Okay, okay. I'm sorry I've been ignoring all of you. ;_; I started school
on Monday. . .-hurls- First week of school for me=bad. My best friend and I
don't have ONE class together, even though we signed up for practically the
same ones! GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! SCHOOL IS EVIL! I HATE IT AS MUCH AS SMALL
CHILDREN!
Okay, okay, I'm done. . .anyway this chapter is for Edgar, who has been in the hospital all these chapters because he fractured his ankle. . .but now he's back! YAY EDGAR! ^_^
Now I'm going to yell at my stepbrother for no reason and read the two manga my friend Diana (yes, I have a real live friend named Diana ~_^) lent me. And YOU can read (and review -cough cough-) this lovely chapter!
~Chapter Twenty-Five~
About forty-five minutes later, the filly was standing up. She took a few shaky steps towards the door in the stall, then fell. She immediately stood up again.
I giggled. "She's so determined."
Shane nodded in agreement.
Princess had given her daughter a bath, and her eyes were more open now, so she now looked like a miniature Ponyta with legs that were too long.
Nurse Joy had left and Danielle was in the house, so it was just me, Shane, Princess, Red Spot, and the filly all together. Almost. . .like a family.
"We should give her a name," I suddenly said.
"The filly?" Shane replied.
"Who else?"
Shane smiled, but shrugged. "Well, what would be the point? They're probably. . ." he trailed off. I knew he was about to say, "Going to leave soon."
There was an awkward silence for a minute, then Shane shrugged again. "Well, anyway, Princess likes you too much to leave right away, so, yeah, we should probably name her. It WOULD get boring just saying 'the filly' all the time."
I smiled. "Yeah." I began racking my brain for names. Name, name, name. Like Shane was thinking, it probably didn't matter, but it would be nice to label the filly with something nice.
"We could take part of Red Spot's name and part of Princess's name and combine them," Shane suggested. "That's how some breeders do it."
"Okay. How about. . ." I paused. Just combining the names was one thing, but really making them flow together would be a little tough. "How about. . ." I started again. "Princess Flaming Red Spot." I grinned at Shane. "Flame for short."
Shane repeated the name to himself, then grinned back. "It's perfect."
Flame suddenly wobbled to us on her tiny, skinny legs and whinnied at us.
"I think she's telling us she likes it too," I said.
"That, or that she and her parents would like to get out," Shane laughed. I looked up from Flame and saw Princess and Red Spot stomping their hooves, a sign that, indeed, they wanted to get out of the stall.
"Okay," I said slowly, wondering how Flame would do outside of the stall. I opened the door and three bursts of flames shot out.
Flame seemed to love being outside and tried to use her legs even more to canter around her parents. Princess and Red Spot went in circles, then reared and neighed at the Ponytas and Rapidashes that were still standing at the fence.
Danielle came back out of the house---with Julie and Allison!
"Omigosh!" I gasped. "I'm sorry, you guys! I completely forgot---"
"No problem," Julie laughed. "We know a baby Ponyta is more important than any party. Speaking of which, where is the little booger?"
I laughed, and pointed out towards Flame. She was trotting alongside the fence, touching noses with all the of Pokemon.
"Shane and I named her," I said. "Princess Flaming Red Spot, Flame for short."
Allie grinned. "It's perfect. So are you going to turn her into a jumper like her mama and daddy?"
My smile suddenly faded. "Um. . .not exactly. Look, why don't you guys go back to the house. Tell Mom I'll be there in a minute. I'll explain everything later."
Allie and Julie were going to spend the night at my house, just like when we were kids.
"Okay," they both said, with question marks on their faces. Danielle led them through the gate, eyeballing Shane for some reason.
I ran back next to Shane, sighing. "I can't believe I didn't tell them," I groaned. "Just living it is painful enough. . .but explaining it again. . ." I trailed off, watching Flame run up to her mother and start nursing. Red Spot grazed next to them.
Shane took a deep breath. "Diana. . ." he started.
In my hysterics about Princess leaving and having to tell my friends about it later, I cried out, "Oh, what, are you leaving too?"
Shane gave me a crooked smile. "Not exactly. . ." he said, reaching into his pocket and took out something. He took one of my hands in his, and my breath stopped as I felt something slip onto my finger. He held my hand for another few seconds and then let go.
I held my hand up. On my ring finger was a silver band glittering with a deep blue stone.
"Shane. . ." I whispered. "Is. . this. . ."
He nodded and pulled me into his arms, and we kissed.
I couldn't believe it.
~*~
I felt incredibly mixed up as I walked home. Part of me was ecstatic, the other was sobbing uncontrollably.
