//------------------------------// // Reunion Part I // Story: My Little Pony: Arceus and the Displaced Village // by Cloudhammer //------------------------------// Applejack waved back as the others crossed out of sight. “See y’all back at the library!” She turned to Apple Bloom with a smile, her steps eager. “So, how have the Acres done? Are Big Mac and Granny Smith alright? Just what in tarnation is your big tortoise thing?” She stopped as a flock of what she could only describe as flying honeycombs with faces buzzed by. “And what in Equestria are those?” Apple Bloom couldn’t help but laugh. “Acres are fine, Big Mac and Granny are fine, that’s Torterra,” she grinned proudly as her pokemon lumbered behind them, “and those are Combee. You should see em in the spring when they start swarming, can’t take two steps without bumping into one.” Applejack flinched away as one flew down to hover right in front of her. She couldn’t tell which of the three faces on it were looking at her, or if all of them were. “They don’t sting, do they?” She waved a hoof at it. “Shoo, git.” “Combee, combee…” it trilled and drifted upward, almost sadly as it rejoined the others. “Now, don’t be rude,” Apple Bloom chided. “Little guy was just curious. And no, they don’t sting. Well, unless you hit them.” Applejack shook her head. “I still don’t quite get it. So these here… what did’ja call ‘em again? Pokermanz? Y’all fight with ‘em?” “They’re called Pokemon, and to oversimplify it, yeah.” Apple Bloom waved as they passed a group of humans and ponies, several raising their cameras to take pictures. “It’s kinda more like we compete against each other to see who’s strongest, like the race in the Running of the Leaves or the Equestria Games. Sure, the Pokemon get banged up, but it’s all in good sport, and we always make sure they get treated afterward.” Applejack tilted her head. “If you say so, Bloom… And why are ponies and whatever those are takin’ your picture?” “Well….” Apple Bloom blushed, “I’m kind of a celebrity in the area, being one of the first three ponies to go on their Pokemon journey. I even got my certification as a Master Pokemon Breeder, and they don’t give that out easy.” “So you… breed these Pokermanz?” Applejack squinted as the farm road came into view, a small herd of creatures running by. Her eyes narrowed further at the sign arching over the trailhead. “What’re those? And why’s the sign different?” “Um… well…. “ Apple Bloom hesitated a moment, “We kind of expanded operations as time went on, plus they help out with keepin' pests from eating the apples. They’re Turtwigs, Torterra’s starting form.” She smiled as they vanished into the treeline. “And ours are the best in Sinnoh, not to mention unique since they grow apple trees on their backs.” Applejack just stared blankly. Apple Bloom laughed and continued on. “Don’t worry, AJ. You’ll catch on quick enough.” She broke into a canter as the farmhouse came into view, her grin widening as she saw the two figures waiting on the porch. “Hey, Mac! Granny! Guess who’s home for dinner!” "Whassat now? I know I must be imaginin' that voice comin' back up the trail—" Granny's voice drifted out the farmhouse door, her eyes crinkled in a smile as she came into view. As her eyes locked with Applejack's, her voice cracked and failed. Applejack's confusion over everything she’d seen vanished as she trotted faster, then broke into a gallop, her heart pounding in her chest. “M-Mac? Granny? Is it really you?” Her gait faltered as she drew closer, looking over the massive turtle her chair was mounted to. “Granny, what in Equestria are you riding?” “Now that’s just plain rude, Applejack,” Granny Smith chided, though her voice was warm as she waved her cane. “Tiny here’s been helpin’ me get ‘round the the farm for a good long while now.” She paused as the enormous Torterra snorted. “And he’s a little sensitive, so be nice.” “R-right… Um, sorry about that, um… Tiny.” Applejack half-stammered out, only to recoil as the Torterra took a thunderous step forward, bringing a set of jaws the size of her head into uncomfortably close proximity. “Uhhhh…” Tiny tilted his head slightly, nostrils flaring as he took a deep breath. This strange pony was unfamiliar to him, but her scent told him she was family. He leaned forward, and with surprising speed licked Applejack right up the center of her face, knocking her onto her rump and covering her head in saliva. Applejack blinked, before sputtering and spitting as she tried to wipe it off. Granny cackled madly, interspersed with the occasional wheeze. “Aw shucks, he likes ya!” “Aye, and it’s appreciated about as much as when Winona did it.” Applejack might have had her eyes closed, but she sensed the shift in mood as the words left her mouth. “When?” The rest didn’t need to be asked. “Was the… fourth or fifth