A race against time.
Or rather, a race to correct time.
Starlight Glimmer's attempt to prevent the Rainboom from happening was so far, tilting in her favour. Twice. And the first time, Ash, Twilight, Spike and the Pokemon had been pulled into a timeline where there was a great war between King Sombra, who managed to continue his reign over the Crystal Empire. Now, they've been pulled into a second timeline. One where they have no clue what to expect next.
One thing that remained consistent in each timeline was the table and the map.
"What now...?" Ash stood up, holding his back.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu helped Eve and Minccy up.
"This is gonna be harder than I thought. We'll have to try again!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Hey, Twilight..." Spike nudged her tail.
"I don't want to live in that awful future we saw!"
"I don't think you'll have to!" Spike gulped as Twilight and others turned their heads. What they saw was yet another unexpected outcome.
Ponies. Wearing tribal makeup with green stripes around them. They even had some dirt and mud on them here and there. Not only that, but they were all holding spears directly at the group. Two very familiar ponies were Fluttershy and Pinkie who were apart of it.
"Pinkie? Fluttershy?" Twilight said. Speaking up only made the spears get even closer.
"Silence, changeling!" Pinkie snapped at her.
"All servants of Queen Chrysalis found in these woods must be... destroyed!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Dra...?" Dragonite tried to get in for a hug but was quickly forced back as the ponies pushed the spears further forward at the Dragon Pokemon. "Nite?"
"Wait! We're not changelings! I'm a pony! These are Pokemon! He's a human! And he's a dragon!"
"A likely story! Prove that they're Pokemon!" Pinkie uttered.
"Pika...chuuuu!" Pikachu sparked up electricity from his body.
"Okay, that works." Pinkie nodded.
"The servants of Chrysalis will do anything to save their evil skins!" Fluttershy wasn't convinced.
"STOP!" A voice commanded them the ponies to hold their spears back. That voice belonged to Zecora, who stood atop a tree. "If they are changelings we'll soon see." She hopped off the tree, walking up to them. "Though I think they're not what they appear to be"
"Zecora! Please, you have to listen." Yet again, Twilight tried to move up towards them but was met with spears, telling her to keep her distance and stay put.
"Beneath this salve, no changeling hides, for it reveals the truth inside." Zecora placed her hoof inside a salve, having the same green substance that was on the ponies on her hoof. She placed it on Twilight, Ash and the Pokemon's faces to see if they weren't actually changelings.
And obviously. They weren't. They didn't transform or anything bizarre like that. But that wasn't all. Their bodies emanated a white light once the substance was placed on them.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu looked at his body.
"What is this?" Ash looked at his hands.
"What does it mean?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"The meaning is far worse, I see, for it is we who should not be."
"Well, we can explain what's going on." Ash suggested.
"I'm sure you can, but let's not talk here. Chrysalis and her army will soon draw near!" Zecora looked around.
Yet again, Lucien and Sienna were here as well, spectating as usual. So far, this was going well. Granted, it was following the same route as the original timeline but they were anticipating something different to occur soon. Not only that, but they were also keeping an eye out for Dialga. Sienna especially.
"You know...maybe it wasn't such a good idea to mess with this event?" Sienna gulped.
"Why? What's wrong?" Lucien asked.
"What if Dialga finds out that it was us who told Starlight everything. It'll crush us!"
"Pssh. Like Dialga's gonna know." Lucien scoffed at it.
"What if it does?! If it knows how time plays out from start to finish, Dialga end up knowing who told Starlight about the original timeline!" Sienna pulled on her drill hair.
"Calm down!" Lucien held her. "Dialga's not going to find out. We're gonna make it through this without being noticed? Okay? Okay...Now hush up. This is where things are getting good."
With Zecora and the others, they were making their way to someplace more secluded.
"The changelings took over not long ago. Though I'll wager in your world that isn't so," said Zecora
"Chrysalis and her army tried to take over Canterlot, but my friends and I stopped her." Twilight explained.
"Those friends as you know them are not here, alas. But tell me how all this came to pass."
"Starlight Glimmer, a pony who travelled back in time to stop my friends and me from ever coming together!"
"And it is these friends you have in life that keep Equestria free from strife?"
" I guess so. But this is the second time I've come back and this world is even worse than the last one! If Starlight keeps doing the same thing in the past, how could the present be so different?"
"Ah. Time is a river, where even the tiniest changes seen can lead to a cascade of effects downstream." Zecora placed her hoof on a small lake of water. Once she did, it diverged itself from the linear path, going a separate way. "This part of the forest is dark and damp, but it's done well to hide our camp."
