//------------------------------// // Chapter 50 // Story: A New World, a New Way // by zeusdemigod131 //------------------------------// Mage was a ghost on a mission, the brave Mismagius was on a quest, a dangerous quest that would push her powers to their limits, a quest for l- “I need to stop reading so many adventure novels,” Mage said, shaking her head. “Makes my brain get all questy.” As it was, Mage was looking around town for Luke, Abby’s Gallade and a... close friend of hers. “Step one in finding Luke whenever he vanishes,” Mage reminded herself. “Make sure you’re a fair distance from everyone else.” Luke liked his privacy. “Step two,” Mage sighed. “Follow the depression.” He had a good reason. It took Mage almost fifteen minutes to finally track Luke down, she found him in a secluded glade a fair distance from town. “Hehe, Gallade in a glade.” Mage floated into the glade and found Luke sitting cross legged with his eyes shut tight, probably in an attempt to stop the tears that were leaking from his eyes. “Luke?” Mage asked. “You okay?” No response. Mage raised an eyebrow, then closed her eyes, using her gems to peek at Luke’s emotions. Let’s see... fear, pain, definitely remembering something, curse his mental block... okay, panic, grief, yep, time to end this. Mage floated directly in front of Luke and, tingeing her voice with a bit of empathic magic, she said waved an ‘arm’ in front of his face. “Yoohoo? Anybody home?” Luke’s eyes snapped open and a blue wave of energy blasted outward, causing Mage to flinch before it passed harmlessly through her body. The Gallade’s hands unclenching and a staggering breath rocked his body. "Oh... he... hello Mage..." Luke said slowly, idly doing his best to wipe away the tears that were still streaming down his face. "May... may I help you?” Mage raised an eyebrow. Despite his mental block being stronger than, well, anything short of a Legendary, Luke couldn’t hide his emotions from her, also his crying gave her a pretty good idea that something was wrong. “Just thought I’d check in on an old friend, how ya doin’ Luke?” She asked suspiciously. “I’ve... I’m okay," Luke said, his fingers fingering his sun patterned sweater and green and red scarf. “Yes, I’m fine.” “Right,” Mage said, rolling her eyes. “I can sense emotions, remember?” her gems pulsed darkly. “Ya wanna try that again? Maybe with a less obvious lie this time?” Not like she had expected a straight answer anyways. "My feelings are my own,” Luke said, turning away from her and evading her question entirely. “Yeah, but I can still feel them,” Mage said. “And you’re making me feel depressed, which is a hard thing to do.” She couldn’t actually turn that ability off, normally she would ignore it but... not with Luke. Luke bit his bottom lip. "I’d... rather not talk about it Mage,” he said slowly. Mage sighed. Alright... time for plan B. “Oh alright, not like I’m one to pry,” she smiled at Luke. “So, how have you been lately? Fyi, Abby told me about the Ranger thing already.” "Ah, good," Luke said, smiling softly. "And I take it that Gene and Belle took it well?" “Pretty much water under the bridge, Gene’s not the type to hold a grudge... usually.” Mage said with a shrug. And just for the record, I don’t mind either. "And the one case that I know of otherwise... he has a good reason for," Luke agreed, nodding his head. "I thought that things would turn out in that way... it is why I felt comfortable with meditating here... I knew that nothing bad would befall... Abby.” Mage nodded. “Yeah, Belle was going to introduce her to Twilight, so I decided to check around for the rest of your little family.” That was a lie, she had no intention of hunting down Rill, or Justice, or Axle, or Lex. "I see, and you found me,” Luke said, nodding his head faintly. "For which I must thank you... despite my unwillingness to tell you what it is that was wrong... truly I must thank you for snapping me out of it... my fortress has become... less stable where internal threats are concerned as of late.” “That so huh?” Mage asked, feigning confusion. “Anything in particular that might’ve shaken you up? I’m no Hypno, but I know a few things about the mind.” "It is just that... things are not as they once were and that makes it... harder to ignore," Luke answered haltingly. “Ignore what?” Mage asked, currently, saying things that were different were causing an issue... wasn’t that specific. Luke’s jaw hardened. "It... the issue." “And the issue is...” Mage baited. “I can do this forever you know? I don’t need to sleep.” Luke looked down. "Surely you must know..." Mage closed her eyes for a second and concentrated. Beneath a heavy field of depression and amongst a variety of other emotions, Mage managed to pinpoint a massive reserve of love, alongside a depth of jealousy. “Hmmm... you have feelings for someone who, judging by your jealousy, is already spoken for.” Mage felt an unfamiliar pain in her chest as she processed