word that is. “Alrighty then,” she simply said.

“I’m sure Giratina is fine, he’s Giratina,” Cres put in as he got up a little and reshuffled himself in Matt’s lap so that he was entirely on top of it.

The mare raised an eyebrow. “How exactly is that supposed to give me confidence?” she asked, her eyes noticing the man’s hand automaticly petting down Cres’s back while he looked back over to Roxanne, talking about something to do with the meal she was cooking.

“He’s a Legendary,” Cres replied as if that answered everything. “He’s also the son of Arceus, who created everything. I think he can handle anything that your Equestria can throw at him. I managed too after all, with a little help from Zecora, so I’m sure that he’ll be able too.”

“Then if that’s not the issue, why isn’t he back yet, hmm?” Applejack inquired.

“How should I know what goes on in Giratina’s mind?” Cres replied, purring as Matt got him under the chin, leaning his head back, eyes closing in bliss. “He’s probably just sight seeing or something.”

“Yet your Master said he wouldn’t do something like that, or at least not go back on his word,” she pointed out.

Cres just ignored her for a moment until Matt’s hand moved to another part of him and he glanced back at her. “You’re asking me things that I have no way to answer.” He then went back to purring as Matt worked the side of his neck.

“Well what else am I supposed to do?” Applejack asked in exasperation. “I’m stuck here with no clue on what’s going on to me or any way to get back. You keep talking like you know this Giratina a lot better than me but so far you’re only making it more confusing for me.”

“Try sleeping, it helps pass the time,” Cres replied, purring more and leaning against Matt’s chest. “Though, if you really want something to do, try asking questions without sounding so irritated all the time.”

The mare took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. While it was true she was a bit... tired from everything that happened today, she didn’t really want to sleep. She thought for a moment before glancing up a bit more closely to examine Cres’ reaction to Matt’s petting. “...well then, why are you acting like pets to Matt when I heard you really aren’t?”

Cres blinked. “Hmm?” he asked, still purring as Matt’s fingers stroked him.

“I keep seeing you, Brooke, Ohm and many other Pokemon that flock around Matt, yet I remember something about how y’all aren’t simple pets. So why act like you are?” Applejack restated for clarity.

“He’s our Master,” Cres replied, frowning as he nuzzled Matt’s chest. “And we are kind of pets, but not really. At least, most of us aren’t.” He blinked blankly for a moment before glancing at his mate. “Belle, I can tell from the way that you’re breathing that you’re not asleep anymore, you’re smart, answer this for me.”

Belle looked up from her place on the floor, a slight smile on her face. “You’ve memorized my breathing patterns Cres?”

“Only the important ones,” Cres replied, smirking slightly.

“Ah,” Belle chuckled before glancing over at Applejack. “Pokemon both are, and are not pets. You see, the word pet implies that we aren’t in control of our own decisions and rely on our Trainers for everything. That is not the case. We can and do act independently, especially if we’re wild Pokemon. However, if you use the word ‘pet’ to describe us as ‘faithful companions who live together with humans and protect them’ then yes, that is a fine way to put it.”

“I see...” Applejack said, her eyes glancing up to see Matt had his head turned back glancing around.

“Am I being the topic of a discussion?” he asked curiously.

“Applejack asked if we were your pets,” Cres replied, getting up on his hind legs to lick Matt’s chin and then nuzzle him affectionately. “Belle was just explaining something about how we are and aren’t, I didn’t follow much of it.”

“I overheard, and to add up to her explanation, while the later is true to a lot of cases, I see my Pokemon as more of friends than pets,” Matt explained before his scratching became slightly more intensified causing Cres to close his eyes happily. “Friends who just need a bit more attention than others,” he said with a small chuckle as Cres flopped down on his back, eyes still closed as purrs poured out of him.

“That and my ‘beloved mate’ is a bit of a sucker for love,” Belle added with a snicker. “Especially from fingers.” Cres didn’t bother dignifying that with a response, too busy purring. “Case and point.”

Applejack nodded her head, a small amused smile upon seeing Cres just flop over like some big... cat. “Right... thanks for the clarification.”

“Clarifying the world is what I’m here for,” Belle replied with a smirk, leaning down and licking Xav’s still heavily sleeping head. “I’ve got around a century to clear up its mysteries and I don’t plan on wasting that time.”

“You sound a bit like my friend Twilight,” Applejack said.

“Then I’d like to meet her at some point so we can discuss things,” Belle said with a grin, purring very softly at the idea, not at all like Cres who was purring away like a motorboat as Matt scratched his tummy.

However for Applejack, the idea of Belle and Twilight discussing things to no end sent a small shiver down her spine. The term, ‘sleepless night’ popped up in her head.

“So, anymore of this world’s oddities you’d like explained?” Belle asked with a small smirk. “I’m wonderful at ‘exposition’.”

Applejack looked at the expression the female Absol was giving, and a flash of Twilight’s face appeared over it for a brief moment. “Umm... sure I guess. I have nothing better to do,” she replied, part of her regretting saying that for she know what she was getting into, but again, she wanted to hold off on sleep as much as she could for now.

“Well then ask away and I’ll look into that big computer of knowledge I call a brain,” Belle replied with a chuckle.

Applejack nodded her head. “Well... I guess I would like to know why y’all use Pokeballs or why they were made. Considering I only seen it used mostly on me.”

“Have you seen Nok?” Belle asked her.

The mare frowned as she tried to recall the name. “That... big metal dragon looking fellow?”

“Yep, the big 6 foot tall, 800 pound walking steel tank,” Belle replied with a firm nod. “Would you like to fight that on fair terms? Or better yet, would you like to try figuring out how to get him from place to place out in the open if he was your friend?”

Applejack blinked blankly for a few moments. “I guess... no?”

“Hence why Pokeballs were made, because believe me Applejack, there are close to a hundred, possibly more depending on who you ask, Pokemon of Nok’s size or greater,” Belle explained with a small shrug. “Most of whom cause more collateral damage by accidental leaning against the wrong wall then him too. And that’s not even considering what happens when they get mad enough to try and destroy a city, which could happen if the local Trainers and law enforcement weren’t well trained.” She paused for a moment. “Usually that doesn’t happen to cities, only small towns and villages, and even then, not often.”

“Alright,” the mare said as she frown for a moment to think of another question. “Cres said Giratina is a Legendary... what does that mean?”

“Legendary is a status, title, or sometimes simple ‘claim’ that certain Pokemon take up if they’re of a sufficient power,” Belle replied. “Some actually deserve it, some don’t.”

Cres glanced up from his purring, looking like he was about to say something before closing his eyes for a moment and going back to purring as Matt continued to lavish him with attention.

“Essentially, Legendary means that they’re stronger, older, and often, more interesting conversationalists than the average Pokemon,” Belle carried on. “Take Articuno for example, it’s a species of ice type pokemon who are generally thought to be all female but are not, who live for centuries and possess great power which they use to save people from dying in blizzards or who are lost in the snowy mountains.”

“One saved Belle and I from a particularly cold death once,” Cres added with a smile.

“I even met one up in the north area of Sinnoh,” Matt added, slowing down a bit in his petting. “Though I wasn’t really anywhere near death... still, a sight to see when you’re only fourteen years old.”

“Alright... just how many Legendary are there?” the mare inquired.

Belle frowned slightly. “Are we counting Pseudo Legendaries? Specific species, or actual numbers of them? The last one is unknown at the moment.”

“I guess the types that are known?” she clarified.

“There are currently fifty well known types of Pokemon who truly deserve the classification of Legendary,” Belle replied. “Honorable mention to several Dragon Types and Metagross and Tyranitar respectively.”

Applejack’s eyes widened a bit at the number. “And those fifty Pokemon are all very... powerful?”

“Well, that depends on what you mean by ‘powerful’,” Belle replied with a small chuckle. “Some, like Arceus are literally God. Others like Suicune ‘merely’ possess the power to purify any polluted water source along with running like the ‘North Wind’.” Belle shrugged. “And there aren’t fifty, there are fifty species, though some are the only individuals of that species. Of course, then there are those like Celebi who are convoluted and travel through time further exacerbating things. And like I said before, there are many Articunos, as the same with Moltres and Zapdos, at least one of each in each region I believe.”

“My mate, the walking encyclopedia of random trivia,” Cres said affectionately.

“My mate, the clueless romantic,” Belle shot back just as affectionately. “So Applejack, anything else you’d like to know?”

Before she could answer, Roxanne walked in with a smile on her face. “Dinner time everyone,” she said, leaning down to pick Belle up, lifting her up to give her a kiss on the forehead. “Just from the number of times I head ‘Absol’ I’m guessing you were lecturing?”

Belle nodded.

“Good girl,” Roxanne said with a grin, kissing Belle again on the forehead before glancing at AJ. “I’ve made a salad for you, though you’re welcome to have some of our pasta, it’s got tomatoes but I kept the meat balls out of the sauce itself so you might like it.”

The mare nodded her head. “I’ve had pasta before. It’s one of the common meals Granny makes now and then.”

Roxanne just smiled. “I’ll take that as a yes then based on body language,” she said with a chuckle, turning to Matt. “Come on dear, don’t want your food to get cold.”

“Mmm, food,” Cres said, getting to his paws. “And... Mmmmm Tauros meatballs, not as good as Clefairy but a close second.” He walked over and poked Xav with his nose. “Xav, Xav wake up, it’s time to eat.”

The young pup lifted his head up and let out a large yawn before his nose began to sniff profusely. A pleased smile grew on his face as he gets up and follow the smell into the kitchen without needing to open his eyes. Cres and Belle exchanged a look before bursting into a fit of giggles while Matt pulled himself to his feet with the help of his crutches and hobbled over to the kitchen table, though not before looking over at Applejack. “So, are you coming?”

Applejack nodded her head and got up, following the man to the table. Her stomach growling to remind her how long it had been since lunch.

Chapter 17

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 18

The Gym floor was pitch black, the only light coming from the waxing moon over head and the stars, streaming in through the uncovered glass skylight. The room itself was cold with very little heat running as Xav’s blue eyes darted around the rocky field at the center of the Gym, his father somewhere amidst them out of sight. Xav’s nose sniffed in the air as he slowly gazed over the dimly lit gym’s arena floor, his ears on high alert for even the slightest sound.

Xav’s goal was to find his father amidst the rocks, find him, and take him down! That however was easier said then done. Joe and Eclair had set up the rocks so that they created a scattered, complex maze of stone, interrupting Xav’s vision. Despite his white fur, his father was proving to be an impressive hider. Of course, that wasn’t a surprise to the pup, his father was the best Absol around, of course he was good at hiding.

However, even if the young Absol couldn’t see him, his nose wasn’t having any trouble finding his father’s scent. He pinpointed that his father was somewhere in south-west area of the gym and he slowly began to walk to that area through the maze of stone. He stayed as low as he could and walked as softly as possible as he followed the scent, letting it be his guide through the small maze.

It was then that something odd happened. The scent trail... ended. Or rather... it went back the way he’d come. Xav blinked in confusion as he tried to figure out if this was some sort of trick to throw him off. No trick presented itself however and the scent trail did indeed head right back the way he’d come. The Absol turned around and followed the trail, his eyes carefully scanning as his nose guide the way.

He reached another dead end, and a few sniffs confirmed that the trial started up again behind him, starting a foot away from where Xav was standing, very fresh. Xav’s fore brow furrowed and he followed the trail once more, picking up his pace. Another dead end, a trail a few feet behind him.

“Gah, how is he doing that?” he whispered to himself as he turned around to follow the trail, this time going at a brisk run. Dead end. Dead end. Dead end. Dead end. Xav going faster and faster each time.

“AH! WHERE ARE YOU!” Xav shouted out as he reached another dead end, getting a bit annoyed of the wild Wingull chase he was currently being led on.

“Who, me?” his father’s voice asked from above him. Xav’s eyes widened and he jumped straight up, startled by hearing his father’s voice so close. “I’m right here Xav,” his father added, Xav’s eyes glancing up to see his father’s white silhouette looking down at him from atop a pair of the rocks, balanced easily on them. That was all the warning Xav got before his father tackled him from atop the rocks, driving him into the gym floor... or rather causing him to roll so that he ended up on his father’s chest. “Caught you.”

Xav pouted a bit. “No fair, you didn’t say we could climb on the rocks.”

“I never say we couldn’t,” his father replied, licking Xav’s face. “Besides, this is a good lesson to you for more than just that.”

“But I was listen and keeping an eye out...” Xav protested.

“Indeed you were, but you’re not very skilled at it just yet,” his father replied with a small chuckle, giving Xav another lick. “For example, you focused on your nose didn’t you? That’s why you kept getting lead into dead ends.”

“Yeah... it’s the only real sense that is good for in the dark though; why didn’t I smell you climbing on the rocks?”

“Hmmm, I think I may take a page out of your mother’s book for this answer,” his father replied. “As in, I will give you some of the information and let you piece the rest together by yourself. Sound fair?” Xav nodded his head. “Okay, well, every maze like this has rocks,” his father explained, leaning over and tapping the rock with his blade. “And even your sense of smell is only so good, it’s possible to throw it off a little by moving fast enough. Is that enough for you?”

“But... shouldn’t I hear you if you were moving really fast, or even felt a small gust of wind?” Xav asked.

“I don’t know Xav, how close were you really listening?” his father asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “Especially once the chase got going.”

“...not very much,” the pup admitted a bit embarrassedly.

“Ah, hmm, think on that,” his father said, leaning up to place his muzzle on the side of Xav’s head out of reach of the pup’s blade. “And in the meantime, we can snuggle.”

“But I want to try again, I know I can-” a small yawn broke his sentence before he finished. “-catch you this time.”

“Hmmm, I think you need a break,” his father replied, beginning to pur faintly. “A think break.”

“I’m not tired,” Xav said before another yawn escaped from him. “I can stay awake,” he quickly added.

“True but you’re in no shape to ‘try again’,” his father pointed out with a small chuckle, leaning down to lick Xav. “So lay here with me and think.” The purring intensified.

“Think about what?” Xav asked, listening to the soft purring rumbling out of his father’s throat.

“How I evaded you of course,” Cres replied, nuzzling him and continuing to purr. “I know you can figure it out son.”

“You kept jumping up and down from the rocks... you’re faster than me so it was easy to keep ahead,” Xav replied, his voice sounding a bit far off.

“Mmmm, close,” Cres replied with a small chuckle, still purring happily as he nuzzled his son. “Something that you should always remember Xav is the nature of your environment... for every wall there are two sides.”

“Hmmm... did mom tell you that?” Xav asked with a small tired chuckle.

“I may not be as smart as either of you, but I can come up with my own ‘wise’ sayings you know,” Cres replied with a chuckle of his own as his forepaws wrapped around the pup and pushed him further into his warm chest fur. “But no, in this case it’s very... literal.”

“Noted,” Xav said, nuzzling his small snout into his father’s chest and letting out another yawn, his eyelids growing heavy.

“Tell me in the morning Xav, that’s your assignment,” Cres stated with a smile as he leaned his head against Xav’s simply enjoying the feeling of togetherness. Xav didn’t reply save for the soft breaths he let out as had already fallen fast asleep against his father’s chest.

Cres smiled and stayed like that with his son for half an hour before finally moving, slowly and carefully getting to his paws and moving down to grasp onto the sleeping ‘sack’ that was Xav’s fast asleep body by the back of his neck and carried him out of the gym floor and towards the front door.

And then off through the city he carried Xav, the pup barely stirring as he levered open the window and jumped easily down into the kitchen after closing it.

“Welcome back,” Ohm’s voice spoke out as the Luxray was laying curled up on his chair/bed, his face resting on his paws with his eyes closed.

Cres carefully brought Xav over and sat him down beside Ohm on the chair, the pup’s body sliding down against the furrow of the chair’s arm, his head resting against Ohm’s. “Thank you,” Cres said with a smile. “I hope we didn’t wake you too much.”

“Not at all, I’m always a quick and light sleeper,” the Luxray replied, shifting his head just slightly so Xav’s head was resting more on his mane rather than Ohm’s head. “I hope training went well.”

“Mmm, yes and no,” Cres replied, leaning up to give the tip of the Luxray’s nose a lick. “He’s getting better with his nose but it’s blinding him a bit... I managed to get over the rock walls and onto the other side behind him before he could react with a bit of careful Quick Attacking.”

“I see, the young pup needs to work on using his eyes and ears along with his nose,” Ohm commented. “After all, one needs to used more than just one of their senses to know what’s around them.”

“Yes, yes they do,” Cres agreed, giving Ohm’s cheek a nuzzle before leaning down and giving Xav’s a lick. “Have a good night’s sleep Ohm, keep my boy safe you here?” he asked with a small, playful smirk.

“Like that will need to be said,” Ohm said, a small smile forming on his sleeping face. “Good night Cres, sleep well.”

Cres gave him a parting nuzzle and then walked quietly into the bedroom, finding Belle in her typical place in their bed, one eye open, glancing at him as he moved in beside her and laid his chest against her back. “I’m back,” he whispered in her ear.

“I could tell,” she replied, giving him a small lick on his cheek. “I heard what you said to Ohm, it seems our son can be clueless in some areas huh?”

“I wouldn’t say clueless,” Cres replied laying his head against hers as he wrapped his forepaws around her. “He just gets... what’s the phrase? Tunnel eyes?”

“Tunnel vision,” Belle corrected. “But yes, he does do that sometimes. He is still young after all, so it’s not much of a surprise. Hopefully our teaching he will bring him out of it sooner or later.”

“Hopefully,” Cres agreed as he began to purr and leaned down to lick her. “Still, he’s our wonderful little pup and that’s all that really matters hmm?”

“Mhm, that it is.” Belle leaned into Cres’s side. “Anyways, you better get your rest. After all, you do have a long day ahead of you. At least four gym battles I believe, all of them looking to claim their fifth or sixth badge.”

“True... but you’re rather soft,” he replied, still holding her in his forepaws. “I think I might just stay awake and... hold you for a bit.” He licked her again, still purring.

“Hehe, just don’t stay up too long like Applejack did, she fell asleep while watching the TV.” She chuckled lightly. “It was a quite an amusing sight to walk into.”

“Ah,” Cres replied, still purring. “Though I was hoping you’d stay up with me... it’s always better to snuggle with someone who’s awake as well.”

“Mmmm, I’ll try,” Belle replied as she moved her head closer to his. “But no promises, after all you’re soft too. I could just fall asleep like this right now,” she said, a pleasured purr rolling out of her. “Besides, you know we would make too much noise if we do anything more than this.”

“True... but Matt and Roxanne keep us up,” Cres replied playfully before settling down. “But I suppose you’re right, it is rather late.”

“Yes, and you need all your energy for the battles tomorrow,” Belle stated before licking the side of his face. “Though if we have the time, maybe when you’re done with battling we can slip out and enjoy snuggling somewhere else, hmm?”

“Mmmmmmm sounds wonderful,” Cres replied quietly as he moved a little so that he was a bit less awkwardly positioned and his head leaned against hers before playfully adding. “And after I go to all the trouble of finding a ‘sitter’ for Xav too.”

“I’m sure Ohm can bother watching Xav more and Xav will be okay in spending more time with ‘uncle’ Ohm, so I’m sure we can slip by unnoticed, heh.” Belle let out a small, pleasant sigh as she closed her eyes. “Sleep well my love.”

“And you as well, my lovely Belle,” Cres replied, closing his eyes and letting a deep purr wash through his body as he held her close. “Forever and always.”

A happy smile crossed Cres’s face as he walked into the apartment's main room. It was a morning like any other and he was happy to say that everything seemed to be going well. He could see Matt and Roxanne eating at the breakfast table, Xav and Belle beginning to get ready for their day of study, Ohm asleep on his chair. A happy sigh left his throat. This was his life now and he loved every second of it.

A low muttering grumbled murmure reached his ears from behind before a groggy looking Applejack walked past him, bumping him out her way.

“Out of my way,” she grunted to him as she headed to the kitchen table.

Cres blinked and shook his head, not wanting to start anything over such a minor incident. Instead he just followed her into the kitchen, he was hungry from last night’s training session. As he walked into the kitchen itself, he started towards the fridge only to discover that Applejack was standing in front of it. The door was open but she clearly had no idea what she was looking for.

“Would you either pick something or let someone who knows what everything is pick for you?” Cres inquired sourly, his stomach growling loudly. “I’m starving and you’re in the way.”

The mare glanced over at him sourly. “I doubt it will kill you to wait a few extra seconds to get yourself some meat,” she told him flatly before turning her eyes back to resume scanning through the tupperware containing the berries.

Cres bit back a growl and simply stood there impatiently, tapping a claw on the tiled floor. She was taking forever!

“Oh just hurry up!” he exclaimed in annoyance. “The red ones are sweet, the orange ones are sour, the blue ones are tangy and the purple ones make you pretty, it’s not that difficult!”

“Oh calm down Cres, let her choose what she wants to eat,” Matt spoke up from his seat next to Roxanne. “It’s not like she’s purposely doing it.”

“Fine... she’s just being really slow,” Cres muttered, turning away from Applejack and walking over to sit down beside Matt’s chair.

