The Human World. Out in the forest. Afternoon.
The second event of the Friendship Games was only minutes away. And during that time, Ash was helping Abacus Cinch catch some Pokemon. So far, only a Honchkrow had been caught via a Quick Ball.
Right now, they had come across a pit of Seviper. One of the few Pokemon that populate this forest. This pit was fairly large, however, most of the Seviper barely need to use it. They tend to hunt a lot or sometimes get caught up fighting their natural enemy Zangoose.
"Check out all those Seviper," said Ash, observing the scene as some Seviper were off to hunt. "It's gonna be tough to catch one with just a Great Ball."
"I'm aware it's not as efficient as the Quick Ball. Then how do you suppose I catch it?" Cinch asked.
"Well, you can still try with the Great Ball. But battling's also a good option. It helps weaken the Pokemon so it's easier to catch them. You just caught yourself a Honchkrow. Now's a good chance."
"Pikachu."
"Hmm..." Cinch thought about it for a moment, gazing at the Great Ball. Pokemon Battling was the one thing she didn't expect to come across. "Battling seems unnecessary. Are you telling me that is another method of catching a Pokemon?"
"Uh...Yeah?" Ash shrugged. "I mean it works a lot of time."
"I would rather try my luck than battle. It sounds more akin to padding than anything." Cinch chose to just throw the Poke Ball. "Besides, I did learn a few things from your demonstration. And my capture of Honchkrow proved that I can use this when the Pokemon least expect it."
"Sounds good to me. Go for it." Ash wanted to see Cinch's take on Pokemon catching since she exempted herself from battles. "Hope we can hurry back and catch the next even though."
"We will," said Cinch before aiming the Great Ball at a sole Seviper. She would have to put her luck on the Great Ball since the Quick Ball had already been used up. Cinch waited for Seviper to be unaware. But that was an issue since this Pokemon is a lethal predator, always on the lookout.
But, even the most precise predators always let their guard down, even for a second. And Cinch found that moment, throwing the Great Ball. The ball curved through the air, spiralling greatly.
"Sevi!" But, one Seviper managed to intercept, knocking the ball away with Poison Tail. The Great Ball had bounced on the ground as its usage had been wasted thanks to this interruption. After that, the rest of the Seviper were made aware of Ash, Pikachu and Cinch's presence. "Seviper!" They all faced them.
"Uh oh!" Ash gasped as Cinch backed away slowly. "Guess they're alert about each other too, huh?"
"Pika."
"This was a mistake..." said Cinch under her breath. "Perhaps I should've not-"
"No need to worry, Cinch. We'll finish this and head back soon! Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder as all of the Seviper slithered rapidly towards Ash and the others, seeing them as prey and fresh food. "Chuuu!" But their attack had been promptly stopped as Pikachu generated an aura of electricity around his body. He then fired 100,000 volts as Cinch watched in awe.
This was unlike something she's never seen before. A small mouse that can generate lightning from his body and unleash it as an attack. The bolt had struck one Seviper before causing a chain reaction, hitting all of them simultaneously.
And by hitting them all, each of the Seviper had either fainted or were on the verge of fainting. The Seviper quickly realized Pikachu's strength and how one good hit could knock them all out. Not wanting to deal with that outcome, they instantly slithered away out of fear.
"Guess that's that." Ash held his hat. "Guess we can try something else?"
"The electricity from his body. Was that a quick sign of a Pokemon Battle?" Cinch asked.
"Oh yeah, it totally was. That was Pikachu's Thunderbolt. One of his moves." Ash replied via a nod.
"They have names?" Cinch adjusted her glasses. "I wasn't even aware they could emit lightning from their bodies. And here I thought a Pokemon Battle was similar to two chickens fighting."
"You've never seen a Pokemon use moves before? Well, looks like I've got a lot to teach, huh? Hahaha!" Ash and Pikachu laughed.
"Pika-ka-ka."
"Does that mean you will accept my offer and fill in the role of our academy's Pokemon Teacher?" Cinch leaned in with her arms behind her back. "It could also be a great usage of self-defence for some of my students if they come across any trouble during their way to school.
"Uh, well, I haven't decided on that teacher thing yet." Ash's laugh then turned into a nervous one. "But I can still teach 'em how to battle."
"Hm. You'll come around eventually." Cinch stood up tall. "After all, a good friend of yours works at my school. Soon to go to Everton with her expertise and arsenal of skills. You wouldn't want to miss out on teaching her as well, would you?"
"Twilight? Well, yeah. There's still so much I wanna teach her. Plus, I don't know where this Everton place is. Could be pretty far." Ash grumbled, scratching the back of his hair to show this.
