Ch.7: Where's Spike and Skyress?
Meanwhile in Ponyville, Marvin and Dialga were busy making breakfast while Twilight and Drago were putting away their books from yesterday.
"I can't believe we've read ourselves to sleep last night," the Unicorn stated with a giggle.
"And I can't believe we've sparred ourselves to sleep last night," the Temporal Dragon added with a grin.
"I know what you mean," Marvin replied with an invisible smile before giving her a flirty look. "Then again, I didn't mind the way we were sleeping."
"Obviously! We're a race of creatures that are supposed to keep a watch on danger that would threaten our partners for our whole life," Drago added with a smile before wrapping his arm and wing around her with a seductive purr, "but I don't mind the way we were sleeping either."
"Oh you!" the girls giggled with a slight blush as each pushed her respective lover back playfully.
"C'mon, Twi," he teased, wrapping his arms around her neck. "You know you and Dialga liked it too. Probably why Spike didn't disturb us last night."
"Yeah, and Skyress too," Drago teased as well, letting his Temporal Dragoness rest her head on his neck. Dialga and Twilight blinked in reply.
"Now that I think about," Twilight said, "I haven't seen them all morning. Last time we did see them, they left to help Rarity and Taylean."
"You think they must have went to bed without waking us up?" asked Dialga. Drago and Marvin exchanged a quick glance, before turning back to their girlfriend and mate.
"Possibly," the Dragonoid answered his partner. "Why don't you and Marvin go check?" Said partners then left for Twilight's room to fetch the little dragon and Sky Phoenix. As they did, Dialga and Drago answered the knock at their door. Opening it, they saw Rarity and Taylean outside with a basket of gems along with a bag of birdseed cradled in Taylean's gauntlets.
"Hi, Rarity."
"Hello, Taylean."
"Greetings, Dialga and Drago, dears," the white Unicorn. "We came over to give this basket of gems and birdseed to Spike and Skyress as a thank-you gift for yesterday."
"Are they up yet?" asked Taylean.
"Marvin and Twilight are fetching them now," Drago answered. "You want to come in and wait?" As the Bearers of Generosity and Ventus came in, Marvin and Twilight came back downstairs, Peewee riding on Marvin's shoulder while Starly rode on Twilight's.
"Dialga, Drago," Marvin said with a bit of worry, "Spike and Skyress aren't there."
"What do you mean 'not there'?" asked Rarity and Taylean, noticing the worry in their voices.
"We mean Spike's not in his bed, while Skyress's golden cage is clearly empty," Twilight answered. "Just Peewee and Starly with their note here." Marvin then handed the parchment to Drago, who read them out loud to find out what's going on:
"Spike and Skyress came last night, packed their things, and just left. They looked rather strange, and they seemed upset about something. Owlicious and Typhlosion went to follow them and find out where they're going, and we stayed here to tell you what happened."
"You mean our poor little Spikey-Wikey ran away?" Rarity cried, dropping the basket with dismay, spilling their contents all over the floor.
"And Skyress too?" asked Taylean, dropping the seed all over the floor in shock.
"What do you mean 'They looked rather strange', you two?" Dialga then asked the baby phoenix and his guardian. Peewee and Starly then flew over to the desk, took a hold of a quill with Peewee's talon, and started to write their answer while Starly held the paper still:
"Their scales and feathers looked a little grayer."
"Grayer?" asked Marvin, confused. "Can dragons or Sky Phoenixes do that?"
"I don't think so," Twilight answered with a shake of her head.
Behind them, Drago and Dialga stiffened, their eyes widening with sudden realization and horror. Twilight, Marvin, Rarity, and Taylean turned to the two frozen Dragons, questioning looks on their faces.
"What's wrong, dears?" Rarity asked with worry in his voice. Drago and Dialga shook their heads and sighed.
"It's just a theory," Drago answered. "We'll tell you if we think it's true. You guys continue on."
"Grayer shade on scales and feathers…upset expressions…their running away," Rarity said with some thought before it hit Taylean.
"My friends," he then asked, "you don't think that Discord and Razenoid has something to do with it, do you?" The violet Pony and her red Dragonoid's eyes went wide with shock.
"It may be possible," Twilight answered, "but let's just hope not."
"What are you talking about?" asked Marvin.
"Remember when we told you about Discord and Razenoid turning us into the opposite of our true selves and attributes?" Drago asked. "Well, when they did, we literally turned gray in color. That's the effected sign of Discord and Razenoid's influence upon us."
