//------------------------------// // The incredible persistence of a Vampire // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. Ponyville. Nightfall. At last, the elixir had entered the Despair Plant. Once, it was made by Rosa Mladeicta as an experiment to see what it would do to plants but was never finished when she left for a higher education. Then, it took the combined efforts of Twilight Sparkle and Zecora to finish up the elixir and tested it out to form Flora Ponies by dropping it on two flowers, bringing life into the world. Now, the elixir has come into contact with Despair Plant Bullfrog. Despite how long it has been hidden and abandoned, it eventually fulfilled its purpose three times now. Its purpose was to affect plants themselves and now the Despair Plant was seemingly that major breakthrough, next to the creation of Flora Ponies. Everyone stayed silent. Even when the plants were holding them down, they all focused on the Bullfrog to see what would become of it. Srivel, the one who brought Bullfrog here, looked in shock as she failed to get the elixir away from the Despair Plant while pinning down Daisy and Paradise. Both of them were hit by Shrivel's CUrse Magic which affected them the same way they affected plants. "Use Thunder!" But while everyone else was looking at the Bullfrog, Rarity was focused on saving Daisy and Paradise. Shrivel was too focused on the Despair Plant to even see what was coming her way. "Ampharos!" A fierce blast of lightning crashed into the wrinkly and raspy-sounding vampire, forcing her off the two Flora Ponies. Shrivel slid on the ground afterwards, gaining a slightly charred body. Shrivel made a croak of her own after being hit by lightning. Her whole body was sizzling after being exposed to so much light, leaving her on the ground with a twitching body. "D-Did it work...?" Scootaloo asked, wondering if the elixir even had any effect at all. The Despair Plant was seen to be rather static and still. It wasn't moving at all as the elixir definitely caught its attention. The silence was almost deafening and the lanc of any reaction was rather ominous. It made most of them uncomfortable with this silence as they expected at least. "I-I think it worked...It's completely static!" Berry Punch said, laughing with relief afterwards. Many believed that this static reaction was a sign that the elixir ended the Despair Plant's actions. Collective sighs came out of them, even though the grass was still holding them down. "No, wait! Look!" Sweetie Drops would be the first to notice a reaction out of it. The Despair Plant started jittering all of a sudden and it was a rather breakneck pace. Bullfrog's body would jitter and shake on the spot before suddenly letting out light pulses that resembled the colour of the elixir. Everyone stayed silent to see what this meant as they might have celebrated too early but they weren't sure. Then, after all of that, it started croaking uncontrollably as its body would unleash afterimages of itself repeatedly. Each afterimage showed the Despair Plant in different positions and angles consecutively. It looked like the Despair Plant was glitching or malfunctioning. No one knew exactly what they were looking at and they'd prefer not to try and understand what they were looking at. Afterwards, the jittering stopped as Bullfrog would close its abyss-like eyes, dropping flat on its face. And this was one was certainly easier to understand. The Despair Plant had fallen asleep. The sound of its croaks was akin to that of snores as the elixir fulfilled its purpose at last. "All that to fall asleep...?" Sweetie Belle said, perplexed about how that brief moment of chaos led to the Despair Plant falling asleep. "Huh...I guess the sleeping part came true in the end." Roseluck commented. "That means we win! We won!" With Roseluck shouting it out, Ponyville's citizens were glad to hear about this. They avoided further destruction by putting the Despair Plant to sleep. Victory was theirs and it only took an elixir to make it happen. Granted, their town has seen better days and this wouldn't be the first time it has suffered heavy damage or even the worst. Ghetsis, Tirek and many others could vouch for that. And with still many minutes left until the temporary immunity to the DIsease Mist, they emerged with time to spare in case the worst happens. "I-Impossible...!" Shrivel groaned, getting back up. "You put the Despair Plant to sleep? That can't be. It's impossible for them to be vulnerable to such a small affliction. "Nothing is impossible when it comes to our town." Rarity smiled at Shrivel and her charred body. "All that's left is you." "Correction...All that's left are the other vampires that will appear here eventually. You may have claimed victory here, but this is only the beginning of the Black Crusade. Not only that, but you've only put Bullfrog to sleep, so what's stopping it from waking up again?" "She's right, Rarity. What if it wakes up?" Sweetie Belle asked. "And as for those who can tame the Despair Plant, they're already being shrivelled thanks to my Curse Magic!" "Daisy! Paradise!" Rarity gasped before looking over at the two Flora Ponies who were on the ground. Indeed, Shrivel's Curse Magic greatly affected their bodies since they were still plants at their core. Pheromosa attempted to reach them, only to remember that she was restrained by the grass. The only way to free themselves was by relying on the Fire-Types here. Scootaloo's