Chapter 3: New Colt of Canterlot
DEAR PRINCESS TWILIGHT-
WHAT AN UNBELIEVABLE DAY. FIRST, WE LEARN OF A PLAY WE'RE DOING AT CANTERLOT HIGH. THEN JUST AS WE STARTED TO HAVE LUNCH, A YOUNG MAN NAMED ASH FELL OFF THE CLIFF NEARBY THE CAMPUS. THE MANE 7 - YES, YOUR COUNTERPART'S A PART OF US NOW – HELPED TREAT HIM… BUT THE SIGHT OF HIS SINCERE SMILE, HIS WILD BLACK HAIR, THOSE MILK CHOCOLATE BROWN EYES… SUDDENLY, MY RELATIONSHIP WITH FLASH SENTRY IS OVER. I'D RATHER HAVE YOU TAKE HIM TO YOUR KINGDOM. MAYBE SOMEDAY, I'LL BRING HIM OVER TO EQUESTRIA TO SHOW YOU, PIKACHU, OSHAWOTT AND WHATEVER ELSE HE BROUGHT FROM HIS WORLD. I'M SURE THE POKÉMON WOULD HAVE A GREAT TIME AS WELL. WELL, TOMORROW, WE'LL PROBABLY GET TO LEARN ABOUT THE PLAY. WE'RE ALL GUESSING FROM ALICE IN WONDERLAND TO TITANIC TO EVEN HELLO, DOLLY. I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT IT TOMORROW.
-SINCERELY, SUNSET SHIMMER.
Those words were written by Sunset in a book. She closed the hard cover with her cheeks blushing. She hoped to see Ash tomorrow. Meanwhile, Twilight looked through Ash's PokéDex to see the Pokémon. "Umbreon is adorable!" she squealed seeing a black fox with gold rings on its legs and ears. "Oh, I wish I had one!" Her cheer woke Spike on her bed.
"Jeez, Twilight," he groaned. "How long are you gonna skim through that?" Twilight looked to her puppy with a question of her own.
"Well, where were you when we brought Ash to the Nurse's Office after he fell?" she pointed out. Spike gulped, shying away from the talk.
"I thought lunch ended and ate the rest of your food!" he tried to explain. Twilight wasn't satisfied.
"And afterwards?" she further grilled.
"I waited for you in the cafeteria!" argued Spike. "When you didn't return, I went searching for you and found you after school." Twilight wasn't impressed with the argument.
"Maybe I should just replace you with this!" she warned as she showed the Umbreon to Spike.
"Uh huh…" he doubted. "I bet it's not as understanding as I am." Twilight shook her head to Spike's belief. The next morning, students gathered in the auditorium, along with teachers and other faculty members. Discussions about the play continued.
"I think Les Misérables would be great to do," one student suggested. "After all, who wouldn't want that?"
"Well, whatever it is," another student shrugged. "I'm gonna try it out. Who knows, maybe West Side Story?" With the students gathered, Celestia and Luna stepped to the podium. The principal turned the mic on the podium on.
"Students of Canterlot High, Vice Principal Luna and I thank you for coming today to the auditorium," she praised. "As all of you are aware, we had an incident where a young man and his pets found the school and were brought in by some of our students. Today, not only will I announce the title for our play but introduce all of you to the newest Wonder Colt and his partner." She turned to Luna who nodded before turning to Ash. He briefly gasped, knowing he and Pikachu were coming onto the stage.
"Wonder Colts, we present to you… Ash Ketchum!" the Vice Principal sounded. Ash emerged from behind the furled curtain and appeared in front of the hundreds of students. The girls cheered at seeing Ash alert. He revealed a glint of a smile, driving excitement to a lot of the girls.
"Ash came from a different world than our own, even though he's as human as the rest of us," Celestia continued. "Of course, we can't forget about his partner." Looking to the side, Celestia waived Pikachu who raced pass Ash and leaped onto the podium. "This is Pikachu. He's a Pokémon that can electrocute anyone so be nice to him and his others." Buzz surrounded the students about Ash's other Pokémon like Oshawott. Pikachu squeaked, praising the kids who helped Ash out. Ash jumped to the ground where he met the student body. Flash and Sandalwood came by to see him.
"So you're Ash, huh?" recalled Sandalwood. "Name's Sandalwood. By me is Flash Sentry."
