19Aya and Rainbow Dash landed in front of the shrine, on a wide yard that was framed by tall trees on both sides. A young earth pony mare was standing in front of the gate, sweeping away some leaves that were lying on the ground with a broom. Attached to her green mane were some hair ornaments that looked like a snake and a frog's head. She was softly humming to herself as she did her work, but she looked up when the two winged ponies approached her.
"Hello, Aya," she smiled. "What brings you to the Moriya Shrine today?"
"Hey Sanae, I'd like to introduce you to my newest friend, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, this is Sanae Kochiya, wind priestess of the shrine," the tengu made the introductions.
"Nice to meetcha," Rainbow said. "This is an awesome place you've got here, Miss Kochiya."
Sanae smiled. "Why, thank you. It is a sight, isn't it? Much bigger than the Hakurei Shrine, I might add. We are quite poud of it. And please, call me Sanae… everypony does."
"All right, Sanae," Rainbow Dash nodded. "Say, have you seen my friends? I've been looking for them ever since I got here."
"From what I've heard, Rainbow is not from Gensokyo," Aya explained. "Can you believe my luck? An interview with a pony from an outside world!" The reporter grinned with glee.
"Not from Gensokyo?" Sanae asked curiously as she put away the broom. "How interesting… I'm not from Gensokyo either, you know? I'm from the Outside World."
"So… you're from Equestria too?" Rainbow Dash asked. "But that's great! Maybe you can tell me how to get back home…"
"Equestria?" Sanae frowned. She shook her head. "No, I can't say I've heard that name before. But first things first… you said you're looking for your friends? Can you tell me what they look like? The shrine didn't have a lot of visitors today, so I think I'll be able to remember if they've been here."
So Rainbow gave the shrine filly an exact description of her five friends, down to their cutie marks. But in the end, Sanae had to shake her head again. "I don't think I've seen any of these ponies before. I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow sighed. "Oh well… thanks anyways. Dangit, I wish I had a clue so I knew how I should start searching…"
Sanae looked like she was thinking about something for a moment, then she said: "If you want, I could ask my patron goddess for advice. She's more powerful than any of us… if anypony knows where your friends are, it's her."
"Really?" Rainbow asked hopefully. "Wow, that sounds great… is she anything like Princess Celestia?"
"Who's that?" Aya wondered.
"Oh, nevermind… but yeah, please ask her. Is she here at the shrine?"
"Of course, this is where she lives," Sanae nodded. "The Moriya Shrine is the center of faith for her… just like it was for the goddess who this shrine was dedicated for originally."
"Originally?" Rainbow asked. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's a long story… basically, Lady Kanako Yasaka defeated the former goddess of the shrine, Lady Suwako, in fair battle and took over. However, she was benevolent enough to allow Suwako to stay at the shrine."
"Wow… cool story. Wait a minute… that means you're sharing your home with two goddesses?" Rainbow gasped.
"Why not?" Sanae smiled with a shrug. "After all, one of them is my ancestor." She then turned around. "Please follow me inside. I will see if Lady Yasaka will grant you an audience. As long as she doesn't decide to welcome you with one of her spellcards, you should be fine."
Rainbow Dash was so baffled by Sanae's explanations that she was at a loss of words, for once. Then she realized what the shrine maiden had just told her. "Wait a minute…" she muttered. "What do you mean, spellcards?"
"Young mare, this has gone on far long enough… I ask you one last time, politely… stop this nonsense and let me talk to you like any rational, adult pony would do."
"NO!" Utsuho shouted charging up power for another miniature nuclear-powered star. "NUCLEAR POWER WINS!"
Celestia sighed. She flapped her wings once, slowly descended and landed on the thin metallic catwalk that was spanning over the reactor deep below them. "If this is your decision… I won't move. Give me your best shot!"
The nuclear pony grinned. "I win!" she declared and fired the miniature sun at the seemingly defendless princess.
Celestia's entire body, horn and wings included, were engulfed by the flaring explosion when Utsuho's projectile hit the catwalk. For several seconds, there was nothing below Utsuho but a raging inferno.
But then the flames parted… and there stood Celestia, completely unharmed. Using her magic, she parted the flames like it was second nature to her. There was not a single burn or even scratch anywhere on her body. She also didn't look the slightest angry or annoyed at the younger pony… maybe a little bit disappointed.
"Someone who is in charge of a reactor like this should know that the sun is nothing but a natural nuclear reactor… and since I am the power that controls the sun of Equestria, your little imitations never really were any danger to me. I was, however, worried about your well-being. You are obviously not a very intelligent pony - no offense, please! And I do not know if your body is actually able to endure as much heat as my own… and I'm definitely not going to find out by risking your life."
Utsuho didn't believe her eyes. She was completely taken by surprise that there was a being who was able to resist her nuclear powers… On top of that, she wanted to prove that nuclear-powered reactors were the best way to gather energy. But… then the white alicorn started to spout some things her befuddled little birdbrain did not understand. And now she felt like crying. Miserably, she sunk down on the catwalk in front of Celestia and lowered her head.
