-The Crystal Empire-

Giratina walked alongside Princess Mi Amore Cadenza as they made an advance towards the Crystal Empire's vast archives, the distance between each of his steps causing the latter to move to a slight trot to keep up with the kingly changeling. A small group of guards trailed the two, Shining Armor at the mare's side. "You say that you could feel the presence of your allies upon your arrival," the alicorn started, breaking the silence. "How are you going to find them?"

"I haven't thought into it much... And not to be condescending, but there is only one presence I felt that I would be happy to call friend," Giratina corrected, shifting his gaze down to her. "The majority of the others underestimate her and I, so they are not necessarily foes, but I wouldn't call them friend."

Cadence rolled her eyes at the correction before noting the use of the word 'she.' "Do you love her?" she asked, seeing if she could get some insight into this 'Giratina's' life back on his 'home realm' of 'Earth.'

One of the changeling's many legs didn't follow his brain's orders at the word love, and the stallion stumbled for a moment before coming to a stop. "Love is something that I, being a demigod who resides in two different realms, do not think of nor give any deep thought to," he replied, his unsettling red eyes piercing through the mare.

Princess Cadence felt a bead of sweat upon her brow before hearing the stallion continue.

"But to some extent, yes... I do love her... but not romantically like I believe that you were implying. I only love her like a sister," Giratina said, reverting his view back to where he was going.

Prince Shining Armor chuckled, flanking around to Giratina's open side with a shake of the head. "You've never once felt love?" the unicorn asked.

"Never have, never intend to."

They walked in silence for a time before Giratina spoke again. "For the sake of curiosity, why do you insist on trying to piece together my life? I feel that it is hardly any of your business what my life was like," he said with a slight shrug and shake of the head.

"Because..." Cadence started. "I like to know a bit of backstory from strangers who materialize from the sky and destroy a fountain in the middle of town that's hundreds of years old."

The hundreds-of-years-old changeling stallion grumbled something trivial under his breath that sounded like a long string of swears, rolling his eyes slightly. He ignored the annoyed glare that both Shining Armor and Amore shot him before speaking. "You really want to hear my backstory? Well then, listen closely, because I'm not telling it more than once," Giratina said, lacking the respect that both Cadence and Shining Armor had grown to like about him.

-Ponyville-

After Dapper Jolt directed Rayquaza and Pikachu to the most powerful being in Ponyville, the alicorn Twilight Sparkle, he bid them a hasty goodbye, giving the kirin mare a light punch on the shoulder. "Maybe I'll see you around," he smiled, turning to walk in the opposite direction.

"Maybe," Rayquaza replied, watching him escape her line of sight.

"Pika-" the small rodent on her shoulder said flatly.

"No. I don't like him," she retorted, shooting Pikachu a half second glare before shifting her gaze to the tall treehouse the stood ahead, shrugging her shoulders. "At least not like THAT," the mare continued.

-Twilight Sparkle's Treehouse-

Twilight Sparkle, a student of magic and leader of the Mane Six, had herself lazily sprawled out on her bed, reading glasses upon her head and nose in a book. Her eyes devoured the text of the book as the current chapter came to a close. Returning a bookmark to the novel, Twilight set the book back down and stretched her legs, ushering out a noisy yawn before she heard a loud knock at the door.

"I'LL GET IT!!" she heard Spike shout from downstairs, hearing his feet racing to the door.

Smiling, the alicorn mare's horn flashed violet before she disappeared from the bed, reappearing a fraction of a second at the door.

"Aw, c'mon!" Spike groaned, seeing his adoptive sister at the door. "Every stinking time!" With that, the baby dragon grumbled to himself and returned to his graphic novel.

Twilight Sparkle ran a hoof through her mane to tidy herself from the state of laziness she'd just been in before swinging the door open to see a palette of red, green, and yellow spread across a kirin and rodent's body. Looking over the pony at the door briefly, Twilight recomposed herself and chirped a joyful greeting. "Hello!"

"How do you do," the newcomer obliged with a nod. "You must be Miiiiissss Sparkle," she said, needing the time to remember the name mentioned to her.

"That's me! C'mon in," the alicorn beckoned, stepping out of the way to allow her inside.

