Rapid Quill looked on, surprised at the news he had been told. Sitting before him were Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Apple Jack. They had just informed the unpublished author that there was buzz around all of Ponyville for the story that he had been writing for the past few months. The buzz had started with a select few ponies, but it had been growing as the rest of the citizens of Ponyville were being introduced slowly.
Having moved to Ponyville only a few years earlier, Rapid Quill had marveled at the closeness of the small community, had made a few new friendships of his own, and was getting more comfortable each day with the ponies around him. He tried to be more outgoing, but was a little
reserved when it came to social gatherings. Now, he was the talk of the town, at least that’s what the girls had just said.
“I think you really need to do something big for this, Quill,” Rainbow Dash suggested, winking at the stallion. “I mean, you know we all love the story and can’t wait for the next part, but you gotta love having everypony else clamoring for more.”
“What are you suggesting?” Rapid Quill asked, sweat beginning to spot his brow. He had been commissioned for this story, the original request having been kept a secret. It was a mistake to share it with the mares he had already let read it, but it seemed a bigger mistake to share it with everypony else.
“What about a public reading of the story?” Twilight said, her eyes beginning to shimmer. “We could get everypony together, make a small celebration of it, and have you read us the ending to the story. You are close, right?”
“Well,” Quill said, his knees beginning to shake, “the story is coming close to an end, probably in the next three chapters or so, but I doubt anypony will want to come out to hear me read it. I don’t even know if I could read it; I’d be too nervous.”
“Shoot darlin’” Apple Jack said, giving him a gentle shot to the shoulder, “I reckon y’all are sellin’ yerself too short. We’ll getchoo all gussied up and then y’all will be a hit.”
Twilight noticed the poor author’s state and stuck out a hoof, laying it gently on his shoulder. “If you aren’t comfortable, then we don’t have to do it. I just thought it would be a nice way to get your story out. I’d even be willing to read it for you, if that would help.”
Rapid Quill steadied himself, deciding that he needed some time, and informed the girls that he would need to think about it. The story was still a work in progress anyways, so there was no need to make plans without getting it done. He thanked them for their kindness and suggestion, then asked for some time alone to consider what he wanted to do. With a hearty goodbye, the three mares walked out of his store and left him with his thoughts, and the next part of his story.
In the northwestern region of Equestria, near the Galloping Gorge, a young mare named Daisy Cutter was laying in wait, her entire day spent in the same prone position, hidden away in the tree line. She had set a trap in the field before her, nestled between two tree lines in a secluded part of the northern forests of Equestria, intent on ridding the neighboring town of the unicorn problem that was plaguing it.
She and her father had been hired by the town, which had recently lost numerous outlying buildings and livestock to the bandit, to trap the pony and bring him in for justice. They were skilled hunters, having trapped large game all around the land, but they had needed to turn to bounty hunting, to make the ends meet. “Not that it will be any different,” Devin Cook, her father and mentor, had told her. “Set the trap, leave some bait, and wait for the spring. Just like any other game.”
Her father’s words echoing in her head, Daisy had sat patiently going on ten hours now, barely moving a muscle. She could feel her joints beginning to stiffen, her intense hunting stance taking its toll, and worried that she would soon need to move or risk injury. Moving would cause her to lose her hiding spot, though, so it was out of the question. Still, after spending almost all morning on this one attempt, she was wondering if she would need to call it quits for the day.
Just as her willpower was beginning to falter, she saw a flock of birds take off in the distance, flying away in a hurry and squawking up a storm. This brought the hunt back to the forefront of her mind, her exhaustion taken over by the thrill. Her ears perked up and faced toward the tree line where the birds had risen, straining to hear any noise that might give away the approach. A rustle was heard and was getting louder ever so slightly, something moving slowly towards the field.
She felt her muscles tense as the rustle approached the edge of the trees, a few branches moving aside as something approached. Her pupils expanded as she watched for what, she hoped, would be the mark she was after. She saw a dark grey shape as it pushed aside the last branch, and sighed, feeling all her senses lose focus and her muscles relax. Just some stupid pegasus, she thought.
Casting her view back towards the interloper, she began to look the pegasus over. He was an above average height, strong build, and well groomed appearance. She could tell he was strong, the muscles just under his skin rippling with every step he took, but the way he wandered through the forest, made her think he wasn’t that intelligent. Adding to his oblivious nature was the fact that he must’ve stepped on every downed tree branch or twig in the whole forest, the sound almost too much for her ears.
She huffed in frustration and headed out to chase off the pony, his loud wandering doing more damage to her goal than good. No creature would approach the field now, let alone a wily bandit, so long as he was stomping around. As she brushed aside the tree limbs covering her position, barely making a noise, she called out, “Hey you! What are you doing?”
The pegasus turned with a kind smile, his wings ruffling a little in surprise, but was forced to squint his eyes as the earth pony had purposely set her position with the sun setting behind her. As she approached, and his eyes adjusting slightly, she noticed a change in him. He seemed to stand straighter, his ears perked up, and his mouth went from smiling warmly to hanging slightly open. She stopped walking, noticing that the pony was staring at her a little too intently, and snorted in anger. “Do you realize that you wasted a perfectly good day for me?”
