Prologue

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I crouched there in the darkness of the bushes, watching my prey as it scurried about the bottom of the tree. They were fat pink creatures, adorable to a fault. However, I was hungry so there was no helping it; one of them would have to die or else it would surely be me. So, uttering a quick prayer to Father Arceus, both for myself and for the soul of the one who I hunted, I struck.

The world around me blurred as I sprung out of the shadows, my sharp teeth finding purchase on the Clefairy's neck. The pitiful creature let out a scream of pain but my teeth snapped down tightly, breaking its spine in a single motion.

The other Clefairy turned to stare at me, their eyes wide with surprise and fear, then they backed away into the dense underbrush. Good. I would not have to worry about fighting them for my kill. I dropped the body onto the ground and closed my eyes.

Father Arceus, I thank you once more for the gift of food you have bestowed upon me and I wish this Clefairy’s soul safe travel into your embrace. I take life not for sport but because I have no alternative, amen, I silently prayed. Then I opened my eyes and sank my blue muzzle down to it’s pink flesh, inhaling the appetizing smell.

Then without further pause, I began to eat.

As I licked the last of the Clefairy's blood from my lips my mind began to wander as it oft does to why I was here on Mt. Coronet. So many months of searching for it, over two years of my life, and finally here I was. I had come here seeking Father Arceus in the belief that maybe, just maybe, he would have a solution to that which troubled my mind.

With a small sigh I rose from the remnants of the Clefairy, leaving it for whatever scavengers wished to devour the last morsels. Then, as was my habit, I began to tread through the underbrush silent as a shadow, walking towards the nearby stream. The trees overhead allowed soft sunlight to flit across my white fur and my red eyes watched the surrounding area for any sort of threat.

Thankfully, for I am not a fighter by nature, I arrived at the stream without conflict. I dipped my muzzle down and immersed it in the clean clear water, savoring the taste as it played across my tongue. When I lifted my head away I stopped to look over myself, while I am not a vain creature I have found that it is always best to look as best I can. I was pleased by what I found looking back at me.

A pair of sharp red eyes surrounded by my handsome dark blue face further covered by my flowing white ruff. The moonlike blade which extended from the side of my head gleamed slightly in the sunlight which poured down from above and the black oval, my ‘third eye’ stared back at me. My gaze lingered on it for a moment longer then anything else, as it always did, before moving onto the faint outlines of the scar that ran across my right cheek.

I turned away from my reflection and began to pad back through the trees, on my way to the place where I had spent the last year. Maybe today Father Arceus would grant my wish, and if not then I would return the next day, and the day after that. My wish was simple I wished for one thing, and one thing only.

Absolution.

And yes, I realize that as an Absol, that is inherently funny. Forgive me if I do not find it so.

The ground beneath my paws became slopped and were it not for the year I had spent climbing the slope I would have tired long before I reached the halfway point. Thankfully, I had long since conquered that particular issue. I bounded up the stony walls of rock with the grace of a Gogoat, leaping from one boulder to another, finding anchor on the least navigable places. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang through the air.

“Cres!”

The sound of my name made me freeze in stride and I would have dashed my brain to bits on the rocks below if not for long tempered practice. Instead, I landed badly on a boulder and nearly slid off, my claws scouring deep holes into it while I fought for purchase.

“Cres, oh my gosh, are you alright?” the melodious voice asked, I looked down from my perch on the boulder and found myself looking into the most beautiful pair of eyes I have ever seen on an Absol, or anyone else for that matter. They were a light blue and beneath it lay a forever deep pool of empathy. The gleaming orbs were framed by a face of dark crimsone skin and her white ruff was currently raised with worry.

“I... I’m fine,” I said with a shake of my head as I recovered from my near mishap. “Belle... what are you doing here?” I asked slowly.

“Why, looking for you of course,” Belle answered simply. “My trainer, Roxanne, brought me here after I finally managed to make her understand where I wanted to go.”

“I see,” I replied tersely. “Well. You should get back to her. I’m sure this ‘Roxanne’ must be worried about you.” I turned my back on her and prepared to continue on my way, eager to put Belle and the memories she stirred with me to rest.

“No,” she said defiantly, and with a single bound she was standing in front of me with those beautiful eyes. “Cres... you can’t keep running from me.”

“I am not running from you,” I replied flatly, attempting to slip by her left only to be stopped by her chest.

“Yes you are,” she stated. “And you’ve been running for the last two years.”

“I have not been running from you!” I growled. “I am seeking absolution from Father Arceus. Leave me to it!”

“No, it’s unhealthy; you’re going to get yourself killed up here!” Belle snapped back at me. “There’s no reason for this. Arceus has surely heard your prayers by now and if he hasn’t chosen to grant you your wish yet then he’s never going to!”

I flinched back under her words, they were a truth that cut me to the core. I had been praying for Father Arceus for a year and a day, and he had not given me so much as an ethereal breeze of his attention. Still; what I needed only he could provide. Belle saw my flinch, and her voice softened.

“Cres please, just come back to me. We can be together with Roxanne and we can finally be happy,” she said quietly, her face pleading with me to accept her offer.

It physically hurt me to see her look like that, so I did all that I could do. I looked away.

“Belle... please... just... just leave me,” I said haltingly. “Please... I just wish to speak with Father Arceus and do as he bids.”

“No,” she said, taking a step towards me. “I’m not letting you do that Cres. I swore it when I started out on this journey. I would come back with you, or I wouldn’t come back at all.”

I stared at her for a moment before I acted. With a single precise movement I brought my blade slashing down at her exposed throat. As I expected, she parried it easily, but by then I was already moving.

“CRES!” she shouted behind me, but I didn’t care. All that mattered to me was the rocks in front of me and putting those lovely empathetic eyes as far behind me as I could.

Belle however had other ideas.

I had made it maybe fifteen feet farther up the cliff face when she caught up to me and I was knocked to my side as her pusit slammed into me. As I fell, the air forced from my lungs, I managed to align myself so that I could land on my paws and did so, scrabbling at the gravelly ground.

Belle alighted beside me, looking at me worriedly.

“Are you alright Cres? I just didn’t want you running away like that,” she said, her eyes soft.

“I’m fine,” I said with a snarl as I caught my breath

“Thank goodness,” she said. “Now, will you come with me?”

“I... fine,” I said with a heavy sigh. Belle’s eyes widened in surprise and her lips broke into a smile.

“Really?” she asked me, her voice so overcome with happiness that it nearly made my fur stand on end.

“Yes... really,” I said, nodding slowly as I walked up to her.

She smiled and gave me a nuzzle. “Thank goodness... I really thought that I’d have to-”

As much as it hurt me to do it, I cut her off, physically. My paw shot up and I sucker punched her in the forehead, knocking her unconscious. She let out a pained grunt as she fell to the ground and I bounded away.

It was not until I reached the peak of Mt. Coronet that I allowed the first tears to fall. I... had thought that I had left her behind long ago. That I had imparted onto her the fact that I would not rest until I had completed my quest. That I would not ‘settle down’ with her and her trainer. And yet... she had come thousands of miles looking for me

I was undeserving of such affection. No matter how much my body and soul wished for it.

I do not know how long I sat there, pouring out my grief, but it was long enough for the sun to begin sinking from the sky and the stars to begin to peek their heads out from the cover of day. I shivered as the night’s breeze whispered through my ruff and I sighed. I had wasted the day caught up in my grief and now I would have to spend the night on the peak.

So, without further ado, I began to pray.

“Father Arceus,” I intoned softly. “I have come to you once again to beg you for that which I seek the most. My name is Cres and I have given up everything so that I might come to this most sacred of sacred places in order to pray to you. Please... it has been a year and a day since I began this vigil... and I begin to think you do not care for me,” I continued, my voice becoming rougher... more resentful than I intended. I fear that my encounter with Belle may have affected me deeply.

“I know... that I am only a single Absol among hundreds of thousands... and I do not place myself above them, nor above any other Pokemon... but I... I was forced to turn away a good friend today in order to be here...” I trailed off, images of Belle’s still form filled my mind. “I... I pray that she returned down the mountain safely and was reunited with her trainer... this ‘Roxanne’.”

I fell silent as a sat there. Once again I had failed to garner any form of response.

“Please Father... I beg of you, just... please come to me!” I shouted as tears began to run down my face anew. “I just want a moment of your time! No more, no less! I have been here for so many days, so many night spent upon this stony peak, the least you could do is give me the time of day!” Anger ripped through my voice now as the injustice of the situation raced through my mind.

“By now Belle and I could have been happy together! I-I could be a father and instead I have been here! All I want is a word from you! Just... LISTEN TO ME!” I roared. “I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME FATHER! PLEASE! JUST-”

“Cres... he’s not listening to you,” Belle’s voice said from behind me. I spun, my sickle-shaped tail slashing through the air, almost slitting her throat open but she didn’t flinch. She stood there, a mixture of pity and grief filling her eyes.

“Belle... you followed me up here?” I asked, my voice catching in my throat.

“Of course I did Cres, you idiot,” she said softly with a shake of her head. “You thought I would come this far and give up that easy?”

“I... are you alright?” I asked, looking over her. “I... I’m sorry I just couldn’t...”

“It’s alright,” she told me as she walked up to me and gave me a gentle nuzzle, making me flinch away from the contact.

“You... you shouldn’t just forgive me like that!” I exclaimed as I backpedaled away from her. “I... I knocked you unconscious for Arceus’s sake!”

Belle’s muzzle turned into a frown and she nodded a little. “That’s true, and you’ll have to make it up to me somehow... but in all honesty I should have expected it,” she replied. “I know you better than to think you’d change your mind that quickly,” she let out a quiet laugh. “I mean, you’ve trecked your way here of all places because you got it into that thick skull of yours that it would help.”

I sighed and looked away.

“Belle... please... I’m not crazy... I know that he’s out there... and I know that he can help me,” I said quietly.

She walked up to me, ignoring my flighty movements and slowly lowered her forehead to touch mine. I froze as the two ‘eyes’ met and looked up to stare at her.

“One more night,” she said quietly. “Please... for me... only stay up here one more night. It’s been two years... and Arceus only knows how many days you’ve spent up here-”

“A year and a day,” I intoned quietly.

“-you’ve been up here for a year and a day... if he doesn’t come tonight, promise me that you’ll come down tomorrow morning?” she asked, looking up at me with those soft eyes I adored so.

I stared into her eyes for a long time, it could have been hours, but when I came out of my trance I found that she was still begging me.

"I... alright,” I said softly. “If Father Arceus does not appear to me tonight... then I will give up my quest and join you.”

Belle smiled, and a radiant smile it was. Then she leaned forward and softly pressed her lips to mine. We stayed locked like that for a long moment before she broke the kiss and took a step away from me.

"Thank you Cres,” she said simply. “I will see you tomorrow morning.”

She turned and walked back down the path, leaving me to stare at her retreating form. I remained standing frozen there until I realized that my mouth was still half open, her name on my lips.

With a small sigh I dropped down on my rear and turned my gaze skyward once more. “Father Arceus I...”

Chapter 1

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I awoke the next morning, still in my sitting position. I let out a sigh as I looked to the sky and saw the sun slowly rising through it were a Solrock. The sight filled me with a combination of both... pain... and sorrow. My Father had ignored my prayers... yet again. I surveyed the rocky peak that had been my... home of sorts for the past year and a great sense of hollowness welled up in my chest. I had promised Belle that I would return in the event that my pleas were dismissed as trite... and it appeared that was what had happened.

“I guess... I’ll just go,” I said softly, shaking my head.

The morning dew had settled on my coat and I shivered violently for a moment before stiffly moving my foreleg. My entire body ached as I began to stretch, starting with my legs and then to my back as I went through my morning routine. Of course, ordinarily I wasn’t covered with freezing dew but that simply made me move a bit faster.

However, no water could ever be as cold as the pit in my stomach brought on by my rejection. I had sat on this cursed mountain for a year and a day, praying my heart out for him, and Arceus hadn’t appeared.

My eyes narrowed and my horn became dark for a moment before a ball of shadows appeared suspended above me with a snarl I sent it ploughing into a nearby boulder. Then I did it again, and again, and again! I raged at that boulder for how long I do not know, but I do know that when I was done naught but gravel remained of it.

A heavy breath poured out of my lungs, hot and misty in the icy air as I stood there looking over what little remained of the once large boulder. I bit my lip and turned away. My mission ... was done here. I had failed once again.

I began to walk away from the summit, heading for the trail back down. Hopefully, Belle wouldn’t be too smug about it... of course, knowing her, I doubted she would be.

As I was a step away from the decent, something unexpected happened.

“It is a shame, for someone who shows such devotion and willfulness ends up only to be ignored by the ‘almighty’ Arceus,” a deep male voice spoke out in the air above me.

I froze. Then, slowly, I raised my head to look at the speaker, only to find no one there.

“I’m over here young Absol,” the voice spoke again, this time coming from the direction of the boulder I had desecrated. I frowned.

“Father Arceus?” I called slowly.

“No, I am not he, nor do I ever wish to be,” the voice replied.

“I see...” I said slowly before turning my back on the boulder once more. “Then we have nothing to discuss,” I told the voice over my shoulder.

“I do not know about that,” the male voice stated. “While Arceus didn’t heed your plead, I have; meaning I am willing to help an Absol who seems to be desperate in trying to gain something.”

I paused, my front paw once again on the cusp of the moving. Then I let out a sigh. Maybe... just maybe, this voice held the answer to my prayers. I turned and began to tread my way over to the boulder. If it was a Geodude playing a trick on me, I would smash it to bits.

I walked up to the boulder and to my surprise found a small frozen sheet of ice... and staring from within the ice was a large golden mask with two red eyes incase in darkness looking right at me. The blood in my veins froze... it was not Arceus... not Arceus at all.

“Giratina,” I hissed, already beginning to back away. “Stay back foul one!” I growled, raising my horn.

The two red eyes rolled slightly. “Oh please, it is not as if you are going to harm me with that little horn of yours,” Giratina said in an unamused tone. “Beside, that whole ‘foul one’ personality is all in the past.”

I frowned down at the golden mask, my red eyes glaring at it. “So you say, how am I to know that you are not simply attempting to use me for some nefarious purpose?” I asked, no, demanded of him.

“Because I could have done it before when Team Galactic accidently opened a portal to my world,” the legendary ghost dragon stated. “I had a good opportunity then, but I chose not to. In fact, I did save the universe from being destroyed, unlike Dialga and Palkia who were captured by mere humans.”

“I see,” I said slowly as I continued to stare at him. “What... do you have to offer me?”

“Depends, what are you really looking for?” Giratina asked.

“I... I am looking for absolution for a crime,” I told him softly. “And... do not laugh... I know that an Absol searching for absolution is amusing to some...”

“I do not, I find it rather noble,” he replied. “After all, for a Pokemon that receives so much fear and inspires such hatred, it is rather honorable for one of you to be seeking peace.”

I had just been complemented by Giratina, I closed my eyes and let out a short breath.

“I... thank you,” I said with a small nod. “So... can you help me? Else... I will simply return down the way I have come empty pawed to the one I... love.”

“Possibly,” Giratina replied slowly. “I might know of a place of where you can find your peace and the absolution you seek. Of course... you must be prepared to give up the one you love... for a time.”

My eyes narrowed on his image. Was he telling the truth? Did he truly know of place where I could at last find absolution? It... was too good to be true.

“Thank you... but I think I will pass. You are not Arceus, you do not have the power to grant what I seek,” I told it, turning away for a final time.

“That might be true,” Giratina replied. “But neither does Arceus.”

I continued to walk away, not looking back at his empty words.

“If you continue to walk away like this, you will only be spiraling down in your own despair,” Giratina called out. “So much so that you will become more angry and hateful towards everything around you that the only thought which will go through your mind will be to attack everything in sight... even your dear Belle.”

“You don’t know that,” I growled back at him, still striding towards the exit of the summit.

“Is that so?” he replied. “Then I guess that little ‘battle’ with her when coming up the mountain was nothing.”

I froze in stride. “That was nothing,” I stated firmly. “She was fine.”

“That is only because you were holding back... but sooner or later you will slip, and her blood will be splattered across you horn,” he told me with a calm, but serious, tone.

“You- you’re wrong!” I growled. “I-I would never do that!”

“Then continue walking back down the mountain if you truly believe that,” Giratina said. “But if you don’t find what you’re seeking soon, you will regret it.”

That stopped me. As much as I hated to admit it... he was right. I had been so driven to find Arceus. So heedless in my desire that I had abandoned Belle to be captured. So... filled with anger and hate, all directed inwards, that I had lost my senses. If... if I walked away right now... then I would never find my absolution and I would never find myself.

“I’m... listening,” I said as I padded back to the sheet of ice.

The head of the dragon nodded slowly. “Good... as I said, I know of a place of where you can find your absolution... your peace. I can take you there if you wish. Though there is one condition; once you are there you will be stuck there until you find the absolution you seek.”

“And if I never find it?” I asked in a low voice.

“Then you will never be able to return here, you will be forever cut off,” Giratina replied.

“What of Belle?” I asked him slowly. “I know her... she will come looking for me. If she finds naught but an empty mountain then she will simply search all the harder.”

“I will simply tell her that you left and are no longer on the mountain,” he told me. “If she believes me, then she should return to her trainer.”

I thought it over for a moment and then nodded. “I... accept your offer,” I told him. “When Belle comes for me... tell her that I love her... and that I will return when I can.”

Giratina nodded his head. “Then step into the ice, young Absol, come into my domain and you will be one step closer to what you seek.” The image of Giratina vanished, leaving only a picture of what looked like a starry sky.

I took a deep breath and stepped forwards onto the ice. The ice rippled like water, allowing me to easily sink through it, and as I passed through I emerged out of pool of water settling on a large floating rock. My eyes widened in surprise and I looked around uncertainly.

There were dozens of other floating pieces of rocks, or would you consider them islands, of all shapes and size, hovering about. Some of them had trees on them, but they grew with some twist in their trunks, but every one of them were hanging upside down. Off in the distance was a waterfall, but the water was flowing upwards instead of down.

Then it hit me... I was viewing everything upside down.

I let out a cry of surprise and my paws scrambled on the rocky surface until I stopped panicking. I was hanging upside down. And that was alright here. Alright. I was not going to fall to my death. I was... alright.

“Welcome to my domain, young Absol,” Giratina’s voice spoke behind me. I spun and was confronted by a phantasmal dragon. His head was cloaked by a golden mask and a pair of dark eyes stared down at me. Stretching down from its head was a long... seviper like body with six spines and six pair of spikes spread out across it. Emerging from its back were six large... wings of a sort though they were by no means solid.

I will admit... my first reaction to him was to cower in fear; who would not when confronted by such a monstrosity? The power radiating off of him was more than enough to reduce me to nothingness without the least bit of effort... deep down my brain was screaming ‘bad idea, bad idea, bad idea’ at the top of its ‘lungs’.

“I hope you do not mind being upside down, but I do not have much control on where these portals appear,” Giratina told me. “I know to some, it is quite... unsettling.”

“I... it’s... okay,” I finally managed to say. “I’m alright. Yes... I’m alright.”

Giratina nodded his head. “Good, now,” his body weaved through the air and began to approach me. “Jump on and I shall take you to the world which I spoke of,” he finished as the top of his head hovered above me.

“And you will not... eat me?” I asked, though fully aware of how stupid the question sounded the moment it passed between my lips.

“Of course not, Absols give me indigestion. Far too much angst,” he replied, though he chuckled lightly in a joking manner.

“Right...” I said slowly before I sprang lightly, and surprisingly I felt almost completely weightless as I ‘fell’ from my perch on top of the rock, landing on its head.

Giratina began to fly through the air, his body weaving through it like a seviper does when swimming through water. As I stood there atop its head I felt the odd sensation of flight without air racing through my ruff, it was unsettling but I soon grew used to it.

“Where am I going?” I asked him after several long moments of silence, feeling the need to break the oppressive atmosphere.

“A world that borders yours; a place that will be totally new to you, yet holds the air of familiarity to it as well,” Giratina replied.

“Must you speak in riddles?” I asked him with a small snarl of irritation. “While I admit they are better then silence; I would prefer straight answers.”

“Very well, you will be heading to place known as Equestria. It is full of magical, colorful, little Ponyta who on occasion break out into song,” he replied in total seriousness in his voice.

I paused.

“No; honestly where am I going?” I asked him, not buying his words for a moment.

Giratina chuckled slightly in amusement. “You will soon find out for yourself,” he replied as we approached a floating island with another small pool of water in it surrounded by dark looming trees. Giratina lowered his head to allow me to hop off and land on the island. I landed easily and turned back to face him.

“I... thank you Sir? If I find what I am looking for in this ‘Equestria’ then I will be forever in your debt,” I told him.

“Then best of luck to you,” Giratina told me sincerely. “I do hope you will find your peace.”

I gave him a neat bow, and then stepped through the water.

I appeared in an unfamiliar yet uninspiring glen surrounding a pond. I was soaking wet, but I quickly leapt out of the water and gave myself a good shake to disperse the water. I frowned as I sniffed my surroundings and moved my blade slightly from side to side to take in the atmosphere.

The smells were unfamiliar... yet nothing stood out as overly threatening. As for the atmosphere... it was shockingly similar to my own world though I was several hundred feet lower in altitude.

“Strange... I was expecting... odder,” I mused to myself as I continued to look around.

My stomach suddenly gurgled and I realized that I had not eaten since the Clefairy the day before. I heard noise in the underbrush and my ears perked up. Out from within it walked a... extremely small and malformed looking Bibarel. It paused and stared at me for a moment as if I was an unusual plant before it continued about its business.

I raised an eyebrow slightly, but then shrugged. A free breakfast is nothing to sneeze at or pass up. With a simple leap, I reached it and the Bibarel barely had time to react before my teeth seized around its neck. I wiped my head once and the whiplash cracked its neck. I dropped it to the ground and then closed my eyes.

Father Arceus... I know that you did not heed my plea before, but please guide this soul to your embrace, I prayed softly before I began to eat. The meat was good, though a bit too fatty for my tastes. It also was not nearly enough. I frowned as I stepped away from my finished meal, I was still hungry.

Strangely, another two Bibarel appeared out of the underbrush, both wearing puzzled frowns. I struck quickly and before long I was finishing my meal. I strode over to the pond and quickly washed any remaining blood from my coat, then I set off, looking to find my absolution.

Fluttershy stood in front of Applejack’s farm, a smile on her face as she and her friend returned from their ‘spa day’. She had finally managed to talk Applejack into going with her and Rarity for once without there being a large event scheduled. Judging by the faint, relax, smile on her face Applejack had fairly enjoyed the experience.

“I have to say Fluttershy, I might not be into much fru fru stuff, but I can’t deny I had a good time with you and Rarity today,” AJ said tilting her head to the yellow mare. “Thanks for allowing me to join the two of ya.”

“It was my pleasure Applejack,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “I’m just glad that you finally decided to take me up on my offer,” she continued sweetly.

“Well you’re mighty welcome,” the orange earth pony replied. “Hopefully I’ll be free for next spa day, if nothing goes wrong with the apple orchard that is.”

“Oh; well I hope so too,” Fluttershy agreed before she looked up to see a bird flying towards her. “That’s odd, Mister Robin shouldn’t be here,” she said as the red bird alighted in front of her and began to tweet.

Fluttershy’s face went through several different emotions. First it was shock followed closely by grief, and then finally determination and outrage.

Applejack watched the mare with a curious eyebrow. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Some... some awful white monster came out of a pond on the edge of the Everfree and ate three innocent beavers!” Fluttershy exclaimed before she turned to Applejack. “Applejack, I hate to be a bother but...”

“Let me get my lasso, and I’ll help ya capture this ‘monster’,” the mare replied without hesitation.

“Thank you Applejack,” Fluttershy said softly. “I simply cannot let some monster kill my forest friends.”

AJ nodded her head in agreement and broke into a gallop as she ran towards her house.

Fluttershy turned back to Mr. Robin and smiled. “Don’t worry Mister Robin, I’ll make sure that this monster understands that it’s not right to eat innocent little forest creatures,” she told her reassuringly. “Why don’t you stop by my house and ask Angel for some extra food?” The bird tweeted it’s thanks and then took off leaving Fluttershy alone.

“Don’t worry Mister Beaver... I will make sure that this monster understands that what he did was bad, very bad,” Fluttershy whispered softly to her dead friend.

This was not the first time one of her forest friends had been killed by a predator, but after the tongue lashing she had given the entire pack of manticores, she thought that they had learned. The yellow pegasus sighed, the poor manticores had looked so sad afterwards and she did so hate to do it, but it was either that or lose more friends so she’d done it. Now she would have to do it again.

The sound of hooves rushing up filled the mare’s ears and Applejack came to Fluttershy’s side.

“Alrighty, I’m all set,” she told the pegasus. “Lead the way.”

Fluttershy nodded, and together they set off towards the forest.

Chapter 2

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Edited by Element6147

I walked through the forest, my head swiveling from one side to the other as I took in the sights. It was an odd place, I thought, upon my further inspection. None of the other Pokémon seemed intelligent by any degree, at least none that I’d met so far. They were also strangely small. In particular, the Flying-types were extremely tiny, most that I’d seen so far not even the size of a Pidgey.

I had also yet to see an Oddish or a Bellsprout yet, nor even a humble Foongus. It was strange; the place was obviously full of life, yet it was not the sort of life I was used to. While I walked I began to think on what I had agreed to and my mind started to present second thoughts.

How am I supposed to find absolution for my crime when I know not where I am or what lives here? I asked myself with a frown. Worse still, how am I to know when I have truly been absolved? I… was expecting Father Arceus to task me with something… and upon completion of that task I would be absolved… I trailed off, not liking the thread of that thought.

A stick broke to the side of me and I turned to find myself confronted by a pair of glowing green eyes. Standing there in the brush beside me was… a green Mightyena who appeared to be made entirely of sticks and leaves. I regarded it with a frown.

“Hello; who are you?” I inquired, using a long standing practice that dictates hunters need not bother hunting other hunters. In response to my question it cocked its head to the side. Then it took a step forward, sniffing me before snarling and leaping back.

Strange. I frowned at it; did I truly smell so foul?

“I ask again; who are you?” I repeated. The strange Mightyena simply snarled at me. “I do not wish to hurt you, but if you continue to threaten me, I will have no choice,” I told it firmly. The beast growled at me some more, yet made no move to attack me, so I gave it a small shrug and carried on my way.

Strange, I thought to myself. Was it simply too stupid to understand me, or was I not speaking the same tongue as it? That was a difficulty I had not expected, though in retrospect, it now seemed quite obvious that I would encounter it.

I carried on down the path, not quite sure of where I was going until I sensed movement behind me. I sprang forwards and landed facing backwards to see that the green Mightyena had returned, and this time it had brought friends with it.

“Do you truly wish to do this?” I asked them, though certain that my words would have no effect.

True to my thoughts, the Mightyena did not heed me and snarled in unison at me before leaping at me. I sidestepped the first one as it hurtled towards me, and my blade slashed into its chest. The Mightyena let out a cry of pain as it landed, and I was forced to leap aside once more to avoid the others.

They landed before me and advanced as a group, forcing me to back away. I had no wish to sustain a real injury this early into my stay on this strange world. The Mightyena who I had already wounded had gotten to his wooden paws and regained its brothers, none the worse for wear. My brain kicked into overdrive, they were obviously grass types meaning that my dark attacks would do little real damage… so I would have to use something else.

I smiled as I came up with the proper solution – I would just have to draw upon my inheritance. I took in a deep breath to both steady myself and gather air for the attack to come. Then I exhaled and a stream of fire shot out of my mouth, hitting two of the four Mightyena.

The creatures let out yipping barks of surprise at the sudden fire, and the ones who had been hit directly let out howls of pain as they burned away to charcoal. I fixed the remaining Mightyena with a flat stare and let out a snarl.

“Leave me alone now and I will not inflict the same fate on you,” I told them from between gritted teeth. The Mightyena regarded me for a moment longer before they jumped back into the underbrush, leaving me alone once more. With a small sigh, I walked up to the burning twigs. “Father Arceus, I have slain another in self-defense. Please accept them and help their souls on their journey to you.”

I turned away and began to walk down the path once more; the forest around me had fallen silent. The short encounter had me slightly shaken, I was not used to being attacked unprovoked. I was, after all a fairly peaceful soul, or as much as any Pokémon could be considered one at any rate. As such, I could usually talk my way out of any major conflict, but here on this strange world, that would apparently not be the case.

A sigh worked its way out of my chest and I shook my head, it seemed that finding my absolution here would be even more difficult. Still, I had to, otherwise I would never see my dear Belle again, and that thought chilled my heart.

As I came around the bend, my heart still heavy with thoughts of never seeing Belle, I froze. Standing there, regarding me with a critical eye was a Blitzle, though it was unlike any I had ever seen before. For one, it looked far too mature, un-baby like. For another it lacked the distinctive electric crest, instead it had a grey and white mane. Lastly, it was adorned with several nuggets worth of golden jewelry.

I frowned at it, inspecting it as it did the same with me. Giratina's words came back to me: “A land of magical singing Ponyta”. Could this be one such creature?

“Hello?” I asked it slowly, keeping my voice calm. The ‘Blitzle’ frowned slightly.

“~~My, my, what a strange creature you are~~,” it spouted some gibberish in return. “~~Truly, you must have come some place very far~~.”

“I see… you cannot understand me,” I said, sighing slightly in the face of even more evidence of my alien nature here.

“~~You do not appear to be overly-threatening, which is strange~~,” the ‘Blitzle’ said, once again spouting gibberish. “~~Most of the creatures of Everfree are hostile, should I enter their range~~.”

I let out a huff, seeing that I would be getting nowhere with the creature and simply walked towards, and then around it, carrying on my way. The ‘Blitzle’ watched my course carefully, on the lookout for any predatory actions and as I walked away I heard it let out an audible sigh.

“~~Stranger and stranger~~,” the ‘Blitzle’ muttered to herself. “~~Perhaps Twilight will know if this creature represents a danger~~.”

It set off in the opposite direction from me and I soon put the encounter behind me. I had more pressing concerns. I continued walking for another ten or twenty minutes before I began to grow thirsty and I lifted my nose to the air, searching for a water source. Thankfully, it did not take me long, and I came upon a small brook and lowered my head to begin lapping up the water.

As I did so however, something strange happened. A rope of some sort fell across my neck, pulling taught. I was suddenly pulled to the side and nearly toppled over, I would have if not for my year spent in the mountains. Instead, I turned to find the source of the rope and found myself looking at two… strange Ponyta.

I stared at the two strange Ponyta in puzzlement. The one holding onto the lasso with its teeth was a light orange color and was wearing a rancher’s hat. She, it was obviously a she, had a blonde mane in exchange of flames and a determined look in her eyes. The other was a true oddity; it was shaped much like a Ponyta yet it had a pink mane and... a pair of wings on its sides. I stared at it for a moment, truly puzzled.

“May I help you?” I asked them, the futility of the act notwithstanding, it seemed the appropriate response.

“~~I gotcha, you varmint,~~,” the orange one grunted from between its teeth. I frowned at the words. The tone did not seem overly friendly. That, coupled with the rope around my neck seemed to indicate hostility, though what I could have done to garner such was a mystery to me.

“~~Not too tightly, Applejack~~,” the... odd one said, its tone kinder. “~~Remember, we’re here to teach it that eating cute little animals when they’re near my cottage is wrong, not to hurt it~~.”

“~~Right, sugarcube~~,” the first one garbled back at it.

I raised an eyebrow at them, the rope was beginning to annoy me. So, with a simple sweep of my head I sliced through it with my blade. The effects were rather comical; the orange one fell flat on her face, and I could not help the small smirk from crossing my face at the sight.

“~~Applejack, are you alright?!~~” the other asked, hurrying in front of her companion, her voice clearly worried.

“~~I’m fine~~,” it grunted as it got back to its hooves. “~~Consarn thing just caught me off guard is all~~.” It then looked down at its now useless length of rope. “~~And it cost me a lasso~~.”

I watched all of this with a frown, I was certain that I had not harmed the orange one, yet the amount of fuss the winged one was giving it made me think otherwise. The winged one turned away from her friend and gave me a hard stare, though I met it easily enough at first.

“~~How dare you break Applejack’s lasso? You should be ashamed of yourself~~.” it said angrily. I was confused; there was no real reason to be angry with me, I had simply cut a rope impeding my freedom. It was hardly a crime… as far as I knew at any rate.

So, I glared right back at the winged one, fully meeting her gaze. Her eyes were a marvelous cyan, almost as wondrous as Belle’s, and just as full of empathy and love. Still, I did not waver beneath their pressure.

“~~You also ate three of my beaver friends this morning while they were under~~ my ~~protection and I am here to tell you that is not how we do things here~~.” the winged one told me strictly – its tone of voice actually reminded me of my mother’s when she was angry at me.

“I have no idea what you’re saying,” I told her plainly. “Though I apologize for whatever I have done to earn your… chastisement.”

The winged one frowned at my words and at last I saw understanding bloom in its expression.

“~~You can’t understand me~~?” it said, though it was clearly directing a question at me.

“Once again, I have no idea what you’re saying,” I replied. “Though I am happy that something in this strange forest can understand me at the very least.”

“~~Do you even think you can communicate with it Fluttershy~~?” the orange Ponyta asked the other.

“~~Well... I can understand it... sort of. Its ‘speech’ is heavily accented… almost like it comes from Prance~~,” the winged one replied.

“~~Do you figure Twilight has some sort of spell to make you understand it more~~?” the orange one inquired.

While this was going on, I continued to glance between the two. The hostility had evaporated, for the most part so I saw no reason to flee or assault them. In fact, those two might, in fact, be my means of absolution.

“~~I don’t know… I suppose it’s worth a try~~.” the winged one hazarded. “~~Of course, we have to know where we can find it again later or even better; bring it with us~~.”

The orange one glanced at me with a judgmental frown. “~~I don’t know… it did openly kill those beavers on your land… but it doesn’t seem very hostile~~…” she slowly stated. “~~If you trust it enough to follow ya, I guess we can head over to Twi, but I’ll be keeping an eye on it~~.”

“~~Okay, let me ask it~~,” the winged one replied. She then turned to me. “~~Will you come with us~~?” she asked gesturing at me and then at them and then down the path they had come.

I frowned; it was clearly asking me to come with them. It was a risk, yet at the moment, I had no other real options. So, with a small nod, I stepped slowly forward. I walked up to her, while the orange one closely watched my movement. Then I bent down and gave the winged one a careful sniff.

She smelled of a variety of different small smells, each battling for dominance. Most clearly at the moment was that of a collection of three soaps, though layered beneath that was dry hay and seeds. Lastly was the musty smell of many Pokémon, though I could not identify any of them.

The winged one accepted my sniff calmly.

“~~See, I smell friendly~~,” she said easily. I frowned at the words and then shrugged, turning to the orange one and leaning forwards to repeat the process.

She slightly leaned her head away, but didn’t say anything against me, only continuing to watch me with wary eyes. Her scent was much easier to identify; there was soap, yes, but it was faint. The most easily apparent scent to her was that of apples and sweat. A hard worker and possibly a ranch ‘hand’ if my memory of humans was correct. Of course, that assumed the strange Ponyta’s culture was anything like the humans’.

I leaned away from her and turned my head back to the winged one. “My name is Cres... and I will follow you,” I told her slowly.

“Cres,” she repeated, and this time I could understand the word, it was my name after all. I nodded and let out a huff of agreement.

“Lead on,” I stated simply.

“~~I... okay~~,” the winged one said, turning around. “~~Come on, Applejack; let’s get Cres here to Twilight~~.”

The orange one nodded her head. “~~Alrighty... I’ll be right behind the two of y’all~~.” she said.

I gave her a skeptical glance, sensing the lingering hostility in her words, but shrugged and followed the winged one as she began to walk down the path. The orange one fell in behind me and I could sense her eyes boring into the back of my skull. Together, the three of us began to walk out of the forest.

Chapter 3

View Online

Edited by Element6147

Our strange party spent close to half an hour walking out of the forest, along the way the winged one had attempted to speak to me more. Though she’d had no evident success; the orange one had been mostly quiet during the journey, however, her gaze rarely shifted away from me. I frowned as we neared the edge of the forest, my blade-like tail swishing back and forth, I was eager to be out from beneath the oppressive eaves.

“~~Okay Cres, we’re getting close to Ponyville now, so I need you to be on your best behavior,~~” the winged one told me.

I gave her a raised eyebrow and repeated the same phrase I had been using quite a bit of today. “I cannot understand a word you are saying,” I told her dryly.

The winged one frowned. “~~Applejack, keep a close eye on him please. I don’t think Cres here understands what I’m saying... in fact, I think he keeps telling me that.~~” she said.

“~~I already am, surgarcube,~~” the orange one replied. “~~Cres won’t be evading my sight anytime soon.~~”

“~~Good,~~” the winged one said with a small nod. “~~I don’t think he’s a bad kitty, I think he just doesn’t know better.~~”

There was something about her tone that made me snort, but I remained otherwise silent.

“~~Kitty?~~,” the orange Ponyta asked doubtingly.

“~~Yes... he’s kind of like a lion, I think,~~” the winged one replied a bit uncertainly.

“~~Some lion...~~ the orange Ponyta said with some disbelief.

I looked back and forth between them and then shrugged my shoulders slightly as I looked at the buildings we were approaching. They were a combination of old rustic style houses like the ones in Johto region along with several which resembled nothing so much as... strange desert.

Not only were there buildings, but there were a great many of the strange Ponyta walking and flying around. I did a double take as four flew by my head and my face scrunched up into a frown. There were so many of them and they came in so many colors. To be honest; it was rather disorienting, worse yet, many of them were staring at me. In fact, a trio of them that reminded me of flowers took one look at me and ran away screaming.

“This promises to go well...” I murmured before adding out of habit. “Father Arceus, give me strength...”

The yellow winged one turned back to look at me with concern. “~~I know that it’s scary, but it’s going to be alright.~~” she babbled at me reassuringly.

I shook my head, my white ruff billowing slightly around my face as a fey wind blew in from the north and I closed my eyes as my blade began to track the... strange weather conditions in the air. They were... calm. Completely calm. Unnaturally calm. There was not an unusual updraft or front in the air, not a single out of place cloud in the sky. It was... perfect, far too perfect.

I began to growl softly in my throat and my fur began to stand on end causing the orange Ponyta to tense up a bit and intense her glare at me.

“~~No funny business, you hear?~~” she pointlessly told me, through her tone of voice held a forewarning quality to it.

“~~Cres, what’s wrong?~~” the yellow winged one asked with a concerned look in her eyes.

“Weather. Too. Perfect,” I replied, guessing the intent behind her words.

“~~He says there’s something wrong with the weather... I think,~~” Fluttershy said with a glance towards her orange friend.

The orange Ponyta raised a puzzled eyebrow. “~~What? The day too sunny for him or somethin’?~~” I picked up the sarcasm in her tone and gave her a glare as I continued to growl softly in my throat.

“~~Too... perfect, I think,~~” the yellow winged one said with a frown. “~~Though I don’t know what Cres is meaning by that.~~” I looked over at her at the sound of my name, but she was focusing on the orange one.

“~~That’s a silly reason to growl if I’ve ever heard one,~~” the other one said a bit flatly.

“~~Well... let’s just move a bit faster. Once he’s inside of the library, maybe he’ll settle down.~~” the yellow winged one said. I could tell that her tone was optimistic. Whatever she’d said it caused her to move faster and I had to pick up my paws a little bit to keep up with her, though not too much. I had the feeling that if needed, I could easily outrun both her and the orange one, despite their Ponyta-like appearance.

“~~Hopefully...~~” the orange one replied as she too picked her her pace and continued to trail me and the yellow winged one.

Thankfully, we reached our destination quickly enough. It was... a tree that had obviously been hollowed out and formed into a house of sorts. I frowned at it, it reminded me of leaflets of the city White Forest on my travel to Mt. Coronet. I paused for a moment before its wooden door and took a moment to examine the engraving on it before the winged yellow one pushed the door open and called out within it.

“~~Twilight; are you home?~~”

“~~Yes; what do you need Fluttershy?~~” a feminine voice called back from within it.

“~~Well... I have an animal here and I need your help to understand what he’s trying to tell me.~~” the winged yellow one said.

“~~You need my help; really?~~” the other voice asked, getting closer. “~~Ordinarily it’s me that needs your help.~~”

“~~It’s not like any animal we’ve ever encountered in the Everfree, Twi,~~” the orange one stated.

“~~How is that possible? Well, bring it inside,~~” the voice replied. I could sense eagerness in her voice.

The yellow winged one turned to me. “~~Okay, Cres, I need you to go inside here and not attack anypony or damage any of the books. Can you do that?~~”

“I still can’t understand a word you’re saying,” I told her blandly, letting the low growl drop from my voice. “But I promise you I won’t do anything rash.”

The yellow one nodded her head slightly and walked in; I followed and immediately found myself lost within room full of smells. The first that assaulted me was that of aged hardwood followed swiftly by the all but overpowering scent of musty paper. I have never enjoyed reading, it was not a skill that my species is very good at and I suspect that it one of the reasons that it took me so long to get to Mt. Coronet... well that, and being nearly delirious with the drive to run.

Regardless, to say that I was out of my depth in terms of number of books within the room would have been a gross understatement. There must have been hundreds of the things stacked neatly around the room in orderly shelves. There were more things in the room but none of them caught my attention like the books... Belle would be in paradise here. She, unlike I, adored books for reasons that continue to elude me.

I was shocked out of my slight trance at the sound of china cracking and a loud exclamation. “~~By Celestia’s beard!~~”

My head whirled around to the voice, to see a purple... Rapidash... though it’s horn was much smaller than I was accustomed to, and it was also the same size as the other Ponytas. It even lacked the distinctive fiery mane and fetlocks. Of course, living in a tree that made sense I suppose. Strangest of all, to my eyes at any rate, it possessed a pair of small purple feathered wings.

“~~What-what is that?!~~” the Rapidash stuttered.

“~~We don’t know,~~ the orange one replied. “~~That’s one of the reasons why we came to you, Twi.~~”

As I fixed the bizarre Rapidash with a scrutinizing red-eyed glance, I also caught sight of a broken cup at her hooves. That would explain the sound I’d heard.

