//------------------------------// // Surprising Turn! A Harmless Garden // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. Out at sea. Nightfall. A massive Despair Plant Garden was above the skies of Equestria's seas. Seeds had been planted within the clouds themselves and with Rosa Maledicta's magic affecting them from afar, this Dark Garden had been formed. From how massive the shadow was, reaching the Sea Temple, the Garden was colossal. Possibly more so than the Sea Temple itself which was large in its own right. "Sweet Celestia! Is that a flying garden?!" A bewildered Rarity said, almost dropping her Water Scarf. "It's massive!" "Looks like it! It's got fangs all on its sides there!" Applejack exclaimed, witnessing the fangs before anyone else and how they were grinding against each other. "What kind of garden is that? And how come it's flying?" Paradise wasn't as taken aback by this floating island unlike her sister Daisy who was starstruck. "Your majesty. It seems to be moving at the same pace as the temple." The guards pointed out. This Flying Garden was relatively fast, keeping up with the Sea Temple. From the way it was following the Sea Temple's pace, it looked like the Despair Plant Garden was fixated on it. "It could be following us." They weren't wrong to think that. However, the actions of this garden were rather strange, mainly due to how it was still technically growing, having not yet reached its full potential. Even with Rosa Maledicta's magic involved, it still needed time to develop and blossom into its most terrifying state. Thus, it was an incomplete garden. And yet, it still had the ability to not just move, but also unleash vines from it. These vines fell from the garden, immediately dropping into the water. And when entering the water, they would immediately halt the progress of the Sea Temple. The temple found itself coming to an abrupt halt, making most of the residents within it lose their balance. This was due to the large vines meeting with the temple. The vines dug deep into the water at such quick speeds even though no one else but the Water Pokemon that lived underneath it were there to witness it. The seas trembled and strong waves crashed onto the temple as the Despair Plant Garden had also come to a stop. Everything halted for a moment. "Woah!" Ash held onto his throne after nearly falling over. Pinkie Pie would fall over, rolling on the floor while some would either slip, landing flat on their faces, or even slide away. "Oh, man...! I think it does notice us!" "Pikachu..." "What kind of garden is that...? Surely it isn't the one that the Dread League were making! That one's supposed to be at Galar!" Twilight shuddered, fearing that it might be that same garden from Galar. Granted, it wasn't but it was certainly made by the Dread League. "The Dread League?!" Fluttershy and the other ponies gasped in shock. That was a name they weren't hoping to hear right now. The People of the Water caused a commotion after their wonderful temple suddenly rocked. Thanks to the Despair Plant Garden, progress toward Galaxy Master was held back. But despite having massive vines that paused the Sea Temple, the garden did nothing else. it was motionless, just like the Sea Temple. No further actions had been made, despite catching everyone by surprise. "It's not doing anything...Is that it?" A man said, confused as to why the garden just stopped so abruptly. Everyone believed that it would make advances on the Sea Temple, especially with those fangs that were on the side, still grinding against each other. Everyone stayed silent, waiting to see what else the garden would do. But nothing else came from this interaction at all. It was almost like this garden could only perform one action aside from just flying. Even now, it was just hovering over the Sea Temple more than anything while still growing. "What now?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What do we do about this? Do we keep going or...?" Rather indecisive at the moment, the two Flora Ponies, Daisy and Paradise, would have vacant looks on their faces when gazing at the garden. Through all the commotion, they heard something else. Different voices that did not come from the Sea Temple. Rather, they heard these voices from above. And the only thing above them at the moment was the Despair Plant Garden. Voices entered their ears, drowning out the sound of everyone speaking, even though there were so many of them around. It was then that the Flora Ponies would finally speak after hearing voices from the garden. "It's telling us...to go up there." Ominously, Daisy and Paradise would speak in a rather monotone way, having her eyes minimized. Everyone would turn to the Flora Ponies after their rather eerie voices came through. And for someone like Daisy, it was most disturbing, especially with the expression she was making. She seemed completely locked onto the Despair Plant Garden. "Daisy? Paradise?" Twilight uttered before the two of them returned to their respective expressions. Daisy being cheery and Paradise being rather laid-back and relaxed. "Oh, sorry about that. We were just told by the flowers up there. They're just telling us to come up with them." Daisy giggled. "That's all." "Mhm." Paradise nodded in confirmation. "No big