//------------------------------// // Compassionate Unity // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Samiya. The Sea Temple. The Sea Temple was under attack. Due to Necrozma absorbing the light from the forcefield, everything was now vulnerable to Team Plasma, the Solar Empire and the Twilight Imperium. Team Plasma were the most prominent ones here since there was already a major conflict happening above the ocean. However, many traps were waiting for them as planned by the People of the Water. Ash and the others were the closest to them, including Lunar Ire, who was currently motionless. This was due to Luna and Lunar Ire interacting with each other from within. "She's not responding!" Darkrai exclaimed, noticing how Lunar Ire had a permanent face of anger and a single stance. "D-Did something happen to her?" Flash stammered. He and the others were fearing the worst. Darkrai grabbed the motionless Lunar Ire since she wouldn't move on her own. And with this vulnerability, Team Plasma, who were now approaching, could take advantage of this scenario. If anything were to happen to Lunar Ire in this state, the results would be horrifying. "Whatever's up with Luna, we'll figure it out together. But we can't do it without some space." Ash uttered. He then took out his Poke Balls, sending out the rest of his Pokemon. Dragonite was already out, but now she had extra allies in the form of Lucario, Sirfecth'd and Dracovish. Gengar still needed to rest. "Can you guys give us some time while we head to the treasure room?" "Lu!" Lucario nodded along with the rest of his Pokemon. "We're entrusting Princess Luna to you, Ash," said Shining Armor. "Let us handle Team Plasma. And maybe set off some traps here and there." "Thanks Shining. All of you." Ash thanked them before he, Pikachu and Darkrai made a run for it. Since they were in an area with air, the Golurk could finally assist. Granted, there was still water around the Sea Temple, but they were mostly lucky to not be out in the sea. However, before any conflict could happen, Shining Armor and the others chose to have the traps go off first before they do anything. A sort of surprise attack and taking advantage of their opponents when they're either weakened or confounded. Something that the Swords of Justice had taught him. Luna's Mind. The reason for Lunar Ire's motionless was a mental battle happening between her and Princess Luna. Luna was both figuratively and literally going up against a pony that was bigger than her in every way. "My power is far greater than yours! In every way and every shape!" Lunar Ire bellowed at Princess Luna with her gigantic vice echoing through this mind that had a dark blue appearance to it. "I can't lose to you...Especially now that you're acting like an absolute monster." Luna was fearless in front of this gigantic enraged alicorn, however. "Hmph! I'll squash you like a bug!" Lunar Ire then swung her hoof at Luna, giving the first attack. Luna, in response, simply leapt off the hoof swing as the surface of this mind had trembled with what seemed to be water appearing. Everything below was water. "I idea that you can change Sorrowful Rage Magic is utterly ridiculous. Without the true potential of it, you're nothing but a puny ant waiting to be stomped on! Only having the assistance of Pokemon by your side!" Lunar Ire continued to berate and diminish Luna while furiously attacking the Princess of the Night. Luna flew through the air, evading all the current hoof swings so far. Luna Ire then opened her mouth, unleashing magic from there instead of her horn. That took Luna by surprise for sure. Seeing the ray of magic fly out of this giant's mouth. She was smart and quick enough to put up a shield. "You're certainly powerful... But I won't let you push me around!" Luna then dispelled the ray by expanding her magical forcefield. The alicorn then descended to the liquid floor afterwards. "It doesn't matter what you say! I'm bent on changing it for the better!" "Nonsense! I'll reawaken the hatred within you! And perhaps even bring out Horizon Storm from Twilight Sparkle!" Lunar Ire then leapt into the air, planning to stomp on Luna. Luna slid away from it Lunar Ire only ended up stomping on nothing. After the miss, Luna got her first hit in. With a ray of magic hitting the giant alicorn in the side of her face. Lunar Ire grunted after receiving the first hit. She then started aggressively stomping her hooves and swinging them, trying to hit Luna. But Luna's smaller size allowed her to swiftly elude them. Lunar Ire clearly had the slight disadvantage for being so gigantic. The enraged alicorn then let out a bellowing roar to try and push Luna away, but it was a failure. Luna then ran underneath Lunar Ire to perform her next action. And