Rapidash was already burning away the grass along with other Pokemon but each time they advanced, the grass would just latch onto their legs once more. "I-It's okay..." Daisy uttered, feeling the pain from Shrivel's Curse Magic. "I think we'll be fun...We just need sunlight, that's all." "But that could take hours! And you could all perish by then!" Rarity shouted. The night was still technically young and waiting for the Sun to appear could take too long until their bodies were completely shrivelled. "Either way, I still win!" Shrivel saw this as a clear victory. The shrivelled-up grass was under her control and it had already covered most of the bodies of Ponyville's residents. Only the Fire-Types could retaliate in some way but there was just too much grass standing before them. Rapidash attempted charging through, only for a wall of grass to appear in front of him. The grass had even been manipulated to the point where they could surpass their original heights, forming blockades. These blockades were of course burned down by Fire Attacks but more would show up. "It'll be okay you two! Roserade! Grab them!" "Rose!" The one who managed to get the elixir inside of the Despair Plant in the first place would once again use her hidden thorns. These thorns flew around, wrapping themselves around Daisy and Paradise's body. However, that was when the grass was intercepted. The moment the thorns wrapped themselves around Daisy and Paradise, the grass would overpower them immediately. With their combined might, the shrivelled grass of Ponyville would snap Roserade's thorns in half. A sight never seen before. And once they snapped, Roserade's pupils shrank in response to this interception. She grit her teeth as she felt an unbearable pain go straight through her. "R-Roseraaaaaade!" Roserade screamed in pain. Those thorns were closely connected to her more than anyone thought and the fact that they were cut in half brought pain to the Bouquet Pokemon. "Oh no! Roserade!" Roselucl yelled for her partner, attempting to reach her, only to go nowhere thanks to the grass. And by now, it went past her hooves and reached the rest of her body, gradually consuming her. "You have some time before that temporary immunity of yours runs out, right? So, I say we should play the long game, Ponyville!" Shrivel roared with a devious and scornful tone. "The conditions have changed! The grass will either consume you all and suck you into the soil of the earth or the rest of my fellow vampires will sort things out from here! The fact that you thought had a sliver of a chance is laughable." "Vampires...!" Mayor Mare growled, frustrated that she could do anything right now. It seemed that no one could overcome the grass since it was so plentiful. "Mew! Transform into...whatever!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, wanting Mew to transform into the right Pokemon for the job. But what Pokemon could deal with this predicament? "Mew...Mew..." Mew had to really think about this. The grass had already captured his legs and tail, forcing him to stick while hovering. Even those airborne weren't safe from the Shrivelled Grass. "Mew even tried transforming, but he failed to do so since half of his body had been restrained. "Mew?!" "No use! Perish, Ponyville!" Shrivel laughed at their failure to break free. It seemed like this was all for nothing as the Grass that they have walked on for so long, played around in, nurtured and took care of, was about to be their end. "There's only one way for us to overcome this...Outside help. Go, Ampharos! Call for help!" "Ampha...Ros!" The only way for Ampharos to call for help was by using his light. And in his Mega Evolved state, that was very much possible. His regular form was enough to shine from outer space and this form of his could easily surpass that. Shrivel gasped, crawling away and finding a place to hide as she did not wish to be caught up in Ampharos' light once more. And like a beacon, Ampharos' light expanded so much to the point where it reached the skies in an instant. It was an SOS for help. Granted, this could also potentially attract other vampires but they were all hoping for outside help. Whether from neighbouring cities or towns or whoever was close to the scene. On the train. Meanwhile, Fluttershy, Applejack, Starlight and Spike had all taken the nearby Ponyville train. Fluttershy and Applejack were off to Hayseed Swamp, where they could learn about Mage Meadowbrook, AKA the Mystical Mask. Possibly, the answer to these rare cures and hopefully ones that involve Magehold. As for Starlight and Spike, they were heading over to the Crystal Empire, unaware of what had transpired there. Both sides had goals in mind while the Black Crusade was ongoing. They would gladly risk their own lives for the sake of their friends. However, the Black Crusade's terrifying first minutes had already intervened with their goals in some way. All of a sudden, the train would come to a halt, causing the ponies, Pokemon and dragon inside to almost lose their balance and fall off their seats. It's not often for a train to suddenly stop, especially on the tracks when it had yet to reach another station or stop. "W-What was that?!" Applejack gasped, holding onto her hat. Quickly, everyone took a look through the windows to see why this was the case. This train was interrupted simply by what stood before it. Or rather, what was used to sit in front of it. The remaining tracks were suddenly