"Thank you," the kirin replied, taking a look around the interior of the building. Gazing up at the ceiling, it didn't take long for Rayquaza to determine that she disliked being indoors.

"You gotta name?" Twilight asked her with a polite smile.

"Rayquaza," the newcomer replied.

It was then that Twilight Sparkle took the time to look the kirin mare's features over. The alicorn noticed at the door how tall Rayquaza was, easily the height of Princess Luna if not on par with Celestia. Like a kirin, she had a dragon tail, but the resemblance stopped there. Four twin crests shot off the back of her skull, with two wing like structures starting from the base of the neck to the base of the tail.

The rodent on her shoulder, was no less baffling, being a bright yellow in color with red cheeks, long ears and an oddly shaped tail.

"So... Rayquaza... What can I do ya for?" Twilight asked with a kind smile, still both perplexed, and in awe with the kirin adornments.

"A pegasus by the name of Dapper Jolt sent me to you. He told me that you could help my current problem?" Rayquaza acknowledged.

"Good stallion, that Dapper Jolt... Smart too," she laughed, nudging the kirin's shoulder. "Am I right?"

Rayquaza, unfazed by her nudge, lifted a brow, leaning down slightly to let Pikachu off of her shoulder. "Hope you don't mind. Little bugger can't sit still for five minutes," she said before transitioning to Twilight's question. "About Dapper Jolt... Hard to say, I always found mortals to be quite selfish. But this place is weird. Dapper Jolt seemed amicable enough. Kept eyeing me funny, but interesting to say in the least."

"That sounds like him," Twilight chuckled, shaking her head slightly. "So how'd you two meet?" she proceeded.

"I thought he was attacking Pikachu so I threw him into a tree. It happened... about an hour ago?" Rayquaza said blankly, devoid of any remorse. Noticing the worry upon the alicorn mare's face for her friend, the kirin continued. "He's quite alright, just some minor bruising at the collar."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief before transitioning to helping Rayquaza out with her current state. "Dapper Jolt aside, what might this problem of your's be?" she asked, a hoof to her chin.

"I am not one of you... I am typically, most always, a 23 foot long serpentine demigoddess who lives in the ozone layer of Earth. Judging by my current form, I am far from there, though," Rayquaza said, giving Twilight Sparkle ample time to entertain the thought and noticing the mixture of confusion etched across her muzzle.

An idea came to the Element of Magic, and a content smile crossed her face. "I have an idea... Princess Celestia should be informed of this, and the best way to do so is to get to her castle and teleport all unknowns to the location. Are you alright with teleportation?"

Rayquaza withheld the urge to Hyper Roar in Twilight's face, which was now only centimeters from her own. "I always preferred the old fashioned way of getting around," she said, pushing the young alicorn away from her slightly with a furrowed brow.

"Oh... okay," Twilight mumbled, her ears flattening slightly as she backed away.

Rayquaza huffed, rolling her eyes. "Lemme guess; you dislike flying?"

"No, I just am not used to flying and at the urgency of the situation, teleporting is the fastest way to get you to the castle," the mare replied.

The kirin looked down at her before ushering a short, sharp whistle. On cue, Pikachu, tailed by a grinning green and purple dragon, hopped toward the mare.

Spike stopped in his tracks, gaze shifting up to a tall, green kirin as the electric mouse leapt onto her shoulder. "Uh... Twi?" the little drake asked his adoptive sister, slight fear seeping into his eyes at the dragonoid appearance.

"Spike, this is Rayquaza... Rayquaza, this is my adoptive brother, Spike," Twilight obliged with a smile, the latter ducking behind her legs.

Rayquaza smirked. "Why are you afraid, little dragon," she asked the bipedal being, ducking her head slightly.

"Uh... You-you. Uh." That was the only thing that came spluttering from Spike's lips.

"Nonetheless. Twilight, seeing as you are uncomfortable flying, and the situation is quite urgent, I will allow you to teleport us to this 'Celestia'." Rayquaza continued, standing back up and lifting her chin slightly. The Pikachu on her shoulder nodded, following in her actions with a smug look upon his face.

