//------------------------------// // Starlight Glimmer // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Twilight's Castle, day. It has now been 2 days since Tirek's defeat and Twilight has gathered her friends here. Goh had even tagged along this time. They had all even brought along their Pokemon with them in the process. "Woah. This place is beautiful!" Goh gazed at the castle. "It is isn't it?" Ash replied. "Raboot." The Mane 6 sat down on their respected chairs. Spike was asleep in his seat though. There's a reason why they were all gathered up here. "Let's go through this one more time," Twilight spoke. "We've been over it a million times Twilight!" Rainbow Dash sighed. "We found all 6 keys, defeated Tirek, and got this sweet castle! End of story." "Yes. But why?" "I don't know sugar cube. Maybe it's just your new house and there ain't nothing more to it than that." Applejack said. "I must say. Speaking strictly on aesthetics, there really doesn't need to be more to it. It's all simply divine!" Rarity commented, loving the look of the castle. "I agree with Twilight." Fluttershy replied. "And Rarity. And Applejack. And Rainbow Dash. And Pinkie Pie. And Ash. And Goh. Oh and probably Spike." Fluttershy being sincere as always. "As princess, I've been chosen to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria. So why would the Tree of Harmony want us to sit in a castle in Ponyville? It doesn't make any sense." Just then, Twilight's Cutie Mark started to glow. In fact, every time the girls sat on their seats, the Cutie Mark on their chairs also lit up. Once all 6 are sat down, they caused a chain reaction. Light rays shot from the chairs, hitting the floor in the middle. Crystals started to form around them all as the floor had brought up a table. And on that table was a map of some sorts. This had woken Spike up as he looked at the table. "Is that new? I like it." Spike then examined it further, seeing how it was a map of Equestria. "This is incredible! It's got all of Equestria!" "Hi, mom and dad!" Pinkie looked over to where her rock farm home was. "Have these crystals always been here?" Goh asked. "Beats me." Ash replied. Just then, their Cutie Marks started to pulsate. Almost as if they were telling them something. The marks then flew off their flanks, circling around in the air as they were moving about on the map. From the looks of things, it seemed like their marks were telling them where to go. An unidentified location that they were not familiar with. "But... if this is Ponyvile...Why are our Cutie Marks over there?" Fluttershy wondered. "I don't know. But it seems like the map wants us to find out." Twilight theorized. "The tree, the chest, this castle, and now the map. How can we not follow it?" "You know what..." Rainbow Dash flew over the map. "There's a ton of room for dangerous adventure along that route. Count me in!" "Ah shoot. I reckon you're right." Applejack replied. "Well I was planning on organizing my baking sheets...but OK!" Pinkie was in as well. "Oh. Very well." So was Rarity. The others flew over to Fluttershy, hoping she'd come along. "Um. Maybe I'll just...stay here with Spike and the others." "You all are seriously gonna go on a long dangerous adventure due to that thing?" Goh asked. "That sounds exciting! I'm in!" Ash exclaimed. "Pikachu!" "Of course you'd wanna go. If you're going then I'm going." "Don't worry about it Fluttershy! You can hang out with me and Big Mac where we'll talk about hoofball, and trading hoofball cards and arguing about hoofball stats..." "On second thought...Maybe I'd better go with them. In case they need me." "Looks like it's time for a road trip." Said Twilight. "Before we leave, everypony made sure to bring their Pokemon with them?" "Oh, yeah. Now that we know how handy they can be in tough situations, I carry them with me all the time!