Universe 10. The Arcane Institute. Years Ago.
After fleeing her home town due to the essence of Prisma wreaking havoc on it, a young Twilight Moonlight was eventually found by the group known as the Arcane Institute. Those at this Magical School knew who she was all thanks to Twilight Luminaria's existence. They even knew how Prisma was and immediately had to recruit her. At this moment, she was off to see this world's Pokemon Professor before she could fully learn and grow here.
The Professor's Lab was a spacious and cluttered room, strewn with books and arcane artifacts. The shelves are stacked high with potions and mysterious vials, while ancient diagrams are pinned to the walls. A faint smell of alchemical reagents lingers in the air, mixed with the sweet scent of burning incense. a large table displays a delicate glass apparatus, bubbling and hissing with coloured liquids, joined by three Poke Balls.
This was not only a lab but an office for the one who runs this institute. But there was no sign of anyone at all. Instead, there was this tall metallic pillar that connected to the floor all the way to the ceiling with red orbs on the front and side standing at the centre.
"Welcome, Twilight. We're glad to have you." A voice came from the metallic structure, greeting the young unicorn. The red orbs would also flash each time his voice would echo out. "And I was certainly expecting somepony like you."
"You're the professor?" She gazed at the mechanical pillar. "Seriously?"
"I am. You'll have to excuse a lack of a physical body. I no longer have one. I'm just a consciousness now. And you could say I'm in the same situation as you."
"My body's not in a machine though..." She squinted, thinking about something else.
"Not that, my little pony. I'm talking about the world that came before. I used to live in that world and I am one of the very few survivors. My body was lost ever since that world vanished, but not my consciousness. Just like you, I remember everything."
"You have those kinds of memories too?" She made a prolonged gasp. Then you know about-"
"Yes. I know who Prisma is. How could I not know who he is? To think that he almost made a full appearance in this world. Truly a terrifying character. I assume my members of staff have informed you of why you're here and what we wish to do."
"They have. And I want to do the same. I was trying to stop Prisma from returning but I didn't have enough time. I wish I did..." She lowered her eyes, showing anger rather than sadness. She was more frustrated than sad, wishing she could've have the capability to stop Prisma. But Twilight fled in fear after what she had just witnessed. Any child would.
"In the Arcane Institute, you'll have all the time in the world to develop your skills. Not just your mental skills but also your skills as a Pokemon Trainer. The type of skills needed to stop Prisma's revival. Because I can assure you, there is a high possibility of it happening." The Pokemon Professor added. From his red orb, he showed Moonlight a holographic video of this institute and what it had to offer.
It was essentially a Pokemon School but with a different set goal. And different ways of doing things. Twilight watched what it had to offer, seeing the possibilities laid out for her. For any other child, this would be a lot to take in. But for Twilight Moonlight, she wouldn't have the same problem.
"Then do you know about this thing then?" From her dusty bag, she pulled out the piece of the missing crown, showing it to the Professor. "My parents said I was born with it and I just can't be away from it at all. It's connected to me and my memories won't tell me why."
"That crown belonged to a very powerful and important pony. The only one who could stand up to Prisma and challenge him. And you are one part of her, just like that crown. It's reassuring to see a piece of it, honestly. You are one half of Twilight Luminaria, which is exactly why we have plenty of hope just from your existence. You, Twilight, are proof that even with Prisma's revival being highly possible, there'll be a way to stop him."
"So, what can I do? What can I pull off that'll make me equal to Twilight Luminaria?"
"I started this institute to prepare for Prisma's revival The students here are trained to grow as Pokemon Trainers and to also help stop the coming storm. There are other worlds beyond ours, Twilight and in each of them, the key to removing Prisma from the equation exists. Three of you. Three girls with the same face and the same name. All connected to Twilight Luminaria."
From his red orbs, he showed another projection. This professor had knowledge of the other Twilights, even showing their faces. It wasn't that hard since they all shared the same face. There, Moonlight saw her three selves.
