//------------------------------// // Nerves of Cosmic // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Pegalysium. Out in the fields. Afternoon. "Alright. This is a perfect place for a good and large view. Now. Let's make our plan work." Rarity spoke as she was currently about to enact the plan she had which involved Emerald Aura and Cold Colt. "I'm also relying on this nice little shell the sheriff gave me. This will certainly lead them to us." "But will it work?" Cold Colt asked. "I mean, what if they don't fall for it? If we use our Rift Magic, they'll know we're up to something either way. "Have faith, pal." Spike nudged Cold Colt. "This'll work for sure. Plus, it'll make it easier for them to get to us." "Let's just do it," Emerald said before having her horn glow. So did Cold Colt. The plan was simple. Lure the Indigo Alliance in with whatever method they can use. And that method was simple. It was related to how Rift users can sense when other individuals use Rift magic. But bumped up to an all-time high with extra nerves. At once, Cold and Emerald used their magic, causing the aura to glow as much as it could. The goal was to overload their nerves with Rift Magic. Anyone that even has a semblance of it was their target. However, it would go beyond overloading them. And the nearest one being Axew felt it. "X-Xew!" Axew twitched as he could feel the Rift Energy inside of him go wild. He began twitching as Spike held his partner to comfort him. His body then gave off Rift Energy as it was oozing out of his body. The light from his body grew to a point where it not only covered the area but could be seen from certain distances. This was a sign that it was working. The objective was to reveal every form of Rift Energy across Pegalysium the same way flares are used in the sky. From this island, all the way to the civilizations themselves. Due to Cold and Emerald being full-on Rift Ponies, they would obviously be able to output this much magic. It felt like hitting their elbows on a table or worse. Feathercoast. Pegalysium Gallery. Second Wind's office. Afternoon. "Yes, yes, I know." At the moment, Second Wind was speaking on the phone, unaware of what was coming her way. "Tonight, we'll meet up and dis-" Just then, she received a shock through her body. The Rift Energy that she kept was reacting from a great distance. And since she, the Grand Judge has the most Rift Magic out of the Indigo Alliance, that didn't spell good news for her. "Ah!" She gasped before dropping the phone. Her body was giving off an equally large aura of Rift Energy as Axew as she clenched her teeth. Her eyes twitched as her hooves pushed everything off her desk. She wasn't sure what was going on Where this sudden pain was coming from. "W-What's going on?!" "Ms Second Wind! Are you okay?!" Kaleidoscope rushed into the office after hearing the painful sounds of her boss, slamming the door open. She witnessed the cosmic energy of the Rift emanating from her body without her control. This was not her natural magic colour. Or even magic size. "M-Ms Second Wind?" "Grr...!" She growled as her light went so far, it phased through the building itself. Everypony in Feathercoast could see it now. From all directions. "Something is not right...!" Second Wind snarled. She then recognized it as her Rift Energy from the colouring. Kaleidoscope backed away as the other employees rushed in. "We might have to meet up sooner than tonight..." "Meet up where? Ms Second Wind." Kaleidoscope asked. "Nothing that concerns you, dear. I'll be leaving for a while." She got off her chair before walking off. "Watch over the museum until I get back, understood"? "Right!" Kaleidoscope promised, saluting afterwards. Pegalysium. North. Even up north, those same lights could be said. And this time, it came from the ponies that attacked Rainbow Dash's group. They were unconscious before, but once those nerves kicked in, they awoke whilst being tied up by Sceptile's vines. "Ugh..." They groaned while grouped and restrained. "What's up with this?" Rainbow Dash observed their bodies glowing. "Is it a bad sign?" "Doesn't look like it." Applejack shook her head. "What do you think, Pinkie?" "Mm." Pinkie Pie shrugged. "But one thing's for sure, we're asking where Jade is. Hey! Where's Jade!" She took out a Megaphone, blasting her voice in their faces. Their faces received a shocked expression after the shout. "Like we'd tell you..." One member chuckled before twitching. "Ow..." "Thought you'd say that." Pinkie nodded, expecting a typical answer like this. It is never that easy after all. She then looked at Applejack, knowing what needed to be done. "Applejack." "Already on it." Applejack rubbed her hooves together, having a devious idea as the Indigo Alliance Members were getting nervous. "This trick always works on Apple Bloom when I gotta know something. It's for sure gonna work on ya'll." "W-What is she doing?" A member stuttered as Applejack was getting closer with her hooves out. The members backed away while they were tied up, intimidated. "H-Hey. You stay back! We're warning you! Once we get out of these vines, we're gonna-" "Don't struggle. It's just gonna make it worse