THE SYMBOL OF PEACE

A bolt of thunder caused Scootaloo to jolt awake and looked around the unfamiliar room she woke up in, fear and panic evident on her face. 'W-where am I?! How did I get here?!' she thought in panic before memories of yesterday came back to her, making her calm down a bit. "R-right, mister Fred brought me here..." she said and looked around the room, this time more calmly. From the clock on the wall she can see that it was pretty early in the morning, unfortunately, around nine-thirty am. It was still raining outside, which means she won't be going outside anytime soon.

Scootaloo looked to her right and saw Ruby asleep, at least she think she is asleep. Kinda hard to tell when Ruby doesn't have any eyelids. Scootaloo quietly and carefully got out of bed and walked over to the door and exited the room. She lets out a sigh before walking down the hallway, looking around as she did so, noting how bland the walls were, in fact, the entire house looked bland. "Must not be that big on decorating, either that, or he's too busy to do so. Must be the latter."

She soon arrived at the living room, which was currently empty. "Mister Fred must still be asleep." she said as she walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge and looked at its contents, seeing that there wasn't much in it. "He sure doesn't have a lot of food, maybe it's because he's too busy as a hero and a teacher?"

She decided to make herself a bowl of cereal with an apple, once she made her food, she went and sat on the couch just as Fred came walking out with a yawn. He then noticed Scootaloo sitting on the couch eating. "Hey Scootaloo, you're up early." he said to her as he walked by.

"Yeah, the thunder woke me up." Scootaloo said and Fred nodded in understanding as he enters the kitchen.

"Yeah, it woke me up too." Fred said as he looks for something to eat, frowning as he realizes that he doesn't have much, just a few pieces of bacon, some eggs, a few fruits, and milk. "Damn, need to go shopping and hunting soon." sighed Fred as he grabbed the last pieces of bacon, eggs and cheese, deciding to finish them off and make an omelette.

"Hunting?" Scootaloo asked him as she walked into the kitchen and cleaned out her bowl while throwing away the apple core. "Ruby told me you were preparing to go hunting one day." Fred nodded his head.

"Yeah, I haven't really gotten around to it due to my duties as a teacher and a hero but since it's been mostly a quiet weekend I figure I should go do that before something comes up and I'll forget." Fred said as he turns on the oven and places the bacon on the pan, causing it to slowing sizzle as it heats up before cracking the eggs and putting them in another pan. He then see's Scootaloo fidgeting a bit out of the corner of his eye, making him turn to look at her. "Something wrong?"

"W-well, I was wondering....i-if maybe...I can come with?" she hesitantly asked before quickly saying. "If I can't that's ok! Forget I asked! A-and don't get upset with me for-"

"Hey hey hey, easy there kiddo." Fred said before smiling at her. "You can come with, I don't see the harm in you coming with me, you might even learn some survival skills."

Scootaloo smiles a little and nods. "O-ok, thank you mister Fred." Fred just ruffles her hair, causing her to giggle a bit.

"No problem Scootaloo, besides, it could be fun as well." Fred said as he returned to cooking breakfast, adding a few seasonings to the omelettes. "We'll have to go to the market to get some rain gear and some other supplies, don't want us to get sick now do we?" he asked her and she shook her head.

"No we don't." she said,

"Good. Also, do you want an omelette? They're pretty good." he said and Scootaloo nodded her head.

"Yes please." she said and Fred chuckles.

"Ok, go ahead and explore the house if you want, I'll call you when they're done." Fred said and Scootaloo began to rush off to explore before Fred called out. "And remember, stay out of the basement. I don't want you to get hurt down there."

"Ok mister Fred." Scootaloo called back before she began her exploration of Fred and Ruby's home, much like she saw before, it was pretty bland with only the essential items being seen. She walked past Ruby's room, seeing that the Genesect was still asleep despite the occasional boom of thunder. "She must not mind it or she's a heavy sleeper." Scootaloo mumbled to herself as she continued her exploration of the house before she came across a door, curious on what's on the other side, she opens it and see a staircase leading down. Realizing she found the basement and not wanting to upset Fred, she closes the door and walks away. "Better not go down there, mister Fred said he was working on a project and I don't want to accidentally ruin it."

She then walked off towards the living room, having finished her exploration due to the house being pretty small. "Mister Fred, ow come your house is so small?" Scootaloo asked him while he was putting the food on two plates.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" he asked her and she fidgets a little.

"Well, a friend gave it to me, I guess this is supposed to be like a starter house for me. But I do plan on getting or making my own place, granted it won't have the same stuff as this one but at least it'll have a lot more room in case I have guests over." Fred said as he walked towards the dining room and put the plates down, Scootaloo's just had a couple of cheese omelettes while his omelette had the bacon strips in it.

"Oh, where you will build it?" Scootaloo asked him as the two sat down and began to eat.

"Well I was thinking it would be relatively close to where this one is." Fred answered as he took a bite out of his food. "I kinda like the area the current house is in so I'll stick with building it around here." Scootaloo nodded in understanding.

