Outskirts of Manehattan. 16:50
"There..." Luna's head popped out of a bush along with her sister and parents. Currently, they were on the search for a new Pokemon for Luna to catch. And to an extent, Eventide and Sunlight.
They had come across their first Pocket Monster in the form of a Karrablast.
"Karra. Karrablast." The Clamping Pokemon was waddling along the grass as Luna observed it. She already had a Poke Ball out and ready.
"Is sneaking up on the poor little thing the best option?" Sunlight asked. "Wouldn't it be better to just go up to it?"
"Probably...But!" Luna jumped out of the bush. "Some of them like to play hard to get!"
"Blast?!" The Bug-Type turned around, spotting Luna.
"Karrablast! You're mine!" Luna declared.
"Karra! Karrablast!" Karrablast knew that someone was going to try and catch it one day. And that day is now. So in order for Luna to prove herself, Karrablast was about to test Luna with a battle.
"Go! Gligar!" She sent out her Gligar to battle.
"Gli-Gli!"
"I still think the peaceful approach is the best option..." Sunlight pouted.
"Gligar! Acrobatics!"
"Gligar!" Gligar went first with his body glowing light-blue, as he quickly zipped through the air multiple times, moving so fast that he seems to leave behind two afterimages.
He was too fast for Karrablast to follow as the Clamping Pokemon had been smashed by Gilgar's claws at blinding speeds, dealing super-effective damage. "Blast!"
Karrablast went flying after being hit by Acrobatics, tumbling on the ground as Gligar ascended to the sky. Karrablast looked like it was in a good position for a catch.
"Here's my opportunity!" Luna raised the Poke Ball with her magic. "Go! Poke Ball!" By using her magic to launch the ball, Karrablast had been hit with the Poke Ball absorbing the Clamping Pokemon inside.
As the ball landed on the ground, it began to shake with the four alicorns leaning in to see the result.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Karrablast was caught.
"Hmph. Simple as that." Luna flew over, picking up the Poke Ball as she gained herself a new Pokemon. "Come on out now, Karrablast."
With Karrablast caught, she sent the Clamping Pokemon out of its PokeBall as Gligar descended to greet his new teammate.
"Karra?"
"Welcome to the team, Karrablast." Luna looked down at the Bug-Type. "It's wonderful to have you."
"Gligar!"
"Karra!" Karrablast was in for the ride. Luna outclassed it anyway with just one single hit from Gligar's Acrobatics. Plus, he knew this day was coming eventually so why not go along with it.
"She makes it seem so easy..." said Sunlight.
"Bahaha! That's our girl!" Eventide chuckled. "There's nothing she can't accomplish, I tell ya! Now! Let us do the same and find our own Pokemon, dear!"
"Where exactly?" Sunlight looked around the area, searching for some Pokemon.
"Oh, I should've mentioned," Celestia spoke. "From what we've found out, highly-populated areas don't exactly have that many Wild Pokemon nearby. It's usually the smaller areas such as Ponyville that have many Wild Pokemon near."
"Ah. So we're limited here..." Eventide sighed.
"Who cares about limitations?" Sunlight scoffed. "If there is a Pokemon nearby, we'll catch it."
"Karra. Karrablast." Karrablast went over to the alicorns, deciding to help them find a Pokemon to catch. "Blast."
"Garde?" Passion kneeled to face Karrablast.
"Karrablast. Karra." The Clamp Pokemon was giving Passion information so that she can pass it over to Celestia.
"Voir." Passion nodded in understanding. She stood up, using her telepathy to communicate with Celestia as she said these words. "Karrablast knows of an area where we can find more Pokemon, apparently."
"Really now? An area with more Pokemon, you say?" Celestia said. "Many thanks, Karrablast."
"Blast."
"How lucky." Sunlight puffed her cheeks. "Having telepathy with your own partner. Now, this just makes me want a Psychic-Type Pokemon first!"
"Lead the way then, Karrablast," Luna spoke.
"Karra!" Karrablast would be their guide to catching more Pocket Monsters. At least for Eventide and Sunlight, Luna was fine with the current capture she made today.
While they were following Karrablast, Celestia was thinking about how Adagio was doing back in Canterlot. She was obviously with her sisters now, but without Celestia herself being there, she feared that something horrible might be happening at the moment.
In truth, that wasn't the case.
Canterlot, The Pokemon Festival, 17:20.
The orange sunset was beaming across Equestria. Very soon the third day of the festival will end. But not until some more fun is had before some head to another location or just clock out for the night.
