The Human World. Canterlot High. Day.
Approximately one day after everyone saw the Dynamic Portal, ponies were already itching to go through, just so that they could see their counterparts out of pure curiousity. Lena certainly would've wanted that since this portal exists for that very reason. The excitement it brings.
Of course, some precautions were immediately made, just so they were all safe. This portal was also just out in the open and could still be used wrongly if not careful.
Once they were set, ponies started passing through the portal, swiftly transforming into humans. They would get a good look at their human selves, being able to use fingers and thumbs to touch themselves. They would then walk around, getting a feel for how walking works. It was a bit difficult for them to get used to but they managed.
"Check this out..." A pony would wiggle her fingers, gazing at the mas if she got a new toy to play with. "I can move my fingers! And I have thumbs!"
"This is so weird!" Another pony gasped, looking down at her feet. "How do you guys walk with these things?!"
"It's not that hard." Twilight replied, having already gone through the portal and transformed into her Human Counterpart. Because of this, she could easily tutor the others. "Just take it slow and steady. You'll get the hang of it."
"It's only my second time being here but my knees are such a bother..." Scootaloo held onto her knee, finding it difficult to stand. "Why does it hurt so much?!"
"Look at this! I can walk with just two legs now! Amazing!" Some were so amazed by the fact that they could walk like a human, it felt like opening a wonderful present.
"Is this how humans are able to peel certain things off?" Fleur de lis looked at her fingers, realizing she had fingernails. And already, hers were sharp enough to cut through an apple.
But while this was all surprising and amazing for so many of them, even encouraging them to explore some parts of this world, particularly the surrounding areas that were familiar to them in some way, there was another major factor. This was what Ash and his friends were the most curious about. Since the past has greatly changed, they wondered how the Pokemon live in this parallel world.
For the past few years, this world was still behind when it came to understanding the Pokemon. Equestria, Pegalysium and even the Badlands have managed to get a handle on the new world they live in, forming bonds with Pokemon here and there. But this world was practically alien when it came to the Pokemon's existence.
Now, because of Lena's actions, the world was different. The people of this world have become more aware of the Pokemon and how to interact with them. And thus, Ash and his friends were curious to see how they would react to seeing their counterparts.
What stuck out to them was how Canterlot High, which was once a completely regular high school, was now a place where students and teachers alike could learn about the Pokemon. It was still a normal high school, but it was also a place where one could study the Pokemon.
And it wasn't just limited to that. There were other schools out there that did the same thing. It was a new chapter in the lives of everyone who lived in this world.
"It's a Pokemon School now? Sweet!" Ash admired it while standing at the entrance. Even though it was currently summer, summer school was still a thing and there every much students still inside. He took a look inside, seeing how the classrooms have changed a bit. For the most part, they appeared the same as they always do, but with some changes here and there.
Parts were tailored specifically for Pokemon Studies. Chalkboards were replaced with white boards and there were some computers in the room. The desks were arranged differently, having been pushed aside to make more space for the Pokemon.
It was as if it was always here. And at this very moment, the students were trying to figure out where all of this came from, especially Principal Celestia. Although time has been affected in the past to benefit the future, it was taking some time for them to register this.
"H It doesn't look like they know what's going on."Fluttershy observed their confused faces.
"Hold on...It's going to take them some time for their minds to catch up." Princess Celestia spoke, so appearing her Human Form. "What Lena did involves the memories of many needing to be altered. If I had to guess, they should be catching up about..."
Celestia would pause, waiting for the moment that their memories would catch up with time. And at that moment, some of the students gasped as their minds were finally caught up.
"Oh...Aah!" Of course, it was not a pretty sight Some of them fell to the floor out of pure confusion and shock. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Pokemon were right here in front of them and they were interacting with each other.
Man..." One student held his head, looking to the side and seeing a book about Pokemon Biology. He would go to pick it up out of pure curiosity, opening to a random page and the second he did so, his mind was quick to figure out what kind of Pokemon he was looking at the image before him. It was a Pokemon he's never seen before at all. Specifically, a Falinks. And yet, the moment he saw it, he could figure out what it was.
"This is amazing!" He would then turn around, showing the book to everyone else. "I don't know what happened but we're learning about Pokemon now! This is so awesome!"
"Wait, really?!" Another student dashed over, grabbing the book and getting a good look at the image. She could see a bunch of Pokemon that she's never seen before and yet, her mind was able to figure out what they were. "Whoa...These are Pokemon?! How do I know this?"
"Ah, I get this!" One student looked at a move that was listed next to a Pokemon, saying how it was a rare type of move that this Pokemon isn't usually seen with and she was able to figure out what that move could do, despite never seeing it in action. One by one, many were getting refreshed memories of things they've never experienced before.
