In a veil of shadows provided by an arching structure, a mare paced anxiously in a circle while a stallion watched her.
"Slither," whispered the stallion, his tail flicking. "Slither Flight, calm down and breathe, for Celestia's sake! You're making a rut in the cloud!"
Slither Flight looked at him, worry in her bright green gaze. "But how, Feather Sight, can I when my brother is acting so unnaturally?!" she wailed. Her wings trembled and her coat spiked as if a cruel breeze swept through her fur. "It's like I don't know him at all!"
Feather Sight brushed his coat against Slither's and held his hooves onto her own. "First things first: breathe. Getting yourself so worked up won't help."
"But..." Before Slither Wing could ramble further, Feather Sight kissed her on the lips, silencing her whimpers. Then he broke the kiss and stared at her, his bright, crystal blue eyes shining.
"Breathe, Slither," he murmured softly, his muzzle touching hers tenderly. "Just breathe..."
Slither Flight stared at him for a moment before doing what he asked. She took in a large breath through her nose, inhaling Feather's sweet scent in her nostrils, and then she breathed out slowly.
"Better?" Feather Sight ventured.
Slither Flight nodded before glancing briefly away. "I'm sorry," she rasped, remembering to lower her voice. "That necklace...changed him."
Feather Sight turned his eyes toward two necklaces laying on the cloud next to him and Slither Flight. "Then it's a good thing we didn't wear them at all," he commented darkly. "Ever since our meeting, Blackwing had his dangling from his neck. I've noticed his change too; he never was so aggressive. Brash, sure, but nothing like this."
"What are we going to do?" Slither Flight whimpered, pressing her muzzle against Feather Sight's neck. "He attacked you..."
Slither Flight was right. There were a few black hoofmarks embedded on Feather Sight's face and flank when he tried to talk Blackwing out of their plan to terrorize the Wonderbolt Show.
"As long as he didn't hurt you, I'll be fine," he assured her, but Slither only looked more distressed. "Listen. We need to head to the Cloudeseum and stop Blackwing from hurting any pony. He'll wait for his opportunity to strike during the middle of the show." Feather Sight's eyes grew dark. "We have to talk him out of it."
"If he wouldn't listen to me or to you, he won't listen to no pony," Slither cried out, tears staining her face. "I want my brother, but I don't know how to get him back!"
Feather Sight placed his wing over Slither Flight for support, holding her close to him. "We'll have to try something...without those." He shot his and Slither's necklaces a disgusted glare. "Those things are nothing but trouble."
Joey sat on his couch with Nian by his side, waiting. He was decked out in dark-colored clothes: jet-black pants, auburn-colored shirt and shoes, and a black cap. Twilight and her friends would be here any minute to take him to see Rainbow Dash perform in Cloudsdale's Cloudeseum as an official Wonderbolt. He would have rather worn lighter colors, but he needed to not stand out more than he already did, being a human and all.
Joey was also worried, but only slightly. He was thinking about the threat Sunspot had informed him, of a group of pegasi looking to stir up some trouble at the Wonderbolt show. He was to work with Sunspot Rise, the pupil to the late Rockfall, and snuff out the troublemakers.
As he waited, Joey shot a weary look at his painted nails. His nails were painted sapphire during a play session with Yuna and Jenny earlier, and they were dry. Joey never liked painting his nails, though, he wasn't averse to it either, or he would be remiss if he hadn't indulged his daughter, Yuna. Although the Lucario had indeed evolved quite some time ago, she was still very young and playful, the youngest by far in his family.
Joey heard Nian snicker and turned his limpid white eyes on her. "Find something funny?" he asked his partner, giving her a well-intentioned but playful shove.
Nian didn't budge, instead sticking out her tongue. "Never thought you'd go with blue; you like red instead," the brown rabbit told him. "The way you scowled uneasily was quite entertaining."
Joey shrugged, chuckling. "Yuna likes blue, and I couldn't say no. Besides," he added, admiring his nails, "the color's growing on me."
