Abby and Kasai walked off of the train together the following morning Luke following along a bit behind them, keeping his eyes on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary as the pair did their best to avoid running into the shorter ponies. The three looked around the city before them with interested gazes. It was made of marble and stone, decorated fancifully and to Abby at least, looked like something out of a fairytale. She glanced over at Kasai who had started forwards again, already having observed his fill of the place.
“Huh, nice place,” the Arcanine commented, glancing back at Abby as they made their way forwards.
“Mhm, very picturesque,” Abby agreed, waddling along beside him. The egg within her had apparently become much bigger over the course of the night. What this actually meant, Abby couldn’t say.
“Are you sure you’re alright with walking Abby?” Kasai inquired, frowning as he looked over her.
“Kasai, I’m fine, stop worrying so much,” Abby said, nuzzling the golden Arcanine. “I’m sure the egg is going to be fine.”
Indeed... it seems to be fine, Luke agreed with a nod of his head.
That was when Abby spotted something odd, the sea of ponies in front of them seemed to be parting.
Princess Luna smiled as she spotted Abby. “Hello Abby,” she said. “Tis good to meet you outside the dreamscape.”
Abby’s eyes widened faintly, she hadn’t expected them to get an escort, least of all from Princess Luna herself. She glanced at Kasai and Luke before walking up to the mare.
“Hi there Luna,” Abby replied with a smile. “It’s good to meet you in the real world too, this is my mate Kasai and my good friend Luke.”
Hello... Princess, Luke said nervously pulling at the collar of his sun patterned sweater.
“Hello,” Kasai said, giving the mare a look over. “Thanks for helping Abby with her nightmare, I can only do so much when I curl up beside her.”
“Greetings Kasai, Luke,” she said with a nod. “And think nothing of it, I was only doing my job.”
“Still, I’m very thankful for it,” Abby said, leaning up to lick Luna on the cheek. “It was a really bad dream.”
Luna smiled. “Well, now that you are here, I suppose it would be best not to keep my sister waiting,” Luna glanced back at Abby for a moment and frowned. “Are you certain you can make the walk Abby?” She gestured back towards the castle. “It is quite a walk.”
Abby frowned for a moment and then looked in the direction of the castle, now that it had been pointed out to her to distinguish it from all the other buildings around her, it did indeed appear to be quite a walk. The Ninetales glanced up at Luna, shuffling her paws a little.
“Now that you mention it... this egg is pretty heavy, but I don’t want to inconvenience you,” Abby said with a frown.
I would teleport us... but I’ve never been to this castle, Luke offered, fiddling with his scarf.
Luna chuckled. “No problem,” her horn lit up. “Just hold still.” There was a flash of blue and a swirl of shadows before the group found themselves standing in a hallway within what Abby assumed was Canterlot Castle, just before a large set of ornate doors.
Abby blinked twice and then smiled. “Thanks a lot Luna,” she said.
“Yes, thank you, I was worried about her,” Kasai said, nuzzling the side of Abby’s head. “I don’t want her to strain herself too much right now.”
Luna smiled. “T’was no problem at all,” she gestured to the doors. “My sister cleared her schedule for the day, so she’s ready whenever you are.”
“Right,” Abby said with a nod before looking over at Luke. “You sure you don’t want to come?”
I would rather... look around... Luke answered before glancing at Luna. ... if that’s okay at any rate.
Luna nodded. “But of course, feel free to explore, if you're interested, I can point you towards the Castle Gardens or the Royal Library?”
I would prefer to simply... wander, Luke answered. But... thank you... Princess.
Luna smiled. “You are most welcome,” she looked to Abby. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I promised my student I would meet him and his... girlfriend, for lunch.” Luna turned and walked down the hallway, stopping halfway, she turned back and said. “Good luck,” before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Abby glanced over at Luke who gave her a weak smile and then began to walk off. Kasai nuzzled her.
