A Mienshao slowly walked out into the middle of the ring with a small Skitty sitting on his shoulder. She looked nervously around her. It looked so much bigger from the inside.
“Calm down, Chii, just do as Ethan told you. Close your eyes and imagine that we are the only ones here.” Brawly told her as he reached up petted her hair.
“And now for our next Contestants! Brawly and Chii!” The announcing voice cried out.
“Show them all that you can do this, you have trained for years for this very moment, Chii. What was it that we decided on before we came here? We go big…” Brawly told her grinning as he heard Chii`s answer.
“Or we go home!” Chii smiled happily, having gotten her confidence back.
“That’s my girl! Now, just like we practiced. You lead, and I follow.” Brawly held forth his arm, allowing Chii to run along it. When she came to the end, she jumped, spinning in the air before gracefully landing some lengths away.
“Now!” Chii called out as she landed.
“Aura Sphere:” Brawly held out his hands as a small Aura Sphere formed and was held in place.
“Assist!” Chii cheered happily as a similar Aura Sphere formed at the tip of her tail before they both fired the attack simultaneously. The two spheres spun around as they began to rise in a spiral around the two contestants, the spheres moving opposite from each other.
Chii then set off towards Brawly as the two Spheres continued to rise. She jumped towards Brawly who had been waiting for her, his paws at the ready. He acted as a springboard for her, launching Chii high into the air and immediately sent another small Aura Sphere after her.
Chii spun around as she gained height, the third Aura Sphere gaining on her as she reached the pinnacle of her jump.
“Tail Whip!” She spun around just before the sphere was about to make contact and hit it back towards Brawly with her tail at the same time as she used the momentum to launch herself towards one of the other Aura Spheres that were circling around them. Back at the ground, Brawly was standing at the ready, waiting for the moment to strike as the Aura Sphere came towards him.
It had taken more than a little amount of practice for them to get the Aura Spheres just right with their size and control so they could hit them back and forth without them exploding. But they still had to be handled with care, one wrong move and he would take a Sphere to the face and their show would be ruined.
Gently grabbing the Aura Sphere in the palm of his paw, Brawly led it around before sending it back up towards Chii who had already sent the next Sphere down towards him.
The two of them continued to juggle the Aura Spheres in between each other, even adding another two to the mix. Brawly had to give it to her, it took a lot of concentration on his part to pull it off and look graceful at the same time, but Chii simply jumped in between the spheres with ease as she continued to laugh joyfully. She made it look easy, it was obvious that he was the novice in that arena.
It continued like that for a small while. A few times, Brawly misjudged the amount of power he was supposed to use and sent the spheres slightly off course, but Chii was there immediately, making it seem like it was done on purpose.
“Weeee!” Chii cheered loudly as she jumped to the next Sphere, signaling to Brawly that the first part was coming to an end. Using her Tail Whip just like before, she hit the sphere down towards the ground, only this time she did not aim for Brawly, but the ground around him. She repeated this with the four other Spheres, creating five small explosions in short succession around her partner. Chii grabbed her tail as she started to spin on her way down, letting go and landing gracefully on Brawly`s head just in time as the dust from the Aura Spheres dispersed.
“That was fun!” Chii laughed as held out his arms, letting the whip like fur on his arms fall loose.
“Ready for the finale?” Brawly asked as the two of them did a short bow to the audience.
“Yeah!” Chii cheered happily before she looked up towards the sky. A small blue orb of energy beginning to slowly form in front of her mouth, the air around it shimmering.
“Show them what you can do.” Brawly encouraged her just before she unleashed her attack .
“Blizzard!” Chii fired the Blizzard straight up into the air, the ice crystals glistening in the light. A cloud of the ice crystals formed high in the air as she ended her attack, hovering above everyone in the audience.
Just as she finished, Brawly focused all his strength in his legs and leaped into the air. Chii laughing in joy from on top of his head as they approached the ice cloud. As they came to a stop in the center of the cloud, Brawly took a deep breath as they seemingly paused in the air momentarily.
“Go for it!” Chii exclaimed as she held onto the hair on top of Brawly's head.
“Double Slap!” His arms shot out at a blinding speed. The whip fur on his arms disappearing from sight as he used it to crush the ice crystals. Focusing more on speed than power, Brawly continued his attack for just another second or two, before they began to fall back down towards the ground, most of the ice crystals from the Blizzard now crushed into a fine powder.
