The earth shook with every footfall Gojira took as he walked at a steady pace across the green landscape, heading straight towards the small town lying next to the forest. It looked so innocent to the kaiju, so simple and harmless. And yet, it was an unnatural abomination.
Gojira’s rage swelled the closer he got to his target. His eyes narrowed and he let out a low growl while taking a particularly rough step, sending up a small plume of dirt and rocks around his feet. He pictured himself smashing every last building until naught but unidentifiable rubble remained, a rather easy task for him but no less satisfying. He wouldn’t stop with the town either, not as long as there existed unnatural blemishes upon the earth’s surface for him to annihilate.
As he got closer still, Gojira noticed something rather odd about the town. Amongst all the buildings was a single tree, tall and with a wide trunk, indicating it was fairly old. The sight of a single speck of natural beauty amongst all the garbage confused Gojira immensely, but his confusion was short-lived as, very soon after, a figure began rising out from behind the tree.
Gojira watched as a lanky, bipedal figure of an odd variety slowly grew from behind the tree until it was nearly as tall as him. Gojira couldn’t make a guess as to what exactly the creature was, but he immediately knew it was an enemy, as its entire person was covered in an unnatural taint that further enraged the kaiju.
As soon as the Monster Blood finished taking effect on him, James Bond took a moment to inspect his new, enlarged body. As far as he could tell, nothing else had changed, including his Walther PPK, which James found interesting to note. He then looked down at Ponyville around him and, after musing how it now looked like a children’s toy set, carefully stepped around the buildings, softly so as to not cause everyone else to lose their footing inside Golden Oaks.
Making his way out of Ponyville in front of Gojira, James straightened his bowtie and adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves before regarding his opponent with a smug gaze.
“Well, aren’t you a sight?” he jokingly asked with a chuckle.
The monster didn’t respond, instead just staring blankly at him.
“Not a talker I see.” James’ thoughts briefly went elsewhere before returning to the situation at hand. “Well, that’s a nice change of pace for sure.”
Meanwhile, back inside Golden Oaks, the rest of the group huddled together on the balcony, watching the scene unfold before them, some with trepidations, and others with confidence in James.
“Ya’know, Ah’m startin’ ta have second thoughts ‘bout this,” Sandy said, worriedly.
Yugi stared at her with confusion. “If you’re worried for James’ safety, why didn’t you say something when he volunteered?” he asked her.
Sandy looked downcast. “Ah’m sorry guys,” she said to everyone. “Ah’ve been down in the dumps since Spongebob left, even more so now that Frank’s gone too.” She sighed. “Ah guess the stress of losin’ them’s messin’ with my head in more ways than one.”
“It’s okay, Sandy,” Celestia said. She walked over and wrapped a comforting wing around her. “Don’t think you’re to blame if something happens to James. Truthfully, I’m sure all of us are at least slightly worried for him.”
“She’s right,” Samus said. “In fact, now that I have the benefit of hindsight, I’m really mad at myself for not volunteering.”
“I’m sure we’re all disappointed with ourselves,” Yugi said. “But that’s only because we’re now more assured that there’s no risk in taking the Monster Blood. James took it without any assurance that something bad would happen, and that makes us look worse by comparison.”
“Indeed it does . . .” Celestia trailed off as she lost herself in thought.
Samus turned to Ryuk. “Anything you want to add?” she asked.
Ryuk looked up in thought and scratched his chin for a moment before looking back down at everyone. “How come I can’t eat apples without getting indigestion here, but the same thing didn’t happen to James when he ate that Monster Blood?”
Celestia instinctively opened her mouth to answer, but found herself at a loss for words and closed it.
Yugi’s eyes widened. “You don’t think . . .?”
A loud rumble interrupted the silence between them. Looking ahead, the group of five noticed the battle had begun, Gojira having fired an atomic blast which James had successfully dodged.
“Let’s worry about that later,” Samus said. “Right now, let’s just hope and pray James can drive that thing back.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, and focused their attention on the titanic clash between Gojira and James.
“Okay, I think I’ve got it all figured out,” Twilight said as she tapped the boat’s throttle. “This switch is what lets the boat move, while this—” she tapped the boat’s gearshift, “—is what determines which direction the boat moves.”
Pikachu wasn’t listening, for he was keeping a sharp ear in case the shark returned. Of course, it was hard to stay alert when the boat’s engine was still revving down below, but he managed to keep focused all the same.