missing. And not only that but a train carriage could be seen lying on the side of the fields, completely totalled with shattered windows. This was the same train where Twilight had her confrontation with the Dread League. Alas, this interfered with the train system that was connected to Ponyville. Fluttershy and everyone couldn't believe their eyes. All of a sudden, there was a destroyed carriage and missing tracks holding them back from reaching their destination. But they could obviously guess why this was the case considering what was happening tonight. "Did they already get here before us?" Spike commented as the doors opened, allowing them to exit the train considering the predicament the railway was in. "Great. The train's been stopped so soon." Starlight sighed. "I was afraid something like this might happen. The tracks don't even diverge at this point." "Oh, but this can't be. I need to get to Hayseed Swamp as soon as possible." Fluttershy bit her hoof as this mild inconvenience really hit her. Granted, it was still possible to reach Hayseed Swamp but the train was the fastest way to do it, considering the fact that many were ill. Now, their quickest way had been ruined thanks to the Dread League. With the train tracks ruined, the train had nowhere else to go. Thankfully, no one had been harmed during this but it was close to becoming a reality earlier. "Vampires..." Applejack groaned, just knowing that the vampires were behind this. It just made her facepalm. "We'll get there anywhere else. But I sure ain't gonna walk there." "Well, there's nothing stopping us from flying there," Spike said, opting for the second option. "I can have some of my Pokemon get us to where we need to be. It won't be as fast as the train but it'll have to do for now." "I guess. We have to-" Before Starlight could say anything else, their attention was averted to something else. A bright flash of light grabbed their attention, lighting up the clouds themselves and making it seem like the Sun was starting to rise. But in reality, it was just Mega Ampharos. His SOS was certainly a success as it was seen by those who had already taken the train and gone quite the distance away from Ponyville. Fluttershy and everyone laid their eyes on the light in the sky, seeing it flash multiple times while also unleashing sparks of electricity. "An SOS?" Fluttershy uttered. "That looks like it's coming from the direction of Ponyville! Ampharos?!" "Did something happen there?!" Starlight gasped as her attention shifted elsewhere. So much for reaching the Crystal Empire to see if her friend was alright. The rest of her friends had already found themselves in some Dread League trouble. "Just when we left!?" Applejack bellowed, instantly thinking about her family and what could be happening to them. "What do we do!? Do we go back?!" Spike asked, wondering what the right course of action was for this. Seeing the SOS meant that their friends were struggling and needed some extra assistance. It was unclear to them how bad the situation was and the only way to find out was by heading there. However, there was also the thought of solving the issue that was already plaguing Ponyville thanks to the vampire Shrivel. "We..." Fluttershy scrunched her face. She already made up her mind and it was a tough one since she was considering everyone Ponyville. That involved everypony and every Pokemon she knew. And it was quite plentiful, especially with the existence of the Pokemon House. "We keep going. I want to find a cure for everyone as soon as possible. It's best that we find out about these cures and come back to help them." "Ya sure?" Applejack questioned, wanting to make sure that Fluttershy made up her mind. "I'm sure. But if you want to protect your family, Applejack, I understand." "I'm coming with you." Applejack surprisingly took the other option. "They could be infected too and I wanna heal 'em up before it gets out of control. Just like before, I'm coming with you to Hayseed Swamp." "Then it's settled. Out your come, Salamence! Flygon!" Once the decision had been made, Spike threw two Poke Balls into the air, unleashing his two Dragon-Types. "Salamence!" "Flygon!" With these two, they could still travel to their destinations, albeit slower than a train. But it was better than nothing. Fluttershy and Applejack would take Flygon with them while Spike and Starlight. would go with Salamence. They had no time to waste. After seeing the destroyed railway and carriage along with the SOS light flashing in the far distance, they had to keep moving even during the time of the Black Crusade. Both Dragons took flight, having two destinations in mind. Hayseed Swamp and the Crystal Empire. They went their separate ways but Flygon would remember to come back to Spike once Fluttershy's group finished up with what they had to do. It was now a race against the clock. The temporary immunity that Emerald Aura made would not last forever and it was unknown if that elixir would keep that Despair Plant asleep forever or for long enough. The Crystal Empire. Meanwhile, back at the Crystal Empire, things were looking brighter. Thanks to the turnaround Ash and the others made, the Crystal Empire was starting to make a comeback. It was still a fierce confrontation against the controlled Golurk and Sableye who were influenced by Sweet Fang's magic. Thankfully, there was a simple yet painful cure for it. A smackdown and a good beating did the trick. Granted, that led