“...and in a brilliant flash of light, the vines disappeared,” Lyra continued to the Pokemon. “Princess Twilight and her friends did it... somehow. But still, it was pretty funny to see the disappointed look on Discord's face when that vine he was sitting on vanished and he fell on his face.” Lyra looked up to the others, expecting them to laugh, but all they did was stare with astounded expressions.
“That's...” Felix started, but he was unable to continue.
“Wow...” Kanga said. “That's... wow...”
“I have run from police, attacked poachers, and calmed some really intimidating rampaging Pokemon,” Marcus said, “but everything that's happened to this town... damn...”
“MARCUS!” Kanga shouted while smacking the Rapidash on the back of his head. “There is a child in this room!”
“Ow, sorry,” Marcus replied. Blitz glared at Kanga, but the only thing keeping her from Fire Blasting the Kangaskhan at that moment was the fact that Marcus actually deserved that hit... this time.
“So what's happened to this town after that?” Pinky asked.
“Um...” Bon Bon said while rubbing her chin. “Actually, I don't think very much else has happened since then. Well, the Pokemon showing up out of nowhere was pretty exciting, but I don't think we really need to retell that story.”
“Yeah, I could hear screaming ponies left and right when I woke up,” Tiny replied with a laugh.
“Well if we've run out of stories about Equestria, who wants to hear about the time I almost crushed Professor Elm?” Kanga asked. The others seemed a bit curious, and Kanga was about to tell her story, but she stopped herself when she looked down and noticed that Roo had fallen asleep. “Huh... I hadn't realized how late it was.”
“Is it?” Felix asked. He turned around and looked at the clock to find that, sure enough, it was about 9 o' clock. Hardly late by most of their standards, but Blitz, Marcus, and Tiny knew how dodgy the Everfree could get after dark (even if the first two were a fairly reliable light source), and Kanga didn't really like staying up very much past when her daughter fell asleep.
“Hmm... what a shame,” Lyra said. “Hey, we should all get together and hang out tomorrow. I dunno, maybe do something. Stories are nice to share, but activities are much more fun.”
“Can't argue with that,” Blitz said with a wink off to the side towards Marcus.
“That's... not what I meant,” Lyra said, picking up on what Blitz was talking about.
“I know,” Blitz replied. “But for Marcus and I-”
“Yeah, I think that's enough with sharing life stories for tonight,” Kanga interrupted.
“I agree,” Felix said with a yawn.
“Okay,” Bon Bon said. “Marcus, Blitz, Tiny, I can show you three out.” She then turned to Lyra. “Can you show Felix and Kanga to their room, Lyra?”
“Sure,” Lyra replied. “Oh but wait...” The unicorn turned around to Pinky. “I'm so sorry, I think we forgot about you.”
“That's alright,” Pinky replied. “I'm probably gonna stay up for a while and then fall asleep on the couch. I've certainly slept in worse places before, after all.” The Slowbro snuck a quick glare at Felix.
“Hey, it's not my fault that Muk wanted to make you its snuggle buddy that night,” Felix said. “I didn't even know there were Muk in the area.”
“Eh, just be glad I could fight it off,” Pinky said. She then turned around to Lyra. “I'll be fine, really. Don't worry about me”
“Well... if you say so...” Lyra said with an unsure tone. She really didn't feel comfortable kicking a guest—particularly one of Felix's friends—to the couch. But, if Pinky insisted she was fine, then there really wasn't much Lyra could do. She then turned around to Felix and Kanga. “Okay, I'll show you two to your room.”
“Thank you,” Felix said with a smile. He and Kanga then followed Lyra up the stairs.
“I think we'll get going then,” Marcus said. “It was really nice to meet you and Lyra, Bon Bon.”
“Same to you three,” Bon Bon replied with a smile.
With that, Marcus turned to Blitz. “Shall we get going?” he asked.
“Yes, let's,” Blitz replied, giving Marcus a kiss. The two then walked out of the door, Tiny following behind.
“Bye Bon Bon,” Tiny said while turning around and waving before turning back and following his trainer.
