Twilight's Mindscape.

"Ngh..." At last, she awoke. No longer was she in control of her own body. The being in question was Twilight Sparkle. She opened her eyes to see herself in a Mindscape. That being Twilight Luminaria's Mindscape of course.

Twilight would feel something below her. Looking down, she saw she was on the ground. Slowly but surely, she'd push herself back up and onto her hooves and look around at the mindscape that surrounded her.

"No..." She already knew what happened. Twilight Luminaria had awakened and was in full control of her body. Because of this, Twilight was stuck in her Mindscape, forced to be the one taking a backseat while the Queen of Unilight plots every possible way of destroying her friend's soul.

"Is anyone there?" Twilight called out. Her voice echoed in the darkness that enveloped the space. She then tried to call out again. "Is there a way I can go back?" No response. She stood up, and started walking in the darkness. All she saw was blackness. It felt like she had gone blind, but that was not true.

"No..." She already knew what happened. Twilight Luminaria had awakened and was in full control of her body. Because of this, Twilight was stuck in her Mindscape, forced to be the one taking a backseat while the Queen of Unilight plots every possible way of destroying her friend's soul.

"Is anyone there?" Twilight called out. Her voice echoed in the darkness that enveloped the space. She then tried to call out again. "Is there a way I can go back?" No response. She stood up, and started walking in the darkness. All she saw was blackness. It felt like she had gone blind, but that was not true.

"No. In this state, the only thing that matters is regaining control of my body." She muttered. "But can I even pull it off? Her magic is outrageous..." The Princess of Friendship thought for a moment. "No use in trying to think about it. I just have to do it and try."

Much like all her friends, the best thing to do was just do it. Twilight already has a lot knowledge about the Mindscape, but the challenge would be overcoming one as powerful as Twilight Luminaria's. It was going to take a while to regain control, especially when her magic was also keeping the Princess locked in her Mindscape, making sure she wouldn't retake her body.

"I just need to keep fighting and resist. It's just a matter of time." Twilight continued walking in the black void of Luminaria's mindscape. She looked up, and saw the moon, a full one, shining bright. Twilight stared at the Moon for a few seconds, then turned back and continued on.

Twilight kept walking until she reached another section of the Mindscape. She noticed that this section had more light, and she could see a bit further.

Twilight turned to see that the area around her was filled with trees. She could hear birds chirping, and she felt the cool breeze against her skin. Noticeably, despite this being Twilight Luminaria's Mindscape, she didn't see Unilight at all. Of course, the actual Unilight was out there in the real world, but in the Mindscape, she at least expected to see it. She's seen it before but now, all Twilight was getting was trees. Trees and nothing else.

"Where am I? I'm still in Twilight's Mindscape but... Where's everything else?" Twilight looked around. She didn't recognize this place at all. No castle, no buildings, no anything. It was like she was in another world entirely.

She turned her attention towards the Moon again, the only source of light in the mindscape, but she couldn't help but notice that it looked a bit different than the one in the sky in her world. She took another step closer and noticed that the moon was larger than the one in her world, as if it was bigger than her own.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. Twilight gasped, and she jumped out of the way. A large, glowing orb of light emerged from the ground, floating above her head. It glowed a bright orange, almost as bright as the sun. And from it, Twilight felt an overwhelming warmth. It made her want to fall asleep right where she stood, but Twilight shook her head and tried to focus on the object.

Twilight felt a strange energy emanating from it, but before she could do anything else, the ground beneath her began shaking violently again, this time stronger than before. She fell backwards onto her back and was pushed away from the orb. She could see that it was moving away from her at an alarming rate.

"No you don't!" But she refused. "Come on, I need to know what that is and get out of here." She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to reach out and touch it with her hoof.

She missed.

She missed the orb entirely and fell onto her side. The orb disappeared from her sight, and the mindscape began fading away. She stood up and saw the moon slowly disappearing as well, and then the trees and everything else around her vanished as well. She looked down and noticed that her hooves had disappeared too, leaving her floating in a black void once more.

As she fell into the black void, she felt her body get heavier and heavier until it became impossible to move. As the last remnants of light faded away, the world grew darker and darker, and the only thing left in this mindscape was the Moon.

