//------------------------------// // The Night of Wild Weather // Story: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Magic // by Strayan Phoenix //------------------------------// CHAPTER 7 [Sharpedo Bay] A lone figure swam into the shelter of the bay, silhouetted by the piercing evening sun. On the beach, stood two more figures, waiting patiently. "Wigglytuff," the first figure greeted calmly as it approached, "I bring good news". "Good news would be much appreciated at this time, Lapras. Or should I say, 'Marco'?" Wigglytuff nodded with a smirk. "Team Valkyrie has successfully settled in a far away land called 'Equestria', and will begin exploration within the next few weeks," replied Marco. "They made it?" Wigglytuff murmured, "Just last week, one of their supply crates washed up on the beach, and we thought something had happened to them..." "Yes, we were attacked by Sharpedoes en-route, and the cargo was lost, however, we were still able to make landfall without another hitch," said Marco. He noticed Wigglytuff's companion, a small black fox entirely concealed in pitch-black garments, with the exception of its bright blue eyes. "Who's this?" Marco asked. "This is Connor," Wigglytuff answered, "He's the newest addition to the Guild since Team Valkyrie left. He's a Zorua, a very rare Pokémon with the ability to cast illusions, for example changing their appearance to make it seem like they are actually someone else. His ability Illusion is very useful for stealth and reconnaissance, and we have made good use of him to scout out possible treasure spots. I was just showing him this beach, and how his predecessors always used to come here over an evening". "I have heard much about Team Valkyrie and their exploits," Connor spoke up, "To save the world twice over from Darkrai's schemes is a very impressive feat indeed". "What inspired you to become and Explorer then?" Marco asked, "Following in your heroes' footsteps?" "No," Connor shook his head, "I'm interested in making money, and the best way to do that is by searching out hidden treasure troves full of loot. But the only problem is that the troves here are starting to run out. Everyone keeps finding one every day, and I fear there'll be none left by the time I'm ready to make my own explorations". "So we were wondering," Wigglytuff asked, "Would you be willing to take Connor here to Equestria as well? It would be good for us to have more than just one team there". Marco stared at the Zorua, and then sighed, "Fine. We leave tomorrow. I will drop you off at the same location we dropped Team Valkyrie. Once you're there, however, you're on your own. Are you sure about this?" "Connor has proven to be a very capable explorer," Wigglytuff nodded with confidence, "He'll be able to find them, I have no doubt". "Well, if there's one thing you must know before you leave, is that you must bring your own food for the journey," said Marco, "It is a long way away, and will take at least several nights to get there". "I understand," Connor nodded. "Once we leave, we are not turning back. Make sure to alert any family about this, and be ready to leave by lunchtime tomorrow". Marco waved a flipper in goodbye, turned about and swam off. [Equestria] In the aftermath of the Battle of the Dragon's Cave, as it came to be known, the news of Team Valkyrie and their exploit spread across the land like wildfire, and rumours were wildly exaggerated. Some stories told of how Archie survived the equivalent to a nuclear bomb and laughed at it, or how the three Pokémon took on a two hundred foot long, fifty tonne monster of unimaginable power, and not only saved Twilight and her friends, but Equestria's very existence. Whatever the variation, the team had become celebrities overnight, and many media groups flocked to Ponyville to get a first-hand account from the heroes themselves. Very few reporters were even able to locate the illusive group, who were actually camping out in the Dragon's Cave for several weeks, making several trips a day to bring their claim home, safe from potential looters. Not only were they heroes, but instant millionaires as well. The loot gathered from the remains of the dragon's treasure filled up three large vaults, containing in excess of several million bits each. It took them ten trips to transport the entire amount to a new, undisclosed location. The first thing they did was begin construction of their new base of operations, situated along the highway to Canterlot, two kilometres from Ponyville. The new base would