Saddlemon

Chapters

Shade Heart: Beginning
Feather Rush: Average
Snow Hoof: Extroverted
Everfree Forest: The Swarm
Everfree Forest: Cursed Castle of the Alicorn Sisters

Shade Heart: Beginning

Shade Heart woke up to the morning sun streaming across her face. For a moment, her sensitive red eyes were blinded, but they cleared quickly after she rolled out of bed. Using her purple-glowing magic, she pulled a brush off of her dresser, running it down her dark purple mane and tail. She sighed, looking at her black form in the mirror. She didn't like herself very much. Her appearance and light-sensitive eyes gave others the impression that she was a bad pony. If they would just get to know her, they'd see that she was very friendly.

She went downstairs quietly, nuzzling her mother for a moment. "I'm going to miss you," she said quietly, looking out the window. It was her tenth birthday. Time for her to get her own Saddlemon and travel across Equestria, learning what she could. With a slight sigh she picked up the saddle bag that she had packed by the door. Her mother waved goodbye as she started walking to professor Oak Leaf's lab.

As she walked through town she was plenty aware of the other ponies casting glances at her, could hear them muttering to each other when they thought she was out of ear shot. They thought she was trouble because she preferred the nighttime and had such dark coloration. Many of them were expecting her to snap one day and go on some kind of rampage. Celestia only knew what they would think of her getting a Saddlemon.

She saw a white Earth pony walking the streets, a confused look on her face. Definitely lost. Shadow Heart was tempted to help her out, but the thought of the other pony running away screaming came to her mind and she decided against it. With a resigned sigh, she continued on her way to the lab.

The older unicorn was doing some last minute check-ups on the three starter Saddlemon as she entered. He glanced up briefly, smiled a bit, and said, "It will be just one more second. I don't want to give anyone an unhealthy starter." With a nod, Shade stood off to the side, studying some of the books and notes that were scattered around. Most of the books were information on Saddlemon, written by Oak Leaf himself, the leading authority on the subject.

She remembered hearing that, in his youth, he had been quite the Trainer, even going up against the two Princesses, a rare occurrence that would make a pony famous beyond all imagination. Oak had beaten Luna,and came very close to beating Celestia, which would have made him the first to do so. Shade Heart smiled a bit at the thought of the old stallion defeating the solar princess. Who knew how famous that would have made him?

He was also one of the only ponies who was friendly towards her, deciding that appearances didn't matter. He would know, since nobody would have guessed that someone so ordinary and grandfatherly would be a very powerful trainer. It also helped that he was her uncle on her father's side of the family.

Thinking about her father made Shade Heart frown a bit. Her mother had told her time and again that he was a master of Saddlemon in his day, and if he hadn't vanished he could probably have defeated Celestia. Nobody knew where he had gone. He'd fought his way through the Elite Four of Equestria, and then just stopped communicating with everypony who knew him.

Shade wanted to find him. Had to find him. She had so much to ask him, and so much lost time to make up for. He'd disappeared just shortly after she was born.

Presently, Oak turned to her, smiling. "All right, Shade Heart, how are you today?" He smiled kindly at her, a hint of worry for his niece showing on his wizened face.

"I'm not bad, professor. In a bit of a rush to get going, or I might change my mind," she replied quietly; no matter how often she spent time with her uncle, she always felt nervous talking to him. She could help him with studies on Saddlemon, sure, but an actual normal conversation? Forget it.

The professor nodded a bit, chuckling. "Well, I have three Saddlemon waiting for a trainer right here. Go ahead and pick one, and then I'll give you some advice on it, all right?"

Shadow Heart nodded a bit, quietly looking at her three choices. The first one she laid eyes on was Charmander. With a good attack and its final evolution being part flying type, it was a good choice, all though she knew she would struggle through the first couple of gyms with it. The lizard looked up at her, an excited look on its face. This was one that wanted to get up and go; maybe that was a good thing.

This turned her attention to Bulbasaur. It didn't have quite as much attack as Charmander, though it had a slightly better defense. It was a grass and poison type, which would help her through the first few gyms, especially that nasty water leader. There was, however, the problem she would encounter later on when going against the fire type gym and the psychic gym. Bulbasaur's expression was calm, its eyes looking into hers coolly. It would be good to have that calm nature on the road.

She turned her attention then to Squirtle. Average attack, but a more than decent defense, it would carry her through the first gym, not have too much trouble with the second... but the third, the electric type gym, would demolish it, and it was the only one of the three that didn't gain a second type anywhere in its evolutionary line. Of course, Blastoise was essentially a tank, capable of taking huge amounts of damage and dishing back a fair amount to those who fought it. This Squirtle seemed a bit jumpy, however, startling at the slightest movement. She would definitely have to keep an eye on it in battle.

With a groan of irritation, she looked between the three. Which one would she take?

Which one should she take? I'll give it September 7th before I put the next chapter up with the relevant choice.

Feather Rush: Average

Ever since she was little, Feather Rush had hated her appearance. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but there was nothing too exceptional about it either. Brown coat, black mane and tail, brown eyes. Average height, average weight. Her wingspan: average. Her intelligence: average. Her phsyical capabilities: average. She wanted to stand out, to be amazing. So she had shaved off her mane and cut off most of her tail, leaving just a small stub.

She'd also started causing trouble, just to stand out from the rest of the ponies in her town. No bad publicity, according to her mom. And with two older and two younger sisters, it was obvious why she wanted to stand out so badly. Middle fillies never got any attention paid to them. They were never the fastest, or the smartest, or the cutest, or anything of the sort. They were average.

But now was her time to shine. She was ten years old, which meant it was time to make her trip to Canterlot and get her first Saddlemon. Her two older sisters had both taken their chances at being Saddlemon trainers, and had come home after winning one or two badges. But Feather? She was going to be the best trainer ever. She was going to rise above the norm and show her true self.

She had aspirations of blazing her way through the gym challenge, busting into the Palace of the two Alicorn Sisters, and defeating them both. That would make her famous. That would make her more than average. And with a secret prize to whoever defeated Celestia, she would be able to show-off that she had actually done what nopony before her had done.

