Act 2

Changing Tides

Chapter 24:

Differences and Similarities

~~?~~

"Is this really necessary, milord?"

The King postponed his admiration of the newly erected shrine to regard his companion. "Of course! The stone we used for the scripture absolutely matches the environment's aesthetic, don't you think?"

His companion winced. "Forgive me, sire, but I did not mean the elegance of the shrine- although it is quite stunning. Rather, I meant the shrine's overall… purpose?"

The King furrowed his brow. "Whatever do you mean, my friend? You know as well as I do the absolute importance of this mission."

"Yes yes, I very much do. I assure you!" The companion exclaimed. "But must it be located in such a…" he paused, contemplating the right word to use. "...remote locale? Surely there are places much more secure than here?"

To the companion, it was absolute lunacy -although he would never say that directly to The King. I mean, who would seek to hide one of their most prized valuables in an underwater cave so hard to access?

The King only belly laughed at his companion's concern. "Do not worry so much!" He walked up to the shrine. "For a treasure such as this, there is no safer place. The whole point is for it to be hard to find."

"There is such a thing as too difficult, sire."

"The more difficult, the better in my opinion." The King retorted, walking up to the shrine to place the intended treasure.

He was before a large, light-blue stone wall that sparkled from the dim blue light of the underwater cave. On it was a scripture he had ordered to be written for any who successfully made it to the prize. In front of the scripture wall was a small pedestal with an empty holder. This was where the prize would rest for as long as it would take.

"Leave me for now, my friend. I must conduct this final business alone." The King commanded his companion.

The companion nodded and saluted. "Yes, sir." He started to make his way to the cave entrance before The King said one more thing.

"Oh, and make sure to not be eaten by that leviathan on the way out!" He shouted back in a jesting manner. "She can be a real pain in the rump when she hasn't eaten!" With that final warning, the companion made his way out of the cave, finally leaving The King alone.

He stood in front of the empty pedestal, gazing at it with some trace amount of melancholy. "This is it, old friend. Our time is finally coming to an end."

The King sighed and then held out his front paw. A white light flashed and the next moment he was holding the intended prize. A small rectangle slab, its surface depicting a raging whirlpool that captivated his eyes. He held the prize in front of the pedestal, imitating the action of actually placing it.

The King rubbed his neck. It felt just a bit lighter than before. He spoke directly to the prize. "My time is starting to run short, old friend. Our adventure together will soon come to a close." The King sighed. "I have created an unprecedented time of peace and prosperity for our kingdom, but only a fool would believe it to last forever."

He held up the prize to the shrine as if he was showing it off. "When the time of peace concludes and your safety is no longer ensured, you will be retired here. The Leviathan will make sure only my worthy successor will ever find you. I pray that the time when you and your siblings need to be used again will never come, but I must prepare for any possibility."

A white light flashed again. The prize disappeared from his palm, and his neck felt heavier. He turned his back on the shrine and moved towards the exit.

"Whatever time one next comes across this place will be a dark time indeed."

VVVVVVVVV

~~Rainbow (Eevee) - Somewhere on the road to Prismarine~~

A subtle bump in the road lightly jostled the cart, stirring Rainbow from his deep slumber. He groaned, his right shoulder feeling slightly numb from the way he had put his weight on it through the night. He gazed up to the ceiling of the carriage interior. His eyelids still felt heavy, coinciding with his jumbled thoughts of grogginess.

"Cave… underwater… leviathan…" he started to mumble to himself in an effort to remember his oddly realistic dream. "...a shrine… a king…?" He scrunched his face. There was something else important there, right? He gasped. "A Plate!"

"Uuugh."

Rainbow's sudden exclamation elicited a groan from within the same carriage. While the owner of the noise was not someone Rainbow would be excited to talk about his discovery with, it did nothing to dampen his mood. The coiled-up sea serpent next to him shuddered in awakening.

"Shifter…" Polelto Gracia uttered lazily. "If you wake me up from my beauty sleep once more you will walk the rest of the way."

