Author's note
In order to clear up confusion later in this chapter, while it's technically Aria being talked to and interacted with, I will refer to Meganium as such. (That is to say, “he said,” “shook his head,” and that sort of stuff.) Also, I've updated the story's description slightly. I just felt like it.
Everyone stared in a mixture of disbelief and confusion at Aria, who apparently was now possessed by the ghost of Meganium, Kanga's first mate and Roo's father.
"Probably a stupid question, but am I the only one a little bit confused?" Felix asked the others.
"No, this is kinda catching us off guard, too,” Bon Bon replied.
“Um…” Kanga said, but she wasn't able to say anything else. She just plain couldn't believe what was in front of her. Meganium, back after dying at the hands of Team Rocket three years ago. It was just… impossible.
“I guess the first question is… wha…?” Lyra asked. “Like… how even…?”
“I'll explain myself,” Meganium said. “You see, three years ago, I died protecting Kanga and Roo from evil humans. I knew I was finished when Felix suddenly appeared and, alongside his Pokemon, succeeded where I had failed. Sadly, my time was over before I had a chance to thank him. However, when he made contact with my deceased body, my spirit was able to find a new home in Felix.”
“Wait, so… after that day… you were in my head or something?” Felix asked. “Um… a little creepy. Not gonna lie.”
“I apologize for that,” Meganium replied. “In reality, it was not my choice to occupy you. In fact, I'd considered instead becoming a Pumpkaboo. Because, you know, not all dead Pokemon have to move on. But I was kept from doing either of these by you, Felix. When you touched me, it was at that moment that I was trying to move on, but I was stopped, and I became bound to you.”
Felix took a step back, a look of horror on his face. “I… I didn't know…” he said. “I-I'm sorry. I swear, I didn't mean to-”
“Don't be sorry,” Meganium replied. “At first, I was angry. But then, I was able to watch you rescue my two darling Kangaskhan. I was happy that I could know that they were safe. I thought I'd die without knowing what happened to them.”
“Wait, hold on a second,” Lyra said. “In theory, if you had become this… 'Pumpkin Boo' or whatever you called it, couldn't you have gone back and saved Kanga and Roo?”
'No,” Meganium replied while shaking his head. “The passage into a new life, particularly into a Ghost-type, is a long and difficult process. I would not have been the same, there would have been no guarantee that I'd even retain my old memories, and even then, I still would not have made it in time.”
“Oh,” Lyra said while drooping her ears. “Then… I guess it was pretty lucky that Felix came, huh?”
“I saw him as a gift straight from Arceus himself,” Meganium replied. “I watched as Felix put his own life in danger in order to save the two I cared about with all my heart, and then I was able to watch them live on. Watch my darling child grow…” Meganium then looked over to Felix. “In life, I had never, ever been more grateful to anyone than I have been to you in death, Felix Light. I am sad I can no longer be with Kanga, but I take joy in the fact that she has found a new, truly worthy mate.”
“Uh… thank you,” Felix said, forcing a smile. “I'm… glad you think so.”
Meganium gave a nod to Felix before turning to Kanga, whom Roo had rejoined during the prior conversation. “Kanga… I'm sorry, but it feels weird for me to call you that,” Meganium said with a chuckle. “I'm aware that it's your name now, but…” Meganium shook his head. “I digress. It's wonderful to talk to you again, Kanga.”
“I…” Kanga tried to say, but words failed her. Instead, she reached out and gripped the possessed Froslass in a hug so tight, it would have made an Ursaring jealous, tears in her eyes all the while. “But… but you died. Why are you still here? How are you still here?”
“For two reasons,” Meganium replied, returning the hug. “And I'm hugging them both right now. I'd wanted you two to live on, and I found the chance to watch you do so through Felix.” Meganium then looked down at Roo. “Roo… I couldn't think of a more perfect name for you, my daughter, and I couldn't be prouder of how you've grown these last three years.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” Roo replied with an unsure smile. Sure, it was great to talk to her father again, whom she'd only known for a day or two after she was born, but… the whole concept was still a little strange to her. Despite this, she smiled.
“Hold on, I'm still trying to piece something together here,” Tiny said. “Sorry, I know you were having a family moment, but this is really bugging me. Between me, a Fairy-type, Pinky, a Psychic-type, and Aria, a Ghost-type, how come not one of us was ever able to notice you in our presence? I mean, all three of us have a rather acute sense of what can't be easily noticed.”
