Equestria. The Crystal Empire. Nightfall.
It was chaos in the streets. Controlled by the Vampire Sweet Fang, the Sableye, who were once common folk of the Crytal Empire, were now hostile, attacking and raiding the homes of the citizens at night. It was unexpected to see the Sableye turn on them. However, it was unbeknownst to everypony else that it was against their own will.
Some of the Sableye already captured the Crystal Empire citizens, tying them up. It was done by the crystals themselves, which they broke up into smaller pieces, forming crystal ropes and chains just to restrain the citizens. Rather impressive but no one wanted to be impressed right now. They just wanted answers.
"What's going on?!" Shining Armor gasped after witnessing the sudden outbreak through the windows. A truly unfavourable sight, witnessing all the Sableye turn on everyone. Since everything here was made out of crystals, the destruction that befell the Crystal Empire was swift.
The Sableye tore every piece that they could with their bare hands. Claw marks were seen on the buildings with crystal shards lying everywhere. The Sableye spared no expense with what they could grab, mangling the crystals to form more than just ropes and chains.
Shining Armor couldn't exactly pinpoint why this was happening, but he knew he had to stop it before it could get out of control. But more importantly, he had to know if his family was alright. The Sableye also managed to break inside, as seen by the holes within the castle. While searching for his family, he noticed an absence of other guards. Usually, he would see a handful of them by now but the halls were rather empty.
It didn't take long for him to run into some of the Sableye. They were prowling around the castle, crawling the walls and ceiling. "Sableye?!" The ones on the ceiling spotted the Prince of the Crystal Empire, having their eyes glow in the dimmed halls.
A
The Sableye that stood before him were holding what appeared to be crystal weapons. By grabbing as many crystals as they could, they formed weapons such as swords, spears and even some shields. They were innovative but now was not the time to admire and appreciate their work.
"Aegislash!" Seeing the threats, Aegislash got in front of Shining Armor, having his sword and shield at the ready. All the while, Shining Armor wondered why a majority of the guards weren't here for this moment. This was where their help would be greatly appreciated. Only a few of them were left, dealing with the problems outside, trying to subdue the Sableye.
"Sableye!" The Sableye lunged at Shining Armor and Sableye with their crystal weapons, only for the Royal Sword Pokemon to use King's Shield. Light blue hexagonal shapes then appear one by one in front of Aegislash until they formed a shield, blocking himself and Shining Armor from the spears and swords. They made direct contact with the shield, failing to get through as a blue flash enveloped their bodies.
"Great, Aegislash! Okay, use Aerial Ace on them!"
"Slash!" After blocking their attacks, Aegislash repelled them by moving his shield forward, causing the Sableye to fly back. Afterwards, he quickly shifted into his Blade Forme for an offensive retaliation. With a bright aura surrounding his bladed body, the Royal Sword Pokemon disappeared in the blink of an eye. He would later reappear in front of the Sableye, slashing at them at confounding speeds which left behind white sparks when struck.
The Sableye that were hit dropped their crystal weapons, sliding on the floor. The ones near Aegislash were next, seeing the Steel-Ghost-Type approaching with another Aerial Ace. "S-Sable!" Startled, the other Sableye would quickly hold up their shields, blocking the next Aerial Ace.
Their crystal shields held up well, staying strong when coming into contact with the bladed body of Aegislash. However, the Sableye would tremble from the sheer impact. Their bodies were fragile after all. Aegislash would continuously swing at their shields with Aerial Ace with white streaks appearing constantly.
But the ones in front of Aegislash weren't the only Sableye to worry about. The ones on the walls were a problem too, targeting Shining Armor as he was rather vulnerable compared to Aegislash. Shining Armor gasped as he witnessed the Sableye above throwing their spears at him. With his teeth widening to show a grimace, Shining Armor moved back, narrowly avoiding the spears.
Crystal spears would stab into the ground, nearly grazing Shining Armor's face. The unicorn just managed to dodge the first batch of spears, but more were right above him. The Sableye that stayed airborne continuously threw their spears, attempting to hit the Prince of the Crystal Empire.
And some of them did land, specifically on his armour. The crystal spears rained down on Shining Armor's armour, with some of them cracking thanks to the impact. The closest they came to harming him was by hitting his tail, tearing bits of it off. Shining Armour was thankful that his armour could withstand hits from crystals, but this only prompted the Sableye to try something else.
Dark Pulses and Shadow Balls were thrown down, exceeding the strength of the spears and swords by a wide margin. These would definitely break through his shield and harm him severely. Shining Armor's grin quickly faded as the power of Dark Pulse would combust once it struck the floor, leaving behind a shockwave that would disrupt his balance.
