//------------------------------// // Episode 2: Abducted // Story: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Twilight of Two Worlds // by EquestrianTwist //------------------------------// *Nation of Light, Ancient Mountain* Giratina’s portal reopened in the ancient room where he had first been summoned by Solgaleo and Lunala. His tendrils slowly exited the portal, gently placing Twilight and Luna on the floor as he took note of the time that had passed in this dimension. The torches were extinguished and the royals had clearly made their leave some time ago. His gaze returned to the princesses he had abducted. While traversing the space between dimensions, he had taken the time to transform their bodies using his lesser-known abilities. They now possessed forms more befitting of the creatures inhabiting this world. Hopefully, this would give them the edge they needed when faced with opposition. Their old bodies would likely not be able to withstand the strain from attacks that came the native creatures of this world. It would also aid in keeping any pokemon from becoming too nosy. As much as he hated to admit it, much like Equestria, pokemon had had an unfortunate tendency of antagonizing things they didn’t understand, himself being a prime example. He watched the princesses’ chests rise and fall as if they were in a calm slumber. Despite the unease he felt having to leave them like this, he would not be able to interact with this world for much longer as the stars were already beginning to come out of alignment. He could only leave them in the care of Solgaleo and Lunala and hope they would return before morning to take them to far more secure and hospitable accommodations. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, almost as if he were composing himself. Giratina was not one to speak ideally, he had cast the die on this chance to gain his freedom and would have to leave it to these two who were unaware of what they had been tasked with. He could only watch what would unfold and accept the outcome of every event. With the time allowed to him ending, he closed the portal behind him, leaving Twilight and Luna alone in the dark. Outside of the ancient chambers, hidden by the moonlit shadow of the mountain, two figures were conversing, “it has been hours since the Mōʻī and Mōʻī Wahine performed the summoning ritual. They must have retired from the sacred chamber by now.” The shorter of the two scoffed, “they likely departed already some time ago, but you refused to let me check, bzzzrt. We could have collected the aliens hours ago, but no, you said we needed to wait! So don’t start whining to me because you suddenly feel impatient.” A growl rumbled out of the taller figure’s throat, "don’t. Patronize me.” He warned, “just scan the area and see how many bodies are within the chamber. If we don’t act upon this opportunity now, we risk having to deal with direct opposition to our goals in the future, and I will not allow anything to threaten my master if it can be prevented.” The smaller figure rolled his eyes, but nevertheless did what he was told. A pulse of green energy radiated off the smaller figure’s body, forming a dome, before expanding over the mountain and a small diameter of the ground below, “my scans show that only two bodies are in the chamber at this moment, bzzzrt. The rest of the mountain’s surface is also vacant. They’re energy levels are significantly low, so they can’t be the legendaries. If we are going to strike, now would be the time, bzzzrt.” The taller figure nodded his head before turning to a trio of beheeyem that had been listening to their conversation, “you three are going to enter and retrieve the targets, so be swift, but be discreet. You are to levitate yourselves the entire time you are in there, leave absolutely no trace of your presence in the chamber, is that understood?!” Instead of answering, several colorful lights flashed off the fingertips of each beheeyem. The taller figure understood this as their form of affirming they would follow his commands. “Once you have successfully removed them from the mountain, meet us in the nearest dungeon. We’ll dispose of the targets there and allow the rampant pokemon to strip their bones.” More lights flashed and the beheeyem each floated into the tunnel leading to the chamber. The smaller figure couldn’t help but chuckle at the taller’s demeanor, “you seem quite adamant about completing this mission… even more so than usual.” The taller figure leveled a glare at his cohort, “what happened to bring about this sudden interest, I wonder, bzzzrt? Did the master whisper more sweet-nothings in your ear to get you more invigorated?” Despite the tension in his gaze, the taller figure’s voice was eerily calm, “our spy in the castle told me that the Mōʻī and Mōʻī Wahine were making deals with titans to bring champions to this world that could stop our master’s return. I gave the master this information and was ordered to deal with it. I will not go against my master’s orders.” He placed a hand on the smaller figure’s head and began to press downwards, forcing the smaller creature onto his rump, “but I wonder, now that you poke fun at our mission, where does your loyalty lie?” The smaller figure groaned, unable to scream in pain as he felt his body being compacted into the ground like an empty can, “w-with