Ash, and all other characters are from Gamefreak/Nintendo and Cartoon Network
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is from Hasbro
Prologue
Stranger in a strange land
A young boy had returned to his home after another long journey of trying to accomplish his ultimate goal. The main thing that he wished to do was to enjoy some time away from his chosen field before starting it up again, but as he did that a new adventure was already on it's way. "A strange cave was discovered around Laramy Ranch." An elderly gentleman said as he was reading the newspaper in his study.
"Isn't that the same ranch where Ash won that race with a Rapidash?" The assistant to the older man questioned while putting away some research books.
"The very same." He answered back before adding, "Hmm, I wonder if he would be up for a little side-quest before going to the Unova Region with me?" He tried to think of the answer before the former traveling buddy spoke again.
"Knowing Ash, he would be thrilled to help you, Professor Oak." The younger man said with a smile after putting away the last of the books.
"Thank you, Tracey." Oak answered back before hearing his phone go off. "I wonder who that can me. I'm not expecting any phone calls today." The researcher stated before going to the device. "Oh, hello there." He said after recognizing the face, and began to chat to the person. Back at a average house was the helper in question.
"Another great round of Blueberry waffles, mom." The raven haired youth shouted with joy as he gave a red head his plate, again.
"I'm glad you like it dear. Are you ready for your sixth?" The mother to the glutton questioned with a smile on her face. Before an answer could be made there was a knock on the door.
"It's open." The male human said while glancing at his yellow furred chum who seemed to be ready in case it was another villain. The door opened, and all were happy to see that it was Professor Oak.
"Good Morning, Ketchum family." The man said to all with a wave of the hand.
"Good Morning, Professor Oak." The two of them said as they were happy to see a familiar face.
"Would you like some Breakfast, Professor?" The mother questioned in a polite tone.
"No thank you, Delia. I ate before coming here." He explained in his own polite tone so as to not hurt her feelings. "Actually the reason I am visiting is because a cave has been discovered in Laramy Ranch." He explained and saw that the location in question caught the young boy's interest.
'I haven't been there in a while.' Ash thought with a smile on his face.
"I was wandering if Ash would like to accompany me here, and check it out." The researcher said to the older woman.
"Can I go with him, mom? Can I?" Ash questioned with a pleading look in his eyes. The mother could only smile since she knew that her descendent was always up for an adventure.
"Of course, Ash. I know Professor Oak will watch over you." Delia said back with a smile before looking at the researcher and added, "When will you be going?" The man thought of it for a moment until an adequate time came to him.
"About an hour. That's all I need to get my things ready." Samuel Oak said back before looking at all four of their reactions.
"Sounds good. Pikachu and I will be there." The Pallet Town protector said back before going back to the Breakfast plate that was set before him.
"Pika!" The yellow rodent cheered out which translated to, 'yay!' since he could not wait to see Rapidash again. With nothing else to say the five said their good-byes and went on their ways. Once the hour passed Ash and Pikachu said good-bye to Mr. Mime and mother before heading to Oak's home.
"I hope Lara's been doing okay since we last seen her." Ash said to his fuzzy buddy as they got past the gate, and made it to the front door.
"Hey, Ash, good to see ya." Tracey said as he opened the door to the person that knocked on it. Ketchum was happy to see his old traveling buddy, and shook his hand before entering. "Professor Oak is just finish packing his pack; he should be down any moment." The sketch artist explained, so the two decided to wait in the Living Room for their friend.
"Hello, Ash, I'm sorry that I'm late." Oak said as he entered the Living Room to see the two visitors taking a nap on one of the chairs. They woke with a start before seeing the man that invited them over.
"No problem, Professor. We're ready to go whenever you are." The young boy said after a good stretch. "So, how are we going to get over there. It took Misty, Brock and I a couple of months to get there on foot." Ash stated to one of his mentors. This brought a smile to the man's face.
"Simple. We will get a ride from an old friend." Oak answered back which confused his companions. The older gentleman decided to clarify by walking outside, and threw a Pokeball into the air. "Now, come on out." He stated white tossing. The inhabitant left the sphere.
