Mono’s eyes illuminated to the hazy landscape of Purgatorium. He took a deep breath and stared out into the horizon.
“You called me again, haven’t you? What do you want this time, strange omnipresent voice?” Mono shouted.
“I see you have visited the realm of my dominion. Truth be told, all the universes that connect through it are mine, and every being that lives in them is mine to command. Now it is time that I keep my end of the word and give you power beyond anything you can imagine.”
The entire landscape of Purgatorium illuminated before Mono’s eyes. He blinked once and smiled.
“Are you sure you can just give me this information like this? Exactly who are you?”
“Do not let my name slip through your memories young child; my name is Deus, one and only god of this universe.”
Deus’s voice disappeared along with the landscape. The landscape of the bleak city made its ways towards his eyes once more. To his right, he saw the same sad filly against the decaying fence reaching out for him.
“Please… won’t you revive… Don’t be….”
The landscape and the filly disappeared from Mono’s sights.
Mono woke up in his bed. He looked towards Lith’s bed and blinked twice with a confused glint in his eyes; her bed’s sheets remained undisturbed and there was no sign of anything belonging to her on the bed.
“Where’s Lith? I haven’t seen her after last night.” He said to himself. “I would like to think more, but that dream left me even more questions to think about. Can I still remember the information Deus gave me?”
Mono’s watch rang with a loud clamor. He looked down upon it and touched it. An image of Twilight Sparkle’s head appeared on it.
“Mono! I need you to swing by the lab ASAP. I have some very important news to discuss with you.” Twilight Sparkle announced.
“Understood. Just let me do my morning duties and I will be over there at a speed reaching Mach 5.”
“I’ll hold you onto it, Mono.”
Mono sprinted through the doors of the lab. Twilight Sparkle stood in the center of the room with a white lab coat on, tapping her hind right leg on the ground.
“It took you long enough.” She said.
Mono looked away and rubbed his neck with a nervous frown on his face.
“Sorry. I took a lot more time eating my breakfast today.”
“Understandable, but you should probably go to the cafeteria to eat your breakfast then. It’s all premade and it’s close to the lab.” Twilight Sparkle stated.
“I know. So, what did you request my presence here for?”
Twilight Sparkle smiled and waved her hoof back. She pointed towards the giant screen, where silhouettes of various Equusians and a strand of rainbow-colored DNA appeared on it.
“I’ve been doing some personal research with how we can imbue your Pokémon DNA into our operatives to grant them some of the abilities of Pokémon. It’s a bit unusual right now, but I am getting the kinks worked out.” She explained.
“That sounds cool… but you do realize that experimentation like that could kill the testers, right?” Mono said with a straight tone.
“I do. But, that’s why I designed a magic failsafe that would remove all traces of the Pokémon genome if things go wrong.”
“Interesting. So who are the testers?”
Twilight Sparkle pointed towards the door that lifted open. Fluttershy, a yellow-coated earth pony stallion with a brown mane and tail and a black-coated pegasus stallion with a white Mohawk-shaped mane and tail entered into the lab.
“Fluttershy! You look better! But… who are these two?” Mono said.
“The name’s Caramel. I dropped down from the Civilian Division to assist with the testing.” Caramel introduced.
“My name’s Thunderlane. I’m still a novice in the Marksman Division, but I have deadeye aiming skill that has caused many a successful resolution to my missions.” Thunderlane stated.
“As for me, Mono, I’ve been cleared by the Medical Division for allowance into standard H.O.R.S.E. activities again. My heart has been doing better after that incident.” Fluttershy said with a cheerful smile.
“That’s good to hear, but are you sure you should be testing again so soon?” Mono questioned.
“I’m not working with electricity this time.”
Fluttershy pulled up a black bangle around her right front hoof and displayed it to Mono. Mono looked towards Twilight Sparkle.