She revealed a hidden area that was protected by a wall of leaves. This area was an entire camp with ponies who were living her under Zecora's protection. Some Grass--Type Pokemon were amidst the ponies as well. Once Ash and the others walked by, the ponies were intimidated by their appearance. Mostly the appearance of Ash.
"This doesn't seem so bad," Ash commented. Just then, a bloodcurdling shriek that sounded very familiar came their way. Who else could shriek like that other than Rarity? Who also arrived with Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Their manes were all messy and rugged with scratches on their body.
"Please! You have to help us!" Rarity shrieked.
"The changelings attacked Ponyville! We barely escaped with our lives!" Rainbow exclaimed. Twilight seemed to believe those were her friends. They seemed normal minus the scratches on their bodies as she was ready to talk to them. However, Zecora put her hoof out, knowing that it was too good to be true.
"The only changeling attack I see is the one that come here looking for me!"
"It's taken quite a while to find you, Zecora." Applejack moved forward with a menacing look in her eyes. She let out a laugh as green flames circled around her. Then it was revealed that these weren't actually them. Not at all. In fact, they were changelings. Not just that, but the one who made herself look like Applejack was revealed to be none other Queen Chrysalis herself. "What a lovely village you've chosen to stage your little resistance. It looks absolutely delicious!"
The ponies moved their spears up, forcing the Changeling Queen to back up.
"Oh, come now, Zecora. You're vastly outnumbered." In truth she was. Chrysalis had arrived with an unprecedented amount of changelings who seemed to be wearing armour actually. Not only that, but there were some changelings who disguised themselves at the ponies in the camp. "I know you don't want your charges hurt. Come quietly to the dungeons of Canterlot and I promise to leave the others alone."
"Why would she ever trust you?!" Fluttershy scowled at her.
"Even if there's a chance Chrysalis will honour her word, shouldn't you try?" Twilight asked.
"Race to the map while we hold off their attack. Stop Starlight and put the whole world back on track!" Zecora spoke quietly to Twilight and Ash.
"Time to make a decision, Zecora!"
"Even if what you are saying were true, we'd never surrender to a creature like you!" Zecora bellowed as both sides charged at each other, initiating a battle in the process.
As the others were running to the map, Pikachu pushed a changeling aside by using Quick Attack. Some changelings turned their attention to Twilight and the others, not wanting anypony to get away scot-free.
Minccy jumped up, smacking a changeling down with Aqua Tail as she continued to run with her trainer. Too many changelings were around the area. They all stood in the way of the map, blocking their path to it.
"We need to go now! Dialga!" Ash called for Dialga's name. The Temporal Pokemon heeded the call of its old friend. And as always, Dialga knew how to make an entrance. The booming sound of a portal opening up was so grand that even everypony including the changelings heard it.
"W-W-What is that thing...?" Chrysalis backed up. The changelings were all intimidated by the appearance of Dialga. Rightfully so. It's a giant to them.
The Temporal Pokemon roared at the changelings, forcing them all to scatter away. The Steel-Dragon-Type then brought out another portal that led to the same point in time where the Rainboom first took place.
"Thanks, Dialga!" Twilight thanked as they took their leave, passing through the portal.
Back to this point in time yet again. This time, Twilight came prepared. She placed a barrier that protected her friends from the incoming beam of magic from Starlight.
"Not this time! Eve! Psybeam!"
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon unloaded a beam of psychic energy towards Starlight, aiming to knock her out. But, Starlight's Hatterne intervened, using its own Psybeam.
"I don't know how you keep on following me without the spell! But it ends now!"
"It won't end unless we correct time! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu shot over a raging bolt of thunder towards the two of them. Starlight flew away from the Thunderbolt as it destroyed an entire cloud.
"Hatterene! Psycho Cut!"
"Rene..." Sharp violent blades moved throughout the air, cutting entire clouds in half. Pikachu and the other Pokemon avoided the cuts as they were obliterating every cloud they came across.
"Aqua Tail!"
"Minccino!" The Chinchilla Pokemon jumped up, slamming its tail on Hatteren's head whilst leaving a splash behind. However, Minccy was unfortunately caught by Hatterene's claw as it gripped her tail. "Ccino?!"
The Silent Pokemon tossed the Normal-Type aside.
"Quick Attack!" Both Ash and Twilight said. All three of their Pokemon knew Quick Attack. And at the exact same time, they each moved at blinding speeds, smashing into Hatterene.
Everypony's attention had turned towards the current Pokemon Battle, forgetting about the race entirely. To them, this was the coolest thing they've ever seen in their entire life.
"Blast them away with Psybeam!" Hatterene had sent an intense beam of psychic energy which was much larger than before. It engulfed all 3 Pokemon, rocketing them back to their trainers.
"Pika!"
"Espeon!"
"Ccino!"
"This is the end! Psycho Cut!"