The two Twilight Sparkles and the solely named Twilight. Also known as Twilight Wish. He had images of them as children Each of them were fillies plus a young girl. Twilight was stunned to see three more of herself. Seeing someone with the same face was absolutely bewildering. It even triggered her memories, making her reminisce about the lost world and the brief instances that she received.
"But Prisma is a crafty character...He has counterparts of his own, Twilight. More than what you have. 10 of them. 10 different boys with the same face but different names"
Another projection appeared, showing Twilight Moonlight the 10 Boys. Ash, Red and all the others, perfectly lined up. Even they had young faces and appearances, which was another testament to the professor's incredible resource.
"While they exist in other worlds, it's difficult for us to reach them. But we will soon have the technology to travel to different universes. "
"I know those faces. Urgh..." She lowered her head which was ringing because of the memories. Somepony her age still couldn't fully handle it and it only caused her pain when it came up.
"I knew it. You're stocked with memories. Unlike me, you can't handle them. Not at your age. But that can change over the years." The red orbs went off again, this time, unleashing a mystical energy that would flow through the area. The energy enveloped Twilight Moonlight, interacting with her headache.
Thanks to the Professor's power, he managed to soothe the pain, allowing the young unicorn to relax. Twilight took a deep breath as this has never happened before. Usually, she has to force herself to power through the pain until it goes away. But now, there was someone who could fend it off.
"Alright...Where do I start?" Dedicated to stopping Prisma's return, Twilight Moonlight was already a registered member the day she was found. She had no qualms. In her mind, stopping Prisma was all that mattered to her since she was in that library herself planning for that day. While she failed the first time, she was going to make sure the second time wouldn't be a failure.
Moonlight was taken into a class. A student with her potential was only deserving of the best. She did prefer to work alone, away from others and that was exactly what she was going to get when entering this classroom, which already had an empty feeling. But she wasn't the only one here. Sitting here in this class, also appearing as a child was a young Silver Swirl.
"Hey! Are you in this class too!" The absolute opposite of Moonlight, she waved at Twilight, grabbing her attention. The young Moonlight paused for a moment, showing a grimace upon reacting to this other unicorn.
"I thought I was getting a class of my own? Who is she?" Twilight questioned as this was not what she expected. Nothing about Silver Swirl's presence screamed solitude.
"This is Silver Swirl. Another gifted unicorn. While she doesn't have the same benefit as you, there's something unique about her. Silver Swirl has something known as Rift Energy within her."
"Rift...Energy?" That name also sounded familiar to Twilight Moonlight but it wasn't clicking with her.
"She's the only pony capable of tapping into it. Both of you are crucial ponies. More so than any other student here. Silver Swirl will be monumental in our mission when it comes to travelling to other universes." The staff member explained. "You will have to be her classmate until all is said and done."
Not exactly the ideal outcome for Twilight. She preferred to work alone. And when with Silver Swirl's presence here, she was going to work alone either way. Preferably, while sitting away from the bright unicorn. In the corner of her eyes, she already spotted a seat that was away from Silver Swirl's table, going straight for it.
The young Moonlight kept a straight face when looking at Silver Swirl's bright smile. And when looking at her, she used her magic to slide to the side, moving across the floor before reaching for her seat. To shield her face, she managed to grab the nearest book while sliding, already having enough magic capability to do two things at the same time. After finding her seat, she locked onto the book she managed to grab, ready to lose herself in it.
"So you're Twilight?" That didn't stop Silver Swirl though. "You really do look like the pony the Professor showed in that hologram. You're actually connected to Twilight Luminaria?"
"Mmm. And I'm the one who's going to stop Prisma from returning. Everyone else here is going to contribute in some way, I suppose. Including you." While wishing to be distant, Twilight Moonlight was very blunt with her words, holding nothing back.
"That is pretty important. The Professor called you the chosen one too, I believe. I'm known as a Guardian Angel where I come from. I'm also a princess." She grinned, hoping to grab Moonlight's attention
"You're a princess? Then what are you doing here of all places?" Twilight briefly spoke with her while her eyes moved across the book in front of her. "Shouldn't you be in a castle somewhere?"
