A New World, And A Better Way

by Recteik Shade

Chapter 16: Let's Not Go To Canterlot... T'is a Silly Place

Chapter 16: Lets Not Go to Canterlot. T'is A Silly Place.

"Canterlot!" The walrus mustache conductor called down the train. "This stop is Canterlot!" He glanced into their cabin just long enough to see the Pokemon inside and hastily made his way to the next car.

The squeal of the brakes was loud in Allen's ear and he had to pin them to the back of his head. 'Damn heightened Pokemon hearing.' The car lurched as the train began to slow down.

Sparkler jumped to her hooves and stretched like a cat,"Uhg my legs fell asleep."

Allen groaned as he climbed to his stiff legs,"Same here." The train lurched again as the brakes were applied again causing Allen to stumble. He quickly glanced at Sparkler annoyed that she had easily kept her balance. 'She makes it look easy.' Truth was he had been eyeing how ponies moves since yesterday since they were the closest to his new body. It had at least kept him from tripping over his new hooves.

The locomotive lurched once more and slowed to a complete stop. With Sparkler and Nova's help Allen strapped his bags back on and followed Sparkler off the train. "Well." Sparkler said turning to the Pokemon,"Welcome to the capital of Equestria."

Allen had to admit as massive as the city looked from Ponyville it was that much bigger. "How long did it take to build this!?"

Sparkler paused trying to remember if she knew,"I... don't know. At least a century, maybe more. But it wasn't built until after Nightmare Moon was first banished."

Nova chuckled,"Well that narrows it down to any point in the last thousand years."

She laughed,"That's true!" Her smile slowly faded as she looked out of the station at the expansive mountain city,"So we're really gonna search this whole place for Dawn? She could be anywhere in there."

"Once we split up, it shouldn't take long to find her." Allen said confidently. "She'll be looking for us too! That will make it easier." He looked around the station,'A place like this must get swarmed with tourist.' He spotted a lime green mare sitting behind the ticket counter looking extremely bored. "Pardon me miss." He asked walking up,"Do you sell street maps of Canterlot?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes as though she took offense,"Sure! Did you even think to... try..." She trailed off as she actually looked at him. "Uuuumm."

He raised an eyebrow,"Try where miss?" Her face flushed and pointed, following her direction he saw a old stallion sitting tuner a canopy with tables laden with knick knacks and touristy merchandise. Glancing back at the mare who's face beet red and was starting to drool!? "Oookaaay." He backed away slowly and headed for the vendor. Leaning down he asked,"Any idea what her deal was?"

Sparkler glanced back at her and sneered,"Ew, thats just embarrassing."

"What?"

Sparkler shook her head,"You'd be happier not knowing."

He glanced back one more time... "Oh! Yeah ignorance can be bliss. Anyway, good morning sir! Do u sell maps?"

Sparkler laughed,"You asked."

The old pony did sell maps, though they lacked the details Allen had hoped for now he just had to figure out who should search where. The group wandered down one of the streets Sparkler eyeing one map skeptically,"I doubt these will be much help."

"I know." He agreed. "But it's at least enough to section off the city and form a search grid." He was also looking at the map over her shoulder it focused more on restaurants, shops and, noteworthy tourist attractions such as tours of the palace gardens and a museum. "We need someplace to sit down and hash this out."

"Hey how bout that cafe over there?" She pointed to a place farther down the street that looked almost deserted.

"Perfect!"

As they made their way into the shop a loud voice cried,"I smell food!" Turning Allen saw a Feraligatr towering over an Earth pony mare pulling a cart,"Smells like apples!"

"We should help her!" Nova said ready to rush to the mares aide.

"Stop Nova." Allen replied firmly,"You're in no shape for a battle that mismatched." A flash of black drew everyone's attention back to the scene at the other end of the street. A very large Luxray had stepped in and was trying to talk the Water-type down. "See?" Allen asked with a smirk,"He's got this. Besides he's got type advantage."

They saw the Luxray communicate that they were hungry and craving her wares, which seemed to help her relax. The mare then pulled two pies from her cart which the Feraligatr snatched up and ran screaming,"Nerds!" As he went.

"Yeah just steal my pie." The Luxray called back. "Asshole."

"There problem solved." Allen said stepping into the cafe without a backward glance.