the master of course! I would never partake in anything that could prevent their return. And anyone who would say otherwise is a liar! Bzzzrt! BZZZRT!” The taller figure raised his hand before any true damage could be done. “You really are nothing more than a sniveling bug. I would watch what you say in the future, or you’ll find I may not be so lenient.” Without even a second thought, the taller figure leaped from the mountainside and began soaring through the air. Grumbling under his breath, but too frightened to speak his mind a second time, the smaller figure floated up fast behind him. The two soon vanished into the jungle canopy when they were far enough away. The three beheeyem performed exactly as they were commanded. They drifted into the sacred chamber like balloons, unable to sink or rise. They surrounded Luna and Twilight before one began to flash the lights on his hands in order: first red, then yellow, and finally green. The other two raised their arms and lifted both princesses into the air as if they were possessed. The third stayed behind as the other two carried the princesses towards the entrance and used his powers to levitate the dust around the floor to hide any sign that their captives had been laying there. Amazingly, the princesses didn’t awaken as they were carried through the air. The two beheeyem were showing the utmost focus just to keep them from jostling. The third soon joined them in their efforts, and once he had a firm telekinetic grasp on the supposed champions, they all took to the sky in tandem. They flew in formation, each floating in a circle around the unconscious princesses with their arms extended outwards. They lowered themselves closer to the jungle canopy to avoid detection from any enemies that may have been soaring overhead. The canopy was thick and often prevented denizens below from seeing the sky at any time of day. They believed this fact alone would be enough to keep them hidden until they reached the dungeon, but unfortunately they were wrong. Within the treetops, two pairs of eyes were observing them, “who are these big heads?! Don’t they know this is Melon Baller territory?” Two passimians popped out of the leaves a fair distance away from the three kidnappers. One of the passimians scratched his head as he contemplated the other’s accusation, “can we really say they’re in our territory when they’re flying above the trees? I mean, I’m always up for pasting a few trespassers, but when you really stop to think about the semantics of it, are we really in the right to do so?” The first passimian bonked the second on his noggin, “if I wanted a lesson in the moral thing to do I would go home and visit my mom. Now stop talking like a sentimental nerd and pass me the melons. We’re gonna knock those losers clean out of the sky!” The second passimian nodded and shot down to the forest floor before returning with a woven leaf bag filled with the aforementioned fruit. Both reached into the bag and pulled out a respectively large melon each before cocking their arms back like professional football players. “Ready… Aim…” The kidnappers’ destination wasn’t much farther, so the three creatures decided to quicken their pace to make certain they wouldn’t face any opposition. Suddenly a melon splattered against the leftmost beheeyem's back, sending him flying into the treetops. The other two acted almost immediately to pick up the slack for their missing member. A barrage of melons soon came barreling at them like a violent game of dodgeball. It took all of their focus and coordination just to fly straight and not rouse their captives from their slumber. Unfortunately, they didn’t get much farther before both were knocked out of the air like their fallen comrade before them. The two beheeyem fell and landed in the branches below, while Luna and Twilight were dropped through a hole in the canopy. The two apes cheered and high fived each other, “yeah! We nailed them!” One exclaimed. The other soon grabbed his partner by the shoulders and shook him excitedly, “dude, those losers have gotta be out cold after the shots we made! We should totally bolt over there and jack their stuff! I mean, who’s gonna stop us?!” The other passimian pushed him off almost immediately, “what are you, a doofus? Didn’t you see where those things landed? That’s a dungeon, knucklehead! As in the place pokemon enter, but never come out! Whatever those things were, they’re as good as gone now.” He began to climb back into the tree’s branches, “so we might as well just stay here and get back to sleep.” The first passimian groaned, “ughhh weeeaak! Fine, but you better not hog all the blankets this time!” *Capricious Canopies, S1* Sometime the next morning, when the sun was at a point in the sky where it could shine through the leaves of the canopy, Twilight was awoken when she felt the warm rays touch her eyelids.  