Chapter 8
Some part of Rainbow resisted as she made her way back towards Ponyville. The town might be familiar, but it was also so dry. Sweet Apple Acres had its own little watering hole, and there were rivers all around too. Wouldn’t she rather spend her time there? Any of those might be her territory, but Ponyville was just all wrong.
It was no comfort to her that Fluttershy seemed to be thinking the same thing. Either that, or she kept looking back longingly at the Everfree in the distance because she’d left the oven on in her cottage. Rainbow had a pretty good idea she knew which it was.
“So what do you reckon happened to cause all this?” Applejack asked, as they made their way down the trail towards Ponyville. “Did anything happen that might’ve… when were we in the same place at the same time?”
“Almost every day,” Fluttershy said weakly. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to guess that easy.”
“Right.” Applejack sighed. “But if Pinkie could… do this to my sis, then maybe something similar happened when we were together.”
“Who cares what did it?” Rainbow asked. “What’s the point of keeping smart unicorns around if they can’t figure out smart stuff and put us back to normal?” She lowered her voice. “Twilight wouldn’t even make me a griffon for a day, but I’ve been like this for hours now.”
As they closed in on Ponyville, Rainbow could make out pony outlines. So life had gone back to normal since Pinkie’s little musical number. Maybe Twilight had managed to keep her under control, because she couldn’t make out any other foxes.
As they crossed the bridge, a few ponies pointed in their direction, and nervous gasps spread through the crowd. Nopony attacked them, though plenty pointed or glared at them. And everypony kept their distance.
“I don’t see why they’re so afraid,” Applejack muttered darkly. “We can’t be the worst thing that ever walked through Ponyville. How many times has the town been attacked before?”
“If I, uh… if I had to guess, I think they probably remember what happened before,” Fluttershy whispered. “With Pinkie. They probably can’t tell us apart very well.”
Applejack laughed. “You’re kiddin’ me. We don’t look nothin’ alike. Look at Rainbow and me. We’re probably not even from the same, uh… place where animals come from. The zoo I guess.”
Fluttershy scoffed. “You’re not taking this very seriously.”
At least the castle was waiting for them. Rainbow’s eyes widened as she noticed Celestia’s royal carriage parked outside, and the nervous-looking guardsponies milling about in front of each. Ponies from both the Solar and Lunar Guards. Now you shouldn’t be afraid of us. That’s just silly.
“Woah.” Applejack slowed to a stop in front of the door, glancing between each of them. “They’re both here? It can’t be that big a deal, can it?”
“There’s more of them?” one of Luna’s bats whispered. Probably thought they couldn’t hear, but joke was on him with her stupid huge fox ears. “You think they’re contagious too?”
“Just stay away,” the other bat whispered. “They’re more afraid of us than we are of them.”
“We are the Elements of Harmony,” Rainbow said, pausing only long enough to glare at the bats before sliding past them to the castle’s huge entrance. It was never locked, so all she had to do was push with her forelegs and they could make their way in.
She was struck immediately by the sudden silence, enough that she almost wondered if they’d taken a wrong turn somewhere. Where were the servants preparing a formal dinner for Twilight’s endless stream of diplomatic guests? Where were the housekeepers and the decorators? Where were the tourists?
There wasn’t a single pony in the vast lobby, not one lurking on the stairs. Maybe that was for the best—at least without ponies around, she didn’t have to feel as small.
“I don’t like it,” Fluttershy said, shutting the door behind them, her voice echoing through the huge empty space. “This doesn’t seem… normal.”
“Of course it ain’t normal.” Applejack marched past her, scooping up her sister on her way to the stairs, then taking them in bounds two at a time. “We’re dogs, and Ponyville is panicked.”
Rainbow followed behind her, only a little frustrated that she didn’t seem as mobile. Her body didn’t want to jump distances like that—now if they’d been in the water, she had a good idea about which of them would do better getting around.
She crested the stairs to Twilight’s vast throne room, and there she found the missing creatures. Rather than bouncing with energy, they seemed largely subdued. Twilight curled up on one of the thrones, tucked in beside a cushion. Rarity sat in a corner, carving little bits of ice with her claws. Or at least, she couldn’t imagine another fox finding time to pick out a matching scarf. Pinkie arranged a display of treats on the table, using those weird ribbon-things to lift and move them into place as a unicorn might’ve done.
