> My Little Pony: Mint-Green Version
>  by FaelaArts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Order!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“All rise for Judge Jenny.” The courtroom was filled to the brim with humans of various shapes and sizes. Sitting behind the desk where the Defendant was one trainer who was talking quietly to the Defendant. She was dressed in a formal outfit, however her white hat struck out like a sore thumb. As the guard who was standing by the podium spoke, all stood as a tall female walked in, eyes glaring at the Defendant like an eagle stares at it’s prey.

“This is case 34 on the case of Blue and Giovanni,” the guard spoke, handing over a large yellow folder as the Judge took a seat. Opening it, she quickly skimmed it before raising her head as the guard spoke to the courtroom loudly. To one side, a group of people were sitting in a separate box. These people would be the one’s to decide the fate of the Defendant.

“-have been sworn in, you may be seated,” the guard spoke, and all sat down as he moved to stand by a door in the corner of the room. The Defendant gulped, that would be the door he would exit if he was guilty.

“Giovanni, your claim is that the Defendant is one gifted with the ability to control humans and Pokemon by looking at them. Is this correct?” The judge looked to Giovanni, who smiled and gave a pleasant nod. Next to him a Lawyer was whispering into his ear, both quietly discussing something.

“The Prosecutor may now make his opening statement.” Finished talking, the judge motioned to the guard, who slowly brought out a small screen with a strange device attached to it. There was a large pause symbol on the screen. The Lawyer next to Giovanni stood up, and pressed play, opening his mouth and speaking.

“Here I show evidence 27 on the subject of Giovanni vs Blue. In this we see Blue force a Pokemon that was out of control into a stunned silence, before it leaves. Prosecution rests.” The Lawyer sat down and looked toward Giovanni, giving a confident smile. The Defendant, who was named Blue, gulped silently, and looked to his own Lawyer.

“The Defence may now make their rebuttal.” The Lawyer stood up and coughed once, moving out to stand beside the screen.

“Members of the Jury, my client is EVIL! WITCHCRAFT! BLACK MAGIC!” At the end of his sentence, he pointed his finger at Blue, eyes crossing as he puffed his cheeks out in defiance. Blue watched this, and face-palmed as slowly as he could possibly face-palm. He was so boned.

“Er-Thank you Defence. Your response Prosecutor?” Giovanni’s Lawyer coughed and stood up as his desk.

“No further questions your honor.” The Lawyer sat back down and the Judge blinked, also coughing as the silence stretched for a moment.

“Well...Members of the Jury, you may now leave to determine your verdict.” The Judge watched the Jury walk out, and walk back in barely a second later. A sigh escaped her lips, and she stood up, preparing to give the final verdict.

"Members of the Jury, do you find the accused guilty or very very guilty. A life may depend upon your verdict.” The Judge saw all except one sit, holding a piece of paper. Looking down at it, the single person of the Jury began to speak.

“We find the Defendant, very very guilty.” Sitting down, cries out outrage sprung from the trainer in the stands, who was quickly held down by two guards nearby. Blue leapt out of his chair and tried to make a break for his friend, shouting the name, which was Green, as she was also apprehended. Guards began to appear out of nowhere.

“You have been found very very guilty. You are guilty of the crime of being born. You are to be taken from this place to a place of execution where you will be hanged by the neck until you are dead. So help you. God save your soul and stop blubbering, Take the prisoner down.”

The guards began to drag Blue toward the door, who was still struggling for all his worth. Reaching down for his belt, he remembered that his Pokemon had been taken from him the moment he had entered the courtroom. Looking to Green, they both shared a look, and then Blue closed his eyes, opening them a moment later as he struggled in earnest.

Suddenly, a large crash sounded, and the entire ceiling vanished as a large orange dragon with a flaming tail landed between Giovanni and Blue, and a single form jumped down. A Pokeball went flying, and a large turtle appeared, both Pokemon quickly disabling the guards as the trainer grabbed both Blue and Green and tossed them onto the Charizard, leaping on himself. Returning the Blastoise, the trainer with the red hat rocketed into the sky, and all three were quickly out of view of the courthouse.

“Red, what the heck are you doing! Are you trying to get yourself killed too! There’s nothing you can do Red!” Blue glared at the trainer who was called Red as he held out two belts, and took the one belonging to him and strapping it back on. Looking to his wristwatch, which all three had, he winced as he saw his PC, a place Pokemon were stored, was suddenly locked. They moved fast. Green took her belt from behind him, and looked to Red as he began to circle in the sky.

“Red don’t you dare! Don’t you dare bring her into this!” Blue dived at Red as his hand went toward the wristwatch on his own arm. Pulling the arm away, they both grunted as a small fight began between them. Green watched for a moment, before grabbing Blue by the shoulder and pulling him off Red, who quickly pressed the button as a large black cloud of bird Pokemon came toward them.

“Green you were in on this too?” Blue rounded on Green, growling and narrowing his eyes. However, he didn’t have time to speak more as a large object hit him in the side of his head, and he fell unconscious. 

“Sorry Blue, we couldn’t let it happen.” Green held onto Blue as Red dived through the portal, quickly finding the target he was looking for. Charizard landed and both pushed Blue off the Pokemon, who landed like a sack of potatoes in the dirt. Red jumped off and grabbed onto Blue's arm, and crushed the wristwatch on it into pieces, before leaping once more onto Charizard. The Pokemon rocketed into the sky and through the swirling white portal, which closed soon after.

The large cloud of bird Pokemon was almost upon them when they returned to the Pokemon world, and both shared a glance as Charizard gave a roar. Turning away from the black mass, all three looked forward.

And fled.

> Year 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lyra strolled leisurely down Ponyville’s main street humming a soft tune to herself as she walked. Standing higher than most, she was nearly the size of an Alicorn, with a Mint Green fur and a green and white mane. Attached to her back was a saddlebag with the design of her cutie mark, a Lyre, and was bulging with what looked to be some sort of egg shaped item, but if was far too large to be a chicken egg.

Pausing, she blinked and rubbed her eyes as something began to crawl out of the Everfree, and looked around her, noticing the panic in everypony as they battled what was some weird weed from the Everfree. Looking around, she soon spotted Bon Bon, and dashed to help her friend out of the hold of one vine.

“Bon Bon, what’s going on?” Lyra bit down on the black vine, spitting out out as her tongue turned black from the fluid. Forcing herself not to swallow, she began to pull out more and more of the vine, eventually freeing her friend. Both quickly backed away from the vines, heading for the center of town.

“Something from the Everfree, Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony have already gone to solve it.” Bon Bon approached the group of cowering ponies at town hall, the vines approaching them slowly from all sides. Pegasi and Unicorns were trying various techniques and spells to try and keep the vines back, but those that weren’t caught found themselves making no dent. Eventually, they were all holed in in town hall, holding the door closed as vines threatened to spill in.

“What do we do Lyra? If these vines get in…” Bon Bon looked to her friend for guidance, who paused and put a hoof to her chin and frowned. None of the spells she knew would have an effect on the vines. There was nothing she could do. Lyra turned toward Bon Bon, and merely shook her head.

Suddenly, Lyra’s bag began to shake, gaining the attention of all as she gasped and brought out the egg in excitement, her situation temporarily forgotten. As the cracks broke apart, a bright light shone blinding everypony, before fading to reveal the creature inside. It was a small, bipedal Pokemon with bluish fur on top of its body, and a milky color on the underside. Lyra had no idea what it was called, but she fell in love instantly.

“Oh no, they’ve broken through!” Ponies began to back toward the walls as a large wave of plants came toward them, and Lyra began to back away herself. However her Pokemon was fearless, leaping from her arms and tackling the vine head on. The vines paused their advance, and began to strangle the Pokemon around the waist. Lyra quickly leapt forward, trying to get her Pokemon out before it was seriously injured.

A bright flash of light occurred once more, and Lyra covered her eyes, blinking the spots away to see bright flames erupting from four red spots on the Pokemon’s back. Lyra’s eyes widened, this Pokemon could make fire!

The vines retreated as the room began to heat up, occasionally trying to get closer. Each time they did however, the Pokemon would leap at them and sear them as it tackled it, flames spewing from it’s back. Lyra felt a smile grow on her face, eyes going wide. It wasn’t long after that the vines suddenly dried up, and died as if a wave had swept over them. 

Lyra walked over and cautiously picked up her Pokemon, amazed that the flames weren’t hurting her. The Pokemon looked at her, and she could feel it’s pride and beamed a smile in response. The Pokemon curled up and fell promptly asleep, the flames extinguishing as it’s eyes closed.

“I think I’ll call you Flash Fire,” she spoke, nuzzling the Pokemon with her nose as she turned around to show Bon Bon. Her smile vanished a moment later as she saw the horror on Bon Bon’s face directed at the creature she was holding. Lyra turned and walked out the door, glaring at the air as she headed back toward her house.




“I tell ya darling, dearest Fluttershy makes the cutest Fruit Bat you have ever seen.” Rarity hovered a cup of tea next to Lyra with her magic, who took it with her hooves and siped it gratefully. While she didn’t overly enjoy tea, she couldn’t be rude. Both raised their heads and gave a chuckle at the scene before them.

Sweetie Belle, a filly with a light gray coat and pink and purple mane, was currently playing with the single two Pokemon that existed in Equestria. The first one, was Flash Fire, Lyra’s gift she had received off someone special. The second one was a large orange dog with fluffy fur that was called a ‘Growlithe’.

“So are you sure you are ok to look after Growlithe while Sweetie Belle stays with our parents? I wouldn’t normally ask this but you’re the only I know with...expertise in the area.” Both shared a quiet wince. Rarity and Lyra both knew how much trouble a Pokemon could cause if left unattended.

“It’s no problem, you take as long as you need in Manehattan. Good luck with the fashion show.” Lyra smiled and put her cup down as Rarity smiled as well.  Lyra would admit, despite the fact she and Rarity had very little in common, it was hard not to be friends with somepony who was so...nice.




“I’m really sorry to leave Growlithe and go, but I really can’t dally. Rainbow Dash is insistent I must be there five hours in advance for the tryouts in Rainbow Falls.” Rarity held out the leash for Growlithe as Lyra took it, and let the Pokemon into her house. Growlithe quickly found Flash Fire, and both began to quickly play-fight.

“It’s fine, I was only sleeping,” winked Lyra, who chuckled at Rarity’s hesitation. Rolling her eyes, she gently pushed Rarity out the door and laughed loudly.

“Go, have fun! Tell Dash that I’m rooting for her!” Lyra saw Rarity smile once more in thanks and leave. Shaking her head, she closed the door and looked to the two Pokemon under her command. Rubbing her hooves together, she watched them play, wondering how much experience they would receive from today’s fight.

Lyra would show him, she could be just as good at training Pokemon as he could.

> Year 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The goof off was exciting as it was over the top. Lyra wasn’t sure which party planner she liked the most, the traditional over-the-top Pinkie Pie, or the more extravagant Cheese Sandwich. Bringing home a piece of both cakes, she smiled as the door closed behind her and she headed into her living room.

Walking over to the couches, she sat down in her usual spot and took a large bite from the first cake. It melted in her mouth, and she moaned in delight. The sound roused Flash Fire, who slowly walked downstairs and greeted Lyra warmly, taking a seat beside her and heating up the room to a more comfortable temperature. 

“I really can’t decide, both were such fun. Mmpfh, and the cakes are too good.” Taking a bite out of the second cake, she gently stroked her Pokemon’s fur and let a warm smile fall upon her face. Looking toward a small table to the side of the living room, her smile faded as she looked to the remains of a circular device, empty of the magic it had once contained.

Lyra quickly turned away and finished off the cakes, shifting slightly to rouse Flash Fire, who promptly leapt off the couch and headed up the stairs. Lyra followed a moment later, and both headed for her bed. Flash Fire took a spot on the floor, and Lyra laid on top of her blankets as the room slowly heated once more. After a moment, she sighed and stood up.

Flash Fire followed her as she headed downstairs and opened the door, letting her pokemon out into the garden as she closed it behind her. Moving toward a small area that had been flattened of most plant life, excluding the grass, she laid down as her pokemon curled around her. Within a few moments, they were both comfy and she closed her eyes, promptly falling asleep.




Lyra put down the box of decorations as Rarity passed, speaking about a sudden change in her design, which was into a farm setting. Following Rarity, Lyra tried to get her attention to ask about it.

“Rarity-” Lyra was cut off as Applejack and Twilight approached, and closed her mouth. Looking away, she bit her lip and returned to helping change the design. It wasn’t any of her business. It wasn’t like Rarity was a good friend of hers. Lyra sighed and paused once more, ears flicking downward.

Yeah they were friends, but there was always a barrier that separated her from the rest of them. It wasn’t her strangeness, nor how she acted, they got along very well for the most part. If Lyra had to guess what the barrier was, she would have to guess it was the fact she wasn’t an Element of Harmony.

Lyra thought back to her time in the other world, where she had been treated as a pokemon. It didn’t take long before she began to draw similarities, and she frowned and turned to watch them go. Was she just a pokemon to them? Lyra stood up and followed them outside.

“I’m sorry, I just...really wanted him to like me. I’ll change the design back now.” Rarity’s voice made Lyra come to a stop, and her eyes widened, and she looked to the ground. Turning around, she quickly returned to her task of helping with the decorations. Biting her lip, she shook her head, and watched Rarity once more walk in and change the design, as she had known she was going to.




Lyra watched the Ponytones sing, letting the music wash over her. Really, she adored their sound, and it was always nice to support Rarity, even when she was just another face in the crowd. Something had changed recently however, Big Mac sounded more harmonious? Lyra wasn’t an expert on lyrical music, she did know a bit though.

The curtain fell, literally, and Lyra’s eyes widened. Fluttershy was lip singing for Big Mac? Lyra watched her look into the crowd, and go pale. It quickly went downhill and Lyra tried to push her way through the crowd to go and help Twilight and Rarity with Fluttershy. However, by the time she made it, the issue was already resolved.

Lyra paused on the stage, one step away from turning into backstage. Hearing every word she closed her eyes and turned around, heading once more into the crowd. Lyra passed Bon Bon, and raised her head as she was situated with a glare. Bon Bon, the only pony who had ever tolerated her. Lyra could tell this was no longer the case.

Lyra turned, and left the building.




“I’m sorry, you’ll have to leave soon Lyra. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo are coming over for Twilight Time soon.” Twilight finished putting away the last of the books as Lyra turned and smiled pleasantly at Twilight.

“Of course, I’ll be on my way then.” Lyra closed the book she had been reading and put it in her saddlebags. There was silence for a few moments, and Lyra began to make her way toward the door.

“Pinkie Pie’s throwing a party tomorrow, will you be coming?” Twilight blinked in surprise as Lyra flinched and looked to her, eyes widened in surprise.

“Uh sorry I can’t, I’ve gotta look after Flash Fire and Growlithe.” Lyra didn’t mention the fact Rarity had told her about the party herself, nor the reason why she was looking after Growlithe, and Twilight didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh, alright then. You have a good night.” Twilight tilted her head and gave a smile, which Lyra returned before heading out the door. As soon as she was out of eyesight of the Library, her smile faded and she paused, before sighing and heading home. Flash Fire could use some solo training.




“So we made it out of the Breezies home just as the door closed, and that was our day. What about you?” Twilight smiled to Lyra as she listened intently. It was one of the few days Lyra had been invited out, and they were currently discussing the events of the day.

“My day was nothing much, just the usual routine,” she replied, the smile feeling fake and plastic on her face. Once again, Twilight failed to notice, and gave a chuckle in response.

“I wish my days had a ‘usual routine’. Nowadays I can’t go outside with a natural disaster popping up that needs solving.” Twilight sighed in slight annoyance. Lyra gritted her teeth and let a flicker of irritation cross her face.

“I’m sure that’s such a hassle for you,” she muttered under her breath. Twilight raised her head and Lyra instantly returned to a pleasant smile, nodding in agreement.

“Did you say something?” Twilight tilted her head, a frown forming on her face. Lyra paused, and then chuckled, shaking her head in response. Twilight was unconvinced.

“I’m sure I heard something. Are you sure you’re ok?” Twilight peered as Lyra as she once more laughed it off, and took a sip of her drink.

“I’m fine Twilight, I don’t really understand why you’re so worried, this is a public place.” Lyra forced her smile to grow, and Twilight glanced around the empty area, and returned her eyes to Lyra, still unconvinced. Standing up, she made her way around the table and locked eyes with Lyra.

“What’s wrong? Maybe I can help you.” Twilight’s wide eyes looked right into Lyra’s as she put a hoof. Lyra turned away, and briefly thought of denying it still. Twilight wouldn’t be able to get her to say anything, Lyra knew how stubborn as a rock she was. But, looking across the street she saw a pony couple walking together down the road, and bit her lip, heaving a sigh of defeat.

“You always go on adventures, and I’m forced to stay here alone while you go and battle manticores or Discords or darkness or something. It’s like I’m not even part of the group, I’m just someone in the background that gives your world slightly more meaning.” Lyra looked to Twilight, and watched the eyes widen in shock, and sighed, turning away.

“I-I’m sorry I never meant to-” Hearing Twilight try to apologise, Lyra cut her off with a wave of her hoof, letting her head fall onto the table.

“I know Twilight, I know. But the feeling doesn’t leave because rational thought tells it to.” Lyra sighed once more and watched the couple walk down the street, her mouth sour and her mouth in a pout. It wasn’t fair on Twilight, but she couldn’t just bottle her feelings up. That led to bad things down the road, she had seen it happen.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way, and I’ll make sure from now on to invite you whenever possible. I’ll talk to the others as well. I’m sure you would rather not have to tell them what you told me.” Twilight smiled and once more walked back to her seat as Lyra raised her head and looked away from the two ponies on the street.

“Thanks Twilight.” Lyra blinked, tilting her head as Twilight chuckled and instead pointed straight at Lyra.

“No, thank you.”




“Are you sure Twilight can handle taking those two monsters?” Rarity was still concerned even after the long train ride to Canterlot. Lyra chuckled, and nudged Rarity slightly too hard.

“Relax Rarity, they can take care of themselves for the most part at this point. Twilight’s just making sure they don’t get into trouble.” Lyra saw the doubt on Rarity’s face, and rolled her eyes. Rarity was so overprotective at times.

“I’m really glad you invited me along to Canterlot,” added Lyra as a second thought, managing to get Rarity off the subject of the Pokemon. Rarity quickly answered with a warm smile, and they both paused outside the building Rarity would be showing off her latest design.

“I am really sorry you can’t come in with me, but they just wouldn’t allow it.” Rarity once more smiled apologetically, and Lyra dismissed her with a wave of her hoof.

“Nonsense, it’s fine. I’m just glad to be out of Ponyville for a day. I’m going to go look around town. I’ll meet up with you at the train station when this is done.” Lyra bid farewell to Rarity and trotted away with a quiet smile on her face. It wasn’t much, but it was definitely a start. It was hard to contain her hopeful glee. Finally, things were looking up.

> Year 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Applejack, it’s okay, we all have moments of weakness.” Twilight was comforting her friend, who was currently sitting beside her at the table, sipping some water. Sitting to her right was also Lyra, and Spike was sitting opposite Twilight. Lyra had seen the miracle tonic, and had bought some for herself, intending to save it for a rainy day. Oh well, it had only been a few bits.

“Ah know Ah know, ah jus feel like ah let everypony down. What kinda element of ‘onesty lies?” Applejack took a bite of her apple as Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. Twilight knew Applejack just needed time to talk about her feelings. Lyra bit into her daisy sandwich and gulped it down, opening her mouth to speak.

“Applejack, no element is faultless. Rarity has moments of greed, Fluttershy has the stare, Rainbow Dash can sometime have problems deciding which loyalty to follow, Pinkie Pie has that whole ‘deflating hair when sad’ problem, and Twilight likes to spend her time in a book rather than with her friends. No offence.” Lyra glanced to Twilight, who winced but nodded, it was the truth. Applejack sighed and nodded absent mindedly.

“Ah know, but it dun change tha fact ah broke my vow of ‘onesty.” Applejack finished her drink and food, and stood up to leave, giving the table a gentle smile. Lyra and Twilight stood up as well, Spike quick to follow.

“Ah thank ya for lettin me talk ‘bout it.” Applejack waved goodbye, and turned to return to her stall of apple products. Twilight watched her go and sighed. Turning to Lyra, she paused and waited for her to turn her head.

“You didn’t really have to put it like that.” Seeing Lyra wince at her comment, Twilight smiled apologetically.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m used to speaking things as I think them.” Chuckling, Lyra scratched the back of her head and looked to the sky for a moment. The large diving platform was still up, looming over the city.

“You know I could probably survive that fall.”




Lyra stepped outside her house and breathed in the cold metallic smell of Ponyville. Confused, she opened her eyes and realised the street was now gold, and a lot of buildings had been turned into crystal. Looking around, she saw Twilight and the other Princesses very flustered and turned around.

“Nope,” she spoke, closing the door behind her.




After the Equestria Games Lyra was feeling excited. Twilight would be returning soon, having had to stay behind for cleanup. There were so many things she wanted to know about the events. How had Spike jumped so high? Was he willing to battle with Flash Fire? Could Lyra have one of those freezing arrows for study?

Twilight stepped out of the train, followed by her friends, Spike sleeping on her back. Seeing Lyra, Twilight walked over and held out a large, long box in her magic. Lyra took it in her own magic, and opened it, gasping in delight to see an archery set. Twilight chuckled, and Lyra close the lid, turning back to her.

“I saw your eyes sparkling in fascination when the event happened and sought out a set for you while I was leaving.” Twilight recoiled slightly as Lyra leapt forward for a crushing hug. After realising what Lyra was doing, she smiled and relaxed, returning the hug. Spike stirred on her back.

“I’ve actually gotta return to the Crystal Empire tomorrow for royal business, do you want to come?” Twilight watched Lyra consider it, glancing to the gift she had given. After a moment she chuckled and glanced to her friends as Rarity spoke up.

“I think Lyra would much rather play with her new toy.” Eyes sparkling with amusement, Rarity covered her mouth and chuckled as Lyra glared softly at her. Twilight and the others joined in shortly after, Lyra quick to follow.

“Rarity is right of course, I’ll pass this time. You six have fun with royal duties.” Lyra waved goodbye and headed home, greeting Flash Fire as she walked in the door. Putting her present down, she glanced out her window and sighed, letting her smile fall. Bon Bon no longer even looked at her.

Turning, she slowly walked through her living room and toward the small desk on the side holding the remains of something from a different universe. Gently picking it up in her hooves, she carefully arranged the pieces back into their unbroken form, and turned to look to the final piece missing from the device.

Lyra had scoured the area it had been shattered many times since that day, and had never found it. It was the purest sentiment why she wanted the round device restored. Lyra put it down, gently setting the pieces beside each other, before turning to look to Flash Fire. Smiling, Lyra sat down and let the pokemon sit beside her, leaning over to hug it.




Lyra wasn’t actually around during most of the battle against Tirek. Walking to the train, Lyra had gone to Canterlot so she could take a balloon to Cloudsdale and buy a book on Pegasi archery. It seemed to not like her using magic for it, and she even borrowed the cloudwalking spellbook from Twilight’s library before she left.

Returning home to Ponyville after the long day, Lyra didn’t even notice the new sights until she had hopped off the train, and paused to study the new book she had purchased about archery. Looking up, the first thing she saw was the flaming remains of Twilight’s Library, before she noticed the looming shadow of the new Crystal Palace.

Twilight and the others flew by colored very differently with highlights in their hair and their cutie mark spreading over their body like a virus, singing. Lyra thought for the first moment they were sick, but after seeing the happy faces, she relaxed and sighed, continuing on her way home. It was likely an element thing, she would ask about it later.

Lyra paused, and her eyes widened as she stood in front of the remains of her house. All her belongings were broken and Flash Fire was sitting out the front, licking a wound on his paw. Rushing over, she quickly hugged her Pokemon, and quietly sobbed in relief. Standing up, she walked toward Applejack’s with her Pokemon sleeping comfortably in her magic.

Big Mac would understand and let her stay the night in the barn.

> Year 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Thanks for letting me stay a few days Mac.” Lyra smiled pleasantly at Big Mac as he nodded and waved her and Flash Fire goodbye, as they left Sweet Apple Acres. It was a good idea going to Bic Mac, he had let her stay without a second thought. It had been uncomfortable in the barn, but it was better than sleeping out in the open.

Walking toward the new house, Lyra pulled out her new keys and opened the door, smelling the musty smell of the house. Her insurance had been just enough to cover the cost of the house and new furniture, and Lyra was glad to see it was a similar build to her old house. Upstairs had two bedrooms and a bathroom like before, however instead of the kitchen being attached the lounge-room, you entered it from a door at the end of the hall, giving her a much bigger lounge-room.

“I’m really sorry the battle with Tirek got your house caught in the mess.” Turning to see Twilight at the entrance, Lyra smiled warmly and walked over, giving a hug.

“It wasn’t your fault Twilight, and your tree got caught too. How’s living in the palace going?” Lyra laughed as Twilight cringed in response, and glanced toward the looming structure.

“Not very good. It looks quite large but there isn’t any room for anything I want, like bookshelves for instance. Not to mention most of the rooms are locked with powerful magic that I can’t break. I’m sure I’ll find out what’s in there in due time.” Twilight leaned into Lyra as the hug deepend, before both turned and Lyra began to give a quick tour of the house.

“So how’s Bon Bon?” Twilight looked knowingly at Lyra, who turned away and chuckled once, scratching the back of her head. In recent years, she had begun to do it more often, as if in memory of someone who was no longer around.

“I went to see her, and her face was...terrifying. Flash Fire made a chasm between us that isn’t going to mend back together without a lot of work. It’s been tough going…” Lyra sighed and poured two cups of water for her and Twilight. Lyra hasn’t had time to get groceries yet, and there was also the problem of finding a new job. Her job had been caught up in the fight too.

“I wish I could offer you some concrete advice, but the situation could go either way. Having friends is important but...maybe some ponies aren’t meant to be friends. I really don’t know what advice I can give that will work for every situation.” Twilight sighed and took a seat, looking down to her drink as she racked her brains for a solution. Lyra sat down and put her drink on the table in front of them.

“Don’t worry Twilight, Bon Bon has come through for me before. I trust she’ll come around and we can start being friends again. I managed to make her smile the other day when we passed, if only for a moment.” Lyra sighed and used her magic to pick up her drink, before chugging it down and placing the cup on the table. Twilight raised her head, and noticed a small desk to the side of the living room.

“You still have it?” Twilight pointed to the shattered remains of a spherical device. It was obvious most of the pieces were missing, and it was obviously unrepairable.

“Yeah, but I lost most of the pieces in the explosion.” Lyra stood up as Twilight finished her drink and put it on the table. Heading toward the door, both thought solemnly on the events that had transpired in a single week, give or take a few days.

“See you Twilight.” Lyra waved her friend out, and closed the door. After a moment, she let her smile fall and headed up the stairs to her bedroom and found Flash Fire sleeping in his bed. Walking over, Lyra curled up beside him, and heaved a single sigh.




Finally, it was the day, he would be coming. Everyone was here, even Bon Bon! Lyra was almost jumping for joy at that fact. It had taken some mighty convincing to get Bon Bon here, especially since they were still on thin ice, but she had agreed. Twilight and the others stood close to where the portal was expected to emerge, and Lyra stood a little farther back so she could talk to Bon Bon.

“It’s going well with him, we’re going on our second date in two days.” Bon Bon smiled as she described her date with a colt, going into great detail about the expensive meal he had prepared for her. Lyra nodded and listened in enthusiastically, allowing her friend to one-on-one time she knew Bon Bon wanted. This was how she had been repairing the friendship. It was slow going, and it was hard not to bring up her interests, but Lyra had learned a lot in trying to repair her friendship with Bon Bon. They were at ‘acquaintance’ level from her view. It was better than the open hate at least.

Lyra heard Twilight call it was time, and quickly joined her, leaving Bon Bon to stay at the corner of the area. To get Bon Bon here was hard enough, she wasn’t going to push it. As they waited Lyra asked Twilight if Celestia was aware of his return, and she nodded. Lyra felt her stomach flip and remembered how they had left it, and suddenly she was transported back to that moment. Blue turning and leaving her there, a vague promise of a meeting in 4 years.

Would he have changed? Had she changed? Lyra tried to look at herself, but found it difficult to see how she had changed. If she had to guess, she was slightly more wise about how her world worked when confronted with something new. Flash Fire stood beside her as testament to that.

“Lyra, shouldn’t the portal have opened by now? It’s nearly nighttime.” Twilight's words shook her out of her daze, and she realised Twilight was right. Where were they?

“They probably have to sort some things out, they can’t leave right away after all.” Lyra nodded to herself as her mind plucked the most viable solution from the straws she was grasping onto. Twilight nodded, but the worry didn’t leave her face. Lyra sat down and waited expectantly. Bon Bon walked over not long after and said she had to go. Lyra smiled appreciatively and watched her leave. Turning back to look where the portal should appear, Lyra waited.

