//------------------------------// // Secret Sibling // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. Rustboro City. Day. Following the attack of the Despair Plants, daybreak had come for Rustboro City. and Dewford Town, both locations could rest at last. Granted, this event did leave both locations with some damage but repairs could be made. Leaving this city and town were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Nightmare Moon had already left the scene once the Sun had come up. "So, it happened to your city too, huh? I'm never gonna doubt Olympia ever again in my life." Brawly said as he had come to Rustboro, speaking to Roxanne on a bench. "Talk about unsatisfied...They really tracked our scents down just to finish the job?" "Mhm. That means Olympia, Drayden, Roxanne and Valerie are both at risk too. But I'm pretty sure, Princess Celestia and Luna know about that already." Roxanne replied. "They left once it was all over and Princess Celestia had that fire in her eyes. Apart from the fire that she was already exuding." "Yeah, I felt that. So that kind of magic is in her?" Brawly whistled, shuddering for a bit. "Scary...It's a good thing Gardevoir stopped it, right?" "Very. It even had Rosa Maledicta flee out of fear. At least, I think she fled because of that. I didn't get the chance to ask her about Fantina and I'm afraid we might never see her again." Roxanne, despite managing to protect her home, cared more about finding Fantina. "Never say never." Brawly wagged his finger. "We'll get her back, Rox. If she is at Magehold then...that would mean we'd have to head straight for that creepy place. But we've been in creepier places before, right?" "Only what Hearthome used to look like when the Lich Queen ruined it. Magehold itself is without a doubt far worse than what we encountered back there. We might run into a plethora of curses in just under a minute!" Roxanne yelled, fearing the kind of horrible things that would be thrown at her if she were to enter Magehold. Thinking about it made her grimace. "Now you're creeping me out..." Brawly did not wish to think about it for a moment. "Well...How about a surf to clean those worries away? Eh?" "Please...I can't surf." Roxanne shook her head, refusing immediately. "And I'd get my dress wet anyway." "Come on. I can teach you!" Brawly immediately held out his surfboard, insisting that Roxanne would give it a try. "You're pretty awesome when you try out new things. Like when you sang with Roxie back at that Poke-Con. I didn't even know you were that good of a singer." "Well, it was fun but...athleticism is not my style, unfortunately. I'll leave it to you. But it could be calming to see you perform and put me at ease." Roxanne shrugged. "Plus, you're not that great with music either so let's stick to our respective fields for now." "Hm. Fair enough. Be my supporter and spread the word about these sick tricks I'm gonna make!" Brawly eyed down the seas of Hoenn. "This is gonna be so good. I wonder if anyone from Equestria's seen my tricks yet? Do they even surf there? Can they even surf?" "Hm-hm." Roxanne chuckled before placing a frown on her face, fixating on Fantina. "Fantina...Where are you? And are you okay?" Equestria. Ponyville. Twilight's Castle. Day. Over at Twilight's Castle, Zecora, after working so hard on this mystical elixir for days and nights, realized that the current size of it was not enough to stop the Despair Plants. It needed to be bigger. So big that the drops were the size of trees. And of course, there was only one way to make it possible. The Rift Cauldron. Placed within Twilight's Castle after Zecora entrusted it to her, the random magic within could make that a possibility as Zecora brought the elixir over, standing before the Rift Cauldron. "Alright. Super-sized. But not too big, right?" Twilight said as she had Cold Colt, a Rift Pony by her side. "Just big enough for the Despair Plants to receive a shower of it." "You know...it's random at the end of the day. You'll need my help to make it official." Cold Colt warned. Despite how useful the cauldron was, the magic was still unpredictable. "I know that but I also wish to use it as a way to speed the process." Zecora held the potion over the cauldron. "A size and increase along with a finished elixir are all I need to end this verdant distress." "She's right, ya know," Spike added. "I think we should've used this first and we would've gotten a head start, don't you think?" "Maybe," Starlight said. "But we don't know what kind of liquid is in there that affects all plants in the first place so the best the cauldron could've done was enlarge it, honestly." "Got it. If we control it, it