And there was a new one here. A black fox, taller than she was and probably even bigger than Twilight, with faintly glowing blue rings on her tail and body. She paced back and forth in front of one of the windows.
Great, so there’s even more kinds of us. This is worse than a Wonderbolts test. “We’re back,” Rainbow announced. “Found Applejack. She’s something new, just like we were afraid of. Nopony else that we saw.”
It wasn’t getting any easier to adjust to just how strange her own voice sounded. Not another language exactly, but… similar. “Who’s the new one?”
The new one bound towards her, far better coordinated than Rainbow would’ve expected. And taller too, a full head taller. She seemed much bigger, though some of that might’ve just been how poofy she was.
“Equestria’s Elements of Harmony were not the only ones who suffered so drastically at the hooves of cruel fate,” Princess Luna the fox said. “I too am suffering. Word from the Crystal Empire is dire as well.”
“Oh.” Rainbow bounded for the nearest throne, where Twilight was curled up. “Shouldn’t you be helping to fix this?”
Twilight sat up, shaking herself out and stretching like a cat. Finally she bounded down to the floor, meeting Rainbow’s eyes. “I would like to,” she said. “But I’m suffering… instincts. Very confusing, can’t really concentrate on spells right now. Starlight Glimmer will have to fix it. And Celestia. They know what they’re doing, so why should we worry? The spell might just wear off on its own.”
“I am not so optimistic as she,” Princess Luna said. “This doesn’t have the sense of a spell about it. Waking up this way… it feels like an attack. But as to the source, or their motives, I cannot even speculate. Equestria has many enemies, but none are so… fluffy.”
“I just want you to tell me what the hay got into you that you thought it was a good idea to go and get my sister involved in this!” Applejack yelled, loud enough that every creature in the room stopped to stare.
Applejack stood at the base of the table, glaring up at Pinkie where she worked. At least her little sister wasn’t riding her back anymore.
Pinkie hopped down to the seat, settling into a comfortable position on her haunches there. “You smell upset, Applejack. Maybe you’d like a cookie? I just finished baking these.” She held one out with one of her ribbons, grinning innocently at Applejack.
Applejack shoved the offered treat aside with an angry paw. “I thought you were responsible!” she said. “I know it ain’t unusual for things that attack Equestria to start in Ponyville. Feels like it happens every week these days. But the right thing to do was get her as far away as possible! Not get her right in with the rest of us! How are she and her friends going to go to school like that?”
Pinkie stared down at the ruined cookie of the floor. It didn’t even seem like she could hear the fox. Rainbow made her way over, and several of the others did as well. The tension all around them was thick enough she could practically feel it sticking to her paws.
Would Applejack really attack her?
“You say it like they didn’t have a choice,” Pinkie argued, a little louder than before. Nothing could get her upset faster than ruining a dessert. “There’s no compulsion in a promise, Applejack. Anypony who can listen can decide. I was really just giving them a head start.”
Applejack’s fur stood on end, her tail raised high behind her and her ears swept back. “A buckin’ head start? You’re planning on doing this to more ponies? You want this?”
“Applejack, darling, I think you should take a deep breath,” Rarity called. She hadn’t actually gotten much closer—but with as cold as she felt, Rainbow could imagine why. All this heat couldn’t be good for her. “I’m upset too. Sweetie went through the same thing. But I don’t think Pinkie can control herself. She’s an animal too. We’re… designed, or… Fluttershy, are you one of those foxes? Can you explain it?”
“Instinct,” Fluttershy said weakly. “And it could be. It’s too early to get mad when we don’t understand.”
“I understand plenty, thanks,” Applejack said. “Pinkie, how would you feel if I’d done this to your family? You’ve got sisters too.”
Pinkie didn’t seem to be taking Applejack’s anger very seriously. She bounced a few steps away from her, her ribbons trailing through the air behind her with every bound. “I guess they’ll probably change too, yeah. Wonder which kind Maud would be. You think we’ve seen them all? Maybe there’s a kind of fox for rocks, she’d like that.”
Applejack fumed—literally, as smoke rose from along her back. Then she roared, and a gout of flame like dragonfire emerged from her mouth, blasting across the room towards Pinkie.
The fox just happened to be jumping at that moment, and she changed directions in the air, landing on the other side of a throne.
