Chapter one hype! I've tried to avoid having such a long section of speech like in the prologue. Should have mentioned earlier, but this is my first fanfic I've tried to write out fully! Patience is appreciated, and feedback even more so. Hope you enjoy :D
Chapter 1: The summer sun celebration
Yamano had never seen anything like it. After spending her life in her dark and gloomy kingdom, she couldn't get used to the bright colours of this new place. "I had heard rumours, but this is ridiculous… Equestria looks rather vibrant." Yamano mused. "Don't be surprised if it takes me a while to adjust."
"I would not expect you to be at home in Equestria straight away. I have seen your kingdom first hoof, after all." Celestia stated plainly. "Ah, here we are. The bath is ready just through those doors. I will come and check up on you later." The princess gestured towards a decorated single door.
Yamano didn't know what to think. Not only this door, but the entire kingdom of Equestria that she has seen so far has been far brighter in color and light than her own kingdom. Nothing seemed to be in disrepair either. The buildings in Canterlot alone were at least three times the size of the dwellings she grew up with.
"Such a fancy door for such a simple addition to a home. You're sure this is just a bathroom?" Yamano said in obvious amazement.
All Celestia seemed to be able to do was laugh and walk off. "Head out towards the library when you are done. You will meet your charge there." Celestia spoke with a tone of ambiguity. Yamano wasn't pleased.
'What do you mean 'charge'... I feel like this is going to be harder than I thought.' Yamano considered what could happen for a while before giving up and heading into the bathroom to clean herself up. Upon opening the door and looking up, she froze on the spot. '…This is insane… Th- this bathroom is gargantuan.'
There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Yamano called out quickly, slightly annoyed at the sudden intrusion.
"I came to make sure you are okay. Anything you need?" Celestia pushed her head through the door and looked at the recently appointed guardian. Now that Yamano was a little cleaner, Celestia could see her features more clearly. The matted grey hair covering most of her face was now neatly combed through, with a cyan streak slicing through the middle. Her tail was split straight down the centre, ending in two points, though not twisted together like her horn. On her rump, her cutie mark was on perfect display. A bright purple shield with a spiked top. Her eyes were a brilliantly deep blue. Her wings however, looked under-developed, almost as if she had never used them much in her life. "I knew you would look better after a bath" Celestia teased with a giggle.
"Wha- *ahem* hello, princess. I am almost done here. And no, I don't need anything." Yamano was surprised at the princess' sudden visit. "Where exactly is this library I am looking for?"
Celestia took a moment to consider, before saying "It is in a tower a short ways from here. It is hard to miss, as it is almost as tall as the observatory tower."
"Thank you. I will head there right away." Yamano stated formally. With a slight flick of her head, and a burst of dark energy, she covered her body in a shadow, which fell away to reveal her own desired outfit. It was made of coarse cloth and rugged leather and was completely black. It covered her left legs, but kept her right legs uncovered. It had a hood attached, but it was not being utilized. She made sure her wings were hidden underneath her clothing.
Celestia was taken aback by the sudden appearance change. She tried to gather her thoughts. "I didn't know you cared about fashion" she said cautiously.
"I don't. this is just what I've always worn." Yamano seemed to reminisce for a second. "And its unlikely to change" Yamano added with a slight glance towards Celestia. "I grew up in a dull environment, remember?"
Celestia sighed at this. "Yes, yes, I remember. But do not think for a moment that excuse will last forever." Celestia looked knowingly at the moody alicorn. "I shall leave you to it then." Yamano only nodded as a response.
Coming up to a set of double doors, Yamano stopped to gather herself before she entered. 'Whoever this pony is, I hope they aren't too much of a hoofful…' she thought grimly to herself. 'I can't protect some-pony if they do not allow me to do so.'
Almost as if it was on cue, a blur of a pony came speeding past her, and barreled through the double doors. Before Yamano could even process what had just happened, she heard the voice of the pony in question. She was still surprised enough to not be able to process what they were saying, but they sounded flustered. 'Here we go, I guess.' With a deep sigh, she moved forward to push open the door. "Hello?" Yamano called out cautiously. What she saw was a young, light purple pony pouring over a book, and a small dragon stacking more books on a high up shelf. Seeing that she didn't get a response, she spoke again, this time a little louder. "Hello?!"
At the sudden increase in volume, the young pony whipped around. "Oh! Uh, hi… I didn't hear you enter. Can- can I help you?" She asked cautiously.
Yamano rolled her eyes. "I've been sent by the princess. I'm supposed to be your protector. Or something along those lines. The name's Yamano Sagiri."
"Yamano?" the young pony looked quizzically at the pony in question. "What kind of a name is Yamano?"
The guardian sighed and started scouring the titles on the bookshelf to try and find something that can help. "No books on my kingdom, huh...? well, never mind. I hail from a kingdom further out than you are probably used to. I was brought here by Celestia to act as a guardian."
"Oh! Well, I'm Twilight Sparkle, and that's Spike. Sorry, but you caught me at an unfortunate time, there's something I need to research right now. Spike! Where's that copy of Predictions and Prophecies that was here?" With that, she turned her attention to the books again, pulling them off the shelves with her magic, getting visibly and audibly frustrated as she couldn't find the correct one. Yamano absently looked about, before spotting the dragon from earlier, pull out a book from the shelf, before his face lit up with recognition.
Yamano cleared her throat before saying "I'd look up if I were you. Seems Spike found something."
Twilight followed the pony's gaze up towards an exceedingly high shelf, which Spike was next to on a ladder, holding out Predictions and Prophecies. She immediately grabbed the book with her magic, pulling spike off the ladder. At this, Yamano immediately maneuvered underneath the tiny dragon to break his fall. "Are you alright, Spike?" Yamano asked with haste.
"*sigh* Yeah I'm fine. In a rush much, twilight?" Spike said, seemingly used to the complete disregard for his safety given by Twilight.
Twilight let all the other books she was holding up fall to the ground. Glancing at the mess, Yamano moved to start picking up the loose books and gathered them together. Turning her attention back to Twilight, all she could hear was her muttering "Elements, elements, elements…" while rapidly flipping through pages in the book. Eventually, Twilight whispered to herself again and settled on a page. "The Elements of Harmony… see 'Mare in the Moon'?"
