Land of the Rising Suns

FEBRUARY 2, 1025 A. N. M.

OVER THE WESTERN COAST OF EQUESTRIA

2:03PM

Sharp Quill was ecstatic, if a bit anxious. He, just a few years ago a lowly secretary to a low-status noblepony, was going to help convert one of Equestria's most ancient enemies! Every unicorn he'd met said he'd never make it, that he was just a featherbrain with his head in the clouds. He'd show them, when he came right back with a brand-spanking new pony in tow!

Growing up, he'd always read the old tales of the wily, violent humans. How they'd rampaged across any land they came across, before the Princess' forefather's hunted them down (he lowered his eyes in respect at the mention of his monarch). Most ponies then had loved them for it, but the Princess had thought the blood spilt a stain on her own. When they'd found out humans still existed in some far-off world, she'd worked as hard as she could to cleanse their bloody ways in one opposite to them. And that's why he was here, to deliver the first humans from their dastardly ways.

They'd insisted that he'd be under guard, which he didn't quite support. How could one bring peace if they met violence with violence? But, true to bureaucracy, they wouldn't hear his reasonings. Still, seeing the large, iron-pike wielding stallions gave him some confidence. One should always be able to argue from a position of power, if necessary, he tried to tell himself.

His muzzle scrunched up at some odd, burning smell. It reminded him a bit of a campfire, but much more foul smelling. Looking around, it seems his entourage, 3 discounting himself and an attached linguist mare, had noticed it too.

"Do you think there's a settlement nearby?", he yelled over the rushing wind.

"No, we're not close enough to any land. Could be a steam ship, maybe", the officer stated.

Equestria had steam engines, at least ones big enough to move anything besides themselves, for just a few decades. It did seem probable that humans could make them, too, but how they could do much without magic discounted that possibility. One of the guards called out, pointing, and he saw something very odd.

Contrails.

"Do you think there's an airship nearby?", the young mare beside him asked.

"How could a monkey ever figure out how to fly? Get some sense, it's probably just some weather phenomenon. We're on another planet, if you somehow forgot!"

The guard was right, he had to admit. The old stories never mentioned them flying or controlling weather, beyond using slaves, and the few skeletons locked away in universities didn't have wings on them. Nevertheless, the guards diverted, following it. Perhaps it could mean land was nearby, or more likely was better than just randomly flying around all day. Not every Pegasus was a meteorologist, despite what everypony else liked to think.

They continued on, a few minutes passing with not much said. As he spotted a few blips jumping up from the water, he was glad for his wings. He certainly didn't want to find out what these oceans held. His father had worked for some time on a fishing vessel, and was in fact working on the colonization fleet. His memories of pulling up the occasional deep sea oddity with him flashed in his mind, trying to warp into something to scare him.

"You notice that droning noise, Sharp?", the mare asked

Droning noise? Actually, now that she mentioned it, he could hear a quiet sort of churning above the sound of the wind. A bit like a cotton gin, if he had to place it.

"Yeah, kinda. Might be-"

"Look alive! There's something up ahead!"

His eyes swiveled in their sockets, until he composed himself enough to follow where the guard's pike was pointing. Off in the distance, through a bit of cloud, something large flew, at least the size of a small house. He almost wet himself, and it was only by the grace of it appearing so suddenly that he did not. The burning smell got stronger, and he remembered the old stories his parents would tell him as a foal of when Equestria was at the mercy of the dragon hordes.

"C-Captain, what should we do?", he choked out to the silver-armored stallion.

"Stay high and where the clouds are thick, it might just be a dumb animal. Stay here, scatter and fly back east if it doesn't work out."

"Doesn't work out", he mumbled, feeling it's oddness. Nevertheless, he obeyed, grabbing the startled mare and taking her up into a relatively thick cloud. His father might've been proud at how he handled her, but he was in no mood to embarrass himself over breaking his bookish attitudes.

If she had any complaints, she didn't voice them as they collapsed on the cloud, trying their hardest to hide their breath. What need there was for it at this distance, he couldn't find. He watched the guard's twinkle off farther, their armor shining like dying stars. He said a silent prayer to the past Monarchs, watching agonizingly as they approached the odd, flying thing.

It didn't seem to do much for a few moments, before it shifted somewhat. The captain readied a spear, before the beast pitched down into a spiral turn.

"What's it doing?! They're gonna get hurt!", she cried.

The guard who had raised his spear fell, coat stained red. A popping noise reached his ears, and the creature dived off, too fast for most Pegasi to follow. He couldn't believe his eyes, but he knew it was true. In just a few seconds, it knocked a veteran guard out of the air, before running off at speeds the Wonderbolts would find painful. Even a dragon couldn't just kill a pony like that!

