FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

My name, before I earned one, was... you know... I don't think I actually had one. We weren't really big on names. Ledyba are more scent-oriented than sound oriented. Everybody knew who I was by my scent, and that was that. I was just another baby Ledyba to keep fed and under control, so that one day I could join another swarm or help provide for this one. A name wasn't something important for me to have - if they wanted me to do something, the older Ledyba would just point at me and start telling me what I should do.

Not that they let me do much. The older Ledyba got to have all the fun - go out and gather food, search out nesting sites, fly patrols for threats such as violent weather - and I got stuck in the nest practicing how to use Reflect. The elders said I was lucky - everybody else had to do heavy lifting, or endless flying, or put themselves in danger, while I got to sit around and do whatever I felt like doing all day. Just as long as whatever I felt like doing was sitting in a group with other nestlings and practice making barriers.

What I actually wanted to do was leave the nest and go do some heavy lifting, or some flying around, or get into a bit of danger. But the older Ledyba told me that wasn't safe, and not something I should risk myself on.

I managed to get my fair share of such things anyways, though. I found ways out of the nest that the older Ledyba weren't curious enough to discover - or guard. So I would slip out when they weren't looking and zip out into the forest, dancing from branch to branch with only the stars to tell me where to go or what to do.

Sometimes I would run into other Ledyba from the nest while I was exploring. They would get mad at me and demand I go back, telling me it wasn't safe by myself. Never mind that they were out there by themselves.

So in addition to practicing Reflect to help shield the nest from threats, I also had plenty of opportunities to practice my other, more 'punchy' abilities. Like when I punched those Ledyba and flew off before they could make me go back.

It wasn't long before I had the best Mach Punch of the nest. Even the Matriarch was impressed - though she was quick to tell me I should work on making my barrier abilities just as strong. That way I could help a new swarm grow strong, and maybe even be a Matriarch myself one day.

That was supposedly the dream of all the other Ledyba - well, us girls, anyways. The boys dreamed of impressing a Matriarch, I guess, but the girls dreamed of being the Matriarch. The leader of the swarm, the one in charge and able to make any decision she wanted. If the Matriarch felt like moving to a new nest, we moved to a new nest. If the Matriarch wanted a Ledyba to have a better home in the nest or a different job assignment, they got a better home in the nest or a better job assignment. The Matriarch had the freshest, most delicious food, and had as much of it as she wanted. The rest was divided up, again, as the Matriarch decided. It was the position every Ledyba wanted, and the one every Ledyba pushed themselves harder for. Their hope was that when the Great Swarming came in the summer they would have become strong and wise enough to lead a swarm of their own, and attract enough Ledyba to them to become a Matriarch themselves. Everybody in the swarm worked towards that goal.

Everybody but me.

I just didn't see the appeal - what would be the fun of having to deal with all that stuff? Okay, the Matriarch had those perks, but she also had to deal with everybody's problems. If a room in the nest had problems, the complaint went to the Matriarch. If the food tasted bad, or if there wasn't enough of it, then the Matriarch had to take care of it. If somebody had an unpleasant job, they complained about it to, you guessed it, the Matriarch. She was constantly kept busy with managing everything, and never seemed to have time to just leave the nest and enjoy the things outside it.

Who would want that kind of life? Not me.

So most nights I would wander around the forest. Sometimes I would find neat things and bring them back to the nest, but most of the time I ducked back into the nest with nothing to show but a few new scrapes and bruises from the rough branches or the unfortunate Ledyba that had tried to stop me. My skill at Reflect did improve, some, but most of my improvement came in being able to punch out anyone that caught me.

I wasn't sure how long life went on like that - I wasn't very good at judging time then, and didn't really get that the moon faded and grew on a schedule - but the nights began to grow steadily warmer, until finally on one evening the Matriarch called us all together to say it was time to return to the Great Swarming.

We gathered the supplies we would need for the journey and lifted into the air, leaving the island I had grown up on far behind us as we flew to a gathering of Ledyba.

---

The Flygon stared down at the crowded meadow and smiled in glee. His wings moved slowly behind him, almost casually, as he took in the sight. There were Ledyba everywhere. Hundreds of them, just resting on the ground with dew collecting on their shells that glittered in the midday sun. They were all fast asleep. Completely unsuspecting.

This was going to be fun.

He grinned and dived forward, letting his fall add to his speed as he reached out his claws to grasp towards the sleeping bugs. Energy gathered around him, draconic power swirling around him and adding to the force in his outstretched arm...

He saw glittering in the air as he neared the protective dome of the massed Ledyba's Reflect. He had watched as it had repelled birds and other mild nuisances. It was a very strong barrier, incredibly powerful and reinforced again and again during the night before the Ledyba had gone to sleep.

The Flygon impacted against the barrier and released the energy held around his claws with an enormous crash, the sound instantly waking every Ledyba in the field below. Sparks rippled in a shockwave along the dome, sending rainbows of light outwards from the impact... and...

The barrier held.

The Flygon grinned and pushed his wings harder, spiraling upwards towards the sun. His left wing moved slower, as if it took extra effort to move, or as if it hurt the Flygon to use that wing, but eventually he paused high above the shimmering barrier... and then he dove again, slamming into the barrier to the left of his first impact site, filling the air with another thunderous bang.