to some fainted Pokemon but once they wake up, they will back to their senses. As for the ones who were still active and under mind control, they were not going down easy. And the ones who were active and had their control ceased were battling alongside Ash and his Pokemon. Ash's Pokemon fiercely battled against the Golurk and Sableye, throwing everything they had at these spectral foes that were once allies. Sparks of Electricity, flashes of Aura, draconic energy and spectral attacks were appearing everywhere in the Crystal Empire. Some of the Controlled Golurk combined their strength, using it to push down a large building, attempting to crush Ash and the others. "Golurk! Push up that building!" Ash bellowed, pointing up to the building that was coming his way. "Gol!" The opposing Golurk would also unify their strengths, retaliating against their automated brethren. They immediately held back the building, preventing it from falling on Ash's group before collectively throwing it away with their combined strengths. And it was right back to the Golurks that pushed it down in the first place. They would find themselves being struck by the buildings they totalled, falling down with it. "Ash! Ash!" Meanwhile, Twilight managed to find Ash at last. Or rather, Pikachu found him first. Rushing through the rubble and areas of Ponyville, the Mouse Pokemon appeared. "Pika-Pi!" Seeing his best friend, Pikachu leapt through the air with a swift Quick Attack. "Pikachu!" Ash cried out his best friend's name, opening his arms for him despite the explosions happening around him. He received a Quick Attack in his open arms which tackled him to the ground. "Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu excitedly cried out, seeing Ash in one piece. He was a bit worried considering the scenery around him. "You had us worried again!" Twilight ran over with Radiant Hope also joining the fray. "You still look completely fine even with all of this happening." "Yeah. It's alright here. Well, for the most part." Ash stood back up as Pikachu stood on his shoulder. "Still got a lot to deal with." "But how did this even happen?" Radiant Hope asked. "And where's Sombra? He came through with you, right?" "Sombra's just resting right now. A lot happened and I'll fill you in on this later. Right now, I'm gonna need all the help I can get to ger rid of this mind control. It's awesome that you showed up now." Ash looked at them. "I can do just that." Twilight nodded before throwing up a few Poke Balls in the air with her magic. And emerging out of it were the rest of her Pokemon, minus Togekiss who was suffering from a Magehold curse. "I have to see if everyone else is okay! I'll be right back!" For Radiant Hope, she was going to focus on the citizens of the Crystal Empire and their wellbeing. She would leave everything else to Ash and Twilight. They would handle the battling part while Radiant Hope was focused on rescuing. Technically, Ash was already doing both, bringing some of the Sableye and Golurk back to their senses. But they had quite the tall order. While the number of Golurks were certainly decreasing, the number of Sableye was still overwhelming considering how many of them lived in the Crystal Empire and even outside of it. A Purple Tide was coming their way, ready to destroy in the name of Sweet Fang, the Dread League, the Black Crusade and the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta. "Together?" Twilight looked up at Ash as she also used her magic to bring out her Mega Evolution Pen Holder. "Together." Ash already understood what Twilight was going for as he showed the Mega Stone in his glove. Both of them had the same idea. They then faced the horde of Sableye and Golurk with their eyes flashing blue and purple, ready to unify their best strengths as one. "MEGA EVOLVE!" In unison, both of them initiated Mega Evolution. By interacting with the Keystones, the Mega Stones of Lucario and Absol would appear out of thin air. The two Pokemon had their eyes also flash their respective colours. Blue and Black to be exact. Lucario and Absol felt their energies explode with Infinity Energy brimming. The light from Mega Evolution flew out of each stone and combined to form a DNA Symbol. The symbols then dropped onto the two Pokemon, pushing past their natural evolution and limitations. This happened while the Sableye and Golurk were approaching them. Afterwards, the Mega Evolution energy would create an outburst, pushing back the Pokemon that got too close as the Mega Evolved forms of Lucario and Absol had arrived on the scene. Stronger than before and powered up for more. "Let's do this! Lucario! Use Aura Sphere on the ground!" "Lu...CA!" Knowing he could damage the Ghost-Types, it was best for Lucario to use everything else to his advantage. Such as the environment. With a massive Aura Sphere that would usually take a while to charge up, he slammed it onto the crystal ground, causing an azure explosion to happen. From that explosion, large crystal shards would start flying out. Large enough to be a threat to the opposing force. "Absol! Use Night Slash!" "Ab...Sol!" And helping with this was Absol. He used his horn to slash at the shards, rocketing them at the Golurk and Sableye with powerful swings to boost them. The Golurk and the Sableye were met with shards that caught fire from the speed they were travelling at, receiving heavy blows once they came into contact with them. Some of the Golurk were knocked