Victini ends up in Equestria after a little bout between Dialga and Palkia starts causing temporal disturbances throughout the world. Now, in a new world with his powers of victory, it appears that everyone wants to get their dirty hooves on him.
Victini accidentally ends up in the magical world of Equestria after a small bout between Dialga and Palkia began causing temporal disturbances throughout the world. Now, stuck in a new world, he attempts to get used to his new surroundings. Unfortunately, after using his powers to help a certain pink pony win a bake off, it appears that Victini has become the center of attention for both the forces of good and evil.
Now it's become a race to see who can convince Victini to join them so that they can never lose again. But all Victini really wants is to play with Pinkie and enjoy some macarons without constantly being pestered by everyone else.
Hopefully no one ends up being badly burned by the end of this tale.
>I understand that most if not all legendary pokemon are genderless. But for simplicity sake I will be referring to Victini as a male. But if you like you can swap all of the he with she and the him with her. It doesn't change much. >Set after the Victini Reshiram/Zekrom movie
It was a wonderful spring in Eindoark town. The sun was high in the sky and all of the pokemon that resided within the kingdom were all out and about enjoying themselves.
Drilbur and Purrloin flocked to the various bushes that grew oran berries nearby the vast verdant forest and partook in a delightful snack that was sure to put them in a good mood. Many Petilil danced around in the sunlight while a group of Cottonee flew overhead as they followed the wind. The sounds of laughing pokemon and humans alike echoed throughout the air bringing solemn joy to an elusive guardian that watched from the skies.
Floating invisibly above the meadow where the pokemon were playing was none other than Victini. He was one of the legendary pokemon that helped to maintain the delicate balance of the world. Although his small size and relative cuteness deterred many from believing so unless they witness what he was truly capable of. That is to say, his ability to generate near infinite amounts of energy within his tiny being and the mysterious power to somehow grant victory, no matter what.
Victini was a small rodent like pokemon. His head was big in comparison to the rest of his body, with large blue eyes that caused you to melt at the sight of. His fur was cream colored, which was round and bulbous near the ends of his arms and legs forming some kind of cuff in the process. He also had two tails which were shaped like adorable little wings. The rest of his extremities, namely being his three fingered hand, two toed feet, and signature V shaped ears were all colored a bright orange, most likely to represent one of his main types, fire, with the other type being psychic.
Victini soared through the skies a bit, watching and making sure that there were no humans around. When the area was at most clear, Victini descended to the ground and landed with a light thud.
He dropped his invisibility and greeted his fiends, who in turned greeted him back. He pranced around and chased Purrloin during a fun little game of tag. Then he went and dug holes with Drilbur to help plant some of the seeds that they'd acquired once they finished their berries. Lastly, Victini playfully danced with the Petilils, all before falling onto his back to catch his breathe with a big smile on his face. Together, they all shared a good long nap until something frightening made them all jump with surprise.
A violent crackle sound resounded around them accompanied by some shaking, causing poor Victini to turn invisible again due to being so frightened. Everyone else scattered to the edge of the forest. Drilbur quickly went underground, only to pop his head up to the surface to see what all of the hubbub was about. When all was quiet, everyone rejoined at the meadow again to seek out the cause of the disturbance.
Shockingly enough, what they found was some kind of crack within the boundary that separate the various dimensions of the universe. The sight that everyone was all looking at mind boggling. It was as if the scenery before them was like a glass window that had a rock thrown at it, causing visible cracks to web outwards. What was on the other side could only be best described as pure black, abyssal nothingness. The only thing that came out of the crack was a cold wind that caused the Petilil to huddle together in warmth.
In a moment of estranged curiosity, Drilbur walked up to the crack to further examine it. He peered through it, seeing nothing for as far as the eye could see. And then the strangest thing happened. An Unown, shaped like the letter A to be exact, flew straight by him, causing him to stumble backwards and falling onto his bottom.
The Unown looked around, spinning side to side in confusion before turning and flying back into the void. Unfortunately, Drilbur, who was just getting up, got knocked in the back of the head by the passing Unown. Once again, Drilbur found himself stumbling around, only this time he was falling forward, much to everyone's horror. In his dizzied state, Drilbur tripped and fell directly into the crack, but not before being hastily caught by Victini.
Victini grabbed Drilbur's foot just as he fell in but found himself falling in as well. He used all of his strength and struggled to pull Drilbur out from the crack. It turns out that the mole pokemon was heavier than he thought. Victini pulled and strained himself, but to no avail, he was slipping.
Just when things were looking dire, he felt something tugging on his own leg. He turned to find that Purrloin and all of the Petilil had joined in to help pull him and Drilbur out. It was working, he could feel the tugging inch them all slowly backwards. Drilbur let out a relieved sigh as he made his way out of the crack, just a few more inches and then he would be back onto solid ground where he will be able to dig again.
When Drilbur saw the light, he didn't know if he could celebrate or not. Because at that time, the violent crackling and shaking started again, much to everyone's dismay. Purrloin and the Petilils did their best to hold their ground, but the shaking was far to powerful, causing them to lose their grip. The sudden jolt in motion shook Victini, disorienting him and he found himself falling into the dark void while still clasped onto Drilbur, who by then was screaming his lungs out...
* * *
Victini and Drilbur had been falling for a couple of minutes now. But that all changed when they realized that their falling slowly changed into brief floating. Floating around in the dark void was a terrible experience for the two who by then had been huddling close to each other in fear.
To their surprise, a group of Unowns flew right by them, eliciting an annoyed glare from Drilbur that was directed straight by them. Unowns by the boatload flew all around them, in all directions with no real rhyme or reason behind their flight patterns. In was then and there that Victini finally realized where they were. Victini and Drilbur were trapped within one of the dimension of which the legendary pokemon Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina resided. But whom, to be exact, was the question. Their answer came in the form of Palkia who flew straight by them without even batting an eye towards the trapped pokemon.
Victini did his best to signal Palkia, even doing so by lighting up his big ears to catch his attention. He tried his hardest but by then, Palkia was long gone to who knows where. As grim as things were looking, it only got worse when a roar drew their attention to where Palkia was headed. What they saw made their eyes widened in disbelief.
For whatever reason the time pokemon, Dialga, was in Palkia's space and was fighting with him again. According to some migrating Starly and Staravia that they spoke to back then, the last time that those two fought it ended up causing an entire town to disappear into thin air.
A battle of the giants raged on beside Victini and Drilbur. The resulting shockwave from each pokemon's respective blows rocked the void and sent the duo hurdling faster and faster to an unknown. At wit's end, the duo found themselves falling out into another crack, but to who knows where?
* * *
Far off the edge of Ponyville, a small crack in the boundaries wavered and flickered like a dim light bulb. Unbeknownst to the equine citizens residing there, two new arrivals to their world were unceremoniously spat out of the crack like yesterday's lunch. Like a wound in time and space, the crack in which they were spat out of from quickly repaired itself, leaving no trace of it being ever damaged at all.
Victini and Drilbur landed onto the dirt with a soft pitter patter as they skidded across the ground in a humorous fashion. Even though they were safe now and out of the horrible void, they still hugged each other with an iron grip, eyes squeezed shut lest they be open to experience something else traumatizing. They waited for a while, even though the soft soil beneath them comforted them and told them that everything was fine.
Drilbur was the first peek with one eye open. He peered around for a bit. It looked as if they had landed within some kind of carrot patch. He patted Victini on the head a bit to get his attention.
When Victini opened his eyes, he was surprise to see that they were back on solid ground. But they weren't back in Eindoark town that was for sure. All the two knew was that they were on some kind of farm, a farm that specialized in growing carrots. The two stood up and walked around, scratching their heads in confusion.
"Where are we?" Victini asked Drilbur. Although if you were listening to pokemon speak all you would probably hear is Tini, tini, tini? and Drilbur going dril, dril, drilbur!
"Heck if I know" Drilbur replied before walking over to a nearby carrot patch "I don't know about you Victini, but having a near death experience has made me kinda hungry" he went over and pluck up a carrot from the ground with his shovel like claws. Licking his lips, he took a big chunk out of it "Mmmm. It ain't oran berries, but it'll do" Victini stared at Drilbur with his mouth agape and flew by him, waving his hands in a manner that spoke don't do that!
"Hey! You can't just do that! These carrots aren't wild!" Victini shouted "Put that down, what if a human sees you eating their crop!" Drilbur didn't pay much mind to Victini. He only continued to enjoy his meal and waved off Victini.
"Relax" he paused to swallow "It'll be fine, it's not like they know it's me when I'm done. They'll probably think that a wild Buneary ate them or something"
"Just put it down and let's leave!" Victini pleaded with his hands together "We have to get back home. I don't even know where we are! I'm scared..." his expression visibly sank.
" *Munch* *Munch* *Swallow* Eat first. Home later" Drilbur repiled as he finished a carrot "Hmm... still not full. Maybe I'll have another one"
"Hey!" a voice called out from behind. Victini instantly turned invisble and hid right behind Drilbur. They turn slowly turned around to find the source of the voice, expecting some human to be fuming at Drilbur for eating their carrots. However, when they finally turned, they were greeted with an odd sight.
It looked like a pokemon, granted it may have had some of the qualifications of one but there were still too many things about it that was off. It was shaped like a horse and had a yellow coat with an orange mane. Now, it looked like a Ponyta, but it was far too short and didn't have awesome manes of flames to be one. If the two wanted to compare it to someone they know, Keldeo would've been the obvious choice. But this wasn't Keldeo, and it wasn't exactly a pokemon either.
Whatever it was though, it could talk and it was very angry at them, probably because Drilbur pilfered its crop. in its hooves was a broom which it held up high with a scowl on its face.
"Filthy moles eating my crops eh?" the pony thing spoke "Taste broom you thief!" Drilbur frowned as he looked at the broom coming down on him. He stood like a deerling in headlight, pupil's dilated as the broom came closer to his face.
Today was the day of the Ponyville annual bake off. Carrot Top was sitting in her home, humming to herself a quaint little tune while she was preparing the batter for her soon to be awarded blue ribbon carrot cake. Of course to receive her ribbon first she must best her rivals, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Two ponies that have impeded her from receiving the ribbon for far too long.
Pinkie Pie was someone that she can handle. She liked the parties that she threw, but found her to be formidable when it came to baking. It boggles her mind how someone who cooks with so much sugar could still create a cake that was rich, moist and incredibly flavorful all with the perfect balance without being too overly sweet. Although the audible sound of decaying tooth enamel says otherwise of Pinkie's delicious cake.
Then there was Applejack. Oh, how she loathed that pony. Always going about boasting how her apples and home styled apple pie would always best her carrot and carrot cake no matter how much she refined her recipe. It infuriated her to no end with each defeat brought at the hooves of Applejack. Just once she'd like to hold the ribbon right up to that pony's face and gloat like there was no tomorrow.
But this year would be different, or at least that's what she keeps telling herself as she went and reached for the most important ingredient of her cake: real carrots. She reached around all while stirring her batter, only to be disheartened to find that she'd forgotten to pick them from her garden earlier that day.
She set her bowl down and walked out to the back of her home to her personal carrot patch. However, as she made her way to the door to overheard a familiar sound. A sound that made her blood boil with righteous indignation. It was the sound of crunching. But not just any crunching. Years of tilling to her land has made her senses acute when someone or something decided to snack on her carrots, and this was no different.
Without a second thought, Carrot Top reached for her nearby broom and kicked the door down with her hind legs. As she walked out, there it was. A large mole with massive claws, casually chewing away on a carrot from her patch.
"Hey!" she called out. The mole creature turned to face her, although she could've sworn that there was two of them earlier "Filthy moles eating my carrots eh?" she raised her broom up high "Taste broom you thief!"
* * *
Drilbur only stood and stared at the odd pony thing as the broom came crashing down on his noggin. A loud crack sound echoed throughout the patch as he ran around in circles, yelping in pain with his claws on his head.
"OW!" he cried out in pain. When he finally settled down he turned to shot a laser guided glare towards Carrot Top "Hey! What's the big idea hitting me like that!" he growled.
"Um, Drilbur?" Victini, who was still invisible, whispered to Drilbur "I don't think that pony thingy is like us, so I don't think she understands you"
"I don't care if Mew is having lunch with Deoxys on top of a Wailord in space while a group of Clefairy are doing the can can! She just hit me and I gonna give her a piece of my mind!" Drilbur shouted.
"In her defense, you did eat her carrots" Victini sharply retorted, causing Drilbur to turn bright red.
"...anyway. I got a few choice words for her" Drilbur replied. He brought his claw up to his mouth and cleared his throat, preparing himself to speak "Ahem..."
* * *
Carrot top stared in avid curiosity at the way that the mole was shouting at her. It was actually quite interesting if she had anything to say about. It almost made her forgive him for stealing her carrots because of how adorable he looked when he was fuming. Almost.
She continued to stare, wondering what it was that the mole was attempting to say to her. She could see the mole's mouth moving, but all that she heard coming out of his windpipe was:
Dril, dril, drilbur!, Dril, drilbur, dril! Or something along those lines.
Needless to say, after a few minutes of him shouted, she got bored and agitated with how long he was able to keep up his shouting. So, she raised her broom and prepared to sweep the mole away again.
* * *
"....and another thing!" Drilbur started but couldn't finish his sentence when the broom came down on his head again. Victini invisibly winced at the sight of Drilbur being subjected to another cruel game of whack-a-mole by the angry pony thing. Drilbur by then was starting to see a trio of Cleffa orbiting his noggin as his vision and consciousness began to meld into a blur. Luckily, being the ground type pokemon that he is, he managed to shake off the pain and delivered another glare to Carrot Top who still remained resolute with her broom.
Carrot Top swing the broom once more, but this time Drilbur wasn't going to put up with the abuse anymore. Just as the broom came down on him, he clasp his two claws together and began to rotate at high speeds. Drilbur performed an impressive drill rush attack and shredded the broom into sawdust, saving the last remaining portion of the broom by carving it into a toothpick which he promptly used to pick out carrot pieces from his teeth with a smug grin plastered on his face.
Carrot Top physically paled upon witnessing her only source of defense reduced to sawdust in mere minutes by a mole no bigger than one foot in height. She slowly backed away from the monster mole. Beads of sweat formed by the base of her neck, her heartbeat and mind began racing at a million miles and hour. Before long, the fear center of her brain kicked into gear and forced her to turn and tail and gallop away into town where she was screaming at the top of her lungs:
"HELP! MONSTER MOLES ARE ATTACK THE TOWN. EVERYONE! PROTECT YOUR CROPS!" she screamed.
Drilbur could only chuckled with amusement as he fell to the floor laughing his head off at the easily terrified pony creature. Victini dropped his invisibility and flew over to Drilbur, eyes filed with disapproval of his mole friend's antics.
"I know she was hitting you with the broom but did you really have to use drill rush to scare her off like that?" he asked.
"Excuse me, were you batted on top of the head with a broom twice today?" Drilbur retorted. Victini opened his mouth to argue, but he found that there really wasn't much to be said given everything that's happened in the last hour. Getting sucked into a hole and being spat out to who knows where wasn't exactly on their list of things to do today "Alright, I can overlook your antics this time, only because of the fact that I don't know where we are. What do you suggest we do now?"
Drilbur didn't say much, he only shurgged before he started looking around again. He then walked on over to another carrot and plucked it straight out of the ground, handing it over to Victini in the process.
"Carrot?" he offered with the biggest goofy grin on his face. Victini was about to say something again, but sighed and took the carrot regardless.
"Sure... why not?" he said as he cracked a little smile and chewed on the carrot alongside Drilbur as they both wandered into the town before them. It was then that something insignificant grabbed hold of his interest "Wow. These are some good carrots!" he beamed adorably.
"I'd knew you'd like it!" Drilbur jovially exclaimed with a pat on Victini's back.
In the center of Ponyville, right next to their very own town hall, an assortment of tents and stands were all set up for the annual bake off. The whole town was there, everyone from Applebloom to Zecora had gathered together in a big crowd to celebrate the joys of quality baked goods and home styled cooking. But among the mirthful atmosphere, it was clear as day to see that the local competitors were all fired up and ready to let the pastry dough fly.
Among the competitors were local favorites such as Applejack and her family, Pinkie Pie who was representing the Cakes, Hugh Jelly, The Flim Flam brothers for some sweet revenge against the Apples, and much much more. However, one competitor appeared to be missing...
"Hoo boy, Ah tell ya. Lotsa ponies out here today" Applejack said as she wiped some sweat off her brow.
"Eeyup" Big Mac agreed with his sister.
"Say, Applejack. Are you nervous bout all this?" Applebloom asked as she walked up to their respective Sweet Apple Acres' sponsored stand "It looks like those nasty Flim Flam brothers are back again and they mean business"
"Ain't nothing to be worried bout, Applebloom. We've got the Apple pride and Granny Smith's secret recipe for zap apple pie with. There ain't a snowballs chance in Tartarus that they'd ever win if their up against us!" Applejack replied pridefully as she gave her younger sister a play rub on the head.
"Oh, we beg to differ!" it was Flam who spoke up, stroking his mustache deviously as he gloated "You may have bested our super squeezy cider 6000 the last time we were here, but that was only because you had the help of you're friends"
"That's right!" Flim, Flam's brother, joined in "From here on out, you're on your own. You Apples are going to taste bitter defeat, in the form of our world famous red rhubarb pie! Which in hindsight isn't really bitter... but the fact still remains; face it, that blue ribbon is as good as ours!"
"Oh yeah?" Applejack piped in "Well we'll see bout that, after me and my family win that is" she concluded with a smug grin.
"Now hold on here, now hold on!" Pinkie exclaimed as she popped up from seemingly out of nowhere "Ah say, ah say that it's gone be me whose gone win that ribbon" she stated with her best Foghorn Leghorn impression "I've got a secret weapon this year, and I know that it's going to wow the judges!"
Without saying another word, Pinkie pulled out a silver serving tray, and gently lifted the lid off of it. A bright light glisten from the small crack and then turned to a full blown flash the moment that the lid was off. It was glorious, it was magnificent, it was a plate full of macarons in all kinds of different assorted colors ranging from red to blue, and pink to purple. There was a whole stack full, meticulously formed to shape like a small pyramid of sugary, tooth rotting glory. Pinkie only had to nod in confidence to know that she had just stole the floor with her sugary confection.
"Un...unbelievable..." Flam let out as he continued to stare in awe "The macarons... they're.... so perfect" he bit his lip in anxiety. Their red rhubarb pie was but a snack compared to the full course meal that Pinkie threaten to unleash on them.
Applejack didn't say anything. Her gaze was locked on the macarons, and she found herself with her mouth watering like a broken dam. They looked so simple, so easy to make, but she knew that that wasn't true. Macarons take patience and years of practice to properly make, but more importantly, getting the shape right was extremely important when it came to proper presentation. She wanted to eat it so bad, but she also knew that those macarons were an impassable hurdle that she couldn't overcome, even with her granny's zap apple pie.
"Now imagine this, placed all around a three tiered vanilla sponge cake with royal icing, decorated with fresh fruit" she said with absolute confidence "My work here, is done" she concluded as she walked back to her stand, or rather, she bounced back.
Everyone at the competition wordlessly watched as Pinkie returned to her stand. They were all so entranced by Pinkie's macarons that they had completely forgotten to prepare for the bake off. At the drop of a hat, all of the competitors raced back to their stands and worked to change their recipes so that they could try to beat Pinkie. But none other tried harder than the Apples and the Flim Flam brothers.
In the midst of the floury chaos, a bone chilling scream brought everything to a grinding halt, causing everyone to turn their attention to the screaming madpony that was galloping by the horizon. It was Carrot Top, yelling as if to say bloody murder. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.
"HELP! MONSTER MOLES ARE AFTER OUR CROPS!" Carrot Top yelled, causing the crowd to murmur indiscriminately. When she finally reached the crowd, she collapsed from exhaustion, gasping heavily while trying to catch her second wind. Everyone immediately dropped what they were doing and came to her aid.
"Land sakes, girl. What's gotten into you?" Applejack asked "And what's that about a monster mole?"
" *Pant* *Pant* Monster *Pant* moles *Pant* are eating all of our crops" Carrot Top struggled to speak.
"What're you talking bout? Ah don't see no monster" said Applejack. Everyone else nodded in agreement. They too looked around but found nothing of the sort "Look, get up and take some deep breathes will ya" Carrot Top did as she was told and she calmed down significantly in doing so "Feeling better?" Carrot Top nodded "Good, now I can beat ya in the bake off!" Applejack exclaimed with a big chuckle to a now furious Carrot Top.
"Hmph, we'll see about that!" Carrot Top exclaimed, all remnant of her panic attack disappearing in a flash "Monster mole or not, I'll see to it that I beat you this year, Applejack!" she
"Hey!" said Flim "Get in line lady!"
"We were here first!" Flam finished for his brother "If you want to beat her then do it with your own cake!"
"Huh, maybe I will" Carrot Top retorted shortly before rushing back to her home to pick up her ingredients "Mark my words!" she shouted as she galloped away "My carrot cake will be the one to bring home the blue ribbon!"
"I swear, that gal's head ain't screwed on right half the time. Going on crying wolf like that" said Applejack "It doesn't matter though. My family's pie's gonna wi-" she stopped herself when she realized just how wrong that she was. She turned to Pinkie and remembered how perfect her macarons were. The taste would no doubt destroy the judges taste buds with a flurry of flavor and texture. She had no hopes in winning, unless... no, she couldn't do that. It wasn't worth it for a ribbon.
"What's that there?" Flim cut in, snapping Applejack out of her stupor "What's the matter, nervous?"
"What! Ah ain't nervous!" Applejack denied.
"Oh, really? I saw you staring at those macarons, and I'm sure that we both know that we can't beat such culinary perfection as that"
"....What are y'all implying?" said Applejack with a curious raise of her eyebrow.
"An alliance" Flim whispered to her ear. Applejack pulled back, appalled by the mere mention of teaming up with the Flim Flam brothers "Help us sabotage those macarons and we'll both have a fair chance at winning that ribbon"
"Me, work with you crooks against my best friend?" Applejack huffed with her nostrils flared "You must have rocks for brains in that head of yours, because you sure as heck ain't thinking straight if you think that I'm going to betray Pinkie by messing with something that she worked so hard on! If Ah'm gonna lose, Ah rather lose gracefully than do something as low as sabotage!" she stated.
"Hmph, your honesty is admirable, Applejack. Pointless, but admirable" Flim said with a devious smile "Alright then, you win. But believe me Applejack when I tell you that you've only won the battle"
"What's that suppose to mean" said Applejack before she realized what he meant. Applejack frantically turned around and did her best to spot Flim's missing brother. But Flam was nowhere to be found. That was when it happened.
The sound of screaming pierced the air once again, followed by the clattering of silverware and plates being scattered on the floor. Applejack turned to find the source of the noise and horrified at what she saw. Pinkie's stand had been toppled over, causing all of her food and ingredients to be scattered across the four winds. But perhaps the cruelest blow to her was how her macarons had all been crushed under the weight of her stand.
Officials came to survey the accident, only to write it off as just that: an accident. She was to blame for losing all of her food, which in Applejack's mind, did not sit right with her at all.
She turned to accuse Flim and Flam, but was stupefied to see that they were together again. Even though she had good reason to accuse them, they had an airtight alibi. The two were having a casual conversation with the Apples. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Grr... you did this, didn't you!" Applejack yelled while pointing an accusing hoof at the brothers.
"Hmm? What was that? I can't seem to hear you because the sound of our apparent victory is ringing my ear" Flam said nonchalantly, which only served to infuriate Applejack even more. Without even batting an eye at her, the two quickly left, leaving behind one angry Apple and a saddened Pinkie Pie.
"You won't get away with this!" Applejack shouted.
"We already have! Ha ha ha ha ha!" the two brothers replied with laughter as they began to prepare their pie.
Applejack just couldn't believe the audacity that those two had. Their arrogance and downright snake like methods made her want to kick down a brick wall. But there would be time for that later. For now, she went on over to Pinkie and gently stroked her straight mane. Comforting her as she wiped away the tears from her eyes.
"There, there sugarcube. Everything's gonna be fine" Applejack said gently "Come on, Ah'll help ya pick up all of your ingredients.
"What's the point, Applejack" said Pinkie dejectedly "Those macarons took me weeks to make properly. I can't make them now. It's hopeless"
"Pinkamena Diane Pie, that there is quitter talk!" Applejack spoke up "I know you're not the type to just let everything go all because of one little incident. Put on a smile and show them what you're made of! Who knows, maybe you'll be able to earn second place even after all that's happened" she said reassuringly "Ah just can't stand to see someone who worked so hard lose just because of some cheating snakes!"
" *Sniff* I might as well try" Pinkie said in a low tone "Thank you, Applejack" she then gave Applejack a brief hug before repairing her stand while Applejack helped her pick up what was left of her macarons. Although her mane had yet to return to its cotton candy like form, which made Applejack feel uneasy given what that meant about her mood.
Applejack should've known that something was up when Flam was missing. She could've prevented all this, but her own fear of losing distracted her from what was right and what was wrong, even if it was just for a split second. She silently cursed herself as she made it back to her own stand. A mixed bag of emotions stirring in her gut as she began to cook. It didn't feel right that she was still in the bake off. But she was there, and Pinkie was okay. Hopefully everything will work out in the end.
* * *
Victini and Drilbur wandered aimlessly around the residential area of Ponyville, which was more or less devoid of any citizens at the time being. There was all kinds of buildings, much like back home in Eindoark town except for the fact that everything was much much shorter. They didn't see any people either, or at least the humans that they were used to. The only person that they've ran into so far was the orange pony that Drilbur terrorized.
"Huh, there's no one else here either" said Victini as he flew up to peer through some windows of a nearby building. He smooshed his furry face up against the glass and peeked around. He saw that there was scraps of fabric have been strewn all over the floor and that there were pony shaped mannequins off in the corner of the room. He pulled his face off of the window and flew back down to Drilbur "What do you think we should do?"
"Hmm... we should split up" Drilbur suggested "We'll be able to cover more ground that way. Maybe we'll be able to find out where we are and see if we can make it back home"
"You know, that's actually a good Idea" said Victini with a smile.
"Heh, well I try" Drilbur replied with his arms cross in accomplishment "Listen, I'll go check out the outskirts while you search in the town. We'll meet back here by this weird place once the sun touches the horizon, got it?" Victini nodded "Okay then, see you in an hour or two" with that said, Drilbur assume his digging position and rapidly spun in the earth, disappearing underground and leaving Victini to his own devices. When Drilbur's digging was out of earshot, Victini took off to the skies to survey the town.
While invisible, Victini flew overhead and started to see if he could run into anyone else. To his surprise, he saw that there were more ponies, all gathered in the center of the town. He assumed that this town had been created and inhabited by them. Victini frowned, that also meant that he and Drilbur were somewhere that they didn't even think existed in the same universe as theirs. Curse Palkia and Dialga for causing tears in the space time continuum.
Out of avid curiousity, Victini decided to check out out what all of the commotion was down in the square. It wasn't until that the sweet scents of cinnamon, brown sugar, and fresh fruits assaulted his senses when he realized that he was actually descending much quicker than he intended. When he finally reached the ground, he looked pass all the ponies to see something that made his heart jump for joy.
There were sweets as far as he could see, all of them tempting him to go in to grab a bite. But there was one out of the rest that caught his attention the most. Macarons, especially those by the pink one. He flew up and hovered over the pink one's stand, hoping to see if he could snag one of those macarons. While Victini may have felt bad about Drilbur purloining carrots, but he felt no guilt whatsoever in going to grab his most favorite food ever.
However, as he got closer, he noticed something off about the macarons. They were crushed, just like his hopes of eating one. A wave of devastation washed over Victini as he lamented over the loss of such delicate desserts, but none felt more devastation more so than the pink one how was doing her best to recreate then. It was there that Victini put two and two together as he looked over all of the stands. This was some kind of contest, and it looked like someone pulled a dirty trick on this pink pony.
Victini stared at the pink pony, and felt only pity for her. Well he also felt hungry because of the macarons but that was beside the point. Since this was a competition and it looked like someone cheated her out of a well deserved victory, he felt compelled to give her a helping hand.
He stealthy flew behind the pony and gently place his hands on her tail. He then welled up some of his power from within himself, the power to provide and guarantee victory, and transferred it over to the pink pony. After he was done, he sat back and watched his hard work kicked into gear.
* * *
Pinkie's motivation had evaporated like a boiling pot of water. She was beside herself. There wasn't much that could bring her mood down in the world, but this was certainly one of them. She sighed in discontent as she half halfheartedly attempted to redo all of her hard work mere minutes before the judges came by. Even with Applejack's comforting words, she still felt like there was an anchor tied to her legs holding her back from being her usual uplifting and cheery self. Oh, how she wished that she had the energy and strength to go on.
From out of the blue, Pinkie felt a a burning tingly sensation on the very end of her tail. Thankfully, it wasn't anything that required medical attention. Before long, the sensation shot throughout her entire body like a bottle rocket of raw energy. Her straight mane immediately exploded back into shape and she felt as if she could bench press a forty pound bar that had full grown dragons attached to both ends.
Pinkie then let out a yell of ferocity that startled the rest of the competitor, standing up straight and beating her forelegs upon her chest like Tarzan at the same time.
