Vanhoover. Skyblue Shine's mansion. 3:50.
Skyblue Shine had been shut down.
A blast of plasma from Passion had caused an electromagnetic pulse to go off, overriding and disrupting all of Skyblue Shine's inner workings, causing the unicorn to fall over without a word.
"Mother!" Premium Polish ran outside to see her lifeless and unresponsive mother on the ground. The little unicorn was distraught and mortified from what her eyes had witnessed.
The guards themselves who were arresting the rest of the Umbrage Thieves were glancing over at the scene where Skyblue Shine was down and out.
Premium Polish went up to her mother with gentle hoofsteps. There was dead silence coming from the area. No one was making a sound except for when Premium spoke.
"Mother?" Premium uttered as she got closer to her mother. "Mother, wake up." She put her hooves on Skyblue Shine, trying to see if she could wake her up. "Please?" But her physical contact and shaking weren't working. Skyblue Shine was not responding at all. "You have to wake up...There's still a lot I want to tell you."
"Arcanine..." Arcanine tried to step in but Celestia stopped him.
"You're not a bad pony, right?" Even when seeing everything from the outside, she still believed her mother to be a good pony due to how kind she is to her. All of this just made Premium tear up once more as she was whimpering.
Even the guards had to take a moment of silence for this. Premium's Pokemon came out of the house, slowly walking up to their trainer to comfort her. Premium kept shaking Skyblue Shine but it was just useless at this point.
"Mommy." She mumbled.
Celestia knew that this was just an unpleasant and horrifying situation to be in. Especially considering how it was her and Passion that caused Skyblue Shine to shut down completely.
Passion herself felt the most guilt since she was the one who recommended the idea, but they had to do something or else Vanhoover would've been destroyed by the self-detonation. But she wasn't expecting a shutdown. Only an override that would potentially stop the explosion.
But all was not lost.
"Passion." Celestia suddenly spoke. "Restart her with Plasma Bolt."
"What?" Premium sniffled as she turned to face Celestia. "R-Restart?"
"If plasma can shut her down. Then perhaps, it can start her up again." Celestia theorized. But she was definitely theorizing the right way.
"Gardevoir." Passion put her arms out as she focused all of her energy towards the downed and lifeless body of Skyblue Shine. Premium Polish and her Pokemon backed away to avoid Thunderbolt.
Out of Passion's hands came out pure plasma that solely targeted Skyblue Shine's body and nothing else. The plasma, upon immediate contact, had already entered Skyblue Shine's body without wasting any time. Celestia wanted to spark up hope back in Premium Polish even after what had just happened a few minutes ago.
And spark up hope she did.
A new sound came from Skyblue Shine. The sound of something booting up could be heard as Passion stopped firing Plasma Bolt since any more would probably just cause more problems due to how powerful plasma can be.
Premium Polish's eyes widened as her frown was slowly transforming into a smile when hearing sounds coming from her mother.
Everyone stood back without making any sounds. The Pokemon were terrified of Skyblue Shine potentially waking back up as many of them held onto Arcanine and Passion's leg.
One eye was slowly opening. Skyblue Shine's blue robotic eye was lighting up once more. But it was just the one eye as her hooves were starting to move.
And witnessing her mother moving made Premium Polish smile.
"Urgh..." Skyblue Shine groaned as she looked up at Celestia with hatred in her eyes. "Celestia...!"
"Mother!" Running without hesitation, Premium Polish was glad to see her mother was awake and back up once more."
"Premium Polish?" Skyblue Shine twitched.
"Mother! You're okay!" She hugged her downed mother who could barely get up from the ground.
"H-Have you been watching everything this entire time...?"
"Mhm." The little unicorn nodded. "I was told everything from Princess Celestia and I saw everything from outside. Mother. I want to ask you so much. Why would you do this? Why would you steal Pokemon from other trainers? You're not a bad pony, are you?"
"I was afraid this would be brought up again...I never wanted you to find out about this. Especially not a second time."
"W-What do you mean a second time? And why did you say rebuilt back there?" The little unicorn wiped her tears. "There's so much I want to know that I don't know."
"T-This is all your fault, Celestia...!" Skyblue growled at Celestia. "None of this would've happened if-"
"If you never started stealing Pokemon from others." Celestia cut her off. "And to an extent, working for a universe that is also working alongside Ghetsis and Team Plasma. You brought this upon yourself."
"Kh!" Skyblue Shine scoffed.