feature separate rooms for each of them to stay in, tailored to suit their own personal needs and desires, as well as numerous rooms for guests if the need ever arose. The main hall would be a large circular dome with a twenty meter diameter floor, and would rise five meters into the air at the highest point. This would be orbited by two smaller domes directly across from each other. The dome to the left will be the Operations room, where Team Valkyrie would plan out all future expeditions. The dome on the right was much smaller, and had a ladder which would lead to the underground level. Down there would be the base's accommodation and supply stores, all to be made of reinforced concrete slabs. The construction workers estimated that the entire base would be fully completed in a minimum of three months. For the time being, Team Valkyrie would continue to operate out of Applejack's barn, which was renovated to accommodate them. The gems, jewellery and diamonds Rarity found were making her a fortune, and now she was now able to purchase more expensive material to use in her projects, thus making more money from her fashion store. Several big fashion brands would purchase some of these gems for large sums of money, and Rarity became a flourishing tycoon of business. Some ponies worried that the money would get to her head; however she assured them that she was fully aware that the gems from the cave would run out eventually, and thus was careful not to spend outrageous amounts at a time. Eventually, the hype of the event died down, and life resumed as normal. [Three weeks after the Dragon's Cave event] "Valkyrie, listen up," Zappo addressed his team, "Rainbow Dash has informed me that tonight, they have scheduled a thunderstorm to take place over Ponyville, in order to keep up with the annual quota for rain". CJ and Archie looked at each other, then back at Zappo. "What does this have to do with us?" asked CJ. "Rainbow has asked us to help with the clean-up duty," Zappo explained, "They're pruning back the trees so that there isn't so much debris flying about, but they're still worried that some of the trees might become dislodged and fall over, endangering lives and creating a mess". "So, we're doing the job of a Rescue Team, then?" CJ raised an eyebrow. "They're going to need all the extra muscle they can get," Zappo answered. "I don't like the sound of this," Archie shifted uncomfortably, "rain doesn't mix well with me. Neither does water in general for that matter". "I have talked to Twilight Sparkle about that," Zappo replied, "And she's promised me that she's working on a magic spell that will keep you dry throughout the entire night". "If you say so..." Archie tilted his head. "The rainstorm is due to start within the next hour. The Pegasi are already gathering up their storm clouds. Let's get going," Zappo beckoned. [Ponyville Library] Approaching the library, Zappo knocked several times on the door. After several seconds, Twilight opened the door. "Is it ready yet?" Zappo asked, getting straight to the point. "Yes, it is!" Twilight eagerly showed them inside, "Everyone, step right over here". Twilight directed Archie to stand in the middle of the foyer as she walked over to her desk, and pulled three objects out of a draw. They were small circular seals, with a bright blue colouration. "These seals will protect the wearers with a magical barrier that dispels all liquids," Twilight explained, "Meaning that even in torrential rain, you won't even feel a single drop. There is one for each of you, considering you'll all be working late shift, and this storm probably won't subside until tomorrow morning. I've designed them to attach to your badges, for simplicity". "That's very thoughtful of you," Archie smiled gratefully as she pinned the seal to his badge. After several seconds, he was surrounded by a bright blue glow, which settled down into a thin barrier that hovered just millimetres from his skin, wings and all, before turning completely transparent altogether. "Let's see if it works," Zappo poured a cup of apple juice from the bottle in his backpack. "It does!" Twilight nodded, "I tested it on Spike shortly before he left for Canterlot". Zappo shrugged and drank the juice down, placing the cup back in his backpack. Twilight handed CJ and Zappo their respective seals, and gestured them towards the door, "I hope you don't overexert yourselves out there. It's hard work to clear up any fallen trees". "Don't worry about a thing," Zappo waved his paw. "Well, if there's