My Little Pokémon: Grander World

Universe 14. Nightfall.

Currently, Red, Ethan and Lucas were in another Universe far, far away. They had a chance to go into another world similar to theirs but without a certain person and so they took the opportunity. And so far, they were in for an interesting surprise.

The universe in question was known as Universe 14, a place that is vastly different than their own as they hung around a dark alley, with them having snuck around so as not to attract too much attention.

"Why do we keep finding ourselves in these situations?" Ethan groaned, not wanting to be here as the cold air of the night filled his body, sending shivers down his spine. "This places gives me the chills..."

"But this is our best bet, you know. At the very least, it's different. A whole other world just for us to explore." Brendan grinned, looking eager. "I want to see all sorts of new things."

"..." Red stayed silent as always, being unbothered by the chill air around them as he kept himself in tune with the darkness, the city lights being too bright for him in particular. This universe was unique since it was a version of Equestria that was centered around Shadow Ponies. Everypony here was a shadow, even their mane and hair. And to him, that was interesting, a world completely based around Darkness itself.

Despite how grim it was, this universe was actually peaceful and gentle. Mainly because despite their appearance, it was still largely a well-run land. The area they were in was this world's version of Ponyville. However, in its current state, this city of shadows was more like an urban nightmare version of the Main Ponyville.

They walked through this Ponyville which was now littered with buildings taller than the ones from the original Ponyville. It was the same thing for them and they also noticed that there were a few other features here that weren't originally present in the town such as the roads being much cleaner than usual and better. There was a nice shadowy aesthetic to it all.

"A Shadow City..!" Ethan said, walking along the path, observing every building and feature. "So cool...! And it's all Shadow Magic!"

The boys passed by a park as they walked on the path, seeing the beautiful greenery and plants, some of which even glowing due to being luminescent. There were some fountains nearby, with various statues surrounding it. And near it was a big statue of Princess Luna, but more specifically, the form she once took when she was Nightmare Moon. In fact, it looked to be a blend of her regular self and Nightmare Moon.

"Huh. Well, that's something alright. A dark but familiar-looking Princess Luna. I guess she figured out herself even in this universe too?" Brendan pondered as he went up to the statue, running his hand along its rocky surface. "Pretty awesome, don't you think?" He grinned.

"100% This one's pretty cool." Ethan replied, liking this universe so far. The shadow theme was something he really dug and the overall aesthetic of this place made it feel like a place of horror yet wonder. The residents themselves all moved as shadows, living their life in this dark land. A part of Ethan wanted to speak with one of them but he was also scared due to not being a shadow like them. They'll probably look at him like something from another planet.

"..." Red was already speaking with some of the locals. He wasn't scared by appearances in any way since he's more than used to the strange and unknown. Shadowy Equestrian ponies weren't anything special to him. In fact, he didn't even mind as they were just people. Just ponies living their day-to-day lives, some who just wanted to mind their own business. But that didn't stop them from talking to him.

One of these ponies was this world's Twilight Sparkle who's already visited the Main Universe once. Even though she looks different, you could always tell she was Twilight Sparkle at first glance due to how they acted. She was in her library, organizing books, dusting the shelves as Red had stepped forward, entering the building without having to open the door, since he has no body of his own. He's an apparition after all, one of shadows and light, much like this place.

"Ah, you three...Aren't you Ash's counterparts?" Twilight's voice greeted them and it made the three jump as they turned around, ready to attack only to relax once they saw it was just Twilight. The girl giggled in amusement. "Sorry if I surprised you...I'm this town's resident bookkeeper, Twilight. But I guess I should call myself Shadow Librarian since we're in a Shadow world~!" She let out a hearty giggle.

"So like...will I phase through you?" A curious Ethan said, his hand slowly moving to her shadowy body before placing his entire hand in it. His hand immediately vanished into Twilight's form, making him feel uncomfortable and weird.

"Oooooohhh!" Brendan cooed in an unusual and creepy fashion while Ethan screamed like a young child who's hand went through a wet wall and saw something frightening on the other side.

"Waaaah!" Ethan shouted, shaking his hand while stepping away and trying to shake the uncomfortable feeling off his skin. That's when his shadow began to dance, a sinister aura around him. Red could tell that Twilight was playing around with him using Shadow Magic. The young girl giggled once again, her hooves covering her mouth as she tried her best not to laugh. "Uwah, haha!" She couldn't hold it in at this point as she started laughing.

"Man...I thought I was a goner there...!" Ethan trembled, looking at his hand before back at Twilight, sighing. "Well, now that's out of the way and we've already started a good impression. Tell us more about this place."