"Oh, far is an understatement." Cinch circled Ash. "Don't let this chance escape for you friend. Once at Everton, everything will be independent. Similar to a boarding school but grander than that. You may never see her again."
"Pika?" Pikachu didn't like the sound of that as his ears dropped.
"I hear ya." Ash nodded. "I'm not gonna let it go to waste. Not for a friend."
"That's what I like to hear." Cinch smiled. "And perhaps, what you teach Twilight before she potentially leaves will bounce off the rest of my students. Now, let's head back. My chance for a second Pokemon has faded anyway."
They were now heading back. This catch lesson was only slightly successful. Cinch didn't get herself a second Pokemon, but she obtained one nonetheless. She also had something new to learn, along with her students via Pokemon Battles and what they had to offer.
Canterlot High. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, over at Canterlot High, the issue of the Cranidos was being dealt with by Beautifly. Fluttershy felt drained after what happened earlier. During the time it took for Ash and Cinch to head out into the forest, it has only been 10 minutes since this has happened. And poor Beautifly couldn't handle multiple Crandios due to her being a Bug-Flying-Type.
However, since Pokemon can recover thanks to their Infinity Energy, the Pokemon that were originally inside of Fluttershy's bag gave their assistance, defeating the Cranidos. But barely. That Rock-Typing was an issue. The Crandios were all either fainted or dizzy from all the head-smashing they've done. Canterlot High had been damaged because of their rampant running.
"I'm sorry." Fluttershy apologized to the Cranidos on the ground, petting them. "But we had to stop Canterlot High from falling apart. And it all happened so fast too."
"Cranidos..." The Cranidos accepted Fluttershy's apology after being petted on the head. Arriving at the scene were Ash, Pikachu and Abacus Cinch after returning from their catch session.
"Whoa!" Ash gasped, realizing how rubble was scattered everywhere from the destroyed parts of Canterlot High. Thankfully, the damage wasn't too severe, but noticeable enough as walls had been knocked off with cracks forming. "What happened here?!"
"Pika?!"
"Just a small issue," said Fluttershy. "The Cranidos started running around, smashing their head on things. The Pokemon in my bag and Beautifly were able to stop them barely. But everything's fine now."
"Far from fine." Cinch stepped forward. "The damage caused here by these Pokemon is noticeable. Especially to Principal Celestia's eyes. It's a miracle no one else has been notified of this."
"Um...well, it all happened so fast and I didn't have time to do much," Fluttershy replied, intimidated by Cinch's appearance for obvious reasons.
"Well, someone is going to have to clean up all of this mess." Cinch moved her arm around, showcasing the abundance of rubble. "This look won't do at all, wouldn't you agree?" She narrowed her eyes.
"Clean up? You mean me?!" Fluttershy pulled back. "But...I didn't do this! And I have to be at the next event soon."
"Everyone else is occupied with the second event closing in. And you are so far the only one out here. It seems that you might have to-"
"It's fine, Cinch." Ash cut in. He put his hand out, helping Fluttershy off the ground. "I'll do it, Fluttershy. And I'll help these Cranidos get somewhere safe. You go on ahead to the next event. I'll catch up later."
"Really? You'll do that for me?" Fluttershy smiled as Cinch shook her head, hoping to give Canterlot High a disadvantage. Not that she was that intimidated by them. "Oh, thank you so much, Ash!" To show her gratitude, Fluttershy held both of Ash's hands, shaking them.
"No problem. Pikachu. You go ahead and help cheer Fluttershy on."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu saluted before hopping off of Ash's shoulder and onto Fluttershy. After doing so, he nuzzled his face onto her, making Fluttershy feel better.
"Great to have you, Pikachu. I'll see you there, Ash! Bye!" Free from cleaning up this mess, Fluttershy bolted off with Pikachu by her side.
"How thoughtful of you," Cinch said. "But in all honesty, you arrived late and are not affiliated with any school, so it shouldn't be you cleaning this mess up."
"Can't help but help my friends." Ash helped the Cranidos up. "Plus, it'd be a shame if Fluttershy missed out on the rest of the Friendship Games."
"I suppose so." Cinch had no choice but to accept that Ash's kindness and generosity were unyielding. "I will see you at the event soon. And I should give my thanks to you for assisting me in my first Pokemon catch."
"Ah, it was nothing." Ash chuckled. "Happy to help!"
Indoors.
Meanwhile, Twilight was running through the hallways of the school with Spike right behind her. She was still freaked out by all that had happened. Mainly Sike suddenly talking out of nowhere.
