Chapter Twenty Three
Selena and Seth had been through a pretty rough day. The Dark type had been suffering nightmares and a blossoming fear of magic, while Seth had accepted a job he still wasn’t confident he could do. Then the pair had fought a magic-crazed Crystal Onix and Selena had gotten to Mega-evolve again.
All in all it had been a busy day.
And now a genetically altered Gabite was stomping over to them and her eyes and fierce snarl told the pair that she was freaking pissed off!
“How do you two know that name?” she all but growled at them. “Don’t lie, I heard you say it.”
“We were warned about you,” Seth replied. He needed to play this right, there was no way he could take a Ground/Dragon type and Selena was in no condition to battle again. “By an old friend of yours, Vincent Nurem?”
Recognition flashed across her eyes then. “Vincent is here? Well...at least someone I know is here. But wait, if he’s here, then…” She trailed off and started to growl.
“He?” Seth questioned, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. First rule when dealing with an agitated Pokémon, stay calm and avoid eye-contact.
“What of any of my oh-so-loving tormentors?” she hissed, the tip of her tail starting to go red. It would appear when she got very emotional, she could lose control of her ability.
“If you mean the Doctor, he is not here, from what I have gathered anyhow,” Seth replied. “Did you hear Arceus’s message when we all arrived? I highly doubt that the Doctor would be deemed ‘worthy’.”
“Worth depends on the judge,” she replied, though it seemed that the words were working. “Fine. So Vincent made it. Whoop de doo. Still haven’t found what I’m after, but at least that’s a lead as to him being here. So if you’ll excuse me,” she said, turning towards the palace.
Seth tilted his head and blinked. “You aren’t after Vincent? That’s odd, he said you would be pleased to find him. I know Lucy and Sam were...”
If the Gabite could have turned faster, there would have been whiplash. “He’s here!? Where!? Where is my Sam?” she all but demanded.
“Sam’s the one you’re after?” Seth backed up a step. “Uh, as far as I’m aware, they’re in a city named Las Pegasus, though I don’t know if they are there currently. They might still be travelling around.”
Christine growled. “Fine, we’ll do it that way then. Off to Las Pegasus, wherever the hell that is, and nothing better get in my way.” She stood up and looked around for a moment, then blinked twice. “Crap, I don’t know where that is either…”
“Well, I promised I’d visit him soon,” Seth said as Selena’s eyes widened. Was her Trainer insane? That Gabite was bad news waiting to happen.
“And this helps me how?” Christine questioned.
“No-one ever lets me finish,” Seth said with a sigh. “If you can be a bit patient for a few days, then I will be more than happy to take you to him. I can’t leave now due to a few pressing matters that cannot be put off. About four days, a week tops and you’ll be in Sam’s presence once more.”
“I don’t do patient,” the Gabite hissed, her arms flaring red for a second. “And nobody ever does things for me without a catch. If, if, I agreed to your plan, what would yours be?”
“Catch?” the word sounded almost foreign to the large Luxray. “There’s no catch, why would I want something to help someone?” Selena facepawed.
“Look at my ability, wiseass, and maybe you’ll catch on,” Christine deadpanned. “I’ve either been shunned or hunted because of it, so yeah, I’m suspicious as hell when someone offers to solve a problem of mine outta the blue.”
Ah, so that’s what she meant. “Okay, yeah. But I’m telling the truth,” Seth replied with a toothy smile. “I promised Vincent that I’d help out any Numbers that I came across. And I’m a man... well ‘Mon now I suppose, of my word.”
The Gabite looked up at the Luxray, a look of disbelief on her face. “Really. Just like that. All I would have to do is listen to you, be patient, and you’d help me get back to Sam.”
“That’s correct,” Seth replied. “If you want to help out with some of the things I have to do, then by all means... but if you don’t want to, then that’s fine as well.”
The ground/dragon looked to the horizon and sighed, weighing her options. “You sure you can’t just give me a map or something? Like I said, I don’t do patient very well.”