Twilight Sparkle was left to float in this dark void, alone with nothing else but her own thoughts.

She thought back to when she first came to know Ash, how they became friends, and how she helped him. How he had become one of her closest friends, along with all her other friends in the One Light group.

The Princess of Friendship thought back to all those moments she shared with her friends. The times they spent together, the things they had done, the memories they made. All of it. They all flashed in her mind.

Twilight, with her sharp, violet eyes, took in the sight of the young trainer and his Pikachu. "Unbelievable, Spike. There's another world past here," she remarked, her voice tinged with amazement. Ash, still processing the sight before him, finally caught up to the conversation.

"Huh? Woah, you can talk?! Or is it just telepathy?"

"Telepathy?" Twilight responded, a hint of confusion in her voice. Ash, however, was convinced that the pony was indeed speaking on her own.

"No way. You can talk without telepathy. I thought Meowth was the only one that could do that."

"What is he on about?" Spike asked Twilight, sharing in her bewilderment. Twilight couldn't offer an explanation; this encounter was proving to be more perplexing than any magic she had encountered before.

Meanwhile, Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, making his way over to the duo. "Aww, look at how small it is," Twilight gushed, her eyes softening as she observed the electric mouse Pokémon. Pikachu extended his tiny hands toward Spike in a friendly gesture.

"Oh. Hey," Spike replied, shaking hands with Pikachu. "Pikachu," he added, conveying his greetings.

"He said hello back to you," Ash translated, kneeling down to pet Pikachu, who blushed in response.

"That's so sweet. Being best friends is always nice." Twilight couldn't help but appreciate the bond between Ash and Pikachu. However, she quickly refocused on the reason for their presence. "Oh right! We're here because of that!" She pointed towards the rift, drawing the attention of both Ash and Pikachu. Through the rift, people, ponies, and Pokémon were crossing between worlds. "That rift appeared out of nowhere suddenly. And then it let out a blinding light that caused this. Ponies were being sent everywhere, and even some of your species ended up in our world."

"So you're from another world, huh?" Ash mused.

"Yes, and we hoped to come through here to find some answers. Luckily, the rift seems harmless."

"Hm. Well, I got no idea really. I was kinda asleep through it all." Ash crossed his arms, chuckling at the absurdity of the situation.

"This is no laughing matter! This could be dangerous for both of our worlds! At least... I think it will. Spike, go on and tell the others that we should go see Princess Celestia. She may know what to do."

"Roger that." Spike darted through the rift, returning to his world to relay the urgent message.

"In the meantime, I have a few questions for you... uhh." Twilight struggled to recall his name.

"My name is Ash Ketchum." He proudly introduced himself with a beaming grin.

"Ash Ketchum...What kind of a name is that?" To Twilight, that name was rather odd. Then again, everyone from her world had odd names to others. Such was the comparison of completely different existences.

"Well, what's yours then?"

"Twilight Sparkle," she responded, prompting a suppressed laugh from Ash.

"Sure thing. Ask away, Miss Sparkle."

"Hmph." Twilight frowned at him, her inquisitive mind ready to unravel the mysteries that connected their worlds.

That was the fateful day they met. They helped each other get to know one another better. Then Twilight, with the help of her friends and many others,, thus began her journey with Ash and his friends. A journey that led to many wild scenarios and events that forever developed them.

And now here Twilight was, stuck in a Mindscape while her original self, Twilight Luminaria, had her body and was using it to bring Prisma back to stop the Arcane Institute. A battle would be brewing soon. But Twilight needed to regain control of her own body. It wasn't going to be easy, but Twilight needed to get back to Ash and the others and fast.

"I can do it. I just need to believe I can. My friends would believe in me. Ash would believe in me." Twilight Sparkle refused to let herself get beaten like this. "I'll break free...even if it takes some time!" She spoke to no one, just herself as her resolve hardened.

Then she noticed something on the horizon, or whatever counted as a horizon in this Mindscape. In the distance, Twilight could see something. Something big, and it was glowing. She had a good feeling about this. So with that, the princess began to run towards the object. She ran until she was exhausted. She didn't stop though. Her mind was focused solely on getting to the object. She needed to get to that object.

