//------------------------------// // Celestial Body Struggle // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. Hayseed Swamp. Nightfall. Fluttershy had discovered the way to approach the Flash Bees after her unsightly encounter with them. The Mystical Mask was the key. The mask that Mage Meadowbrook once wore and left behind after her disappearance. Precious time was fading as the thunderstorm from far away continued to be absurdly loud to the point where it reached Hayseed Swamp. Fluttershy couldn't afford to lose this time, otherwise, all of her friends could perish. "Okay....here goes." She placed the mask on her face, preparing to face the Flash Bees once more, appearing before their hive. "Mind over matter." And the moment she got close, a Flash Bee would fly out. However, upon appearing out of the hive, it landed on the mask which mimicked the stripes of this Queen Bee. It didn't take long for the Flash Bee to fly off as if nothing happened. It saw this mask as another Queen Bee, acting calm instead of aggressive. Just as Fluttershy predicted. This was followed by a swarm of Flash Bees looking at Fluttershy with their narrow eyes, only to remain calm moments later. They truly believed another Queen Bee was here. And when seeing the mask, all the bees would clear the way, allowing Fluttershy to shove her hoof inside. Audino and Bayleef gasped as they couldn't believe that worked. "Audino!" "Bay?!" "I got it!" Fluttershy said with glee as she had the special honey in her hooves. The cure was at her disposal. All that was left to do was utilize it on those that had Swamp Fever. Such as herself. "Alright! Let's hurry back to Ponyville as soon as possible!" Now that the cure had been obtained, it was back to Ponyville. And it had to be as hasty as possible. The thunderstorm in the distance plus the dark clouds were rather grim, potentially the result of the Dread League. Fluttershy would prefer that she returned to Ponyville without encountering any vampires along the way. However, with the dark clouds above expanding in size, it was clear that Hayseed Swamp wouldn't be exempt. Nothing is exempt when it comes to the Black Crusade. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. "Oough..." The spell had run out, unfortunately. It ran its course. And immediately, those with the Black Cracks on their bodies would fall weak on their hooves and knees. Mayor Mare was among some of them. She fell to the side of her Town Hall with Stoutland quickly rushing to her side. Others with the Magehold Curses fell over when trying to repair something, feeling the need to pass out. Time was running out for them. While they would not perish tonight, the curses would still torment them, taking their time and slowly eating away at their bodies in the most vile and uncomfortable ways possible. Searching for a way to bring the Sun back were Twilight and Rarity. They just needed Daisy and Paradise to heal up and use their amazing magic to remove the curses since they had the cure. But without a Sun to bank on, that would be rather difficult. Thankfully, Celestia was attempting to bring the Sun back, refusing to let her subjects perish to the Dread League in any way. The Sun was seen attempting to rise up, only to stop halfway. Residents of Ponyville looked up to see this sudden pause. It threw them for a loop. They could see both the Sun and Moon. Both Celestial Bodies were attempting to swap positions, however, two powerful forces were controlling it at the moment. "What is going up there?" Scootaloo questioned, wondering why the Sun and Moon were stuck in this way. It was oddly beautiful. One part of the sky was bright while the other was dark. The imbalance of the two Celestial Bodies affected the areas they hovered over. Twilight and Rarity already knew that this meant that Celestia and Rosa Maledicta were clashing at this very moment. And this was further confirmed. The skies above started trembling all of a sudden, even affecting the ground. Ponyville couldn't catch a full-on break at all, unfortunately. And with the knowledge that more vampires were on the way improved the stress even further for this town. Showing up at the Pokemon House, Ash, Twilight and Rarity searched for the Pokemon that possess Sunny Day. Surely, some of them have to know it. Especially the Grass-Types since they benefit from its radiance. "Alright. I've called for every Pokemon here that can learn Sunny Day. Including my own. These are our options." Twilight said. Lining up in front of her were Sunflora, Sunkern, Hoppip, Fomantis, Slowpoke, Girafarig, Surskit, Starly and Petilil. Multiple of them. These were the ones who came to the scene once Twilight called for Sunny Day users. However, she went the distance by also bringing the Pokemon from her PokePark. She was sure that some of them knew Sunny Day and she was right as the ones who possessed it stepped forward, lining up next to the Pokemon House Pokemon. For the most part, the species were identical when it comes to knowing Sunny Day. "Yeah. I think that's all of them." Ash kneeled to face the Sunny Day users. "Will this be enough though? Princess Celestia and regrettably Rosa Maledicta are incredibly powerful. Do these darlings have the strength to make a difference?" Rarity asked, unsure if the Pokemon here could truly help considering the two powerful forces