She stirred, slowly getting back to her feet even before opening her eyes. She blinked several times and smacked her lips like she had just finished a trek through the desert. Twilight had never felt this sore after sleeping before. It almost felt like she had just fallen out of the sky. She looked around at the tropical forest surrounding her, but couldn’t make out a lot of finer details of her location. Her vision was blurry. Her eyes had not yet adjusted to the early morning light. Twilight lifted her front legs and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She began to ponder what she did last night that would cause her to wake up in the middle of the forest. She remembered being at a party in the Castle of the Two Sisters before leaving to get firewood. She then recalled having a conversion with Princess Luna just before everything went blank. She couldn’t remember anything else after that point. Twilight shook her head and slapped her face, trying to wake herself up ever further. Her throat was killing her. She needed to grab a drink before she could even consider thinking about anything else. Her ears seemed to adjust faster than her eyes, because she swore she could hear the sounds of a babbling brook nearby. Following the sounds, she came across a small spring with said brook leading away from it. Without hesitation, she stuck her muzzle in and began lapping up as much water as her stomach could carry. The liquid was cool and refreshing, and like a cold shower after hopping out of her warm bed, Twilight felt herself wake up even faster after she decided to dunk her head in on a whim. Twilight gasped and pulled her head away from the spring. She then backed away and shook the water from her fur.  She glanced at her reflection in the pool while sitting back to let the rays of the sun dry her face. Despite her lack of memory, she felt oddly content as she relaxed in this unknown location. The area was quite, with only the faint sounds of nature present to assault her ears. The ripples in the water slowly began to fade, allowing Twilight a clearer view of her face.  She jumped back in shock and alarm when she realized the face that was looking back at her wasn’t that of a pony, but instead one of a cat. Twilight lifted her hooves and shrieked when she noticed they had been replaced with paws. She ran them over her face, feeling her now shorter muzzle, extremely large ears, and the strangely placed gem embedded into her forehead where her horn used to be. Twilight was starting to hyperventilate. She had to be dreaming. This had to be a dream. In fact, she had had dreams like this before, so that was only further proof that this was a dream! She brought her paw up to her chest and began to do the breathing exercise she had learned from Princess Cadence. It helped to calm her down, but not by much.  Now encouraged by her previously unknown transformation, Twilight began to rack her brain for any shred of memory that could tell her how she had ended up in this situation.  Her mind briefly lingered on the memory of Princess Luna and how that memory was the last thing she could recall before her amnesia kicked in. Twilight began to wonder if the lunar princess had anything to do with her currently transformed state, or for that matter, anything to do with the situation at all. Twilight soon started to entertain the idea that everything that had been happening to her in the moment actually was a dream, and that Princess Luna had just been playing a prank on her.  Twilight began to chuckle, “alright Princess Luna, I see what you're doing here. You got me good. I admit it. But you promised you wouldn’t start the practical jokes until after everycreature went to sleep. So if you could please terminate this strange dream, I would very much appreciate it.” She received no reply and the dream didn’t fade. Twilight knit her brows in confusion, “Princess Luna?” “Not now, sister, please.” Twilight turned around upon hearing the new voice calling out to her. With her vision now clear, she could see a large lump of blue fur lying curled up on the ground in front of her, “I will have many dreams to survey tonight, so I’ll need as much sleep as I can get.” Twilight felt an anxious feeling build up in her stomach again, “I can’t risk nodding off while I’m in the dream world. Things get very strange when you fall asleep in a dream, and it becomes very difficult to find your way back to the waking world again.” Luna’s voice was coming from the lump of fur.  A deep feeling of trepidation guided Twilight’s actions as she slowly stepped closer to the lump and poked it in the side. Warily, she asked, “Princess Luna? Is that you?” Twilight desperately wished for this to be the part where Luna would turn around and shout “boo!” Thus proving this all to be an extremely elaborate prank.  The lump rolled over to give the annoyance keeping her awake a stern piece of her mind. Princess Twilight and Princess Luna soon shouted in terror at what they saw.  Luna had been changed into a mad diamond dog looking creature with white and blue fur covering its body. She jumped back and landed on all fours, “who are you, creature?!”  She then looked around at the tropical jungle surrounding her, “where have you taken me?!” Twilight lifted her front paws and held them out in front of her to show she meant no harm, “Princess Luna, it’s me! Princess Twilight Sparkle!”  The princess turned wolf blinked at her in surprise, “Twilight..? Twilight Sparkle? What in the name of my sister has happened to you?”  