Twilight pulled at the throttle switch, which made a sharp clicking sound as it slid into place, and then reached for the gearshift. She experimentally pushed it forward a bit to test her theory, and the boat made a small, but still noticeable movement in that direction.
Twilight let out a long-winded sigh of relief. “Mom. Dad. Thanks for the collective intelligence genes.” She glanced back to Pikachu. “Are you ready to go, Pikachu?”
Pikachu glanced back and gave an approximation of a thumbs-up with his tiny digits. Suddenly, he snapped his gaze forward, and adopted an aggressive stance while letting a few sparks fly from his cheeks.
“Pika-chuuuu.”
“It’s coming back, isn’t it?” Twilight inquired. She didn’t wait for Pikachu to reply, and reached for the gearshift . . .
“PIKA-PI!”
Twilight’s hoof shot back as she fell onto her back, caused by the boat’s sudden backward lurch. Behind her, Twilight heard the sounds of both rushing water and Pikachu’s frantic cries. She quickly rolled over onto her barrel just in time to see Pikachu fall over the side of the fly bridge.
“Don’t worry, Pikachu!” Twilight called as she stood up, adjusting her balance in accordance to the boat’s new slanted position. “I’m coming!”
Twilight lit up her horn and teleported down into the wheelhouse, and immediately froze stiff at what she saw through the door. The shark was indeed back, and had flung itself over the transom. It’s neck pushed against the wooden stern, forcing it below the waterline and flooding the deck as a result.
The shark’s snapping jaw rested a scant few feet away from Pikachu, who was frantically trying to claw his way back up, but kept being impeded by the slippery slope. The shark’s eyes were rolled back, now as white as its namesake, giving the beast an especially terrifying visage.
“Pika-chu!” Pikachu cried, trying to climb up once again.
Twilight wasted no time in using her telekinesis to lift Pikachu up and out of harm’s way through the door into her waiting hooves. She then propped herself up against the nearby bench, under the window, and began hyperventilating. The shark continued its assault against the boat, shoving it further down into the sea while spilling countless gallons of water onto the deck, tipping the boat further back all the while.
A look of panic flashed across Twilight’s face. “The shark’s sinking our only means of getting back to shore with us on it, as well as keeping us out of the water.” A strand of her mane curled out of place. “Oh, what are we going to do now!?”
Pikachu wiggled himself partway out of Twilight’s grip, enough for him to look up into her eyes with a determined expression, while safely shooting off some sparks.
“Pika-Pikachu.” He pointed to his cheeks, then in the shark’s direction. “Pika-pi-pikachu!”
Twilight stared long and hard at Pikachu. Internally, she weighed the risks of Pikachu’s plan, as well as whether or not there’d still be a boat if it ended up working. Eventually, the realization that they’d lose the boat anyway if they did nothing won out, and Twilight sighed while setting Pikachu down onto the floor.
“Be careful, okay,” she warned. “The last thing I want is for you to get killed after I just had you safely in my hooves.”
Pikachu reached up and patted Twilight’s hoof. “Pika-chu.”
Water began spilling into the wheelhouse at that moment, to which Twilight stood up and pointed upwards.
“Just so I’m safe,” she said, to which Pikachu nodded.
Twilight lit up her horn and teleported up onto the fly bridge. She immediately grabbed onto the crow’s nest pole and held tight. Pikachu tread along the rising waterline, making his way toward the door. Peeking his head outside, he caught a glimpse of the shark retreating back underwater. Instantly, the boat righted itself, and all the water which had been spilled into the stern came rushing into the wheelhouse. Pikachu quickly moved out of the oncoming wave, watching as it rolled across the floor of the wheelhouse.
The boat rocked back and forth a few times as the water leveled out, eventually coming to a rest slightly tilted to the left. Twilight felt the boat continue sinking under her hooves, and quickly realized it had suffered structural damage somewhere below the waterline.
“The boat’s still sinking!” she shouted. “Hurry, Pikachu!”
Pikachu crossed the deck and hopped up onto the transom. Scanning the waters in front of and directly beneath him yielded no sight of the shark. Pikachu tentatively dipped his tail over the edge and slapped it against the boat’s hull a few times.
“Pikachuuuuu!” he cried.
