//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Realisations // Story: The Kalos Challenge // by Riku006 //------------------------------// “Ah, here we are. Sorry about that wrong turn earlier… And the other one.” Celestia nodded in thanks to the slightly blushing Flora and stepped forward as she and Summer gazed out at what their small companion called home. Celestia had been expecting something familiar, perhaps a town not too dissimilar to Ponyville. Instead, Flora’s ‘village’ was scant more than a large meadow with thin paths cut through the tall yellow flowers. There were patches in the flowers, some of which housed simple wooden shelters, and at the far end of the area Celestia spied an open cave emerging from a large rocky outcrop. “Flora? Flora!” Celestia looked back down to see their companion caught in a fierce hug from a creature that looked identical to Flora. The only way Celesta could tell them apart was this newcomer was holding a blue flower, rather than a yellow one. “Oh, hey Merriweather,” Flora replied with a smile. “What’s wrong?” “What’s wrong was that you scared us half to death, young Floette.” Celestia looked up at the new, sterner voice. It came from a creature similar to Flora, but larger, with a bouquet’s worth of blue flowers around its head and two long leaves pointing up from its ‘feet’ as it floated towards them. Celestia noticed a few other creatures also approaching them; a few resembled pink balloons with a tuft of curly hair, ears and big blue eyes. There were what appeared to be a family of bears with circular and moon-shaped markings on their fur, and a flock of blue birds with clouds for wings. Some gave the princess curious glances, but the majority were focussed on Flora’s return. “Oh… sorry Mum.” Flora looked away from her mother’s disappointed gaze. “Honestly Flora,” her mother went on. “What were you thinking going into the forest without telling anyone? You could’ve been seriously hurt in there. And Arceus help you if you went near the far borders of the forest.” “I didn’t… I mean…” Flora stuttered, trying her best to shield herself with her flower against her mother’s gaze. Knowing it wasn’t her fault, Celestia stepped forward. “I’m sorry,” she began, finally gaining the attention of Flora’s mother, and the rest of the crowd. “My name is Celestia. I’m the reason she was gone for so long.” “Is that so?” Flora’s mother asked with an eye raised in curiosity. “Yes. You see, I’ve only just arrived in this region and I’m afraid I got a bit lost. I was quite thankful Flora found us and led us somewhere safe.” Flora’s mother looked down to her daughter. “Is this true Flora?” Flora looked to Celestia once before nodding. “Well then,” her mother sighed. “I’m sorry Flora, but next time you must tell me before going into the forest again. Understood?” Flora simply nodded, visibly relieved. “And to you, Celestia, I thank you.” A smile graced the mother’s lips. “My name is Gloriosa.” Gloriosa held out her slender white hand, one Celestia took in her hoof and shook. “Hey,” squawked one of the blue birds in a young voice. “She got a human with her!” Suddenly all attention zeroed in on the young girl riding on Celestia’s back, trying her best to hide in the princess’ morning-hued mane. The gathered crowd began murmuring. “Why are you travelling with a human?” Asked one of the older bears. “What if the Empire knows she’s here?” One of the pink balloons cried out theatrically, reminding Celestia of an alabaster fashionista she knew. “Care to explain, Celestia?” Gloriosa asked. Her tone was curious, yet guarded, as the bears had been. “I found her lost on my way through the forest,” Celestia replied, lying to coincide with her alibi for Flora. “I was hoping to reunite her with her family, or at least find a safe place for her to stay.” “Well, that place isn’t here.” The chatter fell silent as the crowd turned to face the voice, as did Celestia. Hovering towards them was a new, more serious creature. A shimmering blue aura surrounded its greyish body, no doubt a levitation spell. As it landed before them, eyes that matched the colour of its long lavender tail bore a hole through the three before fixing upon Flora. “Flora,” it spoke telepathically in a male voice, its mouth held in what seemed a permanent scowl as it kept its tone stern yet calm. “You know going too far into the woods is forbidden. You put yourself in great danger. And now you’ve brought two strangers here, one of them an Empire slave. Why?” “I-I…” Flora stuttered, looking away from the intense creature’s glare. “I… I’m sorry, Mewtwo. It’s just…” She looked down, embarrassment playing across her face. “Excuse me,” Celestia interjected, meeting the creature’s gaze. “There has been a misunderstanding. I’m the reason Flora was gone for so long, and-” “I will hear your story in a moment,” the creature interrupted, sparing the princess a glance before turning back to Flora. “You are never to leave this village without informing