open Cultures Unite (1x1 with GeneralDirection)

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

The two friends search the town looking for Gotaro, thought Silver is of little help as he’s never seen this pony before. He spends most of his time checking out the village sights while Samurai goes around asking if anypony had seen Gotaro. Silver would eye the lumberjack services for a moment, being a carpenter and all, but he had no plans to do any work while he was here. He would, however, stop for the free cheese and sandwich samples, with cheese being by far his favourite food. He reunites with his friend again after the momentary distraction, continuing to wander through the village in search for Gotaro.

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

Samurai had managed to find a property that was closed off with a metal chain-link fence. There are signs that something use to be in that space, but it's gone now. "A building use to be here, but now it's not... I wonder what's going on." Samurai says.

"That use to be a science building." A random citizen answers his question, walking up. "Gotaro-sama was here earlier. He decided to relocate the science building and its team. It was rather sudden, but no pony in this part of Japone was complaining. Doesn't exactly fit the aesthetic we've built here."

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

They come across a building that appears to be recently abandoned and fenced off. A random pony who lives in the town walks up and explains that Gotaro used to be doing science experiments or research of some sort. At least this is what Silver gathered from what he was being told.

“Do you happen to know where Gotaro moved this science facility to?” Silver asked.

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

"Yes, I do. They moved everything to the desert prefecture." The citizen says. "The desert, huh? Argiato gozaimasu." Samurai bows before walking away from the citizen. "There's nothing out in there in that prefecture except desert. Hardly any wildlife. It's usually not worth his time. Seems we've stumbled onto a mystery." Samurai explains.

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

Silver nods his head in agreement. “Yes, I’ve been through a few deserts in my travels, there really isn’t much out there. But, if that’s where Gotaro has gone, then that’s where we must also go. Lead the way, my friend. I’m always down for a good mystery.”

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

"Well then, one more trip it is. Hopefully the last one~" Samurai says and leads the way.

One more quick train ride later, and they are now in the desert prefecture. Here, it is as hot as can back. "If you'd like to borrow my straw hat, let me know. I'm a fire magic, so heat doesn't affect me as strongly as it does others." Samurai says. This is going to be quite the journey. There are the occasional oasis spots; complete any combination of grass, cacti, trees, a water pond, and/or other such affects. However, between each oasis are large stretches of sand, with large dunes and and ruffles made by the weather. "You said you had some experience navigating deserts, isn't that correct Silver-san?"

Edited March 10, 2023 by Samurai Equine

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

After another and hopefully final train ride, they arrive at the desert region. Here, the surroundings look just about as he expected. “I’ll be fine for now, Samurai, but thank you. And well, yes, I have travelled through a couple deserts before. I wouldn’t consider myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination, though.” He explains.

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

"Well then, it may take both of us to find our way through this far-stretching desert. I have no idea where Gotaro could be. By now, the wind would have erased any of his hoofprints. Unless the science team left some really good clues about where they went, we are basically navigating in the dark." Samurai says.

After crossing a few sand dunes, a slow rumbling starts to build up. At first, it is muffled by all the sand. But then, it becomes more and more noticeable. It even begins to make sand fall from the dunes. "SAMURAI-SAN!!! OOK OUT!!!" A voice calls out faintly from the distance. When Samurai turns to face it, he sees... A dinosaur! A tyrannosaurus is running toward them, and it's angry! "Silver-san, scatter! Samurai warns before running off in one direction.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Samurai Equine

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

Silver nods grimly as he realizes they have their work cut out for them, trying to find a pony he’d never met in a land he had never set hoof in. The environment they were in also made it impossible for them to track anypony who might have been there recently.

Silver starts to feel a low rumbling in the ground and looks around with a concerned expression. That concern soon turns to fear as a large dinosaur approaches them. An unfamiliar voice warms them of the creature’s presence, and Samurai quickly runs off in one direction. Silver bounds off behind a sand dune and puts some distance between himself and the t-rex. He takes cover behind a large boulder and prepares to defend himself if necessary.

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

Thankfully, Silver doesn't have to defend himself, at least not yet. The dinosaur decides to chase after Samurai instead of Silver. With his quick thinking, Samurai had managed to build up plenty of distance between him and the gigantic beast. Samurai turns and faces the on-coming t-rex, his eyes sharp with determination and his horn glowing. "Flaming... KICK!!!" Samurai leaps into a big backflip, and as he descends, he swings his leg in a wide kicking motion. With the help of his fire magic, that kick sends a blast of fire to the ground, making a towering wall of fire. Samurai lands, but his smirk turns to shock when the tyrannosaurus breaks through the fire effortlessly with a loud roar. There is a moment of glare as the dinosaur grabs Samurai with its powerful jaws and proceeds to chomp on him like a chew toy.

"SAMURAI-SAN!!!" Four or five mighty chomps later, the dinosaur is interrupted. Gotaro catches up, riding on a rather burly bighorn sheep that leaps up and rams into the tyranno's midsection. It's enough to knock the beast off balance and make it spit Samurai up, who falls roughly onto the ground.

