Title: Wild

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon (but I do own Jo)

About: A little snippet about 'Jo'. Part of an ongoing effort, which kinda fizzled into nothing. The story is essentially JO makes friends with a wild ponyta curious about humans. The two spend a lot of time together, before each returning to their natural habitiats, and of course this makes a fair bit of trouble for Jo... I don't think I'll ever finish it properly, so I'll just post little snippets here instead.


She'd muffled his hooves with her shirt.

After so many years, the colt had gradually come to understand that humans needed to wear 'clothes' to protect their vulnerable, furless hides. Still, this business with his hooves…

The equine pokemon snorted in amusement as the young teen made an ineffectual growling noise as she attempted to tear a strip from her pants with her dull teeth. He glanced downwards, shifting his head until he could view his diamond hard hooves.

"Just a little bit more,"

She muttered, carefully winding a strip of cloth about his slim fetlock, his hind foot the last to be bound. The ponyta cautiously shifted on his feet, surprised to find that he made little to no noise when he did so. Delighted, he nickered and pranced a little, arching his neck playfully. Smothering her giggles, the teen placed a hand on the smooth curve of his neck, turning the two to face into the town.

"C'mon,"

Was her whisper, and the two carefully set off into the street. Shivering in the cold night air, the girl shifted closer to the fire pony, unconsciously seeking to draw warmth from him. One dark eye rolled her way, and the fire-pony cautiously eased up the heat of his flames, observing his environment as he did so.

"Careful, careful. We'll go up main street then through a couple of alleys and come up the side."

Somehow, the colt mused, it sounded more as though his human companion was trying to reassure herself more so than him. Ears perked up, his head swung around in interest as he noted the trappings of human civilization. In the quiet of early morning, the only sound was the soft 'shush-shushee' of his hooves against the pavement, the scrape of the girl-child's hoof coverings and the murmur of wind in the trees.

As the Ponyta became accustomed to the urban environment, he began to pick up on other distinctly human scents and sounds, but his companions increased nervousness drew him from his thoughts. Gently, the colt nudged her arm, and she rubbed his face out of habit.

"Yeah, we're almost there."

Up ahead loomed the giant Gym building, terraced with sloping roofs, each corner mounted by a graceful, curling statue of a dragon. Shifting nervously on cloth covered hooves, the Ponyta stared at the massive edifice with eyes rolling to the whites.

A gentle hand upon his shoulder had him quivering, before he budged further up against her, shoving the girl close to his body with his head. She blinked for a moment, before awkwardly hauling herself up onto his back. It was hard work, trying to mount him from a standing position when she had always done it with assistance. She grappled his withers, feeling her body overbalance dangerously as she teetered with her stomach in the hollow of his back.

With a gasp as the ponyta 'helpfully' nudged her backside, she finally managed to pull herself up and sit astride. She took a moment or too to settle her seat, winding her fingers into his silky, flaming mane. A gentle warmth wrapped around her as she did so, and the Ponyta took a few cautious steps forward, automatically adjusting his stride so as to compensate for her weight

Murmuring directions in his ears, she guided him up a narrow path between the steep cliffside and the sheer drop to the lake below, which the Gym sat in the middle of. Gentle wisps of sulphuric steam rose from the cloudy surface, and Ponyta snorted as he caught a whiff of the strange scent. How long it took them to trace the torturous Stantler path neither could pinpoint, but the moon had begun to fade from the sky by the time they reached the tiny glen, a sheltered clearing framed by towering pines.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

A snort and an enthusiastic head bob where her only response, as the colt looked around with interest, drinking in the peaceful scene. They stood there for a few minutes, before the young Ponyta carefully shuffled around, facing back the way they had come. This time as much of the journey was uphill, the teen walked alongside the colt, the two assisting one another over the rough patches of the twisting trail.

All too soon they were back in town, and the two stared in dismay at the tattered rags protecting his hooves. By now false dawn had lit up the sky, faint traces of gold and pink limning the horizon. They hesitated in the shade of the trees of the small park forming a stretch of neutral territory between the City and the Gym, longing eyes trained on the dark forest so near and yet so far away.

"We've got two choices. I rip the rest of my clothes up and face public humiliation, or we run through town hell for leather and wake everyone up."

Mischief lit up her face as she stared him in the eyes. From what the colt had seen of the humans of her herd, they usually wore more fur on their bodies. His companion had a bare strip of fabric stretching across her chest, which barely covered the strange fur she wore beneath it. Below that, there were tattered strips of fur dangling from her hips, and from what she had told him he knew that this was not a good thing. The humans of her herd found shame in being seen without their fur, and in some way he managed to understand the sacrifice it would require of her to give up more of her fur for his safety.

And besides… He was sick of skulking around. Every time he approached the strange place her herd dwelt in, it was under the cover of darkness, and he felt the thirst for adventure burning brightly within him. His ringing neigh split the sky, the flames at mane, tail, fetlock and pastern blazing brightly and reducing the sad remains of her fur to ashes. A wide grin bared her teeth, and he knew by now that she meant no threat by this.

"Let's do this!"

She cheered, scrambling back onto his broad back. This time the ponyta assisted her as much as he was able, and the two set off into the town, his diamond hard hooves clattering against the asphalt of the main road. Sparks flared from his hooves as he broke into a trot, the young teen upon his back flowing smoothly with his movements. It took not even a minute for people to begin raising their blinds and peering out into the street.

As dawn broke across the horizon, the Ponyta's fiery mane and tail blazed even brighter in response, throwing bright contrasting shadows across the shops and houses that they passed. Not taking any care to muffle his hooves, the Ponyta colt deliberately made as much noise as he possibly could.

Giggling and laughing, the girl upon his back looked around with wide eyes, before abruptly letting out a wild yell. Startled, the colt broke into a canter, diamond hard hooves clanging against the road. He slowed relatively quickly, but by now several people had walked out into their front yards, blinking and yawning as they stared at the strange sight of a young, scantily clad teen riding a decidedly wild Ponyta through the middle of Blackthorn.

The colt danced a little with nerves, unused to being observed by so many humans without the promise of any easy escape. Picking up on his unease, the teen leant forward.

"Let's run now- as fast as you can!"

Snorting, the Ponyta scraped one hoof against the ground, a flashing halo of sparks spiralling upwards to ring the two. Entire body quivering, he leapt into a sudden run, a blazing inferno whipping up behind him as the teen stoked him on with enthusiastic cries.

Chunks of asphalt where flung up from his hooves as he galloped along the road, a cream and red blur to any untrained eye. Adrenaline flooded the systems of the two as they raced through Blackthorn, angry shouts rising into the air as they passed. Lights began to flicker on across the small city, but by the time even a few of the nearby residents had asked anxious questions of their neighbours, the two were well clear of the city limits.

"Oh, that was sooooo much fun!"

She cheered, hugging the excited Ponyta about the neck as he danced, skin quivering. His flames surged in response to his emotions, and the teen was quick to scramble away from him when the skin of her hands and arms began to tingle uncomfortably.

"Thank you for letting me show you the glen, Ponyta."

The colt bobbed his head and nudged her happily, letting out a joyful wicker. Grinning, she gave him a quick ear rub before turning back towards the city.

"I have to go home now, but I'll come see you tomorrow!"

Her voice rang out in the clear morning air and she shot the pokemon a jaunty wave as she began to jog back to her house. The ponyta whickered, half-rearing in response before he turned and wheeled, galloping back towards his herd.