17th Spell: [Video/Action for Ponies] (Forward dated to Saturday morning)

[friendyousohard]

[The gear clicks on in the middle of a room in the Pokemon Center. Someone's clearly using it, since the sheets are rumpled and the monitoring gear seems to have seen recent use, but no one's in the bed at the moment.

There's a splashing sound nearby, muffled by a door. The gear is moving very, very slowly towards that door.]

Mmmmmmffff... huh?

[Someone appears to have just woken up behind said door, as well.]

A-AJ...?

Um... h-hey there, Sugarcube. You sure had one crazy sleep, didn't ya?

I did...? Where am I? What's going on...?

[The gear is about halfway to the door at this point.]

You passed out on us right 'bout the time we got into Celadon. We were all real worried about you.

Passed out...? The comas!

[Twilight's voice suddenly gets much stronger and there's the sound of a sudden splash, as though she's just moving around in a pool of water.]

I had one! I went back home! Well... sort of. You know what I mean, right?

I... think so?

I saw so much... My brother, and Cadence, the Crystal Empire, even Discord, there's so much to... Um, AJ?

Discord? What in tarnation's he doin' back? We sealed him up for good!

I'll explain that in a moment, but first... what were you doing just before I woke up?

... Givin' you a bath.

[The gear has almost reached the door, when suddenly a large yellow foot slams down in front of it. It wobbles and falls to the ground, showing an Alakazam glaring down at a Slowpoke, which was carrying the gear.]

And what do you think you're doing?

[The gear floats up into Starswirl's hand...]

Apologies to any who saw this and wanted to speak to my trainer. She is currently occupied, but will be with you shortly.

[And clicks off.]

A few moments later...

[The gear clicks on to show a wet haired and slightly bedraggled Twilight.]

Ah, hello everyone. It seems I've encountered one of those week-long sleeps that we go into on occasion, and gotten some new memories of home. Honestly, it feels a bit strange to be back here... but I'll adjust soon enough. If anything important has happened in the past week, I'd appreciate it if somepo- someone could let me know.

... Also, if anyone has any ideas as to how to curb the tendencies of some Pokemon to abscond with peoples' gear and pull, or try to pull, obnoxious pranks on their trainers and others, I'd love to hear them.

Comments

[bestofthebest]

OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG! I'm gonna become a Wonderbolt~! I knew I'd get in someday.

(She's calmed down considerably, suddenly remembering Twilight was with her and went crimson. No way she hadn't seen that...!)

...Heh, you saw that whole thing didn't you?

[friendyousohard]

Well, you were more or less dancing around in front of me, Rainbow.

[She pauses with a little smirk for a few moments, then just chuckles.] It's all right, though. You saw me with Tesla, so I'd call it even, right?

[bestofthebest]

...You know I'll have to deny this if you tell anypony, right?

(She laughs sheepishly and nods after a moment.) Yeah, I'd say we're even.

[friendyousohard]

And this is why you're not the Element of Honesty. [Still definitely teasing her.]

So yeah, that's about all that's happened since your timepoint. I think AJ had her family reunion, but of course that doesn't have anything to do with the rest of us.

[bestofthebest]

Pfft, would you have me be brutally honest with you ALL the time or a me who'll never leave your side no matter what? (She grins at her, knowing she was teasing.)

Mm, yeah; probably not but if we're needed to help you know I'd be first in line!

[friendyousohard]

AJ also knows there's a difference between honest and brutal. [She pokes Rainbow's nose, deliberately holding back a probably-unneeded lecture on the topic to just keep the teasing going instead.]

Oh undoubtedly, but you know Applejack. Even if she desperately needed our help, odds are she'd never ask. Still, I can't imagine what would come up in a family reunion to make that happen.

[bestofthebest]

Hey, so do I! (She rubs her nose before poking Twilight's nose in playful retaliation. Anything to keep the teasing going.)

Yeah, I'm STILL hurting in places when she launched me into the sky...!

[friendyousohard]

You did come crashing down on my ledge pretty hard. I'm surprised you didn't end up with some cracked ribs from that.

[bestofthebest]

Not at all! It'll take more than me crashing on your ledge -or slamming into all your books- for me to be seriously hurt.

(Her confident grin and pose doesn't really work since she's still poking Twilight's nose.)

[friendyousohard]

Unfortunately the same can't be said for my house.

[Pulls her head away because honestly, her nose is starting to itch from that.]

[bestofthebest]

Ha, come on! Spike did much more damage to it than I ever caused. You know, like a dragon-sized hole...?

(Smart thinking! Rainbow was considering scratching her friend's nose and after a moment of contemplation does just that.)

[friendyousohard]

Well, yes, but we weren't talking about Spike- hey, what are you doing?

[That feels weird, Rainbow.]

[bestofthebest]

Uh, it's called scratching your itch. Thought you might need a little help with that.

(She scratches both sides for a moment before pulling back. Done!)

[friendyousohard]

[Huh, now she's blushing. Weird. She rubs her nose with the back of her hand.]

Well, thanks... how'd you know my nose itched though?

[bestofthebest]

(Rainbow thinks for a moment, shrugs and laughs sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head.

Ha, lucky guess! Didn't really know it needed itching, but anytime. Couldn't do much for you while you were out; Fluttershy and Applejack had the tougher jobs, so I just sat by you every night and day.

[friendyousohard]

[Awwww, that's sweet. Her mouth turns up in a sheepish little smile.]

You know that's enough for me, right? I mean... that's your whole day spent looking after me.

[bestofthebest]

...Yeah, but I'd do this for any of you guys. (Rainbow's face shows slight embarrassment; she would deny admitting this upfront!)

Besides, who else is gonna be all 'Rainbow Dash, don't get a big head just because you've won your first 2 badges back-to-back; Whitney and the other Gym Leaders will be much stronger!' when we're back on the road?

[friendyousohard]

Applejack, probably. She'd just say it, though, I'll explain what you need to know to deal with it.

[bestofthebest]

Haha, yeah she definitely would!

(A beat, and she blinks a few times.)

...So, how do I take care of Whitney? She's got some super-strong Pokemon, right?

[friendyousohard]

Well, your first problem is that you don't have any Fighting-types. Those are the only things Whitney's Normal-types are weak against.

Since you won't have a strong Fighter when you go up against her, you're going to have some trouble, especially against her Miltank. Miltank is tough, hard to damage, and can heal itself in combat, plus its Rollout attack is something Blaze will not appreciate.

[bestofthebest]

(Through that entire explanation? Dash's eyes glittered with excitement and anticipation. And, she's totally planning on sending Blaze to face Miltank when the time comes.)

She's that tough to bring down? So. Awesome~! I can't wait to face her!

[friendyousohard]

Yeah, I'm not surprised you feel that way. Her others aren't so difficult... Girafarig is a Psychic-type in addition to a Normal, though, so watch for that. And Clefable's metronome can be a bit surprising since it can literally pull out just about anything. Basically, take her down fast if you can, because she has a tendency to pull out surprises.

[bestofthebest]

Hmm...might need a Psychic to take a Psychic...ha, if I can get him to take his training seriously, Ditzy would be perfect! And maybe Tank could handle that Clefable...

What kind of surprises did she pull on you, Twilight?

[friendyousohard]

None. I have Megasoma. None of her Pokemon lasted more than a single round.

[bestofthebest]

...Really? Just one Pokemon?!

(And her eagerness to face Twilight in battle only increases.)