//------------------------------// // Chapter the Eleventh // Story: Looking Through the Pokeball // by Magical Trevor //------------------------------// Think, think, think! I needed something with shock and awe value! Something awesome, inspired... What would catch her totally off-guard right now? Oh... Oh there’s an idea... It might be a horrible idea, but a horrible idea is better than no idea, right? She loomed over me. I could practically see the storm in her eyes as she opened her mouth. Grinning impishly, I decided to go for broke. I was already in trouble for getting her wet, so I may as well go the whole nine yards, right? I darted forward, giving the tip of her muzzle a light peck. She froze. Mission Status: Complete! The other three fillies all gaped at me, of course. I shouldn’t say ‘of course’, sorry. They might have thought it was cute or romantic or something, so I should be glad they were shocked. Wrapping my forelegs around her neck, I strained back, dragging her into the bath as well. What? I’m a full grown adult, okay? I don’t need someone else washing me! So if they’re going to try to wash me, then I’ll try to wash them and see how they like it! The fillies squealed and laughed as Rarity let loose a strangled cry which was quickly cut off by her impact into the bath. She came back up, gasping for breath, startled. She stared at me incredulously, and I knew, somehow, that my plan had worked. See, when someone is really, really angry, there’s only a few ways for them to lose that anger. One way is to vent, and I wasn’t about to let her do that. I like living quite a bit, thank you very much! That, and if she took the pet thing seriously, who knows if she would try to, er... ‘fix’ me or not. The second way, and much harder way, incidentally, is to simply shock and awe them. Come from so far beyond left field that they never see it coming, leaving them gaping and trying to comprehend what just happened. That is what I managed to do with Rarity. While she stared at me, trying to figure out what just happened, I brushed my tail under her muzzle, sauntering over to the shampoo, and started to wash my fur calmly, relishing the feeling of fur covering most of my body. I mean, I wouldn’t call it a fetish, but I did spend a lot of time brushing and petting my cat, Patches, when she was alive. There was just something calming about stroking fur, and hearing her purr. I guess... It helped me forget about school, where almost everyone made fun of me. I won’t give you the sob story, don’t worry, but it... It always made me feel better, I guess, because I was making Patches feel better. I could close my eyes and drift away to other worlds, and my imagination would set me free. I had barely finished soaping myself up when I was hit by a giant tidal wave, throwing me beneath the surface of the water, and making me lose my footing. Alright, time to get real with you guys. You see, I... hate water. Like really, really hate water. A small pool is fine, normally, because I’m over six feet tall, and even the large, inflatable ones only to up to like five foot something, so I was never in danger of drowning then. But... I’ve nearly drowned before. Not once, twice. The first time... I think I was about, oh, five or six? We were at some hotel, that’s about all I remember. We were in the pool, which was fairly large, but when you’re a small kid, everything seems large, you know? Well, my mom and dad were in the deep end, of course, talking with some of their friends. The only name I remember is Patrick, for some reason, but I digress. So I was walking along the very edge of the pool in the water. You know, that tiny ledge in the pool a few feet deep? Yeah, so I was making my way along that because it was fun, you know? I wanted to get to the other end because that’s where my mom and dad were. I’m sure you all figured out what happened. I slipped, I panicked, I nearly drown. I was blacked out for some time, but I don’t know how long, or how close I actually was to dying. But still, when you’re a kid, everything seems so much more... more, you know? The second time was just a couple years later, when my parents paid for swimming lessons, in the hope it would help me overcome my fear of water. tl;dr, no, it didn’t, though I wasn’t more traumatized. I mean, I wasn’t more afraid of water. Just the same old afraid. So aside from wasting money on lessons that taught me nothing, I didn’t really lose anything, so... Needless to say, finding myself underwater and on my side, I panicked. I couldn’t stand up, because my body was different, and how I would get up normally as a human was different as a Pokemon, so panicking... I... cannot tell you in mere words what I felt, or what I was thinking. Nothing I can say will do justice to that situation... I don’t know how, when, or why, but I shot straight up out of the bath, high enough for me to expel most of the water from my lungs, before landing in the bath again, sending a large tidal wave over the others. I didn’t care. I didn’t land correctly in the water, but I had gotten enough of my mind back that when I sank to my side, I was able to turn myself right-way up, and then stand back up, gasping for air the split second I surfaced, coughing and wheezing my lungs out as my limbs shook from all of the adrenaline surging through my system. Again... I nearly drowned... Again. I nearly drowned again in a freaking bathtub. Can my life get any more pathetic? Yes, yes it can. I don’t know when, but at some point, I had stopped leaning against the side of the bath to cling to Rarity, sobbing like crazy as she tried to comfort me. I can only assume that she was also blocking me from view of the fillies, because they weren’t trying to help me either. Eventually I settled back down, but I was mostly too exhausted to really notice what the fillies were doing. I had already washed myself as best as I could, so I took a few steps away from the bath, and tried to figure out how to use a fire move, any fire move, so that I could dry off. Of course, I didn’t count on being swarmed by three over-eager fillies, all of whom were still trying to earn spa cutie marks or something. I guess those are what the tattoos on their butts are? Anyway, the three of them eagerly scrubbed me down with large, fluffy towels, trying to dry all of me, but I stopped them before they... you know. I shakily took one of the towels from them, finishing the job once Rarity ushered the others outside, granting me a little bit of privacy. It only took a few seconds to dry myself, before I slowly, tiredly made my way out of the