Through the three years Twilight had been in Ponyville, she had learned so much about friendship. More than any pony thought possible, really. Everything she learned has been valuable in her everyday life. In a way, it had changed her. No longer was she the recluse bookworm who never dared to do anything remotely social. She had friends. Friends who would stay with her through thick in thin.
There was Pinkie Pie, arguably the first on she had met. Pinkie... never seemed to take anything seriously, to put it nicely. Though, there was nothing that could get rid of her bubbly and optimistic outlook. In a way, this made her the best one to hang out with when others were down.
Then Fluttershy, who hated attention and was always scared to try new things. This changed a little throughout their friendship, though never a lot. In fact, Twilight would probably bet all the bits she had that Fluttershy would rather have Angel Bunny face a dragon than herself if the dragon wasn't harming her friends. If the dragon was nice like Spike? She'd be giving it so many hugs it'd be like toxic after awhile.
Rainbow Dash was an arrogant, boastful, boisterous annoyance most of the time. Such a bragger. Though there was no masking the undying loyalty she had for her friends. An Ursa Major running around Everfree Forest? That wasn't her problem. An Ursa Major running around Ponyville, harming her friends. That constellation must have had a death wish. Though... Rainbow Dash severely overestimates her abilities. She would definitely be reckless enough to fight an Ursa Major if it was hurting her friends, but to win the fight? She'd probably need some of Pinkie's randomness and uncanniness to even stand a chance.
Rarity was the epitome of a drama queen. Takes so many things seriously, it's no surprise she hasn't lost any of her friends with that. That's probably because, underneath the cliche "drama queen acting like queen of the world", she was an honest to Celestia friend who'd very much rather see their happiness more than her own. It was touching how far she'd go for her friends.
Applejack was a stark contrast to Rarity. Just a simple, hardworking mare who could be very stubborn at times. Though, as long as you didn't do anything completely idiotic, she was a joy to have around, if not the sanest of the bunch. If Twilight remembered correctly, there was one time where Applejack didn't learn a friendship lesson, because she knew it all along. That was the Flim Flam incident, wasn't it? Yes, she was certain of it. There were also countless times Applejack would give others the hard truth instead of beating around the bush. Which was a blessing, considering that Applejack was a horrible liar, and she darn well knew that.
And finally, Spike, Twilight's number one assistant. He was more of a little brother than a friend, really, but there was no masking the bond the two of them shared. Hmm... Now that she thought about it, in a way, it was like he was all the elements put into one. He's loyal enough to stick by her side and cheer her on, funny enough (just barely, though) to cause the others to giggle from time to time, kind enough to do his chores around the library even on his days off, generous enough to give his precious gem away (though this was only to Rarity), and truthful enough to where he was comfortable talking to Twilight about anything that troubled him. Not to mention the magic that was created with the bond the two of them shared.
She loved her friends. But sometimes they could all get on her nerves. That was okay, though. As she had put it once before in the Discord fight, friendship isn't always easy, but no doubt it's worth fighting for! If she were to do things again, she'd probably do things exactly how they happened.
That'd be really hard to do if she was in a foreign world, though.
The vibrant rays of the sun shone in Twilight face, making her squint her already closed eyes. Precariously, she opened them, putting a foreleg up to block the brightness. Not a moment later did her jaw go slack.
She saw... water. Lots of it. It seemed to be a somewhat small lake, on account of how she could see some land over the horizon. Twilight then realized the sandy surface under her, which was... sand.
I'm on a beach, she analyzed. With no idea how I got here. Terrific.
She noticed how her head wasn't in contact with sand, but rather on a rock. Twilight tried to lift her head up, but a sharp pain in her neck forced her to set it back down. This was shaping up to be a rather interesting experience, sarcasm completely intended.
Twilight let out a long weary sigh and pursed her lips. If she knew a thing or two about the geography of Equestria, it was that there were absolutely no lakes there. Ponds, rivers, and the likes, yes, but no lakes. Perhaps she was in griffin territory, but she dismissed that idea just as quickly. The griffins had kept their area so unkempt, all the bodies of water dried up. She was still trying to figure out just how that was possible.
Manticore territory? No. For that to be a possibility, there'd have to be fire everywhere. A calm lake was most definitely not fire.
One thing was true, though. She was most definitely not in Equestria anymore. Her rampant thoughts stopped short when she heard an all too familiar voice.
"Um... hello?"
She tried her darn hardest to not shoot her head up, otherwise she'd be nursing a stinging neck all night. Instead, she raised her head up slowly, ever so slowly, and what she saw dashed her hopes. This voice, while soft and polite just like Fluttershy, was most definitely not her friend. It didn't even resemble her.
This creature was... green. A palish green. Its head was about the same size as its body, and a large leaf sprouted from it. Its legs seemed so stubby and small, it couldn't possibly hold its mass. Though it did. Twilight made a mental note to study that later.
