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"My Little Ponyta" Writing Contest Entry - Discord

THE PROMPT: Show us how your character will obtain this pokemon (Discord or Nightmare Moon). How did they meet? What were their interactions like? Was it a happy meeting? Was it a disaster? Write the story of how this strange pokemon came into your character's possession. If your character is a Rocket, then you're welcome to tie Team Rocket into the story. Maybe it was a science experiment. Maybe it came from somewhere else entirely! Be creative and have fun.

Dark and dreary winter afternoons usually aren't the most exciting or exhilarating of times, and this day was no exception. No snow was falling - there was hardly any snow on the ground, as a matter of fact - but the sky remained a dismal and depressing gray, turning the rest of the earth down below into a plain and colorless place. On a day like this day, one wouldn't expect to see any particularly unusual or unique sights. On a day like this day, one wouldn't really think to observe an oddly colored and mismatched-looking creature slithering along through the brush and bush, its yellowed eyes narrowed and its small white tufts of hair resembling eyebrows piqued in idle interest at its surroundings. Such a sight would not be typical. Then again, this certain Serperior wasn't very typical at all.

Any creature who could speak the language of Pokemon would able to hear this Serperior coming from a long way away, the sound of his grumbling and mumbling carrying far out into the wilderness before him. He snaked along the slightly worn path, his odd features and strange demeanor keeping other Pokemon far away as he muttered and thought to himself. He talked to himself about several things, much of which would be of little to no interest to others, but the main point he kept finding himself at was that he was bored. Completely, utterly, and terribly bored. There were, of course, many things that he wanted to do, but, like most of those who are bored, he had no real way to accomplish those things. Thus the vicious cycle continued.

What the Serperior really wanted to do was to find some way to cause mischief for someone else. It was his favorite pastime, and it was something he always took such pride in. Unfortunately for him, in order to really cause any sort of trouble, one needed someone to cause trouble for, and therein lay the problem. Everyone that he found - human or Pokemon - avoided him like the Plague [not without reason; even he was aware that he looked quite a sight]. It was such a bother to try to seek out a potential victim, though, and the Serperior was growing quite weary of the chase. There was so much he wanted to do!... yet no way to do them.

As he made his not-so-merry way along the path, the Serperior passed by something rather odd: an orange and brown colored vest hung upon a low-reaching brach of a nearby tree. Briefly he considered stealing it - it wasn't the worst looking thing in the world - but he decided to pass it by for the moment. He continued along, keeping the possibility in the back of his mind.

Later on, the Serperior discovered another odd something: a young Lampent wandering about the woods on his own. Seeing this, the Serperior paused. What if he could convince that Lampent to help him take the vest? He could have an accomplice! Ergo, if he was caught, the blame would not be entirely his! It was far too good of an opportunity to pass up. Putting on his suavest countenance, the snake Pokemon approached the Lampent.

["Pardon me, my good sir,"] the Serperior called out, ["but I am in search of a handy Pokemon who might be able to assist me on an endeavor I wish to achieve. Any help of any sort will be rewarded greatly. Would you care to join me?"]

As he spoke, the Lampent turned around and stared at him with wide, golden eyes. ["Uh, y-you mean me?"] He wrung his handles together tentatively, and the Serperior growled slightly in frustration.

["Yes, you. Who else could I be talking to? Now, will you help me or not?"]

The Lampent blinked. ["Uh, well, I guess, but I-I don't really know. I'd have to see if it's okay with my master first. See, my master is really nice and kind and generous and wonderful an-"]

Immediately, the Serperior saw an opportunity and took it. He was getting desperate by now, and he was not above telling a little white lie to get this silly creature to do his dirty work for him. ["Ah, yes, about that,"] he interjected, all charm gone from his expression. ["I have captured your master and I am holding them prisoner. There shall be dire consequences if you do not help me. Understand?"] The Serperior raised his head high and regarded the Lampent with an unpleasant glare, hissing menacingly.

Hearing this news, the Lampent's eyes widened and his confused expression transformed into one of shock and horror. ["Y-you have Master?! O-oh no! P-please don't hurt him! I'll do anything you want! Just so long as my master is okay!"]

Hook, line, and sinker. In his mind, the Serperior chuckled to himself evilly. What a buffoon this Pokemon was, falling for something like that. Henchmen were best when they weren't very bright and obeyed orders verbatim. What a lucky find. He chuckled and turned around on the path, motioning for his new assistant to follow, which the Lampent did without complaint. ["A very wise decision, my young friend. As long as you do exactly what I tell you, we will have no problems whatsoever. Oh, and you'll get your precious Master back as well."]

As they went back down the path, the Serperior wondered who exactly this "Master" was. Was it another Pokemon? He could only imagine that one being a very large, imposing foe, and he had no real desire to square off with any other Pokemon right now. This "Master" could always be a human, but would that make the Lampent a Trainer's Pokemon? As far as the Serperior could tell, most Pokemon weren't always fond of their humans, but the Lampent seemed as if he worshipped his, if that was indeed the case. Curious indeed, but he had to focus on the task at hand.

It was not long at all before they were back at the place where the Serperior had found the curiously placed vestment, and lo and behold, it still remained on its perch. ["Now then,"] he said to the Lampent. ["Your task is to unhinge that article of clothing from its place on the branch and bring it to me. Have I made myself clear?"] The Lampent hurriedly nodded and floated up to the vest to try and remove it. As he did, the Serperior thought it would be fitting if he polished up his case with this little Pokemon. Better to have the young one thinking his actions justified than otherwise.

