In the following days, Zinnia had gotten very little sleep. The stress and worry of Darkrai’s plans had kept her up late into the night, staring into the darkness of her room with a renowned fear she hadn’t felt since childhood combined with the terror of possibly losing her family - her son - to the Shadow.

She was currently on her way to the rural town of Appleloosa - with Whiplash staying home to watch Stryker - and was lounging in one of the plush cream seats in the train. Mirroring her was Rainbow Dash, dressed in a pair of black lycra shorts and a loose white muscle shirt, her katana resting against the wall.

“Remind me what it is we’re doing, Twi?” the prismatic Pegasus asked.

“You know full well what we’re doing, Rainbow,” the Unicorn sighed, smoothing out her khaki cargo shorts and white button-down shirt. “We’re responding to Braeburn’s letter.”

“Yeah Dashie!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing in her seat. She wore a blue tee shirt with yellow sleeves and a pink skirt over dark blue leggings. “We gotta make sure that meanie Dark-ray doesn’t hurt them!”

“Darkrai,” Zinnia said without opening her eyes. “It’s Darkrai, Pinkie. Get it right.”

“Oopsy! Sorry.”

“‘S fine, just feels better if it’s said right.” She paused, standing up and stretching her wings out before striding over to a window on the other side of the train car. “We have company,” she stated before opening the window and diving out. The three mares stared in awe before seeming to snap to their senses, Rainbow grabbing her katana and shooting out after the Draconid as she pulled the strap over her shoulder.

Rainbow pulled up alongside Zinnia, who was gliding at the side of the train and keeping perfect pace. She looked around, spotting a large dust cloud in the distance and giving a sigh of relief.

“It’s fine, Z,” she said, sheathing her blade. “That’s just the Buffalo tribe that lives around here. Their probably just on one of their stampedes.”

“Rainbow,” Zinnia said, her tone making the Pegasus doubt herself. “Those are Pokemon.”

As the dust cloud drew closer, the cause became easier to see. A large group of beige-coloured bulls with three tails,  steel-grey horns, and a mane of chocolate-brown fur. Rainbow tensed, gripping the handle of her katana.

“What’re they, Z?” she asked, keeping her eyes focused on the leader - identical in physique, but with an altered colour palette of lime and emerald greens.

“Tauros,” Zinnia replied, flexing her fingers. “Quick-tempered and incredibly powerful on their own, devastating in a herd. We gotta turn’em around.”

With that, Zinnia shot towards the Wild Bull herd, Rainbow right behind her. She paused roughly fifty yards away before taking a deep breath, using her Dragon Breath attack to erect a wall of purple flames in an attempt to scare the advancing Pokemon into turning. Rainbow landed right in front of the wall, drawing her blade and falling into a stance that vaguely reminded Zinnia of the Jedi in Star Wars.

Rainbow stayed perfectly still, even as the mis-coloured Tauros in the herd’s lead locked eyes with her. The beast snorted, putting on a burst of speed and lowering it’s head, pointing it’s horns at Rainbow’s exposed midsection. The Pegasus merely shifted her blade, aligning the blade horizontally in front of her face. A split second before it impaled her, Rainbow struck, slashing at the Tauros’s horns and forcing it to turn ever-so-slightly so that it ran into the wall of draconic flames behind her. As it passed through, the Wild Bull Pokemon flinched, purple sparks dancing over it’s fur as it’s legs seized. It tumbled to the ground, coming to rest at Zinnia’s feet, where she promptly punched it across the face with a glowing white fist. It glared up at her, clearly weakened as it attempted to stand, and she repeated the action three more times until she had knocked it out.

Zinnia looked up to see the remainder of the herd retreating, having been deterred by the combination of Rainbow’s blade and her flames - which were now dying out, allowing Rainbow to walk over to the fallen beast and poke it with her toe.

“So this is a Tauros?” the mare asked, crouching down beside the beast. “Braeburn told us about these, but I’ve never seen one before.”

“Yeah, a Normal Type Pokemon,” Zinnia replied, reaching into her bag and fishing out a white sphere with a red band around it. “I’m gonna have to get this replicated, but for now…” she added, tossing the sphere at the Pokemon. Rainbow watched in awe as the ball connected with the Tauros, seeming to turn it into a red light before absorbing it and falling to the ground, leaving a perfect afterimage of itself to return to Zinnia’s hand. “Huh, guess not,” the Draconid said, shocked. She placed the ball she held back into her bag before reaching down and grabbing the second one, pausing as it’s white surfaced slowly darkened into a pitch black.

“Well…” she muttered, frowning. “That isn't good…”

“Maybe that Darkrai guy got to the Tauros,” Rainbow said, straightening out. “And the ball’s trying to tell you to be careful.”

Zinnia stared Rainbow for a moment, making the mare feel uncomfortable.

“Uh… What?” she asked, cyan wings fluttering slightly.

“Nothing,” Zinnia sighed, shaking her head and grabbing the ball. “Just didn’t expect you to say that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow huffed indignantly, crossing her arms and taking to the air. Zinnia did the same, the two of them moving to catch up with the train.

“Just that you seem to be the ‘hit first, let someone else ask the questions’ type, that’s all.”

Rainbow huffed, remaining silent as they followed the train tracks, eventually catching the train as it pulled into a station. The two of them touched down just as the others stepped out, Twilight rushing over as soon as she spotted them.