The pony rolled her eyes and reached over to grab the container holding the red berries. She walked away and closed the fridge door with the simple push of her right rear leg.

“I’m right here you know,” Cres grunted as he walked over towards the fridge. “You could have left the door open.”

Applejack moved over to the empty seat and set the tupperware down. “Well if you’re that hungry then I’m sure you can open the door yourself to grab your meat. Unless all that ‘starving to death’ is making you too weak to do so,” she remarked.

“Please, I’m more than strong enough to open a simple door,” Cres replied, rolling his eyes. “I’m stronger than you at the very least so I know that I can manage the door.”

“Then I don’t see why you’re complaining so much,” Applejack stated with a scoff. “I mean, you were whining so much I thought you just had to get to your meat as soon as possible or else you parish where you stand. Hmph, sometimes you predators are just so big headed that you think you’re better than the rest.”

“I’m better than you and that’s all that matters,” Cres said blandly. “And what does my being a predator have to do with my wanting to eat?”

“Because of just what you said,” Applejack replied in sour tone. “So what if you can beat me in a battle, what really makes you greater than me? I tell you it’s because in that big head of yours you think yourself as a predator who so high in the food chain that everyone must bow to you in awe!”

Cres blinked. “I think no such thing,” he replied in irritation. “I simply want to eat my breakfast! Now quit nagging me!” He huffed.

“Oh sure,” Applejack said with another rolled of her eyes. “I’m sure you say that everytime you kill someone, even if they plead for their life. ‘I got to eat’ you tell them right before you tear their throat out and watch them choke on their own blood.”

“Usually I don’t talk to them,” Cres said with a shrug. “And they know why they’re hunted already so there wouldn’t be much point in my doing it.”

“Sure, that’s what you tell yourself every time you have a full stomach and their remains just laying before you,” the mare remarked sourly. “Because that’s how you think, you’re the predator and they are prey, thus making you better than the rest.”

“Did you just use the word ‘thus’?” Cres asked, arching an eyebrow at her. “I didn’t know you knew that word. Heck, I hardly know that word.”

“I might be a farm pony, but that doesn’t mean I know fancy words,” the pony remarked, shaking her head as a small chuckle rolled out of her. “But it doesn’t surprise me, what do fancy words do for a predator like yourself? You don’t really need them to display the message ‘I’m predator you are prey’.”

“That sounds about right,” Cres agreed with a small shrug. “I know what I need too to do what I do, and that’s fight for my master in battle.”

The mare scowled at Cres. “That’s all you care about huh? Fight, fight, fight, fight fight for your ‘master’.” She let out a snort. “You know what, I can fight too now, and with this newfound skill I bet I can take you out easily. Maybe then I can stomp out that big head of yours.”

Cres snorted in return. “Please. You couldn’t touch Ohm unless he wanted you too and I’m at least as fast as him,” he replied. “Sure, I might not be on his level but I’m more than a match for a malfunctioning Ponyta with an attitude problem.”

A low chuckled rolled out the mare as she slid off of her chair and stood in front of Cres. “Maybe... but I remember doing a move that affected the whole arena floor.” She raised a hoof and rubbed under her chin. “What did Ohm tell me what it was... oh yes.” She reared up on her hind legs and smiled darkly at Cres. “Magnitude.”

Cres’ eyes widened. “You wouldn’t, it would bring the roof down and the floor out from under us!” he exclaimed, his eyes narrowing at her.

“Exactly,” she replied before slamming her front legs down. Almost immediately, the whole room began to shake violently. Cres’s eyes narrowed and he launched himself at her, or rather, tried too. The second that his forepaws left the floor, a chunk of ceiling sailed down and slammed into his back, driving him into the floor.

Applejack simply stood there in front of him, unphased of what was happening around her. Pictures hanging on the wall fell off, cracks replacing them as they grew. Dishes and glasses on the table were shaken off and crashed to the floor, cracks appearing around the broken fragments.

“I’ll get you for this!” Cres shouted through his pain, struggling to get out from under the chunk of ceiling. The mare just looked at the Absol, an eerie, unsettlingly pleased smile on her face as she walked backwards a few feet.

“Cres!” Matt’s voice suddenly called out as he rushed over to the Absol, Roxanne at his side. Both of them got down to help him escape, but as they did so a familiar cracking of wood filled the Absol’s ear. Right before his eyes the floor crumbled beneath the two and they fell through, screaming.

Cres let out a wail of panic and started thrashing in an attempt to escape his imprisonment before he looked down the new hole in the floor. It was strangely... empty. It was a pit of blackness. The Absol’s eyes widened and then a low, angry snarl left his lips.

“Let. Me. Go,” he growled.

A low chuckled rolled through the air, a hoof reaching out to pull the Absol’s head up and he found himself looking into Applejack’s grinning face, her now teal eyes staring down at him in amusement. “Sure thing, after all, don’t want them to get lonely now do we?” With that said, she lifted another hoof and slammed it on the remaining floor underneath Cres.

The floor collapsed and Cres fell into the darkness, and as he fell he could see something rapidly approaching him. Below him amidst the rubble were the broken, beaten bodies of Matt, Roxanne, Belle and Xav. He also noticed that he was heading directly towards a large jagged piece of rebar. Cres’s jaw set and he closed his eyes.

“BELLLEEEE! “ he screamed at the top of his lungs, thrashing violently in mid air.

And then, he felt a painful jolt of pained and...electricity.

His eyes snapped open, his chest heaving, his fur wild as he stared up into Belle’s eyes.

“Oh thank Arceus that work,” she said in a relieved sigh as she nuzzle him worryingly.

“...” Cres just wrapped his forepaws around her and pushed his face into her neck as his body shuddered.

“I was beginning to worried... you were rolling around and growling angrily in your sleep,” Belle said softly. “I tried to wake you up multiple times before your body just went... wild in moving about. You were tossing and turning, your claws were even out as you growled louder and started to whimper out something. I was so worried that I used thunderbolt to wake you out of it.”

Cres blinked and buried his face in further in her neck, still shivering and shuddering. “Than-thank you,” he whispered out, making sure to keep his blade away from her face.

“... what happened?” Roxanne’s sleepy voice asked in the background. “Did someone shoot off a Thunderbolt?”

“Yeah, Belle used it to wake Cres up for some reason,” Matt replied, equally as sleepy as he let out a long sigh.

“... whoever brought Applejack here just assaulted me,” Cres said, finally managing to pull his head out of Belle’s neck. His jaw hardened. “He... he killed you... and I’m going too... oh when I find him I’m going to...” A low ferocious growl left Cres’ throat.

Belle blinked as she frowned slightly. “Assaulted you? How so?”

“He...” Cres growled. “He used what I think must have been a form of ‘Dream Eater’ on me... I don’t know exactly... he gave me a nightmare and it was like... it was like what those ghosts did to us... but worse... more real except for a detail or two...”

Belle was silent for a moment before a harsh growl left her throat, closer to that of a Mightyena or a Houndoom then an Absol. “I see.” Was all she said, her jaw locked into a hard line before she leaned down and nuzzled Cres. “Then I’ll simply have to find a way to prevent that from happening again.”

She was so simple and matter of fact about, not a hint of malice in her voice. Instead she sounded completely calm and orderly. Cres looked at her and saw the stony look in her eye and almost shivered. He knew that look, it was the look that she reserved for those that well and truly infuriated her.

“I know you will,” Cres said softly, leaning up to lick her cheek.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Applejack’s scream pierced through the air.

Author's Note

Omega_code: By show of hands, did we fool anyone after the hr? Or at least made you question something was off before showing the truth?

ed2481:Anyways, hope you enjoyed it, didn’t even realize it was getting towards the 4k till the end.

Omega_code: Yeah, hopefully the next one will be just as long as what we got plan. Spoiler, Applejack screams somewhere during it.

Chapter 19

Belle had left her on the couch some time ago and the T.V.’s noise had fallen into the rear of her mind. It was amazing how easily the sounds and light had become little more than background noise for the farm pony. Sure it had been interesting enough at first, but the ‘news station’ had become fairly boring really. They replayed the same news over and over again, occasionally having one or two new things to say but for the most part simply rehashing things. Really, after she’d heard the story about there being a rise in the number of old humans and Pokemon dying, Applejack had heard enough of it.

She reached over to press the button she’d seen Belle use to turn the contraption on before a large yawn left her muzzle. Applejack raised the hoof to cover it before shaking her head, suddenly realizing just how heavy her eyelids were. She glanced around to see the apartment building was almost pitch black except for a few small rays of city light that leaked from beneath the kitchen window curtain.

Another yawn escaped her as she propped herself so that she was leaning against the couch’s armrest. A tired sigh seeped out of her as her head hung down, her eyes flutterling closed. Her head then snapped back up straight and her eyes opened wide as she shook herself to stay awake.

Truth be told, Applejack didn’t want to go to sleep. The nightmare from last night, as silly as it sounded, really frightened her. It had been so.... real. So real she didn’t want to see if the same thing would happen again. So if she had to sit here on the couch doing nothing for the rest of the night, so be it. It’s not like she hadn’t done all nighters before.

The mare rested as she leaned onto the armrest, her eyes drawn to the strange glowing clock that was sitting beneath the T.V. She watched the blinking colon flash at a steady rate and the minute mark counted up. Her eyelids weighed heavily in the back of her mind, and several times she forced herself awake to prevent herself from drifting off to sleep. Thirty minutes passed before the world before became fuzzy, unfocused and her eyelids closed, the world dissolving around her. Applejack then felt her head suddenly dripping and she jolted awake to prevent herself from falling face first onto the floor. Then she completely froze, her eyes widened at what she saw.

Sweet Apple Acres. She was sitting between fence posts that created the entrance, the sky dotted by stars and from high in the sky, The Mare on the Moon lit up her house and the barnhouse. Down the way past the dozens upon dozens of apple trees that lined the way, Applejack saw the lantern above the farmhouse’s doorway still lit.

.....no... no, this is just another dream, I’m asleep, yeah, that’s it. She rationalized in her mind shaking her head and closing her and focusing on snapping out of it. However, when she opened her eyes she still found herself sitting at the entrance way. The mare blinked, lifting a hoof to rub it against her eyes before seeing if anything change, and when that didn’t work she slapped herself, hard.

Pain spiked up on her cheek, causing her to rub it in regret, yet even with her mind now feeling fully awake, Applejack was still in Sweet Apple Acres. She got to her hooves and tried to walk away, actually, she tried to run away but no matter how hard she tried to leave it always seemed like she’d barely moved an inch. The mare stopped, looked over her shoulder and saw to her frustration that she was in fact exactly where she’d started.

Letting out a huff of frustration she simply sat down on her rump. Well then, I’m not going to move then. I’ll be awake soon... I don’t have to participate in whatever this is.

As she said that, her legs started moving, picking herself up and walking determinedly towards the farm.

“What in tarnations!?” she exclaimed as she tried to stop herself, but no matter how she tried to dig her hooves into the gravel, stamp, or simply stop, her legs weren’t listening. They trotted her along the worn out path and the mare continued to resist. She gritted her teeth and tried to buck her whole body around, but all that accomplished was her body jerking back only to be stopped by her uncooperative legs. “Grrr... Stop you stubborn legs of mine! This ain’t funny!” she shouted.

Personally, I find it rather hilarious, a familiar, dark voice replied in her right ear. I suppose I could do more, to make it even MORE hilarious, but I think what we’ll be watching together will be good enough by itself the voice continued, moving to her left ear.

A shiver tingled down Applejack’s spine. “Who the heck are you!?” she demanded, though her tone of voice wasn’t as strong as she intended. “What do you want?!” she asked further as she rapidly glanced around for the source of the voice.

I have MANY names, the Dreamweaver, the Nightmare Eater, the... wait, I don’t actually have a name, hah, I have titles, never really thought about that before, heh, the things you think of when you sleep eh? The voice asked her with a dark chuckle.

The mare simply blinked before growling in anger. “You think this if funny!? I have enough trouble being trapped here in this world! I don’t need some... Pokemon messing with me in my dreams!”

Ooooh waaa waaaa waaa your needs, the voice replied. You want issues little pony, look no further than the me, haha. Well, I mean, if you could see me, it’s kind of a matter of perspective really.

“.......I DON’T NEED ANY MORE ISSUES!” she shouted out. “Especially from you, whatever you are. That first.... ‘dream’ of yours wasn’t ‘hilarious’ and... and... you probably somehow responsible for me being here, so how about you just end this and let me go back home for real!”

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The over exaggerated ‘hmm’ played from one ear to the other, causing her to flicker both in annoyance.

Personally I found your first dream to be an absolute gutbuster, the voice replied as if it hadn’t heard the last half of her request. I mean, how often do you get to see your own sister devoured? It’s comedy gold at it’s highest caliber! He was silent for a moment. Wish I had a sister, I’d eat her all the time.

The mare’s face was just... speechless, incapable of fully understanding what she was hearing. “You’re... sick,” she said shaking her head. “Just... sick.”

Huh, weird, if I’m sick... then why do I feel so great? He inquired, as if it was a real question.

Applejack shivered once more, an uneasy feeling quickly growing in her stomach. I got the feeling he’s messing with on purpose... and not in a good reason.

Heheeh, if you listen to my good old grandpappy then it’s because of balance, personally I’m just enjoying the opportunity to sink my ‘teeth’ into an innocent little pony, the voice replied with a chuckle. I mean, I could kill you now if you really want me to, go on, think about it, I’ll give you a second.

Applejack’s heart started to beat rapidly as fear eased it’s way into her mind. “What, no!” she exclaimed automatically.

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, what was that? I didn’t quite hear you, what did you say? the voice inquired and Applejack’s heart began to beat even faster. Could you repeat that? I’m afraid my ears aren’t working quite right, again please.

“I don’t want to die!” she shouted, her heart beating faster as she panted heavily.

Terribly sorry, what was that? he inquired again. I really don’t know what I have in my ears, for some reason it sounds like you’re shouting “I WANT to die!”, but that CAN’T be right can it? No self respecting pony would want that would they? He asked again as her heart began to slam against her chest, sweat rolling down her forehead.

“I SAID I DO NOT WANT TO DIE!” she shouted again, hyperventilating.

OOOOOH, why didn’t you just say so? he asked her, her heart rate slowing down. Then again, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to die. She felt what resembled a hoof on her back. After all, a little filly who practically murdered her own parents probably has a lot of guilt issues hanging around her.

The mare suddenly felt much... smaller. She was a filly again.

Applejack glanced down at herself and quickly examined to see her small framed body and blank flank. “I.... I did not murder my parents!” she shouted out, her mind in a flux of panic, her heart racing once more as she glanced rapidly around to see who touched her.

Sure you didn’t, you just signed their death warrant, the voice agreed, patting the little filly on the back from the other side. You’re right, they’re completely different things entirely.

The filly whirled around to see no one once more. “I didn’t do anything!”

She cried to her brother and grandmother, the voice finished, as if it was narrating. As the guard questioned her, the answer was always the same. “I didn’t do anything”

Applejack was now in full blown panic as she turned again and again in an attempt to find whoever was talking to her, her eyes petrified in fear. “I-I-I didn’t! The Sphinx did... she... she KILLED THEM!”

That much was true they agreed, the Sphinx had killed them, eaten them in fact, on their bed even, the voice continued to narrate. But Sphinxes don’t just wander into houses the Guard knew, the filly must have let her inside. She’d always hated her parents and the way they treated her, that must have been why she did it.

“That-that’s not true! I love my parents!” she yelled out, her voice squeaked. “I-I loved them!”

She insisted over and over again to no avail, the voice said, practically slithering through her ears. And yet try as they might to believe her, her brother still hated her. From that day forwards he turned taciturn and quiet, only speaking when he was angry for he knew... if he allowed himself his full faculties then he’d scream himself hoarse just being in the same room as her.

“That’s not true! Big Mac was... was always a quite colt!” Applejack screamed out, her heart beating heavily in her chest, tears were forming in her eyes. “He... he doesn’t hate me!”

And oh her grandmother, that poor mare, cursed to see her child die before her, cursed to watch the filly who’d killed him, the voice whispered. Forever wishing that she’d just... bashed the little filly’s head open with a pie plate... and sometimes when it’s very late at night she sits up awake, staring at the picture... wondering if she should still do it.

“Leave Granny Smith out of this! She... she wouldn’t think of such things!” Applejack stated, yet even doubt from herself leaked into her voice. “She... wouldn’t!”

Wouldn’t... wouldn’t... wouldn’t wouldn’t she? the voice asked, each word repeating in a different voice before returning to its normal one. I don’t know... if my granddaughter had all but murdered my son... I think I’d contemplate killing her too.

Applejack sat on her rump and lifted her forehooves to cover her ears. “I didn’t kill pa, I didn’t kill ma!” she yelled. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

What are you talking about? You are alone, the voice said, now horribly familiar. It was her own voice. I’m you, well, your innerself actually, you know, the one who admits that she wants to die. A phantom image of Applejack appeared in front of her, bringing a hoof to the bottom of AJ’s chin and lifting it up so that that she was staring into her own, teal tinted eyes. “Admit it... we’re pathetic aren’t we?”

The filly shook her head. “No... no... no... I... I didn’t do anything wrong... I... I... didn’t kill ma and pa...”

“Oh poor, silly filly, of course you did,” her double said, keeping a grip on her chin as the night around them became dark and stormy. “It was a night just like this one, you remember?”

The filly’s eyes gazed around, wordlessly nodding her head.

“I just want to come in... I’m cold and wet, please, please let me in,” a feline voice crooned in her right ear. “I promise, I won’t hurt anyone, I just want to get out of the cold.”

“And what did you do little filly?” her double asked indulgently.

“I.... I.... opened the door....” the small filly answered, her voice shallow and lost. “I... opened the door...” she said again, her voice quavering, face falling.

“Yes, that’s what you did, you opened the door,” the double said, nodding Applejack’s chin for her. “You let the Sphinx into your house and do you know what it did?” she asked, bringing Applejack’s face up to look at hers.

Applejack’s eyes began to water. “She... she... licked me... and called me a precious child.”

“Ah yes... that she did,” the double said with a small smile. “And then she sent you to bed with a pat on the head and you went to bed without another thought in your mind.” Again, Applejack nodded her head once more, tears streaking down her cheeks. “And in the morning... well, you know the rest, don’t you?” Applejack burst into deep heaves, her body violently shivering as the memory of waking up and the smell of... rot... blood filled her nostrils.

“They found you curled up in a corner... weeping just like you are now,” the other mare agreed with a small, almost sympathetic nod as she nodded Applejack’s head for her. “And you began to lie... because deep down, you knew that you killed them... you knew that their death was your fault Applejack... and you hated yourself for it every bit as much as the rest of your family does.”

Applejack continued to heave heavily, her eyes gazing down in admittance. “........yes......”

“So... do you still think you don’t deserve to die?” the other mare asked her.

“.....no....” Applejack whispered.

A dark sinister laugh erupted from all around her as her opposite vanished. Music to my ears little fly, music to my ears, the voice from before murmured in her ears. Buuuuuuuut not yet I think, that’ll be later. For now... I think a certain kitty’s trying to wake you up so tootles.

Applejack’s body jerked upwards with a scream of pain as Ohm bit into her shoulder.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” she yelled, Ohm letting go of her shoulder before she could drag his head along with it. The mare winced in pain as she glanced at her shoulder, seeing some blood seeping out from the bite.

“I am sorry for the bite, but you weren’t reacting to anything else,” Ohm said as he stood next to the mare, looking at her with concern.

Applejack was panting heavily, her heart racing a mile per second. “It’s... it’s fine... I’ve gotten worse bites...” she said between her pants, taking in deep intakes of breath.

“You must have the worst dreams on earth!” Xav’s voice said from Ohm’s back. “Uncle Ohm tried a bunch of attacks before the bite!”

Applejack blinked for a moment before glancing down at her body more closely to see some other marks on her side. Before she could question much the door the master bed room suddenly burst open and Roxanne hurried into the room.

“What’s going on?” she asked a little breathlessly, her disheveled black hair scattered around her head. The woman glanced around the scene before her before a sigh left her body. “... well, looks like I’m going to be making an extra large pot of coffee...”

Chapter 20

“I don’t know how this sort of thing is physically possible,” Roxanne murmured to Matt as she leaned against the fridge, her eyes closed, hands on her stomach. “If it’s a Pokemon doing this then it should have to be somewhere nearby but it’s not.” Her black hair was wet from an early morning shower and her swelling belly was hidden beneath a black bathrobe.

“Indeed, I don’t know what kind of Pokemon has that sort of ability,” Matt said, his blonde hair combed back. He sat in a chair next to the kitchen table, sipping some coffee. “Not only that but to affect both Cres and Applejack at the same time... it concerns me we might be dealing with an unknown Pokemon.” His green eyes glance up to his wife. “And I don’t mean Unown.”

“I was aware,” she said, frowning as she opened her eyes. “I need to do more research on this...” her fingers began to tap on the fridge before her eyes hardened. “Whoever this is isn’t hurting us.” It was a bold statement and Matt could see her inner fire rising. “I’m a professor, dammit.”