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. They all had pouches on their sides with Pokeballs inside, lent to them by Ash. The other Pokemon that weren't in their Pokeballs were Audino, Eve and Minccy. "You guys have fun! And I'll have my own fun here!" Spike said as they had all left to go on a trip to wherever that location is. First, they took a train across Equestria, heading to the location via a map Twilight had. Then, they started a long walk, hoping to get there. If it even existed. They continued their journey, but there was no danger in sight. Wherever this place may be, it was completely secluded from danger. There weren't even any signs of Pokemon as well. Despite that, they had finally reached their destination. It was a fairly unimpressive looking village. In fact. It looked bland. "That's it! That's the place on the map!" Twilight said. "Right. Let's get down there and find the spa." Rarity walked forward first, but Twilight teleported in front of her, stopping her. "Wait. We don't know why the map sent us here. We shouldn't just walk right in. It could be dangerous." "YES!" Rainbow Dash yelled, wanting this. "Stay behind me everypony!" Pinkie moved to the front. "I'm on it." Pinkie was going to be the first one to set hoof in the town. "Careful Pinkie!" Applejack said as Pinkie Pie rolled down the cliff they were on, hiding behind a rock. Pinkie snuck around, knowing something was off. She got closer and closer as she gave the sign for her friends to come towards her. They all peered over a large rock, seeing the village fully. From the looks of it, it was just ponies enjoying their day, normally. Including some Pokemon here and there. Although it was bizarre how connected the buildings were. And the one specific building apart from the rest. "This is where the map sent us? It looks like the most boring place in Equestria." Rainbow Dash said, unimpressed. "That's just an ordinary village, with ordinary pony folk." Applejack commented. "It could certainly use a few more architectural flourishes. Or any architectural flourishes." Rarity whispered. "I think it's lovely." Fluttershy thought differently. "I don't see it." But Goh agreed with the others. It was not that appealing to them. "I don't like it. Don't like it one bit!" Pinkie Pie squinted her eyes, feeling highly sceptical of this place. "I know smiles. And those smiles... they're just not right." The ponies and Pokemon had an infinite smile. Never closing their mouth once. Constantly having their teeth gritted together and looking all go-lucky. It was a bit unsettling. "Forget the smiles...look at the Cutie Marks." Twilight pointed out how they all had the exact same Cutie Mark. It resembled the equal sign and nothing else. Everypony had it, no exceptions. Not only that but they seemed to be lacking in color a bit. As for the Pokemon, they had this mysterious pinkish color in their eyes. "Eevee." "Okay... that's weird." said Rainbow. "An entire village with the same Cutie Mark? How can that be?" Twilight wondered. "Maybe they're all related or something?" Goh replied. "I bet there's some sort of horrific monster behind it." Rainbow Dash uttered. "What makes you say that?" Twilight asked. "Cause fighting a horrific monster would be super awesome!" "I reckon we outta just head into town and talk to some locals. Find out what's going on." Applejack recommended. "Great idea, AJ. Let's go." Rainbow Dash and Applejack went ahead. "Those smiles are bad news." Pinkie still had major doubts. The group finally set foot and hoof in the town as all the ponies and Pokemon looked at them. Eyes wide open and everything. "Welcome." One pony said. "Welcome." And another. "Welcome." And soon all of them started to say welcome once they passed by them. Even children. "This must be the most pleasant place in Equestria." Fluttershy said, thinking this was all normal. "Not so much in look though." Ash replied. "Pikachu." "Welcome. Pardon my forwardness but, are you an alicorn." One pony noticed. Hearing this made Twilight have a sudden grin on her face. "That there's the Princess of Friendship." Applejack explained. "Well, you've certainly come to the right place for friendship." "What brings you to town?" Another pony asked. "We're not entirely sure." Twilight replied to him. "I see. Well, all are welcome here in our little village. My name is Double Diamond. And this is Party Favor." "Howdy Double Diamond. I'm Applejack. And this here's Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Ash, Goh and Twilight Sparkle. And these little fellas are Pikachu, Eve, Raboot, Audi and Minccy." "And you all have your own unique Cutie Marks." Double Diamond examined them. "If you don't mind, has there been any sort of trouble here lately?" Twilight asked. "Trouble? Why... I don't think we've ever had trouble in our little village." "It's true. You'll see." said Party Favor. "Perhaps you'd care to speak to our founder." Double Diamond and Party Favor were leading them to the top pony in charge. "Starlight Glimmer." Hearing that name made Twilight recall the time she travelled