Equestria. Inside the Strange Castle. Afternoon.
Returning to the castle by reappearing with cosmic particles were Celestia, Luna, Chrysalis and Gardevoir. They had just finished checking up on a universe with a completely different Celestia. It was quite the experience being in a world that was similar to theirs but had a different development with Pokemon.
"Oooh..." Upon returning, Celestia felt drowsy and stunned. She held her head, taking in the unsavoury effects. Luna stumbled, falling on her back immediately while Chrysalis fell to the side. Unlike how they pass through gateways, entering here left them in shambles.
"Amazing! You're still in one piece?!" Entering this castle as well was the Twilight from another world, stunned to see the three of them intact. "That's not supposed to happen."
"W-Why? What is supposed to happen?" Celestia asked as her eyes spun around for a bit.
"Usually, anypony who gets sent back here after time runs out has all of their dimensions split apart and it takes some time for them to be put back. But you three are completely fine. Maybe it's because you're alicorns."
"I'm not an alicorn though, but I'm similar..." Chrysalis groaned. "Apologies for using your castle. I only went inside by instinct..."
"Ah, it's fine. It's my fault for not supervising it. Then again, it's just me inside of this castle. Plus, you look like you had fun in that universe." She grinned before helping Luna and Chrysalis up.
"How come this castle can travel to different universes? How did you even obtain something like this?" Celestia asked.
"It's not actually travelling to another universe. It's sitting in between the two of them. The door behind us leads to Universe 20 while the one you came through leads back to yours. Universe 1. Right now, it's sitting in-between space."
"Is it now?" Luna approached the door on the left side to see for herself. By using her magic, she opened it from afar, revealing what was lying beyond. Lo and behold, it was Manehattan. Just like how she remembers it. "Amazing..."
"As for how I got it...It's not really mine. Somepony lent it to me one day, telling me that I would find use for it eventually. And that day ended up coming after all, so now I'm using it. This castle's not only my way of escaping my pursuers but a way of reaching Prisma. And I'm glad I showed up at the right universe."
"Well, it's best that we get going. The rest of the Pokemon Festival is waiting for us. But at the same time..." The Sun Princess paused for a moment.
"I know, I know. You're still cautious about me approaching Prisma. But you don't have to worry about that."
"What I'm truly worried about is who can show up here. If you head to Ash, those pursuers of yours could cause trouble. Unless they're only troublesome to you?" Celestia finished her sentence.
"Well, they both have the same goal as me. They want to stop Prisma too and the way they go about it is rather destructive. They invaded my world, searching for me since I apparently had something that could stop Prisma."
"You? What do you have?" Luna asked.
"I-I'm not sure." The unicorn had no idea herself. "But they really want me, even if it means attacking my home. I don't want to bring any trouble to your universe and that's why I want to stop Prisma as soon as possible." She apologized. It is not her intention to bring a storm of trouble to this universe. Twilight herself, just wanted all of her troubles to be over. Her pursuers would stop chasing her and Prisma wouldn't return
"It's alright, Twilight. I created the Universal Alliance solely for reasons such as this. If I could speak with them, we'd get to the bottom of this. It's our job to protect and save universes in peril." Celestia then thought about it. The answer to her problems was currently around her. "Actually...we could use this to visit those other universes."
"We could?" Luna and Chrysalis said in unison.
"Of course! We showed up in another universe with this castle. Universe 20 was the name. So, by that logic, what's stopping us from reaching the others? We could reunite with our friends and see how they're doing and even catch up with what Daybreaker's alliance might be up to."
"Oooh, good thinking!" Luna frantically nodded. "We should have come to that conclusion sooner!"
"Twilight. Can this castle freely travel to other universes? Or in this case, be in between others?" Celestia, with high hopes, looked back at the unicorn.
"Well..." She grit her teeth. That basically confirmed that it wasn't as easy as the Three Royals wanted it to be. "It's complicated. It took me a while to even show up to this universe, even though I knew where the source of Prisma was. I can't just go anywhere with this castle. It takes time."
"How long will it take?" Chrysalis asked.
"It took me at least a month to find Universe 1. The castle is in tune with space but it can't travel as fast as light or any other cosmic thing out there."
"That's a shame. But we can wait. I wouldn't want to miss this opportunity." Celestia certainly had the patience. "Twilight. If it isn't any trouble, we'd like to use your castle in the future. And in return, we'll protect you."
"You'll protect me?! Seriously?!" Music to her ears. She wasn't going to go solo at all. She would have someone to back her up and it was possibly the biggest backup she could ever receive.
"Of course. You don't have any ill intentions when it comes to stopping Prisma. Compared to Twilight Moonlight, you just want to keep the the Soul of Prisma from entering the world. That's something we wish to do as well. Let's work together, shall we?"
"O-Okay! Thank you, Princess Celestia!" Twilight was all for that. This was titanic support for her. Having an entire Universe support her was reassuring, especially since Universe 1 was well-adjusted with the World of Pokemon. It was full of the strongest Pokemon Trainers out there, without a doubt. "I won't let you down! In just a month, this castle will be ready to travel and...Oh, wait. It takes a month to get there, so wouldn't it be better to leave now?"
