Pegalysium. The Capital. Sky Monarch. Nightfall.
Up here in Pegalysium, all is sound. Perfect silence with mostly everypony asleep. The exceptions are of course the guards, King Paramount and a few citizens. Peace truly does exist in Pegalysium and for good reasons.
Over at the royal chamber, the Royal Advisor Tip-off was about to head to bed himself. But before that, he looked at the mural, showing Shooting Star the Pegasus of Destiny once more. Obviously, the three other pegasi were standing next to him who would aid him in fulfilling his destiny. However, Tip-off felt as if something was a bit wonky with this mural.
"Hm...Strange. For some reason, it feels like there should be one more pegasus on this? Or is it really just three that will aid the prince?" He thought before rubbing his eyes. "Bah. Maybe tomorrow. But when are those pegasi going to show up?"
Tip-off left the chamber before closing it. And as he closed it, the mural itself started changing on its own. By the cause of magic, a fifth pegasus had shown up, confirming Tip-off's presumption. As he left the chamber, he was met with the sight of King Paramount walking the hallways.
"Goodnight, your majesty." Tipp-off yawned. "How goes that Rift learning curve."
"Good. But, I'm holding it back for a while instead of advancing things further." Paramount replied.
"Hm? Why is that? You did take it to fully master it, didn't you, your majesty?"
"I know. But Princess Celestia and the rest of Equestria have made a vow and promise to fix everything in the end. So until that promise can be made before the calamity can happen, I won't use much of the Rift magic unless necessary. I'll hold it off until then."
"Hm. Fair enough." Tip-off nodded in approval.
"Speaking of Rift energy. The one found in Big Sky. Was it ever retrieved or noticed by any chance?"
"Sorry, your majesty. Ever since it disappeared, that was it. Most likely, somepony has already taken custody of it. And I assume the Indigo Alliance is the first thing that comes to your mind?"
"You'd be correct, Tip-off." The king responded before turning to face a painting of previous Pegalysium rulers. "They obviously must be aware of it. If they utilize its power, there's no telling what will happen. We must find out where their main base of operations is at once."
"There's also the issue of the missing ponies from five days ago. Still, no report of them being found. If it is all the Indigo Alliance, if they exist, then probably, they've been taken by them."
"Probably. My parents and their parents before were unaware of the Indigo Alliance, dismissing them as just a foal's tale at best. They never believed in a secret society of ponies. However, I'm inclined to believe that they are the reason my parents perished that day." Paramount suddenly changed the mood as Tip-off's eyes shifted. "On that same night, when my father told me the story of the Indigo Alliance, he and my mother were involved in an accident. But I believe that was no accident. It was most likely done on purpose."
"I remember." Tip-off nodded. "But if so, why would they want to rid your parents from this world?"
"Remember how the words from the story went?" Paramount looked down with the lighting and atmosphere changing to fit the mood. Tip-off scrunched his face by this sudden change while also intimidated by the king's gaze. "Beware the Indigo Alliance that watches all the time. Within the shadows, they're always watching with infinite eyes. Whether out in the streets, your own bed, the forest, peaks and mostly the skies. Centuries, they've been around. And more centuries, they're here to stay."
"R-Right. Goodness, that is a chilling story." Tip-off shuddered.
"Ah, what am I saying? I shouldn't be giving my subjects a scare like this. I should be focusing on finding the alliance and putting a stop to them. We should do what we can to eventually find them. Either tonight, tomorrow or whenever that day comes."
"At least me rest first, your majesty." Tip-off grumbled before closing his eyes. Paramount would do that favour for him. The king carried Tip-off on his back, aiming to take him to bed.
However, Tip-off had already dozed off the moment he was on Paramount's back. The king would then carry Tip-off to his room, allowing him to rest up the whole night.
Morning.
Along came morning and Shooting Star woke up from his bed. Finally, he had slowed down his Pokedex searching for a bit. Now, he could sleep properly. Before, it was a mess. He would fall asleep in the morning then wake up in either the afternoon or evening.
And as he woke up with a yawn, many butlers and maids rushed in to assist him in the morning. The yawn is what made them enter in a heartbeat. Immediately, they started getting him ready for today.
"Morning, young prince." A maid said before brushing his hair Shooting Star had one eye closed as he was still a bit sleepy at the moment. He opened his mouth, allowing his teeth to be brushed.
"I could just brush my teeth myself, ya know..." Shooting Star grumbled before having his golden regalia put around his hooves and neck. He opened his mouth as his favourite food, pancakes, were dropped into his mouth. A whole plate of them as he scarfed it down in one bite. But there was another plate for him to eat on his own. "What's happening today."