The alicorn beamed, her horn glowing in a bright, violet light before this aura enveloped Rayquaza, Spike, and Pikachu. A flash of white, and Twilight's treehouse was devoid of any living being with the exception of a small cluster of roses on a windowsill.

-Canterlot, Conference Hall-

Princess Celestia was the judge of a debate that had many of her noblemen and senators bickering back and forth like a group of wild dogs. Many of them had felt a disturbance in Equestria's natural aura and couldn't decide whether said aura was nothing to worry about, or if it was something that had to be addressed. Nonetheless, the celestial mare didn't like the arguing that had unfolded and was about to shout out a response to halt this when a white flash erupted from the center of the room, startling most who were unaware of what it was.

Celestia, on the other hoof, ushered forth a soft smile, her exasperation diminishing as she saw the violet form of her pupil, Twilight Sparkle.

Her smile, however, vanished at the sight of a green kirin alongside her with four long crests upon her head, a baffled look coming across her muzzle. Twilight's expression also siphoned away the joy she had begun to feel, as it depicted fear and worry.

Celestia's senators fell silent as they gazed at the alicorn and kirin mares, a small dragon, and a yellow mouse.

"Twilight," the milky white mare acknowledged, realizing that she probably hadn't come at a good time.

"Princess Celestia!" the mare replied swiftly before noticing the assortment of suited ponies surrounding her. "Oops," she muttered with a nervous grin, flushing with embarrassment. "I can leave if you need me to," she said, her horn beginning to hum as she readied to teleport herself from the room.

"There is no need. Your expression gives me a good reason to keep you here, whatever the reason may be," Celestia said, her smile returning.

"Right! Okay! Well... as you all are aware, I'm sure, there was a disturbance in the atmosphere that came suddenly and unexpectedly." Twilight paused to catch her breath, unused to giving a speech without note cards at hoof. "Whom I have brought with me, Rayquaza, is one of the pulses that you all felt little over an hour ago... or so I presume."

Princess Celestia lifted a brow, not sure what exactly to think of this newcomer.

"She certainly looks foreign," a pegasus stated, lifting a hoof to his chin with a quizzically raised brow. "But how can you be sure that this being didn't come from Equestria?"

"Look at the facts, Senator. Do anyone of you know of the Hoenn Region of Earth?" she asked, turning a 360 and looking for a raised hoof... "Anypony? Considering how varied you all are, if this Hoenn Region existed on Equestria, at least one of you should know about it, right?"

The senators nodded, some wide-eyed, others not fazed at all by the words.

"And according to Ray, here, apparently there are others who have arrived," the alicorn proceeded, turning to face Celestia. "Princess, if you would allow it, I would like to have any outside forces in Equestria teleported to this location. "I think this is a very important matter that needs to be addressed."

Rayquaza nodded in agreement, though the slight fear of both Groudon and Kyogre having arrived not hidden from her mind.

Celestia contemplated the thought for another moment or two before lifting her head with a slight nod. "Very well, Twilight. We will try to have any outside entities brought to this location. Afterwards, we will try to find a way to return them to where they hailed from," the celestial mare stated.

Twilight Sparkle smiled with a light bow, Rayquaza following in her motions in a show of respect.

-Saddle Lake-

Burnt red and thin lines of black shifted, armored lids lifting to reveal yellow eyes with black sclera. The unicorn stallion, and a large one at that, regained consciousness, a loud, pained groan escaping his throat. The Continent Pokemon dragged himself to a semi-sitting position, placing a forelimb to his head to steady his blurry vision. It was then that Groudon noticed something; the long, sharp, claws that he often used when dueling his rival, Kyogre, were missing, in their place a wide, round, and furry limb clearly visible to the ground type Pokemon.

Groudon cocked a brow, confusion growing in his mind as he slowly shifted himself to his feet-er, hooves. Looking down at feeling the earth beneath all fours instead of two, like he was also used to, the stallion didn't even fight to contain his shock, eyes popping out wide. In his surprise, Groudon failed to notice that he lacked any spikes running down his flank, replaced with smudged, brick red armor that shifted in segments as he moved. The built in helm that used to cap his skull was now replaced with an actual helmet that covered a dirty brown mane and part of a black and red spiraling horn, a pair of short, glinting white spires below his eyes where the chin became aquatinted with the armor. His tail was the same shade, but loose rings of red-brown metal keeping it in a more orderly appearance than his haggard mane.