year, I think,” Granny said quietly, adjusting the blanket. “Old girl kept whining outside your door for a right long spell, but once we started herding Turtwigs she got out of the funk. Took to it like a duck to water too, until her joints got so bad that she couldn’t chase em no more. She was comfortable and happy right to the end, AJ, you can trust that.” Applejack’s eyes watered, and she ducked her head to wipe them away. “I’ll have to say my goodbye sometime, then.” A small shudder ran through her as Apple Bloom and Big Mac pulled her into a hug, Granny joining in as soon as her joints allowed. “I worried I’d lost you all for good, when nopony else was lookin’,” she admitted, her muzzle wet. “Well, we’re here now, s’all that matters,” Mac muttered, voice wavering. Apple Bloom and Granny agreed wordlessly, hugging AJ tighter. “Mac? What’s going on?” A familiar voice called from the road. The family hug broke apart, AJ’s eyes widening in recognition as Cheerilee kept trotting closer. “Well hey there Ms. Cheerilee! Surprised to see you here—” She stopped suddenly, eyes locked on the sleepy-eyed bundle tucked into the foal-carrier on her back. The filly’s coat was a lighter shade of Cheerilee’s, but the straw-orange mane and green eyes were a dead giveaway. Her eyes narrowed as she turned. “I suspect you got some explainin’ to do, Macintosh Apple.” Mac gulped nervously, “Eeyup.” Rainbow’s teeth ground against each other as she rose into the sky, her eyes darting back and forth as she looked for Scootaloo. “Gotta give it to her, she’s definitely gotten good at flying. But she’s not as fast as me.” Her scowl deepened as she leveled out into a hover. “But I gotta know where she went before I can be faster than she is!” Before she could get around to picking a direction, she felt something coming up behind her, definitely not a pony from how much air it was displacing. Whirling about, her hoof would have connected squarely, if not for the clawed hand that intercepted it. Dragonite warbled, shaking one of her talons in a clearly admonishing gesture. “Yeah, um, sorry about that. Just not used to such… big things sneaking up behind me.” She blinked after realizing what she was talking to. “No offense.” Dragonite warbled again, a bemused smile on her face. Rainbow glanced toward the north.“So, you’re like Scootaloo’s pet or something, right? Can you tell me where she went?” Her ears went flat as Dragonite’s warble took on a growling undertone, and she looked back to see the usually cheerful eyes now dark. “Um, okay, so not a pet. My bad.” Dragonite stared at Rainbow, antenna twitching as she tried to see if the apology was heartfelt. After a few seconds, she relaxed and chirped, smiling again. “Right, so… do you know where Scootaloo went?” Rainbow asked hopefully. Dragonite shook her head, keening softly. She glanced back and forth, then seemed to get an idea. She pointed west, in the direction of the mountain that loomed in the distance. “Wait, did Scootaloo go to the mountain?” Rainbow stared up at the peak, nearly lost in the drifting clouds. “It’d be the perfect spot to build some secret cloud house, but it’d be tough to get up that high all the time…” Dragonite sighed and pointed again, her claws lined up with a small cloud house floating serenely on the edge of town. “Oh, that makes more sense,” Rainbow admitted. “Well what are we waiting for, let’s go!” She flapped her wings hard, glancing back toward Dragonite. “I’ll see you there—” She swerved to the side as Dragonite rocketed past her. “What the… how?” she sputtered, fighting to keep herself level in the crosswind. The look on Dragonite’s face could only be taken as a challenge, as the stubby wings flapped again, hurling the dragon forward in spray of dust. “Oh you’re on!” Rainbow’s wings buzzed as she took off after Dragonite. The two raced over the buildings, tearing at the sky for every bit of speed they could muster. Dragonite glanced back, her eyes widening as she saw how close Rainbow was to catching up with her. Grinning, she looked ahead, wings pumping for another burst of speed… only to flare up and come to an abrupt halt mere inches from the cloud-home’s front door. A moment later, she felt something collide with her back, the impact scooting her forward an inch. She craned her head around to see Rainbow flattened against her back. With a groan, Rainbow peeled herself free. “What was that for? I was just getting warmed up!” Dragonite simply pointed at the door, then floated through it, careful to not dissipate it. Rainbow pushed it open and trotted inside. “So… who’s house is this? Scootaloo’s?” Dragonite didn’t respond, the floor beneath her swirling as she hovered in front of a small shelf. Bedecked with photographs, it was the only thing giving the room any sense someone lived here. Dragonite gently lifted