Burning Land And Stormy Seasby MoowellChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 1“Ugh... Ooohh...” Twilight awoke to a splitting headache, starting from her horn and working its way backward. She reached up to touch it and hopefully rub the pain away, but a lance of stinging pain shot through at first contact. “Ouch...” she hissed, pulling back momentarily before steeling herself and applying some pressure to the tip. It was some time before she was willing to put her hoof down and shake it off. “Whatever that was, I hope it doesn’t happen again.” *crunch* Her eyes shot open in surprise, only to quickly shut as another lance pierced her brain. She squinted and slowly opened her eyes again, this time wary of the bright, midday sun beaming down on her. Her gaze traveled downward to where her hoof had fallen. ‘Leaves?’ she thought to herself. ‘When did I get outside?’ Her head swiveled from side to side as she explored her surroundings. Not only was nopony in sight, but no buildings were in sight. In fact, hardly anything was visible with the grass at such a height, save for the tops of a few trees. How could anypony live with grass like this? *growwwwwwl* Twilight looked around with a heavy blush, but thankfully there was still nopony around to see it. “Eheh... I guess I should be thankful that somepony was so negligent of their lawn, or somepony might’ve noticed that.” She pondered a moment and smelled the grass. It smelled nice, at least as far as grass is concerned. Well kept and healthy, even if it wasn’t grazed or even cut properly. She looked around one last time. When she saw nopony coming, she grinned widely and took an unladylike mouthful of the rich, green blades and chewed for all their worth. “Mmm...” she mmm’d as her grin only grew. If anypony had seen her at that point, they would’ve been appalled at her manners! Such egregious behavior was unbecoming of a Canterlot unicorn! She giggled at the thought and swallowed her food with a loud gulp. She went to take another bite... *crunch* She froze. Her hooves hadn’t moved that time. Ears swiveling back and forth to find the source of the sound, she slowly lifted her head. “Hello?” she called. “Is somepony there?” ***** ‘Shoot, I spooked it! Please don’t run, please don’t run, please don’t run...’ Professor Birch winced and carefully lifted his foot, cursing the errant branch underneath. Just moments ago, his Dexnav had indicated a pokemon previously unseen in the area, but in his haste he hadn’t looked where he was stepping. Thankfully, the pokemon seemed to calm down a little bit. It returned to its grazing, but he could tell by the way its ears flicked back and forth that it was being more cautious. ‘Phew... That was a close one. Alright, little guy. What are you?’ Birch lifted up his Pokedex and scanned the creature once it turned its head away. As he waited for the reading to complete, he watched the pokemon in barely restrained fascination. It was small, about the size of a Numel, and looked a bit like a Kanto Ponyta. Only without flames. And Purple. And had a Seel’s horn right in the middle of its forehead. ‘What a strange looking creature...’ “Unknown pokemon. Unknown pokemon,” said a robotic sounding voice, startling Birch into jumping with its far-too-loud speaker. He fumbled with the device, trying to make it be quiet, but in his haste, he lost his grip and sent it flying. He lunged out to grab it before it could get away, but that only served to throw him off balance and let gravity do the rest. With a great crash, he landed on the ground, the Pokedex underneath his belly. He picked himself up, grabbed the Pokedex, and mashed the mute button to finally silence the voice, but by then it was too late. As he lay on the ground, he found himself staring into the eyes of the creature almost within arm's reach. ***** As Twilight stared into the eyes of the massive creature, her mind raced yet went nowhere while several parts ideas warred for attention. In one hoof, the scientific side of her rambled on about the discovery of a species and first contact with aliens. In another, her intellectual mind pointed out the facts in front of her: a massive creature was staring down at her, carrying a strange and noisy device in its thick paws, and that it was probably the same creature that made the noise from earlier. And it wore clothes! It had to be civilized, or at least somewhat intelligent, if it wore clothes! In a third, her survival instincts were screaming at her to stop thinking and do something about protecting herself. Run. Hide. Fight. Anything but stand stupidly and let it catch her. In the end, survival won out and diverted the rest of her brain to figuring out the best course of action. Should she run? At first glance, getting as far away as possible seemed like a good idea, but she realized that she was already lost in the middle of nowhere. Running could put her in an even worse situation. Hide? Where could she hide? The grass was tall enough to whip the tip of her horn standing up, but the creature found when her head was low, meaning it had a way of tracking her without using sight. Whatever she chose to do, she needed to be quick, for the creature wasn’t waiting for her and reached into the pocket of its white coat. Twilight crouched low, and pointed her horn at it, hoping to scare it away with her magic. But the moment she felt her magic course through her horn, it felt like somepony had jabbed into it with a needle. She winced as her magic cut out abruptly, but her efforts appeared to have worked, because the creature suddenly stopped. However, it wasn’t enough to make it go away. The creature just lied there, rummaging through its pockets. As their eyes locked, she realized she would have to use a more basic approach. She blinked. The massive creature blinked. She scowled and stomped her hoof on the ground. The creature patted its pockets, its eyes wide as it looked back at her. She screamed a piercingly high-pitched scream, reared back, and charged, horn lowered. The creature screamed a not-so-piercingly, but still high-pitched scream, and scrambled to its feet. But it wasn’t fast enough... ***** “Ouch! Gah, stop that! Ooo-hoo-hoo, that one smarted!” he cried, desperately flailing his arms backward at the little purple pokemon in an attempt to spare his buttocks from becoming a pincushion. “Ow! If I could just- Yeowch! Gotta get to my bag!” Birch ran for his backpack, but every time he got close, the little pokemon would rush forward and drive him in a different direction, as though it was actively trying to prevent him from reaching it. Just then, he spied a girl running up the path from Littleroot Town. “Hey, you! Please, You’ve gotta help me! There are pokeballs in my backpack!” ***** Twilight slowed down, panting from chasing the giant around. Thankfully, it also looked worn out, and didn’t attack her. Still, she kept a wary eye on it, just in case it tried something. Suddenly, a flash of light snatched her attention. The light morphed and shifted its form, changing into a bipedal figure about half her height. As the light faded, Twilight found herself staring at an orange bird with a little plume of yellow feathers sticking out from the top of an enormous head relative to its body. “Torchic!” the bird screeched, its plumage ruffling up as it glared at her, scratching at the ground with sharp-looking talons. “Wow! That was amazing!” Twilight’s fascination with the spectacle momentarily overcame her fatigue, and she quickly ran up to the bird and started inspecting it, much to its confusion. “How did you do that? Are you some kind of phoenix? You don’t look like anything I’ve read about in my books!” Something shouted from nearby, snapping Twilight back to reality. She looked over toward the source of the noise to see a much smaller, yet similar creature to the one from before. It also wore clothes, but its mane was longer and pulled into a set of tails. It was also holding onto a red and white orb. As Twilight looked closer, she saw a small button in the center, pointing at the bird next to her. Twilight screamed as a burning sensation flared in her leg, dropping her to the ground. When she looked down, she saw a trickle of blood welling up from a fresh cut. The bird was now standing a short ways away, still glaring, but as Twilight looked closer, she spied several purple hairs caught in one of its talons. She almost shouted at it, but then she realized where it had positioned itself: right between her and the larger, hairless creatures. “Are those your masters?” she asked. The bird didn’t give her a response, but the long-maned creature shouted something else, and the bird crouched low. “Wait! I’m sorry! I didn’t- OUCH!” she yelled, another cut appearing on her chest. “Torchiiiiiic!” the bird cried, as though it were proclaiming its defiance against Twilight. She clutched the wound and whimpered, a small tear forming in her eye from the sting. ***** “Drat... May,” Birch called as he ceased rummaging through his pouch. “Yes, professor?” The girl replied, taking her eyes off the battle for a moment. “That pokemon could be the first of its kind ever recorded, but I forgot all my pokeballs at the lab... Could you keep battling it for a little while longer while I go and grab them?” “Yes sir!” May turned back to the battle. “Oh, and May!” She turned her head, keeping her eyes on the little pokemon. “Try not to make it faint!” May nodded and listened as Professor Birch ran back to town. It was still nursing its wound, so she took the opportunity to give another order. “Torchic, use ember!” ***** ‘It has to be a phoenix, but I’ve never heard about phoenixes serving masters before...’ she thought as a barrage of tiny flames singed her sides. ‘I wonder why this one serves those... whatever-they-ares? Was it raised in captivity? What happened to its parents?!’ When the flames finally stopped peppering her, she turned back and took a small step to the side to get out of the small patch of burnt grass. “Ouch!” She cried, lifting her hoof up to her mouth and sucking on it. One particularly large ember still smoldered right where she had stepped, and a patch of blackened fur sank into her hoof. She set it back down, but it stung when it touched the ground. She plopped down, head hanging low. “Why is this happening to me? Did the princess send me away?” Twilight choked back a sob. “I wish I never went to take the test... I wish mommy and daddy were here...” The tears flowed from her eyes, no longer capable of holding back. “I want to go home!” ***** May watched as the pokemon started to cry, unsure what to do. The Torchic under her command also looked confused, glancing back to her for guidance she wasn’t sure she could give. She had never seen a Pokemon cry before. What was she supposed to do? Then her Torchic began to move forward. It slowly walked up to the Pokemon and peered at the tears flowing from its eyes. Then, strangely, it nuzzled the Pokemon, as though it were trying to cheer it up. The pokemon looked up at Torchic, not quite sure what to make of its actions. Torchic poked down at the pokemon’s burnt hoof, hanging its head when it saw the black patch. It hopped over to the other side and nuzzled the pokemon again. After a moment, much to May’s surprise, it nuzzled back and smiled. It lifted up its leg and stroked Torchic’s plume, and Torchic trilled happily. Then the bird turned toward May and scowled, surprising her again. It marched back toward her with its thin little legs and sat down right in front of her, eyes closed. “Uh... Torchic, I need you to keep battling, okay? Otherwise that pokemon might get away.” The little bird simply shook its head back and forth, refusing to move. “Please?” Again, it shook its head. May sighed. "Alright, fine. Torchic return." She held out the pokeball, and Torchic disappeared inside. But then the other pokemon slowly walked forward, keeping wary eyes on May, until it stood next to where Torchic had been, searching the area as though looking for the bird. May watched it until it looked back up at her and the ball in her hand. "...Torchic, come out." The pokemon jumped as Torchic reappeared, then examined Torchic, babbling in its strange language. 'Weird... It's using more than just one word to talk... More than just its name.' Finally, the creature stopped and sat down next to Torchic and pulled it close to its body, much to the bird's dismay at being squished. May giggled at her pokemon's distress, then watched as the pair just sat there together, not battling, not moving, not talking. Just keeping each other company. She had never seen a wild pokemon get along like this with a trainer pokemon, especially mid-battle. Yet at the same time, it brought a smile to her face. Part of her wished that they could stay like that forever. As friends. “May! I’m back! Please tell me it’s still there!” Professor Birch called, running up to the group with satchel on shoulder and pokeball in hand. “Professor, wait!” May cried, whirling around to stop him, but she was too late. The pokemon’s eyes widened, and it turned and started to run away. However, it could only limp and stumble thanks to the burn on the bottom of its leg. Birch quickly caught up and readied his pokeball. “Oh, good! It’s still here! Pokeball, don’t fail me now!” He lobbed the device at the fleeing pokemon. Only for it to explode in a shower of tiny flames. “What?!” Birch said, flabbergasted. His gaze descended upon Torchic, whose mouth still smoked. “Torchic, what are you doing?! This could be my only chance!” He quickly grabbed for another pokeball and made to give chase, but Torchic blocked his path, beak glowing with fire. He stopped and looked, hoping that his could just throw the ball over, but the pokemon was too far away for him to reach it. “Aww... I was so close, too... Torchic, why did you do that?” May growled, arms stretched toward the ground. “Professor, now look what you’ve done!” While May shouted at the professor, Torchic merely watched its new friend disappear into the brush. Chapter 2Twilight ran as far and as fast as her legs could carry her, though she was slowed due to her burn. Still, she seemed to have finally escaped that giant with the capture orbs. Now that she was alone and had time to think about it, that was probably why Torchic served them. She remembered seeing it pulled into and out of the orb in the small one’s paw. 'If I ever see another one of those orbs, I'll have to be careful not to be caught or I may never get back home...' She shook her head and looked around. She may have escaped those creatures, but she wasn’t out of trouble yet. None of her surroundings were familiar, and there were other creatures around that seemed eager to fight. Over the last few hours, she mostly saw enormous caterpillars, but there were other creatures around as well. Feral dogs and such, not unlike the timberwolves from her books, but furry and less menacing. Still, she avoided contact with them. With magic being painful to use, and no experience in a hoof fight - not to mention her injured hoof draining her energy - she knew she wouldn’t last long against such predators. Finally, she came to a clearing. Inside, she found several large buildings, each with their own unique signs and construction. She sighed in relief. "Finally! A town! Maybe somepony can help me get back home.” She was just about to take a step into the clearing when she saw several of the giants from before walk out from one of the buildings. Then more appeared, each coming from a different place and traveling from building to building or down one of several paths leading to and from the town. One such building had a large symbol that looked like the capture orbs she had seen earlier. She made sure to avoid that one at all costs. ‘This is one of their settlements... How has Princess Celestia allowed such creatures to gather and capture other animals like they have?’ Regardless of why they were here, they were here, meaning she would have to find someplace else to rest. Someplace outside. Under the open sky. Exposed to the elements. And predators. She breathed deeply to calm her steadily fraying nerves, just like Cadance taught her. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Raise a hoof to the chest, and release... There. Now she was ready to think about how to stay safe for the coming night. Nearby were some trees she could... As she looked up, she realized there was no way she could climb them. No branch was within reach, and even if one was, she had never been a skilled anything-outdoorsy-er. She tested her magic, hoping to be able to pull a branch low enough for her to grab and let carry her up, but she found that it was no use. She was still burned out from whatever happened during the test. She was stuck. If she made for the clearing, a giant would probably see her and try to capture her. If she stayed, she risked being found by a pack of those dogs or a giant. And if she didn’t figure it out soon, she wouldn’t have the strength to do anything. A drop of water struck her nose, causing her to look up to the sky. High overhead, clouds were moving in. Twilight stared in momentary confusion. 'Where are the pegasi?' She bit down on that train of thought. 'Not important right now. The clouds are about to block the sunlight. If I'm going to run for it, I'll have to wait until then.' ***** The Nurse sighed. It was going to be another long night. Few people ever visited Oldale Town anymore. Only people from Littleroot coming up for supplies, or Professor Birch on one of his research kicks. Sometimes the occasional scientist on their way from Petalburg to Littleroot and back, but they were typically good about keeping their pokemon healthy. Which was good, as it meant people were caring for their pokemon... But it made for some incredibly dull days. Sure, there were also bug catchers and youngsters running around and trying to become the very best trainers they could, which meant the day shift typically had a lot of customers. Sometimes repeats. Unfortunately, those customers tended to have curfews once the night rolled around. The Nurse sighed as she took her position behind the counter and stared out the window. It was usually pretty tough to see outside, as the overhead lights reflected inward, but the rain made it even harder. Yet as dusk fell, she noticed something odd. There was a small figure just inside the edge of town. One she didn’t recognize, which struck her as doubly odd given her occupation. She looked up at the clock. Her shift didn’t technically start for another five minutes, so she darted out from behind the counter and pressed her face against the window. It was a pokemon. Large compared to the usual fare in this part of Hoenn, quadrupedal, and had a horn of all things on its head. She wracked her brain, trying to think what sort of pokemon it could be, but nothing came to her. She did, however, notice it had a limp in its foreleg, favoring it as it stumbled forward. Then it collapsed. She gasped. Looking more closely, she could see splotches of darkness on its skin - no, fur - where something had wounded it. Probably burn marks, given its state of weakness. If left in the open, the Poochyenas would likely have an easy meal tonight. Not that she had anything wrong with Poochyenas feeding, but this pokemon was trying to enter town and might belong to someone here. She blanched at the thought of some poor youngster who lost his pokemon finding the none-too-pretty remains of his pokemon in the morning. She looked back at the clock. ‘Three minutes. Plenty of time.’ ***** Itinerant Artist finished up sketching the Wingulls as they flew overhead, then packed up his easel and made his way back into town before the sun set completely. Yet all plans of moving on to the next town vanished the moment he saw the most majestic sight his eyes ever did see. A royal purple pokemon, cradled in the tender arms of a human as she made her way into the Pokemon Center. The majesty of Rapidash! The grace of Delcatty! The hue of Nidoking! Such attributes have surely never been captured by human art! And when matched with the clear bond between pokemon and trainer, it could only be described as a magnum opus! With his heart set, Artist made his way to the Pokemon Center. ***** Twilight awoke feeling refreshed and revitalized. Even the pain in her horn seemed to be gone. 'Huh... Maybe I wasn't as burned out as I thought...' She yawned and stretched, then pulled the cords off her legs, hopped of the bed and- Cords? Bed? She looked around and found herself inside a closed room, a window looking into the town, and a door leading... somewhere. There were bits of equipment that looked like medical stuff from back home, so she was probably in some sort of hospital. She looked down at her sides and hoof. Even in the early morning light, she could tell that there were no scratches or scorch marks anywhere, much to her surprise. It must have taken a highly skilled mage to heal her of all of that so quickly. She vaguely remembered something picking her up and carrying her before she fell asleep... There was shouting outside the door, bringing her from her thoughts. She couldn’t understand the words, but the language sounded similar to the giants from yesterday. There was a high voice and a lower voice, each going back and forth about something, getting louder and louder. Whatever they were arguing about, Twilight resolved not to be around when they finished. Grateful for being healed, but not so grateful that she would stick around to give them a chance to put her in one of those orbs. She aimed her horn at the window and tried to lift it, but it was harder than she thought. She’d never lifted more than a page or three of a book, much less a window bigger than she was. She thought back to the the entrance exam. The last time she tried to do magic that was really hard, she ended up, well... here. Opening a window was probably easier than hatching a dragon, but she really didn’t want to go through that again. So instead, she pushed the bed - thankfully, it was on wheels - over to the window and climbed back on top of it. With her hooves pressed against the panes, she slowly lifted the window off its sill. Ever so slowly, to make as little noise as possible. Almost there, just a little more until she would be able to squeeze through... And then the bed slipped. The wheels ground sideways across the floor, and Twilight squealed as her position dropped a little. The shouting outside stopped abruptly. As the knob turned, Twilight threw caution to the wind and shoved the window upward as hard as she could, slamming it against the top of the frame. Two giants shouted after her as she bolted across the town toward one of the three paths leading away. She made a mental note of which path she came from originally, using the position and appearance of the buildings as her guide, and bolted toward a different one, not caring which. The possibility of escape was much better than the certainty of capture. She heard loud shouting behind her, but forced herself not to look back. Looking back meant going slower or risking tripping or running into something, the punishment for doing so something she wasn’t willing to accept. However, that didn’t stop her from swiveling her ears back and gauging distance that way. They were almost on her. Just as she came to the exit, she spied a mud puddle and leapt into it with all fours, shooting mud and grime high into the air. Normally, she wasn’t one for splashing into dirt intentionally. However, based on the loud yelp right behind her, she successfully managed to get mud into her pursuer’s eyes. She left the giants behind, leaving a dwindling trail of muddy hoofprints in her wake. ***** “Agh! My eyes! Urgggh...” Artist growled, rubbing them furiously to try and clean out the dirt. “That clever little beauty...” “Serves you right! Chasing that pokemon around like a maniac,” the Nurse chastised. “You should be ashamed!” The Nurse strode back to the Pokemon Center, happy to see the rude gentleman get his comeuppance. As Artist finally managed to blink his dirty tears away, he found a trail of footprints leading out toward Route 102. “Well, at least I can get these down. Maybe a professor will know what they belong to..." His bloodshot eyes gleamed with a wicked glint. "...And be able to point me in the right direction to find it again.” Chapter 3In the morning light, Twilight made her way away from town and into the wild. It was a scary thought, willingly leaving civilization behind to stay in the wild areas, but Twilight knew that she may never get home otherwise. Just outside of town, there was a tall patch of grass near a pond where she could hide and get something to drink, so she made her way there. The grass pulled at her fur as she passed through it, making her skin to twiitch, but she didn’t care at the moment. She was dirty, and thirsty, and hadn’t eaten yet. She blinked, then smacked her head with a hoof and took a bite out of the grass. It was delicious. There was something about fresh, dew-covered, wild grass that made Twilight want to laugh with giddy bliss. Completely different than Canterlot grass, which was magically grown to be resilient on the side of a mountain and only eaten after careful preparation. Why couldn’t that grass be like this? After a few bites, however, Twilight found that it made her even thirstier, so she turned and looked down at the pond. It was dark blue, and had a gentle ripple flowing across the top as a gentle breeze blew across it. It almost made her wish she didn’t have to disturb the calm. If only the dew was enough to sate her... As she examined the pond, she realized that the ledge was a bit low for her to reach. She craned her neck downward, even going so far as to lie down, but quickly she wasn’t quite able to reach. She thought about trying to grab some water with her magic, but it was like trying to pull on a wall; she could touch the surface, but she couldn’t wrap her magic around it. Not without trying to grab the whole pond, and there was no way she could do that. She looked around for something to scoop the water with, but other than dirt, grass, and rocks, there wasn’t much of anything nearby. Twilight groaned. ‘What I wouldn’t give for a cup right now...’ But as she looked at the things around her, the gears in her head began to turn. ‘Maybe I can make something. Daddy always said I could do anything if I put my mind to it. But what can I do to make a cup?’ She looked at the grass as it swayed in the breeze, then plucked a few of the wider stalks with her teeth. Using a nice, round rock, she folded each grass stalk around the base until they resembled a small bowl. She then wrapped a longer blade around the top to hold it all together, tying the ends together in a basic knot. When she finally, carefully, let go, it didn’t fall apart. “Hah! Take that, Shiny! I can do arts and crafts!” All that was left to do was take the rock out, and she would have her bowl, ready for scooping up water. But the moment she removed it, all the grass blades straightened back into their original positions, leaping out from under the rim like confetti from a party popper. She huffed as she pulled several blades out of her mane and started over. It took her several mishaps, wrapping and weaving and folding the stalks - she was no super-crafty earth pony, after all - but eventually she had a functional, if not pretty, bowl. With a victorious grin, she reached down, dipped the bowl into the pond and pulled out her first drink of water since arriving in this strange land. And like the grass, it was so fresh, so clean that it made her want to giggle. So she did. Having conquered her first real obstacle at surviving in the wild, she laughed in triumph. After a second scoop, she found herself dancing around and giggling happily. Confident that her ability to take care of herself would only get better as time went on, she raised the bowl dramatically over her head and plunged it downward to the water. ***** Ralts perked up as he sensed a great well of happiness coming from the watering hole. As strong as the joy of a Taillow just learning to fly, or a Zigzagoon finding its first berries on its own. It was a little strange, though. Where a Zigzagoon’s joy was like crunching leaves under his feet, a Seedot’s felt like a warm ray of sunshine. Surskit joy was more like dipping his feet into cool water, and a Wurmple’s felt like a full-body hug. But this? It didn’t feel like any emotion he’d ever felt before. It tingled and tickled his hips, almost like Zigzagoon fur rubbing against him, but welling up from the inside rather than the outside. Still, it was so heartfelt that Ralts couldn’t help but smile. It beckoned him to come and share in it. As he approached the source, he saw a large, purple... something. Not exactly sure what it was, but it seemed interested in the watering hole. The creature dipped a small object into the water, then drew the object back out and put it to its lips. Then the creature laughed and bounced around with that same, tickling joy he had felt from before and repeated the process. Even though the joy made him smile, Ralts couldn’t help his confusion. It couldn’t be a water-type creature. There wasn’t a speck of orange or blue on it! So why was drinking water making it so happy? Was it just really thirsty? Suddenly the creature stopped bouncing around. Its eyes and shoulders fell toward the ground, and Ralts could feel its emotions turn bitter. ***** Mommy’s cookies... Twilight stopped bouncing and frowned, her head sagging as thoughts of home grew in her mind. What else would she never get to have again? Would she ever see Mommy? Daddy? Shiny? Cadance? “Why are you crying?” Twilight jumped and nearly fell into the pond at the strange voice. When she turned, she found a creature just over half her height staring at her. It was built like the giants, but its entire body was robed in white. Its mane was green and shaped like an upside-down bowl. Two large red, dragon-like spines jutted out from under its mane. It tilted its head to the side. “You were so happy before. What happened?” it asked, though its mouth didn’t move. Twilight sniffed and wiped her eyes with a leg. “Wh-who are you?” The creature place a pointed arm against its chest. “I’m Ralts. Who are you?” “I’m Twi-*hic*-light. Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight rubbed the last tears away from her eyes. "It's good to meet you, Twilispark." Twilight was too preoccupied with her thoughts and a certain observation to bother correcting Ralts. “How do you talk without moving your mouth like that?” “My voice isn’t very strong, so I project my thoughts using my horns,” Ralts replied, touching the spine on its forehead. “I can also sense emotion with them. I felt lots of happiness coming from over here, but then it turned sad. Why are you so sad?” Twilight stared at the ground. “I miss my family... I was-” Twilight stopped, then shook her head. “We got separated, and now I’m lost, and I don’t know how to get home, and I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again...” A gentle pat on her shoulder brought her eyes upward. Ralts reached up and hugged her neck, taking care not to poke her in the throat with its horns. “I know how you feel. My parents disappeared too, not long after I hatched.” Twilight sniffed. “What happened?” “They were probably eaten.” Twilight stared at Ralts. “...Eaten?” “Mhmm,” Ralts casually replied. “There is a pack of Poochyena that lives in this area.” “What’s a Poo-chee-ay-na?” Ralts put a pointed arm to its lips and looked upward, then grabbed a stick from nearby and began to draw in the dirt. “Mmm... It looks a lot like you, except it has grey fur, claws on its feet, and all of its teeth look like your horn, but in its mouth and not on its head. Oh, and its snout it longer than yours compared to its head.” Twilight stared at the dirt portrait. Two ovals connected by a single line, with four lines sticking out from the bottom of the larger oval and three little lines branching from each. The smaller oval had two jagged lines in the middle, just under two circles with slanted lines over them. “That... doesn’t look like me at all...” “Of course not. That’s a Poochyena.” Ralts gave Twilight a sagely nod. Twilight sighed and shrugged, but Ralts’ description of the predator brought a vague memory to mind. “Actually, I think I saw what you’re talking about on the other side of the giants’ town.” “Giants?” Ralts’ head tilted to the side. “Those big, clothed monsters with the capture orbs.” “Oh, you mean humans. I didn’t even think about those...” Ralts stared at the ground, an arm pressed against his chin. “Maybe my parents were captured rather than eaten?” Twilight frowned. Between the ‘Poochyena’ - Poochyenas? Poochyeni? - and the ‘humans’, she was beginning to doubt if she could even make it safely away from this region, much less make it back home. “...family?” “Huh?” Twilight shook her head and focused back on Ralts. “Sorry, what were you asking?” “Would you like to meet my family?” Ralts repeated, looking at Twilight with wide eyes. “I know you’re lonely. I can feel it in my horns. But if you stay with me and my family, you won't be lonely anymore.” “But I thought you said they were gone...” “When did I say that? I don’t have parents, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have family. Come on! I’ll introduce you!” Chapter 4Twilight followed Ralts through the grass until they reached a small clearing. Twilight recognized several of the creatures as the same type of caterpillar from before, but there were some that were new. A brown, jaggy-furred dog. A big blue gerridae with a yellow spike on top. A living, breathing acorn the size of her head. Several enormous butterflies with colorations she didn’t recognize. As she thought about it, many of the creatures she had seen were a lot bigger than similar things at home. The dog perked up as the pair rustled out of the grass and bounded over in an unpredictable pattern, zagging and zigging its way toward them until it stopped right in front of Ralts. “Zagoo?” “This is Twilispark,” Ralts replied, gesturing toward his guest. “It lost its family, so I brought it with me to join ours.” “Za! Zig Zigzagoon! Zagoo zig zigza!” With that, the creature zipping away in its jagged manner, stopping by each of the other creatures in the clearing. “What was that?” Twilight asked, not entirely sure what just happened. “That’s just Zigzagoon being Zigzagoon. He’s easily excited, as you can probably tell.” Ralts led Twilight into the center of the clearing as the other creatures turned their attention toward the pair. She turned her head to Ralts. “These creatures are your family?” Ralts turned and smiled at her. “Mhmm! Everyone except for the Beautiflies. They’re migrating to the great wood, far to the west.” Twilight looked at the diverse group, unsure what to make of it. Families were made up of relatives. Mommies and daddies, brothers and sisters, parents and foals. None of these creatures looked related in any way. Well, maybe the ‘beautiflies’ and the caterpillars, if that’s what the caterpillars turned into after they metamorphosed. But Ralts definitely wasn’t a caterpillar. “Hey, everyone!” Ralts projected once the group was assembled. “This is Twilispark. It’s-” “Twilight Sparkle,” she corrected. “Huh? It’s not twilight yet, though the stars do sparkle once they come out.” Twilight gave Ralts a flat stare. Ralts tilted his head to the side. “What? Why are you getting frustrated?” Twilight sighed. “Nevermind.” Ralts looked at her a moment longer, then straightened his head again and addressed the group. “Anyways, Twilispark is just like us, so please welcome...” Ralts turned to Twilight. “Him? Her?” “Her.” Ralts nodded. “Please welcome her with all your hearts!” “Ack!” Twilight found herself being swarmed by the entire mass. Fur and tongue, dozens of legs, gentle wings, and even the hard shell of a giant acorn crashed into her, knocking her down and smothering her with nuzzles and affection. “Ralts! Help!” Ralts simply laughed. “I couldn’t do that to them. There is too much happiness floating around for me to break it up.” Twilight struggled just a moment longer before resigning herself to her fate. Ralts identified the creatures for Twilight one by one as they passed through her vision. She had already figured out who Zigzagoon and the Beautiflies were, but the caterpillars were collectively called ‘Wurmple’ and the acorn was ‘Seedot’. Through the shuffling and commotion, she saw the gerridae waiting a short distance away, staring at her with eyes that, on a pony, would be something akin to focused intent. It slowly skated across the ground toward the group. “Surs!” it screeched, and immediately the bustle stopped. The creatures pulled back one by one, giving it and Twilight some space. “Ski-kit surs. Surskit su surski.” Twilight stared blankly at the creature. “Ralts, who is this?” “Twilispark, meet Surskit. He protects the family from hungry Poochyena.” Twilight suppressed the urge to correct Ralts again, knowing it wouldn’t do her any good. Instead, she stood up and nodded to Surskit. “Hello. I’m Twilight Sparkle. It’s good to meet you.” “Skit surs surki kit.” “Don’t be so mean!” Ralts exclaimed. “She has no one else to turn to!” “What’s he saying?” Ralts tilted his head at Twilight. “What do you mean? Didn’t you hear him?” “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I understand him,” Twilight explained. “You’re the only creature I’ve met since coming here that I can understand.” Ralts put a pointed arm up to his mouth. “You can’t Understand? I thought the only creatures that couldn’t Understand were the humans!" “If by understand you mean automatically know your language without ever meeting you before,” Twilight replied with a huff. “...then no, I can’t. How am I supposed to do that?” Ralts tilted his head to the side. “But you can Understand me just fine. Why me and not the others?” Twilight frowned. “Probably because instead you using words, you use magic that lets you touch a pony’s mind directly. I read that magic like that is contrary to magical law in pretty much every civilization.” “Surs! Kit kit surskit!” Twilight looked back down at Surskit. Its black eyes seemed to be scowling at her. “Surskit surs sur?” She sighed. “Unfortunately, I have no other way of knowing what’s going on, and I don’t know the laws here... What’s he saying, Ralts?" “He says ‘A creature who can’t Understand has no heart. How can we trust it?’” Ralts fumed. “Of course she has a heart! If she didn’t, how could I sense her emotion?” Twilight blinked and put a hoof to her chest, then breathed a small sigh of relief as she felt the gentle, pulsing thumps inside her. Then, realizing what she was doing, she shook her head. “Silly... I wouldn’t be alive right now if I didn’t have a heart,” she muttered. Surskit screeched a few more words for Ralts to translate. “‘If you want a heartless creature here, then it should defend itself. The family won’t fight her battles like those taken by the humans.’” Ralts turned to Twilight. “I guess that’s the only way he’ll accept you. Can you defend yourself?” “I... I don’t know. I’ve only fought once since coming here. If they hadn’t stopped, I... I might’ve...” Twilight thought back to the humans that summoned Torchic to attack her. Could she fight enemies like that? What about predators? If this so-called ‘family’ wasn’t going to protect her, would she be able to protect herself? “I don’t know if I can...” Surskit skrittered a few more words, leaving Ralts with a dumbfounded expression. “Surskit, you can’t be serious!” The gerridae continued. Twilight could only guess as to the conversation going on between it and Ralts, but she didn’t like her hypothesis. “But doing that will... She’s tall. What does that have to do with anything? ...You can’t honestly believe that. Poochyena use their noses just as much as their eyes, if not more... She hardly knew what they were! You can’t expect her to beat a pack on her own! ...You’re different. You’re the strongest one here... I guess that’s fair... No, I understand. I don’t like it, but I understand.” Ralts audibly sighed and turned to Twilight as the gerridae skated over to the other side of the clearing. “What’s going on?” Twilight asked. As she looked around, she could see the other creatures backing away. “Surskit says if you can’t defend yourself, then you can’t stay with us.” Twilight’s ears drooped against her head. “Everyone here defends our home when the Poochyena come. He says even one death would be crippling to the family if we needed to fight them as a group, and he can’t be everywhere to defend those who can’t defend themselves.” “But I don’t know the first thing about fighting!” Twilight protested. Ralts patted her on the shoulders with outstretched arms, then pointed to the other side of the clearing, where Surskit was waiting, watching. “He said he would give you a chance. Show him that you can defend yourself, even a little bit, and he’ll let you stay.” “But what if I fail? I’ll be all alone again, but there may not be anypo- one else who will help me. I’ll get eaten, or captured, and then I’ll never get home...” Ralts sagged. He could feel the hope dwindling inside Twilispark, and it made his heart ache. Still, he put on as encouraging a smile as he could. “Then don’t fail. I’ll be cheering for you, okay?” ***** A pair of yellow eyes peered out from the grass. The prey which had caused him and his pack so much trouble were all watching two of their own - the Stinger and a newcomer - battle in the center of the clearing. He watched as the two traded blows, wearing each other down with every strike and dodge. He growled low at the sight. Another set of eyes appeared beside him. “Alpha, the prey are distracted by the battle. The Stinger is getting weaker by the moment. Are we finally to strike tonight?” “No, not yet,” Alpha growled. “The newcomer is strong enough to face the Stinger and still stand. It is too dangerous to face them when they are together with the other prey.” “What are your orders?” “They must be separated if we are to conquer them." Alpha's muzzle contorted into a fanged grimace. "Tonight, we wait. After the sun rises, we wait. We will wait until one of they prey is alone before striking, and then we will use their blood to lure out the Stinger. And if he doesn't come, then we will strike again in the same way until he comes." He allowed himself a feral grin. "With the Stinger out of the way, the pack will feast.” “By your order.” The two sets of eyes disappeared back into the tall grass. Chapter 5“Seriously, what twisted mage decided it was a good idea to create a spell that makes bubbles explode?! Ow...” Twilight screamed in frustration as Ralts nursed her battered sides. Ralts reached up and patted her on the shoulder, carefully avoiding any areas which were still tender. “Don’t feel bad, Twilight. Surskit is the strongest one here, and he thought you did okay.” “All I did was get knocked around...” Twilight mumbled. “I couldn’t get close with all the bubbles he spat at me, and whenever I did, he’d sting me. That horn on his head really hurts!” “But when you started using your psychic abilities-” “Magic,” Twilight corrected. Ralts tilted his head to the side briefly, then continued. “Then you started pushing him back! I’ve never seen anyone even wear him down. At the end, you forced him to get close!” Twilight looked to the ground as she thought back to the battle. At the beginning, she was afraid to use her magic for fear of burning out again, and only used her hooves and horn to fight. Her aching side was proof of how well that tactic worked. Eventually though, she allowed herself to use her magic, and the battle seemed to turn in her favor. At least, until Surskit rushed in and skewered her with that glowing horn of his. Whatever magic he used to make his horn glow also made its hits extra painful. Still, she allowed herself a small smile. Using her magic had made a difference, though she still lost, it hadn’t gone out of control. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” “And because of that, Surskit says you can stay with us!” Twilight peered under Ralts’ hair. His smile reached up into his cheeks, pushing all the way into his closed eyes. It was the sort of smile that infected anyone who saw it, and Twilight was no exception. “Isn’t it great?” Twilight nodded, though her smile faltered. “Hey, Ralts?” “What is it? Your emotions just sank a little.” “Do you think I’ll ever make it home? Will I ever see my family again?” Ralts put an arm to his chin, then shrugged. “Hmm... I don’t know. But I do know that we’ll be here for you until they find you. The family never abandons one of its own.” ***** The sentry watched the gathering from her post, concealed by the tall grass. Ever on the alert, she watched for any stray prey to wander away from the group. She had to be careful, as the Stinger was watching everything and wouldn’t hesitate to stab her. Just then she saw what she had been waiting for: a fat Wurmple which had foolishly wandered away from the safety of the group. Battered and scratched from a recent battle, yet still alive, it would make an easy kill to present to Alpha. She moved swiftly and quietly through the grass, keeping her eyes trained on the juicy bug as she progressed. Soon, she was within striking range. She heard a slight rustling behind her. Her ears swiveled back, alerted by a sudden *ping* followed by what sounded like a dozen Wurmple all screeching at once. She whirled to face the noise with a growl. “Who dares disturb my hunt?!” A flash of orange met her eyes, and a searing heat lanced into her chest. ***** ‘What wouldn’t I give for a book right now?’ Twilight sighed as she watched the family members play. They seemed to be having fun, playing games like hide-and-seek and tag or seeing who could find the most berries before lunch. No one ever strayed too far from the clearing, though; Surskit made sure of that. Just a few minutes ago, she had tried to get some water from the pond, but Surskit made her go with two Wurmple. And they were sooo sloooow... “Zigza zagoon?” Twilight looked over at the loll-tongued, smiling newcomer who was staring at her, then looked around. Ralts was nowhere to be- wait, there he was, playing with the Wurmple that returned with her. They were all piled on top of his laughing form, tickling him with a dozen little feet. It made Twilight smile, but it didn’t help her at the moment. “Um, h-hello,” she said hesitantly. It turned its head sideways and shut its mouth. “Goon?” She shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t understand you... Can you understand me?” Zigzagoon’s tongue flopped out again as he nodded fervently, bringing her to smile. “I don’t know how you do it. My parents tell me I’m a smart filly, but here you are knowing my language and we’ve only talked once before!” Zigzagoon’s ears perked up. Then he reached up and put a paw on Twilight’s barrel. “Zig,” he said, staring at her intently. “Uh...” He reared up on his hind legs and put his paws around her ears, shaking his head. “Zag.” Then he patted her ears and touched her chest again. “Zig!” Twilight blinked slowly. “I don’t understand. What are you trying to tell me?” He furrowed his bushy brows with a snort and tapped her chest again. “Me?” He shook his head. “My chest?” He shook his head again and thumped her with a rhythmic *tap tap* *tap tap*. “...My heart?” Zigzagoon nodded and bounced around her happily. She didn’t quite understand what was going on, but his glee was infectious. Then he returned and reached up again, tapping her ears, followed by her chest. “Ears and heart?” He shook his head and stepped back a step, much to Twilight’s frustration. What was she missing? His paw went from his muzzle, then back to her ears, and finally to her chest. “Mouth, ear, heart...” Zigzagoon stared at her as her face scrunched in thought. “No... Your mouth, my ears, my heart.” He began to perk. “...You speak, I hear, my heart?” His tongue flopped out of his mouth once again as he began to bounce in place. “You speak, I listen with my heart?” “Zig!” In an instant, Zigzagoon crashed into her, bowling her over and licking her face repeatedly. Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. “Zigzagoon, stop!” she giggled, squirming and trying to get her legs back underneath her. When she finally managed it, Zigzagoon leapt backward and stared hard at her. “Zigzagoo?” he said. Twilight’s giggles diminished enough for her to focus. She still didn’t understand what he was saying, but maybe she would figure it out. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I didn’t understand you. Say it again.” “Zigzagoo?” he repeated. “Again.” Twilight’s breath slowed. ‘I can do this. I just have to listen with my heart...’ “Zigza me now?” Her ears shot straight up, and her eyes widened. “Again! Say that again!” “Can you hear me now?” he asked, a hopeful look in his eyes. ***** Ralts felt his sides tingling, and his feet felt like he was running through piles of dry leaves. As the last Wurmple hopped off of him, he turned with a smile to see Twilispark and Zigzagoon bouncing in circles around each other. ***** Alpha growled. None of his sentries had returned yet, despite the sun reaching its peak. “This isn’t normal. I trained my pack better than this!” He stormed out of the den, his packmates quickly getting out of his way. Just then, he heard a faint whimper. “A-Alpha...” When he turned his head, he watched the first of his sentries to return collapse to the ground. Her sides and chest were riddled with scratches and holes, and patches of her fur smelled strange. “...Who did this to you?” His sentry struggled to sit up, but she failed to manage, her breathing labored. “Th-there was... a new...” She couldn’t continue, her fatigue forcing her to sleep. As quickly as he could without being overly rough, Alpha dragged her back into the den to rest. A moment later, he charged back outside and howled. All activity among his pack, from the playful banter of pups to the training of older warriors, immediately shifted into frenzied preparation. The call to war was sounded. ***** “It seems you have a heart after all, Twilispark,” Surskit said, his face emotionless. “Yep!” Ralts replied happily. “I told you so!” “That you did.” Surskit looked up at the newest addition to the family. “Ralts, stay here and watch over the Wurmple. You come with me.” Twilight blinked and looked at Ralts. He smiled and motioned her to go after Surskit, so she followed as he skated to the other side of the clearing. When he finally stopped, they stood next to a patch of tall grass. “Twilispark, I want you to see something,” he said, pointing into the grass. Twilight nodded and pushed into the area. The smell grew steadily worse as she pressed on, until finally she reached her target. She puked. “Wh-what happened...?” she asked as she wiped her face. “There are predators out there who would prey on us, as they did with this poor Wurmple,” Surskit said, looking at the shredded, half-eaten carcass. “This is why I always watch over the clearing. This is why we don’t go out alone.” Twilight forced herself to look away, despite the protests of her scientific side. “Come we should get back to-” A nearby rustling stopped him. Twilight’s ears also perked at the sound, wary now that she had seen what could be waiting for her. “Surskit...” “Back to the clearing. Now.” The pair quickly left the grass, keeping an eye on it in case something appeared. But something didn’t appear. Five somethings appeared, each with grey fur, yellow eyes, and bared fangs. “It’s the Stinger!” one cried as it charged them, ramming into Surskit and sending him tumbling. “Surskit!” Twilight cried, moving to help him, but he stopped her. “I can take care of these! Go protect the others!” Twilight whirled to see another group closing in on the family. She looked back to see Surskit skate around the side of another charging Poochyena and stab it with his horn. “What are you waiting for?! Go!” Chapter 6Twilight rushed back for the clearing, desperately trying to prevent what she just saw from happening to her friends. Zigzagoon was already fighting off a Poochyena, as was Seedot. The Wurmple huddled together as a mass, shooting ropes of string at the predators surrounding them while Ralts growled as intimidatingly as he could. But their resistance wasn’t enough. Zigzagoon and Seedot were quickly beaten back as the family was slowly corralled into the center of the clearing, surrounded and outnumbered on all sides. Only the Beautiflies that had been staying with them managed to escape by taking to the air. “Hey! Stop hurting my friends!” Twilight shouted, charging in and crashing against one of them with her shoulder and sending its much smaller frame tumbling. A pair turned to face her, but the bright glow of her horn made them hesitate. Just then, an icy chill shot through her side. She tried to scream, but her body froze in place, suddenly covered in ice, leaving all but her eyes rendered immobile. A Poochyena strode out in front of her, head held high, its teeth and breath fogged over as though it were breathing winter air. “You made a mistake, Newcomer,” the proud, angry Poochyena snarled. “You left one of my sentries with enough strength to warn me about you.” ‘What is he talking about?’ Twilight thought. The Poochyena continued. “When she returned to my den, she was battered and beaten, barely alive. The others we found were in similar states, left unconscious at their posts to the mercy of any who might find them.” “That... Wasn’t... Me...” she forced out, her jaw barely able to move inside the ice. “Do not lie to me, Newcomer!” he snarled, crouching low and bristling his fur. “I have seen your power in action! I know the marks it leaves, and they matched the ones on my packmates!” He stood back up, his anger undiminished but his control back in place. “Leave Twilispark alone!” Seedot shouted, drawing the attention of several Poochyena, including their leader. As soon as he realized what he’d done, he huddled back into the group. But the leader’s muzzle split into a dark grin. “Now I’m going to leave my mark on yours.” Twilight’s eyes widened as the Poochyena barked an order to his pack, causing Seedot to be dragged out from the group. “Stop! Please, stop!” she cried, but that only made his grin wider. Seedot’s captor threw him in front of the leader. The leader turned to Twilight, his teeth frosting over, and shouted, “Remember this, Twilispark! I am Alpha, and no one messes with my pack!” With each word, his breath became colder and colder until he whirled and sank his fangs into Seedot. Seedot screeched as Alpha lifted him off the ground and shook him ferociously. The frost crept across his skin until his entire body was covered in it. Then his noise stopped, and his cold body hit the ground with a dull thump. Twilight couldn’t look away. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t fight. She couldn’t move at all. Even as the ice thawed away, Twilight’s breath was rapid and shallow. Her eyes, pinpricks. Her body, paralyzed. And then the face of the one who finished Seedot turned toward her, and even her breathing locked up. “Tonight, we feast!” Alpha shouted. His entire pack descended on the huddled group. Zigzagoon lunged forward and knocked a couple away, but he was quickly overwhelmed. Ralts continued growling, keeping him from being attacked too much, but unable to do anything else. The Wurmple, however... And then there was Twilight, staring into the face of death. Black muzzle. Frosted teeth. Red eyes with yellow sclera. Death took a single step forward, prompting her to blast him with everything thaum of magic within her, but he merely walked forward through her attacks, no matter how powerful she made them, no matter how much she screamed. She backed away, eyes locked with his, unable to make herself run. Suddenly, something grabbed hold of her mane and yanked her to the side. “Run, Twilispark!” came the voice of Ralts from atop Zigzagoon’s back. She ran. They all ran. Away from the clearing, away from their home patch of grass. Away from the nightmare behind them. Never stopping, except to give Ralts a break by riding on the back of either Zigzagoon or Twilight, until they reached the border of the western human city. Once there, they found a large patch of grass to hide in and catch their breath. While the others were only winded, Twilight collapsed with heavy breaths. Having lived in urban Canterlot her entire life, she was certainly not built for this sort of exercise. Her lungs burned almost as much as her legs, with minimal signs of getting better. Now that they had stopped, though, another enemy caught up to Twilight: her own thoughts. Memories of what just happened surged to the front of her mind. Of Surskit facing five enemies on his own. Of Seedot sticking out for her and paying dearly for it. Of the terrified Wurmple being devoured. But above all, the face of Death as it stared into her eyes. “Twilispark! It’s okay, there’s nothing there!” A piercing noise stopped as Twilight felt something press against her side; something furry and warm. Around her neck, two thin arms wrapped themselves tightly. She opened her eyes and gasped for breath, having not even realized she was screaming until that moment. “Shh... It’s okay.” “Th-they... th-they’re all...” She couldn’t finish her sentence before she broke down and wept. Ralts stroked her mane and Zigzagoon pressed himself against her side, ready to hold their friend for as long as it took. ***** The young boy looked up at the large building and hesitated. He was take a risk, asking for help on his own like this. What if he wasn’t helped? What if he was just sent away? The boy shook his head free of such thoughts. If he was just sent away, then he would be no worse off than he was now. Other than missing his parents. At least he would have family though, right? But as he thought about his aunt and uncle, he knew he would still be all but alone. No, he had to ask for help. Wally looked back up at the gym sign, then slowly stepped through the sliding glass door. ***** Twilight’s tears eventually dried. The burning in her lungs had ceased, but her head ached. The aching pain in her legs lanced into her shoulder, now that the chill from Alpha’s bite was gone. And the family that had taken her in was gone. But her tears were dry. She simply didn’t have the energy to make them anymore. “Ralts...” she rasped, her throat sore from her sobs. “Ralts...!” “I’m here, Twilispark. I’m right here,” Ralts replied, his arms still wrapped around her neck. “Zigza-*cough*-zagoon...” “I’m here too,” came a voice at her side. “Please...” Twilight started. Her voice began to tremble. “Please don’t leave me...” “Silly... Didn’t I tell you before?” Ralts leaned into Twilight’s field of vision and smiled. “The family never abandons one of its own.” “Promise?” “We will never, ever leave you behind, Twilispark,” Zigzagoon chimed in. “You’re our family, too.” Twilight relaxed a little, their words bringing her a small bit of comfort. “So, all I have to do is walk in the tall grass and I’ll find one?” said a distant voice. Twilight’s ears perked up at the sound. The voices weren’t using names like other creatures around here. “That’s right. But remember: you have to weaken them first before you throw the pokeball. Otherwise, they might break out of it.” Twilight’s eyes slowly widened. She knew that second voice. “We have to g-” she started, but she talked too quickly and started coughing. “Are you alright?!” Ralts asked. “Um... W-would you show me how?” asked the first voice, closer than before. “Sure! I have a couple extra pokeballs.” She heard the grass start to rustle toward them and struggled to get to her hooves, but her shoulder’s wounds and fatigue quickly dragged her back to the ground. She cleared her throat before saying, “We have to go... Deeper into the grass...” “What was that? I could’ve sworn I heard a voice. Is anyone in there?” This time, the others heard the human. The nodded to each other, then helped Twilight up to her hooves, propping her against their bodies before moving deeper into the grass. But it was too late. “Look, May! See the grass rustling? There’s a Pokemon over there!” “Oh, you’re right! Let’s get closer!” “They’re coming for us!” Zigzagoon whispered. “We’re not going fast enough!” “But we can’t go any faster,” Ralts replied. “Twilispark’s hurt!” Twilight winced. She was slowing them down. They could escape if it weren’t for her. She was never meant to be here, out in the wilds of some unknown land, fighting predators and ‘humans’ just to survive. She was meant for libraries and donuts, not running for her life. But her friends? They were born here. Live here. If anyone should be captured, then natural selection says it should be her. “Leave me behind.” Ralts and Zigzagoon exchanged a surprised glance. “Didn’t you hear what we just said?” Zigzagoon asked. “You’re our family. We’re never going to leave you behind!” “But if you don’t, you’ll be captured by the humans!” Twilight protested. “And if we do, you’ll be captured! We’re not going to let that happen!” “That’s right!” “But you’ve lived your whole lives here!” Ralts paused and pulled Twilight’s head down to look her in the eyes. “Twilight, you still have your parents out there. They’re still looking for you. We don’t have that. All we have is each other.” He released her head, allowing her to straighten out somewhat. “If someone is going to be captured anyways, why should it be the one who has the most to lose?” “But...” “No, Twilispark! No buts!” Zigzagoon nodded to Ralts, allowing him to brace Twilight fully, then gently eased away from the filly’s side. “You’re not getting taken by the humans today.” “Zigzagoon, what are you doing?!” she cried. “I’m making sure you have a chance to escape. Ralts, get her to safety.” The two locals exchanged a nod before Zigzagoon darted off toward the human. “Zigzagoon!” “Shh! Do you want the humans to hear us?” Ralts asked quietly, pulling Twilight against her will toward a small ditch. “What about not abandoning your family?!” Twilight whispered harshly. “Are you just going to let him get captured?!” “No one has abandoned anyone,” Ralts returned. “He is meeting the needs of the family, and if he can escape, he’ll find us.” “Aha! There you are! Go, Torchic!” Twilight heard the telltale sound of a capture orb opening, followed by Torchic’s shrill battle cry. Twilight squinted her eyes shut and forced herself to breath normally. “Ponyfeathers... He doesn’t stand a chance...” “Come on, Twilispark. We can hide in the ditch until-” “Oh! There’s one! Go, Zigzagoon!” Ralts shot a glance behind them, then pushed Twilight’s head down, sending her tumbling gently down the grass into the ditch. “Ralts?! What are you-” “Making sure you stay safe,” he calmly interrupted as he left her field of vision. “Ralts!” she screamed, but her voice gave out into a fit of coughing before any real volume could be heard. In the distance, she could hear Ralts growling at something, followed by a dull thud and several pings. “I... I did it! It’s my own Pokemon! May, look!” "Good job, Wally! Now you won't have to be alone when you go to Verdanturf! The rustling disappeared into the distance as the sun set, leaving Twilight alone in the silent darkness. Strangely enough, her body found the energy to produce more tears. “You promised you’d never leave...” Author's Note And with this chapter, part one of the story is complete! Part two is in the works, so expect to see it coming soon.
