Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
"Show me this temple that you rule. So that I can at least get a good gist of your kingly status." Speaking to Ash as always was the shadowy tagalong spirit of King Sombra.
"Wow. So he's really stuck to you, Ash." Derpy said, facing Ash and Sombra. "Doesn't that creep you out?"
"Nah. I've seen scarier." Ash shook his head. "This isn't so bad. You can get used to it even, surprisingly."
"Only because I'm so limited at the moment." Sombra scoffed. "If I were in King Paramount, this would've been far easier. Though I will admit...you're not as insufferable as I was expecting you to be."
"Uh, thanks?" Ash took that a compliment even though some insult was sprinkled in there.
"Oh, by the way! Weren't you supposed to go to the Holon Region by now? I think that's what it's called." Derpy brought up the topic of Holon.
"Yeah but some stuff happened that kinda delayed it a bit. Ya know, the whole Ataxia thing plus back then, it wasn't even a few weeks since the Sea Temple stuff happened before we got pulled into those 18 Realms. Man, a lot's happened." Ash crossed his arms, taking some time to realize just how much he has done and gone through in just a few weeks and a month.
"Pikachu..."
"Ah, well. You said you wanted to see the temple, right, Sombra? You got it." Ash said to the shadow of Sombra. "You're not gonna try anything there when we get there, are you?"
"Hmph. As if. I would take control of it, but being the ruler of a civilization that can barely pick themselves up after so many centuries and have just returned to their physical bodies after so long is a waste of time."
"They can totally pick themselves up!" Ash exclaimed. "When they put their minds together, they can do some awesome stuff! Plus, they saved my life back there. That makes them awesome in my book."
"I suppose you have a point. I would be somewhat thankful for anyone that can save my life." Sombra turned away. "But their thanks will be greatly limited."
"Huh? Limited? Come on. Wouldn't you show them some respect if they saved your life too, Sombra?" Ash turned to face him. "That's something that everyone can be grateful for, ya know."
"Grateful for a while. But at the end of the day, I acknowledge no one but myself."
"What about Red?" Ash scratched his hair. "You said you wished you ended up in someone like Red other than me when that battle with him and Bea was going on."
"He was a worthy candidate. Unfortunately, he is not a king and despite that disposition he carries with him, I can sense that he is practically similar to you. That is already a wretched feeling to be stuck in a carbon copy."
"Well, it wouldn't change a thing. Hahaha!" Ash could only chuckle at Sombra's words, finding amusement in them. "You like keeping a lot to yourself, huh? There's no shame in having allies and those there for you, Sombra."
"I have no need for allies. End of story. Now show me the temple." Sombra ended the conversation, hiding back in Ash for the meanwhile.
"Nice attitude..." Ash said with a pout, lowering his hat. "Okay, buddy. Let's pay Samiya one more visit."
"Hold on!" Just then, rushing to Ash's location was Sonata. She showed up in a blazing streak, stopping right in front of Ash. "You're going to the Sea Temple today! Did I hear that right?"
"Sure did. Is something wrong?" Ash faced Sonata.
"Well...we made a statue for our mom when she gets back. She lives in the Sea Tempe now, from what we found out. But we didn't place it there just yet. Had to do some fine-tuning and touching up on it. And it's looking dandy right now!" Sonata winked.
Oooh! I gotta see this!" Interested in this sculpture, Ash and Pikachu's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah..." He then realized something else. "You're gonna see your mom in her human form instead of her siren form, huh? Which one did you do?"
"Siren form. It's how e remember her the most. I mean, we didn't even know she lived at the Sea Temple now or found her way there. But..." Sonata then started thinking of what her mother could look like in human form. "She'd look a bit different with how she is now, huh?"
"How different are we talking here?" Ash leaned in.
"I got it!" Sonata chose the best way to represent her mother's potential human form as she has never seen it yet. She quickly went over to her home to grab a few essential items. A quill for drawing, coloured pens for colouring and paper for the artwork to be shown in.
