A New World, A New Way: Deepground

Chapter Thirteen

Grand Entrance

“Introducing one of my many means of transportation to get from the Deepground to wherever Shinra needed me to go around the world,” Emma said as she presented the vehicle to Celestia and the others. The group stared at the giant piece of moveable metal as they were flabbergasted by a few things. Mainly how she was able to fit something that large into her bag. It was at least about the size of two, possibly three large elephants at best.

“...I have…so many questions about this,” Celestia said as she walked around the vehicle to examine it. “How in Equestria were you able to fit something this big into your bag? Surely even if you were able to shrink it, it would’ve still kept the weight of the object.”

“Unlike…whatever spell you used to make stuff small, the materia that I have that allows me to shrink stuff makes objects small and light to carry. It’s only when I dispel it is when the weight is added.” She said as she noticed the others looking over the transport.

“Is this thing floating?” Lyra asked as she waved a hand underneath it. “How is that possible? Does this thing run on magic or something?”

“Mako energy. Not from the main source of the planet, but from me.” She said while pointing at herself. “During long missions where it would take me a month or two to return, I used my spare time to try and simulate the creation of materia, though on a different scale.”

“Different as in how?” Celestia asked.

“Fusing different materia to make a stable energy source for making the vehicle be able to move. No using harmful environmental stuff like coal. Just pure natural energy.”

“....And you made this all by yourself?”

“Well, it’s not like Shinra was going to help me anytime soon. Yep, pretty impressive if I do say so myself. Though I would never do it again unless I had no choice.”

“I know we have cars, airplanes, and other means of transportation and technology. But I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Georgia said as knocked on the metal part of the vehicle. “This would be something Team Neo Plasma would have.”

“Indeed, I’m afraid to wonder what would happen if they ever meet Shinra,” Burgundy said as she shivered at the thought of that.

“Yeah, well thank god that will never happen considering what Arceus did,” Emma said as she made her way over to the door of the transport. Once there she would press a few buttons as the door opened up for them to enter. “Come on, we’re going for a ride down to Ponyville.”

“I call shotgun!” Lyra yelled as she quickly ran inside. “Sweet Celestia! You guys gotta see this!”

Celestia, Burgundy, Bon-Bon, and Georgia looked at each other for a moment before slowly making their way into the vehicle. Upon entering it, their eyes widened at the multitude of technology spread around the inside of the vehicle. It ranged from control panels, a workshop, weapons ranging from swords, spears, guns, and types of armor ranging from heavy to light. The list goes on as to what she had inside the vehicle, all in all, it looked like she was preparing for war…which isn’t far from the truth given how she was a test subject for Shinra’s Deepground project.

“Mother of me. This is…I don’t even know how to put it into words.” Celestia said with a slight fear in her voice. “Did Shinra give you all this?”

“Oh hell no. A lot of these I took from off of battlefields, bought them from black markets in Wu-Tei, or from comrades that gave me their weapons before they died.” Emma said as she took the driver's seat. “The only weapon I got from them was just a revolver and a dagger, but if you know about human and monster anatomy as I do, then you can make anything work.”

“I’m afraid to see you become a Pokemon trainer,” Georgia said while looking over at her arsenal. “You might end up steamrolling through all opponents.”

“She might take down all the gym leaders and elite four,” Burgundy said while looking over at the different color potions hanging on the wall.

“Me, be a Pokemon trainer? While I’m not against the idea, I think I’ll pass on that. Nothing against you all training Pokemon to fight and whatnot, but I don’t like having someone fight my battles for me.” She said before turning the keys in the ignition as the vehicle revved up before turning over.

“But what about those summon monsters that you have?” Bon-Bon asked as Celestia raised an eyebrow at Emma.

“Summoning monsters?” Celestia asked as the soldier snapped her fingers and summoned Cactuar in front of Celestia. “Oh…what an interesting and cute little creature…um…is this a Pokemon?”

“On my planet, we call that a summon or summon monster. Think of them as primordial gods of the elements that aid those that prove their strength to them.”

