//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Pokémon: X-traordinary // by Speven Dillberg //------------------------------// Chapter 3 I’m boooooooooooored. “Daph, come on. It’s only been three days.” It was now the the third day of their confinement, and the noonday sun hung overhead outside of their habitat. Xavier could understand the logic. This way, if either party got sick, it couldn’t spread. If the natives caught anything from them, they could observe and develop a cure. Alternatively, if he or his team got sick, then they’d have a cure and he wouldn’t have to worry about it in the future. The only thing they’d caught so far was cabin fever. Being stuck in this dome was starting to get on their nerves. Xavier hadn’t realised just how much he valued being able to walk wherever he wanted. Still, he was sure that Razor had it worse. Three days too many, the Delphox sulked. How much longer do they need to keep this up? “You heard what Gabby said. A few more days.” Ugh. Daphne flopped down onto the small bed. “If you’re that bored, go fight Luca or something,” Xavier suggested, feeling a little fed up with her attitude. Fine, she grumbled. She didn’t move, though. “Do you know where Gabby is?” Probably talking with that freaky Rapidash-thing, she replied. “Thanks,” he said, stepping out of the room. He couldn’t but be a little amazed that, despite everything being built of crystals, they were still able to have privacy. For some reason the walls were all cloudy and opaque. Also, strangely enough, it was warm. He knew he shouldn’t be complaining, but on one side of their quarantine dome he could see snow. The other, green grass, those buildings made of crystal and ‘ponies’. That was the other thing he found odd. Gabriel had been eager to share with him and the rest of the team everything their princess had told them, and the idea of a perfectly warm, habitable city surrounded by enough snow to make a Mamoswine weep was just odd. As far as he was aware, it would take a team of over a hundred Castforms to accomplish the same feat back home. But because he couldn’t see what was responsible didn’t mean that there wasn’t a large number of the natives responsible. Master? Gabrielle’s voice said suddenly, echoing inside his head. “Gabby?” he asked, forgetting that she wouldn’t be able to hear him. The princess wishes to speak with you. She doesn’t seem to believe everything I say, and wants to hear your answers. Xavier frowned at her tone. Something about it put him on edge, as though she was being threatened, or was very angry and barely holding onto her composure. Things had a habit of getting broken when that happened. “I’m here,” he called out, stepping out of the building he and his team had been given. He could see Gabrielle and the princess, Cadenza, standing on opposite sides of the barrier. The princess seemed to be wearing a passive expression, but Gabrielle looked furious. To the casual observer it was impossible to tell, but Xavier had been around her for years. A slightly creased brow, a set jaw, slightly clenched fists, and a slight, almost indistinguishable purple glow around her eyes were all signs of hate and anger. “Oh boy…” He had seen what she could do, and it was not pretty. Thank you, Gabrielle replied, still managing to maintain some semblance of calm. Princess, here he is. “So, how are we going to do this?” the man asked. I know you don’t like doing this, Master, but it’s the only way. “Really?” She won’t trust us if I relay things, she wants to hear your words from you and you alone, the Gardevoir explained. She was very adamant about that. “Fine.” Xavier gulped and braced himself. “Do it.” He winced as Gabrielle pulled him into the conversation. It felt like a chunk of his brain getting pulled out through his ear, and the shock left his vision blurry, and destroyed his balance. Master! Gabrielle shouted, catching him as he stumbled. I… I’m okay. That always leaves me disorientated, he mumbled, waving her off. He managed to look up at the pony princess. A… a pleasure to meet you, your highness. I’m not sure I can say the same to you, she replied cautiously. Talking with Gabrielle has been… enlightening, but some of the things she has told me are rather... disturbing. Oh? Xavier asked. Indeed. the princess said, her eyes narrowing slightly at him. For instance, the widespread and institutionalization of slavery among your people. The what!? Xavier exploded. Slavery!? How dare you!? You don’t know a single damn thing about where I come from! The princess stepped back, not expecting such a hateful outburst. Well I - Would you call your husband a slave for loving you? Gabrielle asked, her expression actually twisting into a sneer. Or your friends, for caring about you? You constantly refer to him as ‘Master’, you said that he has capsules he can use to imprison you, you said that he enters tournaments and has you fight in his place! Cadenza shot back. And you say that this behaviour is applauded where you are from! Excuse me for coming to the obvious