Neighpon Shogunate civil war

Steel did not look happy with where this conversation was going. To be working with these...!

He blinked a bit as he saw the timid one. "... "

Golden laughed a bit. "This is where it's embarrassing. While we aren't that big ourselves, who we're facing is just a Small mercenary group, hired by one of my Rivals. Since their main Armies are elsewhere, They've been pressuring us to keep only to them."

He waved a hoof to the street. "We are a Neutral place. We trade to all, and we deal with all. Changing that to being mutual... That would kill this town!"

"How about... 30,000 Neighpon notes, for you hard-working ponies, plus, a worthy guide... STEEL!"

Steel snapped to attention. "Hai, Dono!"

"If Mr. Spur here accepts, Accompany him where he needs."

"... Hai, Dono."

"So! Do we have a Deal?"

Silver didn't like the sound of it as much as he wanted, but there was much a good chance to make some good money on a desparit town here.

"......50,000. No less. If not then i can ask and see how much they would pay." Silver finished his sake, still not giving him proper eye contact.

"Heh, I can't believe the whole building didn't fall over. That's paper isn't it? What do they do when it rains?" As fancy as the ponies in front of him looked, it was obvious to him this place was backward. The ponies here didn't even have the sense to use wooden planks or logs.

Golden laughed again, Delighted with Silver's Spunk. "You drive a hard bargain, Mister Spur... 40,000, Plus Room and board before you decide to move on." He bartered, nodding. "I also happen to have a cask of Good Germaney Beer in trade... I could throw that in as well."

"And some whisky...There was a nice crate of it on the ship and my stallions here were eyeying it for a while." Silver topped off. If they were going to get particular, he would throw on any number of things. "So we have a deal...Mister String was it?"

Silver stood up, meeting eyes with him. He smirked slightly. This would be a good bit of pay to ride on

Golden sagged a bit. He was hoping that would go unnoticed. Ah well, It was just a short dip compared to what would happen. "Deal."

Crack Shot would have been happy with the 30,000. That was a nice chunk of change in itself. Now 40,000, free food, booze, and a bed? This place might not be so bad after all, at least until a branch or something fell and knocked the whole building down. He looked over at Lance. "Why haven't we came here before?"

Silver smiled. This deal would do them well. It made past troubles a bit easier to forget. "Alright...We have a deal. You say it, we do it." He turned to Steel Will. "I 'appreciate' the help you will be giving us."

Sprinter flapped his wings excitedly. "Oh oh! Do i get to wear some of that neat armor?"

Lance chuckled and looked up, dreaming about all the things he could do with a share of that money. "This place is our new gold mine."

Steel Will gritted his teeth, Obviously not happy about what his master was basically making him do. "It is no problem, Gaijin." He muttered, completely re-sheathing his sword.

Golden Clapped his hooves together. "Splendid~! I think we'll get along swimmingly well, Mister Spur. From now on, In this town, You are my Guest!" He said, grinning from ear to ear.

Silver felt that this hospitality was a bit too good to be true. So much was offered, and even more was given after. Either he was a fool, or he had forgotten a lot about this land since he was last here....Or something worse.

"I think we can start by being shown our housing and what you have in store for us." Silver said, hoping to gain some insight on things.

Getting situated was easy. Adapting to the lifestyle, though, was hard. Everypony here was so different than in Equestria. Everypony had so many morals and what bothered Silver most was their sense of honor.

The code of Bushido was backwards to him. He offered only strange looks to the ponies that brought it up or practiced it. It did not make sense to him to see ponies take their lives in defeat, or dedicate their lives so much to one thing.

Sprinter though, was enthralled with it. Any moment he couldn't spend talking to the residents or practicing was spent reading in books. Over time, Sprinter became a source of knowledge for the gang on these ponies culture and customs.

Over the months, they only had a few actual engagements, mostly becoming simple skirmishes. There was yet to be a real battle for anything of worth as the clans were more focused on bigger prizes but they all knew that one day they would come to their doorstep.

---

"How are you colts holding up?" Silver asked to his gang. It was night, and they had all made camp after yet another skirmish with an enemy that was hardly much a challenge. They had yet to run into any 'samurai' ponies that they were told to watch out for.

Silver felt the need to check up on them after the fight since lately he had been less than himself lately. The ways of these ponies gave him pause more than he would like.

Brutal Lance felt tempted to ask Silver the same thing in return, but life was going rather well for him. "Takes more than a few arrows to take me down."