“Well then I wish you the best of luck,” Matt said taking one more sip of his coffee before rubbing the back of his hand over his lips. He reached over to grab the crutches rest against the table and stood up. “I need to head to my Gym before my first challenger comes in.” He moved over to her and gave a light kiss on her cheek. “Take care.”

“Oh I will,” she said, kissing him back as she pushed herself away from the fridge, moving into the family room and sitting down on the couch, pulling out her laptop from where it had been sitting on a side table. In the back of Roxanne’s mind she noticed Applejack, who was still curled up in a shivering little ball, but ignored her, she had research to do. “Belle, come here and help me scan,” she called.

As the red Absol approached Roxanne, Matt hobbled out of the kitchen and looked at the shivering mare. He felt guilty for not being able to help her out, or at least talk to her to try to ease things down. It made him feel a bit... useless at the moment. Thankfully at least he could see Applejack wouldn’t fully be alone. He adjusted his gaze over to the chair to see Ohm resting on it, fully awake with his eyes resting upon the mare.

The man nodded his head in approval before heading for the door, surprised to see Cres waiting for him. “Coming with me to the Gym I guess?” he asked as he stood in front of the door, glancing down at the Absol.

“I need to clear my head, fighting will help that,” Cres said. He glanced up at Matt, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “And you need someone with you who can protect you.”

I think I have plenty of Pokemon to do that, Matt thought to himself but he just nodded his head. “Alright then, if you think you’re up to it I won’t stop ya.” The man reached out to turn the handle and opened the door, turning his head around over his shoulders to look at his wife typing away with her laptop. “I’ll see you tonight,” he told her, receiving no reply on his way out.

The door closed with a solid click and Matt stood in front of the door for a moment before letting out a single sigh. Arceus, help us figure this out. He whispered in his mind before returning his hand to his crutches and starting to make his way down the hallway, Cres padding along beside him, the Absol’s eyes ever on high alert.

Meanwhile, Roxanne continued her search for information, finally starting to dig up something relevant. Instead of searching for Pokemon who could cause advanced nightmares, she searched for more of reports of people and/or Pokemon having severe trauma associated with those nightmares. The results were... staggering.

“... Belle, please tell me I’m not reading these reports right,” Roxanne said quietly after the seventh report.

A crippled man had died screaming in his sleep. An elderly Pokemon had befallen the same fate. Several members of an entire family had suffered equally, all expiring on the same night. And more and more reports of similar incidents, spanning from weeks, months, or even years ago sprung up.

Belle shook her head as she was leaning against Roxanne’s side. “I’m afraid not...” she replied in a somber tone before glancing over at Applejack worriedly. “This... is a problem....” Ohm’s ears flickered slightly as he picked up her words and she could see the Luxray’s eyes ever so slightly shifting over to her.

Roxanne just put a hand behind her head and scratched as she continued reading. Not all of them could be the same Pokemon, there were obviously outliers. It spanned too many regions and to pin everything on one single Pokemon, not to mention that there had always been Pokemon with the ability to enter dreams. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the couch, mind trying to think of a way to narrow her search.

Belle’s mind was also whirling away at a thought. There must be a way to prevent this... after all, it’s not like preventing Nightmares was a new idea. Psychic types were known to do that and... that’s it! “Psychic types!”

“Hmm? What is it dear?” Roxanne asked, glancing down at Belle, quickly grabbing a pen and a piece of paper for Belle to write with.

The Absol quickly grabbed the pencil with her mouth and began to hastily, but carefully write on the piece of paper. ‘Go search for reports of people preventing these type of nightmares with Psychic Pokemon,’ she wrote down in a nearly flawless script.

Roxanne was quiet for a moment before she smiled, leaning down to kiss Belle on the top of her red furred head. “A good idea my little Belle,” she said before she turned back to the computer and began to type rapidly.

In doing so she quickly came to a conclusion. There were two types of cases. Those that had gone ‘undiagnosed’ for too long, and those which had been caught and saved.

Young girl saved from death by mother’s Alakazam.

Mary Alison was suffering from extreme nightmares, leaving her barely capable of functioning the next day. The nightmares became so severe that her mother became worried for the girl’s life. That night the mother brought her Alakazam to watch over her sleeping daughter and Mrs. Alison reported that whatever it was that had been tormenting her daughter in her sleep had retreated after being bested.

Roxanne frowned faintly as that and glanced down at Belle. “Hmm, this gives me an idea,” she murmured to herself. “I wonder how effective Xemnas would be at this, he’s rather powerful...” She smiled. “And he’d give us all the ability to talk to each other and that’s always nice hmm?”

Belle nodded her head. “Indeed... though that means we need to take Applejack to the lab,” she said, pointing a paw at the mare before gesturing it to the door. “I doubt Xemnas will fit inside the apartment.”

“I know we need to move her sweety,” Roxanne said, shaking her head. “Xemnas is heavy enough to break the floor.” The woman then leaned over and gently put a hand on Applejack’s back. The mare’s back shivered at the touch and reactively moved away from the woman’s hand. “Applejack, we need to go somewhere else where someone can help you.”

The mare didn’t respond, or at least not to Roxanne’s statement. “I didn’t mean to do it... I didn’t mean to do it... I didn’t mean to do it...” she whimpered out so softly, curling up even tighter into the corner of the couch.

The woman frowned deeply and glanced down at Belle. “I don’t know if I can move her like this...”

Right as she said that Ohm got up from his spot on the chair and moved over to the couch. He props himself onto the edge of the couch. He leaned his head over to grab Applejack gently with his mouth and dragged her off and onto his back. The mare didn’t resist in the slightest, and surprisingly went limp across his back.

“Ah, thank you Ohm,” Roxanne said with a smile as she got to her feet, patting the Luxray on the head for a moment with a smile before she kissed him on the forehead. “Such a sweet cat. I’ll be with you in just a moment, I need to change.” With that, she got up and went into the bedroom.

“I don’t like the way this is going for either Applejack or-” Belle sucked in a breath. “Or for Cres.” She glanced at the limp, whimpering mare on Ohm’s back, worry in her eyes.

“Then we must find a way to prevent this from ever happening again,” Ohm replied, his voice calm yet very firm, his eyes holding a determined glint in them. “This battle isn’t over.”

“Not by a long shot,” Belle said, her voice firm. “I’ve already lost him once, it won’t happen again.”

“And I will not let her come to harm once more,” Ohm said, causing Belle to raise her eyebrow at him.

Roxanne came out of the bedroom wearing her labcoat and pants. To the Pokemon’s surprise she was carrying a short black blanket which she threw around Applejack’s body, obscuring her from the world. She then got down on one knee, leaning beneath the Luxray and quickly tying the ends off. The woman then straightened, letting out a sigh and shaking her head.

“I hate being pregnant,” she muttered before glancing down at Ohm and scratching at his ears. “You okay to walk like that Ohm?” The Luxray simply nodded his head in response. “Good, let’s get a move on then, we need to get things set up.” She slapped Ohm gently on the side and started for the door, Belle at her side and Ohm on her other.

Dirt filled Cres’s vision, a great cloud of it swirling around the Absol. The whole stadium was obscured as the opponent bounced off of the boulders, the floor, everything in sight, blowing up a plume of dust. Cres grit his teeth as the Donphan’s speed seemed to increase again and he barely managed to leap to the side in time to avoid the rocketing ball of armored hide. The Donphan slammed into one of the boulders and pulverized it with bone crushing strength.

Ordinarily, Cres lived for high level matches but today was different, he felt slow and weary.

“You’re doing fine Cres!” Matt shouted from his spot on the south side of the gym. “Keep dodging his attacks and look for the perfect time to strike!”

Cres only distantly heard the encouragement but nodded his head, narrowing his eyes and leaping away just in time to avoid being slammed into from above. He hated Rollout.

“JUST STOP ALREADY!” he roared, the dirt ripping at his fur as the Donphan cruised past him again, shattering another boulder.

“Mhahahah,” the Donphan chuckled deeply as it unfurled and landed on his feets. “What’s the matter? Can’t take the heat?”

Instead of replying, Cres gritted his teeth and growled lowly. His legs bent and then suddenly launched him at the Donphan, blade glowing.

“Donphan, use Horn Attack!” the male, a man wearing glasses with a brown coat and matching hat ordered the Pokemon.

The Donphan smiled as his tusks glowed and he charged the Absol, ready to smack the smaller Pokemon down with ease. Cres however was much more agile and he evaded the pair of gleaming tusks, moving to the side at the last moment and bringing his blade scouring along the Donphan’s side, a bit of blood leaking from the new, shallow cut. Cres leapt away before a retaliatory blow could be struck and his red eyes narrowed as a droplet of blood stained his white coat.

“Not so fast when you’re not rolling are you?” he asked with a smirk.

The Donphan glared down at Cres, his feet prodding at the ground in frustration. “Hah! You think a scratch like that is going to take me down! You’re going to need to do better than that you oversized Skitty!”

“A true fighter would have attacked by now,” Cres said.

“Donphan use Take Down!” the male trainer shouted, and with that the elephant like Pokemon charged at Cres with blazing speed, head held down to ram into the Absol’s whole body.

“Cres dodge and use Night Slash again on his back!” Matt ordered.

Cres’s knees bunched again and he sprang into the air, coming down on the Donphan’s back as it closed with him, his blade slashing down into the Donphan’s back in another spray of blood. The Donphan let out a trumpet of pain as it continued on with it’s Take Down attack and rammed right into a bolder, cracking it apart in three sections. Cres leapt off of the rolling elephant and landed a few feet away, his white fur even more red than before.

Ordinarily that would have been enough, but in a high level match both combatants continued until they were incapable of it.

“It’s not over yet! Donphan use Magnitude and give it all you got!” the male trainer shouted out dramatically. The Donphan shook itself, still bleeding from the back wound and turned to Cres with a determined look. It raised its forelegs high in the air before slamming them down.

The ground shook, gently at first and becoming steadily more violent. The whole gym building was shaking back and forth, some cracks forming on the ground. Matt braced himself on his crutches and he let out a yelp of surprise. Cres’s eyes narrowed and he let out a blood curdling snarl as images from the night before filled his mind. Suddenly he wasn’t in the gym anymore, he was back in the apartment and it was Applejack rearing before him, ready to bring down the house on everyone he loved.

“YOU DARE!” the red and white Absol shrieked, launching himself forwards over the shaking ground, long days of training with Nok guiding his paws. He reached the Donphan as it raised its feet in the air to attack again, his blade glowing darkly.

The headblade dug deeply into the Donphan’s neck and blood sprayed as Cres finished the motion, pulling the blade out with another wash of blood, his vision black with rage. His heart beat hard against his chest and his paws distantly felt the quickly forming pool as his mind began to slow.

A breath was caught in his chest and suddenly everything was spinning. He heard shouting in the back of his mind but it was distant and somehow removed from him as familiar evil laughter rolled through his head.

Then suddenly he was gone, wrapped in the red glow of his Pokeball and back in the darkness.

Matt held the Ultra Ball in his hand, looking at it in complete shock and disbelief. “What the hell just happened,” he whispered at it before his mind returned to the ‘now’ to the Donphan and its trainer.

The Donphan was grunting weakly as it tried to return to its feet and the trainer had run forwards, a dozen bandages and a potion in either hand. “Donny!” he shouted, grabbing the Donphan to steady the heavily bleeding Pokemon before bringing the potion up and spraying at the cut with bloody hands. The elephant let out a low groan and leaned against the trainer as its neck wound began to seal itself as bandages were pressed against it.

“What the hell was that?!” the trainer shouted over to Matt as he helped his Pokemon.

“I... don’t know what got into him,” Matt said before shaking his head and glancing over to his reserve Pokemon. “Xerox, call the the PokeCenter, now!” he ordered the Zoroark who firmly nodded his head and ran off.

“If Donny dies because of this I’m going to...” the trainer fixed Matt with a deep glare, his breaths coming in and out rapidly as he finally managed to completely staunch the bleeding. “I’m going to...”

“Don’t think about it now, just keep pressure on the wound,” Matt said, cutting the young trainer off. He hastily moved his way his way over to them. “Eclair, bring me the emergency first aid kit,” he ordered as he carefully knelt down next to the Donphan.

The rest passed in a blur, the ambulance arrived and then departed taking the Donphan and the trainer away leaving Matt standing there at the door with Cres’ Ultra ball in his hand. Through it all, one thought remained heavy in his mind. What were you thinking Cres?

Chapter 21

Giratina sat beside Luna on the blue painted carriage as it was drawn down towards Ponyville by a pair of pegasus guards, a small smile on his face. The world of Equestria beneath them was a brilliant green, full of life and joy. Or that was how he liked to think of it. He knew that there was pain and heartbreak there as much as there was anywhere else, but in Equestria he liked to believe that those things existed just a little less.

He took his gaze away from the landscape below and glanced over at Luna. She looked back and smiled, saying nothing as her tail moved around his and she nudged ever so slightly closer to him. Neither said a word, neither had too.

This was the life for the changeling, something he’d missed for so long that he’d nearly forgotten what it felt like rather than being a coward. He gazed back down to the passing landscape below, his mind wandering off like it tended to do now and then. As it often did when he was with Luna, his mind drifted to how he had met her, or rather, how he had been put on the path to meeting her.

Oh what a fool I was... how much one can change in six thousand years...

Hatred. That was the one thing flowing through his mind as Giratina, the large six legged dragon, watched the world through a pool on a floating island in his desolate prison. He watched humans pick through the rubble, expressions of pain, grief, and foremost of all, incomprehension on their faces. Before, there had been a city. Now... now there was a ruined landscape. The earth had been upturned and scarred. Trees had been split asunder, shattered into a jagged splinters, the grass reduced to little more than ash and dust which blew blindingly in the wind

Amongst the wreckage lay broken walls, seared black by the sheer destructive energy which had been on display. Roofs lay shattered, coble and flagstone streets were uprooted from the earth and thrown randomly around while silvers of broken glass spread out from what had once been houses. At least, in places that it hadn’t been liquified outright and reformed in bizarre shapes.

Out of all the destruction however, one thing brought him pleasure. The dead. There were so many and it filled him with such a self righteous sense of satisfaction. Dozens, hundreds, thousands of them, turned to dust, ash, reduced to bones, blood spattered this way and that. Men, women, children, all killed indiscriminately. As was what they deserved. They had taken those who he held most closely from him, attempted to use them against him and then... snuffed them out.

It was truly a massacre that would be remembered for all of time throughout the land of Orreia, an accomplishment worthy of him and him alone. His almighty Rage would not be be forgotten, nor dimmed. Yet... it had not been ENOUGH!

The young god gazed down at the pool, rage flowing through him as he saw the few humans who had been spare of his wrath. He let out a low growl and open his mouth, gathering up energy for a Hyperbeam and firing it down onto the pool. Sadly and most frustratingly the beam just disappeared the moment it hit the pool without passing through.

“Still angry my son?” a familiar voice asked from the darkness around him, a white light shining as his father appeared before him. Arceus gazed down at him with divine pity in his eyes, and OH how it burned Giratina. His so called ‘father’ could have stopped them. He could have stopped their hearts in a dozen ways but no. Instead he had let them... kill his Savants.

Giratina growled lowly. “YOU! YOU’RE THE CAUSE OF ALL OF THIS! ROSAIN AND MARTIN ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOU STOPPED ME FROM GIVING THAT CITY THEIR PUNISHMENT! THEY ALL DESERVE DEATH!”

Arceus simply regarded him quietly for a moment before he spoke. “Two are of the balance of twenty five thousand?” he asked Giratina.

“It is for that city,” Giratina replied in a low tone. “They used my Savants, tried to use them to control me, and when they realized I was going to fight back they killed them! The whole city is behind their death so everyone deserves the same punishment!”

“However did I raise you to be so short sighted,” Arceus replied, shaking his head. “Giratina, were the children responsible for that act? Were the mothers and fathers? Who outside of the upper echelons of the city was responsible for Rosain and Martin’s death?” The God turned to look at his son straight in the eyes. “And more to the point, with all of your great power... were you truly unable to protect two humans? Truly?”

“Sorry if I don’t have the ‘all mighty powers’ you have!” Giratina snapped back.

“I don’t expect you too. I expect you to use the powers that I gave you, which are quite powerful, to protect those who you cared about,” Arceus replied pointedly. “You are a dragon Giratina. You are the mightiest Type of my children in existence at the moment and you still failed to protect them. This fault hardly lies on the city’s hands, it lies upon yours.”

“No... it falls on yours! You could’ve come in and saved them, whisked them away! But no, I bet you just sat there and watched them get stabbed through the heart!” Giratina accused, his anger to the near of boiling.

“Liver and the stomach actually, heart makes it sound much more dramatic sounding,” Arceus replied, shaking his head, which only caused Giratina’s anger to raise to greater heights at such allocations. “And I supposed I could have ‘whisked them away’ to safety but then it would have been a cheat Giratina. I serve Balance most of all, you know this, you’ve been taught it since I first made your brother and sister. I am not an intervener, I am a watcher, a balancer of scales, a creator. You, your brothers, sisters, and all my other children, it is your job to intervene. As you know.”

The dam broke. “Cheat.... cheat... you call saving the only two people I could trust A CHEAT!” Giratina roared as he flapped his wings and launched himself towards Arceus, the edge of his golden helmet glowing to cut through the God’s neck.

“Yes, a cheat,” Arceus said, holding up a foreleg and stopping Giratina’s rush with a tap against said helm. “They were Savants Giratina, those humans I personally gifted with the souls and hearts of Pokemon. If I were to help those who I have already given so much too, then the Balance would have been broken.”

Giratina gritted his teeth and took a deep breath to let out a roaring dragon fire over Arceus. Which of course just licked all over him doing no sort of damage. Arceus simply tapped his mask again and Giratina’s fire died in his throat.

“Words please, you’ve spent enough fire to last a century,” Arceus commanded.

“You want words? Then you shall have them!” Giratina vented. “You are the cause of this no matter what you say. You say you’re looking to keep the ‘balance’ but all I see is chaos! These... humans of yours are running rampant. You allow them to much freedom and any wrong they do is merely brushed off by you! The death of my Savants was the final breaking point for me. All humans need to suffer the pain they had caused, no matter what age or gender they are! They deserve an everlasting NIGHTMARE OF PAIN AND DEATH!”

“Technically, the humans are your cousins’ combined doing,” Arceus pointed out. “I had no ‘hand’ in their creation. As for how much freedom I allow them...” he looked at Giratina. “I place the same restraints upon them I do as any of my Pokemon that being none.”

“OH SHUT UP WITH YOUR EXCUSES UPON EXCUSES! THAT’S ALL I HEAR FROM YOU AND I’M TIRED OF IT!”

“You’re tired of looking in the mirror pools and seeing the person you blame,” Arceus replied calmly, not in the least bit phased. “And you won’t admit it.”

“I know I’m looking at the right person to blame for this,” Giratina replied with a dark glower at Arceus. “And I know I will never trust it ever again nor forgive.”

“So dramatic...” Arceus sighed. “Very well, stew in your hell.” The God looked at him and then said one word. “Judgement.”

Giratina’s mouth opened in a scream as his entire body shook with pain. The very pain he’d caused. It went on seemingly for years, from every set of eyes he’d killed... worst of all, from the eyes of his Savants. When it finally ended, Arceus was still there.

“Think before you act,” Arceus stated. “Or there will be more Judgement.”

That said, Arceus’ body stopped existing as it had and Giratina was alone on the island. He panted heavily as he looked up defiantly in the air.

“I will find a way to get out of here and reap my wrath on the world once more! I swear on the blood of my Savants, I WILL MAKE THE REST OF THE HUMANS PAY!” he screamed out.

When you regain your sanity I will return to you, his father’s voice sounded in his head. Until then, you are alone.

“IT’S BETTER THAN BEING WITH YOU!” Giratina yelled out once more before tossing himself down a little and looking around the ‘world’ he was trapped in. There had to be a way to get out... there was no such thing as a perfect cell.

Years passed by, how many Giratina didn’t know. Time had no meaning in this distorted world that he had been roaming every waking moment of his life. The only sense of it was from watching through the many pools of water that peered into the other world. Many times had he tried to fly through the pools to get out of his prison, but a barrier would appear and he would ram into it without making any sort of progress.

A searing anger and rage burned inside Giratina as he continued to fly around, checking for a way out. So much so for a moment he didn’t notice the changes that happened to his body. His legs had disappeared and his body became more lean and Seviper like. His golden helmet became more of a mask, his two burning darken red eyes the only thing showing from his face. His wings had become transparent and dark, splitting up into six large tentacle appendages that along with his longer body used to ‘swim’ through the world around him.

He had no idea how or why he didn’t notice the changes or how they even happened, but he didn’t care. It helped him traverse his cell and made the feeling of needing to eat or sleep no longer a necessity. That of course implied there was anything to eat here. He found no sign of any other life. Only the barren, dead trees that covered most of the scattered floating islands. Occasionally he found a waterfall that came and went to nowhere but he paid them no attention anymore.

