//------------------------------// // Fear over Ideals // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. Ponyville. Day. Recently, news about Hearthome City had been spread further. Twilight and her friends were aware of the Despair Plants after the Gym Leaders managed to escape from the city. However, those plants remained at Hearthome with Chimera being active. "There's also the Sea Temple Crystals. Galaxy Master came to life because of those. Why don't we use them?" Rainbow Dash asked, referring to how the crystals from Samiya gave Galaxy Master this amazing light. This light was the only known thing that could fully destroy the Adaptable Roots that Rosa Maledicta created and were possibly just as effective on the Despair Plants. "It's easier to find Sheena since we know she's at Michina Town. The Sea Temple's always travelling with the water flow, so we don't exactly know where it is right now. Plus...I'd like to meet Sheena with her special talent too." Twilight Sparkle answered. "Fair enough. It'll take us a while before we can reach Michina, according to Ash. Equestria's not exactly close to Sinnoh either." Rainbow Dash gazed at the map. Speaking of Ash, he was currently present with them after being called up by Twilight once she took his offer. "We'll get there and it won't be too late," Ash replied. "So about those plants...Roseluck's got something for them?" "Apparently so. But she needs magic. It's not something natural that she can use." Twilight explained. "But we can count on Roseluck. I'm sure she knows what she's doing. As for us, we should head to Sheena." "Maybe later we can check up on Valerie and everyone else?" Fluttershy suggested. The condition of the Gym Leaders and even the people, ponies and Pokemon they saved were important. "How do you think they're going to restore everyone's souls? What do you think, Ash?" "Pikachu and I had our souls taken away before." Ash nodded along with Pikachu. Indeed, he and Pikachu have had their souls stripped from their bodies once but returned to normal right afterwards. "You can put it back, so there's no need to worry." "Of course, you'd casually bring something like that up..." Goh grimaced after hearing Ash's short sentence about his soul being taken away. "Ghost-Types are pretty good at putting souls back. But Fantina's the one who they were looking for." Ash pondered. "Well! It's a good thing we've got a lot of Ghost-Type Specialists as Gym Leaders, right? I've got Gengar with me to boot and Rarity's got Froslass. Olympia's probably going for that." "Yes, a good thing. But I hope Fantina's not actually with the Dread League," said Rarity. "She's always so sweet to Sweetie Belle when giving her contest advice. It'd be a shame to lose her in any way." "Yeah. Next to Dawn, I'd really like to see her at the Grand Festival. It'll be coming up over at Canterlot." Sweetie Belle added, wishing to see all of her Contest Mentors there when that day comes. "Tell me everything when you get back from Michina Town since it'll take you a few days." "Bah. I'm not worried about that distance." Rainbow Dash shrugged off the Michina Town distance. But she then realized that despite how fast she may be, it wouldn't matter if she didn't know the right direction to reach this town in the Sinnoh Region. "Oh! Oh! Could you maybe find Galaxy Master too? He's gotta be somewhere in the world now, right?" Scootaloo asked, wishing to bring Galaxy Master into this. It has been a while since he's been seen and his last known appearance as at the Galaxy Tower where a large battle broke out. "That'll be much harder. Sorry." Twilight apologized. "The only way to find him is if the Rift takes us to him. But we'll see him again, most definitely. Anyway, let's get going. By the time we get back, Roseluck might've probably found what she was looking for and it'll be great to get some advice from Sheena." "Do you think we'll get something from her?" Pinkie asked as everyone would start departing for Sinnoh. "What are we gonna get, Ash?" "Hmm...Well, all I know is that she's got that special talent of hers. It was pretty big of you to mention her probably using some light from Arceus, Twilight." Ash replied. "I didn't think of that. I just figured that's something she always does." "She's an Arceus expert, so I'd say it's a pretty guess." Twilight theorized. "If not, we can still learn something valuable. Plus, any form of light is good against vampires, after all." Roseluck's Home. Over at Roseluck's Home, keeping to her word and promise about having a way to deal with these Despair Plants, she would start rummaging through her collectables and various items in her home. Something in her home had magical properties despite the fact that she was an Earth Pony. While Ash's group were heading elsewhere, Roseluck would prepare something for the Despair Plants that only someone of her expertise could cover. Fitting, considering who her older sister was and what her occupation was. "Where is it? It's been a while but it stands out." Roseluck said while searching for this object. She would have her Roserade, Bounsweet and Roselia assist in searching for this item. Each of her Pokemon that were used for