nothing further ado, go see Applejack and she'll show you what you have to do. Good luck out there!" Twilight closed the door behind them. "Yo Applejack!" Zappo called out, attracting the pony's attention, "What do we have to do about this 'pruning' business?" "Ah! You fellers come over 'ere and I'll show you!" Applejack gestured towards a tree. "See, what you've gotta do is remove all the small twigs and branches so that way, when the storm hits, they won't snap off and potentially injure somepony," she explained, clambering up the tree. Starting at the lowest branch, she methodically removed every protruding limb and discarded it on the ground. "See? Now you try it," Applejack jumped down. CJ reached up with his vines, snapping them off at a rapid rate, "Like this?" "Yep! You've got the hang of it! I'll start on the trees over in this direction," she walked off. "This isn't so hard," Zappo murmured, dashing up the tree with Quick Attack, "We'll get this done in no time!" "What about all the fallen twigs?" asked Archie. "We'll put them in a pile and burn them later," Zappo said flippantly, "Once the storm is gone, of course". "You know, once we get our base set up and everything, we really should start doing some actual exploring," said CJ, "All we've done so far is hang around Ponyville, and we've long established that there's nothing here". "I was planning that after this storm is over," Zappo tore several twigs off at once, "That we make an expedition out to Everfree Forest. The ponies seem to hold that place with a regard of fear and hostility, so maybe we should check it out for ourselves". "Hmm, yes. Go straight back into the Forest of Perpetual Doom," Archie remarked, "As if taking down a fabled dragon wasn't enough, now we have to clean out all the pests in this place". "It'd be a good chance for some exercise," Zappo jumped out of the tree, "Go out, meet the locals, bash them and we go home". "There's probably lots of lots ruins and stories in there," CJ pondered, "We might rediscover what happened to some wretch that got lost and died, or even discover a hidden treasure horde". "It's probably some Tarzan-esque guy that just lives out there almost thinking he or she is one of them," Archie shrugged, "Living out in the wild for too long can mess with your brain like that". "What on Earth are you three talking about?" Rarity approached them. "Hmm? Oh, we were just talking about going to Everfree Forest in the next couple of days," Zappo replied. "Everfree... what?! Are you guys insane?" Rarity was incredulous, "There are Timberwolves and other goodness-knows-what creatures that could kill you in seconds out there! Nopony in their right mind would go there, and for good reason!" Zappo had an unsettling grin, "And that's exactly why we're going there". "I'm sorry, but... have you gone mad?" Rarity looked perplexed. "Probably," CJ muttered. Rarity just shook her head and walked away, "What are these creatures which we have accepted into our midst...?!" "In all honesty, have you gone mad?" CJ turned to his orange companion, "You're quite eager to go throw yourself into some hellhole just to satisfy your lust for action and battle". "It's good exercise, lots of fresh air, outdoors," Zappo explained, "And we come home knowing that we're still the baddest in the land". "That's it? You have no higher ambitions for the entire time we're in Equestria?" Archie raised an eyebrow. "Well, the exploring and the treasure are nice, too," Zappo admitted, "But it's boring if there's no true action and excitement!" "Team Valkyrie?" a Pegasus flew up to them, "we're all done here and ready to begin the storm. I heard that you're doing the night shift rescue work, correct? Good luck with that". As if on cue, the rain started falling. Archie reflexively flinched as the rain drops struck his nose, but found that they instead struck the magical shield with a soft blue splash, keeping him dry. A shriek drew their attention to Rarity and Applejack, who were still outside. "Oh no! My wonderfully styled mane shall be ruined!" Rarity moaned. "Ya shoulda' hurried up and finished the job already!" Applejack frowned. The rain slowly increased in intensity. "Oh! Ah! Oh!" Rarity jumped about desperately, "It's coming down too fast! Ah! Oh! Oh! Help me!" "Archie, give 'em a hand," Zappo sighed. Archie walked over and held his right wing over Rarity's head, providing shelter. "I thought you of all ponies would be indoors by now," he remarked. "Well, the rain started a little earlier than I anticipated," Rarity