"Well, nothing for today but tomorrow, you and your mother, her majesty, shall be seeing your cousin Cloudflare today and her new school over at the Pegalysium High Academy for an induction. Your father will be busy tomorrow to join you."
"Cousin Cloudflare? Boy, I haven't seen her in a while." Shooting Star was feeling nostalgic. "I remember we used to call each other doofus and dweeb a lot back then. That was fun."
"A constant babble of it while with your grandfather, if I recall, young prince?" A butler asked.
"Uh-huh." Shooting Star confirmed with a nod. "Boy, that summer was weird. Can't wait to see her again. And then?"
"An opening for the local animal shelter that your mother had commissioned. Your favourite animal will be there for you to see, young prince. The Sky Peacock."
"But I'm afraid of peacocks." Shooting Star frowned before having his mane adjusted to match its usual look by the maids.
"I thought you were afraid of clowns, young master." A maid said before tightening Shooting Star's regalia, in case it fell off randomly.
"Not anymore. So what else is happening?"
"That will be all for today, young prince." The butlers and maids were leaving as they had done their job. "Oh. But your parents were considering experiencing the Pokemon for themselves down below. Possibly today, tomorrow or whenever."
"Really?!" The young pegasus sat up, flying in the air out of excitement. "Yeah-hahaha! Thanks, mom and dad! Wonder if I'll meet Ash and the others again." Filled with anticipation for tomorrow, Shooting Star laid on his back, taking a moment to breathe while the butlers and maids had left.
He had something fun to look forward to tomorrow. But for today, he could do whatever he wanted until then. The young pegasus soon left his room to roam the streets of Pegalysium. Pegalysium itself was entertaining. After all, with a nation full of nothing but pegasi, some entertainment was needed when never seeing other pony races out there.
At the moment, a street sale was occurring for anyone to buy something that they might fancy. Pegasi from less rich parts come here and sell off their goods to the nobles here. And they do get some nice rewards in return.
Shooting Star brought the Pokedex with him. He couldn't stay away from it after all. He promised to give it back to Ash when they meet up again. So that he can have his own Pokedex and get information on Pokemon himself. And that looked to be the case with tomorrow
Shooting Star brought some goods from the street sale after seeing the few things that caught his attention. Mainly, something he holds close to him as a child.
"Oohoo! A Bluewing action from Sky Quest!" And already, he was gushing over the sight of a pegasus action figure. Straight from a series that he certainly enjoys. There was even an assortment of books about this series for sale. "I couldn't get this one before!"
"You want it? It's yours for free, young prince. High royalty is an exception." The salespony said.
"No way!" Shooting Star slammed a huge heap of bits on the table, overwhelming the sales pony as her eyes shot up with money signs. "I'll take it full price! It'll be extra special that way!"
"Deal!" The salespony nodded before grabbing the money and giving the action figure to the young prince. Shooting Star was satisfied. After that, he went off to buy other eye-catching objects. He had the currency to do so. Being royalty helps with that.
Shooting Star bought a nice soda hat for him to drink from, some other knick-knacks that he believed would fit well on his shelf, some gifts for his parents, some for his friends and so on. All the while, the young prince was acknowledged by other ponies due to his fame. But he was too focused on the action figure and other objects to even notice.
Eventually, Shooting Star decided to venture out into the local forest. There, some ponies were having a picnic for the day. Shooting Star had bought himself a special ear enhancement object in the shape of a shell. The equivalent to an elephant's 20/20 hearing or even Audino's spectacular and unparalleled hearing abilities.
Here, he could hear a lot in the forest. From the ponies having a nice day to the nearby sky creatures that roamed the forest. While all of this was nice, Shooting Star was looking forward to tomorrow the most. So many Pokemon for him to see. So much he has missed out on, but some catching up was coming his way.
In the meantime, he chose to sit on a tree while playing with his newly bought action figure. He needed to make sure no one was watching him. Seeing a young prince of high royalty playing with a toy would be odd to the eyes without a doubt. Especially considering he wasn't a colt anymore.
And to make the scene even better, just before he came to the forest, he stopped by his home to pick up some more action figures from this Sky Quest series Just to immerse himself in what was about to happen. He looked around, seeing that no one was watching him. He could play to his heart's content while drinking from his soda hat.
"Few years late but it's cool." Shooting Star said whilst messing around with the figures. He felt like a kid again using these figures, even if he found it a tad embarrassing. "I bet they have Pokemon action figures down there too."
"Oh, so you do know about them?" Just then, a voice had replied to him, startling the young prince as he had held his action figures close to him.
