open Cultures Unite (1x1 with GeneralDirection)

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Samurai Equine

“Huh, that’s interesting that you picked that one. Not many ponies have paid much attention to that one.” Charlotte explained as she walked over to Fukami. She looked at the painting for a moment before looking back to her new samurai friend. “I can see why you would pick it, though. You are a pegasus, the sky is your domain. You feel free up there, no? I cannot fly so I can only guess, and that’s what this particular art is about. I tried to imagine myself as a pegasus flying across the sky.” She smiled.

*

The random citizen opens its mouth to call for help, but no noise is heard as they instantly vanish, only leaving behind a strange patch of soil as evidence of what happened. Another random citizen walks over the same patch after some time and notices it, looking down at it with a confused expression. However, since no one else saw what happened, the kirin simply goes about its business after a moment.

[Samurai Equine 51,417]

@GeneralDirection

Fukami feels himself smirking. "Imagine? Why imagine when you can experience it right now?" He asks Charlotte, fluttering his wings and pointing to the door to get his point across. Little did they know, something strange was waiting for them outside.

-------------------------------

The llama doesn't stop. It taps another citizen and makes it disappear, leaving a square patch of river where he was standing. It goes up to another citizen and makes her disappear, leaving behind a square patch of mountain. It goes up to a third kirin, who was talking to some friends, then makes him disappear with only a square patch of the sky left behind. That's right, the sky, with clouds and all. None of his other friends get magically transported away, just that one. If this doesn't get the massed fired up in panic, what will?

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Samurai Equine

“Huh?” Charlotte tilts her head in confusion. “What do you mean?” She looks back at herself. “I don’t have wings, I can’t fly…” She sees Fukami pointing outside and blinks. “Uhhh, ok, if you say so.” She gives Silver a confused look before following them both out the door.

Outside, they find a large number of the village residents have gathered nearby, in front of the ‘town hall’, which was more or less just Rain Shine’s house. Silver took one look at the crowd and motioned for Fukami and Charlotte to follow him. As they approach the assembled kirin, he hears what a few of them are saying. Something about disappearances? A llama? Very strange, indeed.

“Am I wrong to assume Snow Leopard’s involvement in this?” He asks Fukami quietly.  

[Samurai Equine 51,417]

@GeneralDirection

Fukami chuckles a little. "I'm just saying that I'm a pegasus. I could give you a lift, and you'd experience flight with my help." Fukami explains as they leave the gallery.

However, they were not expecting to see this gathering going on outside. Even Fukami is surprised. "But that couldn't be. Not unless..." Fukami begins, but he is interrupted.

"So, there is at least one samurai warrior in this village after all... It seems defeating the other one won't be enough. But it won't matter; I'll just defeat you as well, then I'll tell my master all about this location." The llama says as he approaches Fukami, Silver, and the crowd. He lowers the hood of his cloak to reveal his face, but for now, he still just looks like a regular llama.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Samurai Equine

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Samurai Equine

“Ohhhh…” Charlotte started, but wasn’t able to finish once she saw the crowd outside.

“This is exactly what I feared, that him or one of his minions would follow me here. I knew I should’ve stayed back…” Silver sighs quietly. He blinks and then turns to Fukami. “What shall we do here, my friend? I am no samurai warrior, nor are the others, but we will do our best to take this creature out or die trying. We cannot let him leave this village alive.”

Charlotte and the rest of the kirin in the background nod in agreement.

[Samurai Equine 51,417]

@GeneralDirection

Teamwork might be what Fukami has in mind. "Villagers, get to your homes and take cover. Silver, protect your sister. I'm going to settle this myself." Fukami says before taking a step forwards. "You can't possibly be telling the truth! There's no way you defeated Samurai Equine before coming here!" Fukami says, pointing at the llama angrily. "Defeating him was too easy, and ending you will be the same." The llama says, raising a foot.