“~~He says his name is Cres,~~” the yellow one added, causing me to look over at her at the sound of my name. “~~He’s... Prench, we think.~~”

The Rapidash frowned and raised an eyebrow slightly. “~~He... has a name?~~”

“~~Yes, or, so he tells me anyways,~~” the yellow one replied.

“~~Okay... so if he can tell you his name, then why do you need my help?~~” the Rapidash asked.

“~~‘Cause we can’t understand a single word he says,~~” the orange one replied. “~~Or at least I can’t - all I hear is growling or snarling from him.~~”

As they began to talk, I moved a little bit more inside of the house, pacing around a little, glad to be within it. The wooden top of the place seemed to be blocking out the... perfection outside. The Rapidash was so caught up in her conversation with the other two that she didn’t notice that I was standing beside her, my nose an inch away from the top of her head until I took an inhale.

She reacted in possibly the most amusing way I have ever seen anyone anywhere react to being sniffed. A surprised squeak burst out of her throat and she vanished in a flash of light, leaving me blinking back from the ‘lens flare’. I snarled slightly and backed away, shaking my head. Then I spotted the Rapidash standing at the top of a nearby staircase, looking at me with wide eyes. I shot her an annoyed glare; I had simply wanted to sniff her.

“~~He just wanted to get your scent ,Twilight.~~” the yellow one said softly. Was it just my untrained ears, or was there a slight note of amusement to her voice?

“~~I... knew that,~~” the Rapidash replied as she flapped her wings and glided down from the staircase and landed in front of me. “~~I just didn’t expect it.~~”

“~~Well, you probably should let him do it,~~” the orange one said with a reluctant frown. “~~Though don’t let him get too close to your face.~~”

I looked between the three of them with a small frown on my blue face before I looked at the purple one again, raising an eyebrow slightly and cocking my head to the side a bit.

The Rapidash frowned for a moment before she extended her hoof to me. I gave it an inquisitive glance before I moved forwards to sniff it for a moment.

Books. Lots. And. Lots. Of. Books.

There was more, but it was hidden beneath the smell of the books. Well, there was one other thing, ink, lots of ink.

I scrunched up my nose and recoiled, a low snarl of irritation building up in my throat. I hated the smell of ink... it brought up bad memories.

the Rapidash backed away, her eyes going wide while the orange one tensed and prepared to clobber me. The yellow one on the other paw walked up and gently put a hoof on my shoulder.

“~~This is Twilight,~~” she said calmly. “~~Twilight is a~~ friend,” she stated firmly.

“But she stinks of ink!” I replied futilely. She frowned at me and then turned to Twilight.

“~~He said something about you... being smelly... and ink I think,~~” she reported.

“~~First he growls at the weather and now at ink?~~” the orange one commented. “~~What next, the grass is too fluffy?~~”

“~~I... see,~~” the Rapidash said with a frown. “~~So... you need to be able to speak Prench, Fluttershy?~~”

“~~Yes... it has been a long time since I studied it in school,~~” the yellow one said with a small nod.

I let out a sigh and plopped down on my rear; they were still talking. I could not tell why it vexed me so. Was it just that my year of solitude had made me anti-social, or did they simply do it more then I remember Pokémon and their Trainers?

Whatever the case, I was growing bored with the constant incomprehensible chatter and I had nothing to do to conquer my boredom then to look at the books. You would think that a year alone on a mountain would have gotten me used to boredom. But in reality it was the opposite. There had always been something to do; whether it was gather food, or praying to Father Arceus, my brain had been occupied.

“~~What’s he doing?~~” the rapidash asked with a frown as she looked over at me. “~~He’s just... sitting there with his eyes looking at the wall.~~”

“~~Cres?~~” I turned to find the yellow one looking at me in concern. “~~Is something wrong?~~”

“Bored,” I grunted, catching the meaning behind her words.

“~~My guess, he’s bored, from the way he’s carrying himself,~~” the orange one said.

“~~Ah, yes, that would make sense I suppose,~~” the Rapidash babbled. “Well, thankfully, when I became a Princess, Celestia gave me several two way translation talismans... I don’t know if they’ll let us understand him or just you, Fluttershy. They weren’t really made for animals.”

“~~I’ll be happy for anything you can give,~~” the yellow one said with a small smile. “~~Then I can explain to him why it’s bad to eat beavers when they are near my house.~~”

The Rapidash’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but seeing the calm expression on yellow one’s face, she also remained calm.

“~~Like what happened with the manticores last year?~~” the Rapidash asked.

“~~Yes, the poor dear just doesn’t know any better.~~” the yellow one replied.

“~~I’ll say... I’m even wondering if his head is even on straight in the first place,~~” the orange one murmured.

I looked at her with an irritated look, sensing the dismissiveness of her tone.

“~~Anyways, you just wait right here and I’ll be back with my amulets.~~” the Rapidash said with a small shrug.

She vanished for close to sixty awkward seconds before she reappeared with a pair of small golden necklaces, each of which had a small diamond embedded in the center of them. Strangely, she was levitating them in the air beside her, but I’d already figured out that she was a Psychic-type, so it was not wholly unusual.

I frowned at the necklace before I bowed my head slightly to allow her better access. Even so, it took her close to a minute to maneuver it around my blade before it fell across my neck. Yellow one was also wearing a necklace so I looked at her and raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Yellow One, can you understand me now?” I asked, to my surprise, she smiled.

“My name is Fluttershy, Cres, not Yellow One,” she, Fluttershy, said in a perfect, if unaccented, voice.

I allowed a smile to cross my face. “Excellent; this is rather unexpected. Normally, humans cannot understand Pokémon, however you seem to have that ability naturally.” I said before glancing at the Rapidash and orange one. “I take it that the strange Rapidash and the orange Ponyta can’t understand me?”

Fluttershy frowned at me and then turned to the other two. “Did either of you understand what he said?”

They both shook their heads. “~~I heard... Prench accented growls,~~” the Rapidash said with a frown.

“Hmm... I guess you were right Twilight,” Fluttershy said, I silently replaced ‘Rapidash’ with ‘Twilight’.

“So, this one is known as Twilight,” I said, gesturing at the one formerly known as Rapidash. “What about the grumpy orange one?”

“That’s Applejack; and... she’s not grumpy,” Fluttershy said.

“~~What did he say about me being ‘grumpy?~~’,” ‘Applejack’ inquired from Fluttershy.

“Umm... he had been calling you the ‘grumpy orange one’,” Fluttershy told her friend, or I assumed she was her friend at any rate.

Applejack let out a small scoff. “~~Well at least I’m not the one who’s growling for pointless reasons.~~”

Twilight’s eyes widened as a thought hit her. “~~Oh yes, I had forgotten. Ask him why he was growling at both me and the sky,~~” she insisted.

“Um, Twilight, you said you had several of these necklaces right?” Fluttershy asked, turning to Twilight with curious eyes.

“~~Well, yes, but they wouldn’t work for either of us~~,” Twilight replied. “~~At least, not at the moment anyways.~~”

“~~What do you mean?~~” Applejack asked.

Twilight cleared her throat, and for a moment I had a rather... unpleasant flashback to when I had once been trapped in a lecture hall for three hours. I cursed inwardly at my misfortune.

“Well, Applejack, the spell in the talismans’ diamonds is only ‘pre-set’ with Prench. Fluttershy is only capable of understanding what he is saying because she was born with the innate ability to speak with beasts.” the purple... mare began. I stared at her. I could not understand a single word that she was saying and that somehow made it worse. “So the talisman is translating the… uh, creature’s speech into a form that he can understand by adding the Prench, and in turn Cres’ talisman is translating his animal Prench into beast... Equish, I guess. The theory’s right, at least.” she finished.

Applejack blinked blankly at Twilight. “~~So... in other words, we’ll have to wait till it can translate Cres’ grunts and growls into words?~~”

Twilight did the strangest little nodding... clapping combination I have ever seen, rapidly clapping her forehooves together in an almost cartoonish manner.

“~~Yes, that’s it exactly!~~” she said. I couldn’t understand what the actual words were but they sounded excited.

I turned to Fluttershy who had been about to relate Twilight’s entire lecture to me and held up a paw. “Please; spare me,” I told her simply. “The only one who I would suffer through a lecture like that from is Belle.”

Fluttershy shut her mouth mid breath and then frowned. “Who is Belle?”

“My... love,” I said slowly before looking away. “She is waiting for me back home.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said softly. “I didn’t mean to pry into your life.”

“Do not trouble yourself with it,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders slightly. “You only asked the question. There was not any prying.”

“~~Fluttershy, don’t mean to push ya, but don’t forget the whole reason we came here,~~” Applejack told the yellow mare.

“Oh, right,” Fluttershy said with a small blush before she turned back to me. “Cres, I need you to understand that you aren’t allowed to kill the woodland critters when they are so close to Ponyville.”

I frowned at her. “What do you mean?” I asked her, not sure what she was talking about.

“Well, the entire reason why Applejack and I came looking for you in the first place was because you killed three of the beavers who live on the edge of Everfree,” she explained to me.

“Do you mean the small Bibarels I ate this morning as my breakfast?” I asked her with a frown. “What of it? Were they yours?” I added with a small note of concern in my voice.

“I- no,” Fluttershy replied with a shake of her head. “They were just free creatures living their lives and you killed them.”

“And your point is?” I inquired, truly not seeing the disconnect.

Now if they had been her ‘beavers’ then I would have been apologetic and offered to find some way to repay her for the loss... one did not eat an ‘owned’ Pokémon. I had learned that particular lesson the hard way long ago. But free Pokemon? They were dinner for whoever wished to eat them if they were strong enough.

“My point is you can’t just do that!” Fluttershy exclaimed, her face tone becoming a little less patient than before.

“Why?” I asked. “If you do not own them, then who are you to tell me what I may or may not eat?”

“Because- because-” Fluttershy floundered with her words for a moment. “Because that is a safe area and all of them know that,” she settled on. “I made it that way.”

“By what right?” I inquired, rising to my paws. “Do you own the forest?”

“No, I don’t own the forest...” she said in a soft voice. “But the woodland critters are supposed to be able to live in that area in harmony.”

“So I suppose by your logic I am not to hunt in this area, to travel miles and miles to find food?” I asked her. “I am after all a carnivore, with the exception of the occasional berry or puff, but I cannot survive on them indefinitely.”

“~~Fluttershy, what’s going on?~~” Twilight asked, looking between the two of us.

“I’m trying to make Cres here understand why he shouldn’t hunt the woodland critters,” Fluttershy replied.

“~~Because it disrupts the natural balance of the wildlife,~~” Applejack said a bit plainly.

Fluttershy nodded and turned back to me. “Exactly like Applejack said, it’s also bad because it upsets the natural balance of the wildlife,” she explained.

I frowned at her once more. “That... doesn’t make any sense. If a predatory Pokemon doesn’t eat the weaker or sick Pokémon, then their population will explode and they will devour all of the Grass-types, not to mention the other plants,” I said with a shake of my head. I couldn’t believe that I was actually using the subject of that lecture to my advantage in something... I owed Belle a ‘you were right’ kiss when I got back.

Fluttershy was staring at me blankly. Then, seeing no argument, she relayed my answer to her friends. Or I assumed that’s what she did because she took quite a bit of time to say it. When she’d finished Twilight was the first to say anything.

“Oooh ~~he’s from a more wild portion of the world,~~” she said with a small grin. “~~I hadn’t known there were any parts of Prance fitting that description!~~”

“~~I don’t see what there’s to get excited over,~~” Applejack said a bit flatly. “~~In fact, it only makes him seem like more of a threat.”~~ she added while her eyes turned towards me.

I met her eyes and let out a low throaty growl, I did not like this ‘Applejack’, not at all.

“I believe I shall be leaving now,” I told Fluttershy stiffly before I rose to my paws and turned towards the door. “I may find you later. And no, that was not meant to sound menacing,” I added.

“Cres, don’t go,” Fluttershy protested.

“~~And where does the little varmint think he’s going?~~ Applejack asked as she began to move towards me.

Before she could get much closer to me, I leapt forwards, leaving a blur behind myself before bolting out through the door. Literally. I blinked twice - the door had been much thinner than I had expected and thus hurt much less. I didn’t have time to worry about that, however. Instead, I sprinted back the way I had come, dodging and weaving through traffic with ease. A year spent dodging falling boulders helped a great deal in that regard and before long I was back within the all concealing canopy of the forest.

I let out a sigh, confident that I had ‘made good’ on my escape. Then it hit me; I had just destroyed my chance of finding absolution here, the one place where I had found someone who could understand me.

“Magikarp,” I muttered darkly. “I... screwed up already... a year of traveling, a year of praying, and a single day is all it takes for me to lose it...” I sighed and closed my eyes. “I’m sorry Belle... I should’ve just taken you up on your offer...” I shook my head and headed off into the forest, the darkness closing in around me.

Chapter 4

View Online

Fluttershy was still staring in shock at the place where Cres had been standing less than a second before. He was... so fast, the only one faster that she’d ever seen was Rainbow Dash. Twilight was frowning while Applejack gritted her teeth.

“Gosh darnit,” she muttered with a hard edge.

“He moves very fast,” Twilight said as she produced a letter and a quil. “I’m going to write to Celestia and ask her what she thinks we should do.”

“But I thought that Spike and Rarity left to go gem hunting once we left the spa.” Fluttershy replied with a frown.

“Oh, he did. But since I became a Princess I’ve had access to the Royal Message Service Spell.” Twilight answered as she began to write. “It’s very convenient.”

“Well, while you’re working on that, I’m going out to find the little varmint,” Applejack said, making her way out through the door.

“Applejack, wait for me,” Fluttershy said as she walked quickly after the other mare. “I’m coming with you.”

The orange mare glanced at Fluttershy for a moment and nodded her head. “Alright... might as well let you tag along. Going to need your ability to speak to him once... or if I find him.”

“Oh, I hope we do. I don’t want any more of the woodland critters to be killed,” Fluttershy said with a worried expression. “What should we do when we do find him? What if he won’t listen to us again?”

“Then we need to find some way to capture him,” Applejack replied.

“But... he already cut your lasso,” Fluttershy said with a frown.

“Which is why I said we need to find some way to capture him,” the earth pony restated.

“Any ideas?” the pegasus asked. “Ways that wouldn’t hurt him too badly?”

“A few...” Applejack murmured. “Think a pit will hold him?”

“Maybe,” Fluttershy replied. “Though judging by his body type and the leap that he showed us earlier when he escaped, he is very good at jumping,” she added.

“Then we either dig a deep pit, making some sort of cover to block the top, or come up with something else,” AJ replied.

“Alright... I can see that,” Fluttershy agreed. “Do you have any sort of cover like that in the barn?”

“I got lot of spare wood for making fences,” the mare replied with a small pondering frown. “I could makeshift a cover for our pit.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy said. “Let’s go over to the farm and see if your brother will help us dig the pit.”

Applejack nodded her head. “Good thinking there Fluttershy.” Fluttershy smiled under the praise and together they set off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

I sat in the shadows of a large tree, my head between my forelegs. I would not give up, I had decided that much. I would not be abandoned on this world without my Belle. I would find the absolution I was seeking. I was sure of it. I had simply run into several... stumbling blocks.

All around me the forest breathed, the wind flowed through the trees, the Pokemon-like birds who were not Pokemon tweeted and I heard the distinctive pop and crackle of bug Pokemon in the background. Of course, they were not really bug Pokemon; I had seen several already and they were much too small. Several had even tried to suck my blood, or at least I imagine that’s what they were trying to do, yet they could not penetrate my skin nor my fur.

Still, the nuisances had remained, buzzing about me until I had sought out the shelter provided by the old evergreen. I suppose that even on an alien world, the hearty evergreen remained strong. A small sigh escaped from my lips as I remembered one particular evergreen in my mind’s eye.

I sat curled up against its trunk, a hand running down my back, hitting just the right spots to make me sigh in relaxation, my tail jumping right and then left.

I shook my head, now was not the time to remember that memory. No time was a good time. Yet despite that, everywhere I went, I sought out the familiar trunk of an evergreen to lean against. My nest on Mt. Coronet had been beneath one and throughout my travels I had left many empty depressions beneath pine boughs.

In my head I could already here Belle gently ribbing me. You just spent ten minutes thinking about pine trees, Cres. You need a hobby. she’d tell me before giving me a small nuzzle. My eyes shut and I began to doze off lightly, strangely secure beneath my green guardian.

Unfortunately, I did not have long to sleep as a new presence entered into the small clearing. The sound of pine needles crinkling softly woke me and I looked up to find that the... Blitzle-like creature from before had entered the clearing. I tensed, yet she seemed not to hear me, instead simply going about her business and collecting needles from the trees along with sap.

There have been many times I have thanked my Dark typing. For example, I believe it is one of the only reasons why a Pokémon with a nearly entirely white body can sit in darkness and not give away his presence.

At least, until the Blitzle came to my tree and gave me a smile.

“~~Well hello there again,~~” she said in a friendly tone. “~~It is nice to see you once more in my domain.~~”

I frowned at her but then shrugged and nodded back, it wasn’t like I understood what she was saying.

She looked over me with a shrewd eye for a moment, taking in the slight sheen of sweat that I had yet to fully remove from my fur in my flight from the town along with the burrs and small twigs caught in my ruff.

“~~Though I must say, you appear to have run afoul of those who would rather ruin your day.~~” she added in a sympathetic voice. I let out a huff and turned my head away from her, not in the mood to listen to some Blitzle pretender’s babble. I spent several minutes looking away before I finally looked back and found that she had taken a seat beside me in the needles.

“~~There is no need for such rudeness,~~” she told me, her tone staying friendly. “~~I hope you’re not offended by my boldness.~~”

“I can’t understand what you’re saying,” I told her sourly. “Even with this necklace,” I added while using a claw to hold it up for her to see.

The Blitzle frowned down at the necklace for a moment before her eyes widened slightly.

“~~Ah, you saw my good friend Twilight~~.” she stated with a smile. “~~I take it that your visit was ended with your wild flight?~~”

I shrugged and let the necklace fall once more before settling my head once more between my front paws.

“~~I see,~~” she said with a small nod. “~~I suppose that is why you are huddled beneath this tree.~~”

I gave her a flat look; I was growing irritated by her constant talking. To my surprise, this just caused her to chuckle.

“~~I talk too much, do I?~~” she inquired. Now that I listened, there was something smooth about the way she spoke. I turned my head up to look at her, looking into her dark cyan eyes with my own red ones. “~~You need not hide it, for it is clear on your face.~~” She got to her hooves, but not before she reached over to gently stroke my back fur causing me to tense for a moment before she withdrew it. “~~Well, I will be on my way; have a pleasant day.~~” she told me before she left the clearing.

For a moment, just a moment, I felt a familiar sense of peace settle over my mind and I shut my eyes once more.

I awoke once more, several hours later judging by the position of the sun through the trees and let out a yawn. My stomach gurgled - I was hungry, so it was time to hunt. I began to go through my routine stretches, and in a short time, I felt limber enough to move at top speed once again. Then, I took the time to groom myself, doing an extensive job until my fur and ruff were spotless once more.

My paws walked silently through the forest, my head on a constant swivel for the sound of prey. Off in the distance I heard something strange.

“Oh Cres, do please come out,” Fluttershy’s voice called. “I’m not mad at you.”

I frowned, did she take me for a fool to believe her so easily?

Still, I was curious, and she was the only one here who could understand me... aside from the Blitzle, who I was beginning to suspect knew a little more than she was letting on. So, cautiously, I walked towards her voice and found Fluttershy standing near the edge of the forest.

I walked out of the eaves of the forest and strode carefully towards her. “Fluttershy?” I asked carefully as I scanned the surroundings. “Why are you standing out here?”

“Well, I couldn’t just let you go out into Everfree by yourself,” she said with a soft smile. “It dangerous.”

My right eyebrow rose. “I have had little trouble so far. Aside from several wooden Mightyena who I sent running,” I told her with a slight shrug.

“Wooden Mightyena? You mean timberwolves?” She asked me, concern in her eyes.

“Is that what they’re called?” I asked her, frowning slightly. “Well, regardless, I taught them who was stronger and I have not been troubled by them since.”

“I... um, I see,” Fluttershy replied. “So, about what we were talking about before you... fled...”

“I simply removed myself from the room before I was forced to defend myself,” I told her neutrally. “Should I be attacked, then I am well within my rights as a free Pokémon to defend myself with lethal force.”

“Oh-oh my!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “But Applejack wouldn’t have tried to hurt you that badly!”

“Strangely, I don’t believe you,” I replied with a small shrug. “However, if I am to fulfil my purpose here and return to my beloved Belle then I must find a way to manage.”

“So... you won’t hunt any more of the woodland critters?” she asked, a note of hope in her voice.

“I never said that,” I told her. “I will only hunt those who are weak or overly fat, thus removing them from the food chain.”

The note of hope I’d heard in her voice died. “Oh... I see...” she said despondently.

“No, I do not think you do,” I said, a faintly annoyed tone in my voice. “I have to have fresh meat at least twice a day. Otherwise I will become sick. My winter atop Mt. Coronet would have ended with my death if not for contributions from a friendly human who had camped nearby.”

I shook my head pointedly.

“That is not something I ever wish to repeat,” I continued with a harsh glare directed full force at Fluttershy. “So no, I will not give up my fresh meat and I will continue to hunt any creature not specifically owned by someone.”

“Oh... alright,” Fluttershy said with a depressed expression.

“~~I’m guessing he won’t corporate?~~” Applejack’s voice spoke from behind me. I tensed; how had she gotten behind me without my knowing? Had I truly allowed my memory of that winter to cloud my senses so?

“No, he doesn’t want to,” Fluttershy said sadly.

“~~Figures,~~” the orange mare said with a bit of snort. “~~Time for plan B.~~” she said while I heard one of her hooves prodding into the dirt.

I didn’t know the meaning behind the words, but I had spent enough time beside a Rapidash to know what that sound meant. She was going to charge me. So instead of giving her the luxury, I moved first. I took off at a sprint and leapt over Fluttershy. However... when I landed, the dirt gave way and opened into a deep pit.

A shout of surprise rang out from my throat and I was halfway down the pit before I managed to dig my claws into the dirt lined sides and slowed my descent. I arrived at the bottom, roughly ten feet down. The pit itself was maybe six feet wide and as caught my breath I saw that it was a recent addition to the scenery. Before I could do anything, the light overhead was cut off slightly as a gridded wooden grate slammed into place.

“~~Yeehaw, it worked!~~” Applejack shouted in celebration.

“Are you okay down there?” Fluttershy called. “You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

I chose not to answer. Instead I eyed the pit and took a deep breath. Then, with practiced movements, I bunched my legs and launched myself at the nearest wall. With graceful agility, I bounced myself from one wall to the other until I reached the grate and heaved myself against it. It budged, but held its ground as it was definitely being weighted down by something.

“~~Nice try, but there’s not way in Tartarus you’re getting out this pit,~~” Applejack smugly said. “~~Not even a Timberwolf can break out of this ‘iron prison’.~~”

I frowned for a moment before muttering. “It felt like it was made of wood to me,” I murmured. “Fluttershy, do step away from the edge.”

“Please Cres, we just want to help you.” she called down to me.

“And I’m attempting to make sure that you are not hurt,” I replied. “Applejack is welcome to stand directly in the center though.”

“What do you-”

I stopped listening and instead took a deep inhale before pointing my mouth directly at the center of the trap’s door, seeing the outline of a rancher’s hat blotting out the sun slightly.

Then with a great exhale a column of fire leapt from my mouth going straight up. It burned through wood in a matter of seconds, including the front rim of the hat, and I followed it a moment later. I launched myself out of the pit, stopping just long enough to see a look of shock on Fluttershy’s face and a mix look of panic and anger as Applejack tried to put the fire out on her hat.

I was off, but not before I darted past Applejack and slashed my blade lightly down her back, just deep enough to draw blood. I was in the forest a moment later and back in my pine grove not long after that.

Applejack’s eyes widened and a grunted wince passed through gritted teeth as pain rippled across her back. Her body stiffened as she felt blood rolling down her neck and the upper half of her back.

“Ponyfeathers,” she growled in a hard edged tone as her eyes narrowed into the forest. “That vermin just crossed the line.”

“Oh, my goodness!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she ran up to Applejack. “Are you okay? You’re bleeding!”

“You don’t say,” the orange earth pony said as she began to take in deep breaths.

“Don’t move,” Fluttershy said sternly before she walked around to Applejack’s side and began to examine the wound. “Oh good. It’s very shallow. He barely broke the skin,” she informed her. “You’ll be fine, though I would suggest you get it washed out.”

“I will... not my first time getting all scratched up,” she murmured. “Still... he’s more dangerous than we thought...” she said with a deep frown.

“I know... how does he breathe fire?” Fluttershy asked with a frown of her own. “His body doesn’t look to have natural fire bladders like a dragon’s does.”

“How in Equestria should I know?” Applejack stated. “Though I do know we definitely need more help in capturing him... I hope Princess Celestia’s reply came back.”

“Yes... so do I,” Fluttershy said softly with a sigh. “The poor thing, he’s just so confused.”

“I doubt it,” the earth pony muttered. “Else you think he’d actually listen to you.”

“I guess so,” Fluttershy murmured. “Though... I know he’s not crazy... otherwise you and I wouldn’t be talking,” she whispered soberly, looking into Applejack’s eyes. “At the very least, he could have cut through your spinal cord if not somewhere worse. You’re only alive because he didn’t want to kill you.”

The orange mare remained quiet, before letting out a small snort. “You’ll head back to Twilight, I’ll head back home and get this patched up,” she said, gesturing her head to her back. “I’ll meet you in Library, once I’m done.”

“Alright,” Fluttershy said with a small nod. “Be careful not to strain yourself, Applejack,” she added, giving her friend a soft nuzzle.

“I won’t,” Applejack replied with a short nod before picking her scorched hat up, placing it on her head, and began to head back home at a slow, but methodical trot.

Chapter 5

View Online

Belle sat outside of the Pokemon Center’s sliding glass doors, her blue eyes locked on the mountain path. It was mid-morning now and she was beginning to worry.

“He should’ve come down by now,” she muttered softly to herself. “It’s mid-morning, and I know that he rises early... if he slept at all up there.”

A frown split her crimson lips and she rose to her paws. She waited for the doors to slide open for her and then she walked into the faintly sterilized air of the Pokémon Center. There were very few Trainers staying there at the moment, not not many had any reason to travel to the top of Mt. Coronet. At the moment, as far as she could tell, there were only three counting her Roxanne.

One of the Trainers was currently sitting at one of the well-built wooden tables eating with his Rapidash, whose fiery mane was a silvery grey color and a saddle was strapped across her back. Belle spared him a passing glance before she continued past and headed for the room Roxanne had been given. It took her but a moment to get the door open and she walked in. Roxanne was in the process of pulling on a jacket and when Belle entered the room. The raven-haired woman looked down at her with a slight frown.

“He was a no show, huh?” the woman asked while her dark eyes looked over herself in the mirror.

“Yes,” Belle replied, though she knew Roxanne couldn’t really understand her.

“I’m sorry about that, Belle,” her Trainer said, bending down to pet Belle gently. “So, what do you want to do?”

“Go up there and knock some sense into his thick skull,” Belle said sourly. Honestly, she had spent two years looking for him and he still didn’t come down from the mountain? “Though, I doubt that would help anything,” she added, sighing.

“Yeah, that’s men for you,” Roxanne agreed, chuckling slightly while she tried to raise her absol’s spirits. “So, want to go up there and check on him after breakfast?”

Belle nodded her head once.

“Well, that sounds like a plan to me,” Roxanne said, nodding as she quickly grabbed her five PokéBalls and walked out of the room.

Belle followed beside her Trainer’s blue-jeaned legs and they entered the main room again. Roxanne picked the table beside the man from before and then got up to go order them some food leaving Belle to sit beside the table, a deep frown on her face.

The man glanced down at her with his light green eyes and small frown of his own formed on his face. “Someone doesn’t look very happy,” he stated casually.

“I’m not,” Belle answered with a small sigh. “No one in my position would be.”

“Aww... what’s wrong?” he asked.

Belle’s eyes widened in surprise and she looked up at him with raised eyebrows. “Can you... understand me?” she asked, she’d heard that some Trainers were able to understand their Pokémon after a long enough time with that specific Pokemon in their party... but she’d been unaware that ability extended to those outside of it.

The man nodded his head. “In a way,” he replied. “The name’s Matthew, or Matt for short.”

“Belle,” the absol replied with a nod.

“Nice to meet you, Belle,” Matt said with a small smile before gesturing a hand to the Rapidash. “This here is my long time friend and best buddy, Reva.”

The Rapidash bowed her head at Belle. “Hello there, Belle.”

Belle smiled slightly. “It’s nice to meet you, Reva,” she said politely.

“So... again, what’s the reason for the sad mood?” Mat inquired. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I suppose not; I’ve only managed to get the basics across to Roxanne so it would be nice to actually talk with someone about it,” Belle said with a small sigh as her eyes caught sight of Roxanne who was patiently waiting behind a waffle iron. “I’m... waiting for my love to come down from the mountain.”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like a very... fantasy type of picturesque setting,” he said.

“I’m aware,” Belle replied shortly. “I’ve been looking for him for two years since he took off on me...” she sighed. “And now that I’ve found him he was supposed to come down from that mountain this morning.”

“I see...” the man murmured with a pondering expression.

“Near as I can tell, he’s spent the last year praying for Father Arceus to come and absolve him with no real luck,” Belle continued. “And he promised me that if he didn’t succeed last night then he’d come down.” She looked down and a look of absolute sadness crossed her face. “I just... I’m so worried about him.”

The man’s eyes lit up slightly. “A year you say... praying to Arceus?” he muttered before glancing at Reva. “You think she’s talking about our Absol friend?”

“It seems like it,” she replied with a short nod.

Belle looked up at them in surprise. “You’ve met my Cres?” she asked them with widened eyes.

“More like I know him,” Mat replied, glancing back at Belle. “You see, I make frequent visits to Mt. Coronet and I run into him a lot when I go to up to the summit.”

“Oh,” Belle said with a small nod. “What... was he doing?”

“Like you said, praying to Arceus and making the mountain his home,” he informed her. “In a very routine way too.”

“Ah, I see,” the absol said. “That sounds like Cres. Get him on a schedule and he’ll follow it till the day he dies,” she added with a small chuckle before sighing. “Thank you for telling me.”

“No problem,” Mat said with a small smile.

It was at that moment that Roxanne returned, a plate of eggs and a Belgian waffle balanced in one arm with a glass of water. In her other was a small bowl of meat strips and she set those down in front of Belle. “There you go Belle, eat up, we’ve got quite a journey to make today and you’re going to need your strength,” the woman said with a smile.

“Thank you, Roxanne,” Belle replied before she began to eat.

“So; you keeping my Belle company over here?” Roxanne asked Matt with a raised eyebrow as she cut her waffle down the middle, her faintly accented voice ringing out in the silence.

“You could say that,” Mat said with a soft smile as he held up an open hand. “The name’s Matthew, or Matt for short.”

“Roxanne, from Kalos,” she told him, accepting the handshake and giving him a firm one in return.

“Ooo, you’re from the Kalos region?” Mat said with a note of intrigue in his voice. “Should’ve figured with the faint accent to your voice. But I’ve never been there, heard it’s a real fancy place.”

“Oh, it is,” Roxanne agreed with a small smile as she thought of her home. “But the people are really nice, once you look past our fashion obsession of course,” she added with a self demonstrating chuckle.

Matt chuckled as well and nodded his head. “Yeah... I’ve heard about that too,” he said with a small smile. “So, you’re about to head into Mt. Coronet or the like?”

Roxanne nodded her head. “Yes, that’s right,” she replied. “I’m taking Belle up there to see if we can’t find her boyfriend. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what she’d been trying to tell me for the past year.”

“Yep, that is correct,” Matt replied with a small nod.

“What? How would you know?” Roxanne asked with a raised eyebrow. “It took me a month to realize that’s what she was getting at.”

“She told me within the conversation we were having,” the man replied with a blank blink. “I saw she was sad and asked what was wrong, and it popped up after a while,” he explained.

Roxanne blinked twice before her mouth opened and shut once. “Oh... you’re one of those guys who can actually talk to Pokemon,” she said while shooting him an intrigued look. “Didn’t think I’d ever run into one of you out here in the middle of nowhere.”

“Yeah... I guess I am,” Matt said with a bashful smile, rubbing the back of his head. “Though, traveling with Reva for the last fifteen years of my life might have helped with that,” he said, gesturing to the Rapidash sitting behind him. “Learn to understand one Pokemon and the rest quickly fall into place.” He then shrugged slightly. “Or at least, for me it did.”

“Okay...” Roxanne said before she frowned, and then a smile split her face. “I thought I recognized you when I came in last night. You’re the Hearthome City Gym Leader, aren’t you?”

“Gym Leader in training, technically,” Matt corrected with a small chuckle. “But yes, yes I am.”

“Thought so,” Roxanne said with a small grin. “I always do my homework before I head to a new region.”

“Then you did a very good amount of research,” Matt complemented her.

“Thank you,” Roxanne replied. “I’m going to be a Pokemon Professor one day. At least I hope I will be,” she added with a small smile.

“Ah, a very good choice of career,” Matt said with a small nod of his head. “Continue studying hard, and I bet you’ll reach your goal soon.”

“Thanks,” Roxanne said before she took a sip of her water. “So; how much did my dear Belle tell you about her boy problem?”

He glanced down at Belle. “Is it okay for to me to say?” he asked.

Belle looked up from her meal and licked her lips free of meat juice. “Yes, she may as well know. I’ve been trying to get it across for a while now,” the Absol answered before she returned to her meal.

Mat nodded his head and turn his head back at Roxanne. He then began to explained everything he and Belle talked about during their little conversation. “So that’s the gist of it.”

Roxanne looked down at Belle and bent over to rub her head softly. “Aww, my poor little Belle,” she said with a sad expression. “To have a boy run off on you like that is a tragic thing, especially if he’s that headstrong.”

“Thank you,” Belle said with a small shake of her head. “Though, all it really means is that we’re going to need to get up that peak soon. I’m worried about him. He’s never been ‘okay’ since it happened.”

Matt raised an eyebrow at the emphasis Belle put behind the word ‘it’ but didn’t press into it, instead he said. “Well, if the summit of Mt. Coronet is where’s you’re heading for, I’d be happy to guide you the quickest way up there.”

“Would you?” Roxanne asked with a smile. “That’s very kind of you Mat. Just what I’d expect of a Gym Leader.”

“It’s no problem, in fact I was going to head up there myself to visit a friend today,” he replied with a small smile.

“Well, thank you all the same,” Roxanne said with a grin. “It’ll be nice to have an escort going up there last night in the dark wasn’t all that fun.”

“Yeah, especially with all the Zubats and Golbats flying around during that time,” Matt agreed with a short nod.

“Tell me about it,” the woman agreed. “Zeb almost ran out of juice, and that never happens anymore.”

“Well it’s a good thing I got plenty of Repels so we shouldn’t be having much encounters from the wild Pokemon,” Matt said. “That and most of the wild Pokemon learned to leave me and Reva alone.”

“Well then it’s lucky we ran into you, right, Belle?” Roxanne asked, looking down at Belle who gave her a quick nod.

“Yes, I’m very thankful for the assistance,” Belle agreed.

“Like I said, it’s no problem,” Matt said.

Roxanne finished her breakfast and stood up, reaching for a PokéBall at her waist.

“You mind getting on the road now?” she asked him.

“Not at all,” he replied as he pushed his hand hard on the tables to stand up. He then carefully turned around and move his legs the bench portion of the table, and began to limply walked over to Reva who took to herself to sit all the way down on her hooves.

“You okay there, Matt?” Roxanne asked with a small frown.

“Oh yeah, I’m a-okay,” he replied as he glanced back at the woman. “Just a small little birth defect in my right leg, nothing big,” he said with a small chuckle as he began to carefully climb onto the saddle across Reva’s back.

“Okay then,” Roxanne replied casually before she began walking towards the door. She paused for a moment and waved at the Nurse Joy who was currently brewing a cup of coffee. “Thanks for the food, Ma’am,” she called.

“Oh, it was no trouble,” Nurse Joy replied, turning and giving them both a wave. “Stay safe up there you two, especially you Matt.”

“Will do as always, Nurse Joy,” Mat said as he waved goodbye to the woman. “Hopefully we’ll be back before dusk.”

“Alright, I’ll have dinner waiting for you as usual,” the pink haired woman replied before turning back to her coffee.

Roxanne walked outside with Belle at her side and pressed the release button on her PokéBall. There was a flash of light and a fully saddled Zebstrika emerged.

“You ready to head back up that mountain Zeb?” the woman asked him as she hopped into the saddle with a practiced vault.

Zeb gave her a slightly flat look.

“Not really, no, but for you, I’ll do it,” he replied, though she couldn’t understand a word of it. Belle chuckled a little before Roxanne held up another ball and sucked her into it, no point in making her have to keep up with the horses.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be taking gentle slopes that won’t be too rocky to walk on,” Reva told the Zebstrika as she walked up to him.

“Oh; hello there,” Zeb replied, looking over and giving Reva a quick examination. “My name is Zeb, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Reva, and the same to you,” she replied with a courteous nod.

“Charmed,” Zeb said with a nod of his own. “So; I take it that you’ll be acting as my guide for the day? Good, I swear I nearly broke all four of my legs last night.”

“I can understand; the paths in Mt. Coronet weren’t really made with our kind of hooves in mind,” Reva stated.

“Okay, Zeb, stop flirting and let’s get a move on,” Roxanne said playfully, slapping him gently on the side of the neck. Zeb turned his head around to give her another flat look, to which the woman just smiled playfully before she leaned in and whispered. “There’ll be plenty of time later.”

Zeb let out a small sigh and turned back to Reva who was chuckling lightly. “Ignore her; my Trainer likes to imagine love everywhere.”

“For someone from the Kalos region, I can imagine,” Reva replied as she began to trotted ahead.

“Well, we aren’t all shameless flirts,” Zeb said with a slight roll of his eyes. “Only most of us,” he added, chuckling dryly.

“Well if it’s any consolation Zeb, you’re aren’t really much of Reva’s type,” Mat said with a small chuckle.

Zeb blinked blankly for a moment. “He can understand us, can’t he?”

“Yep,” Reva replied with sly smile.

“Oh dear,” Zeb said. “I was... unaware of that,” he added while Roxanne looked between the three curiously.

“You’re so lucky to actually understand what they’re saying,” the dark haired woman said with a small smile.

“Or cursed,” the blonde haired man replied with a joking chuckle. “Ever tried to sleep at night in the woods with a choir of Pokémon chatting away in your ear?”

Roxanne frowned for a moment and then chuckled lightly. “I can see the problem there, yes,” she agreed as their mounts turned and began heading uphill.

It took them roughly an hour to reach the summit, a whole hour less than the last time Roxanne tried to scale the mountain by herself. Zeb for his part was much less exhausted, he’d even managed to avoid getting any rocks between his horseshoes and his hooves.

“Wow, thanks a lot, Matt,” Roxanne said as she dismounted and patted Zeb on the neck while she reached into her backpack for a water bottle which she then poured into her hands for the Zebstrika to drink from. “You saved us a ton of time.”

“You’re very welcome,” Matt replied as he too dismounted, carefully, and leaned a hand on Reva’s back for support. “Traveling this mountain a lot comes in handy now and then. Glad I could share my experience with the two of you.”

Zeb retracted his neck a little to look over at Reva. “You have my thanks as well, following you was much better than going by myself.”

Reva smiled slightly. “You’re welcome, and I know, the first time climbing up here was tedious... not to mention battling Galactic Grunts now and then... that was just downright annoying.”

“Oh? Do tell,” Zeb said interestedly.

As the two Pokémon talked, Roxanne reached down to draw Belle’s Poke Ball from its place on her hip and pressed the button. The red light flashed and Belle appeared, her head quickly glancing about.

“Hmm, he’s not here,” the absol said quietly with a frown as she walked around the plateau, sniffing the air as she did so.

“Yeah... normally he’s up here praying around this time,” Matt agreed as he glanced around.

Roxanne frowned and noticed a pile of rubble. “Hey, that looks recent,” she said, pointing towards it. Belle frowned and followed her Trainer’s gaze.

“She’s right,” the Absol stated, walking up to it and beginning to sniff. “And this is where Cres’s scent fades...”

Matt slowly walked up to Belle and glanced down at the rubble. “You sure his scent doesn’t head off somewhere else?” he asked.

The Absol shook her head. “No, I’m positive of it. His scent is here... and then it vanishes,” she said with a small frown. “He either got grabbed by something really large and carried away by air... I don’t know anything with that big of a wingspan who could actually hold him. Or... he got teleported somewhere by some psychic Pokémon, but that’s doubtful because we’re Dark-types.”

“Or... he vanished from the face of the summit,” Matt murmured with a small frown.

“What’s up?” Roxanne asked as she walked over to them.

“Seems like Belle’s boyfriend just up and vanished from this spot,” Matt replied his frown deepening a bit.

“Well... that’s strange,” Roxanne murmured with a frown as she crouched down beside Belle and gave her a comforting stroke. “It... sounds kind of like a story I read in the paper a ways back... but I haven’t heard of any giant crystals growing anywhere, and I kind of doubt that there are any Unown living around here.”

“No there isn’t... the only Pokemon who really ‘live’ up here are... well, the Legendary Pokémon of Time and Space.”

“Dialga and Palkia?” Roxanne asked with a raised eyebrow. “You think one of them would’ve taken notice of Cres and kidnapped him or something?”

Mat frowned and place a hand under his chin. “I don’t think so... else Belle would probably picked up their scent.”

“He’s right,” Belle agreed with a swift nod. “The only one up here last night aside from myself and Cres was... no one.”

“Not exactly...” Matt said as he reached down to pull out a PokéBall from his belt. “There is someone who possibly know what happened to Cres.”

“You don’t mean Giratina, do you?” Roxanne asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah,” Mat replied as he tossed the Poke Ball out. “Emmely, come on out,” he said. The PokéBall opened emitting a flash of light and a Glaceon appeared on the ground. He then pointed a finger to open patch of ground. “Emmely, use Ice beam.” The Glaceon obeyed and opened her mouth to fired a thin blue beam onto the ground, creating a sheet of ice.

“What are you doing?” Belle asked the man.