["You know, it wasn't always like this for me, taking and absconding with whatever scrap I could find,"] the Serperior called out to his temporary henchman. ["I used to be a very distinguished Pokemon in my community. I was looked up to by everyone! They all came to me with their problems and I would always fix them, yes indeed. But then! Something terrible happened!"] The Serperior's theatrical expressions became dramatic and tense. ["There was a freak accident! It was, uh... A fire! Yes, a fire. A huge one! It burned down everything in sight and I had to go and stop it! Oh, it was certainly something to behold!"] He paused for effect, and he noticed the Lampent staring as him as he spoke, hanging off of his every word. Priceless. ["But then! Tragedy! My tail caught on fire! Oh, how it was painful! It seared my very flesh and bone! By the time the fire was put out, I was beyond repair! My tail had been reduced to the squalor state you see it in now!"] He gestured back towards his oddly red-colored tail behind him, and the Lampent seemed beside himself in horror as he tugged at the stuck vest. The Serperior boldly continued.

["Yes. And because of my grievous injury, I could not help the poor Pokemon I had come to know and love! I was no longer fit to be their guide and to help them! For their own sakes, I left them, never to return. Now, I have been reduced to that of a common... a common thief!"] With that, the Serperior choked out a sob and cried his crocodile tears. His tale must've been rather convincing, for the Lampent appeared close to tears as well.

["That's simply awful,"] he cried, giving the vest one last yank. Finally, it came free, and the Lampent floated back down to the Serperior, handing him the vest. ["I wish I could do something more to help you, you poor Pokemon!"]

The Serperior wiped away his non-existant tears with a flick of the tip of his tail and he sighed. ["Oh, no, no, you have done enough, my young friend. With any luck, I can find some kind soul who will take this vest in trade for a scrap of food or some temporary shelter. Ah, well..."] He took hold of the vest in his jaws and turned to leave. ["Oh, you're free to go,"] he said as he began to slither away, the article of clothing muffling his words slightly. However, before he could make his escape, the two Pokemon heard a nearby call.

"Hey, Anonymes! Where'd you go?"

The Serperior saw the Lampent's eyes light up as a blond-haired male human stepped through the bushes, a sword in his hand. The Lampent squealed in delight and rushed towards the man joyfully. ["Master! You're okay!"] The ecstatic Pokemon wrapped his arms around the human in a large hug, and the man chuckled. "Hey, Anon, there you are. Are you really that happy to see me? I wasn't gone for very long. Have you seen my vest?"

The Serperior gulped. That was Master? A human Trainer with a sword? And the vest belonged to him, too? He had to get out of here, quickly. He spun around to try to flee, but he heard a shout behind him. "Hey!" Before the Serperior even knew what had happened, the human had caught up to him from behind and took hold of the vest, ripping it from his mouth.

"Did you try to steal this? Don't just take people's things!" The man glared at the Serperior, and the snake Pokemon tried his best to look innocent, but he knew he was in trouble when he saw the large rip along the side of the piece of clothing. The man noticed it as well, and his glare quickly turned venomous.

["I-I... Um, well..."] Forgetting that humans couldn't understand the language of Pokemon, the Serperior bumbled and stumbled over his words in an effort to explain himself, but all the man heard was a string of unconvincing hisses.

The man lowered his eyes and sighed. "Somehow," he said quietly, "you're going to pay for this." Without another word, his blue eyes still locked with the Serperior's yellow ones, the man slowly pulled out a strange object from his belt. For several long seconds they remained staring until the Serperior's eyes flicked downward to try to catch a glimpse of what the human was holding. By the time he had saw it, it was too late; the man had already pressed the Pokeball's button against the snake Pokemon's head. The Serperior widened his eyes in shock as a bright light from within the capsule enveloped him. Not a moment before he was completely submerged, he heard the voice of the Lampent nearby.

["...I thought that vest looked familiar..."]

The Serperior let out a groan as the Pokeball snapped shut. He didn't know how he was going to slither out of this mess.

Sailor moon!

Ahh that's not right.

Nightmare moon.




It was the first time that she got to go Kanto with her father and he took her to the Rabidash races. His client had gone for a little casual betting, but she was not nearly uninterested in the talk of which was the mostly to win as she was in the actual Rabidash. She hummed a little tune while and went to the stables where the client’s Rabidash was stationed. The pokemon were from the best breeders and they nickered at each other stomping their hooves and showing off while the jockeys readied them for the event about to take place.

Her father’s client owned a healthy strong stallion that had many ribbons to his name and he was fairly friendly snuffing her hair and letting her pet his nose. His jock gave her a bit of hay to feed him from her hand. “Thunder Coat here might be on fire, but he won’t burn you unless you make him angry. The other Rabidash may not be as friendly so do be careful.”

“I will.” she nodded and walked off while her father and his client talked.

While she was looking at the different pokemon she hear a whiney that echoed through the barn. The other Rabidash stirred and shifted their feet casting glances towards the sound. A man shouted and cracked his whip and she stepped out the other wide entrance to the barn, the side that opened into the warm up pen. At first she though it was a shiny, for blue flames poured down the mare’s back and shoulders in a cascade of anger as she reared up front hooves lashing out at the air, just missing a man with a whip. The long tongue of leather lashed out at the pokemon which only enraged her more causing her to send a fireblast at the man. A blastoise was released from a poke ball and blocked the man from the damage, and then shot a blast of water at the enraged fire type.

“Nightmare moon, you will listen to me! We are going to race and if you don’t win, I swear I’ll send you to be made of glue!”

The firetype weakened from the hit started defiantly at the man, eyes glowing with the matched fury of her mane, and Emily’s heart ached for the pokemon. There was a wildness that did not want to be touched in her the Rabidash.

“Emily, we are going to our seats now.”

She fallowed her father, but her mind was on Nightmare Moon. The pen was to small she clearly wanted to be out, free.

As the races went on, Nightmare Moon won race after race with that man on top of her, crop over her hind orders edging her forward.

The others were beautiful but no were as beautiful as the one with the white crescent on her flank and the blue night fallowing flame burning like stars.