"I don't think so!" Fukami says before flying at the llama as fast like a Wonderbolt. But something under the cloak glows as the llama waves his foot. "AH~!" Fukami is suddenly sent flying in a different direction. The spot on the ground where he was last seen? It's now a patch of the sky. He plummeted downwards into the sky, as if pulled away by a change in gravity. "And now, as for the herd of kirins... If you pledge loyalty to my master, your safety is all but assured. However, should you resist--" The llama begins, but this time, he is interrupted.

"WHIP-POOR-WIND!!" The llama is suddenly blind-sided to his left by a small twister, but it's fast and powerful enough to knock him back a good distance, making him crash into a food stand. Fukami, the one who landed the attack, ascends from the sky. "Did you not realize you're battling a pegasus? There is no vertical or horizontal trap that can hold me." Fukami says. When the llama emerges, the cloak falls off, torn from the impact. It reveals two animal heads that are asleep on either of the llama's shoulders, and some kind of creepy-looking item chained to his chest. "You~! That's a tiger, and that's a bison. You're some kind of chimera!" Fukami says. The llama, the only head that's awake, looks rather annoyed. "Correct. And by keeping my other halves asleep, I can harness the power of this dark magic icon that my master gave me."

Edited July 26, 2023 by Samurai Equine

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

Silver nodded in silent understanding and led Charlotte off the to the side. The two of them watched as Fukami and the llama faced off against each other. Silver couldn’t help but feel bad about sitting on the sidelines, not being able to help his friend.

I guess I would just be more of a liability to him in this situation than a help. I’m not much of a fighter, after all. Silver thought to himself.

His attention returns to the fight at hoof, the llama makes a very bold claim, that he’s defeated Samurai, but nopony there believes him. Fukami races in for an attack, but the llama casts some sort of spell, a trap the sends the pegasus hurtling off in a completely different direction. For a moment, it seems like Fukami had already been defeated.  But it doesn’t take long before the samurai appears again and retaliates with a tornado attack. The llama is sent flying, crashing into a nearby food stand. As he stands up, his cloak falls off, revealing that he wasn’t just a llama, but also had the heads of a bison and a tiger. Neither Silver nor Charlotte had ever seen a creature quite this strange before.

[Samurai Equine 51,417]

@GeneralDirection

"I get it... So you really do work for Snow Leopard. But if you came alone, then I can't let you leave knowing how to find this place. My name is Fukami, and I made a promise I'd defend this place." Fukami, the usually laid back warrior, now stands bold and ready for action. "I prefer the name Deandre. I was considering letting you go, but now I see that's not an option." The chimera speaks before its magic item, the icon, begins to glow.

Fukami surprises his opponent by flying high into the sky. When he is just a blip in the air, the faint sound of a bamboo flute can be heard before he descends again. This time, Fukami is wearing his purple samurai armor. And while he does have a sword mounted to his waist, he is also wielding a big metal fan that is sort-of shaped like a pair of butterfly wings. Deandre wastes no time and casts his magic. When Fukami flies towards him, the geography in front of him shuffles around. He has to use his fan to break through a square patch of mountain, a square patch of wall from someone's house, and he even has to avoid falling into a square patch of river. But just when Fukami is about to get in close for an attack, one last switch makes him stop. In front of him now is a patch with a random kirin citizen, and Fukami had to pull himself back hard just to keep from accidentally striking down the citizen caught in the middle.

Spoiler

For reference, the fan is called a gunbai fan, and it looks something like this:

"You still don't understand. I am the one who holds all the cards. Behold the true depths of this icon's power!" Deandre says as his icon glows again. When the chimera raises both of his front feet up, everything around them changes. For as far as the eye can see, everything looks like a giant checkerboard/chessboard. From the ground to the sky, it's as if they are now in a tunnel, and everything is checker patterned. Square patches of the ground, the sky, the water, the forest, the mountains, homes, and more are all jumbled around; and if Silver doesn't hold on to Charlotte, either one of them could 'fall' off the patch they are standing on, and who knows where they would land.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

Fukami is proving to be a formidable force against the llama, flying high up into the air and coming back down, now dressed in his armour set. But the llama, Deandre, has also been bestowed with some seriously powerful magic. He casts a very disorienting spell that turns their surroundings into some sort of chess board. Silver pulls his sister close to ensure she doesn’t fall off the tile that they’re currently occupying. He hates not being able to do anything to help his friend, sitting there with Charlotte, not able to move from their little spot… it wasn’t the greatest feeling in the world. They had to trust that Fukami would pull through for them, for the whole village.

