The Human World. Canterlot Town. Sweet Apple Acres. Nightfall.
An unlikely scenario. The vampires did not come alone. Thanks to Sweet Fang using her magic, she managed to control almost everyone in town via some sweet talking. Or, more specifically, her magical ability to control others just by speaking in a sweet tone. The demon intended to dive into Twilight's memories, just to do one thing. Recall the cover of the book and that would essentially be the end of it.
All of the controlled civilians stood outside Sweet Apple Acres with the existence of Twilight and her friends already being very well known. Mainly due to how it was only Sweet Apple Acres that had no one under Sweet Fang's control.
"You may convince others with your good looks, Opal. But all it takes is a word from me to make things work." Sweet Fang chuckled as she was being carried by one of the humans.
"Hmm. That much is true. I have the looks and that's all that matters." Opal chuckled. "Now, for the girl...let's not look like savages, alright? We can settle this peacefully. I know you can hear me through that barn, girl."
"!" Twilight shuddered as Opal already knew she was in there.
"We ain't gonna let that demon touch you, Twilight." Applejack said, removing the hay bales to reveal the secret exit. The humans along with the vampires were already approaching the barn, so now was a good time to leave. They all moved through the secret entrance with Luxio staying behind, snarling at them all.
"Luxio...!"
"No, Luxio!" Twilight grabbed Luxio, admiring his courage, but certainly didn't want him taking action yet. Especially against innocent civilians. Luxio was still able to emit a light source against the vampires, but the time for that was not now as everyone made their way to the barn.
"Should I give the order to have them break the barn down?" Sweet Fang asked.
"No. Let the demon do it. We've already cornered this place after all." Opal halted her fellow vampire. The demon was free to act now. The spider-centaur demon with its smoke body approached the barn, leaving a trail of smoke. With brute force, it had used the power of the smoke to smash the barn open.
And once it did, it was already too late. The secret exit had been utilized with the hay bales being put back. Once the barn door had been shattered, the only thing remaining were the cows, who were still asleep even after the commotion. The demon wouldn't stop there.
"Not in there. Oh well. The house it is." Opal shrugged. "And I believe I could use my Pokemon to help find it." Opal held out her Poke Ball, summoning her Pokemon into the fray. A Chandelure.
"Chandelure!"
"All of you. Would you please go and find that girl?" Sweet Fang asked the humans.
And with her having full control, they complied, immediately going for the house. Their overwhelming numbers were enough for humble Sweet Apple Acres. The door had been broken down by the vampires whilst Chandelure merely phased through the house to avoid damage.
"Surprise!" However, as stated before, Applejack and the others prepared for this. Mainly her family. Once the door was broken down, the three individuals that had been spotted were Apple Bloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith, In unison, they unleashed the lights of the house. From lamps, the ceiling lights, candles and bulbs, all light sources were activated.
Naturally, this was blinding and virulent to the vampires. Their eyes were met with the power of light, causing them all to screech. All of them unleashed bloodcurdling cries with many of the vampires already feeling their coats burn from the light. An effective method indeed. Especially in a location that requires energy.
Granny Smith held a candle, whacking the vampires in the head with it. "Go on! Git! Out of my house!" She cried out, not only harming the vampire ponies with the light but also with physical interaction.
"Ow-Ow!"
"Here! Here! Apple Bloom giggled, holding a flashlight which she furiously shined in front of them. "Gee, it's a mighty shame that you're all so weak to light!"
"I hate that she's right!" The vampires hated this one major thing about them. Light. Their greatest weakness. Something so simple was a massive weapon against them.
However, some vampires attempted to try and fly in while wearing their protective clothing, believing that they could bypass all of this light. But, whilst the plan to use light was the common one, Granny Smith came extra prepared.
"Applejack didn't go for this...Big Mac!" Granny Smith chuckled as she revealed the second common weakness to vampires that was easy to find.
Garlic.
Big Mac removed a tray from a plate that was placed on the table, revealing garlic. Granny Smith had a backup plan as the food had been revealed to these ponies of the night. The one's t hat flew in, attempting to grab Granny Smith and the others were met with these sometimes delectable food. What a shame that the Human World counterpart to Sweet Apple Acres isn't limited to apples, otherwise, this would be an easier time for the vampires. But alas, that was not the case.
Sweet Fang hid behind the humans to cover herself while the vampires were held back. Opal covered her eyes as she seemed less affected by this. By using her magic, Opal managed to mask herself in a bizarre coating of magic that had a cursed aura around it. One of a beautiful purple colour mixed with horrific crackles.
