Chapter Six
The Future is Now! Thanks to Science!
“You know how you said what kind of trouble you could get into in the next couple of seconds or so?” Lyra asked as she watched Emma treating Burgundy and Georgia's injuries by wrapping bandages soaked in a bottle of remedy. “Well, I think this counts as you getting into trouble.”
“Well, it’s not like I could just leave them there to starve. I mean, do you not see the way they’re looking right now? These two look like they would be on a cover of anorexic monthly if that was a thing here on this planet.”
“I can see that, but you need to be more careful. We don’t want to draw the wrong attention to us.”
“I make no promises on being careful on that.” She said before performing the finishing touches on the pokemon injuries. “That should do for the time being.”
“How come you’re not using your magic to heal them?”
“This is me personally. I prefer to use Curaga when I’m on the road or in a situation where I need to heal myself or someone quickly. When I’m not, then I prefer to do things the old fashion way.”
“But wouldn’t it be less time-consuming if you just use your magic?”
“You can’t rely on magic for everything. Because relying on it for just about everything will leave you open for someone or something to kill you when you can’t use your magic at the time you need it. Hence why you need alternatives or something along the lines of that just in case. Like how I know both medical science and machinery.” She said before placing the food she had given the pokemon from before in front of the Burgundy and Georgia.
“...You’re weird.”
“Oh hi pot, meet kettle. Have you two met?” Emma said before noticing the glaceon and deerling moving a bit due to the aroma of the food hitting their nose. They slowly open their eyes as they notice the food from before standing in front of them, but soon notice Emma in front of them as they back away from the human. The moment they do that, they notice the bandages on themselves before looking down at the food they were given. “Nice to see you two are up. How are you feeling?”
“Warm and fuzzy…” Georgia said as she looked around the room she was in. “Where are we?”
“You’re in our room in this lovely little hotel in Canterlot. I brought you both here when you passed both out after seeing me.”
“Are…you a human, not just a Zoroark or Zorua?” The glaceon asked as she took a few steps forwards toward the kneeling soldier. Once she was close to Emma’s face, she placed a paw on it to make sure it was real. To her surprise, she felt…warm…and cold?
“One-hundred percent human weird cat…dog…creature thing?” She said which caused Burgundy to snicker a bit, but quickly stops and looks away due to the glare Georgia was giving her.
“First of all, I’m not a cat or a dog. I’m a Glaceon.” Georgia said as Emma tilted her head in confusion. “You know, an evolution that Eevee can turn into?”
“If I can interrupt?” Lyra said as the pokemon turned their attention onto the unicorn. “Emma isn’t from your world. She is a human from a different world that doesn’t have pokemon.” She said which took them by surprise.
“Yeah, I guess you could say I’m an alien from another planet,” Emma said before placing a hand on her chin. “Though, would I be classified as human seeing I’m from a different planet? Or would I be classified as an alien even though I am human, just not where you former human come from.”
“....Okay this is a lot to take in,” Georgia said as she flops backward a bit on the couch she was on along with Burgundy, though she would hear the deerling eating which caused her to be surprised by this. “What are you doing!? Did you forget what I said before!?”
“I am hungry! I’ll take my chance with a human from another planet than go another day without food.” The deerling said in between bites. “Dear God, the taste, the smell, the presentation~! Surely you must be a chef from the way you cook this~!” She said as Georgia looked over her food. Her stomach let out a growl of hunger as she let out a sigh of defeat. If this was a trap, then she might as well eat it…not a horrible way to die she guessed. Upon taking a bit out of the steak, she paused for a moment before quickly digging in like a starving animal…which wasn’t far from the truth given what they’ve been through.
“Not really, I just know how to cook just to get by in life,” Emma answered as she couldn’t help but chuckle at their reaction to her food. “I have a bunch of rations for when I need to eat something on the go, if I’m camping out in a forest, or if the next town is a day or two away and I won't be able to make it there.” She said before reaching into her bag to pull out two bowls, two bottles of water, and a bottle of remedy. They soon placed the bowls in front of the glaceon and deerling before pouring the water in them and half of the remedy into both bowls, giving it a faint glow. “Drink up, it’ll heal you of any toxins, bacteria, diseases, or viruses that you may have picked up.”
“This isn’t poison or something, is it?” Georgia asked as the soldier shook her head.