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

Silver watches from afar as the t-rex heads in Samurai’s direction. His friend readies a spell, a wall of fire, but is astonished when the beast appears to be completely unaffected and continues heading right for him. The beast picks Samurai up in his jaws, and this is where Silver can no longer hide and watch. He needed to help his friend. The kirin heads toward the t-rex as fast as he can, when suddenly, a pony riding a bighorn sheep shows up seemingly out of nowhere and charges the dinosaur. His attack is enough to get the t-rex to drop Samurai, and Silver rushes over to his side.

“Are you ok, my friend?” He asks with a worried expression.

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

"Uhh... A little dazed, but..." To Silver's surprise, Samurai is wearing his suit of armor, which is now scuffed and damaged in many places. Still, it seems to have protected him. That glare moments earlier must have been Samurai magically summoning his armor before the dinosaur could turn him into a snack. Samurai reaches up, and with Silver's help, he is standing again.

Gotaro dismounts, and his steed from earlier attacks and busies the tyrannosaurus, getting some powerful hits in before leading it around in circles. "Samurai-san, we have to detain this dinosaur and bring him back to the lab. Think you still have enough fight left in you to help me out?" Gotaro asks and Samurai nods. Gotaro then looks around and then reaches deep into the sand. then pulls out a long, heavy metal chain. Samurai looks for the right groove in the sand, then reaches in and pulls out a chain as well. "There's more in the sand if you want to help us, Silver-san. We just need to tie the beast up before can get away, otherwise, feel free to clear the area." Gotaro says.

Edited March 13, 2023 by Samurai Equine

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

Luckily, Samurai had put on his armour, which protected him from what likely could’ve been some serious injuries. He helps his friend back up on his hooves and nods to the pony who he assumes is Gotaro. He searches through the sand and quickly finds another chain which he levitates with his magic.

“Ready to go!” He announces to them both.

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

The bighorn sheep from before has been doing it's best to keep the dinosaur distracted while also keeping its distance. However, he poor creature is about to be cornered, and he's getting tired!
The tyrannosaurus moves in, ready to make a meal of the poor ram...
"Flaming JUMP!!!"
Magic fire blasts from the bottom of Samurai's lower hooves, which he uses like jet boosters to hurl himself into the air. But it's not the same as flying like a pegasus. Samurai is basically hurdling himself in one specific direction, and he has to whip around to change direction. Still, it's enough for him to fly in and chain up the dinosaur's head. While samurai is pulling the beast away from the ram, Gotaro runs in low and chains the dinosaur's legs up so that he cannot run. But the dinosaur still thrashes. "It's up to you now, Silver-san! Tie his arms down against his body!"

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

Silver watches as the two samurai wrap their chains around the dinosaurs’ head and legs, but it was still able to move its body around too much. It was now up to him to get his chain around the beasts’ arms to secure it down. He takes several steps back, chain in tow, and runs as fast as he can towards the t -rex before leaping as high as he can to get the chain to go around his arms. Once he makes his landing, he runs back in the opposite direction to create tension and tighten the chain up around the dino’s arms. Hopefully between the three of them, they’ve managed to pin the t-rex down.

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

The other two samurai pick up on what Silver is doing and they do the same, creating tension and tightening the chains up about the same time. And with teamwork, they succeed! The tyrannosaurus falls, unable to break these bonds, as much as it would want to. Samurai strikes a victorious pose and Gotaro leaps with joy. "BANZAI!! We have succeeded!" Gotaro says. Moments later, a team of unicorns in lab coats come around in a very large transportation vessel. "Ah, Gotaro-dono, and Samurai-dono. I see you have secured the dinosaur." One of the unicorns says as he approaches them. "With some help from my friend, Silver-san. We couldn't have done it without him." Samurai says, patting Silver on the back. By now, Gotaro has gone back to his sheep, petting him and making perfect sheep sounds.

If Silver didn't notice before, this army of unicorns makes it clear that Japonies ponies don't have straight horns. Theirs are curved. The one that spoke before nods. "Thank you for all the help. We would greatly appreciated if you join us while we transport the tyrannosaurus back to the laboratory. We should be able to transport him ourselves, but it'd be nice to have some help, just in case he escapes again." The unicorn says. Also upon further inspection, the lab coats each have name tags. The one talking to them apparently is named Gene. With that said, Gene nods to his team, and they begin using their magic to securely place him in the transport. It really does take an army of unicorns to handle such a big beast.

Edited March 17, 2023 by Samurai Equine

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

With the three of them working together, they manage to take down the t-rex, and a bit of a small celebration is in order.

“Thank you, my friend!” Silver replies to Samurai with a big smile. “I’m happy to have helped.”

Gotaro goes back to tending to his sheep, and a group of unicorn scientists approaches them. Silver notices they have the same curved horns as all the other unicorns he had met in Japone thus far. Clearly, this dinosaur is a part of some experiment they’re performing, but why they felt the need to move all the way out to the desert remains a mystery. Perhaps they felt the isolation was better in case of accidental dino escapes. While Silver wanted to talk to Gotaro, he agrees to accompany Gene and the other scientist ponies to ensure the beast doesn’t escape en route.

