My Little Pokemon: Unova is Magicby HalloweddiseaseChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1There I was, flying higher than anyone else had ever flown before. I could hear the crowd below chanting my name: “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!” If you’ve never had a crowd chanting your name before, let me tell you, it’s pretty sweet. It’s almost like it pumps extra adrenaline through your veins, pushing your mind to make the rest of your body strain to soar higher, fly faster, be better, and be everything. It’s like you’re everything and everywhere at once. It’s the best feeling in the world. Just at the tip of my left hoof, which was stretched out in front of me, I could see the light of a sonic rainboom forming. It began to glow and crackle like lightning, sending shivers up my spine and— “R-Rainbow Dash?” Suddenly, everything was growing fuzzy. I was falling back from the potential sonic rainboom, as if, against the beat of my wings, I was being dragged back down to earth. The air was being sucked out from beneath me, but I refused to back down. I flapped my wings harder, but to no avail. All around, there was— “Rainbow Dash? Are…are you awake?” I yawned, stretching my wings. So it had just been a dream, after all…I shook my head, spreading the mane that had become plastered to my head and neck briefly into the sky, and then felt it as it gently floated back down to its proper place. Well, not that it really had a proper place. I mean, I’m not like Rarity—gotta have every single hair in its perfect position—but I kinda like my mane where it is. And by that, I mean on my head. Honestly, can you imagine having your mane on your feet? That would suck. Anyway, back to what I was doing. A lot of ponies, once they stretch after a nice afternoon nap, would be pretty pleasant to be around. I, on the other hoof, was not. “Fluttershy,” I groaned, thrusting my head back into the clouds, “why do you have to come wake me up? What is it this time?” “I-I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash,” she stammered. “Twilight sent me to come get you.” This, I knew, was important. If Twilight wanted me for something that wasn’t really important, she wouldn’t have sent somepony looking for me. She would have looked for me herself, and if she hadn’t found me, she would have been on her way. This had to be something important, but I was still left questioning. Was this nerd-important, save-Equestria-important, or save-the-world-important? I really, and I mean, REALLY, hoped it wasn’t the first one. I hated when Twilight got us in on her nerd-stuff. Honestly, it’s not like any of the rest of us understood what she was talking about. In my opinion, she should have Celestia send her some other eggheads and they could all work on it together. I bet some of the others—like Pinkie Pie—would worry the eggheads would replace us, but I wouldn’t be concerned. I mean, how could an egghead possibly be as amazing as me? No one could replace me with an egghead! I looked at Fluttershy, who seemed to have noticed I had been lost in thought. “Well, what are we just standing here for?” I asked her. “Let’s get going!” Today, Cloudsdale seemed to have drifted not far from Twilight’s library-turned-home. That was one thing I always liked about Cloudsdale. It was a mystery, always drifting around in the sky, but at the same time, it was home to the pegasi simply because, well, not only were we the only ones who could walk on it, but we were the only race that seemed to always know its approximate location. No matter where it floated to, we knew where it was without trying. Some ponies speculated that it was some sort of magic within us, but I wasn’t sure about that. Actually, to be totally honest, I didn’t care about that. It was cool, and that was all I was concerned about. I looked down at Fluttershy, who was flying a little lower than I was. “What do you think she wants?” I called out over the rushing of air that came every time we struggled against the air currents. It made flying harder, but I enjoyed a challenge such as this. I wasn’t so sure about Fluttershy, though. She seemed to be having a hard time keeping up. “I don’t know, Rainbow Dash,” she called out, her soft voice barely audible over the wind. “M-maybe it’s another dragon?” I let the wind carry me back, so I could keep pace with Fluttershy. “I’m not so sure it’s a dragon. We haven’t seen any smoke yet.” Fluttershy didn’t have enough time to respond to what I’d said, because right as I said it, we arrived at Twilight’s house…or library…or whatever you’d call it. We floated down gracefully, and I felt a touch of jealousy well up inside me that Fluttershy could always land with more grace that I could. I knew she wasn’t a great flier, but after she’d grown up, it seemed all the movements and maneuvers she could actually manage without falling were more graceful than mine. Sure, there was a part of me—and that part was pretty large—that was happy for her, but I couldn’t help the envy that came from the fact that I couldn’t do quite what she could. Oh, well. Maybe I’d get it down with some practice. As soon as our hooves touched the welcome mat in front of Twilight’s housebrary, Spike thrust the door open with a look or urgency plastering his face. “C’mon!” he shouted, attempting to drag me by my hoof, “Twilight’s been waiting on you two! You’re late!” “Spike,” came Twilight’s voice from somewhere in the house, “it’s alright. Let them come in on their own.” Despite her attempt to keep cool, I could hear a note of urgency in her voice. Looking over at Fluttershy, I could see she’d heard it too, and was beginning to get nervous. Some ponies would have tried to think of something to console her, but that wasn’t really my style. I just tried to give her a reassuring glance and continued on my way, making sure she was with me. Inside, Twilight looked like a nervous wreck—but not a total nervous wreck; I’d seen worse during that whole Smarty Pants incident—Rarity and Applejack were trying to comfort her, which didn’t look like it was working, and Pinkie was blabbering on about…something. To be honest with you guys, I try to tune that pony out whenever we’re not pranking together. “So,” I began, making sure I had Twilight’s attention before continuing, “what’s up?” Twilight didn’t respond, so Rarity spoke up in her place. “We’ve been summoned to Canterlot, dear.” “On urgent business!” Pinkie Pie finished. “Like what?” I asked. “That’s just it, sugarcube. We don’t exactly know,” Applejack explained. “The Princess did mention that a new evil has arisen, though. I reckon we’re the only ones who can face it.” “Then what’s wrong with her?” I couldn’t help but question, pointing my hoof at Twilight. “Oh, that’s easy,” Pinkie Pie began. “This is something Celestia’s never been up against, and so she’s worried that if Celestia can’t do it, we can’t.” “Oh, is that all?” I couldn’t help but smile. “We can do it, piece of cake!” “Rainbow…” I stopped and made sure to pay attention, given that this was the first time Twilight had spoken since we’d entered her house. “You don’t even know what it is. How do you know we’re any match for it?” I laughed. I couldn’t stop myself. “Are you crazy, pony?” I chuckled. “We’ve got the Elements of Harmony! Who could possibly stop us?” This seemed to cheer Twilight up, given that she turned her head to me and smiled. “Thanks, Rainbow.” “Anytime, Twilight,” I beamed. “Alright, girls,” Twilight announced, the vigor in her voice rising anew and the light returning to her eyes, “go back and pack your things. Meet back here as soon as you can.” Why she would call us here from our houses and then send us back to our houses to get things, I’ll never understand, but at any rate, I left the library and returned to Cloudsdale. Back in Cloudsdale, I packed up everything that I’d need to face an enemy and provisions to last me a while. I packed a little extra, knowing that Rarity would probably pack too many outfits and accessories and not leave much room for food. She may not be my favorite pony, but she’s my friend, and friends look out for each other. After all meeting back at Twilight’s house, we caught the next train to Canterlot. We rode in silence for the bulk of the trip, the lack of noise unnerving me. I know I’m not the most talkative