I woke the next morning to the sound of voices, with a burning sensation in my stomach. It wasn't unpleasant, far from it actually, just new. Sitting up, I looked to the mouth of my cave and found a small platoon of golden-armoured ponies attempting to lift Salamence's body onto a golden chariot. I shot up, making sure the egg was safe before storming over to the guards.

"What do you think you're doing!?" I demanded, arms crossed over my chest. The stallion I had stopped sputtered for a moment, cheeks flaring red, before snapping into a salute.

"Ma'am! We were ordered to assist in the disposal of this dragon's corpse, Ma'am!" he barked. The other guards also snapped to attention upon seeing us.

"Disposal?" I hissed, seething with anger. "DISPOSAL!? This dragon saved your asses and deserves a proper funeral, not disposal!"

"O-our apologies, Ma'am!" a mare said, sweating slightly. "W-we should have awaited y-your orders!"

"Damn right you should have. Now, I want that dragon gently placed on to the chariot."

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am!"

With that, the guards returned to moving Salamence's body onto the chariot, but were much more careful this time. As they did so, a mare with deep, forest green fur and a maroon mane walked over to me. She wore a simple white dress shirt with a black trench coat and black slacks. Forest green wings rested on her back, fed through small holes in the coat. She pulled a hot-pink suitcase behind her, and her golden-yellow eyes seemed to be constantly roaming around the cave before settling on me.

"Hi." she said. "My name's Whiplash. Princess Celestia sent me."

"Of course, the personal assistant." I replied, smacking my palm into my forehead. "I'm Zinnia. Make yourself at home, Whiplash. I know it's not much, but I plan to renovate at some point."

Whiplash nodded and moved to the back of the cave, right next to the opening of the passage.

"Where does this go?" she asked, peering in.

"Not sure, I haven't had a chance to look yet." I walked up next to her, leaning in to the passage to get a better look. It was pretty dark, but I'm sure I can get some torches or something from the guards. "Can you see if the guards can spare some lights?"

"Sure." Whiplash hurried off, leaving me to the passage. A breeze seemed to be blowing through - not sure how I missed that - which means that it opens up again somewhere. A tap on my shoulder told me Whiplash was back, and a second later a green light illuminated the passage. I turned around to see a horned guard with white fur and a black mane, his blood red eyes boring deep into mine.

"Private Flare at your service, Ma'am." the stallion said, saluting.

"Thank you, Private." I said, turning and leading the way down the passage. "Whiplash, you're in charge while I'm gone!" I called.

"Okay! I'll make sure they stay in line!"

I chuckled at that. She seemed eager to please, and she was pretty cute too. I could get used to having her around. For now, though, I focused on the path ahead of us. Flare walked along behind me, his horn glowing the whole time.

"So Flare," I started, stepping over a rock. "How long have you been a guard?"

"Three months tomorrow, Ma'am." the stallion replied, ducking under an outcropping I hadn't noticed. It was then that I noticed he was a good head taller than me.

"Call me Zinnia."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"What did I just say? Chill out a little, Flare."

Flare sighed. "Sorry, force of habit."

"No problem." I glanced at his glowing horn. "How are you doing that?"

"What?"

"The thing with your horn."

"You mean my magic?"

And the penny drops.

"Magic?" I asked as we came out into a large hangar-like room with three more tunnels off to the side. "You mean like that hocus-pocus junk?"

"Hocus Pocus was a great unicorn and I would appreciate if you did not refer to his work as junk."

"Sorry, didn't even know that was a name. Should've guessed, though. But what do you mean magic?"

Flare sighed again before clearing his throat. "Magic is the fundamental energy of all Equus. Certain species, such as Unicorns and Alicorns, can tap into this energy and use it to shape the world - within certain parameters, of course."

"So you're a... what? Unicorn?" I asked, leaning over the edge of the cavern. This seemed to be well hidden from the naked eye, if the rocks below said anything. The sun's rays shone directly through the mouth of the hanger, telling me that it faced East as it was still early.

"Yes. The Princesses are both Alicorns, and are the only ones besides their niece in the known world. They have a much greater magical potential than any common Unicorn, resulting in their ability to move the sun and moon across the skies."

"Wait, what? Doesn't the planet orbit the sun here?"

Flare looked at me as though I was crazy. Maybe I still was, but I'm just quoting what I was taught in school.

"Never mind." I said, heading to the three new passages. "How much do you bet one of these leads toward Canterlot?" Flare's horn pulsed, a green wave of energy travelling down each passage. After a moment, he fired a few balls of light around the room before the glow on his horn cut off.