“Ready?” he inquired.
“Yeah, yeah I am,” Abby said, nodding her head before she walked forwards and pushed the door open. Awaiting her on the far side of the room was a tall, white alicorn with a brilliant rainbow mane. Pushing aside a few niggling doubts, Abby walked forwards, Kasai at her side. When she had drawn close enough, she gave the mare a respectful nod of her head and then spoke. “Princess Celestia, my name is Abby Trombley and on behalf of the Ranger Union, I’m here to beg for money.”
Celestia chuckled and shook her head. “Right to the point are we?” she asked with a smile. “Honestly I’d prefer if a few more nobles were like that sometimes.”
“Well, normally I might have sugar coated it a little, but not in this case,” Abby answered, shaking her head. “At the moment, I’m completely broke but I want to re-start the Ranger Union so I need money... and well, I figure that asking the local government would be a better idea than trying to figure out how to fund it by myself.”
Celestia nodded again. “Makes sense, but before I agree to anything, I’d like to hear a little about the Ranger Union, from someone who was actually a part of it.”
“That’s fair,” Abby said before closing her eyes. “The Ranger Union was started by Professor Hastings, who despite his failings, of which there are several, had the best of intentions for the Rangers,” Abby began. “He wanted there to be a group who were independent of the Regional Governments and the Police force so that they wouldn’t get bogged down in the bureaucracy when we were out there trying to protect Pokemon.” The Ninetales paused for a moment before continuing.
“That of course was our main goal, protecting Pokemon from humans who would abuse or hunt them. The Union covered a wide variety of types of cases including Pokemon Abuse, Pokephilia, and underground Pokemon Fighting Leagues to name a few... I’ve been a member since I was 16 and I’ve seen my fair share of horrible things, I know that our organization was overzealous in the past,” she glanced at Kasai who growled slightly in agreement. “But I also know for certain that we saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Pokemon.”
Celestia closed her eyes for a long moment before taking a deep breath and opening her eyes. “Miss Trombley, I believe that setting up this Union of yours here in Equestria could be quite helpful in dealing with the Pokemon,” her horn glowed for a second and a quill and a blank scroll appeared in front of her. “Since the Pokemon are technically ruled by Lord Arceus, even if they are counted as citizens, having a police force separate from the ruling government makes sense,” she paused. “So you and any other Rangers you recruit will report directly to me, or my sister, whenever the need arises.”
The Ninetales nodded her head. “I figured as much... now comes the part where you ask what I need and I make you flinch right?” she asks, only half joking.
Celestia chuckled again. “I’m over one thousand years old, I’ve heard just about every outrageous request possible, if you manage to make me flinch, I’ll give you a medal.”
“Tempting,” Abby said, chuckling slightly before becoming serious again. “Okay, I need enough land in a fairly central part of the kingdom, maybe in or around Ponyville, to build a large headquarters. We’re going to need our own small hospital, our own labs, and enough room left over for people to sleep if they’re between missions. Oh, and enough room for classrooms, gotta have those and an obstacle course.”
“And the rooms are going to have to be big enough for most of the large land Pokemon to fit inside of comfortably,” Kasai added, speaking up for the first time. “Oh, and roosts for the Flying Types.”
Abby nodded. “That too, which is just going to make things more expensive for you,” she said, glancing up at Celestia.
Celestia closed her eyes again before her horn glowed again and a scroll appeared before her, unrolling the budget details to read for herself for a long moment.
“Well Miss Trombley,” she said with a smile, writing something on the scroll. “Will this be enough?” she floated the scroll over to the Ninetales.
Abby looked at the scroll for a moment and let out a long whistle. “Princess, I still don’t know how your money system works yet, but that is a lot of zeroes.”
“Yeah... I’ll say,” Kasai agreed , blinking in surprise.
Celestia chuckled. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you find ways to make the money work for you,” Celestia thought for a moment, then asked. “Will you be needing any... employees? Scientist, nurses, etcetera?”