"Not it isn't! Dragonite! Hyper Beam!" Ash commanded. Dragonite flew up, charging up a beam of hyper energy as it was sent right towards Starlight and Hatterene. The duo gasped as they noticed a huge destructive beam heading their way. It obliterated the blades of psychic energy as it seemed to have engulfed Starlight and Hatterene.
But it was revealed that they teleported at the last second.
"Get lost!" Starlight decided to join in by firing her own magic back at them. Twilight flew back as the beam of magic broke through the clouds themselves, almost hitting a young pegasus in the process. The two ponies were flying back and forth, trying to hit each other with magic.
Whilst that went down, the Pokemon were doing their best to stop Hatterene who had the only intention of ripping them all apart with her claw.
"Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped up, tossing a web of electricity downwards. The Silent Pokemon was prepared to cut in half with Psycho Cut, but that didn't happen. Eve made sure of that by blasting her with Psybeam.
"Hatt!" Hatterene felt the brunt of Psybeam as the electric net fell on her, trapping the Psychic-Fairy. "Hatterene!"
"Yes!"
"Hatterene..." Hatterene decided to make its attacks more aggressive. It broke through the web by using its sharp claw to rip it into pieces. The Silent Pokemon then decided to forget the move Light Screen for something much more powerful. Hatterene had learned Dark Pulse. A pulse imbued with dark thoughts obliterated the clouds around them as it then formed into a beam shape, aiming to destroy the Pokemon that stood before it.
"Thunderbolt!" 100,000 volts of electricity met with the pulse, pushing it back a small bit. Soon, they both cancelled each other out.
Twilight and Starlight had tired themself out as none of them could land a single hit on the other. They attempted to blast each other again, but they were exhausted.
"Woah! This is the coolest thing ever!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she and the pegasi were all watching this while eating popcorn. "Do that Hyper thing again or whatever its called! No, wait! The lightning attack was better! DO THAT INSTEAD!"
"What are you doing? You have to finish your race!" Twilight said to her.
"Are you crazy?! This is even more exciting than some race!"
"Gotcha! Blast them Hatterene!"
"Hatt..." Hatterene had decided to attack them with Dark Pulse while their guard was down.
Eve jumped in front of the Dark Pulse, taking the full force of the blast and protecting her trainer. "Esp!"
"Eve!" Twilight gasped. She ran over to see her partner horribly hurt from Dark Pulse.
"See? You can't stop me no matter what you do." Starlight cackled. And since the battle caused them to stop the race, the portal popped up once more, pulling them inside to the next timeline.
"Aw...it's over? Oh well. I saw an awesome battle. I'm satisfied." Rainbow Dash grinned.
They had arrived in the next timeline. This time, it appeared to be at night.
"Again...?" Ash got up from the ground. "How long are we going to keep this up?"
"Pikachu..."
"I don't know. If we don't end up causing the Rainboom to occur, we'll be at this forever." Twilight groaned as she held Eve who was badly hurt.
"Maybe we won't be with them here!" Spike gulped as he was looking over at some Timberwolves that had spotted them. The creatures growled at their prey, preparing to strike at any time. They couldn't catch a break. Not even for a minute. Twilight tried to blast the Timberwolves, but she ended up tiring herself out after her small little scuffle with Starlight earlier.
The Timberwolves found the right time to strike, running towards them.
"Iron Tail!" Ash stepped forward to put a halt to their attack. The Electric Mouse Pokemon turned his tail into pure steel, smashing the Timberwolves to the ground once they got close. "Time to go!" Ash figured it was best to leave now and get a move on. It wasn't just two Timberwolves here. There was an entire pack of them all staring in the shadows with their golden eyes, glowing in the night.
But these woods weren't exclusive to just Timberwolves. Some Zangoose lurked around here as well. And they found out that Ash and the others are currently on their territory. Which didn't sit well with the Cat Ferret Pokemon. A Zangoose leapt out of the shadows, preparing to cut Twilight with Crush Claw.
"Zan!
"Minccino!" The Chinchilla Pokemon protected its trainer from being harmed by using Aqua Tail as a defence. Unfortunately, now she had taken heavy damage. The claws of Zangoose had dug into Minccy's tail, breaking through the water veil. "Ccino!" Her tail had been injured as she tumbled on the ground. More Zangoose's revealed themselves from the shadows, attacking their prey.
"Dragonite! Dragon Claw!" Ash commanded.
"DRA!" Dragonite protected them all by slashing away at the Cat Ferret Pokemon that came nearby. They were all intimidated by the size of Dragonite. Which was enough to scare them off into the shadows.
"That was getting too rough." Ash picked up Minccy.