At the mention of this, Spike muttered in confusion. "Mare in the Moon? But, that's just an old ponies' tale."
Yamano, who was exceedingly confused at this point, could do nothing but watch in awe as the efficiency of Twilights reading and the tidy nature of Spikes book-sorting continued in full force. Glancing over the shoulder of the young pony, she noticed a page flip by in the blink of an eye, with what looked like, well, a mare in a moon. "You missed it. Page forward about 23 times."
Twilight froze, flipped forward twenty-three pages, and looked at the page. Sure enough, it was a page on the old legend of the Mare in the Moon. She turned towards Yamano with a look of shock. "how- how did you see that? I thought I was the best at reading, and I completely missed it…"
Yamano shook her head. "I have an eye for detail, but when it comes to actually reading, I'm worthless. I saw the illustration on that page there." She said with a slight tone of annoyance and gestured at the page on the right. "Find what you need?"
Twilight went straight back to the book. "The Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times, a powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria. Defeated by the elements of harmony and imprisoned in the moon."
"That sounds good." Yamano interjected with an ounce of sarcasm
"Very funny." Twilight stated bluntly. "Now where was I? Ah, yes. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about night time eternal!" she ended on a gasp.
"Huh. Well that sounds bad." Yamano muttered, this time with a serious tone. "And I suppose you think that day is coming soon…?" Yamano looked at Twilight with an expectant look on her face.
Before she could get an answer, Spikes' ladder fell backwards as he was stacking more books. Before Yamano had a chance to do anything about it, Twilight was already underneath Spike, who landed on her back. Without even asking if he was okay, she handed him a scroll and quill.
"Aren't you at least gonna see if Spike is uninjured?" Yamano snapped at Twilight.
"Spike's fine, see?" She turns slightly to the side. "Nothing to worry about."
"That's not the-… *sigh* Whatever… Just looking out for your friends' safety is all…" Yamano walks off, trying to calm herself down. 'Don't blow up at the person you have been enlisted to protect. That'd just… complicate things.' Yamano was so caught up trying to calm down she almost missed Spike breathing fire on the parchment. This caught her off guard. 'What good will THAT do?!... Unless it's magic fire? It wouldn't surprise me if it was.' Yamano considered what could possibly have happened to the parchment but gave up. "Why did he do that?" She asked warily.
"Oh, right! You wouldn't know about that. Spikes fire sends the letters straight to Princess Celestia. She can send letters to Spike too." As if her words had summoned it, Spike belched out a small burst of flames, and in its wake appeared another letter. "There! I knew she would want to take immediate action!" Twilight responded without hesitation.
Yamano turned to walk out of the library, earning a confused look from Twilight. "I wouldn't want to intrude on your private business with the Princess. I'll be right outside." However, before Yamano had a chance to exit, Spike called out to her.
"You're mentioned in here too. Shouldn't you stay?"
At those words, Yamano stopped completely. It was almost as if time itself had frozen for her. After a moment of consideration, Yamano sighed again. "Alright, alright… Lets here it then." She started walking back towards the unlikely pair.
Spike cleared his throat and began reading. "My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence, and that I trust you completely. But you simply MUST stop reading those dusty old books." Twilight gasped at that. "My dear twilight, there is more to a young ponies life than studying. So, I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the summer sun celebration in this years location, Ponyville. And~ I have an even more essential task for you to complete. Make some friends." Twilight groaned. "I would also like a certain pony by name of Yamano to accompany you, to make sure you make the trip safely, and so that you do not get yourself into any trouble."
Yamano sighed at the prospect. "At least my job shouldn't be very difficult..." She mumbled to herself. "So, shall we get going then, 'my liege'?" She said with a mocking half-smile.
Twilight jabbed Yamanos' side with her hoof. "Don't call me that."
The chariot ride to Ponyville was awkward. Neither pony was comfortable around each-other yet, as they had met a mere twenty minutes prior. Twilight was looking moodily over the side, while Yamano took the time to do some impromptu maintenance on her scythe. This earned a concerned look from Spike, who had never seen a pony wielding a scythe before. A single black gem embedded into the shaft caught Spikes attention, as the gem did not reflect or refract the light, but instead seemed to slightly draw it in.
Yamano caught a glimpse at Spike staring at that gem and dismissed her scythe. "Can I help you?" She said with a slight hint of mockery in her voice.
"Uh… I-I was just wondering what that gem was. Its nothing like I've ever seen before." Spike muttered hesitantly.
"Is that all?" The pony looked at Spike curiously. "It used to be a normal topaz. An enchantment was placed upon it by… some-pony with great power. It draws in all light around it, including light from spells cast in its immediate vicinity. It… Isn't the safest, I suppose, but it will be fine as long as I am the one who wields it." She looked at Spike with a serious expression. "Which means no, you can't eat it."
"Oh. Okay… Wait how did you know I want to eat it?!" Spike asked with surprise.
"My kingdom has multiple books on dragons, you know. It was common knowledge." Yamano said with a distant tone. "Now please, no more questions. I'd rather not remember that place." She turned away. 'Probably for the best that I don't mention our... History involving dragons.'
Minutes passed in silence. Yamano had a sour look on her face, and Twilight was still sulking. Spike decided to break the tension and turned his attention towards Twilight. "Hey Twilight, cheer up. Princess Celestia arranged for you to stay in a library, remember?"
Twilight perked up at the prospect. "You know what? That HAS cheered me up. You know why? Because I'M right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, THEN get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moons return."
Yamano sighed. "You're going all in on this Nightmare Moon situation, huh? Shouldn't you go about this calmly?"
"Well can you blame me? This is a HUGE deal." Twilight responded with a look of someone who was about to panic.
'Why did I get stuck protecting the biggest worry wort in Equestria…' Yamano turned her attention away from Twilight again and started nursing her right side, where the base of her wing would be if it wasn't hidden. "Are these aches ever going to leave?..." Yamano spoke without realising, earning another look of concern, this time from Twilight.
