Chapter 2: Mane Introductions
Buzz around Canterlot High about the discovery of the boy, the mouse and the otter became a nuisance around the school. The boy fell off the side of the cliff overlooking the school and brought into the building by Flash and Sandalwood. A lot of the girls became awed to the two little creatures, forgetting about class in session. "That little mouse was so adorable!" one girl proclaimed. "I wish I could've held onto it rather than Pinkie."
"Yeah… and that otter also looked so cute," another girl cooed. "But how about that boy? I mean, I wish he's okay."
"Yeah, he took one heck of a digger falling from the hill," yet another girl agreed. "Still, I wouldn't mind asking him out sometime." The teacher in the room whacked a long ruler onto the desk by the three, causing them to jump.
"Am I boring you in class?" she asked with a scorn. Unfortunately for that teacher, she wasn't alone. Other classes had girls swooning over the unconscious boy. Trixie wasn't immune in knowing about the boy herself.
"Why do those girls get the freedom to watch over that boy who fell from a cliff?" she scowled. "Just because they saw him fall from the cliff and brought him inside doesn't excuse them from class!" She found the door to the nurse's office with a few other girls hanging around. There was a redhead with pale yellow skin and having a pink bow in her hair. She wore a green t-shirt, blue jeans and orange boots. Another was a pink/purple-haired girl who looked like a younger Rarity, down to the clothing. One more was a fuchsia-haired girl with tangerine skin. She wore a black short-sleeve hoodie with green shorts and black boots. There were two older girls by them. One was a bleach yellow girl with half her hair pink and other half purple. She wore a white dress with yellow and blue stripes at the skirt and blue dress shoes over white knee-high socks. The other was a sky blue girl who wore a magenta blouse and denim shorts. She had turquoise hair with white tuffs. She also wore magenta boots over orange socks.
"So your sisters helped bring the boys with the weird mouse and otter in?" asked the older pink/purple-haired.
"No, they watched over him while Pinkie tried to hold that mouse, Sweetie Drops," the pink/purple-haired explained. "Still, I never heard of a mouse that shocks people."
"That's for sure," the redhead shuttered. "I'm surprised Pinkie recovered as fast as she got shocked." Trixie reached the three and made her case.
"What are you three doing out of class?!" she confronted. The three by the door turned to Trixie, startled to her appearance.
"Oh!" the fuchsia-haired gasped. "Miss Trixie!" The young woman scoffed to the girl's naming.
"Well?" she scorned. The redhead came forward.
"When we heard our sisters bringing in a boy and some pets, we came to see it for ourselves!" she claimed. "I'm sure Applejack and Rarity can let us see that mouse and otter." The younger pink/purple-haired sided with the redhead.
"Apple Bloom's right," she backed. "We wanted to see if they can let us take care of those pets while they watch over that boy." Trixie wasn't believing the claims for a minute.
"I've heard better excuses from Rarity and that's after I asked her to make a skirt for my elementary school dance!" she nagged. The turquoise-haired girl stepped forward, shielding the younger ones from Trixie's yelling.
"Back off, Trixie," she warned. "You're just as curious about the boy as well, right?" Trixie wasn't concerned about someone who just appeared.
"It's not the boy that's brought me here, Lyra!" she snapped. "It's the girls who are skipping class!" Inside the nurse's office, the mouse heard the commotion and focused on the door. Rainbow came to see the noise and found the girls arguing.
"Can I help any of you?" she scoffed. All turned to see Rainbow with the fuchsia-haired becoming excited.
"It's Rainbow Dash!" she cheered. Rainbow sighed to the cheering girl.
"Scootaloo, you and your Crusaders aren't skipping class to see us," she called the excited girl. "Is that right?" Scootaloo giggled nervously to the claim. Trixie wasn't as cheerful.
"Look who's talking," she snarled. "You and those friends of yours aren't in class! What makes that boy with the creatures more important than your grades?!" Rainbow sighed again to Trixie.
"Look, we don't know who he is and we'd rather keep the mouse and otter from prying eyes… especially from all of you," she warned. Scootaloo and the two other girls groaned to the denial.
"Can't we see Applejack or Rarity?" the redhead asked.
