Edited by Element6147
Our strange party spent close to half an hour walking out of the forest, along the way the winged one had attempted to speak to me more. Though she’d had no evident success; the orange one had been mostly quiet during the journey, however, her gaze rarely shifted away from me. I frowned as we neared the edge of the forest, my blade-like tail swishing back and forth, I was eager to be out from beneath the oppressive eaves.
“Okay Cres, we’re getting close to Ponyville now, so I need you to be on your best behavior,” the winged one told me.
I gave her a raised eyebrow and repeated the same phrase I had been using quite a bit of today. “I cannot understand a word you are saying,” I told her dryly.
The winged one frowned. “Applejack, keep a close eye on him please. I don’t think Cres here understands what I’m saying... in fact, I think he keeps telling me that.” she said.
“I already am, surgarcube,” the orange one replied. “Cres won’t be evading my sight anytime soon.”
“Good,” the winged one said with a small nod. “I don’t think he’s a bad kitty, I think he just doesn’t know better.”
There was something about her tone that made me snort, but I remained otherwise silent.
“Kitty?,” the orange Ponyta asked doubtingly.
“Yes... he’s kind of like a lion, I think,” the winged one replied a bit uncertainly.
“Some lion... the orange Ponyta said with some disbelief.
I looked back and forth between them and then shrugged my shoulders slightly as I looked at the buildings we were approaching. They were a combination of old rustic style houses like the ones in Johto region along with several which resembled nothing so much as... strange desert.
Not only were there buildings, but there were a great many of the strange Ponyta walking and flying around. I did a double take as four flew by my head and my face scrunched up into a frown. There were so many of them and they came in so many colors. To be honest; it was rather disorienting, worse yet, many of them were staring at me. In fact, a trio of them that reminded me of flowers took one look at me and ran away screaming.
“This promises to go well...” I murmured before adding out of habit. “Father Arceus, give me strength...”
The yellow winged one turned back to look at me with concern. “I know that it’s scary, but it’s going to be alright.” she babbled at me reassuringly.
I shook my head, my white ruff billowing slightly around my face as a fey wind blew in from the north and I closed my eyes as my blade began to track the... strange weather conditions in the air. They were... calm. Completely calm. Unnaturally calm. There was not an unusual updraft or front in the air, not a single out of place cloud in the sky. It was... perfect, far too perfect.
I began to growl softly in my throat and my fur began to stand on end causing the orange Ponyta to tense up a bit and intense her glare at me.
“No funny business, you hear?” she pointlessly told me, through her tone of voice held a forewarning quality to it.
“Cres, what’s wrong?” the yellow winged one asked with a concerned look in her eyes.
“Weather. Too. Perfect,” I replied, guessing the intent behind her words.
“He says there’s something wrong with the weather... I think,” Fluttershy said with a glance towards her orange friend.
The orange Ponyta raised a puzzled eyebrow. “What? The day too sunny for him or somethin’?” I picked up the sarcasm in her tone and gave her a glare as I continued to growl softly in my throat.
“Too... perfect, I think,” the yellow winged one said with a frown. “Though I don’t know what Cres is meaning by that.” I looked over at her at the sound of my name, but she was focusing on the orange one.
“That’s a silly reason to growl if I’ve ever heard one,” the other one said a bit flatly.
“Well... let’s just move a bit faster. Once he’s inside of the library, maybe he’ll settle down.” the yellow winged one said. I could tell that her tone was optimistic. Whatever she’d said it caused her to move faster and I had to pick up my paws a little bit to keep up with her, though not too much. I had the feeling that if needed, I could easily outrun both her and the orange one, despite their Ponyta-like appearance.
“Hopefully...” the orange one replied as she too picked her her pace and continued to trail me and the yellow winged one.
Thankfully, we reached our destination quickly enough. It was... a tree that had obviously been hollowed out and formed into a house of sorts. I frowned at it, it reminded me of leaflets of the city White Forest on my travel to Mt. Coronet. I paused for a moment before its wooden door and took a moment to examine the engraving on it before the winged yellow one pushed the door open and called out within it.
“Twilight; are you home?”
“Yes; what do you need Fluttershy?” a feminine voice called back from within it.
“Well... I have an animal here and I need your help to understand what he’s trying to tell me.” the winged yellow one said.
“You need my help; really?” the other voice asked, getting closer. “Ordinarily it’s me that needs your help.”
“It’s not like any animal we’ve ever encountered in the Everfree, Twi,” the orange one stated.
“How is that possible? Well, bring it inside,” the voice replied. I could sense eagerness in her voice.
The yellow winged one turned to me. “Okay, Cres, I need you to go inside here and not attack anypony or damage any of the books. Can you do that?”
