Kalos. Near a Deep Crater Mountain. Day.
"What do you mean the old league? Are you saying that there's something that predates the Dread League?" Luna asked as Vivace spoke of something noteworthy. Strikingly noteworthy. The mother of the Dazzlings had more to offer as her pool of knowledge was fairly impressive. Luna needed an answer to what Vivace meant by that.
"Geez mom...How much do you know?" Sonata added.
"I've been around for centuries, I know a lot. And as for the Dread League, they weren't originally called that. And everything they're doing now was never a part of that old league. They were called the Lich's Order and they were led by a Lich King. Specifically, the first Lich King, Greyvine."
"You even know about Magehold's first Lich Ruler? Seriously?" Adagio said, surprised. She knew her mother was knowledgeable because of her age but she had no idea how far her knowledge really went.
"Oh, very well. I've been to Magehold once, girls. Only once." She raised a finger, making sure that the 'Once' was emphasised. "And it was before you three were even born. In fact...I even experienced what it was like to be a pony for the first and only time."
"I'm sorry what?! You went there before we came around!? How and why?!" Now all three of them were enthralled by this, speaking at the same time with the same words on their mind.
"You must have been powerful enough back then to enter." Luna complimented with amazement in her eyes, followed by a chuckle from Vivace.
"Powerful? No, no. I'm flattered though. I was only able to enter it because Magehold wasn't as defensive and hostile as it was before. It was a completely different nation compared to what it is now. Smaller too."
"They just let you in so casually? Lucky..." Sonata whistled.
"The first Lich King was the one who let me in to be exact. A Siren being in a place full of vampires is unheard of. And it will forever be unheard of since I was the only one there and never turned back." Vivace's expression changed and so did her tone. She got serious all of a sudden. "And I never saw the first Greyvine ever again."
"You make it sound like you two knew each other well since he invited you to Magehold in the first place," Aria added. "What's up with that? How come he just let you in and you just left?"
"Oh, we were close. Very close. You see, my first love wasn't with the Lich King."
"WHAT?!" All four of them yelled, nearly shattering the windows of the van. Vivace didn't have much of a reaction to their bellowing voices and neither did Zekrom who stayed quiet. Then again, he was just a stone right now and even if he was to be in his original form, his face would not make any other expression either way.
"Y-You're joking, right?!" Adagio stammered as the thought of her mother being with someone else was rather vexing to her mind and stomach. "You and a LIch?! That has be to a joke!"
"Not at all. I was with him for a while. We were together when I was in Magehold. And I took on the form of a pony thanks to a spell he made. I didn't quite enjoy being a pony all that much. It was fine for what it was. I mean, at least I did it before you three and you've been ponies for a shorter amount of time compared to my time."
"H-How long were you a pony for?" Aria asked as her curiosity already had a tight grip on her. It had a grip on everything Vivace was revealing a lot that neither of them expected.
"Eh. Perhaps 160 years at best. That gave me just enough time to know the Lick King some more. He was a rather charming pony." Vivace then put on a smile, closing her eyes and thinking about the past. "And during that time, we had three kids.
"Three?!" Adagio stood up, pointing at herself, then Aria and finally Sonata, putting things together. And when she realized she and her sisters were a group of three, her mind was accelerating and jumping to conclusions. "Are you saying that we're-"
"No, you're not vampires." But before Adagio could finish that sentence, Vivace quickly shut it down in an instant.
"Oh thank Celestia..." Adagio felt great relief, knowing that she wasn't Half Vampire at all.
"Thank Arceus..." So did Aria, wiping some sweat off her forehead and taking a seat afterwards.
"Aw, man..." But Sonata was disappointed. A major part if not all of her wanted her to be Half Vampire. That would've been truly amazing to experience. But alas, that was not the case.
"No. I had three other children back at Magehold before I had you three. I honestly never expected that to happen in the first place. It happened so fast. Well, the first child we had happened fast as she was around for the majority of our time together. But the other two were born right as I was about to leave Magehold. I never saw New Star again after that. I still remember how it went that fateful day."
Centuries Ago. Old Magehold.
"What do you mean we can't go through with it?" A younger Vivace shouted at the top of her lungs, facing the Lich King in his throne room. This was also technically her throne room as she was the Queen of Magehold at the time, being in a relationship with the King.
"Sorry...But I can't do it. That will just bring out the destructive nature of the vampires that I'm trying to conceal." Greyvine, the first Lich King has now reincarnated as Fractured Note in the modern day. "What you want to do goes against it."
"Bah! I thought we would agree on this!? What was the point of coming here if you turned it down?!"
"Is that all you came here for, VIvace? Just for that?"