He continued on, flying through, peering through pool after pool, failing to escape through each one, his rage growing with each failure. He glared heavily through many of the pools of water, the other world mocking him almost of what he could see. Other Legendaries with their Savants, living in peace, and it only made him growl in rage of how his were taken away. He stormed off, his wings and tail swaying in agitation as he went to search for a different mirror pool.

His anger may have been as hot as ever, but intermixed with it was a growing sense of despair. He’d been banished here, by his father. The father that he’d trusted and loved. Arceus allowed him to lose the ones that he’d most cared for, the only humans who he truly loved. Their voices echoed in his ears, their faces shining reflections in his eyes, looking up at him from within the pools. So much so that sometimes emotions overwhelmed him and he began to weep for them.

This went on until one day he found an island that he’d never found before, which was very strange. He knew it hadn’t been there before, even with the ‘tides’ that moved the islands. Yet it looked as if it always had and stranger yet the trees that were on it were... more alive looking than the rest. The bark on them didn’t look faded or chipped, and even if they didn’t bare leaves he could tell there were ‘alive’.

He flew closer to island and looked down upon it, seeing all the trees had at least one root reaching into a single pool of water. When he peered through the water, all he could see were leaves blowing in the wind. One of his tentacles reached down and for the first time ever, the red tip touch the water, sending a small wave of ripples out. A large, determine grin formed underneath Giratina’s mask as he lifted up his wing tentacle and flew back before bolting towards the water’s surface. There was a huge splash from the impact and his world went black.

Giratina sighed as he shook off the depressing memories. They were approaching the farm, or what was left of it, and hopefully there they’d find some answers.

Cres stewed in his Pokeball, his eyes closed. One thought circled through his mind. Why did I do it... it... it wasn’t her... even if it was I wouldn’t have... why did I lose control? The Absol didn’t know. Cres shivered hard in the darkness of the ball. For him, his discipline in battle was one of if not the most important traits he’d gained while working with Matt. He was not a loose cannon. He did not go around killing challengers, indeed he did not kill anyone unless he was truly hungry.

I’m better than this. That thought came up several times as well. A low snarl emanated from his throat. I should be better than this!

The images of Applejack destroying the house filled his mind and he bit back a growl. It wasn’t Applejack. It wasn’t that Donphan who he prayed was still alive. It was possible, he’d cut into the fatty part, not the jugular. Of course, it was still his Blade which had struck and even if the Donphan was alive then Cres knew he’d be punished severely for it.

Now... now he waited for Matt to take him out of his Ultra Ball.

He waited for a long time, it felt like hours until he heard the words, “Cres, come on out.”

Cres’s world turn bright for a second as he reappeared in Matt’s spotlessly clean office. The man was leaning against the laminated hardwood table which was sparsely decorated with a computer and a few pictures of his Pokemon along with one of Roxanne. The walls were mostly obscured by a few filing cabinets and a bookshelf along with a display case for his Pokemon League Trophy and each of the badges he’d won. Along with the Trophy was a picture of when he was younger, wearing his old trainer’s outfit as he posed with Cynthia and his League team.

Matt himself was staring down at the Absol, a serious frown on his face. “Cres... would you mind explaining to me what caused you to nearly kill the Donphan?” he asked, his tone simple and inquiring, though Cress could tell he was holding back his anger.

“...” Cres hung his head, eyes staring into the floor, unable to meet the eyes of the trainer he’d come to love. “... is he going to be alright?”

“Yes, I was able to stop the majority of the bleeding before the ambulance came. Last I heard Donphan might not be in battles for a while, but he will make it. Another inch deeper though, that would have been a different story.” The man bit his lower lip before adding. “And now I have a lawsuit I need to settle along with a report to file with Cynthia.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Along with that, I need to figure out what to do with you, Cres, so please, explain why you did this?”

Cres winced. “...” A breath of air left Cres’ lips and he glanced up at the hard set eyes that were looking at him. “I...” he gulped in more air. “It was like the dream. I... I thought you were going to die.” He looked away, his heart dropping deeper as a singular solution appeared to him. “I’ll go... I’ll leave... just... just look after Belle and Xav for me.”

Matt let out another sigh. “I’m not going to release you Cres... but I might have to suspend you from any Gym Battles for... at least half a year, maybe, depending on how everything goes down. But, really? You thought your dream was coming true?”

“Yes!” Cres exclaimed loudly before checking himself. “...yes... it was so real Matt... the Donphan was Applejack... she used Magnitude and I thought the Gym was going to collapse around us and kill you. I... I’m sorry... I’m so stupid, I’m such a fool.”

The man simply lowered his head and closed his eyes, letting out sharp sigh. “You’re not a fool Cres, just... short minded sometimes, but if that dream of yours affected you like this. I will have to suspend you from further training with the others. I can’t have something trigger a reaction like this again and nearly, or actually kill your friends.”

Cres shivered and nodded his head. ... I’m so... useless... he thought to himself. “...I... of... yes... yes of course Matt.”

Matt nodded his head before lifting a hand off from supporting himself against the table and held it down in a opening gesture for Cres to approach it. Cres didn’t. Instead he just sat there, staring at the floor in failure. Matt tapped his hand lightly on the side of the table to get his attention and normally a single for the Absol to come to him.

I can’t go near him... I might hurt him... I might hurt everyone I love... Cres whispered in his mind. ... again...

“Cres, come here please,” Matt said, his voice soft as he tapped the table again.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Cres said quietly, keeping his head down.

“I know you won’t Cres, just please come here,” the man said.

“But...” Cres looked up at him and Matt saw that the Absol was fighting back tears. “I don’t want to hurt you Matt... I can’t hurt you... not again.”

“And I don’t want to see you depressed like this, Cres,” Matt retorted. “And I know you can’t handle the stress alone, don’t go running off on me like you did to Belle.” He gave the Absol a soft smile. “Beside, I know your hiding spot, heh.”

Cres huffed and looked away. “Can you please try to take the probable threat to your life seriously? Please?”

“I am, I’m worried of what’s going on with you and Applejack with these nightmares and dreams. I’m worried that you would do this sort of thing when I know you’re better than it,” Matt said quietly as he knelt down as best as he could with his gimp. “You’re stronger than this Cres, or I thought you were anyways. It worries me that if you continue letting it affect you that you will kill someone, whether it be me, Roxanne, or even Belle or Xav.” He held out his hand once more. “So instead of trying to run away like last time, let’s work on getting this fixed, okay?”

Cres looked to him for a moment before coming forwards and pressing his face into the man’s chest. “I’m sorry... I’m so sorry,” he whispered into the man’s shirt.

Matt pet a hand down his back soothingly. “I forgive you Cres, don’t try to push away my help again alright?”

“Okay...” Cres whispered quietly. “Okay... sorry... I... I’m so used to standing on my own. Even now.”

“A building can’t really support itself with one beam, Cres, it needs a lot more,” Matt told him. “You’re part of a team now Cres, there is no more standing on your own.”

“Right...” Cres nodded his head. “Thank you Matt.”

The man smiled. “It’s no problem, it’s my job as your trainer to help you through tough times like this,” he said, patting lightly on the Absol back. “Now, I still have some paperwork to do, but can I trust you to stay in the building until it’s time to leave?”

Cres looked at the man for a moment before nodding. “May I... lay on your lap?”

Matt chuckled. “Might be a bit hard. My office chair is not as big as the lounging chair back home,” he said as he worked on standing back up and made his way back to the chair. “But sure, I think I can work around that.”

“Thank you...” Cres got up off of the floor and walked over to Matt, nimbly jumping into his lap and curling up there, putting his head down on Matt’s thigh. The man patted the Absol’s head a few times before reaching both arms over the Pokemon to the keyboard and began to type away.

Chapter 22 Author's Note

Sorry for the unseemly delay, college stuff mostly, Omega and I are going to try and get another chapter out to you guys tomorrow

Chapter 22

“So, you’ve gotten pretty attached to her,” Belle said casually as they walked through the city behind Roxanne, Applejack’s limp, covered form across Ohm’s back.

The Luxray’s glance over at the Absol, a small frown forming on his muzzle. “What do you mean?” he asked simply.

“I mean, it seems as if you’ve grown ‘interested’ in her Ohm,” Belle said, giving the Luxray’s side a little nuzzle. “And I think it’s rather adorable.”

Ohm blinked blankly. “No I have not,” he replied in his natural everyday tone.

“You sure?” Belle inquired, glancing up at him with just the slyest of smirks. “It’s okay Ohm, you can tell me.”

“I know my mind, Belle. I have not grown an ‘interested’ in the mare; I am merely fulfilling my duty to Matt in protecting her since she is under his care,” he replied.

“Ah, okay then, just curious is all,” Belle said, obviously trying to keep her voice from dripping into dread. “That, and it gives me something that doesn’t involve the evil Pokemon trying to kill my mate to talk about.”

The Luxray nodded his head. “I understand. If it helps, know that whatever Pokemon is responsible, I will fight to my last breath to stop him from harming anyone. You, Cres, Roxanne, or any other of Matt’s family.”

Belle smiled. “Thank you Ohm, that means quite a lot to me.” A sigh left her lips. “Why is it that no matter where we go, Cres has to get himself into trouble...”

“I do not know, but he has us to help him get out of it,” Ohm replied. “And that’s all that matters, Belle. Trouble has a way of entering everyone’s lives, facing it alone is tough, but having the support of the ones you trust make it possible to overcome.” He glanced down at her with a small smile. “We need your brain and smarts to figure out how to stop these nightmares, I’m sure you can find such a way.”

“I’d better be able to or else those years of college class sit ins were wasted,” Belle said, though she smiled back at him and nuzzled his thick fur.

“That would be a true shame, wouldn’t it?” he stated out as he glanced back forward to keep an eye focus on weaving through the busy sidewalk.

“Yes, I’d complain and ask for my ‘money’ back,” Belle said, chuckling. “Though, I didn’t pay in the first place...” Nevertheless, the Luxray chuckled as the two continued to follow Roxanne, her lab coming up around the block.

The building was tall, three stories of brick and concrete. It was a bit of an eyesore to be honest, the dull red and grey not really standing well with the bright colored buildings surrounding it, but it worked well at keeping the results of the ‘experiments’ from leaving the lab. The woman walked up to the sliding glass door and swiped a card in a slider, causing it to open automatically and leading into an air conditioned lobby.

The lobby was well lit and Roxanne’s assistant Jerry sat behind the main desk looking over a monitor screen. The young man glanced up with his blue eyes and seem a bit surprised to see her there, moving his long silver grey hair to the side of his face rather than have it obscure his eyes. “Professer! Umm, didn’t expect you to be here,” he said, getting up from his seat and offering his hand to shake.

Roxanne just chuckled. “Jerry, you don’t have to shake my hand every time I come in here, we’ve been over this,” she told him as she walked over to the monitor and took a look. “Oh yes, that looks scientific alright.”

A small blush colored his cheek as he lower his hand and close the Pokemon-Amie window before causally raising his hand under his chin. “Sooooo... what brings you here Professor?” He asked, glancing over and noticing Ohm and Belle following right behind the woman.

“Well, we’ve got a serial killer after us using dreams as a means of assassination,” Roxanne answered. “Meaning we’re trying to use the power of Science to see us through alive. Want to help?”

Jerry blinked in surprise and ran a hand down his lab coated side. “Well... you don’t pay me for sitting around doing nothing, right? Hehe... I just want to make sure this is not some joke... right?”

“I truly wish it was,” she said, her voice completely serious. “Unfortunately, it’s not.”

“.....well then... where do we start?” he asked, though he couldn’t help but gulp a bit at the notion of what he was up against.

“The obvious place,” she answered. “The lab.”

“I meant more on how we are going to tackle this... nightmare prevention thing,” Jerry clarified.

“Well, my hope is that Xemnas can help,” Roxanne replied with a frown. “The article I read said that Psychic Pokemon had the best chance of fighting off this thing and he’s one of the best around.” She cast a glance back at the still covered form of Applejack, apparently asleep across Ohm’s back. “Think you can keep an eye on things for me up front while I get us ready down in the lab?”

The man nodded his head. “Sure... I guess the lab is closed at the moment?”

“Yes, now is not the time for tours or starter giveaways,” Roxanne said with a firm nod of her head before frowning for a moment. “Oh, and give my husband a call please, tell him where I am and that when he gets a moment he should bring Cres down here.”

Jerry nodded his head once more. “Right away Professor.” He then glanced at the covered form on Ohm’s back for moment before turning and heading right back to his desk and pick up the phone. That was one of the reasons why Roxanne liked Jerry, he was inquisitive but knew when not to ask questions too.

Roxanne lead the way down the familiar sterilized white walled hallways beneath the soulless fluorescent tube lights and across the grey tiled floor. It may not have been as extravagant as Professor Sycamore's lab, but Roxanne didn’t get nearly enough grant money to care. A small smile crossed her lips as Belle walked up beside her and nuzzled her leg.

“Cres will be fine Belle,” Roxanne cooed softly, scratching side of the red Absol’s head. “I promise you.”

Belle leaned into the scratching and looked up at her. “Absol,” she said, a distinct impression of ‘yes, yes he will’ carried beneath the ‘simple name’. Ohm continued to follow the two, part of his mind keeping track of the mare balanced on his back, making sure not to do anything too unsteady in his steps to cause her to slide off.

The woman lead the other two into the main lab, a spacious white walled room, well, what walls weren’t covered in equipment. A steady humming filled the lab, as familiar and comforting to Roxanne’s nerves as the sound of Matt’s breathing in the night. She walked forwards towards a large bank of computers where a rather large Metagross was currently folded upon itself. Xemnas’ eyes opened and looked at her.

Ah, Roxanne, I thought you were off today, he said, getting to his four large crystalline legs.

“Was, had an emergency and I need your help fixing it,” Roxanne replied with a smile, moving forwards and running a hand down the Steel Type’s side.

Very well, what seems to be the trouble? Xemnas inquired before casting a glance at Ohm. Oh, and hello Ohm. You seem to have an unconscious Pokemon draped across your back, would you like some help?

“I am fine, however this ‘Pokemon’ is actually the reason why we need your help,” the Luxray replied. He reached his head back to grab the edge of the sheet with his teeth before pulling it off his back to reveal Applejack to the Metagross. The mare indeed did seem to have fallen asleep, though once the sheet was removed and the bright lights hit her eyelids, they opened with a small cringe.

The mare lifted her head as she looked around the room, getting the eerie feeling that she’d awoken in the middle of Twilight’s lab. “Where... am I?” she ask, letting out a long tired yawn.

Interesting, a never before seen species of Pokemon whose mind does not feel like that of a Pokemon, Xemnas’ voice rippled through the room as the giant steel spider/crab walked towards her. Dissection required. The mare’s sleepy eyes widened as she leaned away from the weird metal spider, though, causing her to slide off of Ohm’s back with a small yelp.

“Xemnas...” Roxanne groaned, facepalming.

It was merely a joke, Xemnas replied as he used his powers to scan the woman’s mind. Ah, and at a time where there is no time for them. Forgive me.

“You did not know,” Ohm replied as he moved to Applejack’s side and helped her get back up with the aid of his head. The mare got back from her side and onto all fours once more before lifting a hoof to rub her sour and very tired head. “Do not be afraid of Xemnas, he’s here to help.”

The pony glanced up at the Metagross with her green eyes, dark circles forming underneath them. “...can he?”

I do not know, Xemnas replied, his tone curious. Though it is certainly an interesting mystery, whatever it is that’s afflicting you.

Roxanne nodded. “Right then, Xemnas, you get yourself familiar with Applejack’s mind, I’m going to start setting up some equipment along with a few ‘ward’ circles with some chalk... don’t know if they’ll actually help but we’ll see,” the woman said, patting Xemnas on the side before she walked off towards one of the walls.

Applejack continued staring up at him with a mixture of concern and confusion. “So.... what are you going to do to me?” she asked.

With your permission, I am going to familiarize myself with your mind, Xemnas said giving her as ‘reassuring’ of a smile as he can. In the background Applejack noted that Belle had wandered over to Roxanne and was leafing through a book.

Ohm had stayed next to the mare, keeping quiet but using himself as a support of sorts for her The pony’s body was having a hard time trying to stay still in one place and was wobbling around slightly. “And... exactly what are you going to familiarize yourself with?” Applejack questioned him further.

Your mind, he repeated.

“He won’t dive too deep, he’ll mostly be looking at the most recent memories and such,” Ohm clarified a bit more for her, causing Applejack to frown slightly.

“....keep what you find to yourself... alright?” she asked, or more demanded as she glanced back up at Xemnas with a bit more vigor.

Of course, Xemnas replied, as if it was obvious. Applejack then felt as if a cold steel spike had been driven into her skull. It didn’t hurt. It was just... extraordinarily odd. Recent memories replayed themselves in front of her eyes and then as suddenly as it had started, it ended, the steely spike withdrawing. Done.

Applejack felt her whole body given in for a moment, her head dropping. Ohm quickly intercepted before she could hit the floor however and her head instead touched down on the soft fur of his back. The mare regained control over the rest of her body and she pushed herself off, shaking her head from the feeling of numbness.

“Are you alright?” Ohm asked.

The mare nodded her head and lift a hoof to rub the area where she felt the ‘spike’ entering her mind. “Yeah... I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Apologies, your mind had quite an inbuilt defense, Xemnas said. It was as if there was a wall of stubbornness and ill tempered anger around your mind.

Applejack ignored the analogy and rubbed her forehead for a moment longer before placing the hoof down. “Just tell me you got what you need.”

I did, Xemnas replied simply. I suggest snuggling with Ohm as I assist in setting up your defenses. He is the only reasonably comfortable thing to lean against here for a creature of your size. With that said, the giant metal crab/spider/thing walked away from Applejack over to where the other two were.

The pony glanced over at the Luxray, who in return shared the same glance. “...I’m fine... and how exactly are you going to improve my defenses?” the mare asked, looking back at Xemnas.

You would not understand. If you must strain yourself, think of sandbags, he replied, moving over beside Belle and crouching in a ‘meditative’ stance.

The mare frown a for a moment and looked at Ohm to see if he could explain more, but he returned with a shrug. “It is like what he said. He will basically help you in putting sandbags up in your mind to make it harder for others to enter,” he replied.

Applejack blinked, still not fully getting it, but she could tell she wouldn’t get any further answers of it. “Alright then... so, when are we going to start? I would like to sleep and not meet... him.” Her body couldn’t help but shiver from thinking of the two nightmares she’d had. His cold voice whispering in her ears.

“Not for a while,” Roxanne called to her over her shoulder. “Oh, and your accent is really cute,” the scientist added as she continued to tinker with the machinery. “I can see why my favorite kitty is falling for you.”

The pony’s mind went blank as Roxanne seemingly could understand her and Ohm let out a small sigh. “Xemnas is helping translate everything for her,” the Luxray informed her before glancing over at Roxanne’s direction. “And like I informed Belle, no I have not. I’m merely helping her since Matt has entrusted me with her protection, and you two are currently busy.”

Roxanne just chuckled and returned to work. “Sure~”

The Luxray gave a small roll of his eyes, knowing it was fruitless to argue with her, all the while Applejack shaking her head. “Alrighty then... just try to be finished as fast as possible... please.”

“Of course dear,” Roxanne replied, peeling a panel off of one of the machines and sticking her face inside of it as her hands went to work. “Just giving you something for your brain to chew on.”

And that is that some lion creature is falling for me... yeah... I trust Ohm but nothing like that, Applejack remarked to herself, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. Besides... if that happens I will have to call myself a hypocrite.

Roxanne just continued working, a weight slipping deeper into her gut. Despite her light words, she was terribly afraid at the moment. Afraid for Applejack, afraid for Cres, but most of all, afraid for Matt. The killer had a fondness for attacking cripples after all...

Chapter 23

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Chapter 24

The doors opened automatically as Matt hobbled his way through on his crutches. A small troubled look was on his face but it faded as he gave an acknowledging nod over to Jerry before heading down the grey walled hallway to Roxanne’s main lab. He opened the door and looked through, spotting the black haired woman on the far side. Applejack was sitting in the middle of the room inside of an odd chalk circle while Belle and Ohm remained a little off to the side talking with each other quietly. Xemnas simply stood near Applejack, his eyes closed.

“So, it seems you hit a breakthrough,” Matt commented as entered

“With any luck,” Roxanne replied, a frown on her lips as she worked a pair of small levers, clearly trying to get a certain result from the screen above them. She ran a hand through her hair and then looked over and gave him a small smile. “And I hope your match went well today.”

The blonde man frowned and let out a sigh. “Cres nearly killed one of my challenger’s Pokemon,” he said, raising a hand and rubbing it down the back of his head.

Roxanne blinked in surprise, shocked by the news, but Belle beat her to a reaction.

“What?” Belle exclaimed, her eyes looking up at Matt with concern and disbelief. “How?”

“We were fighting a Donphan, and during the middle of the match it used Magnitude. It turned out to be a strong one and... it triggered something in him from what happened in the nightmare last night. Before I knew it he went up and nearly cut through the main artery in the Donphan’s neck,” he explained, his voice tired.

“Oh...” Belle closed her eyes for a moment before walking up to the man. “May I see my mate please?”