The interior of the cafe was pretty standard with tables and chairs made to seat ponies. They took a seat at one table near the door,Sparkler already using it to layout the map.

"Welcome." Said a tall slender mare that walked out of the kitchen. When her eyes locked on who her patrons were beer eyes widened,"Whoa. Um I'm Mocha Latte how can I help you?"

Allen gave the mare a serious expression,"Miss Latte I just have one question for you... Do you have straws?" She stared at him for a moment as if he had asked her the 'Flight speed of an unleaded Tallow' before nodding yes. "Then I'd like a tall black coffee please!" He replied a little too enthusiastically,"Anyone else what coffee? My treat."

A few minutes later they all had steaming cups in front of them and one with a straw for Allen. Without adding cream or sugar he gulped down half the cup,"Oh thank Arceus." He sighed getting his caffeine fix for the first time since he'd left earth. He then added a little sugar to cut down the bitterness of the coffee and took to nursing it.

"Now then." He said looking over their map. The city was huge and already separated into several districts which gave him an idea. "Here's how I think we should do this." He pointed to the district they were in labeled 'Mega Market Place' on the map. 'I don't know who designed this but they deserve a Fire Spin for these stupid names.' "I think we should take each of the districts one at a time. Well start with the one we're already in... Loki!"

Silence reigned for several seconds before the Shadow Pokemon phased into sight,"Ya?"

"We're gonna split into three groups. I want you to search the shadowy places, back alleys, attics, cellars. The usual places a Dark-type would hide."

Loki saluted,"Piece of cake."

"And Loki, If you pull anything out there I will go to Shaymin get an apricorn then find Kurt and have him make a Pokeball just for you... understand?"

Loki laughed,"It would be worth it just to see you pull it off! But I promise to be on my best behavior."

Allen nodded and looked to Sparkler's horn,"Alright Tally can I have you fly around the district? Eyes in the sky would be invaluable."

The little Flying-type nodded and fanned his wings,"You can count on me! I'll find that Umbreon in no time."

Allen grinned at his enthusiasm but didn't mention that Dawn made a habit of going unseen. "That's just leaves myself,Nova and, You Sparkler. We're gonna sweep the streets with Nova on point." He looked to tell Volcano Pokemon,"Your nose is the best tracking tool we have and I'm banking on you being able to pick up her trial."

Nova drained the last of his coffee," My nose may not be as good as a Growlithes but that I can do."

"Okay it looked like there are about ten of these districts so we'll use this formation and search each." After everyone nodded he rolled up the parchment which Sparkler placed in her bag. Allen paid for their drinks and they went out to the street, the Luxray and mare were gone. 'Hope that guy got 'something' for helping her out.'

Tally launched off of his perch and took to the skies and Loki was gone shortly after hearing his role in the plan. Nova already had his nose a few inches from the cobblestone seeing what he could learn. 'Please let this work.'

---

Tally flew high over the city they had cleared the first section of the city and moved on to the next now. He didn't remember what that map called it but Allen looked ready to burn the map when he read it and even Sparkler rolled her eyes. Now they were on the next section one filled with massive buildings that looked to be extravagant over sized mansions. The sort that rich humans lived in on earth,"Guess some things are the same no matter where you go." The only upside to flying around this mountain city was it had spectacular thermals, he had been flying for nearly an hour without having to flap his wings.

Since flying was no chore he focused on searching the ground below. There were next to no ponies around now but he could see guards patrolling, their body language told him all he needed to know about them. 'Those guys are definitely looking for trouble.'

He flew almost over the edge of the city before doubling back. The sweeping motion was simply but extremely effective as he spotted something in the garden of a mansion. It was an Umbreon no question lightly dozing in the shade of a broad oak tree. "Found you."

He folded his wing in and tipped his little body forward plummeting towards the break bone ground. Sifting his tail feathers he angled himself to the Torre and flared his wings to kill his momentum. Then he flitted to the lowest branch where he settled himself,"Hey Dawn!" He called. "Allen's here looking for you."

The Umbreon's ear twitched and she groaned opening her eyes. She scolded up at Tally,"What are you going on about!?" Her voice was rich and feminine.

Tally ruffled his feathers,"Your trainer asked me to help find you. He's really worried about you Dawn."

