//------------------------------// // Gifts // Story: The Disaster Pokemon // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// "Eternal Forest...Eternal Forest...nope, can't say that I've ever heard of it." Limestone said at last with a shake of her head. The group of three had long since left the ruins of the old outpost and had found their way back to a part of the forest that was more hospitable to travelers. A dirt path cut through the grass beneath them, giving them a point of references towards the nearest civilization. Absol passed the time in silence, as always, while Limestone had tried to recall anything about the Eternal Forest. Nothing came to mind. "You've lived in these lands all of your life and yet you have not heard a thing about this place?" Absol asked, a slight tone of disbelief in his voice. Marble sighed as fury immediately rose to the surface for Limestone. "Hey, I've been a rock farmer all of my life. Nothing more, nothing less. I didn't care about the outside world and I didn't want to know anything about it! I was happy on my farm," she snarled in her defense. Then she caught the rest of what Absol had been implying and gave him a dirty look. "Why, have you heard something about this place?" "In fact I have, despite having spent most of my time in Equestria in solitude," Absol replied with a smirk. "The Eternal Forest is said to be a place of endless mazes, creatures most foul and the one place in all of Equis where the realms of the living and the dead are closest. I take it I do not need to spell out for you why that is important?" "I caught on well enough, thank you. But aside from being a place where the ghosts could return to our world easier, what other purpose does it serve?" she asked. "And why bring our families there? If he...wanted to kill them, he could do that anywhere. Why bring everypony we know and love to the same location?" "And why would he even give away such a location in the first place?" Marble added in, stepping between Limestone and Absol, while gazing up at the latter. "If this is a place where the ghosts have such an easier time returning to the land of the living, why send the only known being in the land that can slay them there? Do you think it is a trap?" "One question at a time. To answer Limestone's, I do not believe all of the families taken are there. Just yours. As for why he would bring them there, that answers Marble's question. Because this is a trap," Absol said with nothing but certainty. "Then should we be going there by ourselves? Wouldn't it be smarter to stop back at Canterlot and gather the Ambassadors?" Marble put forward. "After all, I'm sure our sister is worried about us and the princesses would love to know of what we have learned. And no offense to you Absol, but I would prefer to not take on the entire army of ghosts and the ghost king with only you there to protect us. You yourself have admitted that you can be overwhelmed." "That's a great idea, Marble. Man, how come everypony in our family is so dang smart?" Limestone asked before playfully punching Marble in the shoulder. Marble smiled kindly in reply, though when Limestone looked away she rubbed her shoulder gingerly. "How about it, Absol? You okay with us gathering up everypony and uniting to take down the ghost king once and for all?" The look on Absol's face showed that he was anything but pleased with this plan, but he took a moment to rationalize their plan and eventually sighed. "As far as plans go it is a sound idea. Marble is right in saying that even though I have type advantage I can still be overwhelmed. And as much as I hate working with large groups, we need numbers to stand a chance against their forces. I have no objections." "That's wonderful!" Marble exclaimed, before something in the distance caught her eye. Absol and Limestone followed her gaze to see that she was peering out of the forest at a small town that had come into their sight. Even from the distance that separated them, they could see numerous ponies running around, telling them that the ghosts had not yet managed to get a hold of the town."Hey Absol, do you mind if you wait here for a little bit while Limestone and me go into town?" "Why? Isn't our plan now to seek out your sister and her allies?" "We will, but I just need to make a quick stop here first," Marble said as she gave Absol puppy dog eyes. "It won't be long, maybe an hour at most. Please?" "Okay, two questions. First, why do you want me to come along. Second, aren't you going to ask if Absol wants to come?" Limestone asked, surprised that her sister would be so impolite. "Let me start with the second one. Absol, do you want to come into town with us?" "No." "That answers that. Limestone, I want you to come with me...well, to be safe," Marble meekly admitted. "Even if we don't run into any ghosts in town, I'm still nervous around strangers. But if you're there..." "Fine, I get it," Limestone grumbled as she began to march ahead, Marble following behind her. "Absol, are you sure you're fine with...?" Limestone's words died off when she turned to see Absol already curled up beneath a tree, already asleep. "Fine. Come on Marble." The two walked for a while without speaking, with Limestone lost in her thoughts while Marble kept looking over her shoulders to make sure Absol wasn't following. "Y'know, if you really wanted him to come with us so badly, I'm certain that he would have said yes if you had given him those eyes of yours." "Actually, I didn't want him to come," Marble admitted in a whisper. "I'm thinking that while we're in town, not only can we learn about what's been going on, but we can each get Absol a gift to thank him for all he's done for us." "Hold up," Limestone said as she came to a dead stop. "You want me to get a gift for him? The guy who clearly has a superiority complex and-" "I'm going to stop this right here. He's saved our lives, fought against a foe that doesn't concern him and, might I remind you, you sucker punched him to force him away from his home to come