“Well I could do that too,” Seth said. Selena sat down, still exhausted, but her sharp gaze never left the dragon. “But unless you take a train, run by ponies that you can’t communicate with... the trip could take weeks on foot.”
“Okay, point,” Christine muttered. “Fine, fine. You win this round. It’d be faster if I just...waited. Wow, that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.” She looked back at Seth and tilted her head. “I...think we skipped introductions. I’m Christine. At least, that’s the name Vincent gave me.”
“Then it’s nice to meet you Christine,” Seth nodded. “My name is Seth Crescent and this is one of my partners, Selena.” He motioned towards the Absol, who gave a curt nod, but said nothing.
“Right... D’you want a rundown of what I can do, or would you rather lead the way, mister trainer?” Christine snarked. Honestly, she was guessing on that last word, but it was a pretty good guess. Hopefully, she’d get over her animosity about them...maybe.
“While I was once a Trainer, you can just call me Seth,” the Luxray said. “As for what you can do, from the ‘brief’ and I use that word generously, info I got from Vincent. You have the Colour Change Ability correct?”
“Yeah,” the dragon said, lifting an arm and willing it into invisibility. After a second, she made it reappear. “Still can’t do anything about this,” she said, pointing at the red line going across her middle, “But it’s proved handy. Still not worth the damn price tag.”
Selena had a joke, but dealing with Vincent the first time taught her that making light of their past was a very bad idea. Then Seth said the one thing she hoped he wouldn’t.
“So did you have somewhere to stay? Or would you like to stay with us for the time being?”
Christine looked at Seth with an expression that all but screamed ‘really?’ “Does it look like I have any pockets or local currency? Heck, I’ve been tromping around the wild, then up to this place once I realized ‘hey, that might be the capitol’, so no, I don’t have a plan or money. I had planned to go up to the ones in charge and ask... demand, let’s be honest, to know where Sam is or if they could find him.”
“Hmm, that would have been a bad idea,” Seth informed her. “You might have wound up in a small cell for that, and then we would have met under much worse circumstances... I work for the ones in charge you see, so we would have met eventually.”
“Except we would have fought,” Selena said with a yawn. “And you’d have lost.”
“Think what you want, Selena,” Christine growled. “I didn’t survive outside of the lab by my invisibility alone.”
“Trust me, you wouldn’t last five minutes against me,” Selena growled back. “But I feel like crap right now so I don’t feel like starting anything today-”
“Hello Seth, Absol!” A voice said from behind them, a very irritating voice.
“Oh goddammit,” Selena muttered as a familiar Florges approached them. Christine was instantly on guard; understandable, given how Fairy and Dragon matched up.
“Seth, who is that and should I be worried?” she whispered.
“My name is Lady Titania!” the Florges huffed. “You shall refer to me as such you sapling!”
“When you earn my respect and not a moment sooner, you overgrown, overinflated rose bush,” Christine fired back. “Seriously, is she with you, or does she just know you?” she asked Seth.
“She is with us,” Seth sighed. “Tani, please calm down. This is Christine, one of Vincent’s friends. You remember Vincent yes? The Kadabra you made rather angry?”
“Yes, yes, I remember that little windbag,” Titania sighed. “So what does this one do? Other than a fascinating imitation of a kaleidoscope?”
“She does this,” Christine snarked, causing everything but the red line to disappear. Said red line then appeared to launch itself into the air and was on a trajectory to roughly above the Florges...
Seth moved to push Titania out of the way, only to take the blow himself. He grunted as the dragon slammed him.
“Seth!?” Selena moved to help, but her legs were racked with pain and she fell to the pavement. Christine shimmered back into visibility and appeared actually worried.
“Oh crap. Seth, I didn’t mean to hit you. Was my aim off? Here, lemme help you up.” She reached down to help the Luxray to his paws.
“Why did you push me out of the way?” Titania said.
“Because,” Seth groaned as Christine helped him up. “Friends don’t fight friends. Good thing I’m pretty tough...”
“Tough my ass!” Selena yelled from her spot on the cobblestone path. “You already took several blows from an Onix today. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I’m thinking he wasn’t,” Christine deadpanned before looking over to Selena. Upon seeing her plight, the dragon sighed and moved over to assist. “Seen than before as well, people that act with their heart rather than their head.”
