//------------------------------// // Chapter the Fourth // Story: Looking Through the Pokeball // by Magical Trevor //------------------------------// I groaned as the fillies kept listing horrible name after horrendous name, listing them one right after another. The only plus side to the whole thing was that I had been able to discern their names with how much the three of them argued with each other. Still haven’t caught the mother’s name, of course, but while the purple unicorn looked through her book *Snerk* Good luck... the mother was at least trying to keep the three fillies mostly in line, and shot down a good number of the names for me. “Super Awesome Fantastical Barky-” I snerked as Appleboom smacked Scootaloop for that name suggestion, only to groan as Appleboom asked, “Wait, ah know! Fluffy, what’re y’all good at? We can’t have a good name without knowing what’cher good at!” *Achoo!* Weeeeell crap... Okay, Brian, I’m totally blaming that on you. You were thinking about me behind my back again, weren’t you?! Admit it! Only you could make me sneeze fire in a dream! This is your fault! Yeah... Because it’s totally not that you’re a Flareon, and they breathe fire and crap. Yup, this was all totally an original idea... Wow, sarcasm! The humor and wit of the poor people and the moronic, I mocked Brian, rolling my eyes as I flicked my tail from around the white horse to smother the fire. Why am I not surprised that you have to resort to that? Oh, that is it! You can go straight to Hell for all I care! Well, you should, because if I’m sent to Hell, then so are you too, so... Yeah, have fun with that, Brian. Way to totally one-up me and show me who’s boss. After a moment of mental silence, I cheered that I had won the battle, only to be left to fend for myself as all six horses stared at the burn in the wood, then back to me, and I wasn’t sure if they were shocked, stunned, amazed, or- Oh look! Shiny! Dammit... Sorry, guess I uh, haven’t mentioned that yet, have I? You’ve heard of kids who are ADD, ADHD, etc, right? Well, I suffer from A.D.O.S Syndrome... Sorry, Attention Deficit OH SHINY! syndrome. What had caught my eye, sadly enough, was a small bell that the yellow pegasus had- Wait a sec, yellow pegasus? When the hell did it get here?! Brian! Quit slackin on me and explain this! Well, you see, when a mare and a stallion love each other very much, they- Yeah yeah yeah, just fast-forward in its life until it arrived here, and you couldn’t be bothered to warn me... ~=~=~=~=~=~=~ “O-oh my,” Fluttershy gasped, staring at the strange animal. “Did... did it just sneeze fire, or am I imagining things?” Applejack and Twilight turned to the canary colored mare as Applejack answered, “Not unless we all imagined it at the same time... Okay, ah’m a little more worried now... But it did promise not ta hurt them...” “H-he can talk?” Fluttershy stammered, her eyes growing wide. “T-then why did you need me to come?” “Flareon?” “Girls, ah told ya not to pester th’ poor thing!” Applejack exclaimed, exasperated. “No, ah mean... Can y’all really breathe fire?!” Applebloom asked, her eyes shining bright. “F-flare,” it answered, nodding its head slowly. “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!” Fluttershy whispered to herself, growing more and more worried. It had claws, and sharp teeth, and could breathe fire?! “G-girls, get away from it! It could be dangerous!” “Err, Fluttershy, not that ah don’t trust ya, but ah already got it ta promise not ta hurt them. It ain’t stupid enough to attack them when ah’m right here.” “Flare-eon flare flary,” the creature grumbled, practically throwing its head onto its forepaws. “Applejack, it’s not nice to call it stupid,” Fluttershy reprimanded, earning her a surprised look from the animal. “Ah didn’t call it stupid!” Applejack protested. “Ah said it wasn’t stupid enough ta-” “Implying that you thought it was stupid to some degree, just not to attack,” Fluttershy interrupted, causing the creature’s jaw to drop. “But that’s not what ah meant!” “But that’s what it sounded like! Now you apologize to him right now, missy!” Fluttershy ordered, before her resolve weakened. “Um, I mean... you don’t have to, I suppose, but you should. It would be really nice, I guess...” “Fla... Flareon...” it said dumbly, clearly stupefied. “It is not fine to call others names!” Fluttershy frowned at the creature, shocking it again. “Flare... Flareon e flary?!” “Um...” Fluttershy blinked, trying to figure out what it was saying to her. After several seconds of silence, Fluttershy sighed, mumbling to Twilight, “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what it is. I’ve never heard of an animal like this before.” *Thunk* *Thump... Thump... Thump...