“Princess Celestia?!” Twilight gasped in spite of herself, hardly daring to believe her own eyes.
“Huh?” the white alicorn looked up, and her magenta eyes instantly widened. “Twilight?!”
“Princess Celestia!”
All thoughts of caution and trickery vanished from Twilight’s mind in an instant, banished by the sight of her teacher and mother-figure so close at hoof. The purple alicorn galloped forward with watery eyes. Celestia blinked once, then raced past her dumbfounded teammates to meet the smaller pony in between the two parties. Both instantly embraced one another, Twilight wrapping both legs around her mentor’s neck and Celestia pulling her former student close with a single long leg behind her head.
“Thank Celestia you’re safe!” Twilight said, rather obliviously, with tears streaming down her cheeks. “I thought for sure I’d n-never see you again! That horrible things had happened to you and it was all m-my fault!”
“Shhh… my little pony…” Celestia said in a motherly tone, patting Twilight gently with a wing. “I’m alright, I assure you. Nothing bad has happened to me.”
“I… I… I’m so sorry I got you into this!” Twilight bawled. “I got you flung into another world and kidnapped by horrible criminals and tortured and brainwashed and who knows what else! It was my mirror that did this! I’m sorry!”
“I take these two know each other?” James asked in the background.
“Da purple one is sayin’ she’s real sorry for how some mirror a’ hers sent Celestia here,” Meowth translated. “And she thought she’d neva see her again.”
“None of that has happened,” Celestia said in a soothing tone. “I’ve made my way here just fine and made some wonderful new friends along the way.”
“New… new friends?” Twilight looked up from where she’d been crying into her teacher’s chest. “Who?” she looked behind Celestia. “Team Rocket? But princess, they’re a horrible band of thieves and kidnappers?!” Her tone shifted from worry to alarm. “How did they take you? What did they do to you? Do you remember?”
“Thieves and kidnappers?” Despite herself, Celestia held up a wing to cover her mouth as she snickered. “Oh my little pony, I’ve travelled with Team Rocket for weeks and I have difficulty imaging them successfully robbing a cotton candy stand.”
“Well dere’s confidence for ya,” Meowth muttered.
“I don’t know what you’ve heard, but the only heist I’ve ever seen these three carry out was planned and executed primarily by me.”
“You… You planned a heist for them?” Twilight’s eyes were now, the last of the tears trickling unnoticed out the side. “Omigosh, you planned the robbery Lysandre told us about?!”
“Lysandre?” Celestia’s tone instantly hardened. “You’ve been talking to…” As she gazed beyond her former apprentice, the white alicorn’s eyes widened as if seeing Ash and his friends for the first time.
“He told us where to find you,” Twilight finally released the hug. She stared up at the princess with an uncertain expression. “Princess, why would you help thieves, much less plan their crimes? What did they do to you?”
“What did Lysandre say to you?” Celestia asked her right back, in between glaring daggers at the humans behind Twilight. “He’s a deeply evil man, a thief and slaver and potentially much worse. Why are you traveling with these pawns of his?”
“He’s evil?” Twilight sounded baffled. “Princess, he told us where to find you even after we lied to get into his office and all he wanted in return was to know a bit about what’s been going on.”
“You told him about us? About Equestria?” Celestia’s eyes were wide with horror.
“Why wouldn’t I? But please, stop ignoring my questions. What did Team Rocket do to you? How could they convince you that burglary and assault of innocent people is a good thing?”
“Innocent? Twilight, I helped Team Rocket to take information from a wicked human organization called Team Flare. They deal in crime and the enslaving of minds. Lysandre leads them, and these humans you now stand with are his puppets! Thanks to them, horrific devices of mental enslavement have been unleashed on this world in huge numbers.”
“What are you talking about?” Twilight sounded shocked. “Ash and Pikachu and his other Pokémon saved my life, they’re not bad people!”
“And yet they serve the likes of Lysandre, battling against our efforts to protect their world from devastation on several occasions.” Celestia glared balefully at them. “What lies have they been feeding you, Twilight? I believe you are being manipulated.”
“They’ve been nothing but nice to me!” Twilight insisted. “When I told them about you they dropped everything to come and help me try to find you. When they barely knew me! What did Team Rocket do that made you think a bunch of kids and a rich philanthropist were somehow the bad guys?”
“Team Rocket has been nothing but kind to me all the time I have been here. They have never tried to stop me from leaving. They would not be able to stop me from leaving! I agreed to help them when I realized the true depths of horror Lysandre will sink to. I cannot allow an evil like the Dark Balls to exist, not if I can do anything about it!”