"Pikachu?" The rodent questioned at the sight of the creature before him. The comment was simply, "Is that you?" Ash was also feeling a nostalgic vibe from that bird.
"Can you really be?" Ash asked as well, and was answered by a hug by both of the wings. "It really is you, Pidgeot!" He cheered before returning the gesture. A few moments into the hug they separated, hopped aboard, and headed off to the Ranch.
"It seems your Pidgeot had gotten a lot faster since he protected the Pidgey and Pidgeotto from that Fearow." Oak pointed out as they were already in the Ranch's airspace. The big bird landed and let his passengers get off. "Here Ash, keep hold of this." Samuel stated as he tossed the returned creature to the human.
"Are you sure, Professor?" Ash asked as he looked at the ball in hand. The Pokemon Trainer got a nod as his answer, so he shrank the sphere and put it back on his belt. 'Welcome back.' The human thought before hearing a loud neigh coming at them.
"Ash!" A female from the horse shouted with joy. "I heard that you were coming over. I missed you!" The female ranch girl shouted as she dismounted and gave the hero a big hug. To show its affection the horse lapped at his head.
"Lara. Rapidash. It's great to see you again." The Pallet Town protector said as he was just as happy to see these two faces. After that greeting Lara decided to get to work.
"Professor Oak, my mother is waiting for you at home." The blue haired girl said and chauffeured the two men, and Electric Pokemon to the barn. Once the group got there they were greeted by an older woman and man.
"Hello. I am Lance Laramy and this is my wife, Lana Laramy, and of course you have already met my daughter Lara Laramy." A raven haired man informed the two Pallet Town participants.
"So, you are the boy that helped evolve my girl's Ponyta?" The mother questioned before getting up off of her chair to get a closer look at the Trainer. "I can tell that there is something special about you." The woman said after she completed her investigation.
"Onto more important matters. I'm sure you've heard about the cave Professor Oak?" Lance questioned after they all sat down to have some tea and Pokemon food.
"That's right, but I have a feeling that there's more to it?" Oak questioned back.
"There is. After the media was done spreading my little discovery to the four corners of the globe I went down a bit deeper than the reporters wanted to, and saw that the one tunnel divides into five." The father owner of the Ranch explains to the researcher and the hero.
"I'd really want to check that out!" Ash exclaimed since this visit had really heated up. "Can we, Mister Laramy?" He asked and watched as the one in question looked at the clock on their fireplace.
"Considering that it's only 1 in the Afternoon I don't see the harm. If only for a quick look around." The father of the horse rider said with his index finger and thumb in the traditional thinking pose.
"You mean it? Alright!" The energetic youth cheered with great joy.
"Pika Pika!" The volt based one cheered which translated to, "A new adventure!" It was then the elder man of the group decided to stop them.
"A moment Ash. I have a surprise for you." Oak said causing all of them to turn their attention to him. Oak them pulled out several Pokeballs from his own backpack.
"Why did you bring all them Pokeballs?" Lara questioned since she believed empty spheres weren't going to help them with this adventure.
"There are mostly for Ash. And now I will show why." The researcher explained before throwing all of them into the air. In that moment they all opened to reveal several creatures Ash hasn't seen in a while.
"How? How are all of you here?" Ash asked as he looked at the ones that made his journey truly memorable. Oak had placed two more gifts into Ketchum's pack before answering.
"Before going to your home I was phoned by all of your friends: Liza, Officer Jenny, Casey, Primeape's trainer, Sabrina decided that you deserved a little visit to the creatures that you gave to them." Oak explained as Muk gave the Trainer a big, oily hug.
"That was nice of them, but what about the others?" Ash said as he tried to free himself from his slim based friend.
"After hearing that I decided that the ones in my Lab deserved that same treatment, and it was also a good time to show that one of your Pokemon has grown stronger." The researcher explained before gesturing over to the large dragon standing along side Charizard.
"Gible?! You've evolved all the way to Garchomp!" Ash shouted as he finally saw the 6 ft 3in creature.
"Yes, yes I have." He answered back in his native tongue.
"It was only a sheer coincident that Pidgeot, Butterfree, and Lapras found their way to you." Oak explained to the sight of the two other wild ones who were eagerly nuzzling their faces against both sides of his face.
