//------------------------------// // Dragons and Dragons. Alicorns and Alicorns // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Empress Twilight's World. Canterlot Palace. "That was weird..." Spike sighed as he held his head. They were just recovering from the World Pirouette Spell caused by Empress Twilight but negated by Chrysalis. "Is everyone okay?" "Still dandy and safe here." Rarity said while getting up from the floor. "But...I fear that I'm running out of steam here..." "Ditto." Sunset nodded in agreement as she and the others breathed in and out. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, their bodies had limitations. They are most certainly tired ever since what happened in Rota led all the way up to this. Rarity, Sunset and Pinkie Pie may not be able to continue any further. Spike himself wasn't exempt from this either. "We just need to keep it up a bit more," Spike said to his friends. "As long as the Elements and Pyrestar are safe, we would've gotten one thing done. All that's left is to stop this invasion. Come on. Let's at least find everypony else and see if they're alright." "Xo? Haxorus!" That's when Haxorus was the first to hear familiar sounds coming this way as they echoed throughout the hallway. And they weren't friendly that's for sure. In fact, they were originally pursuing Spike and the others but were temporarily fended off thanks to Milotic. Spike and the others eventually heard the sounds themselves as immediately gasped in unison, looking behind them. And lo and behold, the paper that they were previously escaping from had returned. The Paper Hawk and Wolf. They had restored themselves with the rest of the paper within the palace, mostly from books. And they stepped it up. There were now even more paper creations in the form of other creatures as they all raced towards Spike's group. "Oh..." Sunset groaned. "Enough for one day..." "Let's just Mega Evolve and get this over with!" Rarity said as she looked at both her Ampharos and Lopunny before staring at their Mega Stones and accessories she wore "Yeah." Spike agreed as he was ready to Mega Evolve Salamence once more. This would be the third time in a row today that he's done so. The paper creations closed in as the lights from the Mega Stone flared, immediately altering the Pokemon and transitioning them into their Mega Evolved Forms. The Empress' throne room. Luna stood before Empress Twilight and Skyblue Shine while her Pokemon dealt with Skyblue's Pokemon in the hallway. "Empress! Let me finish things with her!" Skyblue Shine offered. "You upgraded me to be on her level!" "I did. But I can tell that Luna herself is growing..." The Empress narrowed her eyes. "Something within you is hiding what you're truly capable of, Luna. Something you can't accept." "You mean Lunar Ire? Forget it! I refuse to fully use her at all. I shall not have a repeat of Nightmare Moon." Luna stomped her hoof. "Pssh. Suit yourself. But I can't take any chances. Skyblue. Will you assist me in restraining Luna? That Sorrowful Rage Magic of hers has my curiosity actually." "Yes, Empress!" "Pah! I'm not the same as I was before! Things will be different from last time! Darkrai!" Luna bellowed as she made the first move. She allowed her magic to illuminate a blinding light that spread across the entire room while she called for Darkrai. The light flashed in front of the eyes of the Empress and Skyblue Shine, temporarily blinding them. Hearing his Trainer's call, the Pitch Black Pokemon knew that he was needed. Darkrai quickly put his battle with Aggron on hold by using Dark Void to put the Iron Armor Pokemon to sleep. Afterwards, Frillish hovered over Darkrai, firing Hydro Pump towards the Steel-Rock-Type. Although, Aggron was currently Mega Evolved so it wouldn't be that easy to take him out. But, with him being asleep, the rest of Luna's Pokemon can attack him as much as they want before he wakes up. Darkrai moved through the shadows, zooming at a quicker pace than he would with just floating around. He moved across the hallways within the shadows, passing by the rest of the carnage and destruction occurring because of this battle as he managed to reach the throne room while Luna's light died down. The Pitch Black Pokemon put his hands together, utilizing Dark Void in an attempt to put the Empress to sleep. And when he popped out of the shadows, appearing in the throne room, Darkrai lobbed the ball of darkness towards the Empress. "Oh!" The Empress gasped as she swayed her body to the side, evading the Dark Void. "You sly mare! You almost got me there, actually." "Tch! Didn't think something so simple would've worked out anyway..." Luna scoffed. "She sure is fast, isn't she?" Darkrai said. "You two can't beat me again. Allow me to remind you why you were powerless to me in the first place!" The Empress laughed as she used her Hair Spell, manipulating her own mane and using it as a weapon, just like before. She had also lit her mane with fire as she swung it about. "What?! A flaming mane?!" Luna gawked at the sight of the flaming mane as she and Darkrai backed away once it was swung downwards at them. The hair hit the floor with the force of a hammer as flames erupted from the initial hit, almost catching the alicorn and her Pokemon. "Darkrai, Poison Jab!" Luna yelled while ascending into the air, shooting out her own beam of magic to try and distract the Empress while Darkrai goes in for Poison Jab. However, there was the issue of Skyblue Shine. She had quickly countered Luna's magic with her own beam, preventing the distraction. Darkrai zoomed over at the Empress with Poison surrounding his claws. The Empress swung her scorching mane like a whip, sending it straight for the Pitch Black Pokemon. Darkrai flew over the blazing whips, avoiding