//------------------------------// // Chapter 29 - Trapped Beast // Story: Little Lost Raichu // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Raichu, Defender of Equestria - Chapter 29 - Trapped Beast Rainbow Dash paced back and forth in front of the hospital room, glancing at the door from time to time with her panicked face. Was she too slow in bringing the injured Raichu? Should she have been more forceful and decisive? Maybe she could’ve restrained the pokemon before it was too late. What was even the deal here? That over-apologetic Raichu with low self-esteem was acting way too bold. The Nica I know would never openly use electricity against anypony for no reason. The moment the door opened, Dash spread her wings and leaped towards the doctor, nearly touching his muzzle. “How is she? Will she be alright? Will she–” Dash’s mouth was sealed with a hoof. “Calm yourself, Miss Dash. Your friend’s condition is stable,” Doctor Horses said with a firm unamused face. Small reading glasses were nesting on his muzzle while a white hospital uniform covered his chest and half of his body. A blue aura was visible around his horn as notepad and pen levitated by his side. Dash took a step back and wiped sweat from her forehead, sighing in relief. She smiled warmly and clapped her forehooves. “So you saved her, great job doc!” “Actually, there wasn’t much we could do outside of providing her with oxygen and bandaging her bruises. Her biology was vastly different from that of a pony and any attempt of operation would be too dangerous.” He waited for Nurse Redheart to step outside of the room before adding, “To be honest, I find her recovery to be miraculous.” “Miraculous?” Dash asked. Redheart nodded. “Miraculous is indeed a proper term to name this phenomenon. When you brought her to us, this critter was on the verge of death. Our scans indicated multiple internal injuries, her breathing and heartbeat was dangerously low. We used medication and healing magic to keep her stable, but we didn’t have enough knowledge to risk an operation.” She glanced at Doctor Horses, who nodded and spoke up. “A few minutes later, her condition started to improve. Our quick scans indicated that all internal damage was healing on its own at a steady pace. The self-regeneration of this creature is out of this world.” Nurse Redheart glanced at the critter on the bed before closing the door. “It is as if her body had plenty of survival adaptations. I can’t tell if it's survival adaptation of her species, or rather something she developed on her own, but it certainly is quite fascinating.” Dash smiled nervously and chuckled. “Wouldn’t… something like training herself to that state day after day… make her heal so fast?” The doctor stared at Dash as if she was insane before narrowing his eyes. “Are you telling me that she pushed herself to such critical condition regularly? What kind of insanely cruel being would force her to experience such torture on a daily basis?” “Maybe guilt. She said over and over that she started pushing herself so hard after failing to save someone’s life from a burning building,” Dash answered. “She’s scared to fail ever again, so she overtrains herself.” “Oh... “ Both Doctor and Redheart lowered their heads in sadness, now staring at the floor. Doctor Horses stated, “Her species no doubt developed in a much harsher environment than ours or were forced to fight often for their survival. Whatever's the case, she survived her self-inflicted abuse and adapted. The saying; 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' fits her quite well.” He raised his head and asked, “Is there more we should be aware of?” “Only that when she was training, she wasn’t herself. When I tried to stop her, she flipped out on me and even shocked me with electricity.” Dash stomped. “But her personality is almost like Fluttershy’s, and she’s afraid of hurting others. There’s no way she would act this way.” Doctor glanced at Redheart, who shrugged. He then turned towards Dash and rubbed his chin. “Well… maybe repetitive self-inflicted abuse affected her mental condition. If she was repeating the same training over and over while exposed to massive quantity of pain, her mind probably started shutting down partially while allowing muscle-memory to carry on. She probably kept repeating her training regime out of routine while being unaware of it.” He shook his forehoof dismissively. “This is just a theory though.” Dash glanced at the door in worry. Nica was awesome and brave, yet was it even worth it if gaining such durability and skills required regularly going through so much pain? As an athlete herself she knew the importance of pushing herself to her limits or even trying to break them, but even she wouldn’t dare to go this far. When thinking about the injured Raichu, she could feel an equal mix of both admiration and pity. “Look on the bright side, Miss Dash. If my theory is indeed correct, your friend becomes unaware of the pain she endures,” Doctor Horses said encouragingly. “Though