> Ninja Pikachu > by Raichu > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Arrival > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “HELP!” Scootaoo screamed as she fell. She felt as if this was a huge mistake from the beginning. She had only been trying to glide by jumping off Rainbow Dash’s house when her wing cramped up. She shouldn’t have been up there in the first place. She was spending the night at her sister’s house when they had an argument about her not being able to fly. Rainbow Dash insisted that Scootaloo should try some easier flight exercises but Scootaloo wanted to actually learn. Rainbow had ended up saying that Scootaloo’s wings were much too small at the moment and flight exercises were for her own good. This made Scootaloo angry and she wanted to prove to Rainbow Dash that she could fly despite her undersized wings. She was now falling to what she assumed would be her sudden and hopefully quick death. Below her, ponies pointed at her. “Help!” She screamed, hoping that somepony, anypony would save her. Then again, ponies in Ponyville normally pointed and panicked when something like this happened and her best bet was probably Rainbow Dash who probably couldn’t even hear her. Who was she kidding? She was going to die. Suddenly, a moving solid something knocked her off course and threw her across the air. She hit a rooftop and tumbled onto it. She blinked as she tried to get over her near death experience when a dark shadow came over top her and she looked up to see somepony standing next to her. “Rainbow Dash?” She asked as she looked up. It was not Rainbow Dash and it was certainly not a pony. It was a creature that was about her size. It was wearing a ninja suit. The only thing that stuck out from under the ninja suit were two long yellow ears that had black tips. It smiled at her and ran to the edge of the rooftop. Scootaloo stared at it in awe and it stared back. Then it looked at her sideways and turned to leave. “Wait! What’s you name! Who are you?” Scootaloo asked. It saluted her. “Pika!” It said and leaned over the edge just enough so it fell as it saluted her. Scootaloo raced to the edge, but when she looked over, it was gone. *** “You were saved by a masked creature.” Twilight asked Scootaloo in disbelief. “Yeah!” Scootaloo said as Rainbow Dash stood nearby. Nurse Redheart looked the filly over. “Well, no harm seems to be done.” Nurse Redheart said. “No physical injuries anyways.” “What you saw might’ve been an illusion.” Twilight said. “You might’ve passed out. The wind could have gotten in your eyes.” “Then who saved me?” Scootaloo asked. “It wasn’t Rainbow Dash.” “Well, whatever it was, you might as well thank it the next time you see it.” Nurse Redheart said as Twilight glared at the Nurse. “I-if it even exists.” She corrected nervously under Twilight’s harsh glare. “We don’t want to encourage an unhealthy overly active imagination.” Twilight said as Scootaloo hopped to the floor. “You think I’m lying?” Scootaloo asked Twilight. “Well, I think you were suffering from the shock of a near death experience.” Twilight said. “It’s natural to think that something mysterious and odd saved your life.” “I know what I saw.” Scootaloo muttered. “I know.” Twilight said. “Now move on. I’ve got to talk to Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo looked at Twilight who smiled at her and Rainbow Dash who stared at the ground. She turned and left angrily, feeling as though no one believed her which happened to be the unfortunate case. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ “You didn’t save her?” Twilight asked Rainbow once Scootaloo and the Nurse were gone. Rainbow shook her head. “I didn’t even know she was up there.” Rainbow said angrily. “That kid…” “Did something happen between you two?” Twilight asked and Rainbow turned to glare at the window. “Yeah.” “What was it about?” Twilight asked in concern. “We were discussing those flight exercises I’ve been giving her and she told me she wanted to actually learn how to fly. Well, I didn’t want to push her too hard because her wings… are… you know, little undersized for a filly her age. I told her that and she got angry at me.” Rainbow Dash explained. “I think she wanted to prove that she could handle actual flight exercises by jumping off the house.” Twilight said and walked over to her friend. “You should have just told her that it was for the best and that you didn’t want her to get hurt.” “Yeah.” “Well, what do you think saved her? It certainly wasn’t you so who did it?” Twilight asked. “I don’t know. Ditzy maybe?” Rainbow suggested. “Whatever it was, I’m sure glad it was there.” “A masked creature. Do you think somepony’s become another mare do well?” “She said ‘masked creature’ Twilight. I don’t think so.” “Then what would it be?” Twilight asked. “I wonder if it’s anything native to Ponyville.” “Maybe. Why did you tell her that she was imagining things if you thought it was real?” “Did you see her face, Rainbow?” “No. Was she ok?” “When ponies receive a near death experience, they normally fall in love with the one who saved them!” “Um what?” Rainbow Dash began to laugh at that absurd statement. Twilight frowned however. “How do you know?” “It doesn’t matter how. She needs to be told that it was a fake.” “So she doesn’t fall in love.” “Exactly!” “And why shouldn’t she?” Rainbow asked as if this was all some kind of joke. “The love is fake.” “What?” “The love isn’t real. What she feels for her hero is a fake. Trust me, the last thing she needs is to know that somepony probably did save her.” “So if I saved her…” Rainbow began with a frown and Twilight shook her head. “No! It only works when you don’t know who saved you! Besides, she’s a little filly. There’s no way she needs to go through this horrible process.” “Process?” “Look, Rainbow, I’ve been through this before. It’s not pretty.” “Sure, Twilight.” “I get it if you don’t believe me. But love can be destruction.” “Uh huh.” Rainbow said in disbelief. “I want to find out what that thing was anyways.” “For science?” “Exactly!” > Zaps > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scootaloo walked outside. Why wouldn’t anypony believe her? What she had seen was real even if everyone thought there was something wrong with her mind. In fact, the thing that she had saw wasn’t even a pony and she was sure of it. Oh that dark ninja suit and the way it masked the creature that saved her… “Pika!” She knew that sound. It was the sound of the same masked creature that saved her. It only appeared when there was danger though, right? So who was in trouble? “AH!” Scootaloo began to run towards the screams. She came around towards the point where the Everfree Forest began to touch the edges of town. A timberwolf was advancing on Sweetie Belle. “Hey ugly!” Scootaloo shouted and ran towards it. “Over here!” The timberwolf looked up but before it could move, it got a fist full of paw. The mysterious masked creature was back and it punched the timberwolf right in the jaw. “Pikachu!” The creature shouted and slapped its shiny metallic looking lightning bolt shaped tail into the timberwolf’s face. The timberwolf stumbled backward while the creature landed lightly on the ground in front of Sweetie Belle. The timberwolf shook its head and growled at the creature. “Pi-ka-chu!” The creature shouted as bright yellow electricity shot out of its body and hit the timberwolf. The timberwolf shook and then collapsed into branches. Scootaloo turned to the creature. It ran up to Sweetie Belle who stared at it. Scootaloo ran over to them. “Hey!” She said and ran up to it. “I didn’t get a name from before.” “You know him?