The Journey Beyond

by Derpyditzydoobubbles

Chapter 13

A soft breeze ruffled the fur of Riolu as he and Spike made their way to Twilight's library. The day had grown to an even lighter shade, and Riolu's stomach had started to growl.

"Feels like I haven't eaten anything in hours!" Riolu complained as he trudged along.

"That's probably because you haven't, Riolu," Spike spoke as he raised the bag of food he was carrying as a sign of hope. "But do not worry, because as soon we get to Twilight's, we can eat."

"That sounds like a good idea." Riolu said as he hugged his stomach in hunger.

"It sounds like a great idea." Spike corrected playfully.

"If you say so," Riolu grumbled as he looked at his own stomach. "Either way, I hope that weirdo doesn't show up anytime soon again."

"What weirdo?" Spike asked.

"Don't pretend you don't know who I am talking about." Riolu stated.

"Oh, you mean Discord? Don't get so hanged up over him. He's supposed to act like that." Spike said as he opened the bag to check out the contents.

"He's supposed to act like that?!," Riolu snapped. "So what you're saying is, he has to be a jerk? He has to involuntarily act rude?"

"Well, not exactly," Spike said as he closed up the bag and continued walking. "Discord was originally a foe who got turned to stone. From what Twilight has told me, he was first vanquished by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Then he escaped, so Twilight and her friends had to vanquish him. I didn't partake in the beat down, but I tell ya, I would of kicked some serious flank! Anyways, when he got turn to stone a second time, Celestia had the idea to reform him. Therefore, about a year later, she gave the mission of reforming Discord to Fluttershy who, in the end, became best friends with him. So, to answer your question, Yes, he is a jerk, but a reformed one!"

Riolu looked at spike with confusion in his eyes as if he had just seen spike turn himself inside out.

"It seems he has a good history of being…bad." Riolu thought out loud.

"Yes, that is true, but that is over…for now at least. There's no telling what that guy has planned next. Even if the plan is something that he thought up thousands of years ago, it could still be going on today." Spike replied.

"Heh, well, good luck with that." Riolu chuckled.

"What that's supposed to mean?" Spike said as he squinted his eyes to see Twilight's library just a few yards away.

"Well, I'm not going to be here forever, right? I gotta leave sometime." Riolu said calmly.

"Eh, I guess so. Though what about your old world? You still haven't told me how you got here in the first place." Spike replied.

Riolu scratched nervously behind his head. A look of shyness was n his face. Suddenly, he saw himself at the very door of Twilight's library just in time.

"Hey, we better get this food inside the library before it gets cold," Riolu spoke as he snatched the bag from Spike's grip and quickly opened up the door. "Twilight, we're back home!"

Twilight Sparkle looked up from where she sat on the floor and smiled at the site of seeing Spike and Riolu.

"Come on in, guys! I was just inspecting some more details about this statuette." Twilight grinned as she patted the head of the statuette next to her.

"Awesome! What have you found out about it while we were gone, Twilight?" Spike questioned as he and Riolu sat down next to her as well as opening the bag and passing out two hayburgers for each of them.

"Well, for one thing, the statuette is very…old." Twilight grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, it does look a bit old. Anything else?" Spike asked as he took a bite out of one of his hayburgers.

"Umm…it's made out of stone." Twilight mumbled.

"Twilight! Come on! You got to know more than just that." Spike said with a mouth full of food.

"I know that Spike," Twilight sighed as she unraveled one of the wrapping of her hayburger. "It's just that I couldn't find any clues that would help me with this oddity. There are no books whatsoever that have any useful information. Like we stated earlier, this statuette could in fact be other worldly."

Riolu ate in silence as he watched Spike and Twilight talk back in forth about the statuette. The bickering had caused a bit of tension inside him.

"Yeah, but what about the two Alicorns on there that resemble Celestia and Luna? How would you explain that?" Spike questioned softly.

