Burning Land And Stormy Seas

by Moowell

Chapter 6

Twilight rushed back for the clearing, desperately trying to prevent what she just saw from happening to her friends. Zigzagoon was already fighting off a Poochyena, as was Seedot. The Wurmple huddled together as a mass, shooting ropes of string at the predators surrounding them while Ralts growled as intimidatingly as he could.

But their resistance wasn’t enough. Zigzagoon and Seedot were quickly beaten back as the family was slowly corralled into the center of the clearing, surrounded and outnumbered on all sides. Only the Beautiflies that had been staying with them managed to escape by taking to the air.

“Hey! Stop hurting my friends!” Twilight shouted, charging in and crashing against one of them with her shoulder and sending its much smaller frame tumbling. A pair turned to face her, but the bright glow of her horn made them hesitate.

Just then, an icy chill shot through her side. She tried to scream, but her body froze in place, suddenly covered in ice, leaving all but her eyes rendered immobile. A Poochyena strode out in front of her, head held high, its teeth and breath fogged over as though it were breathing winter air.

“You made a mistake, Newcomer,” the proud, angry Poochyena snarled. “You left one of my sentries with enough strength to warn me about you.”

‘What is he talking about?’ Twilight thought.

The Poochyena continued. “When she returned to my den, she was battered and beaten, barely alive. The others we found were in similar states, left unconscious at their posts to the mercy of any who might find them.”

“That... Wasn’t... Me...” she forced out, her jaw barely able to move inside the ice.

“Do not lie to me, Newcomer!” he snarled, crouching low and bristling his fur. “I have seen your power in action! I know the marks it leaves, and they matched the ones on my packmates!” He stood back up, his anger undiminished but his control back in place.

“Leave Twilispark alone!” Seedot shouted, drawing the attention of several Poochyena, including their leader. As soon as he realized what he’d done, he huddled back into the group.

But the leader’s muzzle split into a dark grin. “Now I’m going to leave my mark on yours.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as the Poochyena barked an order to his pack, causing Seedot to be dragged out from the group. “Stop! Please, stop!” she cried, but that only made his grin wider. Seedot’s captor threw him in front of the leader.

The leader turned to Twilight, his teeth frosting over, and shouted, “Remember this, Twilispark! I am Alpha, and no one messes with my pack!” With each word, his breath became colder and colder until he whirled and sank his fangs into Seedot. Seedot screeched as Alpha lifted him off the ground and shook him ferociously. The frost crept across his skin until his entire body was covered in it.

Then his noise stopped, and his cold body hit the ground with a dull thump.

Twilight couldn’t look away. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t fight. She couldn’t move at all. Even as the ice thawed away, Twilight’s breath was rapid and shallow. Her eyes, pinpricks. Her body, paralyzed. And then the face of the one who finished Seedot turned toward her, and even her breathing locked up.

“Tonight, we feast!” Alpha shouted.

His entire pack descended on the huddled group. Zigzagoon lunged forward and knocked a couple away, but he was quickly overwhelmed. Ralts continued growling, keeping him from being attacked too much, but unable to do anything else. The Wurmple, however...

And then there was Twilight, staring into the face of death. Black muzzle. Frosted teeth. Red eyes with yellow sclera. Death took a single step forward, prompting her to blast him with everything thaum of magic within her, but he merely walked forward through her attacks, no matter how powerful she made them, no matter how much she screamed. She backed away, eyes locked with his, unable to make herself run.

Suddenly, something grabbed hold of her mane and yanked her to the side.

“Run, Twilispark!” came the voice of Ralts from atop Zigzagoon’s back.

She ran. They all ran. Away from the clearing, away from their home patch of grass. Away from the nightmare behind them. Never stopping, except to give Ralts a break by riding on the back of either Zigzagoon or Twilight, until they reached the border of the western human city. Once there, they found a large patch of grass to hide in and catch their breath.

While the others were only winded, Twilight collapsed with heavy breaths. Having lived in urban Canterlot her entire life, she was certainly not built for this sort of exercise. Her lungs burned almost as much as her legs, with minimal signs of getting better.

Now that they had stopped, though, another enemy caught up to Twilight: her own thoughts. Memories of what just happened surged to the front of her mind. Of Surskit facing five enemies on his own. Of Seedot sticking out for her and paying dearly for it. Of the terrified Wurmple being devoured.

But above all, the face of Death as it stared into her eyes.

“Twilispark! It’s okay, there’s nothing there!” A piercing noise stopped as Twilight felt something press against her side; something furry and warm. Around her neck, two thin arms wrapped themselves tightly. She opened her eyes and gasped for breath, having not even realized she was screaming until that moment. “Shh... It’s okay.”

“Th-they... th-they’re all...” She couldn’t finish her sentence before she broke down and wept. Ralts stroked her mane and Zigzagoon pressed himself against her side, ready to hold their friend for as long as it took.

*****

The young boy looked up at the large building and hesitated. He was take a risk, asking for help on his own like this. What if he wasn’t helped? What if he was just sent away? The boy shook his head free of such thoughts. If he was just sent away, then he would be no worse off than he was now.

Other than missing his parents. At least he would have family though, right? But as he thought about his aunt and uncle, he knew he would still be all but alone. No, he had to ask for help.

Wally looked back up at the gym sign, then slowly stepped through the sliding glass door.

*****

Twilight’s tears eventually dried. The burning in her lungs had ceased, but her head ached. The aching pain in her legs lanced into her shoulder, now that the chill from Alpha’s bite was gone. And the family that had taken her in was gone. But her tears were dry.

She simply didn’t have the energy to make them anymore.

“Ralts...” she rasped, her throat sore from her sobs. “Ralts...!”