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Yes.” Scootaloo said. The creature stuck out a paw. “Pikachu.” It said. “So your name’s Pikachu?” Scootaloo asked. Pikachu nodded. It was some kind of animal, possibly a squirrel, but more her size. It had a lightning bolt shaped tail which was odd and only its brown eyes and yellow ears with the black tips came out through the suit. “Well, I’m Scootaloo! This is Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo introduced. “Thanks for saving my life from before.” “Pika.” Pikachu said and looked past Sweetie Belle. Twilight was running right towards them. She seemed frantic and unhappy. “Pika Pi.” Pikachu said and turned to run straight into the Everfree Forest. Scootaloo stared after it even as Twilight began to call her name. She didn’t answer. All she could see were those brown eyes that stared at her in concern. Those twitchy yellow ears. All she could think about was the Pikachu. _________________________________________________________________________________ Pikachu jumped over the trees of the Everfree. He ran through the grass and hopped over a couple of bushes. A shadow passed over him, but he didn’t stop until he came to a small clearing. The clearing had two others there. He slowed down and walked into the campfire. “Hello Pikachu.” Said one of them. She seemed to be a creature that stood on two legs, was very short with white fur covering her entire body. She had two tails that curled up at the ends. Her legs were short and blue, and she had blue fur covering her neck in the shape of a small scarf. Her head had a blue furry top like a hat and two ears that were folded together on the top. “I set up the psychic field so we can talk telepathically.” “Thanks.” Pikachu said and looked at the clearing. “So where have you been?” She asked and picked up a hammer from a tool box. “There’s a town a couple miles that way.” Pikachu said and pointed towards the town. “I was only exploring.” “Uh huh. You know that I completely heard your Thunder attack. What was really going on?” She asked. Pikachu sighed and his ears drooped. “I was saving some of the local kid creatures from something.” He explained. “Zaps Pikachu!” She scolded. “You know the rules! We can’t mess with anything in this universe! We aren’t natural here and causing any sort of disturbance here might alert our presence. We can’t do anything that mess up the flow of the world here!” “I know, but she was falling!” Zaps protested. “I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.” “At least tell me you wore your ninja suit.” She sighed. He nodded. “Good. If these… whatever they are find out what we are, they’ll go ballistic! We’re not naturally a part of this world. If we attract attention to ourselves then who knows what will happen!” “I’m sorry, Tufts.” Zaps apologized. “So how’s the portal coming along?” “Fine.” Tufts said and began to walk away. Pikachu followed her across the clearing towards another creature who was sitting down and eating a sandwich. “Steel sent out the distress signal.” Tufts said as she walked up to Steel. “We’re going to get help, but not for a while.” “Hey Lucario.” Zaps said. “I mean, Steel.” “What have you been doing for the past couple of days, Stripes?” Steel asked. “My name isn’t Stripes! It’s Zaps!” Zaps said angrily. “Whatever.” Tufts said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s just a name.” “Yeah well, if what if I called you bunnelby?” Zaps asked Tufts who gasped. “You wouldn’t dare.” Tufts said angrily. “I’d fury swipe you to pieces.” “Try me.” Zaps growled. Steel set a paw between the two. “Stop fighting. Fighting won’t get us home sooner.” He said and looked up at the sun went down. “It’s getting dark. The sun goes down fast here so I’ll keep the first watch this time. You guys sleep.” “Are you sure, Steel?” Zaps asked. “Yeah.” He said. “I’m sure.” “Ok.” Zaps said and as he watched Tufts make her way over to the campfire, he sat down beside Steel who was fiddling with an odd machine. “This will take us home.” Steel explained. “I just keep sending out signals.” “You don’t look so good.” Zaps commented. “This object only works by using the strength of an aura. Mine is strong enough to make this work but it drains my energy.” Steel said. “I heard from Tufts that you saved a local kid.” “Yeah.” Zaps replied. “I’ve always wanted to be a hero, you know?” “And now you get your wish.” Steel said. “It’s hard to believe that we all got here by making a wish.” “What do you mean?” “On the night we all got transported here, there was a shooting star. I made a wish and so did you and Tufts it seems. We all got put here by mistake because of a wish we made. Now, this object that came with us is our only chance back it seems.” “Oh.” Zaps ears fell. “I wished to be a hero. I guess I can here. What did you wish for?” “A chance to begin again. A chance to start over with a new life.” Steel said. “I got that wish.” “Do you know what Tufts wished for?” Zaps asked. Steel shrugged. “Dunno. She’s very mysterious.” Steel said and looked behind him at Tufts who was warming her paws by a small fire. “Very.” “Do you know what kind of Pokémon she is?” Zaps whispered. Steel only stared at his object. He sighed and looked at Pikachu. “Hardly.” Steel said. “She’s nice though.” “I suppose.” Zaps said. “She’s a little bossy though.” “I am not bossy!” Tufts said as she came around the side of them too. Zaps jumped but Steel only stared at her. “I am simply taking charge since neither of you seem capable nor wanting to do so.” Zaps’s cheeks sparked with electricity. Tuft’s eyes glowed. Seeing that a fight was about to start, Steel slammed a fist between the two. “I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TWO TO GO TO BED! BED NOW!” He barked. The two jumped then scuttled off towards the fire. Steel watched them take place on opposite sides of the fire and snuggle into the unfamiliar grass before falling asleep. Steel turned back to his object which began to glow blue. It shot a blue light clear into the sky as if a beacon and it pierced the heavens and a wave of blue light echoed across the dark sky. > The Trap > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “You saw it too so you have to believe me now!” Scootaloo said as Twilight paced the library. Twilight had seen Pikachu and unfortunately it seemed that Scootaloo was right. There was no denying that something saved Scootaloo no matter how much she wanted to. “I do.” Twilight replied unhappily. “What was that creature?” “I don’t know.” Twilight said