She seemed to bristle at the mention of a trainer but then she relaxed,"Sorry to disappoint you little one but you've got the wrong Umbreon. One my trainer abandoned me a long time ago. Second, my name is Umbra."

Tally ruffled his feathers up again, mostly to conceal his blush. "Oh... um sorry Ma'am. I'm just looking for an Umbreon."

Umbra for her part just shrugged,"No harm done."

"Right." He said clearly embarrassed,"I'll just be going then. Sorry for waking you." With that he flapped his wings and started to fly away.

"Should I chance across another Umbreon whom is this Dawn I shall relay your message."

Tally twisted in midair to face her,"Oh! Well thank you Miss Umbra."

He turned and flew off to resume the hunt while Umbra settled back down into the soft grass," Just as soon as I wake up."

---

Three hours and two of the crudely named districts later things were not going so well. Apparently ponies that Sparkler called the Royal Guard were running all over the city trying to wrangle up Pokemon. According to gossip his surprisingly keen picked up a couple of Pokemon had made a scene and knocked down someone's wall.

Allen had to admit he was worried at this point because supposedly it all started because said Pokemon stole food from a restaurant. After finishing with the second they had regrouped to decide the next district to search all the while Nova's nose was pressed to the ground.

He was on high alert now, If this rouge Pokemon was in fact Dawn he had to find her before the Guard did. If only so save his bits. "Where could she be?"

"Dont worry Allen I'm sure we'll find her soon." Sparkler said as she too was using her eyes and keen ears to see what she could pick up.(1)

"I really hope so." He sighed.

"Sparkler!" Called Tally as he dropped out of the sky and flitted to her horn. "I search this one too..." He shook his head,"couldn't find anything.

"Same here." Said another voice while made Sparkler jump while Allen just deadpanned as Loki phased into sight again.

Allen sighed," Alright you two thanks for trying. I guess we should move to the next district then."

Sparkler was already pulling out the map when Nova stopped dead and inhaled deeply,"Got it!" He announced triumphantly. "Finally picked up her scent!"

Nova was off his nose inches from the ground everyone else hot on his heels. He quickly turned down a shadowy side alley,“It just got a lot stronger. She was definitely here, within the last twenty minutes I’d say.”

“You’re sure?” Allen asked sounding hopeful.

“There’s no doubt,” the Volcano Pokemon answered.

“Well then what are we doing standing around here for?” asked Loki as he drifted past them. “C’mon Candy Girl, time to go meet Miss Priss.”

Sparkler with Tally perched on her horn flushed a bit and strode past him with a sour expression, “Shut up Loki.”

The Gengar leaned over to Allen and whispered “Just between us guys… your girlfriend’s a bitch.”

“Loki, seriously… shut up!” Allen snapped and Stomped on after Nova and Sparkler cracking the cobblestone beneath his hooves.

Loki shrugged,"They have to realize by now I'm only gonna keep this up. The look on Sparkler's face is priceless." He laughed to himself and phased out of sight.

They followed Nova for a long while he led them lower into the city and closer to the looming form of the mountain. "Dawn where the he'll are you going?" Allen asked himself.

"She might be trying to leave the city." Nova offered.

Sparkler shook her head. "Then she's going in the wrong direction. Other than by air the only way in or out of Canterlot is by train or the road which runs parallel to the tracks."

"She might be looking for a trail to use. There must be a lot of them on a mountain like this one."

"Maybe." She admitted. "But it would be really unstable."

Dawn's trail led them to a small quaint looking town house. Nova followed it into the yard sniffing around while the rest of the group waited on the street. Nova returned a minute or two later,"There is no question she was here and I picked up the scent of another Pokemon as well. I think she may have picked up a stray as it were. I remember this scent in the alley too though it was much fainter."

"Well that should help." Said hopefully. "Anything you can tell us about this stray? It might just help us find her."

Nova sniffed at the ground again,"I can't identify the species, my nutrient that good... But I know a Fire-type when I smell one."

"Its more than we had to go on before. Hey Tally you up to search ahead of us?" Allen asked.

Tally saluted with a wing," And Umbreon with a Fire-type? Easy as pie." Without another word he flew off.

"Loki, I want you to go ahead of us too."

"Can do." The Shadow Pokemon said not even bothering to become visible.

Allen glanced and the sun's position in the sky. It was getting late the sun would set in the next hour or so. "We need to find her before nightfall or else we'll never see her."

