Kimberly Haleth watched the scenery roll by as she sat by the train’s window. It had been a full day since she left her adopted son back in Canterlot. She really hadn’t wanted to, or at least, wished he could come with her. But she knew he had responsibilities there, not to mention a rather unique love life.
That thought made her chuckle. After leaving Elesa, she was worried he’d never work up the trust or nerve to ask out someone else ever again. And now he had two.
Well, when in Rome…
After wandering around aimlessly for a few weeks, she finally earned enough bits to hire a private investigator. Seth’s exploits were fairly easy to track, that boy did so love to make the headlines of the news.
Rebecca had been much more elusive. While the girl made her presence known when she wanted to, she seemed to be keeping a low key since the shift. She might be scared, confused… It made the Meganium worry. Initially, the investigator returned to her with reports of a street magician, but it turned out to be some rude and arrogant unicorn mare.
A sharp whistle pierced the air as the conductor called out. “Neighagra Falls. Next stop. Neighagra Falls!”
‘This is the place,’ Kim nodded to herself as she looked at a photograph, one of a Braixen with a Starly sitting on her head. And the Braixen was holding a magicians wand.
It wasn’t definitive… but this was the best lead she had so far.
“I just hope you’re here…”
Rebecca Haleth sighed dramatically as she reclined against a tree in the park. It was a pretty nice day, but then, in always seemed to be a nice day in Equestria. Sighing again, she looked up as a small Starly landed on her furry shoulder.
Yeah, there was that too. Getting used to being a Braixen was a pain in the butt. She had set a good deal of things on fire and her psychic powers were still unpredictable sometimes. But she’d seemed to have gotten it under control for the moment.
“So, what’s new around the city?” she asked her feathered partner. “Think we should beat it?”
“Well, it’s one of the more calm places we’ve seen so far,” the Starly replied in a surprisingly deep voice.
“Yeah, that Hollow Shades place was pretty rough,” Becky said as she took her wand out of her tail and twirled it. Her stomach rumbled and she sighed before pulling a coin pouch from her bag.
Unless she could trade wishful thinking for food, they needed some money.
“So, want to try a performance in this town?” the Starly asked. “It’s been a while.”
The Braixen nodded. “Yeah, but I wanted to get a handle on my new abilities before we tried that again. Wouldn’t want to hurt anyone by accident Crowe.”
“I suppose not,” Crowe responded. “So, what’s the plan little lady?”
Well we don’t have any of our old equipment, so I guess we’ll have to improvise,” Becky got to her paws and dusted herself off. “Alright, let’s find a good location and work out a routine.”
“There’s a nice spot in the town square,” Crowe informed her as he moved to perch on her head. “And it’s almost lunch, so I’d say we’ll also get a decent-sized audience.”
“Sweet!” Becky picked up a leaf off of the ground as her wand gave off a crimson glow. She tapped the leaf and it morphed into a black silk tophat. “It’s Showtime!”
“So are we set up?” Becky asked her partner.
“As best we can, it’s not like we have a whole lot to work with,” the Pidove muttered. “So you’re gonna have to work rather hard to impress… or we won’t be eating well… or at all for the foreseeable future.”
“Well, then let’s give the little equine a show!” Becky said as she clapped her paws and flung them up. She fired a volley of weak Flame Bursts up into the sky as they exploded like a fireworks show, her wand glowing as she altered the colour of the flames to make it like a rainbow exploded.
That should get the town’s attention~
Becky stepped out into the light on a small stage she made from pilfered crates. Several ponies and Pokemon had already gathered thanks to her show and she smiled. She adjusted her round glasses and and nodded.
“Hello there everyone!” she said in a confident tone. “Having a good day so far?”
There were some murmurs and nods, but everyone seemed a bit confused as to what the heck was going on. Still, she’d expected that.
“Okay, so who here likes magic?” she asked, waiting for a few inevitable questions. The crowd seemed to be easing up a bit, though she got some more cheers from the Pokémon side of the crowd.
“I thought only unicorns could do magic.” A small earth pony colt who were standing close to the stage asked, curiosity and scepticism clearly visible in his expression. And his statement seemed create some murmur through the crowd as several ponies agreed with him.