deal. Sounds pretty inviting too if you ask us." "Told by the flowers? Can you understand Flowers?!" Twilight gasped as she might have learned something new about Flora Ponies. "Yeah?" Paradise confirmed that to be the case without sugarcoating anything. She made it seem casual and appeared rather confused as if Twilight didn't know. And she didn't. Until now. "Amazing! But it makes sense! You two used to be flowers! Or I guess...you still technically are flowers even with these new appearances." Twilight replied. "So...you heard the flowers up there? They want us to come up?" "I don't know...Sounds fishy." Pinkie Pie rolled back to her friends, looking up at the Despair Plant Garden. "Not like we can go ahead right now," Applejack said as they were currently stuck because of the Despair Plant Garden. "Ya think we can cut these vines down? It looks like this garden's still growing too. What's up with that?" "Oh?" But while everyone was trying to decide, Alo read the crystal from the Treasure Room due to the light it was giving off nearby. The light from the crystal was still going off because of Galaxy Master and with this sudden encounter with the Despair Plant Garden, it seemed to intensify its light. "It seems that...we should advance. Not forward. But rather upwards." "Go up there?" Ash looked back at Alo. "If it's telling us that...then we're closer to Galaxy Master, right?" "Uh? Is that right?" A nervous Fluttershy asked. "Why would it want us to go up there? Is Galaxy Master up there?" "The crystal responds to Galaxy Master. So, with this response, it means that we are closer to the one we're seeking out. This garden is what stands before us in this wide sea. Or I suppose, above us." "Alright. We're heading up there. Plus, I'm kinda excited to see what we can find." Ash smiled as his thirst for adventure was also tempting him to explore further. "If you two can speak to flowers...maybe you can big a lot of help up at the garden. You can probably ask it to let us go. If they can hear you as well." said Twilight when facing the Flora Ponies. "Oh, I...guess we can try." Daisy shrugged. "We did hear them after all." It was decided. After all, their goal was to find Galaxy Master and with what the crystal was telling them, it seemed that they were all closer to their goal, even if it seemed rather dangerous to approach this garden. Even with Daisy and Paradise hearing voices from the garden, it was still rather ominous, carrying a haunting aura with it. And in response to that decision, another vine came down. But it was a rather thin one as opposed to the thick ones that were blocking the Sea Temple. These vines would transform into ladders, inviting everyone up there. Obviously, not everyone would take it but some certainly would. At the same time, the crystal's light would only get brighter and brighter. Anything this crystal did involve Galaxy Master since it was the one to bring him to life. These crystals certainly haven't failed them before and it would be rather odd for them to fail now. "Up we go!" Ash was the first to go up, feeling no fear whatsoever. "Woohoo!" Ash climbed up the garden." "Hey, wait! Ash!" Twilight yelled before spreading out her wings. She would prefer to fly than take the vine ladder, feeling heavily cautious about this. Many guards would follow their ruler to guard him as the rest of Twilight's friends would also advance. Magehold. "What's this?!" Suddenly, Rosa Maledicta, while in her healing chamber, would open her eyes, gasping afterwards. Being connected to the garden, she was shocked by what she had discovered. "Ash Ketchum...? Princess Twilight? Why are they here? I was sure that Galaxy Master would be the one to appear first but..." She was aware. Much like how she was aware back at Hearthome City, Rustboro, Dewford and that bay out at Galar. The Despair Plants were heavily connected to her after all. However, the Lich Queen was shocked to see them here, especially out in the open sea. Nedding to understand their presence here, she would communicate with the garden itself. In her mind, a powerful link was going off, showing a projection of the Despair Plant Garden and herself in a black space. In this black space, green magic would pulsate in between them both as the Lich Queen took it all in. Much like Daisy and Paradise, voices passed through her ears. Voices from the garden. "What? They're attracted to someone...Somepony." Rosa read the Despair Plants that were planted within the garden. "Is that why? Is it Princess Twilight? No. it must be someone else. It surely can't be her. Curses...I must wait for the garden to grow more to understand...And for myself to recover enough." The Lich Queen needed to find out why this was the case. Frankly, she was shocked to learn that the garden was attracted to a pony, to the point where it would let them on. It was rather puzzling to the Lich Queen as all she could do within this healing chamber was watch and wait for the garden to grow. Despair Plant Garden. Nightfall. It was a rather lengthy climb for some of them. Those who could fly would just use their aerial skills but kept an eye on those approaching this ominous garden. The vines were tall after all and the garden spawned from the clouds as well. But once they got up there, they could see the