But there was one thing that made Twilight's heart stop. Those eyes. Those eyes. The fragility that resided in its eyes was clear as day, masking the underlying concern for Twilight's well being. This had to be Fluttershy. Nopony else would have those eyes.
"... Fluttershy?" Twilight asked slowly, as if saying anything wrong would cause it to run away crying. And, if this was really Fluttershy, that was a high possibility.
The green thing visibly winced and lowered its head. "I'm sorry, I think you have me confused with another Pokemon..."
It took Twilight a good few seconds to register the last bit of that answer. "Pokemon?"
The thing stared at her, as if she was an idiot. No sooner did it look away, as if thinking that that was a rude thing to think. Which it was. "Um... yes," it said.
"I don't... Pokemon?" she asked again.
"You... don't know what a Pokemon is?" The look it gave her was one with pity, which made Twilight uneasy. "Oh dear... that's not good at all. Maybe you have amnesia?"
Twilight's jaw went slack. For some reason, she felt threatened at hearing that. She wanted to say something along the lines of I have amnesia? Look who's talking!, but suppressed the urge, and instead gave a calm answer. "I don't have amnesia. I know who I am, I know everything about the world around me. But I don't know this place, because I've never been here, and I don't know what this Pokemon is, because I've never interacted with one." She kind of regretted being forceful near the end, since the green thing lowered its head and looked to be on the verge of crying.
Before she could apologize, the green thing gave a shaky statement. "I-I'd just thought... it'd be weird that an Eevee wouldn't know what a Pokemon is..."
"An Eevee, wha-" she started, but stopped short when she noticed the foreleg she had up in a questioning manner. It wasn't purple. It was brown. And... she didn't have a hoof. It seemed like a paw. Something that was like what Applejack's dog had.
Twilight spent the next hour passed out.
There was nothing for a good long while. Then... something started to fade into view. It seemed... wispy. And green. But mostly wispy. This didn't seem like anything to fear. After all, she had been here briefly with Princess Celestia once she had ascended into alicornhood. Twilight remembered asking Celestia about it a while after the coordination.
"That was Elysium," the princess had answered simply.
"Elysium? I've never heard of it. It wasn't anywhere in my studies!" This had made Twilight giddy with excitement. It wasn't every day she had found out something she never knew of before. There was so much info to be gathered from it!
"Yes Twilight. Elysium is, in essence, the counterpart to Tartarus. That is where either alicorns are born, or mares ascend."
Twilight blinked. "So... were you born in Elysium?"
The princess gave a smile and nodded. The rest of the conversation was nothing but absorbing the knowledge of what Elysium was and what it had.
This was strange, being in Elysium again. Though, this was the chance to have a look around. After all, the only other time she was here, she was following Celestia through a series of clips of her time in Ponyville.
Time seemed to drag on as Twilight walked through the area. Nothing seemed to change. It seemed to be an infinite realm. But that was absurd to Twilight. There had to be a beginning, and there had to be an end. Simple as that.
It dawned on her that she could just fly around, so her hooves wouldn't be doing all the work. She positioned herself, still not fully used to wings. With much unneeded flair, she jumped up... and fell flat on her face.
She turned around, wondering why her wings weren't working, when she noticed something. There were no wings. Nothing but a big tuft of white fur around her neck and a brown fluffy coat.
She wasn't sure if passing out in a different plane of existence was possible, but she did it anyway.
She gave an effort to open her eyes, despite feeling weary. The only thing preventing her from falling back asleep was the light from the window. By Starswirl's beard, was that light annoying! Maybe if she set up some curtains, she'd get some sl-
A window?! She raised her head with a start and looked around. She was in a small circular room, the only source of light coming from the window. There was absolutely nothing inside the room, apart from the two straw beds, one of which she was on.
Twilight tried her best to ignore the piercing pain of the sore neck she just now noticed and put her attention on how she came in here. Last she remembered, she was at a beach, right? Yes, there was no mistaking it. Then there was that green thing with a striking resemblance to Fluttershy, and then... That's right. The revelation that she was no longer a mare. From what little she could gather, she guessed that she looked slightly like Winona.
A thought crossed her mind. How did she get on the beach in the first place? What had happened that could have caused this... transformation, and had brought her to this place? The mirror that brought her to the human world? No, Luna had said that it wouldn't open for another thirty or so moons. A spell gone wrong? She dismissed that just as quickly. She knew for a fact that she hadn't tampered with any cross dimensional spells. She kind of doubted any of those existed.
So why was she here? And, for that matter, why couldn't she remember how she got here? Maybe the green thing was right. She might have had a bit of amnesia.
Twilight laughed out loud. A little amnesia?! That was a poor choice of words. Short term memory loss would've been better suited, though that didn't quite necessarily have the correct meaning. Still, better than a little amnesia.