She already had her dream team lined up. Two big brutes to take and deal large amounts of damage. A speedster to cause damage without getting hit. Something flying, like her, to keep opponents guessing. And then a couple of really heavy hitters, probably of the dragon variety.

She headed downstairs silently, looking at her mother and sisters. Her father was off at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory, making rainbows, so he wouldn't get to say good-bye. She nuzzled her mother, and then went from oldest sister to youngest, Lightning, Red, Wind, and Rainbow. She waved one wing, and then flew out of her cloud home, looking out onto the horizon and onto the capitol.

She made the trip from Cloudsdale to Canterlot in record time, bursting into the lab where Professor Oak Leaf worked, barely dodging the black Unicorn who was on her way out.

Oak Leaf gave her a smile and said, "Hello there. Are you here for your first Saddlemon?"

"Yeah yeah. Just gimme the best one you got." She was trotting in place, in a hurry to get on the road. The sooner she started, the sooner she could beat Celestia.

"Well, that's up to you to decide. I can't tell you which one you'll like best. I only have two now, so at least you still have some choice."

Feather Rush sighed, looking at the remaining two. Somepony, probably that Unicorn she'd seen, had beaten her here and received Squirtle, which meant she was stuck looking between a dull-eyed Bulbasaur and a hyped up Charmander. Her brow furrowed. Which one, which one... They both looked so... so subpar, sitting on that little bench, their Saddleballs in front of them. Which one would she pick?

Which one would help her not be average?

All right, same deal as last time. Should Feather Rush take Bulbasaur or Charmander? Next chapter goes up September 14th.

Snow Hoof: Extroverted

Snow Hoof was not a shy pony. Growing up, her parents had scolded her numerous times about 'stranger danger,' but the pony couldn't help herself. In her mind, strangers were just friends you hadn't met yet. Her parents were being overly cautious, anyways; they lived in Ponyville, such a tiny little town that nobody could be kidnapped without someone seeing it. The Earth Pony was often complimented on her sleek white coat and her auburn mane and tail, which she kept braided. Her blue eyes seemed to be able to gaze into a pony's soul, and while some referred to her as gangling, they weren't the ones that saw how elegantly she moved despite her tall stature.

She was doting on others, whether they were older or younger. Ponies in Ponyville knew that if something was troubling you, you just needed to talk to Snow Hoof and she'd do her best to make you feel better. And when someone in Ponyville was hurt, she would be doing her best to nurse them back to health. Some called her motherly. Others, who had seen a protective side of her that only came out when she caught somepony picking on her friends, called her scary. If you harmed someone she cared about, she would use those blue eyes to stare straight into your soul as she gave you such a verbal lambasting that it was painful. This earned her the very interesting Cutie Mark very early in life, one of a shield with a bear's head design on the front.

And now that she was ten years old, she was ready to get her first Saddlemon and set out across Equestria. Her goal was to make a lot of friends and try to make the land a better place. Her methods? Whatever necessary. She gave long, sorrowful goodbyes to her family and friends before boarding the train to Canterlot.

Sitting in a compartment on the train, she found herself alone with one older Stallion, grey-coated, mane and tail both greasy, black with bits of gray thrown in. His eyes were cold, slate eyes. A long horn jutted proudly from his head, and he wore a wine colored suit that covered his Cutie Mark. He regarded her, gave her a small smile, and spoke.

"On your way to get your first Saddlemon, filly?" His voice was smooth as silk, a slight Trottingham accent to it.

With a slight nod, Snow Hoof said, "Yes I am. I'm so excited to finally get to travel."

"Are you going to be taking the gym challenge? Hoping to beat the Alicorn Sisters?" His eyes flashed a bit in the light coming through the window.

She shook her head quickly. "Oh, no, my aspirations aren't that great. If I do, I do, but I'm just wanting to have new experiences and meet new friends."

"Do you have a lot of friends where you come from?" He was watching her intently, eyes boring into her.

"Yes, I'm friends with everypony in Ponyville. I make sure that I talk to anypony who's new in town, to give them a proper greeting." She smiled a bit, feeling somewhat nervous around this stallion.

"You're quite the extrovert, aren't you?" He grinned slightly, eyes narrowing.

"I'm not sure I know what that means."

The stallion chuckled, looking back out the window. "You enjoy meeting new people."

"Oh. Yes, yes I do. And it's a pleasure to meet you, mister..."

"Quake. Earth Quake."

For some reason, that name sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. With a slight, shrug, she settled into her seat, closing her eyes.

When she woke up, she was in Canterlot, and Earth Quake was gone. Stepping off of the train, she found herself lost in the confusion of the city, unable to tell which street was which.

She was wandering the streets still when night started to fall. The majority of the populace disappeared into their homes, leaving just a few to wander around as the darkness settled over the capital city. She had no bits to her name, just the saddlebags on her back to carry her camping gear. But she had the feeling that camping in the streets would get her in trouble by the burly white guards that seemed to be on every street corner.

Then, inspiration hit her. She had never been a slow pony, but she wasn't exactly the quickest, and some days were just, as the people of Ponyville said, 'Derpy Days.' She approached one of the guard quietly, nodding her head a little bit. "Excuse me, sir, could I trouble you for directions to Professor Oak Leaf's laboratory?"

The Pegasus looked at her quietly, sighing a bit. "The lab is down this street, and hang a right. It's the first building on the left side of the street. Please, move along."

"Thank you, sir," she said quietly as she started trotting away. She knocked on the door to Oak Leaf's lab lightly. The door opened, a brown Unicorn in a white lab coat looking at her. "Ah... Hello. Rather late for a visit, isn't it?"

"Oh, so sorry to disturb you, sir. My name is Snow Hoof, and I--"

"Say no more, I know just why you're here. Though I should say, I was expecting you hours ago. I'm Professor Oak Leaf, leading authority on Saddlemon. Unfortunately, you weren't the only pony to come in for your starter to day. You'll have to make do with Bulbasaur, is that all right?"

"Oh, yes, that's fine. I absolutely adore them, so that's wonderful." She gave a polite smile as Oak Leaf looked at her.

"Yes, well... It's awfully late, you should probably start your journey in the morning... I have a guest room you can stay in if you want."

