My Little Pokémon: Grander World

by Amarvax

Sealed off Empire! The Dark Stone

Equestria. The Crystal Empire. Sunburst's Home. Nightfall.

Sneaking past the barrier that protected Sunburst's home was the Controlling Vampire Sweet Fang. By utilizing the Golurk which she took control of, she appeared before Sunburst, Baby Flurry Heart and the two unconscious alicorns, leaving behind a large hole in the floor. Sableye were already crawling towards this hole that was made by the Golurk.

Sweet Fang was close to achieving what she needed to do now that she found the three alicorns that evaded her earlier. It was now all a matter of how she could execute the rest of it.

"How come it was you escaped my little plan? Then again, I wasn't sure if Hot Chocolate was safe for babies to drink but, oh well." Sweet Fang said. Meanwhile, Sunburst was on the verge of panicking and losing it now that the Dread League had entered his home. Baby Flurry Heart was the one who seemed brave in this instance surprisingly. "Now, I want to do more during the Black Crusade so I'm taking you in as soon as possible. Get her!"

"Gol!" Against their will, the Golurk went after Flurry Heart while Sweet Fang was on one of their heads. Sunburst looked in his saddlebag, attempting to get a Pokemon out, only for Flurry Heart to do something. Much like how she refused to let the Sableye take her, she wouldn't let the Golurk do it either since they weren't acting like their usual selves.

The baby alicorn enveloped herself, her family and Sunburst in magic, allowing herself to move from one spot to another. She brought them all with her, disappearing and reappearing elsewhere within Sunburst's home. The Golurk whiffed completely, grabbing nothing but air. They quickly turned their heads, pursuing the baby alicorn.

"Golurk!" Collectively, the Golurk all used Shadow Punch. The Golurk pulled back both of their arms as a purple and black energy appeared around them, materializing into a shadow arm, causing it to turn black and become outlined in purple. The Golurk then brought their fists forward by releasing a black fist that came flying out, attempting to grab Flurry Heart.

Squirming, Flurry Heart would put a shield around herself, blocking the incoming Shadow Punch. But it wasn't aiming to hit her. Instead, it just wanted her close. The Shadow Hand then grabbed onto Flurry Heart's shield, essentially grabbing the alicorn herself. The Shadow Hands then pulled Flurry Heart towards them by using her shield against her, only for baby Alicorn to teleport herself away once more.

The bookshelves that Sunburst had were knocked over by these Automaton Giants as their footsteps rocked the building when they started running. So far, Flurry Heart was only trying to keep herself safe instead of retaliating. This was mainly because of the Golurk. These Golurk were guardians of the Crystal Empire and in Flurry Heart's young eyes, that automatically made them friends.

As such, this held her back a bit but didn't stop the Golurk from using everything they had, even though they were being forced to do this. Sunburst watched as his prized possession were being taken out by the Golurk thanks to their superior sizes and he was completely powerless to stop it.

It was a constant back and forth with the Golurk attempting to catch up to Flurry Heart, only for her to constantly zip around the place. All the while, the older Flurry Heart and Cadence were still unconscious even when this was happening. The same couldn't be said for Sunburst, who was starting to feel sick.

"You're doing a good job resisting, little one." Sweet Fang said. "But my magic isn't solely tied to living beings. Even objects are under my control!" Showing more of her magic, Sweet Fang took control of objects and the most common ones here were books.

Multiple of Sunburst's books were ripped from the shelves, flying so fast they outpaced the Golurk. The books that went by the Golurk approached Baby Flurry Heart, intercepting her movements. The little alicorn found herself facing multiple books. These books lined up to form a blockade from multiple sides. Front, back and top.

"Now...Fly out!" Sweet Fang grinned, putting her hooves together as a further extension of her magic was revealed. Flying out of the books were words. Physical words that were originally texts from the books had shown themselves, becoming weapons in this instance.

The words would wrap around Sunburst and Flurry Heart, acting as ropes. Sunburst's glasses would almost fall off due to how tightly the words restrained his body. The two of them would drop the floor, restrained by all the words that came from Sunburst's books.