“I’ve read about every different type of Poke Ball that exists across the regions, and I’ve never even seen a mention of a ‘Dark Ball’.” Twilight shook her head. “I think you’ve been tricked. Team Rocket is way more powerful – and way more evil – than you think, and they’re manipulating you into helping them commit crimes by convincing you a good man is evil! Please, just come with us. We’ll go back to Professor Oak’s and find out how to get back to Equestria and then everything will be alright.”
“And simply leave this world and who knows how many people and Pokémon to suffer the full brunt of Lysandre’s plot?” Celestia shook her own head. “No, that isn’t something I’m prepared to do. I will not insist that you face the danger alongside us, but I cannot allow you to remain alongside his pawns.”
“What plot?” Twilight’s voice cracked a little. “Princess… you’ve been helping Team Rocket damage a factory and steal technological secrets for a criminal organization, not thwarting a villain. I know these people attacked you first, but it was an honest mistake! They didn’t know who you were when you were thrown out against them!”
“Their first assault on my person would be perfectly forgivable if I believed that,” Celestia said. “But what I cannot ignore is that they accompanied Lysandre of their own volition to do battle with us in Laverre, and now you tell me he also sent you after us here. They are plainly his tools, and they wish to use you to get to me.”
“Get to you and do what? All I want is for us to go back home, to Equestria.”
“I don’t doubt you do. But I believe they wish to use you to pull me apart from my new friends, either to ambush me later or simply banish us from this world and leave Team Flare free to act.”
“That’s crazy! These people don’t work for Lysandre, they went to him for help because he’s a good man!”
“I saw that ‘good man’ carrying a device to mutilate and enslave a Pokémon’s mind,” Celestia answered, voice now hard.
“Was that before or after you started listening to Team Rocket?” Twilight answered back. “Please, I’ve read all about them and heard plenty, and not just from Ash and his friends! They’re thieves and villains, and there’s no despicable act that’s beneath them!”
“And that’s why their leader is ordering them to defeat Team Flare, destroy the Dark Ball, and protect the world right before my eyes? I’ve travelled with them myself and seen much in the way of friendship and caring. I don’t believe them to be some evil monsters.”
“Please, princess,” Twilight practically begged, “just come with us, and let’s go home!”
“I’m sorry, my dear student, but I can’t do that right now. I cannot just abandon friends and an entire world like that.” Celestia stood tall and firm, wings flared, and stared down Ash and the others. “Leave my former student be peacefully, and you can go without harm. Otherwise…”
“Are you crazy?” Pikachu hopped down from Ash’s shoulder. “We’re here to save you from Team Rocket and reunite you with your friend, and you’re defending them?”
“Were you saving me the night you fought for Lysandre in Laverre?” Celestia retorted, eyes narrow.
“You were attacking a factory to steal Poke Balls and ruin it and he tipped us off,” Pikachu retorted. “It was nothing more than that, whatever delusions you’ve got.”
“And you expect me to believe it was pure coincidence you do his bidding not once but twice while we attempt to stop him?”
“You know, I didn’t think much when Twilight thought you were brainwashed, but you sound like a paranoid lunatic!” Pikachu said. “Lysandre isn’t a bad man, he’s been nothing but helpful and nice to us. Why would I trust people who’ve tried to kidnap me hundreds of times over him?”
“So, I take it you won’t simply release my student and walk away peacefully?” Celestia asked.
“Give a princess to Team Rocket because you’re convinced we’re stooges for Lysandre? As if.” Pikachu’s cheeks sparked. “If you wanna hand Twilight over to Giovanni to satisfy your delusions, you’re gonna have to go through me!”
“Alright, I don’t know exactly what’s going on here but I know that this shouldn’t be happening!” Ash took a step forwards and pointed. “Team Rocket, what did you do to Celestia?”
Jessie and James popped up from a frantic whisper session with Meowth.
“Who us? We didn’t do anything except help a poor lost soul we found wandering the road,” James declared.
“What did you do to that Twilight Pokémon?” Jessie folded her arms. “Obviously she would be happier with her friend on Team Rocket.”
“Just think a’ what we could do if we had two of ‘em!”
“I am! You’d use them to steal lots of trainers’ Pokémon!” Ash looked at Celestia. “These guys will say anything to get a Pokémon to go along with them,” he said in a softer tone. “Once, when Pikachu lost his memory back in Hoenn, they told him he was a member of Team Rocket and had him attack me and my friends.”
“They did,” Pikachu nodded.
“So you gotta believe when I say whatever they told you about us is a lie. We only want to help you,” Ash extended a hand.
