//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: The Journey Beyond // by Derpyditzydoobubbles //------------------------------// Riolu closed his ears as the shouts from the pink pony in front of him rang through his ear drums. He rubbed at his left ear in pain, and stared at the blue eyes of the grinning pony in annoyance. "Was it really necessary for you to do that?" Riolu yowled in pain. "Well, of course it was," The pink mare replied happily. "You've been here for almost a day now, and this welcome party was long overdue." Riolu looked at the pink pony with a confused gaze. "Welcome party?" He said questioningly. "Indeed, Riolu," Twilight spoke up as she galloped over to them. "I planned this party since the very beginning. Well, with the help of Fluttershy, of course. We invited our friends to this party while you were asleep in her cottage." Riolu looked at Twilight with an even more confusing look. He then looked over the body of the pink mare and gazed at the four other ponies that stood together. One was a well groomed white, purple-maned unicorn. Another was a multicolored blue Pegasus with wings stretched outward. The other one was a yellow-maned, orange, regular pony with three white freckles on each cheek and tied up hair that had a brown hat sitting on top of it, and the final one was none other than his old, animal-loving caretaker, fluttershy. "Why don't you go and meet our other friends, Riolu?" Twilight spoke as she gestured her hoof toward the others. Riolu turned his head around in worry and looked at spike who was leaning against the doorway in calmness. He looked at Riolu and gave him a thumbs up with his left claw. Riolu gulped in nervousness and turned his attention back to the nearby equines. He then softly inched closer and closer to them while he sighed with the anxiety of meeting the new guests. "What's taking you so long to go over there?" The pink pony questioned behind him. Riolu looked at the pink pony behind him and blushed with soft embarrassment. "Alright, I'm going." He mumbled softly. Riolu then took a deep breath and walked in a copacetic fashion toward the group of ponies. He glanced at Fluttershy who averted her eyes from his in a worried fashion. She was probably afraid that Riolu would shout at her for giving him away unexpectedly. Riolu opened his mouth to speak, but was suddenly interrupted by the pink pony who now smiled from ear to ear in front of him. "Ooh, can I introduce myself first?" She smiled happily. Riolu stared at the blue eyes of the energetic equine, her energy seeming so light and happy. "Sure, why not?" Riolu asked apprehensively. "Wonderful," The pink pony shouted. "Well, first of all, my name is Pinkie Pie. You can call me Pinkie, and I live in Sugarcube Corner. The corner isn't made of sugar, by the way. Second of all, I love to make others laugh. I do so by throwing them parties and doing practical jokes, though there was this one time where I played a few jokes on this griffon, and she got really mad. Then there was this other time where I copied myself over and over, and a lot of other ponies didn't like it, but enough about me, how about you?" Riolu stared at the pony in confusion. He wasn't so sure what to say after all of that. "Well," Riolu coughed. "If you must all know, I am, well, a Pokemon. Yes, that's it. My name is Riolu, and I am a Pokemon." "Ooh, what's that?" Pinkie questioned enthusiastically. "It's kinda hard for me to explain," Riolu stated. "I'm basically a creature with a specific abnormal power." Riolu perked his ears up as he heard a gasping noise coming from twilight from behind. "You have powers, and yet, you never told me?" She squeaked. "I was waiting for the right moment," Riolu snapped. "Or rather, when I had no choice but to tell you, like this situation for example." A long and awkward silence followed. Riolu could feel a small gaze from twilight burn softly at his head. "Moving on!" Pinkie shouted all of a sudden as she pushed Riolu over to the white unicorn. Once he arrived, Riolu stared up at the pale equine. She seemed to have long eyelashes and a curled mane, a lot different from the styles of the others. "Um, hello?" Riolu said nervously. "Salutations." The unicorn greeted softly. Suddenly, Riolu felt the touch of her hoof underneath his arm as she raised it up in interest. She then did a full scan of his head by turning it around softly with her magic. "My, you are one peculiar creature." She cooed. Riolu stared at the unicorn in confusion, causing her to blush softly with embarrassment. "Where are my manners," the unicorn gasped. "My name is rarity, and I am ponyville's number one top fashion designer. I love making clothing for ponies that are all over Equestria. Retro, formal, anything that is worth calling fashion, I'll try my best to make it the best. It is a pleasure to meet you, Riolu." "Um, thank you," Riolu said calmly. "but, why were you looking at my arm and scanning my head?" "Oh that," Rarity giggled. "I was just analyzing your fur. It's simply creative and rare to me." Riolu blushed softly on the inside. He had rarely heard a compliment before, especially one like that. "Moving on, again!" Pinkie shouted as she pushed Riolu suddenly to the orange, normal pony. Once pinkie had ceased her pushing, Riolu stared at the orange pony in curiosity. He had never seen a pony with a hat before, let alone a mare having a pony tail tied up in a pony tail, which seemed ironic. "Why howdy, Mr. Riolu. It sure is pleasing to meet a new creature like you." The pony greeted as she took ahold of Riolu's hand and shook it wildly. Riolu's body bounced up and down frantically at the very shaking of his arm. "Yeah, though I'm not that good when it comes to pleasing, Ms…what is your name?" Riolu questioned in a