that and worked out the most likely possibilities, they just added to the pain. "...yes..." Luke stated softly, shame crossing his face. “Okay... assuming it’s someone I know, that leaves Abby and Belle, so I’m going to guess at the first one for a few more than obvious reasons.” A frown crossed Mage’s face as the sentence left her lips. Arceus let me be wrong this time. Luke’s head snapped down sharply once in something like a nod. Mage took a deep breath. “Ah, hmm, okay, not sure what to say here,” Mage said, doing her best to think of something to say. “I mean it makes sense, seeing as how she saved you and all.” "My Angel who carried me up from Hell itself..." Luke agreed with another nod. "She who... who embodies good... the one being who... who I could feel even the faintest emotional... love for.... in that way." Mage bit her lip. “Hey um... it’s alright,” she said. “Everyone... uh, it’s not unnatural that you’d feel drawn to Abby after all of that, and that that’s how you feel about love.” Luke stared at the ground. "I. Am. Aware. However. That. Does. NOT. HELP. ME!" he snapped, his eyes glowing blue once more. Mage backed up a few feet and gulped. Where the hell is that Princess of Love when you need her? Mage thought to herself, honestly, having Cadence around would have made things so much easier. Bet she never gets cold feet... hooves... I don’t have... moving on. Luke looked down and the power faded. "Apologies, Mage, I did not mean to... snap at you." Mage sighed and smiled softly. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, shaking her head. “If I’m going to prod at you, I should at least be able to give you some real advice.” Luke just shook his head. "It... is fine Mage... it will pass... I’m sure of it. It is just... hard now that she is a Pokemon as well... as a human I could suppress it, despite the fact that Kasai’s musk on her made me quake with silent rage. It’s just..." he shook his head. "I’m an awful Pokemon... I didn’t deserve my rescue...” As Luke talked about his past, Mage felt something bubbling up inside her, something that snapped when Luke said. “I should never have left the pleasure d-" “THAT’S ENOUGH!” She shouted, her voice eyes glowing bright yellow and her voice developing an ethereal echo. “I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU FEEL TOWARDS ABBY! DON’T YOU EVER. EVER! SO MUCH AS THINK THAT AGAIN! YOU ARE A WONDERFUL POKEMON AND YOU IN NO WAY DESERVED THAT HELL!” As Mage finished, she felt the rage bubble back down, panting slightly, she looked down at Luke and noticed he had flinched back. I didn’t mean to scare him but... damnit, I can’t stand when he talks like that. Tapping on his knees anxiously, Luke continued. "But... she deserves so much better from me... instead of being happy for her... I... I’m angry at my friend Kasai because... because he has the one who should be mine..." he trailed off. "I would be better off there... where I had never known love at all." Or maybe try for someone who will love you back, Mage thought to herself. Mage closed her eyes. “No one deserves that. No one deserves to be treated like they’re worthless. No one.” Her eyes snapped open. “Especially not someone as sweet and caring as you.” "I was not worthless... I was worth whatever they thought I was..." Luke said softly, looking away. "And that is all I’ve ever been worth." Mage glared at Luke, doing her best to mask the pain she felt... his pain. “Luke,” she said. “You are a wonderful young Gallade, you’re just feeling jealous, that’s no reason to condemn yourself, trust me.” "I just... I’m not worthy of her..." Luke said quietly. "Not when she has an amazing mate like Kasai... not when she has been through so much..." Mage sighed, she needed to make Luke see that he wasn’t worthless, that he shouldn’t give up that she... “Luke,” Mage began. “When Gene first found me, I was haunting a library. I’d been there for months, just reading and scaring the living daylights out of anyone who saw me,” she shook her head, back then, she had been trying to find a nice quiet place to stay,and a library had seemed perfect. “I had no idea why he was so set on catching me, especially since it took him more than a week,” she chuckled, then frowned. “I didn’t know why he bothered until he finally did. Turns out, the library had gone and hired an exorcist, since they didn’t want any trainers messing up their books.” she shook her head. “For a week, I did nothing but torment and prank the boy who wanted nothing more than to save me, and you know what he said when I asked him why?” "Because he didn’t want to see you get hurt," Luke answered. Mage nodded. “He said he didn’t think anyone deserved something like that. He said that it was something he knew he had to do and he said,” Mage’s voice cracked a little. “He said he did it... because I was worth it.” She didn’t tell a lot of people that story, it always made her... uncomfortable, to think about how