"Polelto, listen, I think I had a dream about the Splash Plate." Rainbow seemed to not even listen to the Milotic's threat.

Polelto shook his head to banish his light fatigue from sleep. "And my personal chef dreams of berries and women. What is your point?"

Rainbow paid Polelto's comment no mind. "No, it was much too realistic to have just been a dream. Maybe a vision? I've had them before."

"Are you going to continue yapping to yourself or will you share?" Polelto grew annoyed as the Eevee talked to himself.

Rainbow finally regarded his fellow champion and told him of his dream while still clearly remembering the details. Polelto digested what he was told rather calmly.

"If this 'vision' is what you claim it is, then this shrine is clearly located near Lady Kyogre," Polelto concluded with confidence.

"You really think so?" Rainbow asked.

Polelto nodded. "Of course. An underwater cave, a leviathan, and she is rather contentious when she hasn't eaten. These all point towards my patron." He used his tail to brush a drape to the side and looked out the window. "That must mean she has been guarding the Splash Plate all along."

Rainbow sat on his hind legs. "That must be why she wants to meet me so badly. But why before winter?" He questioned.

Polelto's eyes followed a large tree they had just gone under as it moved past the window. They had entered a forest overnight. "The southern coast bordering Kyogre's sea usually freezes over quite early into the winter every year. This cave must be located in the same area."

"I see. It would be a bit hard to get into a cave whose entrance is covered in layers of ice." Rainbow surmised. "If that vision is to be believed, anyway."

"Have more faith in the legendaries, Shifter, they work in mysterious ways." Polelto criticized Rainbow.

Rainbow joined Polelto in looking out the carriage window, only on the opposite side. He saw one tree leaning on another as its trunk had snapped. "You think this was Arceus trying to contact me?"

Polelto's eye twitched as he noticed a quick movement from behind another tree as they passed by. "It may just be. Lady Kyogre first sought me out by giving me this profound urge to visit the coast by myself."

Rainbow snorted. "Looks like they'll do anything except just talk to us, huh?"

Polelto observed another quick movement. "She wants to talk to us now, that is why she gave me my mission."

Rainbow's eyebrow raised as he, too, noticed another quick movement. "This reminds me of how I met Vera, actually."

The two took a few seconds of silence to observe even more of those quick movements on each of their sides. A few in total, but the consistency must mean only one thing.

"We're being followed." Rainbow finally said, putting both of their thoughts into words.

Polelto slowly nodded, trying not to make any sudden movements to alert their pursuers. "I will tell the driver. Keep an eye out."

Polelto dropped the drape back into its place and extended his long neck towards the small window at the front of the box. He slid it down and spoke out to their Kricketune driver and the Mudsdale puller.

"Do not panic, but we are being pursued." He alerted them.

The Kricketune, who seemed to have gone through this sort of thing before, sharpened his eyes. "Oh, dear. That is certainly not acceptable. What shall we do, sir?"

Polelto thought for a moment before answering. "Keep our current course. We do not know how many there are or their strength. We shall hope they lose interest, or at the very least they do not attack."

The Kricketune snorted. "A small hope for forest bandits, sir."

Polelto narrowed his eyes. "Do not question my orders, butler."

"Of course not, sir. We shall remain at our current speed." The Kricketune butler sighed.

Polelto nodded at the compliance. "Good." He closed the communication window and went back to checking his window. Rainbow continued to do the same, silently hoping that these followers were just some common bandits and not bounty hunters after his head.

VVVVVVVVV

A few hours passed in tense silence as the carriage pressed on through the woods. Every now and then Rainbow would spot another shadow blinking in between the trees. He could make out at least three distinct shapes and sizes.

Part of him hoped they would just attack the carriage. Then, he could face them head-on instead of this sneaking business they seemed to enjoy. But these people seemed much smarter than a head-on attack. They were studying the carriage just as much as the people in the carriage were studying them.

A light tapping originating from the front of the carriage made Rainbow jump slightly. Polelto scoffed at Rainbow's reaction and leaned his head back to the communications window. He opened it.