* “O-oh, um, it isn’t good for your head to do that, little guy!” Fluttershy said worriedly, trying to get close enough to comfort the poor animal, who was busy banging its head against the ground. “T-that can hurt your brain! C-could you stop, please?” With a sigh, the animal stopped, though kept grumbling under its breath. “Thank you very much! Now, um, if you don’t mind my asking... what are you?” *Thump* “O-oh my...” .o.O.o. After nursing the creature’s head, examining it to make sure that it hadn’t given itself a concussion, Fluttershy proceeded to give it a full check-up, asking politely for it to open its mouth, or show its teeth, or allow her to poke it. All the while, the three fillies continued to try to name their new pet, now knowing that it could breathe fire. Even Twilight and Applejack were starting to make suggestions while they waited for the rest of their friends to arrive, just in case Celestia wanted them to blast it with the elements of harmony or something. “Kelvin?” Twilight suggested. “As in th’ temperature? Twi, ah love ya, don’t get me wrong, but that’s just not... No.” Applejack said, denying Twilight. “Ganondorf!” Scootaloo piped up, only for the creature to burst out laughing in barks, rolling onto its side, gasping for breath. “Ah think that’s a no, Scoots,” Applebloom commented, poking the giggling animal with her hoof. “He thought that one was funny, though.” “Umm... Oh, I know!” Sweetie squeaked. “How about Ignis?” “U-um, Old Equestrian is out of phase right now, actually, so it wouldn’t be, um, a great name choice right now... not that there’s anything wrong with your suggestion, I mean...” “Pyro?” Scootaloo suggested, only to get shot down by Twilight. “That makes him sound like he’s some kind of an arsonist, Scootaloo. How about... Solis? Xan? Those are ancient names that mean-” “Yeah, key word being ancient,” Scootaloo shot back, rolling her eyes. “He’s awesome! He needs a cool name, like... like... The Fearsome Firey Fireball Kin-” Scootaloo was given a rather forceful bop to the head from Applebloom, interrupting her name suggestion. “For tha love of apples, stop suggestin such stupid names! Th’ poor guy has ta live with it, ya know!” “Flary!” “See?! Flary agrees with me!” Applebloom grinned, crossing her forelegs smugly. “Flary?” “Yeah, what he said!” Sweetie Belle protested, scratching her head. “Flary? Isn’t that kind of odd, naming him after his species or whatever? Besides, he’s my pet, and I think that Solaire is a lot more regal sounding!” “Ah know! Let’s let him decide!” Applebloom declared, looking at Fluffy. “How? He can’t speak!” “We’ll all say a name, and then he can just point at whoever has the best idea! Ah pick Flary!” Applebloom declared, waiting for everypony else to name their suggestions. “Solaire!” “Fearsome Furnace of Firey-” “Two word limit, Scoots.” “Fine! Umm... Uhh... Flare Blitz!” ~=~=~=~=~=~=~ Name me after an attack? That’s an idea, though I’m lucky that Flareon doesn’t learn that move, or else I’d- Okay, it’s official. Life sucks. Yes, even dream life. Flareons don’t learn Flare Blitz. It’s not a technical machine, so it’s not like it can be taught, either! Then, on top of all that, I’m not a mindless Pokemon, alright? I’m just a human being, dreaming. I shouldn’t be compelled to follow something that clearly wasn’t an order to attack, right? Right?! Apparently, Life didn’t give a damn about any of that. Well you know what, Life? Frell you. Frell you to Hell and back! (And if you run into