vibrated voice. "My name is Applejack," the orange pony replied as she ceased shaking. "And I work as a farm pony at sweet apple acres. We're always open to guest, and we promise to show the finest of hospitality you will ever find, and that ain't no lie." Riolu massaged his shaken paw and looked at applejack once more. Her face seemed to tell that she was honest about that statement. It was sort of bold. "Thanks, I guess." Riolu mumbled. Applejack smiled a smile of happiness with a sparkle in her eyes. "Anytime, sugarcube." She grinned. "Moving on, another time!" Pinkie shouted gleefully as she pushed Riolu over to the blue Pegasus. Once pinkie had stopped pushing again, she galloped over and stood in between Riolu and the rainbow-maned equine. "Alright, Riolu. That was the last push I was going to give you. Anymore will have to be done by somepony else. Anyways, enjoy!" Pinkie shouted in happiness as she trotted away. Riolu stared at pinkie pie as she trotted away from them. He then looked at the blue Pegasus who now had a smirk on her face. "You gotta love that pinkie pie. She sure does get things going." The Pegasus chuckled. Riolu shrugged his shoulders softly. He then watched silently as the blue equine threw out her left hoof in greeting. "I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria. My goal is to one day become apart of an amazing flying squadron called the Wonderbolts, but until then, I maintain ponyville's skies." She spoke proudly. Riolu looked at Rainbow Dash in wonder. He was slightly impressed by the way she introduced herself. She seemed to be very confident. Riolu then gripped the tip of her hoof softly with his paw and shook it in greeting. "Nice to meet you all." Riolu coughed. "So, Riolu," Fluttershy piped up as galloped over to him and Rainbow Dash. "Are y-you still mad at me?" Riolu stood motionless for a few seconds at seeing the yellow Pegasus. He blushed with mild embarrassment as he tried his best to avoid eye contact with her sad gaze. "Well, Fluttershy," Riolu mumbled. "I believe that…" "Hey, Riolu!" Pinkie pie interrupted as she trotted toward them, "Can we see your powers now, please?" Riolu directed his attention toward the direction of Pinkie's voice, and watched in astonishment as he saw her carry a statuette of a horse head toward him. He then flinched in surprise as the horse head landed with a thud in front of him. "See if you can do something with this thing, whatever it is." Pinkie commanded joyfully. Riolu looked at the statuette in curiosity, pondering what he could do with it, or at least if he should do something with it. "You guys really want me to show you my powers?" Riolu questioned bashfully. "Yes!" Twilight spoke happily as she dipped her quill in fresh ink and placed it's tip on a piece of parchment. Riolu paused for a moment, thinking about his decision. If he followed up, he could probably earn their respect, letting them know that he was a force to be reckoned with. So, liking the idea of that, Riolu threw out his palm at the stone figure, generating a force palm that caused it to scatter into tiny pieces. Riolu then turned his head from his accomplished deed and looked around to see the aghast faces of all six of the ponies, including spike's. "That was amazing!" Spike shouted as he stood up from the doorway. "Indeed." Twilight agreed as she put down her quill and parchment from where she sat and galloped over to Riolu. Riolu stood proud as he received shouts of praise from the others. He even thought that he heard a small cheer from Fluttershy, causing his spirits to be raised slightly at the thought of that. "So, we'll be seeing you guys later, ya hear?" Applejack spoke up as she and the others started trotting toward the direction of the door. Riolu stared suddenly at the leaving guests in confusion, forgetting all about the theory of his reckoning. "They're already leaving?" Riolu questioned softly. "Of course, they're leaving." spike spoke as he walked up to Riolu. "Take a look outside." Riolu turned his attention to the opened door of the library and gazed at the last evening light. A whole day had already gone by. From going to Twilight's house, to meeting four new equines, and everything in between. It all happened so quick to him. "Good night, Riolu." A voice whispered from the entrance. Riolu awoke from his thoughts and caught a glimpse of Fluttershy's tail as she shut the door behind her softly, referencing herself as the last guest to leave. The sight of that gave Riolu a cold feeling. He wasn't sure on how to feel about that. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm going to bed." Spike yawned as he went toward the staircase. "Agreed." Twilight nodded sleepily. "Riolu, are you coming?" Riolu looked to the staircase where Twilight and Spike stood at. He then nodded his head slowly in assent, and joined his fellow housemates at the staircase. "You can sleep with me, Riolu. My bed is the most comfortable in all of equestria!" Spike grinned happily as they all walked up the steps and entered the room. Riolu looked around the room quickly and laid his eyes on a large, blue bed. He then ran up to it in haste and planted himself hard onto it, the warm fluffiness surrounding him in greeting. "This isn't comfortable. It's legendary! Ah, yes. After all of the stuff I've been through today, this is what I need." Riolu praised. "Um, Riolu." Spike spoke up. "Yes, spike?" Riolu asked in a relaxed tone. "That's not my bed." Spike squeaked. Riolu paused in a calm shock. He then rose up from the bed silently and stared at spike. "Then what is?" Riolu questioned sternly. Riolu gazed at Spike's finger as he pointed it toward a small circular basket with a small wall that dipped down at one end as if it were for entry. "That is." Spike sighed.