first part of the garden for themselves. A neglected bed of grass is enclosed by a sundry of sharp hedges and bushes. A few, thick and crooked trees stood to the right, their bark and branches looked like they could offer home and shelter to whoever chooses to live here. Though, perhaps only vampire ponies would prefer a place like this. Being so new and without someone to make them bloom, the flowers and plants were in need of some care and love, but look great nonetheless; they're rich in species, even with their obscure and dark appearances. A path of obsidian stones loops around the garden, beckoning people to explore the garden and showing them the best sights at the same time, even if it was rooted in darkness. Roots were continuously emerging around every part of the garden, always searching for new places to grow and expand. "Wow..." Ash and Pikachu gazed at this garden for what they could see now. In a way, this was their first glimpse at a Magehold Location. "It's actually rather good-looking." Rarity nodded her head. "A bit creepy but I can see the style choice." "An obsidian pathway?" Twilight placed her hoof on the pathway, feeling the obsidian from it. "How can there be obsidian here? And in the sky no less..." "This is a nice garden. But I've never seen these flowers before. What's up with them?" Pinkie Pie approached one of the flowers that had multiple sides to it. "They all look new. Do ya think it came from Pegalysium instead of the Dread League?" Applejack wondered. "If so, then they're missing an island. I wonder if that happens often. Islands dropping from PEgalysium and ending up here." Twilight replied as questions about this garden were rising. It was even more surprising that they were all in one piece, unharmed by anything here. "It feels safer than I thought it would." Fluttershy greatly enjoyed that, preferring the safety that she felt up here as opposed to how she viewed it from before. "It even looks...somewhat nice." "It's still growing though." Rainbow Dash, who was up in the air, viewed the garden from afar, seeing new land and plants emerge as if something was weaving them. This garden did not have anyone to help it grow as opposed to the one back at Galar, leaving it to handle itself. And for what it made so far, it was rather impressive. "Wow! And this is just here for us to explore?!" Already interacting with the environment was Enola. Ash recognized her voice, seeing the young girl standing on a tree while holding onto a vine. "Oh! Hello there, your majesty!" "Hey, Enola!" Ash greeted her back. "It's been a while hasn't it?" "Enola! Get down from there!" Adriel, her older brother exclaimed. "We don't know much about this place after all!" "It's not so bad, brother!" Enola would twirl on the tree while holding onto the vine. "So, where do we start?" Ash moved his head around, wondering what would be a good place to start at. He was only at the beginning of the garden when there was more to view. For Ash, walking along and seeing what he could find was the best option instead of choosing. Aimless wandering was his speciality. As for Twilight, she would try and observe this garden while also being surrounded by Daisy and Paradise. "It's good that you two are sticking next to me this time instead of moving along. You two can understand this garden, so you'll be really helpful here. What else do you hear?" "Nothing much, mom. They're resting right now." Daisy answered. "So they're not saying anything at the moment." "Resting? How can you tell? This whole garden is still growing." Twilight wasn't sure about that. The garden still looked rather active with how it was still growing new parts just to fully bloom. "They are," Paradise added. "Just let them rest now, mom. No one should bother them at all and it looks like everyone's taking a swing at viewing instead of touching." Indeed. Apart from Enola, who was hanging off the trees, not everyone was interacting with the scenery. They were just standing around, viewing what they could and observing the strange plants that came from the Despair Plant Garden. Applejack would fixate on what looked to be a pair of fruits that were hanging from the trees. She noticed how the fruits resembled that of apples due to their shape. But right in the middle, there was a sharp line that made it look like the fruit had swallowed something too big for it. Applejack would have Sceptile grab this fruit from the tree, holding it by the pointed end. "Funny-looking apple they got here." Applejack was then given the fruit. "I wonder who owns this place?" "I don't see anyone else." Rarity walked over, sitting next to a bed of strange flowers that resembled tubes and lollipops. At least, that was the shape Rarity could make out when lying next to them. "Oooh, this bed is rather comfortable, isn't it?" "This part of the garden feels pretty comfortable too," Ash added, laughing with Enola afterwards. So far, everyone was having a good time. A wonderfully splendid time with seemingly no issues. This made it eligible for the children of the Sea Temple to start running around frolicking in the garden. This was a stark contrast to the Sea Temple since that was connected to the Water. This one was the opposite as it was all about the grass. And to an extent, the sky. The People