---

"So how did you become a samurai?" Sprinter asked Steel enthusiastically. The pegasus had become so infatuated with the concept. And lately Sprinter had begun to show some promise when he managed to take out a few of the enemy on his own. After they had made camp, he sought to find the company of Steel at one of the camp fires and share experiences with him.

"....What does it take to be one?" He asked a bit more subtly than before and looked around.

Steel was cleaning his blade when Sprinter came by and asked him his questions. "I became one when I was apprenticed to my old Mentor, as did he. It's a long, hard process. You have to Train your body and mind. One moment of weakness, and you will die. You have to learn dicipline: taking advice from your elders, and your mentors, and to learn from your fights. You must become one with your weapon, You must BE a weapon." He said, inspecting his blade for any blemish.

Crack Shot had surprisingly adapted well enough, though not as much as Sprinter. He'd traded in his rustic clothes in favor of the local clothing. He found the style to be much more comfortable than his dusty and torn excuses for rags. He even stopped making fun of the buildings. He'd yet to see any direct action himself as he'd post up somewhere and pick ponies off as they came.

Paradise Blossom checked her map again, then at the town in front of her. Yes, this was the place. A township yet unsullied by the conflict, but eventually will be. A rarity in these troubled times. As a servant of the faith, it was her duty that Neighpon's foals be safe in every province.
Admittedly, this was proving very difficult with the civil war, but as her master once said, it took fire to forge.

Putting the map away and picking up her gohei, she started marching towards the camp. She had nothing else besides her maiden garb, a curious mixture of red and white. That signified that she was a representative of the faith and that causing her harm would have dire spiritual consequences. She was to remain in perpetual poverty, only living off the kindness of others (or the desire of karmic reward of others), so she was anxious to enter the town, so she might have something to eat.

The town was guarded, of course. For it to still stand, it had to be. As tradition stated, Paradise did the traditional greeting to the ponies posted.

"<May this town and its foals be blessed by the divine forces which govern fate. As a representative of the faith which guides our holy land, I Paradise Blossom, humbly request residence in your home.>"

Sprinter looked about nervously, checking to see if any of his friends were nearby or listening in. When he saw none, he leaned in close.

"I...I wish to join...I am of Neighpon decent...I want it to mean something." He looked to Steel with wide hopeful eyes. They were not the eyes of a warrior, but of a pony that had yet to be shaped to his role in life.

---

Silver had not visibly adapted as much as some of the others. There were those who were still discontent with being in such a strange land, and then there were the ones who grew on it. More and more Silver found it harder to simply dismiss thoughts with his uncaring outlook on life. Something here called to him. Even now at this camp fire, everything was so...tranquil.

"It would take a train to run you down, Lance." He said as he passed by the large earth pony. "And a pony with better aim than you to out shoot you." He said to Crack Shot.

Silver took a seat at the fire, stretching his tired legs and relaxing now that the hard part of the day was over. He looked about for the one pony he always tried to keep tabs on.

"....Where is Sprinter?"

"...Pretty mare. 3 o'clock." Said Lance as the new pony showed up and spoke in Neighponese. He had yet to bother learning any of it. Silver on the other hand, understood it perfectly.

"<Pardon Miss, but I don't know if this town has much to offer.>" Silver stood up and approached the pony, not entirely trusting her intent. They had questionable ponies try to get in before that had allegence to their enemies.

"<What is your business here? And how did you get in without escort?>" He narrowed his eyes, hooves shuffling to a more aggressive stance.

Steel sighed, placing his blade down. "The thought is welcome, But... The Samurai is a declining role. With the focus on guns..."

"<I have been directed to ensure that the faith still stays strong in this town, despite the recent conflicts spreading over this land. That means blessings and moral guidance, but also tending to the sick and wounded children of Neighpon. My only escort is the river of time, my only possesions my soul and my faith. My only allegiance is to the divine, and my only intentions are to care>" Paradise said, paraphrasing the servant's creed, "<I carry no weapon, and my heart carries no hate except towards injustice. I am here because a storm is coming. Numerous clans have set their sights on this town and there is a high possibility of bloodshed. There is much for me to do, and not much time to do it. Please, sir, I need to talk to the leader of this community to discuss the possible evacuation of mares and foals to the nearest monastery, bless the town and gather the necessary supplies to tend to the future's dead and wounded.>"

Across the land monks and maidens like Paradise were representing the faith by doing compassionate actions. There had been many conflicts, but overall the generosity of the holy ponies were very much welcome. Pragmatically, it was a way for the faith to survive. Whoever won this war would certainly retain the faith as a major influence in Neighpon as a sign of gratitude. Their actions made them very popular among the population, so there was that, too.