[Samurai Equine 51,417]

@GeneralDirection

It's absolute chaos is every direction you can look. The surface and the ground are wrapped in a checker pattern, each tile is pure random, there is no longer a reasonable sense of up or down, and stepping on the wrong tile could have disastrous effects. Fukami is pretty sure he saw a kirin try to step off his tile and ends up falling into the great beyond. Who knows when, where, or if they'll land.

Fukami looks around and takes it all in.  "Silver... I don't mean to involve you, but I need a second set of eyes on Deandre right now." He says before holding his fan upright and straight. "Whispering Wind." Fukami twists his wrist and twirls his war fan back and fourth. From it gusts of wind begin to shoot out at different tiles. These gusts would disappear and then reappear on random tiles. On one tile, a tree's branches would ruffle. On another, the shutters on a house would rattle. On yet another, the wind would hit a random kirin and make her sneeze. Deandre is watching this and getting a little on edge. Fukami is closely examining every tile that is affected. "If you think that creating random gusts of wind will help you get lucky enough to attack me, you're wrong. You've got a higher chance of accidentally attacking every kirin here before you ever hit me." Deandre tells him.

"...Random chance isn't my style. You should try making friends with nature. It has so much to say." Fakami explains before locking eyes with Deandre. Suspecting something, Deandre is about to attack, but Fukami moves first! He leaps from his tile, to another, and another, and another! He's leaping in a chaotic zig-zag pattern, but he's actually getting closer to Deandre! "WIND SLICER!!!" Eyes wide with shock, Deandre uses his icon to shuffle some of the tiles around him, including his own. Instead of hitting his target, Fukami ends up shattering a random boulder. He lands on the tile, though falling pebbles do bounce off his armor. "Now I get it! You were using the wind to try and find a pattern that would lead you straight to me. But none of that matters if I can shuffle the tiles any time I want. You can't lay a hoof on me!" Deandre explains before going into a victorious laugh.

This is serious. Fukami looks at his war fan, but if he can't take Deandre by surprise, how will this tactic continue to work? He looks at Silver, not sure how much he wants to involve him. "Guess there's no choice..." Fukami lifts his fan and begins to swing it around violently, doing a sort-of dance with it. As he does so, wind begins to swirl around him, getting faster and heavier. He is preparing for some kind of desperation move.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Samurai Equine

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

Silver nods in response to Fukami’s request. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you, my friend. Just let me know what you have in mind.”

He watches as his samurai friend sends gusts of wind across the board, also noting the order in which the wind passes through each tile. He can see what Fukami is planning, but unfortunately, so can Deandre. He shuffles the tiles around once again, making Fukami’s attack hit a random rock someplace else. Clearly, they were going to have to dig deeper in order to take this llama out.

Silver looks back to Fukami, watching his movements and remaining ready to help with whatever his next idea will be.

[Samurai Equine]

@GeneralDirection

Deandre takes a moment to adjust his stance and steady himself. "You can't fool me. By putting my other heads asleep, I've increased my intelligence by triple. You're probably attempting to brute force your way to me, right? There's no guarantee that will work." Deandre says. Fukami just keeps swinging his war fan faster. He also rapidly flaps his wings. The wind building up around him is getting so strong, the only thing you can now see clearly is Fukami's head. "For me, there isn't. But from the looks of things, there's no guarantee for you either." Fukami explains.