“...This creature is a god?” She asked while staring at the dancing Cactuar.

“In a sense. I don’t know much about the details, but I know that they’re materia, so I can assume they put their essence into the materia for us to call on them for help.” She said before looking at Bon-Bon. “Now if I’m fighting against a giant monster that’s about the size of Canterlot Castle, then I’ll summon them to help aid me in battle. Other than that, I’ll handle it myself.”

“That’s…good to know,” Celestia said before feeling the vehicle starting to move as they headed down the path to Ponyville. “If you don’t mind me asking. How does one obtain a summoning monster as you call it?”

“It usually varies depending on the summon. They’ll either join you automatically, have you bring them an item, or you have to fight them in a test of strength.” Emma said before pressing a few buttons on the dashboard and turning her seat around to face Celestia.

“Whoa! Shouldn’t you be watching the road!?” Burgundy asked as Emma shook her head.

“Autopilot mode’s been activated. It’ll drive itself to Ponyville thanks to the map I downloaded from the internet last night.” She answered before looking over at Celestia.

“So the materia that you gave me contains a summon?”

“No, that materia contains elemental and restorative magic spells. You still have the materia I gave you, right?” Emma asked as she noticed Celestia’s horn glowing as the green materia appeared floating in front of her.

“Are all the materia you have the same?”

“There are five different colors of materias. Green is for elemental and restorative magic, red is for summons, blue is for support materia that lets you link certain elemental magic with your weapon or armor, and pink is for independent skills like increasing your physical strength, endurance, magic, etc. And yellow is for command skills, like being able to learn monster skills. Or in this case, pokemon skills.” She said which took Celestia by surprise.

“You can learn Pokemon skills!?”

“Yeah, I found that out when that weird dog shot a flaming breath attack at me while protecting Lyra,” Emma said before letting out a small flamethrower attack in the air from her mouth. “I guess Pokemon count as monsters where I’m from if I can learn stuff like this.”

“...I would like to talk with you a bit more in private once the plan we’re doing is over. For now though, once we make it to Ponyville, I would like for you to look…well. Less threatening.”

“What’s wrong with the way that I look?” Emma asked as she noticed a deadpan expression from Georgia.

“You look like a member of team neo plasma. If you were to come dressed up like this, you can bet just about every Pokemon and Pokemon trainer will attack you on the spot.”

“That would depend on if Celestia informed her student about me,” Emma said as she looked over at Celestia with a nervous smile on her face. “Right?”

“I…may have left out a few things,” Celestia said as Emma stared at the white alicorn with a blank expression. “I only told her about how you were a human that Lyra accidentally summoned…not about the whole you being a secret government experiment.” She said which caused the soldier to continue to stare at her. “Okay, so I messed up. I’m not perfect all the time, don’t judge me!”

“Pretty sure I can, seeing how you’re winging this whole thing!” Lyra yelled. “Mother of you, did you pull the plan you mention at the apartment out of thin air?”

“Not all of it…I just figured as we went along I just made it work. I mean I made it this far for the past one-thousand years, so this wouldn’t be an issue.”

“In her defense, I doubt anyone would have a plan for new species to be introduced into pony society and the planet’s ecosystem,” Emma said, before pulling herself up from her seat and walking over to where her weapons were hanging on the wall. “I’ll wear some casual clothes, but I’m bringing my sidearm and one weapon.”

“Wouldn’t looking normal make you less likely to be attacked?” Bon-Bon asked as the soldier shook her head and reached for a red-colored longsword and a revolver.

“You can’t speak for everyone to be as level-headed as Celestia. Keep in mind that Mewtwo might be in the area, and I would rather have something other than my magic to defend myself.” She said before placing her weapons into the holsters on her back and hip and began taking her clothes off. The moment she was in her bra and underwear, she felt the atmosphere in the vehicle change quickly as she looked over at Celesta and the others with horrified expressions on their faces. “What? Something wrong?”