“I’m here, Twilispark. I’m right here,” Ralts replied, his arms still wrapped around her neck.

“Zigza-*cough*-zagoon...”

“I’m here too,” came a voice at her side.

“Please...” Twilight started. Her voice began to tremble. “Please don’t leave me...”

“Silly... Didn’t I tell you before?” Ralts leaned into Twilight’s field of vision and smiled. “The family never abandons one of its own.”

“Promise?”

“We will never, ever leave you behind, Twilispark,” Zigzagoon chimed in. “You’re our family, too.”

Twilight relaxed a little, their words bringing her a small bit of comfort.

“So, all I have to do is walk in the tall grass and I’ll find one?” said a distant voice. Twilight’s ears perked up at the sound. The voices weren’t using names like other creatures around here.

“That’s right. But remember: you have to weaken them first before you throw the pokeball. Otherwise, they might break out of it.”

Twilight’s eyes slowly widened. She knew that second voice. “We have to g-” she started, but she talked too quickly and started coughing.

“Are you alright?!” Ralts asked.

“Um... W-would you show me how?” asked the first voice, closer than before.

“Sure! I have a couple extra pokeballs.”

She heard the grass start to rustle toward them and struggled to get to her hooves, but her shoulder’s wounds and fatigue quickly dragged her back to the ground. She cleared her throat before saying, “We have to go... Deeper into the grass...”

“What was that? I could’ve sworn I heard a voice. Is anyone in there?”

This time, the others heard the human. The nodded to each other, then helped Twilight up to her hooves, propping her against their bodies before moving deeper into the grass.

But it was too late.

“Look, May! See the grass rustling? There’s a Pokemon over there!”

“Oh, you’re right! Let’s get closer!”

“They’re coming for us!” Zigzagoon whispered. “We’re not going fast enough!”

“But we can’t go any faster,” Ralts replied. “Twilispark’s hurt!”

Twilight winced. She was slowing them down. They could escape if it weren’t for her. She was never meant to be here, out in the wilds of some unknown land, fighting predators and ‘humans’ just to survive. She was meant for libraries and donuts, not running for her life. But her friends? They were born here. Live here. If anyone should be captured, then natural selection says it should be her.

“Leave me behind.”

Ralts and Zigzagoon exchanged a surprised glance. “Didn’t you hear what we just said?” Zigzagoon asked. “You’re our family. We’re never going to leave you behind!”

“But if you don’t, you’ll be captured by the humans!” Twilight protested.

“And if we do, you’ll be captured! We’re not going to let that happen!”

“That’s right!”

“But you’ve lived your whole lives here!”

Ralts paused and pulled Twilight’s head down to look her in the eyes. “Twilight, you still have your parents out there. They’re still looking for you. We don’t have that. All we have is each other.” He released her head, allowing her to straighten out somewhat. “If someone is going to be captured anyways, why should it be the one who has the most to lose?”

“But...”

“No, Twilispark! No buts!” Zigzagoon nodded to Ralts, allowing him to brace Twilight fully, then gently eased away from the filly’s side. “You’re not getting taken by the humans today.”

“Zigzagoon, what are you doing?!” she cried.

“I’m making sure you have a chance to escape. Ralts, get her to safety.” The two locals exchanged a nod before Zigzagoon darted off toward the human.

“Zigzagoon!”

“Shh! Do you want the humans to hear us?” Ralts asked quietly, pulling Twilight against her will toward a small ditch.

“What about not abandoning your family?!” Twilight whispered harshly. “Are you just going to let him get captured?!”

“No one has abandoned anyone,” Ralts returned. “He is meeting the needs of the family, and if he can escape, he’ll find us.”

“Aha! There you are! Go, Torchic!” Twilight heard the telltale sound of a capture orb opening, followed by Torchic’s shrill battle cry.

Twilight squinted her eyes shut and forced herself to breath normally. “Ponyfeathers... He doesn’t stand a chance...”

“Come on, Twilispark. We can hide in the ditch until-”

“Oh! There’s one! Go, Zigzagoon!”

Ralts shot a glance behind them, then pushed Twilight’s head down, sending her tumbling gently down the grass into the ditch.

“Ralts?! What are you-”

“Making sure you stay safe,” he calmly interrupted as he left her field of vision.

“Ralts!” she screamed, but her voice gave out into a fit of coughing before any real volume could be heard. In the distance, she could hear Ralts growling at something, followed by a dull thud and several pings.

“I... I did it! It’s my own Pokemon! May, look!”

"Good job, Wally! Now you won't have to be alone when you go to Verdanturf!

The rustling disappeared into the distance as the sun set, leaving Twilight alone in the silent darkness. Strangely enough, her body found the energy to produce more tears.

“You promised you’d never leave...”

Author's Note:

And with this chapter, part one of the story is complete! Part two is in the works, so expect to see it coming soon.

Comments

[Dusk Star Shine]

Oh I can't wait to see what happens next, but I was so hoping you would follow the anime instead of the video games, it would have been cool if Filly Twilight had met Ash Ketchum.

[Nitro Indigo]

Someone, please make a TV Tropes page for this.

[Just Sandy]

it feels a little rushed to me but i give it a like anyway

[Moowell]

7217441
Hmm... I can't say I'd thought about putting him in. To be completely honest, I haven't seen much of the anime in over a decade. But, like Keldeo, maybe he'll make a cameo appearance. I'll just have to do a little research first.

[Inferno Heart]

Well I'll be honest I lost interest in Pokémon long ago so for this story to actually catch my attention and keep me reading
Respect to you
Liked and fave hope to see more

[magicstorm4]

now that suck, but it still is a very good story I look forward to more ch and will be waiting. p.s. is ash going to be in the story

[DoctorTHUNDER]

My new favorite Pokémon fic