“It’s purely magic. It just happens to mimic your DNA.” Twilight Sparkle explained. “While I couldn’t give them your moves and such, it gives them passive abilities that I have discovered in my personal side of the research. For example, Caramel’s grip on his weapons is greatly improved since his body is a bit sticker.”
“See?” Caramel said with a smile with a ball sticking to his body.
“Don’t try to touch me, because you’ll become paralyzed.” With a crackle of pink electricity surging through his body, Thunderlane stated with a proud tone. “At least that’s what she said.”
“Sticky Hold and Static I see… What about you, Fluttershy?” Mono asked.
“I’m not sure yet. All I know is that I have an ability.” Fluttershy said.
“You see Mono? Nothing bad has happened to them during the course of the experiment. Sooner or later, they will be ready for field testing.” Twilight Sparkle assured.
“Very interesting results you came up with, Twilight. I’m sure that the professors must be happy with this progress you have made.” Mono complimented.
“They don’t know yet. I’ve kept this research confidential and only my test subjects know about it. I told you because it is your DNA genome that I based this research off of, so it should only be fair that you get to know.”
“So what exactly determines the abilities that these bangles give? It seems like they are random depending on whoever wears them.”
Twilight Sparkle pointed towards the screen. The rainbow DNA split into three and combined with the silhouettes, causing them to flash in different colors.
“That’s precisely what it is; random. Honestly, there’s so much to even one single strand of DNA that it is impossible to pinpoint one desired effect you would want with a consistent ratio.” Twilight Sparkle explained. “It’s honestly better for research purposes just to add the random generator in there rather than try to manipulate the desired effects.”
Thunderlane glanced towards Twilight Sparkle with an impatient stomping from his right front hoof.
“Ummm… can I leave now? I need to wake Rumble up for school today.” He pleaded.
Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes and breathed out an agitated gust of air through her nostrils.
“Fine. But you’ll have to be very careful with removing that bangle. The chip is directly injected into your body and any sudden movements will cause you to cut yourself further.” She responded.
Thunderlane peeled away at the bangle and placed it on the table. He left the room.
“Ummm… I have to leave as well. I need to check the request postings for today.”
Saying these words, Caramel took off the bangle and placed it on the table. He then left the room.
“Do you want to leave as well, Fluttershy?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“No. I have nothing else to do for today.” Fluttershy responded.
“Well, I still might need to run some tests on you to check for your ability. Do I have your consent for this?”
“Of course you do. If I can help, then I will help.”
Mono looked towards Twilight Sparkle with a worried frown on his face.
“Twilight, have you seen Lith anywhere? She wasn’t in our living quarters when I woke up and I’m somewhat worried about her.”
“You don’t need to worry. I saw her while I was at the infirmary. She stayed by Fei’s side over the night.” Fluttershy explained.
“That’s the first time she didn’t tell me she would be away from me. It kind of left me terrified to not be able to sleep in the same room as her.” Mono said.
“Oh right! I forgot that you have separation issues.” Twilight Sparkle noted with a smile on her face. She looked towards Mono, who ducked his head between his shoulders. “Ummm… moving on. Other than that, you look like you have something on your mind you would like to share.”
“Oh! Thank you for reminding me. I have the knowledge of creating a device capable of further evolving our own selves.” Mono stated with a confident tone.
“What do you mean by ‘evolve’?” Twilight Sparkle asked with her head cocked in confusion.
Mono walked towards a window, displaying a clear gaze into the dome of the city.
“I’m not sure if you know this or not, Twilight, but many Pokémon are capable of something known as Evolution. When the conditions are met, a Pokémon can evolve into a stronger form with more abilities and power at their disposal.” He explained. “All the Pokémon you have seen so far are all in their final stage evolutions.”
“Wait, what?” Fluttershy asked, backing onto her rear legs. “I didn’t think you were evolved from something.”
“It’s true. Meowstics are evolved forms of a Pokémon known as an Espurr. Maybe you might see one someday, but that’s not the point of my conversation. The fact is that while we are in our final forms, some Pokémon have the ability to exceed even further with a process known as a Mega Evolution.”