pony, but I don’t like being around others and no one saying anything. I began to fidget, but before I had reached my limit, we arrived in Canterlot. Waiting at the train station were a couple of guards I recognized as Celestia’s personal assistants from my few trips to Canterlot Castle and the visits the Princess had made to Ponyville. “Come with us,” the one on the left said. Twilight began to look nervous again, and I could imagine why. What evil was so bad that, this time, we couldn’t even enter the castle on our own? I didn’t know, but I didn’t let my fear show. In Canterlot Castle, we saw Princess Celestia awaiting our presence from atop her throne. Once we were within her sight, we bowed before her to show our respect. “Rise, my loyal subjects,” the Princess addressed us. “There are grave matters before us.” “Like what, Princess?” Twilight asked, it seemed without being able to stop herself. “War.” At this, a collective gasp arose from out group. Equestria was a peaceful nation—nopony alive had known a time of war here or anywhere near here. We had the proper defenses and such, but quite honestly, Equestria was emotionally unprepared. As if reading our minds, Celestia began to explain. “The war is not within Equestria or its realms”—at this, you could practically hear all of us sigh—“but it is in a faraway land known as Unova. It is home to strange creatures, but they are creatures that have asked for our help, and so help them we must. They have found themselves found in a war led by their two beloved princes, who started quarreling as brothers do, but, well, evolved it into something different, if you’ll pardon the pun.” I don’t think any of us caught the pun, but we nodded in understanding and let the princess continue. “I cannot depart to help them myself, given that Equestria still needs tending to and the people do not yet trust my sister as they once did. We have talked about it and came to the decision that you six, with your harmonious friendship, would be perfect for the job.” “We accept, Your Majesty,” Twilight spoke for us all. “Where are the Elements of Harmony?” “Elements of Harmony?” Celestia questioned. “Did I forget to mention that the Elements are useless to you in this realm?” “Yeah, kinda,” I uttered, earning myself a glare from my companions. Not like I cared. Celestia, despite the looks the other ponies were giving me, smiled and explained. “This is a new world. While they need your help in learning the magic of friendship, the Elements of Harmony are useless. However, there are creatures there that would be willing to share their power with you, if only you asked. Now, is everypony ready?” Twilight looked at all of us before redirecting her attention to the Princess. “Yes, Your Majesty. We are ready.” With that, the Princess’ horn began to glow. The last thing I saw before tumbling into the darkness was the Princess, wings outstretched and horn giving off light like I’d never seen. Chapter 2“Did everypony make it through okay?” I didn’t want to open my eyes. My head was throbbing like I’d walked into a door, and then proceeded to have a boulder dropped on it. Any effort it took to open my eyes only made the pain worse. I wanted to lie here, let it rest, and just come back to consciousness later. “It looks like it, though half of ‘em look like they’re unconscious.” Surely everypony would do fine without me after…after what, exactly? What had just happened? I couldn’t remember, which triggered a need to know. Groaning while trying to bear the pain, I opened my eyes, finding the agony to be less than what I expected. In fact, blinking in the sunlight, I realized the pain began to ease away. Twilight and Applejack turned my way. “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight exclaimed, “You’re awake!” I just nodded and put a hoof to my head, still in too much pain to respond. At least it was ebbing. It was a bit too much to bear as it was. All I could really do was watch as the ponies around me came to; Pinkie Pie had been awake before me, but Fluttershy and Rarity seemed to be in just as much pain as I was when they came back to the realm of the living. By the time Fluttershy was feebly flapping her wings, almost just as if to see if they still worked, I felt fully recovered. “So what is this place?” I felt bold enough to ask. As I asked, I took it in. The autumn trees, the small brick houses…it looked like fall in Ye Olde Equestria. Like, around when Equestria was a small budding country. All around us, there were…things…staring at us strangely. These “things” had to be the oddest sight I’d ever seen! They stood on two legs, as if incapable of the more efficient quadrupedal motion, and their bodies were devoid of fur, save for their manes. They were peculiar…and kind of ugly, to tell the truth. Funny that they’d stare at us like we were the oddities. We exchanged glances, nodding at Applejack, who approached a female-looking thing. “Pardon me, ma’am,” she began, “we were just, er, passin’ through and—“ “They’ve come!” the thing screeched. “They’ve come and they speak!” “What in tarnation…” Applejack muttered. We all looked at each other, but before anypony could say anything, we heard a rustling from the bushes behind us. The rustling grew louder and louder, signaling that the thing was coming closer—hopefully different from the “things” here in this village—and, as the creature came ever closer, Fluttershy let out a little squeak and hid behind Pinkie Pie, who happened to be the closest pony to her. Normally, I would have rolled my eyes at such a display of cowardice, even if it came from one of my dearest friends, but this time, I understood what she felt. I had already seen enough weird stuff to make me homesick for Equestria, and whatever came out of this bush was likely to be yet something else we were unfamiliar with. And boy, was I right. This…absurdity (since we’ve already used “thing” for the two-legged freaks) had a light brown body, with stubby little black legs—three pairs of them, like an insect, but this was bigger—and smoky white fur that covered the upper half of its body and draped one side of its face. Spreading out from its body were five horns, which for some reason or another reminded me of the rays that spread out from the sun and made me think of Princess Celestia. Its eyes were sky-blue, almost like my fur, and its face was black. Fluttershy, unable to help herself, approached the creature. “Hello, little one,” she greeted it. “What are you?” “A Larvesta,” the thing responded. “M’ name’s Sera. I need to get you all outta here and into Professor Juniper’s lab quick, before things get ugly! Follow me!” We were all so in awe that the thing—I mean, Sera—was able to speak that we stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, until it—I mean, she—spouted fire from her top horn angrily and shouted “C’mon now! We haven’t got all day!” Hurriedly, we galloped after Sera as she led us to the tallest building in the small village. She beckoned to one of us to knock, and I, unable to stand the curiosity welling up inside me, flew up and did exactly so. Almost immediately after I did, a plump thing with a short mane on its face motioned for us to come inside. I looked to the others, unsure of whether to trust this guy or not, and found the rest of them were looking to Twilight for guidance. Twilight shrugged and said “How do we know he’s not the one who sent an SOS to the princess if we don’t at least try?” What she said made sense, but I still didn’t like it, so, begrudgingly, I went inside. Inside the hut—or shack, or whatever you want to call it, these little shelters of stone and straw were not houses—were a cozy little fireplace and a cauldron bubbling above it. There was little furniture, save for a bed and a couple of tables here and there. The professor sat near the fire place, where he beckoned us to draw nearer. Thinking back to what Twilight said, I did, but not close enough that he could reach out and touch me. It took a while for me to notice, but Fluttershy was hiding behind me, cowering down so that he couldn’t see her. “So you are the saviors Celestia sent, are ye?” “I suppose so, sir,” Twilight answered for us. “Can you tell us what is going on here?” “That I can, oh that I can,” the professor chuckled. He peered around to see where Fluttershy