*A distant country*

*It doth make my mind wonder*

*Gaia's New Japan*

Chapter 12 – The Professor's Report

=Canterlot Throne Room, 2:00 AM=

(Celestia's PoV)

Celestia stared out at the moon through a window, awaiting the arrival of the only other Time Lord she could ask at this time.

Much earlier that day she and her subjects were all returned to where they were by the Sengoku Shogun Alicorn, by whatever magic he used. In his own words he said "I shall now return those who were not standing here, back to where they came from, exactly where I pulled them."

So he did, Celestia and Luna were returned to the palace throne room, exactly where and even when they were just before they were taken by that light. Sparkler and her mother Ditzy were returned to the Whooves' family home. Rainbow Dash was returned in mid-air above Ponyville, resulting in her nearly crashing into the ground had it not been for her flying skills and experience. Applejack was returned outside her home, with her family none the wiser to her ever leaving. Finally Hanayo was sent back to the palace grounds, to await Aketoki's return, as per the duel's agreement.

Hours later Aketoki returned, and after a brief and cheerful reunion , presented themselves to the Princesses to decide their future. By Samurai Law, he was considered a Ronin, a 'masterless samurai', and as such he was about as low on the society pole as a pony could be. However now that he and Hanayo were married and without a dowry inheritance or any land to call their own, this left Aketoki with the problem of how to take care of his Clan. He had to provide somehow a means to live for them both, it was his duty, but he only had a few skills that none of which were suited or acknowledged by her kingdom.

*Flashback*

"What are your plans now Aketoki Nimaji?" Celestia asked the Sengoku pony as he and his wife sat before her and Luna.

"We don't know what to do with ourselves now that we are finally free." Aketoki said worriedly. "We cannot go home… not without suffering her family's and the Ninman's wrath. We have nowhere else to live… so we honestly don't know what to do with ourselves Princess."

The Doctor was still acting as their translator until they decided on their course of action, which gave Celestia a chance to satisfy her curiosity about Samurai Culture. While she did not enjoy watching a pony kill himself willingly with his own blade, or enjoy the visions of Aketoki's family massacred before her eyes, something about their strange sense of Honor, ties to their friends and family, to the point that they would risk their even lives, struck something deep inside her. She thought she had known the true meaning of sacrifice, of friendship, and even loyalty, but these Samurai changed all of her perceptions of that.

There was just something about them, their strange code of honor, and how they will throw away everything to keep a vow they made to an old friend that touched her. When Aketoki offered himself to her mercy for merely 'threatening' her sister and injuring their guards, that was when she knew something was different about them as a whole. When she met Hanayo and saw how she was willing to do whatever it took to find and save Aketoki, or at the least suffer the same fate as him, that too touched something deep inside her. There was just something about these Sengoku Ponies that she just had to keep learning about.

"Tell us then, if you were among that which you called a 'Daimyo', what would you do in this situation?" Luna asked.

"If we were before a Daimyo, my husband and I would present ourselves as we have before you, and offer his services in return for a payment." Hanayo said respectfully. "We would make a payment for a small house, and eventually build up our Clan as we would if we were back in Takasaki."

"So is that what you are doing here still?" Celestia asked curiously. "You are asking us to hire you for your skills?"

Aketoki nodded as he presented his swords to Celestia and Luna, pushing them closer and bowing deeply. "Yes Princess, I have no other means to raise my new family." Aketoki said. "I ask you to hire me, I will fight whatever battles you ask me to, I will guard whatever convoy you would have me do, and if you require proof of my loyalty to you, you need only make the request and I shall perform Seppuku."

Celestia thought about this request, but after a quick word with The Doctor, gave Aketoki her response. "I'm afraid we have no use for a Samurai, even one of your skills." She said, and Aketoki became very worried as The Doctor translated. "There aren't any real 'Convoy's' that need protecting, there aren't any battles that you are familiar with, and I have no real need of a warrior. Since there are… certain individuals in my Kingdom… my kingdom is one of true peace and has been for a thousand plus years."

*Flashback Ends*

-Why ask to serve as a warrior under me… why do they keep asking to serve?- She thought as she finished recalling that scene. –He's so strong and so skilled that he can live anywhere in my kingdom… yet he's asking me to let him serve under me? If only I could do that… but alas I can't hire him for what he is good at.-

Since there were no wars, and she already had an effective police force in the form of her palace guards, and with crime rate being at its lowest across her kingdom, she had no 'real' use for a warrior of Aketoki's capabilities.