one of the photos and looked at it, a small smile on her face. Rainbow Dash craned her head to get a better look herself. The picture showed a much younger Scootaloo, a triumphant grin on her face as she stood beside a trophy as tall as she was. Around her stood an assembly of six creatures of a variety of forms and colors. On her left stood a monkey easily twice her height, inexplicably on fire. On her right coiled a serpentine creature easily four times Scootaloo’s size, a wide smile on it’s face despite the bruises and cuts covering its body. Looking closer, Rainbow saw the other creatures all bore injuries of some kind. “What kind of trophy is that?” Rainbow finally asked. “It’s from when I won the Sinnoh Pokemon League championship,” a voice said from the door. Scootaloo stepped through and into the living room. “It was my very first win, too.” “What’d you have to do to make it there?” Rainbow asked as she turned around. Scootaloo stared at her for a moment, then sighed. “Well, in each region are Pokemon Gyms, usually eight but sometimes more. You get a badge for each gym leader you beat, and once you have at least eight you can participate in that year’s championship. You battle one on one until it’s just two left, and then you go for the top.” Rainbow looked back at the picture, then at the others on the shelf. Each in turn showed Scootaloo with more determination and self-confidence, the different Pokemon around her reflecting it. “Scoots, you got to know that we never gave up on you—” Scootaloo’s punch knocked her clean across the room into the wall. “You don’t get to make apologies like that! We needed you, I needed you… and you weren’t there. You say only a week’s passed for you in Equestria, and you may even be right. But that doesn’t change that we’ve been here for ten years. For ten years we had to move on, to grow up without anyone to help us but ourselves.” Scootaloo was screaming by now, tears running down her cheeks. “And now you show up expecting things to just go back to normal?” Dragonite keened, reaching out to her trainer. But Scootaloo shook her head and slumped to the floor. “You’re right, Scootaloo.” Rainbow heaved herself to her hooves, a bruise already forming on her muzzle. She couldn’t help the deprecating chuckle, “Dang, didn’t think you’d be that strong though. Could probably give Mac a run for his bits with that swing. I really was kind of dumb to wish for things to just go back to the way they were.” Scootaloo shook silently, then suddenly lunged forward, drawing her hoof back for another punch. But before it connected, something collided with her and her vision went blue. Rainbow held her tight, her own tears starting to form. “But I want… need you to know that no matter what, I never gave up on you.” Scootaloo shook her head, crying harder as she weakly punched Rainbow a few more times, before finally collapsing. Rainbow followed suit, the two pegasi huddling on the cloud floor. Dragonite tilted her head, dumbfounded that this new pony and her trainer seemed to have resolved things by hitting each other, but moved all the same. She wiped her own tears away, and gently tapped the recall button on her pokeball. She figured they’d want some privacy. “Um, excuse me, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy squeaked out as she moved around one of the bipeds, the hulking creature beside them snuffling curiously at her. It almost resembled a shark, but had legs and arms with edged fins. Its eyes were sharp, like a hawk’s, but there was no malice in them, and she relaxed a little and hurried on her way. The town looked so similar, and yet so different, with all the new creatures walking back and forth. The buildings looked different too, strange new ones jostling for position alongside old staples like Sugarcube Corner or the library. But what held her attention were the animals! She caught sight of the normal species that had made Ponyville their home, but alongside them were ones that looked similar, and others that looked nothing like she had ever seen. A flock of birds swooped low, trilling the same sound over and over, mingling with a swarm of what could only be described as flying honeycombs. But nowhere did she see any rabbits, at least not in the town proper. She kept moving to what had been the east of town, toward the path which used to lead to the Everfree Forest. It was as the buildings started to thin that she caught a glimpse of the first bunny, peering at her from the bushes. This one was grey, with a small streak of white fur along its left ear. She started to move toward it, but it vanished before she’d taken more than two steps. “Wait!” She cantered to the bush, peering through the foliage, but no sign of the rabbit remained. She sighed, wings drooped, when another rustle caught her ear. She looked up, ears