"Well, not in this world. Truth is, this isn't my universe. I showed up here because of this." From the tip of her horn, Silver Swirl unleashed Rift Magic. A small piece of it. It would appear as an orb, swirling and sparkling while also captivating Twilight Moonlight.
This caught her interest since it was such a cosmic power and Silver Swirl had access to it. The Twilight Luminaria within her recognized this otherworldly power without a doubt.
"I only did it briefly. The Professor's counting on me to make it happen again. You see, my home was also attacked by an essence of Prisma. It was brief but fierce. I managed to escape by accidentally creating a gateway to this universe. The Professor says that it happened by emotion."
"Well, can you do anything else with it?"
"N-Not right now. But that's why I'm here! To learn and improve. And soon, I'll be back in my universe, ready to take on my role as princess. I'm the future Guardian Angel where I come from and I hope to be one for all worlds that could suffer under Prisma's wrath. With you and I working together, we can make it happen!"
"We're not working together." Twilight shifted her eyes, disregarding that possibility. "It'll be me doing most of the work since my past self was the one who defeated Prisma. No one else can do it."
"Wow. You already have full confidence in yourself because of that. But, you know...My parents taught me that working together is the greatest strength and that will help us a lot against Prisma."
"Maybe for you. But not for me." Twilight Moonlight would continue reading her book but this wouldn't be the last she'd have to hear from Silver Swirl. Since they were the only two students apart of this class, it was only natural that they would interact with each other, albeit differently to how most students go about it.
For the past years, Twilight Moonlight was trained to prepare for Prisma's returning honing her skills when it came to Magic and becoming a better Pokemon Trainer. In terms of magic, that was easy for her since she was a prodigy in that department. But Pokemon Battling was a different story.
Sat in her class, she was fed more and more information to prepare for the coming of Prisma's potential revival and how to stop it. Laid out by the Pokemon Professor, Twilight Moonlight grasped the larger world beyond what she knows. Other worlds that existed and followed their own rules as well as those who would get in her way. She learned who her eventual enemies would be. Not just Prisma. But those who would support Prisma in an attempt to keep him around.
I spent all those years in the Institute going through many Pokemon Battles. Simulations and Mock Battles were what I was thrown with every single day. I even had my magical limits pushed, but that wasn't an issue for me.
At a young age, Twilight Moonlight was absolutely out of her league in a Pokemon Battle. She fell over along with her Ohsawott, taking a hit from one of the Institute's Teachers who was already better at her at Pokemon Battling. It wasn't just one Pokemon, but multiple. Twilight Moonlight was not taken lightly at all by the Institute.
"Osha...Oshawott..." Oshawott groaned while on the ground, filled with scratches and tatters. All the while, the opposing Pokemon appeared healthy and fresh, receiving either minimal damage or no damage at all which was rather sad in Moonlight's case.
"Come on, Twilight. Your past self was able to get the hang of this with ease. Don't you want to be better than her?"
"I do..." That was one of her wishes. Knowing who Twilight Luminaria was, she wished to be as great as her just so Prisma could be stopped. But so far, that wasn't the case. Twilight Moonlight would try again and so would Oshawott. All the while, the professor observed from the top of the Institute.
One day after the other, she was being absolutely dominated by stronger trainers. Not just from the teachers but by other students who were training to match the strength of a powerful army. All of these students were here to distribute overwhelming force at the end of the day when they arrive at other worlds.
After a day of hard training involving Pokemon Battling, Twilight returned to her room, absolutely in shambles. She took a deep sigh, knowing she'd have to keep this up. But Twilight Moonlight wasn't the type of student to complain about this. Instead, she was only thinking about how she could do better next time.
And there to try and cheer her up was Silver Swirl. Compared to what Twilight Moonlight was going through, Silver Swirl had it easy. She was in a better state. When there was no one to talk to after being put through the wringer, there was Silver Swirl, who was the only pony aside from the staff members that she talked with.
None of the other students really did so. Only Silver. Twilight Moonlight would prefer to go about her day without Silver Swirl talking to her, trying to act tough so that she could prepare for tomorrow's lesson. Even if Twilight Moonlight tried ignoring her, she couldn't. And a part of her didn't wish to.