Equestria's First Gym would move around, shuffling as many objects as they could. Bounsweet was doing her best despite having no arms whatsoever. And when looking, Roseluck would think back to a moment with her sister that involved this specific object. Another memory within her that related to Rosa Maledicta had been unlocked, even if Roseluck did her best to keep her older sister out of her. She always came back, somehow, in some way, much to Roseluck's chagrin. But this memory did make her chuckle as it had something rather humorous within it. "Ew! Get it away!" A young Roseluck was plastered onto the wall of her own volition, absolutely terrified by what she was staring at. Right next to Rosa Maledicta was a Flytrap which was bigger than Roseluck but shorter than Rosa. Looking at this carnivorous plant made her tremble at hypersonic speeds as she refused to get down, believing that the flytrap was eyeing her down for an eventual bite. "What? It's just a Flytrap." Rosa was casual around the Flytrap. "One day, you'll be able to grow these. Of course, not to this level. A bit of my magic's been added into this." "Does it have to be so massive? And I think it's looking at me even without eyes..." She squirmed, hearing the Flytrap growl. It didn't help that the Flytrap would lean in, slowly approaching the filly with some drool dripping from its mouth. "Sis...!" She screeched for her sister who would end up petting the flytrap. "It only eats insects. It's far too weak to eat a pony anyway. Even if it's a child." Rosa chuckled, bringing some relief to Roseluck. "Hah..." Roseluck slid off the wall, sighing greatly before landing flat on her face. Right then and there, the Flytrap would get close to her, startling the filly. "Geeeh!" She was afraid that she had let her guard down, allowing the Flytrap to get an advantage. But that was not the case. Instead, the Flytrap would nudge her head playfully, showing no hostile intentions. "But, on the off chance that they can ignore their limitations, I always come prepared. These Flytraps of mine aren't as natural as the ones in the wild. They're mostly influenced by magic, which means they have more room to grow. But they won't last that long even with that difference." "How long do flytraps last, sis?" "In the wild, they live for 20 years. Possibly longer. But that's only in the wild though. Even with the magic I gave them, they still need to live in the wild to really prosper, so I can't keep them around here. It's better to let them live freely out there...But I am working on something." "Something to make them live longer?" "That's right. Quick thinking. I've already started working on a magic that'll affect flytraps. No. All plants, actually. It'll come as a nice elixir that'll help soothe plants as if they were being sung to sleep. Rabid flytraps will be slowed down by this magic, without a doubt and plants will react differently to this elixir." Rosa Maledicta would show an example of this elixir by revealing it to her little sister. It appeared with a mixture of blue and green colours within. The elixir was constantly glowing and radiating a vibrant aura for something that was not yet completed. "Oooh..." "Beautiful, isn't it? Most plants don't have magic but I'd like to change that myself. Magic can do a lot to everything after all. Sucks that you don't have any magic." Rosa smirked, teasing Roseluck for her lack of magic. "Hey! I have magic!" The little earth pony vehemently replied. "Mom and dad said that Earth Ponies help grow the world so, hah! That makes me super important to the world." "Alright. Fair enough. Now...how about you take further steps in learning how to make Flytraps?" Rosa leaned in, nudging her little sister. "Uh...They creep me out! No thanks!" That was where the memory ended for Roseluck. It did get a laugh out of her, but she quickly remembered what her sister had become. And it didn't help that these plants of hers were now weapons of destruction that threaten cities and all forms of life. Right as the memory finished, she found the item she was looking for, hidden in a pile, was an old chest. Within that chest, the elixir appeared. To this day, it was still there. However, it lost its vibrance. The colours became pale and saturated, much like how Hearthome City currently appeared as. "It's gone. The magic's all gone." Roseluck uttered, holding the elixir close to her. The magic that once resided within the Elixir was no more. Now it was only the liquids which had most definitely expired. Her Pokemon stayed silent, wondering what Roseluck would do now. She wished to use this on the Despair Plants but it seemed like that wouldn't happen anymore. Rosa Maledicta was gone, eliminating the chances for a new elixir to be made. "Roserade?" Roserade walked up to Roseluck, placing her bouquet on her back for comfort. It looked like Roseluck's promise had instantly been shattered right on the spot. However, Roseluck did not give up that easily. "It's fine." She recollected herself. "I can fix this. All it needs is a magical touch. And we have plenty of magic to go around in Equestria. I just have to ask for help, that's all." Though the elixir was lacking