"Twilight, come on! Wait for me!" Spike cried out as Twilight put her hands on her ears. She soon reached a dead-end, being corned by her pet dog. "Why did you run away like that?"
Um, oh, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the glowing girl or the hole in space. Or my talking dog!" Twilight exclaimed.
"But Zorua can talk too, can't she?"
"Yeah, but that's telepathy! Your mouth is moving!" Twilight pointed at Spike.
"Good point," Spike replied before rubbing his ear with his paw.
"Are you okay?" She asked before kneeling to his level. "How do you feel? What happened? Where did you go?
"Hey, one question at a time! This is pretty new to me, too."
"Sorry." Twilight squeed.
"All I know is I was being chased by those Pokemon through the glowy thing and then I was somewhere else. Next thing I knew, I was back in that nice girl's arms and I could talk! I don't really understand why I couldn't before. I mean, it's so easy."
"So we can talk together now, can't we?" Popping her head out of the bag was Zorua. She was glad to have someone else new to talk to. She was afraid that all she was going to hear from Spike was constant barking.
"Twilight." But spotting Twilight from a distance was the just-returned Principal Cinch. Twilight froze as Zorua hid her head back in Twilight's bag. Spike was already out of the bag so there was no time to hide him there. But there were lockers beside Twilight.
"Quick...! Hide in here...!" She uttered quietly, opening the locker as Spike jumped in.
"Who are you talking to?" Cinch asked.
"Um, myself." She sheepishly said, trying to play it all off without worry. "It's a nervous habit. Were you looking for me?"
"Indeed I was. Quite a coincidence that the CHS students moving on to the next event are the same nice girls who were so interested in you, don't you think?" Cinch put an emphasis on 'nice', insulating that she saw something through the girls potentially.
"I'm not sure."
"Perhaps you should get to know them after all." Cinch suggested. It was a surprising suggestion considering how she viewed Canterlot High. The rivalry still existed.
"R-Really? I thought the whole rivalry thing would get in the way of that?"
"Let's just say I'm covering my bases. Who knows? Perhaps they will reveal to you the secret to Canterlot High's newfound success."
"I dunno. Spying feels kind of... wrong." Twilight muttered.
"Well, it's your decision, Twilight. It's not as if your application hangs in the balance. On second thought, yes, it does." Cinch then brought her application to Everton in the mix, bribing Twilight with it. And considering Twilight's dream to go there one day, this could potentially collapse it. Cinch then left the scene as Twilight was thinking this through now.
"Man, she's awful," said Spike.
"Told you." Zorua chimed in with her head popping out. "She's so scary. What are you gonna do, Twilight?"
"What are you gonna do?"
"I don't know, you two. I don't know." Feeling overwhelmed, Twilight leaned against the locker, sitting down to think and collect her thoughts.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy reunited with all 5 of her friends, explaining what had just happened. From the sudden Cranidos and portal appearance to the draining of magic from Fluttershy's body.
"All I did was hand Twilight a Skitty. Then I ponied up." She explained through the best of her memories to her friends.
"I just don't get it," said Sunset, further confused by all of this. "Rarity's magic came out when she made us outfits. Pinkie's when she fixed the party and now Fluttershy."
"And then Twilight's pendant thingy just pulled the magic right out of me." Fluttershy followed Sunset's sentence. "I couldn't even stand up with the Pokemon beside me too."
"Like me and the Pokemon at the party!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Or me and Braixen right before we met Twilight!" Rarity also recalled a similar scenario happening to her.
So she's stealing magic?" asked Sunset.
"I don't know. She doesn't seem like the magic-stealin' type." Applejack shrugged, still believing in the good-heartedness of Twilight by basing her off her Equestria counterpart.
"Yeah, but she had something to do with closing the portal." An undecisive Sunset scratched her hair. "If her pendant can pull in magic, maybe it stole the portal, too. Just like how Ghetsis did back then. And the pony or person or princess who could help me figure this out is on the other side. The only way the portal was fixed before was because of Emerald Aura. Maybe I can try getting a request from her for once?"
"That's too bad because Twilight knows everything about magic and portals and magical portals and portable magics!" Pinkie rambled.
"For now, let's just focus on beating the Shadowbolts." Despite all of this, Rainbow Dash's attention was in a straight-line, only directed towards the Friendship Games. "And as long as this event puts me in a playing field, I don't think we've got anything to worry about."
"Oh, it puts you on a playin' field, alright." Applejack had then seen something out the door that was surprising to the eyes. The field of this year's Friendship Games. Everyone else looked outside as a thunderous gasp came from Pinkie Pie.