"Grrrrrr! Pinkie is back, baby!" she roared. Everyone stared at her like she'd grown a second head, only to be awestruck when they witnessed her preparing and assembling her cake at speeds that made Rainbow Dash jealous.
Flour, sugar, and baking soda were all being thrown around, turning in a fine fog of confectionery chaos. Pinkie smiled, it had been a long time since she'd gotten out of a rut so quickly and worked twice as hard. Applejack and the Flim Flam brother were perhaps the most stunned by her sudden burst of speed.
Flim and Flam could feel themselve breaking out in a cold sweat despite it being a relative warm day. It seemed like their plans of sabotage had not gone as planned. Rather it appears that her loss would later turn into their downfall. Hesitantly, the two also kicked into overdrive, doing their best to finish and if possible, enhance their pie's chance for victory by any means necessary.
Applejack also followed suit and kicked into high gear with her zap apple pie. Unlike the brothers however, she had a smile on her face, knowing full well that Pinkie was back to her old self and that she was more than ready to give her friend a challenging battle.
Unbeknownst by the ponies of Ponyville, Victini sat far in the back and watched the entire bake off in a nearby tree by town hall. He would occasionally bob his head up and down in childlike amusement seeing how heated the bake off had just become had it not been for his indirect intervention. But the one thing that he couldn't take his eyes off were the macarons that Pinkie was starting to prepare. His lips watered and his eyes twinkled in anticipation of what she had in store for him.
Pinkie began assembly the macarons with frightening accuracy and speed. Not to mention the fact that she was actually only doing it with one hoof. He other hoof was preoccupied in mixing the batter for the sponge cake while she expertly motioned for her tail to preheat the oven behind her stand. She was a multitasking goddess, and all of Ponyville was her witness.
One after one she took two of each cooled colored biscuit and expertly slathered a favorable layer of meringue before sandwiching them together to form the ultimate dessert. She kept popping out macarons as her sponge cakes were just finished baking. But as she layered the cake together, a preliminary ringing signaled that there was only five minutes left in the competition before judging began.
Everyone, but mostly Pinkie and Applejack's friends, were all on the edge of their metaphorical seats. It was down to the wire and just about everyone was cutting it close. Everyone kept their eyes on Pinkie though, for she had yet to assemble her cake. But defeat by time out was not to be for the pink party pony, Victini had made it so.
In the blink of an eye, Pinkie defied fate and pulled off the impossible. In one swift motion of pure zen like concentration, Pinkie's hooves swept across the board like a thousand armed confectionery deity and effortlessly stacked up the cake and symmetrically placed most of the macarons on it without so much as single hair leaping out of place. When all was said and done, Pinkie assumed a meditative stance, and let out a deep breathe. She was at one with nature.
*DING* *DING* *DING*
With the three dings, everyone competitor dropped what they were doing and backed away. It was done, the competition was over and judging will soon commence foe everyone.
"Well, there you have it folks!" said Mayor Mare as she walked up to her podium "The baking is all done. I would like for all the competitors to step to one side as I introduce the judges for the Ponyville annual bake off!" she announced. She then motioned her hoof to the judges panel were a bevy of ponies were eagerly awaiting to taste some of the fine creations made here today.
"To my left, we have our very own Filthy Rich. Owner of Barnyard Bargains, he is also a connoisseur who enjoys nothing more than to eat and interpret food of the highest caliber" Filthy Rich stood up and respectfully bowed to everyone, earning a cheer in return.
"Our next judge is one of Canterlot's finest. You all know him, you all love him, please give a warm welcome to Fancy Pants!" Fancy Pants stood up alongside his wife Fleur De Lis and they both performed a courteous bow to the crowd who cheered for them as well.
"Last but most certainly not least, our surprise judge for this year is certainly one for the books. We have none other than Princess Celestia!" everyone gasped before breaking out in a standing ovation as Princess Celestia flew down from the sky hidden behind the glare of the sun and assumed a seated position beside the panel of judges. She gave a curt wave and waited for the tasting to begin.
"Okay everypony. It is now officially time to begin the judging. Good luck everyone who participated and remember, if you didn't win, there's always next year!" Mayor Mare concluded with a smile and off she went to try some baked goods.
* * *
Victini was glad that the competition was over. The overwhelming smell of sugary goodness was starting to get to him. Without a second to lose, he jumped off of the tree and flew close to the ground where he hid under the tables of various tables set up and there and eavesdropped on the judges conversation. He patiently waited for the munching to end before hearing some of the comments being made.
"I must say" Fancy Pants started "Who knew that jam, jelly, and marmalade would make such a fine substitute for real fruit?"
"I agree with ya there friend" said Filthy "Hugh Jelly really knows what he's doing. It's amazing how the filling remains gelatinous and stable even after going through so much baking. I was sure the heat would turn this into some kind of hot soupy mess. I have to say on Hugh's behalf, well done"
"Hmm... I'd only wished that his crust had more appeal" said Celestia "It appears that the filling is the star, and that everything else was pretty much an afterthought. Regardless, a wonderful pie no less" the other two judges nodded in agreement and finished their piece before moving on to the Flim Flam brother's pie with Victini silently following them underneath.
"You know, I was never really a big fan of rhubarb" said Filthy Rich "But this pie makes me think otherwise" he said with a smile.
"Indeed" said Fancy Pants "I'm amazed of the perfect balance between the Rhubarb's natural tartness and the strawberry fillings sweetness. To compliment something like Rhubarb is no small feat"
"The only problem I have with this pie is that I wish we had more to eat" Celestia joked, earning some laughs from her fellow judges. Next on the list was Applejack's zap apple pie.
"Ah, a rare treat indeed" said Celestia as she took a bite into the pie "Zap apples are hard to find out of season, and even more so to prepare and cook properly. The finicky nature of the fruit often brings blandness if one does not know how to treat it. But this pie was clearing made in the hooves of an expert"
"Well, that's the Apples for ya" said Filthy "What you're eating there is love and tender care all wrapped up into one delicious pie. Don't you just love the way the zap apple tingles your tongue?" he asked.
"I do believe we have an obvious winner here" said Fancy Pants "I know it's too early to say that but I doubt that there is anything else here that can overcome what this zap apple pie has accomplished"
"Who knows" said Celestia "We might as well find out for ourselves to see if you're right or not" she smiled.
The trio of judges continued down the lines of desserts that was present before them. Tarts, cakes, and surprisingly souffles were all eaten and the judging had been made. Not one of them stood up to the zap apple pie, much to Carrot Tops frustration. They were practically ready to hand over the blue ribbon to Applejack, up until they reached Pinkie's ivory tower of sugar.
The cake that was laid out before them was a three tiered cake that had been decorated with royal icings, fresh fruit, and was layered with a row of colorful macarons on each tier, just like Pinkie described earlier. The only thing that felt off was how... normal it looked. They were expecting for it to have that siganture Pinkie grandeur and flair. What they got instead looked incredibly tamed for Pinkie's standards.
"Another cake, I wonder how this one would taste" said Celestia as she took a piece.
"Macarons on a cake?" said Fancy Pants "Quite a bold and risky move there by Pinkie. I feel as if we might be in for some kind of overkill on our taste buds here. Macarons are good on their own, but I wonder what went through her mind when she made this" he concluded as he took a bite.
"Imma be honest here. I'm a little afraid to bite into this" Filthy Rich said hesitantly "My doctor said that I should watch my blood sugar level the last time I ate at Sugarcube corner. Aw what the heck, cheers!" he said as he took a bite into the cake.
What could be describe next for the judges would be a flavorful journey into a culinary nirvana of which the likes they've never experienced before. Time appeared to have stilled for them, everyone and everything blurred into a single mass of color as their minds were stuck thinking about how delectable the macaron cake had been. Their hooves began to move on their own soon afterward, entering into an uncontrollable eating frenzy that resulted into having the cake being devoured like a pack of hyenas on an antelope carcass.
"I...I don't understand!" Filthy Rich cried out "I can't control myself! Why can't I stop eating?"
"It's delicious, far too delicious!" Celestia exclaimed as she began her fourth piece of cake "This must be what harmony tastes like!" she was in a state of pure bliss. Forget about ruling Equestria, if she could, she would just sit back and eat this cake for all of eternity without so much as a single care in the world.
Among those in the feasting frenzy, Fancy Pants was perhaps the most emotionally torn by the cake. Memories from his youth resurfaced with perfect clarity. From being bullied for being poor, to remembering how his mother and father would always comfort him even after all the suffering that they've been through. It all came rushing back full force. He cried rivers as he ate, and he enjoyed every piece as if it were sweet ambrosia of the god. Heck, comparing the macaron cake to ambrosia was actually more of an insult than a compliment.
"Enough, enough!" Fancy Pants cried out as his wife helped to wipe away his tears "Where is Pinkie? Where I ask? She's done it! She's won!" he exclaimed as he pulled out a checkbook and a pen from his pocket with use of his magic "Tell me child" he rushed up to Pinkie "Write down whatever number you want onto this check and I will gladly pay you if you were to be my personal chef!" he pleaded.
The crowd was shocked and appalled at how the judges were reacting to Pinkie's cake. Was it really that good, they all thought. One by one, everyone walked up to try what was left of the cake. Crumbs may it be, but that was more than enough to put the who town into a trance as they all begged for Pinkie to make more of her cake. It was like a repeat of the want it need it spell incident, only it appears that the macaron cake is much more potent than Twilight's spell could ever hope to compete.
* * *
All the while that chaos broke out. Victini reached his little hands up onto the table, still invisible, and plucked a single intact macaron that had fallen off the cake when everyone rushed the stand. He brought up the sandwiched sized sugary confection to his face and began to adorably nibble away on it. In the midst of all the shouting, one with a highly trained ear could just hear the faint sounds of:
As he popped the last piece into his mouth, he could only smile and flutter up ever so slightly with a big blush on his face, with hands placed on his big cheeks.
Deep underground in the subterranean depths of Ponyville's outskirts, Drilbur sat atop a mountain of gold, silver and precious jewels as a clan of diamond dogs clad in robes and ritualistic garbs gathered around him.
Rhythmic chanting echoed through the walls of the underground atrium where diamond dogs worshiped the mole Pokemon with zeal. Drilbur simply looked around and tilted his head in confusion, unsure of how he got into this predicament.
One moment he was digging through the ground, then the next he found himself in a position that was usually reserved for a legendary Pokemon. He ran his claws through the pile beneath him, wondering what all of that shiny metal and rocks were meant for. His train of thought was interrupted when the head dog went and spoke up to a nearby podium made of diamond and pearls. The dog cleared his throat before speaking, while Drilbur fidgeted around in the uncomfortable seat that was given to him.
"My fellow dogs!" the head dog spoke "It is with great pleasure that I announce that our deity, he who made this earth, had finally assume physical form and has given us to privilege of gracing us with his omnipotent presence!"
Drilbur looked around confusingly. He didn't see anyone who fit the bill.
"It has been written in the great stone scriptures, that the great one would one day return to us after his thousand year journey in the form of the great digging mole to bestow wisdom upon us and to lead us into an era of greatness! And that time is now!' he exclaimed as every dog in the atrium cheered and prayed at Drilbur, ecstatic of his arrival.
Drilbur's head itched. He went to scratch it went he realized how everyone was staring at him in awe the moment he raised his claw up.
"Rejoice! The great one gives us his blessings!" the head dog shouted, causing more cheering and praying "Glory to the great one! Glory to the great one!" the entire pack of dogs joined in on the cheering.
"Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail!"
2.2 - Civilization From Dust, Civilization From Drilbur
Drilbur walked around the main atrium of the underground cavern that he was in. He received respectful bows and praise from the diamond dog denizens, as expected of a living deity, of which he would wave back to as he made his way to... actually he had no idea where he was going. He was just wandering without a clue as of where to go after the nice folks here threw him a banquet for whatever the occasion was. Must've been pretty special for them to prepare a feast fit for a king. Maybe it was someone's birthday or something.
He thanked them all for the food before he began to walk and explore the underground. He walked pass the cold fusion reactor core that was powering the entire sprawling underground utopian metropolis just behind him, and shuffled right by the several silos that had a group of diamond dogs loading in what looked to be a boatload of hydrogen bombs. It was there that he found what he was looking for, a small little twig growing out of the ground that was just the right size.
Drilbur ran on over and pulled it right out of the ground, sharpened it to be the right shape and used it as a toothpick to reach in and get out the pieces of roasted vegetable that were still stuck in his teeth after the banquet.
All the while that he was sharpening it, he remained entirely oblivious to the fact that his mere presence has caused the entire race of the diamond dogs to accelerate technologically at an impossibly astounding rate.
In the time it takes to finish a Pokemon battle, Drilbur has influenced the diamond dogs to go from being a primitive race that relied on iron tools and simple fire to a civilization that have just recently invented tech such as anti gravity manipulators, energy based weaponry, molecular teleporters and bipedal war engines armed with twin mounted liquid nitrogen cooled 9mm miniguns and incendiary pod rockets.
He struggled at first to get the vegetable pieces out given how big his claws were, but once he got in the groove, those bits and pieces of leftover food didn't know what hit them. Answer: it was a homemade toothpick.
Once the blasted food was out of his teeth, he placed his claw on the wall of the cavern and assumed a thinking stance as he placed his other claw on his chin and angled his foot in another direction. He began to think hard, screwing his eyes shut and straining his head in the process. He stopped and let out a deep breath. Thinking was harder than her thought without Victini around.
Well, there isn't anything here that tells me about home, he thought.
Unbeknownst to him though was that the wall he was leaning on wasn't a wall at all. Rather, it was the massive base of a thirty foot statue that captured his physical greatness which was entirely made out of solid gold. He was leaning on one of what appeared to be dozens in the hallway that he was in. There was a plaque on each one and they all had a different message on it. Some of them said things like:
"Hail The Great One. May His Claws Never Dull. May His Radiance Never Dim"
This statue depicted him in his usual stance. He was standing upright with both his claws up in the air.
"And On The Seventh Day, The Great One Said: Let There Be Gems"
This one showed him picking his nose, for when he had to get a boogie out of his nose during the banquet.
"He Is Our Alpha And Our Omega"
This one showed Drilbur using his tongue to see if he could reach the last pea that fell on the side of his plate.
"The Great One Giveth, The Great One Taketh Away"
This one shows him with a baby lamb nestled in his embrace in which a group of diamond dogs witnessed Drilbur performing a miracle where he brought a baby lamb back to life after it died from famine with a single touch. All in all, totally average stuff.
Drilbur was broken from his concentration when he met the same dog that announced when he came here. Only this time he looked different. Instead of wearing a pair of old robes, he was wearing what looked like a general's outfit that was complete with a service cap and a collection of medals by his heart.
"Ah, great one, this is where you've been" the dog greeted "I take it your walk has been pleasant"
"Dril, dril, brilbur!" Drilbur replied happily.
"I see, you were busy with your philosophical meditation. I understand, you must always remain keen and never falter in life" said the dog.
"Dril, dril!" said Drilbur in response.
"No, no, we cannot take the credit for what you've done. Our race has grown so exponentially because of your influence. For that, the diamond dogs are eternally grateful for you, great one"
"Dril, dril, drilbur!" said Drilbur as he pointed to the ceiling.
"Yes, I do believe it is time" said the dog as he motioned for Drilbur to follow him. Where Drilbur ended up was a matter transporter, one that sent him all the way to the main square of the metropolis.
He and the dog were greeted with a massive crowd of diamond dogs that numbered in the thousands with an entire platoon of diamond dog praetorian honor guard standing behind them, respectfully flying their flag for all to see. They all cheered and praised Drilbur, much to his obliviousness. He just assume they were being nice. The dog then walked up to the podium that was set up in the center and began to speak.
"My fellow dogs, today is that day!" he paused as the crowd roared "For too long we have lived under the tyranny and oppression of the solar tyrant! But that changes today!" the crowd roared once more.
"The great one asked for time, and that time was granted by you; you the people, the great one's strength, the great one's dream! And in that time we have rebuild our race! We have rebuilt our armies! We have rebuilt our pride!"
In the background, the diamond dogs mobile armor division began to set up their mech suits and began to arm all of the warheads for the hydrogen bombs. The sky division hopped into their anti grav hover jets and began to swarm throughout the massive atrium over head the crowd. Legions of dogs all marched in perfect unison, equipped with rail rifles and plasma grenades, towards their drops ships as they prepared for battle.
"Great one, is there anything that you wish to say before we all meet with our destiny?" he asked as Drilbur approached the microphone.
"Drilbur!" said Drilbur as he raised both his claws, elicting another cheer from the mass of dogs before him who were all crying and kneeling before his greatness. The dog beside him could only clap and wipe away the single tear that trailed down his eye, it was such a beautiful moment. Drilbur then walked off so that the dog could continue his speech.
"My brothers and sisters, rejoice! For today, the time of pony has come to an end!"
"We are terribly, terribly sorry for misinterpreting you great one" said the head diamond dog as he held his head down low. He and thousands of his peers apologized profusely as they bowed in shame in from of their living deity, praying for his forgiveness "When you said I have to go look for my friend, we all misheard you and thought that you said the time of pony has come to an end. A thousand pardons on the behalf of all diamond dogs O' great one"
Drilbur scratched the back of his head and grinned weakly. He only blushed and waved the whole situation off as if it were nothing. Every single dog let out an exasperated sigh of relief as they rose up and thanked their god for overseeing their horrible misunderstanding.
"Thank you great one, thank you!" said the head dog as he pecked at Drilbur's little feet "You have no idea how devastated that we would be to have besmirched your good name in our foolish attempts of war" he got up and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"To think that we were going to commit genocide upon an entire race in your name through unmitigated nuclear annihilation. It's a good thing you stopped us before all of that happened, otherwise we both would've had egg on boths our faces" he smiled and joined in with Drilbur for a curt laugh as though the whole genocide thing they were about to commit five minutes ago were a practical joke of sorts.
"Dril, dril, drilbur!" said Drilbur.
"You're right, we should probably power down all of the warheads and our armor division" said the head dog "Then after that we will lead you to the surface where you will be able to find you friend"
"Dril, drilbur, dril!" Drilbur exclaimed as he smiled.
"No, thank you for preventing us from performing the worst atrocity in the history of dogkind. That would look very bad on our history books if future generations were to read up on us" said the head dog "Come, great one. Join us as we clean up this mess"
* * *
Eventually, after a few minutes of powering down bipedal war engines, hovercrafts, hydrogen bombs and mechanized death machines, the entirety of the diamond dogs all helped to guide Drilbur on a mass exodus to the surface where their god will leave on another journey.
As the head dog lead Drilbur our of the cavernous depths of the earth, artist and scribes followed in the great one's footsteps documenting all of his glory in beautifully done oil paintings, ceramic sculptures, poems, and an autobiography that detailed his ascension from mortal to godhood. A group of beautiful female dancers strode by his side as they poured flower petals behind him with each step that he took leaving behind a breathtaking trail of rose petals.
The rest of his followers stayed a good three feet behind him, gently praying for his safety and for his journey to be rich and bountiful at each and every turn he took to find his lost friend. The honor guard carried flags that represented his almighty form which flew and fluttered in the light breeze that blew into the caves. When they finally reach to a cave opening by a meadow, they all stopped and admired their god as he radiated in the sunlight. They all then turned to face him and bowed respectfully.
"Well, here we are" said the head dog, a single tear streaming down his cheek "It has been a wondrous time with you leading us great one. We wouldn't have gotten here without you" all the dogs murmured in agreement "You showed up a great many thing, but perhaps the two most important of your teachings was peace and friendship" he stated.
"We now know that war is the not the answer. It is a horrible and terrible concept, one that we shall only resort if we are without options. We see your devotion to find your missing friend and we take it as a sign that we can befriend these ponies rather than fight them. Your wisdom knows no bounds great one, may your claws never dull, may your radiance never dim" he said as everyone bowed again.
"Drilbur!" said Drilbur.
"Ah, yes. Before we leave, we wish to bestow upon you some parting gives for your journey" the head dog clapped his paw and three eager pups ran up to Drilbur, each with a different present in their paws "Think of these as a token of our eternal devotion as you leave"
It was there that Drilbur received his three gifts; a beautiful crystal medallion with laser etchings, a soft as silk robe, and a basket full of food for his journey.
"Drilbur, dril!" Drilbur exclaimed.
"You are very welcome great one" said the head dog "May you find your friend, wherever he may be in this great big world of ours" he bowed. With that, Drilbur waved to them goodbye and walked into the sunlight, with the faint cheering from within the cave echoing into the very heavens so that the everyone may know of their god, Drilbur.
Victini watched from behind as the heated bake off began to quell down. It was the aftermath of the whole event, and a lot had happened in the short span of only five minutes. It all started when the judges took the first bite of the pink pony's cake. It was soon followed by a massive riot that ended up nearly flattening the town like it had been run over by a stampede of prideful buffaloes and all of their kin.
He winced at the devastation that was caused all in pursuit of the cake. Perhaps he overdid it when he granted some of his powers to the pink pony. It was totally worth it for the macarons but he was starting to feel bad for inadvertently causing mayhem and destruction. Thankfully, the Ponyville General hospital staff and some bizarre powers from the big white pony that reminded him of Keldeo with wings managed to fix everything up in a jiffy.
Seriously, why does everyone here remind him of Keldeo and the other members of the Swords of Justice? He thought to himself
He poked his head out from underneath to see if there was anything of interest to him. Far off in the corner of his eyes was the pink pony and what he assumed were some of her friends that came in a wide variety of colors. Aside from the orange one with the hat there was a blue one with a rainbow mane and wings, a yellow one with a long pink mane with wings as well, another white albeit shorter one with a curly purple mane and a horn, and a really purple one with a horn too.
Next to those ponies were the judges who were all scolding the twin ponies. In the orange one's hoof was a stalk of rhubarb. Whatever it meant, Victini didn't know. He leaned in a bit closer near one of the table legs of the stand, and used his big V shaped ears to see if he could hear anything.
* * *
"It was them Ah tell ya!" Applejack shouted as she held out the rhubarb "This proves that the no good snake with the mustache purposely sabotaged Pinkie's stand!"
"T-that proves nothing!" said Flam as he desperate attempted to weasel out of the situation.
"He's right. That's just a stalk of rhubarb" said Flim who was sweating like a hog in the middle of a hot summer day "How does that prove anything about my brother committing such a heinous deed?"
"How about the fact that Ah found it right next to Pinkie's stand after Flam trashed it" Applejack accused "And Ah think that all of us know who used rhubarb at the bake off today"
"Hmm... well it is true that they did use rhubarb as their main ingredient..." said Filthy Rich "But what are chances that they could've just dropped it on accident?"
"Yeah, what he said!" said Flim who felt his anxiety die down.
"Their stand was nowhere near here!" Rainbow Dash joined in "I think it's plain to see that Flam wrecked Pinkie's stand because they were afraid that they were gonna lose to her cake!"
"Miss Dash does establish a clear motive as to why the brothers would do such a thing" said Fancy Pants "What do you think princess?" he asked. Princess Celestia furrowed her brow as she entered into a state of focus. After a few seconds of serious thinking, she opened her eyes and looked over to Flim and Flam, her signature smile absent from her face.
"Did you sabotage Pinkie's stand?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Of course not!" Flim and Flam both denied at the same time. This quick response earned a glare from the princess, causing the two to freeze in place.
"...So you admit your guilt" said the Princess with a wry smile hidden behind her serious facade. The two stared at the princess with their mouths agape. Did she see through their lie. They began to sweat even more, a small puddle formed beneath them as their perspiration grew more and more serious with each second.
"W-what do you mean?" Flim stuttered "We admit to nothing"
"Hmm, you tell me that, but I can sense it off of you two" said Celestia who did her best not to break out into laughter at the moment. She was bluffing, but she needed to see if they would buy her bluff. And given how the situation has turned out, it should be relatively easy.
Flim and Flam felt the weight of the world crashing down on their shoulders. They couldn't keep up their front anymore, not with all of the pressure being exerted on them. Almost simultaneously, the two drop to the floor and broke out into tears.
"Alright! We admit it. We have to do it because we knew we couldn't win against Pinkie's cake. But in the end she still managed to knock all of you off your hooves with her macaron cake" Flam shouted as if confessing to all of his sins "We're sorry!"
"That's all I wanted to hear" said Celestia as he face softened "I can't believe someone would go as far as to cheat for a bake off. You two should know better than that" she scolded the two like an upset mother to her unruly children "For this, you two are disqualified for breaking the rules and purposely sabotaging Pinkie to increase your chances at victory"
"Ha! Serves ya right!" Applejack gloated victoriously "That's what you get for trying to cheat!"
* * *
Victini chuckled quietly as he watched the conversation. All of the other colored ponies were chiding the twins because of what they did. It was an amusing sight, one that warranted another chuckle as it went on. Eventually, the twin ponies walked away dejectedly with watery eyes, soaked clothing and their pride miraculously still intact somehow even after everything that's happened.
He then watched to see the judges handing out the ribbons for all the winners. A jam covered stallion got a red colored ribbon for third place with a big number three sewn onto it. The orange one also got a red one that was slightly bigger with a bug number two instead of a three and had more luxurious embroideries. It was the one that the pink pony received that nearly caused him to go blind from looking at.
It was a massive blue ribbon, with extravagant lacing and a sizable medal of gold with a large number one emblazoned on it right in the center of the bow. It was so incredibly lustrous that the light reflecting off of it caused his pupils to shrink and expand back and forth maddeningly. He looked away quickly and rubbed his eyes with his teeny hands trying to get his vision back to normal. He was still seeing spots but he wasn't blind that was for sure.
Eventually, his stomach began to rumble again and he figured it was high time for another macaron. He peeked out of his hiding spot to see that the group of six ponies had gathered by the stand and had begun chatting amongst themselves. He turned invisible once more and made sure not to make any screw ups when he tried to find another macaron.
He flew up to the table and stayed in midair, waiting for the right moment for all of the ponies' attention to be drawn away from the one macaron that was just sitting idly by the table. It was the last one, and no one seemed to be paying mind to it. When he was sure he could snatch it without no one knowing, he took the opportunity without hesitation and made a mad dash for the macaron before bolting into an alley nearby.
With lightning speed, he reached the alley and hid in a crate that was sitting right atop an empty wine barrel. He laid back and sat, shuffling around to make sure that his fluffy rump was nice and comfortable. He then looked at his prize with the biggest grin on his face and glistening in his large round eyes. He then began to nibble with more audible nibbling sounds.
He blushed at how wonderful the dessert was. It was like heaven in his mouth and her savored every piece of it down to the last. He ate the last chunk without hesitation as good thoughts filled up his head. It was as if nothing could possibly go wrong at all.
"Did you like it little guy?"
Victini froze in place as he choked on the last piece when the mysterious voice shook him up. He coughed and patted his chest when it finally went down. He coughed some more, making sure that he was okay. He then turned around slowly and was mortified to see that he'd been caught out in the open. Towering above him was none other than the pink pony he help who had a very big grin on her face.
Victini froze right on the spot the moment a mysterious voice caused him to involuntarily choke on his macaron. His blood went cold, he had been discovered. He slowly turned his head around, hoping that it was all some kind of misunderstanding and that it was just a random voice in the background. Much to his dismay, a pink pony with a fluffy cotton candy-esque mane towered over his tiny form with a big smile on her face.
Victini visibly paled and quickly flew away as fast as he could all the while turning invisible again. He was just about to make it out of the alleyway and towards the sky until the pink pony started to call out after him.
"Hey, wait! Don't go! Don't you still want another macaron?" the pony shouted as she pulled out an orange macaron.
Victini stopped in midair, not that anyone can notice, and began contemplating the choices that were given to him. On one hand, he could meet the pony and have some macarons while making a new friend, on the other, he could just run away. Since the second choice meant that he wouldn't have a macaron if he ran away, he immediately turned around and flew back to the pony without a moment of hesitation. Making a new friend and receiving a delightful treat as well, talk about a win win situation.
He quickly descended to the ground and uncloaked himself as he floated right in front of the pony, his face portraying subtle curiosity and unease. He wasn't sure if he was about to trust her just yet. For all he know it could've been a trick.
Then again, he thought. That Ash boy and all of his friends were really nice to me, plus they all helped me to explore the world and stopped the dragon force from spreading around....
He was in deep though as he stared at the pony and her macaron. The pony brought the macaron forward and his old habit and timid personality caused him to perceive it as a threat, causing him to reel back and disappear again. The pony frown, but quickly shook it off and tried again to get him to appear.
"It's alright little guy, I won't bite" the pony said "I promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye" she said as she performed her usual ritual for ensuring a promise.
Victini gave the pony a queer look, but brushed it aside since he figured she was harmless in every sense of the word. He reached out of towards the pony and quickly snatched the macaron, his third one. Without saying another word he began to nibble on his gift with gusto.
The pony really did make some amazing macarons. Although he couldn't say that it would compete with Cilan's but it was a close second and was just as good in its own unique way. It was so delicious. He blushed and placed his hands on his cheeks before letting out an adorable little squee as he fluttered up. He then turned to face the pink pony with eyes beaming towards her and flashing her the victory sign with his fingers. It was the symbol of his trust and admiration.
"Aw, aren't you just the cutest little thing!" said the pony as she practically melted from his mere presence "My name's Pinkie Pie, what's your's little fella?" she asked as she extended a hoof out in friendship. Victini flew over and shook her hoof with his tiny hands, a smile radiating off his furry face as he did so.