help us," Marble said in a rocky tone, making her sisters eyes slightly shrink. "You. Are getting him. A thank you gift." "Okay." "Glad that's settled. Come on, I want to see if there is a sweet shop here. My Pie senses are telling me that Absol has a hidden sweet tooth." Limestone shook her head as Marble walked into the town ahead of her, glancing around for any sign of a bakery. Marble spotted a bread shop and raced towards it, before turning around to give her sister another look. Marble then pointed from Limestone to a general store before giving Limestone a glare. Limestone nodded her head to show that she understood, before turning towards the store with a grumble. "Stupid Pokemon. Stupid sister. Have to get him a thank you gift? The world could be ending and yet I had to sucker punch him to get him off that mountain. He acts like this has nothing to do with him, but it's his world too. He should have been helping to fight in the first place." She pressed her hoof on the door to the general store, before glancing to her side to notice that a griffon in a trench coat was smiling at her. She looked down at the griffons talons to notice that he had a blanket set down with all sorts of rocks laying upon the blanket. Curiosity got the better of her and she walked over to the griffon, who rubbed his talons at her arrival. "Hello, my little pony. Find something that caught your eye," he said in a gravely voice, before sweeping his talons to the spread before him. "You will find all sorts of wonders before you. All of these stones here came from a meteor that landed in the mountains twenty years ago. Now these over here-" "None of these are from space," Limestone cut him off, smirking as she looked over the rocks. "Sedimentary, Igneous...that one on the end is just flint painted red. Are you seriously trying to pawn these common rocks off as meteorites?" "Er, well..." "And is that a marble?" Limestone asked with a smirk as she picked up one of the smaller rocks and rubbed some of the mud off of it, revealing a bit of shine beneath. "You seriously covered a marble in mud and tried to sell it as a meteorite. That's sad." "I didn't...cover it, per say." "Then what did you do?" "I...dropped it...after a rainy day..." "Yep. Sad. Welp, I can't wait to see the looks on the ponies faces when I tell them the truth about you," Limestone said as she turned to leave. "Wait! Wait...how about this. You keep my secret and I will give you any of these for free," the griffon said as he reached into his coat, pulling out numerous spheres. When the sunlight struck the spheres rainbow light filled them and for a moment Limestone though she could sense a strange power coming from within them. "Any that you want." "Alright, I'll take...this marble," she said as she held up the marble that she had rubbed some of the mud off of. "You will take...that? After I've offered you-" "You assume that I am looking for a nice gift. I'm not. I'm just looking for something to get my sister off of my back," Limestone said with a smirk. "So you give me this marble and I don't rat you out. Sound fair?" "Perfectly fair. Have a good day and please don't come back." Limestone smirked as she placed the marble in her pouch and walked away from the griffon, looking for her sister. Limestone found her standing near the end of town close to where the two had entered, a small box on her back and an excited smile on her face. "Ah, there you are. I found the perfect thank you gift for Absol," she said with beaming smile, before nodding to the box on her back. "An ice cream cake, with crumbled cookies on top. I got vanilla and chocolate so it's black and white, like him! Think he'll like it?" "He'll probably like it more than my gift." "What did you get him?" "A marble." "Limestone..." "What? It was free." "I cannot believe you." The two reached the tree where Absol had been napping, looking over to find him laying in the same position. He cracked open an eye as they approach, looking over them before glancing at the box on Marble's back. "Hey Absol, this is for you," Marble said happily as she offered the box to Absol, who took it with a raised eyebrow. "We wanted to thank you for everything that you've done for us, so my sister and I each got you a gift. Here's mine!" Absol opened the box and his eyes went wide at the cake that lay within. "Now I don't know if you like sweets or not, but I took a guess and..." Marble blinked a few times and then noticed that the entire cake was gone. She looked from the empty box to Absol, who was wiping the corners of his mouth with the back of his paws. "That was delicious. Thank you," he said kindly to the stunned Marble. He then glanced at Limestone and raised an eyebrow. "What's with that look? I got you something as well!" "And what would that be?" "A marble." "...you're giving me your sister?" "What?! NO!" Limestone roared before she pulled out the marble and hurled it at Absol's head. Absol caught the marble and turned it over in his paw, raising an eyebrow at the mud on it. Limestone waited for him to make a smartass reply, but to her surprise he smiled slightly before placing it in his bag. "Thank you very much, both of you. These gifts...mean a lot to me." "Well think of it like this. Help us the next time a world ending threat comes up and maybe I'll get you a second marble," Limestone teased. "A second marble. I cannot wait," Absol smirked back before turning back to the road. "Come, it is time that we head out again. The sooner we can find you sister the sooner we can gather our own forces to fight back." "I really wish you would have gotten him something nicer," Marble scolded her sister as they followed after Absol. "What? He seemed happy with it." "I know, but you kinda made it seem like you didn't care." "Marble, Absol is the first being outside of our family to ever get a gift from me," Limestone pointed out, before smirking at the Pokemon walking ahead of them. "I am grateful for what he's done. But if he knows that, he'll never let me hear the end of it."