“And normally, you’d be right in this world,” the Braixen smiled as she sat on the edge of her stage. “But you know what? I’m gonna show everyone that anyone can use magic. Now, let’s see a show of hands, hooves, whatever you have. Who want’s to see some MAGIC!” And this time, a much larger cheery resonated from the crowd, which was growing every second. The initial explosion of fireworks had attracted the attention of most of the town, and the ground even shook a little as a gigantic grey cave troll stopped at the edge of the crowd.
“Jim see Magic!” He cheered with the rest, his loud voice easily blocking out the rest and even making a few of the ponies close to him cringe at the sudden volume.
“Whoa… big guy is big,” Becky gulped. “Well okay then! Let’s see what we could start with.” She pulled a black and white wand out of her tail and tapped it against her tophat as a bouquet of flowers erupted from the tip of it. “Hmm, no, this is too cliche…” She paced around and then grinned as she held the flowers up and they burst into a swarm of butterflies that spread out over the crowd.
One landed on the nose of a certain Skitty, which evaporated into little sparkles that drifted off with the wind.
The Skitty's eyes widened as the butterfly evaporated, a shrill laughter escaping her throat as she lightly batted after the remains before the winds carried them off. Afterwards a pink blur ran through the crowd, using ponies as stepping stones and getting a few complains before the Skitty landed right in front of the stage. Her eyes were positively sparkling and her smile stretched from ear to ear.
Becky smiled and winked at her as she raised her wand. “Alright, now watch the pretty birdy okay?” She took off her hat as a Starly landed on her shoulder. It leapt inside the hat and she held it up to show the bird, inside it quite clearly. Becky then placed the hat back on her head and tapped it twice, before lifting it off and showing a perfectly empty hat.
A light “oooh” could be heard across the crowd and some light applause started as the ponies stomped their hooves against the ground.
“Where did it go?” The small Skitty asked as she jumped up and down to get a better look at the hat.
“I wonder,” Becky hummed and looked around. She then raised a paw and nodded. “Aha! I know where he went!” She put her hat back on her head and tapped it again. And when she pulled it off and held the hat out, dozens of Starly’s flew from it. A skilled trainer could recognise a well-trained Double Team when they saw it, but to everyone else, a flock of birds was pouring out of a very small hat.
The pegasi and flying Pokémon who were watching from the air, parted as the flock of birds flew past them, and most of the audience on the ground turned to watch the Starly’s as they flew by. The Skitty jumped up and used a nearby unicorn's head as a platform to get a better view, ignoring the rather crass remark her living platform gave her before it tried to shake her off.
***
The Starly’s soon vanished as the original hopped out of the hat and landed on Becky’s shoulder. She took a bow as the audience clapped or stomped their hooves before she put a paw to her forehead, pretending to search.
“For my next trick, can I have a volunteer from the audience?” Before anyone had the time to put their hooves up or shout out, there was another pink blur and suddenly the Skitty was standing on the stage next to the Braixen.
“Oooh, me! Pick me, please!” The Skitty pleaded as she jumped around the performer, the most adorable smile on her face as she begged. Becky giggled and knelt down to look at the Skitty.
“Well aren’t you a little cutie. Wanna tell me and this fabulous audience what your name is?”
“I'm Chii!” She cheered in much louder than what was necessary, her excitement bleeding into her voice.
“Well then Chii,” Becky said and lifted her up. “We’re gonna play a little game. Do you have a Mommy or a Daddy in the audience?”
“Um, I don't have any of those but I have the next best thing.” Chii said after a small pause. “Ethan!” She shouted out across the audience from the top of her lungs. “Ethan, you need to come up here!” It was a few seconds before anything happened at all, but soon a Lopunny could be seen making its way through the audience.
“Excuse me. Sorry, coming through. Hey, watch the ears!” But it did not take long before it reached the stage and joined Becky and Chii there.
“So a big sister then?” Becky giggled and winked at the Lopunny.
“Well, not a sister, but I guess it kinda does look that way.” Ethan smiled while Chii laughed.
