Yami, the lord of all evil, had been defeated. The terrible machination of the Moon Tribe was destroyed, along with it's user. Two friends, each centuries old, had stood together to confront the dark lord and restore peace to Nippon. Amaterasu, the sun goddess Shiranui reincarnate, and Waka, Tao-master and self-proclaimed gods' gift to man.
Now, the two beings sat within the strange flying-machine found from within the depths of the ark of Yamato, the birthplace of demons. The first, a man with long, golden hair, sat at the controls, the various colors of the devices clashing terribly against his pink kimono. Waka, as always, was wearing his tengu-geta, his sandals with one long tooth sticking out of the middle of the foot, like a stilt. Although his headgear had been destroyed during the battle with Yami, he always kept a back-up, just in case of a fashion emergency.
The second passenger was snoozing on the floor of the ship, content with a nap after saving the entire world. Amaterasu, the divine mother and ruler of the Celestial Plain, was nothing-more than a stark-white wolf to most. Only those that believed in the gods could see her divine form. Her pure white fur was, in fact, covered in crimson markings, the symbol of the Celestial gods. On her back sat her divine instument, the solar flare. It's surface glowed with magnificent colors of her symbol, the sun. The goddess was kind, wise, strong, and loyal towards the innocent... but she had a bad habit of going to sleep whenever people started talking for too long, and boy did Waka talk too much sometimes. Issun's banter was charming, this was just annoying.
Waka had just finished pointing-out more of the scenery they were flying over. He finally stopped pressing the buttons in front of him, turning to face Amaterasu directly. "Well, ma chérie, while I am glad that you defeated the bad lord, we have a different problem." The wolf looked up, turning her head to the side to symbolize her confusion.
The ship started to dip in it's flight path. "As it turns out, I don't know how to fly this machine. I guess being stranded for centuries will do that. I thought it was like riding a bike, not so, it seems. Let's just resolve to not hit something alive." He went back to wailing on the buttons as he had been before.
"Aroo." Stated the goddess simply before laying-down again. It didn't really matter if they crashed now, they were already over land and she doubted that either of them would be seriously injured, they had divine favor, after all.
"As they say, just go for it!" Shouted Waka as they rapidly sped toward a mountain, his usual defense of non-sensical quotes doing their job.
Celestia was enjoying some down-time between court hearings, thankful for the quiet. She saw a speck on the horizon, drawing closer and closer. It was likely just a pegasus straying from town but she felt... odd about the speck. She teleported to the roof to get a better view, but still couldn't make-out any details. She decided to take-flight and get closer to the speck.
As she drew closer, she saw the speck grow and grow in size, until it was the size of at least a half-dozen carriages. It was some sort of odd saucer that was... flying? It continued to speed forward, heading right towards a mountain. The odd machine adjusted it's direction slightly but not nearly enough, crashing into the cliff face.
As it ricocheted off the rock, the glass-dome on top of the ship was broken open, revealing a wolf and what looked like a less-hairy diamond-dog sitting inside. Now that the window was broken, they slowly began climbing out of the ship, still sailing through the sky wildly. The tall one, somehow maintaining his balance despite his incredibly difficult choice of footwear, pulled the wolf out of the ship. "Hurry, mon amie, or else we'll be in the hot-seat for wherever this lands." He set the wolf down on the side of the ship, neither in much hurry, not having a particular destination that they needed to be. "Well, mon amie? There is only one place to go, correct?"
With a nod from the wolf, they both stepped-off the edge of the ship and began soaring toward the ground. Waka saw a town built in the side of the mountain that they had crashed-into. It would be a reasonable starting-point, maybe there were still celestials? It was doubtful, as the architecture was all wrong. Regardless, they wouldn't be getting anywhere if that large horse chasing them didn't stop.
He had noticed the creature as soon as he had left the ship. She stuck out like a sore thumb with that huge mane blowing behind her. "Row?" Amaterasu made a questioning noise toward Waka.