I would advise to keep an eye for her in case this happens again.” Dash nodded. “Any idea when she’ll wake up?” Nurse Redheart shook her head and spoke up, “Considering the speed of her regeneration, I would say between six to eight hours. I would advise against waking her up earlier since she needs rest to regain her full strength.” Dash nodded before looking at the hospital ponies with a firm stare. “I need to go to Canterlot to meet with my friends. If she wakes up before I’m back, please tell her to head there. It’s important… like, saving Equestria level of importance.” Doctor nodded. “I will.” Dash saluted playfully before spreading her wings, flying towards the exit, leaving Nica covered in bandages and oxygen-transferring mask to rest in the bed. It didn’t take long before colorful houses of Ponyville were replaced by hills and trees as Dash soared through the sky, piercing a puffy cloud which got in the way. The mighty capital on the horizon growing with each passing second. While the train was a more comfortable and stamina-saving way of transportation, it was still a two hours long travel, most time being wasted because of Canterlot being positioned on a mountain. Without the need to take the longer path and ride in circles on the mountain, and with help of her trusty wings, Dash reached the castle in seven minutes, flying inside through the closest window. Numerous pillars passed by as she pushed the large double door into the throne room, landing with a weak thump. As she had hoped for, her friends and the princesses were gathered there, saving her needless search. Applejack turned away from the group and approached with a smug smile on her face. “Hey there, Dash, finally back from yer adventure? Ya sure took yer time.” Rainbow Dash tackled Applejack and hugged her while hovering above the floor. She released the farm pony and flew towards the group, only to restrain herself and land upon noticing the other princesses. She regained her composure and bowed. “Sorry for being late. Got caught up in the adventure and stuff.” “It is understandable,” Celestia said as authority radiated from her. Golden regalia present on her neck and hooves and multicolored mane waved despite lack of wind. “We had no means to contact you about our situation, and there is not much you could have done to help anyway.” Twilight gave Dash a curious glance. “Where’s Pinkie Pie?” Dash stood up and said, “She’s with Daring Do and Quibble Pants. They should reach Ponyville sooner or later.” She stomped, her face suddenly serious. “Girls, I need to warn you. We’re in big trouble.” “Tell me about it,” Applejack said with an raised eyebrow. “As ya can see, we got called to Canterlot for a reason.” “Now, now, Applejack, let her speak first. We can update her afterwards,” Twilight said as her student Starlight nodded in agreement. “N-no, I can wait,” Dash said before looking around. Three of her friends and both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were sitting, gathered together in front of the steps towards the throne. Among the group of ponies was one greyish griffon she didn’t recognize. Long red carpet was present under their flanks and hooves while pillars and stain-glass windows displaying their achievements surrounded them from both sides. Two royal guards were standing motionless on their sides, scanning the area. “Where’s Fluttershy? Wasn’t she called to Canterlot, too?” “She’s checking on Discord,” Starlight said. “We haven’t heard anything from him in weeks, and while there’s not much he can do to help us, it’s best to stick together.” “Even Discord can’t help? Go on Twilight, tell me what’s going on! Is a new villain attacking Canterlot?” Dash asked. Twilight shook her head. “You first, I insist.” Dash was about to protest, but Celestia interrupted, “Rainbow Dash. If there’s a new threat we should be aware of, I would prefer to hear about it immediately. The situation in Canterlot is stable and we shall explain it afterwards.” Luna nodded before spreading her wings authoritatively. “I must agree with my sister. What kind of threat would cause panic in such a brave athlete as thee?” Starlight asked, her tone filled with worry, “And where’s Nica? If I remember correctly, a pony named Quibble hired her as a bodyguard so he could clear the name of some adventurer. Is she still with him?” “First, this adventurer’s name is Daring Do!” Rainbow Dash shouted while shooting Starlight an annoyed glare. She stood on her rear hooves, spread her wings and forelegs before continuing, “She’s a hero who explores jungles and temples, find ancient artifacts, and dodges dangerous traps,” she punched the air before performing a spin-kick, “and beats villains who wants to use those artifacts for their evil schemes. She’s keeping her real identity a secret while writing about her adventures in books.” Celestia spoke up, “So Daring Do is more than just a book character after all. I had my suspicions.” “We got ourselves into one that one time, and Daring Do has been