//------------------------------// // Training // Story: Red Dead Revival // by Crimson_Moon //------------------------------// Damn these ponies... I tried my hardest to get some honest, reliable, useful help, and all I get is a bunch of thumb sucking sissies! At least Mac has enough brains under that brawn to understand that screwing up could mean life or death. He had the wagons packed and ready by the time we got back to camp, albeit very, VERY slowly. We had to waste some more Dynamite that Zebra had stashed away in that coat of hers to cause enough of a distraction to get us back. Looking back, I can see now I- WE went in unprepared. I needed to build the gang up to the point we needed to be, not just throw them in the deep end like that. However, we were able to snag us a clue, as well as a friend and informant on the way. Let's just hope the "Great and Powerful" can actually help... "I told you time and again, I don't care how sorry you are!" Arthur spoke up, in a softer and more stern tone than back in town. The first foothold they were on their way to making blew up in their faces, quite literally. Tightening another strap to the side of his wagon, he continued. "Our one decent place to start lookin' is gone." "B-but I..." Zecora teared up, fumbling over her words. He felt sorry for her, and for being the one who put her in this state. "*sigh* Look," he turned around, facing the mare. "I don't rightly blame ya for that stuff in the town. It was my fault I never prepared you for the life we need to live from now on. We were pressed for time, and I figured the quickest way to learn was to throw it at you head on." He sighed again, giving Mac the signal to start moving out. "Now I can see we need to start slowly..." Packing the rest of their things, Arthur led the caravan out of the clearing and back on the path. From what he saw when they did their earlier scouting, there was only one other road, way too near the city and the forest was too dense to guide the wagons in. Tightening his hat, he explained the situation to the rest of the gang. "Alright everypony, listen up! Our chances to establish ourselves in this town have been..." He gave a side glance to Zecora. "Limited. Our only choice left is to pack our bags and get movin'." "Well, why can't we stay and just send someone else?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, say somepony you just met from, oh I don't know, Canterlot, walks into your garden and starts smashing everything in sight. Then the next day, somepony else comes in and asks to see your garden again, and said he also came from Canterlot, in the same exact way the other pony did." Big Mac explained. "You'll be mighty suspicious of that new pony, right?" The rest of the group nodded. "O-oh. I get it now..." The Pegasus lowered her head. "Hey, no need for that!" He lifted her chin up to stare back into his eyes, a smile on his muzzle. "From what Arthur told me, he's got a plan for the next town. You'll see..." Continuing down near the town put every pony on edge, but none more than the three ponies wuth wanted posters of them now plastered on every corner, even out near the outskirts, where they were at. Huddling together, the gang thought it best to stash Arthur, Zecora, and now a well informed and fully awake Carrot on the wagon, hidden behindsome tarp and a few crates of supplies. "I-I don't think I can put up with this, Arthur." Carrot Cake admitted. "I m-miss my kids, my wife, and gosh darnit, even Pinkie!" Tears started to well up in his eyes. Sighing, the outlaw pulled off his hat, understanding the stallion's pain. "I get that, I really do. Did I ever tell you about another one of my old gang havin' a son of his own?" He played with the brim some, reminiscing. "N-no... What was he like, the son I mean? I'm sure his dad missed him terribly." He chuckled somberly at that. "See, that's just the thing: he kept the little tyke and the missus with him. The kid was alright, though. Smart. Even more than half the adults." "He kept him near all that...danger!? Why?" He asked. Zecora was now paying close attention too. "Well, unlike you, he didn't have a choice. John Marston was a hell of a guy, but he could only do so much. He was forced to travel with us, kid and all, 'specially since his face was known in almost every major town and city." He looked back up, meeting Carrot's eyes with desperation. "You got to keep 'em outta this mess. I don't wanna witness another family broken apart because of this..." He admitted. Suddenly, there was a tapping coming from the side of the wagon. "We're clear." Jumping down, the outlaw asked about the situation from Mac. "Got us a map without much trouble. No clear roads past this point-" he pointed to a small patch of forests painted just on the outskirts of the local map. "We're somewhere around halfway there-" pointing to the town of Dusty Trails, he traced his hoof along a road leading northeast and towards the same landmark he pointed out before, stopping his hoof at a small fork. "Camp is unlikely, but I know the forest is a start." "Where does the other road lead?" Arthur asked. Looking at the map, all he saw was a sheet of white, and a border naming something called the "Crystal Empire". Big Mac just shook his head at the name. "I know that's not right. Crystal Empire's too far north! Where's the legend-" he looked all over the map to find the scale of it, only to come up empty. The only thing he did find was the publish date, which didn't put him at ease. "This map's 80 years old, Arthur. Should we still even trust it?" Humming in thought, he gave it a good while before coming up with something. "Hey, Fluttershy!" He yelled up to the caravan currently waiting for the two. "Come Here for a sec." Flapping her wings, she landed softly next to the outlaw. "What is it, Arthur?" "Can you ask some of the nearby animals how far away this is?" He pointed to the forest on the map. "Sure!" Trotting a few steps away, she leaned down to a pair of nearby bunny rabbits, asking for directions. "Oh? Oh