conclusion! Dammit, Gabby, I keep telling you not to call me that, Xavier replied, facepalming. I mean it as a bit of fun, Mas - er, Xavier, she replied, catching herself. Her slavehood is so deeply ingrained in her that she cannot help but call you master, Cadenza said, snorting angrily. And you say that you do not practice slavery? Xavier took a deep breath, trying to find the best way to argue this. You don’t know a single thing about my world. How would you like it if I said you brainwashed this entire city so you could rule over it? I would call it a baseless accusation pulled from thin air without any evidence to back it up, Cadenza replied. Whereas I have facts told to me from Gabrielle’s own ‘mouth’. Xavier growled. Okay, that had gone nowhere. Gabby, get Daphne out here. And the rest of the team, too. Are you sure about this? she asked. When Xavier nodded, she sighed. A moment later, the door to their accommodations flew open, revealing an incredibly furious Daphne. HOW DARE YOU!? she screamed, snarling and growling with murderous rage as waves of intense heat burnt the grass she stepped on. SLAVES!? YOU KNOW NOTHING! NOTHING ABOUT US! IF I WANTED IT WOULD TAKE BUT AN INSTANT TO REDUCE HIM TO ASH! T-t-then why do you stay with him? Cadenza stammered, backing away as the Delphox got right next to the barrier. BECAUSE HE IS MY FAMILY, YOU IMPUDENT BITCH! Daphne screamed, spitting fire at her. Do you really think I could control her? Xavier asked. Or any of them? he added as the rest of his team appeared, each one looking murderous. Luca in particular looked ready to tear out someone’s throat. Luca could disembowel me with a punch. Amp could and has electrocuted me. Blaster could take me underwater and let me drown, or stuff my head into one of his cannons and let me suffocate. Razor could rip me to shreds with his talons. And Gabby could shatter my mind into a trillion pieces and leave me brain-dead. And yet... they don’t, Cadenza said quietly and then nodded towards Gabrielle. And the amount of love she has for you... she trailed off for a moment and shook her head. I must seek counsel... wait here. The mare then hurried away, looking quite concerned. Either things are better now, or we dug our graves, Xavier thought darkly. Then we’ll dig ourselves out, Gabrielle replied. Slaves!? Daphne yelled, still literally fuming. Lunchtime was usually a very quiet affair in the castle, the two Royal Sisters eating in a private dining room where they weren’t to be disturbed. However, exceptions were made for those bringing matters of state to their attention. Princess Celestia looked down at such a letter she’d just received and let out a sigh. Cadance, for all of her virtues, was still rather young... and it appeared rather rash as well. Apparently, she had yet to learn one of the most important lessons of being a Princess; things were hardly ever what they appeared to be on the surface especially when it came to meeting new cultures. In these cases it was usually better to err on the side of caution instead of jumping to conclusions, despite the apparent evidence to back up your conclusion. Cadance had severely insulted Xavier and his friends who were now understandably angry and the Princess of Love was floundering. “You know, it does sound very similar to slavery,” Luna, who was sitting beside her, said cautiously. “It is not wholly unreasonable that Cadance jumped to the conclusion she did,” she added, placing her fork into her mouth as she finished off her slice of cake. “True,” Celestia admitted, “especially given what the Crystal Ponies suffered under Sombra. Still, she acted without full knowledge of the situation and now we have half a dozen alien beings who reportedly possess a variety of very potent abilities infuriated at her,” she continued, shaking her head. Luna simply nodded. “What are we to do, sister?” the midnight alicorn asked. “Well, as I see it, we have several options,” Celestia answered. “One of us can go ourselves, most likely you as there are still unfortunately few attendees to Night Court and I am, as usual, fully booked,” she began. “Indeed, it is most disheartening,” Luna agreed, lowering her head to look at the floor a bit. Celestia leaned over and gave her sister a gentle nuzzle. “Give it time Lulu,” she said softly before pulling back and continuing her list. “We could also send Twilight, after all, she has no formal duties as of yet aside from fixing up our old castle,” Celestia continued. “But that is hardly a proper solution,” Luna interjected. “After all, if Cadance has had problems dealing with these aliens, then dear Twilight will as well. Most likely more so really.” Celestia nodded. “I know, I was not done sister,” she stated, a soft smile on her lips. Luna rolled her eyes heavenward but motioned for her to continue without comment. “The last option, the one which I feel would be best is if both you and Twilight go together,” Celestia stated. “That way, you will temper each others’ flaws. After all, you are still adjusting to the way we do things