It was a gorgeous summer day. Walking along the forest path under the shade of the enormous evergreen trees that covered the space for miles around Mount Coronet we escaped the relentlessly beating sun and enjoyed our travels. I was relieved to find that Majestoat had retained her curious personality even after evolution. Yet I did notice that she had moments of maturity that had never been part of her personality before, which were nice to see in some ways. It almost felt like I was watching my child grow up, although that thought made me feel a little silly.

Bree continued tutoring me and helping me come up with a training schedule that worked for me and my pokemon. Every time we had a break I let Absol out of his pokeball and brushed his fur, which was becoming glossy with health from my attention and the special pokemon food that I had bought back in Oreburgh City. He was still as prickly as ever and refused to respond to me or my pokemon, but just last night when I was brushing him, he shifted slightly so I could brush his shoulder blade better. I nearly squealed with excitement at the tiny glimmer of acceptance from him.

It was just about the time when we would normally start looking for a grassy area to stop and have lunch when a strange smell hit my nose. Furrowing my brow in confusion, I tilted my head and sniffed delicately at the air.

"What's up, Serena? You look like a Slurpuff," she remarked with a goofy grin. I chuckled and shrugged my shoulder.

"I thought I smelled something burning," I explained, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"Burning, huh?" Bree repeated, her smile fading as she raised her own nose and took a sniff of the forest. "That's not exactly a smell you want to find in the middle of a forest," she stated with obvious worry. 

I bit the tip of my tongue in between my teeth as I wondered if I was imagining things.

"Why don't we keep going a little longer, and then if I can't smell it again we can stop for lunch," I suggested, also feeling worried. Bree nodded in agreement and without saying a word we both lengthened our stride.

Just as we turned a sharp bend in the forest path, I caught another whiff of the acrid smell of something burning. This time when I glanced over at Bree she was looking intently down the path with obvious concern in her expression. Again without verbal communication, we both broke into a jog and began making our way swiftly down the path.

The smell grew stronger the farther we went, and just when my concern was being fanned into a full-blown panic, we burst out of the forest into an unexpected clearing. I blinked at the sudden bright sunlight I found myself bathed in, and glanced around me in surprise. A single wood home stood a few feet from the edge of the clearing, and behind it sprawled a fenced-off area filled with the most gorgeous fire type pokemon I had ever seen.

"A... ponyta ranch?" Bree breathed out, sounding both relieved and confused at our discovery.

A loud thud from two pieces of wood smacking against each other caught my attention and I looked past the charming log home to land my gaze on a small boy who looked around ten years old standing in the corral. He had just emptied a bucket of water into a wooden trough on the edge of the corral and I watched curiously as he clambered easily over the fence and dropped to the other side clutching the empty bucket to his side. As he straightened, his eyes met mine and I blinked rapidly when his entire face slackened in shock and he dropped the bucket to his side as he stared directly at me.

"Ummm," I said uncertainly, glancing around to see what had caused this reaction.

"No way... Are you Serena?" The little boy's voice was still high-pitched and innocent, filled with an amount of awe that I hadn't heard in a long time. Before I could respond though, he dashed over to me quicker than an Abra using teleport and I took a step back as he looked up at me with shining eyes.

"You are! You're Serena Yvonne, the youngest pro rhyhorn racer ever!" the little boy gushed, holding his hands up under his chin in balled fists that were trembling with excitement.

"Wow, look at that, Serena. You just found your biggest fan in Sinnoh," Bree commented with a healthy dose of amusement as she watched the little boy geek out.

"I can't believe this is real! Hey, Mom. MOOOOMMMMMM!" Just as quickly as he had come up to me, he was suddenly dashing off towards the small log home I had noticed earlier.

"Oh no, the pie!" a female voice cried out, wafting through the open window where the burning smell was coming from. I watched as the little boy wrenched open the front door without bothering to close it and ran in just as a middle-aged woman with her hands wrapped in a towel ran an incredibly scorched pie to the windowsill and began frantically fanning it. Bree and I watched as a little hand grabbed onto the woman's apron and tugged her even as she was trying to cool off her very overbaked pie. Apparently the little boy's insistence won out over her concern for the charred pie though, because soon she was being led out the open door by her son.

"Honestly, Jeremy, what has got you so riled up? I know I've been busy but..." the woman's words suddenly cut off as she looked up and saw Bree and me. Her eyes went as wide as her son's had and she blinked rapidly.

"Is that..." she started to say, and Jeremy began jumping up and down in excitement.

"It's really her, Mom! It's Serena!!" he exclaimed joyfully and I awkwardly waved at her.

"Are you really Serena Yvonne the rhyhorn racer?" the woman asked with a bewildered expression. Bree slung an arm around my shoulders, nearly knocking Majestoat from her perch.

