Chapter 5: The Eclipse of Shadows

"Daddy!" I was so very relieved to see my father is okay! I ran up to him, but… his leg looks like it's in bad shape.

"Foxfire?" Dad looked over to me

"Dad, I kept the purple stone safe from that wicked human. I don't know why he wanted it so badly, but now I can give it back to you." I said with a smile as I was about to take it off my neck, but Dad put his paw on mine and shook his head. "Dad?"

"No, Foxfire… you should keep it for the time being." He said. I frowned and was about to ask why when he must've noticed Keldeo behind me. "Oh? I see you made a friend."

I turned back and smiled, "Yeah, this is Keldeo, he actually saved me from that mean human and his Houndoom!"

"Oh really?" He looked at Keldeo. "… In that case, I thank you for saving my daughter."

"Sure, I was happy to help, Firestorm." Keldeo said in respect, to which I smiled. "But you don't look so good yourself…"

"No… I had a nasty fight with that human's Tyranitar, I was at a huge disadvantage. But in any case, I'm glad to see my child's okay." Dad said as he lay down.

I licked his face, "D-Dad…"

"I can help with your leg, Firestorm, I have some medicine like Sitrus Berries to help." Keldeo said as he walked up to Dad.

"I appreciate the help, Keldeo, but… we're already running out of time." Dad said seriously, looking up at the sky.

"W-why Dad? What do you mean?" I asked nervously.

"… When I was still young and a Vulpix… I joined an Exploration Team… and the Guild Master spoke of a warning of the future… about an eclipse that will bring forth the shadows and the end of the world." Dad said solemnly.

"A-an eclipsed?" Keldeo suddenly said, his eyes wide… both of us had dreams about an eclipse, but Keldeo's is more reoccurring while mine was just once, along with that strange pony Pokémon.

"Yes… they said the eclipse will be the trigger to something dark and powerful. Nobody knew for sure what it meant, just that dark shadows will be coming and unknown entities that are neither humans nor Pokémon." Dad said, looking a bit worried but serious at the sky.

"What should we do?" I asked nervously, not liking the possibility. "Is it going to happen right now?"

"Possibly… I sensed it while I was being chased. I don't know how much time we have left, could be days, could be hours, could be minutes or even seconds." Dad looked over at me. "Take care of the Power Stone, Foxfire, it's important you keep it with you."

"Wh-what?" Why is Dad talking like he's saying good-bye? "But Dad, this thing… uh… 'Power Stone' is yours, not mine. Why give it to me? I don't even know what it's for or even how to use it." I frowned, wondering why he wouldn't take it back or just tell me. I've noticed Keldeo's been quiet since we started talking.

"Because, Foxfire… I know you can bring out its fullest potential." Dad said before looking at Keldeo. "… Please, young Keldeo, I want you to take care of her."

"B-but sir, why?" Keldeo asked, just as confused.

"Because… I won't be able to move… the eclipse will be upon us." Dad said and suddenly everything got darker.

My eyes widen as I looked up, seeing the sun was being blocked by the moon. My eyes widen and I heard Keldeo gasping beside me. As soon as the eclipsed came upon us, it suddenly became very dark and cold. I heard other Pokémon around the city starting to sound nervous themselves, I guess they feel something's wrong too.

"It's time… Keldeo, take Foxfire and prepare yourselves." Dad said seriously.

"D-Dad, what about you? We can heal your left with Keldeo's medicine things a-and you can come with us!" I quickly said to him.

My father shook his head, "No… I'm sorry, you need to save as many as you can. There's no more time."

Keldeo picked me up on his back, "I promise to take good care of her, sir."

"B-but Dad! This would only take a second!" I said quickly.

"Sorry, my child, this is as far as I will go." Dad said, giving me a sad smile.

Suddenly these strange ant-like shadow creatures were coming up from the ground. I gasped and heard Keldeo doing the same as they began overrunning the city, I could hear people and Pokémon alike screaming and crying out as the cold darkness grew more and more.

"Dad! Keldeo!" I shouted, and Keldeo jumped away while I hung on to him, almost falling off!

