Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Afternoon.
Over at the Pokemon House, which saw its finally being fully repaired with new additions, Rainbow Dash could be found polishing up her skills as always. Whirlipede could be seen practising his momentum by rolling across the house.
"So she controlled your bones?" Fluttershy spoke as the topic of Merry Dread had been brought up. "And that's how you managed to get out of it?"
"Mhm. Speed is key. And I guess having no bones works out too. I didn't even realize Castform didn't have any bones in the first place but I guess it makes sense with how he's built." Rainbow Dash would glance over at the Weather Pokemon, who was currently in his Snowy Form thanks to the season.
"Good to know! If you ever run into her again, Castform's a great response."
"Yeah, but she might find a way past it. Controlling bones isn't all she does. It's a good thing she can't melt bodies." Rainbow Dash sighed, pleased that Merry Dread's Curse Magic had its limitations. Both of them.
"Ah! You can always prepare for whenever that happens! After all, you have the perfect Pokemon to find out which Pokemon have bones and which don't!" Fluttershy excitedly said while facing Rainbow Dash's Luxray. "Luxray, of course! The species has X-Ray Vision for a reason! It's fate!"
"Is it fate?" The multi-coloured-maned mare squinted, only seeing it as a coincidence. "But you've got a point I can just look at any other Pokemon and see who's boneless or not."
"Does that mean you'll catch a new Pokemon too?!" Fluttershy's eyes lit up from that possibility.
"Uh, not really. Maybe." But Rainbow Dash couldn't guarantee that. "Luxray. Take a look, okay?"
"Luxray!" With a flash from his eyes, Luxray would utilize his unique ability. Everything organic and built would become a way for Luxray to see through. He would scan everyone here, from the biggest to the smallest Pokemon around.
And unfortunately for Luxray, as amazing as this ability was, it did lead to him seeing how everyone's bones were structured and some were rather unnerving to the point where he wished he had never tried this in the first place.
"Whirl!" Whirlipede was a big example of having a strange bone structure. Because of his circular shape, he had a circular structure of bones which were plentiful. Disgustingly plentiful. So many of these bones were so slim and tiny that there were seemingly millions of them as they would vibrate each time Whirlipede would roll. The way the bones spun just made Luxay uneasy but that wasn't the only thing that stunned him.
Most of the Grass-Types here were devoid of any bones whatsoever. Luxray couldn't see the thing. All he saw was darkness. Complete and utter darkness, even more than what a Dark-Type can produce. This left Luxray flabbergasted. He knew that the Grass-Types were mostly tied to nature so they would certainly have a lack of bones. But this wasn't what he expected to see within them until one of them changed that for a few seconds.
"Sunflora!" The darkness within Sunflora would be illuminated by mystical golden light. No longer was it dark inside as the Grass-Type would draw power from the Sun. After that, it was back in darkness but with a flash of solar energy in the middle.
Strangely enough, Bayleef, while she did have bones, was also an exception. The Rift Energy within her had coloured her bones with a beautiful blue and purple colour combo. All the Rift Particles would fly around within Bayleef's skeletal structure, pulsating and dancing. Luxray could only assume that Axew probably had the same glow inside of him.
But it wasn't just the Grass-Types that were strange. Most of the Fire-Types had their bones masked by flames, making it nigh-impossible to even see them. Luxray could barely see something white poking through the flames. If he didn't look any further, he might've assumed that they didn't exist at all but this only applied to the Fire-Types who could emit high quantities of fire such as Flareon, Darmanitan and Heatmor. Everyone else had their bones revealed.
The same can be said for Luxray's fellow Electric-Types. A select few had their bones act as metal conductors for the flares of electricity, showing that they were constantly charging up at all times. He would even see how other types lacked any bones and how they managed to move.
"L-Lux..." Luxray closed his eyes before shaking his head. He had seen too much.
"Sounds like he saw a lot. You're so lucky to have such an ability, Luxray," Fluttershy said, unaware of what Luxray had truly seen.
"If we ever meet again, I can just outdo her like I did before," said Rainbow Dash. "Castform's the ace in the hole with how boneless he is. And ya know, for safe measure, we should hide everyone that don't have any bones and have them show up by surprise! She won't see it coming when we ambush her!"
"Castform!"
"Good luck with that. But if she finds a way past it, getting stronger isn't a bad idea either, right?"