He felt himself grabbing onto the mare beside him, and he was unsure who's sake he was holding her for. The guards had scattered almost as soon as it happened, but too late for their commander. He might've still been alive afterward, but from this height...

"Quill, Tulip, are you injured?"

He heard the cloud next to him splash like a puddle, the guard trying his best to keep his composure. Tulip (he thought it odd he hadn't asked her name yet) wiggled out from under him, standing shakily.

"I-it killed him! It ju-just threw him down, like it was nothing!"

The guard seemed ready to smack her, with how obvious her statement was. Quill decided to speak up, deciding he didn't want her to be stallionhandled again.

"We're fine. Physically, at least. I-is he alright? Can we-"

The guard breathed in, his frame shaking somewhat as he released it.

"No, whatever that thing slung, it went through his head. The mission remains the same, we'll go the same direction and attempt contact."

Quill nodded, nudging Tulip to do the same. The other guard joined them soon after, and they silently took to the air once more.

What even was that thing? Do humans fear it, hunt it down for their carnivorous desires? It didn't even look like magic, just some mechanical noise and a burst of crackling, like a tree burning. No wonder humans were so tricky and violent, he thought. Anything would have to be to live in the same world as creatures like that!

All of them had their heads on a swivel, one of the guards having sheepishly taken out a pair of binoculars. They all probably wondered what might've happened if he'd just taken the few seconds necessary to study that beast before taking it on. It didn't matter now, at least.

"H-humans are violent, right? How do we know they just don't kill us like that thing did?", Tulip squeaked out, breaking the silence.

"Once we explain we're here to help them, they'll give in. If they live with those things, they'll be begging to get out of here. Just wave something white before we get up real close, they'll probably get the message", a guard said.

If only they had that much sense a few minutes ago. Both the guards dug out some of the white silk that stuffed their saddlebags, keeping their potions safe, holding it in their hooves.

Like before, he began to take in a burning stench, only that this was much more familiar. He quickly dashed to a cloud, practically bathing in it's moisture. Even if he looked cowardly, he didn't want to take chances.

"It's a ship! Coming from the west, look at that thing!"

Looking down, it was indeed a ship, and a large one at that. A giant smokestack stood on it's top, spewing smoke like a train. He couldn't spot a single sail, tied up or otherwise. Nothing on it could pass for a proper mast. Yet it weaved it's way back and forth, like it was a yacht. The guard with the binoculars smiled, nudging his comrade.

"They're down there, humans! Real, living humans!"

He flew over to the cloud they were on, wrestling away the binoculars to look for himself. Indeed, all over the deck, he could spy little bipedal figures busying themselves with whatever work humans needed to do. They mainly clustered themselves around the bow and stern, doing who knows what. Tulip had loosed up a bit, at least a bit more enthusiastic than she was moments ago.

"How're we going to manage this? Should we just fly over them, see how they react?"

The guard shook his head, trying to think.

"No, if we buzzed them, they'd take us to be hostile. Plus, I don't want to take a chance with a lucky arrow. Let's just get about a few hooves above the waves, close enough to get their attention. If they don't throw shit at us, we're good"

He chuckled a bit at his own joke, tying his silk sheet to his spearhead. It was really just this simple, then? Not to say earlier was anything close, it instead made him expect something far more treacherous. They'd just fly down, have who captained this ship bring it to the barrier, then purify them all? It almost seemed ludicrous, but here he was.

"We'll go first, you two stay behind us. Just follow our lead"

FEBRUARY 2, 1937

NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN

2:32PM

ABOARD THE FOOD SUPPLY SHIP MAMIYA MARU

"Hitori, evasive maneuvers. Are the guns up?"

"Hai, both the deck guns and machine guns are ready. Any men not needed are waiting with a rifle"

How much a 6.5mm round from a bolt action rifle would do to a plane, he didn't know. They were trained for this, at least. The ship turned even harder, but he was used to it by now. He could only wait, as before, as always. They couldn't even get anything with firepower that wasn't a joke to escort them. "Too far away, Hoshino-sama, very sorry", they all said.

Looking out the bridge's windows, he scanned the deck. Machine guns (annoyingly also given the same designations as the deck guns - Type 3's) were positioned along the ship's sides, and multitudes of men took what cover they could, if any, scanning the skies. Then, suddenly, they appeared.

For a moment, he felt death, he felt hundreds of hand hug triggers. Then nothing. The aircraft didn't move, just floating in midair. There came no droning, nor the hail of machine gun fire.

"Hitori, am I having a stroke, or are those planes hovering?"

He got no response, and looked over to see his assistant looking awestruck through his binoculars.

"Hitori!"