said sheepishly. "There's a park table over there she can take shelter under," Applejack pointed out. "Oh, yes please," Rarity breathed a sigh of relief, walking across, "I doubt Archie is going to stand like that for the entire storm". She inspected the table, and stepped back, "Erm no. I'm not hiding under that". "What now?" Applejack huffed. "I prefer not to get my hooves muddy," Rarity pointed at a puddle of sticky mud under the table. "There's no pleasing ya, is there?" Applejack shook her head in frustration, "Everything's gotta be just so". "Well, and how does muddying my hooves serve any purpose?"Rarity scoffed. "You wouldn't know 'useful' if it came up and bit 'ya," Applejack sneered. "That doesn't even make any sense!" Rarity countered. "Does too!" Applejack countered. "Does not!" "Does too!" "Does not!" "Does too!" "Erm, don't you two have more important things to worry about?" Archie tilted his head, still acting as Rarity's umbrella, "Such as getting out of this rain?" "The dragon has a point," Rarity nodded, "What say we go our separate ways before one of us says something she will regret?" "Charizard," Archie muttered under his breath. "I reckon y'all are gonna say something you'll regret first!" Applejack muttered. "On the contrary, I believe it shall most likely be you who says something you'll-" "OI!" Zappo shouted, becoming irritated, "Less bickering, more moving!" "Sure," Applejack shifted tensely, "Y'all just be on your way then". "After you," Rarity gestured. There was a brief pause as the rain continued to pelt down, and finally the two ponies slowly started to pace backwards away from each other. A loud crack of thunder erupted in the distance. Archie suddenly found both ponies clinging tightly to his neck. "A little jumpy this afternoon, are we?" he remarked. "Perhaps we should stick together for now and find some shelter," Rarity shakily offered. "Uh-huh, perhaps we should," Applejack agreed, "And fast". "Twilight's place is just over there," CJ pointed out, "Maybe she'll be happy to offer you a roof for the night". "Whoa nelly," Applejack looked uncertain, "Is inside a tree really the best place to be in a lightning storm?" "Trees don't conduct electricity," said Zappo, "Even if the tree was struck, the only thing that might happen is a brief increase in temperature. A tree that size is too big to be affected too badly". "And you know that... how?" Applejack wasn't convinced. "I'm an Electric Type," Zappo looked at her, "Do you think I know nothing about how my own element works?" "Well, no..." Applejack murmured. "Then shut up. Besides, I can see that she has a lightning rod up on the highest branch," Zappo pointed towards the top of the library, "That's probably magic-sealed and everything, knowing Twilight. Nothing's getting past that". "Applejack! Rarity!" a voice called out, revealing Twilight standing in the doorway, "Come inside girls, quick!" "We are most grateful for your invitation," Rarity walked inside. "Thank ye kindly for yer hospitality," Applejack nodded, following along. "Don't worry about them," Twilight waved at Team Valkyrie, "They'll be fine now. Good night, and good luck!" She closed the door behind her, leaving the Pokémon in the rain. "Boy, I'm grateful that these things work," Archie sighed, "Twilight really knows her stuff". "Still, it's probably not a good idea that we just stand out in the open," CJ beckoned, "Let's go wait under the Town Hall Balcony". As they walked across town, the rain turned into a complete deluge, and it had become quite dark. The wind slowly started increasing, throwing the carelessly discarded twigs and debris everywhere. As it progressively became darker, Zappo's electric cheek spots and tail bolt suddenly started glowing with energy. "Heh, a glow-in-the-dark Raichu," CJ smirked, "I still can't believe you can do that". "It's not my choice," Zappo muttered, "It's an unchangeable fact of my biology. The electricity naturally provides lighting, making me glow. You never see it in broad daylight simply because it's too bright to see. I think I've told you this story before..." A flash of lightning blitzed across the sky with a resounding crack of thunder, striking a tree in the park. The tree briefly caught fire, before being doused by the torrential rain, throwing steam into the air. "You know, this doesn't seem so hard," Zappo murmured, "If a fire starts, it just gets put out straight away anyway". "The danger is when a tree falls over and crushes someone's house," CJ remarked dryly, "That's