"V...Vic.." he stuttered nervously, he can't remember the last time he had to say his full name. Even when he was with Ash everyone else already knew his name. He took a deep breathe and steeled himself for such a trivial matter "...Victini" he finally spoke.
"Hiya, Victini! It's so nice to meet you!" Pinkie exclaimed "You know, I know everyone in town, but I've never, ever, ever seen you around before, or even seen someone like you! Didja come from outta town?" she asked.
"Tini. tini, tini, tini" Victini replied, although he seriously doubted she understood him. Normally it takes some time for someone to understand what a pokemon was saying or they'd just read their body language, but that was only because humans and pokemon have coexist for quite some time now. Hopefully he won't have too much trouble with the denizens here.
"Tini, tini, tini? Is that all you can say?" said Pinkie with her head tilt to the side "So you can only speak your name?" Victini replied by bobbing his head up and down as to say, yes.
"Eh, it's alright. I can normally tell what someone wants anyway. Except for when they don't want anything... heh heh" Pinkie grinned nervously "Anyway, are you some kind of magical jackrabbit or something? How are you flying like that! Can you teach me?" she asked.
"Tini, tini, tini" said Victini as he shrugged his shoulders.
"So you say you're named Victini, you say Victini, and your species is Victini?" Pinkie's head tilted again in interest, although if it were to turn anymore she was gonna need a neck brace soon afterwards. Victini replied by bobbing his head again, followed by waving his hand side to side as to say, kinda.
"So there's only one of you huh?" said Pinkie who spoke in a serene tone "Does it get lonely being the only... Victini, Victini?" Victini replied by shaking his head side to side.
"Tini, tini, tini" said Victini as he waved his hand around.
"Oh! I see, you're not all that alone since you have all kinds of friends don't you! I see" Pinkie replied with a giggle before an idea came to her head "Ooh, ooh, ooh! You should come to my place so that I can through you a party!" she exclaimed "I always throw a party whenever I meet someone new in Ponyville, what do you think! You get to meet all of my friends too!" she suggested.
"We can throw it now if you want!" Pinkie exclaimed, but Victini shook his head. He didn't have the time today, he turn to the horizon and he could see that sun was beginning to set.
"Aw, well I can wait for tomorrow" said Pinkie who stayed as bubbly as ever "Is there a reason why you can't do it today?" she asked. Victini pointed to the sun by the edge of town "It's getting late, so I guess that you have you go home or something, right?" Victini bobbed his head up and down again.
"Alright, I understand. But whenever you're ready tomorrow, just go to that big building that looks like a great big gingerbread house!" said Pinkie as she pointed over to her home and place of employment: Sugarcube Corner.
Victini flew up and tried to find this mysterious house, but the moment he found it his jaw practically hit the floor. It wasn't hard to miss at all. Smack dab in the middle of the sleepy little town was a massive structure that appeared to be made out of cookies, gumdrops and all other manner of teeth rotting goodness. Hopefully that was all just for show, otherwise he would devour that thing in an entire afternoon.
"I hope you remember, Victini" said Pinkie as she began to make her way back home "I'll see you tomorrow! I'll even try to bake some more macarons for you!"
* * *
With that said, Victini waved goodbye to his new friend and cloaked himself before flying off towards the funny looking house by the edge of town. He soared for a good few minutes until he finally reached his destination. He flew down made sure that there was still no one around until he finally dropped his invisibility as he patiently awaited for his mole friend. Before long, Drilbur finally showed up, only he looked a little different than he last saw him.
Drilbur walked toward Victini with the same old goofy smile he had on his face since they were both stuck in this predicament. In his claws was a large basket that contained all kinds of fruits and vegetables. He was wearing a pearl white robe in a toga style manner that was soft as silk to the touch. Around his neck was a red velvet band with what looked to be a big crystal medallion with laser etched inscriptions around the ring that states:
"O' Great One, Be Safe On Your Journey Into The Unknown"
"We Hope That You Find Your Friend On Your Travels"
"May The Land, The Wind, Our Children And Our Children's Children Sing Songs Of Your Greatness For All Of Eternity"
- Your Children And Devoted Followers, The Diamond Dogs
"Hey, Victini. You're back! How was your day?" Drilbur asked as he set down his basket.
"I helped a pony win a cooking competition, and now she invited me to a party by her home" said Victini "What did you do all day?" he asked.
"I was digging around trying to find anything that might lead us home, like some other pokemon, and then I ran into a group of really nice people" said Drilbur.
"People?" Victini asked with a raise of his eyebrow.
"Dog people! Like a group of tall, super smart Lilipup and Houndours!" said Drilbur "They were really hospitable, they threw a feast and gave me this really cool medal, these neat clothing and all of this food!" he exclaimed "It's too bad though, I didn't find anything useful for us to get home, but at least I got us some food!" he held out the basket. Victini sighed, it was good that they had something to eat, but there still remained another issue.
"Where are we going to sleep tonight?" Victini asked.
"I saw a field out by the outskirts of town. Maybe we should rest there" suggested Drilbur.
"Hmm, I don't know" said Victini "It looks like it might be cold tonight, we should find some good shelter.
"Way ahead of you buddy" Drilbur replied with a smile. He removed his toga and medallion and gently placed them on the ground. He stretched for a bit, and searched around for a suitable plot of land far from the town. When he finally found his spot, he spun and drilled directly into the earth, causing Victini to dodge the the flying clumps of dirt that were headed in his general directions. When he was done, he hopped out and motioned for Victini to follow him.
"Well, home sweet home" he said as they entered his newly formed burrow. It was slightly dark, but Victini's eyes adjusted to the darkness and he could see that it was incredibly well made. It was nice and roomy with plenty of space to run around in. But more importantly, it was warm. Drilbur even went as far as to make a little spot for a fire with a small chimney to let the smoke escape "No need to use your fire powers, Victini. We got all we need right here"
The two then went to furbish their new home. They gathered sticks to make a small fire and gathered patches of grass to make a bed for both of them. Before long, the little burrow was starting to look cozier and cozier as they continued their home decorating task. When it was done, they stood back, wiped away the dirt from their fur and smiled at their new home.
To celebrate the creation of their new home, Victini set up a fire and the two roasted some vegetable together to quell their hunger. Drilbur placed away his belongings and sat down to eat as the two delved into idle chit chat to pass the time.
"It's been a pretty wild day, hasn't it" said Drilbur as he took a bite out of the piece of asparagus on his stick.
"Yeah, it has. You met dog people, I helped a pony to win a bake off. I wonder if we're ever find out way back home" Victini replied as he took a bite out of his eggplant "If do we get stuck in this world, is there anything that you regret not doing?" he asked.
"Not much" said Drilbur "I'll probably miss my family and my twenty brothers and sister, and I know I'll definitely miss that smoking Infernape that works the local restaurant back home" he smiled "Boy, I tell you. She could put me in a submission hold anyday" he sighed dreamily "...And then our kids will learn submission attack" he fell into a daydreaming like state before turning to face Victini "What about you? Feeling guilty that you never asked out Purrloin?"
Victini turned redder than his ears and blushed profusely. To bring up such a touchy subject, what was Drilbur thinking.
"W-what are you talking about" Victini covered his blush "I like her as a friend, that's all"
"Sure..." said Drilbur with a wry smile on his face "... you know, I never took you for the kind of guy that likes the wild ones. You legendaries have funny taste in mates" he snickered.
"Drilbur!" Victini shouted in embarassment "Come on, knock it off!" he begged, but Drilbur's laugh only intensified as Victini turned redder than Darumaka.
This was going to be an interesting stay in Equestria indeed.
Victini awoke to the gentle sound of chirping birds and the light snoring of Drilbur as a new day began for him and his roomy. He slowly got up from his grassy bedding and began stretching, eliciting a few audible pops from his achy bones. He rubbed his big blue eyes with his little hands, smacking his dry lips before prodding Drilbur to try and wake him up. Drilbur stirred, but only to roll onto his side and continue sleeping the day away. Victini tried prodding again, this time a bit more forceful. This time, Drilbur tossed and turn as a horrible dream plagued his mind.
"...But I don't want to go swimming grandma Excadrill... Infernape might see me..." Drilbur muttered as he cringed in his sleep. Victini rolled his eyes at his slumbering friend. He only sighed, reeled back his hand and slapped Drilbur squarely on the cheek, causing the sweat covered mole pokemon to hop in distress, throwing his claws into the air and spouting wild nonsense "Ah! Infernape! I swear, that red patch on my bottom is just a birthmark, not a rash!" he cried.
Drilbur's eyes darting around the burrow like a loose pinball that escaped its machine. He let out a relieved sigh to see that he was back in reality and not trying to convince Infernape, the love of his life, that his butt had a rash on it. He turned to find Victini who was holding back a snicker with both his hands covering his mouth.
"You heard nothing" Drilbur said quickly before walking over to his basket of food and fishing out some breakfast "So, what's on the agenda today buddy?" he asked nonchalantly as he chew on an eggplant.
"How about we wash up after breakfast?" said Victini as he brushed his arm, allowing for some dirt to shake off his fur "Ugh, I'm all dirty"
"Eh, I don't know what you're talking about. We're both covered in dirt all the time and you don't hear me complaining" said Drilbur as he took another bite out of the eggplant.
"It's not that, honest. It's just... I want to smell clean when I show up at Pinkie's party today" said Victini as he snacked on a cauliflower beside Drilbur.
"Oh yeah, that pony you helped yesterday" said Drilbur "I completely forgot about that party you mentioned to me after we went to sleep" he blushed.
"Besides, wouldn't a bath do us both good?" Victini asked. Drilbur pondered his question for a moment and then proceeded to sniff himself. Once he got past all the dirt that was around his fur, his eyes widened to a horrible realization that hit him in the face like a ton of bricks. He stunk worse than a Skuntank after it wrestled with Muk and Garbardor for a meal of canned beans and broccoli. His face scrunched up in disgust as he resisted the urge to throw up when he fanned his out odor away.
"Why wait?" Drilbur replied almost immediately as he swallowed the last of his eggplant whole.
* * *
Ponyville seemed to hustle and bustle with much life as it always has, even for a relatively normal day. Remnants of the bake off remained in the forms of leftover crumbs being eaten by the pigeons, stands that have yet to be cleaned up, and a staggering amount of colorful streamers and confetti that were all scattered across the mains square after Pinkie used her party cannon to perform her own rendition of a twenty one gun salute for her first place victory. It was messy, and the local cleanup crew was still picking confetti out of their hair long since the bake off ended.
Drilbur walked out on the streets with his nose high in the air. The smells permeating from the local bakeries and restaurants made his mouth water, plus they took his mind off the fact that he smelled like the underside of a sweaty Mamoswine in the middle of summer. He walked down the street towards the little brook right underneath the bridge that connecting the town to the local park, blissfully unaware of the fact that many pony were staring at him. It wasn't everyday you get a mole his size walking down the street, yet no one said a thing aloud.
Victini was floating beside him the whole time, albeit invisible, and gingerly strode by all the ponies as he made his way to the babbling brook. He was still a little nervous around them. So far, he only trusted Pinkie with his identity. He still hadn't gotten used to appearing around humans even after the whole Zekrom and Reshiram debacle. So it made sense that he wouldn't feel comfortable around ponies either, especially if they make up most of the general populace this world had to offer.
Without hesitation, the two hopped into the brook with a light splash. Although some passing ponies were scratching their heads as to why there were two splashes when there should've only been one. The confusion only got more severe when they saw all saw that the mole was playing with some invisible playmate, which in turn also had mind boggling splashes of its own. The ponies simple kept quiet, looked straight ahead moved on with the rest of their day pretending that they didn't see a thing.
After about fifteen minutes of washing and cleaning, and a little deodorizing with the help of some lilacs that was growing nearby the bank of the brook, the two walked out and shook themselves dry, revealing two shiny pokemon. Drilbur sniffed himself again and smiled, he was as sweet smelling as a bouquet of freshly pluck flowers, and so did Victini.
"You were right" said Drilbur "A wash did us both wonders"
"Told you" Victini replied with a smug grin "So are you going with me to the party, or are you going ot do your own thing?" he asked.
"I think I'll do some more exploring. I'll meet up with you by that yummy looking building in an hour or two" said Drilbur.
"Sounds good, I'll see you later" Victini and Drilbur then separated after that. They both went in opposite directions. Victini headed towards Sugarcube Corner while Drilbur decided to visit the local market to see if there would be anything interesting thing there. Little did they know that both of them would be in for quite a surprise upon reaching their destination...
Victini flew overhead Ponyville, stopping and hopping upon the many rooftops in town every so often in a playful splendor as he made his way to the ever so popular Sugarcube Corner. He was eager to meet Pinkie Pie again, so much so that he decided to pick up his pace and sped past by all the shops and restaurants en route to his destination.
As he approached the gigantic gingerbread house in the center of town, he lifted his head to partake in the sweet aroma that wafted from the bakery. However, the scent that assaulted his nose was far from sweet. Before he knew it he flew straight into a tower of black smoke, causing him to tumble down towards the roof of the bakery.
He fell upon the roof face first with an incredibly and soft thud, shaking his head to get rid of the flying group of Torchic that were circling his head. When he finally came to, he shook his head to remove any weariness that may remain and gazed around his surroundings to find the source of such a horrific stench.
He looked all around until he finally came face to face with the dreaded tower of smoke that impeded his flying. Whatever it was, it came from a multi-fluted chimney. The chimney of Sugarcube Corner.
His interest piqued, Victini deftly flew into the upper window of the bakery/home, the one that was shaped surprisingly enough like a massive cupcake with pink frosting and three decorative candles on top of it. The windows creaked loudly as he flew into the room. The room itself looked like a normal bedroom, complete with a bed in the center of the room and a bathtub with a shower curtain that had some really neat candy patterns on it. But what really made the room pop was the fact that it looked like the inside of a party supply store.
There was oddly enough confetti on the floor, balloons tied to the bedpost, party favors left unceremoniously upon the bed, and some snacks neatly set in the corner of the room by a small table that was seated by a stack of rocks, a sack of flour, a bucket of turnips, and a ball of lint. It was overall weird, but a brief moment of clarity struck Victini causing him to make an educated guess.
"This must be Pinkie's room..." he whispered softly as he lowered his invisibility. His train of though however was interrupted when his gaze met with that of a shiny Sandile that gawked at him with his unusually large purple eyes and trademark smile. His eyes both blinked separately as he continued to stare at Victini with interest.
Huh, strange, he thought. I didn't know that there were pokemon here. Victini looked around the room to see if he truly was seeing that he and the gator were the only two around. He figured that the Sandile was being nice to him, so he decided to return his gesture by befriending him. It was nice to make another friend, especially one that he and Drilbur can relate too.
"Hi, I'm Victini. How are you" Victini greeted the Sandile as he extended his hand out in friendship. The Sandile reached out his claw to shake in response.
"I've been having an extraordinary day my fellow pokemon friend, thank you for asking. My name is Gummy, by the way, Victini. I'm my dear master Pinkie's pet and close friend" Gummy replied normally and fluently as though his lack of teeth had no impairment on his poke speak whatsoever.
"I take it you're here to see her, correct? She told me all about you last night in one of her sugar induced trances that I am so joyfully accustomed to. Please, follow me" he said as he motioned for Victini to follow him downstairs. Victini gladly followed his new friend and continued to hop down all of the stairs that spiraled into the second floor of the bakery.
"Thank you for guiding me to her, Gummy" said Victini as he strode beside Gummy "By the way, I've been meaning to ask. How did you end up here?" he asked.
"Probably the same way that you did my legendary friend, but my life story is probably a bore. You wouldn't like it" said Gummy. But Victini was insistent.
"I would like to, actually. I may be a few thousand years old but that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy a good story every once and a while" he said. Gummy's eyes shot open more than he thought he could and smiled a toothless grin that no one else would probably be able to see outside of his new pokemon friend.
"Well, if you insist..." Gummy started as he began to reminisce "I was, as the humans from our world say, the runt from momma Krookodile's litter of twelve beautiful, shiny Sandile. I may not have been the biggest or the strongest, or even the shiniest, but mother still loved and cared for all of us regardless. What I lack in size, however, I quickly discover that I make up for it in brains. I was smarter than most Sandile, and possibly, most humans too."
He continues as Victini listened intently, walking right past the babies room.
"By the young age of only three years old I had completed a book on theoretical quantum physics that a human abandoned out near the desert. One year later, when I gained my freedom and independence from mother, I stumbled upon a spacial anomaly that happened near a river that captured my attention. Before I knew it, I was sucked in by it and hurdled across the dimensions at a staggering rate"
"When I finally woke up, I ended up in a sewer grate near this town. Scared and alone in a new world, I was eventually found, taken in, and cared for by the pony you're about to meet. Since then I have came to love her, this world and all of that inhabit it, even if they are all less sane than master Pinkie is. Ah, here we are" said Gummy as the two finally reached the doors to the kitchen "Master Pinkie and right through this door. I do hope you enjoy your time spent with her"
"Wow, thank you Gummy. And thank you for telling me such an great story" said Victini.
"No, no. I should be thanking my friend" said Gummy as he hugged Victini "You helped her out in quite a bind yesterday. Your kindness has made her smile even more radiant than it has in recent day. Anyone who can make my master smile like has my complete and total truest" he pulled away from the hug "Now, I must bid you good day my new friend. There is a hot bath up in the bathroom with my name on it. Enjoy the rest of your day" said Gummy before he turned to head back up the stairs..
Victini thanked his new friend once more and then turned to face the large double doors that Pinkie was on the others side of. Without hesitation, he pushed the door open and was assaulted by the same scent that caused him to stumble in his flight earlier. Not only that, there seemed to be even more smoke here than there was up on the roof.
He waved his little hands to clear away the smoke to get a clear view of what was going on in the kitchen. Through his blurry vision, he could make out the faint image of a pink blog in an apron holding what looked to be a tray of charcoal. However, upon further inspection, it turned out to be a tray of burnt macaron biscuits. His heart sank to see such good food gone to waste. But his heart sank even further when he saw the frown that was on Pinkie's face.
"Oh... Hey, Victini" Pinkie said with a weak grin as she held out the tray "....Macaron?"
Pinkie woke up with a bright smile on her face and messy bedhead to start off her day. She was feeling pretty good considering all that happened yesterday. She'd beaten the odds and challenged fate all at once with a sudden burst of courage and confidence that came from seemingly out of nowhere. She'd guessed that it was some sort of hidden power that she didn't know about that was really inside of her all along. It seemed plausible of a theory, so she just rolled with it.
She got up, or more appropriately, sprang out of bed and hopped to the lavatory where she brushed her teeth and brushed her ridiculous fluffy mane. She took extra care when it came to brushing her teeth, making sure to get both the front and the back and getting some very thorough flossing in between her gums. She may have loved sweets, but if all her pearly whites fall out of her mouth how is she going to properly enjoy food?
After one final spit and rinse, she gingerly sped down the kitchen where it was eerily quiet. The Cakes weren't around, not even the twins. She looked around and found that there was a little note that was held up on the nearby fridge by a magnet. She walked over and read aloud the note.
Dear, Pinkie Pie
Sorry to leave you all alone here on such short notice. Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake started to sneeze a lot this morning and their father began to have a panic attack about their health. So we both took them down to the doctor's office for a quick checkup and closed up the bakery for the time being. It may take a while, so please behave yourself while we are away. We'll probably be back around noonish.
Love, Cupcake
P.S. try not to set the kitchen on fire again, dear. We all remember what happened the last time we left you alone here.
Pinkie read the note some more and found that there was an arrow drawn onto it. She followed the arrow and it came to a picture that the Cakes used to file their insurance claim. In the background, it depicted a burning Sugarcube Corner as the Ponyville weather team desperately tried to put it out. In the foreground, you could see a devastated Carrot Cake as he cried a river of tears while his wife comforted him. Next to the couple was none other than Pinkie who had a charred birthday cake in her hooves.
Pinkie blushed as she remembered that particularly embarrassing moment of her life. it was Granny Smith's birthday, and she had baked her a birthday cake while the Cakes were away on a short errand, leaving her all alone with the party guests. Given how old Granny Smith was, Pinkie went and placed the appropriate amount of candles on it to represent her age. The rest was pretty self explanatory. Thankfully the damage wasn't as severe as most thought it to be.
Shaking away he sheepish thoughts, Pinkie turned around and made herself some breakfast before busting out into full party mode. With blinding speed, she swept across the main foyer of Sugarcube Corner like a pink blur and set up streamers, balloons, and a mini buffet of snacks with a chocolate fountain up on the side of the room. She stopped to dust off her hooves and smiled proudly at her work. But the one thing that she admired the most was the big sign that hung over the ceiling. On it read:
WELCOME TO PONYVILLE VICTINI!
"Yep, the little guy will definitely love this" she said as he placed on her apron "But not as much as he's gonna love the macarons I gonna bake for him" she sung. Without missing a beat, she ran back into the kitchen and began to make Victini's favorite treat. She made sure that she had all of her ingredient and waited for that special inner power to kick in.
"Alright! Macaron making powers, go!" she shouted. But nothing happened!
"Um...Okay. Not what I was expecting..." said Pinkie as she furrowed her brow. She'd expected a tingly sensation before entering into a state of extreme concentration as she went on a macaron making frenzy "Oh! I got it! Macaron making powers, activate!" again, nothing significant happened "Huh, weird. How about... it's macaron time!" she shouted once more as she assumed a standing pose "Hmm... Guess I'm going to have to do this the old fashion way"
She looked down at the ingredients and back up to the blank wall before her. She could feel a creeping fear settle in her as she broke out into a cold sweat. Her expression sank, all that confidence that she earlier had melted away and she was replaced with doubt. She knew how to make it, but she had had weeks to practice before the big bake off yesterday. She took a deep breathe and tried to steady her nerves.
"It's alright... *Gulp!* I've done before, and I could probably do it again..." she said as she attempted to raise her spirits "Yeah, I got this. How hard could this possibly be?"
* * *
Present time
Victini coughed as the smoke entered his lungs. Being a fire type pokemon may have given him immunity towards harmful smoke, but that didn't stop him from coughing uncontrollably. He didn't like the harmful atmosphere at all, so he decided to fix all of that. He held his breath and began to channel his some of his power.
His big orange ears glowed softly, cutting through the thick black cloud like a beacon as Pinkie watched in intrigue. Then, he raise his hands up and covered the room in a light reddish glow. He used telekinesis and gathered up all of the smoke and packed it all into a small floating black ball of hazy smoke.
"Oooh! Neat trick!" said Pinkie, forgetting about her previous screw up.
Victini raised the hazy ball up as he exhaled, glad that the room no longer smells like the inside of active volcano. He let out a relieved sigh and wandered over to the other end of the kitchen, right next to the sink. He flew up and continued to use telekinesis on the window that was present there.
Making sure that no one was in plain view, he pushed the door open with his powers and tossed the ball of smoke out into the air where it dissipated away into the ozone. He then turned around, dropped to the floor and dusted his hands off with a look of accomplishment on his face.
"Tini, tini, tini, tini?" he asked Pinkie as he flew up to face her.
"Oh, me? I'm fine" Pinkie replied "Thanks for getting rid of the smoke by the way. I didn't know you could move things with your mind! What else can you do?" she asked eagerly. but Victini's attention was drawn elsewhere. Specifically, the tray of burnt macarons on the table. She saw his bummed out expression and frowned at her lack of success "Aw, I'm sorry little guy. I thought I could still make them like yesterday. Guess I can't" her head hung low.
"Tini, tini, tini" said Victini, as he waved off the whole situation. He smiled brightly at her as he regained his usual cheerfulness. This wasn't about the macarons, this was about his friendship with Pinkie "Tini, tini, tini, tini"
"I'm glad you don't think bad of me for screwing this up" said Pinkie as he gently hugged the little floating rabbit "I just don't understand what happened yesterday. I was in the zone for that whole competition. And the poof, just like that, I can't seem to make them like I did anymore" Victini blushed a little at the recent memory. He might as well come clean about the whole.
"Tini... tini, tini..." Victini confessed, causing Pinkie to gasp.
"What? That was you?" Pinkie exclaimed "You helped me win? How?"
"Tini, tini, tini. Tini..." Victini shrugged. To be honest, he didn't really know how it all worked either.
Victory was such a relative concept that he never thought too deeply about it. All he knew was that he was a living avatar of victory, the very embodiment of success, accomplishment, achievement and just about every other synonyms in every sense of the words. Not only that, he could share his powers of victory with others too. How it worked, well, he could only guess that it probably involved the other fact that he was also a tiny furry battery that contained and generated infinite amounts of raw energy within himself.
"Wow, so you can give people victory? How does that even work?" said Pinkie as he eyes widened in amazement "Boy, if Twilight were here right now, she'd have a mental breakdown about how improbable it would be for victory to be given to someone" she snorted a cute giggle "Hopefully that doesn't actually happen when you meet her, heh heh..."
"Tini, tini, tini?" said Victini.
"It's alright, I didn't invite that many ponies today' said Pinkie "I kind of got that you were the shy type after you went and turned invisible on me back in the alleyway. So, I decided to limit the party to some close friends only. Namely, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. Trust me, you'll love them" Pinkie said reassuringly.
"Tini, tini, tini!" Victini smiled as he flew circles around Pinkie's head. Pinkie enjoyed a curt laugh as Victini playfully performed aerial flight around her noggin, it was there that an grand idea popped up into her head as she was laughing.
"Hey, I got a great idea!" she exclaimed as a light bulb appeared her head. She motioned for Victini to come close before she began whispering in his big ears "So, here's the plan..." After a few seconds of explaining her great plan, Victini couldn't help but smile at a little bit of mischief.
"Tini, tini!" Victini exclaimed as he landed atop Pinkie's head.
"I know right! It'll be great, just you wait!" she said as she walked out towards the main foyer "By the way, have you met my pet Gummy yet?" she asked.
* * *
It was around 2 o' clock when the front door to Sugarcube Corner violently swung open as a cyan blur rushed into the foyer, leaving behind a polychromatic trail in her wake. Rainbow Dash appeared as dramatically as she could get before landing with a smug look on her face, hoping to impress anyone in the room. Sadly, she scanned around and saw that only Pinkie was there with the Cakes working in the back kitchen.
"Whoa, this place is a ghost town" said Rainbow Dash as she dropped next to Pinkie "Where is everypony? I thought this place would be packed since you were throwing a party for that new guy you met yesterday"
"Well the twins got sick so we had to close up for a while" said Pinkie as she stifled an incredulous giggle 'Don't worry, Sugarcube Corner will be up and running again in just a few minutes. In the mean time, it'll just be us two and the floorboards!"
"Oh, I wouldn't count on that, darling" the two turned to see that Rarity and the rest of their friends had just stepped into the room, all eager to meet the new person of interest. They all dusted their hooves off on the doormat before gathering around a nearby booth for a quaint little chat about their day.
"Honestly dear, you shouldn't have just flown off like that and leave the rest of us behind" said Rarity as he brushed her hoof past her mane "Punctuality is one thing, rudely entering an establishment by smashing through the front doors are another"
"Pinkie and the Cakes don't seem to mind" Rainbow replied as she laid back in her seat "Besides, I'm sure most ponies have already gotten used to me crashing into their homes whenever I screw a stunt"
"Most ponies..." Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight grumbled beneath their breath.
"Besides, I wanted to see if I could impress what's his name..." said Rainbow as she furrowed her brow.
"Didn't you say that his name was Victini?" Twilight chipped in "Where is he anyway? I'd love to meet him"
"Don't worry, he'll be here soon" Pinkie lied as her giggle masked Victini's own "He's very shy and tends to avoid crowds, that's why I kept the guest list to just us six!" she giggled again "Before he shows up, how about we play a few games to pass the time?" she suggested as she pulled out a pristine chess set.
Everyone, save for one very ecstatic alicorn princess, raised an eyebrow at this odd gesture. It was one thing for a game of twister or pin the tail on the donkey or even bobbing for apples, but chess? There had to be some kind of catch.
"Chess, really?" said Applejack as she inspected the set "No checker pieces, no rule where you can move your pieces as much as ya like?" she asked, but Pinkie shook her head.
"Nope, just good old fashion chess" said Pinkie with a devious grin plastered all over her face "Any takers?"
"I'll play with you!" Twilight exclaimed as she scooted right in front of Pinkie, nearly tackling Applejack off the side of the booth with her force "I'll have you know, I've won the nationals at the Canterlot chess tournament and still hold the top spot for over three years now" she bragged "Since then, I still haven't lost a single game of chess yet" she held her head up high.
"Wow, I'm impressed" said Pinkie which only served to fuel Twilight's ego "Well, I'll be even more impressed of the fact that I will be the one to break that winning streak of yours, Twilight" she grinned even further with her eyes closed in a sweet yet devilish way.
Everyone stared at her like she grew a second head. A loud clattering could be heard in the back as Carrot Cake and Cupcake peeked their head out to see what the hubbub was all about. The whole bakery fell silent, all that could be heard was the wind, the soft chattering of the ponies outside and the cooing of the twins from above. Twilight was probably the one that was the most shocked, considering the fact that she had her position as the best in chess challenged by a newbie.
