Books. Almost the entire, inner part of the tree house was covered in shelves of books. Amaterasu could see books out of her peripheral vision. In fact, everywhere she turned her head, books were there; staring right back at her. Amaterasu wondered, had she ever even seen a book? She had found and read plenty of scrolls back in Nippon, including the ones that were malicious in intention. There were a couple of scrolls jutting out from the shelves, but she felt it was inappropriate to rummage through anything that didn’t excite her curiosity. Her train of thought was broken when Fluttershy trotted by her.
“Uhm… Twilight? I’m sorry if I’m interrupting anything. I have something…er…someone to show you……” An adorkable purple unicorn popped up from a windowed ledge and looked down at Fluttershy.
“Sorry Fluttershy, I’m a little busy studying ab-“ the unicorn abruptly stopped talking when she saw Amaterasu. Her eyes grew large with excitement and inquisitiveness.
“Is that an alicorn?!” The unicorn leaned forward with enthusiasm then teleported by Amaterasu. Amaterasu nearly jumped sky high when the unicorn appeared by her side so quickly. Amaterasu, catching her breath, was now the subject of a Twilight Sparkle observation.
“I can’t believe it! An alicorn! I thought that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were the only alicorns in Equestria!” the small unicorn remarked, clopping her hooves together in glee. The little unicorn looked at Amaterasu all over, pulling her wings, tugging at her tufts of fur on her legs, and eyeing her tail. She then turned to Fluttershy, yearning for answers.
“Who is this pony? More importantly, where did you find her?” the unicorn asked Fluttershy.
“That’s why I came to you, Twilight. I found her out deep in the Everfree Forest; she can’t talk and I was wondering if you had a spell that could help her speak” Fluttershy said softly.
While Fluttershy and Twilight were talking, Amaterasu began to doze off. She edged herself out of the conversation and searched for something to turn her attention to. She looked all over the room; book after book meeting her gaze. She looked away from the books and peered up at where Twilight was when they first arrived. In a little basket lay what looked like a small dragon to Amaterasu. Like the piercing of an arrow, she was struck with past memories once again. Orochi was always the epitome of fear and despair. Even in this strange land, his terrifying influence burdened Amaterasu to no avail.
Amaterasu was at battle with her own self. She struggled to keep away the depressing thoughts but it was no good; she was beginning to succumb to them. She turned back to the two ponies, hoping to find distraction in whatever they were discussing.
“Do you know her name?” Twilight asked. She was determined to squeeze out as much information out of Fluttershy as possible.
“Well she wrote something in a weird language I’ve never seen before, I assume it’s her name.” Fluttershy handed over the parchment that Amaterasu had written on. Twilight opened it up and a perplexed look crossed her face.
“I’ve never seen this kind of language before! Not even the odd language of the zebras comes close to this!” With that said, Twilight trotted over to a bookshelf and called out.
“Spike! Could I have your help looking for my pony linguistics book?” The dragon that Amaterasu had spotted earlier awoke and yawned; small puffs of smoke blowing out of his nostrils.
“Sure Twilight, I know where it is” Spike said lazily. He got up and walked over the edge. Twilight caught him with her magic and gave him a look. Spike smiled and moved a ladder to a shelf filled with a plethora of ancient looking books. He retrieved one book in particular with an odd symbol on it, it looked oddly similar to the characters in Japanese kanji. He handed Twilight the book and she went to work. Twilight talked under her breath while flipping through the pages of the book with her magic; she periodically peered back over at the parchment for reference. Fluttershy peeped over Twilight’s shoulder, wondering what was the language Amaterasu was writing in. After a couple of minutes of the incessant sound of flipping pages, Twilight stopped and exclaimed.