"Sorry, Apple Bloom," Rainbow denied. "You and Sweetie Belle will have to wait until the school day's over." Lyra and Sweetie Drops came forward, knowing what lengths Rainbow and those in the nurse's office needed to go in protecting the boy and the animals.
"We apologize, Rainbow," Lyra conceded. "We'll escort everyone back to their class." Trixie gawked to how quickly the older ones surrendered.
"Just like that?" she irked. Finally, she shrugged in surrender. "Well, that's one way to disperse a crowd…" She turned to Rainbow, still occupying the doorway. "Don't think Principal Celestia's gonna let this go in your favor. She'll advise some discipline to you and your cohorts! Mark! My! Words!" Trixie stormed off as the mouse came to the door to see the occasion. Rainbow saw the otter.
"Don't worry about them," she assured. "Just more people interested with the boy." The otter, by Rarity's leg, rubbed its head to the claim. Applejack came to Rainbow after seeing her by the door.
"Was that Apple Bloom and her friends?" she asked.
"Not just them…" she clarified. "Lyra, Sweetie Drops and… TRIXIE came by. That's like the tenth girl who wants to see him or the mouse… or even that!" The otter growled at the retort. Fluttershy heard the otter and came to clarify its anger with the mouse in her arms
"The otter's upset that you called him… that," she briefed. She knelt to the otter. "I'm sorry, but we still don't know what to call you. Now don't worry. We want to as soon as your owner wakes up." The otter and mouse felt helpless to their owner's unconsciousness.
"I know I told them not to worry until Rarity and I got home to explain what happened," Applejack murmured. "Probably invite Scootaloo to one of our homes." Twilight and Sunset stood in front of the boy's body in the bed, head wrapped in bandages with an ice pack taped on.
"All we did was see him and he falls to the ground," Twilight summarized. "I do wish he'll be fine." Rainbow had concern about the boy's condition.
"I would like to see him get up soon," she wished. "If not, I think we'll need to call for an ambulance. That wasn't a small fall and a heck of a landing onto his noggin." No one noticed Pinkie walking close to the boy.
"I know," Sunset muttered. Fluttershy had a question to the first to touch the boy.
"Sunset, you made contact with him," she remembered. "Did you see into his mind? You said that he's a hero." Sunset recalled the vision after making contact.
"I did," she started. "First, it was him taking on some chick named Roxanne…" That's when she turned to the mouse in Fluttershy's arms and remember a name. "I heard him ask, 'Ready to keep going, Pikachu?' and you replied!" The mouse squeaked happily to the memory.
"So your name is Pikachu?" guessed Fluttershy. Pikachu squeaked more about it.
"Well, that's one needle in the haystack found," Applejack giggled. "I'm not sure about the otter, though." Twilight nodded as she darted back to the otter.
"We'll wait until the boy's awake to find out," she informed. Pinkie studied the boy's face, almost loving the face as he slept to recover.
"We may not know his name," she recalled. "But we can conclude that he's got a cute sleeping face!" She leaned down and began kissing his nose, his eyes, his cheeks, his forehead… Seeing her kissing the boy's face forced Applejack and Rainbow to pull Pinkie from him.
"Not appropriate, Pinkie!" snapped Rainbow.
"Stop it right now!" roared Applejack. While Pinkie struggled to go after the boy's face again, Sunset reached his and studied the young face for herself.
"He is remarkably handsome," she muttered. "For a hero…" A moment of hesitation for Sunset, she brushed the boy's hair back a little. She began to lean down, her lips aiming for his while puckered up. Just before she made contact, a moan. Sunset stopped, her puckered lips mere inches from his face, as the rest turned to the moan. Pikachu jumped onto the bedside when the boy began to open his eyes. He saw Sunset near his face, then other girls who watched over him.
"Hi there!" greeted Pinkie. "Welcome to Canterlot High!" The boy blinked before jumping out of bed and to the back.
"What the heck!?" he yelped. "What's going on!?" Twilight reached the bed to calm the boy down.
"Let us explain!" she called. "We brought you in after you fell off the cliff nearby." The boy seemed confused.
"Cliff?" he repeated. He then calmed down, hand palming his forehead. "The edge collapsed below me." The information gave the girls on his approach.