"Finally...somewhere friendly. The Castle of the Two Sisters!" Twilight sighed. The group had set foot in the area where the castle was located. It was best to get going. More Zangoose and Timberwolves could be heard in the distance.
Entering inside the castle, they slammed the door behind them, blocking the creatures from entering. There was a moment of peace and silence finally. They could breathe at last. Or, that's what they thought. Because the layout of the castle was different from what Twilight remembered. Instead of it looking like an abandoned mess, it seemed to be much more polished and refined as blue flames sprouted up on the side, lighting up the castle.
"This place looks a lot cleaner than I remember," Spike said. It wasn't just the place looking cleaner. But there were banners of the crescent moon everywhere. On the floor, a tapestry had been picked up by some magic. Magic belonging only to one other pony.
Rarity. Who, just like the previous timelines they've been through, also had a vastly different appearance. Not just in the clothing department, but her hair was now a bun along with her tail.
"Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed.
"The castle isn't open for viewings today. The tapestries all need changing. Again." Rarity spoke in an unenthusiastic tone.
"Rarity, it's me!" Spike ran up to her.
"I don't socialize with dragons. I don't know anypony who would." Rarity dismissed Spike, causing the baby dragon to whimper.
"Rarity, you have to listen to us! The future of Equestria's at stake!" Twilight pleaded.
"I don't know how you know my name, but I am far too busy to entertain some tourist's ridiculous fantasies."
"We have to get back to the map so we can stop Starlight from changing the past because every present we come to is worse than the last!"
"Time travel, you say? Now that's something I would like to see." The situation had worsened. In this timeline. They didn't have to worry about Sombra or Chrysalis. But what did they did have to worry about was Nightmare Moon. The nightmare of the night, sitting on her throne. A singular throne. Behind her was a tapestry of herself. In fact, everything was of her. Moon themed decorations and status everywhere. Not a trace of anything Celestia related. And by her side arrived some ponies dressed up in her armour, showing that this was her rule now. "Tell me how you came by this magic to travel through time." She laughed.
"The princess asked you a question! And unless you wanna end up in the dungeon, you'll tell her what she wants to know!" A guard spoke up. Not just any guard, but Rainbow Dash. Who also had a different appearance in the mane department. Her hair was shorter, no longer having her usual spiky mane.
"Nopony in my kingdom but me should possess a magic powerful enough to change time."
"Your kingdom?" Ash uttered.
"Who else?"
"Um...Celestia of course." Spike replied. Saying that made everypony gulp for a small bit.
Nightmare Moon chuckled at those words. "My sister has been imprisoned in the moon for years!" Which was indeed true. The roles had been reversed in this timeline. Instead, Celestia was the one who lost, being imprisoned in the moon for countless years. "But it is no less a fate than she'd sentence me to! Now, reveal to me the source of this time magic!" Nightmare Moon demanded.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu was feeling the urge to shock Nightmare Moon and her ponies at the moment.
"Is this rat trying to stand up me?" Nightmare Moon looked down at Pikachu with disgust.
"...Alright." Twilight suddenly spoke, causing Pikachu to stand down.
"Eh?" Ash and Spike turned to Twilight.
"We have no choice... I can take you to it, but you'll have to get past the timberwolves and Zangoose."
"I am the ruler of all of Equestria. Do you think I can't deal with some cats and timberwolves?" She scoffed at Twilight's words.
"No. I know you can."
"Hmph. Fair enough. But if you even think about trying to escape...the result will be something unfortunate for you and your creature friends here." Nightmare Moon walked over, scowling at Pikachu and Ash. "Keep this larger dragon restrained." She referred to Dragonite, who was the biggest threat here. They chained up the Dragon Pokemon, restraining any movements from it. Ash told Dragonite to go with it for the meantime.
Twilight led the princess of the night to the area of the map. Along the way, Luna was destroying any Timberwolves that came close to her. The Zangoose went into hiding, avoiding Nightmare Moon since they were actually intimidated by her.
"How does it work?" She asked Twilight.
"A pony from my time used this spell to travel back and change the past."
"And now you will give this spell to me! With it, I will ensure that the Elements of Harmony are never found and my reign lasts forever!" She went up to the map, cackling.
"But it won't," Twilight said.
"What?!" She turned around, growling at the younger alicorn.
" In my world, my friends and I found the Elements and used them to defeat you! And I will do everything in my power to bring that world back! Now Ash!"
"You got it! Dialga!" Ash chanted Dialga's name. The Temporal Pokemon came from above, landing down on the ground, causing a small earthquake.
"You tricked me! Get them!"
The ponies would get them...but...Dialga's too much for them. They would rather be thrown into the dungeon than go up against something as grand as Dialga. As a result, they retreated.