“If it was poison, then you both would’ve been dead by now. Plus what would I gain from killing you both for no reason?” She said before seeing Georgia sniff the water for a moment before drinking it. She recoils back and sticks her tongue out due to how bitter it tasted. “Yeah, not the best tasting medicine, but it’ll get the job done so long as you drink it.”
“You couldn’t make it taste better?” Burgundy asked as she did the same as Georgia after tasting the drink.
“Well, we don’t want people getting addicted to said medicine. That way they wouldn’t try and come back with a fake sickness to get more. “The name’s Emma by the way.” She said before jerking a thumb to the side. “The unicorn next to me is named Lyra.”
“Nice to meet you!” The mare said as she waved to the human turned pokemon.
“My name’s Georgia, I’m a dragon buster.” She said before pointing a paw to the deerling next to her. “The deerling next to me is named Burgundy.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” She said before trying to take another sip from her drink, only to shudder from the bitter taste. As this was happening, Lyra blinked upon hearing what the pokemon just said as she spoke up.
“Wait a minute…you spoke Equus…just now?” The mare asked as Burgundy raised an eyebrow at her.
“Wait, you can understand what I’m saying?”
“Yeah…weird, I couldn’t understand what pokemon were saying without a translation spell. But now I can hear you speaking Equus like…perfectly.” She said as Georgia looked over at Emma.
“You can understand us as well because of a translation spell?”
“Nope. I don’t have one, nor does Lyra, who doesn’t even know of a spell like that.” Emma said as the two pokemon stared at her. “Though with me, that might be because I’m from another planet. Lyra on the other hand…well I’m gonna have to examine her to see if there’s anything different.”
“Are you even licensed to do that?” Lyra asked as she noticed Emma pulling out a black card with her name and face on it.
“Technically yes…though not licensed in Equestria, it still counts.”
“...Should I be worried about that?” Burgundy asked as both Lyra and Emma shook their heads. “Okay…question, if what you’re saying is true. About you being from another world where there are other humans. How come you’re dressed like that?”
“That’s classified information that I can’t talk about…unless you’re willing to give me some information in return?” Emma asked as it caused the two pokemon to look at each other for a moment before returning their gaze to the human.
“What kind of information?” Georgia asked.
“Well for starters. I would like to know more about your world, along with why the humans of your world were turned into Pokemon. I would also like to know more about these creatures called Pokemon.” Emma asked as it caused the two pokemon to blink in surprise by this.
“Really? That’s it? You don’t want money or force us to be your pokemon or something along the lines of that?” Burgundy asked as the soldier shook her head.
“Information about a new species that I’ve never heard of is its own reward.” She said before pulling out a notebook and a pen. “You tell me everything about this species and I’ll inform you about where I come from. Deal?”
“....Give us a second,” Burgundy said as she quickly grabbed Georgia and began to whisper to her. “Let's take the deal.” She said as the glaceon’s eyes widened upon hearing this.
“You can’t be serious? What makes you think she’s not some kind of spy or something?”
“Who cares, this woman is a human and a scientist. Do you know what that means?” She asked as Georgia shook her head. “She can help us become human again.”
“....You're joking, right? What makes you think she can do that?”
“If she’s an alien from another planet, then her people might have some kind of technology to change us back to normal.” She said which caused Georgia to ponder the idea. “Aren’t you tired of not being able to communicate and having no hands?”
“....I do miss having hands.”
“We’re humans, not pokemon. Nothing against them mind you, but what gives Arceus the right to turn up into pokemon against your will, nor without your consent?”
“....Okay, I’m in,” Georgia said before looking over at Emma. “We'll tell you what we know, but in exchange. We need your help with something.”
“And that help would be?”
“....We want to be human again,” Burgundy said as Emma raised an eyebrow at her. “Before we were brought here against our will to Equus, we were once human. That jerk of a pokemon Arceus turned us into pokemon. For what reason, I don’t know. But I hate being a pokemon.”
“To clarify. We don’t hate pokemon. If anything we love them, but being turned into one against our will…isn’t right. I mean, he didn’t even bother to ask us.” Georgia added as she examined her paws. “Because of this, we ended up in an underground Illegal fighting arena being forced to fight other pokemon against our will.”
