//------------------------------//
// Chapter 43: Under the Sea 
// Story: Guest Star Kelduo: Justice from Afar 
// by The Kelduo 
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"Nope, not getting in there," Sonic protested for the tenth time.

"Yes, you will," I answered for the tenth time. "Besides, it's not that bad. It's just a bubble."

Sonic was staring at the bubble that my Primarina, named Solo Sonata, made with his nose. "...You're not gonna stop until I get in, are you?"

"Yep. Now, get in!" I grabbed Sonic and chucked him into the balloon. "See? It's just fine. It's a Bubble Shield!"

"You sure it won't pop on me underwater?"

"Solo Sonata's species can make balloons with different amounts of durability. He made sure this one wouldn't pop even from an Ice Fang!"

"...Alright, let's go."

Before Heart Fist, Solo Sonata, Sonic, and I dove into the water, I waved goodbye to Keldeo one last time. "Good luck with your new partners, Keldeo!"

"Same goes to you, Pummel Fist!" Keldeo was then Captured by Mario, and they followed Kirby over the sea.

As we watched them head to Mount Aris, Heart and I began to put on our Devon Scuba Gear. However, I had a thought. "Say, do you have any fast water Pokemon, Mom?"

"I do have a Water-type Pokemon, but I'm not sure how fast it is."

"Close enough. Since said Pokemon is registered in your Pokedex, you can transform into that Pokemon. When you jump in the water, I want you to transform into that Pokemon. That way, we can swim faster."

"That's a good idea. Should we put on our Scuba Gear anyway, just in case?"

"We should. After all, we may need to transform into a non-water Pokemon while underwater."

"Okay. Are you ready?"

"Ready whenever you are." We put on our Devon Scuba Gear.

Solo joined the conversation. "I am a loyal fan of My Little Pony, especially of Seaquestria, so I can lead you there. Follow me." He then pushed Sonic into the water before diving in himself. He popped back up shortly after. "Oh, and I must offer you my thanks, Pummel Fist. Starting the swim off the coast of the Forbidden Forest is a much faster way to Seaquestria than going through the hot, barren Bone Dry Desert and Klugetown just to get to the closest edge of the water to Seaquestria."

Heart and I followed his lead and dove in. My Pokemon of choice was a torpedo-shaped shark, Sharpedo. They call it the Bully of the Sea, but I am no bully. Rather, bullies are the ones who fear me. My sharp teeth are not used for carnivorous reasons, but to attack villains and just plain bad people/creatures. I glanced over at Heart Fist, only to be awestruck. She was a serpentine Pokemon with a cream-colored body, and a tail with blue and pink, diamond-shaped scales that seemed to change color as light reflected off of them from different angles. Long, pinkish, hair-like fins above her eyes extended to nearly half her body length. In short, she was the species that was said to be the most beautiful of all Pokemon: Milotic.

She chuckled, "What do you think?"

I blushed until my dark blue cheeks turned violet. "I think... we need to catch up with Solo Sonata! Oh, and you look immeasurably stunning, the graceful Milotic you are."

"Thanks. I'll race you there!" Heart Fist took off without delay.

"Oh, no you don't!" I took in water and blasted it out my rear, shooting myself after her. She didn't have a clue how fast Sharpedo can be. Plus, my training with Speed Masters Rapidash and Zebstrika, as well as with Water Master Samurott, improved my underwater speed greatly.



A few minutes later, though, I was exhausted. "Getting... tired... Energy... low... Why?"

Heart Fist giggled. "Don't you check the Pokedex entry of the Pokemon you transform into? Sharpedo may be really fast, but it can't go long distances. Milotic has the endurance needed to easily swim to Seaquestria."

Solo slowed to a halt, holding onto Sonic to prevent him from rolling onward. "Speaking of, we're here." We found ourselves idling before a brilliant underwater city populated by pony mermaids. It seemed so peaceful. "And Pummel, you might want to lose the Sharpedo guise, lest the seaponies fear you and distrust you." I switched back to my Machop form. "As for Heart Fist, your beautiful Milotic form may upset the vain Queen Novo." Heart complied by going back to her Machop form.

Sonic said, "It really is a good thing that the Storm King didn't strike Seaquestria. This place looks amazing! Where's our first stop, Solo?"

"That would be Queen Novo. She should know if any Energy Spheres fell in Seaquestria." Solo pointed towards a shell throne in the distance. I could see a royal-looking 'seapony,' as they were supposedly called, sitting on the throne in an arrogant position. "Again, remember to be polite and kind to her. If you see a glowing pearl, whatever you do, you must never try and take it. That was what the Storm King was after, and if someone were to take it, Novo would become furious and vengeful. You saw what she did to Twilight and her friends! Your best bet is to appeal to Queen Novo's vanity. Also be wary of her sarcasm."

Sonic asked, "But what makes you think she'll trust us? We're like nothing anycreature's seen in Equestria!"

"That may be so, but we have Meloetta on our side. Queen Novo should trust a hero who protected Equestria from not only Chrysalis, but also a villain from another planet. Besides, Meloetta could treat Novo to a 'Novo is amazing' song."

"Good point. Let's go!"

As we approached the throne, the royal seapony groaned, "Oh, that's just great. More outsiders? Hopefully they haven't come to steal the pearl or to attack Seaquestria."

"Fear not, for we come in peace." We bowed as Solo introduced us. "My name is Solo Sonata, and these are my friends Heart Fist, Pummel Fist, and Sonic. At your service, Your Majesty."