as she levitated every book she had off the shelves. “I asked Fluttershy but she doesn’t know either. I explained the creature to her and she’d never heard of it.” “Huh.” Scootaloo said. “So it’s never been discovered before?” “Nope.” Twilight said. “We’re the first to see a creature other than an eel with the ability to electrify another creature. I wonder where the electricity comes from. I wonder where the creature comes from. I haven’t seen one of those before so it must be a long way from home. You said its name was Pikachu?” “Yeah.” Scootaloo sighed then shook her head as if she was coming out of a daze. Twilight hoped she wasn’t falling for the small creature. “A Pikachu. It’s really extraordinary and it can talk.” Twilight said. “I’d love to study it some more. Maybe get some fur samples. I bet there’s a whole race of undiscovered Pikachu’s out there! I wonder what their culture is like.” “Did it seem odd that it was wearing a ninja suit?” Scootaloo asked. “A ninja suit?” Twilight repeated. “Yeah, a ninja suit.” Scootaloo said. “And it ran into the Everfree Forest.” “The Everfree Forest is a mysterious place. Nopony thought explore it because of the dangers that it holds, but perhaps there were more mysteries to unlock than danger. The only things that seem to lure it out are when ponies are in trouble.” Twilight said. “So Scootaloo, do you mind if I use you as bait? We have to know more about it.” “Sure.” Scootaloo said as she imagined Pikachu coming to save her once again. She imagined them cuddling and drinking smoothies when Twilight’s raised eyebrows snapped her out of it. She looked up at Twilight with a grin. “I’d love to.” *** Scootaloo stood on top of a cloud. Twilight smiled from down below with all her scientific equipment that buzzed and growled underneath the cloud. It was high enough so that it might seem like Scootaloo had slipped off inside of deliberately falling. Her screams would be enough to signal the masked hero so Twilight could study it. “Now!” Twilight shouted. Scootaloo’s wings buzzed. She knew that was the signal. She jumped off the cloud and fell. “Help!” She yelled loudly. “Help me!” Suddenly Scootaloo stopped. She looked down. She was still above the ground but she wasn’t moving anymore. The ground was still far below her, but she wasn’t falling anymore. She wondered if she had jumped at the wrong moment and Twilight had caught her, but a call from Twilight told her that wasn’t it. “Scootaloo?” Twilight called. “What happened?” Scootaloo felt herself slowly float down and touch the ground. Once she was on the ground, Twilight came running over. “What was that?” She asked. Scootaloo was a little frightened herself. Perhaps Pikachu was a bit more than just an electric creature. Maybe it had psychic powers. “I don’t know.” Scootaloo said nervously. “Pika!” Standing a few feet away from them stood Pikachu and another creature both of which were in matching ninja outfits. “Pika Pi!” Pikachu said loudly. Twilight looked at Scootaloo then them. “Hello.” She said nicely. “My name is Twilight Sparkle and you must be Pikachu.” “Pikachu.” Pikachu said as Twilight came a little closer. “I wanted to thank you for saving Scootaloo.” Twilight said. “She’s really grateful.” “Pika Pika Pikachu. Pi Pika.” Pikachu said. Twilight paused. “Can you only say your own name?” Twilight asked with a slight frown. “Pi.” “Ok…” Pikachu turned around, but Twilight ran in front of it. “I was wondering, Pikachu, if you were from Equestria.” Twilight asked and levitated a clipboard and a quill into the air. Pikachu looked from the clipboard to Twilight’s smile. “Pi…Pika.” Pikachu said slowly. “Pikachu.” “Okay…” “Pika…chu.” “Um…” Twilight said. “Uh huh.” “Pi.” Pikachu made a movement with its paw. It drew an imaginary circle in the air then clapped its paws together. “Ka.” Then it did a spin. “Chu.” “Right.” Twilight said. “Could you repeat that?” Suddenly the other creature made a paw motion beside Pikachu. Its eyes glowed white and it turned to Twilight. “There.” It said in Twilight’s mind. “Now you can understand me. Right?” “Wow! Telepathy!” Twilight said and bent down so she could see the creature eye to eye. “Are you Pikachu’s friend?” “Yep. The name’s Tufts.” She said and patted Pikachu’s back. “This is my bud, Pikachu. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience, but we must get going.” “Wait! I was hoping that I could ask you a couple of questions.” Twilight said. Pikachu leaned its head to the side. “What kind of questions?” Asked Pikachu. Scootaloo slumped to the ground and groaned. Pikachu’s voice was like sweet as honey and deep. It made Pikachu seem even more attractive to Scootaloo. Wait. Attractive? Scootaloo didn’t like Pikachu. She wasn’t even sure what Pikachu was. She was supposed to be cool and being in love was not cool at all. Pikachu obviously wasn’t even a pony. She was not in love. Right? “Yes, well, we can’t stay.” Tufts said. Pikachu nodded. “Wait!” Scootaloo shouted and everybody looked at her. She blushed deeply from all the stares. “Why do you have to go now Pikachu?” “I… just do.” Pikachu said. “Bye.” “Tootles.” Tufts said and their image shimmered as they disappeared. > Home > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zaps landed slowly as they teleported back. As soon as they landed, Tufts glared down at him. He wondered what he did wrong. “Uh…” “YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN HURT? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? THAT… THAT…” Tufts yelled. She slowly began to calm down and took a deep sigh. “That creature back there wanted to study you! We’re obviously not from this world and is researchers in this world are already looking for us. You need to stop saving local kids so that you don’t accidently get captured!” “Sorry.” Zaps apologized. “Sorry isn’t good enough. I have to ask you to stop saving those kids. It’s for our safety. We could get found by the scientists and they might want to study us and then we’ll never get home.” Tufts said as Zaps took off his mask. She forced hers off using psychic. “It’s for the best.” “For the best?” Zaps asked and shook his head. “I think not. I’ve always wanted to be a hero, Tufts. This is my chance, you know? I promise I’ll be careful.” “Promises aren’t good enough.” Tufts said. Zaps shook his head again. “Yeah, well, I don’t remember you being in charge.” Zaps said and Tufts frowned. “I’m not going to get us in trouble ok? I finally get the chance to be a hero and then you tear it all down!” “I’m only trying to help.” Tufts muttered. “Well, you’re doing a terrible job at it.” Zaps said as Steel began to walk over. He was holding the object. “Hello you two.” Steel said as he looked down at Zaps and Tufts. “I got us a way home.” “Yes!” Zaps and Tufts both said. They turned to him happily. “I was able to contact the other side through a dream. Palkia’s going to send us home.” Steel said. “However, he will not arrive for a couple of days. Until then, we need to stay here and wait. Which means no saving ponies, Zaps.” Tufts smirked at Zaps who rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He