It was five days before she realised he wasn’t coming.
> Hello
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Lyra walked down the street, heading for the train station. Celestia had called her in to ask about what was going on with the humans that had never shown up. Lyra sighed, and looked to the ground, pausing for a moment. Why, why did everypony want her to tell them why? As if she wasn’t feeling horrible enough by the fact the humans she thought were her friends had abandoned her, but everypony wanted her to say it over and over again.

Wiping away the moisture in her eyes, Lyra steeled herself. She was strong, she could overcome this. Flash Fire was with Rarity, she could do this. Just walk onto that train, walk up to Celestia, and tell her the truth about the humans. Tell her they are liars. Tell her they must never be allowed into Equestria again.

’Surely there was a reason why Blue-No! Don’t do this to yourself Lyra!’ Lyra stamped her hoof and forced herself to remain focused on the truth. She couldn’t afford to lie to herself anymore. Four years she had waited for him. Four years and days wasted waiting, and he hadn’t had the gall to show himself after putting her down like that.

‘This is how I must think.’ Lyra sighed and turned to look at the sky, facing away from the train station for a moment. The sky was clear of clouds, and even the Pegasi were nowhere to be seen. Lyra noticed how peculiar a day it was. If she wasn’t heading to Canterlot, she might have asked Rainbow Dash about the strange weather. Oh well.

It was then, just as she made to turn away, that she saw it appear. At first, the sight was so alien she didn’t even recognize the white swirling vortex, even as a familiar red dragon appeared from it. Lyra froze, her mind going blank, not able to accept what was in front of her as reality. The dragon landed and he was tossed to the ground, a second form leaning over and smashing his watch. The second form glanced once to her, before leaping back onto the dragon and heading through the portal. It vanished a moment later, and silence returned.

Lyra slowly approached his body, noticing that he was unconscious. After a moment, Lyra rolled him onto his back and parted the short hair so she could properly look at his face, before realising that water was dropping down her face and onto his. Lifting a hoof to her eyes, and pulling away the wet tears, she looked to her hoof as her emotions returned to her all at once.

At first, they overwhelmed her and she was unable to move, anger at his lateness, happiness he had finally come, it was all about him. Lyra forced her thoughts to stop focusing on how she felt, and instead focus on what was around her. Twilight and the others were quickly coming toward her, shouting her name.

“What happened? I saw the portal.” Twilight paused and breathed in sharply as she saw the body in front of her, and raised her eyes to look at Lyra. Lyra met Twilight’s gaze, and finally her face contorted and she began to sob with open relief, falling to his chest as her voice filled with emotion.

“He’s back! He’s back Twilight.”




Laying on the couch was a tall human with bright orange hair, a black t-shirt, and baggy light-purple/brown shorts. As he stirred, the ponies around him paused in their tasks as he shifted and stretched out on the couch, amazingly large enough to accommodate his size. After a moment, he stifled a yawn and slowly opened his eyes. As his memory returned, thanks to the many faces around him, he sat up and groaned loudly.

“Damnit,” he spoke, rubbing his forehead as he began to name the faces of the ponies around him he recognized. The first he saw were the two Pegasi, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. After that he saw the pink menace and the farm pony called Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Finally, he saw Rarity and Twilight, and behind them he could see the orange fuzz of the Growlithe that had been left here during his first adventure. 

Looking down to his feet, he saw a mint-green pony slumped on the ground leaning her head on the couch. Looking at the pony, it was obvious she had fallen asleep due to staying there all night. Heaving a sigh, he leaned forward and gently shook the pony. After a moment, she began to stir, and swiped his hand away. He redoubled his effort, and the pony finally opened her eyes.

“Lyra, wake up.” Removing his hand, he watched Lyra raise her head and look to him, sleep still in her eyes. Giving a tired smile, she tilted her head and looked toward Twilight, stifling a yawn as the sleep finally cleared. Leaping to her feet, Lyra breathed in and looked to the human, opened her mouth, and paused.

“Hey...Blue.” Lyra scratched the back of her head and glanced away, silence making the situation all the more awkward. Twilight glanced to her friends, and they all quickly ushered themselves out of the home, leaving the two alone. Lyra watched them go, and bit her lip as apprehension filled her.

Blue sighed, and looked to the back of Lyra, and thought quietly for a moment. There were things that would need to be explained very soon, but for now there was something else that had to be done. Swinging his feet around, Blue slowly moved over to the side of the couch closest to Lyra. Tapping her on the shoulder, she glanced toward him as she was suddenly swept off her feet and into his embrace.

“Sorry I’m late.” Blue smiled as he felt Lyra stiffen as his words, before finally returning the hug. After a moment she pushed him away and pointed a hoof at him, puffing out her cheeks. Blue winced, remembering for a brief moment his Lawyer.

“Yeah well you should be! Do you know how long I waited for you?” Lyra glanced away as moisture sprung to her eyes and she quickly fought to stop it. After a moment she glanced back and realised Blue was absolutely devastated at her words. Lyra sat down on the couch next to him, unable to speak up after seeing how her words had affected him.

“Six days, four hours, and twenty-seven minutes give or take the time I was knocked out.” Blue looked to his hands and slowly rolled them between each other, before raising one to scratch the back of his head. The wound had finally healed, but it was still a little sore when he touched it. Glancing to his broken PASS, he sighed once more, knowing he had no way back to the world of Pokemon now.

“You kept track?” Lyra tried to make sense of her emotions as Blue gave a small nod. Was she happy? No, it definitely wasn’t that. Sad? No, but somewhat close. Lyra sighed and decided it didn’t really matter, there were obviously bigger problems than her emotions at this point.

“So why did Red break your PASS?” Lyra noticed the flinch, and knew there was something going on. For a brief moment she felt a shade of humor enter her thoughts. That was just like Blue, trying to hide his problems so as not to bother her.

“So I uh, couldn’t go back home.” Blue purposely looked toward the door, noticing this was a different house. It seemed Lyra had had an interesting four years. If they had time he would have to ask her about it.

“And why would that be a problem?” If Lyra had been going to get an answer, it was interrupted by Twilight running into the room and looking to the both of them, puffing as if she had just been running a marathon.

“Lyra, Blue, another portal’s opened. This time’s it’s in the old location and...And many humans have come out of it. They are asking for our compliance in their investigation.” Both Twilight and Lyra turned to Blue, who had gone pure white as he stood up and closed the curtains that showed the front of the house.

“Blue, what is going on.” Lyra and Twilight watched Blue slowly turn around, still pale and wide-eyed. After a moment, he held his hands up helplessly and looked to them in defeat.

“I’m being executed for being born.”

> Would you like to hear a story?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What!? Why?” Lyra’s shock overrode her caution and her voice rose above normal levels. Twilight turned and closed the door, understanding that Blue did not want the humans knowing he was here. 

“Because I-ah,” pausing, Blue sighed and looked away, scratching the side of his face. Shifting from one leg to the other he looked everywhere except at the ponies. After a moment he sighed and returned his gaze to Lyra, and forced himself to talk.

“Because I have a talent that would break the world. Do you...remember when I made Celestia not kill us by locking eyes?” Blue looked away from Twilight’s curious gaze, and turned around to make sure the curtains were properly covering the window. Yes, they were as secure as the second time he had checked them.

“Yeah, what about it?” Lyra narrowed her eyes, feeling her curiosity brimming as if it had never left her, merely falling dormant. Finally, a long unsolved question in her mind was going to be answered.

“You knew I was lying. And...well. That ability is kinda like mind control in a way. I mean I would never force someone to do as I want, but it technically could be used like that. And it can be used on humans.” Blue sighed, and moved toward the couch, sitting down and pulling one of the Pokeballs off his belt and twirling it on one finger as he looked to it.

“So naturally, since our world has humans as the top, anything that can bring us down has to be stopped. In this case, anyone born with this ability is...executed.” Blue tossed the ball into the air and caught it, putting it back on the belt and looking toward Lyra, who had walked around to stand in front of the couch looking at him.

“I’m so shocked I can’t formulate an actual opinion about that,” remarked Twilight. Blue laughed weakly and nodded, looking to the floor.

“Red has it too, however his is easier to hide than mine. It’s the reason he doesn’t smile anymore, another thing that is my fault of course.” Blue sighed and rubbed his forehead, wondering where Red was right now. Why had they done that? Blue knew why of course, but he was still annoyed that was the best idea Red could come up with.

“How did you find out?” Twilight looked toward the door as a quiet knock sounded and went to check who it was. It turned out to be Rarity, who had come to check on what the delay was.

“Gram-Professor Oak told me about it. Apparently Gym Leaders and anyone who is a good Pokemon Trainer is forbidden from having kids for this very reason. Apparently when two good trainers come together and have a kid, it’s more likely to occur.” Blue sighed once more and looked to Lyra, who had fallen silent, absorbing this information.

“I understand why you didn’t want to tell me about it now, you didn’t want Giovanni to know.” Lyra was beginning to understand some of the weight that Blue had carried around for most of his life, trying to appear normal when not actually being so. Lyra felt slightly guilty at that, having had a life where she was free to be herself, except in most recent years with her attempts to regain Bon Bon as a friend.

“Yeah, well, turns out it didn’t really matter, he already knew. He was the one who accused me.” Gasps of more than three voices caused Blue to raise his head and realise all the ponies were here, and he lowered his head again.

“But he’s a convicted felon. He did bad things to Pokemon.” Lyra hadn’t actually heard the details of what Giovanni had done to Pokemon in his job as a gang boss, but he had seen her race as merely Pokemon and that was enough for her to label him bad.

“Apparently someone who might be able to control humans is a higher priority than someone who is a gang leader.” Blue stood up and walked toward a desk to the side that had pieces of an old Pokeball. A ghost of a smile fell on his face, she had tried to keep a memento. It cheered him up slightly.

“So what do we do?” Twilight was the one that spoke up, and Blue tuned to look at the group of seven ponies, and let a sad smile fall on his face as a hollow laugh escaped his lips. After a moment he bent down and began to laugh more loudly, approaching hysterical in his sound. Standing upright again, he wiped away the tears and looked at them once more.

“There’s nothing we can do. We do nothing, and I die. That’s the end of the story.” Blue then began to laugh again, this time it was obvious there was nothing happy about it, and the tears continued to fall from his face, masked under the pretence of laughter.

> It's a story about a mare.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“There must be something we can do!” Lyra began pacing around the room, racking her brains. There had been many ways she had seen Blue four years ago, but laughing hysterically over his own death had not been one of them. Blue sat back down and let his head fall into his hands.

“What if we hide you?” Lyra spoke first.

“They have Growlithe’s, I would be sniffed out in an hour,” he replied.

“What if we protect you by a forcefield of magic?” Twilight knew compared to the creatures Blue kept her powers were nothing, but maybe they would be enough.

“They’d just overwhelm you.” Blue spoke from inside his hands, not moving an inch.

“What if we travel in one direction, just set out and make a long, round trip?” Applejack considered the possibility of running. It wouldn’t be nice to run forever.

“They’d just send someone with six of the fastest pokemon, who could change the moment one pokemon got tired. Whereas mine would need to sleep, they could catch us when we’re resting for the night.” Blue raised his head and looked to the ponies with a defeated expression. They continued.

“What if we hide you in something super stinky?” Pinkie Pie held her nose and made a disgusted expression.

“It wouldn’t fool a Growlithe.” Blue returned to looking at his hands.

“What if you flew really really fast so they couldn’t make up the distance you could sleep?” Rainbow Dash seemed pleased with her idea.

“It wouldn’t work,” he replied simply.

“W-What if y-you-” Fluttershy jumped when Blue cut her off, his tone becoming slightly more irritated.

“It wouldn’t work,” he repeated.

“What if we disguise you as something absolutely FAB-” Rarity leapt back as Blue stood up, looming over the ponies, and shouted loudly, opening his arms wide to emphasise his point.

“It. Would. Not. WORK.” Finished, he once more returned to the couch. Silence returned for a moment, and then the sound of knocking came from the door.

“This is the Pokemon Police, open up.” At that sound, Blue stiffened and backed up as far away from the door as possible, knocking over a lamp in his fright. Lyra looked to Twilight, asking for guidance.

“For now, we need to get him somewhere we can buy ourselves time. You stall, we’ll teleport to the new castle so there’ll be no scent trail.” Twilight whispered everyone the plan, and Lyra nodded. Motioning Blue over, before growling and dragging him over by magic, she prepared a circle of her friends around her and teleported out of Lyra’s house with a soft ‘poof’.

“Hello officer, sorry for the wait.” Lyra opened the door and stepped aside as a Growlithe and two humans barged into her house. The Growlithe sniffed, before whining once and looking to his trainer.

“Where is he,” the trainer turned to Lyra.

“Where is who?” Lyra took at step back as the Growlithe growled at her, all three approaching her. The Growlithe took a good sniff of her, and stepped back.

“Where is the fugitive, we know he was here.” The trainer growled and watched his pokemon sniffed around, before making for the door.

“Fine, we’ll find him ourselves.” With that, the two humans and Growlithe left.




“How long do you think we have?” Lyra entered the castle and quickly closed the door, locking it behind her. Sitting on one of the crystal seats, Blue hadn’t seemed to of changed position.

“Fifteen minutes at best,” he replied, sighing as he waited for them to give up. Unless they pulled out an idea from the abyss, which they weren’t going to, he was boned. Blue raised his head and rested it on top of his hands, looking to the ponies. He wasn’t going to tell them not to try though.

“Well what are we going to do? None of our ideas would work apparently. They would smell him if he hid, catch him is he ran, and find him if he was in a disguise.” Lyra took a seat next to Blue and groaned in frustration. There had to be a way, it just couldn’t end with Blue meekly going to his execution.

“So the problem is his scent right?” Twilight raised a hoof to her chin thoughtfully, and Blue shuddered. Whatever was coming, he was not going to like it.

“Yeah, and his appearance. If they saw either of those he would be on a one-way trip to the executioner’s block. Why, have you thought of something?” Lyra got to her feet and approached Twilight, light reflecting off her eyes.

“Well, do you remember when the Breezies needed help getting home?” Twilight paused, looking to her friends as understanding dawned on their faces, and they smiled. Blue winced, this didn’t sound fun. 

Lyra nodded, “Yeah. You transformed into Breezies so you could help them fly home…” Lyra trailed off, and slowly looked to Blue, who had a very fake smile on his face. His hands were clutching the chair like his life depended on it.

“I couldn’t be sure, but it should change his scent. And even if it doesn’t, they won’t recognize him so they won’t bring him in.” Twilight beamed at her friends, who nodded enthusiastically. It was the perfect plan, their only plan really. Lyra watched Blue, narrowing her eyes as she saw how suddenly squeamish he had gotten.

“No, it’s perfectly fine. I’d much rather be executed than be turned into some sort of bug is uh-Thanks for the offer but I decline.” Blue stood up and began walking backwards, pausing after a few steps. Lyra turned as a knock on the door sounded, and an identical message to earlier rung out.

“I'm not turning you into a Breezie, I can do other creatures too, and I find it insulting you think Breezies are some sort of bug.”  Twilight began to approach Blue, who backed away a step in response. She paused, and looked to Lyra, asking a silent question.

“We don’t have any options, do it.” Lyra gulped, knowing she was forcing Blue to do something he didn’t want to, but they had no other options. If this didn’t work, he would be off to be killed, and she couldn’t allow that to happen.

“Uh, no that’s quite alright pleasegoawayTwilight.” Blue continued stepping back as Twilight approached, her horn beginning to spark to life. Blue breathed in as he realised he had painted himself into a corner and looked pleadingly to Twilight, who hesitated for a moment.

“Sorry Blue, but this has to be done.” Twilight leaned forward, and cast the spell, watching it hit Blue.

All turned around as the doors to the castle were blown off their hinges by a large Pokemon.

> This mare dreamed of a man.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lyra watched the men barge in, Pokeballs at the ready. Twilight quickly stepped between them and everyone and flared her wings. They shared a glance, before noticing she was about to speak.

“How dare you barge into my palace. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle and you have no authority here!” It was a long shot, but it might actually work. However, as they merely motioned to their Growlithe, who growled and bit down on Twilight’s leg. Turning, he then tossed her into the wall, hard. The Growlithe then proceeded to sniff around the room, tail wagging. It slowly approached a single corner, and sniffed the creature that was there. It barked, and looked to the humans, proud.

However, humans can’t speak Pokemon.

“Darn it, we lost him again.” The first one spoke quickly and pulled out a small communication device, and began talking into it.

“Yeah we lost the trail, that’s Pokemon for you. Yes sir, we’ll return at once.” Putting the device back in his pockets, he noticed his friend was peering at the creature the Growlithe had stopped at.

“You know Sir, he kinda looks familiar…” Sighing at his companion’s incompetence, he approached and gave the creature the once over. It was similar to the other creatures in the room, the briefing had called them Ponies. According to intel, they weren’t Pokemon, despite the fact they weren’t human. It had a brownish-orange hair and a blue body. Looking to the ponies once more, he noticed that three of them had horns protruding from the top of their heads, similar to this one. 

Most were glaring at him venomously.

“We don’t kidnap creatures just because they look alike. Besides, Sarge says if we take any of these critters we lose our way out. ‘Cordin to him the old fart made the rule and would not back down.” Standing back up, he slapped his companion up the back of the head for wasting his time, and headed out the door, his Pokemon following. Falling into line quickly, his companion was quick to follow.

It was silent for a moment, before Lyra approached Blue. He was stiff as a board, and he seemed to be stuck between a state of fear and confusion. Lyra tapped him and he fell over like a book, and groaned.

“I don’t feel good, can you turn me back now?” Blue looked to his hand-hoof thing and began shaking. Looking down it intensified as he took in his entire body. After a moment he convulsed and barfed beside him.

“We can’t, Twilight’s knocked out and they might come back. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Lyra spoke confidently but even she could see something wasn’t right. When Twilight and the others had transformed into Breezie there had been no side effects. But here was Blue, shivering on the floor. Putting a hoof to his forehead, she realised he was burning up.

“Rarity, everypony, something’s wrong.” Lyra’s voice rose as she turned to them and they quickly approached. Each could tell Blue was no in a position to be moving, let alone talking. Yet he mumbled despite that.

“Please, I don’t care how just turn me back.” Blue closed his eyes but opened them again as he felt the pressure of hooves on his unfamiliar body. His shaking intensified as he looked up at Lyra and realised how much bigger the room was. He convulsed again, spraying Lyra’s hooves with the remains of his stomach.

“I’ll wake Twilight up.” Fluttershy quickly flew to Twilight’s side, and began to rock her awake. Lyra looked to Blue, and bit her lip. This was her fault, but what else could she have done? Lyra really hoped this didn’t end with Blue dying after all the effort she put into keeping him alive.

“What? Side effects?!” Twilight leapt to her feet and was over in a fraction of a second, quickly looking at Blue as he slowly met her eyes.

“Don’t worry Blue, we’ll make you human again, I promise. I need you to close your eyes now.” Twilight smiled, tilting her head as she charged up a spell meant to knock out ponies. Lyra and the others could tell she was lying, but Blue seemed to believe her. Closing his eyes, he was quickly knocked out. The shivering stopped, Twilight breathed a small sigh.

“He’s going to kill me if he ever regains his sanity,” remarked Lyra.

“I don’t think he ever had it darling.” Rarity tried to lighten the mood slightly. Sadly, it didn’t work, and all quickly discussed what the next course of action was.





Blue woke slowly, half dazed and feeling like a brain trapped in a body. After a moment, he tried to move his arm and realised it responded as normal. Trying to open his hands, it was then his memory came back to him in excruciating detail. Blue didn’t realise he was screaming and struggling against something until the sound reached his ears.

“Blue calm down, it’s me!” Stiffening, he recognized the voice as Lyra’s, and forced himself not to struggle as he was once more laid down and covered in a thin fabric. Blue then realised he was wearing no clothes, and his eyes shot open, causing Lyra to jerk in surprise.

“I don’t have hands,” he moaned, rolling onto his side and realising he had a convenient wall to hide his face in. Lyra sighed and gently touched him on the shoulder, then dragged him from the bed, letting him fall to the ground with a solid thump.

“Come on Blue, stop being a baby already.” Lyra used her magic to roll him toward the table where his clothes were. Somehow Twilight had transformed them as well. Blue saw his belt and reached for it, pulling it to his chest and rolling under the table.

“I refuse.” This time, when Blue spoke, Lyra detected a small hint of amusement in his voice, and rolled her eyes.

“Is it because you’re too awesome?” Lyra leaned down and looked at Blue as he glanced toward her, a small smile rising on his face.

“Yes” Blue rolled out from under the table and pulled his clothes off the table, trying to hold them in his hooves. After a few failed attempts, Lyra sighed and grabbed Blue by the hoof, helping him onto his feet. Levitating the clothes in her magic, she then proceeded to help him get dressed. After finishing that, she clasped his belt around his waist, and proceeded to give him a crash course in being a pony.

“Now I know it feels weird but let’s get past that for now, we need you not a blubbering mess on the ground kapeesh? Just go slowly and let your head get used to the new...body.” Lyra knew she wasn’t exactly helping, but might at least be a comfort to Blue. Blue raised his arm and looked to his front hoof and sighed. Well, at least it was better than execution.

“I was not a blubbering mess, I was-” Blue slipped on nothing and fell forward, groaning once as Lyra once more helped him to his feet. It took many tries, but eventually Blue was able to walk in a straight line.

“Alright Mr Awesome, think you can manage stairs?” Lyra smirked as Blue looked to them and blinked. Despite the fact the situation was outside of Blue’s comfort zone, it was obvious he was at least trying to return some sense of normalcy.

“Sure...I’m that awesome after all.” Blue slowly walked toward the stairs, and realised he was in the house he had woken up in earlier. Lyra’s stairs looked a lot steeper than he remembered them. Breathing in, he took a single step down.

“Graaah~” Blue crashed down to the bottom of the stairs, head looking toward the living room. Looking into it, he saw Twilight and the others were looking at him as he laid there. Groaning, he rolled over and tried to get back onto four feet. Blue missed his hands.

“So uh, how did you sleep?” Rainbow Dash brushed the back of her head as she hovered in the air, coming to land near the couch after a moment. Twilight stood up and walked over as Lyra walked down the stairs.

“Like someone had knocked me out,” he remarked crossly. Twilight chuckled and looked away, embarrassed. Blue slowly made his way over to the couch, feeling every pony’s eyes on him as he walked as if he thought the ground would fall from underneath him.

“Blue, I know you want to be human again, but I-uh-have some bad news.” Twilight looked to the ground as Blue narrowed his eyes at her. Twilight sighed and looked at him,biting her lip.

“Well, it’s to do with the fact humans don’t have...magic per se.” To demonstrate, Twilight levitated the table for a moment. Blue nodded, listening.

“Well when I cast the spell...it..gave you magic. So technically you’re not human anymore.” Twilight winced as Blue convulsed, Lyra hovering a bucket over as he dry-retched into it.

“And what does this have to do with me not being able to go back to being human?” Blue pushed the bucket away and returned to looking to Twilight. Blue had to focus, this was more important than the other stuff.

“Well you see...With ponies, when I change them using the spell, they already have magic so their magic knows to keep an imprint of their old body, down to the number of atoms. So...when I transformed you...your body...didn’t…” Twilight turned away and pulled out a drink, drinking it down as she pretended to ignore Blue.

“Is there any way you can recover it?” Shocking everyone, Blue accepted the news and instead began looking for a solution. Twilight forced herself to continue, and sighed.

“Maybe, but I need to go to Canterlot and look up the archives, maybe even ask Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about it. No creature in our world has no magic, so this is the first time I know of this happening. Maybe it happened once in the past.” Twilight looked out the window and toward the castle.

“And how long until you know for certain?” Blue attempted to rub his forehead, then remembered he didn’t have hands anymore. Looking to his hoof, he sighed once more. Lyra walked over and put a hoof on his shoulder, sympathising but not having any solutions.

“Right...And what about the Police? Are they gone?” Blue shrugged Lyra off, not really wanting sympathy about the situation she had put him in. Yes, he knew she had saved his life. But that was the funny thing about emotions, they were rarely fair. 

“They’ve set up a camp near the location of the portal. They seem to be sending out parties in all directions with flying Pokemon, like you said they would.” Twilight blinked as Blue stood off the couch, and slowly approached the stairs, head hung.

“Right, well I’m heading back to bed.” Blue paused when Lyra grabbed his shoulder and opened her mouth to speak, Blue cut her off.

“Lyra, I can’t handle this right now, ok?” Blue turned and once more headed for the stairs, ignoring the silence behind him. It didn’t occur to him until he was at the top that he had just walked that distance without falling, especially back down the stairs. Blue sighed, another thing to think about. Heading for the room that he has been sleeping in, he managed to pull himself up onto the bed and then tried to pull the blanket around him. After a few tries, he kicked it off the bed and curled into the wall.

Closing his eyes, he curled into a ball to try and get warm.

> But she did not think he dreamed of her back.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
Whycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRed

You’re pathetic, can’t even handle people wanting you dead well, why don’t you just lay there and die like the pathetic meat sack you are? I bet Red would get up and face this head on, never flinching despite the circumstances. I bet, if it was Red he would have already gotten his sentence revoked. You know why? Because Red is a Champion. You’re just a loser. You are the loser designed to make everyone else feel better. Even then you can’t do it right. You just break the hearts of anyone who has the gall to show you kindness. Now you’ve gotten Red to do your dirty work with Green, and you’re being hidden by the girl you dumped because you’re a loser! I bet if everything turned out fine in the end, you’d just go back to your loser job in the loser gym. That’s it, curl up into a ball and hide it. That’s all you’re good for isn’t it?

Whycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRedWhycan’tyoubemorelikeRed




“Gah!” Blue jerked upright and rubbed his forehead, groaning. Looking to his bed, he realised Lyra must have put the sheet on for him. Looking to his hoof, he gave a single sigh, before swinging his legs around and hopping off the bed.

Blue took a few steps around the room, and noticed he wasn’t as shaky as yesterday. Looking to the stairs, he was unsure if he should risk them, but decided it wouldn’t hurt him to try. Apparently falling downstairs didn’t hurt like hell anymore. Blue supposed it was a pony thing.

Taking the first step down, Blue was pleased to see the ground stay underneath him, despite the sharp angle the stairs seemed to descend at. Blue moved slowly down them, and his ear flicked once as he heard voices. He paused, noting the fact his ear had flickered. Blue gritted his teeth and proceeded to ignore it.

“I just wish there was something I could do to help this but this situation is so annoying! We’re in a corner with no escape and the situation just seems to get worse.” Turning the corner, Blue saw Lyra was drinking a cup. From the smell of the room, it was likely cider, which meant it was likely she had only just started.

“Well, to be honest I’ve been in worse.” Blue took a seat beside Lyra as he registered who was in the room. Most of the ponies were strangely absent, and the only pony there was Lyra. She was currently talking to a Pokemon on her lap. Blue zeroed in on it, and had to do a double take.

“Wow Lyra you got him to evolve!” Blue forgot his situation for a moment and reached out toward the Pokemon. After his hoof came into view, he quickly remembered the situation and quickly retreated once more to the other side of the couch.

“Is that a good thing?” Lyra patted Flash Fire as Blue stared at the Pokemon. Lyra smiled, so this was the key to getting Blue distracted. Lyra should have known.

“Why don’t you get Eevee out, they can play together while we wait for news from Twilight.” Smiling warmly, Lyra let Flash Fire jump to the floor, and turned to Blue.

“Well, I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Blue scratched the back of his head, then blinked and brought his hoof to the front of his face. Just how had he done that with a flat hoof?

“Why not,” asked Lyra, who noticed the confused gaze of Blue and began to think on how to help Blue learn how to be a pony. It would take a bit of convincing on her part.

“Well, my Pokemon only know me as a human. They might not realise it’s me now I’m a…” Trailing off, Blue pulled out a Pokeball and looked to it, forcing himself not to sigh for the umpteenth time since he has gotten here.

“Nonsense, those humans recognised you. And personally I think Pokemon are the smarter specie.” Lyra winked, and was rewarded as Blue coughed a laugh out.

“Alright, it’s worth a try.” Blue tossed the ball into the air and released the small brown creature called Eevee from it’s Pokeball. At first the Pokemon looked confused as it scanned the room. After a moment, it locked eyes with Blue, and dived into his arms. Blue smiled warmly, and chuckled as his Pokemon reaffirmed their connection.

“You might be right Lyra, they’re certainly smarter than Ponies.”

“Hey that’s an insult!”





“So where are we going?” Blue followed Lyra closely, Eevee riding on his back. As much as he wanted to dwell on that fact, he knew it was pointless and time-consuming to do so.

“To Rarity’s. I know how to help you get used to being a pony.” Lyra was excited. Blue was finally starting to return to the one she remembered from four years ago, and he was more confident about walking now. Lyra could tell he was far from ready to run a marathon, but she was confident it would only be a matter of time.