The field in question was vast and had a lot to offer. A plethora of dirt mounds and ramps that were unnecessarily high. Only someone with excellent jumping skills could hope to leap over these. Or maybe wings. There were other obstacles in the way that was standard and expected but some were taken to the extreme. But it made sense. This was to test everyone's skills. The second event is usually the hardest.
"Am I the only one who thinks this is overkill?" Sunset gulped after seeing the sheer size of this.
Applejack went up to the comically large dirt mound, kicking on it. By the looks of it, motorcycles would be involved. "I don't suppose you made motocross outfits." She asked Rarity.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. Of course, I did!" She certainly did, overpreparing for everything as she pulled out Motorcross outfits tailored for her friends alone.
Meanwhile, Principal Cinch was speaking with her students, giving them orders on how to tackle each event. She was hoping to skip out on this part since it interested her least. But the Seviper scenario plummeted that. But on the bright side, it did give her time to tutor her students in teamwork.
"You will race in pairs. Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat will handle the motocross." She instructed.
"Yes!" Indigo pumped her fist, grateful that she could have this chance.
"Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare have requested the short track." She continued with the next duo as Lemon and Sunny high-fived each other.
"Since archery is a standard requirement at our school, any of you should be able to do it. Twilight and Sour Sweet will start us off."
"Well, that's just marvellous!" Sour Sweet uttered sweetly before turning sour in a second. "If you wanna lose before we even start."
"Given that Twilight won the last event single-handedly, I have every confidence that she will be able to pull her weight here. Won't you?" Cinch asked as Twilight nodded nervously, but with some confidence in her own skills sprinkled in.
With everyone seated, flags being waved for both schools and even their own scoreboard and banner, this final event could begin. This world's counterpart of Photo Finish started taking pictures of the scene, getting every good shot that she could.
Taking part in archery for Canterlot High's side were Applejack and Fluttershy. Covering speed-skating were Rarity and Pinkie Pie. And for motocross, Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer.
"Welcome, everyone to the Friendship Games Tricross Relay!" Cadence announced as the crowd cheered, having snacks to boot. Just in case this goes longer than it should be expected to. "In this event, our qualifying competitors will face off in archery, speed-skating, and finally, motocross. So if the competitors are ready..." Cadence held an airhorn up, blaring it to begin things off.
Going first were Applejack, Fluttershy, Twilight and Sour Sweet for archery. Cadence would continue to speak over this since she was the announcer. "Each competitor must hit a bullseye before their teammates can start the next leg of the relay."
The four of them rushed over to grab the bows and arrowed laying. But not before jumping over some haystacks as obstacles. Sour Sweet did it hastily while Fluttershy was careful, lagging a bit behind. After grabbing the arrows and bow, Sour went past the next obstacles. And with style too. She grabbed onto a rope, swinging over the mud pool below and landing on a platform with a roll.
Right after said roll, she aimed and fired her bow at the targets without any buildup. She certainly had a fast reaction time to do that so swiftly. Not only was her reaction time great, so was her precision. Despite the targets moving, she managed to hit them without taking the time to have her eyes track them. Not even a pause. Two arrows had struck random parts for scores while the third one hit the bullseye without fail.
Cheers flooded the area as Twilight and Applejack were both surprised. Twilight hadn't really seen her fellow students in this event of the Friendship Games until now. So this came as a shock to her with how precise and swift Sour Sweet was. But she had to dismiss that disbelief as she and Applejack were up next.
Except, only Twilight went ahead since Fluttershy was not done yet. She was trying to fire the arrow at the target, but so far, had failed. She was going for another shot as Twilight ran ahead. She jumped over the haystack, only to trip the end of her leg on it and fall flat on her face afterwards.
Sour Sweet growled, frustrated that Twilight could mess up in the first few seconds. She then turned around to see Fluttershy taking another go at this shot. But she ended up missing once more. Another shot was due. As for Twilight, she swung on the rope, heading for the platform, but even that was a struggle as well.
She was not that athletic at all and it showed. Her first leg touched the platform but the other one couldn't quite reach. Twilight was now dangling with the mud pool right below her. Sour Sweet pulled on her eyes as her sour side was showing more than her sweet side in this instance. Twilight was delaying things at this point.
As for Fluttershy, after taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and putting her all into this next arrow shot, she finally landed a hit. And a splendid one too. She got a bullseye. The crowd cheered with Sour Sweet becoming agape. Fluttershy was proud of herself. And after that successful shot, she gave the signal for Applejack to go next.