Arrogance thy name is Pinkie Pie
"Really now?" said Twilight as she broke the stagnant silence, her eyes narrowed upon Pinkie as a confident smirk formed on her face "I was just gonna go easy on everyone because I'm being nice and handicapping myself, but it seems you forced my hoof, Pinkie. Very well, I accept your challenge. How much experience do you have with chess anyway?" she asked, hoping to size up her opponent.
"None. This is my first time ever playing it like it's meant to" Pinkie stated obliviously. Causing Twilight's smirk to fade off into an unsure expression.
"None, whatsoever?" Twilight asked "Really?" Pinkie nodded "Unbelievable, and you really hope to defeat me with zero knowledge of chess at all!?" she practically yelled.
"What's the matter? Afraid of losing to a beginner?" Pinkie taunted without ever losing that expression of hers.
"Hmph, don't think you can psyche me out like that, Pinkie" Twilight sharply retorted "Fine, I'll play your game. But don't cry once I win just because you don't know how to move the pawn"
"The what now?" Pinkie asked with a tilt of her head.
"Oh, nevermind! Just play, I'll go first" Twilight went on and moved her pawn, waiting for Pinkie Pie to make her move.
* * *
Pinkie didn't know what she was doing at all, and that was the time she had to pull out her secret weapon. She wiggled her ears ever so slightly, signaling for Victini to grant her Victory. A few seconds later, she felt that familiar jolt that she felt yesterday during the bake off. The wave of pure energy rushed throughout her body once more and she began to move on autopilot. Her instincts subconsciously grabbed hold of her and she began to work her way towards Victory.
One by one, the pieces on the board moved in a dizzying pattern as the game progressed at lightning speed. Pawns, knights, rooks, bishops, queens, repeat. It all happened so quickly, everyone was getting nervous, but none more than Twilight herself.
Like respective queens of their nations, they saw to it that their soldiers and warriors fought strategically towards victory. But Twilight found herself without any proper footing. Each move she made, Pinkie immediately retaliated with one that put her in a corner, effectively limiting her options to just one or two moves. Just when Twilight thought she got a leg up one Pinkie, one pawn in the right place at the wrong time screwed everything up for her.
It was a massacre, Twilight was running out of soldiers while Pinkie, by some bizarre stroke of luck, lost only one pawn. Twilight couldn't believe it, she could feel defeat creeping up ever so softly from behind her as the match slowed to it's final turns. Before long, the words were uttered by the victor, and Twilight was dethroned from her position as Equestria's best.
Everyone looked at Twilight as they awaited for her to do or say something. She'd been stuck in the same position ever since lost and remained frozen in a state of catatonia for about ten minutes now. Her friends were starting to get worried about her, but they were also were getting annoyed at how juvenile and utterly ridiculous she was acting over a single loss at chess.
In fact, right now Pinkie was starting to believe that this was all a bad idea. She'd half expected for Twilight to have a little fit, but this was beyond her control. Even Victini, who was still invisible atop her head, couldn't bear the sight of this any longer.
Twilight stared wide eyed in shock with her mouth agape as she absorbed the single moment of absurdity laid out before her. Her brain went into overdrive and began to malfunction like a broken computer. She tried countless times over and over again to process the information given to her but it was of no use. She forced herself to refuse to accept defeat. It was all just a dream, she constantly told herself, or perhaps it was some kind of insane delusion fueled by a bad daffodil sandwich she ingested earlier that day.
She rubbed her eyes with her hooves, hoping that she was seeing everything wrong. But no matter how hard she rubbed the image never changed. The facts were all there on the table. Her white king had been knocked over by Pinkie's black knight. Pinkie still had fifteen pieces on the board while Twilight had none. It was plain and simple, just like that.
"But...bu-bu-bu.... bwuah?" Twilight babbled stupidly as a few strands of her mane popped out of her place "This... this can't be right! It can't be true, it just can't be!" she screamed, falling off of her seat and landing onto the floor of the bakery with an expression of abject horror plastered all over her. She assumed the fetal position, curling up into tight ball as she gently stroked her tail in an attempt to distance herself away from this horrid truth.
"It's okay, it's okay... this is just a dream that's all. Heh heh... just a horrible nightmare... In fact, I'm probably still in bed right now. I'm probably about to wake up right now!" she looked up, frowning upon seeing that she was still at Sugarcube Corner "I said I'm probably going to wake up now!" she shouted in exasperation before she began hyperventilating.
"Twilight, sugarcube! Breathe girl, breathe now!" Applejack yelled as she consoled the grief stricken alicorn. Her words did little to help Twilight as she began to mutter something about the end of days beneath her breathe. Applejack just put on blank expression and sighed at her friend's uncooperative ways "Oh, for crying out loud! Now you're just overreacting! So you lost, get over it!" apparently that seemed to get to Twilight as she immediately snapped back up and stared at Applejack square in the eye.
"I cannot get over it, Applejack! How could I, someone with over ten years of professional chess experience and a title to back said experience up, lose to someone whose just playing for the first time like... like... Pinkie!" Twilight yelled "This goes beyond everything that is right with this world!"
"No, this goes beyond your ability to function properly, dear. Now please, calm down and just admit that you lost. It'll be easier for you that way" Rarity chipped in "Losing is just another chance for you to win"
"But I don't lose, not at this!" Twilight whined.
"Sheesh, and I though I had pride issues..." Rainbow Dash whispered to Fluttershy, causing her to elicit a soft giggle.
"Why don't you try and do that thing you're always telling us to do" said Applejack "What was that again? Oh, yeah! Act rational you dunderhead!"
"Fine! Fine... I'll... I'll admit it..." Twilight conceded as she forced herself to speak such dreaded words "Pinkie... You wi- ahem, Pinkie, you wah... blech! Pinkeyouwin!" It was hard, but someway, somehow, she managed to swallow her pride and admit her defeat, even if it was kinda lackluster. She let out a deep breathe as the weight that was on her shoulder were lifted away. Although everyone couldn't help but notice her low grumblings of disdain. Everyone just rolled their eyes at that and moved on.
But after that little freakout, Twilight was looking in rough shape. Her hair was all raggedy, her eyes were red and puffy from bawling her eyes out, and her hooves were still shaking from experiencing such a traumatic event. Boy howdy was that incredibly hammy. Rarity had decided to help her out and took her to the little mare's room where she hoped to get her back to normal, or as normal as she could get. Ten minute later, she came back miraculously looking like new. But that still didn't stop her from complaining.
"Alright, now that that's over with, I must say Pinkie, you are quite the prodigy!" Rarity exclaimed, much to Twilight's dismay "For somepony who only played today, you managed to beat Twilight quicker than yours truly when I'm assembling a fall fashion line"
"I'll say. Even though I didn't know what was going on half the time" Rainbow admitted.
"Have you thought about going pro? You'd be the best that nopony ever was!" Fluttershy suggested, oblivious to the faint sound of grinding teeth in the background. Pinkie shook her head, she wasn't into that kind of thing.
"Oh no, that was a one time thing" said Pinkie "Besides, I have to work at the bakery anyhow"
"I just don't get it" Twilight joined in "How was it that you, a complete and total amateur, beat me? It doesn't make sense! Prodigies just don't show up all willy nilly like that. What your secret?" she prodded for information. Pinkie couldn't help but grin before bursting out into jovial laughter before her friends. The big reveal was on its way.
"Okay, you got me" she wiped away a tear from her eye "I had some help"
"WHAT!?" everyone recoiled from Twilight's second outburst "So you cheated!? Ha! I knew it! There was no way I could've actually lost in a fair game!" she exclaimed, feeling better than she should be.
"Well, yes and no, it's technically not cheating if you look at it from my angle" Pinkie replied coolly, shattering Twilight's high moment just like that "I really did beat you with my own two hooves, honest. But I had a friend help me to acquired it"
"Help you to acquire what, if you don't mind me asking?" said Fluttershy, curious of this friend of hers.
"Why... to acquire victory of course" Pinkie stated with a sly wink of her eye.
"Whuah? Acquire victory? How does that even work!?" Twilight asked.
"Believe me, I asked that myself. But really, to properly explain it to you, I'll have to introduce you to the guest of honor! Victini!" Pinkie exclaimed as she pulled out a stereotypical top hat "Everyone, please look inside and tell me if it is empty or not!"
"Oh, oh! I wanna see!" Rainbow smiled as she dashed on over and stuck her whole head "Yup. There's definitely nothing in there"
Everyone else gathered up to see the hat as well. Just like Rainbow had told everyone the hat was indeed empty. It was just a regular run of the mill hat. There was certainly nothing fishy about it, and that was what everyone thought was fishy about it.
"I don't get it, what does this have to do with the guest and winning?" Twilight asked, clearly annoyed of not knowing the answer to this bizarre turn of events.
"Who cares, I like where this is going!" Rainbow interjected "Come on! Let's get this how on the road!"
"I'm with Rainbow on this" said Fluttershy "This is getting exciting!"
"As you can see there is clearly nothing inside" said Pinkie as she placed the hat onto the ground and tapping it with a magic wand that she pulled out from her mane "For my trick, I will make a rabbit appear from out of thin air" she proclaimed, eliciting oohs and aahs from her little crowd "Behold and be astounded by the great and powerful Pinkie magical prowess!" she tapped upon the hat once more and to everyone's surprise, it gently glowed orange.
The warm glow was subdued at first, but that was before a wave of soft ember could been seen floating away from the open top. Slowly, the embers grew more and more intense as the room became warmer all of a sudden. Without warning, a spiral of flames beautifully and unexpectedly shot out from the hat, radiating its heat and causing the resulting ember sparks to float to the ground like petals of a cherry blossom tree. The whole room was now bathed in an reddish orange hue that just felt so... so peaceful and inviting to bask in.
Everyone was stunned by the jaw dropping performance that Pinkie was putting up. How she was doing it, they didn't care, it was just all to spectacular to ignore. Even Twilight had to admit that this was all amazing, but something in the back of her mind kept bugging her. Whatever it was, it could wait.
"Ladies and gentlecolts! I present to you! VICTINI!"
Upon the announcement, the hat was exploded like a bomb, obliterating it and reducing its entirety into char and burnt felt. From the ashes of the destroyed hat was a glowing ball of light that shone within the spiral of fire. Everyone held their hooves up to avert their gaze from the flash. Soon, the light died out and what they saw floating above Pinkie made them gasp with intrigue.
Victini hovered beside Pinkie, his ears glowing orange with power as he huffed out a small flickering flame. He then waved both his hands down and snuffed out the flames that was his backdrop. With a great big adorable smile and much excitement, he flashed everyone the victory symbol and spun around in a playful manner. He winked to everyone and properly introduced himself.
Drilbur casually walked down the street, oblivious to all of the awkward stares that he was receiving from the many mares and stallions of Ponyville as he made his way towards the market square. Apparently everyone in town was still a little nervous of having a foot tall mole with huge claws walk around without a care in the world. He didn't even noticed the small children who were pointing and gawking him the whole time he strolled right down the street.
"Ah, the sun feels so nice today" he said to himself as he briefly stopped to smell a nearby rosebush. He sniffed a bit more with a soft smile on his face, enjoying the gentle fragrances before he noticed something important off the corner of his eye. Off in the distance was a collections of pavilions, huts, and stands that was all hustling and bustling with life. It was the market, and that was exactly where he was heading.
He pulled away from the flowers and began to make way for the market, eagerly awaiting to see all of the interesting knick knacks that are there, other than a wide assortment of food of course. After a couple minutes of sprinting, he came to the conclusion that running on foot just wasn't gonna cut it, not with his stubby little feet. So he clasped both his claws together and dove right into the ground, drilling underneath the earth at blazing speeds of up to thirty miles and a hour.
It had only taken five minutes for him until he popped his head out from the edge of the square, but not where he wanted to be. He peek over and all around, he was inside a large purple velvet tent of sorts. It gave off an exotic air thanks to the dim lighting courtesy of the low hanging oil lamp just overhead. Not only that, there were a variety of flowers and rare plants that don't appear to be native to the land.
Drilbur got up from the ground and started to wander a bit, seeing if her can find the exit. He walked pass some flaps and unknowingly entered a private room where a breathtaking female griffon, who was lounging upon a luxurious sofa while enjoying the sweet taste of some grapes, took notice of him. She eyed him curiously before speaking.
"Que? Who are you?" she asked.
"Dril, dril, drilbur!" Drilbur replied, causing the griffon to become flustered at his poetic words. She quickly hid a blush, batting a seductive eyelash at him.
"Oh, senior! What ways with words that you have. You should know that I have a soft spot for foreigners" she said as she walked over and picked him up before placing him beside her on the sofa. She stared deeply into his eyes, almost losing herself in his dark irises "You are quite the handsome one, aren't you?" she said as she caressed Drilbur's big nose. She petted him on the head, causing him to purr like a kitten. It felt nice to be petted like that, so much that he leaned in a bit closer until it felt like he was being massaged by an angel.
"Dril, dril! Dril, dr-" said Drilbur but he was hushed when the griffon placed one of her talons upon his mouth.
"Shh, shh... relax my darling" said the Griffon as she plucked one of the grapes from the vine "You must be famished. Here, allow me to feed you" she stated as she began to feed Drilbur.
"Mmm, this must be what it feels like to be a trainer's pokemon" Drilbur said to himself as he partook in another grape. Although he felt small in the claws of this cute bird, he wasn't complaining with the service he was receiving.
"It may have only been minutes, but it feels like I've known you forever" said the griffon in a flirtatious manner "Please mi amor, tell me your name. Whisper it in my ear..." she lulled.
"Dri-" but before Drilbur could finish, another griffon with a curly mustache stormed into the room, and he was positively fuming at the sight before him.
" *Gasp!* Carmelita! What are you doing with that... that extranjero!" he shouted in a hammy way like the actors do in one of those cheesy soap operas "How could you do this to me! After all that I've done for you!"
"I did it because I know this fine cabarellos here at least respects and loves me for the woman that I am, Salvador!" Carmelita shouted back with tears streaming down her face "When was the last time you said you loved me! When was the last time that we were alone together! When was the last time you held me and gently whispered sweet nothings to me!" she cried "You never care anymore! All that matters to you is money and your precious poker game!"
"But what does this fool have that I don't!" Salvador shouted back "Look at him!" he pointed an accusing talon towards Drilbur "He doesn't even look like he can stand his own! He's a scrawny weakling!"
"Dril, dril, drilbur!" Drilbur exclaimed angrily as he waved his claws around "Dril, dril, drilbur!"
"Oh? Acting all tough now eh? I know who you are, and I also know why you're here!" Salvador maintained his heated gaze on Drilbur "You're that exotic foreigner known for his extraordinary abilities in poker and seduction and you've come here to dominate this secret underground poker ring, no?"
"Drilbur?" Drilbur replied with a tilt of his head.
"Don't try to hide it! Your secret is out! Come! We'll settle this with a game!" Salvador shouted as he dragged Drilbur into a dark room where there was a poker table with three other seedy looking individuals hanging around it.
A single lamp hung up and it revealed all of the players that were participating in this high stakes game of underground poker. On one side was Hotshot, a stallion with a yellow coat, stetson hat and a cocky grin on his face. Beside him was Iron Will, minotaur and motivational speaker extraordinaire. And next to Iron Will was Davenport, proud owner of Sofa and Quills in Ponyville.
Drilbur was seated on the little stool adjacent to Salvador where he received an uncomfortable glare from the rest of his opponents. Although, Carmelita was right there beside him petting him and enjoying the annoyed look that came from her former lover.
"Enough!" Salvador shouted "The game is Texas hold' em! I'll see to it that you're out on the street once I'm though with you mister foreigner! Dealer! The cards!" he yelled.
Without missing a beat, the dealer expertly shuffled the cards and gave everyone playing two cards. Drilbur didn't know what he was doing, or why he had cards at all, so he just copied what everyone else was doing. He peeked at his cards for a bit, then he proceeded to make some shifty eye movements before regaining that dopey look he was known for.
Iron Will and Hot Shot couldn't hide the look of uncertainty that they had on their faces when they looked at Drilbur. Something about that smile of his made them fearful of his skills in poker. He looked so confident, like Lady Luck and Madame Misfortune were conspiring together for him to be victorious. To them, he was a wild card, that unknown variable that would come out swinging and screw up your whole game.
"Oh, he looks good" Iron Will whispered to Hotshot "I'm keeping my eye out on him"
"Don't worry mi amor. I'm sure you will be able to come out on top. I have complete and total confidence in you!" said Carmelita as she gave Drilbur a little peck on the cheek, causing his heart to flutter ever so slight. Salvador couldn't help but continue to glare at the foreigner who had stolen his woman.
It was here that Drilbur's time in the underground poker circuit began. Will he come out on top and win the girl? Stay tune folks.
The game of high stakes poker began to heat up as the competition went on as it could be expected, with constant shifts in the distribution of wealth, countless flops and more nerve wracking showdowns than you can shake a stick at. Yet in spite of the heated glares he was receiving and the constant death threats being spouted by Salvador at the table, Drilbur was holding the lead with at least a thousand bits. He sat in his stool, struggling to peer over the small mountain of chips that he had amassed throughout the game.
He managed to find a point low enough to look through in the pile and proceeded to play the game as he had been for the last ten minutes, by copying every action the other players were doing. So far, this strategy had proven advantageous for him, seeing as how he had so many chips on his side of the table. Luck pretty much did the rest. How often was it when a guy can get a four of a kind four times in a row? Although, the other players still had a sizable amount of chips by their own side, meaning that the game was far from over.
"Drilbur?" said Drilbur.
"Don't let them intimidate you, my love" Carmelita cooed to the mole pokemon "I know you can win!" she cheered on.
"Bah! I'll make sure your sorry hide is out on the streets by game's end, amigo" Salvador squawked at Drilbur.
"Say, little guy" Iron Will spoke up "You wouldn't happen to be interested in any self help books now would you?" he pulled pulled out a set of books each with his face on every cover. One of them was titled You're Not Iron Will, And That's Okay, another was How To Smash Through Your Day In Twelve Easy Steps "Not interested, well okay. But if you ever need a boost in life you can just find me at one of my seminars" he passed on over a flier to Drilbur which he happily partook.
"Hey, are you two ladies exchanging friendship bracelets over there, or are we gonna play poker?" Hotshot interjected "Getcha head in the game son!" he throws in a few chips in the pile to state his intent.
"Fine, but don't get mad when I come home with the pot in tow" Iron Will shot back as he raised Hotshot's call "If I can smell you fear, then your defeat is near!" he recited one of his famous lines, lines that turned Fluttershy into quite the character.
"Drilbur?" said Drilbur as he raised Iron Will's raise. Everyone looked at him incredulously. That's a pretty ballsy move there, especially for a mole with no experience in poker whatsoever "Drilbur!" he shouted in intimidation. Or was it just because he enjoyed throwing chips onto a pile of more chips, it was hard to tell the difference sometimes.
Everyone eyed the mole suspicious and broke out into a cold sweat. He was good, very good. Almost as if the dopey expression that remained on his face was the pokemon equivalent of the hubble space telescope. He could see their moves and tactics from light years away. He truly was the (misunderstood) foreigner who is known for his extraordinary abilities in poker and seduction.
The uneasiness that everyone felt only enhance tenfold when Drilbur proceeded to scratch his itchy bum. He was toying with them, sending them a message that he was going to win, that he was the ultimate in high stakes poker, that he could do things that they can't. And that he can scratch his rear whenever he wants to just to spite all of the competitors. The confidence he radiated was palpable, and was so thick that you probably could cut through it with a knife. He was the one, the one who was chosen by Lady Luck and Madame Misfortune to earn their favor, and it showed.
Salvador's streak of threats and jeering slowed to a crawl as he felt his nerves turn to jelly. Davenport, Hotshot, and Iron Will all felt the same way, only they weren't nearly as strong willed as Salvador was and all began to sweat like hogs in the middle of July. Bowing their heads in defeat, they all folded and the pot of several thousand bits was given to the victor: Drilbur.
"Oh! Well done senor!" Carmelita exclaimed as he gave Drilbur as peck on the side of his cheek "I knew you could do it!"
"Drilbuuuur....." he gushed as he held on his cheek "Dril, dril!" he taunted his competitors.
"Dang... he's good" whispered Davenport to Iron Will "It's like he can read my every thoughts, and understand my every action. I'm a little afraid..."
"You're telling me?" said Iron Will "I starting to think that I shoulda advertise adult diapers" he gulped "Come on Iron Will. Remember you witty slogans. Never give up, or you'll be a chump. Never give up, or you'll be a chump..." he recited over and over again.
Hotshot was feeling perhaps the full brunt of the blow from his defeat at the godly claws of the great on- err.. I mean Drilbur. He just witnessed his mortgage money go to the mole in a single turn. If he wasn't sweaty before, he was practically a stallion sprinkler now "I can't lose now..." he whispered to himself "I just need to man up! Come on... man up!" he shouted, but slowly, his resolve wavered and he became hysterical "Manning up! Manning up! Man- Ah! Girling down! Girling down!" he collapsed into his seat and began sobbing hysterically.
"Drilbur?" he asked Carmelita.
"Oh, he'll be fine. He's just being a big crybaby right now" she replied nonchalantly "Oh! This looks like it could be the last play, time to bring on home mi amore!"
The dealer began to shuffle the cards again, only this time the sound of shuffling cards made everyone sweat bullets. With deft precision, the dealer shot the cards out swiftly without error. Drilbur threw in his chips, since it was his turn to start. Everyone else had nothing, they were cleaned out. So, as collateral, they had to use what they had as a tool for betting.
Iron Will removed his headphones and his tie and threw it onto the pile, but not before having one last heartfelt look at the two items that helped him in his quest for motivational speaking all those years ago. All Davenport had on his person at the moment was a free pack of quills and a sofa down at Sofas and Quills. Thankfully, it was enough to count as collateral. Hotshot fumbled though the linings of his hat to see if he had anything to offer, what he did have made him sob even further as he gave it up: the deed to his diamond mines.
Salvador grunted angrily. He was at his wits end. He was about to lose everything that he had to Drilbur. First his girl, then his money, and now... a large crate with his name printed on it that was filled to the brim with bars of solid gold. With a scowl towards Drilbur, he chucked the crate onto the table and mumbled something unsavory beneath his breathe. This was it, all or nothing.
"Oh... you'll definitely lose this time idiota. I got a few tricks up my sleeves that will change this all up, oh, yes it will..." he chuckled menacingly which went unnoticed by Drilbur.
The cards were all played out, and each player peeked underneath to see if this was the defining moment of the game. Iron Will peeked, a two of clubs and a three of diamonds were in hand. He grimaced, he was dealt a bad hand. Davenport peeked as well, king of clubs and an ten of hearts. Not bad, but certainly not good either. Hotshot held off his crying long enough to take a quick look, two of diamonds and two of hearts. With these card in his possession he descended into tears once more.
Salvador on the hand looked confident, almost too confident. He peeked at his cards, a king of spades and a queen of diamonds. He chuckled again, knowing full well that it didn't matter what he had, he was going to win regardless.
Everyone except for Salvador and Drilbur folded their cards, they had no chance anyway, not against Drilbur. As the dealer throws out the rest of the cards, a heavy tension filled the air around them. Three cards were placed onto the table. The first was a five of hearts, the second was nine of hearts, and third card was the seven of hearts. All cards of the same suit. An interesting turn of event leaving everyone nearly without breathe. Salvador smirked, this was going well.
"Check" said Salvador as he tapped the table with one of his talons. Drilbur copied him and tapped the table as well.
"Drilbur!" he exclaimed. The dealer placed another card onto the table, this time it was the king of hearts. Murmurs and low whispered started between the watching audience. The game was intensifying, and only one will be victorious in the end. They checked once more and the lights dimmed on the two competitors for their final showdown.
The dealer placed the final card on the table and the hearts of every individual there stilled, but not Drilbur's. Salvador smirked a beaky smirk as he eyed the final card, the king of diamonds. He placed his cards down and prematurely declared Victory. He slammed his card down on to the table, nearly breaking it in the process as he laughed his head off. His cards were the king of spades and a five of clubs.
"Heh, top that idiota!" Salvador taunted. So what if he cheated? It wasn't going to matter in a few seconds anyway.
"Full house" announced the dealer "Mister Salvador Diego Montenegro Garcia Delarosa has a full house. How will fate play out for you mysterious stranger?" the dealer asked Drilbur.
"..." Drilbur said nothing. He was quiet, just like the room. No one dared to say a single word or make even the faintest sound as to shatter the nerve wracking silence that filled the air. Carmelita looked over at her love, and whispered somthing into his ear before the final move was made. When was done, both Carmelita and Drilbur gave everyone a curt a wink, and placed the cards down "...Dril... Drilbur..." he wiggled his eyebrows playfully "Dril, drilbur, dril..."
Six of hearts and eight of hearts
8.3 - A Short Tour Of Drilburtopia's Museum of Modern Art
Back in the underground metropolis, aptly named Drilburtopia, daily life went on as normal for the diamond dogs after their deity had left them to go on another journey of discovery and enlightenment as the great one strove to find his lost friend. It was a relatively average day for the citizens there. In fact, the head dog that still lead the pack enjoyed his day off by visiting one of his more favorite establishments in Drilburtopia, the museum of modern art.
It was there that he would hope to enjoy a leisurely stroll as he admired the many talented works and dedications of various artists and sculptors who expressed themselves and in tribute of their deity through these physical means. As he walked through, he received respectful and friendly bows and salutes from his peers as he walked up to the ticket booth to purchase a day pass. Fortunately for him, his position in society gave him free access into the museum which he happily partook in.
The head dog walked through the gates and took a subtle whiff of the air around him. It was dusty, given how he was underground, but it was also clean thanks to the proper air circulation that he had the city council install all over the city to promote good health. He spotted something that made him smile over in the corner of his eyes, a group of pups and their school teacher on a field trip through the museum.
As he admired the youthful innocence of the children, one of his close friends, the curator of the museum, walked up to him, surprising the head dog with his presence.
"Ah, Lou. How are you this fine day" the head dog asked.
"Oh, I am doing very well high chancellor Baxter" Lou replied.
"Although I've always told you that you don't have you address me with my title. You're one of my closest friends, just same my name regularly"
"Heh, always a stickler for that kind of thing, aintcha?" Lou asked "It's still good to see you again, though. Taking a tour of the art museum eh?"
"Well I do have a soft spot for art" said Baxter "Plus, now that the great one is on his journey, I can relax knowing that he is alright"
"Hmm, the great one truly is... great, isn't he" Lou joked, elicitiing a small little chuckle from the two of them "By the one, we have some artist working on some new art pieces dedicated to teh great one, would you be interested in a sneal peek?" he offered. Baxter smiled at his friend.
"Of course I would, please, lead the way" said Baxter as the two enter the large back hall of the museum.
* * *
The back hall of the museum was gargantuan in size. It was basically a large dome that had a whole bevy of artist working on their projects and works as they patiently awaited for them to be put up on display at the museum. As Baxter and Lou walked down the large hall all the way towards the inner atrium, they couldn't help but stare in awe at the more completed projects that were being finished at the last moment
"How marvelous, look at that one over there!" Baxter exclaimed.
"The contours and color value are truly stunning, don't you think? Look at how the artist managed to capture such raw magnificence onto a sheet of canvas. This artist must be a prodigy" Lou praised.
"I can't wait for this to be on display" said Baxter.
"Neither can I" Lou replied "Come on, there's an interesting sculpture near the end that is begging for our immediate attention"
As the two walked further down the atrium, they came upon a statue of Drilbur that accurately represented his glory.
"His shoulders need to be a bit more broader. That was the one detail that stuck out with most dogs when the great one was still here aside from his pecs" said Baxter "But the muscles are all in the right place. Overall, spectacular piece" said Baxter.
"Oh, how interesting. It looks like we have a new piece from a new up and coming artist" said Lou as he pointed over to a flag that hung upon the wall nearby.
"Incredible what youth culture can come up with don't you think?" said Lou.
"It is inspirational" said Baxter "Revolutionary, I might add. These young artist do have a lot of imagination, don't they?"
"Indeed" Lou looked at his watch "Well that looks like that's all the time that we have for the sneak preview. I think we should head back to the main foyer so you can enjoy the rest of you stay here"
"How soon can we expect to see these up in the museum?" Baxter asked as he walked out the atrium.
"They will be put up on display in about two weeks" said Lou "In the mean time, they're still undergoing some final changes before they can be properly set up"
"I like the sound of that. Thanks for that little treat, Lou" said Baxter.
For the second time that very same day, Twilight found her brain malfunctioning... again. Only this time she at least had the comfort of knowing that some of her closest friends seem to stuck in a frozen state of awe and intrigue right beside her as well, so she at least had that going for her. She could've sworn that there was smoke coming out from the side of her ears, that or it was the resulting smoke that lingered from whatever the heck it was that had just made its presence known to just about everypony in the room.
Floating right in front of the little group in all of his fiery, and arguably cute, glory was some kind of magical orange and yellow rabbit with large V shaped ears, big blue eyes, and oddly enough, a set of teeny tiny wings that were far too low on his body to remain practical in any way, shape or form. But yet there it was, somehow maintaining its place before them even though its near useless wings weren't beating at all.
"Tini?" spoke the creature before them as it tilted his head in curiosity.
"Pinkie, what is that!" Twilight shouted as she backed away into a corner, frightening the rabbit and causing it to fly back to Pinkie and hiding within her fluffy mane.