“Mother of me,” Celestia said as she looked at the blast marks, bullet wounds. Stab marks and surgical scars cover ninety-five percent of the soldier’s body. “I know you said that Shinra is evil, but I didn’t think they would do this to you.”

“The surgical scars were done by Shinra…the rest are from wars I’ve been forced to fight in, monsters, or…yeah just those two things.” She said before walking over to the storage compartment to pull out a black one-piece suit with sleeves, navy blue baggy cargo pants, gray and white combat boots, and a dark blue jacket as she wraps it around her waist. “How do I look?”

“Well…decent…I think?” Bon-Bon answered. “I don’t know much about what humans wear, that’s Lyra’s department for that matter.”

“Might not be as flashy as my combat clothes, but I did modify them to withstand a certain amount of damage. So, we’re still winging it with the whole Celestia’s plan thing, right? I want to make sure because I’m still okay with it.” She asked as Celestia shook her head.

“We’re not winging it…but for safety reasons, just let me do the talking as I ease them in.”

“I’ll get the slide show ready if things go south and they assume I’m with team neo plasma or something.”

[Ponyville, Castle of Friendship]

There were a few things that rarely surprised Emma in her line of work. She had faced monsters, god-like beings, faced multiple wars and survived the horrors of the Deepground for a very long time. Though seeing a giant castle made out of crystals is something that even the deepground soldier wasn’t prepared for. Normally this would take years for crystals to form into something like this, but from what Celestia informed her about Twilight’s adventure throughout Equestria…She’ll have to admit that magic tops science in this department. As Emma and her group made their way through Ponyville. Twilight, her friends, Luna, Iris, and Korrina stood in front of the entrance of Twilight’s castle, waiting for the human and her friends' arrival.

“I can’t believe something like this would be possible,” Twilight said, still trying to wrap her head around what Luna informed her and the others. “I mean…Lyra’s not the brightest pony when it comes to magic. But to be able to pull something like this off is…I don’t even know how to put it into words.”

“I would say surprise would be an accurate term for what Princess Luna told us,” Iris answered. “I feel sorry for the human that she summoned. It was bad enough she was asking us about stuff related to humans, now she’ll bombard Emma with piles upon piles of questions…You think getting thrown out of town by Mewtwo would give her a reality check.”

“I will agree that there’s nothing wrong with asking questions about another pony’s culture…or the world in this case, but certain boundaries shouldn’t be crossed,” Luna said before looking up at the sky for a moment before looking back at the group. “That being said, both Emma and Lyra are under the accidental magic law.”

“The accidental what law?” Rainbow Dash asked as Luna sighed in slight annoyance.

“Page two-hundred seventy-six of the Equestria law. The accidental magic law was implemented back during the ruling of King Cosmos and Queen Galaxia after a group of unicorns accidentally summoned an object that drained the land of its magic and nutrients. They were able to send the object back to where it was, but the damage was done. Thus the law to secure objects or being was made to prevent something like that from happening all over again.” Twilight said, which caused Luna to nod with a slight smile on her face. “Though that only applies if she’s a threat that could cause damage to the land.”

“Celestia and I can confirm that she can’t do that. Especially given what she told us of the planet she came from.”

“Are the humans from her planet able to change ponies and Pokemon into humans as well?” Korrina asked.

“That…we do not know. Even the human herself doesn’t know much about how her magic can be able to change a pony into a human…well human…ish. From what we saw, Lyra still retains her ears, horn, and tail.”

“You also said that she tested it on Pokemon that were once human, right?” Twilight asked.
“Were they able to turn back into humans?”

“I wouldn’t say back to being human, but it’s more of a similar situation with Lyra. While they’re no longer Pokemon they do have certain Pokemon traits. It would be best if you see for yourself than me telling you.” Luna said before returning her gaze forward. As Luna and the others waited in front of the castle of friendship, Emma and the others were making their way through town while making sure not to accidentally hit any ponies or Pokemon along the way. As Emma was driving Celestia was currently reading the book about the tale of her mother in another world.