Matt nodded his head and reached down to his belt of Pokeballs and pulled out Cres’s. “Come on out Cres.”

He pointed the ball downward and it open in his hand, a flash and blur of energy shooting out of it as the white Absol materialized in front of the man’s leg. Cres looked down, refusing to meet Belle’s eyes before he moved up and pressed himself against her. He closed his eyes and pressed his face against her back, leaning into her for all he was worth. The the light red Absol leaned back, nuzzling comfortingly into his neck, occasionally moving her head up to give him several licks on his cheek.

“Well, that gives us all the more reason to get this right,” Roxanne said, looking away from the pair of Absols and back to Matt. “We’re almost ready to get this started.”

The man looked over the set up with his green eyes. “What exactly are you doing anyways?” he inquired as he looked back over at his wife.

“Channeling some more power into Xemnas,” Roxanne answered, turning back to the console in front of her. As she said it, a bolt of electricity launched itself out of the machine and hit Xemnas who kept his eyes closed. “Hopefully, he’ll be able to repulse this thing’s attacks on Applejack and then with both of us here we can disable or capture it.”

Matt took a step back as the bolt hit the metal Pokemon, blinking in surprise. “Okay...” he said, rolling along with Roxanne’s explanation. “I guess that’s what I’m here for?”

“That, and giving me something handsome to look at while I do this,” she replied, winking jokingly though he could tell that there was a definite edge of nervousness to her voice. “You usually do that really well.”

The man smiled at her. “Hey, it’s all natural,” he said going along with the joke with a light chuckle. He pushed himself a few steps forward with the aid of his crutches to stand next to Ohm, who was looking at the tired orange mare in the middle of the room, his tail slowly swishing back and forth. “You okay?” he asked the Luxray.

“I am fine,” Ohm said, not moving or even glancing up at the man.

Anxious and worried... not good, Matt thought to himself, starting to scratch Ohm’s head as he glanced up to Applejack. The mare was leaning heavily forwards within the chalk, her eyes red and puffy. Her head sunk down before it snapped up and her eyes opened wide before the cycle started over again. I can see why... He gave Ohm a good scratching before patting his head.

“Roxanne’s smart, if she’s working this hard for something, it means she believes it will work,” he assured the Luxray. The electric lion didn’t respond to that, though in the corner of the man’s eye he could see the tail slowing down just a bit. Matt glanced over at Roxanne. “So, when do the fireworks begin?”

“I suppose that depends entirely on Applejack and when her body finally gives out.” Roxanne said with a glance backwards over at the mare. “Technically, Xemnas has enough energy built up within him to take out almost anything but more is always better.”

“Yeah but... I don’t think she wants to let that happen,” Matt said as he looked back at Applejack, who was too out of it to really hear what they were talking. “Maybe you should let Xemnas induce her into going to sleep.”

I was unsure if that was a good idea or not, Xemnas mused from his spot in the room before he walked over to Applejack, his four long legs easily keeping him towering over her, one leg on each edge of the chalk outline. Roxanne pulled the levers down and stepped away from the machine.

Matt and Ohm took a few steps back from the chalk circle as well. “Well, look it this way. Either we wait for Applejack to fall asleep and fight whatever is causing this, or do it now and get the same result,” the man stated. “Overall, I would like to get it over with so we can help Applejack get some well deserved sleep.”

“Agreed,” Cres said, his voice hard and determined. He moved over to sit down on his rump beside Ohm, and leaned up to nuzzle the Luxray gently before turning his eyes on Applejack. Belle followed, standing beside her mate, giving him a small smile before looking over at Roxanne and nodding her head.

“Yes... let’s see if our theory works. It’s all or nothing Roxanne,” she said before turning her head to watch the mare.

“Well then, Xemnas, Hypnosis,” Roxanne said.

Very well, Xemnas said. Applejack was conscious enough to feel what felt like a small flick to the back of her head before the blurred world dropped away from her. Subject is entering REM. Reinforcing protective walls.

Everyone just stood there and waited, watching the mare as she lay on the floor on her side breathing peacefully.

Foreign presence detected, Xemnas said. Foreign presence is attempting to break through walls. Power levels detected high. Very high.

Swirls of dark energy began to swirl around the pair in the center of the room. The chalk circle glowed a purple tinged white within the dark energy.

Hostile presence is attempting communication. Blocking, said Xemnas. Hostile intent is growing.

“This is new,” Roxanne murmured as she moved up beside Matt. “That is not ghost energy swirling around them. It’s also not psychic energy.”

Matt frowned as he watched the energy swirl and dance around the Metagross and the mare. “No... it’s not... yet I feel like I have seen it somewhere before,” he said, feeling the need to take a few steps back.

“That’s because it’s Dark Energy, I know the feeling of it well enough,” Cres said. His voice was low. “Matt, Roxanne, leave now!”

Matt didn’t need any more convincing as he reached out a hand to grab Roxanne, doing his best to turn around and run to the exit. Roxanne frowned for a moment before nodding, gripping his hand tightly as the pair moved as quickly as they could towards the door. However, as they tried to open the door, they found that it wouldn’t budge an inch.

“What the hell?” Roxanne demanded, pounding on the door as hard as she could. It didn’t budge.

Hostile presence is growing frustrated, Xemnas said. The Steel Type’s voice emerged in their minds in a stilted, pained tone. Darkness is beginning to win. Attempting counter strike. Hyperbeam.

The swirling darkness was suddenly interrupted by something very close to a scream of pain as a lance of bright orange light speared out from the Metagross and slammed straight into a previously unseen form within the swirling darkness. There was a brilliant flash of light followed by a loud crash.

Hostile presence located. Attempting termination, Xemnas said, turning his gaze towards the wall that was now sporting a new crater.

The others were already looking as a misty black form rose up from the crater. It looked like a billowy black mist given form with a red fog collar around its neck. A cruel teal eye glared out at the room from behind an indistinct white haze as it floated away from the crater. It regarded everyone in the room for a moment before a giggling noise filled the air. The thing began to bounce up and down in the air, its physical form shifting and vaporous as it moved ever closer to the group of Pokemon blocking its way.

“Unknown Pokemon Species,” Roxanne murmured to herself as she pressed her back against the wall. “Body made of mist and darkness. Clearly a dark type. Teal eye. Not sure if there is another beneath the hair-like mist or not.”

“I don’t think now is the time to identify it honey,” Matt replied, his hand gripping tighter around hers. Cres and Belle moved in front of their masters and took defenses stances, snarling at the unknown dark type. Ohm stayed in front of Applejack, electricity running through his fur.

The giggling became louder and louder until it filled the entire room and became a full fledged laugh. “Oh, oh, don’t worry about it, haha, you’ll all be dead before it matters anyways,” the voice from Cres and Applejack’s nightmares whispered, seeming to crawl through everyone's ears. Cres’s pupils shrank as he recognized the voice, but his snarl grew deeper and blood curdling.

“You will not survive this,” Cres growled, Belle’s snarl reaching the same crescendo as his.

“Promises, promises kitten,” the dark Pokemon said, its voice still a strained, semi-insane whisper. Then it turned its eyes on Xemnas. “And you, pathetic organic computer, you just had to go and ruin my fun didn’t you?”

Command not recognized, Xemnas said, more than a hint of humor in his voice. Please try agai-

The Steel Type was sent flying through the nearest wall with a blast of darkness that lanced out before it could even finish its sentence. Ohm had a fraction of a second to duck down to avoid being hit by the large Pokemon, but the shockwave of the blast sent him back a few inches. He pushed himself back up as his electricity started to crackle and he took a more cautionary stance.

“Xemnas!” Roxanne shouted as her Pokemon was blasted out of view.

“It’s not a good feeling to have your fun interrupted is it? Think about that next time!” the dark being shouted, its voice ringing in all of their ears. “Now then, who first, who first?” he pondered, tapping its phantom fingers against its chin as he looked around the room. “The noble lion? The pair of idiot lovers, though, I suppose that’s a little vague...” All three of the Pokemon bristled and Cres began to advance, snarling louder with Belle at his side. The Dark Pokemon didn’t even seem to notice them or care as it turned its eyes to Roxanne. “Ah, the pregnant one or...” his looked over at Matt. “The birth defect... so many good choices.”

Roxanne’s fist clenched so hard around Matt’s that it hurt. “Who are you?” she shouted at the dark being.

“Who? Moi? Oh, I don’t know, no one gave me a name,” the being replied with a shrug of its shoulders. “Heck, you should be honored, you’re the first ones to ever see me in the flesh, hah, as it were.”

“Then why are you doing this? What’s the deal with bringing Applejack here and the nightmares?” Matt ask, pulling Roxanne back and standing in front of her.

“Oh, well, I felt like it,” the dark Pokemon replied with a laugh. “Don’t tell me that you never feel like moving through realities, picking up some poor sap, setting em down somewhere new, and then killing them horribly.” He laughed again, as if it were all some great joke. “Or am I the only one who does that? I could have sworn that someone else did, eh, oh well. I’m the best at what I do!”

A sense of dread overcame Matt’s heart, rendering him speechless.

Roxanne grit her teeth and glared at it, her intelligent eyes gleaming fiercely within the fluorescent lights. Belle and Cres were almost close enough to Ohm that they could put up a strong defensive effort. Good.

“Ah, I see,” Roxanne said, stepping out in front of Matt and letting go of his hand. “So, you’re a bully with no motivation outside of self satisfaction. I have to say, I’m rather disappointed in that. Here I was expecting some kind of mastermind and all I get in return is you? A half-corporeal morning mist?”

The teal eye locked on her and for a moment boiling anger formed within that orb. Then the thing through back its head and let out an even louder laugh.

“I’m a half-corporeal morning mist? Heheheh, I hadn’t heard that one before, good, very good, I might just remember you in a week,” the Shadow Pokemon grinned and held up its hand. “Dark Void!”

The very walls and the floor of the lab were suddenly engulfed in shadows. A blast of hypnotic power swirled through the room and before they knew it, Matt, Roxanne, and Belle were falling into nothingness.

“Belle!” Cres shouted as his mate collapsed beside him, Ohm’s growl filling the air from behind the Protect he’d been prepping.

“Aww, two survived,” said the living shadow. It was barely visible in the inky darkness, distinguishable only by the flowing white mist above its head and the teal eye. “Ah well, I guess I’ll just toy with the kitties in the flesh, heh.”

The Luxray’s growl deepened, his electricity crackling as it arced into the floor itself. His yellow-red eyes glowed as they locked onto the dark Pokemon. “You won’t get far.”

“Really now? Is that a fact?” the dark Pokemon asked, suddenly directly in front of Ohm, a blast of shadows lancing towards Ohm’s chest. “I think it may be an exaggeration.”

Ohm was sent spiraling into the air but he twisted his body around in mid-air and let out a devastating lighting blot right back at the creature. It was such a bright bolt of lightning that the entire room went white and Cres was left blinking in its wake. Unfortunately, The bolt hit nothing but the back wall, detonating explosively as the creature dissolved back into the inky blackness all around them. Cres let out a low growl.

“Ohm, it’s going to toy with us, that’s what it likes to do,” the Absol said. His eyes were scanning the room in search of the enemy.

Ohm landed back on his feet, his fur positively charged as he too scanned the room with his cat eyes glowing. Using the inherent ability of Luxray eyes, he could see through the choking darkness and view the world through an entirely different wavelength. Everything in the room turned black, grey, and white, with the black swirling around like an angry flame. His eyes traced the blackness to see it moving around the room teasingly before it charged forward to Cres.

“Cres, protect!” Ohm shouted to the Absol while his fur crackled, charging up for a move.

Cres’ eyes widened as he leapt away from where he’d been standing, his body wrapped in a protective aura. The Absol was grabbed out of the air and thrown straight into Ohm, his body impacting hard. Ohm took the impact and let out a pure beam of electricity at where the attack had come from. The beam of energy passed harmlessly through Cres’ protected form and slammed into the shadows. The shadows shivered in agitation from the hit before they dissipated and swirled around the two.

Cres rolled to his feet and let out a low growl. “Ohm, we need to end this now. The longer we fight it the less chance we have of winning,” he said. The Absol’s fur was up and his eyes were scanning around the blackened room.

“We need to hit him in a concentrated blast; ready your best move and find where he will strike next,” the Luxray instructed.

A laugh shook the room. “I could say ‘that was the plan’, but that seems a bit, corny? Is that the word? I think it is.” A blast of darkness slammed into Ohm’s right side, followed quickly by one against his left. As the blows rained down, Ohm quickly brought up another protect, standing there taking the rest of the blows as he charged his electricity to power his move.

As this happened, Cres got back to his paws and surveyed the room. Belle, Matt, and Roxanne were still unconscious, Xemnas was nowhere to be seen, and Ohm was in the center of the room taking blow after blow. The Absol let out a low snarl and felt his inner fire boiling.

“Ohm! Fire!” he said, leaning his head back before a blast of mighty fire raged out from between his jaws. The flames lit up the utter darkness of the laboratory and surged towards the shadow assaulting Ohm.

“Gah! That burns!” the Dark Pokemon shouted as its form became illuminated again, wreathed in flames as it turned back towards Cres. “For that you’re going to die first! Fitting!” It charged towards Cres.

As it turned its back on Ohm, the Luxray dropped the Protect and switched the power to another move with a simple thought. He let out a roar as a lightning bolt shot out of his fur and directly at the dark Pokemon’s form. It hit him mid charge and he froze in mid ‘stride’, a scream of pain leaving his lips. Cres grinned and let out another blast of fire at the dark Pokemon, engulfing it in a spinning, screaming, inferno of electricity and flame. The form within the flames and lightning shrank smaller and smaller until it was consumed utterly and completely by them and they dissipated.

Light returned to the room. Cres and Ohm panted heavily as they looked over at each other.

The Luxray spoke first. “Too easy...”

“And there goes the surprise, you are just a tremendous party pooper aren’t you?” the dark Pokemon asked from beside him before talons of darkness slashed into Ohm’s side, leaving a trail of blood in their wake. Ohm’s eyes widened as the blood gushed out and he staggered to his left, collapsing to his knees.

“Ohm!” Cres shouted, charging forwards. The dark Pokemon grinned and sent out a ball of pure darkness at him. Cres gritted his teeth and focused his dark energy to his blade. “ARCEUS GIVE ME STRENGTH!” he roared, bringing his blade sweeping through the ball of darkness. The ball split in half and each side detonated in a blast of swirling black energy as Cres closed the distance between himself and the enemy.

“Oh, I don’t think dear old grand dad cares too much about you,” the Darkness replied with a chuckle, hovering back away from the blow, moving from side to side in time with Cres’ slashes.

“You will not win this!” Cres said, his teeth clenched as he leapt to the side and then used a Quick Attack to send himself at the other Pokemon’s unprotected flank. The creature simply turned and grabbed his still glowing blade by the base in mid blow. It brought the struggling Absol up to its head level and then slammed him face first into the ground with a sickening slam.

“And a concussion for you! My, I am so very generous,” the dark Pokemon commented, bringing Cres’ head up to his again and laughing. “Then again, I’ve heard you’ve been running through your life half-concussed for a while now so I’m not sure it’ll do much.”

The dark Pokemon slammed Cres into the ground again, and then again. That done, he tossed the Absol up in the air and his claws slashed along Cres’ side. Cres let out a scream of absolute pain as the claws tore through his side leaving a bloody swath in place of his pure white fur. Cres tumbled across the floor, leaving a trail of blood in his wake until he came to rest against Ohm’s bloody side.

“Of course, I don’t think you’ll really be in a position to live much longer and appreciate the gifts I’m giving out but hey, at least you knew you had them right?” the dark Pokemon asked as it hovered closer to the pair.

Cres’ head was spinning as he looked up at the advancing Pokemon. It was hard to make out much of anything through the blurry vision but he thought he saw something in the corner of his eye. The creature brought up a clawed hand and prepared to end them with a single blow when a figure suddenly stepped in front of them. A large green dome formed around Cres and Ohm and the creature’s blow bounced harmlessly around the shield.

“Enough!” a familiar voice spoke, echoing through Cres’ ringing ears. His blurry vision picking up a pair of dark hooves with holes in them and he glanced up to see an strange equine figure standing before him.

The dark Pokemon blinked before it looked down at the pair of cats beyond its reach. “Now that’s just not fair at all, you didn’t let me finish playing with my toys,” he said. His eyes locked on the figure in front of him. “Guess I’ll just have to make my own out of you, dad.”

Giratina's changeling eyes narrowed at the figure. “Let’s take it outside then.” His horn lit up and the two teleported high in the sky, his wings buzzing to hoover in the air. A large lake lay serenely beneath them.

“You are just such a buzz-kill, you know that?” the figure asked with an annoyed scowl in its eye.

“And you talk entirely too much!” Luna’s voice rang out through the air and a steel blade slammed through its chest, sending it spiraling downwards, screaming in pain. The mare teleported into place beside Giratina. “You have a son?”

“Apparently,” he replied, sounding just as surprised as she was. “I did say whoever this thing is was related to me somehow, son would fit in.” He glowered at the dark Pokemon. “Though how that came to be we can question later, right now we need to contain him and send him back to where he should be.”

“And keep me there how I wonder?” the dark Pokemon asked from beside his head. “I mean, I can go pretty much wherever I want after all.” A pair of dark claws suddenly tore at Giratina’s side, or rather, they would have. Instead a glowing green shield surrounded the Changeling. “Damn, stupid forcefields. Everyone uses them and they’re not-”

Before the Pokemon could go on Giratina let out a stream of dragon fire, the purple-blue flame scorching the dark Pokemon’s form. A low and terrible growl filled the air and in the midst of the flames the dark Pokemon fell backwards through the sky before unleashing a blast of darkness at the dragon fire. As he did so, he failed to notice the blue and silver blur sweeping in from the left, Luna’s cold steel slashing straight through his incorporeal form.

“STOP THAT!” the creature screamed out in anger and pain as its head turned to try and track Luna’s rapidly moving form. He extended a hand and launched two or three dozen blasts of dark energy at the mare.

Giratina teleported in front of the mare and cast protective wall in front of them, each ball of shadow coming closer and closer to shattering it. Luna had the good sense to wait until there were only a few left before launching herself forwards through the sheild, her sword swirling around her and slashing through the few remaining balls.

“Come and show the Princess of the Night your power, beast of darkness!” Luna said.

“Oh, I like you, I’m going to KEEP you!” the dark Pokemon shouted right back as it appeared in front of her, claws slashing at the mare. Luna’s blade clashed and clanged with every blow, the creature’s dark claws being shredded with every hit causing it to grow even more angry. Meanwhile Giratina flew up with an angry scowl.

“Get away from her!” he shouted as a large dragon’s claw formed from of his right hoof and he swiped it at the creature, sending a massive blue shock-wave in the wake.

“Gah!” the creature said. It was launched backwards through the air and let out a scream of fury. Luna appeared in the air behind it and slammed her sword straight through its chest as her horn glowed and a blast of energy crashed into it. The dark creature screamed in pain and tried to inch its way backwards towards her down the blade impaling it but she kept the blade easily outside of its reach.

“I have it!” she shouted to Giratina.

The changeling nodded his head and his horn glowed brightly green. “Return to the depths of the Distortion world where you came from!” he chanted out, a magical green chain forming between his horn and on the creature. Giratina yanked his head back and then threw his head downwards, towards the large lake. The dark Pokemon let out a scream as it was jerked roughly off of Luna’s blade and the green chain began to wrap around it’s body, restricting its movements. It struggled impotently within its bonds as it slammed into the surface of the lake, emerging in the Distortion world rather than creating a tidal wave.

Luna hovered there in the air panting for a moment before glancing over at Giri. “Well, that settles that I think.” She gave him a sour look. “Why in Equestria were you so worried about me?”

The changeling kept his gaze at the lake water. “Because, you can never be too certain.” He closed his eyes as his horn re-lit with light as he began to cast another spell to make sure his seal wouldn’t be so easily broken.

“Well, I think we ought to go make sure that he stays there,” Luna said as she began to fly back towards the surface of the lake. “Come on.”

“You do that, I need to see to Matt and the others,” Giratina replied before he teleported back to Roxanna’s work lab.

The lab was in shambles and a crew of paramedics were already on the scene, gently lifting Cres and Ohm on a pair of stretchers. Several large holes in the walls and a team of Machamp looking rather smug at their own destruction stood around while several Machoke were already in the middle of clearing away the rubble while some of the humans were trying to wake up Roxanne, Matt, and Belle, while also looking at Applejack in bewilderment.

Lucky for Giratina no one noticed him as he teleported in and he quickly cast an illusion spell on himself before anyone could. He did some quick scans to make sure everyone was alright in a way they wouldn’t die at any moment. He had to cast a few minor healing spells on Cres and Ohm to stop their internal bleeding fatal. He then cast out a spell to stir the rest from the sleep save for Applejack. While everyone was distracted by a waking moan from Roxanne, he scooped up the mare in his magic and teleported out of the room.

He reappeared over the lake with Applejack in his hold and he gave her mind a quick mental scan. Sleeping peacefully... good. A soft smile grew on his face before he flew through the water and entered into the Distortion world.