“Mega Evolution huh?” Twilight Sparkle voiced out with a hint of suspicion in her tone. “Do go on. What exactly makes this form of evolution different than the one you speak of?”
“Many things. Mega Evolution was introduced through a Legendary Pokémon known as Diancie, which is essentially a Carbink that underwent a type of permanent Mega Evolution. Diancie introduced something known as a Mega Stone, which is a special ore that is contains the DNA of a Pokémon that would allow it to exceed beyond its form.”
“So you just need to find a Mega Stone that corresponds to the same species of Pokémon that can use it to achieve Mega Evolution?” Fluttershy asked.
“It’s not that simple. While a Mega Stone is an important factor for achieving Mega Evolution, a Key Stone is needed to commence the Mega Evolution. Key Stones can be embedded into accessories that a trainer can wear. If the bond between a trainer with a Key Stone and a Pokémon holding a Mega Stone is strong enough, then a Mega Evolution can be performed by the trainer tapping their Key Stone.” Mono responded.
“I see… I appreciate more information on Pokémon through the concepts of Evolution and Mega Evolution, but that sort of information doesn’t seem too practical with what you have in mind.” Twilight Sparkle noted. “How would Mega Evolution contribute to evolving ourselves further?”
“That is what I was about to go to. In my dream, I’ve came across the idea of an artificial Mega Evolution that anyone can use. Just imagine being able to evolve your powers all of a sudden through a sleight of your upper limbs. Your skills will sharpen and you will feel a burst of energy that would allow you to achieve anything your heart desires!” Mono acted out with a large and open smile on his face.
“That sounds exciting. But… a natural Mega Evolution already sounds complex and nearly impossible to perform in our world. How would we even begin going about by a Mega Evolution?” Fluttershy asked.
“That part will be difficult to explain in one sitting. But, the information I received in my dream says that we can build a network exclusively for that purpose. If a natural Mega Evolution requires the use of a trainer and Pokémon’s bond with each other, then an artificial Mega Evolution would be achieved through a device linked to a terminal.”
“I see where you are getting at. We simply mimic the events of a Mega Evolution through our database’s connections with our operatives through this device you have planned. But, I don’t think you thought this situation out completely.” Twilight Sparkle stated.
“What do you mean?” Mono asked.
“Well, in order to even begin to understand how a Mega Evolution would work, we actually need a sample of a Mega Stone and Key Stone for research purposes. As of right now, there is absolutely no way how we can generate the same frequencies that are used in a Mega Evolution.”
“Oh. I almost forgot about that. There’s absolutely no way that we can get those here, is there?”
Mono’s smile formed into a frown and his body slumped forwards.
“Ummm, Mono? I might have a suggestion for you.” Fluttershy peeped out. “Professor Pasque might probably have some information on it. His words have given some allusion to what you were talking about with Mega Evolution and all.”
“I guess I can go off of that. If anyone knows more information on Mega Evolution than me, then it’s the professor.”
Professor Pasque and Einstein gazed out into the dome-covered sky. Their eyes locked onto the cloud formations flowing across the azure horizon. Einstein shrieked with an excited tone and pointed towards a sheeted wave of clouds coming in from the southern horizon.
“Look Professor! That’s an Asperatus Cloud formation coming from the north!” He pointed out.
“It looks to be that way. I don’t know much about how the weather system works here, but I heard that pegasi create and manipulate clouds through the use of water vapor in the sky. It is an interesting and noble effort on their part to still be able to create clouds during this time.” Professor Pasque noted.
“It looks so wavy and so thick. I would love to be able to sleep on a cloud like a pegasus can.”
Professor Pasque smiled and rubbed Einstein’s back with a slow speed with his right front foot.
“One day… I’m sure you’ll be able to.”
Mono sprinted towards the field of grass that Professor Pasque and Einstein lied upon and reached his upper right paw towards their direction.
“Professor Pasque! Einstein!”