swiveled toward the source, another bush further down the road. Here, another rabbit was staring at her, this one the same grey but with the right ear white-marked. Just as before, as she approached it retreated, only for a third rabbit to appear, a splash of white on its chest. Heedless of the odd stares she was getting, Fluttershy kept up the chase as the three rabbits steadily lead her out of town. She distantly noted that the direction they were leading her in was the same as her original destination, which raised her hopes slightly. The bunnies were lightning quick, managing to stay ahead of her the entire headlong rush through town. Before long, the familiar shape of the cottage came into view, the path flying by under her hooves. As she slowed, however, what she saw had to be a hallucination. The cottage was pristine, almost identical to how she’d left it a week ago. If anypony but Twilight hadn’t told her that it had been ten years for Ponyville, she’d had sworn the cottage had just dropped there from her memories. She felt something bump against her leg, and looked down to see the trio of bunnies tapping their feet impatiently, the one with the white-splashed chest pointing at the front door. “My goodness, you’re certainly impatient. You’re just like Angel.” The bunny eyed her for a long moment, then turned and hopped up the trail toward the cottage. As Fluttershy followed, she saw more bunnies emerging from burrows and the gardens, until a veritable horde milled around her, urging her toward the entrance. A pair jumped up, kicking the door in unison to open it for her, the rabbit stampede spilling through around her hooves. If the outside was stunning, the inside took her breath away. All of her furniture was immaculate, though new construction wove over and around from floor to ceiling. Everywhere were animals large and small, both the normal kind from Equestria as well as new ones. And overseeing it all were yet more rabbits. They were bustling in and out of the kitchen, carrying plates filled with all manner of food from bird seed to acorns, fruits and vegetables and all manner of other things she didn’t recognize. Others patrolled along the floor and the miniature platforms, making sure every animal got the chance to eat and breaking up any disagreements. “Oh my…” Fluttershy managed to squeak out. At the noise the swirl of activity came to a jarring halt, all eyes suddenly on her. A few of the strange animals tried to come closer, but the bunnies swiftly reined them in. The three that had led her to the cottage hopped to the front, rapidly gesturing at the others. Almost in unison, the small army nodded and began ushering all the animals from the home. “Oh, you don’t need to leave on my behalf,” Fluttershy said immediately. “You’ve all been living here for so long it’s more your house than mine now.” The trio of bunnies ignored her until the house stood empty save for the four of them. Noses twitching, they conferred among themselves briefly before the one with the white on his chest hopped forward. The other two took up position on either side, and on some signal all three respectfully lowered their heads. Fluttershy couldn’t help the smile. “Oh, you’re all so adorable. You remind me of how Angel acted when I saved him from that snake…” A sudden weight settled into her chest as she looked these three bunnies over more closely. It was subtle, but the ear length, the right foot larger than the left, the particular shine to their eyes, the fiercely independent attitudes… “Are you… are you Angel’s…?” The trio instead pointed to the back door, then hopped that way. Fluttershy followed them, the heaviness in her heart growing with each step. But she forced herself to keep moving forward, not even stopping at the splendor of the garden behind the cottage. Flowers of every shape and color were everywhere, bumblebees lazily drifting from plant to plant. More carefully tilled vegetable patches could be seen by the chicken coop, and her old tree still appeared as healthy as ever. As they led her into the garden, bunnies began to join them: dozens, maybe hundreds, all utterly silent. Finally, at the center of the garden, her heartache met its justification. Standing a proud two feet tall, the statue was of a bunny standing on its hind feet, ears upright and alert. In one paw it held a thin and gnarled carrot like a sword, and the other held a shield emblazoned with a butterfly identical to one of those on her flank. Beside him stood another bunny, though this one was a species she did not recognize, with all the fluff on its lower body and atop its ears. But the centerpiece statue she’d recognize anywhere. “Oh Angel…” she whispered, falling to her knees as the tears began to fall. The trio of bunnies hopped up to join her in grief, followed by the rest of the horde.