2
Chapter 2
It was the chirping of birds which brought Celestia back to her senses. Dimly, she opened her eyes, only to be assaulted by a blinding light. With a groan she lifted her head, dully noting how pained and sore her muscles were.
The light had left her vision fuzzy, but she was able to make out the shapes of trees and rocks around her. Grey forms were resting in the branches of the trees; some kind of bird, most likely. Past them were strange silver shapes rising from the earth. They looked long and straight. Following their length, Celestia could see the shapes branched off in several directions. In some places it looked like the connections might meet up. When she tried to find those spots she had to turn away, for the sun was directly overhead and hampered her still-recovering vision.
Where am I? she wondered. She couldn’t be in the fields surrounding the Crystal Empire; no trees could grow in the tundra. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that she could have been transported to the Everfree Forest, but the forest had never been known for being quite so vibrant and colourful. Even with vision impaired, Celestia could see that the landscape was more lively than the independent forest was known for.
Then Celestia remembered the mirror enclosing around her. Oh no, what if I’m not even in Equestria anymore?
While little was known about the mirror, both Celestia and Luna knew it had the power to transcend worlds. Celestia had only used it three times: once upon discovering it, once to banish a former student who’d become corrupt, and once when Twilight Sparkle had journeyed through it to pursue said former student.
In her analysis of her journey, Twilight had mentioned that the mirror’s magic had changed her and her dragon assistant Spike into creatures native to that world. Yet, when Celestia looked down at herself, she appeared to still be an alicorn.
Perhaps the mirror’s magic wasn’t strong enough to re-purpose my form, or perhaps the damage it sustained hampered its functionality.
Her stomach rumbled, bringing her out of her thoughts. Celestia decided to indulge it, since thinking on an empty stomach was never easy. By now Celestia’s eyes were beginning to recover, and she noticed a patch of flowers growing a hoof-length from her. Upon closer inspection, she identified them as posies.
This will have to do, Celestia thought. She tried levitating one of the flowers to her, but her golden magic-aura failed to appear over the flower. She concentrated harder, but still the flower remained rooted to the earth. It was then that she recalled severing the bond between herself and her magic. Fearfully, Celestia turned her head towards her flank. Her sun-shaped cutie mark had vanished.
So I am defenceless, lost, and have no way to send a message back to Equestria. She sighed, climbing to her hooves, and resigned herself to grazing the flowers. Undignified for a princess, but there wasn’t anypony around to make note. Besides which, there didn’t seem to be any other food around, and grazing was preferable to starvation.
A flutter of wingbeats drew her attention away from the flowers. At first Celestia dared to hope a pegasus scouting team had tracked her down, though she quickly abolished that line of thinking as impossible. What was actually there was a rather large bird, unlike any Celestia had come across before. It was primarily grey, with lines of black and white along its wings and a similarly black-capped head. Two red semi-circles rested over its eyes.
It stared at her with growing confusion. Then, without warning, it made a loud warbling sound. At its call several smaller birds flocked towards it. Given their similar shape and colour, minus the very prominent red on its face, Celestia gathered that these smaller ones were offspring.
She smiled amicably, lowering her head to the largest one. “Hello there.”
The bird cocked its head in return, “Tranquill?”
Celestia was momentarily taken aback, before giving a soft chuckle. “Well, yes, I suppose it is rather relaxed here. Quite the oasis of serenity I seem to have found myself in.”
“Tranquill,” the bird replied, nodding. The smaller birds each bobbed their heads as well, clucking pidove over and over again. Celestia was rendered speechless for a time, simply watching the birds and taking in the bizarre sounds.
One of the birds turned its head away from Celestia and looked to her right. It looked off at the distance before letting out a hungry chirp; the princess recognized the sound from when her phoenix Philomina was just a fledgling. Following its call, the other birds turned their heads and began chirping as well. Then, as if their minds were one, they took off.
