15 - Welcome Home
Shutters snapped away as Rarity’s head jerked back in response to Ho-Oh’s question. She looked back at Aengus for a brief second before facing the question and the Pokémon who asked it. She stammered, “Well, y-y-you see, I...I’m a...I-I am not a regular Pokémon, sir, ma’am...whichever you’d rather. I’m from—”
“No,” Ho-Oh interrupted.
Rarity met its gaze, awaiting further explanation. Ho-Oh watched her without a word. A silent moment passed, interrupted by a young woman of Japanese descent moving in with her camera and zoom lens. She wore a white kimono, one with golden cranes in its brocade. Her hair was tied in a multi-tiered bun, sporting a trio of blue-purple five-petal flowers above her left eye. Taking a picture, she did not hesitate to check her camera’s screen. With a broad smile, she silently but emphatically celebrated the shot. She bowed to Ho-Oh and retreated to the crowd; there she showed it to her friends and possibly potential suitors, each sharing her joy at her captured image. Rarity’s eyes and ears flicked toward her as she took the picture, and a few times again as those around her quietly and inaudibly cheered the photo. Ho-Oh remained stoically fixated on Rarity, ignoring the photographer. More awkward silence ensued. Rarity mustered an answer. “What do you mean by ‘no,’ dear? That doesn’t leave much to go on.”
“You are no Pokémon,” Ho-Oh answered. “Your power is not the same as ours.”
“Really??” asked Paddy as Rarity melodramatically took a long, deep sigh of relief with her eyes closed. He pulled a Pokéball from his belt and clicked its button. As the green-eyed Trixie materialised, he asked, “So, since this one’s mother was one like her, and father was a Pokémon, is she a hybrid?”
Ho-Oh shot Paddy a dirty look, but gave him a tiny nod. Paddy pursed his lips, then continued, “So, does that mean that—”
Ho-Oh locked both eyes on him as it growled; its beak opened slightly with a small sphere of blue fire spinning there, almost as if the flame was a berry in its bill. Alarm rang through the crowd. Paddy instantly stopped talking as he put his hands up as if to surrender, taking a step back. As he returned the green-eyed Trixie to her ball, he looked at Aengus and quietly said, “I’ll be damned. I was certain they were, too. Weird. Maybe Professor Elm has some answers.”
Aengus said, “It’ll be something for you to ask when your classes begin. Oh, and brother?”
“Yes?” Paddy responded, watching as Ho-Oh put away the miniature fireball and resumed looking into Rarity’s eyes.
“Look at me,” Aengus said.
Paddy turned toward Aengus. “What issOOORFFF…!!”
Paddy crumpled to a knee with a hand on the ground; Aengus had punched him, a haymaker to the solar plexus. An “ooh” smattered across the first few rows of the crowd. As Paddy struggled to get his wind back, Aengus leaned over him and barked, “That’s for convincing her of a lie when you damn-well knew better! You deserve much worse than that, but I’ll her decide what to do with you!”
Rarity turned and said in disapproving tones, “Aengus, darling, I appreciate the gallantry, but—”
“Focus,” said Ho-Oh.
Facing Ho-Oh again, she stopped with confusion. Rarity looked Ho-Oh up and down, frowning slightly. She flatly said, “You...really don’t trust humans, do you?”
“No. And neither should you. They despise what they do not understand. They repay kindness with hostility, favours with aggression, and peace with violence. I have seen it all before, right over there,” Ho-Oh said as it tipped its beak toward the scaffolding around repair efforts on the charred ruin of a pagoda. The crowd murmured, much of it saddened with guilt mixed in, though a few sounded angry. It continued, “The majority of humans are puppets of their chosen leader, either incapable or unwilling to think for themselves. Or if no leader is chosen, a crowd follows what the first willing to act does. It made me sad the first time, over there, but seeing it play out again, and again, and again, it now makes me angry. I look for the few who can rise above, in the hopes they can straighten out humanity and guide them down a better path. As it stands, too often the many are steered wrong, to the determent and abuse their own kind, and to Pokémon. Perhaps to you as well, for as I said, you are no Pokémon.”