A line of glittering ice powder following after them as they gracefully fell down to the ground, Brawly landing kneeling down as they reached the ground to soften the landing.
“Let them have it.” Brawly spoke softly to Chii as she looked to to the ice cloud.
“Hyper Voice!” Chii screamed to the skies. Her Hyper Voice traveling upwards, connecting with the ice cloud that hung in the air, making it explode as her attack reached it.
Everything was glittering as the ice powder had been dispersed and was slowly raining down across the audience over the entire stadium. The ice powder melting instantly when it hit a pony or Pokémon.
“And that’s it!” Brawly straightened up before bowing to the audience. And while he bowed, Chii waved happily to the audience.
After they were done, they turned to the judges, ready to hear their opinions. The three judges seemed to take a moment to talk in between each other before Diantha was the first one to speak up.
“I must say, I never expected to see the Gym leader, Brawly in a contest hall. As a participant no less.” She said with an amused smile.
“Surely stranger things have happened.” Brawly countered. Though, while he had watched a few contests on tv, he had never actually been to a contest in person before, so she was right on that.
“Indeed they have… But as a contestant, your inexperience shows.” Diantha said, her expression turning a tad more serious. “You move fluidly, and your actions are elegant in their own way. But they are always with a strict purpose in mind, not to impress the audience, but just to complete the task before you. And you did have a few slipups, using too much of your strength.” Brawly knew that she was right, and he could feel Chii squirm on top of his head, anxious about what they had to say about her no doubt.
“But those mistakes also made your partner shine so much more.” Nurse Joy continued where Diantha left off. “It was even difficult to notice that they were mistakes, because Chii was there immediately, to correct you. Every step of the way, she was there to guide and help you. It has been long since I have seen two individuals who are so different, but complement each other so well at the same time. It was a pleasure to have you here.” Nurse Joy finished, with a gentle smile and a nod.
“It was fun! Thanks for having us!” Chii cheered joyfully. Brawly gave another small bow and she waved to the judges before she and Brawly walked out of the arena, feeling content with what they had accomplished.
“See, I told you that you could do it!” Brawly grinned as he could positively feel the joy radiating from Chii.
“Yeah, I don't care if we don't win. It was fun! And I want to do it again.” He lifted her down and ruffled her hair as he held her. It was hard to believe that she was the same Skitty that had been afraid of going to the contest in the first place.
“That’s my girl!” Brawly smiled, their goal for participating having been accomplished.
Once they were backstage, a Luxray was waiting with a wide smile. “Hey guys,” he greeted them. “That was an amazing performance. I couldn’t think of a better way to open the show.”
“Thank you!” Chii exclaimed with a huge grin. “That was so much fun! It is just a shame that it had to end so soon.” And with that, her mood did a complete turn around.
“It was my first time ever doing one of these things, but I have to agree,” Brawly nodded in agreement. “It was fun.” His words seemed to bring Chii back to her usual, happy self.
They paused in their conversation as the next group headed out to perform, Seth offering some words of encouragement. Once they left the backstage, he turned back to Chi and Brawly. “So, you said you knew my little sister? I know Mom was out looking for her, but-”
“She stayed with us for a little while.” Chii cut in rather rudely. “Your mom too. They were kinda nice, even though that Crowe was a jerk.” She huffed.
“Yes, we do know her. Just like Chii her said, she stayed with us for about a day… you haven't seen em? They came back to Canterlot with the same train as we did.” Brawly mentioned with a thoughtful expression.
“No, but then I’ve been really busy with the Contest,” Seth replied. The truth was that Kimberly and Becky were in the audience, they didn’t want to distract Seth while he was running the event. “Still, it’s good to hear that they’re safe and both in town. Thank you very much for the information.”
“No worries,” Brawly just nodded. “And thank you for this little Contest of yours. This little fuzzball here has not been able to stop talking about it ever since it came up. Think it meant a lot to her.”
“Hey, I am not a fuzzball.” Chii complained. “B-but yeah, thank you for the Contest, it was lots of fun!”
“You’re welcome… fuzzball,” Seth smirked and rubbed her head with a massive paw. “I’m just glad people showed up.”
The crowd outside stomped and cheered as the performance ended. The judges started giving their verdict and Suri pointed at something on a clipboard.
“Yeah, alright,” Seth nodded to her. “Mm, sorry guys. I’m just crazy busy. Still, if you’re gonna hang around, we should go out or something later?”