"Are you okay? You look like you're in pain." The young unicorn looked genuinely worried. This threw Yamano off her usual rhythm. She wasn't used to the notion that some-pony cared about her wellbeing.
Yamano rolled her eyes after a while. "I've avoided travelling large distances for a large part of my life. Yesterday I had to go continuously for over fifteen hours. I could barely move when I arrived, whereas Celestia seemed perfectly fine having flown TO my kingdom and then walked back again…" Yamano spoke with contempt. "Ever since I was little, I've hated travel, so my stamina has always taken a bit of a hit. So yeah. I'm in pain." The slight hint of anger in Yamanos voice made Twilight feel nervous.
"Are you… Are you okay?" Twilight asked hesitantly.
The look of anxiety on Twilights face forced Yamano to calm down. 'Way to go you idiot… Apologize already.' She considered her words for a long time. "Sorry Twilight. I'm just a little on edge. I wasn't expecting to have to remember my past so soon. Ignore me if I seem annoyed or angry about something. Just… Don't expect to get any further details." She said slowly and purposefully. The group settled into another tension filled silence.
Spike interjected again, trying to break the reawakened tension between the two. "So, Twilight, when are you going to make friends like the princess asked?"
Twilight brushed off the question. "She SAID to check on the preparations. I am her student and I will do my royal duty. The fate of Equestria does NOT rest on me making friends."
"But wouldn't it be funny if it did?" Yamano said with a prod.
"If it did Equestria would be doomed." Twilight said with a giggle. The tension was a distant memory at this point.
"So, what's first on our list?" Yamano looked expectantly at Spike.
"Huh? Why are you looking at me?" Spike looked puzzled.
Twilight chimed in. "Because you're the one holding the letter."
Spike looked down at his claws, still holding the letter. "Oh. Heh. Right."
The chariot touched down onto the ground with a somewhat sudden stop, catching Yamano off guard again. She almost tumbled out but caught herself and rolled to a standing position. She shook out the dirt that had found its way into her mane. When she looked back to the chariot, Twilight and Spike were giggling. Twilight got out of the chariot and thanked the two Pegasi that drew it.
Yamano noted Spikes excitement about the new area. It seemed that he, along with Twilight, hadn't left Canterlot very much.
"I wonder if the ponies of Ponyville have interesting things to talk about!" Spike said while slightly bouncing up and down. "Come on Twilight, just try talking to someone!"
The trio turned and started walking down the main street, and immediately saw a bright pink pony approaching them. As they drew near, Twilight was the first to speak. "Uh… Hello?"
As soon as she had finished speaking, the pink pony in question let out a huge gasp and bolted in a blur. This left all three speechless as they looked where the pony used to be. Yamano broke the silence. "That could have gone better… I think?"
Twilight responded with a hint of annoyance. "It was certainly interesting to be sure." All Spike could do was sigh.
As the three were walking along, Spike was reading a checklist with instructions on what needed checking for the summer sun celebration.
"What's first, Spike?" Yamano asked.
"Let's see… Banquet preparations from Sweet Apple Acres. It's just over there isn't it?" Spike asked with an excited tone.
"Don't tell me you're hungry, Spike? I could have sworn you were snacking earlier…" Yamano said in a bored tone.
Spike looked back in a slight panic. "What? No! Of course n-" Spike was cut off as his stomach rumbled. Yamano and Twilight looked at each other skeptically. "Heh. So maybe I am a little hungry."
Twilight started giggling to herself. "Same old Spike. Always thinking of food."
Yamano pointed a hoof towards an arch with a sign hanging off it. "I take it that's Sweet Apple Acres?"
The arch in question had vines and flowers growing in the wooden mesh, and the sign had the shape of an apple cut out of it. Beyond the archway was a large house – or was it a barn? – With red walls and white highlighted edges. All things considered, it was one of the plainer buildings in Ponyville. Beyond the house in question were acres of what were presuming to be sweet apple trees.
"Doesn't look terrible I suppose." Yamano mused. 'I wonder how- '
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud "Yeehaw!" somewhere off to their right. Her head immediately snapped over to where the sound came from, and she along with Twilight saw an orange coated yellow haired pony wearing a cow-pony hat run up to and buck an apple tree. Almost immediately, the apples came tumbling off the tree all at once. Yamano was flabbergasted.
"That is NOT how that works." The grey maned pony said with her jaw hanging open. "Is that how that works Twilight? You probably know more about physics than I do."
Twilight gave a slight pause. "I have no idea." She sighed and started walking towards the pony in question. "Let's get this over with…" After walking a short distance, she raised her head higher and spoke with formality. "Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
As soon as she was finished speaking, the orange pony was immediately right next to Twilight. They grasped her hoof and forced her into an excessively powerful hoof-shake. "Well, howdy do, miss Twilight! A pleasure makin' yer acquain'ance! I'm Applejack!" She was still forcing the hoof shake, and Twilight was looking frazzled. "We here at Sweet Apple Acres, sure do like makin' new friends!"
Yamano chuckled. 'I like this gal. Seems pretty strong, too,'
Twilight tried to speak through the vigorous shaking of the hoof-shake. "Friends~? Actually-y-y I~ uh-"
Applejack let go at this point, but Twilight continued to shake. "So! What can I do ya for?" She gave a Twilight a wink.
Yamano grabbed hold of Twilights still shaking hoof, which was audible as it sliced through the air. Spike chuckled at the unicorns misfortune. Twilight cleared her throat. "Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration." She paused for a breath. "and you're in charge of the food?"
Yamano rolled her eyes. 'Guess I don't get introduced. Whatever.'
Applejack held her head up proudly. "We sure as sugar are! Wouldja care to sample some?"
Twilight had a half concerned look on her face. "As long as it doesn't take too long…"
Applejack zipped off somewhere before Twilight even finished speaking and started ringing a loud metal triangle. "Soups on, every-pony!"
Yamano felt immediate concern as the ground seemed to shift underneath her. "uh-oh. Bad. Bad bad BAD!" Yamano made a desperate dive for a spot about four meters away. Twilight and Spike looked at her, completely confused. Yamano simply pointed where the rumbling was coming from and merely said "Celestia help you both."