“I'm not sure what answer you're looking for, Tiny,” Meganium said, looking over to the Togetic, “however, I may be able to offer something. In the past three years, my spirit was very weak. It's honestly a miracle that I was able to keep myself together, in fact. However, in just the past couple of days, I felt a new strange surge of energy.”
“Residual magic!” Lyra suddenly blurted out. After realizing everyone was looking at her odd, she cleared her throat and explained. “I heard something about it in middle school. Every living being on Equus, whether it be pony, griffon, minotaur, what have you, has some kind of residual magical signature, and in turn, this world itself has residual magic. The trees, the clouds, the air, everything. I don't see how it could have an effect on you, though…”
“Hmm…” Felix said while rubbing his chin with one of his vines. “We did spend a whole day in that Everfree Forest, and we did eat apples from there. Would that make a difference?”
“The Everfree has one of the highest residual magic concentrations in Equestria,” Lyra replied with a nod. “That would definitely have an effect.”
“So that brought Meganium's strength up to the point where Aria would be able to detect it,” Tiny concluded, “though not quite enough for neither me nor Pinky to find you first.” With a chuckle, the Togetic added, “That little Slowbro would have a field day with all of this.”
“Okay, but I'm still unclear on something,” Lyra said. “If you wanted to possess… Aria, or whatever her name was, how come you needed my magic? Why couldn't you just go straight from Felix to her?”
“The residual magic wasn't enough,” Meganium replied while shaking his head. “And in our world, possession isn't all that easy to begin with. I'd gained strength, and I wanted to talk to you all, but I wasn't strong enough. I needed more of your magic.” Right as Meganium said this, he suddenly called out in pain and sank to the ground. Kanga, Tiny, and Marcus all quickly rushed to him.
“Meganium, what's wrong?” Kanga asked.
“Aria… is resisting me…” Meganium replied. “The magic I gained from Lyra is wearing thin. If I linger for very much longer, I may cease to exist.”
“Well we can't let that happen!” Felix said. “What do we do?”
“It's simple,” Meganium replied while regaining altitude. “You don't resist me, so I just return to you. I may need a little more magic to get back, though.”
“Okay…” Felix said. “But, ah… you're not going to possess me, are you?”
“Even if I wanted to, I don't have enough energy to do so,” Meganium replied. “Don't worry. I'll return to the sidelines like I've been for the past three years.”
“Wait!” Kanga called. “Meganium… there's still so much I want to ask you. Can I talk to you again in the future?”
“You may have to clear that with Aria,” Meganium replied. “She really didn't take my being here too kindly, and she's not likely to fall for my little trick a second time.” He then placed his hand on Kanga's cheek and gave her a quick kiss. “I never stopped loving you, Kanga, but Felix loves you just as much. I don't ask that you forget about me, but I do ask that you let Felix be your true mate.”
Kanga did not say anything, but rather smiled. “I… thank you,” she finally managed to say.
“And Roo…” Meganium said as he looked down at the young Kangaskhan, “I know you'll grow up very strong. You'll face challenges in your life, but never give up.”
“You got it!” Roo said with a salute.
With a nod, Meganium turned towards Felix. “And for you, Felix… you are an excellent trainer, a wonderful father, and above all, a good person. I couldn't think of anyone better for my family to be with. Thank you.”
“You're welcome, Meganium,” Felix replied with a nod. He then bowed his head as Meganium placed his hand upon the trainer's forehead while Lyra walked up and placed her horn at where the two Pokemon met. There was a brief flash of light, far from what happened before, and Aria fell to the ground while Felix recoiled a little. “Ow… that hurt a little.”
“Aria!” Marcus and Tiny shouted as the two rushed to the downed Froslass. Tiny flew down and checked on Aria.
“Aria, talk to me,” the Togetic said as he looked down at Aria, who seemed unconscious. Tiny closed his eyes and uttered, “Wish.” A soft light enveloped Aria for a moment before the Froslass finally opened her eyes.
“Nnn…” Aria groaned as she looked up at Tiny. “Tiny…?”
“Aria, I'm so glad you're alright,” Tiny said with a smile.