The Ledyba didn't seem concerned. Some even started to go back to sleep. The barrier had been created by the amassed strength of the entire swarm. They were certain that no single Pokemon could ever break through it. The clearly deranged Flygon would give up before long and wander off - the older Ledyba had seen it happen enough times before to be unbothered by the display, even if it was significantly louder than the others had been. The younger Ledyba looked curious, but only that; none seemed worried. A few began to rise upwards to prepare to fix any damage the futile attack did manage to inflict to the barrier.

The wall of light wavered beneath the Flygon's second impact, but just as the Ledyba expected, it held. The Flygon roared and ascended again, rising higher and higher into the sky. The Ledyba continued their own ascent too, but much more lazily, as if annoyed at being awoken but not concerned. They reached the barrier as the Flygon began to dive once more and started pouring their energy into it - and exclaimed in surprise as they discovered just how weak their barrier had become.

The Flygon grinned wildly at their panic as he drew rapidly nearer the wall of light, roaring out just before the impact...

A sound rang out as if an enormous glass pane had shattered, and the various shards of glass had then flown into and scratched down a chalkboard. The barrier shattered around the Flygon, with an enormous piece of it simply falling away and dissolving into sparkles of various colors. Giant cracks stretched through the part of the barrier that remained... and the Flygon rocketed onwards, diving towards the ground just as quickly.

A second rumble filled the air as the Flygon impacted with the ground, sending dirt and grass flying from the force of his landing. A muffled "Booyah!" followed it, barely a whisper compared to the first sounds.

The Ledyba scattered from the impact site. The swarm panicked, taking to the air and flying towards the remains of the barrier that had suddenly turned from protecting them to trapping them. The Ledyba already in the air worked harder, trying to seal the gap before more threats entered, and the Ledyba at the edges of the barrier on the ground worked to open new gaps so that the frightened swarm could escape.

The dust cleared and the Flygon glanced over the chaos, the abnormal blue bands along his tail and antenna sparkling in the light. His right wing flapped in excitement, making him hover unsteadily over the small crater he had created, while his left wing hung limp. "Aw come on!" He glanced around with another wicked grin. "I heard this was where the strongest Ledyba would be; I expected at least one of you would be up for a fight! Don't tell me she's scared; isn't there anybody willing to take on the Phooooboy, that's a lot of Ledyba..." The Flygon trailed off as he watched a mass of the fleeing swarm suddenly arc upwards and over, rushing back towards him as the rest of the Ledyba fled. The Flygon gulped, but his expression just as quickly changed to an excited grin as he launched into the air, flying to meet the oncoming challengers.

The crowd of Ledyba enveloped the Flygon, covering him in bodies. A cloud of dust spread outwards, obscuring the brawl... until the Flygon dove towards the ground with a Ledyba before him. He slammed the Ledyba into the hard dirt and bounced off, leaving the bug-type stunned behind him, while the rest of the mob of fighters chased after him. He laughed and let out an excited 'whoop!' as he rose upwards again, back towards the hole he had made in the barrier. "Come on, let's do this!"

The Ledyba had just finished replacing the triangular hole with a temporary shimmer of light, a foundation that was weak on its own but something they could build on and strengthen, when the Flygon slammed back into it. It shattered again, letting the Flygon and his pursuers out into the open air. They converged again just outside the dome of light, though this time the Flygon stood his 'ground' and sent Ledyba after Ledyba flying, some into the open air, some into the barrier behind them. His attacks grew wilder as he fought, the Flygon clearly growing more and more excited.

More Ledyba rose through the hole, sending more annoyance through the workers trying to repair the gap as their efforts were once again disrupted, and the reinforcements joined in the battle. The Flygon dove downwards, grinning all the while, and disappeared into the trees beyond the edge of the barrier.

The Ledyba chased after.

The Flygon fought just as well in the forest as he did in the open air, maybe even better. Ledyba hurled out from the forest and back into the air as it flung combatant after combatant back out of the fight, creating a trail of stunned Ledyba as he retreated from the barrier. The trees didn't fare much better - any that got in the way ended up bent beneath the force of his advancement. It was hard to call the Flygon's movements a 'retreat', not when he was clearly winning against the mob of attackers.

But eventually one of the Ledyba got lucky - or clever - and landed a punch right against the Flygon's left wing. That wing had been moving slower than the right as he spun and danced through the trees, as if the dragon was having trouble moving it, and it caused the Flygon to jerk as a spasm ran through his body. He fell to the ground, hard, his momentum carrying him forward and into another tree. He twitched his tail and slammed it into a Ledyba that followed too closely after him in an attempt to take advantage of his crash, sending the bug flying... but then his grin vanished.

A Ninetales was suddenly standing across from him, her fur a silvery blue. Her red eyes glared down at the Flygon, and he gulped. "H-hey Sinori! Did you come to say hi to Constella, too?..."

The Ledyba hovered in uncertainty, not sure if they should continue to attack or not and clearly unnerved by the new arrival, though the Ninetales shook her head in exasperation. "She's not even here yet, ya big dingbat!"

A swirl of blue fire surrounded the two Pokemon, flowing right through the trees and yet leaving them unscathed. The Ledyba scattered, fleeing the flame... and when it cleared, both Pokemon were gone.