//------------------------------// // II - EQG // Story: You, Me, Ponies, and Pokémon // by DJSkywalker //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Adjusting Canterlot City. A peaceful small town out of the way of any big city life that could interfere with its tranquility. Most people you would find in this town were quite friendly to one another, almost everyone knowing everyone else’s names. Many considered it to be a great place to settle down and raise a family, allowing for one of the town’s prominent establishments to be built: Canterlot High School. It was at this site only one week prior that strange happenings had begun around the small town school. Reports of unusual lights, strange new people in town, and even a demon sprang up around the time of the school’s Fall Formal dance. But surely such things couldn’t be real... Right? It was within this town where we find our hero, once again running for her life. Serena quickly ducked into an alley and behind a dumpster as her pursuer ran by without seeing her. She put a hand to her fast beating heart, trying to get it to calm down as her back slowly slid down the side of the trash bin until her butt was on the ground. Once she was finally calm, she stood and dusted off her red and black dress. Or at least that’s what most people would assume, when it was a simple red skirt paired with a greyish-black tank top that had a white collar. Serena made a quick check to make sure her knee-height stockings weren’t torn before taking off again with her black tennis shoes kicking up dust as she ran through the alley. She had to adjust her dark pink hat slightly to make sure it wouldn’t fall off, skidding out of the alley and rushing off in the opposite direction her pursuer had gone only a minute prior. She chuckled to herself, looking back as she ran. “Finally lost that little nuisance. Now, if I hurry, I should be able to--oof!” Serena felt herself run into something plump yet hard and fell to the ground. “Ow,” she whined, rubbing her head. “What did I hit?” “Me, that’s who.” Serena froze, remembering hearing that voice screaming at her only minutes before. She looked up slowly, seeing a tall man wearing a dark blue uniform with a single gold badge on his chest and a small blue cap with a black bill on his head. His skin was completely white with a tuft of blue hair sticking out from underneath his cap. He stared down on Serena with fierce cerulean eyes. “You’re in a lot of trouble, young lady.” The officer grabbed Serena by the arm and forcefully hauled her to her feet. “H-hey! Watch it! You’re being too rough!” She tried to yank her arm out of the officer’s grip, but it wasn’t very successful. She had been caught. “Stop struggling,” he reprimanded. “You’ve got someplace to be.” He opened the door to his nearby cruiser and shoved her in, slamming the door shut. The officer got in the driver’s seat and made sure the doors were locked before driving off. Serena’s first instinct was to try the doors, trying to force open the lock. Unfortunately, the locks seemed to have been hammered down into the door, preventing them from being manually unlocked. She placed her hand on the window, putting a little pressure against it. It felt far too strong to be able to break from her force. She knew any number of her Pokémon could get her out of this situation, but revealing their existence was not a risk she was willing to make. She didn’t feel like making another mythical creature that a small town could obsess over and making her move. Serena eventually let out a long sigh and laid back against the seat, not knowing where the blasted cop was taking her. It didn’t take long for her to find out, since the town she was living in was relatively small. And seeing her destination caused Serena to dread it with wide eyes. “Oh no. No, no, no, no!” She stared in complete horror at the large horseshoe shaped building, two stories lined with tall windows. The large horse statue ar front didn’t help her fears alleviate at all. “Quiet back there,” the cop scolded. “It’s just high school, little girl.” He pulled his car up in front of the school and parked it there. He got out and opened up the back door, Serena doing her very best to bolt from the car and get as far away as possible. The policeman was just a bit faster, grabbing the very top of her pink backpack. “You’re not getting away again. I’m tired of you playing hookie every single day.” “I’m not playing hookie, you jerk!” Serena snapped, struggling against his hold on her back. “Uh huh, sure you’re not. We’ll see what the principal Celestia has to say about that.” Serena froze, causing her to get dragged back. “Principal who?” she wondered to herself, not knowing if she had heard the officer right. She was dazed for so long she never even realized that she had been dragged all the way to the principal’s office. She was forced into a