Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
The 4th Pokemon Festival. Four times in a row, this festival that was made to form and strengthen bonds between both worlds was still around. Even after both worlds merged as one, this festival would continue, being a symbol of unity. Despite everything that transpires in them. Everything Pokemon and Pony-related would be here. And of course, other species and what they specialize in will be present since this was a unification of various species.
A fragrant aroma of freshly baked Poffins wafts through the air, drawing trainers and their Pokemon closer. Delicate and colourful orbs of light bob and dance above the pavilion, emanating a comforting and tranquil energy. An enchanting water fountain showcases a sculpted Eevee surrounded by a captivating display of captivating holographic projections, each showcasing one of its potential evolutions.
A jovial Pokemon breeder, dressed in a vibrant robe adorned with Eevee motifs, beckons eager trainers forward, offering to share his wisdom on the art of friendship evolution with trainers who all had Eevees with them. The tranquil surface of a small pond was broken by the occasional ripple, caused by elusive Water-types playfully darting beneath the surface.
And of course, it started where it mostly does. Here at Canterlot, which got a head start over everywhere else. Three weeks of enjoyment and hopefully, nothing threatening or out of left field. Wanting this more than anyone was Princess Celestia, who stepped out of her castle to enjoy the festival. Even though she enjoyed the excitement, she could do without anything threatening the peace this year.
"Feast your eyes on this, Alcremie. This is the absolute pinnacle of enjoyment that we all collectively have each year. Aside from the occasional Pokemon Battle that amazes us." Celestia introduced Alcremie to the Pokemon Festival for the very first time, holding her up to see the sights.
"Cremie..." Alcremie's eyes lit up. The things she was about to do with all of these options available.
"All three weeks to ourselves. And I already know what I want to do first and later on. Last year's was hit with rather unpleasant interactions and events. Not this year." Celestia had high hopes. And prior to this, she made sure that nothing horrible would transpire. This was going to be the most guarded Pokemon Festival to date.
Taking out one of her Poke Balls, she looked at the one that held Reshiram inside. Obviously, she wanted all of her Pokemon to enjoy this Pokemon Festival. Reshiram was a rather large Pokemon so for him to enjoy this Festival would make him the most noticeable figure moving around.
"If I can find Cobalion at this year's festival, it would be amazing~!" Celestia's first objective ended up being Cobalion. Out of everything that she could do, she went with her heart instead. The Sun Princess pranced along as she could get this festival going. She was as free as she could be while still upholding her royal status as Equestria's Ruler.
But right as she was about to explore, appearing in front of her was Luna, who intercepted her sister's movements immediately. Celestia came to a halt after her little sister blocked her path. "Not so fast. You aren't leaving just yet, sister. Chasing Cobalion will have to wait."
"Huh? Why?" Celestia groaned.
"You already promised Chrysalis and I that you would be with us when the Pokemon Festival starts."
"Well...yes. But I have my wants and needs. It's not like I've forgotten about it. I'm just putting it behind something else." Celestia raised her head. "Besides, meeting with Cobalion won't take that long."
"Knowing you, you'd probably make him join our group. As much as that would work out, you obviously want it to be just you and him."
"That's right." Celestia proudly said, followed by Luna's unimpressed face. "But I can be with you for the time being. It's only 3 weeks after all. Where's Chrysalis, by the way?" Celestia would still make time for her sister and her new friend. She would leave with Luna, ready to meet up with Chrysalis and party during the first day and beyond.
Ponyville. Day.
The Festival had begun at Ponyville as well. It had been set up with colourful banners hanging from tall lampposts and game stalls lining the pathways. The air is filled with the sweet scent of cotton candy and the faint sound of joyful laughter. At the centre of the festival grounds stands a life-sized statue of a Rapidash and a pony, their stone forms radiating an aura of whimsy and magic.
A group of foals surrounds a small stage, eagerly watching a Pokemon trainer demonstrating impressive battling techniques with her Steenee when going up against a Dusclops. A group of children, dressed in colourful costumes, are busy feeding apples to a family of friendly Herdier and some Lillipups, while a vendor nearby offers handmade Pokeball jewelry and enchanted horseshoes with moving ponies inside.
But while everyone was enjoying themselves, at Twilight's Castle, the Princess of Friendship was currently holding onto the fragment of the gateway. Twilight was hoping that the gateways would make a return for this festival. The past festivals have brought some truly wild moments that no one was going to forget and the revival of the gateways was what Twilight was hoping for. Nothing else.
"This festival will be the day they come back. I just know it." Twilight took a deep breath. "If I can find a way to make it happen, that would be so wonderful. Until then, I'll have to make a trek to where I want to be."
"Twilight!" Bursting through those doors was Pinkie Pie who was already in the festive mood. "What's taking so long? We're about to get started and head off. It's off to Galar this year!"
