//------------------------------// // Beauty meets Beauty // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. Magehold. Magehold Chamber. Day. An infiltration on Magehold had been made from the inside. Ash and many others found an easy way to enter Magehold thanks to the Hybrid Vampire Dimstar. Speaking of Dimstar, she stood at the same place where she brought everyone, unmoving and needing some time to think. Since this was done by her own will, Dimstar had to wonder why she suddenly started assisting her enemies. It didn't add up and the only thing she could think of were the words of her father, the first Lich King. However, to Dimstar, the first Lich King was long gone, thus, she could not ask him at all. And neither did she do much else. She saw and heard the conflict happening across the chamber but took no action, not even bothering to help her fellow vampires. "Strange...I should assist them but I'm not doing anything. It's as if I'm compelled not to." Dimstar looked at her hoof, wondering why this was the case. This was just another reason for her to figure out her purpose. Dimstar already knew there was a massive gap in her life since she was Half Lich. And from what her memories could gather, a majority of it was spent within that cube she was kept in. Dimstar tried searching for some more memories but she was surprised to find that it was rather limited. She couldn't even recall when she was placed in that cube. "If only Father were here to tell me how...But perhaps the one who released me, Fractured Note can answer that." Unbeknownst to her, her father was still around but simply as a reincarnation. Asking him could grant her that wish without her even realizing it at first. "Mother isn't around either though." However, Dimstar's mother was absent as well. Despite being a vampire, Dimstar had not seen her mother at all, making the presence of her family seemingly non-existent. The Hybrid Vampire felt like she was the last one of her family left and she couldn't understand why. Before she would try and find Fractured Note, she would recover more of her strength, approaching one of the Rejuvenation Tubes. Meanwhile, at the lower levels of the chamber, Ash and his friends would continue to advance when trying to find their friends, however, with so many vampires here, they were bound to be held back, especially with the Despair Plants getting involved. The group weren't one for splitting up but in this scenario, that was the most likely outcome. Ash was currently with Twilight and the Flora Ponies while Rainbow Dash went with Rarity and Emerald Aura but they all had a single destination in mind. They ran through the hallways of the chambers, not having Slurpuff's powerful nose to guide them until they were found. Applejack and Pinkie Pie had already been separated from them earlier thanks to bridges flying out of the walls and the shifting pathways. "Where are we now?" Rarity questioned while being carried by Pheromosa. Rainbow Dash was keeping up with her while Sceptile, Audino, Raboot and Bayleef were right behind them. They already got far thanks to Pheromosa's speed but now they ended up in a part of the chamber that was large but didn't seem to go anywhere else. By this point, without Slurpuff's nose, they were lost. This part of the chamber only had one entryway and that was the one they came through. There was nothing else here so it seemed like a dead-end. But this place has already proven to have secret entryways that the Despair Plants use so that was still a possibility. The group searched for a secret passageway, pressing their hooves and hands on the walls, hoping to trigger something. They strafed their limbs across the hardened walls of Magehold's chamber but haven't found anything yet. Pheromosa tapped her legs on the walls, attempting to cause some destruction in this wide area. And indeed, that did trigger something. Pheromosa's rapid kicks triggered one of the passageways as it would open up. This passageway revealed more of the chamber, which was showing to be incredibly extensive for just being a place where the vampires can rest. "Excellent work, darling." Rarity praised her before approaching the passageway. Rainbow Dash descended to pass through this pony-sized entryway but for the others, that was a different story. Raboot could easily pass through it since he was small and Bayleef could do the same even for her size. She was only slightly bigger than the average pony. The hardest ones were for Audino, Pheromosa and Sceptile. Pheromosa lowered her head as she was far too tall to casually walk through it. The Lissome Pokemon then got on all fours to make it easier on herself, moving across the floor as if she was a snake. "Phe...Phero..." This obviously hurt as the front of her body was feeling a scraping pain. Sceptile did better than Pheromosa but it was still tough for him