"And what business do you have here? Surely there's an urgent reason why you outsiders have chosen to come here."

"We are traveling heroes who got stranded on this planet. We are looking for parts to fix our transport, and our hunt for them led us here. Queen Novo, have you seen any glowing, blue orbs?"

"Do they look like these?" The queen showed us two such orbs.

I pled, "We will do anything for them, Your Majesty."

Queen Novo replied, "I would love to give my newly-found treasures to you, except I see no reason to help you out with your little dilemma."

"We promise not to bother you anymore after we get them all."

"Hmm... Well, I just might give them to you, but you must earn them."

"That would be--"

My Rotom Dex interrupted me. "Kirby wants to talk to you!"

Novo raised an eyebrow. "Kirby? The same one Silverstream told me about?"

"The very same!"

Rotom's screen changed to a mountain populated with what appeared to be a cross between ponies and griffons. In the foreground was my good friend Kirby, who was holding his phone, where the footage was being broadcast from. "Hiiiii!"

"I know Silverstream described Kirby as just that, but I do not believe such an innocent creature could defeat two dangerous threats to Equestria."

Keldeo showed up on the screen. "I know he looks innocent, but looks can be deceiving. Kirby has a special power that allowed him to defeat those villains." He looked towards the background, where Mario was waving to us at a ring toss booth. "Oh, there's a chance to show you Kirby's power! Kirby, go do your thing!"

"Poyo!" Kirby ran over to the rings before inhaling one. When his transformation sequence was complete, he was wearing a hat that looked like a circus tent. He then tossed a few pins in the air and juggled them before throwing them right-side up alongside the targets of the ring toss game. He then grabbed some rings and threw them around the pins. "Ta-da!" The hippogriff attending the game gave Kirby an Energy Sphere as a prize.

"Okay, maybe that wasn't a good Ability to show off. Any more powerful Abilities?"

A blue hippogriff exclaimed, "The screeching competition is about to begin!"

Kirby spotted a microphone near the hippogriff, causing us to gasp. I panicked, "Uh oh! Hang up, hang up, hang up before he starts singing!"

"Already on it!" Rotom's screen switched back to his mouth. He turned to Queen Novo. "Kirby's Microphone Ability is dangerous to all who hear it. He is a horrible singer. While that may seem strange, that wasn't what he used; he used the Sizzle Sword Ability and the ESP Ability to defeat Chrysalis and Hyness, as well as the newly-discovered Harmony Ability. It makes sense, given that Kirby is the embodiment of Heart, Soul, and Dream."

Queen Novo asked, "The embodiment of harmony? With a Harmony Ability? He seems worthy enough for these orbs."

I replied, "That's great. Can we take them to him?"

"What? Oh, no. He'll have to come to me himself to get them. I cannot trust his lowly sidekicks with them."

Wait, sidekicks? I'm nobody's--hold on, deep breaths. Deep breaths... okay, I don't normally get enraged at being called a sidekick, but I'm still a hero who gathered my awesome team of fellow heroes together. I had to swallow my pride, and... "Ack!" Oof, something went down the wrong pipe. Let's try that again... "I'm okay! I don't remember eating anything before swimming, but I'm okay. Better hope this doesn't mess up my--Ow! Stomach cramp!"

Man, I began to feel weird. Not 'crazy' weird, but 'strange' weird. Whatever went into my stomach must have been tainted with some kind of potion. Not the kind that gives you superpowers like the power to breathe underwater. The kind that curses you, like poison joke. And compared to the size of the thing I swallowed, it was potent.

I dared to take a look at myself to see what ill effects happened to me... Nothing. That's awfully suspicious. Maybe I wasn't physically affected, but could use new powers. One thing was for sure; I felt a bit lighter. Oh, it was because I wasn't wearing my backpack anymore. Why would I just take off my backpack for no--oh, my Celestia. No wonder I wasn't wearing my backpack. It was HUGE! As in I-could-fit-in-the-TM-Case huge! ...Not that it mattered, because I didn't need it that bad to accomplish my--Uh oh, it wasn't just the bag. Everything around me was about a hundred times bigger than I remembered them to be! Well, either that, or whatever I ate made me tiny. As far as I know, the only thing that can make its consumer very small is a Mini Mushroom. It was like it just appeared in my throat. It isn't like someone just made it... oh, right. Discord. But why make me tiny?

I didn't have time to think about it, because my friends began to frantically search for me. I needed a way to get their attention. I couldn't yell loud enough for them to hear, and I didn't want to become an Exploud, so I needed another form of communication. One that was visible, and large enough to be seen. Something like the Unown writings in the Ruins of Alph, or the Regi riddles--that's it! Helix taught me how to read and write Braille writing after I befriended him, so I could use something like that. Rotom Dex knows many kinds of languages and forms of communication, so I just had to form some large enough Braille for him to read. There was only one kind of move I could use that would be able to create large spheres: Focus Blast! I fired volleys of them into the water in front of Rotom, hoping he'd notice.

He did. "What's this? It appears to be Focus Blasts in various sequences... Pummel must be trying to talk to us through Braille! 'Don't worry, I'm okay. You can go on without me. Rotom, please have Kirby come down here to meet Queen Novo in order to obtain the Energy Spheres from her.' I'm glad to know that Pummel is okay. I just hope he doesn't run into any big problems..."

Of course! Discord must have made me tiny in order to have me venture through the massive playground known as Equestria. I began to think about where I should go when I noticed an orange star big enough for me to enter the star-shaped hole in it. A Launch Star.