Twilight grimaced back at the princess, “the same thing that’s happened to you, I’m afraid.” Luna blinked a second time, then looked down at her own body in confusion. She shrieked in sudden alarm and began running her claws through her fur as if to make certain what she was seeing was real. She looked back up at Twilight with a look of utter disbelief on her face. Twilight swallowed some saliva that was pooling in her mouth, then nervously asked, “So I’m gonna guess this isn’t a dream then, huh?” For the next few minutes the princesses tried to compose themselves following their initial panic. Once she thought a sufficient amount of time had passed, Twilight asked Luna what she remembered before passing out. She wasn’t too thrilled by the answer she received. “You can’t remember past that point either?” Twilight asked. Fear was slowly starting to take hold of her mind again.  “I’m sorry, but I can’t recall anything further than the conversation we had in the Everfree.” Luna looked around at the tropical flora surrounding her, “this should go without saying, but it also concerns me greatly that we awoke in a different forest then the one we were in prior.” Twilight nodded, “you and me both.” She glanced around at the tropical flora as well. She recognized a lot of the native plant life from some books on foreign botany she had read in her spare time, “this place reminds me more of a location from a Daring Do novel, then the Everfree Forest.” She looked back at Luna quizzically, “do you think we're still in Equestria?” Twilight held onto the faintest hope that Luna would say yes. She knew it was highly unlikely, but it was the only thing keeping her from having a full on freak out like she did the first time she had turned into a human. Those memories of being human soon moved to the forefront of her mind. She recalled that awkward transition period she had where she was trying to learn human behavior through observation and experimentation. Not until she met the human versions of her friends did she learn how to walk, talk, and generally act like a normal human being. Twilight soon realized that the situation she found herself in now was strikingly similar to the situation she found herself in then, even despite the obvious differences.  She signed and looked at her paws. She was feeling oddly more relaxed after spotting the comparison. At least this time she had the benefit of changing into something that walked on four legs. Whenever she and Luna returned to Equestria, the transformation back would be much less jarring than when she changed from a bipedal creature to a quadrupedal one.  “I don’t believe that is likely.” Luna answered, “But I suppose we won’t know for certain until we leave this dense jungle and survey the land. Being as experienced as I am, I am very familiar with the landscapes of the kingdom.” A slight smirk spread across Luna’s lips. Twilight could tell she felt a bit of pride after getting to state that fact, “I should be able to denote our location based on any noticeable landmarks that are in the area.” They began to look more closely at the location they found themselves in. They were flanked on either side by two gigantic groves of massive trees that seemed to continue outwards as far as the eye could see. The trees, though roughly the size of small buildings, were not growing close enough together to prevent the princesses from entering either grove, but the sheer maze like structure of the tree growth made them hesitant to proceed due to the fear of not being able to find a way out again. In front, behind, and where they currently sat was a path that led in two separate directions. At either end was an opening in the surrounding forest that presumably would take them to another open area of the jungle. A strangely placed statue also sat upon the cleared path alongside the transformed travelers. It depicted a strange ungulate like creature with a long wisp of hair flowing off the back of its head and a fence-like ornament wrapped around its midsection. It was oddly clear of any vegetation, dirt, or damage and looked as pristine as if it had been placed in the jungle that very day.  Luna and Twilight wordlessly agreed to consider the statue unimportant for now as they came up with their next course of action, “so which direction do you think we should go?” Twilight asked, “North or south?” “I doubt it really matters.” Luna explained, “follow any path long enough and you’re sure to find an exit.” She looked back at Twilight. The younger princess suddenly realized the decision would fall onto her, “just pick one and we’ll move forwards from there.” Twilight looked between the two exits on either side of her. Her eyes eventually fell on the opening to the north, “let’s head that way.” She decided, her voice lacking certainty.  Twilight stood still for a second as if expecting Luna to lead. When she was met with only an expectant look from her elder princess however, the younger princess decided to take the hint and push forward.  Once they reached the opening, the two exchanged one last nod of affirmation before heading forwards into the next section of the dungeon. *Capricious Canopies, S2* As soon as Twilight and Luna wandered into the next area of the jungle, they were caught off guard by the sounds of branches snapping and leaves rustlings. They both quickly turned around just in time to see the path behind them was slowly being covered by a thick bramble of tropical ground vegetation. Almost as if on instinct, Twilight shot forward and began trying to pull the vines and woody plants away that blocked their path backwards. The plant life seemed to notice this, and swatted her back towards her companion as if she were an insect.  