Deandre doesn't wait around after a remark like that. He once more begins shuffling the tiles, this time shuffling a larger selection. Silver and Charlotte's tile moves around as well. And when it comes to a stop, it is right next to the chimera's tile! With a wicked smirk, he raises a foot to attack the two kirins. "SILVER!!" Fukami cries out desperately, all ready bending forward to launch out an intercept the chimera, even though Deandre is even further away than before. Can he make it?!

...

Skip. Skip. Skip. Skip!!

"FLAMING KICK!!!" Before Deandre can lay a single foot on Silver or his sister, a flame-covered hoof comes rocketing toward him at incredible speed, and kicks him away to a few tiles over. Deandre manages to recover, but now he is panicking and putting out the flames on his body. And who is this hero that came zig zagging like a red streak of light across multiple tiles to get here? The answer is obvious when he lands next to the two kirins.

"Silver-san, are you okay?" Samurai asks with a relieved smile, holding out a helping hoof.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

Silver watches as Fukami charges up his attack, weary of the fact that it may not actually land where he intends it to. But if it doesn’t work, then there’s no telling what this llama may do. As if on queue, Deandre activates his magic again, and the tiles are moved around once again. This time, when they stop, the tile that Silver and Charlotte are on stops right next to Deandre. Silver sees the llama raise a hoof to strike them, and immediately transforms into a nirik to fight back. However, before this goes any further, Samurai comes racing over towards them and delivers a flaming kick to the llama, sending him flying a few tiles away.

“Samurai!” He exclaims, instantly turning back to his kirin form. “Yes, I am fine now, thanks to you!” He smiles, taking his hoof and giving him a quick hug.  

[Samurai Equine]

@GeneralDirection

The scene is enough to make Fukami relax and draws back his wind. Samurai hugs his friend, hoping that Fukami doesn't mind that he is wearing his red armor. "I'm going to need your help in a moment, Silver-san. For now, relax. I'm here, so this battle is as good as over." Samurai reassures his friend.

Deandre has finished patting the flames away. "Hey! Just because you got one lucky hit, that doesn't mean..." Deandre begins, but Samurai interrupts him. "I managed to get here because I saw the pattern in how you arrange the tiles. For all your increased intelligence, you can't help but shuffle the tiles into certain orders. I learned that from defeating your two other chimera friends. Good idea, having them attack me so I can't get here fast enough. But they were reckless and alone. Their ego was their undoing, and it will be yours too." Samurai says. "Fool! Who even are you to me?! I am Deandre, a champion of dark tile magic, entrusted by my master Snow Leopard. And unlike the other two chimeras I sent after you, I can hold this village hostage. So who do you think you are trying to challenge my power?!" Deandre declares.

...

From random earth tiles, a few kuroko appear. They begin to beat war drums of various sizes. Slowly at first, but gradually getting faster, and faster, and faster...

Samurai skips across and lands on a tile closer to Fukami. They look at each other and nod, standing upright before looking at Deandre. Fukami widely waves his war fan in front of himself before holding it upright and resting his free hoof on his upper leg, standing in a sort-of squat stance. "The violet samurai of the wind, Fukami!" He introduces himself. Samurai uses a hoof to momentarily tilt his head back before taking a similar squatting stance, splaying one hoof in front of himself and the other towards the sky. "The red samurai of the flame, Samurai Equine!" After his introduction, the two of them pull out their katanas and in unison and hold them horizontally above their heads, standing perfectly straight. "And by order of the solar empire, we are the warriors who are officially authorized... to defeat you!" Samurai finishes their united roll call as their armor and weapons shine in the light.

Spoiler

For reference, Fukami's first pose is similar to something like this:

While Samurai's first pose comes from kabuki theater, and it's based on this pose:

By this point, the drum beat has been sped up about twice or three times the average heart rate. With the introductions complete, they give the war march its grand finale.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

Silver nods his head in reply. “Sure thing, my friend! Whatever you might need, I shall do my best to help you out.”

