//------------------------------// // Broken Field! Approaching Magehold // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. The Crystal Empire. Balance of Day and Night. It happened. Right as Rosa Maledicta's was hit by light after becoming a vampire for a short while, the field of magic that protected Magehold had been disrupted. Much like how Galaxy Master disrupts it, this one seemed to be the biggest yet. And it showed. The Crystal Empire was the closest after all and it witnessed just what happened in the far distance. A burst of Dark Magic suddenly flew into the air, unleashing a howling sound that likes of which no one had heard before. That was Rosa's Dark Magical field being destroyed at last, all thanks to Eccentrick. Spike, Radiant Hope, Shining Armor and Flash Sentry all gazed at this powerful eruption which caused a blizzard for a moment. They weren't sure what just happened but since it came from such a far direction, they could only guess that it had something to do with Magehold. Little did they know, the way to enter Magehold has finally come. And all it took was for Rosa Maledicta to finally become one of her subjects for a while, embracing the golden light of the Sun. Kanto. Pallet Town. Ketchum Household. Many found themselves asleep at Pallet Town, away from the Black Crusade and taking the time to recover. They got the rest they needed, unbothered by anything at the moment. Pallet Town was currently safe even though there was a vampire present. That was of course Spectrum Shade, who was lounging around, waiting for her opportunity to battle Ash. And it looked like her wish would be granted at last as Ash could be seen passing through the gateway, showing up with the remainder of his friends. Applejack and Roseluck made their appearance, with Roseluck being carried by Sceptile. This time, Rainbow Dash had shown up, being late for everything else. "Ash! Oh, you made it!" Twilight exclaimed before covering her mouth, remembering that were sleeping ponies. "Oooh, sorry." "He's here?" Spectrum Shade sat up at high speeds, nearly falling off the couch. She was waiting for this moment at last, flying over everyone else. She and Twilight approached the door in unattempted unison, only to bump into each other. Their own bodies clogged up the door as their faces were smushed. "Move!" "You move!" Twilight yelled back at her as they both managed to get through by falling over. And when they fell, standing in front of them was Ash. His eyes met with two familiar faces from different sides. Twilight and Spectrum. He paused for a moment when looking down at them as the two ponies would quickly stand back up. "Welcome home, Ash. Pikachu." Delia greeted them both, acting like nothing was off. Applejack and Rainbow Dash could already see that something was greatly off and all it took was Ash pointing it out. "Spectrum?" Ash spoke her name, looking down at the vampire and acknowledging her first. "That's right! I'm here! And I've been waiting for you to show up! Came a long way too!" She grinned, raising her hoof which revealed a Poke Ball, most likely containing Machoke who was her go-to Pokemon. "Ash...I can explain..." Twilight groaned after standing up. "I know it's strange that a vampire's casually here but..." "It's alright, Twilight." It wasn't strange to him at all. Ash wasn't surprised by Spectrum Shade's appearance one bit. He figured that out with how Delia greeted him and the peaceful aura around Pallet Town. "Eh? It is?" Twilight's face went blank for a moment. That wasn't the reaction she was expecting but since it came from Ash, that surprise factor was weakened a bit. He was always full of surprises after all. "Why am I not surprised?" "Ash! Now that you're here, face me!" She got straight to the point. She wanted her battle with Ash and all that work travelling from Magehold to Ponyville would be worth it. "And show me all of your Pokemon too back at your lab and the ones you have alongside you!" "Sorry. We can do this later." Ash already had more important things in mind. As much as he loves battling, his friends mattered more than that. Much more. "Eh? L-Later!" Spectrum Shade stuttered. Even with Ash present, her battle with him did not kick off instantly. "I've got a lot to do right now. And some distance to cover. Twilight. We're going for Magehold. Fluttershy's been captured." Ash laid it on Twilight Sparkle, revealing a heavy blow of bad news. A great friend of theirs had been captured by the Dread League. "Fluttershy's been captured?!" "That can't be!" Rarity and Pinkie would collectively yell. Those who were still awake had a similar reaction. Especially the Pokemon from the Pokemon House who greatly loved Fluttershy. How could their caretaker be taken away? It always seemed rather impossible since she always found a way to stay safe. But now, the vampires had gotten the edge and taken yet another beloved friend of theirs. Now, she was potentially about to become a vampire, losing all sense of her old self. "But that's why we're gonna go to Magehold as soon as possible. With a ton of help, of course." Ash continued. "I also had to come here to make sure everyone was doing good and that looks like it." They are. They all needed the rest and sleep." Delia approached her. "They had such a hard time when their town was attacked. Their usual resting hours have been completely ruined." "No thanks to your group." Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes, facing Spectrum Shade who would do the same to her. "Pssh. I haven't done anything yet." Spectrum scoffed back at her. "That's fine. They should all stay here until everything's said and done. As for us, we're going for Magehold right away. I don't know what Celestia's doing right now but I know she'll be there. Shining Armor's already on it too." "Not a bad approach. Most of the Dread League will be too focused on the rest of the world and not all of them will be back at Magehold." Rarity thought about it for a moment. "But what about everywhere else? Manehattan and other locations are in great peril, aren't they/ Won't we stop by there to do at least something?" "I wanna. But I'm going straight for the source." Ash would love to help out as many places as he could. Unfortunately, that would take far too long and the lack of gateways only made that harder for him. So, he aimed for the source of the problem. And that source was right at Magehold and nowhere else. "I take it you'll be leaving soon already," Delia questioned. "Yeah. Sorry, mom. But I just gotta know...did Dad show up here?" He referred to Galaxy Master who was essentially another version of his father. "No. He hasn't shown up. But I'm not in any danger so that makes sense. When I am, I know he'll make an appearance as soon as possible. He promised after all." "I'm tired of everyone underestimating me here..." Spectrum Shade growled as she felt like she wasn't being taken seriously. Then again, that was somewhat her own fault since she wasn't as violent as the other vampires. "Ash. I want that battle from you...but I know I can't have it because of the Black Crusade. So I guess I'll just end up waiting for you..." "What? Are you saying that we're gonna win?" Rainbow Dash smirked as Spectrum Shade's words made it sound like she was expecting Ash's side to win this conflict. "As if! You guys are gonna be crushed! No one's beating the Lich Queen and that's final! But I at least wanna request a one-on-one battle with you before everything ends." Spectrum crossed her hooves. "If you've got a problem with what I'm saying, I can throw down with all of you right now." "That's fine. You've got yourself a promise, Spectrum." Ash laughed. "I'll battle you when this is all over. You showed me that you've got something special after all and I don't wanna disappoint." "Y-Yeah...I'll be waiting." Spectrum froze for a moment. "By the way...how'd you even beat Dimstar? Isn't she supposed to be half LIch?" "Well, we beat her. And she's still around, ya know. Gave herself up and everything." said Applejack, startling Spectrum Shade with these words. "She did what!?" Equestria. Magehold. Rosa had been brought back to the castle after receiving a hard fall and a bright flash of light. She faced Princess Cadence and Flurry Heart once more as the smoke finally left her body. She now knew how her subjects felt when exposed to bright light and it was disgustingly painful. She managed to recollect herself as even though she took some heavy damage, it wasn't enough to put her down. At best, it bewildered and stunned her to the point where she had the hold her head. "What did you do? What was that?" "I wish I could take credit for that..." Cadence grinned. "But that was neither of us. But it did allow me to get a lucky hit in and send you flying. I heard the crash from here." "Tch. You'll watch your mouth, princess. I can still take your lifespan. You aren't safe at all and whatever did this won't keep you safe." Rosa walked up to the Princess of Love. "I'm not too sure about that. The fact that something hit you that hard is proof that I always have some form of help near or far. And there's more coming this way." "Unfortunately, you're right about the last one. The barrier I made all those years ago has been disrupted. Whatever hit me also hit my barrier it seems." Rosa grit her teeth, smashing her hoof on the ground and forming a crack. "It won't be easy for me to remake it to the fullest." "S-So we're vulnerable?!" The vampires all gasped while Fractured Note stayed silent. He was involved in the destruction of the barrier after all. "Very much so. If Celestia and her forces arrive here, they will most definitely manage to enter now that the barrier has been ruined. It took me many years to get that field of magic up to a certain level and now it's all ruined! At best, I can just put up an ordinary barrier but that won't do much." "I'll see where the issue came from, your majesty." Fractured Note suddenly said. "Perhaps I can find the source of the problem before it worsens." "Do that. I'm expecting visitors soon. Is everypony still in that Contest Hall?" Rosa Maledicta questioned him. "They'll be in it for a while longer. I believe they're safe in there at least." Fractured Note confirmed, playing it cool so that his cover wasn't blown. One thing was for sure, he was an expert at pretending. He spoke as if he had no clue why this happened at all, perfectly deceiving Rosa Maledicta. "In the meanwhile, keep them there. I will continue doing what I can to stop their advances. I was planning on keeping the Moon up for as long as possible but now Celestia has taken that advantage. But rest assured, the Black Crusade will still go strong even in the Sun has appeared." "Everyone across the world is capable of stopping you, especially with the Sun on their side!" Cadence exclaimed. "You have trainers from all sides protecting their homes so your Black Crusade will fail because of that!" "Nonsense! They can band together all they want, I'll turn the tides in my favour!" The Lich Queen roared before blasting Cadence with Dark Magic. This was payback to how Cadence blasted her through the window. The Princess of LOve went flying, crashing into the walls of this room. She was rather weak so this crash was heavy on the alicorn. "Mom!" Flurry Heart yelled as Rosa Maledicta would continue her attack by viciously slapping Cadence with Dark Magic. The magic would send powerful impacts that whipped the alicorn while she was pinned against the wall. Cadence took every painful and searing hit from Rosa's outburst, struggling to break free in the state that she was in. Thus, she would drop off the wall, leaving a crater in her shape before falling flat on her face. Cadence groaned, having both her front and back greatly damaged. Mainly her front since she took the most punishment there. From the absorption to the whipping. "My Despair Plants are proof