With a slight shake of his head, the pegasus’ expression changed, a more confident look plastered on his face. He began to stroll over to Daisy, not taking his eyes off of her, but not staring creepily like he had. “I apologize for any inconvenience I may’ve been,” he said, putting on the charm a little too hard. “You see, I was looking for something in the woods and seemed to have gotten turned around a little.”
Daisy Cutter looked on, dumbfounded by the ridiculous change this pony had taken on. At one moment, he seemed strong and confident, but now he seemed rather doltish, strutting around and acting a fool. As he approached, and Daisy tried to hide her laughter at his pathetic attempts at seeming suave, she suddenly got a feeling that something was wrong. Noticing exactly what was about to happen, she tried to cut him off, shouting, “Hey, stop moving!”
“You see,” he said, missing her request as he was looking around at the field they occupied. “I was hoping to find a patch to fly from, to see about getting a better view, and just when I found one, I run into you.” Ignoring another cry to stand still, he said, “So, what brings you out to these... What?!?”
Daisy watched on in bemused agitation, the imbecile having triggered her trap. She watched as the snare trap snapped tight, holding the pegasus in place by his back hoof. He attempted to pull free, yanking his hoof, which caused her to warn, “Stop, that won’t work. I can get…”
She watched in misery as he pulled hard enough to trigger the second trap, where the snare was yanked back, pulling the pegasus along with it, towards the tree line. He shouted out in surprise, falling to his stomach, and his wings frantically shot out to the sides as he clawed at the ground with his front hooves. After approximately twenty feet, he was positioned over a pit trap, the thin layer of foliage giving way to his weight as he fell from her view.
With a grumble and a sigh at the traps she would have to reset, Daisy pushed forward, dodging the other few traps she had around the area, and stood by the edge of the pit. Down below, about thirty feet into the pit, lay the pegasus, having fallen on his back, his wings disheveled and dirty. He was groaning slightly, staring up at the sky above with a look of slight pain and shock. When she had approached the edge, his look switched to one of embarrassment, as he apologized for the misstep.
After helping to untangle the fool and pointing him towards the nearby town, Daisy set about resetting her traps and took leave of the field, carrying her unused supplies in tow behind her, and headed towards her camp she shared with her father. He had wanted to give her the first crack at a capture, his fatherly soft side sometimes shining over his business side. After returning back with no luck, it was likely that he would take over soon, even though it wasn’t her fault. It’s that darn pegasus’ fault that I didn’t get anything today, she thought.
She approached the camp, setting her supplies down where she would use them again tomorrow, to lay extra traps back out in hopes that the second attempt would prove more fruitful, and called out to her mentor. Where did that lost pony come from anyways? she thought, wondering why he was in the forest in the first place
Stepping around the corner of his tent was her father, Devin Cook, who was almost identical to her in appearance. They shared the same brown coat, with a few sprinkled white patches, and even the same white stripe down their face, ending at the nose. The big difference, other than their size, was that his mane was starting to thin out, while her man was pulled back into a tightly wrapped pony tail. When he saw that she returned empty-hoofed, he was agitated.
“I see you didn’t catch him?” he asked, looking past her at the supplies, one line of which showed wear and tear. “But you did capture something. What, may I ask, did you snare?”
She huffed slightly, annoyed that he was so easily able to tell of her failures. “I had waited all morning and into the afternoon for the mark to show, but I never made contact. Right as I was about to call it a day, some idiot pegasus wandered into the clearing and triggered two of my traps. I’m hopeful that the bounty didn’t see the traps, or else he may never come to the field.”
Devin nodded in agreement, afraid they may’ve lost their chance at a surprise. He felt a little sorry for his daughter, her first long stake-out being ruined by some hiker, but he knew that anything could happen. He thought for a second, and then voiced his concern, “Did you say a pegasus wandered out of the woods? What would a pegasus be doing hiking through the woods and not flying? Tell me more about him.”
Daisy thought about the line of questioning, attempting to reason out what her father was teaching her. “He was dark grey, pretty strong looking, like he could be a fighter, but seemed well groomed for a hiker. He indicated that he was looking for something and had gotten lost. Then he tripped my traps and that was that.”
Devin shrugged, and said, “He said he was searching for something in the woods? Could he have been a bounty hunter? We might have some competition.”
Daisy considered for a second, her thoughts turning back to the moment she first saw him. She thought back to the muscles as they moved just below his hide. Unconsciously, her face became just slightly flushed. “Maybe. Then again, he was terrible. He must’ve made more noise walking out of those woods than an entire stampede of cattle. And walking right into my traps, because he wasn’t watching where he was going…”
Devin watched his daughter, not blind to the slight redness along her white stripe. “Wasn’t watching where he was going? Where was he looking?” He raised his eyebrow a little, not wanting to come across as too stern.
The white stripe down Dasiy’s face turned a much darker red as she stared over her father’s shoulder. He had been looking right at her, trying to charm her. “He was just some stupid pegasus. There’s no way he is after our mark. He was clueless, bumbling, and a fool.” She turned her back to walk to her tent, trying to push the pony out of her mind.
“Don’t let emotions fluster your judgment,” her father said, causing her to stop in mid-step. She squinted her eyes, holding her frustrations inside, and then breathed in and out one long breath, calming herself immediately. She didn’t even want to turn to face her mentor, afraid of what way her body might betray her this time. After a short time, she walked on, entering her tent, and laying down with a huff.