Chapter 1“Ugh... Ooohh...” Twilight awoke to a splitting headache, starting from her horn and working its way backward. She reached up to touch it and hopefully rub the pain away, but a lance of stinging pain shot through at first contact. “Ouch...” she hissed, pulling back momentarily before steeling herself and applying some pressure to the tip. It was some time before she was willing to put her hoof down and shake it off. “Whatever that was, I hope it doesn’t happen again.” *crunch* Her eyes shot open in surprise, only to quickly shut as another lance pierced her brain. She squinted and slowly opened her eyes again, this time wary of the bright, midday sun beaming down on her. Her gaze traveled downward to where her hoof had fallen. ‘Leaves?’ she thought to herself. ‘When did I get outside?’ Her head swiveled from side to side as she explored her surroundings. Not only was nopony in sight, but no buildings were in sight. In fact, hardly anything was visible with the grass at such a height, save for the tops of a few trees. How could anypony live with grass like this? *growwwwwwl* Twilight looked around with a heavy blush, but thankfully there was still nopony around to see it. “Eheh... I guess I should be thankful that somepony was so negligent of their lawn, or somepony might’ve noticed that.” She pondered a moment and smelled the grass. It smelled nice, at least as far as grass is concerned. Well kept and healthy, even if it wasn’t grazed or even cut properly. She looked around one last time. When she saw nopony coming, she grinned widely and took an unladylike mouthful of the rich, green blades and chewed for all their worth. “Mmm...” she mmm’d as her grin only grew. If anypony had seen her at that point, they would’ve been appalled at her manners! Such egregious behavior was unbecoming of a Canterlot unicorn! She giggled at the thought and swallowed her food with a loud gulp. She went to take another bite... *crunch* She froze. Her hooves hadn’t moved that time. Ears swiveling back and forth to find the source of the sound, she slowly lifted her head. “Hello?” she called. “Is somepony there?” ***** ‘Shoot, I spooked it! Please don’t run, please don’t run, please don’t run...’ Professor Birch winced and carefully lifted his foot, cursing the errant branch underneath. Just moments ago, his Dexnav had indicated a pokemon previously unseen in the area, but in his haste he hadn’t looked where he was stepping. Thankfully, the pokemon seemed to calm down a little bit. It returned to its grazing, but he could tell by the way its ears flicked back and forth that it was being more cautious. ‘Phew... That was a close one. Alright, little guy. What are you?’ Birch lifted up his Pokedex and scanned the creature once it turned its head away. As he waited for the reading to complete, he watched the pokemon in barely restrained fascination. It was small, about the size of a Numel, and looked a bit like a Kanto Ponyta. Only without flames. And Purple. And had a Seel’s horn right in the middle of its forehead. ‘What a strange looking creature...’ “Unknown pokemon. Unknown pokemon,” said a robotic sounding voice, startling Birch into jumping with its far-too-loud speaker. He fumbled with the device, trying to make it be quiet, but in his haste, he lost his grip and sent it flying. He lunged out to grab it before it could get away, but that only served to throw him off balance and let gravity do the rest. With a great crash, he landed on the ground, the Pokedex underneath his belly. He picked himself up, grabbed the Pokedex, and mashed the mute button to finally silence the voice, but by then it was too late. As he lay on the ground, he found himself staring into the eyes of the creature almost within arm's reach. ***** As Twilight stared into the eyes of the massive creature, her mind raced yet went nowhere while several parts ideas warred for attention. In one hoof, the scientific side of her rambled on about the discovery of a species and first contact with aliens. In another, her intellectual mind pointed out the facts in front of her: a massive creature was staring down at her, carrying a strange and noisy device in its thick paws, and that it was probably the same creature that made the noise from earlier. And it wore clothes! It had to be civilized, or at least somewhat intelligent, if it wore clothes! In a third, her survival instincts were screaming at her to stop thinking and do something about protecting herself. Run. Hide. Fight. Anything but stand stupidly and let it catch her. In the end, survival won out and diverted the rest of her brain to figuring out the best course of action. Should she run? At first glance, getting as far away as possible seemed like a good idea, but she realized that she was already lost in the middle of nowhere. Running could put her in an even worse situation. Hide? Where could she hide? The grass was tall enough to whip the tip of her horn standing up, but the creature found when her head was low, meaning it had a way of tracking her without using sight. Whatever she chose to do, she needed to be quick, for the creature wasn’t waiting for her and reached into the pocket of its white coat. Twilight crouched low, and pointed her horn at it, hoping to scare it away with her magic. But the moment she felt her magic course through her horn, it felt like somepony had jabbed into it with a needle. She winced as her magic cut out abruptly, but her efforts appeared to have worked, because the creature suddenly stopped. However, it wasn’t enough to make it go away. The creature just lied there, rummaging through its pockets. As their eyes locked, she realized she would have to use a more basic approach. She blinked. The massive creature blinked. She scowled and stomped her hoof on the ground. The creature patted its pockets, its eyes wide as it looked back at her. She screamed a piercingly high-pitched scream, reared back, and charged, horn lowered. The creature screamed a not-so-piercingly, but still high-pitched scream, and scrambled to its feet. But it wasn’t fast enough... ***** “Ouch! Gah, stop that! Ooo-hoo-hoo, that one smarted!” he cried, desperately flailing his arms backward at the little purple pokemon in an attempt to spare his buttocks from becoming a pincushion. “Ow! If I could just- Yeowch! Gotta get to my bag!” Birch ran for his backpack, but every time he got close, the little pokemon would rush forward and drive him in a different direction, as though it was actively trying to prevent him from reaching it. Just then, he spied a girl running up the path from Littleroot Town. “Hey, you! Please, You’ve gotta help me! There are pokeballs in my backpack!” ***** Twilight slowed down, panting from chasing the giant around. Thankfully, it also looked worn out, and didn’t attack her. Still, she kept a wary eye on it, just in case it tried something. Suddenly, a flash of light snatched her attention. The light morphed and shifted its form, changing into a bipedal figure about half her height. As the light faded, Twilight found herself staring at an orange bird with a little plume of yellow feathers sticking out from the top of an enormous head relative to its body. “Torchic!” the bird screeched, its plumage ruffling up as it glared at her, scratching at the ground with sharp-looking talons. “Wow! That was amazing!” Twilight’s fascination with the spectacle momentarily overcame her fatigue, and she quickly ran up to the bird and started inspecting it, much to its confusion. “How did you do that? Are you some kind of phoenix? You don’t look like anything I’ve read about in my books!” Something shouted from nearby, snapping Twilight back to reality. She looked over toward the source of the noise to see a much smaller, yet similar creature to the one from before. It also wore clothes, but its mane was longer and pulled into a set of tails. It was also holding onto a red and white orb. As Twilight looked closer, she saw a small button in the center, pointing at the bird next to her. Twilight screamed as a burning sensation flared in her leg, dropping her to the ground. When she looked down, she saw a trickle of blood welling up from a fresh cut. The bird was now standing a short ways away, still glaring, but as Twilight looked closer, she spied several purple hairs caught in one of its talons. She almost shouted at it, but then she realized where it had positioned itself: right between her and the larger, hairless creatures. “Are those your masters?” she asked. The bird didn’t give her a response, but the long-maned creature shouted something else, and the bird crouched low. “Wait! I’m sorry! I didn’t- OUCH!” she yelled, another cut appearing on her chest. “Torchiiiiiic!” the bird cried, as though it were proclaiming its defiance against Twilight. She clutched the wound and whimpered, a small tear forming in her eye from the sting. ***** “Drat... May,” Birch called as he ceased rummaging through his pouch. “Yes, professor?” The girl replied, taking her eyes off the battle for a moment. “That pokemon could be the first of its kind ever recorded, but I forgot all my pokeballs at the lab... Could you keep battling it for a little while longer while I go and grab them?” “Yes sir!” May turned back to the battle. “Oh, and May!” She turned her head, keeping her eyes on the little pokemon. “Try not to make it faint!” May nodded and listened as Professor Birch ran back to town. It was still nursing its wound, so she took the opportunity to give another order. “Torchic, use ember!” ***** ‘It has to be a phoenix, but I’ve never heard about phoenixes serving masters before...’ she thought as a barrage of tiny flames singed her sides. ‘I wonder why this one serves those... whatever-they-ares? Was it raised in captivity? What happened to its parents?!’ When the flames finally stopped peppering her, she turned back and took a small step to the side to get out of the small patch of burnt grass. “Ouch!” She cried, lifting her hoof up to her mouth and sucking on it. One particularly large ember still smoldered right where she had stepped, and a patch of blackened fur sank into her hoof. She set it back down, but it stung when it touched the ground. She plopped down, head hanging low. “Why is this happening to me? Did the princess send me away?” Twilight choked back a sob. “I wish I never went to take the test... I wish mommy and daddy were here...” The tears flowed from her eyes, no longer capable of holding back. “I want to go home!” ***** May watched as the pokemon started to cry, unsure what to do. The Torchic under her command also looked confused, glancing back to her for guidance she wasn’t sure she could give. She had never seen a Pokemon cry before. What was she supposed to do? Then her Torchic began to move forward. It slowly walked up to the Pokemon and peered at the tears flowing from its eyes. Then, strangely, it nuzzled the Pokemon, as though it were trying to cheer it up. The pokemon looked up at Torchic, not quite sure what to make of its actions. Torchic poked down at the pokemon’s burnt hoof, hanging its head when it saw the black patch. It hopped over to the other side and nuzzled the pokemon again. After a moment, much to May’s surprise, it nuzzled back and smiled. It lifted up its leg and stroked Torchic’s plume, and Torchic trilled happily. Then the bird turned toward May and scowled, surprising her again. It marched back toward her with its thin little legs and sat down right in front of her, eyes closed. “Uh... Torchic, I need you to keep battling, okay? Otherwise that pokemon might get away.” The little bird simply shook its head back and forth, refusing to move. “Please?” Again, it shook its head. May sighed. "Alright, fine. Torchic return." She held out the pokeball, and Torchic disappeared inside. But then the other pokemon slowly walked forward, keeping wary eyes on May, until it stood next to where Torchic had been, searching the area as though looking for the bird. May watched it until it looked back up at her and the ball in her hand. "...Torchic, come out." The pokemon jumped as Torchic reappeared, then examined Torchic, babbling in its strange language. 'Weird... It's using more than just one word to talk... More than just its name.' Finally, the creature stopped and sat down next to Torchic and pulled it close to its body, much to the bird's dismay at being squished. May giggled at her pokemon's distress, then watched as the pair just sat there together, not battling, not moving, not talking. Just keeping each other company. She had never seen a wild pokemon get along like this with a trainer pokemon, especially mid-battle. Yet at the same time, it brought a smile to her face. Part of her wished that they could stay like that forever. As friends. “May! I’m back! Please tell me it’s still there!” Professor Birch called, running up to the group with satchel on shoulder and pokeball in hand. “Professor, wait!” May cried, whirling around to stop him, but she was too late. The pokemon’s eyes widened, and it turned and started to run away. However, it could only limp and stumble thanks to the burn on the bottom of its leg. Birch quickly caught up and readied his pokeball. “Oh, good! It’s still here! Pokeball, don’t fail me now!” He lobbed the device at the fleeing pokemon. Only for it to explode in a shower of tiny flames. “What?!” Birch said, flabbergasted. His gaze descended upon Torchic, whose mouth still smoked. “Torchic, what are you doing?! This could be my only chance!” He quickly grabbed for another pokeball and made to give chase, but Torchic blocked his path, beak glowing with fire. He stopped and looked, hoping that his could just throw the ball over, but the pokemon was too far away for him to reach it. “Aww... I was so close, too... Torchic, why did you do that?” May growled, arms stretched toward the ground. “Professor, now look what you’ve done!” While May shouted at the professor, Torchic merely watched its new friend disappear into the brush.