"Creating a ‘window’ for Giratina to talk through,” he replied while he took off his backpack and began to rummage through it.

“How... and isn’t that incredibly dangerous?” Roxanne asked, frowning at the man. “I know that you beat the Champion here... but isn’t it risky to bring Legendaries into this? They have a habit of nearly killing anyone who deals with them.”

“Nah, not really, or at least for me,” Mat replied. “Besides, I’ve done this plenty of times before,” he added as he pulled his hand out to show it grasping on a large chunk of an amber-looking crystal.

“And you’re sure this will help us find Cres?” Belle asked.

“One way to find out,” Mat stated as Emmely finished creating a large sheet of reflective ice. “Good job Emmely,” he said, smiling down to the Glaceon, who returned the smile. Matt then walked up to the edge of the sheet of ice and held out the crystal over it. “Hey, Giratina you there? It’s me, Mat, I need to talk with ya for a second.” The crystal in his hand began to faintly glow and blink very slowly.

The sheet of ice remained blank for a few seconds before a starry image rippled into it and then the large golden mask of the Legendary appeared over it. Roxanne let out a small gasp; she hadn’t quite believed the man was telling the truth. Belle, on the other hand, was staring intently at the golden mask.

"Ah, Matt, I was beginning to wonder when you would show up,” Giratina said, in a way both Belle and Roxanne understood. His dark red eyes then glanced over the man and at the woman and the Absol. “I see you brought some guests.”

“Yes, now tell us what happened to Cres.” Belle demanded, not in the least bit intimidated by the Legendary.

Roxanne on the other hand had moved past the ‘stare blankly in amazement’ stage and had reached into her backpack for a pencil and a piece of white paper. She then quickly began to sketch Giratina’s face, leaving the conversation to Matt and Belle for the moment.

“Ah yes, the young Absol from this morning,” Giratina said, closing his eyes and slowly nodding his head. “Sorry to inform you, but he’s not here on the mountain.”

“We kind of figured that out already,” Matt replied.

“Yet his scent fades here,” Belle pressed. “What did you do to him?”

“I only helped him in the way he needed it,” the phantom dragon replied. “And that was to get away for a moment.”

“By which you mean that you sucked him into your domain,” Roxanne said, looking up from her completed sketch. “Meaning that he’s your prisoner.”

“Oh, not in the slightest,” Giratina said flatly. “More like I simply helped him move to another location away from here via my domain.”

“So where is he now?” Belle asked, glaring at the Legendary.

“I can’t say; he asked me to keep it a secret from you.” he replied. “I’m normally not one to agree to something like that, but I guess I could say I found it interesting.”

“Why would he do that?!” Belle exclaimed, hurt and pain clearly showing on her crimson face.

“Because he knew that if he kept his current act any longer, he would eventually hurt you in a way he never would have wanted to, so he left to amend that,” the Legendary replied. “Though he did tell me to tell you that he did love you and hopefully will return when he can.”

“I... see,” Belle said sadly. “That... does sound like Cres... I love him, but he is such a idiot sometimes.”

Matt glanced down at Belle with a small frown. “Sorry... hopefully he’ll come back soon,” he told her tenderly.

Roxanne sighed and gave Belle a comforting stroke. “I know what it’s like to wait for a true love my little Belle,” she said softly. “Of course in my case it wasn’t quite the same, but I know the feeling.”

Belle sighed and leaned up to give Roxanne a small nuzzle. “I know you can’t understand me, but thank you Roxanne,” she said softly.

“She says thank you,” Mat told Roxanne with a soft smile. “Even though you can’t understand her.”

Roxanne smiled and bent down to give Belle a kiss on the cheek. “You’re welcome my little Belle. I promise you, we’ll wait down in that Pokémon Center until your love gets back.”

“I...thank you,” Belle said softly, then she frowned. “But what about your studies?”

“She thanks you... but what about your studies?” Mat translated.

“You should charge them for this,” Giratina commented with a small chuckle.

“You’re not helping,” Mat told him a bit flatly.

Roxanne pursed her lips for a moment before shrugging slightly. “My studies can be done anywhere,” she told the absol before looking at Giratina with wicked eyes. “Besides this is a brilliant opportunity to study a Legendary up close. I have so many questions to ask him.”

“Well, I guess I can spare some of my time answering some questions,” Giratina replied, sounding very proud of himself.

Roxanne grinned and got out a binder and pulled it open, revealing a blank piece of paper. “Alright; let’s begin with...”

Belle sighed and looked up at Matt, who in turn was looking down at her. “Once again... I’m sorry,” he told her.

“I... it’s fine,” she said with a small shake of her head before she got to her paws. “I think... I’m going to go for a climb,” she stated before giving Roxanne a small nuzzle and then sprinting and leaping down the less angled side of the cliff.

“Be careful,” Matt called out before Belle left his sight. He then glanced back at the woman who was eagerly engrossed with Giratina and listened in to their conversation.

Chapter 6

View Online

Edited by Element6147

I licked blood off of my lips, enjoying the metallic taste as I looked down at my breakfast. It had been what appeared to be an Unfezant-like bird and while I had never enjoyed the process of removing enough feathers to make a meal out of most Flying-Types, I had made an exception this once. I was in luck and the bird had been plump and delicious, particularly the liver.

As I set about cleaning my front claws of blood, I began to think once more of my main problem. That of finding absolution. If my last ‘encounter’ with Fluttershy and Applejack was anything to go by, then I would no longer be welcome in the town they called home.

That meant that my only hope was that the necklace I was wearing somehow granting me the ability to communicate with the Ponytas. I held the necklace up to my eyes and looked at it for a moment before shaking my head. It was no use, I didn’t know how it worked. Maybe Belle would, but I strangely doubted it. She’d never really been one for jewelry.

In any case, it was time that I did a bit more exploring of this forest, at the very least I could investigate where the Blitzle lived. She was at the moment my only real ‘friend’ here and I suspected that she would not mind me dropping by every once and a while.

I rose to my paws and set off, nose elevated. The forest still sang around me, the ‘birds’ in the trees and the ‘bugs’ in the air going about their lives as if I wasn’t there. It made me smile slightly at the ridiculous things that Fluttershy had told me to keep me from hunting. The ‘natural order’ of nature seemed to be fairly intact to me.

The trees and low hanging branches threaded around me and I took great care with my paw steps, I had no wish to leave obvious tracks, nor spend a great deal of time cleaning them afterwards. Dappled light fell across my back as I continued through the forest for a time and while I walked my mind fell back to a forest that was similar to this one in a way.

I followed along behind him, a smile on my face as we walked through the tree groves, one after another. The sounds of Fletchlings echoed through the air as I traced his steps with my paws, one after another. I glanced up at his brown clad torso and a sensation of happiness spread through me. This was where I was meant to be, where I belonged.

My body froze in mid step, another memory, another thing I could not afford to think of. If I thought of it, then I would think of other things... and once I’d started I might never stop. I... had to be absolved soon... I just had to be.

Before I could fall too deeply into self loathing, I scented something else in the air. Something familiar. It was the Blitzle! A small smile crossed my face as I set off in the direction of the scent. The forest melted by as I broke into a sprint, suddenly desperately craving the company of another.

I ran until I entered a clearing and came to a sudden stop at what I saw. The Blitzle had her back to me and was slowly backing away from a rather large creature which greatly resembled a cross between a Pyroar and a Gligar of all things. A bag of herbs lay in front of the strange creature, obviously spilled when it had attacked the Blitzle. My eyebrows came together and I let out a low growl as I stepped into the clearing.

The Blitzle turned quickly to look at who was behind her growling and her eyes widened in surprise before she turned back to watch the creature.

“~~I was not expecting you here, my new friend,~~” she said quietly. “~~Though I will not complain as your arrival may prevent me from meeting a grizzly end.~~”

The words were meaningless to me yet I got the intent;, she was glad to see me. The creature on the other hand let out a roar and charged.

I leapt.

The creature’s tail intercepted me, bolting out like an Arbok lashing out with its jaws and rammed into my right shoulder. I landed hard on my back with the monster leering down at me. Blood leaked from my shoulder around the barbed head and I felt a burning sensation as the poison traveled into me.

I let out a yowl of pain and swiftly swung my head downwards, allowing my crescent blade to cut through the body of the tail. It parted easily, much like the segments of a Weedle’s body and a noxious smelling green liquid poured down on me. The creature reared back, roaring in pain and I leaned over to grip the base of the barb, twisting my head to the side and forcing it out of me.

Adrenaline flowed through my veins as blood poured from the injury but I ignored it as I righted myself, snarling definitely at the creature. The creature growled fiercely at me, baring its fangs and claws before leaping towards me and attempted a furious swipe. I ducked beneath it and let out a snarl before I leapt at its throat, head at the perfect angle to slice through its jugular. However its wings snapped open and pumped heavily, sending up a lot of dust and dirt into my eyes while flying beyond my grasp.

I hated when other Pokemon did that. My head jerked from right to left as I tried to dislodge the dirt and a frustrated growl rang out from my throat. The creature had taken flight a few feet in the air, but not much since the trees of the forest were severely blocking him. It then pitched down and attempted to land on top of me.

As the body rushed down at me, I jumped out of the way and it slammed into the ground with a tremendous thud. My blade lit up with a dark energy and I launched a shadow ball at it. The ball hit the creature square in the side, sending it skidding several feet across the ground. I grinned as I saw the creature stagger for a moment, but it regained its footing and I knew it was far from dead.

The beast charged towards me and unleashed another series of angry swipes and despite myself, I was unable to dodge more than two. A heavy, clawed paw slammed into my side and sent me flying into a tree, blood now pouring down from both my chest and my shoulder. I slid down the trunk of the tree and struggled to get to my paws as the beast approached me and bared its fangs as it opened its jaw wide to finish me off with a single bite.

Despite my uneven breathing I still had time to take a large intake of breath and to exhale pure fire. My flames seared through the air between us, heading right into its open mouth. The creature reared back, its face contorted in agony as my fire traveled down its gullet. Its body twisted and turned as it fell to the ground and started to jerk uncontrollably before its life was slowly drained away.

My vision began to dim and I let out a pathetic moan as I lay there against the ground. At least my final act had been one of self sacrifice; perhaps it was the absolution I needed.

“Alright; let’s go over what we know,” Twilight said as she paced before Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Rarity was still out gem hunting (apparently she’d needed a certain type of gem and it was proving very difficult to find) and Pinkie Pie had been invited to help plan a massive party in Appleoosa by Cheese Sandwich.

“He says his name is Cres,” Fluttershy said softly. “He’s a very big, very confused kitty who thinks that it’s alright to eat other critters even when they're in the safe zone.”

“He won’t cooperate, is very fast, has that blade on his head, and can somehow breathe fire,” Applejack added. She looked much better than she had the day before, though there was a stretch of bandages going down her back.

“Right,” Twilight said with a nod

“Oh come on, he can’t be that fast,” Rainbow Dash said with a shake of her head.

“Well, he managed to get from here to the outside of town in under a minute,” Twilight said with a small shrug. “So I qualify him as ‘very fast’.”

Dash blinked a bit blankly before waving a hoof in dismissal. “Pffft, please, I could do that in ten seconds flat... if I wanted to.”

“Why did you think we asked in your help in chasing him?” AJ said a bit flatly.

“Because I’m-”

“Girls, now really isn’t the time,” Twilight said, cutting off the argument. “From what he has shown us so far Cres won’t attack us unless we directly threaten him... for example when Applejack trapped him-” she nodded to Applejack. “-however we don’t know how long that will last. So I would like to capture him before he stops bothering with the distinction.”

“I... I don’t think he would,” Fluttershy said quietly. “He doesn’t want to hurt us... he’s just confused.”

“Then why doesn’t he just cooperate with us if he’s so ‘confused’?” Applejack asked Fluttershy with a low glare. “If he was, you’d think he’d listen to what we have to say instead of dismissing it and fighting back.”

“I... I don’t know,” the yellow mare said quietly. “But he seemed very nice until we started talking about not eating the beavers.”

“Which just proves who he is, some predator who will become a major threat if we let him be,” the orange earth pony said with a firm nod of her head.

“Which is why we’re going to be leaving for the forest immediately,” Twilight said, cutting their growing argument off at the head. “I feel that between the four of us we should be able to deal with him, whether or not he’s friendly.”

“Then why are we still sitting here, huh?” Dash asked. “I’ll go scout ahead,” Her wings snapped open and she bolted out a nearby open window, leaving a faint rainbow trail.

“Rainbow, wa-” Twilight cut herself off with a shake of her head. “Or just go hurdling after the dangerous fire breathing predator with a blade on its head. That works great too,” she deadpanned.

“Come on, let’s start heading to the edge of the Everfree Forest,” Applejack said as she got onto her hooves and headed for the door.

“Right,” Twilight agreed with a nod, following. She looked back to see Fluttershy standing with an uncertain expression on her face. “Don’t worry Fluttershy. Everything will be alright,” the mare assured her friend.

“I know,” Fluttershy said quietly, looking down at the floor. “I just hope that Cres will listen to reason.”

Twilight smiled and waved a wing at her. “I’m sure he will. Now let’s get going, alright?”

Fluttershy nodded and followed the other mare out of the library.

Fire... a raging inferno. That was the only thing between me and him... yet I couldn’t simply jump over it. The dancing flames began to lick the walls he was huddled against... his voice crying out my name. But my legs wouldn’t move... not an inch. Then...

*Crack*

It happen in a single instant. The beam of wood dropped from the ceiling and plowed on top of him. A spray of red hit me in the face and I was blinded for a moment.

*Crack*

I felt something smooth and metal slash across the right side of my face and I let out a shriek of pain as I instinctively pawed at it. Blood seeped down my face, a throbbing pulse emitting from my right eye, and half of my vision darkened. I had to get out! I turned and ran, my legs pounding into the darkened burnt earth, and I dashed out of the burning house as it continued to be consumed by the fire. But I didn’t stop... I kept on running. I ran into the woods, over a creek, and just... ran until I collapsed.

My breath came in great shuddering gasps and tears rolled down my cheeks. He... he was gone. I... I had killed him! I-I-I-

I woke up with a roar of anguish, or that’s what it was supposed to be. Instead what came out sounded to my ears like the mewling of a Skitty whose milk had been spilled. My eyes opened wide and I was met by a baffling assortment of strange... masks and like paraphernalia. The light that filled the room, while gentle, was still blinding to me and my eyelids snapped shut once more.

Memories... horrible... horrible memories filled my mind, demanding my attention in the darkness. I was forced to open my eyes to drown them out with new ones.

I... was inside of a hut of some kind, off to the side I saw a large cast iron pot sitting on top of a fire and beneath me I felt a comfortingly soft bed of pine boughs. It suddenly occurred to me that I was lying on my side and I attempted to roll onto my stomach. All this resulted in was a large jolt of pain running down the length of my spine and a numb sensation from my right shoulder.

Another weak mewl of pain forced its way out from between my lips and I turned my head to see that my right shoulder had been obscured beneath a well put together bind of bandages. I also made a note of the dozen or so smaller bandages that ran down my chest.

“Pray, do not move so much,” a... strangely familiar lyrical voice said. I turned my head to see the Blitzle walking for me. “It would be a shame to have wasted all that time on your wounds only for them to be reopened by an errant touch.”

I did as she commanded and lay still.

“How... are you talking to me?” I asked her, my voice scratchy and dry.

“I am a herbalist,” the Blitzle replied with a small smile. “To create a translating potion is no great twist.”

“I... see...” I said before shaking my head. “I suppose I have you to thank for my continued breathing?”

She walked up to me and placed a hood upon my head. “And I owe you the same, without your assistance I would be so much red sand.”

“It was no trouble,” I told her. “It was what was right. You were in danger,”

“Well all the same I have you to thank,” she said. “Even in Equestria it is not common to find someone willing to stand between a manticore and his food unless they have brought a tank.”

I frowned but noded shallowly. “I see... so the foul thing is called a manticore?”

“Indeed,” she said with a nod.

I glanced down at my injuries. “They are strong opponents,” I said before shuddering as a wave of pain washed through me. “Ow... I haven’t felt this much pain since.... well it has been quite some time.”

"Then you should rest,” the Blitzle told me with a gentle smile. “There is no reason for you to be awake if you are not at your best.”

My lips twisted into a frown but I nodded slightly. “Your name first, perhaps?”

“Zecora,” she answered before she walked out of my sight. I let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes.

Chapter 7

View Online

"That’s... just gross,” Rainbow Dash said, a noxious shade of green coloring her cheeks.

Down below her was the only thing that was yielded from her scouting trip. A charred corpse of a manticore. The rainbow pegasus was still flying in the air, yet the smell of its boiled flesh wafted into her nostrils, causing her to gag harshly and she nearly lost the remains of her breakfast.

Dash didn’t dare to take a second look and began to swiftly sail away with two flaps of her wings. She coursed to the edge of the forest and violently shook her head while snorting very forcely, trying to get rid of the wretched stench clinching the roof of her nose. After doing a good minute of cleaning out her nose, she wiggled it slightly while taking in a deep breath of fresh air.

“Well... I better tell the others,” she muttered as she picked up her speed and glanced down to search for her friends. It didn’t take her long to locate them, they were standing around inside of a rather large clearing.

“Good news?” Twilight Sparkle called as she caught sight of Rainbow Dash approaching.

“Kind of,” the light blue pegasus replied as she landed in front of them. “I think I’ve see one of his... ‘victims’.”

“Oh no... what was it?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.

“A manticore... who he burned to death... I think,” Dash replied slowly, barely keeping herself from gagging at the memory.

“He managed to kill a manticore?!” Twilight asked in alarm. “This is bad... usually it takes a pack of Timberwolves to do that!”

A deep frown crossed Applejack’s face. “He keeps on getting more dangerous by the second.”

“I can’t believe that Cres would do such a thing,” Fluttershy said softly. “Do... you think it could’ve been a dragon instead of him?”

“I doubt there would be much of a manticore if a dragon used its fire breath on it,” Dash said. “That and there weren’t any other scorch marks on the trees, or anything else that would hint it was a dragon.”

“Oh...” the other pegasus said softly. “Maybe he had a good reason?” she added hopefully.

“Yeah, probably building up his strength,” Applejack said, her frown still present on her face. “Something to toughen him up so he’ll be ready for... whatever he has planning.”

“Well then we just have to stop him before he can do any more damage,” Twilight said with a swift nod. “Luckily, I can track him.”

“How?” Dash asked.

“Well, if you’d waited for me to finish telling you the plan before flying out of my house, then you’d know,” Twilight told her archly as her horn began to glow. “You see, because they’re used by ambassadors the amulets have a built in locator spell that I can track.”

“Oh...” the pegasus said a bit dumbfounded with a blank stare. “Well... you could’ve tried to tell me that beforehoof,” she said in mild protest.

“You didn’t give me the chance,” Twilight said, giving her a deadpan look.

“Then you should’ve stopped me,” Dash retorted.

“Can we stop arguing please?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “We need to make sure that Cres isn’t hurt!”

“So what if he is?” Applejack stated. “If he is, it will just make our job a lot easier.”

“But if he’s too badly hurt then he could die!” Fluttershy exclaimed fearfully. “Haven’t enough animals died already?”

“If I remember correctly, Cres was the cause of all those deaths,” Applejack said flatly. “So if he does die, I really don’t see the problem in that.”

Fluttershy stared at her, a mixture of horror and disgust in her eyes. Applejack looked right back, an unsympathetic look clearly crossing her face. Before things could escalate further Twilight stepped between the two.

“Alright girls, we should keep moving. Cres isn’t going to find himself.”

“Yeah... let’s get going,” Applejack said, looking away from Fluttershy.

“I... I can’t believe it... I’m... I’m so angry with them... even though... I-” I cut myself off and pawed angrily at the ground.

“It’s okay, Cres... I’m sure they had good reasons,” Belle told me as she walked up to me with a small, uncertain, smile. “We’ll... just have to make do living in the forest for a while.”

“They threw you out because of me,” I told her, venom and anguish in my voice. “If I hadn’t done it... then you’d still be happy and safe with Jessica... now you’re out here and it’s all my fault.”

“Don’t blame yourself for their fear, Cres,” she told me softly. “They’re just... taking a precaution, that’s all. I’m sure they’ll let us bac-”

“Do you really think so?” I demanded, anger leaching into my voice as I bared my teeth. “I killed my master, Belle! I burned down his house! I... they’ll never let us back in...” I turned my gaze back towards the ground. “Well... they’ll never let me back in... maybe if I leave and you stay they’ll le-”

“Don’t say that, Cres,” Belle interjected. “It was an accident... I’m sure they’ll figure that out and they will forgive you. Just... give it time.”

“Yeah; right,” I said coldly. “Belle... I just... I don’t know... should you be around me right now? I... I killed my master... I don’t... I don’t want to hurt you, too,” I continued, my voice softening. “I... I don’t think I could take it... I’m... ‘this’ close to-”

“Cres, don’t you dare think of taking your own life,” Belle told me strictly with hardened eyes.

I stared into her blue eyes and I found that tears had come uncalled to my face and were pouring down my cheeks as I stared into the pine needles beneath us. “Belle... how can I think of any-any-thing else? I... I killed Henry... I... I I got you thrown out of town... I don’t deserve to keep living... why should I?”

“Because... if you take your life... you won’t solve anything Cres... only create new problems,” Belle answered softly as she walked closer to me.

“Who would miss me?” I asked. “I’m just an Absol... a walking disaster.”

“I would,” she stated slow and sincerely. “I would be... heartbroken... if you ever took your life.”

I raised my head up to look at her, a set of her own tears rolling down her cheeks. “I...” I stopped myself to lean over and gently (and carefully) nuzzle her softly. “You... you’re right... I’m sorry... I’m just an... idiot...”

“It’s okay,” she replied as she return the nuzzle. “I’m used to it.”

I stared at her for a moment before a small smile appeared on my face and I let out my first laugh since... it had happened. “I... I love you Belle,” I whispered softly.

“And I love you too, Cres,” she replied back with a small smile.

My paw moved up to wipe a tear away from my eye and I sniffled softly. “How do you deal with me?” I asked her, not quite sure what I meant myself.

“Practice... bit by bit every day,” she replied with a light chuckle.

A real laugh emerged from my throat and I leaned against her for support... it wasn’t all that funny but I couldn’t help it. Belle simply joined in softly and soon we were a pair of laughing goons secluded beneath the boughs of the pine tree.

She was there for me and maybe... that was enough.

My eyelids snapped open, my heart hammering in my chest.

“It... was only a dream,” I muttered to myself as my eyes looked around the dim hut for the Bli-Zecora.

She was nowhere to be seen at the moment and my stomach was growling iritibly. It was then that I noticed my stomach felt like less of an organ and more like a shrieking ball of pain. I let a low growl slip from between my teeth and looked down at it.

“Shut up,” I commanded.

*grrrrllll*

It was not a very good listener. Never had been.

I closed my eyes and let out a groan and actually succeeded. My body froze for a moment, preparing for pain. However much to my surprise, my body felt... much better other than my aforementioned stomach. Sure, it ached, but other then that... it felt like I’d simply spent a long day training with He- a long day of training.

My eyes peered down at my body and saw that the bandages had been removed, the fur had been shaved away to reveal light blue skin. On the bright side, the skin was flawless and unmarred.

“Well, she did say that she had potions,” I mused to myself with a small chuckle. “Now, time to find something to eat.” My mouth watered at the sentence and it took all of my mental discipline not to drool as the thought of a Tauros split in half with its... anyways, I was hungry.

Without further delay, I rolled sideways off of my bed of pine boughs (now that I thought of it; I couldn’t believe how considerate it was that Zecora had gone out of her way to pick up some of my favored bedding) and rose to my paws. The room spun wildly for a moment and I shuffled to the side uncertain upon the paws I had assumed were trustworthy, until I once more found my balance.

Maybe I’m not at 100% yet, I thought to myself before taking a quick glance around the hut.

Aside from the strange masks and the like, it was a very basic hut as far as they go. To be honest, I’d seen the inside of rock walls with more comfortable amenities... yet there was something undeniably charming about it. I closed my eyes for a moment and then walked through the door to emerge in a small clearing.

It was what I had come to associate with being the average clearing in the Everfree Forest, though I could see that there were small nearly imperceptible intruder defenses set up around it. However, before I could focus too greatly on that, my nose caught the sight of meat; Water-type Pokémon to be precise. My eyes widened as the aroma wafted into my nose and this time I could not help the small droplet of drool that leaked from between my lips.

To say that my head snapped in the direction of the food and then I leapt at it in a frenzy would have been... well, a little exaggerated. Yes, there was some leaping and I may have been a bit unaware of my actions, I will adamantly defend that when Zecora’s gentle laughter reached my ears hat I had seen her before I began devouring my third Water-type.

“It seems that you are quite hungry, though if you keep up this rate I will begin to worry about you becoming unfit,” Zecora said, the third Water-type halfway down my throat. I chewed a little more and then finished the Water-type (it tasted a bit like Remoraid except for maybe a little less salty). Whatever the case, it was delicious.

“I... will try that,” I said as a small blush colored my blue cheeks. “Thank you for the Water-types.”

“We call them fish here,” she told me with a gentle chuckle. “But Water-types work just as well so long as they feel good in there,” she added pointing towards my stomach with a hoof. I grinned.

“True, very true Zecora,” I said with a nod before quickly devouring another of them, she’d only brought five. “Would you like the last one?” I added out of politeness, it is only an unworthy predator who does not offer to share his meal with the one who brought him it.

Zecora shook her head. “No I think not, I doubt it would agree with me as it does with you, it will twist my stomach into a knot,” she replied.

“Very well,” I replied before leaning down and gulping up the last ‘fish’. “Thank you again, for both the ‘fish’ and for healing me.”

“After what you did so selflessly, I could not help respond casually,” she told me, a small smile on her face as she began to walk into the hut, I followed along behind her.

“All the same... I thank you. In truth, I do not deserve your kindness, nor that of anyone,” I told her, the words tasting acidic on my tongue.

“What could make you say such a thing, truly I find your assumption lacking somewhat,” she told me as she looked back at me sharply.

“Yeah... well, you don’t really know me,” I replied dourly as I stared at the floor. “And you probably don’t want to.”

“While it is true that I do not know you,” she began as she pulled a small chair out from somewhere in the hut and walked back outside before setting it down in front of her hut. “That does not mean I do not wish to.”

I gently raised an eyebrow before I sat down on my rear in the soft grass. “Well... alright... I guess the first thing you should know is that I’m... from another, world...”

“I don’t believe it!” Twilight exclaimed, her horn still glowing brightly.

“Neither can I,” Applejack added in a low muttered.

“Maybe Cres is just talking with her or resting at her house,” Fluttershy said in a soft voice as they began to near Zecora’s house.

“I don’t know... Cres often seems a bit too ‘friendly’ for just a idle chat,” Rainbow Dash commented. “Just ask that manticore back there,” she added, barely hiding a shudder.

“Zecora is our friend, girls, we need to focus on rescuing her!” Twilight commanded as she flapped her wings to make her move just a bit faster. Applejack followed the alicorn’s advancement and broke into a gallop.

“Screw that, not fast enough!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flapping her wings swiftly and taking off, zooming ahead of the others.

There he was, the monster was was poised and ready to pounce on her, his mouth open. Dash had time to take in that much before she slammed into the white beast and sent him crashing to the ground.

I stared up at the rainbow maned ‘pegasus’ with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. Just when my morning was going so well, I thought with a mental frown before I rolled over, depositing my weight on top of her and casually placing a clawed paw on her .

“~~HEY, GET OFF OF ME!~~” she yelled, punching futilely against my furry chest. Fortunately her lack of leverage robbed her blows of any weight.

“Stop it,” I growled, baring my teeth a little. It may have been a little harsh, but in my defense, my ribs still rather hurt from the manticore's paw so I wasn’t thrilled to have some loud pegasus smashing into them. Unfortunately my growl didn’t seem to do much to her other then make her struggle harder.

“~~If you don’t get off me, I’m going to buck you so hard you won’t feel-~~”

I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but it sounded belligerent. So, I move my paw up to her throat and pressed down a little harder.

“I said, stop it,” I growled harshly. However she only looked back in defiance and determination.

“Rainbow Dash, stop being so very brash,” Zecora suddenly said from beside us. I glanced away from the pegasus, still keeping my paw on her throat. Zecora was standing there, frowning at the pegasus. “Cres was just telling me a story, though it seems now we will have to wait until after we have cleared up this mess.”

Rainbow Dash looked at the zebra and blinked a bit blankly. “~~You mean he’s not holding you hostage or anything?~~”

“What is she saying?” I asked Zecora.

“She believed you were holding me hostage, which is false, though I appreciate her concern for me,” she answered.

“~~You can talk to him?~~” Dash asked, sounding a bit surprised by that fact.

“Quite well in fact, he is a very kind creature and that is no act,” Zecora said simply.

“~~But he-~~”

“Has done nothing but protect my life from harm, there is no cause for alarm,” Zecora said, cutting her off strictly.

While I was distracted by that, I felt a small tickle on my side. I looked at it and saw a purple aura dissipating off of me. I frowned; it felt kind of like a Psybeam. Then I looked up to see Twilight standing there along with Applejack and Fluttershy. The look on the unicorn’s face was that of someone who’d just run into a brick wall unexpectedly.

“~~I... don’t get it! That should’ve worked!~~” Twilight exclaimed.

“~~Get off of her you mangy varmint,~~” Applejack said with a harsh tone and narrowed eyes.

“Didn’t I already ask you to stay away from me?” I asked the orange ‘pony’ with an annoyed frown. “I made my point very clear,” I added with a smooth slash of my blade through the air.

“Cres, get off of Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said sternly. “You’re being a bad kitty!”

“She attacked me without provocation,” I stated coldly as I glanced down at the pegasus. “Were it not for Zecora, I would have already slit her throat and been done with it.”

“You would have slit her throat?” Fluttershy asked with wide eyes. Rainbow Dash’s eyes also widened, but Applejacks eyes only got narrower.

“~~If you dare do that, I’ll buck you all the way to Tartarus and continue until you’re in the deepest, blackest hole there is,~~” she stated while her hooves prodded the ground.

“I have no idea what you’re saying, but you’re welcome to try whatever threat you just made,” I told the orange pony with a snarl as I removed my body weight from on top of Rainbow Dash and turned to bare my teeth at Applejack.

“~~What’s he saying~~?” Twilight asked Fluttershy.

“That he doesn’t know what she said... but she’s more then welcome to try whatever threat she just made,” Fluttershy said quietly.

Applejack tilted her head down as her front hoof readied itself. “~~Oh I think I will, you-!~~”

“Enough!” Zecora exclaimed, finally having enough of the pointless conflict as she walked between myself and my antagonists. “Stay your hoof Applejack, there is no reason to be seek out a path so rough.” I glanced over at her and she met my gaze, slowly shaking her head.

“~~So rough?~~” Applejack asked sounding incredulous. “~~He attempted to set me on fire, slashed a wound across my back, and now saying he was going to slit one of my friends’ throats.~~” She stated, her voice fuming with anger. “~~I’ll say that’s more than enough to get so ‘rough’ with this little vermin.~~”

“Yet was it not you who attempted to trap him in a pit after telling him that his way of life was not correct and treating him like a dangerous pet?” Zecora asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“~~Well what do you expect when he say he was going to hunt so close to Ponyville? I can’t just let that happen.~~” Applejack declared.

“Creatures of the Everfree hunt close to Ponyville and you have not ever hunted them so maliciously for their features,” the zebra stated simply.

“~~That’s because they normally get the hint to stay in the Everfree after Fluttershy talks to them,~~” the earth pony remarked. “~~Yet he just throws it out like it doesn’t matter to him, and that could be problematic.~~”

“Why would he heed your words, he is not a creature of this world and thus his rights are not those for you to deny,” Zecora replied.

“~~What do you mean ‘not a creature of this world’? Is Cres an alien? As in, from outer space?~~” Twilight asked. I turned to look at her with a slightly raised eyebrow before looking back at Zecora.

“What did she say?” I asked her.

“Twilight asked whether you were an alien who descended from beyond the skylight,” she told me.

“Well... I didn’t so much ‘descend’ so much as rise out of a pool...” I said with a frown.

“What do you mean Cres?” Fluttershy asked before looking at Zecora. “And how are you understanding him?”

“She’s using a potion,” I answered for her. “And I was brought to this world on a quest for Absolution by Giratina.”

“You were brought here?” Fluttershy asked. “Who’s Giratina?”

“A Legendary Pokémon who possesses the ability to travel from realm to realm,” I answered. “He was... kind enough to transport me here.”

“A ‘Legendary Pokémon’? What does that mean?” Fluttershy inquired curiously.

“It is a Pokémon who is so strong that the world itself shakes when they appear,” I answered. “In this case... a giant ghostly dragon who wears a mask of solid gold.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “That sounds scary.”

“~~Whatever the case on where he’s from or that, what makes his ‘rules’ better than ours?~~” Applejack asked, with an annoy shake of her head. “~~If he’s from some other place, what gives him the right to just dismiss our rules for predators?~~”

“Would you rather keep an intelligent creature in Everfree if they do not wish to remain in the wood?” Zecora asked her.

“~~If they’re not going to cooperate, yes,~~” Applejack replied firmly.

Zecora closed her eyes for a moment before holding up a hoof. “I will return momentarily, please avoid doing anything to each other outside of eying one another warily.” With that, the zebra turned and walked into her hut. Applejack locked her eyes on my red ones and I bared my teeth slightly while readying my blade should I need it.

Rainbow Dash was up and was hovering in the air, looking a bit confused, but it also looked like she would aid Applejack if anything went down.

Twilight and Fluttershy just stood there, Fluttershy with a concerned look (the one that I had begun to expect of her) and Twilight with a look that reminded me shockingly of Belle when she discovered something new.

Thankfully, Zecora returned before anything could develop, a pack of green potions balanced on her back.

“Drink and you will be able to understand each other without the need to force each other to the brink,” she said before looking at me. “As for you my friendly Absol, I expect to hear the rest of your story later as to why you seek your absolution.”

I gave her a bow. “You have my word,” I replied before she walked over to the ponies and they each took a potion and drank it, with the obvious exception of Fluttershy.

Applejack was the first to speak. “Alright you mangy vermin, just why in Tartarus I shouldn’t buck you there myself.”

“Because I would claw my way out and kill you,” I stated flatly. “Because I will not allow anyone to prevent me from finding my absolution.”

“And killing critters within our borders is your way to find it?” she asked sternly.

"I must eat,” I said flatly. “And there is food here. You are not a predator and thus have no right to claim territory. I do not eat owned ‘animals’ nor those who are clearly of higher intelligence like yourselves. Even humans do not claim the entire wood for their own,” I told her with narrowed eyes.

“Well, you’re wrong,” Applejack said firmly. “Out here in Equestria there’s a system, and you can’t just ignore it so willy-nilly. And if you’re not going to cooperate, then you’re a threat, nothing else.”

“Then I’m a threat,” I told her. “And for your continued antagonism of me, so are you.” I lowered my head slightly and bared my fangs, readying myself for battle. Applejack eyes narrowed at me and right hoof prodded into the ground, accepting my challenge.

“Then bring it on... you little vermin,” she said.

Chapter 8

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I prepared to strike, my hackles rising and my white ruff beginning to stand on end as I bristled at Applejack. As I did so, my eyes were already predicting her attack path, I was still not quite at 100% so I would have to be weary to keep out of her reach. Thus, I would have to rely upon my flames and my shadow balls to do the job.

Meanwhile Applejack was constantly keeping her eyes on me, ready to break into a charge at any second. She took the option to remove her hat and tossed it to the ground, while her tail swished violently from side to side.

Our conflict however would never come to pass.

“By Celestia, Applejack, he’s the first alien ever to come to Equestria and you want to get into a fight with him?” Twilight said with a small sigh as she stepped in front of Applejack and turned to me. “I apologize for her rudeness, Cres, please forgive her.”

However Applejack gritted her teeth. “Twilight, this is no time for your shenanigans,” she stated while slamming a hoof down into the ground. “He ain't some ‘ambassador’, he’s just some beast who’s trying to fool you with his story.”

“Why would I bother lying?” I asked her with an annoyed sniff. “It gains me nothing, though you are correct in me not being an ambassador,” I acknowledged. “I am simply an Absol looking for absolution, and apparently failing at it... as I have for years.” I could not keep more than a touch of bitterness from that sentence.

“Cres... we just want you not to eat the forest critters when they’re near my cottage or the town... can you do that?” Fluttershy asked, trying to be the voice of reason.

I frowned at her. “I still do not see why you can claim such a large area for yourself. It seems rather selfish,” I said. “You are not going to eat them yourself are you?”

“What... no, obviously not,” Fluttershy said with a disturbed look.

“Then as I said, there is no reason for it,” I replied before shaking my head. “But I suppose if it will keep the arrogant orange one from attempting to ‘fight’ me then I will eat only those that live away from the edge of the forest.”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed at me, but her stance did relax a bit, but doubt and distrust still covered her face. “You better...”

“Once again, I have no reason to lie,” I told her irritably. “Why bother?”

“To outsmart us,” Dash said.

“That would be Belle’s job, and she is not here,” I told her blandly. “I simply wish to find my absolution. I am stuck here until I achieve that goal and may return to my Belle.”

“Just what do you mean by absolution?” Twilight asked him with curious eyes.

“I committed a crime several years ago and I am seeking a way to lift it from my conscience and find forgiveness in the eyes of Father Arceus,” I said simply. “No more, no less.”

“So you’re a criminal,” Applejack said, clearly not pleased by that fact.

“Indeed,” I said with a small nod. “Though it pains me greatly to be even after many years.”

“What... did you do?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“I...” I trailed off and shook my head. “I’d rather not say.”

“Or you haven’t thought it up yet...” Applejack murmured.

I couldn’t help myself. I let out a low and dangerous snarl. “Why would I make it up?” I demanded through clenched teeth. “It is something that has haunted me for years and I have been attempting to find absolution for every one of them.”

“Well sorry if I’m having a hard time believing ya,” the orange mare replied indifferently.

“Okay... well we should probably all go back to my library,” Twilight said, stepping forwards. “As long as you don’t mind Cres.”

“So long as I am not put in another pit, I would not mind that greatly,” I replied while directing a glare at Applejack.

“Oh, don’t worry, we wouldn’t do that too you,” Fluttershy said kindly. “Especially now that you know not to eat the woodland critters around my cottage and the town.”

“I already said I wouldn’t,” I replied with a small nod. “I am a Pokemon of my word after all.”

“We’ll see about that,” Applejack commented.

I turned to Zecora who had stepped back to allow us room to talk. “Thank you again my friend,” I told her simply before giving her a bow. She just smiled at me and the others.

“Goodbye to you all and do tell Rarity that I have said ‘hi’,” the zebra replied, though she was mostly addressing the others.

My paws carried me forward until I was standing directly in front of the ponies, or more specifically Applejack who had stepped forwards to form a ‘shield’ of sorts between herself and the other members.

“Ah, orange one, I take it that you have declared yourself my ‘attendant’?” I asked her while my red eyes stared into hers.

“You got that right, varmint,” she replied, staring right back into my eyes.

“My name is Cres,” I told her pointedly. “Failing that, you may call me an Absol, or just Absol.”

“And my name is Applejack, but it seems like you don’t care in remembering that, so why should I with yours,” she replied.

“Because, you owe me your life,” I answered simply.

She scoffed. “As if.”

“Oh, and I suppose those bandages are from a farm accident; ranch hand,” I replied. “If I had wanted you too then you would be rotting already.”

Her eyes narrowed at me. “If I wanted too, you’d be puking your guts out,” she stated. “If you think one little ‘cut’ is going to make me respect you, you’re wrong.”

“By Arceus, you’d give a Snorlax a run for his money in terms of stubbornness; though to be frank I believe it would beat you in beauty,” I told her before quickly stepping past her and appearing next to Fluttershy. “So, Fluttershy, would you please describe to me the amount of room I have to hunt?”

As I fell into conversation with Fluttershy and the group began to move back out of the forest I heard Applejack quietly whispering to Rainbow Dash. “Keep a close eye on him up in the clouds.”

“Yeah, of course,” Rainbow replied before she jetted into the air in a flurry of flapping wings.

I turned to Fluttershy and quite clearly said. “I don’t believe she likes me.”

“Oh... I suppose not,” Fluttershy said softly. “Although I’m sure given time you two will become the best of friends.”

I turned to give Applejack a skeptical look. “I rather doubt that,” I stated.

As we walked down the forest path, I could not help but feel the oddest sensation... it was as if I was being watched, aside from the constant glare from Applejack. I subtly glanced around, but found no one.

Night was beginning to fall as we left the eaves of Everfree and I let out a yawn, I’d had a busy day... and although I’d spent most of it asleep, I was unreasonably tired.

“It looks like we will have to conduct whatever business you had planned tomorrow,” I said suddenly. “I am far too tired to continue today so I will make my way back to my camp and-”

“Nuh-uh, you’re not escaping us that quickly,” Applejack stated. “You’re not leaving our sight.”

“I was unaware I was a prisoner,” I said with a small frown. “Though, I suppose I may as well be.”

“Well, to be fair, you did say that you were a criminal,” Twilight put in. “So, even if you aren’t it makes sense to keep an eye on you.”

“True enough,” I agreed. “So; who shall I be staying with? Fluttershy?”

“Oh... I don’t know...” Fluttershy said with a small frown. “I know you said that you wouldn’t hunt on my property but I don’t really... trust you yet,” she added in a rush.

“Ah,” I stated before wrinkling my nose. “I apologize Twilight, but I will not be staying with you.”

“Why?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Because your entire house stinks of ink,” I replied with an indifferent tone. “No offense.”

“I... none taken?” she replied, not quite sure what to say.

“Then I guess you’ll be staying with me,” Applejack said.

“Can I not stay with Rainbow Dash?” I asked with a distasteful look at the mare.

“Not unless you want to fling yourself down to the earth a hundred yards above it,” she replied. “Though if you do, then by all means go ahead.”

“That sounds unpleasant,” I told her. “I suppose I will be staying with you then. Fear not, I won’t eat any of your livestock.”

“Oh I’m sure you won’t,” she said with a mild disbelieving tone.

“You know, I am being rather polite for your benefit, the least you could do is humor me,” I said flatly. “It is as if you don’t know the first thing about courtesy; and that is coming from someone who spent the last year praying on a mountaintop every single day.”