"This isn't that big of a surprise..." Opal said as the other vampires backed away. "Those books I've read almost mirror these events..."
"It's a surprise to us though! Grab them!" Sweet Fang yelled as only the humans were safe from the light. And they even outnumbered the Apple Family. There wasn't anything they could do against the humans as they didn't quite prepare for them.
Attempting to enter the next room was a complete failure as Apple Bloom, Big Mac and Apple Bloom had been grabbed by the overwhelming numbers that broke into their home. They were flooded with people afterwards with the vampires currently trying to recover from the light. Speaking of which, the lights were still on, only to be then turned off afterwards by the controlled humans.
"Hah! Nice try." Sweet Fang flew over. "Almost had us there. But pretty soon, you three are gonna be helping me find your friends, okay?" Sweet Fang had Apple Bloom and Granny Smith in mind. The three of them attempted to break free, only for it to be in vain with these superior numbers. The candles had died out with Apple Bloom's flashlight dropping to the ground. The garlic had been knocked aside by the humans as well, eliminating the weaknesses of the vampires. Sweet Fang's mouth was already prepared to work its magic.
"Sweet Fang." Opal silently appeared behind her fellow vampire. "These three might have seen the book before. They live in the same location as Twilight's friends. Keep them under your control for the demon to use them."
"Hah. Too bad!" Apple Bloom stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry. "Haven't seen any book so nyeh!"
"Nope." Big Mac shook his head as he hadn't seen it as well.
"Oh, really? Then, tell me this..." In that instance, Sweet Fang's magic had been utilized once more with the Apple Family having their eyes glow red. "Have you seen a book about Pokemon? You can tell little old me."
"Sorry...We ain't seen any..." Granny Smith and Big Macintosh said in unison. They told nothing but the truth thanks to Sweet Fang's magic. The book was nonexistent to their eyes, thus making them useless to the demon.
"But you're right about old and little..." In the midst of mind control, Apple Bloom found some time to insult her. Not Sweet Fang, but Opal Vivacity.
"I think she's calling you an old lady." Sweet Fang turned to Opal. Opal, who was mainly seen as having a calm disposition, twitched her eye.
"I'd rather you not call me old, okay?" Opal said with a bit of disdain in her voice. "Let's keep going. Chandelure could find them and the demon first." The other vampires were befuddled by the light with some of them trying to recover with their coats burning along with the effects of the garlic.
"They know how to resist, that's for sure." Opal sighed with her wings separating. "I hope Spectrum is having an easier time."
Out in the forest. Nightfall.
Spectrum Shade, much like all the other vampires, benefitted from the night. However, for Spectrum, she got the better of it compared to the other vampires. She had recently lost a Pokemon Battle to Ash, but she didn't entirely lose this upcoming one.
Ash and Pikachu were approaching civilization, only to be stopped by a stream of darkened rainbows. Moving at great speeds, these rainbows started wrapping around the forest, acting like some sort of massive sheet. Ash and Pikachu noticed that their paths to civilization had been blocked. Not just from the side, but even from above as a dark rainbow dome had been made.
"What is this?!"
"Pikachu?!"
"During the night, I can do a lot of fun things that I couldn't do any other time." Spectrum chuckled, trotting over to Ash and Pikachu with her wings spread out. "We've got a big goal to get that Yveltal information. I can't let my allies fail if you're gonna interrupt them."
"Well, I can't let them reach my friends either," Ash replied. "Guess we've both got something to achieve."
"Pikachu!"
"Yeah, and that's gonna be me." Spectrum scoffed as she had zipped towards Ash, moving at a quicker pace than before.
"Quick Attack!"
"Pika! Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu moved at lightning speeds, matching Spectrum's speed. He and Spectrum ended up butting heads in a head-on collision. They grit their teeth against each other as it was Pokemon against pony. Spectrum bared her fangs, immediately attempting to bite Pikachu. Thankfully, Pikachu had separated from Spectrum after the head-on collision. "Pika?"
"Give her some light! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika....Chuuu!" The weakness of the vampire had been used once more, exuding 100,000 volts of electricity from his body. It had coloured this part of the forest with yellow, only for Spectrum to have an answer for that.
She had used the darkened rainbow as a means of protecting herself. She summoned a stream of it which had surrounded her, promptly protecting the vampire from Thunderbolt. Her weakness had been blocked with the rainbows only getting dimmer, overpowering the light of Thunderbolt.