"Yes please, if it's not too much trouble," Snow replied, smiling bashfully. This was such a great day. She had received her first Saddlemon, and tomorrow she would set off on her adventure. She couldn't wait to make lots of new friends, along with her Bulbasaur.

Everfree Forest: The Swarm

Shade Heart was very happy with her choice. Squirtle suited her just fine as a companion. Its jumpiness meant that it tended to react quickly in combat, as she had found out battling the hordes of Rattata outside of Canterlot. She had managed to capture one of the purple Saddlemon, and now had it scurrying ahead of her, sniffing out any danger. Squirtle was beside her, in case something came from the side. She was heading towards a much-hated part of the world known as the Everfree Forest.

The Forest was a natural maze, home to many wild Saddlemon as well as an old, supposedly haunted, castle that had once belonged to the royal Alicorn Sisters. Supposedly, anypony who stumbled on the castle was never seen again, though she couldn't help wondering how they knew that if nopony came back.

Presently, she stepped into the shadows of the forest. Her red eyes stared at the intimidating mass of trees and she swallowed a bit nervously. "Rattata, come here." The rat hopped over and she sighed. "Stay close, both of you. The last thing we need is to get seperated from each other in there. Squirtle, you're to keep an eye on the right. You're to alert me to anything that might be a threat on that side. Rattata, same way for you on the left. I really wish we had someone to watch our flanks, but we don't and there's no point in getting upset about it. We'll just keep an ear out. Understood?"

The two Saddlemon nodded, both slightly impressed by the black Unicorn's command over the situation, though they noticed her nervousness. With a brief glance backwards, she led them into the darkness that even her eyes had trouble seeing in.

"C'mon, Charmander! It's just a Pidgey! Tackle it!" Feather Rush was getting irritated. They had been assaulted by weak Saddlemon after weak Saddlemon, and she'd captured literally nothing. Anything that got injured enough for her to throw one of the saddle balls ran away before she got the chance.

She watched as Charmander rushed the Pidgey, who neatly flew into the air, countering with a gust of wind that sent Charmander rolling along the ground. With a cry of frustration, she lobbed one of the balls, watching it hit the Pidgey. A red light encapsulated the flying type, and the ball fell to the ground. It gave two shakes, and then opened, releasing the disoriented saddlemon. Charmander tackled it, swiping with its claws.

"All right, Charmander, let me capture it." Charmander hopped back and she tossed another ball, this one successfully capturing. "Well, that wasn't too bad, was it?"

Charmander gave her a bit of a grin. "All right, let's head on forward. I wanna get out of Everfree before night falls. Bad enough camping out last night..."

The lizard nodded a bit, and the two hurried towards the dark forest.

Snow Hoof smiled a bit, throwing her fourth saddleball, capturing the Spearow that she and Bulbasaur had been battling. four balls, four captures. Her party was coming along nicely. Bulbasaur was her main fighter, and if a saddlemon attacked them that she'd already captured, she would let it and her others fight. She now had a Rattata, Spearow, and one male and one female Nidoran.

She had wasted the morning doing this, and now that she had a fifth teammate, she headed north through Canterlot, stopping to heal her Saddlemon before going towards Everfree. She could see a figure ahead of her, a brown pegasus, and as she watched, the filly took off low to the ground, heading for the forest. There would be a bit of competition inside, which wasn't a bad thing. She was sure that she would likely lose, but it would still be good for her and her saddlemon.

As she trotted along, she thought of names for her new friends since it could get confusing if you had a Rattata fighting a Rattata, especially one owned by another trainer. Her Rattata was Fang, she thought, because of the large buck teeth it had. Spearow could be... Dusty, because its wings were the color of fresh dust. She smiled; this wasn't so hard.

The male Nidoran was... John. It was a silly name for a Nidoran, but it worked. And the female would be Jane. She giggled a bit, calling them out to tell them their new nicknames. They seemed to take to them. With a small smile, she called all but her Bulbasaur back. He didn't seem to like his ball, and she enjoyed his company, even though he didn't say much.

Before she knew it, she was entering the shadowed woods.

Shade Heart smirked a bit. "All right, Squirtle, go ahead and finish this with a bubble attack."

Squirtle blew out, a stream of bubbles flying into the Weedle's face. As it fell unconcious, Shade threw a saddleball, capturing it easily. This made a nice counter-point, she thought, to the Caterpie she'd already caught. Four teammates now. Rattata was on her back, keeping ears out for any danger. Squirtle had walked beside her, his thick shell proving effective at stopping poison barbs.

Though, she knew, that it wouldn't be able to stop a Beedrill's stingers. They would have no problem defeating her team. Luckily, Beedrill were rare, especially in the daytime. As she came around a bend in the path, she saw a green Earth Pony wearing a wide-brimmed hat. He grinned at her, stepping forward. "You're a Saddlemon trainer, right?"

Shade Heart looked at Squirtle, then turned to glance at Rattata. "No, I'm not. I'm just very good with wild saddlemon not ripping my face off in vicious anger." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh... Um... Okay then..." He seemed dejected.

"Yes. Celestia yes, I'm a trainer. Sarcasm!" She glared, her red eyes flashing a bit.

The trainer gulped, taking a step back. "W-well you know the rule. If you catch another trainer's eye, you have to battle!"

"Fine. Send out your mon. I choose Squirtle."

"G-go, Weedle!" The trainer threw out a ball, letting the worm-like saddlemon free.

This was going to be a long day...

Feather Rush stared at the clearing in front of her. This was pay dirt. "Charmander, go." The fire lizard stepped forward, staring at the yellow mouse in front of it. The Pikachu tilted its head, watching the pair quietly.

"Charmander, Ember attack." She was quite pleased as Charmander spit forth the flame. It had been periodically belching fire, but when she told it to, it usually failed. The fire hit the off-guard Pikachu. With a squeak of anger, the mouse rushed forward, faster than anything she'd seen. Before she or Charmander could react, Pikachu had tackled it, releasing a burst of lightning as it did.

"You all right, Charmander?" The fire type nodded, standing quickly, watching the Pikachu. The two stared each other down for a moment, before Feather Rush spoke again. "Give it another Ember!"

As Charmander released the burst of flames, the Pikachu moved, zipping around behind Charmander and grabbing its tail. In retaliation, Charmander whipped its tail from side to side, slinging the electric type behind it violently. "Charmander, slam it down!" Feather called.