because of the way he was built. His tail even made it a nuisance for him and Audino's size hindered her as well, forcing her to push as hard as she could when crawling through this passageway that was clearly made for ponies. But despite this annoyance, they got through the passageway and entered the next part of the chamber and all it took was some heavy muscle power. The next room they found themselves in appeared to be the longest hallway yet. They already saw that it stretched far and wide, housing a long row of tubes while another door was in the distance. It seemed like a straightforward path compared to what they previously found. But still no sign of Fluttershy anywhere. Sceptile and Pheromosa managed to exit the tight passageway, soon helping Audino out of it. Rainbow Dash and Rarity carefully looked around once more to see if there was at least someone here, but that didn't seem to be the case. This room was empty and free of any conflict. Speaking of empty, it even had an open roof that exposed the skies of Magehold but yet it still felt like they were too far away from the outside. "That's as far as you go!" But right as Audino was being pulled out of the entryway and Rarity was about to take her next step, someone already arrived here. And it was quite an entrance. A pillar of Dark Magic hit the floor of this hallway, startling Rarity and the others. This came directly from the open area above this part of the chamber as if lightning hit the scene. But really, they were shadows and the one within them was darker than the shadows themselves. Her smile could be seen popping out of it along with her dark pink eyes that would glow and eye down the Equestrians that stood before her. Rarity narrowed her eyes as her friends looked on with their guards up, ready for the worst. And indeed, the Worst had come to them. None other than Opal Vivacity. "You...You're Opal, aren't you?!" Rarity gasped after feasting her eyes on this diva of a vampire who was striving to become the next Lich Queen. Sceptile, Audino, Raboot and Bayleef recognized Opal all too well after their encounter at Alola. "The one and only." Opal Vivacity responded, flipping her mane which had recently been redone by Opal Vivacity's magic. However, while it was still big, it wasn't as big as it was previously was. Opal hadn't taken the time to fully recover after the Ranger Union caught her by surprise and so her magic only allowed her to repair a certain part of her mane. But it was still rather long, elegantly swaying to the side. On top of that, there was also Olympia's stolen cape, which hid parts of her massive mane, making it seem like her mane wasn't all that large. "You're the one who started the whole Fluttershy kidnapping plan! And you tried destroying Equestria with that demon from before!" Rainbow Dash called back to OPal Vivacity's fearsome and horrid plans. "Among other things!" Opal raised her hoof, feeling proud of her actions. She has done a lot. A lot of despicable things which she takes massive pride in. "It's good to know my name is getting out there and so are my achievements. This will all be worth in the end." "Where's Fluttershy?!" Rarity got straight to the point, wanting to know where her best friend was. "Along with Fantina and everyone else your League has kidnapped!" "Pssh. I'm not telling you that." Opal scoffed. "You're fools to enter directly into the chamber. You could have at least started from the very outside but oh well. It'll be your fault when you meet your end here. Very soon, you'll be the first skeletons outside of Equestria to be born here. Assuming the rest of your friends haven't already met their fate." "Raboot...!" A furious Raboot built up flames around his body, shifting all of his rage at Opal Vivacity. "Ignore her. We'll just keep going until we find Fluttershy." But keeping him from attacking Opal Vivacity was Rainbow Dash, who wanted to continue on her way. "The door's right there so let's just blast through her and get going." "I'm sorry, but did you suggest ignoring me?" Opal raised an eyebrow, sneering at Rainbow Dash's comment. "Haha! You won't be doing that. When it comes to me, I'm always gaining attention of some sort. You're not getting past me, understand?" "That's why she recommended blowing past you. I'm all for that right now." Rarity gave some lip back to Opal, moving her hoof forward with prompted Opal Vivacity to do the same. "Speed won't help you in this. The moment you encountered me, your fate was sealed. The residents of Kalos could testify to that if they were here, that is." "Hold on...That cape...It can't be!" Rarity saw something familiar in her eyes the longer she looked at Opal Vivacity. Everyone was stunned by what they were seeing as the cape on Olympia's back was too recognizable since once person usually wears that. "Oh, but it is. This belonged to one of those