Of course, they still had a lot to learn about Pokemon since they were still considered novices. But now, they would have an advantage. All thanks to Lena. Getting to know more about Pokemon much easier was just the start. The other surprise was seeing their counterparts. Their Equestrian Counterparts wasted no time entering the school since it was open at this time, taking a gander and attempting to find their lookalikes.
It didn't take long for some of them to find their counterparts. It was quite the experience seeing themselves as humans. They were amazed at how they looked as they got to touch each other's faces, getting a feel for how their skin felt.
"Nice. Look at you, having clean and pristine eyelashes." Compliments were very much natural, such as how Berry Punch complimented her Human Counterpart on her eyelashes.
"Am I.... really that short?" Meanwhile, Berry Punch's Human Counterpart was mainly fixated on her height more than anything.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors!" Two of them started playing Rock, Paper Scissors against each other as one of the ponies already had a good grasp of how fingers work, mainly thanks to the Pokemon he has and seeing other Pokemon with fingers in action.
"Tell me...In your world, do you get what I've always wanted?" Some were just curious about what their Equestrian Counterparts have accomplished. Since their land was so magical, they were bound to have done even greater things. They already have since they have spent time with the Pokemon much faster.
In a way, the Equestrian Counterparts could act as mentors to their Human Counterparts, telling them all they knew about Pokemon. The Pokemon they had with them were essentially symbolic of who they were and were perfect matches or even great matches in general. Now that their Human Counterparts were getting a better grasp on Pokemon, they could receive some assistance on their first Pokemon to catch.
Truly magical in the metaphorical and physical sense.
Present here was Sci-Twi and her own friends, who were currently getting a good look at their upgraded school. In just one day, it had changed up her and there while keeping its familiar appearance.
"Hm. I've never asked for a class like this to be made." Principal Celestia would gaze at a room dedicated to Pokemon Contests, a bit confused, but her mind would be refreshed regardless.
"Strange, isn't it? But that's how magic works." Placing her hand on her counterpart's shoulder was Princess Celestia. She was immediately jumpscared by the Ruler of Equestria, causing her to jitter back as she was currently looking at herself.
"Hoh...Aaah...!" Surprisingly, she was the most surprised out of everyone when seeing her counterpart for the first time. "
"Morning~" She waved her hand, leaving her counterpart speechless.
"...Wait. Where is my counterpart?" Luna soon noticed that she couldn't find Vice-Principal Luna anywhere.
"She never shows up for Summer School. Its vacation for her when Summer comes along." A student said, passing by Princess Luna. "Nice outfit by the way."
"Hmmrgh..." Luna grumbled, pouting since her counterpart was off for vacation. What a shame.
Aside from the school, other places in this world have been affected, gaining Pokemon-related things across the board. There were now shops tailored to a Pokemon's Needs or even Pokemon Trainers' needs.
These stores are added to already existing shops, greatly confusing the store-owners. But hey, they weren't coming. This just meant business would be booming now that Pokemon-related items were up for grabs.
One of these shops was the Canterlot Mall, where a variety of stores were located. And one of those stores was none other than the Frozen Treats Shop. A place that sells ice cream and other frozen treats.
And at this very moment, the owner was completely baffled. He was standing right next to a freezer that was full of ice cream. Not only that, it was filled with flavours he's never seen before. It was a whole new selection of ice cream.
"What's this?" He opened the freezer, taking out a tub of ice cream that said "Pikachu Ice Cream". He looked at it, wondering what it tasted like. He would then open the lid and take a lick, tasting it for himself.
"Mm..." His eyes lit up as he was amazed by the taste. "This is delicious! I've never had anything like this before! This flavour is so unique!"
"Do we try to figure out who brought this ice cream here?" An employee asked.
"Are you insane? Absolutely not. Let's just roll with it and see how it goes." He wasn't going to figure out where and how. Not even why. This was far too good to have second thoughts about.
Many people working at the store felt the same. More items, more money. And it helped that Pokemon-related things would be in great demand very soon. Now, this entire world was catching up at such a quick pace.
Pegalysium. Sky Monarch. Day.
But it wasn't just the Human World that had such a change. Equestria, which has already gone through some changes these past 4 years, was met with surprise changes here and there. For the most part, these changes were minor since Equestria has had to experience a lot of events that have changed their world repeatedly.
However, outside of Equestria, there was Pegalysium. For them, the changes were even more sudden and none more sudden than what the royal family had to witness. Paramount and Luminary were currently viewing an image that was left behind, currently sitting near the table of their room.
"Have you seen this image before...?" Luminary asked as Paramount got a closer look.