Rarity began, “Well, I’m glad to hear from you that what I thought I knew was not balderdash. Never doubting myself again, but—”
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Ho-Oh interrupted. “Who, and what, are you?”
Rarity blinked a few times before answering, “My name is Rarity, and I’m an Equestrian Pony, not originally from this world. I have a business arrangement with my friend Aengus here.”
Ho-Oh nodded. “For your sake I hope you will not be betrayed by your business partner. He is human, after all.”
Aengus frowned, but said nothing. Rarity nickered, then said, “May I ask why you wanted to know what I am?”
“Your power,” Ho-Oh said. “Until very recently, I had never felt anything of the like. It’s the same kind of power like what I sense far east of here.”
Rarity asked, “Do you mean my magic?”
“If that’s what you call it, yes,” said Ho-Oh.
“I guess you sensed it when the portal opened, then,” Rarity said in thought.
Ho-Oh clicked its beak a few times, then said, “I felt the wind of another world from that place in the east four times, but that is not what I referred to. I meant, there is a being there of great power, one of the same type as your ‘magic.’ Such is that individual’s power that beings like me can sense it, all this distance away. I was curious when I felt it so close, and came to see what it was.”
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t studied magical origins and theory all that much. Fashion is my forte,” Rarity answered. “That’s what I stand to gain from our arrangement, a different perspective of fashion and how I may apply these new styles to further my craft and business.”
“Just so long as what the human gains is not from misusing you, that is fine,” Ho-Oh said. “Do you have an inkling as to who could wield that much of your ‘magic,’ that it can be felt so far away?”
Rarity nodded. “I’m positive it’s my friend, Twilight; she could explain Equestrian magic much more thoroughly than I.”
A man in the crowd held up a newspaper, and said, “You mean ‘Princess Twilight Sparkle,’ right? You said your name is Rarity?”
“Yes, to both,” Rarity said. As she eyed the newspaper held aloft, she continued, “...dare I ask what they claimed in the story?”
The man stepped forward, bowing to Ho-Oh when he emerged from the crowd. He was also of Japanese heritage, but wore a crisp black business suit. He pointed to the front page headline. Below that was a picture of the command post in The Great Marsh, with a number of royal guard ponies, a few crystal guards, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight; all-told there were at least thirty-five, and every last one of them wore armour including Fluttershy. There were also a few Pokémon there all gathered around Fluttershy: a trio of floating blue-bodied things with long tails but different coloured heads, and a white hedgehog with a green back and a large pink flower behind each eye. The man said, “Princess Twilight Sparkle has made a muster point and staging ground in The Great Marsh of Sinnoh’s Pastoria City, and reportedly is looking for two of her subjects she claimed were abducted, one named ‘Rarity,’ and the other named ‘Trixie Lulamoon.’”
Aengus turned to Paddy with a disciplinary expression. He chastised, “You need to go set this right, brother.”
“I have no such obligation,” Paddy said defiantly. “You made an accord with Rarity; I did not. Nor did I make one with Trixie.”
“That doesn’t change what you did,” Aengus said.
Ho-Oh grunted, silencing everybody else. “I’ve considered going to see what this power was; it is good I have a name first. My counterpart has already left to investigate two days thence, bringing his birds with him.”
“Counterpart?” asked Rarity.
Ho-Oh gave her a long look, and said, “Lugia, lord and guardian of the seas.”
The man with the newspaper muttered, “Thought that was Kyogre’s job....”
Ho-Oh sharply turned its head towards this man with a glare. The man immediately fell prostrate and quickly said, “I’m sorry! My name is Daiki Hasegawa, and I am here from Lilycove City in Hoenn for business. Kyogre’s a legendary Pokémon of Hoenn! I meant no offense!”
A moment passed with bated breath from those gathered as Ho-Oh continued eyeing Mr. Hasegawa with contempt. He remained in his submissive state and pose throughout. Ho-Oh growled, “Then I hope for this ‘Kyogre’s’ sake it does not happen across Lugia out there. Your region would not happen to have anything in my domain, claiming to be lord and guardian of the skies, does it?”
