Unova. The Glittering Island. Nightfall.
A sentient volcano. One influenced by the cosmic power of the Rift. On this island, this volcano had affected the Scrafty that once came here to find a new home, but were turned into their Equestrian variants against their will, unable to return to the neighbour island nearby.
Their only hope for help was Ash's group consisting of Ash himself, Pikachu, Princess Luna, Adagio Dazzle Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and a few Canterlot and Crystal Emire guards. To free them from this island and these unwanted forms so that they can return to the rest of their family and friends.
However, the scenario was not favourable to anyone right now. The volcano, knowing of how dangerous Ash was because of Aura, further used mind control on the Equestrian Scrafty to fend him and the rest off. Even the head Scrafty, who was a mixture of a Unovan and Equestrian Scrafty merged together after some resistance, could no longer control them with his whistling.
And what's worse, Daybreaker and Empress Twilight's forces were approaching, also searching for the Sea Temple. They were approaching the Grand Equestria ship ever so.
"Ugh..." Ash held his stomach after receiving a powerful surprise gut punch from one of the Equestrian Scrafty. The guards helped him up afterwards as the rumbling of the volcano could be heard.
"Pikapi!"
"I'm fine, Pikachu." Ash groaned. "But man, they've still got the original Scrafty's awesome strength. Okay. Now we just have to finish this before we do anything else."
"Stopping the volcano is the only way we can break their control and put an end to this," Darkrai said as everyone backed up away from the mind-controlled Scrafty.
"How do we stop a volcano exactly?" A guard asked.
"It's a Rift Volcano. Everything about it is Rift-related. Meaning that Ash's Aura is the clear answer." said Shining Armor. "But using it against a volcano sounds risky. Even for you, Ash."
"I know. I'm gonna have to get up close and personal with that volcano." Ash tightened his gloves. "Never touched lava before other than a Magcargo. So this'll be something."
"Scrafty! Scrafty-Scra!" The head Scrafty tried reasoning with his family and friends, in hopes of getting to them. He stood in front of them all, doing his best to whistle them out of this control.
But it was no use. The volcano had shut him off. In response to Scrafty's plea, an Equestrian Scrafty had used Dark Pulse, hitting the mixture Scrafty head-on and sending flying. "Scra!"
"Scrafty!" Ash gasped before catching Scrafty.
"S-Scra..."
"It's okay. We'll fix this. Don't you worry, okay?" Ash reassured him.
"Listen, all of you." Luna grabbed their attention. "I will go and deal with our incoming enemies. The rest of you, make a path for Ash to reach the volcano."
Luna gave them their orders. The only way Ash was going to get past all of these Equestrian Scrafty and to the volcano was with the assistance of his friends. For that to happen, Darkrai had used Dark Void, shooting an orb of darkness into the air. Afterwards, the orb shot out smaller orbs that started rapidly flying out across the area.
Dark Void was the way to go as many of the orbs struck their targets, putting the Equestrian Scrafty into slumbers instantly. That allowed Ash and Pikachu to start moving while some of the Scrafty were dropping to the flies like grounds.
"Scrafty!" But there were still some Scrafty that had not been hit by the Dark Void. A few of them got in Ash's way, using various Water and Dark-Type moves to try and stop him.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...Chuuu!" Pikachu quickly stopped any of these attacks from harming his best friend with his signature Thunderbolt. He leapt into the air, cancelling the attacks with 100,000 volts. But not only did he cancel them out, but he also made the bolt continue, shocking the Scrafty in front of him.
"Scra!" The Scrafty felt the 100,000 volts pass through them. Before, Ash and everyone figured out that Equestrian variants do not change their typings even when transformed. However, when Thunderbolt hit the Scrafty, it looked as if super-effective damage had been done on them.
Ash and Pikachu then ran past the fallen Scrafty, advancing towards the volcano. The Scrafty split up into two groups dealing with Shining Armor and the others while another goes for Ash and Pikachu.
On the Grand Equestria.
Meanwhile, the Grand Equestria was starting to move. The plan was to lure the incoming enemies towards the Rift Blockade that was underwater. And the way to do that was to put the Grand Equestria near the blockade.
This was a challenge since the ship was closing in and the aerial ships move faster than it. however, the Golurk belonging to the royal guards were utilizing their amazing strength to move this ship faster. But, they could not ignore the ships that were above.
A few Golurk had taken to the skies, deciding to face the incoming airships while their brethren move the Grand Equestria as hard as they could. "Golurk!"