Nian just shook her head. "She could always wrap you around her paw, Joey; all she has to do is blink cutely and you crumble. The next thing Yuna will suggest is playing Dress-Up." She narrowed her eyes playfully. "You still have those dresses when you were striving to be Kalos Queen a few years back."
Joey scoffed. "Not 'striving'. Strived. I won that year; I look good in a dress, so I wouldn't mind."
"Of course, Queen 'Jolene' of Kalos, of course," Nian bantered, her nose twitching.
Joey chortled with glee. "Don't deny you had fun."
Nian snorted with amusement. "After I broke in the dress and knew that battles were a part of the contests, of course I would have fun; knocking out a few skulls eased my discomfort."
"You're welcome," Joey said. "Anyway, you should join next play session. Yuna would appreciate it."
"I prefer to watch, but if you truly want me to, then sure," she conceded. She cast a glance at her nails; they were hidden under her well-groomed brown fur. "Green or red?"
"It isn't my decision; Yuna is in charge during playtime," he replied with a yawn. "She'll probably paint them pink."
"Ugh, pink?" Nian said, disgust across her face. "I'll never hear the end of it from Nils. He'd call me-"
A ring from the doorbell alerted the two close friends. Joey answers it, and sees Twilight and her friends: Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and a new pony with a white coat and purple mane.
"Ready to go?" Princess Twilight asked, her horn glowing. "The show starts in twenty minutes; seats are already being filled, so we got to go now to get a good view of the show."
Joey nodded, Nian by his side. "And who is this pony?" Joey pointed to the pristine-looking mare.
"Oh, that's right! You two haven't met yet." Twilight extends her wing and puts it on her friend. "This is Rarity, a well-known fashionista who runs the boutique in Ponyville. She recently came back with Spike from a business venture in Baltimare."
Joey watched as Rarity bowed courteously and he did the same polite gesture. There was an air of regalness this mare exhumed, and the human might've thought that Rarity could have been born in Canterlot; that's where most haughty-like, regal ponies usually lived as he was informed by Rainbow Dash. Regardless, he was happy to make her acquaintance.
"So, Twilight," Joey began after pleasantries were done. "How will we get to Cloudsdale exactly? Nian and I can't walk on clouds."
Twilight's eyes sparkled; she surely had an idea. "No problem," she started with a small bounce. "Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie aren't able either, but I used a spell that allowed my friends to walk amongst the clouds. If it worked on them, then it should work on you and your friend."
Before Joey could answer, he noticed Rarity looking about his front yard with worry etched on her face. He followed her gaze to see Nils roosting in his tree. The massive predatory bird had certainly caught the mare's attention, but that was normal.
"Take no notice of Nils, he's just resting, and he doesn't eat ponies," he assured Rarity gently. "He's quite the wisecracker, frankly."
The mare gazed at him with an awkward chuckle. Joey must've thought Rarity found herself rude to assume such things. "Of course, of course," the white mare said, waving her hooves in the air nonchalantly as if she wasn't plainly worried at all. "Twilight informed me of these...Pokémon. They look very lovely, especially the one next to you. Her eyes are quite striking, and yours are beautifully uncanny. Your eye color is quite rare!"
Nian snorted rudely at Rarity's compliment, but she reluctantly dipped her head after Joey gave her a warning glance.
"I am told my eyes are very rare amongst the ponies, and never have Nian been praised for her eyes before. You're very sweet, thank you" he replied, turning to Twilight. "Spell ready?"
The alicorn nodded, but before she could cast the spell, Joey had walked to the middle of the yard and called Mechan, Nils, and Lena to stand beside him.
Twilight looked confused. "Surely not all of these Pokémon are going to see a Wonderbolt show. I thought only you and Nian were coming."
