(Fluttershy POV)
Fluttershy braced herself for what was on the other side. Her mouth hung in amazement at what she saw. She expected something similar to the diamond dog caves, but was surprised when she saw a small town very similar to Ponyville, though the architecture was different (for those wondering, Eden’s architecture is similar to 13th century Japanese architecture). One detail that confused her was the fact that it appeared to be daytime down here. She tilted her head up and noticed the ceiling of the cavern was covered in the same moss that was along the walls of the stairway, the sheer amount of it giving the illusion of day.
“The moss isn’t always blue. It shifts colors regularly during the day, similar to the sky outside.”
Fluttershy looked to see where the voice had come from and was surprised to see Neo Swirl standing next to her. This mare was starting to remind her of Pinkie for whatever reason.
“Miss Swirl would you be so kind as to give Fluttershy a tour of town? Be sure to show her the gardens.”
“As you wish sir.”
Fluttershy was reluctant to leave Greninja, but after some pleading eyes from Neo, the mares were on their way.
(Greninja POV)
I watched as the two departed to see the sights of my little town, before I continued my trek. I’ve been gone a thousand years, and I had business to attend to. I eventually made it to town hall, my home and base of operations. I strolled through the door; several ponies that were going about their tasks stopping to watch my entrance. They likely had questions to ask and information from my absence to present to me. Those could wait. Once again, I was at a set of doors. The doors to my room. I was hesitant and I wasn’t sure why. I shook my mind free of those thoughts, and stepped through. My room was essentially a cave, but I rather enjoyed the natural feel it gave. Aside from my bed, some bookcases, my writing desk, and the numerous notes on the walls, the room was very barren. Across from the entrance was another opening leading to the next area. The detail of this area was the large pool of liquid that took up the majority of the room. More on that in a moment. On the far wall rests a white staff around my height with a large gold ring at the head of it. I lifted it off feeling the texture of the wooden body and the various runes etched into it. I reached into my item pouch removing the Smash Ball and placing it within the ring.
Now to see if it still works.
I pour my will into the staff, and after a click, I see numerous colored shards extend from the ring. 15 out of 18 elemental energies I collected in Equestria. I take a moment to look at the 3 empty slots: Bug, Steel, and Ghost. One that I hadn’t collected out of respect, one that was of inferior quality 1000 years ago, and one that I had no idea how to collect, but knew I would. These were the keys to my success, and they were of utmost priority. Staff in hand, I turned to the pool. I never came up with a name for the substance. After many years experimenting, I deduced what it was.
The primordial ooze for reality. The blood of the multiverse.
As such, I dubbed this area the Origin Point, the area from which this world grew. Traveling along the multiversal arteries, one could travel from one Origin Point to another or one could be ejected from a rift, a rupture in the artery. Despite the use of Oculus, I couldn’t find my universe, only finding more versions of Equestria.
Maybe I’m afraid. The more I use her, the more information I gather and the more my brain warps to compensate.
I tapped my staff on the surface of the pool, the surface freezing, before shattering into several large chunks, each piece showing a different Equestria in its reflection.
Perhaps I require some assistance.
I conjured forth a Substitute doll and cast it into the pool.
“To all who share my fate, should you have need for a blade to part the opposition, sight beyond what should be known, or a torrent to wear away the strongest of fortresses, simply crush the Substitute you have and I shall be there. I am not a pawn or warrior, but a knight of what he believes to be right. I am Greninja, the Ninja Pokemon. I am the Warlord of the Water.”
(Fluttershy POV)
Fluttershy was beginning to lose breath. They had taken the longest path through town and at every location; Neo would immediately drag her to another. The pair stopped, hearing something similar to an intercom clicking on.
“Attention residents of Eden, Lord Greninja has returned and wishes a meeting in town square. I repeat: all residents of Eden please report to town square.”
With Neo fitting the qualification of resident and Fluttershy not wanting to be alone, they departed for the square. As they arrived, they could see that the population of Eden (those who showed up) was about 50 ponies, 10 griffons, 10 juvenile dragons, and 30 black pony-like creatures. Everypony was currently mingling, until a series of loud taps caught their attention. Sitting on top of the central fountain was Greninja, his staff resting across his shoulders, and a placid look in his eyes.
“Today, I would like to welcome you. Even though some of you were born here, your parents, ancestors, and the rest of today’s residents are here because of one thing: your ideals clash with the rest of your kind. Whether by force or fear, you left your homes looking for solace. And it was Eden that appeared before you. That is your reason for being here. But some of you ask why I am here?”