“Zinnia! Rainbow Dash! What happened?” she asked, clearly concerned.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle, Twi!” Rainbow bragged, puffing her chest out. “Just a herd of Tauros that I scared off.”

“We scared them off, you mean.” Zinnia corrected, watching as the other four mares of their group walked over. “I managed to catch their leader,” she added, pulling out the black Pokeball. “Dash thinks Darkrai might have gotten to him.”

“Wait, how’d ya know it’s a he?” Applejack asked, placing her hands on her hips and hooking her thumbs into the belt loops of her denim shorts, her green plaid shirt having been tied off to reveal her midriff.

“Tauros are a purely male species,” Zinnia explained, looking around the dusty area. “So where’s our informant?” she asked, squinting against the sunlight.

“That’d be mah brother, Big Macintosh,” AJ said as she copied Zinnia’s actions before pointing to a large, shirtless red stallion in a pair of brown chaps. “There ‘e is!” she shouted.

Zinnia stared for a moment before grinning, following after the group. They approached the Apple siblings just as they finished their conversation.

“So let me get this straight,” Applejack said, pushing her Stetson back slightly. “In th’ middle o’ th’ night, you saw Sheriff Silverstar arguin’ wit’ a cloaked person.”

“Eeyup.”

“Th’ sheriff was about to walk away when th’ varmint in th’ cloak started spewin’ a black mist.”

“Eeyup.”

“The mist took over the sheriff, turnin’ his fur and mane black.”

“Eeyup.”

“An’ then they just ran off?”

“Eeyup.”

“An’ ponies’ve been disappearin’ ev’ry night since?”

“Eeyup.”

“Braeburn too?”

“Nope.”

“Well thats good.”

Applejack turned back to her friends, sighing before she spoke.

“Well, Ah reckon ya’ll know what’s happened here.” she said.

“Darkrai,” Zinnia growled, clutching the blackened Pokeball. “He’s recruiting.”

“More like conscripting, to be honest.” Twilight corrected, earning her a glare from the Draconid.

“It don’t matter what it’s called, we just have ta get’im outta here!”

“Eeyup!”

“You’re right, Applejack,” Zinnia sighed, massaging her temple. “I propose we have everyone who’s left stay together, to keep an eye on them all.”

“Good idea,” Twilight agreed, summoning a piece of parchment and a quill. “I’ll handle that, though I might need help.”

“Ah’ve got yer back, Twi.” Applejack offered, placing her hand on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Me too, darling.” Rarity added, flipping her hair. “We must keep Darkrai’s clutches from these ponies.”

“Maybe someone should check on the Pokemon too…”

“What was that, Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie asked, leaning in closer to the shy mare, who whispered something in her ear. “Oh, sure! I can help you check the Pokemon around here!”

“Good idea, Fluttershy.” Zinnia said, nodding. “They’re a threat to safety if they’ve been turned, so it’d be best to see if they have so we can put up defences.”

“What about the buffalo!” Rainbow called, catching everyone’s attention. “They’re in danger too!”

“You said they were a roaming tribe, right?” Zinnia asked, waiting for Rainbow to nod before continuing. “Then I’ll go out and look for them, make sure they’re safe and that they know the dangers.”

“I’m going with you!” the Pegasus shouted.

“Didn’t doubt it, I’d need the help if things went south anyway.” The Draconid paused when she felt someone tapping her shoulder, turning to see Big Macintosh - then looking up to see his face. He jabbed his thumb into his chest, then pointed at her. “What, you wanna come with us?” she asked, smiling when he nodded. “Alright, the muscle might help out.”

“Alright, everyone knows what to do.” Zinnia said, turning to face the whole group. “Do what you can to keep the people - and yourselves - safe, and we’ll meet back up later.”

With that, the group split into three - Twilight, AJ and Rarity heading into town; Fluttershy and Pinkie heading towards what Zinnia assumed to be an orchard of some kind; and Zinnia, Rainbow and Big Mac heading into the Badlands.

After roughly three hours had passed, Zinnia’s group still hadn’t seen hide nor hare of the roaming tribe.

“Gah!” Rainbow cried out, throwing her arms up in the air. “Where are they!”

“I don’t know, Dash,” Zinnia sighed. “Any idea how far the tribe is, Mac?”

“Nnope.”

“Of course not…” the Draconid sighed again, pinching the bridge of her nose. She let out a yelp of surprise as a piece of paper blew into her face, staggering back before grabbing it and tearing it away. “What the hell!?”

The paper in Zinnia’s gripped seemed to shimmer slightly, the black characters on the golden surface blurring and rearranging until a message could clearly be read. “‘I am the Xiaolin Dragon of Light. If you fight for peace, than I am an amigo of yours. Evil better beware though, cause as long as I'm around I refuse to let the world fall to darkness.’” she read aloud, chuckling soon after. “Alright, I’ll bite. You’ll probably be a big help if Darkrai decides to ambush us.” She paused, clearing her throat as she held the paper up. “Xiaolin Dragon, I am the Delta Guardian! I call for your assistance!”

For a few seconds nothing happened, leaving an awkward silence between the three before a tear was cut in the air. A man in red robes dropped out of it, landing in front of them. “Gracias a dios, I finally managed to not land on my butt.” The golden claws he had strapped to his hand turned into light before disappearing into the scroll he kept on his back. He than turned to the three with a grin. “Hola, guess you’re the one who called?”