Devin watched his daughter as she stormed off, his fatherly instinct clashing with his trainer side. My little filly is growing up, he thought, a slight smile touching the corners of his mouth. I’m not ready for that, though. And this pegasus might cause a problem. He sighed, turning to scan the tree lines before he also headed off to his tent.
Skulking in the shadows of the trees lining the small camp, Beaming Justice continued watching the two new neighbors he had stumbled upon. He had been wandering through the woods for the exact reason this mare’s father suspected. He had been hired by a farmer on one of the outlying farms of the nearby town to stop the siege the unicorn had started before his farm was destroyed.
Having been stationed as a guard at the farm for the past two days, Justice decided the best course would be to look for the bandit himself, taking the fight to his opponent. He had wandered into the woods, off a small trail that led to a local lake, and had gotten lost. The forest was rather dense, the lack of suitable space preventing him from flying up and away. When he had stumbled into the field, it really was to find a place to take off and leave.
He had been looking back at the surprisingly thick amount of branches on the trees in the northern part of Equestria when he heard her shout. Ah, the earth pony mare he had seen. The instant he had turned and seen her, he felt his heart skip a beat. The light behind her had cast a glow around her presence as she had called out to him, causing his blood to warm up. He couldn’t help but realize that something about this mare made him happy, all from a single shout.
He’d admit to himself that he acted rather foolishly, both in what all he had said to her and in the fact that he had been embarrassed by the traps. He felt that he would’ve been able to see them normally, but he just couldn’t remove her from his sight. Only once before had he felt anything like this, but it had been quite a long time. Love at first sight is just something you read about, he told himself, begging with himself to believe it. This mare had his attention, now if only he could get hers.
The next morning, Devin and Daisy awoke just before dawn and broke down their camp. As they had been spotted, and weren’t sure about the pegasus hiker, they decided they needed to relocate to a new location. After Devin went about tearing down their camp traps and Daisy finished packing up their equipment, the two ponies headed off to look for another secluded position. As they traveled, Devin took the time to reiterate the teachings he felt his pupil needed refreshed. This continued for a few hours, until the two came across a small clearing by a waterfall.
“This will be perfect,” Devin said, scanning the surrounding area. “The falls will mask our voices, and we can watch the river. Next to the lake, this is one of the only water sources in the area. The bandit will have to come for water at some point.” The two set out to lay a few extra traps around their camp, to warn them of intruders, especially now that there was more than just the unicorn to be wary of.
Having awoken after the sun arose, Justice bid farewell to the farmer and his gracious wife, having enjoyed a light breakfast, and headed for the woods for another day of searching. He had told himself he was searching for the unicorn, but his heart said that wasn’t the case. It wouldn’t hurt to stroll past her, no, their camp on the way in, he had thought to himself.
As he came around the familiar hidden pathway he had followed yesterday, he felt his heart sink, the slight clearing being devoid of their tents. His shoulders slouched, his mind only thinking about the mare from the day before, as he entered the clearing. He wasn’t able to concentrate, telling himself he should be more concerned about the unicorn he was hired to stop, but every time he closed his eyes, even for a blink, he saw her face. I have to find her!
Justice began looking throughout the camp for any signs, any clues. The two bounty hunter ponies did a good job cleaning up after themselves, though, so the search was fruitless. Searching the outlying boarder of the camp, had turned up a possibility, one that Justice felt he had to look into. One small weed, bent halfway up the stem, was all he could find. He circled the camp, finding no better leads, and decided to take the path before him.
Throughout the day, Justice walked, slow and steady, to find more clues; a small print here, a scuffed trunk there, and every now and then, absolutely nothing to go off of. He had to double back numerous times, returning to his previous clue, hoping he wasn’t following what marks he left behind, and tried to set off in the “right” direction again. The day had seemed wasted, his frustration growing, and he had just about given up.
Suddenly, he noticed something up ahead. He walked carefully, trying not to make a noise or damage his potential path, and approached what appeared to be the only item in the forest that grew sideways. Bending down to get a good look at it, he saw that it was the same color as the plants and ground around it, but had a stiffer look to it. To verify, he softly blew on the area, noticing how all the grass and weeds would bend in the wind, but this item remained firm.
He crouched lower, laying his head on the ground beside the anomaly, and tried to follow its path. It looked like it had a small wire coming out of the back and immediately going underground. Upon further inspection, he noticed a very thin line of dirt leading off to the tree a few feet away. He stepped lightly toward the tree, keeping his eye on the recently upturned dirt, and saw that it ran to a small pin in the ground.
The pin seemed to hold into place a small mechanism, gears of which were locked tightly, that had a vine-like rope held in place. He lightly flew, following the rope higher up the tree, and gasped. In the top of the tree, laying on the underside of a tree branch, was a woven rope trap, currently balled and painted to look like a piece of hanging fruit. The setup almost definitely would have an alarm or noisy component, alerting to all nearby of a capture.
This proves that I’m close, Justice said, a determined smile crossing his face. He stepped past the trap, carefully looking at all details of the forest around him as he walked through it. If there was a grouping of leaves or underbrush, he flew over it, afraid it would be a pit. If there were any plants that looked out of sorts, he would carefully step around them, thinking they were another trigger to a different trap. It took him a considerable amount of time to pick his way through a pathway with far fewer traps then he was imagining.