Everypony was waiting in eager anticipation.
“Then I shall tell my story.”
And so Greninja would tell his story. Coincidently, Celestia was telling her side of the story to the currently Mane 5.
(1,037 years ago)
We had been walking for a few minutes, trekking deeper into the forest I had awoken in. I had struck up a conversation with Oculus, hoping she would tell me a bit about herself. She didn’t have much of a history, apparently having only been created a few hours before coming into my possession.
Okay, my turn. Tell me about you.
“What do you want to know?”
Why were you at the convention?
“I’m a fan of cosplay. However, I don’t have the looks for it, so I show my appreciation through photography.”
You must have quite the eye for detail. Despite the amount of people there, you were the only one to notice Master’s stall.
“Master?”
The one who gave me to you and presented you with your new form.
Guy definitely wasn’t human, but who gives a guy a “magic” monocle, turns him into a pokemon, and dumps him in a random forest?
“Hey, Oculus.”
Yes?
“There’s something that’s been bothering me.”
I’m listening.
“The footprints we saw back there weren’t made by humans.”
Then what made them?
“Well the spacing of the footprints suggests that the creatures are quadrapedal. The shape lacked digits, suggesting hooves, so it could be some form of sentient equine life form.”
Aren’t humans the only sentient life form?
“That would imply we’re on Earth.”
How did you come to that conclusion?
“The sun’s wrong. We’ve been walking for exactly one hour and forty-eight minutes. So the sun should have moved about twenty-seven degrees.”
I tilted up towards the sun above us.
“However, the sun above us has yet to move. A very strange occurrence.”
There’s something else wrong. The colors are bothering me, but that could be due to the new body.
I pushed aside some shrubbery and was met with quite the sight; a moderate sized gorge over which was a rope bridge. On the other side, is a small castle that looked to have been constructed in the past couple of years. On the castle grounds, several equine life forms adorned in golden armor seemed to be on patrol.
Too small to be classified as horses, maybe they’re ponies?
processing…
Ponies, sun not moving normally, and the weird colors…
“This is Equestria, isn’t it?”
What’s Equestria?
“I’ll summarize it as ‘Magical Pony Friendship Land’.”
And you know of this place, how?
“I’ve seen many fans of the show at conventions and experienced many bored nights on the internet.”
Ok, one last question.
“Go ahead.”
What’s the internet?
“A cesspool of contradictions, stupidity, vulgarity, and perversion.”
Wow. That raises even more questions, but I can wait.
Ok, 20 questions is currently paused. Now time to assess the situation.
The building ahead of me is The Castle of the Two Sisters, making the forest behind me The Everfree. The current condition of the castle suggests that I’m at an earlier point than the show. A meeting with the princesses is inevitable, but I would like to avoid the guards.
I reach up to scratch my head in thought, and feel extra weight on my hand. I look down and noticed a rock stuck to my hand.
A few minutes later and I had successfully crossed the gorge undetected. I then began my ascent of the outer wall, pressing myself against the wall to try and make myself less noticeable. After a brief pause to let a patrol pass, I made it up, spotted my next destination (an open window), and made a flying leap. I managed to jump far enough to grab the window sill, and quickly scampered in.
“Thank God for frog legs.”
I cringed as my brain went straight for the idea of food.
After engaging in more Metal Gear shenanigans (sadly there was not a single cardboard box), I reached what appeared to be the central chamber.
“Huh. I was expecting better security.”
That single moment of peace was interrupted by the press of metal against my throat.
Me and my big mouth.
“State thy business and why I shouldst not remove thy head.”
“Interior decorator and because blood stains are very hard to remove.”
Yes, he’s an interior decorator, who managed to enter without being spotted by a single guard.
“You’re not helping.”
It’s not like she can hear me.
“I know, but it feels like your calling bullshit on my excuse.”
I turned around to face my possible executioner. I look slightly down to see a mare a little more than half my height, a confused look on her face. She’s an earth pony with a white coat, a gold mane, and large emerald green eyes. On her flank rests her cutie mark, 3 gold diamonds. Though she’s not adorned in armor, she’s still threatening with her right hoof wrapped around what appears to be a halberd, which is currently pressing against the back of my neck. It looks like she snapped out of it.
“I will ask thou once more. State thy business.”
“Ok, you caught me. I’m Celestia’s illegitimate son, and I’ve come to collect child support.”
Once again she has a look of confusion. This is starting to get annoying.
“State thy business.”
“DOTH THOU EVEN SPEAK THE QUEEN’S ENGLISH?!”