Curious, Celestia followed after the birds until something in the corner of her eye made her stop. Rising from the ground was a long metal pole, which branched off into several smaller poles as it climbed into the sky. Many of these smaller poles were welded together to create a strange spider-web of metal. In-between them was a mesh of metal wires.
“An aviary?” Celestia said aloud.
“Hello? Is someone there?” a new voice called; female, if Celestia guessed right. She turned towards the voice, and was greeted to the sight of a bipedal creature. She was around the same height as Celestia, with long brown hair done up in a beehive mane-style. She was dressed in a simple white shirt and green skirt, with a long blue jacket.
The flock of bird were hovering around the creature, and Celestia saw she was carrying a bag of seeds in both hands. She set the bags down and moved out of the way of the hungry birds before looking at Celestia. “Ah, wonderful, you’ve recovered.” Her tone was not unlike a veterinarian's trying to sooth a frightened puppy.
“So, you’re the one who brought me here?” Celestia asked.
The creature seemed taken aback by her question, but only for a moment. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with wonder, and her grin grew wider. “Amazing! You can talk as well.”
Celestia was a little insulted, though centuries of practice allowed her to maintain her ever-present smile. “Is that really so surprising?” she asked calmly. “But I suppose that is to be expected from both of us, given the differences in our forms.”
The creature nodded, keeping both eyes locked on Celestia. “Yes,” she said slowly. “You’re rather unlike what I expected, if I am to be completely honest.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for starters, there aren’t many Pokémon who can talk around here.” She gave an amused chuckle. “But it’ll make getting all my other questions much easier.”
Celestia was, not for the first time today, stunned into speechlessness. Her thoughts must have been displayed on her face, for the odd creature frowned in consternation.
“I’m sorry, am I rushing you? I know this must be strange to wake up in an aviary, but you were passed out in the woods. Tell me, did you lose a battle?”
Celestia blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you’ve lost me,” she said calmly. “Perhaps you could clarify a few things for me. And, unless I’m very much mistaken, we’ve yet to introduce ourselves.”
The creature laughed. “Right, right. How silly of me. My name is Professor Juniper; the Pokémon professor of the Unova region.”
Celestia took a moment to think, but couldn’t recall of hearing of any “Unova” back on her world. Smiling, she gave a slight bow and said “I am Princess Celestia of Equestria.”
“Equestria?” Juniper said, though it sounded like she was talking to herself rather than Celestia. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that region. It might be past Kalos, in which case I should probably contact Sycamore. Ah, but I still need to wait for Rowan to call me back.” Her eyes flicked back to Celestia. “Do you mind if we continue this inside? I’m expecting a call soon, and it’d be easier to talk without all these hungry Pidove about.”
“Of course,” Celestia said, opting to follow Professor Juniper for now. The professor lead Celestia from the aviary, past the swarms of grey birds who had nearly finished devouring the bag of seeds.
Outside the aviary, Celestia saw a field of green grass bordering thick woodland. From the size of the field, it had most likely been created by clearing a section of forest. And the reason for it was in front of Celestia: a large two story building of metal and glass windows, with a bright orange roof. Beside it stood a curious tower with all manner of giant metal bowls attached to the sides, but as to its function she couldn’t even begin to guess. Juniper casually walked towards the building and pulled the door open for Celestia.
The building’s interior was much different than the outside. While the walls and floors were pristine and metallic, nearly every free surface was a cluttered mess. To her left Celestia could see a table stacked with notes and opened binders. To her right were large metal screens displaying text and images about ponies with flaming manes.
Quite the absent minded professor, she is, Celestia mused. Juniper quickly hurried over to the largest of her machines. Celestia kept back from her a short distance, feeling rather out of her element, and resorted to watching curiously. Juniper’s fingers danced along a series of buttons before an image appeared on the screen. It looked quite similar to Juniper’s lab, but much more organized. A younger member of her species was in the foreground; male, if Celestia could guess from the facial design.
“Hello? Professor Juniper?” the adolescent asked.