Finally, he noticed the trees lightening up a little and could hear the distinct sound of a waterfall nearby. Crawling forward, watching his movements to make sure not to snap a twig and give himself away, he pulled himself up to the edge of the tree line, hiding behind a bush he could see through. Sure enough, the camp of the two hunter ponies was straight ahead, though they were nowhere to be found.
Deciding that the journey to this location was not one he wished to partake in again, Beaming Justice lay down, as still as he could and decided to wait. While he sat and waited, he began thinking back to the previous day. It was true that the mare he had run into was beautiful, but after seeing what she and, what had to be her father, since they looked so alike, could do with traps, he could tell she was also very talented. He just had to have a second chance to talk with her, one that didn’t end with him in a hole.
After a second unsuccessful day of searching and laying traps, the two hunter ponies returned to their camp, tired and hungry. Daisy offered to get some food started, and Devin decided to check the equipment around their camp. As he wandered out to check on their traps and alarms, he noticed a very slight trail leading up to one of their spring traps, though the trap wasn’t set off. He followed the trail, noticing how it seemed to weave and miss the other traps, sometimes disappearing all together.
Finally, stealthily, he began approaching the very outside of his camp. With hardly a single sound, he crept forward, noticing the path had widened a bit, almost as if somepony had crawled along. He stopped forty feet from the tree line and stared intently at a bush up ahead. It was faint, but he could see the tiniest bit of a tail sticking out from the bush.
Seeing the black tail caused him to chuckle internally. He had noticed the pegasus watching them at their last camp before retiring and was unsure if the pony was a threat or not, either as competition or working with the unicorn they were hunting. Now he was beginning to realize that the pony was probably there for a separate reason. Not wanting to give anything away, he slowly and silently crept back, circling around and re-entering the camp. I’ll keep an eye on that one, just in case, he thought, as he scanned the edge of the camp one more time, quickly noticing the slight glint of the eyes that watched him back.
The next day started with call into Daisy’s tent, her father waking her up and demanding that she be ready for training in two minutes. Wiping the sleep from her eyes and brushing the mangled mane to a degree of respectability, she quickly threw on her workout gear and headed for the front flap. As soon as she reached daylight, her eyes beginning to adjust to the light change, she shouted in surprise and ducked, barely missing being hit in the face by a pole. After dodging down, she rolled instinctively to her right, knowing that a missed attack could lead to a follow-up strike.
After gaining her composure, and jumping to her feet, she turned and saw her father, crouched down and preparing to strike again. No, when he’s like this, he isn’t my father; he’s my teacher first, she reminded herself, knowing that he wouldn’t take mercy on her. She flipped backwards, edging towards the nearby pile of wood they had grabbed for the fire. Picking up a piece of a log, she launched it at Devin, who deftly dodged it with ease.
Justice watched on, his adrenaline beginning to pump through his system, causing his heart to beat faster, his breathing to intensify, and the muscles along his legs and back to tighten. He watched on, surprised and intrigued, as the two ponies began fighting each other. As a “training exercise,” Justice found himself thinking back to his time with Royal Guard.
This type of training would’ve been banned, as both ponies looked intent to physically harm the other. This type of training, though, was exactly the type of training Justice and his friends had done outside of the barracks. Training under stressful situations such as this was the kind of training that better prepared one for battle situations. The exercises that was required for the Royal Guard, accuracy and strength building primarily, was the type to sculpt the body, but not the mind.
Justice watched on, scared that something bad might happen to the mare, but also amazed at how well she handled herself. Her amazing reflexes with the first dodge, especially so quickly after being awoken, were what had initially intrigued him the most. He had almost shouted out for her, but didn’t want to betray his hiding spot. Instead, he held his tongue and was treated to a good showing of two experienced fighters.
Daisy had Devin on the ropes. She had found a stick thick enough to fight back with and had just disarmed her opponent. Swinging with all her might, she lashed out, missing the nimble old stallion by a hair. With her follow-up strike, she wrapped the staff around her body and struck outward with it. Devin reared back at the right time to dodge the thrust and then struck down, snapping the branch in two.
The two ponies squared off, both side-stepping, waiting to see an opening for an attack. What is he up to? Daisy thought, having not seen her father this worked up in some time. It must be to make sure I’m ready for the unicorn thief. She stopped moving, instead charging forward suddenly. As the space between herself and her father shortened, she jumped out, aiming right at the pony.
In a flash, Devin dodged to his right, lashing out and catching his student in her side. Daisy groaned in pain as she fell to the side, temporarily forgetting about the fight. Stupid! she thought. ‘Don’t aim at where the target currently is. Always aim at where the target will be.’ She had heard the old stallion say that a hundred times. She stood up, still a little sore and turned to look at her opposition.
Devin stood there, challenging his pupil to another attack. As Daisy rushed him again, this time aiming to his left, as she assumed he wouldn’t dodge in the same direction again, Devin dodged to the right again and, once more, knocked her to the ground. He looked down at his daughter, partly upset that she wasn’t fairing as well as she should, and partly upset with himself that he was doing this to her.