"I'm interested in Magehold. The vampires can do something that benefits us Sirens. What they are capable of can cause more than just hatred but all kinds of negative effects that are a goldmine for a Siren!" You know for a fact that we gain our power from negativity. And spreading Dread is the best way to do that. It works in my favour. And their favour too."
"Not for all of them though. That destructive nature of the vampires is probably linked to what the Seer warned me about. You know? The Great Evil that could appear? I want to avoid that as much as I can and the vampires who don't willingly let it out and want to live peaceful lives need to be kept safe. So I cannot change my Order into something like that."
"So you will not go through with the Dread League plan I devised, eh?." Vivace scowled as she was the one who came up with it in the first place, planning to replace Greyvine's Order.
"I can't. I understand you need something like that but...I can't let something like that happen. Not when the future of Magehold and the entire world is possibly at stake." Grevyine was adamant in his decision, absolutely refusing to let Vivace go through with it.
"You should've known that I would've wanted something like this. I thrive off of things like this. And as Queen, I want to form this Dread League of mine, alongside you. Is that why not you fell for me? I thought you also revelled in things like this."
"Vivace, I fell for you, not because of that." Greyvine shook his head. "No. I got with you for a different reason. It's only for who you are and now what you do. But I suppose the latter is what really sticks out, isn't it?"
"You did? You only married me because you genuinely like me?!" Vivace pulled back.
"Well...Yes." He shrugged, surprised that VIvace uttered those words. "That's obvious. But I can't support something like this. Sorry. I understand I can't stop what you do as a Siren. You'll always feed off the most negative things, no matter what. But for the sake of our kingdom and the future of the world, something like the Dread League can't exist. I can't let it happen."
We had our differences back then but Greyvine and I stuck together. But during that time, my plan to make the Dread League possible started reaching the vampires who wished to unleash their destructive sides. They all backed up my plan and as more vampires showed up, the ones who wished to be a part of this future league would start showing themselves. This ended up harming Greyvine's ambitions since more of them were showing up. And then one day, when Greyvine grew old, that Great Evil he spoke of was about to emerge. It seemed to correlate with his age somehow. I sensed that evil and immediately felt how horrifying it was. It far surpassed what I believed in. And when things were spiralling out of control, I left."
Vivace felt it for herself. This Great Evil. It was lurking somewhere in Magehold but she wasn't sure where. She expected it to arrive but VIvace never expected what it would feel like. Her heart trembled as she sensed the most negative thing possible that even she wasn't all for.
This Great Evil felt like it threatened Life itself. All life, to be exact. This was very much similar to the Black Crusade and the purpose it felt. And this presence was already reaching the vampires who craved destruction. It only helped boost this dark part of them.
All those years of me trying to make the Dread League official and it ended up happening. But the way it happened was not what I anticipated. Once that part of them was encouraged to be unleashed, they came after me while I was on my own. They wanted to snuff out my life, even though I proposed the concept of the Dread League. Whatever was overtaking them did not care about me at all.
Vivace ran for her life. And she was currently running from the vampires. They chased her down while she was on her own, moving through the forest area of the Old Magehold location, succumbing to this Evil Presence that was lurking in the world. And right as VIvace felt it for herself and how serious it was, surpassing what she wanted to do was a Siren, Greyvine grew old. Old enough that his final hours in life were approaching him.
Vivace rushed through the castle halls, trying to reach Greyvine and speak with him as soon as possible. And right as she was close to the throne room, she already looked through the window to see what was going on. With her own eyes, she saw the unthinkable.
"Stay in here, little one." Greyvine held out a Cube of some sort. And standing right in front of him was none other than Dimstar. Vivace watched from the windows, unsure as to what Greyvine was up to at this very moment. "Just as you said...I'm counting on you, my sweet daughter."
And right before her eyes, she saw the little vampire Dimstar dematerialize. Her body turned into black particles out of nowhere. Vivace gasped as what was left of Dimstar flew into the Cube. The Cube had been filled up with this little foal as that was equally as shocking as what Vivace experienced on that.
"That day was perplexing for me. It was the day that I realized how vile this Great Evil was and when I saw something happen to one of my daughters. By that time, Greyvine's final moments came and I went to his side one last time.
Right as Greyvine sent Dimstar into the Cube, he fell to the floor, weak and frail. He could barely stand as he was right next to the throne he once sat on. Rushing to his side was Vivace, who would toss aside the arguments she and Greyvine had just to see if he was alright.
"Dear?! Are you alright?!"
"This old body won't last, I'm afraid. Even if I am a Lich...I can't stick around as long as a vampire...or even a Siren." Greyvine coughed. "Perhaps this is evolution running its course for the next line."
"Don't say that! What's wrong, dear?!"
"I've been dreading it for a while and it's coming true. I won't be around to stop this Great Evil, it seems. But at least the last two ponies I got to see were my daughter and you, my dear."