now, and Twilight will most likely prove to be far too enthusiastic to handle the situation in the way that is necessary.” “I see the logic behind that,” Luna said, nodding her head slightly. “And to be honest sister, it would be nice to see Twilight on an occasion where we need not worry about the world collapsing around us should she fail to complete a task.” “I had thought you’d enjoy it for that reason as well,” Celestia agreed, giving her sister a smile. “In truth, so would I... it has been far too long since she and I simply talked without matters of great importance weighing on our minds.” “I shall go locate Twilight, then,” the younger said, flapping her wings to remove any stiffness. With a pop! the Princess of the Moon appeared in front of Twilight’s home, Ponyville’s library. She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, though, at the unusual amount of noise coming from the tree-slash-building. “Out! Out! If you come back here again I’ll have you arrested!” There was a second voice, much quieter and almost impossible to make out. Luna raised an eyebrow when a maroon stallion popped into existence outside the front door, his mouth open in mid-speech. From a glance she could see he was wearing a finely-tailored suit and that he was impeccably groomed. Twilight poked her head out the door. “Any sort of political boot-licking is banned within this library!” she yelled. “But - ” was all the stallion could say before his mouth disappeared. “You’ll get that back in a few hours. Maybe by then you’ll have something intelligent to say!” With that, Twilight slammed the door so hard the branches rattled. Luna rolled her eyes and walked up to the door, ignoring the panicking noble. “Twilight Sparkle?” she asked, knocking politely on the door. “I said stay out!” the other pony yelled angrily through the door. Then the door opened. “P-p-princess Luna!?” Twilight squawked, the purple alicorn’s eyes going wide with shock. “I-I’m so sorry, I thought - ” “You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Twilight,” Luna said calmly. “The amount of self-control is takes to not remove their ability to breathe takes years to build up. How my sister does it, I have no idea,” she added. “Why are you here, Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, stepping aside to let the bigger pony in. “You don’t need to call me ‘Princess’, Twilight. Or do you want me to do the same to you?” Luna asked. “R-right, sorry,” she stammered. “Force of habit.” “No, I understand,” Luna replied, walking into the main room. “Besides, there are more pressing matters at hoof. Have you been in contact with Cadance recently?” “No, not since my brother sent me that letter about the visions.” Twilight’s eyes went open. “Did something happen to her!?” “No, no. Our visions were prophetic in nature, though, and she currently has the beings from that vision in quarantine,” Luna explained. “Diplomatic talks have… hit a snag, I think is the best way to put it.” “Wait, quarantine?” Twilight tilted her head. “What happened?” “Just a precaution,” Luna replied, “In case anything they carried proved harmful. So far, results seem to indicate that those exposed aren’t suffering any adverse effects.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, Cadance made an assumption about their culture, and severely angered them. From what she told us, one of them spat fire at her.” “So… a dragon?” Twilight asked, now more confused. “No, your brother described it as a vulpine counterpart to the Diamond Dogs, with colouration to match. How it can breathe fire, though, is a mystery to us.” “Oh. I can see why that would be a problem. But why are you telling me this?” Twilight asked, realising moments later that it was all she seemed to be doing. “We are hoping to defuse the situation, and we hoped that you would accompany us.” Luna blinked. “Me. Accompany me,” she corrected, scowling at her mistake. “Oh. Oh!” Twilight brightened. “You want me to help?” “That is what I just said, yes,” Luna said cautiously. “You want my help. You want my help!” Twilight squealed and began doing a little dance, jumping from hoof to hoof in glee. “Twilight Sparkle!” Luna shouted commandingly, making the purple alicorn stop. “This is serious! Of the seven beings, six of them are capable of catastrophic amounts of damage. The last appears to be able to control them with nothing more than words. If we do not undo the damage Cadance has done, the Crystal Empire could suffer billions of bits in damage. And that is before we take into consideration the possibility of the loss of life…” Twilight looked down in shame. “S-sorry. Just, the idea of actually doing something substantial instead of dealing with the nobility…” She paused to take a few deep breaths. “We really need to do something to limit their powers.” “That can wait. These alien visitors are much more important at the moment.” “Aliens. As in, not of this world?” When Luna nodded, Twilight began to squeal and dance again. “EEEEEEEEEEEE!” “Urgh…” Luna muttered, her hoof meeting her face.