~From the Journal of Princess Celestia
~Japan's terrain is somewhat familiar to our own, grassy fields and occasionally rugged, but there is something here that is so unsettling and unfamiliar at the same time. Perhaps because the country is not of our world, and is therefore completely foreign to us, and at the same time because of this I don't feel at all home here.
~Another thing that I failed to realize, was this sense of foreboding that creeps up on me whenever I am not on guard. A part of me keeps saying to not relax for a second, and knowing that I am entering Sengoku Territory, home of warriors like Aketoki and Hanayo, I have to agree.
~At least I can be rest assured that with Aketoki's help, the convoy stands a better chance of surviving here in this territory.
~Speaking of Aketoki, I spoke to him and asked him his opinion of Japan's current state from when he last remembered it.
~He described his country as one of war, of blood soaked battlefields and graves under cherry blossom trees. He said, Japan is a land of war, built on war, and will only be conquered by war brought by the sword.
~He commented that my ways of peace, will not get us far, if we do not have the resolve to endure the suffering that his homeland has endured.
~The Daimyo are suspicious of each other, and even alliances can be broken at a moment's notice if winds of opportunity blow in the favor of one clan over the other.
Chapter 4 – Taxing Troubles
(Celestia's PoV)
"It's tipping over!" A voice shouted, and Celestia turned to see one of the carts starting to tip over, threatening to take the ponies pulling it and everything it carried into the water below.
Quickly several of her Pegasus guards flew and pushed to keep it from falling, and with great effort they righted it back over.
"Keep going!" Celestia ordered, and resumed walking across her bridge.
For nearly an hour they had battled the wind, forging their way across the bridge she had created, and this was not the first time one of the carts in the convoy had nearly tipped over because of the fierce winds. Each time her Pegasus guards managed to save the carts, preventing them from losing precious supplies that they could not afford to lose. Yet the vicious wind would not let up, and continued to hound them all the way, blasting them from both sides, alternating its focus on one side and then the other, and so quickly that her Pegasus guards were having difficulty keeping up with the convoy in the air.
All of her Pegasus guards were decorated flyers, easily among the best her kingdom could have, yet even they were having a very hard time just staying level with the convoy itself.
Then it happened, after over an hour of traversing the bridge to Japan, its protective mythos, the Kamikaze that Aketoki claimed was sent by the heavens, finally claimed its first victim of the convoy. As another vicious blast of wind racked the convoy, it sent all of her Pegasus guards struggling to stay near the convoy, but one, Aero, a junior member of her RCEG, couldn't turn fast enough to turn into the wind. So he was sent tumbling sideways, and the wind became very silent as a resounding snap, was heard above all other sounds.
"ARG!" Aero shouted as his left wing went limp, and began tumbling down towards the vicious water down below, unable to stay aloft.
"AERO!" Another member of her Pegasus guards shouted, trying to reach him but the wind pushed him away before he could.
Celestia reacted with the speed and force she was expected to, and used her magic to stop Aero from falling, and then gently but persistently pulled him back up to the convoy. Once he was close enough he scrambled onto the bridge, gasping for breath and shaking badly. "Keep moving, we can't stay here long!" She ordered, and resumed the convoy's journey.
She couldn't allow them to stall for even a minute, her magic was already being strained to keep the bridge active while they traversed on it. Every second they delayed meant that at any time she might lose her magic's cohesion and plunge them all into the water. Still despite forcing them to continue traveling, she couldn't help but shiver at the thought of how close had been.
They didn't even step one hoof inside of Sengoku Territory, and yet already she had narrowly avoided suffering a casualty, one she could not and would not afford, not as long as she still called herself Princess Celestia.
On they went, across the bridge, though now her Pegasus flyers were down one and having to stretch even thinner to ensure that the repeated attempts of the wind to knock over the carts were thwarted. For another hour this went, before finally she saw solid ground was just ahead of them.
"We're almost there, keep going!" She said, forcing herself to pick up her pace and move faster.