Gym Leaders you know. Her name was Olympia, wasn't it? She had the most divine cape I have ever seen in my life and I simply had to take it for myself. It looks much better on me than that short-lifer especially since I'm certain her life has been cut short because of me!" Opal taunted Rarity and the others, flaunting Olympia's cape and even Olympia herself. The skies above her rumbled as her words hit Rarity and Rainbow Dash to the point where they were perplexed by the implications. Olympia had lost her cape, meaning that she lost a battle against Opal Vivacity. And judging by Opal's words, Olympia lost her life in the process and to add salt to the wound, Opal Vivacity made it her own. "What do you think?! I look truly divine, don't I?! This cape is just another part of my eventual rise to power as the next Lich Queen! I need to look like I stand above the stars in space as well and this is just perfect!" Opal blustered, letting out a distateful laugh and then giving a mortifying grin to Rarity's group who were not having this at all. "You...You...!" The rage that Raboot felt was now reaching Rarity and the others. Having a friend of theirs squandered in such a way easily riled them up, just as Opal Vivacity expected. "If it makes you feel any better, whatever you have on you, I'll wear it to honour you. If it's beautiful enough, but no one is more beautiful than me! Opal Vivacity! So prepare to meet your end here, okay?" Opal winked. "That's enough out of you! Pheromosa! Use Triple Kick!" "Mosa!" And the one who would try and blow past her would be Pheromosa while also trying to deal damage to her. The Lissome Pokemon dashed past her friends, charging up a majority of her strength in her legs. "Hoh? Are you sure about that?!" However, as soon as Pheromosa moved, Opal Vivacity took action. She was aware of the speed she was dealing with. Very aware. Her mane would suddenly light up with Dark Magic. Pheromosa went for a direct kick with the first strike, only to find that Opal blocked it with her mane of all things. "P-Phero?!" Pheromosa kicked Opal Vivacity's mane which suddenly hardened out of nowhere. Pheromosa's leg trembled for a moment, feeling this hard texture ripple across her supple body. "Move!" Opal shouted before using the force of her massive mane to push Pheromosa back, preventing her from getting anywhere closer. Pheromosa then went in for the other two kicks since the first one failed. Two more kicks were thrown at Opal, only for her to use her mane as retaliation. Her mane had hardened to the point where it felt like Pheromosa was touching a hard metal the likes of which she's never touched before. But in reality, it was Opal Vivacity simply using Dark Magic around her long mane and it was rather effective. Pheromosa's kicks were all blocked by Opal's mane, failing to properly land. And once Triple Kick ended, Opal would open her mouth, breathing out a fierce beam of Dark Magic that would blast the Ultra Beast back. "P-Phero!" Pheromosa winced, flying through the air and spinning for a moment. Pheromosa found herself crashing and rolling on the floor, reaching Rarity from the distance she got. "Pheromosa! Are you okay, darling?!" Rarity gasped. "M-Mosa...!" Pheromosa grunted, shifting her head over to the cruel vampire, surprised that she had that kind of strength in her mane. It seemed as if it wasn't just used for changing fate. "Don't even think about trying your light shows this time! I have the Pony of Shadows to help me with that thanks to a veil of shadows. So I'll be free to crush you without too much holding me back and since we're in Magehold now, I can count on that protection for as long as possible!" "Yeah, whatever!" Rainbow Dash snarled before getting in on the action. Castform, use Hurricane!" "Cast...Form!" A way to try and get past Opal Viviacity was attempted once more. This time, Castform, who flew right out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, would release a powerful gust of wind just breathing it out. This gust of wind expanded to form a Hurricane. The tornado would rush across the hallway, affecting the nearby tubes as they started shaking a bit. Mainly the glass that was containing them. In response, Opal would make her mane stand up, releasing a wave of Dark Magic out of it. That wave was then morphed into a tornado, copying Castform's Hurricane. A Dark Tornado came over, meeting with Castform's Hurricane as it was a clash of gales. The attacks cancelled each other out instantly, causing a powerful wind pressure to appear that affected both sides. Castform was blown away by the wind pressure while Opal's mane hit her face thanks to how large it was. "Now's our chance!" Rainbow Dash would try and use this was an opportunity to blitz past Opal Vivacity who currently had her mane in her face. She quickly grabbed Castform out of the air, kicking it into high