Dash’s friend ever since,” Twilight pointed out. Celestia glanced at her student for a moment before looking at the athletic pegasus, her eyes narrowed. “Miss Rainbow Dash, please tell us what happened without any delays.” “Of course,” Dash said, taking a deep breath as all eyes were on her. “The moment I found out from Pinkie that ‘A.K. Yearling’ –that’s the name that Daring Do uses when publishing her books– decided to quit, I rushed to find out what happened.” She stomped with both of her legs while her ears perked up. “It turned out that Dr. Caballeron tried to ruin Daring Do’s reputation, but Quibble saw through his disguise and sent Raichu… I mean Nica, to spy on him and get some photos for evidence.” She spread her wings and flew up, now hovering above the carpet. “To be honest, I never thought Quibble would be so epic. He took the charge, revealed evidence to the public, lead the angered crowd against Caballeron, and he even paid one of Caballeron’s minions to punch him in the face.” “Okay…” Twilight said before massaging her chin. “Daring Do’s adventures nearly always end up having fighting scenes involving a lot of punching and kicking. Did she or Nica have to fight by any chance?” Dash shook her head. “Well… against Dr. Caballeron, Daring Do didn’t need to deliver a single punch, and Nica stopped the bad guys from escaping thanks to her electricity. They’re now in prison thanks to Nica who found stolen goods and took pictures of them stealing stuff that were used as evidence. Quibble planned everything and things went great… at least until the next day.” “Please, continue,” Luna encouraged, listening with full attention. Dash landed and looked at the floor, her enthusiasm gone. “The next day we got a mysterious letter. If Daring Do and I didn’t go into the center of the pyramid, the nearby town would be in danger. As we expected, it was a trap.” “If Daring Do is as good at beating the bad guys as you say, wouldn’t she overcome all traps and beat the villains?” Starlight asked. Dash sighed. “This is where things gets really bad. This creature, Darkrai, he sealed the top of the pyramid and attacked us in the dark. He tried to kill us and took on all of our attacks. If it wasn’t for Nica, he would have killed us both.” Silence overtook the throne room as everypony tried to comprehend what they just heard. Rarity gulped, taking a moment to gather courage before speaking, “K-kill you… b-but why. Why would this Darkrai you speak of take such cruel action?” Her mane color being a mix of green, yellow and violet, a temporary replacement for her lost hair which hadn’t grown back yet. Her jacket being a mix of two shades of violet. One ring tied hair on her tail, while another decorated her left foreleg. She glanced at the princesses from time to time, most likely hoping her new style didn’t offend the royalty. Twilight stood up and took a few steps towards Dash, now but mere centimeters away from her. “What worries me is that until now his actions were secretive and non-lethal. He simply spread the curse and erased memories of those events. Why was your case different?” Dash pushed Twilight’s muzzle away. “How should I know? I was put to sleep during the fight and didn’t learn any more than what Nica told me.” “Which is?” Starlight and Twilight asked in unison. “Some stuff like Darkrai being immune to spells, how he can use dark magic. He tried to get rid of me because his mentor wanted one of us dead.” Dash’s ears perked up. “Oh, right, almost forgot, Darkrai was summoned by Chrysalis so he could help her have her revenge, but he was secretly using her instead. Darkrai and Nica are both from a different world apparently, and he even tried to recruit her... like that would work." Twilight and Starlight gasped before they both looked at Celestia and Luna, who narrowed their eyes and nodded. “What?” Dash asked. Twilight looked back at Dash and said, “Ever since Nica found out that Gabby was cursed and put our attention to it, we have been researching this curse restlessly for two days. It took time and effort, but we discovered some weaknesses and a spell that can remove it. We were about to scan everypony in Ponyville, but were called to Canterlot before we got the chance.” “Glad to be of assistance,” Gabby said as her gloomy mood shifted into a more cheerful one. She pointed at Twilight and added, “I didn’t understand anything that Twilight said during those tests, but she sure ran lots of them. I don’t feel any headaches either.” Twilight continued, “Once in Canterlot, we found out that Chrysalis was operating in here under a disguise until recently, but our changeling friends managed to push her against the wall. If this Darkrai you speak of is responsible for spreading curses, is immune to spells, can use dark magic and is cooperating with Chrysalis, the situation is more dire than I thought.” Celestia asked, “Is Darkrai on the way here? How much time we have before his arrival?” Rainbow Dash spread her left wing and pointed at it. “I flew all the