The darkness was suffocating. Sure, it wasn't the first time she had gone on for a while without light (a previous expedition into the Forgotten Catacombs attested to this), or experienced it in a small stone cell (Pyramid of the Scryed). But this darkness was absolute, cold and oppressing; at least in previous ventures there had been some small trickle of light, something for her night vision to latch onto, whether it be the weak glow of luminescent fungi or a trickle of moonlight slipping through the cracks.
Here, darkness ruled. There was no light, no shadows, only the dark.
"Well, this is a fine pickle we've gotten ourselves into, hm?"
But Daring would have preferred solitude in this suffocating prison to her current "companion."
"We wouldnt even be in this mess if somepony hadn't lost his powers!"
"One, that was not my fault. Two, I'm not totally powerless; I still have some tricks up my nonexistent sleeves! And three, I'm certain you're using the wrong terminology there. I'm not a pony, if you recall. But your appreciation is duly noted." This was followed by a furry finger tapping her nose with an audible "Boop!"
Swatting the offending appendage away with her hoof, Daring Do, adventurer extraordinaire, let out an annoyed huff, shooting a glare in the direction of the voice. Of course it was just her luck to be trapped in a room with, of all creatures on this Sun-blessed world, the only known Draconequus in all of existence. The one, the only...
"Discord, I swear to Celestia if you don't cut that out and give me a chance to think..."
“You? Thinking of a plan? And here I thought you made it up as you went along. Don’t tell me, do you make checklists too? Because I know a mare who can give you some excellent advice about improving your scheduling capabilities.”
Daring Do would have preferred anything else to being stuck with the physical embodiment of chaos. She'd even take having to run through a jungle and assorted death traps with a broken wing again over this. Hay, even being ambushed by ninja had been a far more pleasant experience. And everypony wonders why I prefer to work alone, she thought sourly.
Though admittedly she had had some good, if unwanted, partners over her years as an adventurer. Especially on the last quest she had been on...
No, focus Daring. We are not going to think about her. Not right now. Shaking her head to clear it of distracting thoughts, Daring did her best to ignore Discord (now incessantly poking her with his tail; even without his powers he had to find some way to live up to his reputation) and began feeling around the room, searching for a weakness.
Discord rolled his eyes (in a far less literal manner than he preferred). "Oh come now, how many times does that make this? I keep telling you, you should just wait."
The following silence, broken occasionally by the tapping of a hoof against stone, told him that the mare was steadfastly ignoring whatever he had to say. With a bored sigh Discord rested his chin on his paw, idly inspecting the nails on his claw despite the complete and total lack of light necessary to make such an action possible. "Well, since there's nothing better to do, I might as well start from the beginning. What do you say? Sounds interesting, intriguing even, doesn't it?"
Resisting the urge to groan, Daring continued her task of trying to find a way to escape. She knew that any reaction would only encourage the Draconequus. Not that he needed any encouragement, as she soon found out.
"Long ago, in the beautiful land of magic and friendship, the land of Equestria..."
A loud smack was the only indication of a hoof making rapid and exasperated contact with a pony's face.
「デアリング・ドゥ」
Approx. 1,000 Years Ago
The journey to Equestria had been long and tiring, but the young mare, ambassador of The Land of the Rising Sun, daughter of the Shogun himself, was trembling with quietly eager anticipation. It had been only two years since her land opened its borders and barely three months since the beloved Goddess of the Radiant Sun, Bringer of Dawn, Sacred Mother of All That is Good, had extended an invitation for a meeting to negotiate a treaty. And now here she was, soon to meet the Herald of Light Herself! Oh certainly it had taken a lot of convincing and manipulation on her end to ensure that she and nopony else would be chosen to personally meet the Goddess (it had taken even further finagling to prevent them from sending one of the ryuu instead) but it would all be worth it in the end.
The truth was that, while she did have her country's best interests in mind, she simply could not ignore the fact that she would meet the most beloved of all the kami. Nopony in the history of The Land of the Rising Sun had ever had that distinction; it brought her pleasant goosebumps just thinking about it. Absentmindedly she adjusted her kimono, subconsciously making certain she was as presentable as possible. There was no good in leaving a bad impression on one's goddess after all. Silently she went over her lessons in her head, believing that a single mistake in her diction, in her understanding of the Equestrian language, would bring down Amaterasu's wrath upon her. She shivered at that unpleasant thought.