“It seems that Nightmare Moon really is a night mare for the other pokemon out there and she crosses the finish line first again!”

Her father’s client shifted nervously, hands in his pockets as his Thunder Coat also moved up in the rankings. When she looked at the stallion he seemed to be having fun, his jock leaning with him as if they were one. There always seemed to be an extra burst of speed at the end of the race, and when Thunder Coat crossed that line, his owner was the one who cheered the loudest.

In the final race it was Thunder Coat and Nightmare Moon, that horse that would be turned to glue is she didn’t win. Emily wanted thunder coat to win because, as he told her before they mad their way to the racetrack, if his client won he would have money to spend and that was good news for the shipping company.

But if Nightmare Moon didn’t win, she would be turned to glue.

During the race they were off, neck in neck thunderbolt put his head forward as if giving it his all. In Emily’s mind she could hear the crack of the whip over and over as the crop prodded Nightmare Moon faster and faster. The horse’s flames shank as if crying as she pushed everything she had into the race running for her life.

And then, she couldn’t look, but her father’s client standing up and cheering was all she needed to know. She put her face into her hands not wanting to think of what would happened to Nightmare Moon. All around her people were screaming with excitement and some talked about how much they had won on bets, and she didn’t care. The Rabidash they saw as merely entertainment would be turned to glue. It was different then if the pokemon enjoyed it, put in it’s all and lost but had fun. But this, was too much for her.

“What’s the matter Emily?”

“Dad….” she clung to him, burying her face into his nice suit tears staining it and leaving him for a lost.

“What’s the matter? It is because that pretty horse didn’t win?”

She nodded, unable to speak, her voice was gone, drowned out by the sorrow in her heart.

“It’s ok, Thunder Coat won.” he turned to his client telling him that his daughter was merely upset over the lost of the pretty horse, explaining that his daughter loved pretty and graceful things.

Emily was started and tugged on his coat. “But she’ll be turned to glue!” she stared up tears smudging the star drawn on her face, and a bit of it’s yellow shine left on his suite.

“No she won’t.”

“She will! Father please save her! Please get her for me, we have to save her, or she’ll be turned to glue.”

It was then that the her father’s client laughed. “Well, that was one fine specimen of a pokemon. If I were to get breeding from her, her foals would sell well on the market.”

“Well then.” said her father with dollar signs in his eyes. “Let’s work out what we can shall we?”


---

There was some haggling and Emily’s father soon got the pokemon for a good price, but that piece soon became a waste. Nightmare moon refused any advances from thunder Coat, and refused to be ridden. Emily loved her anyways and asked that her father keep her, and let her run around the wide fields of their cousin’s ranch on Calamus plains back home in Kodo.

The pokemon still had a wild heart and did not let Emily’s cousin work with her, rearing up and stomping the ground when she got too close. Emily told the pokemon the story of how she was afraid she would turn to glue and it seemed Nightmare Moon understood the kindness Emily has shown her because when she came close the pokemon did not stomp, but looked to her with her blue eyes staring. With sugar cubes and the power of friendship Emily was able to get Nightmare moon to come when called and accept gifts from the palm of her hand.

((Trying for Nightmare Moon; would likely go to Jeremy eventually, though she'd be played wild for a while before I properly decide that.))

They say weird things happen in Ambergris...
This was something that Jeremy did not find it a stretch to disbelieve; ghost pokemon roamed the empty-feeling cityscape and one could wander for hours, feeling watched yet never meeting another human soul...
Ghost and psychic pokemon caused strange and haunting effects, while crumbling masonry and disrepair lent a sad and spooky feeling to the streets; strange sounds, some from pokemon, some from old buildings and others from unidentifiable sources...
With the desert nearby, fire pokemon wandering in were, perhaps not a remarkable occurrence, but something recent, something strange was what had brought the wannabe detective snooping into the ruins. He suspected something fiery.
Oh, it was glorious!
It was a tale right out of the classics! A match for The Houndoom of the Baskervilles or... or... Well there was probably another novel like this, but he just couldn't think of it right now.
What a case!

It was evening, long past sunset, with a winter chill carrying through the breeze and a sickly full moon glowing pale and high.
Jeremy, Lestrade and Dupin were wandering through the streets by torchlight, moonlight and whatever pitiful illumination was provided.
The two eeveelutions seemed to have differing opinions on the cold in the air; Dupin seemed to barely even notice it, while Lestrade tried hard to hide the fact that he kept feeling like shivering. There was no way the Leafeon was going to admit to being bothered by something like the cold if the Eevee wasn't.
Jeremy had dressed in his old fedora, big dark blue coat and a long, warm black scarf, having anticipated this excursion lasting into the night.

The tale that had brought them out onto the streets, close to the where the town bordered with the desert was that of a beast.
A terrible, dark monster; horse in shape but exaggerated with each retelling of a tale that had begun just a couple of months prior.
After working a couple of odd jobs while he played the stocks, making enough to make rent and enough to eat, if not as comfortably as he would have liked, Jeremy had felt an itch, a longing, to do what he loved. He wanted a /case/. He wanted to play detective, but unknown and, though he'd never admit it, with skills that were, not appalling but, not quite as remarkable as he imagined them to be, it would only be sheer luck that one would ever come his way. He'd do it for free, of course; he was simply bored with what he had and wanted to do -something- in the life he'd tried to choose.

One night he frequented a bar- one he found himself at every so often now, one he was comfortable with- and that sheer luck reared its head in the form of a remarkable account from one of the other patrons.