them as much as he could. The flames came his way as Darkrai used the Poison from Poison Jab, clawing at the flaming mane. The flames protected the mane from being melted away by Darkrai's poison as the Dark-Type was going back and forth the Empress' hair. Luna flew over Skyblue Shine's magic beam before blasting the android in the back with her own magic, forcing Skyblue to the floor. Luna then went for the Empress next, planning to tag-team her with Darkrai. She manoeuvred her way around the flames while the heat was getting to her. Her wing had been struck by one of the flames, causing the Moon Princess to wince. But she didn't lose her balance even after that. Luna then used her magic to slice a piece of the flaming mane off, allowing her to get closer to the Empress. Once she was close enough, both alicorns locked horns with each other while Darkrai's Poison Jab was promptly stopped by a barrier the Empress made on the side. "What's wrong?!" Luna grinned. "Can't use your Gravity Spell because you're so low on magic yourself?!" "Tch!" The Empress' eye twitched after hearing Luna's response. "Don't get cocky just because I'm missing most of my magic. I don't need to use the Gravity Spell just to get rid of you! I have other options that can do the trick!" "Talk all you want. Right now, my sister is more than enough for you. But I shall be the one to stop you before she gets here!" Luna and the Empress separated from each other after causing their magic to pulsate with both their horns. "What do you mean she's more than enough for me?" The Empress squinted her eyes as Darkrai moved to the side, going for Poison Jab to claw the Empress' face. "!" Reacting quick, the Empress moved her head back, avoiding Darkrai's upward claw swing. "Now, Dark Void!" Luna shouted as Skyblue Shine shot her in the back, paying Luna back for what she did to her seconds ago. The moment the Empress evaded Poison Jab, Darkrai used his other claw, creating Dark Void. However, instead of throwing it, the Pitch Black Pokemon held it in his claw as he physically forced it on her. "Oh!" The Empress gasped as Darkrai thrust his arm, smashing the void of Darkness onto the Empress' neck, making it a direct hit. "Empress!" Skyblue Shine cried out after witnessing her ruler take a hit. She had finally been struck by Dark Pulse as a pitch-black void consumed the Empress before fading away. After that, the Empress felt the effects of Dark Void as her eyes closed, her body fell to the floor as everything around her was becoming nothing but a pitch-black image. "Haha! Finally!" Luna cackled as she got up from the floor. "That was really all we needed. Dark Void truly is the best isn't it?" "You'll pay for this, Princess Luna!" Skyblue Shine chided before charging at the Moon Princess with her hooves out. Luna teleported to the side as Skyblue Shine ended up crashing into a wall because of this evasion. After she crashed into the wall, Darkrai used Dark Void once more, tossing it at the android. Skyblue Shine turned around, witnessing an orb the size of her entire body. And speaking of her entire body, that's exactly what the Dark Void consumed. It connected with the android, consuming her whole body before fading away. Just like that, she fell asleep too, dropping the floor. "There," Luna smirked. "Now they'll both be sharing the same nightmare. Whatever it may be. Now that was simple enough, wasn't it? Nothing too grandiose to finish this invasion but it is what it is, wouldn't you say, Darkrai?" "Uh...Luna..." However, Darkrai had witnessed something with his very eyes as he wasn't focused on Skyblue Shine right now. His eyes were on the Empress. Luna responded to Darkrai's words as she turned to face where the Pitch Black Pokemon was facing. Lo and behold, a dark blue and purple magic stream emanated from her body while she was asleep. This was her own magic at work as her horn was even glowing. Not only that, but the aura of this magic seemed familiar. Especially to Luna herself. They had stars within them. But they weren't meant to represent the Empress' mane. Instead, they resembled the mane of another alicorn. One that Luna feared to ever experience or be in the same room with considering her past. And she said the name of this alicorn with these words. "That magic...that's Nightmare Moon!" Luna was perplexed by what she was witnessing. Before she knew it, the stream of magic moved at unprecedented speeds, immediately wrapping around Darkrai and Luna, faster than they could properly react. Their bodies were held in place by the essence of this magic as it moved like a violent tornado. Luna attempted to teleport away while Darkrai tried to fall into the shadows for safety. The Trainer and Pokemon were fully consumed by this nightmare magic as well as Skyblue Shine herself. The stream had then filled the room afterwards, making it difficult to Luna and Darkrai to really go anywhere else. Meanwhile with Ash's group. Ash, Twilight and Celestia were searching for the throne room to assist Luna. If they could find it. The vast size of this whole palace made it difficult to really get around. Along the way, they came across various vehicles and robotic creations that stood in their path while all this carnage spread across the castle. But, their Pokemon were able to defeat each of them every time. They kept moving, searching for the throne room. Even if this palace was still the original Canterlot Castle, the size, scale and new additions to it certainly weren't. Every direction was hard for Celestia to follow. This place didn't even feel like her own castle from how different it looked. As they kept moving, Ash, Twilight and Celestia ended up coming across something bizarre in particular. Something they weren't expecting as they came to a screeching halt. They came across Celestia herself. "Celestia?!" Ash and Twilight both said while Celestia gazed at herself. A completely separate Celestia. This was, of course, the Celestia of this world. "Oh!" The Celestia of this world also gawked before stopping herself. Within this scuffle of two sides, she was on the run herself. "Wait. Is it Chrysalis or..." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Oh, no. I-I'm the Celestia of this world." The second Celestia pointed her hoof at herself. "Luna did mention you." The first Celestia responded. "I suppose it was to be expected for us to eventually cross paths." "Right. Though, it is fairly bizarre to meet myself from another world if I'm being honest." The second Celestia chuckled nervously. "But, you're here to stop the Empress, aren't you?" "Sure are. Do you know where the throne room is? Luna's over there right now." Ash asked. "Pikachu?" "The throne room can only be accessed through the middle floor. Any other floor is exempt from this. The fifth floor has an exclusive and secret passageway that only leads to the very top of the castle." The second Celestia instructed. "Fifth floor. Understood." The first Celestia nodded as she and her friends were ready to head to the fifth floor and take the second Celestia's instructed path. But before they could do so, the first Celestia looked at her alternate self for a moment. She then remembered how Luna mentioned that this world's Celestia was missing most of her magic as it was stolen by the Empress. She had been reduced to a cleaning maid after all and the best she could do with her magic is grab objects and zap small bolts of magic. And that's about that. Knowing this, the first Celestia decided to fix all of that. And she had the magic and Cutie Mark to make it work. "Before we go. How would you like all of your magic back to you?" Celestia asked her alternate self. "All my magic back? I'm afraid that's not possible now. Not with what the Empress did." The second Celestia sighed. "The same goes for every other alicorn in other world's she's visited." "Perhaps. Unless I do this." The first Celestia then stood firmly on the floor, flashing her horn with cosmic and solar magic. The rays of magical light then shot out of her horn before covering the second Celestia. The second Celestia had her eyes widen and mouth open with a bright light shooting out of them. Her body levitated in the air with all of the cosmic and solar magic covering her body. The first Celestia's Boundless Cutie Mark was also spinning around rapidly in response. Ash and the others covered their eyes from the blinding light that Celestia's magic could exude. It was still hard getting used to how intense it truly was to look. Afterwards, Celestia lowered her magic, pulling her horn back as the second Celestia descended to the floor with golden bolts sparking around her body. "Oh..." The second Celestia breathed in and out with her body twitching from that perplexing experienced. She eventually maintained her composure, shaking her head, blinking a few times as her heart was beating normally. That's when she felt a familiar feeling she hadn't experienced in decades. "My magic...It's all back?!" "It certainly is." The first Celestia nodded. "Good as new. Though, I hope I haven't overdone it and added some more." "Oh thank you so much!" The second Celestia hugged her other-self. "But, what about your magic?" "It's fine. Thanks to this Boundless Cutie Mark, it automatically restores all the magic that I exude. Even if I run out of magic, this mark will just build it all up once more. It would be as if nothing had happened." "Impressive." The second Celestia gawked at the mark. "So, this is how you will return all of the magic to the alicorns that have had their magic taken away from that?" "We'll use the Magic Siphoning Jar for that. We've taken most of the magic from the Empress and placed it within the jar. Some of it had even been transferred to me. Once this is all over, we shall return the magic via the jar's usage." The first Celestia explained. "...What exactly is your world?" The second Celestia tilted her head. "Anyway. We should get going! Luna needs our help! Thank you for this visit!" Celestia thanked her alternate self as she, Ash, Twilight and their Pokemon rushed off, heading for the fifth floor to find this exclusive passageway to the throne room. The second Celestia smiled as she got a move on as well. With Fluttershy's group. Fluttershy and her group had come across Spike's group, witnessing the Paper creatures going up against the Pokemon and some Mega Evolved ones. It was certainly a sight to behold. "Spike! Everyone!" Starlight cried out while being carried by Goh. "Lopun!" Lopunny kicked a Paper Snake in the stomach, sending it flying across the hallway as it had passed Starlight' group. The papers then scattered due to Lopunny's kick. The snake quickly reformed before slithering back at Lopunny while also sending sharp cutting paper towards Starlight and the others after spotting them. "Leavanny!" One of Rarity's Leavanny zoomed in, using Slash to cut the paper apart, saving Starlight and the rest from being struck by a nasty papercut. "Is this paper?!" Trixie gasped as a Paper Wolf lunged at her from above, causing her to screech out loud. "Cinderace, Blaze Kick!" Goh ordered. "Castform, Weather Ball!" So did Rainbow Dash. "Derace!" The Strike Pokemon quickly turned around, lighting his feet on fire before lunging straight at the wolf. With an upwards kick, Cinderace's Blaze Kick struck the Paper Wolf, spreading out flames that burnt the paper with the speed of a wildfire. "Form!" Castform did the same although his was a tad bit smaller and spread less quickly. Still got the job done either way. But, more paper was being