Nothing. He tried a few more times, but still nothing came to him. Pikachu was about to try again when his ear flicked in response to something just on the edge of his senses. After taking a moment to pinpoint the source, Pikachu looked straight ahead and saw the shark’s fin slicing the water’s surface, heading straight towards him.
Taking a battle stance, Pikachu waited for the shark to come closer, all while building up as much electricity as he could in his cheeks. The shark’s fin cut like a knife across the water’s surface, gradually picking up speed, surely for the purpose of ramming the boat. Closer it came, continuing to pick up speed, churning the water as it went, and sending white seafoam on either side of its path.
As it came closer, Pikachu felt adrenaline rush through his body in preparation for what could possibly be his most devastating Thunderbolt ever. He hadn’t felt so excited in his whole life, not from any battle he’d ever been in, and it brought a smirk to his face, the corners of which hidden behind the building electricity in his cheeks, which shined with yellow brilliance that could almost rival that of the sun itself.
Eventually, Pikachu spotted the gray, streamlined shape of the shark beneath the water’s surface. With his target now in sight, Pikachu took aim and lifted his arms.
“Pika-chuuuuuuuuuuu!” he cried, bringing his arms back down to his sides as he unleashed his massive Thunderbolt.
The massive attack zig-zagged through the air with blinding speed, its width no less than one whole meter, heading straight toward the oncoming predator. The Thunderbolt struck true, striking the shark right on its snout and sending a brilliant yellow glow out in all directions which was easily visible for many miles.
The shark thrashed in response to the electricity surge through its body, churning the water very violently as, one by one, each of its senses were utterly destroyed. The shark saw, felt, and smelt nothing while the Thunderbolt fried every inch of its massive, twenty-foot body. Its rough skin turned a shade of charcoal black, even popping open in a few places, and its soft, white underbelly split open, the Thunderbolt’s sheer power managing to eviscerate the shark.
The Thunderbolt continued for a good ten seconds, and by its end the shark was well and truly dead. Its body twitched a few times as the electricity continued coursing through its burned carcass. The shark silently floated for a few seconds, unmoving with only the force of the ocean keeping it aloft, before the lack of forward momentum took its effect and the shark began sinking into the depths. It stayed visible for a minute in the sun’s rays, then fell out of sight entirely, the only sign of its existence being a small bunch of bloody entrails still floating lazily in the ocean’s currents near the surface.
Pikachu panted with exhaustion, the adrenaline coursing through his body beginning to settle down, staring at where the shark had been some couple dozen or so feet away from the boat. Finally, he calmed down from his adrenaline high, and Pikachu collapsed onto the transom with a groan, completely spent. So tired was he, in fact, that he didn’t react to the waterline suddenly reaching his stomach, or the sound of rapid hoof falls from behind him.
“Pikachu!” Twilight cried with joy. “You did it!”
Pikachu couldn’t reply as he felt himself being enveloped in Twilight’s magic and turned around to face the beaming mare. He did notice, however, that the Port side stern was half submerged underwater, and still sinking.
“Thank you so much, Pikachu!” Twilight cried again, and snuggled him like a plushie.
“Pikaaa,” Pikachu replied weakly, a small smile crossing his face.
“Now we don’t have to worry about being eaten,” Twilight said, setting Pikachu back down. She then looked around at the sunken stern with a slight frown. “Although, from the looks of it, sailing back to shore could be a little troublesome.”
“Pika-pi,” Pikachu sighed.
Twilight smiled again and patted Pikachu on the head. “Take note I said ‘could be’, not ‘will be’.” Her gaze traveled up to the tiara which she wore. “The Element of Magic will get us out of this mess.”
His strength starting to return, Pikachu slowly got up, wobbling a bit before righting himself, and tilted his head curiously. “Pika-chu?”
Twilight giggled. “You’ll see,” she replied. Twilight then headed back into the wheelhouse, urging Pikachu to follow her. “Now come on, we need to source the damage quickly if we want to save this boat.”
“Pi-pikachu,” Pikachu replied with a nod, and followed Twilight inside.
The two quickly found the hatch leading down to the engine room and opened it, jumping down and landing with a couple of splashes. The engine room was flooded hoof-deep, the water level slanted as a result of the boat’s position, and rising fairly quickly. From what Twilight could see, the engine itself was mostly untouched by the water, meaning it should still function after they fixed all the damage.
“Alright, let’s look for the leak,” Twilight said.
“Pika,” Pikachu replied with a nod.