“Sounds good,” Brawly agreed. “We will be sticking around Canterlot for a little while, and I know that Ethan also wanted to have a word with you. But we'll let you get back to your work.” He picked up the little Skitty who was still silently cursing over being called a fuzzball. “See ya later.”
Ethan cursed himself as ponies and Pokemon were leaving the stadium, and just as he had arrived, too. In truth, he did not think that he would be there in time; it was not why he was in Canterlot, but even so, he felt a sting of pain from within his chest.
There had been no time for him to come sooner. His business in the city was important: he had promised Jenny. But… he had also promised Chii that he would witness the act that she and Brawly had trained so hard for. Now what was he going to tell her?
Damn it.
He did not have a lot of time to think about it either, as more and more were leaving the stadium every second and it was only a matter of time before they did too. He had contemplated not returning at all, instead making up an excuse when he met back up with them later on. But no, he had hit a roadblock. He had discovered a lot, bribed and manipulated his ways through the unsavory characters that thrived in Canterlot's darker side. He was cute and weak-looking, which made most underestimate him, and in turn made them much easier to deceive and to work with. But he had hit a roadblock: he did not only look weak, he was fairly weak. Sure, he could maybe take a pony or two if it was needed, and if they were inexperienced. He had gotten through his previous encounters mostly based on luck, improvisation and using his environment to his advantage. He needed some extra muscle. He needed help.
“Ethan!” A shrill, familiar voice cut through the crowd and deep into his ears, making him cringe. It was at times like these that he cursed himself for his overly sensitive hearing. But he knew who the voice belonged too, and it did not take too long for its owner to find him.
Ethan braced himself, he knew her well enough to know what was coming, not that it would do him any good. Ethan went down like a sack of potatoes when Chii rocketed into him, scaring most of the nearby ponies who thought that a fight had broken loose.
“H-hey there, Chii.” Ethan croaked out from his prone position.
“Did you see our Contest? It was so great, Brawly tossed me up high into the air and we kept juggling these Aura Spheres back and forth, it was just amazing, and then I made it rain ice over the whole stadium with my Hyper Voice! The ponies were like,” Chii stopped talking for a spell as she made a surprised looking face, “they were speechless, it was so cool to see, and kinda scary at the same time too, so, what did you think? Huh? Huh? Huh?” Nearby ponies gave the overly excited Skitty and the prone Lopunny a wide berth.
“It was a wonderful show,” Ethan lied as he sat up, making Chii smile even brighter. “And you had a lot of fun, that's the most important, right?”
“Yeah, it was tons of fun!” Chii agreed. “And we also kicked some of the others’s butts. They did not even come close.” She had trained hard and was overly excited, so a little bragging was to be expected. “Can we do it again? Pleeeaaase?” She looked up at Ethan with her most adorable expression, though his answer would not have changed anyway.
“Of course you can.” Ethan smiled. “I’m sure they will do more of these, and if you want to keep doing it, then you absolutely should.” Hearing that sent Chii into another happiness and excitement-induced overdrive.
“She really needed that.” Brawly commented as he appeared next to Ethan. It had taken him a little while in catching up to Chii who was currently running under and around nearby ponies, unable to contain her feelings. “So… why did you lie to her?” That sentence struck Ethan harder than any physical blow ever could.
“You know why.” Ethan countered, his reply a little colder than he had intended.
“Yeah… I guess I do.” Brawly shook his head, glad that Chii could not hear them. “Still, this meant a lot to her; you should have been there!” His voice was quiet, yet hard. Brawly was angry, though he did not let it show.
“I did not come to Canterlot for this!” Ethan almost hissed back in a hushed tone. “The ones who hurt Jenny are in this city, and I promised her I would find them.”
“And how's that working out for ya?” Chii was currently running between the legs of a number of ponies, making some of them laugh, and more than a few of them hop in surprise. “Will you even come back with us?”
“I don't think so, not yet at least.”
“Of course not.” Another sigh came from Brawly. “Dude, I don't know exactly what Jenny asked of you… but she would not have wanted this.”
Ethan had no answer to that.
“Why did you even come back here?” Brawly asked in a surprisingly calm voice. “I'd like to think that you did it for her,” he looked over to Chii, and gave her a little smile, “but somehow, I doubt it.”
Ethan felt himself burst with anger at that. Of course he cared about Chii, and he would have loved to see her performance. It was just that his business in Canterlot was more important, and he had to find those bastards… he just had to.
“I came because I need some help.” He said, his anger disappearing as quickly as it had come.