gear. Opal's eyes peered through her mane to notice a multicoloured streak moving past her. "No, you don't!" Opal Vivacity would try and intercept Rainbow Dash as quickly as she could, stomping her hooves on the floor which summoned dark chains. These chains would fly out of the floor, targeting Rainbow Dash who went straight for the only door here. The chains followed her rainbow trail, piercing through it with their dark power and drowning out the colour entirely. The chains grabbed onto Rainbow's back hoof, ceasing her moments abruptly as she felt her body jerk back from the powerful pull they had. Rainbow Dash nearly dropped Castform, but carefully held onto him, keeping the Weather Pokemon safe before anything else. The chains would then continuously latch themselves onto Rainbow Dash's back hooves, restraining her and holding back her speed. "Ra...Boot!" But quickly breaking these chains apart was Raboot who used High Jump Kick, appearing from above. He smashed his foot right through these Shadow Chains while also striking the floor, leaving a crack behind. This was then followed by Sceptile cutting up the other chains with Leaf Blade, giving Rainbow Dash the opportunity to break free. And thanks to them both, she was indeed free even if her hooves had a bit of a bruise around them. "Thanks, you two!" "You still won't escape!" Opal still refused to let Rainbow Dash leave at all. Her eyes shifted in two directions, trying to focus on both sides. And right as she looked to the other side, she saw Pheromosa approaching her along with Audino charging up a Hyper Beam. "Close Combat, Pheromosa!" "Pheromosa!" Pheromosa cried out before throwing out a powerful kick that forced Opal Vivacity to pay attention to that side instead. She quickly put up a magical shield instead of using her mane, blocking the first initial hit from Pheromosa's legs. But since this was Close Combat, there was more to come. Pheromosa would start wailing on the massive barrier Opal created, delivering only kicks and no punches. Her strength was in her legs after all. Each hit was staggeringly heavy, sending shockwaves across the barrier which forced Opal to keep her focus on the Lissome Pokemon's side. This allowed Rainbow Dash to keep moving as she arrived at the door at the end of this hallway without any further interruptions. Joining her were Sceptile and Raboot who would also make a beeline for the door. All that was left was for Rarity and the others to make it there too. "Come on! Hurry!" Rainbow Dash yelled before opening the door, shouting at Rarity and the others to quickly make it here. Sceptile and Raboot had already passed through it, standing on the outside and waiting for their friends to advance. "You won't slip by me a second time, you got that?!" Opal couldn't afford to have the rest of them make it to the end. Right as Pheromosa was about to deliver another blow to the barrier, Opal Vivacity would make her barrier explode unexpectedly. It was as if a bomb went off right on the spot and it felt like it. The explosion consumed Pheromosa, blowing her away along with Rarity and even Audno, who failed to get her Hyper Beam off. "Rarity!" Rainbow Dash's voice crashed after she was then hit by the crushing pressure that the explosion created. She was then blown back as well even from this distance. Sceptile would quickly catch her, saving Rainbow Dash from receiving a hard crash into the walls. "Hah..." Opal took a deep breath after making that explosion. Her mane even tingled a bit from pulling that off as she slumped Pheromosa to the side. Pheromosa took the worst of it since the brunt of the barrier blowing up went to her. The Lissome Pokemon was on the ground, greatly injured from that blow. Rarity fell over too, having a scratch on her hoof just by being close to the outburst. "Stay down if you know what's good for you. As for you lot on that side..." Opal then turned her eyes to Rainbow Dash's side. "Why you...!" Rainbow Dash would free herself from Sceptile's arms, furious at Opal Vivacity for harming her friends even further. She was about to re-enter this room just to try and lay a smackdown on the beautiful vampire. "Hang on, Rarity, I'll-" "Nevermind me!" However, Rarity stopped Rainbow Dash from saying anything else or even taking another step or even flying. "It's fine, Rainbow Dash. "It's just a scratch, that's all. Yes. You should go on ahead and continue trying to find Fluttershy before it's too late." "No way! I'll be here with you to help you out!" Rainbow Dash rejected. "She's not gonna get the best of us!" "Are you sure about that? You could have left when you had the chance. The explosion could've even blown you out of this room." Opal smirked. "But if you wish to meet your end here, then be my guest. The dark skies above will watch your final moments." "Rainbow Dash. I know you're all about loyalty and that's