The kirin watches as the samurai warriors pose and prepare what he assumes will be their final attack. It seems Samurai has figured out how the llama’s tile magic works and navigates through them with relative ease. Silver and Charlotte watch in anticipation as the drums beat faster and if Deandre hasn’t started having second thoughts about his confident stance yet, this display will likely change his mind.

[Samurai Equine]

@GeneralDirection

"So you think you've got me all figured out, do you? Stuck repeating patterns? Then let me show you just how just how wrong you are." Deandre uses his icon to shuffle the tiles. All of them. Watching them move is like being stuck inside a gigantic rubiks cube. Eventually, the tiles come to a stop. Too much of that could make anyone sick. "Do you understand now? At any second, I could shuffle these tiles in my favor and make myself a threat to these kirins, and I could leave you two miles away. I could even shuffle the tiles while you're skipping across. Even the purple one couldn't guarantee that he could power through all this. Just give up; it'll be so much easier." Deandre declares.

Still, Samurai's resolve never falters. "Fukami-san, I'm going to use that technique." Samurai quietly says to him. "...Eh? But Samurai-san, you've never had a chance to test it before. And the risks involved..." Fukami answers him. "I know, but this is the only place where I can do it properly. I won't get another chance like this." Samurai tells him, and Fukami understands. Samurai takes a step, puts a hoof up beside his snout, and begins yelling. "HEY, EVERY KIRIN IN THIS VILLAGE!! I BEG YOU, LEND ME YOUR FIRE MAGIC!! I CAN DEFEAT THIS CHIMERA, BUT I NEED YOUR POWER!!" Samurai declares. Soon, Fukami joins him. "IT'S TRUE!! IF YOU WANT YOUR VILLAGE TO BE SAVED, THEN PLEASE BELIEVE IN SAMURAI EQUINE AND LEND HIM YOUR FIRE MAGIC!!" Silver says. Samurai takes off his helmet and waits for their response.

This declaration suddenly has Deandre on edge. Every strand of fur on his body is standing on edge as he seethes with anger. And if Silver pays attention, the way he looks now, Deandre matches the silhouette of the monsters he saw in his dreams.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

To Silver’s surprise, Samurai’s final attack isn’t so much about him, rather, he requires magic from everypony there in order to be successful. He looks to Charlotte and nods his head. Silver begins sending all of the fire magic he has to Samurai, and Charlotte soon does the same. The rest of the village inhabitants hear the warrior’s plea, and after observing Silver and his sister responding, they also send their fire magic to Samurai. Soon, every single kirin in the village has sent all their fire magic, and look to Samurai to see what he will do next. Silver looks over to Deandre and notices that he looks very much like the creatures that has haunted him in his dream, and now hopes more than ever than Samurai’s attack will work.

[Samurai Equine]

@GeneralDirection

Samurai sheds his armor and formal clothing, puts it all aside, and then draws a magic circle underneath where he is standing. After it is complete, he stands upright and focuses, closes his eyes and taking a deep breath as he begins to receive the gift of the kirin's fire magic. The kuroko each begin to make a kindling, a small fire. Even Fukami does the same, striking two small stones together. Any fire they make doesn't have a chance to grow into a big fire, because Samurai absorbs those flames along side the magics ones.

As Samurai takes in all this fire, something interesting happens. As his mane, tail, and coat change colors, he takes a strong stance as he begins to float in the air. His mane and tail becomes spikey and upwardly wind-swept. Fire crackles from the ends of his hooves, and a pool of flames gather below him. His chest is marked with hot flames and coals. His horn gives a normal magic glow for a second, but with a scream and many fiery crackles, the glow explodes into an intense flame. And when Samurai opens his eyes, they are glowing pure white, a sign that he has been consumed with overwhelming amounts of fire and magic. To put it simply, they are all now in the presence of a super form.