“I still can’t understand a word you’re saying,” I told her blandly, letting the low growl drop from my voice. “But I promise you I won’t do anything rash.”
The yellow one nodded her head slightly and walked in; I followed and immediately found myself lost within room full of smells. The first that assaulted me was that of aged hardwood followed swiftly by the all but overpowering scent of musty paper. I have never enjoyed reading, it was not a skill that my species is very good at and I suspect that it one of the reasons that it took me so long to get to Mt. Coronet... well that, and being nearly delirious with the drive to run.
Regardless, to say that I was out of my depth in terms of number of books within the room would have been a gross understatement. There must have been hundreds of the things stacked neatly around the room in orderly shelves. There were more things in the room but none of them caught my attention like the books... Belle would be in paradise here. She, unlike I, adored books for reasons that continue to elude me.
I was shocked out of my slight trance at the sound of china cracking and a loud exclamation. “By Celestia’s beard!”
My head whirled around to the voice, to see a purple... Rapidash... though it’s horn was much smaller than I was accustomed to, and it was also the same size as the other Ponytas. It even lacked the distinctive fiery mane and fetlocks. Of course, living in a tree that made sense I suppose. Strangest of all, to my eyes at any rate, it possessed a pair of small purple feathered wings.
“What-what is that?!” the Rapidash stuttered.
“We don’t know, the orange one replied. “That’s one of the reasons why we came to you, Twi.”
As I fixed the bizarre Rapidash with a scrutinizing red-eyed glance, I also caught sight of a broken cup at her hooves. That would explain the sound I’d heard.
“He says his name is Cres,” the yellow one added, causing me to look over at her at the sound of my name. “He’s... Prench, we think.”
The Rapidash frowned and raised an eyebrow slightly. “He... has a name?”
“Yes, or, so he tells me anyways,” the yellow one replied.
“Okay... so if he can tell you his name, then why do you need my help?” the Rapidash asked.
“‘Cause we can’t understand a single word he says,” the orange one replied. “Or at least I can’t - all I hear is growling or snarling from him.”
As they began to talk, I moved a little bit more inside of the house, pacing around a little, glad to be within it. The wooden top of the place seemed to be blocking out the... perfection outside. The Rapidash was so caught up in her conversation with the other two that she didn’t notice that I was standing beside her, my nose an inch away from the top of her head until I took an inhale.
She reacted in possibly the most amusing way I have ever seen anyone anywhere react to being sniffed. A surprised squeak burst out of her throat and she vanished in a flash of light, leaving me blinking back from the ‘lens flare’. I snarled slightly and backed away, shaking my head. Then I spotted the Rapidash standing at the top of a nearby staircase, looking at me with wide eyes. I shot her an annoyed glare; I had simply wanted to sniff her.
“He just wanted to get your scent ,Twilight.” the yellow one said softly. Was it just my untrained ears, or was there a slight note of amusement to her voice?
“I... knew that,” the Rapidash replied as she flapped her wings and glided down from the staircase and landed in front of me. “I just didn’t expect it.”
“Well, you probably should let him do it,” the orange one said with a reluctant frown. “Though don’t let him get too close to your face.”
I looked between the three of them with a small frown on my blue face before I looked at the purple one again, raising an eyebrow slightly and cocking my head to the side a bit.
The Rapidash frowned for a moment before she extended her hoof to me. I gave it an inquisitive glance before I moved forwards to sniff it for a moment.
Books. Lots. And. Lots. Of. Books.
There was more, but it was hidden beneath the smell of the books. Well, there was one other thing, ink, lots of ink.
I scrunched up my nose and recoiled, a low snarl of irritation building up in my throat. I hated the smell of ink... it brought up bad memories.
the Rapidash backed away, her eyes going wide while the orange one tensed and prepared to clobber me. The yellow one on the other paw walked up and gently put a hoof on my shoulder.
“This is Twilight,” she said calmly. “Twilight is a friend,” she stated firmly.
“But she stinks of ink!” I replied futilely. She frowned at me and then turned to Twilight.
“He said something about you... being smelly... and ink I think,” she reported.
“First he growls at the weather and now at ink?” the orange one commented. “What next, the grass is too fluffy?”
“I... see,” the Rapidash said with a frown. “So... you need to be able to speak Prench, Fluttershy?”
“Yes... it has been a long time since I studied it in school,” the yellow one said with a small nod.
I let out a sigh and plopped down on my rear; they were still talking. I could not tell why it vexed me so. Was it just that my year of solitude had made me anti-social, or did they simply do it more then I remember Pokémon and their Trainers?
Whatever the case, I was growing bored with the constant incomprehensible chatter and I had nothing to do to conquer my boredom then to look at the books. You would think that a year alone on a mountain would have gotten me used to boredom. But in reality it was the opposite. There had always been something to do; whether it was gather food, or praying to Father Arceus, my brain had been occupied.