"Twilight, that wasn't very nice" said Pinkie with a stern glare directed at Twilight "Is that any way to treat the guest of honor at the party?" she asked with a raised eyebrow "Now apologize to Victini for scaring him"
"That's Victini!?" everyone exclaimed as their eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
"Yupperooni!" Pinkie replied with a wide grin "I met him in an alleyway when he ran off with one of my macarons during the big riot you guys threw for them! He really likes them you know. Isn't that right little guy?" she petted Victini's ears as he squealed with delight in her mane, making him easily forget all of the initial shock towards him.
"Tiiiiiiiini! Tini, tini!" he squealed delightfully, flailing about his limbs about before Pinkie proceeded to tickle his ears, eliciting more joyful noises from the victory pokemon "Tini! Tini! Tini!" he was practically crying tears of joy now, yet at the same time in between the petting and the tickling it was really therapeutic. He could feel his tense muscles ooze like melted butter as Pinkie continued to play with him.
"Awwww! He's so cute!" Fluttershy beamed, removing the air of incredulity that lingered behind her. She walked up to try and touch Victini, but upon noticing her he turned invisible and hid away in PInkie's mane again "Huh? What's wrong little fella? I'm not going to hurt you, honest" she tried to coax Victini to come out but her words did little to to achieve her goal.
"Don't worry , Fluttershy. He's a shy guy, remember?" said Pinkie
"But... what the heck is he?" Applejack asked "He certainly not a pony, and he ain't nothing like any rabbit I've ever seen"
"Yeah, plus he's got those weird looking butt wings" Rainbow Dash sharply remarked "How the heck does he even fly with those things anyway?"
Just then, Victini appeared from out of the blue right before Rainbow Dash with a stern expression on his face. He gave a glare to the pegasus that would've melted her right on the spot. He growled at her, swiped his hands around in the air and flashing his fangs in an intimidating manner in an attempt to make it clear he didn't like that whole butt wing insult and failing entirely to do so. When it comes down to it, Victini just ain't the type to scare someone witless on looks alone.
"Uh... what's he doing?" said Rainbow.
"I think he's angry at that you called his tails butt wings, Rainbow Dash" said Pinkie
"Pfft, look at the little guy. He thinks he can take me on" Rainbow Taunted with a smug looking grin on her face "What are you gonna do about it, shrimp? Slap me in the face with your butt wings? Or are you gonna hit me with those spaghetti limbs of yours?"
Almost as if on cue, Rainbow Dash was set alight by Victini who used a weakened and controlled flamethrower attack on her. She did not expect to see that she would be engulfed by flames, boy did that come out like a metaphorical slap to the face. Weak as it may have been, the fire still warmed the room up by a few dozen degrees and left Rainbow Dash blackened like an overcooked vegetable.
She could feel herself cough up nothing but ash before fainting to the ground, knocking off all of the soot on her body and leaving her clean as a whistle. Victini quickly shot the downed pegasus a look of success before flying back over to Pinkie again and digging himself into her mane once more.
"So... he can breathe fire... *cough* *cough* that's... cool" Rainbow stated rather raspily as she got back up on all fours "So he's some kind of... fire breathing rabbit or something?" she asked.
"Nope, he's not a rabbit at all, he's Victini!" Pinkie stated.
"We already know his name Pinkie" Twilight deadpanned "We're talking about what his species is. For all we know he could be what happens when a rabbit gets frisky with a fire breathing dragon on Hearts and Hooves day..."
"But that is his species!" Pinkie replied "His name is Victini, and he's a Victini! The only one of his kind in fact. Isn't that right little guy?" she petted Victini again.
"Tini, tini!" he agreed with her as he let out a curt purr of enjoyment.
"Wait, wait, wait... so let me get this straight" said Applejack as she scratched her head in confusion "You mean to tell us that Victini is a Victini name Victini, and is the only Victini in existence and there will probably never be another Victini for as long as we live" Victini turned to whisper into Pinkie ears, with Pinkie nodding every few seconds to let the others knew that she understood the pokemon.
"Mmhmm... uh huh... yuh huh... okay... alright... got it" Pinkie nodded understandingly before turning back to Applejack "He said that you're right except for the last part. He isn't really sure if there will be another one just like him or not in the future. That's something he thinks only this Arceus person can decide"
"Who? Wait, hold on, that's not important right now" said Twilight before shaking her head and maintaining her focus "Okay, so I know what it is now... sorta. But that doesn't exactly explain how he help you cheat at chess, does it?"
"I already told you Twilight, I did beat you on my own. Victini just helped me to gain victory"
"That's still cheating" Twilight deadpanned again.
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Twilight" Pinkie snickered "Listen, I don't know how he does it, heck he doesn't even know how he does it himself, but Victini can somehow give ponies, or anyone for that matters... well, victory" Pinkie replied with her hoof on her chin, speaking with an unsure tone to her voice "Does that make sense?"
"Wait a second..." Applejack began to put two and two together after hearing all of that. She had a gleam in her eye that one usually gets upon having a epiphany.
"What's the matter, Applejack" Rarity asked "It seems like you're onto something important"
"You said you met Victini in an alleyway during the bake off right?' Applejack stated "Wouldn't that would mean... *gasp!* he must've been using that freaky powers of his to help you to win, didn't he! Think about everyone, it all makes sense now"
"Actually, now that I think about it..." Rarity began to think "After those uncouth ruffians sabotage your stand you lost all confidence to win the contest. Then from seemingly out of the blue, you become the undisputed queen of culinary confections. I mean, look at what your cake did to the Princess!"
"But... how?" Applejack asked, her head was practically spinning form all of this nonsense. Magic was probably involved, that's why "He just handed victory to you, just like that?"
"He must've seen how Flim and Flam treated me and decided to help, like some sort of guardian. After that I found him eating my macaron and we became fast friends. And that's how we came to where we are today! The end" Pinkie concluded as she closed up and stowed away a storybook she got from out of nowhere "Yay! That was a neato story! Who wants to hear it again?"
"The only thing I want to hear is if he want to help me with my next stunt or not!" Rainbow exclaimed as he flew next to Victini, who only shied away from her deeper into Pinkie's mane. Without some much as a shred of consideration, Victini found himself violently yanked out of Pinkie's mane and he was being flown all over the bakery at dizzying speeds and shaken like a bottle of seasoning.
"Come on, Victini. Think about it! You, me, and the sky! But why stop there! If you help me out, I'll be a shoo in for the wonderbolts. There's no way I can lose, it's foolproof!" All of a sudden Victini bursted into tears and began crying. He fought to get out of Rainbow's grip before disappearing into thin air. Everyone stared at Rainbow, chastising her with their heated glares "What? Was it something I said?"
"Rainbow Dash, you made him cry!" Fluttershy scolded Rainbow Dash "Look at him... er, wherever he is right now that is..." she walked over to Pinkie's mane to try to sooth the pokemon of his pain, but he wasn't going to show up to just anyone now "Oh, please, please, I just want to help, Victini. Just show up for a sec, I'll show you I'm not a bad pony"
Pinkie tilted her head to her side as she felt an weak yank by her ear. Victini was whispering something again to her. After a few more seconds of whispering, Pinkie faced her friends again.
"Victini says that he's a little scared of you girls, he's afraid to show himself now" said Pinkie before another Victini whispered one last thing to her "Oh, and he's especially uncomfortable around Fluttershy. He said that there's something about her that makes him feel uneasy"
The last part completely crushed all Fluttershy's hope of ever getting close to Victini. She didn't understand why though. She was usually so good with animals. They usually just clicked with her and she showed no trouble ever bonding with them. She'd hope to do just the same with Victini, unfortunately that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon.
Now when she thought about it she wasn't exactly the most threatening pony around town. In fact everyone seems to know know her as the pony whose afraid of her own shadow. Although the whole episode of her life where she became a rather aggressive and unpleasing individual courtesy of one certain minotaur's self help seminars says otherwise, but that was ages ago. She just wanted to love the pokemon and for the pokemon to love her back, was that really too much to ask?
"But... why?" Fluttershy asked, nearing the brink of tears.
"Yeah, why?" everyone practically asked at the same time.
"Mmhmm... yeah... okay... gotcha..." Pinkie listened to Victini again "He says he could tell that you all want to use him for his powers only. He said he had a scary experience when someone wanted to use his powers to further their own goals, even if it was all in good intention"
"What? How absurd!" Rarity exclaimed, shocked at such an accusation "What makes you think we would do such a thing?"
"I'm pretty sure Rainbow Dash already stated her intentions very clearly... sooooo..." Pinkie drawled on.
"Okay, okay! I get it! B-but what about you?" Rainbow attempted to shift the blame "You got help from him for the bake off, and you got him to help you win a chess!"
"And are both of those about as crazy as earning a place in the Wonderbolts without working for it?" Pinkie sharply retorted, shutting up Rainbow almost instantly "I worked for weeks trying to win the bake off, and then a couple of big meanie pants had to go and mess it all up. Victini just helped me out like any good friend would. And are you seriously gonna make a big deal out of winning a chess game?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Fine, fine... look, we're all very, very sorry for behaving like a bunch of foals" said Twilight "But you can't expect us not to ask him for some help every now and then. He has this amazing ability that could be shared with Equestria! If we had his help we would never lose against the forces of evil ever again! And imagine what would happen if our enemies got him instead. Chaos would reign!"
"Sorry, but no is no" Pinkie put her hoof down "Besides, Victini has to willingly give you victory, so there is no other way to obtain without earning his favor"
"And what are you, his secretary on his powers or something?" Twilight ask "What makes you think you're qualified to watch over what is perhaps one the most powerful creature in all of Equestria?"
"Oh, I don't watch over him. But he does trust me" said Pinkie as Victini peeked ever so slightly out of her mane "He is free to do as he please. Who am I to say what he can and can't do?"
"But uh... what about small issues?" Applejack asked, hoping to turn the situation around "Look, we're not asking for him to save the world or anything. We just want to be friends, and friends help each other out, right? And I'm sure some of the folks around town would like to be friends with him too. Maybe he could even give them a push or two when it comes to chores, they'd really appreciate it. He could maybe help Granny Smith with her cooking, and maybe even Cheerilee down by the schoolhouse"
"Hmmm...." Pinkie rubbed her chin "What do you think, Victini?" she talked her to mane "Hmmm... I'm sure if it's my friends... are you sure though... today was just bad, that's all... mmhmm... don't worry, if anything happens, just come back to me and I'll sort everything out, okay..." she muttered some more under her breathe as the conversation between her and her mane went on for a few more minutes.
Her friends were in the background, eagerly awaiting the verdict of their friend's decision. They all arched their head forward, doing their best to see if they could catch little snippets of the conversation. Unfortunately they caught nothing except for a sore neck. Eventually, the talk ended and Pinkie turned around to give her friends the news.
"...Victini is willing to give you girls another chance" said Pinkie as a collection of sighs filled the room "BUT!" she quickly added "Be nice to him and don't take advantage of his powers. This is a Pinkie promise, alright? He is going to try and reveal himself more often and get to know the locals a bit better"
"But if he says anything to me about abuse of victory, then it's not me you're going to have to answer to..." she pointed to Victini who was poking his face out of her mane "You're going to have to answer to him" Victini then puffed out a small flame to further accentuate her point "Do we have an understanding?"
"Yes!" everyone cheered loudly.
"Alrighty then! How about we start the introduction all over again" said Pinkie "Everyone, you already know Victini..." Victini floated out of Pinkie's mane and approached the rest cautiously, but with enough confidence not to chicken out "Victini, I want you to say hi to all my friends! This is Fluttershy!" she pointed to Fluttershy "She's great with all animals, well, almost every animal" she nudged Victini.
"Hello there, Victini" she extended a hoof out which Victini shook hesitantly.
"This here is Rarity, she makes really great dresses!"
"A pleasure to meet such a cutie!" she petted the pokemon on the head as he squealed in delight.
"Over there is Rainbow Dash, she helps with the weather around here"
"Hiya! Sorry bout the swinging and shaking..." she rubbed the back of her head, but Victini accepted her apology. He did, however, waited for another apology as he glared at her "...And I'm sorry I called your tails butt wings..." Victini nodded in acknowledgement.
"The one in the hat is good ol' Applejack! She helps her family run Sweet Apple Acres"
"Nice to meetcha little feller" Victini smiled at her and pointed to her stetson "What's that? Ya wanna try on my hat? Well, shoot, why not" she took off her hat and placed it on Victini's head, only to have his massive ears get stuck in the way. Victini was wearing the hat, but it hung on him kind of like how a coat hangs lazily on a coathanger "Uh... I'm no fashion designer like Rare's over there, but you're more of scarf kinda feller"
"And last but not least is Twilight! She's the local librarian and an all powerful alicorn princess! Kinda like one of those space marerines in that one board game, I think it was called 'conflict mallet forty billion' or something"
"Hello, Victini. I'm Twilight, princess of Equestria and still a part time librarian apparently. It's nice to finally meet such a unique creature such as yourself" she shook Victini's hand, but he immediately pulled back when he felt some sort of aura of intent radiating off of her. He smiled weakly and flew back to Pinkie when he rested atop her head this time.
"Well, there you have it. That's all of my closest friends. Just wait until you meet all of the other pon-"
Before Pinkie could finish, the sound of a ringing bell echoed throughout the room, signaling that there was a customer in the bakery. Everyone turned their head around to see just who had entered and were greeted with the presence of no one... until they lowered their field of vision that it. On the floor was a little brown blur striped mole with a big nose and massive claws with a dopey expression on his face.
What was off about the mole was how big he was. He was around a foot tall and had an assort of random clothing and knick knacks all over him.
On his cheek was lipstick in a beaked shaped kiss mark. He had a tie around his neck and some kind of microphone on the side of his head, two items that Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity managed to identify. They belonged to Iron Will. Not only that, he also had a coupon in his claw for a free sofa and pack of quills down at Sofas and Quills and what appeared to be some kind of deed to a diamond mine out in the middle of Appleloosa. To top it all off, he was carrying a sack full of gold bars that all had the words property of Salvador Diego Montenegro Garcia Delarosa embossed on each and every single one.
"Drilbur?" the mole asked until he noticed Victini "Drilbur!" the mole exclaimed.
"Tini! Tini, tini!" Victini exclaimed as he flew over to his friend.
"Huh, whose that?" Rarity asked.
"Must be another one of his friends!" said Pinkie "You know what that means! It's time for introductions!"
Ugh, sorry. I'm still getting used to not adding princess every single time I address you. Anyway, I have most amazing news to share with you! I have made perhaps the most important discovery in the history of Equestria, well, technically Pinkie did but she'd rather play with said discovery rather than allow it to fulfill a greater purpose.
Anyway, Pinkie had befriended a new, never before seen creature with the most amazing powers! Not that I'm saying the moving the sun and moon aren't amazing, but what this, Victini, can do will make everything else look like a cheap magic trick in comparison. No offense.
Now get this, this creature has the powers to grant victory! Incredible, right? I don't know the exact specifics of how it can do all of these impossible feats, but I do intend to perform a full study on it and thoroughly examine its physiology, psychology, etc. to comprehend how it is capable of doing the things that it does. That is, if Pinkie or Victini would let me. I'm sure that I can convince them though, they trust me, so that shouldn't be an issue.
Perhaps the most important thing that I am trying to stress here as I am writing is that we absolutely need, NEED, to keep and influence this creature to join our side, the side of harmony that is. This valuable creature is far too carefree and possibly destructive to Equestria that we need to keep an eye on it.
I suggest that we have guards sent down here to secretly monitor its every movement on a twenty four hour basis to make sure that it doesn't do anything drastic if, I fear, a local resident of Ponyville were to put it in a bad mood. Did I mention that this creature can breathe fire? Well it can and I don't want to see Ponyville, or Equestria for that matter, charred and burnt to a crisp because of one ticked off little floating rabbit thing.
If you want to see the creature in person, you can always fly down to Ponyville and you can find it floating around town with its weird mole companion. Yes, it has a mole companion. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say to you for now. I hope you and you sister will consider my suggestion for the appropriate course of action in order for us to gain a trump card over the forces of evil.
Before I send off this letter I do have one final thing to say. I have this inkling fear creeping in the back of my head that a bit of Pinkie Pie might be rubbing off on the creature. I would very much like to hear your response very soon before pranks and party extravaganzas involving copious amounts of fire begin to pop up all over Ponyville.
Victini and Drilbur clumsily hobbled down the star lit streets of Ponyville as they slowly made their way back to their cozy little burrow of a home after a very long night of hardcore partying. In between diving headlong into the punchbowl with Gummy and the cake eating contest Pinkie brought up, the two finally decided that they had enough and went home to retire for the night.
Drilbur was still carrying around his spoils for the poker game he had unknowingly won earlier that same day, despite having absolutely no idea how to play or why he was even there in the first place. Only now he had a new pair of sequined shutter shades to add to his ever growing collection of knick knacks and various oddities. Victini also brought a little something extra home, namely a frilly pink polka dotted lampshade that was hanging lazily from his left ear.
After a brief walk in the brisk night, the two had finally reached their burrow where they stretched and unwinded any knots that may have built up in their muscles over the course of the day. Setting down their stuff onto the ever growing pile of collectibles, Victini and Drilbur soon sat down and began reminiscing about recent events like a duo of drunk elderly gentlemen.
“That was *Hic!* the best *Hic!* cake I’ve ever *Hic!* had...” Drilbur slurred as the encroaching sugar crash threatened to destroy his livelihood “We should *Hic!* hang out with Pinkie *Hic!* more often...”
“Yeah... we *Hic!* should...” said Victini keeling over and collapsing to the ground unconscious with a soft thud. The only sound coming from the sleeping rabbit was the light, cuddly snoring that he elicited as he drifted into the realm of sleep
“ Zzzzzz... tini, tini, tini, tini... Zzzzzz... tini, tini, tini, tini...” as he slept, Victini pawed his ears and scratched his nose. He shuffled and stirred about on the ground to find a comfortable position, shifting his body back and forth before smacking his lips and curling up into a cute little yellow and orange ball.
“Hey... buddy? You *Hic!* alright?” Drilbur prodded Victini, only to fall over backwards as well and letting sleep grab hold of him too “Huuuuh.... nightie... night...” with one final yawn, the mole curled up and let his fur keep him warm for the night.
Before long, Victini and Drilbur were fast asleep, undisturbed by the world as the faint chirping of crickets lulled them into a restful slumber. Their achy bodies soon were reinvigorated by morning’s light, but not before a familiar jingle snapped them back into the world of the conscious.
* * *
“Oh... my head...” Victini groaned as he slowly got up on his feet “Ugh... what happened last night?”
“I don’t remember much after we passed out eating all of that cake... but I feel like there’s a flock of Mandibuzz pecking the back of my head over and over again just for kicks...” Drilbur replied to the best of his abilities “Maybe we should’ve have done laps in the punch bowl...”
“I’m more surprised of the fact that our fur isn’t all sticky from that” Victini noted as he looked over himself. He sniffed himself, and the Drilbur, making sure to note the fact that they smelled like three different kinds of berries with just a hint of lime. While they smelled sweet and nice, it was a bit off putting given how intense the scent was. “Uh... maybe we should head back to the creek again, just to be sure”
“Anything to smell less like group of Slurpuff, buddy” Drilbur smiled as the two climbed out of their home and made their way back to the creek. Only this time, Victini chose to remain visible throughout the whole walk. It was a decision that he himself made with reassurance from PInkie. Hopefully, he doesn’t regret any of this.
* * *
Regret. It was definitely the feeling of regret that was stirring within Victini’s tiny stomach. A feeling of regret so palpable that even Drilbur felt sick to his core just standing next to him. The fact that they’re still suffering the effects of a sugar high crash and hangover didn’t do much for them either. He was starting to get the feeling that staying visible today was a bad idea.
Not five minutes after the two had left their home, the two pokemon had been immediately bombarded with questions, demands, and all manners of requests for his abilities by the local townsfolks. Was Pinkie Pie the one at fault? Quite the contrary in fact. If the blame is to fall upon anyone, it’ll probably belong to none other than Rarity herself.
Apparently this was one piece of information that she couldn’t help but gossip about. Technically, she wasn’t breaking her Pinkie promise so it should have been just harmless chattering. Or, at least at the time she thought it was harmless to openly speak about a magical fire breathing rabbit that can grant you the power to win at life.
Like a string of firecrackers on Chineighs New Year, the fuse was lit and the rest followed suit. One pony told two, two ponies told three, and so forth. Word of mouth in a small town like Ponyville spread like wildfire. Before noon that day, the whole town was hot on the heels of poor Victini.
“T- tini?” Victini said as he and Drilbur were being slowly backed into a brick wall.
“Please! Please! Please! Oh, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaase!” The trio of fillies infamously known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders pleaded to the poor rabbit. It was at times like these he cursed Arceus for giving him such big ears. The near screechy cries of the young’uns were starting to give him a migraine. He was even considering doing what Drilbur had done and burying his head into the ground like a Doduo.
“Please mister Victini, sir! I heard from my big sister that you can grant victory to ponies! Do you think you can help us get our cutie marks?” Sweetie Belle asked with a set of puppy dog eyes.
“Uh... Sweetie Belle? I don’t think we can get our cutie marks from victory alone. We have to earn them, remember?” said Scootaloo “Maybe he could help us with our tryouts for our cutie marks! I mean, I am getting kinda tired of being covered in tree sap each and every time we try something”
“So how about it mister Victini, sir? Do you think you can lend us a hoof on out tryouts?” Applebloom asked with a wide toothy grin.
Victini wasn’t having any of it. He turned invisible, yanked Drilbur out of the ground like a newborn Petilil and bolted from the scene into the sky as quickly as he could. As he looked down, his big blue eyes widened even further from witnessing the mob that was forming below him and Drilbur. He was panicking now and made a beeline straight for Pinkie in fear that he might get caught by the large mob.
But in the midst of his panic fueled escape, he’d failed to actually hear what the ponies were talking about...
“Everypony, look! It’s a bird!” an elderly mare yelled.
‘No! It’s a blimp!” Screw Loose shouted manically
“It’s not a blimp you dolt! How the heck is that suppose to be a blimp!? It’s a flying mole for pete sake!” a stallion shouted out in awe.
“It’s the end of the world! Hide your carrots!” A hysterical Carrot Top shrieked as she proceeded to board up her home and defend her precious stock of homegrown carrots. The only thing that could heard from miles around were the frantic sound of hammering nails and the sawing of wooden planks for the creation of a carrot stealing flying mole fallout shelter...
Pinkie Pie playfully fumbled with the bangs of her mane as she stoically worked the counter down at Sugarcube Corner. Today had been a very, very slow day. Slower than a tipped jar of week old molasses in fact. The influx of customer for the bakery has been, for a lack of a better term, far below satisfactory. How far you might ask? Far, as in, there hasn’t been a single customer ever since the bakery opened for business that day.
“Gee... slow day...” Pinkie said to herself, taking in the echoes of her words as they bounced around the light yellow walls of the semi empty Sugarcube Corner. Once her own echoes died down, silence filled the room again. Never before has silence ever sounded so... deafening.
She fidgeted in her seat, counted the tiles on the ceiling (sixty five and one twenty eighth tiles to be exact), fiddled with the cash register, and did just about everything else to curb her boredom. From balancing and sorting all the coins in the tip jar, to attempts of licking the back of her ear, she attempted to master the art of killing time all while finding out some talents that she didn’t even know she had in the first place.
But eventually, the list of things to do winded down and she was left with nothing to do. Her head drooped down slightly as boredom began to set in, but she jolted back up immediately right before her face touched the counter. This happened several times before Pinkie hopped out of her seat and walked over to the windows to see if anyone else was around.
Pressing her face up against the glass, Pinkie eyed her surroundings and gazed in bafflement at what she saw. Nothing. She saw nothing at all, save for a single tumbleweed that rolled right by her. The houses were all there, the fountain was running just fine, the trees danced side to side following the gentle lead of the wind, yet there wasn’t a single soul around for as far as she could see.
“Where is everypony?” she asked aloud as she scratched her head in confusion “Is there some sort of holiday that I wasn’t informed about?” she pouted as she fell to her haunches “I want to join in on the holiday too...” just as she started to mope, Carrot Cake walked into the room to find a bummed out Pinkie Pie. Taking a brief look around his store, and at Pinkie, he came to a sound conclusion.
“Pinkie, dear?” Carrot Cake asked.
“Yes, mister Cake?” Pinkie replied.
“Why don’t you take the day off?” he suggested with a smile that was about as warm and sweet as the pies and cakes that he baked “It looks like there aren’t a lot of customers today. Might as well close up early. Why don’t you meet up with your new friend, Victini? I’m sure the adorable little scamp would love to see you”
“Really? You mean it!” Pinkie exclaimed as she hopped back onto all fours.
“Well I’m sure you know as well as I do that Ponyville is looking a little barren around this side of town” he chuckled “A little time off would do some good for both of us. Cup Cake and I have been planning to visit the park with the twins these last few weeks. Maybe today shall be that day”
“Oh! Thank you, mister Cake!” Pinkie bounced around the room before giving Carrot Cake a hug that took the air right of him. She pulled back and gave him a sheepish look as precious oxygen returned to his lanky body “Heh heh. Sorry”
“It’s alright, Pinkie. Now go on, have some fun. The store will be fine” said Carrot as he patted Pinkie on the head.
“Whoo! Time to have some fun!” Pinkie shouted as she rushed up to her room in a pink blur and came back down with Gummy by her mane “Come on, Gummy! Let’s go see, Victini and Drilbur!”
She began trotting towards the door with a big smile on her face and Gummy on her backside. Just as she opened the door, the sound of a mole screaming in abject terror followed by the glaring mole shaped shadow cast upon the ground caused her gaze to shoot up to the sky. To her surprise, Drilbur was flying straight at her at mach three.
“Drilbuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuur!” the poor mole pokemon yelled as he crashed directly into Pinkie, causing both of them to toss and tumble upon the ground like a rag doll in a washing machine. Carrot Cake gasped at the sight of the accident and rushed out to see what all of the hubbub was about.
“Pinkie!” he shouted as he rushed after her. When they finally stopped, Pinkie attempted to regain her footing and shook off the stars that were dancing around her noggin. Beside was an unconscious Drilbur and a semi conscious Victini who began to phase back into visibility. Their eyes were swirling like something fierce, and they looked as if they had ran into some kind of terrifying monster.
“Whuah? Victini, Drilbur?” Pinkie asked in surprise.
“...Tini?” said Victini as he opened his eyes. As he did, a wave of relief and joy washed over him as he made his way back to his feet “Tini! Tini!” he exclaimed.
* * *
“Victini? Egads, chum! What happened to you?” Gummy asked as he hopped off Pinkie, never losing his signature expression as he approached the shaken rabbit who was practically soaked in his own sweat and tears.
“Oh! It was horrible! I tried showing myself and everyone started chasing me! They know, Gummy! I don’t know how but they all know what I can do!” cried Victini as he shuddered upon remembering the last few minutes of his day “A group of little ponies wouldn’t leave me or Drilbur alone no matter where we went! So I flew away with Dribur as fast as I could to get to Sugarcube Corner!”
“A group of little ponies... Oh! For the love of... were they in any way yellow, white, and orange?” Gummy asked.
“Yeah, how did you know?” Victini asked.
“Those three are siblings of my master’s friends, with the exception of the one called Scootaloo. It appears that causing trouble for others is a hereditary trait. One that both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom inherited” Gummy stated as a matter o’ factly.
“Huh?” Victini raised his eyebrow.
“Ah. It’s just something that I learned from reading reports of the human genome project back in our own world. Nothing to be mindful of. Except maybe for the issue at hand that is” said Gummy.
“I don’t think it’s safe to be out here! There’s a mob after us!” Victini shouted in exasperation.
“A mob? Surely you jest my good friend. I highly doubt that the citizens of Ponyville would go through such lengths just to get you to use your powers on them” just as Gummy finished, the ground beneath him shook and he and Victini found themselves shaking up and down uncontrollably from the tremor. Being part ground type, Gummy could feel movement within the earth itself and dictate the cause of the tremor.
He turned his head to face the general direction of the quake and found out that it was caused by a stampeding mob ( a mob without torches and pitchforks, thankfully) of ponies who all appeared to be resolute in finding Victini. He swallowed the large lump that was forming in his throat and turned back to face Victini.
“Then again, I have been wrong before” said Gummy “Hurry! Into the master’s mane! They’ll never find you there!”
“But what about Drilbur?” Victini asked as he pointed over to the sleeping mole.
“Here, hold on. Let me handle this” Gummy walked over to Drilbur and struck him across the face with a powerful mud slap, causing the mole to jolt up in surprise.
“Wah!” Drilbur yelled as he jumped up “Ow! What the heck was that for!?” Victini and Gummy grabbed Drilburs head and pointed it in the direction of the stampeding mob that was several meters away from them. His eyes shrank in terror and he began sweating bullets, fifty caliber hollow point bullets “Uh... we should definitely hide...”
* * *
“What is going on over there?” Carrot asked with a raise of his eyebrows.
“Gasp! They must be after Victini!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“But why? You told me no one other than your friends knew about what he could do” said Carrot Cake “But that doesn’t matter now, we have to hide these two somewhere safe”
“Way ahead of you, mister Cake!” Pinkie motioned for the pokemon to hop into her mane, much like Victini did the day before. Just like that, all three pokemon hopped onto her back and slipped into the wildly puffy mane of Pinkie’s and nestled into it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Surprising, it was very spacious and roomy in her mane, with plenty of leg room to spare.