"Y-You've been working with Team Plasma?" Premium Polish said. "Why? Please. Tell me everything." The little filly was desperate to know everything at this point.
"I can't..." Skyblue Shine stood up as she wobbled around.
"Why not?!"
"You're too young to know. And you shouldn't know."
"I don't care if I'm too young! You've been hiding a lot of secrets from me! So I should-"
"Shouldn't know." Skyblue cut her off. "Everything I do is for the Empress. All the crimes I have committed are for the Empress. Because of how she helped me. You wouldn't understand and you shouldn't know the truth of it all. At least, not at your current age. You wouldn't be able to handle it."
"So...she's more important to you than me." Premium lowered her head.
"What? No. You're more important to me than the Empress, Premium." Skyblue went to hug her daughter but Premium Polish backed away suddenly.
"But you'll do all of this bad stuff for her?! What about me?! You never do anything for me! You don't even spend time with me...You're never there for me when I just want to have fun with you...But I thought it was alright because of how hard you were working but...now that I know you've been stealing Pokemon from others..."
"Premium..."
The little unicorn was finding it hard to finish her sentence as she couldn't stop crying. Premium Polish then looked with red eyes and tears flying all over the place.
"I hate you!" In the spur of the moment, Premium Polish spouted out a disdainful word that no parent would wish to ever hear. And with that, the little unicorn ran off, heading back inside of the mansion, not wanting to interact with her mother from this point onward.
Skyblue Shine, who barely changed her emotion, looked down after hearing all that her daughter had said to her. Even Celestia felt sympathy for this family. She found it hard to listen to the conversation itself.
The Canterlot guards had surrounded Skyblue Shine, closing in on her and ready to arrest the leader of the Umbrage Thieves. Skyblue Shine knew that she had been greatly weakened so there was no point in fighting back if she could barely keep her balance.
Thus, she had been arrested.
"Celestia...!" Skyblue Shine looked up at Celestia. "I'll remember. What you, your sister and your guards ended up causing. And don't think you can hold me in your dungeon forever. The Empress will come for me. Sooner than you think."
Celestia didn't say a word. She just looked at Skyblue Shine with pity in her eyes. Meanwhile, Skyblue had hatred in her eyes instead as she was taken away by the guards along with the rest of the Umbrage Thieves.
Celestia sighed, turning to look at the mansion to where Premium ran in. She already knew that the little unicorn was crying her eyes out at this point, showing hatred towards her mother and betrayal. Celestia knew that locking Skyblue Shine away was the right thing to do. However, she couldn't help but feel as if something wasn't right here.
The sun princess slowly entered the mansion by opening the door. And the moment she did so, she could already hear Premium crying upstairs in her room. Celesta herself felt a bit of guilt as she believed that she may have caused a large crevice in the relationship between a mother and her daughter.
"Gardevoir?" Passion, who could feel emotions, knew about Celestia's semblance of guilt.
"Let's go, you two," Celestia said to both her Pokemon. "It's best that we don't overstay our welcome here."
Celestia, her Pokemon, the stolen Pokemon and the guards were about to leave Vanhoover finally. But Premium Polish's Pokemon would be the only ones to approach their trainer. They would be there for her, especially in a time like this.
Premium Polish, who was holding her pillow, was thinking about how she said she hated her mother. Truth was, she didn't hate her mother at all. But she did hate how she had kept so many secrets for so long and how distant her mother has been from her, working as a criminal and paying more attention to somepony else from another universe.
The little unicorn sat up, wiping her tears as she tried to act big. But all she could do was cry.
Canterlot. 5:00.
Skyblue Shine had finally been brought in as she was ready to be put in the dungeon for her crimes. But before that could happen, Celestia had a decision she wanted to make.
"Skyblue Shine." Celestia approached the unicorn.
"What?" Skyblue Shine scoffed.
"I have decided to reduce your seven-year sentence to just 5. And I will also allow you to take part in community service from time to time."
"Tch!" Skyblue sneered. "How benevolent can you be? Even after all I've done, you'll show magnanimous emotion towards me, hm? I'd say that's a major weakness of yours."
"Call it a weakness if you want," Celestia replied. "But that's my decision. After seeing what had happened back at Vanhoover."
"I don't want your sympathy. After all. It's your fault that any of this happened. You and Canterlot couldn't help but interfere, could you? Everything would've been safer for Premium Polish as well if you never meddled in the first place."
"You've mentioned Premium's safety before. Why is that? You're clearly hiding something from her that you're not revealing."