facing each other. "They will. I'm sure of it. What matters the most is that Princess Celestia gains all the help that she can. And this is what we can give her right now. You all can do this, okay?" Twilight looked back at the Pokemon, encouraging them to give it their best shot. "Surskit!" Surskit and the others cried out. They will try their best. "Wait!" Rushing to the scene before they could begin was none other than Roseluck. She showed up at the Pokemon House, still having the Black Cracks around herself and Roserade. The two of them were unfortunately hit with Magehold Curses instead of common diseases. "I've got one! I've got a Pokemon that knows Sunny Day!" "Roseluck? You do?" "I..." Roseluck took a deep breath before coughing. "I'm the Grass-Type Gym Leader. I need to. I was originally going to teach it to Roserade but my Bellossom is the one who has it. I wish I brought her out sooner when dealing with that vampire but...oh well." "It's fine, Roseluck. The Despair Plant was the problem anyway. We'd be glad to have you add your Sunny Day to this. You do look awful and need the help too." Rarity replied. "Thanks." Roseluck smiled as the Black Cracks went up to her eyes just now. Quickly, she would take out Bellossom's Pokemon, throwing it into the air with a weak hoof strength. She didn't quite have the strength to throw it as hard as she could. "Bellossom!" Out came Bellossom. She hasn't been exposed to the Mist and was doing fine for herself. Now, all the Sunny Day users here at Ponyville were most definitely assembled. Hopefully, this would be enough. Daisy and Paradise would need all the regeneration they could get. "Okay! Use Sunny Day!" Twilight and Roseluck exclaimed, giving the call for them to use Sunny Day. Roseluck would later cough after yelling like that, almost falling over as the Black Cracks around her body pulsated. She was soon helped up by Rarity's magic. In unison, all of their eyes would shine and their bodies became surrounded by golden energy that matched the Sun's rays. All of them raised their respective limbs into the air, apart from Slowpoke who did it by just crying out. Afterwards, the golden energy then went upwards, summoning multiple golden rings of energy into the sky. This was the method of them bringing the glorious sunlight and right now, there was only half of it and it could be seen at the bottom. Roseluck, whose eyes had been slightly damaged thanks to the curses, looked up and hoped that the unified Sunny Day would be enough. And she already knew that the Moon staying up was her big sister's doing. Canterlot. Meanwhile, Celestia stood on the balcony of Canterlot Castle, focusing on keeping the Sun up. Alas, the Lich Queen refused to let that happen. And with this clash, she was already encountering the Lich Queen elsewhere. Specifically with a battle of minds. Celestia entered her own mind, forming a projection of herself. And when appearing in her mind, joining her there was the visage of Rosa Maledicta. Once more, the two of them have encountered each other in a land of one's mind. But this time, no one was trying to force Daybreaker out of Celestia. Celestia eyed down the dark green projection of Rosa Maledicta while the Lich Queen deviously glared at Celestia's golden projection. "You know, if this continues, some destruction could follow for your beloved Equestria." Rosa Maledicta spoke. "Your destruction. I never imagined you'd control the Moon as well." Celestia added as the destruction part was only thanks to Rosa Maledicta's magic. "Just the perk of being a Lich. If you think I'm letting you keep that Sun up during the Black Crusade, you're dead wrong, Celestia." Rosa Maledicta scoffed before unleashing a pulse of dark magic. This only slightly pushed back Princess Celestia as she attempted to attack her even in this state. "Ponyville has already been attacked by me, so now, it's completely within my sights and I can influence it. But right now, I think I'll focus on you now that we have the room together." "You won't touch Ponyville at all with your Dark Magic." Celestia retaliated, sending her own pulse that pushed Rosa's away. Rosa would also slightly move back thanks to this retaliation. "The home that Granny Smith founded from the ground up and you were born in...and you'd just take it all out for the sake of some cycle." "The Apple Family is behind that town's creation? It's a good thing my sister is good friends with one of them. I'll make sure they perish in a special way when I get my hooves on them." Already, Rosa Maledicta had plans for the Apple Family now that she knew that one part about Ponyville's origin. The inner clash between the two of them was fierce. So fierce that their magical auras let out constant combustions when meeting with each other. They expanded to such heights that they couldn't help but come into contact with each other. It was like bombs were going off continuously or even supernovas setting off. The two rulers narrowed their eyes, attempting to get the better of each other. They did all of this while controlling the two Celestial Bodies. Celestia tried to prevent any destruction while Rosa Maledicta was aiming to bring all kinds of destruction because of this clash. A clash between the control over the Sun and Moon was rich in havoc and that delighted the Lich Queen. The residents of Canterlot