"Whoops." Keldeo grabbed my back and dropped me into his bag. "You'll be safe in there, don't come out until it's safe."

"B-but-" I tried to argue, but Keldeo was already moving. I couldn't see what was going on out there, but I was worried for my dad… him and those other Pokémon and people crying out there. What's going on? Whatever it is it's not pretty.

I felt Keldeo moving a lot, then I felt some kind of shark black claws ripping through the bag! I yelped as some black ant thing with yellow eyes began ribbing the bag and trying to get to me. "Get out!" I yelled as I used Ember to burn its face, causing it to fall.

"A-are you okay?" I heard Keldeo ask as the berries and medicine began to fall out with that hole that black thing made.

"I'm fine, but you're losing your supplies!" I yelled back at him. I heard him cursing in anger as he landed on a hard surface, thankfully the empty streets.

"This is bad." Keldeo said as I jumped out of the bag, to see the damage. I looked around and noticed it was very dark yet empty here… empty… it was not natural… not even in the most quiet of times were the streets ever this empty, it's like everyone just disappeared…

"K-Keldeo… W-w-where is everyone?" I asked the legendary pony nervously.

"…. They were all dragged into the shadows, or at least that's what it looked like. I managed to get away, but one of them must've latched onto my bag." Keldeo said with a frown.

"B-but… it looks like we're alone. I-I'm scared…" I said nervously, shivering.

"Don't worry now… we'll be fine." Keldeo said, but I could tell he was lying… he was scared just as much as I was, but he was trying to be brave, he has no idea what's going to happen to either of us.

I looked around again while he tried to figure out how to fix the hole in his bag. That's when I decided to look up and saw the sky was completely black… the moon was still covering the sun, exactly how long does a normal eclipse last? "

"… I'm not entirely sure, but it shouldn't last this long." Keldeo said, frowning. "Foxfire, I have a feeling… we're not alone here."

As soon as he said that, I jumped when I suddenly saw shadows… yes, SHADOWS surrounded us, and there were countless of them… when they got close to us, they turn into those shadow humanoid ant-like thing that attacked the bag earlier. They all looked at us with a hungry mindless gaze in their soulless yellow eyes.

Keldeo growled as he tried to hit them with a Hydro Pump. I tried to help with Ember, though much, much weaker than Keldeo's attack, it still burned them at least, but the problem is we were completely outnumbered, just the sheer numbers alone are enough to overwhelm both of us.

As desperate as we were, we knew we were fighting a lost cause and there were way too many of them. I yelped as I was suddenly pounced by one of the dark shadows and sinking into the darkness… everything around me started going black… I… I couldn't move… I couldn't breathe… everything was fading… fading… and… suddenly there was a bright flash of purple light, so bright it blinded me, I couldn't see Keldeo or what happened to him, but after that bright light, the next thing I knew I was falling… falling… endless falling.

… I remember waking up due to a soft and tender female voice, "You're waking up, I'm so happy to see you're okay my little furry friend."

My eyes widen when I saw a yellow pony-like Pokémon with a long pink mane and big eyes looking at me with a sweet looking smile. I sat up, looking at her curiously. She's clearly not human… she must be a new horse-like Pokémon like Keldeo!

"You had be so worried, you were just lying on the ground, unconscious, I was scared you were hurt, but you're fine now." She said, cuddling up to me. "My name is Fluttershy and I'm a friend to all creatures."

'Fluttershy'? What kind of Pokémon's species is that? She sounds like she's shy. Hmm… Judging by the wings, it's safe to say she's at least half Flying type. "And what's your name, new little fox creature?" she asked me.

I find her too sweet to ignore, so I decided to answer, "My name's Foxfire."

She looked at me oddly, "… Wait, so Vulpix's your name?"

…. Wait… she can't understand me? "No, Vulpix is my species, my NAME is Foxfire!"

"Oh, I'm sorry I can't understand you, so I'll just call you Vulpix for now, I hope you don't mind." Fluttershy said sweetly and I just sighed. But where the heck is Keldeo? Am I dead and this is heaven or something? But then why can't this Fluttershy understand me? "You must be starving, not to worry, I have some yummy pellet food for you."