“Oh I know it, it’s just I don’t see much reason to give any to you,” she replied. “Though you should count yourself lucky I’m even letting you come near my home and family.”

“They will be fine,” I replied with a short shrug. “Though I hope you do not mind rising early. I hunt at dawn.”

The mare just gave me a flat look. “That won’t be a problem for me... I’ve risen way earlier than that before.”

"Congratulations then,” I told her. “I was not aware it was a contest.”

“Okay; well, so long as you two are comfortable with that I’m going to turn in,” Twilight said. “I have a lot of letters to write to the Princesses.”

I wrinkled my nose at that but managed to force a smile on my face. “Goodbye than Twilight,” I told her before looking at Fluttershy. “And goodbye to you as well Fluttershy.”

“Goodbye Cress,” the mare said with a smile. “I hope you remember those boundaries we went over.”

“I do,” I replied, nodding my head before turning to Applejack. “Lead the way, Applejack.”

The mare nodded her head slowly before turning around and started walking, though now and then she kept slightly glancing back at me.

“So, are you going to give me the silent treatment for our entire time together or are you going to ask me any one of the dozens of questions which I’m sure are running through your mind?” I inquired.

“And let you try charm me with your honeyed words? I think not,” she replied.

“I think you overestimate me,” I replied. “Now Belle; if she ever wanted to she could lie her way across the entire world,” I continued with a proud tone in my voice.

“And I’m supposed to be comforted by that how?” she asked while glancing back at me with a flat look.

“You’re not...” I told her with a subdued sigh. “I... only saw her for the first time in two years three days ago... forgive my mind for wandering to her.”

The mare shook her head and turned her head back forwards, and the two of us fell into silence once more.

“So why don’t you like ink?” she asked, not bothering to turn her head around, though her ears did perk towards my direction.

“Ah, that,” I said with a small sigh. “When I was but a kit, not quite an adult but not a kitten, I pulled a carton of ink off of my... Master’s desk. It fell on me and I was the world’s first completely pink Absol.”

“So that’s why?” Applejack asked, sounding a bit incredulous. “That sounds like a very poor reason to hate ink.”

“I was pink for two months.” I told her flatly with a shake of my head. “Do you have any idea how excruciatingly painful that is if you are a kit? The only upside was that I believe that’s when Belle began to think of me as more than just her friend.”

“No... but I still see it as a poor reason to hate ink,” the mare replied. “Much as you thinking the weather is too ‘perfect’ to growl at it.”

“Ah, that reminds me,” I looked up at the pristine blue sky and growled at it. “As an Absol I can sense weather conditions with my blade,” I explained. “It is part of my innate nature to predict disasters... generally when you have unnatural weather conditions likw that, it means that there is some form of Pokemon mucking about preparing to unleash a severally powerful wind storm or a freak tornado.”

Applejack glance back at me with a raised eyebrow. “Well... it’s common weather here, since the pegasus ponies are the ones who control it.”

“Oh...” I frowned for a moment. “That must be convenient, though I don’t quite understand how when the clouds are miles in the air.”

"Actually they’re only a few hundreds yard away and-” she stopped herself and shook her head. “It just is, okay,” she stated turning her head back forward.

“Belle would have a scientist’s heart attack,” I mused to myself as I eyed the clouds. She was right... they were closer than I was used too. “Or... she’d be so excited by all the new possibilities that she would lecture me about it for hours,” I added with a fond smile. How had I survived two years without her beautiful brain?

We remained silent for a little while longer before I asked.

“So, you’re family, what is it like?” I inquired politely.

“What about my family,” she asked suspiciously.

“I’m going to be staying with them, in some form or another,” I explained irritated, irked by her suspicion. “So, I would like to know a little bit more about them.”

“Who says you’ll be getting to know them,” she stated.

“I suppose I just assumed,” I said with a small shrug as we walked along the gravel road. “I guess I was wrong about that. I would not harm them you know.”

“Don’t be surprised I don’t fully believe it,” she said.

“Why would I bother?” I asked her incredulously. “There’d be no point in eating them, they aren’t prey. Not to mention that they would most likely put up a fight of some form and as I’m still recovering from my last I wouldn’t take the chance of becoming wounded again,” I listed off. “And besides that, it’s wrong to kill without just reason.”

“I’m sure,” the mare muttered out in a cynical tone.

“It’s true,” I said in a low voice. “I pray for every life I take... speaking of which.”

I bowed my head and closed my eyes though I managed to keep up with her regardless.

“Father Arceus, I have taken another’s life in self-defense as well as defense of an innocent. I pray that the soul of the Manticore I have slain reached you and that you welcomed it with open arms,” I intoned clearly and with my usual conviction. Then I opened my eyes to see Applejack looking at with a bewilderedly raised eyebrow.

“What?” I asked her, confused. “Do you not want the Father to accept him?”

“I have no idea who this ‘father’ you’re talking about,” she replied flatly.

“Father Arceus, the creator of all Pokemon,” I said reverently. Despite his refusal to answer my call personally... upon further thinking, I’d realized that Giratina hearing my pleas was most likely his doing.

“Never heard of him,” she told me. “Then again, I don’t think us ponies, or anything in Equestria, are called ‘Pokémon’.”

“That’s true enough,” I said with a small shrug. “Still, I’m sure whatever deity watches over the souls of this world appreciates my prayer.”

“Hrmph,” was her only reply.

I gave her a sidelong glance, I was not overly troubled by her lack of faith... Arceus knows I was not exactly a moderate and I didn’t expect others to follow suit. She however ignored me as we approached a large farm. The smell of apples filled the air and I felt the small part of my brain that remembered my last Puff let out a long mournful sigh.

“Apples...” I said in a soft tone.

“Yes, I hope you don’t ‘hate’ that smell too,” Applejack said, glancing her head towards me.

“Quite the opposite in fact... one of my last good memories with my Master was him giving me an Apple Puff...” I said before looking down. “My last good memory in fact.”

“Master?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, my human Master,” I answered. She still gave me a questioning eyebrow, still not understanding what I meant. I let out a slight sigh. “In my world there are two main groups. Pokemon and Humans. We live together in harmony for the most part but times were not always good so the Humans created ways to capture and store us safely,” I began to explain, most of this is recycled from Belle’s lectures, so I could have been mistaken about any number of things .

“Over time the ‘Poke Balls’ stopped being used that way and instead we became living weapons in their wars which makes sense. Why send a dozen humans when all you need to tear through a wall is a single Aggron who has skin made of solid steel?” I asked rhetorically.

“Anyways; as times went on humans became less inherently violent, or maybe more so but in a better less destructive manner, and Pokemon became their pets. Thus, they became our Masters,” I finished.

The mare continued to give me a perplexed look before shaking her head. “That... doesn’t make a lick of sense to me... but then again pretty much everything you say doesn’t.”

“I thought I explained it rather well personally,” I replied as we neared a large farm house.

She stopped a few yards away from it, and I did so as well. It was a large red building with the typical farm house decorations. I sniffed and found that the air was even more full of apples.

“Big Mac, I need to talk to ya,” she called out into the farm house.

Nothing happened for a moment or two, but then the front door to the house open and a large red ‘pony’ emerged. He caught my eye immediately because to be honest, he was the first pony I’d met to physically impress me in any way other than oddity. He was big as a house and I had the oddest feeling that he might even be able to give a certain Rapidash friend of mine a run for her money in terms of strength. Big Mac glanced at me, and gave a questioningly raised eyebrow at Applejack.

“I’ll explain later, right now I want you to make sure Apple Bloom or Granny Smith don’t enter the barn any time soon during the night or in the morning,” she told the red stallion. She then frowned slightly and rubbed a hoof under her chin. “In fact... have Apple Bloom pack some of her stuff and head over to Sweetie Belle to spend some of the nights... I’m sure her parents won’t mind.”

Big Mac nodded his head wordlessly and head back inside. Applejack then turned her head towards me. “Come on, I’ll take you to your ‘room’,” she informed me while gesturing her head to a building next to the farm house.

I followed and was shortly lead into a large building filled with industrial farm equipment, and hay... lots and lots of hay. It smelled like... hay (duh), rust and oil. My nose wrinkled in disgust but I sighed, I’d slept in worse places, at least there would be a roof over my head if it rained; thank Arceus. I’d once had to spend the night in the middle of a field in a torrential downpour... it was not one of my fonder memories, nor was the next day.

So I turned to Applejack and smiled. “Thank you for the room,” I told her. “Do you happen to have a blanket of some sort?”

“The hay can keep you warm if you dig yourself into it,” she replied.

I stared at her for a moment. “I know that you may not like me, but as my host the least you could provide is a blanket,” I told her with a frown.

“And like I said, you’re lucky I’m even letting you come here,” she restated firmly.

“Well I wanted to sleep in my camp but you made me come here instead,” I said angrily, my nerves starting to fray. “So either you find me a blanket of some sort or I cut a hole through the side of this building and return there.”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed at me, but she reluctantly said. “Fine... you’d better be here when I come back,” she stated as she turn and exited the barn.

“Thank you,” I told her with a smile. “And don’t worry, I will be.”

She came back a few minutes later with a folded blue blanket clenched between her teeth. She tossed it over to me with a simple flick to her head. “There you go, happy?”

“Very,” I said after I caught the blanket and began arranging it on the floor. “See you at dawn.”

“You better,” she replied as she exited the barn once more.

I spent several more minutes arranging the blanket properly before I settled down atop it. A small sigh of contentment escaped my lips before it was followed quickly by a yawn. It had been a long day for me... though not an overly unpleasant one. Perhaps I was one step closer to finding my absolution.

Chapter 9

View Online

Edited by distortedtruth92

I sat dejectedly in front of my Master’s house. My coat was the brightest shade of pink imaginable. So much so that even Henry had been too distracted by the site of my small pink furred body to be angry at me for having ruined his ink, though he had kicked me out of the house until it dried. So here I was, sitting on my front step, head bowed in shame as occasional inhabitants of the village walked by, most of them snickering at me. It was enough to make me want to weep.

“Cres? Is... is that you?” Belle’s voice spoke out to me with a bemused tone. I blushed deeply and I bowed my head even deeper. It was her! My best friend/crush! Belle!

I tried to ignore her. I didn’t want to acknowledge my own existence at the moment, let alone have Belle, the most perfect and beautiful Absol on earth, see me this way. Maybe if I just kept my head down she would forget I was he-

*poke*

“Cres... are you okay?” she asked as I felt the front of her nose slightly poking against my forehead. I jumped backwards in surprise at the contact, my limbs flailing. I landed on my back in a scramble of claws and tail before I finally regained my composure and looked up to find Belle looking at me with a small confused frown.

“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump like that,” she said sincerely. “Just you didn’t reply and I thought something happened... other than seeing that your fur has suddenly turned pink.” Her beautiful blue eyes studied me worriedly.

“I’m... I’m fine,” I said, patting myself lightly with a forepaw. “I was just... meditating. Yeah, that’s it, meditating,” I told her with a big smile, maybe a bit too big. “And I was meditating so long that my fur turned pink.”

She raised an unconvinced eyebrow at me. “What happened, Cres,” she asked me simply.

I sighed. “Well... you remember how Henry bought that really fancy bottle of stuff?” I asked her. “And how I really wanted to see it?” She nodded her head to both of my questions. “Well... it turns out that it was full of permanent ink... permanent pink ink.”

“Ah...” she said with a slow nod of her head. “So... you tipped it over yourself accidently.”

“Yeah... that’s what happened,” I said with a sigh. “I liked my version more.” I gave her a small smile.

She smiled back at me. “Well... at least we’re both red now right?”

I thought about that for moment and then shook my head. “No, Belle, you’re crimson,” I told her, putting extra emphasis on the word. “I’m pink!” I wailed as I threw my paws up in the air dramatically.

“Well... they’re both technically the same color... or at least shade of color,” she stated matter of factly. “And stop overreacting... it’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad?” I asked with a moan. “I’m going to be pink for yearssss Belle!”

“So?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “It doesn’t change the fact you are still you.”

“But I’m piiiiinnnnnkkk,” I whined. “No one is going to respect a pink Absol! It’s like a lime green Ursaring!”

“Not in the way you’re acting they won’t,” Belle said flatly. “In fact, you should see your pink fur as an advantage, not a disadvantage.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about, Belle?” I asked her in confusion.

A big energetic smile crossed her face, a smile I knew all too well. She was going to ‘lecture’ me on something. “Well, like you said, other pokemon won’t treat you the same as a normal Absol, but use their fault of being distracted to take the upperpaw. Like using a Quick Attack and, *pow*, they won’t know what hit them.” Her smiled grew a bit bigger. “I bet they’ll respect you then.”

I cocked my head to the side for a moment before a big smile of my own crossed my face.

“Do you really think so, Belle?” I asked her with wide eyes.

“Of course I do, silly,” she replied with a light giggle. “Why else would I tell you so?”

“Good point,” I said with a small giggle of my own. “You’re really smart, Belle!”

“Thanks, and you’re welcome, by the way,” she replied.

“What would I do without you?” I asked her as my smile became bigger.

“Still be wailing ‘oh, woe is me’ for your fur being pink,” she answered with a playful chuckle.

“Oh, right, that,” I agreed with a blush, though I’m not sure if she could tell.

“So, do you feel like playing tag with Jerry and Max?” she asked me in a hopeful tone.

“Sure,” I said with a smile. “And if they make fun of me for being pink I’ll just clock them,” I told her enthusiastically.

“Just not to hard, okay,” Belle replied with a small chuckle.

“It’s Max and Jerry, one is too happy to hurt, and the other one would probably run away if I tried,” I replied with a grin. “I don’t think I’ll even have to, now that I think about it...”

“True,” Belle agreed with a short nod of her head. “Now let’s get moving, they’re already waiting for us in the forest.”

“Right,” I said as I sauntered up beside her. “So, ready to see my awesome tag skills?” I asked her.

“Depends,” she replied with a sly smile as she leaned over and gave me a nuzzle. “Depends on if you can ever catch me,” she finished while sticking her tongue out at me playfully before turning around and sprinting to the forest, a loud gleeful chuckle trailing behind her.

My eyebrows raised in surprise before I let out a glee filled chuckle of my own and I took off after her. “Come back here, Belle! You’re going to be mine!”

Applejack stood in the living room, staring at the picture of a pair of ponies standing next to each other. One held a pitchfork while the other one just smiled easily at the camera. She gazed at it with a cheerless expression, before looking away and letting her head hang down a little. A heavy sigh passed through her chest before she urged her hooves to walk towards the front door.

“Never again,” she murmured to herself as she passed through the door.

I awoke with a smile on my lips as the first lights of dawn leaked over the horizon, which I could faintly make out from beneath the door of the farm house. That had been a good day... though I had to admit that I may have been a bit more melodramatic than strictly necessary in my youth.

Still, it had somehow managed to convince Belle that I was worthy of her affections, so that was something, right? My stomach let out a gurgle and I got to my paws, quickly going through my stretching routine before slowly making my way over to the door of the barn. I walked up and pressed on the door with a paw and to my ire found it locked. I was going to be rather irritated if Applejack was late, after all, the longer after dawn you waited, the harder the hunt would be.

However, just after I pushed on the door I heard some sort of lock being lifted and the doors opened to show Applejack standing there.

“Morning,” she said in a neutral tone.

“Good morning,” I replied with a nod as I padded past her. “So, will you be coming with me into the forest? After all, you’re not letting me out of your sight, right?” It was not as though I wanted her to come, I was sure she would make my hunt that much harder, but I supposed it was better than having her ‘stealthily’ watch me from a distance.

“Yeah, though it had better be in the forest,” she replied.

“No Applejack, I planned on starting with your farm,” I deadpanned before shaking my head. “Come on then, let’s get going,” I added before taking off at a light trot more designed to wake up my muscles than anything else. Applejack turned and followed, keeping a moderate distance between the two of us.

Our journey was fast this time, instead of taking the main road I simply cut across a road or two and ended up beneath the threatening eaves of the forest. I lifted my nose to the sky and took a few sniffs, there were several ‘animals’ about already and my knees bent as I fell into a crouch. Applejack continued to watch me with her never ending stare, but to my mild surprise, she too crouched slightly.

“Father Arceus, give me luck on this morning’s hunt,” I whispered softly. “Give me the speed and strength to catch my prey and by your grace welcome it to your breast.” I finished my prayer and turned to Applejack, a small smile on my face. “Now then, let’s go,” I told her before darting into the brush.

She rolled her eyes slightly and followed suit, though it was less darting and more like a ponyta trying to crawl through a cave crevice. Possible but not exactly graceful. I drew far ahead of her as I moved through the brush, dodging around thorn bushes and beneath briar patches (I distinctly heard some of what I believe was cursing from behind me as she avoided to see the dangers in time) until I came to a clearing.

Sitting on the edge of it was a large bird of some sort, it faintly reminded me of a Staraptor though a bit less predatory. I frowned at it for a moment. Ordinarily I wouldn’t have considered such a thing a meal, predators don’t hunt other predators after all, but I was rather hungry and there was nothing else in the area.

I crouched there at the edge of the brush, carefully inching my way towards it. Suddenly, the sound of a stick cracking behind me, and the bird took off in a rapid flap of wings. A low snarl worked its way out of my lips and I turned to confront Applejack, her fur was covered in burs and thorns not to mention twigs and leaves. It was a far cry from my nearly spotless ruff.

“Be more careful,” I growled, a bit miffed by her lack of care. “If I go hungry because you are too uncoordinated to watch where you put your hooves then you will have a very unpleasant day.”

“Then don’t get so far ahead of me,” she replied back with peeved look.

“I’m not going very fast,” I replied. “You should be able to keep up and still move with a modicum of dexterity.”

“I’m a pony... not some sort of slippery snake,” she said flatly.

I let out a sigh and twitched my blade like tail, cutting through a nearby branch. “Alright... look, when I stop running that means there’s something close by that I want to eat. That means you stop moving too,” I explained. “Can you do that?”

“Yes,” she answered shortly. “Just don’t leave my sight then.”

“I’ll do my best,” I replied as I fell back into my predator’s crouch and took off again, making steps to ensure that she could see me.

It was a painfully slow process for me, an expert hunter, but after half an hour’s roaming I finally found something worth hunting. It was reminiscent of a Tranquill though its coat’s color was off. The thing was simply pecking about the forest floor for food. I came to a dead stop and looked behind me to see that Applejack came to a halt as well, standing still and not moving an inch.

I nodded slowly and then began to creep forward once more. The ‘bird’ hadn’t noticed me yet and I managed to make it much closer to the edge of the brush. Then, with a small snarl I leapt out of the brush and caught the bird by it’s neck. My jaws snapped together and it went limp. I dropped the bird and smiled.

“Find Embrace in the breast of Arceus,” I prayed before I began to process of removing the feathers around the main area I was going to start on. I heard Applejack approaching closer to my position, but she kept her distance and didn’t comment on my deed.

My tongue snatched out to grab a droplet of blood from my jaws before I began to eat the bird. It did not take long until I had devoured every bit of tasty meat and organ on the carcass. When I finished I licked my lips again and looked up at Applejack who was glancing away, though her ears were pointed towards me.

“I’m done,” I announced as I padded over to her, giving my blue lips one last lick. “Ordinarily I might look for something else, but I’m sated for now.”

“Then let’s head back to Ponyville and to Twilight’s library,” she stated. “I’m sure the others are already waiting for us.”

“Of course,” I agreed, beginning to follow her. “Now was that so bad?” I added.

“Don’t get smug with me,” she remarked. “You’re not going to completely change my mind just because you’re following the rules now.”

“Fine then,” I replied with a shake of my head. “I still don’t see why you despise me. I spared your life when by all right I should have taken it, I did not burn you to death with my flames, nor have I made any action against you which was not provoked by you,” I continued while ducking beneath a low hanging branch.

“Because you’re a predator, one who thinks our ‘rules’ don’t really matter,” she answered bruntly. “And that’s reason enough for me to distrust you.”

“Well, they really don’t matter,” I told her. “Any predator should be able to go where he likes and hunt where he likes so long as no humans or owned Pokemon are hurt. Though in this case it’s ponies and their pets.”

“Yeah well, not all predators think like that,” she stated in a low voice. “Meat is meat to their eyes... not matter who they’re ripping into.”

“Ah,” I said with a frown. “I know of Pokemon like that. They are usually cornered by several angry humans and their teams and then either killed outright or captured.”

“Good for them, still doesn’t change my mind about you,” she said flatly.

“Very well,” I said with a small roll of my eyes. It was then that I noticed that something was once more watching me, a small shiver ran up my spine and I frowned deeply. I subtly scanned my red eyes around the forest but found nothing once more.

“We should move faster,” I told her, picking up my pace a bit.

Applejack raised an eyebrow at me, though picked her pace up to stay close. “Why?” she asked.

“Because, something is watching us and I don’t particularly like it,” I answered with a frown.

The pony frowned at me. “This isn’t another one of your stupid reasons, again, is it?”

“Well I don’t know,” I replied, my voice becoming more than a little annoyed. “We’re in a forest full of predators some of whom are probably bigger and more powerful than I am, and we’re being watched by a pair of malevolent eyes,” I said as bluntly as I could before ferociously adding. “So no, I don’t think this is another of my ‘stupid’ reasons.”

“Alright, don’t have to get so feisty about it,” Applejack muttered as her hooves pounded into the ground faster.

“Actually, I feel like I do,” I retorted as I in turn increased my running speed. “You’re letting whatever repressed feelings or other nonsense in your head negatively impact how you feel about me. That’s fine, normally. I don’t really mind you being ‘mean’ to me. I can take that easily enough,” I continued, ducking beneath a branch. “But what I can not take is you ignoring me when I’m telling you something important!”

“Well, I’m sure Mr. ‘I growl at our nonsensical weather and roll my eyes at our claiming territories’, but I’m still questioning your sense of logic sometimes,” she replied back, leaping over a fallen branch.

I let out a growl of irritation as we broke through the edge of the forest. “My logic is perfectly sound,” I told her while my eyes scanned the forest. “It kept Belle and me alive for years when we were together and then it kept me alive for the two years we spent apart.”

“Well, good for you,” Applejack stated as we came to a stop and softly panted to herself. “But you really haven’t proven to me otherwise with your words alone.”

My tail twitched violently for a moment, slashing through the air with an audible *slice*, but I regained control of myself before I could do anything I’d end up regretting. “Fine,” I told her as I sensed the watching presence diminish and disappear. “Let’s just go to Twilight’s house.”

Applejack’s eyes trailed the twitching of my tail with a small frown. She then glanced them up to mine and gestured her head to Ponyville. “Then let’s get a move on.”

I nodded, and we set off.

Chapter 10

View Online

Back in Sinnoh

Belle stood on the edge of Mt. Coronet as dawn stretched over the horizon, a small frown on her face. She had begun spending the nights up on the mountain in case of Cres’ return. Sadly, that had yet to happen after two weeks, and it was starting to drive her crazy. As was her custom, she had begun reading books, whatever she could find... which was sadly not very much. The Pokemon Center was a remote one and didn’t have much in the way of a library aside from the books that Nurse Joy had bought and they... were not very factual.

Now, Belle enjoyed a good fantasy novel every once in a while. In fact, she loved them. Unfortunately... Nurse Joy’s fantasy novels were the wrong kind for Belle. The Absol shivered slightly at the memory of one of them, she would never have imagined that the unassuming nurse would ever have been into that kind of book.

Still, Belle had slogged through them. The fact that they were not particularly enjoyable for her probably helped them occupy her longer. In the end, though, Belle was bored out of her skull.

Roxanne, on the other hand was enjoying herself heartily. Every time Belle saw her, the woman was engrossed in an activity of some kind having to do with Giratina. She had already set up several video cameras to record every conversation she had with him along with taken exquisite notes and sketches. Roxanne had realized that Giratina was her best shot at being the second female Poke Professor and she wasn’t about to let that slip through her fingers or have her work devalued by skeptics.

Matt was on the mountain every now and then. Being a gym leader in training caused him to head off Hearthome City every other day or so, but he always came back during the days he was free and offered goods he bought from the city to make Roxanne and Belle’s stay on the mountain more comfortable.

The Absol sighed, it was time to get back down the mountain again, she was hungry and did not feel like hunting for herself at the moment. As the boulders and rocky cliff faces fell behind her, Belle’s thoughts turned to Cres. What kind of adventure was her love having without her to watch over him, she wondered. It was just like him to be out having one while she was stuck waiting and worrying over him.

She rolled her eyes slightly as she jumped from one cliff face to another like a Gogoat. It didn’t take her long to reach the bottom, two weeks of climbing will do that, and she started on her way back to the Pokemon Center. A quiet breeze blew through the air and gently played with her white ruff, and she paused for a moment to enjoy the sensation. It was at times like these that she missed the old days.

Cres would be walking beside her and together the two would thread their way through the forest, over rivers and under branches, not a care in the world. She would walk beside him and together they’d play and banter with one another, occasionally taking time to cuddle or kiss in some of the more romantic spots. And then... the fire had happened.

Cres... had never been the same since that day, always driving, always searching, always running. In the end, even from her. All in search for his mystical absolution. Belle had spent two years futilely looking for him, along the way becoming one of Roxanne’s party voluntarily, and the moment that she’d finally found him... he was gone.

Belle had come to a complete stop, standing in the middle of the road to the Pokemon Center as memories flowed by her eyes like water until her ears picked up the familiar sound of hooves trotting on the ground. She glanced up towards the direction and saw Reva, with Matt in the saddle on her back, walking up to her.

The man waved an arm at her and said. “Hey Belle,” he called out with a friendly smile.

“Oh, hello there, Matt,” she replied as she began to walk towards the pair. “And hello to you as well, Reva.”

“Hello there, Belle,” the Rapidash replied with a friendly bow of her head. “Heading to the Pokecenter for some food, eh?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Belle agreed. “How was your trip?”

“Pleasant, as always,” she replied.

“Yeah, especially since trainers don’t ask for a battle the moment they make eye contact with me,” Matt said with a small chuckle.

“Roxanne and I don’t run into that kind of trouble too much,” Belle said with a small chuckle. “Mostly because Zeb begins sparking the moment that he sees them. Kind of dissuades them from trying.”

“Well for me it’s mostly because some trainers recognized me as a gym leader or being the one who beat the champion, but I can see how Zeb’s trick works,” Matt said with small nod of his head.

“Speaking of Zeb,” Belle continued with a glance towards Reva . “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you back,” she told her with a small smirk.

“Oh, I’m sure he will,” Reva said with a small chuckle.

“Anyways, I brought you something that I think you might enjoy,” Matt said towards Belle.

“Really?” she asked with a small frown. “What’s that?”

The man smiled as he turned to one of the bags hanging off of the saddle and reach inside it, pulling out two hardcovers books. “I got some books from the library in Hearthorne for you to read; some are just a collection of legends of the Sinnoh region whilel the others are some interesting facts about ghost type pokemon.”

Belle’s eyes widened and her smile was bright enough to remind Matt of a Rotom glowing in the dark.

“Thank you very much!” Belle told him enthusiastically. “You have no idea how tired I am of Nurse Joy’s ‘romantic fantasy’ collection.”

“I can take a guess,” Matt replied with a small chuckle. “Anyways, I’ll put them near your bed up on the summit.”

“Ah, are you planning to skip heading back to the Center?” the Absol asked.

“Yeah, Reva still has energy to spare and we already ate when coming here,” he replied.

“Okay then,” Belle told him. “Have a safe trip, as always,” she added.

“I will,” Matt said. “See ya at the top.”

“And have a good meal, as well,” Reva added.

“I’m sure I will,” Belle replied before she trotted away from the pair and got back to the Pokemon Center.

There she found Roxanne in her usual spot as of late, hunched over the wooden bench, a cup of coffee beside her hand and several stacks of beautifully written notes off to the side. In front of her was a computer displaying her latest video conversation with Giratina. The dark haired woman had a pair of headphones in and she idly tapped on the table with a pencil with one hand, while biting into a bagel with the other.

Belle smiled softly, her new Master was quite a bit like her which was one of the reasons that she’d walked up to her in the middle of an afternoon’s study session and lay down beside her to read what the woman was reading. Still, she was hungry, and Roxanne had her food, so she was forced to interrupt the research.

She walked up and gently nudged Roxanne’s side with her nose. Roxanne started in surprise and then pressed the pause button before looking down at Belle. “Still no sight of him, darling?”

“Not in the least,” Belle replied with a dissatisfied huff.

“Oh, don’t give up Belle, I’m sure he’s doing his best,” Roxanne told her with a smile before she bent down to give the Absol a kiss on the cheek. “Now, why don’t we get you some breakfast? I’m sure you’re famished after a night up on that mountain.”

Belle smiled and began to eat once Roxanne had retrieved another can of meat.

“You know Belle... I’m really glad you came up to me that day,” Roxanne said with a smile as she watched the Absol eat. “If you hadn’t been so insistent on us coming here, I’d never have met Matt which would mean that I’d never have met Giratina. Thanks to you, I’ve got the perfect subject for my thesis!”

Belle simply nodded her head a little and kept eating, having heard this particular string of praise often enough.

“Doesn’t hurt that Matt’s not bad looking himself,” the woman continued with a small chuckle. “It gives me another reason for wanting to stick around.”

Belle looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

“What? He’s not that much older then me,” Roxanne said with a small roll of her eyes. “Oh, you think I’m just a hopeless romantic like Zeb don’t you?” she added with a pout.

“I’m sure of it, actually,” Belle stated, though she knew the woman wouldn’t be able to understand her.

“Stop looking so smug,” the woman chided her. “Just because I can’t understand what you’re saying doesn’t mean you can get away with that.”

Belle just chuckled lightly at her and got back to eating.

“I mean, he’s handsome, smart as a whip, and he’s already employed in a respectable field,” Roxanne continued with a smile. “And I wouldn’t mind staying here in Sinnoh for a while. Professor Rowan’s very well respected, not to mention a bit of a badass.”

Belle glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow once again.

“Hey, I’m not talking about marriage, probably, just a bit of dating,” Roxanne told her. “It’s not like I get too meet a lot of hot men these days. Or any days for that matter.”

Belle just shook her head, like most of her Pokemon, Roxanne was a flirt at heart.

Meanwhile Matt and Reva were half way up Mt. Coronet, the two being relatively quiet.

“You know, I still have trouble understanding why Cres would leave such an intelligent girl behind not once but twice now,” Reva commented idly.

Matt frowned and shrugged slightly. “I wouldn’t know, we really don’t know a lot about him,” he replied. “I mean, aside from what little we got when we ran into him up here.”

“True,” Reva agreed with a nod. “And from what I’ve been able to get out of Belle in our conversations, he was up here in the first place because he committed some great crime. He came here asking for Arceus to forgive him... or grant him forgiveness.” The Rapidash shook her head. “And... that’s about all.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “Must be something big if he continuously lived up here and prayed all the time,” he muttered. “Though I wonder why Arceus never replied...”

“We’ll have to ask Giratina about that,” Reva replied. “He’s the one who is most likely to hold the answer.”

“Possibly... though it is weird for him to be doing something like this,” Matt commented. “The whole, being vague on his answers and actually interactive with other pokemon and humans. Normally he just keeps to himself in the Distortion World.”

“True... perhaps he sees this as an opportunity to receive some much deserved attention?” she put forward. “After all, he has been rather neglected for many years now.”

“Yeah... especially with how the legends depict him,” Matt agreed with a small frown. “Maybe he does see this as a way to give himself a good image.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Reva agreed. “Roxanne is very thorough in her work and I highly doubt she would do anything to intentionally harm him.”

Matt chuckled lightly. “Especially the way she excitingly exclaimed how her thesis is going to be talked about for decades.”

“That was quite amusing,” the Rapidash agreed. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a woman so full of energy about something to do with learning... or anything for that matter.”

“Yeah, she’ll make a good Pokemon Professor someday I bet,” the man said with a small nod of his head.

“Also, I’ve been meaning to ask, what do you think of her?” Reva added with a small sly note in her tone.

Matt glanced at the Rapidash with a small flat smile. “I think she is a nice woman, smart and resourceful, and has very strong bond with her pokemon. In all, a very good friend.”

“Ah, I see,” Reva replied with a small chuckle. “I’m sure that will cause her no end of disappointment judging by the way she looks at you.”

“Much the same to many other woman who has ‘fallen’ in love with me,” Matt said with a shake of his head. “I’m not saying anything bad, Roxanne is a nice woman, it’s just...” he trailed off and let off a small sigh. “A lot of what I hear are the same notes from a lot of women, or just other people and... well...” he trailed off again with a small frown. “I’m just a bit... jaded to all of it.”

“I understand, Matt,” Reva told him with a small nod. “But I think she’s a different type of woman,” she continued before thoughtfully adding. “She’s going to be a Professor for sure given her current thesis... also she’s a great deal smarter than most of your ‘fangirls’.”

“True...” the man murmured.

“I’m not trying to force you into anything, just pointing out that you shouldn’t waste an opportunity like this,” she added with concern in her voice. “I worry about you sometimes, Matt.”

Matt smiled softly at Reva. “Come on, Reva, I thought we’d been over this? You know, the whole agreeing not to talk about our dating opportunities. Do I really have to list the countless other Rapidashes you’ve turned down after we beat Cynthia?”

Reva’s face blushed a little. “I’d prefer that you didn’t, most of them were bores or idiots. Of course... I may have found someone I like. Still not positive,” she admitted.

“Oh?” Matt said with a bit of amusement. “I thought Zeb wasn’t your kind of type?”

“I don’t know, I think he grew on me,” Reva replied. “At first I thought he was just a flirt, but the longer I talked to him the more and more I realized how smart he was. That, and he’s really good at poetry.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you liked poetry?”

“It’s been one of my little secrets,” Reva replied with a small smile. “Anyways, not positive yet, but I could see it happening.”

Matt smiled softly at her as the two emerged on the summit of Mt. Coronet. “Well, I’ll hope you find out soon, and I’ll support you on whatever you do decided.”

“Thank you, Matt,” Reva said, her silver flames playing softly against his hand.

“You’re welcome, Reva,” the man replied as he began to dismount. “Now, let’s get things ready for others, shall we?”

“Yes, let’s,” she agreed as she lowered herself down to make it easier for him.

Belle was the first to arrive back up on the summit, her legs pushing her up in powerful bounds. As she came to a stop she saw a nothing but her supplies along with a sheet of clear ice. Well, “nothing” wasn’t quite true, Reva was laying down beside the ice.

“Hello, again, Reva,” Belle called.

The Rapidash glanced up from the ice and looked at the Absol. “Oh, hello Belle, had a good breakfast?” she asked.

“Very,” Belle answered with a smile as she padded over to the Rapidash. “And I take it you had a good ride up?”

She nodded her head. “Yes, calm as always. The wild pokemon learned long ago to leave me and Matt alone.”

“Good,” Belle replied as she sat down beside the Rapidash. “Zeb and Roxanne are still a ways back; I know a faster way that only an Absol could take.”

“I bet, having nimble legs sure can come in handy in climbing mountains,” Reva commented while letting out a small sigh. “Ah... sometimes I miss the open fields, I never imagined I’d be climbing Mt. Coronet frequently as I do now.”

“You and me both,” the Absol agreed. “I’m not sure how Cres managed it day in and day out. Even with his goal so large in his mind it must have been torturous to climb all the way back up here from his camp.”

“You found his camp?” Reva asked with a tilt of her head.

“Indeed. He was set up beneath an evergreen at the very foot of the mountain,” Belle replied with a sad sigh. “He forced himself to climb it every day, some sort of additional punishment, I imagine.”

“Huh... well, if that’s so, I guess that also explained some of his actions during winter as well,” Reva said with a small frown. “One day we found him passed out on the summit, hadn’t eaten a bit for three days.” She shook her head. “It’s a good thing we found him when we did.”

Belle opened her mouth and then closed it before a low sob worked its way out of her throat. “Oh Cres...” she whispered softly as she stared down at the rocks beneath her, small tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Belle felt a light, comforting, nuzzle from Reva. “It’s okay... I’m sure he’ll come back soon,” she said gently.

“But... he’s been off risking his life and being an idiot for two years now, Reva,” Belle said softly. “He... he needs me. Ever since Henry died... he’s needed me.”

“Henry?” Reva asked delicately.

“Yes... Cres’s old Master,” Belle answered with a sigh. “He died... and Cres believes that he was the cause.”

“What happened... if you don’t mind me asking,” the Rapidash asked politely.

“One day Cres sensed that something awful was going to happen to Henry so he came running back from the forest where the two of us had been... “ Belle trailed off and a small blush played across her face.

“Anyways... he arrived and burst inside to find Henry perfectly fine. Unfortunately Cres was in such a bad state that he knocked over a jar of starter fluid which was next to the fire place and... well... when you live in a house made of wood...” she let out a long sigh. “Cres got out. Henry didn’t.”

“I see...” Reva said slowly.

“Cres... blamed himself, of course, and well... nothing that I’ve ever said has been able to dissuade him from the fact that he ‘caused’ Henry’s death,” Belle said slowly with a sad shake of her head. “The fact that all of Santalune Village believed it too and kicked both of us out, mostly because of the incident, they no longer trusted Absols, didn’t exactly help him.”

Reva’s ears fell flat. “I’m sorry to hear... I know I really can’t say anything to really cheer you up...”

“It’s... fine,” she said at last. “It no longer really effects me. I have a new trainer and it’s been several years... Cres just....” she trailed off and shook her head.

“Is becoming very stubbornly focused on his goal,” Reva finished.

“Yes... even if he need not be,” the Absol said quietly. “It’s like when he was a child and got pink ink all over himself... it took me pointing out that his current color gave him an ‘advantage’ to knock him out of it... but this... I tried everything and nothing worked... and then one day two years ago he was gone after leaving a note in horrible writing saying ‘finding Absolution, love you always’.” She slashed her claws against the stone as old anger swelled up in her breast. “I love him... but he amazes me sometimes.”

Reva glanced down at Belle, not knowing what to say.

Before she could figure out what to say, Reva heard the sound of familiar hooves approaching. She looked up to see Zeb walking towards them, Roxanne on his back, a smile on her face.

The woman leapt off of Zeb, with far more grace then you’d think possible from a ‘scientist’, and walked over to the ice. She then began taking out several dozen collapsible camera tripods and accessories out of her pack.

Meanwhile, Zeb walked up to Reva. “Well, you’re a sight for sore eyes,” he commented with a smile. “And I do hope that nothing troubling did arise.”

Reva smiled slightly back. “No, the wild Pokemon learned to leave me alone,” she replied. “Thank you for asking, though.”

“You’re very welcome,” Zeb replied as he lay down beside her. “I’m glad that you did not encounter any of the scum.”

Belle cast a look at Zeb before shaking her head slightly. “Well, I’ll just leave you two alone,” she said. “I’ve got books to read.” She padded away leaving the Zebstrika and the Rapidash alone.

“Belle,” Reva called out, causing the Absol to stop and look over her shoulder.

“Yes?” she inquired politely.

“Enjoy the books... maybe they can give you a fresh perspective to some things,” the Rapidash told her.

“I... thank you,” Belle replied, turning to give the Rapidash a small smile and a short bow before she walked over to her small camp consisting of a blanket and now several books.

“I take it by her mood that Belle told you what happened to Cres?” Zeb asked her. “And how it truly was nothing but a mess?”

Reva nodded her head. “Yes... hard to find something positive to say towards that.”

Zeb let out a small sigh. “All of us have been trying... but not succeeding,” he shook his head. “I should probably stop that now shouldn’t I?”

Reva chuckled lightly. “No, it’s okay... I find it rather amusing... and you need something to lighten the mood around here.”

“Then I will and I’ll only stop if you say ‘when’,” he told her with a light chuckle of his own.

“Noted,” Reva replied with another small chuckle.

Meanwhile Belle had sat down upon her blanket and looked at the books; some were about the legends of Sinnoh, going into a bit more detail and using evidence from ancient ruins to prove some of them. Others looked like detailed analyses on ghost type pokemon; how they acted, how they battle, and other things for trainers if they ever wanted to master the type.

She frowned and picked up one of the ones about ancient ruins. The one that she’d chosen focused on a temple in Snowpoint City. It was interesting and Belle soon lost herself in it, time seeming to oblivion as she devoured first that book, then the next and the next. She came out of her information deluge to the sound of Roxanne’s voice projecting loudly from over where she’d set up the cameras.

“Matt! Get out of the shot!” Roxanne exclaimed as she waved at the man who had suddenly appeared upside down in the middle of the ice.

The man glanced up a bit surprised to hear her voice. “Oh, Roxanne, didn’t know you arrived,” he called out.

“I got here an hour ago,” she replied with a shake of her head from behind the camera. “Now please, get out of the shot or else I can’t continue where I left off with Giratina. Unless you want your face to be in these videos of course.”

“And let him gain more publicity? I doubt he would want that,” Giratina said with a bit of a small chuckle as he flew over head.

The man looked at the legendary a bit flatly and shook his head. “Right, and no, I don’t want any more publicity, I just lost track of time here and all,” he said as he leapt off the island he was on and landed on another that was floating away from the ice.

“Still trying to do your pointless search I see,” Giratina commented.

“Well if you’re not going to look for him I might as well,” Matt replied.

“If I can’t find Cyrus in mine realm, why do you think you can?” Giratina asked.

“Because... it’s just something for me to do alright?” Matt answered. “Besides... it’s more trying to finish off loose ends than anything else... and it gives me something to do in the down time.”

“Cyrus was the Team Galactic leader right?” Roxanne asked as she stepped out from behind the camera, seeing the futility of trying to interrupt the conversation completely.

“That is correct,” Giratina replied. “After Matt defeated him here in my realm, he just wandered off and never appeared again.”

“And... you didn’t track him down why exactly?” the woman asked the Legendary with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I don’t have full control over this realm,” he replied. “I might know ‘where’ everything is in this realm, but not ‘everything’ that’s in it.”

“Ah, so you’ve got a mental Pokemap but it’s not a ‘real time’ feed,” Roxanne mused with a small frown. “Makes sense I guess. Only Arceus is really omnipotent.”

Giratina emitted a small stiff chuckle.

“So... want to continue where we left off yesterday?” the woman asked him, sensing his disdain for the other topic.

“Of course, now where were we?” he replied and the two continued their extended conversation.