back in time with the potion. She remembered Dialga trying to communicate with her. And the only thing she heard from Dialga's cry was the word Starlight. Twilight shook her head, thinking it was just a coincidence at first. But she kept her speculations. "I wish everypony in Equestria was as friendly as these ponies are." Fluttershy said. "I've got my eye on them." Pinkie Pie constantly had eyes shifting all over the place. "Something's rotting in...whatever the name of this village is that we're in right now!" Both Double Diamond and Party Favor knocked on the door as it opened. "Starlight. We have some new visitors." Double Diamond said as they all walked inside. A fairly standard indoor decor. "Be ready to fight. We don't know what's gonna come through that door." Rainbow whispered to Applejack. And through that door came the pony they mentioned. Starlight Glimmer. "Welcome!" She greeted. "I'm so pleased to have you here." Rainbow Dash sighed as she didn't get her wish of there being a monster behind this. Double Diamond had introduced the group as Starlight walked up to Twilight, seeing that she was an alicorn. "Forgive my bluntness, but I'm assuming it's PRINCESS Twilight Sparkle? We don't get many alicorns around here." "Yes. But... Twilight is fine." "So? How did you hear about our little village?" "It's kind of a long story. Let's just say we found it on a map." "Technically. It's a tree-chess-castle map." Pinkie said with a smile on her face, but it quickly devolved into a serious scowl. "Well. However you found us we're happy to have you. And your Pokemon too. I see that you have some fairly... interesting ones." "Do you have a Pokemon of your own?" Twilight asked. "Oh of course. Come on out!" Starlight called for her Pokemon. Out of the door, it was revealed to be Hatterene. "That looks a lot like that Hattrem Pokemon back at the Pokemon House." Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex to see this. "Hatterene. The Silent Pokemon. It emits psychic power strong enough to cause headaches as a deterrent to the approach of others. If you’re too loud around it, you risk being torn apart by the claws on its tentacle. This Pokémon is also known as the Forest Witch." "Yikes. Just as cranky as it's second evolution." Rainbow Dash said. "Oh, I can assure you, my Hatterene is a perfect little angel. Without her, I wouldn't have found this village and united all these ponies together and creating friendship. We're happy to have anypony who wants to experience true friendship for the first time." "Say what?" Applejack questioned. "Oh indeed. That's what's so unique about our village you see. Around here we don't 'Flaunt' our special talents. Because we don't have any special talents to flaunt." "Is that why you all have those Cutie Marks?" Twilight pointed her hoof at the Equal Cutie Mark. "Perhaps it would be easier to understand if I gave you a tour of the village." Starlight led them outside, but Pikachu and Eve turned around to see Hatterene staring them down. It had a mortiferous stare, making Eve hide behind Pikachu. Needless to say, Pikachu and Eve were very cautious of this Pokemon. Starlight led the equal ponies, telling the visitors about how everything is fair if we are all equal. They don't compete so that winning doesn't bring out the ego within. No one is superior and they all have the same hairstyle, minus Starlight. Here they don't ever dream so nightmares are no. With everypony's Cutie Mark being the same, everypony's talents aren't unique but to Starlight's point of view, having a special talent means that nopony can ever see eye to eye anymore. To her, it's best to negate all the countless differences that make a pony special. Fluttershy was loving this, but Pinkie Pie the exact complete opposite. The whole time she kept scowling at it all. Ash and Pikachu were feeling uneasy as well. They've been to hundreds of towns, villages and cities but this was unlike anything they've ever seen before. What made the places they went to so special is that everyone there had something that made them stand out. And it even counts for this world. Ash and Pikachu were also getting pretty sceptical about all of this. Just like Pinkie Pie. "Hold it. You guys sound like you're saying the most hilarious thing! Give up our Cutie Marks? No way!" Rainbow Dash laughed. "Rainbow Dash. Don't be rude." Fluttershy said. "I don't think we should judge them. They all seem perfectly happy with their choice." "Don't believe their smiles, Fluttershy!