//------------------------------//
// "If the World will not Love you..." 
// Story: My Little Pokémon 
// by Amarvax 
//------------------------------//

Equestria. Magehold. Nightfall.

Back at Magehold, the struggle to control Yveltal continued. Red and black beams were all that flew out of this chamber. The Destruction Pokemon refused to become nothing but a pawn for Rosa Maledicta's twisted grand plan. The chamber itself was being constantly thrashed and demolished just by Yveltal's energy alone.

And of course, those who tried to restrict Yveltal perished. Statues of Vampire Ponies now littered this room as a majority were in states of fear from being hit by Yveltal's attack. Realistically, these vampires would've gone to the great beyond now, but refusing to have her subjects perish here was Rosa Maledicta.

Each time Yveltal would eliminate a vampire, the Lich Queen's Magic would fight back, only leaving the vampires in stony states rather than having them succumb to Yveltal's wrath. 

"Tch." Rosa hissed as she was constantly keeping a surge of magic in this room, protecting her subjects and herself from Yveltal. "Stubborn bird...You can't resist us forever."

"But it can get rid of us forever..." An exhausted vampire said. "Your majesty. If this keeps up, we might not have enough for the Black Crusade...even if Yveltal is the only one."

"I know. I can't allow this to go on." Rosa pondered as this was growing to be troublesome. While it was wonderful that Yveltal was with them, if this keeps up, the results were not favourable at all. She looked Yveltal straight in the eyes as a crimson beam passed by her.

"We still have plenty of time until the Black Crusade can fully begin and enough time to control this Pokemon. But if not, then all of this will be pointless. I might have to use one of the 100 Demons to try and make this work." Rosa hatched a plan. The 100 Demons.

She casually summoned the box out of thin air, thinking of which demon would suffice. Which demon would work best against Yveltal? Yveltal was not an ordinary Pokemon. He was a Legendary Pokemon and one that was beneficial to the cycle of the world itself when it comes to life and death. For a Pokemon this powerful, a demon of a high calibre was needed.

Refusing to let a demon try and mess with him, Yveltal's rage correlated with his strength, only intensifying the destruction. The chamber was on the brink of destruction and the only thing to protect everypony here was Rosa Maledicta's magic s she also focused on keeping the Box of 100 Demons safe.



"Hmmm..." Meanwhile, away from all the destruction within the chambers, Fantina aimed to help out her newest friend. Ebony Rhyme the Potion Brewer. It was due to Fantina's interest in potions that this was possible. Ebony aimed to mess with her Pokemon prior to this, but plans had changed. "How do we leave here?"

The problem with trying to find Ebony Rhyme her own Pokemon was that the boundaries were limited. The Lich Queen's control over Fantina prevented her from remembering her own world. Only memories of her childhood and Pokemon remained. Finding new Pokemon would be difficult since she had no way of leaving here thanks to Rosa's magic.

"You know...we rarely get to leave this place." Speaking out was one of the students. "Actually, we never leave her. The farthest we've gone is Old Magehold."

"I haven't seen the outside world ever. What do you think it's like? How quickly do ya think we'll run into a Pokemon? What's the outside world like Miss Fantina?"

"Well, it's-" And right there, Fantina froze. Normally, she would have a barrage of answers at the ready. But thanks to Rosa Maledicta, it escaped her. The Hearthome City Gym Leader drew a blank. Nothing came up. Such a simple question and there wasn't anything to reply with. "I...Oh, my."

"What's wrong?" A filly questioned here.

"Wait. I think I'm getting something." But that was certainly not true. Try as she might, Fantina couldn't hope to reach her memories. All she could think about were her Pokemon and her childhood memories. Even though those remained intact, the locations were completely wiped out. "Not really...Think, Fantina!"

But while Fantina was trying to think deeply, knowing that there was a part of her that stored trillions of memories, Ebony Rhyme watched as she had another episode of thoughts going off in her head. She may be honest but there is a lot she loves to speak through her mind instead of out loud.

"Strange...I haven't been that approving of anyone before. At all." Ebony thought, surprised that she worked things out with Fantina so swiftly, considering what she planned to do to her Pokemon earlier. "This is a first. I need to keep thinking. Do I? I think too much maybe."