* * *
“Wow, it is really roomy here” Drilbur noted as he sniffed around “Hmm... smells a whole lot like oran berries around here”
“Yeah. Her mane’s nice and soft too” Victini played around with Pinkie’s mane, gathering up a bundle and fluffing it like a great big ball of pink cotton “Heh heh, this is pretty neat. It’s like hugging a group of Whimsicott!”
“Indeed” said Gummy as he sat by the duo within Pinkie’s mane.
“It always boggles my mind how much my master’s mane appears to defy the laws of physics in terms of physical capacity and inherent fluffiness. But then again, it’s all part of what makes her so unique” he stuck his scaly claw into a part of Pinkie’s mane and pulled out a tea set, complete with crumpets and some freshly brewed earl grey tea “Would any of you care for some tea and crumpets?” he offered.
Victini and Drilbur nodded and partook into some fresh baked crumpets and some nice hot tea. As they munched onto the treat, a question came into light.
“Where did this come from?” Victini asked.
“I took it with me and placed it here when the master took me out to meet you two today. It’s from my own personal collection. Do you like it?” he asked as he sipped on his own tea.
“I love it” Drilbur said with a crumb filled smile “But has Pinkie every found out about this?”
“Whenever she washes her mane in the bathtub she is always confused about why she has a tea set in her mane” he chuckled “Although at one point she actually believed her mane contained a miniature black hole that produced infinite amounts of tea sets every time she took a bath. Little did she know it was just me trying to pass the time with a delectable beverage each and every time she brought me on an excursion with her”
“I see” Drilbur replied nonchalantly.
* * *
Pinkie’s head tilted drastically side to side due to the sudden amount of weight that offsetted her bodies natural balance. She wobbled a bit, and managed to stay balanced despite hiding three pokemon in her mane. It took a lot of leg strength, and some neck strength too, in order to remain steady in the face of the current situation.
“Phew, that’s better” Pinkie let out a sigh of relief and hobbled on over to Carrot Cake.
“Are you sure that you can hide those three in there?” he asked “How are we going keep them away from that mob without everything else knowing that we’re acting suspicious?”
“I’ve got that covered too” Pinkie stated as a matter o’ factly “Quick! Into Sugarcube Corner! Act natural!”
Without missing a beat, the two dashed away into the bakery and slammed the door behind them. As the large mob stampeded across town and towards Sugarcube Corner, they quickly swung the door and poured inside the bakery like a river from a bursted dam.
Upon entry, however, they were not greeted with the presence of the magical winning rabbit and his stoic mole companion. What they got instead was a bland image of Pinkie and the Cakes going through their every task normally. The only problem that the mob had with this particular image was that it was far too tamed for usual attitude of the bakery.
From the crowd, Rainbow Dash managed to squeeze her way past everyone in front of her and she landed right in front of Pinkie, who had a subtle smile plastered onto her face.
“Hello, Rainbow Dash. How can I help you today?” Pinkie asked plainly, receiving a couple of raised eyebrows from the mob as a direct result “May I interest you in today’s special? For every third purchase of a cupcake, you get the fourth one free of charge” she droned on like a preprogrammed android.
“Pinkie, just drop the act” Rainbow interjected bluntly “We all know that Victini is here. So do you think you could be a pal and do me a solid by letting him help me work out the kinks of my new super awesome stunt that’s guaranteed to get into the Wonderbolts, because that would be really swell” she stated as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Pinkie just glared a blazing glare at the polychromatic pegasus. She wasn’t liking where this conversation was heading at all. She simply looked the other way and let out a huff as she told Rainbow off.
“Victini isn’t here, you just missed him” Pinkie replied swiftly “Now, if you’re not going to buy anything Rainbow Dash, then I suggest that you leave. There are others that actually want to buy something you know”
“Actually...” a unicorn stallion chimed in from the back, causing every single set of eyes to be locked onto him “I have an order for a fruit tart that I’m here to pick up today. It’s my wife’s and I’s anniversary”
“Oh! I’ll be back in a jiffy!” ignoring everyone else, Pinkie zoomed into the kitchen in a pink blur and rushed back with a white cake box delicately balanced on her back “Here you go! Enjoy!”
“Gee, thanks!” the stallion paid Pinkie the appropriate amount of bits and was off on his way before everyone else knew it.
“Your welcome! Come again!” Pinkie chirped cheerfully before turning her attention back to the mob “Now, where were we?”
“You were about to let Victini help me sell apples on the market!” a voice shouted from the back. Applejack valiantly jumped onto the scene and with a surprising amount of grace andlanded right beside Pinkie, stumbling for a bit before regaining her balance. She turned to face Pinkie with a very confident look on her face “Y’all don’t have to do nothing. Just tell me where he is and I’ll do the rest”
“I already told you. Victini isn’t here” Pinkie replied once again “But If you can answer something for me, then maybe, just maybe, I’ll tell you about him” she bargained.
“Well, shoot. Fire away then”
“How did everyone else know about Victini?” Pinkie asked, plain and simple. The mob reeled back from the suddenness of the question “Come on, now. I was pretty sure I only told about five other ponies about him and his abilities. You wouldn’t happen to know about that now, would you, Applejack?”
“Uh... um... well, you see...” Applejack rubbed the back of her head nervously. She could feel the glare from Pinkie’s eyes boring into her forehead like a laser guided drill “I think I heard from somewhere that Caramel found out and began spreading it around...” just like that, everyone’s eyes turned to face Caramel, who shrank under the spotlight.
“Bu-but... I heard about that rabbit thingy from Hugh” the eyes shifted to Hugh Jelly, who was covered in what ponie presumed to be boysenberry jam.
“Uh uh, I heard about that thing from Nurse Redheart” the eyes shifted again.
“And I heard about it from the Mayor”
“I heard about the magic rabbit from Thunderlane”
“Flitter was the one who told me about that rabbit”
“When I was at the spa, I overheard Aloe and Lotus talking about some creature that can perform miracles”
“Und ve both heard about ze magical creature from Miss Rarity” then for one last time, every set of eyes darted on over to the snow white fashionista.
“And I heard it from... oh, wait. That’s right. I heard it from you, Pinkie. Heh, heh... oops” Rarity blushed with a sheepish looking grin “B-b-but it’s not like we broke the Pinkie promise or anything, right?”
“Do I have to make Rainbow Dash and Applejack repeat themselves?” Pinkie asked with a stern raise of her eyebrow “You all just want to use him for your own personal gain!” she pointed an accusing hoof “I thought I made it very clear to you girls that Victini was very shy and timid. How can you go around wanting to abuse him like that? Don’t you care about his feelings?” she asked.
“What’s the big deal?” Rainbow asked “All I want is for him to use that power of his on me, that’s all. No harm, no foul. He was the one who ran away, it wasn’t my fault at all” she defended.
“Was scaring the living daylights out of him none of your fault either, Rainbow?” Pinkie retorted harshly “When I found him he was crying his eyes out in terror, like Pumpkin Cake or Pound Cake when they met the doctors for the first time. He looked like he was about to disappear for good. Ugh, I sound like a broken record when I say this but you should all be ashamed of yourselves!”
“Hmph” PInkie frowned “I thought the ponies of Ponyville were better than this. But it seems that I was wrong... I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask all of you to leave...” she spoke in a neutral tone.
“Pinkie... pl-” Rarity spoke out, but was quickly cut off by Pinkie shooting another glare straight at her. Pinkie’s usual attitude was gone. In place of her bubbly personality was that of a protective mother bear defending her injured cub.
Her face softened again, but the look of pure admonishment evident in the aura she radiated warded off any foolhardy attempts to convince her otherwise to release Victini from out of her safe and puffy custody. Carrot Cake then barged into the room, shattering the stagnant silence that hung in the air like thick smog. His face showed that of disgust, his body language showed unease.
“We’re closed” he stated “Get out” behind him was his loving wife, who also shared the same disposition as her husband. With both the Cake twins nestled gently by her side, they too admonished the citizens of Ponyville, even at such a young age.
One by one, everyone left dejectedly. Disheartened by the fact that they all lost their quarry. The sound of the creaking and slamming of the door, followed by the jungle of the bell signaled that Sugarcube Corner was once again empty. Just like it had been earlier that same day.
* * *
“It’s alright everyone. You can come out now” Pinkie spoke glumly. Victini was the first to pop out from her soft mane, followed by Drilbur and Gummy the Sandile. They gathered around the bummed out pony, and did their best to sooth her of her foul mood.
“Tini? Tini, tini” the rabbit asked, his voice filled to the brim with concern.
“Dril, drilbur, dril!” said the mole pokemon, his voice carrying equal amounts of concern. Gummy, though quiet, snuggled his scaly self up to the master, and gave her a warm gentle hug.
“It’s alright. I’m fine, really” Pinkie replied to the best of her abilities while petting those comforting her “I just can’t believe that everypony sees you two as nothing more than prizes that can be won at the fair. I’m sorry you two. It looks like it might take a bit longer for you guys to get used to here. Until then, you should both be careful...” her mood got even worse. Worse to the point where her mane straighten itself out.
A clatter and a clunk could be heard emanating from the floor behind her. She turned around and cracked a little grin upon find out what it was that’s behind her.
“At least I know the black hole is still there...” she mumbled to herself. Now, in the quiet room, Pinkie, Victini, Drilbur, Gummy, and the Cakes move on to the back of the kitchen. Hoping to ease their minds and forget about today.
Yesterday had not been the greatest day for Victini and Drilbur during their stay in Equestria. If anything, it was a downright traumatic experience that had left both of them incredibly shakened, considering the fact that they were viciously hounded by a large mob of very expectant ponies.
Needless to say, whatever faith that Victini had in trying to reveal himself more often to the local populace fled just like every Abra that you would randomly encounter out in the wild. He probably would’ve been forced to live out the rest of his life as nothing more than a mere whisper of the wind. Always invisible and constantly paranoid of his surroundings.
Although, that would’ve been the case had it not been for a quaint heart to heart talk with the very understanding Carrot Cake. It may just have been a short drabble between the two about a stallion and his family, but it was the boost in confidence that Victini was desperately in of.
* * *
Sugarcube Corner, Yesterday
The light of the day’s sun slowly faded away as it settled below the horizon to allow passage for the moon, ushering another new night in Equestria. Victini and Drilbur had chosen to stay back at the bakery for the night as to avoid any leftover mob members that may remain outside. Thankfully, the Cakes were more than hospitable enough to let them stay.
Within the walls of Sugarcube Corner, the mood could be described as tired, or rather fatigued. The whole debacle earlier that day left them everyone drained as if they’d ran a triathlon with a baby grand piano strapped to their backs. In fact, the stress that Victini and Drilbur experienced made them completely forget that they could fly or dig their way back home to the burrow.
The Cake twins were already asleep in their cribs. gently snoring and fidgeting in place as they slept. Cup Cake had decided to retired to bed, and Pinkie Pie hopped right into her own without hesitation and drifted away in to the realm of sleep.
The rest of the other boys, however, had chosen to stay up in the kitchen for just a bit longer. Gummy and Drilbur watched vigilantly from the edge of the windows to make sure that no wannabe kidnapper would be brave enough (or stupid enough depending on where you stand on the whole pony versus legendary pokemon argument) to break in and run off with Victini in hoof.
Carrot Cake and Victini on the other hand were sitting together by the countertop while Carrot was desperately trying (and ultimately failing) to open a jar of gherkins. He cursed himself underneath his breath. All he wanted was a simple midnight snack. Why in the world were pickle jars always so hard to open?
All the while that Victini was watching Carrot Cake futilely attempt to open up a jar of tiny pickles, he began to reflect upon some of the things that he missed back in Eindoark Town, such as one particular cat pokemon. Purrloin, he thought. The very name made his little heart flutter and filled his stomach with a swarm of Beautifly.
Images of that devious cat flashed in his mind. Her sleek purple fur, those mesmerizing emerald eyes, and that smile that just makes Victini’s babble idiotically about incoherent gibberish whenever he sees it.
He began reminiscing of the time when he first met her back in the woods. He was just wandering around, looking for a berry to snack on when he saw her beautiful form majestically gliding through the trees above him.
Like a thief in the night, he watched in awe as she hopped branch from branch with skill and grace, each one a step closer to his heart until eventually she stole it from right out of his own chest cavity. Since then, he’s been trying to work up the courage to talk to her. Hopefully clearing up his situation here would help him in more places than one.
He sighed. Oh, how he would love to cuddle together with her; feeling her soft fur brush up against his own, staring deeply into her radiant emerald eyes, inhaling the sweet yet gentle scent of grass and roses from her body, and whispering sweet nothings to each other as if they were the only two pokemon that Arceus created in a void space.
He sighed again. Oh, how he would probably have to bury himself deep within the center of the earth underneath several layers of rocks and dirt if Drilbur ever found out how much of a hopeless romantic that he can be sometimes. The mole pokemon would never let him live it down for as long as he lived.
It was then that during Vicitni’s musing that he remembered something that he’d been meaning to ask since he and Drilbur decided to stay here.
“Tini, tini, tini?” he asked.
“Huh, what?” Carrot replied as he settled down the pickle jar “Oh! That. I am terribly sorry about that, Vicitni. I can assure you that we don’t usually get that crazy when somethi- on second thought, forget what I said. I am really sorry about what happened to you today though, and your friend” he apologized as he heaved out a long winded sigh.
“At least today wasn’t nearly as bad as the last time someone got greedy” he sniggered as he reminisced about the time little Spike got greedy, turned not so little, and began scooping up everything he deemed his own and stuffing it all into a water tower “Heh, the last time that happened... well, we certainly wouldn’t want a next time”
“Tini, tini, tini... tini, tini, tini?” Victini asked, though he did feel a pang of guilt in accusing Carrot and his family of something so shrewd.
“No, no. It’s alright. I can understand if you feel that way about us” said Carrot “I want you to know that you have nothing to worry about. You can trust me and my family with the same kind of trust you give Pinkie. You have my word on that you adorable little scamp, you”
“Tini?”
“Hmm? Why, you ask?” Carrot rubbed his chin as he pondered Victini’s question “Well, I guess it’s because I have everything I could already ask for right here. I don’t need the power of victory” he paused.
“Whenever I wake up, I am greeted with the presence of my loving wife and our beautiful children. I do what I love to do everyday and Sugarcube Corner stands as a testament to my hard work and achievements. In a way, you could say that... I’m already a winner” he concluded.
It was then and there that all of Victini’s fears faded away along with his anxiety. A brief moment of clarity allowed Victini to reassess his own doubts and made him see the big picture that was obscured by the fog of uncertainty. He shouldn’t automatically rule out every pony for being greedy towards him. There are those who are genuinely kind when they try to interact with him and Drilbur.
He suddenly felt his newfound confidence welled up from inside him like a great fire and he felt invigorated. And it was all thanks to the Carrot Cake.
“Phew, all this talk is making me hungry. Now if only I can get this dang thing open!” shouted Carrot as he attempted to try (and fail, once again) to open up the jar of gherkins.
Just when he was about to give up, Carrot felt a blast of energy surge throughout his body and the lid popped off without putting up much of a fight. He turned around and was surprised to see Victini glowing and was holding onto his tail. He smiled warmly and petted Victini upon his head before proceeding to snack on a delicious gherkin.
“Thank you, Victini” he replied.
* * *
A new day had begun in Ponyville, but Victini and Drilbur had to remain cautious of their surroundings now that their significance was made known to everyone. From within their burrow (which they managed to stealthily reach in the morning thanks to Drilbur remembering the fact that he could dig their way back home) they watched from afar and cringed as mares and stallions alike kept watch in case they spotted them.
Ponies left and right were going about their day as they would normally, only they kept one eye on what they were currently doing, and another on a determined lookout. It was scary, especially to the pokemon. However, the two were still determined to give Ponyville and its denizens a second chance. Though it may seem like a stretch, they really had nothing better to do.
For Victini, it was because he wanted to believe the town can be redeemed for his trust. He wasn’t the kind of pokemon to hold a grudge, nor was he scornful of things. If anything, he didn’t have a single hate filled bone in his entire body. He just wanted to help others, it was in his timid nature. That, and some peace of mind of course.
And for Drilbur, well, Victini did most of the convincing but he really just wanted to do his own thing alongside his rabbit buddy. Equestria had been an adventure for him. There may be more in store the two if they stayed.
The first order on their agenda, help out someone they knew that could care less about their abilities and attempt to work their way up that ladder. Hopefully, it would all pay off in the long run.
As they glanced around, they came to the conclusion that town, might not be the best place to be right now. There were too many ponies around, they were going to have to start smaller. Far to the other end off the corner of their eyes they spotted a little farmhouse. They didn’t know who it belonged to but it might be a great start.
Victini chose to fly invisibly while Drilbur decided to dig underground. Together, they made their way to the farm without being spotted. When they finally arrived, they were greeted with the calm imagery of a big red farmhouse, acres upon acres of apple trees sprouting out from the soil, and a big red stallion that they know didn’t chase them halfway across town.
“He looks like a cool guy. Plus he wasn’t a part of the mob that chased us” said Drilbur as he popped his head up from underground “You should go talk to him. Maybe he can help us get everything all straighten out” he suggested.
“That sounds like a great idea, but... what should I even say?” Victini asked.
“Just say what comes to mind” said Drilbur “That, or just start with some small talk. Either way, just know that I got your back. You can definitely count on me, no proble- hey, that looks interesting!” without saying another word Drilbur popped up and started running towards the direction of the apple trees “See you in a few buddy!”
With Drilbur gone, Vicini just sighed and rolled his eyes. He shrugged his friends short attention span off and began to contemplated his next action. Small talk was a great way to start up a conversation, Drilbur was on point about that. So that was just what he was gonna do. Victini took off and and flew right beside the red stallion, landing right beside him on a white fencepost but kept a few feet between them for good measure.
The stallion in question was red, much like the apples around him. He had an orange mane and wore a yoke around his neck while chewing on a sprig of wheat. He was a well built specimen, with rippling muscles and a hulking frame that looked as if they could stopped a runaway train.
His expression betrayed his physique however. His face was incredibly passive, almost calm to the point where he looked as though he was in a state of deep thought. Quite the odd combination if Victini had anything to say about it.
The stallion was simply resting his side up against the fence, wiping the sweat off his face every now and then. He’d probably just finished a boatload of work around the farm, hence his soaked coat.
He was muttering something beneath his breath, something about a hypothesis on theoretical physics or something that Victini remembered Gummy talking about. Whatever he was muttering didn’t particularly matter now, he had to try and break the ice with him. Lowering his invisibility, he came into full view right beside the stallion.
It took only a few seconds for the stallion to register Victini, but when he did, he jumped and nearly fell flat on his bum. He almost fell over, however, Victini glowed blue and used his psychokinetic abilities to prevent all of that from happening. With a flick of his fingers, the stallion was back to standing on all fours where the two stared at each other uncomfortably.
Seconds passed, and Victini rubbed the back of his head. The two just stood beside each other, watching each other, waiting for the other to do something so that they may respond in turn. Victini decided to go first and cleared his throat to speak.
* * *
“Hmm... Tini, tini, tini?” said Victini with a nervous smile on his face. The stallion blinked and narrowed his green eyes on him. He then resumed his neutral expression and responded.
“Eeyup” said the stallion “Nice weather alright. Say, aintcha that magical winning rabbit my sis been hounding me bout since yesterday?” he asked with a raise of his eyebrow.
“Tini...” Victini replied hesitantly. This was it, the moment that would make it, or break it for him. He awaited for the stallion to try something funny, but instead, he extended his hoof out in friendship.
“Name’s Big Mac. Nice to finally meetcha” Victini went and shook his hoof. Seeing that he meant no harm to him, he could feel a great weight taken off of his shoulders “I heard all bout ya from my sis. Her name’s Applejack, have ya meet her yet?” he asked. Victini shuddered upon remembering the mare with the hat. She seemed adamant in using him, almost as much as the rainbow one. But he can trust Big Mac. He doesn’t give off that uneasy vibe that the others do.
“Ah, that. Don’t fret none” said Big Mac “She just has the best interest in mind, even though she does go overboard with them from time to time. But that’s mah sis fer ya. I’m sorry if she caused trouble yesterday. How’s bout I make it up for ya?” he offered.
“Tini?” Victini asked.
“I’m talking bout introducing ya to mah Granny Smith and her famous apple pie of course” said Big Mac with a grin “Come on, I’m sure you’ll love her, and the pie. She’s a sweet ol’ lady, she’d love to meet someone like you. Just be careful when she goes for yer cheeks, ya might not feel em fer a while” he motioned for Victini to follow him into the house.
“You seem like a nice critter, don’t know why ponies are getting all bent outta shape over ya. It seems like they’re making mountains outta molehills, I’ll tell ya what” he chuckled “I don’t care if you can let people win or not. You’re just a shy guy like me so we can kinda relate to each other” he chuckled again. Victini chuckled alongside him. Big Mac was right. The two were birds of the same flock.
“Tini, tini, tini!” Victini cried happily as he flashed Big Mac the V with his fingers. He was definitely someone who he and Drilbur could trust “Tini, tini, tini!”
“Ha ha, you and me both, friend” said Big Mac with a smile “Huh, this looks like the start of a beautiful friendship...” he trailed off.
But little did they know that while they casually chatting amongst themselves, the tip of a stetson and the top of a red bow could be seen poking out from a nearby bush. The sound of rustling and whispers that were just out of earshot for the two new friends emanated from the bush.
It was none other than Applejack and her younger sister Applebloom who were hiding in the bush. In their hooves was a length of string, a ruby red apple, a small cardboard box with holes punched into it, and a wooden stick. For what they were going to do with these items, well, just take a wild guess. You might just catch the answer.
Applejack and Applebloom peered from their hiding spot behind a nearby patch of shrubs that grew by their home. They made sure to remain inconspicuous as to not get caught by their older brother or Victini. It was out of pure luck that nobody noticed their hat and bow sticking out from the top of the shrubs.
Whether or not they knew about their poor stealth abilities didn't particularly matter at the moment. What did matter was trying to sway Victini into granting them victory on their business selling apples, and for Applebloom, gaining her cutie mark once and for all.
In their hooves was an odd assortment of random stuff. There was a small cardboard box with several small holes punched into it, a length of thin string, a shiny red apple, and a wooden stick. With these items, they intended to make a simple trap. The kind where you place a bait underneath a container held up precariously on one side by a stick with a string attached to it. You know, the kind that almost never works in cartoons?
There was a major rift in the trust that Victini held to most ponies now, and that made trying to convince him to help them out all the more difficult. The answer? Bribe him into helping them. Trust can be bought. It may be a dirty tactic, and though it may go against Applejack's morals, this was now Apple family business. And business in selling apples and apple products was their livelihood. Getting their hooves a little dirty was a small price to pay for greatly improved sales, which have been lacking as of late.
So what was the harebrained scheme that Applebloom managed to convince her older sister to help her with then? Well, it was simple, really. So simple in fact that it only requires four easy steps to follow. Written on a sheet of line paper was her guaranteed method of earning herself a cutie mark. It was as written:
* * *
Step 1: Lure Victini into the trap with the apple
Step 2: Pull string
Step 3: Catch Victini
Step 4: Get cutie mark in animal trapping
* * *
“Uh... Applebloom?” Applejack asked her younger sister.
“Yes, sis?” Applebloom replied.
“You do know what animal trappers do for a living... right?” She asked with concern laced in her voice.
“Pssshyeah. They just catch animals for pets, right?” Applebloom replied with the kind of innocence that a young filly could have.
Applejack rolled her eyes and sighed before whispering the dark truth into her sister’s ears. As Applejack spoke, Applebloom’s expression subtly changed from enthusiastic, to shocked, then to downright disgusted. With her yellow face turned a baby barf green, she reached for her plan sheet and rewrote step four. She looked over her four step plan again. It now read:
* * *
Step 1: Lure Victini into the trap with the apple
Step 2: Pull string
Step 3: Catch Victini
Step 4: Get cutie mark in animal trapping
Step 4: Get cutie mark in making four step plans
* * *
“That sounds like a pretty cool talent. Solving things in only four easy steps” said Applebloom “What do you think, Applejack?”
“I think we should just hurry and get this here trap built so we can try to talk to the rabbit” said Applejack as she began to set up the box. Applebloom pouted, she thought it was a cool talent. But regardless of what her sister thought, she began to help out her sister set up the trap. Think about that for a second. Applebloom, a member of the cutie mark crusaders, building a trap meant for a legendary pokemon.
When they were done building the trap, the two siblings stood back and stared at their creation. It was not at all the that they had imagined it to be. They wanted to create a simple box trap, but instead, they accidentally created a snare trap, and not a very good one either. The loose string hung slack on the ground, the stick was snapped in two, and the box and apple were just resting lazily to the side.
“Huh? That’s not right” Applejack scratched her head “Did we do something wrong?” she asked.
“I dunno” Applebloom looked over the instructions, which she also made herself “It’s not like my drawing at all” she scratched her head in confusion “Maybe we used the box the wrong way”
“Lemme see that” Applejack snatch the instructions away from her sister. She looked over the instructions and face hoofed herself. The drawing of the box trap was, suffice to say, horrible. It was nothing more than a collection of scribbles and lines that vaguely resembles box trap. Still, that’s only assuming if you’re reading the instruction upright, and not upside down.
”Applebloom, did you draw this?” she asked in which her sister replied with a nod. She face hoofed herself again “Sugarcube, just go down to Twilight’s place and borrow a book on how to make one. It would save us a whole lot of trouble...”
* * *
Victini blushed and chirped happily as he was fed a spoonful of apple pie from the wobbly forelegs of Granny Smith. The sweet, cinnamon taste of the apples conjoined with the rich, flaky texture of the pie crust made him joyfully flutter around the Granny Smith like a sugar infused helicopter. He flew about in a state of pure ecstasy and euphoria, twirling and spinning with such fervor.
Sparks and tiny bits of floating embers sprinkled off his fur as his body began to radiate a gentle warmth. He flew right by Granny Smith, flashed her the victory symbol as a sign of his trust, and then proceeded to smooch the ever loving stuffing out of the elderly mare.
“Tini, tini, tini, tini, tini, tini, tini, tini!” he chirped with each peck on Granny’s cheek.
“Eh heh heh heh ha ha ha!” Granny laughed as the little rabbit continued his display of affection “Heh heh! Easy there young’un! Well aintcha one of the most adorable little critter I’ve ever seen this side of the farm!” she exclaimed as she brought Victini in for a hug and scratched the sides of his ears “My, you remind me of Big Mac back when he was just a little tike, so tiny and full of energy!”
“Granny...” Big Mac interjected with a light blush appearing on his red face.
“Oh, you know I’m only fooling around” said Granny Smith with a warm smile “But you know what I’m saying is true” she chuckled. She then turned to face Victini “So ya little victorious whippersnapper, what brings someone as cute as you to the Apple family’s humble abode” she asked.
“I believe he’s just here for a visit, Granny” said Big Mac “His name’s Victini from what he’s told me. He’s new round here and wanted to get to know Ponyville a bit better”
“Well then, Victini. Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!” she announced. “Home to over three generations of the Apple family and to some of the best apples that you’ll ever eat! But I guess you already knew that, didn’t ya?” Victini nodded vigorously in agreement after tasting that pie. However, it’s still a close second to the dessert on his number one spot: the macaron.
“Tini, tini!” Victini exclaimed.
“Well, then. You already met my grandson, Big Mac. How’s about I introduce you to my granddaughters, Applejack and Applebloom!” Victini visibly paled. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates upon mention of those two and he shook his head side to side “Eh? You don’t want to meet them? Why’s that?” she asked.
“Tini, tini, tini! Tini, tini! Tini...tini...” Victini shuddered upon finishing.
“Shoot, that explains why Applejack and Applebloom were all wound up about something yesterday” said Granny with a chuckle “That something must've been you, wasn’t it?” Victini nodded “Ah, don’t fret none. I’m sure that I can convince them to leave ya alone, or at least stop bothering ya about that fancy schmancy winning whatchamacallit of yers”
“Tini! Tini, tini!” Victini exclaimed happily before assaulting Granny Smith again with another torrent of heart felt kisses “Tini! Tini!”
“Eh heh heh heh ha! That tickles!” Granny exclaimed as she pulled away from Victini “From here on out, you can consider yerself an honorary member of the Apple family, yessiree! If you got a problem, you can always talk it out with us” she scratched Victini behind his ear again.
Victini purred like a Purrloin as his ears were being scratched. He didn’t know how, but everyone somehow just knew how to scratch his ears in the right spot. He felt at ease, like whenever he was with Pinkie and the Cakes. It was a nice feeling, knowing that there truly were others who liked and respected him for who he was, and not because of what he can do.
“Alright little buddy, now that you’ve met mah granny, how’s bout I show you the rest of the farm?” Big Mac offered. Victini smiled and flew over to Big Mac where he rested himself on the big red stallion’s back. Together the two exited the house but not before excusing themselves from Granny Smith and walking out into the orchard where they were came upon Applejack and Applebloom wrestling a runaway cardboard box.
“What in blazes?” Big Mac asked as he watched his sisters fervently chase around the cardboard box.