“My my Lyra, what are you doing here?” Rarity opened the door, noticing Blue following behind Lyra. Letting them both in, she closed the door with her magic. Lyra pointed to Blue and grinned.

“I need your help in teaching him how to be a pony.” Lyra saw the spark flicker through Rarity’s eyes and knew she had an idea of what Lyra was hoping would happen.

“Alright Blue, I need you to pick up that book lying on the floor there. Sweetie Belle always forgets to clean up.” Rarity watched Blue look confused for a moment, before he walked over to the book and tried to pick it up. After a few attempts, he managed to wedge it between two hooves and hold it up as he sat down.

“Ok dear, you can put it down now.” Rarity turned and pulled a small ball of yarn from off her desk, and waited as Blue put the book down and turned to her.

“Here, catch,” tossing the ball at him, Rarity did it as fast as she could so reflexes would take over instead of letting him have the chance to overthink it. Blue caught the yarn on reflex in one hoof, and blinked once. Looking to it being held in his hoof, his brain exploded.

“Wha-bu-huh,” he stammered as the yarn fell off his hoof. Blue glared at Lyra as she chuckled at his confusion, and considered tossing the yarn at her, once more making his mind go blank as he tried to work out the how.

“Blue, stop trying to work out how, that’s why you can’t pick it up. It’s magic silly.” Lyra giggled and tossed another ball of yarn at Blue, who this time got hit in the head by it. Lyra winced, she had never been a good tosser.

“But it just-argh.” Throwing his arms into the air, Blue gave up. It would have to fall under the category of how Charizard has a flaming tail. Blue looked toward the book Rarity had asked him to pick up and sighed, his ears flopping back on his head. Blue raised his head as he noticed this, and rapidly shook it once more. If he was going to keep questioning how this worked, he would never get anything done.

So, Blue reached down and put a hoof on the book, and picked it up.

“I still don’t like this,” he commented irritably. Lyra rolled her eyes and walked over, helping Blue to his feet.

“Just wait until you learn how to use magic.” Lyra winked as Blue’s eyes widened and he put the book down, turning to her. 

“No thanks, the less I know the better.” Blue turned and headed for the door, passing a quick thanks for Rarity. Lyra tilted her head.

“I don’t understand, why don’t you want to learn?” Lyra’s confusion intensified as Blue flinched, and his ears flopped back.

“I-uh-Just don’t want to know about it.” Blue quickly exited the building, meaning if Lyra wanted to pry she would have to be quick to catch up. Lyra paused for a moment, before trotting after Blue.

“You should try it Blue, once you learn to use it you’ll realise how useful it is.” Lyra leaned into Blue as she tried to reason with him, confused as to why he didn’t want to learn.

“Yeah well, I am plenty useful without it. I don’t see the use in it, I’m fine without it.” Blue purposely avoided Lyra’s gaze as they walked through the street, not paying attention to where he was going.

“Alright Blue, cut to the chase. What’s the real reason you don’t want to learn magic?” Lyra pulled Blue to a stop and forced him to look at her. It was frighteningly easy to force him to do as she wanted. Blue looked down to the ground and Lyra a few times, glancing away and back as he tried to avoid the issue.

“Can’t I just not want to learn something without you having to know every little reason?” Blue looked to Lyra with a look of desperation, asking her not to bring the issue up. Thankfully for Blue, they had stopped right outside the train station as Twilight got off the train.

“Oh hey, how did you know I was on my way back?” Twilight walked up to them, giving both a warm smile. Lyra’s ears fell down and she glared to Blue.

“We didn’t,” she responded. Twilight looked between them and laughed awkwardly.

“Aah well, the search is going well. We’ve found lot’s of records on the spell I used so it’s just a matter of going through them. Celestia is going to send me a letter when she has more information.” Twilight saw Blue nod, and was relieved to see he wasn’t shaking at his own hooves anymore. Blue must have known all he needed was to sleep it off, otherwise why had he made such a remarkable recovery?

“Yeahthat’sreallyinteresting-Say Twilight, Blue here was just wondering if you could teach him magic.” Lyra narrowed her eyes at Blue, and he narrowed his in response. Twilight gasped, wings flaring as she rounded on Blue, who leaned back as Twilight got very close.

“Reallythat’sgreatlet’sstartrightawayohwhatfunwe’llbehaving!” Twilight picked up Blue in her magic and proceeded to drag him back to her new home in the palace. Lyra smirked at Blue, who met her gaze and breathed out, going limp as he knew fighting was useless.

Lyra felt really guilty all of a sudden.





> Why would she, after the way he had left her that day.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After arriving in the castle, Twilight let Blue down and waited for him to pick himself to his feet. Walking over, Twilight took a seat on one of the six chairs. Blue sat down on one himself, and wondered how this was supposed to be ‘comfortable’.

“You don’t really want to learn magic do you.” Twilight spoke it as a statement, not a question, and Blue nodded. It was nice to see Twilight wasn’t so absorbed by her favorite activity, he assumed, to notice his reluctance.

“Alright, I won’t press you on it, how are you going to convince Lyra you did?” Standing up, Twilight’s horn sparked to life and she teleported out a bottle of water and some cups, pouring one for her and Blue.

“The thing is, she’ll know I didn’t, and then she’ll ask why and those are question I really don’t want to answer, so I really don’t have a choice.” Blue held out a hoof for the drink and gulped it down, watching Twilight once more take it in her magic and refill it.

“You always have a choice,” replied Twilight, sipping her drink thoughtfully. Blue growled irritably and waved his arm, motioning to nothing in particular.

“Well if you put it that way. I weighed each option as they occurred to me and what the possible outcomes of each action could be and then I decided on the one that has the least chance of backing me into a corner.” Blue wondered if Twilight was going to give him back the cup, he could use another drink to sip.

“You know, you’re pretty smart,” commented Twilight, watching Blue’s eyes widen as he turned to her.

“Excuse me?” Blue had actually missed that last part, he must have misheard.

“I said you’re pretty smart.” Twilight narrowed her eyes as once more Blue merely blinked in response.

“Right, could we change the topic?” Blue scratched the back of his head and looked away, shifting in his hard chair.

“Alright, I guess we can start teaching you magic if you want.” Twilight stood up and approached Blue, peering intently at his horn. Blue raised an eyebrow, before fighting hard to keep it lowered.

“Well you definitely have magic, but it doesn’t look like it’s connected to your horn like a normal pony’s would. That’s possibly because of the fact you’re not a pony, but I digress. I think I can probably coax it into your horn so you can cast spells, but I’m not sure what affect it will have on you in the long term.” Twilight leaned back and gave Blue some space, musing on the way his body was taking to the transformation.

Blue gulped and looked to his arm, and down to where his hands would normally be. What would he do if he couldn’t return to being human? The very thought chilled him and she suppressed a shudder, closing his eyes for a moment. Opening them he breathed out and turned to look to Twilight.

“My situation hasn’t exactly...changed.” Blue knew if he didn’t do something, Lyra would ask the difficult question he was trying to avoid. It was likely she was going to find out anyway, but he had to try. Arguing with Lyra was fun most of the time, but this was not an argument he wanted to have.

“I had to make sure you understood the risks. I’ve never done this sort of magic on a creature that has never had it to begin with. I guess we should get started.” Twilight stood on two legs, and put her front hooves on each side of Blue’s face. Leaning down, she gently touched her horn to his.

“I gotta warn you, the amount of strangeness you’ve felt these last few days is nothing compared to what you’re about to go through.” Twilight began to slowly start to channel magic into her horn, preparing the spell.

“Greeeat,” replied Blue enthusiastically. You could tell he was absolutely jumping for joy over the news. Twilight suppressed a smile at his antics and focused on the spell. It was similar to the one the Changelings used to drain love, and Tirek’s breathing in to drain a pony’s magic. Finished preparing the spell, Twilight began to slowly drain the magic from Blue from the tip of his horn, drawing the magic through his body.

At first, the magic resisted, having never naturally flowed before. After some coaxing, Twilight looked to Blue’s horn as it lit up with the same brown situated in his eyes. He groaned and tried to move away from Twilight, but she held his head firmly. Draining the magic that sprung to his horn, she watched the flow go from mere sparks to eventually a full on torrent. Twilight smiled, that was good, a strong flow meant he’d be able to channel more than normal. 

As the flow rose, and steadied, she found the breaking point, the farthest she could force his magic to drain without possibly breaking the horn. That just left one final thing to do, and this was the part that actually posed some danger. Twilight stopped draining Blue’s magic, and instead reversed the spell, limiting the amount that would leave her horn so as to not overload Blue’s.




Lyra walked past the castle and heard a sharp bang, and felt her insides seize up, not realising she was opening the door in a panic until she had already done so. Inside, she saw Blue lying on one of the chairs and Twilight plastered to one of the walls. Lyra glanced between them, hesitating as she wondered who to help first.

“Bloody hell, you weren’t kidding.” Blue groaned and opened his eyes, rubbing the thing on his head that was throbbing in pain. It was actually the first time he had been aware it was even there. Blue was not happy.

“It’s not my fault, I didn’t know you were going to explode in my face.” Twilight pulled herself off the wall and landed on the ground, shaking off the effect of being thrown across the room. Noticing Lyra, she groaned and slowly limped over.

“Sorry I heard the explosion.” Lyra helped Twilight limp to one of the chairs and noticed Blue hadn’t moved, still rubbing his horn as if it was hurting him. Leaning in, Lyra lowered her voice.

“Is he ok?” Hearing Lyra’s voice, Twilight raised her head and looked to Blue, glancing to Lyra she growled in response.

“Of course he isn’t, he’s a creature who has just been given a strange body with strange physics and now he’s been forced to learn how to use it’s equally strange powers. Not to mention he is wanted by his world. So no Lyra, he isn’t ’okay’.” Twilight rubbed her face and shook off the explosion and grabbed her drink. Hovering the second cup over at Blue, she spoke with her eyes closed.

“Here.” Twilight gulped down her drink with gusto, enjoying every drop as she swallowed the water. Briefly, she felt someone take the cup and released her magic, opening her eyes and ‘ah’ing a she breathed out in pleasure. Sometimes, a good drink of water is all a pony needs. It was only then that she turned and saw what Blue was doing, and breathed in sharply.

“Blue how are you doing that?” Lyra beat Twilight to the punch, and pointed to the cup Blue was holding in the air, hovering slightly above the ground. It was shaking slightly, and sometimes the magic would almost fade completely, but it was still a remarkable feat. Blue turned and looked to them, no more confused than any other moment since he had arrived.

“Same way I picked up the book?” Blue shook his head and waited for them to explain. Honestly, apparently being about to pick things up with magic was normal, but levitating was not? Or was it more had hadn’t overthought it. Really it was just one confusion after another since he had been dumped here. Blue wondered what Red as doing right now.

“Well, whatever works for you I guess.” Twilight puffed her cheeks slightly and looked away, pouting over the fact Blue had gotten it quicker than she had. Sweetie Belle had been the same really, if only at a much weaker level due to age. It still annoyed Twilight, however. Lyra walked over and smirked at Blue.

“So, do you like being able to levitate objects at will?” Lyra held a knowing smile, expecting Blue to see exactly how lucky he was to be able to have magic now. However, her smile fell when he merely looked to the cup and shook his head.

“No, not really.” Blue didn’t like the feeling, it honestly made him feel sick. The feeling on his forehead, his own person thoughts on being able to do it, the fact Lyra seemed so happy he was finally experiencing it, it just made him feel exhausted. Blue vaguely wondered why, but supposed the dreams he had been having weren’t helping.

“Thanks Twilight, thanks Lyra. What time is it?” Blue closed his eyes as he felt his eyelids become heavy, remembering at the last moment to put the cup down. Was that a normal thing, forgetting you have stuff in your ‘magic’? Blue shuddered, it was best not to think about it.

“A few hours into the afternoon, why?” Lyra watched as Blue rose from the seat and nodded once to Twilight, muttering a goodbye, before turning to her. Motioning to the door, he began to make his way toward it with a stifled yawn. Lyra followed, and once more felt her guilt rise to the forefront. As she slowly began to walk with Blue back to the house, she looked the the ground and sighed.

“I’m sorry for putting you through all this, I know it’s been rough.” Lyra raised her head to meet Blue’s gaze as he looked to her, only slightly confused.

“What do you mean?” Blue wondered why Lyra was apologising for things outside her control. It was not like she’d had many options at the time, and Blue hadn’t been in the best states of mind either.

“Like forcing you to learn magic, and forcing you to become a pony. If you don't...It’ll be all my fault.” Lyra didn’t realise she had even began to cry until Blue raised a hoof and gently wiped them away, pulling her closer as he spoke.

“Hey now, that wasn’t your fault. Well, the forcing me to learn magic was but the pony thing wasn’t. ‘Ss far as I can tell there really was no other option other than my death, so I should really be thanking you for it.” Blue stopped walking, watching Lyra do the same. Rubbing his forehead he held out an arm as he began to motion, emphasising his words.

“Besides, it’s not so bad right? I’m sure we’ll find plenty to keep us occupied while we wait for either the forces to leave or Red’s return.” Blue smiled warmly, before letting his trademark smirk fall onto his face as he leaned in close to her ear.

“Besides, I’m awesome, remember?” Hearing Blue’s words, Lyra finally broke down and began to chuckle softly. They began moving once more, and Blue soon entered Lyra’s house. After a moment of each exchanging words, he headed up the stairs and closed the door on the spare bedroom, where he was sleeping. Jumping onto the bed, he sat upright and finally let his face scrunch up. Laying down and pulling the blanket around him, he faced the wall and tried to hide from the world.

’I just lied to Lyra, but she didn’t notice. Is it really that easy?’ 

> So she let it go.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Charizard dived down, dodging an attack aimed to both slow and hurt. The two passengers on the back glanced back, both bathed in the fierce glow of fire as Charizard leaned his head around and fired a barrel of flame at their pursuers. Rounding a large mountain, they dived under the cloud cover and into the snowstorm, vanishing from sight as Charizard was returned to his ball. Quickly, both retreated into a cave well hidden by the snow. It would be impossible to find on a good day, let alone during a snowstorm.

“This isn’t working like I had hoped, but at least Blue hasn’t been caught yet.” Green shivered in the cold, pulling her cloak around her. Smiling at Red as he handed her his, she gratefully took it and shivered in the below freezing weather. Fire was out of the question, it would melt their hideout.

“What are we going to do Red? We managed to postpone it but how are we going to save Blue?” Green turned her searching eyes on Red, who looked to the entrance as the sound of wings was heard for a moment, vanishing once more into the howling wind. Red frowned in response, and took a seat, not bothered by the cold even remotely.

Red opened his mouth to speak.




Blue jerked awake once more, this time falling off his bed. Laying face down, he moaned for a moment before picking himself off the ground and rubbing his head. Opening the door, he walked down the stairs and found Lyra eating some sort of sandwich, a second one on a place nearby. Blue sat down beside her as she motioned to the place.

“Mmphf, try it, they’re delish.” Lyra laughed as Blue looked to her with a raised eyebrow, but breathed out and relented anyway. Picking up the food, he opened his mouth and took a small bite.

“Tastes like chicken mixed with some dirt between two pieces of bread,” he commented, putting it down. Lyra chuckled and quickly finished both sandwiches off.

“How would you know? You’ve never tried chicken before,” she spoke, licking her hooves clean. Blue laughed and scratched the back of his head.

“Ah, yeah, of course not.” As Blue ignored the pointed glance Lyra shot him in response, both rose and began to head out the door.

“Why are we going to Twilight’s?” Blue watched Lyra lock the door, before following her down the street. Immediately he noticed the amount of humans walking down it, entering homes only to exit a moment later.

“We might as well see if there’s an update on making you human again. After that we’ll go get some groceries.” Lyra had also noticed the increase in humans, had something happened? As they opened the doors to the castle, Lyra realised something had indeed happened.

“Pinkie go and help Roseluck by the market, Rarity head down to Trotting Lane and check to see if they’re still searching houses, Fluttershy make sure all animals stay out of the city at all times, Rainbow Dash get the weather team working on absolutely terrible weather, Applejack you go to Cheerilee and make sure the kids stay at the treehouse until their parents come to pick them up.” As Twilight spoke each one saluted and dashed off, running past Lyra and Blue without a word of notice.

“What’s going on?” Blue and Lyra approached Twilight who was combing through various piles of scrolls, hair slightly out of it’s normal uniform position. Turning she sighed once at them before continuing her search.

“The humans have started forcibly searching Ponyville, and they’re not being nice about it. A lot of ponies have been seriously wounded just for speaking up. The Hospital is already close to being overrun. Celestia and Luna are dropping everything and bringing the Royal guard in, despite your words it won’t help. And that’s not mentioning all the paperwork I’ve got to fill as complaints come in about what the humans are doing and ordering us to go Element of Harmony on them.” Twilight paused to take a breath.

“But I keep telling them the Elements don’t work like that. But the complaints keep coming in, and now they’re starting to break property as they comb the city. So far everything’s under control, and I have ponies everywhere trying to minimise both damage and casualties but there’s only so much I can do when they refuse to treat us as equals and we don’t have the power to force them to.” Twilight paused once more, talking to a pony who ran in, giving him orders before dismissing him again.

“Can we help?” Lyra stepped forward, Blue quick to follow. Both knew the situation was only going to get worse with time, especially as their trails went cold.

“You can Lyra, but it’s not safe for Blue to do so. They might recognize him.” Twilight handed Lyra a small walkie talkie and gave her a location to patrol. Quickly, she went over how to handle each of the situations, and then once more turned back to her paperwork. Lyra turned to Blue.

“Sorry Blue, you’ll have to get the shopping without me. I’ll keep you posted, could you give him a walkie talkie too?” Lyra caught the device as it was tossed to her and handed it to Blue as they left. Giving him a quick wave goodbye, she quickly dashed off to where she had been designated. Blue watched her go, before turning in the direction he hoped was the markets.

It was only moments before he was once more lost, this time without an easy solution like Pokemon to get him out of it. Sure he could, but he would be noticed immediately. Blue paused in the completely empty street and frowned, looking around for the way back to the castle. However, with the houses looming over him, he couldn’t tell what way was the right one.

“I’m telling ya Bruce, if we catch one they won’t notice. Bill’s already got three critters he snagged from the woods. They’re just small, dumb creatures, but I’m certain we could get away with a pony.” It was two Policemen, one was pointing to Blue as he spoke.

“I don’t know Marv, you could get court martialed for it. You know how hard it is to land another job at our age?” They both paused and looked to each other, one pulling out a blank Pokeball.

“I’m gonna do it, you’re free to be without one of em rare ponies if you want. I’ll breed ya some when I get a pair.” Both turned toward Blue, and looked down at him as he narrowed his eyes. They wouldn’t dare.

The ball hit Blue on the head, and bounced harmlessly off.

“Wha, it says he’s a trainer’s Pokemon.” The guy pulled out a second ball and tried again, achieving the same result. Blue now had a twitch in his eye.

“Hey, you.” Blue watched them finally look at him, and he began to laugh at their audacity. How dare they try to catch him. They both took a step back as his horn began to spark, unbeknownst to Blue.

“You know, I’ve met some assholes in my time but for you to actually try to capture me leads me to believe you are the most stupid people I have ever met. And I know rocket grunts.” Blue gritted his teeth, and began to shake in anger. He wanted to punch their lights out and hang them from a tree as Pinatas. 

“I am so furious right now I really don’t know what to do because all of it is directed at you. You have just lit the fuse, and I’m not going to go easy.” Blue laughed as they reached for the Pokemon. No, their Pokemon would not save them. For each they released he would release one thousands of times stronger. Blue no longer cared about ‘staying incognito’. This was now about pride.

The pressure built in his body, he so desperately wanted to pull out his Pokemon and give these guys exactly what they deserved. Blue didn’t notice at first, but when he managed to step back from his rage for a moment he realised there was a large pressure on his forehead. It was then the second guy tossed out his Growlithe, and smiled, thinking he had won.

Oh that was it.




Lyra walked down the street, having talked two ponies out of arguing with one of the humans. It was a thankless effort, but it had to be done. Turning, she glanced toward the other side of town as something caught her eye, a bright flash of light. Suddenly, a large explosion caused her ears to implode and she cried out in pain as she was also blinded by the wave of dust that erupted from the explosion. After a moment of rocking as her ears cleared, she rubbed the dust out of her eyes and went over to see what had happened.

Lyra found Blue near the castle, some distance away from the fight, ears down and head close to the ground as he snuck toward the castle. Narrowing her eyes, Blue noticed her and headed inside. Lyra followed him in and was about to chew him out when she realised he was almost laughing. Standing up on two legs, Blue began to twirl around the room.

“Blue has learned explosion, would you like to delete a move to make room for explosio-pffhahaha.” Blue fell backwards, landing on the hard ground without seeming to care. Lyra noticed he hadn’t stopped in his nonsensical ramblings.

Blue had finally gone insane, and he’d picked the perfect time to do so.

> But, as with all stories, that was only the beginning of the end.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lyra sighed, walking out of the house. Blue was still speaking nonsense, and he wasn’t moving an inch. It had been a challenge to get him to eat and drink. Thankfully, he knew to use the toilet. It just confused her, why had exploding broken his brain? Yes, he had been under a lot of pressure these last few days, and yes she hadn’t been helping the issue, but it just confused her how he was not even responding to her.

“P-P-Princess Celestia!” Lyra blinked in shock as she stopped outside Twilight’s castle and realised a literal army was already stationed there. Celestia's wings were fully raised as she surveyed the town, taking note of any signs of carnage she could see. Turning to see Lyra, she bowed her head slightly in greeting.

“Twilight had briefed me on most of the details. I will admit I was quite shocked to learn he was being prosecuted for an ability to pass language barriers. I am going to try to reason with them, would you and Twilight accompany me?” Celestia looked to the guards and nodded toward the commander. It was sadly not Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor, however he had the look of someone who knew how to command an army.

“Pass language barriers, isn’t it mind control?” Lyra slowly approached Celestia, looking to Twilight for guidance. Twilight nodded eagerly, encouraging her on. Was it really ok to be this informal?

“You forget, I have experienced his ability firsthand, from what Twilight's says he spoke about. I wouldn’t call it mind control, that implies I had no control over my actions. It was a strong suggestion at best.” Celestia leaned down and shared a quick nuzzle with Twilight, before nodding to the both and motioning them forward. It was all too soon they reached the campsite of the humans.

“Attention,” she flared her wings and glowed brightly in the sun, gaining the attention of every human there. Lyra looked away in irritation, of course the Alicorn got immediate attention. To be fair, Celestia commanded respect, much more than Twilight could ever muster at her experience level.

“I am Princess Celestia, Ruling Monarch of this land alongside my sister. I request to speak to the human in charge immediately.” Celestia folded her wings and dimmed the glow radiating from her body, and waited. Eventually, a tall disheveled man with short, blonde hair approached them.

“I am Enforcer Foxtripe Ma’am, at your service. Unfortunately the commander of this operation is otherwise distracted searching for our fugitive. If you convince me it is worthwhile calling him in, I will do so.” The man folded his arms, and waited for a reply.

“I have news relating to the fugitive’s powers that will change his priority level to low.” Celestia raised her head so as to be eye-level with the man.

“I’m listening,” he replied simply.

“I have been affected by this power at one point, the fugitive will back up my statement, as will several eye-witnesses, and I believe the video of him demonstrating his ability also features me. I have come here to say this power is not mind control, but closer to telepathy.” Celestia stood tall and proud under the hundreds of stares on her.

“I’ll call him up and see if he’s interested.” Enforcer Foxtripe turned and walked toward one man who was sitting alone at a desk. The man pulled out a communicator, and passed it to the Enforcer. Foxtripe began to talk into it, and a few moment’s later, he returned.

“Commander says it does not change the fact he fled his trial, and he has already been sentenced. Now, if that is all we have to get back to our break.” The Enforcer glanced down to the smaller ponies, and quickly apprised them of their level. The only unicorn seemed to be a much higher level than the others, and showed signs of battle experience. Foxtripe made a mental note to mention that at the debriefing later.

“So there is no room for discussion. I have been more than hospitable, allowing you to search as you like. What would happen if I were to relinquish that right?” Celestia slowly raised her wings once more, showing full well what would happen on her side. Enforcer Foxtripe heaved a sigh.

“Look Ma’am, we’re just doing our jobs. We don’t make the rules, we jus’ follow ‘em. If you did that, we would be forced ta’ resist. And in the end an entire war would break out between our two races. So really here, it’s a matter of if you want to force a war, because we won’t back down from our end if you try to force the issue. Now, is that all?” Enforcer Foxtipe glanced to the Police currently off duty, seeing some had reached for their Pokemon and motioned once to them. At his signal, they put them away.

“Just one, tell them if they don’t start treating my ponies as humans, and stop breaking into our homes and destroying our items, I’ll consider it an act of war.” Celestia bowed her head slightly to Enforcer Foxtripe, and turned, walking away.

“Yes Ma’am.”




“I am sorry I was unable to get anything more from those humans.” Celestia bowed once to Twilight and Lyra, this time a proper bow instead of a respectful nod. Lyra and Twilight shook their head, giving a smile.

“What you did is plenty Celestia. Now we can stop patrolling the streets to make sure disputes don’t spring up.” Twilight opened the door and let all three of them into the castle.

“Either way, I'll leave a squadron here as a precaution. I’ve set them up in the lower levels of the castle, as that was where most of the unlocked doors are. I trust that is ok?” Celestia smiled as Twilight nodded. Most of the rooms weren’t being used either way. Lyra looked away from them and finally looked into the castle.

Red and Green were sitting in two of the chairs as if they had been waiting for some time. Lyra breathed in, and took in both friends, a touch of moisture coming to her eyes. Taking a step toward them, she immediately noticed something was wrong. Green seemed downcast and Red wasn’t even looking at any of them.

“Where’s Blue?” Green walked toward them, Red following behind her. They both gave a small nod to Celestia, who returned it, and stopped a few steps from the ponies.

“He’s in my new house. Do you want me to take you to him?” Lyra turned to Twilight as both nodded. Discreet would be the best option. Celestia bowed and headed into the castle.

“I will leave this to you, I must retire for the day.” Celestia was soon gone, and Twilight made them stand in a triangle around her as she cast the teleport spell, transporting them to Lyra’s house. Thankfully, no one had barged down the door in her absence.

“Upstairs, first door on the right.” Lyra followed the two upstairs, trying to think of something she could say to break the silence between them. Whatever Red and Green had been doing these past few days had drained them. Blue was currently rocking back and forward on the bed, mumbling about evolution stones and explosion not being a very common ™.

Red passed Green, who had moved aside to let him through. Both recognised Blue immediately, despite the changed appearance. Red put a hand on each side of Blue’s face and forced Blue to look at him.

“Fast Balls are Acorns! Acorns are used to make many different balls such as a Heavy Ball.” Blue laughed as if he had said something funny, and both eyes were clouded. Red sighed, and Lyra jumped slightly in surprise. Leaning forward, Red tilted Blue’s head up so the horn would be well out of the way of his next action. Red leaned his head back, and before either Lyra or Green could react, he leaned forward and smashed his forehead into Blue’s own.

“Ah-ha-ooow,” cried Blue as he held his face in his hooves. Red stepped back, and rubbed his own face as well. Blue’s face had gotten harder. After a few moments of wincing, Blue raised his head and growled angrily at Red. Blue opened his mouth to make a retort, then the situation dawned on him and he shook his head, stifling another groan.

“I think you’re the one that deserve a punch in the face for breaking my only way home, bastard.” Blue stood up, and immediately sat back down. His head was still spinning. Blue did not want to lose his food, even if it tasted like dirt.

“So, I assume you’ve figured out how to save my awesome ass, so spill the beans already.” Blue tried standing up once more, and was satisfied to see the spinning had stopped. Raising his head, he might have received an answer if Rarity had not come bursting into the room.

“Twilight! A few of the ponies are launching a resistance. They’re planning to attack the humans because they don’t think we’re doing a very good job. Bon Bon’s leading them to their base right now!” All in the room was ready for action instantly, however all did a double take when the last sentence registered.

“Wait, What!?” Lyra’s voice reached a whole new octave.



> But they did not know that.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Red and Green can’t come for obvious reasons, but I don’t think you should go either Blue. I don’t know what happened at that explosion, but if they get a good enough look at you they might put two and two together.” Twilight shook her head as Blue made a move to step forward, and he sighed.

“Just be careful, a lot of their pokemon are over your level.” Blue looked to Green and Red as they moved behind him, and took a seat on the bed. Green seemed mildly curious about his...appearance, and Red seemed very distracted. Blue glanced to Lyra, who was hesitating, debating her course of action.

“Go, we’ll be here when you get back.” Blue walked over to Lyra and pulled out one of the six Pokeballs on his belt and held it out. There was an obvious moment of hesitation, but he followed through with the action. Lyra raised an eyebrow, and took the Pokeball.