summoned from across the castle, just adding to the number of magical paper creations there were. The aggressiveness grew more as the paper creations then launched multiple explosive waves of paper by sacrificing bits of their constructed paper bodies. "Haxo!" Haxorus ran in front of everyone else, putting his arms out as he used himself as a shield to protect all of his friends. And he did it successfully. The explosions blew around only Haxorus as he took all of the damage. After the smoke cleared, Braixen hopped on Haxorus' head, using her stick to fire continuous Fire Spins at the paper. "Braixen!" "Hatterene, Psycho Cut!" Hatterene!" Hatterene, who was being carried by Starlight's magic since she was the slowest Pokemon here, had been placed down. "Tterene!" The Silent Pokemon then lit her tentacle claw up with a purple energy before swinging it wildly. Sharp psychic blades came flying out, tearing through the paper constructs and slicing them in half like sliced bread. The same went for Haxorus, Salamence and the 12 Leavanny. Each started cutting them apart. Whether it was Haxorus' axe jaw head, Mega Salamence's head or the Leavanny and their physical cutting moves. Mega Ampharos electrocuted the paper with high volts of electricity, causing them to receive shocks that made them stop in place. Misdreavus assisted by using Zap Cannon to do the same. After they were frozen by Ampharos and Misdreavus' electricity, that's when Mew came flying in, using Psyshock to blow them all away to bits. The paper creatures had been dealt with but of course, more had arrived, utilizing everything within the castle to continue living on as they rushed over in the form of other creatures, this time larger than ever. "Ugh! It never ends!" Sunset groaned as she was getting exhausted here. "They just keep coming...And I'm not sure if I have the energy left at the moment." Rarity sighed as she was about to lose her balance standing up. "It would be quicker if Pheromosa was here.." "Tired out of my mind here." Spike held his head. Goh and the others were tired themselves too. All this running wasn't helping at all. "It's not over yet." Even though she was tired as well, Pinkie Pie had a lot of energy left in her to continue. She looked at her friends before looking back at the approaching paper creations. "I think we can get rid of all of them in one go, ya know?" "How?" Sunset looked up at Pinkie Pie. "Well we can-" Just as Pinkie was about to explain herself, busting through the walls with aggressive force and even damaging the paper creations by ripping them apart was a machine. Not just any machine. The half-damaged machine that Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack battled earlier and assumed that it was destroyed. Except it wasn't. It was still functioning well and dandy. "That thing?!" Applejack gasped. "It should be nothing but scrap! How is it still here?!" Rainbow Dash grimaced as the machine's laser eye was still function, unfortunately. With one flash of it, the machine locked onto Rainbow Dash and the others, deciding that payback was due. It would also focus on Spike's group too, classifying them as enemies. Out of its laser eye, a large laser blast came flying out, obliterating some of the paper creations while going straight for the group. "Xo!" Haxorus, once again, used himself as a shield as he took the laser blast, protecting his friends. Thanks to his hard armoured body, he was able to take the laser blast. Plus, the previous battle had damaged the laser eye, weakening its effectiveness and power as Haxorus slid back. However, even with a weakened eye, the machine was still dangerous as its whole body turned red once more. The machine then hovered into the air, ready to use its jet boosters to light the whole room up. "This again?!" Rainbow Dash spoke. "Not just that...Look!" Applejack then pointed her hoof at another group of flames that didn't originate from the machine. Instead, they originated from the Empress. The flames from the flaming mane that were sent across the room were still moving, slowly consuming the palace with their blazing fury along the way. Some papers had been burnt by these flames while attempting to reform and head over here. "Those are from the flaming mane!" Rarity exclaimed. "Flaming what now?" Applejack turned to Rarity. The flames roared as they took out some of the paper creations here while also tearing down the room. Instantly, everything about this floor was being demolished. Whether from the Pokemon, the machines, the paper creations or the flames that were destroying everything. Everyone was running low on energy at this point. They weren't sure if they could last another day at this point. They, unfortunately, didn't have the stamina as most of their Pokemon. But some of their Pokemon were getting tired too. Only Haxorus, Salamence and Ampharos still looked like they had a lot to give out. As the paper creature approached, the machine unleashed the flames from its jet booster, sending them across the floor, adding extra fire. Now light blue flames and normal coloured flames were moving across the area as the heat was intensifying. Milotic herself was trying everything she could to put these flames out with Hydro Pump. But, she as well had limitations. "What do we do?" Goh asked while looking at his friends. All they could really do was try their best and hope that they could get rid of all the opponents. If they had the energy left in them that is. "Goo!" But that's when, from far behind them, a large beam of ice had passed them before they knew it, missing all of the Pokemon here as if it wasn't being aimed at them. But it was certainly being aimed at the opponents that stood before Fluttershy and the others. This move was obviously Ice Beam as it struck the