wonderful. But just this once...leave it to me, alright?" Rarity pleaded. "You can continue staying loyal by rescuing Fluttershy. She's waiting for us, isn't she?" "Are you sure, Rarity?! I don't wanna leave you here with her! She's a ton of bad news!" "I'm sure of it. I can beat her." Rarity showed full confidence, declaring that she could defeat Opal Vivacity. "Besides...I'll show her that's not beautiful at all." "Not beautiful at all? What do you know, hm?" Opal sneered at Rarity. "More than you even if you're centuries old. Go, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity exclaimed. "A-Alright! Good luck! I'll meet back with you soon, okay?!" Rainbow Dash heeded Rarity's request, putting her faith in her. Rainbow Dash, Sceptile and Raboot would leave the room, letting Rarity, Pheromosa, Bayleef and Audino take things from here. "Hmph. You've given yourself a handicap by not letting them get involved." Opal said. "And what's this about you commenting on my beauty? Are you perhaps saying that I'm ugly? Because if you are, you're objectively wrong and you should choose your words wisely unless you wish to incur my wrath, Shortlifer." "I'll admit, you look good. Especially with that mane of yours." Rarity threw in a compliment, acknowledging beauty since she had a ton of experience with it. "But that's not the kind of ugliness I'm talking about. But if you wish to be ugly, Pheromosa and I can arrange that with a good old bashing." "Pheromosa!" "You'll regret that. And after this...I'll wear that Mega Evolution Bracelet and Pendant that you have on. Prepare yourself, Rarity." A darker part of the chamber. "Ow...ow..." Thankfully, Pinkie Pie, Slurpuff and Applejack were in one piece even after taking a long fall from the upper part of the chamber. Saving them from a hard fall was Mew, who transformed into a Staraptor to catch up to them before then turning into a Snorlax to grab them. In this part of the chamber, there were fewer tubes compared to the rest as this room was decorated by something else. A grand pair of worn pony statues in this gloomy room could be seen as this place felt more like a cave with the jagged rocks lurking above. Beyond the pair of worn statues were small, timeworn tubes that looked older than the rest. Much older as the glass was dirty, nearly crackled and the material below the glass seemed rusty. The liquid inside was also rather dry and devoid of any colour. It didn't show the usual green that the other tubes possessed as they were truly ravished by time. This part of the chamber seemed rather ancient compared to everything else and that was rather impressive considering how old Magehold was. "Nice save, Mew." A dizzy Pinkie Pie uttered before recollecting herself. "We fell pretty far though...We're away from Sceptile and everyone else now." Applejack commented, placing her hat back on after it fell off, gathering Magehold dust. "It's fine. Slurpuff can find them too. But. I don't know how far we are from them and it's already pretty tricky trying to find Fluttershy, Cadence, Flurry Heart and even Fantina." "Slurpuff..." "Can't slow down for nothing though!" Applejack raised her voice. "Maybe this fall helped us get closer to Fluttershy somehow!" "Really?" "I don't know..." Applejack was just guessing and hoping that was the case. She didn't have a massive knowledge of Magehold after all and this place was already throwing surprises at her friends. "This place is just weird...I'm feeling all kinds of goosebumps just being down here. This place is just full of vampires!" "Slur...Slurpuff?" However, when Slurpuff sniffed the air, she would retain her focus, looking for Fluttershy's scent. It once again came back to her but this time, another scent could be detected. Two of them. "Puff!" "Oh!? What is it, Slurpuff?!" Pinkie Pie asked, seeing that Slurpuff was onto something. "Puff! Slurpuff!" Slurpuff detected three scents now. The first one was Fluttershy and the other two also felt familiar. Without wasting any time, Slurpuff would once again lead the way, not slowing down for anything. Nothing escaped the Meringue Pokemon's nose even if it was far away from her. All she needed to do was successfully get there. Applejack, Mew and Pinkie would follow her lead once more, moving across these darker parts of the chamber. However, right as they advanced, the statues weren't the only things that decorated this part of the chamber. Right in front of them and stopping their advances was the appearance of four pillars that stood in their way. These pillars caught their attention as the moment they saw them, a strange and ominous presence filled the atmosphere. It wasn't there at first until they saw the pillars. But these weren't just any pillars. They were weapons that Magehold had been working on for the Black Crusade. The Necropillars. As the journey continues. Chapter 166 End.