Pegalysium. Out in the Meadows. Afternoon.
"Y-You're all her descendants!? Every last one?!" During the search for new teachers at the Pokemon School, Ash, Twilight and Celestia came across a family of pegasi who had a greater connection to someone. Possibly Pegalysium's most famous pony who went down as a Legend. Windkiss.
Out of every other Destiny Pegasus, Windkiss was apparently the only one who had descendants, aside from Shooting Star who was the son of the King and Queen. But compared to him, this was a massive generational leap. On top of that, this area of Pegalysium was flooded with the Mythical Pokemon Shaymin who seem to have made their home here at the high point of the world.
"Every last one. You can't get any closer to a bloodline than them." Garnet answered. "I mean...you couldn't tell just by looking at them."
"That explains the mask. Wasn't she the one who made the Avus-Pegasus?" Ash said, pointing out the masks. That would've been a giveaway but it wasn't strong enough proof of them being related at all. Anypony can just put on those masks.
"Pika?"
"So...what are you doing out here?" Twilight asked, wondering why the descendants of Windkiss were living in the meadows and forest, barely known by many outside of Garnet's friend group. "And if that's the case...Do you have some of her magic in you?"
"Sorry. Let me show my face at least." Feeling more comfortable around these new faces, the mare at the front would take off her Avus-Pegasus-styled mask, finally showing herself. And when looking at her, the similarities were already very much present.
"Windflash's the name." She introduced herself.
"Oh, now I see it." Twilight certainly saw the resemblance. Windkiss' appearance was only available via a spirit that every Destiny Pegasus was able to conjure. And by comparing Windflash to her, the eyes and even some of the hair looked familiar. Even the voice carried some weight. "It's not every day you get to meet a descendant of someone Legendary."
"These are my brothers and sisters right here. I'm the oldest out of all of them." Windflash explained as the other ponies would take off their masks, showing themselves. Each of them shared some resemblance to Windkiss in a way as it was mainly the purple eyes that backed it up and at the same time, they had their own distinct appearance. "Expect for the foals, of course."
"If you're all Windkiss' descendants, what are you doing here alone?" Twilight asked. "Wasn't something left behind for you? Is it this island?"
"Mm." Windflash shook her head. "We made this island our home 7 years ago. No other place did it for us except here and we don't regret it." Windflash and siblings would collectively nod. "I'm sure our ancestor Windkiss doesn't either."
"Looks like it. She was mainly worried about Shooting Star, wasn't she"? Ash agreed with that. Plus, Windkiss didn't seem like the kind of pony to really worry about something like this. It was easy to see her as the type who would be happy for her relatives if they were happy. And they certainly were living on this beautiful flower-filled island.
"She didn't leave anything behind for us and that's fine. But really...we never had a chance to have something." Windflash added, going into further detail. "Not since our entire family fortune was taken away years ago."
"It was?" Twilight gasped as there was more to it. A reason why they were on this island.
"It happened to our great-great-grandparents. The Indigo Alliance took it all." Windflash revealed the reason for her family's current condition and it all made sense. The Indigo Alliance had something to do with it since they've been working behind the scenes of Pegalysium for years, trying to shape it in their image.
"Wait, really?" Even Garnet wasn't aware of this. She was never told this by Windflash and her family and was hearing it for the first time.
"Something happened to them all those years ago and our family ended up like this. Don't really know the details though but here we are."
"What about the Ethereal Pavillion? That's one of the things that Windkiss left behind and we've been there." Twilight threw more questions in. "Plus, you have to have known that we beat the Indigo Alliance. I mean, they made their own Pegalysium and are living there but still."
"Our grandparents lost ownership of that place a while back. We didn't even know it was free." Windflash shrugged as not even the Ethereal Pavillion or anything in it was owned by her family any more, thanks to the Indigo Alliance.
"I didn't even know it was claimed by them. My bad." Garnet scratched her mane, wishing she knew more about the Ethereal Pavillion beforehand.
"Oh. It was a sabotage then." Celestia figured it out instantly. "Most likely, they were fearful of the future Pegasus of Destiny and made sure that anyone in their bloodline would fail if either was chosen as the next one. Any one of them would've threatened their plans. Obviously, every single one of them have been from separate bloodlines."