"Hm?" One of the pilots witnessed the Golurk in the distance. A good handful of them filling the skies. "They already know we're here. Those Golurk things are in the sky." He passed the message onto the other pilots in the sky along with the rest inside of the Sunstorm. "Should we engage?"
"Do so. But do it with a surprise." Spitfire, the one in charge of them, gave the order for them to engage. With that, the pilots in the air were prepared to do so.
However, they weren't using the weapons these ships had to offer. Instead, a hatch opened from the side of the ships. And out of them, Poke Balls could be seen flying out. The guards and the Golurk gasped, surprised to see Poke Balls suddenly flying through the air.
And out of the Poke Balls, Pokemon had emerged. Mainly Skarmory, Golbat and Mandibuzz. No one was expecting them to have Pokemon of their own.
"They have Pokemon?!" A guard gasped. "Since when?!"
"Does it matter?!" Another guard dismissed that question before focusing on the approaching enemies. "Just stop them before anything escalates too much!"
"Golurk!" The Golurk flew forward, approaching the incoming Flying-Types. At the same time, Luna, via the usage of teleportation, had shown up to the Grand Equestria for assistance.
The plan to lure them into the blockade was still underway. They had yet to see the Rift Blockade that was underwater and were unaware of why the rest of the Golurk were moving the ship.
"How are things?!" Luna asked the moment she arrived, looking in the distance.
"Nothing too extreme yet, your majesty. But, they seem to have Pokemon of their own as well. We don't think they're aware of the blockade underwater."
"Let's keep it that way. Give us all the time we need until Ash can stop the volcano and save the Scrafty." Luna ordered before taking out more Poke Balls with her magic. Some extra assistance was required as Darkrai popped out of the shadows.
Luna had sent out Gliscor, Frillish, Musharna and Aurorus to do what they can. "All of you! Keep them busy!" The Princess of the Night pointed her hoof up at the sky.
All of her Pokemon took action. Those that could fly or levitate such as Darkrai, Gliscor, Frillish and Musharna, went over to be beside the Golurk. Aurorus, while unable to fly, was a perfect Pokemon against Flying-Type Pokemon.
Very soon, there was a feud happening within the skies. The Golurk were using various punch-based Pokemon moves as the opposing Flying-Types preferred to stay back and keep it ranged.
As for the Grand Equestria, thanks to the great strength of the Golurk, it was getting close to that blockade. All they needed to was rely on their allies to keep their enemies occupied for a bit,
Meanwhile, inside of the ship, Tempest Shadow and the others went to the upper deck, witnessing the scuffle in the night sky. They weren't bothered by how things were going so far. If anything, they were confident in how things would turn out for them.
"They're up to something..." Tempest narrowed her eyes, noticing the Golurk moving the Grand Equestria. "Why would they need those things to move the ship? Unless..."
"Hold on a sec." Spitfire would take things from here. Mainly seeing why they were moving the ship in the first place. And she would do so with the glasses she had on.
The glasses weren't just for show. They were magical. By just simply adjusting them, an orangish glow flowed and exuded out of the mystical accessory. The glasses could not only zoom in at great distances, far surpassing binoculars, but they even worked similarly to Luxray's X-Ray eyes, but with heat-seeking and other things instead.
Spitfire saw them pushing the ship near the neighbour island, but seemingly not all the way. However, she then wondered if it had something to do with the underwater. That's when she sensed something potent. The glasses were picking up Rift Magic. Not just from the Glittering Island, but underwater.
She saw the Rift blockade and its multitude of cube assortments, residing in the seas of Unova. Spitfire had found the reason for the Golurk and their actions. She then gave the glasses for Tempest to see. And soon, Tempest Shadow witnessed the blockade, plus the gap as well.
"Oh, that's smart," Tempest said, impressed with their plan. "But I guess they didn't account for if the result would be good or bad for us if we touch the blockade."
"Can't risk it." Spitfire shook her head. "It could be 50/50 for not just our ships but everyone involved. Unless we pass through that gap."
"You handle things from here." Tempest stepped forward. "I'll just create a small divergence to throw them off their game for a bit. And make sure it's them that hit the blockade. And maybe this will be of some use."
Tempest had then revealed the Nightmare Rarity magic given to her by Daybreaker. She made the magic appear from her horn as she was temporarily using it. One usage of this magic and that was it. She wouldn't be able to tap into it due to its exclusivity.