And there were still more books to watch out for. The abundance of books would hover over them, making sure that they wouldn't try anything funny. But Flurry Heart would most definitely try something. The most amount of words were around her small body, practically wrapping her in a word sandwich.

"Neat, isn't it? When it comes to objects, my Curse Magic has more variety. I wish it was the same for living beings, but oh well." Sweet Fang flew over to Flurry Heart. Finally having the Baby Alicorn in a static position, she had the chance to take her way, but not before making extra measures. "For a brief moment, you'll be working for me!"

The hooves of Sweet Fang went after Flurry Heart, attempting to control her. If she were to have the power of an alicorn on her side, it would be impossible for Flurry Heart to resist any further. Alas, she was incredibly stubborn and she did resist either way. It was at this moment that Flurry Heart recalled one of Sunburst's books. When trying to improve the shield some more before Sweet Fang broke in, she saw that there were different variations of a Magical Shield that could be utilised.

Before, she didn't plan on using them, only wishing to save her father. But now, she had a good reason to use them and the first one that came to her mind was the Electric Shield. Being the prodigy that she is, Flurry Heart mimicked the spell with ease. While she didn't want to harm the Golurk, Sweet Fang wasn't safe from that at all.

The words that surrounded Flurry Heart's body were blown away by a magical shield which flew out of her body. That shield then came with a flare of blue electricity which surrounded every part of this circular energy.

"Ghhh!!" Sweet Fang came into contact with this shield, having her entire body punished with a fierce voltage. Not only that, but the light that came from the shield affected her body. The Controlling Vampire's mane frizzed up as she stumbled back a bit.

Seeing how effective it was, Flurry Heart would expand the Electric Shield for a wider range. It approached Sweet Fang, threatening her in different ways. But it did not affect the Golurk. The Golurk were completely immune to it thanks to their Typing. The electricity phased through them while attacking Sweet Fang. However, it did still push them back since one-half of it was still pure magic.

The Golurk slid back with some of them breaking through the bookshelves. Flurry Heart, unfortunately, held back once more for the safety of the Golurk, not wishing major harm to them. Sunburst, unfortunately, received a shock thanks to the expanding barrier. But on the bright side, it did break away his word wrapping. Flurry Heart didn't quite have perfect control over it since she was still a baby but it did prove to be effective.

A little too effective. The books were charred and smoked because of this, only ruining their integrity and structures, and breaking Sunburst's heart. Sunburst was free but rather bewildered thanks to the electricity. Eventually, the shield stopped right at the hole where the Sableye were crawling through. Their movements were ruined once the Electric Shield caught wind of them, shocking them violently.

Flurry Heart had to escape as soon as possible and the one escape route was none other than the hole that the Golurk made. She would bring along Cadence, her older self and a paralyzed SUnburst, quickly flying to that.

"I don't think so! Golurk!" Sweet Fang roared while having her body twitch.

"Gol!" The Golurk regained their composure faster than anyone else, using Shadow Punch once more to achieve some reach. The multiple Shadow Arms locked onto the alicorns, soon merging into one larger Shadow Punch. And with this increase, it did manage to grab ahold of an alicorn.

Two. But not all of them. Princess Cadence and the Flurry Heart from another universe had been caught by the Shadow Arm, right when Baby Flurry Heart and Sunburst went through the hole. The Golurk collectively managed to rip them away from Flurry Heart's magical hold thanks to their combined power.

Two Alicorns had been retrieved as Flurry Heart and Sunburst already passed through the hole. Flurry Heart had yet to notice but Sunburst did with his eyes shifting to the side to see the disappearance of the two alicorns.

Sweet Fang smirked while still twitching. She ended up getting some alicorns after all but still wanted all three of them. Alas, that Electric Shield was more effective than she thought as she fell on her back. For now, Flurry Heart managed to escape with Sunburst but with the cost of two alicorns being captured. But the Golurk would still try and pursue her under the command of Sweet Fang who was held up by another Golurk.

