//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Pokemon: Battles are Friendship // by GoodKnight //------------------------------// Dear Princess Celestia, I have failed Equestria, Princess. As the prime authority of the study of friendship I can say without a single doubt that I am not. I don't know what went wrong, and as my mentor I ask for your help, or perhaps something less than that. I feel as though the answer is staring me blankly in the face and laughing at my stupidity. I shouldn't beat myself up, but I feel as though it's my fault. By the way, I did not have Spike write this letter because I know he would have something to say about it... I cannot explain my situation through normal means, so I will instead just recap what happens every Thursday at 2:00 pm. (Please forgive me if my narration skills are shoddy.) "If ya'll wanna know what real hardwork feels like," Applejack would begin. "Come work at the orchard for a while." I would wince on the inside because of the direction of this conversation. It could not be prevented nor diverted. You see, every Thursday in the early afternoon, I would invite my friends to, as Rainbow would put it, "hang out." While we do spend time with one another, it always feels like we're saving the world, or just solving a problem. Yes, there are Pinkie Pie parties but they happen spontaneously (and you know it is because it's Pinkie Pie.) We rarely get to just enjoy each other's company. I didn't want us to drift apart for both the sakes of my friendships and Equestria as a whole. So, I crunched the numbers, collected data, and found a small gap of time on Thursday at 2:00 pm. Needless to say that they agreed with me that we did need to spend time together more often, and so the date was set on all of our calendars. At first, it was fun. Rarity dropped in the latest gossip, AJ would speak of this year's harvest and so on and so forth. We even began t discuss our own little adventures individually. For example, I bet you never knew that Fluttershy likes to cross-dress. (Nothing too over the top.) Yep. She went from Fluttershy to Butter Scotch. She wasn't shy about it at all either. You'd think s with her but no. Not at all. The look on Rarity's face was the one I'll never forget. You see, she as under the impression that she had made the clothing for a relative of Fluttershy. I digress though. It used to be like that. Nowadays... It's changed. I don't know when but whenever someone makes some reference to their job being rough in any way, one of the girls always has something to say about it... even me... I make one little allusion to the Dewey Decimal System and AJ or Rainbow, or Pinkie comments about it. Things sort of spiral down from their. I managed to get the voice-recording spell right and let it listen to our conversations that day. I realize that I had explained the situation perfectly here, but I have only so much parchment left and I really don't want to write another letter. "If ya'll wanna know what real hard work feels like, come work at the orchard for a while." "What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow would ask in agitation. "It means what it means," AJ would respond. "I really do hate that phrase," Rarity interjected with disdain. "Please, do go on with what you meant Applejack. "Eenope," Aj would respond with a shake of her head. "I don't want to speak anything more about it. "Maybe it's for the best..." I added in a hope to drop the conversation. "I-If..." Fluttershy would begin softly. "I-If AJ doesn't want to talk about it, then we should... respect her... choice?" "Wait a minute though!" Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully. "If AJ didn't want to talk about whatever she wanted to talk about, then why even bring it up in the first place? I mean, it's not like she isn't prepared to answer, right?"[ "Alright. Fine," AJ would declare curtly. "I'm saying that working on a farm all day is a mite bit harder than stacking books, or making dresses." "If it's half as bad as cloud-busting," Rainbow would react in a similar tone. "Then you have it easy! I have to do that and manage the clouds that drift into the area." "I hate to disappoint you, darlings," Rarity interjected in a superior way. "My work trump all of you. Contrary to your belief, my career goes a little further than just making dresses. I have to create literal works of art that make a correct statement according to the common trend. Inspiration has to be the hardest simply for having to... well, have it during work." "Ummm..." Fluttershy's quiet voice said in a near whisper. "Taking care of the animals is hard work too... I mean, I don't know how hard your jobs are, but..." "Animals?!" Pinkie shouted while slamming her hooves onto the table. "I've got something much harder than that: babysitting! Do you know how hard it is to coax one of those little devils to want nap time? It's Practically impossible! On top of that, I have baking, and party planning. Sure, not all at the same time all the time, but still!" The writing stops there Princess because.. well... it can only track so many voices at once... I don't know what to do Princess. At the end of these get-togethers, we seem to be at each other's throats. I just don't understand. I thought we had conquered the disharmony between us with Discord. I just don't know what to do. Now, nopony is talking to one another much at all. Please, if you know anything Princess Celestia to help me, I would very much appreciate it. Your faithful student, Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle Celestia's expression was in deep contemplation. To be truthful, what Twilight was dealing with was considered normal for anyone close in bond. The rough edges between friends are sometimes more prominent than the softer and kinder natures. It would be easy for her to just reassure her student that it's all going to be okay. Perhaps meeting every Thursday would be excessive. Perhaps every other Thursday would be better. Of course, that was the easy way. As Celestia placed the letter upon her desk, she strolled over to the balcony overlooking the whole of Canterlot. Her eyes did not rest upon anything in particular as she began to think deeply. Celestia did not want the easy way. She wanted to teach her student one last lesson about friendship. If she wanted to teach her student about how normal these occurrences were, she could invite her ex-student into the world of politics. In politics, pretty much the only thing felt by ponies were the abrasive side of things, even between ponies on the same side. She would no doubt connect two and two and understand a lesson of friendship. However, the question of what lesson of friendship she would learn might not be the one that she wants to teach. If anything, it could turn out ton be the opposite. Celestia's expression softened as a smile of satisfaction graced her thoughtfulness. She knew exactly how to go about the lesson... She would only need to borrow a few things. A mirror from Luna, and a few other things from someone across the inter-dimensional pond. Lord Arceus stood upon nothing at all. He did not float, nor hovered, nor even drifted. A better word would be that he existed in a bubble of nothing, watching over a small universe. He had created it, or so some believed. Regardless, he watched over it. His sons and daughters scurried about, moving from one place in the universe to the next... And then, he felt something. It was a small disturbance, but it was still something. "May I request the permission of the Creators to allow me entrance into their domain?" a regal voice echoed throughout the void bubble. To Arceus, it meant that Something want to gain access to his nothing realm. Something that could not survive in it like he did. It was a something he knew. The nothing around him changed. To him, it resembled a room in his universe, without windows or doors. It was a light shade of sky blue, and the universe had become something of a large globe resting in a stand. "But of course," he replied through telepathy. "How could I refuse a something of your stature, considering the debt I owe to you." Amirror shimmered into existence. It was set into the wall and through it stepped a being much like himself. Tall, graceful, and slender. "My greetings to you, Arceus," she greeted with an elegant bow. "And mine to you," he replied in turn. "What may I help you with Solar Princess?" "I need to borrow a few of your kin..." "Why? For what purpose could they serve to you?" "I need them for a lesson in friendship." The god-like pokemon stood upon the carpet. He wouldn't dare part with any of his pokemon under any situation. Even if one wanted to, he could not allow it. It would break everything he stood for. However, under this circumstance... his gaze looked towards one particular planet of the dimensional globe. Earth. Circling around it was a smaller one called the moon. Farther beyond that orbit was the life-giving light... the two things he could not create for his world... the two things that brought to life so many others... "I could decline politely to your acquisition, but cannot. I still owe you a debt. Very well, I-" "It is only for a short period," she interrupted. "They will stay only until my student learns her lesson." "... Very well..." the pokemon said thoughtfully and thankfully. "Whom shall you borrow?" Celestia smiled coyly. "I was hoping you could help me with that..."