close she came to death. Luke was silent for a moment before Mage felt his psychic power wrap around her and give her a light hug. "I am sorry for involving you in this Mage, for making you remember such things..." he shook his head. "I know that Abby would still love me as a family member if I told her because that is who she is and that is one of the reasons why I love her... I long ago came to the conclusion that I wanted my beloved to be happy rather than myself... it is just that here in Equestria... with her as a Ninetales... it is harder to squash those feelings of love and lust within me..." Mage sighed. “Luke, you might not believe me when I say this, but I know that you’ll find peace,” she smiled softly. “Maybe you’ll even find a girl to call your own.” "I... rather doubt it," Luke said quietly, Mage frowned. "Abby is the only person I’ve ever felt a shred of... love for in that way...” Mage winced. “It was not just men who purchased me. Women did as well... I... Abby is the only one who I will ever love...” Ouch. “And if I must live through hell again because of it... then she is worth it... for she saved me from my first." Mage bit her lip and held back some tears before gingerly wrapped her tendrils around Luke, keeping them intangible so he wouldn’t snap but hoping the gesture would mean something. “Just try to keep an open mind,” she said hopefully. “Love has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.” Luke nodded his head ever so slightly. "I shall try Mage... so long as you are not attempting to seduce me," he said, a small, wry smile crossing his face as he looked up at her. Mage gazed up at Luke and laughed nervously. “Heheh yeah... I’d never do that.” Luke let out a small mental chuckle and rose back to his feet. "Thank you for the talk Mage... it was good talking of my problem..." “Any time Luke,” she said with a nod. I’ll be here. The Gallade nodded in reply. "I should probably get back to Scarlet now..." “Who?” Mage asked. "Scarlet, Unova's resident Top Ranger and Abby’s adoptive mother," Luke answered simply. Mage nodded. “Right... mind if I tag along? I kinda wanna meet her.” Luke blinked twice and then nodded. "Sure, I doubt she’d mind greatly." Mage smiled. “Great, lead the way.” Twilight nodded as she set the last piece of her latest... contraption, in place. Basically, she had tied a piece of rope to a hammer and set it so that, when the rope was cut, the hammer would swing down and smash the Dusk Stone she’d placed beneath it. “I know I said it before, but I’m going to say it again,” Spike said from behind a barrier made out of a table. “This is a really bad idea.” “Spike, I’ve noted your objections in my notes,” Twilight said as she trotted behind the barrier. “And I promise it’ll be fine.” “That’s what you said about the Fire Stone, and it burned a hole through the floor.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Hazards are just part of the fun of science Spike,” she declared, her horn lighting up. “Besides, the best results are the most visible and because of the fact that it burned a hole through the floor, the Fire Stone showed us just how hot it can become when put under the right type of pressure.” “Twi... it almost melted through my scales before I dropped it,” Spike pointed out, clearly still miffed about the event. “I apologized for that, and promised to give you extra gems later.,” Twilight pointed out. “Now get ready to record the results.” Spike sighed, but readied the quill. Twilight’s horn lit up and a knotted portion of the rope glowed purple before coming undone, the hammer swung downwards and- *clink* The Dusk Stone didn’t break, from the looks of it, it didn’t even crack. “Well that’s disappointing,” Twilight pouted. “Write down that the hammer was swung with insufficient force to shatter the stone.” Spike did as he was asked. “So, what now?” Twilight thought for a moment, then smiled, lighting up her horn again, she lifted the hammer off the ground and floated it up to the ceiling. “Ready?” She asked with a grin. “No,” Spike gulped and ducked. Twilight let the hammer fall, it picked up speed, on a crash course for the- *Pmfph* Twilight blinked once and surveyed her lab, everything exposed, including the walls and the ceiling, was coated in a fine black powder. Spike peeked out from behind the table. “I am not cleaning this up,” he stated. Twilight chuckled. “Well... I’ll get a broom... or maybe a mop... first I should take some sample though, maybe every three feet from where the stone was...” “Twilight?” Juniper suddenly called from the top of the stairs. “Belle’s here and she brought...” the Beheeyem blinked as she surveyed the lab, her eyes narrowed on Twilight. “You just had to see for yourself, didn’t you?” Twilight laughed nervously. “I’ll... be up in a second.” She turned and smiled at Spike. “You can leave, but I’m still not cleaning this up,” he stated firmly, crossing his arms. Twilight sighed. “Fine,” she teleported