can help you solve this mysterious magic." Twilight caught on. "We learned how to properly use Rift Magic and maintain its randomness, so this should be a lot of help. Go for it, Zecora." With those words, Zecora would drop the elixir into the cauldron. Right as the elixir would fall, instantly, Twilight and Cold unified their respective Rift Magics, shooting them at the cauldron. The cauldron would receive a boost of Rift Magic, losing its randomness for this one moment. The elixir would fall in as the cauldron would then unleash a pillar of Rift Magic that illuminated this room. Watching this unfold was none other than Roseluck. She entered the castle, watching her sister's elixir undergo some changes. This whole time, for these past few days, she's been waiting for a moment like this. Within the cauldron, the elixir's shape was changing at rapid speeds. It stuck out of the liquid, growing in size while also letting out more vibrance than it previously has during these past days and more akin to how it appeared when Rosa once wielded it. Zecora backed up as the size of this elixir was growing rapidly to the point where it was outsizing the elixir in seconds. Carefully, Twilight and Cold Colt would raise the elixir out of the cauldron as it was now the size of Twilight's bookshelves. The light show ended once the elixir reached a manageable enough size. The weight had even been added to the size. Twilight and Cold would cease their magic as there was now a super-sized elixir that could be utilized. "Phew...That should do the trick." Twilight, stepping back. "It's the right kind of size. But does it work now?" They would all observe the elixir and its vibrance. Unfortunately, this magical vibrance did not last long. While it was beautiful it would quickly dim down, losing some of its saturation. That was enough to confirm to them that even the Rift Cauldron was not enough. This strange elixir and its contents were still mysterious enough to elude the cosmic power of the Rift. "No way!" Cold Colt gasped. "It didn't work?!" "It's not like it didn't work..." Twilight brought the massive elixir over to her. "It's more like it wasn't enough. We managed to grow it and elevate the contents inside. But it looks like whatever this liquid is, even Rift Magic just won't do." "You're kidding...Right?" Showing herself was Roseluck. She decided to make an appearance instead of hiding after hearing about the Rift Cauldron's inefficiency. "The cauldron couldn't do it? Rift Magic isn't enough?" "Roseluck? How long have you been standing there?" Starlight questioned. "Sorry, Roseluck. This is way harder than we expected. Zecora wasn't kidding." Twilight shook her head. "What's inside this elixir anyway that makes it so hard to replicate or even fully complete?" "It's...um..." Hesitation struck once more. Roseluck knew why this elixir was so hard to perfect. And it was all tied back to Rosa Maledicta's talents. "I'm...not sure." She would not reveal it to Twilight or anyone in here. "It's been too long since that elixir's been used anyway." "That just makes me eager to see it completed." This only drove Twilight's passion. "The more mysterious it is, the more I'm intrigued. I'll chime in and help you with this Zecora. But, I'll be a bit busy from time to time." Twilight chose to assist Zecora in solving this mysterious elixir's contents. More help meant that there was a higher chance to get it done. Roseluck was at least hoping so. She wasn't sure how long it would be until her sister's creations and everything she's involved with will launch a full-scale attack on Equestria. She at least wanted to try and stop the Despair Plants as that was the one thing she had some experience with. "Well...I'll be at the gym. I should be getting new challenges." Roseluck turned around. "Good luck, anyway." "Wait, Roseluck." Before Roseluck would depart, Twilight would call her name, freezing the earth pony. "When we're done...how about you use the elixir?" "Me?" "Mhm. You thought of this idea and found out a way to beat out these Despair Plants before we got any ideas. So if anypony should have the offer, it's you. When that day comes, hopefully soon, I know you'll be ready." "Thanks, Twilight." Those words were enough to put a smile on her face. So as long as her sister wasn't brought up, Roseluck could smile. But of course, with how things are turning out, Rosa Maledicta's name will be brought up frequently as the earth pony left the castle. White Tail Wood. The first Gym of Equestria AKA the Grass-Type Gym could be found over at White Tail Wood. Prior to a proper Equestria League being made, the first true Gym Leader of this Gym was Gardenia but that only