“Yep, that’d be me,” ZInnia chimed, holding a hand up. “I’m Zinnia, this is Rainbow Dash and Big Mac, and we’re in the middle of the Appleloosan Badlands with a possibly homicidal being of pure darkness sending his mind-controlled Pokemon minions after us. Think you could help us out?”

He glanced at the two ponies before scratching his head. “First a pony world where they walk on two legs, than a pokemon world, and now I get both. What are the odds?” He shook his head. “But ya, I can help. I owe you anyway for calling me out of what I was in the middle of. Name’s Allan, by the way.”

“Hold up!” Rainbow cried out suddenly, katana in hand. She pointed the blade at Allan, eyeing him warily. “Where’d you come from!? How do we know you’re not one of Darkrai’s minions!?”

“Dash, do me a favour and shut up,” Zinnia groaned, grabbing the pegasus by the tail and pulling her down sharply. “Allan here is a Displaced, like me. We can hop between alternate versions of Equestria if we’re called by another Displaced.”

“Or by anyone really. First other world I went to, their Twilight called me just because she got curious.” Allan shrugged. “And I don’t blame Rainbow for being careful. There aren’t exactly a lot of Displaced I would like to have around home.”

“I hope I’m one of the ones you would like,” Zinnia cooed, smirking. She started walking again, wrapping an arm around Allan’s shoulder. “Now come on, we’ve still got a lot of ground to cover. I have no idea where the Buffalo tribe is.” She chuckled, squeezing his shoulder slightly. “But don’t worry, we’ll find them. I’d be more concerned with the hordes of Pokemon infected with the Nightmare out here, each one waiting to tear me and anyone close to me limb from limb.”

Allan rose an eyebrow at Zinnia for a moment before smirking. “And here I was hoping for a nice break from mierda politics. Ah well, at least I can actually fight these things.”

“Yep!” Zinnia laughed. “By the way, what was with those claw things you had? And the massive scroll?”

“Oh. Well, where you got Pokemon on the wheel of ‘what random thing is in your pony world’, I got Xiaolin Showdown.” He held out a hand, golden light coming out of the scroll before forming a sword. “The scroll basically just holds a big pile of magical objects I’ve collected.”

“Huh,” the Draconid said, nodding. “Neat. I remember watching that when I was little.” She shrugged, smirking. “Hey, there isn’t any secret Shen Gong Wu they never showed on TV, is there?”

“Um…” Allan scratched his head. “I’m not sure. I can barely remember the show. I don’t remember this sword ever showing up.” He held the sword up. “It’s called the Komori Sword.”

“Sweet,” she said with a smile. Her wings shifted slightly, gaining Allan’s attention.

“Didn’t you say this was a Pokemon world? If so, what’s with the wings?” He poked one of them, as if still not convinced they were actually part of her back.

“Oh, I’m a Draconid,” Zinnia said with a smile. “I’m actually half Pokemon, giving me the wings, abilities and weaknesses of a Salamence.” She shrugged. “Not sure what else it does for me. Maybe I get a Mega Form, maybe I can be caught in a Pokeball, or maybe there isn’t anything else. But it’s still pretty damn cool.”

“Half Pokemon. Now that’s a new one.” He poked the wing again, causing it to twitch as he brushed a more sensitive spot.

“Ngh…” Zinnia groaned. “C-careful… They’re strong, but sensitive.” She shuddered. “And if someone pumped electricity through them…” She went quiet, eyes wide.

“Whoops!” Allan pulled his arm back quick. “Sorry.” He stepped out of Zinnia’s arm before looking around at the desert. “So you’re looking for buffalo. Do you have any plan other than just walking around for hours on end?”

“To be honest? We were just wandering.” The Draconid chuckled nervously, looking around briefly. “I’m not even sure where we are right now.”

“You what!?” Rainbow shrieked, throwing her arms up. “Great, we’re lost!”

“Well I should be able to help with that.” Allan’s sword disappeared, being replaced with something that looked like a monocle. “Falcon’s Eye!” He held it to his eye, looking around with the other one closed before stopping. “Uh…” He pulled off the Falcon’s Eye with a light blush. “There’s… ‘something’... over there.”

“What?” Zinnia asked, confused. She reached out, snatching the Wu from Allan’s hand. “Give me that… Falcon’s Eye!” she cried, and seconds later the landscape before her seemed to just fade away, letting her see what had Allan so flustered. “Oh, hey, it’s Patty!” she cried.

“Patty? You know her?”

“She’s the one who Displaced me!” Zinnia laughed. “What’s she doing here?” She paused, spreading her wings. “You wanna meet her?”

“I dunno.” Allan frowned a bit as he took back the Eye. “My only real experience with someone who makes Displaced is with my own… and he was a creepy old guy minding a stand.”

“Don’t worry, Patty’s a sweetheart,” Zinnia said, grabbing his wrist. “Come on, I’ll introduce you!”

Allan cried out as Zinnia shot off, climbing into the air and pulling him along behind her. “Woah! Slow down there chica!” As he said this, a dragon kite appeared on his back. “Longi Kite!” The wings of it spread out, letting him follow without being dragged as harshly. Zinnia still hung on though as she pulled him through the air.