With a nod, Charmander lifted its tail - and the dizzied Pikachu. With a small, squeaky roar, it slammed its tail down, knocking Pikachu loose and knocking it unconcious. A well place Saddle Ball netted Feather a new Saddlemon, bringing her up to a total of three.

And as she continued through the woods, she thought, This is going to be an amazing day.

Snow Hoof hummed a bit as she walked through the high grass. Ever since entering the forest, a sense of serenity had pervaded her body. The woods were quiet, and she hadn't seen a single creature aside from her Bulbasaur. This normally would have seemed odd to her, but in the state of peace she was in, she didn't question it.

Bulbasaur was a little more guarded, though not by much. His normally calm nature was amplified by whatever was filling their bodies with this peacefulness, though Snow Hoof seemed to have it worse than he did. His instincts were sending red flags, telling him something was wrong...

Just as he snaked a vine out to tap Snow Hoof, they stumbled into a small clearing. The first thing either of them noticed was the trees, covered in thick sap, some with odd shells hanging on them. The shells, cocoon-like in nature, had black eyes that stared down at the intruders. Snow Hoof tilted her head, looking around. Her sense of serenity had disappeared, and been replaced with horror. She knew what these were. Kakuna, the immobile evolution of Weedle. And that meant that she had stumbled into the lair of one of the deadliest saddlemon to new trainers.

As she turned to leave, the buzzing started. A black and yellow striped form moved in front of her, its drill-like stingers glinting in the dim light. Snow Hoof and Bulbasaur both backed up, attempting to get away from it. More Beedrill entered he clearing from various places, and pretty soon, the two were surrounded.

Snow Hoof acted quickly, calling out all of her saddlemon. As they took in the situation, she gave orders. "Bulbasaur, Fang, you've got front and center, try to make a path." The two creatures stepped up, growling. "John, Jane, on either side of me, you keep anything from getting at me, Fang, or Bulbasaur." The rabbit-likes nodded, John taking her right side and Jane on her left. "Dusty, I know you're just one being, but you've got a good peck that can really affect them. If anything gets close enough, you peck it." The Spearow chirped, flapping up behind her.

"All right then. Charge!" The group started moving, all letting out some battle cry as they approached the wall of Beedrill, Snow Hoof screaming as loud as she could.

Shade had just wiped out another bug catcher's team when she heard a loud screaming sound from nearby. "Someone's in trouble. Squirtle, let's go!" The turtle nodded and they followed the source of the screams.

Feather Rush pulled up short from her flight, looking around. She heard something, but it took her a minute to register the sound of a fight happening nearby. She turned. "C'mon, Charmander, maybe we can pick off the winner." The fire type nodded and they rushed into the woods.

The Beedrill were durable and numerous. While her group was pushing through, it was very slow going, and they had all been stung repeatedly, even Snow Hoof herself. As she felt venom coursing through her veins, she kept issuing orders, keeping her team going. If they stopped, she knew they would die.

Just as hope seemed lost, the black and yellow insects pressing in on them for one final assault, she heard a voice, shouting something from her right.

Looking over, she saw a brown Pegasus, commanding the familiar shape of a Charmander, along with what looked like a Pikachu and a Pidgey. The Pegasus met her eye for the briefest of seconds before shouting something at her team.

Feather Rush couldn't believe the mass of Beedrill she saw, all trying to get at a white Earth Pony and her impressive team. She caught the pony's eye and looked to Charmander and Pikachu. "You two, get us over there. Pidgey, keep those things away from our flanks.

Her team moved quickly, Charmander and Pikachu releasing their elemental attacks to fry the bug types. Pidgey swooped behind her, kicking up large clouds of dust and flapping its wings to send blasts of air forward. They were approaching the white pony, and just as they got there, a dark purple light flooded the area, seeming to create a bubble around the two teams.

Looking around quickly, Feather saw the source of the magic. A very dark Unicorn was trotting towards them, horn glowing, as her own team warded attacks away from her.

Shade Heart had come into the clearing from the left of the white pony, and she had immediately noticed the danger they were all in. Everfree had one of the largest Beedrill swarms in the land, and the other trainer had stumbled right into their main nesting area.

It was against the rules for a trainer to interfere in a battle. But that was only strictly enforced in official trainer battles, where official meant that another trainer challenged you to a fair fight. This was no an official battle, so she didn't feel bad erecting a barrier around the Earth Pony and the brown Pegasus that had shown up before her.

While she focused on the shield spell, she had her team watching her flanks. Squirtle was letting off blasts of bubbles, Raticate was snapping at anything that got close, and both Caterpie and Weedle were shooting strings to slow down the menacing swarm. They stepped into her protective bubble and her group relaxed. She looked at the other two ponies.

"So, I don't suppose there's a plan to get out of this?"

Feather Rush stared. "Yeah, we have a plan! We stay inside your magic bubble and get the hay out of here!"

Shade Heart shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't move the shield, and it only lasts about five minutes. It's very basic."

Snow Hoof trembled a bit. "W-we should send our most effective saddlemon..." She looked at the other two, sweat starting to cover her body. "Uh... Send them to the front to make a hole. And everything else on the sides and rear..."

Shade nodded. "Good idea. Squirtle, you're on front. Weedle, Caterpie, keep stringing behind us. Rattata, stay to my left."

Feather Rush looked at her three, nodding. "Pikachu, Charmander, blast along the front. Pidgey, kick up some sand to our right."

Snow Hoof smiled as the other two accepted her plan. "Bulbasaur, Dusty, you two are going to be most useful on point. John, Jane, on either side please. And Fang, you can handle anything behind us, right?"

The Saddlemon all nodded, taking formation. "Wh-when do we go?" Snow asked, feeling her strength fading.

"On my count," Shade said, watching her shield. "I'm going to try shattering it, that should buy us a couple seconds."

"On your count then."

"All right. Three. Two. One." Shade Heart let out a pulse of dark purple magic. The shield exploded outwards, pushing the Beedrill swarm back a bit. "Go!" The group started moving. Five pokemon had made a slow path through. Twelve worked a lot better.