either myself or your mother. Understood?” The small thing didn’t utter another word, merely nodding her head in admonishment. “As for you,” he now turned to Celestia. “You and I are going to have a talk. Privately.” “And if I were to refuse?” She asked. The impertinence of this creature was starting to bother Celestia, but thankfully she had experience dealing with difficult leaders, such as Dragon Lord Torch. “Then you and your human would find yourselves back in those woods and at the Empire’s mercy.” The being called Mewtwo, not even sparing a backward glance, encompassed itself in blue light once more, levitating back towards the cave at the far edge of the meadow. Recomposing herself with a quick breath, Celestia gently lifted Summer down to the ground with a touch of magic. “Wait here with Gloriosa and Flora,” she said with a soft smile. “I’ll be back.” Summer, however, shook her head. Terror flooding her eyes with tears, she rushed forward and hugged Celestia’s foreleg, her intention clear. “It’s okay Summer,” Gloriosa spoke up, placing a hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “You can stay with Flora, Merryweather and I while you wait for Celestia.” Celestia nuzzled the top of Summer’s head, regaining the girl’s attention. “I’ll be back. I promise.” Summer looked long and hard into Celestia’s eyes before finally nodding, releasing the princess’ leg and stepping back beside Flora. With a nod to Gloriosa, Celestia took flight. The sounds of awe from the crowd provided a small smile to Celestia before she buried it beneath her poker face. Mewtwo stood waiting at the cave’s entrance, but entered once she grew close. Pausing for a moment, she noticed how smooth the structure’s walls were; rather than the jagged cave walls like those favoured by dragons, this cave seemed carved by an artisan with impeccable precision. A smile played on her lips as she entered, imagining a certain pony falling in love with this cave if an expository birthday card from Pinkie Pie last year was any indication. The tunnel continued for a short while before opening up into a large area. The whole space was barren, surprising the princess. Mewtwo stopped in the centre of the cave, turning to face Celestia and reveal his expression of controlled scorn hadn’t changed. “Now,” he began. “Why are you here?” “I’m here on a mission,” she calmly explained, anticipating this question. “I have been sent to try and restore harmony to this land.” Mewtwo’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I thought someone as strong as you wouldn’t be this naïve.” “And how is that naïve?” This seemed to leave the creature speechless for a moment, though whether it was from shock or anger Celestia wasn’t sure. “…Where are you from?” he asked, changing subject quickly. This gave Celestia a small moment of pause. Discord didn’t thoroughly explain the rules other than she wasn’t allowed aid or to return until her task was done. There was no mention of whether she should mention Equestria or not. Then again, one look at Mewtwo seemed to confirm he wasn’t one to suffer liars well. Honesty is a virtue, Celestia thought to herself before meeting her hosts’ gaze. “I’m from the kingdom of Equestria, where I rule alongside my younger sister Luna.” “And the humans in your kingdom?” “Well, there aren’t-” Celesta stopped, Mewtwo’s unspoken question beginning to sink in. Her eyes widening as she took an uncertain step backwards, Celestia quickly closed them in concentration, lighting her horn to feel for the magical ley lines which unicorns manipulated for their spells. Relief rushed throughout her body as she sensed their presence, yet they felt… strange. There was no doubt they were there, as her usage of magic earlier had proven, but the energy flowing from them felt more visceral. More… primal, than the ley lines of Equestria. Opening her eyes, the princess saw Mewtwo in a battle-ready stance, his rounded hands cradling a sphere of light blue energy. “I am merely finding the answers you seek,” she explained calmly, extinguishing her magic to demonstrate. Mewtwo held his stance for a moment before relaxing, the sphere fading away. Yet his glare never left her. With the threat dealt with Celestia lit her horn once more, lifting her head high as she extended her magical senses skyward. For a minute or two she remained this way, focussing as Mewtwo merely watched. Finally, she reached her target; the sun. Slowly, her magical grasp encircled it as she always had. A flare of pain cancelled the connection, stunning Celestia for a moment. “What?” Celestia asked before her mind connected the dots. It wasn’t her sun. The burning star she had guided for millennia would never reject her magic in such a way. It never had before. The only explanation as to why it would deny her would be it wasn’t hers. “I’m on another world,” she stated, looking wide-eyed in shock to Mewtwo. His only reaction was the softening of his gaze. “And I cannot return home until I