to the top of the stairs, one of the few places not covered in... whatever it was that had come from the Dusk Stone. “I’ll be back down soon, just... wait there.” As Twilight and Juniper left the lab, Spike realized that, unless he wanted to walk around in the shadowy substance, then he was pretty much stuck in one place. “TWILIGHHHT!” Spike shouted dramatically at the ceiling. Meanwhile, Twilight closed the door to her thankfully soundproof lab and smiled at the Ninetales Juniper had told her was Abby. “Hello,” she greeted. “You’re Abby right? Nice to meet you, I’m Twilight.” “Abby Trombley,” Abby said, smiling at Twilight. “Before we get started I need to ask Juniper a question.” “I’m always willing to hear a question,” Juniper answered, smiling back at Abby. “What did you want to ask me?” “Okay...” Abby let out a breath as she formulated just the right way to ask her question. “Alright, so, I’m pregnant and I’m going to be giving birth to an egg sometime this week we think. However, I’m also a really horny woman trapped in the body of a very horny Pokemon and with Kasai being just as eager as I am, unless we can find some kind of birth control we’re going to be up to our heads in eggs and kits... can you help Professor?” Abby inquired hopefully. Twilight’s face lit up like a bonfire. Why would she... I mean of course... couldn’t she have... no, those only work for mares... While Twilight stood there, partially catatonic, Juniper tapped her chin, ignoring the scarlet blush on her friends face. “I haven’t heard of anything like that,” she said apologetically. “I suppose Professor Elm might know something on the subject, his research focused on Pokemon reproduction, but I don’t know where he is.” Abby frowned. “Oh well... it was a small hope anyways... guess Kasai and I are just going to have to get used to using our tongues, eh Belle?” she asked, glancing up at the Gardevoir. Belle frowned as well, she hadn’t really considered that, and she assumed Gene hadn’t either. Twilight managed to get her brain back in working order so she could offer a piece of advice. “Um... I might know someone who can help.” “You do?” Abby asked, her smile returning as she glanced at Twilight. “Yeah,” Twilight said with a nod. “My friend Bio Chem is a geneticist, he lives up in Canterlot and I know he’s been researching Pokemon recently, he might be able to help.” “Hmm... I’ll have to visit him after I’m done talking to Princess Celestia,” Abby mused to herself before leaning over and licking Twilight’s face. “Thanks a bunch Princess Twilight!” Twilight blushed again and wiped the slobber from her face. “Happy to help,” she said. “Now Juniper said you wanted to know about Equestrian law?” Abby nodded her head. “Yes, yes I do, as a Pokemon Ranger who wants to re-establish the Ranger Union I need to know each and every law that could possibly come up during a case... especially if we’re going to be a fairly independent organization like the old Rangers.” Twilight frowned slightly. “The last guy who had an idea like that was Professor Hastings,” Twilight said, shaking her head, she really didn’t want to think about him. “Yeah, he’s my boss,” Abby answered with a sigh. “My very well meaning... but completely off base, boss who just so happens to be as stubborn as a sleeping Snorlax in the middle of a highway.” “I noticed,” Twilight said with a frown. Turning away from Abby, she floated a few books down to her. “Let’s see, these should cover the basics,” Twilight set three of the largest books in front of Abby. “Where did you want to start?” “Wherever you think is best, they’re not my laws just yet,” Abby answered, smiling at Twilight, not seeming the least bit put off by the massive books stacked in front of her. “Just so long as I don’t look like an idiot in front of Princess Celestia tomorrow, oh, and that reminds me, can you send her a message along with sending Princess Luna one saying that I say ‘hi’?” “Sure thing, as soon as Spike... finishes up downstairs, I’ll send them a letter,” she looked at the law books and sighed. “Well first off, you should probably know all laws were expanded at the World Summit to include Pokemon along with the other citizens of Equus.” “The who-what now?” Abby asked, looking at Twilight blankly. “I must have missed that on the train ride here.” “Oh, basically the rulers of every country on the planet, along with Lord Arceus and their royal advisors, met and talked about what to do about the Pokemon,” Twilight explained. “Aside from some of the more stubborn rulers, it was mostly just figuring out what to do if this happens, or how we’re going to deal with that.” “Ah, okay, that makes sense,” Abby said, nodding her head. “So, what laws did you decide on?” “Preventing abuse and prejudice, as well as more violent crimes,” Twilight said. “If what Juniper’s told me is true, Equestria and Earth have a lot of the same laws actually.” “Really?” Abby asked, cocking her head to the side. “That’s