“Applebloom! Come on! Try to cut him off!” Applejack shouted, not noticing that her older brother was watching from the sidelines “We got him on the ropes!”
“I’m trying, sis!” Applebloom shouted back “He’s just too fast!”
“Drilbuuuuuuuuur!” a certain mole shouted in terror from under the box he was trapped in.
“Uh....” Big Mac drawled on. He turned over to face Victini who wore the same expression of shock and surprise as he was “Say, little buddy. You wouldn’t happen to have a clue of what’s going on, do you?” he asked. Victini shook his head, and the two just continued to stare at the scene before them until they either got bored of it or until Applejack, Applebloom, and Drilbur tired themselves out.
“Tini, tini, tini?” Victini asked.
“Nah, how’s bout I get us both some apple cider and we’ll see where this goes” Victini shrugged as to say “sure, why not” and both left to go into the house where they would find some liquid refreshment for the show. It was going to be some quality guy time for the two of them.
Drilbur had the thought capacity of an acorn sometimes, but not just any regular acorn, it was an acorn that had been vigorously chewed and nibbled on by a collective of starving Raticates. Sure, Victini would trust the mole with his life if he were ever in danger considering the bond of friendship that they shared. But it was times like these that made him wonder how he was ever going to hook up with Infernape.
Unless the fiery fighter had a thing for dopey ground types, Victini would have to take an educated guess that the odds of Drilbur ever making Infernape his mate were slim to none. Regardless of the situation, however, this was not about Victini. He was still inside the Apple’s farmhouse chatting it up with the members of the family that he didn’t have a glaring lack of trust for.
Out in the vast apple orchards that were the very livelihood of Sweet Apple Acres, Drilbur wandered around as the verdant trees filled with ruby red apples peaked his rural interest. With an expression that was a mix of wonder and curiosity, he failed to take notice of a large rabbit hole that was present near the base of the largest and oldest tree in the orchard.
He stared up towards the branches of the trees to marvel the beauty nature had to offer and as fate would dictate it, he stubbed his toe upon a nearby root and tripped. Losing his balance entirely, the poor mole was left tumbling forward at a blinding speed, bouncing on and off the dirt until he rocketed through the air and landed right into the mysterious hole..
* * *
As if it were straight out from the memorable unlit screen of a gameboy color, Drilbur ricocheted off one underground tunnel to the next almost as if he was trapped in a pinball machine. His world was spinning faster than a Hitmontop and he soon turned green from the nauseating speed and random jolts in several different direction. It was like the tear in the dimensions all over again.
Eventually, it had to stop. His solace came in the form of a bright light, followed by the force of being slammed directly into the trunk of another tree. A group of tiny Cleffa danced around Drilbur’s noggin as his senses were jumping all over the place. He shook his head to clear his head, but only succeeded in making his headache even worse.
The world in his eyes was split into threes. Slowly, but surely, his vision returned to normal and he was greeted with the image of a dark yet grandiose forest. This forest was surprisingly colorful, with a range of vibrant hues and shades cascading the area like a beautiful painting. Just when his headache was about to settle down, a bump pushed him forward and he got a faceful of dirt.
“Hey!” Drilbur shouted as he got up “Who did that” he turned to face the culprit, only to let out a gasp as to who it was “Victini?” though he could swear that it was Victini standing in front of him, he looked a little... different to say the least.
For starters, his fur wasn’t cream colored. Rather it was a coat of pure snow white, something that contrasted to the fact that he was fire pokemon. His ears, hands and feet were still a bright fiery orange though. In addition to all that, he was wearing a pretty fancy suit, complete with a frilly collar and gripped a pocket watch that looked far too big to fit in his hands.
“Hey, buddy. You’re shiny! And where’d you get that awesome suit from?” he asked. But Victini wasn’t listening to him. He was too busy pacing around all nervous like, checking the time on his pocket watch frantically as if his life counted on it.
“Oh, dear! Oh, dear! We’re late, Drilbur! We’re late!” he cried, much to Drilbur’s confusion “How can we be this late? We’re usually so punctual!”
“Wuah? Late? Late for what?” Drilbur asked but his answer came in the form of having his claws tugged on and pulled across the forest by Victini.
“Come on! Come on! We’re going to be late!” Victini shouted as he flew with Drilbur in tow. Drilbur could do or say nothing as his motion sickness kicked in again. However, in spite of all the motion, he could make out the forest in all its entirety.
The trees surround the area reached as far up as the dark skies permitted. Several bird pokemon laid perched on each branch that the two past, but they were all different just like VIctini. The Taillow living there had pencils for heads, and the Pidoves were all shaped like ball horns. The Starly had mirrors for faces and the Fearrow became a set of walking eyeglasses.
Other than that, there were also a bizarre group of sentient keys that jingled fiercely at him. Drilbur’s eyes widened past his sockets. He was beginning to wig out.
“Come on! We’re almost there!” Victini shouted from in front.
“Almost where?” Drilbur asked, only to soon get his face smacked by an outstretched branch. He felt his grip on Victini’s hand loosen and he found himself falling down into the dark forest. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he fell, awaiting for contact with the cold hard ground again. It never came. What he did felt though was the feeling of being splatted onto a small yet sweet smelling lake.
* * *
After experiencing that, Drilbur can now say without a shadow of doubt to everyone he knew that water was not, in every sense of word, soft. Surface tension, gravity and science have made a terrible new enemy this day in the form of Drilbur now. He lapped his lips as he laid unmoving atop the surface of the lake. It tasted... sweet, and comforting at the same time. All the aches he felt were going away as he drank up the water from the lake.
“Ho, now! What’s going on here!?” a voice shouted “I don’t remember it being anyone’s unbirthday today! Oh, ho!”
“Well it’s always someone else’s unbirthday today” another voice replied “There’s only one birthday but over three hundred and sixty four unbirthdays in a year!”
Drilbur pulled his weary self out of the and tried to locate the source of the sound. As he did, he took notice to the fact that he wasn’t in a lake at all, it was a gigantic teacup. And the water that he was drinking was actually tea. Camomille to be exact.
To his left was a Zoroark who, like Victini before him, was dressed up perhaps the most ridiculous suits that he had ever seen. The crazy hat that he wore was perhaps the only thing that tied together the whole attire.
To his right was a Buneary who was in the same boat as the Zoroark was when it came to fashion. But the one thing that separated this Buneary from the rest was how his eyes were looking in about two different directions at all times. Never really focusing on one thing at a time.
“Well, hello there!” the Buneary greeted as he yanked Drilbur out from the teacup and onto a plush seat “I’m the March Hare! Care for a spot of tea?” he asked as he pulled out a tower of teacups that was teetering back and forth with an itty bitty teapot that carried more tea than it should. Drilbur opened his mouth to speak was stopped when he was pull over to Zoroark’s side.
“Don’t be rude, Buneary” the illusion pokemon smiled “I’ve yet to introduce myself to this gentlepokemon. You can call me The Hatter!” he shook Drilbur’s claws vigorously, shaking the poor mole up and down on his seat “Please! Please! Sit down and enjoy a spot of tea with the three of us!”
“T-three?” said Drilbur as he counted only two pokemon. Just then, one of the teapots exploded and out shot a tiny Dedenne who was held afloat by an equally tiny umbrella in a loud and flashy display of fireworks. The Dedenne wore an amazingly tiny suit that fitted just perfectly and looked like he had a few to much to drink.
“Twinkle... twinkle little Zubat... how I wonder where you’re at” the Pichu slurred “Up above... the world you fly... like a tea tray in the sky...”
“Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!” Zoroark and Buneary wildly cheered at the magnificent performance as Drilibur’s sanity was slowly being picked at by this place “How remarkable! Always so splendid to be graced with a song from a friend Dormouse!”
“U-uh... guys? This is n-nice and all but I really need to find my friend” Drilbur stuttered nervously. Zoroark, Buneary, and Dedenne turned to face Drilbur each with a smile on their face.
“Of course!, Of course!” said Buneary as he grabbed onto Drilbur’s right arm “We mustn't keep you from meeting with your dear friend, Victini, now should we. Hmm, Hatter?”
“Positively, old chum!” the Zoroark replied back as he grabbed onto Drilbur’s left arm “Before you leave, we might as well give you your unbirthday present”
“M-my what? Wait, how do you know abo-” Drilbur asked fearfully but was interrupted as he was being hauled towards the edge of the woods.
“Why, your unbirthday present of course!” the two announced fervently while ignoring everything that he’s been saying. They heaved Drilbur back, readying something that put the poor mole’s nerves on edge “It’s been a great unbirthday party and with you being the guest of honor it was all the more merrier!”
“Uh... guys? What are you doing? G-guys... stop that... s-stop! Wait! WAIT! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Drilbur cried out in despair as he was chucked across the sky like a baseball.
“Happy unbirthday, Drilbur! We really must meet again!” the trio of pokemon waved the mole off as he strode his way into the sky, past the sunset and into the hearts of children everywhere. Just kidding. He landed flat on his face near a garden surround by a group of Roserades and card carrying Bisharps...
So I reorganized my chapter layout for neatness so that you guys don't get confused with random chapters in between the main adventure and Drilbur's shenanigans. Enjoy. Oh, and also...
The Great One Does Not Tolerate Heresy!
The Great One Shall Smite All Chaos!
The Helix and Dome may rule Kanto. But The Great One is a god in two dimensions. That Is All
Victini sat comfortably perched atop Big Mac’s head as the two enjoyed each other’s company, a nice cold pint of some hard apple cider, and the overwhelmingly entertaining sight of watching Big Mac’s younger siblings chase around a terrified Drilbur with a cardboard box over his head.
The two watched with silent amusement from the cool shade of the porch as Drilbur ran, hopped, rolled, zigzagged and outmaneuvered his way out of the Apple sisters reach every single time they got close to him even though he couldn’t see a single thing. They laughed dryly with a slur in their voices as this display of hilarity continued for another half hour. The cider that they were drinking was slowly starting to get to them.
“Tini” said Victini as he took a sip of cider from a little shot glass that was filled to the brim with ice cold, frothy apple cider. It was his third shot of cider, but given his relative size in conjunction with the size of the shot glass it might as well be considered his third glass. His eyes were half lidded, his mouth seemed to be stuck with a permanent smirk, and he couldn’t stop tilting back and forth as the alcoholic beverage flooded into his systems.
“Eeyup” Big Mac spoke with a light haze twinkling in his eye. He was on only his second mug, as in a regular mug, and was starting to feel a little tipsy himself. The usually stoic stallion of the family could feel his eyesight slip ever so slightly yet he maintained his integrity
“ *Sip* Tini”
“ *Sip* Eeyup-yup-yup!”
“ *Sip* Tini”
“ *Sip* Eeyup”
“ *Sip* Tini”
“ *Sip* Eh heh heh heh... Eeyup”
Without even the slightest warning, a loud thwack sound could be heard from beside them, snapping the two newly formed buddies from out of their drunken reverie and towards the source of the noise.
When their eyes finally reached the direction of the sound, they broke out into a jovial bout of pure unmitigated laughter and collapsed to the floorboards with his hands and hoofs held close to their sides. Tears were streaming down their cheeks as they gasped for air with each breath that they took. Luckily for them they were masters of their own bladders so no accidents needed to be cleaned up on the porch.
Applejack and Applebloom had just attempted pounce on Drilbur both at the same time in an attempt to catch the runaway mole. Instead, they slammed directly into each other, leaving them dazed and seeing stars floating around their heads as a result. At this, Drilbur kept running and running until he ran onto the side of the porch itself, effectively knocking the box right off of him and giving him vision once more.
Drilbur fell onto his bum with one claw held close to his chest and felt the beating of his heart which was racing at about eighty eight miles an hour. The mole’s fur was all shaggy and matted from the sweat of running, and his eyes looked like they were going to pop right out of their sockets. His tongue was left hanging off the corner of his mouth, he panted heavily to alleviate all the heat that was building up in his little body.
“ *Pant* *Pant* *Pant* Oh, Arceus. I thought I was going to be eaten by that box” Drilbur fell onto his back and sighed “Victini... where are you buddy... I need ya...”
“Looking *Hic!* for me?” Victini popped up from the side with his head resting in the palms of his hands as he smiled a long smile “Hey! How are ya *Hic!* doing... did ya enjoy your little trip around the *Hic!* farm? He he he he he he...”
“Oh, you would not believe the day that I had...” Drilbur shut his eyes to recall the strange events that haunted him earlier today. He shuddered and just pretended that it all didn’t happen to him “All I can say is that you look great in a suit buddy. Speaking of which we should find you one later...”
“...Has anyone ever told you that your stripes are really, really, reeeeeeally blue?” Victini spoke, acting completely oblivious to everything that Drilbur had just said. Drilbur looked up from his spot and raised an eyebrow at Victini.
“You okay buddy?”
“Me? I feel *Hic!* terrific!” Victini exclaimed with glee as sparks of fire permeated off his little body “And it’s all thanks to this magical *Hic!* drink!” he pulled out his shot glass and took another swig from it “ *Belch!* Oh, yeah... I never felt so *Hic! enlightened in all my life!”
“Whoa, easy there buddy” said Drilbur as he sniffed the glass “I recognise this stuff. The humans used to drink it back home. It made them a little crazy if they had too much”
“Really? But I *Hic!* feel great!” Victini threw his hands up in the air and danced around “Whee!”
“Yeah, but I once knew this Minccino who knew this Liligant who was friends with this Garbodor who was haunted by this Chandelure who was also haunted by this Dusknoir whose mate was a Frostlass whose second cousin twice removed was a Banette who has a crush on Mismagius who always had a picnic with Stoutland who was the father of this Mienfoo whose mom was a Mienshao who knew a human that lost it after drinking that funky stuff. It’ll rot your brain, Victini”
“Well, when you put it that way...” Victini tried to finish his sentence but was rudely cut off when he was grabbed from behind and yanked up to eye level with a very exasperated mare. Looking at him dead in the eye was Applejack who was covered in dirt, cuts, bruises, and something that probably came from the backside of their cow neighbors “Oh! Hello there *Hic!* miss Applejack! How are you this *Hic!* fine day?”
“Victini! I’ll save y-” Drilbur was going to spring into action but a cramp on his legs caused his to remain grounded and straddled with fatigue “Ah... hold on and let me... catch my breathe first... be there real quick” his muscles refused to move due to the intense pain of a workout. Lactic acid made each little twitch on his body feel like a concentrated firestorm. He was going to have to sit this one out for now.
“Aha! I finally gotcha ya sneaky little varmint!” Applejack shouted in light of her success “Good work tricking Victini Big Bro. Just leave the rest to me” she turned to face Victini who was smiling and waving his hand at her
“Applejack!” Big Mac shouted from behind as he wore a serious visage on his face “What do you think you’re doing t-”
“Big Mac, please” Applebloom, who had finally recovered from bumping into Applejack, quickly butted in and raised a hoof to her older brother “You’ve already done enough, just let me and sis handle this” BIg Mac just frowned at his siblings, it was ludicrous in how they acted to Victini “Just you watch, I’ll have my cutie mark and you can see that arrow on our business poster go up!”
“Bu-” he tried talking again but got shushed by Applebloom, much to his annoyance “Fine. But if everything you’ve told me so far is true, then I don’t have to do anything to make you see that what you’re doing is wrong”
“Psshh, you worry too much” Applebloom brushed off her brother’s negativity “It’ll all work out, you’ll see. In the end, everyone wins”
“Except for Victini” Big Mac sharply retorted.
“What? He’s just a magic rabbit” Applebloom replied nonchalantly which brought forth a look of neutral irritation to Big Mac’s face “For all you know he probably just cares about carrots or something” Big Mac facehoofed himself. This wasn’t going to end well.
“Now, how’s about helping me and my family out with a little bit of victory?” said Applejack with an unsettling gleam in her eye “ I’ll make it worth your while, I’ll give ya this here carrot to snack on in exchange for some of your help Whaddaya say? Have we got a deal?”
True to her word Applejack pulled out a bright orange carrot (grown from the patch of a certain mare) and dangled it in front of Victini like some sort of gilded prize. What happened next came from completely out of left field and took everyone by surprise.
Victini giggled goofily and kissed the tip of Applejack’s nose before stumbling into la la land. He hummed a light tune to himself as he rocked his body side to side, swinging and swaying to the sound of an unheard beat.
“Uh...” Applejack just stared at the inebriated pokemon before her that was just chanting its own name over and over again in her grip with an incredulous look plastered onto her face. There was no way she was going to get anything out of him now.
“Hey!” Applejack shook Victini like a rag doll “Snap out of it! I want my victory!” she shook Victini some more, not realizing that the gas from the cider within him was starting to stir “Come on! I busted my rear trying to chase your buddy down just to get to ya. I ain’t gonna let all that hard work be for nothing!”
Just then Victini burped. The fire from his body mixed with the alcohol on his breathe and created a little puff of fire that scorched Applejack’s favorite stetson, singed some of the bangs off her mane and practically erased her eyebrows from existence. Applejack yelped in terror and fell back onto her haunches, letting Victini go while trying to put out the little flame still flickering on the brow of her favorite hat.
“Wah! My hat! My hair! My gosh!” she fanned her hat up and down to extinguish the flame, just enough so that most of hat stayed intact “Phew, that was close” she let out a sigh of relief before turning to glare at the one responsible for nearly torching her. Victini’s tail was fluttering about and he was floating around in place like an astronaut stuck in zero gravity enjoying blissful ignorance at its finest.
“I’d figure something like this would happen” Big Mac suddenly appeared beside Applejack and startled her “Applejack, mind splaining to me why you were treating Victini like that?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“BIg Mac, allow me to answer your question with another question?” she asked without so much as a hint of remorse in her voice “Just what is it that we do here?” Big Mac blinked.
“We sell apples and apple products” Big Mac stated.
“Exactly. So why do you think I was trying to get Victini to help us out?” she said as if it was the most simplest thing in the world “We haven’t met our quota for the last few months even though we’re the only ones selling apples. Victini here’s gonna fix all that, yes he is”
“Nope”
“What was that?” Applejack raised her eyebrow at her brother.
“You heard me loud and clear. That ain’t no way to treat a friend of the Apple family” said Big Mac as he snipped his sprig of wheat in two through his teeth “We treat our guest with same respect we’d give to each other or anypony else, no ifs, ands, or buts”
“What are you talking bout? Have the fumes from the manure gone to your head or something? With Victini our sales will go through the roofs! When opportunity knocks, you answer!” Applejack retorted “Why would you let something like this go to waste?”
“Well, let me answer that question with another question” said Big Mac with a smirk hidden behind his stoic facade “In fact, why don’t I answer your question with a whole buncha questions?”
Applejack gulped. Whenever her brother spoke like that it usually meant that he had an answer to the argument that would cause her reasoning and logic on the current situation to turn around, spit at her in the face and then collapse like a lopsided building. She bit her lips and broke out into a cold sweat. This wasn’t going to end well.
“Listen up and listen up good Applejack, you too Applebloom” he began, never once losing the attention he received from his siblings. When he spoke, you listen. Wielding his verbal weapon, he locked, load, aimed, and fired.
“What would you do if it were Winona instead of Victini?” he asked, the words coming out like a red hot .500 magnum round flying through the air. As he continued his verbal onslaught, his tone never raised nor lowered. He just kept that same tone of his and it chilled his sisters down to the bone and shook them to the core.
“If she could do everything Victini could, would you do everything you just did today to her? Would you go to insane length to try and catch her, to make her use her powers for you even just once? How would she react? How would she feel? How would she look at you again knowing that you see her as nothing more than a means to an end?” he paused but his ammunition never ran out. He just reloaded.
“Do you think she would want to run around the fields with you after a day of hard work, or even just greet ya whenever you walked in the house? Do you think she’d even look at your general direction anymore? Do you think she’d have trouble at night sleeping knowing she could be caged up and used like an old dish rag? Do you think you would justify all that by saying it’s just business, the family business, that she’s a magic dog or some other lame excuse like that?”
he stopped and waited for his words to sink into his siblings. Then, with his last metaphorical bullet, he pulled the trigger and fired the killing shot.
“Would you do that to Winona, Applejack?”
With deadly aim and precision that would make even Annie Oakley blush, every word, every shot he took was aimed specifically at the spindly legs of Applejack’s weak argument. With no legs to stand on everything came crashing down on top of her. The weight of her own ignorance and greed acted like a heavy blade that cut through her heart and it tore her from the inside out.
Big Mac reeled back from his own effectiveness. His word were powerful indeed and though they may have come off as harsh he knew that the only way to get through someone like Applejack, who is known to be thick headed at times, was to break down her mental barriers with the force of a wrecking ball. Crude as it may be, it worked.
Quiet sobs could be heard from Applejack as she buried her head in her hooves. A baker’s dozen of emotions, thoughts, and regrets assaulted her at all sides. She felt terrible, she felt lower than the dirt she sat on, she felt undeserving of any kindness that may come her way no matter how insistent or forceful it was. But as she sulked, a gentle warmth brought her senses back to reality. She turned and to her shock, found Victini hugging her.
Even after all she’s done, he still came in her time of need. With tears flowing again with the force of a broken dam, she hugged back and let out a wave of raw emotions to purge herself of everything that she had done.
The sun rose again on another new day in Victini and Drilbur’s exciting, if not somewhat stressful, life in Equestria. The two pokemon were resting themselves upon the quiet field near their burrow home, allowing for the gentle rays of the sun to warm their fur as they munched on some fresh apples for breakfast. Courtesy of none other than the Apple family as a token of goodwill and friendship between them.
Taking several bites out of a tart granny smith apple, Victini and Drilbur reflected up their success the day before upon their meeting with the Apples. Collectively, everything went a whole lot better than they had initially thought. Sure, Victini may have fallen off the wagon and Drilbur entered some whimsical fantasy world moments earlier but the heartfelt moment of understanding between Applejack and Victini was what truly mattered in the end.
Although, the same cannot be said for Applebloom. The young filly just huffed and turned away, upset at the fact that she still hasn’t received her cutie mark yet. As she left, Victini could still see remnants of the sheer determination in her eyes that drives her to ‘earn’ her cutie mark. He, along with Drilbur, will have to do their best and remember to avoid her and her friends at all cost lest they get badgered again. Which, they guess, would be very soon.
The question the lingered on Victini’s mind now was who to go to next? Earning Applejack’s friendship was purely coincidental given how he was trying to befriend others in the first place. Not that he was complaining, no, not at all. But with the wheel set in motion he has decided that he might as well follow through with his plan.
“Hmm... who should I meet next?” Victini thought aloud as he ate “...What do you think, Drilbur?” he asked.
“I *munch* *munch* think you should *munch* *munch* hold on a second *munch* *munch* and finish our food first” Drilbur spoke with his mouth full, sending bits and chunks of apples flying towards Victini’s face, much to his dismay.
“Drilbur... swallow your food first before you talk. We’re not animals” Victini deadpanned. Drilbur just gave his friend a goofy grin and continued to eat away until he noticed someone familiar off the corner of his vision. Turning around to face Ponyville, he spotted a white unicorn with a curly purple mane trotting along a path that lead to the goofy looking building they’d checked out when they first arrived.
“Huh, it’s that horned pony with the curly hair. What was her name again? I forgot” said Drilbur as he chomped the last pieces of his apple down to the core.
“I think it was Rarity” replied Victini as he too finished his apple “Pinkie told me she was really good at making things called dresses. Whatever those are” just then, the metaphorical light bulb popped up just above his head and was burning as bright as his inner fire “Drilbur, I know what we’re gonna do today!”
* * *
“La la la la la!” Rarity hummed a jaunty tune as she strolled towards her home and business, Carousel Boutiques. Floating beside her, draped with a glowing magical light bluish hue was a woven basket that was positively overflowing with all manner of threads and rolls of fabric of varying shapes, colors and sizes. Little did the fashionista know, two adorable little critters were tailing her from the shadows.
Spying from behind the bushes, Victini and Drilbur waited for Rarity to reach her home before they made their grand entrance. When Rarity finally approach her door, the glow on her horn faintly flickers and she pulls out her house keys before fiddling a bit with the lock. The lock itself, however refused to cooperate this morning and held onto the key viciously, like Gible biting into a solid chunk of metal.
Jiggling the lock did nothing, and if she were to try and force the key to turn Rarity could well break the thing clean in half. Muttering a slight curse beneath her breath, she was just about to give up when she suddenly felt a surge of energy send shivers up her spine. With an almost effortless forty five degree turn of the key, the door to her home opened up without putting up more of a fight.
Stunned from such a feeling, it took her some time until she finally registered the gentle tug that she felt on her tail. Turning around she came face to face with Victini who had a radiant smile on his face. He was floating just above the ground and maintaining eye contact with her, while just below him was Drilbur who happily cried out his name.
“Oh! Uh... um... hello there, Victini! How good to see you again!” Rarity exclaimed as he face lit up with excitement “And uh... the strange mole whose name I can’t seem to remember at the moment” she stammered a bit before Drilbur but did her best to try to sound polite considering she was really paying attention to Victini at the party than she was with him.
This was quite the turn of events for her. She was expecting to find Victini and convince him to help her later during the week, but to have him come to her doorstep just like that, talk about being extremely lucky. Composing herself, Rarity invited the two pokemon into her home to which they happily obliged and entered with an avid sense of curiosity.
All around the home there were snippets of fabric, strands of thread, and countless buttons strewn all over the place. It was left just the way it was when Victini and Drilbur checked it last time. But among the messiness that Rarity calls organized chaos, there were rows upon rows of breathtaking dresses neatly lined up with each other on the hangers. Each one more brilliantly bedazzled with colorful gems than the last.
“Tini, tini!” Victini exclaimed excitedly as he further examined the Rarity's wardrobe, specifically the well tailored suits. He may not have cared for clothes at all considering there'd really no point at all for him to be dolled up like he was some sort of pokeshow star in a city somewhere in Unova, but it would be a nice experience to know what it would be like to dress up just once.
The two explored the home, taking note of how one side appeared to be hit with a tornado while the other was all tastefully organized and clean. Like two sides of the same coin, there was no real way to discern the two halves apart given how both of them belong to Rarity.
“Please, make yourselves at home you two while I go get you a treat” said Rarity as she went to the kitchen to prepare her guest some hor d'oeuvres. In actuality, however, she was secretly scheming to see how she could earn Victini’s favor. She was a refined lady of elegance, and she knew how to cook up a smart plot rather than to go headlong into danger like a certain orange mare did.
“Tini, tini, tini” said Victini.
“Dril, drilbur! exclaimed Drilbur.
As the two pokemon played around in Rarity’s parlor, ruffling through the many scraps of fabric that were on the floor, she placed a kettle on the stove and set out to devise her plans. What could she do to sway Victini to get her to earn some of the sweet, precious victory? When the kettle’s whistle blew, she had the idea just like that.
It was so obvious, how could she not have thought of it when he first arrived? She would use her specialty and create for the little feller a suit that would practically cause people to gush at his adorableness. Plus, she would also be getting some free marketing and publicity as well. If the first plan didn’t work out, the second plan obviously would. Keeping a backup just in case, it was brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!
“Brilliant!” Rarity shouted atop her lung with glee before she realized what she had just done. Covering her blush with her hoof, she pour over a kettle of tea and gathered some cookies on a plate with which she would use to lull Victini under her influence. Now all she had to do was set the plan in motion. Nothing too hard for her. After all she i-
Carousel Boutique, Rarity’s room, five minutes earlier
As messy and mildly cluttered as Rarity’s workroom was, Victini and Drilbur didn't mind it as much considering they themselves don’t exactly live in the most extravagant of conditions. Say what you will about their little burrow in the ground off the very edge of town, they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Like the grandiose mountain range that surrounded their former home of Eindoark town, large heaps of clothing, furniture, random baubles, ponyquins and failed creations made up most of Rarity’s workspace and encircled the pokemon from all around. It was hard to see the floor, if there was a floor to be seen at all. Drilbur had to shovel his way past mounds of fabric while Victini floated just above him to better observe the room.
“Sheesh, look at this place. The burrow is cleaner than this” remarked Drilbur as he chucked away a scrap of fabric “Huh, I wonder if a Garbodor lives here?” he examined the towering mountain of clothes off in the corner of the room. It was so haphazardly thrown together that even the slightest vibration could cause an avalanche and bury the poor mole underneath. No Garbodor was seen, but hey, you never know.
“I wouldn’t doubt it” replied Victini “If a Sandile like Gummy made it here, then maybe a Garbodor can too” as he and his friend got comfortable, they decided to see if there was anything special that would pique their curiosity. Sure enough, both of them found something interesting “Hmm... what’s this?”
* * *
Drilbur stared in wonder at the large, ornate wardrobe that shone with the shine of a thousand suns, almost blinding the mole pokemon in the process of admiring its expert craftsmanship. It was large, imposing, and possibly made of very expensive mahogany or birch that had been imported from somewhere far, far away. It had also been beautifully stained with a rich chocolate finish and varnished with a high gloss.
It had several curly and wispy designs embossed onto the surface, and had a gold trim that was perfectly accented by the many brass door knobs that ran along the center of the piece. It was marvelous, something that should've belonged within a museum of the arts but it instead resides here in a humble fashionista's home.
Reaching out with his claw, he ran them across the glossy surface, eliciting a scratchy squeak in doing so. When he finally reached the door knob, he opened the closet ever so slightly and felt a sudden breeze send a chill up his spine. Confused, he swung the wardrobe wide open and was immediately covered with a blanket made of snow.