"Hey, relax," Applejack eased. "We got you help as soon as we saw it." The boy began to recover when Pikachu and the otter saw him awake and rushed to his side.
"Pikachu!" he cheered. "Oshawott! I'm glad you're okay!" Pikachu and the otter, Oshawott, embraced the boy with hugs. Fluttershy enjoyed the scene.
"Your pets were pretty worried after you fell," she told. "We were also worried. If you didn't wake up, we would've sent you to the hospital." The boy shuttered to the thought.
"I do apologize," he sighed. "Thanks for looking after my Pokémon for me." The girls blinked to the boy's naming of Pikachu and Oshawott.
"Pokémon?" repeated Pinkie. Seeing the confusion, the boy came up with a conclusion, but shook his head.
"Great…" he realized. "It's not the way to Icirrus City." Oshawott moaned apologetically.
"Slow down for a minute," Twilight eased. "We don't know what's going on. We're meeting for the first time." The boy calmed instantly.
"You don't mind if I start introductions?" he asked. The girls allowed him to start. "I'm Ash Ketchum. I'm a Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town." His dashing smile brought a joy to Sunset.
"Adorable and charming!" cheered Pinkie as she leaped onto him before another round of kisses. Applejack and Rainbow yanked Pinkie off Ash once more. Freed to sip some ice cold water, Sunset started introducing Ash to her friends during a drink.
"I'm Sunset Shimmer," she started. She pointed to her friends in alphabetical order. "There's Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle." Ash and the Pokémon nodded to the names.
"Now, you mention this… Icirrus City," Rainbow recalled. "What happened?" Ash took a deep breath but before he could start, the door opened. In came two tall women. One was a pastel-colored-haired woman wearing a tan business suit with matching dress pants. The other was a dark blue-haired wearing a sleeveless purple blouse and dark blue dress pants.
"What's all the commotion about?" the pastel-haired woman questioned. All turned to the two women with gasps except for Ash.
"Principal Celestia!" gawked Sunset. "Vice Principal Luna!" The two reached the bedside to see Ash for themselves.
"So this is the young man that caused the stir a little while ago," the dark blue-haired noticed. "Certainly one I'd possibly consider a son." The pastel-haired nearly doubled over from the figure.
"Sister!" she snapped.
"Join the crowd," Ash sighed. "I've been mistaken before about being someone's son twice." Pikachu and Oshawott snickered to the proclamation, as did Pinkie and Fluttershy.
"I'm sorry," the dark blue-haired apologized. "I couldn't help myself. I'm Luna, Vice Principal of Canterlot High. This is my older sister, Principal Celestia." Ash nodded to meeting those in charge of the school.
"Principal Celestia, Ash was about to tell us how he arrived at Canterlot," Sunset explained.
"Oh, really?" the principal irked. She turned to Ash. "Let's hear it." Ash nodded before starting.
"Iris, Cilan, myself and our Pokémon were on our way to Icirrus City after we escaped from a Durant colony," he started.
"Is that another, uh… Pokémon?" asked Twilight.
"It is. I'll show you on my PokéDex in my pocket." Rainbow heard Ash and reached in his jacket that was removed. She pulled out a gray hand-held device with what seemed to be a red ball decal that had a white button.
"You talking about this?" she asked. She pressed two red buttons on the side. It activated a screen to appear from behind the other screen. "Whoa…" She aimed the device at Pikachu, the screen showing the mouse appearing at the top. The bottom had statistics.
PIKACHU – HT: 1' 4" - WT: 13.2 LBS. - TYPE: ELECTRIC – ABILITY: STATIC
"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon," it computed. "Pikachu will share its electricity with other Pikachu that are in need of a jump start." Rainbow seemed interested with the detail.
"Looks like Pikachu's got some juice to share," she said. Pikachu squeaked, scoffing to Rainbow's claim.
"Pikachu says he uses the 'juice' in battle or jump-starting anything that runs on electricity," Fluttershy translated.
"That's still pretty potent if true," Applejack gulped. "Any who, you're on your way to Icirrus City - who knows where that's at – and what?"