"Of course, I am. She's far too young to know everything. A filly of her age will most likely collapse if she knew what she was and why she was made that way."
"Into what you and her both are?"
"Android is the correct term. We're androids. But she doesn't know. And she shouldn't. Not until she is ready to join me..."
"Join you?" Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"That's something you certainly don't need to know. And you'll never know. Unless you're lucky that is." Skyblue Shine turned around. And with that, the guards had sent her to the dungeon.
But Skyblue Shine wasn't worried. Not at all. She was expecting Empress Twilight Sparkle to come for her. Sooner than Celestia thinks, apparently.
Celestia wondered what Skyblue meant when she said that Premium Polish was not ready to know the truth until she was ready to join her. Everything by this point was just cryptic and abstruse.
There was only one thing left to do now. Bring Premium Polish to Canterlot and take care of her for the time being. But Celesta decided that she needed more time.
"Gardevoir?" Passion asked Celestia if she was going to be alright.
"I'll be fine, Passion. I just need a moment to clear my head of all of this. You and Arcanine can continue enjoying the Pokemon Festival, alright?"
"Voir." Passion understood Celestia's decision as she and Arcanine went off, leaving their trainer to clear her head by herself.
She needed to.
And during that, a few of the guards had gone somewhere else instead of sending the Pokemon back to their trainers. A few of them were already off to bring Premium Polish to Canterlot.
Canterlot Dungeon. 5:10
In the Canterlot Dungeon, Skyblue Shine had been officially locked up. Her magic had been restrained by magic inhibitor cuffs. She was unable to perform any spells from here on as she would be on her lonesome.
At least, that would be the case. But there was one more individual who was locked up in this dungeon. A certain Rift Pony who had caused trouble in both worlds by creating a behemoth made out of electricity itself.
That pony was Obsidian.
The Rift Pony looked up, noticing that he was getting a new dungeon mate in the form of an android as Skyblue Shine was placed in the cell next to Obsidian.
She was now locked up.
"Hm. Finally some company." Obsidian smiled as he looked to the side. "I was wondering when someone else would eventually be caught."
"Kh. I was hoping for no company..." Skyblue Shine turned away from Obsidian, ignoring him.
"So, what did you do?" He grinned as he started rambling on. "Was it on par with what I did? If you didn't know, I was the one who was the cause for the Storm Behemoth. You know? The 500 ft being of electricity that kept getting bigger and almost levelled Equestria and technically the second world.
"I don't care..." Skyblue Shine sighed.
"Cause of a major blackout too. I gotta say that was my best work yet. But my real best work has yet to really show itself in the form of Jade Skies. She's the ace in the hole in my master pl-"
But while Obsidian kept jabbering about his accomplishments and what was coming, Skyblue was waiting for the Empress to arrive. Any minute now even. She paid no attention to Obsidian's babbling as she stared at a wall, biding her time.
As for the Pokemon that were stolen, Celestia ordered for the guards to help the Pokemon return to their original trainers. Darkrai volunteered to assist since he was a perfect translator. There were a few Pokemon so it wouldn't take too long.
Everything seemed to be wrapping up now. The Umbrage Thieves had been caught with all of them locked up. The Pokemon that had been stolen last night were being returned. It seemed as if this was the end of the Umbrage Thief debacle.
But in truth, it was only just beginning.
Because right in front of the eyes of Skyblue Shine and Obsidian, a gateway had opened in the dungeon. A gateway that greatly resembled the one in the basement. That could only mean one thing.
Empress Twilight Sparkle was here.
The Empress passed through the gateway, appearing before her loyal servant Skyblue Shine and the confused Obsidian who had just witnessed a gateway open in front of him.
"Empress!" Skyblue Shine immediately bowed down.
The intimidating alicorn's hooves gently connected with the floor without making any sound. The leaves around her even scattered as a mortifying and fierce presence filled the air.
"Wait, Empress?" Obsidian's brain was processing for a bit. "Oh! Are you Empress Twilight Sparkle?!"
"Skyblue Shine. It seems that you and the rest of the Umbrage Thieves have been captured. A complete and total loss, I can consider this one. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Y-Yes! My deepest apologies! My empress! I didn't intend for this to happen! Forgive me!" She lowered her head. "Circumstances that I was unable to fully control led to this!"
"Mhm." Empress Twilight nodded. "An expected response. It's fine. Clearly, I've been so focused on receiving the Pokemon that I haven't been paying attention to you yourself. You're lacking many qualities that need to be added."
"Huh?" Skyblue Shine looked up.
