Reduced to Ponies

"Where have you been?" Dialga was the first to speak up ,with a slight edge to her voice, after Palkia, Rainbow Dash, and Mew's appearance.

"The Twisted Dimension... we met Giratina." Palkia explained.

"Yeah though my other little bro isn't so nice!" Mew spoke up from Palkia's back, which she was currently lounging on.

Dialga's face turned from annoyed to worried and then to confusion as she located the source of the input about Giratina. She raised an eyebrow at the pink alicorn filly. But decided that Giratina was the top priority. "How did you escape, Palkia?"

"Mew."

"Who?" Twilight added.

"The pink filly on my back with the love of cheese." Palkia explained as he pointed a hoof over his shoulder at the filly snacking (not to Palkia's surprise) on a wheel of cheddar. "...And also our older sister." He added.

"But how? And why is she and alicorn? Was she a Pokemon as well? Why does she like cheese so much that she would eat an entire wheel of it in one go!?" Twilight frantically asked, Pinkie Pie stopped chatting about cheese with Mew and gave Twilight a worried look.

"I think she's overloading..." Palkia observed. "The stress and knowledge she's learned from the last few days must be getting to her. Pinkie Pie and Dash? Can you help her back to Ponytown? I have something to tell Dialga."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at his mistake, but let it slide as she saluted and put a foreleg over Twilight's withers and led her away, pink pony in tow.

Palkia took a deep breath. "I-"

"You lost your power didn't you?" Dialga interrupted. She had put the pieces together out of what little information she had.

"How did you-"

"It's written all over your body language you baffoon and your attitude... it's like before." Dialga said tonelessly.

Palkia hung his head."Giratina got what he wanted... and he'll come after you next."

"I know."

A weight disappeared off his back, he turned his head to find Mew gone. But not without leaving behind a gift, speckles of cheese coated his back. But what happened next surprised him to this day. He felt forelegs wrap around his neck and a head rest under his chin. Dialga was hugging him, in the first time in he didn't even know how long, his sister was hugging him. He blinked in surprise and looked down at her.

"He'll probably succeed..." Came Dialga's muffled voice as Palkia raised his forelegs carefully.

"He probably will..." He calmly replied as he wrapped his forelegs around his sister. "But that doesn't mean we won't try our hardest to stop him! We won't let him destroy the universe... like he did Arceus."

"Your right Palk. We won't." Dialga said as she looked up at him, a look of determination on her face. He chuckled.

"That face just looks too cute when you scrunch up your nose like that." He cracked a grin, and Dialga scowled. They both let go of each other and Palkia put a hoof to his mouth to stifle a chuckle at her new expression.

Dialga rolled her eyes and started walking back to Ponyville. "I'd forgotten you were so immature."

"Hey it's not my fault ponies are adorable!"

"So are you sure the Elements of Harmony will work on Giratina? He's not from this world." Palkia asked after he explained his side of the story and Twilight went over what the Elements of Harmony actually were. They were currently at Sugarcube Corner, in the middle of their welcome to Ponyville party in fact.

"Positive. Princess Celestia tells me Discord isn't from this world either and the Elements of Harmony worked on him." Twilight assured.

"Sound enough reasoning... So I'm guessing your plan is to draw him out using me?" Dialga asked.

"Well not exactly using you... I'd hate to-" Dialga held up a hoof.

"Twilight, I've already accepted to be bait. We'll lure him out with the bearers around or close by."

"What if he knows it's a trap?" Palkia interrupted.

"Well from what you told me Palkia is that Giratina didn't know Rainbow Dash, who is one of the Elements obviously."

"He could have been acting." Palkia pointed out.

"Well we'll just have to count on the fact that he wasn't." Twilight said.

"Well that still raises one question. Now I don't understand your society that well but won't it be a little odd for him to see 6 mares constantly following me around? He'll know something's up."

Twilight put her hoof to her chin in thought, "A camping trip!"

Dialga raised an eyebrow," Camping?"

"Yeah it won't be strange for all of us to go camping."

"But for how long?" Palkia asked.

"I'd say about a week."

"It could work..." Dialga said quietly.

"I'll just have to go over the plans with the Princesses and the other girls beforehoof." Twilight explained.

Palkia snorted, Beforehoof hehe.... He noticed the strange look from Twilight and cleared his throat. In his best serious voice he spoke."Of course." And he waved a hoof for her to continue.

"I'll talk to them right now, but I'll write to the Princesses tomorrow. Enjoy the party!" She exclaimed as she trotted away from the table to some unknown location. Dialga also left a couple seconds afterwards to the refreshments table. Palkia looked around nervously before spotting a familiar butterscotch pegasus and orange farmer. He remembered how insincere his apology was and trotted over to her.

They hadn't noticed him yet and he cleared his throat,"Um... Fluttershy?" He said cautiously.

Fluttershy eeped and spun around, eyes wide. "O-Oh h-hey Palkia..." Applejack affixed him with a glare.

"Look, I wanted to say I'm sorry," He raised a hoof when Fluttershy opened her mouth to object, "I wasn't sincere the last time so," He bowed low to the floor, "I'm sorry for treating you so harshly in the field, you were just trying to help. I hope you forgive me and that we could be friends."

Fluttershy blushed at the massive unicorn that was bowing to her. "But I've already forgiven you Palkia." She whispered, "And I would love to be your friend." She put on a small smile at the look of joy on his face when he got up.

"Thank you, Fluttershy." He said with merry grin as he trotted back to the party.

"Well that was odd." Applejack noted. "Jus' the other day he was meaner than a rattlesnake with a cold."

Fluttershy cocked her head in confusion, rattlesnakes weren't mean just misunderstood. And they were especially good spirited with a cold as well. She shook her head and continued her previous conversation about moles and beavers with Applejack.

Palkia stared in confusion at the snack table. Why weren't there any pancakes? Pancakes should be served everywhere and at anytime of day. He shook his head and levitated a cupcake off of a platter, it had his cutie mark on the white frosting. Though it was wrong, it still had his star on it. Though he couldn't blame Pinkie Pie he had just lost it today. He took a bite, it was almost as good as pancakes but not quite. It had too much frosting for his taste.

He shrugged and ate the rest of it, the rest of the platter in fact. He was about to lick some excess frosting on his nose when Rainbow Dash called his name. He turned and she was waving to him excitedly.

"Hey Palk, you up for a game of pin the tail on the pony?!" She yelled across the room over the chatter of the other ponies.

"Yeah sure!" He replied. He licked the frosting off his nose. A couple seconds later he felt something hot on his flank. He turned his head and all the blood rushed from his face at what he saw. Dialga's star was gone.