"That got close..."Spectrum sighed as even though she managed to protect herself, electricity still moves just as fast as her if not faster. "But I'm sitting pretty with this. No way I'm letting this dome fall."
"Then I guess we just have to make some brighter light." said Ash holding his hat. He wasn't about to let this dome stop him and Pikachu from reaching their friends. Even if it did surround the entire forest.
"Ash!" Still within the forest and also noticing the field of darkened rainbows was Chrysalis. She finally caught up to Ash, but she didn't come alone. Carlita could be seen alongside her.
"Nice! You made it!" Ash exclaimed with joy in his face. "And...Carlita too?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Is this dome her doing?" Carlita looked at Spectrum Shade and the stream of darkened rainbows that were surrounding her from all sides.
"You bet." Spectrum proudly nodded. "Now, watch this!" With a yell, Spectrum spread her wings out. Her eyes gained a night-light glow as right above the field of rainbows, the clouds were being affected. And from those clouds, a bolt of dim rainbows had been unleashed. The bolt phased through the field, only having Ash and the others in mind.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu intercepted the bolt with Thunderbolt. The two bolts cancelled each other out promptly with their respective sparks flying around. They hit the walls of the field, pulsating afterwards.
"So this is a field, is it?" Chrysalis could finally see what this strange dome was. They were currently trapped and forbidden from going anywhere beyond the forest. "Ash! I will try and break free! Yet again, I'll allow you to leave and reach your friends!"
"Thanks, again, Chyrsalis!" Ash was truly glad that Chrysalis would do it for him once more, giving him the chance to reach his friends.
"Dragonite!"
"You're not going anywhere!" Spectrum sent more of those rainbow bolts from above while also scattering streams of dim rainbows.
"Hydreigon! Let's go!" Carlita held out her Poke Ball whilst Chrysalis and Ash faced the incoming streams.
"Iron Tail!"
"Ribombee! Dazzling Gleam!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu's tail hardened with him, Ribombee and Chrysalis retaliating against the stream. Pikachu cut them in half with his tail with Ribombee unleashing a ray of rainbows while also emanating a shining light from her body. The light could not break through to reach Spectrum, but it did help stop the attacks. Chrysalis used her magic against the bolts, forming a reflective shield that had bounced them away.
"Hydreigon! Use Fire Blast!"
"Hy...Drei...Gon!" Hydreigon joined the fray, holding all three of his breaths in before unleashing a fierce blast of fire from the three heads, forming them into one larger Fire Blast. Not only did it break through the bolts, it managed to reach Spectrum as well. Spectrum gasped, putting up another layer of rainbows against the fire for protection.
"Of course...the only way for you to reach them would be to get rid of this field." Chrysalis said, remembering that Ash couldn't exactly reach Twilight and the others if the barrier was still active.
"Right on that! Opal said I don't have to beat you. I just have to keep you busy until the job's done. But I so wanna beat you either way!" Spectrum spread her wings, taking to the skies as her body glimmered with the moon. With her fangs flowing, the dim rainbow had been summoned once more, surrounding her like a halo. She unleashed these rainbows from above in mass numbers, bombarding her foes.
Pikachu, Ribombee and Hydreigon had been struck by these swift-moving rainbows, either bekign knocked to the ground or sent flying. "P-Pika!"
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out as Pikachu slid on the ground. Thankfully, he was okay, along with the other two.
"I have to shine brighter..." Chrysalis said. "Brighter than the darkness she's cast. Ribombee! Join me!" Chrysalis was about to make her magic shine bright than it already was. Alongside her, Ribombee had used Dazzling Gleam, surrounding herself in a sparkling sphere of rainbows. Light had been unleashed from their bodies, beginning to expand in the process. They met with the ferocious array of dark rainbows as it was a clash between brightness and darkness.
"Feels difficult, doesn't it?" Spectrum grinned. "Nightfall's the best time for us! This is a pretty good example!"
"I can see that...!" Chrysalis growled, trying to use her light to push the rainbows back. But, it wouldn't be just her and Ribombee.
"She needs light, does she?" Carlita looked at her hand. The Dragon Trainer knew that she herself possessed access to a form of light. The draconic light and the power bestowed to the People of the Vale. "Let me have a shot!" Carlita held her hand out, assisting them.
Her draconic light was certainly a key player in this. The light shined forth, joining Chrysalis and Ribombee as the dim rainbows were starting to be negated.