A few minutes later, she felt her hooves touch solid ground and she stepped aside to allow the convoy to move on. Curiously the wind started to die down as the first convoy from Equestria touched Sengoku Japan's soil. One by one the carts made their way onto land, and the first thing that happened was the medical cart separating itself from the group and rushing to a spot so Doctor Cobbler and Nurse Kindle could set up the temporary medical tent. After the medical cart came the food storage carts, followed by other provisions and finally The Professor's PPP cart.
Surprisingly the PPP cart did not suffer any such problems, despite being the tallest in the convoy, it did not have any difficulty keeping all its wheels on the bridge.
Once the last cart was over, and all of her Pegasus guards landed safely and all ponies were accounted for, Celestia ended her spell, and immediately breathed a deep sigh of relief.
They had entered Sengoku Japan, and now that the bridge was gone they could not go back, they had to keep moving forward now.
She checked the sky and saw that after over two hours of traversing the bridge had meant that they didn't have any time to travel anywhere, so they would have to camp there for the night.
"It's too late to travel, so we'll set up camp here for the night!" Celestia said as her ponies rested and recuperated from the strain of the crossing. "Pegasus guards, set up a small perimeter and servants start setting up tents with the help of the Earth guards. Unicorn guards start preparing protective barrier spells for the night."
With her instructions given, all of her ponies began dragging the carts to a prearranged formation to one side of their campsite, and began setting up tents and arranging sleeping positions for each of them. The first tent to be set up, aside from the medical tent, was Celestia's personal tent, a spacious tent that would allow her to sleep in comfort, granting her room for a comfortable bed, miniature throne to receive guests and visitors, drawers and other such furniture for her jewelry and dresses.
Once that was set up, the smaller four pony sized tents were set up in pairs, and soon ponies were assigned specific sleeping tents. It was arranged so that all non-fighting ponies, servants, cooks, cartographers and medical ponies, would each have at least one guard to protect them during the night if something occurs. Finally the cooking tent was set up and immediately the sound of chopping knives, cooking fires, and the smell of dinner could be heard and smelled around the camp.
In the center of the camp her servants, once they finished setting up the tents, were preparing several small fires to allow them warmth and light during the night.
As the camp's preparations for the night were underway, Celestia took time out of giving orders and overseeing sleeping arrangements to check the medical tent and visit Aero, her wounded Pegasus guard.
Aero's wing was lightly wrapped in bandages, and already was being tended to by Cobbler and Kindles' magic and medical skills. Upon her entry they bowed shortly to show respect, before returning to their duties, except Aero who simply sat there and let the medical ponies treat him. "How are you feeling Aero?" Celestia asked him.
"My wing hurts a little, but Cobbler said I can fly again in a few days after I let it rest and recover." He said as they fixed a splint to his wing to keep it in place. "The wind caught me off guard, was more violent than I was expecting so I couldn't recover in time. I'm sorry your majesty."
"It's quite alright Aero, it wasn't your fault, and at least you are alive and well." She said with a smile. "In any case I am grateful for all the aid you and your fellow guards have given to me and the convoy. We barely made it across and wouldn't have if not for your diligence."
"Our pleasure your majesty, anything to ensure your safety!" Aero said.
"In any case, I must go now, I have to oversee a night watch patrol for the camp." She said in an official tone. "You will be exempt from duty for tonight because of your injuries, so go ahead and rest. In the meantime I believe dinner will be ready in a few minutes according to my Chef."
With that she left and spoke to her three Captains to see about arranging the night watch. As they spoke she noticed the bitterness in all three of their tones, and after they finalized the rotation for night watch, asked them.
"Captains, please tell me what the cause of your bitterness is?" She asked them.
They all shifted nervously before her Captain of the Pegasus guards said, "It's that Aketoki your majesty, he hasn't assisted in any of the camp preparations all day! He's ignored your orders all day and has done nothing but patrol the camp's borders."
Celestia nodded in understanding. "Aketoki Nimaji is a samurai Captain Winoa, his skills are not like ours." She replied calmly. "Aketoki is a trained warrior, and he is by far the only one among us who has any idea of what this strange land holds. I say let him be and simply allow him to continue his patrol. He's merely ensuring we are safe, our talents lay in preparing camp and negotiating the land while his lay in the fields of battle and combat. If he feels that he must patrol our small border to protect us, then so be it, just let him be for now."