And that was her approach. Art. Seemed like the best option after all. Sonata started drawing a conceptual artwork of her mother's human form. She knew what she looked like as a siren, even after all these years, so it was clear that taking the siren appearance and adding those features to her human form was the best way to go about it. Her mother, Vivace, resembled Adagio in terms of the manestyle. It's where Adagio even found inspiration for it. After finishing the concept drawing, She then showed it to Ash, Pikachu and Derpy.
"Since she's still in her human form, she'd look...just like this!"
"She's got stripes of my mane, Adagio's full hair and hair colouring of Aria. It's like a triple fusion of us. Oh, and she's got Adagio's coat too. Looks just like her, huh?"
"Hmm..." Derpy squinted her eyes. "I can see the similarity somewhere!"
"Yep. I recognize that hair." Ash nodded, spotting Adagio's familiar hairstyle on Vivace. "The only other girl I know with hair that big is Iris."
"Pika-Pika."
"Gonna put this on the fridge." Sonata admired her artwork for a moment. "But anyway! We need you to help us carry the statue over to the Sea Temple, please?"
"Sure thing. We'll have it there safe and sound. Say, Derpy. Do you wanna come along?" Ash questioned.
"Yes please!" Derpy was all for it as she clapped her hooves together. Popping out of her mane was Wooper as his interest was also piqued. They were most definitely going.
"Okay then! Let's go!" With a goal of bringing a sculpture made out of Melody Crystals and showing a tyrant king the Sea Temple, a new yet seemingly brief journey was about to begin.
Hoenn Region. Lilycove City. Afternoon.
Samiya was still here, undergoing its repairs. The People of the Water and Lilycove City's residents continued to communicate some more. They were close to each other after all.
Carrying the statue here was Ash who did most of the heavy lifting. He was carrying the statue of Vivace which was fittingly heavy due to how detailed and large it was. But Ash had help. His Dragonite was also carrying the statue.
"Sorry that you had to carry it, Ash. Dragonite." Aria spoke to them. "Adagio certainly wasn't gonna even try and do it."
"No problem," Ash said while also holding some heavy accessories that Adagio felt compelled to make, just to add the majesticness of this statue. "This weight's pretty intimidating, but nothing we can't handle."
"Dragonite!"
"It was worth coming here, Ash. This place is nice." Derpy flew around, observing the Sea Temple and gawking at its wonderful colours and gleaming aesthetic. "And you don't' wanna stay here?"
"Yeah, that sounds like crazy talk, when you think about it. Who wouldn't want to stay in a place like this?!" And Sonata agreed on that notion, shouting as her voice echoed throughout the area.
"It's cool and all, but endless adventure in the big world is where I belong. Out there in the open world and stuff." Ash put it as it was. Anyone else would enjoy this luxury but Ash preferred to keep it to the expansive world. Both worlds even plus a parallel one, making two. "By the way...you three have Shift Stones." Ash then noticed how the Dazzlings had Shift Stones at their disposal. They were glowing right through their saddlebags.
"Adagio suggested we keep them." Aria showed the body changing stone embued with Rift Magic.
"We need it desperately. Mother isn't going to like us in these forms. She'd be applauded with us, even if we were her daughters." said Adagio. "These stones will bring us back to our original siren forms. Sadly, we will still be stuck as ponies to this day. And technically humans I suppose."
"Mom's still gonna love us even in this new look. I mean, look at us!" Sonata got in front of Adagio, holding Derpy as well. "I know you're not the biggest fan of ponies, but you gotta admit, they and we in these forms are super cute, aren't they?!"
"I think so too." Derpy agreed with a nod as Aria mushed her face, making Derpy's speech slightly muffled.
"..." Adagio stood there for a moment, observing her sister and Derpy "Okay, you have a point, they have a cuteness factor to them. And I do look adorable like this don't I?" Showing vanity, Adagio looked at the walls of the temple and how some parts had mirror-like properties, showing her reflection. She then pouted her lips to show off her cuteness. "But that's beside the point! We're keeping it traditional."