“No, Ethan is a guy!” She giggled. “Though he is a very pretty Lopunny. It's not the first time someone had called him a girl.” She made no effort to hide the last part and a small laughter spread out through the audience.
“Aw, I know that, but he looks fun to tease,” Becky giggled and took her wand out. “Okay, so let’s get this trick under way. First, we rinse and repeat the last part,” she scooped the Skitty up in her hat and tapped it as her wand glowed a crimson red. The noise also served to mask her whispers to the Skitty. “Okay Chii, just hold still. You’re gonna feel a little tingle when I teleport you okay? And then you gotta sit still and stay real quiet.”
Up close, Ethan could recognise the aura of magic. Actual magic, like the stuff that unicorns used.
Becky took of her hat and the Skitty was gone as she searched around and then tapped the hat again. But then showed the still-empty hat.
“Hmm, odd. Now, where do you suppose little Chii went off to?”
“I'm not sure, though I'm certain that we will soon figure it out. She dislikes staying silent for too long.” Ethan smiled as he looked around the stage. And a very faint giggling could be heard.
“AHA!” Becky said and took one of Ethan’s ears. She reached inside it and started rummaging around the fur. “Let’s see, nope,” she tossed out an apple. “Not this,” there goes a banana. “What about… this?” She yanked and pulled out an entire potted flower and stared at it. Then she reached in with both arms and soon half her body fell into the fluff, a feat that should be physically impossible. Then she pulled back out holding a Skitty.
“There you are~” Becky giggled and held her up for the audience to see.
“Have fun in there?” Ethan shook his ears to make sure that no dirt or anything remained in there.
“Yeah!” Chii laughed before she wiggled her way out of Becky's grip and dropped down onto the stage.
“Okay then,” Becky said and waved her wand as Ethan’s ears were coated in a magic aura, grooming them and removing any knots and tangles. “Now for my last trick…” She looked around and tapped her hat again. She was kind of winging it at this point, wondering whether to do a normal trick… or something, new.
Yeah… something new~
She raised her wand and swirled it around as she lifted off of the stage, floating above the crowd. A gentle aura washed over them in a rainbow of colours as the ground under their hooves suddenly sprouted into a massive field of flowers!
Levitation and a flower-sprouting spell, that had been hard to pull off. She panted lightly as she landed back on the stage. Okay, so using Psychic powers and magic was not recommended on an empty stomach. The crowd erupted into ‘ooh’s’ and ‘ahh’s’ at the sight, and soon, the flowers vanished almost as quickly as they appeared after that Becky tipped her hat and smiled.
“Thanks for being a great audience and let’s all that Chii and Ethan here for being such great test dummies… I mean, such great assistants!”
The applause and cheering from the audience continued and even intensified slightly as the show was over. Chii bowed slightly to the audience before climbing up Ethan to sit on his head.
Just as soon as they had come, most of the audience dispersed, some of them coming up to the stage and tossing a few bits down near Becky's feet. By the end of it, a small pile had gathered, each pony may not have given that much, but it quickly added up. A few ponies, mostly foals even remained to ask, or rather bombard Becky with various questions.
“Well, I can’t go spilling all my secrets,” Becky chuckled as she scooped the bits with her hat. Oh sweet Arceus, she was going to eat like a Queen later~
“She just makes it up as she goes along,” Crowe chuckled. “Don’t mistake that for her actually having any real talent.”
“Props shouldn’t talk,” Becky poked him and giggled. The little bird really was her best friend. “Tell you kids what, maybe I might do another one before I leave.’
Hearing that got another set of cheers out of the foals as they got the answer they had wanted to hear. And after they had made their goodbyes, they too left to go back to whatever they were doing before the show had started.
“That was fun!” Chii exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. “Your tricks were cool, and the ending beautiful. Though you could combine them a little better.” In the background, another small group of Pokémon was approaching.
“It was indeed interesting.” Ethan agreed as he jumped down from the stage. “She might not look like it, but she is a Contest veteran, so she knows that she is talking about.” He jabbed a paw at Chii who just laughed innocently. “Though you look a little tired, are you okay?” He asked Becky.
“Y-Yeah, just… a little worn out from using… so much… magic…” That was when the Braixen’s world faded to black. Hunger plus magical exhaustion meant one unconscious Pokemon.