“That is the very definition of Seth,” Selena sighed as Christine helped her up. “Geh! I can’t walk like this and neither can Seth now. Titania, could you go and get Ignis please?” Selena was utterly full of it, but it would get Titania out of the way.
“Fine, but I’m doing this to help Seth,” the Fairy muttered and floated off with a huff.
“She really is nice when you get to know her,” Seth chuckled weakly.
“Yeaaah, and I know a Snorlax that can fly,” the landshark returned. “So which one of you needs help more? Willing to help one of you... but I doubt I could help both.”
“I hate having to need help,” Selena muttered. “Well, I doubt you could lift Seth, so I guess you can help me. Ignis should be here shortly, leave the heavy lifting to him.”
“Gotcha,” Christine said, moving to stand next to Selena and act like a crutch for her. “I doubt I could pick you up either, really. I mean, let’s face it, either way, it’s a load I couldn’t carry for long. You’re closer to what I can lift, but I’ve not had to carry another ‘mon, so I don’t know. Hope this helps enough, though.”
“Sorry,” Selena apologised as she accepted Christine’s help. “I guess I was wrong about you. You seem pretty nice Christine.”
“I’m not so bad once you get to know me. Or so Vincent kept telling me,” she muttered. “I mean, I have trust issues, anger issues, and I’m separated from Sam, but you two have promised to help with that last one, so I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt... for the time being, anyways.”
“If there’s one thing I can safely tell you,” Selena smiled as she looked at her Trainer. “Seth will never, ever betray your trust. He would gladly put his life at risk to protect those he considers friends. And if he makes you a promise...” Selena closed her eyes as she recalled what Seth had told her earlier. “You can be damn sure he’ll keep them.”
“Yeah, words are nice and all,” Christine said, “But words and deeds are different. I’ll let what you all do be the judge of that. If I trusted in the words of everyone I ran across, I’d be captured fifty times over, likely killed ten, or even back in that fucking lab.”
“I can respect that,” Selena nodded. “But when, not if, when, I am proved right. I’ll let Rika do the ‘I told you so’ dance. Just a heads up.”
There was a loud roar as Ignis landed very suddenly near Seth. “Sup guys?” he asked. “Titania said you needed help?”
“...Seth, how many unfamiliar ‘mon am I going to be introduced to?” Christine said, forcing herself back into visibility. “Cause this startle reflex of mine is seriously getting old.”
Seth nodded, “Ah, sorry about that. This is Ignis, my oldest partner and best friend. There’s also Rika, a Sylveon and my girlfriend, as well as Apple Fritter, an Earth pony mare and my other girlfriend.”
“Fairy,” Christine hissed before shaking it off. “Well, as long as they’re more pleasing than that Titania blowhard, then I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.” She cast a gaze up at Ignis and looked away, sighing. “Hello Ignis.”
“So who’s this?” Ignis asked as he lifted Seth onto his back, draping the Luxray’s paws over his shoulders.
“Christine, a friend of Vincent’s,” Seth informed the dragon.
“Oh, okay.” Ignis shrugged. “Nice to meet you Christine. And... Why are your colours weird?”
“Ignis also has no tact sometimes,” Selena sighed.
“I noticed,” the Gabite deadpanned. “Okay, here’s a bit of a clue, mister dragon.” She held up one arm and made it disappear. “Got it?”
“Cool,” Ignis grinned. “That is really damned cool. So I’m guessing Kecleon, or do you have the Camouflage attack?”
“First one,” she said with a nod. “It’s caused me my fair share of trouble, but it’s useful getting out of it as well. If the price of getting it wasn’t agony, I might actually choose to do it the same way all over again.”
“So what happened to you two?” Ignis asked. “A Solar Guard came by earlier, but didn’t say what you were doing beyond exploring a cave and investigating those earthquakes.”
“Long story,” Selena groaned.
“At least I get to avoid the hospital this time,” Seth added. “I am so sick of that place.”