"You cowards! Fine! I'll deal with it myself!" Nightmare Moon flew up, blasting at Dialga with magic. She was the first pony in the current timelines to actually attack the guardian of time. Her ray of magic actually managed to slightly harm Dialga, but not by much.
The Temporal Pokemon responded by using its signature move. Roar of Time. A blast of pure draconic energy that was so powerful it even distorted time itself. The sheer magnitude and force blew Nightmare Moon back, causing her armour to break. Nightmare Moon fell on the ground, barely managing to recover from Roar of Time since it was powerful enough to paralyze her for a bit.
"Curse you..." She growled.
Dialga turned to Ash and Twilight, bringing up the portal to the same point in time once more. This time, they had to stop Starlight, or else it could go on forever.
Returning the Rainboom moment, Starlight was waiting once more. But Twilight was ready for the moment. She reversed everything against her by making Starlight and Hatterene into a crystal instead.
"Now more than ever I know how important it is to stop you!" Twilight exclaimed.
Starlight broke through the crystal with her own potent magic, doing it with ease. "Well, good luck!" And once again, another scuffle happened in Cloudsdale but this time in the form of a chase. Starlight flew off as Twilight chased after her. Ash got on Dragonite, attempting to catch up to Starlight and her Hatterene.
Along the way, Starlight raised her hoof up, throwing Rainbow Dash off balance when she flew by.
"Woah!" Yet again, the Rainboom had been stopped, causing a portal to appear. And this is where things accelerated to a high degree. The group would end up going through many timelines over and over again just to try and correct things.
First, they arrived a timeline where Tirek won, destroying everything that stood in his way. Dialga showed up instantly, ready to bring them back to the Rainboom moment. Tirek spotted Dialga, firing at the Legendary Pokemon. But the Temporal Pokemon easily blew his attack away with a single Dragon Pulse which broke through Tirek's beam, knocking him to the ground. When they passed through the portal, Ash tried to have Pikachu used Electroweb on Starlight, but unfortunately, she moved out of the way and instead, it was Rainbow Dash who was hit by the web.
Next, it was a timeline where Celestia and Luna never banished Discord ever. The group landed in a pile of rubber chickens as Equestria was all topsy-turvy and unbalanced. Right now, he was playing around the two princesses by having them dress up as clowns whilst running around. Dialga showed up to bring them back again. But when they came back, Starlight was helping Fluttershy pass through the hoops. So Rainbow Dash would never have to defend her honour. Back to another timeline once more.
The third timeline was one where the Storm Behemoth was never destroyed as it terrorized the land, destroying everything with its destructive electrical pulses. Dialga tackled through the behemoth, flying towards them, returning them to the Rainboom moment yet again. This time, Twilight tried to attack Starlight but what ended up happening here was Hatterene putting Rainbow Dash to sleep. Off to another timeline with a repeat.
The fourth timeline was where the brothers Flim Flam became huge business ponies who made the entire land their own factory.
The fifth was a timeline where Darkrai was never freed from his mind control giving everypony horrible nightmares without him being in control.
In the sixth timeline, Passion was never saved by Celestia which caused her magic to obliterate all of Equestria, causing chaos everywhere.
The seventh, Adagio managed to succeed in her plan. She was now a huge siren towering above all of Equestria whilst spreading disharmony.
The eight, a timeline where Dusknoir absorbed everypony into the board game without them having the chance of escaping, making the entire world feel empty.
The final one, which is possibly the worst possible outcome, a timeline where Ghetsis finished off Princess Celestia and conquered the entire planet, establishing his rule. And that was the final timeline they went through.
"Up for another race-ending fight, Ash and Twilight?" Starlight taunted.
"No. You were right. we can't stop you." Twilight was exhausted as Ash helped her up. "But you can't stop me from trying, and we could be stuck doing this for all eternity!"
"If that's what it takes to keep you and your friends from getting your Cutie Mark connection, then I'm game!"
"This is more than just Cutie Marks, Starlight." Ash said to her. "This is about everyone's future! Even your Hatterene!"
"Pikachu!"
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! It's all about Cutie Marks! They're practically everything!"
"What you're doing goes way beyond cutie marks! Everything we do here in the past – even the smallest change – can snowball into an avalanche of trouble for the future!"
"Spare me your overblown ego! No group of friends, not even Princess Twilight's, is that important! Adagio was right about you two. You're nothing but a disease that spreads around! Trying to infect everypony with that so-called Magic of Friendship nonsense you hold so dearly. WELL FORGET IT! No matter what you do...You won't ever convince me!"
"No. But he definitely can." Ash pointed up at the sky. Look who was here, standing above Cloudsdale. The shadow of the Temporal Pokemon was so grand it loomed over all of Cloudsdale.