"In the flesh! Although she's not a rhyhorn racer anymore," Bree explained with an apologetic expression. I felt a little relieved that Bree had taken on the role of speaking up for me, but I tried to smile naturally as I bowed politely towards the two who were apparently my fans.

"It's nice to meet you," I said, my words punctuated by a happy whistle from Majestoat.

"Oh my. What a treat. Are you girls hungry? I was just fixing up some lunch for Jeremy and me but there is plenty to go around for all of us. I'm Bethany, by the way," the woman said with a kind smile, holding out the hand that her son wasn't gripping tightly.

Bree and I shook her hand and accepted her kind offer. I was a little relieved when she didn't end up offering us her burnt pie, but instead served us a delicious meal of lentil stew that was so thick we ended up eating it almost like a dip that we scooped up with tortilla chips. As we ate, we traded stories back and forth of my racing days and how Bethany and her sons had been living out in this unknown corner of the forest for years, growing all their own food and tending to their Ponyta ranch.

"My big brother loves racing though! He had the biggest crush on you, Serena. Whenever we watched the broadcast of a rhyhorn race he would always cheer for you so loud our Rapidash would start cheering along with him!" Jeremy exclaimed proudly.

I ended up coughing slightly as I inhaled in shock while still chewing. Bree rubbed my back soothingly as I got myself under control but I could see the mirth in her upturned lips and her narrowed eyes as she tried to keep from laughing.

"We haven't met your big brother, is he out?" Bree asked as I gulped down the water that Bethany offered me. 

A shadow crossed both her and Jeremy's faces at the question and they both bowed their heads at the same time. My heart clenched at the expression but Bethany raised her head again and offered a half-smile.

"Jackson is in the hospital right now," she expalined with pain filling her words and expression. "The doctors are hopeful that he will be able to come back home in a month or two once his physical therapy is over."

"I'm so sorry," I said sincerely.

"Can we ask what happened?" Bree asked conscientiously, giving a sympathetic look to Bethany. Jeremy's little face filled with anger as he smacked his small fists against the table

"Those Stoak bullied is what happened!" he growled out angrily, looking like he was about to cry.

"Jeremy, let's not..." Bethany began, but Jeremy was on a roll.

"In the nearest town we have a race every four months during a festival. Jackson has won almost every race since they started and he trains really really hard! But this new family moved in from Alola and they have these crazy big Tauroses. When the race came up they cheated! They crashed into other racers and did terrible things. But when they couldn't catch up to Jackson... he... they..." Jeremy's tears finally couldn't be held back and I felt my own eyes water as I watched the endless rivulets of water dripping down his cheeks. The little boy desperately tried to wipe them away, holding back his sobs and making himself hiccup in the process.

Bethany reached over and scooped her young son into her arms, gently rubbing his back as he sobbed. Bree and I remained silent as we watched her console the small boy before glancing up at us.

"I don't know the full story of why the Stoak siblings were so cruel, but just before Jackson crossed the finish line, their Tauros's let loose a double Hyper Beam. They made it so that the Rapidash Jackson was riding flew off the path and crashed against a large rock with Jackson in the middle. He was... very badly injured," Bethany's voice warbled as she tried to continue even as her eyes filled with unshed tears. "After that, the townspeople tried to get the Stoak's to leave, but they have insanely powerful pokemon at their disposal. After several more accidents, the people became so scared that they left the Stoak's alone and just try to lay low."

"They're the worst," Jeremy muttered with tears still streaming down his cheeks. "They always say that if someone can beat them in a race then they would leave, but everyone is too scared because if they get in front of them they'll cheat and use pokemon moves."

My emotions were too much and I felt several tears slip down my cheeks as I watched Bethany clutch her young son close to her. How can people be so cruel? I thought to myself angrily. Why haven't the police done anything about these people? If Aryan was here he would definitely put them in their place, I thought to myself. Yet I knew that Aryan was in the middle of trying to rescue the kidnapped researcher and I didn't want to bother him. Even as I had made up my mind, Bree looked over at me with determination in her eyes.

"When is the next race?" Bree asked quietly. Bethany blinked up at us in surprise and Jeremy sniffed desperately as he rubbed his eyes.

"Will you help us?" Jeremy asked, his red eyes shimmering with a look of innocent hope. I felt my heart break for the little boy but his mother looked completely horrified.

"No! You can't, it's much too dangerous," Bethany said firmly, shaking her head. Before either Bree or I could say anything though Jeremy looked up at his mom with pleading in his eyes.

"But Serena could do it! She's the greatest racer in the world, I just know she could beat them!'" Jeremy's child-like faith in me filled me with both guilt and determination and I found myself nodding firmly.