"When will you build it?" Scootaloo asked him and he stopped eating and hummed.

"Possibly after I finish my secret project, cause right now, I don't want to move it or else something bad will happen." Fred said before thinking to himself. 'Like major magic bad.' This made Scootaloo curious and slightly scared, wondering just what kind of project Fred was working on and Fred noticed this. "Oh don't worry, it's nothing too bad, just that I'd have to start all over from the beginning which is a pain to do." Fred reassured her, and she sighs in relief.

"Oh that's good." Scootaloo said and the two finished eating before Fred picked up the plates and put them in the sink, after that the two got ready but Fred realized she didn't have a jacket so he let her borrow one of his, though it was a little big on her, it would still at least keep her warm and dry from the rain.

"Ready?" he asked her while grabbing an umbrella and Scootaloo nodded her head.

"I am." she said,

"Good, then let's get going." Fred said as the two exited the house, seeing just how heavy the rain was falling. "Wow, I knew it was pouring but this is ridiculous. Might be too bad for us to go on that hunting trip."

This caused Scootaloo to have a disappointed look on her face before she said, "Maybe it'll let up after a while?"

"Maybe. We'll just have to wait and see." Fred said as he opened the umbrella and held it over him and Scootaloo and the two began to walk towards the market area of Ponyville, the two chatting as they did. The walk took about a fifteen minutes before they reached their goal which was a large shop for all sorts of camping supplies, such as tents, sleeping bags, they even have bows and arrows, for self defense of course but Fred will have another use for them. The two of them closed their umbrella's and walked inside, with Scootaloo looking at everything in awe, never having been inside one of these shops before. As they walked through the store they made sure to grab the supplies needed for their little hunting trip, such as rain coats, two collapsible fishing poles along with some bait in case they decided to do some fishing, two canteens, a couple of bows and two quivers full of arrows, some snacks in case they get hungry while hunting, an ax for cutting wood that might be needed for traps or making a fire to warm up, and a jacket that fits Scootaloo.

"Is this everything?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at the cart full of items while Fred was looking around for more stuff they might need.

"It might, but we might need more stuff but I can get that later." Fred said as he begins pushing the cart to the checkout area where the clerk gave them a surprised look.

"Going camping in this kind of weather?" she asked them as she begins counts how much Fred owes her while said person rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile.

"Something like that." Fred said, not wanting to say that he was taking Scootaloo hunting with him since he knows how ponies can be when it comes to killing and/or eating meat just as the clerk finishes adding up the total amount of bits.

"That would be two hundred bits please." she said and Fred nodded before grabbing the bag tied around his waist and gave her the required bits, frowning when he sees that took up nearly all his money which means he also needs to go mining for gems soon. "Thank you, have a good day."

"You too." Fred and Scootaloo said at the same time before walking out the store, Scootaloo taking off the jacket Fred gave her and put on the one that he bought before they both put on the rain jackets. "There we go, now you have a jacket that fits you." fred said while smiling at her which she returned.

"Thanks Mr Fred." she said and Fred chuckles while ruffling her hair.

"No problem kid, also, you can call me Fred, I may be old but not that old." Fred said with another chuckle.

"O-ok Fred." the two then began to walk back to the house. Once there they see Ruby eating some fruits from the fridge. "Hi Ruby."

"Hi Scootaloo." Ruby greeted with a wave of her claw. "Where are you going?"

"Me and Scootaloo were just about to go into the forest to do a little bit of hunting. You can come with if you want." Fred said as he put the umbrella's away and looked in the closet for a couple of backpacks for them to put most of their stuff in.

"No thanks, I think I'll stay here and relax. I don't like the rain much, it makes certain parts of me rust." Ruby said and Fred nodded as he finds two backpacks.

"Alright, well keep an eye on the house while we're gone and if Twilight or any of our friends ask, tell them where we are." Fred said as he begins putting the snacks and other items into the backpacks before putting them on his and Scootaloo's backs along with the bows and arrows. "See you later Ruby."

"Bye Ruby!" Scootaloo said as she and Fred begin to leave the house.

"Bye." Ruby said with a wave just as the two left the house and begin walking towards the Everfree but Scootaloo looked a little nervous which Fred noticed.

"You ok?" he asked her and Scootaloo looked at him before looking at the forest.

"M-me and my friends been in the Everfree before and nearly got hurt or killed." Scootaloo said nervously and Fred kneels down in front of her.

"Hey, you're gonna be ok since I'm gonna be with you and I won't let anything hurt you." he said with a comforting smile.

"B-but what if we run into something that's too strong?" she asked him in worry.

"If we do I'll get us out of there in no time. After all, you haven't seen my full speed yet." Fred said and Scootaloo nodded but was still worried.