magic, Roseluck knew that she could just request help from somepony else who had magic. And thankfully, a lot of ponies here had access to magic. But the question was if any of them had magic that was on par with what her sister could produce in the past. However, there was someone else that came to mind for Rosa. She did have one fear. That somehow, everypony could find out about her family ties. Not wanting to take the risk, she would turn to the one individual who was in that very situation. She could be found at the Pokemon House, waiting for a certain forest to heal before she can truly head home. "I'll just ask Zecora for help." Zecora would be the one Roseluck would go to. Once she sorted that out, after returning all of her Pokemon, she would leave her home with the elixir. However, waiting for her outside was unexpected company. "Oh!" She was jumpscared by the appearance of her dear friends. In this case, Amethyst Star, Lyra Heartstrings and a few other unicorns specifically. "Hey. Sorry for the scare, but did you find what you were looking for?" "Uh, I did," Roseluck replied. "Thanks for stopping by to check up on me." "You said that magic was involved. We figured we'd help out with that. We kinda know a thing or two about magic, after all." Amethyst grinned, poking her horn. "Oh, sorry. I appreciate the help, but this requires an extra punch of magic. It's relatively big." Roseluck rejected their offer for obvious reasons. However, Amethyst and the others assumed that it was just the elixir being too much for them, when in reality, Roseluck wouldn't let anyone find out about her family ties. "Too much? Aw...I guess that's fair." Amethyst sighed as she truly wished to be of some help. "I can count on Zecora to have that punch that I need. But thanks for the offer. If I ever need magical help, I'll come to you all next time." Roseluck would leave, rushing off to the Pokemon House while her unicorn friends would watch in disappointment. None of them had contributed. But then again, Roseluck wouldn't have let them contribute in any way from the start. The Pokemon House. Day. "You want me to add some of my magic into this?" Arriving at the Pokemon House, Roseluck already began speaking to Zecora, who could be found within the Flying-Type Room. "And why is it that you came to me first, but not anyone else who uses magic?" "Oh, you went to that first, right?" Roseluck said. "Well, I just figured you'd be a good choice. After all, you helped make the Golden Stairway, didn't you?" "I did, but that's not the only reason why you came here." However, Zecora instantly saw through Roseluck, knowing that there was another reason for this. "There's another reason why you chose me...isn't there?" "Maybe you're too perceptive..." Roseluck shuddered, impressed that Zecora could already predict what she was thinking. It intimidated her. "Maybe it's my body language, isn't it? But you're right. I came here to you for one reason. I couldn't go to anyone else because I was afraid of what might happen. Zecora. You've been judged before, haven't you?" "I have, but it all turned out well for me in the end." Zecora nodded. "For you, you don't have much to worry about, unless there's something secretive that you're hiding from all of your friends?" "I am. I...I'm hoping that you can keep this a secret. And uh...Even from the Pokemon themselves." Roseluck leaned in. "You don't go to the Pokemon School, so you wouldn't know about this, but there's someone in my family who isn't well-favoured. I'd like to keep her a secret so that everypony doesn't find out. If they do then..." "Then you'd be seen differently by many of them." Zecora finished Roseluck's sentence. "That's understandable, but not trusting any of them? I would put my faith in some my chums." "Eh? Seriously?" Roseluck pulled back. "I don't know about that. I mean...I know I'm not even telling you her name but still. I can't tell them." "Cold Colt was similar to me and he now lives with us. You were one of the ponies who welcomed him to this town and now you're suddenly seeing something like this as superfluous?" Zecora narrowed her eyes. "Unless this is serious, this shouldn't be too difficult for you to do. But, don't worry. For this elixir receiving a punch, I can still help you." "It is serious..." The truth was that Roseluck's situation was critically serious considering who her older sister was and the impact she and the nation had left on Equestria. So much so that even when putting her trust in Zecora, she held some of that trust back, not revealing the name of this mystery pony to her. "Just, please help me. Hearthome City is kinda overrun with horrific plants." Zecora nodded as she would assist Rosa Maledicta. But her suspicions were now elevated. Zecora had to wonder who this mystery pony was to the point where Roseluck threw away her accepting nature and feared what would happen to her. Ash's party would travel to Michina Town to meet with Sheena while Roseluck would bring along an elixir made for these types of plants. Both sides had a part in this and yet, neither were any close to finding Fantina or even knowing of her current condition as the journey continues. Chapter 14 End.