It was endless. But necessary. I had to go through the harshest levels of training to become as powerful as I am today. The same went for my Pokemon."
Days turned to years as she went through rigorous training to improve herself. And over time, she grew as a trainer indeed. Her strength was noticeable each time she was knocked down. She was an expert at growing and that was undeniable. All this time, Moonlight just needed that push.
The same teachers who absolutely dominated her were being pushed back. Her Oshawott grew stronger. So did her Eevee and Petilil. Over time, these Pokemon evolved and so did Moonlight's age. Back to back defeats strengthened her resolve and also made her rather aggressive.
Older now, she had a Dewott by her side who absolutely destroyed the opposing Pokemon who tried getting the best of her. Right next to her was Umbreon, who evolved from an Eevee. Twilight Moonlight adopted a very aggressive battling style that was easy to notice.
She stood over her defeated opponents with an imposing presence. She surpassed her teachers. All of them. Moonlight became the defacto most powerful trainer in the Arcane Institute, realizing her hidden potential. But there was obviously more to grow.
She would continue to learn on her own, just like how she did back in her old town. However, due to how much Twilight Moonlight grew, she became her own teacher. No one here at the institute could teach her. Thus, Twilight Moonlight was on the verge of finally being sent out on her own mission when the time was right.
Johto. The S.S Aqua. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.
"I've failed to capture any of Prisma's counterparts and that is unacceptable!" Twilight Moonlight bellowed at Twilight Sparkle while her Aegislash got back up. "This time, I'll come back with an achievement! Whether it's capturing Ash or Wish and I won't let even you stop me! Understood?!"
"Moonlight..." Twilight slowly said after hearing about Moonlight's past. She then flinched once a flash of magical energy came from Twilight Moonlight's body. "What the...?"
The magic radiating from her body was fierce and aggressive shaking the dressing room. The clothes would start floating all over the place, creating a clothing storm. Twilight's emotions were connected to her magic, much like the other Twilights. But hers was all about aggression and that correlated with Aegislash.
Aegislash would let out that same glow as Moonlight, surprising Sparkle and Togekiss. She was incorporating magic into her Pokemon, giving him a boost. "What is this...?" Twilight Sparkle uttered.
"Under the Moon, my magic is absolutely limitless!" Twilight Moonlight declared as the Moon from the outside would respond to her words. It would let out a vibrant flash along with small sparkles flowing out. "Aegislash! Use Swords Dance!"
"Aegis...!" This Swords Dance would be unlike any other. By raising it body, Aeigslash built up an intense pressure of Infinity Energy that could be felt. The energy around its bladed body would extend, becoming an even larger sword.
"Watch out, Togekiss! Get ready!"
"Toge!" Togekiss nodded in understanding. Something absolutely titanic was coming her way.
"Finish her!".Moonlight roared while slamming her hoof on the floor to replicate a blade coming down.
"Slash!" Aegislash brought this massive blade down which sliced off a huge chunk of the ceiling. At that moment, Twilight Sparkle used her own magic. Affecting Togekiss's body, she would teleport the Jubilee Pokemon the second the blade came down.
The entire dressing room was completely cut in half by Aegislash. Twilight saved Togekiss from that devastating blow. The walls came tumbling down as all the clothes were absolutely ruined. Moonlight gasped after seeing her attack absolutely miss, shifting her head to the side.
"If you're going to use magic, then so will I." Princess Twilight said. "I won't let you take any of my friends."
"You're making this way too hard for all of us...!" Moonlight's eyes flared with a magical glow, followed by a flash of magic from her horn. From her saddlebag, she revealed another Poke Ball. "I'm changing up the rules then! I'm making it a double battle!"
Much like how Scione changed the rules, Twilight Moonlight did the same. She launched the Poke Ball into the air, summoning her Hisuian Lilligant. "Lilligant!"
"You forced my hoof, Twilight! Even against myself, I won't hesitate to crush my opponents." Moonlight declared with a powering voice. But Sparkle was not moved at all. She would stand her ground, just to make sure her friends are safe and sound.