when you have a problem". Another flash of lightning struck a tall tree near the town outskirts. They watched in shock as the tree made a loud creaking noise and toppled over with a crash, collapsing right onto a house. The roof caved in, and the tree trunk came to rest on the second floor. Several shrieks echoed across town. "CJ, you jinxed it," Zappo frowned, running across to help. "How do we go about this?" asked Archie. "I'll check to make sure everyone inside is alright, and if necessary, evacuate them," Zappo explained as they ran, "I don't think that roof will hold for long. CJ, on me!" A branch had landed right in front of the door, so Zappo had to smash a window to get inside, as the supporting beams groaned loudly under the extra weight. Not hesitating, Zappo simply jumped through the window, followed closely by CJ. The lounge room was empty, however a mare, presumably the family mother, poked her head down from upstairs, looking at him incredulously. He quickly took note of her appearance. She was violet-blue in colouration, with a navy blue mane and emerald green eyes. He noticed her cutie mark, which was some sort of dark blue flower he didn't recognise. "Is everyone in here alright?" he asked. She shook her head desperately, "Everypony's alright, but Lily and Rosemary are trapped up here on the second floor. We can't get them free!" "That's why we're here!" CJ yelled determinedly. Zappo and CJ charged upstairs, assessing the situation. There were two other ponies already up here, a bright green unicorn and a mustard-yellow earth pony, standing around the fallen tree, which had almost completely blocked off the other side of the room. There was a small gap between one end of the tree and the floor, but it was not enough for someone to get through. Two small fillies stood in panic on the other side. The tree had created an almost perfect silhouette in the roof, and rain was pouring in, drenching the wooden beams and weakening them by the second. Zappo reacted quickly, "CJ, wrap your vines around the trunk and climb on top of the tree. Make sure you give yourself plenty of vine to work with". "On it!" CJ did as he was told and slithered to the top of the tree trunk. "Archie! Get in here!" Zappo shouted. The Charizard loitered into view through the hole in the roof. "Grab CJ by the waist and help lift the tree up a bit," Zappo instructed, "We only need a few extra inches of space for these two to get out". Archie complied with the order, his wings pumping under the immense strain of exertion, and after a few seconds, the large tree started moving with a loud groan. The fillies quickly scurried under the new gap and straight to mum. "Archie, just hold it there for a few more seconds. Blue pony, now's your chance!" Zappo pointed at the mare, "Get your family and get out!" "But, what about our house?" the mare asked urgently. "I'm very sorry to say this, but the house is fucked," Zappo replied, "Now move before it all caves in and takes you with it". The walls were making ominous groans as the support beams started failing. "NOW!" Zappo roared. The mare quickly grabbed up her children and dashed for the front door, but when she opened it, she was greeted by a thick mess of branches as leaves, blocking their escape. "Through the window!" Zappo urged. He beckoned them to hurry as the two other ponies with them jumped out the window, one after the other, leaving the mother and her two fillies. "They're only young, they can't jump that high without getting injured by the broken glass," she said worriedly. "Don't complicate things on us," Zappo simply picked up the closest filly, held it out the window and dropped it. It ran straight across towards the yellow pony. "Next one," Zappo picked up the second filly and repeated the process, holding it out the window and dropping it. "Now mum," He urged hurriedly, "This won't hold much longer!" The mare quickly jumped through the window and ran across to where the others were standing. Zappo jumped out through the window last and glanced up at Archie, who was visibly straining under the effort of holding the tree in place. "You can let it go now," Zappo shouted, "Everyone's out safely". Archie sighed in relief as CJ quickly retracted his vines, allowing the tree to fall the last several meters and cleave the entire house in half. After a few tense moments, the two halves tipped over and caved in on the centre, creating a large pile of rubble. The mare stood horrified at what had happened to her home, as her children clung