"You know you don't order me around." Spitfire pointed her hoof at herself. "I'm a commander like you."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Tempest just shrugged before using her magic to levitate into the air. Spitfire scoffed before getting to work. Spitfire quickly communicated with her group via an earpiece. "All of you. Switch the ships to their sea variant. We're taking a new approach."
From that command, the pilots on the ships suddenly had them transform. Not only were they fit for the skies, but even the sea. They took on slightly longer shapes while losing their jet pats as they went inside of the ships. Afterwards, they descended to the sea, becoming capable of moving through the deep blue.
"Gol?" A Golurk tried grabbing one of the ships, only for it to drop and enter the water. As for Tempest, she evaded the aerial battle completely, not getting caught up in it. She preferred to do things on the surface. And she would do so once she landed on the surface of the ship.
"Hm?" Luna quickly turned around after the sound of hooves touching the upper deck were made. There, she saw the commander of a special group arriving at the scene. "And who are you?" Luna questioned as a Focus Blast went off in the distance, lighting up the ship and everyone below for a few seconds before fading.
"Princess Luna. Last time I saw you, I turned you to stone." Tempest said with a menacing smirk that put Luna on guard. "In my world, of course. But you were set free afterwards. Then it was right to the moon years later."
"If you're trying to intimidate me, that won't work." Luna scoffed. Aurorus quickly got in front of Luna for protection. She was the only Pokemon of hers currently on the surface. Everyone else was a bit occupied.
However, unlike the others, Tempest did not have a Pokemon with her at the moment. Instead, she would just her natural skills. Which was arguably just as intimidating. Tempest knew that Manaphy was not on board, so there was no reason to be gentle. If he was, then that would've held her back. They need Manaphy after all.
Drawing Luna's attention was not Tempest at the moment. It was quickly switched to the approaching Flying-Types and how the Golurk from the sides were being attacked by something below the water.
"Gol!" The Golurk pushing the ship had been given a sneak attack from below the water, halting the pushing process. Not only that, but the Golurk crashed onto the ship after this surprise attack, making it tremble.
"Oh!" Luna gasped, almost losing her balance along with Aurorus and a few others. The force that had attacked them were the same ships that had transformed. No one expected them to move in the water as well. Only the skies.
"Manaphy isn't here, looks like."Then it's probably either one of those islands, right?"
"You won't get to Manaphy when we're here! Aurorus, Aurora Beam!" Luna ordered while also using her magic. In unison, two beams came flying out. One that had the colours of the aura and the other colours of the night sky.
But instead of using magic to either form a counter beam or a shield, Tempest relied only on her physical skills. AKA, her athleticism. And she was profound in it. With just a jump alone, she managed to evade the dual beams easily.
Luna and Aurorus gasped, witnessing her stellar leap. She wasn't an earth pony with powerful hooves, so this jump was more impressive to them. "She can jump..." Luna gawked.
"Skarmory!" A Skarmory cried out, flying by as Tempest perfectly landed on the back of the Armor Bird Pokemon, temporarily using it for the meantime.
"Use Flash Cannon," Tempest ordered.
"Skar...Mor!" Out of its mouth, a beam of silver energy raced out of the Steel-Flying-Type towards Aurorus.
"Ro!" Aurorus had been hit instantly, staggering and taking super-effective damage as she almost fell on her back. The Flash Cannon even grazed Luna's mane, clipping three strands of it off as the Princess of the Night moved to the side.
"Aurorus!" Luna gasped. But she didn't have to worry. Despite the super-effective hit on the Rock-Ice-Type, Aurorus was still standing strong. She was a fairly bulky Pokemon after all.
"Was hoping that would keep you both out of commission for a bit," said Tempest as she knew this wouldn't be so easy. Then again, Tempest is confident in her skills of being a great distraction. But against someone as composed as Luna, that can prove to be an issue.
"Hah!" Spitfire, from far away, taunted Tempest SHadow without her knowing. "Small divergence she said. I'll show her how to make a proper divergence."
The Glittering Island.
Ash was heading for the Rift Volcano as Equestrian Scrafty from across the island were chasing him down, making sure that he would not reach it. He came across the massive tunnel cave that he and the others had passed through previously when first visiting this island.
"Scrafty!" One of the Scrafty emerged from below using Dig, attempting to headbutt Ash.
"Pika!" But Pikachu quickly slapped the Equestrian Scrafty away with a swift Iron Tail to the head, clearing the way for Ash. The duo then rushed to the tunnel cave they came through, moving as fast they could.