"As you wish your majesty." He replied, and moved on to carry out her instructions.
With that declaration made, she proceeded to go about the camp and oversee final preparations for the night. Then she decided it was time to retire to her tent, both so she could eat and so she could get ready for bed.
As she entered her tent she found her bed was already prepared by her maid, and said maid was even just finishing preparing her dinner table. "Oh your majesty, you're rather early." Lilly her maid said, as she just prepared the tablecloth and was about to arrange her utensils. "I haven't finished preparing your table for dinner."
"It's alright, I just wanted to get some rest before dinner." Celestia said as she watched her maid hastily prepare the table and move the table closer to her throne. "Tell me Lilly, what has my chef prepared for tonight's dinner?"
"Uh, I think he's prepared a special stew with red wine, and for desert he's prepared a small chocolate cake with vanilla and cranberry icing." She said as she put the final touches to the dinner table. "I'll be back with your dinner your majesty!"
"Thank you Lilly."
Celestia went to her drawers and pulled out one of her books that she had brought along with her for the journey. It was one from the Canterlot Royal Library, and she brought it so that she could have a calm moment to read and collect her thoughts. Unfortunately as she sat down upon her throne to read and await dinner, her Luna toy had other ideas, having finally emerged from hiding in her personal carriage and proceeding to jump up and down on her bed.
(Weeeee!) It said happily as it flipped on the bed.
"I do hope you won't be active all night Luna toy." She said quietly to the toy.
(Of course I will silly!) It giggled. (How else am I to obey my Filly Protection Protocols?)
"Filly Protection Protocols, but there aren't any fillies in the convoy?"
(Just because you aren't fillies doesn't mean I won't protect you!) It replied seriously while doing backflips on the bed. (All WalkNTalk Luna Toy models are designed to protect ponies using their Filly Protection Protocols. During the night we engage in night watch mode, actively scanning for dangers to our owners and nearby ponies. I scan for things like unknown heat signatures, temperature changes, unknown pony signatures, foreign objects…)
"Okay I get it, you don't need to go into full detail little toy." She said with a sigh. "Really, you need to learn to tone down the chatter."
The tent opened and in walked her maid Lilly, carrying a concealed tray of food for her. "Dinner your majesty." She said as she put the tray before her. "You, get off the bed I just finished preparing it!"
The next few minutes passed with the Luna toy running around the tent and out into the camp with Lilly chasing after it, before she returned to fix the bed again. As she finished preparing the bed, a commotion was heard outside the tent, and it sounded like three stallions arguing. "What could they be arguing about?" Lilly asked.
A moment later two guards and an angry Aketoki walked in. "Your majesty forgive the interruption but Aketoki refuses to surrender both of his blades before entering your tent!" One guard said as he held the longer of Aketoki's swords in one hoof and keeping a close on the other he had at his side.
"I refuse to go anywhere, even to your personal tent my lady, without at least one of my blades!" He said.
"It is alright my guards, Aketoki is Samurai, and as such you wouldn't be aware of their customs." She said with a sigh, having forgotten to share all of the details with them while on the march. "It is customary for them to surrender their larger Katanas when entering a location, but it is customary also for them to keep their smaller blades on them. It is so they may remain armed at all times should they need to protect themselves. From now on allow him entry with his smaller sword on him. Now Aketoki, what is it you wish to speak to me of?"
Aketoki walked past the guard and sat before her with his head bent in respect. "My lady, though I cannot say anything against your will to remain in such a location, I fear it is my duty as your retainer to urge you to scout the terrain and area more thoroughly." He said. "We are in Mikawa Province, more importantly in the territory that is under the control of the Oda Clan. This Province is well known for having Shinobi and Ninja scouting for intruders and enemies. As we do not have the backing of any of the Daimyo or protection from any Clan, I request that you put more of your guards to protect the camp's borders in case of night attackers. Furthermore in these difficult times, my homeland is known to have bandits and raiders that may see your miniscule defenses as a sign of weakness."