"Ah!" He screamed before turning around. The pegasus who had replied was Garnet from Feathercoast.
"Apologies, young prince!" Garnet apologized, lowering her head. "I just saw you here playing with...dolls?"
"They're not dolls! They're action figures!" Shooting Star exclaimed while proudly holding his action figures.
"R-Right. But I also heard you speak about the Pokemon yourself."
"I do. Had Ash and his friends show me. Even gave me this." Shooting Star showed the Pokedex to Garnet. She nodded as she had already seen the Pokedex when Ash and the others ended up in Feathercoast. "I'm heading down there maybe today, tomorrow or whenever. That way, I'll get to see all the Pokemon up close."
"Oh. I already have," Garnet pointed her hoof at herself. "They came to Feathercoast and everypony there saw them. Boy, they were something."
"You have?! Lucky!" Shooting Star pouted. "I wanna see some more Pokemon. But it's fine. I'm heading there soon."
"That's even luckier, prince Shooting Star. You'll have the chance to head down below. Wish we could but...Mayor Umbra hasn't allowed it."
"Well, you know...if my mom and dad are okay with finally heading down to the lower nation, then maybe it's okay for me to bring someone along. Pretty sure king and queen are above mayor, right?"
"...So...you 'll bring someone along...like me?!" Garnet shot up with a beaming smile.
"Yeah?"
"Excellent!" She flew into the air, flapping her wings rapidly while clapping her hooves. "I'll tell Kaleidoscope about this! She can come too, right?!"
"Mom and dad won't mind. He came to Kaleidoscope's birthday party after all. Then again he comes to everyone's birthday party. Somehow." Shooting Star pondered about his father's presence while Garnet was psyched.
But as he was enjoying his time in the forest with Garnet, away from most of the public, something caught his attention yet again. The special ear shell was picking up something, allowing for Shooting Star to hear this. He promptly stopped his fun to find out what that noise was.
"The Rift magic has been multiplied now. There should be more reserves for us." A mare said.
"That Jade Skies pony has yet to be captured." A stallion replied. "But this should suffice at the moment. At least, enough to use for a month. But how exactly are we to use that magic without being seen? After all, one bit of it is potent enough to destroy a forest."
"The Grand Judge said that she would find a way. As well as finding a way to capture Jade Skies. In the meantime, meet up at Big Sky next week."
Hearing that gave Shooting Star a sudden realization. The missing Rift energy and missing ponies. All of it had led to those two ponies which also led up to the biggest suspect. The Indigo Alliance. Another known part of the story was about a sort of judge within the secret society.
His dad's assumption of the Indigo Alliance wasn't looking to be made up after all. Then again, Shooting Star always trusted his father anyway. To see this for himself, the young pegasus placed everything he had in his bag before flying over. Shooting Star stayed hidden within the trees for secrecy.
"Young prince. Where are you going?" Garnet went after him once he made a suspicious face. One of doubt and eavesdropping.
And when they made it there, they spotted two ponies walking separate ways. They had finished their conversation, but they were most definitely the ponies Shooting Star had heard.
"Maybe they're part of it." He said to himself, watching them walk off.
"Part of what?"
"The Indigo Alliance."
"Oh, that thing again?" Garnet pulled back. "Been hearing a lot about recently. More than usual."
"I could wait next week but...that's kinda long. I should just tell dad." Obviously, using the communication shell was the clear answer. Plus, he had seen the faces of these two pegasi, knowing who they were as well as knowing what they were up to. Shooting Star took the shell out of his bag to try and speak with his father.
However, as he took the shell out, the young prince and Garnet were met with a surprise. They both felt something behind him in the trees with an ominous chill. They froze on the spot, wondering if someone had already spotted them. And he was right. By turning around, he saw a large hooded figure in the same tree with him.
The same hood and clothes that belonged to the Indigo Alliance.
"Oh!" The young prince gasped and Garnet as the mysterious pegasus lunged at them, pushing both Shooting Star and Garnet out of the tree. The big-bodied Alliance Member had pinned the prince and foalsitter down afterwards, making him drop his shell and even causing his soda hat to fall off. "My hat!"
"You can't be speaking and having discourse in secrecy about what you should never know about. Young prince." The pegasus said with an unrecognizable voice. One that sounded like obscure and hard to pick out. "Especially with a commoner."
"Woah, your voice sounds cool..." Shooting Star gawked, quickly forgetting he was in danger.
"I don't think that's important, prince!" Garnet cried, trying to break free. However, this pony was fairly huge, so it wasn't that easy to do.
