On a grassy hill just outside of Ponyville, seven friends had gathered for a cozy picnic. Included among their number were one alicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn named Rarity, the baby dragon Spike, two pegasi named Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and finally two earth ponies called Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
Today’s picnic was a special one, because it was the first real get together since Twilight’s coronation. They had met several times since then of course, but it had always been in a rush or official business since she had appointed her friends as official advisers. Today however was a day just to be together as friends.
As Twilight set up the picnic blanket, Fluttershy went to work arranging the snacks and sandwiches. Rarity was sitting to the side talking to Spike about her latest line of dresses she had designed for her boutique. Judging by the look in the dragon’s eye he was too busy trying to hide his blatant staring to actually hear what she had said. Twilight simply shook her head at her ward’s antics. She looked to the side to see Rainbow and Applejack having a heated discussion on the topic of apple cider of all things. The only one she didn’t see was Pinkie Pie. Naturally the moment that thought occurred to her a wall of pink appeared and quickly attached itself to her in a giant hug.
“Twilight! You’re here! This is super duperific fantasmagoriclly awesome! We’ve all missed you so much!”
Having received similar greetings from the pink pony many times before she took the hug stoically and calmly.
“Gah Pinkie! I told you to stop doing that you’re going to give somepony a heart attack!”
All the friends gathered just laughed at the cute scene, and at Twilight’s naivety. Telling Pinkie Pie not to give hugs was like telling Fluttershy to kick a cat. It wasn’t happening.
Soon though everyone gathered around the spread blanket and prepared to dig into the wonderful treats. There was numerous types of baked goods from Sugar Cube Corner such as cupcakes, muffins, and cake of all kinds. Applejack of course brought some left over apple cider and some fritters. While Spike had prepared the main course of daffodil sandwiches. It was a veritable feast and everyone helped themselves to as much as they could.
Naturally, small talk started to break out among the friends as each finished their lunch. The usual topics were brought up early and quickly discussed. These ranged from Rarity’s fashion line to the latest antics of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and how Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash could possibly steer their sisters towards their obvious talents without stinting the crusaders creativity and personalities. Fluttershy had recently found an abandoned bear cub and was trying to talk Mr. and Mrs. Bear into adopting it. Pretty standard fare for the seven friends.
After a decent half hour the big topic finally came up in the discussion. Twilight’s new life as a princess of Equestria. Of course everyone had wanted to bring up the topic, but none of them had found a decent way to broach the topic without seeming rude. Twilight herself was having a good enough time that she didn’t think to bring it up. Pinkie Pie used her keen sense of conversation honed from years of parties and trying to make everybody smile to pick her moment. After Rainbow Dash finished describing her attempts to teach Scootaloo how to fly; a pleasant lull in the conversation occurred. This was the moment.
“So Twilight have you decided on the members of the royal harem yet? I know a bunch of mares and stallions who now how to have a super fun time!”
Twilight promptly spit out the cider she was drinking in surprise. “What are you talking about Pinkie!Z? There is no royal harem!”
Rainbow Dash decided to get in on the joke. “How do you know that Twilight? Did you ask Princess Celestia about your job perks or did she tell you herself?”
“Wait just an apple pickin minute there! Where do tha two of ya get off talkin to Twilight that way? I realize it’s a joke but that left a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m pretty sure the rest of us feel the same!”
Twilight, Rarity, and Spike all confirmed this to be the case. Twilight’s analytical mind however wouldn’t let this misconception stand. Even if it was a joke. So she promptly informed her friends that the practice of the royal harem had been discontinued shortly after Princess Luna’s banishment. One of Nightmare Moon’s favorite pastimes was making random citizens fight to the death to serve in her harem. After her banishment the populace came to see Celestia’s harem in the same light so she disbanded it and banned the practice forever more.
“Girls!”
“That is why I know there is no harem Rainbow, and I’d appreciate it if we discussed something else. For instance, Celestia’s been teaching me the tax code so that I can take over the finance department. I've already developed 235 new ideas I’d love to implement!”
“Girls!”
“Did any of you hear something perchance? I could have sworn I heard something.” The fashionista stated primly.
All those present shook their heads in the negative. They went back to their prior discussion. Applejack and Rarity were the most interested in this topic being business owners, and any changes to the financial system could have large impact on their way of life. Pinkie Pie didn’t have any part of Sugar Cube Corner’s finances and Rainbow Dash was technically a civil servant as captain of the weather team so neither of them really had much to contribute, but it was important to their friend so they did what they could to contribute to the exchange.