"Aah! I can't remember a thing!" Fantina pulled her hair, frustrated that her memories became a blur. A part of her knew there was something more but it couldn't be found at all. "Maybe I can ask Queen Rosa to let us go beyond. That way we can see more Pokemon."

"Will she allow you?" That was the critical question since Rosa Maledicta gave Fantina limitations the last time she asked her to leave Magehold. It was clear that she didn't want her away from Magehold.

"I hope so. Unless there is a secret passageway somewhere on the outside..." Fantina grumbled before pacing back and forth. "Or maybe a different Magehold? Does a Middle Magehold exist?"

"Come to think of it...I rarely tell anypony about my past. Let alone express it to them." All the while, Ebony Rhyme zoned out, continuing to speak within her mind. Trying to see if she was still here, Gengar waved his hand in front of her face but there wasn't a reaction. She was too deep into her thoughts by now.

"Gen?"

"Miss Ebony's thinking too hard again." And this wasn't new to the foals. They've certainly seen this before. Ebony Rhyme's deep state of thought was hard to interrupt once she got started unless she was the one to end it.

"No wait. Fantina's not the first. It's always been the Lich Queen." Ebony Rhyme closed her eyes, thinking back to her past. Not only was she in a deep state of thought, she even started having a flashback. A flashback that went back to a far younger age.



Magehold. 13 Years Ago.

15 Years Ago. Magehold hadn't changed at all. Aside from the absence of Pokemon, it was still a cruel and terrifying place to live in. And this rang true for the young foals who were brought up here. To have their latent magic potential unlocked and get them adjusted to this lifestyle, these vampiric foals were chased down by creatures from Tartarus.

This was the natural yet terrifying way to do so. From a Manticore, Chimera, Basilisks and other vicious monsters that came from the underworld. The screams of children would also erupt on certain days when they were ready to have their Curse Magic unlocked. It worked before and it certainly worked in the present.

However, there was one exception. In the midst of all the screaming and chasing, there was one pony who didn't move at all. She was barely phased by the presence of these monsters, especially when they got up close to her face.

"How goes the Potential Awakening Process?" The Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta arrived, questioning the vampires.

"Good as always, your majesty. But something's wrong with that one." A vampire would call out the one pony who was unphased by this natural terror. That pony was a younger Ebony Rhyme. Expressionless. Even when a roar was sent in her direction, it would blow her mane rather than startle her.

The presence of a Charybdis, a creature of the sea didn't make her flinch. Neither did five malevolent spirits who tried plaguing her. No matter what happened, she just sat there.

"Unphased by the monsters? At such a young age already?" Rosa raised her eyebrows. "Usually, it takes a year or two."

"No, it's not that. She's been like this for hours. Longer than the rest of them. By now, they've probably unleashed their Curse Magic. But not her. Especially since she's been in this room for seven days."

"Seven days?" Rosa narrowed her eyes. "And no magic?"

After hours of roaring and intimidation tactics, the monsters gave up. In fact, they were intimidated by Ebony Rhyme. The fact that she stood so silent and adamant in front of them creeped them out. Only Rosa Maledicta was brave enough to stand face to face with them and here was this child doing the same. They thought about what she would be like if she grew up. That wasn't something the monster wanted to think of as they backed away.

"I knew it. She doesn't have any magic." The vampires spoke amongst each other, focusing the topic on Ebony Rhyme and her absence of magic.

"I checked before-hoof. There's not a single race of magic within her. And apparently, she's supposed to be from a strong bloodline of vampires. I don't see it."

"She won't last here with no magic. Better off living on the outside. Only during nightfall though."

"That look on her face is creepy too...Everything about her is so off."

"A freak if you ask me. Who or where did she even come from?"