"W-W-W-W-W-What is that thing...?" Starlight was perplexed by the sight of the Steel-Dragon-Type that loomed over her. And she noticed it was staring right at her. Even Hatterene was mortified by it.
"That. Is Dialga. The Guardian of Time." Twilight explained shortly.
"Guardian of time...?" Starlight gulped. She noticed that Dialga was floating right towards her, blowing away the clouds from just simply moving. "Hatterene! Psybeam!"
"H-Hatt!" Hatterene blasted Dialga in the face with a Psybeam, but that did nothing. Dialga just stood there, gazing at her. The Temporal Pokemon roared at Starlight, making her shudder in fear as Hatterene forced herself back into her Pokeball.
"N-Now...Let's talk about this. Let's not do anything rash, okay?" Starlight was pleading at Dialga.
"Dialga won't harm you. But it's here to protect time. Making sure that it flows correctly. And you're just making it harder for it." Ash said.
"Pikachu!"
"Making it harder for it? Tough luck!" Starlight zapped Rainbow Dash who flew by. "You can try and intimidate me with this big blue dragon! But it won't work! I'm not listening to a word you say! If you really think a bunch of friends are that important, especially yours... your ego is bigger than I thought!"
" I don't know how important other ponies' friendships are to the future, but I can show you what the world is like without mine!" Twilight said. The portal activated due to Rainbow Dash being hit by Starlight, bringing them all yet again. But this time, Dragonite flew forward, grabbing a hold of Starlight as it dragged her along for the ride.
"Hey! Let me go-"
The final timeline outcome was revealed.
An absolutely horrific one.
Starlight was brought to an area where the land was dead and empty. The trees had died out, there were no signs of civilization or even life. The skies were grey and dull with harsh cold winds blowing on.
"Where are we?!" Starlight turned to her.
"The future. Or rather, the present." Twilight replied.
"But there's nothing here!"
"I wish I could say I was surprised. But every world I come back to is worse than the last. I don't know why my friends and I are so important to Equestria, but we are." Twilight looked to Ash, nodding at him.
"I don't believe you!"
"Better believe it. Because there's nothing else that explains this." Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"I don't want to hear anything from you!" Starlight sent out her Hatterene.
"Like I said, everything in the past affects the future, even the tiniest act. And what you're doing leads here. I know I can't stop you, but I thought showing you this might change your mind."
"Change my mind? You don't know anything about me! I was perfectly happy before you and your friends ruined what I built! Psycho Cut!" She planned to take out all her anger on Twilight and Ash, but Pikachu got in the way, cutting the attack in half.
"I don't know what happened that led you to make your village without cutie marks, and I'm sorry my friends and I had to take it away." Twilight shook her head.
"Pika-Pika!"
"You want to know what happened to me?! You'll never know what happened!"
"But we will. Dialga." Ash called for the guardian of time.
Dialga emerged before them all, ready to show them Starlight's past. The Temporal Pokemon emitted a powerful flash of time that engulfed the entire area.
The past. But not in Cloudsdale this time.
Instead, this seemed to be Starlight's home town.
"Where are we?" Ash asked.
"Isn't it obvious? That map of yours is connected to every part of Equestria, and this part is my home." Starlight led them to the moment in time that changed everything for her. Inside a small little house, there sat two little foals. A young unicorn by the name of Sunburst who was a friend to a young Starlight Glimmer. "Sunburst and I did everything together. In fact, I don't remember us ever being apart. Until today."
A young Starlight was trying her best to gently remove a singular book from the book pile. But it went poorly. So poorly that the pile almost fell on her. But thankfully, her friend Sunburst saved her by using his magic to grab all the books. And it wasn't just something he could do normally. Not at all. His magic had skyrocketed all of a sudden as he hovered up. Every single book surrounded him, spinning around Sunburst in a circle. A bright golden light emanated from him causing the young colt to place all the books back on the shelves in perfect order.
And as a bonus, Sunburst obtained his Cutie Mark for the first. Way before Starlight did. The sight of it excited him to the core. He had to show everypony this immediately. The response was exactly what he expected. They were proud of him, carrying the young unicorn to celebrate. However, this left a young Starlight saddened that her friend has just left like that. Without her gaining her talent until way later in the future.
"And just like that, my friend was gone. His family recognized his magical talent and sent him off to Canterlot. I never saw him again."
"How come?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"Because of his cutie mark! He got his, and I didn't! He moved on, and I didn't! I stayed here and never made another friend because I was too afraid another cutie mark would take them away, too!" Starlight shoved her hoof at Ash as she started to tear up.
"That's ridiculous. A cutie mark can't take your friends away." Twilight said.
"You have Hatterene with you don't you? Isn't she your friend?" Ash spoke.
"Hatterene is just a Pokemon that helps me. Not a friend. Not everypony's lucky enough to get her cutie mark at the same time as her friends!"