lasted for a few weeks until Roseluck took that position. Roseluck sat outside of her gym on a log, holding out two of her Poke Balls. Standing beside her was her ace Pokemon Roserade who unfortunately had to see a constant frown on her trainer's face. Roseluck hasn't quite been her cheery self ever since the Dread League debacle continued to worsen over time. "It ain't done yet?" Showing up here wasn't a challenge. But rather, Applejack alongside her partner Sceptile as she brought up the mystical elixir. "No. At least it's bigger now." Roseluck replied as Applejack would take a seat next to her fellow Earth Pony. "I just have to wait until they can perfect it. It's not easy, sadly." "I hear ya. But you're seriously gonna let it get you down so much, Roseluck? I mean I get it but..." "Get me down? Wait...what do you mean by that?" Roseluck asked as she was unaware that Applejack knew about her family ties. "I already know. A little demon told me one night." Applejack smiled, lowering her hat as she was already ahead of the curve. It didn't take long for Roseluck to realize this, making a light gasp. "You knew...You knew?!" Roseluck exclaimed, almost falling off the log before being supported by Roseluck. "You know who my sister is?" "I mean, ain't no way you could've made that elixir when you were a filly unless you were really talented at it. I knew when one of those 100 Demons told me about who your sister was. The Lich Queen. But...I've stayed quiet about it for months, just like you." Applejack revealed that despite knowing who Roseluck's sister was, she has not said a word. Nothing came out that would reveal Roseluck's family ties at all, making this knowledge scarce once more and hidden by very few. Hearing this brought solace to Roseluck's heart. "You know that she's my sister. And...you're not afraid of me?" Roseluck questioned as she was expecting a different kind of reaction when Applejack found out. "You kept it from everypony else too?" "Why would I be? It's not like you have any magic like your sister. No offence." Applejack chuckled. "Besides, I'm not a stranger to something like this. Cold Colt and Emerald Aura...They're both Rift Ponies and they've caused their own fair share of trouble but they're not so bad. They're both a part of this town after all, even if the Rift's messed with us a lot." "Even though you knew and you're afraid of me, why haven't you told anyone else yet then?" Roseluck wondered. "Truth is...I've been kinda scared myself." Applejack squeed as she had the same flaw as Roseluck, despite having a stronger sense of honesty. "Telling 'em got me kinda spooked too. I haven't even told my family about it. So much for honesty, right?" "Right!" Roseluck found it rather humorous that Applejack would be the one to keep it at bay. Both of them would laugh at this ironic predicament as there was something humorous to be found in all of this, despite how serious it was. "Hah...I needed this, actually. Thanks for talking with me, Applejack. It's just like before when I was still a new Gym Leader." "Well, you're not Easy Pickings anymore, are ya? I hope no one's gone crying home after you beat 'em." Applejack joked. "But if you're ever feeling down, you can talk to me or any of your friends." "Sceptile!" "I know. I'm just nervous to tell them. And so are you so we're in the same boat." Roseluck sighed. "This does feel nice though...letting it all out. Eventually...we'll both have to reveal it to everypony when we're confident enough." "I hear ya. But her. How about one more thing to cheer you up? Even before you can battle another train that comes over here." Applejack hopped off the log before landing on Sceptile's hand. "Roseluck. How about a battle? Third one so far." "A battle?" Roseluck looked up as she was issued a battle before she could take on any new challengers. "Hmm...Alright then. I could use a warmup and it's always fun when it's with you, Applejack." "Love to hear it!" Applejack exclaimed. "How about we use all of our Pokemon this time? Minus most of my Golett. That'd just be against the rules, wouldn't it?" "Sure. And I wouldn't mind a crowd watching." Roseluck would even go as far as to bring others here to watch. Mainly her friends. She would look at Roserade who clapped her bouquet with joy and glee from seeing Roseluck in a better mood. And with a Pokemon Battle, that mood can be elevated. "Let's do it, Applejack." Though the secret of who Roseluck's sister was still being kept, both agreed to one day share it. They were hoping that it wouldn't be too long before that day can come. Until then, they can clear their mind off it with a Pokemon Battle as the journey continues. Chapter 24 End