“Not again,” Crowe muttered. He looked up at Ethan. “Could ya give me a hand with her?”
“Yeah, we live not far from here so we can take you guys there so she can recover.” He looked back to the group who had now reached them. “Brawly, would you mind carrying her?” He indicated to the unconscious Braixen who were currently being poked by a worried Chii.
“No problem dude.” The Mienshao carefully lifted Becky up. “Whats her name?”
“I don't think she ever said who she was.” Ethan turned to Crowe again. “Is it just the two of you?”
“For now,” Crowe responded. “Her name is Rebecca Cre-” He caught himself and coughed into his wing. Saying her last name might cause unwanted attention. “Just call her Becky. And I am Crowe, her lifelong partner.”
“Okay then Crowe, it's nice to meet you.” Ethan paused and put his paw on Becky's forehead. “It's just exhaustion so she just needs some rest and some proper food once she wakes up.” He pulled his paw back. “That being said, I would like to get her back as soon as possible just to be sure nothing else is wrong with her.”
“As long as your intentions remain pure,” Crowe said with a little bit of bite. “Anything inappropriate and you’ll lose an eye or two.”
Ethan started laughing slightly. “You have nothing to worry about, though it's nice to see that you care about her.” He shook his head, a small smile gracing his features. “No, we have a little place where those that need it are welcome to stay, that includes you and your trainer.”
“Yeah!” Chii puffed herself up slightly. “We help others all the time. But if you try to hurt him, you will regret it.” She tried to look angry, and the little Starly responded in kind, but they soon both received a pat on the head from Ethan instead.
“Calm down you two. Point is that she needs help and we can give it. So, shall we go?” Ethan asked Crowe.
“Yes, and thank you for the assistance,” the bird responded and perched on Brawly’s head so he could keep a close eye on the girl.
When Becky awoke, she instantly saw that she wasn’t in the same place she blacked out. She appeared to be indoors, in some kind of large shed or something, if the high ceiling was an indication. She found herself within a fairly small room, where the walls was made of vines and branches that seemed to grow up from the ground.
She slowly sat up and rubbed her head before her stomach gave a loud growl. “Ugrh, great… I hope no-one stole my bits… And where’s Crowe?”
The Starly in question flew in the second she said that, followed by a Lopunny. Oh, he was that guy from before.
“Bout time you got up,” Crowe said. “Feeling better princess?”
“As soon as I eat, yeah,” she replied. “So where am I?”
“At our home.” Ethan replied as he kneeled down next to Becky. “And it's good that you are feeling better, but you should not get up yet,” he said while gently pushing her back down. “You passed out so we brought you here. And you should get some food into your system before you get up again, unless you want to risk passing out once more.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Becky sighed as her stomach growled again. “I’ll have a large cheeseburger, fries and a tall soda.”
“You’ll eat what you get,” Crowe sighed. “Equestrians are vegetarian remember?”
“I want meeeeeaat~” Becky whined.
“We don't have anypony who sells meat in town I'm afraid.” Ethan told Becky, who seemed a little disappointed at his statement. “And no hunting anywhere near the town either, we have made a little safe haven here, and we would like to keep it that way.” Ethan told Becky with a certain weight, and authority in his voice.
“Hunting?” she said. “What, like fish?”
“I think the rabbit is trying to say that we cannot hunt other Pokémon,” Crowe said. Becky blinked slowly and looked at Ethan like he’d he’d just grown a second head.
“Eat… other… Pokemon!?” the last word coming out as a shriek. “That’s just… ew… ewewewewwwwwwww!!”
Ethan just smiled at that statement. “That rule is mainly targeted towards other wild Pokémon, not former humans like yourself, though it still applies.” He said while taking Becky's temperature with his paw. “Not all of the weaker Pokémon are able to defend themselves, so we made a sort of safe area for them in this town.” He pulled his paw back a smile remaining on his face. “You haven't gotten any worse, so that is good. Would you mind telling me how long it was since you last ate, and how much?” He asked.
