//------------------------------//
// 1. Separated 
// Story: A New World, A New Family 
// by Lance Skyes 
//------------------------------//

	Bon Bon woke up slowly as the morning sunlight trickled into her bedroom and onto her face. She groaned a little at being woken up so rudely, but her displeasure was quickly replaced by curiosity as a familiar scent filled her nostrils.
“Pancakes?” she asked out loud as she rose from her bed and sniffed the air with greater intensity. “Not just any pancakes... Lyra's pancakes.” A warm smile graced Bon Bon's face at the thought of her marefriend's smiling face, her beautiful golden magic aura levitating a pan over their stove, delicious fluffy pancakes taking shape within said pan. Bon Bon quickly got out of bed and trotted downstairs to meet Lyra.
“Morning, Bon Bon,” Lyra said as her marefriend entered the kitchen. “Hope you don't mind, but I decided to get up early and make us pancakes.”
“You're so sweet,” Bon Bon said as she walked over and kissed Lyra on the cheek. “What's the occasion?”
“Oh, nothing special,” Lyra replied as she levitated the pancake onto a plate and set it on the table right in front of where Bon Bon sat down. “Just our anniversary, that's all.”
“Really?” Bon Bon asked. “I can't believe you remembered.”
“Well, why wouldn't I remember the day I started dating the mare of my dreams?” Lyra asked with a smile. “You remembered, didn't you?”
“Of course I did,” Bon Bon replied. “Why else would I have such a fancy” (under her breath, Bon Bon mumbled “and expensive”) “dinner planned for tonight?”
“Really?” Lyra asked as her eyes lit up. “Is it at... the place?”
“The very restaurant where we first kissed,” Bon Bon replied.
“Oh Bon Bon,” Lyra said. “I... I don't know what to say.”
“You'll only need to say yes,” Bon Bon replied with a smile. The smile was partially from seeing the excited look on her marefriend's face, and partially from the thought of a small black box hidden in her bedroom. A box that contained a small circular item that would convey the most important message Lyra would ever receive from Bon Bon.
Will you spend the rest of your life with me?
But Bon Bon would have to keep her mouth shut about that. At least until tonight.
“Then yes,” Lyra said. “Yes I will go to this dinner with you.”
“Thank you, Lyra,” Bon Bon said as she got up and hugged her soon-to-be fiance.
“So, shall we have breakfast first?” Lyra asked. Bon Bon just smiled and kissed Lyra.
“If you're the one who made it, how could I say no?” Bon Bon replied. The two were just about to sit down when a loud CRASH! from outside rocked the whole house, as well as all of Ponyville and most of Equestria, possibly even all of Equus.
“What was that?” Lyra shouted.
“I don't know,” Bon Bon replied. This was followed by what sounded like a chorus of screams of panic coming from outside.
“Something's got the town riled up,” Lyra said.
“What doesn't get this town riled up?” Bon Bon asked. “I'll go outside and see what's going on.” Bon Bon then got up and walked to the front door to see what was going on. Once she opened the door, she looked left down the street. Panicking ponies. She looked right. Panicking ponies. Above her. Panicking ponies. Right at her hooves. Panicking- wait, that wasn't a pony.
”What in Equus?” Bon Bon thought to herself as she leaned down to get a closer look at the creature at her doorstep. It looked sort of like a tiny cross between a dinosaur and a rabbit. It was mostly gray, save for a whitish stomach and a patch of brown where its mane would be if it were a pony. It had tiny pointy ears, stubby legs and arms, and a tail shorter than its other appendages.
And it was curled up in a tiny ball, sound asleep.
“Well aren't you the cutest thing?” Bon Bon asked with a smile. It was right then that Bon Bon was snapped back to reality by more screaming ponies. (Probably ones that saw a sleeping Swampert in the fountain nearby.) “This is no town for something as cute as you,” Bon Bon said as she carefully picked the creature up, carried it inside, and closed the door. She then walked back into the kitchen to show Lyra her discovery.
“So what's going on this-?” Lyra started, but she stopped when she saw what Bon Bon was carrying. “Bon Bon, what is that?”
“I have no idea,” Bon Bon replied. “But isn't it adorable?”
It was right then that the creature began to stir before stretching out and yawning before looking up at Bon Bon with a confused expression.