On the image, it looked to be a drawing of Lena Ketchum herself. It seemed that Lena had found herself in Pegalysium in the past, resulting in this drawing. But it wasn't just a drawing of Lena. It was Lena with the group of pegasi of Pegalysium, having a party.
At some point in the past, when Lena found Pegalysium, she partied with the pegasi, growing a strong bond with them. And this image was just one example. Paramount then opened the drawer where the image was resting on top of, revealing an item that was hidden there.
It appeared to be a type of gemstone that had two colours on it. The colours of Red and Blue, to be exact. Paramount grabbed the hidden gemstone which was never here before and the second he held it, his memory refreshed. At that moment, he knew the name of the gemstone.
"This seems to be Newenite."
"H-How do you know?" Luminary questioned as it hasn't clicked for her just yet.
"We've gone through a Time Refresh it seems." Paramount very much knew what this was.
"Uh...A what now?" Shooting Star squinted, unsure of what a Time Refresh was.
"A concept discovered by the First Pegasus of Destiny, Windkiss. She was the one who managed to dabble in Time Travel after all by creating the Avus Pegasus. She spoke about an effect called the Time Refresh. When a Time Refresh occurs, individuals experience a momentary sensation of clarity, as if their minds are being "refreshed" or rebooted. They suddenly recall the new event as if it had always been part of their past."
"Awesome..." Shooting Star was amazed by this as his mind would suddenly jitter along with his body. He had just gone through a Time Refresh himself.
"Oh, my. Is it by any chance dangerous, dear?" Luminary questioned.
"Not at all. It is a vastly different form of Time Travel, but no one has ever pulled it off. Except for her it seems. The new world we all in live has had its history expanded and Lena Ketchum has been through parts of those history." Paramount would smile afterwards. "As as expected from a Ketchum."
"So...Now what? What happens next?" The young pegasus asked.
"Well, while this brings spectacular positives, no doubt, our enemies will be affected too." His smile faded as he faced his family. "I believe you know I'm talking about the Indigo Union. Especially Second Wind."
"She'll try and use this to her advantage no doubt." Luminary sighed. "Recently, she's been sending some of her Unown to Pegalysium repeatedly. She's certainly looking for something here."
"Whatever she's looking for, she won't find it. The time for us to collapse Pinnaculum Pegalysium is near. And I'm sure she believes the same. One thing must stay crucial. As much as they have helped us, let's not get Equestria involved."
"How come? Their help could be so great!" Shooting Star exclaimed.
"I have a feeling they'll show up to help regardless. But for this, I want to keep any destruction from Equestria as far as possible. And the same goes for Pegalysium. We'll dismantle Second Wind's Pinnaculum Pegalysium and put things where they should be. That is one aspect of time we will most definitely change."
"Do we go to them or let them come to us?" Luminary wondered.
"We'll wait and decide on that, dear. For now, we'll keep an eye out for those Unown that come from Pinnaculum Pegalysium. Their numbers have been increasing as of lately and I have a feeling it's because Second Wind has something massive planned. Something beyond just her Rift Factory she's built."
Kanto. Pallet Town. Ketchum Household.
At the peaceful and sweet Pallet Town, Delia was currently cleaning the house, using her vacuum to suck up any messes that could be found. She and everyone in Kanto minus Professor Oak, of course, were unaware of the massive event that took place at Mount Coronet.
But even though they were away from the danger, living their peaceful lives, Delia managed to come across something that caught her eye, specifically in Ash's room.
When checking out Ash's room, something sat there right next to his Pidgey Alarm Clock. Something she's never seen before herself. Sitting there was a nice little hat. A rather old-looking one to be exact. The design of the hat made it very clear that it ancient, something that would be found in the far, far past, eons ago.
And yet, it was very clear what it was meant to be. It was meant to replicate Ash's hat. The way it was shaped made that very clear. Delia would hold the hat up, looking under to see that there was some writing there. The writing of Lena. It was very obvious that this hat was crafted by Lena herself as a memento for Ash.
It was Lena's final gift to her descendant. Her smallest gift, no doubt, but packing the same amount of love as the Dynamic Portal. That was all that mattered. Delia then placed the hat in the cupboard where all of Ash's past hats that he's worn through the regions could be found, making sure it would blend in.
The hat found itself in the middle of his Sinnoh and Kalos hats, perfectly stationed there. Delia smiled before walking off, leaving Ash's room, which as surprisingly clean right now.
From the Dynamic Portal that has the biggest link to both worlds to the hand-crafted hat of the past, Lena Ketchum did what she set out to do, fulfilling the promise that she made to her parents. See the world to the best of her abilities and it paid off. So much so that she left a legacy across time itself.
There was no telling what else she left behind due to her adventurous nature and where else she's been. But one thing was for sure, she would never be forgotten by anyone at all as the journey continues.
Chapter 539 End.