“The deed was done. After two years of patients and being his hired assistant, I was able to bed him. After getting Shinra drunk enough through the party that the village had every year, I allowed him to have his way with me. It was odd to have somepony else that wasn’t a pony, but regardless of how I feel. I must do this to protect the future of this land. Once the night was over, Shinra continued on his way to travel the world. I only wish him the best of luck in whatever he’s looking for, but I have my task to attend to. With the baby I have inside me, All of my remaining energy will go into creating the key to protect Equestria.“ A dreadful feeling appeared in the pit of Celestia's stomach.

During the past hour of their driving, Celestia continued reading the book she found in the Canterlot archive. It was kind of the only thing she could do to pass the time away. But the more she read, the more she felt sick. To think that this was her mother, the mare she looked upon for guidance, a symbol that she was trying to become, could have another side to her that would go so far as to do something like this.

“It’s been Six months since I had the village doctor check to make sure I was pregnant with Shinra’s child. I can already feel time catching up with me as my once beautiful hair was quickly turning pale and lifeless. I’m not surprised given how my immortality has been given to the child. The time will come when I won’t have enough strength to even move. I need to find a place where she’ll be with other humans. A place where someone can take care of her…Hmm, perhaps I should give her a name. Can’t keep calling her child, human, or her every time I write in this book. Sugar Pie…no…Junebug? Naw, too common in Equestria…or weird in the human world….I got it! I will call her-.”

“Hey, Celestia. We’re getting close to the giant crystal castle tree thing.” Emma said, which caused Celestia to look away from her book, and locked her eyes on the soldier. “Talk about an eyesore. Hard to believe something like this is a real thing.” She said before looking at the monitor to see Twilight, her friends, Luna, and a pair of Lucarios and Haxorus standing in front of the castle of friendship.

“I can see Luna, and I can assume that’s your former student and her friends?” Emma asked as Celestia nodded. “Mind telling me who the others are? Because I haven’t got the chance to look over some of the Pokemon from the information I’ve gathered from the internet.”

“Hm,” Celestia looked over at the screen that Emma was looking at before answering. “Given how there’s two Lucarios and Haxorus. I can assume that it’s Korrina and Iris.”

“Wait, that’s Korrina? As in the gym leader of Shalour Gym in Kalos Region Korrina?” Burgundy asked as she stared at the monitor in shock.

“Of course, Iris would be a dragon type. Why am I not surprised by that?” Georgia said while eyeing Iris up and down before smirking. “I’m going to enjoy the fact that I’m human before her…well humanism to say the least.”

“Seems like you two know the human turn Pokemon,” Celestia said as the trainers nodded.

“Korrina’s the fighting type gym leader of the Kalos Region, while Iris is the Pokemon league champion of the Unova region,” Georgia answered. “As a dragon buster, it’s my job to take down any dragon-type Pokemon I come across. I only took down Iris once back in the day before she became the Unova league champion, but after that…she pretty much kicked my ass time and time again.”

“Hm, interesting.” The soldier said before stopping the vehicle in front of the group. “I would like to see how the gym leader and champion fare in a fight with me. That is if they have any of their Pokemon with them.”

“Perhaps we should wait on that for a different time,” Celestia said before noticing Rainbow Dash flying around the vehicle they were in. “I would like to make sure that they don’t think you’re with any of the evil Pokemon teams from their world. Would you be so kind as to open the door please?”

“On it,” Emma said as she turned the engine off and pressed a couple of buttons on the control pad next to her. There was a loud hissing noise coming from the doorway as the door slowly opened up. Before anyone could leave the vehicle, Lyra quickly sprinted outside and presented herself to Twilight and the others.

“Behold everypony! Lyra Heartstrings has become a human!” She yelled while using her magic to let out small streamers and confetti from behind herself. There was a moment of silence hanging in the air before Luna spoke up by clearing her throat as the others stared at the pony-turned-human with shocked expressions on their faces.

“...Well that’s one way to make a grand entrance,” Emma said while trying her best not to laugh.