Daisy got up again, once more brushing herself off, and turned to see the same frowning face across from her. She stamped her hooves, pawing at the ground, and charged in one last time. As the distance between the two hunters narrowed, Devin suddenly shouted, “Stop!” Daisy complied, pulling up short and looking on with a confused, but tired, face. “I want to ask you a question, student,” Devin continued, walking around her while he lectured. “If you were to carry out that third strike, where would you have aimed?”
“I would’ve aimed to the left again, assuming that you wouldn’t use the same dodge three times in a row,” Daisy replied, staring straight ahead and the waterfall. Her judgment seemed sound to herself, but Devin was less than impressed.
“So you, who had been knocked down twice with the same move, would’ve repeated it again?” he asked, his voice stern. “You assume your opponent wouldn’t use the same technique three times in a row, but you yourself used the same technique three times in a row. Do you see the error in your thinking?” He looked down at the determined face of his daughter, the face she always made when she was committing something to memory.
“You are wise and correct, master,” Daisy said, realizing how foolish she was. She was seeing that her best approach would’ve been to not strike in the same manner, but to use her charge as a fake-out to launch a different move, one that might take the opponent by surprise. Devin nodded, seeing that a lesson was taught, and instructed his student to wash up for the day. Daisy jogged down to the waterfall to clean off the sweat their sparring session had caused and came back to her teacher already missing.
Devin had left a note, only to be discovered when Daisy checked her tent, instructing her to stay and think about the lesson of the day. It also suggested some aerobic exercises for her to do and some fight training to complete by herself. He was going to go off alone for the day to find the unicorn outlaw. She sighed, upset that she wasn’t going to be a part of the third day of hunting, but set out to complete her tasks.
As she finished up the light aerobics, she sat and began to meditate on the fight from the morning. Thinking through the fight, she discovered a few areas where she could’ve aimed different, or struck better, and of course she thought about the final lesson. She was deep into this meditation when she suddenly heard a small flutter to her left. Her eyes shot open, she rolled to the right, and grabbed a nearby stick, ready for whatever she found.
Standing in the middle of her camp was the pegasus from two days earlier. His wings were flared up in defense, his musculature tight and he jumped back slightly at her move. She dropped the stick down, keeping a grip on it at her side, and just stared at the pony, dumbfounded. “What are you doing here? What do you want? How did you get in here?”
Justice looked on, his wings slowly folding back onto his back, his muscles relaxing slightly. He looked down at her weapon of choice and, after locking eyes with her, said, “You really shouldn’t drop your guard like that. Holding the weapon to your side will not allow you to defend yourself against a quick opponent.” He had said this with a straight face, his teacher side outweighing the side that wanted to gush over her.
Daisy’s jaw hung open slightly, her eyebrows raised. Is this guy giving me advice? Who does he think he is?!? Raising her stick to a more defensive position, she asked again, “Who are you? What do you want?”
“I watched your fight this morning, you are a skilled fighter,” Justice said, turning slightly to show he meant no harm, while also keeping his eyes peeled to make sure she meant no harm either. “There were some holes, some items that you could afford to work on, but considering the lack of warning, I was very impressed.” Seeing her expression get colder still, and realizing he had still refused to answer, Justice said, “My name is Beaming Justice. I am just traveling through and I was taken aback by you and your trainer. I only wanted to watch and help you. I promise.”
Daisy cast a sideways look at this pony. He could be lying, I really don’t know anything about him, she had thought. Then again, if he had meant me harm, he could’ve done it when my eyes were closed. Heck, he can fly and take me from above. She put the stick down, reaching out a hoof and shaking Justice’s hoof. “Daisy Cutter, it’s nice to meet you. Now leave.”
Justice smiled, unable to contain both the joy of touching her hoof, which was both soft and strong, and the slight chuckle at her demand. “I’m very curious, if you don’t mind me asking, what you and your…father, I assume?... are doing out here.”
“I don’t really think it is any of your business,” Daisy said, yet she couldn’t help but feel something stirring inside. What a nice smile, she thought. His hoof shake showed some power and respect, having not gone limp like most stallions shaking a mare’s hoof tend to do. “But since you are being so kind, and as a way to say ‘I’m sorry’ for the other day, my father and I are looking for somepony. A bad pony that we need to catch. Why are you out here?”
Justice shrugged, having assumed as much. “Because I’m looking for the same raider you are. The unicorn who has ravaged the town, I assume?”
Daisy straightened up, surprised that the bumbling oaf from the clearing two days ago, the fool who looked like he had never seen a trap before, was out here on a pony hunt as well. It’s a wonder he can even take care of himself, let alone track anypony down. Suddenly, a thought dawned on her. “How did you come into the camp? We have booby-traps all around the camp to prevent somepony from approaching unannounced.”
“I must say, you two lay down fantastic traps, and leave behind almost no trail. I had gone to your campsite yesterday around midday and, having found you gone, set off to find you. If not for some barely perceptible clues, I never would’ve found you. As for the traps, those were very impressive. I was amazed by how many I needed to walk around or dodge. Did you set them up yourself or did your father help?” At this, Justice sat down, intent to have a normal conversation.