"Hatt...?" Hatterene was shocked that Starlight felt that way to her.
"You don't know what it's like to lose a friend because of a cutie mark. But once I stop the Rainboom, you will!" Starlight had used Starswirl's spell to return them to the Rainboom moment. "And I'll make sure you don't get the chance to travel back thanks to that blue dragon thing pal of yours!"
"Starlight, you're right! I don't know what you went through! But I do know you can't do this! We've seen where this leads, and so have you!"
"I only saw what you showed me! Who knows what'll really happen?"
"But we have! A ton of times! Without Twilight's friends, everything turns out for the worst!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Ugh! What's so special about her friends?! How can a group of ponies that are so different be so important?!"
"The differences between me and my friends are the very things that make our friendship strong!" Twilight replied. She walked up but Hatterene stood in front of her.
"I thought Sunburst and I were the same. But we turned out different, and it tore our friendship apart!" Starlight wept.
"So try again! Make new friends! And if something that you can't control happens that changes things, work through it together! That's what friendship is! And it's not just my friendships that are important to Equestria! Everypony's are! When yours ended, it led us here. But just imagine all the others that are out there waiting for you if you just give them a chance!" Twilight flew up.
"Adagio was right about you! That's all you care about! Nothing else!"
"That's not true! There's a reason why Hatterene came to you, isn't there?!" Ash stepped forward. "You two became trainer and Pokemon for a reason!"
"Hatterene and I only met because she looked like she was in trouble! I saved her life and ever since then she's been by my side! Helping me out along the way! Nothing else!"
"Then that means she is your friend! Pokemon don't just choose trainers for no reason! They choose them because of trust and compassion! Hatterene chose you because you saved her life! Because of that, she'll do anything to protect you, just like how you protected her as well! She even goes far enough to try and stop us!" Ash uttered.
"Pikachu!"
"You've had a friend beside you this entire time! One who wants to be by your side at all times! And you can make new friends along the way! They don't even have to be ponies! You can just become friends with Pokemon as well!" Ash pointed at Hatterene.
"Hatterene." Despite hearing that she wasn't considered a friend to her by her own trainer, Hatterene still cared for Starlight Glimmer anyway.
"How do I know they won't all end the same way?" Starlight looked up at both of them.
"I guess it's up to you to make sure they don't. And your Pokemon will be there to help you out." Twilight smiled.
Dialga had decided that this was the perfect place to put an end to the time travelling. The Temporal Pokemon let out a flash of light that engulfed only the group. And at that exact same time, the Rainboom had been triggered as time could flow on naturally once more.
In a flash of blue light, they had safely been brought back to Twilight's castle. The whole thing was still here in all its glory.
"Finally..." Ash let out a sigh of relief as he laid on his back.
"Oh, sweet, sweet castle!" Spike got on the floor, kissing it.
"What in Equestria was that?!" Rarity's voice travelled through their ears. The rest of their friends had arrived. Mostly due to the fact that the damage that Dialga did to the ceiling was still there somehow.
"Is everypony okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"Can you do it again?" Pinkie squealed. "Also. What was that big blue thing that came out of nowhere?"
"It's all still here." Ash looked down at Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash! Everyone! What's going on-" Goh had rushed in, responding to sudden damage done to castle. When he looked ahead, he noticed Starlight standing over there. "Wagh!" He stopped running as he tripped over.
"What's she doing here?" Applejack referred to Starlight.
"Long story. All you need to know it worked out in the end." Ash replied.
"Pika."
"I'll explain everything." Twilight walked forward.
"And I'll just.. come back later..." Goh grinned, slowly backing away.
Starlight was waiting outside of the meeting room as she paced back and forth. She was nervous about the outcome that was about to be given to her. But, Hatterene was there to give her comfort.
"Thanks, Hatterene. And um...sorry for saying that you weren't my friend earlier."
"Hatterene." The Silent Pokemon gave Starlight a pat on the head with its claw.
Inside, the room, the group were talking about the whole time travel debacle. Ash had explained everything to them including Dialga.
"I mean, I knew my Rainboom was awesome, but I never thought all of Equestria depended on it!" Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Or on us!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"I can't believe there's a Pokemon that guards over time." Rarity said.
"I think it's more than that. Friendship connects all of Equestria, and undoing one group of friends made its magic less powerful." Twilight explained.
"I can't believe y'all were able to travel through time like that with Dialga. What Legendary Pokemon friends with Ash?" AJ asked.
"That Starlight must be pretty magical!" Pinkie nodded.
"She obviously has more talent for magic than almost anypony I've seen. My magic couldn't stop her. I had to convince her to stop on her own. Once I realized that, everything fell into place."