She effortlessly jumped over the hay, grabbed the bow and arrows and the process and swung over the mud pool to the platform with ease. Applejack, much like Sour Sweet, fired the bow swiftly. However, hers took some time. And it paid off. She hit the target on the first go, but not quite the bullseye.
And at the same time, Twilight had just managed to finally get herself up, ready to aim the bow and arrow at the target. Twilight fired the arrow, missing her mark, sadly. This just only further frustrated Sour Sweet as she growled once more. Applejack then took a deep breath, going for another shot. She wanted to make this next shot count.
With the arrow being fired, she certainly did make it count. Applejack managed to hit the bullseye, putting Canterlot ahead of Crystal Prep now. And after the bullseye plus some cheering, that prompted the speed-skaters to go on next.
Rarity and Pinkie went ahead, skating along the track as Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare would have to wait for their team to finish before they could go.
"And Canterlot is off to an early lead!" Cadence announced as Principal Cinch was so far, not amused. And it didn't help that Twilight was nervous about all of this. Her legs were shaking, causing her to miss every shot that she took with the bow and arrows. At this rate, she would run out of arrows before she could even land a hit on the target.
"Well, that's just fantastic!" Sour Sweet exclaimed sourly at Twilight. Twilight shuddered after that initial roar.
"I'm sure glad I don't go to Crystal Prep," said Fluttershy after Sour Sweet's bellow.
"You said it." And Applejack greed.
"Wheeeee!" Meanwhile, Pinkie was having a ton of fun skating. Aside from it being a sport in the Friendship Games, she tends to do it quite often. She and Rarity passed the first lap, granting Canterlot High their first point.
"If CPA can't hit another bullseye soon, they'll be out of this race," said Cadence.
Twilight was at her limit right now. Not only was she nervous, but tears also started forming. She didn't want to let anyone down or make herself look silly in front of everyone. She was down to her final arrow.
"You're really bad at this!" From a great distance, Sugarcoat yelled at Twilight, giving her the facts straight on.
"Ugh! I can't take anymore!" yelled Applejack after seeing Twilight's failures. But she also couldn't stand to see her do poorly to the point where her teammates weren't supporting her. "Ya have to stop aimin' at the target." She went up to Twilight.
Oh, that makes perfect sense! Don't aim at the target! Thanks so much!" Sour Sweet said sarcastically.
"Ya have to stop aimin' at where the target is an' aim at where the target's gonna be." Applejack chose to instruct Twilight despite this being a competition.
Yeah!" Another sarcastic tone came from Sour Sweet before she changed her pattern from sweet to sour. "Definitely take advice from the person you're competing against!"
Applejack did not respond to Sour Sweet's outburst. She only focused on helping Twilight. "Do you wanna hit the bullseye or not?" She asked as Twilight nodded in response. "Then trust me. Take a deep breath." Twilight took said-deep breath, following what Applejack was telling her. "And let the arrow go... riiiiight...." She waited to give Twilight the signal for when it would count. "Now!"
With Applejack giving the signal, Twilight fired the arrow. The arrow moved along, travelling through the air at a straightforward. Everyone was anticipating if she could actually hit her mark. Even Cinch stood up with her eyes open. And she did. The arrow finally hit something. The bullseye. Very lucky indeed as cheers were made.
Finally, Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare could skate. Zorua's head was sticking out from the bag which was far off in the distance. But Zorua praised and cheered for Twilight, even if she was too shy to come out of the bag. "Yeah! That's my girl!" Spike exclaimed before being picked up by Twilight.
Grateful for the help, Twilight turned to Applejack. Applejack was expecting a high-five but instead, she received a hug of thanks. That was far better. "See? I was tellin' ya the truth." She said. And due to her telling the truth, the magic within her started showing up. Long hair, pony ears, it all checked out.
Unfortunately, the device around Twilight's neck reacted to this magic. She tied holding it back this time as the locket opened automatically. It was too late as the device started absorbing Applejack's magic.
"Eh..." Applejack started groaning, trying to hold her ground. "What... are... you... doing?!"
"I don't know!" She replied before finally closing the locket. Applejack felt drained as Twilight lost her footing. She fell off the podium she was on, crashing on her back. And after falling, so did the locket as it fell out of her hand.
With the locket being knocked off, it bounced on the ground. That bounce and the recently absorbed magic, caused the device to set off a magical purple pulse. And that pulse, much like the scenario with Fluttershy, caused portals to Equestria to appear.
But these portals were unseen by everyone. Not that they were invisible or anything, but because one of them was in the far distance just near the entrance of Canterlot High and the other was minuscule, appearing on the ground as it was hard to notice. However, it was gradually growing in size.