Chapter 11

View Online

Edited by distortedtruth92

I kept my head down as we returned to the town. It was still quiet and sleepy, apparently we hadn’t been in the forest as long as I’d thought. Meaning that there were very few ponies up and about, and those that were simply eyed me curiously, none screaming like they had yesterday. As we walked I took a little more time to scan the place. It was a moderately big town as far as things go... about the size of my home town if I my memory hasn’t suffered too greatly over the years.

That thought forced a long, tired sigh from between my lips. So many years of running... of searching... of praying. All I wanted was my absolution so that I could settle down with Belle and raise a family; was that too much to ask of the world? Of course, my anger died away a moment later, it was my actions which had landed me where I was. That was the point of all this wasn’t it? It was my fault... all my fault.

I closed my eyes and stumbled on a stray rock which caused me to rock into Applejack’s side.

“Omph!” She grunted as we both tumbled to the ground with a thud. Her head whisked towards me, a flat, unhappy, look crossing her eyes. “Mind getting off of me?”

“Sorry,” I replied as I nimbly got to my paws. “Just... lost in my memories.”

“Well you think you can do that while we’re not moving?” she asked as she got back onto her hooves.

“Right, sorry,” I repeated, shaking my head. “I’m just... tired I suppose.”

She raised a questioning eyebrow at my statement, but shook her head and made no sort of comment, only turning away and started walking again. I followed along beside her, doing my best to avoid falling into any memories. Thankfully, we reached the library quickly enough, though there was an oddity there as well. Parked outside were two winged ponies wearing what looked to be armor standing in front of an old fashioned carriage made of gold and white wood... strange.

I looked over at Applejack. “Am I under arrest?” I asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

“I don’t know, up to Princess Celestia to say if you are or not,” she replied with a small shrug.

“Who?” I asked, frowning.

“Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria,” the orange pony answered.

“Ah... I take it that Equestria is the region we are in?” I asked, feeling like I’d heard the name before but not having had any background at the time. “And you are still ruled by a monarchy?”

“What’s the matter with that?” Applejack questioned.

“Hmm? Oh nothing at all I suppose,” I answered, shrugging my shoulders slightly as we approached the door. “The humans long since did away with such things and installed the Leagues as the chief governing bodies... though to be truthfully honest I do not understand a great deal of what goes on. You’d have to ask Belle.”

She looked at me with a queer look before shaking her head. “Come on, let’s not keep them waiting.”

I nodded and followed her inside to see Twilight sitting at a table, casually sipping what I assumed was tea, while sitting across from her was... the most graceful being I had ever laid eyes on... not counting Belle of course. She, it was certainly a she, looked much like Twilight... but that wasn’t a fair comparison. It would be like comparing a Skitty to a Pyroar and calling them the same by virtue of being feline.

She was tall and elegant with cream-like white fur. Her mane flowed around her head in a ethereal rainbow of colors and her violet eyes looked at me with a mixture of ancient wisdom and amusement. A pair of wings large enough to make a Pidgeot blush extended from her side and dozens of snow white feathers adorned them. Resting upon her head was a simple crown and below that was massive horn. It was about that time I realized I was staring blankly at her, lost in her glory. I shook my head slightly, and then for some inexplicable reason, felt the need to bow, so I did.

Her soft magenta eyes glanced over me, and a friendly smile formed on her muzzle. “Ah, it seems our guest has arrived,” she said in a welcoming tone.

I raised my eyes back to her level, coming out of my bow and found that I didn’t quite know what to say. The... power she exuded... it felt... so pure. “I... hello...” I said softly.

“Hello there Cres, it’s nice to meet you,” she replied, her kind smile ever present.

“I... thank you,” I replied uncertainly. “Am...I in trouble? I... surely you would not have come here if it were otherwise... why waste your time...”

“No you’re not in trouble, not at all,” she replied with a small shake of her head. “I was just paying a visit for Twilight in response to her letter, and in fact wanted to just talk with you.”

“Talk with me... about what?” I asked while glancing back at the closed door, silently judging whether or not I could escape if this Legendary being decided I wasn’t worth her time.

“Just to talk about why you are here,” she replied simply.

“You know of my quest for absolution?” I asked her quietly, backing up a little. I had never been truly persecuted for my crime... if she knew why I was here then she might want to make me suffer for what I had done.

“Only what Twilight or Fluttershy told me,” she replied. “There’s no need to be afraid, I just want a simple conversation.”

“I... I see...” I replied with a small nod. “Are... shall we go in another room?”

“If you wish,” she told me.

I gave her an unsteady nod, and Celestia rose from her chair, nodding towards another room. I followed her and discovered that we were in a kitchen.

“You... wanted to talk with me,” I said uncertainly.

“That is what I said,” she replied with a single nod. “So, how is Giratina doing?”

My eyes widened in surprise; she knew Giratina?

“You know him?” I asked after a moment.

“In a way...” she informed me. “One of my ponies accidentally discovered his world a long time ago and... well, it was an interesting meeting.”

“I see...” I replied before shaking my head. “He seemed well enough when he granted me passage here I suppose... though I don’t know if I’m the best judge of such things.”

“Well at least it’s better than nothing for the last two hundred years,” she stated with a small shrug. “Thank you for that,” she added with a small bow of her head.

"Umm, you’re welcome,” I replied, not used to having Legendaires bow any part of their body to me. “So... about why you wanted to talk to me... what did you want to talk about?”

“Mostly on what you seek here in my Kingdom, your absolution,” she answered.

I stared at her for a moment, was she the one who offered what I was desperately looking for? My eyes stared hopefully at her, and Celestia slowly nodded her head.

“So... you think you can find it here?” she asked me with a small inquiring look.

"I... do not know. I... hope so... I’ve been looking for so long...” I trailed off and shook my head. “I spent a year praying, crying out for Father Arceus to help me...” without realizing it I was sobbing. “And I left Belle behind... and now here I am again... surrounded by people who dislike me purely because of who I am... and I’m telling this to a being who could obliterate me with just a thought... I... I don’t know... “ I trailed off, my head bowed as tears streaked down my face. “I just... don’t know.”

Sobs began to choke out of my throat as my heart felt heavy as lead. Then, I felt two soft feathery wings warping around me, embracing me into a caring hug. I looked up slightly to see the creamy white breast of Celestia’s chest and a pair of loving magenta eyes staring into mine. She had also made sure to avoid having my blade touch her.

“It’s okay...” Celestia softly said to me.

“I... I just want him back... but he’ll never come back... I just want to make it better... but I can’t... I just wanted guidance... but no one ever gave me it...” I gasped out between sobs. “Everything I do just makes it worse.”

“Then I’ll be happy to help you, in any way I can,” she told me. “You can rest assured that I won’t turn against you nor ignore your call for help.”

I spent the next several minutes trying to collect myself before I finally managed and pulled slightly away from her. “I... I’m sorry... I’m not the most... emotionally sound individual,” I told her lamely.

“It’s okay. Sometimes it’s good to just let it go,” she assured me with a soft smile.

“I... so can you help me? Can you lead me to my absolution so that I can... be whole again?” I asked her, a hint of desperation in my voice.

“Well... I will have to ask you something first,” she told me sincerely. “Who’s forgiveness are you truly seeking?”

“I... I don’t know,” I said quietly. “This entire time... I haven’t known. I... I spent a year begging Arceus to come down from on high and reveal it to me... and many years before that seeking it... but that, like my absolution, has elluded me.”

“There’s one of your problems, you’ve been seeking for something blindly, yet... not ackowgleding what you already know,” she said slowly.

“What?” I asked blankly.

“You already know whose forgiveness you’re looking for, but you seek other ways to achieve it,” she replied. “So your heart is trying to fill a hole with other means... none of which are working, are they?”

“I... no,” I said softly. “Nothing does.”

“Because there’s only one thing that will,” she told me. “And until you accept that... you will never find what you seek.”

“But what is it?!” I shouted. “I’ve been searching for so long without the faintest clue and all the while I’ve been growing more angry and frustrated and pathetic and I-I don’t know how much longer I can make it.”

“You’re seeking the forgiveness from the being you miss the most, the one who you want back, but know that will never happen,” she answered.

“Henry? I... how can I find forgiveness from Henry?” I asked her in confusion. “He’s dead and it’s my fault! That’s the entire point!”

Celestia just looked down at me with her ancient, kind eyes and I suddenly felt the impact of their power rock me to my core. With but a glance from her my anger cooled and my mind cleared.

“I... I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m just... so lost.”

“Then find yourself, and you’ll find your forgiveness from Henry,” she said gently. “And by then, you’ll have found what you seek.”

“I... okay,” I said quietly. “I... thank you... Celestia... I just... I don’t know anymore.”

“It’s fine, not many do,” she told me.

“So... what now?” I asked. “Do I just... look for ‘myself’ or... is there something I should actively be doing?”

“That’s something you’re going to have figure out for yourself,” Celestia told me. “But... you have sacrificed so much for yourself... perhaps it is time to start sacrificing for others.”

“You’re... not going to give me a straight answer, are you?” I asked her, unable to keep a slightly irritated undertone from entering into my voice.

“I gave you more than you realised,” she told me with a kind smile. “You just have to see it,” she added before she lifted her wings off of me and began to stand back up. “Now, you’re welcome to continue staying in Equestria if you wish, and if you need any more help, I’ll be happy to assist you if I can.”

There was such a note of sincerity in her voice that it almost knocked me over... she truly did wish to help me. It wasn’t just a placation as others had given me before... nor was it an ‘attempt to understand’ what I was going through... she honestly just wanted to help me.

“I... thank you, Princess... thank you so very much,” I whispered hoarsely.

“You’re welcome,” she replied with her kind and warming smile.

“I think we’ve been gone long enough,” I quietly told her. “I don’t want Applejack to jump to conclusions and think I’ve killed you.”

A small amused chuckle rolled out the princess’s throat. “Now we don’t want that, do we?”

“No, I have had to put up with quite enough unfounded anger from her and am in no mood to acquire more,” I agreed, shaking my head. “So, shall we?” I added, nodding towards the door.

“Let’s,” she agreed as she turned to head for the door. I followed behind her and we emerged back in the other room to find Twilight and Applejack in the midst of a conversation.

“I just don’t know what could be keeping them so long,” Twilight told Applejack with a frown. “Whatever gem they’re looking for can’t be this hard to find.”

“You know Rarity, always looking for perfection for her outfits,” Applejack told the purple mare. “I’m sure her and Spike will come back soon.”

“I guess. I’m just worrying about nothing, aren’t I?” the mare asked.

“Probably,” the farm pony agreed with a small nod.

Twilight smiled and then glanced over at Celestia and me. “Oh, you’re done,” she said with a another smile. “How did it go?”

“It went well,” Celestia answered. “I think Cres knows a bit better on how to find what he is looking for now.”

“That’s wonderful,” Twilight said with a nod as she glanced over at me.

“Yeah... she gave me a lot to think about,” I added.

“I hope so,” Applejack said in a small sour tone.

In response I simply shot her a harsh glare and then said. “I think I will go out for some air.”

“Actually, if you didn’t mind, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind answering some questions,” Twilight spoke up before I could get very far.

“What kind of questions?” I asked cautiously.

“The simple kind,” Twilight replied with a smile... oh no, I know that smile.

My eyes widened in alarm. “I-um....I don’t think I’m up for it,” I said as I took another step towards the door.

“Please?” She asked, the most adorable pleading expression I’d ever seen (outside of Belle’s) splattered across her face.

I stared at her, unable to muster up the will to move another inch... the look on her face was just so... familiar.

“I... alright. I’ll answer your questions,” I submitted, walking over and sitting down beside her.

Celestia smiled and chuckled lightly. “Anyways, I better head back to Canterlot,” she commented before turn to face the front door. She glance back at me. “It was nice talking to you Cres.”

“Thank you again,” I said with a small bow of my head.

“Good-bye, Princess,” Twilight added as she dug out five pages of notes from a pouch beside her. My eyes widened in terror... it was going to be a long afternoon. “Now Cres; I want you to begin by telling me every type of Pokemon you can think...”

Chapter 12

View Online

Edited by distortedtruth92

My head hit the table with a solid *Thunk*, my blade barely missed carving into the wood.

“No more,” I begged. “Please, no more. I’ll do anything.”

Twilight was staring at me with an expression that warred between amusement and worry while Applejack seemed to be holding in a chuckle at my pain. I let out a low snarl in her direction but winced before I could sound really menacing. My brain was in too much pain for that. Twilight had been grilling me with countless questions for the last hour and, though I had started strong, my endurance had waned away.

“Oh my,” Twilight said in a concerned voice. “Are you alright, Cres?” she asked.

“I’m... fine,” I said slowly. “I just haven’t had to talk that much in over two years... you’re like Belle on five cups of coffee!”

Twilight blushed. “I’m sorry... I can go a little overboard sometimes, I guess,” she admitted.

“A little?” Applejack remarked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well... would either of you mind if I went for a walk?” I asked, still smarting as another wave of pain ran through my brain. “I feel the need for some fresh air.”

“That would be fine,” Twilight said with a small shrug as she looked at her huge number of notes. “I’ve got plenty of notes from you, Cres.”

“As long you don’t mind me keeping an eye on ya,” Applejack said, or more like stated.

“I’d expected as much,” I replied neutrally as I hauled my head off of the table and got to my paws. “Shall we?”

The orange pony got up from her watching corner and walked up a few feet behind me. “Let’s,” she said, gesturing me to go on.

I walked towards the door, the mare following me and we emerged into the bright sunlit town’s square. There were more ponies than earlier this morning, in fact, it looked more like it was afternoon. I blinked once or twice as my eyes adjusted to the light and I found that most of the ponies were staring at me. I huffed and rolled my eyes before I started off, my nose in the air slightly as I searched for a familiar smell. I soon found it and began to trot a bit faster.

Applejack’s pace also quickened as I heard her hooves batter against the ground, easily keeping up with me as I followed the scent. We sped through the town and before long arrived on its outskirts, we crossed a bridge overlooking a small creek and then began to approach a cottage.

As we neared it I caught a whiff of many other smells filling the air, all of them easily recognizable as those of prey. My mouth began to water instinctively, but I ignored it. I was under oath after all. There were birds singing in the air as we walked towards it but when we drew closer they all shut their beaks and flew off; apparently my habit of eating them had made them a bit... scared of me.

“I don’t believe they appreciate my presence here,” I noted neutrally.

“Well, duh,” Applejack said flatly.

“You seem to be in a good mood as usual,” I continued as if I hadn’t heard the flatness in her tone. In all honesty, I was just happy to escape from Twilight’s clutches and it may have been making me a bit too friendly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she replied.

I just shrugged as we began to walk up the final slope approaching the cottage. It didn’t take long to reach the top, and once there, I saw dozens of different ‘animals’ milling around. Most of them were obviously prey of some kind, Pachirisu, Furrets, and even a Buneary or ten scampered around. Strangely, there was also a beast that resembled an Ursaring lounging in the sun. I raised an eyebrow slightly at the sight but didn’t comment, I suppose Fluttershy’s ‘protection’ had enticed him into living near her.

It was then that I saw her. Fluttershy was in the midst of spreading out feed for a collection of fat birds that scuttled across the ground. She looked up when she saw me and smiled.

“Hello, Cres,” she said brightly. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“And the same to yo-” I was cut off as I caught sight of a white Buneary glaring at me from between her forelegs. “Ah, you have a protector, do you?”

Fluttershy frowned and then looked down. “Oh yes, this is Angel.”

“Angel?” I asked as I looked down at the Buneary who was still glaring at me. “He seems rather angry for that.”

“He’s just protective of me is all,” Fluttershy replied with a small smile as she looked down at the Buneary. She then pushed him out from between her legs and sent him forwards towards me. “Angel, this is Cres. Say hello.”

However the Buneary’s eyes narrowed slightly, yet he lifted up one of his paws and gave a small wave at me.

“Hello there,” I said with a small smile. “Fear not, judging by the amount of her scent on you you’re Fluttershy’s pet. That means I would not eat you even if I did meet you within the forest.”

His gleaming eyes never left their gaze towards me, and I doubted he really believed in my words.

I shook my head and turned back to Fluttershy who, was smiling at me. “So, did you have a good morning?” she asked.

“Very,” I answered with a smile as I licked my lips a little. “I had a delicious bird of some kind and even with her following me around like an oaf-” I nodded towards Applejack. “- I still had a good hunt.”

“Well... that’s good,” Fluttershy said with a hesitant smile. “You stayed in the forest right?”

“He did, I made sure of it,” Applejack answered.

“Good,” Fluttershy replied, smiling. “I really don’t mind you hunting you know... I know that the stoats, ferrets, birds of prey and even Mr. and Mrs. Bear do it... but you were doing it where you weren’t supposed to.”

“I understand, though I still think that it is rather foolish for a non-predator to make such a rule,” I told her with a roll of my eyes. “After all, what do you have to gain from them?” I asked as I settled down on my chest and lay in the grass.

“Protection,” Applejack said a bit darkly. “Knowledge to know it’s safe to walk out in the middle of the night or day and not be pounced on and get your throat ripped out.”

“Why would anyone bother to do that?” I asked with a frown. “You do not look particularly tasty to me, and I’m sure you would put up far more of a threat than any of the easier to find prey available.”

“Well not everyone thinks like you,” the orange pony said with a bit of a hard edge to her voice. “Food is food to a hungry beast, and you really think they care if it will put up a fight or not?”

“In most cases, yes,” I replied plainly as I closed my eyes and simply enjoyed the feeling of the sun on my fur. “The average predatory Pokemon knows better than to go up against anything that can properly defend itself. Why risk injury when you don’t have to?”

“Well, here’s a news flash for ya, they’re not these Pokemon you keep yapping about,” Applejack stated. “Your way of thinking doesn’t add up here so shut your trap about how ‘useless’ our ‘claiming’ ground is! There’s a reason for it and they’re good reasons!”

“Ma-maybe we should just change the subject,” Fluttershy said nervously as her eyes darted between the two of us.

“I’m simply saying that it doesn’t make sense,” I countered Applejack. “A predator of any kind is on his own for most of his life and has only himself to rely on. If he attacks something that he cannot handle there is no one to assist him. Even packs do not go after the strongest member of a herd because the risk of injury is too great.”

“And when the predators out there are Manticores, Timberwolves, Cragadiles, Hydras, and whole lot of others that are bigger than the average pony, that’s not much of big problem for them,” the pony said harshly.

“Ah,” I said with a slight shrug. “Still, you are technically prey. What do you expect? I suppose I can understand you creating a safe zone for yourself, but creating one for the other ‘animals’ seems a bit... excessive.”

“Not when they’re seeking shelter from beasts like you,” Applejack said with narrow eyes. “Those who think so highly of themselves for being bigger and can just eat whatever they feel like.”

I cracked one of my eyes open slightly and regarded her with my red iris for a moment before I spoke. “I do not think highly of myself for any reason,” I told her. “And I do not eat whatever I feel like. Only those who are prey and only then when I am in need of nourishment.”

She scoffed in disbelief. “Yeah right, that’s what every beast like you says, though you’re just waiting to go back on it given the chance.”

“If I wished to eat anyone here in this place I doubt there is anything that either you or Fluttershy could do,” I told her with a small shrug as I shut my eyes once more. “I have not and I will not because I have chosen to accept your laws besides the fact that it would be a waste. There is more there then I could possibly eat or store safely, besides, Father Arceus looks down upon such acts.”

“Oh, I’m sure he does,” Applejack said sarcastically in a flat tone.

“He does,” I replied simply. “Every soul has their time to meet with him once more and those that send them early are among his most hated of creatures...” I trailed off and sighed heavily.

“Do I need to keep reminding you this isn’t your world?” the orange pony said flatly.

“No, but when you accuse me of something I suppose it is only fair that I defend myself accordingly,” I answered with another small shrug. “Besides, you threw an insult at Father Arceus, even after his year of silence I still have faith in Him and must correct you.”

“And you keep insulting our rules,” Applejack remarked.

“For which I am sorry but they simply make no sense to me,” I told her simply. “You on the other hand are insulting my God, a much greater offense to my thinking.”

“The same with you for tossing down our rules,” the pony replied with a dark glare.

“Who wants tea?” Fluttershy asked, suddenly returning from wherever she had disappeared to for the last few minutes, I had been wondering why she’d been so silent. I cracked my eye open again to see her standing there with a tea set balanced on her back between her wings. “Applejack?” she asked with a nervous smile.

“No, thank you,” she said, a bit of a hard tone clipping the edge of her voice.

“Oh, what about you, Cres?” she asked hopefully. I considered it for a moment and then nodded, I had never had the affinity for boiled leaves that Belle had, yet I could appreciate it on occasion.

“Yes, I do believe a cup of tea would be wonderful,” I answered with a smile. “I need something to steady my nerves. Someone continues to pound on them as if they were a drum.”

Fluttershy bit her bottom lip but set the tea set on a nearby table and then set about readying a cup for me. It didn’t take very long and soon I was lapping up a small saucer of tea, it was sharp and minty.

“That is hardly the same thing,” I stated, continuing where Applejack and I had left off. “Unless you worship your ‘rules’. Of course, with the vigor you are defending them I would not be surprised.”

The orange pony stomped a hoof to the ground while letting irated snort. “There’s a good reason why I defend our rules!”

“Which is?” I asked her, raising an eyebrow slightly before I took a lap of my tea.

“Because it’s monsters like you who killed my parents!" she shouted angrily. "And I’ll be sent to Tartarus if I’ll let another one pass by me!” she roared.

I froze mid lap and then looked up at her for a moment before speaking. “I’m sorry for your loss. However that is no reason to condemn me personally for something that others did.”

“It gives me every right,” she retorted. “For me to be wary and judgemental to creatures like you who think lowly of our rules, and so far you haven’t really given me any other reason to act differently.”

“I didn’t kill you when I had the chance,” I replied. “Something that I have been continuously regretting. I have obeyed your idiotic rules. I have answered your countless questions and accepted your incessant harassment simply for my existence. It is only by the grace of Arceus that you are still drawing breath and if I were you then I would consider my words more carefully,” I told her, my voice dropping into a more menacing tone.

“And it’s only because Fluttershy is here that I haven’t bucked your guts out,” the mare replied, no hint of being affected of my words.

“Please, won’t you both stop arguing?” Fluttershy begged.

“I would enjoy seeing you try,” I told the orange pony, ignoring Fluttershy. “However, I am still recovering from saving Zecora’s life and I do not wish to re-open my wounds in some petty show of bravado.”

“So? A beast like you-”

Applejack was suddenly cut off by Fluttershy’s hoof covering her mouth.

“Applejack, maybe you should go,” Fluttershy said, putting more force into the words then I expected possible from her. “I’m sure you have work on the farm to do right?’

Her green eyes narrowed at me and she slowly turn and walked away, her tail swinging angrily as her hooves pounded into the ground.

“Quelle salope,” I muttered as I lay my head back down in the grass. Fluttershy’s eyebrows rose slightly and a slight blush crossed her face at my language.

“She really is a nice pony, Cres,” the mare told me softly. “She’s just... still not over what happened to her parents.”

“I understand, but my statement still stands,” I replied. “I’ve met Pokemon who were former Team Flare members who were less of salope.”

Fluttershy just let out a sigh. “Are you going to be okay here if I leave you alone?”

I smiled slightly and then lapped up more of my tea before answering. “I will be fine... where are you going?”

“To see if I can convince her to be more accepting of you,” Fluttershy replied to which I chuckled dryly.

“Fluttershy,” I said. “I really doubt that anything you say will get through her skull, she’s thicker than a Wobbuffet.”

“A what?” she asked me.

“An extremely stupid Pokemon who has the ability to repel any attack back at you with a stronger force,” I answered with a small smirk. “I’d say it matches well.”

Chapter 13

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Applejack walked down the dirt road to her farm, anger still fuming in her mind as she occasionally let out a snort or two every time Cres popped up in her mind.

“No good lousy runt,” she muttered lowly to herself. “Oh, ‘I could’ve kill ya but didn’t’; you think I’m going to back off with a threat like that!? Why I oughta just buck your skull until it caves in on itself. Maybe then you’ll understand you can’t just mock our way of living just because it sounds stupid to your ears.”

“Umm... do you mind if I walk with you?” Fluttershy’s voice asked from her right.

“Depends; if you’re going to try to convince me to give Cres a chance, then my answer is no,” the earth pony replied sharply without glancing back.

“I... I won’t ask you to give him a chance,” Fluttershy said softly. “I just don’t want you two to fight any more. He’s trying his hardest to be a good cat.”

“Trying? More like not really caring,” Applejack stated.

“He didn’t break the rules this morning did he?” Fluttershy insisted. “And he didn’t try and eat any of the animals at my house.”

“Yet he keeps complaining how pointless our rules are, it’s only a matter of time till he outright ignores them,” Applejack retorted. “And he keeps bringing up the whole ‘I could’ve kill ya’ bit to me, thinking that should make me respect him but instead it’s just making me want to buck his jaw off.”

“Well... he hasn’t broken them yet and I don’t think he will,” Fluttershy said meekly. “And while I don’t think he was right to give you that cut... it’s not exactly unexpected that he did it... you trapped him in a hole in the ground.”

"After he ran away and didn’t cooperate with us,” the orange mare stated. “What do you expect us to do? Let a dangerous predator just roam freely outside of the Everfree?”

“No... I’m not saying that either of you are right... I’m just saying that he had a reason to attack you and you got off lightly,” Fluttershy replied.

Applejack scoffed. “Doesn’t convince me otherwise on my thoughts towards him. He’s a dangerous predator, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Applejack... are you sure that you’re letting the past influence your thoughts towards Cres the tiniest bit?” Fluttershy asked cautiously. “He isn’t the monster who-”

“Don’t you dare finish that line, Fluttershy,” Applejack said harshly while stopping in her tracks and gave the pegasus a warning glare. “I’m already mad as it is, don’t make it any worse.”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy apologized. “I just don’t think you’re being very fair to Cres.”

“Fair?” Applejack said slowly while her glare intensified. “Last time I gave ‘fair’ treatment to a predator like Cres my ma and pa paid the price. So yes, I’m not treating Cres ‘fairly’ for good reason.”

Fluttershy flinched faintly. “Applejack... he’s just... lost. Not dangerous... you can see it in his eyes.”

“Then he has some way of mixing the two up,” Applejack stated while she turn away and began to walk away. “Because I only see the latter in his eyes,” she commented to Fluttershy without turning back.

“You can’t see all the pain and hopelessness?” Fluttershy inquired softly. “Applejack, he’s been crying heavily recently, that much is obvious. Haven’t you seen the way he looks off into the distance as if he’s searching for someone who he knows he’ll never see again?”

The earth pony continued to walk away, not responding, either out of of choice or because she didn’t hear the quiet mare.

“Applejack, he’s in pain,” Fluttershy said, a little louder. “He’s admitted to having spent an entire year alone on a mountaintop... it must have been something awful that drove him there.”

“Then he should be there and not here,” the mare replied with a scoff.

“But he came here trying to find a way to make up for it and you’re being horrible to him for no reason!” Fluttershy exclaimed, finally losing her temper just a little.

“Because so far he hasn’t shown me any other reason not to be,” Applejack replied.

“He’s just a poor animal who you’re taking out your old pains on,” Fluttershy said softly. “He’s done everything we’ve asked of him now that we’ve had time to properly explain it and he saved Zecora so I see no reason not to trust him!”

“Then good for you, but then again you always side with the animals if they shed enough tears for you,” Applejack said with a bitter undertone.

Fluttershy stared at her for a moment before she turned her back on the mare. “That’s because I’m the only one who can,” she said softly before she flapped her wings and flew off in the direction of her house. Applejack didn’t say another word, only continuing to head back to her farm.

I lay on my side as the sun’s warm rays washed down on me from above, it was truly a splendid day. The ‘birds’ had resumed their songs among the trees after a few minutes of my presences, apparently deciding that I was ‘safe’. I watched them through half closed eyes and saw that they were a great deal stupider than any flying type pokemon. They moved with no rhyme or rhythm and I was sure that their songs were nearly meaningless.

Angel was still watching me from his place not far away, but he hadn’t done anything to antagonize me so I let him be. It was an odd feeling, lying here in the grass not worrying about where my next meal would come from or how I would make it through another night... it was peaceful here. The type of peace that I hadn’t felt for a very long time.

There was only one thing missing really, and that was Belle, who should have been leaning against me, her warm breath playing across my neck. I let out a small sigh at the thought and thought about what a fool I’d been. I’d left her not once but twice now and for what? Absolution from Arceus? She could have at least come with me... or I could have had the stones to actually tell her face to face... but no.

No, instead I’d used a note, and a badly written one at that.

Why she insisted that I made her happy I still wasn’t sure, to be completely honest, my Belle deserved better than I could provide.

Briefly I pondered what the future held for us. Would we manage to settle down and raise a family together? Or would we simply continue to adventure around the world with the ‘Roxanne’ she’d allowed to catch her? I frowned, I didn’t like the idea of the second option... I had spent enough years on the road traveling to have long grown sick of it.

My frown deepened as I remembered one particularly tense confrontation with a Tyranitar from which we’d only managed to walk away unscathed from thanks to Belle’s gift of observation and my own ability to run very fast. I shivered; that hyperbeam had been a little too close for comfort and would have gored me.

Another image flashed into my mind, that of an extremely large number of Beedrill from whom we’d only barely escaped after I’d accidentally awoken an entire swarm. The fact that we’d still nearly died that day and had only been saved by the fact that a helpful Nurse Joy had taken in two pockmarked half dead Absol after we’d fallen unconscious at her door.

Without thinking about it, I ran a paw down my right side and felt the large puncture scars which still ached to this day if hit wrong. Thankfully, the Nurse had been able to remove the stingers before it was too late... I had spent a long time making that particular misadventure up to Belle.

My thoughts then flowed forwards through time to a moment where I thought I really was going to die. It was halfway through my time on Mt. Coronet and it was the literal dead of winter. No Pokemon showed its head out of its burrow and I was wasting away...

I sat there on the peak, the snow swirling around me in a never ending flurry of white.

“Father Arceus, please hear my prayer,” I intoned weakly, my voice cracking as the ache in my throat which burned horribly with every breath and word. “Please Father send me some hope... there is no food here... and I am not going to abandon my post here.”

I stared up at the slate grey sky and got a dozen snowflakes in my eyes for a reward. I shivered horribly and shuddered as even my thick fur failed to insulate me from the icy winds. It had been... five? No... eight days since my last meal, a scrawny Clefairy, and I knew I was dying. The only reason why it hadn’t yet come to pass was that I’d already stored up a great deal of fat over the summer.

My mind wandered tiredly and my voice began to lower as my body began to lower itself into the snowy ground. I just... I couldn’t do it... I’d failed... and now I’d die on this mountain. As my head hit the ground, the world began to black out.

“Reva, use Flame Wheel!” a male voice shouted out through the chill air.

A burst of heat washed over me and only grew as the sound of hooves echoed in my ears. A Rapidash with a silver fiery mane and partly covered in a swirling fire jumped over me, bringing in a quenching heat that melted the layer of frost covering my fur and the snow around me. The Rapidash landed firmly on the ground in front of me and turned to face me and lowered it’s head near me.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice clearly feminine and sounding concerned.

“Probably going to starve to death soon,” I answered honestly in a raspy voice. “Least I’ll have a warm corpse hmm?”

She frowned deeply and looked up and over me. “Matt, he’s starving and desperately needs food,” she told to this ‘Matt’.

“Oh good I’m being saved by a crazy Rapidash who thinks humans can understand her,” I rambled exhaustedly. “Or maybe I’m the crazy one and you’re not real at all.”

“And he’s gone delirious,” she added.

“Then let’s bring him back inside the mountain and build a fire to cook some meat for him,” Matt stated before he called out. “Koros, I need your help!”

A bright flash appeared before a large Honchkrow appeared hovering in the air flapping its wings against the wind.

“Brrr, come on Mat, you know I don’t like the cold. I’m a flying type for pete's sakes,” he, its voice clearly male, complained a bit sourly. I was clearly surrounded by the insane.

“I know, but I need your help in carrying this Absol back inside to the cave, now,” Matt ordered promptly.

“Okay, okay; no reason to lose your head,” Koros said as it flew down to me and his talons grasped onto my back tightly but not tight enough to pierce into my skin.

“Oh good, my hallucination is kind enough not to hurt me,” I said with a small slightly crazy smile. “That’s good.”

“Gee, I knew we help the occasional Pokemon who seems to have lost their marbles, but this takes the cake,” the Honchkrow commented.

“Koros, this isn’t the time to be telling your ‘witty’ jokes,” Reva remarked with a flat stare which I dimly saw from within the crow’s claws as my vision swam as I felt being lifted into the air.

“No no, go on,” I muttered. “At least I’ll be vaguely amused at my own subconscious as I meet Father Arceus.”

“See? At least someone has a sense of-”

“Koros,” the Rapidash said firmly in a flat tone.

“Moving to the cave,” he replied as I felt my body swing backwards a bit as Koror propelled us forwards.

“You know, I’ve got to say, as far as dying hallucinations go you guys are pretty good,” I lisped from between sore lips. “Not as good as when that angelic Gardevoir came down from on high and got Belle and I to that Pokemon center... but you’re a close second I guess....” I let out a laugh through my chapped lips and my body shuddered causing the Honchkrow to wiggle a bit in the air.

“Easy there, don’t talk,” the Rapidash said to me worriedly. “Save your strength and don’t worry, we’re not fake, we’re real and here to help.”

“The odds of that are really low,” I replied weakly. “After all, why would the Father deliver me now? Hahah, he’s probably been watching this whole half year of prayer and laughing at me.”

The world darkened a bit as well as the rush of the wind died down as I barely saw the roof of a the cave passing over head.

“I wouldn’t know that, but someone heard you and sent us to help,” Reva replied. “Because that’s what Matt does, he helps as much as he can.”

The Honchkrow set me down next to a fire pit that was blazing with life and the smell of roasting Magikarp meat tickled into my nose making my mouth water... it had been so long since my last meal. I looked in the direction of the smell and saw a light brown haired male human pouring a water into a bowl.

He glanced towards me and smiled slightly. “So, still think we’re all a hallucination?” he asked me.

I blinked several times as the intense memory washed over me, barely suppressing a shiver as I once more felt the arctic blasts of the unforgiving Mountain’s peak. If it hadn’t been for Matt then I’d have died up there during the winter... speaking of Matt... I wondered where he was... and if he’d mind if I joined him.

Of course, I could only do that if Belle’s Roxanne lived nearby, I wasn’t about to abandon her again but if I could, I would enjoy his company. He reminded me of Henry to be honest, smart and brave.

A loud sigh left my lips and I looked up to see that Angel had crept closer to me. I raised an eyebrow slightly at him and he puffed out his chest. I wasn’t exactly an expert on what his breed of ‘animal’ did but I believe he was trying to intimidate me. In response I gathered a small bit of flame in my mouth and let it slowly leak from between the edges of my lips. To my surprise he just scoffed at me.

I liked him.

“My, aren’t you the brave one,” I mused with a smile as I looked over the white Buneary.

The Buneary just raised an eyebrow at me to which I responded with a raised eyebrow of my own. It had been a long time since I’d done something like this but considering where I was, I didn’t think it would hurt anything. I extended my paw out to him, claws carefully sheathed, and held it up to him in the manner of a human. He stared at it suspiciously for a moment and then hopped in the air to give it a surprisingly firm ‘slap’ with his velvety front paw.

“Huh, very brave,” I said, chuckling. “Here ‘Angel’ come sit beside me if you’d like, it’s better to share a beautiful day like this with someone else than by yourself, eh?”

Angel frowned at me and sat down where he was, though he didn’t look entirely hostile.

“Do what you’d like then,” I said with a sigh, annoyed to have been shot down.

I shut my eyes and began to simply enjoy the feeling of the sun washing down on me. Unfortunately, I could already hear the sound of wingbeats that heralded the approach of Fluttershy. Not that I was unhappy to have her back, it was just that I’d been enjoying the peace. Oh well, at any rate whatever conversation she had to offer would keep me of thinking of things I’d rather not. As I sensed her land beside me, I cracked an eye open at the mare and found her looking at me with a concerned expression.

“I hope Applejack’s... mood is not bothering you to much,” she asked me hesitantly. “She’s just... overly protective sometimes.”

“That’s one way to put it,” I replied. “And no... I’m fine.”

“Oh good,” she said with a small relieved sigh.

“So... what would you like to talk about?” I asked her, closing my eyes again. I really did not like the way I could lose myself within her eyes... they were too strange.

“Well... I don’t really know, is there something you would like to know?” she asked me.

“Not particularly,” I answered. “Except perhaps knowing who or what killed Applejack’s parents. If nothing else it will give me less of a reason to despise her.”

“Well...” her voice trailed off in uncertainty. “I don’t know if it would be right of me to tell you or not... but if it makes you understand Applejack a bit more, I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” Her voice remained silent for a while before she spoke up again.

“It was a sphinx, a rare predator not normally found around here and normally live in Saddle Arabia but... one of them seemed to have been tired of scavenging off the desert and traveled here to hunt whatever it could sink it’s fangs into. Applejack’s parents were one of its victims along with a few other ponies,” she explained.

“I see,” I replied with a small nod. “And while I stand by my statement that she has my condolences for that... it does not explain or forgive her for her treatment of myself.”

“Well... she kind-of does have reason to be,” Fluttershy told me. “You are only adding fuel to her distrust towards you by constantly voicing your opinions on our rules and... she just thinks you’re going to lie to her like the sphinx lied to her parents when she was a filly.”

I frowned. “I only voice my opinion because... well I suppose I have grown overly accustomed to the sound of my own voice,” I explained slowly. “I’ve been alone for these past two years more or less. Being alone that long tends to erode your manners.”

“Then you need to work those manners back into place... because... I hate to say this but neither of you are really in the right,” Fluttershy said hesitantly.

“I suppose there’s some truth to that,” I admitted with a sigh. “But back to Applejack’s parents. How exactly have I been lying in any way?”

“Well you haven’t... not that I can see, it’s just Applejack thinks you are,” Fluttershy explained. “It’s the way you’re acting, the constant objection to our rules and... you keep bringing up how you could’ve ‘killed’ her.”

“And?” I inquired with a frown. “Saying that is usually meant as a sign that you do not mean to kill someone,” I stated with a frown as I cracked my right eye open at her again. “It means that I have no intention to kill her or I would have already.”

“Maybe... but to her I think she sees it as sort of mocking towards her. As in, I can kill you at any moment,” Fluttershy replied. “And Applejack doesn’t back down from those type of threats.”

“I don’t understand, but perhaps it is simply a Pokemon way of thinking,” I said, letting out a sigh. “Everything is so different here... in my world the strongest must continually prove their strength... a moment’s weakness could be seen as an opportunity for someone less strong to challenge you and take what you have. The only real sense of safety is with a Master. A privilege which I lost long ago...”

“A master?” Fluttershy asked with a puzzled look.

“Did I not explain that to you yet?” I asked, opening both eyes as I looked up at her. She shook her head slowly, and I let out a sigh. “A Master is a human who takes it upon him or herself to bond with wild Pokemon. We become like their ‘pets’ I suppose, except for our bonds are deeper... we live together, sleep together, fight together... we are each others equals and respect one another’s strength.”

“And you said you lost the privilege long ago?” Fluttershy asked cautiously.

“Indeed I did,” I replied, closing my eyes again, I couldn’t stand to look into her eyes as I said that.

“How exactly did you lose it?” she asked, the same ere of caution trailing in her voice.

“He died,” I said, barely keeping my composure. “I... killed him.”

The mare remained quiet, and the soft touch of feathery wings warped across my back. “I’m sorry...” Fluttershy said softly, both in regret and in compassion. “I’m sure it wasn’t your fa-”

“Of course it was my fault,” I said flatly, interrupting her. “I was the one who rushed in! I was the one who acted like an idiot! I was the one who knocked over the canister! I was the one who started the fire! I was the one who couldn’t rescue him from the flames! I was-!” before I realized it a was weeping again, unable to contain my grief any longer.

“It’s all my fault... always my fault,” I moaned quietly, to ashamed to care about my dignity. “Everyone tells me it’s not but it was. They weren’t there.... they didn't hear Henry screaming as he died... they... they...” I could talk no longer and buried my face in the grass.

Fluttershy continued to hold her wing over me and began to comfortingly to stroke it and a hoof against me. “It’s okay... let it out,” she said compassionately.

I barely heard her as my claws tore at the earth beneath them, tearing up small clods of earth. When I finally became aware of where I was again I found that the ground before me was bare and that my normally white fur was filthy with loamy soil. My eyes stung from the tears and I raised them to look at Fluttershy who was still looking at me with gentle compassion. I shuddered and fell limply on my front.

“Sorry about the grass,” I said tonelessly.

“It’s okay... I can always ask Rose to help fix it later,” she told me while she continued to ‘hold’ me.

I let out a sigh and despite myself leaned against her soft side. “This... is the reason I left my Belle... I’m unstable,” I confessed softly. “I’m a danger... a killer.”

“No, you’re misunderstood,” Fluttershy told me.

A humorless grunt left my throat. “What makes you say that?”

“Because of the way you are acting right now,” she answered me.

“I just spent five minutes tearing apart your lawn in a fit of rage and self loathing,” I said flatly. “I believe that qualifies me as unstable and dangerous.”

“Yet you didn’t strike at me, nor made any notice you didn’t want me near you,” she remarked. “In fact, you’ve been accepting my aid to comfort you... now how would that make you unstable or dangerous?”

“It means that I’ve sunken far enough in my mire of self pity that I’ve run out of options except to leach it from others,” I said despondently. “I didn’t hurt you because you’re still listening to me-”

“Balderdash,” Fluttershy interjected with a stern look. “You’re desperately looking for help... and if you were even remotely close to what you are describing yourself, you wouldn’t be here searching for it. You would’ve either been fine with the way you were or you’ve could’ve gone... wild.”

I snorted. “I am wild, I have no Pokeball to return to.”

“Wild as in gone mindless of who you are, losing your sense of self-identity,” Fluttershy explained.

“Oh,” I replied with a sigh as I pushed myself to my paws. “No... I suppose that has not happened as of yet.” I shook myself, attempting to dislodge some of the dirt from my fur. I was for the most part unsuccessful. “I have two things I’d like to ask of you.”

Fluttershy frown slightly at the sudden change of subject, but she got up to her hooves and replied. “And what would they be?”