The two set to work locating the leak. Their search was made slightly easier knowing it had to be where the water was most heavily concentrated against the hull. They felt along the submerged wall for rushing water, adjusting their balance every once in a while as the boat’s slant increased gradually.
Eventually, Pikachu felt a small stream of water against his stubby hand, near where the floor and wall met.
“Pikachu!” he shouted.
Twilight rushed over and stuck her hoof in where Pikachu had his hand. Feeling the rushing water, Twilight gestured for Pikachu to step back, which he did so without hesitation. Twilight then lit up her horn, and pointed it at the spot where her hoof was. Immediately, she felt the magic take effect under her hoof, fusing the breached section of hull with itself, thereby closing in the hole so the water could no longer rush through. The process took only a few seconds, and as soon as Twilight finished, the boat settled into position where it was, gently rocking back and forth in the ocean’s currents.
“Well, that takes care of that,” Twilight said. “Now we just have to drain all this water out of the boat.”
“Pika-pika,” Pikachu said, depressedly.
“Don’t worry, Pikachu,” Twilight said, smiling. “It won’t take that long, probably no more than fifteen minutes’ worth of time.” Her smile grew solemn. “In fact, how about you leave it entirely to me? It’s the least I can do to repay you for saving my life.”
Pikachu flashed a thumbs-up. Nodding, Twilight lit her horn up again, and encased a large section of water with it, probably a hundred gallons worth, and lifted it up before condensing it all into a perfect sphere. With a flash, the water sphere was gone, and a second later they both heard a large splash from outside.
“See?” Twilight said. “Easy-peasy.”
Pikachu smiled and nodded, just happy he could take a well-deserved break.
The two giants stared intently at each other, sizing the other up. Gojira stood poised and ready for battle, his hands out in front and feet ready to move at a moment’s notice. James stood much more casually, hands hanging idly by his sides and feet pointed straight ahead. They both stood still as statues, waiting for the other to make the first move.
Finally, his patience gone, Gojira shot another blast of his atomic breath straight at James’ face. With a smirk, James dodge-rolled to the side, his suit picking up dirt and grass stains as he did so. The projectile shot off into the distance, harmlessly dissipating mid-air some miles away. James landed right-side up and quickly drew his Walther PPK, firing off several shots in rapid succession straight at Gojira’s own face. The super-sized bullets sounded off with ear-piercing booms to the group watching from Golden Oaks, forcing them to cover their ears lest their eardrums explode.
Gojira took the full brunt of about half the bullets, but none of them managed to make so much as a scratch against his tough, scaly skin. Instead, Gojira only got increasingly angry with each strike against his head. Once the last shot had impacted him, Gojira turned toward James, not bothering to aim correctly, and fired yet another blast of atomic breath. The blast roared past James, impacting the ground some hundred feet away, sending large volumes of dirt and rocks up in a geyser formation, as well as causing a large-scale tremor to shoot through the ground.
The rest of the group felt its effects, and everyone accept for the airborne Ryuk fell to the wooden balcony with pained grunts.
“Is everyone okay?” Celestia asked, getting back to her hooves.
Everyone replied with a yes and stood up as well, then returned their attention to the battle unfolding before them.
James, realizing his gun was useless, decided to get up close and personal, employing close combat as his new offensive tactic. Putting away his gun, James stood up and quickly charged at Gojira while he was still distracted, then delivered a vicious backhand to Gojira’s head, followed by a hard kick to the stomach.
The kaiju was only mildly fazed, however, and responded with a tail swipe on James’ hip, sending him tumbling to the ground. James attempted to get up quickly, only to be slashed across the face by the spikes on Gojira’s tail with another swipe, which left a bloody gash across his face.
“You’re becoming quite bothersome,” James whispered under his breath. Then he smirked. “Two can play at that game.”
James performed a leg sweep on Gojira’s feet, making him fall onto the ground alongside the British spy. James kept his momentum going, getting himself to stand upright in a squatting position. Placing his hands on the ground, James then proceeded to do a forward somersault, his feet slamming onto Gojira’s stomach. The kaiju let out what sounded like a soft, pained wheeze in response.
James finished his maneuver and landed back on his feet, standing up to his full height. He then looked down pitifully at Gojira, and tsked while shaking his head.
“Such a bother, indeed,” he said.