“Girls!”
This time everyone heard the familiar voice of Fluttershy trying to grab their attention. The only problem was they didn’t see Fluttershy. As each of them was about to start a search, a nearby bush started shaking violently, and everyone rushed to the spot they all knew their most skittish member would be. There they found Fluttershy in a cowering pose with both front hooves over her face and shaking fiercely.
“What in tarnation’s tha matter Shy? You look like ya just seen a graveyard full of ghosts tryin ta play keep away the hand!”
Ignoring everyone now staring at her; the cowpony laid down and put her hooves around Fluttershy hoping the tactile contact might help calm the pegasus. After a couple minutes Fluttershy finally calmed down enough to talk. What she said nearly made her friends groan.
“Uhm… I was eating at the picnic when I thought I heard an animal in the trees. I went to investigate thinking he might be hurt. Oh my… I didn’t see any animal, but I saw a creature I’ve never seen before.”
Everyone was waiting for a description when it slowly dawned on them the scared pegasus had finished talking. Applejack took a deep breath to hold in her frustration. She had a lot of experience dealing with Fluttershy, and knew that if she didn’t handle this properly it might be hours before her friend opened back up to finish talking. Unfortunately Rainbow Dash lacked both patience and understanding.
“Come on Fluttershy Just tell us what you saw already so we can kick its flank!”
As expected this just made the Fluttershy start shaking again. Thankfully at this point Twilight strode forward and laid directly in front of her terrified friend. Everypony else got the message and all joined in circling Fluttershy both to give support and a much needed sense of safety. After a couple moments she slowly stopped quivering and started to breath normally.
Everyone waited for the aptly named pony to continue with Applejack and Twilight giving Rainbow withering glares to indicate what would happen in case of another outburst. Fluttershy meanwhile finally got back to a normal breathing pattern and started to elaborate.
“I only saw the creatures face, but that was scary enough. I uhm know this is hard to believe, but he was in the middle of some kind of window in the air. When I saw that I got scared and jumped in the bush. When I looked back it was gone. From what I could see it looked like… well uhm… it looked just like one of the creatures in the books Lyra’s always trying to give to everypony! It was a bit distant but I know I distinctly heard him speak. I heard it mention matching atmospheres and something about a field test. I know it’s hard but you have to believe me! It might be coming back we need to leave now!”
Needless to say Fluttershy’s revelation left everypony stunned and speechless. Even Rainbow and Pinkie couldn’t think of anything to say. While listening they had both thought Fluttershy must be playing a prank, but the terror on her face was far too real. The seven friends all kept a vigil and joined their friend in the bush as each of them tried to recover their wits. Even in their addled state each of them knew the group had a long track record of ironic statements, and had no desire to be caught unaware should Fluttershy’s last sentence summon the mysterious being.
As the minutes passed however the hysteria slowly ebbed. Twilight was the first to regain reason, and as usual immediately took charge.
“Alright girls here is what we’re going to do. First we need more info so Applejack take Fluttershy and find Lyra. If this is the same species as the ones in her books her information could be invaluable. Make sure you contain her enthusiasm though, because the last thing we need is a panicking Ponyville."
"Next Rarity I want you to stay here with the shield spell I taught you at the ready. We do not know if this creature is hostile, but I’m not taking any chances.”
At this point she realized everypony was staring at her like she’d grown a second horn. Her analytical mind however was completely blank as to what could have caused this reaction. Rainbow Dash, with her usual bluntness, soon put this conundrum to rest.
“Are you out of your mind Twilight? An unknown creature shows up, scares Fluttershy to the point of speechlessness, and you want to conduct research?! We should be grabbing the elements or something! Not standing here!”
The other elements and Spike all showed varying degrees of agreement. Twilight knew from experience she had to explain quickly or some of her more hot headed friends might try something incredibly brash.
“Rainbow this is Fluttershy we’re talking about. The pony who once got so terrified of her own shadow she didn’t come out of her house for three days. We have no way of knowing this creatures intentions until we see it again for ourselves. Secondly how many times are we going to charge in blindly with no information whatsoever? Nightmare Moon was a fairy tale, Discord and Sombra were forgotten by history until their return, and until the invasion we didn’t know changelings existed. I for one am sick and tired of fighting battles with no knowledge of what’s going on."
"As I was about to say before being interrupted, Rarity will wait with a shield spell while me and you will hide on one of the clouds overhead. I recently learned a spell to enhance our senses so we should be able to remain up there while still being able to see and hear the creature when it returns. Are there any questions?”