“Firstly, is there anywhere I could wash?” I asked her politely as I took a step away from the mare who asked questions which had perplexingly strong effect against me. She must have been part Fairy.

Fluttershy blinked a bit before she chuckled lightly and nodded her head. “Yes, I have a wash center in the back of my house that you can use.”

“I thank you,” I told her, bowing my head. “And secondly, and do not misinterpret me here; may I sleep with you? Applejack has left me in a barn that smells horribly of oil.”

The mare nodded her head once more. “Of course. There is plenty of room inside my cottage,” she answered.

“I thank you again,” I stated, giving her a stiff nod of my head before I turned my back on her. “I shall see you after I bathe.”

“Okay, if you need any help don’t be afraid to ask,” she said as she was nod her head one final time and headed for the front door to her home.

I let out a sigh and began to walk towards the back of the house, my mind abuzz.

Chapter 14

View Online

Edited by distortedtruth92

I stirred slowly, feeling more refreshed than I had in... well to be honest, several years. I’d forgotten what it was like to sleep in a real house. A house with a real heated fireplace and beneath actual bedding. I was lying upon what I’d assume was a Mightyena or possibly an Arcanine bed, the nice kind and Fluttershy had even included an incredibly lovely blanket. The only thing that could possibly have been missing was Belle’s scent in my nose... but I had grown accustomed to lacking that.

I pushed the blanket off of myself and let out a luxurious stretch/yawn combo as only a feline could, and then got off of the bed, suddenly hungry. I lifted my nose to the air, my mouth beginning to water as the overpowering scents of prey filled my nostrils. I frowned and shook my head as I remembered where I was. This was not a place to be hunting.

Discouraged, I shook my head again and headed for the door. As I did so, my blade began to vibrate wildly like it never had done before. My eyes widened in surprise and terror, something that set my blade off this badly would mean death for miles! The last time anything like this had happened had been when the Ultimate Weapon had been about to go off.

A bright flash of light emitted in the room along with a loud, cheery voice speaking.

“Fluttershy, I’m HOME!”

My eyes readjusted and I gazed upon the creature that just teleported into the room. My first instinct was to... run as fast as possible in the opposite direction. If it was doing that much to my blade then I wanted nothing to do with it. My second reaction, and perhaps the stronger for that’s what I did, was to stand my ground and gather a Shadow Ball to my blade, just in case. Who knew what the strange being wanted with Fluttershy.

The being looked down at me with its yellow, red eyes and a peculiar expression crossed its face. “My, my. What do we have here? Is Fluttershy spending her bits on getting extoic animals again? Tch, I thought she’d gotten over than spending crave.”

“Excuse me? Who are you and what are you doing trespassing in Fluttershy’s house?” I demanded with a low growl.

The being looked mild surprised at me. “Oh my, it speaks,” he said before gesturing a Pyroar like paw towards its chest. “And me a trespasser? I’ll have you know I live here too young man.”

“Where? In the kennel?” I asked as my eyes glanced over him and his disturbing body. “For you are most certainly a mutt of some kind or another.”

The creature eyes widen in at the statement before he slyly smiled back down at me. “Not as much as you look like an oversized kitty,” he said before snapping his other talon arm.

A flash of light washed over me, and once it passed I felt... different... dramatically different.

“There now, much cuter if you do ask me,” the being said with an amused chuckle as his tail waved in front of me, leaving a mirror behind. I looked into it and my jaw dropped in horror as I saw that my wondrous fur had been... snipped. I had been pruned!

A ball of rage formed in my stomach and I unleashed my Shadow Ball at the being before I launched myself for it’s stomach, my blade angled downwards for a perfect slice.

The being caught my Shadow Ball, but stood still as I sliced through and landed on the other side. He merely glanced down where I made the slice before his bottom simply walked off by its own, leaving the top floating harmlessly in the air.

“Hmm... not bad, but I’ve seen better,” he told me as he inspected the ‘cut’ and took a bite of the Shadow Ball. “Also, this needs a bit more spice to it. A bit too plain for my taste,” he added as he took another bite.

It... must be a ghost type, I thought to myself. Then I smiled darkly and my horn glowed black. Before the creature could react, I pivoted from where I was standing and threw myself at it, Nightslash tearing through its torso with a satisfying swish.

I landed flawlessly a foot away and turned back to see the creature blinking blankly. His head popped off and it looked at my cut once more.

“Better, but you technique still needs a bit of work,” he said, unphased at all by my attack. Then his body parts all flash at once, disappearing for a second before his voice spoke right over me. “Or you balde needs a bit of sharpening,” he added.

I glanced up to see him casually leaning on nothing with... my blade in his paw and his talon finger running up and down its edge.

“It’s a bit dull, dontcha think?” he asked glancing down.

“AHHHHHH!” I screamed! He had my blade! My Blade! That-that was impossible! He couldn’t have gotten my blade!

“Oh zip it,” with a roll of his eyes as he lowered his paw down and snapped my horn back in place. “You’re acting as if you’ve never seen some simple magic tricks before.”

“I-I-I-” my mind died and I fainted.

I awoke to the sensation of a bucket of ice water being upended on my face. I let out a roar of surprise and came up swinging.

“Oh pipe down will ya? You’re making a racket as loud as an Ursa Minor when it stubs its toe,” the familiar voice of the mix match creature told me flatly.

“You-you-you took my blade!” I shouted at it. “How dare you touch something so blessed by Father Arceus in such a manner!”

“And how dare you call me a mutt,” he remarked. “I’ll have you know I’m a draconequus, not some canine sniffing at others’ butts.”

“You defiled the holy blade!” I retorted stubbornly, not allowing it to drive me mad with its inane babble. “I don’t even know how you did it!”

“Why like this of course,” he simply said, and before I knew it he reached down and snapped my blade off again like it was nothing. “See?” he asked, twirling my blade up in the air.

“Sto-stop that!” I shouted at him. “You-you can’t do that! If you damage it then I won’t even be able to claim to be an Absol!”

“Oh calm down, I got deft hands like a keen eagle,” he said as he caught my blade in mid air and flung it towards me. I flinched slightly before I felt it snapped once more onto my head. “I also have a good throwing arm,” the draconequus said with pride.

I bent my head down to make sure that my blade was still attached and then stared at the being. “You... you’re a Legendary...”

“Well, legendary yes, though I prefer master of chaos more thank you very much,” he replied.

My nerves threatened to fail me again, but I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. Yesterday I’d cried twice, today I would make sure that I only fainted once.

“Do you have a name?” I asked slowly.

“Well, I was wondering when you were going to ask that. My name Discord, Spirit/Master of Chaos,” he said with a introductory bow. “And yours?” he asked, glancing down at me.

“Cres,” I said, suddenly feeling very inconsequential. “Herald of Father Arceus,” I added, mostly for my own benefit, I doubted Father Arceus wanted anything to do with me.

“Father Arceus huh? Hmm... never heard of him,” Discord said with a dismissive shrug.

“He is the maker of all Pokemon,” I stated before shaking my head. “At any rate, I am one of his many heralds.”

“Pokemon?” Discord muttered before his ears perked up a bit as he glanced at me. “Ah, now it makes a bit more sense,” he continued with a small smile. “Funny, I thought he hated Arceus...” he mused.

“Who?” I asked with a frown.

“Bah, no one in particular,” Discord said with another dismissive gesture. “So, what’s a little Pokemon like you doing on our side of the universe?” he asked, bending down with an inquisitive look.

“Seeking absolution,” I stated, not wanting to tell the... Seviper... anything else.

“Ah I see... and I guess my dear friend Fluttershy is helping you out? Isn’t she?” Discord asked, though already seeming to know the answer.

“What do you think?” I asked blandly.

Discord chuckled lightly in agreement. “Well then, I guess I should leave you too it then. I think I punished you enough for calling me a mutt,” he said as he bent upwards.

“Where is Fluttershy anyways?” I asked with a small frown.

“Oh probably out in the back feeding the small zoo of animals she has,” he replied, meekly pointing to the back door. “She should be finished in ooo,” he looked at his bare pyroar wrist, “half an hour or so.”

I let out a small sigh and then nodded. “Well then, tell her that I’m off to hunt,” I told him, heading for the door.

“Will do, have fun,” Discord said with a wave of his talon hand.

I didn’t reply back as I walked out he door and into the... rather rainy day. Great... I hated rain.

I savored the taste of the Stantler like creature’s liver as I finished off my meal, leaving the rest for the scavengers which I’m sure were closing in. While yes taking down a Stantler for myself was rather wasteful in and off itself... after the morning I’d had I felt the need to treat myself a little.

Licking my lips I set off in no direction in particular. The constant drip, drip, drip of the rain rustling through the trees filled the air and my breath came out in little puffs of fog. The rain must have come with a cold front because it was at least ten degrees colder than it had been the day before.

I shook myself again in a futile attempt to free myself of the rain. I knew it was pointless, but I’d been out in the shower for several hours now stalking that Stantler and I felt that I should at least try to continue looking presentable.

It was at that point I realized I’d left the forest and ended up on the fringe of Applejack’s farm. I sighed, my paws seemed determined to bring me here didn’t they? I shook my head and scanned around for an apple tree with enough leaves to provide me with some sort of cover. I could probably have gone up to the barn, but honestly I’d rather not do that, it smelled.

I was in luck and spotted a tree with... a strange tree house sitting within its limbs. That tree house would provide a perfect place to rest! I smiled and ran over to it, shaking off my fur for a final time and relishing the feeling of being dry once more.

With a contented sigh I lay down and sprawled on my side, a thing that I’d taken to do quite a bit here in Equestria, after a year of spending all my time on a mountain it felt great to simply lie in the grass. As I did so, I pondered what had happened yesterday evening.

Fluttershy had been... understanding I suppose but she was in the same camp as my dear Belle. They both believed it wasn’t my fault when it clearly was, it had been I who had rushed in like an idiot, knocked over the can, and then run out before I’d rescued Henry... why couldn’t anyone see it that way?

A sigh left my body and I closed my eyes, determined to sleep through the rain.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know...”

“Let’s poke it with a stick!”

Three rather high pitched voices were speaking around my head, disturbing my sleep. I then felt the pointed end of a twig touching the tip of my nose. I wrinkled said nose, and then moved my head in a smooth motion, bringing my blade easily through the twig.

“Ah!” the three voices yelp in surprise and remained momently silent.

“That... was... AWESOME!” the voice who suggested pointing me with a stick exclaimed. “Let’s see if it can do it again!”

“I don’t know Scoots, maybe we should just leave it alone,” one of them interjected in a familiar southern accent. “It is sleeping after all, and I would hate to get it made at us.”

Children. Poking me with sticks. Surprisingly, this wasn’t new.

Instead of reacting otherwise I gathered a small bit of fire in my jaws and let it seep out the side of my lips, confident that the children were too far away to be affected and that the grass was too wet to be set aflame.

“Ah!” the three of them yelp again from the spurt of flame.

“Cool...” ‘Scoots’ mused in wonder. “HE’S A DRAGON!”

The other two remain silent before the first voice spoke up. “I don’t think so... I never seen a dragon with fur before.”

“That’s because we’ve only seen Spike, this could be a new species of dragon!” Scoots exclaimed.

“I don’t think you’re using that word right...” the southern one muttered.

“We could bring it to Fluttershy and be... be... Species Finders!”

“Can that even be a Cutie Mark?” the first one inquired.

“We won’t know till we tried it,” Scoots replied with eagerness in her voice.

Having had quite enough of that, I opened my eyes. “If you’re all quite done, I was enjoying a rather nice nap and would like to continue it now.”

The three ‘children’ all stiffened as I spoke and opened my eyes. I found myself looking at three ‘fillies’. One had a bow in her red mane, one was a white unicorn, and the other was a orange pegasus with surprisingly small wings.

I looked between the three of them for a moment before raising an eyebrow. “What’s the matter? Meowth got your tongues?”

All three shook their heads before the one with the bow spoke up. “Sorry mister, we just got...”

“Distracted by you,” the white unicorn picked up.

“Sleeping under our clubhouse and all,” Scoots, the orange pegasus, finished.

“Oh, I apologize,” I said with a small yawn as I looked up at the ‘clubhouse’. “It was raining and I was looking for a dry place to rest.”

“That’s okay,” the bow one said. “We didn’t really mean to disturb ya anyways,” she said, giving Scoots a quick flat glare before continuing. “If you want to go back to your nap, you can go right ahead. I promise we won’t disturb you again.”

“But didn’t we plan on trying to make loud-” Scoots began to say before the bow one put a hoof over her muzzle.

I sighed and rolled to my paws. “It makes no real difference I suppose. I have been spending too much of my time here sleeping. I would not want my Belle to think that I had grown fat during my stay here,” I told them with a dry chuckle.

“Your bell?” the white unicorn asked with a puzzled frown. “Why would a bell think of that?”

“Not ‘bell’,” I said. “Belle, with an e at the end, my mate’s name is Belle.”

“Oh...” the unicorn said with a small noded.

“Anyways... you got a name mister?” the bow one asked.

“Indeed I do, it is Cres,” I said, shaking out my mane a little and running a paw through my fairly tangled fur. “And I assume you have them as well?”

She nodded her head. “My name is Apple Bloom,” she said.

"I’m Sweetie Belle,” the unicorn added in, I gave her a raised eyebrow.

“And I’m Scootaloo,” the pegasus stated proudly.

“And we three are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” they all exclaimed in unison.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “Do I want to ask what that means?”

“Well, it’s means we’re on a hunt to discovered our Cutie Marks, duh,” Scootaloo replied.

“Yeah, we do hundred of tasks in search for the one that’s our special talent! That way we are no longer blank flanks.” Apple Bloom added while wiggling the side of her flank at me. It was then I did notice there were blank, and lacking the mark I’d been seeing on the others.

I frowned for a moment.

“That seems rather stupid,” I said plainly and without venom. “You will never ‘find’ a special talent, you are most likely born with it. The longer you search, the more dejected you will become by the failure.”

The three of them looked at me blankly.

“Well, that can’t be true,” Scootaloo remarked. “Beside, if we sit around and do nothing we’ll be blank flanks forever!”

“Yeah, and no pony wants that,” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

“Plus each failure just beings a new task and adventure with it,” Apple Bloom stated.

“Do as you like then,” I said with a small shrug. “Considering how I have spent the last two years of my life, I suppose I have no real reason to judge.” I frowned for a moment before adding. “I suppose I should get going. Fluttershy is probably looking for me and I should go before Applejack arrives to shout at me again.”

Apple Bloom looked at me with a puzzled look. “Why would my big sis yell at ya?”

“We have a disagreement on my choice of diet,” I stated as I shook a bit of dirt and loose grass out of my fur. “That, and she thinks I’m dangerous.”

“Why would she think that?” the filly asked.

"I eat meat,” I stated, fully expecting some form of negative reaction.

"And?” the filly asked inquisitively.

“And I hunt,” I stated, rather surprised at how simply she was reacting. “Apparently she is worried that I will kill one of you, which I would not.” I shook my head and shrugged.

“But why would she think that?” Apple Bloom asked. “You’re following the laws? Aren't ya?”

“Indeed I am,” I replied with a small shrug. “Though when I first arrived here I was unaware of them. I believe that colored her view of me rather badly.” With that said I shook my head. “I’m sure that Fluttershy is missing me at this point, goodbye children.”

I took off at a light trot, heading for Fluttershy’s house.

Chapter 15

View Online

Edited by SwirlingBlade

“Are you both sure about this?” Roxanne asked cautiously as her foot hovered above the ice.

“Yes I’m sure,” Matt replied from behind. “You won’t immediately fall down once you’re on the other side and you won’t pass out,” he assured the woman. “It’s perfectly safe, I’ve done it a hundred times.”

“Yes, the worse thing you’ll have to worry about is if I feel like playing a prank on you,” Giratina added on from the other side of the ice.

Matt looked down at the ice with a flat frown. “You’re not helping,” he stated.

“What? It’s true,” the legendary dragon replied nonchalantly. “Beside, it’s not like I’ll do anything too bad to you. You’re my friends after all, and is it wrong for friends to play pranks on one another now and then?”

“Not when one of them is having seconds thoughts about something new to her,” the man replied.

“Fair enough,” Giratina replied indifferently.

Roxanne shot Mat a smile before she brushed her dark hair out of her eyes. “Well then, as Professor Sycamore says when he thinks no one is listening; FOR SCIENCE!” She then jumped forwards through the ice. The ice rippled like water as her body passed through it and she jumped out of a pool of ‘water’ on one of the many floating island in the Distortion World.

She gazed around herself with wide eyes before reaching for her sketchpad and quickly beginning to sketch the amazing scene before her.

“Wow...” she whispered as she worked. “It’s beautiful here.”

“Why thank you,” Giratina spoke behind her. “I try my best to keep the place neat and orderly.”

Roxanne turned and nearly dropped her sketchpad. “You... you... you’re huge,” she gasped looking at his massive length.

“And you’re tiny, smaller than I thought,” the Legendary replied with a small chuckle. “Then again, I don’t have much human interaction, so it’s not really surprising.”

Roxanne shook her head and then smiled as she stepped around the island. “This place feels so much... lighter than reality.”

“Indeed,” Matt replied as he stepped onto the island and walked up next to the woman unhindered by his cripple right leg. “One of the few reason I come here often,” he commented with a small smile.

“Thank you... thank you both so much for bringing me here,” Roxanne told them both as she got back to looking around herself. “It’s so... amazing... I can’t wait to map it!”

Matt’s smile grew a bit. “Oh, I think you’ll find that will be a bit tricky to do,” he told her as he gazed out too. “Since many of land forms floats around and such,” he informed the woman.

“Well... then I’ll find a way to chart where they float,” she replied with a chuckle as she looked around the veritable wonderland. “It’s so... beautiful.”

“That it is,” Matt agreed as the two stared out at the vast realm. “A land full of chaotic laws, but order can still be found. And within that order, lies such wonderful marvels you can’t really find back home.” A small smile formed as he glanced towards the woman. “Like a waterfall where the water flows up instead of down.”

Roxanne’s eyebrows furrowed before she smiled and took another step towards Matt. “I hope you won’t mind showing me that... I don’t think I could find it by myself.”

“Of course,” the man replied with a short nod. “I know the way there like the back of my hand.”

“And here I thought ‘everything moved to much to be mapped,” the woman said while glancing at the man.

“Yeah, but like you said, you just gotta chart where they normally float,” he replied with a sly grin as he held out his arm, bending it slightly for the woman to grab hold of.

“Well then, lead the way?” Roxanne asked him with a coy smile as she slipped her arm into his.

“Right away, my lady,” he said in noble way before bending his knees and taking a large leap into the air. Roxanne found herself being carried away by Matt as if she weighed nothing, but she simply let out a happy laugh at the sensation.

Giratina watched the two soar off the island and towards another before jumping to another.

“They’ll make a good couple, don’t you think?” he asked out loud towards the ‘empty’ island.

“I’d think so,” Belle agreed from the place she’d slipped in behind the two humans.

“Maybe they’ll figure that out too once they reach the waterfalls, which was my idea for Matt to show to her,” he commented while he turned to face the shiny Absol.

“Wonderful idea, waterfalls are very romantic,” Belle agreed with a small smile as she remembered her fight night in front of a waterfall. “Now then, you’re going to take me to Cres.”

Giratina tilted his head towards the Absol. “And why should I do that, young Belle?”

“Because if you don’t I will make your life incredibly difficult,” Belle replied smartly.

The Legendary blinked blankly at her. “Oh really?”

“Indeed,” Belle answered with a nod.

“And just how are you planning to make that possible?” he asked. “Lecture me to death?”

“Why yes, yes I will,” she replied with a wide smile. “Now tell me, Giratina, how much do you know about the basic atoms that make up our reality?”

“They’re made out of a nucleus which consist of protons and neutrons with electrons orbiting, to put it lightly, around them,” he replied casually.

“Oh good, so I won’t have to go over the very basics with you,” Belle replied with a smile. “That just means that I have more interesting ground to cover.”

“And if you’re going to talk about the periodic table and how each element are consistent in a energy level, how some can become positive or negative ions, and how they bonded with one another, don’t,” he stated flatly. “I’ve seen a lot during my time here watching your world, I doubt there’s anything new you can tell me.”

“How about quarks, have you ever heard of those?” Belle asked inquisitively.

Giratina blinked once more. “You’re not going to let this up are you?”

“No, and I’m just getting started,” Belle replied with narrowed eyes. “So you’re going to take me to my mate before I lecture you so hard that your ears wish they’d evaporated.”

The Legendary closed his eyes let out a sigh. “You know I could just fly away to a sector of my realm where you can’t get to, or just kick you out of my realm in general,” he commented as he opened his eyes and looked at Belle.

“In that case I guess the legends really are true,” Belle said casually. “You really are nothing but a dirty coward. Afraid to face a single Absol.”

“If you’re expecting me to get angry at that or lash out at you to try to prove you’re wrong, you’ll be waiting a long time,” Giratina told her causally. “Besides, most legends of me consist of me attacking any living thing in sight and that was true until...hmm... five thousand-ish years ago.”

Belle sighed and sat down on the hard stone ground, small tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “Please... just take me to him... it’s been a month since I last saw him... I don’t... I don’t know how much longer I can stand waiting,” she whispered softly.

Giratina looked down at the weeping Absol for a while before letting out a hard sigh. “Damn my new soft hearted nature...” he said before lowering himself down and placing the top of his head next to the side of the island. “Get on... I’ll show you where he is and that he’s okay,” he said a bit reluctantly.

“Really?” Belle asked, looking up at him, tears still streaming down her face.

“I’m not offering you to ride on top of my head for nothing,” he replied a bit flatly.

“Oh, thank you so much!” she exclaimed before she promptly hopped onto his head.

“Yeah, yeah... just don’t tell this to the others alright?” he grumbled before he took flight through the space like world.

“I won’t,” Belle replied, her tears drying up very quickly. “Thank you, Giratina... I really am worried about Cres... the fact that he survived two years without me is still surprising to me... my poor mate can barely make it through the day without causing some kind of accident.”

“Or do something stupid...” Giratina added. “Watching him during his whole time at Mt. Correct just made me want to facepalm sometimes... if I had hands to do it with.”

“I... know what you mean, he’s an idiot sometimes,” Belle agreed but a small smile appeared on. “But... he’s my idiot... and you watched him?” she added, her smile turning into a frown.

“Ever since his third day here,” he replied.

“Really? Did... he ever talk about me?” Belle asked curiously.

“I don’t know, I only saw him if he was on the summit or near one of the pools of water in the mountain,” Giratina informed her. “And most of the time he was either hunting, drinking, or praying non stop.”

“I... see,” she replied quietly. “And... was he okay most of the time? I know he was starting to lose it near the end but... what about the middle?”

“Nearly died when winter came; had to inform Matt to get out of Hearthome City and make a hasty journey to the summit to save him, but other than that he did well,” the Legendary replied.

“He... nearly died?” Belle asked in a small voice. “I knew he was in danger up here but... I didn’t think it was that bad...” she trailed off and shook her head. “I just... I’ve been so worried about him for two years now... before that I was always with him and knew how to make him feel better... but then he was just gone one morning.”

“Well at least now you’re here for when he comes back, and hopefully he’ll be a better Absol when he does,” Giratina commented.

“I hope so,” Belle murmured softly. “If he’s not... well, I’ll stay by his side, he needs me.”

“He needs someone... and it’s not Arceus I can tell you that,” Giratina muttered as they neared an island with a pool surrounded by trees. He lowered his head next to it to allow Belle to hop onto the island before lifting it back up and glanced down at the pool.

“Now then... let’s see if I can change it’s point of view to somewhere Cres is located,” he muttered to himself as one of his red tips of his ghostly wing tentacles bent down and dipped slightly into the water. Belle walked up to it and stared into the water as it went black for a few seconds before changing into a picture of Cres mildly walking through down a dirt path.

Belle stared at it for a moment, looking down at her mate as he broke into a light trot and closed his eyes, clearly thinking deeply about something. She also noticed a new scar on his chest but it looked as if it had healed. All in all... he was fine.

“See? Fitt as a fiddle, as the saying goes,” Giratina commented.

“I... I guess he is,” Belle said with a small sigh of relief. She turned up to look at the Legendary. “I’m sorry for dragging you out here, Giratina. I was just worried about my Cres.”

“It’s no problem, like I said ‘damn my new soft hearted nature’,” the dragon brushed off the apology. “That, and you’re good at using Fake Tears.”

Belle blushed. “I... thank you,” she said in an embarrassed voice. “I don’t use them much but they’re useful sometimes and have gotten Cres and I something to eat on more than one occasion.”

“Well at least it’s nice you didn’t try to ‘Charm’ me,” Giratina remarked with a light chuckle. “That would be a bit awkward, wouldn’t want Cres think you were cheating on him,” he added jokingly.

“I don’t even know the move any more... I made sure I got it ‘deleted’ from my memory after an embarrassing encounter with a Houndoom,” Belle replied with a light blush though she chuckled as well. “The poor dear looked so sad when I told him afterwards that I was taken.”

“Such is the nature of Charm,” Giratina said with a shruggish tone. “Are you ready to go back?”

“Yes, I believe so,” Belle said as she used the lower gravity of the place to land flawlessly on Giratina’s still elevated head.

Belle emerged from the portal to find Reva sitting quietly by herself awaiting the return of Matt. Zeb must have still been recovering from his twisted ankle that he’d received on the hike up earlier because this was one of the few times the Absol hadn’t seen the Zebstrika at the Rapidash’s side.

Belle pushed the thought aside let out a sigh.

“He’s fine,” she said. “He doesn’t need me... or at least there was no good excuse for me to go chasing after him.”

“That’s good to hear,” Reva said, though she looked at the dejected Absol with a compassionate smile. “Maybe that means he might come back soon. And once he does, you can find a way to ‘nail’ him to your side so he won’t run away again,” she said, trying to cheer Belle up with a witty joke.

The Absol sighed again as she walked over and lay down beside the Rapidash, enjoying the warmth of her fur. “Hopefully,” Belle replied before shaking her head. “And I’m not possessive... but whenever Cres goes off by himself he gets hurt or does something idiotic...”

“You feel responsible,” Reva finished knowingly.

“Yes,” Belle said before glancing up at her. “Thank you for letting me lean against you by the way. I know not all Rapidashes are nice enough to do that without burning you first.”

“You’re very welcome, and I don’t mind at all,” she replied. “It’s not the first time I’ve been used for warmth; Matt does it all the time during the nights of winter, so I’m used to it.”

“Still... thanks,” Belle said, once more, meaning more than she’d said.

The two fell into a calm silence as they sat beside the ice, patiently waiting for their masters to return.

“So... how did you meet Roxanne?” Reva asked, feeling the need to fill the ambient silence. “If you don’t mind me asking that is,” she added while glancing down at the Absol.

“Not at all,” Belle said with a small shrug of her crimson shoulders. “It was about a year ago, a year of looking all over Kalos for any sign of Cres after he disappeared. As you can probably guess, I never found him so deduced that he’d left the Region... Now I could have followed him by myself... but you know how dangerous it is for a Pokemon to go from Region to Region by themselves...” Belle explained as she glanced up at Reva.

“Actually I don’t, but I can imagine,” she replied. “The risk of running into a strong Pokemon is high, and most of the time they aren’t in a good mood.”

“Yes, that’s one of the reasons,” Belle agreed. “Not to mention knowing if another Pokemon is toxic or poisonous to eat, though I doubt you have that problem.”

Reva chuckled a little. “No, I don’t think I do,” she agreed.

“Anyways, I knew I couldn’t pursue him alone so I did something that I’d been wanting to do for a long time... I found a new master,” Belle explained. “I started out by looking for someone intelligent who was young enough that I wouldn't have to worry about outliving them by too long and that led me to Roxanne. I attended several of her outdoor lectures along with a number of her battles and eventually decided that she was the one. So... one day she was out sketching something, I don’t remember what it was now, and I walked over and lay down beside her.”

“Oh? How did Roxanne react to that?” Reva inquired.

“She stared at me for a moment before jokingly saying ‘well if it isn’t the my little stalker’,” Belle replied. “Then she took out a ball from her belt and well... you know.”

The Rapidash chuckled a little as she nodded her head. “Well, that’s one way to find a trainer.”

“Heh... yeah,” Belle replied with a nod. “It was the most logical way. What about you and Matt?”

Reva glanced down slightly in thought. “Well... the simple way to answer to that is he hatched me,” she answered before looking back at Belle. “Matt’s parents gave me when I was still in my Pokeegg as sort of birthday present. Though I wouldn’t say Matt’s my mother,” she said with a small chuckle.

“More like your brother,” Belle replied, thinking of the way the pair had acted throughout the month she’d known them. “And I’m assuming that they got you for him to help him deal with his disability?”

“Oh yes, though I think they were hoping to get a Ponyta already hatched, but I think the ranch they got me from only had eggs at the time,” Reva answered. “I don’t fully know... but it would seem they didn’t mind since they got me anyways. Still, after I was around few months old, they allowed Matt to ride on my back. And from there, well... many adventures soon follow.”

“Well that’s wonderful,” Belle said with a smile, her thoughts temporarily lifted out of their dreary resting place.

“Yes... though I do have to admit, many of our first ‘adventures’ could be described as clunky, but fun mishaps,” Reva said with chuckle.

“Trust me, I know the feeling,” Belle replied. “Like the time Cres convinced me to ‘explore the abandoned mine’ together. I’ve never, ever, seen so many irked Woobats in one place since.”

“Oh, that’s nothing compared to the time Matt decided that he wanted to do a cannonball off of the diving board... with me beneath him,” she said with a shake of her head. “He was one active child back then, even with limp leg.”

“He sounds adorable,” Belle said, chuckling at the thought. “I hope you were okay, I know that Rapidashes and water don’t really mix.”

“Oh I was, though it’s definitely something I’m not willing to do again,” Reva replied with a slight shake of her head. “Or Matt for that matter... he had bad steam burns for days.”

“Oh I’m sure,” Belle agreed, nodding her head matter of factly. They lapsed into silence for a little while longer before Belle frowned. “I hope Roxanne didn’t do anything rash in there... I don’t think Matt is ready for that yet.”

Reva blinked a bit blankly. “Nor do I think Matt would eagerly go along with it... he’s not that type of man,” she added.

“Neither is Roxanne for the most part, sometimes though she tries a bit too hard,” Belle replied, shaking her head. “I think it’s because of her ex.”

Reva frowned and glanced over at Belle. “Ex?”

“Yes, her ex-fiance,” Belle replied. “According to Trill, the guy joined Team Flare and tried to force her into joining.”

“Team Flare... they’re the one who caused some trouble in the Kalos region right?”

“If by trouble you mean ‘tried to kill everyone on earth’ then yes, that’s them,” Belle replied with a snort. “Arrogant pieces of trash. Apparently he thought Roxanne was of a like mind... she kicked him in the groin and stalked out while fighting off some of the man’s cronies.”

“Huh... that’s one way to break up a relationship,” the Rapidash mused. “Though what does that have to do about her hitting on Matt?”

“Well... apparently she’s grown a bit more desperate to find someone,” Belle said with a small frown. “My guess is that what happened hurt her self image a bit.”

“And with Matt becoming a Gym Leader, you think she might try and used that to ‘fix’ that self image?” Reva inquired.

“Not consciously,” Belle said. “It just makes her more likely to do something rash, at least that’s what I’ve been told. She’s always seemed fairly stable to me.”

“Well, I can assure you if she did something ‘rash’, Matt will be the one who will steady her,” Reva told her before her eyes glanced upwards. “Or if he becomes nervous, he might say Giratina might be watching them to get out of the awkwardness.”

“Oh good,” Belle said, feeling suddenly stupid for having opened her mouth about it in the first place. “Sorry... I’m just trying to avoid thinking about Cres.”

“I understand... I’ve been trying to avoid that topic as well,” the Rapidash replied before she frowned in thought. “You know... there might be one way to avoid the topic for a good long time.” She glanced at Belle with a small smile. “We could have a battle.”

“You and I?” Belle asked with a frown as she glanced at Reva. “I have the feeling you’d pulverize me.”

Reva chuckled lightly. “Maybe, but Matt does have other Pokemon with him that would provide more of a fair battle for you. If you asked him when he and Roxanne get back, I’m sure he’d be happy to oblige.”

“Hmm... it has been a while since I, or any of Roxanne’s party had a good fight,” Belle mused with a frown. “The closest we got was a self titled ‘cool trainer’ who used nothing but Shedinja... it went on for close to half an hour.”

“Well, with Matt becoming a Gym Leader, I’m sure he’ll give you more of a challenge and variety in this battle,” Reva told her.

As if on cue, Matt and Roxanne emerged from the portal, the woman’s arm still within the man’s.

“Speak of Giratina,” Belle said in an undertone to the Rapidash.

“That was amazing!” the woman said with a happy laugh. “Thank you so very much, Matt!”

The man chuckled lightly. “You’re very welcome,” he replied. “Next time we go, I can show you the crystal island. The light bounces off in an array of colors you wouldn’t believe could be created.”

Roxanne grinned. “I look forward to it,” she said before glancing towards Belle. “Sorry you couldn’t come sweetie, maybe next time okay?”

“That’s fine,” Belle replied before looking to Matt. “Matt, do you think you’d be fine with battling Roxanne? It’s been too long since any of us had a good fight and I need something to take my mind off of... Cres.”

The man was taken back a bit by the request but nodded his head. “Sure, if Roxanne is up to it,” he answered before looking at the woman. “She was asking if you’re up for a battle?”

Roxanne shrugged. “Sure, it’s been a while since we had a good fight. The last one was an idiot who used nothing but Shedinja...”

Matt frowned a bit. “Did he wear black glasses, along with a Shedinja themed jacket, and like to used double team a lot?”

Roxanne wrinkled her nose. “Yes, yes he did. You know him?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at Matt.

“Had a Gym battle with him in fact... a very long battle with him,” Matt replied with a sigh.

“Please tell me you won it,” Roxanne said.

“Oh I did, just took me a while,” he answered with a shake of his head. “Anyways, if you’re up for the battle, the only condition I’ll ask it be a three on three.”

“Why only three on three?” Roxanne asked curiously as she stretched her shoulders in preparation.

“Because if we do a full six on six battle, you would have to face Reva and two other of my Pokemon who helped me win the battle against Cynthia,” he answered.

“Oh... good point,” Roxanne said, blinking. “Yeah, I’m not that good,” she added with a blush.

“So three on three it is,” Matt said as he walked, with a bit of aid from Reva, to one side of the summit. “Don’t worry, if your battle skills are anything like you said they are, we should have a pretty even battle. Just don’t think I’ll go easy on ya.”

“And the same to you, Gym boy,” she replied with a chuckle as she reached for a pair of balls at her hip and glanced at Belle. “You ready, Belle?”

Belle just smiled and nodded, following her Master as she walked over to the opposite side of the summit.

“You want to go first?” Roxanne called across.

“Sure,” Matt said as he reached down and pull out a pokeball from his belt. “Gerke, come on out!” he said, tossing the ball out. The ball popped open, and a Breloom appeared on the field.

“Yeah, let’s get this battle started!” the kangaroo-like being yelled happily with a jump before landing on his two feet and quickly entering into fighting stance.

“Hmm... grass fighting eh?” Roxanne mused to herself. “Well then, Trill, come out and show him who’s boss!” She tossed a pokeball from her belt causing a graceful and powerful looking Noivern to appear.

“Well then, this should be interesting,” the draconic bat said as she surveyed her opponent.

“Hmm... a dragon flying type eh? Nice choice,” Matt complimented, before smiling competitively. “But don’t think just because you have the type advantage doesn’t mean this won’t be an easy fight.”

“Of course not,” Roxanne said, the wind swirling through her black hair. “Trill, strategy flyflare!”

With incredible speed Trill launched herself high into the air and as Gerke watched the Noivern opened her mouth and unleashed a swirling gout of flame thrower down at him. The stream of fire roared down towards the Breloom, and Matt calmly called out.

“Gerke, Protect!”

Gerke held his arms out, creating a dome around himself. The flame thrower hit the barrier and rolled harmlessly around it, once it was gone Matt called out another attack.

“Now used Stone Edge!”

The dome fell apart and was replaced by dozens of floating sharp rocks.

“Eat this!” Gerke yelled as he launched a volley towards Trill. The Noivern banked to the side and avoided the volley, having seen it in advance, and without hesitation blitzed forwards and delivered a stunning Aerial Ace to Gerke’s face before launching upwards once more. The Breloom grunted in pain as he was flung onto his back, but he got back onto his feet still full of energy.

“Good job taking that hit Gerke, now return it with Sky Uppercut!” Matt told him.

Gerke smiled as he charged forwards and leapt high into the air. He came right under Trill and delivered a powerful uppercut into her chest. The Noivern paused mid flight and was thrown upwards by the punch’s power. However, she managed to right herself in mid air and darted beneath the still falling Gerke.

Without a second’s hesitation she unleashed a flamethrower which washed over the Breloom.

“Protect!” Matt ordered Gerke, which the Breloom did so without hesitation. The protective dome covered it five seconds after the flame thrower hit and prevented it from taking too much damage. “Now return with it Stone Edge again!” The Breloom broke the dome and flipped over to land on his feet, and unleashed another volley of sharp arrow stones hurling towards Trill.

“Trill, use your sonic!” Roxanne shouted. Trill, who had clearly been unable to avoid the arrows of stone pulled up in its flight path and turned to face the oncoming stones, opening her mouth and focusing her ears on them. An ear splitting, and more specifically, rock shattering wave of sound erupted from her and slammed into the oncoming missiles.

“Nice work,” Matt told the woman.

“Thanks,” Roxanne called back before shouting. “Trill, Hurricane!”

The Noivern’s wings became a blur of motion and the Breloom was surrounded by a lethal column of lashing winds.

Gerke screamed in pain before being flung out of the column, tossing around on the ground. He pushed himself up before completely collapsing.

“Uhh.... I see stars....” he muttered.

“Gerke return,” Matt said as he pointed his pokeball at the Breloom and letting the red beam teleport him back inside. The man looked the the ball and smiled. “You did good, but you were a bit outclassed for this one,” he said before returning the ball to his belt.

“Good job, Trill!” Roxanne shouted with a grin as the Noivern swooped overhead and landed in front of her for a pet on the head.

“Thank you, Master,” Trill said with a slim smile.

“Want me to go next?” Roxanne called as she idly scratched the underside of the dragon-bat’s chin.

“Sure, go right ahead,” Matt replied. “Or you can still use Trill of course, won’t really change what Pokemon I’ll use next.”

“Hmm... I think I know who I’ll use,” she said as she reached for her pokeball and returned Trill before reaching for another Pokeball. “Come on out, Xemnas!”

The beam of light expanded into the imposing form of a large Metagross.

“Hmm... interesting,” Xemnas said as he surveyed the field from his hovering perch a few inches off of the ground.

“A Metagross eh? This should be an interesting fight then,” Matt said as he tossed out a pokeball. “Come on out, Orion!”

The field flashed as an elegant looking Empoleon appeared on the field.

“Why hello there dear chap, I hate to be the rude kind, but it seems we are pitted against one another in a battle. I do hate to lose, so no hard feelings?” he said elegantly.

Xemnas raised its... X on one side and said. “Of course. The same to you.”

“Xemnas, confusion!” Roxanne shouted. Xemnas’s eyes glowed and a beam of psychic energy launched itself at the Empoleon.

Orion flinched slightly, but didn’t look like he took too much damage.

“Nice try,” Matt said with a grin before ordering. “Orion, how about a little Rain Dance to help us out a little?”

The Empoleon smiled lightly before it held out its flippers and created a small dark ball of cloud before tossing it up into the sky. The sky quickly darkened and shower began to fall over the summit.

“Did you have to do that?” Roxanne called over to the man as the rain fell on her.

Matt chuckled with a grin while shrugging his shoulders. “Hey you have your strategies, I have mine. Now, Orion, used Scald!”

Orion opened his beak and fried hot stream of water at Xemnas, hitting the Metagross square on the X. Xemnas was blasted back several feet through the air but managed to bring itself to a stop. It then used a small bit of psychic energy to rid itself of water before turning back to the Empoleon.

“Good job, Xemnas, take that hit like a tank!” Roxanne shouted to him with a grin. “And now use Grass Knot!”

Ropes of grass like vines erupted from the ground beneath Orion and lashed about his legs. Before the Empoleon could react the grass pulled him off of his flippered feet, into the air, and then straight into the hard rock face.

“Opmh!” he grunted before pushing himself back up and shook his head. “How uncouth,” he said glancing at the Metagross with slightly sour frown.

“A battle is a battle,” Xemnas replied with a slight shrug of all four of its shoulders.

“Then I guess you won’t mind this!” Matt exclaimed. “Use Surf!”

Orion grinned, as much as he could with his beak, before large pulse of water jetted out of his flippers, pushing him off of the ground and creating a large wave of water crashing towards Xemnas.

“Hyperbeam!” Roxanne shouted. Xemnas’s eyebrows narrowed in focus and a powerful beam of energy slammed into Orion just as the wave crashed down. The Empoleon was sent flying towards Matt while Xemnas was slammed into the ground beneath the wave. Matt’s eyes widened and he quickly pulled out his pokeball.

“Orion return!” he said as thrust the pokeball up causing red beam of light to return the Empoleon back into his ball. The man let out a small sigh of relief as he look at the ball with a loose chuckle. “Good job there buddy, though I think you put a bit too much into that attack.”

Roxanne meanwhile bent down to pat the downed Metagross who was lying still on the ground. “You alright, Xemnas?” she asked him.

“No,” Xemans barely managed to groan out.

“Alright then, you did great,” Roxanne said, bending down to give him a quick kiss on the top of his crystalline head before sending him back into his ball.

“So, I’m down to my last Pokemon while you still got two left,” Matt said as he looked at the woman with a smile. “I must say, this is one of the most exciting battles I’ve had in a long time.”

“Looks that way,” Roxanne agreed before she patted Belle on the shoulder signaling for her to join the fray. “And me too, you’re really good, Matt!”

“Why thank you, but don’t think you’ve won just yet. This battle isn’t finished and my last Pokemon will give all he got,” he told her as he pulled out the pokeball. “Let’s go, Shade!” he said before tossing the ball out. The ball popped open and Spiritomb appeared on the field.