Chapter 2Twilight ran as far and as fast as her legs could carry her, though she was slowed due to her burn. Still, she seemed to have finally escaped that giant with the capture orbs. Now that she was alone and had time to think about it, that was probably why Torchic served them. She remembered seeing it pulled into and out of the orb in the small one’s paw. 'If I ever see another one of those orbs, I'll have to be careful not to be caught or I may never get back home...' She shook her head and looked around. She may have escaped those creatures, but she wasn’t out of trouble yet. None of her surroundings were familiar, and there were other creatures around that seemed eager to fight. Over the last few hours, she mostly saw enormous caterpillars, but there were other creatures around as well. Feral dogs and such, not unlike the timberwolves from her books, but furry and less menacing. Still, she avoided contact with them. With magic being painful to use, and no experience in a hoof fight - not to mention her injured hoof draining her energy - she knew she wouldn’t last long against such predators. Finally, she came to a clearing. Inside, she found several large buildings, each with their own unique signs and construction. She sighed in relief. "Finally! A town! Maybe somepony can help me get back home.” She was just about to take a step into the clearing when she saw several of the giants from before walk out from one of the buildings. Then more appeared, each coming from a different place and traveling from building to building or down one of several paths leading to and from the town. One such building had a large symbol that looked like the capture orbs she had seen earlier. She made sure to avoid that one at all costs. ‘This is one of their settlements... How has Princess Celestia allowed such creatures to gather and capture other animals like they have?’ Regardless of why they were here, they were here, meaning she would have to find someplace else to rest. Someplace outside. Under the open sky. Exposed to the elements. And predators. She breathed deeply to calm her steadily fraying nerves, just like Cadance taught her. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Raise a hoof to the chest, and release... There. Now she was ready to think about how to stay safe for the coming night. Nearby were some trees she could... As she looked up, she realized there was no way she could climb them. No branch was within reach, and even if one was, she had never been a skilled anything-outdoorsy-er. She tested her magic, hoping to be able to pull a branch low enough for her to grab and let carry her up, but she found that it was no use. She was still burned out from whatever happened during the test. She was stuck. If she made for the clearing, a giant would probably see her and try to capture her. If she stayed, she risked being found by a pack of those dogs or a giant. And if she didn’t figure it out soon, she wouldn’t have the strength to do anything. A drop of water struck her nose, causing her to look up to the sky. High overhead, clouds were moving in. Twilight stared in momentary confusion. 'Where are the pegasi?' She bit down on that train of thought. 'Not important right now. The clouds are about to block the sunlight. If I'm going to run for it, I'll have to wait until then.' ***** The Nurse sighed. It was going to be another long night. Few people ever visited Oldale Town anymore. Only people from Littleroot coming up for supplies, or Professor Birch on one of his research kicks. Sometimes the occasional scientist on their way from Petalburg to Littleroot and back, but they were typically good about keeping their pokemon healthy. Which was good, as it meant people were caring for their pokemon... But it made for some incredibly dull days. Sure, there were also bug catchers and youngsters running around and trying to become the very best trainers they could, which meant the day shift typically had a lot of customers. Sometimes repeats. Unfortunately, those customers tended to have curfews once the night rolled around. The Nurse sighed as she took her position behind the counter and stared out the window. It was usually pretty tough to see outside, as the overhead lights reflected inward, but the rain made it even harder. Yet as dusk fell, she noticed something odd. There was a small figure just inside the edge of town. One she didn’t recognize, which struck her as doubly odd given her occupation. She looked up at the clock. Her shift didn’t technically start for another five minutes, so she darted out from behind the counter and pressed her face against the window. It was a pokemon. Large compared to the usual fare in this part of Hoenn, quadrupedal, and had a horn of all things on its head. She wracked her brain, trying to think what sort of pokemon it could be, but nothing came to her. She did, however, notice it had a limp in its foreleg, favoring it as it stumbled forward. Then it collapsed. She gasped. Looking more closely, she could see splotches of darkness on its skin - no, fur - where something had wounded it. Probably burn marks, given its state of weakness. If left in the open, the Poochyenas would likely have an easy meal tonight. Not that she had anything wrong with Poochyenas feeding, but this pokemon was trying to enter town and might belong to someone here. She blanched at the thought of some poor youngster who lost his pokemon finding the none-too-pretty remains of his pokemon in the morning. She looked back at the clock. ‘Three minutes. Plenty of time.’ ***** Itinerant Artist finished up sketching the Wingulls as they flew overhead, then packed up his easel and made his way back into town before the sun set completely. Yet all plans of moving on to the next town vanished the moment he saw the most majestic sight his eyes ever did see. A royal purple pokemon, cradled in the tender arms of a human as she made her way into the Pokemon Center. The majesty of Rapidash! The grace of Delcatty! The hue of Nidoking! Such attributes have surely never been captured by human art! And when matched with the clear bond between pokemon and trainer, it could only be described as a magnum opus! With his heart set, Artist made his way to the Pokemon Center. ***** Twilight awoke feeling refreshed and revitalized. Even the pain in her horn seemed to be gone. 'Huh... Maybe I wasn't as burned out as I thought...' She yawned and stretched, then pulled the cords off her legs, hopped of the bed and- Cords? Bed? She looked around and found herself inside a closed room, a window looking into the town, and a door leading... somewhere. There were bits of equipment that looked like medical stuff from back home, so she was probably in some sort of hospital. She looked down at her sides and hoof. Even in the early morning light, she could tell that there were no scratches or scorch marks anywhere, much to her surprise. It must have taken a highly skilled mage to heal her of all of that so quickly. She vaguely remembered something picking her up and carrying her before she fell asleep... There was shouting outside the door, bringing her from her thoughts. She couldn’t understand the words, but the language sounded similar to the giants from yesterday. There was a high voice and a lower voice, each going back and forth about something, getting louder and louder. Whatever they were arguing about, Twilight resolved not to be around when they finished. Grateful for being healed, but not so grateful that she would stick around to give them a chance to put her in one of those orbs. She aimed her horn at the window and tried to lift it, but it was harder than she thought. She’d never lifted more than a page or three of a book, much less a window bigger than she was. She thought back to the the entrance exam. The last time she tried to do magic that was really hard, she ended up, well... here. Opening a window was probably easier than hatching a dragon, but she really didn’t want to go through that again. So instead, she pushed the bed - thankfully, it was on wheels - over to the window and climbed back on top of it. With her hooves pressed against the panes, she slowly lifted the window off its sill. Ever so slowly, to make as little noise as possible. Almost there, just a little more until she would be able to squeeze through... And then the bed slipped. The wheels ground sideways across the floor, and Twilight squealed as her position dropped a little. The shouting outside stopped abruptly. As the knob turned, Twilight threw caution to the wind and shoved the window upward as hard as she could, slamming it against the top of the frame. Two giants shouted after her as she bolted across the town toward one of the three paths leading away. She made a mental note of which path she came from originally, using the position and appearance of the buildings as her guide, and bolted toward a different one, not caring which. The possibility of escape was much better than the certainty of capture. She heard loud shouting behind her, but forced herself not to look back. Looking back meant going slower or risking tripping or running into something, the punishment for doing so something she wasn’t willing to accept. However, that didn’t stop her from swiveling her ears back and gauging distance that way. They were almost on her. Just as she came to the exit, she spied a mud puddle and leapt into it with all fours, shooting mud and grime high into the air. Normally, she wasn’t one for splashing into dirt intentionally. However, based on the loud yelp right behind her, she successfully managed to get mud into her pursuer’s eyes. She left the giants behind, leaving a dwindling trail of muddy hoofprints in her wake. ***** “Agh! My eyes! Urgggh...” Artist growled, rubbing them furiously to try and clean out the dirt. “That clever little beauty...” “Serves you right! Chasing that pokemon around like a maniac,” the Nurse chastised. “You should be ashamed!” The Nurse strode back to the Pokemon Center, happy to see the rude gentleman get his comeuppance. As Artist finally managed to blink his dirty tears away, he found a trail of footprints leading out toward Route 102. “Well, at least I can get these down. Maybe a professor will know what they belong to..." His bloodshot eyes gleamed with a wicked glint. "...And be able to point me in the right direction to find it again.”
Chapter 3In the morning light, Twilight made her way away from town and into the wild. It was a scary thought, willingly leaving civilization behind to stay in the wild areas, but Twilight knew that she may never get home otherwise. Just outside of town, there was a tall patch of grass near a pond where she could hide and get something to drink, so she made her way there. The grass pulled at her fur as she passed through it, making her skin to twiitch, but she didn’t care at the moment. She was dirty, and thirsty, and hadn’t eaten yet. She blinked, then smacked her head with a hoof and took a bite out of the grass. It was delicious. There was something about fresh, dew-covered, wild grass that made Twilight want to laugh with giddy bliss. Completely different than Canterlot grass, which was magically grown to be resilient on the side of a mountain and only eaten after careful preparation. Why couldn’t that grass be like this? After a few bites, however, Twilight found that it made her even thirstier, so she turned and looked down at the pond. It was dark blue, and had a gentle ripple flowing across the top as a gentle breeze blew across it. It almost made her wish she didn’t have to disturb the calm. If only the dew was enough to sate her... As she examined the pond, she realized that the ledge was a bit low for her to reach. She craned her neck downward, even going so far as to lie down, but quickly she wasn’t quite able to reach. She thought about trying to grab some water with her magic, but it was like trying to pull on a wall; she could touch the surface, but she couldn’t wrap her magic around it. Not without trying to grab the whole pond, and there was no way she could do that. She looked around for something to scoop the water with, but other than dirt, grass, and rocks, there wasn’t much of anything nearby. Twilight groaned. ‘What I wouldn’t give for a cup right now...’ But as she looked at the things around her, the gears in her head began to turn. ‘Maybe I can make something. Daddy always said I could do anything if I put my mind to it. But what can I do to make a cup?’ She looked at the grass as it swayed in the breeze, then plucked a few of the wider stalks with her teeth. Using a nice, round rock, she folded each grass stalk around the base until they resembled a small bowl. She then wrapped a longer blade around the top to hold it all together, tying the ends together in a basic knot. When she finally, carefully, let go, it didn’t fall apart. “Hah! Take that, Shiny! I can do arts and crafts!” All that was left to do was take the rock out, and she would have her bowl, ready for scooping up water. But the moment she removed it, all the grass blades straightened back into their original positions, leaping out from under the rim like confetti from a party popper. She huffed as she pulled several blades out of her mane and started over. It took her several mishaps, wrapping and weaving and folding the stalks - she was no super-crafty earth pony, after all - but eventually she had a functional, if not pretty, bowl. With a victorious grin, she reached down, dipped the bowl into the pond and pulled out her first drink of water since arriving in this strange land. And like the grass, it was so fresh, so clean that it made her want to giggle. So she did. Having conquered her first real obstacle at surviving in the wild, she laughed in triumph. After a second scoop, she found herself dancing around and giggling happily. Confident that her ability to take care of herself would only get better as time went on, she raised the bowl dramatically over her head and plunged it downward to the water. ***** Ralts perked up as he sensed a great well of happiness coming from the watering hole. As strong as the joy of a Taillow just learning to fly, or a Zigzagoon finding its first berries on its own. It was a little strange, though. Where a Zigzagoon’s joy was like crunching leaves under his feet, a Seedot’s felt like a warm ray of sunshine. Surskit joy was more like dipping his feet into cool water, and a Wurmple’s felt like a full-body hug. But this? It didn’t feel like any emotion he’d ever felt before. It tingled and tickled his hips, almost like Zigzagoon fur rubbing against him, but welling up from the inside rather than the outside. Still, it was so heartfelt that Ralts couldn’t help but smile. It beckoned him to come and share in it. As he approached the source, he saw a large, purple... something. Not exactly sure what it was, but it seemed interested in the watering hole. The creature dipped a small object into the water, then drew the object back out and put it to its lips. Then the creature laughed and bounced around with that same, tickling joy he had felt from before and repeated the process. Even though the joy made him smile, Ralts couldn’t help his confusion. It couldn’t be a water-type creature. There wasn’t a speck of orange or blue on it! So why was drinking water making it so happy? Was it just really thirsty? Suddenly the creature stopped bouncing around. Its eyes and shoulders fell toward the ground, and Ralts could feel its emotions turn bitter. ***** Mommy’s cookies... Twilight stopped bouncing and frowned, her head sagging as thoughts of home grew in her mind. What else would she never get to have again? Would she ever see Mommy? Daddy? Shiny? Cadance? “Why are you crying?” Twilight jumped and nearly fell into the pond at the strange voice. When she turned, she found a creature just over half her height staring at her. It was built like the giants, but its entire body was robed in white. Its mane was green and shaped like an upside-down bowl. Two large red, dragon-like spines jutted out from under its mane. It tilted its head to the side. “You were so happy before. What happened?” it asked, though its mouth didn’t move. Twilight sniffed and wiped her eyes with a leg. “Wh-who are you?” The creature place a pointed arm against its chest. “I’m Ralts. Who are you?” “I’m Twi-*hic*-light. Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight rubbed the last tears away from her eyes. "It's good to meet you, Twilispark." Twilight was too preoccupied with her thoughts and a certain observation to bother correcting Ralts. “How do you talk without moving your mouth like that?” “My voice isn’t very strong, so I project my thoughts using my horns,” Ralts replied, touching the spine on its forehead. “I can also sense emotion with them. I felt lots of happiness coming from over here, but then it turned sad. Why are you so sad?” Twilight stared at the ground. “I miss my family... I was-” Twilight stopped, then shook her head. “We got separated, and now I’m lost, and I don’t know how to get home, and I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again...” A gentle pat on her shoulder brought her eyes upward. Ralts reached up and hugged her neck, taking care not to poke her in the throat with its horns. “I know how you feel. My parents disappeared too, not long after I hatched.” Twilight sniffed. “What happened?” “They were probably eaten.” Twilight stared at Ralts. “...Eaten?” “Mhmm,” Ralts casually replied. “There is a pack of Poochyena that lives in this area.” “What’s a Poo-chee-ay-na?” Ralts put a pointed arm to its lips and looked upward, then grabbed a stick from nearby and began to draw in the dirt. “Mmm... It looks a lot like you, except it has grey fur, claws on its feet, and all of its teeth look like your horn, but in its mouth and not on its head. Oh, and its snout it longer than yours compared to its head.” Twilight stared at the dirt portrait. Two ovals connected by a single line, with four lines sticking out from the bottom of the larger oval and three little lines branching from each. The smaller oval had two jagged lines in the middle, just under two circles with slanted lines over them. “That... doesn’t look like me at all...” “Of course not. That’s a Poochyena.” Ralts gave Twilight a sagely nod. Twilight sighed and shrugged, but Ralts’ description of the predator brought a vague memory to mind. “Actually, I think I saw what you’re talking about on the other side of the giants’ town.” “Giants?” Ralts’ head tilted to the side. “Those big, clothed monsters with the capture orbs.” “Oh, you mean humans. I didn’t even think about those...” Ralts stared at the ground, an arm pressed against his chin. “Maybe my parents were captured rather than eaten?” Twilight frowned. Between the ‘Poochyena’ - Poochyenas? Poochyeni? - and the ‘humans’, she was beginning to doubt if she could even make it safely away from this region, much less make it back home. “...family?” “Huh?” Twilight shook her head and focused back on Ralts. “Sorry, what were you asking?” “Would you like to meet my family?” Ralts repeated, looking at Twilight with wide eyes. “I know you’re lonely. I can feel it in my horns. But if you stay with me and my family, you won't be lonely anymore.” “But I thought you said they were gone...” “When did I say that? I don’t have parents, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have family. Come on! I’ll introduce you!”