… “There I was,” The slightly inebriated soul had been saying, “Facing down the nastiest lookin' haunter ya'd ever clapped y'r eyes on! Bu' me an ol' Pearls, (bless tha' Grumpig's soul!) we had 'im! We -had- him... I done went t' fling a dusk ball at th'monstrosity, I saw 'is red eyes widen in fear f'r hisself for tha' ghost knew I 'ad him beat... Bu-But then! THEN! I'll ne'er f'get it! Black as /night/, she were! 'S no er-*hic*-earthly poken'mon... She -came outta- the stars 'emselves, she did! Right outta the Arceus-damned -stars-! Great staring eyes an-an-an... BLACK! Black as night 'iself. 'T was th' Ghost 'orse! Night Mare o' the full Moon! 'S no earthly creature 'n earth 's looks like... like 'er... That haunt'r.. 's just.. gone as she -reared- right -at- me! Slammed 'er iron (AYE IRON!) 'ooves right down on m' duskball... I'll ne'er... Ne'er sleep 'gain... Mane o' stars, the iron... Those cruel, cruel eyes!”
The somewhat scruffy drunk had seemed rather pale after his tale, but despite his claim of never sleeping again, he was soon passed out at the bar.
Jeremy had asked around, the tale piquing his interest as the man, despite his inebriation, had seemed quite effected by his recounting and discovered that some other patrons had similar tales of their own about the Night Mare of Ambergris. None of the tales were older than a couple of months, most were re-tellings that followed the age old pattern of 'I know someone who knows someone...', yet the few tales, varying in many details, had remained so similar at the oh-so important core of the 'monster horse'; black as night, stars in her mane, and in most cases, armour.
Ill advised, perhaps, but excited by the prospect, he'd announced that night that upon the next full moon he would spend the night in Ambergris and seek out this 'Night Mare'.
“I shall endeavour to either catch this strange pokemon that beguiles us all, or I shall find clues enough to deduce the true identity of your so-called monster!”

Now he wandered with his pokemon, story replaying in his mind, eyes alert for the tricks and whimsies of the ghostly and ghoulish inhabitants of the tumble-down area.
Yet all was eerily quiet.
“Lestrade, Dupin? Do you sense anything nearby? Blasted cold night and we're not going to find a thing at this rate; even the ghost types are letting us be...” Jeremy inquired, then grumbled to himself. He watched his two pokemon hesitate and then shake their heads, just slightly, as though they were unsure, themselves of what they felt.
In the back of his mind, somewhere, Jeremy could feel that something was wrong; he'd slightly made the connection that the ghosts (lovers of tricks and pranks) being so absent and quiet -should- strike him as odd...
Yet, even as he was making such a connection, after a few hours of empty streets and eery quiet, Dupin and Lestrade perked their ears at the same time as Jeremy felt a warm breeze cross him. He felt his blood freeze in what he imagined later to be a contradiction to the actual effects a warm breeze should have.
In unison, the trio turned, alerted by some unnatural sense as much as any sound, or current of air they'd just experienced.
The wannabe detective was ill-prepared for the sight he beheld; a sight frighteningly close to the image that he'd heard described so many times. He dropped his torch, but the 'monster' remained visible in the pale light offered by the moon and stars, twinkling both above her and seemingly from within her mane of ethereal fire.

The Night Mare of the Full Moon regarded her 'visitors' with ice in her eyes, despite her fire type nature. The Rapidash, clad in unnatural, lunar themed armour, snorted and reared onto her hind legs, showing off her power and intimidating presence. Her horn met the pale circle of the full moon in the sky, providing the two eeveelutions and Jeremy with the terrifying spectacle that she'd given visitors before...
She stayed just long enough to make her impression upon the trio, before galloping into the night, hoofbeats echoing the streets deliberately for several long minutes.

It was several more minutes before Jeremy, with dry throat and stunned countenance muttered from the corner of his mouth.
“Let's go home.”
He received no objection from his stunned pokemon.

He had seen the Night Mare and he was no longer prepared to dismiss the idea of monsters. It would be a day before he could fight through the shock and even begin to come up with a theory.

His return to the bar a few nights later was marked with a whiskey on the house and many questions from other patrons.
What was the Night Mare?
His response; “Nothing natural...”

~ ~ ~
Across the desert, in a location that was much guarded from public minds, that held a shady quality all its own, Tambrey, a grunt in the criminal organization of Team Rocket, was busy forward memos and notifications on to higher classified areas of the lab.
She was not permitted, nor even able, to read nor access some of the things she forwarded through and today was no different but for the fact that she actually took note of a strange memory stick, secured in a sealed plastic baggy, that passed through her workspace. It was to be delivered on to some slightly more important researcher in another area of the labs.
As she placed it in the correct place for it to quickly work its way deeper into the science department, she'd glanced a logo on the purple plastic; a crescent moon.

Deeper in the more secure area of the laboratories, at least two clearances beyond a grunt's eyes, a pair of hands unsecured the memory stick and placed it into a machine.
It took a moment to load and then, after regarding the information contained, the owner of those hands took the time to send an encrypted, interior email.

'RE> Project Moon; Confirmed Recent Sightings'...

(Entering for Nightmare Moon <3)

Her mane and tail of flames, though warm in its elegant dance, provided little light in the darkness that surrounded her.
Not that she cared to open her eyes anyway.

There was nothing to see, nothing she could take any sort of interest in, it would all just be the same, every direction the dim glisten of the metal caged walls. Not even the way her flames swayed and flicked along the surface, casting glittering shadows that both haunted and soothed, were any comfort.
How could they? It reminded her so readily of her unyielding entrapment in this place.

No, the only escape she had right now, as she lay half on her side head bowed close to her chest, were her thoughts.
Though dark and twisted in her memories of the life she had lived, the thought of what could be, helped keep the pain away, and not just the physical pain.