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I guess we're just a little confused by all of this." Twilight uttered. "We have no judgements here in our village." Starlight replied. "Each of us was confused once as well. Blinded by the false promise of our Cutie Marks." "Woah, Woah, Woah. Is she for real?" Rainbow Dash said. "When we were sent to this village, we assumed it was to help in some way. But, well... it doesn't seem like you need any help." Twilight walked up to Starlight. "Have you considered perhaps that you might have been sent here so we could help you?" Starlight placed her hoof on Twilight. "After all. Nopony or Pokemon has ever come to our village and wanted to leave. Why should you be any different? But that is entirely your choice. Please. Enjoy our little corner of Equestria. We're all quite fond of it. No doubt you will be as well. Double Diamond. Please help our guests with whatever they might need." "Of course." "Oh, and I haven't forgotten about you two humans. Ash and Goh right? You're also involved in our wonderful and perfect town." "Uh, thanks." Goh said. "Raboot..." Starlight walked off as Hatterene followed suit. "Well. This will certainly provide a boost to our little community. When the rest of Equestria sees that a princess gave up her Cutie Mark to join us...they'll finally understand what we're trying to accomplish. Hatterene. You know what to do with the Pokemon and Humans. Make sure they're as happy as they can be." "Hatt..." Hatterene had teleported off. As the group walked around the streets, Twilight began thinking of what Starlight said about Cutie Marks. "A Cutie Mark is a representation of a pony's unique talents and skills. How is it possible to-" Rarity gasped, cutting Twilight off as she saw something that disgusted her. "What in the name of Equestria is THAT?!" She was looking over the most unpolished and unkempt fabric she has ever set her eyes on. "Welcome. Care to sample some local fashion? We've got cloaks this month." The pony selling them said. Rarity felt like she was about to throw up in her mouth. This place was the worst possible place a pony like her could ever be in. "P-Perhaps another time. Good sir...thank you." Rarity cautiously backed up. She and Twilight then sat down on a table next to their friends. "No wonder nopony's not wearing anything." Rarity whispered. "Really girls?" Fluttershy spoke. "They may do things differently than we're used to, but that's no reason to be rude." "No. The reason to be rude is that they all keep staring at us." Rainbow Dash quietly said. They were, in fact, staring at them. Endlessly. Goh who was in the mood for catching was looking at all the Pokemon here, being creeped out by their pinkish glowing eyes. "What's with these Pokemon? Oh well. I guess I can't catch since they kind of own em. What do you think's up with them Ash?" "Hmm." Ash looked at their eyes, feeling like this all looks familiar to him. "It does?" Twilight asked. "Yeah... it looks familiar but the colors are off and the eyes still seem kinda normal." "Is there anything I can get you folks?" A pony came up to them. "My name is Sugar Belle and I'll bring you something to eat. We have muffins..." She stopped there, making the air silent. "Then I guess we'll take six muffins." Twilight said. "Make that 12!" Pinkie yelled. "Pikachu..Pika-Pika." "Pikachu. I should expect better from you." Fluttershy replied to him. "Pika. Pika-chu-pi-pika." "Hatterene may seem intimidating and her dex entry might be unnerving, but that is no reason to judge them. You didn't judge Darkrai before after all." "I'm with Pikachu on this one Fluttershy." Twilight said. "It does seem a bit... odd. Especially considering I remember Dialga telling me about the word Starlight back in the past. And there's a pony here named Starlight." "Twilight. Please. I understand you all have your suspicions... but it's not nice to judge anypony for who they are now." "I guess so..." Just then, Sugar Belle returned with their muffins. "Forgive me for overhearing. But, just a moment ago you were disagreeing. And now it sounds like you're... agreeing." "Uh-huh?" uttered AJ. "Well, you have such differing opinions and Cutie Marks." "We have differing opinions all the time, darling." Rarity laughed. "But you look like you're friends." "We are friends." Twilight spoke. "A simple disagreement wouldn't change that." Double Diamond overheard this from the other