chair outside the office door. The officer pointed a finger in her face. “Stay put.” He looked to the secretary. “Watch her, will ya? Don’t wanna chase her across town again.” He shook his head as he barged into the office. Serena sighed, putting her head in her hands. “This day is going absolutely lovely,” she said to herself. It was only a few moments later when the officer walked back out, a tall woman in tow. Serena had to blink when her eyes looked up, almost experiencing deja vu. The woman had the whitest skin she had ever seen, long multi-colored hair hanging around her face and down past her back. Wore a long pair of purple pants and a yellow, almost brownish, sweater over a white trimmed purple top with a pin of the sun in the sweater’s collar. The similarities between this woman and Serena’s old friend, Princess Celestia, were far too glaring to be real. She honestly couldn’t believe what she was looking at. “This is her?” the woman, who Serena assumed to be principal Celestia, asked. Even her voice was the same Serena had come to know. “Yep, been trying to catch her for a week straight now, but she always slipped by. But not today!” he declared proudly. Celestia looked at him with a playful smirk. “Well, I commend you on a job well done, Officer Armor. But I hate to tell you, she’s not one of my students.” He blinked and looked at her in shock. “B-but this is the only high school in town! Look at her! She’s obviously of high school age! I doubt her parents would have sent her here for any other reason!” ‘Parents sent me here?’ Serena mused to herself. ‘What kind of high school has kids sent to it? It didn’t look like a private school from the outside. One certainly doesn’t belong in town as small as this.’ “I can guarantee completely that she is not a student at Canterlot High,” Celestia reaffirmed. “I know what students belong here, Shining Armor. I trust you to remember from your own years here.” Officer Shining gulped, nodding his head. “Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.” Serena smiled to herself. ‘Yes, looks like I can get out of here and still make it to-’ “But you are right that she’s still too young to be wandering about.” Celestia turned to Shining. “You’re dismissed officer, I can take things from here.” He nodded with a salute. “Have a pleasant day, Ms. Sol.” He walked briskly down the hall and towards the exit of the school. “Please come in,” Celestia offered to Serena, regaining her attention. The woman held the door open, gesturing inside. Serena sighed. ‘So much for getting to work on time today.’ She got up and walked into the office, silently noting it was quite simple, with very little personal effects scattered around. Taking the first chair in front of the principal’s desk, she laid her backpack down and put her cheek on fist, leaning to her left. “So, tell me,” the principal said after closing the door and sitting down. “What’s your name.” “Serena,” she replied boredly. “I sense that you don’t want to be here. Why is that? Have some place to be?” “Yes, actually,” Serena said, straightening a bit. “I’m supposed to be at work by now, not sitting at a blasted high school.” “Do you have something against my school?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow. “No, but I have no reason to be here.” “What makes you say that?” “I graduated already. Many years ago.” ‘More than you will ever know,’ Serena secretly smirked. “Impressive. So you’re simply young for your age, quite the mix up this appears to be.” “A complete mix up that may have cost me the only job I could get in this town,” Serena said with a groan. “Oh? And where is that?” “The diner down on fourth,” she waved off. “But there’s no way the manager is gonna let me keep the job after being this late.” “Why don’t you call down there and explain?” Celestia reached into her pocket and pulled out a cellphone. A flip-phone, to Serena’s disbelief. She hadn’t seen one in years. “Go on, I’ll wait.” Serena stared at the phone for a moment before shrugging and taking the phone. She dialed in the number to her work place. A voice came on the other side after a couple rings and she tentatively replied to her manager’s voice. “H-hi Mr. Schnitzel. It’s Serena.” The other end of the phone practically exploded with rage as her manager started shouting into the phone. She had to keep her arm outstretched so the volume wouldn’t hurt her ears, but even from that distance she could hear his ramblings perfectly. Then she heard the ‘f’ word come over the phone and she panicked. “No, no please, Mr. Schnitzel! Please don’t fire me! I need this job!” The returning yells did not bode well for the trainer. Celestia cleared her throat, getting Serena’s attention. “May I?” She offered out her hand. Serena really didn’t have any other options and figured it would be her best bet. The trainer slowly put the phone in the principal’s hand, pulling