“That’s Mewtwo. I can’t give you any of the others because there’s a chance they’ll ignore you. Mewtwo can read your mind so he’ll be on top of the situation almost immediately. Don’t use him unless it’s absolutely necessary, he’ll be recognized almost immediately and you don’t want the Police knowing that you know me enough for...yeah.” Blue scratched the back of his head and sighed, Mewtwo was going to chew him out for this later.

“Don’t worry, I’ll only use him if things look really bad.” Lyra leaned forward and quickly hugged Blue, who flinched slightly at the show of affection, and looked away. Lyra quickly released the hug and looked to Twilight. Twilight turned and left the room, Lyra following closely behind. Blue waited until he heard the sound of a door closing, before turning to look to Red and Green and meeting their eyes.

“Calm down Blue, I know your situation isn’t entirely...normal, but at least you’re not dead yet.” Green let a fake smile fall onto her face as she tried to cheer up Blue. It was a futile effort, and he jumped onto the bed to sit beside them and sighed once more.

“I’m beginning to think this whole world is hell bent on breaking me. And I’m not sure how much more pressure I can take.” Blue felt Green put an arm around him and pull him closer to her. Breathing in, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the familiar feeling of her hugs. It was over all too soon, and she released him.

“I know, I saw how you were when we came in. I can’t imagine the stress you must be going through being turned into that, being on the run, wanted so you can be executed, and the fact our presence is hurting this world.” Green glanced to Red, who nodded once. From Blue’s view, that was strikingly close to a bear hug from Red, and a ghost of a smile returned to his face, before falling a moment later.

“There’s more,” he replied, lowering his head, the ground getting slightly closer. Green paused, and for a moment she heard a small chuckle escape his lips. It might have been her imagination, as when he raised his head she blinked at the half closed eyes and slumped back of Blue. A brief chill curled down her spine.

“I might not even be able to return to being human, and this magic thing they use that Lyra forced me to learn is…” Blue couldn’t finish his sentence, and he looked away, biting his lip as a shudder shattered his still form. Blue and Red knew exactly what the problem was with the magic, and Green put a hand on Blue’s shoulder.

“Just hang in there, don’t shut down on us.” Green stood up and glanced to Red for a moment, before leaving the room and mentioning something about the kitchen. It was silent for a moment, and slowly Blue stopped hunching over and straightened up. It was then that Red stood up, and walked over. Blue raised his head to meet Red’s eyes as Red put a hand on his shoulder, and stood like that for a moment.

Red turned and headed downstairs to find Green. Blue laughed and once more looked to where his hands were absent at the end of his arms.

“You say this like it’s easy.”




Lyra put the ball in the saddlebag, careful to keep it out of view of everypony. Behind her jogged Flash Fire, sensing the mood and raring for battle. She gulped, knowing full well that Flash Fire hadn’t been trained as well as those done by humans, who had plenty of wild pokemon to beat up along with their own.

“There they are,” spoke Twilight, pointing to the large group of ponies arguing with the other 5 that made of the Elements of Harmony. As they trotted over, Lyra’s eyes widened as she recognised three faces she had hope would not be a part of the riot.

“Your best isn’t good enough. They broke my precious heirlooms!” Bon Bon was the obvious leader, situated right at the front. Each time the Elements almost had the crowd tamed, she would rile them up once more into a near frenzy.

“I can fight! I can win!” Scootaloo was wearing the armor from her brief moment after the rare candy incident, wings ablaze with flame as she stood to one side of Bon Bon, staring down Rainbow Dash. Twilight quickly stepped in to try and rationalise with Scootaloo that fighting wouldn’t solve the problem.

“They have no right to treat us like lower lifeforms! Growlie is intelligent and I will not let them treat their pet’s like objects to be tossed in the garbage can. We will fight!” Sweetie Belle was standing on the other side of Bon Bon, Rarity was currently trying to get her to calm down. Applejack and Applebloom were right beside her.

“Bon Bon, don’t do this,” spoke Lyra, approaching her friend. Bon Bon turned and looked to her scornfully.

“I should have known you would take their side. You’re just like those humans. Next time; stay where you belong!” Bon Bon spat at Lyra’s feet, and they charged through Twilight and the others, heading straight for the encampment. Twilight began to cast a spell, aiming to trap them in a bubble shield, however as soon as she tried every unicorn fired a makeshift spell at her designed to stun. One of them wouldn’t have hurt her at all, but against an army, she felt it.

Lyra quickly helped Twilight back up, and all of them quickly ran around the mob and once more approached the leaders. Bon Bon saw them and increased the pace, the encampment in sight. Enforcer Foxtripe stood up, grabbing a pair of Binoculars and took in the two separate parties. It was obvious one group was desperately trying to stop the other, and he made a mental note to go easy on the ponies after the riot.

“Alright, try not to hurt them too badly but don’t go easy. Pokemon out, we’ve got a riot on our hands. Treat it like Team Rocket, and faint each and every one of the bastards. Corporal Buttermouth and Chippertooth, you take the two guarding the ring leader. I’ll handle the the two from group B that might be a problem if they begin to show resistance. Alright, battle stations. Pokemon out!” 

Pulling out his own Pokemon, Foxtripe released his Growlithe. It had been his gift for graduating, each one of them had received one. Most didn’t name their Pokemon, but he had called his Phoenix. Foxtripe wasn’t sure where he had gotten the name from. But for some reason a Pokemon that was made to sniff out clues and was a fire type was perfect for the name.

“Attack!” The fight began with the cry from Enforcer Foxtripe, both sides descending into an all out frenzy. The humans tried to stay out of the fighting but most ponies were going straight for them instead of the Pokemon. This meant that it quickly turned into a three-way battle as Pokemon lost sight of their owners and began to attack anything that so much as blinked. Foxtripe wasn’t faring so well either.

Twilight and the others quickly went to work subduing as many ponies as they could, herself firing shot after shot of a stun spell into the fray. It was slowly reaching the stage she would have to adopt a shoot them all, sort them out later strategy. Applejack stood beside her, protecting her back from the enemies that tried to stop her from knocking out the forces.

Lyra dived for Bon Bon but quickly lost herself in the tangle of bodies, and cast a small pulse of magic outward to clear the space around her. For a brief moment she saw Bon Bon, but then realised her mistake as all three sides soon began attacking her in earnest, and she cried out in pain as something bit down on her leg. Catching a glimpse of Twilight, her eyes widened as she saw both Applejack and Twilight be swallowed up by a wave of Pokemon. Lyra turned and kicked the enemies around her away, and reached into her saddlebag and tossed the ball onto the ground.

A bright flash of light briefly distracted all parties, who soon returned to the fighting. Some humans were out of the fighting enough to actually realise what the flash was, Foxtripe was among them, and his mouth opened wide as he saw the red light fade and the shape of the pokemon be revealed.

“Mother of Arceus, it’s Mewtwo.” The pokemon barely glanced to Foxtripe as it looked at the fighting, quickly locating Lyra who was gripping the ball for dear life as the bodies pushed her around the clearing. Mewtwo breathed in and raised both arms, slapping his hands together in front of his body. Raising them above his head, he slammed them down to a vertical position in an almost chopping motion.

A sudden thud sounded through the clearing as a dark purple wall separated the two sides of the clearing. As Mewtwo slowly moved his hands apart, opening them wide, the wall split into two and each side was slammed into one of the walls. Any humans on the pony side were pushed back to the human side along with the Pokemon, and any Ponies on the human side were pushed to the pony side of the clearing. 

As both sides picked themselves up and out of the dust, Mewtwo lowered himself close to the ground to hover slightly above the only pony not touched by his telekinesis. Softly, and gently, he helped Lyra to her feet with his psychic powers, and she looked around the clearing. Lyra paused for a moment, looking to Mewtwo, and wondered what her next course of action should be.

’I would suggest telling them this squabble is a futile and fruitless affair.’ Flinching slightly, before realising it was Mewtwo talking into her head, Lyra forced herself to stand tall and proud as she first faced the Ponies.

“Alright,” she shouted,” listen up!” Twilight and the others were off to one side, looking between Lyra and the riot. Every single pony was paying attention to her.

“Fighting is not going to solve anything, and in fact Celestia had already solved the problem before you idiots decided to declare war! Celestia ordered the humans to not do any more harm to either us or our possessions. So if they continue to do so and this ends in war, it is your fault! Not the leader of this riot, you!” Lyra paused, and glared at each and every pony in the crowd. All but one looked away. Bon Bon met her gaze, and narrowed her eyes, a challenge. Lyra turned, this time to face the humans.

“And you! You better believe that if you don’t uphold your word that this is going to happen again. You were lucky we were here to stop this descending into a full out war. And no side would win in that scenario, you know this to be true!” Lyra met the eyes of Enforcer Foxtripe as he stood at the front of the pack of humans. Foxtripe gave a small nod, Lyra nodded in response.

“You just want to protect your precious humans!” As Bon Bon spoke out, stepping out of the line of ponies, Lyra once more turned to her. Closing her eyes, she sighed once as she realised there would be no chance of repairing their relationship after this. No matter, she reopened her eyes and stamped the ground.

“And you think bringing war to ponies will protect us? All that will do is cause bloodshed, and we will lose that battle Bon Bon. If you wish to prove me wrong, step forward and face the full might of just what ‘my precious humans’ can do.” 

Lyra glanced to Mewtwo, unsure if he would go along. However, as he stepped in front of her and landed on the ground, she knew he was going to support her in her effort. Mewtwo curled his hands into fists, and released a psychic blast of energy as he cried out, sending chills down the spine of every pony and human in the clearing.

Bon Bon looked to Mewtwo, narrowed her eyes, and stepped forward. Lyra closed her eyes and sighed, Bon Bon was calling her bluff. Looking to Mewtwo, she knew he would try not to seriously hurt Bon Bon, but even so this would ruin her chances of ever fitting in again with anypony. Was peace worth it? Twilight and the others looked to her sympathetically, but could do nothing but watch.

“Mewtwo, a lesson has to be taught here, as much as it pains me to do so to an old friend.” Lyra lowered her head and wiped away a single tear, shaking it off and once more appearing strong. It was more for the ponies sake that she did so. Lyra needed to show reluctance in her actions, otherwise they might just see her as the villain.

Bon Bon took a step forward, and barely had time to widen her eyes as Mewtwo was in front of her in an instant, he curled a fist and raised his arm, intent on slamming it straight into her forehead. Bon Bon cringed and ducked low to the ground, knowing it would not save her from it. However, opening her eyes, she realise the pokemon had stopped mere millimeters from her head.

“Do you wish to continue?” Lyra looked down at Bon Bon, who glared at her in response. However, as she stood up, she bowed her head and backed away. Bon Bon knew when she was defeated. Lyra knew this wasn’t the last she would hear of it, but it would be the last the humans heard of it.

“Say, Pony.” Turning to look toward the humans, she realised Enforcer Foxtripe was slowly crossing the dead zone. Both sides were beginning to thin now that the fighting was over, and Twilight and the others slowly came over to join them. This time, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were with them, and looking very guilty.

“Where did you get that Pokemon?” Foxtripe watched Lyra pull out a pokeball and hold it out to Mewtwo, who allowed himself to be sucked in. Putting it away, she turned back to the human.

“It was a gift from one of the best Pokemon Trainers in your universe.” Lyra looked directly at Foxtripe as he watched her thoughtfully. Both knew that the other has some inkling of what they were thinking, and Lyra showed she wasn’t going to back down if he planned on trying to force something into happening. However, Enforcer Foxtripe merely chuckled, shook his head, and began walking back to the camp.

“I’d have loved to talk to him about that particular venture one day, it’s a pity that is never going to happen given our current circumstances.” Glancing back once at Lyra, Enforcer Foxtripe winked once at her, before turning and joining his men at the camp. A few cheers went out as one man began to recount his experience during the riot, catching a few laughs as he made strange motions.

Lyra smiled, and followed Twilight back to the other side of the clearing, saying goodbye to the rest of their group as they began to disband. Glancing back once, she couldn’t see Enforcer Foxtripe from this distance, but she could certainly feel his eyes. Turning into the streets of Ponyville, Lyra felt a curious smile fall on her face.

> And so, with every problem slowly growing into mountains,
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Come on, you don’t put salt on a sandwich!” Lyra walked into her house and turned, entering the kitchen to see Blue standing on a chair as Green and Red tried to make lunch. Green was obviously annoyed.

“We know how to make sandwiches Blue! So shut up and let us make them.” Slapping her bread onto the bench, she leaned forward as Blue did the same, and they proceeded to glare at each other. Red finished his sandwich, put extra salt on it, and headed into the lounge room.

“Well, you’re making them poorly.” Blue smirked and picked up the bread, however Green slapped it out of his hoof. Their foreheads touched, and their glares intensified. They then proceeded to have the strangest argument Lyra had ever witnessed.

“I send out Blastoise-I send out Venusaur-Charizard-Gyarados-Seel-Cyndaquil-Typhlosion-Feraligatr!” Both paused, and then leaned back and broke into laughter. Green quickly finished her food and took a bite, almost snorting it back up a moment later.

“I don’t remember the last time we did that, seven years ago?” Blue sighed and wiped away a tear as he continued to chuckle to himself. Green shook her head, a smile on her face.

“I’m not sure, it was around the time we learned a fish we could watch near the town grew into a flying snake right?” Green paused, and chuckled at her own sentence.

“Oh yeah, I remember that. We spent the entire week fishing for Magikarp. Gramps found out and forced us to put them back in the water.” Blue jumped off the chair and began to head into the living room. It was then he noticed Lyra, and smirked at her as he passed.

“Better close that mouth, you don’t want a Pidgey thinking it’s a tree trunk to nest in.” Blue leapt onto the couch beside Red, Green sitting on the opposite side. Lyra glanced to Twilight, and both sat down as well. Lyra pulled out the Pokeball holding Mewtwo and held it out to Blue.

“Oh thanks,” he spoke, putting it once more back on his belt. Turning, he made a tossing motion at Green and she snorted, almost choking on her food.

“Remember that time that stranger came to Pallet Town? Red didn’t come out of the house for a week.” Blue elbowed Red lightly, and chuckled as he paused in his eating and glanced to Blue. Red then continued eating.

“A little embarrassed there Red?” Blue leaned his head back and laughed, wiping away moisture in his eyes. Leaning in, he smirked and whispered audibly.

“It is ok Red, after all, you’re not as awesome as me, you’re bound to get a little rosy-cheeked from time to time.” Blue leaned back and his smirk turned into a warm smile, and he breathed out slowly, enjoying the moment. Lyra began to smile as well, suppressing a chuckle at Blue’s antics. It was a good thing he wasn’t drunk.

“Oh Blue, please tell me there is some way we can be as awesome as you.” Lyra pretended to swoon convincingly, and Green snorted, finishing her food off as she covered her mouth with her hand, trying to suppress her own amusement. Blue swept an arm around Lyra and pointed to the roof, letting fake awe enter his voice.

“Maybe Lyra, Maybe. But my awesomeness is so hard earned you would have to be twice as awesome to even qualify for my awesomeness.” Blue glanced down to Lyra as she faked awe, and chuckled quietly.

“Well you certainly exploded with a bang yesterday,” she rebounded, missing the wince as she closed her eyes to give a chuckle. Red and Green shared a glance, their moods changing in an instant. Blue scratched the back of his head, but smirked as he tried to rebound the conversation back into safer waters.

“Not as much as you when you defeated that kid who made fun of Red for having a girly Pokemon that day.” Blue chuckled and  removed his arm from around Lyra, who turned, eyes still closed, chuckling, and spoke.

“Well I certainly didn’t stick around for the after party like you did eh?” Lyra elbowed Blue lightly, and opened her eyes, still not realising something was wrong with the smirk frozen on Blue’s face.

“Well, you did kinda force me into that situation,” he spoke, choosing his words carefully as slowly the smirk disappeared from his face. Lyra’s smile vanished in an instant. Green bit her lip, this did not look good.

“Nonsense, all you had to do was answer my question why and I would have let you off the hook.” Lyra narrowed her eyes at Blue, who scratched the back of his head and looked to Twilight, a question in his eyes.

“Don’t look to Twilight for escape from this Blue, we are going to talk about this and you are going to answer me.” Lyra forced Blue to look toward her. Blue winced as his neck cracked slightly from the force, but sighed and pulled himself away. Or at least, tried to. Lyra was much stronger than he was.

“Lyra sometimes I don’t want to have my friends know all my secrets, can’t you just leave it alone?” Blue sighed and closed his eyes as Lyra forced him to face her, and opened them as her glare deepened.

“No I can’t because there is obviously something you three know that I don’t about being a pony that is a death sentence and I want to know what.” Lyra growled as Blue once more tried to get out of her grip.

“And I said please don’t ask me about it!” Blue narrowed his own eyes, and stopped fighting to get free from Lyra.

“You know, maybe I should ask Red instead. Even as a freaking mute he has always given more answers than you have in your desperate attempts to appear cool.” Lyra growled once more in anger, her voice raising as she basically shouted at Blue.

“If you want to be actually cool then maybe you should be more like Red!” Lyra noticed the change in the three humans the instant the words left her mouth. Blue and Red both stiffened, while Green’s eyes filled with a blazing anger.

Blue turned, breaking free as if it was nothing, and exited the house. Lyra was silent, before her eyes finally began to widen as she realised what she had said. It was only then that Red stood up, and left after Blue. Green also got to her feet, but she paused in front of Lyra and looked down on her, giving her the most damning look Lyra had ever received, before following Red and Blue out of the house. 

Twilight bit her lip, knowing if someone were to see them they might get captured, making all their work for nothing, and quickly headed for the door. There were a few illusion spells she could use to mask them, at least as long as a Growlithe wasn’t looking for Red and Green. Pausing at the door, she glanced back once at Lyra, before heading out the door.

And so, Lyra was alone.

> With more appearing by the day,
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How dare Blue just walk out like that when I wanted answers. What right does he have to hide something from me?” Lyra growled and turned, pacing in her lounge room as she tried to rationalise her behaviour. Lyra glared to the Pokeball, stomping around the room.

“I’m his friend there should be no secrets between us. Friends are meant to share everything, confide in each other. I can tell the other two knew what he was hiding, so why couldn’t he tell me. Friends don’t keeps secrets from one another.” Lyra scrunched her face and gritted her teeth.

“Rrrrg, why!  Why does everyone leave me to side with him? What’s wrong with wanting to know why? Why is knowing his every secret such a crime?” Lyra turned, continuing her tromping through her house, glancing to the closed curtains and ripping them open in furious anger, closing them a moment later as the setting sun hit her eyes.

“I can read his mind! Why can’t I tell what he’s thinking? I should be able to make my own answer as to why. Why didn’t he tell me about the mind control thing? Why did he leave only to come back when a problem occured? WHY!” Lyra walked over to the desk and brushed the remains of the Pokeball to the floor and cried out in anger, smashing them into smaller pieces. Gasping for breath after, her ears flopped down and she looked to the remains surrounding her hooves.

“Why is it so wrong to want to know everything about him?” Lyra sat down and idly began scooping up the shards of the Pokeball and placed them back on the desk. After completing that she closed her eyes and sighed.

“I should trust Blue to have reasons not to tell me stuff. Why is it whenever he has a secret it becomes important I know every single detail?” Lyra hugged herself and scrunched her face up, forcing herself not to cry.

“Why am I such a horrible friend? I slap Twilight in the face, I make Bon Bon feel like a slave with no power, and I just said something horrible to Blue.” Lyra leaned back and let her head hit the floor, laying down as her eyes opened to look at the ceiling.

“He’ll never trust me again after the way I just treated him. Why couldn’t I let it slide? Why are you so stupid Lyra?” Lyra put a hoof to her forehead and gritted her teeth, pushing her hoof into her face, feeling a slight throb of pain as she did so. Lyra sighed and let her hoof fall down limply.

“What I did isn’t worth forgiveness,” she spoke sadly, rolling over to her side as she closed her eyes.

The sound of footsteps caused her ears to twitch, but she didn’t open her eyes. They stopped short of her, lying there curled up in on herself, and she heard the familiar sound of someone breathing. Suddenly, the person sat down and pulled her head into its lap, and she finally opened her eyes and looked up at the familiar face.

Blue looked at her curiously, head half tilted. When he saw her open her eyes, his face lit of with a half-smile, and he waited. Lyra turned away crossly, her head falling off his lap. Once more, Blue pulled her head onto his lap, and waited. It wasn’t long before Lyra scrunched up her face, trying to stop the tears from falling, and failing. Finally, she gave in, and began to sob openly.

“I’m sorry,” she spoke.

“I know,” he replied.

“I’m sorry,” she spoke.

“I know,” he replied again.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated.

“I know,” he replied. Blue leaned down a hoof, and slowly began to brush Lyra’s hair as she kept whispering the same two words. Blue continued replying with the same two words as Lyra vented to the same person she had just hurt terribly. If it had affected Blue, he showed no signs of it as he comforted Lyra.

Eventually, her words grew to whispers, before finally dying off. Blue continued stroking her as she finally stopped crying, and her eyes slowly opened.

“Would you like to hear a story?” Blue glanced down, meeting Lyra’s gaze as she gave him a curious look, before raising his head once more, a gentle smile falling on his face.

“It’s about a young trainer and his rival. Both were, not the regular pair of rivals. One never spoke a word while the other never seemed to shut up. It was obvious which one was the better trainer, but this only seemed to aggravate the other to no end. In fact, he was so desperate to prove he was a good trainer, he even resorted to cheating once. This only increased the tension between the once good friends.

“It was then the trainer met a man. This man spoke words that riled up the trainer, goaded him on, manipulated him. The trainer, not being the smartest of people at that time, finally gave in and told the man everything he wanted to know, seeking revenge on his rival for just being himself. It was only after the moment was over, and he realised revenge was not what he had actually wanted, that he realised what he had done. By then, it was far too late, the damage had already been done. It was only many years later that the two finally moved past the wall that had sprung up between them.” Blue paused, and brought the hoof that had been stroking Lyra thoughtfully to his chin, faking ignorance.

“You know, you remind me a lot of him. Well, besides one difference I suppose.” Blue grinned and looked down to Lyra’s curious gaze.

“What?” Lyra finally relented and asked what Blue was waiting for her to ask. Blue smirked and leaned down, whispering into her ear.

“That trainer never said sorry.” Blue leaned back and helped Lyra into a sitting position as a small smile fell onto her face. After a moment, she leapt on him, causing him to fall backwards, and began to choke him around his neck without meaning to. Blue gasped for breath in her hug of death.

“I love you,” spoke Lyra. Blue coughed once in response, and she loosened her grip. Blue slowly put his arms around her, hesitation in his actions. After a moment, he sighed and looked to the ceiling.

“I know.”

> Both were forced to push it aside for bigger problems.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blue sipped his drink thoughtfully, and waited for Red and Green to return. Lyra had gone upstairs to sleep. Left alone with his throughs for too long, he began to sigh inwardly to himself as they quickly formed a loop. If he didn’t get a distraction soon, it was likely he’d starting thinking about his feelings and stuff, and he really did not want to go there. Thankfully, a knock at the door distracted him. That was strange, Red and Green would know to come in.

If Blue was a smarter person, he would have ignored the knock and instead snuck upstairs to rouse Lyra. But sadly, he placed his drink down and slowly walked over to the door, and slowly opened it. Blinking, his mouth paused halfway in its motion to say hello as the form of a human registered, and he closed it again. The human in question pulled out a slip of paper with a name on it.

“Hello, I’m Enforcer Foxtripe, is a Miss ‘Lyra’ home?” If Foxtripe recognized Blue, he certainly was a master at hiding it. Foxtripe was dressed entirely in the Police uniform, helmet and all, and he looked like he was here for business. Blue blinked and glanced upstairs, biting his lip before turning back to answer.

“She’s asleep, I can go wake her if you want.” Blue motioned toward the stairs, feeling Foxtripe’s eyes on him.

“Right, well is a ‘Twilight’ here?” Once more, Foxtripe glanced to his sheet of paper as he read the name out. Blue looked him up and down, before answering slowly.

“She went for a walk.” Blue’s ear twitched as he head the sound of a door opening, and Lyra peeked her head out from the top of the stairs, stifling a yawn. After seeing who was at the door, she stiffened and quickly joined Blue standing near it.

“Perfect timing as usual Miss ‘Lyra’.” Once more, Foxtripe glanced to the piece of paper. Blue took a single step back, sharing a look with Lyra.

“Did you want something Enforcer Foxtripe?” Lyra tilted her head, biting her lip as she watched Foxtripe glance to Blue once more, before smiling cheerfully at her.

“I just came to inform the -uh-ponies in charge of a change of plan. I was expecting a ‘Twilight’ to be here as well but I am sure you will inform her of what I am about to say.” Foxtripe raised one eyebrow, and Lyra realised she was meant to nod. He chuckled as she began to bob her head enthusiastically.

“Well, orders have just come in from top, and we’re pulling off the searching in this world indefinitely. They believe this as all a ruse and the real hiding spot is the mountain Red and Green were last seen flying toward. They’re leaving a small stationary force here, under my command, to ensure the target does not slip through when we are not watching.” Foxtripe paused and looked to Blue before continuing.

“My men see this job as being payed to sit around and drink liquor, so they’re not going to be much of a problem in the future. I have permission to punish any who disobey the orders I have given them and I -uh- ordered them to refrain from interacting with ponies as Pokemon but instead as people. So far the uh, meetings with the local populace have been on pleasant terms. So it’s...likely things will continue to improve over the…” Foxtripe paused once more, and turned his eyes on Blue and disbelief entered his voice.

“I’m sorry but, you really don’t recognize me? I know you were pretty full of yourself at the time, but I’m surely more memorable than that. Is it the hair dye? Or the lack of cape? I knew the code against no capes would be a problem. Maybe this will help.” Enforcer Foxtripe reached up, and pulled off the helmet that kept his hair flattened. As he took it off, it sprung up almost like a spring, and settled into a hair pattern strikingly similar to Blue’s own. Blue narrowed his eyes, but shook his head. Foxtripe sighed and struck a pose, his voice lowering as he spoke.

“You know that dragons are mythical Pokémon! They’re hard to catch and raise, but their powers are superior! They’re virtually indestructible! Well, are you ready to lose? Your League challenge ends with me!” Enforcer Foxtripe leaned back and began to laugh as Blue’s eyes finally widened and his mouth hung open in a surprised ‘o’ shape. Enforcer ‘Foxtripe’ put his helmet back on with a chuckle.

“Sometimes laws are made to be broken kid,” he smiled at Blue, and turned to walk away, giving a salute as he left. Lyra glanced between them, confused as hay.

“Most of us are with ya whatever you decide to do. We always follow our Champions. Didn’t I tell you that when you became a Gym Leader, eh?” He glanced back and winked at Blue, who returned a shaky smile in response. Lyra growled, annoyed at being left out of the loop, but remembered her ‘little outburst’ and proceeded to wait patiently.

“You bloody bastard.” Blue laughed, shaking his head as he returned to the living room. Lyra’s eye twitched and she closed the door, walking robotically to sit beside Blue, who still hadn’t told her who it was. Finally, she growled and outright asked. Blue blinked, and chuckled sheepishly as he remembered Lyra was there.

“He’s a Pokemon Rights activist. Went up against Team Rocket a few times too. Call’s himself the Dragon Master.” Blue shook his head, smiling at the memory. Lyra’s ear twitched but she sighed. Whatever had happened, this was good news for them. It seemed they had friends in high places. Apparently those friends had fetishes for capes, but it wasn’t important. Humans were certainly weird sometimes. Lyra smiled, feeling as if, finally, they weren’t backed into a corner, and they could actually lead somewhat regular days like they used to.

They might just survive this yet.

> Well, I say that, but problems never really 'push aside'
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eventually, Red, Green, and Twilight returned to Lyra’s house. Lyra peeked her head out the kitchen and greeted them with a smile, returning to her task of trying to create a rather complicated dish. Biting her lip, she enjoyed the challenge even as she pulled out the sledgehammer.

“Hey,” turning, Blue greeted them with a wave, and they all sat down as he quickly explained what had just transpired. Green and Red both blinked in response, while Twilight merely tilted her head.

“I can’t believe it, Lance. With the Elite Four on our side, we might just be able to change this rule. If we can convince them to abandon the rule, maybe we can get your sentence revoked.” Green smiled, and gripped Blue’s arm as she spoke, he smiled, wincing slightly at her iron grip. Someone who worked with Pokemon at a Daycare center had to be pretty strong.

“We’ll go discuss it with ‘Foxtripe’ and see if we can come up with a plan.” Green pulled Red to his feet, and slowly skipped toward the door. Blue watched them go, and shook his head in response. Green liked to drag Red around, and he didn’t seem to mind. Would he have felt the same?

“Wait, Foxtripe left some Police outfits for you both to wear. He said you can blend in with the remaining troops and even have a tent to yourself as long as you leave the helmet on.” Lyra’s voice shouted from the kitchen, the sound of something going thud in the background of her words. Red and Green quickly picked up one of the outfits and pulled them over their clothes, it was a tight fit. Pulling their helmet’s on, they nodded to Twilight, and all three left. 