Shooting Star then realized he was in danger when he saw other Indigo Alliance Members emerge from the bushes. He didn't see them before which confused him. Their clothing didn't even match the colours of the bushes. "H-How did you all...?"
"What should we do? This is the young prince? Far higher than anypony we've dealt with. Aside from the previous ponies years ago." The members started speaking with each other while Shooting Star and Garnet were on the ground.
"It doesn't matter. Unlike his father, he's inexperienced and not very cautious. But the magic he can exude is just as fast as his parents. As expected of royalty."
"Hey." Shooting Star frowned.
"Am I invisible or something?" Garnet pouted.
"But he's still the son of King Paramount and Queen Luminary. And the Pegasus of Destiny. As if the king wasn't bent on finding and ending us already. Whatever we do will only give him a larger incentive to do so."
"King Paramount is a massive threat, obviously. But in due time, he'll be dealt with when we finally have our chance. As for his son here, perhaps either a wipe of the mind or something more will do. Perhaps he can become a candidate for us. However, the girl will be dealt with."
"H-How so?" Garnet gulped.
"You aren't of royalty. So your value and use won't be worth anything." By saying that, Garnet quickly realized what they were planning on doing.
"Well, you're right about one thing about me and my dad. And my mom too.." Shooting Star let out a sudden grin which made the ponies curious and cautious. "When it comes to magic, no one in Pegalysium does it faster than us." Indeed, the advantage the royalty have in Pegalysium was that they can use magic quicker than others.
And it showed. The blue tips on Shooting Star's wings glowed as they exuded an instant flash of blinding light. Fittingly, one that was blue. The members had all been blinded by this light. Just enough for Shooting Star to free himself and Garnet and leave here. And they did so by taking off.
Unfortunately, Shooting Star could no longer use his communication shell with where it was right now. Shooting Star made his exit, flying off to tell his father what he knew. But the Indigo Alliance wouldn't allow that to happen. They turned around, facing the young prince and Garnet but instead of flying after them, they just stood there.
And for a good reason. The two of them suddenly bumped into something that he could not see. He cried out before falling to the ground. He felt perplexed after that. One second they were flying as an escaped and the next they crashed into what seemed to be nothing. In fact, there was nothing there. Everything seemed natural.
"What the...?" Shooting Star held his head in confusion. That's when they noticed a green pulse ripple around the air before vanishing. He also noticed the approaching Indigo Alliance members who were casually trotting towards him as if they had all the time in the world.
The young prince stood up before trying to fly off again. But when he did, he just ended up bumping into something once more, forcing him back. This time he tumbled on the ground while also noticing that same green pulse appear around. After tumbling and witnessing this, Shooting Star then realized something.
"Wait...Is this an invisible barrier?" He said with open eyes. "Awesome...Not the point! How do I get out of here?" He stood up, searching for a way to exit the area from the Indigo Alliance.
"What do we do, young prince?!" Garnet asked. "I didn't plan to get into something like this!"
"You won't be going anywhere." Just then, another obscure voice had replied to her. Obviously, this was the Indigo Alliance again. However, they still hadn't reached Shooting Star and Garnet yet.
Instead, it was the Grand Judge. AKA, the leader of the Indigo Alliance. Without warning or even sensing her, she had appeared behind Shooting Star and Garnet.
Before the two of them could react, the Grand Judge had finally used the Rift Energy that she and her alliance had obtained weeks ago. She did mention how she would use it herself. Now was the time to prove it as so. And with the Rift energy, she could use magic at the same speed as royalty. One flap of her wings and she had cast a sleeping spell on them both.
"Oh, this blows..." Shooting Star uttered before being afflicted by this sleeping spell. He felt his body failing him as he was losing his balance. He then fell to the ground, closing his eyes.
"Prince Shooting Star..." Garnet grumbled, slumping to the ground, face-first. "I don't wanna..." And that was the last word she said before being put to sleep.
"As expected. Now I can keep pace with royalty itself." The Grand Judge looked at her wings and how they exuded a vibrant green colour. "Making an invisible barrier isn't s time consuming anymore."
"What should we do with them both, Grand Judge?" A member asked as they had all finally approached the area where Shooting Star and Garnet laid.
"The prince could be of use...As for Garnet, she's a friend of my best assistant Kaleidoscope. Let's not get rid of her. Instead, she can prove to be useful. I know what Garnet is like after all. We can make her one of the Cloven."
Shooting Star and Garnet were now victims to the Indigo Alliance. Asleep and unaware of what was to come. The Indigo Alliance had one major hostage in the form of royalty. Fittingly, the son of the pegasus they fear the most. King Paramount.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 525 End.