"Mmm..." The Sun Princess smiled, looking back at her sister and best friend. "No. I want to enjoy the Pokemon Festival and meet with Cobalion. So in the meantime, you're free to stick around our universe."
With permission from Celestia, Twilight could stay in this universe while also being protected. The pursuers from Twilight Moonlight's Universe will be met with Universe 1's defenders. And they already have plenty of experience with that universe.
Unova. Virbank City. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Virbank City. Currently, in unison with the Pokemon Festival, it was going through a Film Festival. PokeStar Studios has its own festival and it finally revealed itself this year. Arriving at Virbank were some of Ash's friends after leaving Pallet Town.
This festival was out in the open and on the inside as well. But the inside only presented food, tickets and other items to take inside. Inside the Film Festival was a grand ballroom with elaborate gold-leafed pillars and a high, domed ceiling adorned with murals depicting scenes from famous films. As you enter, the distinct scent of freshly popped popcorn and butter saturates the air, mingling with the fragrance of exotic flowers.
A sprawling red carpet leads toward a stage, where an enormous screen was displaying vibrant scenes from different movies. A group of elegantly dressed festival-goers eagerly gather around the many booths that show upcoming films or films that have already shown up. Or even anything from the past they managed to miss out on.
"Ah, you made it! At last!" Present here was Rarity. Alongside her Human Counterpart who was also in her Pony Form, who received the nickname Rare. "Just in time too!" We were just about to add some finishing touches to our film. It will show up on the big screen!"
"Sweet!" Ash said with a bright grin. "I wanna see a bit of it right now, or everything that made it happen."
"All of my Pokemon are involved in this one." Rarity continued. "They all get screentime this time. And we made sure that our film would be the one to win. It's a competitive Film Festival after all."
"If it doesn't...Oh well." Rare shrugged. "It is what it is."
"This is what we're offering. The film that'll win this competition." Holding out the film poster with her magic, Ash and the others leaned in to see the title of the film. Rare Rarity.
"Hm. That checks out." Applejack spoke after seeing the title. It was a clever title, covering both of their names while also being the best way to describe something.
"It's about both of us, if you must know. And we decided to base it around how we both encountered Pokemon but with some changes here and there." Rare explained the premise. "Simple but effective."
"I don't know. This one looks more fun to me." However, Apple Bloom had a different taste in mind. She saw another poster, showing a film with a Houndoom as the central part.
"Ah! Apple Bloom!" Rarity gasped after her friend found interest in another movie. Rare Rarity just wasn't it for her. At least, so far.
"Same here. This looks too good to ignore." Agreeing with Apple Bloom was Sweetie Belle. Specifiaclly, Equestria's Sweetie Belle.
"Sweetie Belle, no!" Rarity teared up as she couldn't believe her eyes. Her own sister.
"What are you even up against here?" Ash looked around, wanting to see the other films being presented in this Film Festival. His eyes met with a long table full of many film producers who showed up here to compete. Each of them are either experienced Film Makers or are at the same level as Rarity.
There was quite an abundance of them. The numbers were not small at all. The competition would be stacked with some of them already having enticing posters. These posters were all made by the Pokemon Smeargle, captivating what they envisioned. They were already speaking out, calling out to others to come and check out their films. Some of them were already playing at this very moment.
"Catch a view of my film!" And another one to scream these words was none other than the former Team Plasma Member, Livadi. She was present here as well. "I guarantee you, it'll leave you in shock and awe."
"Pikachu..." Pikachu's eyes widened after spotting her.
"Yeah, I see her. Livadi was her name, right?" Ash recalled, recognizing her appearance based on what Celestia told her. "That looks a lot like her. "She's here too? A former Team Plasma member."
"Livadi? The one that Adagio and her sisters had trouble with?! And the one who Princess Celestia battled?!" Rarity didn't even notice her here at all until now. Having Livadi here changes a few things. There was a chance she could be up to no good. Or there was also a chance that she just wanted to win this normally. Either one was possible based on what they know about Livadi.
And Livadi was aware of them as well. With a devious grin, she looked over at Ash and the group, noticing them. Livadi especially recognized Ash since he was Team Plasma's Biggest Enemy.
"I'll even save up special seats for some of you," Livadi said, speaking directly to Ash. And Ash knew this. He wasn't sure if he was a target of Livadi but he couldn't be too careful around her. The air didn't intensify, but there was clearly something there. Livadi was a bit of a wildcard.
She could either be plotting something or minding her business. And Livadi knew she was making them think that while also giving Fluttershy a scare.
"Forget that! Check mine out!" However, this mildly intense air was broken up by someone else with a rather outspoken voice. Something beyond a poster was placed down on the table. It as a banner instead, showing the film. Someone went the distance to stand out from the rest. "You're going to love this!"
And it was someone who also had a similar face to Ash's. Everyone else saw his face. Much like how Red, Ethan, Brendan and Hilbert share this face, another individual entered the fray. Ash felt like looking in the mirror a bit as he even had the same clothes he wore when he explored Sinnoh.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 283 End.