“Heheheh, let’s get this battle started,” he said in a mischievous chuckle as he looked at Belle with his distorted green eyes.

“It’s been going on for quite a bit actually,” Belle replied as her eyes glanced over the Spiritomb.

“Really now? Then I guess I’ll just have to finish it! HAHAHA!”

“Shade, use double team,” Matt commanded.

“Hehe, of course,” Spiritomb split off and surrounded Belle with a dozen copies of itself.

Belle closed her eyes, knowing that there wasn’t much point to using them as Roxanne called to her.

“Belle, strategy Sitting Farfetch’d!” she shouted and Belle simply nodded her head, awaiting the oncoming attack.

Matt just smiled. “Confuse Ray,” he said.

“Peekaboo,” Shade said before he appeared in front of Belle and fired a swirling purple beam at her face. Belle’s head recoil before her head started spinning around in loops.

“Double team again,” Matt said to Shade, and the Spiritomb quickly fell back into his array of doubles.

“Frohohoho, round and round I go, where I am nobody knows!” Shade mockingly said.

“I... hate... ghosts,” Belle growled out in slow breaths as she tried to keep her focus.

“Hang in there, Belle darling! Use Thunder!” Roxanne shouted.

Belle stood there unsteadily for a second before her blade pointed skywards and a booming flare of electricity slammed downwards through the air. The blast somehow slammed into the right Spiritomb and thanks to the rain, sent an extra blast of pain through it as Belle stumbled to the side.

“AGHHHHHHHAHAHAHAH; you missed!” Shade mocked as the Spiritomb that was hit faded away.

“Toxic,” Matt said calmly.

Once again Shade appeared next to Belle. “Here, I have a gift for you,” he said before a sickly shade of green spike into Belle’s side.

Belle winced in pain as she was thrown to the side but she gritted her teeth together and got back on her paws. She then grunted softly as she felt the venom coursing through her veins, doing minimal but ever going damage to her.

“I do hope you like it, made it myself,” Shade said as he started to head back to his double team. “Just let m-”

“SHUT UP!” Belle shouted, snapping out of her confused state and appearing on the ghost’s opposite side. Her horn glowed black and before the Spiritomb could react, Belle unleashed a whirlwind of Night Slashes to its body. “I-HATE-GHOSTS!” she shouted in between swings. As the last swing hit Belle jumped back and a blast of electricity left her blade and slammed into the Spiritomb.

Shade took all the attacks head on, not attempting to dodge. He chuckled loosely. “Ouch... that actually stings a bit,” he said with a ghostly grin as the rain began to lighten up. “Now let me return the favor.”

“Shade use Rock Tomb,” Matt called out.

“Heheh...” Shade chuckled as a large set of boulders formed over him. He then flung them towards the Crimson Absol at incredible speeds.

“Belle! Protect!” Roxanne shouted. Belle’s eyes glowed and she was surrounded by the glowing barrier of energy. The boulders bounced off the barrier and landed aside of the Absol, thankfully not making it through. “Now Belle, Thunder!” Roxanne commanded.

Before the Spiritomb could retreat back into its double team a mighty blast of electricity slammed into it from the heavens. Again, he took the hit but only chuckled lightly in amusement.

“Someone’s a bit feisty today, huh?” he asked.

“By Arceus, that thing is a tank!” Roxanne shouted, sharing in Belle’s frustration.

Matt only smiled slightly. “What can I say? I train a lot of my Pokemon to take hits, comes in handy sometimes,” he said before raising a finger and order. “Now, that they’ve used Protect, hit them with Hidden Power!”

“Hehe nice knowing ya,” Shade said as his body glowed with an eerie green. It then blast forth in ball of light, and hit Belle square in the chest. Bell was sent sprawling, hitting the rocky surface of the mountain and rolling twice before she came to rest at Roxanne’s feet.

“Are you okay, Belle?” Roxanne asked as she bent down to stroke the Absol gently. “You don’t have to keep this up. You’ve already put up a great fight.”

Belle shook her head and slowly rose to her paws. “I will not lose... I will not lose here of all places to a ghost of all things,” she said in between pants.

Her eyes narrowed angrily and she charged at the Spiritomb in a slightly unsteady run, her mouth opening. Then she unleashed an incredibly bright blast of fire at it.

“Shade dodge it!” Matt ordered, and the Spiritomb uncannily ‘rolled’ out of the way. “Return with Rock Tomb!”

Once more, a set of boulders formed around him and flung them at the Absol.

“Protect!” Roxanne shouted and once more a dome of light appeared to block the boulders. Belle emerged unharmed within it but staggered dangerously to the side.

Matt frowned slightly before ordering. “Confuse Ray!”

Shade chuckled maniacally before it fired the swirling purple beamed at Belle, sending the Absol’s head spinning once more.

Belle growled in anger before she lost her footing and fell to the ground, she struggled to get up but couldn’t quite manage it. Roxanne’s eyes narrowed and her hand flashed to her Pokeball, quickly ensaring Belle in it before she could do herself any further damage.

“You fought well my dear but you’re fading,” the woman said quietly to the Absol before she reached for Trill’s ball.

The draconic bat appeared once more and eyed the floating Spiritomb who looked back with a... happy grin to say the least.

“Oh, pretty, hope you last longer than the Absol,” Shade said with a loose chuckle.

Trill sniffed. “My, aren’t you classless,” she said.

“Dragon Pulse,” Roxanne commanded calmly.

“Sucker Punch,” Matt said back.

Shade disappeared and appeared right in front of Trill. “Peekaboo!” he said before a pulse of dark energy smashed into her face.

Trill was launched backwards but used her wings to steady her as Roxanne shouted X-Scissor! The draconic bat launched itself forwards and her claws slashed across the ghost’s face in an X pattern before she launched herself up and away from it. Shade tumbled backwards a bit, looking as if that did a fair amount of damage, but he was still standing.

“Quick, use Hidden Power!” Matt ordered.

“Hurricane!” Roxanne roared.

The two Pokemon charged and launched their attacks. The two attacks collided, and the summit was quickly filled with a cloud of dust. Roxanne and Matt winced slightly as they covered their faces, before looking out at the field as the dust began to settle.

Both the Noivern and the Spiritomb were lying on the ground, clearly unconscious. The two trainers swiftly returned them to their respective balls.

“You did great, Trill,” Roxanne told the Noivern before pocketing the ball again.

“Great work, Shade, could have used less of your sense of humor, but you did great nonetheless,” he said as he put the Pokeball away. He then glanced up at Roxanne with a smile. “Great battle, you sure have some great Pokemon,” he said.

“Thanks, yours are great too,” the woman said as she walked up to him. Then she unexpectedly grasped his right hand in an intensely firm grip. “And thank you for using Confuse Ray on Belle... I’ve never seen her like that before and she was going to get herself killed.”

The man slightly blushed at the sudden grasp of hand, and he rubbed his left hand on the back of his head. “Hey, it’s no problem. What kind of Gym Leader would I be if I pushed my opponent's Pokemon past its fighting limits?” He then frowned slightly. “Though, I do hope she’s okay. I didn’t mean to make her angry like that... I mean, it was supposed to be a tough fight since Shade is going to be one of my Gym Pokemon but...”

Roxanne released the man’s hand and looked down at Belle’s Pokeball. “I don’t know what’s up... like I said I’ve never seen her like that before,” the woman said with a worried frown. “We should get down to the Pokemon Center while there’s still light.”

“Yeah, good idea,” Matt agreed with a nod of his head. “Belle, along with the rest of the pokemon, need a good long rest after this fight,” he said.

“Yes, yes they do,” Roxanne replied before frowning. “I think Zeb is still suffering from a twisted ankle, would you mind if I rode down on Reva with you?”

“No, I wouldn’t mind at all,” he replied as Reva walked up and knelt down beside the two. Matt got on easily and settled himself on the saddle before offering a hand for Roxanne. Roxanne accepted it and got on behind him, wrapping her arms around his stomach.

“Thanks, Matt,” she said with a smile as she made herself comfortable.

“It’s no problem... Roxanne,” Matt said, thankful that she couldn’t see the crimson blush spreading across his cheeks. Reva glanced back slightly with a sly smile before getting up and turning around to head for the exit, and down Mt. Coronet.

Meanwhile Giratina glanced away from his view off of the reflective ice, chuckling lightly.

“Ah, love it when a plan comes together,” he mused to himself before flying off in some random direction.

Author's Notes:

Ed2481: Hey guys... sorry it took so long and didn't focus on Cres and Co., this chapter was finished being written like a month ago but I once again had a problem with editors not talking to me for weeks at a time. On the bright side, the other two that we wrote in the interm are already in the process of being edited so they should be out next week and the week after. Anyways, the two notes beneath this were written a month ago but I liked them enough that I didn’t bother changing it.

Omega_Code: Long chapter, but with the need to get some story elements out of the way and getting an actual Pokemon Battle in a Pokemon fic, we decided it was worth it.

Ed2481: Yeah, that and what with you only seeing these guys every five chapters I thought it appropriate. On a side note; Pokemon battles are hard to write... I don’t know how people make entire fics of it (but more power to them).

Chapter 16

View Online

I began to near Fluttershy’s house. My journey around the outskirts of the town having gone well enough. At the very least, I was not attacked in any way, so that was a good sign. On my walk, my mind fell to other things, first and foremost the fact that Fluttershy was apparently good friends with a Legendary.

My features fell into a frown at thoughts of ‘Discord’. He was stranger than any Pokémon I’d encountered before, and certainly more powerful than all but a select few. As my mind drifted back to our ‘conversation’, one thing in particular stood out above all else.

He’d said that he’d never heard of Arceus at the beginning of the conversation. However when I said that I was a Pokémon, he’d immediately mentioned him with the words ‘Funny, I thought he hated Arceus’. I may not be as smart as Belle, but it did not take a genius to figure out who he was talking about.

Giratina, my ‘taxi’ to this world. It seemed that both Celestia and Discord knew the Legendary. I suppose that shouldn’t have surprised me too much. After all, most Legendaries knew each other in one way or another. With their long lives and incredible strength it made sense that they’d encounter each other eventually.

Counting Celestia and Discord, I’d seen five in my travels. While that was five more than most Pokémon ever saw in their lives, most Pokémon stayed in the same relative location for the whole of their existence. I on the other hand had traveled far and wide with Belle at my side and that leads one into encounters with beings of great power.

I supose that may have been one reason behind my belief that Arceus would grace me with his presence. After all, I’d had the good fortune to be rescued by an Articuno in a blizzard and meeting Suicune in the process of purifying a lake, a visit with Arceus hardly seemed like much of an ordeal. Especially after he’d seen how faithful I was to him...

A sigh escaped my lips. No, instead I had gotten Giratina and ended up in this world of ponies. Such is the way of life I suppose.

As I closed in on Fluttershy’s house, I found her and Discord sitting outside sharing some tea together. I walked up and sat down before the small table that had been conjured out of nothing.

“Hello,” I said calmly.

“Ah, if it isn’t the lovely Cres,” Discord said with a small smile. “Care to join us in our delightful tea time?”

“Sure,” I said while shooting him a cool glance. “How was your morning, Fluttershy?” I asked her instead of continuing to talk to the vexing Legendary.

“It was very nice,” Fluttershy replied, smiling. “And yours?”

“... well enough,” I replied as I pointedly avoided looking at Discord.

“Well enough? Hmph, I must be losing my touch if my razzle dazzle was only ‘well enough’,” the draconequus said in a mock insulted tone.

I shot him an annoyed glare. “You have more power than I ever will and you’re using it for self-amusement, I think you should practice your ‘touch’ more,” I told him before lapping at the tea in front of me.

“Or you need to grow a sense of humor, for I do have enough ‘touch’ to let others have fun too,” Discord remarked indifferently as he took a sip of his tea. “Or at least you shouldn’t call me a mutt.”

“Now now, don’t fight, you two,” Fluttershy said calmly before looking at Discord. “You can’t just use your powers against him because he called you a name,” she told him before looking at me. “And Cres, you’re not supposed to call other people names.”

I sighed. “Very well... but he does look like what would happen if a Rapidash, a Pyroar, and a Braviary got very drunk,” I told her with a roll of my eyes. “It is hardly my fault.”

Discord looked at me flatly. “Well, there’s rude, and then there’s flat out rude,” he said before taking a sip of his tea. “I’m surprised that mouth hasn’t gotten you killed before getting here.”

I sighed, there I went again. “Sorry... Talking has never been my strong suit... and a year alone praying on a mountaintop surely didn’t help.” I shook my head. “All I seem to be good for nowadays seems to be weeping, letting down my love, or making enemies.”

Fluttershy shot me a pitying glance while Discord simply shrugged. “Well what do you expect if you let your tongue run wild? Sooner or later, others will find it annoying and down right rude.”

“Don’t worry, Cres, I’m sure you’ll get better,” Fluttershy told me encouragingly.

“I suppose, at least I managed to avoid making those three fillies hate me,” I said with a small shrug.

“Three fillies?” Fluttershy asked me with a worried frown.

“Indeed, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scoota-something or other,” I replied, shrugging. “I slept under their ‘clubhouse’ and awoke to them poking me with a stick. They were no real trouble, though I wish I’d been able to sleep longer.”

“Oh, those three,” Fluttershy said with a small smile. “I hope they didn’t bother you too much.”

“No, as I said, they were no real trouble,” I stated. “Though their goal to find their ‘special talent’ seems rather pointless to me. You cannot ‘find’ something of that nature, it is an inherent part of you and the longer you ‘look’ for it the less likely you are to find it.”

“So much like the reason you’re here in the first place, eh?” Discord stated nonchalantly as he took a sip of tea. “I mean who ‘looks’ for something abstract like absolution? Do you expect to find it in a nice box tied up in a pretty bow?”

I scowled at him. “I will find my absolution wherever it may be. Until this wound in my heart is healed I am a danger to my Belle and I will not allow myself to harm her. Ever,” I stated flatly.

“Then I think you have no right to question three little fillies quest to search for their special talent,” the draconequus remarked to me before taking another sip.

I debated continuing the argument but decided against it. How could I argue with someone like him?

My tongue lapped up the last of my tea and I stood up from my spot. “I’m off to find something to do. Goodbye, Fluttershy,” I stated with a nod to her.

“Goodbye, Cres, be careful while you’re out there,” Fluttershy said with a smile, though I could sense an undercurrent of worry in her eyes. I simply nodded and began to walk away. As I did so, my ears picked up something Discord said to Fluttershy.

“I’m betting two bits he’ll be the cause of some trouble,” he whispered to the mare.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” she replied. “Besides... he’s a good cat. He’s just troubled.”

“Yes, and he seems to have a problem with keeping that trouble to himself,” the draconequus replied. “So maybe I should raise it to four bits...”

I scowled and trotted off, not wanting to be the punchline of more of the strange creature’s jokes. I walked aimlessly for a time until I somehow ended up in front of the same pool I’d entered the world through. My paws fell from underneath me and I lay beside it, a look of longing on my face. I... missed Belle. Her absence was ever present in my mind and now that I thought of it... her face danced in the back of my mind every time I closed my eyes.

However, before I could think too deeply on that, I noticed something odd within the pool of water.

The reflection of the water showed a rocky path that I remembered belonging to Mt. Coronet and walking casually down it was Belle. I stared for a long moment and I almost began to weep. I... I needed her. My paws moved despite myself and I was halfway into the water before I realized that it was just an image... not a portal.

I eyed it angrily, infuriated by the taunt but shook my head and turned away from it. It wouldn’t do to work myself into a frenzy over something like this. Most likely, Giratina was simply amusing himself with me. I wouldn’t give him that kind of satisfaction.

“She worries about you a lot, you know?” Giratina’s voice spoke out from the water.

“I know,” I said with a frown, still looking away from the pool.

“So much so she was able to... ‘convince’ me to show her where you are,” Giratina continued, acting as if he didn’t notice my sour tone.

“She’ll do that,” I agreed with a stiff nod. “Logic or fake tears?”

“Fake Tears, though she tried logic first,” the legendary answered. “Anyways, I thought since she had a chance to see you after so long, you deserved the same right. Much to my surprise you came here just a few minutes after she left.”

“Great...” I trailed off and a thought occurred to me. “What do you mean after ‘so long’? I saw her not but a week ago!”

“Well... I might’ve left out that time flows differently in different worlds,” Giratina replied in a somewhat hesitant tone. “You see, as much as legends dictate how Dialga keeps time steady, she just does that for our world, not others.”

I turned to the pool to stare at him. Anger lighting the fire in my belly. “AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME THAT BEFORE BECAUSE?!” I roared, the thought that I might have lost years of Belle’s life infuriating me.

“Because the time difference is only about a month for one week here,” Giratina replied, not phased by my outburst. “And trust me, that’s a very good difference compared to one year for day spent in someplace else.”

I continued to glare, though that did pour a pitcher of water on my anger, causing it to subside slightly. “I see,” I stated flatly. “I still would have prefered to know this ahead of time.”

“Sue me,” Giratina replied in a shrug like nature. “This is my first time really ‘trying’ to help another Pokémon. It’s not like I do this for a living.”

I smoldered there for a moment before shaking my head. “Whatever,” I stated quietly. “If it’s not you making a fool of me, it’s Discord.”

“He’s still around? I thought he was turned to stone or something,” the legendary inquired.

“Not as far as I can tell,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “All I know is that he’s extremely annoying and smug. Kind of like you in fact.”

“That’s your opinion, to me we are nothing alike,” Giratina replied indifferently. “For instance, I never tried to take any of your body parts off and toy around with it. I got more respect than that.”

I glared at him before shaking my head. “Whatever. Just leave me be.”

Giratina rolled his red eyes. “Fine, I’ll just be off then, something popped up that needs my attention anyways,” he said in a low grumble. “Till next time, Cres, hopefully then you’ll have lightened up a bit,” he said before the water shimmered and his image faded away. I frowned and stayed where I was lying. I had nowhere better to be after all. At least here I wasn’t likely to be poked by children or yelled at by orange ponies.

I sighed and looked back at the water to see to my surprise that it had shifted slightly.

It was some part of the Distortion World, for it had large islands floating about in a distorted starry sky, but what really took my eyes were the two Pokémon the water was focusing on. One was Giratina and the other was... Arceus. The lord of everything floated regally in the ‘air’ while Giratina floated yards away with a sour tone expression pouring out from his eyes.

“Well... I thought I felt your presence entering into my home,” Giratina said while his six tentacles wings sway unhappily. “Don’t you even knock first?”

“I did knock,” Arceus replied, his voice deep and... ethereal. “You simply didn’t hear me.”

“Maybe because I chose to ignore it,” the dragon replied indifferently. “Still, why are you here? You don’t visit unless you have something ‘important’ you wish to discuss.”

Arceus’s face seemed to soften slightly. “My son, I’m here because you are on the crux of a large tipping point in your life.”

“Really? I thought that already happened when you banished me here,” Giratina replied flatly and annoyed.

“No, that was the beginning of your new life,” Arceus replied steadily. “You did spend several hundred years destroying cities you know.”

“As much as you like to remind me, yes,” Giratina answered sourly as he looked away with distaste. “Then again I also remember you just sitting around doing nothing as I was called the cursed one for all Pokémon, so you know I might have had good reason back then,” he added dryly as he glanced back to Arceus.

Arceus just looked at his son with an ineffable expression. “At any rate. You are at an important part of your existence.”

“And what is that exactly?” the dragon inquired with a tone that sounded increasingly peeved.

“There is currently a woman who plans on revealing you to the world,” Arceus said calmly. “You must take care with how you proceed, my son.”

“Oh, heard about that little tidbit, have you?” Giratina commented. “What, I can’t try to rewrite how the legends depict me as some horrible monster now?”

“You’re more than welcome to try,” Arceus replied with a small nod. “I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t do it child. I’m telling you that you must be careful with how you go about it.”

“What do you mean exactly?” Giratina asked with irked tone. “And none of your ‘parable’ or ‘riddle’ answers.”

“I mean that you must be fully prepared to deal with the dangers that comes with revealing yourself to the world,” Arceus replied plainly. “I urge you to be careful, my son... seeing you in pain hurts me and if you do not do this right then you will be in a great deal of pain.”

“Hmph... this is about what happened to Dialga and Palkia isn’t it? How they got captured by Galactic and all?” Giratina stated as he closed his eyes and emitted a single scoff. “Please, I’m not like them.”

“True, you are not as foolish as your younger siblings can be at times...” Arceus turned to look off in the distance for a moment before returning his gaze to Giratina. “But you are far more sensitive. No matter how you may try to deny it.”

The dragon kept his eyes closed and remained silent for awhile. “Hmph... I won’t lose my temper like last time.”

Arceus closed the distance between himself and his son and wrapped a forelimb around him, pulling him closer much to Giratina’s discomfort. “Good,” the God of Everything said quietly. “And you also need to watch out for your new friends. There are evil people in this world and you know very well that they who would seek to use your friends against you.”

Giratina opened his eyes and scowled at Arceus before his whole body disappeared and reappeared a good distance away. “Any who do so would be very foolish,” he stated lowly as he glared at his father, his mask parting away slightly showing a mouth and it build up a bit of energy within.

“As would anyone who did so before, and we both know how that ended,” his father replied levely. “Do not think that it has escaped my notice that Matt and Roxanne have a very close resemblance to those you lost before.”

Giratina’s eyes shrank in anger as the energy built up fast and he fired a mighty Hyper Beam that soared right by Arceus’s face. Arceus simply continued to look at him levelly, not in the least bit ruffled by the attack.

“You know that what I say is true,” Arceus replied calmly.

Giratina was breathing heavily as a small frown formed on his mouth before it got covered up by his golden mask. He regained his composure and looked at Arceus lowly. “Is there anything else you want to discuss?” he asked, his tone leaking he was done with this conversation.

“Two things actually,” Arceus stated simply. “Firstly; well done with Cres. I’d been meaning to have a talk with him for some time now but things kept coming up.”

My eyes widened with surprise though I kept silent as I watched and listened to Giratina's reply.

“Hmph, had to do something with him,” he replied. “I was tired of hearing him everyday praying the same prayer every single waking minute,” he stated.

“I’m sure that’s the only reason you did so,” Arceus replied, and I could somehow tell that the God of All was smirking.

Giratina rolled his eyes. “And the other thing?” he asked.

“That I want you to remember that no matter what you do, I’ll always love you, my son,” Arceus stated softly, appearing directly in front of Giratina and placing his lipless muzzle on the dragon’s forehead.

Giratina pulled away awkwardly and glanced away. “As you always say... father,” he said slowly, not entirely believing the words.

“I’ve never had any reason to say differently,” Arceus replied calmly.

The dragon slowly turned his body away. “Anyways... I’ve other things to do, keeping the balance up in the Distortion World and all,” he stated as he began to fly away. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, my son,” Arceus called after the dragon’s dissipating back. Then he glanced over at me and winked. “He’s so very stubborn you know. Thinks the whole world revolves around him at times. Kind of like a certain Absol I know, maybe they should both work on that.”

The water’s surface broke and the picture disappeared, leaving me staring at it blankly. Arceus himself had just talked to me!

“I... I...” I blinked blankly, unable to find any words.

Chapter 17

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Arceus. Arceus, the father of all Pokémon had just spoken his wisdom to me! The moment that I had been seeking for... half my life now had finally been delivered to me!

And yet...

What had he really told me?

To be less self-centered? How... exactly was I self-centered?

I pondered that as I sat in front of the pool of water. My paw lazily flicked amongst the water as I continued to think about it. I will admit, however, that I am not the best thinker. In broad terms, I suppose I couldn’t be blamed for much of anything... could I? At least in terms of my coming to this strange world of ponies.

I went over all I’d done. I’d killed a few of the ‘animals’ for food in the wrong place, something that was in no ways my fault. Then I’d acted purely in self defense after their attempt to trap me in the pit...

With that done, I’d rescued Zecora... and from there I didn’t see anything wrong with my actions. Well, minus stupidly mouthing off to ‘Discord’. I’ll admit that was fairly thick headed of me.

I bit my bottom lip and let out a sigh. Leave it to God to leave me a simple instruction wrapped in a riddle.

“I didn’t want an easy answer... but I wanted something that I could work with,” I grumbled to myself. “This is far too vague.”

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on everything except myself. It didn’t work well... the forest wasn’t very interesting and nothing else was around. I did however realize something. I was stuck in the world until I could manage to find my absolution as time slipped away quickly in my own home, Belle aging with every second I was gone.

A low snarl left my throat and I stood up from my place beside the pond, shaking a bit of wet mud from my coat easily enough and began to walk again. I wouldn’t find my absolution sitting beside the pool, I might as well not waste my time there.

I walked without really looking where I was going, trusting my legs and paws to carry me clear of anything in the way. Twigs snapped beneath my paws and I felt my claws sink into the soft earth while I walked. As I walked along and felt the earth beneath my paws, I began to think of the past. After all, this was hardly the first time I’d walked through a forest.

I smiled as I stood in front of Henry. The blonde boy grinned down at me as he patted my head.

“So, you think you got the move down?” he asked me as he moved his hand to scratch right behind my left ear. I leaned into the scratching for a moment as a deep purr rumbled through my chest.

“Oh yes, yes, I think I’ve got it Henry!” I told him excitedly once I’d pulled away, though I knew that he couldn’t actually understand me. In order to further show him I nodded my head and danced back in forth in place.

He’d been working on teaching me Night Slash for three weeks and throughout the entire process Henry had been nothing but supportive. Henry had even carried me home twice after I’d exhausted myself! Of course, if he’d remember my Ball, it would have been less of an issue, but I was still grateful nonetheless! Now I felt like I’d finally done it! I knew how to perform Night Slash!

Henry smiled widely as he straightened up. “Alright, now,” he pointed a finger at a young sapling tree. “Cres, use Night Slash!”

I grinned widely as I drew the dark energy to my blade and then darted forwards towards the sapling. I jumped and spun, bringing my blade slashing straight through the sapling as the dark energy discharged in a clean line. My paws touched the soft earth again and I smiled as the sapling fell to the opposite side.

I’d done it! I’d performed Night Slash successfully!

“YES!” I cheered with a grin, bouncing up and down on the tips of my paws. “I did it! I did it!”

Henry was also grinning as he raised a fist into the air. “Way to go, Cres! You did it!”

“I know! I did it!” I replied happily as I scampered back to him. “I did it!” I repeated as I rubbed against his legs. “I did it! Oh, Belle is going to be so impressed! I can’t believe I finally did it!”

Henry began to chuckled happily from the proud expression plastered across my face and reached down to pet me again. His finger lightly brushed against the base of my blade and... the next thing I knew he was sent flying. He landed flat on his back and began screaming in pain, his right hand cupped over his left.

My eyes widened in shocked surprise as he screamed even louder. I dashed over to Henry and saw that his left hand was bleeding from a deep cut! A thousand scenarios flashed through my mind as I watched the blood trickling from the wound.

Henry lay dead at my paws because of a cut!

Henry recovered but hated me for the rest of his life!

Henry recovering but the rest of the village chasing me out!

Henry recovering and saying that he was fine with me but ending up trading me away because he secretly hated me!

I blinked and shook my head, no time for that. Henry was in trouble! Think brain, think! I commanded myself as I looked around, panicking as I tried to find some way to help him. Henry stopped scream and his voice lowered down to a series of hard grunts of pain as he lifted his right hand up slightly before placing it back down, wincing terribly. He slowly began attempting to push himself onto his legs, but could only manage sitting upright. He exhaled shakily and looked over at me.

“Cres... go get... my dad,” he told me in between gasps of pain.

My eyes widened. OF COURSE! I was an idiot! I gave him a nod and turned back the way we’d come, my legs blurring beneath me. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I thought to myself as I sprinted down the path to his house. I breezed by the other townsfolk and actually leapt over a cart full of cabbages.

Unfortunately, apparently my jumping a full foot over his cart surprised a Furret sitting on the side of the cart. He panicked and rocked back and forth so much that the human pushing the cart lost control and it overbalanced, sending cabbages, and the Furret, rolling into the street.

“My cabbages!” he shouted in a heartbroken voice. I winced, he really was a nice man, most of the time. I’d have to find some way to apologize to him and to Jerry, once I was sure that Henry wasn’t going to die, of course!

I weaved and wove through the early afternoon traffic until I reached Henry’s house and began to rapidly scratch at the door.

“Open up! Please! Henry is hurt!” I shouted, or to the humans i suppose yowled would be the better word for it.

Heavy feet stride to the door and a unhappy exhale echoed in my ear. “Cres, how many times do I have to tell you to not scratch on the door,” Henry’s father said as he opened the door with an unpleasant look on his face.

“You have to come with me! Henry is hurt!” I exclaimed, gesturing panickedly towards the woods.

The man frowned in confusion as he glanced up to the wooded area. His eyes suddenly widened before he glanced down back at me. “Take me to my boy,” he ordered.

I nodded and turned on a dime, taking off at a run, though making sure that Henry’s father could still follow me. Lucky for me, the man was a good runner as he followed me easily. We skirted around the edge of the fallen cabbages and made it back to where Henry was lying. He’d managed to move so that his back was leaning against a tree. His face looked pale and my eyes widened with concern as I noticed that his eyes were closed. The bloody left hand was pressed against his now stained shirt.

I ran up and began to nuzzle him worriedly, licking him a few times on the cheek. He moaned weakly as his eyes opened up and he looked at me.

“Hey... you’re back....” he said with a strained smile.

“Henry!” The boy’s father shouted as he rushed up to him. He wasted no time in bending down and picking his son up between his two strong arms. “What happened to you....” he said worriedly as he looked the boy’s bloody arm. He then glanced darkly down at me and I shrank under the gaze. He then turned around and started back towards the village, not saying a word to me but I could sense both his anger with me building with each step.

Maybe it would best if I stayed in the forest for the night. I gulped and ducked into the bushes. Henry’s father was an incredibly nice man... most of the time. Sometimes I thought he adored me... but then there were times like this.

I shivered as I made my way back to my favorite pine tree and curled up beneath its boughs. Henry would be fine. I knew that. He had to be. It was just a cut right? He hadn’t lost that much blood. Right? If... if I’d killed him... oh Arceus...

I began to hyperventilate and probably would have worked myself into a full on panic attack if not for a pair of worried blue eyes that had suddenly appeared staring into mine. I jumped in surprise at Belle’s sudden appearance, apparently I’d been so busy panicking that I hadn’t noticed her approach.

“Cres....” she said slowly as she walked up to me. “What’s going on? I saw Henry’s father carrying him, and there was blood... did some wild Pokémon attack the two of you?”

I shook my head jerkily, not quite able to calm myself. “No! It was me! Oh no... oh no... I’m in trouble! They-they’re going to kill me! Or worse, release me!” I shouted panickedly. My pupils had shrunk to pinpricks.

Belle frowned slightly at me for a moment but shook her head. “I’m sure Henry will be fine, Cres... he didn’t look as if he lost too much blood... but what happened?”

“I...I used Night Slash- I - I finally mastered it and-and he touched my blade afterwards and-and he went flying-and-and-and I’ve killed him!” I cried, burying my head in my paws.

I felt Belle nuzzling me gently as she moved to lay down next to me. “Like I said... I’m sure he will be fine. John is a good doctor, I’m sure he will be able to patch Henry up,” she assured me with another nuzzled. “Still... it’s quite puzzling how Henry got hurt....” she murmured to herself.

“But-but what if he dies? Or what if he hates me because I hurt him!?” I exclaimed, my face still in my paws as tears began to fall. “It's all my fault, all my fault!”

Belle remained silent for a moment. “I doubt Henry would ever hate you, Cres. This isn’t the first time you hurt him in some way or fashion. And if he dies... well....”

“Then the village will kill me,” I said pitifully. “And I’d want them to.”

Belle exhaled annoyedly and before I knew it she bite down on some of loose fur hanging off my head and yanked on it... hard. I let out a cry of pain and turned to her with a look of surprise on my tear stained face. She was looking at me with anger in her eyes along with some small tears forming.

“Don’t you dare speak like that, Cres,” she told me.

“I... sorry,” I said, looking down again, unable to meet her beautiful eyes. “I... I’m just... just...”

“Henry is not going to die,” she told me firmly. “And we need to figure out what happened so we can make sure it won’t happen again,” she added in her calm, logical voice. “So... you said you were able to use Night Slash?”

“M-mhm,” I replied with a nod.

She nodded her head. “If you can, use it again,” she told me, getting up on her paws and getting out of my way to a watchful distance.

“I... I don’t know if I can,” I said timidly, shaking a little.

“Cres... this is for the safety of not only Henry, but for yourself too. We must find out what happened and the key to this is Night Slash, I think,” she told me in a reassuring and supportive tone.

I blinked and then met her eyes, almost losing myself in the blue pools. Then I nodded and took a stuttering breath as I got back to my paws. I saw a nearby sapling and powered up my blade once more. I let out a deep breath and then charged forwards, bringing my blade straight through it with a blast of dark energy.

Belle nodded her head as she walked towards me. “Good... now, you then said Henry touched your blade and he jumped... so....” She tilted her head slightly as she reached her blade over to touched mine. The moment the our blades touched, there was a spark of dark energy jumping between the two. Belle shivered slightly as the energy coursed through her and she stumbled back a bit.

“BELLE!” I shouted in a panic, terrified that I’d hurt her as well! I rushed up and began to nuzzle her worriedly. “ARE YOU OKAY?”

“I’m fine,” she said loudly as she lifted a paw and rub her forehead. “Just a bit startled at the shock... but nothing worse,” she replied as she looked at me. “Though now we know what happened. You had an excess of charge left in your blade, and when Henry touched it, the energy discharged through him. It was like as if he touched a live wire of electricity.”

“So it was my fault!” I exclaimed, my eyes widening.

“By accident,” she stated firmly. “Night Slash is an advanced move for when we are more older and experienced in battle. I’m betting because you’re not skilled enough yet you can’t discharge all of the energy you’re building up in your blade.”

“But... it was still my fault,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m still responsible for hurting Henry!”

“Maybe... but like I said it was an accident, Cres, and now we know what happened we can prevent it from happening again,” Belle told me calmly.

I nodded jerkily again, unsure of what else to do other than simply stand there shivering with worry.

“So... one way to prevent this is not to use Night Slash again until you’re more experienced,” Belle continued. “The other is working on decreasing the build of energy you need to used Night Slash. Less energy means less of a chance to carry an excess of energy. Lastly if you can’t do the second, just make sure you discharge your blade before you make contact with Henry. Preferably onto a tree.”

My headed nodded again though I wasn’t really listening. I was too worried about Henry.

“Now, repeat what I just said,” Belle ordered me.

“Huh?” I asked, blinking.

Belle sighed as she shook her head. “It seems we have some work to do....” she muttered to herself.

I awoke to find Belle lying beside me, her head resting against my back. I blinked blankly and then inhaled her calming scent. It had always reminded me of a Pecha Berry and I buried my face in her crimson fur. Warmth flowed through me and I let out a long sigh as I enjoyed the sensation. She stirred awake from my heavy nuzzling and glanced at me with a warm smile.

“Enjoying yourself?” she asked as she out a small yawn.

“Mhmm... you’re warm,” I replied as I withdrew my head and leaned over to give her a nuzzle.

She chuckled lightly as she nuzzled back. “So... sleep well last night?” she asked.

“With you beside me... always,” I replied as I leaned my neck against hers. Then I blinked and jerked to my paws. “HENRY!”

Belle let out a sigh as she stood up as well. “I’m sure he is fine... want me to head to the village first to check?” she asked.

I nodded uncertainly. “I... if you would please... I... I don’t know how his father would react to me if... if...”

She nodded her head. “Stay right here then, and don’t move from this spot,” she told me as she gave me a nuzzle and then broke into a sprint towards the village. I frowned worriedly but nodded, more to myself then her. My thoughts turned back to the night before. We’d spent two hours working on my Night Slash until I’d finally collapsed and she curled up beside me. In addition to working on my move... Belle had also drilled something into my head.

Whatever has happened to Henry, it is not your fault, the words slammed into me and I closed my eyes, letting out a breath.

“I’m... I’m okay,” I muttered to myself. “I’m fine. I’m O.K.”

Time passed as I patiently waited in the woods, hearing Bug-type and Flying-type Pokémon chatter away in the distance. My ears picked up the faint sound of paws running back towards me and I glanced up to see Belle running towards me.

“He’s alive,” she told me. “And is doing okay. I was able to explain as best I could to Emily about what happened and she told Henry’s father. It’s okay for you to see him, which you should.”

“Thank Arceus,” I said, letting out a long relieved breath. “Thank you, Belle,” I added as I walked up and gave her a loving nuzzle. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Neither do I,” she replied as she nuzzled back. “Now... let’s head back to the village,” she said, gesturing her head to follow her.

I nodded and the two of us began walking back, my body not leaving her warm side the entire way. She... was comforting. A rock for me to brace myself against.

We walked in silence until we reached Henry’s house and found Henry’s father waiting for us. To my surprise, he bent down and patted my head.

“Thank you for coming to get me as fast as you did... Henry should be proud to have as faithful of a companion as you,” he said as he stood up and opened the door for me.

A small smile touched my lips and I walked past him and into the main room. I glided through the house, ignoring the familiar setting. I had only one thing on my mind. I ran into Henry’s room to find him leaning against the backboard of his bed with his left arm in a sling. He glanced down at me, and at first I shrank a bit under his gaze as I slowed down to a crawling walk.

However, Henry smiled as he patted his right hand on the bed, urging me to join him. Timidly I started forwards again and leapt up to land softly on the right side of the bed.

“Henry... are you okay?” I asked him quietly as I made my way closer, giving his hand a nuzzle.

The boy chuckled lightly as he scratched me lightly under my chin. “Hey... it’s alright, I’m okay. It was just a scratch, no biggie.”

“But... but I hurt you,” I stuttered, tears starting to form in my eyes again.

“Hey, it’s alright, okay?” he told me as he lifted my head to stare into his eyes. “There’s nothing to worry about. We just have to be careful next time we work on a move alright?” he said with another light chuckle.

I had no words, so instead I just gave his cheek a lick as tears fell down my face and I buried my head into his neck.

I blinked. Where had that come from? I hadn’t thought of that in years. My eyes looked around the Everfree Forest and I let out a sigh of annoyance. Leave it to me to get lost in a strange forest because I was too busy remembering something unimportant.

I lifted my nose to the sky and re-aligned myself with the path back to Fluttershy’s cottage. Hopefully, Discord would be gone by now and I could just relax there and try to figure out just what exactly Arceus had been trying to tell me.

I caught the familiar scent of Fluttershy’s cottage and walked through a small patch of blue flowers as I began my trek back through the forest.

Chapter 18

View Online

I made it back to Fluttershy’s cottage without much trouble, my mind feeling heavy. It was odd, I had spent much of the day resting or generally doing nothing... yet I was bone weary. A sigh left my lips and I shook my head. Perhaps it was simply the fact that I had been witness to a conversation between Arceus and his... son. Surely, something of that nature takes a lot out of a pokemon.

Once I’d arrived at the cabin, night was falling... strange, I only just remember waking up. I suppose I’d been lost in the past longer than I’d thought. Regardless, it explained a bit more of my tiredness away, so I suppose that was a plus. Thankfully, a rather stupid ‘bird’ had landed in my path on the way home so my stomach was content and I wouldn’t have to worry about troubling Fluttershy for anything other than perhaps a quick hello as I made my way to my bed.

I walked through the door, closing it behind me with my rear leg. As I made my way over to the bed that the pegasus had set up for me I distantly heard the sound of her voice jumbling together with Discord’s. I suppressed a shudder at the thought of the Legendary as I began to get comfortable. It didn’t take long and soon I was drifting off to sleep.

I awoke with a yawn as the first rays of dawn flickered across my eyelids. For some reason it sounded... off. A bit too feminine of all things. I shook my head and blinked a few more times as I attempted to rub sleep out of my eyes with my crimson furred forepaw. I yawned again but abruptly paused as I blinked blankly. I looked down at my forepaw with a quick snap of my head. It was not pink, and it was most certainly not white. No, it was a familiar crimson color, like that of Belle’s fur.

“What?” I asked, so befuddled by this development that it took me a moment to realize that I’d heard Belle’s voice. “Belle?! Are you here?!” The only response I received was an echo of my question. “What trick is this?!” I shouted, and she shouted right back at me. By this point I had jumped out of the bed, my head swishing from left to right when I suddenly noticed something... peculiar and very disturbing.

I felt... much lighter... as if I was missing a few... things.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The scream was high pitched and girly, the sheer volume of it making me wince despite myself, and I fell backwards in confusion to land in a disorganized heap atop the bed.

A scurry of hooves rushed down on the other side of the door before it slammed open and Fluttershy burst in. “What happened!?” she asked as she hastily looked around the room before her eyes fell upon me. Her eyes opened wide and her ears perked up. “Oh my.... Cres? Is that you?” she inquired slowly as she walked towards me.

“Y-y-yes?” I replied, Belle’s voice answering the question as I tried to curl up upon myself, which of course only brought me closer to my new... anatomy. “I-I-I-I think so.”

Fluttershy stood over me and peered down on me with concerned eyes as she examined me. Before she could say anything else, Discord’s voice spoke up.

“My my, what was that loud squeal? I think I nearly blew an eardrum,” the draconequus asked as his head peered through, one of his talon fingers digging into one ear while the tip poked out the other. His eyes fell upon me and an amused smirk grew on his face as he chuckled lightly and withdrew his finger from his ear. “Why, I like the new look, Cres. Your fur makes your eyes stand out quite well if do say so myself.”

“You-did-did you do this to me?” I stutteringly demanded, lifting my head away from my rear for a moment to glare at him.

He lifted his Pyroar paw to his chest. “Moi? Why Cres, while this is in my field of play, I promised Fluttershy I wouldn’t use my powers on you like that anymore. And I never break my promises,” he replied, sounding hurt by my accusation.

“But-but-but if isn’t you- then-then why am I Belle?” I demanded, still stuttering as I buried my head in my fur again.

“Hmm... good question,” Discord said as he stroked his chin. He glided over to Fluttershy and put his talon hand near her head. “Why don’t Fluttershy and I think on that as you get accustomed to your new body? Who knows how long you’ll be like that?” he said as he urged the pony to exit the room with him. “Ta-ta~!”

Fluttershy seemed resistant to be pulled away from me, but eventually she and Discord left the room with the draconequus closing the door with his tail.