“Kangaskhan? (Who are you?)” the baby Pokemon asked.

Felix woke up with a terrible headache. One far worse than what he had one time when he and Kanga tried to teach Roo how to use Dizzy Punch and Roo struck Felix right in the side of his head. He was completely disoriented for the remainder of that afternoon and evening, and the ringing in his ears didn't stop until the following day.
And yet, what he was feeling right now was worse than that.
“OH ARCEUS, MY HEAD!” the trainer shouted as he tried to grip the sides of his head. However, for some reason, he wasn't able to reach it. “Unn... looks like I'm gonna have to tough through this one for now.” Though the pain in his head was immense, Felix found the strength to open his eyes. Instantly, sunlight blasted into his retinas like a Cherrim firing Solar Beam right into his face. However, his eyes were able to adjust quickly and he was able to get a view of his surroundings. From what he could tell, he was laying on his side in the middle of a forest. At first, he just figured that some Pokemon had moved him from the clearing he and his team were in to somewhere in the surrounding woods.
“I really hope this isn't Pinky playing another prank,” Felix grumbled. Of all the Pokemon on his team, Pinky was probably the most mature. Even more so than Tartar. Intelligent, philosophical, always has some type of plan for the situation. Heck, she could have been a Slowking if Felix had a King's Rock on him when she evolved. But even then, she could be quite a prankster if she wanted to be. “Alright, Pinky,” Felix called out as he tried to stand up. “You've pulled your prank, but it's gonna take a lot more than moving me a few yards and making my neck about 3 feet longer to-”
At that exact point, Felix probably would have stopped to realize that his neck actually was suddenly 3 feet longer. But he didn't have that chance as a loud roar erupted nearby. “What the-?” Felix started.
“WHERE IS SHE?” the voice roared. Felix looked in the direction of the noise to find a Kangaskhan rampaging towards him. Kanga, Felix quickly recognized the Pokemon to be.
“Kanga, what's going-” Felix started. However, he stopped suddenly when Kanga suddenly Comet Punched him backwards into a tree, leaving him no time to realize that he was actually talking to his Pokemon.
“YOU!” Kanga shouted. “WHO ARE YOU? AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY CHILD?”
“What?” Felix asked. “Kanga, it's me, Felix!”
Kanga was about to give Felix another Comet Punch, but stopped suddenly when she heard her trainer's name. “Felix?” Kanga asked. “No, this can't be. You aren't Felix! DIZZY PUNCH!” Kanga then threw an attack by the same name at Felix. Fortunately, Felix was able to duck underneath this one. It was then that Felix saw why Kanga was acting this way.
Roo was missing.
“Kanga, stop!” Felix shouted. “I don't know what's going on, but you have to calm down if we want to find Roo.”
“You can't lie to me!” Kanga shouted. “I know you've done something to her, and if you value your life, you will-”
”Both of you, stop,” a voice boomed from within both their minds. Felix and Kanga quickly looked around before they found a Slowbro standing not too far away from them with an unamused expression on her face. “So childish,” she said out loud while shaking her head.
“Pinky?” Kanga asked. “Is that you?”
“It's me, Kanga,” the Slowbro replied. “And that... is indeed Felix.”
“But... how?” Kanga asked.
“Can someone please explain to me why a, Kanga doesn't recognize me, b, why Pinky isn't acting like she's pulled a prank, and c, why I can suddenly understand you both?” Felix shouted.
“You haven't taken a second to look at yourself?” Pinky asked. “That might be a good idea.”
“Okay...” Felix said as he looked down. “But I don't see how- WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THINGS KAWAII?”
Felix looked down, and the first thing he saw was several pink petals surrounding the base of his neck. The second thing was that his neck was three feet long and bright green like the stem of a flower. Felix then tried to raise one of his hands, only to find that it had been replaced by a thick green stub which he assumed to be a leg. Felix then looked behind him to find that he had a small tail that was green like the rest of his body, and three more legs similar to the first one.
Finally, Felix turned to Kanga for the final piece of the puzzle. “Kanga...” Felix started, his voice shaky. “Do I... have antennae?” Kanga did nothing but slowly nod.
“Felix,” Pinky said. “You're a Meganium.”