"Huh!?" Spectrum noticed this sudden pushback as it happened fairly quickly. "That fast?!"
Carlita had then used both her hands, emanating the light as her arms were already beginning to shake as well. Spectrum tried pushing back as it was struggle between the three of them.
"Hydreigon! Go!"
"Hydrei!" Hydreigon took this opportunity while Spectrum was too busy focusing on the light sources coming her way. The Brutal Pokemon could strike while the iron was hot.
"Hey! Hold on!" Spectrum noticed Hydreigon's arrival.
"Hydreigon!" Hydreigon had used Focus Blast, Flamethrower and Dragon Pulse from his three heads, building them up. They were then thrown at Spectrum who already had her hooves full. All three moves managed to break through her shield of rainbow streams with nothing but raw Dragon strength.
"Now!" Chrysalis and the others expanded their light as Spectrum was vulnerable she closed her eyes as the light eclipsed this part of the forest, having enough power to each touch the top of the dome. And speaking of the dome, light rays starting piercing through it. That meant only one thing. It was through.
The dome of rainbows had shattered with a massive array of light shooting into the night sky. It was a gorgeous sight with three different light sources. Spectrum, despite having her dome broken and the light shining her way, barely managed to save herself via her amazing speed. Her speed kept her from being consumed as she zoomed towards some trees for safety. But even if she hadn't been defeated, her dome was gone.
"Go, Ash!" Carlita exclaimed.
"Right! Thanks again!" Ash and Pikachu were off, continuing on their way to Canterlot Town. To get there faster, Ash had sent out Dragonite. Fastest in terms of flying after all.
"I said you aren't going anywhere!" Spectrum cried out before then suddenly putting her hooves on the trees. Another benefit to being a vampire? Super strength. And this showed as the tree had been ripped from the ground.
Spectrum held the tree with ease, thinking of if she should swing it or toss it against Ash and Pikachu. Either one would work out in her eyes.
"Yeah, right! Hydreigon, Fire Blast!"
"Dreigon!" This tree approach had bene promptly stopped the moment Spectrum had any ideas with it. The flames burst onto the tree, immediately setting it ablaze. And since Spectrum Shade was still holding onto it, and with fire being another weakness of vampires, this was a powerful combination.
"Gah!" Spectrum screamed out as the fire had spread fast enough to connect with her hooves. A horrifying screech came from her as she had dropped the tree. The fire remained on her hooves as a she started blowing on them furiously to put it out. Her face turned red from the excessive blowing. "Why you...!"
The main thing stopping her were these four, much to the chagrin of Spectrum. But to Spectrum, it wasn't a total loss. She managed to keep Ash at bay for a while. Now all she could do was hope that Opal and the others had finished the job.
Canterlot Town. Sweet Apple Acres. The Basement. Nightfall.
Twilight and her friends managed to reach the basement after using the secret exit. Applejack could hear the commotion upstairs fearing for her family. Not for them being harmed, but for the possibility of them joining Sweet Fang's collection of controlled people.
They had a moment of solace, but they were prepared still with Luxio and Sunset Shimmer's Fire-Types. However, the people were a different story. Rainbow Dash had her Staraptor out, waiting patiently while the sound rapid moving footsteps went off above.
"Applejack. What about your family?" Rarity asked.
"They'll be fine. I hope." Applejack gulped. "I didn't see those people coming though. I thought it just gonna be those vampires and that's it."
"They've taken control of everyone in town. And we can't hurt them if they're like that." Sunset Shimmer was finding it harder to get through this.
"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Rainbow Dash turned to her.
"The only way to free them is by defeating the vampires." Twilight replied. "Whichever one is controlling them, their control will end and everyone will snap back to reality."
"How are we supposed to know which one did it?" Pinkie asked.
"The best way is the focus the most amount of light source onto either vampire and see which one is behind the mind control." Twilight hatched a plan. "Let's-"
But breaking through the walls of the basement, eventually finding them all down here, was the smoke centaur demon. With heavy smoke, it broke through the walls easily, startling everyone and cutting Twilight off. It found its target. Not just it, but Chandelure as well. Chandelure had an easier time without having the need to break through walls. Phasing through was fine with it.
"Chandelure!"
"The basement? This was your best place to hide?" And joining the two of them was Opal. She had followed the trail of smoke, counting on the demon to find its target. "Honestly. If I were you, I would've selected another world if given the chance."