“Not to mention we don’t even know how to fight as pokemon,” Burgundy said after finishing up her meal. “For the past thirty days, we have gotten our butts handed to us. And when you lose a fight, you don’t get fed. The only way we were able to survive was because of the trash the ponies left behind due to our loss.” She said as it caused Lyra’s mouth to gap open, while Emma had a stoic expression on her face.
“Hm, guess no matter how peaceful a place is, there’s always going to be a group of evil people or in this case ponies, to do something like that…five Gil says that they’re a bunch of rich ponies or something.” The soldier thought before speaking. “So if I can turn you both into humans, you’ll tell me what I need to know, correct?”
“Y-Yes?” Burgundy said as she noticed the soldier reach for her helmet from beside the couch. The two took notice that the helmet gave off a blue light before seeing a digital copy of both Burgundy and Georgia.
“Hm, alright, I think I can do something about that.”
“Seriously!? You will!?” Georgia asked.
“I can’t make any promises, but I can try and find a way to turn you both back into humans. It might take a while, but I will try no matter how long it takes.” She said before looking over at Lyra. “It’s a good thing you got the donuts from that shop you went into. Because I’ll be needing them while I do this and teleportation magic.”
“I’ll go make you all some tea.” The mare said before heading off into the kitchen.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you helping us?” Georgia asked as the soldier turned her attention onto the glaceon. “I mean if it was anyone else, they would take advantage of us. You know, like use what you just said to make us do stuff, or worse.”
“Multiple reasons. First, being a scientist/medic it’s my job to help people as best as I can. If I see someone in trouble, I’m going to help without asking for anything in return. If I see someone dying, I’m going to save them, and expect nothing in return. Second, I find this an interesting challenge. From what I’ve been given, this Arceus person is like the god who created these creatures called Pokemon, correct?”
“Well, he was thought to be a legend/myth. But given what just happened to us, yes, he’s a god that created us humans and pokemon.” Georgia answered.
“If this pokemon is a god as you claim him to be, then it would be interesting to see if I was the first human to figure out the scientific method of changing pokemon into humans.” She said with a grin on her face. “Oh, I’m getting excited just thinking about it~!”
“...Wow…you are very weird?” Burgundy said.
“Yeah, you’re not the only one to say that about me.” She said before reaching into her bag to pull out a laptop along with some medical equipment that would be seen in a research facility. Both Burgundy and Georgia were taken by surprise as to how much she was able to fit inside of her bag as the glaceon spoke.
“Okay, how can you have that much stuff in just a small bag? I mean it looks like you can only carry a Pokedex, some potions, and a case to hold your gym badges in.” She asked as a smirk appeared on the soldier’s face.
“You can thank the company I used to work for back on Gaia. You see, just like Equestria, humans can use magic.” She said before reaching into her bag to pull out a materia. “With the help of these orbs called materia, we can harness the magic and use them to help us in just about anything. So I decided to get my hands on a transformation materia, applied said spell to my bag to make stuff that enters inside it small, and poof. I got myself a bag that can carry just about anything.”
“...So you mean to tell me that the humans from where you’re from…were able to make orbs that can make you use magic, just like the ponies of this world?” Burgundy asked as Emma nodded while setting up her equipment. “Wait…then you can use that magic stuff to change us back?”
“I might be able to, but I would need to study your D.N.A. before I try a few methods to turn you both back into humans. I mean, without proper data, I could end up changing you both into horrible abominations, or worse. You could be killed.” She said which caused the two pokemon to shiver at the thought of that. “With your permission, I'm gonna need a test tube of both your blood.”
“Um, for what?” The deerling asked as Emma pointed to her laptop.
“If I’m going to help you with this, I’m going to need to scan your D.N.A.” She answered before pulling out two syringes. “Mainly because I need a better understanding of what makes a pokemon…well a pokemon if that makes sense? Or in this case, the more information I have, the better I have at changing you into humans again.” Both Burgundy and Georgia looked at each other for a moment before letting out sighs of defeat and extending their arms at the soldier.
“This isn’t going to hurt, will it?” Georgia asked.
“It won’t hurt that much. It’ll be like a little pinch. Just be glad I’m not asking for bone marrow because that would hurt.” The soldier said before carefully placing the syringe on the deerling’s arm. Burgundy flinched upon feeling the needle prick her skin as blood entered the syringe. She soon did the same with Georgia as the glaceon flinched upon feeling her blood being drained. Once the syringe was filled with blood, the soldier pulled out a USB connector from the side of her laptop, connected it to the back part of the syringe, and began to type on her laptop. “There, that wasn’t so bad was it?”