"O-ok, if you're sure Fred." Scootaloo said then the two continued walking into the forest where the rain wasn't that heavy due to the trees blocking most of it. The two continued walking deeper into the forest as Fred debates in his mind on what kind of creatures he was allowed to hunt since he doesn't want to accidentally kill one of Fluttershy's animal friends so that means he'll have to hunt something that Fluttershy wouldn't consider a friend and he has to consider Scootaloo's safety, and that left him with a small list of creatures to choose from but he decides to go with something easy to hunt like a Manticore. "So what are we going to do first?" Scootaloo asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Well first we're gonna do some searching for tracks, that way we can set up our traps on the most traveled path for the creature." Fred explained and Scootaloo nodded in understanding. "But we'll also be looking for a place for us to camp as well cause I plan to get enough meat to last me a long time so I don't have to come back out here when it runs out too fast. Then after that I'm gonna show you how to set up some traps, just make sure you don't use some of them on others as a prank ok kid?"

Scootaloo nodded her head. "Ok Fred. But what if we run into something dangerous here? "

"Don't worry, I can just go into my hero form and get us out of here before anything bad happens." Fred reassured her with a smile.

"So you're not gonna fight it?" Scootaloo asked, a bit disappointed as she kinda wanted to see Fred fight a monster. Fred just chuckles and shakes his head.

"No, I think I would be more concerned with getting you out of harm's way than anything. I will only fight if it's necessary or when I am fighting a villain." Fred told her and Scootaloo pouts.

"Aw man, it would have been cool to see you fighting a manticore or maybe a pack of TImberwolves or even a cragadile!" Scootaloo listed off excitedly which made Fred chuckle a bit.

"Like I said, I will only fight if it's necessary or if it's a villain." Fred told her again and the two continued walking through the forest in silence until they found a cave. "Hmm, if there's nothing inside this might make a good camp ground for us."

"And what if something is inside?" Scootaloo asked, a bit worried that there might be a monster in there.

"Then we'll leave it alone and search for somewhere else to camp." Fred said as he walked towards the cave. "Stay out here, I'll check it out and I'll call you if it's safe." Scootaloo nodded her head just as Fred reached the cave entrance and slowly began to enter, making sure to try and spot anything that indicated someone living in the cave. 'Kinda wish I that I can do that skill Toph has that helps her see. I really need to train with Earth Bending after this.' Fred looked around in the cave as he listened for any sounds of another being but after a few minutes of searching he deemed it safe.

"Is it safe Fred?" Scootaloo called from the cave entrance.

"Yeah it's safe. You can come in." Fred told her as he set his stuff down against just as Scootaloo entered the cave and walked over to him. Fred noticed that she was shaking a little and he became a bit worried that she might get sick. "Don't worry Scootaloo, I'll get a fire going so we can warm up a bit before heading out to hunt."

Scootaloo nodded while Fred walked out of the cave to find some dry wood and managed to find some dry, or somewhat dry, wood and sticks and brought them back inside and began to set it up before pulling a small tinder box from his bag. He starts to light the pile until there was a small flame which made Fred smile a bit as he started to try and make the fire bigger until it was a nice big roaring flame. "There we go. Something to warm us up for a bit." he said as Scootaloo scooted closer to the fire. Sighing in content as she began to warm up. "Better?"

"Yeah. I was getting pretty cold being out in the rain even if I wasn't getting wet." Scootaloo said as she held her hands close to the fire while Fred nods in agreement.

"Yeah, same here. Maybe we should have waited to do this another time." Fred contemplated as he looked outside the cave before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Dammit, I am a father so I should know that bringing a kid out in the rain would make them sick. I'm such an idiot." he said quietly to himself, cursing his stupidity.

"You were a dad?" Scootaloo asked him, having heard what he had said.

Fred was silent as he just stood there which made Scootaloo worried that she might have upset him and that he might punish her just like her step mom used to do. Before she could freak out any more Fred spoke. "Yeah, I am. Was one anyways." Scootaloo can hear the sadness in his voice when he said those words but before she can do anything he suddenly cleared his throat and stood up. "Well anyways, I'm gonna go set up a couple of traps in front of the cave in case something nasty or a small animal comes by."

"O-ok Fred." Scootaloo said, knowing that Fred had changed the subject to avoid talking about his family. He walked out of the cave and back into the rain, leaving Scootaloo alone within the cave though it didn't bother her since she's got a warm fire to help warm her up until Fred gets back. 'He must miss his family. Why else would he avoid talking about them?' Scootaloo thought to herself with a saddened look on her face. She knew all too well when someone wanted to avoid talking about their family. After all, she used to do the same thing.

Scootaloo sniffles a bit as memories flashed before her. Memories of happier times, before her father married her stepmother, before he went to join the guard, before she was left all alone, before she was forced to suffer at the hands of her stepmother, before she had to lie to her friends about her family.

Before she knew it, she had begun crying. Her tears dripping onto the ground under her before she heard footsteps so she quickly wiped away her tears just as Fred returned. "Hey, Scoots. The fire help warm you up?" the hero asked the filly who nodded her head.

"Y-yeah." she said before asking. "How did the traps go?"

Fred began to rub the back of his head with a sheepish expression on his face. "Well....not so good. I think they were all pretty obvious so they won't do much." he said as he sat down next to the fire to warm up. "I saw a bunny standing next to one of them and shook its head, as if saying 'that's just sad' before hopping away.”

