//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: News from the North - Pt.2 // Story: Pokémon Journey - A Trainer & His Adventure in Equestria // by NinjaMare //------------------------------// Matt and his collection of pony friends have made their way back to Canterlot after Twilight had received a letter from her mentor, which from what the unicorn could interpret, sounded like something important was going on. Upon their arrival at the castle the violet mare was taken to go see Celestia & Luna by a guard, while the rest of the group were all asked to wait in the courtyard until the meeting between Twilight and the princesses had concluded. So now the group simply sat or trotted about the courtyard waiting for Twilight’s return, all of them speculating and wondering what it was that they were discussing, while also passing the time by playing some card games. As Twilight’s friends either wandered about, or played a game of cards, Matt sat patiently on the steps leading to the castle and was either watching his new friends do their own things, or on occasion spotted a Royal Guard trot by which he greeted either with a nod or small hand wave. While they returned the friendly gesture in kind. “So what do you all think they’re talking about?” Rainbow asked while floating around the group while every so often looking over to the door, waiting for Twilight to come trotting out. “Hopefully whatever it is their talking about is nothing dangerous.” Fluttershy retorted as she sat by the steps along with Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Matt. With the formers playing go fish. “Maybe it has something to do with those nasty and mean shapeshifters! They might have come back to take revenge, and finish what they started!” Pinkie blurted aloud as she hopped to her hooves, dropping her cards in the process, while also making the group of mares look a tad more concerned. “Let’s hope that’s not the case.” Rarity responded with a bit of disdain in her voice from her spot on the steps that she was sitting on, while Applejack trotted about nearby. Just as the group started to settle back down from their elevated levels, the doors at the top of the steps opened up and they all saw Twilight come trotting out. “Well Twi, what did the princess say?” Applejack asked as she and the others gathered around the mare at the top of the steps, while the unicorn in question looked slightly concerned before she took a calming breath before answering the orange ponies question. “The princess just told me that a long lost city had just re-appeared way up in the far north, a city called the Crystal Empire.” The others looked at each other with mild confusion clearly plastered on their faces, yet they had a little bit of intrigue creeping into their minds. “Uh, Twilight, what is the Crystal Empire? I’ve never heard of a place like that, not even from the books you had about various civilizations around the world.” Spike asked as he looked up to his care taker. “Like I said, it’s a long lost city that was banished to a different plain of existence thousands of years ago, after Celestia and Luna fought the old ruler of the city to a stand-still. But now it has returned, and so did he.” As Twilight elaborated a little more the group as a whole was silent for a bit before Matt broke the silence. “So what’s going to happen? Are the princesses going to head to this empire and stop him again?” Twilight simply shook her head before speaking up. “Unfortunately they can’t leave the city because of their own royal duties. They also need to coordinate with the guards to ensure new safety measures are implemented to the whole city, to ensure nothing like the invasion at the wedding happens again. But thankfully, Cadence and my brother have been sent out to evaluate the state of things.” The mare said which got everypony to smile a little bit as she continued on. “And now I was asked to go north and help them determine the threat of the situation, and see if there is another way to stop this old king. Once and for all without having the city being banished in the process.” And the moment that the unicorn said those words, the smile that was on everypony’s face immediately drooped into a worried frown. “Now I’ll be leaving to meet up with them in a little bit, and I wouldn’t ask you all to come with me—” “Are you kidding!?” Rainbow said aloud as she flared her limbs out, cutting Twilight off before loudly and proudly exclaiming. “You don’t expect us to just go back to Ponyville, and simply wait for you to come back or not. Na-huh! We’re coming with you! At least I’m definitely going.” “You can also count me in on this wild country ride too Twily!” Pinkie said in her usual bubbly tone as she tossed a foreleg around her friends neck, brandishing a cheerful smile, and an explorers hat & backpack. “Same here. Ain’t gonna let no friend of mine face unknown danger alone.” Applejack retorted as she adjusted her hat while portraying her own confident smile. “As if I would let you go out and face something dangerous alone darling. I’m going with you as well, somepony has to watch your back.” Rarity said with a charming smile while brushing a bit of her mane out from her face. the unicorn gave her fellow horned mare a smile before turning to look behind her as she felt something plop onto her back, and seeing a confident Spike sitting there. “As if you can leave me behind, and let you tackle an impossible task alone. after all, I AM your number one assistant, it’s my job to help you out however I can.” “It does sound scary, and d-dangerous. But…” Fluttershy said in a hesitant voice before gathering up what little courage she believed she had, and stepped forward as she continued to speak. “I’m coming with you to.” the others then looked over to Matt who gave them all a small smile before kneeling down. “If you want Twilight I’m willing to come along for the ride, besides, you never know when having extra hands, or hooves in your case, will come in handy.” The violet mare gave a thankful smile to all of her friends around her before speaking up. “Thanks everypony, honestly I was a little nervous to go by myself. So again, thank