Pikachu and Squirtle had teamed up, water and electricity making a potent combination. Charmander's flames kept a lot at bay. Bulbasaur and Dusty could both take a Beedrill out in one hit, and it generally stayed out once they did.

To the sides, John and Jane were wreaking havoc. John had a peck attack that was somewhat less effective than Dusty's, but he could still take out a Beedrill without too much trouble. Jane would let Pidegey kick up a cloud of sand, and she would dive through it, scratching at the blinded saddlemon before retreating. Shade's Rattata moved alongside John, its powerful bite taking attacker after attacker out of the fight.

To the rear, Weedle and Caterpie left thick white webs to block any Beedrill trying to fly after them. Anything that got past the web got to meet Fang's fangs.

The whole process took about two minutes, and then they were free of the nest, with just a few of the hornet-like creatures chasing them. Snow Hoof turned, glaring at the remainders. Both Shade Heart and Feather Rush stepped back a bit, nervous at the intensity of the white pony's gaze. Blue eyes locked into red ones, and she shouted.

"Leave us alone, or we'll take you down!" The threat shouldn't have worked. The Beedrill shouldn't have understood. But they flew away nonetheless, leaving three ponies and twelve Saddlemon to relax for a moment.

It was Shade Heart who spoke next. "Oh, do you have any antidotes?" She had just really noticed that Snow Hoof and her team were all covered in sting marks.

Snow shook her head a bit. "No, I didn't think to grab any..." She looked at her team. "Only Dusty and Fang need it, though. The others are all poison-type, so they resist it."

Shade nodded. "Good knowledge. What about you?" She asked, turning to Feather. "Do you need any antidotes? I've packed plenty, expecting to need them..."

"Uh, yeah... Please." Feather smiled a bit. "I think it was just Pidgey, but we might all check our teams..."

Shade handed Snow three antidote vials. "Drink one yourself and relax while we look at our injuries."

Snow Hoof was quite happy to do so, giving Dusty and Fang theirs before drinking hers. She settled down to tell all of her saddlemon how well they'd done.

In the end, Shade Heart distributed antidotes to all of her team except Weedle, as well as all of Feather Rush's team. This left her three of the vials for emergencies, which was actually two more than she'd prepared to have on leaving the forest, so she was ahead on planning.

"So, i know we all just met, and this is crazy..." Shade started a bit nervously.

"But we're a good team so we should travel together maybe?" Feather finished for her, smiling.

Snow Hoof grinned. "That would be wonderful! We can all learn together!"

"Then it's agreed. I'm Shade Heart, from Canterlot. And this is Squirtle, Rattata, Weedle and Caterpie." She smiled lightly, glad that the other two weren't shunning her now that the danger was gone.

"I'm Feather Rush, soon to be the best Saddlemon Trainer in the world. This is Charmander, Pidgey, and Pikachu."

"I'm Snow Hoof, and I come from Ponyville. This is my Bulbasaur, Fang is my Rattata, John and Jane are the two Nidoran, and Dusty is my Spearow."

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you. Should we try to get out of the woods, or should we find a place to camp?"

Neither of the other two had noticed the sun starting to set, but Shade knew because her eyes were no longer pounding in her skull every time she looked through the leaves.

"Well, I really don't want to travel at night, and we all need some rest..."

"Snow's right. Let's find a spot and camp for the night, and we can set out early tomorrow."

With a nod of agreement, the three started through the woods, looking for a good place to bunker down.

Everfree Forest: Cursed Castle of the Alicorn Sisters

Shade Heart was nervous, and for good reason. Growing up in Canterlot, you heard a lot of stories about the castle hidden inside the Everfree Forest. But apparently, those stories weren't told in Cloudsdale and Ponyville, because her two new friends were leading her inside.

She recalled the history she'd learned in the pre-trainer school. The Castle had once housed the two Alicorn Sisters, Luna and Celestia. They had ruled in that castle, and it was there that they had created the seventeen elements that were then bestowed on the various Saddlemon of the world. What they hadn't counted on, however, was some other entity getting a hold of the elements and using them.

A pony, who was now known only as The Nightmare, broke into the castle, took the seventeen gems representing the elements, and used them to make herself an Alicorn goddess on par with Celestia. With these powers, she slew the court and servants living in the castle, and challenged Celestia and Luna to battle. The two sisters called upon their Saddlemon subjects to fight for them, and a war was waged.

The Nightmare used her elemental powers to destroy the castle, raising the Everfree forest around it and making an army of corrupted Saddlemon whose hearts had been darkened. It was only through a combination of Celestia, Luna, and the Saddlemons' elemental powers that they defeated her, turning her into a phantom who could do no real harm to anyone. It spoke volumes of the power of the elements that, even with all that, they couldn't completely destroy her.

The Saddlemon who had been corrupted, known as Nightmare Saddlemon, were all either destroyed or purified in time. But the castle was still supposedly haunted by the ghosts of nobility, servants, and Saddlemon who had died in the battle.

In short, Shade Heart wanted nothing to do with the place. But Snow Hoof and Feather Rush were both going in, and they had agreed to stick together. She just had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.

The weirdest thing about the castle, in Feather Rush's honest opinion, was that there was no dust. The castle had been abandoned centuries ago, but not even a mote of dust was to be seen. Of course, she didn't know much about magic; perhaps they'd had a refresher spell placed on the castle to keep it clean.

Or maybe there were ghost maids who cleaned the castle even in death. Though she didn't give any sign of it, Feather had heard the Cloudsdale version of the castle's story. The two sisters made the elements, and the power of the elements went awry, accidentally killing everyone in the castle except the two sisters.

Then the Nightmare had showed up, a shade created by the hatred of the ghosts in the castle. She had fought an epic battle with the sisters and lost, though just barely. Her spirit defeated, she had turned back into the many ghost ponies who lived here, and they didn't know that they were dead.

And maybe that was the creepiest part of all. Feather wouldn't say anything, though. Both of her friends seemed perfectly happy to be there, and she wasn't going to look cowardly in front of them.

Snow Hoof was the only one of the three who hadn't heard tales of this place. Ponyville usually minded its own business, so nopony spoke much of the Everfree Forest, let alone what was inside of it. The white mare was perfectly content to wander through the castle, staring in awe at the stained glass depictions of the Alicorn Sisters and their creations.

