My Little Pokémon: Grander World

by Amarvax

Before Rosa! A Presence of Serenity

Equestria. Magehold. Nightfall.

Over at Magehold, while wild events were happening around the seas of Equestria, most of its residents were getting on with their night. This involved the only Human in Magehold, Fantina. And in Fantina's case, she's been making waves in Magehold, especially after that junior fashion show she put on.

Fantina's reputation was filled with less disdain than it used to have but that presence was still there. However, her skills had been acknowledged by the average vampire residents. Being fearless in the face of the grim and dark and having a special charm that kept vampire ponies focused on her. Good or bad.

But right now, Magehold's rising star was currently goofing off with her closest vampire friend, Ebony Rhyme. In Ebony's Home, potions were being used as always.

"Fantina. Looks like you've got a request." Ebony Rhyme said, holding a winged newspaper. Here at Magehold, news travelled via wings and sometimes communication from the Lich Queen herself. But at the moment, Rosa Maledicta was resting thanks to the amount of magic she used to interact with the Despair Garden from a colossal distance. Bat wings were on the newspaper, constantly flapping even when being held by the receiver. "That fashion show of yours was a smash hit."

"That's wonderful to hear!" Fantina exclaimed with glee while holding two potions up in the air, nearly spilling them. "What for?"

"They want you to put on more shows...Lots of them. News about what they want to see are plentiful here but that's a tall order, isn't it?" Ebony viewed the many requests that came from many ponies.

"Oh, no, Ebony. It's not a tall order at all." But for someone like Fantina, it wasn't that overwhelming. "I'd love to entertain them as much as I can. Besides, I've also been receiving plenty of notes outside my window so I already knew and am up for the challenge~"

"Really now? Well, not much deters you anyway, so go on ahead."

"That's why she was chosen in the first place." Someone had joined in on this conversation. Catching both Fantina and Ebony off guard was a tower of shadows that touched the ceiling. Fantina and Ebony stood there frozen at this tower of shadows which let out an echoing voice despite how small this house building was. Emerging out of it was none other than Fractured Note.

"Ah! Good evening, Fractured!" Fantina greeted him. "You're just in time to see me try these two potions." Fantina would then return her attention to the potions she held out. Immediately, she drank from one of them without hesitation. Fractured Note watched as the effects of the potion already kicked in for Hearthome City's Gym Leader.

A Fire Protection Barrier emerged from Fantina's body, giving a flaring sphere. Fantina would glance at her shield as it made her clothes light up, gaining a fiery orange dress. Fantina would then twirl with her Fire Barrier, briefly creating a spiral of flames.

"Wonderful!" Fantina would then poke her finger through the fire barrier, finding herself completely immune to the flames. On her finger, she held a wisp of flames, twirling with it. "If I ever come across a fire problem, this will be most helpful!"

"Evening. And that's why I came here. Ebony Rhyme, you're needed." Fractured Note immediately focused on Ebony Rhyme, bringing up what truly mattered right now.

"M-Me?" Ebony Rhyme stuttered. "You need me for...what?"

"That's right. Her majesty is resting at the moment and a problem has come up that she's taken a break from for the meanwhile. Therefore, I am appointed with the task of handling the rest. And with that, I immediately came to you."

"Ah, look at you, Ebony!" Fantina nudged the stunned Ebony Rhyme, glad to hear that her friend was being taken seriously by Fractured Note. Then again, Fractured Note did seem rather approachable compared to the others.

"Our problem involves potions. And I figured that the best pony for this would be the one who was the most well-versed in potions. Does that not make sense?" Fractured Note smiled.

"I guess. But doesn't that mean I'm leaving Magehold? This problem isn't within Magehold, right?" Ebony asked.

"Not at all. It's out at sea instead. Not exactly on land but still within Equestria. What we're dealing with is one of our majesty's gardens. And there are quite a few things that threaten in. So, you will have to get involved, heading outside of Magehold with whatever potion you believe with get the job done."

"I see..."

"Isn't this great, Ebony? You get to go beyond Magehold?!" Fantina brought up the positives. Ebony Rhyme has never had the chance to leave Magehold with how busy and isolated she was. This was a major opportunity. "This is also a chance to prove everyone wrong. You can be amazing even if you aren't like them."

"I know that...I've been wanting a chance like this. But why am I so shaken up right now?" Ebony Rhyme grumbled, unsure as to why she was so shaken up by this considering how big this was for her.

"Perhaps it's because you will still be joining the other vampires in this mission." Fractured Note replied, guessing the main reason as to why Ebony Rhyme was trembling. He already knew how the others treated her. "Is that why?"

"I'd rather not be with them. For a second there, I thought I was going on a solo mission more than anything. I guess not." Ebony Rhyme turned her head as Fractured Note read her like a book.