Although, one group has been doing the same thing over and over again since the first day and it had transitioned into the third day too.
Of course, they were the sirens. The three sisters who were still here in Canterlot. Adagio had been teaching her younger sisters to sing better since the first day and she has barely given them any rest besides night time.
"Mrrgh..." Sonata yawned as she rubbed her eye. "Adagio. Can we finish now?"
"We haven't even had the chance to enjoy most of the festival..." Aria laid on a bench. "And we've got like...how many days left?"
"You two want to get your expert singing back, don't you?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Sonata nodded slowly. "But my throat's sore..."
"Come on, Adagio. Can we at least enjoy the festival, please?" Aria groaned.
"Hm..." Adagio looked at her sisters, seeing that they were tuckered out and exhausted. "Do you two even have the energy to go on for the night?"
"Totally." Sonata grinned.
"Living in Ponyville with all the Pokemon shenanigans going on kinda gives you more energy," Aria explained. "We can go through the night, no problem."
"Alright. If you say so." Adagio chose their decision.
"Great!" Sonata jumped up as she grabbed both Aria and Adagio, dragging them close to her. "I've already got a lot of plans for us to do before the day ends!"
"Y-You're not dragging me into this are you?!" Adagio winced.
"Totally am! Isn't that right, Aria?"
"There is some pretty fun stuff here, Adagio. You should try it." Aria nodded.
"There is absolutely no way you're forcing me to take part in this festival."
"You forced us to practice singing. All's fair in love and war! Let's go!" With hyperactive speed, Sonata dragged her older sisters along for the sake of having fun together as a family.
Aria was up for it but Adagio not so much. But if it made her sisters happy, she would go along with it either way. Unfortunately, due to the day almost coming to an end, many of the attractions here were closed until tomorrow. So their options were very limited at the moment.
But there was one big attraction that only happens in the late afternoon and can be considered a lucky break for Pokemon trainers and their Pokemon.
A Pokemon massage parlour.
Free massages will be given out to trainers and their Pokemon, courtesy of the Pokemon Groomers who have many years of experience. Although they can get a bit painful out of nowhere it's scarce.
"Massages...?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "That actually sounds a bit pleasing."
"I've always wanted a massage! Come out, you two." Sonata sent out her Buneary and Eevee.
"Bunear!"
"Eevee!"
"How about you get one too." Aria sent out her Popplio.
"Pop!"
"Not sure how it works on creatures with no fur but...Kricketot, you can have one too." Adagio offered Kricketot a massage.
"Krick!"
"Say, Adagio," Sonata spoke. "Where's that Pheromosa thing you had during the Canterlot Tournament? Aren't you gonna bring it out too?"
"That thing? No way." Adagio shook her head. "It's way too violent to keep out."
"But I thought you tamed it," Aria said. "So aren't you in charge?"
"Pssh. I wish. I never tamed Pheromosa in the first place."
"Huh?" Sonata jerked back. "Then...how did you command it?"
"It was caught by Ghetsis. If anything, he ended up taming it. And other Ultra Beasts that he's captured. That Pheromosa's only listening to me because Ghetsis said so."
"Oh..." Sonata nodded slowly. "About that...are you still working with that Ghetsis guy?"
"Yeah, Adagio." Aria followed. "You heard how dangerous he is, right? They keep saying that he's like Equestria's biggest threat or something. Totally pure evil."
"Duh. Of course, I know. He's not exactly secretive about it anyway." Adagio answered.
"But you're still working with him?" Sonata said.
"Huh?" Adagio grumbled as she looked to the side. "I stopped following him long ago."
"Really? When?" Sonata asked.
"It happened a few months ago. I ended up coming across Chrysalis..." Adagio began reminiscing about a fairly important point in time that she witnessed.
This happened weeks after Empress Twilight revealed the horrible truth about the sirens and how this terrifying fate only existed in her world and nowhere else and before her battle with Rarity.
Naturally, Adagio was very heartbroken and devastated by it. The young siren was clueless about what she could do now that she knows the truth.
She ended up wandering the land with low spirits. But during her travel, she ended up reaching the changeling hive which Adagio constantly tries to avoid but seems to always end up in by some strange coincidence.
"Ugh...here again?" Adagio sighed as she sat down on the ground. She was already tired and upset from all that walking so she figured rest was needed.
Through her mind, she could only think about what Empress Twilight revealed to her. Those words have now been ingrained in her head.
"The siren's unfortunate fate is only present here. If you were to look everywhere else, other versions of yourself do not share that fate."