back once she dropped it in. Celestia brought the phone up to her ear. “Hello, Mr. Schnitzel!” she said cheerfully. “Yes, this is principal Celestia over at Canterlot High.” She smiled brighter as the manager calmed down and Serena was surprised to hear him reply happily to Celestia. “Yes it is good to talk with you again. Oh sure, I’ll try and stop down sometime soon, but back to Serena. There was a small mix up with our truant officer thinking she was a student here that has been playing hooky. I am sure you do want her down there, but I’d like to propose a compromise where both parties will turn out for the better in the end.” Celestia spun in her chair, facing away from Serena as she continued the conversation in a quieter tone. Serena felt annoyed she was being left out of a talk that was concerning the only way she was currently putting food in her belly. There was nothing she could do, though, so she just waited for them to finish. Several minutes passed, almost like an hour to the increasingly bored Serena, but Celestia finally turned back around, still smiling brightly. “...I’m so glad you agree, Schnitzel. Yes, she’ll be there bright and early tomorrow, I can assure you.” She laughed lightly. “Alright, thank you and I shall see you next Friday night. Good-bye.” Celestia hung up the phone and pocketed it. “Your employer and I have come to an agreement.” “An agreement to what?” Serena asked, highly suspicious. “To prevent further complications with the other truant officers, you will be attending classes here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. And you will work the other days as well as after class on certain days.” Serena gaped at Celestia. “You… you can’t be serious‽ Why should I have to attend high school again‽” Celestia sighed, placing her hands clasped in front of her. “Serena, this is no ordinary high school,” she said straight faced. “It is not a public school, nor is it a private, or boarding school. No, this school is special, unique even. I built this school with one, important thing in mind: to make students’ lives better. This school properly prepares its students for life in the world. Students are encouraged to open businesses or to apply for jobs in town. Apartments are provided and, while they must be paid for monthly, they are discounted extremely from the other places around. Career training, health and fitness, proper life skills, all of these I wanted to be available for students so that they may become better, productive members of society. But I have never said that all students must be of high school age. I have accepted as young as twelve years olds into the halls here, but I am willing to go older.” A glint appeared in her eye as Serena stared with rapt attention. “This school will be able to provide you with a much better living arrangement than you have as well as giving you access to whatever resources you need. And, you get to keep your employment with the added benefit of being able to make ties for even greater careers. Of course, this is all only if you agree to the terms I’ve laid out to you.” When Celestia finished, Serena was completely stunned. Proper living arrangements, access to food, and even getting to keep her job. And all she had to do in return was attend high school three days out of the week. It was almost too good to be true. Far too good. “What’s the catch?” Celestia shook her head. “I can assure you that there is no catch. Everything is as I have laid it out to you.” Serena bit her lip, not entirely sure. She debated inwardly for several long, painful moments before giving a relenting sigh. She looked up at Celestia and nodded. “Alright, Celestia. You have a deal.” The two shook hands, getting up at the same moment. “I’m very pleased that you have accepted, Serena. I’ll have someone come down and give you a tour of our establishment.” She pressed the intercom button and spoke into the microphone. “Sunset Shimmer to the principal's office. Sunset Shimmer to the principal’s office.” She looked back to Serena. “She’ll be here in a moment.” A minute passed before the door opened and a young woman walked in. She was roughly Serena’s height, but with amber skin. She had a full head of crimson hair with yellow stripes that reached all the way down her back, but stopped there unlike Celestia’s. Her teal eyes showed happiness, but Serena could have sworn there was something underlying that joyful smile. She wore a pair of black boots with a splash of magenta on them that extended up almost to her knee caps. She wore a short orange skirt with a yellow and magenta stripe in the lower corner, along with magenta tank top underneath a pure black jacket. Upon her shirt was the image of a shimmering sun. “You called for me, principal Celestia?” Sunset asked. “Yes. This is Serena, she’ll be joining us here at Canterlot High as of today. I’d like for you to show her