I was alone. Alone as Belle. I stared into my crimson fur, unsure of what to do. I was... Belle. I smelled like Belle, I sounded like Belle, I even looked like Belle... at least I think I did. I shut my eyes for a moment and did my best to think like Belle. Sadly, it appeared that the one thing that had stayed the same was my brain.

Time slipped by slowly as I lay huddled there, her smell in my nose, her fur against my eyes, her voice in my head, before I eventually let out a long breath and began to pull myself together, just a bit. When I finally forced my head up I let out a long breath and got to my, Belle’s paws and began to take a few experimental strides around the room.

It felt... strange to do. My every step was quickened, especially those of my rear legs, I no longer had to be cautious with how close my thighs were together, though I will not say that I enjoyed it. No, instead it felt unnatural and I found myself missing the familiar feeling of my body with every passing step. What was worse was that I felt oddly exposed despite the fact that my thick crimson fur hid anything ‘desirable’ from view. All in all, I did not like being a female.

“Discord, I need to know... did you really not do anything to him?” Fluttershy asked Discord quietly, doing her best to keep her tone level and non-accusing.

“Fluttershy my dear, you wound me with such an accusation! Of course I didn’t lay a single paw or talon on him. He clearly walked through a patch of poison joke; their scent is still strong on him,” the draconequus replied before rubbing his paw over his nose.

“Oh... that makes sense,” Fluttershy said before shuddering slightly as she remembered the awful blue flower. “I guess we should get him to Zecora’s soon then so that he can...become himself again,” she said as she made her way back to the house.

“Now hold on there, my little pony,” Discord interjected as he moved in front of her. “I think we should allow him to stay in that form of his a bit longer, after all, he might learn something from all of this.”

“What could he learn?” Fluttershy asked with a frown.

“Who knows?” he replied with a slight shrug. “But poison joke does what it does for a reason, and after you and your other friends learned something when you were under its effects. So it’s fair to say Cres will learn something equally important. After all, it takes being at a lowest point in life to discover something that’s right under your nose.”

Fluttershy frowned as she thought it over. “I don’t know, Discord... he seems terrified right now,” she shook her head. “I’m not sure if it’s right of us to pretend that we don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

“Well, we won’t have to fully lie to him, just tell him it will take a while to gather the ingredients for the cure,” Discord said with a small smile. “At least a day or so.”

“I don’t know... it still seems wrong,” Fluttershy replied demurely.

“Fluttershy, trust me on this,” Discord said placing a paw over his chest. “I have a feeling this will be more beneficial to him than you think.”

“I... okay, Discord, but you’re going to tell him, okay?” Fluttershy asked uncertainly. “And you have to do it nicely.”

“Of course, my dear Fluttershy, I’ll be as nicely and gentle as a bumble bee landing on a flower,” Discord assured her as he seeminglessly glide back to the house. “Why don’t you just take care of the other animals, I’m sure many of them are missing their breakfast by this point.”

“Oh, oh, you’re right!” Fluttershy said with a small nod. “I wouldn’t want any of them to get too hungry.” She turned around and lightly galloped off to the back of the house.

“Exactly,” Discord said with a small smile as he opened the door and went back inside the house.

When Discord entered the room again, I flinched despite myself. I was not afraid of him, not in the least, but I had seen what he was capable of and I really did not want to explain to Belle why I not only looked exactly like her, but was also lacking a blade.

“Well Cres, I have some good news and some relatively bad news as well,” Discord said, clapping his paw and talon hands together. “The good news is, we know what caused this. You must have walked through a patch of poison joke before coming here. They’re little blue flowers in case you’re wondering.”

“Poison... so there’s an antidote?” I asked cautiously as I looked up at him. “Wait... what’s the bad news?”

“That getting said antidote is going to take a while,” Discord replied. “You see, ponies around here are smart enough to avoid the patches of poison joke, so we don’t really stock up on the antidote. Though don’t lose your tiny head about that, it will only take them a day or so to gather the ingredients to make it.”

“An-an entire day?” I squeaked out, Belle’s voice reaching a level of strain it never did when she was the one projecting it. “Can’t you-can’t you just snap your fingers or something and make me me again?” It was then I realized that I was begging.

“Alas, I don’t know how your normal body functioned or what all made up it. So unless you want to risk missing something or gaining something extra, I don’t that will be a very good idea,” Discord replied with a small shake of his head.

A soft wail left my throat and tears sprang to my eyes but I managed to hold myself together long enough to simply nod at him before I fled back to the bed and curled up in a small ball before my eyes truly began to leak.

“Now, now, I don’t think that’s a reason to cry over,” Discord said as I felt a soft tissue brushing across my teary cheeks. “Most males dream of becoming female, you should count yourself lucky,” he said with a small chuckle.

“Why on earth would anyone want to become female?” I asked, unconsciously leaning against the tissue. “I like my manhood where it was... and-and- I don’t know why I’m crying. I just-I just am.”

“Then you probably should stop and question that yourself,” Discord said. “I mean you make a good point there, it would be a shame to just leave it hanging all alone by itself with no other thoughts to accompany it.”

I blinked up at him as my eyes began to stop leaking. “What?” I still lacked Belle’s brain.

Discord rolled his eyes a bit. “To make a point and not expand on it... I knew you could be thick-headed, but I think you’re giving it a new definition.”

“Shut-shut up,” I tried to snarl but it sounded rather more pathetic than I’d intended. “I’m-I’m not smart. I know I’m not. You don’t have to rub it in my face.”

“Then maybe it’s time to think a bit smartly for once, little Cres; else you’ll be crying till tomorrow morning and maybe even longer,” Discord told me.

I scowled up at him. “Fine, but I still have no idea what you’re talking about,” I told him with an annoyed pout as I glanced to the side.

“I’m simply talking about you questioning yourself why’re you are crying,” Discord said as he got up and left the tissue behind. “I mean, there’s no reason to right?” he asked before he headed to the door.

“I... right,” I agreed with a small nod of my head as I let out a sigh. “There’s not... no reason to be crying. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.”

“Then question why did you started crying in the first place,” Discord said before opening the door and leaving me alone once more.

I frowned at that. Why had I started crying? It... it must have been my new body. But... Belle did not cry often. She was not over emotional, and the only time she ever really did was when something was truly, truly wrong. It didn’t make much sense did it? After all, there was nothing greatly wrong with me was there? No, no, Discord said that it was fixable, provided that he wasn’t lying... so why was I so sad?

My light posterior hit the floor with a *thump* and I stared up at the ceiling. It felt like... it felt like I was missing a piece of myself. Why? Why would I feel like that? I closed my eyes and tried to understand it, but all I got for my efforts were mental pictures of myself. What on earth could that mean?

Apple Bloom sat at the breakfast table eating a stack of pancakes that Applejack had made her, sweet maple syrup dripping down their sides. Big Mac was already out working the fields and Granny Smith was asleep in her rocker on the porch, leaving the two sisters alone in the kitchen.

“So Sis, why dontcha like Cres?” the filly asked once she’d finished her current mouthful of pancakes.

Applejack paused in mid-flip of a pancake and turned her head towards the young filly. “Where did you hear that?” she asked with an inquiring eyebrow as the pancake fell back down, landing a bit off center on the pan.

“He told me that ya yelled at him,” the filly replied, frowning a bit at her sister’s sudden hostility.

“You met him!” Applejack nearly yelled. “When did that happen?”

Apple Bloom’s ears flinched a bit at both the volume and the venom in Applejack’s voice. “Yesterday, sis. He was sleeping underneath our club house because it was raining and he didn’t want to get wet.”

Applejack let out a fuming sigh through her nostrils, as her mind completely forgot about the overcook pancake in the pan. “Apple Bloom, if you ever see that rascal varmint again, don’t approach him, don’t even talk to him, just run away from him and come to me if he’s ever on our farm. Understood?”

“Why?” Apple Bloom asked puzzledly. “He seemed nice enough.”

“Then what you saw was an act, Apple Bloom. He’s dangerous, and I don’t want ya ever ta be near him again,” Applejack stated before walking up to her and giving the little filly a firm look. “Understood?”

“But he didn’t mind us poking him with sticks,” Apple Bloom protested. “And all he did was ask us to stop - oh, and he breathed fire in the air, but Spike does that all the time so I don’t think he was trying to hurt us.”

“HE BREATHED FIRE AT YA!” This time Applejack couldn’t help but yell as her eyes widen before narrowing angrily. “That’s it! Apple Bloom, stay right here, don’t leave the house,” she ordered the young filly before galloping out of the kitchen through the back door.

“No... in the air, Sis,” Apple Bloom muttered to herself. “I hope she doesn’t yell at Cres any more.”

Chapter 19

View Online

I sat in the bed, my head bowed, my female hips sitting oddly on the soft bed. My brain was working overdrive. What was it that I was missing? It must have been something incredibly simple. And yet, I couldn’t do it!

“Damn!” I cursed quietly to myself.

My head hurt. My heart ached. It felt like there was a hole in it. And yet... I didn’t know what would fill it. I slumped down in the bed, Belle’s fur, softer than mine, matting against the bed’s surface and caused me to let out a small sigh of familiarity. Odd as it was... it felt good to see her again... to feel her touch. I wonder how much she felt the same.

The sound of rapping hooves on the door startled me and I glanced up at the door with a frown. Who could that be?

“Mr. Cres... can I come in?” Fluttershy’s voice asked from the other side.

A sigh of relief left my throat and I smiled. “Of course Fluttershy, it’s your house, you don’t need to ask me first,” I replied, a slight tinge of amusement in my tone.

“Oh... I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t entering at a bad time,” she replied, the door slowly swinging open as the yellow pegasus walked in, a plate balanced on her back with three ‘fish’ on it. “Anyways I brought you something... I thought you could be hungry since you hadn’t had breakfast yet.”

My eyes widened and a smile crossed my face as I got out of the bed and crossed over to her. Without thinking about it, I gave her an affectionate nuzzle. “Thank you, I was indeed beginning to slowly descend into starvation derived madness.”

“Oh... good thing I came when I did,” Fluttershy said with a small smile as she craned her head around to grab the edge of the plate with her teeth. She lifted it up and set it down in front of me, letting go of the plate and whipping a hoof over her mouth with some small distaste in her face.

“Indeed it was,” I agreed before I bent down and sniffed the first of the ‘fish’.

It didn’t smell like the ones that Zecora had given me, but I could truly not complain because it did not smell ‘bad’. It was the opposite in fact. With a grin I tore into the first of them, careful not to make too much of a mess for her as I ate the delectable flesh. Water Pokémon had never been my favorite of foods, but it had sustained Belle and I for a long time when we had been following the sea shore so I had a ‘soft spot’ for it.

Fluttershy continued to smile lightly as she sat down in front of me. “So... how are you feeling? You’d been very quiet after Discord talked to you.”

I licked my lips free of a bit of blood and fish eggs, she had managed to accidentally serve me a fish that was in spawning season. Lucky me, they tasted great! “Honestly? I’m feeling depressed. I feel like... there’s this hole in my chest and whenever I try to think of what goes in the hole, I get a mental image of myself...” I trailed off, shaking my head. “I really don’t understand it.”

“I see....” the mare said slowly as she glanced down with a thoughtful frown. “Well... might I ask why you think you have a ‘hole’ in your chest?”

“I don’t know... I just feel like there’s something missing,” I answered with a sigh before I went back to eating, quickly finishing the first fish and starting on the second. “I just... I’m so very tired of being alone.”

“Well... didn’t you say you had someone waiting for you back home?” Fluttershy inquired.

“Yes, my Belle,” I answered with a nod.

“And might I ask... is that whom you were changed to?” she further questioned.

“Yes, as I said before,” I agreed with a nod of my head.

“Well... maybe your heart is telling you that it misses Belle very much and... would like to go back to be with her,” Fluttershy told me.

I blinked. “You know... you might be ri-”

“FLUTTERSHY!” Applejack’s voice roared out.

The mare nearly jumped at the volume and I simply let out a groan. “Oh, what now?!” I growled under my breath.

The mare looked out the window to see Applejack galloping up to her front door. “I don’t know... but you should stay here while I find out,” she answered as she got to her hooves and headed for the door.

I closed my eyes, whatever Fluttershy had been saying forgotten as I glanced back at the fish and tore into them, the need to get as much food in my stomach before whatever else happened overwhelming any other train of thought.

“What is it, Applejack?” Fluttershy asked the orange mare as she closed the door behind her.

“That... thing just crossed the last line with me,” Applejack growled as she stomped up the pathway to her door. “He breathed fire at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo!”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh dear, were any of them hurt?” she asked worriedly.

“Thank Celestia no, but that doesn’t change the fact he still did it and I don’t even have to remind you of the rules he broke doing so,” the mare stated firmly. “He needs to be detained and locked away, now!”

“Now Applejack, I think you might be over-reacting,” Fluttershy said calmingly. “If none of them were hurt, it stands to reason that he wasn’t trying to hurt them. I mean, knowing those three they might have asked him to do it.”

“Not the way I heard it, he breathed fire at them so they would stop poking him,” Applejack said with a deep frown. “So I’m not over-reacting when I say when he went over the line.”

“I still think it would be best to get his side of the story,” Fluttershy replied. “He most likely didn’t think it was that bad of a thing to do.”

Applejack closed her eyes and let out a steamy growl. “Fluttershy, I’ve had enough of your shenanigans of defending every little thing he does. He broke the law for this one, like it or not he has to be punished for this, not get a slap on the hoof this time!”

“Are you part of the local guard?” Fluttershy asked her, a small hint of annoyance entering her voice. “Honestly Applejack, he doesn’t know our laws, and you aren’t in a position to actually enforce them, so I’m not sure what you planned to do by coming here.”

“Just because he doesn’t know our laws doesn’t make him immune to them, Fluttershy!” Applejack exclaimed with a stomp of her hoof. “And I might not have the authority to really arrest him, but I have the right to get those who do, and even hold him down till they come.”

“Applejack... please, just let this go,” Fluttershy said with a sigh. “It’s not fair, it’s not right, and you’re acting very badly.”

“The law is the law Fluttershy, you can’t just keep defending him because of your kind-hearted nature; sooner or later, he needs to be punished for his actions,” Applejack stated.

“I’m playing Discord’s advocate, Applejack, I’m defending him because no one else is going to or has so far other than Princess Celestia herself, whose judgement you should respect,” the pegasus replied calmly.

“Then maybe I should get Twilight to bring her and see what she has to say about this,” the mare said in a bitter tone.

“I’m sure that would be the best,” Fluttershy said with a nod and a smile. “After all, in most cases the guards don’t like it when we try and do their jobs, nor does the Princess.”

“Fine, but don’t think they’re going to see it your way,” Applejack stated before stomping away and breaking off into a gallop.

Fluttershy let out a sigh as her peaceful morning collapsed. She had the feeling that it was going to be a long day.

I frowned, having heard all of the conversation. Why on earth was Applejack so upset? So I had breathed a few small strands of fire in front of the children, I had not hit them with it, nor had I attempted to. It was the kind of thing that happened dozens of times a day, and that was only counting fire, and not the things like electricity from a Pikachu or the winds from a Pidgey. There really wasn’t any reason to be angry about such things.

Fluttershy walked back inside, letting out another sigh as she closed the door. She glanced over at me. “I must know... is what Applejack said true?”

“What? That I blew a few strands of quickly fading fire in the air at the children? Yes, what is the problem? None of them were hurt and I was not trying to hurt them, simply make them stop poking me with a stick as I napped,” I answered with a shake of my head. “I would demonstrate, but Belle’s body is not capable of doing it.”

The mare let out a small relieved sigh, though still had a troubled frown on her face. “Because Cres... it’s illegal for you do that within our borders. Whether you meant to harm them or not.”

“Why?” I asked puzzledly. “There is no such law where I come from, so long as no harm was caused there is no foul. If there was, then it would be practically impossible for many Pokémon to live amongst humans at all.”

“Because that’s how our laws work here, Cres... I know you’re already used to one way of living, but you must understand that might clash with our way of living,” the mare said. “And many ponies here are easily frightened or startled by predators such as yourself, so the rules are made so you won’t stir up trouble.”

“Well, no one had the courtesy to tell me that,” I said with a frown. “All I was told was to not hunt within a certain area.” My crimson eyebrows knit together and a sob built up in my throat until I could take it no longer and lowered my head, tears in my eyes. “I... I just want to go home.”

Fluttershy walked over to me and sat next to me, one of her wings draping over me and held me in a comforting hug. “It’s okay... once we cure you, maybe we can help you find a way to get back home.”

“I... I know how to get home... I’m... I’m going to beg Giratina,” I moaned. “I... I can’t take this anymore. This... this entire place is twisted and makes no sense... I... it’s unfair. I...I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Fluttershy remained quiet for a bit before nuzzling me. “No... not under your knowledge you didn’t.”

I spent the next several crying until I finally pulled myself together. “So... so Celestia is coming, right?”

“Yes... Applejack keeps to her promises, but don’t you worry, I shall defend you when she comes,” Fluttershy assured me.

A smile crossed my face and I looked up at her for a moment before leaning forwards and giving her an affectionate nuzzle, a rumbling purr pulsing through my body.

“You would make an excellent Pokémon Trainer, Fluttershy,” I told her with a smile. “And were things different... I would be honored to have you as mine.”

The mare chuckled softly. “Well, I’m honored for you to say that... even though I don’t know what a Pokémon Trainer is... but I’m honored nonetheless,” she said humbly.

“It is what my old Master was,” I explained. “Henry...” I let out a sigh and shook my head... now was not the time. “All that I ask is that I can return to my world so that I can be with the one who is most important to me.”

Fluttershy nodded her head. “Of course... but-”

“But I think you don’t want to go the way you’re looking now,” Discord’s voice interrupted from one side of the room. Our heads turned around to find him sitting on nothing stirring a pot with a wooden spoon. “You’re in luck, I just so happened to find some old ingredients I forgot in a pair of pants I own. Heh, who knew?” he asked as he pulled the spoon out and gave it a taste test. “Ahh, just right.”

I gave the Legendary a frown, not trusting that he even owned a pair of pants to begin with... but I couldn’t really complain if it meant that I was to be returned to my body... after all... Belle would not be able to feel whole if I was not mysel-

I blinked.

Then I blinked again.

And finally I blinked a third time.

“I’m an idiot,” I groaned.

Fluttershy frowned as she looked at me, while Discord only glanced at with me with an inquiring eyebrow. “What is wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“The... the hole in my chest... it’s... it’s how Belle feels without me,” I said softly, fresh tears filling my eyes. “And... and how I feel without her. I... I’m such a fool. A selfish, self centered fool. I... I left her without warning and then... then once she’d traveled all that way... I... I left her AGAIN!” With the last word I rammed my head into the floor... or would have if ‘Belle’s’ blade hadn’t been there. In the end... all I accomplished was getting myself into the embarrassing predicament of having my blade stuck five inches in the wood as tears streamed down my face.

“Oh my...” Fluttershy said as she got up and walked in front of me. “You need some help?” she asked.

“No!” I snapped as I tried to pull my blade out of the floor with several jerks of my neck. None worked though, I’d driven myself quite deep into the wood.

Fluttershy took a couple of steps back when I snapped at her. “Oh... okay...”

However, Discord had other ideas. “Oh don’t be such a sour grape,” he said as I felt his Pyroar paw grab the back of my head and effortlessly pull me out. I frantically checked to make sure my blade was still on my head, and to my great relief it was. “When a friend offers their help, you should at least accept it. And that’s really no way to reply to a lady.”

“Sorry... I just... I’m... just give me the medicine so I can go home,” I said slowly, pointing my head to the pot.

“Oh that?” the Legendary asked pointing a talon finger at the pot. “That’s not the medicine, that’s lunch for Fluttershy and I,” he told me with a small chuckle. “The medicine is in the back next to the bath tub ready to help you scrub off that poison joke.”

My right eye twitched as I wiped away a stray tear. “Then would you please help me with it?”

“I will,” Fluttershy answered as she walk next to me. “I’ll make sure to scrub away all of the poison joke off,” she add with a small smile.

“Thank you,” I said, nodding my head as I started towards the door, the mare along beside me. As we walked, I hung my head. “Sorry... for snapping at you... this has all been... very stressful for me.”

“It’s okay, I forgive you,” Fluttershy replied. “I understand how hard it must be on you, which is why I’m doing my best to help you.”

I let out a sigh. “Thank you... I just... I wish you didn’t have to... I wish I was smarter... but I’m not,” I said softly. “All my life... I’ve been stupid... I... I don’t know why I was lucky enough for Belle to love me the way she does... Arceus knows I don’t deserve it, especially after the way I’ve treated her. I’m just... stupid.”

“You’re not stupid Cres... just maybe a slow learner,” Fluttershy told me. “The two are entirely different, which one being the incapacity to learn, the other... well, you just don’t learn as fast as others.”

“I guess,” I said despondently. “Still... I don’t deserve someone like Belle love me, or to have someone like you to support me.”

“I support you because I know that deep down inside, you’re a good kitty, Cres... or Absol in your case. Maybe that’s what Belle sees in you too,” the mare said as we walked out back and up to a large tub full of water with a small bottle resting right next to it.

“I suppose,” I said, unconvinced. Then I looked at the tub. “So... what do I do?”

“Just sit there, and I’ll do the work,” Fluttershy told me as she pick up the bottle and used her mouth to pull the quark out. She then poured the liquid into the tub and motioned me to get inside. I frowned for a moment before stepping up to it and slowly got in. The water was a nice comfortably warm temperature and nearly reached up to my chest.

“Alright, just stand still, I’m going to dump some of the water over you and start scrubbing you,” Fluttershy said before picking up a small bucket with her teeth. “You should be back to your normal self soon,” her words a bit jumble between the handle but were still clear.

“Okay...” I said as the fact that this was the first bath I’d had in years suddenly hit me which was followed quickly by a bucket of water to the head.

The water washed over me, and followed by another as Fluttershy worked at getting my whole body wet. As she did so, I saw some strands of red flowing down my body, tinting the water a bit. Then after one good splash near my rear I felt... three familiar weights returning... I honestly didn’t want to think how that was possible, but a small sigh of relief left my lips.

“Oh, thank Arceus,” I said quietly to myself.

Fluttershy moved on to a brush and began to give my coat a fairly decent scrubbing. With each firm downstroke, a bit more of the red ‘dye’ was removed, leaving a white patch of my original fur shining through. This went on for some time until at long last I felt like myself again and pulled myself out of the water. As I did so, my fur sagged down around me and I suddenly felt the urge to shake myself off. I glanced at Fluttershy who was smiling at me and decided to take a few lithe steps away before I did so. Water flew everywhere from me and I let out a sigh as a bit of ‘dryness’ returned to me. Then I turned to Fluttershy and saw that she was smiling a bit wider.

“Thank you for your help Fluttershy, I feel like myself again,” I told her with a grin and a shake of my hips. “And that is a very good thing... I don’t know how Belle walks right...”

“You are very welcome,” she said, her smile never leaving. “Now... do you need guidance to get back home, or are you’re good on your own?”

I frowned for a moment before shrugging. “You can come with me to the pool if you’d like or you can stay here... I don’t think I will wait around for Applejack to return. She may call me a criminal if she likes but I simply do not care. Oh, and do tell Celestia that I thank her for the guidance she offered me earlier, as well as Zecora for the aid she offered me.”

“If you feel you can do it alone, then I shall just stay here,” she said before walking up to me to give me a hug. “Be safe... and I hope you live a happy life back home.”

A rumbling purr rolled through my chest and I bent my neck down against her for a long moment as an overwhelming feeling of gratitude washed through me. Then I pulled away and gave her a quick nuzzle. “Thank you for all you’ve done Fluttershy,” I told her before I turned and bounded into the forest, my thoughts of home and more importantly, Belle.

Chapter 20

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I stood before the pool of water and let out a small sigh as I prepared myself for what I was about to do. “Giratina, please, I must speak with you.”

The pool remained the way it was for a long moment before the water shimmered and the gold mask of the Legendary appeared.

“Ah Cres, what is it you want to speak to-”

Before he could finish talking, I leapt forwards and splashed through the water, appearing on the floating island.

“To go home,” I told him flatly.

The dragon blinked a bit as he stared down at me with his red eyes. “Oh? Did you find your absolution, then?”

“No. Because I no longer care... what happened with Henry was horrible and it was my fault one way or another, but what is a worse crime is leaving my Belle all alone and miserable,” I replied tersely. “I do not care of the deal we made, take me home at once!”

Giratina looked at me for a long moment before his head lowered right next to the island edge. “Then hop on board.”

“... just like that?” I asked, blinking in surprise.

“What? If you no longer care what about finding something that really can’t be obtained, and realized there’s something more important than that, who am I to argue against such a request?” he inquired blandly.

I frowned for a moment before shrugging and hopping onto his head... or rather that’s what I meant to do, instead I let out a small yelp of surprise as I found myself floating away from the great dragon.

Giratina easily caught me with his head and began to fly away from the island. “Oops, sorry, forgot you’re not used to the little gravity here.”

My heart was beating rapidly in my chest, but I lowered myself down to his skull and tried to relax. The journey ‘home’ took somewhere between five minutes and an hour, I was mostly too... excited to notice exactly how long it really took. Though... a thought did strike me as we pulled up to the island and I took a tentative step onto it.

“You knew I wouldn’t find any absolution didn’t you?” I asked him.

“Maybe...” he said as he pulled his head upright. “Or maybe I was simply wrong, who knows?”

“Right...” I said, thoroughly unconvinced. Then I turned back to the pool... my home lay beyond it. “So... do I just step through?”

“...do I really have to answer that?” Giratina asked me flatly. Before I could even answer, I felt the light push of something against my back. “Just go, Belle has been just as stubborn as you were waiting on the mountain top all day.”

I gave him a nod. “Thank you...” I told him before I stepped through the pool and suddenly appeared on the mountain top on a flat sheet of ice. Not far away, Belle was sitting there, staring off into the distance and a little farther off, I could see a woman I didn’t know and a familiar man as well, though neither were looking in my direction.

With an overwhelming feeling of happiness I all but skipped off of the edge of the ice and over to Belle. “Belle!” I exclaimed. “I’m back and I’m so incredibly sorry that I was such a f-”

She let out a startled noise and turned to see me, her eyes wide with surprise. Then they narrowed and before I realized it her right paw lashed out and smacked me across the face. I stumbled backwards in surprise.

“That's for having a skull thicker than a Bastiodon's hide!” she shouted at me as I recovered, my eyes widening in fear. What if she hated me?! What if my wrongs were too great to be overcome? What if-? The feeling of her soft lips on mine silenced all thoughts of that nature and I found myself staring into her liquid blue eyes and sinking in as a sense of completeness spread through me. It felt like we held that kiss for years before she finally pulled away. “That's for being okay.”

I blinked several times as tears began to stream down my face and I moved forward to nuzzle her as she nuzzled me in return, tears on her face as well.

“Oh Cres... I was so worried for you... I’m so glad you’re back,” she said, small sniffles escaping as she nuzzled me like there was no tomorrow.

I nuzzled her right back. “Oh Belle, what a fool I have been... for so long I have been mourning Henry that... I... I forgot that there was still someone there who loved me right beside me all along,” I told her quietly. “I don’t know why you love me, or why I deserve your love, or why you think I’m deserving of your loving me... but I don’t care, I love you, Belle.”

“And I love you too Cres... with all of my heart....” she said as she stopped nuzzling and just settled her head rest against mine. “I love you because I want you to be happy, Cres... to move on in life and not setting on one bad moment that was slowly eating you away.... I just couldn’t leave you alone like that.”

“Thank you,” I replied quietly as I leaned against her comforting warmth. “I’m never leaving you again. Ever. I promise.”

“Good... I’m glad to hear that,” she said, holding her head next to mine for a few moments longer before pulling away, tears of joy streaming down her face as she smiled happily at me. “We can finally start a family Cres... after all the time we ‘teased’ about it when we were young,” she said, a small chuckle as emotion poured out of her.

“Yes, I suppose we can,” I said, a small smile crossing my face at the thought.

To my surprise, Belle then began to chuckle softly. “Oh Cres, you make me talk like I’m in a bad romance movie sometimes, you know that?” she asked me with a raised eyebrow.

“I do?” I asked, blinking blankly.

“Yes, yes you do,” she said with another chuckle as she gave me a nuzzle. “Oh well, I’m just happy to have you back and living with me again.”

I smiled and then blinked twice. “Speaking of which, that means that your ‘Roxanne’ will be my trainer now hmm?”

“Well... yes... though, there is another option.” Belle turned her head at the two humans. Matt was slowly talking to Roxanne, filling her in on what was being said while his and her hands were intertwined with each other. “I don’t think Roxanne is going to leave Sinnoh anytime soon.”

I blinked and then looked up at the man who had kept me company a few times and even saved my life once. Then I glanced at the dark haired woman who was still holding his hand, small tears on her face.

“Hmm... I think I should speak with Matt,” I said, before giving my love a soft kiss on the lips. Then I walked up to the man. “Hello, Matt.”

The man nodded his head at me. “Cres, long time no see,” he said with a small smile. “So... finally found what you’re looking for?”

“Yes, and it was right in front of me for years,” I said, letting out a small sigh as I sat down in front of him. “I... was wondering... perhaps if you and Roxanne are not going to be going your separate ways for some time... if you would perhaps allow me to join your team? I... would ask Roxanne... but I do not know her. And you... you’ve saved my life, Matt... and kept me company and...” I trailed off, unable to get anything else out without feeling like an even greater fool.

“I gladly accept you to become part of my team,” Matt said with a small chuckle. “I am starting a new gym, featuring dark types. I was thinking of getting an Absol for one of my team, I would be honored if you take that spot.”

A smile grew on my face and I walked forwards to rub against his side, a soft purr flowing through me. I had a Trainer again... The very thought filled my eyes with tears. Finally... Finally I could begin to be whole again.

“I think I see why my little Belle likes him so much,” Roxanne said, her voice strangely reminding me of a certain purple pony. “He looks so... sweet.” She knelt down and began to gently pet me, her fingers stroking all of the right places and for the first time in forever I felt... complete. That feeling was doubled as Belle walked up beside me and gently pressed against me with her familiar warm body. Finally, Matt knelt down as best he could and held out a Pokéball at me.

“So... ready to start your new life?” he asked me.

I grinned and reached up with my paw, laying it lightly against the front of the Pokéball.

Epilogue

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“He left?!” Applejack shouted, outraged.

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied with a firm nod of her head. “He said that he wanted to go home, so I let him.”

The earth pony let out a sour grunt and frowned. “Hmph... typical excuse for a criminal like him to make... if he ever dares to show his face again, I’ll make sure he won’t have a chance to leave again.” She said with a single stomp of her hoof.

“I think not,” Celestia said calmly as she looked down at Applejack. “What you should do is report him to Twilight or the local guards, Applejack.”

The mare closed her eyes and let out a steamed sigh. “Yes... Princess Celestia....” she replied reluctantly.

“Good,” Celestia said before giving Fluttershy a smile. “Fluttershy, if you’ll excuse me, Applejack and I have some things to talk about,” the alicorn said as she put a wing over Applejack’s back and turned around walking back down the path and somehow managing to move Applejack along with her with the simple touch.

The pony slowly followed Celestia down the path until they were a good distance away from Fluttershy’s cottage, but not close enough to Ponyville itself for any to hear what was said. Then the alicorn released Applejack and looked down at her.

“Applejack, do you know what punishment I was going to give Cres for his crime?” she asked the mare.

“A few days in a fireproof cell is the proper idea that comes to my mind,” Applejack replied in an all too sour tone.

“No, a few days of house arrest in Fluttershy’s cottage and a few minute lecture, actually,” Celestia replied with a small shrug.

“But he violated too many of our laws for a simple house arrest!” the mare protested.

“No, he did not,” Celestia stated calmly. “In reality, he violated very few.”

“He killed on our land, resisted arrest when we tried to contain him, assaulted me multiple times, and breathed fire near my sister! How is that deserving of only a house arrest!?” Applejack demanded, nearly forgetting who she arguing with.

Celestia simply smiled down at Applejack and a slight chill ran down the mare’s spine as Celestia straightened just a little bit. “I already forgave him for his previous ‘crimes’ if they can be called as such for a person from an entirely different world,” the alicorn explained slowly, as if she was talking to a particularly slow student. “His assaults on you, if a single scratch can be called as such, were purely self defense motivated due to your attempt to trap him a a pitt, something that is quite out of line for how such things are normally pursued by law enforcement. Furthermore, he then went on to save the life of Zecora, who while she may not be an Equestrian Citizen, is still technically under the protection of the Equestrian Government. For that I gave him amnesty from whatever crime he committed against you up to that point.”

“And breathing fire near my sister?” Applejack asked.

“Was the one crime that I was going to agree with,” Celestia said, nodding her head. “However, the circumstances behind it were not worthy of any real jail time.”

“Circumstances?! He breathed fire near my sister, not only that but her friends as well! He could’ve given them serious burns or worse!” the mare growled.

“Which is why he would have been under house arrest,” Celestia explained, still smiling slightly at Applejack, continuing to speak slowly. “However, given the world that Cres comes from, not to mention the fact that I highly doubt he intended to hurt them. I believe a pointed lecture would have been more then enough to correct his mistake and the house arrest would have further driven home the point.”

Applejack closed her eyes and emitted hard sigh as her right hoof dug into the dirt. “World he came from... hmph why do I keep hearing that as an excuse? It shouldn’t matter what world he comes from, our laws are our laws. It shouldn’t matter if he’s from another ‘world’.”

“And yet it does,” Celestia replied. “Applejack, the place where Cres comes from is full of creatures powerful enough to level Canterlot in a matter of hours if they truly wished. Nearly every Pokémon there can breathe fire, or ice, or lightning, some can destroy other’s minds with their own and still others are the spirits of those long dead come back to life with the sole purpose of harvesting souls. My point is that if Cres had wished to harm your sister and her friends, he very easily could have, furthermore, he should not be overly punished for something that comes as naturally to him as breathing.”

The earth pony grunted sourly again as she tilted her head away and frowned in thought. She closed her eyes for a momented. “Hmph... fine... but if he does come again, I will report him.”

“Good,” Celestia said with a nod as a bit of her regalness fell away again. “Though I still think there are some things we should discuss.”

“What?” the mare asked as she opened her eyes and glanced up at the alicron.

“You did not respond to Cres the way you have responded to many other problems that you’ve faced in the last few years. I’d like to know why, if you don’t mind,” Celestia requested with a gentle smile. “After all, you are the bearer of an Element of Harmony; you have a higher standard to live up to than the average pony.”

Applejack closed her eyes once more and stayed silent for a moment. “...I will admit that I should have reported him to the guard sooner... but Twilight and Fluttershy thought they could handle and I trusted them enough in that.... I only acted accordingly since then.”

Celestia looked down at Applejack for a moment before she let out a slow sigh, sounding incredibly weary. “Applejack, I’ve been a politician for longer than you can comprehend, please don’t try to avoid my real question.”

“I’m not avoiding it, I’m answering it as honestly as I can,” she replied opening her eyes and giving Celestia a straightforward look.

“I’m not speaking of the way you acted in terms of the law Applejack, I’m speaking of the venom, spite, and obvious hatred you have had towards Cres since the beginning of this sordid affair,” Celestia said, a bit of her regality returning to her. “I would like to know why you insisted that he was a ‘no good varmint’ no matter what others said, including Fluttershy, Discord, and myself.”

“...he kept thinking our laws meant nothing to him, I just don’t like it when predators think that way,” Applejack replied.

“I see, and yet, he obeyed the laws that he was told of, did he not? Regardless of what he said, I do not recall a single incident to the contrary once something was explained to him,” the alicorn said with a slightly raised eyebrow.

“Then he should shut his trap instead of complaining over them all the time,” the mare remarked. “To me... that showed signs of him thinking of breaking them.”

“And yet he didn’t,” Celestia reinforced. “So, does that make him wrong for voicing his opinions?”

“Does it make me wrong to form an opinion off of his?” Applejack countered.

“Of course not,” the alicorn replied with a small shrug. “It simply means that you were exercising your rights as a citizen of Equestria. However, I still find it rather troubling that you were never able to look beyond the outer ‘shell’ that he surrounded himself with and continued to treat him like a dangerous sphinx.”

Applejack’s eyes blinked simply and her tail swished agitatedly. “Because, Celestia... none of my friends seemed to take precautions around him, so I simply filled in the job.” She turned around. “Now... is there anything else? I have some trees that need to be watered.”

“Only that perhaps in the future you should try to be less judgemental about someone until you truly know that person,” Celestia answered. “Perhaps you could write me a report about it by, say... the end of the week?”

“...I might...” she replied as she started to walk down the path. “Good day to you, Princess Celestia.”

“And the same to you Applejack,” Celestia called to her before teleporting herself back to Canterlot, letting out a small sigh as she arrived.

“Did it not go well, sister?” Luna inquired from the table where she was looking over the latest bills to be passed and deciding whether or not to approve them.

“It went about as well as talking to a noble,” Celestia replied as she walked over to sit across from her sister. “Not an incredibly stubborn one, but a noble nonetheless.”

“Ah,” Luna said as her horn glowed and a teapot and cup hovered over to Celestia and generous amount was poured into it and passed into her sister’s waiting magic field. “Is young Cres alright?”

Celestia took a long sip from the teacup before let out a relaxed sigh. “If what Fluttershy said was true... he had already gone to see Giratina and went back to the Pokémon World.”

Luna blinked twice and then she frowned. “That... is unfortunate,” she said, an uncharacteristic softness entering her voice. “I... rather wanted him to relay a message for me.”

The solar alicron smiled softly to her sister. “I’m sure he will visit soon sister... you know him and being on time.”

Luna snorted and shook her head slightly. “I suppose, really... it is my own fault for not speaking with Cres sooner, then perhaps he could have informed Giri of my release... no matter.” The alicorn looked back down at the bills in front of her. “How do you feel about raising the income tax?”

Celestia shook her head lightly. “Well... it depends on the reason why,” she replied as she picked up a copy of the bill and the two began to work.

I let out a happy sigh as I leaned against Belle, safe and dry, and WARM inside of Matt and Roxanne’s apartment. The two of us were snuggling together on the Pokémon bed beside the large one that the man and woman shared and I was very happy to be there, especially with Belle beside me.

Belle nuzzled me, her soft fur rolling across my cheek. “It feels nice to do this again,” she said with a soft chuckle.

“You’re telling me.” I asked, a chuckle of my own rolling out of my throat as I nuzzled her back. “A great deal of my time up on the mountain when I was not praying was wishing that I had you there to warm my rest.”

“Oh, I bet,” she said with a soft purr. “Though if you ever do something like this again... I’ll hunt you down and personally make sure you won’t be able to run again.”

I gulped. She meant that.

“I believe you,” I said quietly, a soft purr of my own building in my chest as I leaned closer to her. “Believe me... I won’t ever do it again... I lost so much running away from you.”

“I’m glad you came to that conclusion,” she said as she gave me a small lick across my cheek.

A long sigh left my throat as I closed my eyes and let wrapped a forepaw around hers, and leaned deeply against her crimson fur. I didn’t speak. She leaned against me equal and a soft pleasant purred rolled throughout her body and the two of us lay against each other quietly for maybe an half an hour before she spoke.

“So... do you want to tell me why it took you nearly a month to get back from wherever Giratina sent you to?” she asked.

“It was only a week there,” I answered, pained by hearing the word ‘month’ exit her lips. I’d wasted an entire month of time with her... not to mention the two years before that. Small tears formed in my eyes and I pulled my head away from her, looking away as they rolled down my cheeks. She didn’t deserve me.

“A week?” she said softly to herself. “I guess the theory of time flowing in different worlds are true... still...” I felt a soft nuzzle rub across my neck. “You’re back, and that’s what matter.”

“I-I guess,” I agreed, still crying, unable to face her.

“Cres... please look at me... there’s no reason to cry in shame,” she said softly to me.

I still looked away, the tears coming heavier. “I... I abandoned you Belle... I... I did it for something that doesn’t exist,” I moaned. “I was... so caught up in my own-ego that I-I-I threw away the most important thing in my life to-to-to pray on a mountain!” I shouted, my own failures and stupidity weighing even heavier on me.

Belle remained silent for a long moment. “Yes... yes, you did. You made a mistake... a very foolish mistake,” she said, not belittling me or anything, just softly speaking to me in a calm tone. “Yet... that doesn’t change the way I feel about you Cres. I love you... and I have ever since we were kits.” I felt another nuzzle, feeling some wet along the way. “Nothing will ever change that Cres... nothing. So please... stop crying and let us just be happy for the rest of the night.”

I let out another sob and then turned to burry my muzzle in her neck. I stayed there for a long time, breathing in her comforting scent as my crying began to weaken into sniffles and then eventually nothing at all. Eventually, I lifted my face up to see Belle’s own wet cheeks staring over at me before she leaned over to give me several licks across my tear stained face.

“Feeling better?” she asked.

“A... a little,” I said softly before I licked away the remnants of her tears. “Sorry my love... you know how stupid I can be at times.”

“I know,” she said with a soft chuckle. “That’s one of the reason why I stick around you... how else would you survive?” she add with a slightly teasing tone.

A soft chuckle left my lips at our old joke. “Oh, I’m sure I wouldn’t, I’d be starving to death somewhere.”

“Exactly,” she agreed with another chuckle as she licked me once more and rested her head against mine.

I let out a sigh, this one happy. “So... when are we going to start thinking about starting a family?”

“Oh, I’ve been thinking about that for a long time actually... and part of my plan is already in motion,” she said with another soft chuckle. “We already got a place to live together, good trainers to live with, and a nice bed for us... all we have to do is wait for my time to be ready to come,” she said, giving me a lick across the cheek.

“Hmm... not too much longer if I remember my dates right,” I commented with a small frown. “Do you think we should do a bit of practice?”

“I don’t have any objections to that,” she said with a sly smile.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” I said, leaning over to give her a nuzzle. “I just hope I’m not too rusty, two years is a lot of time for ‘rust’ to form’.”

“I’m sure we’ll be able to clear that rust soon,” she said with another lick. “You might be foolish... but you’ve never been a slow learner when you really wanted to learn something.”

“True...” I agreed as I got up and walked over to the door to the room, closing it, happy that we were more or less alone in the apartment with Matt and Roxanne out doing something. “Well then... lets see if I can’t recall how this dance goes.”