"Or we could totally surprise her like this." Aria had a more playful option in mind. Usually, it was Sonata but Aria has some traits from her sisters after all. Both of them as she held the Shift Stone out. "We could show up as ponies or..." She then harnessed the power of the Shift Stone, changing her appearance into something else.
She made herself appear as a divine being that wore royal and ancient garments that flowed beautifully with an ethereal appearance stars flowing out and everything as Aria fittingly chose her human form to make it work. She towered over the others as the Shift Stone's transformation possibilities were seemingly endless. "Something like this?"
"Woah! Awesome!" Ash, Pikachu, Dragonite, Derpy, Wooper and Sonata liked what they were seeing. Adagio's jaw dropped from this glorious sight of divinity.
"You're not the only one who can think big like this, Adagio. "Aria smirked. "I can go above and beyond too. You can thank Brionne's hard work for that."
"Hmph! I can 1-UP you without an issue!" Adagio took out her Shift Stone before also utilizing its power. She also went with the same theme. A giant divine being that stood gracefully over many. However, Adagio had herself gain far more majestic clothes that illuminated the temple. Adagio even gave herself a staff and a crown to boost her own visage, giving a smug grin to her little sister.
The People of the Waer eventually noticed this as they were starstruck. They immediately stopped what they were doing to see this. And how could they not?
And Adagio went above and beyond. She gave herself an echoing voice that made her truly feel as if she was a bonafide goddess in the flesh. "How's this? Top that, sis."
"Mmrrgh...!" Aria grumbled as she couldn't think of anything right now. Adagio had her beat, but that wasn't to say that Aria's ideas couldn't grow over time.
"Oooh! Let me try!" Sonata wanted a crack at it. But her approach was less extravagant than the rest. She used the stone to transform herself into a massive taco. Nothing more. Sonata kept it simple. She was a simple pony and siren after all.
"Seriously?" Adagio said as she and Aria had disappointed faces, expecting their youngest sister to think of something out of this world. "That was the best thing you could think of?"
"Eh. At least I'm the right size for you two to eat me. But uh...does the stone mimic taste or something?" Sonata was curious. So were Adagio and Aria. To test it out due to curiosity, Aria went over to touch the sauce on the transformed taco, seeing if the sauce was real or not. But the moment her finger came in contact with it, a reaction from Sonata came through. "Ow! That's my eye!"
"How was I supposed to know that?" Aria pulled back.
Elsewhere, while the sisters were rambling on, someone else was rambling. But it was more of a rant than anything. And that person was ranting at the guards of the Sea Temple.
"I had to end my venture a few weeks earlier after I found out about your new location!" The voice of a female bellowed at the guards. "All the way here next to this city?!"
"S-Sorry!" A guard stuttered. "It's just that a lot happened that led to this. The Sea Temple would have moved naturally with the currents as always. But the temple was under attack previously and the mechanism along with the crystals that allowed us to travel at a quicker pace was disrupted, leading us to arrive here."
"Ugh..." She put her hand over her face, frustrated by that. "Whatever. But this will mean I might have to start over and-" But as she kept rambling, she heard some voices nearby in the other section of the temple. It was the voices of the Dazzlings still arguing. Mainly Sonata and Aria. "What's all that noise?" She then went to investigate. And with all of this babbling, the lady started listening closely, picking up on the tones and attitudes of these voices.
"Bleh!" Sonata exclaimed before using the Shift Stone to return to normal. Her sisters did the same. "Maybe becoming a tac isn't the greatest option in the world. Not sure how I could see in that."
"We're all in agreement that I looked the best, didn't I?" Adagio replied pompously. "I think I'll carry that same appearance when I head to the Human World again sometime. "Those humans are probably still confused about what a Pokemon is. If I show up like that, I can make them worship me..." She rubbed her hooves, scheming.