The Captain of the Royal Guard stumbled on one hoof, trying to regain control, only for a Shadow Ball to fly in and knock him over. His armour still kept him safe but the damage was still there. Shining Armor's face slid on the crystal floor, causing him to spin which luckily made him avoid the next Shadow Ball. But that didn't stop the Sableye. Shining Armor got back up, shaking his head which was slightly bruised by sliding on the floor. It certainly wasn't pleasant considering how hard crystals can be.
Quickly, Shining Armor would put up a protective shield against the incoming Shadow Balls and Dark Pulses, having his own way or retaliating. Aegislash didn't just do everything for him all the time. He had his magic to support him.
"Aegis!" Speaking of Aegislash, his bladed body clashed with the weapons the Sableye had, easily overpowering them. His blade work was just that immaculate. Training with the Swords of Justice gave him that big of an advantage in every way. The Sableye failed to beat out Aegislash's rapid swings.
Shields and spears were cut into pieces when facing Aegislash, causing the Sableye to lose their crystal weapons. And the same went for the Crystal Swords which could not hold a candle to Aegislash's. However, the same couldn't be said when it came to other forms of battling, such as the most traditional way for any Pokemon to battle. After destroying their weapons and knocking them over, Aegislash would receive some aerial damage. The Sableye above would throw down Dark and Ghost-Type moves, dealing super-effective to the Royal Sword Pokemon.
"A-Aegis!"
"Aegislash! Are you okay?!" Shining Armor gasped, witnessing Aegislash take a hard hit from two moves that were threatening to him.
"S-Slash...!" Aegislash was still active. He would float back up, continuing to face the horde of Sableye that was in front and above him.
"I don't have time for this! Cadence! Flurry Heart?! Any of them?!" Shining Armor shouted for his family, but with no proper response from either of them. And from the looks of it, the number of Sableye was getting larger.
"Sableye...!" But the only response he got was from the Sableye as more of them were creeping over. The castle was on the verge of being flooded by Sableye in the same way the outside was. The outside had already fallen victim to the Sableye, with the guards trying to fix that, but were obviously low on numbers.
And the one spearheading this attack was none other than Sweet Fang. Arriving here with a few other vampires who were undercover, using an illusion magic, they watched the chaos unfurl. Those that had their identities stolen by the vampires were lost, restrained by the vampires and their Dark Magic. They practically avoided any danger by blending in with everyone else.
Sweet Fang, who controlled all of the Sableye, ceased her maid act for the moment, taking the time to observe the scenery. And already, her eyes met with Shining Armor and Aegislas, who were two steps below her. The controlling vampire was practically safe, having all the Sableye take the blame. None of the Sableye could speak as to why this was happening. They could only do it without any questions asked which only tarnished their image.
"Alright. This is great." A pleased Sweet Fang said as her part of the Black Crusade was going swimmingly on her part. "The Sableye will handle things. And if they lose, they can take the blame and not me. Now, let's focus on retrieving those three alicorns. The magic I put in those drinks will knock out even the strongest ponies. The same goes for the food we made."
"But there'll still be suspicion. That Captain is still around and he won't be in the mood for a bite or a drink with how things are going." A vampire replied, pointing out how Shining Armor was the only important figure in the Crystal Empire still around.
"That's fine. He won't be an issue with all of these Sableye around. As long as we bring them to the Lich Queen. The other alicorns will take some time. The big one is Princess Celestia and second to her is Princess Luna. They'll be harder to get." Sweet Fang commented before entering the room where the princesses fainted.
The vampires were ready to retrieve the bodies of three alicorns. Already, the others were targets, such as Celestia, Luna and Twilight, with Twilight already having to deal with her own vampires who tried capturing her on this dark night. However, when entering the room that the Royal Family fainted in, they found that it was completely devoid of any alicorns.
"Huh?!" Sweet Fang gasped as there was no sign of Cadence or both Flurry Hearts around. The chocolate drinks that knocked them out were still there, damaging and dropping the chocolate liquid on the floor. However, the one that Baby Flurry Heart never drank was still full and hot.
The only ones here were the Sableye that tried to capture the Royal Family. But obviously, they failed as they could be seen on the floor, defeated. Not just the ones in here, but the ones outside of the room that brought the trolley of food, resulting in Flash Sentry and the other guards passing out as well. Even they were nowhere to be found despite dropping after they consumed the food.
"They got away?!" One of the vampires bellowed. The disappearance of the Royal Family didn't bode well for them considering that all the vampires were here. Not a single one was missing. They were all present.