“Yes, I’m here, Lucas,” she replied. “Is Professor Rowan available? It’s urgent I speak with him as soon as possible.”
Celestia stared in amazement at the screen, making sure to stay out of Lucas’ line of sight. How advanced was this magic that allowed for someone to speak face to face with another miles away? Instantly her mind began to ponder the possibilities of what Equestria could accomplish with this. It would easily break boundaries unattainable through scroll communication.
When Celestia looked back to Lucas, his eyes were darting nervously to the side. “Um, no, he’s not here at the moment.”
“Oh. If that’s the case, can you tell me when he will be back?”
“He’s heading over to you,” Lucas said. “He was pretty blown away by the pictures you sent him. I don’t think I can remember the last time he was this excited. He told me something this monumental had to be documented in person before boarding the first ship to Unova.”
Juniper smiled. “Ah, I should’ve expected that. Thank you for your time, Lucas.”
“No problem, Professor Juniper.”
Juniper tapped a button, and the image on the screen went black. She turned back to Celestia “Well, we’ve got some time before my colleague arrives. Are you hungry?”
“Only a little bit,” Celestia replied. Guest or not, she still had an air of regality to uphold, and gorging herself would doubtless destroy that image.
Juniper smiled. “I’ll be right back then. Just make yourself comfortable.” She turned on her heels and strode out into an adjacent room from her lab. From her current angle, Celestia couldn’t make out much beyond a wooden floor through the doorway. More than likely it lead to living quarters.
“I’m certain Twilight would adore this environment,” Celestia mused to herself softly, looking around. In some respects it did remind her of the Canterlot library back when Twilight was studying under her; as meticulous and orderly as she was, Twilight still tended to let things devolve into chaos when flustered or stressed, and that was never more obvious than those first few years she spent combing through the library.
Professor Juniper seemed to have a similar mindset. A sort of ordered chaos reigned in her lab, with papers scattered about desks and tables in a very haphazard fashion, yet in some of the cabinets that were ajar all the contents were labelled and neatly sorted. The communication screens that she was using were very clean and free of debris.
Her attention was drawn to the table in the center of the room. While it was mostly covered in research notes, various test tubes, and other devices she didn’t even have names for, one end of it had been cleared away and an odd dish was resting in place. It was divided into three coloured sections—red, green, and blue—and, within each section, there was a three-pronged fork sticking straight up. On each rested a red-and-white ball, seemingly identical to the others.
Curious, Celestia thought. At first glance, there was nothing noteworthy about the balls to grant them such a special treatment, but experience had taught her never to doubt an object’s importance on outward appearance alone.
“I’m back,” Professor Juniper called. She walked back into the room carrying a plastic tray with glasses of water, a tray of sandwiches, and a bowl of brown food pellets.
“Thank you, Professor.” Celestia instinctively tried to levitate a sandwich, but then remembered her magic had left her. She gave a slight shake of her head self-reproachingly and instead reached for them with a hoof.
“That’s an interesting trick you have,” said Professor Juniper. “I’ve never seen a Rapidash with as much flexibility in their hoof as you have.”
Celestia tilted her head quizzically. “Rapidash? I’m afraid you’ve lost me.”
“Oh?” the professor brought a hand to her chin and giggled. “Yes, how silly of me. It would be strange to call you by a previous evolution, now wouldn’t it?”
Celestia took one of the sandwiches and nibbled on it as she reflected on the professor’s words. “I’m afraid I still don’t quite follow you,” she said after a time. “My name has always been ‘Celesta’.”
“Ah, was that the name some young trainer in Equestria called you?”
“A trainer? Do you think I’m some kind of animal?” Celestia asked, barely able to keep a lid on her indignance.
Juniper didn’t respond; her mouth was set in a ponderous line, and her eyes were locked on Celestia. “A new legendary, perhaps?” she mumbled to herself. “There are shared similarities between her and Keldeo.”
