//------------------------------// // 9 - Caught Between A Geodude And A Hard Place // Story: V for Victory, V for Victini! // by zelkova48 //------------------------------// For the second time that very same day, Twilight found her brain malfunctioning... again. Only this time she at least had the comfort of knowing that some of her closest friends seem to stuck in a frozen state of awe and intrigue right beside her as well, so she at least had that going for her. She could've sworn that there was smoke coming out from the side of her ears, that or it was the resulting smoke that lingered from whatever the heck it was that had just made its presence known to just about everypony in the room. Floating right in front of the little group in all of his fiery, and arguably cute, glory was some kind of magical orange and yellow rabbit with large V shaped ears, big blue eyes, and oddly enough, a set of teeny tiny wings that were far too low on his body to remain practical in any way, shape or form. But yet there it was, somehow maintaining its place before them even though its near useless wings weren't beating at all. "Tini?" spoke the creature before them as it tilted his head in curiosity. "Pinkie, what is that!" Twilight shouted as she backed away into a corner, frightening the rabbit and causing it to fly back to Pinkie and hiding within her fluffy mane. "Twilight, that wasn't very nice" said Pinkie with a stern glare directed at Twilight "Is that any way to treat the guest of honor at the party?" she asked with a raised eyebrow "Now apologize to Victini for scaring him" "That's Victini!?" everyone exclaimed as their eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Yupperooni!" Pinkie replied with a wide grin "I met him in an alleyway when he ran off with one of my macarons during the big riot you guys threw for them! He really likes them you know. Isn't that right little guy?" she petted Victini's ears as he squealed with delight in her mane, making him easily forget all of the initial shock towards him. "Tiiiiiiiini! Tini, tini!" he squealed delightfully, flailing about his limbs about before Pinkie proceeded to tickle his ears, eliciting more joyful noises from the victory pokemon "Tini! Tini! Tini!" he was practically crying tears of joy now, yet at the same time in between the petting and the tickling it was really therapeutic. He could feel his tense muscles ooze like melted butter as Pinkie continued to play with him. "Awwww! He's so cute!" Fluttershy beamed, removing the air of incredulity that lingered behind her. She walked up to try and touch Victini, but upon noticing her he turned invisible and hid away in PInkie's mane again "Huh? What's wrong little fella? I'm not going to hurt you, honest" she tried to coax Victini to come out but her words did little to to achieve her goal. "Don't worry , Fluttershy. He's a shy guy, remember?" said Pinkie "But... what the heck is he?" Applejack asked "He certainly not a pony, and he ain't nothing like any rabbit I've ever seen" "Yeah, plus he's got those weird looking butt wings" Rainbow Dash sharply remarked "How the heck does he even fly with those things anyway?" Just then, Victini appeared from out of the blue right before Rainbow Dash with a stern expression on his face. He gave a glare to the pegasus that would've melted her right on the spot. He growled at her, swiped his hands around in the air and flashing his fangs in an intimidating manner in an attempt to make it clear he didn't like that whole butt wing insult and failing entirely to do so. When it comes down to it, Victini just ain't the type to scare someone witless on looks alone. "Uh... what's he doing?" said Rainbow. "I think he's angry at that you called his tails butt wings, Rainbow Dash" said Pinkie "Pfft, look at the little guy. He thinks he can take me on" Rainbow Taunted with a smug looking grin on her face "What are you gonna do about it, shrimp? Slap me in the face with your butt wings? Or are you gonna hit me with those spaghetti limbs of yours?" Almost as if on cue, Rainbow Dash was set alight by Victini who used a weakened and controlled flamethrower attack on her. She did not expect to see that she would be engulfed by flames, boy did that come out like a metaphorical slap to the face. Weak as it may have been, the fire still warmed the room up by a few dozen degrees and left Rainbow Dash blackened like an overcooked vegetable. She could feel herself cough up nothing but ash before fainting to the ground, knocking off all of the soot on her body and leaving her clean as a whistle. Victini quickly shot the downed pegasus a look