Gojira gave no signs of life, merely laying on the ground with his eyes closed, and mouth slightly open. James experimentally nudged Gojira’s body with the tip of his shoe, trying to elicit any kind of reaction. Gojira just lay there, apparently beaten.
James snorted, and turned around to return to Ponyville, when all of a sudden Gojira’s tail came around and performed the same tripping tactic on him, making James tumble to the ground, landing on his back. He winced in pain, the surface under him feeling particularly hard, and his face scrunched up in agony, accompanied by a soft cry of anguish.
While James was down, Gojira got back onto its feet and turned to face down at him. After staring for a moment, his expression betraying a hint of annoyance, Gojira let loose another atomic blast straight down at James. The British spy managed to roll out of the projectile’s way with only a dozen or so meters to spare, but the impact, much like before, sent a gigantic tremor through the ground, instantly knocking everyone but Ryuk down once again.
“Is everyone alright again?” Celestia asked, standing up again.
Everyone nodded again, but as they were standing up Sandy suddenly winced in pain, and dropped back down.
“Gah!” she cried. “Ah must’ve sprained my ankle.”
“I think I might have as well,” Yugi said, rubbing his left ankle a bit. “I think I can still walk just fine, though.”
“Good fer you,” Sandy said through clenched teeth.
“We’d better stay sitting if this is going to keep happening,” Celestia said.
Everyone nodded and sat down on the balcony, except Ryuk, who continued to float in the air, watching the battle with great interest
“Hey, Ryuk,” Yugi said. “How come you can fly without beating your wings?”
Ryuk looked up in thought for a moment before replying with, “I’m not sure. I guess it’s just a Shinigami thing.”
“How come you know so little about your own species?” Samus asked.
Ryuk chuckled. “Because humans are far more interesting than us.”
Everyone simply stared at him for a few moments, waiting for more. When he said nothing else, they all stared at each other for another moment before returning to the battle before them.
During their chat, James and Gojira had ceased fighting in order to take a much needed rest. Gojira had his knees bent forward slightly, though his posture was otherwise unchanged, and seemed to be waiting for his atomic breath to recharge after so much use. James knelt low, one hand balled into a fist and resting on the ground, while the other lay on his thigh. He panted heavily with exertion, no doubt tired from having to move and react to so many of Gojira’s atomic blasts. A bead of sweat dropped from his forehead, landing onto the back of his hand, and James wiped it off on his pant leg before staring up at Gojira with a judgmental gaze.
So, my gun doesn’t work, hand-to-hand combat barely makes an impact, and he has a fearful number of those atomic energy breaths. Meanwhile, I’m practically at my wit’s end trying to stay alive. I can’t last much longer going at him like this. I need a different strategy.
James gave Gojira a good once-over, trying to spot any potential weak points over his body, all the while watching his head out of his eye’s corner in case he attacked again. While he didn’t find anything in the way of a visible weakness, one detail in particular caught his attention; the lower portion of Gojira’s tail was free of spikes.
Hmm, perhaps I could . . . yes, that might just be kooky enough to work.
James pulled his gun back out of its holster and held it out in front, barrel pointed straight at Gojira’s head. He didn’t fear the gun, but Gojira’s attention shifted from James to it, curious as to how exactly his opponent meant to use the harmless weapon against him.
Gojira got his answer when James quickly, but with a casual flair nonetheless, tossed the gun behind the kaiju. He followed the gun’s path as it tumbled across the ground, each bounce making large indentations in the ground as it went.
His distraction a success, James sprinted across the ground toward Gojira. He quickly grabbed ahold of Gojira’s head, taking care to avoid his back spikes, and viciously slammed him to the ground. Gojira’s head impacted hard with the ground, sending a large dirt plume up and showering them both. Gojira’s body fidgeted a few times, shaken from the attack, but unharmed otherwise.
After a couple seconds, Gojira tried to stand up, but was promptly kicked hard in the stomach by James, sending him back down. Enraged, Gojira lashed his tail out, attempting to trip James again, but the spy reacted fast and stepped firmly on Gojira’s tail, well below the spikes. Gojira thrashed under James’ weight, trying to break free, but another hard kick to the stomach ended that.
“Well, this has been fun and all,” James said, his tone less humorous than his speech, “but, really, you’re not welcome here.”