Celestia was quickly losing patience, though centuries of royal behaviour allowed her to maintain her composure. “Professor, I think it’s clear we’ve come to some kind of misunderstanding. Can you please tell me what exactly you think I am?”
The professor blinked and returned her focus to Celestia. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. Up to this point I was under the assumption you were a new evolution of Ponyta.”
“And what is a Ponyta?”
“The Fire Horse Pokémon,” Juniper said exuberantly. “Originally thought to be indigenous to Kanto and Johto, though it has shown up in both Hoenn and Sinnoh with no evidence that humans imported them. Newborns are especially frail and helpless, but through near-endless running it builds up both strength and stamina to-” She cut off abruptly. “And you probably understood nothing I just said,” she concluded.
“I understood most of it, but some terms confused me,” said Celestia. “For instance, what is a Pokémon?”
The professor’s eyes widened. “You’ve never heard of a Pokémon before?”
“I’d imagine I’ve never heard of a great many things from around here.”
The professor shook her head incredulously. “Impossible. I hadn’t heard of any region where there were no Pokémon.”
“Maybe not in this world, but where I’m from, I’ve never heard of a region with Pokémon,” Celestia said. “Could you tell me what they are?”
Juniper smiled. “I’d be delighted to.” With a quick stride she walked over to the three coloured disk and retrieved the ball sitting in the green section. She pressed the button in the middle before tossing the ball into the air.
The ball seemed to hover in the air before opening. A white light shot out from it and travelled to the ground, where it took a bipedal shape. Then the light faded, and a green lizard no taller than the average filly was standing before her. It had a long pointed face, red eyes, and yellow scales that curled from its shoulders like the neck of a jacket. It gave a yawn and stretched, swishing its leaf-shaped tail into view.
“This is an example of a local species of Pokémon,” Juniper said. “It’s called a Snivy, or the Grass Snake Pokémon to us professors.”
Celestia examined the creature before her. “I wasn’t aware snakes had limbs on your world.”
Juniper chuckled. “It makes more sense if you knew the Snivy evolutionary family. But I digress. Pokémon come in many shapes and sizes, and each one has its own unique power. Some, like Snivy here, have power over plantlife. Others have power over things like fire, water, or electricity.”
Celestia listened intently, but her gaze broke from the professor a couple of times. The Snivy had taken notice of her, and was staring at her ponderously. She smiled back at the creature and slowly raised a hoof in greeting. After a moment the Snivy came forward, took her hoof between its claws, and shook it.
“Thank you,” Celestia said.
“Snivy,” said the Snivy.
“Now, because there are so many different Pokémon, and because there seems to be at least one species for every climate, humans have learned to live alongside them.” Juniper continued, seemingly oblivious to the Snivy’s actions. “We compliment each other in a variety of ways.”
“Why do you keep them in those balls, then?” Celestia asked; best to discover the reason behind it before discerning how it was done.
“Well, some species of Pokémon are rather large and destructive,” explained Professor Juniper. “We keep them inside of Pokéballs for convenience sake, as well as to show that the Pokémon belongs to you.”
Before Celestia could further inquire, there was the sound of a door opening. Celestia turned towards the sound just as an elderly gentleman walked in, followed by a youth who looked around the same age as the boy on the screen. Juniper turned as they came in, all smiles. “Dad, you made it!”
“Of course I did,” the older man flashed a grin. “You don’t think a little bad weather would keep me from my daughter, do you?” The two embraced, paying little heed to anything else.
The younger one watched Celestia and the Snivy. “Professor, is this the new Pokémon?”
The elder gentleman looked at Celestia. “My my, you weren’t exaggerating about this, Aurea.” He walked over to Celestia and analyzed her, a hand moving to his chin.
“Your daughter doesn’t strike me as the type to exaggerate,” Celestia said.
The elder man grinned broadly, giving a sharp laugh. “And remarkably intelligent, too!”
The youth was less restrained than the professor or her father. He’d taken a step back when Celestia had spoken, and now his eyes were growing wide. “A Pokémon that can talk?”