Selena noticed Christine actually shiver at the mention of the hospital. “A-Agreed,” she stammered. Actually stammered.
“And we learn not to mention that place around you,” Selena noted.
“Yeah... not a fan of it or the things inside it,” the Gabite muttered. “But yeah, I, uh, may have had something to do with Seth’s last injury, Ignis. Though to be fair, I hadn’t been aiming for him.”
“Seth did a Seth thing, didn’t he?” Ignis said dryly.
“Eeyup,” Selena nodded.
“I’m right here you know!” Seth argued.
“And you wouldn’t be if you hadn’t pushed that Florges out of the way,” Christine fired back. “Honestly, I still want to smack her.”
“Get in line,” Selena muttered. “But, she did help us out of a jam, despite the fact that her team wants to murder my Trainer. And she’s tolerable... Rika keeps her inline anyhow.”
“...So a Fairy watches a Fairy? How the hell does that work?” the Gabite muttered. “Anyways, no hard feelings Ignis?”
“Never had any to begin with,” Ignis replied truthfully. “As for how Rika does what she does...” All three Pokémon shuddered. “Don’t ever get on Rika’s bad side. You think you have mental scarring now? Wait till you piss off Sadisteon.”
“...I am missing context for that statement, but am suddenly totally okay with it,” Christine said. “Just... keep her as far away from me as possible, and I’ll be good.”
*~*
As they drew closer to Fritter’s house, Selena’s ‘Disaster Sense’ went off and she suddenly flung herself in front of Christine as a little pink blur tackled the Absol to the ground.
“Huh?” Rika questioned the unintended target. “Why’m I hugging Selly? And why is she unconscious?”
“...How did she move that fast when injured?” Christine questioned nobody in particular. “Seriously, she could barely walk, how did she manage to do that?”
“Better me than you,” Selena groaned. “Rika... don’t hug her okay?”
“Why not?” Rika asked as she lifted up Selena carefully with her ribbons. “And why are you and Sethy hurt!?” She turned her stare to Christine. “Did you do this?”
“While I would just love to take credit for injuring the first few ‘mon I’ve given the shadow of the doubt to in a few years,” the Gabite said with no small amount of sarcasm, “They were like that when I found them. Except for Seth’s latest injury, but that was partially his fault as well as mine. Shouldn’t have saved that Florges, in my opinion, but he did.”
“And I should bury you, but I guess we all can’t have our own way,” Titania snarked from the doorway.
“Well, that’s fine,” Rika said, lowering the ribbon she had ready to strike. “So you’re Christine huh? Nice to meetcha!”
“Oh good, the pompous ambulatory flower garden is here,” Christine said with an eye roll. “Look, as much as I would love to burn you to ash, I’m pretty sure Seth would take offense to it, so if you just leave me be, I’ll leave you be.”
“Gladly, I have to get back to work anyhow. Take care Seth, Rika... Absol.”
“Oh, I got a mention this time,” Selena groaned. “I’m moving on up in the world.”
“Yeah, Selly’s fine,” Rika chuckled. “What about you Sethy?”
“I’ll live,” he said as Ignis put him down. “Diantha may call around later. She can hit me with a Heal Pulse when she does.”
“Oh goody, more unfamiliar ‘mon,” Christine said. “My life is a constant revolving door of joy.”
“It’s a sarcasm sandwich,” Rika giggled from in-between the two ‘mon.
“Gah!” Christine said upon seeing how close Rika had gotten. “How did you…I’m just gonna stop questioning things.” She then turned to Ignis. “You got any place around here that I could use to work out my frustrations?”
“You wanna fight!?” Ignis grinned. “I’m always up for a good battle!”
“Yeah, I believe that,” Christine said, giving Ignis another examination, “But I also know you’re way outta my league. I was thinking if there were a forest around here that nobody would miss, I could burn it. It’d make me feel better.”
“Sorry, there’s only a park and Fritter orchard... neither of which would end well for you if you tried to burn them.” Ignis answered.