“I think this may be her language!” Twilight picked up the book with her magic and floated it over to Amaterasu. The language on the page was almost exactly like Japanese! Amaterasu was shocked. She read on and saw that the language was not even given a name; it was discovered centuries ago by some of the ancient ponies that first inhabited the land. Only a few hundred ponies were capable of speaking the language and their names were lost in the ever growing abyss of history. There was a spell further down the page, it was titled ‘Uplift Silence’. Amaterasu pointed to the spell with her hoof.
“This spell?” Twilight asked. Amaterasu nodded; she felt maybe it’s time to provide answers. She also wanted to get out of this world as soon as possible so she could be reunited with her son. She longed for him, to feel the warmth of his body on hers, to feel the comfort of his eyes. It’s all she could ever wish for. Twilight studied over the spell for a few moments and then looked at Amaterasu.
“Alright, I’m going to cast the spell on you”. She directed Amaterasu to where she wanted her to stand. Twilight took her place and looked at Amaterasu, her eyes never leaving hers. Amaterasu had to trust this stranger with whatever she was about to do. Her life was in Twilight’s hooves. Amaterasu smiled. Twilight then enveloped her horn in a purple glow, magic gathering in the air. The magic then slowly moved its way towards Amaterasu; gently opening her mouth and floating inside her throat. A purple glow could be seen from within her neck.
Amaterasu felt a tingling sensation, it eerily reminded her of home. How the cherry blossoms of Shinshuu Plains felt against her body. How the aromatic smell of incense tickled her nose. How Chibiterasu’s warmth met hers. After what seemed an eternity, the purple glow dissipated from her neck.
She opened her mouth and shattered years of silence.
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Twilight and Fluttershy both gasped. Amaterasu’s voice was beautiful. She could easily fit into pony society. Her voice sounded regal with a hint of foreign. Everyone stared at Amaterasu awkwardly in silence; exchanging looks as she spoke once again.
“I guess all of you are expecting answers” Amaterasu said, taken aback at how she spoke their language so fluently.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amaterasu.” Twilight stepped forward.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle. Where did you come from? You’re an alicorn but you look so different from Celestia and Luna.”
Amaterasu began to think. Is it a good idea to tell them who she really is? A goddess from a completely different world capable of numerous feats of power bound to leave anyone in awe. Who would believe her? She didn’t know if it was safe to tell them the truth. However she did not want to make enemies and it was the least she could do for Fluttershy; kind enough to house and care for her when she was unconscious. Amaterasu then made her decision.
“This may sound like feigning but I assure you it’s the truth. I am a goddess from a distant world; brought to this one by reasons unknown. May I ask, where am I?” Amaterasu asked with a commanding tone. Twilight cocked her head slightly, and stared at Amaterasu as if she was insane. But after staring into her eyes Twilight could tell she was speaking the truth.
“Well Amaterasu, this is Equestria!” Twilight said happily. Amaterasu’s expression changed instantly. Equestria? Where could this world possibly be? How far away is Nippon from Equestria? Will she ever be able to get back to her own world? She looked back to Twilight.
“Twilight, Is there any way I could converse with your commanding authority here? It is urgent and should not be delayed.” Twilight leered at Amaterasu.
“Now wait one second! We still need answers!” Twilight neighed. Fluttershy trotted over to Amaterasu and put a gentle hoof on her side.
“Twilight please, Amaterasu has been through a lot. We shouldn’t demand so much out of her when she needs to rest. Who knows how she got here?” Twilight stared back at Fluttershy and then at Amaterasu. She then closed her eyes in a apology.
“Your right Fluttershy, I didn’t think about our friend here.” She trotted over to Fluttershy and gave her a hug. She then went up to Amaterasu and apologized.
“I’m sorry Amaterasu for trying to question you so much.” Amaterasu looked down at Twilight smiling.
“Apology accepted.” Twilight began to walk back to Fluttershy when Amaterasu suddenly called out.
“Twilight, could you please consider my question? It is of the utmost importance I see your ruler as soon as possible.” Twilight looked back at Amaterasu and put a hoof to her chin in thought.