“I am not a Pokémon,” Celestia cut in. “I am an alicorn. My name is Celestia.”
“An alicorn?” the youth said, recomposing himself. “So what is that?”
“Why, obviously it’s what’s right in front of you, Even,” said Juniper’s father. “Though I will admit, it’s not a name I’m all too familiar with. Ah! But I’m getting ahead of myself. My name is Cedric Juniper, and this strapping young lad is Even, my daughter’s assistant.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir,” Celestia replied, giving a slight bow. Next to her, the Snivy mimicked her movements.
“So I’m guessing you’re probably a fire/flying type, then,” the youth mused.
Celestia turned to him. “Evan, was it?” He nodded. “I am able to fly, yes. But I don’t know what type means. Is it something else that relates to Pokémon?”
A smile formed on Evan’s face. One of his hands slipped into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out another red-and-white ball. “I think it’s better to show you than tell.” With his free hand he pointed to the Snivy. “If you’re not a Pokémon than you should be able to use one in a battle.”
Celestia was taken aback, both at the boy’s brashness as well as his bravado. Next to her, the Snivy seemed to be sizing up the boy with an inconsequential sneer. “B-battle?” Celestia echoed, a bit dumbstruck. “Use one?”
“Hold it,” Professor Juniper cut in. “I think it’s a bit too early for Celestia to try out a Pokémon Battle. See, she’d only just woken up before the two of you arrived.”
Evan turned to the professor, lowering his hand. “Oh. I just thought, since she’s saying she isn’t a Pokémon, that having a battle might be a good way to give her some of the basics. After all, you told me the best way to learn about Pokémon was through hands-on experience.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, but we don’t have the time anyways. Professor Rowan is on his way over, so I need to try and fix this place up a bit before he arrives. And I need someone to go and wait for his boat to arrive in Castelia City.”
Celestia heard Cedric chuckle before moving beside his daughter. “I can help with the latter.”
“No Dad. You just got here; it would be wrong for me to just send you off on the road again.”
“What’s wrong about it?” he asked, gesturing around the room. “You have your work more than cut out for you in here without constantly shouting over your shoulder every time I incorrectly organize one of your papers. After all, that’s why you brought on young Evan, isn’t it?”
“Excuse me,” Celestia cut in, “but I’m still a tad confused about a few things. Do you mean to tell me that you force these creatures to fight on your behalf?”
Juniper turned back to Celestia. “I’m sorry, but I can’t get into explaining Pokémon battles right now. If you can wait until I’ve had some time to organize, I’ll be more than happy to answer your questions.”
Celestia sighed and nodded. “Very well.”
“Excellent,” Cedric piped in. “Now, Celestia, why don’t you walk with me to my jeep and let these two get to work?”
Celestia’s centuries of courtly mannerisms helped her hide a developing frown. If my magic was working I could have this place sorted in a heartbeat. She took a step towards Cedric, but felt something tugging on her tail. She craned her neck to look, and saw the Snivy holding the tip of her tail in its tiny claws.
“Yes?” asked Celestia.
“Snivy,” said the Snivy. With one claw it gestured towards the front hallway, then Celestia, and finally itself.
“It seems this little Snivy wants to come with us,” Cedric said. He turned towards his daughter, who was beginning to sort through a pile of loose papers. “Aurea, do you need this Snivy for anything?”
“Hmm?” she looked up from her papers. “Oh, no, not at the moment. His possible new trainer won’t be here for another two weeks.”
“I think he wants to come outside with us. Is that alright?”
“So long as he doesn’t run away. I’ve been meaning to let him out for some exercise, but I’ve never had the time.”
Her father chuckled. “Well, then I’d best get out of your hair quick as I can.” With that, he strode towards the door and opened it wide. “After you, Celestia.”
Celestia trotted outside briskly, smiling as she felt the sun warm her hide. It was like her magic was flowing through her again, rejuvenating her to at least an echo of her true self. Subtly, she tried to levitate the Snivy into the air, as a test, but like before nothing happened. I suppose it was a bit too much to hope for.