I was immediately happier when I walked into my house. Julie and Allie were sitting on the couch talking, and Mom and Dad were talking in the kitchen, where I bet Mom was making snacks for me and my friends.
"Hey you guys!" I cried, sitting in between them.
"Diana!" Allison gasped, but then looked at me. "Is something wrong? You look. . .kind of mixed up."
"Probably about Flame," Julie suggested.
"Well---" I started.
"What happened, anyway? You said you would explain it when you got back, and here you are. So tell!" Julie continued.
Allison caught sight of my hand and gasped again. "Where did that ring come from?!" she cried.
"Maybe---" Julie started.
"YOU GUYS!" I yelled, and they both shut up. "I'll explain if you let me get in a word edgewise," I smirked. "Good news or bad news?"
My friends looked at each other and immediately said in unison, "Bad news."
'Figures,' I thought. I swallowed and stared at the floor. "Well. . .it's about Princess. And Flame and Red Spot."
I explained to them why they all had to leave after they had a foal. They looked a little confused.
"Why do they HAVE to leave?" Julie asked. "I mean, couldn't you. . .force them to stay or something?"
I shook my head. "For one thing, I could never do that. You can't hold a Pokemon against its will, especially if it's not the Pokemon of a trainer." Allison shifted a little. "And for another, it's. . .nature, I guess. Weird things happen in nature all the time," I quoted my mom.
Julie shrugged. "That really sucks. So. . .you're not going to have a Rapidash to jump?"
"Not one of my own," I said. "Mrs. Mavens wants me to show one of her Rapidashes, Pass, for her. So I'll still get to show---"
Mom suddenly burst into the room, holding out a bowl of popcorn and a plate of sandwiches. "Here you are girls," she said, stared at me like what I had just said was a crime, and went back into the kitchen.
"Your mom's been acting really weird lately," Julie said, grabbing a handful of popcorn.
"Yeah. She kept muttering to herself and looking at this weird book when you were with Princess." Allison shrugged and grabbed a sandwich. "Oh well. Now. . .what's the good news?"
I suddenly grinned and held up my hand. The blue stone glittered with the movement of my hand.
"That ring is gorgeous," Julie said. "Who gave it to you?"
"Shane," I grinned.
"Why would. . ." Allie started. Suddenly her eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth.
Julie screamed with delight. "Oh my gosh! Oh my GOSH!"
I laughed and threw some popcorn at them. "I'M the one that's supposed to be screaming."
"Then why aren't you?" Julie cried, and pulling me up. We all started screaming and my friends hugged me. Finally Mom burst out of the kitchen.
"What is going ON in here?" she asked.
I glanced at Allison and Julie and they nodded with stupid grins on their faces. I held up my hand to Mom. She squinted at the ring, and without saying anything, I knew she understood.
"You and Shane are getting MARRIED?!" she yelped.
"YES!" I squealed, hugging Mom. "He asked me outside after Flame--- Princess's filly---was running around outside," I babbled.
"Princess had a daughter?" Mom smiled crookedly. "That's. . .that's great. So. . .she's going to leave soon?"
I immediately felt upset again. "Yeah, I guess," I mumbled. I turned to my friends. "C'mon you guys. Let's go up to my room."
~*~
"So have you planned anything about the wedding yet?" Julie asked the second we settled in my room.
I shook my head. "No. He just gave me the ring and then after a few minutes Danielle called him inside. Something about the Pokemon," I shrugged. "Anyway, what's been going on with you guys?"
It was like we were twelve again, and we stayed up until two in the morning talking. I had a sudden flashback of when we were looking through my stuff and my friends rode Princess for the first time. I smiled to myself, and after awhile, we all finally fell asleep at 2:39 in the morning.
~*~
When I finally woke up at ten the next morning, I found myself alone in my room. I was a little surprised Julie and Allison went off for breakfast without me---they usually waited. I shrugged as I pulled on some clothes. They were probably downstairs.
But in the kitchen, I only found Mom. She was looking through that weird book again.
"Mom, where did Julie and Allie go?" I asked.
She stared at the book for a few more seconds before answering without looking at me. "Julie was needed back at her school, and Allison's mom wanted to see her. She requested that you not disturb them," Mom said in a flat voice.
Funny. How did she know I planned to call Allison the second she said that?
But something told me Mom was hiding something. "Are you sure?" I asked.
Mom nodded listlessly. "Yes. Why don't you go over and see Princess?"
I shrugged and jogged over there without saying another word to Mom. She was acting weird lately---WAY too weird.
I decided to forget about it as I went to one of the smaller paddocks, where Flame, Red Spot, and Princess were being kept until they decided to leave.