The Ninetales frowned for a moment before nodding her head. “Sure, we’ll take whoever you can give us, and if you can put out a governmental announcement saying that we’re looking for Nurse Joys, Chancys, Blisseys and Audino, that would be great.Oh, and of course whatever pony nurses and doctors you’ve got on hand who wouldn’t be opposed to learning seven hundred new body types.”
“I believe I can do that,” Celestia said with a nod. “And I’ll see about getting you a scientist or two for the lab, if you need them that is.”
Abby’s expression changed into a small frown. “Maybe... I know that we could use a few good ones... I’m kind of hoping that I can convince Hastings to step in and help out for the greater good... but I doubt it.”
“Oh, and send out a request for Rangers and maybe ex Police officers too!” Kasai exclaimed as the thought occurred to him. “We won’t be able to do a lot with just our little Team and Scarlet’s.”
“I’ll add them to the list,” Celestia said. “But in case Gene didn’t tell you, there are two Rangers in Ponyville right now.”
Abby blinked twice. “Really? Who?”
Celestia thought for a moment. “I met them at the wedding... ah! Solana and Lunick are their names.”
“Sol and Luni? They’re here?” Abby asked, her eyes widening. “And Gene didn’t tell us?”
“In his defense, we did kinda surprise him,” Kasai pointed out with a small shake of his head. “But it’s still good to know that they’re here. More Top Rangers to bring us up to four.”
Celestia smiled, she loved when things worked out, even if it was just something small. “Well, I suppose I’d better get started on this,” she held up the scroll in her magic. “I’ll have a construction crew ready by the end of the week, and I’ll draw up the deed to the land you’ll need once they get a good blueprint together.”
“Wonderful!” Abby said, walking forwards and giving a slightly surprised Celestia a lick on the cheek. “Thank you so much Princess!”
Celestia smiled. “You’re most welcome Miss Trombley,” she said with a nod. “Now, is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”
“Hmm...” Abby frowned, her tails twitching for a moment. “Nothing except to please send Day Guard Captain Ace of the Las Pegasus Guard a letter saying that we’re all fine.”
“Of course,” Celestia said with a smile.
“Oh, and maybe send her a bonus for putting up with my little family for so long,” Abby added thoughtfully. “She deserves it, believe me.”
The Princess chuckled. “After everything that’s happened in Las Pegasus, I believe she at least deserves that much.”
“No arguments there,” Kasai said with a smile as he sat there, smiling. “Hmm, I can’t think of anything else other than to say hi, I’m Kasai, Abby’s mate.”
“Pleased to meet you Kasai,” Celestia said with a smile.
“Right then,” Abby said, walking back over to Kasai. “Thank you for your time Princess, I’ll be staying in the hotel in Ponyville until the Union HQ is complete so send me messages there when you need things, or just give them to Twilight.”
“Very well Miss Trombley,” Celestia said with a nod. “I hope to see you again soon, but until then, enjoy your stay in Canterlot, and if there’s anything you need, just ask.”
“I will,” Abby replied, smiling before she frowned, as did Celestia and Kasai.
ARGH!
It was a simple, angry, mental scream. It was Luke’s scream.
Luke walked sedately down the hallways, his eyes taking in the architecture and the beauty of the surroundings. The events of yesterday had left him feeling... utterly drained and he was happy for a chance to see something beautiful. Other than Abby of course. He froze mid-step and closed his eyes.
No. Must not think about it, he thought to himself before he continued walking. Just... don’t.
He’d been walking along for perhaps ten minutes when he felt something push against his mental defenses, something vast, and powerful, very powerful. Luke froze in place, reinforcing his mental defenses as the world around him melted away and he stood atop the ramparts of his mind.
The force paused momentarily, as if considering its next step, then pushed forward and tore a hole in Luke’s defenses. Luke’s eyes widened as the first wave of his walls crumbled and he gritted his teeth, pulling up his secondary, much stronger wall to cover the opening.