“I suppose the last big meal I had was about…”
“Three days,” Crowe answered for her. “After that, our money ran out and we’ve been surviving on what we could scrape together while we searched for her brother.” They’d found out that he might be in Canterlot, but trains were expensive, that that city was apparently almost inaccessible without wings or rails.
“Yeah… so I’m just a tad hungry,” Becky replied as her stomach gurgled. Gods, what she wouldn’t give for a pizza right now.
“That explains a few things.” Ethan mused. “Your situation might not have allowed for any more, but you are a fire type now, and need more nourishment as a result. You burn much more calories than you would when you were a human.” A few clanks and different sounds could be heard from the other room. “Though it sounds like the food should be ready any second now.”
Now that he could get a closer look at her, he realised what kind of shape she was in. Her tail and the thick fur around her ears had a multitude of knots. She looked like she’d used streams to bathe in and her tail had a few leaves stuck in it.
“The move here… has not been easy,” Crowe said quietly. “And she misses her family. This is the longest time she’s gone with any form of contact with them.”
“He doesn’t need to know that,” Rebecca snapped.
“What you choose to tell me is up to you.” Ethan commented he moved towards the door opening. “Though it looks like you have been through more than enough.” He paused as Chii came walking into the room, a large plate of fried vegetables and rice, balanced on her head. “It's not much, but it's better than nothing.” He said as Chii stopped in front of Becky, offering her the food. “And its rich on iron, so it will be good for you in your current condition.”
Becky just drooled a little before she took the plate and went to scarf it down before Crowe stopped her.
“Rebecca Crescent! Manners!”
“Ah…” she blushed a little and nodded. “Right, thank you very much for the food,” she said and then begun to practically inhale it.
“You are welcome.” Chii proudly stated while puffing her chest slightly out. “I hope you like it!”
“Heh, well it looks like you should be fine if your appetite is anything to go by.” Ethan smirked as she watched Becky go to town on the plate of food that she had been handed. “I'll let you finish your meal in peace.” He waved his paw and Chii reluctantly walked back and out of the room. “When you are ready we will be outside, take your time though, there is no hurry,” and with that, he left the room, giving Becky and Crowe some peace.
Once they left, Becky paused just long enough to wave and thank them again before returning to her feeding frenzy. Crowe ruffled his feathers and looked at the cat and the rabbit. They seemed nice enough at least.
“Silver linings hmm?” he mused quietly. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to look around… just in case. “I’ll be back in a little bit alright?” he said to Becky. “And remember to drink your water slowly. I don’t need you choking to death.”
“Yes Mom,” Becky said, her cheeks stuffed with food. She swallowed the lot in a single gulp and belched loudly.
“The sign of a true lady,” Crowe sighed and took off. He had a home to explore and residents to check on.
There were a lot more Pokemon here than he thought there would be. The most interesting being a sweater-clad Zangoose. He remained perched on a high rafter, just watching the group and wondering what they did with themselves.
“S-similar?!” Chii sputtered.. “I am not anything like that stupid featherbrain.” Crowe just caught a look at Chii as she sprinted away from Ethan and over to the other side of the building and climbing up a few neatly stacked boxes there before settling on the top one, glaring at Ethan.
From the looks of it, and the smell, it was meal time for everyone, not just Becky, and the Mienshao that had carried his partner there was in charge of the cooking. Brawly he was pretty sure that one of them had called him. That name sounded familiar… but he couldn’t quite place his wing on it. The fighting-type was finishing up the cooking while the purple sweatered Zangoose was delivering the food to a lot of the Pokémon that was staying there. Now that he had some more time to properly look over the place, he noticed that quite a few of the Pokémon was injured in some way or another. Several of them sporting bandages or something of the like.
Another thing that he noticed, was that there was room with plant walls, just like the one that Becky was staying in at the far end of the building… and that everymon was steering clear from the area around it… interesting.
“Hey, so our guest is up. Do you have everything under control here?” It looked like the Lopunny, Ethan, had snuck up on the Mienshao and grabbed him from behind.
“Yeah, someone has to keep this wave rolling.”
“I know, it's a good thing we have Zoey to take care of that.”