Pellets? Does this Fluttershy even know what Vulpix eats? I'm not a freaking Mouse Pokémon! She used her mouth to put out a bag of those pellets and placed an empty dog bowl in front of me before filling it up with those nasty looking pills humans call food for their pet Pokémon.

I looked up at her, she smiled, "Go ahead, try it, it's good, I promise."

I frowned before deciding to at least try some before judging it, I took a bite… but it was nasty! It tasted like bitter herbs! Ugh, why am I even here? I need to find Keldeo, this Fluttershy is nice but I want to know if my first real friend is okay, and my Dad…

"Is something wrong, Vulpix? You don't look so well." Fluttershy said to me in concern.

I scratched the door, hoping she would understand, thankfully she did. "Oh, you want to go outside?" she opened the door with her hoof and I hurried out. "Don't go too far, you might get lost."

I knew she meant well, but I wanted to find Keldeo and my Dad, I hope they're both okay. So I ignore her and ran into this strange new land that I suddenly found myself in. I frowned… where the heck am I? None of this looks familiar… and these strange Pokémon don't talk and they look nothing like anything I've seen.

"Uh… h-hi, could you tell me where I am?" I asked one of the strange Pokémon, this one was white with long ears that looked similar to Buneary.

The strange white Buneary just gave me an irritated look and just crossed its arms as if I was just talking gibberish to it. "Uh… can you understand me?" I asked it as it just kept tapping its foot as if expecting me to say something else. "Um… I guess not… uh… I'll just go."

I walked away… not really sure where to go… there looks like there's a town up ahead, maybe somebody over there can help. I'm used to being around humans since I live in the city, but… when I got into town, I didn't see any human, all I saw were more Fluttershys, and some other pony-like Pokémon without wings, some had horns, some didn't have either. The… pony Pokémon all looked at me with curiosity, as if never seeing a Vulpix before. I felt embarrassed being at the center of attention before.

"What is that?"

"I don't know, but it's cute."

"Looks like an animal, but I've never seen one with six tails before."

"Um… excuse me?" I spoke up, hoping at least one of them would understand me. "Could anyone tell me where I am?"

"Aww, it's so cute!" one of them said with a cooing voice. It seems they spoke in human language… that's odd… I'm starting to wonder if these ponies are even Pokémon at all. If they're not Pokémon, then what are they?

These strange creatures began approaching me, but I didn't like getting surrounded, especially after the incident with the shadows. I think some of them were looking at the purple stone around my neck, I didn't want to risk being attacked like when that rocket guy attacked me with his Houndoom, so I did the only thing I could think of; I fled. Of course, this seems to have caused a ruckus as I heard many of them beginning to yell and trying to chase after me.

I feel like I'm in one of those silly human cartoons in a chase scene, it would've been funny if I wasn't the one being chased. Thankfully, as a Vulpix, I knew how to hide myself and thankfully these ponies were pure herbivores since if they had been carnivores or omnivores they might've been able to sniff me out.

Okay, now that I've avoided them, it's time for me to find a disguise and to see if I can find Keldeo or my Dad, assuming they're alive… no, I can't allow myself to think such negative thoughts. But how should I disguise myself? If only I can look like one of those strange pony creatures somehow… hmmm… I'll have to hide my six tails with one big bushy one… maybe hide my paws with something that would resemble hooves… maybe they'll think I'm some kind of midget pony creature with a purple jewel as my accessory.

I used the leaves of the bush to cover my six tails, it looks like one big bushy tail, and thankfully there was a discard rubber band here so I used it to tie it around my waist. Now the hooves are a bit more difficult… I used some of the leaves to cover up my paw and stick them in the mud and used my Ember to help harden it around my paw so now it looks like a hoof. Okay, this is the best I can do… I hope this works.

I walked out of my hiding place and some of the strange pony creatures were staring at me for a minute before deciding to go back to their business, good, they didn't notice I'm not really a pony. This is a good chance for me to explore and-

"What's this? A new filly?" a voice spoke up that stopped me. "What kind of short mane is that? You don't look like any pony I've ever seen before."