"She won't get far..." Sweet Fang uttered. "Since it's practically on the verge of destruction, it's time to block off the Crystal Empire!"

The decision to block off the Crystal Empire had been made. And Sweet Fang, with full confidence in her voice, had the means to do so. She refused to let Flurry Heart go. Even with two alicorns at her disposal, she wanted to make sure all three of them were present with the Lich Queen.

And with so many forces at her disposal, the odds of her finding Baby Flurry Heart seemed incredibly high. The Sableye had already overwhelmed the guards, especially Shining Armor, who was running out of steam. It didn't matter how hard he tried, the numbers spoke for themselves.

An exhausted Shining Armor got on the floor of this ceiling, along with the other Crystal Empire guards who were spent. The only ones with enough stamina left were Aegislash and the other Golurk.

"Aegis?!" Aegislash soon noticed how Shining Armor fell down due to low energy. Now it was just him and the Golurk. The Royal Sword Pokemon looked around him to see more and more Sableye still around. And the vampires had yet to spring into action, saving up their magic for the right time.

As far as it goes now, they've lost this one and were only fighting back for a chance. But there didn't seem to be a chance as the Crystal Empire was currently enveloped in darkness. Both figuratively and literally. Above the empire, the dark clouds that masked the Moon would suddenly unleash some of its darkness upon the empire.

The clouds swirled, forming a large spire of transparent shadows. These shadows closed in on the Crystal Empire, trapping it entirely. The Crystal Empire became a prime victim of the Black Crusade despite the efforts of its protectors.

---

Shalour City.

Shalour CIty. It was the first victim of the Black Crusade. A fierce confrontation between Zekrom and the Pony of Shadows plus the Dread League occurred here during the earlier parts of the night. Engulfed in both light and dark. And arriving here as soon as possible was none other than Princess Luna.

After hours of travelling, she finally arrived at Shalour City, only to see what had become of the place. She laid eyes on a half-dark city. Half of Shalour had been shrouded by darkness. The Tower of Mastery and other buildings were still in their natural form but the rest of it was lost to the darkness.

She had never seen anything like it. It somewhat resembled a half-moon with one part being completely missing from the sights of many. After receiving a brief message from Reshiram, she came to Shalour, only to find it in a stunning state. Luna wasn't even aware that the Black Crusade had begun. "What happened here...?"

She took light steps into the city, seeing no signs of life anywhere. No Humans or Pokemon to be found. When taking a step into the city, she felt the ground being a bit wet. Luna was unaware of the mess that befell Shalour which involved a mixture of elements. But even though one-half of the city was normal, it was anything but safe. The buildings had all been damaged in some way, making them hard to live in.

But despite the absence of anyone here, there was something here that caught Luna's attention. It stuck out from anyone else due to the sparks of electricity it was letting out. After taking a closer look, Luna spotted a Dark Stone lying in the middle of a crater.

"A Dark Stone...?" She said, approaching the stone. "That's strange. Reshiram's stone is white...unless...!" Luna gasped before hearing a pulse coming from the stone. She thought she would find Reshiram here since he mentioned Shalour City. But this was not the case. When hearing the pulse, a familiar voice met her ears. This wasn't Reshiram.

This was Zekrom.

"Zekrom!?!" Luna picked up the Dark Stone. To her surprise, Zekrom had also reverted to his lesser form. A state where he would recover. But unlike Reshiram, Zekrom had been found and by friendly hooves too. "WHat happened here? Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine..." Zekrom actually replied, speaking through the Dark Stone. "I don't have enough energy to speak to you, Luna...But you need to hear this."

"Alright! What is it?!"

"The Vampires...they're after Xerneas. You have to stop them..." A wounded Zekrom uttered, warning Luna about what the Dread League were going for. After retrieving Yveltal, they planned to get rid of its counterpart Xerneas, who could ruin the entire Black Crusade with ease.