"What is it, butler," Polelto demanded tensely.

The Kricketune bowed his head. "Good afternoon, sir, my apologies for disturbing you. I regret to inform you that Mudsdale requires rest."

Polelto clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Can he not manage to shamble his way until nightfall?"

"I'm sorry sir, but he has been moving since yesterday afternoon. He even went through the night at your request." Kricketune moved a little to the side so Polelto could see the state of the Pokémon that was pulling the carriage. "Is he not allowed even a little rest?"

Mudsdale was in a terrible state. His legs barely trotted in a straight line and he could scarcely keep his head up for even a short amount of time. Rainbow could see just how badly the poor Pokémon needed a break, but Polelto was having none of it.

"Need I remind you of the tight schedule we are running on." He whispered sharply through his teeth. "And it does not bode well to stop while we are being chased!"

Rainbow's eye twitched. "Polelto, he needs a break. He's almost been going for a day straight."

Polelto turned on the Eevee. "And need I remind you that this is my carriage that I am allowing you to stay on. If I say we are to press on, then we will press on."

"He can barely stand on his own four hooves!" Rainbow retorted. "If you overwork him then we might not be going anywhere at all! At least let him rest for an hour or two until he gets some energy back."

"We cannot waste any time!" Polelto exclaimed. "Winter arrives in only a few short weeks. Any unnecessary stops will hinder our chances of making it on time."

"So you're going to drive him till he's dead?"

Polelto opened his mouth to say a most likely regrettable response, but he bit his tongue just in time. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out until he calmed down.

"One hour." He responded after a short while. He turned back towards the still-waiting butler. "The Mudsdale will have one hour of rest and then we are back on the road until nightfall."

"Yes, sir." That was all Kricketune said before closing the window and drawing the reins, signaling for Mudsdale to stop. The light bumps of movement halted, telling the passengers that they had come to a stop.

"Thank you, Polelto." Rainbow spoke up.

The Milotic gazed sharply at his companion. "Do not believe I have accepted your request lightly, Shifter."

Thanking Arceus that Polelto had calmed down, Rainbow inquired what he meant. "This is about our pursuers?" He guessed.

Polelto nodded. "You cannot be seen by them. Even if they take this opportunity to attack us. They may not be here for you, and we cannot risk exposing your position." Rainbow already knew where this was going. "You are to stay in this carriage until I am sure we are not being followed anymore."

Pretty much what Rainbow had expected. He sighed in disappointment. It would have been good to stretch his legs, but the circumstances dictated otherwise. "Yeah, I got it."

Polelto grunted in approval at Rainbow's obedience. "I will have the butler send in any food when it is made. Until then, stay here under any circumstance."

Rainbow groaned. It's like the Milotic was treating him like a baby. "I get it already, just go." Polelto slithered out and closed the door behind him, leaving the Champion of Arceus alone with his thoughts.

Hopefully, their pursuers did not attack them. As Polelto said, they were on a fairly tight schedule to get to the coast where Kyogre was on time. Any stops might jeopardize their good schedule. But the health of Mudsdale came first. What kind of champion- or even Pokémon- would he be if he killed someone just to go somewhere?

Polelto did not seem to care, however. To be honest, that made Rainbow's blood boil. If he had not stopped the Milotic, Mudsdale probably would have kept trotting until he dropped.

Rainbow sat back down and fiddled with the Plates. Dealing with someone like Polelto was pretty tiring, especially having to do it alone. Vera was a much more appealing traveling companion in his eyes. At least she wouldn't try to work someone to death.

Vera…

Azaelia…

They had not heard anything from the capital for the past few weeks, ever since they had left in such a chaotic time. His bounty was officially put out. An heirloom thief that would catch a pretty penny for his capture.

His bounty somehow did not mention anything about his supposed "attempted assassination" of Azaelia. It was only about that Plate. Something about that just didn't sit quite right with him. But at least he was only a thief for now.