“Viola!” Lyra jerked Blue out of his musing as she slapped a plate on the table. Blue looked at it cautiously. From his view, it looked like some grass stuffed in bread like a hot dog with some salt sprinkled on the top. To the side of it was some hay that was thicker than the kind on the Pokemon world. Finally there was a burger, however instead of meat there was, you guessed it, grass.

“Well eat up! This is my absolute favorite meal.” Lyra leaned in and giggled, walking back into the kitchen to grab a drink before quickly returning. Blue looked down at the food and picked up one of the piece of hay, and bit down. Blue paused, and smiled at Lyra.

“It’s good.” Blue saw the satisfaction on Lyra’s face as she closed her eyes and opened them again, eyes sparkling. Lyra watched Blue eat the entire plate, and then asked him if he wanted seconds. Blue shook his head rapidly and tapped his stomach.

“No I’m good, I couldn’t eat another bite.” Blue smiled as Lyra nodded and went back to the kitchen to make her own. As soon as he was sure she wasn’t going to reappear his face scrunched up and he forced himself not to release the food he had just eaten onto Lyra’s table. Grabbing the drink, he gulped it down without remorse and waited impatiently for the taste to leave his mouth.

‘Arceus, I could use a burger right now.’ Blue’s mouth watered just thinking about it, and he shook it off. Later, he would have to talk Lyra into letting him make the meals. Blue was tired of his food tasting like dirt. Red and Green always conveniently left before food was delivered. Lyra soon joined him on the couch and tore into her own. Blue could tell from the way she vacuumed up the food she really did love it.

“Mmph, so I was thinking, now that you’re not going to be searched for around here, you wanna go out on a picnic, or something?” Lyra raised her head as Blue blinked and slammed his hoof into his forehead, wincing as he did it slightly too hard.

“Darn it! I meant to ask Red what he found out during his time he wasn’t with us. He must have a plan already and he and Green are working on it.” Blue gritted his teeth and cursed himself silently. How many days had it been and he still hadn’t asked about it yet. Blinking, he remembered Lyra’s question and looked to her sheepishly.

“Oh uh, sure. Picnic, sounds great.” Blue watched Lyra puff out her cheeks and glanced away, breathing out silently as he knew what she was thinking. Blue would have to do some fancy footwork at the picnic to make up for his slip in concentration. Lyra seemed to forget about it, and she smiled.

“Great, I know the perfect place. Meet me back here in an hour. Or, you know, just stay here while I go and get everything ready.” Lyra skipped cheerfully out the door, and Blue swore loudly to himself. Groaning, he stood up and exited Lyra’s house, and slowly began to walk toward what he hoped was still where Rarity lived. Knocking on the door, she looked to him curiously as he glanced behind him. If she had to liken it to something, it would be an animal looking at it’s only avenue of escape.

“I...need some decent clothes.” Blue forced the words through his gritted teeth and once more looked to his exit. Surely he could just wear what he was wearing? Blue sighed, and accepted his fate, ears flopping down as he followed Rarity inside as she motioned him in. No, baggy shorts wouldn’t do for this sort of picnic.

“Well sure, I’ve got some suits that should fit you. They’re for an order but I can let you have one. It won’t take me too long to make another in time for the delivery.” Rarity pulled out the top of a penguin suit, and held it out to Blue. Blue slowly took it and held it in his hand while Rarity waited expectantly.

“And the pants?” Blue narrowed his eyes as Rarity opened her mouth with an eyebrow raised, about to ask if he was serious. After a moment she closed it and pointed to the suits on the mannequins.

“Ponies don’t normally wear pants, especially to formal events. We like to show off our talents whenever possible you see.” Rarity walked over to a pile of clothes and began rifling through them.

“Alright, ignoring how...weird that sounds to me, pants please.” Blue caught the pants and placed them on top of the suit he was holding, waiting for Rarity to show him to the changing room, after a moment of staring at each other, he sighed and motioned to the room.

“Let me guess, ponies also change in front of the other gender here.” Blue looked away and scratched the back of his head. Looking at Rarity from the corner of his eye, he saw her nod and open her mouth to ask him a question.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll just change at Lyra’s.” Blue waved to Rarity as he headed for the door, and paused before he left to mutter a quick thanks behind him. Rarity returned to searching for her misplaced walkie talkie, still on patrol duty. Humans certainly had weird habits.




“Blue, I’m home!” Lyra entered her house and looked around, noticing Blue wasn’t on the couch. Putting down her bag she glanced around quickly before shooting up to her room with her bag. Hearing a door open, she realised Blue had been in the guest bedroom.

“Everything ok?” Blue’s voice startled Lyra, and she shouted back through her door.

“Yep! I’ll be out in a minute!” Lyra breathed out as Blue returned to the guest bedroom, and dumped the contents of the bag on her bed, looking to the clothes. Pulling out the white and yellow dress, Lyra quickly began putting it on. Trotting over to her mirror, she then put her hair up using a hairpiece designed after her cutie mark. Quickly checking her appearance, Lyra nodded, smiling to herself as she smirked with glee. Blue was gonna be so surprised.

Opening the door, she knocked on the guest bedroom, watching it swing open under her knock with a slight creak. Her eyes widened to see Blue looking into the mirror near the closet and trying to flatten his hair, irritation on his face. Lyra chuckled, and Blue finally noticed she was there, allowing her to take in his fancy monkey suit with matching pants.

“How did you know,” puffed Lyra, pouting because Blue had discovered her surprise. Blue smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

“It doesn’t take an hour to make a picnic.” Blue glanced once more to the mirror, and gave up on his hair. Lyra probably didn’t care. Lyra turned and marched down the stairs, annoyed she had slipped up so easily. Blue followed her down, and they both left. Lyra paused, and decided to continue her act.

“Oh dearie me, I seem to have forgotten to make the picnic, what do you say we go and eat at one of the many diners instead.” Lyra pronounced each word at a different pitch, and she was rewarded by the hint of a smile from Blue as he shrugged noncommittally.

“Sure, food is food after all.” Blue followed Lyra to what turned out to be Sugarcube Corner, and as they entered he had to force his mouth to stay closed as he took in the transformation of the front foyer. If Blue hadn’t seen it during previous parties, he would have mistaken it for a restaurant. Pinkie Pie was, of course, their waiter. 

“Welcome Sir, Madam, to our fine establishment. Chateau Pinkus is here to serve your fine dining needs this here day.” Pinkie Pie silently giggled, before remembering she was pretending to be ‘fancy’. Lyra and Blue headed for a table and sat down. Pinkie Pie drew the menu’s, and Blue was surprised to find the meals actually looked like restaurant meals. Well, pony restaurant meals really.

“I’ll take the Sparkling Water with an order of your Pink Roast please.” Lyra closed her menu and held it out to Pinkie, who took it and looked to Blue.

“I’ll have what she’s having.” Blue handed back the menu and Pinkie nodded, vanishing in a puff of smoke and appearing with their drinks, appearing a moment later with their meals. It turned out, of course, that the ‘Pink Roast’ was just cupcakes with pink icing. Lyra seemed annoyed, but she let it slide.

“Enjoy your meal.” Lyra picked up her cupcake and quickly finished it, looking to Blue as he slowly at his own. After he finished it, he took a drink of his water, and turned his gaze on Lyra as she spoke.

“You know, you didn’t have to dress up.” Lyra watched Blue grab his drink and take a sip, stalling. After a moment he put it down, and turned to her.

“You didn’t have to either.” Blue pointed to her outfit and she blushed.

“Yeah well, I wanted it to be a surprise. But you didn’t have to.” Lyra once more watched Blue pause, scratching the back of his head before answering.

“Well, I did.” Blue glanced to his plate, and silently wished there was more food to hide behind. As if by magic, Pinkie Pie delivered a second round of cupcakes. These one’s were blueberry.

“Yes but, why did you?” Lyra began eating her own muffin, waiting for Blue to answer as he slowly ate his.

“Do I...have to have a reason to want to look nice?” Blue glanced to his drink and finished it in a few gulps. When Pinkie appeared he quietly asked her for some stronger stuff, she nodded and dashed away, coming back with some apple cider. Blue had been trying to cut down, but with how this conversation was going, he wanted to be drinking something stronger.

“Yeah, you kinda do.” Lyra finished her cupcake, noticing Blue was changing to cider. Was he trying to hide behind alcohol now too? Blue took a short sip and sighed, that was better.

“I thought it would make you happy,” he answered sadly, looking down to his plate as a third cupcake was delivered. Blue slowly ate it, leaning over his plate, slightly disheartened.

“Oh.” Lyra glanced away, and took a sip of her drink. Was it really as simple as that? Wait, there was something crucial she was missing.

“Why?” Lyra turned on Blue, narrowing her eyes as he looked up and tilted his head, swallowing to speak.

“What do you mean why?” Blue grabbed his drink and took another sip, returning to his cupcake.

“Why did you want to make me happy?” Lyra ignored her own cupcake, narrowing her eyes as she tried to mask the hurt in them. Blue, about to take a bit of his cupcake, sighed and put it down, turning to look her directly in her eyes.

“Because you’re my rival Lyra. You being happy affects my happiness.” Blue knew he had made the wrong move dressing up. Why had he thought that would make things better? Another one of his genius moves, just perfect.

“So. Just friends.” Lyra’s voice dripped with venom as she thought about Green, and how Blue looked to her sometimes. Why couldn’t she be Green? Green had such an easygoing life.

“Lyra, please don’t do this again.” Blue looked sadly at Lyra as he tried to get out of the conversation. Things had finally been on the mend, and now he had stupidly broken it, like usual. 

“Why, afraid Green will pop in and proclaim her love for you?” Lyra glanced away, unable to hide her envy. Blue flinched, and sighed. It was likely he deserved that.

“No, Green is happy with Red. And I’m not going to force her to worry about how her happiness is affecting me.” Blue gritted his teeth, taking another sip of his drink. Maybe if he just stood up and walked out. No, Lyra would just follow.

“Let me guess, you expect me to do the same with you. Well newsflash Blue, I’m not you.” Lyra’s voice rose as she rounded on Blue, and slammed her hooves into the table, shaking the plates and drink. Blue flinched at the action, but met her eyes unflinchingly.

“No, no I don’t.” Blue looked at Lyra wearily, and closed his eyes as he leaned his head on the table, laying it on the plate in front of him. Lyra snorted through her nose, and sat down in a huff, annoyed with Blue, but at the same time guilty for her actions.

“Lyra, what do you want me to do?” Blue raised his arm and weakly motioned to her, not moving his head as his arms hung limply from his body. Lyra leaned forward, putting her hooves on the table as she leaned over to whisper into his ears.

“What do you think I want Blue? I want you to love me!” Lyra forced her voice to remain low, leaping back into her chair and folding her arms as she snorted once more. It wasn’t fair for Blue to treat her so nice, and yet twist the knife into her chest with that same move.

“I can’t.” Blue’s voice caught Lyra’s attention, and her anger began to boil.

“What,” her barely contained anger spoke. Finally, Blue snapped. Raising his head he stood up and slammed his hooves onto the table, leaving large dents as he shouted.

“I can’t! You. Are. A Pokemon! When you came to my world, you leveled like a Pokemon! When you walked around my world, you acted like a Pokemon! When you returned here, you remained a Pokemon! I can’t love a Pokemon Lyra! It is so frowned upon in our world, so much that those who do so are killed on sight! Arceus damn it! I tried to make you happy. For one day I tried to give you what you wanted, I put on this stupid monkey suit, and everything but even then it just wasn’t enough for you! I tried my hardest to make you happy, but even then, you refuse to accept anything less than what Green has. I can’t do this anymore Lyra! I am not a Pokemon, I don’t like getting punched in the face for a living, and all you seem to do is do that to me. I am DONE!” Blue turned, and left.

Lyra put her hooves to her face, and began to cry.

> So, considering we have time, let's start on a new story.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight opened the door to Sugarcube corner, glancing behind her to Pinkie Pie. The room was almost pitch black, and she slowly walked inside, opening the curtains to let some light in. She soon spotted Lyra, and walked over to her.

“Lyra, Pinkie brought me here. What happened?” Twilight put a hoof to Lyra’s shoulder, but she jerked away and shook her head rapidly. Twilight sighed and turned toward the door, where Red and Green were bending down to enter, pulling off their helmets as they closed the door.

“Red, Lyra’s not responding.” Twilight moved aside as Red bent down to one knee and gently brought Lyra’s face to meet his eyes. After a brief moment, her face scrunched up and she turned away, sobbing quietly to herself. Red glanced to Green.

“Lyra and Blue had a fight. It was pretty serious from the sounds of it.” Green bit her lip as she translated for Twilight, who had only gleaned from Red that the situation was serious. Red and Green looked to each other, and Red stood up. Putting his helmet on, he left. Green sighed and rubbed her forehead, pulling up a chair and sitting near Lyra.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Green blinked as Lyra raised her head and gave her the dirtiest stare Green had ever seen, before lowering her head. Glancing toward the door, Green could tell this fight had somehow involved her.

“As if we needed more problems. Damnit Blue.” Green sighed and stood up, putting her helmet on as she began to head for the door, pausing as she passed Twilight.

“Stay with her for now, I have to get back to Lance. We still have other problems to solve after all.” With this, Green left the remaining ponies alone. Pinkie Pie quickly made an excuse, and left as well. Twilight sighed and pulled up a seat beside Lyra.




Somewhere deep in the Everfree Forest, hiding under a tree, Blue laid curled up in between two large tree roots. It would have been impossible to find him under normal circumstances. Of course, Red wasn’t exactly using ‘normal circumstances’ to find Blue. Gliding down, he landed his Charizard and walked toward Blue, knowing exactly where he was.

“Go away Red,” spoke Blue, covering his face with his arms as he rolled over so he wasn’t facing Red. Red continued walking toward Blue.

“I said, go away.” Blue raised his head and growled at Red, who paused a few steps away and stood there unflinchingly. Finally, Blue pulled off his bag and tossed it at Red.

“I said go away!” Blue shouted as he flung it with all his strength, Red catching it without so much as a change in his stance. Red let the bag drop to the ground, and Blue growled once more, turning away and curling back into his nook. Red walked over and took a seat beside Blue. It was silent for a minute or two.

“Please, go away.” Blue’s voice croaked, wavering as he struggled to keep emotion out of it. Anyone who was watching him would be able to tell he was trying to hide behind anger, and Red was no exception. After a moment, Red stood up, and walked away.

Blue curled up once more, and returned to whatever he was doing in the middle of the Everfree.




Lyra didn’t move from her position, even as Twilight slowly lifted her up with her magic and began to walk out of Sugarcube corner, heading for Lyra’s home. After arriving, Twilight pulled off the dress and undid Lyra’s hair, and gently laid her on the bed. Flash Fire leapt onto Lyra’s bed, and she curled her arms around him. Twilight turned and walked down the stairs. It wasn’t long, before Red returned, and sat down on the couch, putting a fist to his chin and frowning as he mused.

“So how’s Blue?” Twilight walked over as Red gave her a quick glance, and his frown deepened. Twilight sighed and took a seat next to Red. If only problems were as easily solved as the first time they had met. Red leaned back and closed his eyes, head facing the ceiling.

“What do we do?” Twilight mimicked Red’s action, and tilted her head as he shook his head slightly. Was there really nothing they could do? Twilight leaned forward and glanced to the stairs, wondering what was going through Lyra’s mind. Upstairs, Lyra was currently repeating Blue’s words over and over in her head, feeling sharp pains each time he repeated the word ‘Pokemon’.

’I’m not a Pokemon, I’m a pony. Blue himself said we are to be treated like humans, so why does he still see me as Pokemon?’ Lyra groaned and shifted, feeling the warmth of Flash Fire in her arms.

’I raised Flash Fire, could a Pokemon do that? I controlled Mewtwo. Well, truthfully Mewtwo allowed me to command him, but it still counts! Pokemon obey Ponies, I could train them if I so wished to.’ Lyra opened her eyes and looked to Flash Fire, who was comforting her even now. Raising her head to look toward the wall, Lyra bit her lip.

’But...When I went to the human world, the truth is I did just act like a Pokemon. Sure, Red and Blue gave me plenty of leeway but I was still following Red’s orders to the dot. Blue called me his Rival, but I’m just a Pokemon to him. Pokemon can’t be rivals.’ Lyra felt a slightly pricking in the back of her mind, and paused to muse on the word ‘rival’ for a moment. Why did Blue use that word, and not friend, when she questioned him about it? It happened too often to be a coincidence.

‘Come to think of it, Flash Fire too. Why give me a Pokemon if you see me as a Pokemon? Only trainers keep Poke-’ Suddenly, it began to make sense to Lyra. Ponies had the potential to both be humans and Pokemon by their world’s standards. People who kept Pokemon that were trained to fight were called trainers, and trainers always came in pairs called rivals.

’Was Blue...trying to turn me into a trainer?’ Lyra shook her head, that was crazy. Blue was just a jerk, a heartless bastard that wouldn’t give her what she wanted. Lyra knew he could give it to her, but he refused to on the grounds she was a Pony, and he a human. The Pokemon world saw Ponies as Pokemon, all thanks to her being the first one to be there. They saw Ponies as Pokemon because the first one they had met had been in that role.

‘Besides, I don’t need to fight to prove anything. I could easily beat Blue with one hoof behind my back.’ Lyra nodded to herself, she could easily beat Blue if she wanted to. Why should she? Lyra had nothing to prove. Blue was just a jerk, like she had throught during their first encounter nearly 8 years ago.

‘Why, I should march down there and challenge him to prove it! Call me a Pokemon will he? Well, this Pokemon is about to beat your sorry ass back to Pallet Town!’ Lyra stood up and gently picked up Flash Fire, gritting her teeth as her sadness turned to anger and determination. Blue was going to lose this fight, she would make sure of it. Lyra stormed down the stairs and rounded on Red, who looked to her, eyes widening slightly. Twilight jumped slightly on the couch.

“Take me to Blue,” she ordered.

> It is about a world made on rules, let's call them 'game mechanics'
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blue raised his head as the sound of a pokemon landing echoed out from nearby. Looking as Red came into the clearing, he was slightly confused why there was no sense of urgency in his actions. Red would only have returned if something had happened. When Blue saw Lyra was approaching with him, Blue immediately knew this wasn’t going to be an easy encounter.

“I challenge you to a Pokemon battle.” Lyra’s voice rang loud and clear through the clearing, and Blue shifted position slightly, but still not getting up. 

“You want to fight my pokemon?” Blue looked to Lyra wearily. Blue really didn’t want to watch his pokemon beat up Lyra.

“No, I want your Pokemon to fight mine.” Lyra placed Flash Fire in front of her and glared at Blue, who regarded her seriously, for once. After a moment, he slowly stood up and met her gaze.

“Alright.” Blue reached down to pick out the pokemon closest to the level of Lyra’s.

“Wait just a moment, I want to set a few ground rules before we begin.” Lyra glared to Blue as he paused in his action. Did he really think she was going to let him go easy on her? Blue nodded once, and she continued, pointing a hoof at Blue.

“Number one, if I win you will love me unconditionally, if you win I will never bring it up again.” Lyra smiled devilishly as Blue’s eyes widened in surprise. After a moment, he gave a short nod, and continued holding her gaze.

“Number two, you use Mewtwo.” Lyra narrowed her eyes as Blue once more hesitated, and instead of nodding he opened his mouth to reply.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, I should use one closer to the level of your-” Blue stopped talking when Lyra’s glare began to narrow to pinpricks, and he sighed, lowering his head.

“Then I back out of the-” This time, Lyra cut him off.

“You can’t do that, rules state that if you accept a challenge there’s no backing out.” Lyra pulled out her ace, and saw the annoyance ripple onto Blue’s face, her smile widening. Lyra had him now, finally she would get an answer to this once and for all.

“Tch, fine. I’ve got no choice in the matter now.” Blue wrenched the Pokeball out of his belt and threw it angrily into the air, catching it after Mewtwo was released. Lyra smiled, and ordered Flash Fire forward, and looked directly at Blue.

’I’ll try not to harm him, but she’s going to get wise very quickly.’ Blue groaned as Mewtwo spoke directly to his mind.

’I know okay? What am I supposed to do? She has me trapped here.’ Blue glanced away from Lyra and pretended to focus on the fight, trying to figure out a third option. There had to be a way out of this. If he won Lyra would never bring it up again, if he lost Lyra would expect him to...There had to be a third option.

’There isn’t one, you’re just going to have to chose which one is the decision you want to live the rest of your life with.’ Blue knew Mewtwo was right, but the two options were both bad outcomes. Lyra would be downtrodden if Blue won the fight, and would probably never forgive him. And winning was a similar position.

“Come on!” Lyra shouted at Blue, seeing him flinch. The indecision was expertly masked from his face, but Lyra had always been able to read his mind, excluding certain situations. Blue raised his head to meet her eyes.

“Prove to me you don’t Blue! Come on!” Lyra stood up on two feet and shouted, pointing angrily at Blue. Blue glanced back to the fight, and then to Lyra once more. Blue bit his lip, and looked away from everything for a moment. Blue raised his head to look at the sky, and closed his eyes, and gave a sigh. Pulling out Mewtwo’s ball, he pressed the button, causing Mewtwo to return and fell to his knees, bowing his head in defeat.

“I concede,” was all he said. Lyra blinked, and suddenly a beaming smile broke out onto her face. Lyra quickly shook it away and approached Blue’s hunched body, and loomed over him. After a moment, Blue raised his head to meet her eyes.

“Then kiss me.” Lyra saw Blue hesitate, glancing toward where Red was standing nonchalantly to the side.

“I said, kiss me,” she repeated once more. Blue sighed and looked toward Lyra, standing up and brushing himself off. Breathing in, he looked to her in immense irritation.

“Fine.”

And so he did.

> For most, these were non negotiable.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The thump was audible, even from Lyra’s room, as was the quiet cursing that followed. Raising her head, she quickly moved off her bed and snuck towards the door, opening it silently with her magic. Glancing downstairs toward the door, she quickly confirmed that it was not somepony breaking into her house, before sneaking to the guest bedroom and opening it quietly, peeking in the tiny crack she had created.

Blue rubbed his forehead and sat up, having fallen off his bed and onto the hard wooden floor. Pulling himself back onto the bed, he sighed and glanced to the window, his frown deepening at some hidden thought.

“Are you ok?” Lyra’s voice visibly startled Blue, and he nearly fell off the bed again. After a moment he realised it was her and relaxed, giving a nod and scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“Yeahs’fine, go back to bed.” Blue was nearly 100% sure Lyra was not going to do as he asked. Blue was, of course, correct.

“Come on, did you have another nightmare?” Lyra jumped onto Blue’s bed and sat beside him, concern on her face. Blue looked to her, and then sighed, lowering his head as he looked toward the window.

“Yeah, they didn’t exactly stop after we returned to catch Giovanni for the second time.” Blue noticed the sky was beginning to lighten, and wondered if he might witness the sunrise. Would it remind him of home, or would it to be different in some way?

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lyra put a hoof on Blue shoulder and looked out the window as well, realising this was the first time in a long while she would witness the sunrise too. Lyra thought back, wondering if she had seen one in the Pokemon world. Discarding the distracting thoughts, she turned around to hear Blue's answer.

“Not really, but you’re not going to give me a choice are you.” Blue pulled off his bag and began to rummage around in it, searching for something. Lyra sighed and removed her hoof.

“Blue, you telling me your problems shows me how much you trust me to care for you despite that. That’s how girls show affection, sharing feelings.” Lyra decided to exclude the fact not all women were like that, and if someone pointed her out on it they could easily see the flaws in her argument. Blue didn’t need to know that.

“Yeah well, I’m not exactly comfortable sharing my ‘thoughts and feelings’ okay?” Blue pulled out what appeared to be a notepad and put his bag down again, flicking through the pages. With each page, his frown deepened. After a moment, he pulled out a pen, and began to write on a blank page. Lyra couldn’t see what he was writing.

“What, you’ve always been ‘alone’ or something?” Lyra’s ears flopped down in irritation. Maybe things would have been easier if she had gone and proclaimed her love to Bon Bon instead of Blue, even with how things were. Lyra felt a smile fall on her face as she envisioned that scenario, before she shook it off and noticed Blue was looking at her. Blue glanced away, and then sighed and made a small motion with his hoof.

“Lyra, the one person who saw through my ‘act’ was Red. And he’s mute, and also doesn’t talk about his problems. You don’t just walk up to your rival and begin to cry in his arms about ‘problems’, and ‘feelings’, in our world.” Blue closed the book and put the pen away, and held it out to Lyra, who took it curiously.

“What’s this?” Lyra opened it to the first page, and took one look at it before closing it, nearly vomiting in horror. What was on that first page was some of the most horrendous self-deprecation she had ever seen. If Lyra hadn’t noticed Blue’s face slightly lower in response to her reaction, she might have tried to light a fire, and burn the book, probably along with her house, down.

“Those are...my nightmares.” Blue glanced away and breathed out, scratching the back of his head again. Lyra could see the trapped look in his eyes, and forced herself to calm down. Opening the page once more, she forced herself to look at it.

“There’s only words.” Lyra slowly went through the pages, and began to notice a trend. It was hard to tell at first, but it often revolved around Red, and in later pages, her.

“Yeah, that’s all my nightmares are. No images thankfully…” Blue waited for Lyra to finish looking at the book as she flicked toward the final pages, and read one of the last entries.

“Oh Blue,” she sighed, voice heavy with the weight of what Blue had just shown her. Holding out the book, Blue took it and once more put it in his bag. This time, Lyra noticed he was actually putting it into a hidden compartment, similar to Red’s except inside the bag instead of outside.

“How long have you done this?” Lyra turned her head as the pricking of light hit the window. Both paused to take a moment to enjoy the sunrise. Blue was surprised, there seemed to be much more...for lack of a better word, tenderness to the movement as it ascended the sky.

“A long time, before I even got pokemon. After something happened between me and Red, I had to move away for some time to live with Gram-Professor Oak. After I started waking up screaming or something, he told me to start writing them down. He thought it might help.” Blue shrugged nonchalantly, and looked to his hooves, wishing he had hands so he could have something to do.

“And did it?” Lyra leaned in, shuffling forward so she was sitting right next to Blue. He seemed to give a slight shiver, but soon relaxed despite her close proximity.

“Then? Yeah, they stopped happening so frequently. Sometimes I would even forget they might occur. Now? No, in fact it seems to be getting worse. This is the third time I’ve been up tonight. Well, morning.” Blue looked to Lyra and bit his lip, tilting his head as he shrugged. Lyra’s ears tilted down and she glanced away, before leaning on Blue and sighing.

“That’s...quite a problem.” Lyra didn’t entirely understand why Blue was suffering from such strange, and very precise nightmares, but she knew he wasn’t going to break down like the time with Giovanni quite as easily, at least as long as she was around.

“It’ll be fine, I deal with it all the time.” Blue’s words didn’t inspire any confidence in Lyra. A sudden thought occurred to her, and she raised her head slightly.

“Come to think of it, why did you start doing that act?” Lyra sat up and saw Blue awkwardly laugh and looked away, once more scratching the back of his head. Lyra could tell it was something he didn’t want to talk about, but he continued anyway.

“It was easier than the truth.”

> But that was just what those people were afraid of.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



“I just don’t see why we have to bring Twilight into this.” Blue stomped behind Lyra as they walked toward the castle. Lyra paused and fixed a glare on him, he sighed and started walking normally.

“I told you Blue, if you refuse to see one of our Psychiatrist ponies, you are going to at least see Twilight. I know you don’t want to but please just trust me on this Blue.” Lyra resumed walking and bit her lip, feeling slightly guilty because she could relate with what Blue was currently going through. Lyra had never had any mental problems, so she thought anyway, but she could understand Blue’s fear of being diagnosed with one. A permanent label you could never remove.

“Tch, and I told you I don’t care what fancy degrees they have. If a Hospital in our world doesn’t look for these ‘mental problems’ you’re talking about, why should I worry about it? It’s like you’re telling me I’m some idiot who can’t even work out how to open a Pokeball without throwing it.” Blue paused for a moment as Lyra reached for the door. Twilight’s voice could be heard from inside.

“I know it sounds like that, but it’s not. You’ll just have to trust me here, I’m sure Twilight can explain it better.” Lyra opened the door and watched Twilight clean up the last of the papers, laughing as Spike told her a joke Lyra only caught the punchline of. Blue closed the door behind them, and they both approached.

“Hey Twilight, do you think we could talk to you alone for a moment.” Lyra glanced to Spike, who quickly busied himself with taking the papers away. Lyra had always liked Spike, he had a knack for reading a situation. Twilight approached and waited for Lyra to talk. Lyra’s ears flicked back, and she glanced to Blue, scratching her front leg with a hoof.