Feebly Mr. Hasegawa squeaked, “Rayquaza is something to that effect, but—”
“This will not do,” interrupted Ho-Oh. It let out a hawk-like scream, forcing many to cover their ears.
Mr. Hasegawa pleaded, “Please, there’s no reason for a fight over the skies! Rayquaza acts alone to keep us all safe from natural disaster!”
Ho-Oh asked, “What kind of lord has no serfs?”
Surprised gasps and shouts echoed at different points across the crowd, where they quickly parted. Rarity looked around as the people made way in three different sections of the crowd. From each opening came an enormous dog-like Pokémon, each of them taller than any of the humans there. From behind Rarity came a brown dog with metallic anklets, a cloud-like mane coming off the back of its neck, some kind of off-white triangular wing-esque plates on its back, and a red, yellow, and gray facemask that looked like a many-pointed star with a mustache. From Rarity’s left was a yellow dog with tiger-like stripes, a kinked tail, a purple cloud on its back, sabretooth canines, and a facemask of powder blue and charcoal grey. From behind Ho-Oh was a leaner cerulean dog with angular white patches, a violet cloud on its back as well, a split tail that looked like they waved beside its body, and a headdress shaped like an oblong hexagon a touch darker than its coat. They gathered around Ho-Oh, and turned towards the people, as if they were on guard detail. The sound of camera shutters was deafening for a few seconds.
“We will go meet with your friend, and make sure no pretender to the skies claims it is lord of something it is not,” Ho-Oh said. It began to flutter and lift off the ground.
Rarity shouted, “Please, Ho-Oh, tell Twilight for me that I’m almost done here!”
Ho-Oh looked at Aengus. He bowed, and said, “Evening after tomorrow, at the latest. Then we’ll start in their direction.”
With a nod and a hawk-like scream, Ho-Oh turned and flew off toward the east. The three dogs followed along, leaping over the crowd altogether. Swiftly they disappeared into the trees, and Ho-Oh faded in the distance.
{Show’s over; back to business as usual.}
With that the cameras fell silent, and individual conversations started up all over the gathered. Rarity heard several of the younger people mention a “status update” and a “PokéBook,” or...something phonetically similar to that. She did not feel a need to invest any emotional energy in giving a hoot about it, nor did she have much left after what all Ho-Oh said. She would have liked to bawl out Paddy for persuading her into believing she was a Pokémon, but thought Aengus overdid the payback. Louder than other thoughts was the anticipation of Twilight receiving word from her for the first time since Aengus brought her to this world.
The crowd withered away. A number of young women and a few young men decided to stick around and talk to Rarity about fashion, and why their outfit was more ideal than others for a new line. Within three such elaborations, Rarity picked up on that the women were simply trying to flaunt what money they spent rather than truly show good taste, and mostly at the other women rather than to Rarity to boot. Fortunately the menfolk were direct, describing what outfits were considered casual, labour-appropriate, business-appropriate, a lord’s court-appropriate, and their equivalent of black tie. Fifteen minutes with the men proved far more useful than forty-five with twice as many women. Regardless of how she went about any garments inspired here, she noted that she would need custom-woven fabric, far more complex than any bolt she had done herself or ordered from anypony.
Once the group had moved on, Rarity found Aengus and Paddy had been arguing, but neither one was much inclined to talk about what. Both brothers appeared mostly-over whatever the subject was, but as they departed to the south, Rarity discerned Paddy was still markedly angrier than Aengus over the matter, wearing a dark look. After a quick lunch, they walked through an upright religious gate to leave Ecruteak City.
The path was split and flanked by heavy woodland. Trainers here had the same avoidant reactions as the others did on the way to Ecruteak. As they passed a lone tree with a pair a twin teenage girls, Rarity glanced over at the brothers, and noticed a similar expression from them both. She asked, “What’s on your minds?”
Aengus and Paddy chuckled. As they both looked at her, Paddy spoke first. “The next town is home, Goldenrod City. It’s kinda surreal, finally coming back after so long. How long is the longest you’ve been away from your parents?”