"So you're saying that Spike and Skyress ran away because Discord and Razenoid turned them into the opposite of the Spike and Skyress we know and love?" asked Dialga.
"Exactly, which is why we have to find them and figure out what it was that made them like this," Twilight answered. "The question is: Why haven't Owlicious or Typhlosion come back to tell us where Spike and Skyress are now? They should've been back already."
Meanwhile at the castle ruins, Discord had hung up a cage that's holding Owlicious inside. He had detected the owl's presence and learned from Spike that he's Twilight's pet. Thinking he followed Spike to find out for Twilight where he was going, he caught him and trapped him inside the cage. Discord and Spike then looked out the window, where Razenoid was watching Skyress duke it out with Typhlosion.
The Volcano Pokemon had been overjoyed at first, that he and his partner had found Spike and Skyress, but his joy had quickly faded to confusion when he saw their gray coloring, and when Discord had trapped his partner and neither of the two did anything about it. He was even more surprised and shocked when Skyress, now looking a lot different then her previous form, blocking his way when he went to save his partner. With no choice left, he activated the flames broiling on his back and engaged his friend in battle.
"Skyress! You don't know what your doing! Snap out of it!" Typhlosion cried as he avoided a Lightning Talon from the corrupted bird. Skyress ignored him as she went in for a Blow Away. Her wings became swirling tornadoes, and she hurled them at him. He leaped over them easily, before counterattacking with an Eruption. A mass of molten rocks and lava exploded out of the flames on his back, aimed directly for Skyress. The corrupted guardian simply grinned as she opened her beak and blasted out a churning wall of Ventus winds. The Eruption exploded against the wall of wind, completely useless.
Typhlosion snarled as he attacked with everything in his arsenal. Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Focus Blast, Solarbeam, even Rock Slide! Each time, Skyress either avoided the move easily or took it full on, but when the smoke cleared, she emerged as good as new. Typhlosion was tiring. He couldn't keep this up forever. Skyress gave a cruel laugh as she saw the exhausted Volcano Pokemon.
"Ready to give up? You know you can't beat me." Typhlosion glared up at her, rage burning in his eyes.
"You really think so? Well, I've got one more trick up my sleeve. It may render me helpless, but what have I got to lose?"
With that, Typhlosion let out an ear-splitting roar as the flames billowing from his back flared with sudden intensity. He had just activated his Blaze ability, exceeding his own possible strength. The strain could knock him out, but it gave him a tremendous power boost. Typhlosion's eyes opened, and they were a glaring pure, fiery red.
"BLAST BURN!" he roared as he hunched over, aiming the blazing flames on his back directly at Skyress, whose eyes widened in shock. Typhlosion then roared as the flames discharged a massive, powerful Blaze-boosted stream of crimson flames at Skyress. They smashed into her with an enormous crack, engulfing her form in fiery fury. Spike rushed forward to help his guardian, but Razenoid pulled him back.
"What are you doing?" Spike roared at the Darkus Demon angrily. He and Discord chuckled.
"Skyress doesn't need your help," Razenoid explained. "She can handle her own in a fight." He then pointed to the ball of fire, which split open in a blazing explosion as Skyress sliced through with Whirlwind Lighting Blade. Her blade tail glowed intense black as she lowered her head and glared at Typhlosion, who collapsed to the ground, his eyes widening in shock.
"Wh... Wha.. How... did... you...?..." Skyress chuckled.
"My strength far exceeds yours now, pathetic Pokemon! My dark power has granted me that!" With that, Skyress leaped forward, so fast, it was a blur. She sliced through the Volcano Pokemon with Whirlwind Lighting Blade. Typhlosion collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Razenoid then lashed out with a barrage of purple Darkus chains, binding the unconscious Volcano Pokemon. He then tossed a chain over the rafters, and tied a knot, securing the bound Typhlosion next to his caged partner. Skyress then landed on Spike's shoulder and glared at the two as Owliscious turned to them in shock.
"Sorry, birdie," Spike said to the owl coldly, "but you're not going anywhere for quite some time." Discord and Razenoid then turned to Kaa, Hiss, and their guardians.
"You four stay here and keep an eye on them," Discord instructed, thumbing at Owlicious and the unconscious Typhlosion. "The others and I are going to meet up with our Princess and Lady."
"Asss you wish, massstersss," Kaa replied, bowing to them as did Hiss and their guardians. Razenoid then snapped his talons, and he, Discord, and the seven dragons and their guardians were gone in a flash.