"We're the ones who brought you in after your collapse," Flash explained.
"Thanks, you two," Ash praised while shaking their hands. Twilight came forward with Spike by her side.
"You can't go home before I gave this back to you," she briefed as she handed the PokéDex back to Ash. He placed it back in his pocket. "That Umbreon that you had in there… I so want it!" Ash laughed, humored by Twilight's wish.
"You may be lucky to get an Eevee, first," he pointed out. Twilight giggled to the detail. Unbeknownst, Trixie sneaked from behind Ash.
"So you're the star of the show now?" she assumed. "I'll admit, you do have a curious charm about your smile." Ash huffed a snicker.
"What can I say?" he shrugged. "I'm just trying to be friendly to anyone I can."
"Obviously," Trixie scoffed before grabbing Pikachu.
"Careful!" warned Ash. Trixie studied the Pokémon.
"I don't see what's so remarkable about this rodent," she mulled. "If I needed something fuzzy to cuddle with, I'd be better off with Twilight's puppy, not something that can crawl up your skirt as you sleep." The girls became irate at Trixie's word about Pikachu.
"How dare you go off on such a cutie!" one girl shouted.
"Pikachu wouldn't hurt any of us!" another girl snapped.
"Apologize, right now, Trixie!" a third yelled. Sunset helped pull Ash and Pikachu from Trixie.
"She's not exactly the girl you want to get tangled with," she warned as she hugged Ash. "I'm so glad you and Pikachu are staying!"
"We're all glad!" cheered Pinkie. "I can't wait to have fun with you!"
"We all would!" added Applejack. "Including a couple of our sisters." Pikachu became excited. Ash spotted Twilight once more.
"Twilight, who's this dog that… Tricky brought up?" asked Ash. Twilight looked and pointed down to Spike. Ash saw him and knelt down. "I guess you're the one. So much for me bringing in something."
"Hey, I'm actually surprised that it's a rodent everyone enjoys," he barked. Ash and Pikachu blinked to Spike talking.
"And another talking creature?" gulped Ash. Spike pawed up to Ash for a little reassurance.
"Look, I may be a dog able to talk via magic, but I'm not bad," he explained. Ash smiled, willing to trust the new voice. Pinkie seemed eager to know of Ash's other Pokémon.
"We've seen Pikachu and Oshawott," she brought up. "Who else do you have?" Other students grew anxious about what else Ash carried.
"Alright, hold your Horsea," he urged patience. "Let me show you the rest. Come on out!" He threw the five red/white balls up which opened. Out came Oshawott, an orange/black piglet, a green snake with arms and legs, a dark yellow lizard with a round head and teeth sticking out while loose skin hung by the legs, and a yellow insectoid creature with sickle-like leaves for arms and a grass hood for headgear. The girls awed the sight of the other Pokémon, even cooing at the yellow lizard. Applejack saw the piglet and picked it up.
"Aren't you the cutest little piggy I've ever seen," she cooed as she rubbed cheeks with the piglet. It oinked to the compliment. "Ash, who's this?"
"He's Tepig," Ash named. "I found him after his original trainer abandoned him." Plenty of girls enjoyed the Pokémon that came out. "Allow me to introduce my Pokémon: You've seen Pikachu and Oshawott. I also have Tepig in Applejack's arms, the one with the molting skin is Scraggy, the bug with the headgear is Leavanny and the little snake is Snivy." The Pokémon greeted Canterlot's students with some getting admired. They petted, shook hand and paw, and even saw Leavanny sew a tear on a girl's skirt it noticed. Rarity gawked to the precision of the stitching.
"A Pokémon that can fix clothes?" she gulped. Leavanny bowed to the question. Rarity became awed to the Pokémon. After meeting the Pokémon, Celestia had an announcement.
"If I can have your attention, please?" she spoke up. "Now I have a request: I will assign someone to guide Ash around Canterlot High so that he can adjust-" Girls instantly volunteered with volume to the request!
"Me!" they shouted. "Me! Me! Me! Me!" Celestia sighed before making a decision.
"I'm choosing… Rarity for the job!" she decided. Rarity gawked to being chosen while Leavanny had her back. The other girls moaned, crying due to the principal's choice.
"Me?" she gulped. "Are you sure, Principal Celestia?"
"I insist," Celestia obliged. "By the way, the play Canterlot High students will be… Raiders of the Lost Ark!" The crowd cheered to the name of the play. Applejack came to Ash with Tepig sleeping in her arms.