tightly to her legs for warmth and comfort. The two other ponies shook their heads in sadness. The rain picked up in intensity upon another loud thunderclap. Zappo tapped her on the shoulder and beckoned her to follow him. He led them to the Town Hall, where he simply Focus Punched the doors open and motioned for them to enter. "I'm sure the Mayor will understand why we broke into here," he said. CJ placed a vine across the mare's shoulders, "Are you okay, ma'am? What's your name?" The pony sniffed, almost on the brink of crying, "Erm, my name is Delphinia. Thank you for your help, kind sirs. I don't really know what to think right now. This is all so sudden and... surreal". "It's all going to be fine," CJ assured her, "We're happy you made it out alive. That's all that matters right now". He looked at the two other ponies with them. "Are you family or friends?" he asked politely. "We're friends," one of them spoke up, "We were spending the night there to wait the storm out". "Do you have homes here in Ponyville?" he asked. "Yes," they nodded. "Well, I'm giving you two options. You can either wait the storm out here or Archie can guide you home. It's your choice". The ponies briefly looked at each other, then both made determined nods, "We're staying here with Delphy". "Suit yourself," CJ shrugged, "There's not much here you can make yourselves comfortable with, but we're not going anywhere anytime soon either. I think the storm is starting to wind down now". "I think the Pegasi outdid themselves," Zappo frowned, "They'll have questions to answer tomorrow morning for this. Not only was there property destruction, but a family rendered homeless as well because of their handiwork". "They missed out on a weekly drizzle last week," said Delphinia, "Apparently, they wanted to make up for what they missed". "And a bit more," Archie remarked, "After this, they won't need to make it rain for another month or three, at least". The rain and the wind outside slowly reduced in power, the worst of the storm over, but still with enough energy left to potentially cause some damage. "So, what do you do for a living, Delphinia?" CJ tried to make conversation. "I'm a florist," she replied, "I grow flowers in my garden and sell them". "Does that earn good money?" he inquired. "It's enough to get by on," she shrugged, "I can support my kids comfortably. They always come first, no doubt about it. I also have to keep my business going, so as long as I can balance my spending right, I'm fine". "And what about you two?" CJ turned to Delphinia's companions, "Tell us about yourselves". "My name's Felicia," the unicorn replied, "I work as an accountant here in the Town Hall". "Oh? So like, business and administration, sort of thing?" asked Archie. "Pretty much," Felicia nodded. "And what about you?" CJ turned to the earth pony. "I'm Clarity, and I'm a glazier," replied the pony. "What's a 'glazier'?" asked Archie. "I make windows. Basically, it's anything to do with making glass," she replied. "So, we have a florist, a clerk and a glass-maker," Zappo raised an eyebrow, "How on earth did you three meet? You're in completely different fields of work". "We've lived in Ponyville all our lives," Delphinia replied, "It's a pretty close-knit community here. We went to school together and everything. After that, we've stayed in touch as much as possible". "Ah, that makes sense," CJ shrugged, "So, do they always make storms this big, or is this unordinary for them?" "No, this one's not normal at all. It's lucky the town didn't start flooding, or else there would've been even bigger problems," replied Felicia. Nearby, a drainpipe burst with a loud bang, throwing a water spout several metres into the air and creating a small gushing stream. "Well, I stand corrected," Felicia sagged, "It's going to be a long day tomorrow..." A loud crack of lighting struck another tree nearby, startling them. They all watched as the stricken tree slowly tilted over. "Oh no, not again!" Zappo groaned. A rope from a nearby window lashed itself around a branch, dragging the tree towards it instead. The tree fell against the house, with the branch entering the window. "Hang on, that's Twilight's house!" CJ recognised. "Come on, Valkyrie!" Zappo beckoned them, "That tree won't clear itself. Delphinia, you and your family stay here, we won't be long". They quickly ran up to the fallen tree, working a plan for how to move this. "Alright, same as before," said Zappo, "CJ, you use your vines as rope, Archie, you provide the pulling power. I'll