//------------------------------//
// Solace Tiara 
// Story: My Little Pokémon 
// by Amarvax 
//------------------------------//

Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. Within the UFO. Afternoon.

After finding some information about this city's past and learning bits about how this city became so ruined, they searched for more. A great battle happened here involving advanced weapons, a Centaur Mech and a Space Dragon that came from a smaller but deadly Sun. It was all stellar to view. Alas, that was all the information they could gather.

They searched in this library for more information with Fluttershy and Pheromosa being their translators. Ash and his friends would find torn pages that were scattered everywhere, trying to piece some of them together. However, when attempting to do so, the damage had been done. The book would not show a projection anymore with the pages ripped out.

"This is as far as it goes," Twilight said, holding the ripped pages with her magic. "We can't see the projection of how everything else went down sadly."

"Can't we repair it or something?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We've got something for that, right?"

"No. Surprisingly. But what I can do is recreate these." Twilight already found a solution. "We have the pages here that follow the order properly. All I have to do is learn how to write these symbols and we'll be set."

"I'd gladly love to help you write these symbols."

"That should be it for this place then," said Cobalion. If you all want to carry these books back, that will require a massive bag. Bigger than what you all have."

"No need! Hoopa can do something about this!" As always, Hoopa would grant wishes for them when he saw the opportunity. The second Cobalion mentioned bags, by holding his ring out and digging into space, Hoopa would grab the necessary items.

In this case, massive bags. Comically large ones. They fell out of the ring, dropping and covering everyone immediately. However, these bags were already full of objects. Thus, when they fell, Ash and the others dropped to the floor.

"Ugh! Hoopa! These are already full!" Twilight yelled, pushing some of them off with her magic. "And heavy!"

"Put them back where you found them too please..." Hilda groaned, knowing for a fact that these bags belonged to someone and Hoopa just outright stole them. Alas, this was Hoopa merely being himself as he laughed right afterwards. He could've chosen empty bags this whole time but decided to be a trickster as always.

Pikachu, who was within his Pikachu Mech, was messing around with it. Since it reacted to his thoughts and would perform actions, he took full advantage of it. Running around, dancing, jumping and more. He mimicked Iron Tail, having the Pikachu Mech swing its gigantic tail.

But he soon realized that he would have to leave this mech behind. He definitely couldn't bring something this big back home with him. Knowing this, Pikachu lowered his ears. "Pika..."

"Don't worry, buddy. We can always just come back here and try it out again." Ash reassured him they would return here. They knew of its location after all and a way to see the ship.

However, that's when the mech had one more surprise. It reacted to Pikachu's thoughts in a different way. Instead of reacting to his movements, it reacted to his emotions. Feeling that Pikachu didn't want to leave this mech behind, that's when the device changed once more. Ash and Pikachu were still in it as they would feel the rapid movements of this machine.

Every piece of it was suddenly shrinking. From the inside and the outside. Before that, the seats within the mech would eject Ash and Pikachu for their own safety. They watched as the Pikachu Mech shrunk, turning all of its parts into simplified cubic shapes. It was doing this for a reason. Once the mech fully shrunk, it was revealed to only show up as a cube.

But that cube had the face of Pikachu on it on all sides, symbolizing who it belonged to. The Mouse Pokemon walked up to the cube, picking it up to witness this miniature transformation.

"Pikachu..."

"Awesome! That's one way to bring it along! Now it's big enough for you to carry!" Ash cheered. "Lucky you, Pikachu!"

"Pika...Pi-Pikachu!" As if he had just caught a Pokemon or won a Gym Badge, Pikachu triumphantly cried out while holding the cube in the air. Like Trainer, Like Pokemon. Pikachu gaining this cube was a good sign of how their time in this ruined city was coming to an end. They saw a lot and experienced a lot. This spaceship still had plenty of mysteries that needed to be solved.

Until they can be solved, they will return here. Cobalion even saw some interest in this place too. But for a different reason. He thought about why the ship would crash land in this world specifically due to his knowledge of otherworldly visitors from the stars.