Twilight and Spike started to turn around, but before they could they were swept straight off their hooves and into the air by a veritable stampede of ponies. They were deposited down in front of a table. Applejack popped up out of nowhere right beside Spike. "Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple family."
Yamano immediately felt anxious. Large crowds were one of the biggest things she couldn't handle. She slowly started to make her way towards Twilights side of the table.
Twilight spoke up. "thanks, but I really need to hurr-" And before she could finish she was cut off again by an apple dish being thrust towards her face.
Applejack started introducing her family. "This here's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala-" each member of the family added another unique dish to the table. "Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apple, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp-" She took a large breath. "Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, and~" She shoved an apple whole into Twilights mouth. "Granny Smith. Up an' at 'em, Granny Smith! We got guests." The pony in question awoke with a start, absent mindedly mumbling "Soups on" and started meandering towards the table.
Yamano quietly jumped up and grabbed a plate of food off the top of the pile and started munching on it, while keeping an extremely fervent eye on the large group of ponies that showed up suddenly. She also panicked when she realized she didn't check the food for poison. It was a habit that used to be so ingrained into her mind and body that she started lightly bashing herself in the face with her hoof. 'IDIOT. Why didn't you CHECK!?'
The sudden movements caught Applejacks attention. "OH! Uh… an' who might you be?"
Yamanos eyes widened at the sudden address. After finishing her current mouthful, she spoke in a slightly hushed, shaky, and deeper than usual voice. "I'm Twilights bodyguard. Or something along those lines." She was sure her fearful dislike for crowds came through, and face-hoofed again.
Applejack chuckled at Yamanos timid response. "Ya got a name, miss bodyguard?"
Yamano hesitated, before introducing herself properly. Her voice normalizing as she was adjusting to the influx of attention.
Applejack couldn't keep back a short laugh. "Why I'd say you both are already part of the family!"
Those words caused Twilight to spit out the half-chewed apple that was still in her mouth. She nervously giggled before addressing the group. "Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way!"
A large portion of the apple family groaned in disappointment. Apple Bloom spoke up. "Aren't ya gonna stay for brunch?" She had an extremely sad look on her face, and was looking up towards Twilight.
Yamano shifted in place. It was obvious she didn't want to stay, but the look on the faces of the Apple family caught her by surprise. "It couldn't hurt, surely? What do you think, Spike?" All Spike did was shrug at the question. "Twilight? What about you?"
Twilights face fell, and said in an annoyed tone "Fine.". the whole Apple family cheered in unison at her agreement.
Yamano was in awe. No matter how hard they tried, the mountain of food in front of them never seemed to dwindle. Between mouthfuls, she glanced over at Applejack, who was silently comparing the three new arrivals. "Can I help you, Applejack?" Yamano said with a concerned shake to her voice.
Applejack seemed to snap out of a stupor. "Huh? Oh, uh, it's nothin'. I couldn't help but notice y'all seem to be a bunch ah misfits. I mean, you look like you've been workin' yer entire life, while Twilight over there… well, doesn't. Not to mention Spike. Maybe I'm just over thinkin' it."
Yamano rolled her eyes at the observation. "We come from two… rather different backgrounds. As far as I'm aware, Twilight spends most of her time studying and reading. Back where I'm from, I didn't have that luxury. Most of my days were spent with intensive, and dangerous, work."
Applejack chuckled again. "Well, let me know if ya need someplace to work that's a lil' less dangerous. Always willin' to help a pony out!"
These words hung on Yamanos mind for a while. Eventually she shrugged. "That depends on if you need some-pony with a lot of stamina or some-pony with raw strength. It would also depend on if Twilight needs me for anything."
Applejack stared through Yamano for a while, thinking about what would help. "I'd say strength is more useful around here. The stamina needed to do the things we do can be built up in no time at all."
The grey maned pony considered her words for a long while. "Strength isn't one of my stronger points… But, having some vigorous work might help improve that. Alright, let me know if there's anything I can help with. I bet it'd beat wandering Ponyville with nothing to do." After she finished speaking, she stretched out her shoulders. "The amount of food here is ridiculous…"
The orange pony started laughing at the sudden change in subject. But her laughter was cut short when Yamano had finished stretching, as suddenly, her right wing had poked out from underneath her clothes. She took a second to look Yamano over again, who hadn't seemed to notice. Sure enough, she had a horn, AND wings. Applejack exclaimed in a whisper. "You- you're an Alicorn?!"
Yamano froze in place immediately. She slowly turned her head to look at her right side, before hurriedly forcing her wing back underneath the leather tunic of her clothes. 'Great. And now that little tidbit has gotten out.' She snapped back towards Applejack, who seemed to be about to say something to the rest of the gathering. She placed a hoof over Applejacks mouth. "Not a word to ANY-PONY. Not even Twilight knows what I am." She spoke in a hushed voice, just barely audible to the farm pony.
Applejack nodded fervently. She responded in a whisper. "But I thought that the only alicorn was Princess Celestia. What's goin' on?"
Yamanos face dropped, and she looked down at the table. "Applejack, it's… it's a long story. One that I don't feel comfortable telling right now." She spoke so quietly; the farm pony had a hard time hearing. "Maybe another time, but right now is too early." Applejack sat in silence for a while. Eventually she looked back at Yamano.
"Well alright then. I'll try keep this under wraps for now. Let me know when ya get more comfortable about it." Applejack had a tone of genuine concern. This surprised the Alicorn to no end, as they had only just met each other and yet she spoke like they had known each other for years.
"Thank you." She turned her attention back towards her food. "This won't eat itself I guess." The sudden change in subject caused Applejack to laugh again.
"Food's all taken care of." Spike muttered to himself as the three were walking back down towards the main body of Ponyville. "Next is weather." He looked back to see Twilight struggling to walk, and Yamano looking like she had more energy than usual. Twilight groaned.
"I ate too much pie…" Twilight strained herself trying to get the words out.