Celestia walked up to her and gently touched her shoulder. "Now now, no need to sulk, young one… I don't blame you for not knowing better. You shouldn't have been put in this situation in the first place. Now be a dear and tell me who put you in charge of this place."
"It… it was…" Utsuho stuttered.
"OKUU!" a surprised voice gasped. Celestia looked up to see that another creature had entered the reactor chamber. It wasn't a pony, though… it was a small black cat with two tails and red headfur. As old and wise as she was, Celestia instantly recognized her species.
"A kasha… I haven't seen one of these for several eons. Greetings, little one," she smiled.
"Y-you get away from my friend!" the cat shouted. She floated up into the air, surrounded by a multitude of spirit flames. "Whoever you are!"
"Relax, I am not going to hurt her. I merely stopped her from endangering herself. I am Princess Celestia… what is your name?"
Seeing that the alicorn didn't pose a threat, the kasha relaxed and floated back down. "I am Rin… this is my friend Utsuho, but we always call her Okuu."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Celestia nodded. "Perhaps you can answer me a couple of questions. Obviously, this is Gensokyo… but can you tell me where exactly we are? And who is in charge of this place?"
"This is the Hell of Blazing Fires in the Underworld, of course," Rin explained. "It's directly beneath the Palace of the Earth Spirits, where our mistress Satori lives."
"Interesting… can you take me to your mistress, then?"
"Um, sure, I can do that. Okuu… you take care of heat regulation until I'm back, okay?"
"Actually, I wish for her to accompany us," Celestia said. "Some of the things I have to tell your mistress concern this young mare here."
"Looks like there's something ahead… a big house…" Fluttershy said.
"A house in the forest? Just like Zecora's?" Pinkie asked curiously. "Oooooh, does that mean there's someone living in this forest too, brewing up potions and chanting weird stuff?"
"I don't think so, Pinkie," Fluttershy said in her quiet voice. "This house looks much, MUCH bigger than Zecora's hut… oh my… I think the only building I've seen before that's this big is Canterlot castle."
Cirno looked past her. "Oh, that's the Scarlet Devil Mansion," she told her new friends. "That's where the vampires live."
"V-v-vampires?" Fluttershy stuttered.
"Oooh, Vampires," Pinkie giggled. "I've always wanted to meet some vampires and throw them a party!" She then tilted her head and asked: "Ummm… what's a vampire?"
"Oh, they're those ponies with bat wings that live in the night, prey on other ponies and suck out their blood," Rumia said. For some reason, she seemed to be quite excited about the whole issue. "Man, I'd love to be as scary as them…" she added enviously.
Fluttershy gulped. "M-maybe we should go somewhere else…"
"Aw, there's nothing to be afraid of," Cirno grinned. "For a vampire, Remilia's quite nice. And I'm good friends with the gatekeeper, too… Hey, let's ask if your friends were here." And she flew off, towards the big metal gate in front of the mansion grounds.
Next to the closed gate, an earth pony with a red coat was standing. Her mane was tied up in two braids that framed her face, and she had a small, green hat with a yellow star in the middle. She was leaning against the wall, had her eyes closed and snored softly.
Cirno flew directly in front of the pony's face. Then, she shouted on top of her lungs: "HEYA, CHINA!"
The mare gasped in surprise as she was startled out of her sleep. She stumbled against the gate, shook her head and looked up at the ice pony. "Oh… it's just you, Cirno," she sighed. She then gave her an angry frown. "And my name's not China! It's Meiling! Hong Meiling, got it memorized?"
Cirno giggled. "Oops, sorry about that, Meiling. I'll try to remember. Were you sleeping on the job again?"
"O… of course not!" Meiling snorted. "I was just… closing my eyes for a second." The mare straightened her hat and tried to look imposing. "So… what are you here for, anyway? Playing with Miss Flandre?"
"Oh no," Cirno replied, shaking her head. "I'm here with my new friends." She pointed back to where Fluttershy and Pinkie were standing.
Fluttershy tried making herself as small as possible. Pinkie on the other hoof grinned and waved at the gate guard, then she hopped over to her and said: "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie and this is my friend Fluttershy. We're from Ponyville, have you been there before? Well, I guess you weren't, because I've never seen you there before, and if I've never seen you before that means you couldn't have been there since I know everypony in Ponyville… which reminds me, we're looking for our friends. Have you seen our friends? Oh right, you probably don't know what they look like. Well, there's Rainbow Dash who's a pegasus pony and has a mane colored like a rainbow… that's probably why she has that name. And Applejack, she wears a cowboy hat and loves apples. And then there's Rarity who's white and has a purple mane and I should mention that she's a unicorn and…"
"A white unicorn?" Meiling blurted out, glad that she had a chance to interrupt Pinkie's stream of words. "I do believe that Lady Remilia has a guest like that… but she told everypony not to disturb her."