Rarity spoke up “While I can certainly understand your plan, may I ask why I’m so near the creature? You said we didn’t know its intention yes, but if it is hostile I’d much rather be farther away than this.”
Twilight elaborated patiently “Rarity I want you this close because you have the best eye for detail, and I’m hoping you may be able to recreate the creatures face for when we report to Celestia.”
No one could find any fault with this logic so they all went about their assigned tasks. Applejack and Fluttershy went to go get Lyra, Rarity made herself a hiding spot in the bushes so she could observe the creature without being seen in return, and Twilight and Rainbow carefully positioned their cloud for the same reason. It was about twenty minutes later when Applejack and Fluttershy returned. Lyra wasn’t with them, but from the bulging saddlebags each wore she must have given them a full library shelf’s worth of books.
Applejack quickly confirmed this. “Woo-e I ain’t never asking that girl about nothing ever again you hear me Twi? After Flutters described the creature she went off on a mile a minute tangent of which I understood nothing. Then she started weighing us down with all these books saying she would love ta come, but she’s meeting Bon-Bon for lunch. I swear it was worse than Rainbow Dash the time the Daring Do author came by for a book signing. Anyways these are the books you wanted.”
So saying she simply undid the buckle on her bag and let the bags fall off her back. Fluttershy followed suit beside her. All the friends gathered round as Twilight picked up the first book she could reach. On the cover the words Humans: A Brief Overview was written. Opening the book she read the first paragraph out loud
The species known as human is in many ways our equals and our opposites. They have no magic to speak of, but their technology and science rival and sometimes dwarf anything our magic has done. They are much more varied in their temperament and beliefs than ponies. I mean to say that ponies value harmony and friendship above all other concerns while humans have as many motivations as there are stars. They have waged wars with casualties that eclipse the population of Equestria, but they have also been known to drop any and all things and rush to another’s aid. Entire countries have been given food and shelter by men asking nothing in return. Their greatest gift to us however was simple. They left us as our benevolent Princesses asked them. Our rulers asked themselves if we were ready for the responsibility of the human knowledge. And they decided we were not.
Before any of them had time to let that information sink in light started up behind them. As they turned they could see a line of light about a meter and a half long shining in the air about two meters off the ground. No one needed to be told what was going on they simply rushed to their agreed positions as planned. As they took their hiding places the beam of light started extending towards the ground never dimming as it went. Twilight had just enough time to cast her sensory enhancement spell on her and Rainbow before the light finally hit the ground.
The moment it hit the ground the light turned off and they could see the creature fully. The creature was bipedal and stood about a half foot under the top of the window. None of them were sure why but they all got the impression it was male. He was wearing pants and a long white coat. His face had no fur but he had a gray mane cut fairly short and close to his head.
For about a minute he simply stood there, but finally he brought a metal box close to his face and spoke clearly. “This is Professor Oak initiating stage two testing. The atmosphere appears completely comparable with our own. I haven’t seen anything living, but that may be due to the frightening manner of my arrival. I have breathed the air for approximately a minute and a half with no apparent side effects. I will now take testing to the next level by stepping into the foreign plane.”
Putting action to words he took one step forward and stopped. He repeated the process as before waiting about a minute before speaking into the box and confirming he was still intact. Afterword he did something that completely dumbfounded all seven others present. He grabbed a small red and white ball of his belt and tossed it in the air. Almost immediately the ball opened and a beam of red emerged from inside. After a moment the red beam dissipated and in its place was a small orange being that looked fairly similar in shape and height to Spike.
The new creature was orange in the back and face with a lighter undercarriage. It stood on two legs with two arms that ended in claws. The thing that drew the most attention was the flame burning on the end of its tail. The creature looked around and seemed frightened at the unfamiliar area until it saw the human and immediately seemed to relax, and even went and wrapped its arms around the humans’ legs.
The two didn’t know it but the heartfelt display is what started the change in their observers’ mindset. No creature that inspired such emotion could be evil. Twilight gave Rarity a signal to be ready with her shield, and then flew off the cloud she was on descending towards the two.
She landed about two meters in front and announced her presence. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle and I am co-ruler of the lands you now stand upon. Please state your intentions.”
The professor gaped open mouth for a minute before he regained his composure. He took out the metal box again but instead of bringing it to his mouth he simply pressed and held a button on the side. Once he was sure the button on his voice recorder was firmly pressed he spoke to the almost certainly legendary Pokémon.