"Too much pie? THAT's what did it? What about all the other food you ate?" Yamano spoke with skepticism.
Spike interjected with an inquisitive murmur. "There's supposed to be a Pegasus pony called Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds." Spike looked up to the sky, no Pegasi in sight.
"Wait, Pegasi clear the clouds?" Yamano asked with a look of shock on her face. "Back where I'm from the weather changes naturally."
Both Twilight and Spike whirled around in surprise. They looked back towards eachother, before deciding not to say anything about it. Twilight instead shook her head and turned to look up at the sky as well. "Well, she's not doing a very good job, is she?"
Yamano heard a disturbance in the wind. Quickly glancing about, she saw a rainbow blur come speeding towards Twilight. "Twilight look out!" She nudged the unicorn out of the way, and the blur hit into Yamano in full force, knocking them both down into the mud. The Alicorn pushed off the ground, and looked up to see a blue coated, rainbow maned Pegasus had fallen on top of her, also covered in mud. The Pegasus giggled at the situation.
"Uh, excuse me? Hahaha…" she started flying to get off the back of the muddied pony she had landed on, giggling all the while. "Let me help you." In an instant, she zipped away and brought back a rain cloud.
Yamano glared at the Pegasus. "Don't even think about it." The Pegasus was in mid hop as she was about to force the excess water out of the cloud.
"Aw, come on! It'll get the mud off!" without giving Yamano a chance to respond, she landed hard onto the cloud, causing a torrent of rain to blast out the bottom of it. The rain caught Twilight alongside Yamano, causing their manes to cover their eyes. The rainbow Pegasus started giggling nervously. "Oops, guess I over did it! Uh, how about this?" The Pegasus started flying full speed in a circle around the two, causing a whirlwind. "My very own, patented, Rainblow Dry!" As she flew, Yamano stuck out her hoof and caught the pegasus by the base of her wing.
"ENOUGH ALREADY." Yamano yelled through a grimace. She forced herself to calm down with a heavy sigh. "From the sounds of it, you're Rainbow Dash?" The Pegasus was squirming under her grip.
"Alright, alright I'm sorry! I didn't mean to crash into you!" Rainbow was still struggling against the alicorn, whose grip seemed disproportionate to her actual strength.
Yamano released her grasp. The mane of Twilight had become completely frizzy, and stood extraordinarily tall, while Yamanos still covered her eyes, just more rigidly this time. Both the Pegasus and Spike fell over laughing at the sight of the two.
Eventually the Pegasus got her bearings and responded in a dignified voice. "And yes, I am Rainbow Dash, THE one and only." She took off flying again, hovering over the trio. "Why? You heard of me?"
Twilight responded before Yamano could. "I HEARD you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear." She sighed. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the princess sent me to check up on the weather." At this point Rainbow Dash was lazing about on the same cloud as before.
"Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap! I'll do it in a jiffy, just as soon as I'm done practicing!" Rainbow Dash had a dismissive tone. This caught Yamanos attention.
"Practicing? For what?" Twilight looked and sounded confused.
Rainbow Dash whipped around, with a look of excitement and admiration in her eyes. "The Wonderbolts!" The sudden loud noise gave Yamano a headache. "They're gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow. And I'm gonna show em my stuff!"
Twilight looked skeptical. "THE Wonderbolts?" The Pegasus agreed excitedly. "The most talented flyers in ALL of Equestria?"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "That's them!"
Yamano scoffed. "If you can't even clear the skies, how are you gonna impress the greatest?" The Alicorn looked up at the rainbow maned pony. "Tell you what, if you can do better than me, I'll put in the good word with them. I know how to make connections, so it'll be worth your while."
Rainbow Dash looked down at Yamano with a huge look of excitement and awe in her face. "You're ON!"
Yamano smirked. In a fluid motion, Yamano conjured her scythe, grasped it between her teeth, and flung it upward at a distant cloud. Within an instant, the cloud vanished with a puff, and the scythe vanished with it.
Rainbow Dash looked back and forth between Yamano and the place the cloud used to be. "What did- I mean, how did- I- you- what was THAT?!"
Yamano rolled her eyes. "Well? Your turn." Yamano impatiently kicked the ground, waiting for the Pegasus to make a move. "You have ten seconds before I consider this my victory."
The look on Rainbow Dash's face turned from shock to determination in an instant. She took off full speed, barreling through clouds, dispersing them upon contact. Yamano was keeping track in her head, and it took exactly ten seconds for rainbow dash to have finished the rest of the clouds off. She landed a ways off, on the fence of a nearby bridge. "How was that?!"
Twilight and Spike looked amazed, while Yamano was sarcastically clapping her hooves together. "Ten seconds flat. Well done." Both Rainbow Dash and Yamano looked over at Twilight, whose mouth was still hanging open. Rainbow started giggling.
"You should see the look on your face! Hah! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle, I can't wait to hang out some more!" She took off flying, doing a loop mid-air, before screeching to a halt, turning around and flying straight towards the scythe wielding pony again. "I uh, didn't catch your name, though."
"Oh. Right. That. I'm Yamano Sagiri, her guard escort." She motioned towards Twilight.
"So that's why your reflexes were fast enough to get her out the way! Not bad." And with that, she flew off again, vanishing into the distance in another blur.
Yamano rolled her eyes again. 'That one is going to be QUITE the hoof-full. Top of the list on ponies to keep an eye on.' She paused her thoughts for a moment, before accidentally saying "And she gives me such a headache…" Twilight looked at Yamano quizzically, while Spike was still staring at the place Dash used to be but a moment ago.
Spike broke the brief silence. "She's amazing!" Spike took a second to look at Twilight again, tried to hold back a giggle and started playing with part of the unicorns mane. Twilight groaned and started to wander off. "Wait! It's kinda pretty once you get used to it!"
Yamano was looking over Spikes shoulder as he fumbled with the list. 'He is so strange. I suppose I'll never understand dragons.'
Suddenly, Spike spoke up. "Decorations." Spike looked up from the list and froze. "Beautiful!" Twilight walked a ways ahead, her mane still frizzed to kingdom come.