"I like that one." Sombra approved Adagio greatly.
"What's all this then?" Just then, the lady from the other room had arrived at the scene. Ash turned around in response to those words. And the moment he did so, he gasped with shock at who he had seen. Back sooner than expected, it was none other than the same lady as the sculpture.
The mother of the Dazzlings Vivace.
"Oh!" Ash gasped.
"Pikachu?!"
"Hang on...aren't you..." Vivace pointed at Ash for a bit, recognizing him as the King of the Sea. The statue next to the throne helped that. "The king?!"
"And you're...Vivace!" Ash pointed back at her. The moment he said his name, that prompted the Dazzlings to put an end to their rambling. They also heard a familiar voice that was lost to them for so long. In perfect unison, the sisters turned around. And at the same time, so did Vivace with her head.
That was when they saw each other. Mother and daughters locked eyes. Naturally, upon witnessing each other, they were frozen in place. Even in their pony forms, Vivace could recognize her daughters' appearances. Ash and Derpy backed away to let this moment sink in for them.
"Mom?" The trio said with slightly weak voices and a hint of a whimper as tears were starting to form. Adagio's mascara was already being affected as their hearts were beating at a different rate.
"Adagio. Aria. Sonata. I-Is it really you three?" Vivace started approaching her daughters with her hands reaching. The three of them gained a joyous smile that slowly graced their faces. But Adagio then gasped, realizing she was in her pony form. Along with her sisters.
"Wait! We're still in these forms! We'll just change quickly and-" Adagio was ready to use the power of the Shift Stone to alter her appearance. But before that could even happen, Vivace had already hugged them, picking all three of them up from the ground. This was a much-needed hug.
"I've missed you three so much!" Vivace shouted with tears flying out. "My darlings!"
"Mom!" They shouted, hugging her back. The current appearances didn't mean anything to Vivace at all. Adagio soon realized this before forming a smile. Vivace then spun whilst still hugging them. She proved to be a strong hugger too with a mighty grip.
"Oh!" She then looked each in their eyes. "I'm so glad you three are still okay! I feared I'd never see another one of my species for long."
"We're glad too, mom! Especially when we heard you were now living here!" Sonata wiped some tears out of her eyes with Aria helping to do the same.
"I totally knew that you'd be okay." Aria grinned, trying to hide her tears. But it was no use. Something like this was impossible to not tear up. "Totally."
"Hm. It's good to see you still c-" Vivace then paused her words, quickly placing her daughters down before crossing her arms. "Hold on! Sonata! What have I told you about eating too much?! I can see that some of it have gone to your face a bit!"
"Ah!" Sonata gasped, hiding behind Dragonite while holding her face.
"Aria! That had better not be a piercing I see there!" Vivace's eyes then locked onto Aria, startling her.
"N-No!" Aria used her mane to hide a piercing around her ear.
"And Adagio. Pony or not. Always keep your front limbs close! Stand prim and proper!"
"S-Sorry!" Adagio closed her eyes, standing upright and putting her front hooves together. She then scrunched her face, closing her eyes and trying to be majestic as always. But in front of her mother who raised her voice, it was hard to keep that same momentum.
"Hm." Vivace then let out a slight chuckle before then letting out a full laugh. "Hahahaha!" As she laughed, her daughters gazed with Adagio opening her eyes and Sonata peeking from around Dragonite. "I'm glad you're still the same as you ever were! I know we're not there now but...welcome home, you three!"
"Dragonite!" Happy at this reunion. Dragonite grabbed Vivace and the Dazzlings, hugging them altogether. They were taken aback by this. Especially Vivace.
"D-Dragonite! Every time!" Aria growled.
"Dra!"
Moments later, the family had some catching up to do. Vivace would explain how this came to be and her current existence here in the Sea Temple. But Adagio knew this information already upon first arriving here. The Dazzlings would explain themselves as well.
"So you two lost your singing talents, did you?" Vivace said before drinking some tea. "But you've been working hard to retrieve them."