I blinked, looking over at a pink pony creature with a purple and white swirl-like mane and tail, she looks pretty fancy and she wears a tiara… huh, I just noticed that the pony creatures have those strange tattoo pictures on their butts. … I guess I do look like a deformed pony creature to them, but I can't talk to them, so I guess I'll have to pretend to be a mute.

"What's wrong? Can't you speak?" she snapped, looking at me impatiently. I wish I COULD talk in her language, but they're not Pokémon and doesn't speak my language. Then she suddenly smirked, "Oh, I see, so you can't speak, can you?"

I gave her a nervous look… It didn't take me long to realize she's the bully type, I've seen plenty of those with Pokémon who always defend their territory with such aggressiveness, however, she's most likely the type that talks and insults others rather than get physical with them. She sneered and walked around me as if studying me, which made me more nervous since there's a good chance she could see my 'tail' is nothing but leaves. But to my shock, all she said was; "So you're a blank flank I see, no cutie mark on your flank."

I blinked… I have no idea what a 'cutie mark' is, but it sounds like something for young female human children. I just shook my head and she sneered even more like I had said the wrong thing, "Aww, isn't that just sad? The little filly is a mute and a Blank Flank!"

I growled in irritation at her, if I wasn't trying to hide my identity I would blast her with a big Ember attack! I tried to walk away, but of course the bully never wants to let a victim go until they're done with them, "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

I wish I could just tell her to buzz off, this pony creature is annoying me. I kept trying to walk away, but she kept getting in front of me, "Hey, I'm trying to talk to you, you're being very rude you know, Blank Flank!"

"Leave her alone, Diamond Tiara!" another voice spoke up. I looked behind myself to see another little pony creature, only this one was yellow with a red mane and tail and a big pink bow in her mane.

"Oh what do you want now, Applebloom?" this pony… uh… Diamond Tiara, sneered at the other pony, Applebloom.

This Applebloom glared at her and said, "Don't make fun of the new filly just because she can't speak and looks weird."

"Of course you'd defend this weird pony." The pink bully growled in irritation. "You and your 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' always have to butt in on my fun!"

"Well your fun is kinda mean, Diamond Tiara, how about instead of always pickin' on every pony you actually try bein' nice for once!" Applebloom snapped at her.

"How dare you! I am perfect and always nice to those I should be!" Diamond Tiara snapped before she walked away with her head high. "I don't need to waste my time with you anyway!"

As soon as Diamond Tiara walked away, Applebloom smiled at me, which made me feel a lot better now. And she had a hint of a country accent. "I apologize for her… Diamond Tiara's always been like that. My name's Applebloom… and I take it that you can't speak?"

I shook my head and she still smiled all the same, "Well that's okay, maybe I can help you get home! Maybe I'll even get a Cutie Mark for helping the lost!" Then she looked at me and said, "Wait, ya don't have a Cutie Mark either?"

I frowned, I assumed 'Cutie Mark' is that mark on their butts, and it looks like Applebloom doesn't have one either, I guess that's what Blank Flank meant. She smiled, "Hey! Maybe ya can join the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

I shook my head and began walking, I didn't have time to join some club with these strange pony creatures, especially for something I don't naturally have or will get. She frowned when she saw me walking away, "W-wait! Please! I promise it's a lot of fun and you'll meet my two best friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!"

I kept shaking my head, I didn't have time to delve into this little… filly's games. I decided to just run for it, maybe I can find a hiding spot and find Keldeo or Dad! I heard Applebloom calling for me, but I ignored her because I didn't want to have to hang with her. I had used Quick Attack to outrun her, thankfully it made me fast enough to lose the young pony creature.

Ugh… I wish I knew where I was going! Heck I don't even know where I am! "I heard that the Princess of Ponyville got a new castle just recently, after she defeated Tirek! I can't wait to see what it looks like on the inside!" I heard one of the ponies say in excitement… So I'm in a town called 'Ponyville' eh?