“I hope you don't mean—”
“No, not you,” he shook his head, “I know that you don't want any part in this.” Brawly did not know much about what he was doing in Canterlot, but he knew that he did not like it, that much was obvious to Ethan. “No, I'm waiting for someone.”
As if he were waiting for the cue, a large Luxray emerged from the hall. He had a Braixen riding on his back, an earth pony mare on one side and a Sylveon on the other. He spotted the Lopunny and nodded his head.
“Hello there,” he said once he drew close. “You must be Ethan, I take it?”
“Indeed I am, and you’re Seth. Finally found your brother I see.” He nodded to the Braixen he had gotten to know just a few days earlier.
“Sure did!” the fox beamed, hugging his neck. “He’s so FLUFFY!”
Seth rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Ethan and his friends. “In any case, yes. My name is Seth Crescent. You already know my sister Rebecca. This here is my marefriend, Apple Fritter.”
The mare bowed her head and smiled. “Howdy.”
“And this is my girlfriend, Rika.”
“Hi!” Rika beamed, her face an inch from Ethan’s.
“H-hey there,” Ethan blinked while taking a step back. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Rebecca talked a lot about you, and you too, girls.” He smiled. “You have already met my boyfriend Brawly.” The Mienshao stood at his side, the mood from earlier completely gone and a grin sporting his features.
“Hey again.” He greeted the group.
“And you also know Chii, I believe.” He smiled as Chii had already noticed the group and was currently in the air, on collision course with Rebecca. She paused mid-air as Becky caught her with her levitation magic and floated her over, smothering the pink cat in hugs.
“Becky!” Chii cried out, having missed their guest, happily returning the hugs. “It's good to see you again!”
“Speaking of, I have to thank you for taking care of my little sister,” Seth smiled. “If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“You don't need to worry about that,” Brawly replied. “She was no trouble at all.”
Ethan nodded in agreement. “Yes, it was a pleasure… there was something I was hoping to talk with you about actually, alone if possible.”
Well, that sounded serious. Seth nodded as he let Becky down. “Alright, you guys go find Vincent, I’ll meet you at home later, okay?”
“Aww… alright,” the Braixen sighed.
“It was nice to meet you!” Rika beamed, ever the cheerful one.
“Eeyup,” Fritter nodded.
“Then I guess we'll see you later too.” Brawly nodded to Ethan. “It was nice to meet you girls, come on, Chii.”
“Aww, do we have to go already?” Chii pouted, but she did not disagree and jumped down from Becky. “You had a great performance,” She beamed at Rika. “It was fun to compete with you.”
“Thanks! You were awesome too, Chii,” Rika beamed and winked at her. “I’m glad to see you performing again.”
“Bye!” Chii waved them off before a thought struck her and a small grin formed. “Say hi to Crowe from me!” She called out to Becky remembering the note she had left the bird Pokémon on.
“Tell me yourself,” the avian replied, flying down and landing on the ground. “Typical cat.”
“Hey, your voice is back.” Chii grinned. “You seemed to have lost it when we left at the train station.”
“I…” Crowe blushed and glared at her. “Shut up!”
Chii giggled. “You should come visit sometime, I wouldn't mind.” She winked at the blushing Crowe. “Byyeeee~” She sang, waving to the group as they left.
“That… insufferable furball!” Crowe pouted and took wing, flying off. He looked rather red though. Becky smiled and called out.
“Crowe and Chii~ Sittin’ in a tree~”
“Shut it!” the bird yelled, flying further away.
Becky and the others left not long after that, leaving Seth and Ethan alone.
“Okay,” the Luxray said as they started walking. “What’s the problem? It’s something serious, yes?”
“I'm afraid so.” Ethan nodded. “Tell me, do you know of a group that calls themselves `The Weavers’?” He asked, looking up to the Luxray. He remembered the letter they had sent to Canterlot asking for assistance a while back, and the strangely vague answer they had gotten in return.
The Luxray shook his head. “Doesn’t ring any bells. Sorry.”
“Yeah, somehow, I did not think so.” Ethan sighed. “It's a relatively small poaching group. They went after rare and magical creatures. But now they have expanded their scope and are going after Pokémon too.” He paused for a spell. “We sent a letter asking for assistance from the princesses a way back… but if you haven't heard of them, then I doubt it ever arrived.”
“They’re poaching… Pokémon?” A low growl built up in his throat as Ethan could feel his fur stand on end as the lightning Pokémon sparked. “Dexxy?”