"Y-You were right! I didn't understand what kind of evil it was! I thought it was something a Siren could handle but it's far worse than what I could ever imagine. The vampires don't even care if I'm a Queen at all...They'd rather see me destroyed."
"This devious presence won't last forever, Vivace. It will subside but it will return again. I wish for you to hold out until then. Magehold is under your supervision now. You won't be a Lich Queen but just the Queen of the Vampires. I'm leaving everything up to you."
"What about Dimstar?! What happened to here?! And what about..."
"Dimstar will be safe. This presence threatens her as well, I'm afraid. She's not a full-on vampire after all. For the time being, she will remain in there until this Great Evil is gone. And as for the rest of our daughters, Please take care of them."
"I-I don't know if I can do it on my own though..." Vivace trembled. "I was always so confident because you were here beside me. You've always been the true ruler of this place after all...I can't rule all of them."
"Even if you can't, I can count on you to do something great, my dear. I'm glad I got to see my family as the last two ponies though. That makes me happy. Besides...a part of me feels like I'll always be here. And I hope to see you again sometime, no matter how long it may take." Greyvine smiled before slowly closing his eyes, allowing his old age to reach its limit and take him. He went out peacefully despite the dark nature brewing in Magehold. That was always what Greyvine wanted. Peace.
And in the hooves of her lover, VIvace was gutted by this. She teared up at the loss of someone she truly loved. And even though she wanted to feed off of hatred, Greyvine shared true love with her instead. And that love greatly reached her. Even back then, a Siren could be touched by the influence of other species. Vivace understood something else that wasn't Friendship back then. And that was family.
"Now...I greatly regret it. I should've listened to him, but my nature as a Siren didn't. He genuinely loved me and I abandoned him at a crucial time. Even my own children. And then I met your father, got with him and that's where you three come in."
"Who were the other two then? And how come we haven't heard about them?" Adagio questioned.
"I wanted to put it behind me after the fallout Greyvine and I had. My other two daughters were born months after I became Queen of Magehold. But by that time, that Great Evil emerged once more and it was stronger than ever. I was unable to deal with it so I...I ran away. Even from my own children."
"You left them?! How could you, Mom?!" Aria exclaimed, shocked that her mother would do such a thing. And while she hasn't seen Vivace in centuries as well, she at least reunited with her.
"I had to! My daughters had that destructive nature in them too!" Vivace raised her voice, startling her daughters. "Besides...One of them was something else. Her nature was just as violent as that Great Evil that appeared from Magehold. I'd even say she played in part in causing me to flee from Magehold."
"Seriously? A kid made you flee from Magehold?"
"You don't understand, girls. It seemed like that Great Evil was resonating with her more than anypony one else. It was as if she was the embodiment of it. The worst it could be. I couldn't control her at all. I tried my best as a Mother but she was...well, she was Pure Evil. Magehold changed for the worse and I knew I was never fit to be a Queen. I failed Greyvine's wishes..." Vivace was gutted by this. So much so that she slowed down the van, tightly holding the wheels.
"I don't believe it...And you made the Dread League?" Adagio tried wrapping her head around this. "And that means there's an extended family we never knew about too?"
"I am responsible for the Dread League's creation. But I never wanted it to turn out like this. I want to say I never should've been with Greyvine and become Queen...but that's tarnishing the love we had for each other, so I can't do it. He and your father were so alike after all."
"B-But you're a great mom though, right?" Sonata tried cheering up. "That's all that matters. To us, at least."
"I'm glad about that least. It's because of that experience, I learned how important Family truly is. That is why I spoke about the Magic of Family to you all those years ago."
"Still...does this mean we have other sisters? Or I guess, Half Sisters?" Aria asked, wondering who the other two Half Sisters were. They each knew that the pony Dimstar was their Half Sister but the other two were a mystery, especially the one who was said to be so evil she rivalled that of the Great Evil.
"Well, yes. You have three Half Sisters out there." Vivace replied before stopping the van and reaching the necessary destination to find Reshiram. "It looks like we're here. Hurry and get Reshiram back."
"Alright. Just in the crater and we'll be done here. Wait for me, sister." It was now time for Luna to retrieve Reshiram. She was going to make it quick and not waste any time. Equestria and the rest of the World were in peril and they needed all the help they could get. And there was no better help than that of a Legend.
Equestria. Magehold. Magehold Chamber.
A plan to shut down all the Equestrian Magic was being devised. And that was by using the Necropillars. Four of them have been destroyed already but there were plenty more. And the current ones that remained were all being gathered in one spot. Some vampires would grab as many of the Necropillars as possible, bringing them together in one spot.
