Author's Note

This is based on vanilla Sun & Moon.

My headcanon is that ponies don't conveniently speak the same language as humans; rather, Pokémon have one-way "universal translators" "built into" them, which is why Pokémon can understand breezies by default here.

Buzzing with Excitement

Mina didn’t miss her old life too much.

Of course, she still missed some things. She missed being human. She missed trekking through the wilderness of Poni Island for days on end to survey the landscape. She missed Seafolk Village, Konikoni City, and not instinctively wanting to fight every Butterfree she met, but most of all, she missed most of her team. But all of this was outweighed by the perks of being a Ribombee.

She got to experience all sorts of things she never would have been able to as a human: she could fly freely and taste the sweet, delicious nectar of flowers. But best of all, she now had the innate ability to sense auras, something she had always thought was exclusive to Lucario. It made the world look so more colourful! Every living thing, from the breezies that inhabited this world to the phosphorescent mushrooms they lived in, radiated a brilliant, warm glow. She could sense the precise differences between each and every flower; how recently they had bloomed, and how sweet their nectar was. It filled her with inspiration to just paint everything!

Mina would have never been able to figure any of this out on her own. She was lucky enough to have woken up right next to her Ribombee - who wasn’t really “hers” any more; Mina still hadn’t gotten used to that - on that first day, who had been kind enough to to teach her all of this. Unfortunately, Mina and Ribombee (who she now wished she’d given a nickname) had given up looking for most of their teammates once they realised that they were way too big to be here without wrecking everything, but the jury was still out on Klefki.

Speaking of which, the Breezie Village was, for the most part, great! It was like living in a picturesque village straight out of a postcard, or an outdoor dollhouse. The only downside was that the breezies were very wary of Pokémon; they were so delicate that even the slightest disturbance in the air could send them tumbling, so Mina tended to only go out flying when most of them were inside. Not that she minded; in the evening, the setting sun dyed the lake (which was probably the size of a pond, now that she thought about it) a beautiful shade of orange that reminded her of honey.

On one such evening, Mina was hovering in front of a tiny piece of canvas on a tiny easel, painting the pond-lake before her. She was particularly interested in capturing the blue glow of the spores that constantly fell from the mushrooms, some of which landed on the surface of the water. She giggled at the sight of a Dewpider trying to avoid them.

“That’s a nice painting,” a breezie said in a high-pitched voice.

Mina was so engrossed in her painting that she almost didn't notice the pale blue breezie coming down to land next to her. She had a purple, curly mane, and was wearing a red mushroom with white spots as a hat. Mina didn't see breezies up close very often, so she was surprised to remember that they were less than half her height.

Unfortunately, the Pokémon still hadn’t figured out a way to talk to the breezies yet. Mina had briefly wondered if she could use her aura powers for telepathy - she’d heard that a few Lucario could do that - but Ribombee had told her that was incredibly difficult to learn. She landed, and then sat on the edge of the cliff.

“Those colours are so wonderful!” the breezie continued. “Is that how you see the world?” Everything in the painting was portrayed not by their physical colours, but by the colours of their auras; the gloomy mushrooms and their sparkling spores were both a lively, fresh shade of green, similar to new leaves in the spring. Mina nodded.

“Wow, that must be incredible! I wish you could tell me more,” said the breezie. “I almost feel jealous of you Pokémon! But I’ve experienced things you haven’t, too.” Mina tilted her head in curiosity.

“You see, this world that we’re living in right now is just a small part of something bigger. Every year, a portal opens up to the land of Equestria for a few days. Some of us have to leave and travel far to collect pollen, that we then have to bring home with the help of the pegasi. Do you know what ponies look like?” Mina shook her head. “Ponies look like us, only bigger. Pegasi are the ones with wings, but they’re feathery, unlike yours or mine.” The human side of Mina found that mental image adorable, but the Ribombee side found that strangely terrifying.

“Anyway, I was one of the breezies who ventured out last year. My group’s flight path was disturbed, so a kind pegasus took us in... but we soon forgot all about those who were waiting for us at home, and we took advantage of her kindness.” The breezie sighed, her wings drooping. “But... she taught us the error of ours ways, and she and her friends helped us get home just in time.” Her wings perked back up. “Equestria is a scary place, you know. Something as small as a leaf almost stopped us in our tracks. A leaf!” She stomped on the grass to emphasise her point. “And who knows what kinds of Pokémon live there now! At the same time, getting to see a new place, and seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces when you return... that’s what makes it all worth it.” The breezie leaped upwards with joy, her weak wings flapping slightly before she gently fell onto the grass.

“The portal reopens in a few weeks. Do you want to go then?” asked the breezie.

Mina’s wings buzzed with excitement, lifting her off the ground. There was so much more to this world? And she’d soon have the chance to go and see it? Awesome! Sure, it was supposedly dangerous to breezies, but she was a Pokémon! She’d seen Ribombee take down opponents several times her size before. She could ask her to train her, which still felt like a weird concept. She might even find her other teammates there!

Mina nodded. Why wouldn’t she?