“What about pie?” Rika suggested. “Apple Fritter’s desserts are simply the best thing EVER!!”
The Dragon cast an eye over to the Fairy and snorted. “I haven’t exactly had the luxury of pie,” Christine stated. “More or less wild for the last few years. I know about it, but I haven’t ever had any.”
Rika looked like she was about to cry- nope, scratch that, she actually was crying.
“That’s so sad, and will be rectified.”
“...I get the feeling that if I mentioned other things I never had, I’d end up gaining fifty pounds by the time we left for Sam. Am I more or less on the mark, Seth?”
“Seems about right,” Seth chuckled as he stepped inside and into a hug from Fritter.
“Goodness, y’all seem to have had a rough day.” The mare helped him over to his couch and laid him down. “Ah’ll make you some tea... oh?” She turned to see Christine, “So who’s this?”
“Christine,” Selena replied.
“And she needs pie!” Rika exclaimed.
“Please ignore the Fairy,” Christine said with an eye roll. “I do not need pie. I merely need shelter, food, and water until I am taken to Sam. I assume you are Apple Fritter?”
“That’s right,” Fritter smiled. “Come on inside and I’ll fetch you some food and drink.”
“Well so far, so good, Mister Seth,” Christine commented. “At the very least, nobody’s attacked me or called me any names, so it’s a step up from what I’ve been through.” With that, she followed the Earth Pony’s advice and walked inside.
Soon enough, Apple Fritter, along with Rika, had prepared quite a feast. Apple Pie, salads, bread and other fruits.
“Ah, what I wouldn’t give for some Berries,” Rika sighed as she ate.
Christine slowly munched on her salad, while also nibbling on some bread, and studiously avoided the pie, if only to spite Rika. “Not bad,” she commented. “Better than wild fare, that’s for sure. And these fruits, while different, are no less pleasant.”
“Eat the piiieeee~” Rika said, while Seth just shook his head in amusement.
“Yeah...no. Not gonna work,” Christine replied. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Fine,” Rika pouted. “But you’re missing out!” she helped herself to a modest slice and hummed happily as she ate it.
Once he had finished his food, Seth slowly got up, stretching out his sore limbs. “Ahh, who’d have thought an Onix would hurt that much.”
“Anyone who’s ever fought one?” Christine commented. “Seriously, you versus an Onix? How did you walk away from that?”
“Well,” Seth replied. “Selena going Mega helped out a lot,” Seth replied as Ignis suddenly choked on his bread.
“W-what?” he coughed. “How the hell did you do that?”
“Aw, what’s up stud?” Selena cooed. “Jealous~”
“Huh,” Christine said while tilting her head to the side. “Still, without an advantage...ah, that’s why you two were so injured,” she said, finally connecting the dots. “Me, I prefer type advantages when dealing with things like that. Or traps. Or a combination.”
“Well, when you have a Crystal Onix that’s gone berserk with dark magic, you try thinking clearly.” Selena said.
“But why didn’t you just end it with Iron Tail?” Ignis asked.
“Iron Tail? Because I...” Selena just remembered that she knew Iron Tail. “Fuck me...”
“Not it,” Christine replied instantly.
“Did you just make a joke?” Selena was caught off guard with that. Two could play at that game. She gave the dragon a half-lidded stare. “Well, I doubt you could keep up anyway~”
“Please, I have eyes for one ‘mon, and you’re not him. Plus, I don’t swing that way,” the dragon paused to take a drink of water before continuing. “I mean, not unless you’re actually a guy, in which case, my first answer still stands.”
“Did... did she just say I look like a guy!?” Selena spluttered. Burned twice in one conversation, this dragon was good.
“Aw, I still love you,” Ignis replied, kissing the top of her head.
“So, question. Where do I bunk down?” Christine asked as she made to stand up from the table.
“Hmm, well you could bunk with Titania in the spare room,” Apple Fritter suggested, but Seth shook his head and made a slicing gesture across his neck. “O-Oh, well... um, the couch here is pretty comfy too.”