that involved Lunar Ire's tails. "I have you now!" She cried out before grabbing the tail of the enraged alicorn. Lunar Ire gasped, noticing that her tail had been grabbed. With all her might, Lunar used what physical strength she had to lift Lunar Ire off the ground. "W-What?!" Lunar Ire was even taken aback by this. She didn't expect Luna to be able to do this. Lunar Ire was then pulled through the air before being slammed onto the ground with an earth-shattering impact. A massive splash had been made with Lunar Ire laying there for a second. But Luna wasn't done. After slamming the giant onto the ground, she appeared above Lunar Ire just as quickly as she threw her. The Princess of the Night then came flying down for a follow-up. "You pesky little...!" Lunar Ire grumbled, holding her hoof out to try and grab Luna. By using her vat magic, transformed her hoof into a claw afterwards. Luna swiftly ascended through the gaps of the claw, eluding Lunar Ire once more. Luna proved to be too tricky to catch. She then punished the enraged alicorn with a second helping of a magical beam, right into the chest area while Lunar Ire was still on her back. She certainly felt that one as she had staggered afterwards. Luna then descended once more, believing that she had Lunar Ire right where she wanted her. "Now listen to me. I would like for us to put an end to this immediately." She approached the giant. "There are other important things at stake here and this deep infighting won't help us solve-" However, the moment she got close, Lunar Ire played with deception. She snuck a bit of Sorrowful Rage Magic that slithered within the water. After slithering, it had managed to catch Luna by wrapping around her hooves. After doing so, Luna froze in place, falling right into Lunar Ire's trap. "Unh...!" She grunted before almost falling to the ground. Luna closed her eyes as the Sorrowful Rage Magic started infecting her mind. It infected her by mainly going for deep thoughts that Luna keeps at bay. The Sorrowful Rage Magic exposed those thoughts, using them against the Princess of the Night as voices were starting to echo throughout this mind world. "W-What is this...?!" She heard voices of ponies speaking about her. Mainly about when she became Nightmare Moon on that fateful day, including days before Nightmare Moon's first appearance. Days of her childhood and beyond and how before the current time, Luna had a different reputation. "Again. She avoids us all during the night..." "Can you believe she'd turn out like that...?" "She always did seem to deride everything, especially the day..." "It's always her, isn't it..." "Perhaps being at the moon was the best decision..." "Heh." Lunar Ire let out a slight chuckle before sitting up, looking down at Luna. "Now do you see? You'll never be able to change or deny what I exist for. You're just a piece of my revenge, sadness and hatred boiled after all. Everything that has happened to you in the past and even the future will connect to this. No matter what!" "That's not true...!" Luna grunted, trying to get the voices out of her head. But they kept coming due to the Sorrowful Rage Magic. "What terrifying magic she has..." "She could go awry with all of that magic, honestly..." "To think she might be next in line..." "That's a terrifying thought..." "No...!" Luna stomped her hooves onto the floor, making splashes. She stomped her hooves louder to try and drown out the voices. "Whatever you're drowning into me won't work!" However, despite the potency of Sorrowful Rage Magic, Luna knew this song and dance already. She knew not to allow herself to be lost in her mind. Lessons from Olympia taught her that much. If she were to continue straining against this magic, it would overtake her. So, Luna simply took a deep breath, closing her eyes and allowing herself to be relaxed. But not only did she relax, she allowed the voices to flow through but different ones. This was still her mind at the end of the day. And her thoughts reigned supreme. Instead of the voices of those who feared Luna, strayed away from her or even disliked her slightly was quickly overcome by the voices of those near and dear to her. She chose to hear the voices of Celestia, Ash, Twilight, Darkrai, Fluttershy and many more. Where she had those who strayed away from her, she also had those who accepted and came closer to her. Not even fur multiple minutes could Sorrowful Rage Magic overtake the Princess of the Night. She refused to let something similar to Nightmare Moon happen ever again. Thus, she dispelled the magic from her body, causing the water to flow beautifully while also pushing Lunar Ire back, stunning the enraged alicorn. "How did you break free that quickly?!" "You said you were me. Then by now, you should know