But the true reason was that everyone was focused on the games. The speed-skaters were still moving around with laps and Crystal Prep had caught up quickly. "Canterlot only has two laps to go! But it looks like Crystal Prep is making up for lost time!" said Cadence.
However, as they skated, one of the skaters, Sugar Coat in question, passed by the locket, knocking it aside as it spun around while still open. Twilight would have to try and close it while passing the skate track. She would also have to be careful not to be hit by the skaters. Except, it was this one obstacle that caused the locket to do more with the time gap.
The locket shot out a white wisp, summoning another portal. But this time, this portal was closer in the vicinity of the Friendship Games. Appearing out of this portal, right in front of Twilight was an Abomsanow, ripped right out of its home.
"Aboma...Aboma..!" Abomasnow was clearly not happy about this. "ABOMASNOW!" Confused and agitated, the Frost Tree Pokemon roared, unleashing its ability Snow Warning. The weather itself had been altered by this ability with the clouds forming, the atmosphere and ambience shifting.
And snow, plus some hail started falling. Not only that, but some chill had met everyone as they all shuddered. They weren't expecting it to get chilly.
"SNOW!" Abomasnow roared once more as everyone finally noticed the Pokemon's appearance. Twilight ran off as Abomasnow chased after her.
"Oh my gosh, what is that?!" One student cried out before commotion began. They soon realized that Twilight was in danger as well as everyone else with Abomasnow here.
"It's the Abominable Snowman!" Lyra pointed out. And she technically wasn't wrong. Abomasnow is the Pokemon world's Abominable Snowman. The first part of its name gave it away.
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow then used Ice Punch, smashing its fist onto the ground. And by doing so, the Frost Tree Pokemon instantly froze the track and area itself. And that ruined the flow of the skaters as not only was their event stopped but their movements as well with their skates being caught in the ice.
"Oh!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"What's happening?!" Celestia stood up, witnessing the flash-freeze, the weather change and the arrival of Abomasnow. Panic started usurping from how things were going.
"Abomasnow?!" Sunset Shimmer looked over to see the Grass-Ice-Type. Abomasnow then started attacking everything it saw, using Ice Beam from its mouth. The beam of ice had frozen other parts of the area, including the seats where everyone sat. So much for escaping if their feet were frozen. Plus, it gave an unnecessary chill to them all. Even Pikachu had been frozen due to this flash-freeze. To late for him to make a move.
"Pika?!"
"C-C-C-Cold!" Flash Sentry and a few others shivered after being caught by the ice. They were already cold once Snow Warning had come through. Even those on Motorcross had been interrupted. However, due to the speed they gained, they could break through the ice. But not for long.
"Care to explain what this is?" Cinch asked Celestia and Luna.
"I-I-I don't know!" The two sisters shrugged.
"This is bad...Where are my Poke Balls?!" Sunset knew that only her Fire-Types could put out these flames. However, as she searched the area, she remembered that she left them in her bag. Or even her jacket possibly. "Oh."
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow roared before unleashing an Ice Beam to try and freeze Twilight. The Ice Beam missed her, but it had a new target in its line of sight Sunset Shimmer. And despite this chaos occurring the other contestants from Crystal Prep passed by with the motorcycles, not wanting to be caught up in this scene.
Sunset had just now noticed the beam of ice coming here, unable to evade it in time but was successfully saved by Rainbow Dash who had grabbed her by the arm. She then placed Sunset on the bike. Instead of going along like the other two, Rainbow Dash came back for her friend. "Dash, you saved me!" Sunset said.
"I wasn't about to let my friend become an ice sculpture." And due to this sense of loyalty, her magic had shown up as well, radiating a blue light from her body. And as a bonus, she gained wings, ascending into the air.
"Rainbow Dash! Go and get my bag! Or my jacket! Doesn't matter! Any of my Pokemon can melt the ice away! Quick!" Sunset exclaimed.
"You got it!" Rainbow Dash saluted before using her wings to dash off. However, Abomasnow quickly took notice of her. Before it went to grab Twilight, Abomasnow focused on Rainbow Dash. Since it was confused about where it was, it couldn't help but attack everything that moves.
While in the air, Rainbow Dash was being pelted by snow. Even with magic, she could still feel the chill. And it was not pleasant. Not one bit. The hail kept beating on her, breaking her focus. "I can't focus with this stupid hail!"
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow struck while the iron was hot. With Rainbow Dash thrown off by the hail, Abomasnow unleashed Ice Beam from its hand. And this beam was aimed straight at her wings.