"That's what I'm always trying to do. The final Gym Badge is waiting for me, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash gazed up at the sky, envisioning the final Gym Badge. "One more...and I'll enter the Equestria League and become Equestria's First ever Champion."
"Won't you have to face the Elite 4 after the big tournament? Or is that before the tournament and after your final badge?"
"Nah. We don't have an Elite 4 yet. But I heard Princess Celestia's already planned it out. Who knows who's gonna be an Elite 4 Member? I know it's not gonna be me. Soon to be the Strongest Trainer in Equestria."
"About Princess Celestia...Anything on Reshiram so far? We've been looking for a few months?"
"Nah. Nothing. Zekrom's like his brother and he can't find him." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I guess he's really in that stone form, otherwise we would've seen or heard of him by now. Wonder where he could be..."
Canterlot.
Celestia had the same thoughts running through her head back at Canterlot. After all, it had only been a day after Hearth's Warming and Christmas. Now that everything relaxing had come to pass, Celestia set her sights on finding Reshiram.
Her main fear was that Team Rocket managed to find the Light Stone and were currently harbouring him. Even Giovanni said that he had no clue where the actual Reshiram was, Celestia heavily doubted him after the deceit he brought with the fake Light Stone.
"Reshiram...I hope you're found before we reach Jirachi. But judging by how it's turning out, that might not happen." Celestia spoke to herself while looking out at the Canterlot Gardens. She could still see the first time she met Reshiram and he how would sit there, recovering his strength. The Canterlot Gardens and Canterlot in general was a nice home for him. And even though this is not his original world, it felt like home. "I could wish for you to return. Of course! That's easier."
"You'll have to get past the dangers first for that to happen." Approaching Princess Celestia were the Pokemon Rangers. She would turn to see the rangers arriving with large boxes being wheeled along. Of course, Jackie was among them. "Luckily for you, we can get around that."
"Jackie. Perfect timing." Celestia replied as the boxes would be stopped right in front of Equestria's Ruler. "You're here because of one reason, right?"
"That's right. The good people back at the Ranger Union did some tweaking to the suits after they found out how destructive the pulses are. So now, we've got the new versions here for you and whoever wants to wear it. You can't reach Jirachi if you get blown away, right? Take a gander!"
Jackie and the Rangers would then open up the boxes, revealing the Rift-Resistant Suits in all their glory. Of course, tailored to ponies and Pokemon. Celestia would see a suit that resembled her stature perfectly, flying in her direction. The Canterlot Guards would also see their suits meant for them as the appearance of this equipment wasn't without its flair.
Celestia's suit constantly had a golden glow around it while even having flame markings and patterns to represent the Sun. The helmet of this suit would even have a transparent symbol of the Sun in front of the glass. The guards would all get the same consistent theme. Their white suits would have appealing blue and gold colour patterns.
"Oooh!" The style was greatly appreciated judging by the voices of the guards.
"There's one for Princess Luna here that you can pass on." Jackie held out Luna's Moon-themed suit. "Those StarBots helped out a lot when making this. It sped things up a bit."
"Chatot! Sped things up a bit!" Chatot repeated.
"Thank you. With this, we can finally reach Jirachi!" Celestia gleefully said.
"Ah...not yet." Jackie scratched his hair, putting on a nervous grin that made Celestia and everyone else pause. "The suits are ready-made, but the big test has to go through. The amount of Rift Energy up there is beyond anything else we've seen, so no matter what we tested on the suits, nothing could compare to it. Before you can go up there, it's time for a test run."
"Oh...I see." Celestia pouted. "That only means you'll be taking them back, right?"
"Not at all!" Jackie snapped his finger with a booming voice. "These suits are specially made so that they can be reusable whenever Rift Energy affects them, so we can keep testing them back and forth while we also work on them with some tweaks. Sound good?"
"Excellent! But...we won't be entering it right now to test it out, will we?" She questioned.
"Mm-mm. We'll be using substitutes." Jackie then moved out of the way, revealing what else was in the box. The rangers would send out models of humans and ponies to do test runs. "We always come prepared, so don't worry, your majesty. Judging by how this goes, you might have to wait a bit longer."
"It's fine. Anything to guarantee our success. But, I've been wondering...have you found Reshiram yet? Or any trace of Reshiram?"
"Nothing yet." Another Pokemon Ranger said. "Sorry, your majesty. Reshiram's a tough one to find especially since it's resting."