“You wanna play it like that?” The Mienshao broke out of Ethan grip, though it probably did not take that much. Especially since he was a little smaller than what was normal for a Lopunny. But he broke free, pulled Ethan towards himself and... kissed him, quite passionate too. And apparently ignoring the fact that they were in quite the crowded room.
“So, our guest is up?” He asked once they finally separated.
“Yeah, she seems to be doing well.”
“Who is she, anyway?”
“Becky… thought her partner called her Rebecca, Rebecca Crescent, I think.” The Lopunny simply shrugged, though Crowe noticed that Brawly paused for a moment at the mention of his partners name. Crowe’s eyes widened, he’d just blurted it out when he scolded the girl earlier.
’Well, once she’d fed we can make our escape.
“...You don't know who that is?” And once again Ethan simply shrugged. “Man you really need to read more.”
“Hey, I glance over the newspapers every now and again.” The Lopunny huffed, though it only made him look cute. It was quite an amusing sight. “I just don't find them that interesting. Is it important anyway?”
“Nah, not really.” Brawly waved a paw nonchalantly. “You will find it out soon enough anyway.” The answer seemed to be good enough as Ethan let the subject drop there.
He was going to continue to listen in, but stopped when he felt a shiver go up his back along with the feeling that he was being watched back. Crowe quickly scanned the large home, and stopped when he met eyes with Chii, who was glaring daggers right at him from her own little elevated position.
‘She spotted me? Crowe was suitably impressed… and a little creeped out. He drew his wing up to his eye and pulled it down while poking his tongue out at the cat.
Seeing this apparently only infuriated Chii even more as she puffed herself up and stuck her tongue out at him too. She continues to make a series of… nonsensical gestures. And when she failed to bring her point across she threw her paws up with a silent scream and turned away from him in sheer frustration.
And I win that one tiny cat, Crowe smirked at his victory. Well, at least he assumed it was a victory. Well, he’d best make his way back to Becky, lest she get herself into trouble again.
“You know,” A new voice cut in from below. “I hate being the voice of reason but… we are cutting it kinda close you know.” A quick look down revealed that the sweater-clad Zangoose was talking to Ethan and Brawly.
“I know but… are you saying that we should not have done anything?”
“Of course I'm not… it's just… well we barely have enough for the tickets to Canterlot. And this is not really helping.”
“She needed help, and she is our guest.” Ethan said with a serious tone in his voice. “I know that we are in sort of a tight spot, but our doors are always open to those that need it, we agreed on that.”
“I… I know.” The Zangoose sadly sighed.
“Don't worry Zoey.” The rather crude Mienshao put his paw on her shoulder. “Things will work out, they always seem to do:” His words seemed to instill confidence in the female Zangoose who finally smiled.
“I'll talk to the mayor when I get the chance. With everything that we have done around here lately, well. I think I should be able to convince him to give us a bigger budget.” And that seemed to end the little conversation, the three of them sharing a quick hug before going back to their various tasks.
So, they were financially unsupported? Then taking Becky and himself in must already be straining their supplies..
‘Perhaps it’s best if we leave as soon as possible,’ The Starly spread his wings and soared back to his Trainer’s room.
Rebecca Crescent sat in her leafy bed, the plate she’d been given was licked clean and the water jug lay empty. She patted her rounded tummy and burped lightly.
“Mmm, being full feels soo good,” she hummed. “I really should thank that pretty boy rabbit when I see him again.”
Still, she really should watch how much actual magic she expends. And it was a good thing she hadn’t had to explain that. The last one to find out she could cast pony magic had hunted her for three days.
Crowe chose that moment to fly into the room, landing on a perch near her bed.
“We have some good news and bad news,” he said.
“When do we not?” she replied and pulled a leaf out of her tail. “Okay, so spill.”
“Well,” Crowe said abashedly. “I may have dropped your last name by accident. And the Mienshao out there seems to recognise it. So it might not be best to stick around. Especially if he’s a officer or a ranger.”
“Why can’t they just leave Sethy alone,” Rebecca growled. “He never did anything wrong…”
“Yes well, I also overhead they have limited supplies as well,” Crowe added. “We shouldn’t be a burden to these strangers much longer.”