"It's not fair..." Adagio whimpered. "Why is it only my world?" The thought of that devasted her. If all other Adagio's across different worlds can continue living their life without magic then what does that make this world's Adagio? Or even her sisters.
However, despite all of this, Adagio's stubborn nature was somehow a great positive. Because it allowed her to bounce back from something like this.
"Forget it!" Adagio stood up. "I'll keep on living like my other-selves. No matter what." A semi-confident Adagio wasn't about to let those words knock her down at all.
But, something else grabbed Adagio's attention other than Empress Twilight's words. She turned around as she noticed that something was off with the Changeling hive.
Usually, they're all rabid and making constant hissing noises that make Adagio want to smash her hoof through the ground itself.
But right now, most, if not all of them were in a silent state at the moment. In fact, they all looked like they were down in the dumps. Just as much as Adagio herself.
Many of the changelings were on the floor, feeling ill from what Adagio could tell. Perhaps they've come under some sickness that affects them all.
A curious Adagio walked deeper into the hive, wanting to know what was going on.
"Hey. What's going on here?" Adagio asked a changeling on the ground.
"Urgh..." The changeling groaned. "There..." He pointed his hoof north from here as he seemed to be in unbearable pain. This was more than just some sickness.
Adagio went North, seeing how each changeling was suffering from seemingly no reason whatsoever. But there might be a reason if Adagio finds it.
She saw how the changelings had this dark green aura around them. Very different from the usual green they're posses. Almost as if their magic was being corrupted in a way.
Adagio had never seen the changelings like this ever. Usually, they always have a mean look on their face like they're trying to pick a fight with someone. But not this time.
Eventually, going North led Adagio to where Chrysalis mainly resides. Her throne room. And entering the throne room, that same dark green glow was there.
But instead of it being small like how it is on the changelings, this glow was large. So large that it filled up the entire throne room to a point where it could be seen from outside.
"What...is this?" A confused Adagio looked around the throne room. What really caught her eye was the throne that Chrysalis sat on.
Chrysalis herself was the one emanating this powerful glow. She was the main source of it, unsurprisingly. But from how she had her head down, quietly whimpering with her ears dropped, it looked like she wasn't doing this on purpose.
"Chrysalis?" Adagio spoke.
Hearing Adagio made Chrysalis raise her head, spotting the siren who stood in front of her. "What do you want, Adagio Dazzle?"
"What's with all of this?" She raised her hoof, moving it across the room. "Your subjects are acting all weird because of this glow. Coming from you from what I can see."
"I see it. But I can't stop it..." She lowered her head back down.
"You can't? How come?"
"I don't know..." Chrysalis shook her head. "I've never experienced this before." She then looked at her hooves. "What is this feeling?"
"Magic you've never experienced before?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"I can't control it. No matter what I try the magic won't stop growing..." Chrysalis shuddered.
"When did this even happen?" Adagio was curious about when this glow occurred.
"...When?" Chrysalis thought back to how this all began. And her memories led her to a certain point in time. A fairly important one.
The day she had seen the true colours of Ghetsis. She remembered how Ghetsis essentially revealed that he was using them this entire time. Honestly, Ghetsis wasn't subtle about it since he's very straightforward with what he does. She remembered the words he said to her that left her truly terrified of Ghetsis.
"Listen here you...The only reason why I have kept you and your subjects around is that I find your ability to shapeshift slightly more useful than Ditto but less obvious than Zoroark. I do not care about your wellbeing or lives whatsoever. If I wanted to, I could destroy all of your subjects and you in a flash with my Hydreigon if I so willed it. Whatever happens to them is none of my concern. You should've known this from the very beginning."
After that one moment, when Ghetsis returned to Pyrestar's world, Chrysalis went over to the Pixie Plains where the Fairy Pokemon healed her subjects who were injured greatly by the Max Ooze from Team Plasma.
But more importantly, once her subjects were healed and she returned to her hive, one day later, that's when the glow began.
Overnight, Chrysalis couldn't sleep at all. The words of Ghetsis, much like the words of Empress Twilight had stuck to her, just like how the same had happened to Adagio before.
Knowing that at any point in time, Ghetsis can just dispose of Chrysalis and her subjects in an instant with his Hydreigon or any of his Pokemon really, terrified the changeling Queen.
She was already terrified of Ghetsis after trying to absorb his love but soon finding out that his love is highly toxic and essentially a hazard. But that moment just made it worse for Chrysalis.
Because of this, she couldn't sleep at all. And that's when the dark green glow occurred. Different from her usual magic, this mysterious magic had first appeared and spread across the changeling hive.