Celestia listened to everything he said with great care, however she shook her head in disagreement. "I understand your wish to ensure the camp's safety Aketoki Nimaji, however we do not have the ponies for such patrols. We are not a warrior society as yours is, and as such the thoughts of even these night watches are quite foreign to us. We are not used to looking for raiders or bandits as you are, my guards hardly ever have night duty and even then they do not have it for very long. I'm afraid the night watch as it stands will have to suffice for tonight."
Aketoki nodded in understanding and bowed respectfully again. "As you wish my lady." He said before he stood up and walked out with one guard, while the other remained behind.
"Your majesty, do we really have to abide by every single tradition and custom this Samurai has?" He asked calmly. "This is already well outside of our field of expertise, and we are expected to know everything his culture does?"
"I know Lieutenant, but for the purposes of this mission we must do our best to abide by them." She said as she finished eating her food and tidied up herself with the napkin. "His culture is different than ours, there is nothing we can do about it. What we can do is learn to understand and respect his customs. Else we will never secure peace between our two cultures."
With that said, her guard left to resume his duties outside, and Lilly took the tray to clean it and prepare for bed. As she read her book, the Luna toy snuck back into the tent and began jumping up and down on the bed again in amusement. Finally after an hour, she put out the candles and prepared to sleep, wondering what the next day would hold.
=The Next Morning=
The next morning the camp had rushed to pack up and prepare to move out as Celestia ordered when all of them had woken up and eaten breakfast. They had gotten through the night with little trouble, though her ponies were slightly tired, in particular those in the night watch. However despite Aketoki's warnings, no bandits or raiders had attacked them during the night, and the Luna toy reported that all was clear during the night.
They began to move out, and Celestia had Aketoki take the lead so that they could make their way to meet with the Emperor of Japan, called Kyoto. Though he warned them that an audience with the Emperor was unlikely.
The convoy made its way Northwest of where they had been found, following a trail that would take them in the right direction.
However, as they made their way, they encountered the first signs of Sengoku Pony civilization.
"My lady, there's ponies off to the side!" A guard said.
Celestia looked out of her carriage and saw what he meant, off to the side of the pass looked like a miniature lake with water knee high, with large swaths of green plant life. Harvesting these plants were ponies, gathering it in baskets and wearing strange coned hats. As they walked past this land, some of the ponies noticed them, and started pointing at them in amazement.
"Aketoki!" Celestia shouted, calling Aketoki from the front. "What is that?"
"A rice field my lady, those are peasants bringing in the season's rice harvest." He said in a bored tone. "This is how my people are taxed, and the rice is each Daimyo's income."
"Tax… you mean this… rice… is tax?" She asked in amazement. "You mean to tell me that your culture uses food as tax?"
"We do not have much in the way of metals, most steel is used for the production of swords." He said. "Tending to the fields is a task for the peasants, and it is these lands that many Daimyo fight over. If a land cannot produce rice, it cannot be taxed, and therefore has little value unless it has other values. We do not possess jewelry or gems, or gold or other such metals."
As they walked more of the farmers watched them in amazement and awe, in particular many pointed at Celestia's carriage and the armor of her guards. "Why are they staring at us so much?"
"You are foreigners, we have not had many foreigners to this land outside of the Portuguese and others who traded their guns to us." He said. "Though you wear our attire, you are as different to us as a young one is to his elders."
As they walked onward, Celestia saw a pony that she knew instantly was a Samurai. He stood about just as tall as any of them, however he was slightly different in terms of his legs. His legs were about one foot longer than any of theirs, and adorning his hooves were special wooden sandals. However he too had two swords strapped to his sides, and in one hoof he also had what appeared to be a very long spear.
"Is that a Samurai Aketoki?" She asked as he watched them while walking along their same path.
"Yes my lady, he is Samurai, more importantly it is his job to observe and protect this rice farm from bandits!" He said.
"Why does he appear to be taller, and why is he wearing those… sandals?"
"He is a Cavalry Rider." Aketoki said. "The Cavalry are all Samurai who have longer legs to allow them to move faster, further, and for longer periods than others. He is also in charge of trafficking and ensuring that nobody who travels these roads has ill intents. No doubt he will stop us…"
At that he returned to the head of the convoy, just in front of Celestia's carriage. Almost instantly the Samurai lowered his spear and stood still in front of them. "HALT!" He shouted.