“Figures,” Becky sighed. She went to stand up, before a wave of nausea hit her and she fell back over. “Ohh, that was a bad idea…”
“You seem to be in a hurry.” Appearing in the doorway was the same Mienshao that Crowe had seen earlier. A small smirk gracing his features. “We have someone who are out gathering some berries that will make you feel better, so just relax.”
“Thank you,” Crowe replied. “But we have burdened you long enough. The meal was delicious and we accept that gratefully. Any more would be asking too much.”
“We got a Leafeon that grows the berries himself, so it wouldn't be a hassle.” He shrugged slightly. “But if you want to leave, then you are welcome to do so…” He eyed Becky for a second. “Though your friend don't seem to be well enough to travel, especially if she can't even stand up straight.”
Crowe sighed and nodded his head. “I suppose you have a point. And, about what you said earlier. We won’t be having a problem with that yes?”
The Mienshao paused for a moment, before his grin widened. “Eavesdropping eh? Well, that's fair enough I suppose.” He looked back to Becky. “I never met your brother, but it was impossible to not hear about him. Though I never cared too much about all that jazz anyway, so you don't have anything to worry about.” His face softened and he held out an open paw to her. “Names Brawly, nice to meet ya.”
“Brawly… Brawly…” She mulled the name over as she took his paw. “I’ve heard that name… Ah!” She beamed and looked at him. “The surfing guy from Hoenn!”
“Yeah, that's me.” Brawly laughed. “Small time gym leader, and surfing god.” He continued laughing for a bit as he shook his head. “But as I said, you are among friends here, so you can just relax.”
“I suppose,” Becky giggled. “And, thanks again for this.”
“Now we just need a way to get to Canterlot,” Crowe sighed. “I fear we may be stuck here for the foreseeable future.”
“You guys need to get to Canterlot?” Brawly rubbed the back of his head for a moment. “Well, we are heading out there for that Contest tomorrow, you could just tag along if you want. That's where your brother is at, right?”
“The problem is that we lack a sufficient amount of this world's currency,” Crowe explained. “So even if you are going, we cannot afford to come with you.”
“Perhaps if I did another show or two?” Becky said and went to get up again. Only for another wave of nausea to hit her, along with a splitting headache.
“Yeah, that is not happening today.” Brawly sighed. “Possibly tomorrow… there is no point in traveling to Canterlot if you can't survive the trip there.” The sound of a door opening and closing could easily be heard through the building. “You tried sneaking aboard?”
“Oh please, that was a horrible idea the first time you suggested it for us,” Ethan came into the room. “And it still is… How are you feeling?” He asked, looking back to Becky.
“Like I got kicked by a Rapidash,” she groaned and put a paw to her head. “Magical exhaustion sucks, especially since I’m still getting used to it. Why can’t ponies make their spells easier to use?”
“Brawly, you mind getting some more water?” Ethan asked the former gym leader who nodded and slipped out of the room. Leaving the tree of them alone. “Magic eh? Don't know much about that, not my area of expertise, but you should watch out if it can get this bad.” In his hand he held a big glass that was filled with some kind of liquid that kept changing color. “Don't know if it will help with the magic exhaustion, but it does wonders for a headache.” Whatever the concoction was, it smelled kinda funny. “It's a specially made berry juice, it should speed up your recovery significantly.”
Rebecca looked at the strange liquid and wrinkled her nose. “Yeah… not to sure about taking strange liquids from strange Pokémon…”
“It’ll be fine,” Crowe nodded. “If they were to do anything, they’d have done it by now.”
“I guess,” the Braixen shrugged and pinched her nose as she gulped down the liquid. She coughed and spluttered, shaking her head. “Ahhh, gross!”
“Yeah, it tastes like shit, but it works, we use it regularly around here.” Ethan smirked at her reaction. “So, you guys need to get to Canterlot? Any particular reason?”
Rebecca fell silent for a moment, contemplating if she wanted to tell him.
“Her older brother is there,” Crowe said for her. “He is the only one that we have ever been able to count on and she misses him dearly.”
“Crowe!” Rebecca snapped at him and he shrugged before closing his beak.