"Yeah. Took some time. We don't have the same magic as before but we still sound pretty good." Sonata shrugged. "Adagio's the only one who didn't get the worst of it."
"I'm just always ahead of the game, aren't I?" Adagio smirked.
"She had some Rift Humans change her species a bit." Only for Aria to shut her down, making Adagio flinch. "So, mom. What have you been doing ever since?"
"Besides settling down at the temple, not much. I had previously left the human world years ago to find myself washed up here in a civilization that had just been recovered. I made this place my new home and chose to live here. But I also wanted to see more of this world to familiarize myself. I was lucky to keep some of my magic so I could move even underwater."
"Did you see the gateways? They're sorta recent but they're everywhere." Sonata leaned in.
"I saw them. But I suspect that they are bad news due to their recency. So I don't interact with them."
"No, mom! They lead home! Back to our world!" Adagio sat up, exclaiming. Vivace spat out some of her tea from this revelation.
"They are!"
"Mhm!" Sonata, the younger sister nodded. "There's an easier way to get back now. It's always been there thanks to that Rift. And other stuff that happened too I guess."
"You can come home with us now. I mean...our home's not what it used to be anymore but still!" Aria ran up to Vivace. "We can be together again. I mean we already are but you get what I mean."
"Oh. This is wonderful news. Truly." Vivace let out a sigh of relief until her smile turned to a frown. "But. I'm afraid we can't fully close this chapter in our life yet."
"Huh?" A confused utter came from Adagio. "Huh?! W-What are you talking about?! We found you after so long! We even made this sculpture of Melody Crystals for you when we learned you were still around!" She aimed her hoof at the sculpture. "It should all be over, right?"
"I'm beyond happy that you three are okay and we're back together now." Vivace held Adagio's sulking face. "This is the happiest I've been in..well...centuries. I'm complete with all of you here. But, I know that the others are still out there. The rest of our species."
"Everyone else..." Adagio gawked. "B-But..."
"I now know that those gateways lead to our home. But I won't return until I find a way to bring everyone else back. They're still out there. Possibly in their human forms as we speak. If I can find all of them, we can all be together again."
"We've got that covered too." Ash suddenly spoke as all attention was drawn to him. "There's a portal over at Canterlot that leads to the Human World. So you can get there pretty easily."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh! Even better!" Vivace stood up. "As to be expected from the king. Even if he's younger than I expected."
"You...now I see it. You're sirens." Sombra showed himself to Vivace, floating towards them. "Ah, I've heard of you."
"And I've heard about you too. King Sombra." Shockingly, Vivace was aware of Sombra's existence. "Look at you now. Not as imposing as the stories made you out to be."
"Tch! Only because I'm stuck to this twerp right here! You sirens should know the terror that I had when I once ruled the Crystal Empire. If I was free right now, I would impose my rule to a higher degree. Possibly having you sirens under my control."
"Hmph. You wish." Vivace scoffed. "It's someone like you that made harbour my hate for ponies and extend it. But..." Vivace sighed. "That's not the case anymore."
"You don't hate ponies anymore, mom?" Aria leaned in, shocked by her mother's words. The same went for the other two.
"No." Vivace sat down. "I suppose being sent elsewhere and eventually finding myself in the Sea Temple changed all of that. And besides, years have passed since then. I've made friends of my own here in Samiya. I was so apprehensive at first, but seeing how they accepted me was...truly glorious."
"Friends? But...I thought sirens don't do friends." Adagio shook her head as the beliefs her mother had made suddenly changed.
"I thought so too. How foolish I was..." Vivace chuckle. "I learned something from this temple. Perhaps it was because of what we sirens used to do back then. I met some amazing people here as well and some amazing Pokemon too. There is nothing wrong with having friends. But always keep your family close to you even if you leave eventually. And in this case, I was gone for a long time, wasn't I?"