"Hold up!" Celestia said, causing the convoy to stop moving.
"Who are you, and what clan do you serve?" The samurai asked Aketoki.
"I am Aketoki Nimaji, of the Celestia Clan!" Aketoki said, causing Celestia to giggle.
"What is your business here in Mikawa?"
"I am escorting this convoy from the Equestria Province to Kyoto to meet with the Emperor!"
"What cargo are you carrying in this convoy?" He asked, and Celestia could hear the suspicion in his voice.
"We have nothing but food and supplies for those in this convoy." Aketoki relpied.
"Then you will not mind if I investigate your convoy and each cart for thieves or bandits?" The Samurai said.
Celestia closed the curtains of her carriage, not wanting to give away who she was or her position just yet. She was here to negotiate peace, but she didn't want to cause word of her arrival to spread too soon. Especially when she wasn't ready for this kind of attention. As she hurriedly closed the curtains and hid her crown, the Samurai had reached her carriage's door.
"Who is in this cart?" He asked.
"That is the lady Celestia!" Aketoki said hastily.
"Why is she not under heavier escort if she is a Lord's wife?" He asked suspiciously. "If she is a lady then she should have more Samurai escorting her, and who are these Samurai, they do not look like any Samurai from any province I've heard of. These carts aren't any ordinary cart that I'm familiar with, who are you and what kind of convoy is this?"
"Lieutenant, please help me open my carriage?"Celestia said calmly, knowing that they were treading into dangerous waters if this questioning continued.
Seconds later one of her lieutenants stepped up to her carriage, lowered a foldable staircase for her, and opened her door, allowing her to exit her carriage. As she stepped out she looked over at the Samurai who almost stood as tall as her. Instantly his eyes went from suspicious, to speechless.
He looked similar to Aketoki, in that he too had a very small horn compared to one of her unicorn subjects or even her own. However he had longer legs compared to Aketoki, and he also had some kind of mustache and he lacked a Sashimo flag like Aketoki.
"Hello there Samurai of Mikawa." Celestia said in her most elegant voice, and kindest smile. "Is there something I can help you with?"
The samurai simply stared dumbstruck at Celestia before he realized what he was doing. "I… I must ask you your business here in Mikawa, and what province you are from?"
Celestia nodded in understanding. "I am Celestia, and this convoy of my subjects, are from the province of Equestria… not native to your islands. As such you have not been there or heard of it. We are foreigners and therefore visitors to your homeland, and Aketoki is my guide and is indeed the only Samurai in my convoy. We are journeying from our home to your Emperor in Kyoto to meet with him and pay our respects."
"I see… well in that case… I will not hold you any further…" He said nervously, stepping back from the convoy. "Forgive me for my disrespect… I was merely…"
"I understand why you were so suspicious." She replied with another smile. "I am glad that you were so suspicious, my convoy is very nervous about our travels here. Many of them fear being attacked with so few soldiers guarding us, even my personal bodyguard is worried about not being able to protect me and those who are not capable of defending themselves. However the fact that you are so observant eases my worries."
"I thank you for your… kind words… and may I speak honestly before you?" He said nervously.
"Of course you may." Celestia said.
"May I say that, whoever your husband is, married a beautiful bride." He said with a blush. "I have never seen a more beautiful lady in all my time guarding this road…"
Celestia smiled and nodded at his compliment. "Thank you, I will inform my 'husband' that you made such a compliment, perhaps if we return and you see him he may thank you for your compliment with a reward."
After that he kindly pointed them down the road and even gave them directions to Kyoto. As the convoy continued onward, Aketoki walked next to Celestia's carriage and spoke to her. "You lied to him about being married my lady?" He asked curiously.
"Of course, no need to inform him that I am not married." She said with a smile. "I understand what I did may not have been, honest, but I must speak to the Daimyos before I talk of my true purpose here in Japan."
"If that is what you wish my lady." Aketoki said before returning to the front of the convoy.