The branch that hit her left a stinging pain on Twilight’s skin as she hit the ground and Luna rushed to her side. They both looked back up at the path they had just traveled as the living plants covered the last of their previous location from view. “It would seem this place carries some form of inherent magic. Perhaps we are in Equestria?” She looked down at Twilight and began to run her claws through her fur to check for any wounds, “are you alright, Twilight? I do hope you're not injured.” Twilight pulled away from Luna and got back to her feet, “I’m a little dazed. But I don’t think it’s anything I can’t walk off.” She took one last glance at the brambles that blocked their path backwards, “I guess we won’t be going back in that direction.” Luna nodded in agreement, “it is curious. It feels almost as if the forest does not permit backtracking.” They both turned around and noticed a trio of grassy paths, unobstructed by the massive trees, that lead to different areas of this section of the forest. Where the paths ended were currently out of sight from the two wayward travelers. “How do we know which way to go?” Twilight asked as she ran her eyes between the three paths in front of them.  Luna shook her head, “I am uncertain.” She glanced at the three paths as well, before finally deciding to follow the center one, “I fear our only course of action is to pick a path and follow it until it leads us to an exit. If not, we’ll just have to come back here and try another direction.” Twilight, being a very analytical and structured mare by nature, didn’t feel too content throwing caution to the wind and following a path without some form of logical reasoning guiding her in that direction. She didn’t have any better ideas however, so she reluctantly decided to follow the elder princess’s lead. Luna limbered herself up before heading down the path, “I shall take point. You, watch our rear. If there are any dangerous creatures in this jungle, I don’t want them taking us by surprise.” Twilight had almost forgotten what multiple trips into the Everfree Forest have taught her. In wild environments, it always paid to have your head on a swivel just in case hungry animals were on the prowl. Their new forms concerned her however. Without the aid of horns, wings, or magic, the ex-mares would need to rely on the defenses their new bodies provided them. Twilight experimentally flexed the digits on her front paws, noticing five retractable claws appear every time she did so. She would need to rely on these, and possibly her teeth, if she ever needed to defend herself. It was an odd first thought to have, but she was immediately repulsed by the idea of biting another creature. Anything they came across would likely be unwashed and a possible carrier of disease or parasites. The taste alone, she imagined, would be terrible in its own right.  Twilight looked up and noticed that Luna had left her behind. She was now much farther down the path, forcing the ex-mare to run to catch up to her. A startled cat noise came from her mouth before she started to run. She blushed faintly, hoping Luna didn’t hear her sudden cry of distress.  Luna and Twilight trailed down the path, noticing little of anything that would pull their focus away from their current objective. Despite their situation, they couldn’t help but feel slightly tranquil while traversing the forest. The jungle, though mysterious, was almost beautiful in a way, with tropical plants and flowers the two had never seen before growing in every direction. The sounds of the jungle, though some were loud and somewhat intimidating, were also pleasing to the ear, almost like the two were the private audience to symphony.  The two travelers let out a sigh. They both decided to let their guards down for a brief moment, so they could enjoy the ambiance of the tropical setting around them. It was at this point that they heard a rustling in the bushes. They both turned, each getting on all fours in a stance that showed they were ready for battle. A small black rat, followed by two others, soon rushed out and screeched at them, “RATTATA!” Luna and Twilight fell back on their haunches and stared at the trio of rats in confusion. They looked at each other before glancing back at the rodents, “should… should we walk past them?” Twilight asked, “I doubt they can really do anything to majorly hurt us.”  Luna nodded, “we’ve likely just come too close to their nest, so they’re defending their territory. If we leave, they’ll more than likely scamper back into their home.” Luna began to step forwards past the rats, only to have one jump in front of her and bite her in the leg. The rat’s teeth sunk in pretty deep despite its size, leaving behind a wound that was noticeable, but would likely go away on its own if given time to heal.  “OUCH!” Luna shook her front leg, knocking the rodent off. She glared at the rats, who were huddling close together just in case Luna decided to attack back. “Clearly, I underestimated their bravery when it comes to defending their home.” Twilight walked past her towards the rats, “let me handle this, princess.” A prideful smirk was present on Twilight’s muzzle. Luna did not recall ever seeing an expression like this on the young alicorn’s face before, so she assumed Twilight had a foolproof plan for removing the rodents. She meowed and hissed at them while threateningly swiping her claws. The rats seemed unafraid of these actions, but even more important, Luna was confused by Twilight’s choice for a solution, “what are you doing?” Luna asked unabashedly. Twilight blushed when she realized her plan wasn’t working. She turned back towards the lunar princess with an embarrassed smile on her face, “I was just… you know, trying to scare them away?” A drop of sweat rolled down the back of Twilight’s head, “I mean, I look like a cat. So by that logic, I assumed they’d be afraid of me.” Twilight chuckled anxiously, but soon that laughter was replaced by a sudden pained yelp when one of the rats bit down on her tail. Twilight jumped in the air, reaching a surprisingly high elevation, before falling back down towards the ground. Almost as if on instinct, Luna held her front legs out and the alicorn turned cat soon landed in her forelegs. Twilight grasped her tail and began to caress it to alleviate the pain. The rats were laughing at them at this point.  Luna’s eyelids lowered in an annoyed expression, “okay.” She dropped Twilight, causing the younger alicorn to land painfully on her back. She stalked closer towards the rats with one paw raised, ready to smack the three annoyances aside. Then suddenly, she heard another rustle in the bushes. The cat and wolf turned as a much larger rat, roughly about their size, with puffy cheeks and two pairs of incisors on its top and lower jaws stepped out of the bushes and towards them. The three rats soon rushed behind it. It screeched at them in a much deeper voice, “RATICATE!” Luna and Twilight jumped back in surprise. Luna blinked at the creature, “this must be their leader.” She surmised. “It’s huge!” Twilight exclaimed. Luna cracked her neck, an excited smile spreading across her face, “this is true. Even so, a rat is still a rat… and rats are easily exterminated.” Luna rushed forward with her claw outstretched to her side. The rat jumped to the side deftly avoiding Luna’s scratch. Its incisors began to glow with a bright light, much to Luna’s surprise. It lunged at the lunar princess, forcing her to jump back before his teeth could come down on her shoulder. She was breathing heavily. Even though the attack missed, she could still feel the power behind it as the rat’s teeth came together. Luna gritted her teeth, “this may be more difficult then I first thought.” She barreled forward and crashed into the rat’s stomach, sending both of them to the ground with Luna sitting above him. She began to pelt the rodent with blow after blow while it was downed. Twilight watched transfixed as Luna delivered another punch to the right side of the rat’s face, completely unaware that the trio of smaller rats were sneaking up behind her.  One of the rats bit her in the back of the leg, causing her to howl in pain. Luna looked back, suddenly losing all sense of self when she heard Twilight was in danger. The mare turned cat was now swatting at the smaller rats like an Equestrian housecat would when chasing field mice. The smaller rats were doing an excellent job of avoiding her however and were making her look like a fool as they darted around and through her legs as she clumsily swatted at the ground. The larger rat saw it’s opportunity to attack while Luna was distracted. Reeling back, it swung it’s head forward, colliding its forehead with Luna’s. The elder princess was sent staggering backwards as the rat got back to its feet. Its fangs began to glow with the same blinding light as before. It had had enough of these games and was now ready to end the fight. It rushed forward, it’s jaws opened as far as they could go… unfortunately, Luna agreed with the rat’s current state of mind.  Almost like a dancer, Luna fluidly spun around the rat’s side before stopping right in front of its tail end. Before the massive rat could react, she grabbed it by the tail and began to spin it around in place, “our name is Princess Luna, diarch of the kingdom of Equestria! We come from royal blood, and we refuse to be ridiculed by the likes of you!” Luan’s voice turned into a roar and her old way of speaking quickly became clear as she continued her rant. The smaller rats and Twilight actually froze when they heard Luna start shouting at their leader. She spun faster, the rat actually extending to its full tail’s length from the sheer velocity of Luna’s rotations, “leave our sight and never return! Or else, face the wrath of a hundred years of combat experience!” She let the giant rat go, sending him squealing off the path into the dense underbrush of the forest around them. The smaller rats couldn’t believe their eyes. They’re boss had just been beaten and with such little effort. So transfixed were they in their disbelief, that they didn’t notice Twilight sneaking up behind them and readying her paw. With a wicked smile, Twilight slapped the rats clean on their backsides sending them flying, though clearly not as far as Luna’s rat, into the forest underbrush as well. The two princesses soon heard the sound of scurrying in the leaves, alerting them that their adversaries had made a sudden and hasty retreat.  