“Sweet Celestia, that Tiny is adorable,” Bon Bon said. “Not nearly as adorable as Roo, of course, but...” The earth pony shook her head before closing the door and walking towards the stairs.
Outside, Marcus, Blitz, and Tiny were making their way towards the Everfree Forest. “So... I guess we'll head back?” Marcus asked.
“You two can,” Tiny said. “I'm gonna head out looking for... someone.”
Blitz chuckled and shook his head. “Tiny, you can be worse than me sometimes,” she said. “So, any particular targets for your 'happiness' tonight?”
“Meh, nothing really,” Tiny replied with a shrug. “First 'Mon I find who needs me like usual.”
“Well in that case, I wish you luck,” Marcus said.
“Thanks Marcus,” Tiny said. “But you know me. I don't need luck.” With a smile, the Togetic turned and flew off.
“That Tiny...” Blitz said as she watched him leave. “How come you never evolved him again?”
“I wanted to,” Marcus replied. “But he insisted on staying a Togetic. He liked having arms, he thought his face would lose its adorableness, and his biggest reason: Togekiss are monogamous. Tiny just wasn't the kind of soul who wanted to settle down.”
“Hmm...” Blitz said. She then leaned her head onto Marcus' shoulder and smiled. “I can't imagine a life without settling down. Especially when I already have such a wonderful mate.”
“You're so sweet,” Marcus said as he nuzzled Blitz. “So, shall we return home so that I can remind you of what makes me so 'wonderful'?”
“I thought you'd never ask,” Blitz said with a devious grin. “Last one back has to be on bottom!” She then set off galloping.
“Hey, no fair!” Marcus shouted as he half-galloped, half-stumbled after Blitz.
Meanwhile, Felix watched the two Rapidash gallop into the forest from the window in the room Lyra showed he and Kanga to. “Those two...” the Meganium said with a chuckle. He then turned around to Kanga, who looked like she was thinking about something. “Something on your mind, Kanga?”
“Oh,” Kanga said, apparently startled by having been pulled back to reality from deep in her thoughts. “Actually, if you'd excuse me for a moment...” Kanga quickly turned around and walked out of the room towards Lyra. “Um, Lyra? Can I get you and Bon Bon to do me a favor?”
“Oh?” Lyra asked. “What do you need?”
“I kinda need you and Bon Bon to let Roo sleep in your room tonight,” Kanga replied. “Because I kinda wanna...” The Kangaskhan leaned in and whispered something into Lyra's ear.
“Really?” Lyra asked, apparently startled by what Kanga told her. “But I thought you two weren't a couple until just last night.”
“I know,” Kanga said. “But the feelings have been there for ages on both sides, plus there's...” She leaned in and whispered something else.
“Ah, I can understand that,” Lyra said with a nod. “Ponies go through the same thing.”
“So you'll take her?” Kanga asked.
“Not a problem,” Lyra said with a smile as Kanga handed her Roo. Lyra picked Roo up with her magic and set the sleeping Kangaskhan on her back.
“Hey,” Pinky said as she walked up to the two. “I couldn't help but overhear a particular topic of conversation.” She then smirked at Kanga.
“Pinky, do you really have to do this?” Kanga asked with a huff.
“Fine, I won't soundproof your walls,” Pinky said while walking off.
“No wait!” Kanga called. Pinky simply chuckled.
“Heh, I'm just yanking your chain,” the Slowbro said. “Don't worry. You two scream to Arceus all you want. I'll make sure no one hears you.”
“Thanks Pinky,” Kanga said with a smile. “Well, good night to the both of you.”
“'Night Kanga,” Lyra said.
“Give him hell, Kanga,” Pinky said. Kanga gave the Slowbro a playful punch to the shoulder, but didn't say anything. Rather, she turned around, walked back into the room, and locked the door.
“What were you talking to them about, Kanga?” Felix asked, completely oblivious to what was in store for him.
“Oh, just asking them for a couple quick favors,” Kanga replied with a smile while walking towards Felix.
“Favors?” Felix asked. “What do you mean by-?” The Meganium was stopped suddenly when Kanga pulled him into a kiss, which quickly shut him up.