good... though hopefully we won’t have the same problems we did on Earth... I really don’t want to find any more Sex Rings or Fighting Rings here being run by ponies...” she trailed off, a very low growl emerging from her throat. Twilight shuddered. “Probably not,” Twilight said. “Both of those are illegal, and have been mostly worldwide since the first world summits a few hundred years ago.” I’ll have to ask Gene or Belle about her later, the fact that she immediately focused on those... on second thought, maybe I won’t ask. Abby nodded her head with a small smile. “Good, what about prostitution?” Twilight shook her head and sighed. “It’s illegal, but in big cities like Manehattan and Las Pegasus it does happen,” Twilight admitted sadly. “I’m not sure about other countries, but in Equestria, the local police do their best to keep a handle on it.” “Owhkay, just checking all my bases, I know I’ve arrested a few idiots who tried passing off their Lopunnys or Blazikens off as prostitutes to get around the law...” Abby muttered, shaking her head. “I’ll include a note to the Princess to put a warning out to the city police forces to be on the look out for anything like that,” Twilight replied. Though it’s unlikely a pony could force a Pokemon to do... that, all things considered. “Thanks,” Abby said, nodding her head. “Okay then, what about arrest procedure...” Rarity smiled as she took a small bite of her daffodil sandwich. “I must admit darling,” she said to the colt who sat beside her. “When you first suggested this picnic, I was unsure, but I must say this is lovely.” Keldeo smiled. “Thanks Rarity... but really it was Virizion’s idea.” He looked around at the spot they’d chosen for the picnic, they were beneath a shaded tree in the park. Rarity chuckled softly. “Well then, you’ll just have to invite her over next time you visit so I can meet her.” “You want to... meet Virizion?” Keldeo asked nervously. “I mean... why not, I’m sure she’d love to meet you.” “Splendid!” Rarity said with a smile. “She seemed like such a nice... mare... doe... umm...” Keldeo chuckled at Rarity’s apparent confusion, earning him a soft swat on the arm. “Well, it’s hardly my fault if you Pokemon don’t stick to a singular term,” Rarity huffed. Keldeo laughed a little bit more, causing Rarity to smile slightly. “Usually when they want a blanket term, everymon just says female, or girl... though Virizion’s not a ‘girl’ and woman is a human term... hmm.” While Keldeo thought on this dilemma, Rarity pulled a bottle of (non-alcoholic) sparkling grape cider from the picnic basket, as well as a pair of wine glasses. “Care for a drink Keldeo?” Rarity asked, pouring herself and Keldeo a glass. Keldeo looked at the glass nervously for a second, then sighed. “Sure.” Rarity smiled and passed Keldeo the glass, then she looked back at him as she heard a clink of glass. Keldeo was using one of his front hooves to hold the glass on his other front hoof. “Oh Keldeo dear, I am so sorry, I forgot that-” “It’s alright,” he said, a look of determination on his face. “I’ve got this.” He slowly began to move the glass towards his mouth. “Are you certain?” Rarity asked, watching him nervously. “Because I wouldn’t mind-” “Nah, I’m good,” Keldeo assured her as the glass reached his lips and he took a small sip. “See? I told-” The glass slipped off of Keldeo’s hoof, and while it didn’t shatter, most of the cider spilled out onto the ground, with a small amount splashing onto Keldeo’s face. “Oh.” Rarity giggled softly and Keldeo blushed. “Oh don’t worry Keldeo,” Rarity said with a smile and a laugh. “We all have our little accidents.” Keldeo grumbled to himself as Rarity pulled a napkin from the basket. “Now hold still for a moment.” Rarity leaned forward, eyeing Keldeo’s cider stained coat and wet the napkin with her tongue before scrubbing the spot. “There,” she said after a moment. “All cleaned off and...” Rarity noticed that Keldeo was staring at her. “What?” She asked, tilting her head. “Do I have something on my face?” Keldeo chuckled softly. “No,” he said with a smile. “It’s just...” “Just what darling?” Rarity asked. “You have such beautiful eyes,” Keldeo said softly. Rarity blushed softly and smiled. “Um, Keldeo, that is… That’s very sweet of you Keldeo.” Keldeo smiled and leaned forward, quickly kissing Rarity on the cheek. “It’s the truth, I just happened to notice it.” Rarity sat there for a moment, her eyes wide, before she smiled slowly. “Never the less, it was a very nice compliment,” Rarity pulled a second sandwich from the picnic basket with her magic. "Now, would you care for a bite? This is a picnic darling, and you haven't had a bite to eat yet." She pouted falsely, electing a laugh from Keldeo, one which Rarity returned. As Rarity passed Keldeo his sandwich, she scooted a tiny bit closer to him, just a small distance, she might not have even noticed herself, but they were still closer than they had been but a moment before.