"That sucks though. Losing your previous home." Ash scratched his hair as the home of this family was long gone. Probably from one of their grandparents.
"Pikachu..."
"We got lucky that we weren't chosen as the next ones, right?" Windflash grinned. "Don't have to worry about any sabotage at all. Now we live here in peace. But to have some money means we can buy a lot of things we never had before. Only Garnet brings us things."
"Sometimes. I work hard to make enough Quillbits to buy something for them and myself. I have to make sure I'm living pretty after all." Garnet added. "But it's not enough. Never enough. My path to becoming super-rich is a long one..."
"But if we learn at your school, could we make lots of money?"
"Uh..." Twilight then looked over at Princess Celestia, pausing on her answer. Celestia already knew what Twilight was going for as she would give a nod that essentially told Twilight 'She would handle this'. "Yes. Lots. I mean, it's not the same currency but you can buy something in Equestria with it."
"Great!" Windflash said with excitement. "We'd be happy to join! Except for the little ones. They're gonna have to sit this one out."
"Alright. So a good chunk of you know a lot about Pokemon. More than anypony here in Pegalysium. Windflash, you obviously want to join but what about your other siblings?"
"I kinda wanna stay here instead." One of the brothers said, opting to stay behind. "Teaching's not my thing." Not all of them wanted to head down there.
"How are you gonna get us down there?" Windflash asked. "We've never been to your land before. Garnet's only told us about it and that's it. But it sounds like it has more Pokemon to see. Like that purple cat and mouse you two have."
"I spoke with your King and Queen and we've found a way to make travelling from Pegalysium to Equestria easier. You don't have anything to fear," said Celestia, stepping forward. "It would be great having you at the Pokemon School. Today will be its new opening day and you'll get to see new things."
"Aha!" Windflash said with excitement as her eyes would sparkle. "Mom and Dad sure would be proud about this! But hey. About that Ethereal Pavillion? Can we head back in there now?"
"You should be free to enter it, no problem," Garnet confirmed. "It's back to being rightfully yours now that the Indigo Alliance's somewhere else. There's a bed and everything and the best view of the stars."
"By the way, what's up with all these Shaymin?" Ash kneeled, facing the Shaymin. "I didn't think I'd see them up here."
"These little fellas? Well...I found this flower over at the mountains where those giant ponies live." Windflash eyed down the Shaymin, petting one of them in the head. From what she was saying, it sounded like the Gracedia Flowers were indeed involved in this. "Could've been food if we didn't save 'em in the nick of time. Why? Are they rare?"
"Very rare. But don't worry about that right now. Come with us and we'll show you just what to expect." said Celestia. "Now that they've gotten to know Windflash and her siblings, some of them were coming along, heading to the lands below for the very first time. A select few of Windkiss' descendants would join but that was good enough for Twilight. Not every school has to have an overwhelming amount of teachers. Just enough for the students.
Equestria.
Heading back there was much better than going up the pathway. Garnet was introduced to the pathway for the first time as well as Windflash and her siblings. The Cloud Pathway that connected to Equestria and Pegalysium had a far more thrilling way of travelling on it. It was already thrilling when going up it as the wind was responsible for it. But doing back down made it even better as the way it was angled made it perfect for that kind of feeling.
"Woohoo!" Ash cheered as he was currently sliding down the pathway, having his arms up. Twilight curled up into a ball, moving at a turbulent pace while Celestia sat there with a smile. Garnet, on the other hand, was currently screaming, holding onto Celestia as this was her first time going down such a pathway. She much preferred the chariot that SHooting Star invites her on.
As for Windflash and her siblings, they were completely unphased by this. But what did phase them was the world right below the highest clouds that they could finally see. Windflash's mouth opened up as she and her siblings saw the Castle of Canterlot in the distance. The Cloud Pathway wasn't far away after all.
Their entire lives have been spent in the sky, moving across the clouds. Now they could see a world below it, from the lush green lands beneath which housed many Pokemon that they have never seen before. Flying-Types would pass by them which was natural considering how high this pathway went and how quickly it brought passengers down.