said and ran over to the fire pit. “You may want to be a hero but sometimes you can be a hero by doing nothing.” Steel called. “Doing nothing at all will save us in the long run and keep us from being discovered. The less they know about us, the better.” “You called them ponies? Like Ponyta?” Tufts asked as Zaps attempted to light a fire. “Yes, but without the fire. Imagine a Ponyta as a normal type and it knows no moves whatsoever. Only those Ponyta can fly and use telekinesis. That is what they are.” Steel described. “They sound dangerous.” Tufts shivered. “I’d hate to go near them at all!” “Well, they’re very weak so you have to be careful never to do anything against them. Even a simple thundershock can easily knock one unconscious.” Steel said. “So you’ve done some exploring of your own, huh?” Tufts asked. Steel nodded as Zaps ran back to the two. Steel sat down and laid out a map. “This place we’ve landed in is called Equestria. It is a land filled with ponies.” Steel said and pointed to a place on the map. “We’ve landed in what’s known as the Everfree Forest. Ponies stay out of here for the most part. That’s good for us. The local town is called Ponyville.” “What a unique name.” Tufts said sarcastically. “In any case, there are only ponies. There are things called changelings, griffins and dragons though,” Steel said when Tufts eyes began to shine with glee, “I don’t believe they are our type of dragon.” “Darn.” Tufts said. “Well, I want you guys to be careful. Those ponies are still dangerous. We can easily defeat them if we have to but I don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.” Steel said and looked at the sky. The sun was beginning to set again. “Right.” Zaps said. “I’ll go find some berries.” “The sun sets fast here,” Tufts commented as Zaps raced off. “And I’ve never heard of Equestria before. Are we on another planet or another dimension?” “We’re stuck in the past.” Steel whispered. He sat in the grass as the moon rose into the sky. “The past?” Tufts gasped. “These ponies are our ancestors?” “Not entirely. This is our world in the past from what I gather, but Equestria is small. This one country is filled with beings that well end up turning into Ponyta. These are their ancestors.” “You’re lying.” Tufts punched Steel’s arm with her paw. She smiled. “No way.” “Fine. I have no clue where we are. We’re just here.” Steel said and smiled back. “The faster we leave the better.” “I agree.” Tufts said. “So you said we all got here by wishing on a falling star?” “I can only assume so.” “Then what about me? I didn’t wish on star,” Tufts said. Steel looked at her in surprise. “I was evolving, but something went wrong and I ended up here in the middle of the woods.” “That’s interesting. Perhaps evolution can get us home quicker than Palkia can.” He muttered. “Palkia isn’t coming for a while, is he?” Tufts asked. “You just said that to Zaps and I to make us feel better.” “Correct. I have no clue when Palkia will get here. I’m sorry for lying, but Zaps seems to be youngest out of all of us at least mentally.” Steel said. “I’d hate to upset him or give him hope that he can be a hero. He simply can’t. It would put us all in danger.” “It’s ok,” Tufts said with a nod of her head. “It was for the best. But if evolution can get us home, how would it be possible? I can’t evolve further and Zaps needs a thunderstone to evolve, something that may not exist in this world.” “But I can evolve.” Steel said and opened his fist to reveal a small red stone with a spiral blue and red on the inside. “Mega evolution!” Tufts said and jumped up. “Wow! That would work!” “You know about this?” Steel asked as he held up the stone in the moonlight. “Yeah, duh. I’m from Kalos.” Tufts said and pounded her chest. “Born and raised there.” “I’m not sure how I would get it work though. I don’t have my trainer here-” “You have a Pokemon trainer?” Tufts asked. “Oh my gosh, so do I! Man, we have so much in common! She’s probably worried about me.” “Mine too. I hope she doesn’t worry.” Steel said. “She has the other stone needed for my evolution. I wish she were here.” “Huh.” Tufts said. “Maybe I could try to psychically connect to mine. I could show her a picture of your trainer and get her to contact yours from the other side, but I’m not sure if Lucy would be up to it. Where does your trainer live?” “Kalos.” He replied. “Yours?” “Lucy lives in Kalos too. If I could contact her or… oh! I could contact Gardevoir! She’ll understand the message and receive it faster because she’s a psychic type like I am. Then she can tell Lucy.” “You’re sure this will work?” Steel asked as Tufts sat down and opened her ears. Her eyes glowed white as Steel sat down beside her. “Yes.” She said in an echoing voice. “I’m sure.” > The Battle > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finding berries? This was stupid. The last few things that had tried to eat had nearly poisoned them so how would berries make a difference? However, if Zaps hadn’t offered to grab the food supply then they probably would have given him a kid’s task like fetching water or starting the fire. Steel and Tufts always liked to boss Zaps around like he was the child. Not that he wasn’t a little young for even a Pikachu. In fact, his evolution from a Pichu to a Pikachu was unlike anything his clan had seen. He was a little young for an evolution so when he evolved, his clan regarded him as their long lost hero. He tried to be their hero but he couldn't. He wasn't strong enough. So one night he made a wish and ended up the next day in a land of ponies as Steel called them. At least he was surrounded by others. Zaps picked some suspicious looking berries off of a bush. They looked like Oran berries only if Oran berries had orange stripes and looked like Pecha berries. He picked a few off. They were probably edible. In this world, he could fulfill his dream. He could become the hero that he had always wanted to be. They wouldn’t let him. Tufts and Steel. They treated him like a little kid. They refused to let him fulfill his wish. He was obviously brought to this world as a possible test or a way to start anew. He knew they were also right and that if they got caught then they may never find their way home again. But did he really want to go home? Zaps listened. The forest was silent again. There was a crackling noise though like something was crushing leaves. Zaps jumped into the nearest bush and peeked out. It was that pony that he saved from before. Scootaloo. She seemed to be looking for something. “Pikachu?” She called out unexpectedly. “Pikachu?” She seemed almost nervous. She was walking very slowly and kept looking around. “Hello?” She called. Zaps leapt out of the bushes. “Hello?” He asked. She looked towards him and smiled. “Hey Pikachu.” She said happily. “How’s it going?” “Great,” Zaps replied. He knew she probably wouldn’t be able to understand him but he decided to ask anyways, “What are you doing here?” “Uh… so you’re probably wondering what I’m doing here. You live here, right?” Scootaloo asked and looked around. “Nice place