He overturned his paw to look at a small burn scar he had received from his childhood. A stupid situation, really, but endearing all the same.

"The next time I see you, you're going behind bars. That's final."

…Jolt…

Every time he thought about that moment, his heart stung. He had no doubts that stealing the Flame Plate that night had been the right move, but if he could change one thing, it would have been to convince his sister of the idea first. At least then he wouldn't have had to see the betrayed look on her face when he confessed.

Maybe one day they can make up, but right now that seems really unlikely. For now, he would have to make sure to avoid her just as much as any other guard or bounty hunter.

He looked at the endless inferno of the Flame Plate, following the eternal embers blaze. He really wished they had heard any news regarding Azaelia's condition. He really hoped Vera and Jolt made it to her on time.

Kricketune came in holding a plate of some food he had cooked up. With Rainbow's allowance, the butler left it in front of him before leaving the way he came in. Rainbow stared solemnly at the simple berry dish.

If only he could know how those other three were doing…

"Hands up, nobles!"

Rainbow snapped to attention through his half-eaten lunch. That voice was unfamiliar, sounding gruff and antagonistic. Their pursuers must have finally shown themselves.

"I would love to, but only one small problem," came Polelto in a mocking tone. "I seem to not have any."

Poleto's mockery was not taken well. "We have you outnumbered here, noble! One more remark like that and you're all dead!"

Rainbow slowly opened the drapes, just a small crack, to get a hold of the situation. Maybe five Pokémon stood on guard near the treeline. They looked ready to lay on ranged attacks at a moment's notice.

Polelto was completely disinterested in their threatening advances, and Rainbow could not see Kricketune or Mudsdale.

"What is it exactly that you want, you miscreants? Money? Food?" Polelto continued his sardonic tone.

What Rainbow assumed to be the leader of the group, a Grovyle, growled at Polelto's attitude. However, he brought out a semi-large poster from his adventurer's pouch. Rainbow grew annoyed when Grovyle unfurled it.

"We're looking for the hottest head in the country right now, and this carriage of yours is looking awfully warm." The Grovyle smirked, tapping Rainbow's wanted poster.

Polelto steeled his gaze but kept it cool. "And what in that maggot-ridden brain makes you think I would stoop so low as to harbor a criminal? I'd have half a mind to bring him in myself."

Grovyle tucked the poster away. "I do not need to explain my reasoning with the likes of you, noble. Just let us search your carriage and we'll be on our way."

Polelto laughed in Groyle's face. "If you think I would let your dirty peasant hands even touch my cart, I will not hesitate to execute you all."

Grovyle strode right up to Polelto and hung a Leaf Blade in the Milotic's face. "Just who do you think is in charge here, noble? You don't have any guards here to hide behind now. Are you so used to being protected all the time that you cannot even comprehend when someone is about to kill you?"

"Have you ever considered that you might be out of your depth here?" Polelto fired right back, clearly unperturbed by the situation.

Grovyle hovered his Leaf Blade closer to Polelto's face. "Search the carriage."

Three of the other Pokémon started to make their own advance on the carriage. Polelto smacked his tail down in front of the cart, blocking their path. The three dropped down to a ready position at his action.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" The Milotic was entirely serious now, all signs of mockery gone. "One more move and I'll consider you all fodder." A dim azure-blue glow started to permeate from his scales.

Grovyle did not heed the warning. He nodded his head at his hesitating teammates. "Go on ahead, guys. It's all a bluff. What do you think this idiot can even do right now?" The Leaf Blade was still close. "One move and I'll lop his head off."

One of the henchmen, a small Spinda, hesitantly nodded at their boss's order. He took one small stride forward…

Dark clouds erupted from Polelto before anyone knew what was going on. They joined together not far up in the air and a torrent of rain pounded the ensemble. Rainbow could hear cries of surprise and light pain from the Pokémon outside. He had been inside one of Polelto's storms before, and he was sure glad he was inside this time.