“Yes, daddy?” the Porygon materialised next to him.
“Go through the messages we’ve received in the last month. Is there anything from Neighagra Falls?”
The Porygon whirred and hummed for a solid minute. “Data compiled and check. No such message exists. Last known correspondence was two days after Transfer. To notify [Princess Celestia] of new Pokémon population.”
“Cute kid.” Ethan commented, he wanted to speak to Seth alone because of his recent paranoia, but knew enough about Porygons to know that it was a real one and that it would not be an issue. “And yeah, they are poachers, though they don't seem to want to kill… intentionally or most of them anyway.” He still remembered that Oddish. “My friend got captured by them a while back… a former Officer Jenny. She escaped recently though, and got some got some important information. It seems that the leader of the group, the headquarters if you will, is here in Canterlot.” He explained to Seth. “I have been looking into it these last few days… but I am only one Lopunny, and I'm not really a fighter. That’s why I waited for you outside of the Contest. I heard a lot about you from Becky… you seemed like a trustworthy guy.”
“And I at least owe you the benefit of a doubt,” Seth replied as the Porygon vanished to… wherever she’d come from. “I take it that a certain news report about a murder isn’t all the media made it out to be?”
“Your sister and mother have mentioned me I see.” Ethan smiled for a second before he let it drop. “You were not exactly liked by the media back on Earth either so I'm not gonna lie to you, I did kill that person. But there is a lot more to the story than just that, more than the media ever told or cared to tell. I'll explain it all to you, along with the details of this poaching group if you'll let me.”
“My family said nothing, I recognised your name, and that Skitty… I have a good memory,” Seth smiled. “I’d also like to think I’m a good judge of character. So yeah. Let’s take a walk and we’ll talk…
More than a few ponies turned their heads as Seth and Ethan walked past them, and for good reason. Seth was already rather big for a Luxray, and next to Ethan, who was quite small in stature for a normal Lopunny, he truly looked like a giant.
“That… Arceus above, and I thought Canterlot had it’s issues,” Seth sighed once he’d finished listening to Ethan’s story. “Kidnapping, poaching, drugs… the more I hear about what others went through, my own problems seem pretty insignificant.”
“No problems are really insignificant, it always matters to someone… to somepony.” Ethan countered. It was something he kept in mind when he helped those needed it. He had seen too many ignored because their fears or issues seemed miniscule. “It may seem like some things don't matter in the bigger picture, when compared to something else. But a problem is still a problem, no matter if it involves just one person, or an entire nation.”
“Perspective is everything,” Seth said, his tone suggested he was quoting someone. It was something Diantha had once told him. “So, what can I do to help you? I can’t promise any results, but I’ll try my hardest.”
“That means a lot to me, really, thank you,” Ethan nodded. “I have already uncovered a lot here in Canterlot, and I believe that I'm getting close to finding their leader.” He decided to reveal what he had been doing now that Seth had agreed to help. “You will be of more help than you may think… your name carries weight in this city. You have resources available to you should it be necessary, that and, well, I'm not really a fighter.” Ethan admitted. “I know a few moves, but even if I did find their lair, base, or whatever, I don't know how much I would be able to accomplish.”
“So, you’ll need muscle on top of finding them,” Seth nodded. “Okay, yeah. That much I can do. But… finding them will likely be the hard part. If they’ve been this elusive so far, I doubt they’ll slip up now.”
“Hey, I haven’t spent the last few days doing nothing,” Ethan smiled. “I have the name of, what I believe to be one of the local street contacts for these guys. Hock Flynn, from what I have gathered he is rather unimportant in the bigger picture, but he takes and delays orders in Canterlot, which means that he should lead us somewhere.” It was the best lead he had; it was the only lead he had.
“Alright, even a vague lead is better than none at all,” Seth nodded and looked around. “So, is it just us? Or do you have some kind of backup in mind?”
“No, there's no one else. The letter we sent got stopped somewhere, so I'm not sure who to trust. That's why I came to you. I already knew about you back on Earth, that and I trust your sister and, by extension, you.” None of his pony friends back in Neighagra Falls even knew why he had gone to Canterlot, as he could not risk it. “If they get wind that someone is after them, it's going to be impossible. They will just disappear.”
“Even so, fate has a rather vindictive grudge against me, so I’d like a little backup in case things go south…” he reached up and tapped the silver torc around his neck, then sun engraving glowing softly…
And after a moment, a mare dropped from the sky rather suddenly. She wasn’t like any pony Ethan had ever seen before. She kinda looked like a pegasus, except that her wings were like a Golbat’s… and her eyes were a stunning emerald, possessing a cat-like slit. As she smiled, he saw two pointed white fangs in her mouth.