“I might consider your words had I not already scene for myself who you deal with and what he intends. And I have seen clearly Team Rocket intends to stop a cataclysm you seem intent on causing. Meowth?” she looked over her shoulder.
“Present!” the cat Pokémon volunteered.
“Extend the boy my offer: release my student to her own will, not necessarily to the care of Team Rocket, and walk away peacefully and you have my word as Princess of Equestria that no harm shall befall you or yours.”
“She’s sayin’ let Twilight go her own way and you can go without gettin’ hurt.”
“Ash offered to let me go my own way to find you days ago,” Twilight said. “He isn’t keeping me prisoner.”
“No, simply lying to you in service to his master,” Celestia growled.
“I’m not just gonna hand over Twilight to the likes of Team Rocket!” Ash snapped back.
“Yeah, you’ll try and steal her the moment our backs are turned!” Serena added.
“Past interactions show you can’t be trusted not to steal every Pokémon in sight,” Clemont nodded. “There’s no way we could turn our backs on her with you three around.”
“Tell that to Arbok and Weezing!” James snapped at them.
“And Dustox!” Jessie bunched her fist up.
“If we walk away you’ll capture Twilight and send her to your boss,” Ash shook his head. “And I won’t let that happen. No deal!”
“Very well then,” Celestia looked down at Twilight. “Please, my student, stand aside. My battle is with Lysandre and his pawns, not you.”
Twilight sniffed, but stood tall and flared her wings. “And my battle is with whoever is trying to keep you from returning home! I promise that whatever Team Rocket did to brainwash you, I’ll undo it. Just come with us! Please,” she added with an undercurrent of plea.
“I will not leave my friends to be picked off by the likes of Team Flare!”
“If you guys won’t let her go, then we’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way!” Ash clenched his fist. “Pikachu!”
“Ready!” the yellow Pokémon nodded, cheeks sparking.
“Use Thunderbolt on Team Rocket!”
“This is for making me bake on a rock!” Pikachu shouted as he leapt into the air.
The little yellow Pokémon crackled for just an instant, then unleashed a truly titanic bolt of electricity worthy of an angry sky god. It tore down over the heads of the alicorns, aimed straight for the trio behind them. Celestia tensed, wings extending as she prepared to intercept.
“Not so fast, twerp,” the sound of Jessie’s voice froze her in place. “Wobbuffet, show them you’ve been practicing!”
“Wobba!” the blue Pokémon nodded.
Wobbuffet leapt into the air, a rainbow sheen enveloping his body. He met the massive Thunderbolt as it descended, catching it directly in front of his chest. His aura struggled visibly as the electricity coalesced into a single gigantic ball of energy.
“Hey, that’s Mirror Coat!” Twilight observed, eyes widening as her mind caught up with her tongue.
“Wobb…” he said. “Buff… FET!”
Pikachu’s Thunderbolt exploded out from Wobbuffet as an electrical storm, a dozen bolts of lightning scattering back the way it had come. Before Twilight had time to say another word, Celestia had all but forced her beneath herself. The elder alicorn’s wings wrapped protectively around the younger as a barrier of turquoise energy enveloped them. One bolt of lightning struck it, fury spent uselessly on a rock-solid defense.
Lacking such protection, there was little for Twilight’s human friends to do but scatter as bolts of lightning rained down on them. But they weren’t fast enough – Clemont had barely managed to shield Bonnie with his body, and Ash to grab Pikachu to his chest and duck, before they were struck. Double-powered Thunderbolt coursed through them all like one massive circuit.
“It feels refreshing watching the twerps get a taste of it for once,” James remarked.
“You said it,” Meowth agreed.
The attack was intense but mercifully brief. After just a few seconds electrical scourging Pikachu’s attack vanished as if it had never been. Ash, Serena, and Clemont all toppled over like a row of dominoes, sparking and smoking. Celestia’s protection around Twilight faded, and she immediately looked behind her and winced.
“I told you they were criminal masterminds!”
Not so far away, another figure stared at the bizarre scene through technological magnification, a scowl forming on her face.
“Blast,” Mable muttered under her breath. “I was hoping they’d totally beat each other down first, but it looks like the fighting’s over already.”
“What should we do, ma’am?” one of her subordinates asked.
“What we were ordered to do,” the scientist answered. “We eliminate Team Rocket and this princess of theirs’, then get back to base to welcome the new world.”
“And what about the kids?” another said.
“They’ll be no more in a few days no matter what happens here. Still, better safe than sorry when the stakes are this high.” Mable’s voice was perfectly calm. “No witnesses.”