She tried to find a use for him, one that didn't involve his warrior capabilities, yet he didn't have any other skills besides the ways of the warrior. Despite all of his willingness to serve, his skills were very lacking outside of writing in a dialect that none of her subjects speak. Hanayo offered to serve as something called a 'Geisha', but Aketoki forbade her the instant she suggested it.

Finally, The Doctor suggested that she hire Aketoki as an instructor to teach her guards martial arts. When she suggested the idea, Aketoki instantly agreed, saying he would gladly offer his services as a Martial Artist instructor. As for where the two would live, The Doctor offered to provide a schematic and list of suggested building materials so that they could build a home more suited to their culture somewhere in the outer district of the city. Until then they would have to live and work in the palace, Hanayo as well because she demanded to share in the work her husband was being asked to perform. Or at the very least take a job as a 'cleaning' maid, like one of her servants.

Aketoki would have forbidden it, had she not given him a glare that even made The Doctor take a tiny step backward.

-Note to self, do not make a Sengoku mare angry.- She thought. –If she can make even The Doctor nervous with just a look, I'd better watch my step around her. If the males are that dangerous, she must be even more dangerous!-

She watched the moon for a few more minutes before she turned to look into the silver eyes of the white Alicorn sharing the space next to her. Despite the fact that he was holding his fan in front of him, gently waving it as though he were fanning himself, she could see deep into his silver eyes. He still wore the armor that he had appeared before them in, but only reappeared before her again just a few hours ago.

*Flashback begins*

"Now that the dual is over… I shall return you all back to where you were before I intervened." The Shogun Pony said as he unfurled his fan and started waving it again. "To the Sun and Moon Princesses, rulers of this kingdom Equestria, I shall appear once more before thee, when the silver disk rises once more into the sky. Until then I leave you all with these final words. I shall now return those who were not standing here, back to where they came from, exactly where I pulled them."

*Flashback ends*

-So what is he doing here… why did he choose to come back?- She thought. –He said so himself, he was only here to observe the dual between Aketoki and Hogeki. So what is he doing here?-

A few minutes of silent waiting and Luna entered the throne room, nervously giving her a nod so she could talk to her. Celestia nodded and left the Sengoku Alicorn by the window, who apparently didn't mind or didn't notice her leaving.

Once they were away from him they spoke quietly to avoid being overheard by him. "Sister, how much longer is he going to remain here?" Luna asked as she eyed the Sengoku Alicorn next to the window. "Not that we mind… but what is he doing here and why is he here to begin with? Aketoki and Hanayo are downstairs in the dungeon still, so why is he up here with us?"

"I don't know Luna, but we only have to wait for a little while longer for The Professor to show up." She said.

"How dost thou know she will be here tonight?" Luna asked. "You sent that letter by express mail yes, but it will take the postal service at least two weeks before it will reach the Crystal Empire! Why didn't you ask The Doctor to help us contact The Pofessor, or better yet, ask him to help us with whatever The Professor would do?"

Celestia shook her head. "We've asked The Doctor for enough help, you remember how he reacted when we wanted him to translate." She said. "We've been relying on him for so much, and we've relied on him for too much. We're so worried about dealing with situations ourselves that we call upon him to do everything for us! Look at how we reacted when we couldn't even speak to a single pony? Besides, he has a life that he wants to live, who are we to…"

Vrooop, Vwrooop, Vwroooooooop…. Clunk

In the middle of the throne room an enormous yellow bus appeared to phase in and out of existence. The bus finally finished phasing into existence, and the front door opened up to reveal a chestnut colored mare with a ginger mane and hourglass cutie mark standing there. She walked out, pulling a cart of strange instruments atop it, and looking around at them with an irritable expression on her face.

"I hope this is as important as you said it was you two!" She said, walking over and not bothering to slow her pace to keep the clattering noise of her cart in check. "Do you have any idea how long I'm going to have to sit here in this time period? Two whole weeks before I can go back to work, and not to mention a whole year before my Tardis can time travel again!"

"Forgive us Professor, but we…" Luna started saying, but was silenced as the Professor started on her now.