"Welcome to Equestria." Celestia introduced them. The place where their ancestors once wished to enter due to her adventurous nature had been seen. And not only that, but other species were right within their sights.
Oh, check that out!" It even caught Ash's attention. It wasn't just a bunch of Pokemon flying around. Instead, he could see some Dragons and Griffins in the distance. Two species that were invited to the Pokemon School to learn there could be found as news travelled fast.
Twilight's jaw dropped as she was at least expecting this to take a day or two, but with Celestia being the one to elevate the news, it took shorter than she expected. That only meant she had to be at the school as soon as possible. The Dragons and Griffons were headed straight for the Pokemon School but they weren't the only ones who could move through the air.
There were no signs of the changelings even though they were capable of flying. Instead, it was another species that Ash and his friends have recently seen. It was hard to see since they were rather far away at the moment but he could make them out. Ash ended up spotting the Hippogriffs who made a beeline for Equestria as soon as possible.
Garnet and other Pegalysium residents were just starstruck by what they were seeing. And they thought the Pokemon were surprising to look at. All those other species that live below were seen, captivating in their own right. Whether it was the scaly appearance of the dragons or the beaked brilliance of the griffins, they at least knew that there were other creatures out there that could fly. Not just them. Next stop; The Pokemon School.
Canterlot. The Pokemon School. Afternoon.
And already, many had gathered. Twilight's plan to invite all creatures from Equestria was a smash hit without a doubt. The species that she and her friends have encountered have made it here, minus the Humans who were doing their own thing at the moment.
Changelings, Yaks, Griffins, Hippogriffs and Dragons could be seen, with some conversing with each other. It was mainly the younger ones of each species talking to each other while the older ones kept to their own at the moment, minus the Changelings.
"Oh, you finally made it. I thought you were gonna be searching for more teachers." There at the school was Rainbow Dash and the rest of Twilight's friends. "Rarity spent most of her time making these."
"Well, you didn't answer when I suggested making uniforms for them so I went ahead and did it." Rarity added as she made some uniforms for the Pokemon School already. She was even wearing one of them, which had the Poke Ball symbol on it.
"That's great and all but I think we're fine with the uniform part," Twilight answered, descending to where her friends were. "And I'm still looking for more teachers but what we have now is good. Did anyone else show up to take the offer?"
"Oh, they sure did." Applejack nodded, referring to Potion Nova and Radiant Hope, who took the job immediately. "They're inside right about now."
"Great, great. I'd say all that's left is to change the size of the school but I can handle that later. Right now, I shouldn't keep them all waiting."
"Cool but...please tell me Ash is still with you. You promised to bring them along and right now, they're just getting another version of Ash." The multi-coloured maned mare hovered over, nudging Twilight.
"Another version of Ash? What do you mean?" Twilight wondered. But very soon, her answer would be granted to her once the words of this 'Other Version' were spouted.
"Yes, yes! With me guiding you, how can you lose?! Except to me, of course." That was the voice of Hilbert. Twilight's pupils shrunk as she quickly opened the windows to see for herself. Indeed, Hilbert had already shown up here, boasting and babbling to all that have gathered up. "I come from a whole other universe so I know what I'm talking about!"
"Hilbert!" Twilight Sparkle shouted, grabbing his attention and the attention of the others.
"Hey, Twilight! Just getting a head start!" Hilbert raised his arms as his boasting has already enamoured the eyes of the youth. His talk definitely reached them as he knew how to grab the attention of others.
"Sorry, Twilight. I tried to stop him. Honestly." Hilda apologized.
"What do you say, Twilight? Let me teach them a few things?" Hilbert grinned.
"That's good and all, Hilbert, but I'll have to pass on you." Twilight instantly shut Hilbert down without even a second thought. She wanted all the help she could get, but anyone but Hilbert would do. Hilbert gasped as his position was thrown away before it could even be made official. It's not that Twilight doesn't trust Hilbert, but he was suited to be something else. Not a teacher.
"Don't sweat it, Hilbert." Ash approached his counterpart from another universe. He tried uplifting things for him, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I mean, I wasn't gonna be in either. Not really cut out to be a teacher. More of a mentor."