"The middle passage leads further down the mountain, with a few empty caverns along the way and an opening into a park in the city." he reported, gesturing to the passage in question.  He turned to the other two as he listed off their properties. "The one on the left leads to a series of empty caverns that are roughly the size of the average bedroom. The right leads to another five hanger-like chambers, with smaller rooms in between. They are surprisingly large considering the size of the mountain, and the distance to Canterlot is surprisingly small."

"So you're a radar as well as a flashlight?" I joked, earning a small chuckle from Flare. "That was surprisingly easy, I must admit. Should we check out the other hangers or head back?"

Flare's answer was cut off as another guard poked her head out of the first passage.

"The dragon is ready for transport, Ma'am. We await your orders." the mare reported.

"Guess that means we're going back then, eh?" I said, nudging Flare. Flare nodded, smiling down at me and causing a small blush to rise on my cheeks. We made our was back the way we came, my head spinning. Why are there so many rooms here? And why are they all connected? It's almost like it used to be some kind of military base, with all the hangers, but if that was true then why didn't the Princesses say anything? Unless it wasn't theirs. Maybe the Salamence's family had been staying here longer than I thought, and they just dug out more rooms when they were kids.

When we came back into the original room, I almost flipped. One of those stupid guards was about to throw the egg off the cliff! What the actual fuck!!!

"HEY!" I shouted, causing the guard - and everyone else - to jump. "What. The fuck. Do you think. You're. Doing."

"Uh..." the guard trembled in fear. Huh, guess they need some better training. "G-getting rid of-"

"Give. Me. The egg." I growled. "He is still alive." The guard shuffled over to me, head down and arms out, presenting the egg. I took it gently, giving it a quick cuddle before passing it to Whiplash - no idea how long she had been stood there - then turned back to the guard. Without thinking, I reared back and punched the fucker full-force in the face, sending him stumbling backwards into the cavern wall. I stalked over to him, hands curled into claws, and grabbed him by the throat, lifting and pinning him to the wall. "Don't touch my baby."

"Y-yes, Ma'am! I'm sorry, Ma'am!" he stammered, blood trickling from his now-misshapen nose. Did I break it? Oh well, fucker deserved it.

I dropped the guard before taking the egg back from Whiplash and walking over to the chariot holding Salamence's body. The guards backed away, forming two lines on either side of me as some of the winged ones attached themselves to harnesses at the front. I smirked, stepping into the chariot with Whiplash just behind me. Three winged guards that weren't already attached to the chariot grabbed some of the horned ones, another two grabbing two of the ones without wings or a horn. They followed behind us as the chariot took off. I directed it towards the first hanger that Flare and I had found. As we flew, Whiplash turned to me, a look of worry on her face.

"Zinnia?" she asked, flinching slightly when I turned to look at her. "What happened back there?"

"What do you mean? The guard was about to throw my egg over the cliff, so I told him off. Simple as that."

"You did more than that!" the Pegasus cried. I raised a brow at her, silently asking for an explanation. "Zinnia, you didn't just shout at him. You roared."

I blinked. "What?" I asked, blinking again.

"Not just that, either."

"There was more?"

"Yeah, your hands... they glowed when you grabbed him, Zinnia. A sort of purple-blue colour, in the shape of a claw."

I sat back, contemplating this. What did it mean, being able to do these things? There are way too many weird things going on now. First I'm sent to another world where I find out Pokemon - or at least two families of Pokemon - existed. Then one of the Pokemon dies, giving me her egg to take care off. Then I apparently get powers!? Is that what this burning in my stomach is? And I've been remembering things differently, too. Whiplash shook me slightly, pointing to the hanger we were landing in. I thanked her and got up, getting ready to hop out when we landed.

As soon as we touched down, I was out of the chariot and moving to a table-like slab of rock sticking out of the wall. I took off my cloak and wrapped the egg up in it, placing both on the table before walking back to the group. The guards without wings or a horn were attempting to lift Salamence's body out, obviously struggling, and I sighed. I moved them out of the way and lifted the dragon easily, moving her into the centre of the room. After placing her down in a dignified position - neck curled around herself and wings folded on her back, so that she looked to just be sleeping - I stepping back. I looked to the guards that had followed and saw them staring at me slack-jawed. This time, though, I knew what I had done. I mean, it's kind of hard not to notice when you're carrying a dragon that weighs over two hundred pounds!

"You never cease to amaze, do you?" Whiplash asked, shaking out of her stupor. She fluttered her wings, flying to my side and staring at Salamence's corpse. "So... what're we doing here?"

I took a deep breath before answering. "We're gonna burn her." Whiplash stared at me for a second, obviously looking for some sign that I was joking. "That's how Dragons show respect to their dead, by returning them to the flames of life."

"O-okay, I'll have the Unicorns prepare and fire spells they know." the mare replied, turning to go. I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"No, it has to be dragon fire." I said, placing my free hand on my stomach.