for ya'll." Applejack grinned as the members were officially terrified after that statement. She then lunged at them with their fears at an all-time high. "Aaaaah!" Their screams could be heard from afar. Truly, Applejack was doing something unthinkable that even Rainbow Dash and Pinkie would rather not see. However, Mew started giggling at it. "Mew-Mew!" "Pegalysium Capital. And over at the capital city of Pegalysium, the light was glowing there as well. Coming straight from King Paramount. His was as large as Second Wind's. However, unlike everyone else, King Paramount was able to withstand the nerves thanks to his great magical talent. "This is odd..." He said while twitching. Luminary gazed at her husband, wondering why he was glowing all of a sudden? He wasn't using the magic as of now. But while this was happening, arriving at the capital was Ash, who disguised himself in his pony form once more, Twilight, Shooting Star, Starlight and Fluttershy. Twilight had a plan, just like her friends. Aside from that, they had noticed the lights in the distance and how they were exuding. Shooting Star saw one emerging from his home, prompting him to rush and worry about his parents. "What's that all about?!" Starlight exclaimed while she and her friends followed Shooting Star. They couldn't take their eyes off the light as they were not only coming from the castle, but some of the noble houses were giving off that light. "It looks like Rift Energy!" Fluttershy noticed as she looked over at Chikorita. "Even Chikorita is glowing!" "Chiko?!" Chikorita soon noticed her body glowing as well. She could feel her nerves being overwhelmed, prompting the Leaf Pokemon to stop running. "C-Chikori!" "Audino!" Thankfully, Audino picked her up, carrying the Grass-Type. Twilight looked over at the homes belonging to the nobles with her eyes narrowing. After seeing them glow, she then uttered a single word. "Aha." North of Pegalysium. "Success!" Rarity exclaimed. "A job well done you two. Using your magic to reveal other Rift Signatures was a splendid idea." "Gotta say, I'm pressed by that too." Emerald nodded in approval. "I didn't even think about that before. That could come in handy a few times." "Mhm." Cold agreed with his own nod. "How long can you keep those auras up before we get there exactly?" Rarity asked. "Pssh. Forever, duh." Emerald flailed her hoof. "It's not like we're gonna run out. Now which one belongs to Jade? There's a bunch of them." "Yeah, I was kinda expecting it to be a few," said Cold with his eyes navigating the areas around him. "Did everypony in the Indigo Alliance take Rift Magic for themselves?" "Whatever the case, let's find one of those members. And I believe that little truth trick you pulled back in Big Sky will come in handy, Emerald." Rarity smirked before sending Pheromosa out. Emerald smiled back at Rarity, liking the way she thought. Now she had a reason to force somepony to tell the truth. "Mosa!" As Pheromosa emerged, she picked up Rarity, Spike, Cold and Emerald with her tall body. Each within her arms. "Pheromo." "Pheromosa. Go for..." Rarity bit her lip, moving her hoof around as she was wondering which Rift aura to go for first. "That one! The nearest one up ahead." "Pheromosa!" Pheromosa replied as she took off like a missile. With amazing speeds, the Lissome Pokemon made a massive smoke cloud from her movements alone. They had their targets as they were getting closer to Jade seemingly. Universe 28. The Empress' spare palace. Afternoon. Meanwhile, another major scenario continues here. The Empress' forces were chasing down a fake duplicated Celestia, Luna and Cadence, believing that they were the real ones. They followed them through a hole with some of their greatest equipment for three great threats. Noticeably, Universe One's Princess Cadence never came along. Only her other selves from other universes. However, the Empress did not follow after them. She stayed in the palace. Standing beside her was Skyblue Shine as they were both anticipating Celestia's return. Empress Twilight knew that Celestia wouldn't fall to mere troops as they were essentially cannon fodder to her. But the trap that the Empress and her forces had made was a different story. As for the real Celestia and Luna, they were within the palace still, searching for the room where Premium Polish was being held captive. Luna was still disguised as just a petrified statue while the duplicates were still posing as troops. Celestia had just entered the palace, posing as Empress Twilight herself. "Still nothing. This palace seems more confusing than the previous one." Celestia said as she showed herself to her duplicates, disguising herself as the Empress. "It seems that not every Canterlot is the same, sister," Luna spoke quietly through her petrified state. "Darkrai should find her easily hopefully. All he has to do is find her shadow." "I can't find her shadow." Right on time, Darkrai emerged from the shadows above Celestia and the others, startling them. "W-What?!" Luna gasped. "How come?!" "It's not like I haven't found her yet. But for some reason, her shadow isn't showing at all. Every one here is fully grown instead of a