all stayed inside as ordered by Princess Celestia who wanted them to be safe. And if that didn't work, the Canterlot Mines were the perfect substitute. They helped out a lot during the invasion of Empress Twilight after all. They looked outside their windows to watch this Celestial Clash. The way the two parts of the sky were twisting, sending cloud formations everywhere was truly stupendous to see. The two rulers were essentially moving the heavens above. Premium Polish and many others could only stare in amazement. However, the clash that they had suddenly turned in the favour of Princess Celestia. Rosa Maledicta gasped as she was hit by some of Celestia's magical combustions, sliding back and shaking her head. "W-What the...?" Rosa Maledicta groaned. "The Moon! I thought we were equal!" "We are it seems. But unlike you, I have the assistance of my lovely subjects who have my back." Celestia smiled, knowing that Ponyville's residents were behind this. The Sunny Day from Bellossom and everyone else had come into play. They were not powerful enough to match the power of Celestia and Rosa Maledicta but they could add to Celestia's power over the Sun. Rosa Maledicta felt it. She felt the Sun brightening thanks to the Sunny Day. Her control over the Moon was just by herself and that was seemingly enough until the Pokemon got involved. With all of them using Sunny Day, Rosa Maledicta was at a disadvantage. And with Celestia having a proud smile on her face, the Golden Sun was beginning to rise once more, letting its radiance flare for all to see. The Pokemon truly made a difference. All the way back at Ponyville, Daisy and Paradise were indeed feeling the Sunshine. Their perplexed faces were starting to fade, bringing a soothing one to the scene. The injury they took from healing Togekiss was leaving their bodies while the Moon was descending. By this time, the watches that told the time were greatly confused, including those who had no idea that the Black Crusade had begun. After all, now that the worlds have united to form a Grander World, certain regions share the same timezone as Equestria. And the residents there who were still awake were flabbergasted by what they were seeing. Kanto and Unovan residents shared a timezone with Equestria and their eyes were fully focused on the Moon by this point. "Do you think you're the only one who can gain assistance?" Rosa snarled. "I may not have anypony that can control the Moon...But there is someone who can lend me the Power of the Shadows!" "The Power of the Shadows?" Right as Celestia repeated that, Shadows would fly out from behind Rosa Maledicta. Her vicious glare was only rivalled by the intensity of these shadows. Celestia gasped as she felt another presence in this Mindscape. It wasn't just her and the Lich Queen. There was a third. Celestia raised her head to see the shadows above forming into something. Or rather, someone. The face of a pony formed above the Mindscape. Specifically, the Pony of Shadows. In allegiance with the Dread League, it showed itself before the Ruler of Equestria for the first time. "That's...the Pony of Shadows!" Celestia instantly recognized it just by the face alone. Of course, the Ruler of Equestria would know about this but she certainly didn't expect to see him here at this very moment. "This may seem like one...but the servants of the Shadows think differently." Rosa Maledicta continued, raising her arm. In response, the Pony of Shadows, along with its massive shadowy body, would reveal something horrifyingly eerie. The large shadow body it had was starting to protrude out of certain positions. Out of it came Korrina. The Gym Leader of Shalour City. Not just her, but her Lucario as well. As well as other residents of Shalour City. They leapt out of the Pony of Shadows' massive shadow body, landing here at this Mindscape. All those who were the first victims of the Black Crusade had appeared. They had their normal bodies but with a difference. They were consumed by the shadows, becoming servants to the Pony of Shadows. Korrina's hair was now flowing as if it was made out of shadows. Her clothes were darkened and her eyes were also hollowed out. She slightly resembled Nightmare Moon. Most of them did. They all received Nightmare Variations of themselves, similar to what Nightmare Rarity was able to do. "What is this?!" Celestia gasped, recognizing Korrina above everyone else. "All of these people and Pokemon will eventually be destroyed but there is no shame in having them as an extra army before their demise." Rosa Maledicta walked past the others, standing in front of Korrina. "What matters is that I have control over everything. Once you are all skeletons, you will be powerless to resist my every command. The Dread League is not just about destruction but also control! The best of both worlds! Shalour City was just the beginning!" "You did this to the residents of Shalour City..." Celestia couldn't believe her eyes. It was better than being destroyed but still horrific for the poor residents of that city. "Rosa!" "Don't blame me. Blame him." She raised her hoof, pointing up at the Pony of Shadows who was the one truly responsible for this. "And I suppose you also have yourself to blame." "Myself?" Celestia replied as Rosa Maledicta was suddenly throwing some guilt towards her. "That's right...It was you