Luna smiled and placed her paws on her hips in victory. Twilight soon collided with her back however, bringing her into a hug and promptly ruining any other cool poses she was intending to do. “We won!” Twilight squealed in elation, “can you believe it?!” Luna nodded her head, “was there really any doubt with such weak opponents?” She turned back in the direction they had been heading and motioned for Twilight to follow. Soon enough they reached the end of their chosen path and found a similar looking opening to the one that led them to this section of the forest. The two exchanged one more victorious smile before heading forwards into the next area of the dungeon. *Capricious Canopies, S3* The next section of the dungeon was much darker when compared to the last area. The jungle canopy above, unlike the canopy before, was much thicker and possessed a lot less openings for sunlight to enter through. This gave this section of dungeon a much more eerie feel and quickly put the two princesses on edge.  They weren’t quite certain why, but Twilight and Luna could feel the presence of power in this part of the forest. Much like when that large rat used its glowing teeth ability, that same feeling of overwhelming strength permeated the air, as if telling them the creatures in this area would not be so easily dealt with as their last opponents.  Before the princesses, there were two paths this time. One was leading forward and the other led to the left. Luna and Twilight decided to take the path to the left on a whim. They saw no particular advantage of picking one path over the other, so they just went with their gut feelings. The path led them through a large field of tall grass that rose over their heads. The path they continued to follow was an area completely cleared of any vegetation. It was almost as if someone had run through the field in a straight line while brandishing a scythe.  This part of the jungle was eerily quiet, which went along well with the section's lack of lighting. The extreme lack of noise put the two even further on edge, likely to the point of jumping should they hear even the slightest bit of noise that wasn’t caused by their own feet. A loud stomp suddenly proved this theory correct as something large and heavy came meandering down the path in front of them.   The tip of the creature’s head came into view over the lip of an incline both Luna and Twilight were about to descend. They both froze and got into stances that would show the creature in front of them that they were ready for a fight. But before they could even see their adversary however, something came shooting out of the grass and tackled them into the other forest of grass on the opposite side. Before Twilight and Luna had time to yelp, they felt two fingerless mitts clamp over their mouths. A reptilian creature with sooty black skin and an oddly form fitting skull on its head looked over its shoulder as it kept their mouths shut. They followed the creature’s eyes and soon felt their own pairs widen when they saw the other creature they were about to challenge. It was a large, bipedal, dragon-like animal with a green, armor-like hide covering its body. It stood roughly at the size of a grizzly bear standing at its full height, with several spikes of varying size covering the back of its neck, head, and shoulders. It had no wings, and though considerably small in comparison to some of the dragons Twilight and Luna had seen, the strong intimidating aura the beast exuded was almost enough to put most full grown dragons to shame.  The creature stomped by as Luna and Twilight continued to follow it with their eyes. Once they were sure the beast was far enough away, the skull faced creature released their muzzles and began walking towards the other side of the path, “what in the name of my sister was that?” “Tyranitar.” The skull faced creature said unenthusiastically. Its voice was moderately deep, making the two girls realize that he was male. He picked up what looked like a bone and began walking down the path the tyranitar had come from. As he walked away, the two noticed a one strap bag, seemingly made of sewn together leaves, wrapped around his torso. Twilight rushed over to him before he could get too far. “I’m sorry we haven’t thanked you yet. If you hadn’t been around, that monster would have teared us to shreds, Mister…” “Mortimer. Just Mortimer.” The creature gave no other reply. The air soon fell silent again as Twilight and Luna followed a polite distance behind Mortimer. The awkwardness of the moment did not escape the two princesses as time continued to march on. The skull-faced creature was not putting any effort into shooing them away, but neither was he attempting to talk to them.  Twilight decided to correct this by restarting the conversation herself, “my name is Twilight Sparkle and this is my friend Luna.” She decided to forgo using their full titles as princesses for the moment, because she surmised they would hold very little power here. Mortimer was silent for a moment before replying, “odd names.”  Twilight and Luna were taken aback, but for the sake of diplomacy and in trying to keep up a friendly demeanor with the creature that saved their lives, they ignored his blunt comment. “So what are you doing so deep in the forest, Mortimer?” “Collecting berries and supplies.” As if to prove his point he reached down and pulled a herbaceous plant out by the roots. He examined it for a short while before placing it in his bag.  