Cobalion then recalled what Nightmare Moon said. Potentially, the aliens came here for a reason. And with how clean the throne rooms were, it has hard to know if they were still here somewhere or long gone by now. And more importantly, the existence of the Space Dragon was somewhat worrying.



Back at the Ethereal Pavilion, everypony else had already gone ahead, viewing more of this wonderful place. But in the meanwhile, right where the tiara was located, the Royal Family stopped by at the very end. Curious about how the tiara could help you see something wonderful, Shooting Star wanted to test it out for himself.

"So this is it. Windkiss' Tiara." Shooting Star said. He came face to face with this tiara that Windkiss left behind, placing his hooves on it. Once he finally had the tiara in his grasp, the young prince would place it on his head, waiting for the magic to do its thing. And it certainly did.

A beautiful dazzle enveloped his head before then widening his eyes. Shooting Star sat there perplexed for a moment. He then closed his eyes, relaxing for a bit. After a few seconds of silence, he moved his mouth around before having a smile grace his face. It didn't even take him that long to wear it as he immediately took it off.

"So. What did you see, son?" Luminary asked. "What did the tiara show you?"

"Something great. It showed me all of my friends. But...I didn't really get why it did that."

"The tiara is mysterious in that way," Paramount said. "Its entire goal is to bring solace and understanding to those who wear it. Usually, after the tiara is worn do those who've wielded know why it showed them those images."

"Guess I'm gonna have to wait then. But it was so great. Felt like I went through so many memories. But they never happened. That's the weird part. So is something similar gonna happen to everyone else who views this?"

"Correct. But not all of them will have the same thing." Paramount explained. "But they'll most certainly be happy when viewing it."

As the royal family spoke with each other, somepony else was approaching this area, but undetected. It was none other than Garnet. She was the first one to truly reach here. Garnet crept up to the tiara, gazing at its dazzling brilliance. Her eyes flashed beautifully, amazed by what she was seeing.

Now that she saw it, the cash-hungry pony would lift it up without hesitation, quickly placing it on her head. She didn't go undetected at all. Her hoofsteps on this marble floor were very audible, prompting the Royal Family to face her. Their eyes opened as they were distracted to even play their part. It was like they got dressed for nothing.

"Gah! We missed our chance!" Luminary bellowed. "We were going to ask her questions before she put it on..."

"Aah..." Garnet looked like she was in paradise as the light caressed her horn. It was truly satisfying. So satisfying that she didn't hear Luminary's voice. But right then and there, her smile turned into a frown. "Hmm...Why's all the money vanishing? This isn't that pleasant. But it still feels great for some reason."

Paramount and Luminary knew exactly what Garnet was seeing. They didn't need to put the tiara on to know this. It was self-explanatory since they knew Garnet well.

"Oh well. I don't think I can trade this in. It's too important and that's too much trouble waiting for me." She shook her head before removing the tiara. "Also why does this place have stairs? We don't need stairs."

"What did you see?" Paramount asked as the echo effect reached Garnet's ears at last.

"Gaah!" Garnet gasped before jumping up. Her wings spread out, causing her to take full flight. The nursery school caretaker would be on the ceiling, shaking and quivering after being caught. "W-Who are you ponies...?!"

"Did she not see the touchstones to know about the sages?" Shooting Star asked.

"Definitely not." Paramount and Luminary shook their heads. They knew that Garnet wouldn't bother with the touchstones. The tiara was her goal.

"Welcome, Garnet," Paramount spoke to her. "You are the first one here to find Windkiss' Tiara and wear it even before we could ask you any questions."

"Oh. Were there questions involved? I didn't know! Sorry.! I got ahead of myself!" She apologized before dropping from the ceiling. "It was just so shiny and dazzling and so fancy...Oh, the amount of Quillbits that could make."

"You've seen what you needed to see. As the um...sages of this place. That's right. Us." Luminary spoke, almost breaking out of character. "You may now leave. Or roam around the pavilion some more."