table. "I'm sorry. I'm just having a hard time understanding. Different talents lead to different opinions which lead to bitterness and misery." Sugar Belle rambled. "So...why aren't you bitter and..." Pinkie Pie took a bite of the muffins spitting them back out and coughing as she despised the horrible flavorless taste. Her friends looked at her as she pretended to like it. "Mmm... Good." "It's alright. I know I'm not a very good baker. At least. I'm not any better than anypony else in the village." Sugar Belle said with a down voice as she shifted her eyes to the side, seeing Double Diamond gaze at her with suspicion. "Well... I hope you enjoy our little village." She walked off, but before that, she went back to them. "Come inside before you go. Meet me downstairs." She whispered to them, leaving. "Okay. That was weird too." said Rainbow. "Let's all sit here and eat these muffins and act normal." Twilight took a muffin with her magic. "I think we're being watched." "Ya think?" Rainbow Dash already knew that earlier. "No not like that. I mean somepony here doesn't want us talking to Sugar Belle." Twilight nudged her head over to the direction of Double Diamond. Applejack thought for a second until she brainstormed. "I got an idea. But you gotta eat all those muffins Pinkie." "Me?! Why me?!" Pinkie didn't want to eat something like this. "You've got a stronger stomach than any of us. And that filly in there might be our best chance to find out what in the hay is going on here." Suddenly, Ash and Pikachu stood up, walking off. "Ash? Where are you going, darling?" Rarity asked. "I'm off to get a drink. I'm super thirsty." "Pika." "Be careful there. Now Pinkie. Eat." Applejack said. Pinkie Pie looked at the muffins, knowing what she had to do. "If I'm gonna eat it... I'm not doing it alone." Pinkie Pie sent out her Slurpuff. "We'll take one for the team Slurpuff." "Slur!" Ash and Pikachu looked for someplace to find some water as they asked a local pony. "Hey uh. Do you know where I can get a drink or something?" "Why yes. In there." She pointed her hoof at the far end connected building. "Thanks." Ash and Pikachu walked inside as it was as bland as the outside. They were alone in there for a few seconds, but that didn't last as there was an ominous atmosphere. "What's this feeling?" They turned around to find Hatterene with its eyes glowing in the dark. "Hatte-" Before Ash could finish his sentence, Hatterene grabbed him by the mouth with her tentacle claws as she also used Psychic to hold Pikachu. Ash struggled to break free from this grip. That's when Starlight appeared from the shadows. "I already know what's up with you. Ash Ketchum. I've heard a lot about you lately. A human like you is too big of a threat. More than an alicorn. I can't have anyone running the perfect atmosphere that this town has due to all the chaotic energy you bring along with you. But your Pikachu's gonna be one of us. A happy mouse with a happy smile. As for you though..." Starlight opened up a hatch underneath the floor which revealed a ditch of some sorts. "I can't let you stick around. You'll be better off in a place where you won't cause noise like you usually do." Hatterene dropped Ash inside the ditch as the hatch closed. Pikachu shot lightning everywhere, trying to break free. Hatterene then used Hypnosis on him, taking over his mind as the thunderbolts stopped. "Hatt." Hatterene had placed the controlled Pikachu back down. "As always Hatterene. You're a great partner to have. Now that we have the biggest threat to our happy town, let's go make Princess Twilight and the rest of her friends one of us. We're gonna be gonna change the world once everypony finds out about this." "I guess you listened to my advice after all." A voice called to Starlight. It was Adagio. "Indeed I did. You were right about that Ash guy being too optimistic and go-lucky. Thank you Adagio. And I hope you can join our town too eventually." "Feh. Yeah right. Don't bet on it." Adagio walked off. Ash was in the ditch, where it was pure darkness all around. He held his mouth and head as he looked around. It was getting very hard to breathe. The walls were extremely thick. "Gotta.. get out of here." Ash went to reach for one of his Pokeballs. He grabbed one as he was losing consciousness. He tossed the Pokeball forward, sending out Dragonite. "Dra?" "Dr-Dragonite. Use Dragon... Cl..." Before he could finish his sentence, he passed out due to the thick air. Chapter 87 End.