But the Scrafty, thanks to their increased natural speed in this new form, were right behind them. A few Scrafty had used Water-Type moves, shooting them through the tunnel cave that immediately started flooding it.
"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped as he and Ash turned around. Moving through this tunnel was already fairly tough since it was steep and went upwards, but dealing with a flood was no good either.
It didn't help that Scrafty had fired Water-Type attacks from both directions. From above the tunnel and underneath the downwards slope that it ended at, essentially blocking Ash.
"Not good!" Ash growled as he was thinking of a way to counteract this.
"Sacred Sword!"
"Slash!" But with the shout of Shining Armor's voice and the cry of Aegislash, the tunnel had been cut in half perfectly by the Royal Sword Pokemon.
And just in time too. Right as the water was getting close, the tunnels higher part had been sliced and dropped with the water falling with it as well. Now there was only one side filled with water, keeping Ash safe. Shining Armor could be seen riding on Aegislash. Aegislash was bigger than him and could float, so it was an easy option.
"You're okay, Ash! Pikachu! Head to that volcano, quick!" Shining Armor exclaimed.
"Thanks, Shining! Aegislash!" Ash and Pikachu thanked them before rushing through the tunnel. They just had to jump from the edge of it to reach the higher parts of the island. And Ash and Pikachu could definitely make the jump.
"Scrafty!" The opposing Scrafty were still in the way, aiming to attack Ash before he could make the jump.
"King's Shield!"
"Aegis!" But, once again, protecting them both was Aegislash. He put out his shield, forming a barrier that had instantly blocked all of the incoming Pokemon attacks, giving Ash the time to leap.
And he certainly did leap. Just as well as Tempest. He leapt a great distance, landing on the higher part of the land. And he didn't slow down once he made his landing. Not even for a second. The Rift Volcano was near as he immediately started running ahead with the Scrafty turning around.
But Shining Armor and Aegislash would have their attention in the meanwhile.
He was close to the Rift Volcan considering it wasn't too far. And the volcano knew about this. It could sense Ash approaching and how Shining Armor and the guards were perfectly dealing with the controlled Equestrian Scrafty. Thanks to Darkrai using Dark Void earlier, it put them all at a major advantage against the Scrafty.
So, to try and make sure Ash does not get close and succeed, the volcano decided to erupt, sending out actual lava instead of Rift Lava. A gigantic stream of Magma rose into the air, threatening to drown and melt Ash and Pikachu as it rained down.
"Pidgeot! Twister!"
"Pidgeot!" But also coming to their rescue were Flash Sentry and Pidgeot. Pidgeot flapped his wings, creating a draconic tornado that had caught the streams of magma. Pidgeot then redirected them in a different direction afterwards.
But there was still more magma. Luckily, some of the guards had Golurk, who resisted all things fire-related. The Golurk got together, using their Ground-Typings to counteract the magma. They barely flinched after being bombarded by it.
Ash was backed by his friends all the way through. No matter what. He continued on his way with all the support he needed. Although, Adagio had yet to be seen. But she had something to try and help Ash with.
Adagio arrived at the scene, witnessing all of the Scrafty being occupied with Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and the rest of the guards with their Pokemon. But there were still so many Scrafty around the island that it was overwhelming.
"There's no way they can stop all of them with these numbers," said Adagio, observing the scene as Pidegot was only narrowingly evading attacks from the air. Even Aegislash could only use King Shield for so long. "What can I do?"
She thought long and hard. She mostly wanted her necklace back. But, as she thought, one memory came to mind. A memory that sparked within Adagio's mind. Words that Celestia had said a while back that Adagio promised to abide by.
"The Want-it-Need-it spell is so powerful that it must only be used at necessary instances. Using it recklessly could result in unbridled anarchy. Use it when you need to truly rely on it."
That time was now.
And Adagio knew of the perfect object to cast the spell on. "Hopefully this counts as the right time, Princess Celestia." She said to herself before gazing at a tree. She immediately fired the spell towards the tree.
Instantly, all the possible affection and desire in the world had been focused onto the tree. But Adagio knew that she only needed the Scrafty to notice it. Once the tree was affected, she took the skies, flying towards Shining Armor and the others.
"Hey!" Adagio cried out to them, grabbing their attention. She quickly zapped a Scrafty out of the way with her magic before reaching Shining Armor. "All of you. Keep moving right now. I cast the Want-it-Need-it spell just now."