I don't know what a Tirek is, but I didn't care at the moment, I wanted to find- Oof!

"Oh dear me! You look so filthy!" a white pony with a horn that I bumped into said to me. I frowned as I was suddenly lifted back an invisible force! It's like a Psychic type using Psychic on me! I noticed her horn was glowing blue. "Not to worry, I will get you a bath and give you a proper look!"

I yelped as she walked away and my body was floating after her, what is going on? Are these ponies Psychic types or something? But if they're not Pokémon then what kind of power is this? I struggled a bit, but that white pony kept talking.

"You know, I've never seen a creature quite like you before, but I'm sure you're not a pony. I can't wait to see what you really are under all those leaves and mud!" she said a bit too excitedly and I couldn't get out of her Psychic hold on me.

This white pony soon led me to this big house and I find myself in a bathtub. Thankfully bath water doesn't really hurt Fire types, at least not with me. I like water and yes, I know that sounds weird coming from a Fire type, I don't know why I do though. She washed away the leaves and mud I had over myself, but her eyes sparkled when she noticed the purple gem around my neck.

"Oh my, you DO have good taste after all! I've never seen such a beautiful gem that speaks such power." She said smiling. "Oh, how rude of me, here I am giving you a bath and I didn't introduce myself! My name is Rarity, a designer of Ponyville of course!"

"… Hi, I'm Foxfire." I said, but of course she probably only heard "Vul, Vulpix."

Rarity blinked, looking at me, "Oh, I guess you can't talk. That's okay, I'll just call you Vulpix, and you're so cute. I heard that Fluttershy took in a cute little fox creature, but you are different than what I expected. You have these amazing six tails, I've never seen a fox with so many tails, yet they look good on you."

Rarity used that horn psychic thing to pick up some soap and scrubbed me with it. I'll admit; I'm feeling a guilty pleasure come from all this. I couldn't help but purr as she washed the bubbles away on my fur, making me feel nice and clean. I've never really had a bath before, at least not in this way, why do Meowths hate these so much?

"There we go, now you look so much better! You're a lot better than my cat, Opalescence, she refuses to take a bath without a struggle." Rarity sighed… What's a 'cat'? Sounds like a Meowth or Skitty.

Then she took me out of the bathtub with her horn psychic and dried me up with a towel. She smiled, "I wonder where you got that rare gem, and I've never seen one before."

I shrugged, wishing I could communicate with her, maybe she can help me find Keldeo and my father. I stretched out and she smiled, "Of course, I'll have to find something for you to wear, you can't just go walking around Ponyville like that, ponies will get curious."

I rolled my eyes, while she turned around and yammering on about getting clothes, which is odd since these ponies don't wear clothes, I snuck away, thankful she had a little door for her pet. I was glad to be out, but… now every pony creature is looking at me with great curiosity… ugh, here we go again. I ran while they all chased me, using Quick Attack to stay one step ahead of them all, but those flying ponies were harder to dodge, they can freaking FLY!

I yelped as one of them managed to grab me with their mouth and I yelped, then it dropped me onto their arm, "… Huh… Fluttershy's right, you are a new animal."

I blinked, looking up… it was a cyan flying pony, this one has rainbow mane and an attitude, she looked at my purple gem and said, "Huh… I wonder if Rarity's seen that gem yet, looks pretty valuable."

I looked down, frowning, that's when I saw a train and… Keldeo on top of it? What the heck? He looks like he's trying to hide from something… he then jumped off the train with Hydro Pump in his hoofs and landed near the train station. This rainbow pony must've noticed him too. "Hey, I've never seen that pony before…"

I looked up at her as she gave a curious yet challenging look before she flew at him. I yelped as she brought us down with such speed I thought my fur would be blown off! "HEY YOU!" she shouted at Keldeo before landing in front of him and putting me down. "I've never seen you before."

"Keldeo!" I called out to him, happy to see he's here. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"Foxfire?" he blinked, looking shocked to see me here.

"What's going on, Keldeo?" I asked, wanting some answers and hoping he may know something.