paper creations and machine respectively. Upon contact, the paper creations had been frozen by Ice Beam while the machine only had parts of its body frozen over along with some of its arms. It was still able to move. "Ice Beam?" Spike blinked before turning around to see which Pokemon was the cause of that. No one among his friend group knew any Ice-Type moves aside from Castform when utilizing Weather Ball in his Snowy Form. Everyone else turned around with Spike to see who their new ally was. And that ally was both someone new and yet familiar at the same time. At least, to most of them, Trixie was exempt from this familiarity along with Sunset Shimmer. But to Spike and the others, not so much. The Pokemon they saw standing before them along with a single human by that Pokemon's side brought a bright smile to Spike's face. It was a Goodra. Not just any Goodra. His Goodra. Which was once a Goomy. And beside him was Dragon Trainer Avaun. Alongside the other Dragon Trainers. "Oh! OH!" Spike's energy came back to him after witnessing this sight. "Avaun! And...Goodra?" "It's been a while, Spike, my boy," Avaun spoke as he patted Goodra on the back. "It's good to see you again. But, that doesn't compare to how much Goodra here is happy to see you once more." "Goo!" "Once more...? Wait. Does that mean that this Goodra...?" Spike slowly raised his claw, pointing right at the Dragon Pokemon with an open mouth. "Once a Goomy with great potential and now a Goodra with all of that potential oozing out. Literally too" Avaun smiled while having one of Goodra's slime on his gloves. "Goodra!" Excited to see his Trainer again, Goodra ran over to Spike with open arms while Spike also ran over, wanting to hug his first-ever Pokemon. "Goo!" "Oh, Goodra!" Spike cried out as the two of them embraced each other with a loving and reunion-filled hug. "I missed you pal! Look at you! You're a Goodra now! And you feel so sticky..." "Goo!" Goodra cheered as Spike was stuck on his slimy body for a brief moment before sliding off. "Get a look at that Pokemon..." Sunset took out her Pokedex. "Goodra. The Dragon Pokemon. This very friendly Dragon-type Pokémon will hug its beloved Trainer, leaving that Trainer covered in sticky slime. Its form of offence is forcefully stretching out its horns. The strikes land 100 times harder than any blow from a heavyweight boxer. Underneath its slimy skin is a thick layer of fat, and the combination of the two makes enemies’ attacks slide right off. Sometimes it misunderstands instructions and appears dazed or bewildered. Many Trainers don’t mind, finding this behaviour to be adorable. It gets picked on because it’s meek. But then, whoever teased it gets to feel the full force of its horns and a good swatting from its thick tail." The machine had freed itself from the ice by using its laser beam to blow it apart. Meanwhile, the flames were still approaching with Milotic tiring out. She couldn't get rid of all these flames on her own. "There's still that problem!" Fluttershy alerted everyone as the machine was free with the flames still approaching. More paper creations were still showing up even with all these flames as they started blowing up. "You can leave this problem to us," Avaun said as he and the Dragon Trainers offered to handle the rest of this mess. "But, would you like to see what else Goodra can do?" "Yes please!" Spike nodded in agreement. "Uh...what else can Goodra do now?" "Goodra!" Goodra was about to show Spike exactly what he could do by using another one of his moves. Power Whip. The horns on Goodra's lit up a verdant green colour as the Dragon Pokemon swung them around. They had also extended as per the natural usage of Power Whip. With one powerful swing, the whip had smashed into the paper creations and machine, causing them to crash into the walls. The paper creations were immediately burnt while the machine had its body damaged while being struck onto the flames on the walls. Some of its heavy armour was being melted off because of this. "Awesome!" Spike gawked. "Now go," Avaun said. "Okay! Thanks, Avaun! Come on, Goodra. I've got a lot to show you after this! Uh...if we make it out that is." Spike spoke while running off with his friends. "Goo!" Meanwhile, within the Dream World. After being caught by the stream of magic identical to Nightmare Moon, Luna and Darkrai opened their eyes with audible gasps leaving their mouths. "Ah!" Luna blinked rapidly before standing up. Right now, they were in the Dream World itself without Luna's control. The area they were in specifically was a dream variant of the throne room. "H-How...? How does she know magic such as that?" "I picked up some other tricks from your alternate selves, Luna." The voice of the Empress rang out, echoing across the skies of the Dream World. "Nightmare Moon isn't so useless as I thought" "I thought so! So you can even utilize that kind of magic?!" Luna looked around. "Of course, I can! When it comes to Magical Potential, I have no equal! Aside from that accursed niece of mine Flurry Heart. I can't have her 1UP me in that category. After this is all said and done, I shall personally deal with her myself." "You won't get the chance! Even in this world, Darkrai still has power! And so did I!" Luna snarled as she lit her horn up with her magic, using that blinding light technique once more. This time, on a larger scale considering that everything here was make-belief. This light enveloped the whole area, adding some light to it as the force of this light was so great that it managed to reveal both the Empress and Skyblue Shine herself, bringing them out of hiding. "Tch!" The Empress kissed her teeth after being revealed by Luna. "There you are! You may have this magic now, but don't forget, I've been with it longer than you