As Twilight continued to move towards the glowing orb of light, her surroundings seemed to change drastically. The trees vanished, the moon grew brighter and the ground beneath her began to shift and twist as the orb moved closer.

Twilight Sparkle kept running until she saw something else, something that caught her attention. A figure appeared before her, standing between her and the orb of light.

The figure stood in the middle of a large field of grass, a single tree standing beside it. Its appearance was that of a pony, a filly. Twilight stopped and stared at the filly, her violet eyes looking into her own violet eyes. She was confused. "What the—"

When the filly turned around, it appeared to be Twilight Luminaria herself, but as a child.

"Twilight Luminaria?!" She gasped. "But...you're a filly in here?" She paused. At least she found someone in here. The little filly looked rather innocent and sad, a lot different from the powerful princess that Twilight had come to know as Twilight Luminaria. It was a rather stark contrast, seeing such a young filly that looked exactly like her.

The filly trotted up to her and looked up. She said nothing. Twilight was rather confused by this.

"A-Are you alright?" Twilight noticed the sadness in her eyes. The young filly looked up at Twilight and shook her head. Soon, Twilight Sparkle started thinking to herself. "Why's she sad...? The Mindscape usually reflects what's happening in reality and right now she has total control over my body."

The filly looked up at Twilight once again, but instead of saying anything, she simply stared at her with her violet eyes. The filly's eyes were wide and sad, and tears were flowing from them. Soon, she looked away from Twilight Sparkle.

"Don't look at me..." the little filly said to her in a quiet, innocent voice. She sniffed and wiped away some of her tears.

"Wait, did I...do something to make you feel that way? Or did someone else?" Twilight questioned, unsure of why she was apologizing to her.

"Don't look at me or talk to me!" She yelled, before dashing off into the forest.

"Wait, wait! Stop! Come back!" Twilight called after her, but she had already disappeared.

"I wonder what happened to make her feel that way..." She then began walking in the same direction, hoping she'd be able to find the little filly.

After walking through the forest for a little bit, Twilight came across a river with a bridge crossing over it. She stopped and looked around her surroundings, but nothing changed much except for a few more trees appearing in the distance.

"Hello?!" She yelled again.

As soon as she yelled that, the young filly came running back out of the forest. Twilight Luminaria ran towards Twilight Sparkle, but she was scared and unsure of how to react.

"I told you to stay away!" Twilight Luminaria roared.

"Well I can't. I need to break free and that means using everything I can in this Mindscape to get myself free. And that starts with the big glowing thing that's over there!" Twilight pointed to the glowing orb of light. She turned her gaze to it, her eyes narrowing as she saw it.

"It's so...beautiful...but also so dangerous," the young Twilight Sparkle whispered. She looked at Twilight Luminaria. "Why is it so big? It looks like it could destroy me if it wanted to. If it gets close enough to my soul, it could rip it apart!" Twilight said to the filly. But she just looked away. "What's the matter?" Twilight Sparkle asked, but Luminaria did not respond. "Is something bothering you?" Twilight asked the filly again, who shook her head.

"I just...I want you to go away!" Twilight Luminaria screamed.

"What's the matter? What's wrong?"

"I-I can't...you have to leave!" Twilight Luminaria shouted, backing away from Twilight. "Don't talk to me, don't come near me, just leave!" she cried.

"What are you so scared of?"

"I'm not scared! Just leave, go away!" Twilight Luminaria screamed again.

"I know you're scared." But Twilight thought otherwise. Or rather, knew otherwise. "You're me. Even if you're an incarnation, we share a lot in common. And I know exactly when you're scared. Something's greatly bothering you, isn't it?"

"..." Twilight Luminaria couldn't counter that, so she just sighed. "It's Prisma."

"Prisma? What about him?" In a way, Twilight Sparkle should've seen it coming since Prisma was all that was on her mind. But the next response caught her off guard.

"I want to stop Prisma. More than anything in the world. In the universe. But...I don't want to destroy him..." The young Twilight Luminaria revealed something greatly opposite to her current self.

"You...don't want to destroy him? But that's all that's been on your mind. You constantly bring it up. At least your older self does. You even revealed a way to completely remove Prisma from the equation." Twilight Sparkle replied.