child." Darkrai said. "But I'll keep looking for her." He then descended into the shadows, moving rapidly through the area. Some more guards passed by marching along as Celestia trotted with her chest held high. She needed to act like the Empress after all. The guards saw the Empress before turning away, marching off to grab the fakes. However, an idea sprung with Celestia. As the disguised Empress, she walked up to one of the guards. She already had an effective question in-store without sounding too suspicious. "You there." She called for the guard. "How is Premium Polish faring? None of Celestia's forces have found out about her location yet, have they?" "Not yet, Empress. The laboratory is still being guarded even during this. Premium Polish continues to remain where she is." "Hm." Celestia pouted her lips, squinting her eyes on the guard and shifting them around. "Ther has to be more with how Celestia and her forces decided to approach this universe in such a way. Show me then. You can never be too sure with Universe One's unpredictability." "Yes, Empress!" The guard saluted before guiding the fake Empress towards the lab. Celestia then turned around, winking at her sister and duplicates as they followed after her. Luna winked back as Celestia executed her words perfectly. That's why she's the Ruler of Equestria after all. They would finally know where Premium Polish would be. They were deciding on what kind of approach they should take with this? Smash and grab or do it when nopony is watching. Celestia was more of a Smash and Grab pony while Luna would most definitely go for the stealthy option. However, as they were about to leave the second floor and onto the third, that's when the traps finally revealed themselves. As she took her next step, Celestia's body froze unexpectedly. "!" She gasped with the guard stopping afterwards. The duplicates stopped walking while carrying Luna's petrified statue state as well, wondering what was going on. The room started giving off an alert sound all around. One that could be heard across the palace. "Empress?!" The guard gasped. "G-Ghhh!" Celestia cried out as her Boundless Cutie Mark was reacting to this. She noticed that an odd field of magic was around her. One that felt greatly familiar. It felt like Tirek's magic. Her body was being pressured with great force. As if something was not only pushing her down, but also affecting her magic and torturing her body. She screamed continuously from this as it was difficult to move. And with this shock and pressure on her body, forcing her to become immobile, Celestia's concentration with the Shift Stone had broken, removing her disguise and revealing her true form. "Celestia?!" The guard pulled back. "Exactly." And arriving at the scene, after hearing the alert was Empress Twilight. To be a showoff, she appeared flying above Celestia with Skyblue Shine levitating by her side. "Gotcha." "T-Twilight...!" Celestia growled. "Like what I've made?" The Empress descended, approaching Celestia. "I figured one of the more genius ways to capture you was by utilizing your own Cutie Mark against you? And what better way than using Tirek's magic. Perfect for that Boundless Cutie Mark of yours. I made sure that it would react to multiple Cutie Marks and yours just so happens to be that one." "C-Clever..." Celestia couldn't help but applaud that. "I know." The Empress flipped her mane. "Trying to send me on a wild goose chase didn't work out for you, did it? All I need is your sister and Cadence. Speaking of which, the next trap for that isn't so technical." "What do you mean by that?" "Come out already." Empress Twilight spoke to an unseen pony. It wasn't Skyblue Shine. But instead one of her allies. Nightmare Rarity. Flying out of the shadows was Darkrai himself as he crashed into the walls. Someone had forced him out. That was Nightmare Rarity. She emerged from the shadows, having the same ability as Darkrai. Darkrai also flew through other walls as the force he was sent flying at was fairly potent. "Darkrai!" Celestia cried out, witnessing the Pitch Black Pokemon fly a great distance. Luna wanted to shout but she would give out her position as Nightmare Rarity trotted along. "Still don't know why you need me to deal with your problem, darling," said Nightmare Rarity. "I mean, you are the one who lost to that Universe in the first place. Plus your hatred for them is just outstanding for your first loss. But I understand the frustration, don't worry." "Nightmare...Rarity?" Celestia's jaw dropped. "She recalled Pyrestar mentioning a Nightmare Rarity. But she had never seen her before. Rarity is that you?" "Indeed." Nightmare Rarity stood tall. "Like the look? I certainly do. Being taller is such a wonderful feeling especially with beauty as divine as this. Now, where is that younger sister of yours?" "You see, Nightmare Rarity has a little something special for Luna. Something she thought she could defeat, but Rarity over here not only rekindled it but was able to fully control it." "And what would that be?" "This." To demonstrate, Nightmare Rarity revealed something that shocked Luna even in her already petrified expression as a statue. The