“Oh holy hell, my head,” Aria continued as she rose up from Tiny's hold and massaged her head. “Something terrible just happened. I saw this Meganium, and-” Aria stopped dead in her tracks as she looked over at Felix and fixed her gaze on him. “YOU!” With that shout, she fired a powerful Frost Breath that hit Felix square at the base of his neck and sent him sprawling backwards.
It was then that the scene instantly erupted into chaos. Tiny moved to restrain Aria, who was trying to advance for another hit on Felix, Kanga was torn between rushing to Felix's aid and tearing Aria in two, (grudgingly deciding on the former), Marcus followed suit, Roo began to cry, Lyra and Bon Bon froze in shock and fear, Butters and Breeze retreated to a safe distance, and Blitz readied herself to attack Aria.
“ARIA, CALM DOWN!” Tiny shouted as the Froslass struggled against him.
“WHAT THE HELL, ARIA?” Marcus shouted as he helped Felix up.
“Felix! Are you alright?” Kanga asked as the Meganium got to his feet.
“I'm shaken, but fine,” Felix replied as he rose and shook his head. “Ow, never mind. The adrenaline's wearing off. I'm not fine.”
“You have five seconds to explain yourself, Aria!” Blitz shouted as her flames began flaring.
“HIM! IT WAS HIM!” Aria shouted madly. “GET HIM AWAY FROM ME!”
“ARIA, CALM DOWN!” Tiny repeated, but it was no use. Aria wouldn't stop struggling. Finally resolving to take action before Blitz did, Tiny spun Aria around and gave her a Wake-Up Slap across the face. It didn't hurt her, of course, but it caught her by surprise enough to get her to stop struggling for a moment and stare at Tiny.
“T-Tiny?” Aria asked as she rubbed her cheek.
“I'm sorry, Aria, but you needed to calm down,” Tiny said, regret for his actions evident in his voice.
It was at this moment that Marcus, noticing Blitz ready to pounce, galloped over. “Take Tiny's advice, honey,” Marcus said to Blitz before turning to Aria. “What the hell is your problem, Aria? Why did you just attack Felix all of a sudden.”
“I… I what?” Aria asked, seeming confused. “I attacked… oh Arceus. Where's Felix? Is he okay?” She quickly turned around to see Felix, whom Kanga quickly stepped in front of while glaring at Aria.
“You're gonna pay dearly for that unless you have a damn good reason for attacking him,” Kanga growled, either not remembering that Roo was still with her or not caring at this point. (Although the young one was still crying, so she probably didn't hear anyway.)
“I-I-I…” Aria stammered, still in shock. “I thought- I felt- I couldn't…”
“Aria, slow down,” Tiny said. “Breathe.”
Aria followed Tiny's advice and took a deep breath. “The… the Meganium—the other one—possessed me,” she said. “It… it felt awful. I couldn't…” Aria began shaking and tearing up. “Oh Felix, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to. I just… stopped functioning. Stopped processing everything. I just…”
“Calm down, Aria,” Marcus said, gently holding the Froslass. He then turned to the others. “I think I know what's happened. Aria doesn't have many fears, but the few she does… she doesn't handle them well. Not being in control of herself… that's easily her biggest fear.”
“So when Meganium possessed her…” Felix started, his antennae drooping. “I'm sorry you had to go through that, Aria.”
“You don't have to apologize to me, Felix,” Aria said, looking down and shaking her head. “I…” She looked like the tried to say more, but after a few seconds of silence, she turned around and began floating at top speed towards the Everfree Forest.
“Aria, wait!” Marcus called, but she was already gone. “Great. She's doing this again.” The Rapidash then turned to Butters and Breeze. “Can you two follow her and make sure she doesn't get herself in serious trouble? She doesn't function well when she's gone through fear and then regret.”
“Not a problem,” Butters said with a nod before he and Breeze flew after Aria.
“Is she going to be alright?” Lyra asked Marcus.
“She should be fine…” Marcus said, but then he added, “I hope.” He then turned to Felix. “What about you, Felix? Are you okay?”
“I've been better,” Felix replied, “but I'll thaw. Don't worry.”
Kanga breathed a sigh of relief. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that,” she said. She then looked down at Roo, who seemed to be done crying, but looked ready to start back up if called for. “What about you, Roo? Are you alright?”
