1

Chapter 1

The Crystal Train was calmer than any other train in Equestria. It moved like a pegasus in full flight, without a single disturbance to the passengers—or at least none that Princess Celestia could notice. Most of her time had been spent on the passing landscape; watching the forests and grasslands give way to cold tundras. A light snowfall had begun to fall, scattering streaks of white across the landscape.

“Attention all passengers,” the voice of the conductor rang. “We will be arriving at the Crystal Empire within ten minutes. In addition, once this train arrives at the Crystal Empire it will be out-of-service and all passengers are asked to disembark.”

“We’re arriving already?” Princess Twilight asked, her head finally out of one of her many traveling books.

“Apparently so,” said Princess Luna. “And for the best. Fast or not, traveling by locomotive still unnerves me.”

“I seem to recall you saying something similar about being pulled around in a chariot,” Celestia said with a wry smile. “And now it seems to be your preferred method of transportation.”

The midnight blue alicorn frowned at her older sister. “At least chariots provide open roofs and places to spread my wings. I feel so confined in here.” She ruffled her wings indignantly.

“I prefer the roof considering how bad it’s snowing out there,” Twilight said. She closed her book and slid it into the saddle bag beside her, between two other books in alphabetical order.

Some habits never die, Celestia thought with a smile. Even as a filly, her former student was almost tyrannical about her organizing.

“Princess, did Cadance say anything else in her letter?” Twilight asked, turning to Celestia.

“Nothing more than what I’ve shared with you,” she replied. “I’m sure it’s nothing worth concerning ourselves over. Cadance is not the sort of mare to withhold important information.”

“She might if she were afraid the message could be intercepted or misinterpreted somehow,” Luna said gravely. “Not everypony is quite so eloquent in their correspondence as you are, Celestia.”

That’s true, Celestia thought. Though I shudder to think what could have Cadance so worried as to fear the information falling into the wrong hooves.

The remainder of the journey went in relative silence. Twilight had her nose pushed against the glass, obviously eager to see her sister-in-law. Though judging by the conductor, she wouldn’t be able to view the Crystal Empire until they were close to arriving. Celestia again toyed with the notion of teaching Twilight proper royal etiquette, as would be befitting a mare of her status, though ultimately decided against it. Her status as Equestria’s fourth Princess was still new, and there were sure to be more opportune moments in the future.

Luna was simply sitting in her seat, unmoving, with her eyes closed. She might have been giving the outward appearance of reserved collectiveness, but Celestia knew her younger sister was swallowing waves of nausea. The slight grimaces her lips made, combined with the way she angled her muzzle closer to the window, were all subtle clues Luna had shown since she was a filly.

They were all signs she’d thought she’d never see again. Though she didn’t look it, the white alicorn and her sister were both over one thousand years old. They were the oldest ponies in Equestria, and for the longest time its only Alicorns. As such, they’d taken over the ancient responsibilities of the unicorn ponies to raise the sun and moon. Together, they’d ruled side by side, sharing the burdens leadership carried. And ponies loved them.

Ponies loved you, Celestia corrected herself. That’s what pushed Luna away.

Looking back now, all the signs of Luna’s growing animosity seemed so obvious, but then hindsight usually was better. It had started small — leaving a meal early, being late for a meeting or proceeding — but eventually grew to veiled insults, backhoofed comments, until finally reaching her downfall and transformation into Nightmare Moon.

Celestia sighed, trying to push the past aside. Luna is back beside me, thanks to Twilight and her friends, Celestia thought to herself.

“I see it,” Twilight said, excited. Celestia turned her attention from the frozen landscape and followed her former pupil’s gaze.

The cold, snow covered land was quickly giving way to green hills and valleys. In one of these valleys, Celestia could begin to make out the shapes of buildings — brightly coloured, and with irregular shapes. They were arranged in irregular segments divided by brightly polished roads. If viewed from above, the roads created an almost snowflake-like pattern. In the center of all this was a massive tower of blue crystal resting atop four arch-shaped legs. Five towers rose from the crystal, giving it the shape of a palace.

The Crystal Empire, Celestia mused. Despite the name, the city was as much a part of Equestria as the pegasus city of Cloudsdale. Perhaps under the rule of their King things had been different, but that was near one thousand years ago. Now only this city remained to tell of that time. The title of empire was little more than a formality. And now they’re ruled by an alicorn princess.

Many of the Canterlot elite had objected to that decision. Before her ascension, Cadance had been a pegasus. It was her unparalleled understandings of the physical and emotional sides of love that allowed her to reach the level of an Alicorn, and even back then, ponies spoke out. “Love was not a skill with which to lead,” Celestia recalled a number of them saying.

Cadance herself didn’t help matters. She’d never dabbled in politics or diplomacy. Her teenage years had been spent as the foalsitter to Twilight Sparkle, back when she was still a unicorn, and courting her elder brother into an eventual marriage. Many in Equestria didn’t even know her name until her wedding, where a Changeling queen had stolen her place in an attempt to infiltrate Equestria for her Changeling hoards. The politicians had used this as a prime example of why Cadance was too young and inexperienced to control the newest territory to be added to Equestria. But the choice had never been Celestia’s to make. The Crystal ponies chose her, and gave her the title of Crystal Princess. After that, there’d been nothing more to say.

Celestia rose from her seat as the train pulled into the station. She inhaled deeply and strolled out, keeping her head high and being sure to smile at everypony. However, the station platform was deserted, save for a battalion of four Crystal Empire guards, dressed in sapphire armour. Thanks to the enchantments of their home, the guard’s armour sparkled, and their lavender coats appeared angular, as if made of crystal. At their head was a pink alicorn, smiling brightly.

“Cadance!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. She almost rushed towards her old foal-sitter, but managed to catch herself and resume a regal appearance.

“Thank you all for coming here,” Cadance said, nodding to her fellow princesses. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience of it all.”

Celestia stepped towards the smaller alicorn. “We know you wouldn’t have called us all unless it was urgent.”

“I do hope King Sombra hasn’t attempted another return,” Luna said.

“Goodness no,” Cadance replied. “It’s nothing that severe, but I think it’d be better to talk back at my palace.” She extended her left wing. The four guards each gave a stiff nod and walked off the platform. A moment later the sound of wheels against the half-frozen ground could be heard. Celestia turned her head towards the sounds, and saw the guards pulling two silver chariots into view.

Cadance climbed into the front chariot — with Twilight following close beside her — leaving Celestia and Luna to ride in the rear. They rode through the city, past the red and blue houses that looked as if chiseled from giant crystals. And everywhere there were ponies. Like the guards, they appeared crystalline thanks to the magic of the empire. Curiously, there were only earth ponies that Celestia could see. It was a strange feeling, being in a place with only one tribe. Even in Equestria’s capital of Canterlot, where unicorns were dominant, there were still earth ponies and pegasus ponies living within.

The crystal ponies watched them pass with curious looks. A few smiled and waved, while others watched on with distant intriguement. It was something Celestia had grown accustomed to. In her long years as Equestria’s ruler, she had borne witness to every expression ponies could produce.

Sometimes I do miss those old days, though, Celestia thought to herself, turning to look at Luna with a smile. The first time she’d seen the Crystal Empire was when it had been conquered by King Sombra, a unicorn who dabbled in dark magics for his own personal gain. He ruled the Crystal Empire through tyranny and oppression, keeping the crystal ponies as little more than slaves.

It had taken the combined power of both Celestia and Luna to properly banish him. Together they stripped him of his corporeal form, and sealed him away within the frozen north. But Sombra’s powers were greater than they’d anticipated. Somehow, he managed to cause the Crystal Empire itself to vanish along with him. Countless decades of study were wasted as the two tried to figure out his methods and they were eventually forced to concede that the empire was lost.

Until half a year ago, when the Empire had mysteriously returned, and King Sombra with it. Instead of facing the tyrant again, Celestia sent her pupil, Twilight Sparkle, and her five friends, who encompassed the six Elements of Harmony — laughter, honesty, generosity, loyalty, kindness, and magic. The experience was to test if Twilight was truly ready to face the challenges that would have faced her in becoming an Alicorn herself. And thankfully, she’d passed, and the empire was saved.

Another of my ancient foes vanquished by my student, Celestia thought. Twilight, her friends, and even Spike are revered as the heroes who forever banished Sombra from this land. Myself and Luna are little more than curiosities to them. She gazed at the ponies watching them pass. Did any of them even remember that she and her sister had faced Sombra first?

“Celestia?”

The princess turned from her thoughts and looked at her younger sister. “What is it, Luna?”

“You’re being awfully quiet. Is everything alright?”

“I am merely reminiscing about the past. Thinking about some of the challenges we’ve overcome and sights we’ve seen.”

Luna smiled in recollection. “Yes, we have accomplished much in our time.”

“Do you ever miss it? The simplicity of just being a hero and not a ruler, I mean.”

Luna paused a moment in thought. “Why are you asking this?”

“No reason. I’m just recollecting, like I said,” Celestia replied.

Luna was silent and brought a hoof to her chin. “Things were much simpler then, I’ll admit. All we had to focus on was expelling an evil force, and not managing the lives of countless ponies. But there are many rewards that come from that as well.”

“Rewards, perhaps, but not as many accolades or triumphs.” Celestia gave a very un-princess-like sigh. “Perhaps I am merely jealous of Twilight and her friends. They have done so much in recent times and so many still speak of them highly. Anypony who would be able to recollect our own adventures is long gone. I almost feel like I am being overshadowed at times.”