Ever since then, the changelings have been suffering from this horrible magic that was unidentified. But what they could tell was that it essentially acted as the opposite of how they feed on love. It was draining all the love they had instead.
With that, Chrysalis raised her head once more, realizing why this was happening. If Adagio hadn't asked, she would've taken longer to realize.
"...Ghetsis." Chrysalis gave her answer. "We're expendable to him."
"Ghetsis? Expendable?"
"I should've known. How could I not see that he will just toss us away when he's accomplished his goal?"
"Wait...Are you referring to just your changeling hive and you or-"
"I am referring to all of us, Adagio Dazzle. Including you. Don't you see? Ghetsis's goal, if he accomplishes it, he'll have no use for us. Our alliance is only temporary to him. And if we even go against him and Team Plasma..."
"Wait...do you mean he'll-" Adagio stepped back.
"Right. He'll destroy us. Every last one of us. He might even do it once he succeeds but..."
"That can't happen! What about my goal to-" But then, Adagio quickly realized that her goal was almost impossible after what Empress Twilight revealed to her. "Oh. Nevermind. But you're not going to let him control you are you? You can just break off the alliance easily."
"I could but...What if he comes after us? If we break off the alliance, will he see us as an enemy?" Fears were starting to swirl in Chrysalis thoughts. "Ghetsis is too powerful to betray." She shook her head. "Him and Team Plasma"
"Well, that-" Adagio couldn't argue against that. It was true. Ghetsis is on a league of his own. The only one who can compare to him is possibly Empress Twilight with the heaps of alicorn magic she has stolen.
If any of them even dared go against those two, there is a 100% chance they would be obliterated. The grunts of Team Plasma are powerful enough to destroy the changelings and Adagio along with Empress Twilight's overwhelming empire that she has at her disposal.
"I can't argue at that." Adagio stomped her hoof.
"It's best to just follow him, Adagio Dazzle. And nothing more. As long as he achieves his goal and we show no signs of betrayal, then perhaps we'll li-"
"No way!" Adagio exclaimed, startling Chrysalis. "I'm not gonna forever follow that guy, are you crazy?! And why should you? If he sees us as trash waiting to be thrown out after he succeeds then there's no way I'm listening to him."
"Adagio?"
"So what? He's not even from our world in the first place. I'm already separating myself from this alliance because of this. And I'll do things on my own and-"
Adagio couldn't finish her sentence since she was slowly starting to realize that at this point, she was reaching the lowest point in her life.
Being defeated constantly by Twilight and her friends, learning the truth about her fate, the approaching and inevitable doom of her sisters and the lurking threat of Ghetsis who could wipe her out made Adagio feel weaker than she has ever been. All she could do now was continue feeding on negativity.
But strangely enough, the negativity coming from Chrysalis and the changelings weren't suitable for Adagio at all as she rejected it.
"Oh...who am I kidding?" Adagio sighed.
"If you wish to absorb all of our negativity, go ahead. It might be enough to give you all the magic you need."
Adagio raised her amulet, looking at it. It wasn't absorbing the negative vibes at all. Adagio then took a moment to look at Chrysalis who was scared of what Ghetsis could do to them all.
If Ghetsis does decide to destroy them all, there is no chance of them surviving due to Ghetsis's ruthless and cruel nature. One that has never been seen before throughout Equestria.
For once, Adagio saw true emotion flow through Chrysalis. She could feel genuine fear from her. And for the first time, Adagio felt empathy for her.
At this moment, she and Chrysalis were on the same wavelength together. She understood Chrysalis fears. The fear of her and her changelings perishing. Adagio experienced something similar. The loss of her entire species when she and her sisters were still young.
"Good luck," Adagio said. Those were her last words to Chrysalis before deciding to leave the hive. There was nothing she could do about this at all. Chrysalis's dark green magic would continue harming every changeling here.
That is until Kricketot jumped out of Adagio's mane all of a sudden. "Tot."
"Hm? Kricketot?" Adagio looked down at her partner.
"Tot. Kricketot." Kricketot much like most Pokemon, have a powerful sense of compassion for others. Usually, the smaller Pokemon seem to be the ones willing to help others.
The Cricket Pokemon went up to Chrysalis with the music device in his hands, still to this very day. Chrysalis watched the Bug-Type come up to her as she wondered what Kricketot was up to.
"Kricketot." Kricketot decided to cheer Chrysalis up by putting the music device up to her face. She was able to hear the music coming from the device for the first time. AKA, the same song that has been playing for a year now. But it was catchy.