"Xerneas? The Legendary from Kalos? Why?" Luna asked. But unfortunately, that was all Zekrom could say. He had spent himself and only used the last of his strength to speak to the Princess of the Night. But even with this lack of speech, Luna understood clearly what Zekrom meant by that.

It was very obvious. The Dread League were after Xerneas and most likely, after the clash with Zekrom, they continued on their way. Opal Vivacity and the other vampires were far from here, leaving this city in a rather enigmatic state.

"If they go after Xerneas, any chance of bringing life back to the world will be gone just like that..." Luna shuddered before looking up at the darkened sky. It was time to intercept the Dread League, much like how Zekrom did earlier. Luna placed the Dark Stone within her saddlebag, keeping Zekrom safe and allowing him to rest. At least she had Zekrom's stone but Reshiram's stone was still missing. "That can't happen!"

---

Equestria. Ponyville.

Meanwhile, over at Ponyville, Mayor Mare and the other residents of Ponyville who were still awake, were preparing for any Dread League attacks. Under Mayor Mare's guidance, they set up precautions for the night since the Black Crusade would spread across Equestria.

However, the Dread League were closer than they thought as seen by the sudden dust cloud that emerged far in the distance where the Everfree Forest was. The Despair Plant was on the move, pursuing its newest targets to try and infect. And it didn't take long for Ponyville's residents to notice the Despair Plant Bullfrog as it leapt high into the air with amazing strength.

"W-What is that?!" Amethyst Star gasped upon seeing the Despair Plant that resembled a Bullfrog. And currently fleeing from this hostile Despair Plant, were Roseluck, Daisy and Paradise. They thought they could calm it down and they did for a while. Alas, the vampire known as Shrivel ruined that immediately, forcing the Despair Plant to continue its trail of destruction.

"What happened, you three?! Is that the Despair Plant?!" Mayor Mare asked as her partner Stoutland got in front of it.

"I'm afraid so! The Dread League's here!" Roseluck said after coming to a screeching halt. Preparations for the Black Crusade weren't done in time. Not when the Dread League already made an appearance. And thanks to the orders of Shrivel, the Despair Plant made Ponyville its next target.

Fluttershy rushed out of Twilight's Castle, quickly heading for the Pokemon House to make sure all of the Pokemon were safe and healthy. This Despair Plant had the power to spread diseases after all and with so many citizens here, the effects could be utterly tremendous. With one last leap, the Despair Plant Bullfrog ended up in Ponyville, moving at great distances to reach the town.

Its final landing shook the town, making a few ponies lose their balance and most importantly, waking some of them up. This Dread League attack was not quite discreet compared to what happened with Zecora and her Pokemon. Standing before Ponyville and being nearly as tall as Town Hall was the Despair Plant Bullfrog, in all of its menacing glory.

"What's all the racket?" Rarity was among one of the many ponies who had been disturbed from her sleep. The same went for Sweetie Belle. With how hard the Despair Plant landed, it was easy for many of Ponyville's residents to wake up. And they were certainly in for a rude awakening, unlike anything they've seen yet.

Sweet Apple Acres, despite being further away from the town, still felt the tremors as they vibrated far enough to reach it. And speaking of vibrations, the croak that the Bullfrog made upon entering was audible for many to hear, further disrupting the citizens from their sleep. But perhaps it was for the better as their own was now being besieged by a Despair Plant.

And with no source of Pure Light similar to what Arceus produces, not much could stop this thing apart from the only two ponies who had that speciality but was soon denied thanks to the vampire Shrivel. First, Shalour City, then the Crystal Empire and now Ponyville. The third location to be targeted by the Black Crusade as the journey continues.

Chapter 132 End.

Comments

[ArcticAce01]

And with no source of Pure Light similar to what Arceus produces, not much could stop this thing apart from the only two ponies who had that speciality but was soon denied thanks to the vampire Shrivel. First, Shalour City, then the Crystal Empire and now Ponyville. The third location to be targeted by the Black Crusade as the journey continues.

Oh no