Spoiler

Deandre is momentarily stunned speechless, but he quickly shakes off this imposing new transformation and magically shuffles the tiles to make himself even farther away than before. "Good luck! There's no way that you can possi--?!" However, Deandre is left trailing is shock when Samurai takes flight! With this new form, he is flying straight for Deandre at an incredible speed with only a little hint of jittering turbulence. Deandre tries to change the position of his tile yet again, but nothing is working, Samurai is still rapidly gaining on him. "It can't be... The gravity changes, the altered physics... Are you really burning through all of it with that much power?! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!"

"Super Flaming PUNCH!!" Samurai proves to Deandre how useless it is by closing the gap and delivering a might punch to the icon strapped to Deandre's chest, sending him crashing into a completely different tile. But before Deandre has a chance to fully pick himself up and shake off that blow... "Super Flaming KICK!!" Samurai flies in and lands another devastating attack. It's enough to make the icon crack and shatter before exploding into nothing.

With that last attack, all the tiles go back to their regular spot. The geography returns to normal. Houses and landscapes that were once jumbled are now back in one piece. Families and friends that were once divided are now reunited. Up is up once more. Down is down once more. The ground is the ground, the sky is the sky, the water is the water, and everything is back in its proper place. Deandre lies on the ground, defeated and passed out.

Samurai Equine did it. He protected the village, just as he said he would.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Samurai Equine

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

The entire village watches Samurai as they finish transferring all their fire magic to him. He draws a circle around himself using magic, and then, he begins his transformation. He starts to float as his mane and tail change colours, and fire appears from his hooves. His eyes go white, much like a kirin when they go through their nirik transformation. The siblings blink and watch in amazement as Samurai powers through all the tiles like they were nothing. Deandre frantically shuffles the tiles more and more, but it doesn’t stop Samurai’s flight towards him. He makes impact and sends the llama flying into the neighbouring tile. Then, before Deandre can recover, Samurai follows up with a devastating kick to the icon, causing it to crack and explode.

With the icon gone, the landscape turns back to normal. Everything and everypony is back where they belong.

“Samurai!” Silver calls out as he gallops over to him. “Thank you so much for this! I had no idea you had that in you.” He comments as he looks over at a passed-out Deandre.

[Samurai Equine 51,417]

@GeneralDirection

With the village returned to normal, the circle of fire on the ground goes out. Samurai, who has been flying in the air in his super form, suddenly changes back to normal. In fact, it looks like he is passing out! "Yabei~!" Fukami acts fasts and uses his wind powers to slowly and gently guide Samurai down. Getting in position, Fukami catches Samurai on his descent. "Nee, Samurai-san. Daijoubu ka?" Fukami asks. Samurai is breathing heavily. He opens his eyes to those around him. "Did we do it? Is it over?" Samurai asks, clearly worn out.

In case any kirins are gathering around Deandre... He slowly wakes up and shakes off what happened. But so do his other two heads! "Uhh... Where are we?" The llama head says, but his voice is not as sharp and sinister as it was before. It's softer and confused. "Hey Anne, do you know what's going on?" The llama asks. "No, not really, Dee. Last thing I remember was you talking about some food that you could smell, and then we ran into some overgrown white leopard, and the rest is a blur. What about you, Dre? Do you remember anything?" Anne, the tiger head, asks. "Dre don't feel so good. Dre has tummy ache. Dre wants to go home." Dre, the bull head, says in a sad voice. Whoever this chimera is now, it's clearly not the same chimera Samurai was fighting a second ago.

Edited August 5, 2023 by Samurai Equine

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

Silver blinks as he watches Fukami ease Samurai down onto the ground.

“Yes, we did it.” Silver says with a smile. “The village is safe now. Deandre’s attack is over now.”

Silver’s attention turns to said llama as he arises from being knocked down. He watches as the other two heads of the creature also wake up and, much like the dragon they encountered in Japone, they also have no idea what was going on or how they got to the village. Clearly the work of Snow Leopard, in case there had been any doubts. Seeing this creature exhibit a more innocent nature made Silver and the rest of the kirin relax quite a bit.