“I am Professor Oak, one of the world’s leading Pokémon researchers. I have come to this dimension in order to see if it was compatible with human and Pokémon life. We are experiencing a population boom, and I fear our needs will soon outstrip our supply. So I had hoped to move part of our population here to alleviate the demand. I insure you princess I did not realize this planet was inhabited and I mean no harm.”
While she may not be Applejack something about his words left her convinced of his good intentions. So she wiggled her left wing which was the agreed on signal for all clear. Slowly her friends came and stood by her side in a show of solidarity (with Fluttershy hiding behind Applejack.)
When all her friends were with her she formed her response. “I believe you mean no harm, but I need to ask questions before we discuss anything more. First what are these Pokémon you keep mentioning? Secondly how dire is the situation? Lastly, for now, how did you summon the creature beside you from seeming nowhere?!”
The six beside her recognized the emphasis put on that last question as the tone she took whenever Pinkie broke the laws of physics again. The professor had better have a decent explanation or they could have a much worse situation on their hands.
The professor took a deep breath in order to gather his thoughts. The knowledge that the princess was not a Pokémon, and the emergence of the new ponies and what looked like a scaly charmander had thrown him for a loop. When he finally reordered his thoughts he proceeded to answer the questions.
“Pokémon are a group of species found throughout my planet. This charmander here is one such species. As a researcher, I do all that I can to study and understand the many Pokémon throughout our world. In the region where I live we have 150 species of Pokémon, but there are areas with hundreds more."
"We have a good couple decades before the situation becomes untenable, but I would much rather deal with the problem now than later when it may be too late. To your last question, I summoned him from his pokeball. This machine allows humans to capture Pokémon and store them in digital form as energy."
"I imagine your next logical question is going to be why do humans need to capture Pokémon. Well there are a variety of reasons. Some like me want to study them and the portability of the pokeball is immensely beneficial. After all there are Pokémon like snorlax approaching 900 lbs. There are some who live with Pokémon like pets and don’t use a pokeball at all. Finally there are Pokémon trainers who collect and compete against one another using Pokémon in sanctioned battles. Once captured, a bond is formed between the human and Pokémon. I know that might be a difficult concept to understand, but I don’t know how to put it any better without sounding like a college lecture.”
Applejack and Fluttershy both spoke up at once with Fluttershy naturally submitting the right to Applejack. “That’s monstrous! You take innocent creatures and force them to fight!? How can ya live with yerselves?”
Twilight surprised everyone with her response. “Applejack I understand your’ reasoning, but you must remember this is a different universe with different rules than our own. Not to mention, no creature would follow someone they didn’t trust completely. So while we may find it barbaric, the Pokémon themselves logically must support the system. Besides who here would like to try and force a 900 pound being to do something against their will? Not to mention didn’t you yourself raise Wynona to bark at timberwolves?”
“I just don’t understand it, and I don’t want to be a part of a slavery operation! This is ju” she never got to finish her sentence because the charmander was now hugging her.
It didn’t say anything, just hugged her. After a minute he stepped back and shook his head firmly in the negative. It walked back to the professor and pointed at the country mare and said quite firmly “Charmander char char Charmander Char!”
The professor might not understand the Pokémon language but he had studied them enough to know what it wanted. He took charmander’s pokeball off his belt and walked up to the very confused apple mare. He took her hoof in his and placed the ball in the middle. Then walked back to his lab to get the gear the brand new trainer was going to need.
No pony could do or say anything. What could they say? Applejack stood there staring at the ball on her hoof like Discord was about to jump out of it. Charmander merely stood there beaming at its new owner. The silence continued all the way until the professor returned. In his hands where a small red metal box, a belt with five pokeballs, and a giant can of something nopony recognized.
He walked back to applejack and placed the items at her hooves. He chuckled a bit at her blank expression and started to elaborate on what they were. “Congratulations on becoming this world’s first trainer Miss Applejack. These are the standard gear rewarded to all new trainers. This red device is called a pokedex. It has information on every known species of Pokémon. You’ve already seen what the pokeballs are so I don’t need to explain that. This can is food for charmander. Part of this test was supposed to be seeing if the local vegetation could feed Pokémon, but I think I’d rather be on the safe side for now."
"I don’t usually say this but I think you’re going to be an excellent trainer. For charmander to demand I give you his Pokeball he must see something truly amazing.”
Applejack answer was as beautiful as it was elegant. “What?”
