//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - A Sodden Arrival // Story: Pokémon Red and Purple // by Universal Librarian //------------------------------// Lightning flashed as Twilight Sparkle fell through the night sky. Buffeted by howling wind and torrential rain, she could barely hear herself scream over the sound of the tempest that raged all around her. A flicker of red and amber out of the corner of her eye told her where Sunset was. She reached for the geode in her headband, in a desperate attempt to save herself and her dear friend by ponying up, but a powerful gust of wind flipped her around and disrupting her focus. There was an almighty crash of thunder, and another flash of sheet lightning lit up the sky. Twilight barely had time to register a shadowy figure hovering above, silhouetted by the sudden brightness, before she plunged into icy water. The cold shock drove all thought from her mind even as it made her gasp reflexively, briny ocean water filling her mouth. Twilight choked as panic took over, but the more she tried to breathe the more water was sucked into her lungs. Her lungs screaming for respite, she made one last, futile effort to breach the surface, kicking as hard as she could. Finally, her strength sapped by cold and lack of oxygen, her struggles slowly ceased. The last thing to flash through Twilight’s mind as she sank was an image of her friends and family, before the darkness claimed her. Twilight snapped awake. She was disoriented at first, her surroundings bright but blurry. It took several moments for her to realize that she was warmly tucked up in a comfortable bed, and a few moments longer to realize that her vision was blurry because her glasses were missing. “H-hello?” she called out tentatively. “Oh, good, you’re awake!” Twilight raised her head to try and see who had replied, but she couldn’t make out much more than colour; pale peach skin and light brown hair. “Who’s there?” The person, a woman, stepped closer and held something out to her, “Here you go, dear, these may help a little.” “Thank you.” Twilight felt a spark of relief as she took her glasses and put them on, bringing the world around her into sharp focus. She was in a cosy little bedroom, with morning light coming in from a nearby window. The woman who had been helping her was young, she couldn’t have been any older than her early twenties. “My name’s Sakura,” the woman said softly. “What’s yours?” “Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.” Sakura looked at her curiously, “That’s an unusual name. Pretty, though.” Twilight couldn’t help but blush slightly at the compliment. Sakura smiled as she filled a glass of water from a jug and held it out, “Can you remember what happened to you?” “Not really,” Twilight admitted as she reached for the glass, “the last thing I rememb-AH?!” “What is it? What’s the matter?” Sakura asked anxiously. Twilight just stared in shock at her arm. Her skin had changed from its usual purple to a shade of pale peach, not unlike Sakura’s. At least her hair was still normal, at least, as far as she could tell from the loose strands that were hanging in front of her face. “Are you sure you’re alright?” Sakura asked, her face a picture of concern. Twilight managed to force an apologetic smile onto her face, “I-I’m fine. Sorry, I think I’m still a little out of it.” Sakura smiled and shook her head, “It’s alright. You had a very rough time last night. You gave us all quite a scare, climbing out of the sea clutching your little friend like that. Do you remember how you got here?” Twilight frowned. Her memories of the previous night were blurry, but she was sure she hadn’t gotten herself out of the water. It took a few moments for the rest of Sakura’s sentence to percolate into her brain. “Little frie-?” Twilight gasped as realization struck, “Sunset! Where is she? Is she hurt?” “She’s fine,” Sakura replied firmly, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You don’t need to worry, we left your Pokémon in the care of Professor Oak, he’ll take good care of her.” Twilight gave her a blank look, “My what?” Sunset Shimmer groaned as she slowly came to. Fully intending to go back to sleep, she shifted slightly and tried to pull her blanket a little tighter around herself, but she couldn’t quite get a good grip on it. She tried a few more times but met with little success. It was as if her fingers just didn’t want to work at all. Come to think of it, she couldn’t actually feel her fingers. That was enough to get Sunset to open her eyes and raise her head. Lifting her hand out from under the blanket, she blinked in surprise as she saw that it was, in fact, a hoof. “I’m a pony again?” she half-whispered to herself. Glancing around, she saw that she was in a large bed that seemed to be made out of incredibly thick plastic, with large transparent walls rising above her on all sides. It reminded her of nothing so much as the little cots used in hospitals for newborn babies. “Is this Equestria?” Shrugging off the blanket and standing up, she was about to attempt to climb over one of the walls when she noticed something was off. Her legs felt way shorter than they should. Giving herself a once-over, she gasped as she came to a startling conclusion, “”I’m a filly?! Why am I a filly again?!” Rising onto her hind legs and pressing herself against the plastic side, Sunset tried to get a look at where she was, but there was very little to see. Her bed seemed to be in tucked into the corner an absolutely massive room. A huge heater stood next to it, radiating a heat that was somehow incredibly intense and yet oddly soothing at the same time. Glancing up, she saw a pair of heat lamps hanging over her, both of them switched on and blazing. Sunset briefly wondered how she could have slept under those things without dehydrating or getting horrible burns, but she pushed that from her mind and focused on a more pressing concern. “Twilight? Twilight, where are you?” she called out. “Twilight? Anyone?!” Her mouth snapped shut as loud footsteps rang out, quickly coming closer. Sunset’s mouth dropped open and terror gripped her heart as a giant human strode through the door.