“You rang, Boss Cat?” she said and noticed the Lopunny. “Ohh, who’s this little cutie~ Another girlfriend of yours?”
Seth groaned and smacked his face with his paw.
“In his dreams,” Ethan rolled his eyes before they narrowed at Seth. “Who is this? I came to you because I thought you to be trustworthy. A pony–any pony–could be caught within their network of information… even if they don't know it.” He ended, sizing up the new bat mare.
The thestral’s hackles rose as she went to tear into him verbally, but Seth put a paw over her muzzle.
“Her name is Midnight Song, she’s one of Princess Celestia’s personal guards and my partner. I trust her completely and am positive that she isn’t caught up in this, okay?”
Midnight’s words were muffled, but they were words not meant for a child’s ear as she swore up a storm..
Ethan's eyes shifted between Seth and Midnight. She may not be directly involved, but someone she worked with, or someone she knew might be. Then again, he recognized Seth's personality, and he was not going to be able to change his mind about this. “Fine,” he begrudgingly agreed before directing his full attention towards Midnight. “Sorry, I'm not too trusting of ponies these days. Name’s Ethan.”
Seth removed his paw and the thestral sighed. “Well, I suppose. That was a lousy first impression, by the way. My name is Midnight Song, and Thunderbutt here already told you my job.” She showed off her wingblades and smiled a fanged grin. “Accuse me to being treasonous to my Princesses again though… and I’ll shave that little bunny bod bald.”
“You stay away from my ears and we will get along just fine.” Ethan shot her a small glare, perhaps he should have gone alone after all. “I don't doubt your loyalty,” he did. “But if the wrong pony gets wind of this, it's all over. I'll trust your judgement here.” He said looking up to Seth.
“Look Ethan, I get why you’re so paranoid, especially when it comes to members of the police or guard,” Seth looked at Midnight and nodded. “But I trust her with my life. And besides, if we mess up and they get away, they’ll be even harder to find and more Pokémon and other creature will get hurt.”
Ethan looked up to Seth, perhaps he had been a bit too paranoid. He really had no reason to lie to him. “Fine, I'm sorry, Midnight, and you are right, that was a shitty first impression.” He admitted. “Let me try again,” he said, holding out his paw for a handshake. “I'm Ethan, Pokémon psychologist, therapist, and more often than not a dumbass.”
“I’ll concur with that last one,” the thestral smirked and shook his paw. “Besides, you can’t be all that bad if Seth likes you… eh, scratch that, Seth likes everyone.” She looked him over and nodded her head. “Still, you’re pretty cute I suppose, so all is forgiven.”
“Glad to hear it,” he smiled, taking the compliment in stride. He was used to being called cute at this point. “But enough of this, we need to find Hock Flynn, you would not happen to have heard that name before?” He asked Midnight.
The thestral’s expression soured. “Oh, I know the little snitch alright. A weasel in pony form is what he is.” She smiled… one that reminded Ethan of a hungry Sharpedo. “Oh yes… this is going to be most fun~”
“Great, love the enthusiasm.” Ethan laughed, with eyes like that, he almost felt bad for Flynn. Almost. “Let's get going, I'll fill you in on the rest on the way.”
Canterlot was bustling with activity, every street was filled up with ponies of all kinds. So the trio went by mostly unnoticed, except for Seth who could be easily seen over the crowd. Midnight led them along while she was filled in on the same Seth had been earlier.
“Sorry but I have to ask about the wings.” Ethan asked. “I have heard about thestrals but never met one before.” It had taken a while, but Ethan's curiosity had gotten the better of him. “Is it natural or modified with magic?”
“Oh, I’m all natural~” the mare purred and licked her lips. “You know… why don’t we go off, and I’ll give you an in depth biology lesson~”
Seth facepawed again.
“Mixing business and pleasure, are we?” Ethan matched her smile, but could not stop his blush. “I'm afraid I'm spoken for... though somehow I don't think my boyfriend would mind that much.” Especially with Brawly's carefree nature, Ethan on the other hand, would mind.
“Tch! The good ones always have boyfriends,” Midnight sighed, then smirked. “The better ones invite them to play too~”
“Midnight…” Seth said… and that was the only warning she got before he shocked her lightly.