ever have!" Luna declared as she made herself super-sized by merely dreaming of being gigantic. Her size broke through the roof of the throne room, appearing before the Empire. But since this was just a world full of dreams and nightmares, the citizens here were non-existent. "Hoh?" The Empress did the same as she also made herself super-sized. But thanks to her superior size being equal to Princess Celestia, she towered over Luna, easily. "You think I don't know that? Who cares about years of experience when you're as adept and a fast learner as myself?" "It shouldn't even belong to you either way..." Luna said under her breath before she and the Empress started throwing whatever they could think in their dreams at each other. Luna had summoned millions of herself towards the Empress in waves. Meanwhile, the Empress simply used millions of chains to try and tie down these millions of Luna while the main Luna went straight after her. The two giant alicorns clashed horns with each other as the smaller Lunas were using their magic to try and fend off the chains. The Empress pushed Luna back before conjuring a sea of lightning arrows that flooded the skies. The lightning arrows then shot forward, making the sound of thunder as they had enough strength to pierce through anything they could make contact with. However, in a stroke of genius, if it can be considered that, Luna simply opened her mouth, making it wider than it usually is as she ate the lightning arrows instead of avoiding or countering them. All the arrows entered her mouth as she then closed it afterwards. "Mmm! Delicious!" Luna nodded before burping out lightning towards the Empress. Her burp even sounded like a clap of thunder too. The Empress flew to the side, avoiding the lightning bolts as a few of the millions of Luna crowded the Empress' covering her face. Luna summoned more of herself, quickly transforming the millions into billions. The Empress' eyes had been blocked out by the horde of Luna's, distracting her for a bit. That distraction allowed for Luna to engulf the Empress in a mountain-sized magic beam from her horn. The beam coated the Empress while also hitting Luna's own miniature selves in the process. The Empress cried out as she actually fell over from Luna's surprise attack. The buildings were crushed and destroyed by the giant Empress. But, she quickly regained her composure by summoning a large could below her. Afterwards, Luna flew over the Empress, prepared to dive down on her. Empress Twilight responded by making her entire body out of magma, grinning at Luna as the Moon Princes winced upon witnessing this scorching transformation. The Empress then tossed herself at Luna as multiple magma sprays started flying out of her. Luna conjured up giant magma-resistance cups to catch the magma, filling them up as the Empress kept approaching as magma trailed out of her. In response, Luna then decreased her size, making herself the size of a pebble as the Empress ended up missing because of Luna's size change and her descent. Afterwards, Luna resized herself to be a giant while covering herself in a cold aura. She resized underneath the Empress, striking her horn onto her stomach while having the cold aura bypass the magma body of hers. The Empress was sent straight to the sky as the cold aura removed her magma body. Scoffing at Luna's tricks, the Empress then had giant chains pop out of the ground, shooting up and destroying the mini Lunas along the way. The chains then grabbed onto Luna's hooves, preventing her from chasing after the Empress. Not only that, but the chains themselves had then shocked Luna while also transforming themselves into magma. Luna winced after being shocked and feeling magma flow over her body. But she resisted it. She dreamt of herself being immune to magma and the chains being as fragile as a snowflake. She easily broke through the chains and passed through the magma as she chased after the Empress. Empress Twilight then inverted the air itself, causing Luna to fly the opposite way, crashing her to the ground. The air was also being sucked out of the atmosphere because of the Empress' actions. She then shattered the skies of the Dream World, causing them to become platforms as everything was now spread out as if it was one big obstacle course with an endless void as the background. Luna recovered herself by teleporting towards one of the sky platforms. She then jumped from sky platform to sky platform, approaching the Empress while having her miniature selves fly towards her fellow alicorn. As for Darkrai, he was currently up against Skyblue Shine, countering everything that she threw at him. However, noticeably, Skyblue Shine was just using her regular magic instead of dreaming of anything. "Curious. How come you refuse to dream of anything to 1UP me?" "I am incapable of dreaming. I was just built that way. It is unfortunate but it is what it is." Skyblue Shine said while chasing after Darkrai. "That so? Then in that case..." Darkrai then made himself nothing but an endless black void that immediately encapsulated Skbylue Shine when she got close. "You have no power here. But I do." "What?!" Skyblue Shine looked around her as Darkrai's endless void, closed in on the android, consuming her in nothing but endless darkness. As for Luna, she eventually reached the Empress after avoiding everything that was being thrown at her. Their dreams were bouncing off each other as they seemed to have equally absurd things in mind. Luna then closed her eyes as she dreamt of the sun growing in size and intensity. And that's what happened. The sun grew to astronomical size, larger than it usually was as the brightness even intensified. Luna gave herself sun-resistant glasses while the Empress herself was blinded by this sight. As