She yawned and stretched her... still forelegs. Hesitantly, she stood up, only to realize that walking wasn't so hard. This body was built almost the same as a pony's body, if a little shorter. Twilight decided to check a mirror when she had the chance so she could properly analyze this new body she was given.
"Oh, you're awake..." came the voice of the green thing. Twilight turned and saw it in the doorway.
"Chatot said you'd, um, be knocked out for some time..."
All their foreign words was getting quite annoying to Twilight. "And this Chatot is?"
The green thing met Twilight's gaze. "You really don't remember anything, do you...?"
Twilight stomped her hoof (paw, whatever). "Stop saying that! I know fully well who I am, I know fully well of my past. But I don't know what a Pokemon is because I've never known one! How can I know something I haven't known?!" This time, Twilight didn't regret being so firm.
The green thing stayed silent and turned to the doorway. It gave a small whisper saying, "Come with me, please..."
Twilight followed, and started to study the walkway as she went along. It only took two seconds. The hallway was just straight, with a few doors for rooms here and there. Nothing special.
She was led into a room that was near a ladder. In there was a brightly colored bird that actually made Twilight squint from the brightness, and a big pink... thing. Ugh. So many colors. It seemed to burn her eyes.
The bird got even more annoying when it spoke up, on account of its screechy voice. "This is the Eevee you were talking about?"
The green thing nodded.
"About time it woke up!"
"It?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.
Chatot ignored her. It flew over to the green thing and stared at it, causing it to visibly flinch. "You say you want to start a rescue team?"
"Huh?" That question completely caught it off guard. "I never-"
Chatot landed on the ground and preened its wing, as if it was uninterested in the green thing. "Any Pokemon with the courage to bypass the gate outside completely in favor of an unconscious friend is certainly someone who'd be perfect for a rescue team."
The pink thing nodded. "He's right! We spent all of last night discussing it!"
The green thing blushed and set its gaze to the ground. "I-If you think I'd be good at it..."
The little parrot Pokemon flew towards Twilight, causing her to step back a pace. "That is, if your friend's up to it also!"
"Excuse me?" Twilight asked, though it was more along the lines of a statement.
"Every rescue team needs at least two team members! It's regulations!"
Boy, this was the time when Twilight really needed her personal space. Having that screeching voice ringing so loudly in her ears gave her a migraine.
She took a look at the green thing. Its head was down low, though there was no masking the excitement of the possibility of becoming a rescue team. What that was, Twilight hadn't a clue. All she knew was that thing creature bore a strong resemblance to Fluttershy, and like hay would she disappoint a pony like that.
"Then I guess we're a rescue team," she said bluntly. The green thing's head shot up and gave a smile that would rival even Pinkie Pie's.
In the next few minutes, the pink thing (Chatot had addressed it as "Guildmaster Wigglytuff") gave the green thing a box containing a badge and a pouch. Wigglytuff had allowed both of them to stay in the room Twilight was just in, and in the morning they'd have to come up with a team name.
The two of them went back into the room Twilight had been unconscious in, and the green thing started to get comfortable on one of the straw beds. This, somehow, made Twilight laugh.
"So I guess that's why there are two beds?" she asked. Before the other could answer, Twilight asked a question that had been gnawing on her ever since she realized this wasn't Fluttershy. "So, uh, what's your name?"
It gave a mumble.
"What was that?" To avoid a bout of deja vu, she leaned in closer in an effort to hear better. The next time it mumbled, Twilight knew what its name was. "Chikorita?"
Chikorita nodded.
Silence went on for a good few minutes as the two girls (anything with such a feminine name like that was sure to be female, Twilight decided) situated themselves in their straw beds. Twilight glanced at her companion, who was on her side, facing the window. She had quite a few questions. What other time would be better to ask than now?
"What's a rescue team, exactly?"
Chikorita didn't turn around to answer. "A pair and/or group of Pokemon with the sole intent of helping others in need, whether it'd be a small dissatisfaction or a crisis of epic proportions."
Twilight blinked. That sounded... kind of monotonous. Almost as if it was... "Rehearsed?" Twilight said aloud, finishing her thought. Chikorita gave a small nod.
Silence reigned in for a good while, until Chikorita turned her head. "Good night Eevee."
Huh. It was night? Looks like time flew by faster than she thought. Then she did a mental double take. Eevee? Was that her species name? She opened her mouth to correct her, but she thought better of herself. The names that the others had seemed like the name of their species. It'd be better if she went by her species name like the others. Wouldn't want too much attention for having an actual name in such a foreign place, now would she?
So she didn't answer. Instead, she closed her eyes, and let unconsciousness take her in. The last thing she remembered thinking was, Then again, Twilight isn't as much a name as the others.
It begins! I've got a really good feeling about this story and where it's going to lead. If this chapter seems a little too small, don't worry. The next chapter will definitely be longer.
Criticism is obliged! And if someone could make a cover for this story, that'd be great.