"We stopped at a clearing for something to eat," Ash continued. "We didn't think it was that far to Icirrus City. As we set up, I began picturing myself facing those I met in Unova in the Pokémon League. Iris bopped me in the head for that and called me 'a little kid' because of that thought process, even adding that I don't deserve a girlfriend. She gave me a bad headache." Pinkie became upset at the nag from a friend of Ash's.
"What's her deal!?" she snapped. "She can't tell you what to do!"
"Agreed…" Sunset nodded. "If we meet this Iris, I'll give her more than a good talking to." Ash shuttered to Sunset's threats. He did continue.
"While Cilan was fixing us a meal," he resumed. "Oshawott escaped his Pokéball and wandered off. Pikachu and I gave chase. Half an hour later, we found my escapee at a huge tree. The roots from it made a tunnel that for the three of us thought it was a cave. Turns out, it's a blessing in disguise. A nasty storm arrived and we all took shelter. We weren't sure if the storm would settle. We waited for sometime before we entered the tunnel. It was longer than anything we thought. It felt like another half an hour passed when we found the other side. I believed we found a shortcut to Icirrus City when what it was is here. Also, it stopped raining." The girls looked confused.
"We haven't had rain for a week now," Celestia pointed out. "So, it was raining there but you thought the storm let up?" Ash nodded. Fluttershy lifted Oshawott with a rather stern face.
"See?" she warned. "You brought Ash here because you didn't want to stay in one place, you naughty otter!" Oshawott wondered how it's the Pokémon's fault. Celestia had a conclusion in mind.
"So let me guess," the principal started. "You wanted to come to Canterlot High to get directions to this Icirrus City?" Ash nodded to Celestia's guess.
"That's when the ground gave way and I fell," he concluded. "Next thing I knew, I had Sunset ready to treat me like Sleeping Beauty." Celestia, Luna and Twilight laughed to that.
"Funny enough, the school's gonna be doing a play in a few weeks," Luna announced.
"Still, we're actually blessed to have someone from a different world visit us," Twilight awed. "This school's one of the friendliest you'll come across." Ash smiled.
"Knowing where I am, I bet there's no Pokémon Center around," he moaned. "Maybe I'll go to a nearby wood to sleep-"
"That's not an answer!" the principal refused. Ash turned to Celestia and Luna about the denial.
"We'll give you a place to stay tonight," Luna offered. Ash smiled, appreciating the idea.
"Look, I didn't come to give you guys trouble," he tried to back away. "I just found myself here instead of with my friends."
"No, no trouble at all!" shook Celestia. "It's supposed to get chilly tonight and we don't want anyone catching a cold." Hearing the weather report, Ash realized the sisters were caring.
"Okay, you win," he surrendered. He grabbed a red/white ball from his belt and pointed to Oshawott held by Fluttershy. "Who knows how long we'll be here but it's your fault we're getting this much attention. Return!" Oshawott felt he had been scolded. A red beam tagged the otter before it turned to light itself. It shot back to the ball before shrinking. This startled Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Is Oshawott okay?" asked the pink-haired.
"He's fine," Ash insisted. "See, Pokémon are normally captured using Pokéballs like this. That way, they're out of harm's way when they need rest and are able to carry Pokémon that weigh a lot like Snorlax."
"I get it!" snapped Twilight. "Like a storage device for computers!" Ash gulped to the comparison.
"I guess that's one way to look at it," he shrugged. Fluttershy turned to Pikachu in concern.
"Does Pikachu have one of those… Pokéballs as well?" she asked.
"He does, but Pikachu doesn't want to be in one," he claimed. "I've tried but he refuses." Sunset picked Pikachu up and petted him.
"Someone doesn't want to be leashed," she joked. Pikachu laughed to her word. Twilight came to Ash with a request.
"Is it okay if I borrow this?" she asked. "I'd like to further study what kind of Pokémon are there. I'll make sure it's charged before I give it back." Ash smiled to the offer.
"Sure, it's not a problem," he allowed.
"Thanks! I'll return it tomorrow." The school bells rang. Every student and teacher came out of their classes and the school for various places like homes or fast food restaurants. Before the girls that found Ash left themselves, they joined him, Pikachu, Celestia and Luna as they prepared to leave via car.
