//------------------------------// // Loss and Amenity // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// "I win, Twilight!" Words that Adagio thundered out of her mouth with joy. And words that filled Twilight's ears with despair. But that's exactly what Adagio wanted from the very beginning. "Finally! I've been waiting for this!" Adagio pranced on the spot. This was the largest victory she's had over Twilight. It didn't involve her losing any magic, separating from her friends or being injured. No. In truth, it was the absolute shock that filled the stadium once Twilight lost. Adagio wanted to see everypony witness the Princess of Friendship losing right before their eyes. And that's exactly what happened. "I...lost...?" Twilight stammered as she was frozen in place. She looked down to see her partner Eve, fainted on the floor. Not even moving an inch. "So that's how it is..." Celestia stood up. After seeing the outcome and conclusion of this battle, she looked down at Adagio, seeing the siren fill up with unbridled excitement. She truly was waiting for this day to come where she would finally defeat Twilight. The question is, what will Adagio do now after her long-awaited victory? "I actually did it...I beat her." Adagio looked at her hooves and then up at the crowd. Everypony's devastating reaction to Twilight's loss was perfect to her eyes. And perfect enough to fill her magic. This was the best negativity she's had so far. "Esp...Eon..." Eve was still on the floor, fainted. But her eyes slowly opened up, seeing her trainer with her head hung low. Despite her victory against Pheromosa, she couldn't keep her promise of making Twilight happy. Twilight began tearing up, trying to hide her tears. But everypony could clearly see that she was crying. And it was understandable. Tiny sobs could be heard from Twilight's mouth. Which ended up being music to Adagio's ears. Adagio has absorbed so much magic to the point where her body was actually undergoing a second transformation out of nowhere. Due to all the negativity that she's gathered from this one battle, Adagio had never felt a sensation like this before. In fact. This was the very first time she's ever felt what revenge truly feels like at its core. It was a feeling like none other. Unparalleled and unrivalled. Almost as if all of her hardships had been wiped out from existence itself. Truly, this victory over Twilight changed everything for her. Thus, this sensation played into her transformation. She still maintained the look of a pony but this time her fangs had intensified, returning to their normal sharpness when Adagio was still her true self. Not only that but her pupils had sharpened along with her hooves. The necklace on her neck had even strengthened. Twilight went over to her Espeon, picking the Sun Pokemon as a mother would to its own child. "You did great, Eve. Both you and Dewott." Twilight wiped the tears off her face. "Espeon..." "Haha! Well. I'm certainly satisfied beyond relief! But I guess I can do a little bonus round and defeat the rest of your friends! If I get the chance that is." Adagio suddenly declared. "I won't let you!" Twilight flew up. "What can you do? I've already beaten you. You're practically beneath me now." Adagio turned around. "But don't worry. Once I defeat them, I'm not finished yet. I still have yet to exact revenge on another group of annoying girls somewhere else." "...Sunset!" Twilight gasped, realizing who Adagio was referring to. "Bingo. I was planning on stopping here at first. But after thinking about, it's their human versions that I despise more. The Rainbooms are next on my list. But their punishment will be much more severe than yours. Think of the Manehattan situation but tripled." Adagio chuckled. "I won't let you hurt them!" "Hold it!" A voice echoed through Adagio's ears, grabbing her attention. The one who spoke up was none other than Rarity. "Oh. It's you." Adagio scoffed. "Don't you even think about laying a hoof on any of them!" "And you think you can stop me? I already defeated your precious little Princess of Friendship in front of all these ponies. What makes you think you can defeat me?" "Rarity, wait!" Twilight yelled. "Isn't it obvious? Even though she lost, Twilight has proved to everypony here that your Pheromosa isn't unbeatable. That gives other trainers the chance to defeat you. In fact, you might not be able to reach the rest of my friends tomorrow." "Hoh?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "So what? That purple cat thing got lucky. Learning a new move at the last second was just a stroke of luck." "Hm. I suppose you haven't noticed yet. But now everypony knows about your Pheromosa's weakness. It's thin and supple after all, isn't it? Perhaps a single Flying-Type move will do the trick." Rarity smirked. "And since most of the trainers here are pegasi, it shouldn't too hard to figure out which type is the most common in this tournament." "Kh!" Adagio looked down at Rarity with scorn in her eyes. "Sheesh..." Ben looked over at Rarity and Adagio's conversation. "I thought my nieces arguing was bad." "Are you challenging me?" Adagio circled Rarity. "Because if you are, I'd gladly accept it and crush you as well. Of course, like before, I'll come out on top." "Of course I am." Rarity stomped her hoof. "I'll blitz through your Pheromosa and whatever your second Pokemon might be." "Hmph. Well, you'd best hope that you make it through the rest of the tournament. Unless a random