“Enough questions, Felix,” Kanga said when she finally broke the kiss. “There's something I need you to do.”
“Oh?” Felix asked, legitimately curious. “What do you-?” Felix stopped suddenly when he realized what Kanga was talking about. Immediately, he broke into a nervous sweat. Something told him this night was going to last a while.
“And soundproofed,” Pinky said as she applied a psychic soundproof barrier to the walls of Kanga and Felix's room, literally a split second before Felix shouted in shock and surprise. Meanwhile, Pinky turned around to Lyra and Bon Bon. “You two should be able to sleep soundly.”
“Thanks Pinky,” Bon Bon said with a smile. She then looked over at Roo, who was still sleeping on Lyra's back. “It's good to have her back.”
“Yeah,” Lyra said. “Just having Roo in the house makes the whole place feel... lovely.”
“Well, I'm glad we came into your lives,” Pinky said with a smile.”I dunno what we would have done without you two.”
“Same for you and everyone else,” Lyra replied, returning the smile. She then sighed. “The world just feels so... different now. But in a good way. I think we'll get used to an Equus full of Pokemon. Not just Bon Bon and I, but the rest of Ponyville, too.”
“And I think us Pokemon will get used to this world as well,” Pinky said. “It's so much more peaceful than our old one.”
“Well I'm glad we could offer that much,” Bon Bon said.
“Are you sure you're ok on the couch?” Lyra asked. “I mean, I don't want to-”
“I'm telling you, I'm fine,” Pinky replied. “Besides, I gotta stay up for a while to keep this soundproof barrier going.”
“Gotcha,” Bon Bon said. “Well, thank you for that.” She then turned to Lyra. “Well, I guess we're gonna go to bed too.”
“Yeah,” Lyra replied. “Good night, Pinky.”
“'Night, Lyra and Bon Bon,” Pinky said with a smile. With that, the two ponies turned and walked into their bedroom, where Lyra gently placed Roo in her crib while Bon Bon closed the door, leaving Pinky standing there in the hallway.
The Slowbro stood there in silence for a moment, unsure of what to do now. “Well, I suppose I won't need the translator active if Lyra and Bon Bon are asleep,” Pinky said to herself, thinking about how she could make keeping the soundproof barrier active. Even with the translator still on, a soundproof barrier was easier to maintain while she wasn't... “preoccupied” like she was the night before. Still though, she did need to wind down. “Hmm... maybe they've got something I can read.” Pinky then headed downstairs so she could search for a book to read.
Over the Everfree Forest, Tiny was flying around while looking for some Pokemon. “Hmm...” he said to himself. “Let's see...” The Togetic tapped into her hidden Fairy powers to expand her search ability to search for Pokemon who were really... down. As in “incredibly sad and in desperate need of a sexual pick-me-up”. Tiny had done this kind of search on at least a weekly basis... provided Marcus would let him out. (They found themselves on high alert in terms of police presence fairly often.) There were some nights when the thought occurred to Tiny that maybe, just maybe, what he did could be counted as taking advantage of these Pokemon, but Tiny didn't think of it like that. He was the Happiness Pokemon, and he was going to stop at nothing to spread that happiness... no matter how.
“Here we go...” Tiny said to himself as he picked up a soul in distress. “Let's see... a Typhlosion, lost as can be. Male, but... that kind of male. I suppose it has been about two weeks since my last encounter of that type.... What the heck? No one else is around.” Tiny then flew towards the Typhlosion. The Togetic was considerably different from most Pokemon. 90% of Pokemon who were capable of mating were attracted to those of opposite genders. Another 7% were homosexual. But then there was that small 3% who didn't care either way, (not counting Dittos), and Tiny happened to land in that 3% region. He didn't really have a preference in terms of gender. (Heck, he'd do a Porygon if need be.) Just as long as he was making someone happy. Tiny didn't feel like it made him particularly different. He was just like any ordinary Pokemon in all other respects except for sexuality... and other obvious respects.