Luna looked at her sister, perplexed. “I’m shocked, Celestia. It almost sounds like you want to abandon your duties to go rekindle some old fire. Those times were invigorating, yes, but we have new responsibilities to uphold. Let the new generations don this mantle of responsibility — you know all this.”

“I know, Luna,” Celestia sighed. “I’ve just been remembering a lot since Tirek’s return. When we had to give our magic to Twilight, I felt as if my years had finally caught up to me.” Celestia shut her eyes tightly, rueing what she would say next. “I felt old.”

Luna was silent for a long while, with no sounds besides the chariot wheels on the road or the floating notes of Twilight and Cadance’s conversation. This too was silenced, however, when the group arrived at the palace. Cadance wasted no time and hurried inside; to anypony else it may have seemed like she was simply trotting, but Celestia could detect the sense of urgency in her movements.

Even once inside, Cadance remained on edge, guiding her princess entourage through the palace halls with rushed slowness. The three princesses had to rush to keep up with her. Cadance only seemed to calm down when they neared a storage room, walking towards it with purpose. Two crystal pony guards stood on either side of the door, looking as determined and stoic as any other.

Twilight was the first to clue in. “Hold on, Cadance, isn’t this where that magic mirror is?”

“Yes, it is,” Cadance answered, nodding at the guards. They moved aside and she trotted in smartly. “And it’s the reason I’ve called you here.”

The room was dark blue from the walls to the floor to the doors Celestia entered through. Purple crystals grew along the walls, making borders, but aside from them, everything was a shade of blue. Pictures hung on the wall depicting sunrises over castles and landscapes, and flanking the entranceways were display cases filled vases and other ancient looking artifacts.

But the object that had everypony’s attention was the mirror. It was to the right of the doorway, on a raised pedestal, blue in colour, and ringed by purple horseshoes. A lavender, upside-down horseshoe embedded with rubies serving as a border. Above it, fixed with iron details, was the image of an earth pony.

The most striking thing about it at this moment in time, however, was the large crack, stretching from the top right and jutting across to the opposite side. Even more worrisome than the crack were the colours floating around it; Celestia mused that the wispy ever-changing colours reminded her of her own mane.

“What happened to the mirror?” Twilight asked, leaning in and observing the colours.

“I’m not sure,” Cadance answered. “I believe it happened during Tirek’s rampage.”

“Do you think he damaged it to absorb its magic?” Luna asked.

Celestia had been thinking the same thing. Lord Tirek had been obsessed about amassing and hoarding all magic for himself. The mirror was decidedly magical, and considering that Tirek had stolen even Discord’s power, it stood to reason that he would have attempted taking inanimate magic. If Twilight and her friends hadn’t stopped his most recent rampage he would have succeeded. Just another reminder of how useless I was, Celestia thought bittery. Aloud, she asked, “Even if he did, all the stolen magic was returned to its rightful owners.”

“I think it was,” Luna said, gesturing to the shimmering colours. “This magical energy is being drawn to the mirror, but doesn’t seem to be settling.”

As if on cue the mirror shimmered, the colours bursting forth from the crack and bathing the room in a multi-coloured glow. The glass itself seemed to bulge and contort, distorting everypony’s reflection. For a moment Celestia swore she felt herself being drawn into the mirror, though that feeling quickly passed. The rainbow of magic pouring forth abruptly halted. A great WOOSH resounded in the room and the magic was quickly re-absorbed into the mirror.

Cadance’s lavender eyes were as wide as serving plates. “What just happened?”

“Some kind of magical backlash, from the looks of things,” Luna replied far too calmly, all things considered.

Twilight Sparkle stepped forward and peered at the mirror. “I think I know what the problem is. Even though the mirror’s magic was returned after Tirek’s defeat, the crack is too big. The magic keeps slipping out and being re-absorbed.” Her eyes widened. “If this keeps happening, the magic could damage the mirror even more. And that could lead to it imploding on itself!”

Celestia stepped up beside her former student. “With the four of us together, it shouldn’t be too difficult to repair the mirror before another surge happens.”

“It would be best if we linked our magic together,” Luna said, stepping forward. “Twilight, you have dealt with the mirror before. I propose that you be the one to guide the spell.”

Twilight gave a firm nod and faced the mirror. Celestia and Luna took up positions behind her on either side, with Cadance between them. Celestia focused on her magic, willing it into her horn until it was surrounded in a golden aura. Looking across from her, she could see that Luna’s horn was surrounded by a similar blue aura.

The white alicorn closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on her sister’s magic. It was the one she was most familiar with, so establishing a connection was easy. She felt herself link with Luna, and her sister’s magic began reacting with her own. A golden bolt shot from Celestia’s horn, as bright as the sun, while a deep blue one came from Luna’s. The twin beams met in the space between the alicon sisters, where they conjoined like a pair of serpents, twisting and writing together until their colours began to overlap into a single ball of light, both gold and blue, yet at the same time neither.

The feeling was both invigorating and intrusive. Celestia could feel Luna’s considerably large magic pool as if it was her own. If she wanted to, Celestia was sure she could have tapped into it. But she knew that Luna felt the same thing about her own magic. In that way, it was like her sister was peering into her like she was a book to be read and picked apart for information.

A shimmer of magic was all the warning Celestia was given before an aquamarine lance speared into the magical orb. Cadance’s magic was smaller than either Luna or Celestia’s levels, but she had only been an Alicorn for less than two decades. Celestia was unfamiliar with Cadance’s energies; it was like she was trying to read the same letter, but the wording had changed ever so slightly. Did Twilight feel this when we lent her our magic?

Bridging the gap to Twilight was considerably easier, no doubt because of her natural attunement to magic, and as a fellow user of the Elements of Harmony. The link to her was also different than that to Luna and Cadance. Twilight wasn’t pooling her energies into the ball of magic, but rather tapping into the magic itself, and using it as she saw fit. This left her magic pool sealed off from Celestia’s view.

Twilight got to work straight away. Her horn lit up in her trademark magenta glow, and like a moth to a flame, the ball of magic shot out and latched onto its tip. Celestia could see the sweat beginning to form on Twilight’s brow, but her former pupil stood fast and took in short breaths of

air.

With a choked grunt, Twilight focused their conjoined magic on the mirror. A thin beam of white magic left her horn and touched the crack at the bottom of the mirror. Slowly it trailed along the fracture, and the glass mended together as it did. Celestia chanced a glance at the ever-changing colours surrounding the mirror and was pleased to see they were already beginning to fade back into the glass.

The surface of the mirror shimmered, drawing Celestia’s attention. Faint ripples were traveling along the length of the glass. It almost looked like the mirror was activating its magic, but that couldn’t be. It hadn’t been thirty moons after its last use.

Twilight’s attention remained intent on repairing the crack. Celestia glanced between her former student and the mirror; keeping her magic linked to the others didn’t require much focus, so she was allowed to let her mind wander. The glass continued to ripple ever so slightly, and in places, small white lines began appearing. At first Celestia thought they were a trick of the light, but the lines quickly lengthened and spread, joining in some places and expanding into others.

It couldn’t be activating, Celestia thought to herself, even as their reflections wavered and distorted. Casting a glance back to Twilight, Celestia saw that the lavender alicorn had almost mended the crack over completely. The white lines were inching towards the mended section of mirror, coming from all manner of twisted angles. If they were more solid, Celestia would have thought the mirror was cracking again.

Twilight noticed them, and her focus faltered. Her horn accidentally pointed the conjoined magic off-course, but she quickly regained control. Still, she kept one eye on the lines while she mended the last of the crack. They didn’t seem dangerous, but something about the way everypony’s reflection was distorting concerned Celestia. At the least, it didn’t seem to be threatening any of them.

Until the glass reached out towards Twilight.

Celestia couldn’t see what Cadance and Luna were doing, nor feel what they were planning through their link. She acted quick, bolting beside Twilight and using her wing to block the glass. With her free wing, Celestia pushed her away.

All around her, sections of the mirror lifted off along the white lines and settled on her body like dust on an object. There was no pain, only a chilling cold where the glass touched her skin. She heard Luna call her name and tried twisting her head to her sister, but the glass on her neck locked together to stop her.

She could feel the mirror, more like rubber or latex by this point, slowly creeping its way along her body, chilling her to her bones. Twilight called her, or perhaps it was Luna. It was difficult to tell with the mirror filling her ears. Celestia’s gaze fell on the ball of magic floating above them. All four alicorns were still firmly attached through its link.

The mirror, almost acting with a mind all its own, had nearly engulfed Celestia entirely. She knew she didn’t have enough time to recall her magic, nor did she know what would happen if the mirror and the link were to join. So she did the only other thing she could think of.

She severed the connection.

The last thing Celestia saw were the shocked expressions from the other ponies. A force pulled her back, and her senses went numb.

Then the mirror completely encased her.

2

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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.”

3

View Online

Chapter 2

Having dozens, if not hundreds, of eyes on her was hardly a new experience for Celestia. But there was a difference between having everypony’s attention while you gave a rousing speech and simply being gawked at by strange creatures.

The sun shone down on Celestia as she walked down the dirt road of Nuvema Town. Professor Juniper was keeping pace beside her on her right. The Snivy was on her left, his tail fanned out to collect as much of the sun’s light as it could.

This unlikely trio was quick to attract the attention of the town’s inhabitants—more plain-looking bipeds from Juniper’s species. Most of them glanced at Celestia as they passed-by along the street, though she could feel their eyes lingering on her long after they’d passed. Their faces all told a unique tale; some were clearly in admiration of this bizarre creature among their town, while others were lingering in varying degrees of shock and wonderment. Still, others didn’t seem to care at all.