"Yes, the décor is coming along nicely. This should be quick!" Twilight looked happy. "I'll be at the library in no time! Beautiful indeed."
Spike shook his head. "Not the décor, her~!"
Standing on a slightly raised platform in the middle of the town hall, there was a white coated Unicorn with a flowing purple mane and tail, with her cutie mark of three gems on prominent display. She was muttering to herself while manipulating and considering various decorations. "No. no. no~. OH! Goodness, no! Hmm…"
Yamano looked back towards Spike, who had literal hearts in his eyes. Before she could react, Spike started babbling. "How are my spines? Are they straight?!" Twilight shrugged at her companion, and started walking towards the unicorn in question.
"Good afternoon-" Twilight tried to grab her attention, but was cut off.
Barely allowing a glance over her shoulder, the unicorn immediately responded. "Just a moment, please! I'm in the zone, as it were." She cycled through another three decorations, before settling on one. "Ah, Yes! Sparkle ALWAYS does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you ARE a talent." The unicorn, whose name appeared to be Rarity, turned back towards Twilight. "Now, uhm, how can I help you-" She cut herself off upon laying eyes upon Twilight. "u-a-a-ahhh! Oh, my STARS! Darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure!"
Both Twilight and Yamano shared a confused glance. Something seemed to click in Twilights mind, however. "Oh, you mean, my mane? Well, it's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations, and then I'll be out of your hair!"
Rarity looked distressed. "Out of MY hair? What about your hair!" She started pushing Twilight towards the door of the hall.
Twilight looked confused and concerned at the same time. "Wait! Where are we going?! Help!" She turned her head to desperately look back towards Yamano.
The Alicorn looked at the situation, then back to Twilight, and shrugged. "As far as I can tell she's trying to help." Her voice caught Rarity's attention, causing her to briefly look back and catch another glimpse of Yamanos mane. "Oh! Not yours too! Come, darling! I'll fix yours for you as well!"
All Yamano could do was stare. After a moment she shrugged, sighed, and followed Rarity and Twilight towards the door. Looking back at Spike just before she passed the threshold, she could have sworn Spike was floating after them, using his tail as a propeller. 'The things love does to dragons, I guess.
Rarity dragged the group back to her boutique. Yamano noted how fancy the decorations were for this place, everything in some varying shade of purple and white, aside from the yellowish orange curtains and emblem.
Standing in front of a full body mirror were Twilight and Rarity. Yamano payed little attention to what Rarity was doing, as after she had fixed Twilights mane, she decided to have the purple Unicorn try on many of her outfit designs. As Rarity seemed to settle on an outfit for Twilight, Yamano decided to zone back in on the conversation.
"Now go on, my dear, you were telling me where you're from." Before Twilight had a chance to answer, Rarity pulled on something incorporated into the clothing, tightening it and disallowing Twilight to draw in a large enough breath to speak.
Through pained whispers, Twilight tried to answer. "I've… been sent, from Canterlot!...to…-" At the mention of Canterlot, Rarity gasped, and accidentally let go of the cords tightening the clothes onto Twilight, sending them both flying in opposite directions.
"Canterlot?! Oh, I am so ENVIOUS, the glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed~ of living there! I can't wait to hear ALL about it! We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I!" Rarity could barely contain her abundance of excitement, her voice rising in pitch multiple times through her speech.
At the mention of friends, Twilights face dropped. Before she could string together a coherent thought, Yamano decided to say something to change the subject. "Hey, you sure emerald was the best choice for that outfit, Rarity?"
The fashionista looked back towards Twilight, and her face fell. "EMERALD?! What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!"
Twilight was done with Rarity's shenanigans. "Quick! Before she decides to dye my coat a new color!" Spike sighed in amorous bliss, before Twilight scooped him up onto her back, and left the boutique.
Her protector, however, decided to stay put for a little while. She would never admit it openly, but she had a fascination for fashion, and by extension fashion designers. Plus, she still needed to get her own mane sorted, as it was still a complete mess.
Rarity came strolling back through the room, before glancing about and looking disappointed that Twilight had vanished. It wasn't long until she saw Yamano again, who was staring about the boutique, drinking in the myriad of designs that were on display.
"Did you not want to follow your friend, darling?" Rarity asked with a hint of sadness in her voice.
It took a few moments before Yamano responded. "I still need my mane fixed. Plus…" she trailed off, looking about the boutique again.
Rarity gave Yamano a knowing look. "Are you interested in fashion, my dear? I'm always in need of a new model, so if you want to stick around, I believe I could find something here for you."
The twin-horned pony spent another long while having a quiet debate with herself. 'I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let her know too… I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested. But then what if she decides to stick me in something regal, or royal? Although I suppose she would take personal interest into account…' Yamano sighed to herself, before turning back to look at Rarity. "I'd love to. But anything you see must be kept to yourself, alright?"
The white coated unicorn gave her a look of confusion. "Alright, but I do not understand what could make you say that, darling. In my eyes you look simply divine."
Rarities speech was cut off by a hollow laugh, originating from Yamano. One half of the reapers horn started glowing and pulsing with an energy of pure darkness. This frightened Rarity to no end, as she was not aware of a type of magic so dark. After a short while, the darkness from Yamanos horn started to spread across her body, making her clothing seemingly melt away. In it's place, Rarity saw the underdeveloped wings try to unfurl to their full length but failing half way and cramping to her side. Along her right wing, a spider-web of scars had left their mark. On her front left leg, another, much larger scar was prevalent running down the center.
Rarity simply looked on in shock, as Yamano started to approach the full-body mirror Twilight stood in front of earlier. "Do you see why I always wear that outfit of mine now? Not only are the scars hideous, but I'm trying to keep the fact I'm an alicorn on the down low. Which is why I must ask you not tell anyone of what you have seen here."
Yamano turned to look at Rarity, but all she found was a gaze of careful consideration. She tried to grab the unicorns attention. "Well? Anything to say?"
The fashionista looked up in a slight daze at the sudden question. "What? Oh, right, that. Don't worry, my dear, I will not tell a soul." Rarity stepped closer, her face unchanging. "Never mind that, this is the first time I have ever had to design for an alicorn. I just don't want to mess this up." The scars had gone seemingly unnoticed.