of the Water were out of their element at the moment but it was not too much for them at all. There were people rolling on the fields, admiring the hedges and how they were already built to have specific shapes that they didn't quite understand. The Pokemon were already moving around as much as the people and ponies. If not more. And this greatly confused Rosa Maledicta. Watching all the way from Magehold, she could not believe her eyes. The Despair Plant Garden did nothing. Nothing at all. It was all peaceful. With her eyes twitching, the Lich Queen was starting to feel aggravated. Why was the garden allowing this? Why aren't some of the Despair Plants within the earth taking action? These were the questions she needed answers to, especially since Twilight Sparkle was here. Many popular figures from Equestria were here along with an entire civilisation from the Sea. Her anger was so great that the windows around her would shatter. And after that, Rosa Maledicta would finally speak, using what was left of her magic to do so. "This is absolutely repulsive!" Rosa's voice boomed through the air, startling everyone. She got their attention as they all stopped what they were doing immediately. No one recognized this voice apart from one pony. But even if they didn't know who this was, the intensity behind it intimidated the children and some of the Pokemon. "That voice...The Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta!" Twilight instantly recognized that voice. "That's the Lich Queen?!" An alerted Ash yelled as the identity of Rosa's voice had been revealed to him, his friends and his many subjects. "She's here!?" Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie screeched, fearing that the Lich Queen was currently in the garden as they held onto each other. "No...This is just her voice being spoken all the way from Magehold. I was right to think that this belonged to the Dread League...That's the only way her voice can even show up here." Twilight gulped as now they have all gotten themselves involved with the Dread League yet again. "Right you are, Princess. But it's rather annoying what's transpiring at the moment. Why is the garden allowing you to roam freely without anything done? Why is it that it chooses to stay adamant and not take action? What have you done to my garden?" "We haven't done anything! All we did was get on this thing!" Rainbow Dash yelled back at her voice. "She's right though. It's odd that it's allowing us to do this. Daisy. Paradise. Do you know why?" Twilight looked back at them, only for the Flora Ponies to shake their heads. "There's something here...Someone here, I should say. One of you is doing this...preventing my darling plants from doing anything about your presence to the point where they would rather rest. It must be a form of magic that is behind this. What have you done, Twilight Sparkle?" "I haven't done anything though!" But Twilight was not used magic once when she showed up in the garden. "I don't think anyone's done anything to this garden yet except explore and hang off trees." "Whatever the reasons...This kind of opportunity will not be wasted because of this inactivity. I expected Galaxy Master to show up here first so I could have this garden deal with him." "Galaxy Master...he's coming here?!" Ash gasped as the one he was looking for was said to come here. And of all the ponies to say so, it had to be Rosa Maledicta. "The crystal was right to bring us up here then." "Indeed. But you all seemed to beat him here. But I know he'll show up again like the nuisance he is. And when he does, I hope you're all destroyed before that can happen." Right as Rosa Maledicta was going on a tangent, a streak of light would suddenly blaze through the skies, passing by Rainbow Dash to the point where she almost didn't see it. "What the?!" The pegasus gasped. The streak of light would crash into the garden, far away from everyone else. When hitting the ground, it would generate a flare of light that grabbed everyone's attention. And as for the light, it was incredibly identical to the light from the Sea Temple Crystals. Aside from the King of the Sea and those who join him, only one individual can travel like that at all times. "Well, looks like he's right on time." And even Rosa knew just by the entrance alone. Galaxy Master was here. "My darlings! Wake up! Ignore whatever it is that's keeping you at bay!" Responding to Rosa Maledicta's voice, the terrors that lie within the garden would finally take action. And they did so by erupting from the ground. Dark energy would shoot from the ground, bringing more of that ominous aura here. The terrain would alter as well, elevating and diminishing on different sides with no consistency. A rather shocking turn of events and revelation. From the garden being harmless until Rosa Maledicta spoke to the sudden arrival of Galaxy Master, Ash and his friends had no idea what to expect now. But Ash did have one idea on his mind. Reuniting with Galaxy Master. And of all the times to reunite with him, this was the worst time and did not match with what Donoma's Crystal Ball showed him. But before he could that, whatever was emerging from the ground with the dark magic could possibly ruin and prevent that reunion as the journey continues. Chapter 69 End.