Off to try and bring those pillars together as well as Opal Vivacity. However, Opal was currently being pursued, by none other than Rarity. SHe looked down to see Rarity chasing her down while on the back of Pheromosa. Pheromosa was the only reason why it was easy to keep an eye on Opal as Rarty refused to let her go. Right behind her were Bayleef and Audino, who had their own way of catching up.
Some of the Flying-Type Pokemon from the Pokemon House had brought them along, carrying the two of them. They had a Fearow and a Swellow carrying them with all of their might, flying as fast as they can and trailing behind the Lissome Pokemon.
"Persistent lot." Opal Vivacity scoffed. "Well, it doesn't matter all that much. The others will gather them around without me having to do most of the hard work anyway. But I'd love to be the one to turn it on."
"You won't get away! Get back here at once!" Rarity roared out as Audino began charging up a Hyper Beam while on Fearow's back.
"Obsessed much?!" Opal cackled before noticing the Hyper Beam coming her way. She gasped, quickly flying to the side and evading the powerful blast of Infinity Energy. Right as she avoided it, Pheromosa, using all of her built-up speed, would perform a powerful jump, leaving the ground as if she was a rocket.
"Mosa!" She went far at incredible speeds, swiftly approaching the Beautiful yet VIle Vampire with Close Combat ready for her. Seeing this, Opal already had a piece of her mane out for usage. She had it just in case things would get too close, not using it for the Hyper Beam since that was avoided. But Pheromosa was a different story as her speed was something to be cautious about.
By placing it on her hoof, she changed fate right in the nick of time. Pheromosa's leg was one inch away from striking Opal's face, only for a crimson light to go off, changing Fate in an instant. Pheromosa's kick failed to land as Opal Vivacity avoided it by sending herself ahead.
"Heh." Opal grinned as she was now farther away from Rarity's group. But right as she avoided them, she noticed that a piece of her mane on the side was missing. It was a small bit but noticeable as it made Opal gasp. She then looked over to see those missing pieces flying near Pheromosa's leg.
Pheromosa, even though she did not strike Opal, managed to get a bit of her mane, kicking it off with her powerful legs. Rarity gave a smirk back to Opal, knowing she startled the vampire. Pheromosa's speed was nothing to ignore. Compared to all the Pokemon she's faced, Pheromosa was the fastest by far.
"That can't be...She nearly got me? Has she been getting faster?!" Opal growled with her fangs baring. She was unaware that Pheromosa could increase her speed thanks to Beast Boost. And because of all the attacks she's been unleashing, Pheromosa was only getting faster and faster each time. "Darn it...They'd better have those Necropillars up by now! And where are Melody Moon and Bittersweet with that Box?!"
Faye Mountains. Changeling Hive. Day.
The Changeling Hive. Untouched by the Black Crusade so far, the Changelings were all present here, currently watching over their Queen. Chrysalis was still unconscious, suffering from the Magehold DIsease. It hadn't taken her away just yet but the Changelings were all nervous as to how long this could last.
Especially Thorax, who was the current King of the Changeling HIve since Chrysalis passed it on down to him, trusting him. And with advice from King Sombra of all ponies, he's managed to keep things fine for the most part. Nothing wrong has happened here at the Changeling Hive just yet. All worries were focused on Chrysalis after all.
And the Box of 100 Demons, of course. Connected to Chrysalis since she unknowingly made it as a baby, it was being kept here for safety, away from the clutches of the vampires. No demon has been unleashed from it and no other demon has shown up to try and re-enter it. And neither has it been taken back at all by the vampires.
However, not even the Changelings were safe from the Black Crusade. It aimed to destroy all life, even those involved with helping the Dread League way back then. And the ones sent to retrieve it were none other than Melody Moon and Bittersweet. Joined by other vampires and some Despair Plants, they stood on one of the mountains nearby, looking down on the Changeling Hive and its peaceful appearance.
"Finally. We're here." Melody Moon said as her nefarious eyes locked onto the hive and all the Changelings down here, already plotting. "I wish I could cause mass damage of my own but...we need to get that Box back. The rest of you are free to deal as much damage as you want."
"So, we'll do the destroying part. Good." BIttersweet replied. "Make sure you don't take too long with finding the Box though. Her Majesty has ordered that we return to Magehold as soon as possible. There are intruders there now."
"I know, I know. I'll make sure it won't be too quick. Destroy them all and that box is ours. Besides...what can the Queen do in her condition?" Melody said with confidence as she, Bittersweet, the other vampires and the Despair Plants left the mountaintop, descending onto the Changeling hive. Now the Changelings would be met with the Black Crusade and the one thing connected to their Queen which housed many powerful demons was their biggest target. If they get that box, the advantage would be absolutely tremendous.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 170 End.