"Thank you all for coming." Ash said as he beckoned them all back to their Pokeballs. It was at that time Ketchum recalled a slight wrinkle in this little plan. "Wait a minute. A Pokemon Trainer can only have up to six Pokemon accompanying them, right?" The hero questioned back, and wondered what the big idea was.
"Ordinarily, yes, but since this is only an exploration trip I disabled that safety protocol of the Pokeballs. Don't get used to that freedom, young man, because before we go to Unova I will reactive that safety feature. I only did it for now so you can enjoy the company of all of your friends." The friend of the family explained causing the human to become even more excited.
"Thank you Professor Oak! Thanks a lot!" Ash shouted out as he began to shake his friend's hand with a great grip. The father of the race horse rider decided to speak up.
"Not that I'm happy Ash has all of his friends. Believe me - I'm proud of you, but didn't we all decide to check out the caves that run all over under the Ranch." Lance said to the others causing the group to snap back to that stated task.
"Oh, quit right. Shall we be heading off?" Oak questioned to the group since he was still very much intrigued by this strange cave system under their feet. Ketchum then recalled all of his creatures and stuffed most of them in his backpack, but kept four more on his belt, and followed the others out the door.
'I wonder if there are any Pokemon inside that cave?' Ash thought as he recalled his missed opportunity to capture any Pokemon back in Mount Moon. "Sorry I didn't ask this sooner, but how's your arm Lara?" Ash asked as they kept walking to the spot in question.
"Just fine Ash. Thank ya kindly for askin." The country girl replied back with a smile since she did like that caring side to this boy. Soon the group made it to the entrance, and made it to the division section.
"There are five tunnels and there are five of us, so we'll each take one." The father said, and had faith that no one was in any real danger…even though he hasn't been in any of them himself.
"Perhaps we should remain in contact with one another with out Pokegear?" The Professor questioned while pulling out the device in question from his pocket.
"Actually I tried that same device, and it can't breach passed these stone walls for some reason." The discoverer explained before adding, "So, instead how about we all come back to this spot in about an hour or so, and tell the others what was in their tunnel?" After giving it some thought the Kanto researcher spoke again.
"That sounds like a splendid idea." Oak replied. With nothing else to say the group picked a flashlight and a tunnel and headed out. Ash and Pikachu kept glancing to a fro for anything out of the ordinary, but nothing…until he shined his light on the right side of his tunnel.
"What are those?" The Pokemon Trainer questioned as he walked over to the wall and saw unknown scratch marks on the wall of stone. Both of them soon realized that they were not just scratches but hieroglyphs of some nature. "Kinda wish Brandon was here to help decipher them." Ketchum commented while unconsciously rubbing his finger tips over the markings.
"What are you doing?! Don't you remember the Dark King possessing you moment?" Pikachu exclaimed to his friend after smacking the back of the human's head with his tail.
"Come on. I'm only seeing if these are real, and there's no harm in that." The human said back to the Pokemon after guessing that the comment was a warning of sorts. Unknown to either of them Ash's aura came to his finger tips, and after stroking the right glyphs something happened.
"Now you've done it!" Pikachu exclaimed as the wall started to shake, but instead of collapsing the long stone slab slid downward which revealed a strange object. The object on the other side of the wall was a portal of warm colors.
"That portal seems nice enough. I have an idea. I'll go take a look; you wait here." Ash explained in an almost hypnotic tone before walking toward it. The smaller creature saw this and tried pulling on his pant leg - no luck, so the Pokemon tried pushing on the front of his pant leg, and that too ended in defeat.
'Good bye cruel world.' The rodent thought since he had given up and decided to accept his fate. A few moments later the electrical one heard a voice.
"Huh? Where are we? Where's the cave?" Ash questioned as he felt his head clearing up from that strange feeling that over took him. The trainer than looked around, and did not recognize anything.
'Guess we're not dead.' The best non-human friend of the hero thought before hearing the roar of Ash's stomach.
'Hungry again?' Ash thought before patting his stomach. His traveling partner could only sigh in aggravation before catching a strong scent. "Where are you going, Pikachu? Ash questioned when he saw his fuzzy buddy run off.