"Hey, Ash!" she called. Ash turned to see his piglet asleep. "You don't mind if I hold Tepig while Rarity gives you a tour?" Ash smirked to the scene.
"Sure…" Rarity tapped Ash to follow. They and Pikachu toured the hallways.
"Canterlot High School, or CHS, is one of the largest in the country," Rarity began. "Long before Principal Celestia and Vice Principal took over, we had Principal Potts. She's a kind principal but when she retired, she elected the sisters to run CHS."
"I'm kinda surprised that Potts chose the sisters," Ash awed.
"Don't be," Rarity assured. "Those two have been kind and considerate to the five of us." Ash did a double take on her information.
"Five?" he repeated. "But you're with six others when I woke!"
"Yes, well… It was five before Sunset and Twilight – now I'm not sure which one – Well, they became friends as well," Rarity clarified. They entered the Gymnasium. "Here, you'll expect to find many rooms similar to other schools like the Gym."
"Not the same Gyms that my Pokémon and I battle in," Ash studied. Rarity blinked and turned to the two.
"Beg pardon?" she wondered. Ash pulled out a case and opened it. Inside were six pins with different decorations. One had three diamonds on it of blue, red and green; one looked like the spine of a purple book; one was a cluster of green; one looked like a lightning bolt with an orange headpiece; one looked like a brown stand split diagonally and one more looked like the head of a blue bird with a huge crest.
"These are what my Pokémon and I earned so far," he explained. "They're Gym Badges. You earn one by defeating the Gym Leader. When you get at least eight badges, you can compete in the Pokémon League." Rarity seemed interested to Ash's journey.
"I see…" she started to understand. They moved on, showing different classrooms and the library. "I'm sure libraries are part of the norm in schools. You may find Twilight here or in a science lab." They entered a music room next. "Most of the time, this is where we hang out." Ash viewed the instruments, growing interest to how they play.
"I'd like to see you perform at sometime," Ash wished. Pikachu squeaked, also interested.
"Maybe we will," she promised. As they continued down the hallway, they found Sunset confronted by three gruff young men. One was a gray-haired with enormously huge arms. He wore a red vest over a white shirt. Another was a redhead and built with a lot of muscle over his body. He wore a gray vest over a lime green shirt. The last was a short man with curly raven hair. He wore a gray vest over a white shirt while donning red trousers while the other two had denim. All three wore collars with a diamond.
"I see that some of your crudeness is still a part of you, Sunset," the bald one sneered.
"Couldn't you Diamond Dogs mind your own business?" mulled Sunset.
"You're the one who should be minding your own business!" the redhead man growled. Sunset turned to Ash who stood in front of her after reaching..
"It's okay, Ash," she reassured. "These Diamond Dogs are my problem anyway." The smallest one recognized Ash from earlier.
"Rover!" he gasped. "It's the new runt!" The gray-haired heard the small man and looked at the new boy.
"So you're the one who took a dive off the cliff," he scowled. "I'm surprised you're willing to defend a bad girl like her."
"It's like Rover said, kid!" the small man nagged. "It's not worth your time!" Rarity came to Ash's ear to whisper.
"Those three are known as the Diamond Dogs," she warned. "They're bullies and normally won't listen to what anyone else says." Ash nodded with an idea.
"You three should back away," he warned while stepping up. "Otherwise…" He put his fists up in a boxing stance, even throwing a few practice punches in rapid fashion. The three chuckled.
"Does da wittle boy wanna box?" the redhead scoffed. In one swift motion, Ash threw a right cross which stopped a mere inch from the redhead's face. A brush of wind combed his hair. The Diamond Dogs looked on, stunned. That's when Ash cricked his neck with a furrowed brow.
"He's serious!" gulped Rover before tripping his own feet.
"And he can hurt me!" the small one shrieked before running off. With the Diamond Dogs gone, Ash turned to Sunset.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm good," Sunset acknowledged. "I would've been okay without your help." Rarity believed the reason
"I think since you came so close to his lips," she teased. "He's trying to make a move to have one secured." Ash scoffed to the tease.
"I just wanted to make sure she didn't get hurt," he clarified. Sunset chuckled to his honesty.
"Okay, I know what you mean," she eased. "How about we get lunch? Besides, auditions are tomorrow for the Raiders play." The bell rang to signal an end to a period.