Professor Pasque turned his neck towards Mono’s direction and smiled.
“Mono. What can I do for you?” He asked.
“Professor Pasque, what do you know about Mega Evolution?”
Professor Pasque looked towards Einstein, who shrugged his massive arms. He focused his glance towards Mono.
“I know quite a bit about the concept. Is there a reason you asked?”
“I think I might have found a way for all of us to achieve a sort of Artificial Mega Evolution. It came to me in a dream, but I need to study a Key Stone and a Mega Stone to understand how their waves work.” Mono explained.
“I wasn’t planning on revealing anything… but I am actually in possession of a Key Stone and a Mega Stone myself.” Professor Pasque said.
“What?!” Mono and Einstein shouted with their eyes widened in shock.
“It was something that I held close to me even when going into this world. I couldn’t identify what type of Mega Stone it was, but I do know that it is indeed a Mega Stone based on its patterns and wavelengths. If you need it, it is at my workstation within the lab.”
“Thank you, Professor Pasque. But why did you keep it a secret from everyone?”
Professor Pasque looked towards his right and left, being alert to his surroundings.
“My lab has many different artifacts that would make it a major target. I’ve covered any and all information about their existence within my lab and preserved their secrecy to this day. I know that if word got out that I was in possession of such artifacts, your lives would then be in jeopardy.” He explained.
“I understand. But… why didn’t you tell me?” Einstein asked. “I wouldn’t squeal.”
Professor Pasque frowned and shut his eyes.
“It isn’t you, Einstein. Naturally, I am a very secretive being. I make sure that absolutely no information escapes from my hold. I know that you would keep a secret, but I cannot trust myself to tell you.”
“Oh… I tend to overlook that fact about you. Sometimes, I forget how much of a good communication we have with each other.” Einstein stated.
“No need to feel hurt Einstein. I know you have your secrets, just as much as I have my own. We are all entitled to our privacy.”
Mono ran towards a large counter in the lab with several drawers. He pulled on the bottom one, which revealed a small sphere that flashed in the colors of a rainbow and a DNA shape on it. Next to it was a larger stone that was clear in color. The DNA-shaped mark on it is less translucent than the rest of the sphere. Mono scratched his head and cocked it.
“Professor Pasque was right. If this is a Mega Stone, then the lack of color on it doesn’t really show what species of Pokémon can react to it.”
He grabbed both the Key Stone and the clear Mega Stone from the drawer. Twilight Sparkle looked onto Mono and rubbed her jaw, eyeing at the two stones with an intrigued hum.
“So these are the stones you were talking about, Mono?”
“That’s right. Honestly, I’m not sure whether this Mega Stone is real or fake. It matches the common descriptions found in the ores of Mega Stones, but it doesn’t look like any Mega Stone seen up to this point.” Mono stated.
“I’m not even sure what a clear stone is supposed to represent.”
Twilight Sparkle’s horn flashed with a violet color and levitated the two stones towards her face. She hummed and narrowed her eyes.
“What is it?” Mono asked.
“These stones definitely have a unique frequency that I have not yet seen and they reverberate with each other. I can guarantee you that this is indeed a Mega Stone just from the unique readings I get from it.” Twilight Sparkle rationalized.
“I guess that these will have to do then. I guess we can begin research on them and construct a new server based on that information.”
Wearing a light blue medical gown, Fei sat up in bed. On his lap was a gray tray was a bowl of brown and fermented mush. His eyes watered at the sharp and sour smell of the bowl. He pushed it to his left and turned his head away.
“Gah! It smells horrible. I knew hospital food has a reputation for being foul, but fermented bean paste?”
Lith walked into the room with a brown bag tied around her. She opened the bag and pulled out a black and plastic bowl from it. She took the bowl of fermented bean paste away from him and placed her bowl on his tray. Fei eyed it with a curious glint and removed the top from it. Inside was a slab of white meat sliced into six strips. It rested upon dark green vegetation and was topped with sliced jalapeños on top of it.