"S-sir, those aren't aircraft. Th-they're-"

"Senrima"

Senrima was the only thing that came to mind. The swift, winged horse of a thousand li. And here they stood, or rather hovered, in front of his ship. He should've questioned his senses, but Hitori had snuffed that avenue out before it started. Why had they chosen to visit him, of all people? Why are they even real? They just stayed there, white silk flowing from their spears like fire.

Why would they have spears? Better yet, why spears and no rider? The men on deck certainly saw them, too, as they held their fire. Looks of astonishment shook their features, and they only noises he could hear were the rumblings of the boilers and engine.

"Hitori, tell the men to hold fire"

"Hold fire, do not fire unless...attacked"

What could he even do against them? What did they desire? Food, maybe, but why visit a dirty, rusting ship in the middle of the ocean? As he asked himself questions which he never thought he'd ask himself, they began to move forward.

Grabbing Hitori by the arm, he made his way from the bridge down to the deck, pushing aside some of the stunned men. He noticed Hitori unlatching his Nambu's holster, and he did the same.

"Keep yourselves together! Snap out of it!", he yelled.

He was filled with an odd sort of happiness and dread. After all, such creatures would never visit mere men if they hadn't had something planned for them. Now that he could keep his eyes on them, they looked remarkably colorful. Shades of bright yellows, greens, and almost every other joyful color he could think of adorned their coats. They were sleek, yet strong, like a cavalryman's ride, adorned in shining gold.

They touched down by the bow gun, with eyes that shined bigger and brighter than any animal he'd seen before. One gunner bowed, and the two unadorned ones hesitantly returned it. Perhaps they were worried about the reception? As they walked further onto the deck, they became surrounded, the men not able to choose between listening to their curiosity or fear. Hoshino approached, hand near his now opened holster.

Bowing respectfully with Hitori, he introduced himself.

"I am Captain Hoshino Masatsugu of the Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire, and this is my vessel, His Imperial Japanese Majesty's Ship Mamiya, and this is my Kaigun-chūsa, Hitori Tada. It is an honor for us all to have you among us. Please, I will fulfill any requests you may have, to the best of my ability"

What came forth from their mouths was not what he had expected. A language of seemingly random noises, which bounced back upon one another. It seemed ugly, not having any rhyme or reason to it's structure, nor the elegance of Japanese. It was-

Oh, it's just English. Hitori knew it, and translated both their greetings.

"They say they come from a land called Horseia, ruled by an Empress. They come bearing gifts, if I understand their wording correctly"

"Gifts, from senrima? Are they not gifts themselves?"

Why would a horse, winged or no, exchange gifts? Would it not just want to be cared for, and would not their gift be their bodies, to be ridden?

Hitori questioned them, but it seemed he had some trouble understanding. They went back and forth, before one of the spear-bearing ones produced a bottle from his side, a viscous purple liquid inside. They pointed to it, and to themselves, as they spoke.

"Eeeto, er, Captain?"

"Hai?"

"If I understand them right, they're saying something about men being impure, and that that liquid the armored one holding fixing it, somehow"

Impure men, he knew firsthand. But that was to be fixed by meditation, and renouncing worldly pleasures. No sort of drink could cure it, despite what sake makers said. How was this to cleanse anything?

"Ask them how it cleanses men, then we'll see"

Spirits could be tricky, and not always have your best interests at hand. Or hoof, in their case. Hitori seemed flushed, as if he had heard his own son had just died in combat. His hand wrapped around his Nambu, unholstering it.

"They say it will make us senrima, sir, but they keep using an English word for horses, not senrima"

"What?", is all he could manage to respond with.

"Ponies, it's what Westerners call kouma. Little horses"

They want us to become them, kouma? To lose the perfect forms of the Japanese race, for their own? They all seemed a lot less beautiful now, much less angelic.

"Hitori, respectfully tell them we decline, but that they are welcome to share in our food and rest for the time being"

Hitori began to translate again, but was interrupted the one holding the purple fluid uncorking it, cocking his foreleg back. With a movement that would've made Musashi envious, Hitori shot it point blank, jumping back as he did so. Before he could order them to stop, holes filled the other spear-armed kouma. The other two, whinnying in fright, tried to fly off. Rifle butts ended that, quick enough.

"D-don't touch that damn purple stuff! Don't kill them!"

Callused hands ripped at their wings, and they screamed in some uncomfortable, animalistic wail as brains dripped down their bodies. The purple liquid oozed around the bodies, and he knew he was lucky that no one had been caught by it.

What has happened? What is this? No man should have to deal with this! He watched as the men skirted around the forming pool, as he stood there, pistol in hand. Had he fired the shot that killed it? No, the safety was on, wasn't it? Had they just killed a mythical creature?

Of course they had, he could even smell it! He-

Hitori put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him a little.

"Sir, your orders?"

He tried to make a sound, but none came. He could not will himself to move, to live in a world where this was real.

This was going to be long, he knew it.