Perhaps this was a bad idea, Celestia thought to herself. Nuvema town had seemed much smaller from a distance. Just a collection of buildings with identical blue triangle shaped roofs connected by dirt roads and broken up by fields of grass. Though not quite as big as Ponyville, the town was still sizable enough that there was always at least one pair of eyes on every road.

“Professor Juniper!” called a menagerie of voices from behind. Celestia and Juniper both turned towards the sound and were greeted by four children (at the least, they looked like children to Celestia). Floating among them was a plump pink creature with patterns that resembled purple flowers on its body.

“Hello kids,” Juniper said with a smile.

“Professor Juniper, what’s that Pokemon?” a young boy asked, pointing to Celestia.

“I’m glad you asked. This here is an Alicorn; a visitor from a far away land.”

The children seemed invested in the professor’s description. They edged closed to Celestia, all wanted to get a better look at her. Even the pink creature seemed to eye her with its shiny, oval, red eyes. From the corner of her eye, Celestia could see the Snivy watching each of the children and straighten his back, standing upright and proper.

“How far away?” a young girl asked.

“Further away than Kanto,” Juniper said. “Now please, don’t crowd her, children. This is her first time in an Unova town, and you don’t want to make it a stressful experience, would you?”

The children all backed away from Celestia, with the pink creature following after. Juniper smiled at them again. “Go enjoy yourselves and have fun with Munna.”

“We will!” the children all said in unison. One by one they said goodbye to the professor and Celestia, then raced across the street with their pink creature towards a playground of some kind.

“Perhaps this should have waited until later,” Celestia said once she was sure the children were out of earshot.

“I told you already, half the town already knows you exist,” Juniper said. “If they didn’t see you when you initially arrived, the kids have probably gossiped about it several times over by now. All seeing you in the flesh will do is confirm those rumors.”

“And you’re sure no one would try to capture me?”

“Not when we explain what you really are,” Juniper explained. “Then again, it’s entirely possible that a Poké Ball won’t work on you. They’re designed only to be used on Pokémon; humans can’t be captured in one. So it’s possible it won’t register on you either.”

That was comforting to Celestia. The Snivy might not mind being stored inside one of those red and white spheres, but the thought was more than a little disturbing to her. As was the fact that these ‘humans’ were so casual with discussing it.

“On that thought, was the pink creature with those children a Pokémon as well?” Celestia asked.

“It was,” replied Juniper. “That was a Munna. A Psychic-type with the ability to eat the dreams of people and Pokémon and project them through a mist. Specifically, it seeks out nightmares, because those who have had a Munna eat their dreams will forget the dream.”

That would certainly make Luna’s job a lot easier, Celestia thought.

As the three of them walked through the town, Celestia became aware of more strange creatures, all of whom the professor identified as Pokémon. A large purple cat with yellow circles was curled up and sleeping on the porch of a house. She called that one Liepard. Two shaggy brown dogs called Lillipup and Herdier followed a pair of humans on a mid-day jog. Pidove like the ones Celestia had woken up among were resting on rooftops or flying overhead. When their shadows passed by, the Snivy hid himself underneath Celestia and refused to come out until they passed.

“Flying-types are strong against Grass-types,” Juniper explained. “Once Rowen is here and settled, we can go over the entire type effectiveness chart.”

The Snivy poked his head out from beneath Celestia, a wary eye on the skies. She craned her neck back and nuzzled him, speaking soothingly. “It’s alright, little one. The danger is passed.”

“Snivy?” asked the Snivy, his red eyes darting across the sky. Once he’d confirmed Celestia’s claim, he stood beside her again, head held high and regal, like so many of the elites of Canterlot.

It was a small gesture, but it reminded Celestia of when the children had swarmed around her, or when the professor’s assistant had tried to challenge her to a battle. Both times the Snivy had composed itself properly.

It seems outward personas are important to this creature. Celestia thought. Curious.

Professor Juniper stopped in front a store painted in bright pink. A large window took up nearly the entire wall, and right behind were several mannequins wearing all manner of clothing, though nowhere near as decorative or eye-catching as what she was used to from Equestria. At first it seemed odd to Celestia that clothing would be so commonplace and, for lack of a better word, trite, but it then occurred to her that every one of Juniper’s species had worn some manner of clothing. In Equestria, outfits were usually reserved either as formal wear or business attire. The elites of Canterlot wore clothing regularly to showcase their stature. Perhaps it was the same for humans.

Juniper motioned to the ground in front of the shop, tracing a line in the air. “A group of kids on their way to school found you here. From the way you were sprawled out I assumed you hit the shop while flying too fast and knocked yourself out, though the shopkeep doesn’t recall anything hitting the wall. And given your size, you’d likely have to been flying a fair speed to knock yourself unconscious, which would leave an impact on the wall somewhere, but it’s as smooth as the day it was built.”

Celestia’s eyes followed the professor’s hand. The ground looked like, well, the ground. Aside from a slight scuffing of the dirt that may or may not have been her outline, there was nothing to suggest that this spot was where Celestia appeared. When Twilight Sparkle had used the mirror last, she explained that it used a statue as a focal point to Equestria.

Although this place doesn’t match her descriptions of Canterlot High, Celestia thought. She craned her head to look up at the building. “How long was I lying here?”

Juniper thought a moment. “Couldn’t have been more than an hour. The shop would have been open long before the kids were on their way down the road, and I doubt anyone would have missed you, even if it was dark out.”

Celestia frowned, her brow furrowed in thought. “Did anyone notice anything peculiar when they found me? Any disturbances in the air or distortions in the glass?”

“Not that I can remember.”

Before Celestia could press for further details, a shrill cry pierced the air.

“What was that?” Celestia asked, looking past the store. The sound seemed to have come from a hidden back-alley.

“It sounded like a Pokémon cry,” Juniper answered with a surprising amount of attentiveness. Her eyes were scanning the ground around them. “Say, where did the Snivy get to? He was with you not two minutes ago.”

Celestia turned away from the alley and looked at her side. Sure enough, the Snivy was not standing beside her or hiding beneath her legs.

“Could that sound have been him?” she asked, looking grimly at the professor.

“Possibly,” Juniper replied, stepping towards the alley. “At any rate, if a Pokémon is in distress, I have a responsibility as a professor to assist them.”

Celestia nodded and stepped in-line next to the professor, her mind racing with possibilities. Cedric had said that not all of these Pokémon were friendly; could one of the more aggressive ones have wandered into town?

Contrary to what she was expecting, the alley was actually well-lit and not at all dirty. The Snivy was indeed there, his back to the wall, with two green vines extending from his neck. Advancing on him was a small purple cat, similar to the Liepard she had seen earlier, but it walked on its back legs and lacked the yellow spots of the larger cat.

At first, Celestia though that the cat was merely hungry and desperate for a meal, or at worst rabid, until she spotted the cloaked figure just past the two creatures. Shadows concealed its face, but Celestia could see white hair poking from the darkness.

“Hey! Identify yourself!” Juniper called to the figure.

“Return,” it replied, no louder than a whisper, before pointing a Pokéball at the bipedal cat. A red light shot from the ball and covered the cat, who vanished into nothing. The figure pulled the Pokéball back into the shadows, and Celestia could feel cold eyes locking onto her.

“Tend to your Pokémon, professor,” the figure hissed. “While you still can.”

“Who are you?” Juniper demanded, but she was too late. The figure vanished into the shadows as if it were a part of them.

The figure’s abrupt departure left Celestia disquieted. “I take it that was an uncommon occurrence?” she asked, her years of royal etiquette helping to keep her voice level and calm.

“That is one way of putting it,” Juniper said, walking over to the Snivy. He seemed shaken by the events, but otherwise unharmed. “There have been rumours of some group of thugs running around and stealing people’s Pokémon, but I never thought they could be so cryptic.”

“They steal Pokémon?” Celestia asked. “I thought you said humans treated Pokémon as friends and help compliment each other.”

“Most people do, but there are some who see Pokémon only as a means to an end.” She stood, pulling the Snivy’s Poké Ball out of her lab coat. “I’m just glad nothing serious happened this time.”

She pointed the ball at the Snivy. A red beam shot from the ball, aimed for the grass-type’s chest, but it jumped aside before the beam could connect.

“Snivy!” he exclaimed, waving his arms at the professor.

The professor kneeled, looking at the Snivy intently. “Yes? What is it?”

The Snivy crossed his arms and straightened his neck. As he did, a thin green vine extended from his left side. It twisted through the air and into the shadows where the figure had been standing, all while the Snivy looked up at Juniper and Celestia. The duo watched in silence as the diminutive green lizard pulled out a shard of glass, delicately gripping it with his vine.

“What do you have there?” Juniper asked, holding her hand out. The Snivy dropped the glass shard into her palm, being careful of the jagged edges.

Celestia peered at the object. It was near-circular in shape, save for the jagged edges where the glass had broken. Size wise, the shard was half the size of a dining saucer. But there was nothing else that stood out to Celestia about it.

“A shard of glass?” she mused aloud.

Juniper furrowed her brow. “I don’t see anything particularly striking about it either, but this Snivy doesn’t tend to waste his time with trivialities or trinkets.” She turned the shard over in her hand and stood. “Come on, let’s get back to my lab before something else happens.”

4

View Online

Chapter 4

“So, Cedric tells me you are not a Pokémon,” the third professor stated in a deep voice. Celestia nodded, and he took a moment to contemplate in silence.