The crystal lit up orange as the flames licked against it, and the cushion resting on it caught fire. The tapestry hanging on the wall behind it caught fire as well, filling the room with bright smoke.
“Well that wasn’t very nice,” Pinkie said, emerging from behind the chair only after Applejack’s flames had died off. “I think you need to calm down.”
She leapt into the air, higher than seemed possible even for those long legs, and when she landed swirling clouds of pink mist appeared from where her paws touched, exploding through the room and making it difficult to see even the outlines of the friendship map or the other creatures.
“You’re burning my house down!” Twilight called, sounding almost as upset as Applejack had been. She lifted Applejack up into the air, holding her in place. But that didn’t stop her from letting loose with another blast of fire, this time aimed at Twilight.
Before Rainbow could blink, chaos had fully descended, and the throne room had turned into a battlefield.
She dodged out of the way of flashes of strange magic, or flames that she wasn’t that afraid of, all things considered. Mostly she was looking for the little ones—there, that was Scootaloo, backing away from the fight.
Rainbow scooped her up, the way she might’ve done for an earth pony who fell from the edge of a cloud. “Better get you out of here,” she said, as icicles as thick as her whole body sprouted from the floor a few feet away, shattering bits of crystal and knocking one of the thrones over.
“The others!” Scootaloo urged. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle! Get them too!”
“Right.” Rainbow dodged through the chaos, ignoring everything except the faint cries she could hear in the background.
She found them crouched beside a bookshelf, huddled together in a corner with chaos all around them. “Get on!” Rainbow said, gesturing over her shoulder. “We’re getting out of here!”
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Careful Pinkie, or Maud will be a fox in socks, and this will become an entirely different story.
And here...we...go.
You're one to talk, Miss Nature is So Fascinating.
All things people have been asking about the castle since Season 5.
I can't help but view this as a prompt. "Fluffy, Scourge of Empires."
If anypony would manage to turn into a Rock-type Eeveelution, it would be Maud. Maybe she'd end up a Lycanroc just to buck the trend.
And yeah, Applejack already tended to be hotheaded when her family was involved. And Pokémon are predisposed to resolving arguments by fighting it out. It may seem odd that Dash is the one most concerned about collateral damage and non-combatants, but she bears Loyalty for a reason.
Now to see how Starlight and Celestia are doing.
10100781
Not only loyalty, but besides Rarity - whose pony of view we've barely seen - she seems to be the one resisting the new instincts the most. Likely because she doesn't care for being wingless and wants to go back to a pony, not to mention her current existence is kinda miserable because nowhere is humid enough. Combine that with Loyalty that'd hate for her to live like an hermit in a lake and you've indeed got the perfect recipe for someone that's Tried of This Shit.
Edit: rasing -> resisting. I blame auto correct and google's slide keyboard.
Odd that Celestia wouldn't be affected when Luna was, given that this doesn't feel like a Trollestia story. Twilight's feline instincts are getting in the way of her research mode.
And the battle is on! Pinkie's unconcern causes AJ to blow her top, and the psychic field combined with the fact of it being fire and Twilight's house pulled Twilight and Rarity in.
Good job Rainbow on grabbing the kits.
Yeah, I'm with Applejack. Fairies make such big deals about fairness and only acting after being given permission, but not a one of their pacts would hold for a second in a decent court of law -- I've yet to hear of one that didn't involve deceit, deliberate misinformation, dealing with minors, acting under duress or some combination thereof. Yes, yes, anyone can agree or not to a promise -- did you actually tell anyone what that promise was, before forcing an unwanted transformation on three people too young to make a contract anyway?
At any rate, I can't say I blame Rarity for freaking out, with all that fire being slung about.
I ask myself those questions every time the show visits the castle.
You know, I hadn't considered Luna being shiny, but the color scheme really does match her perfectly. Wonder why Celestia isn't affected, though.
Ooh, that opens interesting possibilities. Cadence I'd probably peg as another Sylveon, Flurry'd still be an Eevee... I wonder what Shining would be.
Twilight. Your house is made of rock.
10100799
Pretty sure it's Misty Terrain actually. At least AJ won't wind up leaving any lingering burns on anyone.
great update!
Random Question: What Pokémon would Derpy be? Maybe a Legendary?
Here's the list of which ponies became which Pokemon.