"I'm sure there will be something for you and Pikachu to enjoy as well," Rarity suggested. Ash agreed and all made it to the cafeteria where Ash sat with the seven girls including Tepig.
"So, how's Canterlot High, Ash?" asked Fluttershy.
"A lot to take in," Ash sighed. "I had no idea high school could be this much fun."
"Well, it does take hard work to get here," Twilight informed.
"That coming from someone who sought to go to Everton before the Friendship Games," Rainbow pointed out. Twilight had a nervous laugh from Rainbow's remark.
"Hey, it was a goal when I was at Crystal Prep before I met you guys and had a change of thought!" she snapped back. Ash chuckled to the discussion when the three little girls entered.
"There's Applejack!" called out Apple Bloom. Applejack and Rarity turned to see the three girls approaching.
"Oh, dear," Rarity gulped. "The Crusaders." Applejack turned to Apple Bloom with Tepig in her arms.
"I suppose you wanted to see him now that he's awake?" guessed Applejack. Apple Bloom gawked to the sight of Tepig.
"It's a baby piggy!" she cooed. She, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo also viewed Tepig.
"So adorable!" awed Sweetie Belle. "Can I hold it?" Tepig seemed unsure about being held by the three, which Rarity sided with the Pokémon.
"Now, Sweetie Belle," she spoke up. "You can see that Tepig isn't ready to be held by anyone at this point." The Crusaders blinked to the name.
"What's a… Tepig?" asked Scootaloo. Tepig oinked to the curious trio.
"Who cares!" cheered Apple Bloom. "It's cute! I wanna have one to play with!" Pikachu laughed, seeing Tepig getting attention. However, the laugh soon brought the attention to him. The screams alerted Pikachu to retreat to Ash. The Crusaders circled to Ash with Pikachu on his head.
"What is that?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Where did you get it?" wondered Apple Bloom.
"Can we hold it?" requested Scootaloo.
"Can we also have that Tepig?" added Apple Bloom.
"Where are you from?" urged Sweetie Belle.
"Do you have more?" questioned Scootaloo. The barrage of questions alerted Pinkie to pull out a tray of cupcakes.
"Would you girls like some cupcakes?" she asked. The girls turned to find the cupcakes and chased after Pinkie.
"Leave it to Pinkie to get those girls' attention," Twilight sighed. Ash and Pikachu sighed in relief.
"Now, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo," Rarity called. The Crusaders turned to Rarity for her words. "You should know better than to gang up on someone for answers. Besides, it's better to start with introducing yourselves to Ash." Sweetie Belle felt bad for how they approached Ash.
"We're sorry," she apologized. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I'm Rarity's sister, Sweetie Belle."
"I'm Applejack's sister," Apple Bloom continued. "I'm Apple Bloom."
"And I'm a fan of Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo wrapped up. "I'm Scootaloo." Ash nodded, now knowing the little girls.
"It's nice to meet you all," he greeted. "I'm Ash. Pikachu is on my head." Pikachu squeaked to greet the girls before jumping down to meet them. Ash turned to Sunset with her tray of food. As she came over, Trixie took an evil look in her direction.
'There's no way she'll take a chance on the boy,' she scowled in her mind. She stuck her leg out. Sunset clipped Trixie's leg and lost balance. Ash watched as she twisted and lost handle on her tray. Ash snapped into action and sprinted to Sunset falling. Within a second, Ash flew to Sunset and caught her before her body hit the ground. Ash soon saw the tray and food flying when he reached out and caught the contents. All saw the move before awing his action. Sunset was speechless. Same couldn't be said by those around began to comment
"Those girls brought Peter Parker to Canterlot?" one young man gawked.
"Ash went full Spider-Man!" a girl believed.
"It's Spider-Ash!" one more named. The cheers lasted for sometime until Sunset arrived at the table.
"Sorry about that," Ash apologized.
"You're apologizing?!" gawked Rainbow.
"That was so cool what you did!" cheered Scootaloo. "Not only catch Sunset but save her lunch? I couldn't do either one at that moment!"
"I concur…" hushed Rarity. "That was reflex!" Ash shrugged his shoulders, unsure how to explain the act. He did turn to Sunset.
"You alright?" he asked.