From what little she had been told of him, Celestia had assumed that Professor Rowan would have been similar to the Junipers. That assumption couldn’t have been further from the truth. Rowan was older than Cedric, but he was harder to read. Cedric seemed to always be smiling, took things in stride and with good humour, while Rowan reminded Celestia more of some of the professors employed at her school. His white hair was trimmed short, except for on his face where it grew into bushy sideburns and a long moustache. She got the sense that there was wisdom behind those aged eyes and his mind seemed to always be working, but he had mastered the art of keeping his secrets just that.

“It’s quite the coincidence that you look like a number of Pokémon then,” Rowan said at last. “It’s hardly any surprise that Professor Juniper confused you for one. I imagine I would have done much the same.”

“All of the Pokémon I have seen resemble animals from my home as well,” Celestia countered.

“Ah, that’s right,” Aurea cut in. She and her father were seated on the right of Celestia. Her assistant leaned against the wall, arms crossed and listening to all that was said. “We never did determine just where you come from.”

Rowan brought a hand to his moustache. “Where she is from won’t solve the problem. No doubt we lack the means to travel there. Instead, let’s focus on how you arrived here, Celestia.”

Cedric nodded, smiling broadly. “I imagine if it were as simple as boarding a plane, you’d have already bought yourself a ticket.”

If only it were that simple, Celestia thought. “I was working on repairing a powerful artifact when the magic I was using backfired. I’m a little fuzzy on the specifics, but... I felt like I was being engulfed.” She turned to look at Aurea Juniper. “Then I woke up in your aviary.”

Evan scoffed. “Magic? That’s nothing but stuff from fairy tales.”

Celestia was about to rebuff him when Rowan cleared his throat brusquely. “That’s hardly keeping an open mind, young man,” he said, his tone hard. “I’ve no doubt our ancestors thought Pokémon were magic, long before we decided to study them. And even now, some things they do defy explanation. To a child who has grown up on fairy tales, seeing an Alakazam levitate objects with its mind, or a Mr. Mime creating psychic barriers from nothing, would be indistinguishable from any form of magic.” Evan sourly looked away, obviously stinging from being rebuked.

“Perhaps our guest could demonstrate for us,” Cedric said. “We might learn something useful from it.”

Celestia shook her head. “I was forced to distance myself from my magic in order to protect the others working alongside me. I also didn’t want to discover what would happen if I were pulled past the barrier while still sharing my magic, and there wasn’t enough time to safely untangle myself.”

“What precisely was it that you were working to repair?” Aurea asked.

Celestia hesitated a few moments, debating how much she should reveal. “An ancient mirror capable of acting as a gateway to other worlds,” she finally said.

Aurea fished a hand into her pocket and pulled out the glass shard they’d found in the alleyway, holding it up so that everyone could see. Even out of direct light, a rainbow of colour cascaded across the surface. There was something oddly familiar about it to Celestia, but she couldn’t place exactly what it was.

“An ancient mirror capable of traversing dimensions,” Aurea repeated. “We found this shard of glass near where Celestia was first found, and there was that thug nearby. It can’t just all be coincidence.”

Cedric leaned in to peer at the shard. “Does it look like a part of your mirror?”

“It looks like any other piece of glass,” Celestia said unhelpfully. “And it would worry me more if it were part of the mirror. That would mean that our attempts to repair it have not only failed, but have scattered the pieces.”

“Is there any way you can confirm it?” asked Cedric.

“I can try, but without my magic it’ll be a difficult process.” Celestia extended her hoof and Aurea handed her the shard.

Without warning the tiny shard gave off a bright spark of light. Aurea and Cedric both brought their hands over their eyes as the room was awash in a rainbow of colour. Startled, Celestia dropped the glass and gawked as the colours traveled back into the reflective surface, like water flowing down a drain.

For a long while no one spoke, stunned by what had occurred. It was Rowan who finally broke the silence, the suddenness of his voice making Celestia jump a little. “I’d say that was decidedly unexpected.”

“That was certainly unlike anything I’ve experienced before,” Aurea agreed, rubbing her eyes tenderly. “I don’t suppose you have any insight in the matter?” she asked Celestia.

The alicorn nodded solemnly. “Yes, I do. That little burst was very similar to what the mirror was doing when my allies and I were working to repair it.” She gave a dejected sigh, feeling her spirits sink. “If the mirror itself is so destroyed, I do not see how I have any hope of getting back home.”

“Nonsense!” Cedric said with a clap of his hands. “If something’s broken, then you fix it. The mirror wasn’t destroyed, merely damaged; the shard we have here is proof of that. And where there is one piece, others can’t be too far off.”

“Perhaps, but didn’t you say there was someone with you when you discovered the shard?” Rowen asked Aurea, who nodded. “If there are others seeking out the mirror shards, then they perhaps know something about them that we don’t. They may also have the means to track them down.” He tugged on his mustache in thought for a few moments. “This talk of travelling between dimensions reminds me of something I read about, but I can’t recall precisely what at this time. When I get the chance I’ll call up my assistant and have him send me my research notes. Perhaps getting into contact with Professor Carolina would not be a bad idea either.”

Cedric cleared his throat. “First thing’s first. I think we should scan the shard to see if its energy patterns can be compared to a common element. If it does, then perhaps we can find a way of locating any more shards out there, or at the least finding something that gives off similar energies that could be used to get Celestia back to her home.”

The next few days were a flurry of activity in Aurea’s lab. For nearly ten hours a day, the professors were at work, analyzing the mirror shard and scrolling through a list of common elements for something to compare it to. Unfortunately, Celestia found herself delegated to the role of observer through all this. She was not a pony well versed in the sciences, and nearly all the equipment being used was designed for human hands, not pony hooves.

Am I really so helpless without my magic? Celestia wondered as she watched Cedric flip through his notebook. When she’d given up her magic to Twilight Sparkle to keep it out of Tirek’s hands, she felt helpless, sure, but not incapable. Here she felt like a foal watching something it couldn’t comprehend, unable to do anything but wait.

The most she was able to contribute was when Rowan would come and speak to her after the Junipers called an end to testing for the day. The elderly professor would query Celestia on her home, as well as the mirror itself, consulting his notes as she spoke. In turn, Celestia was able to learn more about this strange world she found herself in.

“Our world, as you’ve already come to discover, is inhabited by creatures we call Pokémon” Rowan said when Celestia asked him on her second day in his world. “Depending on where one lives, the number and diversity of Pokémon they can discover varies. For example, my home region of Sinnoh has Pokémon living there that can be found in several other regions, while this one, Unova, has Pokemon not found anywhere else.

“No matter where we live, Pokémon and humans work side by side in a variety of ways. At times we can play together or use one another to grow as individuals. The most common method for this is participating in Pokémon battles.”

“If you’re friends with them, why do you make these Pokémon fight each other?” Celestia asked.

“It’s not an easy thing to explain,” Rowan answered. “You’d have to participate in a Pokemon battle of your own to truly understand.”

“Then I doubt I’ll ever understand,” she replied.

It was during a somewhat rainy day that Celestia found a way to keep herself busy. Since the professors were so fixated on the shard, Celestia decided to attend some of their lesser duties—in this case, feeding the birds in Auria’s aviary. It wasn’t too much of a walk from the lab (though the light downpour and carrying the bag of feed with her teeth once again made Celestia yearn for her magic), but she enjoyed the chance to get outside and stretch her legs. And besides, she enjoyed caring for animals.

The aviary itself did little to stop the rain, as the cage was meant to keep the birds from flying away; fresh air was allowed to blow through as it willed, which allowed the rain and presumably snow in as well. Nevertheless, the birds didn’t seem too bothered by the weather. As Celestia entered the aviary, she was greeted by a resounding chorus of “Pidove” and “Tranquill” echoing through the aviary before being near-smothered in grey feathered bodies.

“Seems they like you,” a voice said from in front of Celestia. “But my advice would be to drop the bag before they tear a hole in it.”

Celestia followed the advice and let the birds descend upon the feed. Moving around them, Celestia saw Auria’s assistant standing beside a bird far larger than any of the ones she’d seen so far. Its feathers were dark grey—near black on most of its body—except for its underbelly and thighs, which were dark green. The bird’s head was dominated by a large red crest that trailed down to its wings like a ballroom mask.

“What’re you doing out here?” Evan asked, absently petting the bird’s neck.

“The professor was neglecting some of her other chores, so I thought I’d pick up the slack,” Celestia said.

“She can be very absent minded sometimes,” Evan said, then curiously looked at Celestia’s side. “You don’t have that Snivy with you?”

“No.” Celestia couldn’t hide her confusion. “Why would I?”

“That particular Snivy has been quite picky when it comes to trainers, but he seemed to like you the moment he saw you.”

Celestia sighed. “I’m flattered, really, but I’m not anything’s trainer, nor do I want to be.” She gave a slight shake of her head, glancing back at the birds as they ate before turning to Evan. “The whole idea of forcing them to fight for your amusement just seems so barbaric.”

Evan’s eyebrows furrowed in displeasure. “We don’t force our Pokémon to do anything they don’t want to do. They’re our friends and partners, not entertainment. Right, Unfezant?”

“Unfezant.” The large bird nodded its head and gave Celestia a similar insulted look.

“Unfezant here was the first Pokemon I ever caught,” Evan continued. “He was just a Pidove back then. If he’d wanted to, he’d have left me long ago and gone back to the wild if I’d ever mistreated him like you’re saying.”