---

Tally flew along the boundary between sky and earth, the great bulk of the mountain looming over him to his left and the vast clear sky to his right. Had the situation been less pressing it would have been the perfect night for flying, right now though his eyes were fixed to the ground below. The sun barely clung to the horizon, finding a Dark-type in these conditions was going to be impossible.

All the rooftops looked the same and the darkness hung on everything. Finally he backwinged and hovered looking over the tightly packed homes. "This is hopeless it's too dark now." If the air hadn't been so still he never would have seen the pair of Pegasus coming, as it was he only just evaded. Then he evaded again and once more as another pair rocketed passed him.

"Whoa!" He rose a few yards in the air and looked around, the night sky was full of flying ponies in armour. He twisted every which way,'They're everywhere. What's going on?'

"I knew you were a softy oldtimer." A sharp voice called in the dark. "But taking bribes from monster's? I'll see you Court Marshaled!"

Tally beat his wings and got a little closer. A mare was standing on a rooftop sneering down at an older stallion whom looked worried. Then the mare turned her hard glare towards the mountain,“Don’t try anything funny monsters, I’ve got you completely surrounded.”

Just like that all the flying ponies dropped out of the sky and dozens more filed out of side streets. All totaled it was an impressive display of force, then he looked at where every pair of eyes was scowling. He could see the orange coat of a little Vulpix, though it was obscured by something larger and black. He squinted,'What is that?' Then he noticed a faint yellow and dark red. 'Wait is that?'

"Dawn what do we do?" The little Vulpix almost pleaded confirming the identity of the black shape as the Umbreon they had sought all day. Panicking he surveyed the numbers that surrounded the two Pokemon and he made a decision. He pumped his wings hard and beat a hasty retreat,"I have to tell Allen and Sparkler!" As he flew off he glanced back at the out numbered pair,"Dont worry you two, I'll be back with help!"

It only took a minute to spot Allen from the air, his glowing blue mane and tail made him easy to spot at night. Swooping down to grab their attention he called," Guys I found her!"

"What!" Allen cried sounding relieved. "Where is she!?"

"Near the mountain! But Allen the guards have caught up to her and she's totally surrounded!" The Fying-type explained quickly already turning to lead them to the scene.

KABOOOM!

Everyone frozen and turned to face the direction of the overly loud sound, the same direction Tally was about to lead them.

"DAWN!" Allen shouted and took off at a full gallop... at least he would have if something hadn't grabbed his tail to stop him.
Just as quick as he turned to face her she the hair out of her mouth. "Allen be smart! What are you gonna do fight the entire Royal Guard!? Burn half of Canterlot and spend the rest of you life as a fugitive!?" She sighed as his posture relaxed,"Now we'll find Dawn and I'm sure the guards won't hurt her but what we need to do now is be quiet and casual. Let's head in that direction and see what happened."

Allen looked from Sparkler to Nova, whom was frowning at him and sighed as well,"You're right but still we should hurry."

The scene was utter chaos, they couldn't even get close to where Tally claimed Dawn was. The place had been sealed up for three blocks around the explosion. There were hardly any ponies around who weren't guards, the guards themselves said one of the creatures was responsible for the explosion. However Allen's now keen ears picked up whispers about some of the ponies seeing a cannon being shelled out. "A cannon?" He whispered horrified. "Sweet Xerneas they killed her."

"Oh don't be such a baby." Laughed a familiar voice. Turning Allen saw Loki phase into sight and then out of it just as quickly. "I saw the rest of what happened after bird brain flew off!"

"Why are you staying invisible?" Sparkler asked confused.

Loki paused,"Yeah, about that."

---

1. That was how they found out about the Guard chasing a Pokemon.

Author's Note:

Hey guys like last time this is raw because I've not heard anything from my editors in a long time. Suppose I can't blame them, must of thought this was dead. But if you see an error plz pm me it and I'll correct it. Thx you guys are the best for putting up with me.

See Ya next week

Comments

[Dravkwn]

Found a large number of errors, I'll send them tomorrow after I get some snooze time in.

I see the story continues to entertain me. Whether it's my joy or my insanity who am I to say?

[Fancy Fox]

So close... Ah well, great chapter!
I want to say something witty but I'm too tired right now so I'll give you one later
For now back to sleep... Or work... Or both