"Espeon!" Right by Togekiss's side was Twilight's Espeon. If she was going to use two Pokemon, then Espeon felt that it was right for her to get involved. Twilight would take this battle differently after hearing what Moonlight had to say. It gave her new perspective even though she knew Moonlight had a righteous goal at the end.
But while that was happening, the ship was currently in peril. With the captain and his crew asleep thanks to Moonlight's Drowsy Spell, the ship had no one to properly control it. On top of that, the kitchen was on fire since the chefs were asleep and something like this didn't go unnoticed.
Mainly by Princess Celestia's group. The Sun Princess was drawn towards the fire after sensing and seeing smoke in the air. She figured that would lead her to Twilight Moonlight, but instead, it led her to the kitchen, where the cooks and Alcremie were asleep.
A fire had started. A fierce one that set the fire alarm off. It already left the kitchen by this point, heading elsewhere while many were currently asleep." Oh! Alcremie!" Celestia gasped, quickly using her magic to grab Alcremie who was close to being enveloped by the flames.
As for the raging flames that were spreading across the ship, Luna would immediately respond to them. "Frillish!" Her Frillish used Hydro Pump to douse the flames. A strong burst of water would strike the flames, destroying them rapidly. Assisting in this was Ash's Dracovish who used Water Gun.
"If they fell asleep too...What about the captain's room, sister?!" Luna was already thinking about the captain's room and how that could've been affected. They knew where they had to go next and it wouldn't be where Twilight Moonlight was. Before they could find Twilight Moonlight, they had to ensure the ship was safe and manageable at the moment.
However, there was something that gave them an indication as to where Twilight Moonlight could be. The powerful slash that Aegislash delivered was felt by many as it sent a strong tremor across many floors of the S.S Aqua. It was mainly felt from above.
Ash immediately made his way to that part of the room before anywhere else. He could count on Celestia and Luna to handle the Captain's room while he went for the source of that tremor. Following him were Twilight Wish and Rainbow Dash.
"Lilligant! Attack with Victory Dance! Use Iron Head, Aegislash!"
"Lilligant...!" Lilligant would approach the two enemies in front of her with a move neither have seen before. It was a dance to usher in victory which is what Lilligant and Moonlight were believing. And under the power of the moon, Lilligant's strength was elevated. Joining her was Aegislash, whose strength was elevated thanks to Swords Dance.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
"Esp!" Together, Espeon and Togekiss would use Dazzling Gleam. From their bodies, a beautiful shine would emerge, attempting to blind her opponents. But with the power of the moon, that was ignored. Lilligant and Aegislash didn't even see the flash as it was invisible to them.
This allowed them to keep on moving but they still had to deal with the rainbow rays. Before Espeon could unleash them, she was struck by Lilligant's devastating kick which pierced through the light barrier. "Gant!"
"E-Esp!" Espeon cried out after being delivered a mighty. Togekiss was in the same boat as Aegislash cut through her Dazzling Gleam barrier, dealing super-effective damage to the Jubilee Pokemon. Both of Twilight's Pokemon were sent flying, but not without retaliation.
While they were launched back, they managed to unleash the rest of Dazzling Gleam from their bodies, sending the rainbow rays forward. Lilligant managed to dance around the rays, avoiding them with grace and elegance. Aegislash attempted to slash some of the rays away and while it succeeded for the most part, some of them landed and managed to deal damage.
Twilight looked behind her, seeing the floor was falling apart thanks to this battle. If this keeps up, even more problems will surely arise. She couldn't battle Moonlight for long and had to do something about this. But Twilight Moonlight wasn't about to go down so easily and even then, the Moon Zone was still active, showing no sign of an exit anywhere. Even with the room split in half, there was nowhere for Twilight Sparkle to go. Suddenly, the ship would shake, surprising Moonlight and Sparkle. This was the result of one thing. The ship was out of control with no one to properly keep it in check. Thus, these types of problems quickly sprouted.
Outside, the S.S Aqua was heading straight for Olivine City, but not for the docks. Instead, at this rate, it was bound to crash into the buildings of Olivine City. As the journey continues.
Chapter 334 End.