"Princess," I called softly.
She looked up from her grazing and walked slowly over to me, keeping one eye on Flame, who was asleep. Princess put her muzzle in my outstretched hands and snorted into them.
"Princess," I sighed. I looked into her eyes for who knows how long---but it felt like forever.
I knew then. . .it was time.
"Oh Princess," I sobbed, tears spilling from my eyes. "Why do you have to go?"
She snorted again, and rubbed her nose on my shoulder.
"Princess," I whispered again. She was ready to go. She wanted to live her life as she probably had when she was a tiny Ponyta herself. She wanted to run, run free and fend for herself.
But I couldn't let her go---not until Shane had said good-bye to Red Spot.
"I said my farewells last night," someone whispered. I jumped. Shane was standing near me. "I spent nearly all night in the paddock," he said, leaning his hands on the fence. His eyes looked a little red, but when he blinked, they looked normal again. "I even jumped him a little. He's raring to go, but I knew you wanted to say goodbye to Princess."
I smiled tearfully, and patted Princess on the neck. "You know if you ever run into anything really major, you can come back here," I said to her. "But try and take care of yourself and Flame, okay?"
Princess whinnied softly in reply.
I opened the gate. Red Spot and Flame shot out and ran into the road and across the street, waiting for Princess---but she had stopped in front of me.
"Oh, don't make this any harder," I cried. I wrapped my arms around her neck, and she rested her head on my back. All of the memories of Princess and I suddenly flashed in my head. The time when I first jumped her, when she connected with me, our first competition, when I used her to get Shane to the hospital, when I found out she was in foal. . .the memories went on and on.
Before I knew it, my face had become a waterfall. I let go of Princess.
"I don't want your flames to go out," I joked, wiping my eyes. "Go on. Your new family is waiting."
Princess stared at me without blinking for another few seconds, then darted across the street with Red Spot and Flame. They trotted away, until I couldn't see their flames anymore.
"Princess," I whispered into the morning air. Shane walked up next to me and laid his arm across my shoulder.
"They were both special," he said. "But there's a whole world of Rapidashes out there." He looked at me and smiled a little. "And we can discover them together."
I buried my head in his chest, still crying, and both of his arms wrapped around me. We stood there for a few minutes, remembering Princess and Red Spot---in our eyes, the world's best Pokemon.
~*~*~
Aww, how sweet -sob sob- It was so great, you MUST review it now. YES INDEED! ^_^
Okay, okay, I'm done. . .anyway this chapter is for Edgar, who has been in the hospital all these chapters because he fractured his ankle. . .but now he's back! YAY EDGAR! ^_^
Now I'm going to yell at my stepbrother for no reason and read the two manga my friend Diana (yes, I have a real live friend named Diana ~_^) lent me. And YOU can read (and review -cough cough-) this lovely chapter!
~Chapter Twenty-Five~
About forty-five minutes later, the filly was standing up. She took a few shaky steps towards the door in the stall, then fell. She immediately stood up again.
I giggled. "She's so determined."
Shane nodded in agreement.
Princess had given her daughter a bath, and her eyes were more open now, so she now looked like a miniature Ponyta with legs that were too long.
Nurse Joy had left and Danielle was in the house, so it was just me, Shane, Princess, Red Spot, and the filly all together. Almost. . .like a family.
"We should give her a name," I suddenly said.
"The filly?" Shane replied.
"Who else?"
Shane smiled, but shrugged. "Well, what would be the point? They're probably. . ." he trailed off. I knew he was about to say, "Going to leave soon."
There was an awkward silence for a minute, then Shane shrugged again. "Well, anyway, Princess likes you too much to leave right away, so, yeah, we should probably name her. It WOULD get boring just saying 'the filly' all the time."
I smiled. "Yeah." I began racking my brain for names. Name, name, name. Like Shane was thinking, it probably didn't matter, but it would be nice to label the filly with something nice.
"We could take part of Red Spot's name and part of Princess's name and combine them," Shane suggested. "That's how some breeders do it."
"Okay. How about. . ." I paused. Just combining the names was one thing, but really making them flow together would be a little tough. "How about. . ." I started again. "Princess Flaming Red Spot." I grinned at Shane. "Flame for short."
Shane repeated the name to himself, then grinned back. "It's perfect."
Flame suddenly wobbled to us on her tiny, skinny legs and whinnied at us.
"I think she's telling us she likes it too," I said.
"That, or that she and her parents would like to get out," Shane laughed. I looked up from Flame and saw Princess and Red Spot stomping their hooves, a sign that, indeed, they wanted to get out of the stall.