He tried to see through the sudden darkness, but the constant rain disrupted whatever sight got through. He could hear muffled shouts and sounds of battle through the torrent. Different colored lights from moves sometimes breached the darkness.

Should he go out? He promised Polelto that he would stay inside, but those bounty hunters were here for him. He brought these guys to them, so he should at least help take them out. Even if Polelto could probably handle them with his blessing, it still did not feel right to stay safe in the carriage while they were fighting.

Heavy rain constantly pounded the roof of the carriage. Rainbow could barely even hear- so little in fact that he did not even notice when the door opposite of him swung violently open.

"Dammit, what the hell was that?" Rainbow jumped around as he heard an unfamiliar voice come from behind him. It was the same Spinda from before, only his short fur was completely matted down by the water. "I knew those royals were bad news, but noooo nobody listens to the little Spinda. Pah! "

Frankly, Rainbow was too shocked to move. Not that there was any other place to hide in the carriage at that point. Only when the Spinda finally looked up to see the country's most wanted criminal did Rainbow spring into action.

"Holy sh-!" Spinda could not finish his sentence as he narrowly escaped a Bite aimed at his small body. He took the moment of freedom to examine his opponent. He smiled. "Oh, we hit the jackpot, baby!"

Rainbow grit his teeth at his cover being blown. If word got out about this, they would have bounty hunters coming after them nonstop. He needed to shut this Spinda up now.

Rainbow pivoted off of his left foreleg into a Take Down with his shoulder. He was aiming to barrel into the Spinda from his side and squish him against the wall. When he followed through with his plan, however, there was no Spinda to connect with.

"Whoa there, buddy!" Rainbow heard the voice now coming from where he had just come from. "Were you actually aiming for me?"

Rainbow looked back to see Spinda completely unharmed. The bounty hunter lazily smiled while he teetered on his two small feet. That wasn't the only weird thing. Rainbow for sure thought that he had kicked off with his left leg to charge right, not kicking off with his right leg to charge left. He had gone in the complete opposite direction.

"What?" Rainbow grunted confusedly.

"You're supposed to be the alleged 'Heirloom Thief'?" Spinda continued to dance on his teetering feet. "Surely you can do better."

Rainbow then kicked off with his hindlegs and charged his Take Down now in his forelegs. He would pounce right on top of the bounty hunter this time. He was sure of it.

…

Then why was he pouncing backward?

Spinda took a little pleasure from Rainbow's absolutely baffled expression as the Eevee careened into the wall behind him. He snorted as Rainbow then tried to find his footing after the crash. The confusion caused by his Teeter Dance never failed to amuse him.

Rainbow finally faced his assailant once more but his eyes felt out of sync. He couldn't see straight anymore. He could barely even stand up straight without wobbling.

"What did you do to me?" he asked Spinda. Or rather he was trying to, as he was now facing the wall.

Spinda shook his head. "Just give up, Rainbow the Shifter. You obviously can't win when you're confused like that. I don't want to hurt you any more than I need to." He took a quick pause. "Actually, now that I think about it, you've only been hurting yourself!" Spinda broke into jovial laughter. Rainbow's head grew hot at the utter embarrassment of the situation.

At least with a good straight fight he could hold his own and show his skills. But right now? He was like a newborn hatchling that just learned how to walk. Rainbow shut his eyes. He couldn't stand the double vision any longer.

Spinda regained his composure and wiped a tear from his eye. "Could you at least show me that cool power of yours before I capture you? That would at least make this fight worth it."

Rainbow grimaced from the mockery. He hoped the others weren't having as much trouble dealing with their fights as he was with his. Polelto had already seemed a little peeved about the carriage being attacked as it was.

The carriage…

Rainbow suddenly got a bright idea. He didn't exactly have to aim for Spinda to attack him, per se. Well, he can blame whatever damage to the cart on his opponent.

"You want to see?" He asked Spinda, his eyes still closed. He started to shine.

"Oh, here we go!" Spinda excitedly outburst.