Thinking about the name the ponies of her country had given their goddess brought an almost imperceptible frown to her face. Would She be offended if she called Her that? Or by one of Her numerous titles? Perhaps she should simply use Her Equestrian name. Yes, that was probably the safest option. Celestia-sama. No, too disrespectful, it didn't nearly do justice to just how important She is. Celestia... ōmikami? Celestia-ōmikami, yes, that sounded right.
She continued to wait in the entrance hall, her posture unwavering, a mark of her dignity, her honor, and her dedication. She would wait as long as she needed to. On either side of her waited her personal guards, each of them stoic and alert, unwilling to show the ponies of this foreign land any sign of weakness. Their armor gleamed in the noonday sun, impressive and intimidating, accentuated by the scowling metal masks they wore beneath their helms. Local nobles waiting for their turn for an audience with the Goddess were visibly intimidated by these strange foreign ponies; often they would sneak a glance at the beautiful mare, awed by her beauty and the aura of peace that she radiated, only to catch the eye of one of her entourage and quickly look away, sweating nervously all the while. Her six guards were all amused and disappointed by the reactions they got; they had hoped that the fat nobles of this land would be more interesting. Instead they were too much like the fat nobles of home, those who knew little of the battlefield, who could not openly wield their honor and soul if they tried.
On the other hoof, they found themselves respecting their foreign counterparts, who gazed coolly back at them whenever their eyes met. Neither side spoke or broke their stoic facade, but there was a definite sense of mutual respect. Not to mention a hidden interest in each others' choice of armor and weapons.
The doors opened and her name was called. Her Equestrian name; it filled her with delight that her Goddess had deigned to bestow upon her a name similar to that of the populace She ruled over directly, one of Her land. It had pleased her even more that Ama--no, Celestia-ōmikami had gone to the trouble of bestowing upon her a name that was the Equestrian equivalent of her true name. Maintaining an effort to prevent herself from trembling in excitement, she gave a slight nod to one of her guards, a clear signal that they were to stay put, before standing on all four hooves and walking through the majestic throne room doors with all the dignity and grace a pony of her station required.
As she entered, she respectfully kept her gaze to the floor, not daring to look up at her Goddess, even when the doors slammed shut behind her. Without looking up, she prostrated herself before Her, trying her best not to trip over her own tongue. "'Tis truly an honor to be in thine p-presence, Celestia-ōmikami. 'Tis a g-great blessing thou hast bestowest upon mineself." She swallowed nervously, hoping She had not noticed her slight stutter.
There was a soft, gentle laugh, followed by the most soothing and most beautiful voice she had ever heard. "Nay, 'tis an honor to meet thee, daughter of Taira no Nagamori. Thine father is the shogun, is he not? Therefore thou art a most honored guest in Our home. Now rise, Our little pony, that We may greetest thee properly."
Her Goddess's simple request left the young mare torn. Surely it would be disrespectful--nay, sinful--to allow her mortal eyes to gaze upon Her visage? But, if the Goddess wished it, then didn't that make not doing as She asked a sin as well? For a moment she mare was quiet as she weighed her options. Then, slowly, hesitantly, she lifted her head.
Simply put, as soon as her eyes fell upon her Goddess, she was rendered momentarily incapable of sentient thought.
She had seen the scrolls and paintings, how her people assumed Amaterasu-ōmikami to look. They did not do her beauty justice.
She had seen the paintings, murals, and painstakingly-detailed drawings of Celestia before and after she arrived in Equestria. While those were far more accurate than those of her homeland, they also did not compare to the sight that currently stood there smiling gently at her.
To put it simply, to the young mare the figure that stood before her was just as beautiful and radiant as the sun She moved across the sky, if not more so. It was another moment before she was able to find her voice; when she spoke, it was soft and shy. "I thank thee for thine words, Celestia-ōmikami." She swallowed and gathered her thoughts together, remembering the official reason she was here. "Forgive mine own rudeness, I would likest to begin with negotiations. I feel that our nations may benefit greatly from what each other has to offer."
Celestia's smile seemed to grow wider and, if possible, even warmer as she regarded the pony before her. "We agree with thine sentiments, rest assured of that. Let us begin negotiating our terms of trade..."
- - -
As a guest and foreign ambassador, later that night the young mare was shown to one of the rooms of the castle selected for her use, while her guards were stationed in the barracks. The distance did little to stop them from forming their own schedule; indeed, as she readied herself for sleep, two were stationed just outside her door. She knew her father had likely warned them about what he would do should they fail to protect even a single hair on her mane, but also knew that as her personal guard their loyalty to her knew no bounds. And when her thoughts turned to one of her samurai that had a far more personal investment in her safety, she blushed lightly and giggled softly to herself.