“T-Tingly…” the bat twitched. “Okayokay, fiiine. I’ll leave him alone. Now! Where the heck is Hock hiding today…” She looked around for the weasley stallion. It was Market Day today, plus all the extra ponies that the Contest brought in… “It’s like Hearths Warming for him today.”
“With this many ponies around I don't doubt it… How do you want to handle it when we find him?” Ethan asked. He had no doubt that he could get Hock to talk, but Midnight had possibly dealt with the stallion before.
“Hmm, you know what info you want,” Midnight said, Seth taking a backseat to this conversation. “So you can start, and if he doesn’t squeal… then I’ll take a crack at it.”
“Fair enough,” Ethan said as he started to survey the area, knowing the stature that kind of person or pony carried himself with. “Have you dealt with him before?” Ethan asked as a certain pony caught his attention, he was rather hard to spot, which was strange since it did not look like he was trying to hide. He had a dapple grey coat that made it seem like he was rather dirty, and a black mane to complete it. He was currently talking up a elderly couple from the looks of it “That him?” Ethan asked, nodding in their direction.
Midnight nodded. “That’s him. He’ll try and talk his way out of it. But with me here, he might cooperate.” Midnight walked up behind him as the stallion was trying to talk the couple into buying a fake diamond bracelet.
“Hello, Hock~” she hummed and he turned. Ethan saw his eyes go as wide as saucers.
“Oh bloody Tartarus…”
“Hello there, Hock.” Ethan joined in, if he was that intimidated by Midnight then he should press their advantage. “We have some business to discuss.”
“Eh?” Hock turned to see the old couple leave. Well that was just great… well, more suckers were always hanging about. “So, the illustrious Midnight Song. What can I do for your Royal Battiness? And her pet rabbit.”
Pet? Ethan felt his already short temper rise. Oh he certainly knew this type, having dealt with his kind before. Midnight was right, this was going to be fun~ “Pet? Certainly not, at least not hers.” While he did want to slap Hock around for that remark, there were too many ponies around, it would make a scene. “We just want to know a few things regarding `The Weavers`.” His said, still keeping his sweet smile.
Hock blinked and look around. “Stars, are you bucking stupid?” he hissed. “Ya don’t say shit like that out loud, it’d ruin me business.” He sighed and nodded at an alley. “Ten minutes, in there.” And then he stepped back into the crowds and vanished.
Ethan blinked and looked over at Midnight. “Think he'll make a run for it?” He asked, not trusting Hock for a second. He was afraid of Midnight, that much was obvious, if it was enough to keep him around? That was yet to be seen.
“No doubt,” Midnight nodded and smiled. “Go to the alley, I’m going to play fetch~”
“You heard the mare,’ Seth replied with a small smirk. “Let’s go Ethan. We have a delivery to wait for.”
“They always run,” Ethan shook his head, but walked with Seth into the alley. “I'm certain Midnight will have fun with her little game of catch though.” The alley would serve them well, as it blocked all view from the main street.
And they didn’t wait long. The two had barely gotten settled when there was a yelp, and Hock landed on his flank right in front of them.
“Oi! I nearly broke me bloody arse ya stupid—”
Midnight slammed down in front of him, her fags bared and her eyes burned with rage. “What was that?”
“Nothing!” Hock replied in a squeaky voice.
Ethan knelt down so he came to eye level with the cowardly pony, the sweet smile from before was gone. “Now why did you go and have to do that?” Hock kept glancing around, looking for a way to run again no doubt. “Eyes on me,” he said, slapping Hock, easily gaining his attention. “I know that you know of them, you just need to give us what you know and you can go about your day, just like that.”
“Y-yeah, an’ what’s in it for me?” Hock put a shaky smirk on his face. “You don’t wanna buck with those guys. Their kinda shit is somethin’ I don’t wanna deal with, thank you very much…” His smirk widened. “But, there’s a price for everything…”
“So in other words,” Seth spoke up. “You want money for the information.”
“Bit’s make the world spin my friends,” Hock chuckled. “Information isn’t free you know. Especially dangerous information like this.”
“See here, Hock, you are in no position to make demands.” Ethan gave him a wicked grin. “You see, The Weavers are going down, how do you think I know that you have information on them?” He paused for a spell just to let Hock begin to think, but not enough to let him finish said thought. “Shady sold you out, he wanted off that boat before it sank completely. So, from where I'm standing, you are as much as an accomplice as anyone to those poaching bastards. Working with that kind of scum… withholding information… when you are sent to prison, do you think you'll ever see the light of day again?”