Scootaloo giggled a little. “Well yeah, I didn’t think they would work unless the animal was like…really dumb.”

Fred chuckles. “Yeah, that’s true.”

“Plus bunnies are our friends.” Scootaloo added before she looked away. “Um…h-how much m-meat do you need?”

Fred was a bit hesitant on answering that. “Well, just enough to keep me fed for a while.”

“I understand a bit…but there are some animals that are friends of ponies.” She said shyly and scooted back a bit.

Fred sighed a bit. “I know, I actually talked to Fluttershy once about that to see what animals are ok to hunt.”

“Oh you did?” She asked and lifted her head.

“Yeah, she told what animals were friends to ponies and what were not.” Fred said.

“Ok, then what do we do now?” She asked before they heard some chuckling. “Huh?”

“Who’s there?” Fred asked as he stood up, preparing to go into his hero form in case things got dangerous.

Something purple moved around in the dark, just barely in the fires light to be noticed but not be fully seen. “Haunt haunt haunt!” it said though it sounded more like it was laughing instead of speaking.

“F-Fred, what’s going on?” Scootaloo asked fearfully while Fred went into his hero form.

“I don’t know, but stay close to me.” Fred ordered as he scanned the darkness for any signs of the creature.

A purple creature started to come out of the ground behind them then lofted two floating hands behind Scootaloo and made a scary face just as she turned around and screamed. The creature then laughed and pointed at her while saying ‘haunt’ over and over.

“What is that thing?!” Scootaloo shouted as she hid behind Fred who looked at the creature in confusion before realization struck him.

“Wait, a Haunter?” Fred questioned, recognizing the creature or rather Pokemon.

“Haunter!” It said and flew around Fred and poked him a few times. “Haunter haunt haunt?” It then moved over to Fred’s bag and started digging through it.

“Hey! Get out of there!” Fred exclaimed as he rushed over to his bag.

“Haunter!” It said as it floated away while holding an apple. “Haunt?”

“I th-think…it's hungry?” Scootaloo suggested as she hid behind a rock.

Fred looked at the Pokemon before sighing and then chuckling. “Well, I suppose I can share an apple or two.”

“Haunter!” It cheered and ate the apple before giving Fred a large lick, paralyzing him.

“Gah! F-forgot about that!” He said as small sparks covered his body which made Scootaloo go wide eyed.

The Haunter laughed as it moved around and looked through things. “Haunt?” It looked something over before tossing it over its shoulder.

“H-hey! Don’t make a m-mess out of our stuff!” Fred told the Ghost Type as he tried to move.

Scootaloo frowned before she ran over and tried to tackle the Pokemon, however she passed right through it. “Huh!? Oof!” She hit the ground and looked back. “What happened?”

“Haunter’s a Ghost Type P-Pokemon, which means normal attacks like tackling a-and punching won’t work on it.” Fred explained before the paralysis wore off.

“Haunter?” It moved up to Fred, this time just looking at him with curiosity. After a few moments it smiled and grabbed Fred’s hand and started pulling him out of the cave. “Haunt, haunter!”

“It is a g-ghost?!” Scootaloo shouted.

“Uh, yeah but don’t worry, they are friendly.” Fred said though he was a bit unsure as his knowledge on this species of Pokemon was sort of lacking. He was also confused on where the Pokemon was taking him. “Hey Scoots, come on. I don’t know where he’s taking me so I'd rather you come with us instead of being left behind.”

“O-ok, but what about your stuff?” She said as the Haunter got behind Fred and pushed him.

“I’ll come back for it later.” Fred said before using some Earthbending to make a marker by the cave entrance so he knows where it is.

“Ok!” Scootaloo followed Fred as they were led through the forest by Haunter and soon enough they came across an old village that was falling apart. “Whoa, what happened here?”

“I don’t know.” Fred said as he looked around at the old village.

The haunter flew over to a building that was half collapsed and pointed inside. “Haunter.”

“I-I think it wants us to go inside.” Scootaloo said and Fred nodded in agreement.

“It appears so.” Fred said as he walked over to the building and entered with Scootaloo hesitantly following him. Inside they found a single berry tree. “A tree?”

The Haunter flew over to it and pointed up at the hole in the ceiling, showing very little light came in. It then picked two of the berries from the tree and held them to Fred before pointing at the ceiling again.

“I think it wants you to make the hole bigger.” Scootaloo said before she was rewarded with a nod and a lick from Haunter which paralyzed her.

Fred sweatdropped at seeing this before looking at the Haunter. “Maybe ease up on the licking and stick with hugging ok?”

Haunter titled its body before nodding. “Haunter!”

Fred chuckles a bit and looks at Scootaloo. “You good kid?”

“Y-yeah…just grossed out.” she said as she held her arms out. Haunter moved over to a bookshelf and picked up a book with a familiar logo on it. However Fred can’t remember where it is from.

“What’s this?” Fred questioned as he picked it up and began to look through its contents.