Rarity thought for a moment. “Maybe two weeks? Usually we see each other several times a week, since my sister is a minor, but prefers to stay at my place than with my parents. Their house is about a ten-minute walk from mine. Why? How long has it been for you two before this trip?”
Paddy said, “About two weeks for me too, before now, was the longest I had gone without seeing mom.”
Aengus said, “Just shy of a month, and that was easily nine or ten years ago, my first time going into Kanto.”
“And you said on the ship it’s been eight months since you two set out!?” Rarity squawked. “I don’t think I could handle that! I share about everything with my mom, and dad’s always called me ‘daddy’s little filly,’ even after my sister was born!”
Both brothers sighed and looked down. Aengus lamented, “It’s...been far, far longer since we’ve seen dad.”
“Yeah,” Paddy mumbled emptily, shaking his head.
“What happened?” Rarity asked with genuine concern.
Their hesitation was pronounced and palpable. With a growl Aengus said, “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Our parents’ homeland, and our birthplace, is under the rule of a foreign king. The overwhelming majority of our fellow countrymen do not care for that in the least,” grouched Paddy, venom in his voice rising. “There’s no reason for it, either. Just the descendants of a dead dickwad bastard who just steal from our brethren because they can, when they already have plenty to begin with. And the only reason they do is because their ancestors attacked ours with no warning, no provocation, nothing, and thus caught our ancestors off-guard.”
Aengus scoffed, “Suffice it to say, some of our countrymen fight violently against their rule.”
Rarity frowned. Looking both of them in the eye, she said, “So, when you say he was at the wrong place at the wrong time....”
“A bomb went off, and he wasn’t far from it. Not so close to be seriously hurt, but close enough they blamed him, and took him away. Mom said dad had only deposited his paycheck on his way home from work when it happened. Come midwinter, it’ll be sixteen years,” Aengus spat angrily.
“So I barely have any memories of my dad,” seethed Paddy. “What I recall is mostly feelings, happy ones. Dad playing with us, telling stories, singing songs. I missed the best part of childhood because of them, their prejudice, their bullying, and them being too stupid to see the man didn’t know how to build a bomb because he never sought how, nor that he could have delivered the damn thing because he was at work! They ignored testimony and written proof from his manager that he was at work when it had to be dropped off! So they threw him in prison for nothing, and they knew it!!”
Paddy stood fuming. Had it been a cold day, fog may have billowed off his forehead. The brothers looked down and saw tears leaking out of Rarity’s eyes silently. Paddy stopped first, knelt down, and pulled her into an embrace, which Aengus joined. She felt them both shaking, twitching with rage about their father’s fate. It boggled her, that one country would subjugate another for generations, or how anybody or anything could knowingly and willingly imprison an innocent man just because of his lineage. For her it came together, the dark smiles when winning a Pokémon match, how rough the two of them were towards the beginning of their adventure, the treatment of Trixie...constant anger, due to being so wronged at such young ages without any reason why, let alone one a young child could understand. Rarity had the thought that maybe their lashing out at others was in some way them getting back at this foreign overlord. She could not fathom the pain of never seeing her dad, of missing out on those memories.
She clung tightly to them as her sobs surfaced, blubbering, “I’m so sorry, you two, that you had to go through tha-a-at!”
The shaking began easing on both sides. One hand began scratching her behind the ears; another facing the other way petted her up and down her neck and back. Aengus whispered, “It’s not your fault, lass. There’s nothing you could have done.”
Paddy said, “It’s not fair, but we’ve learned to live with it.”
They stayed like that for a number of minutes before Rarity regained her composure. With her breathing back under control, she said, “Maybe you two should come to Equestria for a little while. Help get some of that anger out, and be the change you want to see in the world.”
“I’m about to attend university,” Paddy sighed.
“And after winning, I’ll have a huge amount of responsibilities to attend to,” said Aengus. “Otherwise I’d love to.”
Rarity sighed sadly. The brothers let go and they continued into a series of narrower paths, enough they had to proceed single file. Quite a number of minutes passed in strained silence. Rarity broke the reticent walking. “I hope you know you can talk to me about anything, darling.”