"Too bad! You're in the face of our trap! Now!" Sunset Shimmer and the others still took the chance to initiate their light show approach, even if they didn't successfully catch them off guard.
"Luxio!" Luxio and Sunset Shimmer's Pokemon unleashed their respective energies. Luxio flashed a flare of electricity from his body while the Fire-Types unleashed flames, sending them towards their opponents.
However, Opal remained calm. With a smirk on her face, she not only managed to protect herself from the electric light thanks to that magic coating from before, but the flames, another vampire weakness, were stopped by none other than Chandelure.
"Chandelure!" Chandelure got in front of the flames, deciding to take them for Opal. But, there was no damage. Shockingly, Chandelure started absorbing the flames that were sent its way, sucking them into its body. It fed of them flames before giggling and wobbling its body. "Chandel!"
"W-What!? What just happened?!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"It ate the fire!?" Pinkie jaw dropped as she couldn't believe her eyes. "And the light didn't work?!"
"You didn't think I would catch a Pokemon and not take into account my weakness? My Chandelure has Flash Fire. One of my many weaknesses is so easily erased thanks to this absolute darling."
"Chande!"
"It had to be Flash-Fire..." Sunset growled as now Chandelure was the biggest obstacle. Not the demon.
"We'll make this quick and have the demon look into you, darling. And then, we'll be out of your hair forever. Chandelure, Smog."
"Lure!" A thick dark fog sprouted out from Chandelure's flames, immediately spreading across the basement in seconds. Everyone squinted their eyes as the smoke demon started blending in.
"I don't think so! Please! I need your help, Rapidash!" Twilight covered her eyes and mouth with her arm before sending out her Alpha Rapidash.
"Rapidash!" Rapidash always had to let out a majestic neigh to let her know who stood superior here. However, her moment of superiority was cut off once the smoke was noticed. "Dash?"
"You won't even notice it happen, little girl." said Opal as the smoke demon approached Twilight. Its four terrifying legs had suddenly moved from its lower body, appearing on its upper body and resembling arms. Those arms and its entire body fixated on Twilight's head.
"Lit? Litleo!" Litleo was the first to recognize the smoke demon, intercepting it with Inferno. A stream of fire was sent out of its mouth, holding the demon back. In response, the demon retaliated by using its four arms to whack Litleo aside "L-Lit!"
"Litleo?!" Sunset Shimmer coughed as she could hear the cry of her partner. "This smog is so strong...!"
"S-Staraptor! Blow it away!" Rainbow Dash had the answer to this. Staraptor.
"Star! Staraptor!" Staraptor did just that. It was the perfect counter to the smoke as it had flapped its wings, using the strength of Wing Attack to not only clear some of the fog, but also push back the smoke monster.
"Hmm..." Opal grumbled with her calm disposition starting to be tested at this point. She saw all of this fighting back as a pointless struggle to the inevitable. The smoke demon was blown back as its main weakness was visibly revealed in the form of air. Staraptor's speciality. "Chandelure, use Shadow Ball, please."
"Chandelure!" Assisting the smoke demon was Chandelure via the emergence of Shadow Ball. Shadow Ball passed through all of the remaining fog before then crashing into Staraptor, blowing the Predator Pokemon back.
"Rapidash?" Rapidash took a moment to asses the scene. Everyone here was being threatened. At least, moderately since all the vampires needed was one thing. Making their way to the basement were the remaining vampires along with the humans. All of this noise easily attracted them. "Rapidash!" Seeing the obstacle in her way, Rapidash took action.
By flaring her flames, Rapidash had used Fire Blast, focusing on the Luring Pokemon. However, she soon came to find out that Flash Fire was in affect. "Dash?"
"Night Shade, if you will."
"Chandel!" Chandelure responded by using Night Shade, shooting out a black and red beam at its fellow Fire-Type. Rapidash staggered, growling as the energy of Night Shade punished her.
"Luxio! Discharge!"
"Lux...Luxio!" Luxio coughed from all of the smog. But in reality, he had the one move that could hit everything else. By exuding energy from his body, he released a flare of electricity that acted like a whip. Protecting Twilight was all that mattered as both Chadenlure and the smoke demon had been shocked. Once again, the demon was being held back from reaching Twilight.
This agitated Opal Vivacity. She believed that at this point, Twilight's mind would've been dug into by now, but the Pokemon were the biggest obstacles preventing that. They were even more like blocakdes than obstacles at this point. Staraptor continued to fend off the smoke demon with its wings whilst Luxio, Rapidash and the other Fire-Types staved it off.