way from the south desert to Ponyville, and I don’t think Darkrai is a fast fellow. Even with my delay in Ponyville, I’m still hours ahead of him.” Rarity sighed. “I feel relieved. Facing two dangerous monsters at the same time is not something I am looking forward to.” “Speak for yerself, Rarity.” Applejack slammed both of her forehooves. “Ah don’t need no spells to beat that Darkrai with mah hooves. That’ll teach him not to spread curses on mah fellow ponies, especially mah family and friends.” “Sorry to rain on your parade, AJ, but Darkrai’s tough. Even combining my fighting skills with Daring Do were no match for him,” Dash pointed out. “Now, can you fill me in on what’s going on here? If Chrysalis is in Canterlot, why are we still here instead of catching her?” Celestia stepped ahead of the group and towered over Rainbow Dash, her face firm but calm. “I will explain the situation. A few days ago, my new Captain of the Royal Guard hired Nica to help improve my guards poor performance.” “It was back when she was searching for random jobs, trying to be useful and earn some bits,” Starlight pointed out. “I was a bit annoyed that I couldn’t accompany her, so I started researching a spells that I could use to enhance her powers.” She stomped. “This time, we’ll work together, friend side by side friend, no more splitting up!” Celestia cleared her throat, causing Starlight to blush. “As I was saying, after Miss Nica found out that skills of my guards are… greatly under her standards… she contacted Thorax’s brother to assist her.” "His name is Pharynx." Luna raised forehoof up to her chest and said, "I must admit that I find his attidute to be way bolder than the one of his brother. His way of speaking and training methods are both very direct and sharp." Her serious look quickly shifted into a cheerful smile. “He came here with nine of his most skilled changelings to train our guards. They were the ones who sensed Chrysalis and alerted us about her presence.” Celestia continued, “Apparently, Chrysalis was disguising herself as different royal guards, secretly draining bits of our magic whenever we were asleep. I suspect she was trying to weaken us and regain her strength, while her summoned ally was spreading curse over my subjects and Element Bearers.” Twilight glanced at her former mentor and said, “They were acting from the shadows, waiting for best moment to strike while catching us all completely off guard. Darkrai made a mistake when he targeted Gabby while underestimating Nica, which gave us the advantage.” Celestia continued with a worried look on her face, “We chased after the queen into the abandoned mines under the Canterlot while the Royal Guard sealed all escape routes. We thought we had her cornered, but she had a trump card.” “Now I’m intrigued. What kind of trump card did she have?” Dash asked. Starlight started gesturing with her forehooves as if trying to paint a large throne in the air. “Picture this. Chrysalis had a throne which nullified all magic except for the changeling’s one, which Thorax destroyed when he overthrew her. The throne shattered into tiny fragments and scattered all over the badlands. Chrysalis most likely found some fragments, turned them into an armor and kept hidden in the mine under Canterlot so she could use it to take over when the time was right.” “Her armor wasn’t really practical in direct combat and nullified magic in only ten meters radius, but unlike the large throne, it is mobile.” Luna poked her own horn. “Our spells couldn’t reach Chrysalis, and when we tried to get closer, we felt growing weakness in our bodies. Only Pharynx and his changelings were unaffected.” Celestia spoke up, “Pharynx and his soldiers tried to defeat Chrysalis, but secretly feeding on our magic made her strong enough to hold her ground against them. But when Chrysalis tried to break through and escape, Pharynx greatly damaged her armor.” Luna took over. “Right now Chrysalis is protecting herself and what’s left of her armor while Pharynx, his changelings and Royal Guards sealed all means of escape. Both sides are unable to gain the advantage, so now we ended up having a stalemate.” Starlight spoke up, “One of Pharynx’s changelings flew towards the hive two hours ago to get Thorax’s help, and so now we’re waiting for him to arrive.” Dash blinked in confusion before pointing at Twilight. “Why didn’t you just teleport to the hive and back with Thorax?” “I wish it was that simple,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “Long range teleportation is draining, and such teleportation with a bigger passenger is even more tiring. Not to mention that the distance between Canterlot and the hive is quite big. Furthermore, I don’t remember the coordinates all that well.” Starlight added, “If Discord was with us, it would be a different story. He’s good at transporting large groups at such distance.” Rarity pointed out, “It would be wise to find efficient measures to teleport between Canterlot and Thorax’s home in the future, but for now we can only wait.” “Fair enough,” Dash said, only for her ears to perk up at the noise of opening door. She noticed Fluttershy walking in hesitantly. “R-Rainbow Dash, you’re back, and you’re okay, thank Celestia,” Fluttershy said as she spread her wings and flew over, landing in front of the pegasus before wrapping her in a warm hug. "Thank Celestia?" Luna gave her sister an odd glance, who smiled sheepishly in response. “I could say the same thing. So, did you find Discord?” Dash asked as everypony gave Fluttershy a curios stare. Fluttershy released her friend and lowered her head. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t find him. He wasn’t at home and he didn’t leave any clues on where he could be.” She whimpered. “To be honest, I feel a bit worried. I hope he’s alright.” Dash stomped. “Great, just great. So until Thorax arrives, we can’t break the stalemate against Chrysalis, and there’s a risk that Darkrai will get here first and rescue his boss. Can’t we just rush Chrysalis and get it over with?” Celestia shook her head. “The closer you are to Chrysalis and her damaged armor, the more vulnerable you become. I can’t allow anypony to take such a risk.” Rarity glanced at the princess before saying, “Spike and Starlight suggested for us to share our love with Pharynx or let him feed on our magic, but… let’s just say that his unfriendly personality made us hesitant to the idea. If it was Thorax, it would not be a problem.” Starlight added, “We came to an agreement to make it a last resort.” Twilight glanced at her student. “Any chance you can change that spell of yours to enhance power of a changeling? If we could make Pharynx stronger, he would be able to defeat Chrysalis on his own.” Starlight shook her head. “It would take too long. I worked on this spell in my free time for past week, and after studying Darkrai’s curse, I learned how our magic can be used to boost the power of a pokemon, which helped me perfect my spell. Changing it so it could work on a changeling would take days.” She glanced at Dash. “Speaking of which, where’s Nica? You didn’t mention her a single time.” Dash rubbed the back of her neck. “... Well… about that… when I was searching all over Ponyville for you, she trained herself into a critical condition. She’s recovering in the hospital.” “W-w-what!?” Fluttershy flinched and raised forehoof up to her face, her eyes wide as plates. Starlight and Twilight followed her example. “Why would she do that?” Dash shrugged. “I dunno. She was like… in a trance. She kept training and hurting herself.” She looked at Fluttershy’s worried face, deciding to spare her the details. “I tried to stop her, but she fought back. She was waaay more stubborn than Applejack was during an apple-bucking season that one time.” Applejack gasped. “That bad?” Dash nodded. Starlight lowered her head and sighed. “Great… just great… I suspected that she faced a lot of harsh battles and trained herself incredibly hard, considering how durable she always was, but I had no idea her desire to train hard would backfire. What made her so strong in the first place now keeps her in the hospital bed when we need her.” “Darn it. If Nica is as skilled and stron’ as y'all say, she would help Pharynx and break the stalemate against Chrysalis.” Applejack stomped, causing a few cracks to spread under her hoof. She smiled awkwardly. “S-sory.” Celestia placed her wing on Twilight and said, “Princess Twilight, you are more updated with the curse that Darkrai was spreading. If you have a plan, please, share it with us.” Twilight looked Celestia’s in the eyes for a moment before nodding, her face now serious. She raised forehoof to her chest and said, “There are most likely numerous ponies in Canterlot that were cursed. I’ll teach Princess Celestia and Princess Luna how to remove it.” She pointed at Starlight. “In the meanwhile, I want you to remove the curse from as many ponies as possible.” Twilight slid away from Celestia’s large wing and pointed at Dash. “I need you to gather everypony in Canterlot together in front of the castle balcony. Spike is with the new Captain of the Royal Guards at the entrance into the mines. I’ll send message asking him to spare some pegasi guards to help. Once you’re done, I’ll need you to patrol the city from the air. If you see that creature you warned us about, inform the Captain immediately.” Dash saluted. “Consider it done.” “Rarity, use the telescope at the balcony to search for potential threats. Applejack, I’ll teleport you to the entrance into the mine. I’m sure somepony as strong as you can be of great help in stopping Darkrai from reaching his ally,” Twilight ordered. As each pony ran or was teleported to do their part, Fluttershy tapped her hooves together and spoke meekly. “Ummm… is there anyway I can help.” Twilight nodded. “Can you go to the hospital in Ponyville and look after Nica?” Fluttershy smiled widely, clearly satisfied with the given task. “Of course. I will fly to Ponyville and look after her without delay.”