Throughout the book there are notes on strange creatures that sound similar to Pokémon, as well as items that sound familiar to Fred. “Haunter.” The ghost said as it pointed at the hole.

“Hm? Oh right. Give me a second.” Fred said as he put the book down and looked at the hole. He could just use his strength to blow away the roof but it might also cause the tree to get damaged as well.

He then decided to risk it but use less strength in order to punch a bigger hole into the roof. “Ok, here goes.” he then pulled his fist back before shooting it forward, causing a small gust of air which destroyed most of the hole and created an even bigger hole. Luckily, the tree was left undamaged from the attack.

“Haunter!” The pokemon clapped its hands and flew around Fred happily.

Scootaloo giggled and smiled. “I think it is happy.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Fred said while chuckling. “You’re welcome little guy.”

The pokemon gave Fred the berries and then flew over to a door and opened it, inside was a closet filled with junk. “Haunter? Haunt, haunt, ha!” It said as it dug through the junk, then it pulled out an old flute.

“A flute?” Scootaloo asked as she looked at the flute, noting that it had a strange design to it.

Haunter offered it to Fred, however at their confused faces Hauter held up a finger before blowing into the flute then Hauter flew around before posing like a hero. “Haunt, haunter!”

Fred was still a bit confused but Scootaloo seemed to have figured it out. “I-I think he’s saying if you play it, he’ll come help you.”

“Haunter!” The ghost nodded its head while pointing at Scootaloo.

“Oh, well thank you. I’ll be sure to call you if I need anything.” Fred said with a smile which made the Haunter happy.

“Haunter!” It cheered and flew around before picking a berry and started eating it. “Haunt.” It said before waving its hand.

“You want us to eat with you?” Scootaloo asked.

“Haunter?” The ghost said while pointing at the door.

“I think it wants us to go now.” Scootaloo said with a tilted head.

“Alright, we’ll be going.” Fred told it as he changed into his civilian form.

“I wonder what this town was before everyone left.” Scootaloo said as they left and looked around.

“Same but I doubt we’ll find any answers.” Fred said as he looked at the close to collapsing buildings.

“Can you tell me more about pokemon?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, Pokemon are pretty much amazing creatures. Each one with its own ability and typing.” Fred said as they walked through the forest, a bit thankful that the rain had lessened to only a drizzle. “There’s many different types, like Electric, Ghost, Dark, Dragon, Fire, Grass, Water, Psychic, Fighting, Rock, Ground, Fairy, and Normal. Many Pokemon have these types, usually they only have one or two but never more than that amount.”

“Wow.” She said with a smile. “They sound cool!”

“Indeed, though there are some of the most powerful Pokemon, with some dwarfing Celestia in terms of power.” Fred said and that made Scootaloo’s eyes widened.

“What!? How?!” Scootaloo shouted as she ran up to Fred.

“They are what known as Legendaries. These types of Pokemon hold more power than any other Pokemon in existence with the number one most powerful being the God Pokemon Arceus who was said to have created the Pokemon world.” Fred explained.

“Whoa!” Scootaloo said in shock and awe.

“Yep, though I think there was something about Arceus’s form being only an avatar and it’s one of the thousand hands of its real form.” Fred said as he held his chin in thought.

“Creepy.” She said as they got back to the forest and Fred is now noticing grass pokemon everywhere.

’Just where did they come from? I haven’t seen them around before. Could it be that they were hidden really well or are just starting to appear.’ he thought to himself while Scootaloo was looking at the Pokemon in awe.

“Wow!” She slowly walked up to one of them. “Hi, I’m Scootaloo, what are y-” She started to say before the Pokemon shot green seeds at her.

“Scoots!” Fred shouted before he went into his hero form and ran in front of her, blocking the seeds with his body though they did sting a little. Once the Pokemon was done attacking, Fred continued to shield the startled filly as they backed away.

“Wh-why did it attack me?” She asked, scared.

“Sometimes Pokemon aren’t very friendly. Or it could be that it felt threatened because it never saw a pony before so it didn’t know if you were friendly or not.” Fred said and the two were far away enough from the Pokemon that once it felt safe enough, scampered off.

“Oh…I’m sorry I got you hurt.” Scootaloo said sadly.

“Hey, it’s ok. It was nothing to a hero like me.” he said, striking a heroic pose in an effort to reassure Scootaloo which did make her giggle a bit.

“Do you think they are all scared of us?” Scootaloo asked.

“Probably. After all, this is new territory for them so they’ll be a bit skittish around others.” Fred said as he glanced at what Pokemon were nearby, seeing them looking around their new surroundings.

“Oh, I was hoping to make some new friends.” She said sadly.

“Hey, I’m sure once they get used to the area that they’ll be willing to interact with ponies.” Fred said in reassurance as he pats her back.

She looked up at Fred and nodded. “Ok mister Fred, what should we do now?”

“Well, for one, I’ll take you back to the house before going back to get our stuff.” Fred told her before seeing that they were reaching the edge of the forest.

She pouted a bit. “But I wanted to help you hunt.”