With a sniff and a wipe of her eyes, Roo looked up at Kanga and said, “I'm fine. All that just startled me, that's all.”
“Well, I'm glad everyone's okay, at least,” Blitz said.
“Not quite everyone,” Bon Bon interjected. “What’s gonna happen to Aria?”
“I think she'll be fine,” Marcus replied. “But… she hasn't had to deal with facing one of her two biggest fears since the jailbreak two years ago. She handled nearly dying alright, but she was straight-up possessed here without any warning. I'm willing to bet she'll need a couple days to completely recover.” Marcus shook his head. “She won't show it, but she knows fear. She knows what's real and what can grip her. And when something does grip her…” He let out a long sigh. “She wouldn't want me to be talking about this. Let's change the subject, please.”
Everyone gave a weak nod of agreement, but there was nothing but silence for a moment before Lyra finally spoke up. “Um… did you two have any plans or anything?” she asked Marcus and Blitz. “I mean, like… Bon Bon and I were going to go shopping today, and if you two want to come, we could show you around Ponyville.”
“Thanks, but we actually wanted to talk to Pinky,” Blitz replied. “Would you happen to know where she is?”
Lyra shrugged. “Somewhere in town, if I remember right. She said something about plotting a trap for Tiny.”
“Oh, you messed up, huh Tiny?” Marcus asked, looking over towards his Togetic.
“I was honestly trying to do a good deed this time around,” Tiny replied. “It's not my fault Pinky can't take two losses in a row.”
“Well, I wish you luck against whatever happens this time,” Marcus said with a chuckle. “I'm sure she doesn't have the resources this time around to do something of quite the same caliber as Operation: Venomoth Vengeance.”
“She named that thing?” Tiny asked, a little startled.
“Actually, it's a name Marcus and I came up with,” Blitz replied. “But when we told Pinky, she kinda liked it.”
“Whose side are you two on, anyway?” Tiny asked with a pout.
After a brief pause, Felix spoke up. “Come on, you three,” he said. “It'll be nice to get out and do something together. Marcus, we never really got a chance to just hang out back on Earth.”
“Eh… you've got a point,” Marcus replied.
“Ooh! This is going to be fun!” Lyra said with a smile. “We're going dress shopping, mostly, but I'm sure Rarity will go crazy with inspiration when she sees you all. Then after that, we'll go out for lunch at Sugarcube Corner. Ooh! You should see the crater Discord made while he was still evil. We turned it into a pool.”
“Ah…” Marcus started.
“Don't ask,” Felix said aside to his friend. “You'd rather be sitting down when you hear about all the crazy things that happen here on a daily basis.”
“Yup,” Bon Bon replied. “Everything's happened to us short of a battle between an alicorn and a giant centaur demon, complete with giant laser beams and explosions.”
“Ooh! That I'd love to see!” Roo cheered.
“No, let's not,” Kanga said quickly. “I think we've had our share of crazy occurrences for today.”
“Pfft, not by Ponyville standards,” Bon Bon chuckled. “But since you've only been here a couple days, we'll be nice to you.”
After another moment's pause, Lyra said, “Anyway… shall we get going?” With no objections, the eight friends got going.
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest, Butters and Breeze were still flying. “By the beard of Latios, how is this Froslass so fast?” Butters complained.
“Maybe she pounded the Carbos when she was young,” Breeze replied. “Ah, I think we've lost her. Let's stop.” With that, the two stopped.
“Well, what do we do now?” Butters asked. “Go back and tell Felix that we lost her?”
“I don't see what else we could do,” Breeze said with a shrug. “Brr… did it get cold around here all of a sudden?”
“I think so,” Butters replied, dropping altitude until he was standing on the ground, Breeze following suit. “Oh crap! Isn't Aria an Ice-type? Something must have happened to her!”
“Or something's happening to us…” Breeze said weakly. “We need to get out of here.”
”You two aren't going anywhere anymore,” a strange voice said. Both Butterfree looked over to see a figure emerging from a cool mist.
“A-Aria?” Butters asked. “Is that you?”
It was, indeed, a Froslass that was approaching the two Butterfree, and she looked exactly like Aria, but there was something different about her. Drastically different. With a sinister chuckle, the Froslass leaned down and put no less than three inches between her face and Butters'.
“I'm sure you wish it was, little Butterfree,” she said in a sinister tone.