was, and when he saw her frightened expression, he smiled in sorrow. “I suppose none of you have ever seen a human before?” He took our collective silence as a yes. “But that has nothin’ to do with the tale of what’s happened to the land we know as Unova…You see, we’ve always had a king, and his firstborn son is typically the one who rules the kingdom once he retires. The king rules with Kyurem, the great dragon Pokemon, by his side, and Kyurem is passed from ruler to ruler as time goes on. This time, the queen bore twin sons, and the king stated upon his decline from the throne that he wanted his sons to share it and make their decisions together. They did for the longest, until now…” “What’s happening now?” Pinkie Pie questioned. “Some spat over truth and ideals. Kyurem split into two separate dragons, Reshiram and Zekrom, and those dragons are tearing apart our fair country. “ “First of all,” I began, “what’s a Pokemon?” “Pokemon are things like this little Larvesta here. They come in all shapes and sizes and—“ “Sera,” Fluttershy spoke up. “Pardon me, missy?” the professor questioned, looking quite puzzled. “H-her name is Sera,” Fluttershy murmured, stepping further and further away from the man in front of us. “Ah! And how would you know that, pray tell?” “Well, to be quite frank,” Rarity responded, “she told us.” “Oh, of course!” the professor exclaimed. “Celestia must’ve given you the gift of tongues upon entry to this world!” “That seems likely. Alright,” Twilight responded, nodding as she took in this information, “what can we do to help?” “That, I’m not so sure about, my little pony,” Juniper downheartedly replied. “My only hope is that you can show these brothers that fightin’ isn’t all that life is about, and bring them closer together.” My mind immediately jumped to the time we defeated that monster inside Princess Luna—Nightmare Moon—and brought her closer to Celestia because of it. The two sisters were inseparable now, and I liked to think back on it with pride that we, the manifestations of the Elements of Harmony, did that. We saved Equestria for the first time in a long string of victories. Maybe, just maybe, we could save Unova too. “One thing I have to warn you about though,” Juniper started to say, “is that you can’t face these Pokemon or any others head-on. I don’t know if they’d obey you like they would a trainer, given that you’re not human and all, and even with magic, you’re unfairly outmatched. These beasts can summon the forces of nature at a mere whim. It takes you time to conjure a spell, yes?” “Yes,” Twilight answered half-heartedly, as the rest of us could see the despair on her face that came with not being able to use her magic. “But don’t you worry none,” Juniper went on, “most of ‘em are friendly, and won’t mind partnerin’ up with you all for a little adventure, especially if it’s to save their home.” “That’s good,” Fluttershy half-spoke, half-whispered. “At least we won’t have to worry about any of them attacking us, right?” “I wish,” the professor answered, “Pokemon are very sensitive creatures, and with all the turmoil, some will have gone mad with sheer hopelessness. It’s best to keep some with you, just in case. Sera, why don’t you go with them?” This confused me. “If you can’t understand her, then how in Equestr—I mean, Unova—can she understand you?” “That,” the professor said, “is a very good question. It seems that Pokemon are able to understand the meaning of what we say based on tone and inflection, and thus determine the subject of the sentence and respond accordingly. Now, Sera, would you consider joining our Ponyvillian friends?” “You bet!” Sera shouted, accidentally letting some of her flame spout into the air. She blushed, and then settled back on the rug where she had been. “I hope that was a yes?” the professor asked, turning to us. “It was,” Rarity told him. It dawned on me that she was being uncharacteristically quiet. I looked around to see if I could spot the reason, and within a few moments, I was pretty sure I had it: the filth. All around us, this cabin was messy and dirty. I lifted a hoof off the ground and looked at the grime on it before deciding I would just hover and keep myself from having to deal with this. Poor Rarity. I was tolerating this better than she was, but I was the one with the power to get off of it. Suddenly, she shot me a dirty look, which I assume was at first because I was flying while she was not and I knew she wanted to right about me, but when I looked down, I was able to see that I was blowing dust around. My face grew a little warm with embarrassment, and I settled back down on the musty floor. “Well,” the professor started with a note of curiosity in his voice, most likely at the little exchange between Rarity and myself,”you would probably be best if you headed out now. The more time that’s wasted, the more time the war has to grow worse. “ Twilight opened her mouth to say something—probably that we would do what he said—but I stopped her. “Does anypony else smell smoke?” I asked. “Now that you mention it…” Rarity began to say, but trailed off. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” whimpered Fluttershy, “o-or a dragon…” “This is no time to cower, girls,” Twilight declared, using her leader voice. “We need to go outside and face this!” But yet, as the door swayed open, I don’t think even Twilight was prepared for the destruction we witnessed outside. Chapter 3As the door swung open, all we could see outside was a blazing inferno devouring houses and possessions right before our very eyes. It seemed like, every time I blinked, something new had been lit ablaze. This was no accidental fire. This was a full-blown arson, and it was sobering. We didn’t have such deeds in Equestria. Who would be so callous as to do this? “Nuvema Town will bow to King Bertram!” All at once, we swiveled our heads to discover the source of the voice. The source appeared to be a dragon of some kind, with deep blue scales. Crimson spikes jutted from its body—all across its limbs and down its tail—with a matching crimson color coating the scales of its head. It had no teeth, but it did have a nice substitute. Its maw had overhanging spikes where the scales were overlapping unevenly, and all over, you could see where that pattern was reflected across its body. There were some areas where the scales would pile on top of each other and mound to a point, and others were scales merely stuck out to create jagged edges. Down its belly, olive-shaded diamond scales protected its soft spot, leaving us without a lead on where to attack it to let it know what it was up against. Or so I thought, until I saw the cruel light in its amber eyes. This was not a dragon to be reckoned with. This was a dragon to run from. Which is exactly what I did. Until I heard Rarity’s scream, that is. I turned around in midair, looking behind me and searching through the smoke to find where my friend could be. Before long, just following the sound of her wailing, I found her entrapped by a ring of flame. I zoomed down as fast as I could to rescue her, grabbing her just before her mane would catch fire. Before long, I realized that this was the easy part. Finding where I could put her down was harder than imagined. By now, the fire had spread down from the houses and burned the grass surrounding them. Before long, the whole town would be one giant burning inferno of death. I had to stop it, I just had to. Finally, I caught sight of what I was looking for: a dirt road. Fire wouldn’t burn dirt. I began to set Rarity down gently, before she cringed. I didn’t want to put her down somewhere she didn’t want to be, but really, what choice did we have? “What is it now?” I asked, making no attempt to hide the annoyance in my voice. “Rainbow Dash, darling,” Rarity replied, “is there anywhere less dirty where you could place me? If there’s not, that’s okay, but—“ “There’s not,” I interrupted, and promptly set her down before taking flight once again to see if I could find any of my other friends. It was hard to really see anything past the smoke, save for little peeks of bright orange flame here and there. I flew for what seemed like forever, trying to beat the smoke that was stinging my eyes away with my wings. In some ways, it helped, but at other moments, it felt futile. I tried to fly higher to avoid the smoke altogether, but that didn’t help. The higher I went, the harder it was for me to see what was below. If I were to try and find my friends, I would have to fly lower—possibly into the smoke itself. I had been trying to avoid it, but the longer I stayed airborne without any sight of the rest of the gang, the more worried I became. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I dove in. Diving in the middle of a large cloud of billowing smoke was probably not the best idea I’ve ever had, in hindsight. The smoke now not only stung my eyes but burned my lungs. I struggled not to breathe, but I couldn’t stop the coughing fit that came. I tried my best to fly in these poor conditions, but each cough sent a spasm that wracked my body and made it harder to flap my wings for just a second—long enough to put me dangerously close to the fire. I knew that if I didn’t get some oxygen soon, I wouldn’t make it. But I was determined; I would find my friends—even if I suffocated in the process. Suddenly, something gripped me around my waist. I would have struggled, but I felt too feeble from lack of oxygen; I was helpless to do anything but let whatever this was carry me away. Soon enough, it had pulled me out of the smoke. I gasped, panting, breathing in fresh air for what felt like the first time in my life. For those of you who think air is overrated, try standing in smoke for as long as I did. If you don’t pass out, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Air is some of the greatest stuff on earth. Whatever it was that had caught me pulled me close to its face, allowing me to be able to tell you all first-hand that its breath was like rancid meat, and glared at me. I took in its appearance for a second time. This was the dragon that had been burning down the town, and that made me angry. Looking around, I saw my previous statement was wrong. This wasn’t the dragon that’d been setting things ablaze. This was one of dozens that had taken part in the work. I hadn’t noticed them before because they’d been hiding in the smoke, but how they were able to breathe in that while I couldn’t, I didn’t understand. “You,” I snarled, bearing my teeth to show how serious I was, “what have you done with my friends?” “Silence!” the dragon roared. “I will be the one to ask you questions! No one so puny could stand up to the power of a Druddigon!” “Druddigon, huh?” I scoffed. “What kind of a name is that?” It dawned on me after I said this that my captor was most likely no ordinary dragon, but a Pokemon. Instantly recalling the professor’s warning about not facing Pokemon head-on, I regretted my words and wished I’d held my tongue like a smart pony would have. “The name of my species!” the Druddigon bellowed. “And you, you insolent creature, would not be as rude as to insult my heritage, would you?” It punctuated this question with a snarl, glaring at me with nothing but hatred and sheer anticipation of my answer. I could tell by its expression that, if I answered wrong, I would become lunch. “Oh, haha, nope, not me!” I chimed. “Y-you Druddigon are awesome! Rock on!” This was the first time I could remember being seriously afraid for my life. I wanted to save my friends, but I was no help to them if I was dead. I was pretty sure the answer I’d given was the right one, but a gnawing feeling told me that there was no right answer and I would be devoured anyway. “I thought, so pony,” the beast said with a crooked smile. “Now tell me, what are your kind doing in this world? My master would like to know.” He had mentioned a Bertram earlier, and named him as a king. I knew the real king wasn’t involved in the fighting, so I assumed this “Bertram” fellow to be one of his sons. Telling our mission to one of the instigators of the war could have some serious repercussions, so I was stuck on what to do. If I used my usual defiance, I could ruin everything by ending my life, but if I was honest, I could ruin everything by alerting the princes to our purpose. Maybe if I just— “In the name of King Sullivan, we fight!” Hearing this new voice, I spun my head in the direction of its source, finding for myself another oddity. This one appeared to be a three-headed dragon, the top half covered in jet-black feathers, the bottom half in rich blue scales. Each head was surrounded by a collar of feathers that were black on the outer side, and deep lavender underneath, the feathers around the middle head flaring up as it reached the forehead. Running down the sides of its stomach were parallel purple stripes that came together as one at the feathered tail-tip. From its back, it boasted six thin feathered wings, each one flapping in succession to keep it afloat—which was good, seeing as its legless feet seemed to drape uselessly from its body. Its eyes were pitch-black with fuchsia pupils—one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen in my life—but another thing that caught me off guard was that the side heads appeared more as arms, the heads merely taking the place of hands. And this creature was only one of dozens that flew in. “Hydreigon!” the Druddigon holding me shouted. “Abandon mission and return to the master!” “Yes, sir!” came the chorus of replies. One was later than the rest, and normally, I would have laughed at that, but being carried away into the sky and away from my friends was simply too sobering. Here it was, the mission Celestia had entrusted us with, and I had horribly and utterly failed just a few hours in. I let a small stream of tears streak down my face for a moment. “Be brave, Rainbow,” I told myself. “They’re strong enough to do it on their own…” At this last statement, I thought of my friends without me: Fluttershy with nopony to protect her, Pinkie Pie with nopony to help her prank the innocent citizens of Ponyville, Applejack with nopony outside her family to help her do the hard work around the farm, and— Suddenly, the grip around my waist was released. Suddenly, I was falling. I did as any Pegasus would do and spread my wings, trying to steady myself in the midst of falling. I caught a breeze that carried me a little ways, and that helped reduce the pressure around my wings and let me flap them with ease. I turned my head to see what caused the Druddigon to drop me, and found it locked in midair combat with a Hydreigon, as I’d heard them called. The Hydreigon must’ve attacked it and caused it to set me free. I gave a silent thank-you to Celestia and that Hydreigon that I was free, and continued soaring and looking for my friends. But instead of my friends, all I found was fighting. Hydreigon and Druddigon were tearing each other apart everywhere, and blood was staining the charred grass. The fires all around were dying down, given that there wasn’t much else left to burn and no one was trying to keep them alive anymore. As the smoke cleared, I saw my friends and Sera along the dirt path on which I’d set Rarity. Upon seeing this, I smacked a hoof to my face in frustration. Of course they would be smart enough to go where the fire wouldn’t burn! I had thought of that when I put Rarity down, didn’t I? Why didn’t it occur to me when I’d done that? Ignoring my frustration, I zipped down to see my friends immediately. Pinkie Pie saw me first and started waving, stopping only to nudge the others and point to me. I guessed that they’d been looking for me, and felt a wave of appreciation wash over me. It hadn’t crossed my mind that, while I was looking for them, they would be looking for me. It only seemed natural. “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity’s voice was the first I was able to hear above the noise of the fighting. “We’ve finally found you!” “More like she found us!” Pinkie Pie corrected her. “What happened to you?” Fluttershy asked. I looked down at my fur, which had been dyed a smoky blue from my venture through the ashy black clouds. “I was looking for you guys!” “Really?” Pinkie Pie inquired. “Because we were looking for you!” “Yeah, I kinda gathered that,” I told her. “While this reunion is quite touching,” Sera began, “I’m afraid that if we don’t get out of here soon, we’ll be destroyed along with the rest of the town.” “Right,” Twilight agreed. “Let’s move on!” And with Twilight’s command, we fled Nuvema Town as fast as possible, heading through the slightly wooded Route 1 to reach our next destination.