any German brothers with horns, I hope they made you do a billion squat-thrusts!) Now, just in case some of you are slow on the uptake, allow me spell it out for you. Scootaloop, darn her stupid, if slightly adorable, enthusiasm, by suggesting ‘Flare Blitz’ with such force, something, and I don’t know what... nudged me, so to say, compelled me, to follow her suggestion and use the attack. There was one thing that was in my favour, though. Or rather, two things. Firstly, Scootaloop was not my trainer. Secondly, I had no pokeball, so I was under no obligation from that, either, meaning I had free will. Sadly, however, I had free will. And I was only dreaming. So when I felt the nudge in the back of my head, helping me know how to perform the attack, naturally, I used it. Well, after making sure that the fillies weren’t on me, that is. Even in my dreams, I’m not a monster. Of course, even so, I... didn’t think about it... See, I was kind of inside a house, or cabin or something... So when I charged forward, I might, just might, mind you, have taken a huge hole out of the wall... And then gone through an entire tree... I’m not exactly sure what happened, because my world exploded in pain, and I blacked out again. Yes, again. In a dream. Yeah, starting to doubt that this is a dream, because this pain is... Oh yeah, definitely blacking out n- .o.O.o. “Woah! F-Fluffy, why did you just shove me?!” Sweetie asked, shocked as she went tumbling away. “Scoots suggested that name, not me!” “Wow, either he really likes it or really hates it!” Scootaloo gulped, rushing to her friend. “Sorry Sweetie!” “Whai is he all glowin’ an stuff, sis?” Applebloom asked, tilting her head to the side. “Girls, get down!” Applejack tackled the fillies, shielding them with her body as Twilight created a shield between themselves and the flaming creature. After a resounding crash, the mares and fillies all opened their eyes, gaping at the large, smoking hole in the clubhouse, and the flaming trail behind it. “F-Fire!” “Not for long! Applejack, stand back!" Applejack was still standing in front of Fluttershy and the cutie mark crusaders, just in case something happened, but nothing did. Twilight used her magic to use the water pump right outside of the clubhouse, then directed the water to the fires, which were still rather small. Amidst the smoke, and the few embers still popping and sizzling, the six ponies stood there in shock, before Scootaloo shouted, “This is the best pet in the history of petness! Did you see that?! Maybe he liked the name so much he had to-” “I, um, don’t know about that,” Fluttershy mumbled, scuffing the floor. “He, um, looked kinda scared to me, like he wasn’t sure what was going on. Can we, um, if you don’t mind, make sure that he’s alright? I mean, what if he-” “Fluffy!” “Girls, git back here, it’s not safe!” Applejack called out, chasing after Sweetie Belle and her friends. “But Fluffy might be hurt!” Sweetie protested over her shoulder. “I can’t just let my poor Fluffy get even worse! What kind of an owner would I be?” As the three fillies approached the unconscious Fluffy, and they could see all of the scratches over his body. “Fluffy! Fluttershy, hurry up! He’s really hurt!” “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness,” Fluttershy mumbled to herself rapidly, trying to take in the scene completely. “U-um... S-Scootaloo, head to Ponyville Clinic, inform them to get an emergency room ready. Sweetie Belle, I know you love... Fluffy a lot, but I need you to let go of him. You could be making his injuries worse, if there’s any internal bleeding. Applebloom, um... Keep doing what you’ve been doing, I guess...” “B-but you have to make sure that Fluffy’s okay!” Sweetie Belle whimpered from Applebloom’s grasp, wanting to rush back to Fluffy’s side. “W-we already hit him with the wagon once! He can’t get hurt again, right after we made him better! That... You have to make him better!” “I can make it better!” Pinkie exclaimed, popping up from behind Fluttershy. “Look! It’s Gummy 2.0! I found him unconscious on the way here! See? He’s all blue, and he’s got red spines