Joey was told to keep the mission Sunspot Rise told him as a secret from Twilight and her friends, because having large group of ponies, the Elements of Harmony no less, looking for potential trouble could scare off the pegasi threatening to sabotage the show. Subsequently, it would reduce the risk of more ponies being injured or worse; Joey had enough of ponies' lives being lost during his missions.
Besides, the mission called for him anyway, and he would rather not involve his new friends if he could, at the start. If everything goes well, and Joey hoped it did, then the mission would be completed without too much trouble.
"Okay," began Twilight, her horn glowing. "Just stand still and the magic spell should work."
Joey complied with his Pokémon. It took a few seconds until he felt something warm flow through his body, swirling inside him, and then he felt it expand and expand until the feeling was suddenly gone. He studied his Pokémons' reactions and saw that they felt the same thing; the warm feeling had come and went.
Joey then shifted his gaze at Twilight and saw that the alicorn was panting. That was odd; Joey had learned over the weeks of being in this world that Twilight has a certain affinity for magic. She was able to cast large-scale spells and use other spells like teleportation and levitation to the maximum extent, yet he saw that casting magic on him took its toll. Now that was peculiar.
"Twilight, are you okay?" Joey saw the mare hold up her hoof, signaling that she was fine. "Are you sure?" he pressed.
Twilight was leaning on Applejack for support. "Yes, yes, I'm fine," she assured Joey. "That was strange. Casting magic on you was more difficult than I had thought." Her eyes glimmered and a smile found its way on her face. "Maybe you could come over later so I can study this odd phenomenon?"
Now Joey knew how deep Twilight could get when she applied herself to a project. It wasn't too long ago that the alicorn was depriving herself of sleep and food because of her interest in Pokémon. He had to scold her like a father did to his daughter in order for the mare to stop and focus on her health.
Joey didn't want that to happen again, however, since he would be project Twilight wanted to study, he knew that with the right words, he'd be able to get her to listen to him.
"Alright, but after the show," he told the alicorn. Before Twilight could squeal in delight, Joey had stopped her. "Let's focus on getting to the show. So, what method of travel shall we take?"
Pinkie jumped in place, spouting, "Twilight is going to teleport us!"
"Have you ever teleported before, Mr. Riverside?" Rarity asked shrewdly, her diamond-blue eyes sparkling. "It can be an... unpleasant venture if you are not prepared."
"Of course," Joey answered, gaining the shocked eyes of the ponies.
"But how?" Twilight questioned, craning her head toward Joey much to the annoyance of Nian.
"I can't teleport, but Mechan can," he clarified. "Have you forgotten what almost happened a few weeks ago, Twilight?"
Twilight blushed in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her mane. "Oh, yeah. I remember now," she murmured awkwardly.
"Did something fun happen?!" Pinkie cried out.
"Not necessarily," Twilight said, casting a quick glance at Pinkie Pie. "I'll tell you later. Fluttershy is waiting on us."
"I was wondering where she and Rainbow were, but it makes sense, for Rainbow at least," Joey said aloud, stroking his chin.
"Rainbow's getting ready to perform and Fluttershy went on ahead to cover our seats," Applejack said.
"We better get going," Twilight pressed. "Ready, Joey?"
"Yep," he answered, grabbing Nils, Mechan, and Lena's Pokè Balls, returning the Pokémon inside them before strapping the capsules around his waist. "Let's head for Cloudsdale's Cloudeseum!"
With a bright glow from Twilight Sparkle's horn, a flash happened, causing Joey to avert his eyes. When he opened them again, the color blue filled his limpid white gaze. He felt light and shivered a little from the base of his shoes; he looked down and saw that he was standing on a large white cloud. Though the cloud looked that it shouldn't be able to let him stand on it, he felt as if he was solid ground. He gazed down at Nian and knew she was feeling the same thing.
"Welcome to the city of Cloudsdale!" Pinkie Pie announced cheerily, bouncing up and down.