Everything was silent.
Oh God, she’s angry. Pokemon powers don’t fail me now.
I bring my hands together and hope for something. At that moment, I notice my shadow start to extend behind her, before peeling off the ground into a standing position. She definitely got the “Oh shit, someone’s behind me” vibe as she turned her head, flipped out, and proceeded to bring her halberd down on it.
A tad violent, but I’ll take it.
I immediately make a break for it, the angry mare giving chase, most likely wishing to claim my skull.
We made our way through the various halls of the castle, till I was out of her line of sight and ducked into one of the rooms, closing the door behind me. My back against the door, I finally have a moment of peace.
“Tia, we appear to have a guest.”
I look up and am face to face with the princesses themselves, and they appear to be partaking in…tea and cake?
“Why am I always late for tea? A gentleman is never late for tea.”
“It seems one of the forest’s creatures managed to circumvent the guards. Perhaps we should rethink the training regimen.”
THWACK
The door broke off the hinges, collapsing on top of me, most likely with My Little Psycho to blame.
“General Victory, must you break the door?”
“A thousand pardons, Princesses. This is one tries my patience and refuses to answer my questions.”
“Save thy breath. You attempt to speak with a beast. Thy mark insures great favor, but this is a task thou cannot complete.”
I stick my head out from under the door, managing to catch a glimpse of Victory.
Wow, she looks down trodden and that’s understandable, your benevolent ruler just indirectly called you a failure, and with a name like Victory that must sting. Plus, they’re questioning if I’m even sentient.
Ok, time to see what other moves this body knows.
I began to feel pressure on my palms. Whatever this is, it’s big.
I overhear what sounds like Celestia telling Victory to get off me. The moment she hopped off the door, the pressure exploded and there was water everywhere. If saw the event from outside, you would see a torrent rush from every opening in the castle, and me being launched out one of the windows and into the forest.
(Present Day)
“And that is where I will leave off for today.”
The crowd was filled with chatter, and they were eager for more. However, they knew I would speak no more, so they dispersed to resume their prior business, including Neo and Fluttershy’s touring session. I excused myself to my sanctum to reflect on my thoughts.
To reflect on why I’m here.
(1,037 years ago)
I scraped myself off the ground, brushing away the rocks that were imbedded from my landing.
“Hope this little incident doesn’t come to bite me in the ass.”
“Now what fun would that be? It’s like playing on easy: no challenge.”
I look over to see the guy from the convention, smugly propped against one of the trees. I’m overcome with anger as I rush and pin him to the tree.
“You’re awfully hot-blooded for an amphibian.”
“Hot-blooded? How could I not be? You took me away from everything I knew. Let’s see how much water pressure it takes to sever your arm.”
“Calm yourself, Isaac.” As he grabbed arms and effortlessly removed them from his person.
I’m still disturbed from that moment as I watch the dude’s body dissolve, turning to smoke, before dispersing. All that remained was the gloves he wore.
“What the fuck?”
“Now time to discuss the details of your contract.”
“Contract?”
“The one you signed back at the convention.”
“I didn’t sign up for this.”
“Actually, you did. Despite your eye for detail, you neglected to look over what you signed.”
The gloves release me, before pulling a piece parchment out of nowhere.
“Let’s see here. The signer (that’s you) in exchange for entry into The Tournament of Smash, agrees to perform the duty of scouting new fighters for the contractor (that’s us). You will find 5 challengers, each one identified by an invitation which will be summoned at the time of approval. Your position as scouter is of neutral persuasion, as such you are forbidden from persuading the challenger into accepting or declining. The tournament does not begin till every challenger from every universe has accepted. So don’t worry about meeting a deadline.”
“Ok, I have a few questions.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why am I a Greninja?”
“There are so many Greninja in the Pokemon universe, and you seemed like the easiest way to get a challenger from there.”
“What moves can I do?”
“Every move you’re capable of learning.”
“Why Equestria?”
“It seems popular, and I’m open to new ideas.”
“When can I have my old body back?”
“After the tournament, if you still want it.”
…
…
“Ok, I’m game.”
“Excellent. You’ll need this.” He says as he hands me what appears to be a strap-on pouch.
“What’s this?”
“An item pouch containing every item that will be available in the tournament. Almost every item. No assist trophies or pokeballs.”
I take the bag and decide to strap it around my thigh.
“I expect great thing things from you, Isaac.”
“Isaac was left on Earth. I am Greninja and I look forward to the tournament, Master.”
The moment we shook hands was the moment my fate was sealed.