on his back, and he’s blue! And an alligator, like Gummy! Get it? Gummy 2.0!” After everypony recovered from their heart attacks brought on by a particular pink party pony popped up, Fluttershy looked the unconscious gator over, shaking her head. “It’s not an alligator, Pinkie. I mean, looks like one, but they aren’t blue. And they don’t have red spines, or-” “Good gracious, whatever happened here?” Rarity asked, trotting up to the group, looking at the charred ground. “It looks like a... Sweetie Belle! What did you do?” she gasped, rushing to her sister’s side, starting to lecture her. “What were you thinking, messing around with fire like that? What have I told you, young filly? Don’t mess with fire! And you’re absolutely filthy! It’ll take an hour at least to get all of this soot out of your coat! And-” “B-but I had to help Fluffy!” Sweetie protested, still weakly straining towards her pet. “He’s hurt!” “Fluffy?” Rarity questioned, looking around. “... Sweetie, dear, is... did you name that... creature, ‘Fluffy’?” “Uh-huh... W-we were trying to come up with a new name for him, though,” Sweetie sniffed, wiggling her way out of Rarity’s grasp to latch onto the tip of Fluffy’s tail. “Please be okay...” “Sweetie, don’t tug on its tail like that, you’re going to hurt it!” Rarity chided, setting her hoof next to Sweetie’s. “Besides, for all we know he could... have...” Rarity blinked, moving her hoof slowly, before turning to her sister again. “... Fluffy? No, I will not allow it! ‘Fluffy’ does not adequately do justice to its luxurious tail! Fluttershy, I must insist that you get... Fluffy, here, back to health as soon as possible! But um... What is it, exactly?” “Twilight!” The group turned and saw Spike, Twilight’s number one dragon assistant, running down the path, his small chest heaving for breath as he waved his arm, a scroll clutched in his claw. “Spike! What is it?” Twilight asked worriedly, her wings involuntarily spreading. “Let... Letter from the... The Princess,” Spike panted, allowing Twilight to take the scroll in her telekinetic grasp. “Dear Twilight Sparkle, I’m sorry for writing you on such short notice, but there’s a national emergency we need your help with desperately, as well as the other Elements, if they’re available. Since last week, strange creatures have begun to arrive in Equestria. While isolated events at first, it has been happening with an increasing frequency, and I’m worried as to what their intentions are. While Luna has figured out how to talk to them in their dreams, or using a special spell, she is just one pony, and quite a number of the creatures have become hostile, or non-responsive. We’re worried they may be mentally unstable, and would appreciate any knowledge you might have about these creatures. We have a... few ideas, but there isn’t enough information to come to a conclusive answer. Please respond as soon as possible to let us know when you can arrive. Your faithful friend, Princess Celestia” Twilight blinked, then sat down heavily, breathing heavily. “... It’s still weird, you know? Not being her student anymore... A-anyway,” she continued, snapping out of it. “Are you girls fine with teleportation? We need to get there immediately!” Fluttershy spoke up from ‘Fluffy’s’ side, whispering, “Um, actually Twilight, I can’t. I need to stay with him to make sure he recovers.” “It’ll be fine! Canterlot has the best infirmary in Equestria! Now come on!” Twilight urged, pushing everypony together. “Wee! Let’s go!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing up and down excitedly, still holding the blue crocodile. “Alright! Here we go!” Twilight said, closing her eyes as she charged her spell, the wind threatening to give Twilight lift to her wings, before they all winked out of sight. The clearing settled back down, leaving it silent, aside from the wind... Not a minute later, a faint buzzing sound started to grow exponentially, revealing an orange pegasus on a scooter appearing. As she jumped off her scooter, Scootaloo looked around, shouting, “Sweetie Belle? Applebloom? Fluffy?! Aww, come on! Where is everypony?!”