shuffle manages to pair us up." Adagio chuckled. "Funny you should mention that." Rarity grinned. "Because after this 40-minute break, my battle is coming up next." Saying that made Adagio perk up with her eyes widening. "I'll see you tomorrow." "Tch. Whatever. You still have a chance of losing your next match. Make sure you don't choke." Adagio lifted her head, walking past Rarity as she left the battlefield. As Rarity watched the arrogant siren walk off, there was only one thing she could do now. She walked over to the devastated Twilight, comforting her and Eve at the same time. "Rarity...I couldn't win." Twilight sobbed, trying her very best to hold her tears in. But it was no use. "I didn't keep my promise after all." "It's alright, darling. You and your Pokemon truly did your best." Rarity hugged an upset Twilight. "Besides. You managed to show everypony that you can overcome impossible odds by defeating Pheromosa and her speed. If you ask me, that is a win in its own right." "Really?" Twilight looked up at her. "Really." She nodded in response. "Get some rest, dear. You, Dewott and Eve deserve it." "Alright. Thanks." Twilight lowered her head as Rarity's Leavanny picked up Dewott, carrying him to the waiting room for a rest. A 40-minute break was in session. Everypony felt like they needed one after that aggressive battle between Twilight and Adagio, which was the longest one by far. Many of them were chatting about the fight and how it ended. Some were saying how it was unfortunate that Twilight's Pokemon fainted at the very last second, costing her the match. Whilst others actually looked at the positive. They could now see that Pheromosa was beatable. It was just her speed that was a problem and a major obstacle to overcome. Over at the waiting lounge, Twilight had her Pokemon healed up to full strength. Eve was up and healthy whilst Dewott was cured of his poison. However, Twilight was still morose and discouraged. Her tears had faded away but the weight of defeat was still hitting her. "Uh, Twilight." Rainbow Dash flew over to her saddened friend along with Applejack. "I just wanna say that I'm sorry. This is my fault." "What?" Twilight turned to her. "If I hadn't dragged you to this tournament, this would've never happened. Me and my big mouth." Rainbow Dash sighed, lowering her head. "It wasn't your fault, Rainbow. Nopony could've predicted Adagio joining in this tournament. Or even Pheromosa making an appearance." Twilight replied. "Twilight's right. None of us were prepared." Applejack. "If she weren't here, this would've been a smooth tournament from start to finish." "Yeah." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. "But it just makes me so mad. Everypony's here to see how tough they've gotten and to test their skills whilst having fun. And along comes Adagio to ruin it. She's only here to take revenge!" "Ain't that big of a surprise." Applejack shook her head. "She's been planning to ruin us for months now. Ever since Twilight and our other selves beat her at that 'Battle of the Bands', she's been chasing us like a falcon and a rabbit." "I just don't get how her sisters are okay with being our friends, but not her. She's just as stubborn as....me!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "What's it gonna take to reach her?" "The answer to that is greater than you can imagine, Rainbow Dash." Luna had suddenly responded to Rainbow Dash's question, walking up to them. "Much greater than even I had anticipated." "What do you mean by that, Princess Luna?" Twilight stood up. "Reaching Adagio is much harder than you think it is. If anything, trying to reform her is practically impossible." "No way." Rainbow denied that. "We've managed to reform a lot of guys. Even Discord himself. Mostly. We can totally reform Adagio as well. It's just taking some time, ya know." "No, Rainbow Dash. When I say it's impossible, I truly mean it is impossible. This goes above even friendship itself. And I fear it is something that can truly collapse most of Equestria in a heartbeat." "What do you mean?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "This all sounds pretty big." "Well...I don't want to find out right now." Twilight hopped off the couch. "I need some fresh air first." "Rest well, Twilight Sparkle." Luna turned to her fellow alicorn. "Have faith in your friend Rarity as well." Outside, Ash, Fluttershy and the others spotted Twilight arriving with her head hung low. It didn't take long for Twilight to notice them as well. "Twilight!" Pinkie dashed over. "Are you okay?! Please say yes!" "A bit. Thanks, Pinkie. I just needed some fresh air." Twilight replied. "We're worried that your loss might affect you for the rest of the day. Or even possibly tomorrow," said Fluttershy. "Audino!" "You don't have to worry about it lasting that long, Fluttershy." "Well!" Sonata stepped forward. "Aria and I are here to apologize. Adagio is our sister after all So we kinda feel like, ya know..." Sonata rubbed her hoof. "It's kinda our fault in a sense." She then looked over at Aria, nudging her. "Uh, yeah. I guess so." Aria turned her head to the side. "Sorry about that." "Both of you don't have to apologize at all. Really." "Pika?" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, looking up at the saddened Twilight. "I know you're concerned too, Pikachu. But thanks to Rarity, I'm fine now. Well...a little bit." "Pikachu." "That's good." Ash nodded. "It's great that Rarity was there to comfort you at that moment." "Right. Um, would you all mind if I got some alone time? I'm still a bit shaken up." "You can head home to Ponyille and rest. Does that sound good?" Starlight recommended. "Being back at Ponyville does sound nice. But I think I'll stay here for a while. Thanks for suggesting it though." Twilight walked off with Eve and Dewott. She truly wanted some time to think after that battle. Pinkie was about to go after her, trying to cheer up, but Ash stopped her. He knew that this was something that Twilight could handle on her own. Even if it left a huge impact. Celestia watched as Twilight made her way to the Canterlot Garden for some privacy and some time to just simply take in everything that has happened so far. Celestia had decided not to interrupt Twilight's alone time. But she kept on watching her. "Oh, Twilight," said Celestia, shaking her head. There was a melancholy feeling circling within Celestia. Involving both Twilight and Adagio. She knew that Adagio needed all that negativity for her own well-being but Twilight is a pony that is extremely close to her. Almost like a paternal relationship. Feeling conflicted for a small bit, Celestia had decided to lean towards Twilight since she took a major loss this day. Outside at Canterlot Garden, Twilight sat alone, reminiscing the entire battle. Eve and all of her Pokemon stood from afar, letting their trainer think without any interruption whatsoever. What went through Twilight's head was one major point. What went wrong? Looking back at it, Twilight noticed that even though she had discovered Pheromosa's weakness, the Lissome Pokemon lasted much longer than she expected. She was expecting Pheromosa to go down in two hits due to how fragile she was. But to her surprise, it kept going. Even when her attacks landed, especially neutral attacks, nothing was bringing the Ultra Beast down. If Dewott hadn't worn Pheromosa down and Eve learning Dazzling Gleam at the last second, the battle would've been over much earlier. Twilight had already known that Eve wasted all of her energy into a single Dazzling Gleam. And she felt like it was her fault. Twilight blamed herself for Eve fainting after Pheromosa had lost. She felt as if she was the cause of Eve's burnout. Perhaps if her Espeon had a bit of energy left within her, she would've won. But then again, Twilight had no clue what Adagio's second Pokemon was, even though it was just a Kricketot who was constantly hiding in Adagio's mane. She then thought to how far she's come with her Pokemon knowledge. First, she learned about the Pokemon World and its history. Then she gained the information about various moves of different types and how they work. Later on, she even managed to become a Pokemon professor herself, further advancing her knowledge about Pokemon. In truth, although she lost, the words that Rarity spoke to Adagio reminded her of something that could lift her spirits. "Isn't it obvious? Even though she lost, Twilight has proved to everypony here that your Pheromosa isn't unbeatable. That gives other trainers the chance to defeat you. In fact, you might not be able to reach the rest of my friends tomorrow." Those words alone made Twilight realize that she was able to defeat Pheromosa. A Pokemon that she feared ever since Manehattan. A Pokemon that injured most of her friends horribly and practically scarred them for a while. And she beat it. She managed to conquer her fear of Pheromosa in that one battle. Knowing that now, a smile graced the young alicorn's face. And as her mind begins to finally take every last piece of information and engrave in her memory, Twilight's current state had shifted. "I've come a long way, haven't I?" Twilight said to herself. "I guess I really have grown as a trainer, haven't I?" And there it was. Celestia could tell that Twilight's spirits have been lifted due to her being alone. And mostly since Passion could sense the change in emotion due to her being the Emotion Pokemon. "I may have lost to Adagio...But it isn't over yet. Like Rarity said. Everypony has a chance to win now. Ponies that are much more skilled than me in battle. Better trainers with a battle experience that exceeds mine." "Esp?" Eve and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon ran up to her, hoping that she had recovered finally. The way she stood up from the bench made it seem like that. "Eve. All of you. You don't have to worry anymore." Twilight wiped a single tear off her eyes. "I'm fine now. Still a bit perplexed." "And I'm glad that you've recovered well." Celestia appeared in front of Twilight, startling her and the Pokemon as well. "Princess Celestia?!" She gasped, falling back on the bench. "How long were you watching?" "All the way from the arena." "Oh." Twilight shifted her eyes from left to right. "Guess you might think it's rare to see me act like that, huh?" "Not at all. I've seen many ponies end up in a similar situation as you. Even before our worlds crossed over. You've managed to handle your loss fairly well. I'm proud of you." "Thank you, Princess Celestia. I'm just hoping now that Rarity can reach Adagio. Or at least Rainbow Dash or Applejack. But even I'm getting nervous thinking about their battle against her Pheromosa and whatever her second Pokemon might be." "About Adagio. I believe we should have a small talk about her." Celestia sat down on the bench next to Twilight. "What is it, princess? Does it have to do with her magic and sudden transformation?" "No, Twilight. It's