"Okay," I said slowly, wondering how Flame would do outside of the stall. I opened the door and three bursts of flames shot out.
Flame seemed to love being outside and tried to use her legs even more to canter around her parents. Princess and Red Spot went in circles, then reared and neighed at the Ponytas and Rapidashes that were still standing at the fence.
Danielle came back out of the house---with Julie and Allison!
"Omigosh!" I gasped. "I'm sorry, you guys! I completely forgot---"
"No problem," Julie laughed. "We know a baby Ponyta is more important than any party. Speaking of which, where is the little booger?"
I laughed, and pointed out towards Flame. She was trotting alongside the fence, touching noses with all the of Pokemon.
"Shane and I named her," I said. "Princess Flaming Red Spot, Flame for short."
Allie grinned. "It's perfect. So are you going to turn her into a jumper like her mama and daddy?"
My smile suddenly faded. "Um. . .not exactly. Look, why don't you guys go back to the house. Tell Mom I'll be there in a minute. I'll explain everything later."
Allie and Julie were going to spend the night at my house, just like when we were kids.
"Okay," they both said, with question marks on their faces. Danielle led them through the gate, eyeballing Shane for some reason.
I ran back next to Shane, sighing. "I can't believe I didn't tell them," I groaned. "Just living it is painful enough. . .but explaining it again. . ." I trailed off, watching Flame run up to her mother and start nursing. Red Spot grazed next to them.
Shane took a deep breath. "Diana. . ." he started.
In my hysterics about Princess leaving and having to tell my friends about it later, I cried out, "Oh, what, are you leaving too?"
Shane gave me a crooked smile. "Not exactly. . ." he said, reaching into his pocket and took out something. He took one of my hands in his, and my breath stopped as I felt something slip onto my finger. He held my hand for another few seconds and then let go.
I held my hand up. On my ring finger was a silver band glittering with a deep blue stone.
"Shane. . ." I whispered. "Is. . this. . ."
He nodded and pulled me into his arms, and we kissed.
I couldn't believe it.
~*~
I felt incredibly mixed up as I walked home. Part of me was ecstatic, the other was sobbing uncontrollably.
I was immediately happier when I walked into my house. Julie and Allie were sitting on the couch talking, and Mom and Dad were talking in the kitchen, where I bet Mom was making snacks for me and my friends.
"Hey you guys!" I cried, sitting in between them.
"Diana!" Allison gasped, but then looked at me. "Is something wrong? You look. . .kind of mixed up."
"Probably about Flame," Julie suggested.
"Well---" I started.
"What happened, anyway? You said you would explain it when you got back, and here you are. So tell!" Julie continued.
Allison caught sight of my hand and gasped again. "Where did that ring come from?!" she cried.
"Maybe---" Julie started.
"YOU GUYS!" I yelled, and they both shut up. "I'll explain if you let me get in a word edgewise," I smirked. "Good news or bad news?"
My friends looked at each other and immediately said in unison, "Bad news."
'Figures,' I thought. I swallowed and stared at the floor. "Well. . .it's about Princess. And Flame and Red Spot."
I explained to them why they all had to leave after they had a foal. They looked a little confused.
"Why do they HAVE to leave?" Julie asked. "I mean, couldn't you. . .force them to stay or something?"
I shook my head. "For one thing, I could never do that. You can't hold a Pokemon against its will, especially if it's not the Pokemon of a trainer." Allison shifted a little. "And for another, it's. . .nature, I guess. Weird things happen in nature all the time," I quoted my mom.
Julie shrugged. "That really sucks. So. . .you're not going to have a Rapidash to jump?"
"Not one of my own," I said. "Mrs. Mavens wants me to show one of her Rapidashes, Pass, for her. So I'll still get to show---"
Mom suddenly burst into the room, holding out a bowl of popcorn and a plate of sandwiches. "Here you are girls," she said, stared at me like what I had just said was a crime, and went back into the kitchen.
"Your mom's been acting really weird lately," Julie said, grabbing a handful of popcorn.
"Yeah. She kept muttering to herself and looking at this weird book when you were with Princess." Allison shrugged and grabbed a sandwich. "Oh well. Now. . .what's the good news?"
I suddenly grinned and held up my hand. The blue stone glittered with the movement of my hand.
"That ring is gorgeous," Julie said. "Who gave it to you?"
"Shane," I grinned.
"Why would. . ." Allie started. Suddenly her eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth.
Julie screamed with delight. "Oh my gosh! Oh my GOSH!"
I laughed and threw some popcorn at them. "I'M the one that's supposed to be screaming."