The Snivy hadn’t caught notice of her plight. He was busy looking at the sun, red eyes beaming with joy. He smiled and spun around, presenting the leaf-shaped spade on the end of his tail towards the sun. Before Celestia’s eyes, the leaf seemed to fan out and expand.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Cedric asked, stepping out of the doorway.
“What is he doing?” Celestia asked.
“Snivy are Grass-type Pokémon. They use their tails to perform photosynthesis and feed themselves.” Cedric ambled along the path, headed for a curious grey metallic wagon on large rubber wheels, yet she could not see any means of harness, nor were there any waiting creatures to pull it.
“I’m sorry to have to leave you like this, but it’s been so long since I last spoke with Professor Rowan,” Cedric said, opening the side of his wagon and slipping inside. “Once he’s here, I’m sure we can settle whatever mess brought you here within the week. And until then, we’ll have plenty of time to answer each other’s questions.”
Cedric did something in the wagon, which then emitted a curious-sounding roar, not unlike a sick dragon. The wagon moved slightly, like a beast being held back by a levitation spell.
“One last word of advice,” Cedric called. “Don’t go back inside until either Aurea or Even come out to find you. They work better in their own pocket dimension. I wouldn’t wander too far away either; not all Pokémon are as friendly as Snivy there. Just stay on the grounds. Enjoy the company of the other Pokémon staying here.”
“Thank you, Cedric,” Celestia said back. “Good luck on your trip.”
Cedric gave a wave and the wagon simply moved away; Celestia noted how smoothly it moved down the road, which itself was clearly constructed for such a contraption. “Upon further consideration,” she mused aloud, “that thing was not unlike a train, though one that did not require tracks.”
“Snivy,” the Snivy commented.
Celestia looked at the Snivy again, then back at the Professor’s building, pondering. Twilight Sparkle had never mentioned these Pokémon creatures in her experience beyond the mirror, which left her with two options for a location. Either she was in another part of the human world, or a separate third world.
Hopefully it hasn’t been too long since my arrival, Celestia thought. If there is still magical residue at my point of entry, I might be able to send a message back to Equestria.
At first Celestia decided to return to the aviary she’d woken up in, but she then remembered that Professor Juniper had found her somewhere else. Which meant she would have to wait for the professor to finish with her housekeeping before testing her theory.
But by then it might be too late and the magic could be gone, Celestia thought. Then how will I tell the others I am alive and well? How will I get back?
She closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath. Twilight and Luna were both smart and resourceful ponies. They would find a way to contact her if she could not. Until then, or until she discovered some means of at least communicating with them, she was alone.
Celestia gave a somber chuckle, letting her head droop slightly. “Well, I guess I did want more excitement in my life.”
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I must confess that I wasn't expecting much when I clicked on this, but I'm not regretting my decision. I certainly hope there's more coming.
Yes, another crossover!
(It's spelled Tirek.)
I'll try to keep up with this, mate. Congrats on another release.
I'm loving the story. Keep up the good work! :D
Wow this is pretty good keep it up.
Can't wait for Celestia to meet Keldeo.
Looks promising
this looks interesting, there aren't that many of these centering around Celestia. i will keep an eye on this though.
I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of description for some of the characters...but I can at least mentally picture a Snivy from this. Some of Snivy's description is pretty interesting.
Hmm . . . Even? Is he an OC or your own version of Hilbert? Doesn't make much sense either way unless this takes place before BW because Juniper's assistant is Bianca from after Alder is defeated on out.
I'm very much enjoying this. You have a nice style of writing; I'm terrible at maintaining a single perspective.
And it's rare to find many Celestia Adventure stories. And I'm nearly certain this is the only one with the use of Pokemon.
I'm glad I found this, I'll keep reading.
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I have found another good one called Celestias Rocket Adventures. Try it out, it's pretty good.