out of the sky because of this, landing on either the roofs of buildings or the ground. The Sableye would find themselves being pelted and knocked back by the materials they love snacking on, taking damage instead of feasting instead. "Dazzling Gleam, Espeon!" "Pikachu, use Iron Tail! Sirfetch'd, rush in with Night Slash! Dracovish, Water Gun!" "Pikachu-Pi!" Pikachu and his teammates came together with him and Sirfetch'd getting up close. Pikachu swung his hardened tail, smacking the faces and bodies of the opposing Pokemon in front of him. Sirfetch'd would slash past at the Ghosts with his darkened blade, charging forward like the noble knight he was. As for Dracovish, it stayed back to spray the Golurk with Water Gun, dealing super-effective damage to them from afar. This would allow for Espeon to take action, lunging into the air to form a bright flash of Fairy Magic that made her appear as a star in the air. And this star unleashed rays that were powerful as they were beautiful. The Sableye received the brunt of this, taking powerful super-effective damage from these rainbow rays. And of course, they were assisted by the Freed Golurk and Sableye who would throw their own attacks at their brethren, giving Ash's group enough room for free hits. "Strike hard, Gengar! Ice Punch! Dracovish, gnaw on 'em with Ice Fang! Slash away with Dragon Claw, Dragonite!" "Use Hidden Power Dragon Ninetales! Minccy, Aqua Tail on the Golurk!" "Dra!" Dragonite and the rest of Ash's Pokemon advanced, slashing at their opponents with claws of draconic energy. This was followed up by another form of draconic energy that came from Ninetales, blazing through some of the Golurk and Sableye. And as for the Golurk, much like how Pikachu was smacking them with Iron Tail, Cinccino would do the same but with Aura Tail. Cinccino and Pikachu came together, using their tails to strike the Ghost-Types. They flipped over each other, delivering overhead hits to the Golurk and forcing them to the ground. They would then cross each other, slashing past a group of Golurk and Sableye while leaving behind white and blue streaks. It was safe to say that the unity between this group was leading them to make powerful hits in succession. But little did they know, they would have further assistance from the citizens of the Crystal Empire. Radiant Hope was focused on the safety of everypony else. She already saw many ponies who had been restrained by the Sableye after their sudden ambush. She used her magic to free these restrained ponies, shattering the crystals that held them down. She retraced her steps, heading back to those she passed by earlier just to free them. And while freeing them, she saw other residents ad already freed themselves. Or rather, they were never captured at all, but managed to hide before they could get caught up in the most chaotic parts of this ambush. That would be Shining Armor's group. Of course, Shining Armor did get caught up in them earlier. He showed up with those who evaded the rest of the mess and hid underground. "Oh! The prince?!" Radiant Hoep said after freeing one of the citizens. "Radiant Hope, right? You picked the right time to show up." Shining Armor approached. "Mhm. I had to come here as soon as possible once I learned that the Black Crusade had started. I was right to show up here since the Crystal Empire's the closest to Magehold. A lot happened, hasn't it?" "A lot has happened." Shining Armor sighed. "We're now working to reverse all the damage done here. Ash is already working hard on that by freeing the Sableye and Golurk from their mind control. We're about to do the same." "I think we have enough to do it," Sunburst spoke. "There's not that many Golurk since half of the guards are missing. We still don't know where they went. They just up and vanished." "Vanished?" Radiant Hope repeated. "Right. The same goes for my wife and my other daughter. But they were kidnapped instead and we know where they are. Magehold. But as for the other guards, they aren't underground or anywhere else at all and it's without a trace, which is strange. I'm hoping to get them back as soon as possible if I can find them." "Well, if they're gone without a trace, then it's obvious that the Dread League concealed them somehow." "Concealed them? How so?" Ms Harshwhinny asked. "I learned a lot about Magehold myself during my travels and I know quite a lot of spells that they possess. I think I can help with your disappearance problem." Thankfully, with Radiant Hope's vast knowledge of Magehold could play a factor here. The Crystal Empire was blessed to have Radiant Hope here. This was her home originally after all and there was no way she'd let it struggle any longer. Shining Armor smiled, leaving that up to Radiant Hope to solve. As for him and everyone else, they would focus on helping Ash and his friends to retake the Crystal Empire. And by this point, victory was within their sights. However, even though a turnaround was happening here at the Crystal Empire, Ponyville was seeing better days. They were stuck in a bit of a limbo. They had stopped the main threat but not everything else and were struggling to break past their restraints. Time was of the utmost essence here. Fluttershy had to find the cure to Swamp Fever and other Magehold Curses as soon as possible by relying on Mage Meadowbrook while Shining Armor had to clear things up here to soon reach the rest of his family. As the journey continues. Chapter 142 End.