"Well, for the most part, it really is just a shadow version of the main universe. Everything here was built on shadows. The main universe was built on Primordial Magic. The same magic that makes up every universe related to ours but this has a different branch of magic as its crux." Twilight began. "The one you all know is built on mainly Light, Chaos, Dark and so many other forms of magic. Despite that, it has a perfect balance. One Universe will have its existence built off purely light, another will be all dark while others, like our universe, have the balance of two opposing elements."

"I see..." Brendan would kneel, his hand touching the ground. "So everything here is built on the base of Darkness. But wait. Doesn't that mean there's no light here? At all? Or at least, you don't know about it..."

"That's a funny question since you should know that the shadows exist when you use light on a dark background. In that same logic, all you have to do is place shadows on a dark background to get darkness." Twilight flashed her horn as all the lights in her library went out as everything became dark except the moon up above. "See, you've just placed a shadow in front of me. My entire form, my body, is a shadow. Everypony is one. So I'm literally made of darkness with some magic added."

"That's so cool!" Ethan and Brendan collectively said.

"Man, I wish I was made out of darkness too..." Ethan dreamt for a moment. "I wonder how cool that would be? Probably not something I'd enjoy being. A shadow guy, now that would be an experience." Ethan imagined himself with a darker appearance, making him look almost ghostly. "I mean...imagine if your entire body was made of shadows?"

"Well, then you'd just be the equivalent of a Ghost-Type." Brendan pointed out. "Or you know, what Darkrai experiences. At least, what Lucas knows about a Darkrai."

"You want to become shadows? There's a way. Why don't you come along and I'll show you." Twilight offered as she got up and moved forward, going ahead. "If you're interested, just follow me. You're not from here, so it wouldn't make sense for you not to be curious. This world is built upon a branch of Magic that we rarely see back where you came from. And this one will bring you great power." The Shadow Twilight explained and that intrigued them.

"I'm so down with it." Ethan strolled along, following her. "Man, Lucas and Hilbert are totally missing out! I wonder what universe Lucas is even in right now?"

Universe 28.

A gateway had been opened there and it was done by Lucas himself. Thanks to the part of Prisma in him, he could open gateways easily, albeit while straining himself. And as for who he was opening it for, Ash and the others were about to visit this universe.

And once through, all of them would look upon this universe's Canterlot, stepping foot onto it. This was their first time visiting this world. The world of the incredibly popular young celebrity, Celestia. And what better way to see this world than to enter into Celestia's home town, the castle-city of Canterlot.

"Hiya!" She instantly greeted her visitors, having a ton of fanfare and flashy entrances already prepared. Her Pokemon were there too, each of them greeting them all. "Welcome to my wonderful and amazing Universe! I hope you all find it just as fabulous as the others! Of course, you will! It's too great!" Celestia laughed while the others watched her, eyes dead.

"Yeesh...so this is a version of Princess Celestia?" Rainbow Dash commented with her eyes shifting before moving up and down on this counterpart. "This is...something alright. I have never seen any Celestia so...young."

"I believe she's the youngest Celestia out of everyone we know so far." Applejack remarked before looking around. "They're always so old and mature. Way older than all of us."

"Hm-hm! Age matters not when you're as amazing as me!" She still had that boastful personality in her. In the Main Universe, Celestia's usually calm and composed. But she isn't above enjoying a bit of pride here and there, though nowhere near this extent. Even Daybreaker was not incredibly boastful, only doing so when she felt like she had the edge in something.

"Aw, she's so cute though." Fluttershy gushed, seeing this youngster.

"Now that you're here, it's only fitting you get my world's warm welcome~" Celestia giggled, looking at her Kirlia who stepped forth, her body glowing.

"Kir..." Kirlia started to cast Psychic which made the surroundings brighten up as her eyes shone. Behind her, other Pokemon would use an array of moves. Her Kirlia was using Psychic, a pink orb forming behind her with the energy from her move.

The orb shot up along with other attacks, each travelling into the skies in random directions before stopping and firing into the sky. Once all of the orbs had met each other, they exploded into many tiny pieces which began to fall and disperse.

It looked beautiful. But the cherry on top was that they would all make a certain shape. The shape of Celestia's face. A portrait of the celebrity herself made out of fireworks. Even when greeting someone, she couldn't help but make herself feel good.

"Now then! Since you're here, you're free to explore and check things out. You'll find my universe has a lot in common with yours. Just some teensy, weensy, tiny details...or more like it's all different except for a select few things~" Celestia gave them a little heads up on this world before looking at her castle. "For one, the most obvious change I'd say is...Celestia City isn't a city yet! Hahahahahahahaha!"

"Huh? This place isn't a city? It certainly looks like one and every Canterlot is a City." Rarity questioned, having expected it to be one. But hearing Celestia state that it isn't was rather weird.