“And yet you continue to make him battle, if I follow you correctly,” Celestia pressed on. “Does seeing your so-called ‘friend’ injured and in need of urgent care make you feel nothing, even knowing that it was you who urged him on?”

“Of course that bothers me. I can’t think of anyone who it wouldn’t bother!” Evan shot back, clearly upset with her at this point. “But we don’t have Pokémon battles just to watch our Pokémon suffer. They’re about strengthening our bonds and demonstrating how far we’ve come as a team. Not master and slave. A team.” He paused to rub his Unfezant’s chin affectionately. “We do more good together than we could ever do apart.”

“Unfezant,” the large bird agreed.

Evan looked at Celestia with a determined gaze. “But maybe sometimes words aren’t enough. The only way to understand what I’m talking about is to experience it for yourself.”

“So everyone keeps telling me,” Celestia said, “but even if I agreed to, how would I go about experiencing it? I don’t have any Pokémon of my own, and you’re clearly too experienced for a battle to be fair.”

“I can handicap myself if that’s what you’re worried about. There are lots of Pokémon I caught on my journey that haven’t got much battle experience.”

Celestia shook her head. “But you still have it. It’s not a comparison of the Pokémon’s skills, but your lifetime of battling to my days of listening in on the subject.”

Evan took a moment to process what she said. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But does that mean you’d agree to a battle with someone of your skill level?”

Celestia was silent for a few moments. “I suppose so, yes.”

Before Evan had the chance to say more, the averie door opened and Aurea walked in, smiling broadly. “Ah, there you are Celestia!” she exclaimed. “We’ve done it! It took no small amount of effort, I can attest to that, but we finally found a matching energy signature!”

“You have?” Celestia asked, her thoughts still focused on Evan’s words. Did she honestly agree to one of these battles in the future?

“Well, it’s not a complete match, but it’s the closest we could come to.” Aurea replied. “Rowan was doing some cross-testing based on data sent to him from a friend in Sinnoh and we found it just like that. Come, he and dad are just finishing uploading the data onto a scanner.”

“A scanner?” Celestia asked, falling into step beside Aurea. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but much of your technology I am incapable of operating.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve got that covered.” Aurea smiled and opened the lab door for Celestia. She trotted in, headed for the lab.

Rowen and Cedric were hunched over one of the desks, watching one of the odd screens as complicated text scrolled past. In the center of the room sat the shard the Snivy had found, held aloft by a peculiar set of pronged forks. All manner of electrical devices were set up around it; Celestia guessed they were meant to run tests on the shard.

“Ah, good, you’re here!” Rowan exclaimed, turning away from the screen. “The program is nearly loaded onto the scanner. Should be done in a minute or so.”

“Thank you all so much for this,” Celestia began. “Words cannot express how grateful to you all I am, though I am still curious how you expect me to operate a device meant for your kind.”

“That was the easy part,” Cedric answered. “All it took was a little modification to a standard-issue Xtransceiver.”

“And what is a Xtransceiver?” Celestia asked.

“It’s a high-tech transceiver device,” Aurea said. She pulled back the right sleeve of her lab coat to reveal a square black-and-pink device strapped to her wrist. “Normally they’re used for four-way communication, but we had the idea of modifying one with a Dowsing Machine program.”

“A modified Dowsing Machine program at that,” Cedric clarified. “It made our job much easier once Rowan remembered it. A few changes to what it searched for was all that was needed.”

“Not that finding the shards themselves is going to be any easier with it,” Rowan interjected. In his hands he held what Celestia assumed was the scanner. It looked much like the device on Aurea’s arm, but the box-section was larger and dotted with several buttons, and the strap had been extended to wrap around Celestia’s forehoof.

“Our sample loves to confuse our instruments at every turn,” Rowan continued. “I won’t bore you with the details, but the program is designed to search for and locate that exact type of interference. Because of it, though, the scanner won’t be very accurate when you get too close.”

Celestia raised her hoof for Aurea as she quickly affixed the odd device. Fortunately the weight was barely noticeable. “So this machine will tell me when another shard is close by?”

“Not quite,” Aurea replied. “It can tell you if a shard is within a two kilometer range, but as Rowan said, once you get within a hundred feet of the shard, the interference may overload the scanner.”

“We actually had the one you already found throw off our readings a few times,” Cedric added. “Which brings me to my next point. I assume you intended to carry the pieces with you, but the scanner wouldn’t be any good with any pieces so close, so we threw together a little carrying case for you. It’s lead-lined, but don’t worry, still very light.” He chuckled, sliding a rather plain brown box across the table, not much longer than the shard they had, though square in shape.

Celestia nodded graciously. “You’ve all been so kind, I can’t even begin to think how I can repay you.”

Cedric gave a hearty laugh. “What kind of professors would we be if we just left someone in need out to dry without so much as a helping hand?”

Celestia looked around at the room full of smiling faces. Friends to guide her and equip her, a hunt for shards in a strange land with no foreseeable way to get home. For the first time in nearly a thousand years, she felt the urge to explore.

5

View Online

Chapter 5

Route One wasn’t any different than any country road in Equestria. It was a simple dirt road winding its way through lush fields of green sprinkled with wildflowers and groves of trees dotting the landscape. Far to the north she could see the sparkling buildings of a city as they gleamed in the sunlight.

Aurea Juniper said its name was Accumula Town. It was a small town with only a little more than two hundred inhabitants. But if Celestia and one of the mirror shards had both appeared in Nuvema Town, chances were that other shards would be in the surrounding area.

If Celestia were being honest with herself, she would have preferred going a little further to search for them. In just half a day’s walk, she’d seen large groups of Pokémon darting about in the tall grass or flying overhead. The most common ones were giant rats with fierce-looking red eyes that walked about on their hindlegs.

“Those are Patrat,” Evan had told her when they spotted a small colony foraging for food. “They’re incredibly common between Nuvema Town and Nacrene City due to a lack of competition from other Pokemon.”

“You certainly know a lot of different species,” Celestia commented. “How many varieties are there?”

“In Unova alone there are one hundred and fifty six different Pokemon. But outside of Unova, there’s reportedly over six hundred more.” He shrugged. “Though there’s probably far more than that. Professors and Trainers alike are always discovering or rediscovering new species around the globe.”

“And how do you keep track of so many species?”

“With this,” Evan reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangle made of black metal with a red Pokéball painted onto its lower half beneath a small screen. “This is a Pokédex; an encyclopedia that keeps records of every Pokémon encountered. Watch.” Evan tapped the center of the Pokéball and pointed the device at one of the Patrat. When he showed it to Celestia, the screen showed a smaller image of the rodent, along with details on its size, weight, and even footprint.

“I’m glad you decided to come along with me,” Celestia smiled as he slipped the Pokédex back into his pocket. “Locating the shards without understanding the technology I’m carrying wouldn’t get me very far.”

“I was looking for an excuse to travel anyways. There’s only so much you can do in a lab compared to actual fieldwork.”

When Celestia was ready to set off on her journey, it had come as a bit of a surprise when the dark-haired youth volunteered to be her guide. During her time at the lab, she’d felt that the two of them hadn’t started on the best of terms, and his silence when not talking about wild Pokémon seemed to reinforce that thought. But perhaps now the both of them could try to learn more about the other.

By midday the trees began to give way on the left side of the trail, and the scent of salt water was strong in the air. Not long after, Celestia could see the path diverge downhill, leading towards a small, tranquil bay dotted by rocks. The two decided to stop for a brief luncheon near the shore, the calming sea breeze blowing over them. Evan prepared their food and released his Unfezant from its Pokéball. “Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, OK buddy?”

The bird replied with its name, and Evan fished into his grey knapsack, fishing out a bag of what appeared to be trail-mix. He let the bird enjoy a few mouthfuls before it took off into the sky and began lazily circling around them.

Such a proud creature must hate being confined to such a tiny space, Celestia pondered as she watched the Unfezant in full flight. The thought also reminded her of her magic predicament, and she decided to test and see if her magic reserves had increased since the last time she checked. Unfortunately, her tests confirmed that she still wasn’t strong enough to lift a stick, so she again let both her mind and eyes wander where they pleased.

In the shallows of the water she could see large fish leaping into the air; the sunlight caught on their green scales, making them shine like emeralds. Evan noticed her gaze and moved beside her, two sandwiches in his hands. “Those are Basculin. Don’t get too close or they’ll bite your nose off. They’re fiercely territorial.”

“Do they always congregate near the shore?” Celestia asked, trying to instinctively levitate a sandwich to her mouth only to realize her folly and instead simply took it with a hoof.

“Shores and rivers, yeah,” Evan answered. “Probably because of the much more dangerous Pokémon that live further out.”

“And you’re not scared of those dangerous creatures intruding on your homes?” Another Basculin leapt from the water, closer to shore. This close, Celestia was able to spot a thick black band that ran down the fish’s back, and two thin red stripes that flanked the band on both sides.

Evan shrugged, wolfing his sandwich down quickly before speaking. “Why would I? In all likelihood they were here first. If anything it’d be humans that are intruding on them. But we all have to live somewhere, and if you don’t go bother Pokémon, they won’t go bother you.” Looking out over the water, Evan smiled and pointed. “Besides, sometimes it works out best for everyone involved. See there?”

Celestia followed his gaze to where, just past the horizon, she could see the glint of metal; though they were somewhat hidden by the light haze over the city, she could easily make out several tall structures. To be seen at such a distance they must be staggeringly high. Coming from the south was a moving object across the water, likely a massive ship.