that I have far surpassed what was holding me back for so long. You were the same pony that even said you weren't like Nightmare Moon, weren't you? If anything, you're acting fairly similar to Nightmare Moon right about now, I concur." "Don't you dare compare me to her!" That pushed a button. In an outburst, Lunar Ire formed multiple claws that had emerged from the ground, ready to grip Luna. But Luna was now fearless, finally gaining her balance and momentum in this. Mostly because she wanted to end this as soon as she could while also doing what she set out to do. Luna simply hopped onto the claws, using them as a platform as she leapt towards Lunar Ire. "Perhaps not in appearance but from how things are as of now, you're beginning to mirror her!" "Silence!" Lunar Ire didn't take too kindly to that comparison, using her magic to form a massive sphere around the Princess of the Night. However, Luna had sliced it in half, making the sphere separate and fade away. "If I want to truly reach you I have to enter the core!" Luna locked onto Lunar Ire's face, having an idea on where to end this. Lunar Ire then opened her mouth, preparing another magical ray from it. But Luna was going straight in. With some protection of course via magic coating. Luna had taken the beam head-on. But after she took it, she had then dispersed it, negating the magic. Afterwards, the Princess of the Night then duplicated herself multiple times. Soon, the area was flooded with countless Princess Luna's from all sides. Lunar Ire gasped, witnessing Luna's from every direction everywhere she looked. They all glared at the enraged alicorn with two expressions. A grin and a frown. They all then dove, working together to restrain Lunar Ire. Altogether, every single Luna had unleashed spheres of magic from each direction, overwhelming Lunar Ire with these plentiful spheres. All of which was enough to stagger and almost knock the enraged alicorn off her balance. But it wasn't over yet. Here came the restraint. All of the clones had then used their magic to the fullest, causing magical chains to emerge. Lunar Ire's hooves were immediately caught as the enraged alicorn could barely fall in a consistent direction due to this misbalance. Now was Luna's chance. While Lunar Ire was staggered, she took the time to connect with her. And she did this by colliding their horns together. Upon contact with the horns, a white light emerged afterwards. This light had eclipsed them both due to its astronomical size. Lunar Ire was powerless to stop it from happening. Once this light had spread out, it allowed Luna to go even deeper. Deeper than her mind. Her entire mind ended up being layered by this white light as the gigantic Lunar Ire could no longer be seen. Instead, Lunar Ire's actual size, equal to Luna's, was now present. Luna had managed to enter Lunar Ire's heart which was truly her core. "You stay back!" Lunar Ire hissed. But Luna approached either way. "You would dare compare me to Nightmare Moon?!" "I would. You're slowly becoming the very thing you tossed aside at this rate." "No, I am not!" Lunar Ire rumbled, trying to intimidate Luna with a heightened voice, but it was no use. "You don't understand! Without me...the worst could continue to happen! Celestia, Frillish and who knows who might be next?! It could be Ash, Darkrai, Twilight and many of our loved ones! All those who wish to harm everyone we love should perish. So that the future can be safer!" "I understand." "No, you don't!" Lunar Ire rejected. "You would rather limit me in the long run? Even after using my magic sparingly in situations! You...!" Just then, her emotions were starting to show. Tears were forming. "You will just end up being-" But before she could finish her sentence, Luna surprised her other self with a sudden hug. That certainly got Lunar Ire to stay quiet for a moment. After seeing her tears, Luna couldn't help but comfort Lunar Ire. "Believe me. I know. I understand that you want to keep everypony safe. But if you continue down this path then you might end up becoming just another Nightmare Moon." "That's not true!" Lunar Ire still denied it with a headshake. "You are a part of me, after all. A part of me that seeks revenge. But you don't have to. Neither do I plan on getting rid of you. Your magic is wonderful in every way and it's helped out greatly. But I can't stand to see somepony else go down a dark path like this. Especially not you. That's why I want to be there for you. But I should've understood you in the beginning. I'm sorry for rejecting you so much earlier on." Lunar Ire stayed silent after that as she wasn't sure how to respond. All she could do was continue hearing Luna talk and let every word sink into her. "We can share our sorrow and rage together. And