Chapter 1There I was, flying higher than anyone else had ever flown before. I could hear the crowd below chanting my name: “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!” If you’ve never had a crowd chanting your name before, let me tell you, it’s pretty sweet. It’s almost like it pumps extra adrenaline through your veins, pushing your mind to make the rest of your body strain to soar higher, fly faster, be better, and be everything. It’s like you’re everything and everywhere at once. It’s the best feeling in the world. Just at the tip of my left hoof, which was stretched out in front of me, I could see the light of a sonic rainboom forming. It began to glow and crackle like lightning, sending shivers up my spine and— “R-Rainbow Dash?” Suddenly, everything was growing fuzzy. I was falling back from the potential sonic rainboom, as if, against the beat of my wings, I was being dragged back down to earth. The air was being sucked out from beneath me, but I refused to back down. I flapped my wings harder, but to no avail. All around, there was— “Rainbow Dash? Are…are you awake?” I yawned, stretching my wings. So it had just been a dream, after all…I shook my head, spreading the mane that had become plastered to my head and neck briefly into the sky, and then felt it as it gently floated back down to its proper place. Well, not that it really had a proper place. I mean, I’m not like Rarity—gotta have every single hair in its perfect position—but I kinda like my mane where it is. And by that, I mean on my head. Honestly, can you imagine having your mane on your feet? That would suck. Anyway, back to what I was doing. A lot of ponies, once they stretch after a nice afternoon nap, would be pretty pleasant to be around. I, on the other hoof, was not. “Fluttershy,” I groaned, thrusting my head back into the clouds, “why do you have to come wake me up? What is it this time?” “I-I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash,” she stammered. “Twilight sent me to come get you.” This, I knew, was important. If Twilight wanted me for something that wasn’t really important, she wouldn’t have sent somepony looking for me. She would have looked for me herself, and if she hadn’t found me, she would have been on her way. This had to be something important, but I was still left questioning. Was this nerd-important, save-Equestria-important, or save-the-world-important? I really, and I mean, REALLY, hoped it wasn’t the first one. I hated when Twilight got us in on her nerd-stuff. Honestly, it’s not like any of the rest of us understood what she was talking about. In my opinion, she should have Celestia send her some other eggheads and they could all work on it together. I bet some of the others—like Pinkie Pie—would worry the eggheads would replace us, but I wouldn’t be concerned. I mean, how could an egghead possibly be as amazing as me? No one could replace me with an egghead! I looked at Fluttershy, who seemed to have noticed I had been lost in thought. “Well, what are we just standing here for?” I asked her. “Let’s get going!” Today, Cloudsdale seemed to have drifted not far from Twilight’s library-turned-home. That was one thing I always liked about Cloudsdale. It was a mystery, always drifting around in the sky, but at the same time, it was home to the pegasi simply because, well, not only were we the only ones who could walk on it, but we were the only race that seemed to always know its approximate location. No matter where it floated to, we knew where it was without trying. Some ponies speculated that it was some sort of magic within us, but I wasn’t sure about that. Actually, to be totally honest, I didn’t care about that. It was cool, and that was all I was concerned about. I looked down at Fluttershy, who was flying a little lower than I was. “What do you think she wants?” I called out over the rushing of air that came every time we struggled against the air currents. It made flying harder, but I enjoyed a challenge such as this. I wasn’t so sure about Fluttershy, though. She seemed to be having a hard time keeping up. “I don’t know, Rainbow Dash,” she called out, her soft voice barely audible over the wind. “M-maybe it’s another dragon?” I let the wind carry me back, so I could keep pace with Fluttershy. “I’m not so sure it’s a dragon. We haven’t seen any smoke yet.” Fluttershy didn’t have enough time to respond to what I’d said, because right as I said it, we arrived at Twilight’s house…or library…or whatever you’d call it. We floated down gracefully, and I felt a touch of jealousy well up inside me that Fluttershy could always land with more grace that I could. I knew she wasn’t a great flier, but after she’d grown up, it seemed all the movements and maneuvers she could actually manage without falling were more graceful than mine. Sure, there was a part of me—and that part was pretty large—that was happy for her, but I couldn’t help the envy that came from the fact that I couldn’t do quite what she could. Oh, well. Maybe I’d get it down with some practice. As soon as our hooves touched the welcome mat in front of Twilight’s housebrary, Spike thrust the door open with a look or urgency plastering his face. “C’mon!” he shouted, attempting to drag me by my hoof, “Twilight’s been waiting on you two! You’re late!” “Spike,” came Twilight’s voice from somewhere in the house, “it’s alright. Let them come in on their own.” Despite her attempt to keep cool, I could hear a note of urgency in her voice. Looking over at Fluttershy, I could see she’d heard it too, and was beginning to get nervous. Some ponies would have tried to think of something to console her, but that wasn’t really my style. I just tried to give her a reassuring glance and continued on my way, making sure she was with me. Inside, Twilight looked like a nervous wreck—but not a total nervous wreck; I’d seen worse during that whole Smarty Pants incident—Rarity and Applejack were trying to comfort her, which didn’t look like it was working, and Pinkie was blabbering on about…something. To be honest with you guys, I try to tune that pony out whenever we’re not pranking together. “So,” I began, making sure I had Twilight’s attention before continuing, “what’s up?” Twilight didn’t respond, so Rarity spoke up in her place. “We’ve been summoned to Canterlot, dear.” “On urgent business!” Pinkie Pie finished. “Like what?” I asked. “That’s just it, sugarcube. We don’t exactly know,” Applejack explained. “The Princess did mention that a new evil has arisen, though. I reckon we’re the only ones who can face it.” “Then what’s wrong with her?” I couldn’t help but question, pointing my hoof at Twilight. “Oh, that’s easy,” Pinkie Pie began. “This is something Celestia’s never been up against, and so she’s worried that if Celestia can’t do it, we can’t.” “Oh, is that all?” I couldn’t help but smile. “We can do it, piece of cake!” “Rainbow…” I stopped and made sure to pay attention, given that this was the first time Twilight had spoken since we’d entered her house. “You don’t even know what it is. How do you know we’re any match for it?” I laughed. I couldn’t stop myself. “Are you crazy, pony?” I chuckled. “We’ve got the Elements of Harmony! Who could possibly stop us?” This seemed to cheer Twilight up, given that she turned her head to me and smiled. “Thanks, Rainbow.” “Anytime, Twilight,” I beamed. “Alright, girls,” Twilight announced, the vigor in her voice rising anew and the light returning to her eyes, “go back and pack your things. Meet back here as soon as you can.” Why she would call us here from our houses and then send us back to our houses to get things, I’ll never understand, but at any rate, I left the library and returned to Cloudsdale. Back in Cloudsdale, I packed up everything that I’d need to face an enemy and provisions to last me a while. I packed a little extra, knowing that Rarity would probably pack too many outfits and accessories and not leave much room for food. She may not be my favorite pony, but she’s my friend, and friends look out for each other. After all meeting back at Twilight’s house, we caught the next train to Canterlot. We rode in silence for the bulk of the trip, the lack of noise unnerving me. I know I’m not the most talkative pony, but I don’t like being around others and no