Rainbow's Eevee form grew larger in size yet kept the same proportions. The fur of his collar grew wilder and more in volume. His fur turned from a creamy brown to a bright faded orange.

"Just don't regret asking." The glow faded, signaling the completed shift to Flareon.

Spinda hopped up and down. He could barely contain his excitement. "That was so cool!" He dropped to a fighting stance. "Fun is over, though. I'm gonna capture you now."

Rainbow could tell he was still confused without opening his eyes, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that Spinda couldn't possibly dodge his next attack in such an enclosed space.

Sorry, Polelto.

Before Spinda could launch an attack, Rainbow unleashed a torrent of Flamethrower pointed down at his own paws. The flames hit the floorboard and engulfed the bottom of the carriage in a small sea of flame. Rainbow was unaffected, of course. However, you could not say the same for Spinda.

"What the hell! Ah!" He jumped up quickly but the flames had already singed his paws. "Oh crap!" He realized he had nowhere to go in the carriage. Every landing spot was covered in flames.

He grabbed a loose fixture on the ceiling. Rainbow showed no signs of stopping the Flamethrower, although the stream was lessening. Spinda had no time to wait for it to completely cut off, though. The fire was creeping up the sides of the compartment, and the floor would still keep burning. He cursed.

"Dammit." He hated to leave like this but he had no choice. "You won't be able to hide here forever, Shifter. I'll find you wherever you go."

After that last taunt, Spinda swung on the fixture until he had enough momentum to launch himself through one of the door windows and back into Polelto's storm.

Rainbow finally relented his stream of fire. He violently coughed out the last embers and sputtered for breath. That was not pleasant, but at least he had managed to drive his attacker away. He could stay and hide within the burning carriage but it was now getting quite hard to breathe.

He stumbled out of the carriage opposite where the Spinda had escaped. Stings of pain immediately assaulted his skin as the rain pounded him. It didn't help that he was a fire type currently. He shifted quickly to Umbreon to nullify the weakness. It also helped him see better through the storm as Umbreons had better vision in the darkness.

"Aha! You're mine!"

Rainbow turned in surprise to see a Donphan charging right towards him. He prepared to roll right out of the way of the attack. That was until a powerful-looking Hydro Pump trucked right into Donphan's charge. He was knocked out before he even knew it.

"Butler, was that all?" Rainbow could hear Polelto's voice from the darkness.

"Yes, sir, I believe so." Kricketune's reply came shortly after. "Wait, my mistake." A slashing sound followed by a scream of pain. "Now it is done."

Rainbow observed Polelto's azure glow through the rain. A few moments later the rain slowed. Then it stopped completely. The dark clouds of the storm relented and faded, finally letting sunlight reach them once more. Rainbow had forgotten it was still midday.

Polelto, Kricketune, and Mudsdale were adorned with a few scratches and bruises each but seemed none the worse for wear.

Seven other Pokémon lay unconscious around the area. They were all severely beaten. He could spot the Grovyle leader having taken the worst of it. Turns out Rainbow didn't need to worry after all. These bounty hunters really were out of their depth.

"Tie these miscreants up and send for recovery, butler," Polelto ordered Kricketune, to which the Pokémon in question nodded. He pulled out a weird-looking orb and rope from his adventurer's pouch. "Now we may- What has happened to my carriage!"

Rainbow winced at the venomous voice from Polelto. Oh, right. He had almost forgotten. He looked back at the damage he had done to their only mode of transportation.

It was a wreck, to be honest. The rain had thankfully squelched the flames, but the damage was still apparent. The wood was blackened and looked unstable as if a slight wind would crumble it entirely. It was most definitely unusable now.

"Well, Shifter?" The Milotic prince demanded Rainbow's attention.

"One of those bounty hunters got in because of your rain. I needed to defend myself somehow." Rainbow tried to excuse himself as best he could.

"By burning our only mode of transportation?" Polelto did not have it. "You couldn't think of any better plan than that?"

"It was a lot more complicated than you think." Even Rainbow knew he was just making excuses. "Look, I'm sorry about the carriage but can't we just get another one?"