        “Sorry,” she giggled. “I’m just excited. She…” She paused, falling into a fit of giggles before shaking herself out of it. “We got pretty intimate.”

“I… uh…” Allan’s blush returned before he shook the image from his head. “Well... she sounds nice.”

(just putting a marker for in case you wanna cut this next bit out)

Zinnia said nothing, veering towards the ground and touching down behind a tall, pink-haired woman in black thigh-high leather boots and matching elbow-length gloves. The woman turned, revealing her incredibly curvy hourglass figure, clad in a one-piece bodysuit that was essentially a strapless bra and thong connected down her stomach by a single strip of leather.

“Patty!” the Draconid cried out, holding her arms open wide.

“Zo- I mean, Zinnia!” Patty replied, smiling widely as she held her own arms open. They held each other tenderly, though Patty was so tall that Zinnia’s head rested on her bust. The amazonian woman chuckled before looking up, seeing Allan as he landed. “Oh, who’s this?”

Zinnia pulled away from the hug, smiling widely. “That’s Allan. I summoned him not long ago.”

“He’s cute!”

Allan scratched the back of his head at the compliment, smiling awkwardly. “Uh… thanks.”

“You’re welcome!” Patty cooed, smirking deviously. “Now, Zinnia… I have a few gifts for you.”

“You do?” Zinnia asked eagerly. “But… what about Allan?”

“Oh, he can join in if he wants later, but that’s not what I meant,” the larger woman tittered, holding a hand over her mouth. “No, I meant I brought you something.” Allan rose an eyebrow at “joining in” on whatever they were talking about, but stayed silent for the time.

“Really?” Zinnia asked eagerly. “What are they? Ooh, tell me tell me tell me!”

Allan chuckled. “You sound like my little hermana whenever someone was about to give her a present.”

“She is like a small child sometimes, isn’t she?” Patty giggled, shaking her head. “Oh well, these are certainly things to be excited about anyway.” She paused, reaching into her bountiful bosom and pulling out a small silver device, handing it to Zinnia. “This iPod comes with an unlimited, universal internet connection, allowing you to access music from across the multiverse. You’ll need it, trust me. Equestrian music is just so boring.”

“I’d have a hard time imagining anything in Equestria being boring.” Allan smirked.

“The only thing in this world that is truly boring is the music,” Patty sighed. “There is one mare - one - who knows of and makes more modern music, and she is widely viewed as strange purely because she prefers not to talk.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I give you this, Zinnia, with the hope that you can bring better music to the world.”

“Okay Patty,” Zinnia said, smiling. “I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask,” the taller woman smiled back. “The other present… may make present company blush,” she tittered.

“Que?” Allan cocked his head.

“You’ll understand in a minute,” Patty said, before conjuring a small boulder, sitting on it delicately before turning to Zinnia. “Zinnia, dear, I may not be able to get this one myself. Would you mind?” she asked, slowly spreading her legs. As predicted, Allan’s face immediately turned red and he started looking basically anywhere but at Patty.

“Of course,” Zinnia replied slyly, dropping to her knees before the woman reaching out and pushing the tight leather of her outfit to the side.

“I’m… just gonna go… over here… somewhere.” Allan stuttered before walking off in some direction.

“Sah-suit yourse-he-helf!” Patty moaned, head rolling back. Allan just kept walking until the sounds faded enough that he could relax.

“Por el amor de Dios, these worlds get weirder and weirder.”

“Hey, scroll-guy!?” a brash voice called out, and Allan turned to see Rainbow flying over, Big Mac jogging along below her. “Where’s Zinnia?”

“She’s… ‘entertaining’ a friend of hers.” He blushed slightly as he said this.

“Ah,” the pegasus mare nodded. “She’s got her tongue in some mare’s snatch, gotcha.”

“Uh… ya.” Allan scratched his head. “Anyway, any luck finding… what was it we were looking for again?”

“The buffalo,” Dash provided with a sigh.

“And?”

“Nnope.”

An ear-splitting scream of pure passion rang out, causing all three to blush heavily. Allan shook his head before turning to the two. “I’m guessing there’s no sign of that “being of pure darkness” Zinnia mentioned either?”

“Nnope.”

“Thank Celestia…” Dash muttered, before turning a critical gaze on him. “Hey, how in Luna’s name are you supposed to help us out when you’re so scrawny?” she asked. “And you don’t even have a weapon!”

Allan chuckled. “Well I don’t really need weapons. And I’m a lot less scrawny than when I first showed up in Equestria. My world is full of crazy villains I have to deal with.”

Rainbow glared at him, determination in her eyes. “Prove it,” she challenged, one hand on the hilt of her sword.

Allan saw this and sighed. “Does every Rainbow like fighting?” He then spread his feet apart, raising his hands in front of him.

Rainbow smirked, her wings spreading as she slowly drew the blade from its sheath. She crouched slightly, hunching over until the blade was parallel with the dirt beneath them.

“Loyalty Blade!” she cried suddenly, rocketing forward. The blade blurred from its sheath, and she skidded to a halt behind Allan, the flat of the blade against her palm. Allan meanwhile stood there, one of his hands outstretched and glowing white. He glanced back with a grin before turning to face her, a slight scratch on his cheek.