you guys.” The others simply said that it was nothing and that were more than happy to tag along, and help her and her extended family, no matter what tasks they had to do. “So what exactly are we going to be doing in this empire?” Matt asked as he and the others left the castle behind them, while they started to make their way back to the train station. “For now we need to board the next train and head up straight north, then from their we’ll meet up with Cadence and my brother. And then we’ll go from there.” “Then we better hustle, the train leaves in a few minutes!” After hearing Pinkie’s revelation about the trains departure time the whole group galloped, ran, and flew as fast as they could to reach the station. Reaching the station the group quickly grabbed their tickets, with Twilight paying Matt’s, before they board the train and rode off for the Crystal Empire. But not before deciding to make a quick stop at Ponyville to grab some stuff for the journey. ~~~~ As the human, and his gaggle of mare’s and diminutive dragon boarded the train, a nervous & scrawny looking lime green pegasus with a white mane & tail flew off from the train station and into Canterlot’s down town district. Upon reaching the district the pegasus ducted into a nearby shady alleyway, and his body was engulfed in green flames revealing the pegasus true form. Flying on for a few more moments Thorax reached a run-down building, and flew through the open door of the condemn structure and once inside the changeling flew through the buildings room before traveling through a tunnel. Moments later he entered the large chamber of the Changelings current Hidden Outpost, and made his way to the upper section, where he found Queen Chrysalis sitting on a make-shift stone throne. Sitting beside the queen was a brown earth pony stallion, looking heavily drained and sleep deprived, as Chrysalis siphoned love energy from him. “Um. Queen Chrysalis, I’ve come to deliver a report.” Thorax nervously said, catching the queens attention as she turned away from her prey, and looked squarely at the trembling changeling with an annoyed expression. “What is it grub?” the queen said with annoyance, and a little bit of disdain for the young changeling, who gulped down the lump that was building in his throat before speaking. “I-I’ve come to report about that the target and the group of mares he hangs out with.” the queen ushered the changeling to continue on with his report. “They’re all heading up north, far north, to investigate something called the Crystal Empire.” “Crystal Empire?” Chrysalis echoed as a of look bewilderment, and minor intrigue, came across her features while quirking a brow as Thorax nodded his head in response. “From what I could glean from listening in on their conversations, this empire is an ancient city, and that it has some kind of old evil king ruling it. and now both him and the city are back.” Thorax stammered out as his nerves started to die down ever so slightly. “And when they reach the far north they will meet up with princess Cadence & Shining Armor to look into handling the situation.” The queen leaned into her make-shift throne while her hoof tapped gently on the stallion’s head, while the queen thought to herself for a moment. “Go back out there and follow them to this, Crystal Empire. Once there you are to only watch and observe, and after they finish with whatever it is they are doing up in the north, report back.” Thorax simply saluted to his queen, who went back to draining the stallion of his love, as he flew out of the hidden outpost while taking on his pegasus disguise again. Flying out of the city as fast as he could, the disguised changeling started to follow the train tracks to catch up to the vehicle as fast as he could. If he lost the train then then he’ll loose track of his targets, and if he did and is unable to perform his task, he’ll surely be punished for it by the queen. But what really worried Thorax was that if he failed this mission, that he’ll loose what little respect from his older brother, Pharynx. And that is what the changeling feared the most. His brother was the only sense of comfort he had in the hive, but with each failed mission that he’s botched over the years Thorax felt that his brother tolerated him less, and less, and feared that if he failed this time…then his brother might just cast him aside. For good. ~~the Group~~ After making the quick stop to Ponyville, and catching the train again, the group continued on with their journey to the north. However the train ride to the far north of Equestria’s boarder was fairly un-eventful for Matt and the others, if not downright boring. The only things that broke the boredom of the ride was the group playing games, curtesy of Pinkie Pie plucking them from her main and tail, or just watching the scenery pass by. Honestly out of all of the ponies that he has met so far in this world, the pony that has quite probably been the most bizarre pony he’s ever meet was Pinkie Pie. There was just times that she did, said, or simply do that baffled the young. Though considering what his other friends had told him, that was normal. Aside from the card and board game the group was playing, or simply watching the landscape race past them from the windows, and playing eye-spy with said racing landscape, the group also occupied their time by listening to Matt’s retellings of his adventures from his world. from his time in his hometown, his time traveling the roads across the various regions, meeting new people and Pokémon. When it came to the different types of Pokémon that Matt has met in his travels the ponies were all fascinated in what he has told them, and showed them with his Pokédex, including some of the most rarest Pokémon there is. And of course his gym battles which really caught Spike’s & Rainbow’s attention, especially when he really gone into detail about each battle. The trainer also told his pony and dragon companions of the various encounters with criminals from poachers, Pokémon smugglers, simply cruel and mean trainers, that he’s come across which really got them hooked. He even told them of his encounters with a criminal