"I smell food!" The Electric creature called out as he ran to the source of the scent. Having faith that his oldest friend knew what he was doing the human followed after him. This caused them to stop before a farm of sorts which confused the both of them.
"I've never seen this farm before?" Ash commented while seeing that there only seemed to be apple trees as far as the eye can see. The two ventured further past the white fence and into the property. "Man, these apples look so good." Ketchum commented as he heard his stomach rumble again.
'Maybe a quick nibble.' The tamed beast thought as he climbed up a tree, and was about to snatch one until someone stopped him.
"No, Pikachu. After the grapefruit incident with Snorlax and the apple incident with the Pichu you should know that stealing is wrong." His human partner commented causing the creature to grumble something that Ash did not catch. As the taller traveler began to think of how to eat without necessarily breaking the law his friend picked up on a conversation.
"I don't know. They don't seem like bad critters." A young voice said to someone else.
"I just don't trust `em. Who knows what they want. You agree that they might be up to no good, Big Macintosh." A older female voice questioned another.
"Yep." The third voice answered back casually, and with that the conversation ended. The rodent had to guess that the voices were the owners of this farm, and fled into the barn when they saw them coming.
"I've got it!" The citizen of Pallet Town shouted in enthusiasm which caused his partner to look over in his direction. "I'll write a note simply saying that we will pay back for the apples in what ever way we can." The human said as he pulled a pad and pencil from his front pockets, something he often carried when there was no gym to beat or Pokemon to meet, and wrote said note before setting it on the ground in front of a tree.
"So, I guess it's okay for me to pick a couple." Pikachu whispered to himself and was about to use Iron Tail to cut a couple down his partner stopped him again.
"Since we're not sure if who ever owns this land would be cool of us taking their profit we better just stick with one." Ash said causing the rodent to pick one, and with enough muscle popped it in two.
'Sometimes you can be a real buzz-kill.' The yellow furred one thought before tossing one half to the human, and began to eat the other half. Both knew that the one half of an apple won't stall his hunger for long, but he had to be fair to whoever owned this farm.
"Come on. We better check out more of this place." Ash said causing his fuzzy buddy to jump off of the branch and onto his shoulder. With nothing else to say the two decided to venture into another area, and hope someone would help them out.
"I still think this town is abandoned." Pikachu explained after they had been looking around for an hour with zero results. The human did not believe that one bit; especially when he used his power of aura, still in training, to see faint images of creatures within the buildings.
"I doubt it's deserted Pikachu." The mortal explained and then went deeper by adding, "The ground is well kept along with the houses are in perfect condition." This the rodent could not deny, but the question remained - where was everybody.
"Whoever those two are they better think twice of pulling something in Ponyville." A voice muttered aloud while hiding in an unusual spot. The location was noticed by the smaller one.
'Is that normal behavior for a cloud around here?' The unknown creature thought since there was a small cloud following them; in fact it had been following them since they walked into town.
"Maybe that building over there might help." Ash said as he completely ignored the low hanging cloud as he headed to a rather large building. When the two looked through the window they saw that there were outfits on strange mannequins. "Strange. That looks like a Ponyta, but I haven't heard any Pokemon, and you haven't heard any." Ash commented before walking away from the building to look somewhere else.
"What an atrocious outfit." A person from the other side of the glass stated as she watched the creature walked away, and could only gave the taller one with disgust. By this time Pikachu decided to stand on his own feet just to see the town from his perspective.
"I wonder why Ponyville is so silent. Don't tell me that strange pony is here." A nearly silent voice stated as it came closer into town. The citizen looked around and did not see any of her friends, but did spot something most fascinating. "Wow! What is that!" The creature shouted in enthusiasm before rushing over to the small mammal.
"Did you hear something, Pik-." Ketchum tried to say but suddenly felt the ground leave his sneakers, and meet up with his backpack.
"I've never seen anything like you before." A cream/pink colored horse said with a look of awe in her eyes. Well versed in the way of looky-loos the small creature was not alarmed by the attention, but remained calm.