But most of the ponies in service, including Paradise, were serving out of altruism. It was a sign of hope in a time of horror.

Sprinter had done plenty enough reading on the samurai. About their ways, beliefs, and customs. To hear one of them falling into doubt was disheartening. And he couldn't have that.

"Don't despair..." His change in attitude was sudden and surprising. "This is a war for what way will prevail. For what is best. There is still significant strength in the way of the samurai still here. Even if guns are more destructive, there is so much more to what we have here." He looked down, letting a frown come upon him.

"I....Sorry.." He looked away, feeling he had spoken out of place.

---


Silver let out a sigh with rolling eyes before yelling over his shoulder in Equestrian. "Its just some religious pony." He said before turning back to her with a more relaxed posture. He didn't seem to show her any more respect for the introduction.

"<Right. I don't know where the Town Lord is right now. And we have a few wounded but not critical. So long as you don't go 'blessing' my colts with any nonesense then you won't be a problem.>" He said with a snort. Silver had the mind right then to shift himself in time to try and hide the gouge that was starting to bleed from under his vest. Something he meant to take care of later but now might end up an invitation.

Steel was shocked a bit. He honestly expected him to just leave it. "... You're right. I... I thank you." He said, then nodded to himself. "... Ask Spur. I take it he's acting as a guardian."

After hearing it was just some nun or something and seeing Silver relax, Crack Shot lowered his rifle to the ground. He'd picked up some neighponese, but he only understood 'town', 'conflict', 'sick', 'wounded', 'escort', 'weapon', 'storm', and 'dead'. He though she was just sick in the head, but she still very well could be.

"<You wouldn't happen to be one of those 'wounded, not critical,' would you?>" Paradise asked, noticing Silver's injury when he tried to hide it. It was funny, really. She would't have seen it otherwise. "<Come on, let me see it clearly.>"

Sprinter sighed and lowered his head. "...Yeah...he is my cousin. He watches out for me a lot since...he picked up me. He is going to know real quick if i try this, but i hate being babysat by him so much."

---

Silver sharpened his gaze on the holy mare. He held them on her for several long moments. He wished he had cleaned up that wound sooner now.

"<....Fine....But not here.>" He was not sure why he accepted her invitation. Perhaps it was something deep down that desired company. Whatever it was, he was not very happy for it.

Silver made his way into a nearby tent, not caring to hold the flap open for her. He did not wish to let the others see him be treated for his wounds.

Once settled, he slipped off his vest, letting it fall with a heavy thud as it held his pistol. There was a deep cut at his shoulder area close to his neck, as if something glanced by far too close. It was not bleeding so much anymore but still was in risky proximity to his neck.

---

Lance watched Silver and the monk go into the tent. He sure wished he knew what they talked about. "Did he score already?"

Steel nodded. "I thought so." He said, sheathing his sword. "Know that, If you do end up as my pupil, I will not coddle you either."

Nodding at the ponies by the campfire, Paradise entered the tent, seemingly unfussed by Silver's actions. Looking around, she started to piece together what sort of pony he was. The pistol in his vest confirmed her suspicions.

"For a foreigner, you speak the language quite well," she said, looking over his wound. Warriors always overestimated their strength, she thought, as she noted the severity of the cut.

Looking for a replacement cloth to cover the wound, she said, "I would reccommend seeing me when I have had the chance to make a healing balm. There's not much I can do now that would be an improvement over the previous effort." Covering the cut completely with the cloth she did find, she stepped back and admired her handiwork.

"I am going to give you advice that you will ignore, but I wouldn't be fighting again soon if I was you." She then stared at nothing. "Then again, you may not get a choice on that matter. Are your friends similarly wounded? Or am I better off simply trying to find the leader of this place so I can get properly started? Can you guide me to his place of residence, at least?"

Her curiousity of these strange foreign ponies were ignited, but the flame was controlled expertly by years of training in a monastery. Unlike her peers who wanted something to do until they got married*, Paradise intended to follow her faith for life.




*Unlike other religous orders, it was quite possible to leave the position of miko or monk by choice, though this did remove you from the privileges (of which there were few) of being a servant. A former servant, especially a former miko was considered a very good catch for many reasons, namely the skills of cooking, first aid, etc.

...

Oh, alright, there was also the fact that a miko was almost definitely a virgin, making their value increase signifigantly.