Her name… what she was called by others, was Moon, and like the object she had been named after, she had at one time been a beauty that could rival any of her species.
What she had become, what her lust for power had brought her, was not respect and adoration from others, but fear, and disgust.
The structure of her body gave away that she was of the horse breed of pokemon, and the long sharpened horn from her forehead meant she could only be a Rapidash.
With the tall elegant build very prominent in designer breeding and an unusual coat with the color and depth of space itself.
She had eyes of teal, bright like the crystals of a comet’s tail, and a gaze that had the sharpness and danger to match.
A mane like the night sky flexed with stars of white burning embers, shrouded in layers of dark cloud that billowed slowly in long elegant waves around her body, only to flex up around the edges in the constant anger of fire, looking as if she was in danger of being swallowed up at any second.

But what deep aggression she held in her lifetime had pushed her into actions that had since marred her beauty and warn its mark into her body, leaving a collection of scars down her muzzle and over her head.
Her hooves dried and cracked, looking as if it would be painful to stand, though she never complaining about it. Upon her chest, the deepest scar of all resembling a crescent moon, placed there by an old allies’ deadly hoof during her banishment.

No matter what she had been through, no matter how many times she had to endure the punishment of her actions, Moon was never a Rapidash to second guess herself, she had never done so in the past, and she would not do so now.

Though… it was strange, that in this moment, where she could think of anything she wanted… she found herself recalling the one who did second guess her actions. She had dismissed it as him being as imbecilic as she knew he was … but still… why were his last words going through her mind so many times as she endured the tight darkness.

[That doesn’t sound much like a plan to me.]
He had this way of speaking, such a condescending tone, when Moon was sure that he couldn’t even make a competent plan even if it would save his life.

[I hardly think I was asking your opinion.] She made sure her response had come out as a dismissing drawl, not bating into his words.
She didn’t care what he thought, she never did, and she could be sure that it was a mutual feeling on his part as well.
Still, it was odd that all of this time, she had found something of an odd companionship in this pokemon. Certainly not respect by any stretch of the imagination, but companionship.

She remembered watching the sun set over a tall ridge set high in the forest, feeling impatient with how slowly it seemed to be moving that evening.
Almost recalling the setup… there were trees… lots of trees, in the tallest sat hunkered down on the branches, was the black and purple Pidgeot she had spent the last few weeks with.

It had been his eyes.
The piercing of glowing red set in stony features.
He had a deep hatred that practically oozed from his dark feathers, a wrath that she understood intimately.
Yet, that same hatred betrayed a terrible weakness in him, the one who called himself Skywarp.
Loneliness.
They were both completely alone. Unlike her though, he was no leader, he would rather sit and wait for something to happen, while she… well… Everyone would love her, even if she had to force them too.

He had pressed on, she recalled his words;
[Not that I don’t think it’s not ganna to be a BLAST burning down the city, but you’re still not making any sense to me. You’re sayin’ you’re going to messing with a whole city of humans to find some other pokemon?]

[Vulgarly put]

[That’s what you said.]

[I did not say “Some other pokemon” the pokemon I am looking for is far, far more important than that.]

Oddly enough, she remembered being a little surprised that this comment was followed by an unusual silence, uncharacteristic for the Pidgeot.
She hadn’t put much thought into it at the time, far too focused on her own goals to give him any consideration.
She simply wrote it off as him not comprehending what she had told him, too stupid.
Yes… perhaps.

[Don’t expect me to come swooping in to help you out when you get caught.] Again, there was that snotty tone of his.

[The very idea is insulting, Skywarp] how disgusting, [I hardly need your help with any of this]
He laughed, head thrown back to show the range of his amusement. Long wings pulled away from his chest slightly to give him better balance on the branch.

[Teh, you’re not even a little worried, Mooner? I think you’re in over your head]

Mooner, ugh, he had a terrible habit of using ones name in a much more insulting way.
[Worried? Why would I ever be worried? HAH] it was her turn to throw her head back, the scraping of dirt below catching her warns hooves as she turned to face the Pidgeot.

[My power is feared, The kind of power others fear, and lust over in jealousy, why do you think they banished me?]

If he said anything after that, she hadn’t listened, he had set a fire in her heart with those words, and she didn’t have the time to explain to him why, she didn’t have the patience to spell everything out this time for the ignorant Pidgeot.
Her weak little forest pokemon servants had given her word that her child might be in the city, and she fully intended to tear the place apart to find it.
The child she had never met.

An so everything had come full circle, She had not found her child in the city, though she had done a wonderful job of burning down several of the cities buildings before she had been over powered and subdued by trainers and their pokemon.
Once again… she was alone, pain from the battle throbbing though most of her body, and still, without any subordinates, or the child that had been taken from her long ago.
It was for her own good, to protect the others… they could get her help, rehabilitate her. These were words she had heard the humans say when she was put in this prison, words also said by the herd so long ago.
Her head dipped further, two heavy breaths gushing from her nostrils, trying to let the gentle rushing of her flaming mane wash her mind free, tired of finding any excuse to conclude that Skywarp was still wrong.
There were no comforts anymore.


The night crawled on for what seemed like an eternity, Though, in real time she had no idea how long it had been since she was put in this prison.
Finally, finally the mercy of sleep fell upon her; perhaps… by morning she could regain some of her strength, so that when the humans return to try and force her into a pokeball for some imbecilic human to “tame” her, she could fight back and regain her freedom.
It was doable… it just relied mostly on timing.

Her rest was interrupted though, when there was a sudden “BANG!” against the door of the container.
The sleeping Rapidash let out a sharp squeal from her nose in surprise, head bucking up while teal eyes shoot open, scanning hurriedly around the walls while the sound echoes within for a few ********’ geeze man!” There was a deep voice outside following a grunt from the impact and a shifting of some metal on the prison.

Her head turned toward the door, widened eyes blinking as ears fanned forward… there was a human outside.

“Don’t shove me from that height, Bro’”

[Heh, sorry, maybe you’re just losing your touch.]