“For you.” Lith said with a smile on her face.
Fei smiled and looked towards Lith.
“I could tell that this is much better than the food the hospital serves. May I ask what it is?”
“Gnasher said that she captured a cockatrice of all things. She said it was a bit tough removing the scales, but she prepared the meat for me to throw into a bed of romaine lettuce and top it off with jalapeño slices. I threw in a splash of vinaigrette so that it would allow the flavors to soak better.” Lith explained.
Fei took a fork that was to the right of the tray and jabbed it into the meat and vegetation. He brought the contents into his mouth and chewed it. Swallowing the foodstuff, he felt a burning irritation inside of his throat. His eyes widened open and he fanned his mouth with his right hand.
Lith pulled out a canister of milk and handed it to Fei. Fei opened the lid of the container and downed the entire bottle in one gulp. The irritation in his throat disappeared and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
“Thank you very much for the food, Lith. You know you didn’t have to do this for me.” Fei stated.
“And leave you eating that nasty goop they call food? You’re still recovering from surgery earlier this morning and you need some good nutrition in your body to help you do that. What’s the point of having nutritious food if you won’t be able to enjoy it? The cockatrice meat is very high in protein and iron while the vegetables provide a high level of vitamins while tending to your taste buds. I made this in mind for you. I have to start taking care of you after all.” Lith said.
She leaned towards Fei’s direction and kissed his right cheek. Fei brought his right hand to his cheek and rubbed it.
“Having you by my side and witnessing all this had really brightened my hospital stay. You bring a ray of sunshine into my desolate world.”
“You know that you are verging on cheesy territory again, right?” Lith said with a serious tone.
“I do, but I really mean it. Some days, I just don’t really feel like living. I feel like I’ve been dropped into a hellhole where I’m forced to fight. My life as a human wasn’t so great either.”
“Look, I know about what happened to Fee and everything, but you have to realize that your life won’t stop just because of events such as those. I mean, look at the Equusians. They lost nearly everything, but do they give up? They want to make a new life for themselves despite the odds. You can as well.”
Fei wrapped his right arm around Lith’s body and pulled her close for an embrace. With his left hand, he stroked the tufts of hair on Lith’s head.
“Again, I must thank you for being here. I’m sure that Mono must have been worried about you being here.
Lith’s eyes rose with a slight movement and she pulled herself away from Fei.
“I forgot to tell Mono!”
Shouting these words, she ran out of the room, leaving Fei by himself. Fei frowned, sighed and shoved his fork back into the salad.
Lith ran down the hall with her heart bursting out of her chest. She ran up towards a changeling with her eyes and mouth wide in panic.
“Do you know where Mono is?!” She shouted.
“I think he might be in the lab.” The changeling responded.
Lith continued down the hall, sprinting with the notion that her life depended on her actions. She crashed through the doors of the lab and witnessed Mono and Twilight Sparkle standing around a table. On the table are the Mega Stone and Key Stone.
“Lith! You came just in time.” Mono said with a happy tone in his voice.
Lith exhaled a calming breath and smiled.
“Sorry I didn’t contact you beforehand, Mono. I was too worried about Fei and I guess I forgot to tell you.” She said.
“I was upset for a bit, but now I’m not upset. Fei needed you more by his side than I needed you, and I accept that.” Mono stated.
“Wait, did you just…?” Lith worded out.
“Is there something wrong, Lith?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“No. Nothing is wrong. So what’s going on here?”
“We’re conducting research for an artificial type of Mega Evolution. You are welcome to join us.” Mono said.
Lith nodded and walked towards Mono’s side. She wrapped her left upper paw around Mono’s shoulders and rocked him back and forth.
“So… would you mind if I wasn’t around your side more often then?” She asked.
“You have your life and I have mine. Our lives may naturally be intertwined with each other, but that’s not an excuse I can use to hold you back. How else can I grow up?” Mono stated.
“From how it sounds like, your maturity evolved.”