“Well, Blue’s been having nightmares, and they’re only getting worse. He’s been writing them down and I’m just a little worried there’s something-” Lyra cut off her answer and shrugged helplessly, unsure how to explain without insulting Blue. Glancing to Blue, she watched him sigh and fish around for the notebook from the morning. Twilight picked it up, and had a much more subdued reaction compared to Lyra.

“Well...that’s...a lot of words.” Twilight handed Blue the book back and turned, using her magic to open a door. Lyra looked inside and saw a lot of ruined books, some burned almost beyond repair. Pulling out one of the less damaged books, Twilight flicked toward a page and began skimming it, raising her head to look to Blue nervously.

“Now, I’m going to ask a few questions, and I need you to answer them honestly. I know a lot of them are...personal, but I need you to answer them truthfully.” Twilight bit her lip, knowing full well the last thing Blue wanted to do as answer these questions. Frankly, she had just found out more than she was comfortable knowing about Blue. Twilight was in a very uncomfortable position herself.

“Well, question one; how hard are everyday decisions. For Example; What do I want to do today?” Twilight looked down to the book, and raised her head. Blue looked to Lyra and hesitated. Lyra leaned into Blue and gave him an encouraging smile.

“Okay I guess. I don’t normally have many decisions to make. Do I travel or stay at the gym today?” Blue glanced toward the door, wondering if he would be able to escape if he tried. Surely their magic wouldn’t stop him in time. Looking to Lyra, he groaned inwardly, no they would.

“Right...Question two; how have you been sleeping as of late?” Twilight knew the question to this based on what she had seen, but she had to hear Blue describe it. This would be important once this was over. Twilight really didn’t feel comfortable in this situation.

“Badly,” he replied, once more looking anywhere but at Twilight. The floor was a nice alternative.

“You work at the Gym right? How hard is it to show up to work?” Twilight looked down the list of question once more, seeing they still had a lot to go.

“People complain often I’m not there when I should be, but it’s tiring, sitting there while trainers try to get through my maze, defeating trainers who made the mistake to try me first.” Blue gritted his teeth thinking back to some of those encounters. Not something he enjoyed repeating.

“How do you feel when you wake up in the morning?” Twilight looked to Lyra, who was obviously trying to work out the pattern to the questions.

“You mean when I don’t have nightmares? Okay I guess. It takes me a while to get up but then again I don’t really have anywhere to go.” Blue felt himself relax slightly as his body realised the questions weren’t going to hurt him. Blue hoped it would stay that way, but he really didn’t want to hear the result.

“When you look into your future, what do you see?” Twilight could have answered this one for Blue quite easily. With the amount of odds stacked against them as they tried to deal with the current sentence on Blue, anyone would be able to tell the answer.

“Problems,” came his simple reply.

“You feel sad, or similar emotions how often?” Twilight watched Blue hesitate, and once more look to Lyra. Blue sighed and muttered a quiet response as he turned away.

“Let’s just say quite a bit.” Blue looked around the room, trying to find something to take his mind off the conversation. Sadly, there were no posters on the walls for him to pretend to pay attention to.

“How patient are you compared to a few years ago?” Twilight rubbed her forehead, this was getting quite a lot to handle.

“I was never really the most patient person.” Blue looked sadly to Twilight as she rubbed her forehead, and turned away before she noticed.

“Last one. When you look back at your life, what do you feel.” Twilight sighed inwardly as Blue visibly winced.

“I’ve...made a lot of bad decisions, let’s just leave it at that.” Blue was relieved the questions were over, but knew the worst part was yet to come. Blue had always hated doctors, they always had that look that just annoyed him. If it wasn’t for Lyra, he would have left a long time ago.

“Blue, this might come as a bit of a shock to you but…” Twilight trailed off, and Blue focused on her.

“You have Depression.”

> They were afraid of those that could bend, or even break these rules.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What, you mean like sad?” Blue tilted his head, not sure why Lyra was looking at him with sudden understanding. Twilight bit her lip and flicked a few pages into the book.

“No, but I can’t explain it well. I’ve never had it. There’s quite a few quotes in here from ponies who have had it though. One describes it as; ‘Unspeakable sadness, a feeling of being trapped with no escape, with nowhere to turn.’ Really, there’s so many here it would be easier to give you the book.” Twilight held out the book, but Blue didn’t take it. Looking at it, the silence stretched awkwardly between them.

“So basically, who I am is a disease.” Blue waved his arms weakly and sighed, his head lowering as he realised both Lyra and Twilight were insulting him. Lyra quickly brought him into a hug as Twilight began to explain.

“No Blue, please don’t think that! Depression is not you, it is an imbalance of chemicals in your brain. It might feel like it is you but it is not. Trust me, the medication for it won’t affect your personality. In fact, you’ll find yourself being able to be yourself more. At least, that’s what the book says.” Twilight bit her lip again, skimming the book as she tried to find out how to deal with Blue, who apparently didn’t want to see a pony doctor.

“Medication?” Blue didn’t raise his head, and Lyra leaned in closer. After a while, he pushed her away and took a few steps to distance himself.

“It’s a spell in the book. It basically helps manage the condition. There’s pills that can be administered for those that can’t cast the spell, but both you and Lyra should have enough magic to cast it, if you so wish. You won’t feel a change for a few days, but I implore you to at least try it.” Twilight put the book down and looked pleadingly to Blue, who turned away. Lyra could see where this was going, and pulled Blue to face her, forcing him to look into her eyes.

“Blue, just try it please. If it doesn’t work after a few days, I’ll never bring it up again okay? Does it really hurt to try it?” Lyra waited as Blue pulled himself out of her grip and sighed, knowing full well what Lyra might do if he refused. Raising his head, he looked meekly to Twilight.

“Fine, teach Lyra how to cast this spell. I’m gonna go...get some air.” Blue turned and exited the building, taking a seat just outside. Breathing out, he sighed again and looked to his hoof, before looking to the door as Lyra exited the building and smiled warmly at him. Blue could tell it was forced, however.

“Alright, well I only have to cast it once a day to keep the effect active, so are you ready for the first dose?” Lyra helped Blue to his feet, and he said nothing for a moment. Looking to the sky, he eventually gave a nod. Lyra closed her eyes and charged up her horn. Blue watched the bolt of magic hit his body, and vanish without any effect. Lyra opened her eyes, and raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Blue turned and began to walk back toward Lyra’s house as she followed. After a moment, she huffed in annoyance.

“I was expecting you to suddenly burst into song like other ponies.” Lyra raised her head and felt a surge of triumph as the hint of a smile appeared on Blue’s face for a moment.

“It’s a pity I’m not a pony then,” came his reply.




“We can’t just barge into Silph co, they’ll think we’re Team Rocket in disguise. And what are we supposed to say? ‘Hey we’d like to take your Master Ball, the one you were planning on sending overseas to make back the money lost from dealing with Team Rocket.’ I can imagine how well that would go over.” Lance pulled off his helmet and rubbed his forehead in frustration.

“I know, but think what we could do with it if we had it, we might be able to capture one of the legendary dogs and maybe give ourselves a little more firepower in our fight.” Green sighed and sat back down in her seat, knowing Lance was right. Helmet covering her face, she glanced outside as three ponies were let in by one of the Police on guard. If any of them recognised the pony, they said nothing.

“What’s going on?” Lyra looked between the three humans as Twilight and Blue took a seat. Taking one next to Blue, Lance looked to her and quickly motioned in a circle, beginning his summary.

“We’re planning to overthrow the rule stating that any with Blue’s power has to be executed. To do that we’re going to have to do a hostile takeover of the Celadon Condominiums aka Celadon Mansion. This is where the guys that make the rules stay, I think they’re called Game Freak. Trainers are normally allowed up there to go meet some of them, so that will be our ticket into the building.” Lance had a detailed map of each floor of the building. Lyra was impressed at his skill, the lines were almost perfectly straight.

“We can’t do that.” Blue’s voice startled nearly everyone in the room as he looked at the building plans. After a moment, he raised his head and began to explain.

“Our world is based on rules that even Pokemon follow. You don’t see a pokemon attacking twice on it’s turn right? These guys are the one’s that made it so Pokemon never break that rule, don’t ask me how they did it. If we bring them down, assuming we could, what would happen to these rules? What if Pokemon decided that they don’t want to serve humans? We have no way of foretelling how this will affect our world.” Blue waited as they all considered it, before nodding as they understood what he was saying.

“This is not a good idea, it can only end badly,” he finished. Blue folded up the maps and handed them to Lance, who took them and placed them on a side table littered with papers. Sighing, he sat down and frowned, thinking deeply. Green sat down as well, and Red had already been sitting before Blue had entered.

“Alright, we scrap that plan. I’ll see if any of us Gym Leaders or Elite Four can think of a better plan. For now, just stay low profile. I’ll be back in a day or two tops. Be careful around my replacement when he arrives as I’m leaving, it’s bound to be someone who will recognize you three.” Lance stood up and began to pack up things into a backpack that had been resting on the side of the tent. Lyra, Blue, and Twilight stood up and left the tent. Red and Green stayed put, knowing they were meant to be acting as Policemen.

“So, we’ve got a few more days before those guys tell us their next plan, so what do you want to do?” Lyra took a step closer to Blue, and looked around as they passed through the shopping district. Blue shrugged. Twilight had gone her own way back to the castle shortly after exiting the camp.

“I’ve never been really good at managing my spare time.” Blue noticed one of the stalls was selling flowers. After a moment, Blue realised that ponies likely ate them, and that this was similar to a fast food stand.

“We could always go on a trip to Canterlot, see the sights. Twilight might be able to even get us rooms at the castle.” Lyra smiled warmly as she imagined the luxury to those rooms. Rumors had it there was even a chocolate room Celestia had access to.

“Sure, if that’s what you want to do.” Blue once again shrugged, and saw Lyra puff out her cheeks. Lyra had wanted Blue to show a little more enthusiasm. What guy doesn’t like shopping?

“Alright, we’ll leave first thing in the morning. Let’s grab the groceries and swing by the castle and ask Twilight if she could do us that favor. It might be too much to ask, but Celestia is your pokemon after all.” Lyra winked and walked over to a stand to buy some food. Blue winced slightly.

“Right, I really don’t think that’s going to win me any favors though,” he replied.

> Would you not be afraid of those who could control you?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You look like you’ve never seen a train before.” Lyra chuckled in amusement at the look in Blue’s eyes. Sure, he was trying to hide it behind irritation over having to wait in line for a ticket, but he couldn't hide it from Lyra. Blue was taking the occasional glance at the long train that was the direct route to Canterlot.

“It really depends on your definition of train. We do have something like it, but it’s over so quick you would swear it was almost instantaneous.” Blue took the money from Lyra, having none of his own, and ordered two tickets as she began to walk toward the train, amusement in her eyes. Looking once more to the train, it puzzled him how they had not developed some quicker mode of transportation with their magic for long distances.

“I suppose that’s true, it does have a unique charm to it.” Lyra smiled warmly at the usher and trotted in as Blue handed over the tickets, looking around for the best seat. The Ponyville Express wasn’t known for being a booked train, so there was plenty of spaces to choose from. After a moment, Lyra chose one in the back of one of the middle carriages, and patted the seat next to her, giggling as Blue narrowed his eyes at her.

“So, how long does this trip take?” Blue glanced out the window, watching as the train pulled away and began to head on it’s way. It wasn’t hard to notice they were pretty much the only passengers. Blue wondered if this was normal, and one more glanced over Lyra, and out the window. 

“Not long, you would swear it was almost instantaneous.” Lyra winked and turned to look out the window as well, watching the scenery go by. Hearing a sudden noise, she was actually surprised to see Blue was quietly suppressing a chuckle. After a moment, irritation overrode confusion and she opened her mouth.

“What’s so funny?” Lyra tilted her head, more confused than irritated. Blue’s eyes widened and he quickly looked away, turning around so his back was to Lyra. Narrowing her eyes, Lyra watched Blue glance back at her before once more letting her see the back of his head. Lyra’s eyes narrowed more as she saw him scratch the back of his head and mumble something illegible.

“What?” Lyra leaned in, still annoyed. Blue winced and glanced to Lyra before quickly looking away once more.

“Iwasjustthinkinghowcuteyoulookwhenyouwink.” Blue’s words were a jumble, and it took Lyra few few moments to realise why a blush was forming on her cheeks. Turning away to look at the window, she squeaked like a chew toy, and the train car was silent. Lyra felt her blush eventually fade, and returned her gaze to the window.

“Is there uh, anything else about me you think is, uh, cute?” Lyra scratched the back of her head and tried, and failed, to suppress her sheepish smile.

Blue didn’t answer.




“It is a pleasure to meet you again on more pleasant circumstances.” Princess Celestia bowed her head very slightly, and Lyra bowed much more deeply in response. Blue was slow to join her, but he did so eventually.

“Again, thank you for allowing us to take a respite from all the insanity surrounding Ponyville because of Blue, we really need it.” Lyra smiled and stood up straight once more, and Celestia smiled once in return. There was a sort of curious look to Blue, but if she had a question, she kept it to herself.

“This is Tenderhoof, he’ll be your custodian for your stay. If you need anything, just ask for him and he will assist you to the best of his ability. With this, I bid you farewell.” Celestia bowed once more, and walked away. Lyra looked to the gray pony with black hair and a butterfly cutie mark, and she was struck for a moment by how odd the bright pink mark looked on the stallion.

“If you could just show us to our rooms for now, that will be all. We are planning on going out, so if you know of any local gatherings tomorrow that would be great. Nothing too fancy, we don’t want to have to dress up for the occasion.” Lyra watched the stallion bow, and begin walking down the hallway. As they followed him, Lyra saw him open his mouth to speak.

“Of course Madam. There are a few venues hosting what I feel will be to your requirements that I will go and get you the information for as you settle into the room.” Amazingly, Tenderhoof said the entire sentence in one breath of air. Lyra didn’t know weather to be weirded out or amazed. Turning a corner, Tenderhoof unlocked a door and held out the key, giving a short bow.

“If that will be all, I will take my leave.” Tenderhoof waited patiently as Lyra quickly thought over if they would need anything. After a moment, she realised she was quite famished.

“Oh! Is there anywhere close by we can get a meal?” Lyra smiled warmly as she opened the door and took a look inside. It was a rather simple room, two beds and a single window leading onto a balcony between them.

“Meals are provided by the castle Madam.” Tenderhoof’s reply came quickly, and Lyra felt her stomach growl in pleasure. It was well known the food at the Castle was extravagant. Lyra turned and her eyes began to sparkle.

“In that case, I’d love a few small dishes so I can taste all the yummy food you have to offer, what about you Blue?” Lyra turned, catching Blue off guard. Pausing for a moment, he turned to Tenderhoof.

“Do you serve plain vegetables and fruit?” Blue received a nod in response, so he continued. Tenderhoof had pulled out a notepad and was scribbling on it.

“I’d like a single carrot, 1 boiled potato, some salt, and a single strand of celery. I’d also like an apple for the road.” Blue listed off the items that would give him a nice feast, and felt immense pleasure as they were written down. Finally, a meal that wouldn’t taste like dirt.

“That will be all, thank you Tenderhoof.” Lyra bowed her head in thanks to Tenderhoof, who bowed once in acknowledgement. Turning, he left them to enter the room. Lyra sat down on the bed, and purred as her body melted.

“Oh my Celestia this bed is awesome.” Lyra laid down and felt her eyes get droopy as the bed called her to with its perfect folds of comfort. Blue chuckled and sat down on his own, and nodded. They were indeed very high quality beds. Anyone would be hard pressed to sleep badly on beds like this. Soon enough, Tenderhoof returned with their food, and a piece of paper with a list of venues.

“Breakfast will be served tomorrow at 9, lunch is at 12 noon, and dinner at 6. If you need anything, just press the button near the door and I will come as soon as I am able.” Tenderhoof bowed, and left once more. Lyra sat down at the table in the room, a small 2 chair circular table, and began to eat the small plates of everything with relish. Surprisingly, she managed to fit everything in, and she returned to her bed and sighed happily. 

Blue ate his slower, but enjoyed it just as much. Sitting on his bed, he looked to Lyra, who had closed her eyes. Lyra’s mouth hung open slightly and a small bit of drool was coming out of it, and she was fast asleep. Blue chuckled silently and pulled over the list of venues and quickly skimmed the list of possible places. It seemed a lot of them were semi-formal but there was one that was labelled less formally and looked more like a casual gathering. Leaning back to lay his head on the pillow, he folded his arms behind his head and thought quietly to himself.

Turning, a groan from Lyra caught his attention, she was calling his name in her sleep. Tossing, she rolled closer to the wall and shivered, subconsciously pulling the covers over her. Blue watched Lyra groan for a moment before realising she was having a nightmare. Blue was puzzled slightly, weren’t pony dreams protected by some sort of legendary?

“Don’t, go.” Lyra groaned in her sleep once more, and turned to face Blue, reaching out to the air beside her on the bed. Blue closed his eyes and breathed out silently, standing up and walking over to the bed. Turning around, he lifted up the covers and sat down on the bed next to Lyra, before laying down in front of her. Lyra was now between the wall and Blue. 

Pulling the blanket over them both, Blue gently grabbed Lyra’s arm from behind him and brought it around his body. After a moment, Lyra’s body responded and she began to hug him from behind, curling up around him like he was a teddy bear. After a moment, her groaning stopped, and she settled into a deep sleep. Blue attempted to leave, but his movement only made Lyra grip him harder. Pulling the pillow down to his head, Blue settled in for a unique sleeping experience.


> Of those that take away your free will?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It looks great Lyra, but how are you going to afford it?” Blue wasn’t into clothes, that was true. However, Lyra was obviously trying to get him to show some interest, and it was working. The dark blue satin dress looked great on Lyra, if not exactly working well with her features. Lyra scrunched her face up and put it back with a huff.

“I’ve been saving for four years Blue, I don’t spend my time sitting around the house you know.” Lyra picked out a different dress, and smiled, this was the one. It was almost like white cotton candy. Her parents had always said she looked great in white. Blue scratched his cheek, an awkward smile on his face.

“Why are you buying a new dress anyway, wasn’t the dress you wore last time fine?” Blue took a step back as Lyra situated him a glare, and sighed, glancing toward the door. Maybe it was the event that happened, but more likely it was something to do with ‘fashion’. Blue followed Lyra out the shop, and she looked to the sky, surprised.

“Oh wow, time sure flies when you’re having fun. We have enough time for one more shop before we head...out for lunch.” Lyra’s pause did not go unnoticed, but Blue was tired of trying to guess what Lyra was trying to hide for a surprise. Turning to look at the shops, he noticed one was labelled a book store.

“Do you mind if we go in there?” Blue saw Lyra make a disgusted face, but relented and they walked into the store. Blue quickly browsed the shelves before finding a section labelled history. Pulling out one book, he skimmed it curiously.

“I don’t know why you’re so interested in our history, it’s boring!” Lyra saw Blue close the book and grab another, now holding two in his magic.

“Gram-Professor Oak likes to hear about this world. Your society is entirely different from ours. Something that seems second nature to you, like magic, is completely new to us.” Blue picked out a final book and held them questioningly to Lyra, who rolled her eyes and took them to the counter to pay for them.

“And it doesn’t interest you. At all.” Lyra’s voice was bordering on sarcasm as she rolled her eyes, tossing Blue the books. Blue rolled his in return, and put the books in his backpack.

“Of course it does Lyra. It’s the same as how you wanted to know everything about our world when you first went to it, remember?” Blue saw Lyra wince, and followed her out the store. They began to head down the street. Where they were going, only Lyra knew.

“Touche.” Lyra hated to admit when Blue was right, but he was right. Curse his logic! Pulling up to a regular house, she knocked gently on the door, and a pony much older than Lyra, but still young by pony standards, answered the door.

“Lyra, it’s great to see you.” The pony was a mare with white hair and a dark green coat. Blue could see the family resemblance, or he hoped it was. A Stallion around the same age of the mare, except with a yellow coat and a dark blue, and yet somehow light in color, leaned his head around the corner.

“Hey mom, dad, I hope it’s okay if we stay for lunch.” Lyra hugged each of her parents, and then all eyes fell on Blue. Blue smiled sheepishly, and waved his hoof in greeting.

“Mom, dad, this is Blue. He’s my special somepony.” Lyra smiled warmly at Blue, and looked toward her parents as they shared a glance, and broke out into victorious smiles.

“About time kiddo-We were thinking we’d never get any grandkids at this rate.” Both laughed as Lyra’s face broke into a bright red blush, and Blue’s mouth dropped open. So that’s what a ‘special somepony’ was.

“Mooom,” Lyra whined in response, and glanced apologetically to Blue. Smiling despite the awkward situation, his expression came out more of as a wince.

“Oh hush dear we’re only teasing.” Lyra’s mom chuckled and headed into the house to prepare lunch. They were a typical family in those terms. The mother stayed home while the father did the work, an old tradition, but one they were raised on.

“We know there’s plenty of years left before you’re old enough for that.” The father chuckled and led Lyra and Blue into the lounge room. It had that warm, lived-in feel that was common to a parents house. Needless to say, Blue was not comfortable.

“Actually, I’m 4 years older than that. Time travel, you don’t want to know.” Lyra sat down beside Blue on the larger couch, it was covered in a floral design. Lyra’s father merely widened his eyes, and shook his head, leaning back as he began to laugh loudly.

“Well ain’t that a shocker. Hey Ma’, our kid’s four years older than we thought.” As he spoke, Lyra’s mom poked her head out the kitchen and her eyes widened in response.

“That right Fa’? That’s great news, we gonna have little stompers runnin’ round here in no time.” Returning to her cooking, Lyra’s mother missed the deepening blush on Lyra’s face as she listened to them talk.

“This is really great conversation and all, and I mean really, but can we change the subject?” Lyra scratched the back of her head and knew she would never live this down. Blue’s parent was a mother who let him do whatever he wanted, and his grandfather was a professor. Really she couldn’t top tha-

Blue chuckled in the background, enjoying the atmosphere of the room. Lyra’s parents were just like how he’d imagined his family would have been like had his father still been with them. Well, maybe with less grandchild jokes. At the same time, it made him sad to remember his mother was still in Pallet, waiting for him to come by.

“Alright, lunch is served!” Before long, all four of them were seated and digging into the home cooked meal. Blue enjoyed it, he hadn’t had many chances to enjoy meals that tasted of home in quite a long time. Lyra enjoyed it for a separate reason however. Lyra was glad her parents seemed to be taking a shine to Blue.

“Well it was nice to see you, bring some kids around next time okay ra’?” Lyra’s father smirked as Lyra lowered her head as he used her nickname, and the parents chuckled in response. Ruffling Lyra’s hair, they bid farewell and Lyra and Blue left, both having mixed feelings about the meeting.

“I’m sorry,” spoke Lyra finally. Blue chuckled and brought his arm around Lyra, and made a sweeping motion to the sky.

“Awesomeness doesn’t need to know if you are sorry, awesomeness is awesome like that” Blue let Lyra go and smirked as she chuckled, and they went on their way to the next destination.
> So, then came the rules.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entering the room, Lyra was almost blasted off her feet by the solid thumping of the music. Body swaying to the beat without thought, she headed for one of the free tables and sat down, bobbing her head. Blue joined her, looking over to the dance floor where a strobing light was sending colors over the partygoers.

“Man I love Vinyl’s work, she just knows how to bounce the room. Bounce Bounce goes the beat, Dance Dance Move your feet.” Lyra began to sing quietly to the music, closing her eyes and bopping her head in tune. A waiter came over and held out two drinks. Blue took them and placed one on the table, taking a sip of the second.

“Woah, that’s really strong.” Blue put his drink down as he felt the drink burn down his insides. Shuddering, he remembered one of the reasons he didn’t normally drink the harder stuff. Lyra didn’t seem to notice, still bopping her head to the beat.

“Moving your body in a trance, feel the rhythm, get up and daaance~” Lyra stood up and looked at Blue, grabbing his arm and pulling him closer to the dance floor. Blue recoiled, and for a brief moment Lyra was taken out of her trance. Lyra’s tail continued bopping to the beat in the meantime.

“Lyra, I really don’t want to dance.” Blue smiled awkwardly as Lyra narrowed her eyes, and stood on two feet, folding her arms as she looked disapprovingly at him, tail swinging to the beat. After a moment, her foot began to tap, and she returned to all hooves, her body beginning to move to the beat. Twirling around Blue, she leaned in close, her head bopping.

“Dance Dance, feel the sound. Move Move, shake it now. Come on Blue, listen now, boogie down or I’ll force you now.” Lyra winked as Blue winced, and looked down to his drink, and sighed, lowering his head. Breathing in, he straightened up and picked up the drink, and chugged it down in one move. Standing up, his chair scraped against the tiles, the sound swallowed up by the music. Leaning his hooves on the table, Blue closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in once more.

“That’s it Blue, move it, shake it.” Lyra led Blue encouragingly toward the dance floor’s edges as he glanced around like a caged animal. After a moment she laughed and grabbed his arm, and dragged him straight into the fray of it. Lyra stood up on two hooves and began to dance with the bodies around her, being absorbed into the crowd. Blue quickly lost sight of her, the music threatening to make him deaf, and the lights blinding him with many colors.

“Lyra?” Blue looked around, worried for where Lyra had gone. Trying to move through the crowd was proving impossible on four feet, and Blue attempted to get onto two as he tried to edge his way through the ponies around. Blue nearly fell a few times, but the many bodies bumping into everyone and anyone around him helped him stay upright. Eventually, Blue found that moving to the beat actually helped his search, allowing him to time movements between two bodies dancing close together.

“Move it, move it, groove it, groove it” There she was, dancing with an absolute stranger as she sung with the voice made for choir songs. Blue made his way through to her just as the song began to fade down to a less ear-blasting volume. Blue ignored the humiliating smirk she gave when she saw he was now moving to the same beat.

“Let’s hear it for Vinyl ponies! And now the dancer spotlight. For the best dancer in the group deserves one heck of a spotlight am I right ponies?” Blue didn’t recognize the voice that spoke, but he did recognize the spotlight as it highlighted Lyra, who gasped in glee and pulled him into it with her. Looking around, he saw all ponies stop dancing and vacate to the edges of the dance floor.

A new song started, this one just as thumping as the last one. As the sound once more began to reach deafening heights, the crowd cheered the couple on. Lyra giggled, and grabbed Blue’s hooves, and fluttered her eyes. Blue gulped and looked at the crowd nervously, opening his mouth to object. Lyra, of course, merely closed his mouth and smirked, bringing one of his arms around her shoulder.

“Be awesome Blue.” Lyra began to lead Blue into a sort of half-waltz half-freestyle dance where occasionally Lyra would spin in a circle, Blue holding her in place as she gripped his hoof above her head. Blue’s eye twitched as she leaned back, and he was forced to stop her from falling over, as she then moved into a spin into his arms. Blue paused, and then relaxed, his trademark smile moving onto his face. Lyra wanted awesome? So be it.

Lyra spun around Blue as he leaned back and grabbed her waist, pulling her up and tossing her gently into the air. Lyra flipped once and landed easily. Lyra dashed toward Blue and turned around, sliding toward Blue who caught her and slowly lowered her closer and closer to the ground, looking her directly in the eyes.

The crowd moved and split off, couples forming around them. For Lyra there was only one person in the room. For Lyra, it was almost as if they were in an empty field, dancing together. Blue twirled Lyra away from him, and then waited for her to leap back, throwing her into the air as she front-flipped over him, and landed safely. Turning, the dance once more dissolved into singles and a single swarm of ponies.

Lyra didn’t notice, she only saw Blue.




“Woooah, I never knew you could dance like that. Why don’t you do it more often?” Lyra leaned on Blue, acting as if she was drunk. Blue smiled and looked away, scratching his cheek. If anyone had an excuse of being drunk, it was him. Surprisingly, he was pretty sober.

“Because it’s embarrassing Lyra. Do you know how many people-er-ponies were looking at us?” Blue felt his ears burn as he thought of it. So many judging eyes, he shuddered. It was worse than a pokemon arena. No one could see you shaking in your shoes from the distance they had to sit to be safely away from the battle.

“Nonsence you bumpin mumpkin, you were great, they were great, everything is just greeeea-ahh!” Lyra fell over, and rolled over to her back, and narrowed her eyes. Blue paused and walked over, entering her vision as he raised an eyebrow. Lyra raised her arms and made a ‘come here’ motion.

“Carry me.” Lyra was serious, and Blue’s eyebrow reached new heights as he breathed out, and shook his head. Blue paused for a moment, and then closed his eyes and concentrated. After a moment, Lyra was being carried in his magic. Blue bit his lip, and began to walk again.

“Tch, you’re so high maintenance sometimes, this is harder than it looks.” Blue didn’t like how it felt as if he was actually carrying Lyra, despite it looking like she was hovering softly in the air. It was also giving him a headache.