"In that case...Take Fantina with you." Fractured Note aimed his hoof at the Hearthome City Gym Leader, immediately choosing the one person who could be around Ebony Rhyme without any animosity.

"Hm? Me too?" Right as Fantina was ready to drink the next potion, she was chosen to go with Ebony Rhyme.

"You're perfectly fine around her and she seems to enjoy your company. The synergy between you two can work out. And this will also be your chance to head outside, Fantina. As the highest authority behind the Lich Queen, you must accept this."

"But won't the Lich Queen-"

"She's resting. Meaning she cannot do much. Her previous spells have greatly drained her so now is your chance. And I'm allowing it." Fractured Note cut Ebony Rhyme off. "You will return here without any issues, I can guarantee that."

"Magnifique!" Fantina clapped her hands as she was all for it. "We will take it! Don't worry, Ebony. With me here, you won't have to pay the others any attention. I can help you with whatever you need."

"Thanks, Fantina...Even though you're not that skilled in potions, it'll be nice to have you around." Ebony smiled as having a good friend around was rather comforting to her. "Whoever we're dealing with anyway...Who are we actually dealing with?"

"An ancient civilization. And a Superhero. It's a bit of a strange combination, but what isn't, nowadays? Head to the west at once. You will find the civilization at sea and the garden right above it."

"We'll be on our way! I need to get ready!" Fantina would rush off. "I'll be right back, Ebony!" With Fantina gone, it was now just Ebony Rhyme and Fractured Note in this room. The two vampires would look at each other as silence fell this room. Ebony narrowed her eyes for a moment, noticing how supportive Fractured Note was about this.

"What's going on? Why are you doing this? Especially behind the Lich Queen's back during the one time she can't hear us all?" Ebony Rhyme was rather curious about Fractured Note's decisions.

"Why are you also going behind her back?" Fractured Note clapped back with an equal response. Ebony Rhyme gasped as she was shocked to hear that Fractured Note knew this already. Even with Ebony Rhyme making the potion to conceal herself and Fantina from the Lich Queen, Fractured Note knew.

"How did...?"

"That potion of yours does a good job making shadows to conceal yourself. It's a shame I'm rather adept in the shadows." Fractured Note chuckled. "I wondered why it took you so long to do that. And why it's taking even longer for you to make that Memory Potion for Fantina. But I suppose it needs to be at its best for the Lich Queen's magic."

"You know about the Memory Potion too? And everything about Fantina? That too?" Ebony Rhyme stepped back as Fractured Note was catching her off guard with these revelations.

"I'm pretty sure everyone knew about Fantina and where she came from. The Lich Queen didn't exactly keep that one concealed from everyone except Fantina herself."

"Hmm..." Ebony Rhyme narrowed her eyes as this was a lot to take in for her. "You...Are you trying to help us? Why now? Especially with who your family is."

"The one time the Lich Queen needs to rest and I'm not allowed to speak my mind clearly about rather taboo things?" Fractured Note shrugged before creating a seat out of shadows. "I suppose I can tell you a few things before the Lich Queen wakes up. I do enjoy a good reaction out of anyone. Not so much on the despair side like Opal but rather how dumbfounded they look."

"I have a feeling I'm gonna look dumbfounded..." Ebony muttered.

"Unless that potion of yours can be remade anytime soon, I'll say something that no one else knows. Not even her majesty. Whatever I say next...take it as you will. The truth is, my little pony. I'm not exactly the big brother of Opal Vivacity and Merry Dread."

"Y-You're not?!"

"Technically, I am. Body and all. But...this isn't my first time living life in Magehold. No, no, no." He shook his head. "I've lived a previous life here. From the very beginning as well, when Magehold was so young and had yet to thrive. My previous life was rather long and it's only carried over to my new self. Or should I say...Reincarnation."

"Reincarnation? Who are you exactly...?" Ebony Rhyme questioned as the loyal servant to the Lich Queen was being rather cryptic.

"You see...My authority dates back to who I originally was. I came before Rosa Maledicta and any King or Queen's rule. I was there when Magehold was new. I am the First Lich King."

"What?!"

---

Equestria. On the seas, above the skies. Despair Plant Garden. Nightfall.

Despair Plants were currently running around. Triantis and Arachnorchid were the only ones present at the moment, engaging in conflict with those who ended up in the garden. With the garden still growing and messing around with its terrain, it had yet to reach its full strength. And yet, there was something here that was keeping it from doing so, as said by Rosa Maledicta.

Twilight Sparkle had also been separated from most of her friends with only Daisy and Paradise being next to her. So far, no Despair Plants were near their area as Twilight kept the two Flora Ponies close to her.

"Alright...This area sounds peaceful so far." Twilight said, stopping near an archway of grass. "Are you two alright?"