Chrysalis listened to this song as she saw Kricketot get on top of her head, bobbing back and forth. The song Under our Spell reminded Chrysalis of how she put Shining Armor into a spell herself. It was bringing back somewhat nostalgic memories.
Plus, the lyrics were obviously manipulative which Chrysalis very much enjoyed. So much so that she smiled from the song, also bobbing her head back and forth. A song about manipulating and controlling others was her interest.
"Hm." Chrysalis smiled a bit. "This song is a bit catchy...This is your voice, Adagio?"
"It was a one time song." Adagio scoffed. "A song that he won't stop playing...Where's the off button on this thing?" Adagio went over to Chrysalis and Kricketot.
"Kricke!"
"Come on, Kricketot. Let's go." Adagio grabbed the Cricket Pokemon.
But before they left, Kricketot did one final thing. He decided to give up his music device, lending it to Chrysalis instead. "Tot."
"Hm?" Chrysalis looked down at the device. "You're giving this to me?"
"Kricketot." Kricketot nodded. He was insisting that she kept it so that Chrysalis and the entire hive could hear it.
"You're seriously giving this up?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "Of all times?"
"Krick!"
"Well, thank you, I suppose." Chrysalis took the device.
"Well. I'll somewhat miss listening to that sound. Alright, Kricketot. We're leaving now."
"Tot!" The Kricket Pokemon hopped back into Adagio's mane as the two of them finally made their leave. They left the hive but not without leaving something behind for Chrysalis.
Even if it was somewhat small and insignificant to Chrysalis, being gifted something by someone is a new experience. It made her feel a bit grateful even. Being given something to cheer herself up is definitely new to her.
Because of this, the dark green glow around Chrysalis was starting to diminish. It had shrunk, retracting back into Chrysalis's body as the changelings lost the dark green glow as well. They no longer felt that horrible pain because of its disappearance. Nothing was draining them anymore thankfully.
Adagio looked around to see that the glow had just up and vanished with the changelings being back to normal and healthy once more.
"Hm. Odd." She said as she kept on walking.
But Chrysalis didn't find it odd at all. This small experience with Kricketot and even that one moment with the Fairy-Type Pokemon in the Pixie Plains had given Chrysalis the realization that there are those out there who will show her compassion despite being a changeling. This made Chrysalis have polarizing thoughts as all she could think about was the future and nothing more.
"So yeah. I'm not working with a guy that dangerous." Adagio shook her head.
"Good on ya, sis" Sonata hugged Adagio. "I knew you were smart enough to know that!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Adagio growled, shoving Sonata off.
"Well, it's great that you're not following him anymore," Aria said. "But what about that Chrysalis lady?"
"Her? No clue what she's doing right now. And I don't really care. I'm just wandering the world right now."
"Oh! Are you like an adventurer?!" Sonata squeed.
"Sure. Whatever." Adagio shrugged. "But...I am kinda worried a bit about something..."
"About what?" Both Sonata and Aria asked.
"Ghetsis, of course. He's definitely gonna find out about my departure from that alliance of his. I could be in hot water right now. Real hot water."
"Don't say that!" Sonata screeched. "You're away from that guy now aren't you?"
"Yeah, but he's still a big threat, duh." Adagio knocked Sonata on the head. "If he wanted to, he could destroy me on the spot, weren't you paying attention? He might come after me or enslave all of us if he succeeds in his goal."
"That's not going to happen." Aria shook her head. "Ash and everyone won't let that happen, no matter what."
"Mhm!" Sonata nodded.
"You two...Do you really trust them that much? These humans and ponies?"
"Sure do. They're not as bad as we thought them to be, ya know." Aria walked up to Adagio. "I thought that all ponies were the same until well...we came to Ponyville for the first time."
"They're really great to be around. Especially when you have a Pokemon with you!" Sonata picked up her Pokemon.
"Vee!"
"Bun!"
"Yeah...I guess you'd think that." Adagio sighed. "Let's just get this massage already. I'm getting tired of feeling moody right about now."
And so they went off to get a massage to cool themselves off. Especially Adagio. With what she had told her sisters, Adagio herself was fearing what Ghetsis might end up doing in the future.
If he succeeds, then there is a strong chance that he'll enslave Adagio and her sisters as well. A very strong chance. For now, Adagio was being more cautious than she's ever been.
But, it wasn't just her. Adagio was being watched by what seemed to be a random pony. But it wasn't. Once Adagio entered the Massage parlour, the pony quickly revealed herself to be Chrysalis. She was here for a reason but one that was unknown at the moment as the journey continues.
Chapter 313 End.