“What’s he doing?” the rapidash asked with a frown as she looked over at me. “He’s just... sitting there with his eyes looking at the wall.”
“Cres?” I turned to find the yellow one looking at me in concern. “Is something wrong?”
“Bored,” I grunted, catching the meaning behind her words.
“My guess, he’s bored, from the way he’s carrying himself,” the orange one said.
“Ah, yes, that would make sense I suppose,” the Rapidash babbled. “Well, thankfully, when I became a Princess, Celestia gave me several two way translation talismans... I don’t know if they’ll let us understand him or just you, Fluttershy. They weren’t really made for animals.”
“I’ll be happy for anything you can give,” the yellow one said with a small smile. “Then I can explain to him why it’s bad to eat beavers when they are near my house.”
The Rapidash’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but seeing the calm expression on yellow one’s face, she also remained calm.
“Like what happened with the manticores last year?” the Rapidash asked.
“Yes, the poor dear just doesn’t know any better.” the yellow one replied.
“I’ll say... I’m even wondering if his head is even on straight in the first place,” the orange one murmured.
I looked at her with an irritated look, sensing the dismissiveness of her tone.
“Anyways, you just wait right here and I’ll be back with my amulets.” the Rapidash said with a small shrug.
She vanished for close to sixty awkward seconds before she reappeared with a pair of small golden necklaces, each of which had a small diamond embedded in the center of them. Strangely, she was levitating them in the air beside her, but I’d already figured out that she was a Psychic-type, so it was not wholly unusual.
I frowned at the necklace before I bowed my head slightly to allow her better access. Even so, it took her close to a minute to maneuver it around my blade before it fell across my neck. Yellow one was also wearing a necklace so I looked at her and raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Yellow One, can you understand me now?” I asked, to my surprise, she smiled.
“My name is Fluttershy, Cres, not Yellow One,” she, Fluttershy, said in a perfect, if unaccented, voice.
I allowed a smile to cross my face. “Excellent; this is rather unexpected. Normally, humans cannot understand Pokémon, however you seem to have that ability naturally.” I said before glancing at the Rapidash and orange one. “I take it that the strange Rapidash and the orange Ponyta can’t understand me?”
Fluttershy frowned at me and then turned to the other two. “Did either of you understand what he said?”
They both shook their heads. “I heard... Prench accented growls,” the Rapidash said with a frown.
“Hmm... I guess you were right Twilight,” Fluttershy said, I silently replaced ‘Rapidash’ with ‘Twilight’.
“So, this one is known as Twilight,” I said, gesturing at the one formerly known as Rapidash. “What about the grumpy orange one?”
“That’s Applejack; and... she’s not grumpy,” Fluttershy said.
“What did he say about me being ‘grumpy?’,” ‘Applejack’ inquired from Fluttershy.
“Umm... he had been calling you the ‘grumpy orange one’,” Fluttershy told her friend, or I assumed she was her friend at any rate.
Applejack let out a small scoff. “Well at least I’m not the one who’s growling for pointless reasons.”
Twilight’s eyes widened as a thought hit her. “Oh yes, I had forgotten. Ask him why he was growling at both me and the sky,” she insisted.
“Um, Twilight, you said you had several of these necklaces right?” Fluttershy asked, turning to Twilight with curious eyes.
“Well, yes, but they wouldn’t work for either of us,” Twilight replied. “At least, not at the moment anyways.”
“What do you mean?” Applejack asked.
Twilight cleared her throat, and for a moment I had a rather... unpleasant flashback to when I had once been trapped in a lecture hall for three hours. I cursed inwardly at my misfortune.
“Well, Applejack, the spell in the talismans’ diamonds is only ‘pre-set’ with Prench. Fluttershy is only capable of understanding what he is saying because she was born with the innate ability to speak with beasts.” the purple... mare began. I stared at her. I could not understand a single word that she was saying and that somehow made it worse. “So the talisman is translating the… uh, creature’s speech into a form that he can understand by adding the Prench, and in turn Cres’ talisman is translating his animal Prench into beast... Equish, I guess. The theory’s right, at least.” she finished.
Applejack blinked blankly at Twilight. “So... in other words, we’ll have to wait till it can translate Cres’ grunts and growls into words?”
Twilight did the strangest little nodding... clapping combination I have ever seen, rapidly clapping her forehooves together in an almost cartoonish manner.
“Yes, that’s it exactly!” she said. I couldn’t understand what the actual words were but they sounded excited.
I turned to Fluttershy who had been about to relate Twilight’s entire lecture to me and held up a paw. “Please; spare me,” I told her simply. “The only one who I would suffer through a lecture like that from is Belle.”