"But if she's as powerful as all that, we can't just send her on her way, can we?" Applejack uttered.
"Nope. Twilight came up with something even better." Ash replied.
Spike opened the door, startling Starlight. He gave the hand gesture that said: "Come on in." The light purple unicorn held her breath in, gulping as well as she walked towards them all.
"I know there's no excuse for what I did, but I want you all to know that I'm ready for whatever punishment you think is fair." Starlight lowered her head.
"I've been thinking a lot about how badly Equestria fared without just one group of friends. Because even when one friendship dies, the results can be disastrous." Twilight got off her seat.
"I know first-hoof how true that can be." Starlight responded.
"And that's why I've asked you here. If you're willing to learn, I'm willing to teach you what I know. You'll have the power to make Equestria an even better place."
"How do I start?"
"Starting is easy! All you have to do is make a friend! And you've got a lot of them right here." Twilight looked over at her friends." And one by your side." Twilight walked up to Hatterene.
The new path for Starlight's road to friendship began. She seemed lost at the beginning of all of this. Shutting friendship off away from her. But not anymore. She no longer thought it was too late to make new friends. After all, she had one on her side this entire time. Hatterene. Even if she never noticed in the first place, Hatterene was there for her from start to finish. And through the good and bad, she helped her trainer through it all. Even if it meant harming others just to make Starlight happy.
Ash's Dragonite finally felt like now was the right time for a hug. And Dragonite gave a special hug to Starlight and Hatterene. The Dragon Pokemon grabbed them both, giving them the best hug they've ever experienced. The other Pokemon decided to give Starlight a chance in friendship.
Rarity gave Starlight some dresses to try on while her Leavanny's think of what would look best on her.
Fluttershy showed her the Pokemon House, letting Starlight view all the wonderful Pokemon that inhabited the world. She even recommended Starlight a Pokemon if she ever wanted a second one in the future. A bunch of Combee had flown around Starlight, giving off a sweet scent for her to take in. Hatterene was swarmed by other Pokemon who seemed to be attracted to her.
Rainbow Dash let Starlight fly alongside her. Starlight was on Braviary's back as the Valiant Pokemon soared through the clouds with her. Meanwhile, Altaria was carrying Hatterene around as well.
Applejack showed her how enjoyable it can be to work alongside each other. By bucking trees together with Treecko giving her an apple to eat.
As for eating, Pinkie Pie had her Slurpuff give a ton of well-baked cupcakes for her to eat. Now she'll know how enjoyable every food in the world can be. Spinda had stuffed Hatterene's face while stuffing its own.
Ash showed her the thrill of the Pokemon battle. If Starlight trained, she and her Hatterene could pull off amazing feats together. Pikachu went up to Hatterene as the two gave each other a high-five.
And for Twilight, she went a step further. She brought Starlight back to the village she ruled once. Double Diamond and the others were still there even. This was the nerve-wracking part. Making amends with them.
Starlight walked up to the ponies she once ruled over and lied to even. She gave off an apology that she believed wouldn't be enough. But, they were able to tell that she was being sincere from the heart. So in that instance, they forgave her. Even if they are still a tiny bit judgemental.
It was back to Ponyville. Starlight could now make friends with everypony there. Not just a limited amount. From farm ponies, rowdy pegasi, crusaders, musicians, bakers, teachers etc. There was no limit to the type of ponies she could befriend. And as long as she has those that care for her on her side, she'll never lose her way ever again.
Dialga had looked down over Ponyville, letting out a mighty roar of victory. Its roar was enough to grab everypony's attention. Dialga wanted to give its thanks before leaving.
"Thanks for the help, Dialga!" Ash waved at him.
"Pikachu!"
"Uh, Dialga...I'm sorry for interfering with time! I hope you can at least forgive me!" Starlight apologized.
Dialga had forgiven her. All was right once more. So it held no grudge against her. It let out a roar that Fluttershy could translate.
"Dialga said that all is forgiven." Fluttershy translated.
"How does it fly without wings...?" Pinkie whispered to Rarity.
"Thank you, Dialga." Starlight thanked the Temporal Pokemon.
It was time for the guardian of time to return back to its realm to make sure that time flows correctly without any misbalance. The last they saw of Dialga was seeing it fly through a booming portal that emerged. Dialga's work here was done.
"Our work here is done." Lucien nodded as he and Sienna high-fived each other.
"Mhm. That did turn out pretty good. So, what's next?"
"What's next? Isn't obvious? Next week, the baby's finally being born. About time. I'll let you come up with an idea this time."
"Huh? Why do I have to come up with the idea?" Sienna replied, causing Lucien to laugh.
This part of the story can finally come to a close. But it's not over yet as the journey continues.
Chapter 180 End.