The force paused again before pushing forward, slicing through the second wall like a hot knife through butter. Luke’s eyes burned blue and he sent out a wave of mental force at his assailant, a thousand blades of Night Slash cutting at the Psychic invader, channeling his inner power.
Apparently sensing the attacks, the invader raised its own Barrier. Each and every blade bounced harmlessly off the psychic force field. The Gallade let out a frustrated exhale and brought his hands slashing down, trapping the invader in a flux space without gravity or air.
The creature, whatever it was, paused and... chuckled. Before Luke could react, a powerful Psychic attack tore the flux field apart. Luke swore quietly under his breath and chose to go with the brute force method, his psychic powers reaching out and grabbing the invader, slamming it into the ground with the speed of greased lightning.
Straining slightly, the invader plied Luke’s grip open, then turned its attention on Luke directly. Grabbing the Gallade, the force held Luke down as it approached him. Luke struggled within its grasp before giving that up as hopeless. Instead, he focused on his will and sent a shockwave of force at the invader from above, hoping to catch it off guard and possibly loosen its grip.
The shockwave hit the invader, forcing it to the ground momentarily, and loosening its grip on Luke ever so slightly. Without waiting to see any more, Luke fled into his mental keep, pulling up hundreds of walls in his wake and sending everything he had at the invader. No one had ever breached his mind in this way, no one, and he was beginning to panic.
There was a soft rumbling noise from the outside of the keep for a moment, slowly it grew louder, and louder, and louder. The last wall was thrown upwards, revealing the complete wreckage the invader had left in its wake. Luke’s defenses had been utterly obliterated, all of his carefully planned measures lay in ruin and his memories were exposed to the world.
The invader approached Luke slowly, then paused and examined him curiously. Interesting, a firm mental voice said. Slowly, the force began to take form. A pair of three toed feet, a purple tail, thin body, and oddly shaped, almost feline-like head, with a tube connecting the base of the head to the neck. “I was expecting a Metagross, or a very well trained Alakazam,” Mewtwo said. “Not a Gallade.”
Luke stared at Mewtwo, there was no mistaking who it was and despite himself, he began to shake with rage. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” he roared, holding his hands out and sending a tsunami of power at the other psychic in an attempt to send him away.
Mewtwo slid backwards as the mental wave hit him, then gritted his teeth. Holding out a hand, Mewtwo pushed the wave back towards Luke. Luke struggled against it but was unable to resist for long and was pushed into the wall.
“What is it that you’re trying so hard to hide?” Mewtwo asked, reflexively bringing several of Luke’s memories to him. “Believe me, I’ve been through enough to...” Mewtwo paused as he examined a very recent memory, specifically, Luke’s conversation with Mage the day before, and then even deeper to a thought that accompanied it. Luke dancing hand in hand with a blonde woman, a blonde woman who became a Ninetales who then nuzzled an Arcanine lovingly. “Ah,” the Legendary said. “I see.”
Luke’s eyes blazed with blue. ARGH! he screamed with incoherent rage, calling upon every moment of his personal hell and hurling them at Mewtwo, placing the Legendary within his ‘role’ through the very worst of them.
Mewtwo staggered backwards as the memories overcame him. Growling as he tried to remove them, he struck back with his own. Half remembered injections and experiments, losing his first friends, his work at the hands of Giovanni, they did naught to stop the flow of Luke’s hell.
Mewtwo dropped to his knees, his hands on his head. “No, no, no, no, no,” he muttered to himself. “E-e-e,” Mewtwo’s eyes snapped open, blazing blue. ENOUGH!! Mewtwo blasted the memories assaulting him to pieces and, as quick as he could, withdrew himself from Luke’s mind.
Luke stood there panting for a long moment before his mental legs gave out beneath him and he collapsed, utterly spent.