Something did stop her, though. A tall stained glass window that showed Celestia and Luna with the elements, apparently in the process of creating them. But there were too many of them. From Celestia's horn came the elements of fire, earth, flight, water, magic, normalcy, electric, rock, and grass. Luna was creating the elemental types of darkness, ice, dragon, steel, ghost, poison, bug, and fighting.

But, at the bottom, where the magic seemed to pour to, was an eighteenth element, its color a mix of black and white, its colors forming the symbol that seemed to be one of balance. She tilted her head, recounting quickly. "I wonder what that last one is," she murmured idly.

Feather came over. "What's up, Snow?" She looked up. "Woah, cool! Hey Shade, check this out!" Shade Heart walked over a bit nervously. Anything exciting in this castle would surely be dangerous, she thought.

As she looked up at the stained glass, she frowned. "That's odd. I've never heard of an eighteenth elemental type before. I wonder what it is."

Feather Rush shrugged. "I dunno, you're the one who graduated the trainer's academy."

Snow Hoof smiled a bit. "Let's see if there's a library here. Then we can figure it out." She hurried off, deeper into the castle. Feather and Shade looked at each other for a second before following their friend. Neither was eager to go deeper into the haunted place, but they couldn't let Snow get hurt.

Shade looked over her shoulder quietly, sighing. Ever since they'd found the library in the upper west wing of the castle, she had felt like she was being watched. It was probably her imagination, but it still left her nervous.

The books in the library were all in surprisingly good condition, considering their age. She had found several first editions of her school's resource books, as well as scrolls and tomes about combat strategy. Those had been snatched by Feather Rush, who was now reading through them, looking to be the very best.

Shade herself was reading through a book of legends detailing the creation of the world and the elements. Snow Hoof was studying the myriad of techniques for caring for Saddlemon. None of them had found anything mentioning an eighteenth element.

A loud crash startled all three of them from their reading materials. The noise had come from the back of the library, an area that none of them had ventured into yet. The trainers glanced at each other, and Shade took command. "Feather, get Charmander out. His tail can give us a bit of light. You and me will go check out the noise. Snow Hoof, stay here. If we're not back in five minutes, call out your team and come searching."

She shivered. "If you hear... something happen to us, just run. All right?" Snow nodded, and Feather frowned.

"Try not to sound so optimistic, Shade. Charmander, c'mon." The fire lizard appeared, and the two trainers followed him towards the back. As they came around the corner of one of the book cases, they saw the source of the noise. A bookcase's contents had fallen to the floor, some of the books quite large, easily enough to make the noise.

As they were turning back, though, Shade Heart couldn't help asking herself what had caused the mess. Feather Rush seemed unperturbed by it, however, and Shade let it go. They got back to Snow, and Feather explained to her what had happened. Shade's mind was still working.

There was something else in the castle, and it wanted them to know it.

The three decided to share a bedroom that night, to keep away the chill they said, though two of the three were somewhat afraid of what might be in the castle.

They hadn't found any clue to what the eighteenth element was. Snow Hoof was insisting they stay to find out, her curiosity out-matching even Shade's. The black Unicorn probably would have been more eager to solve the mystery if something hadn't made its presence known to them. She was generally intellectual, but her fear outweighed her quest for knowledge.

Feather Rush didn't care about any of it. She had packed some tomes on combat strategy into her saddlebags, and was ready to high tail it out of there. She hadn't seen a ghost yet, and she was happy to keep it that way. She wasn't afraid of them, so she kept telling herself, but she certainly didn't want to risk an encounter with one. Ghost type Saddlemon were bad enough for her tastes, thank you very much.

They did not think to set up a watch pattern in case anything was trying to harm them. Instead, the three all slept through the night. And as they slept, they each had a terrifying dream.

In her dream, Snow Hoof found herself talking again with Earth Quake. Standing to his right was a tall, dark creature, its fangs glinting in the light, red eyes staring at her with a malice she'd never felt. The white Earth pony was powerless against the overwhelming presence of the monster and its apparent master.

Earth Quake was speaking to her, though she couldn't make out the words. Her eyes were locked on the monster, its evil filling the air like a poisonous gas, suffocating her. As she stared, she started to make out a somewhat familiar shape. She was no expert on Saddlemon, she hadn't even gone to school. But Ponyville had enough trainers pass through as a shortcut to Trottingham that she could recognize a good deal of the creatures. This one seemed to be a Rydon, though much larger than any she'd seen.

Its skin was a deep purple color, almost black, and as it looked at her, she knew that it wanted her dead. As she came to this realization, Earth Quake finished his speech. These words rang clearly across the void between them. "Kill her."

She ran, the Rhydon chasing after her, faster than its bulk should have allowed. A scream made its way past her lips before the beast was on her, one large paw batting her far to the side of her intended course. She felt the air 'whoosh' from her lungs as she landed. The pain in her side as she tried to breathe implied at least one broken rib.

It didn't matter, though. Even if she'd been capable of recovery, the Rhydon bore down on her, this time slamming its full weight onto her fragile frame. She felt several bones snap, and knew this was the end.

Her eyes snapped open, but, to her credit, she didn't scream. Her two friends slept fitfully on either side of her. Reluctantly, she closed her eyes. The dreams didn't wake her again that night, which was both a blessing and a curse.

Shade Heart was crying. She was back home, in Canterlot, in the pre-trainer academy. As usual, her classmates were ostracizing her, calling her evil. Her black coat, purple mane, and even her red eyes all caused this. It wasn't her fault, she knew, but it still made her angry at herself.

The fact that she was extremely sensitive to light didn't help. They called her all sorts of horrible things. As she walked away from them, she caught sight of her reflection in a window. Staring back at her was a foul creature, its red eyes slit. Fangs hung from her mouth, dripping a noxious purple liquid. Her horn was deformed, twisting in a cruel spiral, and on her back were two bat-like wings.

With a cry, she shot a bolt of purple magic at the window, shattering it. Her classmates surrounded her, calling her a monster, throwing things at her. A few even shot at her with their own magic. She ran, crying, until she was lost.

She was in the woods; the night was dark, which was perfect for her eyes. Nothing stirred around her. She made her way to a cave and hid there. She would never go back into society.