be up on a Library branch micromanaging from up there. Let's do it!" "Don't worry, Twilight!" He yelled out, "We've got this". Twilight, Applejack and Rarity poked their heads outside to see Archie and CJ pulling hard to remove the tree. "Almost got it," Zappo stood on a nearby branch, monitoring for safety, "Just a bit more... whoop! Careful now..." The branch suddenly took a blue glow as Rarity lent her magic power to help move the tree, while Applejack pushed on the branch, leaning against the Library for support. The branch was slowly dislodged from the window, and was propped up against the Library. "Thank you very much for that, guys!" Twilight smiled cheerfully. "Just doing our job," Zappo gave a quick salute and jumped out of the tree, "Think nothing of it". "This storm is nearing its end soon. What do you say we retire and call it a night?" asked CJ, "I'm exhausted". "Sounds like a good idea," Archie yawned, "Let's go". Making their way back to the Town Hall, they noticed that Delphinia and her family were all huddled together, trying to find warmth and sleep. "Archie, they'll be freezing cold throughout the night," said Zappo, "Be a lamb and bed down next to them. Your natural body heat will keep them warm". "I didn't know you had a soft side, Zappo," Archie smirked. "They just had their home destroyed," Zappo frowned, "That's not fair on them. Cut them some slack". "Yes, Captain Softy," Archie chuckled, lying down, trying to find a comfortable position on the wooden floor. Eventually, all became silent, save for the soft snores of those asleep, and the drizzling rain outside. [The Next Day] The citizens of Ponyville dragged themselves around like the gravity had intensified overnight as they went to work cleaning up the mess created by last night's storm. The river nearby had ruptured its banks and one half of Ponyville was experiencing minor flooding. Numerous ponies gathered around the Town Hall as the Mayor addressed them, with Team Valkyrie standing off to the side, "Ladies and Gentlecolts, as you can probably see, we had a bit of a disaster last night. The extent of the damage has not yet been fully realised, but it has been estimated that the cost in property damage is more than seven hundred thousand bits. Pegasi Weather Crews have issued formal apologies to all of those affected, particularly to the family of Delphinia Fullbloom, whose house was split in half and destroyed by a falling tree. They have been reprimanded for negligence, and they will be forced to pay the full damage bill, including the reconstruction of Delphinia's house". Her demeanour quickly improved, "Miraculously, nopony was seriously injured last night, thanks to the brave efforts of the Pokémon of Team Valkyrie: Zappo, CJ, and Archie, who were on hand to rescue those trapped inside and evacuate them, shortly before the house collapsed. Their efforts will forever be remembered with high gratitude. Team Leader Zappo, do you have anything to say?" "No," He shook his head, "We were only doing what you asked us to, and we're just glad nobody was injured". "The humble-hero card, I see," the Mayor shrugged, "Nevertheless, Ponyville owes you much for your services last night, and we all wish you success in your future endeavours". "The pleasure is ours," CJ nodded. The crowd cheered for several seconds, and then slowly dispersed to start cleaning. [Later that day] "Zappo," Twilight Sparkle called out as they passed by, "A moment of your time, please?" "What's up?" he asked. "When Spike returned at around lunchtime, he carried a letter from Canterlot, specifically for you," she said. "We're listening," Zappo tilted his head. "The monarchs of Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, have requested your presence. They would not specify why, only that it was of important business," Twilight explained. Team Valkyrie looked at each other. "I guess our trip to Everfree Forest has to be put on hold then," Zappo murmured, "We can't really turn this one down". "Send her a letter saying we're on our way," CJ nodded, "Just point us in the direction of Canterlot". "Just follow the highway, and it will take you straight there. It will take at least several days to get there by foot, but it's worth it. Personally, I'm a little bit jealous," said Twilight, "Very few ponies ever receive the honour of an audience with the Royal Princesses. Do tell me about what happens when you get back, won't you?" "No promises," Zappo smirked, "Come on team. We better get ready to go then". [END OF CHAPTER 7]