All the Smallest Things: Original Draft

Izzy, Misty, the Scatterbug, and Nemona arrived back at the Brighthouse at high noon. As soon as they stepped out of the Marestream, Nemona squinted and shielded her eyes with her arm.

"What's the matter?" asked Misty.

"It's too bright!" Nemona gasped. "I thought I was used to the sun."

They entered the Brighthouse, where Sunny, Hitch, and Penny were waiting for them. They all headed towards the living area, where Nemona sat down on a sofa, being careful to not push her claws through the cushions. Penny lay down next to her.

"Where'd Pipp and Zipp go?" asked Izzy.

"Pipp is performing at Mane Melody, as she said earlier, and Queen Haven called Zipp to investigate something in Zephyr Heights," replied Sunny. "I'm sure they'll be back this evening. Anyway, I see you've made a new friend?"

"That's right!" exclaimed Nemona. Startled, Sunny jumped back.

"We found the translation spell we were looking for!" Izzy explained. "I'll show you. Penny?"

Penny took a hesitant step forwards. Izzy zapped her with the translation spell, and Penny tensed as if it was going to hurt, but relaxed when it didn't.

"Try saying something," Izzy said.

"Uh... Hello, I guess?" Penny mumbled.

"It worked!" Izzy and Sunny exclaimed in unison.

"You definitely talk like the Penny I know," exclaimed Nemona. "I'm Nemona, by the way. What school do you go to?"

"It's the, uh... academy in Mesagoza." Penny rubbed her forehead with a ribbon. "What's it called? Uva? Naranja?"

"Come to think of it, I can't remember what it was called either... But it's really you!" Nemona rushed towards Penny for a hug, but Penny jerked away. "Oh, sorry."

"Isn't Mesagoza where they held the Convocation of the Creatures?" Hitch asked Sunny.

"No, that was Mt. Metazoa," Sunny replied.

"Whatever," said Hitch. Then, he turned to face the Pokémon. "Is this Mesagoza in that Paldea place you say you're from?" They nodded in unison. "So where is it?"

"Uh..." was all Penny could think of.

Nemona was much more confident. "The northern hemisphere, close to the Subtropic of Crustle. It borders Kalos to the north."

"Right..." replied Hitch.

"I've never heard of those places," said Sunny. "Do you know how you got here?"

Nemona shrugged. "I woke up in that forest this morning—"

"This morning?" Penny asked. "I've been here for about a week... I think."

"Huh. Anyway, when I realised I was a Sneasel, I thought it was so cool! Then I noticed you guys trying to fight off some Sableye—"

"Excuse me, but what's a Sableye?" asked Sunny?

"Well..." Izzy started.

Once Izzy, Misty, and Nemona had finished describing what had happened in Bridlewood that morning, the others were left with several questions.

"You mentioned those Sableye shrinking. Why is that?" Sunny asked.

Nemona was eager to answer. "Oh, that's easy. Pokémon can shrink! A few can do it at will, but most only shrink when they're injured or captured by a Poké Ball."

"Really? I thought they turned into energy," muttered Penny.

"I learned it in biology class," said Nemona. "Professor Laventon was one of the first people to discover it."

"What's a... Poké Ball?" asked Hitch.

"They're devices people use to capture Pokémon," said Nemona. "Humans have been befriending Pokémon for thousands of years, but it was hard to keep a lot of them with you. The invention of the Poké Ball around 200 years ago changed that."

"What's a human?" asked Misty.

"It's what Penny and I used to be. They look like... uh... Do you have anything I could scratch on?"

The three ponies exchanged glances; they thought that was an odd request. Still, Hitch headed into the basement and returned with a book-sized plank of wood.

"Is this what having a cat is like?" Hitch grumbled as he placed it in Nemona's lap. With a single finger, she carved a pair of stick figures with two legs and two arms onto its surface, then held it up.

"Penny and I used to look something like these." She pointed at the stick figures. "And now we're these." She pointed at herself and Penny. "Before you ask, humans aren't Pokémon — at least, as far as I know."

"If they don't even know what humans are... where are we?" Penny asked quietly.

"You're in Equestria!" exclaimed Sunny.

"I've never heard of it either," Penny muttered to Nemona.

"Maybe they're from beyond Equestria?" Misty suggested. "After all, it was under a force field for a long time. Who knows what could be out there?"

"Do you have a globe?" asked Nemona.

"Unfortunately, no," said Sunny. "Why do you want one?"

"I was hoping I could see what this whole world looks like to see if it matches up with ours," said Nemona.

"Pipp could look it up on her phone, but... she's not here right now," sighed Hitch.

"Do you not have a phone?" asked Penny.

"Nope!" exclaimed Izzy. "They're a pegasus thing."

Penny shook her head. "How do you live?"

"What's a pegasus?" asked Nemona.

"Imagine Hitch and I with wings," said Sunny. "But anyway, do you know why you were turned into Pokémon when you got here?"

Nemona shook her head.

"Maybe we were sent here to save the world?" Penny wondered out loud.

Nemona folded her arms. "You've been playing too many RPGs, haven't you?"

Penny sighed. "Yes..."

"Anyway, I've never heard of anything that could turn multiple humans into Pokémon and teleport them far away," said Nemona.

Hitch shook his head. "Well, we're back to the drawing board."

Sunny trotted to his side and smiled. "Don't be such a pessimist, Hitch. We've already learned a lot today!"

The Scatterbug jumped off Misty's back and scurried towards the door. Suddenly, they heard a knock...