With all this chatter, Ebony Rhyme could hear it as she sat in that room. Words about her were nothing but negative. She was called a defect, a freak, a failure or even just terrifying. And though her eyes and mouth would barely change expressions, she would definitely unleash tears. After all, she was a child. Expressionless or not, emotions were still a factor

And at such a young age, this would stick. It was the equivalent of being called names by a fellow child. But to hear it from adults was something else. Deep down, Ebony wished she could unleash some form of magic but that wasn't possible. And with her age, she wasn't sure why she had no magic. Even a foal could unleash a tiny spark whether they be a unicorn or vampire. But not Ebony Rhyme. Thus, many vampires kept their distance, avoiding Ebony Rhyme.

To make it worse, they left her in this one room without picking her up. Everypony else had left with Ebony Rhyme being left to handle herself. Obviously, a child was incapable of doing so but what did that matter to the vampires? Her tears would drop from her static eyes as she needed something to bring her comfort. There wasn't anything in this empty room to do so. The monsters had already trashed everything. If she could hold something to comfort her she would but what was there? Broken table parts, rubble from the walls, cracked glasses and more pointless objects.

But the one pony who wouldn't keep her distance was Rosa Maledicta. She approached Ebony Rhyme who sat by herself with a stream of tears. Ebony would look up at the Lich Queen who had a stare different from all the vampires. Mostly because she wasn't a vampire. She was still a unicorn at the end of the day.

"So...You don't have any magic at all," Rosa spoke. "And yet you're so fearless in the face of monsters. That's an interesting fusion."

"I know. I'm sorry." Ebony apologized to Rosa, mainly for having no magic. "I don't have any magic in me."

"Not a trace of it." Rosa sat down with her. "That's unusual for anypony in the world. Or any species. Magic is so necessary. And yet, you still look fine without it. You even have a Cutie Mark that's visible. Why's that?"

"I don't know." Ebony Rhyme had no clear answer for that. "I don't need magic anyway. Who needs it?"

"Like I said. All species. Granted you can still live without magic but here...magic is a necessity. And the best way to live and survive, of course. Without magic, then life becomes harder. Then again, I plan to make it hard for my eventual enemies. Or just snuff it out. Most likely the second one."

"I don't want it then." Ebony Rhyme turned away from Rosa. "I liked it better back home where I could make potions."

"I'm sorry. Potions?" Rosa would lean in. "Where do you come from?"

"I...don't remember. I was with my friend and then everything went dark all of a sudden. And now I'm here. But I remember making potions. If I can't have magic, I'll just stick with potions." 

"Hmm...So you use potions as a substitute. And for how long?"

"4 years. I always knew I never had magic. And the ponies here are just like the ones back home. So I don't care all that much. Maybe..." She swivelled her head to face Rosa. "They all think I'm strange. If I could scream, I would. But I can't. And then some."

"So the same goes for your old home." Ros nodded, following Ebony's words. From what she could gather, back at her original home, the ponies there viewed her absence of magic as bizarre. The vampires did the same but they were potentially more upfront about it depending on how life was for Ebony back home.

"But...I had one friend. We loved making potions together. I was always the best out of us two. Potions can be just as good as magic."

"Is that so? That could be true...If you prove it to me." Rosa would then summon a station to brew potions, already having one at the ready. "I've seen my fair share of potion brewing. So, go on ahead."

"Huh? Really?" Ebony's mouth opened. She was shocked but alas, her expressions were absent to fully show this. Even without expressions, she was certainly excited. The thing she loved doing was right in front of her.

"Make one potion. That's all I want. But if you can, make it a rather vicious one." Rosa winked.

"But...my friend was always the better potion maker than me." Ebony lowered her head.

"Speaking of which...how is it that you're a vampire yet you come from the outside world?" Rosa was curious about that. Ebony Rhyme was a vampire but she wasn't born here at all. She was even raised at another location before fully growing up in Magehold. Usually, half-vampires come from a mixture of a regular pony and a vampire pony. It was mainly the vampire who would keep the child here while the identity of the regular pony was unknown to the children and their whereabouts were invisible. But Ebony had enough time to grow up somewhere to reach this age.

"I don't know." Alas, she didn't have an answer to that. She only cared about making potions. "I can try and make something. I hope it won't take too long."

"Take as much time as you want, my little pony."