you’ve got here.” Zaps chuckled. Very nice place indeed with all the dead leaves, creepy howls and shadows that moved. At least this place was only temporary. “What have you got there?” Scootaloo asked. Zaps dropped the berries he was carrying. “Uh… those look delicious. Do you know if they’re edible?” Zaps shrugged. For all he knew, they were probably poisonous. “I could bring you some apples if you want! If you eat apples.” Scootaloo said cheerfully. “It would probably be better than those berries.” “That’d be great.” Zaps said with a nod. “Ok! I’ll be right back!” Scootaloo said and ran off. **** “This is all I could carry. Mom thought I was crazy when I started bagging this many apples.” Scootaloo said as she set down a burlap sack. “I didn’t know how many you might want.” “Thanks.” Zaps thanked. “This is enough for my friends!” “You have friends with you, right? Do you need some help carrying these?” Scootaloo offered. Zaps nodded. He would need all the help he could get. “You have parents right?” Scootaloo asked as she grabbed the back end of the sack. Zaps grabbed the front end and they began to tug it in the direction of the camp. “Uh, yeah.” Zaps nodded. He hadn’t thought of his parents since he got here. They were probably worried about him. His mother was a sweet Pikachu and his stepfather was Raichu. His first father was a Ditto who cheated on his mom for some Kirlia. The clan had always said that Ditto was no good, but she never listened until Ditto ran away with that other girl. Then the clan leader’s son stepped in and began helping out his mom until he hatched. Then they stayed together once they fell in love and married. At least he had parents. It could have been worse. His parents probably were worried sick and the clan was probably assuring them that if he was the chosen one then he could take care of himself. “Well, my dad died before I was born so all I have is my mom. She has to work double shifts so she’s not around much. Anyways, enough of the sad stuff. Is that your camp?” She pointed towards the clearing. Zaps nodded and they pushed the apples out into the clearing. Instantly a shadow darkened the area and Zaps looked up to see an angry Steel. “Oh, hey Steel.” Zaps said nervously. “I found food.” “You brought a pony over here!” Steel shouted. Zaps’s ears drooped. He probably should’ve thought the plan through. “Wow! Is this one of your friends?” Scootaloo asked and tried to walk up to Steel. In one swift motion, Steel swung out his foot and she flew back and slammed into a tree. “You could’ve killed her!” Zaps yelled as his cheeks sparked with electricity. “What do you think you’re doing?” “We can’t let anybody find out we’re here! Anybody!” Steel said angrily. “Not even your little friends!” “We can trust her!” Zaps said and ran up to Scootaloo who tried to sit up. “She’s alright.” “She might turn us over to the government!” Steel growled. “And I want to go home, unlike you.” “You think I don’t want to leave? I do, but I also want to take a risk and explore.” Zaps said and put a paw over Scootaloo’s hoof. “I want to be the hero I wished to be.” “Pikachu?” Scootaloo muttered. She looked at him and smiled despite her black eye. “I won’t let you hurt anybody else! Every hero has a villain and it must be you.” Zaps said and unleashed an electric attack. Steel stood up tall and shook it off. Zaps jumped into the air and began to use iron tail as he fell. He stopped as Steel caught his tail. Steel threw him into the air. Zaps used a thundershock attack but Steel shook it off and shot a blue orb at him. “Aura Sphere?” Zaps asked in surprise as the ball hits him. It exploded on contact. Zaps dropped out of the sky and hit the cushiony ground. “The ground is much more soft here than back home.” He muttered. Back home, if you hit the ground, then it could be half of the reason that you lost a battle. Here, the ground felt like pillows. Zaps shook himself up and looked up just in time for Steel to kick him hard. He slammed back into the nearest tree with full force. Leaves fell on top of him and he could feel himself beginning to black out. “I lost.” He muttered. He heard footsteps and struggled to look up. Steel looked down on him with pity. “I’m sorry, Zaps. I had to do what’s best.” He said. “Even if that means I have to take you out.” Steel stood up and walked over to Scootaloo. The last thing Zaps saw before he blacked out was Steel crouching beside Scootaloo with a paw over her a greenish light flooding over her. > Possessed > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zaps awoke. It was freezing cold. The ground was hard unlike the soft cushiony ground that Zaps had experienced before. What even happened to him? Oh right. He had battled Steel. He brought Scootaloo to meet Steel and Tufts and Steel had gotten angry. Zaps had battled him and lost. That meant he should have awoken back at the clearing, right? Zaps shook himself off and looked around. He was inside a small cage in weird room. It had a lot of weird beeping machines inside it. A pony with a lab coat stood near a table mixing something in a bowl. “There.” She muttered. “Done.” She turned back to Zaps who recognized her as the pony who had questioned him from before, Twilight Sparkle. She smiled at him. “You’re finally awake! I found you at the edge of the forest and you looked hurt.” She said with a grin. Zaps backed into the cages as she hooked the cage up to a machine. “So if you don’t mind, I would love to take some blood samples,” She held up a needle. “It won’t hurt a bit.” Twilight levitated a needle towards Zaps who shot out a thundershock attack. The cage absorbed the attack and the machine it was connected to, began to pump out some papers. “Amazing!” She dropped the needle, rushed over to the machine and ripped the papers from the machine. “The electricity that you create is incredibly powerful!” “Let me go!” He cried out. “You weird evil purple pony maniac! This is completely unethical!” “I know this is a little unethical,” She said and raced back over to him with the needle. “But once the Princess sees you, she’ll forgive that, I’m sure. You are a new creature! You might be rare or you might be the cure to a lot of diseases or you might be some new type of mouse or something! I can imagine all the awards I’ll get for finding a new creature! Princess Celestia will be so proud.” She stabbed the needle into his side and drew some blood. He found himself paralyzed as she backed away with his blood and emptied the needle into a vial. He got up slowly. “This is amazing!” She said and grinned at him. “Don’t worry, this is all for science.” “Science. Sure.” Zaps muttered. “Hey, how are you able to understand me anyways?” “I found this weird rock in the Everfree Forest…” Twilight said as she bumped a weird rock that had two dots for eyes and a crack shaped like upside down smile. The rock was brown and ovalish. For some reason it seemed familiar to Zaps… “…and I came up to the stream and levitated the rock out of the water. It was pretty interesting looking. It seemed to calling out to me. So I took it home.” Twilight