"Just a moment. I think I'll be taking this fragment with me. I still want to work on it along the way."
"Taking worth with you? I don't know about that. This is the perfect time to forget about all of that." Pinkie shook her head. "Worry about that later when we have three weeks of pure fun ahead of us."
"Hey, I can still have fun." Twilight crossed her hooves. "And work at the same time. I'm a great multi-tasker. I can bet that along the way, I'll figure out something that'll form a new gateway. The Pokemon Festival never has anything normal in it."
"If you say so. My money's on Angels showing up for this year's festival. See you there~" Pinkie zipped away, leaving the door open.
"Eh. I can go three weeks without thinking about this too much." Twilight pondered before placing the fragment of the gateway in her saddlebag. She certainly didn't want it to go anywhere. "But for this year's Pokemon Festival, I should probably open up the PokePark."
The Pokemon at her PokePark wouldn't miss out on this one. For the most part, they just do their own thing, living their own lives and on some occasions, they interact with the rest of the world. Bisharp, Queen Serperior, Audino and everyone else living there were about to get the full taste of the Pokemon Festival. Twilight wouldn't even have to manage every single Pokemon. She could trust them to be on their best behaviour, especially with Bisharp and Queen Serperior around, even if she hasn't seen all of the Pokemon there just yet.
Manehattan.
Elsewhere, one group was certainly enjoying themselves. In this case, it was Red's group. He and his friends could be found here in Manehattan. Another wonderful place for the Pokemon Festival to occur.
"Right here!" Already, Hilbert was taking advantage of this festival. He had a stall up with his face and Ash's face present. The same plan he formed back at the Pallet Town Yard Sale but this time with food. Hilbert was offering them a chance to feast on food that he and Ash both enjoyed, capitalising on Ash's popularity once more.
He had a colourful stall on display. The scent of exotic spices fills the air, intermingling with the tantalizing aroma of sizzling meats and freshly baked bread. A vibrant tapestry of vendors calls out their specialities, their voices melding into a symphony of culinary delight. A towering fountain, crafted from intricately carved fruits and vegetables, cascades with a steady stream of refreshing fruit-infused water.
"Well, this plan worked the first time but are you sure it'll have the same effect in Equestria?" Hilda asked as she was helping Hilbert with this Food Stall. But even with Hilda's help, this couldn't have been done. Next to the two of them were ponies wearing chef hats. Paying good money, Hilbert managed to have them cook alongside him, resulting in this enticing food stand.
"It'll have a greater effect, Hilda. We're in the city this time." Hilbert smirked, hearing the sounds of hoofsteps and wing flutters approaching. Indeed, using Ash's face brought some attention. Already, many ponies gathered around to the food stall, ready to consume these delicacies only found in Unova and Kanto. The food from Kanto was also replicated, all done by Hilbert and Hilda. "See? That'll be 1200 Pokedollars or 12 bits!"
"Let me get some!" Indulging in this was none other than Ethan. He just wanted the food. And so did Brendan. Both of them had also gathered around the food stand with Typhlosion and Sceptile beside them.
Hilbert put on a proud smile as the money was flowing in. He knew how to make a profit by keeping things simple yet effective. And of course, this was to raise his fame status. He was doing what Nessa and Gordie were trying to accomplish but with greater success. That was mainly thanks to his connection with Ash.
"Yeah, being Ash's counterpart has its wonders. If I knew about Ash from the beginning, I would've done this years ago." Hilbert cackled. "Man. When the others show up here, I gotta get them into this too."
"I don't think they'd want to," said Ethan while stuffing his face with Unovan delicacies.
"Nonsense. Nate would totally do the same thing as me. And so would Viktor. You should be loving this, Ethan. You're in the same boat as us."
"I'm not all for the publicity though, Hilbert. Not like you. But if it works, it works and I can't complain. You know how to draw in a crowd after all. Whether it's our universe or this one."
"Speaking of which, we should really be trying to find a way back home. The scientists who sent us here are obviously having troubles and we're unable to contact them," said Hilda. "This place is nice and all, but it would be better if we could still return to our homes. Plus, it's just you boys around. I wish Leaf, Lyra and the others came along but...that didn't happen."
"I think they're bound to show up." Brendan replied. "Recently, Twilight and Starswirl have made some progress, so there's bound to be dimensional travel again. I mean, that other Twilight shows up here and there, doesn't she?"
"Oh yeah. How come she gets to do it, but we can't?" Ethan now had to think about it. "Plus she wants to destroy Ash. And apparently us too."
"Yeah. Like that's ever gonna happen. We've been threatened before and we're still here. What else is new?" Hilbert would laugh at that notion. "Plus, if Prisma's actually in us, he's not doing a very good job at keeping himself hidden if you ask me."