of that. They can defeat one but the more that show up, the harder it is to stop them. They don't have the Light on their side to defeat my babies. Besides...I've already ordered my subjects to plant some Despair Plants seeds when the Crusade started. And even though the Moon was balanced with the Sun, the seeds should grow fine and create some Despair Plants. Take these two away and prepare for another absorption process." Cadence was picked off the ground via the chains that were around her. She wasn't strong enough to retaliate because of the previous beatdown she received. More and more, Cadence was losing her edge, becoming less of an alicorn at this point. The same went for Flurry Heart. "A swarm of Despair Plants is coming and I will make sure they are at their strongest when they crush you...Prepare yourself, Celestia! Everyone!" Canterlot. "Something's happened to the Lich Queen," Celestia said to herself, feeling that something was off. This whole time, she was still trying to bring the Sun up while Rosa Maledicta kept the Moon up at the same time. Their struggle over the two celestial bodies in the sky seemed to be never-ending until something happened. She no longer felt the struggle. Rosa Maledicta's magic couldn't be felt at all. Celestia did all of this while managing her next move against the Dread League, intercepting their attacks. "This is odd...why would she suddenly give up? Unless something's happening on the other side..." Celestia pondered for a moment. But now that she had this opportunity, it would be foolish to waste it. "Never mind that! Now's my chance!" The chance to raise the Sun without any interference was right in her face. She couldn't afford to waste it at all. She was unaware of what had happened to Rosa Maledicta which made the struggle end but she was more focused on bringing sunlight to the world once more. At least, to locations that could receive the Sun. With her magic flaring from her horn, Celestia controlled the Sun once more. But this time, there was no one to fight against her. The Moon would descend, giving way to the brilliant Golden Sun above. The clouds parted, revealing the Sun rays as the skies were no longer half. Now, the Sun reigned supreme. A majority of Equestria had been graced with the Sun along with some locations in different regions. And with the Sun rising, this would change things for the Dread League. The Sun had arrived, being a great weapon against the attacking vampires. Even though Celestia couldn't see them, she was positive that the vampires across the world were greatly thrown off guard by this. Now that it was up, Celestia could continue her work. And her work involved her heading to the source of the problem, just like Ash. "I'll try and advance on Magehold. Some of my forces will stay behind and protect the other cities and towns. The Crystal Empire's already decided to tackle Magehold so it's only right that I give them more support. Are you prepared, Passion?" "Gardevoir!" "I've got in touch with the Ranger Union and Nightmare Moon is out to find Luna. By the time we get to Magehold, the Ranger Union would have already found themselves some vampires. Everypony else here will be safe in the Canterlot Mines like before." "Your majesty! Your majesty!" However, right as Celestia was about to continue, a Canterlot Guard would approach her, having a strong severity in his tone. What could it be this time?" "There's a large swarm of Despair Plants close by! They showed up over at Deerling Forest!" The swarm that Rosa Maledicta spoke of was coming. And it had already been spotted at one of Equestria's more peaceful spots. The Deerling Forest. By using the telescope, Celestia immediately looked in the distance for the abundance of Despair Plants. And in the far distance, quite a lot of them could be seen. Some familiar ones such as Cobra, Triantis, Scorpio, Cordyceps and even Bullfrog who had already spread that Disease Mist on Deerling Forest. And there were others that were unrecognizable to Princess Celestia. This swarm of Despair Plants that was incoming represented Rosa Maledicta's anger. While she was still calm, that attack on her pushed her buttons without a doubt. It was the feeling that had been outdone in such a big way that she didn't see coming. Before Celestia could approach Magehold, she still had a lot to deal with. With her eyes narrowing, Celestia prepared herself. The Despair Plants were vulnerable to Pure Light and Celestia knows that Daybreaker, the being residing deep within her can damage them but she refused to tap into something so vile. Kalos. On top of a Train. Meanwhile, Opal Vivacity was on her way to Kalos, unaware of the development back at Magehold. If she found out she would not be happy about it. Right now, she was just taking advantage of the Black Crusade to the fullest. She currently stood on top of a train that was moving, using it to travel around. The beautiful vampire sat on the top, preparing for her next wave of destruction when it could happen. She was certainly far away from the other regions but that didn't stop her from taking every opportunity to destroy whatever she could. All in an attempt to bring Reshiram's stone out. She hadn't heard from Luna at all either. Opal smirked, glad to see that no princesses would get in her way once more. And to add insult to injury, she took Olympia's Galaxy Cape, putting it on her for extra beauty points, making herself seem more powerful. And considering that she aimed to be the first Vampire Lich Queen, she was certainly making herself seem greatly powerful. But little did Opal Vivacy and the others vampire know, they were being watched. Specifically on the Train. The conductor stayed silent, knowing that there were vampires on top of the train. But he didn't seem nervous at all. Instead, this conductor would simply smirk, being rather confident despite the scenario. A little too confident. As the journey continues. Chapter 163 End.