around and get her settled into her classes.” “Sure thing, ma’am,” Sunset said with a informal salute. “Come on,” she spoke to Serena, opening up the door again. “I’ll get you where you need to go.” Serena was about to walk out after Sunset, but Celestia called to her one more time. “Oh, and Serena? One more thing before you go, do you have a surname I can put on the paperwork?” “Oh, sure.” Serena smiled. “It’s Ketchum. Serena Ketchum.” Celestia nodded and Serena walked out, grabbing her schedule from the secretary at the desk. She made a note of the secretary’s name, Raven, for future reference. She also felt like that was eerily familiar, but couldn’t place why. Sunset had been waiting outside for her, so the two started walking off with Serena’s schedule in hand. “So, you know where all of these are?” “Oh yeah, it’s almost like they just reprinted my schedule with your name on it,” Sunset laughed a bit. “They must have thought it would be easier for me to show you around if we had the same classes. Guess you’ll be with me for most of the days.” Serena smiled a bit. “Well, hopefully, we’ll be friends then. I’d hate to start off a new year with an enemy.” “Yeah, friends,” Sunset said, a little worriedly. “Everything alright?” “Yeah, yeah, just something weird popped into my head. Nothing to worry about.” Serena wasn’t so sure about that, but since they just met, she didn’t want to pry. Instead, she took the silence to look around the school. It didn’t look too different from the ones she had been inside back on Earth, but it did have a lot of horse-themed apparel around. Even a banner declaring the school team to be the “Wondercolts”. She could have sworn that was a rip off of Celestia’s Wonderbolt air team back in Equestria. In fact, there were a lot of things about the town that reminded her of Equestria, including the town’s name itself: Canterlot City. She noticed Sunset speaking, and decided to snap out of her observations. “Hmm, what was that? I spaced out for a moment.” “It’s alright. I said, ‘I hope you don’t mind if we stop at my locker. I need to grab a book for class’.” “Oh, no I don’t mind at all.” Sunset led them down one of the side halls, stopping at a set of lockers that were halfway between two classrooms. Serena waited as the other girl opened up her locker, knowing it wouldn’t take too long. But upon the locker’s opening, she couldn’t help but do a double take. Before she could comprehend what she saw though, Sunset had grabbed the book and slammed the locker door shut. Smiling back at Serena, Sunset started walking again. “Come on, culinary class is about to start.” Serena nodded and followed after. She thought over what she saw, and would have sworn to the high heavens above what she saw. ‘I know what I saw in there. The only question is, why does this human girl have pokéballs?’ Several hours later, Serena and Sunset finished their first day of school together. While they didn’t sit next to each other all day, they were in each and every class together just as Sunset had said. In fact, Serena’s only break from Sunset was lunch where the other girl had spent most of it at table with five other multicolored girls. Serena had taken the chance to eat alone and enjoy the peace and quiet she had grown accustomed to over her many years on this world. After their final class, Serena was told to report back to the principal’s office to retrieve her new housing information. She bid Sunset farewell and rushed on down, nearly shocking the secretary with her speed. Ms. Raven handed over all the necessary forms and Serena filled each out and signature in a few places. What had surprised her the most was that she was free to move in that day, with most of her stuff already having been moved to her new shared apartment. That was another thing that struck her: shared apartment. She was gonna be stuck with a roommate. Serena wasn’t so keen on the idea, but the rent would be split between two people and was already half as much as what she was already paying on her own. She thanked Ms. Raven and headed off for the Royal Garden Apartment complex. It wasn’t too far from the school, only about three or four blocks, but it did mean she’d have a much harder time walking to work. She figured not everything would be made easier here, at least it wasn’t something too horrible. The complex itself had about five buildings, all of them looking very nice with red roofs and white siding on all of them. Each room had a patio deck, and each looked large enough to support a grill party easily. Her new home was in the second building, four floors up out of the five that were possible. She muttered the room number as she searched along the many doors, stopping at the farthest end. “Number 413,” she whispered. “Looks like this is the place.” She knocked on the door, just loud enough to be heard on the other side. “Hello? I’m your new