"Well, I was hoping to get something of value from here, honestly. But you all look pretty shiny, actually..." Her eyes then became narrow, eyeing down the Royal Family. Thanks to the voice alteration, she had no idea it was them. "Say...you don't think it'd be weird if I could have a piece of you?"

"Eh?" The trio were reasonably taken aback by this. Garnet's quest for wealth had its boundaries but sometimes those boundaries can be vague and hard to spot.

"All that light...Is it actual gold?! What about your clothes?!"

"Y-You're not thinking of selling us, are you?!" Luminary gasped, clinging on to Paramount. "Not again! I don't wanna go back to that!"

"No! Nothing like that! I just thought... never mind." Garnet scrunched her face, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "I can't believe I just said that."

"Ahem." Paramount cleared his throat. "Well...you've probably already found wealth here. It came from the tiara but those effects have yet to come through."

"What do you mean by that?" Garnet asked.

"I don't get it myself." Shooting Star added. "But, you'll find out sometime in the future."

"Okay then. I guess that makes sense. But I did see something when I put on that tiara. I saw my friends there. All the Quillbits I could dream of started flying away. It's pretty disheartening to see them leave. But yet...my friends being there soothed that pain."

"Mhm." Paramount nodded. Those were the effects of the tiara kicking in. Garnet loved any form of currency she could have just to get rich. But even if all of that staggering wealth were to vanish, her friends would be there.

"Oh! That reminds me! I should meet up with Kaleidoscope pretty soon. She's waiting for me in Manehattan. A place down at Equestria. Thank you for having us here at the Ethereal Pavilion."

"Thank you for being here. Hopefully, this experience bodes well for you in the future." Paramount bowed his head. Garnet would then flutter away, departing from the Ethereal Pavilion. While their surprise didn't go the way they wanted, the Royal Family could already see that Garnet gained something from this tiara.

And whoever else shows up here to wear it shall truly know what puts their hearts at peace and brings solace.



Eventually, more ponies showed up in this room to wear the tiara. Waiting for them was the Royal Family, introducing themselves as sages. The same sages that assisted Windkiss in the past. When they arrived, the Royal Family would ask them questions. Questions about why they came here and most of them were the same.

They only came here for the thrills, enjoyment and as Rarity would put it, the romanticism of adventure. That's all that truly mattered to them. It's why they even stayed in a group instead of just splitting up to different locations across the world as of recently.

After that, they would place the tiara on their heads, gaining images in their minds and eyes. The tiara deduced all of them by simply reading their auras. They all had something that would make them smile. Most involved things that were close to them. Mainly objects. But the most consistent factor were those who were in their lives. From family members and friends. And those items even correlated with them.

Eventually, Ash and his group would show up here when exploring the pavilion. They didn't expect to reach this important room so soon. Not when there was still so much more to see.

"Aren't you those sages from Windkiss' past?" Twilight pointed out, recognizing this distinct appearance. "You're still around."

"Indeed," said Luminary. "Welcome. You're here for the same reason as everyone else. That much we know. But the question is...are you ready to place that tiara on?"

"So it's been sitting here for this long...and no one's ever taken it?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "Not even the Indigo Alliance?"

"There'd be no reason to take it." Paramount shook his head. "Despite the fact that it's another one of Lady Windkiss' creations and is possibly the wealthiest item here, it would not benefit them at all."

"Whoever wears this tiara will know true solace. That is why Windkiss crafted this. For the future, she left this tiara behind to bring others smiles. Smiles that would flow across not just Pegalysium but the entire world. And it all depends on who wears it. If anypony from the Indigo Alliance were to wear it, the same would happen to them but nothing of value that benefits their entire group would come." Luminary explained. "So, they left it here. Thus, this tiara is the safest item in Pegalysium History."

"Oooh..." Ash and his friends gawked. Now they knew why this tiara was still here. If it served a different purpose, they might've never seen it.

Ash would be the first to walk up to the tiara, wanting to see what it could show him. What could bring him solace? He already had a lot on his mind.