“Yeah, I’ll take the couch over miss high and mighty any day. Seriously, put us with each other, one of us is going to die,” Christine commented before making her way to the couch and falling onto it, causing it no small amount of distress.
“Better than caves, so it’s good in my book,” was her muffled appraisal.
“How long until she realises that she’s lying on Sethy’s tail?” Rika asked.
In response, the Gabite rolled so that her mouth was free. “I was quite aware, thank you. And if he wants his tail back, all he has to do is ask.”
“If you would then?” Seth asked with a small chuckle as the dragon relinquished it. “I still have to make a report to Princess Celestia. It shouldn’t take too long.”
“Are you sure?” Selena asked. “I’m sure her Highness can wait until you feel better.”
“I’m fine,” Seth replied. “And I want to see how Heath is getting on.”
The door swung open as Umbra strode in, a small smile on her face. “So, how is my little girl... doing?” She trailed off when she saw Christine, but shrugged it off. “Well, did you bag this big Luxray yet?”
“Mom!?” Rika blushed at the brazenly asked question. “But yes, yes I did.”
The Umbreon looked back at the dragon-shaped lump on the couch. “So, pick up another stray did you?”
“Seth, I feel like I should be insulted. Should I be insulted? I tend to burn things that insult me.” Christine commented idly, with only a hint of actual hostility to her words.
“I honestly have no idea,” Seth replied with a tired sigh. “This is Umbra, Rika’s mother and I only met her yesterday for the first time in years.”
“If I insult you, you’ll know,” Umbra chuckled darkly. “Relax child, I only jest with you. So what’s your story?”
In response, Christine brought her tail around and caused it to fade out for a moment. Once she brought it back into the visible spectrum, she tilted her head to the side. “That answer enough for you?”
“An unusual ability for a Gabite,” Umbra noted. “But it answers little as to why you’re here?” She paused, “Seth said he’d help you with something, didn’t he?”
“Yup,” Christine nodded. “I practice being patient and he’ll take me with to see Sam when he goes to Las Pegasus.”
“I see, well best of luck with that then,” Umbra smiled. “So what has happened since last night? How did it go my darling?”
“It was perfect,” Rika sighed. “Though... things turned out a little... different to how I imagined.”
Umbra frowned as she stepped closer to Seth, her rings glowing a dangerous yellow colour. “Different how?”
“Well, we got a little extra,” Rika giggled as she pulled Fritter closer. Umbra blinked, looked at Seth and then burst out laughing.
“Oh, Oh Arceus, that is just too much!”
“Well, I can certainly say that I didn’t see it coming,” Seth said. He looked at Rika and Fritter and smiled warmly. “But I’m not complaining. It’ll take some getting used to, but I think we’ll manage.”
Christine felt a pang then, which she attributed to being separated from Sam. “Yeah, alright, fair enough, point made,” she mumbled. “Gah! Some families have all the luck.”
Rika took one look at the dragon and walked over to her. She simply stood there, her eyes begging to let the dragon be hugged.
“No,” Christine said. “There is nothing you can do or say that will make me comfortable enough for a hug right this moment.”
“Awww, fine. But it’ll be okay. I bet Sammy misses you a whole bunch too!”
“I know he does,” Christine replied. “But still, no. I do not desire or need a hug from you at this time. I don’t do well when hugged by most ‘mon.”
“Fine, but I’ll wear you down eventually,” Rika said adamantly. “If I can hug a fusspot like Vincent into submission, then I can hug anyone!”
“You haven’t hugged the Princesses yet,” Seth said out loud, and then realised what he’d just said. Rika’s eyes went wide with realisation and she bolted from the room in an instant.
“She went to hug the Alicorn princesses, didn’t she?” Umbra said.
“...Y’know, I may just give her a hug to make sure she doesn’t do that to me later on.” Christine mused. “It’d...probably be easier if I saw it coming, anyways.”
“It’s like a bandaid,” Seth said as he headed out. “Better to rip it off than go slowly and painfully.” He gave the dragon a smile. “Hugging can be nice too, think of Sam.”
“Not exactly built for hugging,” was Christine’s reply. “But if she promises to stop at one unless given permission otherwise, then I’ll stand one. Y’know, when she comes back.”