To their surprise, he was the one who asked the next question, “what are you two doing out here in the middle of a mystery dungeon? It's not usually the kind of place pokemon like you want to hang out.”  Twilight raised a curious eyebrow at his statement, “what do you mean by that?” Mortimer groaned and placed his head in his hand. Apparently, what she had just said annoyed him, “this dungeon is crawling with dark and steel types, kid. For an espeon like you and a lycanroc like her, that means bad news for both of you.” Twilight still looked confused. He sighed, “you really are a new blood, aren’t you?” He stopped and turned back to look at them. He pointed at Twilight, “you are a psychic type. That means you're weak to dark type moves. ” He then pointed at Luna, “you are a rock type. Which means your weak to steel type moves.” They both looked as if they were contemplating what he said, “moves..?” Luna mumbled audibly.  Mortimer shook his head in irritation, “I don’t have time for this.” He turned to leave only to notice the two other pokemon were still following him. He turned and waved his bone at them, “I’m not interested in being your babysitter, so leave me alone. Find your own way out of this place.” “And what type of creature are you?” Twilight asked, ignoring Mortimer’s previous command. She sounded legitimately interested in learning more from the experienced forager. He shook his head again and decided to keep moving the direction he was heading. He allowed them to follow despite the growing dislike he was gaining for his newest traveling companions. “She asked you a question, Mister Mortimer.” Luna reminded Mortimer of Twilight’s question, which he hadn’t forgotten in the last minute since she asked. Her voice had a slight threatening tone to it. Like the skull faced forager himself, she was getting rather annoyed with her newest companion's attitude. Mortimer sighed, “I am a Marowak. I am a dual type pokemon, the types being fire and ghost. My ghost side is very vulnerable to dark type moves, but thankfully my fire side allows me to tank the damage better than most. Which brings me back to my previous question, “what are you two doing in here even despite you not having suitable protection from your weaknesses?” Twilight looked at Luna to silently ask if she should tell Mortimer the whole story. She nodded, but a firmness present in her eyes told Twilight to avoid telling him what creatures they actually were. The younger princess thought this was wise. If she told him that they were ponies rather than pokemon, he’d likely call them crazy and be less inclined to help them. “We aren’t certain.” Twilight replied, “the last thing we remember, we were enjoying a party with our friends in a different forest then this. We blacked out somehow, and the next thing we knew, we were waking up here.” “Hmm…” Mortimer paused and stood motionless in front of them. He looked back at them, and the girls could have swore they saw the briefest look of sympathy spread across his face before disappearing just as quickly, “so you were kidnapped.” He stated, finally giving a name to their situation, “and you two have absolutely no memory of what happened during your abduction?” Luna and Twilight shook their heads, “none in the slightest.” Luna replied. “Hmm…” Mortimer closed his eyes and began to ruminate on the information given to him. He started walking again, silently urging the two ex-mares to follow him, “you can continue to follow me if you wish. I was heading to this dungeon’s exit anyways before we crossed paths. From there I can lead you to my village. The pokemon there will likely be able to help you find your way back home.” Luna and Twilight shot uncertain glances at each other. Luna mumbled under their breath, “I believe that is much less likely than you think.” The three pokemon continued to follow the path until they came across a large open clearing sitting right before the exit to the next section of the dungeon. The two female pokemon let out a sigh of relief as thanked their lucky stars that the latest leg of their journey was finally over. And with zero confrontations to boot. The grass around the clearing began to rustle and three new pokemon stepped out in front of the exit. One was a tall bipedal creature with a round, red and black head that resembled a war helmet topped with a golden, double-headed axe blade. Its shoulders projected out slightly over its arms and its hands resembled metallic gloves with pointed blades sticking out of the tops of its forearms. Two rounded, crescent shaped blades encircled its torso, creating the impression of a ribcage. The two others were bipedal beetle-like creatures with similar rounded heads and a silvery blade growing from the base of their foreheads. Four steel spikes protruded from their torsos, two on each side connected by steel ribs. Their arms, that ended with knife-like blades, were pointed at the trio with malicious intent. Mortimer crouched down and got into a defensive stance, “get ready. These guys have the type advantage.” Luna and Twilight mimicked his stance, “which are they?” Luna asked, “steel or dark type?” Mortimer grimaced, “remember when I said I was a dual type, fire and ghost?” Luna and Twilight nodded, “these guys are the same. But unfortunately for us… they’re both steel and dark type.”