The alicorn sighed away the last of her tension. "If you do come up with something, I do care about practicality in what I wear. I don't mind if it looks good, but if I can't use it outside of fancy dress then I'm uninterested."
Her request was cut short by a light giggle from Rarity. She looked directly into Yamanos eyes and shook her head. "The scarring isn't hideous, darling." Yamano couldn't help but chuckle.
'That took longer than I thought. But hey, at least I got something out of it.' Yamano had finally left Rarity to her own devices, after a long session of outfit design. Rarity had insisted on something to show off the wings, but the Alicorn was adamant in keeping them hidden, so they compromised something heavier. It was a brilliantly deep blue silk, with amethysts weaved into the material. To go with it was a wispy and flowing scarlet cloak. Underneath the main dress was a white leather tunic to keep her wings hidden and flush to her side. All things considered, it wasn't her usual style, but she was happy to have something to wear that didn't remind her of home.
Looking around, the sky had grown darker with an exquisite amber hue. The time spent with Rarity had drained a lot of time, so Yamano decided to head to the library where Twilight was supposed to be staying. Navigating this vibrant town proved difficult, however. On multiple occasions she found herself back in the same place she started. It was almost fully into night-time before she located the library in question. What she wasn't expecting from a library was the sound of a party emanating from within. 'Something tells me this isn't Twilights doing. She would never have a party in a library.' Yamano hesitated right outside the door. 'Cramped spaces with lots of ponies all being loud. Why me?' She tentatively opened the door to the library, as her fears were confirmed. Earth ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, it looked like every pony in Ponyville turned up for what was probably a welcoming party for Twilight.
Gathered in a group nearby to Twilight were a familiar bunch, with one new face she didn't recognize. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, a yellow haired, pink maned pegasus and the pink earth pony from earlier were standing nearby, the pink one yammering on as Twilight was trying to have a drink. Suddenly, Twilight looked up, eyes watering, and it looked like her mane was on fire. This caught Yamano by surprise, and she started to quietly make her way over to her charge. She nodded to the three familiar faces as she tried to pass but was interrupted by the pink pony. The unfamiliar pegasus hid behind Rainbow Dash as Yamano approached.
"You're new too! I knew I didn't recognize you! Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie! I threw this party to welcome you two to Ponyville! Is it good? Do you like it? What's your name?" The veritable word vomit threw Yamanos head for a spin. She looked over at Applejack with a pleading look for some assistance.
"Alright, Pinkie, settle down. This here's Yamano. She arrived with Twilight and is her protector." Applejack said, cutting in front of Pinkies view.
Yamano nodded, avoiding eye contact with as many ponies as she could. Rarity came up to her and nodded approvingly. "I knew that blue and red would work with you. You look stunning, darling!"
"…Thanks." Yamano said in a quiet voice. It was painfully obvious crowds were not her forte.
"Come on, Fluttershy, say hi to the new girl!" Rainbow Dash's voice rang out over the group, trying to get the shy Pegasus to come to the fore-front.
Fluttershy merely shook her head and shrank further behind Rainbow Dash. "…She- she scares me…" Her voice was barely over a whisper, but the group still managed to hear her. Rainbow Dash giggled hysterically, Pinkie had wandered off to go eat a cupcake, and Applejack and Rarity shared a concerned glance. Eventually all eyes except Yamanos turned to Fluttershy.
"Whaddya mean, 'scares ya'? I don't see why she would. Maybe yer just paranoid." Applejack unknowingly shot a glance at where one of Yamanos wings would be.
"I agree, darling. As far as I can tell, she's perfectly fine to be around." Rarity simply marveled at Yamanos clothing again.
Fluttershy looked around the group in frustration. Eventually, she tried to look back at Yamano, but hid behind Rainbow Dash again. She tried to speak again, but the words failed her.
Eventually the awkward situation was cut short by Pinkie Pie, who seemed to appear out of thin air beside Yamano, offering a cupcake. "Here! Try this!"
Yamano glanced around in surprise, and hesitantly took the cupcake from the crazy pony. She sniffed at it, and immediately recognized the smell. "Hot sauce…" She stared at the cupcake for another ten seconds. "Here goes nothing." Yamano ate the whole cupcake in a single bite.
She should have expected the next sensation. It felt like her saliva had been replaced by magma, and her eyes felt like a waterfall was trying to force its way through. About twenty seconds passed without her even drawing a breath. Eventually, she managed to swallow the remnants of the spicy cupcake, and as she tried to breath out, a small torrent of flames erupted forth. This forced her to start coughing uncontrollably, before finally being able to take another breath. "Bad- *cough* Bad idea."
Rainbow Dash burst into hysterical laughter, and Pinkie Pie was looking at Yamano expectantly. Fluttershy seemed calmer after this, but still seemed incredibly wary. After a while, she built up the courage to speak, even if not very loud. "I know a dangerous predator when I see one…"
The strange statement caught everyone except Yamano by surprise, interrupting Dash's laughter, and causing everyone to turn to face her again. An unsettling silence fell upon the group as Fluttershy tried harder still to distance herself from the seemingly dangerous presence. Yamano was frozen in place, not allowing herself to move even a single muscle. This haze of anticipation lingered for what felt like eternity, until it was finally broken by Rarity.
"Yamano, dear, I'm sure she didn't mean-" The Alicorn cut her off by turning her head and walking towards the back-room of the library, the same way that she saw Twilight head earlier.
"It's fine. I know why she feels that way. It's not uncommon for some-pony to be afraid of me." Her tone had darkened, and there was a slight waver towards the start. "Maybe if I ever get a hold on my life I'll let you all know, but for now I'm afraid I'll have to keep that knowledge to myself." She refused to look back at the group, the look on her face would have given Fluttershy a heart attack.
As Yamano was about to enter the door, she heard in another part of the party the instantly recognizable voice of Pinkie Pie. "Time for pin the tail on the pony! Woo!" The guardian rolled her eyes and walked out.