Twilight watched as everyone did their best to keep her safe but it was all getting so taxing. And Opal knew it, which is why she kept her cool despite the constant annoyances and obstacles. All of this stress was enough to do one thing. Further elevate the chance of Midnight Sparkle appearing.
"Oh?" Opal noticed this aura of magic flowing out of Twilight. The feeling of it was strange yet familiar. It was the dormant potential of incredible magic. Magic that resembled something from the box of 100 Demons?
"There they are!" Sweet Fang and her posse of humans along with the vampires showed up. "Haven't you got the information yet?"
"They're persistent." Opal shook her head as Staraptor used Aerial Ace on the smoke demon, only to be grabbed it by it afterwards. Braixen interevened, using Psybeam to blow parts of the demon's grip on Staraptor. "But eventually, they'll let up."
To demonstrate, Opal had used her magic on Chandelure. Chandelure felt the magic of its trainer affect it, unbeknownst of what had just happened. "Chande?"
"Chandelure, dear. I've enchaned your sense of hearing. Why don't you go along and try it?" Opal revealed what she had done to the Luring Pokemon.
Chandelure's hearing had been heightened. It could feel the effects already kicking in. Everything from the basement to even outside had been boosted for the Luring Pokemon for a better reaction time. And that showed when Rapidash had used Dragon Pulse.
"Lure!" Chandelure's heightened hearing allowed it to easily evade Rapidash's Dragon Pulse with the dragon-shaped shockwave hitting the walls. Desperation was starting to kick in for Sunset and her friends with these overwhelming numbers backing them into a corner.
Grabbing Applejack by the arms were none other than her controlled family members. Granny Smith and Big Mac had her by the arms while Apple Bloom clung onto her leg. Even when under control, she looked adorable. This is what Applejack feared, however and that same fear transferred over to Rarity as Sweetie Belle was among one of the mind controlled people.
It was almost everyone in town after all. But Sweetie Belle didn't do much except also grab Rarity's leg. "Sweetie Belle! Not you too!"
"Rapidash...!"
"Don't hurt them, Rapidash!" Twilight yelled, knowing that Rapidash would most definitely attack the people that had surrounded her and her allies. "Please!"
"Rapidash?" Rapidash, especially with her relationship with Twilight, thought otherwise. She saw them all as threats and to her, threats needed to be blown away no matter what. Spike jumped out of the bag, barking and attempting to bite the smoke demon, only to fail due to it being smoke after all.
"It's over." Opal announced. "Demon. Get into her mind." The demon would gladly do so. The rest of the opposing Pokemon had the spirit to not harm innocents and that was their weakness. Chandelure confronted Rapidash, preventing her from even trying it in the first place. Not only that, but the vampires still had their Pokemon as well given to them by Opal. Those were a handful as they easily outnumbered the other Pokemon. Everything was closing in. The situation was too dire.
The demon snuck up behind Twilight, using its smoke hands to grab and restrain her. Twilight was finally in its clutches, ready to have her mind be read. Opal declared this game over.
"Twilight!" Except for one Pokemon. Only in serious instances does Zorua ever must up courage. And this was certainly one. If there was one thing that was true, it was that Zorua had no qualms with harming others. Humans Pokemon and now vampire ponies alike.
She jumped out of Twilight's bag, refusing to have her partner go through anything rough, much like how she had a rough experience during her time as a Unovan Zorua. With instinct, she had used her signature move. Bitter Malice.
A ferocious pulse of darkness emanated from the Spiteful Fox Pokemon's body which manifested into the pure malice that Zorua felt towards others. In this case, those who would target Twilight. All of that hatred was transformed into this attack which had then been released.
Bitter Malice had a radius affect, not only blowing the demon away, but everyone else except for Twilight, noticeably. Everything that had been interrupted and cut off with Chandelure especially taking super-effective damage. Sunset and the rest of them were harmed with Twilight being untouched.
"What?!" Opal squinted her eyes as the pulse reached her, damaging her magic coating. All of the people and vampires felt Zorua's anger more than anything, feeling just how virulent it was. If anything, this was worse than being exposed to light, fire or even garlic. The Smoke Demon cried out in horror with a gigantic majority of its body being obliterated, lost to the wind. The radius even moved out of Sweet Apple Acres, reaching the outside. There was no one left in town to see it as they were all knocked out. Except for Ash and Pikachu, who had arrived at Canterlot Town.