"You lot! What happened?!" Sweet Fang said to the defeated Sableye, questioning them. Since she had them under her control, they had no choice but to answer.
"S-Sable...Sableye..." A Sableye answered before passing out.
"The Baby defeated them?" Sweet Fang translated, managing to understand the Sableye. "You seriously lost to an infant?!"
"The baby? Baby Flurry Heart took them out? How?"
"I heard she had a lot of magical potential even for her age. She's the first Baby Alicorn after all."
"Maybe we should've put some Despair Plants in here first."
"Which is exactly why she's needed. And you all failed to get her." Sweet Fang kissed her teeth in annoyance. "If she's gone, then whoever took the other princesses must've taken the baby as well. Find them!"
Seeking out the three alicorns was their next priority. The Black Crusade, though it involved the destruction of everything else, had other parts to it. With the Lich Queen being the mastermind behind it, her plants involved more than just the destruction of life. The vampires, who kept their disguises up, spread out to try and find the two Flurry Hearts and Princess Cadence, wherever they made be.
Sunburt's Home.
"I think I'll be fine, for now..."Meanwhile, sheltering himself from the attack of the Sableye was Sunburst. His home had yet to be raided by them. This was mainly due to the magical barrier around Sunburst's home, protecting him from the Darkness Pokemon.
He already saw the attack in advance, witnessing how the Sableye turned on everyone else and caught them by surprise. With this surprise attack, dozens of citizens were already captured while the rest were still trying to gather what was going on and fending for themselves.
Sunburst sighed, feeling a bit safe within his home. At least, for the meanwhile. This barrier would certainly protect him but he wasn't sure for how long. And he definitely wasn't sure why there were so little guards out there. The number of guards confronting the Sableye just didn't seem right. The Sableye vastly outnumbered them and the only thing giving the guards a chance were their Golurks.
"The Sableye wouldn't just attack us out of nowhere," said Sunburst. "They have all the crystals in the world that they need. And all of it is on the outside. Other materials that aren't crystals are on the inside, like these books. Something's making them do this." Sunburst figured that the Sableye were influenced by something. His first instinct was that they were being provoked by something.
For now, Sunburst would try to lay low until this simmered down. He trusted that the guards could stop this attack. But right when he backed up, his body bumped into something gently. Something appeared behind in a flash, causing the unicorn to jump.
"Gah!" Sunburst screeched with his glasses nearly flying off. The unicorn swiftly grabbed them, placing them back on his head before then falling over. He wasn't alone. Not at all.
Right behind him was none other than Flurry Heart. Baby Flurry Heart to be exact. She appeared with her mother and her counterpart from another universe. Sunburst already crashed into one of his bookshelves, causing the books to drop on him continuously. So much for him being safe from any harm.
"W-What...?" A confused Sunburst uttered, shocked to see the Royal Family inside his own home. It was even more surprising since two of them were down and out while another was carrying them with her magic. It was Flurry Heart who saved them. Not someone else.
Floating over to Sunburst while gently dropping her family, Baby Flurry Heart babbled at the unicorn, having a tone of distress. Even if she was a baby, the tone of distress was indistinguishable, especially considering the circumstances. The infact Alicorn flailed her hooves up and down frantically, flying around Sunburst as there were already tears on her face.
"What are you doing here? Why did you come to me?" Sunburst asked before receiving a strong hair pull from Flurry Heart. She would coo and exclaim, clearly wanting Sunburst for something. "Ow, ow! Okay, okay!"
Sunburst wasn't sure why she came to him, but he figured that she wanted his help. Especially when seeing the older Flurry Heart and Princess Cadence on the floor. That couldn't be ignored as they were incredibly vulnerable during this attack. The Sableye were already approaching more and more homes with each attack.
Flurry Heart was greatly confused, much like everyone else. But her confusion mainly came from how she witnessed her family pass out on the spot. And right now, she was being hunted by the Dread League.
Ponyville.
Back at Ponyville, Ash had recently received a call from none other than Twilight. He had just gotten his mother and Mr Mime back home through the gateway to Pallet Town, asking them to be safe. Delia returned the favour, knowing her son would be safe, even with the risks involved.
"Twilight. What's up?"
"Ash! Oh, good! You made it back, safely!" Twilight said with distress in her voice. She had just recently been involved in a fierce chase battle on a train with vampires and Despair Plant Cobras. "So Ponyville's safe right now!"
"Yeah, we're safe. What's wrong, Twilight? Is everything okay? Are you at the Crystal Empire?"