one saying anything. I began to fidget, but before I had reached my limit, we arrived in Canterlot. Waiting at the train station were a couple of guards I recognized as Celestia’s personal assistants from my few trips to Canterlot Castle and the visits the Princess had made to Ponyville. “Come with us,” the one on the left said. Twilight began to look nervous again, and I could imagine why. What evil was so bad that, this time, we couldn’t even enter the castle on our own? I didn’t know, but I didn’t let my fear show. In Canterlot Castle, we saw Princess Celestia awaiting our presence from atop her throne. Once we were within her sight, we bowed before her to show our respect. “Rise, my loyal subjects,” the Princess addressed us. “There are grave matters before us.” “Like what, Princess?” Twilight asked, it seemed without being able to stop herself. “War.” At this, a collective gasp arose from out group. Equestria was a peaceful nation—nopony alive had known a time of war here or anywhere near here. We had the proper defenses and such, but quite honestly, Equestria was emotionally unprepared. As if reading our minds, Celestia began to explain. “The war is not within Equestria or its realms”—at this, you could practically hear all of us sigh—“but it is in a faraway land known as Unova. It is home to strange creatures, but they are creatures that have asked for our help, and so help them we must. They have found themselves found in a war led by their two beloved princes, who started quarreling as brothers do, but, well, evolved it into something different, if you’ll pardon the pun.” I don’t think any of us caught the pun, but we nodded in understanding and let the princess continue. “I cannot depart to help them myself, given that Equestria still needs tending to and the people do not yet trust my sister as they once did. We have talked about it and came to the decision that you six, with your harmonious friendship, would be perfect for the job.” “We accept, Your Majesty,” Twilight spoke for us all. “Where are the Elements of Harmony?” “Elements of Harmony?” Celestia questioned. “Did I forget to mention that the Elements are useless to you in this realm?” “Yeah, kinda,” I uttered, earning myself a glare from my companions. Not like I cared. Celestia, despite the looks the other ponies were giving me, smiled and explained. “This is a new world. While they need your help in learning the magic of friendship, the Elements of Harmony are useless. However, there are creatures there that would be willing to share their power with you, if only you asked. Now, is everypony ready?” Twilight looked at all of us before redirecting her attention to the Princess. “Yes, Your Majesty. We are ready.” With that, the Princess’ horn began to glow. The last thing I saw before tumbling into the darkness was the Princess, wings outstretched and horn giving off light like I’d never seen.
Chapter 2“Did everypony make it through okay?” I didn’t want to open my eyes. My head was throbbing like I’d walked into a door, and then proceeded to have a boulder dropped on it. Any effort it took to open my eyes only made the pain worse. I wanted to lie here, let it rest, and just come back to consciousness later. “It looks like it, though half of ‘em look like they’re unconscious.” Surely everypony would do fine without me after…after what, exactly? What had just happened? I couldn’t remember, which triggered a need to know. Groaning while trying to bear the pain, I opened my eyes, finding the agony to be less than what I expected. In fact, blinking in the sunlight, I realized the pain began to ease away. Twilight and Applejack turned my way. “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight exclaimed, “You’re awake!” I just nodded and put a hoof to my head, still in too much pain to respond. At least it was ebbing. It was a bit too much to bear as it was. All I could really do was watch as the ponies around me came to; Pinkie Pie had been awake before me, but Fluttershy and Rarity seemed to be in just as much pain as I was when they came back to the realm of the living. By the time Fluttershy was feebly flapping her wings, almost just as if to see if they still worked, I felt fully recovered. “So what is this place?” I felt bold enough to ask. As I asked, I took it in. The autumn trees, the small brick houses…it looked like fall in Ye Olde Equestria. Like, around when Equestria was a small budding country. All around us, there were…things…staring at us strangely. These “things” had to be the oddest sight I’d ever seen! They stood on two legs, as if incapable of the more efficient quadrupedal motion, and their bodies were devoid of fur, save for their manes. They were peculiar…and kind of ugly, to tell the truth. Funny that they’d stare at us like we were the oddities. We exchanged glances, nodding at Applejack, who approached a female-looking thing. “Pardon me, ma’am,” she began, “we were just, er, passin’ through and—“ “They’ve come!” the thing screeched. “They’ve come and they speak!” “What in tarnation…” Applejack muttered. We all looked at each other, but before anypony could say anything, we heard a rustling from the bushes behind us. The rustling grew louder and louder, signaling that the thing was coming closer—hopefully different from the “things” here in this village—and, as the creature came ever closer, Fluttershy let out a little squeak and hid behind Pinkie Pie, who happened to be the closest pony to her. Normally, I would have rolled my eyes at such a display of cowardice, even if it came from one of my dearest friends, but this time, I understood what she felt. I had already seen enough weird stuff to make me homesick for Equestria, and whatever came out of this bush was likely to be yet something else we were unfamiliar with. And boy, was I right. This…absurdity (since we’ve already used “thing” for the two-legged freaks) had a light brown body, with stubby little black legs—three pairs of them, like an insect, but this was bigger—and smoky white fur that covered the upper half of its body and draped one side of its face. Spreading out from its body were five horns, which for some reason or another reminded me of the rays that spread out from the sun and made me think of Princess Celestia. Its eyes were sky-blue, almost like my fur, and its face was black. Fluttershy, unable to help herself, approached the creature. “Hello, little one,” she greeted it. “What are you?” “A Larvesta,” the thing responded. “M’ name’s Sera. I need to get you all outta here and into Professor Juniper’s lab quick, before things get ugly! Follow me!” We were all so in awe that the thing—I mean, Sera—was able to speak that we stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, until it—I mean, she—spouted fire from her top horn angrily and shouted “C’mon now! We haven’t got all day!” Hurriedly, we galloped after Sera as she led us to the tallest building in the small village. She beckoned to one of us to knock, and I, unable to stand the curiosity welling up inside me, flew up and did exactly so. Almost immediately after I did, a plump thing with a short mane on its face motioned for us to come inside. I looked to the others, unsure of whether to trust this guy or not, and found the rest of them were looking to Twilight for guidance. Twilight shrugged and said “How do we know he’s not the one who sent an SOS to the princess if we don’t at least try?” What she said made sense, but I still didn’t like it, so, begrudgingly, I went inside. Inside the hut—or shack, or whatever you want to call it, these little shelters of stone and straw were not houses—were a cozy little fireplace and a cauldron bubbling above it. There was little furniture, save for a bed and a couple of tables here and there. The professor sat near the fire place, where he beckoned us to draw nearer. Thinking back to what Twilight said, I did, but not close enough that he could reach out and touch me. It took a while for me to notice, but Fluttershy was hiding behind me, cowering down so that he couldn’t see her. “So you are the saviors Celestia sent, are ye?” “I suppose so, sir,” Twilight answered for us. “Can you tell us what is going on here?” “That I can, oh that I can,” the professor chuckled. He peered around to see where Fluttershy was, and when he saw her frightened expression, he