"She has?" Fluttershy asked, her voice filled with hope. "Oh, how wonderful! That means Rarity is here." She smiled, happy at the prospect of seeing her friend again. "Can we please go in and talk to her?"
"I'm sorry, but no!" Meiling shook her head. "The mistress made it very clear that no one is allowed to bother her at the moment. I can't let anyone into the mansion without the allowance of the head maid."
"You're getting an allowance?" Pinkie asked. "Well, I guess guarding that gate is a well-paid job… I also get some allowance from the Cakes, as I'm living with them and helping them out in the bakery…"
"B-but please… won't you make an exception, Miss Meiling?" Fluttershy pleaded.
'She remembered my name!' was the first thing going through the gatekeeper's head. Still, she stood firm and said: "It's still no! I can't… if Sakuya finds out I'm slacking off again…" She gulped, unconsciously rubbing her head with her hoof. "I don't wanna be knifed again…"
"Isn't… isn't there anything you can do?" Fluttershy asked, giving Meiling the biggest puppy-dog eyes she had ever seen on a pony. "Pleeeaaaaase?"
"You can challenge her to a Danmaku fight," Cirno suggested. "That's what Reimu does whenever she wants to come inside. Blast her with Danmaku and everything's all right. Sakuya can't even punish her, since she did her job."
"Being blasted by amulets and Yin-Yang balls still hurts," Meiling grumbled. "Oh well, I guess I can't come up with a better idea… So, how about it? Beat me, and you're free to go in." She jumped to her hind hooves, raising her front legs to assume a strange pose.
"What are you doing?" Pinkie asked curiously.
"It's a martial arts pose," Meiling said. "I'm the best martial artist in Gensokyo! Still think you got a chance?" She grinned.
"Sure, I'll do it," Pinkie smiled as she bounced in front of Meiling. "Sounds like fun."
"P-p-pinkie, wh-what are you doing?" Fluttershy stuttered. "Y-you can't shoot those bullets Trixie used against us… you're not even a unicorn!"
"So? She isn't one either," Pinkie replied. "And I mean, how hard can it be?"
"Very well then… prepare yourself!" Meiling shouted. She leapt at the pink pony with a flying kick, her right hindleg outstretched. And as she was flying trough the air, she left a trail of rainbow-colord energy bullets behind.
"Wheeeee!" Pinkie giggled as she jumped up to avoid the flying kick… higher than any other earth pony would be able to. "This is FUN!" She giggled and twisted her body in a weird and erratic way, to dodge the incoming bullets.
"You haven't seen anything yet," Meiling shouted as she landed on her feet. She twirled around to face Pinkie again and shouted: "RAINBOW SIGN: INTENSE RAINBOW FIST!"
"All right, now she's using one of her spellcards!" Cirno shouted from the sidelines. The filly then tilted her head. "But… what's a fist?"
The martial artist came dashing at Pinkie, using her forehooves to attack her with a flurry of strikes, faster than the pony eye could see. Pinkie gasped and swung her head left and right all the time dodging the hoof-strikes, even though her body stood still the whole time.
"Woooooo, you're making me dizzyyyyyy if you keep that up," she said.
"Stop moving and let me hit you," Meiling shouted in frustration.
"Nono, I can't let you do that," Pinkie smirked. "You think the readers would still read this story after one of the main characters gets beaten in the first real battle?"
"What is she talking about?" Rumia whispered to Fluttershy.
The pegasus shrugged with a smile. "Oh, she's just being Pinkie Pie. We don't always understand her, but after some time, you'll get used to it."
"Would you start fighting back already… or are you too afraid?" Meiling snorted while still trying to hit the pink blur.
"Why should I be afraid of you?" Pinkie smiled. Her head twisted in a manner that would have broken the neck of every other pony to evade a solid hoofblow from the martial arts mare. "You're a nice pony, aren't you? A bit aggressive, maybe… you should try and relax. You have a hobby? Maybe you could try baking cupcakes. Oh, that reminds me… I wanted to try this out…"
The party mare then jumped up into the air, and a bright, glowing, pink circle appeared behind her. "PINKIE SIGN: SUGARCUBE CUPCAKE STORM!"
Meiling gasped when suddenly, a storm of colorful bullets manifested all around her… each one in the shape of a small cupcake. The whole cloud of pastel pastry projectiles then came raining down on the hapless martial artist. Meiling dashed left and right, forwards and backwards to dodge them, but every time one of the bullets hit the floor, it splattered just like any real cupcake would… only that in this case, it split apart in a multitude of even smaller Danmaku projectiles. In the end, she was hit at least a dozen times by this single spellcard.
"Wh-what…?" she grumbled. "What kind of spellcard is this?"
"Cool, huh?" Pinkie grinned. "I came up with it by myself while we were walking through the forest."
"But Pinkie… how?" Fluttershy muttered. She was overwhelmed by the fact that her earth pony friend was capable of such feats. "How do you know how to do that?"
"Well, duh!" Pinkie said, pulling a small brochure out of nowhere. "I read the instruction booklet. Good thing I found the English version… I can't read Japanese."