roommate.” “Hold on!” a familiar voice called from the other side. When the door opened, neither side could believe who they were looking at. “Sunset‽” “Serena‽” The two girls just stared at each other for several moments, only blinking because their eyes tired of staring. “We’re roommates?” Sunset asked, just as bewildered as Serena felt. “This has to be some kind of joke. I mean, I don’t mind us being in class together, but this… this is just a little too much.” “Oh trust me, I completely understand you on that,” Serena readily agreed. “But, I’m pretty sure Ms. Raven and Ms. Celestia have gone home for the day. I doubt we can get a change.” Sunset sighed, knowing she was right. “Well, can’t very well have you sleep on the streets. I’ve been told that’s not very friendly.” She gestured into her home with a small laugh. “Come on in. Make yourself at home for the night.” Serena nodded and walked in, noting that it was actually a very nice apartment. Definitely not the most updated place, but not something that was like the rat’s nest she lived in uptown. The carpeting was an aged blue and took up most of the living space, save for the small amount of white tile that was no longer the pure color it was in the kitchen. The kitchen itself had some outdated appliances, but they all looked to be in working order. A fridge, stove, microwave, oven, and even a toaster. Serena even spied a coffee maker in the corner. She would love to have access to home brewed coffee again. The living area was taken up with a large teal-green couch that sat along side the far wall facing a moderately sized television. It was old box model, but Serena guessed that it didn’t matter as there was still plenty of room to see the roughly forty inch screen. The door to the patio was between the couch and the kitchen and there was a nice big window on the far side of of the room between the wall with the couch and the side with the tv. “I was actually wondering why the normally empty room had suddenly been filled with stuff when you showed up,” Sunset said as she rifled through the fridge. “I bet it was all in Celestia’s planning. She makes a whole lot of those strange plans, so I wouldn’t put it past her.” ‘Just like Celestia back home,’ Serena noted to herself. “What are you doing?” “Well, since I wasn’t prepared to have a roomie for the night, I best get to cooking. Hope you’re good with a TV dinner. I don’t really have all that much.” “I’ve survived off worse,” Serena laughed. “Little TV dinner isn’t gonna hurt my appetite.” “Good,” Sunset said, pulling two said meals out of the upper freezer section of the fridge. She opened them up and stuck one in the microwave to cook. “If you want, you can turn on the TV. Only gets basic cable, but, hey, it’s something.” “Truer words have never been spoken,” Serena chuckled. She took a spot on the couch and flipped through the few channels that Sunset had. There were only about fifty channels, but it definitely offered some variety. Cartoons, sports, sitcoms, many things that Serena had come to know as a luxury over the years. She heard a beeping after few minutes and a tray was placed in her view. “Thanks,” she smiled at Sunset, who smiled back and sat down next to her, helping herself to her own meal. Serena gently prodded the microwaved mac n’ cheese meal, knowing it would never taste as good as the real stuff. That didn’t stop her from eating it, nor enjoying have a good warm meal that hadn’t been from earlier in the day… despite it almost tasting like it. Sunset finished first, setting her tray on the coffee table in front of them. “So, how are you liking CHS?” she asked, obviously starting up small talk. “It’s definitely a nice school,” Serena said, finishing her own meal up. “Not too much different from any other school I’ve been to, but everyone at least seems nice. Though, I do have a question.” “Shoot,” Sunset said with her eyes closed as she leaned back against the couch. “How long have you been a Pokémon trainer?” Sunset’s eyes popped open wide, spasming away from Serena and falling to the ground next to the couch. When her head popped back into view she was staring in disbelief at Serena. “Wh-what‽ What are you talking about‽” “I saw them in your locker,” Serena admitted with a shrug. “I had to confirm. And your reaction more than affirms it. As such…” She suddenly threw herself next to Sunset. “Please, please, please tell me how you got here! I desperately need to get back to Equestria!” “Y-you need to get back to Equestria?” Sunset asked warily. “So, you’re actually from there too?” “Mhmm,” Serena nodded her head. “Please tell me everything you know on how to get back.” Sunset blinked for a moment before letting out a sigh. “I have a feeling this is gonna be a long night.” Does Sunset possess the secret that Serena has been searching desperately for? Or has another one of Serena’s dreams been dashed? Stay tuned.