"Where are we going to get dragon fire?"

"Right here."

Without waiting for her to ask the inevitable 'What?', I took a deep breath, focussing on the burning in my belly. The flames seemed to churn in response, acknowledging me as their master. A portion seemed to leap up my throat, tickling at the back of my mouth. Opening my mouth, I expected a stream of flames to throw themselves out, but instead all I got was a small ember...

Wait...

Oh my God, how did I not put this together sooner! I sat down, watching as the Ember caught on Salamence's scales and spread, slowly engulfing her. The red mist that came as Salamence's last breath the night before, that clearly wasn't a normal thing. It must have been her final gift - the power to protect the egg! Wow, that... shouldn't be possible, if going by the rules of the games, but Japan was always weird. If they can get away with the Mystery Dungeon games - people turning into Pokemon? Ludicrous. - then I guess I can let this slide. Either way, I can apparently use Pokemon moves now. I wonder what my 'move set' is?

"Uh... Ma'am?" I turned, seeing Flare crouched beside me with a concerned frown on his face. "Wouldn't you like to say a few words?"

"Yeah." I sniffed, getting to my feet. I wiped off my eyes before turning to Salamence's burning body. "From the flames of beginning you came, and to the flames you return. May your soul rest easy in the afterlife with the knowledge that your child is in good hands."

When the flames died down, all that was left was a pile of black ash. Flare handed me a small urn, and the next few minutes were spent gathering the ashes into the urn, which was painted sky blue with crimson accents, perfectly matching Salamence's scales. Fresh tears flowed as the guards piled on to their chariot, Flare waiting until last. He hesitated, throwing one last glance my way as Whiplash pulled me into a hug before climbing in with the other guards. The chariot pulled away, circling out of sight as they descended the mountain. Whiplash and I just walked to the passage that lead to the first cavern in order to gather her belongings. I helped her settle in to one of the bedroom-sized caverns, which was actually the size of a royal bedroom and surprisingly had windows - well, holes that we could put windows into at a later date. I went back and collected my egg before claiming a room for myself, just sitting in the centre of the empty cave for a while.

Whiplash peered around the doorway after a time, catching me playing with an Ember that danced around my fingers. I couldn't seem to recreate the claw, and I didn't want to try the strength or the roar just yet. She told me that a delivery had arrived. When I asked what the delivery was, she just smiled and said "Come and see!" before running off. I sighed before running after her, egg still in my arms. I need a carrier or something for this little guy.

In what I'm gonna call the primary hanger, a pony was unloading a bunch of boxes from a chariot styled like a delivery truck. Whiplash was signing something, so I decided to have a look through the boxes. Turns out the princesses had sent us some basic living essentials - furniture, beds, kitchen appliances, stuff like that. I'd have to remember to thank them later. Another box was added to the pile, and I saw that this one was full of baby supplies. I tore it open and sighed in relief at the sight of a baby carrier, which I quickly strapped on and placed the egg in. I lifted the baby supply box and carried it back into my room, placing it into the corner. The next few hours were spent moving the boxes and appliances into the right rooms and putting together the furniture. By the end of it, both Whiplash and I had four-poster beds in our rooms along with vanities and large wardrobes. I also had a cot at the foot of my bed, and a chest of childcare supplies that didn't need to be stored in the kitchen against one wall. By the time we had finished the sun had set, so we said our goodnights and went to bed.

{3rd Person POV}

Princess Luna flew through the distorted image of Equestria that was the Dream Realm. Around her, clouds representing the dreams of her subjects floated above where their owners slept in the physical plain. Most were the generic white, puffy cloud, meaning that the pony was having a pleasant dream. Every now and then, Luna would spot a storm cloud that showed that a pony was having a nightmare. The intensity of the storm from the cloud showed how bad the nightmare was, and Luna thanked her luck that any she saw on her way were minor problems, the result of scary movies and stories.

As she began ascending the spectral version of Canterlot Mountain, Luna was scared out of her wits when a dream bolt - the lightning produced by nightmare clouds - seared past a mere inch from her face. Looking to the source, Luna let out a gasp as she saw a full-force tornado of nightmare energy swirling the peak of the mountain. Luna took a deep breath before charging at the cloud, dodging dream bolts left and right as she went. To the untrained eye, her desperation may have merely looked like concern for the being suffering such a nightmare. The truth, however, was that the midnight mare was terrified. She hadn't seen nightmares that powerful since when Sombra still ruled the Crystal Empire, when the entire populace of the shining city would suffer from the trauma caused by the dark unicorn's reign.

Nothing, however, could have prepared the Princess for what she saw within the cloud. Next Chapter: Interlude 1: Nightmares Estimated time remaining: 14 Hours, 46 Minutes