“Eeehhh, deal wif it husby.” Lyra waved her arm in the magic, eyes closed as she dozed slightly. However, after a moment Blue paused and the magic vanished, sending her to the floor with a slight poof. Lyra opened her eyes, seeing that Blue still had the eyebrow raised, but now his eyes were mere pinpricks.

“Husby!?” Blue’s voice caught on the end, and he coughed as it actually caused him slight pain from the high tone he had actually reached. Lyra stood up and narrowed her eyes, scrunching up her face as she recovered from her wounded pride after being dropped.

“Yes, short for husband, you got a problem with that husby?” Lyra met Blue’s gaze and he laughed and looked away, scratching the side of his face as the shaky laugh trailed into silence.

“N-No of course not.” Blue glanced to Lyra, and then quickly away, smile frozen on his face. Lyra blinked and turned away with a huff, and finally noticed where they were. From the looks of it, Blue had gotten lost, again. Lyra really should have given him a map earlier.

“This is the Royal Canterlot Garden. There’s the maze Twilight and the others fought Discord.” Lyra pointed to the maze, and then walked over to the empty podium that had once been Discord’s resting place as a statue. Blue followed her over, curious.

“Dis-cord? You mean like chaos? How does one fight chaos? It’s like saying, ‘I dine on love’ or something like that.” Blue didn’t know about Changelings, and Lyra decided it was best not to mention them at this point.

“Discord isn’t a thing, he’s an actual creature in this world. Which is kinda still a thing really, but you get my point.” Lyra saw Blue nod, and look toward the maze curiously. After a moment, he turned his attention to the stars.

“We have things like that in our world too. ‘Course they’re pokemon normally, but we do have similar things. Anywho, I have no idea where the room is, so if you’d lead the way back to the-Hey did you hear a low laughing just now?” Blue rapidly glanced around the area, frowning as he saw nothing out of place. Lyra shrugged, and began to lead the way back to the room.

“Don’t worry about it, that happens a lot in our world.” As they left, Lyra glanced back and her eyes widened to see the Discord statue had magically appeared. Quickly turning back around, Blue didn’t seem to notice her noticing it, and they made it back without meeting a Lord of Chaos. Lyra was frankly relieved, Discord was known for being eccentric. 

“Very well, perhaps another time.”

> You know, they are you.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I don’t know about you, but these last few days have been sooooo relaxing.” Lyra stretched out on the seat, and put her head on Blue’s lap and looked up at him, giggling as he glanced away. Looking down, he shook his head, smiling as he turned to the window.

“Yeah, Yeah, I can see how you’d find dancing to music ‘relaxing’.” Blue looked around the carriage, noting the fact it was once again empty. Blue silently wondered how these trains made money, considering the cost of running one. Well, he assumed it was a high cost. Blue blinked and looked down as Lyra lazily slapped his face with her hoof, making a ‘paff’ sound, and smirked.

“Exactly, nothing is more relaxing than breaking a sweat surrounded by ponies, when it’s with you.” Lyra smirked as Blue tried not to wince at her endearing comment, and closed her eyes. Lyra loved teasing him, he made it so easy these days. Opening her eyes, she narrowed them as she considered maybe he had only been acting like this for her. Nonsense, there were better ways to make her happy. Besides, Blue wasn’t smart enough for that.

“I wonder if we missed anything while we were away,” sighing, Blue looked toward the window, biting his lip. Lyra gently ‘paff’ed him on the cheek again, and scrunched her face up as he looked to her. Blue rolled his eyes and returned to looking out the window, ignoring any further ‘paff’s.

“Relax Blue, I’m sure everything will work itself out, you’ve got me.” Lyra chuckled as Blue raised an eyebrow in response, and shook his head, a smile returning to his face. Lyra continued ‘paff’ing Blue on the cheek with her hoof. After a moment she closed her eyes.

“I...Guess I should get you to teach me the spell Twilight taught you sometime.” Blue looked once more around the compartment, looking down as Lyra gently ‘paffed’ him again in response. After a moment, he grabbed the offending hoof and gently placed it down.

“Come on Lyra, do you really have to do that?” Blue shook his head as Lyra opened her eyes and nodded seriously at him, closing her eyes once more and continuing to ‘paff’ him. Blue looked to the roof, and breathed out, letting it go.

“Sn’ot a problem Blue, I was wondering when you would ask. Have the nightmares stopped?” Lyra stopped her ‘paff’ing for a moment, and let her hoof fall onto her stomach. After a moment, she felt a hoof gently begin brushing through her mane. Lyra began to purr like a cat, and shuffled closer to Blue.

“Not entirely, but they’re a lot less frequent. And those...voices are quieter too.” Blue blinked and widened his eyes, realising he hadn’t actually told Lyra about those yet. Of course, Lyra was quick to open her eyes, just to narrow them.

“Voices?” Lyra saw Blue scratch the back of his head and sigh loudly, looking toward the window. Glancing down, Lyra watched him almost try to deny it, before he breathed out and leaned over, resting his forehead on the seat in front of them as he looked down at Lyra.

“Well...Let’s just say...nightmares aren’t as bad as what goes on inside my head when I’m awake.” As they looked at each other, Blue made a move to sit back up. Lyra grabbed his neck with her hoof, and forced him to remain in the position he was in, looking at her.

“You’re not crazy are you?” Lyra narrowed her eyes as Blue blinked, and then laughed, leaning back and shaking his head as he put a hoof to his face. Lyra finally sat up, and looked toward him.

“I think we’ve already established that Lyra, do you have any other questions?” Blue leaned back and shook his head. After a moment he widened his eyes and glanced to Lyra, who was puffing her cheeks out, and sent an apologetic smile in her direction. Lyra rolled her eyes, but returned to laying on Blue’s lap.

“Ignoring how much of a rude-y pants you are, yes. What do these voices say? And what do you mean quieter?” Lyra stifled a yawn and faintly remembered how she had woken up with Blue as a teddy bear the night prior to last night. It had been a pleasant surprise.

“Well, they used to be a lot louder before Red got defeated up on that mountain. After that they kinda went away for a bit. They returned sometime during the four years you were in our world, I barely noticed them though.” Blue attempted to ignore one of the questions, but as he looked down at Lyra he realised she wasn’t going to allow it, and breathed out.

“Mostly the same stuff as what was in the book since their return. It was a lot different before Red got defeated though, a lot more like...let’s just say they followed a certain predictable pattern set out by rules.” Blue knew Lyra has noticed his pause. However, as she seemed to move on, he inwardly let out a sigh of relief. Of course, Blue should have really known better than to assume Lyra wasn’t going to push the issue.

“What sort of rules?” As if Lyra had flicked a switch, Blue suddenly stiffened and was as still as a board. Puzzled, Lyra opened her eyes, and realised Blue had a plastic looking smirk on his face, eyes unfocused. Lyra sat up and turned around, waving an arm in front of Blue, who didn’t respond. Leaning over, Lyra brought her face in front of Blue, and jumped as he spoke in a monotone, almost robotic voice.

“What? Red! What a surprise to see you here! So you're going to Pokémon League? You collected all the Badges too? That's cool! Then I'll whip you Red as a warmup for Pokémon League! Come on!” Lyra saw Blue reach down as if to grab a Pokemon, and wisely stopped the hand from touching them. Whatever was wrong with Blue, Pokemon would not solve the issue.

“Tssss-err-That loosened me up! I'm ready for Pokémon League! PLAYER, you need more practice! But hey, you know that! I'm out of here. Smell ya!” Lyra’s ears flicked back as Blue made a strange hissing sound, and wondered if she had fallen in love with a robot. To be fair, a robot wasn’t that much different from her current relationship.

“Tss-w-ait for PLAYER, if PLAYER reaches -tzz-detectionsquare, quote line x1, initiate battle.” Blue thankfully had stopped reaching for his pokemon, but he was still spouting nonsense in a monotone voice. Lyra looked around rapidly, and then closed her eyes and cried out in frustration, and slapped Blue in the cheek.

“Ow, Lyra that hurt! What did you do that for?” Blue had relaxed instantly, and looked to Lyra as he held his hurt cheek, looking wounded that she had hit him. Lyra felt tears come to her eyes, and she flung herself into Blue’s arms.

“You were talking weird and I didn’t know what to do and it scared me and what happened?” Lyra felt Blue return the hug as she quickly recovered from the fright she had just received, and leaned away, wiping away the tears that were already drying up. Blue was looking straight ahead, a hard line to his face.

“What exactly was I saying Lyra.” Blue didn’t turn as Lyra raised her head, and looked in the direction Blue was looking, seeing nothing.

“It was stuff like uh...If player reach detection square or something. It was really weird Blue, what’s going on?” Lyra noticed Blue bring a hand to his chin as he muttered quietly to himself, musing.

“Strange, they’re normally inside my head. First time it happened aloud. Maybe it’s the fact I’m in a different world? Could be my body too. And why now, why-” Blue paused, and glanced to Lyra.

“What did you say before I started ‘talking weird’. Don’t finish the sentence, just the first part is enough.” Blue returned to glancing ahead, and he narrowed his eyes, cursing loudly under his breath.

“Well okay. What sort of-” Lyra paused herself and watched Blue give a large shudder, and nod once in response. After a moment, the hard line on his face faded and he released, looking to Lyra as he opened his mouth to explain.

“Rules Lyra. My world is built upon many rules. Some you already know about, but there’s also unwritten ones that all of us are...Well I won’t sugarcoat it, forced to follow. What you just witnessed, was barely even the surface of it.” Blue sighed, and turned to fully face Lyra, pointing to the sky behind her.

“There’s these...things in our world. Better way to explain it would be all-powerful gods really. Remember the guys in the Celadon Mansion called Game Freak? They just enforce it, they themselves have to follow the same rules. I don’t know what theirs is but it’s the reason they never leave the building.

“Most of us are controlled by what I’m pretty sure is a single...god. There may have been many at the start when the rules were being laid out, but now there is only one. Red’s the exception to this rule, he get’s a different god. Don’t think he get’s it easier than us though, if anything it’s worse.

“Go left, wait here for your rival, give that kid the TM despite the fact you’re low on money and can barely afford to feed yourself. Behind all of them is a voice in our head, speaking more or less what you just heard then. Normally it doesn’t come on so forcefully unless you try to resist it. Usually it’s just a list of orders, and you can follow them however you please.” Blue paused, and waited for Lyra to respond. After a moment, he sighed, and continued.

“You don’t have that over here? I assumed your world had something similar, I guess I was wrong.” Blue turned slightly and once more sat on the seat properly. After a moment, Lyra finally spoke.

“No, we don’t. Sometimes we get a feeling of someone watching us, but we’re more or less allowed to do whatever we please. What about your memories? You never spoke about the voices forcing you to do stuff, like when you cheated against Red for example.” Lyra thought about their world, and she was more confused than ever. Sure, they had Celestia, Luna, and Discord, and they were sort of gods. But she hadn’t heard of one’s that could hold complete control.

“Most of that stuff happened between orders. You can get nearly anywhere in under a minute where we live, and they normally don’t come in all at once. It’s not a ‘this is how your life is going to be and you have no say’, but a ‘do these, you have no choice’. The stuff that did happen while under them well, how do I put this…” Blue paused, and glanced toward the ground, before shrugging nonchalantly.

“If you don’t resist, the orders don’t really bother you. You get used to them after a while, and begin to not even realise they’re there anymore. Forget you’re playing a person on a stage, and you forget you are even on one. To be honest, I have no clue how much of it was what I wanted to do, and what was a voice in my mind.” Blue shrugged once more, and glanced to Lyra.

“Could you list these rules for me?” Lyra was afraid the word would bring on another episode, but thankfully Blue just nodded and brought out a piece of paper, quickly scribbling them down. Handing it over to Lyra, he pointed to the first one.

“It’s not a cut and dry list, but that’s because they’re not exactly written down. They’re just in my head.” Lyra looked down to the list and quickly went over it. Was this really the rules Blue had to follow? And he really had no choice?

1: Obey the voice in your head. Failure to do so will force (us?) to force you.
2: If there is no voice, obey the last instruction.
3: After a period no shorter than one year without the voice, you are free to do as you wish.
4: If, at any time, an order is given that does not have an end, obey until death.
5: If, at any time, an order is given that does have an end, but you have not yet completed it it, obey until death.
6: 4 and 5 overthrow 3.

“Blue, can I ask a question? You said the voices before Red came down from the mountain and now are different. Different how?” Lyra crumpled up the piece of paper and tossed it into her mouth. Paper wasn’t the best snack for a train ride, but she was a little hungry.

“I...It doesn’t feel like I have to obey them.” Blue shifted in his seat, and scratched the side of his face, biting his lip.

“And do you?” Lyra saw Blue turn his head, and knew he wasn’t going to answer. That alone was answer enough itself.

“Why,” she continued, narrowing her eyes and forcing Blue to look at her. He sighed, and glanced toward the window behind her.

“Lyra, it feels terrible when I don’t. It’s like I’m on a crashing flying pokemon high in the air, looking down as the ground comes toward me, knowing there’s no surviving and these are my final moments.” Blue swiped Lyra’s hoof away from his head, and turned away, breathing out once more audibly.

“Alright, name one time you didn’t obey it.” Lyra poked at Blue’s back, and he winced in pain, turning around to glance at her.

“It told me to kick Red while he was down, shortly after he returned from his loss on the mountain.” Blue’s voice was low, and Lyra had to lean in to hear it. Nodding, she understood why Blue hadn’t been able to go through with it. Blue had already broken Red's trust once, he wasn’t likely going to do it again. Lyra sighed, and slumped in her seat.

“Hookay, so I have one final question. It’s been bugging me since I found out you’ve got that Depression thing.” Lyra paused, and sat Blue’s ear flick in response. Good, he was listening.

“Did uh, did they order you to do anything shortly after we...you know, before we went to battle Giovanni?” Lyra looked toward the window, letting Blue think his next answer over carefully. Lyra heard Blue sigh, and glanced over to see he had turned his back to her once more.

“Yes,” came his simple reply.

“And uh, are they ordering you to do stuff now?” Lyra turned around, and looked at the back of Blue’s head as it fell slightly lower as he slunched.

“Yes,” he spoke a second time.

“Alright, one last question. Why at the picnic, did you do it?” Lyra watched Blue as he slowly turned around, and looked her square in the eyes.

“She doesn’t love you, you’re only leftovers.” Blue turned away and Lyra was left looking at his back. Slumped over like he was, she wanted to step on top of him and take the weight off it. Lyra turned to look toward the window and breathed out silently, looking worried as she stared into nothing.

“Blue, this time it’s me giving you an order. And this is one you can’t refuse.” Lyra’s words sparked the barely formed idea in her head, and she turned, eyes slowly brightening. Blue didn’t move when she spoke, and for a moment she thought he hadn’t heard her.

“Oh?” Blue turned slowly, and his head slowly swung toward her. Lyra poked him in the nose, and he blinked, and reared back, falling off the seat. Lyra stood up and stood over him, and pointed her hoof in his face.

“Every time those voices say whatever it is they say, I order you to do the opposite from now on, until you give your final breath, no even after that!” Lyra smirked widely as Blue’s eyes widened, and he looked to the hoof in his face.

“And another thing, you will obey every order I give you, yada yada breath blada no even after.” Lyra made a waving motion with her hoof and rolled her eyes. Finished that, she once more poked it in Blue’s face. Blue looked at her, mouth slightly agape, eyes wide, and in one movement he tilted his head and closed his eyes, and gave a sort of half smile-half chuckle.

“Very well Lyra. I shall obey your every command.” Blue made a move to stand up, but Lyra pushed him back down and stood up on two hooves, using her spare hoof to hold onto the seat in front of them.

“Good, now that that is out of the way, I have one final command for you.” Lyra waited for Blue to meet her eyes, and her smile widened.

“I order you to marry me!” The eyes widening, the shocked expression, Lyra might have just broken Blue this time. Nope, it looked like he was still working.

“But Lyra! We’ve only been going out for a few days!” Blue tried to stand up, but once again Lyra forced him to stay down.

“Wrong! I’ve been waiting four years for you buster brow! So you better stop talking and get down on one hoof already.” Lyra felt as if she was flying through the air, her smile was starting to actually hurt with how wide it was. Blue glanced around,and then raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t mean-yeah you do. Right, okay.” Blue once more looked around, and breathed out, and pulled out a pitch black box, opening it and revealing the ring as he slowly sat up and got to his knees. Lyra was actually impressed, that looked like a proper unicorn engagement ring. Blue looked to the ring and he pointed to it sheepishly.

“I uh, did get the right one right? The clerk said this was for unicorns but I really don’t know how-eugh!” Blue made a choking sound, nearly losing the black box as Lyra tackled him to the floor.

“You ass, how did you knoooow,” she moaned, watching Blue take the ring in his magic and slot it over her horn. Lyra could tell he was unsure if that was the right custom, but she wanted her answer. Blue gently poked Lyra in the chest.

“As soon as you mentioned Hubby last night I knew you were going to ask sooner or later. Wasn’t exactly expecting THIS soon but thereyago.” Blue waited for Lyra to stand to the side, before finally getting to his feet and brushing the dust off. There was a nice clean piece of floor where Blue had been laying.

“Aw foo, foiled by myself again.” Lyra’s ears tilted down as she marked back onto the seat and sat down with a huff. Blue sat down beside her, and looked out the window, watching it slowly drift into familiar scenes.

“Blue, do you love me?” Lyra glance to Blue, who was taken aback by the question. After a moment, he raised his arms and made a noncommittal gesture.

“Do I really have to say it Lyra?” Blue saw Lyra puff out her cheeks, and scunch her face up, nodding. Blue sighed, and made a motion to the roof with his arm.

“Fine, I Blue the human, love Lyra the pony, despite how pushy she is.” Blue brought his other arm around Lyra’s neck and brought her into a hug, and looked down at her, narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

“Happy?” Blue didn’t wait for her answer, knowing there would be a nod soon enough, and turned once more to the window. Lyra picked up the black case, and put the ring inside. It wouldn’t do to get it nicked before the big day.

“You know, you’re not exactly a human anymore.”

“Shuddup, I draw the line at two.”

> But I digress.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey Red, Green, Twilight. Lance not back yet?” Blue looked between them as they gave a nod, and they left the train station. Lyra skipped beside him, in a very good mood. Twilight opened her mouth to comment on it, but upon seeing Blue’s pre-word wince, she closed it wisely.

“No, we were actually sent out to patrol by the replacement. He’s such a pain, making us do actual work.” Green narrowed her eyes in irritation, and Blue chuckled in response. Lyra smirked, and opened her mouth to speak.

“Say one word Lyra, I’m warning you.” Blue glared at her, speaking through gritted teeth. Both stared daggers at each other for a moment, before Lyra beamed, she had won.

“SohayguesswhatmeandBluearemarriednow,” she steamrolled over the group, causing all three to miss a step. Blue lowered his head, and scratched the back of his head.

“I think you mean betrothed Lyra,” spoke Twilight slowly, glancing to Red and Green. Green seemed to be curious, and a little shocked, but more or less okay with it. Red on the other hand, had a frown on his face. Slowly his mouth began to open.

“NOPE, not gonna happen!” Blue leapt in front of Red and forced his mouth closed, and glared directly into his eyes.

“So help me Red don’t you dare! What? How did you-oh that’s reeally funny. Hey I had a good reason to-okay yes it wasn’t the bes-now there’s no reason to be rude-What? You say that to my face! S-Shaddup!” As Blue spoke, his face was slowly going a very deep shade of red. Lyra didn’t quite catch the silent conversation, but she enjoyed the free Blue-tertainment. Green leaned in and rested an arm on Red’s shoulder.

“I really do hate to break you two lovebirds up, but we have to get back to this stinky patrol. If he catches us here we could get caught.” Green passed a wink to Lyra, who blinked once, and tilted her head slightly. What?

“Tch, fine. But so help me Red I’ll do it one day! Don’t you think I won’t!” Blue stepped back and glared once at Red, and then turned to follow Twilight and Lyra as they separated. Glancing back, Lyra caught the edges of a smile on Red’s face. No, it was gone, must have been her imagination.

“What were you two arguing about?” Lyra glanced to Blue as he looked down sheepishly.

“Real Estate?” Blue looked to Twilight and raised both his eyebrows, before turning to Lyra and raising one. Lyra narrowed her eyes, and nearly facehoofed.

“You’re going with Real Estate, that’s your excuse?” Lyra rolled her eyes as Blue nodded uncertainly, and they entered Twilight’s castle. Lyra would let him off for now, she had bigger curiosity for why Twilight was leading them here.

“So Blue, I’ve...finished looking into the spell that I cast on you.” Twilight waited patiently as their eyes widened and they shared a glance. Blue stepped forward, and motioned to nothing in particular.

“And?” Blue wondered what the final verdict would be. Would he ever be human again? Twilight paused and gulped once, stepping forward as she began to answer.

“Well, the long and short of it is...There’s two options available to you. One is permanent, but has a 30% chance to succeed, and if it failed would render you without magic for the rest of your life as a pony. That means you’d even be unable to pick up objects.” Twilight paused, and let them process it. Blue bit his lip. 30%? Those weren’t good odds. Blue looked down and breathed out, there was still one other option, but it wouldn’t be permanent.

“The second isn’t permanent, but can be applied many times, theoretically meaning you could be human nearly 24/7. With your magic potential, you should be able to cast it with only minor difficulty, at first anyway. It is the same spell I cast on you to turn you into a pony. Lyra can cast it too, however her spell won’t last as long as yours, at least once you master it.” Twilight paused once more, and motioned once to the left, and then to the right.

“So those are your options, a slim chance to turn back into a human, but permanently; or a reusable spell to become a human for certain amounts of time. I should also mention that while you’ll be human, you should still have access to your magic, so you should be able to recast it, resetting the spell while human.” Twilight pulled over a stool, and sat down on it, looking at Blue.

Blue considered his options carefully. While it was true he did want to return to being human, that 30% did not sound very good, and he was never a lucky person even on a good day. If it failed, it would render him unable to pick up objects with such ease, and he would have to use two hooves to do so.

The second option, while essentially accepting the body he had been transformed into, while also having it just as a backdrop to his normal self, would mean he wouldn’t be human anymore. Was Blue really okay with giving up on his humanity? Sure, it wouldn’t change who he was, but the thought of being a Pokemon sprung to his mind, and he glanced to Lyra.

“You know, the thought of being a pony for the remainder of my life, doesn’t bother me so much anymore.” Blue fell backwards as Lyra leapt at him and began to choke him.

“Graah Lyra I need to breathe! Don’t kill me yet please!” Blue gasped for breath as Lyra released him, glancing away sheepishly. Standing back up, he saw the knowing smile on Twilight. Blue’s eye twitched, and she blinked once and quickly glanced away.

“Alright, I’ll run you both through the basics. Lyra already knows it, so she can probably help you feel the magic flow as I cast the spell on yo-” Twilight was cut off mid sentence by a poof, and Blue was sitting there, thankfully clothed, and human. Blue blinked and tilted his head, opening and closing his fingers as he looked to Twilight.

“Not sure how I did that but I guess it falls under that ‘magic’ stuff right?” Blue looked to his hands skeptically, not entirely understanding how it worked. Lyra giggled, and her horn began to spark and glow. After a moment, there was a second poof, and a human version of her, again thankfully clothed, was sitting right next to Blue.

“How come you know this ‘spell’ already anyway?” Blue raised an eyebrow as she glanced away and poofed back into a unicorn a moment later. Blue sighed, and closed his eyes, doing the same. It wouldn’t do well to go walking around as a human right now, ruining their hard work to hide him.

“Ehe well, remind me to tell you about the study of Anthropology sometime.” Lyra helped Blue to his feet, and the both turned to the dumbstruck Twilight. After a slow blink that involved the eyelids blinking at two different times, she stood on to and pointed a limb at Blue.

“That’snotpossibleyouonlysawitonceIhadtostudyhardtolearnitanditjustmakesnosense!” Twilight gasped for breath, and her wings hung limply by her sides. After a moment she folded them, and regained her posture. Blue tilted his head and motioned to the seat with the three diamonds on it.

“I don’t understand, study magic? Didn’t Rarity say not to think about because it was magic?” Blue glanced to Lyra, who nodded, but bit her lip as she looked to Twilight. There was a not-so-subtle eye twitch.

“NOT THINK ABOUT MAGI-” Suddenly, Twilight jumped into the air and erupted into flames. After a moment they died out and she returned to standing on the floor, somewhat burned. Blue looked concerned to Lyra. Should they be running?

“Sorry, sorry, I had to let off a little...steam there. You see, there’s IS a study to magic. It’s not about how it works, but more about getting to to do the same result every time. I guess for somepony who was uneducated in the area, not thinking about it is how she is able to levitate more than one object. Now, are we ready to begin the good and proper method to learning how to use the spell?” Twilight’s eye twitched again, and a creepy smile slowly crept onto her face, a hair springing out of place. Blue looked to Lyra, and both made the wisest decision available to them.

“Of course Twilight.”




> There is a story of a man who was mute.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blue sat up off the bed, and opened the door, opening it and looking right, where the top of the stairs were. Turning to look at the door, he heard the knock again. Blue leaned back into the room.

“Lyra, someone’s knocking at the door.” Blue chuckled as Lyra groaned and waved her arm dismissively. Blue turned and made his way down the stairs, and opened the door, glancing to see Red was alone for once. Looking at each other, Blue nodded and began to head back up the stairs.

“Gotcha, we’ll meet you there, I’ll go get Lyra.” Blue heard the door click closed behind them, and turned back into the room, stepping up to the bed and poking Lyra. Lyra groaned and once more flicked her arm, hitting him very weakly.

“Lyra, Lance is back, we’ve gotta meet them at the Police camp.” Blue once more poked Lyra, and breathed out as she groaned again, hitting him slightly harder, but still weakly. Blue looked around the room for a moment, before growling and leaning down. Taking the blanket off the bed, Lyra groaned once more and turned toward the wall. And that was when Blue pulled the curtains open wide. Lyra hissed, and curled into a ball.

“I’ll let you bring Flash Fire.” Blue leaned in and whispered gently into her ear. Lyra’s eyes shot open and she was soon up and brushing her mane and coat, ready for the day. On a small bed in the corner, Flash Fire also roused, stifling a yawn and looking to them curiously. Lyra dashed toward the door, slowly followed by Blue, and motioned to Flash Fire excitedly.

“Come on Flash, we’re going on an adventure!”




“There you two are, I was wondering if you were even coming.” Lance closed the tent flap behind them, and motioned to two empty seats. Blue and Lyra each took one. Lyra greeted Red and Green with a smile. Lance walked over to the other side of the table, and rested his hands on it, and lowered his head.

“Alright, I have some bad news. I talked to nearly everyone, even asked Ethan, and all say unless we actually go against the rules, and try to change them, your only option is to be on the run. You said it yourself, we can’t just overthrow them, so we’re left with no options. I’m sorry I gave you false hope Blue, I really thought we’d find a solution.” Lance sighed and sat down, leaning his head back to look at the ceiling.

Blue breathed out and closed his eyes, head leaning forward as he realised there would be no way out of this. Either he would be on the run his entire life, or dead. Opening his eyes, he glanced to Lyra. Well, always on the run might not be so bad. Looking to Red, he suddenly remembered who his friend was.

“Red, surely you have an idea, what’s the plan?” Blue smiled warmly and he raised his head. If anyone had a plan, it would be Red. The guy who could take on Team Rocket, the Elite Four, and more or less every trainer in Kanto and Johto, and come out with only a single loss. Blue waited confidently as Red stood up and made a motion with his arm to speak. Slowly, Red began to open his mouth.

“Hey, did you hear something.” Lyra tilted her ears, and all looked to her. After actually listening for it, Blue realised he could hear it too. Looking to Twilight, Blue saw her nod. Were pony ears better than humans? Looking to Lance, Blue saw he merely looked confused. However, soon the sound grew loud enough for everyone to hear, and all looked to the entrance of the tent as they realised the sound was coming toward them. Blue widened his eyes, realising too late it was footsteps.

The door opened, and all saw the official uniform of a higher ranking officer in the Police force. Red and Green both immediately recognized it as the person who had taken over while Lance had been away. The man took a sweeping look around the room, pausing once they met Blue’s. After a moment, he turned his head and narrowed them at Lance.

“You are so fired.” The man was quick, reaching for his Pokemon with a practiced hand, but Lance was even quicker. A flash of light and a dark purple pokemon that looked like two moons stuck together, full of craters, holes spewing out a purple mist. Lance pointed toward the man and dived toward the others as he spoke. Red, Green, and Blue all knew to dive down. Green saw Twilight had yet to, and pulled her down, and Lyra quickly followed Blue down on instinct as Lance’s voice finally reached their ears.

“Weezing! Non-lethal explosion! Now!” Lance’s pokemon began to glow, and suddenly the room erupted with a loud bang, filling with smoke. The man was flung out the open tent, and Lance pulled up the back part of the tent, ushering the others out.