“We set them down together,” Daisy said, finding herself sitting down as well. There was something about this pony, his voice, his looks, his quite confidence; she couldn’t help but feel at peace with him. “We usually set our own traps, as a game, to see who can catch something or somepony first. I must say, my father’s traps are expertly placed, whereas mine are still coming along. I’m amazed that you were able to sneak through them all without triggering one.” She really was, as it would take a pony with a keen eye to see the traps and a skilled pony to avoid them.
In this manner, the two ponies continued to talk about their experiences in the forest, sharing their knowledge of the unicorn all three were chasing. They discussed who had hired them and decided to try to bring the pony in unharmed, for the justice system to decide his fate. Beaming Justice’s orders were to get rid of the threat, but he wasn’t so sure he had wanted to kill the pony anyways.
After a short time, Daisy had excused herself, asking Justice to leave as she still had some training to do. She cast him another sideways glance when he offered to assist her, thinking herself pretty skilled. He chuckled again and insisted that he would like to stick around and help any way he could. Taking him up on his offer, the two moved over to the bank near the river and squared off.
Taking the initiative, Justice bowed to her, a custom from a different time, built out of respect for the one you dueled. She smiled, unsure what to do with the pony before her, but bowed herself, feeling rather silly. With the formalities out of the way, the two began to side-step, much like she had done against her father earlier.
She lashed out, aiming for the first strike, and came fast at the pegasus. Justice dodged her blow, blocking all her strikes while stepping backwards, watching her determined face intently. Finally, he allowed one blow to hit, out of generosity more than anything, and nodded in respect at the power she had behind it. Backing away, he noticed that determined look turn to one of frustration.
“If you are just playing around, then don’t even say you’ll help!” she shouted. She glared at the pegasus in front of her, knowing he had messed up on purpose, just so she could hit him. “If you do that again, I swear I’ll throw you into a trap myself, one that you won’t get help getting down from.”
Justice nodded, apologizing for his action, and set himself out to prove to her that he was taking this seriously. Taking the offensive, he rushed forward, weaving and dodging in a line to confuse her, and lashed out. Daisy was able to successfully dodge the first swing of his hoof, parry the second strike, but was taken by surprise from the backwards kick as he ran past. His back hooves bucked, catching her on her leg, hitting her with a little force, but not as much as he could muster. He stopped, allowed her to regain her stance, and then came at her again.
The two continued to fight throughout the afternoon, Justice determined to teach her how to read an opponent and Daisy intent on learning. She was shocked at how skillful Justice was, his skill about equal to her father’s. After the initial shock, she set herself to picking up as much as she could. Finally, they two took a break, as they had been sparring for over an hour, and sat down to talk again, though it couldn’t last for too long. Daisy explained that her father could be back at any time, and the two reluctantly parted.
Sure enough, Devin arrived shortly after the two had parted, and found his daughter in her tent. He entered with a slight frown on his face and a sour look. He explained to Daisy how he had made contact with the unicorn, even drew him into a trap or two, but the magic user was able to free himself and took off for the town. They needed to pack up their camp immediately and move on.
As the two ponies began to tear down their camp, Daisy moving a little slower than usual, constantly looking over at the bush that Justice had indicated he was hiding in, Justice had begun to retrace his steps back away from the camp. He had heard them say the unicorn was approaching the town, which meant the farm he was supposed to protect would be in danger.
After dodging all their traps, and finding a slight clearing for a takeoff, the pegasus flew as quickly as he could back to the farmers who had been so kind to him. He looked out and saw their barn ablaze and the unicorn laughing wickedly, using his magic to blow chickens apart. The farmer and his wife could be seen, huddled together in fright, through the window of the main house. Good, Justice thought, There’s still more time.
He flew as fast as he could, aiming himself as a missile at the unicorn and, with a huge crash, plowed the bandit over. Justice ran over, shaking the slight pain of the initial strike, and reared up before the unicorn could recover. Stomping down hard on his hind legs, Justice crippled the unicorn, who shot him a pained, angry look. Justice watched as his horn began to glow a dark green, and then kicked once between the vandal’s eyes, knocking him out cold.
After checking on the farmer and his wife, and telling them that the barn fire was too intense and would need to burn off, Justice set about dragging his treasure into town. Once he was within view of the second-hoof sentries, they ran out to meet him, helping to drag the unicorn into their prison and apply a magic-blocking cuff to his horn. The town celebrated the capture of the monster that had plagued them, and Justice was paid the hefty bounty.
It was at this time he looked out and saw the two familiar faces, just walking into town. Daisy looked on, a pained expression at the triumph of the pony she had met earlier in the day, and Devin stared on in cold silence. Justice tried to make his way to them, but the crowd of ponies wishing to congratulate him was too thick, and they turned away. His heart sunk, scared that he would lose her, the mare that he knew was special from the moment he saw her, and hated himself for never finding out where they lived.
A week passed as Justice had finally tracked down their house. He had had to ask the mayor of the town about the two bounty hunters he had hired. The mayor shrugged, saying they had walked into town and asked to be hired. This frustrated Justice, who asked for the location of other nearby towns and villages, setting off on a search for anypony with knowledge of the two brown hunters.
He finally received help from an older mountain stallion he ran into outside of the small city of Vanhoover. The pony had said he had met the two ponies a few times, as they tended to hunt in the nearby hills. He offered to show Justice where they lived, once Justice explained that he needed to find them to repay a debt.