"I... don't have a rhyhorn in my team. But if you would be willing to teach me how to ride a Rapidash I will do my best," I said, my voice coming out much stronger than I expected.

"And she won't be alone," Bree added firmly, looking directly at Bethany. "If these bullies are willing to cheat then I will do whatever is necessary to protect Serena during the race. I've gone toe to toe with champions before, I'm not afraid of whatever pokemon they might have. Please, Bethany. Let us help you out."

Both Bree and I bowed over the table, so low that our foreheads were nearly resting on the wood. I could hear Jeremy saying "please" over and over to his mother as she remained silent. Finally, I heard her let out a sigh and I peeked up from my bow to see her looking at us sadly.

"I don't want to see anyone else hurt," Bethany stated quietly as she looked us both in the eye. I swallowed my fear and I straightened to meet her eyes.

"You don't need to worry about us, ma'am," I assured her quietly. "I trust Bree with my life and her pokemon are way more powerful than anything these bullies could have. Please let us do this for you."

Once again Bethany let out a long sigh and she gave Jeremy an extra squeeze as if she were trying to siphon some of his confidence into herself. She then looked up at Bree and me and gave a weary nod.

"Very well. But there isn't much time to prepare. The festival is next week," Bethany said with a faraway look in her eyes, and I wondered if she was replaying what had happened to Jackson in the last festival in her mind's eye.

"We'll be fine! I'm sure Serena will have me riding like a pro within a day," Bree said with a cheeky grin and I gulped slightly.

"But.. I've never ridden a..." I began to protest but Jeremy suddenly popped out from his mother's protective embrace and beamed up at both of us.

"Come on, come on! I'll introduce you to our Rapidashes, okay?" 

Bree stood up quickly, pushing me to follow after the excitable boy. I quickly instructed Majestoat and Shinx to stay behind before I bowed awkwardly towards Bethany as I was ushered out of the quaint log home.

Jeremy was practically skipping with joy as he led us over to the fence surrounding a large pasture where dozens of Rapidash and Ponyta with the flickering flame manes were grazing peacefully. I admired the beautiful pokemon with their powerful legs and wondered briefly what it would be like to ride one of the majestic creatures.

"How do you ride a Rapidash without getting burnt?" I asked, suddenly wondering if I had jumped into this without properly considering all of the factors.

"There are two ways," Jeremy explained with a proud expression, seeming happy that he could teach me something. "The best way is to become really really good friends with them! Jackson's Rapidash loved him lots and lots, so she could actually make it so that her flames didn't burn him at all, even if he touched them directly!"

"Really?" Bree asked, seeming intrigued.

"Uh huh! Jackson is the coolest," he bragged with his chest puffed up in pride over his big brother. "But since you probably don't have time to become real good friends with a Rapidash, you'll have to wear a special bodysuit. Mama has some in the house that you can use. She uses them to go out and catch new Rapidash and Ponyta."

"What do you do with all of them?" Bree asked with interest as she surveyed the large field filled with fire types.

"We train 'em, o'course!" Jeremy said with a giggle. "Lots of hoity toity people like to ride Rapidash since they're so pretty. So we train them to be ridden and then customers come and have to spend a month or two with us to bond with their Rapidash before they can take them home with them. Other people, like glass blowers and people that make pottery will buy them because of their fire type powers, although they usually choose a Ponyta since they're smaller and can fit in their shops better."

"And they're happy doing that?" I asked as I watched the herd peacefully enjoying the day.

"Of course! Mama's real picky about who she sells our Rapidash to since we love them all so much," Jeremy said with a grin as he clambered over the tall fence and dropped down to the other side. Bree and I followed after him as he approached one Rapidash who was grazing a little ways from the main herd.

"Hi, Delta! Did you miss me?" Jeremy called out as he skipped over the pokemon.

Delta raised its head and I noticed for the first time that a white horn was growing from its forehead right in front of where its flame mane began. Delta's thick lips lifted into a grin and gently butted the top of its nose against Jeremy's shoulder.

"This here is Delta. He's one of the fastest Rapidash that Jackson was training and I was thinking you might be able to ride him, Serena," Jeremy said with eyes wide with hope. 

I moved my gaze from Jeremy's up to the large Pokemon. He was a good handspan taller than I was and his elegant legs looked hardened with muscle. Delta turned his head to the side, fixing the one large eye on the side of his head on mine. I gulped at the strength that seemed to ooze from that gaze, but I knew that if I backed down now there was no way he would trust me.

Burying my anxiety deep inside me, I took several slow, determined steps toward the beast. He watched me approach without reacting. Once I was within a foot of him I slowly held out one hand, palm facing up, and waited to see how he would react.