Seeing her friend was floundering Rarity stepped forth “I believe what Applejack is trying to say is what do you mean by giving her these things? You call her a trainer, but she said not five minutes before she would never take part in what she considers a barbaric practice.”
Professor Oak didn’t need time to answer that one. “I guess that was poor wording on my part. As well as my job as a researcher it is also my pleasure to help new trainers starting on their journey across the region to train and battle Pokémon. In addition to what you just received they are given their choice between three Pokémon to start with. Either charmander, squirtle, or a bulbasoar, and I guess I just automatically fell in to that mindset by habit. Whatever you choose to do just know that charmander will be by your side.”
Applejack couldn’t do more than nod and simply patted the grass by her hoof. Charmander got the message and took his place still beaming the whole time like he’d been crowned king of the planet. Applejack picked up her new Pokedex and opened it. At first she had no idea how to operate it. There weren't even any buttons for Pete’s sake! Next she tried moving the thing around to see if it might start by motion. When she moved it in front of charmander the screen erupted with a picture of it and a voice spoke mechanically.
Charmander: The lizard Pokémon
Obviously prefers hot places. When it rains, steam is said to spout from the tip of its tail.
Applejack was so surprised by the disembodied voice she nearly dropped the pokedex. The rest of the group was naturally just as shocked. Rainbow was the worst however getting on her hind legs in a boxing pose threatening bodily harm to the apparent ghost.
The professor was laughing too hard to explain what was going on; so charmander stepped up to the plate. He simply walked in front of applejack and gestured to the device repeatedly until even Rainbow got the message. When everypony had calmed down, and the professor had stopped his laughing, Twilight gathered enough wits to ask what was on everypony’s mind.
“How did that box just speak to us? I mean, I’ve seen movies in theaters and on a projector, but they are huge compared to the box! Not to mention it somehow knew that we wanted info on charmander! What kind of magic did you use? As a magic scholar, such knowledge could benefit us greatly.”
The professor seemed as stunned as the seven had been just moments before. “Magic!? You can use magic?! That’s incredible! I thought technology was amazing, but true magic?! How does that work? Is it internally powered or external? Could you please demonstrate something magic for me?”
Everyone was starting to get whiplash from how often they were being shocked. Twilight forcibly stopped herself from freaking out thinking about a world without magic. She simply lit up her horn, and pointed it at Applejack’s hat. It then burst into a beautiful blue bonnet, but she changed it back quickly so Applejack did not get too upset with her. When finished, Twilight merely looked back at the Professor with a satisfied look.
After a couple moments the professor closed his gaping mouth, and gave a wide grin. “Well princess it seems to me we both have much to contribute to each other. I don’t mean simply Pokémon either. If we combined our technology with your magic there is no end to the possibilities. For now however perhaps it is best we part ways. I purpose we meet here tomorrow at the same time, and I can give you a much better idea of our world. Perhaps I’ll even manage to prove to Miss Applejack that Pokémon battles are loved by the Pokémon as much as their trainers. What do you say Princess? Oh by the way before I forget the pokedex is voice controlled. Simply tell it what you want and it will do it if possible.”
Twilight was too mind boggled to do more than nod in agreement. The seven watched as the professor walked back into the window, and it closed behind him. Turning to the others she tried to formulate something coherent to say, but it was futile.
Applejack however had a question she needed answered. Something the professor had said bothered her to no end, and there was only on being there capable of answering it. Turning to charmander she said quietly “If you could, would you want to fight other Pokémon?”
Charmander’s response was an emphatic head nodding, and a dramatic pose that would have done Rarity proud. “Charmander Char! Char char charmander!”
Applejack nodded her head with a sigh and gave him a hug. “I’m sorry if ah sounded like a ninny. It just don’t make no sense to me; wanting to fight somepony, but that don’t mean its evil. Ah may not know what the hay I’m doin as a trainer, but if yer willin I’d like to try.”
The others watching all let out a dawwww in comic unison. By silent agreement each headed home to prepare for the coming day. Twilight meanwhile pondered how the hay was she supposed to explain all this to Celestia and Luna!
Author's Note
Wow this was hard to write. I tried to keep everyone in character and I don't think I succeeded. When I started this there where three lessons from my first two stories in the back of my mind.
1. slow down and give some fluff. Not every sentence has to be exiting action.
2. take my time and actually write what I want to write, not what I can shovel out before my adhd kicks in and I get bored
3. try not to be so completly reliant on dialogue. I'm not sure I succeded at this, but I don't think you can have a decent first contact without alot of dialogue so I'll let you guys decide.
I hope you all like the story