Tantabus. Princess Luna's Tantabus that she tried so hard to defeat was with Nightmare Rarity. Not only that but there was a second one. A Tantabus belonging to Nightmare Rarity herself. "That's the Tantabus!" Celestia bellowed. "It wasn't destroyed in your universe!" "Oh, it was. I just brought it back." Nightmare Rarity replied. "Perfected it and coupled it with my own. Nifty, isn't it?" "Enough talk. Wherever Luna is, you can deal with her. I'm here for your magic, Celestia." The Empress glared at Celestia. "You won't get it that easily, that's for sure...not with my friends by my side." "I know that. And I won't ever underestimate you at all. Even without your Pokemon." The Empress' horn started glowing as she noticed Celestia's own horn glowing. Even when immobile, she could still act and use her magic. "But that's why I have this to keep you steady." Just then, on the same spot that Celestia was stuck on and that same field, she noticed an orb of magic surround her body. It didn't feel like Tirek's magic this time. "What is this?!" Celestia growled as the orb was now carrying her. The orb raised the princess into the air while the effects of the trap were still lingering. "This? After my defeat, I've been investing in new ways to use my spells. Even attempting to make my own magic. This is the result of my greatest spell. The Gravity Spell. While I can't use the full power of Gravity anymore due to your shenanigans, I was able to make a Gravity Zone! An entire separate dimension! You'll be trapped there feeling the effects of ever-changing gravity!" "Garde!" Bursting out of the disguise and deactivating the Shift Stone was Passion and Arcanine. They couldn't stand back and watch their trainer be in any danger. They tried keeping themselves on a low profile but their loyalty was too great as they lunged forward. "Passion! Arcanine!" Celestia cried out with one eye closed. "Idiots..." The Empress smirked as she knew what came next. As Passion and Arcanine went towards their trainer, the gravitational pull from the orb had dragged them both in. Celestia gasped as she could feel her body being warped into an entirely different space and dimension from here. She put her hoof out, trying to have Passion grab her hoof. Unfortunately, Passion and Arcanine came along with her. "G-Garde?!" "A-Arca!" They cried out with their bodies twisting in this spiralling void, distorting their forms as they moved between dimensions. The orb then shrunk, disappearing from existence as the duplicates and Luna herself gasped. "Now stay there until I'm ready for you." The Empress picked up the orb. "You...What did you do to my sister?!" Luna broke the focus of the Shift Stone, revealing herself in full as she ascended, unleashing a furious blast of magic from her horn. However, Nightmare Rarity quickly stepped in front of Empress, using the Tantabus as an extra shield. The beam came in contact with the Tantabus, causing an unusual effect. The Tantabus had morphed Luna's beam into an array of horrifying claws. These claws replaced the beam as they were sent towards Luna at great speeds. Princess Luna had been blown back by these claws, hurling through the air. These claws had also hit the fake troops, destroying them as they are entirely fragile. "More duplicates?" said the Empress. "Hm. Can't believe I almost fell for that." "Ugh!" Luna was still flying through the air until Darkrai emerged, catching her. "Darkrai!" "Luna! We need to go for the next approach if we want to avoid any trouble!" Darkrai suggested. "We'll leave into the Dream World and-" "But, my sister has been taken to another dimension!" Luna flew off Darkrai's grasp. "We need to get her-" Just as Luna said that along came Nightmare Rarity, almost hitting Luna in the face with some magic. Luna's mane was grazed instead of it being a direct hit. "We'll do it later!" Darkrai exclaimed before dragging Luna into the shadows. Not just the shadows, but soon the Dream World. Troops within the castle were now on the move for Princess Luna. "Oh. Don't tell me I have to chase them down, do I?" Nightmare Rarity sighed, knowing what would come next. "You do. Luna's a slippery one. And with less magic than I have now, it won't be easy to catch her. But a pony who knows her ins and outs can. Like you." "But I was to get my mane done today. Fine." Nightmare Rarity shrugged before having her Tantabuses float beside her. "If they're heading to the Dream World, this will only take a while." By using her natural abilities, Nightmare Rarity was able to travel through the Dream Realm easily. Just like Nightmare Moon as they are identical. If anything, she is Luna minus the alicorn appearance. As for everything else, the Empress issued a full lockdown on the palace. Everything had been closed off for this moment. Even if Celestia was traped along with her heavy hitters, she could not risk anything. Especially with Luna. "Cover the entire palace as well." She ordered. "Make sure there's no chance of them escaping from here. And be sure to look out for any of Celestia's forces. She wouldn't be foolish to come without them after all." Gravity Dimension. "Agh!" Celestia and her Pokemon had arrived