Moon’s eyes narrowed, recognizing the speech of a pokemon, a Gangar if she heard right.
So then… on the other side was a trainer.

Listening for a few more seconds, wondering to herself why they were here, when the noise of metal moving again scraped through the container, the same noise that had sounded when they had locked the door on her. ..

“… s’this? Looks like they got one of these shipments goin’ out.” The man on the other side said once he and the Gangar stopped arguing with one another.

He was opening the door!
[Hey sweet, let’s check out if there’s anything we can grab.]

Like she had known! This would be all about timing, and she was not going to waist a single second of this opportunity.
In a flash, Moon was on her hooves again, ignoring the protesting screaming of her body as she thrust her weight forward onto the cracked door.



Playing rough was just a way that Bro and Jerome seemed to interact sometimes, it wasn’t anything unusual, and the two gave one another crap all the time.
Bro seemed to be particularly amused today, still laughing at Jerome for falling asleep on one of the building roofs while taking time to watching the sunset.
The Gangar might have shoved a bit too hard in his playfulness, causing Jerome to tumble off the side of the awning the he had been walking on.
Jerome had to act quickly, able to catch himself mostly on the edge of a metal shipping container to slow his fall, and tumble the rest of the way down there, catching his side on the locked metal ********’ Geeze man!” Dreadlocks draped over one side of his face as he hunched down, gripping his side as he let the pain pass. “Don’t shove me from that height, Bro’”

“Gar gar, Gangar." Bro replied, swooping down toward Jerome, with mannerisms that suggested both an apology, and amusement.

Jerome allowed himself a few more seconds to gather himself, before he straightened back up, tossing his side of dreadlocks out of his face, light brown eyes with blackened sclera finding the purple and green Gangar floating next to him.
Making sure his human was okay, subtly.

Eyes drawing away from Bro’ Jerome turned instead to the container that he had caught himself on, scanning the surface for a few seconds, before noticing the locked handle on it.
“… s’this? Looks like they got one of these shipments goin’ out.”
Well, this could be interesting, if it was locked.
Reaching out to pull the chain free, tossing it to the side, before letting Bro step in, and use his fighting type attack to break the lock open.

“Gangar, gar gangar”

This could make up for Jerome’s aching side. He knew that people usually stored things in containers like this, it was common for them to be scattered around this aria, with it being a warehouse district. Normally they didn’t have anything worth looking at, but the fact that this one was locked, certainly had to mean it held something worthwhile.

Jerome would find that that ‘something worthwhile’ was suddenly bursting through the door before Jerome could even get it a foot of the way open.
The force of the door bucking back into him knocked the win right out of Jerome’s lungs, kicking him back away from the container as something large, dark and hot burst into the open night.

Not letting his guard drop for long, Jerome was able to roll back and regain his footing almost instantly; staggering back a couple of steps with wide eyes lifting to find what had just come from the container.
He found the creature before him, no doubt a product of nightmares turning a petrifying stare on him. The nightmare’s dark flames swelled around her furiously and with a deep scream she charged him, head bowed to point a gleaming horn at his chest.



He was one! The fool! The human staggering back from her (if you could call that a human) was looking shocked to even see her. It mattered not, she was going to make sure this one didn’t follow her, she was going to show him the price of locking her up like that.

There would be little a human could do against a charging Rapidash, Moon took great pride in this.
… It was the intercepting Gangar that she would have a harder time with.
Before her horn could even touch the fabric of the man’s jacket there was a force, which struck her so hard on the side of her head, that it practically knocked the horse off of her hooves.

[Oh yeah! b***h! BRING IT!]
The Gangar didn’t let up after his attack; she barely had time to gather her balance again before he swung a Brick Break down onto her neck.
Moon scream was broken shot with a gag from the impact, she crumpled, her knees finally giving in below her.

[No one messes with m’boy, Jerome!]
He was going in for another attack, this completely shocked her, trainers did not battle like this, this Gangar was leaving her no opportunity to even catch a breath, let alone ready an attack against him. Trainers were never this… well, brutal, and he was grinning wide the entire time.

Her eyes, wide with fear and rage stared at the half glowing pokemon as another Brick Break was aimed at her. She was able to react though, doing the first thing that came to mind.
[BE GONE, SPECTER!]
With a “FLOOM” the flames around her mane and tail shot up, burning with a furious heat and completely engulfed the Gangar as he got too close.
She received a satisfying howl of pain from within the fire, and the smoldering Ghost type shot away backward, arms thrown up around his face to try and guard it.

She looked pleased for a moment, ready to try and get back to her hooves… the only problem with that though, was that her legs were not responding.
Her smile faded, and as she noticed with a sinking dread, the Gangar wasn’t smiling either.



That… had… hurt.
He was most definitely burned; he could feel the pain sinking through his body every time he moved.
Oh, but that wasn’t about to stop him.
This Rapidash was going down, and she was going down HARD for that one.
Balling his hands into fists, Bro breathed in harshly though his nose for a good long time; until his cheeks pooched out with something he was holding in his mouth.

Staying at the distance he was to avoid getting caught in those flames again Bro’ jerked his head forward and at the same time, spit out an enormous glob of glowing green Toxic at the Rapidash.

The projected poison slapped against her like thick mucus, coating half of the horrified horse’s body, from chest to the purple specked flank.
He could tell what she was thinking by the look on her face.
Wide eyes, clearly shocked and grossed out at first, horrified that something so gross was covering her. But in a couple of seconds, as the light sizzle of the acidic goop starting to burn its way on her body, bringing the look of pain with it.

For at least five seconds the Rabidash kicked, and rolled, trying to knock the toxic attack off of her, while whinny’s and snorts of desperation and pain filled the air from the panicked pokemon.
She was cut short though, when the pain became too much for her body to handle, and with one final jerk of her body, her head began to droop back, eyes rolling into the back of her head as she finally dropped to the ground, limp and motionless.