“Okay, you’re definitely less obvious than my Rainbow. I barely reacted in time.”

“I wouldn’t have killed you,” Rainbow said, suddenly incredibly serious as she straightened out, sweeping her sword out to her side. “You’re Zinnia’s friend.”

“Well now it’s my turn.” He dashed forward, his right palm held back behind him, prepared to strike. As Rainbow went to block the attack with her sword, Allan instead ducked down, sweeping his leg and pulling hers out from under her. Rainbow cried out, spreading her wings and catching herself before she hit the floor.

“You little…” she growled, shooting into the air before bringing the blade of her sword before her face, flipping over. She allowed gravity to take her, spinning herself into a corkscrew as she dived at him. “Take this!” Allan glanced up at her before grinning and leaping toward her, palms glowing white.

Little Strongheart hummed happily to herself as she placed some more mushrooms into her basket.

“That should be enough,” she said happily, standing and dusting herself off. She bent down, grabbing the basket before walking away, humming again. She wandered along, arms behind her back and a happy smile on her face, before the sounds of conflict reached her ears from across a ridge. “What the… did some of the warriors wander off?” she asked herself, slowly creeping closer to the ridge, peaking over.

What she saw made her both grin and frown, since she once more had the chance to see her old friend Rainbow Dash, but she also had to either wait or help her fight this strange, hairless Earth Pony in red robes with a big scroll on it's back. The two were clashing again and again, Rainbow with her sword while the other being seeming to only use his hands.

Little Strongheart watched on until Rainbow seemed to manage to get a hit in, sending the other flying. She cheered before quickly realizing that the red robed person was flying right at her. She dove to the ground as the man skidded along the dirt, only to quickly flip himself onto his feet again.

“Maldita sea, that was a good hit.” He muttered, holding his head as he straightened out. He froze when he saw Little Strongheart still picking herself up. “Uh oh. Rainbow! Hang on a moment!”

“Giving up?” Rainbow cried, dropping to the ground in front of him. “Didn’t take you for the quitting type, Allan!”

“More the type to keep innocents out of the crossfire.” He waved a hand in Little Strongheart’s direction, causing Rainbow to turn and see.

“Oh, hey!” Rainbow said, smiling brightly. “Little Strongheart, what’s up!?”

“Rainbow!” Strongheart replied, standing and smiling. “What are you doing out here? And who is this?”

“Oh, that’s Allan,” the pegasus said dismissively. “Zinnia called him in to help us out, and we were just sparring.”

“Hey there.” Allan waved. “Hope I didn’t scare you too badly when Rainbow smacked me across the ridge.”

“O-oh, no, not at all,” Strongheart replied bashfully. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Allan.”

Allan nodded before suddenly seeming to realize something and glancing around. “Uh… I think we left Big Mac behind somewhere in all of that.”

“Nnope,” the red stallion said, stepping up to the group. Allan seemed about ready to question how he managed to keep up but shut himself up before he did.

“So… you think Zinnia’s done with… you know?”

“Done with what?” Zinnia asked from behind him suddenly.

“MIERDA!!” Allan jumped. “How did you- what- why-”

“What’s wrong Allan?” the Draconid asked innocently, wiping a clear liquid from her mouth and licking it off her hand. “Are you okay?”

Allan stood there for a few moments before shaking his head and letting out a breath. “Nothing. It’s nothing. We found a buffalo… I think?”

“Yes, I am one of the Buffalo tribe,” Strongheart nodded. “Why are you looking for us?”

“You’re in grave danger,” Zinnia answered, suddenly deadly serious. “We have reason to believe that Darkrai, King of Darkness, plans to attack your tribe and make you all his slaves.”

“I thought you said he had pokemon mind slaves, not people.” Allan rose an eyebrow.

“He has both,” Zinnia replied. “Ponies and Pokemon. He’s even got Luna, forced her back into being Nightmare Moon.”

Allan blinked for a moment before putting on a glare. “Oh this guy is getting a major butt kicking the moment I see him.”

“Get in line,” the Draconid growled, baring her teeth. “He’s mine, got it?”

“Ya, I get it.” Allan crossed his arms. “Still really want to kick him in the face but he is your villain.”

“You can have his corpse…” she grumbled, before turning to Strongheart. “Can you take us to the camp?”

“Of course,” the buffalo girl said, nodding quickly. She walked off, basket in hand, before turning back to them. “Follow me please.”

Little Strongheart turned, leading the group over yet another hill, a large, native-american-esque encampment greeting their view, a large number of tee-pee’s having been erecting in a seemingly circular pattern with small campfires burning at regular intervals.

“Been awhile since I’ve been camping.” Allan chuckled.

“Welcome to our camp,” Little Strongheart said with a smile, gesturing to the gathering of teepees. Tall, muscle-bound Buffaloes walked from tent to tent, some carrying large skins and bags and others wielding tomahawks, bows and knives. “Rainbow, I’m sure the Chief would be happy to see you again.”

“I’ll go say hi while you give these guys the tour,” Rainbow replied with a smile before flying off, arcing over the camp before landing and heading into the largest tent visible, easily thrice the size of the others.

“You should know,” Zinnia spoke up, suddenly serious. “We’re not here on a social calling.”

“Apparently there’s a bad dude looking to mess up things around here.” Allan nodded. “Though Zinnia knows more about it than I do. I’m just here to help kick butt.”