said and looked at the rock sideways. “It makes a great paper weight. Plus, I can understand you now when you talk…” “Did you touch it?” Zaps asked, realizing in horror what the rock was. Twilight bumped the rock with her muzzle. “Of course I did. Boop.” She said and hit the rock against her muzzle again. “No! Twilight, you’re possessed by a Spiritomb,” Zaps said and looked at Twilight who looked down on him with confusion. “You have to snap out of it! This isn’t you!” “What?” Twilight asked and grabbed her head. “Oh… the headaches are back…” “Twilight!” Zaps shouted, but Twilight looked up at him with a frown. Her eyes were glowing green and she grinned. “Twilight isn’t home anymore. It’s just you and me now, Zaps.” “How do you know my name? Who are you?” Zaps asked. “We’re both Pokémon! We’re practically the same! Why would you try to cage me?” “You don’t know?” Spiritomb asked. “It’s you and your friend’s faults that I had to possess this stupid pony in the first place!” “What?” Zaps asked. “How is this mine, Tufts or Steel’s fault?” “I crashed landed here with you three. I volunteered to help get us back home, but your friends wouldn’t let me help. They claimed they did not trust ghost types. They sent me away by force. I pleaded, for they were all I knew, but no! I was sent away on my own!” Twilight said and held up a hoof and shook it at Zaps. Zaps assumed Spiritomb was shaking a fist at him. “I had to possess this pony to survive. Ponies don’t like strangers here. Twilight Sparkle was a more powerful being than I could imagine. Yet, even with all her magical spells, she could not send me home!” “I’m sorry. Maybe I could try to convince Steel and Tufts that you’re ok and we could work something out?” Zaps offered. Spiritomb shook Twilight’s head and held up some tool with her magic. “It’s too late, Zaps. However, I think I know how to get home. With Twilight’s brains, I can convince her to build a magic portal that runs on you and it should, in theory, send me back to my world. Unfortunately, we’ll have to send you home,” Twilight leaned into the cage and said with whisper, “In pieces.” “You can’t do this Spiritomb! Somebody will find me! You can’t get away with this!” Zaps growled. “Oh but I can.” Spiritomb said. Twilight’s eyes faded back to normal and gripped her head again. “Oooo… thank goodness. I’ve been getting a lot of these headaches. Um… so where was I?” “Fur samples?” Zaps asked nervously. “Ah yes! Prep for dissection!” Twilight said cheerfully as she held up a sharp looking knife. “Don’t worry, Pikachu, it shouldn’t hurt.” “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” Zaps screamed as loud as he could. “I’M BEING KEPT IN A BASEMENT BY POSSSESSED PURPLE PONY!” ************* “Where am I?” Scootaloo woke up to the sound of wings. “My place, kiddo.” Scootaloo looked up to the smiling face of Rainbow Dash. She sat up and saw that she was on Rainbow’s couch. A blanket fell off her back. She must’ve fallen asleep here. Except… The battle between Pikachu and the other creature flashed through her mind. She jumped off the couch and ran to the door. Rainbow landed in front of her. “Where do you think you’re going? Do you want to explain the black eye or why somepony dropped you off at my door?” She asked. Scootaloo danced in place. She had to get to Pikachu. That thing, whatever it was, had beat Pikachu up pretty badly. Their battle seemed almost natural for the two. Yet the taller creature was angry. It was angry at Pikachu maybe because Pikachu had brought her to their camp. Pikachu could obviously understand what it was saying so maybe they were from the same place? Where were they from anyways? “I have to go to Pikachu!” Scootaloo said. “He got beat up by this huge creature who beat up Pikachu and I have to go find Pikachu!” “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You’re hurt, scoots. I’ll uh go look for Pikachu. You stay and rest.” Rainbow said. Scootaloo latched onto her leg in a hug. “Thanks Rainbow Dash!” She said and instantly let go. “I mean, thanks.” “No problem, kiddo.” Rainbow said and ruffled her mane. “I’ll be right back. Where did you say that Pikachu was last?” “The Everfree Forest.” Scootaloo said as she snuggled into Rainbow’s cloud couch. “He looks kind of like a big yellow mouse.” “Got it.” Rainbow said and left. > Pinkie Power > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow flew over the Everfree Forest. As usual, there was nothing there. Scootaloo had mentioned something about a Pikachu. She could have hit her head and gotten a concussion. This whole ‘Pikachu’ thing could be a dream. However, she figured that she might as well look. Scootaloo could be right. Rainbow landed in front of Twilight’s house. Perhaps Twilight knew something about Pikachu. She knocked then flew in immediately after. She was surprised to not hear Twilight asking her what she wanted when she normally flew in uninvited. “Twilight?” She called. No answer. Maybe Twilight was down in that underground laboratory she built last month. Twilight had built in hopes of learning more about different types of magic in a safe room in her own home. The door to the lab was open too and the smell of coffee came from downstairs. It was a little late for coffee but perhaps she had been up all night. Suddenly a scream came from downstairs. “PIKACHU!” It screamed. Pikachu? Wasn’t Rainbow supposed to find a Pikachu? Why would it be down in her lab? She quietly tiptoed downstairs. Twilight had her back to the door and seemed to be working on something. A cup of coffee was sitting beside her and towards the side wall was a cage. Inside the cage was a creature yelling and shaking its tiny fist at Twilight. “PIKACHU!” It screamed and banged on the cage. Twilight didn’t seem to hear. It seemed unlikely that Twilight would actually capture a creature just to study on it. This wasn’t the Twilight that Rainbow knew. But Twilight did seem to be acting a little odd. Her magic was green instead of magenta and when she turned to look at Pikachu, Rainbow Dash saw that her eyes had a weird green glow to them like she was hypnotized or something. The more important question was: how would she rescue Pikachu? She could try to break Pikachu out of the cage then try to fight Twilight, but Twilight had powerful magic. There wasn’t anything she could do without some help. Maybe she could try and reason with Twilight? No, Twilight was acting weird. There was no telling what was wrong with Twilight and how she might react if she saw Rainbow. Reasoning wasn’t an option. What did that leave exactly? Maybe Rainbow could pin down Twilight while somepony else grabbed Pikachu. But who would be willing to help her now? ****** “Pinkie, I need your help.” Rainbow said as Pinkie hopped around the store. If anypony could help, it was Pinkie. Plus, Twilight could never truly get mad at Pinkie. She was Pinkie Pie, after all. “Sure. I suppose you came to have me help you rescue Pikachu.” She said happily as she bounced around while putting up streamers. “Sure thing Rainbow Dash!” “How did you know I needed help rescuing a