"Yes, but...I don't want to. She does, but I don't. Or at least, I don't know if I want to."

"Why? Is it because...?"

"Prisma's my friend." She revealed the answer to that. "One of the few friends I've ever had in my life. I'm friends with Harmony and the five she used to be, but Prisma is also my friend."

Twilight Sparkle knew she'd had a relationship with Ash. She knew they had a bond. Even now, in the Lost Universe, it was the same thing with Ash and Twilight. They had a special bond that not many others shared.

"But he's...he's gone crazy. He's a maniac, he's insane, he wants to destroy the world! How can he still be my friend?!"

"I see..." Twilight Sparkle slowly nodded her head. "But since you know that, you can't really bring yourself to destroy him. At least, your younger self doesn't know. Your older self sounds sure of it. You said he was one of your few friends. You didn't have many friends growing up, did you?"

"No. I had so little. I was too busy being Princess and soon-to-be Queen, and learning magic and everything. All I could focus on was the mission given to me. But then, I met him for the first time. Prisma." She sniffed. "I would see him regularly, only when he finished a tournament or competition somewhere in Unilight, and when he would come back, he would be greeted by a grand parade in the capitol. Usually, it was me who set it up."

"I didn't know that...Were you that close?"

"Mm. Prisma already had a lot of friends. To be honest, I was somewhat jealous. He had a lot more friends than me, and he always hung out with them and stuff, always having the greatest of times. I wanted what he had, but I was fine being around him. But then, it happened..."

"When Prisma decided to destroy everything, right?"

"Yes. And that...That makes me hate him. I hate him so much! I want to destroy him, but I don't know if I can!" Twilight Luminaria yelled, her rage and voice causing the surrounding area to tremble. "He's my friend...but he hurt all of my subjects! But...I know what he went through...the pain and the suffering he felt. But he hurt my family too...He's my friend...But he's the enemy... I-I... I don't know what to do... I just...want to stop him."

Twilight Sparkle was shocked to hear that, but at the same time, it made sense. She understood. Twilight Sparkle couldn't bring herself to do such a thing, but she could see why her older self wanted it. Prisma had gone too far. But in her mind, he was a friend.

"Hey." Twilight Luminaria looked at her older self. "It's okay." She gave a reassuring smile. "I understand." She told her, but Luminaria just shook her head.

"You don't. I want to stop him, more than anything and that means destroying your friend. my current self has the spirit to destroy him, but I don't know if I do. You're just looking at the part of me that still wants to save Prisma."

"If that's the case, why won't she let this part of you out? You, or I guess the current you, still sees him as a friend. And since you know what he's been through and why the resets kept happening, you have to be conflicted. Why would your current self just keep it to herself? I'm pretty sure she can talk about it." Twilight asked her, and the younger Luminaria sighed, before thinking.

"She thinks she doesn't need anyone. That she's better alone. It makes her stronger, or that's what she thinks."

Twilight Luminaria frowned. "Well, I think that's stupid." Twilight said to her.

The little filly's eyes grew wide. "Wh-Why?!" She asked.

Twilight Luminaria looked down. "I had to learn the hard way that friends aren't just there to support you. They're also there to make you stronger and better. Friends are there to help you, and they will always be there to help you no matter what. If I didn't have friends, I wouldn't be where I am today." Twilight Luminaria said to her. She smiled.

"Prisma is our friend, and he needs help. The only one who can give it to him is us. We have to help him." She told her.

The young filly looked at her. "How can you help him?" She asked. She didn't want to destroy Prisma. She just wanted to save him, to make sure he didn't cause anymore harm. She was sure of that now.

"We'll figure that out. All I know is, he can be saved. I'm sure of it. We just need to figure out a way." She said, and the little Twilight Luminaria smiled. She had finally gotten her answer.

Twilight Sparkle knew that it wasn't that easy, though. Her current self would still try and stop him by any means, and that includes destruction. She was sure that Prisma wouldn't stop until he destroyed everything.

Twilight Sparkle had to stop him. But she also knew she could never kill her friend. There was no way that would happen. But the same could be said for her younger self. But that didn't matter.