organization where he, and three other trainers occasionally met up, and put a stop to their latest plans. Most of which were in retrospect silly and goofy, but some were down right thrilling! “So the folks of your world would really just let kids go out and travel the world? Encountering wild Pokémon, and even face down bad guys and the like?” Applejack asked after hearing the latest story that Matt told them all. “Well back in the day yeah, but now adays kids get former education so they know how the world works, and learn all they can about Pokémon before leaving. They also learned basic survival skills since most times you’ll be camping out, also you’d need to learn how to cook and take care of yourself, and of course taking care of your Pokémon.” Matt said in response to the orange mare sitting on the couch next to his. “When did you start your own adventure Matt?” Fluttershy asked as she sat beside the young man, enjoying the head petting she was getting from him. “I left home for my own adventure when I turned fifteen. And unlike most trainers who leave for their adventures, I already had a Pokémon partner.” Matt explained as he held Camerupt’s Pokéball in his hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. “So you always had Camerupt when you were growing up?” Rarity asked as she and Twilight continued with their card game, to which Matt nodded his head. “Back then he was just a tiny little Numel.” Matt then pulled out an old worn out picture from his wallet, and when he showed it to his friends they all saw the trainer as a little boy, and a stout yet happy llama creature wrestling around on the ground. “Awww~ look at you two, you both were so cute when you were younger.” Pinkie awed at the picture along with the others. “So you guys were basically old childhood friends huh?” the pink mare asked as Matt put the picture away. “Pretty much yeah. And aside from Camerupt, and the Pokémon I have with me right now, I have other Pokémon that live on my families ranch.” “Wait a minute, your family owns a ranch?” Spike asked as he looked up from his hand of cards along with Rainbow. “Yeah. My family owns a Pokémon ranch where we take care of, and breed Pokémon. We even make various products from Pokémon on the ranch.” Before Matt could further elaborate on his families ranch’s business, or the group asking for more details, the train came to a stop while the train conductor called out that the group had finally arrived at their destination. Looking out one of the windows they all saw snow blowing past them, while looking at a deserted train station covered nearly in nothing but snow & ice. Exiting the train car the group was instantly hit by both the snow, and blistering cold winds that whipped past them as they trudged into the station and tried to find a way to block the winds. Although as they entered the presumably empty building they were met with a surprise. Inside the building the group found a small group of royal guards gathered around a makeshift fire pit, with Cadence and Shining Armor sitting near the old stations front desk, looking over something. Though the moment the group entered the room all the guards, plus the newlywed couple, looked to them and were equally surprised. “Twilight! You made it.” Cadence said as she and Shining Armor trotted over to the group, and while the princess and violet mare did their usual greeting, the rest were greeted by Shining Armor. “Didn’t expect to see all of you here, that’s quite the surprise.” “Once Twilight told us what was going on, we pretty much volunteered ourselves to come along and help out.” Matt said in response which Shining gave a hearty laughter. “Well now that we’re here my dears, what do we now?” Rarity asked no pony in particular as she looked about the fairly dim lit room of the station. “We were actually going over the details before you all showed up.” Cadence responded as she and Twilight rejoined the group, before levitating a worn-out and outdated looking map over to them, leveling it in the air to show the group. “We’ve scouted the area, or at least as best we could with the blizzard going on, but we have found the empire.” Cadence used her magic to light up a small section of the map, which was in the upper left corner of the map, which didn’t seem to be that far from where the station was situated on the map. “But aside from the empire, and the snow, we haven’t seen much of anything else.” Shining added in before speaking more. “Although there is something we discovered about the empire, or at least the ponies that live there.” “What about them? is something wrong?!” Fluttershy asked worriedly as she looked at the royal, who seemed uncertain how to respond to them. “We’re…not entirely sure.” Cadence retorted. “Physically they all seem fine, but, emotionally, mentally…I don’t know. Its seems as if, something, is missing from them.” the group looked at one another with very confused, if not worried, looks as if they weren’t really sure what to take from what the princess had just said. “Maybe we should go and have a looksie for ourselves, maybe then we’d get a better handling on what to do next.” Applejack suggested as the pink alicorn rolled up the map and placed it in a nearby saddlebag. “I think that would be a good idea. Bundle up everypony, its going to be a long and cold trot.” Going through their own luggage, the group along with the band of guards and the couple, all dawned scarfs, hats, and special winter hoofwear to trek in the snow. Matt, however, only had a scarf, a hat, along with a pair of gloves, to keep himself warm. But he would manage, somehow. Once everyone was as bundled up and prepared as they could, they all left the station and began making their way out into the cold winds of the north. Making their way to lost city of the Crystal Empire. As the party made their way into the tundra, baring the brunt of the snow and wind crashing into them and trying to keep themselves steady on the slippery ground, unbeknownst to all of them a looming shadow far off in the distance watches them. stalking them like a predator in the underbrush, waiting for its opportune moment to leap out, and strike.