"Twilight, you in here?" The lights were off, and a small trickle of moonlight was the only thing making this room visible. "I think I made a bad first impression on Fluttershy. Needed to give her some space. You okay?"
She was interrupted by the door opening again, this time Spike wandered through with a lampshade on his head. "Pinkie Pie is about to start pin the tail on the pony! Wanna play?!"
Yamano rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath.
Twilight looked like she'd had enough. "No! All the ponies in this town are CRAZY! Do you KNOW what time it is?!"
Spike merely shrugged. "It's the eve of the summer sun celebration. Everypony has to stay up, or they'll miss the princess raise the sun!" Twilight looked dismissively away, while Yamano had gone unnoticed by the tiny dragon. "You really should lighten up, Twilight. It's a party!"
Twilight merely mocked the way Spike was talking with unintelligible muttering as he left the room again. As she looked back at the door, she spotted Yamano standing slightly off to the side, leaning against a wall, and partially falling asleep.
"You okay Yamano? You seem exhausted." The unicorn queried sarcastically. "Was Rarity THAT boring to you?"
Yamano snapped up at the sudden noise. "I, uh, I haven't slept since getting to Equestria, which was… maybe about a day and a half ago. but it's no big deal." The protector tried to shrug off the question but ended up yawning heavily at the end of her answer. Twilight giggled at the irony. "Shouldn't you be heading to the celebration soon?"
"I suppose I should…" The concerned mare looked down at the floor, and then out the window towards the moon. "I hope the princess was right. I hope it really is just an old pony tale…"
Yamano appeared next to Twilight with unnatural agility, causing her to jump and fall off her bed. The alicorn offered a hoof to help her up. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, if she is released, couldn't we go find the elements?" Twilight merely shrugged with a sigh and started preparing to leave. Yamano wandered back downstairs, her brain not sitting still as ideas on how to best protect Twilight bombarded her without rest. 'Who am I kidding. If she is released, I'd have to not only protect Twilight, but anyone dumb enough to follow us.' Yamano sighed and rested her head on the wall. 'But that's only IF she's released. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.'
Yamano looked about in remiss. It seemed to her that every-pony from Ponyville had turned up to the town hall for the celebration. Try as she might, it was impossible to find a secluded corner to observe everyone, so she picked a spot by the left wall. Twilight and Pinkie Pie were standing somewhere towards the center, just within eyesight of the tired guardian. Being by the wall was the best position for her, as she could use the wall to give her momentum towards the area she needs to go or scale it in case something goes wrong in the immediate vicinity.
'Too many ponies.' She looked about again, realizing this seemingly small town was much larger than she gave it credit. 'Can't we just get this over with?'
Almost immediately, a group of five birds started singing a rehearsed song, with Fluttershy orchestrating. As the song ended, the mayor of Ponyville stepped up to speak. "Fillies and gentle-colts, as Mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" The entire hall of ponies (aside from Yamano and Twilight) erupted into cheers, before quickly settling down to let the tan pony speak. "In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year."
Yamano saw Twilight look away from the mayor and turn her eyes up towards the moon. Following her gaze, Yamano saw stars start to gather behind the moon, as it blinked with power. Yamano was entranced and didn't hear the rest of what the mayor had to say, up until she announced "Princess Celestia!" and turned to look back. As her eyes settled on the area above the mayor, she saw Rarity pull on a rope and pull back the curtains. Where she expected to see Celestia, was instead… nothing. There was no pony there. Every-pony was shocked and were muttering to each other. The Mayor continued with a worried expression. "Remain calm, every-pony. There must be a reasonable explanation." A few moments passed in almost complete silence, broken only by Pinkie Pie misunderstanding the situation and wondering if it was a guessing game. Eventually Rarity came back from checking behind the curtains, with a look of befuddlement.
"She's gone!" Rarity stated, still reeling from the revelation. Every-pony gasped in shock, and Yamano went onto high alert.
'Something is wrong.' Is the only thing that was running through her mind at this point. Her thoughts were interrupted by Pinkie Pies cry of terror, as a blue-ish mist was gathering where Celestia was supposed to be. With a sudden burst, the mist revealed a black and blue alicorn, with a nebulous mane and tail made of the same blue mist. Before Yamano had a chance to move, she started speaking.
"Oh, my beloved subjects! It's been so long sine I've seen your precious, little, SUN-loving faces." She said with both an aura of whimsicality and malice. Before the alicorn could continue, Rainbow Dash forcefully interjected with a shout.
"What did you do with our princess!?" She tried to fly full speed towards the intruder, but Applejack kept her back by holding onto the Pegasus's tail with her teeth.
"Woah there, nelly!" she exclaimed, muffled due to the grip.
The intruder chuckled to herself and answered in a mocking air. "Why? Am I not royal enough for you?" Her tone shifted to that of annoyance. "Don't you know who I am?" Pinkie tried to guess again, but Yamano dismissed her words. "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not SEE the signs?!"
Her monologue was cut off by Twilight Sparkle. "I did! And I know who you are. You're the mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon!" The hall echoed with another gasp. Nightmare Moon looked impressed.
"Well, well, well! Somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here." Twilight tried to respond, but her words got stuck in her throat. The recently released alicorn just laughed at her attempt. She was about to say something else, but Yamano was done. She conjured her scythe, jumped against the wall and used it to propel herself up to the impromptu stage that Nightmare Moon had claimed. Trying to use this moment of lax banter from the intruder, she brought her scythe down towards Nightmare Moons neck. As the blade reached the alicorn, she vanished into a puff of the same blue mist and reappeared a few steps away. Yamano glared at her.
"Coward." Her mind was furious. She wanted to say more, but that was the only word that came.
"Well, somepony with a backbone. I must admit, I wasn't expecting that. But you're a thousand years too early to be trying something like that with me." Nightmare Moon seemed to pay little heed towards Yamano after this point. She started laughing again, which ticked Yamano off even further. "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" With that, she started cackling maniacally, and causing a storm of mist to erupt from her mane. Yamano slammed her scythe into the ground and held fast.
'This is going to be troublesome' Yamano thought to herself.