"Wait...that spell?!" Shining Armor gasped.
"Yes! Now don't look at the tree behind me. Let's lure them in. And close your eyes too." Adagio suggested. The user cannot be affected by the spell thankfully.
"Close your eyes and follow me!" Shining Armor relayed this message to the guards. They followed his order, closing their eyes as they were unaware of the spell at the moment.
As for the Scrafty, they followed after them. The ponies had their eyes closed along with their Pokemon. All except for Golurk. They were safe. Not only could Golurk not close their eyes at all, but since moves like Attract do not work on them, the Automaton Pokemon were free to move without special conditions.
The same could not be said about the Scrafty. Because the moment they turned around, their eyes were captured by the view of this simple tree. Struck and smitten at first glance with heart's appearing in their eyes.
"Scraf-Scrafty..." They started gushing over the tree.
"Ty-Scrafty...."
"Scrafty-Scra-Scrafty!"
Immediately, they all swarmed towards the tree, showing massive desires for it. That had gotten them off of Ash and everyone else for the time being.
Adagio guided them all away from the vicinity of the tree. Once they were far enough, they could open their eyes freely. However, Adagio could not reverse the spell. Only Luna had the power to do so. And she was occupied at the moment.
Finally, Ash had arrived at the same area the Rift Volcano could be found. He slid down the cliff with Pikachu staying on the cliff, gently as he could as the ferocious sounds of the Rift Volcano could be heard up close.
"Okay...Getting close and touching lava." Ash took a deep breath. "This is gonna be something. You stay back there, Pikachu! Just in case!"
"Pika-Pika!"
Ash then approached the Rift Volcano, seeing blue magma spurt out of it and land on the ground. The colours gave the area a beautiful blue and purple glow, matching well with the night sky.
But as soon as he got close to it, the volcano spoke to Ash, catching him by surprise. "Don't you come any closer, boy."
"Huh...You can talk?" Ash gawked before shaking his head. Now that he knew that the Rift Volcano could talk, he speak clearly with it and get some answers maybe. "Why are you doing this? To the Scrafty?"
"Do you truly need a reason as to why I do this?"
"Huh?"
"I'm a Rift Creation. I have no rhyme or reason for the things I do. I just do. I know about you, Ash Ketchum. Just by reading into your Aura."
"You do, huh? So is that how you bribed the Scrafty to think they could be safe here?" Ash growled.
"Correct. But you should also know that every Rift Creation you've met so far is the same. We all only exist to cause scenarios. Good or bad. There are no morals involved. Neither are there motivations for any Creation of the Rift. Entertainment is all that matters."
"Yeah, right!" Ash snapped back at the volcano. "Maybe not before...but I've got friend's who are Rift Ponies that have motivation in them. Cold has a lot and he can't even choose which one...Jade's already found her motivation and it's staying here and being friends with all of us. Maybe not you, but they have."
"Say what you will. But I'm just another obstacle in the way for you to overcome, isn't that right? Except I'll make it so that none can overcome me. Not even you."
"We'll see about that." Ash stayed strong, tightening his gloves as his Aura was showing.
"You're a brave one, Ash Ketchum. You've faced some daring things in your life. But have you ever dealt with cosmic magma?!" The volcano erupted, sending a giant wave of cosmic magma towards Ash to melt him once more.
"Oh!" Ash gasped, quickly summoning Sir Aaron's staff and letting the Aura around him flow. Right on time as the magma had consumed him like everyday magma would. Ash's body was coated, but that didn't stop the Rift Volcano from grabbing him.
"PIKAPI!" Pikachu cried out, witnessing Ash being consumed by the magma. Shining Armor and the others had just arrived at the scene to see this horrifying scenario.
"ASH!" They all shouted in shock. Even Adagio couldn't but scream as well. Once the magma was pulled back, Ash was nowhere to be seen. Not his hat, jacket or even the staff of Sir Aaron.
From what they had witnessed, Ash had been melted. However, Shining Armor, being the perceptive fellow that he was, noticed something. Since there was not a physical body after the magma and nothing resulted in a skeleton, that only meant one thing.
"There's no skeleton! Ash is still around!" Shining Armor exclaimed as that restored some hoe in Pikachu's heart.
"B-But where? I don't see him anywhere..." Flash Sentry stuttered, unaware of where Ash could be. But there was only one possible conclusion.
Within the Rift Volcano itself.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 603 End.