Shaking off the excess snow, he could only gawk with a slack jawed expression on his face at the inner wardrobe with his mouth agape as he tried to take in the impossibility of it all.
Within the wardrobe was a whole other world, different from Equestria. It was a land of ice and snow, a winter wonderland where the trees and rocks were gently coated with the white stuff, like a pastry that had been lightly dusted with powdered sugar.
Stepping into the wardrobe, Drilbur could felt the snow beneath his feet bite him with cold fangs. He looked around himself, awestruck at how beautiful the setting was. He sat down, fidgeting till his little bum welled a hole for him to comfortably sit down. It was cold, but his fur kept him warm from the icy wind that blew. Sitting down and taking in the scenery, he couldn't help but wonder if he had been in this similar predicament before.
Then he remembered. This has happened to him two times already, both times traumatizing him right to the core.
First was the mysterious tear that sent him and Victini hurdling into Equestria like some sort of cannonball, while the second was the horrifying experience with some freaky looking pokemon, a Zoroark and a Buneary that sent him flying, and then finally was a dreadful encounter with the Red Vespiquen that nearly took his head off just because he was framed for painting her Roserade red.
He shook his head, doing his best to try and shake the thoughts out of his head. Perhaps this time it will be different. With the entryway back to Carousel Boutiques right behind him, he figured that he could stay just while longer unless something freaky were to happen. Lo and behold something freaky did happen the moment some bizarre creature introduced himself to him
From behind a nearby tree the creature walk up to the mole and surprise him with his appearance. Jumping up, Drilbur assumed a defensive stance as he observed his peer. The creature before Drilbur was an odd mish mash from what he could guess was between a human and a pokemon, with the upper half being a human and the lower half being that of a Sawsbuck.
"Hello! And welcome to the wonderful land of Narnia!" the creature announced.
Without saying a single word, Drilbur bolted back to the wardrobe and hopped back to Carousel Boutique like his life depended on it. Leaving behind the odd creature and giving it the cold shoulder in return.
Drilbur wasn't having any of that today. Not after what happened yesterday. After jumping back home, or as close as home that he could get, Drilbur proceeded to give the marvelous wardrobe a good slash with his metal claws, destroying part of it, splintering the wood into a hundred little pieces and severing any connection that this world had with the so called Narnia.
"Not again..." Drilbur muttered to himself bitterly "Never again..." taking off, he went over the other side of the room to meet up with Victini. Perhaps he found something interesting himself.
* * *
Floating around the room, Victini was on the watch for something that could occupy his time while he waited for Rarity to return so that they can clear the air between each other. Off the corner of his eyes, he found something sparkling brightly. Flying over to the object, Victini found out that it was a discarded scrap of fabric, one he hadn't seen before.
“Hello! Something shiny!” he exclaimed excitedly. It was a piece of satin. A piece of shiny, reflective purple satin. Reaching out to grab the cloth, the fiery rabbit found out that it was quite soft and silky when compared to other shiny objects. It felt nice to hold, and it could stretch like a rubber band.
“Oh! What are you, eh?” strangely, he found it to be highly amusing. He pawed at the piece of cloth, batted at it and chew on it. Slowly but surely, a wide smile appeared on his face and he was lost in glee “Ha! This is pretty fun!”
It may have been instinctual nature taking over him, because otherwise he wouldn’t have had so much fun playing around with a loose scrap of purple satin fabric that he found lying on the floor of Carousel Boutique. His status as a legendary pokemon may be in jeopardy because of such childish action but he didn’t care. He embraced the fun.
“Wheee!” Victini didn’t know why but there was just something about the satin cloth that he just loved about it. Something about the it vibrantly shimmered in the light that twinkled in his eyes, something about the sensation he felt as he rubbed it up against his fur, and something about the way it stretched far and wide when he gnawed and chewed upon it that brought out the animal within him.
Like a Lillipup or Poochyena with a chew toy, or a Purrloin with a ball of yarn, Victini gave into the temptation and just let his self run free with whatever it was he desired. Before long, he found himself rolling around like a ball as the satin wrapped around him while he vigorously chewed on in. Bouncing all over the place, it was only a matter of time before Victini crashed into Rarity’s desk where a bowl of fabric chalk was dropped over his head,
“Ahh!” he cried in pain as the bowl collided with his head. He struggled to open his eyes, only to that his vision was incredibly blurry and that there was a group of Cleffa dancing around his head. Other than that he was coated with a dusty white powder, from when the bowl of chalk fell on his head “Ack! What’s this?”
“Hey!” Drilbur called out to him as he came up to Victini, taking note of the white powder he was covered in “What happened to you? Did you also find some sort of gateway to a land filled with snow and magic?” he asked.
“What? No” replied Victini as he stood up to dust himself off “I found this amazingly fun cloth and I... eh, kinda lost control of myself. Heh, heh...” he blushed profusely, lighting his face up with a bright red tinge on his dusty white cheeks “ *Sniff* *sniff* blech! What the heck is this stuff?”
“It looks like plain old dust or something like that” said Drilbur ”It’s hard to breathe that stuff, even when I’m underground”
“Dust? Uh oh...” Victini eyes widened before he felt the front of his nose burn and itch. He reeled his head back, feeling a big sneeze coming on “ Ah... ah... ahh... AHHH....” just before he was about to let the snot fly, he felt Drilbur’s claw press up against his tiny nose, ceasing his sneeze from happening “Phew” Victini let out a relieved sigh “Thank you”
“No problem” replied Drilbur with his signature goofy grin “So what was so special about that cloth?”
“Oh” Victini started “It’s fun beca- ah... AHH CHOO!” he lost all control of himself and he sneezed the big one. What was worse was that the sudden jolt to his body sent a shock through his system, causing him to sneeze out a miniature snot flare that accidentally got itself caught on a roll of sequined fabric where it caught fire almost immediately. Smoke filled up the room in a matter of seconds...
“...Oops”
* * *
Carousel Boutique, present time
“ *Sniff* *sniff* is something... burning?” said Rarity as she took notice to the pungent aroma that permeated throughout her home “ *Gasp!* My room!”
Dropping almost everything that she had with her, Rarity sped on over to her workroom. And without a moment too soon. The fire may have been small but because it was burning a fabric roll that had sequins on it black smoke appeared almost instant and bathed the room with a thick black smog where it smelled like burning plastic.
Using her magic and some quick thinking, she created a small translucent dome that enveloped the flame and quickly choked it out before it got worse. The end result was rather satisfying given everything that happened. The only thing that she had to worry about was that she had lost one roll of relatively cheap fabric, had a black stain on the floor and some smoke clogging in her workroom.
Wading through her messy and smoke filled workroom she opened up the large window and left quickly to let everything air out before she could do anything yet.
Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned over to see that her house guest had been caught in some sort of weather incident. Victini looked tired, had some snot hanging out of his nose and was covered in her fabric chalk. While the mole (whose name she still can’t remember) was all wet and cold to the touch. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to leave a duo of animals alone in her home. Especially since one can breathe fire.
The two looked at Rarity with large watery puppy dog eyes and they appeared to be sincerely sorry about what they did. She was still furious, however. She did her best to try to suppress the anger and chose to calm herself down. Admittedly though, gritting her teeth in frustration was not doing her any favors to her dental health. She averted her eyes from them as not to cast a fiery glare upon her guest for causing such a mess in her house.
In her mind, she kept telling herself that it would all work out in the end. She had a plan, a brilliant plan where even if she lost she would still claim some sort of victory when all was said and done.
Facing the two pokemon again, she forced a smile onto her face and subconsciously forgot about everything that had happened in the last five minutes, pretending that everything was as it should be. There was no fire, there was no smoke, and most certainly her expensive wardrobe wasn’t shredded to bits. Upon noticing the last point, her eye violently twitched and she felt an aneurysm coming on. She did digress, for better or for worse.
“Oh dear, you two look terrible!” exclaimed Rarity with false glee as a few strands of her mane popped out of place “Let’s get you all cleaned up before I get you all dressed up!”
Victini and Drilbur trade glances with each other. They expected her to be angry with them. After all, Drilbur did turn her once fabulous wardrobe into shards of wooden planks out of pure fear, and Victini’s volatile sneezing almost burned Carousel boutique down if Rarity didn’t rush in moments before he got a chance to do anything. Right now she was really creeping them out with that smile of hers. So much so they were backing up without realizing it.
“Where are you going?” she asked “I only want to help!”
“T-t-tini?” Victini asked Drilbur fearfully.
“D-dril, drilbur...” replied the terrified mole. It was wonderland all over again.
Frozen stiff in their tracks, they were scooped up with Rarity’s magic and escorted out of the room while the two hugged each other for dear life...
* * *
The next hour of Victini and Drilbur’s day wasn’t as bad as they had expected it to be given Rarity’s slow descent into insanity and everything related to it. All they had to do was stay still while Rarity wrapped some sort of thin rope about them.
With their measurements properly taken and documented, Rarity went on to proceed with her (self proclaimed) well thought out plan and went on to earn Victini’s favor by turning him into one sexy beast. Albeit a one foot tall sexy beast who was more of an adorable critter than a beast at all.
By then, Rarity had mellowed out to the point where she could concentrate on her work. She was no longer at the mental event horizon but she was still teetering close towards to edge with the stress building up in her. Taking deep breathes every now and then, she tried with all her might to keep her cool.
Using everything that she had, fire retardant fabric, heat resistant gemstones, and non flammable cooking utensils, she had created one of her finest, if not one of her more bizarre, works. Even better than the hat she made back at the Crystal Empire.
By the time she was finished, her mane was all disheveled, her fur was matted, and she couldn’t get the ringing sound out of her ear that she swore she was hearing. But it was all worth it in the end, just like she had planned. Kinda, sorta, not really. After nearly having her house burnt down, something even Sweetie Belle, thankfully, managed to botch with her breakfast in bed, she was sure it would be smooth sailing from here on out.
Putting the final touches on her masterpiece of today, she collapsed onto her flank and marveled at her accomplishment. As it turns out, she really does work better under pressure.
Standing before her, dressed up against a makeshift mannequin she crafted out of a vegetable strainer, a wooden spoon and some gardening wires, was a teeny tiny, itty bitty suit that were precisely fitted to Victini’s specifications.
“Well... what do you think?” Rarity asked “It would look rather ravishing on you if I do say so myself”
The suit in question was a specially crafted flameproof tuxedo that had all the extremities and details of what you would expect from the average Aipom suit. It was nice and black like the inside of a Dusclop’s body, sleek like a Gorebyss, form fitting like a being body slammed by Muk, and it really brought out the blue in Victini’s eyes.
The suit comprised of three pieces; pants, a dress shirt, and the actual jacket itself. It was made using some special fabric that she got after having one too many encounters with fire incidents in Equestria and dragons. She may have rarely used it, but it was fashionable as well as function. Also the fabric breathes, which is a plus when you’re schmoozing with ponies of higher standing at galas and parties where it’s hotter than the sun.
The little clip on bow tie that came with the suit was cut out of an old white and blue polka dotted oven mitt that she had lying around. It was tastefully accompanied with a set of cufflinks that was retrofitted from pewter spoons and a couple of replacement oven knobs, each were studded with and aqua blue sapphire gemstones that match Victini’s fur. Lastly, the suit came with fresh rose just to add on to the raw amount of class that radiated off the suit.
But perhaps the one thing that Victini noticed on the suit almost immediately before oozing over from the rest was the two inch by two inch satin handkerchief that was folded and tucked away on the right pocket of the suit. He loved the thing, it looked absolutely amazing and he actually couldn’t wait to put it on.
But he couldn’t. He was still guilt riddened from earlier and wondered wht Rarity was still doing all of this for him. He didn’t feel like he was making any progress at all. He looked up at Rarity, who by then was biting her lips in anticipation to see if he approved or not.
“Tini, tini?” he asked.
“What? I don’t know what ‘tini, tini’ means. But you like it, right?” she asked with desperatism laced in her words.
“...” Victini didn’t really know what to say, since she clearly can’t understand him like Pinkie Pie or Big Mac can. Sighing heavily, he conceded and chose to wear the cool suit, reluctantly of course. Maybe he could find another way around this problem.
“I’m sorry, I don’t speak... whatever it is you’re speaking" said Rarity until it finally clicked with her “Oh! You want a suit too, right?” she asked to which Drilbur nodded “Um... sorry, but I don’t have any mat-” she stopped when she noticed how impatient the mole looked as he held his claws on his hip and tapped his foot rhythmically.
Victini, like most, if not all pokemon, never really understood the vivid fascination that humans, and to a lesser extent, ponies, had with this thing that they called clothing. Even Leavanny, the nurturing pokemon, known for creating clothes made of leaves for other pokemon often found it head-scratching whenever they encountered a human that gushes over their creations.
It must’ve been because humans had no real fur, scales, or external bone plating of their own. Only bits and patches of hair here and there that offered almost little to no coverage on the body. Maybe that’s why they created clothes. To protect themselves from the unrelenting fury that is mother nature.
Or perhaps it’s a method of intimidation that they’ve developed as a defense mechanism against predators like certain pokemon have. Considering how gaudy and flashy some clothes are, it might as well be on par with the threatening patterns upon an Arbok’s hood. Either way, both ideas sounded plausible to him.
Yet, ponies also wore clothing despite being fully capable of surviving without it. Why? He’ll never know for the life of him.
Reasons to wear clothings aside, Victini grew up and lived alongside humanity for a good chunk of his life. He was there during the rise of the Kingdom of the Vale, as well as its fall. He had seen Eindoark town built from the ground up of the ruins of the former kingdom. But perhaps most appropriately, he had seen all the changes in fashion that humanity had to offer over the course of his long life.
For some time now, he had had a growing interest in wearing clothing that most pokemon wouldn’t usually have. And honestly, why would they? They look and do just fine the way they are without being dressed up like some kind of Thanksgiving turkey.
But today was different. And it’s not because he nearly set fire to a friend’s house. No, it was because today he’s finally gonna be able to try on the tuxedo that Rarity had tailor made just for him. Both he had Drilbur had some made especially for them, with the former having his own thrown together at the last minute. Now, they there both in the Carousel Boutique dressing room trying to figure out how to actually wear the clothes. The real challenge begins now.
* * *
“So, these pants... you’re telling me that these are meant to be worn on your head?” Victini asked with his head slightly tilted to the side like a curious Lillipup. “How could you know that? You’ve never worn clothes before.”
“I haven’t. But look at them,” Drilbur pointed to Victini's tuxedo pants. “They were obviously meant to keep your ears warm. After all, these were made specifically for you.”
“Hmm...” Victini assumed a thinking pose, tapping his tiny feet on the floor. “Well, you do have a point,” said Victini as he put the pants on his head. Sure enough, the pants fit over his head and over his ears snug as a new pair of gloves. Not only that, the pants came with a belt that allows it to be properly adjusted to the contours of his head. He wiggled his ears back and forth, taking in the comfort that they provided him. “I like it. I like it a lot!” he chirped happily.
Next was the dress shirt and jacket that came with the set. Drilbur had also told him that these were to be worn upon his lower half, with the dress shirt to act like some form of underwear. The reasoning for its design as assumed by the pokemon? The two long sleeves on the side was meant for your legs, while the hole in the middle was for when they had to go and do their business. Ingenious, they both thought. Ingenious indeed.
By then, Rarity had already entered the dressing room carrying in what looked to be a random assortment of junk and trash floating in her magical grip. She had an old semi rusted colander, a plunger with a splintery handle covered in unmentionables, and a raggedy checker board patterned baby blue dish towel where one edge was nothing but shredded scraps. It may have been trash, but to Rarity, as the old saying goes, one mare’s trash is another mare’s treasures.
“Oh, Victini and the mole thingy!” Rarity sang in a sing song voice. “I’m ba-aaaaaah!” she screamed, dropping all of her trash in a startled jolt of movement as she saw Victini wearing the fabulous clothes that she made for him all wrong. So very wrong.
“Tini!” Victini cried happily as he floated over to the startled mare and nuzzling her cheek. He was clearing enjoying his new garbs. They made him feel nice and sophisticated. “Tini, tini, tini!” he said before pulling up and chewing upon the fine piece of satin that was held in the pockets of the jacket.
“Oh, no! Oh, no, no, no, no, no!” Rarity spoke in exasperation as she used her magic to tear off all the clothes on Victini. “You’re wearing it all wrong!” she shouted aloud as she began to forcefully slap all of the clothing back onto Victini, scraping a few patches of his fur and sending shocks up his spine in the most unpleasant of ways.
Victini nearly let out a miniature heat wave hadn’t he forced himself to calm down after being so viciously manhandled like that. He needed to control himself lest another potential fire break out. But then he felt his airway being cut off as the bow tie was wrapped around his neck and tightened like a noose.
Again, the air around him become swelteringly hot. Hot enough to boil water and bake an egg out in the open air in a matter of seconds. Tears welled up on the lower edges of his big blue eyes, now bulging fish eyed as he struggled to maintain his willpower and deprived oxygen levels.
“There we go! All nice and proper!” Rarity exclaimed, marveling at her work all while failing to notice Victini’s face turning slightly pink, then a deep purplish blue as he his breaths came out short and labored. “Well, aren’t you just the cutest little thing. Cute as a button!” she patted him on the head.
“T-tini...” the poor rabbit whimpered, utterly hating the way his ensemble was now slowly killing him while making him look good at the same time. Thankfully, Rarity had already turned her attention to Drilbur, giving him a brief window of opportunity to undo the noose around his neck. Fumbling with his fingers, he quickly pulled on both ends of the tie and pulled on them until he could feel acceptable amounts of oxygen return to his deprived lungs.
With the fear of losing control of his own flames smoted for good, he took a great big breathe as he turned to face his mole friend who, to his earnest surprise, looked rather dashing despite his accoutrements being composed of nothing more than random junk that Rarity picked out from her trash can.
“Drilbur!” the mole exclaimed aloud as he looked himself over. The old rusty colander was worn atop his head, almost like a poor king’s crown. Though as dirty as it was, Victini couldn’t get over his primal instinct to enjoy the shine that part of the colander gave off as it gleamed in the sunlight. The raggedy dish cloth was somehow repurposed into a swanky little cape, with the tattered edge acting like little decorative frills. Then there was the plunger, gripped in his claws like a mighty scepter, with which he rules over his imaginary kingdom.
“Hmph, not my finest work, but easily one of my more... unique ones,” Rarity mused as she adjusted Drilbur’s little cape. She reminisced back to the time when she had created all of her friend’s gala dresses to suit their personalities and interests, as thoroughly described by them of course. That turned out to be quite a disaster. Then there was the time she made a hat out of bendy straws during her short excursion to the Crystal Empire, interesting moment that one was. “Phew, there we go. All done.”
“Drilbur, drilbur, dril, drilbur!” the mole thanked Rarity as he joined up with Victini. His usual lighthearted demeanor shifted to confusion when he noticed that he was wearing his clothes upside down. “Hey, Victini. Why’re your clothes like that?” he asked.
“I think this is how I was suppose to wear it,” Victini deadpanned.
“Hmm, funny. I was sure pants were something that you wore on your head,” Drilbur said as he shook his scepter (plunger) before Victini. “Look! I got this, this... I don’t know what this thing is actually.”
“Is that even considered clothes?” Victini raised his brow as he looked the scepter (plunger) over.
“I think it is if she gave it to me,” replied Drilbur. “Huh, it must be a pony thing. I think humans would do the same too.”
“Probably. I mean I’ve once saw this person a long time ago wearing so many feathers on their clothes that I thought they’d been attack by an angry Swanna!” he chuckled as Drilbur bursted into laughter beside him.
They continued to laugh jovially until a unicorn shaped shadow looming overhead caused them to quickly shut up and stumble backwards in surprise. They nervously backed away from Rarity as she inched them into a corner, taking note of the devious gleam that sparkled wildly in her sapphire blue eyes.
* * *
“So, how are they?” She asked, feeling extremely proud of her accomplishments. “Are they fantastic? Magnificent? Extraordinary? Grand? I’d even go as far as to say that they’re remarkable, wouldn’t you say?”
“...Tini?” Victini blinked.
“...Drilbur?” Drilbur blinked as well.
“...” Rarity mentally slapped herself for forgetting she can’t understand rabbit or mole speak. She berated herself for being so lost in the moment, but she knew that all her troubles would pay off in the end. Victory was just a moment away. “I’ll just take that as a compliment,” she extended her hoof to them, putting on her best smile in the process. “Please, accept these clothes as a token of friendship. From me, to you.”
“Tini, tini, tini,” said Victini as he flew over and curtly shook Rarity’s hoof. Although, Victini oddly felt wary before his friend, feeling a tight knot form in the pit of his stomach as he pulled away. The feeling itself was, however, justified upon seeing Rarity’s expression rapidly shift and contort between a multitude of emotions all in a single go.
At first it was glee, Rarity had a smile so wide Victini was sure it would’ve snapped her face clean in two. What followed next was excitement. For some strange reason, she levitated a bit overhead and flipped it into the air. The coin spun in mid air and unceremoniously clattered onto the floor with a clink and a clang. Almost immediately, her excitement fizzled away to express disappointment. She tried over and over again, frustration taking over shortly afterwards.
Before long, frustration morphed into seething anger, and both Victini and Drilbur found their backsides unconsciously pressed up against the front door of Carousel Boutiques, feeling the need to make a speedy getaway if what they suspected were to happen came around full circle.
Rarity growled and cursed something vulgar beneath her breath, an act very unbecoming of a refined lady as herself. She knew she needed to keep her cool, just like she did earlier. But time and time again she kept fumbling with the coin in her possession, expecting for her gamble to pay off, only to be sorely mocked over and over again by fate’s hand. She was slipping, and it showed in her attitude.
It was clear that she didn’t receive any of Victini’s power of victory, so she chose wisely to cut her losses. She stopped herself from losing all control and simmered down before things could escalate even further. She gently placed the bit down on a nearby table and began taking deep breathes to ease away the stress building up at the back of her head. Inhale... exhale... inhale... exhale...
She repeated the calming motion until she felt calm enough to turn around and flash the two terrified pokemon a smile free of any thinly veiled ulterior motives.
“I’m terribly sorry about that,” she apologized as Victini and Drilbur visibly relaxed, eliciting a breathy sigh in turn. It looked as though the two pokemon had averted another potential crisis. “I’ve just been very stressful lately. Work, you know?”
“Tini?” Victini looked perplexed. “Tini, tini tini tini?”
“Eh... yeah, sure. Let’s go with that,” Rarity replied with a wave of her hoof and a glimmer of her horn, enveloping the two pokemon in a warm baby blue glow as they were both levitated off the ground. With both Victini and Drilbur trapped in Rarity’s magical grip, they floated helplessly in the air, unsure of what to make of the abrupt change to their current predicament as they were being led outside of Carousel Boutiques.
“Well, I would love for you to stay but I’m afraid that my workload has been piling up and it needs my immediate attention,” said Rarity, setting the two pokemon down before dropping her magic around them. “I do hope that we can meet again soon. It has been a very lovely afternoon! Ta ta!” without so much as another word, or even a glance, Rarity spun around and bolted back to her home/business. With a loud thud and jingling bells, she slammed the door behind her, leaving behind two very confused , and well dressed, pokemon in her wake.
* * *
“What was that about?” Victini asked Drilbur, scratching his large ears as he turned to face his mole friend.
“I don’t know. But hey, at least we look cool now!” Drilbur beamed, flaunting his new attire for the world to see. He twirled his scepter (plunger) in his claws and then tipped his crown (colander), smirking triumphantly with a frivolous throw of his cape (dishcloth). “Hmm. Clothes are great, I can see why humans would wear them now. Although, I don’t think we’re ever going to wear these more than once unless we had a trainer.”
“Agreed. Although this thing is still a little too tight around my neck,” Victini tugged on the collar of his dress shirt, loosening some buttons and even going as far as to bite some of their stitching off just to feel less stuffy in his Mankey suit. “Phew, it gets hard to breath in this thing sometimes. After today, I think I’ll put this away along with the rest of our other stuff.”
“Sounds like a good idea. We wouldn't want ruin such a good thing by wearing it all the time,” said Drilbur. The two pokemon nodded to each other in agreement and turned to go back home to their little burrow on the outskirts of Ponyville.
Today, at least to Victini, was much a success as it was yesterday with Applejack. He had confirmed that Rarity was indeed being genuinely nice to him and that she wasn’t after his abilities for victory. It was a comforting thought to know that another was being earnest with him, and it showed with the suits and clothing that she made for both him and his friend. He had absolutely nothing to worry about from her from here on out.
As they made their way back, with Drilbur walking and with Victini floating right beside him, they eventually came across Gummy who appeared to be out for a leisurely stroll around Ponyville. Blinking his violet eyes as they reach the mole and the rabbit, a nonexistent smile appeared on his stoically blank face and he walked on over to greet his fellow, and only other pokemon comrades in Equestria.
“Good morrow my fine friends!” Gummy spoke enthusiastically. “What brings you about on such a fine day, and to be dressed so impressively I might add?” he complimented.
“We just got back from Rarity’s place. She made us these clothes as a way of expressing her friendship to us,” Victini replied, pointing to his new and partially damaged suit.
“Hmm, as expected from one of master Pinkie’s friends. Her dressmaking is as impeccable as ever,” Gummy looked over his two friends. “Save for the few missing buttons on your clothes, it looks wonderful on you, Victini. It is amazing that she can create such magnificent clothes for everyone, even for pokemon like us.”
“Thank you,” replied Victini with a bright smile and a flash of his signature V for victory symbol with his fingers. “Say, how is Pinkie Pie doing? She’s still not upset about the whole town trying to capture me, is she?”
“She is... recovering,” Gummy spoke hesitantly, “I’ve never seen her so saddened before, even after everything that she had experienced what with crazy deities and misplaced paranoia. It pains my heart to see such a vibrant body of energy snuffed out like a flame in a dark wet cave.”
“Sheesh, sounds bad,” Drilbur added. “I hope she gets better soon. I like her. If anyone makes her sad again I'm gonna drill rush them into next week!”
“I appreciate the sentiment my dirt digging friend,” said Gummy. “Say, why don’t we forget all about the doom and gloom and join me on a quick trip to the mud puddles and waddle about it in an animalistic and highly enjoyable manner before going to comfort Pinkie?” he offered.
“Well, we were on our way back home...” said Drilbur as he went into deep thought, scratching his chin with the tip of his claws, ”it has been a while since I waddled around in mud.”
“And it does sound very fun...” Victini joined in as he too went deep into thought.
“It’s right next to a berry bush,” Gummy added.
“Done,” both pokemon uttered at once without a shadow of doubt.
“Brilliant!” Gummy ecstatically exclaimed. “Now, on our merry way to a smashing good time!” with a waggle of his tail, he led his compatriots to the nearest mud hole for a time mirth and merriment.
* * *
Rarity rubbed her temples with her hooves, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips as she sipped on her soothing chamomile tea. To think that in only the span of a few hours after going shopping for sewing supplies had left her completely tapped out after running into Victini and what’s his face. The mole thingy whose name didn’t matter to her in the slightest.
She had everything planned out exactly the way she wanted and her estimated chance of success was relatively high. But in the end, it seemed that Victini just wasn't the type to give out victory all willy-nilly like, much to her partially scorched home and looming migraine. But being the clever unicorn that she is, she was sure that her back up plan would work in spades.
Victini was to her nothing more than a flying billboard that was cute, adorable, and was a much talked about object of interest now that the town knew about him and what he could do. Free advertisement that was sure to rack in orders from all around town once they see him prancing about in an outfit that came from the one, the only Carousel Boutiques. Even the mole had his uses, proving that she could do practically anything when clothing and dresses were involved.
She didn’t care that she failed to receive victory this day, not in the slightest. There was always tomorrow, and another day to cozy up to the flaming floating furball. So for now, she’ll draw up a nice hot bath, light some scented candles, and proceed to pamper herself while she formulates another plan to gain victory.
Just as she finished lighting the last of her candles, however, a faint yet familiar joyful chirp echoed to her ears that drew her eyes over to her bathroom window and outside to a field several yards away from her home. She pressed herself up against the window and squinted, she couldn’t see who it was so she rushed out of her bathroom and dashed back in with a pair of opera glasses held in her magical grip before peering off into the distance and pinpointing the location of the sound.
To her horror, she could see Victini, Gummy, and the mole clear as day, dancing around and swimming in a mud puddle next to a berry bush. She felt a part of herself whittled away as her artfully crafted suits were stained and smothered with mud and dirt as though they were nothing at all.
The resulting snap going off from within Rarity’s head was almost audible if anyone was around to hear it.
Lethargically, she dropped her opera glasses to the floor and slowly made her way to the kitchen, where she fetched herself a half empty bottle of fine wine and unceremoniously dunked herself into the tub, not caring about whether or not water splashed about and got her floor all wet.
Usually she wouldn’t drink wine unless it was a special occasion, nor would she do it during the day. But she just really wanted to forget everything that had happened today. It wasn’t even the evening yet, but knowing that she failed to gain victory, and have her clever back up plan backfire in the same day warranted a good memory blocking amount of alcohol to be consumed.
“ *Sigh* Well... bottoms up...” and with that, she uncorked the wine bottle and chugged away, while Victini and the others played.