"Really, I was finally getting used to living among ponies in the Crystal Empire, it's a real nice place and I'm actually being paid well!" She said, off in her own world as she started taking stuff off the cart and turning them on without noticing. "Then I was tutoring a class about quantum physics and showing them how to use their magic to transfigure steel into wood and vice versa, then your little letter shows up, and I have to cancel my class, check time lines, remember memories, double check calculations, prepare these devices, and …"

"Professor, can you please just…" Celestia started saying, but again was silenced by the unhappy Time Lord's ranting.

"Yes yes I know full well what you need, so where's the patient, the big fancy 'Sengoku Pony' you mentioned?" She asked.

"You were asking for me?" The Shogun Pony asked from the window, turning to smile gently at The Professor.

This stunned The Professor the moment she looked at him, and suddenly she went from ranting to being very interested in what she was doing. "Oh my… now that's something you do not see every day…"

She took one of the small devices she brought with her and scanned the Shogun, then did something that only she comprehended, and finally pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on so she could read some very small text on a book she had also brought.

"So you say you're from Japan?" She asked the Shogun.

"That I am." He said.

"You also say you are Gaian?"

"You are correct."

"And you traveled from the… future correct?"

"That is also true."

"Okay…"

The Professor took that information, wrote some notes, did some more calculations and pulled out a map and started drawing something that she was seeing on one of her instruments. All the while Celestia and Luna eyed him with curiosity. He seemed unaffected by the interrogation, didn't mind answering her questions, and even seemed unconcerned by the odd questions The Professor was proposing to him. In fact he looked as though he knew what she would ask, before she even asked it.

-It's as though he knew this would happen.- Celestia thought.

Finally after ten minutes The Professor finished whatever she was doing and declared her work done.

"In that case, I shall once more, take my leave of this time and place, for the last time." The Shogun said calmly as he took his fan, furled it and smacked it on the floor, summoning the doors he used to appear the first time. "Until we meet once more, Sun and Moon Princesses of Equestria."

The doors opened and he walked through, and when the light faded the doors closed behind him, fading like everything else the Shogun did. A few seconds later The Professor pulled that map she was working on and walked over to Celestia and Luna. "So… thoughts, comments, and any revelations you feel like sharing?"

"He's… different…" Celestia said.

"Very weird…" Luna said.

"Well if you two aren't going after him then I will." The Professor said with a chuckle.

"Professor!" Celestia stuttered.

"I'm just saying, he's an Alicorn, you're both Alicorns, it doesn't take a genius to connect the lines." The Professor said with a smirk. "Come on, he's not a bad looker and he's got those siiiiilver eyes… not to mention he's sooo my type… and he's such a gentlepony the way he leaves a room…"

"Professor please, just tell us what we need to know!" Luna said, though there was a blush on her cheeks.

"Alright alright." The Professor said, still smiling as she unfurled the map and laid it out before them on her cart. "After I scanned the Shogun I tuned my instruments to scan for additional signals similar to his. I discovered three separate signals across Equestria all appearing roughly the same time around three to four weeks ago. If this is true than this means these signals are Aketoki, Hogeki and his ninja, and Hanayo's individual magic time signatures."

"That does coincide with their stories of looking and wandering for three weeks across my kingdom." Celestia said.

"Yes well continuing, here's a map of Equestria and the marks you see are where the three landed three to four weeks ago." The Professor said, unfurling the map even more. "Now… look at this."

They both looked at the map and saw a very large outline to the west of Equestria, far away from any of the outposts of their kingdom. It looked like a kingdom that was nearly three times the size in terms of height as Equestria was. The kingdom though was divided into four separate islands very close together, with one very large island surrounded by the three smaller ones.

"What's that?" Luna asked.

The Professor looked nervous as she pulled another map with a similar image to the kingdom she had drawn. "It's an entire country." She said. "Whatever this force was that transported Aketoki, Hogeki and his ninja, and Hanayo from where they came from is beyond anything my instruments can detect. I found abnormalities and sudden shifts in your planet's crust and atmosphere three to four weeks ago, coinciding with the appearance of those ponies. Yet I couldn't trace or detect the source, it was as though I were being blocked. Now I understand my Tardis is an older model, but still, in its day there weren't many species capable of blocking my Tardis' scans. But that doesn't matter now, you have a really big problem on your ha… er… hooves."

"What problem?" Celestia asked.