For now, she needed to get out of there, and that's what she was going to do. She would go to wherever her other counterparts were and find a way to save Ash Ketchum, who had done so much for her. He had saved her so many times, now it was time to save him. "Don't worry," she said to the filly. "We'll figure out something. First, can you help me out with something?"

Alola. Akala Island. Day.

Elio found himself distancing from anyone nearby. His body was still glowing and letting of a certain heat, specifically when the Sun arose, and it would stay that way for a good long while.

Elio looked down to the ground, taking a deep breath as he sat down. "It keeps happening...Every time the Sun rises, this blazing hot power inside of me keeps building up, and I don't know why..." Elio mumbled. He just wasn't sure why this was the case.

Because of this, he had decided to mostly take action during the night, when he could do things freely without getting too hot. However, that wasn't an option now. "Man...so tired. I don't get to sleep in the night that often..." He rubbed his eye, feeling drowsy.

Due to him being a hazard during the day, Elio was forced to move during the night and it was starting to take its toll. He couldn't do anything during the day since everyone was up, so he had to do it when everyone else was asleep.

Thus, he would fall flat on his back, letting out a powerful yawn as his head hit the ground and his eyes began to droop. He looked around, not seeing anything that could harm him and decided that it was safe enough. He needed the rest.

Elio shut his eyes, allowing his consciousness to drift into a world of peace. His mind was no longer plagued with thoughts of fighting and combat. He was finally at peace. And then he drifted into the dream world.

However, as his consciousness was drifting, his sleep was interrupted in a heartbeat. "Dude, wake up!" The voice of Nate rang out. Elio shot up, waking up instantly and looking around.

"GAAAAH!" Elio screamed at the top of his lungs, startled by Nate's sudden bellow. He looked at him with a bewildered look, and then looked away and started to calm himself down. Soon, he spotted Ash, Red and the others, all present here. "All of you...here? Wait, why is Hilbert a spirit?"

"You look out of it. Check out all those bags on you, man." Hilbert didn't even answer and simply observed how tired Elio looked.

"Sorry for the sudden wake-up, Elio. We just had to find you as soon as possible. Things are kinda getting wild across the world right now." Brendan stated as he looked around.

"Wait! You guys should stay away from me!" Elio raised his arm, scurrying away while looking up at them. "I've got crazy amounts of heat around me!"

"...You do?" They each said, minus Red. They didn't feel an intense heat at all. The most they felt was the warm glow of the Alolan Sun, but that was natural. It was just warm enough.

"Y-You guys don't feel it?" He asked. They shook their heads in unison.

"Nope."

"Huh..." Elio would stand up, finally having someone he could stand close to without hurting them. He approached them. "Then that means you can handle the energy radiating from me."

"I actually kinda see it. What's up with that?" Ethan asked, looking at his glowing body.

"I have no idea. But whenever the Sun comes up, that's what happens. So I try to only move at night when everyone else is asleep and not out in the streets. It sucks since I don't get to sleep that often."

"Sounds dangerous." Lucas replied. "It's probably got something to do with the soul in you."

"You mean Prisma's soul?"

"Nah." Calem wagged his finger. "Something else. Turns out, Prisma put extra souls in us. Each being that of Legendary Pokemon he had on his team. So technically, we've there's 20 souls in us."

"S-Say what?! Legendaries?!" Elio bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Yeah. I've got Rayquaza within me." Brendan started explaining who has what, pointing at everyone here. "Ash has Dialga, Red's got Mewtwo lurking inside, Ethan's got Ho-oh, Lucas has Palkia, Hilbert and Nate have both Reshiram and Kyurem and Calem's got Xerneas."

"And If had to guess, with all that heat you're talking about and that glow around you, you must have Solgaleo." Ethan deduced.

Elio was amazed by what he was hearing, the existence of legendary Pokemon within each one of his new friends was a fascinating thought to him. "I-I can't believe this." He was almost at a loss of words. "I'm literally living with legendary Pokemon in me!"

"Yeah. But the reason you're getting all heated is probably because Solgaleo and the sun. Maybe the Sun is having an effect on it. Like how the sun can burn your skin." said Nate.

"Oh! That makes sense! But man that also sucks...Isn't there a way to turn this off?" Elio sighed, not wanting to sleep at day anymore. "Sleeping in the day just ain't good for me, ya know."