"Now you girls don't need to worry," Celestia assured. "We'll make sure Ash and his creatures are safe and secured."
"Thanks for helping out, Principal Celestia," Sunset praised.
"Bye-bye, Pikachu!" waived Pinkie. "See ya later, Ash!" The trainer nodded before Celestia pressed the gas pedal. She drove the car out of the parking lot and down the road. As they watched the women take Ash away, Sunset looked at her hand, the one that held Ash's head before he woke.
"I was… there," she hushed. Twilight noticed Sunset's glare at her hand.
"Sunset, what's up?" she called out. Sunset didn't hear Twilight. Her mind was on Ash. His face, his smile, his care for his Pokémon… the vision she watched.
'I… I think I've… met my Romeo!' she thought before she gently slapped her forehead with the back of her hand, knocking her over. Rainbow and Twilight caught her descent.
"Sunset!" they shouted. Her hand still on her head during the collapse, Sunset's cheeks shared the same color as the sun during… sunset.
"Call me… Juliet," she sighed with a bright smile, eyes still closed. "Romeo, Romeo… Oh, wherefore art thou, Romeo…?" Hearing the line, Rarity rolled her eyes.
"I thought we agreed that Romeo & Juliet wasn't the play!" she nagged. "And besides… THAT'S NOT HOW THE LINE GOES!" Fluttershy observed Sunset's behavior closely.
"I don't think that's the problem," she studied. "I believe… Sunset's fallen in love." The girls gawked to the assumption about Sunset's emotion.
"Sunset… and Ash?" simplified Applejack. She shook her head in disbelief. "Don't get me wrong… I mean, it wasn't that long ago that Sunset broke ties with Flash Sentry."
"And Ash is rather awesome and I bet he's got more Pokémon he can show us," Rainbow added. "But I think to fall in love with him is a bit too soon. We don't know if he'll be around for long." Pinkie heard the discussion and had an idea.
"I know!" she shouted. "We can have him hang around and see the play we're gonna do!" The others laughed at Pinkie's suggestion.
"Appreciate the thought!" chuckled Rainbow. That night, Celestia, Luna and Ash discussed about the play. Hearing the name, Ash blinked.
"The play's based on that movie?" he gawked. "I've never heard of that, let alone the series."
"I figure," Celestia shrugged. "I bet the movies you've seen had Pokémon involved, right?" Ash nodded, thinking back to movies he's seen.
"I remember seeing an action movie: Dirty Herdier," he listed. "And a sci-fi one that I know won a Golden Growlithe Award for Best Picture the year it released: The Empoleon Strikes Back. I wish I had my PokéDex to show you."
"Hey, don't worry," Luna assured. "Though I do like the Star Wars point: Empoleon instead of Empire." Pikachu giggled to the differences.
"Anyway, I want to introduce you and your Pokémon to Canterlot High," Celestia suggested. "I know the seven girls who helped bring you in have high interest in you. I want to ease tension between your Pokémon and the student body." Ash nodded to the offer.
"Okay!" he accepted. "Besides, I know that I'm going after my seventh Gym Badge, but I want some time away from Iris and her whole 'Little Kid' rants." Hearing that, Luna patted Ash on the back.
"I highly doubt that's you," she eased. Sometime later, Ash and Pikachu fell asleep on a large couch. Ash had a rainbow-quilted blanket while Pikachu slept on top of his stomach. Celestia and Luna saw the two fast asleep. "Seeing his sleeping face, I don't wanna let him go." Celestia petted Pikachu. He let out a cute, quiet squeal.
"Him?" she joked. Luna backhanded a slap to Celestia's hip. "Kidding!"
"Sis, what am I gonna do with you sometimes?" Celestia ignored Luna's groan and faced Ash. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Celestia turned to the younger sibling.
"Maybe… Seeing him, I'm starting to wish for a bigger family… be a wife, a mother…"
"Now you know… When he goes back… When we decide to let him go back… We'll miss him and Pikachu." Luna leaned down and kissed Ash on the cheek. Celestia followed with a kiss to the forehead.
"Goodnight, Ash," she whispered. The sisters left Ash to sleep. To them, time away from Iris would help their lives. What play could they see?
TO BE CONTINUED…