"Tell us loud and clear what you're gonna see, Ash. I gotta know!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"When you put this on, depending on what you do, the images that are shown to you can only become real if you make them real," Paramount said to Ash before he put the tiara on. "And it will also show you what you can expect down the road, bringing your heart to ease."

"Hm." Ash nodded in understanding before placing the tiara on his head. The light from the tiara reacted to Ash, reading his Aura. His Aura was absolutely colossal, garnering a titanic reaction from the tiara. It was the biggest one that the Royal Family had ever seen.

His body became incandescent as he closed his eyes. In a few seconds, millions of images appeared in Ash's head. Images of his friends, his family and all of his adventures. From then to now. This was the most amount of images the tiara had shown. After that, Ash smiled before removing the tiara.

"Well...what did you see?" Twilight asked as everyone was curious.

"Nothing I already didn't know," Ash replied. "It showed me what I already know and love. You all. And everyone else back down there and back home. Plus, I got to see things I've never seen before."

"Like?" Fluttershy leaned in.

"Uh...not sure what it was. It was Pokemon that looked like it was made out of dough. So soft and squishy. It felt like I was actually there." Ash sighed. "I couldn't catch all the Pokemon since it was so fast but I felt what the tiara was telling and showing me."

"So you already know," Paramount replied. "Then...perhaps you didn't need to put the tiara on. You already know what brings you solace. This is why it's called the Solace Tiara if you must know its name."

"I sure do. And I'm looking at them all." Ash's friends brought him solace. Plus his family if his mother was up here right now. To top it all off, his solace was everyone's solace thanks to the meteors from Meteor Mountain and the time they've spent together. 

"Glad to hear it, Ash." Cynthia walked over. "But you may have spoiled what else we'd see."

"Ah! My bad!" Ash laughed right afterwards. "Pinkie said to say it loud and clear so I did."

"Well, I want to know what I'll see." Rainbow Dash would take a crack at it, even if Ash essentially had the same thing in mind. She was next to wear the tiara, excited to know what it entailed.

When putting it on, Rainbow Dash's viewing would be swift like most others. But she would catch a glimpse of a few things. The most central thing was the viewing of a stadium. A large stadium that greatly resembled the Equestria League Stadium. Rainbow Dash was hoping this is what it meant since she could see the stadium.

But moments after, she then saw herself gathering around her friends with a group hug. Tears were flowing. But those tears were followed up with smiles. And standing behind her were Princess Luna and Darkrai. After that, the viewing came to an end.

"Huh. The Equestria League. I hope that's what I think it means. I can't wait for that day!" High hopes were placed on the multi-coloured-maned pegasus. She was even more excited when the day for the Equestria League comes. But subtly, the Solace Tiara moved on its own without making any visible distance. And with this minimal movement, it looked like it was shaking its head, knowing something Rainbow Dash didn't.

Everyone else would place the Solace Tiara on, knowing what made the happy. They already found it recently. Mainly Celestia and Luna. And some of them even found out during the events at the Galaxy Tower and before that. 

But there was one pony who had a different reaction. Roseluck. She went up to the tiara, placing it on her head as she was pumped as much as everyone to see what happiness it would bring. Noticeably, it took some time for the tiara to read Roseluck.

After finally reading her, Roseluck only saw one thing. Rosa Maledicta. After that, it was over. That was the quickest one by far with the faintest aura of them all. The image of Rosa Maledicta was all that she got to see. Her vicious and intimidating form and a more gentle one that came to mind.

"Uh..I think I'm done here." Roseluck removed the tiara as there was not a smile on her face compared to the others.

"What did you see, Roseluck?" Berry Punch asked. "Skowet and I got the same thing in our minds."

"It was...roses. Yeah. Roses." Roseluck lied, hiding what she saw. "What else could it be?"

That was not the case. Once more, just like with Rainbow Dash, the tiara would shake. It disapproved of what Roseluck said, knowing what she was hiding. But at the same time, why wouldn't Roseluck hide it? Only one pony would know the truth about this, even if she wasn't here. Princess Celestia.

As the journey continues. 


Chapter 949 End.