//------------------------------// // Short: Rose-Tinted Past // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon. Many had shown up to wear the Solace Tiara. And by wearing it, they found what could bring them solace and what already does. However, there was someone who was an exception to this. When wearing the Solace Tiara, Roseluck saw something meant to bring solace, but it only startled and worried her. So much so to the point that she lied about what she saw. The Solace Tiara showed her the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta. Her older sister. She lied, saying that the tiara showed her roses. The main thing that makes her happy. But even when lying, now that her sister had been brought up, Roseluck couldn't forget about her. Not like she forgot about her in the beginning. Roseluck could still remember it clearly. Her sister went to study at Canterlot and was set to become another one of Celestia's students with her talented skill. Alas, that was the last she saw of her big sister before she mysteriously vanished one day. But after what recent events have offered, Roseluck would have knowledge about her older sister. But it was something she didn't want to believe. Her sister? The Lich Queen? Ruler of Vampires and Skeletons. Master of Forbidden and Dark Magic that is rarely ever seen. Thinking about that was grim. And the fact that her sister would want to erase all life was outlandish especially since Roseluck was the only one who knew Rosa Maledicta the most. 15 Years ago. Ponyville. It was 15 years ago. Much like how in the current day, Roseluck's Gym could be found around Whitetail Wood, back then, there was a cottage near these woods. At this time, Roseluck was but a filly, living in this cottage. Facing her was a garden of roses. Beautiful red roses that spread around the cottage and even out to the woods. The young filly picked one of them up before then seeing how an extra bud grew from it. Different species of roses covered the house as there was a staggering abundance of them that almost masked the building. "Ooh. Could I make beautiful roses just like you?" Roseluck sid to the pony standing in front of her. The one who created these beautiful roses. Rosa Maledicta. A slightly younger Rosa to be exact. "Please, sis?" "Of course, you can. But unlike anyone else, our family's roses will be exceptional." Rosa said to Roseluck. "Yours will be unique. Not like mine." "Which one will I get?" "Well, we'll find out once you learn how to properly make them. Honestly, you're not very good at it." Rosa taunted. "I can get good at it!" She barked. In reality, by this point, Roseluck was terrible at making roses. This was proven by the basket of wilted roses that could be seen. All of them were failures that bloomed poorly. "Eventually." "Obviously. You're a bit slow when it comes to learning how to take care of your roses. And you're young. And I have the wonderful advantage of Magic." Rosa added, making Roseluck pout with agitation on her face. "But they'll be great someday, Roseluck. After all, if you ask me, it's wonderful to create life. Life of our own, that is." "Life? The roses aren't alive though." Roseluck flailed a rose around. "Oh, they very much are. Every plant in the world is alive. That's something I can teach you before School does. And with every plant in the world having Life, just like how we nurture those who are new to the world, plants deserve the same. Think of it like a child." "A child? I'm not ready to be a mom though..." Roseluck shook her head. "You always love ruining my speeches, don't you? But besides that, I know you'll take good care of these roses in the future Roseluck. Just like how I do." "I get it...I'll make a lot of them and the best rose you'll ever see! It'll be massive and it'll come from a tree! It'll be the biggest rose anypony in the world will ever see!" "A tree? Okay then. If you say so." Rosa chuckled. "You'd need magic to have that grow on a tree." "Well, you're just lucky that you're a unicorn. You got to study at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns too. And not me..." "Duh. Because I'm a unicorn." The older sister shrugged. "And very soon, I'll become one of the best unicorns to ever go down in history. The kinds of magic I'll invent will be astronomical. How about we reach our goals together, little sis?" "Sure!" It was a promise. They both gave each there a high-hoof to symbolize the dreams they would chase and make a reality. "So, where are you heading today?" "Isn't it obvious? I'm heading to the Academy far off at Trottingham. And that's where I'll start my new type of magic. To expand my horizons of magic even further, I need to see what can be possible instead of just being stagnant. I'm already equipped to handle the cold. I'll be back in 6 months when we go on break. Your foalsitter and uncle will be here for you. So, don't mess up the house and give them trouble, okay?" "I promise, I won't. This time." She put on a devious smile as Rosa knew that her little sister would somehow cause trouble when she's gone. "Come back soon, okay? And have fun!" Alas, she never did return after those 6 months passed. Roseluck waited for months for her big sister to show up again. But once the 6 months came and went, 7 months would pass. Then 8 months, 9, months, 10 months, until it would soon reach the entire year that has gone by. And there was no response from Rosa at all. Roseluck would stand outside in the cold of the night, waiting for her big sister to return. The moon made it all so lonely, even with her caretakers being around, It didn't feel the same without her older sister. Her studies at Trottingham suddenly became unheard of. Rosa didn't even write to Roseluck. And as Roseluck grew, honing her skills as a Horticulturist and making beautiful roses, she would still wait patiently until her sister would return. Her home was even changed to reside in Central Ponyville. The House of Roses was never seen again. To Roseluck, she thought that Rosa was merely occupied, working extremely hard at the academy to show up again. And for years, Rosa's whereabouts were completely unknown. Current day. Until recently, when Roseluck learned about her sister thanks to the Dread League. Her thoughts came to an end after reminiscing that sweet memory. "It's impossible for both of us to reach our goals now," Roseluck said. By this point, her biggest goal had yet to be reached while Rosa's goal had drastically changed from what it originally was. "The tiara's alive?!" But right afterwards, a thunderous roar of words came from the next room, breaking Roseluck's thoughts about her