“Sorry but with Pokemon starting to appear, I think it’d be best if you were at home where its safe.” Fred said, shifting back into his civilian form once they were clear of the forest.

Scootaloo lowered her head. “Fine…”

Fred frowned at this so he quickly said. “Hey, maybe next time when it’s more safe, I’ll take you hunting with me again. That sound good?”

“Ok.” She said, still sad as they walked up to Fred’s house. While they were walking, Fred was a bit lost in thought about the recent appearance of Pokemon.

’Things might get a little chaotic with Pokemon appearing in the world. Ponies didn’t take it too well with Quirks, but Pokemon? It might cause full blown riots.’ he thought to himself with a frown. He then felt hands pull on his shirt, stopping him and when he blinked he realized he was inches away from his front door.

“You ok? You nearly ran face first into your home.” Scootaloo asked him as she removed her hands from his shirt.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Kinda got lost in thought.” Fred said with a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head before he opened the door and let Scootaloo inside.

“You are back sooner than I thought.” Ruby said from the couch.

“Yeah well, we kinda ran into something while we were out.” Fred said as he and Scootaloo took off their raincoats and hung them up.

“Oh? Are either of you hurt?” Ruby asked as she got up and came over to Fred.

“No, the Pokemon that attacked us was only defending itself.” Fred said and if she could, Ruby would have widened her eyes in shock.

“Pokemon!?” She shouted and grabbed Fred’s shirt putting her face up against her’s. “Here?!”

Fred was a bit surprised by her actions but nodded his head. “Y-yeah. We ran into a few of them in the forest.”

“I want to see them.” She said full of energy.

“Er, problem with that. They might be a bit hostile since they’re in a new world. One of them attacked us after we got a bit too close to it.” Fred said.

“That’s normal, but I am a Pokemon, they will understand me.” She said as she danced side to side.

Fred couldn’t help but chuckle at Ruby’s obvious excitement. “Well, alright just be careful ok?”

“Yes yes, I will be safe.” She said before folding up into her hovering form and flew out the door.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Fred in surprise before shaking his head. “I told her not to do that in the house.” he then sighed. “Anyways, you hungry Scoots?”

Scootaloo nodded her head just as her stomach growled. “Yes please.”

Fred chuckles. “Alright, I’ll see what I can whip up.” he then walked into the kitchen while Scootaloo walked over to the table. “There’s a bookshelf with some books you can read.”

Scootaloo blows a raspberry. “Reading is for eggheads.”

Fred chuckles again. ’It seems like she’s gotten more comfortable here that she’s starting to act like herself.’ Fred thought with a smile. “Then I guess I’m an egghead then huh? After all, I read and am writing a book to this day.”

“You do? But you are a super cool superhero!” She said while waving her arms around.

“Even heroes need to read and study. Being a hero isn’t all about the fancy powers and cool poses, it’s about smarts and how you use them.” Fred explained, amused by her surprise as he grabbed some food from the fridge.

“Aww, does that mean I will have to…” She makes gagging sounds. “Study?”

Fred laughed at that as he got to making Scootaloo some food. “At my school? Yes. You’ll have to study if you want to be able to either be a hero or control your Quirk.”

She sighed and laid her head on the table while making a fart sound with her mouth. “Lame…”

“Yeah but hey, you never know when it might be useful.” Fred said as finished making something for Scootaloo which was a small salad.

She looked at it with a smile. “Thank you.” She started eating it. “So what is in that book?”

“Just some info on Pokemon. Their habitats, behaviors, things like that.” Fred said as he sat down, letting out a sigh as he did. “Though the information was a bit different than what I know.”

“How so?” She asked while eating, spitting food everywhere.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, it’s both rude and a little gross.” Fred lightly scolded. “And the info was written as if whoever wrote it saw it up close.”

“Is that strange?” She asked after swallowing. “You live with Ruby and she is a Pokemon…right?”

“Well no. It’s not strange.” Fred said.

“Maybe somepony from that strange village studied them before?” Scootaloo suggested.

Fred shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. There weren’t any signs of Pokemon here until now. I think the book came from the world they came from.”

“Oh…” She looked down for a moment. “What are you going to do now?”

“Well I still need to get our stuff from the cave. After that I’m not so sure.” Fred said as he held his chin, trying to think of what to do.

“Oh!” Scootaloo smiled and closed her eyes, focusing really hard. Fred realized what she was about to try and grabbed onto her.

“Scootaloo where-” he didn’t get to finish as she teleports them and they ended up in a tree

Scootaloo lets out a grunt as she lands on a branch. “Oof! Huh? I was aiming for the cave.”

Fred groaned as he laid on another branch. “Scoots, maybe warn me next time ok? IT’ll save us both the pain.”

“I’m sorry, I thought I could poof to the cave, grab your stuff and poof back to your home…” She said weakly and lowered her head.

Fred looked at her before sighing. “It’s ok. Just make sure to warn someone first ok? And also, you probably shouldn’t be traveling long distances with your Quirk until you have better control over it. Doing something like this could have some bad side effects.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, worried.