"If my guess is right, and the shape is definitely accurate, along with the scan I took of that Shogun Alicorn moments ago." The Professor said. "I believe that country is their home country of Japan, the entire country was taken and… for lack of better terms… dropped right here on Gaia."

"How can an entire country just appear out of nowhere, that's impossible isn't it?" Luna asked.

"Really, magical unicorns, things appearing out of thin air, and even Time Lords… and you still ask that question?" The Professor muttered with a roll of her eyes. "I don't understand how it happened, or what occurred to make it happen, all I know is this. Somehow your planet's surface and atmosphere and everything else were adjusted over a month ago to allow this country to fit perfectly. But that's not the worst of it, you both are familiar by now with Aketoki's and Hanayo's abilities as warriors correct?"

Celestia and Luna nodded as they recalled what Aketoki could do, and from her own descriptions, what Hanayo could do.

"Well… they are from the nation of Japan… the very same Japan that has now taken its place upon your planet's soil." The Professor said. "So in other words… eighteen million ponies just landed on your planet in as little as four weeks."

"Eighteen Million?" Luna asked. "That… that's…"

"What does this mean Professor?" Celestia asked.

The Professor took her glasses off, and handed the map to Celestia to hold before she answered. "It means that roughly an entire culture is on your kingdom's doorstep." She said. "I don't need to tell you that where they were from, a war was happening, it was called the Sengoku Jidai period. The age of the country at war, the entire country is currently at war… and there are a lot more Samurai than you've seen in the last few days, a lot more than you'll ever see. A single army at one point numbered a hundred thousand strong, with maybe fifty thousand Samurai."

Celestia became very worried at these words, imagining an army comprised of Aketokis, Hogekis, and even Hanayos. "Would they attack us?" She asked nervously.

The Professor gave a sad, humorless smile. "If they learn of your weakness, and how much land and loot there is to be plundered from you, I'm sure one or two Daimyo will consider the thought." She said. "The only thing keeping you safe for now is that the Japan that was transported also came complete with a large body of deep water surrounding it. So it's technically isolated and unreachable by land. However that won't stay the same forever, and you know these Samurai can use magic, limited yes but still they can use it. Not to mention according to my instruments, they are immune to its effects."

Celestia and Luna nodded in agreement. "They make formidable foes… skilled warriors… willing to die without hesitation… highly disciplined… and they can use magic and are immune to it." Celestia said. "Just one of them was able to badly wound nearly thirty of our guards. Four of them infiltrated our palace and almost assassinated my sister. One of them killed two of those assassins. Without The Doctor… we wouldn't stand a chance against them."

The Professor nodded. "I won't tell you what to do or should do, but you can't allow these Sengoku Ponies to attack you." She said. "If they decide to declare war on you, I doubt even The Doctor will turn them away."

"He would turn them away if they knew of him… but I won't dare use his name in such a way." Celestia said. "He's a living subject of mine; I won't ever use him or his name as though they were a weapon. I'll just have to find a way to avoid a war with these Sengoku Ponies."

"What are you thinking sister?" Luna asked.

"Professor… will these Sengoku Ponies talk to us… if we were to talk to them?"

The Professor thought carefully as she was asked the question. "Well you'll need to first speak their language; there's no way you can do that within a few days, even with technology's help." She said. "I could whip up something to translate for you within a few weeks, and yes they can respond to diplomacy but it all depends on the Daimyo you encounter. Since I have no idea how this arrival to their new world has affected them, you may need to go in blind…"

"Sister are thou thinking what we think you're thinking?" Luna asked.

Celestia nodded as she yelled for her guards to appear. "Captain in the morning, begin making preparations for a convoy to head out West of Equestria." She said. "Start procuring provisions and arranging transports for the convoy, enough supplies to last for several months. Also start creating a list of guards to join the convoy, especially those with multiple talents suited for an extended journey into an unknown territory."

"Yes your majesty!" The guard said respectfully.

Celestia nodded and turned to head upstairs so she could get some rest before she brought the sun up once again. –I need to talk to these Sengoku Ponies before they decide to attack us for no reason.- She thought quickly. –I'm going to do this myself, The Doctor's helped me enough times, it's time I saved my subjects myself.-

"I'm going to this Japan myself." She said to her sister.

=To Be Continued in, Doctor Whoves: The Sengoku Ponies Pt 2=