Strongheart was quiet for a moment before sighing, beginning to walk towards the camp. “Please follow me, we can talk once we are comfortable.”

Zinnia nodded understandably before looking up, frowning. She turned to Big Mac, a questioning look on her face. “Hey Mac, you ever had any combat experience? Like, at all?”

“Nope.”

The Draconid sighed, turning to Strongheart. “Any chance of getting him some training while we’re here? Or at least a few pointers?”

The Buffalo simply nodded, reaching out and stopping a gigantic Buffalo with stone-gray fur who was carrying a large stone hammer. “Crusher, would you mind taking this pony and teaching him basic battle?”

‘Crusher’ took one look at Big Mac and nodded, planting a gargantuan hand on his shoulder. “Crusher will teach. Pony can practice with Crusher.”

The trio watched them go for a moment before Zinnia spoke. “Is he…”

“Crusher’s hammer’s name is Crusher too,” Strongheart explained, shaking her head. She turned again, leading them to a small fire surrounded by small stools. “Please, sit.” They all took a seat, Allan opting to just sit on the ground in front of the stool cross-legged.

Zinnia sighed, leaning on her knees and she looked to Strongheart. “Look, this may sound crazy, but there’s this ancient creature made from the Shadow of a New Moon-”

“Darkrai, I know,” Strongheart cut in, smirking slightly at the Draconid’s shocked expression. “We too have ancient legends. And we remember them. Darkrai is described as ‘He Who Walks In Nightmares’, and is treated much like the epitome of all evil. Some believe he birthed Nightmare Moon himself.”

Allan sighed. “Guess every universe has to have one.”

“I suppose so…” Zinnia muttered in agreement before turning back to Strongheart. “So you know what he’s capable of? What he’s likely planning?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Strongheart replied sadly. “Any plans or actions of his are never mentioned, aside from when he openly attempted to wrench the Crystal Empire from King Sombra’s control in the time that Sombra cared for his kingdom.”

“I have no idea what the Crystal Empire is,” Zinnia said. “Or who Sombra was, but I get the feeling Darkrai failed and later Sombra turned evil. That means Darkrai won in the long run.”

Allan shrugged. “I haven’t heard of any of this. Certainly sounds like something that comes to bite someone in the butt though. At least, if the usual thousand year trend keeps up.”

Zinnia nodded, humming in agreement. “Well there’s an ability that Darkrai apparently has,” she continued, glancing to Little Strongheart. “He can force anyone to obey and serve him by infecting them with the Nightmare - the same thing that turned Princess Luna into Nightmare Moon.”

Strongheart was quiet for a moment before frowning. “So… he is a slaver? Like those that attempted to force my people to serve the Minotaurs long ago?”

“I guess you could call him that,” the Draconid said with a shrug. “Either way, Princess Celestia wanted me to come find your people to offer whatever protection she can against Darkrai, as well as ask for your help to fight Darkrai when the time comes.”

A low, gruff voice cut Little Strongheart off as she opened her mouth to answer, making Zinnia jump and spin around to find a burly-looking Buffalo in a large red-and-white headdress stood there. “If what you say is true, then you have our allegiance,” the buffalo spoke, a fierce expression on his face.

“Ch-Chief Thunderhooves!” Little Strongheart stammered. “I-I had hoped to bring them to your tent, please forgive me!”

“Relax, my child,” the Chief replied calmly. “It is quite alright, Miss Dash has already informed me of the situation.”

“Yo,” Rainbow said simply.

Allan stood up, stretching a bit. “Well, nice to see people are willing to work together in a crisis.”

“Well, it’s Equestria,” Zinnia shrugged. “Land of Friendship and Rainbows. That and Darkrai’s a threat to everyone, so…”

Allan shrugged in return. “Eh, maybe that’s just my Equestria then.”

Zinnia opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off as a large Buffalo barreled past, club in hand. “What the hell is going on!?” she demanded.

“It seems the local wild Pokemon are attacking again,” Strongheart explained. “They’ve been doing so more often recently.”

Rainbow and Zinnia shared a quick, concerned glance. “Uh… were any of them a weird colour?” Rainbow asked, taking hold of her katana’s handle.

“Some were, yes,” the Buffalo replied, frowning in thought. “Why? Is that important?”

“The discolored ones work for Darkrai,” Zinnia sighed, standing. “Guess we’ve got some more fighting ahead of us. Figures, I had hoped to have a day off.”

“Day’s off don’t come easy in the hero business I guess.” Allan chuckled, a golden gauntlet appearing on his hand. “Anyway, we just need to beat on the dark ones to get the others to calm down, right?”

“That’s what I’ve been doing,” the Draconid shrugged. Flapping her wings, she began hovering off the ground. “You up for a Pokemon battle?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Allan punched the gauntlet into his open fist, immediately causing him to wince. “Okay, that was a bad idea.”

“Fist of Tebigong?” Zinnia asked with a laugh, shaking her head. “Ah well, come on. The Buffalo are heading for the south end of the village.”

“Which means we should head to the North,” Rainbow said before Zinnia could fly off. “That attack’s probably a distraction.”

Allan cocked his head. “They smart enough to do that?”

“Darkrai is,” Zinnia replied, looking to the north. “Okay then, while the tribe deals with the Pokemon to the south, we’ll head to the north to check things out. Just in case.”