“That’s Castelia,” Evan said. “Usually it’s hard to see from here unless we get lucky with the weather. It’s Unova’s business hub, filled with thousands of people and dozens of ships coming and going from all over the world. But among all those tall buildings and busy streets, you’re still going to find Pokémon who call that city home just as much as the humans do.”

“And I suppose if they did cause trouble, you could use your own Pokémon to battle against them?”

“That’s only for extreme cases. The Pokémon who live in cities are very accustomed to humans and almost never lash out or cause damages unless they’re provoked first.”

Celestia smiled and bit into her sandwich. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience. Did you live there?”

“In Castelia? No way. Way too many people and way too much going on for my liking. But I did grow up in a city not too far away called Virbank. It’s not nearly as big as Castelia, but the concept of people and Pokémon sharing living space inside a city is the same.” He smiled and looked at the six Pokéballs resting on his belt. “In fact, if there weren’t Pokémon living alongside humans like that, I don’t know if I’d have wanted to become a Pokémon trainer in the first place.”

“And why did you, if you wouldn’t mind me asking?”

Evan gave an indifferent shrug. “I wanted to learn more about the world outside of Virbank. Unova is a big place and I wanted to see what other people and Pokémon live here. Sort of like how you’re asking all these questions to understand our world.”

“I feel like I’m still a long way from understanding, though I’ve always been the curious sort. I suppose I can sympathize with your wanderlust.”

Evan didn’t say anything more after that and instead headed began putting away the remains of their lunch. Celestia could do little but watch as she finished her own meal, though the silence was soon broken as Evan’s Unfezant abruptly shot down from the sky and landed on his shoulder, cawing incessantly. Celestia trotted over, her brow furrowing in unease. “Is something the matter?”

“I’m not sure,” Evan said, stroking Unfezant’s plume. “What’s got you so upset? Did you spot something?”

Unfezant simply swung its head to the south, back the way they had came. Evan stood, a Pokéball already in his hand as he ostensibly prepared for the worst. Celestia followed the bird’s gaze as well and quickly spotted what he had: a tiny green figure was hurrying towards them.

“What is that?” Evan wondered aloud. “It too small for a Watchog, and the wrong colour for Scraggy.”

The figure seemed to speed up when it spotted them, running nearly flat to the ground. Even at this distance Celestia could make out large expressive red eyes and a pointed nose turned towards the sky. “Oh my, isn’t that Aurea’s Snivy?”

Evan groaned in frustration and held his forehead with his free hand. “Of course. I bet she forgot to lock the door again.” Without removing the hand from his face, he pointed his Pokéball at Unfezant and a red light encompassed the bird. “Unfezant return. He’s going to run off if he sees a Flying type and we’ll never track him down.”

“I take it this happens frequently?” Celestia asked as the Snivy came to a stop before her.

“Let’s just say this particular Snivy has a habit of being picky around new trainers and running off when he shouldn’t.” Evan slipped Unfezant’s Pokéball onto his belt beside the others and then looked at the black and blue device on his arm. “I’d better call the professor before she gets worried.”

Evan had barely finished his sentence before his device began ringing. Perplexed, he held it up and the screen flickered on, showing Aurea’s face; her voice also came in as clearly as if she were right there with them. “Ah, Evan, glad I caught you. Seems I have a slight problem. Snivy got out again.”

“You actually got lucky, Professor,” Evan said. “The Snivy tracked us down. He’s here right now.” Evan pointed the screen toward the Snivy, who stood tall beside Celestia’s leg. “Should we wait here until you can come and pick him up?”

“No, that won’t be necessary. You’re both pretty close to Accumula Town, so contact me once you’re inside the Pokémon Center and I’ll transfer Snivy’s Pokéball. Then just send it back to me.”

“Snivy!” He crossed his arms indignantly and pointedly looked away from both Evan and Aurea.

Celestia chuckled. “I don’t think he likes that plan.”

“Well I can’t keep him with me,” Evan said. “I’ve already got my full team and it wouldn’t be right for me to leave one of them behind for Snivy. Besides, don’t you have a new trainer coming by soon, Professor?”

“Yes, but I should have enough time to get another Snivy before they arrive. I think this one has already made his choice of trainer anyways.”

Celestia was silent for a few moments as Aurea’s words sunk in. “Wait, you mean me? I believe I was clear before, Professor: I’m not a trainer and I don’t wish to be one.”

“Think of him as protection, then,” Aurea pushed. “You and Evan might get split up in the future, and if you don’t have a Pokémon with you, you could get seriously hurt by a wild encounter. Plus, it isn’t fair to rely solely on Evan and his team. I’m sure having another Pokémon around will help lessen their load quite a bit.”

Celestia was silent for a few moments before she nodded slowly. “You are correct, Professor. This is not the time for me to be overly stubborn.”

“Then it’s settled!” Aurea clasped her hands together and smiled. “By the time you reach Accumula Town I should have all the legal work done. Be safe out there you two.”

With that, the screen went dark and Evan lowered his arm. The Snivy’s eyes turned back to Celestia, finally calming down, though he still didn’t wander too far from her.

“Snivy,” Celestia mused. “What an unusual name. Who chose it?” She turned to Evan as she asked.

“‘Chose it’?” Evan echoed. “Snivy is the name of the Pokémon species, remember?”

“So you simply call things by what they are?” Celestia asked. “Is that common?”

Evan nodded. “It’s pretty much the norm, yeah. Though every so often you find folks who give ‘em proper names. I’ve never thought of it as unusual.” He looked between the Snivy and Celestia. “Although, since he’s gonna be traveling with you, you can give him a name if you’d like.”

Celestia looked down at the grass-lizard. “Is a name something you’d like to have?” The Snivy crossed his little arms and pondered the question. After a moment, he gave a slight nod of his head. “Yes, then I’ll try and come up with something you’ll enjoy. It might take a little while though; a name is not something to be impulsive about.”

“Well, you can think while you walk, right?” Evan asked, rather brusquely. “Don’t mean to be rude, but I’d like to reach Accumula before night falls.”

The trio set off down the dusty road towards Accumula at a brisk pace, heading further inland and away from the ocean. The scent of salty sea air was soon gone and replaced by a plethora of wildflowers and greenery. But the further they got from the sea, the more of Accumula Town Celestia could finally make out. The buildings had a surprising amount of detail and craftsmanship to them. Evan the smallest easily dwarfed all but Town Hall in Ponyville and Twilight’s new castle.

Celestia could also make out several small groups of people and Pokémon (Lillipup and Purrloin, if she was remembering correctly) mingling on the outskirts of the town. Given the small size of the majority of the humans, Celestia guessed they were merely children.

Upon entering the city proper, Celestia paused a moment to look at the ground, covered in an odd grey material not unlike the cobblestones of Fillydelphia, though far smoother and uniform in size. The cobblestones were broken every so often to allow a spot of grass in the town, along with hedges, flowers, or trees, as whomever tended to them preferred. Trailing her gaze upwards, Celestia saw flocks of birds flitting about overhead, undeterred by the buildings around them and nestled inside the branches of various trees.

The Snivy kept himself hidden underneath her body until the birds were well out of sight. Otherwise, he was just as intrigued by this city and its crowds of humans as Celestia was. As crowds came to inspect Celestia and ask Evan what kind of Pokémon she was, the Snivy held his head high and took account of each of them.

“This is your first time in a city, isn’t it?” Celestia asked when the crowds finally dispersed. “I’d imagine it can be intimidating at first, but you get used to the crowds and size after a time.”

“Snivy.” He said back, though his eyes now lingered on the passing buildings.

“Alright, if I’m remembering correctly, the Pokémon Center should be on our right just beside the central plaza,” Evan pitched. “Though it shouldn’t really be hard to ask for directions if we really get lo-”

He was interrupted by an odd metallic pinging coming from the detector on her forehoof. “A shard? Already?” Celestia asked, lifting the scanner to her eye-level. The image in the screen was constantly wobbling and shaking, as if someone were forever disrupting it. “That can’t be right,” Celestia said. “I thought Professor Rowan said it wouldn’t work when we were closer to a shard.”

“Then maybe we’ve found one already.” Evan offered.

Celestia nodded in agreement. “I believe so, yes. But why is it only notifying us now?”

“There might be a problem with it, I guess? Big difference between a controlled test in a lab and actual fieldwork,” Evan countered. “We can discuss it when we call Professor Juniper later. Maybe she’ll have a fix for us as well.”

Celestia was about to speak again, though the sudden silence of the scanner gave her pause. “It stopped?” she wondered aloud, glancing at the device. “I do hope it hasn’t broken.”

Evan was scratching his head, just as confused. “Strange. I wouldn’t think any of the Professors would’ve made something so fragile.” He looked around, as if at a loss of where to go, though something to the north caught his attention. “Hey, looks like there’s a crowd forming up there.” Without waiting for a response from Celestia he hurried ahead, pushing his way through the crowd rather rudely.

Celestia, a little put-off by Evan’s brusqueness, trotted towards the crowd calmly, the Snivy proudly at her side. A large group of humans had gathered at the plaza and were standing in front a raised section of ground covered in grass. It was an island of greenery in the otherwise grey city, and perfect for social gatherings and town meetings. Unlike Evan, people were more willing to step aside for her, though that could likely be attributed to shock and surprise than deference, and she was able to stand aside him without much difficulty.