"I am," she sighed in relief. "Thank you, Ash. That was something." Twilight was thankful for Ash to save Sunset from injury but saw something about her fall.
"Was that Trixie's foot you tripped on?" she believed. All turned to Trixie who wasn't happy with the transpire.
"That brat…" she growled as she pounded the table.
"There are some students who still can't accept me," Sunset moaned. "Not that I'm surprised." Pikachu and Tepig felt the sadness from Sunset's story.
"Sunset came to Canterlot High with a mean streak that no one knew how to deal with," Applejack started. "Twilight-" She turned to Twilight who looked back. Applejack knew it wasn't that Twilight she just blurted. "Excuse me… a different Twilight came here and used some magic to reform Sunset who, like this Twilight, had no idea about friendship. In fact, the magic Sunset had made her demonic." Ash and Pikachu gulped to the thought. Twilight realized who Applejack referred to.
"Oh, you mean that lookalike that appeared after the Friendship Games?" she guessed. "I nearly forgot about that. So Sunset was on the same boat as I was when I attended Crystal Prep."
"Scary…" muttered Sunset. Ash nodded to the thought. "By the way, I saw what you did with Fido of the Diamond Dogs. It looked like you did sock him in the nose but he didn't get hurt at all, just scared."
"About that," Ash started. "In a way to stay active, I took up boxing."
"As a younger self?" gulped Rainbow.
"It's funny since there are laws that forbid human-to-human violence," Ash clarified. As he continued, Celestia walked in and wasn't noticed. She came to the table with Ash, the Pokémon and the girls.
"I see that everyone's doing okay," she noted. All turned to see Celestia, shocked that she showed up.
"Principal Celestia?!" they gasped. Celestia giggled to the reaction.
"Don't be so surprised," she said. "I came on a special request." Ash and the girls wondered about her issue.
"We're listening, Principal Celestia," Fluttershy acknowledged.
"Thank you, Fluttershy," she addressed. "In fact, it's about you." Fluttershy could only wonder about the request. "Can you have Ash stay with you?" Fluttershy gawked to the request.
"Me?" she gulped.
"He's a nice young man and I believe he can be with the pets that you have," she pointed out. The information gave Fluttershy an idea.
"Of course!" she agreed. Sunset sighed, but didn't mind the news. School let out and Ash and Pikachu followed Fluttershy back to her home. "I'm sure Angel and Pikachu can get along." Ash blinked to the name she gave.
"Angel?" he repeated.
"He's my pet bunny, though he does get a bit tentative at times," Fluttershy proclaimed. Pikachu wondered about Angel before something perked his ears. Looking up, he saw a nest with a baby robin on the rim. "Pikachu?" Ash looked up to his partner.
"What is it, buddy?" he asked. Pikachu pointed to the robin as it began to flap its wings. Fluttershy saw the baby bird, realizing a crisis.
"No, little robin!" she cried out. "It's too soon!" The robin didn't listen and leaped while flapping its wings hard. However, it fell despite the flapping. Ash raced as fast as he could and dove by the tree. He landed chest first with his arms extended, but rolled up to a seating position. "Ash!?" Worried, Fluttershy reached Ash as he opened his hands, the baby robin appearing to be okay. The baby robin chirped, scared about what happened. "It's all okay. You're not ready to be flying from your nest, you silly thing." The robin calmed down and breathed easily.
"Let me return it back to the nest," he insisted. He began to climb the tree it fell from.
"Be careful!" advised Fluttershy. Ash reached the nest in a minute and dropped the robin off where it contained three more baby robins. After placing the baby robin back, Ash climbed down.
"That was easy," he scoffed. "Someone being a little impatient for food, I guess." That's when Fluttershy saw a scratch on Ash's arm.
"Ash, you're hurt!" she informed. Ash looked to see the injury.
"Just a scratch," he shrugged.
"It needs to be treated," she advised. "We're almost there. Come on." While hurrying to her home, she couldn't help but remark on Ash's catch. 'Ash is… very caring! I knew he cared for Pikachu and his other Pokémon a lot, but this takes it to another level! That might explain why my heart's now pounding. I may be liking Ash… but is there more that I can feel from seeing him work?' Ash has found himself in a world that may want to keep him and his Pokémon. With auditions tomorrow, he'll like to see who makes the cut.
TO BE CONTINUED…
(Gonna take a break to do a special April Fools' Day one-shot. Stay tuned.)