But they came looking for her, intending to get rid of the monster that had plagued them. They assaulted her with magic, fire, even various Saddlemon. And finally, the two Alicorn sisters appeared to destroy her. Celestia rained fire down on her, melting the rocks around her. Luna brought forth the power of ice, freezing her into the cave.

"Now," they said as one, their voices almost deafening to hear, "no one will ever have to worry about this monster anymore!" The cave came down on her, destroying her body.

She stirred awake, gasping for air. She looked to her right, saw Snow sleeping there, and shook her head. "Just a dream," she told herself. Just a dream that she'd had many times in the past...

Feather Rush wasn't afraid of anything. But when she found herself alone in the halls of an abandoned castle, of course she was a bit concerned for her own well being. This place didn't look safe at all.

"Hello?" she called out tentatively. "Is anyone here?" Her ears pricked forward, but all she heard was the echo of her own voice. "Guess not. Okay then. Just gotta find the exit."

She went to take off, but remembered why she had landed in the first place when her wings protested. She had pulled a muscle in her back, and couldn't fly as a result. She hated being ground bound. Even back home in Cloudsdale she rarely walked. She started trotting quietly, looking around.

The stained glass windows in this place were... creepy. Various depictions of cruel, unfeeling creatures feeding on innocent ponies. Dark, lurking shapes that seemed to watch her as she walked. This whole thing had been a bad idea.

She came around a corner and halted; standing in front of her was a familiar shape. A colt who she knew from Cloudsdale was standing there, watching her. He had always been a rival to her. His name was Sonic Boom, a name he'd picked out for himself. He and she had always competed over everything. Who was faster, who was smarter, who was funnier.

And every time, he had beaten her. Now, he stood in the hallway, grinning at her. "I knew you would chicken out and try to find the exit," he told her matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, well who wouldn't. This place is liable to come crashing down on our heads. Besides, have you seen the windows? Who knows what lives here."

"I know." The grin was still plastered on his face. "I mean, I've only been trapped here for the past year."

"You... What?" With a growing horror, she took real notice of him now. He seemed paler than the last time she'd seen him. And, it seemed, she could almost see through him.

He snorted a bit. "I snooped where I shouldn't have. The Nightmares got me." He gave a small wing shrug. "I've been watching you. You should leave, really. It's no place for a... chicken." He grinned.

"Hey, I'm no chicken! This place just seems dangerous!" She glared at him, wanting to wipe that smile from his face.

"Whatever you say. Get out of here." As he said it, a loud roar rattled the stained glass windows. His eyes widened and he shook his head. "Sorry, guess not. It's too late. But hey, at least I'll have company."

"What do you mean?" She was panicking, looking around nervously. All of the windows seemed to be coming to life, their evil depictions moving towards her, cackling, screaming, moaning.

A dark shadow moved over her. She looked up, opened her mouth--

and woke up. A pair of red eyes stared into her brown ones and she let out an actual scream. She felt the two other occupants of the bed jolt awake, and she watched as a purple mist disappeared through a wall.

Shade Heart shook her head. "Feather, what's going on?!"

Feather Rush was panting, looking around. "N-nothing! I just need some air is all." She took off, flying out the window as quickly as she could. Shade Heart frowned a bit, looking to Snow Hoof.

The white pony yawned, standing up. "I'm going back up to the library, I think. I'm having trouble sleeping tonight."

Shade Heart nodded. That seemed like a good idea. Read away the hours. She followed quietly, but not before leaving a note for their friend.

As the door closed, the dark purple figure appeared again, a grin plastered on its face. It took the note, ripping it up, before returning to inform its Master of the split up.

Shade and Snow browsed through the contents of the library, each wanting something to read to help them calm down. In Shade's case, a good adventure story would do the trick; Snow was looking for something more along the lines of 'Caring for your Saddlemon.'

Neither of them spoke about their nightmares. Both assumed that the other had slept fine, and didn't want to cause worry.

The feeling of being watched was nagging at Shade again, and she was doing a less than stellar job of ignoring it this time. She kept peering over her shoulder, glancing around corners, and generally acting suspicious. Snow pretended not to notice, but her friend's nervousness were rubbing off on her.

They each found a book and started to read, but those nervous feelings continued. Neither noticed the figure floating up near the ceiling, watching them with boredom. And neither noticed said figure float through the wall to report and receive orders.

Outside, Feather Rush was debating whether she should go back in or not. She hated the place. But your friends are still inside. Her friends were obviously a lot braver than she was. Or maybe they're in danger. Shade Heart had magic, Snow had that soul stare, and they both had more Saddlemon than she did. None of which does them any good if they're fighting ghosts.

With a groan, she flew back up through the bedroom window. When she saw Shade and Snow missing, her first thought was that she'd gone to the wrong room. But the way the covers were rumpled suggested otherwise, and the fact that she could see their hoofprints in the dust confirmed it. Her friends had gone elsewhere.

With a quiet curse, she went into the hallway, looking around. Towards the library, she didn't see or hear anything. In the opposite direction, however, she saw the silhouettes of two ponies. She couldn't make out the features, but what other two ponies would it be than her friends? She flew towards them, sighing in relief. "Shade, Snow, you have no idea how...." She trailed off as the two turned to face her.

Now that she was closer, she could see how mistaken she was. Both of these ponies were dark purple, for one thing. They both had red eyes, and their mouths contorted into grins that showed razor sharp teeth. They both changed shape, and Feather Rush had time for one short scream before the two creatures had grabbed her and vanished.

She struggled to reach her saddleballs, but couldn't quite manage it. Her saddlebags were pulled off of her, tossed into a corner. She was thrown to the ground in front of a set of steps, leading to a raised dais with a deep black throne on it. There was a figure sitting on the throne, and as Feather looked up at it, her mind stumbled.

Tall, intimidating, ethereal mane, horn, wings. An Alicorn. She stared quietly. The Alicorn was a dark grey color, with golden eyes. On closer inspection, Feather realized that she could vaguely see through her. A ghost Alicorn. Then this must be...

The spirit smiled kindly at her. A voice rang in Feather Rush's head, agonizingly loud. She screamed, covering her ears, though it was a futile effort. The voice in her head drowned out everything. It was as if she were flying through storm clouds, thunder and lightning making hearing impossible.