Pikachu? And what’s with the party?” Rainbow asked. “Well, the party’s for Princess Celestia! It’s her birthday.” She whispered. “Don’t tell her. There are rumors about her cake problem! That’s why the party has to be a surprise! She won’t come if she knows the party is for her birthday.” “Ok… how did you know about a Pikachu then?” Rainbow asked as Pinkie bounced around with streamers in her mane. “There are things I know.” Pinkie said almost a little sinisterly. “There are rumors about a Pikachu?” Rainbow asked, deciding to ignore the new creepy tone that was added to Pinkie’s last statement. “Yeah…rumors…sure...” She trailed off. “So I’ll take care of Twilight and you bring the cake that Scootaloo ordered yesterday.” “I’ll go with you. Wait, what cake?” Rainbow asked. Pinkie pointed to the counter. On it stood a very tall cake that Rainbow didn’t see when she came in. “How did that get there?” “Bye Rainbow!” Pinkie called and the door shut. “Wait, Twilight’s crazy-” Rainbow was cut off as the door slammed shut. Rainbow stared at the door. She could easily have followed Pinkie, but something told her she should stay here. Plus, Pinkie said this cake had to be delivered to Scootaloo. If Scootaloo needed a cake, then Rainbow supposed she would be the one to bring it. Rainbow lifted the cake off the counter. She knew if she flew quickly back to her place, she could deliver the cake and end up at Twilight’s just in time to help Pinkie with whatever her plan was. It was a pretty light cake. Unfortunately, she realized that the cake would not easily fit through the door. ***** Pinkie bounced to Twilight’s. With a grin on her face that was as wide as an ocean or perhaps smaller than a very large lake but a very large smile indeed, she waved and nodded at passing ponies. Assuming that Twilight was in her craziest state for Rainbow to have to ask for Pinkie’s help, Pinkie bounced inside the house leisurely. Pinkie knew she’d need the ultimate Pinkie Power for this mission. That was assuming that Rainbow wasn’t overreacting and she was making a gigantic mistake. As soon as she shut the door behind her, her smile turned into a grimace and her fluffy mane dropped in a very straight and much darker mane. Her coat dulled and she gave one last smile before she shuffled quietly downstairs. Pinkie touched the wall with her hoof as she carefully stepped down the stairs. She sighed and shut her eyes. When she re-opened them, her vision was sharper. The hoof on the wall was now a hand. A dark furry hand with red claws. She was much taller and was standing on two skinny supportive hind legs. She smiled once more and took another step. Twilight’s humming was heard. She saw as she crept down the stairs that Pikachu was trapped. It was sitting inside its cage and seemed to be crying. Twilight’s mane was indeed out of place, but something about her was odd. Her movements weren’t Twilight’s. She knew how Twilight walked and these steps were much more wobbly as if something was controlling Twilight. Plus there was the green smoke coming out of her mouth occasionally, her green glowy eyes and a strangely familiar rock that sat on her desk. However, this was no time for theories. Pinkie had one job. Get Pikachu out. “Twilight?” She asked as she stayed in the shadows of the entrance way. The basement was a large room. Twilight was probably taking notes or something. She hoped that Twilight couldn’t see her, at least not yet. Neither could Pinkie see Twilight so she hoped that Twilight couldn’t see her. “Pinkie?” Twilight asked nervously. She heard something drop. It was probably a quill. “I asked you to knock!” “The door was open!” She giggled, trying to make it seem like Pinkie still existed. The truth was, she was Pinkie, but she also wasn’t. She was a creature of illusions and shadows. She wasn’t Pinkie anymore, not the Pinkie they knew. She wasn’t Pinkie Pie the pony anymore. She was Pinkie Pie the Zoroark now. And she had one job. “Pinkie… it’s not what it looks like.” Twilight said. Pinkie heard Twilight’s hoofsteps. She braced herself for the shocking surprise that Twilight would receive. “Where are you?” “Right here!” Pinkie screamed and burst out of shadows. Twilight screamed as Pinkie tackled her and held her down with two furry hands that gripped Twilight’s forelegs. She grinned down at Twilight who looked both terrified and fascinated. Her eyes brightly glowed green. “What are you?” Twilight asked slowly. Pinkie looked up at Pikachu who was staring at Pinkie. Pinkie nodded at Pikachu. “I’m Pinkie Pie and I have one job!” She said cheerfully and jumped off of Twilight. She walked over to the cage Pikachu was in and slashed at the bars. They broke and Pikachu hopped out. “Thanks.” Pikachu said and looked up at her. “Who are you?” “No time for questions. Get on.” Pinkie said sternly. Pikachu climbed onto her ponytail and up onto her head. Twilight was on her feet. “How dare you steal my test subject!” Twilight growled in a deeper voice than before. Her eyes were fully glowing green now and green steam seemed to leak from her mouth much more than before. “I’m not done with him!” “You are now, Spiritomb. Also, give Twilight back her body!” Pinkie said angrily. Spiritomb shook Twilight’s head. “I can’t! However…” Twilight’s eyes narrowed, “How did you find out who I was so quickly?” “It’s the green eyes!” Pinkie said and pointed at them. “They’re kind of obvious. Also your rock is over there.” She pointed at a cracked sad faced looking rock on the nearby table. Spiritomb/Twilight looked over at it. “Oh right.” He said. “Never mind that. You’re not from this world are you? Why are you helping the Pikachu? We could team up and figure out how to get back home together.” “I’m from Equestria.” Pinkie said cheerfully. “And what do you mean, you’re not from Equestria?” “There are more Pokémon living here?” Spiritomb asked hopefully. “Sort of.” Pinkie said thoughtfully. “Now you have to give up Twilight’s body!” “Never!” Spiritomb shouted. Spiritomb/Twilight clutched her/his head suddenly. “Urgh, stupid pony! I’m in… control… now… stop… fighting…” Twilight shook her head. Her eyes faded back to normal and the green steam that came out of her mouth disappeared. She stared in shock at Pinkie who grinned. “W-what are you, Pinkie?” She asked. “And why are you kidnapping my test subject?” “I think you’re the one who is kidnapping, Twilight!” Pinkie sang. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but I believe that you are going to need a nap after all this excitement.” “A nap? But I’m not even tired-” Pinkie’s eyes glowed pink and Twilight’s eyes flashed pink. Twilight’s eyes rolled into her head and she slumped to the floor and began to snore. Pinkie carried her up out of the basement. She looked around to make sure that Spike wasn’t around and then raced upstairs and set Twilight down on her bed. She pulled the covers over Twilight and kissed her forehead. Then she raced back downstairs. “We can’t leave any evidence that you were ever here. Twilight needs to think it was a dream.” Pinkie muttered. Pikachu leapt out of her hair. “I can help with that.” He said and raced back towards the basement. A yellow light flashed from downstairs. Pikachu ran back upstairs just as the basement exploded behind him. “That works too.” Pinkie said as Pikachu leapt back in her hair. “I’ll clean up the place later. For now, let’s go!” Pinkie burst out of the door and ran towards SugarCube Corner. > The Fight > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash studied the cake. It was large, round and seemingly impossible to fit outside the door, at least if she didn’t want to have half of the cake fall to the floor. Pinkie had given her an almost impossible task. Why did Scoots even order a cake so large? Perhaps Rainbow could take her the cake piece by piece? But what if the cake was for something important? Rainbow didn’t know how to put a cake back together. Suddenly, Pinkie burst through the door. She shoved a little yellow rodent out of her pink mane and into Rainbow’s face with a wide smile. “I caught a Pikachu!” She said happily. Rainbow raised an eyebrow. Pikachu seemed sad, like it had given up defeat and hope. Rainbow took it gently and Pikachu only stayed limply in her embrace. She would have thought the thing was dead if she hadn’t felt its heartbeat. “Why is… he,” Rainbow decided it was probably a guy since there was no way of knowing, “so sad?” “He says that his friends nearly killed his new friend, Scootaloo.” Pinkie said. Rainbow nearly dropped Pikachu. “They did what?” She asked then held up Pikachu who stared down at her. “Who are your friends?” “They live in the Everfree Forest.” Pinkie stated. Rainbow flapped her wings and flew out the nearest window. That was all she needed to hear. “I’ll drop off the cake with Scootaloo!” She called after Rainbow. *** Rainbow dumped Pikachu off at her cloud house. Pikachu somehow didn’t fall through the clouds which would have surprised Rainbow if she didn’t want to know who hurt her little sister so badly. These friends of Pikachu were going to pay! Nobody hurt Scootaloo! She flew off immediately with hope that Pikachu could take care of himself. She flew over the forest and immediately spotted a clearing. She wished she had gotten directions from the Pikachu as to where his friends were located so she didn’t have to look everywhere. That didn’t seem to matter, however, as she dove down into this clearing and saw two creatures. They both seemed out of place even for the Everfree. She figured those had to be his buddies. “Hey! Did you hurt my sister?” She asked angrily and flew up to the one that stood on its hind legs. It frowned at her and spoke back… in her mind. “What are you talking about?” It asked. “My sister is a pony who has an orange coat and a purple mane!” Rainbow yelled. “Did you hurt her?” “She was in our way. She would have told somepony about us and-” Rainbow punched the creature in the face. It fell to the ground. Rainbow didn’t pause for a second. She flew in quickly. “How dare you hurt my sister!” She yelled, but he punched her with a force that knocked her into the nearest tree. She sat up. The creature was strong, but she wasn’t giving up. She flew up and bucked the creature with both hind legs. He tumbled back and growled at her. Literally. It sounded like a dog growl but with a deeper and more sinister tone added to it. “Bring it on!” Rainbow shouted. It somehow brought one of its long hind legs up to reach her and quickly kicked her into the ground. She winced as pain shot through her body. What was this thing? It felt like she might have broken something. However, at the same time, Rainbow could also feel a massive adrenaline rush hit her. This thing could not hurt her like it hurt Scootaloo. She was stronger than that. She flew up as the creature pounded a fist into her place. She began to fly around him in order to confuse it. It reached out and grabbed her tail. It began to drag her down, no matter how much Rainbow struggled to fly away. It brought her down to eye level then held up a fist. Then it slammed his fist into her face. One time, then two times, then three, then four… the numbers kept growing and Rainbow began to see dark spots. It then slammed her into the ground as she soon as she began to feel faint. She laid in the ground, breathing heavily. She rolled over as the thing slammed another fist in her spot. She flew high into the air and dived straight at him despite the fact that she could barely see. Suddenly, her wings froze. She was somehow being levitated down however and she wondered if this was the creature’s doing. She floated down beside the creature she was fighting. He seemed to be froze too. “Well, I think I’ve seen enough.” A small creature said, walking out of nowhere and clapping her paws. She was the second creature that Rainbow had seen. Rainbow wondered why she didn’t fight Rainbow either. She had a very feminine voice so Rainbow knew it was a she. She floated Rainbow and the other creature into the air. Her voice spoke in Rainbow’s mind too and her mouth didn’t move. “You two are acting like children. Steel is sorry, Rainbow.” “How do you know my name?” Rainbow croaked, finally able to speak. “I am Tufts.” Tufts said. “And I read your mind. The mind is like an ID to me. I read it, I know things. Tell me, is your sister badly hurt?” “Yes! You guys hurt her for no reason!” Rainbow said and struggled to break free of the invisible grip still holding the rest of her up. “That was Steel, who acted without thinking. He was scared and attempted to protect himself.” “Scared of Scootaloo?” “Tell me, have you seen any creatures like us before?” Tufts asked. Rainbow would have shook her head, but she still couldn’t move. “No.” She replied. “We don’t want to be discovered by ponies because we don’t want to caged and studied. We want to go home. Steel was only doing what he thought was best. Is it really necessary to fight him because of it?” Rainbow paused in thought for a second. “No.” “That’s right. It simply isn’t.” Tufts said. “Steel is sorry. He only did what he thought was right. Again, he’s sorry. I’m sorry. We don’t want to get caught.” “Ok.” Rainbow said as she gave up the fight. Scootaloo would have forgiven him if she had known. “So you’re not from here, right? You’re friends of Pikachu.” “Yeah.” Steel’s voice entered her mind. “He’s in big trouble.” “He’s back at my place actually.” Rainbow said. “I can go get him.” “No need.” Tufts said. “I can do it.” “So why are you talking in my mind?” Rainbow asked. “It is called telepathy.” Tufts said. “We don’t speak your language so we are speaking into each other’s mind in whatever language you speak.” “Cool.” Rainbow said. “So… how do you guys plan on getting home?” “We have our ways.” Tufts said with a grin at Steel. Tufts raised her tiny paws and Rainbow was set on the ground. Steel and Rainbow Dash unfroze. Rainbow shook out her limbs. It felt as though she had been cramped up for hours. He turned to Rainbow reluctantly and held out a paw. Rainbow shook it. “Sorry.” He muttered. “Right.” Rainbow muttered back. “Alright. I’ll get Pikachu. Thank you, Rainbow Dash.” Tufts said and disappeared.