"Not yet...I ran into some vampires. They suddenly showed up on the train where it was just me and the conductor. Quite a bit happened and some Despair Plants got involved."
"Seriously?! Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine. But Togekiss isn't. One of the Cobras bit into her and spread a powerful poison through her body. It's apparently just like the afflictions that are hard to get rid of. It's not the same one that Chrysalis took but it's still putting her life in peril." Twilight explained, bringing up the fact that Togekiss fell victim to the Magehold Afflictions.
"And just like what Lofty Skies' mom got..." Ash uttered, shocked to hear that another one of his friends had been caught by these devastatingly cruel afflictions.
"Togekiss is still hanging in there, but I'm worried for her. And right now, I'm running from the Dread League, but I don't think I can escape them. Once a Despair Plant sees you and attacks you, they'll always know where you go. It's how the ones from Hearthome found Olympia and the others."
"They're chasing you?! Where are you right now, Twilight?"
"I'm somewhere out in the countryside. I can maybe get rid of them by using my Z-Move. It has the right amount of light that can actually stop the Despair Plants, but I'm having a rough time finding some space to use it. And it's a one-time thing until it recharges, like all Z-Moves."
"Hang on, Twilight! We'll be right there!" Already, Ash and Pikachu were set to try and come to Twilight.
"Hold on, Ash! You need to warn everyone first. Princess Celestia's already planning to make an announcement of the Black Crusade starting, but I want you to tell everyone else what's going on."
"Are you sure?"
"Pikachu?"
"I want to get to Cadence and the others. If you can just tell everyone about this, then you can come to me. I can't run from the Despair Plants forever and the Dread League want me for something that involves the Lich Queen. I can't afford to have myself be captured."
"Okay, Twilight. Just hang in there. The same goes for Togekiss." Ash understood Twilight's wishes. He finished the call with Twilight, hoping to catch up with her as soon as possible. But first, he had to tell everyone about the Black Crusade. And with a few ponies out at night, only a few would get the news until the rest gathered it by morning. But he'd rather have it spread at this point.
Meanwhile, heading back to her home as well was Fluttershy. She quickly flew over to her home, where the Pokemon House could also be found. With the Black Crusade starting, her Pokemon were certainly in peril. Especially since Rosa Maledicta holds a grudge towards Ponville's citizens.
Citizens from Ponyville as well as Ash, Pikachu and by extension Galaxy Master, who came from Kanto, have been the ones to intercept her plans constantly. It was a guarantee that she'd lash out on Ponyville more than anywhere else. And if not, the wave of destruction would certainly do it for her.
Fluttershy arrived to see her Pokemon, who she treated like her family, completely oblivious to what was going on. But it would only take a few words from Fluttershy to get them up to speed.
"I want to keep them all safe and away from the Black Crusade," Fluttershy said to Audino, Bayleef and Raboot when entering the Pokemon House. But the moment she got there, the Pokemon were focused on something else.
By this time some of them would be asleep with the others being awake either by having enough time left or being nocturnal. However, all of them were kept by something. And it didn't take long for Fluttershy and the others to see exactly what it was. Or rather, who it was.
Sitting on a couch cushion was none other than Zecora. By this time, she would usually be back home at the Everfree Forest, returning to what she once lost. But now, on this night, she was at the Pokemon House, but not in the best state. On her body, reddish-orange spots could be seen, not just on her, but some of her Pokemon. Her Zebstrika and Weavile found themselves having those same spots.
"Oh my goodness! What happened to you three?!" Fluttershy quickly flew over. It wasn't that hard to see that there was something wrong with them, especially since they were lying down while having these spots. "Zecora...Zebstrika? Weavile? What happened? What are these spots?"
"It showed up unexpectedly at the Everfree." Zecora groaned. "Right in the middle of the night and it seemed to only target me."
"What targeted you?"
"A creature with the power to bring out illnesses did this. It's eyes were as black as an abyss...It was one of those Despair Plants but on a smaller scale. It had just sprouted and-"
"A Despair Plant?!" Fluttershy cut Zecora off. She backed away, knowing what this meant. The Black Crusade was near. "Then that means...The Black Crusade's already here?!"
She feared this would happen. It was bound to happen eventually but she never expected it to be so soon. The most realistic place for it to start was the Crystal Empire since it was nearer. But already, it was near Ponyville, sprouting out from the Everfree Forest.
The Despair Plant that caused this was currently unknown by name. But due to what has become Zecora and her Pokemon, Fluttershy could take a guess. With the arrival of a Despair Plant, this was only another part of the Black Crusade approaching Ponyville.
And most likely, a vampire was nearby as the journey continues.
Chapter 127 End.