“Uhhh, hi there.” Silver decided to attempt a conversation. “That white leopard you spoke of, he did this to you. He cast a spell on you that possessed you with an evil icon. My friends and I had to fight it, to take it down, in order to destroy it and dissipate the magic. I believe you are fine now. Before you leave, was there anything that you needed? We could give you some food for the trip back home if you like.” Silver offers.

[Samurai Equine 51,417]

@GeneralDirection

Deandre--Or rather, Dee, Anne, and Dre--are completely confused and befuddled. And being around creatures they don't recognize doesn't help. They trip over their own words trying to reply to Silver before they awkwardly run off into the wilderness, hopefully never to be seen again.

The kuroko go over to the two samurai. They hold up large banners to hide the two warriors, and when the banners come down, Fukami is once more in his formal clothing. Both of their armored suits have been collected and will be stored away for later. In fact, the kuroko begin to leave, but not like ninjas this time. They make sure their departure is completely visible so that the kirins know they are leaving. In fact, each kuroko graciously bows to the kirin citizens on their way out.

"Come on, Samurai-san." Fukami tries to help him stand. He stumbles a bit but steadies himself. "I wouldn't worry about the chimera anymore. I'm sorry it ran away, but it won't be returning to Snow Leopard anytime soon. Huu~ As for me, I think I just wasted all my magic reserves today. No more teleporting or anything magic for me. Not until I recuperate." Samurai explains.

[Silver Slate]

@Samurai Equine

Silver blinks once again as the creature attempts to put a response together but fails, and simply runs off into the wilderness.

“Oh well, I tried.” He shrugs, turning his attention to Samurai’s kuroko as they made their way through the village. As they bow, Silver bows back in return, wishing them safe travels as they headed back to Japone. At least, that’s where he assumed they were going. He then looks over to Samurai and notices how much he’s struggling.

“Be careful, Samurai!” He says as he races over to help Fukami. “Try to take it easy, ok? Maybe we should go someplace so you can sit down and rest for a bit. I think we all need that right now. What do you think, Fukami?”    

[Samurai Equine 51,417]

@GeneralDirection

Fukami laughs a little. "I'd say after a brave rescue like that, Samurai can do whatever he pleases." However, the moment is cut when Samurai holds a hoof. "No, that is not true. I have much to do. Before I can relax anywhere... Silver-san, I request an audience with your village leader, if you have one. It's very important." Samurai insists.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

@Samurai Equine

“I can take you to her.” Silver nods in reply. “However, before we go, I must tell you a bit about her. She had not been entrusted with some great and mysterious power, nor does she possess great combat or magic skills. None of us are like that here, we are simple folk who try to live a peaceful, quiet existence. I am one of the few exceptions who desires to travel and see the world. I would just like you to keep this all in mind.” He explains. “Oh, and one more thing, her name is Rain Shine.”

With the village back to the way it was, the walk to their leaders’ house was quite short. But they did not find her there. They would find her at the village center, by the fountain, checking on her citizens and making sure everypony was ok.

“Rain Shine! My friend Samurai would like to speak with you!” He called.

Rain Shine looked up from the kirin she was talking with and nodded silently. She bid this kirin farewell before making her way over to Silver and his friends. Rain Shine is very tall, about as tall as Princess Celestia. She is also rather slender, and her horn is much larger than that of a normal kirin. She has a pale brown coat, her scales are a cream colour, and her mane and tail are green with lighter green streaks. A small golden crown occupied the top of her head. He looked to Samurai with deep red eyes and a small, kind smile.

“Samurai, is it?” She spoke in a voice that sounded sophisticated, but gentle. “I cannot thank you enough for what you’ve done here for us. You and your warrior friend here.” She points to Fukami. “Is there anything we could do to repay you for the heroic effort you showed us today?” She asks.