here. But when they did, they felt the effects of gravity kicking in. Heavy gravity. The trio crashed onto the ground with the force of heavy gravity around them. "G-Garde!" "Canine!" "Ugh..." Celestia groaned before getting up. But getting up was difficult suddenly. Thanks to the field of gravity. Celestia could feel herself being pressured immensely, having a hard time casually moving. "The gravity here is ridiculous...Does she intend to crush me and steal my magic afterwards?" "Garde...Voir!" Passion started shaking with her knees failing her in this situation. Arcanine was laying on his belly, unable to stand up. Celestia noticed how this dimension was shown to be composed of an innumerable amount of randomly arranged and differently sized rectangular prisms amongst a dark and seemingly endless void that had the colour of purple instead of black. She noticed how some of the cubes were floating up as the cause of lighter gravity. Celestia and her Pokemon just ended up in the area with heavy gravity instead when being sent here. "Alright. At least know where Premium is located. All we have to do is get out of here as soon as we can. This is her dimension, isn't it? Then we'll just break it apart. If it's all gravity, then a black hole can be our answer. Passion." "Garde." Passion nodded in response as she knew what to do. Make a black hole and break this dimension apart for an escape. However, the Empress knew about Gardevoir's ability to create black holes. Especially Passion who can do it casually. As Passion put her arms out, a force of Gravity had suddenly launched the Embrace Pokemon back with a mixture of heavy and light gravity. "V-Voir!" "Passion!" "Garde!" Passion crashed into one of the cubes, being pinned there by the pressure of gravity. It was soon revealed what caused this. As a way to deal with Passion and her Black Hole Shenanigans, the Empress had made her own duplicates. The only difference was that these ones don't exactly fade away with a hard touch. Not to mention how they had pale appearances as compared to the Empress' natural vibrant colours. "You're not going anywhere." The three duplicates said together. "Ugh...This will take a while. It's up to you now, Luna. Jackie." Celestia stood up as she, Passion and Arcanine were now facing off against these duplicates. The Dream Realm. And the same went for Luna and Darkrai. Even though they managed to enter the Dream Realm, so did Nightmare Rarity as she appeared right after they did. "Terribly sorry, but I can't allow you to leave. I would've done this at a much later date but the Twilight can be persistent and stubborn." Nightmare Rarity said. "But it will be fun dealing with essentially the original creator to my beautiful form. "Tch. Smile all you want. This isn't over yet." Luna narrowed her eyes. "Darkrai and I may be in here, but there's one other Pokemon of mine lurking around the palace. He'll scramble everything while we're in here. My Frillish." "Okay. I don't care." She shrugged as Luna pulled back. "Y-You don't?" "Not my universe. Not my problem." Nightmare Rarity was honest about her words. She wasn't too bothered by this which only made her more menacing in the eyes of Luna. Even if she cared not about this universe, she still decide to deal with Luna either way. Pegalysium. Afternoon. "Dad!" Shooting Star burst into the throne room, hoping that his father was alright. When he showed up, he saw his father sitting there with a glow around him while his mother remained the same. "Are you okay?!" "Son," Paramount spoke. "Do not fret. I'm still in one piece here. This glow just suddenly appeared around me. It gives off an odd feeling but I can manage it." "Oh...Thank goodness..." Relief met with Shooting Star's heart. "Oh. Who are your friends?" Luminary stood up gazing at Ash, Twilight, Fluttershy, Starlight and their Pokemon. "Hey there." Ash waved before turning himself back into his human form. "My name's Ash. And this is my partner Pikachu." "Pikachu!" "My name's Twilight Sparkle, your majesties. And this is Eve." "Espeon." "Hello." Fluttershy gave a soft wave. "I'm Fluttershy and these are my friends Audi, Chikorita and Scorbunny." "Audino!" Audino waved over with Chikorita doing the same under her grasp. "Chiko." "Scorbun." "Starlight's the name." "Ash and Twilight. The ones Celestia spoke of." Paramount said before walking over to them and putting his hoof out. "A pleasure to meet you all. And your friends as well." "The pleasure is all ours, King Paramount." Twilight shook her hoof back at the king, able to reach despite the height difference. "So that's Pikachu? Eeee!" Luminary hopped off the throne. "Seeing one up close makes it even more adorable!" "Pika-Pika?" "And this one looks very huggable!" Luminary went up to Audino. "My they are taller than I expected..." "Oh, right. Your majesty. We came here to tell you something important." Twilight got to the matter at hoof immediately, not wasting any more time. "And that is?" Paramount asked as a smirk met with Twilight's face while she looked outside the window. "We know where the Indigo Alliance may be. And it's closer than you think." As the journey continues. Chapter 540 End.