Inhaling sharply, the stallion took a step forward, approaching the shores of a medium sized lake before him. Beachgoers played in the surf, some looking up at the massive stallion with fright, others in awe. Groudon lifted a brow at the sight of the beings. They were most certainly not humans, as the walked in a quadruped form and possessed hooves; but were also not Pokemon.

A smaller horse, about the age of fourteen, trotted up to the stallion with glittering eyes, a grin across her face. The mare, not to his surprise, only stood eye level with the stallion's muscular shoulder "Hello!" she piped, her mother coming up from behind.

Groudon grimaced as he looked down, not overly fond of mortals, whom he'd always found obnoxious, selfish, and just plain rude. Nonetheless, he found himself grumbling a response. "Greetings."

The young pony's mother, about in her late 30s, early 40s, trotted up behind her, a hoof to her shoulder. "Paint Brush, what have I told you?"

"Not to talk to strangers," the pony replied, dipping her head.

"That's right," she said before lifting her head to the stallion. "My apologies, Sir... She's always been the talkative one of the family, despite how often I threaten to turn her into a pair of slippers or fur coat," Paint Brush's mother chuckled, rolling her eyes.

Before Groudon could contemplate why a mother would possibly want to turn her own child into an article of clothing, a jet of water as powerful as a fire hose rocketed towards him, striking the stallion square in the chest and throwing him back a few meters.

Roaring in pain, the Continent Pokemon struck a large, dead log, throwing splinters of the rotting wood into the surrounding area. Dropping back down to his hooves, Groudon took up a battle stance, watching as a palette of blue, white, and red emerged from the lake. Though the being the colors belonged to didn't match up with his memory, the dual dorsal fins, smooth, metallic armor, and wavy tail clued him in.

A loathsome sneer twisted across the unicorn stallion's face as Kyogre came to the shore, his front hooves and triton tail creating deep indentations in the sand beneath him.

Paint Brush looked back and forth between the two before her mother dragged her from the scene, watching and praying for the two stallions as they batted spiteful glares at each other. She wondered what would possibly lead to such hatred between two beings. She could almost feel the ill will that the unicorn stallion and triton shot at each other.

"I want to pray for them," she heard Paint Brush whisper over the chorus of growls.

"Okay," she said, closing her eyes and locking hooves with her daughter's. She grimaced at the sound of heavy hoofsteps against the sand as she uttered a prayer to her God.

-The Kalos Region of Earth-

Things were going far from good for Zygarde... Deep inside the cave he called home, he could see in his geologically connected mind... chaos... erupting across the various regions of Earth. Pokemon of every type had lost almost all sense of civility when the Elemental Three (Groudon Kyogre, and Rayquaza), the Universal Three (Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina). and a handful of mythical and pseudo-legendary Pokemon disappeared from the planet's surface.

The serpentine dragon wasn't complaining at Yveltal's apparent demise, but felt great distress at the disappearance of Xerneas, the Life Giving Pokemon, and even Arceus, the creator of the home he knew and loved.

Those who didn't go mental turned to him, Ho-oh, and Lugia to maintain the balance. Unfortunately, the loss of the heroic legendaries was an advantage that many of the darker Pokemon were fully aware of and relished well.

A major understatement it would be to say Zygarde, Guardian of the Ecosystem, was anxious at his new leadership...

-Western Outskirts of Ponyville-

Wolf Heart's laugh drew a smile to Dapper Jolt's face as he told the story of his ferocious battle with a centaur-sized kirin. "The battle raged on for seemingly hours," he laughed sarcastically, his shoulders shuddering with each chuckle that he uttered. "It was my beautiful 'stache that finally drove my enemy away." With that, Dapper Jolt looked down at the large bruise on his chest. "In reality though, she just threw me against a tree after a little misunderstanding," he told the winged unicorn, exchanging laughter for a slightly pained wince.

Wolf Heart booped the pegasus stallion's snout with the tip of a wing, a soft smile crossing her face. "You get into a lot of trouble," she exclaimed.