Joey looked around the large cloud city and couldn't stop smiling. Pegasi ponies were flying everywhere he turned: pools of rainbows were along the edges of the city, spilling down to the earth below, and a factory off into the far distance where even more of the rainbows flowed. The city structures were supported by large stone columns; houses were dark in color, of varying shades of blue, purple, gray, and white, and patterns such as swirling clouds and winds were depicted everywhere along with lightning bolts too.
Through the means of magic, Joey was able to visit a place that otherwise wouldn't be possible. Sure, he could fly on the back of Nils, but that wouldn't be the same as walking among the crowd. Here, he could head to the Cloudeseum with his friends while exploring the city.
Ponies, pegasi, stared at the human with odd but knowing looks, muttering to those next to them. Some were holding newspapers; they would look at Joey, then at the paper, then at him again and point with eager murmurs. It seemed whatever was in the newspaper caused a lot of pegasi ponies to stare at Joey. Whether with cautious glances or meek stares, he did not know.
"Are you sure haven't visited here?" Rarity asked Joey, trotting up to him and examining his clothes absently. "The pegasi here seem to know you, yes?"
Though confused as to why Rarity was appraising his clothes, Joey didn't have the faintest idea why ponies were staring at him. Nian got in front of Rarity and snorted crossly at the unicorn who backed away with a sheepish grin.
"Are you famous?!" Pinkie blurted, appearing behind Joey's back and clinging onto him. "Look at those faces!"
"I don't know," Joey said, bewildered. "I never been to Cloudsdale; and I never met any of these ponies."
Applejack chuckled as she began trotting forward, Pinkie and Rarity following after her. "Y'all seem to have made a name for yourself," she commented. "Ponies stare at us from time to time, 'cause of our exploits in saving Equestria; get used to it the first few times 'round."
Rarity agreed beside her orange friend. "And it's natural for a dashing young creature such as yourself being something a lot of these ponies haven't seen before. You are quite handsome, and your eyes are incredibly striking; white is extremely uncommon."
As Joey watched Twilight's friends trot on, the alicorn appeared next to him. "You have worked for the princess on multiple occasions," she pointed out as she trailed after her friends. "News travels fast around here. Don't worry if it bothers you; the fame will trickle down over time.
Joey found himself agreeing with Twilight. He was a key player in the Fool's Poison debacle and with saving Orah in the Forbidden Jungle. Tales of his exploits seemed to be getting out and ponies were noticing. The stares, as he now suspected, may be looks of admiration and curiosity; his fame was growing.
Nian glared with mistrust at the ponies who were passing by and staring widely at Joey. "As long as they keep their hooves to themselves," she grumbled, her piercing scarlet eyes narrowing suspiciously.
Joey placed a hand on Nian's head to settle her nerves. "Relax," he soothed, walking behind Twilight Sparkle. "I would've gotten some odd stares anyway. Let's focus on getting to the Cloudeseum and settling everybody down before we meet up with Sunspot."
The walk to the Cloudeseum didn't take long, but there were a few road bumps, most notably pegasi trotting up to Joey and asking him for his autograph. He had learned that a lot of them had indeed heard about his involvement with the Fool's Poison and the rescue of Orah from Lunaris at the Forbidden Jungle.
It took a lot of coaxing for Nian to keep her paws to herself as ponies continued to get in the way. Though slightly overwhelmed by his sudden fame, Joey had indulged the ponies and gave them autographs. Some wanted one on their wings, hooves, flanks, and face, and as weird as it was, he complied.
Joey had to admit he enjoyed the swarm of fans. Even Nian got a few, but, like bad-tempered Houndoom, the rabbit snarled viciously, making them scatter.
With the help of Rarity and Applejack, the crowds of pegasi that were steadily increasing broke up and went to their own devices, leaving a flustered Joey grateful for his friends' intervention. The squad continued forward down a crowded cloudy pathway. Slowly did he notice a mass of pegasi wearing shirts and hats, hoisting and swinging flags, lightning bolt-like markings streaked across their faces, and various merchandise of the Wonderbolts were on their person.