The Alicorn seemed taken aback. Silence returned to Feather's mind. Then, a voice spoke to her ears, calm, melodic, and quiet. "I... am most sorry about that. It has been so long since I have spoken with one of your kind, that I had quite forgotten the proper method."

Feather looked up quietly, weighing the situation. On one hoof, she had just been kidnapped by ghosts. On the other, this creature didn't seem to want to harm her. She sat, listening, as the Alicorn continued. "Forgive my forcefulness in bringing you here. I couldn't think of a way to invite you that would not be rejected."

The Pegasus nodded a bit. "Oh, yeah. It's cool. I mean, sure I'm kinda freaking out right now, but hey, as long as you got your invitation through."

The ghost smiled, failing to understand the sarcasm in Feather's voice. "I am glad you are here though. This means you can invite your friends here to join us."

"Join us for what?"

"For the rebirth."

"And that would be... what, exactly?"

"I will explain it when your friends are here, and no sooner than that."

Feather sighed a bit, standing. "All right, I'll go get them. Do you know w here they are?"

"They can be found idling in the library. You might not tell them that you're taking them to talk to a ghost, though."

"Right, so.... What should I tell them?"

"That you found something interesting that you want them to see."

Feather nodded a bit, flying out of the room, towards the library.

Shade Heart was in the middle of a book explaining the Elements. There were three sections to the book,each with six chapters. The first section was 'Celestia' and detailed the elements of Normalcy, Magic, Flight, Fire, Water, and Grass. The second section was 'Luna' and described her elements of Darkness, Fighting, Ice, Steel, Bug, and Dragon. Shade Heart was on the section detailing the Ice type's weaknesses and strengths.

The last section was titled 'Sylph' and it listed Electric, Rock, Ground, Poison, and Ghost. And then, under that, was a chapter titled 'United Powers: The Eighteenth Element,' which implied that all three had created it.

She was just deciding to flip to the back (she knew everything the book was telling her already), when the door slammed open. Feather Rush came in, landing on the table top with a crash. "Shade, Snow, come with me! I found something that you both need to check out." Before her friends could respond, she was out the door. Shade Heart frowned, putting the book into her saddlebag and following after Snow, who seemed worried for their friend.

They followed Feather through corridor after corridor until they got to a set of large oaken doors. The doors swung open, and the three entered the throne room. Shade Heart stopped short when she saw the figure sitting on the throne. The Alicorn smiled at the three, a cold edge on her lips.

"Greetings," she said in the same soft voice she'd used with Feather Rush. The three trainers went closer, and she looked down at them. "It is good to see such brave ponies in the world. Before we begin, do you have any questions?"

Shade Heart swallowed nervously. "Are you... Are you the Nightmare?"

The grey ghost sighed sadly, looking away. "Yes. I am the Alicorn Sylph, who would later become Nightmare Spirit."

"Sylph. You mean, you're one of the creators of the elements?"

The Alicorn smiled at her. "I see someone found the book my servants planted. Yes, I am one of the three who made the elements. I, being the youngest, got the last pick on which ones were created, and got fewer of them. But I do not mind. I never minded. I was allowed to harness the powers of the soul, creating the Ghost types. That is all I really wanted when I set out."

She tilted her head. "I suppose you are curious about the unified element."

Snow Hoof stepped up. "Oh, is that the eighteenth one? Yes, please, we're so interested!"

Sylph chuckled. "Very well. I suppose I can tell you before you get a direct demonstration." She turned, focusing for a second on a door to the side of the throne. A moment later, it opened, and a unicorn stepped into the room. He had a red coat, blue mane and tail, and grey eyes. He wore a strange costume, completely black except for a red N on the chest and front of the hat.

He bowed low to the Alicorn, who asked him, "Are you ready for the Rebirth, Flare?"

"Yes, my queen."

Sylph turned, smiling, to the other three. "The eighteenth element, the one my sisters and I created together, is very powerful. It is the element of creation and destruction, of good and evil, of purity and corruption. The only name we found to suit it is Void. This element is different than the others. Because of its raw power, it cannot be placed to any being except for an Alicorn. And it is used in the ritual of rebirth that my followers use."

Flare had stepped over to a small altar, on which rested a black and white gem. He slowly placed one hoof on the crystal, taking a deep, slow breath. Sylph smiled. "And this is what it can do." She let a small spark of magic out of her horn, causing the Void gem to light up. The black and white lights shrouded the red pony. The three trainers heard a ripping sound, followed by Flare's screams.

Shade Heart started to step forward, but a ghost Saddlemon - Gengar she noted quickly - stepped in front of her. Sylph shook her head. "If you interrupt the ritual, it will be bad for everyone."

The light show lasted for only a minute, though it seemed like hours. When the gem faded, Flare was standing in front of it still. The outfit he'd worn had disappeared. He was taller now, and looked more graceful. His horn had grown longer, and a pair of wings had appeared on his back. He grinned a bit.

"This is what Void can do. It will break things down, and then reconstruct them as the wielder sees fit. It can be used to make Alicorns. It is what my sisters and I were made of from the start!'" She grinned, a cruel, evil grin. "And it is what I used to destroy this castle. It is what I will use to bring myself back to life and rule the world!" She cackled.

Shade Heart stared in horror. Feather Rush and Snow were backing away. Flare was walking towards the ghost quietly. He bowed. "What are your commands for me, my queen?"

"Oh. Yes, I forgot about you." Magic flowed from her horn, surrounding him. "Unfortunately, you were just a demonstration. I wanted these fools whose destinies are entwined with mine to see my power." Flare screamed again, and then vanished, leaving one stray feather to float to the ground. Sylph took a deep 'breath' and smirked. "Ah, invigorating." She stood. "Now. I will give you one warning only. Do not interfere with the plots of Team Nightmare, or you will deeply regret it."

The three didn't ask who Team Nightmare was. They were too busy running from the room, Gengar chasing them from every direction. They ran out of the castle, into the light of a new morning.

In an unspoken agreement, they moved on towards Fillydelphia. Shade Heart turned to give one final look towards the castle, and was only moderately surprised to see it had vanished.