It wasn't long before Tiny descended to within viewing range of the Typhlosion. He was lying down, not asleep, but rather softly crying. “Okay, I've been here before,” Tiny said to himself. “Just stick to the routine.” The Togetic took a deep breath before moving towards Typhlosion. “Um, hello?”
Typhlosion's ears instantly perked up and he turned around towards Tiny with a startled expression. “Who are you?” he asked, getting up and preparing to defend himself.
“I'm a friend,” Tiny replied. “I'm, uh... Togetic.”
“Togetic...” Typhlosion said. “What do you want? I was having a private moment.”
“I can tell you're having a pretty bad day,” Tiny said. “What I want is to help you.”
Typhlosion snorted, blowing a small bit of fire. “You wanna help me?” he asked. “Turn me back into a human. Take me back to Earth. Reunite me with my friends and family. Can you do any of that? Huh?”
Tiny flew backwards a bit, knowing how volatile angry Typhlosion could be, especially if this one used to be a human and doesn't entirely know how his new body works yet. “I... I can't,” Tiny admitted. “But I can try to cheer you up.”
“How?” Typhlosion asked, looking to the side with a mildly angry expression. “You don't know my story, you don't know what'll help me.”
“I do, actually,” Tiny said, taking a chance and moving a little closer towards Typhlosion. “And... I have the same story.”
This caught Typhlosion's attention. “What?” he asked, staring at Tiny with a confused expression. “What do you mean 'same story'?”
“I mean...” Tiny started, reaching out and placing his hand on Typhlosion's shoulder. “...I know how it feels to not have someone in your life, or at least for one night.”
“You mean...?” Typhlosion asked. He then looked away, blushing. “I... I'm not that kind of guy, though. Not a one-night-stand kind of guy, I mean.”
“But I can still tell you're having a bad life,” Tiny replied. “Don't you just wanna... take your mind off of it?”
“I...” Typhlosion started. “I guess... thank you, Togetic. I know I don't know you at all, and I'm guessing you don't know me, but what you're offering... it means a lot to me.”
“You're welcome,” Tiny said with a smile, flying down to where he was at eye-level with Typhlosion. “All I need from you is to see you happy.”
“Well if you wanna see me happy...” Typhlosion said with a devious smile. He then grabbed Tiny and pinned him to the ground. “You wouldn't mind taking a passive role tonight, would you?”
“Not at all,” Tiny said, returning the smile. It was right then that Typhlosion leaned down and roughly kissed Tiny, who gladly returned the kiss. The Togetic knew tonight was going to be a good night. Painful, maybe, but he was still making someone happy, so it would be worth the pain.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the Everfree forest, Mangol and Ki were walking at a tired pace.
“Mangol, we need to rest for the night,” Ki said as she lagged behind the Zoroark. “Think about Drake. Do you want him to see you exhausted and tired?”
Mangol sighed before stopping in her tracks. “Fine,” she said. “I guess we can rest here for the night.”
“Finally!” Ki said as she allowed herself to fall over and onto her side. The Leafeon sighed in relief as she felt her feet finally be released of the burden of her weight. “Hey Mangol, I've got an idea. Why don't you tell The Story?”
“Ki, I really don't want to,” Mangol replied as she sat down. “Not after everything that's happened over the past couple days.”
“Mangol, you know about the Curse of The Story,” Ki replied with a grin. “Every time you tell it, something good happens. Remember? Like that time you told Aria and Marcus went on to win the Sinnoh League? Or when you told Drake and then Felix rescued Tartar a few days later? You know the list goes on. Maybe if you tell The Story now, we'll find everyone else tomorrow without a problem.”
Mangol sighed. “Fine, if you insist, I'll tell it.”
“Thank you,” Ki said, rolling over onto her stomach and looking up at Mangol, listening intently.
Mangol took a deep breath before starting. “Back when I was a Zorua, not even a year old, Marcus wasn't my trainer. I belonged to his older brother, Conner. As did my twin brother Fluff, a Mareep. Conner was ten years older than Marcus. He'd be... 26 human years old if he were alive today.
“A month before he died, he applied for a job at a place called Freddy Fazbeartic's Pizza. It was a children's restaurant where parties were held. Conner didn't do anything with the children, though. No, the entertainment was left to the animatronics.” Mangol paused and clenched her claws. “Those damned robots...”