Fluttershy shut her mouth mid breath and then frowned. “Who is Belle?”
“My... love,” I said slowly before looking away. “She is waiting for me back home.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said softly. “I didn’t mean to pry into your life.”
“Do not trouble yourself with it,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders slightly. “You only asked the question. There was not any prying.”
“Fluttershy, don’t mean to push ya, but don’t forget the whole reason we came here,” Applejack told the yellow mare.
“Oh, right,” Fluttershy said with a small blush before she turned back to me. “Cres, I need you to understand that you aren’t allowed to kill the woodland critters when they are so close to Ponyville.”
I frowned at her. “What do you mean?” I asked her, not sure what she was talking about.
“Well, the entire reason why Applejack and I came looking for you in the first place was because you killed three of the beavers who live on the edge of Everfree,” she explained to me.
“Do you mean the small Bibarels I ate this morning as my breakfast?” I asked her with a frown. “What of it? Were they yours?” I added with a small note of concern in my voice.
“I- no,” Fluttershy replied with a shake of her head. “They were just free creatures living their lives and you killed them.”
“And your point is?” I inquired, truly not seeing the disconnect.
Now if they had been her ‘beavers’ then I would have been apologetic and offered to find some way to repay her for the loss... one did not eat an ‘owned’ Pokémon. I had learned that particular lesson the hard way long ago. But free Pokemon? They were dinner for whoever wished to eat them if they were strong enough.
“My point is you can’t just do that!” Fluttershy exclaimed, her face tone becoming a little less patient than before.
“Why?” I asked. “If you do not own them, then who are you to tell me what I may or may not eat?”
“Because- because-” Fluttershy floundered with her words for a moment. “Because that is a safe area and all of them know that,” she settled on. “I made it that way.”
“By what right?” I inquired, rising to my paws. “Do you own the forest?”
“No, I don’t own the forest...” she said in a soft voice. “But the woodland critters are supposed to be able to live in that area in harmony.”
“So I suppose by your logic I am not to hunt in this area, to travel miles and miles to find food?” I asked her. “I am after all a carnivore, with the exception of the occasional berry or puff, but I cannot survive on them indefinitely.”
“Fluttershy, what’s going on?” Twilight asked, looking between the two of us.
“I’m trying to make Cres here understand why he shouldn’t hunt the woodland critters,” Fluttershy replied.
“Because it disrupts the natural balance of the wildlife,” Applejack said a bit plainly.
Fluttershy nodded and turned back to me. “Exactly like Applejack said, it’s also bad because it upsets the natural balance of the wildlife,” she explained.
I frowned at her once more. “That... doesn’t make any sense. If a predatory Pokemon doesn’t eat the weaker or sick Pokémon, then their population will explode and they will devour all of the Grass-types, not to mention the other plants,” I said with a shake of my head. I couldn’t believe that I was actually using the subject of that lecture to my advantage in something... I owed Belle a ‘you were right’ kiss when I got back.
Fluttershy was staring at me blankly. Then, seeing no argument, she relayed my answer to her friends. Or I assumed that’s what she did because she took quite a bit of time to say it. When she’d finished Twilight was the first to say anything.
“Oooh he’s from a more wild portion of the world,” she said with a small grin. “I hadn’t known there were any parts of Prance fitting that description!”
“I don’t see what there’s to get excited over,” Applejack said a bit flatly. “In fact, it only makes him seem like more of a threat.” she added while her eyes turned towards me.
I met her eyes and let out a low throaty growl, I did not like this ‘Applejack’, not at all.
“I believe I shall be leaving now,” I told Fluttershy stiffly before I rose to my paws and turned towards the door. “I may find you later. And no, that was not meant to sound menacing,” I added.
“Cres, don’t go,” Fluttershy protested.
“And where does the little varmint think he’s going? Applejack asked as she began to move towards me.
Before she could get much closer to me, I leapt forwards, leaving a blur behind myself before bolting out through the door. Literally. I blinked twice - the door had been much thinner than I had expected and thus hurt much less. I didn’t have time to worry about that, however. Instead, I sprinted back the way I had come, dodging and weaving through traffic with ease. A year spent dodging falling boulders helped a great deal in that regard and before long I was back within the all concealing canopy of the forest.
I let out a sigh, confident that I had ‘made good’ on my escape. Then it hit me; I had just destroyed my chance of finding absolution here, the one place where I had found someone who could understand me.
“Magikarp,” I muttered darkly. “I... screwed up already... a year of traveling, a year of praying, and a single day is all it takes for me to lose it...” I sighed and closed my eyes. “I’m sorry Belle... I should’ve just taken you up on your offer...” I shook my head and headed off into the forest, the darkness closing in around me.