Standing atop it was a line of seven humans unlike any Celestia had seen so far. They wore black, form-fitting uniforms with pale blue boots, gloves, hoods that concealed all but a few strands of orange hair, and long white surcoats that trailed past their knees. A coat of arms was displayed on the center of the surcoat, but Celestia couldn’t make it out from this distance. She assumed that it was the same as the symbol on the flags that flanked both ends of the humans: a blue P on a white and black field halved vertically and broken by a blue symbol reminiscent of a lightning bolt.

“Evan, who are these people?” Celestia asked.

“I have no idea,” he replied. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen them.”

“That is curious.” Celestia looked back at the line of strangely dressed humans. “They almost look like knights.”

The human in the middle of the line broke formation and moved to the left, revealing an eighth figure, taller than the others, who moved to address the crowd below him. Unlike the knighty-humans, this one’s head was uncovered, allowing his long pale-blond hair to pool around a large bronze, crown-shape object object adored with blue glass that covered his shoulders and chest. The same coat of arms as the knights was on its center. Could this human be royalty? Beneath his crown, the man was garbed in a long robe that covered his right arm. One half was pale gold and the other dark violet. Two eyes with red irises were drawn in the opposite side’s colour.

“Welcome people of Accumula Town,” the man began. His voice was sharp, and though he wasn’t shouting, Celestia knew that every person in the crowd could hear his words. “My name is Ghetsis, and I am here with my fellow representors of Team Plasma to talk to you about an issue that can no longer go overlooked by our society. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation.”

The crowd began to murmur in confusion, though not so loud that Ghetsis was drowned out. Celestia herself perked up as well.

“Subject to the selfish whims of trainers, Pokémon are treated as little more than tools. A means to an end.” Ghetsis raised his voice a little at this, holding his fist in the air. “Yet each of them would claim that their Pokémon are their ‘partners’, in equal standing.” He cast his gaze across the crowd, one eye hidden behind a red and white monocle. “I can see on your faces that my words shock you. That is understandable. Many of you believe that humans and Pokémon came together out of necessity and need, and remain together because of mutual trust and respect. And that might very well have been true in the past... but does it still ring true for the present? Is it not possible that we humans only convince ourselves that this is the truth?”

Again the crowd murmured amongst itself. Celestia could see signs of doubt appear in the eyes of the humans as they processed Ghetsis’ words. He must have seen it as well, for he lowered his arm and walked down the length of his platform.

“No one blames you for believing this. But the fact remains that Pokémon are repeatedly subjected to the selfish and often ill-conceived actions of their trainers. If they are truly our partners, why are they always the ones to suffer first?” He turned on his heels and walked the opposite length of the platform. “We all need to remind ourselves that Pokémon are different from humans. They are living, thinking beings of unknown potential. Beings of which we know so little about, of which have so much to teach us. What, then, is our responsibility towards these wonderful creatures called ‘Pokémon’?”

Ghetsis stopped abruptly in his pacing and turned to face the crowd, his gaze fierce. “We must free them from their bonds! Only then will they be considered our equals. We have the duty to liberate them from the restrictions that we ourselves have imposed on them.” He took a moment to catch his breath, during which Celestia noted the crowd had gone rather somber. “I end my time here by imploring you to reconsider the relationship between humanity and Pokémon... and how we should proceed if we truly care for them.”

With that, Ghetsis turned from the crowd. Two of his knights stepped forward to retrieve their banners while the rest formed up around their leader before all eight marched off the platform in unison. The crowd remained motionless until the knights were halfway down the main street, then slowly they to began to break apart. Most of the humans left in a hurry, but the few that lingered nearby had contemplative looks in their eyes. One of them, an elderly man that looked older than Cedric Juniper, sat on a bench and looked at a small grey-rodent Pokémon resting on his shoulder. I wonder if he’s considering letting his Pokémon free. Her gaze fell on the Snivy, still at her hooves. His nose was turned up and his eyes were closed, shunning the stage and looking very put-off by Ghetsis’ speech.

Beside her, Evan huffed and glowered at the departing knights until they finally disappeared into the distance. “What a big blow-hard,” he muttered. “Probably mad ‘cause he saw one spoiled brat mistreating his Lillipup and thought that’s how every human is.”

“So there was some truth to what he was saying?” Celestia asked.

“No. Or at least, not to the extent that he was suggesting. Yes, there are people who misuse Pokémon and see them only as tools or servants or weapons, but that’s a small percent of trainers out there.” Evan gestured to the Snivy. “Even he seems to disagree with the oaf.”

The Snivy had his arms crossed and a sour frown on his face. “Snivy,” he agreed, giving Evan and Celestia a curt nod.

“If that’s the case, then I wonder if this might be a problem from another region that has found its way here.” Celestia pondered.

“I doubt it,” Evan replied. “From what I’ve heard, the other regions are the same with Pokémon and humans living side by side as equals. That’s certainly the impression Professor Rowan gave me.”

“Your Pokémon... Just now, did you understand what they were saying?”

The three of them turned towards the new voice. Between Celestia and Evan was another human, roughly a few years younger than Evan was. He had a fair and youthful face, which was nearly hidden by a mop of light green hair poorly contained beneath a black and white ball-cap. It grew longer down his back—just touching his waist—and tied up in a ponytail. He wore a white overshirt over a black one, and a strange pendant around his neck shaped like a black sphere with overlapping blue and yellow rings.

“Uh, I’m sorry?” Evan sputtered. “Can I help you?”

“Do you understand your Pokémon?” the green-haired stranger repeated, a little faster than before. He turned towards Celestia and Snivy, which allowed her to see a strange cube-shaped device hanging from his hip.

“What? No. That’s absurd,” Evan said with a scoff.

Celestia gave a slight shake of her head. “I apologize for the confusion, but I assure you I am not a Pokémon.”

“Snivy,” the Snivy agreed. It seemed to startle the youth and he took a step back in surprise.

“My mistake,” the youth replied. “I got too excited.” He looked at Evan, and Celestia thought she could see pity in his green eyes. “I thought you could hear them too.”

“‘Too’?” Celestia echoed. “Am I to understand that you know what they’re saying?”

The stranger nodded as quickly as he spoke. “Yes, that’s right. My name is N. Who are you, and,” he paused to address Celestia directly, “what are you if you’re not a Pokémon?”

“My name is Celestia. I’m an Alicorn.”

N smiled at her. “Celestia. I like that name. But I’ve never heard of an Alicorn before.”

“I’m not from around here,” Celestia smiled back at him. “I regret to say that I am not entirely sure where my home is in relation to yours, however.”

“Oh.” The smile vanished from N’s face, like he was hurt emotionally. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Is there something we can help you with?” Evan asked.

“Huh?” N looked at Evan, his face returning to normal, then back to Celestia. “Oh. I didn’t mean to intrude on you. I just overheard you two talking about Team Plasma’s speech.”

“Yeah? And what’s your take on them?” Evan asked, a little harshly.

N’s eyes trailed down to the Pokéballs on Evan’s belt. “You’re a trainer, eh? So... you’ve confined many, many Pokémon into Pokéballs. Why?” There was unmistakable disdain in his voice.

Evan scowled, one of his hands instinctively dropping to his belt. “What do you mean by that? You’re a trainer too, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I’m a trainer, but I can’t help wondering... are Pokémon really happy like this? To be forced to obey a trainer’s commands because of their Pokéball? That feels wrong to me.”

“Is that how it works?” Celestia asked. “That they lose their free will upon being captured?”

“No,” Evan began. “Or... well, they don’t lose all their free will, but...”

“... but they’ll listen to humans more easily,” N finished.

“Snivy!” The little lizard spoke up, indignant. N knelt down to him, his expression oddly calm as the Snivy chittered out his name. Judging from his flailing arms and the fixated expression in his eyes, he didn’t think very highly of N at the moment.

N turned towards Celestia again as he stood, one corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile. “Your Snivy has a lot of praise for you. How long have you two known each other?”

“Not long,” Celestia answered. “Perhaps no more than a week.”

“A week?” N paused, contemplating this. “And he thinks so highly of you already... I’d like to know why.”

“I’m sure he’d be more than happy to answer your question himself,” Celestia said.

N shook his head. “No. He can’t explain your connection to me. Not with words,” he smiled and gave a slight bow to Celestia. “There’s only one way for me to truly hear the heart of your Snivy. Please battle with me. I wish to hear your Pokémon’s voice once again!”

6

View Online

Chapter 6

N’s words had barely left his lips when the Snivy leapt in front of Celestia. His tail opened wide like a shield between her and N; his red eyes were locked onto the strange human, as if he was analyzing his opponent’s next move. Every so often his arms would twitch, tensing up for a moment in anticipation.

“He seems very eager for this,” N said, his gaze shifting from the green lizard to Celestia. “Are you?”

“You’ve got me all wrong,” Celestia sighed. “I am not a Pokémon trainer, nor do I want to be.”

The Snivy glanced back at her, dumbstruck that she’d decline a fight. N tilted his head to the side, curious at her response, before his face settled into a smile. “That’s good. Very good. We can have a much friendlier competition between two like-minded individuals.”

“The park is nearly empty,” Evan broke in, stepping forward, “so here’s as good a place as any. And I can help you out with a few basics, Celestia.”

Celestia sighed through her nose in resignation. “You aren’t going to let up, are you?”

“N looks to be as much a greenhorn to this as you are, so this is just going to be a friendly test of skill. Plus, you do need to practice ordering Snivy around if we end up travelling to any dangerous areas,” Evan explained. “And besides, this is your chance to see why Pokémon battles are important to us.”

“Very well. I suppose those are the terms I requested.” Celestia looked at the Snivy, then back at Evan. “So... how do you have a Pokémon battle?”