Aengus nodded and said, “I know. I just don’t like thinking about that, let alone talking. It...the whole thing makes me see red, sometimes literally. It’s why I hadn’t mentioned it before. You don’t think I was hiding something, do you?”
“No, well...not without reason, I should say,” Rarity said. “That kind of subject is nothing to talk about lightly, or before you’re ready to. I’ll not bring it up.”
“I appreciate it.”
Emerging from the tight quarters, the came to an East-West route wide enough to fit them all and a few more abreast. Aengus led them westward. They descended a few stairs, and came to a fork in the path. Aengus pointed them south, but Paddy stopped there. He said, “You don’t want to go through the National Park?”
“Not today; I don’t feel like being suckered into yet another bug-catching contest,” Aengus said flatly.
Paddy sighed and shook his head. “Shoot, I forgot about those. Yeah, it’s Tuesday, isn’t it?”
They walked down a narrower, not even gravel path, to a bramble in the way. Paddy sent out his weird hot air balloon Pokémon, and it left the greenbrier in tiny windblown bits. They proceeded on through the tall grass beyond and both were slowed for only a few seconds by wild Pokémon: Aengus dealt with a Drowzee, and Paddy handled a female Nidoran. Rarity commented afterward, “That was much easier than expected. Are they really that much weaker here than what we saw in Sinnoh?”
Aengus said, “Around here, yes. Someplace else we’ll be going tomorrow, not at all.”
“That soon after coming home you intend to make your championship challenge?” Rarity asked disapprovingly. “No time to catch up with your mother?”
“That’s just the timing of things. Tomorrow we take Paddy to begin his studies under Professor Elm, and continue on toward the League. Then I hope to have some time to take it easy, at least for a bit,” Aengus said. “It’ll be nary more than ‘a bit,’ too. Seems the champion has plenty of work to maintain the League and the peace around the region.”
The path here was well-paved, leading to the National Park’s front entrance. Trainers here had the same reactions as before, even from a police officer. They began south, but Rarity paused for a step. Something dimmed the sky just above the horizon in place, mostly in rectangular blocks of different heights, though some came to a point. Rarity asked, “Um, Aengus...those aren't buildings, are they?”
“Sure are,” he said. “Goldenrod is easily the biggest city in Johto. Has more people living here than Cianwood, Violet, and Olivine Cities put together, and Violet and Olivine place second and third. Plenty of folks living together in a small space, thus the buildings. Why? Aren’t there skyscrapers in Equestria?”
Rarity said, “There are, but not so many, or so tall. Baltimare has a number of them, Manehatten has plenty, but not like this! It’s like whoever owns the land outside the city refused to build normal neighbourhoods, or sell acreage to someone who would. Even those buildings on the edge are enormous!”
“Yep. That is about all I clearly remember about Goldenrod's urban planning, the intentional lack of suburbs,” said Paddy.
Aengus grew a smile and a far-off look in his eye. “Still nice to be home. Come on. I bet mom’s waiting impatiently.”
{Been away for a long, long time.}
The brothers’ pace quickened. After a walk they reached the city gate and entered. Many folks waved at Aengus, or Paddy, or both, at their approach. Some shook their hands, or embraced them as old friends, wishing for some small talk and to find a time to catch up on the last several months. One pair said they married while the brothers were away, kissing each other while looking Aengus in the eye. He shook his head as they parted from the newlyweds, muttering, “She never did get it, that not even once was I interested in her.”
Rarity nodded and said, “People are strange.”
Shortly afterwards they came to that avenue’s first intersection with a significant thoroughfare. Looking around, Paddy grumbled, “Cracks in the road in the same place, but a little wider. Official city clocks are still off-sync. Still no ground-breaking on the port they said would be done last fall. I see the mayor is still the fine, productive public servant he was when we left.”
Rarity looked across the way and saw a clock that read 3:35. The one kitty-cornered from it said 3:34, but only for a moment. As they started to cross the road, Rarity almost tripped as her hoof briefly caught in one of the cracks. Aengus pulled her along when she tried to inspect the damage in the middle of the road. Once freed up, she looked down and let loose a melodramatic, overly-long, mortified inhaling gasp. There was an abrasion on the hoof, almost two centimetres in length and less than half a centimetre tall at its widest point. Her eyes welled up as her jaw started to quake. Paddy muttered, “Really? Like, really-really?”