Giratina found Luna standing beside a giant lake, her sword embedded in the ground with the dark Pokemon trapped between the hilt and the stone. The dark creature sent claws and blades of dark energy swirling out at her, but Luna stood calmly through the storm as his attacks hit against a force field.

“LET ME GO YOU HORSE!” the creature roared angrily.

“Pony, technically.” Giratina corrected as he walked up from behind, still carrying Applejack with him.

“Alicorn actually,” Luna said. A smile crossed her face. “So, what do we do with him?”

Before Giratina could say anything a familiar warm male voice spoke up. “Ah, leave that to me actually.” The dark Pokemon vanished, leaving Luna’s sword behind and Arceus appeared before them. The changeling looked at Arceus with a sour expression, but didn’t look all too surprised by his appearance. “Luna, I think you should go wait in Equestria, I would like to have a simple chat with my son.”

“I would like to-” Luna started to say before both she and Applejack vanished.

“And here we are,” Arceus said with a smile, glancing over at Giratina. “How are you doing my son?”

Author's Note

Ed2481: Annnnd not much left to do. Also, not sure if I mentioned this last time but thanks to a guy named Absolution (yes that's his name) for doing the editing for this and the last chapter. Hopefully there's been a bit of an improvement.

Omega: Yes, thank you. The next chapter should be the last with maybe an epilogue. We'll see.

Chapter 25

Giratina gave Arceus a flat stare. “Why am I not surprised?” the changeling stated sourly.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Arceus said. He gave Giratina the smallest of shrugs. “I suspect it has something to do with your hatred of me, but other then that, I have no answers for you.”

The changeling rolled his eyes. “I’ll tell you why then... it’s starting to become clear that you did have a ‘hoof’ in all of this. Especially with the reason why I’m stuck in my changeling form and the reason why I was unable to use my powers. A mere shadow of me shouldn’t have those types of abilities.”

“Very perceptive,” Arceus said, his face lifting up in what could almost be described as a smile. Lacking lips, it was rather hard to give one. He waved a hoof at Giratina and the other Legendary’s form shifted into his natural one. “Of course, you’re not seeing the full picture, but that's to be expected.”

Giratina peered down at his father with red eyes, the golden mask hiding his scowl. “What I saw is you taking away a dangerous threat and not letting me deal with it. Since it’s my problem to deal with. Because unlike you at least I’m making an attempt to correct my mistakes.”

“The Pokemon, Mew calls him Darkrai, has a place in the Balance,” Arceus explained with a small shrug as he too grew to his full size. “Though, he is rather too far to the right side of it, need to find someone to balance him out.”

The dragon blinked. “You are kidding right? He’s a shadow, a threat to the ‘balance’, and again he’s my problem to deal with. Not yours.”

Arceus began to fly gently through the Distortion world, gesturing for Giratina to join him. “Actually my son, he’s your son, not a mere shadow and as such he is a Legendary.”

“Funny, I don’t remember Luna giving birth to him,” Giratina stated flatly as he followed Arceus, though keeping his distance.

“She didn’t, obviously, that comes later,” Arcus said, smiling again. “No my son, you gave him life with your rage and your anger. And then you blessed him with the powers of creation.”

The dragon blinked blankly again. “What?”

“You have the power of creation,” Arceus replied as they continued through the Distortion world, a slight screaming being heard in the background. “You are my direct son after all.”

“Yes, though I never knew I had that. Palkia and Dialga are your ‘direct’ children too,” Giratina stated back.

“Well, yes of course they are,” Arceus said with a nod. “And they have power over Time and Space, the most important laws of creation. They do not however have the power to directly create. That was to be your job.”

The dragon scoffed. “Oh really? I thought it was to just watch over the Earth and help judge some of the human and pokemon actions. That didn’t turn out so well...”

“That was where you were going to start,” Arceus said. The God let out a sigh. “You were supposed to learn what it was like to live amongst the humans so that you could come to appreciate their problems on a more personal level.”

“Again, that worked out so well...” Giratina stated once more, giving his father a low glare.

“Would you stop that? It was your own fault, not mine,” Arceus said with an annoyed narrow of his eyes.

Giratina looked away. “It was your own fault not parenting me before hand, back then I was spoiled and didn’t know any better. So yes, I did lose myself when my savants died back then, but it was only because my ‘father’ didn’t have the time to teach me any better.”

“We all makes mistakes Giratina,” Arceus said. “Mine was believing that I’d formed you three with full intelligence.”

“Just because you give someone intelligence doesn’t mean they know how to use it correctly...” Giratina pointed out. “And my mistake was letting my rage control me, and now it seem to taken shape and you’re not letting me amend that.”

“Ah, am I not?” Arceus asked, looking at him puzzledly as the screaming in the distance increased in volume. “I could have sworn I put him around here somewhere.”

The dragon stared back at him flatly. “Torture is not the same thing as destroying his form.”

“That’s him screaming in rage Giri,” Arceus said in an amused tone.

“Don’t call me that,” Giratina said sharply. “And again, he’s still here and not destroyed. Something you keep trying to prevent me from doing.”

“Obviously,” Arceus agreed with a nod as they continued floating towards the source of the screaming. “Because, you’re not going to my son. You’re going to judge him.”

“And if the judgement means death, then why stop me from doing so before?” Giratina asked.

“You are so incredibly dense at times,” Arceus said. “It makes me wonder if that mask is actually made of gold or something thicker.”

“No, I’m just being straight in my thought about this. He’s a threat, a shadow of my rage, and also a kidnapper and attempted murderer. So yes, he needs to be destroyed.”

Arceus sighed. “Giri, this is why you are not going to be replacing me for quite some time.” He shook his head. “You’re far too black and white about things.”

Giratina blinked. “What?”

Arceus just looked at him. “You’re far too black and white about things.”

“Don’t play dumb with me, I meant the one before, the whole replacing you,” the dragon stated.

“Well, what do you think you exist for?” Arceus asked him as they drew closer to the screaming. “Your brother and sister control Time and Space, until you went ballistic, what did you control?”

“Other than having strong Pokemon moves... nothing,” Giratina replied, a frown forming beneath his mask. “You just put me in charge of that task of judging and such.”

“Indeed,” Arceus said. “And I respect your blighted intelligence far too much to spell out the rest of things. Figure it out.”

The dragon remained quiet for a moment as he closed his eyes. “...you always planed me to replace you later on.” He opened his eyes and glanced over at him a bit sourly. “You could’ve told me that before hand way back then.”

“That would not have helped you,” Arceus said. “And it would have defeated the whole point.”

“And what point would that be? And don’t dance around the question, for once answer it fully, because right now I’ve had enough of your vague answers,” Giratina commented, giving the ‘god of all’ a flat look.

“Making a better me,” Arceus answered honestly. “I’m too removed. You were supposed to become like them. It was supposed to help you understand what it was like to judge over them and give you a far more ‘down to earth’ point of view. I suppose it succeeded at that, eventually. If I’d just told you that at the beginning you wouldn’t have absorbed all the lessons I wanted. That and you’d more than likely be a braggart about it.”

Giratina scoffed. “You didn’t know what I’d do. In fact a goal to try to achieve for is better than simply ‘observe the humans’.” He glanced over at the white and golden Pokemon. “In fact I might not have acted the way I did when I lost my savants.” He looked away and forward once more. “But it doesn’t matter, it’s all a matter of ‘what ifs’ now.”

“Welcome to omnipotence,” Arceus said with a small shake of his head. “And by the time I got involved, things had proceeded too fast and too far for me to turn time back on itself. So you went from my favorite son to an angry wreck.”

“And sent me to a place where my anger was able to manifest itself into the physical plane,” the dragon pointed out. “Something which I am going to fix.”

“I had not intended the Distortion world to develop such a mind of its own, it was a universal dumping ground more than anything else,” Arceus said. “But no, you’re not going to simply ‘fix’ him. You’re going to judge him, and then you’re going to find a way to counter him.”

“Again, judging him to death is simpler,” Giratina commented. “Because I don’t see how he could be part of the ‘balance’, only a threat. Because what you said before about a solution to keep overpopulation in check sounds to me as allowing a psychopath to have free range of killing anyone he feels like it.”

“Well, I most certainly didn’t create him Giratina,” Arceus said, gesturing a leg towards Darkrai who was chained to a hunk of rock in the blackness around them struggling. “Fix him so that he fits into the Balance and then create a counter-point.”

The great dragon Pokemon looked at the phantomon like Pokemon. “Again, you’re not really convincing me that my idea is wrong either. If he really is ‘my’ creation, then let me just destroy him and I don’t have to worry about it any longer.”

“That is the easy way out of things Giratina,” Arceus said simply. “If you are truly to wield my power you must realize that you cannot destroy every problem you create...” He looked at Giratina. “After all, wouldn’t it have been easier for me to destroy you and create a new son?”

“...” Giratina began to fly forwards, his golden mask looking down upon Darkrai, his red eyes glaring disapprovingly at the dark being.

“You’re nothing but a failure! I’m going to get out of these bindings and I’m going to kill everyone you care about!” ‘Darkrai’ shouted at him, struggling in his bonds. “I will make you watch as I torture the woman and her baby! I will turn the man into a gibbering madman and laugh as he eats that wretched Absol! I will-”

“No, you will not,” Giratina simply said in a firm tone, cutting Darkrai off. “You... you’re evil, there’s no denying that. An insane Pokemon who was born from the darkness of my own heart... you’re a risk to everyone.” His red eyes narrowed down on themselves. “I should destroy you to the point where there is no doubt that you would never be able to come back.”

“You could do that,” Arceus agreed.

“Do it! I bet you wouldn’t even be able to get that right!” Darkrai said with an angry scowl. “You're a pathetic waste of breath and atoms!”

“...is that what you think of everyone?” Giratina asked, his tone more... far off as his eyes stared deeply at Darkrai. “That they weren’t worthy of living, for what reason other than just having a disability or were just different...” His eyes narrowed once more. “That was all the justification you needed to interfere with their lives, to give them nightmares so you could torture them.” The dragon lowered his masked head closer to Darkrai, his words sounding more authoritative than before. “Stabbings, piercings, ripping of fleshing, along with anything that cause them pain. It was your delight... now let it be your nightmare.”

Darkrai let out a scream of actual pain and was thrown back in the rocks, his eyes closed, his head slamming from side to side. “ARGHHHH!”

“Well done,” Arceus said with a nod. “Judgement is delivered... now you must change him and counter him.”

Giratina blinked, feeling as if he came out of a trance as he lifted his head and move back away from Darkrai. “I don’t know if he can be change... it would be best to keep him locked up... or destroyed.”

“I won’t keep him locked up, and I will not allow you to destroy him,” Arceus said. “Change him or counter him.”

“He’s a shadow, he can’t be changed unless he wants to copy someone else,” Giratina replied.

“Giratina... he is not a shadow. He is a Pokemon,” Arceus said with a touch of annoyance. “He is a Pokemon because you gave him life. Now stop referring to him as that.”

The dragon rolled his eyes. “The point still stands, beside I didn’t even know what or how I cast that... judgement. So how do you expect me to change or counter him? You’re not exactly giving me a clear picture or even a manual of what you want me to do.”

Arceus nodded. “Think of what he is, and then think of the kind of Pokemon who could counter it. It’s fairly easy.”

Giratina gave him a flat look. “Gee, that makes it so much clearer.”

“You may have some time to think on it,” Arceus said with the hints of a smile on his ‘lips’. “Now, you should probably go see to Luna. I’m sure she’s annoyed with me.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Giratina said before glancing over at Darkrai, still screaming in agony and pain. “And I better not find him gone when I return,” he stated before flying off.

“Oh, he’ll be here,” Arceus said, casting a glance at Darkrai. “And I expect my next grandchild to be better.”

“Not my son,” the dragon called out as he flew away and began to make his way back to the Equestria portal.

“Luna, I think you should go wait in Equestria, I have to have a chat with my son,” Arceus said to Luna as he continued to look at Giratina

“I would like to-” she started to say before the world around her suddenly changed to her standing in the fields of Equestria, Canterlot mountain off in the distance with the sleeping form of Applejack lying in the grass beneath the moon. “... Gods.”

She shook her head before glancing down at Applejack. “I’m going to have quite a lot of work to do on you aren’t I?” she asked rhetorically. She shook her head and then leaned down to nuzzle Applejack awake. “Applejack, are you okay?”

The orange pony’s eyes sleepily blinked open, looking very confused at first before it triggered in her mind who she was looking at. “...Princess.... Luna?”

Luna smiled. “Yes, it is me Applejack, you are back in Equestria and I promise you it is no dream,” she said, extending a hoof out to the mare to help her to her hooves.

The earth pony staggered to up on all fours as she looks around the field she was in, stopping in her tracks when she saw Canterlot up in the mountains. “...oh thank Celestia,” she with a heavy, happy sigh all but falling back to the ground to feel the grass beneath her.

“Well, technically, Tia did nothing, but fair enough,” Luna said with a small chuckle as she moved down and nuzzled Applejack’s cheek. “Would you like to go to see your family first, or your friends?”

There was no doubt in which she wanted to see first. “My family... I want to make sure they’re alright, and they know I’m alright.”

“A good choice, they’re staying in Canterlot at the moment,” Luna said with a small smile. Applejack frowned and gave the alicron a questioning look. “Ah, yes, the one who has been antagonizing you these last nights destroyed your house. No, your family were not harmed but many of your possessions were lost,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry Applejack.”

The mare’s ears flattened. “My house is just.... gone?”

“Well, the foundation is left, as is much of the basement and the rooms themselves, they are just heavily damaged if not completely destroyed,” Luna answered with a sigh. “We have already made provisions for it to be repaired.”

Applejack nodded her head. “Okay... anyways, I’m ready to meet my family.”

“Good,” Luna smiled and her horn began to glow. They blinked out of existence and then suddenly back into it inside of a room in the castle with four beds, a bookshelf, and several chairs. All but two were occupied by members of her family, Apple Bloom and Big Mac sleeping together, the stallion cradling the filly softly against his chest. Her eyes were tearstained.

Applejack stared at them, especially at Apple Bloom. She slowly advance towards them and lower her head to nuzzle her little sister. Apple Bloom stirred softly in her sleep before her eyes opened.

“... Applejack?” she asked quietly, as if unsure if she was dreaming or not.

The orange mare smiled. “Hey there little sis...” She nuzzled her once more to make sure to herself that this wasn’t a dream.

“You... you’re okay!” Apple Bloom suddenly shouted, leaping at Applejack and wrapping her legs around her in a hug, starting to cry into the orange mare’s neck.

Applejack stood there, eyes closed as she felt tears of her own crawling down her face. “I’m home...”

Cres woke up in the hospital, his vision red. He blinked several times before realizing that he was looking into Belle’s chest. “... Belle?” Cres asked quietly.

The female Absol’s head perked up to look over at him. “Oh Cres, thank Arceus you’re awake!” She then began to nuzzle him in a flurry of love and relief.

Cres simply smiled, leaning into the love and kept his eyes closed, not wanting her to get him in the eye with her tongue as they nuzzled and licked at each other. “Yes, yes I’m awake,” Cres said, pulling his head away from hers a little so that he could look her in the eyes. “And I just woke up into the most beautiful dream I could think of.”

Belle gave him a warm smile before nuzzling him one final time. “Corny as always... even after nearly dying.”

“Thanks Belle,” he replied, giving her nose a lick before he blinked. “Did I really almost die...?”

The crimson Absol nodded her head. “That... thing, nearly tore out your lungs. The doctors said if they hadn't arrived when they did, you could’ve... could’ve...” She pressed her head hard against him. “I lost you once, I do not want it to happen again and be permanent.”

“Shhh,” Cres murmured, pulling her closer to his chest, leaning his head down against the back of hers and licking her neck. “Shhh, it’s alright Belle.”

Belle sighed and pulled her head away. “No it’s not alright Cres... I almost lost you, again, for good almost. Xav is still young and he looks up to you, and if he lost both you and Ohm at the same time... it would devastate his heart.”

Cres froze and looked down at Belle. “Xav... is he alright? That monster didn’t hurt him when I wasn’t there did he?!” Cres asked frantically.

“Xav is fine, that thing didn’t try to attack him at our home, thank Arceus,” Belle said, calming him with a reassuring nuzzle. “Though he is just as worried as me, if not double considering the two figures he looks up to in life are both in the emergency ward.”

“Ah... yes... thank Arceus,” Cres said with a sigh of relief as he leaned his head down against hers. “And is Ohm okay as well?”

Belle nodded her head. “Yes... he had a similar tear in his body like yours, but don’t worry, like you he is recovering. I think he is still asleep, mostly from the fact his body was completely drained of electricity. They’re pumping some energy into his system and Matt is there waiting for him to wake up.”

A sigh left Cres as he slumped down against Belle, closing his eyes. “Good... that’s good.” He nuzzled her softly and licked at her cheek. “I love you, Belle... I won’t leave you until I get torn screaming, kicking, and clawing into the night.”

“You better, otherwise when we meet in the afterlife the first thing I will do is Night Slash you across the face,” Belle said, chuckling lightly.

“I’d deserve it,” Cres said with a small chuckle of his own as he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. “Thank you for waiting here for me love.”

“You would’ve done the same for me,” she replied, nuzzling him. “Now, get some more rest. If anyone comes to check up on you, I’ll let you know you woke up.”

“Thanks... I’m still really tired,” Cres said, letting out a large yawn. “Wait... before you go, where’s Xav?”

“Still at home, being watched by Emilia,” she replied.

“Ah, okay, wanted him to snuggle with me...” Cres let out another yawn before giving her a nuzzle and collapsing, his eyes closed as he leaned against her crimson fur.

She nuzzled him once more. “Good thing I’m here,” she whispered before laying her head close to his and joining him for a warm loving sleep.

Author's Note

Last actual chapter, an epilogue will be out in a couple of days, hope you liked this one.

Oh, and once again, thanks to the awesome Absolution for his editing assistance, between Omega_code and I it must be a hell of a chore.

Epilogue

Ohm lay on the edge of a small dock looking out on a medium sized lake. His eyes gazed off in the distance, glancing through the trees surrounding the body of water while his tail was tapping slowly as his mind wandered off in thought. It had been a day or so after waking up and recovering from hospital and the Luxray asked Matt if he could come here to be alone for a while. Behind him stood the unfinished construction of a house, a work in progress for Roxanne in building a new dream home she always wanted and to get away from the crowded apartment they were currently living in.

He didn’t notice Cres until the white Absol was laying down beside him, his head resting on the Luxray’s shoulder. The Absol didn’t say anything. Instead he just began to purr.

The Luxray didn’t move or really react to the presence of Cres for a long while. After maybe a couple of minutes had passed he finally asked, “Is there something you need?”

“No,” Cres said after a few minutes. “I just didn’t want you to stay out here all by yourself for a week. I’ve done that. It’s less fun than you’d think.”

“I just came here to think, and to be away from the city for a moment,” Ohm stated. “I’m not thinking of leaving... I’m in no condition to make a trek across Sinnoh region.”

“No, no you’re not, all the more reason to have company,” Cres told him with a smile.

The Luxray closed his eyes, but didn’t make a comment against it. He simply just rested there, going back to his train of thought. Cres remained silent as well, still just leaning against his friend, purring. They were silent like that for close to four hours, letting the sun rise high above them as they leaned against each other, both purring softly in contentment.

“So, what are you thinking about?” Cres asked, breaking the amicable silence.

The Luxray didn’t answered right away, his eyes still closed. “...I was just thinking about if Applejack made it back safely to her home and recovered from her cursed nightmares.”

“I’m sure she did,” Cres said before looking down at the water. “I still don’t like her, but I guess that’s because we’re too similar to get along.”

“Both of you are set in your ways of life, and didn’t really see how the other could function?” the Luxray questioned.

“Something like that, yeah,” Cres said, giving Ohm’s neck a few nibbles to get at an itchy spot he knew was there.

Ohm chuckled lightly. “I guess so... as some like to say, things that are similar tend to repel each other.”

“Yes, yes they do,” Cres said before frowning. “Why are you even bothering to think about her now anyways? She’s gone and probably fine.”

Ohm blinked as his gaze out over the lake broke and he shifted them downward. “...I don’t really know. I guess... mostly to assure myself that she is?”

“Ah,” Cres tapped a clawed paw on the deck. “Meh, she’s as thick skinned as she is headed. I’m sure she’s fine, Ohm.”

“I’m sure she is too... it’s just, what happen to her seemed to have given her tremendous amount of stress. I know for certain it’s hard to really pick oneself up after that,” the Luxray commented.

“True enough,” Cres murmured, looking down at the water. “Still, Ohm. I wouldn’t waste my time thinking about her, not really. I dislike to a great degree.”

Ohm chuckled. “You and her got off on the wrong footing. Beside, she wasn’t as bad as you described her when you first talked about her. Stubborn as a Snorlax yes, but... well, willing to listen when you talked to her right.”

“Bah, fine,” Cres said, eyes still on the water. “I’ll admit, most of it was probably my fault... that wasn’t a particularly good time to talk with me.”