“Sometimes pushing your Quirk to its limits can lead to various things, like nausea, fainting, minor things like that.” Fred said, not telling her of possible severe side effects of overusing your Quirk.

“O-oh…” She looked down then eeped when she saw a pack of Timberwolves below, each one of them staring hungrily at the two.

“Crap!” swore Fred as he stood up on the branch. “Alright, Scoots, stay here. I’m gonna see if I can scare them off.”

Scootaloo whimpered as she started to shake. “O-ok.”

Fred frowned at this before jumping down while shifting into his hero form and punched the ground, creating a small shockwave that knocked the Timberwolves back and shook the surrounding trees but not enough to knock Scootaloo out of it.

They bark at Fred and snap at him. “F-Fred be careful!”

Fred gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry Scootaloo, you don’t need to fear. For I am here!” he declared before the Timberwolves charged at him but he quickly formed an x with his arms before charging at them as well. “Carolina SMASH!!!” he shouted loudly as he delivered a strong double chop attack to a few Timberwolves, reducing them to splinters while the others were knocked back by the winds. ’I’m gonna have to hold back to avoid hurting Scootaloo! Which is easier said than done since I don’t have much practice with holding back!’

One of the wolves howls as the splintered wolves flew together, forming a much larger wolf. It let out a monstrous howl at Fred, hoping to intimidate him but was surprised to see it had no effect on him. “Heh, if that’s the best you can do at scaring someone, I’d hate to see your worst.” he said before he launched himself at the wolf. “Detroit SMASH!!” with a powerful punch to its head, the Timberwolf was sent flying back.

It smashed into multiple trees and broke apart into pieces. “Is…is it gone?” Scootaloo asked as she looked in the direction the Timberwolf was sent flying in but the tree leaves blocked most of her view.

“Not sure. So we should probably get out of here before it repairs itself.” Fred told her, keeping an eye on the pile of splinters in case the thing got back up.

“I…um…I a-am too scared to climb down.” She said as she was holding onto the branch tightly.

“Alright, don’t worry, I’ll get you down.” Fred said before using his Earthbending to create a pillar to bring himself up to Scootaloo. Once he was at the same height as her, he took her in his arms before jumping down and landing. “There, you’re out of the tree now.”

She was still shaking as she held onto him tightly. Fred sighed before turning in what he presumed to be the direction of his home. “Alright, I’m gonna bring us to my place so hang on tight as I’m gonna go a bit fast. Ok?”

She nodded a bit while shaking in his arms. “O-ok.”

Fred became a bit saddened to see Scootaloo so afraid but knew that the sooner she was in a safe place, the sooner she’ll calm down. With that in mind, he dashed off into the forest while making sure not to go too fast where it bothered Scootaloo but fast enough that they’ll be out of the forest in no time which was sooner than he expected as they came rushing out of the Everfree’s border and into a field. Fred sighed in relief, he was glad that luck was on their side today because if he had gone in the wrong direction, it might have made things a bit worse.

He looked around before spotting his house and began to ran over to it. “Fred?” Ruby’s voice was heard from behind him and he turned just as she flew up next to him. “What happened?”

“Ruby, we had a run in with some Timberwolves and Scootaloo is pretty shaken up.” Fred told the Genesect.

“Oh dear…I found some berries that could help her relax.” Ruby said.

“You did? What kind?” Fred asked her as they reached the house and they walked inside.

She showed him the bag full of berries. “These.”

Fred looked at the berries and his memory failed him as he tried to remember what kind of berries they were. “I’m sorry but I can’t remember what kind of berries these are.”

“Oh, it is a Razz Berry, it relaxes Pokemon.” Ruby said, smiling if she could while holding up the red berry that looked like a bundle of grapes.

“Hmm, let’s see if she’ll want it first. I don’t want to force her to eat anything.” Fred said before looking at Scootaloo.” Hey, are you okay with eating a Razz Berry to help calm you down?”

“I-it will?” She asked softly.

Fred nodded his head. “It will. I promise.”

Scootaloo thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. “O-ok. I’ll eat o-one.” Fred nodded before grabbing one of the berries and then giving it to her. Scootaloo looked at the berry with hesitation in her eyes before she took a bite out of it and felt herself become a bit more relaxed.

She leaned on his chest and chewed on the berry. “It's good…”

Ruby whispered to him. “Don’t let her eat too many.”

“Why?” He whispered back.

“She will fall asleep, it is like a natural tranquilizer.” Ruby said with a giggle.

“Ah.” Fred said and he watched as Scootaloo ate more of the berry until her shaking had stopped. “Feeling better?” he asked the filly.

She nodded her head and laid her head on his chest. “Yes, can I go inside now?”

Fred just chuckles. “We’re already inside Scoots.”

“Oh…you’re warm.” She said as she relaxed in his arms and Ruby giggled a bit.

Fred couldn’t help but chuckle again. “How about we get you in bed hm? You must be tired after this mornings events.”

Scootaloo nodded softly as she was half asleep already. “She is so cute.” Ruby said with a giggle.