Ebony got to work. She was already given ingredients to work with. But since she was in Magehold, these ingredients were strange to her. And yet, she would try and work with them. She mashed some flaming leaves together with her hooves while wearing protective gloves, added black water that had horrifying howling sounds and dropped a ferocious vine that was alive, attempting to watch her.

Rosa Maledicta would sit by and watch her every move. She watched how such a young pony already knew how to brew potions. Not only that, she had a good handle on it. The Lich Queen would be the first pony here at Magehold to gaze and wonder at her brewing skills. Ebony may have doubted herself by saying her friend was better but she still had great skills. It made Rosa wonder who her friend could be. As for Ebony herself, the Lich Queen could see her little sister in this pony with how passionate she was about the one thing she loved. But that quickly subsided.

"Done." Ebony Rhyme completed a potion, holding it out to the Lich Queen. "This is a Deafening Potion. I don't know if it's god enough for you."

"It's wonderful! Deafening?" Rosa grabbed the potion. "Splendid! You did what I wished you would do. This is certainly a potion that can prove to be useful one day. You have potential after all. Just not in the magic category."

"Um. Thank you."

"Be more proud with the praise you get, little one." Rosa sighed. "That's how you get a confidence boost and you perform better."

"But nopony ever gives me a boost in confidence. Only my friend did when we were making potions."

"Then let me be the second pony to do so." Rosa placed the potion down. "Ebony Rhyme. Compared to everypony else here, you have a gift. I can see it. And that gift will work perfectly here at Magehold. I would like you to become Magehold's first Potion Brewer."

"You want...me to keep doing it? Why? Everypony else here hates me for having no magic? Why are you being so nice to me?"

"So what if you don't have any magic?" Rosa scoffed. "I'll be honest with you. I was seen as sort of an outcast myself. It's why I'm here and holding the title and position of the Lich Queen. The ponies back at Equestria never appreciated my Dark Talents. But I always knew someone would. And when I came to the Land of the Dead, I found it. And look at me now. If I can find happiness here, you can too. So what if they think you're a freak? We're all freaks here. They aren't any different, I can guarantee that."

"I guess so..."

"And if they reject you and betray you just like how they did to me, then strike back since they want to be your enemies. If the world will not love you, then they'll learn to fear you, just like how I intend to make the world fear the name Rosa Maledicta. And soon, all will fear the name of Ebony Rhyme. So. I look forward to your future, my little pony."

"I'll...make you proud. Thank you for this, miss." Ebony thanked Rosa Maledicta, suddenly hugging her hoof. Rosa scrunched her face, caught off guard by this hug.

"Okay. We can do without the hugging. And call me your majesty."



Current day.

"Now I've done the same with Fantina. But I guess it's not everything I've revealed to her."

"I don't have anything." Fantina sighed, sitting on a nearby rock. "What say you, Ebony?"

"Me?" Finally, Ebony Rhyme was finished with her deep state of thought. "Well...the Lich Queen has now allowed us all to exit the outside world as much as we want. I was planning on doing so already but I just needed to make sure I had enough potions ready. I'm not sure about you, Fantina. Can you even leave?"

"I don't know. I feel like I can but I-" Suddenly, Fantina was cut off. A stream of red and black beams, mainly from Yveltal, burst from one of the buildings, travelling at great speeds. The chaotic conflict in the tower was worsening. This beam would fly far from the boundaries of Magehold, crashing into the barrier.

And with the power of destruction, a hole had been made. Yveltal's power to destroy proved to live up to its terrifying potential. The legendary barrier that was said to be hard to break unless it was done from the inside received a hole. In actuality, it truly did happen on the inside after all.

"Oh. That works." Fantina nodded in approval of this open hole. But at the same time, Ebony Rhyme directed herself to the building where the red streams were coming from. What could be going on in there?

"Wait for me, all of you." Ebony pleaded. "I need to check up on something."

"We'll wait." Fantina waved. "Oh. But if you see the Lich Queen, ask her if I can have permission to leave this time. Just for this one moment, please."

"I'll try." Ebony walked off before thinking to herself. "Then again...I don't think she'll notice at all. Especially with what's happening up there. Just how strong is Yveltal?"

As the journey continues.


Chapter 857 End.