CMC = Eevee
Rainbow Dash = Vaporeon
Applejack = Flareon
Unknown = Jolteon
Twilight Sparkle = Espeon
Princess Luna = Umberon
Fluttershy = Leafeon
Rarity = Glaceon
Pinkie Pie = Sylveon
>Me seeing the title, cover art, and the premise
>Me scoffing even though I know I'll be reading it because it's freaking Starscribe
media.discordapp.net/attachments/679105635220193310/680544736930562113/09e298a452de867f647132e46813808d-png.png
10100832
I'd peg Shining as an Umbreon. Not because of type, but because its the tank of the lot. From one defense oriented being to another, and all that.
10100781
What’s the name of Starscribe’s fanfic where a weapon turns people into ponies?
This fanfic feels like a human-free spin on the “human turned Pokémon in Equestria” genre, pioneered by Looking Through the Pokeball, and popularised by A New World, a New Way and Equestrian Eeveelution. All the pieces are there: the main characters wake up transformed, Eeveelutions, Pokémon understand ponies but not vice-versa.
10100781
Speaking of trend bucking, as I finished reading the chapter I tries to imagine who else might have been effected by this phenomenon, and almost immediately I got a mental image of hundreds of Dittos slithering about in a spire-shaped fortress in the middle of a lush grassland that was once a barren wasteland. And one of them is a shiny.
And there's Luna. In all her shining glory. Looks like Cadance or Shining are pegged to be our jolteon. Will we also see eevee Flurry Heart as well?
Didn't really expect a battle to actually break out so quickly. Instinct sure is a scary thing.
10100832
I'm pretty sure anyone would want to smack their happy-go-lucky friend for doing that to a loved one, whether or not they have fae instincts. With the fact that the animals come from a world where nonlethal combat is more or less the norm, this fight might actually be a healthy response given their natures. Let them fight it out. Then get back to thinking.
10100841
No form would befit our little pony better than the form of the creator itself.
10100932
So Arceus?
10100796
well, that and Vaporeon is probably the worst combat Eeveelution out there, Stat wise at least...was always outshined by the other OG forms in the Gen 1 days and the years have not been kind since then...
10100986
Um, vaporeon and jolteon have the same attack and special attack. Also vaporeon is one of the better eeveelutions in competitive and umbreon has worse attack stats.
10100986
they were actually all pretty equal back then. after the special split, Vaporeon was still pretty good thanks to its bulk and special attack stat. Flareon became a bit worse since most of its attacks with STAB are special, and its a physical attacker.
10100986
ive used vaporeon lots of times on my team. it makes a good water type hp tank and it was my go too water type in most of the games (when i didnt have a water type starter).
Well that went pear-shaped fast...
10101131
10101078
10101064
hmmmn, may have gotten that messed up, but ive been wrong before, and can freely admit that i will be again...
https://www.serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/vaporeon/
Vaporeon has high base HP.
10100799
There were eight to pick, so guessing Cadence is rather shocking right now~
I figured if Luna was involved, shiny umbreon fit better than sunshine yellow rings.
Hold on, I just realize one thing. How comes Twilight get cat's instinct? I thought Eevees are fox creature, not cat, right?
Wait... there is the zoo here? I mean, what's the point? If they just want to see wild creatures, they can just waltz into the Everfree or nearby wood.
10101419
Espeon, while evolving from the fox like eevee, are much more feline in shape and mannerisms
10100972
The one and only.
10101541
could be amusing to do :)
10100836
Looks like it'll also keep them from damaging the surrounding environment too. That's a really smart move to use here actually
Yes, because everyone is afraid of the ones like you:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/11/15/1883150.png
Source.
10101078
Flareon had issues before the split, since all Fire moves were special, and it's statted as a physical attacker.
Shiny Umbreon for Luna, very nice.
I hope Pinkie takes a good smacking in this fight. Nothing that she has been doing can be blamed on normal Pokemon instinct, so I'm not really willing to give her much leeway in not actually being responsible.
10101168
Damn straight she does. Can take more beatings then the rest of the Eeveelutions.
10100781
You know, you're the first person I've ever seen actually acknowledge that.
10169000
Actually, Umbreon's defensive stats enable higher endurance overall. Umbreon's HP and Special Defense are inverted from Vaporeon's, and it has significantly higher physical Defense. As a side note, Umbreon can learn Moonlight, which acts faster to restore its HP than Vaporeon's Aqua Ring.