They landed with a soft thud, despite the length of the fall. "Yes indeed, mon amie, I noticed it too. It definetly isn't a Celestial or a god, it has no markings. Maybe some other creatures have colonized the Plain. Do you think it is friendly?"
"Row!"
"Agreed, no sense in risking these things, wouldn't want to anger any new Celestials when we just got here, eh?" They ran deeper into the forest they had landed in, the grass they ran-on turning greener as they passed. "It's a rather obvious trail, but maybe it will get our point-across, oui?"
Not awaiting an answer, they both continued at a tremendous pace, Waka's favorite footwear loudly clinking whenever he stepped on a root.
Celestia hadn't expected the strange beings to walk off the side of the ship at all. She had tried to grab them in a magic field, but they were falling too fast, making precise-targeting impossible. She saw them land in the forest, becoming shocked when she saw their descent stop almost completely before hitting the ground. They took-off into the tree-cover shortly after landing, disappearing from view.
I must rally the guard and close-off the forest before they get out. One of them was similar to a timber wolf, but normal skin instead of bark. The other... She couldn't help but freeze a moment when she thought of the tall one's clothing. I should just rally the guard, they'll know when they see them.
A few miles away, Prince Blueblood was relaxing in his second home. A quaint five-story affair complete with garden. He had been enjoying some tea when a large glass dome burst-through his front wall, crushing the front half of his house, leaving the rest to wobble uneasily. "What's happening?!" He yelled as more bits of scrap bombarded his mansion.
Yet a few more miles away was Prince Blueblood's main home, a grand thirty-room castle just for him. A shimmer appeared in the distance, a foriegn object approaching at fast speeds.
Thirty seconds later, a decent portion of the castle laid in ruins from the wreackage of a large metal craft that had come sailing out of nowhere.
"Are you certain, sister?" Luna was having a hard time believing her sister's story about the wolf and the other strange creature. They had dispatched the guard to cover the perimeter of the forest shortly after Celestia returned, whatever was in there would certainly have a tough time getting out.
"You know that I would never kid about something this serious, Lulu." Celestia had earned her fair-share of nick-names from her pranking but she would never go this far.
Waka and Ammy observed one of the guards patrolling the edge of the forest before them. They had certainly saved some traveling from their speed, but the guards must have had barracks spread around the forest at regular intervals considering how fast they responded.
"What do you think, ma chérie? We can't just start knocking-around guardsmen and expect them to talk."
"Rrrr... bow." Communicated Amaterasu.
"What more to expect of the Celestial mother, oui?"
They descended from their perch in the tree-cover, approaching the guard from behind.
There hadn't been any reports on the two intruders since their first sighting by the princess. Some of the guards were getting antsy, beginning to think that the intruders were a myth and that the princess had to be mistaken, not that they would ever make their thoughts public, the commading-officer had removed any chance of that.
Shining Armor had been chosen specifically for this mission, his shield-magic chosen for trapping the intruders. He hadn't detected any abnormalities since erecting his barrier, showing that nothing had interfered with the spell. Even his determination had waned since the start of the mission but he was doing his best to silence any insubordination from his men.
"P.F.C. Winter-Gleam, any news?" He didn't like this private, he had been abusing his time in the military for years, getting-off with almost no combat due to all his time spent doing pointless tasks as "punishment".
"Nothing to report from the West end sir."
"Good."
"Not good, actually."
Shining Armor whipped-around to face the private again. "What do you mean by that, private?"
"I mean nobody has reported from the West-end of the forest, sir."
"How long has it been since they reported in?"
"About four hours, sir."
"When did you notice they stopped reporting?"
"About three hours, sir."
"Why in Equestria would you not just say that, then?"
"Am I in trouble, sir?" He asked innocently.
"No. You're going to the border of the Gryphon kingdom, guard-duty."
He smiled darkly at the private's face as he turned toward his tent, ready to start rallying a group to investigate.
The unicorn battalion had approached the west camp under the veil of darkness, avoiding teleportation for the risk of giving-away their position.