"Want to be friends?" The yellow one questioned with an outstretched hand.
"Of course. I would love to be your friend." The young horse, who was now a little of the ground thanks to the wings, answered back. It was at this time the taller of the two rested most of his weight on his elbows to see what was going on.
'A winged horse? Now that is really odd.' The human thought as he saw the two talking, and was about to interrupt when a voice was heard from behind him.
"You're a strange looking one." The voice said in a strangely energetic tone which Ash looked over his shoulder to see that it was a bright pink pony from the fur to the mane, and even the tail.
"Yes, I suppose I am." The human responded before rising to his feet. "Listen my friend and I are new around her and…" Ash said but stopped since the creature he was speaking with ran away. "That was odd." Ash commented before walking over to the only other horse around. "And who might you be?" He asked in a polite tone.
"EEK!" The creature shouted in fright before hiding behind the rodent. This was a reaction that Ash did not expect so he decided to correct it.
"Sorry if I scared you, but my friend and I come in peace." Ash explained himself after kneeling down to talk to the creature near eye level. The human than offered his hand out to offer the creature a handshake to show that he was sincere.
'It looks like he's telling the truth.' The pony thought before looking down at the yellow one who nodded in agreement. She was about to accept his offer until a voice shrieked out.
"I'm back!" The plucky voice called out causing the three to turn to the source and saw that it was the pink one again, but this time she was carrying a wagon of sorts. "This is my Welcome Wagon! To give you two a warm welcome two to Ponyville!" The creature called out to the two new comers.
"So, that's the name of this place." Ash muttered to himself before realizing that the wagon was now open, and he was hit by confetti from the oven looking device.
'Crap!' Pikachu thought in alarm as he saw some sort of cream colored goo come out of the party cannons, and fly high into the air. Already knowing where that was headed the small creature bolted into his friend's backpack and waited.
"Pikachu? What's…." Ash questioned, but could not finished as he was soon covered in goo.
"Oh no. It looks like I accidentally put the confetti in the oven and the cake mix in the confetti cannons again." The pink one said as she too was covered in the batter. To the human's amazement she sped out of the mix, with it still holding form, and ate it in one gulp.
"No worries. I'm alright." Ash said before going for his belt, and threw a ball into the air. "Quilava, I choose you." The taller one called out, and after a nearly blinding white light the two ponies saw a long cream/green colored creature with a flame on its head and butt.
"Do you need some-." The creature tried to speak in his native tongue, but started to bust a gut when he saw his partner covered in goo.
"Are you finished?" Ash asked calmly after ten minutes of endless laughter, and it was then the loyal fire creature stopped, and became series. "Okay. I need you to use Flamethrower, but keep it small and steady." Ash explained, and the creature nodded in agreement.
'I sure hope you know what your doing.' The fire type thought before doing as he was told. The sight before them shocked the two ponies in sight along with the ones that were peeking through their doors and windows.
'Wow, that little guy is doing great. The batter is coming out nice and even.' The pink one thought in awe.
'I sure hope those two are okay in the blaze.' The cream/pink pony thought with worry. Within the cake Ash felt fine as if he was in a sauna, but his old friend was in serious pain due to all of the Pokeballs he was sitting on were becoming warm with the fire.
"That's good, Quilava." Ash called out from within his cake prison, and in a heroic style - broke free from it. As soon as he did the electrical one leapt out of his suffocating steam room.
"Air. Glorious air!" The rodent cheered out after getting out of the pack, and began to cool down. Ash on the other hand began petting his fire fueled friend for a job well done.
"Good job, Quilava." Ketchum said before picking up a piece of his cocoon. "Here, you deserve this." He added which the creature took happily. The hero then offered his prison to Pikachu, and the two locals as well. After this display of generosity the two knew that this man was good.
"Every-pony! Every-pony! This guy is okay!" The one in pink shouted loudly causing all the windows and doors to open wide, and creatures either stuck their heads out their windows or they actually walked outside.
'Starting to see why it was named Ponyville.' Ash thought as he looked around and saw that everyone of them were pony types. The that the boy could only assume was in charge walked up to him.
"On behalf of everyone here. I welcome you to Ponyville." The leader of the small town explained.