"T-That's fine." That struck Celestia's heart a bit. "Anyway, let's just run these tests. Show us what these suits can handle."
Thus began a series of tests. The group would come across the Golden Stairway and its stellar length. The main problem wasn't outer space but rather what was at the end of this stairway. The white passageway, despite how inviting it appeared, was holding back a destructive force of Rift Energy that could have catastrophic results.
The Pokemon Rangers, their scientists, Princess Celestia and the guards would have the replicas out and ready. But of course, to pull off the tests, they needed to be as close to the passageway as possible.
Luna arrived with Premium Polish to find a rather striking sight. The scientists had brought along a massive cannon that was beautifully streamlined with the Ranger Union logo on it. The models would instantly be placed inside, prepared to be used as cannon fodder.
"Sister? What is happening?" Luna asked, rubbing her eyes as she was a tad exhausted.
"This looks fun! What is it?" Premium Polish asked.
"Just some scientific experiments, Luna. If we want to reach Jirachi, we need to be safe and in one piece." Celestia responded. "So the Ranger Union will use these suits and see how they manage and what can be adjusted as soon as possible."
"Spot on. The suits will be fine but the ones inside the suit...not so much." Jackie wagged his finger, revealing that whoever would try and head towards the passageway would find that only the suit would be fine and not them. "That's why we need this. We'll test it out and work on it until it's able to hold you together. That's why we chose to come here instead of staying back. Makes things easier."
"Alright...Fire!" The tests would begin. The substitutes were fired out of the massive cannons, unleashing a booming sound that rang in everyone's ears. The replicas would be completely fine as well as the Rift-Resistant Suits. But the cannon was nothing compared to what was being held back by the passageway.
"That's your cue, princess!" Jackie faced the Princess of the Sun.
"Understood!" From this distance, Celestia would use her magic on each of the replicas once they were airborne. The replicas needed some control to make this test work and Celestia was just the pony for the job as she would halt their movements with a telekinetic hold.
The replicas would then be gently placed on the stairway, but right outside of the Earth. Celestia used her magic to enhance her vision, looking past the Earth. Once she got a good view of the edge, she would then move the replicas as if they were alive.
Everyone would stay silent, waiting for the results to come in. Celestia carefully brought them upwards, gradually reaching the higher points of the stairway. However, the moment the replicas reached this point, that's when the destructive force from beyond would reach it.
Even though the suits and the models weren't close, the pulsating Rift Energy could still reach them even with the white passageway in the cosmos keeping most of it at bay. The pulsating energy would ripple through cosmic skies, causing nearby asteroids to tremble and shatter. And as for the models and suits, they would feel the pulse move through them. The outcome went as followed.
It started with the suits and the models both vibrating in response to the pulse. And immediately, the energy ripped holes through the suit, but it was only a few. The suit was made to resist it after all and for the most part, it wasn't destroyed at all. Only receiving holes.
The same could not be said for the substitute models. Jackie and all those who couldn't see from this distance used the Canterlot telescopes to view the results and what they saw was the opposite of what they expected. Previously, the researchers confirmed that unpredictable effects would come from the pulses due to the nature of the Rift.
That was not the case.
Instead, the model would be destroyed. The Rift Energy blew up the models from the inside, causing a blue and purple outburst to go off, sending bits and pieces of the models onto the stairway while some would fall back to Earth. But, as Jackie said, the suits were fine. The most they received were these holes and even with the explosion, it only resulted in more holes.
Bits of the models would drop in front of Jackie and his group, letting out blue smoke while leaving behind a small crater. Jackie would place a glove on, picking up this singular piece to examine what was left of the models.
"Okay...An explosion would happen to you." Jackie confirmed. "That's one problem we gotta deal with. But check out the suits. Completely fine. For the most part."
"We'd be blown up from the inside out?" Luna shuddered. "My goodness...They didn't even enter the passageway at all. Or even stand before it. Just the energy from afar was enough?"
"Those models were made out of plastic and hard materials. Imagine what that would do to us..." Celestia gulped. "We may be more durable when it comes to a battle but..."
"No need to worry," Jackie interjected. "That's why we're here. We can tick off Explosions and work on the suits right away. We'll make it immune to it. Let's get to work!"
Thus, they would start working on the suits to bypass the explosions that would attack them from the inside. This series of tests would go as followed as they would come to find out that it wasn't quite unpredictable in what wacky circumstances could happen but instead, the various ways the pulses can absolutely end the life of anyone they touch.