Daisy was sitting in her room, her father having left for the city to get supplies, and cried. On the way back from their failed expedition, the two had talked about how they weren’t making enough money with their trapping to make ends meet. Devin feared that the two would have to sell their house, the only house that Daisy had ever known. She looked around her room and cried, memories flooding back to her. There had been a hope that the bounty on the unicorn would get them by for some time, but the nice pegasus that had trained with her and talked to her had stolen it away from them.
She turned back to her books, trying to forget her real life problems by diving into fiction and only barely heard somepony walking up the gravel pathway out front. Her ears perked up and she became confused when she heard a knocking at the door. Father should be home soon, but why would he need to knock? She approached the door and opened it, seeing the pegasus right in front of her, the nice smile on his face.
“What do you want?” she asked, rather irately. This took the pegasus by surprise, expecting a better response. “Haven’t you done enough trouble for us, Beaming Justice?”
She remembered my name, Justice said, a smile appearing once again. “I’m sorry for whatever I’ve done to you. I don’t understand why you are so upset. May I come in and we can talk about it? I searched for a week to find you.”
She barked back at how upset she was, the money for the bounty being very important for her father and herself, and then marveled when he pulled out a small sack containing every bit from the town’s bounty. He insisted that she take it, explaining that it wasn’t his plan to take the bounty. He explained about how he feared for the farmers when he heard the unicorn was attacking again.
“So, you rushed out without saying anything because you wanted to protect the farmers?” she asked, deciding whether this answer was good enough for her.
“Yeah,” Justice said, that same smile pasted on his mouth again, “I used to be a farmer, a long time ago. I guess I just still have a soft spot for them. They were very nice and all, I’ll probably go back and help them rebuild their barn, now that I know where you live.”
“If we still live here,” Daisy said, her expression getting down again. “I thank you for the offer, but we can’t take your money. You earned it and you should keep it.”
Justice pushed again, insisting that she keep the money. “It’ll do you more good than it will do me. Besides I have a healthy amount of money from some of my last adventures, and good friends who will help me as well. So I won’t need it.”
“Oh, really?” Daisy asked, her grin turning upward excitedly. “I love a good adventure story. Have you ever ready Reinhalter’s Twelve Tales of Bravery and his Hundred and One Knight Tales? I have a copy of each in my room that I read from every day.” She closed her eyes and smiled, thinking of the adventures within those two epic books, tales of bravery, tales of fear, and tales of victory. “There’s just something about the adventuring spirit. Of course, the author chose poorly in a tale or two, making the lead pegasus live through all the stories, but that’s fiction.” She shrugged at the end, smiling again.
What she missed was the pegasus beside her bashfully smiling. He watched her every reaction and couldn’t help chuckle. When she snapped out of her trance, and looked at the pegasus a little embarrassed, she smiled as he said, “I’ve read those too. They are some of my favorite books. You’re right, though. Normal ponies couldn’t survive all that adventure. What’s your favorite story?”
About that time, the two were interrupted by a throat clearing sound from behind them. The two ponies embarrassingly shot up, turning around and being greeted by a very upset older stallion. “Daisy, room, right now!” he said, barely raising the tone of his voice. The pony seemed to be shaking, he was so upset.
Daisy had never seen her father this angry, so she quickly obeyed, running to her room and entering it in a flash. She shut the door behind her, sitting next to her bedside and waited, unsure what kind of punishment would be coming to her. She strained, trying to hear what might’ve been going on outside between the two ponies, but was unsuccessful. Her wait felt like ages, but didn’t take long.
Entering her room with fire in her eyes, her father walked over to her with a snort and wrapped her in a hug. This confused Daisy, though she hugged back after a pause. When she felt him pull back, she looked over and saw anger on his face again. “What were you thinking?!?” he demanded, standing up so he could pace nervously. “Do you realize he could’ve been dangerous? Do you realize you could’ve been killed? What were you thinking?!?”
Daisy tried to apologize, but couldn’t find the words. Her embarrassment, and anger at herself, was building. She shouldn’t have let him in the house, sure, but she was done in by his smile and genuine kindness. If it had been a ruse, she would be in serious trouble now. “But, he didn’t hurt me,” was all she could say.
“Oh well, I guess we should just wait for somepony to hurt you before we are more careful?” her mentor said, rather sarcastically. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt. You can’t just assume the best in ponies, because you are going to get hurt that way.”
“And you shouldn’t automatically assume the worst,” a voice said, from the doorway. Justice walked in, slowly but confidently. “Now, before you say anything, I apologize for walking in, and for listening to what you said. Now, I want to let you know that I could never harm your daughter, I was just talking. We had met back at the campgrounds by the waterfall and…”
Daisy just stared at the pegasus, baffled by either his bravery, or stupidity. She looked over and saw her father, the red shining through his white stripe, his mouth fixed in a permanent scowl. She expected shouting, she expected loud yelling, but she was more terrified at the cold, low volume voice that demanded, “Son, there are two ways out of this room, through the door or out the window. I will let you choose."
With that Devin started walking slowly towards Justice, who was beginning to back out the door, talking the whole way. He professed how he felt about the mare, telling her father that he couldn’t stop thinking of her, how he had wanted to talk to her again, and how he was impressed with her fighting abilities. Needless to say, most of the discussion was only fueling the angry earth pony. With a hard push, Devin shoved Justice out the door, causing the pegasus to fall backwards.