“Go, I'll be fine. Once you’re out I’ll head for the portal. I can hide behind the Elite Four.” Lance closed the tent behind them, leaving them face to face with a long stretch to the forest. All quickly got to their feet, and saw the Police begin to run for them. Red and Green were the quickest to begin running, followed closely by Twilight, then Blue, and finally Lyra. As they ran, all forced themselves not to look back at the tent until they hit the treeline.

“Blue, they’re dragging him away.” Lyra paused and turned, taking a moment despite the fact the Police were still on their tail. Red and Green paused briefly too, deeper into the forest but still within eyesight. Twilight stopped close to them. Blue glanced back, and widened his eyes, and then closed them and turned away.

“He’ll be fine Lyra, Lance has gotten out of worse, let’s go.” Blue jogged up to the others, and looked back to Lyra. Turning away, Lyra smiled and began to follow. However a form leapt from the trees and pinned her, releasing a Growlithe to block the others as he dragged her out of the treeline, tossing her to the large group of Policemen. Lyra’s horn began to glow as she started to cast a spell, but a sharp bite on her ankle distracted her, and she cried out in pain.

“Lyra!” Blue took a step toward her as the man turned and fixed his eyes on Blue. Lyra pulled herself away from the Policemen and growled, shouting as she was once more tackled to the ground.

“Go! I’ll be fine! They can’t capture me! They’ll have to let me go soon!” Lyra gasped in pain as once more a pokemon bit on her, and she kicked it away, charging up a dark orb of energy and sending it directly at the pokemon. The Policemen saw this, and suddenly she was surrounded by an aura of red glows. Lyra turned back toward Blue, who still hadn’t moved, biting his lip as he glanced between approaching guy and Lyra.

“I order you to go!” Lyra shouted as loud as she could, before finally being swallowed up by the pokemon as they began to attack her. Turning around, she launched her offensive. An orange blur joined her, and fire erupted in the square. Flash Fire had joined the fight. However, it was plain to see there were too many for either of them to handle alone, and being together did not help their odds by much.

“Tch-Damnit!” Blue closed his eyes and turned, the others following him as they dashed into the forest. At first the man was right on their tail, but their experience in the wilds had done them well, and they quickly lost him. Hopping into a river, they quickly travelled along it to lose their scent, before finally finding a clearing and stopping to rest. Green and Twilight collapsed, gasping for breath. Red leaned his back up against a tree, and slid to the ground. Blue began to pace, eyes wide and ears twitching.

Blue’s day had just gone from bad, to unspeakably worse.
> After going through his journey, he set out to a new world alone.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It’s fine, Lyra’s right, they’ll just release her. Lance will be fine, they can’t keep him away from his job. What we need to do now, is use Red’s plan, and the knowledge he gained while he was still in our world and we were separated. We use that, and after I’m cleared this whole mess will be over, right?” Blue turned toward the others, and listened to the silence. Twilight and Green were still catching their breath, but Red seemed as still as a statue.

“Red?” Blue walked over and lent down, watching Red tilt his head lower, hiding under the brim of his hat. Blue felt a chill travel up his spine, and opened his mouth again. Twilight and Green looked over, still unable to speak. They weren’t as used to running as Red and Blue were, given their occupations.

“Red? You have a plan, right?” Blue heard the slight tone of uncertainty as it crept into his voice, but didn’t bother hiding it. After a moment of silence, Red shook his head, still not meeting Blue’s eyes. It was silent for a few moments as Blue absorbed what Red’s motion meant. Blue leaned back, and looked up, disbelief in his voice.

“No, you don’t have a-” Blue cut himself off and leaned forward, punching the tree behind Red, leaving a very large dent, he grabbed Red by the vest and pulled him forward. Finally, Red slowly met Blue’s eyes. Blue’s pupils constricted, and his face contorted with fury as he began to shout.

“You can’t not have a plan! You’re Red! Nothing stops you! When you’re faced with a challenge you step all over it! You single handedly defeated Team Rocket, you defeated the Elite Four! You scaled mountains! You can’t not have a plan! You just can’t!” Blue began to shake Red backward and forward, his voice reaching new heights as he finally released Red and lowered his arms, still looking at Red. Slowly, Red’s face changed. Eyebrow slanted, curve pointing downward, and finally, he opened his mouth.

“I can’t save you.” Red lowered his head, breaking eye contact. Blue looked at Red’s hat, at the wide brim almost perfectly designed to hide his face. It was almost as if he didn’t even need a mask in the first place. Blue leaned back, and fell into a sitting position, arms limp as he looked at the ground between them.

“Sorry Red, I never meant to put so much pressure on you.” Blue breathed out, and closed his eyes, voice low and barely audible. Red’s head tilted up slightly, but still hidden by the cap. Blue closed his eyes, and with a soft poof, he turned back into a human. Putting a hand on Red’s shoulder, he waited as Red slowly raised his head. Blue smiled warmly, tilting his head.

“You’re my brick wall Red, you know? I forget sometimes that even the most perfect brick wall has cracks in it.” Blue leaned forward, and gently hugged Red, pulling away barely a moment later, and standing up, brushing off his pants. Blue looked to the sky and breathed out, swallowing once as he breathed in and looked to his hand.

“No matter what happens Red, you’ll always be my rival, don’t forget that. I don’t want you to sit on a random mountain for the rest of your life again, you better start traveling. Ya hear me?” Blue glanced down and smirked and Red, who merely blinked in response. Blue chuckled and shook his head, turning as Green spoke.

“What are you going to do?” Green and Twilight stood up, followed closely by Red. Blue smiled warmly at them and then turned to look in the direction they had come from. Gulping once, he smirked, ignoring the sweat trickling down his face. If Red noticed it, he said nothing, as always.

“I’m going to face my execu-tion.” Blue felt quite proud of himself, his voice only broke on the last syllable. Green and Twilight gasped, and even Red’s eyes widened slightly. Blue turned and smirked at them, once more ignoring the sweat on his forehead. Green and Twilight were just far enough away they might not see it.

“Relax, I’m not going to go quietly. If all goes well I should be able to get a retrial, and with the evidence that legen-Celestia provides, we should be able to make a convincing case.” Blue saw Twilight and Green nod, it sounded like a decent plan. There was, however, one problem.

“But what if it fails Blue?” Green glanced toward Red, sending him a look of concern. Red didn’t respond, and Blue gulped once more, before returning to his smirk. The chance of it failing was a lot higher than he liked to admit. There was nothing stopping them from launching the army of Pokemon to take down his six. Sure, he could mow them down quickly, but they had a machine to heal them back up, and he did not.

“Well, it’s the best I can come up with. We can’t run forever.” Blue glanced once more in the direction of the camp, his smirk fading as he thought of Lyra. Would she really be okay? Blue shook his head, ignore it for now, there were more important matters to deal with sadly. Blue could imagine the scrunched up face of Lyra if she heard him say that.

“We’re with you, it’s not the most foolproof plan, but it’s certainly worth a shot.” Green smiled and glanced to Twilight, who nodded as well, flaring her wings and narrowing her eyes, determined. Blue glanced to Red, and watched his hand go to one of the Pokeballs on his belt, and give a nod. Blue smiled, and reached down for his own belt.

“Right, let’s go-” Blue’s voice cut off mid sentence and he coughed. Smiling sheepishly, he was grateful none of the others were commenting on it. Once more brushing off his clothes, he tried again.

“Let’s go face my execution.”
> After many trials, he finally found peace.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Stay here, I can’t have you being dragged into this as well, especially if you plan on rescuing me later.” Blue winked at Red, Green, and Twilight as he turned around to them. They were at the edge of the town, close to the area which had housed the Mewtwo fight with the Police, close to the base. Green and Twilight stepped back, Red staying where he was. Blue turned and breathed in, standing up straight.

“Ehehehe,” was all he could say as he left, eye twitching as he forced himself to move into the open, and approach the base. Gulping down the last chance he had at fleeing, he continued, stopping quite some distance away from the camp, but still within shouting distance. They instantly noticed, and formed a defensive line. It was quite a strange battle, a hundred versus one.

“Where are the two you captured?” Blue raised his voice and shouted across the gap between them as the man in charge came forward, and situated a glare on Blue. He leaned over, and produced a megaphone.

“They were sent to be held in Goldenrod jail for questioning. Have you come to trade yourself for them?” The Commander lowered the megaphone, and waited. Blue breathed in, and once more shouted across the clearing.

“No, I have come to offer a different sort of trade. I will willingly give myself over if you agree to a retrial with everyone who was in attendance of the last one.” Blue stood tall and proud, hoping the sweat on his face wasn’t visible. Smiling, he waited for the reply. If it was only for questioning, when he offered himself over they would likely be released.

“And what is to stop us from taking you by force? You can’t hide forever.” The man didn’t entirely understand the perp’s angle. Nodding to the people under his command, they reached for their pokemon, ready to attack.

“That’s the thing, Commander. I CAN hide forever. You might have noticed, I wasn’t entirely a human when you found me. That isn’t the only form I can take. As soon as I leave your sight I could take an entirely different form. A bird, an Eevee, a fly.” Blue smiled confidently, despite the chill running down his spine and the sweat still running down his face. Sure, Blue could probably transform into those if he tried, but it didn’t sound like a wise decision considering the last time he had transformed into a creature.

The Commander mused over this for a moment. It was true up until he had walked into that tent he had no idea where Blue was. If he left, he was likely never to be seen again. However, what was stopping him from apprehending him right now? Yes Blue had powerful pokemon, but it could only attack once per turn. And each pokemon would have a turn, meaning even if they only did 1hp, it would still count as 100. Each time a pokemon fainted, it would be no matter to revive it using their portable pc.

“Attack, apprehend him before he is able to escape.” The Commander spoke low, but Blue saw the moment as a wave of bright red rose up between them. 

Blue looked to the army of pokemon, and something clicked inside of him.

“Excuse me? You think your pokemon are enough to stop me?” Blue didn’t have to raise his voice, the Commander was an expert lip reader. It was one of the requirements of the job. He raised the megaphone once more.

“None of your pokemon have an area of effect attack, so they will have to battle us one at a time. You barely have time to summon one Pokemon, let alone have time to also teach it a move. You may take down one a turn, but can you take down a hundred?” The Commander lowered it, and slowly a smile fell on his face. Finally, this charade was over. Blue had been on the run so long it had become an embarrassment to his force.

“Do you not know who I am? I mean this is a pretty freaking important thing you know.” Blue’s eye twitched and he narrowed his eyes, shaking in anger. The charging group of pokemon faded into the backdrop as he shouted the next sentence at the top of his lungs.

“I’M BLUE MOTHER F***ING OAK B*TCH!” Blue reached into his bag and pulled out a TM, labelled TM26. Anyone who was anyone in the Pokemon world would know what this TM taught. Blue brought it around to his face and opened his mouth, and bit down, snapping it in half as he swallowed half it it, quickly devouring the second half. Every single human watching him from the Police side, including the commander, flung their mouths open like door in a large gust of wind.

“AND I THINK YOU NEED TO LEARN A FREAKING LESSON IN THE SCHOOL OF KICK-YOUR-ASS” Blue leaned back, raising his leg, and breathed in. The Pokemon army continued to close on him, unaware of just what they were walking into. What reason would they have to think Blue was doing what he was doing? Pausing just long enough to assure himself every Pokemon was in range, Blue smirked, and brought his foot down with all his strength.

Blue used Earthquake.
It’s super Effective!
All pokemon fainted.

“We are willing to agree to your demands.”

“Damn right you do.”
> His friends went through their own trials; and in the end, they succeeded as well.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“All rise for Judge Jenny.” The courtroom was filled to the brim with people. On the defendant’s side, accompanied by three humans, and a large group of ponies. The remaining humans opted to sit on the opposite side. Red, Green, and Lance all glanced to Twilight and Lyra, who were sitting beside them. Turning to look behind, there were also two large ponies, sporting both a horn and wings. One was pure white in color, the other a dark blue. The dark blue one was currently eating a bag of popcorn. As the guard who was standing by the podium spoke, all stood as a tall female walked in, eyes glaring at the Defendant like an eagle stares at it’s prey.

“This is case 34b on the case of Blue and Giovanni,” the guard spoke, handing over a large yellow folder as the Judge took a seat. Opening it, she quickly skimmed it before raising her head as the guard spoke to the courtroom loudly. To one side, a group of people were sitting in a separate box. These people would be the one’s to decide the fate of Blue.

“-have been sworn in, you may be seated,” the guard spoke, and all sat down as he moved to stand by a door in the corner of the room. Blue ignored the door that would spell his doom if he failed to clear the trial as innocent.

“Giovanni, your claim is that the Defendant is one gifted with the ability to control humans and Pokemon by looking at them. Is this correct?” The judge looked to Giovanni, who smiled and gave a pleasant nod. Next to him a Lawyer was watching Blue curiously.

“The Prosecutor may now make his opening statement.” Finished talking, the judge motioned to the guard, who slowly brought out a small screen with a strange device attached to it. There was a large pause symbol on the screen. The Lawyer next to Giovanni stood up, and pressed play, opening his mouth and speaking.

“Here I show evidence 27 on the subject of Giovanni vs Blue. In this we see Blue force a Pokemon that was out of control into a stunned silence, before it leaves. Prosecution rests.” The Lawyer sat down and looked toward Giovanni, shrugging. Amazingly, he had managed to say, word for word, what he had said last time. Blue looked at the footage, and then back to the pure white Alicorn called Celestia.

“The Defence may now make their rebuttal.” Blue’s Lawyer made a move to stand up, but Blue put a hand on his shoulder and forced him to stay seating, standing up himself.

“Your honor, I would like to request permission to defend myself on the grounds my Lawyer is an imbecile.” Blue looked to Jenny, and then narrowed his eyes coldly at the Lawyer, who shrunk under his gaze. Jenny mused for a moment, and then shrugged.

“I’ll allow it, continue.” Jenny watched as Blue breathed out, and stepped up to the front of the room, turning to look at the witness stands. 

“I would like to call my first witness, Celestia, Monarch of-Equestria right?” Blue glanced to the left and raised an eyebrow. All the ponies nodded, looking at him like he was an idiot for not knowing. Blue shrugged, and waited as Celestia flew over to the witness stand, and tried to fit herself into the small space. Jenny sighed, and told her to just stand near it. After a moment, Celestia was sworn in. 

“The witness will now make their testimony.” Jenny turned her head to watch as Celestia folded her wings and cleared her throat.

“Humans of the courtroom, I am the ‘Pokemon’ you saw on evidence 27. There are a few points I would like to clear up first off. You see, we are not Pokemon. As the sentient race of our world, we are our world’s equivalent to you humans. Therefore, you should not see us as Pokemon, but as humans.

“Secondly, I wish to reiterate my experience under this so called ‘mind control’ you speak of. I was not forced into silence, merely falling into it due to the shock of what the Defendant was currently doing. You see, I could personally feel every emotion he was currently feeling in the moment we locked eyes. If anything, this ability is comparable to telepathy, not mind control.

“Finally, while I did end up agreeing with the Defendant at the end of it, I had no obligation to do so. If I had wanted to, I could have easily ignored what had been telepath-ed to me, but I did not as the Defendant was right in that situation.” Celestia bowed her head respectfully, and stayed where she was.

“The Prosecutor may now make his rebuttal.” Jenny turned as the Lawyer stood up, and approached Celestia, breathing in and beginning.

“Celestia, is it? Please tell me in this theoretical situation what you would have done if let’s say...The Defendant had threatened you during this process with information that would trap you. Meaning, for example, you had no choice but to follow what he said. Is it true that this would count as controlling you via the mind?” The Lawyer paused in his pacing, and made a waving motion to the crowd.

“Yes, but how would that be any different from normal manipulation?” Celestia saw the Prosecutor smile, and turn to face her.

“Ah, but normal manipulation does not occur via the mind. Therefore it does not fall under mind control. Prosecution rests.” As he returned to his seat, Jenny turned toward Blue.

“Do you have any final questions for the witness?” Jenny watched Blue shake his head, and motioned for Celestia to return to her seat.

“The Defence may now make their final rebuttal.” Jenny waited as Blue once more stood up, and approached the front of the courtoom, and met everyone in the eyes.

“Members of the-Jury right? Members of the Jury, I will now prove without a doubt, that I am innocent of having the ability to control minds.” Blue paused, and breathed in, and pointed to everyone in the room in one sweeping moment.

“I use my evidence of everyone in the courtroom. If I had these mind control powers, would I not have already used them on each and every person in this room? If I was guilty, would I not be proved innocent using my own power? And before you say it Prosecution, what reason would I have to draw the trial out again after the first one? If I could get myself judged innocent with just a look, why would I bother with a retrial?

“Defence rests.” Blue turned, and sat back down at the table, gulping as he breathed out. It looked like the Jury was agreeing with him, he had a valid point.

“Prosecutor, do you have any final statements?” Jenny turned, along with every eye, toward the Lawyer, who wiped away the sweat from his brow and looked to Giovanni. After a moment, he stood up and began talking quickly.

“H-He might be doing this so he could get out of it without using his power so that people don’t grow suspicious he used his power to get out of the trial.” Everyone with some sort of knowledge of law would know that groundless speculation would not win a courtroom over, and he sat back down once more. The Jury shared a glance, and waited for Jenny to continue.

“Members of the Jury, you may now leave to determine your verdict.” All of the Jury stood up, and filed out into a back room, closing the door behind them. It was quiet for a few moments, and Jenny pulled out a magazine. Blue turned to the group behind him, and put on a shaky smile.

“Are you two okay? Did they hurt you?” Blue hadn’t had a chance to talk to them, having been kept alone for most of the time between his stunt at the camp and the courtroom. Lyra shook her head, and Lance folded his arms, breathing upward at his hair, causing it to shake slightly.

“No Blue, they just asked us many times where you were. Over and over like a broken record.” Lance glared irritably over to the other side of the courtroom, where the Commander was actually sitting, currently looking at his own magazine. Blue could tell both Jenny and the Commander had done this many times.

“Well, that’s good to hear,” he replied, turning his gaze on Giovanni, who was watching him curiously. Before he could open his mouth to ask what he wanted, the door the Jury had left from opened, and they all exited, taking a seat. 

"Members of the Jury, do you find the accused Guilty or Innocent?”Jenny watched as one stood up, holding a piece of paper. After a moment, the guy cleared his throat, and began to speak.

“We find the Defendant, Innocent.” A wave of relief swallowed up the left side of the courtroom, and Blue breathed out, relief evident on his face. Jenny lowered her head, and a warm smile appeared on her face as she raised her hammer.

“You have been found Innocent of the crime of being able to control minds. All charges against you and your friends for resisting arrest are now cleared, and you are free to go back to your everyday lives.” Jenny slammed the mallet down. Pointing it toward Giovanni, she waved it irritably.

“Now get that convicted felon outta here, having to look at his face is giving me a migraine.” Jenny stood up, and prepared to leave. The guards walked over and grabbed Giovanni by the cuffs holding his arms. As he was led away, he paused at Blue’s table.

“Your father was a higher ranking member of Team Rocket, before he quit to be with your mother. The last I saw of him he was smiling over you, shortly before his death to an incurable disease.” Giovanni and Blue looked at each other, and Blue nodded once.

“Goodbye Giovanni.” Blue watched Giovanni as he was led out of the courtroom, and was gone.
> This was that story.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Lance is gonna try to negotiate open borders between the portal once a proper place for it is decided, he should be over in a couple of days.” Blue smirked at the two legendaries as they bowed their head, and turned to Twilight.

“We will be on our way now. Please inform us of Lance’s arrival.” Turning, they left the group, walking past various people slowly packing up the camp and hauling it through the portal. Twilight turned her attention to Red, Blue, and Green.

“So you'se are off then? You will visit us right? Four years is quite a long time to wait between visits.” Twilight narrowed her eyes at Red, knowing he was likely the reason for the lack of visits. Red blinked, and looked to Blue.

“We’ll visit when we can of course, just don’t think it’ll be a daily, or even monthly thing.” Blue glanced around, and frowned as he looked for Lyra. After a moment he relaxed, seeing her coming, carrying a suitcase in her magic as Flash Fire jogged beside her.

“What will you be doing now?” Twilight turned as Lyra stopped, gasping slightly as she caught her breath. Raising her head, she smiled warmly at the group and walked over, holding the suitcase for Blue. Blue rolled his eyes, but took it and opened his mouth to answer.

“There’s a tournament coming up in a different region. Thinking it might be a worthy challenge. Plus, I hear there’s a whole Pokedex of pokemon in that place too.” Blue looked to Green, who nodded, pulling out a picture of a pokemon that looked like a tiny yellow chicken.

“Yeah, I even managed to convince the professor of that area to give me one of the starters.” Green beamed a smile, and folded up the picture. Rubbing her hands together, she thought silently to the Ditto in her box.

“I’m a little concerned though, what if the humans try to catch us once open borders open?” Twilight glanced to the people as the last batch of boxes was transported through the portal. Blue leaned down and brought his hand to Twilight’s chin, looking directly into her eyes seriously.

“Now listen, repeat what I say: Pokeballs don’t work on humans.” Blue decided omitting the fact Master Ball’s could was moot, Twilight had been there when he had first spoken about it. Twilight tilted her head, but obeyed.

“Pokeballs don’t work on humans.” What was he up to? Twilight had noticed humans didn’t seem to care if the pokeballs tapped them, but what about that Master Ball? Twilight supposed she would have to ask him another time.

“Ponies are human,” he continued.

“Ponies are human.” Twilight understood that part, it was quite important considering the relationship the portal would make for the future. Humans had technology, and they magic. Both had something the other wanted.

“Pokeballs don’t work on Ponies.” Blue sat up and dusted himself off, sharing a quiet smirk with Lyra. Twilight stood there, confused, and tilted her head. Blue glanced over his back and smiled.

“Just keep telling yourself that, and make sure all the other ponies know it too.” Blue once more joined Red, Green, and Lyra, and all nodded. Twilight didn’t really understand it, was it a psychology thing? No matter, she did trust Blue, and he seemed to know what he was talking about.

“Right, got everything Lyra? We can’t just fly back here on your whims you know.” Blue looked down as Lyra scrunched her face up, and poked him in the leg.

“We can if I whim it! But yes, I have everything.” Lyra smiled and closed her eyes, horn beginning to spark. After a moment, there was a soft poof, and she turned into a human. Holding out a hand, she took her suitcase back and turned to Twilight, tilting her head and giving a warm smile.

“Oh, one last thing, you should probably put Flash Fire into a ball. Pokemon tend to get airsick easily.” Blue dug around his bag and pulled out an empty pokeball, holding it out. Lyra scrunched up her face, but grabbed it and held it out to Flash Fire. After a moment, Lyra gently tapped it into Flash Fire’s forehead, and watched it shake. After a pleasing ping, she picked up the ball and looked down to her waist.

“Aw shoot, I didn’t give myself a belt.” Lyra blinked as both Red and Blue both held out a belt. Both shared a glance, and Red put his back in the bag. Lyra took Blue’s and strapped it around her waist.

“You learn to carry spares of everything.” Blue smiled warmly as Lyra slotted her first Pokemon into her belt, and looked up. After a moment, he blinked and turned once more to Twilight, and made a movement to the entire group. Twilight smiled warmly, and all returned it.

“Smell you later,” she spoke, a smirk appearing on her face. Blue lowered his head, and his shoulders moved, a very soft chuckle escaping his lips. Raising his head, they all turned and headed for the portal. After a moment, Blue hugged Lyra close to his chest and made a peace symbol, raising his hand into the air so it could be seen behind him.

“Smell you later.” And with that, all four entered the portal. It shimmered for a moment, and then vanished without a trace. Twilight smiled, and turned, heading towards her castle where her friends would no doubt be waiting. It had been a long road, and the road before her stretched longer still. But she knew they would meet again when they came to visit.

Looking around, she noticed three certain fillies run by. Apple Bloom was chasing the other two, roaring occasionally. Twilight actually felt herself startle each time she did so. The others screamed, giggled, and continued their chase. Scootaloo, a lot larger than the other two, was obviously slowing herself down to the same pace as the others. Sweetie Belle whistled, and an orange ball of fur dived into her, licking her face clean off. Turning, she pointed to Scoot and challenged her to a battle, diving at Scoot with a permanent marker. After a moment longer, all three soon dashed out of sight, Growlithe in tow.

“Indeed we will,” she spoke quietly, smile still on her face. 
> And this is its end.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The arena was filled with people, packed to the brim. A large stage stood in the center, square with plenty of room for the events. Down the stairs that led to the stage, a door could be entered to take you backstage. The instant you entered, the sound would become deadly silent, and stairs would greet you. After walking up them, doors would greet you on each side. One was currently open a crack, where  a girl could be seen putting on makeup. The room was furnished with a few seats and plenty of mirrors.

“I just got a message from Lance, the tower is finished. They made it out of wood and used magic to bring all the pieces together.” A voice, male, spoke from a room off to the side. It led onto a balcony overlooking the stage, soundproof and surrounded by one-way glass. There was a railing around the sides.

“That’s great news. I still don’t understand why they had to build it so high in the air.” Inside the area was a pony and a human, leaning over the rail and watching the fight below. Their friend was currently not on stage, but some of the competitors were. Blue sighed and made a motion to the ground.

“Because the place the portal comes out in this world is that high above. We can’t exactly lower the elevation.” Blue narrowed his eyes irritably. They had had this conversation many times before.

“I get that, but why can’t humans build the tower instead?  Why should ponies have to do all the work?” Lyra echoed Blue’s irritation as she leaned into him, glaring at the crowd. How dare they cheer those random people on stage. Lyra bet if she tried she could beat each and every human down there, and then mow down Blue for dessert. 

“Because what would take us a few months, took you a few days, come on we’ve been over this Lyra.” Blue sighed and shook his head as Lyra scrunched up her face and turned away in a huff.

“Don’t make me come in there and separate you two,” shouted Green from the other room. Lyra rolled her eyes, but returned to looking at Blue, both sharing a smile as they returned to watching the fight. After a moment she sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head down on the railing.

“Still sour about that Bon Bon pony right?” Blue tilted his head, and Lyra gave a slow nod, opening her eyes and biting her lip. Blue didn’t entirely know all the details, but he did know Lyra was feeling terrible about it.

“We were such good friends, and I ruined it by my weirdness. I just feel really bad about it.” Lyra raised her head and leaned into Blue instead as he brought an arm around her neck.

“Nonsense Lyra, nothing says you can’t give it another try. Besides, aren’t you a stubborn, annoying, irritation that happens to follow me around and bark orders?” Blue smirked as Lyra puffed out her cheeks, before she began to glare at him. After a moment, both broke out into a smile.

“Damn right I am! I get your point, I’ll try again next time we visit. Maybe there’s still time to patch things up.” Lyra sighed and leaned closer to Blue, who nodded, raising his head away from the fight to look to the roof close to them. They were very close to the roof, having had to be built high so flying pokemon could have free reign.

“Well, Red and Green are going back to Hoenn for their honeymoon, we could go and visit while they’re going to the hotsprings. We’ll meet back up on our way to the next tournament.” Blue saw Lyra gasp, and smiled as she nodded enthusiastically. Giving a chuckle, he shook his head, and then shrugged, growling in irritation.

“I mean, it’s gonna cost ya to make me go outta my way just so you can go make buddy buddy, so you better remember to pay me back.” Blue smirked as Lyra raised an eyebrow, incredulous.

“Oh, Mr big boy thinks I owe him something now? What happened to the time I saved your ass when you were running like a sissy from the big scary Poowisse man.” Lyra pouted, and then returned to smirking up at Blue, who rolled his eyes and spoke.

“Please, I could have easily used my mind control powers on him.” Blue’s smirk grew as Lyra breathed in sharply, and stepped back so she could point a hoof at him, holding onto the railing to stay on two hooves.

“You lie! You do not have mind control powers!” Stepping forward, she narrowed her eyes, and smirked. Lyra was absolutely positive they had cleared that up quite a while ago. Hadn’t there been a whole mad hide and seek game around Ponyville because of it?

“Prove it, make me sit down.” Lyra smirked as for a moment Blue’s smile fell, before returning even wider. Leaning in, he brought their faces together as he leaned an arm around and gently pushed against Lyra’s flank, causing her to sit down as she was preoccupied. Lyra pouted on the ground, folding her arms.

“Hey! You cheated! Greeeen, Blue’s cheating!” Lyra shouted toward the door, and Blue turned as a head peaked into it, fixing both with a glare.

“Oh be quiet you two, don’t make me get Red up here.” Returning back to the main room, Green missed them both look to each other, and silently chuckle in response. Blue leaned against the railing as Lyra once more stood up, and joined him. After a few moments of silence, Lyra opened her mouth.

“I’m thinking Aquamarine if a pony, and Crystal if a human.” Lyra glanced toward Blue, who had frozen stiff, and wondered if she had finally broken him. But, as a bright red blush began to rise on his face, her smile grew wider.

“Lyra, it’s only been a year, surely you don’t-” Blue stopped himself, and brought a hand to his face. 

“Oh who am I kidding.”