“Family, eh? That sounds great, I am sure that he missed you too.” The Lopunny beamed at her. “I got most of my family right here, so I guess I got lucky in that regard. And don't worry about it, I won't tell a soul if you don't want me to. I might be a strange Pokémon, but you are our guest, so you have nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah, thanks,” she mumbled, blushing lightly under her fur. Then she smiled and leaned closer. “Soooo~ What’s up with you and Mr. Brawly? You two seem… close~”
“Its that obvious?” Ethan smiled sheepishly. “Well, he is one of my oldest friends and…” He paused for a moment, but before he could continue a small pink fluff landed besides him.
“And his boyfriend.” She simply blurted out with a sly smile.
“Chii!”
“What? It's true.” Ethan looked like he had a whole bundle of things that he wanted to say, but he just deflated slightly instead.
“And we are together, yeah.” He said, a small blush appearing under his own fur.
“Aaawwwww~” Becky cooed. “That’s adorable. Have you had your first date yet?”
“You are really interested in this? Well, I suppose—” And once again, Ethan found himself cut off.
“Oh, that was awhile back. I mean, it was so obvious to everyone that they liked eachother, but nooo, they had to go and make it complicated for so long before either of them did anything about it. This… Love thing just makes you so stupid it seems like.” Chii made a small surprised sound as she was picked up by Ethan.
“And that's enough of you young lady, out you go.” Ethan deposited the small fluffball outside the room, despite her objections.
“Aww, but I want to talk to the guests… besides, it was all true.”
“I know, that's sort of the problem. You can talk to them later.” He sighed before turning back to Becky, Chii reluctantly walking off behind. “Sorry about that.” He apologised. “She can be a little... well, like that at times.”
“I understand your pain completely,” Crowe said with a long-suffering sigh. “The young miss can be quite the talonful as well. You would not believe the things she tried to pull when Seth was dating Lady Elesa…”
“Well, it is a little sister's job to cause some amount of trouble, now is it not?” He could not help but smile at Crowe's comment.
“Got that right!” Rebecca nodded, already feeling a lot better. She took her wand out of her tail and Ethan noted that rather than a twig, it was an actual magicians wand. She pointed at the water jug on the table and her wand shone with a sparkling crimson hue as she floated the jug over to her.
“Oh hey, that crap actually worked pretty well,” Becky smiled. “Thanks a bunch.”
“No worries.” Ethan smiled back. “All of his creations might taste horrible, but Vernus is one of the better herbalists I know of. Give him a few berries and there is few ailments that he can not cure.” He could not help but note the aura around the jug. And his eyes followed it as Becky levitated it. “I see that you picked up on something new here in Equestria.”
“Yep, I also used it during my performance. The magician finally got real magic.” Becky looked at her wand. “I don’t really know how or why I can do it. I’m hoping Sethy will figure something out.”
“And you mustn’t exert yourself just yet,” Crowe admonished her. “Honestly, you only just got well.”
Becky replied by poking out her tongue, but she still put her wand away regardless. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“I am sure that you will figure it out. With this new world and who knows what else, it's not strange that something like this happens.” He looked between her and Crowe, and a small sigh escaped his lips. “It is good that you got someone to help take care of things… and he is right you know, I would suggest that you keep away from magic from the rest of the day at the very least.” Ethan suggested.
“Yes doctor,” Rebecca whined and then her eyes sparkled. “You know, I bet you’d look good in a doctor’s coat.” Becky smiled and wiggled her eyebrows. “And I know Brawly would just love to play doctor with you~”
Crowe just sighed and slapped his forehead with a wing.
“What makes you think I don't already have a doctor’s coat?” Ethan grinned, though his blush was clearly visible through his fur. Becky squeaked and blushed in kind, not expecting that kind of response.
“You’re both incorrigible,” Crowe groaned.
The train whistled sharply as it pulled into Neighagra Falls station. Kim blinked away the sleep in her eyes and stretched her legs before getting up.
“Well, that certainly took longer than I thought,: she groaned. “I do hope she’s here at least…” After stepping off of the train, she winced at the change in light before her eyes adjusted to her surroundings.
“The main problem… is where to start,” she said as she picked a direction and started walking.