The trade negotiation had gone well, though she would have to spend at least the rest of the week in Equestria to continue dealing with the finer points of the treaty. Something she found she did not mind having to do at all. Equestria was a wonderfully fascinating place, the least of which was the complete and utter lack of war. Back in her homeland, she was used to hearing news of provinces warring against each other, even of some upstart daimyo attempting to lay claim to the title of shogun. Of course, with how well the negotiations were going, her father's power as shogun would likely increase and more nobles would come to support him. And if our land becomes as peaceful as this, then this venture will be well worth it no matter how long it takes, she thought with a smile. Perhaps Princess Celestia would even deign to grace us all with a visit.
It had been embarrassing to realize that of course She had her own title in Her land and, upon learning of it, she had immediately begun using it. Why she had not learned of it earlier eluded her, but that did little to ease her mortification. At the very least Princess Celestia had not been offended by this oversight; She had actually seemed to find it humorous, for which the young mare was grateful. Her sister, on the other hoof...
She had had the pleasure of meeting Princess Luna--Tsukiyomi in her homeland--after the negotiations, when Princess Celestia had gone out to lower the sun. While the Moon Goddess was not as beloved as her sister, she was still an important figure and the mare had done her best to show her as much respect as possible. Yet something about the way she had acted upon meeting her seemed... off. It was especially notable when she was with her sister. The mare shook her head. Whatever it was, it was none of her business; it was a matter best left to the Goddesses, not something that a mortal like herself should dare to interfere in.
As she lay in her bed (so different from the futon of home!), the stars twinkling in the night sky, she smiled at the thought of meeting her Goddess again the next day. It was a meeting she was looking forward to.
That night, she dreamed of her beloved Sun Goddess, never noticing the dark blue mare hiding in the shadows or the seething anger in her cyan eyes.
The day that followed was one that would forever be recorded in the annals of history.
It had started simple enough. Rising with the morning sun, the young mare had a light breakfast before waiting in the entrance hall once more with her guards, observing the nobles coming and going for an audience with Celestia before she was called in. Negotiations, once more, went as well as the previous day, though did not last nearly as long. Her time afterwards was spent in her room composing a letter to be sent home, a report on her stay and the progress of the negotiations.
As she dipped her brush into the ink, the light of day was suddenly extinguished as the moon climbed into the sky and defiantly stood before the sun, blocking its radiance. She froze, staring out the window with dread in her heart at the black, starless sky. Surely it was too early? And the sun hadn't even been lowered! She trembled as a wave of nausea washed over her, getting up and backing towards the door.
Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. As the castle shook, the sound of an explosion tearing through the air, she felt it. A malignant, twisted magic, defiling the very air she breathed with its presence. Stomach churning, she fled the room, her guards following close behind, the sound of battle meeting her ears as she galloped towards the nearest exit, all thoughts of dignity and grace abandoned in favor of finding out what was happening.
She arrived outside in time to see the Moon Goddess engaged in battle with Princess Celestia.
Just in time to see the Sun Goddess, surrounded by a sphere of strange but powerful magic, blast the Moon Goddess out of the sky towards the moon.
The sight of this left the mare trembling, but instead of awe she found herself filled with fear. Before her eyes was not the kind Goddess whose presence radiated warmth and life. Before her was a merciless Goddess, one who had destroyed her sister without a second's thought. And while the true reasons would come to her later, that the Moon Goddess had become a cruel, twisted version of her former self, had raised the moon in an attempt to bring about eternal night, that did little to change what she had felt that day.
That magic, emanating from the black mare, was foul, evil, and full of hate. Though she had never felt that sort of magic before, it was far too similar to another magic she had felt only once, and had never hoped to feel again. It was Corruption.
And it left her fearful of what was to come.
つづく。。。
Next time on Daring Do and the Sky-Cutting Sword
Princess Celestia gave her a long, sad look. "Are you certain that this is what you want?"
For several moments Daring said nothing, before turning back to Celestia with an unreadable expression. "It's not about what I want, Princess. No pony else can do it; that's why I'm the only mare for the job."
"Wise words indeed," said the serpentine creature with a chuckle, stroking his mustache. "Well, whatever you're looking for," his eyes twinkled as a toothy grin formed on his face, "I hope you find it in time."