make it something wonderful. We can leave Nightmare Moon far behind in the dust, protect everypony in the best way possible. Even if the worst comes our way, we shall tackle it honestly and through." "H-How will you know that will work?" Lunar Ire sniffled. "Both of us will know." Luna moved her hug back before looking at her other-self. "You're the missing part of me. Just like you said months ago." "I'm sorry..." Lunar Ire lowered her head before going for another hug, wanting extra comfort from the only pony who could understand her. "I-I-I don't know what came of me, I just wanted to-" "It's okay." Luna patted her on the back afterwards. Once that was said and done, the unification of two different magical auras had occurred. One from Luna and the other from Lunar Ire. Like a beautiful angel wrapping its wing around something, the two auras formed into wings, covering the dual alicorns. The Sorrowful Magic in its entirety was transforming into something new. The two auras then formed a silver colour afterwards as the mind of Luna gained more colour to it. Then, dispersing the auras, out of it came only Princess Luna. But things were different. Lunar Ire was now fully one with her. No longer a missing link. Luna descended to the liquid floor as her magical aura was sparkling dark blue and red with lightning sparks constantly flickering. Sorrowful Rage Magic had fully been tamed and Luna had further control of it. "Amazing..." Luna felt the rush of the magic within her body, unlike anything she's ever felt before. "I hope we can work together splendidly, Lunar." "I hope so too." Lunar Ire was still there, able to communicate with Luna at all times. No longer needing to be a floating head-wisp to do so. "Now then. Let's get Frillish back and finish things up here in the Sea Temple." Samiya. The Sea Temple. Team Plasma walked through the temple as they noticed how unusually silent it was. They were expecting some extra noise but all they could hear were their footsteps and the water. Plus, an engine. Colress didn't just come out to walk, he had decided to use a vehicle. Colress was on an upside-down dome-shaped vehicle that he was currently riding. The only one without needing to touch the floor. "Hmmm..." Colress observed the area and the awkward silence filling it. "It's awfully quiet. Then again, this temple has been exempt from physical life, hasn't it?" "I don't hear the voices of Ash Ketchum and the others at all." A grunt said. "This temple looks fairly large for them to hide in though." "They want to play hide and seek? Sure. All of you spread out into groups. And whoever finds the crystals first, report it immediately." Colress ordered as many of the Team Plasma grunts had split into groups to cover more ground. But as soon as they split up, that allowed certain traps in the Sea Temple to go off. For one group, they were suddenly pulled in by the same glowing ropes that emerged from the floor. The floor tiles opened up, dragging the grunts down through it. This alerted the attention of the other grunts. They had just seen the others sink to the floor via glowing blue ropes. But as soon as they backed up, another trap had been struck. The same glowing bowl that had previously caught Luna was triggered. Except, while Luna has great reaction speed for being an alicorn, the grunts did not. Luna was still caught by the trap anyway, but the grunts had a more delayed reaction to it. The glowing bowl had caught them before forming into a full sphere, carrying them away. Colress immediately stopped his vehicle to try and not trigger another trap. He had just seen more grunts trigger another via the glowing cubes that had captured Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and Adagio once. But while Colress and some other grunts were static, staying still to not activate anything, other grunts were too late, being caught up in various traps that had the intention of sending them places throughout the temple. After all the traps had been triggered, Colress and the others stood there bewildered. "Such unique traps..." Colress uttered as he was more amazed by the way these traps looked instead of how parts of Team Plasma had been whittled down. Their numbers were now fewer. "Perhaps I can borrow some of those ideas." "Luca!" But while everyone else was bewildered, an Aura Sphere had travelled through the air, free of any traps as it had then struck Colress' vehicle. The scientist was staggered as an Aura explosion had occurred, knocking him and the vehicle back. The one responsible for this was Lucario. Currently, it was him, most of Ash's Pokemon, Shining Armor and the rest of the guards while Ash and Darkrai were off somewhere else. They waited for Team Plasma to trigger the traps and it paid off. Half of