"It's way bigger than a city. It's a country in fact, my world. As the Princess, I own a lot of the land surrounding us." She grinned. "I have my castle that's just about in the middle, but beyond us is a massive area of other landmarks, locations, businesses and much more. I've got a country over a country, over a country! So technically, I've got multiple cities as one country that's just below another country that's also mine."

"Goodness." Fluttershy was in awe. "That's incredible. A country that's a city over another country and another?"

"You bet! It's my own personal country with many lands under it. So yeah, technically, you could consider it a city, I suppose. It's just huge and not as small as one~ Come on. I'll give you all a tour." She would step forth, going back inside the castle. They decided to follow her, going around and seeing many things they're not used to seeing in their world.

This version of Canterlot, out of any they've ever seen, was vastly different due to how this Celestia was. It resembled places like Las Pegasus or Virbank City, having a lucrative theme to it all, being very luxurious yet flashy, bright and big. Not only that but there was an aura to it, feeling rich and elite, even though all the things within this castle-city are free.

As they followed her, many others, mostly people who served her or worked for her, looked at them, all shocked as she led them by her side. They were probably wondering why her visitors weren't Celestias, but a human and some ponies.

Rarity got a gander at this version of Canterlot's commercialism and was left amazed at all the high-end stores and brands that littered every corner of this place. They saw brands for clothes, hair, accessories, Pokemon-related items, shoes, make-up and so many other brands that would blow your mind. And all of it was Celestia-Sponsored, with her face printed everywhere.

In another part of this Celestia-Heavy City, there was a shopping plaza, full of more shops, each decorated to their own flavor, but ultimately giving that same Celestia City feel. Some stores were for clothing, with Celestia's brand on most items inside them. Others were for other luxuries and necessities. Many people would be hanging around at this plaza, enjoying everything.

And of course, since every Celestia loves cake, this universe's Celestia greatly marketized cake. Her all-time favourite food. In fact, in this universe, cakes were incredibly high priority, being made to absolute perfection as the taste was divine and beyond the norm of regular cake, almost as if it was blessed by Celestia herself, or it actually has magic to it.

They even sell these special cakes, known as The Celebrity Cakes which are exclusive to her fans as they are made with great quality ingredients, some of which are magical in nature, to create something truly unique and delicious.

A cake that had an interesting taste but what caught Ash and Twilight's eyes the most was its appearance. It was the same size as an entire store, maybe more but in shape of a pony. And of course, that pony was Celestia herself.

"Man. She really is popular, huh?" Ash commented on all of this.

"Aren't I?" The young alicorn giggled. "It feels good to be me! You can do whatever you want in this city with my full permission. But...there's one thing you should probably come and see." Celestia had something special to show them that was unique to her Universe.

She led the group to her castle, which was as stylish and fancy as ever, having pictures of Celestia with famous people, but not as famous as her. And at the same time, many staff members moved about, working, moving stuff. There was a big magical screen with a picture of Celestia on it and underneath it were her words that read.

'Celestia's Celestial News'

But that wasn't what mattered. What truly mattered was a location somewhere in the further parts of this castle that she led them to. With a playful grin, she looked back at all of them, using her magic to open doors.

"Get a load...Of this Fountain of Youth." With the doors opening, they were all met with a fountain of a liquid, sparkling as the glow illuminated the room they were in. It let out such radiant and wonderful sparkles. It was the same for everyone watching.

"What is this...?" Rainbow Dash would step forward, looking at it more intently, seeing the glowing liquid within it. She saw how this fluid was radiating so much magic energy, making it hard to resist touching it.

"The Fountain of Youth! It's exactly how it stands. I created this myself with my own magic! One step through and wham! You're a kid again! It's one of my most prized possessions."

"S-So if we get some of this, we become kids?!" Pinkie Pie gawked, staring at the fluid. "W-What?! This is amazing!" Her eyes were as round as coins as she looked back and forth from this magical liquid to Celestia.

"Heh, yeah, I know I know! I made this for one reason. One day, I'm gonna become older. As old as all the other Celestias out there. I'm ready for it, but I know for a fact I'll wanna feel like a kid again someday. It's a perfect way to clear my mind of something that's bothering me." Celestia giggled with her Kirlia doing the same.

"But aren't you worried someone might come and take something like this? I mean, a Fountain of Youth is something special." Twilight pointed out as she faced Celestia. "You're not even considering the thought of someone stealing this?"

"That doesn't concern me. It's made up of my magic, so I actually get to decide if it works or not. And I do! No need to worry about that because anyone who tries to steal it won't be able to unless they have my permission. I have it completely secured too, in case there are those out there who think it's something else. But enough about that...try it."

"Try it?" Ash and the others said in unison.

