//------------------------------// // 2 - Brotherly Kindness // Story: The Minotaur, the Princess and the Train Tracks // by Beware The Carpenter //------------------------------// Stone Resolve whirled his blade in a star pattern around his horns, never losing his perfect combat stance as he waited for Iron Will to pick up the other claymore. He didn’t want to kill his younger brother; for years he had hoped that one day, Iron Will would return home of his own accord and redeem himself. But with each passing year his dishonor grew and now he had run out of time. Even now the minotaur clans were assembling; on the apex of the next full moon they would choose the new Supreme battle Priest to lead them; and Stone Resolve needed to leave Ponyville by tomorrow at the latest to reach home before the summit. “Pick up the blade Iron Will! Face me like a minotaur!” The duel would begin the moment Iron Will touched his sword, it would end when one of them was dead; and as much as Stone Resolve hoped his brother wasn’t the weak coward he took him for, he wanted this to be over quickly. Iron Will stepped back; his proud stage persona already crumbling, “I don’t want to fight you.” “You have no choice!” “Fight? Why would you want to fight him? He’s you’re brother, I thought you wanted to throw a part-” Stone Resolve kicked Pinkie out from between himself and Iron Will where she had foolishly located herself. “Pick up the blade!” Stone Resolve repeated for the final time; he wanted to give Iron Will to have as honorable a death as he could, and there was no honor for him to win in killing an unarmed foe, but if Iron Will refused to fight, execution would be an acceptable solution. Iron Will took a deep breath and reached forth to the handle of his blade; Stone Resolve tightened his grip on his sword. Iron Will took one step forwards, then dashed to the side and grabbed his two goats, one under each arm, and then jumped over the hedge wall into the maze behind. “Coward!” howled Stone Resolve , running to retrieve Iron Will’s claymore and then leaping over the hedge wall after him. Stone Resolve landed inside the maze in just enough time to see Iron Will’s tail slid around a bend, and took off after him; catching glimpses of his brother as they weaved through the maze’s entrails. The bray of a goat came from the opposite direction but Stone Resolve ignored it; Iron Will was the only quarry that mattered. Stone Resolve saw Iron Will’s arm swoop around a bend and then heard rapid, light steps running in the lane parallel to Stone Resolve. With nothing but a thin hedge separating them, Stone Resolve hewed an opening in the wall with one sweep of his sword, pushed through it, and spear tackled Iron Will who fell to the ground offering no resistance, no width and no weight. Stone Resolve rolled across the ground wrestling with himself before he realized he was embracing a broken cardboard cutout of his brother. He rose, and out of nowhere; the pink mare appeared. Tossing aside the bottom half of Iron Will’s cutout she’d been holding, she reached through the hedge and withdrew a large pole, crowned with an inch-thick, multi hued disk, that wasn’t even sharp, and brought it crashing down onto Stone resolves head. The mare’s ridiculous weapon did nothing except to get caught on his horns, Stone Resolve raised himself to full height, hoisting the mare off the ground as she refused to let go of her… lollypop? A clawed gauntlet shot out and closed around her, but found nothing but thin air. “Why do you want to hurt Iron Will!” The mare had appeared up a tree, outside of Stone’s Resolve reach glaring menacingly at him, brandishing a cupcake at him as if she thought she could threaten him with it. “Do not interfere,” roared Stone Resolve, “This does not concern you!” “No! I know Iron Will can be a meanie grump sometimes; but that doesn’t mean you have to kill him. I’m warning you; stay away from him unless you’re willing to be nice!” Stone Resolve glared up at the pink mare; this was taking too long. He picked up his swords and began backtracking to where he had seen Iron Will’s hoofprints. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Iron Will jumped over the hedge, into the maze, dashed to the right, and jumped over another hedge and out of the maze; setting his goats down to run beside him as they raced the short distance to his caravan. Iron Will traveled the continent giving his seminars so he never stayed anywhere for long and was always ready to leave on short notice; nevertheless he hadn’t packed up this quickly since that time he was chased out of town by that mob of psycho, totally overreacting camels. Within thirty seconds, Iron Will had stuffed into his caravan in no particular order: a lawn chair, a folding table, a novel, a small printing press Iron Will used to make promotional materials, and possibly, a small echidna that Iron Will made a mental note to search for later. He grabbed the front of the caravan and began pulling it towards the road, with his goats pushing from the back. A claymore whistled through the air, wood screamed in protest and then in wagon toppled as one wheel came flying off. Iron Will grit his teeth and turned; beside his wagon was Stone Resolve holding one claymore with the other on the ground between them. “No more running; this ends now.” “I don’t want to fight you.” “Coward! Does honor mean nothing to you anymore?” “It does,” he lied, “But that doesn’t mean we have to fight; there are other ways to regain my honor." Stone Resolve hesitated, "Not many; for disgrace such as yours the only cures would be an honorable death, to slay a dragon or to kill me in Drekarr. A Drekarr ritual will guarantee your honor whether you win or lose and so seeing as how that's the only feasible option-" "I'll slay a dragon!" Iron Will promised. "You? You failed to kill a dragon with a warband of fifty minotaurs. The very fact that these ponies think you’re worth listening to is proof enough that there are no warriors in this village, and even if there were, why should I believe they would follow you into battle against a dragon?” "I'll fight the dragon alone." Stone Resolve slowly lowered his weapon, "Now you're sounding like a minotaur, but if you wish to die in battle my blade is as good as a dragon's breath; or are you really that concerned for my conscience?" "I will kill the dragon; and live. The elders don’t dictate how large a dragon must be for it to be regarded as a slay." "Any dragon small enough for you to handle would still be protected by its mother." "Not all of them." Iron Will insisted, "Some ponies raise orphan dragons and keep them as servants; there’s one in this village.” Stone resolve stared at him for a long time, then sheathed his sword "If you slay a dragon, I will revoke Drekarr, and we can return home together, where I will personally proclaim your deed before the elders and we can be a family once more." "I swear it." Stone Resolve sheathed his sword; “Go then, kill your dragon and reclaim your honor. I will take your wagon to Sugarcube Corner and wait for you there until sunset. If you succeed we will go home together, if you die I will bring word of your honorable death home; if you try to run, I will slit the throats of your goats, and hunt you to the ends of the earth.” Iron Will nodded, clasped hands with his brother and then turned towards Ponyville; and the Golden Oaks Library. >>> An Innocent Reptile >>>