my! That is far away! Okay, I'll tell them." Trotting back, the Pegasus gave them the news. "Mr. and Mrs. Fluffytails told me it's at least a week to reach the forest. They told me it's safe though, and that there's a trading outpost a few days from here where we can resupply." "Well, that's... News." Arthur couldn't tell if it was good news or bad. It was true the trading post was far enough not to notice the damage done in Dusty Trails, but he still kept cautious nonetheless. That was only the first problem, however. They already spent a few days on the road before setting up in the clearing back near the town, and supplies were dwindling. They can't keep staying on the road without learning basic survival techniques and he didn't have much time to teach. "What do you think, Mac? You've been in Equestria longer, so what're your thoughts?" The red stallion gave it some thought. "Well, if this Trading Outpost is our only chance to resupply, I say we take it." "And you, Fluttershy? Think the rest can hang on until then?" He glanced back and noticed some weren't faring too well to all this travel. One group yawned noticeably, while another rubbed the sand out of their eyes in a poor attempt to stave off exhaustion. "I-I'm not sure." She mumbled. "A-after all the commotion, I'm sure they want to rest. Is it alright, I mean, can they, um, rest for a bit?" He glanced back at the smoke behind them, as well as heard a faint police whistle blowing. He sighed. "No, we still ain't far enough away yet. Anypony lookin' to rest their hooves can jump in the wagon, takin' turns on leading the caravan. It's best if we make as much ground as possible." "O-okay. I think that works..." The Pegasus hesitantly agreed. "What's wrong?" He asked. "You're a part of this now too, so tell me what's goin' on." "W-well, um, I don't think I should be the one telling them, you're the one leading us." He gave it some thought. Though it was true he held the reigns, Arthur didn't lead, and never has. "Well, I'm not much of a leader. I make stupid decisions, hell, we all do!" He chuckled. "But the way I see it, the best thing to do is agree to somethin' rather than be the sole pony calling the shots. Between the three of us, we should be able to come to an agreement, and lead different things in our own way." He pointed to Big Mac. "Mac, you're good at keepin' track of supplies." The stallion agreed with his trademark Eeyup. "And Fluttershy," he smiled, facing the Pegasus. "You're good with pe-ponies. You take care of 'em. He tightened his brim. "And as for me, I'm good at causin' trouble." He chuckled. "But I'll make sure we can keep happy both with supplies and morale. Now come on, we have a lot of ground to cover..." And they did. It took almost all day to get to a good place to stop and set up camp. The ponies were battered and restless from all the walking they needed to do, but it was worth it. Not much was around in the way of sightseeing, however; For miles upon miles, all around them was grassy plains, save for the odd patch of trees and bushes, thankfully loaded with fruits and vegetables. Their food shortage, it seemed, was sated. However, Arthur had another problem he needed to address. "Alright everypony," he stood next to the center atrium they mock-built out of the tarp from the wagon. "I know it's been a long journey on the road, but this time I mean it when I say you can kick your legs up and just relax." A roar of cheer and relief came over the crowd, but was short-lived, however. "BUT!" He shouted. "That doesn't mean the work stops. You got a lot t'learn about this life, and it's about time I properly train y'all." "However," He motioned to Fluttershy and Big Mac. "I ain't doing it alone. Mac and Flutters will both help me in teachin'." Approaching beside him, Arthur quickly explained what the two would train the rest of the gang in. "Fluttershy is good at talkin' and, er, I think one of y'all called it "assertiveness"? Her job is to teach you how to get some info the easy way. I'll watch over her shoulder for the first few lessons, guidin' her along in teaching you. As for Mac-" he motioned to the stallion to start speaking. Nodding, Mac walked to one of the few trees littered about their campsite and bucked it so hard, the trunk launched in the air, sending two other trees falling to the ground. "Eeyup." Was all he said, his point getting across plain as day. "Well, that's all there is to it, so let's start settin' up." He shouted, breaking up the impromptu meeting. Arthur really hoped he knew what he was doing when it came to these ponies. The ponies of Ponyville were too soft, too used to danger literally walking on their front porch, and that same danger brushed off by something else. It reminded him of that lovey dovey rich couple he saved before they headed to Saint Denis, that is, until Dutch's plan backfired. Regardless, it was going to be a tough few weeks training them, and he wasn't sure they'd be good enough by that time. Arthur just hoped they'd learn enough before they got to the trading post... Meanwhile, a certain unicorn, of the great and powerful variety, was currently grumbling at the rudeness of the town she stopped in. "The gall of those backwater hicks!" Trixie exclaimed to Nopony in particular. "You set off one firework, and all of a sudden, The Great and Powerful Trixie" She posed for dramatic effect, again to no one. The dirty road the unicorn found herself on was deserted. " 'Dusty Trails'! More like 'Moldy 'Snails'! Thankfully, Trixie had a fan there to help her out." Sure enough, a brown earth pony explained she was a showmare, and was no more dangerous than a harmless mouse. "If i ever find myself in the unpleasant company of whoever's bright idea it was to THROW DYNAMITE THROUGHOUT THE TOWN will have a serious bill to pay! 'Excessive explosion' tax shouldn't even be a thing!" She sighed, looking down at the near empty bag of bits hovering in her magic. "At least they told Trixie about the trading post. Maybe they'll give some supplies in exchange for a show..."