"Some fine-tuning will be needed back at the lab. Your self-detonation function and magic won't be the only thing that will defend you."
"You mean...you're going to upgrade me, Empress?"
"Precisely. I can't have you losing here after all."
"Wait! Take me with you!" Obsidian exclaimed.
"Hm?" The empress quickly snapped over to the Rift Pony. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Obsidian. A Rift Pony. And I'd do anything to get out of here! Please?"
"Rift Pony you say?" Empress Twilight's interest was piqued.
"That's right! Well, actually...I can't use my Rift magic anymore since the Rift has stripped me away from using any of it...but I'd still like to break free from here."
"Hm. No Rift magic at all? You've lost my interest already." Empress Twilight turned away from Obsidian, shutting him down.
"Gouh!" Obsidian felt defeated as he lowered his head.
"Although...You are made out of pure cosmic energy, right?" She then found an alternative.
"Uh-huh?" He nodded.
"Then, in that case, I could actually use you. What's inside of you, that is."
"Yes! Wait, what's that supposed to mean."
"Now then..." Empress Twilight suddenly managed to make the bars of the cell disappear with a magic spell that seemed to decay the bars.
"A decaying spell?!" Skyblue Shine backed away.
"You'd be surprised at how many unique spells exist in each respective universe. Such variety that I can't get enough of." Empress Twilight giggled as she had crumbled the steel bars into dust. "Come along you two. We have much to do."
It was time for them to leave. But not before a single Canterlot guard came into the dungeon via the stairs. He was here to do standby duty for the day, but the moment he came down the stairs, he spotted Empress Twilight Sparkle escaping with the two prisoners as the gateway had closed. The guard froze in place as he realized that this was a clear problem.
"Uh oh." He said.
A successful break out that only lasted a few minutes. Skyblue Shine didn't even last that long in the dungeon. Her words about Empress Twilight to come and retrieve her came true in a short amount of time.
But Celestia just thought that Skyblue Shine was just saying that to sound hopeful. When in fact, she was right. Celestia wasn't even thinking of her escape. She was only thinking of what had happened last night.
She is aware that Premium will remember this moment in her life when she grows up. Celestia could only imagine if she was in Premium's hooves and a similar situation with her own mother. But, Celestia did what she felt was right. Sending Skyblue Shine in was the decision she made. One that Celestia could barely pull back, but there was a minuscule part of her that would.
In a way, Celestia's benevolent nature was possibly her greatest weakness but also her greatest strength as well. A true double-edged sword depending on the scenario. She's dealt with serious situations before. But never one that heavily involves a child.
"I shouldn't linger on it," Celestia spoke. "I need to accept and make difficult decisions as my status as Ruler of Equestria." But Celestia was capable of powering through it. She is the Ruler of Equestria for a reason after all.
Clearing her mind, at last, Celestia came out of her room, ready to continue tackling the day. Her first order of business was to have Premium Polish feel comfortable in Canterlot when she arrives.
"Your majesty!" Abruptly, the sound of a royal guard could be heard calling for Celestia. More specifically, the guard that had witnessed what had happened in the dungeon.
"Hm?" Celestia turned to face the guard. "What has happened?! You look and sound like you're in distress!"
"Skyblue Shine and Obsidian! They're both gone."
"What did you say?!" Celestia bellowed.
"A gateway opened up and the pony with them took them both away!"
"Pony...gateway...Empress Twilight." Celestia easily put the pieces together. Empress Twilight is currently the only alicorn who can open up a gateway to this world and her own world.
Celestia was hoping that Skyblue Shine would be kept here for the sake of having Premium Polish visit her mother in the dungeon from time to time. But now, not even that was going to happen.
Celestia went over to the dungeon to see that it was empty. No prisoners here. Not to mention that two of the cells had been destroyed. As if something had decayed them away. All that was left were tiny bits of the bars that were also being decayed.
Celestia used her magic to lift the bar that was being decayed, seeing how Empress Twilight had used some sort of decaying spell to perform this. Obviously, with two prisoners freed, this just creates further complications and problems that are not necessary.
Annoyed to the point of frustration, Celestia closed her eyes, holding all of her anger back in. She had just cleared her mind of a previous situation a few minutes ago. So she needed to clear her mind of this. Because she had faith that this could be solved. Celestia is an optimist after all.
"Alright. Thank you for informing me." She thanked the guard. "I have to prepare and handle this situation on my hooves. But I'll certainly fix this. All of this. No matter what."
As the journey continues.
Chapter 359 End.