a rebuttal, the Empress took the heat of the sun and sent it towards Luna in response. Luna gasped as she instantly started sweating from all the heat being sent her way. So her response was on the more destructive side. Luna dreamt of the sun blowing up on the spot. And with that thought, a supernova occurred. One that blew both the Empress, Luna and the sky platforms away while lighting up the endless void as well. The Empress and Luna both hit the nearest ground, rolling on it as the supernova left some lasting damage on them. "Ugh..." Luna held her head afterwards. "Good thing it is not real." "Luna..." The Empress stood up as she shook her head. "I'll admit. You've gotten better than last time. But you're still not close enough to even stopping me." "Hmph. Talk all you want. I've heard this drabble before." "Oh, but the difference is...I can back it up. Observe." The Empress then formed a smile before vibrating the Dream World itself. Luna suddenly froze in place from this pulse. She was so frozen that not only could she move, but she couldn't dream of anything to counteract this. "W-What is this?! W-Why can't I dream of anything?!" Luna growled. "A little something Nightmare Rarity taught me. Nifty isn't it? The magic to block out dreams is more useful than I thought it would be if I'm being honest." The Empress walked around Luna. "Dreams are important than they seem. "C-Curse you!" "Now, it's about time we finished this." The Empress then brought about a pure black void that was starting to consume Luna. Darkrai took notice of this as he immediately rushed to his Trainer's side, trying to prevent it. And the moment Darkrai came in contact with the void, a flash of darkness emanated, covering the whole Dream World in seconds. Outside the palace. High in the skies. The battle between both sides was seemingly reaching its breaking point. More sides were decreasing in numbers but it was mainly Celestia's side. The Empress still had the rest of her forces from across Equestria and other worlds that would come and give their assistance soon. However, Celestia's side still had powerful Pokemon that could edge things out and guide them to victory. But it was anyone's game at the moment. That is until, at the only gateway in the sky, something else was coming this way. Something that would change this whole battle in seconds. Through the gateway, the Pokemon they were waiting for had shown himself. Zekrom. But he wasn't alone. The first thing that came through was Zekrom's wing as the forces of the Empress' side had wide smiles on their faces, believing that they have won at this point. With a Pokemon as powerful as Zekrom, they couldn't lose. Right? Well, the reason Zekrom wasn't alone and why his wing came through and not his head first was that someone had pushed him through the gateway. That, someone, was Reshiram. "It's Zekrom!" Brawly gasped. "And Reshiram! Roxanne pulled back. Before they knew it, Reshiram had shoved Ghetsis right through the gateway as they were still battling, barely showing signs of being exhausted unlike everyone else. Reshiram and Zekrom came diving down, hitting the ground and parts of the castle as they caused an immediate earthquake with a ground tsunami in the mix. Both forces had been blown back by the collision of the Twin Dragons. The battle between both sides had been interrupted as they had each taken damage. Vehicles had been knocked over as well as many other soldiers in the process. No one was spared from the blowback that these two Dragon-Types made. Not even the ones in the sky. Speaking of which, they weren't the only ones passing through the sky. There was one more. Through the gateway, using the full speed and absolute limits of the machine, passing right through and arriving at the invading world was another one of the Empress' ships. However, it was the one that had been claimed by Team Rocket. "Made it!" James announced while gripping the controls tightly. The speed they went at left everyone on the ship perplexed as their hair stood up. "And just in the thick of things too!" "Great! So where's Applejack?!" Apple Bloom pressed her face on the glass. "Somewhere amidst all of this chaos I presume," James replied. "If you want to go and help her, now's your chance. As for me, I'll have full control of the skies. You'll also have to watch out for that Machamp of yours when he shows up." "Rarity has to be okay!" Sweetie Belle said. "I mean, she's got Pheromosa on her side, right?!" "You're certainly not going down there alone with all of this mess. We're just going to retrieve them and bring them all to safety." Mayor Mare spoke to the fillies. "Let's all just be careful, alright? And stay behind me and Stoutland." "We will!" Many of the ponies said together as James descended the ship, allowing the hatch to open with the stars coming out. Getting down would need to take caution since Reshiram and Zekrom were now a part of the battle. And they are bound to cause even more destruction than both sides combined. Zekrom tossed Reshiram off of him, sending the Vast White Pokemon crashing through the palace walls and a few other robots which had been obliterated. Afterwards, Zekrom unleashed a devastating blast of lightning from his mouth, shooting at Reshiram. The lightning blast struck Reshiram's stomach, further pushing the Dragon of Truth back as the volts were destroying the vehicles by just being present here. Many ponies from both sides started running away as Zekrom increased the size of his blast, pushing Reshiram even further away. Reshiram countered this by surrounding his body in a blaze of fire, utilizing it as a spherical shield. Not only did he block the lightning with it, but he also caused a reaction, forming a semblance of plasma in the process. The two