“Mangol, try to stay calm,” Ki said.
“Sorry,” the Zoroark said. She took a deep breath before continuing. “He usually just worked on serving the pizza and such, but one night, he was offered another position. The old night guard had quit the night before, and there wasn't enough time to look for a new one to hire. Conner jumped at the chance to earn some extra money. He figured he'd have no problem with that job. After all, who would wanna rob a kid's pizza parlor at night? Conner brought Fluff and I with him, but we were in our Pokeballs the whole time. It was very likely nothing was going to happen, but he had us with him just in case. I should have protested. Maybe then I could have saved him when... they arrived.
“I don't know exactly what happened, but sometime during the night, the animatronics started walking around on their own. Conner could keep an eye on them with the security cameras, but even with those, he couldn't have seen them coming right for him. He was stuck in his office while the animatronics periodically came after him. He was able to keep them out for a little while, but then the doors jammed, and one of the animatronics, Freddy Fazbeartic himself, made it into Conner's office. I don't know what happened after that. All I know is that, the next morning, Conner was found dead. Stuffed inside of a broken-down animatronic from the storage room. As for Fluff, he just vanished. He wasn't in his Pokeball, his body wasn't found anywhere, he was just... gone.
“Marcus lost his brother that day, and I lost both my brother and my trainer. He and I were both very young at the time—Marcus was only eight—and coping with our losses was difficult. However, we found shoulders to cry on in each other. For two years after that, Marcus took care of me as though I were his own Pokemon. He even kept my Pokeball.
“Then, when Marcus turned ten, it was time for him to go off on his journey. I wanted to go with him, but... but he didn't want me to come. He thought I was too fragile to go out on an adventure. And in hindsight, I probably was. But that didn't stop me. When Marcus came back home to say goodbye to his family after receiving his first Pokemon, Princess, I came up and insisted that I come with him. He was reluctant at first, but he was the only one I had left in my life. My original trainer dead, my brother gone...” Mangol paused as she began to tear up a little. “Marcus was all the family I had left. After some convincing, Marcus decided to take me with him, and I was so happy. Absolutely giddy. I could finally go out, be a part of an adventure... like I know Conner always wanted.” Mangol sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Everything I did on my journey with Marcus, I thought about Conner and Fluff. They wanted to see the world, and so did I, but they could never get out there. I don't know why. Maybe Conner was frightened that something would happen to us...” Mangol trailed off and began sobbing. “But... but that was exactly what happened to him and Fluff! And I couldn't save them!” It was here that Ki decided to step in. The Leafeon stood up, walked over to her friend, and patted the Zoroark on the shoulder.
“There there, Mangol,” Ki said in a consoling tone. “You've lived most of your life in their honor. I'm sure they're happy for you wherever they are.”
“I-I know,” Mangol replied through her sobs. “I know they'd be proud of how far I've come, but... but that doesn't mean I don't miss them.” The Zoroark reached down and hugged Ki. “Ki... I have to tell you something...”
“Anything, Mangol,” Ki replied.
“If the Curse doesn't work this time... I'm gonna kill you.”
Ki hardly even flinched at this, but rather smiled. “You go ahead,” the Leafeon replied. She wasn't worried about Mangol's threat. Sure, the Zoroark could cleave Ki as though trimming a hedge, but Ki was confident the Curse of the Story would work since it hasn't failed once in the past. “I'm sorry for making you go through this, Mangol.”
“It's ok,” Mangol replied. “I just hope it works.” The Zoroark stayed there for a moment, crying into the Leafeon's shoulder, before finally speaking again. “You want me to let you go so you can get some sleep, don't you?”
“Take all the time you need, Mangol,” Ki replied. “It's the least I can do for making you relive all of that.”
“Th-thank you,” Mangol said. It was probably another twenty minutes before Mangol finally let Ki go and the two went to sleep, but Mangol slept rather nicely soundly with the knowledge that something good was likely going to happen tomorrow.
After all, it was always darkest before dawn.