“She’ll be back, probably with me. Do you think you’ll be alright until I return?”
“Unless Madame Titania decides to grace us with her appearance,” came the snarky, fake-accented response, “Then yeah, I’ll be good.”
“Heh, I’ll try and get back before her,” Seth laughed. “I’ll be back soon, okay Fritter?”
The mare nodded and shared a kiss with him. “Be safe alright?”
Seth glanced down at his lingering injuries. “Yeah, no worries.”
*~*
It took a little longer than usual, but Seth managed to limp his way to the castle. Truth be told, he was already feeling a little better by the time he got there. There was certainly something to be said for a Pokémon’s healing factor.
Some of the guards gave him a polite nod as he walked inside after introducing himself. He headed to the throne room after questioning one guard about the Princesses whereabouts, and once he walked in, he groaned and put his paw to his face.
Both Celestia and Luna were quite busy being hugged by Rika.
“Mr. Crescent?” Celestia asked, trying to keep her tone as neutral as possible. “May I ask what this is about?”
“Because Rika is Rika,” Seth replied dryly. “C’mon, let the Princesses go.”
“Fine,” Rika pouted as she untangled her ribbons from the Alicorn sisters and walked over to Seth, flopping onto his back. “I’ll just hug you instead.”
“She reminds me of one of Twilight’s friends,” Celestia chuckled.
Seth groaned from the added weight to his exhausted body, but smiled none-the-less. He turned back to Princess Celestia and Luna and bowed his head. “I thought I’d come and deliver a report about the Crystal Mines.”
“We heard the one you gave the guards at the scene,” Celestia said as she took a seat on her throne. “But we would appreciate your input as well.”
Seth nodded and recalled the events in the mines, and Celestia informed him that the magic that had corrupted the Onix was some residual dark magic from a failed invasion of Canterlot. The solar princess apologised for not having done a proper check of the mines, but one was being done now.
“Ah, well at least no-one was seriously injured,” Seth said. “Is there anything else you need to discuss?”
“Starting tomorrow, we will be receiving delegate from all over Equus,” Celestia said. Though she looked unfazed, Seth’s sensitive hearing could pick up her slightly hastened heartbeat and his eyes saw her withers shift ever-so-slightly. She was worried about the outcome of this meeting. “So until it is resolved, I won’t be able to talk with you much I’m afraid.”
“That’s alright, something’s come up that requires my attention… Oh, how are the preparations for the Contest coming? Were you able to procure a venue?”
“Not as yet I’m afraid,” Celestia sighed. “I do apologise, but I have been quite busy with a great many things lately.”
“No, don’t apologise!” Seth said. “I should be thanking you for wanting to help in the first place. Take all the time you need for this, I’m in no rush.”
Princes Celestia nodded, truth be told, she had completely forgotten about it. She did feel bad, but at least Seth was alright with it. “Thank you for your report Mr. Crescent, shall we meet again soon?”
Seth nodded and bowed his head. “Until next time, Princess Celestia, Princes Luna.”
“Farewell Seth the Luxray!” Luna beamed enthusiastically while Celestia merely nodded. Rika waved from her spot on Seth’s back
“I can’t believe you actually came all the way here to hug the Princesses,” Seth sighed as they walked home. “What’s going on Rika? You’ve always liked hugs, but you were never this obsessed.”
Rika was silent for a moment, and then spoke. “Well… I just thought, that if I could show everypony how friendly Pokémon could be, then there’d be less problems between us all.”
Seth stopped as she said that. He’d been told by the Princesses and Grissom that other cities, like Las Pegasus and Baltimare have had much more difficulty adjusting to the arrival of an entire species. Aside from the Control Incident, Canterlot has been pretty chill about the whole thing. At least on the surface.
~~~
“I don’t trust the nobility,” Grissom said as the two spoke when Seth had awoken in the hospital. “Everything seems fine on the surface, but the enemies that smile at you are much more dangerous than the ones that don’t.”
“So what’s this about a Summit?” Seth asked. “Something to do with the world leaders?”