"Yeah, yeah! Go through. Get a good feel of it!" Celestia smiled before looking away. "Just don't do it all at once. The more you drink, the smaller you become. A full gulp would leave you tiny in no time. But hey, that would be cute in its own way."

They were all reluctant to do something so reckless and crazy as to enter in and taste this magical liquid. Celestia's magic made it safe to the touch so it wasn't harmful to the skin. But it could potentially make you younger...and smaller. It wasn't every day that you got to experience a literal Fountain of Youth.

Celestia watched her visitors look at the Fountain of Youth with uncertainty, wondering if they should try it or not, but that only made it seem more appealing since they were all a little on the fence with this decision. They were just curious to see what it was like but then again...to be young again?

Ash and the others would take a drink, grabbing the nearby cups that were available next to the Fountain and poured themselves a drink. It was clear blue, having a cool but magical aura to it. It also tasted rather nice. In fact, it tasted like cake to them.

"Mm." Ash enjoyed the taste, a smile on his face. Just then, his body would glow, a sign that the Fountain's magic was activating, having taken effect. "Woah!" The next moment he would begin shrinking, slowly but surely getting smaller.

"Oh..." Twilight looked at her hooves, noticing the change. All of them began noticing this change as they started growing younger too. Ash, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack Fluttershy and Dash all went down in age while Pikachu just kept to himself, not really interested in appearing younger. He already looked rather young and small.

As the light eclipsed them all, emerging out of it were younger and smaller versions of Ash's party. It actually aged them all down to a certain age, not just a random number of them. To their surprise, they were all 7 again. Just little tykes.

And so, Ash looked at himself, feeling around his arms, looking at how small they were. He felt weak for a moment before realizing he wasn't physically weaker as it was mostly because he was younger, that's all. "Wow! So cool!" He smiled and so did the others.

"This is sooo awesome!" Pinkie Pie bounced in place, her body springing and popping up and down like a balloon. In fact, she had even larger energy now, moving faster and faster at high-octane speeds.

"It's been years since I've last been 7-years old!" Rarity gushed, spinning around and playing with her shorter hair, feeling youthful again. She could even feel the strength of her younger muscles.

Applejack looked at her own hooves, noticing how cute they looked compared to her older self's. Twilight was doing the same as she looked down, her wings still present, but more petite as they were shorter in length. The Fountain surprisingly didn't revert her to when she was still a unicorn. And Fluttershy, while looking around, still felt as quiet as ever but her curiosity to see the world at this level heightened. Rainbow Dash's wings had also shrunk but she could still fly around as easily as ever.

"Ta-dah!" Celestia giggled, getting down as they watched them. "Amazing isn't it?"

"Mmmhh!" The staff who worked here would nod while looking at them and they all looked just as young and cute as Celestia. And now that they were kids again, they started moving around, getting a good feel of their younger selves which they haven't felt in so long.

"Pika..." Pikachu was stunned by what he was seeing. The same went for Espeon, Mew and Audino, witnessing their trainers in such a small state. Ash's appearance as a child was even younger than when he was 10, starting out his journey all those years ago. It was Pikachu's first time seeing this version of his best friend.

Pinkie Pie couldn't stop bouncing, needing Twilight to use her magic on her to hold the earth pony still. Ash would run around a bit, seeing how different his speed was at this age as his little legs took him forward.

"Look at me, Audi! Look!" Fluttershy flew over to Audino with glee. She was always smaller than Audino, but her new form brought that dynamic even further.

And since they were kids, their behavior had been affected. They wanted to run around the castle as soon as possible. Or at least, most of them did. Not so much Fluttershy or Twilight.

"Hey! I've got an idea..." That's when a devious grin formed on Rainbow Dash's face. Something was brewing in her mind. One of absolute pure mischief. It was something her older self would do regardless, but as a child, the way it would play out, how it would be executed would be on a whole other tier. This was a Rainbow Dash that was less controlled and balanced. This was a chaotic Rainbow Dash as the next words from her mouth said it all. "I say we head back to our universe and prank everyone with this."

Everyone paused at her idea, blinking for a moment as their energies came to a halt. The room was silent for a while, only the sound of water flowing. But then, at that moment, as they all looked at each other, they also had that same grin form on their faces. They were all for it. The thought of them doing this was both immature and funny, even for Pikachu. "Kaaa..." His cheeks sparked and so did the others.

Normally, in this scenario, there would be some against it, but they've all grown closer as friends to the point where they can be more free and express themselves without hesitation or shame.

"You know what? Let's do it!" Ash nodded and so did his companions. Even Twilight would be in for it. With that, she would open the portal back to the world she knew using magic and they all went through, eager to see their reaction once they got back home.

It was time for these kids to be kids. And since it was these 7 respectively, the things they were about to do were only meant to be in the past. But not anymore as the journey continues.

Chapter 589 End.