“Sounds good to me.” Allan said, turning in said direction before running off. Zinnia rolled her eyes and flew after him, Rainbow Dash at her side, pulling up next to him after a moment.

“You don’t have to run off like that you know,” the Draconid said, smirking at him.

“Aren’t we trying to get to the action? Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone on the ground while you two take the skies.”

“That’s true,” Rainbow chimed, drawing her blade as the edge of the camp came into view. “Hey, uh, Zi? Mind telling us the hay those things are?”

Zinnia looked up, squinting to see in the harsh sunlight. It took her a second, but eventually she managed to find what the Pegasus was talking about. “Hmm… looks like a Nightmare Cacturne, Nightmare Sandslash, and Nightmare Darmanitan. Interesting.”

Allan took a glance at the advancing pokemon. “Maldita sea, Tom was right. I did miss a few generations of those games.” He scratched his head in confusion.

Zinnia smirked. “Sandslash is Ground, Cacturne is Grass and Dark, and Darmanitan is Fire that gains Psychic when damaged enough. Pick your poison.”

“Dibs on the walking cactus!” Rainbow cried, grinning madly before rocketing ahead. Allan looked between the two left before turning to the Darmanitan, a sash appearing around his waist that caught a blue orb like it was another hand.

“Guess I got this one.” He shook his head, muttering. “The designs for these things went crazy after awhile, didn’t they?”

“Be glad you’re not looking at the ice cream or the gears,” Zinnia groaned in response, dropping to the ground behind him and facing the Sandslash, smashing her fists together dramatically as they gained an orange-brown glow.. “They picked up a little in Gen 6, though we still have the keys and the swords. Literally.”

Allan took up a fighting stance with a smirk, the fist wound back and ready to swing as the sash held the orb in front of him. “Hey, as long as fire still means water hits hard, this shouldn’t be tough.”

The Draconid let out a laugh at that, lunging at the discolored Sandslash and throwing a heavy punch, which it barely dodged before retaliating with it’s claws. “Yeah man, you’re good there!” she called, sidestepping a downward slash before slamming her fist down on the Sandslash’s back. “Just watch out for the Fairies!”

Allan turned away confused. “Fairies?” As soon as he did though, the Darmanitan charged, nearly running him over before he jumped to the side. “Orb of Tornami!” Out from the orb attached to his sash came a geyser of water, blasting the Darmanitan. To his horror, however, the Blazing Pokemon continued on it’s course, only letting out a pained and angered howl at the high-pressure assault.

Zinnia shot in, knocking the Pokemon off-course before it could reach Allan. “Careful dude!” she cried, erecting a green Protect barrier to defend against a Poison Sting from the Sandslash. “They’re more powerful when Nightmared!”

“Of course.” Allan grumbled, facing the Darmanitan again and shooting more blasts of water. “Come on culo! I’m ready for you this time.” The pokemon charged again and though the water blasts did nothing to slow it down, Allan waited until it was just in front of him. “Fist of Tebigong!” He swung down, causing the ground beneath him to kick up and make a wall, which the pokemon slammed right into. “Don’t like ground much either, do ya?”

Growling in frustration, the Darmanitan reared back before shattering the wall, it’s Hammer Arm crashing down towards Allan before he narrowly dodged. He picked himself back up, brushing off the loose stone from the attack. “Okay… that didn’t do much either.”

Zinnia glanced back and rolled her eyes, grabbing the Sandslash’s tail as it lunged at her and throwing it into the Darmanitan. “Wanna try something new?” she asked, moving up to Allan’s side and bringing a set of Dragon Claw’s into her hands. “Maybe use a Wu with one of my moves?”

“Well I have this thing.” His sash held up the orb. “It’s basically infinite water, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much right now.”

“Hmm…” Zinnia hummed, frowning as she watched the two Pokemon struggle to disentangle themselves. “Well… what if we trapped them in a vortex or something?” she suggested. “I can fly up and use Twister, then you fill it with water. Should keep them both inside, and damage them enough to knock’em out.”

“Sounds good to me.” Allan turned toward the pokemon as they finally got back up. He waited for a second as Zinnia shot into the air, positioning herself above their foes and closing her eyes tightly. The winds began to pick up, tearing up the earth and stone around the two Pokemon and creating a Twister of energy and debris.

“Orb of Tornami!” The orb let out another gush of water as it was quickly picked up by the wind. As the tornado got stronger and stronger, he started to slide toward it. “Oh mierda. Fist of Tebigong!” He slammed the fist into the ground, burying it and mounting him as the orb continued to feed the storm.

Zinnia held the cyclone for a time, eyes closed tight in concentration, until eventually she threw her arms out and dispersed the attack. Allan let out a sigh of relief at this, pulling the Fist of Tebigong from the earth and straightening out. Both looked to the Darmanitan and the Sandslash, letting out a breath they didn’t realize they had been holding when they saw both Pokemon lay on the ground, out cold.

Dropping to the ground, Zinnia pulled a white ball with a red band from her bag, throwing the Premier Ball first at the Sandslash, watching as it duplicated itself before taking the copy and doing the same to the Darmanitan, taking both the copy of the Premier Ball and the two darkened balls and placing them back in her bag.