something else. Something that involves Adagio and me." "Both of you? How would you even have any relation with her?" "I suppose it would have to be the fact that...our mothers knew each other." There it was. Celestia had dropped a major revelation to Twilight that froze her along with Eve and the others. "Huh?! Your mother and Adagio's have met?!" "Mhm. Only once, though. Many, many years ago." "What happened back then?!" Twilight stood up. "Between both of them!" "Nothing disastrous or major." Celestia shook her head. "In fact, the encounter between those two is somewhat akin to how Luna and Darkrai met. Only slightly different in terms of the outcome." "Akin to Luna and Darkrai? Then does that mean..." Twilight thought for a bit. "I know what you're going to respond with. But no. They were not friends." Celestia shut down Twilight's Friend answer. "Oh. Then...they were enemies?" "Not at all. Friend or enemy, they were neither." Celestia held Passion in her hooves. "If they weren't friends or enemies, then what were they to each other?" "Aqcuantices." Celestia gave Twilight the answer. "That was their relationship. "I see. Well then, if both your mother and Adagio's mother knew each other, you must've known about Adagio later on, right?" "I actually never knew about Adagio's existence at first. You see, they both never met up again after their first encounter. But, they did tell each other what they would name their children in the future. As you know, my mother named me Celestia." "And for Adagio, it was her own mother." Twilight finished Celestia's sentence. "Exactly." "But why tell me this? I mean, it's a shocker that they knew each other in the past but..." "The reason why I'm telling you this Twilight is because of an unfortunate destiny that every siren is bound by. Past present or future." "Unfortunate destiny?" "Espeon?" "You may see Adagio's process of absorbing magic via negativity that she creates as well...evil. But in truth, there's much more to it." "There is? What other reason would she have to absorb negativity other than to give herself more magic?" "Twilight. Adagio's life is dependent on negativity." Finally, Celestia had given Twilight the truth behind the sirens. "W-What...?" "I was as perplexed as you when I found this out. I can imagine my mother felt the same. The sirens have an unfortunate fate where if they do not generate any semblance of hostility and animosity, over time, their life will be threatened. As a result, they will perish." "I...I didn't know." "I don't blame you at all, Twilight. Despite all the books we have about Equestria that we can easily find at any library, the fate of the sirens is an anonymous one." "So then...Sonata and Aria. They'll..." Twilight gasped. "Perish." Celestia stood up. "However, I promised myself I would not let that happen. I made a vow that I would find a perfect balance that would satisfy both the sirens and all of Equestria and beyond. The problem is, I haven't found that solution yet." "Kirlia." Passion climbed on Celestia's back, giving her trainer a head pat. "So from the start...Adagio's been trying to save her sisters all this time...?" Twilight looked down. "And that's why she wants to be the one to reach Jirachi." "Indeed. However. If Adagio succeeds in saving her sisters, that would mean Sonata and Aria would lose that happiness they had discovered by becoming friends with you." "But then that would mean going right back to causing animosity, right?" "Right. I fear that she may be forcing her sisters to return to a life that they will no longer enjoy compared to the one they have now. But even still, deep down, she truly loves her sisters." "If I had known that Adagio was doing this to save their lives, I would've helped her! But if she does save them, then our friendship would come to an end." "I know it is a lot to take in Twilight. To be honest. I'm not sure what I plan to do with Adagio after all of this is over. I could just simply arrest her and that would be the end of it. But I don't want to stop her mission to save her sisters." "I see..." "I should probably get going now. You still need your 40-minute break. Just remember this, Twilight. Everypony thinks differently what they believe. Their sense of justice clouding up the endless sky. And they may oppositely see things from us." Those were Celestia's last words to Twilight. After that, she was out of here. "The opposite way," Twilight said in a muted tone. All that Celestia had left for her will stick like glue. Possibly for weeks and years to come. Up in the sky, the two most prominent spectators here, Lucien and Sienna overheard Twilight and Celestia's conversation about the sirens, taking it all in. "Hm. It's a shame really." Lucien shook his head. "If only Adagio knew that her fate never existed in the original timeline. Oh, well." "That's why I think we should tell her!" Sienna exclaimed. "But we're not allowed to, right?" "Right. We'll just have to wait and see how it all ends." The revelation of the siren's fate had become imprinted in Twilight's head. Her view on everything was slowly changing. Now Adagio's wish was starting to reveal itself. However, the fear that Sonata and Aria could end up returning to their old ways was something that Twilight found difficult to take in. But it was for their own safety. Unable to decide, the young alicorn can only hope that Celestia will be able to find that supposed Perfect Balance as the Canterlot Tournament continues. Chapter 233 End.