“Yeah, Griffin, Changeling, Minotaur, Hippocampi and even Diamond Dog and Zebra. It’s going to be the largest gathering of royalty and ministry in several hundred years.” Grissom sighed as he looked out the window. “I don’t like it though, something just doesn’t sit right in my gut.”
Someone might try an attack?” Seth queried.
“I doubt it, unless they were very confident, or very, very stupid.” Grissom chuckled. “We have four Alicorns, a Changeling Emperor, who would be almost equal in magical might. A God of Chaos and your God, so I think we’re good. Security will still be at maximum, just in case.”
“Well if you need my help, just ask,” Seth said and Grissom smiled.
“Well... now that is good news...”
~~~
Little did Seth think that Grissom’d actually ask him to join their guard. But until this Summit was over, he wouldn’t have all the job details.
As they got home, a Pegasus messenger was just landing. She gave Seth the once over and nodded to herself.
“Are you Mr. Seth Crescent?” she asked.
“That’s right,” Seth answered. “Did you have a message for me?”
“Something like that,” she reached into her bag and pulled out a rather decorative envelope. “This is addressed to you.”
“Message received,” Seth smiled. He handed over a few Bits as a tip and the mare gave him a bright smile and thanked him before taking to the air once more.
“What’s it say?” Rika asked, peering over his shoulder.
Seth opened the letter and after he scanned it quickly, a small tear formed in his eye. Rika looked puzzled and looked at the letter.
Dear Mister Seth Crescent,
Your presence is cordially requested at the wedding of Gene and Belle, we would love if you and your friends could find the time to attend. The wedding will take place in Canterlot Castle on the Eighteenth of this month. We hope you are able to attend.
~Gene and Belle
“Well,” Rika said with a happy smile, though for once, it couldn’t compare to Seth’s. “This is pretty awesome.”
“Yeah,” Seth said softly as he re-read the invitation. “It really is.”
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if Christine and Titernia were to find some common ground and actually became friends, oh gods helps us
Wait, how have I not known this story existed until now? I've been following the blog posts and everything, but until I saw it featured just now, I thought it was still in its pre-publishing stage. Damn, I'm out of the loop.
At first, this story seemed like, "Finally! A story that actually looks interesting!"
And than I read this...
media2.giphy.com/media/x4shOPKp5gRDa/200_s.gif
Given how much they care about Seth, I'm surprised his Pokemon weren't more angry with Christine over hurting him, even if she wasn't aiming for him.
So, the invitations to the wedding were sent out. Has it really been close to two weeks already? It's hard to tell if it feels longer or shorter than that. ... Does anyone know why I'm nitpicking over the exact date of all these stories in relation to each other?
Hey Zeus, are Belle and Gene going to be present for Equis' first Pokemon contest? Will that be covered here or in the main story, or both?
5499036 - Seth has a tendency to put himself in harms way, his Pokemon are used to it. And yeah, I've been pretty meticulous about keeping time in my story. It's currently on the 13th day, early evening to be exact.
5499066 Yeah, that did cross my mind shortly after I posted that comment, but you responded so quickly.
I think it's hilarious how Seth seems to collect strays from other stories. Christine seems to be an awesome new addition too!
Yay! My question from last chapter was reincarnated as a joke by Ignis!
5499633 - It does seem to happen huh?
5500533 - ...What question was that again?
Will there come a time when Selena will learn to not despise magic? Because Control was just one unicorn and that doesn't flat-out mean all unicorn magic is evil.
5502031 - That is true, but phobias are serious things. I'm not going to spoil anything yet, but a magic phobia is just one of her underlying issues.
5502809 - Fraid not, I haven't played those games in years... nor have I played the terrible spin-off's
5511090 - Hey, I had fun writing those.
5498877 Hey give it a shot. This is probably one of the best among the side-stories and is on par with the original. Just because it's a sidestory doesn't mean it's automatically bad...
Why is only one of them pluralised? And why do both Newverse authors and Fullmetal Alchemist fans have trouble pluralising Latin words?