Rarity cried, “My perfect hooficure, ruined!” And she sobbed.
Aengus looked at Paddy and mouthed, “Really.”
As her mascara started to run, Paddy condescendingly asked, “Do we need to find you a farrier?”
Choking back the tears briefly, she asked, “What’s that?”
Discontentedly Aengus said, “A workman who shoes horses and ponies.”
Rarity bemoaned, “The closest I can get to a proper hooficure in this world is a shoeing for layponies!? Of all the worst possible—”
“Stop,” interrupted Aengus with irritated urgency. “You’re drawing a crowd again.”
Rarity stifled her sobs again and saw many had stopped to see what’s the fuss, while many others slowed and looked on as they went by. Aengus pressed them onward before the crowd thickened any further. As they slipped away and out of earshot, Paddy growled to himself, “The ‘worst possible’ thing? Is it the leading world economic superpower deciding a new leader, but having to pick between a thinned-skinned impulsive psychopath with an itchy trigger finger, and a morally-bankrupt career politician who’s gotten away with treason twice...both of whom would tank the international economy in their own separate unique ways? Nope, not that at all; it’s actually a slightly damaged pedi, one that no one can notice unless they’re right over it...she needs a shrink. That kind of crap reminds me of histrionic personality disorder.”
“I don’t know what all of that’s supposed to mean, but I don’t like that tone,” Rarity grumbled.
“Anyways,” Paddy shifted, “what tripped you is yet another fine example of the city’s tax revenue hard at not working. I don’t know how the mayor and city council keep getting reelected.”
“I couldn’t tell you. Mayor Mare back home has run unopposed for so long, we were flabbergasted when somepony else threw his hat into the ring,” Rarity said.
Aengus said, “It doesn’t sound to me like your hometown had the idiocy we’ve seen here. I doubt this ‘Mayor Mare’ would have stood by idly if a terrorist group came, right?”
“She would act, yes,” said Rarity cautiously. “...I don’t like that lead-in.”
Aengus nodded. “Our brilliant mayor, social and political genius that he is, did not. He did nothing about a group called Team Rocket that took over the radio tower. No police, no guard, nothing. A young trainer, specifically a boy named Ethan, infiltrated the tower and broke their hold.”
“My goodness! How incompetent a syndicate they were, that a lone child could stop their efforts!” Rarity exclaimed.
“And to the same effect, how incompetent a leader could allow such a group to take over, unable to break through?” Aengus said. “I had mentioned there were three trainers just older than me that inspired me to pursue the championship. Ethan was the third of those three.”
{Yes, it's a love song written for Sharon. Don't care; using it here 'cuz it bloody-well fits...!}
A nostalgic grin edged its way across his face as they continued down the thoroughfare. Many girls and young women watched Rarity go by with a squee and smile. They turned east when they came to the next major crossing route. They navigated around a few tall buildings and ended up approaching one of them. Rarity said, “How about that? A door that’s not on the south-facing side of a building? What’s this world coming to?”
Paddy raised an eyebrow at her while Aengus snickered. The trio entered the apartment high rise. While certainly not the lap of luxury, management clearly didn’t accept applications from just anyone. Aengus led them down a short hall, around a corner, and to a pair of elevators. The right set of doors opened immediately upon pressing the call button.
Seven floors later, they arrived at a similar hallway. Aengus led them down past five sets of doors before taking keys out of his pocket. As he opened the door, he called out, “Mom? We’re back!”
A woman in an apron and a simple dress, sporting shoulder-length brown hair heavily streaked with grey came around the corner at full speed. She nearly tackled Aengus and Paddy into a bone-crushing hug. Rarity couldn’t help but smile as she saw a few tears drop from her as she took in a deep sigh of relief. Paddy murmured, “Missed you, mom.”