“Well, that’s two down,” the Draconid breathed, wiping some sweat from her brow. “What I wouldn’t do for an Ether or something… you see Dash anywhere?” she added, glancing at Allan.

He looked around. “No, but I’m sure she can take care of herself.”

As soon as he had said that, the discoloured Nightmare Cacturne that Rainbow Dash had taken on flew through the air, skidding to a halt between them at their feet. Cuts covered its body and clear blue blood stained it’s pale brown skin.

“Huh,” Zinnia mused, once again throwing her Premier Ball at the unconscious Pokemon and collecting both the copy and the Nightmare Ball. “Guess you were right.”

“Damn straight!” Rainbow called cockily, smirking as she landed next to them, a small bundle in her arms. “But I found this guy out there, didn’t seem to be Nightmared.”

Holding her arms out, Rainbow revealed that the bundle in her arms was in fact a vibrant green Cacnea, looking both hurt and terrified.

“Poor little guy.” Allan said, putting his Wu away as he looked the pokemon over.

Frowning, Zinnia pulled one of the Nightmare Balls out again and stared at it for a time. “...This Cacturne was his mother…” she muttered, trembling slightly as tears ran down her cheeks. “I-I… I just… I took a mother away from her child…”

“Zinnia!” Allan snapped his fingers in front of her. “Don’t start thinking like that chica. It wasn’t you, it was that dark culo you mentioned. If you hadn’t put the pokemon in the ball, it likely would have hurt the little guy along with everyone around here.”

“Yeah… I guess…” Zinnia mumbled, rubbing her arm unsurely. “Still though… he’s all alone now…” As she said that, a small hole opened up in the dirt, an orange ant-like creature with a giant bulbous head crawling out, looking around almost desperately for a moment before collapsing and bursting out in tears. Zinnia quickly stooped down, scooping the Trapinch into her arms and cradling it gently. “Another broken family, no doubt…” she growled.

Allan pat the pokemon on the head. “No one ever said fighting evil was easy.” He sighed.

Zinnia nodded sadly, taking a seat on a nearby boulder and cradling the Trapinch close. They remained there for a time before Little Strongheart came over, looking relieved.

“It seemed that the attack to the south was just grunts,” the Buffalo said, rolling her shoulder. “Easily dispatched. As soon as the discoloured Scrafty was dealt with, the other, younger Pokemon fled.”

“So we were right then,” Zinnia muttered.

“A lot less destruction happened because you thought of that.” Allan nodded.

“And yet we couldn’t prevent the damage to these children’s minds…” the Draconid shot back quietly, refusing to look up. “To deal with this when still so young…”

Strongheart looked between the Displaced almost nervously before her eyes settled on Rainbow and, more specifically, the bundle in her arms. Both Equestrians began talking about the child, almost absently turning and walking back into the camp.

“Huh…” Zinnia muttered, watching them go. “I have an idea of how to help the Cacnea now… but what about this guy?” She looked down to the Trapinch in her arms, the child having calmed down considerably. It was now watching Allan intently.

Allan saw this and kneeled down, patting the the Trapinch on the head. “I’m sorry little guy, but there aren’t any pokemon where I’m from. You’d probably get pretty lonely there.”

“Pinch~” the Trapinch whined, collapsing slightly in disappointment. Zinnia sighed and placed it down, allowing it to plod off dejectedly, before turning to Allan.

“That was harsh,” she said, holding her hand up before he could say anything. “But fair. Thanks for that.”

Allan shrugged. “Hey, I know I still feel kind of out of place in Equestria. He’d feel pretty similar if he followed me there.” He held his hand out, summoning a set of golden claws. “Anyway, I’m glad I could help. If you ever find that bastardo that did this, don’t hesitate to call me to help kick his butt.”

“Heh, will do dude,” Zinnia chuckled, rushing over and pulling him into a hug. “Thank you. You’ve been a big help.”

“I try to be.” He pat Zinnia on the back. “You wouldn’t believe the fight I got into with another displaced.” He paused as the Draconid began to whisper in his ear, a blush growing steadily across his face. He lightly pushed Zinnia back by her shoulders, looking in another direction. “I uh… should probably go. Luna’s probably freaking out right now.” He held the claws back and yelled “Golden Tiger Claws!” before cutting a tear open in the air.

Reaching out and grabbing his wrist, Zinnia shot him a soft smile. “I didn’t mean now. Just… some time, maybe? And I understand you’re involved with Luna, but…” She paused, glancing away for a second as though searching for the words. “A lot of Luna's would… be okay with a third partner, let’s put it that way.” Letting him go, she smiled again, shoving her hands in her pockets. “Just… think about it, okay?”

Allan stood there for a moment before shaking his head. “I’ll think about it.” He then turned back to the portal and jumped in, the tear slowly beginning to close itself.

“Traa!” Zinnia heard, her eyes widening as the Trapinch from before charged forwards. “PINCH!!!” it cried, leaping for the rift just as it closed.

“Oh…” Zinnia muttered, staring at the spot for a moment. “Crap…”

Later that day, Zinnia sat watching Little Strongheart and the Cacnea from the desert playing, bonding, thinking about the day.

“So much happened today…” she muttered, managing a small smile as Strongheart yelped, narrowly dodging a playful Pin Missile from the Cacnea. “But I guess there’s some good in all of this.”

Next Chapter: My Sister, the Grandmother Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 30 Minutes