that neglected your little sister, Luna, shrouding her in darkness while you stood in the limelight. That is how Nightmare Moon came to be. And ever since her first defeat at the Castle of Two Sisters, a piece of Nightmare Moon's magic was left behind. And that piece had traces of Dark Magic which helped the Pony of Shadows greatly. It's funny how everything somehow comes back around to how it began, doesn't it?" "We've made peace with Nightmare Moon, so your words do not affect me, Lich Queen." Celestia stood firmly, refusing to let ROsa Maledicta weaken her. "Of course. That's obvious. And a crying same. But what about Daybreaker?" However, Rosa had not forgotten about Daybreaker's existence. "The Pony of Shadows will gladly bring that out for you even if I can't. I hope you're prepared, Princess. You're standing before a Queen and we could be here for a while. My Dread League will do most of the work, spreading destruction across the world while we're couped up in here. Unless you wish to have a more physical interaction." "I'll gladly face you here." But Celestia did not waver, even with these odds. Instead, she formed a smile on her face, making the Lich Queen scowl. She didn't wish to see a smile at all. "And besides...I have more friends who can join me in here. Isn't that right, Passion?" Anistar City. Meanwhile, it seemed as if Anistar City would be the next target. Hovering over it was a terrifying cloud formed by the Dread League. A cloud so dark that it might as well be an abyss. No sign of the stars of the Silver Moon. However, with the clash of the two Rulers, the Sun and the Moon were having their positions altered, bringing light to certain areas. Opal Vivacity was planning to cause mass destruction. Destruction so vast that it would go past Anistar City and be so cruel that it would have to force Xerneas out of hiding. And she was planning to make it as vast as possible. Above, many vampire ponies were manipulating the clouds, darkening them with their magic. With the involvement of Dark Magic within the clouds, the havoc they were about to reign would be beyond any natural disaster. However, unbeknownst to them, their actions would not go unnoticed. Foreseeing this scenario was none other than Olympia of Anistar City. And rushing over to the darkened clouds ahead was Princess Luna, hoping she wasn't too late. "We need more power behind this!" Opal commanded the vampires above. "If we're going to destroy Anistar and let it reach a wide area, taking out multiple others in the process, I need you to dig in the darkest parts of your magic. I'll try calling for help from the Pony of Shadows if we can't muster that. But with me here, I'm confident that we can do something truly crushing." "You will do no such thing." Opal's actions did not go unnoticed. Not one bit. She and the vampires all turned their attention to a voice that was rather powerful. It belonged to Olympia, who already appeared out of the city to confront the Dread League. But she did not come alone. Joining Olympia were her students. Olympia's many students who were following in her footsteps and learning about the ways of a Psychic-Type trainer appeared by her side. "Hoh? And who are you supposed to be? WIth such an impressive looking galaxy cape?" Opal Vivacity said, standing before Olympia and er Psychic Students. "You're the one they call Opal Vivacity, aren't you?" Olympia immediately surprised Opal by getting her name just by seeing her once. "Ah. So, I'm already famous? That's what I like to hear. You've clearly heard about me before." Opal loved this as it was feeding her ego, making her seem like she was all that. "Then you already know what's coming. I'll be somewhat generous if that's the case." "You're known, indeed. Especially your attack on Anistar." "Hm?" Opal raised an eyebrow. "I have already foreseen your attack, Opal. Weeks ago, even. The Black Crusade is something that targets everyone so that was not hard for me to figure out. However, it was only days ago that I foresaw you attacking Anistar City." "So...you're some sort of Psychic? Not that kind." Opal scoffed. "You already knew this would happen, eh?" "I've already made precautions to protect those living in Anistar City. I'm afraid you won't have your way." Olympia came prepared. By foreseeing something like this, she made preparations in advance, similar to how she foresaw Groudon and Kyogre's' battle, preparing for it. This was no different. All of her Psychic Students, while they couldn't foresee the future, joined Olympia and went along with her preparations. They could count on her when it comes to opportune moments that many others would be behind on. "What's your point? In the end, everyone will be destroyed. The destruction I'll bring will strike even those that are hiding!" Opal cackled, refusing to let a single one of them escape. "Stand in my way and you'll end up like those back at Shalour City! But you won't be consumed by the shadows like them, I can tell you that!" The vampires gathered around Opal Vivacity, halting their preparations just to confront the Psychic-Type students. Another confrontation would be made. This time, here at Anistar. And over the horizon, Princess Luna was approaching. She saw Anistar within her sights and especially the individuals outside of the city. As the journey continues. Chapter 149 End.