The camp was dark, save for a small light near the middle. The army-mages had creeped along the tents, not hearing a peep. No camp should be this quiet, especially this one, not having a commanding officer yet. He had been delayed from reporting-in after finding most of his property destroyed by debris from a mysterious crash.
They had checked every tent they passed in hopes of finding a soldier, their results fruitless. The only noise produced was from their own hooves as they slowly approached the center of the camp. There was a strong smell in the air, regardless of how hard he tried, Shining Armor couldn't place the aroma.
"It smells like a lake-full of booze here." Muttered one of the unicorn guard, more experienced with alchohol than the recently cut-off husband of princess Cadance.
"Row row row... woof!" They heard what sounded like a timber wolf from the center of the camp. Had scavengers already claimed the camp?
"Ha ha ha ha! Oh my, Amaterasu, I never expected you to know one like that! Who told you it?"
"Row." Answered the first voice.
"Mr. Orange used to visit your shrine when he got drunk, eh? I guess that temperance thing was hog-wash after-all."
The soldiers visibly relaxed after hearing a pony's voice from the center of the camp, pleased that they didn't have to fight a pack of timber wolves. They slowly rounded the corner, jumping-back when they caught sight of the spectacle.
A white wolf and a pink figure sat-atop a mound of shields, helmets, and breastplates. They had started a fire with the handles of swords and spears, the pink one nudging the fire with the long stick that seemed to erupt right out of his shoe. They were chatting amiably, clearly unphased by the mountain of brass beneath them.
The soldiers were petrified of the figures. They had apparently robbed an entire military camp by themselves, they were surely monsters. Shining Armor knew that he could take initiative with an attack from behind, it was the thought that some of those soldiers probably tried that already which kept him still.
He cleared his throat, eliciting a small jump from the fire-watchers. They turned on the hill of armaments, remaining seated, although now facing away from the fire. "I am guard-captain Shining Armor! What are you doing here? What happened to the ponies here and why do you find fit to use their equipment as chairs?"
"I challenged them to a drinking contest, we bet weapons and armor instead of coin." Said the pink one from his metallic throne, staring at the various unicorns with apparent interest. "I even let them have a handicap but it was no-use, they just don't have the talent, it seems. You'll find them in the medical-tent on the other-side of the camp." He hopped from the breastplates he had been leaning on, landing softly on the tips of his shoes before rising to his full height. "I am correct in assuming that you are connected to the ruler of this land, oui?"
Although he didn't get that last bit, Shining got the gist of the man's speak. He seemed graceful, if a little fruity for Shining's taste. "What buisness do you have with the princess?"
The wolf stepped from the equipment, standing next to the man. It was hard to judge his actual height due to those weird stilt-shoes. "I believe that your princess may be using our land. We just want to see how she's done."
He squinted at the creature. His eyes looked almost closed, how did he see with eyes that small? He had a flute in his hand, apparently he had been playing recently. On his waist was a thin scabbard, holding a sword. It looked almost brand-new except for the slightly dimmed metal around the strap. Apparently, he had owned the sword for quite some time, he just hardly ever used it. "What do you mean by that? The princess has existed for thousands of years."
"Thousands?" He looked toward the wolf, receiving only a yip in response. "I guess that makes sense. As for what I meant, I mean exactly what I said, this land is our land, your princess seems to have simply set-up here. Not that we mind terribly, not at all. It's just that we want to see how she is taking care of this land, it is very special. You can understand the sentimental value a country would have, oui?"
"That's... I hardly believe you, but I will have to ask you to hand-over your weapon if you are planning on going anywhere."
He held his hands up. "I would never dare to do anything to offend any of you. I am a friend, oui?" He handed the scabbard over. "What kind of a prophet would I be if I was not amiable?"
"Someone wants you to speak on behalf of their god?"
"It doesn't matter if they did or not, the gods chose me for my duty, what higher authority could tell me otherwise, oui?"
"Stop saying that." Something had been bothering Shining Armor but it had just reached the breaking-point.