Chapter 4Twilight followed Ralts through the grass until they reached a small clearing. Twilight recognized several of the creatures as the same type of caterpillar from before, but there were some that were new. A brown, jaggy-furred dog. A big blue gerridae with a yellow spike on top. A living, breathing acorn the size of her head. Several enormous butterflies with colorations she didn’t recognize. As she thought about it, many of the creatures she had seen were a lot bigger than similar things at home. The dog perked up as the pair rustled out of the grass and bounded over in an unpredictable pattern, zagging and zigging its way toward them until it stopped right in front of Ralts. “Zagoo?” “This is Twilispark,” Ralts replied, gesturing toward his guest. “It lost its family, so I brought it with me to join ours.” “Za! Zig Zigzagoon! Zagoo zig zigza!” With that, the creature zipping away in its jagged manner, stopping by each of the other creatures in the clearing. “What was that?” Twilight asked, not entirely sure what just happened. “That’s just Zigzagoon being Zigzagoon. He’s easily excited, as you can probably tell.” Ralts led Twilight into the center of the clearing as the other creatures turned their attention toward the pair. She turned her head to Ralts. “These creatures are your family?” Ralts turned and smiled at her. “Mhmm! Everyone except for the Beautiflies. They’re migrating to the great wood, far to the west.” Twilight looked at the diverse group, unsure what to make of it. Families were made up of relatives. Mommies and daddies, brothers and sisters, parents and foals. None of these creatures looked related in any way. Well, maybe the ‘beautiflies’ and the caterpillars, if that’s what the caterpillars turned into after they metamorphosed. But Ralts definitely wasn’t a caterpillar. “Hey, everyone!” Ralts projected once the group was assembled. “This is Twilispark. It’s-” “Twilight Sparkle,” she corrected. “Huh? It’s not twilight yet, though the stars do sparkle once they come out.” Twilight gave Ralts a flat stare. Ralts tilted his head to the side. “What? Why are you getting frustrated?” Twilight sighed. “Nevermind.” Ralts looked at her a moment longer, then straightened his head again and addressed the group. “Anyways, Twilispark is just like us, so please welcome...” Ralts turned to Twilight. “Him? Her?” “Her.” Ralts nodded. “Please welcome her with all your hearts!” “Ack!” Twilight found herself being swarmed by the entire mass. Fur and tongue, dozens of legs, gentle wings, and even the hard shell of a giant acorn crashed into her, knocking her down and smothering her with nuzzles and affection. “Ralts! Help!” Ralts simply laughed. “I couldn’t do that to them. There is too much happiness floating around for me to break it up.” Twilight struggled just a moment longer before resigning herself to her fate. Ralts identified the creatures for Twilight one by one as they passed through her vision. She had already figured out who Zigzagoon and the Beautiflies were, but the caterpillars were collectively called ‘Wurmple’ and the acorn was ‘Seedot’. Through the shuffling and commotion, she saw the gerridae waiting a short distance away, staring at her with eyes that, on a pony, would be something akin to focused intent. It slowly skated across the ground toward the group. “Surs!” it screeched, and immediately the bustle stopped. The creatures pulled back one by one, giving it and Twilight some space. “Ski-kit surs. Surskit su surski.” Twilight stared blankly at the creature. “Ralts, who is this?” “Twilispark, meet Surskit. He protects the family from hungry Poochyena.” Twilight suppressed the urge to correct Ralts again, knowing it wouldn’t do her any good. Instead, she stood up and nodded to Surskit. “Hello. I’m Twilight Sparkle. It’s good to meet you.” “Skit surs surki kit.” “Don’t be so mean!” Ralts exclaimed. “She has no one else to turn to!” “What’s he saying?” Ralts tilted his head at Twilight. “What do you mean? Didn’t you hear him?” “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I understand him,” Twilight explained. “You’re the only creature I’ve met since coming here that I can understand.” Ralts put a pointed arm up to his mouth. “You can’t Understand? I thought the only creatures that couldn’t Understand were the humans!" “If by understand you mean automatically know your language without ever meeting you before,” Twilight replied with a huff. “...then no, I can’t. How am I supposed to do that?” Ralts tilted his head to the side. “But you can Understand me just fine. Why me and not the others?” Twilight frowned. “Probably because instead you using words, you use magic that lets you touch a pony’s mind directly. I read that magic like that is contrary to magical law in pretty much every civilization.” “Surs! Kit kit surskit!” Twilight looked back down at Surskit. Its black eyes seemed to be scowling at her. “Surskit surs sur?” She sighed. “Unfortunately, I have no other way of knowing what’s going on, and I don’t know the laws here... What’s he saying, Ralts?" “He says ‘A creature who can’t Understand has no heart. How can we trust it?’” Ralts fumed. “Of course she has a heart! If she didn’t, how could I sense her emotion?” Twilight blinked and put a hoof to her chest, then breathed a small sigh of relief as she felt the gentle, pulsing thumps inside her. Then, realizing what she was doing, she shook her head. “Silly... I wouldn’t be alive right now if I didn’t have a heart,” she muttered. Surskit screeched a few more words for Ralts to translate. “‘If you want a heartless creature here, then it should defend itself. The family won’t fight her battles like those taken by the humans.’” Ralts turned to Twilight. “I guess that’s the only way he’ll accept you. Can you defend yourself?” “I... I don’t know. I’ve only fought once since coming here. If they hadn’t stopped, I... I might’ve...” Twilight thought back to the humans that summoned Torchic to attack her. Could she fight enemies like that? What about predators? If this so-called ‘family’ wasn’t going to protect her, would she be able to protect herself? “I don’t know if I can...” Surskit skrittered a few more words, leaving Ralts with a dumbfounded expression. “Surskit, you can’t be serious!” The gerridae continued. Twilight could only guess as to the conversation going on between it and Ralts, but she didn’t like her hypothesis. “But doing that will... She’s tall. What does that have to do with anything? ...You can’t honestly believe that. Poochyena use their noses just as much as their eyes, if not more... She hardly knew what they were! You can’t expect her to beat a pack on her own! ...You’re different. You’re the strongest one here... I guess that’s fair... No, I understand. I don’t like it, but I understand.” Ralts audibly sighed and turned to Twilight as the gerridae skated over to the other side of the clearing. “What’s going on?” Twilight asked. As she looked around, she could see the other creatures backing away. “Surskit says if you can’t defend yourself, then you can’t stay with us.” Twilight’s ears drooped against her head. “Everyone here defends our home when the Poochyena come. He says even one death would be crippling to the family if we needed to fight them as a group, and he can’t be everywhere to defend those who can’t defend themselves.” “But I don’t know the first thing about fighting!” Twilight protested. Ralts patted her on the shoulders with outstretched arms, then pointed to the other side of the clearing, where Surskit was waiting, watching. “He said he would give you a chance. Show him that you can defend yourself, even a little bit, and he’ll let you stay.” “But what if I fail? I’ll be all alone again, but there may not be anypo- one else who will help me. I’ll get eaten, or captured, and then I’ll never get home...” Ralts sagged. He could feel the hope dwindling inside Twilispark, and it made his heart ache. Still, he put on as encouraging a smile as he could. “Then don’t fail. I’ll be cheering for you, okay?” ***** A pair of yellow eyes peered out from the grass. The prey which had caused him and his pack so much trouble were all watching two of their own - the Stinger and a newcomer - battle in the center of the clearing. He watched as the two traded blows, wearing each other down with every strike and dodge. He growled low at the sight. Another set of eyes appeared beside him. “Alpha, the prey are distracted by the battle. The Stinger is getting weaker by the moment. Are we finally to strike tonight?” “No, not yet,” Alpha growled. “The newcomer is strong enough to face the Stinger and still stand. It is too dangerous to face them when they are together with the other prey.” “What are your orders?” “They must be separated if we are to conquer them." Alpha's muzzle contorted into a fanged grimace. "Tonight, we wait. After the sun rises, we wait. We will wait until one of they prey is alone before striking, and then we will use their blood to lure out the Stinger. And if he doesn't come, then we will strike again in the same way until he comes." He allowed himself a feral grin. "With the Stinger out of the way, the pack will feast.” “By your order.” The two sets of eyes disappeared back into the tall grass.
Chapter 5“Seriously, what twisted mage decided it was a good idea to create a spell that makes bubbles explode?! Ow...” Twilight screamed in frustration as Ralts nursed her battered sides. Ralts reached up and patted her on the shoulder, carefully avoiding any areas which were still tender. “Don’t feel bad, Twilight. Surskit is the strongest one here, and he thought you did okay.” “All I did was get knocked around...” Twilight mumbled. “I couldn’t get close with all the bubbles he spat at me, and whenever I did, he’d sting me. That horn on his head really hurts!” “But when you started using your psychic abilities-” “Magic,” Twilight corrected. Ralts tilted his head to the side briefly, then continued. “Then you started pushing him back! I’ve never seen anyone even wear him down. At the end, you forced him to get close!” Twilight looked to the ground as she thought back to the battle. At the beginning, she was afraid to use her magic for fear of burning out again, and only used her hooves and horn to fight. Her aching side was proof of how well that tactic worked. Eventually though, she allowed herself to use her magic, and the battle seemed to turn in her favor. At least, until Surskit rushed in and skewered her with that glowing horn of his. Whatever magic he used to make his horn glow also made its hits extra painful. Still, she allowed herself a small smile. Using her magic had made a difference, though she still lost, it hadn’t gone out of control. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” “And because of that, Surskit says you can stay with us!” Twilight peered under Ralts’ hair. His smile reached up into his cheeks, pushing all the way into his closed eyes. It was the sort of smile that infected anyone who saw it, and Twilight was no exception. “Isn’t it great?” Twilight nodded, though her smile faltered. “Hey, Ralts?” “What is it? Your emotions just sank a little.” “Do you think I’ll ever make it home? Will I ever see my family again?” Ralts put an arm to his chin, then shrugged. “Hmm... I don’t know. But I do know that we’ll be here for you until they find you. The family never abandons one of its own.” ***** The sentry watched the gathering from her post, concealed by the tall grass. Ever on the alert, she watched for any stray prey to wander away from the group. She had to be careful, as the Stinger was watching everything and wouldn’t hesitate to stab her. Just then she saw what she had been waiting for: a fat Wurmple which had foolishly wandered away from the safety of the group. Battered and scratched from a recent battle, yet still alive, it would make an easy kill to present to Alpha. She moved swiftly and quietly through the grass, keeping her eyes trained on the juicy bug as she progressed. Soon, she was within striking range. She heard a slight rustling behind her. Her ears swiveled back, alerted by a sudden *ping* followed by what sounded like a dozen Wurmple all screeching at once. She whirled to face the noise with a growl. “Who dares disturb my hunt?!” A flash of orange met her eyes, and a searing heat lanced into her chest. ***** ‘What wouldn’t I give for a book right now?’ Twilight sighed as she watched the family members play. They seemed to be having fun, playing games like hide-and-seek and tag or seeing who could find the most berries before lunch. No one ever strayed too far from the clearing, though; Surskit made sure of that. Just a few minutes ago, she had tried to get some water from the pond, but Surskit made her go with two Wurmple. And they were sooo sloooow... “Zigza zagoon?” Twilight looked over at the loll-tongued, smiling newcomer who was staring at her, then looked around. Ralts was nowhere to be- wait, there he was, playing with the Wurmple that returned with her. They were all piled on top of his laughing form, tickling him with a dozen little feet. It made Twilight smile, but it didn’t help her at the moment. “Um, h-hello,” she said hesitantly. It turned its head sideways and shut its mouth. “Goon?” She shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t understand you... Can you understand me?” Zigzagoon’s tongue flopped out again as he nodded fervently, bringing her to smile. “I don’t know how you do it. My parents tell me I’m a smart filly, but here you are knowing my language and we’ve only talked once before!” Zigzagoon’s ears perked up. Then he reached up and put a paw on Twilight’s barrel. “Zig,” he said, staring at her intently. “Uh...” He reared up on his hind legs and put his paws around her ears, shaking his head. “Zag.” Then he patted her ears and touched her chest again. “Zig!” Twilight blinked slowly. “I don’t understand. What are you trying to tell me?” He furrowed his bushy brows with a snort and tapped her chest again. “Me?” He shook his head. “My chest?” He shook his head again and thumped her with a rhythmic *tap tap* *tap tap*. “...My heart?” Zigzagoon nodded and bounced around her happily. She didn’t quite understand what was going on, but his glee was infectious. Then he returned and reached up again, tapping her ears, followed by her chest. “Ears and heart?” He shook his head and stepped back a step, much to Twilight’s frustration. What was she missing? His paw went from his muzzle, then back to her ears, and finally to her chest. “Mouth, ear, heart...” Zigzagoon stared at her as her face scrunched in thought. “No... Your mouth, my ears, my heart.” He began to perk. “...You speak, I hear, my heart?” His tongue flopped out of his mouth once again as he began to bounce in place. “You speak, I listen with my heart?” “Zig!” In an instant, Zigzagoon crashed into her, bowling her over and licking her face repeatedly. Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. “Zigzagoon, stop!” she giggled, squirming and trying to get her legs back underneath her. When she finally managed it, Zigzagoon leapt backward and stared hard at her. “Zigzagoo?” he said. Twilight’s giggles diminished enough for her to focus. She still didn’t understand what he was saying, but maybe she would figure it out. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I didn’t understand you. Say it again.” “Zigzagoo?” he repeated. “Again.” Twilight’s breath slowed. ‘I can do this. I just have to listen with my heart...’ “Zigza me now?” Her ears shot straight up, and her eyes widened. “Again! Say that again!” “Can you hear me now?” he asked, a hopeful look in his eyes. ***** Ralts felt his sides tingling, and his feet felt like he was running through piles of dry leaves. As the last Wurmple hopped off of him, he turned with a smile to see Twilispark and Zigzagoon bouncing in circles around each other. ***** Alpha growled. None of his sentries had returned yet, despite the sun reaching its peak. “This isn’t normal. I trained my pack better than this!” He stormed out of the den, his packmates quickly getting out of his way. Just then, he heard a faint whimper. “A-Alpha...” When he turned his head, he watched the first of his sentries to return collapse to the ground. Her sides and chest were riddled with scratches and holes, and patches of her fur smelled strange. “...Who did this to you?” His sentry struggled to sit up, but she failed to manage, her breathing labored. “Th-there was... a new...” She couldn’t continue, her fatigue forcing her to sleep. As quickly as he could without being overly rough, Alpha dragged her back into the den to rest. A moment later, he charged back outside and howled. All activity among his pack, from the playful banter of pups to the training of older warriors, immediately shifted into frenzied preparation. The call to war was sounded. ***** “It seems you have a heart after all, Twilispark,” Surskit said, his face emotionless. “Yep!” Ralts replied happily. “I told you so!” “That you did.” Surskit looked up at the newest addition to the family. “Ralts, stay here and watch over the Wurmple. You come with me.” Twilight blinked and looked at Ralts. He smiled and motioned her to go after Surskit, so she followed as he skated to the other side of the clearing. When he finally stopped, they stood next to a patch of tall grass. “Twilispark, I want you to see something,” he said, pointing into the grass. Twilight nodded and pushed into the area. The smell grew steadily worse as she pressed on, until finally she reached her target. She puked. “Wh-what happened...?” she asked as she wiped her face. “There are predators out there who would prey on us, as they did with this poor Wurmple,” Surskit said, looking at the shredded, half-eaten carcass. “This is why I always watch over the clearing. This is why we don’t go out alone.” Twilight forced herself to look away, despite the protests of her scientific side. “Come we should get back to-” A nearby rustling stopped him. Twilight’s ears also perked at the sound, wary now that she had seen what could be waiting for her. “Surskit...” “Back to the clearing. Now.” The pair quickly left the grass, keeping an eye on it in case something appeared. But something didn’t appear. Five somethings appeared, each with grey fur, yellow eyes, and bared fangs. “It’s the Stinger!” one cried as it charged them, ramming into Surskit and sending him tumbling. “Surskit!” Twilight cried, moving to help him, but he stopped her. “I can take care of these! Go protect the others!” Twilight whirled to see another group closing in on the family. She looked back to see Surskit skate around the side of another charging Poochyena and stab it with his horn. “What are you waiting for?! Go!”
Chapter 6Twilight rushed back for the clearing, desperately trying to prevent what she just saw from happening to her friends. Zigzagoon was already fighting off a Poochyena, as was Seedot. The Wurmple huddled together as a mass, shooting ropes of string at the predators surrounding them while Ralts growled as intimidatingly as he could. But their resistance wasn’t enough. Zigzagoon and Seedot were quickly beaten back as the family was slowly corralled into the center of the clearing, surrounded and outnumbered on all sides. Only the Beautiflies that had been staying with them managed to escape by taking to the air. “Hey! Stop hurting my friends!” Twilight shouted, charging in and crashing against one of them with her shoulder and sending its much smaller frame tumbling. A pair turned to face her, but the bright glow of her horn made them hesitate. Just then, an icy chill shot through her side. She tried to scream, but her body froze in place, suddenly covered in ice, leaving all but her eyes rendered immobile. A Poochyena strode out in front of her, head held high, its teeth and breath fogged over as though it were breathing winter air. “You made a mistake, Newcomer,” the proud, angry Poochyena snarled. “You left one of my sentries with enough strength to warn me about you.” ‘What is he talking about?’ Twilight thought. The Poochyena continued. “When she returned to my den, she was battered and beaten, barely alive. The others we found were in similar states, left unconscious at their posts to the mercy of any who might find them.” “That... Wasn’t... Me...” she forced out, her jaw barely able to move inside the ice. “Do not lie to me, Newcomer!” he snarled, crouching low and bristling his fur. “I have seen your power in action! I know the marks it leaves, and they matched the ones on my packmates!” He stood back up, his anger undiminished but his control back in place. “Leave Twilispark alone!” Seedot shouted, drawing the attention of several Poochyena, including their leader. As soon as he realized what he’d done, he huddled back into the group. But the leader’s muzzle split into a dark grin. “Now I’m going to leave my mark on yours.” Twilight’s eyes widened as the Poochyena barked an order to his pack, causing Seedot to be dragged out from the group. “Stop! Please, stop!” she cried, but that only made his grin wider. Seedot’s captor threw him in front of the leader. The leader turned to Twilight, his teeth frosting over, and shouted, “Remember this, Twilispark! I am Alpha, and no one messes with my pack!” With each word, his breath became colder and colder until he whirled and sank his fangs into Seedot. Seedot screeched as Alpha lifted him off the ground and shook him ferociously. The frost crept across his skin until his entire body was covered in it. Then his noise stopped, and his cold body hit the ground with a dull thump. Twilight couldn’t look away. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t fight. She couldn’t move at all. Even as the ice thawed away, Twilight’s breath was rapid and shallow. Her eyes, pinpricks. Her body, paralyzed. And then the face of the one who finished Seedot turned toward her, and even her breathing locked up. “Tonight, we feast!” Alpha shouted. His entire pack descended on the huddled group. Zigzagoon lunged forward and knocked a couple away, but he was quickly overwhelmed. Ralts continued growling, keeping him from being attacked too much, but unable to do anything else. The Wurmple, however... And then there was Twilight, staring into the face of death. Black muzzle. Frosted teeth. Red eyes with yellow sclera. Death took a single step forward, prompting her to blast him with everything thaum of magic within her, but he merely walked forward through her attacks, no matter how powerful she made them, no matter how much she screamed. She backed away, eyes locked with his, unable to make herself run. Suddenly, something grabbed hold of her mane and yanked her to the side. “Run, Twilispark!” came the voice of Ralts from atop Zigzagoon’s back. She ran. They all ran. Away from the clearing, away from their home patch of grass. Away from the nightmare behind them. Never stopping, except to give Ralts a break by riding on the back of either Zigzagoon or Twilight, until they reached the border of the western human city. Once there, they found a large patch of grass to hide in and catch their breath. While the others were only winded, Twilight collapsed with heavy breaths. Having lived in urban Canterlot her entire life, she was certainly not built for this sort of exercise. Her lungs burned almost as much as her legs, with minimal signs of getting better. Now that they had stopped, though, another enemy caught up to Twilight: her own thoughts. Memories of what just happened surged to the front of her mind. Of Surskit facing five enemies on his own. Of Seedot sticking out for her and paying dearly for it. Of the terrified Wurmple being devoured. But above all, the face of Death as it stared into her eyes. “Twilispark! It’s okay, there’s nothing there!” A piercing noise stopped as Twilight felt something press against her side; something furry and warm. Around her neck, two thin arms wrapped themselves tightly. She opened her eyes and gasped for breath, having not even realized she was screaming until that moment. “Shh... It’s okay.” “Th-they... th-they’re all...” She couldn’t finish her sentence before she broke down and wept. Ralts stroked her mane and Zigzagoon pressed himself against her side, ready to hold their friend for as long as it took. ***** The young boy looked up at the large building and hesitated. He was take a risk, asking for help on his own like this. What if he wasn’t helped? What if he was just sent away? The boy shook his head free of such thoughts. If he was just sent away, then he would be no worse off than he was now. Other than missing his parents. At least he would have family though, right? But as he thought about his aunt and uncle, he knew he would still be all but alone. No, he had to ask for help. Wally looked back up at the gym sign, then slowly stepped through the sliding glass door. ***** Twilight’s tears eventually dried. The burning in her lungs had ceased, but her head ached. The aching pain in her legs lanced into her shoulder, now that the chill from Alpha’s bite was gone. And the family that had taken her in was gone. But her tears were dry. She simply didn’t have the energy to make them anymore. “Ralts...” she rasped, her throat sore from her sobs. “Ralts...!” “I’m here, Twilispark. I’m right here,” Ralts replied, his arms still wrapped around her neck. “Zigza-*cough*-zagoon...” “I’m here too,” came a voice at her side. “Please...” Twilight started. Her voice began to tremble. “Please don’t leave me...” “Silly... Didn’t I tell you before?” Ralts leaned into Twilight’s field of vision and smiled. “The family never abandons one of its own.” “Promise?” “We will never, ever leave you behind, Twilispark,” Zigzagoon chimed in. “You’re our family, too.” Twilight relaxed a little, their words bringing her a small bit of comfort. “So, all I have to do is walk in the tall grass and I’ll find one?” said a distant voice. Twilight’s ears perked up at the sound. The voices weren’t using names like other creatures around here. “That’s right. But remember: you have to weaken them first before you throw the pokeball. Otherwise, they might break out of it.” Twilight’s eyes slowly widened. She knew that second voice. “We have to g-” she started, but she talked too quickly and started coughing. “Are you alright?!” Ralts asked. “Um... W-would you show me how?” asked the first voice, closer than before. “Sure! I have a couple extra pokeballs.” She heard the grass start to rustle toward them and struggled to get to her hooves, but her shoulder’s wounds and fatigue quickly dragged her back to the ground. She cleared her throat before saying, “We have to go... Deeper into the grass...” “What was that? I could’ve sworn I heard a voice. Is anyone in there?” This time, the others heard the human. The nodded to each other, then helped Twilight up to her hooves, propping her against their bodies before moving deeper into the grass. But it was too late. “Look, May! See the grass rustling? There’s a Pokemon over there!” “Oh, you’re right! Let’s get closer!” “They’re coming for us!” Zigzagoon whispered. “We’re not going fast enough!” “But we can’t go any faster,” Ralts replied. “Twilispark’s hurt!” Twilight winced. She was slowing them down. They could escape if it weren’t for her. She was never meant to be here, out in the wilds of some unknown land, fighting predators and ‘humans’ just to survive. She was meant for libraries and donuts, not running for her life. But her friends? They were born here. Live here. If anyone should be captured, then natural selection says it should be her. “Leave me behind.” Ralts and Zigzagoon exchanged a surprised glance. “Didn’t you hear what we just said?” Zigzagoon asked. “You’re our family. We’re never going to leave you behind!” “But if you don’t, you’ll be captured by the humans!” Twilight protested. “And if we do, you’ll be captured! We’re not going to let that happen!” “That’s right!” “But you’ve lived your whole lives here!” Ralts paused and pulled Twilight’s head down to look her in the eyes. “Twilight, you still have your parents out there. They’re still looking for you. We don’t have that. All we have is each other.” He released her head, allowing her to straighten out somewhat. “If someone is going to be captured anyways, why should it be the one who has the most to lose?” “But...” “No, Twilispark! No buts!” Zigzagoon nodded to Ralts, allowing him to brace Twilight fully, then gently eased away from the filly’s side. “You’re not getting taken by the humans today.” “Zigzagoon, what are you doing?!” she cried. “I’m making sure you have a chance to escape. Ralts, get her to safety.” The two locals exchanged a nod before Zigzagoon darted off toward the human. “Zigzagoon!” “Shh! Do you want the humans to hear us?” Ralts asked quietly, pulling Twilight against her will toward a small ditch. “What about not abandoning your family?!” Twilight whispered harshly. “Are you just going to let him get captured?!” “No one has abandoned anyone,” Ralts returned. “He is meeting the needs of the family, and if he can escape, he’ll find us.” “Aha! There you are! Go, Torchic!” Twilight heard the telltale sound of a capture orb opening, followed by Torchic’s shrill battle cry. Twilight squinted her eyes shut and forced herself to breath normally. “Ponyfeathers... He doesn’t stand a chance...” “Come on, Twilispark. We can hide in the ditch until-” “Oh! There’s one! Go, Zigzagoon!” Ralts shot a glance behind them, then pushed Twilight’s head down, sending her tumbling gently down the grass into the ditch. “Ralts?! What are you-” “Making sure you stay safe,” he calmly interrupted as he left her field of vision. “Ralts!” she screamed, but her voice gave out into a fit of coughing before any real volume could be heard. In the distance, she could hear Ralts growling at something, followed by a dull thud and several pings. “I... I did it! It’s my own Pokemon! May, look!” "Good job, Wally! Now you won't have to be alone when you go to Verdanturf! The rustling disappeared into the distance as the sun set, leaving Twilight alone in the silent darkness. Strangely enough, her body found the energy to produce more tears. “You promised you’d never leave...” Author's Note And with this chapter, part one of the story is complete! Part two is in the works, so expect to see it coming soon.