"What do you think will happen when he actually shows up though?" Hilda was putting that possibility up. "Possession can go a long way, even if none of us have ever been possessed."
"It'd be a first. Plus, we'd just fight him away. Inside or outside." Hilbert answered. "After all, we're some of the strongest trainers out there and no one can beat us! Especially when one of us is number one!" He stood up tall, pointing to the blue skies above while others watched.
And after his bellowing shout, passing by him was the triad of royalty. This time, it consisted of Celestia, Luna and Chrysalis. Usually, it's Celestia, Luna and Cadence who are together.
"So, Lena came by to my hive the other day." And at this moment, Chrysalis speaking about Lena Ketchum to the Royal Sisters. "Thorax oversaw everything. And I wish I was there myself and had the chance to speak with Ash's ancestor. But I was too busy getting myself ready for this year's festival and I even saw the trial of Ash take place. The fact that the two of you were also pulled there..."
"If that trial continued, we might have had to manage two Suns and two Moons. Which is impossible, even for us." Luna said, glad that the trial was won in their favour. "Thank goodness Arceus showed up to put a stop to it. But I suppose this means that Arceus rules over all of us now."
"It was to be expected. Our worlds are now one so this is only natural. But I don't think we have to worry about moving two Suns and Moons now. I wasn't even aware that there were two of them and they were both enlarged."
"Oooh, hold on!" Chrysalis immediately drew her attention to something else. Up ahead was a book stand but the name of the books are what caught her attention. In a flash, she teleported over to the book stand, eyeing them down.
These books were specifically romance books and the titles helped that. Chrysalis was already pulled in by them, creating a strong intrigue in her mind. She read the titles, seeing how enticing they were. A majority of them had love in them and the taglines also involved a mention of romance.
Needless to say, Chrysalis was interested. She was obviously someone who feeds on love but never before has she come across books about love. "There are books about love? Have these always been here?"
"Always." The vendor said.
"I could have purchased these long ago and known all about love." To Chrysalis, this was a missed opportunity she wished she took prior to this. If she was aware of them, she would have most likely stolen them instead.
"Well, it's only for those who want to read love stories rather than learn from them. I mean, you could learn from them but maybe that's not the best option."
"Stories about love?" She initially thought that they were guides. Not stories. That changed everything for her. "I haven't read many stories apart from a bedtime story...And that is about it, I think."
"Ugh. These books are always so superficial." Luna had a completely different opinion about these books. She was not a fan of them as seen by her reaction. "How they go from hating each other to loving each other so soon is beyond me."
"I don't know...It might interest Chrysalis."
"Hmm..." Chrysalis opened the book to see what stories they had to offer. To speed it up just so she doesn't waste too much time here, Chrysalis used a speed-reading spell on her eyes. She would process the words at a quicker rate, immediately flipping through the pages of this book. "Ooh." The book was not disappointing at all. The things she saw caught her attention. She used her magic to bring a few more books, seeing what they had to offer.
Chrysalis was being introduced to the wide world of stories and the one that she was starting to get into were romance book. A wide smile was forming on her face when reading all of this. Just like that, Chrysalis became a fan. She was only speed-reading them and now she wished to take her time with them. The best way to do that was to purchase them. "I'll buy as many as I can!"
"A-As many as you can?" The vendor gulped. She could already tell that this was about to lead into an immediate lack of stock and it would all be done by Chrysalis.
But while everyone was beginning to enjoy themselves or were just getting into it since the day was still young, some were still expecting the worst to happen. The 2nd and 3rd Pokemon Festivals proved that it could happen. So far, nothing, but that's how it always is. It goes well in the beginning and soon spirals out of control.
The only thing they knew was that nothing was really threatening them this time and that was at least a positive. But there was one option that escaped their heads, mainly because it was barely known by them. One of the alleyways here was like a labyrinth, stretching between the towering buildings, its narrow path only illuminated by the soft glow of flickering lanterns.
Illuminating by the lanterns was a pony, exempt from the large crowd in the Pokemon Festival. A small sound that involved wonder and amazement left her mouth. From the sounds of it, much like a few others in the world, this was her first time experiencing the Pokemon Festival. However, this pony's amazement was present for a different reason.
She was not from this world.
This pony was near a place made for Lanterns that would shine when nightfall comes. The Lanturn would obviously be the ones to light up but some ordinary lanterns will be there without a doubt. The alleyway and pony were enveloped in a soft, golden glow emanating from countless lanterns hanging from the surrounding trees.
The air was filled with the delicate fragrance of blossoming flowers. Her face, while it wasn't seen by anyone looked rather familiar. Her colour scheme also had some familiarity which made her face all the more familiar. In fact, her face resembled that of Twilight. But it was a specific Twilight. Only an hour into the Pokemon Festival and it was very much active.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 278 End.