The ponies that had seen Sweetie Belle off had expected to go about their weekend and hear from the filly afterward.
So it was to the surprise of all of them when, seconds after Sweetie Belle’s rift had closed, another one opened… in the shape of a door? Well, Discord was getting a chuckle out of it, but it stopped dead as he and the rest of the room were shocked by two bipedal beings walking through it.
First was a feminine looking one with light brown eyes, black hair and a tail in a black and dark purple checker pattern shirt, black sleeves covering two thirds of her upper forelimbs, a pair of black pants, what looked to some of the older ponies to be gloves like the bipedal races of Equus sometimes wear, and a pair of black boots with purple tip and back.
Second was a male figure, taller than the female and muscularly built, with brown hair pulled back in a tail of sorts and yellow eyes, himself clad in a red shirt and black pants with red gloves and boots.
Both were wearing a curious device on the left side of their heads.
Upon straightening up and finding himself at eye level with the bottom of a chandelier, the male gave a deadpan look and said (somehow understandably, to the shock of all), “Oh, great.”
Finally, Sweetie Belle came through the rift, wearing a set of saddle-bags that she didn’t have before leaving, closing it like a door just like she opened it, and quickly got to addressing the obvious.
“So, first things first, these are a couple of friends I met in the world I just came back from, and the reason we’re back so soon is because that universe’s God of Time helped us out. All other questions are waiting until everyone is here to listen,” she said as Twilight summoned a stack of paper and a quill while Pinkie Pie (who had left, along with Fluttershy) suddenly appeared next to her, causing a slight jump from the purple alicorn.
“I’ll go get Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said before flying off to Fluttershy’s cottage.
After she returned with Fluttershy in tow, Sweetie Belle levitated a set of six red and white balls out of her saddle-bags, then gestured to the pair who arrived with her, the shorter one first.
“This is Rota Bage, and her brother Marko. They’re a pair of siblings who travel the multiverse, pretty much looking to do what I want to. Yes, Marko is human. No, Rota only looks human, she is from a race known as Saiyans, that is similar to humans with… some differences,” she said while giving a slight side-eye at the woman’s tail, now swishing back and forth in agitation and drawing the attention of Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.
“First off, it’s only during a full moon that particular form becomes an issue. Second off, even then, it only happens WHEN I LOOK at the full moon,” Rota said, also somehow understood by the ponies.
“As for how you can understand us, it’s thanks to these devices we’re wearing,” Marko said, tapping his earpiece. “They effectively act as multifunctional earpieces, able to let the wearer talk with others regardless of language barrier or distance, among other things. Any other questions regarding myself and my sister, I’m going to have to ask to hold on to them for a bit so we can explain about the world we met in, which I bet at least some of you will very much like,” he finished with a glance at Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and the fillies as Sweetie, still levitating the balls, then released from them her Pokémon, Smily immediately going into a bit of shadow, to stay out of the light, while Volta immediately climbed onto Sweetie Belle, perching to see over her head as electric sparks discharged from her excitement. The Pokémon stayed silent, Sweetie having told them about her translator that let her talk to them.
“The world we met in was one that, at first, looked a lot like this one, here. There were two primary differences between there and here, however. The wildlife are creatures known as Pokémon, which come in a variety of species, elemental attributes - yes, they are able to use elements, no it is not magic… as far as is known, at least,” Sweetie Belle said, seeing Twilight raise her quill to ask a question. “There are somewhere around 1000 species of them spread across 18 differing Types, and they require conditions that cannot be found in their natural habitat to grow and mature, eventually going through a process called Evolution. This latter part is where the other primary difference between our world and that one comes in. The dominant species, humans.”
“This world you visited has humans there, as well?” Twilight asked in wonder.
“Yes, and it is through cooperation that both parties ultimately benefit with the Pokémon getting the conditions to mature and evolve, while the humans, who have based quite a bit of the culture and society around Pokémon, get companionship, entertainment in the form of Pokémon battles and contests-”
“Battles? Isn’t that… cruel?” Fluttershy asked.
“Only if the Pokémon is being forced into it, which is considered a criminal offense and often is punished by a minimum of 40 years in prison,” Marko said. “The people in charge of the government are not exactly tolerant of mistreatment of Pokémon, given how integral they are to their society. Besides, even in that admittedly worst case scenario, Pokémon are rather resilient. Sweetie Belle, from what I understand, managed to easily dispatch some rather powerful specimens all by herself with little effort, and while she was likely holding back, they are able to withstand anything short of an internal explosion, and even that would leave no external damage, with some exceptions.”
“Now then, how about we get to introducing Sweetie’s Pokémon Pals, talk about them and their species a bit and then discuss the main forms of entertainment in that world?” Rota spoke up as soon as Marko finished, looking to move the conversation forward. The gathered listeners, most especially the fillies, gave agreement, as Rota then gestured to Sweetie Belle.
Taking the cue, Sweetie first pointed at Volta, still perched on her head letting out sparks of excitement as she waved at the ponies.