Polelto rubbed his head with the tip of his tail. A vein was practically bulging out of his forehead. "Yet again you do not understand the situation we are in. We cannot afford any detours. But now…"

Kricketune finished tying the bounty hunters up into one big pile. "There is a small mining town just south of here, sir." He piped up. "Might I suggest purchasing a transport cart from there?"

Polelto took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "How far?"

"Around a day on foot."

"Fine." He then addressed the other two present. "We leave in 20 minutes. Hopefully, we can make it to this town by nightfall. If we hurry."

Rainbow was about to speak out on how impossible that seemed, but he held back. He had no right to complain. After all, it was him that put them in this situation in the first place. There was another problem, however. "Have any of you seen a Spinda? That was the Pokémon that saw me."

Kricketune responded. "There was no Spinda in the ones we have captured. Perhaps he evaded our battle?"

Polelto heavily sighed. "You didn't even defeat him? I said you shouldn't be seen under any circumstance. At least make sure the one who did see you doesn't get away!"

"I realize that! But it really was more complicated than you think!" Rainbow pronounced back. "We just need to hope he loses track of us. He was already burned by my fire. I doubt he can heal up quick enough to start tailing us again."

Polelto sighed again. "Fine. But we need to move as soon as possible. Try and scavenge anything you can from the remains of the carriage. The butler and I will take care of the bounty hunters."

Rainbow nodded in agreement. He went to the ruins of the carriage and started to scrounge for any supplies that remained unburned. He mentally chastised himself. Just like in Prism City, his decisions had led to more harm than good.

Rainbow barely registered Mudsdale appearing next to him from within his sulky state. The much larger Pokémon nudged the Umbreon with his snout to gain his attention. "Hey, there."

The Umbreon came back from his stupor. He was surprised to see who had nudged him. "Oh, hi. Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to thank you." Mudsdale's voice was smooth and burly, yet calm and bright.

Rainbow returned to scrounging. "What for? Now we have to walk a day's travel in less than eight hours."

Mudsdale chuckled. "Yes, well, I could do without that. But I wanted to thank you for what happened before."

Rainbow quirked an eyebrow. "Before?"

"You stood up for me, against a royal as well. That takes a lot of guts to do where I come from."

Rainbow tore a small bag of berries from some of the rubble and put it aside. "I wasn't just going to let you keep going like that. You looked like you were about to drop."

"I was," Mudsdale admitted. "But even just this small respite got me a long way. I can at least carry you to the village if you want. I owe you one."

Rainbow thought for a moment before spotting another bag under some wood. He struggled to pull it out. "Hey, could you help me with this?"

Mudsdale nodded. "Sure." He came over and easily pushed the wood pile off of the bag. Rainbow dragged the bag aside.

"Thanks. You don't owe me anymore."

Mudsdale blinked. "What?"

Rainbow rubbed his head. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'm the one who caused this." He waved his paw at the crumbling carriage. "It wouldn't be right for me to take a shortcut like that while the other two walked er- slithered in Poleleto's case."

Mudsdale smiled warmly. "I see. Well, thank you still." He reared his head back in a proud motion. "If you will not take my offer of a ride, then at least accept my offer of friendship instead."

Rainbow took a moment to wonder over Mudsdale's curious counteroffer, but he relented nonetheless. "Alright then, deal. I'm Rainbow. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr…?"

"Troum," Mudsdale responded. "And it is a pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Rainbow. And listen, don't worry about Lord Polelto's attitude. I'm sure he's just stressed about all of this. He seems really set on this trip."

"That's an understatement," Rainbow mumbled. "Although I understand why. He could at least be less of a jerk about it."

Troum snorted. "All royals act like that, friend. You just need to learn to get used to it." Troum noticed Polelto and Kricketune finishing up with their task. "We should get going. They seem to be almost done." He walked away.

'All royals act like that', huh? He fiddled with the Flame Plate. Not all of them. He turned and followed his new friend back.