attacks cancelled each other out afterwards. Reshiram stood up, gazing at his opposite half as they both locked eyes. Remains of their flames and electricity spread across the ground as the palace itself had been damaged from their collision. Without a doubt, these two will bring about destruction to this empire the likes of which have never been seen before. However, another individual, while they wouldn't be able to cause as much destruction as the Twin Dragons, this individual would leave a lasting effect as a voice echoed through the gateway. "MACHAMP." Right through the large gateway in the sky, a giant foot came right through. A foot belonging to the Superpower Pokemon, Machamp. He was still Gigantamaxed thanks to Eternatus' influence. The Fighting-Type put his whole body through the gateway by bending his body forward, allowing him to better ease in considering his stupendous size. Everyone witnessed the first giant foot come through and then, later on, the head and four arms of Machamp. It was like he was opening a two-sided door. Machamp was finally here as he put his entire body through the gateway. With one stomp, he shook the Empire. Things were truly reaching their breaking points. The throne room. Ash, Twilight and Celestia had finally reached the throne room after taking the second Celestia's advice. After arriving there, they were met with a mixed sight. Luna was on the floor with Darkrai having his claw over her. And the Empress herself was breathing in and out with her back against the wall. Skyblue Shine herself had fainted. "Luna! Darkrai!" Celestia cried out. "Ugh..." Luna groaned as Darkrai helped her off the floor. "Sister?!" "Tch." The Empress wiped the dust off of herself. "What an annoyance." "Are you alright?!" Celestia went over to her little sister. "Fine. Darkrai saved me at the last moment. That was far too risky." Luna sighed. "So, we finally meet, hm? Ash Ketchum." The Empress faced Ash after witnessing him and the others enter the room. "And of course, my younger self. How nostalgic is this?" "Empress Twilight..." Twilight scrunched her face while looking at her alternate older self. Seeing her up close made the intimidation factor just show itself even more. "Scared? You shouldn't be, Twilight. Not when you're gonna grow up into something as wonderful as this. And eventually, an amazing ruler, such as myself. That is...if you ever get the chance to do so before I take over your world next." "Twilight's never gonna be like you." Ash interrupted while an intimidated Twilight Sparkle quivered. "Hoh? Maybe not this Twilight." The Empress shrugged. "But aside from that...I've been waiting for this. You've already proven to be major trouble for Ghetsis and Team Plasma and I've heard of your other escapades from the far past and even in this current timeline. Even seeing you for the first time makes it clear to me that you are a threat, Ash Ketchum. The same goes for you, Celestia." "Pika...!" Pikachu sparked up electricity around his red sacs while Espeon hissed at the Empress. "I'll admit. You and your forces actually had me worried there, Celestia." The Empress paced to the side with all eyes following her. "The tenacity you and your side have shown is remarkable. You've also had amazing strategies, mainly with the Pokemon. The way your kingdom has battled is honestly overwhelming. Never before has my Empire had to put in so much work against your world. You've pushed us this far, surprised us with your...barbaric tactics and even almost succeeded in rendering me powerless. But tenacity only prolongs the inevitable. Thanks to my amazing and loyal subject Skyblue Shine, my spirits are at an all-time high. Which essentially means that the chances of you winning have plummeted. But let it be known, those chances you had were actually promising in the beginning. Not anymore." "You talk too much. Are we going to finish this or what?" Celestia scoffed as the sound of two dragons roaring in the distance could be heard. And the Empress recognized Zekrom's cry for sure, knowing that her most powerful ally had arrived. "Oh, we will." Empress Twilight gave out a devious chuckle before pulsating out a dark purple magical aura afterwards. Her eyes sparkled as she faced off against her four opponents and their Pokemon, ready to end this once and for all. Frenzy Forest. Delphox's Hut. And while everything was reaching the climax, a certain Spirit of Chaos had finally awoken. "!" An exclamation mark appeared above his head as his eyes had opened after so many hours of being closed. Discord was up and healthy once more as he sat up. "Ooooh!" He then yawned, stretching his bones after having a seemingly nice and definitely peaceful nap. "Hooh!" "Del?" "Well. That was just plain rude." Discord growled as he grizzled his fangs, thinking about the Empress. "I can safely that Tree Hugger is more bearable than eugh." "Delphox!" Delphox grabbed the attention of the Spirit of Chaos. "Hm? Oh, you must be Delphox!" Discord appeared in front of the Flame Pokemon, stretching his paw as he shook her hands. "Thank you so-so-so much for taking care of me. Even if you barely did anything at all." "Phox." "Of course I can hear you even when I'm unconscious? Who said I couldn't?" Discord smirked as he could actually understand Delphox. "Del..." "Now then."I believe some revenge is due." Discord's eyes flared red. "Fluttershy and everyone went to her world, right?" "D-Delphox." "Splendid. Well, take care! Happy tidings!" Discord gave his farewell to Delphox as he vanished from the hut in a spray of confetti. The Fire-Psychic-Type was a bit confounded by Discord, but at this point, since she's seen a lot in her life, it wasn't too surprising. Now Discord was about to join the fray as the journey continues. Chapter 466 End.