Suddenly, a large weight on his shoulders nearly made Joey lose balance, and when he looked behind to see who it was, he saw Pinkie Pie smiling widely. "Enjoying the view up there?" he asked her, a hint of humor in his deep voice.
Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously, her forehooves stretched to let the breeze flow through her coat. "Not long now," she uttered in anticipation. She looked as if she was ready to burst. "Oooh, I can't wait to see Dashie flying with the Wonderbolts; it's been her lifelong dream!"
Joey knew that; everyone did. It was one of the first things a person would know about Rainbow Dash. He recollected the times Rainbow had visited him just to talk about her idols and how often he indulged the mare, asking questions and being genuinely impressed by her passion. That's what he liked about her: Rainbow's unwavering determination and confidence.
Now that her dream had finally came true where she could fly with her idols, it became more and more apparent of the potential danger she and everyone else was in while inside the Cloudeseum. Once Joey gets to his destination, he would almost have to slip away to meet up with Sunspot Rise.
Pinkie Pie continued to ramble on and on while her friends would occasionally comment until the squad ended up facing a large oval structure hoisted by white marble columns. A mass of ponies congregated at the broad front gates with two symbols of lightning bolts emblazoned on the greyish-white surface.
Joey watched many of them line up in two long, huge groups, and steadily did they ease themselves up the white steps and inside the wide building all the while chattering excitedly about the upcoming show.
Joey was guided through the crowd with Twilight Sparkle at the head with the rest of his friends following after her. He noticed how the two groups of pegasi made a little bit of room for Twilight; he had forgotten that she was considered to be a princess of Equestria, and that the ponies were showing their respect and politeness. At least he and Nian didn't have to be pushed or shoved trying to get inside.
When Joey got inside, he was surprised how spacious it was. Lively voices filled the large dome, a steady, comforting breeze flowed through him, shops manned by pegasi were positioned at the edges of the interior, selling Wonderbolt merchandise. Food stands were here too, selling popcorn, hay burgers, and apple cider, the works. It was really crowded, and he thought that if he lost track of his pony friends, he'd never find them.
Luckily, Joey knew where everypony had gotten off to: Pinkie Pie was happily battling her way to one of the stands to get some food for the group. Applejack and Rarity went to one of the stands that sold the Wonderbolt merch to show their support for Rainbow Dash. She was arguing with Rarity about how it didn't matter if they were wearing matching shirts or hats while Rarity argued that it did.
Shaking his head, he saw Twilight standing next to one of five entrances that most likely led into the Cloudeseum seats. She turned her head back and forth as if she was searching for someone. Then, a yellow pegasus fluttered out of the second entrance and stood in front of Twilight, hugging her in greeting. It was Fluttershy, wearing a lightning bolt cap on her long pink mane and a shirt that had Rainbow Dash on the rest of the Wonderbolt squad printed on the front, looking brave and courageous.
Joey began walking to her with Nian beside him, who was looking wary and giving mistrustful, hostile glares at the pegasi. He assumed Nian was just anxious; they haven't been around too many ponies since they dropped unceremoniously in their world. Being surrounded by loud ponies must make her feel uneasy.
"It's okay," Joey soothed his partner reassuringly, placing his hand atop her head. He saw Nian's floppy ears twitch, and she eased some of the tension in her well-toned muscles. "Everypony here has been friendly."
Nian held onto one of Joey's arms firmly. It wasn't for her to feel safe, but rather to protect him. "There's a group meaning to do harm here," she said, a hint of a snarl in her voice. "Let's just hurry, get our friends seated, and get this mission done."
Joey sighed and nodded. Nian was in full protector mode; anything he could say would be brushed off. When he and Nian reached Fluttershy, he greeted her with a smile. "Good to see you, Fluttershy," he said merrily as the mare trotted up to him and gave him a hug. "It seems you're ready to cheer Rainbow Dash on!"