“You have to command your Pokémon in battle. We’ll keep it simple for now and just worry about instructing Snivy on which move to use. We can get into items and switching out later.” Evan crossed his arms, thinking for a few moments. “Professor Juniper trains them herself a little so they’re not completely helpless when given to new trainers, but your particular Snivy has been with her for longer than most. I’d say he knows Tackle, Leer, and Vine Whip.” At seeing Celestia’s bewildered expression, Evan explained a bit further, “Tackle and Vine Whip are both damaging moves, while Leer lowers the opponent’s defense.”

Celestia blew a few strands of her mane out of her face. “That sounds deceptively simple. I’m quite certain there’s more you aren’t telling me.”

“Of course there is, but that’s all above your skill level.” Evan smirked and waved her towards the rather-patient N. “Best learn to walk before you run, right?”

Celestia grimaced, but dutifully stepped towards the green-haired youth. The Snivy leapt in front of her not long after, overjoyed at finally being called to action.

N looked at Celestia. “Are we ready to begin?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, I believe we are.”

The green-haired boy smiled and slipped a hand into his pocket. “Then let me introduce you to my friend.” He pulled out a Pokéball and tossed it into the air. From it emerged a small cat with an angular face and a small, scythe-tipped tail. Its purple fur was broken by blotches of tan on its face, arms, and legs, which made the cat appear to be dressed in some article of clothing.

The cat quickly took notice of Celestia and Snivy and locked onto them with its emerald eyes. With a lazy, yet mischievous grin, it stretched its front legs in the air and stood up on its hind legs.

I know this Pokémon, Celestia thought. She found herself remembering back to when she and Professor Juniper had discovered the mirror shard. The Snivy had been battling with a small feline that could also walk on its hind legs. Could this be the same individual?

“That’s a Purrloin,” Evan told Celestia. “It’s a very common Pokémon for beginning trainers.”

“Anything I should know about it?” Celestia asked. She kept her eyes on N, looking for any subtle similarities between him and the shadow human that had commanded the Purrloin before.

“It’s a Dark type and it’s fast, but that’s all you’re going to get from me in this battle. Good luck.” Evan smirked and walked between the two combatants, arms extended, and raised his voice enough that both Celestia and N could hear him. “Trainers, this will be a one-on-one Pokémon battle between Celestia’s Snivy and N’s Purrloin. It will last until one Pokémon is unable to battle, or a trainer forfeits. Now begin.”

N moved first, tossing his hand out as he declared his attack. “Purrloin, use Scratch.”

The bipedal cat grinned wickedly and leapt forward, catching the Snivy unprepared. Three long claws extended from its right paw, which raked across the Grass type’s back and darted away, returning to N’s feet before Celestia could scarcely comprehend what had happened. The Snivy, though clearly in pain, still glanced back at Celestia, obviously awaiting a command.

“What would be most effective?” Celestia muttered to herself, then said a bit louder, “Try Vine Whip.”

The Snivy nodded and locked eyes with the Purrloin. Two vines snaked their way from either side of his neck and whipped towards the cat. The Purrloin dodged one, but the second wrapped around his tail and twisted, tripping his knees out from under him and slamming his face into the dirt.

A look of concern flashed across N’s face, though it quickly faded as the Purrloin leapt back to his feet. N gave a smile of relief and bade his hand out once more, uttering, “Purrloin, Growl if you please.”

A low growl came from the Purrloin’s throat. It was soft, yet unsettling, like a manticore toying with its prey. The Snivy felt it as well. When Celestia told him to use his vines again, they were slower and shakened, so the Purrloin was able to jump over both and close the gap between the two Pokémon.

Celestia’s mind raced as she struggled to recall what those other attacks were called and managed to stammer out “T-Tackle it!” The Snivy darted forward, leaping at the Purrloin with the full weight of his body behind it.

The two creatures slid along the ground, kicking up dirt and grass in their wake. Celestia felt her breath catch in her throat, her pulse beginning to race — skies above, was she actually enjoying this? N’s face was calm, but his green eyes were ablaze as well, though she couldn’t tell what emotions she was seeing.

N’s Purrloin was the first to rise. His purple fur was matted with dust, but when N instructed him to Scratch, he moved just as quickly as when the battle began. His claws caught the Snivy on his right side, but the Grass type used his vines to help him rise quickly, which spared him from the full force of the attack.

The two Pokémon jumped away from the other, bruised and winded, but neither seemed willing to give up the fight. Celestia heard herself call out ‘Vine Whip’ at the same time N shouted for ‘Scratch’ and the two combatants ran towards one another once more. The Snivy’s vines spiraled out, trying to ensnare the Purrloin, but the bipedal cat was more agile, leaping over them with ease, and ran up to the Snivy, slashing it across the face. The force of the strike sent the Snivy tumbling backwards into the dirt.

“Growl!” N commanded as the Snivy was struggling to his feet. Again the Purrloin made that unsettling sound, and Celestia could see that the Snivy was taking it hard. His leg muscles were quivering, and he covered both sides of his head in a vain attempt to block the noise.

“That’s enough!” Celestia looked at Evan. “I think we can end this now.”

Evan nodded and raised his hand. “Celestia has forfeited the match. Purrloin is the winner and the victory goes to N.”

N grabbed his Pokéball and recalled his Purrloin. Celestia knelt down beside the Snivy to inspect the severity of his wounds. There were scratch marks along his back and face, and his proud green body was sprinkled with dirt.

“I’m sorry that it turned out this way,” Celestia said, using a wing to dust off some of the dirt. The Snivy kept his eyes on the ground and away from her. I must have hurt his pride.

“I never expected to hear Pokémon say such things,” N said. “Now you know how Pokémon battles work. What they do to the Pokémon involved.” He turned away from Celestia and looked down at the Pokéball containing his Purrloin. “As long as Pokémon are confined in Pokéballs, they will never become anything more.” He pocketed the Pokéball and began to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Celestia called.

“I have to change the world for Pokémon, because they’re my friends.” He turned his head to smile back at her. “I’m glad to have met you Celestia. And I’m glad to have met your Snivy. I hope we’ll see each other again soon.”

And with that the odd trainer rounded a corner and vanished from sight, leaving Celestia just as confused about him as she was when he arrived. After a few moments Evan came up and gently patted her shoulder. “We should be getting to the Poké Center. We need to get Snivy’s Pokéball and get him healed.”

The three of them set off down the road, though after a few steps it became apparent that the Snivy was in no condition to be keeping up with them. Celestia knelt down to let the tiny Pokémon onto her back, which he accepted after a few moments of uncertain hesitation.

“You did well, by the way,” Evan told her.

“This counts as doing well?” Celestia asked, gesturing to the injured Snivy.

“Sure it does. You knew when to back off before your Pokémon got too hurt. Knowing the limits of yourself and your Pokémon is one of the most important things when going into a battle.” Evan paused for a few moments as he got his bearings, only continuing once he was satisfied they were headed in the right direction. “That’s partly the reason we have trainer battles to begin with, to test and push our own limits.”

“If that is the case, then why are the Pokémon the ones who battle and not the trainers?”

He sighed. “You know, they enjoy fighting most of the time.”

Celestia decided to remain silent for the rest of the journey. On the one hoof, it was wrong of her to be criticizing this culture so much. She was a stranger here, and the Snivy did seem eager to fight against N’s Purrloin... but on the other hoof, the words of N and Ghetsis seemed to only reinforce how wrong the idea of Pokémon battles were. Do the Pokémon truly enjoy it, or is that just what humans made them believe?

The Poké Center wasn’t too far from the park. It was a round structure, at least two stories tall, coloured red with neon blue windows and doors. A Pokéball insignia was on the front doors and second-story windows. Once again, her centuries of hiding her thoughts while ruling helped her keep her marveling to respectable levels, though that all seemed to fade away once she stepped inside.

From the way Evan had explained it to her, Celestia had been expecting a veterinary clinic. Instead, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of this building. The curved doors slid open with an oddly calming metallic whir, while the reception area smelled faintly of flowers. Like the exterior, the primary colour scheme seemed to be blue and red, though the floor itself was a bright beige. At least a dozen humans were already inside, sitting in a small waiting area, browsing from a pharmacy close to the entrance, or ascending to the upper levels in pairs by means of two grey staircases that seemed to move on their own.

Directly ahead from the entrance sat a red counter, and behind it a red-haired woman waited patiently, her hands cupped in front of her while she simply gave a soft smile to anyone who looked her way; even Celestia felt oddly relaxed just from seeing her.

“Welcome to the Pokémon Center,” the woman addressed them with a smile, her voice as joyful and calming as her appearance. “How may I help you?”

“Nurse, could you please look after this Snivy for us?” Evan took the Snivy off of Celestia and handed him to the woman.

“Of course. Just relax in the waiting room and he’ll be right as rain in no time.” The nurse took the injured Pokémon from Evan with as much care as a doctor handling a newborn.

“Thank you.” Evan paused for a few moments before unclipping some Poké Balls from his belt and passed them to the nurse as well. “Ah, while we’re here, no harm in a check-up.”

The nurse accepted the Poké Balls as well, tucking them into her apron. “Of course. They’ll be better before you know it.” With a smile she turned around and carried the Snivy through a pair of doors on the far end of the building. He was oddly calm during the journey, no doubt still nursing his injured pride.

Celestia watched him go with a heartfelt look of concern, dimly aware of her own smarting pride from her recent loss.

Legends of Unova

by Tricondon

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