bathroom. I padded into the bedroom, watching as the three fillies fought half-heartedly over who slept where on the abnormally large bed. Whatever. Today has been... I don’t even know. I just want to lay down and go to sleep. I don’t even care if this is real or not anymore, I just... I can’t take any more. Sleep... sounds so very good... Since the fillies were all at the head of the bed, and it was a very large bed, I took the middle, laying down on my stomach before rolling slightly so that I was still decent, half on my side and half on my stomach. After several attempts I finally found a semi-comfortable position and fell asleep. .o.O.o. Alright, I take back anything bad I said about Big Mac. He might not talk much, and seems like a ‘normal’ jock, he’s just a simple, humble farmer, and he’s only that big because of all the work he has to do. He doesn’t seem to get angry quickly, thinks things through... All in all, a surprisingly great guy! Of course, that brings up the question of what he’s doing with- “Trixie, yer ramblin again,” Big Mac said in his quiet, calming voice. … Okay, look, I’m not a ‘girly’ girl if you hadn’t noticed by now, but I could listen to his voice all day. Trixie huffed, before apologizing softly, clearly not wanting to actually apologize, but also wished to honor Big Mac. What does he even see in her? Trying to change her for the better, maybe? Heck if I know. At least they’re nice enough to start giving me the basics of this world, what some things are called, how magic works, what kind of magics there are, stuff like that. They were giving me a brief history of the past five or ten years, Big Mac’s reasoning being that it would be more relevant than ancient history, which I could learn later on, after I know how to act in society. “... So Trixie was wondering... how old are you?” the blue mare asked, looking at me curiously. That’s not a yes or no answer, moron! How am I supposed to answer that without being able to talk or hands to represent numbers? Wait a sec... I glanced down to my paws, and looked at how many digits I had, exactly. Looks like I have... four. Okay, I can make that work. I held out my claw in front of Trixie, extending my claws to better show how many I had. I giggled maliciously as Trixie actually backed up a step, thinking I was going to attack her or something. Idiot. If I was going to attack you, you’d know it because you’d be rolling on the floor in pain and agony, or dead. I tapped Big Mac with all four claws, before tapping him four more times. “Twenty?” I blinked, shocked. He did the math that quickly? Had he counted along? After a second I nodded, turning back to face the window of our room. “So do you have a special somepony back home?” Trixie asked, glancing at me in I’m sure what she thought was a coy smile. I snorted dismissively, shaking my head. I don’t need a guy. I don’t need anyone. Date one and you’ve dated them all. “Why-” “Trix, ‘s none of our business,” Big Mac reprimanded, silencing Trixie. Damn I’m starting to like Big Mac... He doesn’t mess around! Trixie whimpered, recoiling as if she had actually been hit by him or something. Damn, does she really care what he thinks that much? “... Sorry... I just, you’re from another world!” Trixie exclaimed softly, defending herself. “How is that not amazing?! I just want to know more about you, and your world! Just think of the stories I could tell if I knew even just a little bit about your world! Is there anything you can tell me? Please?” “... I wish I could, but none of you understand a single word that I say.” I watched as they gave each other blank looks, before I sighed softly. I mean, I’m not normally the talking type, but... Right now, in the middle of all this crazy, it sure would be nice to be able to talk with someone... anyone... Okay, I’m depressed now. I guess I may as well go to sleep now, since there’s nothing better to do. Besides, it’ll give them some ‘alone time’, not that I think they’d do anything with me right here. At least, I’d hope not... ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ Big Mac and Trixie watched as the Glaceon fell asleep on a chair cushion, soon snoring quietly. After a moment, Big Mac smiled, taking Trixie’s cape from her to use as a blanket for the Pokemon. Trixie whined as she lost her cape, but apparently knew better than to protest when Big Mac made a decision. “Well?” Trixie rubbed one foreleg with the other as she realised her whimper had been heard, despite her best efforts. “N-nothing... There is nothing wrong with Trixie, Mac...” Big Mac silently walked up to her, before enfolding her in his forelegs, hugging her to him. “Trix, ah told ya, you don’t have ta lie to me... What’s wrong?” “I... t-that cape is the last thing I have of my mother’s,” Trixie whimpered softly, her eyes watering. “I... no one else has ever...” Trixie did her best to hold back her tears as Big Mac left her, though her tears made it impossible to see what he was doing. She heard a few sheets rustling before she felt a familiar warmth on her back. “M-Macintosh?” “Ah’m sorry, Trix,” the red stallion whispered into Trixie’s ear, re-attaching her cloak. “Ah didn’t know. Ah thought... Sorry.” “It’s, it’s okay,” Trixie sobbed back, trying not to cry. “It’s not your fault I’m afraid to, to...” “Why are ya so afraid to tell me about yer past, Trix?” Big Mac inquired, trying to keep his voice steady. “Don’t ya trust me?” “I... I... I don’t want you to think less of me and hate me,” Trixie wailed weakly, burying her head in his neck, being careful of her horn. “I-I don’t... I can’t lose you, I can’t, I can’t...” Big Mac held his fillyfriend in his forelegs, rubbing her back slowly as she sobbed, whispering “I can’t” over and over. Big Mac slowly shuffled them both across the room and to the bed, where he helped her lay down on the far side, against the wall. He laid next to her, allowing her to wrap his foreleg around her body. Once she had calmed down, Big Mac nuzzled her, breathing, “Trix, ah said before that ah would never abandon ya. Ah’m not goin’ ta let this get between us. Ah want to know everything about ya, but ah can only understand what ya let me see. Please?” Trixie remained quiet, aside from the odd sniff. Sighing to himself, Big Mac apologized softly. “Ah’m... ah’m sorry, Trix. Ah didn’t mean ta pressure ya... Ah guess we should just get some sleep...” Trixie sniffed one last time, before a whisper of wind tugged at Big Mac’s ear. “P-promise not to think less of me?” Big Mac smiled widely, kissing her forehead gently, tenderly as he reassured her. “Ah swear...” .o.O.o.