They held each other as such for a few moments before she let go. She looked them over with a smile. Her eyes were the same soul-piercing blue as both of her sons. Giving them both a kiss on the cheek, she spoke with a much thicker accent. “Me lads, so good ye bof’re home ‘gin!”
“Absolutely,” said Aengus.
She caught a glimpse of Rarity, and looked the unicorn in the eye. She then turned to Aengus and scolded, “Aengus Connor Joseph Meagher! Din’ae tell ye not te let ye Pokémon out indoors!?”
“Forgive me, ma’am, but I am no Pokémon. My name is Rarity, and I am traveling with Aengus on business. How do you do?” Rarity answered, holding her posture and voice in a rather posh way.
Mrs. Meagher stood up straight, furrowing her brow at Rarity. After a moment, she said, “Huh. How diya’ do? Business partner, ye say? What business?”
“Fashion. I design and sew stupendous garments, each one chic, unique, and magnifique,” Rarity said with a smile.
“Are you sure she’s not a Pokémon?” asked a male voice nearby. Aengus, Paddy, and Rarity all turned and saw two men in lab coats. One was older with gray hair, and the other had light brown hair and glasses.
Paddy gave them a baffled look. “Professors Elm and Oak?? Wha...um, what brings you two by?”
“Yeah, why does it seem like every time I get back from somewhere, one of the two of you are here?” Aengus asked with some blunt suspicion.
Professor Elm said, “I wanted to make sure my pupil returned in one piece.”
“And I heard you two went abroad and caught many different species of Pokémon. I’m curious what all you found, and how well your Pokémon were received abroad,” said Professor Oak. After looking Rarity over, including walking in a circle around her (to which she flattened her ears), he continued, “She said she’s not a Pokémon, but she looks and carries herself like one.”
“And she clearly has some power at her beck and call, too,” said Professor Elm. “But she says she’s not a Pokémon; do you believe she is?”
“She’s not,” said Aengus. “And if that’s not enough for you, ask just about anybody who was in Ecruteak City this morning. She had a nice little chat in plain speech with Ho-Oh, right there in the city’s central plaza, with a crowd gathered around taping the whole thing. Ho-Oh said she’s not a Pokémon because her power is of a different variety.”
Both professors stood a little straighter with intensely interested expressions. Mrs. Meagher just shrugged. Oak muttered, “Fascinating.”
“I made the same mistake, too, sir,” said Paddy, looking straight at Professor Elm. “If I hadn’t heard it like that, I’d probably still think she’s a Pokémon.”
“Huh. I’d like to discuss this further at the lab,” said Professor Elm. He beckoned the brothers toward the next room, with Rarity in tow. Mrs. Meagher took a deep breath with a hand over her mouth, seen by Rarity but not by her sons. Elm continued, “There’s something else for you two, too.”
“Hmmm?” Aengus responded.
They passed through an archway. A television was on with some kind of sporting event, but clicked off. A man stood up. He was slightly above average height, with red hair and short beard, both heavily greyed. His clothing was unremarkable, but those icy blue eyes....
Aengus put his hands over his mouth and dropped to his knees, breaking down into tears. Paddy, too, instantly started to cry, as he squawked out, “Daddy...?!”
The man there also choked on sobs as he said, “Aengus, Pádraig...my boys...!”
The three rushed together, without discernable words, collapsing onto the floor with the brothers on top. Mrs. Meagher joined them, with just as much in happy tears as the others. Rarity felt her own loosen and slip out. Elm said, “He just got here three days ago. The, uh...to use his word, ‘Limeys’ finally accepted his innocence. We’ve helped him begin to adjust to life here.”
“I suppose we should see ourselves out at this point,” Oak said. With a handshake and a pat on the back, Oak led Elm out as the reunited family managed to get back on their feet. Rarity brushed away a few more tears; the last of her mascara was gone. Aengus motioned her over, and soon she was in the middle of a teary group hug.
Mrs. Meagher said, “Now our fam’lee’s all here...nothin’ can eva’ split us ‘gin.”
“Aye,” contently sighed Mr. Meagher. “Nothin’.”
Poor Rarity. Her hooficure held up for a week and a half, over tremendous distance on foot, and numerous battles...but scuffed on a crack in the sidewalk. 