of success before flying back over to Pinkie again and digging himself into her mane once more. "So... he can breathe fire... *cough* *cough* that's... cool" Rainbow stated rather raspily as she got back up on all fours "So he's some kind of... fire breathing rabbit or something?" she asked. "Nope, he's not a rabbit at all, he's Victini!" Pinkie stated. "We already know his name Pinkie" Twilight deadpanned "We're talking about what his species is. For all we know he could be what happens when a rabbit gets frisky with a fire breathing dragon on Hearts and Hooves day..." "But that is his species!" Pinkie replied "His name is Victini, and he's a Victini! The only one of his kind in fact. Isn't that right little guy?" she petted Victini again. "Tini, tini!" he agreed with her as he let out a curt purr of enjoyment. "Wait, wait, wait... so let me get this straight" said Applejack as she scratched her head in confusion "You mean to tell us that Victini is a Victini name Victini, and is the only Victini in existence and there will probably never be another Victini for as long as we live" Victini turned to whisper into Pinkie ears, with Pinkie nodding every few seconds to let the others knew that she understood the pokemon. "Mmhmm... uh huh... yuh huh... okay... alright... got it" Pinkie nodded understandingly before turning back to Applejack "He said that you're right except for the last part. He isn't really sure if there will be another one just like him or not in the future. That's something he thinks only this Arceus person can decide" "Who? Wait, hold on, that's not important right now" said Twilight before shaking her head and maintaining her focus "Okay, so I know what it is now... sorta. But that doesn't exactly explain how he help you cheat at chess, does it?" "I already told you Twilight, I did beat you on my own. Victini just helped me to gain victory" "That's still cheating" Twilight deadpanned again. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Twilight" Pinkie snickered "Listen, I don't know how he does it, heck he doesn't even know how he does it himself, but Victini can somehow give ponies, or anyone for that matters... well, victory" Pinkie replied with her hoof on her chin, speaking with an unsure tone to her voice "Does that make sense?" "Wait a second..." Applejack began to put two and two together after hearing all of that. She had a gleam in her eye that one usually gets upon having a epiphany. "What's the matter, Applejack" Rarity asked "It seems like you're onto something important" "You said you met Victini in an alleyway during the bake off right?' Applejack stated "Wouldn't that would mean... *gasp!* he must've been using that freaky powers of his to help you to win, didn't he! Think about everyone, it all makes sense now" "Actually, now that I think about it..." Rarity began to think "After those uncouth ruffians sabotage your stand you lost all confidence to win the contest. Then from seemingly out of the blue, you become the undisputed queen of culinary confections. I mean, look at what your cake did to the Princess!" "But... how?" Applejack asked, her head was practically spinning form all of this nonsense. Magic was probably involved, that's why "He just handed victory to you, just like that?" "He must've seen how Flim and Flam treated me and decided to help, like some sort of guardian. After that I found him eating my macaron and we became fast friends. And that's how we came to where we are today! The end" Pinkie concluded as she closed up and stowed away a storybook she got from out of nowhere "Yay! That was a neato story! Who wants to hear it again?" "The only thing I want to hear is if he want to help me with my next stunt or not!" Rainbow exclaimed as he flew next to Victini, who only shied away from her deeper into Pinkie's mane. Without some much as a shred of consideration, Victini found himself violently yanked out of Pinkie's mane and he was being flown all over the bakery at dizzying speeds and shaken like a bottle of seasoning. "Come on, Victini. Think about it! You, me, and the sky! But why stop there! If you help me out, I'll be a shoo in for the wonderbolts. There's no way I can lose, it's foolproof!" All of a sudden Victini bursted into tears and began crying. He fought to get out of Rainbow's grip before disappearing into thin air. Everyone stared at Rainbow, chastising her with their heated glares "What? Was it something I said?" "Rainbow Dash, you made him cry!" Fluttershy scolded Rainbow Dash "Look at him... er, wherever he is right now that is..." she walked over to Pinkie's mane to try to sooth the pokemon