All the Smallest Things: Original Draft

Penny spent most of the night explaining everything to Umbreon. By the time the sun rose, she was fast asleep, until the sound of Sunny talking to Pipp over the phone woke her up.

"...We even got Sprout on board!" Sunny said. "Hitch is keeping an eye on him. Don't worry about Sparky — Figgy's babysitting him. What have you been up to?"

"Yesterday we trained a bunch of royal guards," said Pipp. "We even gave them a practical demonstration~! You've seen it, right?"

"You str—" and then Sunny's voice cut out.

Pipp gasped and dropped her phone like it was hot potato. "What's happening?" She flew over to the curtains and pulled them open. Outside, she saw all the streetlamps and jumbotrons flicker out. Penny's ears twitched; it was quieter than usual... she'd gotten used to the faint hum of electric lights.

A few minutes later, a guard knocked on the door and called them to an emergency meeting in the throne room.

"Good to see you!" exclaimed Queen Haven.

By the time Pipp and the Pokémon entered the throne room, Zipp was already there. Queen Haven raised an eyebrow when she saw Umbreon.

"I have received reports that lead me to believe this blackout was caused by a Pokémon," she continued. "I would like you and the royal guard's Pokémon division to investigate." Then, she waved her hoof at Umbreon. "Also, who is this?"

"That's Umbreon," said Penny. "He's one of my, um, friends. He just arrived last night, so no-one's cast a translation spell on him. Can he join us?"

Queen Haven nodded and hummed. "Very well."

Penny had no idea what the inside of a power plant would look like, but she certainly wasn't expecting this.

The first room of Zephyr Heights' power plant was mostly empty, with hard floors and a high ceiling that made hoofsteps echo. The walls were lined with pipes that curved every which way, with all sorts of dials and valves attached. Some of the pipes were covered in yellowish webs that must've been made by Joltik. She could hear machines in the other rooms whirr so loudly that she couldn't hear herself think.

"We're glad you're here!" said a pegasus wearing a hard hat, who seemed to be in charge of the place. "Earlier, a janitor spotted an unknown creature — a Pokémon, did you say they were called?" Zipp nodded and let her continue. "Anyway, it looked a bit like those—" she gestured at Penny and her Veevees "—but it had no tail and spiky, yellow fur. It's too dangerous for us to extract it, so we need your help!"

Penny stepped forwards and gulped. "Sounds like a Jolteon," she said. "I have experience with one, so I'll go."

"Don't forget me," said Leafeon, stepping to Penny's side.

"I can help, too," said Umbreon.

Zipp flew up and turned to face the guards. "Alright, everypony! We can't all fit in the generator room, so I suggest you stay here and watch out for any danger. That includes you, Pipp." Then, she faced the manager. "Show us the way!"

The generator room was even louder. The ponies wore protective earmuffs, but they didn't have any that would fit the Veevees, so Penny feared she'd go deaf. The manager guided them along the raised metal paths.

Eventually, the manager stopped and shouted, "It was somewhere around here." She trotted towards the railing and looked down at a sea of large, metal cylinders connected to each other by pipes.

"Mind if I take a closer look?" asked Zipp.

The manager nodded. "But be careful!"

Zipp flew up and scouted the room, being careful to stick close to the ceiling. Eventually, she landed back on the path and said, "I spotted something unusual over there. Think we should take a look?"

"Would your Pokémon be able to handle getting shocked?" asked the manager.

"Of course!" exclaimed Leafeon. "Grass resists Electric, duh!"

"What?" asked the manager.

"She means she'll be fine," said Penny.

"It looks dark down there," Umbreon said to Penny. "I can light the way."

"And I'll lead them," said Penny.

"Good luck," Zipp said to the Veevees.

Zipp showed them a path that led them closer to the Jolteon, and then they jumped down onto the floor, being careful to not even brush against the generators. Penny went first, followed by Umbreon, who made his rings glow. Leafeon was last. Eventually, Penny's ears pricked up when she heard crackling, and her fur stood on end when she felt a sharp sting of static electricity. Her eyes were drawn to a yellow glow wedged between a generator and a pipe.

"Help me..." the Jolteon said faintly. He'd absorbed so much electricity that his fur had become as spiky as a Togedemaru's.

"We need to get him out," Penny said to the other two. "But how?"

"Let me go first," said Leafeon.

"Are you sure?" asked Umbreon. "It's too dangerous!"

"I'll be fine!" Leafeon snapped. Before anyone could argue, she leaped over Penny and Umbreon and slammed into the Jolteon in the blink of an eye. The impact knocked him out of the wedge, but as Leafeon landed, her tail slammed against the pipe. She screamed so loudly that it echoed throughout the room.

Penny gasped in horror and rushed to Leafeon's side. "You'll be fine... you'll be fine..." she hushed as she inspected Leafeon. The tip of her tail was singed black, and looked like it was about to crumble like charcoal.

"Thanks for gettin' me out of there," said Jolteon as his fur flattened. "I just woke up here, and then I got stuck, and couldn't stop absorbin' electricity." He looked between Leafeon and Umbreon while sniffing. "Hey, I know you guys!"

Penny gasped again, but this time in delight. "It's you! I'll explain later, but for now..."

She heard the sound of wings flapping, and they all looked up to see Zipp land nearby.

"Are you okay?" exclaimed Zipp.

"We are, but she isn't..." Penny looked over at Leafeon.

"Don't worry," Zipp said quickly. She picked up Leafeon between her legs and flew back to the manager, while the others followed her on foot.

"Did you fix it?" asked the manager.

"Yep," said Zipp. "But do you have a first aid kit?"

The manager led them back to the entrance room, where the guards and Pipp were waiting. Zipp placed Leafeon on the floor, while the manager opened a first-aid kit on the wall and gave Zipp a roll of bandages. Zipp quickly wrapped up Leafeon's tail, while Penny told the others what had happened.

When Team Zephyr returned to the palace later that morning, they reported back to Queen Haven in the throne room.

"Congratulations on fixing the blackout!" exclaimed Queen Haven. "Did you find out what caused it?"

"Yep," said Zipp. She explained what had happened.

"Zephyrina!" Queen Haven snapped, taking a step forwards. "That was dangerous! And... I'm glad you're okay." She reached over to hug Zipp, who reluctantly accepted it.

Afterwards, Haven glanced at the Veevees. "Jolteon is welcome to stay here... but we should keep an eye on these Pokémon."

Meanwhile, a Larvesta awoke in Bridlewood. It looked around at its unfamiliar surroundings, overwhelmed by all the new sights and smells. Something startled it — perhaps a bunnycorn diving into its burrow, or a Sneasel leaping overhead, or even a leaf dancing in the wind. Regardless of the cause, its five horns heated up on instinct...