"Thank you. My name is Ash Ketchum and these are my friends: Pikachu and Quilava." The taller creature explained while pointing the right ones out. The mayor then decided to do the same with everyone around them. He heard and tried to commit the names to memory.
"And finally there are the two that welcomed you, but I'll let them introduce themselves." The leader of the small town explained before gesturing over to the two in question.
"I'm Pinkie Pie. Pleased to meet you!" She exclaimed happily while shaking the human's hand vigorously.
"Nice to meet you too." He answered back while gently removing her hoof, but she made up for that by saying hello to the other two. The Trainer then decided to turn his attention that welcomed his friend with open…hooves. "And you might be?" He asked politely.
"Fluttershy." The girl said below a whisper.
"Sorry, what did you say?" Ash asked in a calm tone since he suspected a shyness after the way she reacted when he approached her.
"Fluttershy." The creature answered a bit louder, and this time he did hear her.
"It suits you." The Pallet Town person said in a complimenting fashion, and it was at this time Pikachu saw four more horses coming over. The monster tamer saw them, and became concerned, but had a gut feeling he knew who they were. "I'm guessing you are the ones in charge of that farm we visited?" He asked the four and waited for some sort of reply.
"Sure am. Name's Apple Jack. This here is my brother Big Macintosh. My little sister Apple Bloom, and my granny: Granny Smith. And you're the one who ate one of our apples." The orange/yellow one said to the visitor.
"And if you four read my note then I am willing to do what ever you want to pay for it." Ash said to them which confused the four since they were willing to let it pass since it was only one apple, and the two did seem hungry, but he seemed serious about it.
"If you are serious about paying us back. Follow us youngster." The green coated elder said to Ash. The human issued for his two friends to remain where they are, and just relax; which they did.
'Hope he's going to be okay.' The four-legged fire breather thought before eating more cake. On the ranch all Ash was needed to do was plant the seed of the apple he ate into an open area. He was concerned that that was all they wanted but said nothing about it.
"Where do I put this?" The hero questioned aloud, and then felt the ground, and that was when a meter of sorts came to his mind - telling him if the spot was good or bad for the seed. The test went on for an hour or so until finally he found the right spot. "Weird. It's like the ground wanted me to put it there." He whispered to himself before hearing something coming from behind.
"Hey, Ash, the mayor wants to see you for a moment." The bucker, who went into town and given the name of one of the visitors, said to the man in question.
"Thanks, Apple Jack. I'm on my way." Ash said back after covering up the seed, and went back into town. He headed in and saw that his two Poke-Pals were already making fast friends with the citizens of this town. "You wanted to see Mayor." The raven haired youth questioned to the grey manned one.
"Yes, I have already shown Quilava and Pikachu this, so I am showing you as well." The leader said as she guided him over to a house that was on the edge of ville and forest. "I wish for you to have this as your home for however long you and your team is here for." She offered to the youth beside her.
'This is a little much especially considering I have no idea how long I'm going to be here.' Ash thought before looking around at all the ponies staring at him - waiting for an answer. "I will take it. Thank you Madame Mayor,: He said with a bow, and was grateful that there were no buildings or anything like that in the back yard.
"Splendid. Here are your keys, and again, Welcome to Ponyville." The mayor said to the hero before leaving to attend something else. Nothing else happened that day aside from hanging out with almost everyone in town, but at night something didn't sit right.
"I can't help but feel that there's something not right." The human pointed out while lying in the comfy bed. "Maybe if I release my other Pokemon." Ash offered and did so, and explained the situation which none of them seemed to really mind.
'Finally a break from breaking up fights.' Bulbasaur thought before finding a good spot on the floor to fall asleep on. Even after doing that the feeling that Ash felt was still there.
"Nope. Must be something else." Ketchum guessed and thought some air would help him. At first - it did, until the human looked at their moon. "Is that…another horse?" He questioned aloud and realized that it was that strange image that was giving him those bad vibes. 'Hopefully I'm just overreacting.' Ketchum thought and decided to head to bed; all the while praying that this could be a relaxing vacation, but something told him that it wouldn't.