Seems like a good place to kick off 2017, reuniting family. Of course, there were other things going on that hint at (or scream about) troubles ahead. Still wanted the touching moment. I don't know if I could handle being away from m' dad for a decade and a half, even now, having been out of his house for a decade and a half.
Can ya' tell I still am not happy about who won the primaries? 
Granted, I took the more extreme descriptions of each, though the both may be closer to the truth than what I'd really like to think about. 
Secondary classic rock reference this time is courtesy of The Doors...the thing provided as suggested soundtrack is way more than a simple reference.
Twilight chapter next week. She's gonna...well, lemme just say that while the plot thickened last time, it'll be more so this time around. At the same time, Aengus and Rarity are less than a full day's march away from Victory Road and the Indigo Plateau. The challenger is about to approach. How will it go? One way to find out....
See you next week, and thanks for reading. 
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>sex tag
herewegoagain.png
This is all well and good, but where's the real Trixie? I can appreciate that the brothers have suffered, but Paddy has a long way to go before I stop hating him.
I have to wonder, after this is all cleared up, might it be possible for Equestria to come to an equitable agreement with the Pokemon universe, to allow ponies to rent themselves out as "pokemon"? (With some limitations, of course, like no involuntary breeding. Maybe also special pokeballs that won't suck them in involuntarily unless they've fainted, fallen asleep, or been frozen.) And surely there could be something they could trade for it, like some of their advanced technology.
I could have sworn Paddy would not believe it even after hearing it straight from Ho-oh's mouth. I guess I completely misjudged his character.
Good chapter as always.
Well, so Ho-Oh actually did manage to get through to Paddy.
Ooh, Twilight gets to meet Lugia? I'll look forward to that.
Homecoming to their mother, meeting their mentors again, and a long overdue reunion all at once was a sweet scene.
This scene is so happy and sweet that it just screams about the other shoe.
Well, good luck with that.
7843796
All we know is she's lost somewhere in Sinnoh. And Paddy's...well, Paddy. A highly intelligent, logical young man with fierce determination and persistence, curiosity, and focus, but has a certain disregard of empathy, inconvenient rules, and sometimes ethics. He will get the answers he seeks, breaking laws and morals along the way as well as stomping on another's feelings...but he consistently gets answers.
7843811
If they can really, really, really patch the divide between them, it may be possible? Doesn't seem particularly likely at this point. As it stands, things in Sinnoh are...well, you'll find out next week.
7843874
Much appreciated.
While Paddy accepted the answer, he did almost get himself incinerated. Everybody else, including Aengus, bowed to Ho-Oh before addressing or approaching it.
7843988
All I'll say is Lugia ain't the only Legendary inbound (the birds notwithstanding), though I suppose the text made that part obvious. Next week's is gonna be a fun one; I promise.
There's also the nudge at that Professor Oak was always, without fail, at Ash's house around his mom whenever he stopped back in Pallet Town.
7844251
Heh. Wait and see.
BTW, I think I can safely assume you're studying literature for a Bachelor's; where are ya' matriculating?
7844651
Fair enough. The guy has been slightly antogonistic towards Rarity, so to see him in this new light this chapter did shed light onto some of his motivations/reasonings behind what he has been doing. In his way, it was him lashing out at a society that locked up his father when he had nothing to do with the crime. You do a good job of painting your characters without stressing their characteristics beyond what is needed.
7844651 ...You do realize that you just described an evil Indiana Jones there, don't you?
7844970
Heh. Just needs a Gen-I CoolTrainer's whip now, eh?
7845418 Meh. Well, thank you for confirming that Trixie's alive. But it's going to take a LOT for me to let Paddy off the hook. (And so far, all he's done for my little mental Dead by Daylight session involving him is make me want to camp his hook so he can't get off of it.)
i wont lie, that punch paddy got was so satisfying. Still, I feel Trixie should be given a crack at him too, once they find her.
Man, I wish this was irl. Now all we need is for twilight to get caught.
7851377
nope, i don't even know who that is
7851377 dang the name looks so similar. Well he's an animator/drawer.