"That still remains a mystery," Twilight mumbled with a mouth full of hayburger. "I still have yet to figure out how it got here, where it came from, who made it, and most importantly, why it exists."

"Why don't we ask Riolu," Spike suggested happily. "Riolu, do you think you have any concept about this statuette? Where it came from, who made it, why it's here, stuff like that."

Riolu sat with a worried glance at Twilight and Spike. He painfully swallowed his food in a single gulp and began to speak.

"Well, I do know that it is…sculpted really professionally." Riolu said.

"Indeed. You know, you may be onto something right there, Riolu," Twilight praised. "This does in fact look like it was carved by a professional. Something with steady hooves, or perhaps claws."

"Hey, you think it's weird on how Riolu showed up around the time this statuette showed up?" Spike questioned as he took a big bite out of his hayburger.

A long and awkward silence followed as Twilight looked at Riolu with a questioning look in her eyes.

"Yeah, that is kind of weird now that you mention it, Spike." Twilight whispered out loud.

Sweat had begun to form around Riolu's forehead. They were getting closer.

"Heh, yeah, that is weird. Quite the coincidence, huh?" Riolu chuckled.

Twilight looked at Riolu with a serious gaze as if she were looking deep into his soul. It was as if she was starting to realize something. Something that Riolu would want to keep as a secret.

"Very true. It is quite coincidental for something like that to happen. Especially the fact that you and the statuette appeared around the Everfree." Twilight stated.

"How did you know I came from the Everfree?" Riolu snapped.

"Fluttershy told me. How did you know it was named the Everfree?" Twilight snapped back.

"You guys were saying it back and forth. How could I of not known what its name was?" Riolu questioned.

"Fair point." Twilight whispered as she slowly took a bite out of her hayburger.

Another awkward silence had commenced as Riolu stared at the eyes of Twilight. The white circles within her eyes twinkling in the most darkest of ways.

"…Well, I think it would be best if I took a nap. I've been walking so much today, and that encounter with that Discord guy really put some tension on me, so, I best be going upstairs now." Riolu said as he stood up from where he was and headed toward the steps.

"Hold it. You met Discord?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, we met him at the restaurant. Apparently, he ordered a huge bucket of popcorn. We thought he was going to go watch something cruel and unusual somewhere." Spike answered.

"Huh, well that's weird. It's not like him to do something like that nowadays. Although he enjoys chaos, he usually loves watching events that were caused by him to begin with." Twilight pondered.

"Yeah, it's weird. He probably just wanted to grab refreshments before he pushed an old lady down. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go nap." Riolu said with a huff as he charged upstairs.

"I wonder what's gotten into him." Spike whispered to Twilight.

Riolu padded over to Spike's basket and landed with a thud. The soft, warm blanket covering his back in comfort. He looked out the window and saw a couple of birds perched on a limb. They looked happy and cheerful as they sang their tune.

"Life must be easy for those guys." Riolu sighed as he slowly closed his eyes.

Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle had appeared in the shadow of the doorway that led to the upstairs. She watched the body of Riolu rise up and down in a rhythmic pace.

"You don't think he has something to do with the statuette, do you Twilight?" Spike whispered behind her.

"I don't know for sure Spike, but whatever it is, it is more than just a coincidence. They both came from somewhere, and I believe that pretty soon we will know why they are here." Twilight cooed.

"Alright, Twilight. Don't go all cryptic on me." Spike chuckled.

"Yeah, you're right, Spike," Twilight giggled. "Come on, let's go finish our lunch."

With that said, Twilight and Spike retreated from the doorway and headed back downstairs to finish their lunch, leaving Riolu in the comfort of the sunlight with the birds singing their afternoon song.

Comments

[SuperFandomBrony]

Hmm, interesting.

[Derpyditzydoobubbles]

5269177 hehe, indeed. (glad you like the new chap, btw.)

[SuperFandomBrony]

5271071 One question, will he ever tell them?

[Derpyditzydoobubbles]

5275099 in due time the truth will be revealed sooner or later. It has to.