of his pain, but he wasn't going to show up to just anyone now "Oh, please, please, I just want to help, Victini. Just show up for a sec, I'll show you I'm not a bad pony" Pinkie tilted her head to her side as she felt an weak yank by her ear. Victini was whispering something again to her. After a few more seconds of whispering, Pinkie faced her friends again. "Victini says that he's a little scared of you girls, he's afraid to show himself now" said Pinkie before another Victini whispered one last thing to her "Oh, and he's especially uncomfortable around Fluttershy. He said that there's something about her that makes him feel uneasy" The last part completely crushed all Fluttershy's hope of ever getting close to Victini. She didn't understand why though. She was usually so good with animals. They usually just clicked with her and she showed no trouble ever bonding with them. She'd hope to do just the same with Victini, unfortunately that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon. Now when she thought about it she wasn't exactly the most threatening pony around town. In fact everyone seems to know know her as the pony whose afraid of her own shadow. Although the whole episode of her life where she became a rather aggressive and unpleasing individual courtesy of one certain minotaur's self help seminars says otherwise, but that was ages ago. She just wanted to love the pokemon and for the pokemon to love her back, was that really too much to ask? "But... why?" Fluttershy asked, nearing the brink of tears. "Yeah, why?" everyone practically asked at the same time. "Mmhmm... yeah... okay... gotcha..." Pinkie listened to Victini again "He says he could tell that you all want to use him for his powers only. He said he had a scary experience when someone wanted to use his powers to further their own goals, even if it was all in good intention" "What? How absurd!" Rarity exclaimed, shocked at such an accusation "What makes you think we would do such a thing?" "I'm pretty sure Rainbow Dash already stated her intentions very clearly... sooooo..." Pinkie drawled on. "Okay, okay! I get it! B-but what about you?" Rainbow attempted to shift the blame "You got help from him for the bake off, and you got him to help you win a chess!" "And are both of those about as crazy as earning a place in the Wonderbolts without working for it?" Pinkie sharply retorted, shutting up Rainbow almost instantly "I worked for weeks trying to win the bake off, and then a couple of big meanie pants had to go and mess it all up. Victini just helped me out like any good friend would. And are you seriously gonna make a big deal out of winning a chess game?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Fine, fine... look, we're all very, very sorry for behaving like a bunch of foals" said Twilight "But you can't expect us not to ask him for some help every now and then. He has this amazing ability that could be shared with Equestria! If we had his help we would never lose against the forces of evil ever again! And imagine what would happen if our enemies got him instead. Chaos would reign!" "Sorry, but no is no" Pinkie put her hoof down "Besides, Victini has to willingly give you victory, so there is no other way to obtain without earning his favor" "And what are you, his secretary on his powers or something?" Twilight ask "What makes you think you're qualified to watch over what is perhaps one the most powerful creature in all of Equestria?" "Oh, I don't watch over him. But he does trust me" said Pinkie as Victini peeked ever so slightly out of her mane "He is free to do as he please. Who am I to say what he can and can't do?" "But uh... what about small issues?" Applejack asked, hoping to turn the situation around "Look, we're not asking for him to save the world or anything. We just want to be friends, and friends help each other out, right? And I'm sure some of the folks around town would like to be friends with him too. Maybe he could even give them a push or two when it comes to chores, they'd really appreciate it. He could maybe help Granny Smith with her cooking, and maybe even Cheerilee down by the schoolhouse" "Hmmm...." Pinkie rubbed her chin "What do you think, Victini?" she talked her to mane "Hmmm... I'm sure if it's my friends... are you sure though... today was just bad, that's all... mmhmm... don't worry, if anything happens, just come back to me and I'll sort everything out, okay..." she muttered some more under her breathe as the conversation between her and her mane went on for a few more minutes. Her friends were in the background, eagerly awaiting the verdict