“This is Volta the Pichu. She’s an Electric type Pokémon, and pretty much the Pokémon equivalent of a child. While normally Electric Types are able to control their electricity, Volta, like any Pichu, tends to discharge it when she’s excited, like now. So, no bear hugs… yet,” she said, looking at Fluttershy toward the end, who looked ready to give her the mother of all hugs.
Pointing to Tank next, Sweetie continued, “This is Tank the Squirtle.”
“Really?” Rainbow Dash said with a deadpan expression.
“It’ll make more sense when he’s all grown up and evolved. Like Volta, Tank is technically a child, younger than Sweetie Belle. Not by much, comparatively, but still,” Marko said. With Sweetie Belle’s gesture, he continued, “Squirtle and its line of evolutions are Water Types, meaning that they mostly live in or around and can control and launch water.” Tank let out a small spout of water from his mouth to demonstrate. Sweetie Belle then gestured to Ratzo.
“This is Ratzo the Rattata, a Normal type Pokémon. Normal types are pretty basic in comparison to something like an Electric type, but they can utilize a wider variety of moves of different types, which we will explain momentarily,” the filly said, before moving on to introduce Lulla.
“Lulla the Jigglypuff, one of two members of my team to be a dual type, her’s being Normal and Fairy. This means that, while she is mostly normal, in comparison to other types, she does have Fairy like attributes, namely her songs which can put every-being around her to sleep,” she quickly summarized before moving onto Smiley, the Ghastly in the shadow cast by a stand up mirror.
“This is Smiley the Ghastly, a Ghost and Poison type Pokémon,” the filly said.
“G-g..ghost?” Fluttershy asked in fear.
“While I have no doubts Smiley appreciates the snack that is your fear, you have nothing to be afraid of, so long as you don’t aggravate him. Ghost type Pokémon tend to either manifest or breed in places where many living beings have been killed or dead ones buried, though they are rarely connected to that death themselves.” Marko once more quickly worked to assuage.
“Besides that, Smiley does admittedly have some bad breath,” Sweetie Belle teased with a smirk.
“It’s not my fault Poison types typically have an odor they release,” Smiley grumbled in response while Marko translated that little tidbit to Twilight for her notes.
“Just teasing you, buddy. Moving on, out of my Pokémon friends, we finally have Draco the Dratini. He’s a Dragon Type Pokémon,” she said, while waving to Draco, who reared up in an attempt at majesty, but ended up looking adorable.
“Awww,” the mares and Sweetie Belle’s friends cooed at the sight, though Draco didn’t seem disappointed with the response. He knew he looked cute.
“He doesn’t look like a dragon,” Spike said from his place next to Twilight, who spoke up with a slight clarification.
“Actually, Spike, there are multiple types of dragons, all under different categories that they prefer. Draco seems to be a type of limbless dragon known as a wyrm. Spelled with a Y instead of an O,” the alicorn said with a side eye to a confused Rainbow Dash.
“Even if that weren’t the case, it would make more sense when he’s all grown up,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Speaking of growing up, it’s about time we explained those two primary forms of entertainment to the humans of that world: Battles and Contests,” Rota said with a clap. “We’ll start with battles, since that’s the more widely known form, outside the obvious movies and picture shows. The Pokémon League Association, the governing body of that world, has a special competition of sorts, known as the Pokémon League Challenge.” And so, the three explained the Pokémon League Challenge and the Pokémon Coordinator’s Contest, as well as some of the nuances related to Pokémon themselves.
At some point, the group decided to move the conversation over to Sugar Cube Corner, where, in typical Pinkie Pie fashion, a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party was already set up and ready to go. The party went smoothly, aside from an incident with the Flower trio, allowing both the Pokémon and the visiting Bages to integrate into town without issue. By the time the party ended, it was getting towards evening. However, one last little note of excitement got the attention of everyone there.
“So, Marko wants in on our fight?" Sweetie Void asked with a raised eyebrow.
“For some reason, yeah. Is that alright with you?” Rota answered.
“Of course it is! The more the merrier, I say,” the filly affirmed with enthusiasm that quickly spiraled into the whole town wanting to watch the brawl. Since it was getting late, however, it was agreed the fight would be held the following day, since it was still the weekend.
As Sweetie Belle curled up in her bed back at the Carousel Boutique that night, she felt a thrill at the thought of a challenging fight soon to come.
The next day, Sweetie Belle, Rota and Marko all met in a field outside of Ponyville, the filly opening a rift as the town gathered around a large orb that showed an image of a deserted planet that had a rift open there as well.
Stepping through the rift, the three combatants entered the Dream Universe.
“We should have plenty of room to fight here. I found this abandoned planet during the Jamba Heart incident, and more recently explored it to see if there was any life here. There used to be, but not anymore,” Sweetie Belle told the siblings.
“Mm. Well, that certainly seems to be the case,” Marko said as he looked at a set of ruins in the distance.
“Alright, then. Shall we?” Rota said as she took a fighting stance while looking at the filly. Sweetie Belle jumped back and prepared to fight herself as Marko sighed while assuming his own fighting stance.
After a moment of silence, the siblings and alicorn rushed forward, Rota and Marko pulling back their respective left and right fist while Sweetie Belle cocked her front hoof.