"W-We have friends." Aria raised her hoof. "Quite a few. Come out." She and Sonata then sent their Pokemon out. Brionne, Croagunk, Ledian, Vaporeon and Lopunny had arrived at the scene. Kricketot also hopped out of Adagio's massive mane. And the moment he hopped out, he latched himself to Vivace's mane. It was practically the same. Just slightly bigger.
"Kricketot!"
"Oh, who's this little fellow"? Vivace looked up at Kricketot, petting the Cricket Pokemon.
"Kricke!"
"I'm glad that you two lived on even with my absence. You were still so young back then, Having you three be without any guidance terrified me. But I knew you would make it. You have each other after all."
"Ehehe...W-Well...we didn't always get along." Adagio laughed with a nervous tone. That much was true They had their arguments. Especially one argument that split them up and another that had split only two of them up.
"You're my daughters. I should expect nothing less. But..." Vivace then stood up. "I have to find the others. They can still be out there. Canterlot, was it? I swear I know someone from there..." Vivace was then thinking of a certain pony who used to live in Canterlot.
"Let us help you find them all. We've been to the Human World as well." Adagio suggested. "We can definitely help you on your search."
"You shouldn't. You three are still young and have a lot ahead of you. I wouldn't want you to waste your time in what could be an endless journey." Vivace shook her head, only for Adagio to shake it back.
"We don't care! Believe us, mother, we've been through some rough scenarios. Searching for the rest of our kind is nothing new to us. And besides...w-we wanna spend some more time with you. We've seen each other at last and you're planning on leaving us again. We don't want that."
"Hm." Vivace touched her chin, pondering about it for a moment. "Spending time...yes. That would be excellent. Are you positive that you want to come with me?"
"Positive!" The three of them exclaimed.
"And no matter what you say, we'll come after you, no matter what!" Adagio's stubbornness was showing. Her determination skyrocketed. So did Aria and Sonata. When it came to family, their spirits are accelerated to a high degree. Vivace knew this. She then smirked, accepting defeat.
"Very well. We'll make it a family effort." An agreement for extra help was made. That Dazzlings were relieved by this. "But, I suggest we stay here for a while. Maybe a few days before we get a move on. I have so much to tell you."
"So do we! Have I told you about our band?" Adagio prancedo n the spot. "It's a big deal if you must know. The Dazzlings."
"Hoh? Is that so? Go on then." A curious Vivace was ready to sit there for hours, listening to her daughter's stories.
"Can I listen?!" Appearing behind Vivace without any warning was Derpy. She was eager for some stories to pass the time. Those interested her the most. And the temple, of course. She already had a look around anyway.
"Sure, my little pony." And Vivace agreed to it. Her hatred for ponies was much like her departure from her world. Gone in an instant for so long.
Ash, Pikachu and Dragonite watched as the Dazzlings chatted to their mother, going on and on about their adventures so far. For the most part, it wasn't too pleasant. "Nice, isn't it? Family's something special, huh?"
"Hmph." Sombra didn't give much of a response to that. "Everything is so mushy now that I'm stuck with you."
"Come on, Sombra. You'd be the same if you had family around you, right? Or someone you cared for?"
"I already told you that there isn't anyone I care or acknowledge. How slow can you be?" Sombra then hid back into Ash, ending the conversation again. It was difficult speaking to Sombra without it ending in scenarios such as that. But Ash was already getting used to it.
While within Ash, Sombra closed his eyes, thinking for a moment. He thought back to Ash's words and there had to be someone he cared for. Sombra chose to ignore it. But in the midst of his mind, he thought one pony, in particular. A unicorn with a purple coat and a light blue mane. But he quickly discarded it, going back to sleep for the time being and thinking of something to get out of here.
Reunited with their mother, at last, the Dazzlings felt at peace. But it wasn't over yet. Other sirens were presumably out there in the Human World somewhere. Or maybe even the Pokemon World. A quest to bring all of them back together was on the horizon as the journey continues.
Chapter 666 End.