“Yeah. Kinda reminds me of my sons back when they were little.” Fred said, smiling as he remembered his family before that smile disappeared which Ruby noticed but before she could ask, he cleared his throat. “Well, I’ll go ahead and put Scootaloo to bed.” he then left the room.

“Ok…I will be here when you get back.” She said softly. Fred walked into the guest room and put Scootaloo on the bed.

“I’m sorry I am a screw up.” Scootaloo softly as she snuggled her pillow and fell asleep.

Fred looked at her in surprise but couldn’t say anything to her since she was asleep so he just sighed and covered her up with the blanket. He then left the room, quietly closing the door behind him as he did, before walking back into the living so he can leave to go get their things before some wild animal got to them. “I’ll be right back Ruby, I’m going to get the bags.”

“Do you want me to come with?” Ruby asked.

“No, I should be fine.” Fred said.

“Are you sure?” Ruby asked softly as she held up a claw. “You don’t have to do everything yourself.”

Fred was going to decline again but stopped and hummed. “Well…I suppose you can come with.”

If she could, Ruby would be smiling as she floated next to Fred. “I can also tell any Pokemon that you see are friendly.”

“Yeah, that probably would be helpful.” Fred said and the two left the house before heading into the Everfree Forest.

“I found a small grove filled with berry trees in the forest too. Maybe we can pick some of them and farm them?” Ruby suggested.

“Hmm, we could, except I don’t know how to farm.” Fred said.

“Oh, ok.” Ruby said as she looked around. “Are you ok? You seemed sad when you came out of Scootaloo’s room.”

Fred sighed and said, “Yeah, she said that she was sorry for being a screwup even though she isn’t.”

“Oh, the poor kid.” Ruby said and lowered her head. “I hope she can gain some confidence, she is a good kid, reminds me of Ash a little.”

“Oh? How so?” Fred asked her, glancing at Pokemon that gave them curious looks but went on with their day.

“She has the same spark, she can make friends with others and a spirit to keep going even when she hits a wall.” Ruby said as her eyes shined a bit. She was quiet for a bit before she sighed. “I miss my pack.”

“Hey, I’m sure they’ll appear here in Equestria. I mean, if these Pokemon are here then others aren’t too far behind.” Fred said while patting her head.

She looked up at him. “Really? I…I would be happy but…Red would want me to leave with them.”

Fred smiled softly at her. “If you want to go with them then I won’t stop you. You should be with those you consider family and make you happy.”

“But…you are my friend and the closest thing to family I have here.” She looked down. “I don’t want to have to choose between you and them.”

Fred hummed. “Well, if they want to, I can offer them a place at my home or find them a spot where they can set up a nest close by.”

Ruby tapped her claws together. “That may work.”

Fred smiled. “Glad I can help find a way for you to be with both of your families.” he said before spotting the stone pillar he made earlier. “That’s the marker I left by the cave.”

“Let me go inside first, there could be something inside.” She flew in before he could say anything.

“Damn it, Ruby. I need to teach you not to rush into everything.” Fred said with a shake of his head before following her just as she was coming out.

“All clear.” She said happily.

“That’s good but don’t rush in head first into things ok? You could get hurt.” Fred told her as he walked over to where the backpacks were. He quickly noted that their contents were spilled onto the ground with all the food items eaten, making him sigh as he started putting everything back into the packs.

“I am the one with a cannon on their back aren’t I?” Ruby asked with a cheeky tune.

“Yeah but I also have better physical stats than you.” Fred said with a chuckle as he finished packing everything.

Ruby poked Fred in his chest. “Maybe, but only in your hero form, which is also on a timer.”

“Yeah that’s true. But hey, thanks to Del it lasts longer than it normally does.” Fred said as they walked out of the cave and started to head back home.

“I guess that is good but you should save it for when you need it.” Ruby said as she followed him.

“Yeah, I have been using this form a lot for things that don’t require it.” Fred said, thinking back to all the times he’s used his hero form even though the situation doesn’t call for it.

“That is my point, what if something happens and you run out of time in the middle of the fight or emergency?” Ruby asked as they traveled through the forest.

“Yeah, I know. I just…” Fred then sighed. “I just feel like somethings going to happen whenever I’m not prepared for it. I mean, there were many instances where I wasn’t prepared and someone nearly gets hurt because of it.”

“Then train for it.” Ruby said as she flew around him. “Isn’t that why you started the school?”

“I started it to train those who have Quirks. Not for me.” Fred told her.

“How can you expect them to focus on their training and train their powers when you don’t?” She asked before moving ahead of him a bit.

Fred was silent after she said that, knowing that she was right but before he could say anything about it, they had reached the edge of the forest with his home in sight. “Looks like we made it home just fine.” he said as he changed into his civilian form just as he was about to cough.

Ruby sighed as she floated next to him. “Fred, please train some more.”

“I will. I promise as soon as I can, I’ll train.” Fred told her as they approached his home before they noticed Luna standing outside his door with a frown on her face. “Princess Luna? What are you doing here?”

“Ah sir Fred, just who I came to see.” Luna said as she turned to him. “We have need of your services.”