The next test would be done once new suits and models were added. This time, the explosions would be ignored in hopes of this being a smashing success. Alas, the other effects of the pulses would be revealed. What could be worse than an explosion?
In this case, disintegration. The next pulses would disintegrate parts of the suit while absolutely disintegrating the models into nothing. Now there wasn't a piece left to recover as a far grimmer outcome was now possible. That called for another rework and test.
The next test went off, only for the suits and models to experience shatters. The models would shatter as if they were made out of glass as the effects of the pulses even turned parts of the suits into glass just to damage them. The Ranger Union could confirm another thing. The Rift Pulses would change the properties of whatever they touch just to try and eliminate them easier.
The next test had the suits being immune to tears but soon, the next horrific effect would change that. The suits and the models would be torn apart as if vicious claws were attacking them. The models were all cut into pieces while the suits only received minimal claw marks. Now they had to worry about being cut in half.
Another rework and the next one saw the suit and models having to experience evaporation. The models would evaporate as if they were made out of liquids and they were encountering astronomical heat.
This went on for a while. The Sun was starting to set until the Moon would gradually make its entrance, darkening the skies. Every rework would eat away many minutes, leading to this change of time. But they would not stop. Not until they had something that could work.
The models and suits would be crushed, incinerated, materialized, imploded, ruptured, snapped, melted, impaired and so on. These suits would truly need the resistance of a lifetime to even make it past this. Premium Polish would fall asleep along with some of the Canterlot Guards as this would go as far as to even enter the night. Possibly even midnight.
But Celestia would wait.
Ponyville. Twilight's Castle.
And back at Twilight's Castle, experiments were also happening. Twilight's group already knew of what would happen if they even attempted getting near the passageway thanks to what Zero shared.
They worked together to try and make a fusion of Magic and Science, similar to what Empress Twilight managed to succeed in doing. However, this was not as easy as it seemed despite how they all specialised in one category the most. The cube they were working on had Magic and Rift Energy around it and yet it wasn't finished at all. Even with all the constant flights flashing out of the castle, they still had some work ahead of them.
"Too tired to continue..." Starlight yawned as she exhausted herself from the magic she unleashed. The unicorn would fall flat on her face, dozing off.
"I'm getting tired too..." Twilight grumbled, trying to keep her eyes open. "This is harder than it looks. I hope that Empress Twilight didn't do it with ease or that would embarrassing..."
"But we're making progress." Zero held his head, groaning. "We just need to make it so that all those destructive forces can be bypassed in some way. The best resistance possible is needed."
"Mmm...yeah..." Spike replied in his sleep, already knocking himself out from all of this, even though he wasn't involved at all.
"About Empress Twilight...that one counterpart of yours is meant to be the true counterpart of Empress Twilight, right"
"Who? My human counterpart?" Twilight yawned. "That's right. They're the real counterparts to each other. Not me. Why do you ask? Unless..."
"If Empress Twilight figured it out...then maybe she can do it too. She's the one who's more into science, isn't she?"
"I guess so but I wouldn't want to do that to her. It's best not since she doesn't want to be associated with the Empress. I think even she knows she can't tamper with this either. Not much experience."
"Fair enough..." Zero slammed his head on the desk. "But, it's getting late now. We've done our best with what we could. We'll test it out...eventually..."
"See you tomorrow. Keep watch as always, Absol..." Those were Twilight's last words before she fell asleep. Using all of that magic certainly left an impact on her to reach this point.
Absol would stand guard, even vowing to protect this cube of Magic and Rift Energy. However, as they all went to sleep, even Absol had his ideas brewing. The main goal was to make Technomagic. The ultimate unity of Magic and Science. And there were very few examples of that in the world.
However, Absol knew that there was only one way to get into the nitty-gritty of this. And that was to speak with someone who knew a lot about Technomagic. Luckily for him, he knew a pony, who was the daughter of another pony that knew all about this.
Premium Polish and her mother Skyblue Shine. Although Skyblue Shine was really seen, she was definitely the pony who would understand Technomagic. She was a walking example of Technomagic alongside her daughter as they are both android unicorns.
Absol knew that they could be greatly helpful. But there was one more individual who had ties to the Empress' various worlds. The one who came from another universe from a different time. Princess Flurry Heart. But right now, Absol would rather let them rest after the hard work they pulled off. Only by tomorrow would he tell them all they needed to know.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 995 End.