“Oooh, and combined with your known thefts and fencing… even Celestia won’t live long enough to see you released,” Midnight said.
“That sonovabitch sold me out?” Hock swore and frowned. “Tch! And why should I believe you bunnygirl?”
“By all accounts you shouldn't, you have no reason to do so after all.” The confusion on Hock's face was as clear as day. “And while we could get the information somewhere else, it would take time… but, earlier, you were scared when I as much as said their name in public… Say, how long do you think you would make it on the streets if word got around that you leaked information about them to us? That you cracked and spilled everything.” Just to reinforce his point, Ethan went back to his sweet smile from earlier. “The Weavers have ears everywhere, and sure they might not believe the rumors… but why take any chances? I mean, you are just a lowly street rat, you can easily be replaced.”
“Street rat? I’m the best bucking Fence in Canterlot, prolly all of Equestria,” the thief shot back. “Tch! This city’s gone to shit since you Pokémon showed up. Muckin’ around and makin’ life hard for us workin’ folk.”
“Oh boo hoo,” Midnight snarked back.. “Now out with the info, Hock.”
“Anythin’ for the lovely Midnight,” he smirked. “Now, I dunno much. They’re a secret organization that, surprise surprise, is quite secret. BUT!” he held up a hoof. “I heard that they’re having a little party tonight. Some rich bugger is throwin’ a shindig in the Cloud District.”
“A Noble?” Seth blinked. Figures. “Where?”
“Bucked if I know, shouldn’t be too hard to find,” Hock shrugged.
“See, that was not so hard, was it?” Ethan patted Hock on the head as he stood back up. “Such an obedient pet.” He had really disliked that earlier comment. “Cloud district, that a big place?” He asked Seth, completely ignoring Hock.
“It’s the upper section of the city. Most of the Noble caste reside there. So yeah… it’s pretty huge,” the Luxray nodded. “Still, we have a few cheats to work in our favour. So finding them will be the easy part. What happens after will be the fun part.”
“And if it all falls apart?” Midnight asked.
“Well, that’ll suck,” Seth nodded as Hock scrambled to his hooves and took off. Time to get the heck outta Dodge for a while. “So, we have until tonight. Any ideas of what to do until then?”
“Oh, I have a few ideas~” Midnight purred as she looked Ethan up and down. “I answered your question about thestrals, so answer one of mine. Is it true what they say about rabbits and breeding~?”
“Yeah,” Ethan answered automatically, but it only took a second for his mind to catch back up with what he had said. “Oh… um…” Ethan laughed nervously as his face flushed up. He glanced to Seth but quickly understood that he would get no help this time from the grin he was sporting. His face was turning more red for every second, his coloring closer to that of a slugma than a Lopunny. “W-what I meant to say was….” His sentence slowly died out as he hid behind his fluffy ears, covering his face completely.
“Ahahaha, you are too adorable,” Midnight giggled and lightly punched his shoulder. Ethan made a mental note that even lightly, hooves hurt. “Don’t worry Bunnyboy, that’s your boyfriend’s job right?”
“Just… ignore mostly everything that comes out of her mouth,” Seth sighed and Midnight waggled her eyebrows.
“Nothing ever comes out, I like to swallow~” she said in her husky tone.
“See what I mean?” Seth sighed. “This is what I deal with. Every. Single. Day…”
“Y-yeah,” but still Ethan could not help but laugh, she reminded him a lot about how Brawly used to be when he was younger. “At least you won't have a dull day with her around.” For better or for worse. “But you are right, we do have some time to kill until this party is getting crashed, and we should probably figure out what to do once we get there too. I'm not letting that bastard escape again.”
“A party full of rich snobs,” Midnight snorted. “Well, we can go about it three ways as I see it. One, we just raid the place. Two, we sneak in… but Seth’s kinda big… or, there’s Three. You uh… might not like three.”
“What’s number three?” Seth asked her, the smile on the mare’s face told him he indeed wasn’t going to like it.
“You know,” Midnight mused. “I always wanted some pets~”
Ethan frowned, he knew where she was going with this. “It will allow us to get much close to them than sneaking in ever would. And a raid is bound to let some if not most of them escape… Still, I don't like this… oh wipe that grin of your face.” He commented as Midnight seemed a little overly excited about this idea of hers.
“Let’s go shopping~” the bat hummed. Oh she was going to have so much fun with this~