"Oh, I for sure can help with that." Calem walked over, placing his hand on Elio's shoulder, not even feeling the blazing heat.

"Y-You can?"

"Oh yeah. In fact, I can help all of you." Calem looked at his fellow counterparts, having a beaming grin on his face. "You see, I've actually got some control over my soul. I decide to work with it for a while and it's pretty handy. So, if we're gonna prepare for the worst and get through this, I say we work together and work on our own Legendary Souls. Just so we know how to use them."

"Oh, really?! Awesome!" Ash and the others gasped with sparkles in their eyes, except Red who nodded with a smile.

"Alright then. Why don't we all give this a try?"

The Human World. Canterlot High.

At the Human World, it was a fresh new day there as well. Sci-Twi and Sunset Shimmer were currently hanging out around Canterlot High, specifically outside of it, simply doing their own thing.

Both were in a group chat on their phones with all the others. They were trying to get things together and try to organize something to do later. They were planning to meet with the Dazzling for another hangout session.

"So...you've got any plans after this?" Sunset asked. "I know you've been talking with your mom lately, about moving back into your old place with her."

Sci-Twi's expression shifted into one of sadness and longing. "Yeah. She really wants me back, but I'm not sure. I love spending time here with everyone. Besides, I don't want to move back because she's making a fuss about it. I mean, I get it, but I like it here."

"Well, I don't know. Why not do both?" Sunset Shimmer suggested. "Like, spend some time back at home, but still come over and visit us every now and then. It doesn't have to be a big deal. You're always welcome here."

Sci-Twi considered her friend's words carefully, thinking over the possibilities before giving a nod of agreement. "Yeah, that sounds good." Her lips formed a warm smile at the idea. "I'll see what I can do about it. I mean, my mother won't mind if I'm still here with you guys, right?"

"She's already perfectly happy with you being around Ash for...obvious reasons." Sunset nudged Sci-Twi. "She's waiting for grandkids, isn't she? Better not keep her waiting."

"Sunset!" Sci-Twi exclaimed, turning slightly pink.

"Oh come on, I'm just messing around with ya. But you should definitely visit it from time to time. It'll make your mother feel better and besides, I'm sure she'd love to see you more often." She said with a shrug.

"Yeah, that's a good point. But, uh..." Sci-Twi trailed off, her voice lowering to a whisper. "Maybe I should also-"

Her words were interrupted once someone suddenly appeared out of the portal to the oppossite world. The duo looked onwards, seeing none other than Celestia's Equestrian Self emerge, changing from an alicorn to her human form.

"Princess Celestia?" Sunset uttered.

"Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle. I am sorry for the interruption, but there is an important matter that requires your attention." The human Princess Celestia spoke in a serious tone, standing tall and regal.

"Princess? What's going on?" Sci-Twi asked, surprised to see her.

"Has something happened in the Arcane Institute?" Sunset asked. "Do you need me to come over?!"

"Oh, something's happened alright. Things would have spiralled out of control, but right now, everything is simmering. Only because of a negotation. I'll explain everything along the way, but right now, Twilight...I need you for something special."

"M-Me?" The young girl pointed to herself, confused.

"Is that...alright with you?"

Sunset looked at Twilight, smiling and giving a nod. "Whatever it is, I know for a fact Princess Celestia can help you with it. She's the best teacher I've ever had after all. Always teaching the best."

"Except betrayal." Celestia had a sly smile on her face, referring to Sunset's betrayal, causing her to scrunch her mouth and grimace. But Celestia was only joking. "Haha! I kid! But Sunset. I'd like for you to also assist her in this. Being around friends will help with it. After all, you are all friends now. I'd hate to keep a friendship like that apart. You both will help each other out."

"Oh. Alright. I'll do my best." Sunset smiled at Sci-Twi.

"So..." Celestia turned her gaze to Sci-Twi. "Are you ready?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Sci-Twi replied. "If it involves Ash, I'll do my best to help him out in any way."

Celestia smiled at this and turned to walk away with them. She had something planned before she could head to the stadium and begin this competition. Celestia wouldn't allow anything to happen to her friends, no matter what as the journey continues.

Chapter 730 End.

Author's Note

Happy New Year