smiled in sorrow. “I suppose none of you have ever seen a human before?” He took our collective silence as a yes. “But that has nothin’ to do with the tale of what’s happened to the land we know as Unova…You see, we’ve always had a king, and his firstborn son is typically the one who rules the kingdom once he retires. The king rules with Kyurem, the great dragon Pokemon, by his side, and Kyurem is passed from ruler to ruler as time goes on. This time, the queen bore twin sons, and the king stated upon his decline from the throne that he wanted his sons to share it and make their decisions together. They did for the longest, until now…” “What’s happening now?” Pinkie Pie questioned. “Some spat over truth and ideals. Kyurem split into two separate dragons, Reshiram and Zekrom, and those dragons are tearing apart our fair country. “ “First of all,” I began, “what’s a Pokemon?” “Pokemon are things like this little Larvesta here. They come in all shapes and sizes and—“ “Sera,” Fluttershy spoke up. “Pardon me, missy?” the professor questioned, looking quite puzzled. “H-her name is Sera,” Fluttershy murmured, stepping further and further away from the man in front of us. “Ah! And how would you know that, pray tell?” “Well, to be quite frank,” Rarity responded, “she told us.” “Oh, of course!” the professor exclaimed. “Celestia must’ve given you the gift of tongues upon entry to this world!” “That seems likely. Alright,” Twilight responded, nodding as she took in this information, “what can we do to help?” “That, I’m not so sure about, my little pony,” Juniper downheartedly replied. “My only hope is that you can show these brothers that fightin’ isn’t all that life is about, and bring them closer together.” My mind immediately jumped to the time we defeated that monster inside Princess Luna—Nightmare Moon—and brought her closer to Celestia because of it. The two sisters were inseparable now, and I liked to think back on it with pride that we, the manifestations of the Elements of Harmony, did that. We saved Equestria for the first time in a long string of victories. Maybe, just maybe, we could save Unova too. “One thing I have to warn you about though,” Juniper started to say, “is that you can’t face these Pokemon or any others head-on. I don’t know if they’d obey you like they would a trainer, given that you’re not human and all, and even with magic, you’re unfairly outmatched. These beasts can summon the forces of nature at a mere whim. It takes you time to conjure a spell, yes?” “Yes,” Twilight answered half-heartedly, as the rest of us could see the despair on her face that came with not being able to use her magic. “But don’t you worry none,” Juniper went on, “most of ‘em are friendly, and won’t mind partnerin’ up with you all for a little adventure, especially if it’s to save their home.” “That’s good,” Fluttershy half-spoke, half-whispered. “At least we won’t have to worry about any of them attacking us, right?” “I wish,” the professor answered, “Pokemon are very sensitive creatures, and with all the turmoil, some will have gone mad with sheer hopelessness. It’s best to keep some with you, just in case. Sera, why don’t you go with them?” This confused me. “If you can’t understand her, then how in Equestr—I mean, Unova—can she understand you?” “That,” the professor said, “is a very good question. It seems that Pokemon are able to understand the meaning of what we say based on tone and inflection, and thus determine the subject of the sentence and respond accordingly. Now, Sera, would you consider joining our Ponyvillian friends?” “You bet!” Sera shouted, accidentally letting some of her flame spout into the air. She blushed, and then settled back on the rug where she had been. “I hope that was a yes?” the professor asked, turning to us. “It was,” Rarity told him. It dawned on me that she was being uncharacteristically quiet. I looked around to see if I could spot the reason, and within a few moments, I was pretty sure I had it: the filth. All around us, this cabin was messy and dirty. I lifted a hoof off the ground and looked at the grime on it before deciding I would just hover and keep myself from having to deal with this. Poor Rarity. I was tolerating this better than she was, but I was the one with the power to get off of it. Suddenly, she shot me a dirty look, which I assume was at first because I was flying while she was not and I knew she wanted to right about me, but when I looked down, I was able to see that I was blowing dust around. My face grew a little warm with embarrassment, and I settled back down on the musty floor. “Well,” the professor started with a note of curiosity in his voice, most likely at the little exchange between Rarity and myself,”you would probably be best if you headed out now. The more time that’s wasted, the more time the war has to grow worse. “ Twilight opened her mouth to say something—probably that we would do what he said—but I stopped her. “Does anypony else smell smoke?” I asked. “Now that you mention it…” Rarity began to say, but trailed off. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” whimpered Fluttershy, “o-or a dragon…” “This is no time to cower, girls,” Twilight declared, using her leader voice. “We need to go outside and face this!” But yet, as the door swayed open, I don’t think even Twilight was prepared for the destruction we witnessed outside.
Chapter 3As the door swung open, all we could see outside was a blazing inferno devouring houses and possessions right before our very eyes. It seemed like, every time I blinked, something new had been lit ablaze. This was no accidental fire. This was a full-blown arson, and it was sobering. We didn’t have such deeds in Equestria. Who would be so callous as to do this? “Nuvema Town will bow to King Bertram!” All at once, we swiveled our heads to discover the source of the voice. The source appeared to be a dragon of some kind, with deep blue scales. Crimson spikes jutted from its body—all across its limbs and down its tail—with a matching crimson color coating the scales of its head. It had no teeth, but it did have a nice substitute. Its maw had overhanging spikes where the scales were overlapping unevenly, and all over, you could see where that pattern was reflected across its body. There were some areas where the scales would pile on top of each other and mound to a point, and others were scales merely stuck out to create jagged edges. Down its belly, olive-shaded diamond scales protected its soft spot, leaving us without a lead on where to attack it to let it know what it was up against. Or so I thought, until I saw the cruel light in its amber eyes. This was not a dragon to be reckoned with. This was a dragon to run from. Which is exactly what I did. Until I heard Rarity’s scream, that is. I turned around in midair, looking behind me and searching through the smoke to find where my friend could be. Before long, just following the sound of her wailing, I found her entrapped by a ring of flame. I zoomed down as fast as I could to rescue her, grabbing her just before her mane would catch fire. Before long, I realized that this was the easy part. Finding where I could put her down was harder than imagined. By now, the fire had spread down from the houses and burned the grass surrounding them. Before long, the whole town would be one giant burning inferno of death. I had to stop it, I just had to. Finally, I caught sight of what I was looking for: a dirt road. Fire wouldn’t burn dirt. I began to set Rarity down gently, before she cringed. I didn’t want to put her down somewhere she didn’t want to be, but really, what choice did we have? “What is it now?” I asked, making no attempt to hide the annoyance in my voice. “Rainbow Dash, darling,” Rarity replied, “is there anywhere less dirty where you could place me? If there’s not, that’s okay, but—“ “There’s not,” I interrupted, and promptly set her down before taking flight once again to see if I could find any of my other friends. It was hard to really see anything past the smoke, save for little peeks of bright orange flame here and there. I flew for what seemed like forever, trying to beat the smoke that was stinging my eyes away with my wings. In some ways, it helped, but at other moments, it felt futile. I tried to fly higher to avoid the smoke altogether, but that didn’t help. The higher I went, the harder it was for me to see what was below. If I were to try and find my friends, I would have to fly lower—possibly into the smoke itself. I had been trying to avoid it, but the longer I stayed airborne without any sight of the rest of the gang, the more worried I became. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I dove in. Diving in the middle of a large cloud of billowing smoke was probably not the best idea I’ve ever had, in hindsight. The smoke now not only stung my eyes but burned my lungs. I struggled not to breathe, but I couldn’t stop the coughing fit that came. I tried my best to fly in these poor conditions, but each cough sent a spasm that wracked my body and made it harder to flap my wings for just a second—long enough to put me dangerously close to the fire. I knew that if I didn’t get some oxygen soon, I wouldn’t make it. But I was determined; I would find my friends—even if I suffocated in the process. Suddenly, something gripped me around my waist. I would have struggled, but I felt too feeble from lack of oxygen; I was helpless to do anything but let whatever this was carry me away. Soon enough, it had pulled me out of the smoke. I gasped, panting, breathing in fresh air for what felt like the first time in my life. For those of you who think air is overrated, try standing in smoke for as long as I did. If you don’t pass out, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Air is some of the greatest stuff on earth. Whatever it was that had caught me pulled me close to its face, allowing me to be able to tell you all first-hand that its breath was like rancid meat, and glared at me. I took in its appearance for a second time. This was the dragon that had been burning down the town, and that made me angry. Looking around, I saw my previous statement was wrong. This wasn’t the dragon that’d been setting things ablaze. This was one of dozens that had taken part in the work. I hadn’t noticed them before because they’d been hiding in the smoke, but how they were able to breathe in that while I couldn’t, I didn’t understand. “You,” I snarled, bearing my teeth to show how serious I was, “what have you done with my friends?” “Silence!” the dragon roared. “I will be the one to ask you questions! No one so puny could stand up to the power of a Druddigon!” “Druddigon, huh?” I scoffed. “What kind of a name is that?” It dawned on me after I said this that my captor was most likely no ordinary dragon, but a Pokemon. Instantly recalling the professor’s warning about not facing Pokemon head-on, I regretted my words and wished I’d held my tongue like a smart pony would have. “The name of my species!” the Druddigon bellowed. “And you, you insolent creature, would not be as rude as to insult my heritage, would you?” It punctuated this question with a snarl, glaring at me with nothing but hatred and sheer anticipation of my answer. I could tell by its expression that, if I answered wrong, I would become lunch. “Oh, haha, nope, not me!” I chimed. “Y-you Druddigon are awesome! Rock on!” This was the first time I could remember being seriously afraid for my life. I wanted to save my friends, but I was no help to them if I was dead. I was pretty sure the answer I’d given was the right one, but a gnawing feeling told me that there was no right answer and I would be devoured anyway. “I thought, so pony,” the beast said with a crooked smile. “Now tell me, what are your kind doing in this world? My master would like to know.” He had mentioned a Bertram earlier, and named him as a king. I knew the real king wasn’t involved in the fighting, so I assumed this “Bertram” fellow to be one of his sons. Telling our mission to one of the instigators of the war could have some serious repercussions, so I was stuck on what to do. If I used my usual defiance, I could ruin everything by ending my life, but if I was honest, I could ruin everything by alerting the princes to our purpose. Maybe if I just— “In the name of King Sullivan, we fight!” Hearing this new voice, I spun my head in the direction of its source, finding for myself another oddity. This one appeared to be a three-headed dragon, the top half covered in jet-black feathers, the bottom half in rich blue scales. Each head was surrounded by a collar of feathers that were black on the outer side, and deep lavender underneath, the feathers around the middle head flaring up as it reached the forehead. Running down the sides of its stomach were parallel purple stripes that came together as one at the feathered tail-tip. From its back, it boasted six thin feathered wings, each one flapping in succession to keep it afloat—which was good, seeing as its legless feet seemed to drape uselessly from its body. Its eyes were pitch-black with fuchsia pupils—one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen in my life—but another thing that caught me off guard was that the side heads appeared more as arms, the heads merely taking the place of hands. And this creature was only one of dozens that flew in. “Hydreigon!” the Druddigon holding me shouted. “Abandon mission and return to the master!” “Yes, sir!” came the chorus of replies. One was later than the rest, and normally, I would have laughed at that, but being carried away into the sky and away from my friends was simply too sobering. Here it was, the mission Celestia had entrusted us with, and I had horribly and utterly failed just a few hours in. I let a small stream of tears streak down my face for a moment. “Be brave, Rainbow,” I told myself. “They’re strong enough to do it on their own…” At this last statement, I thought of my friends without me: Fluttershy with nopony to protect her, Pinkie Pie with nopony to help her prank the innocent citizens of Ponyville, Applejack with nopony outside her family to help her do the hard work around the farm, and— Suddenly, the grip around my waist was released. Suddenly, I was falling. I did as any Pegasus would do and spread my wings, trying to steady myself in the midst of falling. I caught a breeze that carried me a little ways, and that helped reduce the pressure around my wings and let me flap them with ease. I turned my head to see what caused the Druddigon to drop me, and found it locked in midair combat with a Hydreigon, as I’d heard them called. The Hydreigon must’ve attacked it and caused it to set me free. I gave a silent thank-you to Celestia and that Hydreigon that I was free, and continued soaring and looking for my friends. But instead of my friends, all I found was fighting. Hydreigon and Druddigon were tearing each other apart everywhere, and blood was staining the charred grass. The fires all around were dying down, given that there wasn’t much else left to burn and no one was trying to keep them alive anymore. As the smoke cleared, I saw my friends and Sera along the dirt path on which I’d set Rarity. Upon seeing this, I smacked a hoof to my face in frustration. Of course they would be smart enough to go where the fire wouldn’t burn! I had thought of that when I put Rarity down, didn’t I? Why didn’t it occur to me when I’d done that? Ignoring my frustration, I zipped down to see my friends immediately. Pinkie Pie saw me first and started waving, stopping only to nudge the others and point to me. I guessed that they’d been looking for me, and felt a wave of appreciation wash over me. It hadn’t crossed my mind that, while I was looking for them, they would be looking for me. It only seemed natural. “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity’s voice was the first I was able to hear above the noise of the fighting. “We’ve finally found you!” “More like she found us!” Pinkie Pie corrected her. “What happened to you?” Fluttershy asked. I looked down at my fur, which had been dyed a smoky blue from my venture through the ashy black clouds. “I was looking for you guys!” “Really?” Pinkie Pie inquired. “Because we were looking for you!” “Yeah, I kinda gathered that,” I told her. “While this reunion is quite touching,” Sera began, “I’m afraid that if we don’t get out of here soon, we’ll be destroyed along with the rest of the town.” “Right,” Twilight agreed. “Let’s move on!” And with Twilight’s command, we fled Nuvema Town as fast as possible, heading through the slightly wooded Route 1 to reach our next destination.