The Rapidash fainted.
Seems Bro’ won the battle.

The night was once again completely silent, eerily so, as if the battle had not even happened.
Bro’ whistled a breath through his teeth, sagging down from the air to sit him on the ground, staring at nothing and looking extremely uncomfortable with the burns.
Jerome was right there next to him though, kneeling down as his dark eyes drifted over the Gangar’s burns.
“Ya alright bro?” Jerome asked,

Bro’s grin spread back over his lips and he waved a hand “Gangarar” He replied, showing that he was totally fine.
“Gar”

Jerome nodded to the pokemon who had defended his life, “We’ll get ya some heals.” He said, before returning back to his feet and turning his eyes onto the unconscious Rapidash.
Most of the Toxic on her was dissolving away, losing its potency from the attack while leaving a clean, gleaming dark coat underneath.
Keeping his arms at his sides in case he needed a quick spring away, Jerome approached the pokemon.

He found it amazing how much less frightening she looked when she was like this, she looked more peaceful actually… the muscles on her face were relaxed, smoothing out once tense features.
Beyond the disfiguring scarring, she was quite the stunning pokemon.
Then again, this was coming from a man who didn’t know true beauty if it was handed to him on a golden planner and a note saying “Beauty” in big bold letters.
New, he would just be wondering more what he could get for the gold platter.

Still… He had to wonder what this pokemon was doing in a container like that, it seemed she had already been injured before this fight.

“Gangar!” Bro snapped from behind Jerome, jarring him back from his quiet look over at the Nightmareish Rapidash and reminding him of his promise for healing.

“Hn? Yeah, M’comin’”
Well, he couldn’t just leave her here like this, she could probably use some healing too, not only that… but this seemed like such a waist to just leave, perhaps he could use this to his advantage in the future… either way, he couldn’t carry a Rapidash on his own.

Bro’ was back in the air, his eye lids a little more open as he drifted his way over to Jerome, clicking his tongue at the unconscious Rapidash, as Jerome reached for the pokeball’s on his belt.



There were moments when you become completely unaware of what’s going on around you, or that you’re feeling anything at all, that is, until you become aware of the lapse in memory. With Moon, it was an unknown outside force that gently prodded at her senses, and like a switch, her brain slowly started to catch up and reboot.

There had been a moment of warmth, and a… noise? Was it a noise or a feeling? Or was it just her trying to wake up.
She barely registered anything happening around her, until the warmth brushed away past her, and what replaced it was the familiar cold of night.

Her eyes opened a crack, blinking slowly twice, The first thing she noticed, was that she was laying in grass, the smell of earth and the tickle of the green blades on her lips,
The Forest…
Gingerly she lifted her head, and the second thing she noticed once the blurry colors started to form details around was that there was a red glow, teasing the corner of her eye to the left.
There was a horrid smell in the air to, it almost choked her breath with how potent and thick it was, almost like smoke from a fire, but there was something disgustingly different.

What was going on? Where was she?

Snorting harshly through her nose to try and chase the smell away, she glanced over, to find the source of the light, and the smell.

All at once, a flood of memories hit her when she noticed that she was in fact, not alone.

Three sets of eyes met her gaze;
The green ones, glowing dimly with a look of mild amusement, they reminded her of the toxic their owner had spit at her.
Two sets of darkened eyes, it was hard to make out any details, the man from before, a dark hued man, with markings over his own body, most of his details were flushed out, except for his sides that were illuminated by the red tail lights of some kind of human vehicle, parked in the grass. The lights framed him, as he leaned casually against the bumper one knee propped up and a thin stream of smoke from something in his hands curling up alongside him.

The last pare belonged to… something hunkered down next to the human, natural armor gleaming brightly with shooting lines of red from the lights, while most of the beast’s body seemed to simply vanish away in the darkness behind it. It was a massive creature and Moon could not immediately identify its species.
It was just staring though, other than a throaty hiss that seemed to be emanating from it, it made no indication that it was anything but a statue.
If Moon had any wonder how in the world she had gotten here, that massive pokemon would certainly been the answer to that question, thought the thought of being carrying by it was oddly unnerving.

Whereas her first instinct was to panic that the pokemon and trainer who had taken her out so unforgivingly where standing there watching her. She noticed that none of them were in an offensive position.
A torn eyebrow arched softly while she glanced between them eyelids fluttering down suspiciously before she found that her legs were working again.
Pushing herself to her hooves with absolutely no pain, The human seemed to find a point to interject with his intentions while she took a couple of seconds to glance down at herself.

“Healed ya” his voice was deep, and he spoke with a gruff simplicity.

She turned her head back to him, with a soft frown, no doubt he used some of those potions the humans make, and she was familiar enough with those.
[What do you want?] She knew that he couldn’t understand her words, so she mostly tried to relay these questions through her expression, and body language as her stance widened a little further.

He didn’t answer at first, eyes narrowing as if studying her, while he lifted the smoking stick to his lips and breathed in around it.
Moon tossed her head at this, nickering is disgust at the smell, so that’s where it was coming from.

“I’m lettin’ you go, But I ain’t doin’ it out of the kindness of my heart, Nightmare.”

She waited for him to get to the point, eyes narrowing dangerously when he reminded her of her defeat to him, still staring down at the human from her upturned chin. Though she did have to wonder… had he called her Nightmare? Hm… she wasn’t so sure she disliked that.

“I’m thinkin’ you owe me.” He breathed out, and a stream of smoke puffed from his lips.
“A favor, whenever I need it, and whatever it is, you do it.” He finished rather bluntly.