Dapper Jolt feigned shock at her contact before rolling his eyes with a snort. "I dunno what you're talking about," he acknowledged, looking up at the clouds. "Beautiful weather we're having, isn't it?"

"Mm," she muttered with a chuckle before hearing heavy hoofsteps approaching the table that the two sat at.

Seeing the mare turn her head, Dapper Jolt shifted his view over to a large, navy blue unicorn kirin covered in heavy, silvery-grey armor. The pony wore a silver helm not far from a celestial guard's helmet, though instead of the side-burn esque appearance, the tips of the chin piece angled down like spikes. A pair of similarly short spikes upon the helm sat behind the horn, giving the appearance of brow horns. The stallion's hoofwear bore short, sharp claws that uttered quiet clangs against the rocky gravel underhoof. His body armor, being chest and spinal armor, was some of the strangest that either pony had ever seen. Instead of the royal crest and flattened, smooth metal that a celestial guard possessed, it was jagged and appeared to be bladed. The chest armor, unlike most armor, was not attached to the rest of the uniform, and in the center of said metal was a pale violet gemstone compressed into the shield, two long prongs jutting off of each side. The spinal armor jutted out of the stallion's back, five spines interconnected by webs of metal.

The stallion himself was a deep blue in color with blood red eyes and black sclera. He possessed tribal markings upon his body, a lighter shade of blue that pulsed with a faint blue light. His tail was devoid of any fur or armor, though similar markings ran down the length of his tail before enveloping a couple inches of the tip. And unlike most, the stallion lacked a cutie mark.

Dapper Jolt lifted a quizzical brow. Between the arrival of Rayquaza and now this strange stallion, he was utterly befuddled. Wolf Heart, more or less, shared his confusion, but also a bit of awe at the stallion's colors and crystalline markings.

Despite the unicorn's mighty appearance, he approached with a slight limp, several small, bleeding cuts and scratches crossing over his darkly colored form. He ushered a small grimace with each step he took on his right front limb, telling the two ponies that it was either broken, fractured, or sprained.

Regardless of the state of his limb, Dapper Jolt and Wolf Heart came to the stallion's aid, weary of his claw armored hooves and long chest armor.

"Are you okay?" Wolf Heart asked the strange unicorn with worry sketched across her muzzle.

Dapper Jolt nodded in agreement. "You look like you've been in a fight."

"You could say that," the stallion acknowledged in a deep, slightly aged voice. Lifting his chin pridefully, he continued. "I am Dialga, the Creator of Time and one of four univ-ersal beings known in both myth and legend," he stated, though his roughed up appearance and pained wince that caused the stumble in his voice took away from the awe slightly.

"Legend or not, you need help. Walking on that hoof isn't going to let it heal," the alicorn stated, allowing him to place some of his weight on her shoulder.

"Legend, like a god," Dapper Jolt whispered to his friend, supporting Dialga's other side.

Wolf Heart's pace slowed for a moment at the words, slight shock visible on her face.

"Demigod, actually," the unicorn corrected, his pride wanting to resist the help that he received from the two ponies. Dialga sighed, dipping his head slightly to look his form over. Walking on all fours was simple enough; he almost never walked on two legs, but the body he was in was an all but foreign feeling to the stallion. It was a feeling that the Pokemon-turned-unicorn could deal with if need be, but disliked.

"Say... where are you from, anyway?" Dapper Jolt asked the stallion, asymmetrically cocking a brow.

"I come from a place called Earth, residing in the Region of Sinnoh," Dialga acknowledged.

"Doooo you know Rayquaza?"

The unicorn stopped, looking down at the pegasus with a curious expression. "How do you know Rayquaza?" he asked quietly, leaning down to look at the stallion eye to eye.

His eyes, blood red and black as night, stared straight into Dapper Jolt's, and they absolutely terrified him. It was almost as if the entrance to Hell itself resided in the unicorn stallion's biological optics. "She-she's here in Equestria," he stammered nervously, a bead of sweat upon his brow. Concern crossed Wolf Heart's face as she readied herself to defend her friend from the massive unicorn.