Before Twilight knew it, not only was the Smoke Demon off of her, but almost everyone else, including her friends were down and out. Sweet Fang was hit by Bitter Malic, breaking her control of the people. The only ones standing were Rapidash, Chandelure, Twilight and Opal. Chandelure barely managed to withstand it due to its weakness to its own typing. Zorua exhausted herself dropping to the floor. Twilight picked her up momentarilty.
"What was that?! What just happened?!" Opal exclaimed, standing over the bodies of fainting Pokemon.
"That was Zorua's hatred." Twilight picked up the Spiteful Fox Pokemon, who had passed out from using so much of Bitter Malice's power. "And her love to protect me no matter what she has to do."
"Oh my head..." Sweet Fang groaned, sitting up as she was absolutely perplexed by this. "That was..."
"Kh!" Opal scoffed as her patience had finally been tested. That soft composure had been stripped away. "Either way, your friend made the foolish mistake of leading us to you. We can still gather information about the book. The smoke demon isn't fully destroyed."
"It was an honest mistake from Ash." Twilight suddenly stayed vigilant in the face of the vampires. Mainly because she had Rapidash by her side. "And even if it isn't destroyed, I won't let you get to my mind. Not with Rapidash her beside me."
"Ra?" Rapidash turned to Twilight. Yet again, Twilight put her faith in Rapidash, despite their differences.
"Just for this time as well, Rapidash." Twilight looked the Fire Horse Pokemon in the eyes. "For both of ours sakes. Let's not have them try and summon a Pokemon that could end us all."
"Rapidash." Rapidash could get behind that. Seeing as Zorua fainted from all of that energy exertion, Rapidash had a good enough reason to help Twilight. Zorua, along with the rest of Ash's Pokemon, were alright in the eyes of Rapidash.
"Sweet Fang. Recover the smoke demon in the meantime." Opal ordered the only other vampire still standing. "Perhaps knocking this one out will allow us to finally get that memory."
"Oh! Right!" Sweet Fang stood up. The smoke demon was floating with a weak body. A small part of it was still standing but barely able to continue. "Come along, you!" Sweet Fang guided the smoke demon out of the basement as soon as she could.
"You won't stand a chance against me, girl. Not with my Chandelure's heightened senses and immunity to fire. Chandelure, use Shadow Ball!"
"Chande!"
"Here goes nothing...Rapidash! Please, use High Horsepower!"
"Rapidash!" Rapidash stomped on the floor which had already been ruined by the conflict that occurred earlier. Golden shockwaves from the earth itself erupted, flying in the direction of Shadow Ball. The power of Alpha Rapidash was impressive as always as it had managed to break through Shadow Ball, approaching Chandeulre.
"Chandelure!" But Chandelure's heightened hearing was still a great factor, allowing it to ascend over the shockwaves.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Dash!" Rapidash held her breath in, building up draconic energy.
"I think not! How about I ruin the senses of your Rapidash?!" Opal suddenly let out a menacing grin that was opposite to her beautiful and soft face. Her fangs bared as her eyes glistened in the darkness. Much like Chandelure, she had affected Rapidash too. But not in the positive way.
"Ra-" Rapidash twitched with her body suddenly stopping in place. Before she knew it, Rapidash sense of sight had been cut off. Her eyes closed with the energy of Dragon Pulse ending abruptly. "Rapidash!"
"Hmph! Night Shade!"
"Lure!" Chandlure struck while Rapidash's sight had been interrupted. Unable to see the attack coming, Alpha Rapidash took a hit, unfortunately.
"Rapidash! What happened?!" Twilight gasped.
"I depraved your precious Rapidash of its sight. Try battling with it when it can't see a thing! Mystical Fire!"
"Chandelure!" Chandelure received free hits without having to worry about them being intercepted. It unloaded a spiralling flame of magical fire at the blind Fire Horse Pokemon.
"Dragon Pulse! Quick!"
"R-Rapidash!" Rapidash still had the strength to use Dragon Pulse, but not quite the strength properly aim it. She unleashed it, only for it to hit a wall, thus, allowing Chandelure's attack to connect. "Dash!" Rapidash fell to the floor as Chandelure did not let up. It continued pouring more flames onto Rapidash, despite the typing, letting the Fire Horse Pokemon receive a constant stream of it.
"Maybe I'll even increase the pain sensitivity. How's that?" Opal went at it again, affecting Rapidash from afar. Just like that, Mystical Fire started hurting a lot more than it should as Rapidash's pain receptors had been touched. Now it was truly feeling the burn.