of their friend's decision. They all arched their head forward, doing their best to see if they could catch little snippets of the conversation. Unfortunately they caught nothing except for a sore neck. Eventually, the talk ended and Pinkie turned around to give her friends the news. "...Victini is willing to give you girls another chance" said Pinkie as a collection of sighs filled the room "BUT!" she quickly added "Be nice to him and don't take advantage of his powers. This is a Pinkie promise, alright? He is going to try and reveal himself more often and get to know the locals a bit better" "But if he says anything to me about abuse of victory, then it's not me you're going to have to answer to..." she pointed to Victini who was poking his face out of her mane "You're going to have to answer to him" Victini then puffed out a small flame to further accentuate her point "Do we have an understanding?" "Yes!" everyone cheered loudly. "Alrighty then! How about we start the introduction all over again" said Pinkie "Everyone, you already know Victini..." Victini floated out of Pinkie's mane and approached the rest cautiously, but with enough confidence not to chicken out "Victini, I want you to say hi to all my friends! This is Fluttershy!" she pointed to Fluttershy "She's great with all animals, well, almost every animal" she nudged Victini. "Hello there, Victini" she extended a hoof out which Victini shook hesitantly. "This here is Rarity, she makes really great dresses!" "A pleasure to meet such a cutie!" she petted the pokemon on the head as he squealed in delight. "Over there is Rainbow Dash, she helps with the weather around here" "Hiya! Sorry bout the swinging and shaking..." she rubbed the back of her head, but Victini accepted her apology. He did, however, waited for another apology as he glared at her "...And I'm sorry I called your tails butt wings..." Victini nodded in acknowledgement. "The one in the hat is good ol' Applejack! She helps her family run Sweet Apple Acres" "Nice to meetcha little feller" Victini smiled at her and pointed to her stetson "What's that? Ya wanna try on my hat? Well, shoot, why not" she took off her hat and placed it on Victini's head, only to have his massive ears get stuck in the way. Victini was wearing the hat, but it hung on him kind of like how a coat hangs lazily on a coathanger "Uh... I'm no fashion designer like Rare's over there, but you're more of scarf kinda feller" "And last but not least is Twilight! She's the local librarian and an all powerful alicorn princess! Kinda like one of those space marerines in that one board game, I think it was called 'conflict mallet forty billion' or something" "Hello, Victini. I'm Twilight, princess of Equestria and still a part time librarian apparently. It's nice to finally meet such a unique creature such as yourself" she shook Victini's hand, but he immediately pulled back when he felt some sort of aura of intent radiating off of her. He smiled weakly and flew back to Pinkie when he rested atop her head this time. "Well, there you have it. That's all of my closest friends. Just wait until you meet all of the other pon-" Before Pinkie could finish, the sound of a ringing bell echoed throughout the room, signaling that there was a customer in the bakery. Everyone turned their head around to see just who had entered and were greeted with the presence of no one... until they lowered their field of vision that it. On the floor was a little brown blur striped mole with a big nose and massive claws with a dopey expression on his face. What was off about the mole was how big he was. He was around a foot tall and had an assort of random clothing and knick knacks all over him. On his cheek was lipstick in a beaked shaped kiss mark. He had a tie around his neck and some kind of microphone on the side of his head, two items that Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity managed to identify. They belonged to Iron Will. Not only that, he also had a coupon in his claw for a free sofa and pack of quills down at Sofas and Quills and what appeared to be some kind of deed to a diamond mine out in the middle of Appleloosa. To top it all off, he was carrying a sack full of gold bars that all had the words property of Salvador Diego Montenegro Garcia Delarosa embossed on each and every single one. "Drilbur?" the mole asked until he noticed Victini "Drilbur!" the mole exclaimed. "Tini! Tini, tini!" Victini exclaimed as he flew over to his friend. "Huh, whose that?" Rarity asked. "Must be another one of his friends!" said Pinkie "You know what that means! It's time for introductions!"