With that, James reached down and grabbed ahold of Gojira’s tail, then took his foot off. Gojira thrashed a bit in response, but since he was unable to stand up, yet another kick in the stomach was enough to make him still again. James next reached down to one of Gojira’s feet and grabbed ahold of it as well. The kaiju’s scales felt unusual to James, almost charred in texture, somewhat like that of a burn victim’s.
Bracing himself against the ground, James then heaved as he tried to pull Gojira. The kaiju was extremely heavy, and even though his own strength had increased as a result of growing equal in size, James felt like his back would give out at any moment. He inched Gojira’s body across the ground, the kaiju offering up no resistance now that both his foot and tail were incapacitated.
James pulled at Gojira for a few moments, panting with strain all the while, before turning his body around. He then began swinging Gojira around himself, the heels of his feet keeping him propped up so he too could spin, while Gojira’s weight kept him from falling over forward. James felt the strain of pulling Gojira himself slowly ebb away as gravity took over, and he even cracked a smile as a childish sense of playfulness filled his heart, the first he’d felt in longer than he could remember.
If M could see me now . . .
Once enough momentum was built up, and James was facing east away from Ponyville, he let go of Gojira’s foot and tail, instantly falling backwards onto the ground. Gojira hurtled through the air, uselessly flailing his limbs as he sailed over the green fields of eastern Equestria, gradually shrinking in size until, eventually, he disappeared into the sunrise.
“Pika-chu!” Pikachu shouted from the crow’s nest.
Twilight, using her magic to operate both the ship’s steering wheel and gearshift, craned her neck over the fly bridge. A wide smile crossed her features when the sight of land greeted her eyes, no more than ten or so miles dead ahead of them. Whether or not the land was part of Equestria she couldn’t tell, but it was still preferable to being stranded in the middle of the ocean.
“Boy, I can’t wait to tell everyone what happened,” Twilight said, gaining Pikachu’s attention. She then thought for a moment, before looking back at the approaching landmass with a concerned frown. “They’re definitely going to be worried sick about us if they’ve noticed we’re gone.”
Pikachu silently nodded, and also looked back at the approaching landmass. The two remained silent for a while after that, content to just enjoying the breeze from the moving boat, as well as the beautiful, glistening ocean around them. The calming aura was enough to make Twilight forget, if only for a short time, that she was far from safe. At any moment another threat, possibly one even worse than the shark, could show itself and put she and Pikachu’s lives in jeopardy.
Despite multiple conversations with Aza, and getting to know the genderless, sentient universe better with each one, Twilight still couldn’t grasp the true form of its character, both literally and metaphorically. Everything relating to Aza, from the people it abducted, to the schemes it set up and demanded they follow through with, had no sense of consistency to it. Even Discord, a creature that was the very embodiment of said term, paled in comparison to Aza’s level of randomness.
Twilight could only speculate that, as the very definition of omnipotence, Aza’s interests would naturally be farther spread than her mortal mind was capable of comprehending. The thought of being denied access to any knowledge made Twilight feel inadequate, and only the calming scenery afforded to her by the boat managed to quell that sense.
The boat eventually neared the coastline, and Twilight could make out a small island a little ways off to her right, a couple miles away from shore. Though she wasn’t absolutely sure, Twilight thought she recognized it as the Isle of Tao, located off of Equestria’s east coast. This brought a smile to her face, as that meant, if it was true, then she could easily get Pikachu and herself back to the group in Ponyville.
“Pikachu!”
Twilight turned her attention back up to Pikachu. “What is it, Pikachu!?” she called.
Pikachu gestured ahead, pointing skyward. Twilight followed the direction of his tiny hand, and quickly noticed something which contrasted with the blue, cloudless sky above. A large figure, darkish-purple in color and well over fifty meters tall, was flying through the air in their direction.
Twilight briefly panicked, thinking the figure would crash into the boat, but her mathematical side quickly realized its trajectory would make it land far behind them in the water. Her mathematical side was correct, for the figure passed right over them, eventually landing in the water about five hundred yards behind the boat, sending an enormous wall of water up into the air.
Twilight and Pikachu stared at the spot where it landed, watching until the water eventually settled, before turning to look at each other.
“You don’t think . . .?” Twilight said.
Pikachu shrugged. “Pika-pikachu.”
Twilight blinked, then returned her attention to the steering wheel. “Looks like we’ll be swapping stories once we return.” She grimaced. “Hopefully, they aren’t too worried about us.”
Pikachu only nodded in agreement, and the two continued on course without another word.