“Well Amaterasu, I’m afraid it may have to wait, Celestia is usually very busy and she doesn’t see visitors too often. I’ll see what I can do but in the meantime get some sleep at Fluttershy’s cottage, it’s beginning to get dark. I’ll be there in the morning to ask you a couple more questions, I need to know a little more about you.” Twilight smiled and began preparing herself for a good night sleep. Spike climbed back up to his basket and rolled into a little ball.
Amaterasu looked out a window and saw that the sun was setting. She walked to the front door calling for Fluttershy.
“Fluttershy! I will need your assistance in guiding me back to your cottage!” Amaterasu said, almost giggling. Fluttershy looked back at Amaterasu and smiled adorably. Amaterasu could feel the smile pull at her heartstrings. Fluttershy walked out the house followed by Amaterasu. As she was walking out she silently whispered
“Thank you Fluttershy”.
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The night was young, stars were beginning to shine through the heavens as Amaterasu stared at them in a trance. Fluttershy stopped and turned her head at Amaterasu.
“Are you coming? Oh…I must be doing something wrong…..” She trotted next to Amaterasu, curious about why the stars had captured her very being. Amaterasu shook her head.
“I apologize Fluttershy. The night sky here is reminiscent of my home” Amaterasu said somberly. Fluttershy looked down at the ground, kicking her hoof at some pebbles.
“Oh, well I’m sure you can get home…. For now let’s go to my cottage, you should rest.” Amaterasu took one last look at the sky and continued on with Fluttershy. Everypony in Ponyville was asleep. Windows closed, doors shut, lights out, stores closed. Ponyville ominously resembled a ghost town at night. Fluttershy, sticking close to Amaterasu, continued to lead the way until they finally reached her cottage.
Amaterasu stepped into the cottage and lit up the entire inside with her presence. Her coat shined like a grandiose spotlight. Some of the birds in their birdhouse popped their heads out in curiosity at the spectacle. Fluttershy trotted in and was amazed. Her eyes lit up in astonishment.
“Your coat! It’s so bright!” Fluttershy exclaimed. Amaterasu looked at her coat, then the room. She was a light bulb in the dark. Fluttershy turned on the lights and ushered her birds back to sleep. She then tended to some of her other animals in the house, ensuring that all was well and that they were asleep. Amaterasu spoke up as Fluttershy was caring for her animals.
“Fluttershy where shall I rest? I need your approval before I take any action in resting.” Fluttershy looked up from her animals.
“Oh, well there is a room upstairs, you can sleep up there” Fluttershy said, smiling. Amaterasu walked into the room only to be confronted with an obstacle.
“Pardon me again Fluttershy, but what is this odd contraption here in the room occupying much of the space?” Fluttershy trotted up the stairs to see what Amaterasu referred to as ‘contraption’. Amaterasu pointed with her hoof to a nearby bed.
“Amaterasu that is a bed, ponies sleep in it!” Fluttershy laughed. Amaterasu ambitiously looked at the bed. She had never slept in a bed before back in Nippon, and with her being in an entirely different body the bed could prove to be quite the challenge. She approached the bed and put her forehooves on it, while using her rearhooves to hoist herself on top. Now lying on her back Amaterasu needed to put the covers over her. Using her mouth she pulled the covers off the bed, forgetting she was on top of them. She hit the floor with a muffled thud.
“Here Amaterasu, let me help you”
“That would be most appreciated” Amaterasu snickered.
Fluttershy pulled the covers completely off the bed and helped Amaterasu get into bed. She pulled the covers over Amaterasu and tucked her in. Sometimes even all powerful goddesses need to be tucked in every now and then.
“Goodnight Amaterasu” Fluttershy said. With a smile capable of causing a person’s heart to violently explode she turned out the lights and walked out of the room. Amaterasu turned on her side and immersed herself within the night sky through an open window. She saw a constellation in particular that was shaped like two suns side by side.
One was smaller than the other.