Rainbow Dash's magical wings had been hit by Ice Beam. And much like the wing of a bird, pegasus of anything that flies with wings, contact with ice meant the disruption of aerial mobility. Hence why Ice-Types are super-effective against Flying-Types. And Rainbow Dash was no exception.
Her magical wings had been frozen. W-What the?!" And after they were frozen, she was forced out of the sky, falling without a way to recover thanks to her frozen wings. "Whoa!"
"Rainbow Dash!"
"Aboma...! Abomasnow then looked up at the falling Rainbow Dash, ready to hit her with Ice Punch.
"Wait-wait-wait-wait!" Rainbow Dash cried out, pleading her soul out to Abomasnow. This is where Sunset could repay her. Not only could she win this event by crossing the last few obstacles, but she could save her friend too.
Sunset used the full force of her motorcycle to tackle Abomasnow. And with great timing. She knocked Abomasnow aside while also catching Rainbow Dash. "A-Abomasnow!" Abomasnow cried out, falling on its back after the motorcycle tackle. She also ended up saving Twilight for a brief moment. But Abomasnow would get back up soon. A motorcycle is not enough to take this behemoth of a Pokemon down.
"Nice save! But I can't fly right now!" Rainbow Dash thanked Sunset, showing the frozen wings to her. "What now?!"
"We can try tiring it out!" Sunset suggested. That was seemingly the best option right about now since the ice made it difficult for Rainbow Dash to fly.
"A-Aboma...!" Abomasnow got up, growling with its eyes locking onto Sunset Shimmer with rage. Abomasnow also saw Indigo Zap appearing rapidly. It instantly used Razor Leaf, sending sharp leaves from its hands.
"Aah!" Indigo screeched as the leaves had sliced parts of her clothes and even the wheels of her motorcycle. Indigo Zap was promptly knocked off of the motorcycle, crashing on the cold ground. "Oh..." She groaned.
"Snow!" Abomasnow then chased after Sunset Shimmer. It could move surprisingly fast for its size. But then again, most Pokemon ten to surprise despite their builds. "Aboma!" Abomasnow fired another Ice Beam, trying to hit the motorcycle.
Sunset drifted to the side, causing the beam to miss once more. Rainbow Dash picked up some ice rubble, deciding to irritate and hold back Abomasnow a bit as she turned around. "Take this! And some of this!" She started rapidly throwing the ice shards at Abomasnow.
Even though her wings were frozen, she gained one other trait from her Equestria counterpart. Her amazing speed. Rainbow Dash threw the shards so fast she left afterimages of her arms. "A-Aboma! Aboma!" And that was enough to irritate and hold back Abomasnow. But not harm it.
However, Sunset ended up winning this by jumping over the final obstacle despite the mess that was ongoing. Everyone, despite being frozen, couldn't help but cheer. They also cheered for the evasion of Abomasnow too.
"Canterlot wins! Even though that is still here!" Cadence pointed to Abomasnow. However, Abomasnow took some time to catch its breath. It could not get up the ramp at all. Its body was too big, plus, these weren't the icy or snowy mountains that it was used to.
"A-Aboma..Abomasnow...!"
"Great! Now how do we get rid of it?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Through there!" Sunset spotted the portal that led to an arctic area. It was still there as the locket hadn't been closed yet. The ice had caught it after all. Sunset then drove her motorcycle, going straight towards the portal, grabbing Abomasnow's attention.
"Aboma?!" Abomasnow then chased after them, sliding down the ramp as it could pick up speed from that. Abomasnow worked better on foot via flat land. Even if there were some bumps.
"Now!" Sunset found the moment to bait Abomasnow. The Frost Tree Pokemon could impressively keep up with a motorcycle after all. She drifted around the portal, making sure not to enter it. And after drifting, she evaded Abomasnow's lunge at the right moment.
"Aboma?" Abomasnow noticed that it had missed its mark. But not only did it miss, but it ended up falling through the portal after Sunset baited it out. "Abomasnow!"
"Yes! Awesome!" Rainbow Dash raised her arms as everyone cheered from that impressive show of skill. Abomasnow was back home. But to be safe, the locket needed to be closed.
Twilight crawled over to the locket, smashing her fist on the ice that surrounded it. She managed to break enough ice to free the locket. Once it was free, she closed it, ending the portals that appeared around the scene. "Hah..." Twilight took a moment to breathe. She also realized how much damage had been caused thanks to it.
Even though Abomasnow was gone and Snow Warning had ended, the area was still cold and many of the students were frozen with their legs stuck in some hard ice. There would be a lot of cleaning up to do.