Fluttershy nodded excitedly. Under her wing, she revealed a blue and white spray can used to spray marks on a person's face. "I was going to spray some lightning bolts on my face, but I need help to get it right. Is Rarity here?" she asked, veering her soft gaze around the crowd of ponies, searching for her white friend.
As if she had summoned her, Rarity along with a slightly annoyed Applejack, who was carrying some matching shirts, hats, and couple of foam fingers on her back, trotted up to the group. Pinkie Pie came shortly after, carrying bags of popcorn on her withers.
"Have no fear, Fluttershy; I can help," Rarity announced. She turned to Applejack, a look of triumph across her face. "Applejack, do be a dear and follow Pinkie Pie to our seats, would you?" She batted her eyes innocently; Applejack only grumbled, but there was a good-natured gleam in her bright emerald eyes.
The yellow pegasus began to look meek. "Our seats are the fifth row from the left at the very top; there is a reserved section for us," Fluttershy informed to her friends as she gave the spray can to Rarity.
Twilight looked confused. "Reserved seating?"
Fluttershy shuffled lightly on her hooves as Rarity got to work spraying the lightning bolt marks on her cheeks. "Rainbow Dash mentioned to the Cloudeseum organizers that you and the rest of our friends were coming. You know how ponies are..."
Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I guess I shouldn't be complaining. I can't blame them for wanting to please a princess and give me an enjoyable time with my friends, but honestly... Regular seats would've done us just fine."
"No sense in grousing, darling," Rarity commented as she stepped away with the spray can. "I'm finished, Fluttershy!"
Joey watched silently as Fluttershy thanked Rarity for her help. The time was growing near to start the mission. He wondered where Sunspot was among the mass of ponies that were beginning to go through the one of the entrances that led into the stadium outside. He was supposed to be here.
Joey scanned the crowd and saw a blue-eyed, ginger-coated pegasus with a light brown mane and white splotches on his back and chest. He looked serious and distracted, but Joey knew that was Sunspot. The stallion was hardly recognizable without his armor; Joey assumed that looking like a guard would deter the group of pegasi that were threatening the Cloudeseum.
Their eyes met and Sunspot nodded, looking away and going to one of the stands to purchase some Wonderbolt merch as a means to look nonchalant.
"Joey, are you okay?" Twilight asked, almost startling the human. He looked down and saw she was wearing a blue and white hat and shirt that depicted the Wonderbolts. She gestured to her friends trotting together into the stadium. "Everypony is going to sit down. Is everything alright?"
"Yes," he told her. "I was just lost in thought."
Twilight Sparkle gazed at him for a few seconds before shrugging. "If you're sure, then let's catch up with everypony," she said, trotting after her friends. She looked back, worry in her eyes. "Are you sure everything's okay?"
Joey nodded, walking behind her with Nian scowling. "I really do appreciate your concern, but there is nothing wrong, Twilight," he insisted. "Let's head on."
"You didn't have to lie," Nian said, her eyes narrowing as she glanced at their surroundings.
"It's fine," he told his partner.
Nian shook her head. "You're worried, and I can tell. Are you sure we shouldn't tell Twilight and her friends about the mission?"
"I'm sure." His limpid white eyes were staring ahead. "This assignment calls for a more covert approach, and having ponies that often express themselves so openly could be a detriment. Besides," he added, "if things start going bad, then I'll tell them, but for now, there's no need. I would rather deal with this without much fuss and worry."
"But you are worried," Nian pointed out. She stopped him with a slight tug. "I know you don't want another pony to die. Listen, I think that you should at least tell Twilight, just so she can know what to expect. She is a princess and all."
Joey gazed down at Nian silently, and then he dipped his head, agreeing. "Alright," he conceded, running up to Twilight who was trailing behind so he could follow her.
Ears twitching, Twilight looked up at him and stopped, perplexed. "Something on your mind?"
"There is," he replied, crouching to the floor so he was the same height as her. "Twilight, I need to tell you something. I'm not just here to watch Rainbow Dash perform..."