"We're fine. Nothing's happened to us yet." Paradise confirmed that nothing had befallen her and Daisy.

"What's going on though, mom?" Daisy asked the Princess of Friendship. "The garden here doesn't seem like it's too happy with what's going on."

"I'm sorry what? It's not happy?" Twilight squinted as Daisy blindsided her with a surprising choice of words. "You're listening in on it again? Or can you always hear the sound of nature..."

"Always." Daisy and Paradise collectively said with differing tones. Cheery and dry.

"Right. I should've figured." Twilight sighed. "If it's upset then it definitely doesn't want us on here...But the one we're looking for is on this garden so there's that. If we can just find Galaxy Master first, then we can sort everything out and get out of here as soon as possible."

"That's not the reason why." Daisy was quick to debunk that. "It's not upset because we're here."

"It's not? W-Why else would it be?"

"Sounds to me like it's upset because of this attack. One part of it does." Paradise added, explaining just what she and Daisy were picking up from the Despair Plant Garden. Having these two here was rather beneficial due to their connection with nature. They may be new to the world but they had quite a set of skills with them.

"Mom, we're pretty sure it didn't want to attack us until that voice said it could."

"Lich Queen Rosa. Yeah, I heard. If it wasn't for her, we would've been exploring this garden safely without worrying about these deadly plants moving around. And the terrain too..." Twilight scraped her hoof on the ground, flicking some flowers. "I guess it's an even bigger surprise that it didn't attack us right from the start despite us...being...familiar..."

Suddenly, Twilight's words slowed down as her mind was currently processing something. She slowly raised her head, looking over at Daisy and Paradise, having a rather vacant yet bewildered stare. It then hit her. The confusion in Rosa Maledicta's voice and how she assumed that it was either Twilight or Fluttershy that caused the Despair Plant Garden to be so peaceful in the beginning or even lack its full potential, holding back some of its strength. Many words flew by Twilight's head as she processed them all. Each came from different points in time. New and old.

"Why is it still moving like this...? Triantis and Arachnorchid are acting like normal but the garden isn't. Why? Something is not right." The first one came from Rosa Maledicta who needed to know why the garden was acting so strange except for the Despair Plants.

"Yeah but...now I'm convinced we can't use it yet. It brought those flowers to life. So what's it gonna do against the Despair Plants at this rate?" Spike's words came through when talking about the creation of the Flora Ponies when they first entered this world. And of course, that was also related to the Despair Plants.

"Just give me a chance. I know a lot about plants myself. Those um...Despair Plants. I think I can get how they act. They're similar to Flytraps but they take it a step further. I have something that renders them immobile or even lures them away." And then finally, Roseluck's words entered her mind.

"Wait a second...Are you two the reason why?" Twilight put it all together. Immediately, she believed that Daisy and Paradise were the reason the garden was acting like this.

"Huh?" The Flora Ponies were rather confused. They weren't exactly on the same page as their mother.

"You're made out of that elixir. I thought that it was incomplete but...it might've actually been complete this entire time!" Twilight gasped. "It might've been the RIft Magic now that I think about it. That elixir was only meant to make plants react differently, but the elixir brought you to life. Only Rift Magic is capable of doing that so consistently."

"I don't get it. Do we have something on us?" Daisy looked at her hoof and her entire body, spinning to see just what Twilight was talking about.

"It might be around you but just invisible. The magic from that elixir could be your own Aura. Your special Aura that no one else has. That would make you different from standard ponies yet again. Perhaps when you arrived at the garden is when the elixir's true magic took place. Or maybe when you touched those vines. Or maybe...it was your aura since you spoke to the garden back at the Sea Temple."

"So what? We're walking repellents for this temple?" Paradise spoke. "That's...pretty sweet, actually."

"Not repellents." Twilight paced back and forth, beginning to add more things up. "Roseluck or I guess Rosa Maledicta, originally made the elixir to bring different forms of happiness to plants. And one of those was meant to soothe plants. Perhaps, that's the effect that's taking place. You're soothing the garden or at least, presenting yourself as friendly to them. That's why it's holding back. That's why it hasn't reached its full strength."

"Esp...Epseon?!" Espeon was obviously here to listen to it all and she was obviously as taken aback as much as Daisy and Paradise were. The two Flora Ponies were stunned to hear how important they were.

None of them expected their existence to immediately reach this level. The essence of Rosa Maledicta's elixir was supposedly brimming out of them. And their presence was what kept the garden in a weaker state than what it originally was.

"I didn't think we were that important..." Paradise scratched her mane. "I was just gonna try and catch a Pokemon later on. Not this."

"That's great! But...what about those Despair Plants? They aren't affected by us."