“When is?” Ohm asked with a light chuckled. Cres gave him an annoyed, silent, pout in response. The Luxray simply lowered his head to nuzzle him lightly. “That was a joke Cres, I do make those too you know?”

“When exactly?” Cres asked in the same tone that Ohm had just used.

The Luxray smiled and shifted his gaze back over to the horizon. “On special occasions.”

“Like when you’re sitting romantically on a dock by a lake thinking of the one who’s caught your eye?” Cres asked, smirking slightly. “According to Belle anyways, she’s always been better at that sort of thing than me.”

“...Belle like to theorize about everything, doesn’t she?” Ohm asked rhetorically.

“Doesn’t stop her from having good eyes,” Cres said, chuckling as he leaned against Ohm’s side. The Luxray chuckled lightly, not saying anything on the subject as the two felines watched the day pass by before them.

Arceus floated serenely in the twinkling darkness of space, looking down on his creation with a smile. Things had gone well. In fact, they had all but surpassed his expectations.

“So, happy with yourself?” a very familiar female voice asked as Mew floated next to him.

“Oh, exceedingly so,” Arceus said with a nod before sending a psychic hand over to scratch her behind her ears. “And your little ‘luncheon’?”

“Well enough... Celestia wasn’t all too keen on you just allowing one of her subjects getting kidnapped and brought to your world you know?” the pink Pokemon replied, leaning slightingly into the scratching. “Especially without asking her first.”

“Of that I’m sure. Celestia is a good leader, a far better one than I am,” Arceus said, smiling as he continued to scratch Mew.

“Still, if you go visit her at some point, don’t be surprised if she slaps you or something of the like,” Mew informed him.

“My next visit won’t be till our Giri has taken the reigns for himself, which if you’ll remember correctly, was the entire point,” Arceus said, chuckling to himself. “And in that way, I’d say that I succeeded greatly.”

“Yes, you did... but did you really have to involve Applejack into this as well?” Mew asked. “I mean, I know she didn’t find Pokemon all to her liking, but it was to be expected. You can’t please everyone.”

“Well, yes and no,” the Alpha Pokemon said with a small frown as he extended a leg outwards and pulled a collection of space dust into his personal aura and began to fiddle with it. “No because really none of this ‘had’ to happen in the first place. I could have found some other way to get Giri to pull his act together, granted, it would take much more time. As for the yes, well, it all seems to have worked out in the end and hopefully she gained a bit more respect for Cres as well as all Pokemon.” He shrugged his neck and formed the dust into a dozen little jewels. “In the end it doesn’t really matter Mew, she was just a catalyst.”

Mew gave him a small flat look but didn’t seem all surprised. “Of course... still, I hope you at least remember to take away the moves you gave to her.”

“First order of business actually, Celestia would be none too happy with me if I started to slowly take over her world with half-Pokemon ponies,” Arceus said, smiling. “Though, I have considered it.”

“And you know if you did that would probably cause a massive war and would make more problems than solve anything,” she stated.

“It was a joke Mew, I thought you knew me better at this point,” Arceus said, giving her a small wink. “Oh, speaking of things, how long until Darkrai breaks his bonds?”

“Maybe a year or so, Giri really put a lot of effort into the spell for those bonds,” she replied. “Though considering what he learned during his time in Equestria, that’s not much of a surprise. He was always one for detail.”

“Mhm, he was, except when he thought he had things under control,” Arceus shook his head. “Hopefully he’s outgrown that and I’m not making a mistake.” He glanded down at her. “Hmm, I did remove the seed I planted in Darkrai’s head to seek out Cres and Applejack didn’t I?”

“I hope you did, otherwise we’re going to have a big problem,” Mew said. “Then again, he is of the Distortion World, so it’s hard to tell. You can never really remove anything from it.”

“And the other half of him is from Giri who is hard headed and inflexible,” Arceus let out a small mental sigh. “I’ll probably have to spend more time rooting around in his mind. We’ll see.”

“I guess we better hope that whatever counter Giri is going to make will do its job very well, otherwise we will have a big problem on our hands,” Mew said, glancing up Arceus with a small frown.

“Hands? When did I get those?” he asked her.

“I...” She shook her head, though giggled a bit. “You know what I mean.”

“Ah, there’s the sound I ‘live’ for,” Arceus said with a smile in his voice. “Don’t worry Mew, I’m sure things will work out.”

“But you’re going to retire soon,” she pointed out.

“Well, I can’t always be God,” Arceus said with a chuckle. “The Balance wouldn’t like that.”

“No, heh, I guess it wouldn’t,” Mew said with a small smile before it turned to a frown. “But that just means we better hope Giri comes up with someone to counteract Darkrai, otherwise the Balance wouldn’t like him in the long run.”

“I have faith in him Mew, he’s a smart dragon, smartest of them all in fact,” Arceus said, a surprising amount of parental warmth in his voice. Mew blinked before simply smiling at the divine Pokemon. “Now then my little meow, what sorts of plans do you have for the future?” He asked, glancing over at her. “Retiring with me?”

“Hehe... I would, but even with Giri’s amount of intelligence, he will still need someone to help him with his first steps in your shoes. I think I’ll stick around till he’s used to them,” she replied.

“Good girl,” Arceus said, nodding his approval. “It was a trick question.”

Mew smirked at him. “And you should know, I rarely trip up on trick questions.”

“This is true,” Arceus said before he turned his eyes towards Equestria and opened a viewing portal. “And it seems that things are about to become interesting. Shall we watch?”

Mew nodded her head as she sat on his head to peer through the window. “Let’s.”

Luna sat on the clouds above Canterlot, a small, happy expression on her lips as the midnight moon ran its rays down on her. Of course, she knew that those rays came from the sun first, but it hardly mattered. She was simply glad to be getting them in the first place. All was silent down in Equestria, well, not silent, but no longer in danger of exploding violently. That was for the best. Luna may have enjoyed the fight with the dark Pokemon but she was very glad to lay her blade down afterwards. The mare smiled as she felt another’s wings moving towards her cloud and she moved over to give her sister room on the cloud beside her.

“Good evening Tia,” Luna said with a smile, leaning her head against Celestia’s.

“Good to evening to you too, Luna,” Celestia replied, giving her little sister a welcoming nuzzle. “I take it things went well for you on your mission.”

“Yes, yes they did,” Luna said, nuzzling her in return. “My little Giri has things well in hoof and there shouldn’t be any more trans-planar abductions of Equestrian citizens.”

The solar alicorn nodded her head. “Good... I would hate to cause an inter-dimensional issue with Arceus’ world. The last thing we need is our two worlds to somehow to become intermingled in any way, shape, or form.”

“Oh yes, I don’t think most of our precious little ponies would survive an influx of Pokemon,” Luna said sourly before shaking her head. “Though, I hope that doesn't include my dear Giratina, or your little friend Mew.”

“Mew knows to not interfere with any of my world’s subjects or even show herself to them, as for Giratina, technically he is an Equestrian citizen,” Celestia replied.

“Yes, ‘your’ world’s subjects,” Luna said, a light jab at Celestia’s phrasing, though, she followed it up with a nuzzle.

Celestia blinked and chuckle. “I’m sorry my sister, old habits.” She returned the nuzzle. “But yes, Mew only comes for visit, and Giratina is always free to travel our land. I will not try to separate him from you, you should know that.”

“Oh, I know, I’m only teasing you sister,” Luna said, leaning her side against Celestia’s and letting out a small sigh. “Mmm... I’ve missed these moments of ours. Looking down at everyone else from on high as they sleep away through my beutiful night.”

“Knowing that they sleep peacefully with their two leaders guarding them, especially you fighting back the worst of nightmares,” Celestia added as she looked down at the land below. “So, where is Giratina? I thought he was supposed to come back with you?”

“His father had something to say to him before he came back,” Luna said with a small shrug as she leaned a wing over Celestia’s back, enjoying the silence of the night around them. “... I’m so glad that Canterlot isn’t like Manehatten.”

The older white mare chuckle. “Or Las Pegasus, they have some of the clouds lit up in all colors of the rainbows during the night.”

“Hah. I prefer white,” Luna said with a small chuckle, stroking the collection of water molecules beneath them with a smile. “White and cold yet fluffy.”

“Mhm... though I do admit that sometimes when they put on shows down there, it is interesting to watch the pegasus and the clouds dancing through the night air,” Celestia commented. “You should go to at least see one of their shows sometime, maybe even bring Giratina with you if you can.”

“Hmm, perhaps I will,” Luna said with a small chuckle. “And you know sister, you no longer need to play matchmaker. I believe we’re a bit beyond the ‘songs of attraction’ and the ‘hit each other over the head until we admit our feelings’ phases, fun as those were.”

“Oh I know, but it’s still fun to play ‘matchmaker’,” Celestia said with a chuckle. “Beside, you’re my little sister, I have a right to do this,” she added with a playful grin.

“So long as my being your little sister reserves me the ‘right’ to leave you highly unfortunate things in your showerhead or bathwater,” Luna replied with a smirk. “I still believe that the day you came to Court pink was the greatest day of my, and several hundred others’ lives... and it hasn’t happened in a thousand years.” She let out a melodramatic sigh. “Tia, what are we to do for all those poor souls who’ve yet to see it?”

“Letting it stay a rumor that I have some twin with different colored fur out there in the world,” Celestia said with a chuckle.

“Of course Tia,” Luna said, the most convincing lie she’d ever told.

The mare smirked at her before her eyes glanced toward the side. “Well... I better be off, it seems Giratina wish to speak to you.”

Luna followed her gaze and saw Giratina flying towards them. “Ah, yes, it seems he does.” She kissed Celestia on the cheek and uncovered her with her wing. “Get going then sister dear.”

Celestia nodded her head. “Farewell Luna, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Her wings opened up and she jumped off the cloud, the wind catching in her wings and she glided downwards.

“Well you certainly took your time,” Luna called over to Giratina. “Come over here and join me.”

The changeling flew up to the cloud and he landed beside her. “Sorry, I had to... think for a while,” he explained. “My conversation with Arceus left me with questions and things to ponder... for starters, that thing we fought, Darkrai as he called it, is apparently my son.”

Luna blinked twice before giving him a nuzzle. “I’m sorry Giratina,” she said.

“Don’t be, I don’t remember you giving birth or having mated with any other female so the idea of him being my son is still questionable,” the changeling stated simply. “Right now, this Darkrai is not my son.”

“Okay,” Luna said, frowning but nodding her head. “So, what else did he tell you?”

“Apparently I’m supposed to take Arceus’ place, I have the same powers as him, and I’m supposed to find a way to counteract Darkrai that isn’t just outright destroying him,” he answered. “So you see why I had to go home and think for a while.”

“... you’re being promoted to God?” Luna asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“That’s the same look I gave to Arceus, and for the most part, I don’t think he’s lying about that.” Giratina frowned slightly. “I was able to use the move Judgement on Darkrai, a move not even Mew can do, not only that but after I used it I keep getting this feeling of... power that constantly growing inside of me.” He began to pace around the cloud. “Even now new things are emerging... like knowing that you’re wondering what this means for the future.”

“Hmm.” Luna frowned. “And now?”

“You’re thinking that you deserve to have foals,” Giratina replied, stopping and giving her a straight forward look. “Like I said many times before, we’ll get to that at some point.”

“Ahah! Very good, through my mind shielding too,” Luna said with a smile. “Hmm, so, how do you plan on ‘countering’ Darkrai?”

The changeling looked down. “I’ve been thinking on that for a while... and if I can’t destroy him, or leave him bound in the Distortion World for entity... then I simply will have to do with what Arceus did for most Legendaries. Create a Pokemon that is there opposite. If Darkrai is a Pokemon that attacks and kills people in their sleep, then I need to make a Pokemon that will defend their dreams and bring them out even out of his tainted nightmares with ease.” His eyes glanced down Luna. “A Pokemon that basically does what you do.”

“Well, imitation is the best form flattery, so I think I’ll take the compliment,” she said playfully before becoming more serious. “But that is a very good solution Giri.”

“I know... but the only question I couldn’t answer is, how...” A long sigh left the changeling's lips as he shook his head. “I don’t even know the first step of making a new Pokemon, and Arceus wasn’t too keen on answering that.”

“Well,” Luna said with a frown. “I’d think it would be just like creating any other work of art. First you think it, then you create it, and as you do so you breathe life into it.”

“...you know art was never my strong suit,” he replied. “If I remember correctly, I’m too... logic based in thinking to allow creativity to flow freely.”

“Once again, it shows how much you need me,” Luna said with a small chuckle as she pulled him down next to her with her magic and leaned against him. “I’m the one who paints the sky after all.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going along with the story of how ponies think you also arrange the stars in their place while I know that’s not true,” he said to her.

She whapped him over the head with her wing.

His head slightly recoiled but he straightened it. “So... how would you like this to transpire?”

“Hmm, well, I guess that depends,” Luna said, moving her wing back to his back. “Mostly on what you’d like him or her to be to him.”

“Well... something moon themed I guess... and not ghostly in appearance. Something you can trust when seen and know that you’ll be safe,” he replied.

“Well then, let’s start with the shape of the moon,” Luna said with a smile, her horn flaring and a cloud of dust springing into existence in front of them, taking on the shape of the crescent moon. “Not a full moon, that’s too associated with werewolves and such.”

“Right... though it can’t just be that, we already have a Pokemon that’s just shape as a crescent moon... maybe add some sort of body to it?” he suggested.

“Well obviously Giri, the moon is just its center,” Luna said, rolling her eyes. “Please, I’m not just sticking a shape and putting eyes on it. Not that it stopped your father, hah,” she said, playfully.

Giratina rolled his eyes, though they focused right back onto the crescent shaped cloud in front of them. “Still... maybe a body shaped in an avian way?”

“Sure,” Luna said with a smile as she leaned against him and they went to work.

It took them the rest of the night to get exactly what they wanted her to look like right and as the sun began to rise, Luna nuzzled him. “Okay... do it Giratina, we’re running out of time. I won’t be able to concentrate on this much longer before passing out.”

Giratina looked at the their cloud creation. It float peacefully with its almost swan like body, its crescent wings staying attach and helping it stay in the air while a ring going over it’s back help making it stay upright. Its crescent lunar head seemed to be looking right back at him, wanting for him to say the right words to it. “...come on out,” he said in a soft tone of voice.

There was a moment of silence before the shape in front of them began to squirm slightly. Luna’s breath caught in her throat as did Giratina’s. The shape continued to wiggle for several seconds before the dust around it glowed with a powerful white light before it evaporated away to reveal a beautiful swan like Pokemon hovering in front of them. Its narrow eyes looked them over for a moment before its mouth moved up in a smile.

“Good morning mother, good morning father,” the new Pokemon said, its voice soft as the sun’s first rays touched her. “What a beautiful day to be born.”

Giratina blinked, shocked at what he did before a smile grew across his muzzle. “Yes it is... Cresselia...”

Author's Note

And so it's finally over, it's kind of bittersweet for me really because this is probably the last story I'll publish on the site. As you guys have probably noticed, updates have been few and far-between for me over the last few months, and while that has been because of college and now work, it's also because my interest in ponies has waned a LOT since I started writing. I'll go into that more in an actual blog post though.

This is the important thing. While Absolution, Cres' story is over, the verse continues, granted, without much if any mention of ponies. Because of this my long-time writing partner Omega_code and I are going to be publishing a continuation story, Savant Tales on DeviantArt. We already have a full story-line planned out along with 5 chapters pre-written (which we got to while Absolution was editing this one) so we should be able to keep up a fairly constant update level. The story will focus around Abby Keenan (Matt's daughter) and her journey through the Sinnoh region.

To those wondering, yes, it is related in a vague sense to a New World New Ranger Abby but it is NOT at all the same character so readers of Absolution have no fear, you won't be expected to have any knowledge of the New World Verse to get into this. One word of warning, Savant Tales will be a long fic and a LOT of it is going to be focused on character development as Abby matures into the trainer she's meant to be so we're starting with her very young in the first chapter and then jumping forwards a few years and then getting her on the road so be prepared for this to be a very character focused fic. Once she's on the road there probably won't be a great deal of time skips so if you're the type for a LOT of action you won't be finding it till later but hopefully Omega and I can keep you interested in the interm.

Give it a try if you want and if not then let me just say thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with the story this long and I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Link

The story is now also available on fimfiction.net

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11363029/1/Savant-Tales

Chapter 1

“Wakey, wakey, rise and shine,” a darkly playful voice whispered in Applejack’s ear.

Applejack let out a low moan, as a splitting headache rolled through her skull. “Uggh...” was all she managed to get out.

“Yes, you might feel a bit dizzy and nauseous, but it should pass... eventually, heheh,” the dark voice said chiddingly.

The stubborn earth pony tried to get up, but her legs felt as if they were made of lead, and as she couldn’t move them, aside from the occasional slight twitch.

“Your body might feel a bit weak...though, it is only because of it still recovering from a few helpful modifications. I can't have you break so easily during your first encounter now can I?” the voice questioned her, a slight lilting chuckle hiding beneath its words.

“What... is... going on...” Applejack managed to get out

For reasons unknown to Applejack, that simple question caused whoever it was that was speaking to her to burst into laughter, yet it somehow also spoke mid laugh without the slightest bit of interrupt. “Oh my dear Applejack, you'll soon find out,” it told her before both the voice and the laughter accompanying it faded.

Applejack let out a groan and started to look around.To her slow moving mind’s shock, she was lying directly in the middle of a gravel road. Trees ran along either side of it, and what appeared to be the noonday sun, as it was high in the sky.

The mare narrowed her eyes and tried once more to stand, this time actually managing it. Unfortunately, her triumph was short lived and her legs wobbled uncontrollably beneath her beneath her weight and she stumbled forwards into the gravel. She let out a hard exhale and forced herself to stand again, meeting with a similar amount of success as the last time. Suddenly, Applejack’s ears perked up and she heard the distinct sound of hooves sinking into gravel.

Applejack’s tired mind directed her in the direction of the sound, surly, somepony would be able to help her. At the very least, they’d give her a drink, her throat was sore and numb.

“He-hello?” she managed to call out, as she distantly caught sight of the ‘pony’ who was walking towards her.

The shape grew larger as it got closer to her and Applejack’s mouth fell open. It was no mere pony! In fact, it was a zebra, and a giant one at that. The stallion, definitely a stallion, had a mane that flickered as if it had electricity flowing through it and he easily towered high enough over Applejack that she had to crane her head up to even see his, or that of his rider.

That was what caused Applejack’s eyes to truly widen. Sitting astride a well crafted saddle was a tall, almost apelike creature, wearing a long, white, lab coat similar to what Twilight wore sometimes when she was in a ‘sciencey’ mood. Oddly enough, the creature wore the cloak with a style that Applejack was more accustomed to finding in Rarity then Twilight. She, judging by the chest protrusions, had fair skin and raven hair along with intelligent brown eyes.

“Sweet Celestia...” Applejack said, staring with shocked eyes as she began to back away.

“Well , what have we here?” the stallion asked with a slightly raised eyebrow, his voice was deep and courteous , yet contained more than a hint of casual laughter.

“OH! I've never seen any pokemon like you before!” a more feminine voice, shockingly similar to Twilight’s, if she had a Prench accent, exclaimed causing Applejack to look up at the creature astride the zebra.

“Are you alright? You look a bit… confused,” the stallion asked her, bringing his head down to look closer at Applejack.

“I... I...” Applejack managed to stutter out before her legs gave out beneath her and she flopped to the crunchy gravel. She was still awake, but she was so very exhausted.

“Oh my, I think she's hurt,” the zebra said with a frown.

“She must be hurt,” the rider said, her voice full of concern. “Which means I should get her to a Pokemon Center as soon as possible,” the female added as she reached into her lab coat’s pocket and pulled out a black and yellow orb from within it, and then, much to Applejack’s confusion, threw the orb at her.

What followed was even more confusing and much more terrifying. Applejack felt herself being... sucked into the orb, and found herself staring into empty blackness. Her eyes widened in terror and she tried to strain against the ball but it did nothing more then possibly cause the ball to shake back and forth once or twice.

Suddenly she heard a ‘ding’ and then felt as if she was being lifted into the air as the Prench Twilight began to speak again.

"Wow, a whole new breed of Pokemon and it just happens to be a horse, maybe something you'd be interested in, eh Zeb?" she asks jokingly. “Especially if we want to breed some more. After all, it wouldn’t be your first time studding.”

Applejack’s eyes widened in fear. Just what were they talking about?!

Thankfully, the stallion spoke before Applejack’s mind could go down too many dark passageways “I'm more than happy with Reva, Roxanne” he said stiffly.

Apparently his voice had been stiff enough for the woman to pick up on it. “Oh come on, I was only joking,” Prench Twilight said with a small chuckle.

Meanwhile, Applejack finally found her voice “Who, what, where, how!” she shouted a stream of question before settling on what she felt was the most important.“Where am I?!” She began to rock back and forth in the weird, empty area hitting small invisible walls, causing the Ultra Ball to rock slightly in Roxanne’s hand.

“Hey, you're a lively one in there. Don't worry I'll get you to the Pokemon Center and get you all fixed up,” the female voice said comfortingly from above her.