sister. Hearing this shout, Roseluck would quickly take a gander at what made them all bellow. Ash's group was viewing another one of Windkiss' memories via the touchstones. And with this memory, they got to witness the creation of the Solace Tiara. Windkiss could be seen moulding the tiara with her magic. The tiara was embedded with a majority of Windkiss' magic which was seemingly boundless with how much she could give out. However, Windkiss' original goal to build this tiara was different to what it became. "There...You'll be my newest friend." Windkiss formed a friend of her own. Her first friend, as stated by Queen Luminary was Luminary's own grandmother. Thus, the Solace Tiara was the second friend she ever made. Sentient and alive, this tiara would see Windkiss as the very first entity. It had no eyes, yet it could see. It had no ears, yet it could hear. But ironically, it had no mouth and that didn't mean it could speak. The tiara couldn't say a word except make noises that involve its material being moved around. "Hi there. I'm Windkiss." Windkiss introduced herself to her own creation. "I made you. How does it feel to be born?" The tiara didn't respond with words. Instead, it responded by jumping around and making noises on the table. But these movements were easy to read for Windkiss. She could tell the tiara expressed happiness. This was not strange to experience at all. Applejack could resonate with this. After all, she and her friends built the current group f Golett that were on Applejack's team. They have experience when it comes to building friends. The Solace Tiara was no different to the Golett and other Artificial Man-made pokemon. She picked up the tiara, attempting to hug it, only to get poked by it. It was still metal after all. "Ow! My bad!" Windkiss chuckled before spinning with the tiara. "I'm glad you have made you! I knew it was a good idea!" In a way, this mirrored the memories of Roseluck. Both had their respective memories that were based around the creation of life. Roseluck remembered how Rosa mentioned creating and hurting life, AKA the roses. Granted, a tiara was vastly different from a rose but the motivation behind both creations was similar. Even the words from Windkiss' diary resonated with Roseluck. This would be her first time listening to the diary, and hearing what it had to say. "Dear Diary. I did it. I succeeded in making a new friend. Literally. Primrose Sky was my very first friend so I'm glad to have made a second friend days after. It's a tiara. Not exactly what most ponies would expect as a friend but she's my friend for sure. She's made up of all my magic and I made sure to fill her with emotions. Never quite figured out how to make a mouth, eyes or ears though. That was too tough for me. Either way, I'm glad to have made her. Creating life isn't something I'm used to even to this day. But it still feels wonderful and precious. Oh! That reminds me! I should befriend the Avus-Pegasus too! I made him after all." Indeed. Much like her sister in the past, Windkiss could see the joy in creating life. Windkiss even slightly reminded Roseluck of her sister. Alas, it's a shame that her sister was not the same. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?" A voice replied to Roseluck from behind, startling the earth pony. She was also joined by Gardevoir and no one else. Celestia and Gardevoir were the only ones to approach her. "Your sister, I mean." "Princess Celestia? How did you know?" "Passion sensed your emotions and relayed them to me. It's about your older sister, Rosa." Celestia explained. "Roseluck. If you're feeling affected by what's become of your sister, then you can head home if that's fine with you." "It's alright. When I first heard about it, I tried to not let it get to me that much or let anypony else know. But it doesn't matter since I can't stop thinking about it. How did this even happen?" Roseluck sighed. "I thought she was just occupied at the academy but...she's a Lich Queen now? I don't get it. Now she's trying to destroy life as if everything she taught me doesn't matter." "It may be because of what happened at Trottingham years ago," Celestia said, knowing more about Rosa aside from her being a student at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. "What happened? Tell me, please!" "The details are all muddled. But in the dead of night, an overflow of dark magic suddenly emerged. The library was consumed by a veil of darkness that caused the entire building to suddenly vanish. There wasn't a trace. Not even a crater. And the only pony there that emerged was Rosa. It was said that Rosa practised unorthodox magic that the academy would never allow. Any school would never allow it, really." "You mean dark magic...right?" Roseluck gulped, hoping it wasn't true that Rosa learned Dark Magic. "It makes sense now that we know what happened to her. She must've been studying Dark Magic for a while. And extensively, Curses. Especially with the level she reached with it. I'm not sure how she got access to such a vicious form of magic, but it's likely she went to Magehold afterwards." "Got it." Roseluck was gutted by this. It was all true. And it had to be accepted. But something else brewed in her mind. "But that means it was by accident right? Was the magic responsible for changing her?" "Maybe. We have yet to know. The only way to know is to ask Rosa herself. If e can reach her. But rest assured, Roseluck. We'll sort it all out. And if the worst scenario comes from your sister, then I'm afraid no other option can be available. You understand what I mean, don't you?" "I do. Think you for talking with me anyway, Princess Celestia." She thanked the Ruler of Equestria. "I guess I do want to head home after all. But there's still so much of the festival left." "You can enjoy it back home. But I wish you the best, Roseluck. Come on, Passion." Celestia bid farewell, walking off with Passion. Roseluck needed this. Someone to talk to. It was fitting that Celestia would be the one to do so. Even after this talk, Roseluck still feared the worst. What could soon become of her older sister? And when the Black Crusade comes, what will that mean for Roseluck herself? Will she even remember her little sister? There was only one way for her to know and that would be to talk to Rosa Maledicta herself. But that was easier said than done. For now, Roseluck could only choose to go home and rest for the day. Although, that had its own challenge that she couldn't figure out on her own as she went back to Celestia and Passion. "Um...C-Could you fly me back down please?" As the journey continues. Chapter 950 End.