Felix quickly turned around to face Pinky. “Gee, ya don't say? I could have pieced that together after Kanga told me I had antennae.”
“Sorry, but you were taking a long time examining yourself,” Pinky said with a shrug.
“Felix...” Kanga said as she stepped forward towards the Meganium that was once her trainer. She just stood there for a moment, taking in the sight before her. What was once a beautiful pale face with blue eyes and a perfectly short blonde head of hair topped with a red cap had been replaced by a perfectly round light-green face with big yellow eyes on either side of the head, long yellow antennae that resembled pistils, and, despite the circumstances, a mouth that seemed to naturally curve into an adorable smile. Tossing all of this around in her mind for a second, a thought occurred to Kanga. “Felix, can you remember anything before we blacked out?”
“One of the Metapod we were caring for evolved into a Butterfree and was playing with Roo,” Felix replied. “Why?”
“No reason,” Kanga replied. ”Looks like he doesn't remember the speech I gave him.”
“What speech?” Felix asked.
“How did you-?” Kanga started before turning around and glaring at Pinky. “You never canceled the psychic link?”
“I didn't?” Pinky asked. “Huh... odd.”
“Kanga, what were you talking about?” Felix asked again.
“I'll tell you another time,” Kanga said. “But for right now, we have several mysteries on our hands.”
“You're right,” Felix said. “Where's Roo? Where are we? Why the hell am I a Meganium? Where's everyone else? And, the icing on the cake, what exactly was that 'speech' about? In addition, how come I can't remember a thing about said speech?”
There was a short silence before Pinky set up a psychic link with Kanga. ”You do realize that the speech would be much less awkward now that he's a Pokemon too, right?”
”I know,” Kanga replied. ”But I don't want to overwhelm him. Plus, finding Roo is a little more important right now.”
“Again, I'm still linked to you guys,” Felix said to the two out loud.
“Oh,” Pinky said. “One second...” The Slowbro turned to Felix and her eyes flashed blue for a brief moment. Once the light disappeared, she said “There, you two shouldn't share any more thoughts. At least, I'm pretty sure you won't.”
“Thank you, Pinky,” Kanga said. “Now, next issue. Where's Roo?”
“You and her are close, right?” Pinky asked the Kangaskhan. “Parental bond and that sort of stuff?”
“And you dare to deny it?” Kanga asked.
“I wasn't denying it,” Pinky replied. “I was just trying to explain that, if you let me into your mind, I could probably use the bond you two share, add a little Psychic-type magic to it, and just like that, we've got a baby finder.”
“And you're sure that'll work?” Felix asked.
“Do I look like a Gardevoir?” Pinky replied. “Of course I'm not sure. But if you have a better idea...”
“No, you go right on ahead,” Felix said.
“Thank you.” Pinky then turned to Kanga. “Now I have to warn you, I won't just be looking into your mind, I'm going to be using your mind for this. It might put a little more of a strain on you than you're used to.”
“I don't care,” Kanga said as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Just find Roo... please.”
“Don't say I didn't warn you,” Pinky said as she closed her eyes and reached into Kanga's mind with her psychic powers.
Good, it looks like I can use your bond as a signal. Now just one Psychic attack... sorry about that. I think I've got something. West of here. I think that's a settlement of some sort. More than just a settlement. There's Arceus knows how many buildings, and even more living creatures. The whole surrounding area is fuzzy. Mass confusion all over the place. Roo's somewhere in there, but I can't seem to find her. Maybe if I boost the power...
“GAH!” Kanga shouted as she was suddenly blasted backwards by an overpowered Psychic from Pinky. Slowly getting up and rubbing her head, she glared at the Slowbro and shouted “What was that for?”
“Sorry about that,” Pinky said. “I don't think your mind was strong enough to handle the kind of stress I had to put on it in order to find Roo. I got a general direction, but anything past due west and we're walking blind.”
“What if I helped?” Felix asked while stepping forward.
“Felix, I mean as little offense as possible when I say this,” Pinky replied. “You might be a Meganium now, but your mind is still that of a human, and it's a lot weaker than that of most if not all Pokemon.”
“No offense taken,” Felix grumbled. “But I didn't mean using my mind instead of Kanga's. The way I look at it, Roo sees me as a father figure, so maybe I have a little bit of a bond similar to what she has with Kanga. What if Kanga and I were to put our bonds with Roo together? Would both our minds together be able to handle the kind of stress you need to put on us?”