"Saying what?"
"You keep saying wee at the end of all your questions. Stop it."
"Oh, I am so sorry. Oui means yes where I am from, it is a bit of a habit at this point. Habits are sometimes hard to break... oui?"
Shining just grumbled to himself and sent some of his unicorns to check the med-tent to see if the thing was telling the truth. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later the mages returned, each with varying looks of disgust.
"How were they?" Asked Shining.
"They're fine... the tent though..."
"What about it?"
"It's a warzone sir!" Shouted one of the younger recruits. "I've never seen anything like it! Vomit everywhere. It shouldn't even be possible to do what those soldiers managed to do, sir."
Shining Armor face-hoofed, they had him worried that something much worse had happened. "One of you teleport back to camp and get a fleet of pegasi to come pick them up, the others will go to the other camps and tell them the search is over and they can go back to their regular duties."
The unicorns all saluted toward their Captain before disappearing in a series of flashes. One of the creatures spoke up, the pink one. "You can teleport? Quite commendable for just normal soldiers."
"What do you mean by that?" Asked Shining Armor, a certain level of defensiveness present while talking about his men.
"It's just that, where we've been, only a select few actually know how to travel long distances in an instant. Here, however, it seems like anyone can, provided they have that pretty point." He remarked while pointing at Shining's horn.
"They had to train very hard to be able to teleport even short distances. It's one of the most difficult spells to use consecutively for unicorns!"
"Really? Then I guess they're back to just being average then, what is the point if they can't even rely on it, oui?"
Amaterasu wasn't getting involved in this one. Waka could be cruel sometimes when it came to word-play, he usually got into arguments with Issun just to trip-him-up on his own words.
"Take that back! You don't even know what we are capable of! I would watch your tone, I don't have to bring you to the princess in one piece!"
"Oh yes yes, of course, I wouldn't want to endanger myself." Shining was satisfied, until he continued. "I'm just so used to the military being so civilized and efficent where we are from, sometimes I forget who I am talking to. After all, your men couldn't spot a stark-white wolf and a man wearing full pink in platform shoes on the edge of a forest."
That tore it, Shining was going to charge at the man, who didn't seem worried in the slightest, but everything suddenly went hazy, the world brought to slow-motion. He was overcome with a groggyness, after a few seconds of fighting it, Shining Armor finally succumbed and fell to the ground, asleep.
Amaterasu shot Waka a glare, clearly showing her distaste towards her companion's immature behavior. If she hadn't put that pony under the veil of mist, he could have been very hurt. "Grrrrrrrr."
Waka raised his hands to the skies, mimicking a preacher. "Oh curse my sharp-tongue! Mi amor, please forgive a poor prophet in his moment of weakness!" Amaterasu headbutted him, an action that actually sent him back a few feet. He got up, clutching his stomach, although she knew he could take much more than that. "Okay, I understand, I will apologize later, I just wanted to see what kind of leader he was." Waka had been the captain of the Tao troopers back in the capital city, a division that only a very select few could join. Just reaching the headquarters required some method of reaching a building hundreds of feet in the sky each day. "It's good he looks young, otherwise that would have been a failure, but he will learn." They turned towards the mountain settlement, Shining sleeping in a ridiculous position on Amaterasu's back. "This will take quite some time until he wakes up, do you want me to go ahead?"
If a wolf could mumble, Amaterasu just did. She didn't care either way.
"Then I will be off, I'll send a signal if things don't work-out, they will probably let you in if you show-up with him on your back, provided he wakes-up." With that, Waka disappeared in a small sprinkle of sparkles.
Amaterasu wasn't sure why she always was the one stuck carrying people around, and not always the light ones either. Now she was stuck with an entire stallion for a trip that looked to be as much as thirty miles. She wouldn't get tired or exhausted, she technically didn't even have to eat, it was more the principle of the problem, she was a goddess for her sake. She let out a single pant and began running toward the town, and celestials help anybody that thought about giving her grief on the way there.