"Show me," Dialga ordered him, electing to ignore Wolf Heart's stern expression as he stood back up.

-Twilight's Treehouse-

Dapper Jolt grumbled to himself, face bright red as he awaited Twilight's appearance at the front entrance to her home. "C'mon, open up," he whispered, turning his head to the waiting Dialga and Wolf Heart. Smiling nervously, he banged on the door again, testing the door nob... Locked. "Shit," he said under his breath, whirling around and descending down the small set of stairs that led to the home's porch.

"I dislike having my time wasted... If you didn't see Rayquaza, there is no point in lying," Dialga told the pegasus, slight irritation audible in his tone.

"No! I didn't lie! I sent Rayquaza to this exact location!" Dapper Jolt retorted, holding his hooves up as the legendary Pokemon turned to walk away.

"Then where, if I may, is she?" he said, continuing his about-face.

The pegasus thought about it for a moment before his wings popped up and ears flicked to attention. "Canterlot!" he blurted with a smile before he spread his wings and flew around to Dialga's front side, his face inches from the unicorn's. The stallion reeled back slightly, a frown upon his muzzle and brows furrowed. "Twilight would've taken Rayquaza to Canterlot so that Princess Celestia could do something to help, I bet my bottom bit!" he continued.

Dialga, at the invasion of space, pushed Dapper Jolt back some. Wolf Heart chuckled at the pegasus stallion's enthusiasm before nodding an agreeing nod.

Before Dialga could reply, however, Dapper Jolt spotted his father approaching him, slight concern etched across an oil-covered face. "Dapper!" he exclaimed, trotting to come to his side. The pegasus dropped to his hooves, furrowing a confused brow. "Your mother just called. There was'n incident at Saddle Lake and she and yer sister got caught between a couple a big ol' stallions caught in a battle royale," Bolt Charge told him, his characteristic gruff voice all but audible to those who didn't listen closely.

At this, instant dread flashed across the stallion's face. Before the mechanic could say anything more, Dapper Jolt was already gone, rocketing towards the lake.

Looking at the two remaining ponies beside him, the stallion cocked a quizzical brow at Dialga before he noticed the wolf head upon the alicorn mare's hip and smiled. "You must be Wolf Heart... I've heard a lot about you."

Wolf Heart blushed slightly at the earth stallion's words.

Dialga rolled his eyes with a near silent grumble, not even taking a second to realize what was going on between the two. "Typical," he muttered with a snort. "Can we focus on Rayquaza now, please?" he then said aloud.

"Who?" Bolt Charge questioned, looking at the armored unicorn like he had three heads and lobsters crawling out of his ears. Needless to say, foreign names were not the stallion mechanic's forte.

That was before a flash of white enveloped Dialga and he disappeared into thin air, leaving two very confused ponies in its wake.

-Saddle Lake-

Dapper Jolt dove towards Saddle Lake, huffing for breath at the force he exerted to get there at the speed he had. Dropping onto the sandy beach with a slight spray of the tan minerals underhoof, the pegasus frantically swiveled his head in a desperate attempt to locate his mother and sister.

Spotting them, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief before breaking into a full sprint towards the two mares, worry not having dissipated from his expression completely. "Mom!" he shouted, wrapping the two into his arms in a tight hug. "You two almost gave me a heart attack," he whispered, not releasing them.

"Gak! Dapper!" Paint Brush choked with a laugh, attempting to free herself of his grasp.

Releasing them, he gave the two mares a brief look over before speaking again. "Are you guys alright?! What happened?!"

"Paint Brush approached a big red unicorn covered in armor before a blue triton blasted him with a beam of water. Things just went downhill from there... We're fine, but the two fighting disappeared with a flash of white and puff of smoke," his mother obliged, casting her son a reassuring smile.

"Well... I'm glad that you're safe."

Paint Brush smiled at the words before speaking. "They both looked really cool though," she said, nodding at her older brother. "You would've liked them."

"Well... Between having my lunch stolen by a lightning mouse, being thrown into a tree by a dragon pony, and meeting a royally armored being of time, I think I've seen enough action for today," Dapper Jolt chuckled.

Author's Note

A triton is a male siren.