“Are you sure about that, Felix?” Kanga asked. “I could take the kind of pain Pinky gave me, but I'm not sure how you could take it.”
“You want to find Roo, right?” Felix asked. “Obviously you can't do it alone, so I'm offering to help. Like I always have.”
Kanga was silent. True, Felix was always willing to help with Roo however he could whenever he could, but he never had this kind of resolve before. “I don't know what to say, Felix...” the Kangaskhan finally said. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” Felix replied. He then turned to Pinky. “Fire when ready, Pinky.”
“You two are gonna have to stand a little closer together,” the Slowbro said. “I don't want to waste too much of my own energy linking you two, and that'll be a lot harder if you're even an inch apart.”
“So you're suggesting we...” Kanga started.
“You're gonna have to be pressing up against one another,” Pinky finished. “You might as well be cuddling while you're at it.”
“Real funny,” Kanga said sarcastically. Despite this, she and Felix moved closer together. Close enough to the point where their bodies were pretty much right up against one another. From Kanga's point of view, she could easily see the height difference between her and Felix. Being a Meganium, he was about six inches or so taller than normal, but he was still a little over a foot shorter than her.
“I wasn't joking about the cuddling, by the way,” Pinky said to the two. “It'd be a lot easier if you had more surface area in contact with each other.”
Kanga and Felix just stared at each other for a moment before the Kangaskhan slowly wrapped her arms around her trainer.
“Good,” Pinky said. “Now... it might make things a little bit easier if you two-”
“We're not kissing,” Kanga said sternly. Felix looked up at her with a confused expression on his face, but he stayed silent.
”It was worth a shot,” Pinky thought to herself while smiling. “Alright, I'm gonna need you two to brace yourselves and concentrate as hard as you can on Roo.” Both Kanga and Felix shut their eyes and held each other tightly before they felt Pinky enter their minds.
Wow, this should give me a lot more room to work. Let's see... west. Definitely a large town. Lots of Pokemon all over the place. Half of them Ponytas and Rapidashes, apparently. Aha! I think that's Roo. She's with one Ponyta and one Rapidash. Wait, they feel... odd. Something about them isn't right. Wait a second... what's this?
This time, it was Felix who recoiled, knocking all three of the Pokemon out of their link. “What in the name of Arceus?” Felix asked out loud. He then looked at both his Pokemon with a confused expression on his face. “Pinky, I saw Roo, but I also saw something else. It felt... weird. Like it was given to me despite something else trying to pull it back.”
“Like what?” Pinky asked, trying to hold back a smile.
“I don't know,” Felix said.
“I'm sure it was nothing,” Kanga quickly said while giving a stern glare at Pinky, who only began to noticeably grin.
“No, it was... a memory,” Felix said. “It's just a jumble of words right now, but I definitely see you somewhere in there, Kanga.”
“We don't have time to talk about whatever it is, right now,” Kanga said. “We know where Roo is, we don't have time to worry about a broken memory.”
“You're right,” Felix said. “West of here, right?” He then turned and began walking, stumbling slightly as he tried to walk with four legs that were far shorter than the two long ones he was used to.
“I guess we should follow our trainer,” Pinky said to Kanga. Just before the Slowbro could start moving, though, Kanga stopped her.
“Tell me what you did to him,” Kanga said with an angry tone.
“He had a broken memory,” Pinky replied. “If I'm a Psychic-type and he's my trainer, aren't I supposed to help him out with that sort of thing?” Then, with a devious smile, Pinky added, “Besides, you're the one who decided he was ready to hear what was in that memory. Just a little bit of time, and he'll remember it all clearly.”
“Yeah, well I'm not ready anymore!” Kanga said. “Not while there's a better chance of me and him actually having to-”
“Hey!” Felix called. “Are you two coming?”
“Yes!” Pinky called back before walking towards her trainer. Then, aside to Kanga, she added, “You know your egg groups. You know you like him that much more now.”
“Grr...” Kanga grumbled as she began following the two. It was true, she did like Felix more now that he was not only a Pokemon, but a Meganium. A 'Mon one of whom she used to be rather fond of.
At least until Team Rocket came into the picture that fateful day...