Applejack stopped dead as her ears snapped up at a word the strange creature said. “Pokemon... no... no... NO! LET ME OUT OF HERE!” she screamed, her rocking increasing as she tried to break free of her confinement, causing the ball to rock even more.

“I'm sorry if this is new for you, but there’s no way someone in your condition can get out of a pokeball,” Roxanne told her. “But trust me, there's nothing to be afraid of, we’re getting you help. I promise, I'm a nice trainer, heck, I'm a PROFESSOR! We're all nice!”

However all of Roxanne’s words fell on deaf ears as the mare continued to shake the ball, screaming, “LET ME OUT!” She did so until all of her last bit of energy finally began to drain and her strength fading from her body as she just floated limply in the void like world.

What in tarnation is going on... she muttered in her thoughts. One minute, I remember going to sleep after saying goodnight to Apple Bloom the next.... she shivered violently at the memory of her nightmare before her eyes narrowed in anger. Cres... it has to be his fault, he just couldn’t just settle with leaving, he had to drag me into his world... I swear, when I see him I’ll buck him so hard he won’t be feeling anything from the waist down for the rest of his life!

Roxanne smiled as she pulled open the door to her apartment. "Matt, I'm home!" she called. “Cynthia told me to say hello and more importantly, guess what! I caught a never before-seen Pokemon on the way home!"

“Really? That's kind-of hard to believe, if you don't mind me saying,” Matt said, brushing his blonde hair away from his blue eyes as repositioned himself on his chair, then moving his right leg, which was noticeably leaner than his left.

“Not at all, I'm really surprised by it too!” Roxanne replied, an infectious smile on her face. “I mean, it isn't a very impressive one, but it's probably just the un-evolved form and it's still incredible to find a new Pokemon in a region as well explored as Sinnoh!”

Matt raised an eyebrow at his wife. “Well are you going to just tell me about, or show me this new 'Pokemon'?" he asked, putting the book he was reading down on a small stand next to the chair.

“Oh, I guess someone’s eager to meet her,” Roxanne said, her Kalos accent becoming a bit stronger in all her excitement. “Alright then, introducing Groundta~” the woman trilled as she held up the Ultra Ball and press the release button on front of it.

A ball of light and energy flashed out as it swirled around in the middle of the rug and the were greeted by Applejack, who looked blinked blankly in confusion before she rapidly looked around. Her eyes fell on the two and her body stiffened for a small moment before she quickly took an offensive stance.

“Okay, I don’t know who or what y’all are, but I’ve had enough of this!” she shouted at the two.

Matt frowned slightly, it was strange... he could understand her, but her words were... jumbled. Though one thing was clear to him, and that was her tone. “She sounds a bit... hostile dear, from what I can make out that is.”

“I noticed...” Roxanne said as she bent down and put a comforting hand on the newly dubbed ‘Groundta’s’ shoulder. “Relax Groundta, we're not going to hurt you, I promise.”

Applejack raised a hoof and slapped the hand away while taking a few steps back “Don't touch me!”

Matt grabbed one of his crutches leaning against the chair and walked up to Roxanne and placed a hand on her back. “I don’t think that was the best move my dear,” he told her.

“Yeah... looks like all I managed to do was make her angrier,” the woman agreed with a frown. “What do you think we should do Matt?”

“I think you should return her before she tries to use an attack inside our small apartment,” he replied calmly.

“Probably,” Roxane agreed as she held up the ball and pointed it calmly at Applejack. “Okay Groundta, back in the ball.”

Applejack’s eyes widened at the sight of the ball. “DON'T YO-” she was cut off as a red beam hit her and she was scooped back up inside the Ultra Ball, which shortly started rocking back and forth volatility.

“Good thing I used an Ultra Ball,” Roxanne commented as she held onto the ball till it went still. “She’s got a lot of fight in her.”

“It looks like it,” Matt said with a small frown as he placed his left thumb and index finger underneath his chin. “Still, we should probably find some way to calm her down... otherwise, trying to train her will be impossible.”

“I’m sure that between the two of us we can figure it out,” Roxanne said with a small chuckle. “After all, I’m Professor Roxanne Redwood and you’re Champion Matthew Keenan, together there’s no Pokemon we can’t train.”

Matt chuckled lightly as he wrap his left arm around her waist and pull her in to kiss her lightly on the forehead. “Yeah, I guess so... though we probably want to figured that out in my gym, just to be on the safe side.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Roxanne said with a nod. “Less chance of property damage that we have to explain to our landlord, after all, our lake house isn’t done yet.”

“I still can’t believe you had all that money and didn’t tell me about it,” Matt said with a small shake of his head. “I mean, over fifteen million pokedollars, why keep that a secret till now?”

“I honestly didn’t think it was all that weird,” the woman said before she gave him a kiss. “After all, in Kalos millions of pokedollars is the norm Matt, you can’t get into most good cafes without it.”

The man shook his head some more, a small smile forming along the edge of his lips. “Whatever you say my dear.” He leaned down to give her another kiss. “Let’s just hope we won’t spoil our upcoming daughter huh?”

“Oh I’m sure we won’t,” Roxanne replied with a chuckle. “After all, I don’t even notice the wealth, we’ll raise her to think the same way.”

“Good... now, how about you head to gym and get ‘Groundta’ ready for us to talk to again, I think I’ll probably get Cres to help us just in case she gets a bit rowdy,” he said, unwrapping his arm around her.

“Alright, I’ll head over on Zeb, see you soon my dear,” she told him before she unwrapped her arm from him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading out the door.

Matt smiled for a moment after she left before a small thoughtful frown form on his face. New pokemon huh... hmm... why do I have this feeling that’s not true... His frowned deep slightly as he shakes his head. Maybe it’s just me and thinking I’ve know everything about pokemon, which is not really true. Still... Groundta... I don’t think is not a very good name.

He shook his head slightly and turned around to head to the bedroom, though before he could reach it, the door opened slightly and an Absol walked out of it with a sleepy yawn.

“Did I hear yelling?” Cres the Absol asked with another yawn. “I could have sworn I heard yelling.”

“You can say that,” Matt replied. “It seems Roxanne discovered a new pokemon... maybe.... It’s some weird orange ponyta looking one whose mane isn't on fire. She was a bit... steamed about being captured, though at least I think that was the problem. Strangely I couldn’t understand what she was saying. It was like a different language for me.”

Cres blinked twice at that description but shook his head “That’s weird,” he said aloud as he thought about who else that could describe. Could it be...No, Not a chance.. “So, I take it the two of us are going to help her blow off some of that steam at the gym?”

“Yeah, if you don't mind that is,” Matt replied with a small shrug.

“No, I've got nothing going on, Belle and Xav are at the library studying quantum mechanics or something...” he trailed off, the subjects that interested his mate and his son mystified him.

“Then how about you fully wake up and grab something to eat before we head off, who knows how long this will take,” the man suggested.

“An excellent idea, hopefully Roxanne will be able to resist her scientific urges before we get there,” Cres said, shaking his head as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed a few slices of Clefairy meat. Then with a few quick gulps he ate the delectable meat and turned back to Matt. “Alright, let's get going.”

Matt nodded and the pair set off for the elevator together. After a short ride down they walked out the front door to where Reva was standing idly by a water trough. Matt walked up to the silver maned Rapidash and gave her a loving pat before he mounted her.

“You up for a little run, Reva?” Matt asked her.

“To the Gym? Of course,” Reva said with a small chuckle before she glanced down at Cres. “Provided of course Cres can keep up.”

“So long as you don’t try and outrace the cars, I should be fine,” Cres told her confidently.

“Of course,” Reva said with an amused chuckle before she set off for the gym with Cres keeping up easily enough thanks to lots of practice and years on the road. As they went down the road, Cres couldn’t help his thoughts from turning back to a rather dark place from his past.

I really hope this isn’t who I think it is... he thought to himself worriedly. Because if it is... then I’m going to have a very bad headache before all this is over.

Chapter 4 Author's Note

Normally I'd publish this at midnight but I don't know if I'll make it that long, have an 'early' update free of charge

Chapter 4

“It’s not fair...” Applejack muttered to herself, her face stinging with both tears and cold from the flakes of snow, which had stubbornly refused to melt. First, was waking up here, next was meeting that blazing Cres, and now she was denied a way back home. Her built up anger had nearly been diminished by grief... but then she’d been tossed around by Cres which only added more salt to the wound.

I just want to go home... she thought to herself while heaving out a heavy sigh. All of this it’s... just too much...

She felt something touch her back and her fur stood on their ends while she whirled her head around to find Matt sitting down next to her. Her eyes glanced at his hand then back at him before looking away, not even feeling the need to even fight back.

“Hey... I’m sorry we couldn’t get you back home, but we’ll find a way, I assure you,” Matt said to her in a friendly, comforting tone, though that’s all she could make out.

“Just leave me alone... y’all done enough already...” Applejack said as another sigh escaped her lungs.

Matt titled his head forward so at least one of her eyes saw him. “I can see you really don’t want to comforted, but that only encourages me to try anyways,” he said as he pulled his head away and softly pat his hand on her back before stroking it down. Applejack just stared at the ground, barely noticing the hand petting her and removing some snow off of her fur. “You’re in a tough spot, a position you weren’t expecting to be in or like, but you’re stuck here for now. I can see you’re filled with discomfort, irritation, and a bit of anger towards Cres... but we need to work together if we want to find a way for you to get back home.”

Matt moved his hand up, brushing off more snow from her neck and around the back of her head, causing the mare’s ears to twitch a bit. “Now I probably don’t understand a word I’m saying, but I’m hoping by talking friendly and non-threateningly manner while cleaning the snow off of ya is helping you earn a bit of trust towards me.” He slid himself forward so he was in front of her and brought his hand to brush the snow from the side of her face. “Is it working?”

Applejack lifted her head up slightly to look at the man directly, her eyes still showing some signs of discomfort, but without hostility. Matt smiled lightly. “I’d say that’s a bit of a yes.”

“I think we’ve been here long enough to figure out that Giratina is going to be gone for too long for us to wait up here,” Cres’s voice suddenly broke the trance. “It’s starting to get a bit dark and I’d rather get back to Belle and Xav before midnight... not to mention that even Reva has a bit of trouble with this path when it’s pitch black.”

Matt nodded his head and slowly got back up with some help from his crutches. “Right... though, I think for this trip AJ can walk with us till we get closer to the city,” he said, reaching towards his belt to pull out a Pokeball.

“If you think she can keep up,” Cres said with a slight shrug, doing his best not to look in Applejack’s direction.

“I think she can,” Matt said with a small smile as he tossed the Pokeball out. “Reva, come on out.”

There was a flash of light and Applejack’s eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and fear.

The beast that appeared from within the Pokeball was... a muscular unicorn a little taller then Celestia or the towering zebra she’d seen earlier. That... was the ‘less interesting’ part though. The fear set in when Applejack noticed the fact that instead of a mane and tail, the unicorn possessed a pair of great blazing silvery fires, each mimicking that which she lacked as well as even more flames that blazed around her silvery steel hooves.

Applejack took a step back, a faint memory of how Twilight looked similar to this once when she was extremely... angry and wondered if the same held true to this unicorn. Yet the unicorn craned her head down at Applejack and smiled friendly.

“Why hello, you must be Applejack, I’ve heard so much of, it’s nice to meet you,” she said in a kind gentle voice, to Applejack’s surprise, she sounded a bit like Celestia. Applejack’s body tensed down from alert and she nodded her head.

“Howdy...” she said softly.

“Well now that we’ve introduced you, let’s be off,” Cres said with a slightly impatient huff.

Applejack looked at the Absol flatly, but Reva nodded her head. “Yes let’s,” she said as she stood still to allow Matt to mount her. The Rapidash glance over to the mare. “You think you can do a light trot for now?” she asked.

Applejack glanced up at her and held it there for a moment before slowly nodding her head. “Yeah... I think so... as long as he keeps his distance from me,” she answered, glaring over at Cres.

“I can get down this mountain with my eyes closed,” Cres replied with a shrug. “I’ll see you at home Matt, watch the pony Reva, she’s emotionally unstable and likes to kick people,” he added before he walked to the edge of the sheer cliff and casually hopped over the edge. Applejack emitted soft annoyed growled but Reva shook her head lightly.

“I’ll just ignore that...” she said while glancing down at the orange mare. “For now, just keep up as best you can, if I need to slow down, don’t be afraid to say so.” Applejack nodded her head and followed Reva as they started at a light trot down the summit and into a cave, beginning a series of winding paths down Mt. Coronet.

Cres let out a sigh as he easily hopped his way down the slope, while it would look impossible to anyone but a Gogoat, he’d done it so many times that he knew the entire path by instinct alone. When he reached the bottom, half an hour before Reva could at her fastest pace, he set off back towards Hearthome.

The road fell away beneath his paws as his mind whirred. They would have to put up with Applejack for the foreseeable future, until Giratina found a way to get rid of her at the very least. That meant he and his family would have to deal with her spitefulness for quite a while. The absol let out a small sigh. Perhaps he would see if Xav wanted to stay with Grace for a few days until it all blew over. That would be better then having his son suffer the same treatment that he had at the mare’s hooves and foul mouth.

He was back in the city before he knew it, and made his way easily to the apartment, going up the fire escape and through the specially constructed Pokemon door built into the apartment's rear. His breath left him with an easy sigh as he took in the familiar scents of his whole ‘extended family’, Matt and Roxanne’s mingling with Belle and Xav along with Emilia’s and Ohm’s.

As he padded in, he saw that the Luxray was sitting on the large leather chair, his eyes closed and his tail tapping lightly on the side as he ‘meditated’ the time away.

“Welcome home, Cres,” he said without opening his eyes.

“Thanks, Ohm,” Cres replied, giving the electric lion a smile that he was sure he saw. “I miss anything interesting?”

“Nothing really... though you should brace yourself,” Ohm replied. Cres tilted his head slightly before a small blur of red tackled into his side.

“DAD!” a very young absol pup exclaimed happily as he nuzzled his head into Cres’ side.

Cres smiled widely as he crouched down to give his son a nuzzle. “Hey there Xav, have a good day buddy?” he asked.

“Yes, but it was so borrrrrrring,” he said with a small roll of his eyes. “Mom just made me read all day... I hardly did any practicing...” His face lightened up a bit as his tail blade wagged. “You think you can train me a bit? Pleasssseeee!”

“Hmm... how could I say no to that?” Cres replied, his heart filling with pride at his son’s enthusiasm. Then he glanced at Ohm who was stately tuning them out. “Okay... here is your training for the day should you choose to accept it. Catch Ohm’s tail without using your blade or your mouth.”

Xav blinked a bit blankly as he craned his head over to looked at the Luxray’s tail, swishing casually at the side of the chair. He smiled as he looked back at Cres and stood a bit taller on his four legs. “Consider it done!” he said as he bounded for the chair. He zoomed up Ohm and leapt up with his paws stretched out to grab onto the end of his tail. But as he was coming down, the yellow fluff deftly swished away making Xav miss entirely and bounce off the side of the chair.

Xav bounced a bit on the floor on his rump with a big confused expression plastered across his face. He frowned as he glanced at the Luxray’s tail and leapt up again to trap it between his paws. But yet again, the tail evaded the young absol and did so with every other attempt Xav made.

Cres chuckled a bit to himself as Xav bounced around like a Skitty trying to snatch a thread of yarn. His eyes glanced at Ohm’s face, seeing a faint smile of amusement on the Luxray’s face as he toyed Xav around with the yellow tip of his tail.

“STAY STILL!” Xav growled as he continued to bounce back and forth with youthful energy.

“How’s that working for you?” Cres asked his son, taking pity on him as he walked a bit closer.

Xav stopped and sat on his rump with a frown on his face. “How can he tell where I’m going to strike if he has his eyes closed?” he asked with a pout.

“Well, shall I answer that, or would you like to Ohm?” Cres inquired of the Luxray.

“You are his father, you have that right,” Ohm replied.

Cres smiled and then gave Xav a nuzzle as he brought his head down beside Xav’s. “You’re being too loud,” he told the crimson Absol. “Ohm has excellent ears and you’re giving him all the information he needs to know by bouncing around like a Skitty. Get into a crouch, stay there for a bit so that everything is silent, and then strike.”

Xav nodded his head and did what Cres advised him. He crouched low, his back legs arching up ready to be spring loose at any second. His blue eyes were locked onto the tail, still swinging about causally and Xav wiggled his hind quarters as he waited for the perfect moment. Then in half a blink, he sprang up and extend his paws out, landing and grabbing onto the end of Ohm’s tail.

Xav beamed a smile as he hung onto the tail. “I DID IT!” he exclaimed in glee. “I ACTUALLY DID I-” before he could finished Ohm flexed his tail and gave it one whip like swing, sending Xav to the ground and sliding over the wooden floor. “It....” he finished, his voice a bit dazed.

“That you did,” Cres agreed as he walked over and gave Xav a lick on the forehead. “Now, the rest of your lessons are going to involve holding on until you can do it for a full minute,” the Absol said.

Xav frowned in determination. “Right, I’ll do it dad. I’ll show you I’m just as good as an Absol as you,” he said as he got to all fours and headed for the chair once more, but was stopped as Cres placed a forepaw in front of him.

“You can work on that tomorrow, I think we’ve taken up enough of Uncle Ohm’s meditation time already,” Cres advised, glancing up at the Luxray who gave him the faintest of nods.

Xav was about to protest, but let out a sigh and nodded his head. “Okay...”

“In the mean time, what do you say to Uncle Ohm,” Belle’s voice spoke up as she walk into view.

“Thank you for letting me play with your tail,” Xav said, glancing up at the Luxray.

“You are welcome young Xav,” Ohm replied.

“Good boy,” Belle said with a small smile at her son before looking up at Cres. “Hello dear, you’re a bit late coming home than normal,” she said, walking up and giving him a loving nuzzle.

Cres’s heart swelled as he returned the nuzzle. Belle, the center of his world, how he loved her. “I know, I know, it certainly wasn’t my idea, and I’m sorry for being so ‘tardy’.”

“It’s okay,” she replied shaking her head. “So, why were you gone in the first place? I thought the gym was closed for the weekend?” she asked as she went over to Xav, bending her head down and beginning to clean his fur, much to the pup’s displeasure.

“Well... remember how I went to that other world years ago?” Cres asked her, a note of dread in his voice.

“Mhm,” Belle replied as she continued to clean their son’s fur.

“Well... the troublesome orange one ended up getting caught by Roxanne today somehow,” Cres explained with a shake of his head. “Which of course means that Matt, being Matt, just had to take her to Mt. Coronet for Giratina to sort out instead of the better idea of just leaving her somewhere...”

Belle paused in midlick and frown as she pulled her head away and looked over at Cres. “If he went to Giratina to sort it out... then why do you still sound troubled?”

“Because something or someone is keeping the stubborn pony here and we couldn’t get rid of her,” Cres replied with a dour frown. “And I’m expecting her to start yelling at me the moment she gets here.”

Belle’s frown furrowed a bit. “Then maybe it would be best if you weren’t here then if she’s going to be staying with us,” she said, much to Cres’s surprise.

“But it’s our house? Why does dad have to leave?” Xav questioned as he craned his head up at his mother.

“That was actually what I was thinking,” Cres agreed with his son, a frown crossing his face as he glanced at his beloved mate.

“Because like you said, Matt being Matt, he will most likely side with her if the two of you start a fight,” Belle replied. “Not because he would not see it your way, but because hes trying to make our visitor more... comfortable living here. And I can’t fully blame him... you are a bit... stubborn in letting go of grudges with Pokemon who have annoyed you.”

Cres let out a familiar sigh, as usual, Belle proved smarter than him. “I suppose you have a point... but I’m not leaving. It’s my home. I... I’ll just wait in the bedroom until it seems like a good time for me to come out...”

“Good, though if you want my advice, it would probably be best if you find a way to settle whatever is between you two,” Belle said. “Because I doubt you can live in the bedroom forever, and will have to come out once and awhile to grab food and go to the bathroom.”

The male Absol let out another familiar sigh and gave her a nuzzle as Xav looked between the two, a bit of confusion in his eyes. Cres noticed it and bent down to give him a nuzzle as well.

“Remember son, your mother is smarter than me,” Cres told him with a small chuckle. “Except when it comes to blade work.” Xav nodded his head while Belle simply shook her own in amusement.

“So where is Matt by the way? Did you go ahead of him?” she asked as she stepped back to bend her head down to resume cleaning Xav’s fur.

“He’ll be along I’m sure,” Cres said with a nod. “Though hopefully later rather than sooner, I’d like a bit of peace before they get here.”

Belle nodded her head as she finished cleaning up the last bit of fur on Xav’s back. She then pushed a paw on him gently, urging him to head to the bedroom. “Start getting ready for bed Xav,” she order him.

“But-”

“No buts,” she interrupted before he could even finish. Xav pouted and walked through the slightly open door to the master bed room. She then turned to Cres. “Well, how about you tell me about our new guest till then, it would help me when I meet her when Matt comes back.”

“Right, well...”