complete my task.” “And this task is?” Mewtwo’s tone showed a fraction more compassion than earlier. Celestia took a calming breath. “As I said; I aim to restore harmony to this land.” Mewtwo’s hard gaze returned. “Then you’ll never see your home again.” “And why is that?” Celestia’s patience was starting to wear thin at her host’s negativity. “Why is my task such a waste of time to you?” “Because the entire Kalos region is at war.” Celestia’s shock returned, dropping her back on her haunches. It took her a few moments to collect herself. She knew Discord would’ve picked a difficult challenge for her, yet this seemed insurmountable even by his chaotic standards. But she collected herself once more, using Cadence’s breathing technique before looking back to the creature before her. “…There must be a way. Is there any way peace could be brokered?” Mewtwo simply shook his head. “The Yvalt Empire to our north doesn’t care about peace, only domination.” He then turned his head away, his dark expression darkening further. “And no one creature, no matter how powerful, stands a chance against them on their own.” Celestia could tell there was more to it, but didn’t press the matter. “There is a kingdom to the west,” he continued, relaxing a little himself. “There you may find answers and allies for your cause, as well as a safe place for your human companion.” “She can’t remain here?” “Having a human here, especially an Empire slave, would give them justification to attack us. I will not allow this sanctuary I’ve created to become a battlefield. The two of you may stay the night, but you must leave by sunrise.” “Well… Thank you.” Celestia rose to her hooves before offering a short bow. “For both your hospitality and… helping me realise the scale of my task.” Mewtwo merely nodded before turning to face the back wall of the cave. With that, Celestia turned for the exit. “Princess,” Mewtwo called out just as Celestia was about to step outside, his back still turned to her. “…In your kingdom, are you the most powerful?” “…That depends, I guess." \ \_(-o-)_/ / “Wait, let me get this straight; you’re a princess from another world?” A nod from their equine guest left Flora and her family speechless around their campfire. With the last lights of day having just faded over the mountainous horizon, Gloriosa brought out more berries from an old trainer bag for everyone. Most of which Summer was practically inhaling when not listening to Celestia’s story. “Then, where’s your crown?” Merriweather asked. Celestia brought a hoof to her head, revealing that indeed her crown wasn’t there. She also noticed her torc and shoes were missing as well. “I guess I must have lost them while travelling here.” She replied with a kind smile. Merriweather smiled back before joining Flora and Summer in their meal. “So,” Gloriosa began. “You can’t return until you restore harmony to all of Kalos?” Celestia nodded again. “Mewtwo made it clear the difficulty of what lays before me.” “Oh, no,” Flora’s mother shook her head. “I didn’t mean to dissuade you. It’s just… this war’s been going for so long now, it almost feels like a fairy tale that it could just end.” Celestia spared a look to the young human girl, leaning back against her side. “How long has this war been going, if you don’t mind my asking? Mewtwo wasn’t very forthcoming on the subject.” “I supposed he wouldn’t be, guessing what happened to him.” “What do you mean, Mum?” Flora asked, wanting to stay a part of the conversation. “Hmm? Oh, you’d have to ask him yourself.” The Floette looked away, the scolding from earlier still fresh in her mind. “I’m not sure he’d like to see me anytime soon.” “Oh Flora,” Gloriosa soothed, floating next to her daughter and placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’s true that both Mewtwo and I are disappointed you went into the woods by yourself, but that was because we were worried about you. If anything happened to you…” She left it unsaid, instead hugging Flora in a warm hug. “Thank you again,” she turned to Celestia. “For bringing my daughter home.” “No trouble at all.” The princess then spared a glance to the star-filled sky. “But, I suppose this little one and I need to head to sleep if we’re to leave by sunrise.” “Sunrise?” Flora asked, floating out of her mother’s embrace. “You can’t stay any longer?” Celestia shook her head. “The two of us staying puts the village in jeopardy, and I gave Mewtwo my word we’d leave by then. I’m sorry Flora, but I’m grateful to you for your help.” Flora’s mood dimmed before Gloriosa put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s for the best Flora. Besides, Celestia can take care of herself. I’m sure they’ll be fine.” “We will, won’t we?” Celestia asked, turning to Summer, who answered with a content yawn. “Well, I wish you all the best Celestia.” The Florges extended her hand. “And to you as well, Gloriosa.” Celestia stretched out her hoof in acceptance. And all the while, Flora looked on, her mind racing.