A warn hoof curled up and stamped down into the ground gouging the grass lightly, followed by a heavy neigh.
The human didn’t react to it, slipping his hand in a pocket, demon eyes watching her closely for her answer, thought the pokemon did shift at the mild act of aggression.
She stood with legs straight, her head held tall as she frowned at the man and his expectations.

But after giving it a moment’s consideration, a soft smirk spread over her lips.
This was amusing! Oh the nerve of this human, he certainly didn’t play by the rules. She was sure that monstrosity of a pokemon by him was far from league standard to be permitted, whatever it was. He could have just caught her and forced her too yet here he was, making her owe him something, when.
Perhaps he had no pokeballs on him.
Or maybe he wanted to deal with her like this, trying to make deals with her; did he have ANY idea what he was getting himself into? Fool.
Moon dipped her head up, flames bouncing behind her head as she let out a whinny of laughter. This was just too precious, she of course had no real interest in doing anything for this human, but she couldn’t help but think… she could probably use this to her advantage someday, having a human to work in as an ally to follow her perhaps?

Yes, she decided she was okay with this.
bowing her head back down once her laughter died away,

[Very well human, I agree]
The scarred mare turned her head, lifting a hoof and shooting her gaze out toward the deeper forest.
[You can find me in that direction, where the mountains and forests meet I will have my servants on the lookout for you.] Moon explained before lowering her head below her shoulders, staring at the group from under her mutilated brow and waiting for his reply.

She knew the man could not understand what her reply had been, but the Gangar seemed to step in to help translate, giving the man a thumbs up and a grin.

“Good.” He acknowledged, giving her one last nod as the end of the smoking stick died out and he flicked it away into the damp grass.

The Rapidash’s head cocked to the side, with another grin, before she turned, and galloped away into the night, the fire down her back gushing forth with more intensity as she ran.



Well, that was that, it seemed to go better then Jerome expected that’s for sure. With wild pokemon one didn’t usually know what you were going to get.
As the Rapidash bolted off with impressive speed, Jerome pushed himself off the bumper, recalling Hirss into her pokeball as he walked around the SUV to get back in the driver’s side.

Bro’ was already in the vehicle by the time Jerome snapped the seat belt in, his arms were crossed and he was giving Jerome a disappointed frown.

“What?” Jerome asked without even looking at him, reaching forward to start the engine.

“Gangar gar.” He grumbled, swooping one hand forward to lift Jerome’s elbow out of the way, this action simultaneously got Jerome to glance over at what he was doing.
The half glowing Gangar grabbed up one of the five pokeballs on the man’s belt and thrust it into the humans chest.
“Gang.”

Grabbing the pokeball from the ghost type, Jerome glanced down at it.
It was empty, he knew it wasn’t any of his other pokemon’s balls, so, obviously it was the ball used to catch the Rapidash, he had taken to calling Nightmare, after the battle with Bro’
“C’mon man, you think a pokemon like her would really just let me be her trainer off the bat?”

Bro’ made a few disagreeing remarks, shrugging his shoulders and then punching one hand into the other with a grin, clearly suggesting a more aggressive approach to training.

Jerome shook his head at Bro, taking a few seconds to turn the pokeball around in his fingers, examining it quietly with dark eyes.
The gangster can’t imagine she’s going to be happy when she finds out he already captured her. He himself wasn’t sure how he was going to address it.
Something to deal with when it happens he guessed…
“Hn” he grunted softly while dropping the pokeball in one of the cup holders.
“Naw man, I’m doin’ it my way, Just be patient, she’ll be workin’ as a part of the team before ya know it.”

Bro threw himself back into the passenger wide seat, folding his arms behind his back.
It was getting late, was probably time to get back to HQ before the sun rose.



Moon had a new name it seemed, or at least to someone else she did. She considered it carefully as she galloped through the thicker forest skillfully dodging tree after tree before being forced to slow down when the trees grew in both size, and number.
She liked the sound of Nightmare, and the implications of the name, of everything he could have called her, Nightmare was very clever.

Her hooves carried her far into the forest; even as it started sloping up the closer she got to the mountains until steam had started rising from the heat of her flames as the air become colder, and the sky that peered in through the openings in the branches was starting to take on a lighter blue of the impending morning.

Moon would make it back to the clearing she had been taking up shelter in for the last few weeks before the sun would make its appearance, she trotted in with heavy breath, but no worse for wear, considering her condition earlier that evening.

[Oh, you’re actually back] a familiar voice was there to greet her, and it was to no surprise when she looked to Skywarp’s usual perch, finding the Pidgeot’s red eyes turned down at her, half lidded like she had just woken him up.

[I told you I had nothing to worry about] she wasn’t about to tell him what happened… for all she cared, she had manipulated that situation from the beginning to be in her favor.

Skywarp’s beaked opened wide in a yawn, his feathers ruffling out as he did so, He didn’t seem particularly concerned or pleased to see her, addressing her as if she was just coming back from the stream to get a drink of water.
once the yawn finished his feathers smoothed back down, [Well, did you find that pokemon you were looking for?] He asked, as if he didn’t even care about the answer.

[I did not] she admitted, with a heavy heart, she had hoped to… but this time, it seemed her offspring was still just out of her reach.
[Though I think I did make a useful ally]

She smirked softly, holding her head up high as she walked across the clearing, so where she could lay down.
One look at Skywarp and it was clear the Pidgeot was already trying to go back to sleep, his head tucked down again.

[Say, Skywarp] she said, in a smugly thoughtful tone, getting only a lazy chirp in reply.
[I think I will start calling myself Nightmare Moon.]

[That’s dumb]

Her eyelids drooped, rolling her eyes in exasperation and chose to finally settle herself down on the leaves.
[You truly are an imbecile. Skywarp]
where the last words spoken, before Nightmare Moon settled herself off her sore hooves.

That human really has no idea what he's getting himself into, she was sure of that anyway.