Team Plasma's forces had been pulled away by the traps, leaving a fair number for Lucario and the others to tackle. "Nice sneak attack, Lucario!" Shining Armor praised him as he and the others were revealed. "Lucario." "You!" Colress shouted before adjusting his vehicle. He then noticed the odd one out. Ash. He wasn't here. "Hm? How come Ash Ketchum isn't with you?" "He's busy if you must know," said Flash Sentry. "But you won't reach him or even get far into this temple with us in the way." "Pidgeot!" And his Pidgeot agreed. Colress simply scoffed. But he knew that with all of the complex traps lying around, moving around the temple freely was practically non-existent. So things would have to be done carefully But right now, a showdown between the royal guards and the Team Plasma was about to occur. For the second time in the row. But it wasn't just Team Plasma arriving. Jackie finally showed up at the Sea Temple. He no longer needed the Empoleon disguise as he loosened the power of the Shift Stone. He could breathe freely without any worry now, thankfully. "Phew..." He sighed. "Thank you, Empoleon. But boy, isn't this nostalgic? How long has it been since I've been here, Sea Temple?" He took a moment to take in the familiar air of the Sea Temple. Afterwards, he kept his mind back on the mission, but not before turning around. Jackie had to make sure that Tempest Shadow wasn't following him. Unfortunately, she was. She could be seen approaching the temple, still having the Underwater Breathing Spell active. But it only had 3 minutes left on it. "Oh!" Jackie scrunched his face before rushing off, hoping to leave Tempest in the dust. It was only a matter of time until the rest of the attacking forces reached here but some were still dealing with the Grand Equestria on the surface. The traps weren't the only defences that were ready to be used. There was another. One that involved the Dragon Force. A special crystal made for the People of the Vale due to their relationship with the People of the Water. And only Carlita could utilize it. But one extra defence, possibly their greatest defence, was emerging. Princess Luna. Darkrai was still holding onto Lunar Ire. Not anymore at least. He and Ash noticed how the visage of Lunar Ire faded and brought about the familiar appearance of Princess Luna. That brought joy to them as Luna awoke. "Luna!" Ash and Darkrai exclaimed. "Pika!" "Oh, my stars..." Luna groaned before finally waking up. She looked to see Ash, Darkrai and Pikachu staring at her. "Success...And it only took me 7 minutes at best." "Glad to have you back, Luna." Darkrai placed her down. "I was worried when I saw Lunar Ire there." "You don't have to worry anymore, Darkrai. Lunar Ire and I are finally one at last." Luna touched her chest with her hoof as Lunar Ire could certainly feel it. "Now. Let's focus on what's important. Have Team Plasma made it?" "Yeah. Shining, Lucario and the others are gonna do their best to hold them off. Plus making some traps come up too." Ash explained. "We should join them, shouldn't we?" "No. From what we've heard so far, the crystals are far important. You understand them more than we do, Ash. Darkrai and I will handle the droves of opponents while you and Pikachu keep the crystals safe." "Are you sure?" Ash asked. "No need to worry." Luna winked, using Dawn's catchphrase. Due to her using it for the first time, that showed that Luna's confidence and resolve were at an absolute maximum. The peak and zenith. And Ash could tell. He could already put his faith in Luna. And this just further skyrocketed it. "Gotcha! Come on, buddy!" Ash and Pikachu zoomed off towards the treasure room. "Pikachu!" "It should be the late afternoon by now. The moon should be up soon," said Luna. "You're at your best at that time Darkrai." "Always." "And the same goes for everyone else." Luna then used her magic to hold out the current Poke Balls she had. Out of all of them came Aurorus, Xatu, Musharna, Excadrill, Gliscor, Florges and Manectric. "Aurorus!" Aurorus and the others cried out. "I'm counting on you all." She encouraged her partners. "But there's one more missing. Frillish. I'll be right back!" She then spread her wings out, not forgetting about the one who needed the most help. Darkrai and the others would take things from here while Luna heads for Frillish before anything horrible can happen to the Floating Pokemon. Luna's team knew what they needed to do. Protect the Sea Temple and drive off the opposing forces. Simple to understand but difficult to pull off. With Luna and Lunar Ire having a full bond and the opposing forces arriving at the Sea Temple, the struggle for the crystals which contained awesome and stellar power was finally beginning as the journey continues. Chapter 618 End.