"R-Rapidash! Rapidash!"
"No, Rapidash!"
"A shame! Her majesty, the Lich Queen would've probably avoided this world! Giving us the book of Yveltal would'n't have mattered to your world at all, but alas, look where it brought us." Opal chuckled as Chandelure switched to Shadow Ball, hurling blobs of shadow next. "Perhaps, I should consider this world to her majesty, just to see it all wither away. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"I don't think it would! Thunderbolt!" Just then, replying to Opal with refusal was the voice of Ash. Thunderbol came flying through, going straight for Chandelure.
"Lure?" Chandelure's advanced hearing kicked in. But unfortunately, while focused on Rapidash, the moment it turned around, hearing the bolt of lightning, it had connected already. Lightning speed was a different story. "Chande!"
"You...!" Opal snarled with veins popping out from the side of her head.
Ash and Pikachu had arrived.
And crawling to the basement with a winded head was Sweet Fang. Her eyes looked dazed and confused with her body already sizzling. This meant one thing. She was exposed to light. But it wasn't from Pikachu. It was from Anthophilia.
"Hehehe!" Anthophilia was responsible for it, causing this overwhelming ray of light. She was the closest to her mother in terms of magic potential, and that was certainly showing here. "Light!"
"Ash! Pikachu!" Twilight was thrilled to see them arrive. Whenev er they show up, a part of her can't help but feel that everything would be fine.
"Where's the smoke demon?!" Opal looked around, noticing that the Smoke Demon was no longer with Sweet Fang.
"I had Dragonite blow it away with Hurricane." Ash stated. "You won't be getting inside Twilight's mind. No way."
"Pikachu!"
"Hmph." Opal jeered at Ash before observing her surroundings. The only chance of getting Twilight's memories had been taken out of the picture. All the other vampires were down and out thanks to Zorua along with Ash's arrival. And compared to everyone else, he was sitting pretty in terms of Pokemon numbers and skill.
"I promised I'd make up for me messing up. And I never back down from a promise. So come on. Do you wanna keep battling?" Ash grinned, eager to battle Opal. "Your friend was pretty decent with Machoke."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"I'd rather not." Opal sighed as the light from Anthophilia wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Chandelure had been returned afterwards. "This mission was a failure."
"It was? Aww..." Sweet Fang planted her face in the floor.
"I'll remember this, Ash Ketchum. The same goes for you, Twilight." Opal vowed to get back at them both. They had just made one common enemy now. The rest of the fainted vampires were all collectively picked up by a spell of cloth. Cloth had been summoned by Opal, wrapping around the fallen vampires.
To make her escape, she and Sweet Fang transformed into bats. Smaller and easier to escape from. Due to the basement being ruined, there were lots of exits to choose from. They went for the closest exits, refusing to give Ash the chance to do anything else.
It was over. They were gone.
"Hoh...it's over." Exhausted beyond belief and glad that it came to an end, Twilight sat down. Rapidash groaned, shaking her head as having her senses affected was just downright terrible. Her vision was all foggy after what Opal did, but thankfully, she was starting to regain it.
Everyone else went from being knocked out, to falling asleep. It was late after all as snoring could now be heard. Twilight felt like sleeping too. Ash went to her side right afterwards.
"Nice save, Ash." Twilight commented with her head starting to lower. "But hey, I managed to almost get through it by myself this time."
"You've gotten better, Twilight." He patted her on the back. "Now get a good rest. We all need it."
Out in the forest. Nightfall.
"Oh! Time to go!" Speaking of leaving, Spectrum Shade, who had been going against Chrysalis and Carlita for a while, knew that it was time to depart. She saw two familiar bats in the night sky, making that a good enough indication of things.
She did relatively well holding her own against them both along with their Pokemon. But this mission had been closed off. She didn't need to turn into a batfor better speed. It was only natural for Spectrum Shade as she took the skies.
"Hey, wait!" Carlita cried out, but it was too late. With a mild shockwave that almost became a sonic boom, Spectrum Shade left, causing the trees to rustle.
"It's over." Chrysalis stopped Carlita from going after her. Hydreigon already attempted to do so, but it never went through. Carlita sat down, feeling exhausted herself, no doubt.
A lot of them were. But for Chrysalis, this was nothing. The invasion lasted longer than this. Indeed. But even if it was over, the conflict against the vampires and the entire of the Dread League was not only present, but ever growing.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 761 End.