"Attention, students, please proceed to the gym. After we get you all free." announced Cadence. To free them, they would have to shatter the ice. Easier said than done as they gathered the tools to do so.
AKA just a simple hammer from the D&T workshop along with other tools. The ice had been shattered via Cadence and Luna using the tools to do so. The students felt relieved as their feet trembled. Being in the cold for that long would do that to them.
"Is everybody all right?" Applejack asked.
"Better than all right! We won!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"Yeah, we won, but somebody could've been seriously hurt" Sunset replied, focusing on a more serious matter. "That Abomasnow came straight through that portal and threw everything off course. Plus, The magic is going haywire and I have no idea how to fix it!"
"Um, excuse me, I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Coming up to Sunset's group was Twilight. "I just wanted to learn about the strange magical energy coming from your school. I didn't know any of this would happen." She apologized.
"That's okay. Neither do we." Rainbow Dash shrugged, accepting Twilight's apology. However, there was a glaring issue. Rainbow Dash still had her pony ears and wings. Meaning she still had magic. And once she got close to Twilight, the locket acted on its own once more.
"Oh, no! Oh, no no no! Not again!" Twilight tried holding it back, but it seemed to get stronger each time it absorbed new magic. Rainbow Dash groaned as her friends watched her magic fly out of her.
Sunset ran to Rainbow Dash's side once she got on her knees. "'m sorry! It just started absorbing energy on its own! But I'm not sure how!" Twilight apologized once more.
"What do you mean you don't know how?!" Sunset exclaimed as she was getting agitated at this point, pointing at Twilight and wanting answers. She then tried grabbing the locket, only for it to shoot up a white wisp into the sky.
Once more, another portal had been opened in the air. Jus twhen they closed the previous one. This one showed the night sky in Equestria. Thankfully, no Pokemon had flown through it.
Principal Cinch came outside, spotting the giant portal in the sky, her student and the competitors of Canterlot High. She hid behind a wall to see and hear what was going on.
"It also causes these corresponding rifts to appear! I don't know how that works either." Twilight explained, unsure of how to solve all of this.
"Is there anything you do know?! Like how to get our magic back?! Or how to fix the portal to Equestria?! Sunset bombarded her with questions.
"I-I don't know how to fix the portal."
"You're supposed to be so smart, but did you ever think that you shouldn't be messing around with things you don't understand?!" Sunset's temper got the better of her in this situation. She then forced the locket shut, finally closing it as the portal faded away as well.
"But I wanna understand!" Twilight replied as she sounded like she was on the verge of tearing up.
"But you don't! And worst of all, you put the lives of my friends in danger!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." And with her voice breaking, she did end up breaking into tears. All she could do now was run off with Spike following after her.
Sunset took deep breaths before calming down once Rainbow Dash touched her shoulder. It was at that moment that Sunset ealized that she had pushed it too far with that final outburst.
And Cinch smiled after seeing that. An oppurtunity was to be made for this. But before she could do anything, Celestia cleared her throat as she, Luna and Cadence appeared behind Cinch.
"You can't possibly call that a fair race." said Cinch.
"Principal Cinch, we all saw what happened. You can't think CHS had some kind of advantage." Celestia tried reasoning with her.
"Can't I? Even without the appearance of that...whatever that ice creature was... your students have wings!"
"Well, the race certainly had some... extenuating circumstances. Perhaps we should end the games now and declare a tie." Celestia suggested.
"A tie?" Cinch pulled back afterwards. "Was this your strategy all along? To force us into accepting you as equals? I think not. The games will continue and Crystal Prep will prevail despite your antics and whatever performance-enhancing regimen your students are on."
She then took her leave as the only ones remaining on the field were Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Sunset's group. Sunset had a few words to say to Celestia before she goes. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop all this from happening."
"It's not your fault, Sunset." Celestia was already aware that Sunset had nothing to do with this.
"Isn't it? I should know how to control the magic I brought here. But I don't. I let everyone down. And now Principal Cinch thinks we're cheating." And yet, Sunset could still guilt herself.
"It doesn't matter what Principal Cinch thinks."
"But it does. The students here at CHS don't just wanna win. They wanna beat Crystal Prep. It isn't gonna count if the other side doesn't really think they lost. Crystal Prep is never gonna believe we won fair and square if there's magic around. And that magic is only around because of me." Dissapointment struck Sunset as she continued to guilt herself for this magical interference due to the events that happened last year.
The day would soon end, but no one would forget the sudden Abomasnow attack that had happened. The magic within the locket was still active and could be unleashed at any time. Something that was out of Twilight's control as the journey continues.
Chapter 595 End.