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

"Heh. These scientist types never seem to have time for formal introductions." Samurai shakes his head but joins them on the transport. There are enough seats from him and Silver. Gotaro mounts his sheep and faces the science team. "I'll go on ahead." Gotaro says before riding off ahead of the science team. Soon, the transport begins to move.

Moments later, Samurai and Silver arrive at the laboratory in the middle of the desert. "Welcome to the Bio Research Station of Chubu. Follow me, please. We don't want to interrupt the important work here." Gotaro says, greeting them at the front door while the scientists from earlier magically take the tyrannosaurus around to a different entrance. The building is large and white, located next to a mountain with a cave. When they go inside, Gotaro takes them down a path that is safe for visitors. They can watch everything from a safe distance. Behind safety glass, they can see scientists working on chemicals, machines, and various other things related to their profession. Everything here looks so clean, sterile, and a little high tech. "It was a bit of work relocating everything here, but it was very much necessary!" Gotaro exclaims.

Edited March 18, 2023 by Samurai Equine

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

Silver takes a seat in the transport and silently observes his surroundings as they make their way to the laboratory. It is a very large, white building that stands out in stark contrast to the sandy environment it was built in. They head through the front door as the other scientist ponies take the t-rex to a different place. The kirin takes everything in as they wander through hallways and observe various scientists performing work on a number of things from machines to chemicals and everything in between.

Silver finally has a chance to ask about one of the things he had been wondering about. “Yes, about that, why did you relocate your entire operations to here?”

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

"The answer should be obvious right? Because of that Tyrannosaurus." Gotaro begins. By now, the tour has moved to a new section of the building. It looks like a zoo, with different animals behind cages with glass walls. They are being properly fed and taken care of. "Unlike any other animal I've ever met, that dinosaur is dangerous and out of control. There hasn't been a single animal in this world that I can't communicate with. But that dinosaur, it's different. It's thoughts are scattered. It's ki is wild and unfocused, like a swirling vortex of randomness. No matter what I do, I can't communicate with it. I can't figure out what it wants or needs. I can't calm him down, tame him, or anything that would help him peacefully integrate into the wild with other animals." Gotaro explains.

"So how did you even get one? They're extinct." Samurai says. "They are. However, a small team of scientists managed to find some fossils out here that still had some perfectly preserved DNA. They came up with a way to possibly make a living dinosaur, but they needed more scientists, money, and resourced than even I could afford. Thankfully, I know a wealthy aristocrat that loves scientific advancements and was willing to fund all this. And so, using all the scientific resources we could afford, the remains of the dinosaur DNA, some spare DNA we've collected from the animal kingdom, and some helpful magic spells..." Gotaro begins. "You revived your first dinosaur." Samurai concludes. "Correct!"

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

Silver listens as Gotaro explains about his struggles trying to tame the t-rex. “I… don’t really know much about animals.” He admits. “I think it’s nothing short of amazing that you’ve been able to do as much as you have with this dinosaur. I can see it’s rather troubling that you’re unable to communicate with it. Maybe it simply cannot be reasoned with. Perhaps its nature is just chaotic.”

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

Samurai nods. "Perhaps Silver-san is right. As strange as it is for me to say, maybe the dinosaur is just too wild to reach, even with your abilities." Samurai says. "I'm not so sure. It might be it's nature, or... It might be our fault." Gotaro explains before leading the way to yet another part of the tour.

Once they get past the zoo, they find themselves in a place where dinosaur fossils and other such things are on display, much like a museum. Gotaro leads them to an education corner and points to a poster. "From what we understand, dinosaurs are suppose to look like this. They have feathers and maybe some fur. Some only have it in their young age before shedding them completely as adults. This tyrannosaur didn't have anything like that. The DNA we found was great, but incomplete. We used some animal DNA to help complete it, but who knows if that actually helped or made things worse." Gotaro says. "So you're saying there's a chance it's not a perfect recreation. That might explain it, but still, what you've made is amazing."

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

It might be their fault? What ever could he mean by that? Silver thought to himself as they moved on to a different part of the facility. Here, a collection of fossils accompanied by some educational posters is on display, presumably for visitors to look at. Gotaro provides some information regarding the dino they brought to life that helps the whole situation make a bit more sense.

“I suppose it would depend on what animals’ DNA was used.” Silver thought aloud. “If it was an aggressive one, then it certainly would contribute to the Tyrannosaurus being hard to control.”

[Samurai Equine 46,430]

@GeneralDirection

Gotaro just seems lost in thought. However, Samurai remembers something and gives Silver a gentle nudge. "Go ahead. Tell him about your dream. We came all this way for that, remember?" Samurai says with a smile.

[GeneralDirection 977]

@Samurai Equine

“Oh, yes, of course. I just wasn’t sure if it was the right time to ask about that sort of thing.” He says to his friend.

“Gotaro, I have a bit of a different request for you. I had a dream last night that was very strange, but it seemed to have some sort of significance to it. It involved several animals including a fish, an elk, a bird, a yak, and a couple other creatures. Would it be alright if I explained it to you?” He asked.