"Then why aren't you?" Julie cried, and pulling me up. We all started screaming and my friends hugged me. Finally Mom burst out of the kitchen.
"What is going ON in here?" she asked.
I glanced at Allison and Julie and they nodded with stupid grins on their faces. I held up my hand to Mom. She squinted at the ring, and without saying anything, I knew she understood.
"You and Shane are getting MARRIED?!" she yelped.
"YES!" I squealed, hugging Mom. "He asked me outside after Flame--- Princess's filly---was running around outside," I babbled.
"Princess had a daughter?" Mom smiled crookedly. "That's. . .that's great. So. . .she's going to leave soon?"
I immediately felt upset again. "Yeah, I guess," I mumbled. I turned to my friends. "C'mon you guys. Let's go up to my room."
~*~
"So have you planned anything about the wedding yet?" Julie asked the second we settled in my room.
I shook my head. "No. He just gave me the ring and then after a few minutes Danielle called him inside. Something about the Pokemon," I shrugged. "Anyway, what's been going on with you guys?"
It was like we were twelve again, and we stayed up until two in the morning talking. I had a sudden flashback of when we were looking through my stuff and my friends rode Princess for the first time. I smiled to myself, and after awhile, we all finally fell asleep at 2:39 in the morning.
~*~
When I finally woke up at ten the next morning, I found myself alone in my room. I was a little surprised Julie and Allison went off for breakfast without me---they usually waited. I shrugged as I pulled on some clothes. They were probably downstairs.
But in the kitchen, I only found Mom. She was looking through that weird book again.
"Mom, where did Julie and Allie go?" I asked.
She stared at the book for a few more seconds before answering without looking at me. "Julie was needed back at her school, and Allison's mom wanted to see her. She requested that you not disturb them," Mom said in a flat voice.
Funny. How did she know I planned to call Allison the second she said that?
But something told me Mom was hiding something. "Are you sure?" I asked.
Mom nodded listlessly. "Yes. Why don't you go over and see Princess?"
I shrugged and jogged over there without saying another word to Mom. She was acting weird lately---WAY too weird.
I decided to forget about it as I went to one of the smaller paddocks, where Flame, Red Spot, and Princess were being kept until they decided to leave.
"Princess," I called softly.
She looked up from her grazing and walked slowly over to me, keeping one eye on Flame, who was asleep. Princess put her muzzle in my outstretched hands and snorted into them.
"Princess," I sighed. I looked into her eyes for who knows how long---but it felt like forever.
I knew then. . .it was time.
"Oh Princess," I sobbed, tears spilling from my eyes. "Why do you have to go?"
She snorted again, and rubbed her nose on my shoulder.
"Princess," I whispered again. She was ready to go. She wanted to live her life as she probably had when she was a tiny Ponyta herself. She wanted to run, run free and fend for herself.
But I couldn't let her go---not until Shane had said good-bye to Red Spot.
"I said my farewells last night," someone whispered. I jumped. Shane was standing near me. "I spent nearly all night in the paddock," he said, leaning his hands on the fence. His eyes looked a little red, but when he blinked, they looked normal again. "I even jumped him a little. He's raring to go, but I knew you wanted to say goodbye to Princess."
I smiled tearfully, and patted Princess on the neck. "You know if you ever run into anything really major, you can come back here," I said to her. "But try and take care of yourself and Flame, okay?"
Princess whinnied softly in reply.
I opened the gate. Red Spot and Flame shot out and ran into the road and across the street, waiting for Princess---but she had stopped in front of me.
"Oh, don't make this any harder," I cried. I wrapped my arms around her neck, and she rested her head on my back. All of the memories of Princess and I suddenly flashed in my head. The time when I first jumped her, when she connected with me, our first competition, when I used her to get Shane to the hospital, when I found out she was in foal. . .the memories went on and on.
Before I knew it, my face had become a waterfall. I let go of Princess.
"I don't want your flames to go out," I joked, wiping my eyes. "Go on. Your new family is waiting."
Princess stared at me without blinking for another few seconds, then darted across the street with Red Spot and Flame. They trotted away, until I couldn't see their flames anymore.
"Princess," I whispered into the morning air. Shane walked up next to me and laid his arm across my shoulder.
"They were both special," he said. "But there's a whole world of Rapidashes out there." He looked at me and smiled a little. "And we can discover them together."
I buried my head in his chest, still crying, and both of his arms wrapped around me. We stood there for a few minutes, remembering Princess and Red Spot---in our eyes, the world's best Pokemon.
~*~*~
Aww, how sweet -sob sob- It was so great, you MUST review it now. YES INDEED! ^_^