"Hah...Guess you're right. Being a mentor's easier than being a teacher." Hilbert sighed. "Wait, are teachers and mentors really two different things?"
"I think so." Ash scratched his hair as he and Hilbert would look over at Twilight and Hilda. The duo nodded their heads, confirming it for them.
"Look! It's Ash!" And immediately, once everyone saw that Ash was clearly here and how he contrasted from Hilbert, those who looked up to him would call his name and start raising their voices.
"Huh?" Ash jerked up as all attention was soon drawn to him. He then laughed, raising his arms to wave at them. He still was not used to such publicity and fame. There have been instances where his name has been known and he was getting somewhere in the world but not to this level.
"Your majesty!" He had his status as the King of the Sea called out by the Hippogriffs who saw him as their ruler considering they lived in the sea as well.
"Atta-boy, Ketchum." Hilbert nudged Ash, proud of all the recognition he was receiving from everyone. "Pretty soon, you'll be as famous as me with all of this rising fame." Twilight's plan to get them excited by involving Ash worked swimmingly. Obviously, it would work if Ash was involved somehow, even if he wasn't a teacher.
"You wish you were just as famous as him." Hilda gave a strong retort before pulling Hilbert out of the way, making Ash stand on his own. But he would soon be joined by Pikachu and of course, Twilight. With different species from across Equestria and beyond showing up, she could finally speak to them and introduce the new Pokemon School that was left in her control.
"Thank you for coming, everyone!" Twilight Sparkle spoke to them. "You all showed up way sooner than I expected, honestly, but I'm glad you're here. This Pokemon School was originally limited to us ponies who still had a lot about the Pokemon World to know. And even with our time here and with the places we've been and the things we've seen, there's still a lot more to learn about. Now that both worlds have merged into a Grander World, it's more than necessary to know about Pokemon. They're wonderful creatures but you also have to be careful and know about the new world we live in now."
Twilight would then shoot some magic into the air which had Rift Magic involved. And by doing so, she created a firework that showed the words' Welcome to the Pokemon School's New Grand Opening', making others cheer. Short and sweet. Straight to the point. Twilight did an excellent job of explaining this school's existence.
It already existed for that one purpose now it needed an even bigger reason to exist. With a lack of gateways, Humans can't just show up here and teach them what they need to know. They had to rely on those around their area to teach them.
All the while, inside the school, three particular individuals were away from the speech but listening in on it. Two of which were janitors, sweeping the floors of the school which haven't been used all that often. It was natural that some dust would gather. One was wearing a suit that looked perfect for a school.
It was none other than Team Rocket. The two janitors were James and Meowth while the one wearing a suit was Jessie. They have done this before, disguising themselves to enter the Pokemon School. It was either for the sake of nabbing as many Pokemon as they could or they were attempting to make some money here. Team Rocket was both predictable and unpredictable at the same time.
"Listen to that. It sounds like it's finally going to start." Jessie commented, retaining her position as the School Councillor. She managed to get in once and no one suspected a thing. "But now it's bigger than ever with all of these species."
"Ah, it doesn't seem so bad," said James. "The worst that can happen is that the Changelings just confuse us. You know for a fact the Changeling children will transform as many times to throw us off guard."
"Then we'd just end up taking the wrong Pokemon whose not a Pokemon at all," Meowth added.
"Hm. As if that'll ever happen." Jessie put on a smug face. "After all, with so many species in one room, there's bound to be some disagreements. They all come from different areas of the world. At least near or within Equestria. As their School Councillor, I'll give them the advice and counselling they need to make it through whatever harsh moments they go through."
"Knowing you, you'd just spark the fire more," James said, expecting Jessie to make it worse, prompting Jessie to growl at him. James would then refrain from saying anything else, continuing to sweep the floor.
At last, the Pokemon School could make its comeback, going from a place where students don't come in all that often thanks to how the new world around them has been, to a plethora of students ready to stick around to learn more about this wonderful world that holds the most Strange and Wonderful Creatures. Twilight could already feel it. A new day and a new era were about to being as the journey continues.
Chapter 218 End.