Delta's gaze never wavered from my own. After several tense moments, the sound of clopping hooves alerted me to his movement and he stretched out his neck, resting his nose against my open palm and letting out a warm breath of air through his nostrils that washed over my entire palm. My shoulders slumped in relief and I moved my hand, reaching up to stroke Delta's cheek. His short fur felt nice as I stroked his cheek and the bridge of his long nose and I could hear Jeremy clapping happily.

"I knew you could do it, Serena! Delta loves racing, but he's super picky about who rides him. I just knew that he would like you though since you're such an awesome racer!" Jeremy gushed with obvious delight. I smiled down at the excitable boy and then chucked when Delta pushed his nose against my neck, snuffling loudly and tickling me with his hot breath.

'I hope you'll help me win the race, Delta," I said quietly, looking into one of his eyes. He met my gaze without wavering and I felt that he had understood me. The heat from his fire mane was starting to get to me though so I took a step back, waving slightly before following Jeremy and Bree.

Jeremy introduced Bree to a different Rapidash that he called Queen, although I had no idea how he could tell them apart. Queen was as stately as her name suggested and it took a while for her to warm up to Bree, but she eventually allowed her to stroke the bridge of her nose as well. We had just turned to leave the pasture to get the fire-proof bodysuits from Bethany when a strange sound caught my attention.

"Nii-heek, ni-heek."

"What was that?" Bree asked, glancing behind her to see where the noise was coming from.

"Squeaker!" Jeremy called out, turning around and running over to a Ponyta that was trying to force itself through a large cluster of Ponyta and Rapidash in the center of the pasture. I watched with fascination as the small Ponyta ducked underneath a Rapidash's stomach and then broke into an awkward run towards Jeremy.

The little boy dashed towards the pokemon that barely came up to my waist and I gasped when he flung his arms around the pokemon's neck, heedless of the flaming mane trickling down its neck and back. I let out a shuddering sigh when he didn't start yelping from pain and I made my way over to the two.

"Who's this little cutie?" Bree asked, looking down with a content smile on her face. I had noticed that whenever we were around smaller children Bree always appeared much more gentle than usual, and I assumed it was because they reminded her of her own younger siblings.

"This is Squeaker! She's the daughter of Jackson's favorite Rapidash, Serena," Jeremy explained with a grin. I felt my cheeks immediately heat up and even though Bree covered her mouth I could still hear her muffled guffaws.

"He... uh... didn't name her after... THIS Serena... did he?" Bree asked in between gasps of muffled laughter. Jeremy grinned broadly over his shoulder as he continued stroking Squeaker happily.

"Yup! When he realized how fast Rapidash was he decided to call her Serena," Jeremy explained innocently. I elbowed Bree roughly in the side, causing her to collapse as she continued to laugh uncontrollably.

"That's, ummm, very nice of him," I remarked, reaching out and gently rubbing Squeaker under her chin where there were no flames that might accidentally scorch my fingers. "Is Serena here?" I asked, feeling slightly weird using my own name to describe a Rapidash. Both Jeremy and Squeaker suddenly looked sad and Bree finally calmed her laughter when she noticed their reactions.

"No... Serena... she was the one that Jackson was riding when the Stoak's attacked him. She... didn't make it." Jeremy's once happy expression was again clouded by sorrow that was echoed in Squeaker's eyes.

Without a word, Bree gathered Jeremy into her arms in a hug and I gently stroked Squeaker's neck. To my surprise, the small pokemon stepped closer to me, nuzzling her head directly against my stomach. I flinched for a second, but oddly enough I didn't feel any heat from her flames, so I cautiously stroked her mane. It was a strange sensation, stroking through flames, but Squeaker let out a content noise so I continued stroking her, hoping I could give her some comfort.

After a little while, Jeremy pulled out of Bree's embrace and gave us a watery smile. "Squeaker was so sad she didn't talk for weeks. When she finally started feeling better though her neigh sounded like a squeak, so that's how she got her name," Jeremy explained, coming over and hugging Squeaker around the neck even as I continued to stroke her.

"I think Squeaker is a cute name," I said gently as she looked up at me before turning and licking Jeremy on the cheek.

"Well, we should go ask Mom for those body suits so you and Bree can start practicing. I wish Jackson was here, he's the best Rapidash racer in the world!" Jeremy proclaimed, patting Squeaker again before reaching out and taking hold of Bree's and my hands. I gave Squeaker one last pat before allowing myself to be pulled along by Jeremy, listening attentively as he bragged about his brother.

I'll make sure those bullies will never hurt anyone precious to you again, I promised both Jeremy and Squeaker in my mind as I squared my shoulders with determination. I never thought I would participate in another race, but I was going to do everything in my power to win this one. No matter what.

A/N This was probably not what you all were expecting, but I hope you liked it anyways!. Thanks <3