“No…but it felt weird having blood being drawn like that,” Georgia said as she and Burgundy rubbed their arms with their paw and hoof.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it over time,” Emma said as she turned her attention onto her laptop. “But let's just hope I don’t have to take blood samples constantly. For now, just relax, drink your medicine, and I’ll focus on getting you two back to normal.”
[Canterlot Castle]
“Sister, am I the only one that’s seeing this?” Luna asked as she and Celestia looked outside of the balcony window to see particles of green-colored energy flowing throughout the entire city of Canterlot. So far, no one else seems to notice this other than the princesses, and this strange energy isn’t hurting anyone. Strangely enough, the strange energy coming from the ground felt…warm and comfortable. Like a blanket coming out of a dryer after being washed in a washing machine kind of warm and comforting.
“No, you’re not the only one. It would seem we’re the only ones that can see this.” Celestia said as she moved a hoof through the energy that was around her. “Doesn’t seem to be a threat of any kind. It feels…warm?”
“This wouldn’t be the only place that this energy is coming from. While flying up to see how far this had spread, it seems Ponyville is enveloped by the same energy. You think Twilight and the others might notice this?”
“Perhaps, but you can be sure you know who will notice this as well,” Celestia said before hearing the presence of Arceus appear behind. “Speaking of him. I take it you’re here because of this strange energy we’re seeing?”
“Indeed, though I noticed it last night developing around Canterlot and Ponyville. You wouldn’t happen to know what this is, would you?” He asked as the princesses shook their heads in unison.
“I figure you would know what this is. Given how this is something I’ve never seen before.” He said which took Celestia and Luna by surprise.
“You...never seen anything like this before? You who’ve claimed to have been around since the beginning of time and visited different dimensions, have never seen anything like this before?” Celestia asked with a smirk on her face.
“It’s not like you’re in any position to say that. Especially given how you don’t know about this as well.”
“True, but it’s nice to see something like this to be foreign to you for a change~,” She said as the alpha pokemon rolled his eyes. “But in all seriousness, this is something that I’ve never seen before. Yet it hasn’t caused anything to warrant my worries over it as of yet.”
“Still, we should investigate this matter and find the source behind this,” Luna suggested. “As harmless as this energy may seem, we don’t know if somepony might be hurt by this or worse.”
“I informed my children about this and they’ll inform me if other places in Equestria are giving off the same energy as Canterlot and Ponyville are giving off. I also assign Mewtwo to search the city for the source behind this.”
“...You sure it was a wise idea to let him do that?” Luna asked as it caused Arceus to turn his attention to the lunar princess. “Given his…unorthodox method when it comes to using brute force to get his way, how do we know he wouldn’t use force to restrain the pony that might be behind this.”
“I have faith that my son will not use force in this matter. Especially given how he’s in a city full of innocent ponies and pokemon.” Arceus said as he noticed Luna was not convinced by his statement. “You still doubt me, do you?”
“Given the past actions he’s done as your ambassador, I have every right to doubt your word,” Luna said as it caused Arceus to deadpan. “Take it as you like, but what pony would let an anti-social being with little to no tactful skills in social etiquette be the ambassador for their kind?” She said before realizing she just answered her question. “Scratch that. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m having one of my daughters monitor him from a safe distance. So in case he does something that would endanger the city, she’ll be the voice of reason and stop him.”
“That…makes me feel a bit better…Just to be on the safe side, I should inform the royal guards to be on the lookout for anything that seems suspicious.” Luna said before walking out of the throne room.
“Perhaps I should go and see if there are other places around the world with the same energy that Canterlot and Ponyville are giving off,” Arceus suggested as Celestia nodded in agreement.
“You think we’re not the only ones that might have something like this happening?”
“Given how big this planet is, I would be surprised if Equestria was the only place that is having this problem. Nonetheless, I will inform you of what I’ve discovered in a few minutes or so,” he said before teleporting off, as Celestia was left alone in the throne room.
“I’m hoping that this isn’t a bad sign or anything that would spell disaster for everypony and pokemon on Equus.”