"Maybe not yet. They're the reason any attention was brought back to that elixir. Maybe you can also affect them, but that's a risky job and it will have to involve us getting close to them."

"Aw, but I don't wanna!" Daisy screeched, vehemently refusing to get close to the Despair Plants. "Do you hear the things they say?! It's so...vulgar!"

"Of course you can understand the language of Despair Plants too..." Twilight sighed as she wasn't surprised by that either.

"I'll gladly get close!" Paradise was once again the opposite of her sister, being eager to confront the Despair Plants. "Just let me get my hooves on them! They're gonna pay for calling my sister that!"

"What did they even call you? You know what...I don't want to know. Let's just sort this out as soon as possible. And that's by keeping you safe. The garden is practically going easy on us right now and that's great but the Despair Plants certainly won't. And I know you don't want to see them harmed...do you, Daisy?"

"Mm-mm!" Daisy shook her head. Twilight could already suspect that Daisy wouldn't want to see any harm done to the Despair Plants, despite the fact that they were hunting them down.

"Eh. I won't mind." Paradise would prefer to harm them though. That much was to be expected.

"Got it. Well, that means my Z-Crystal won't be used now. Here's what we'll try...Listen up." Twilight would gather the duo, ready to share a plan that was crucial to stopping this attack. The end goal was to make everyone happy. And with the power Daisy and Paradise possessed, that could be achieved.

---

Elsewhere, Rarity and Applejack were currently on the move. Recently, they encountered the Despair Plants first, entering a scuffle with them for a bit. But now, they were free for them, at least in the meanwhile.

The duo would explore the garden, attempting to find anyone. Whether it was the People of the Water or their friends. Any would do. And the luckiest find would definitely be Galaxy Master.

"Sceptile..." Sceptile was high atop the trees, being the scout. He also searched for any Despair Plants that would be nearby. Sceptile would see sparks fly in the distance, most likely from a Despair Plant or a Pokemon Move. Either one was responsible for it. With how many people and Pokemon entered the garden, this was to be expected even if they were all separated into smaller groups or larger groups.

"Oh...My legs." Rarity sighed, slowing down as she would soon stop near a flower bed. "Goodness. It's already nightfall and I need to sleep."

"Right now?" Applejack turned back to face Rarity. "You weren't like this when the invasion happened back then."

"That's because we were knocked out when Zekrom suddenly showed up so we had some time to relax and heal before getting back into the conflict. And we certainly went out more back in the day. I was hoping that things would slow down ever since Jirachi put everything together."

"Well, we can't slow down now. Those plants could show up."

"I know but I'm feeling exceptionally tired today. I suppose I can keep on going but I'll probably need Pheromosa to carry me." Rarity groaned. "I would've preferred to stay at the Sea Temple for more Water Weaving."

"We'll get back there. Just gotta find our way out of this forest." Applejack adjusted her hat. "And if that Lich Queen wants to show herself by being here, I wanna have a rough chat with her."

"Chat with the Lich Queen? Why exactly? I doubt there's much to say to her." Rarity shrugged as that seemed like a pointless action. "I'm not one for conflict but if we ever meet her then that is the most likely and best option."

"I know. But she's Roseluck's sister." The truth behind Applejack wishing to talk to her was because of Roseluck. "Ain't no way she can just abandon her little sister like that and become some crazy queen of vampires. That's just crazy!"

"It is but I'm not sure talking to her will do anything, Applejack. Her goal is to wipe out all of life after all. I'm not sure you can reason with somepony like that. I'd rather take my chances with the Empress."

"Yeah...I figured as much." Applejack grumbled as that was most likely the right outcome. Rosa Maledicta was too far gone at this point. So much of what she's done pointed to that truth.

"Scep? Sceptile!" Sceptile would suddenly cry out to Applejack as he spotted something worth paying attention to. And it wasn't the sparks. Grabbing Applejack and Rarity's attention, the two ponies would look up to see Sceptile drop from the tree.

"What is it Sceptile?! What'd you find, partner?!"

"Huhah!" Zooming into the scene with a trail of stars blazing through the grass was none other than the man of the hour. The main reason everyone was even travelling the seas, following the guidance of one of the crystals in the first place. A shockwave came from his entrance, making Applejack and Rarity's mane flow. Applejack held onto her hat as it nearly fell off from this pressure.

Flowers and other plants would fly away just from this stunning entrance that was followed by an array of stars. The stars soon dispersed as the fictional character had made his appearance, meeting with Rarity and Applejack.

Galaxy Master.

"Found you...Villains."

As the journey continues.

Chapter 71 End.

Comments

[ArcticAce01]

"You see...My authority dates back to who I originally was. I came before Rosa Maledicta and any King or Queen's rule. I was there when Magehold was new. I am the First Lich King."

And there is the plot twist! Oh boi things got more interesting