Once the two were outside, and Daisy had followed, they stood across from each other. “I know you think that you can just walk into the house of two ponies like us, but you could not have been more wrong, son. I’m going to show you just how wrong you are, and then you are going to drag yourself as far away from my view as possible.”
Justice nodded in understanding, taking a defensive stance, then smiled warmly at what the older stallion did next. Bowing respectfully, nose almost to the ground, the stallion opened the duel with the most graceful formality that Justice had seen in some time. Giving back as much respect as he was given, Justice mimicked the bow, swiping his wings out and down as well. Daisy looked on in disbelief, this concept she had only just last week learned having been known to her father.
The two ponies stood back up, and the fight began. Justice began circling to his left, yet Devin remained perfectly still. After Justice was halfway around the pony, he rushed in for a strike, which was quickly dodged. Using the skills he had honed over the centuries, Justice spun on one leg and lashed out with the other three, connecting on each hit, but Devin was blocking all of them. As Justice took a moment to regain his balance, Devin struck out himself, a glancing blow barely hitting the pony. The two continued to trade failed swings at each other for a minute until Devin finally recorded a solid hit, one on Justice’s side that shot pain up his spine.
Justice backpedaled, trying to regain his composure, but the older stallion continued to press the offensive. Shouting in anger, the older pony ran forward, keeping the pegasus off balance, and continued to lash out. Finally able to regain some composure, and with a small window, Justice took wing and flapped hard to get off the ground.
Once above and away from the impressively strong pony below, Justice reassessed his strategy. Having remembered the training session that Devin and Daisy had had from the prior week, Justice charged forward, feinting left and, expecting the pony to dodge right, lashed out with all his might to the right. Surprised, Justice found that the pony did indeed dodge left, and lay another big blow to the his side. Justice fell hard to the ground, his momentum carrying him a short distance.
Devin frowned, staring down at the pegasus before him. He had expected more, having watched the training session his daughter and the young fighter conducted at the campsite, and was disappointed at the mistakes the pony was making. He struck out, expecting to catch the fighter unprepared, and instead found only dirt.
With speed that Daisy and Devin had trouble following, Justice jumped up, dodged the attack, and lashed out, landing a hard blow on the pony’s outstretched hooves. He was angry now, worked up and frustrated, and was losing his control. He hadn’t wanted to injury the old stallion, but at this point he was willing to go as far as he must.
Devin pulled back in pain, the blow causing deep bruising and a slight sprain, and watched as the pegasus charged forward. He parried most blows, but received a couple more hits, mostly light or glancing strikes, but couldn’t regain his balance. The pony went down, tripping over a stone in the yard, and watched as the young fighter before him reared up.
Daisy cried out, tears filling her eyes as the fight grew in intensity, and screamed, “NO!” This caused Justice to stall, dropping back down on his hooves and looking over at her. She didn’t know if she could take any more of this, the nice pegasus turning bad and hurting her father, and her father lashing out without even considering Justice’s side.
Devin saw his opening and swept the pegasus off his feet. As one combatant fell, the other rose up and backed away, catching his breath and reset himself for the rest of the duel. “You can’t take your eyes off your opponent, son. I’ll give you the same advice I’ve given my daughter, ‘Don’t let emotions fluster your judgment.’” With that, he waited for his opponent to stand and they two continued to fight.
Justice grimaced, the pain from the unnaturally strong pony beginning to slow him down, and the worry to do anything to upset Daisy causing him to slow even further. Devin watched, sensing the turmoil in the young warrior’s mind and decided to end the fight, before either combatant received any more pain.
Daisy watched as her father switched from offensive tactics to defensive ones, unprovoked, and began to backpedal again. Though the pegasus that was fighting her father was lashing out with attacks, the pony was blocking them all, but never striking back with a counter shot. He almost seemed to be leading the pegasus on, unwillingly, towards the right side of the house. Suddenly, Daisy understood everything, and she ran out to the duelists, calling out.
Justice was unable to hear her, all his concentration on the pony in front of him, blocking all his attacks. Fighting without the intent to harm was proving to be more difficult that the pegasus had assumed, and his rage was beginning to rise again. Finally, he heard a slight voice come through, one that sounded like the beautiful mare he knew he loved. He slowed slightly, his breathing causing him to mishear her, and strained, finally hearing her shout, “Justice look out! It’s a trick!”
Devin lashed out, grabbing the hoof of the pony in front of him, and gripped tightly. The pegasus was thrown off balance, unable to pull his hoof back, and stumbled to his knees. Devin took the time to suck in a huge breath and then, with a deep, guttural shout, tossed the pony in the air over his shoulders. With a hard thud, the pegasus landed in the middle of the field, and Devin grinned, hearing his daughter’s continued shouts of warning.
Justice righted himself, standing up from where he had been thrown, and turned around to face the stallion. He saw the grin, and his anger grew uncontrollable. With a primal scream, the pegasus rushed forwards, intending to hurt the pony, Daisy or not. Suddenly, he realized that the world was spinning, his back hooves being pulled out from under him and pulling him hard to the side. He felt himself being dragged across the ground, and, with no warning, slung up off the ground under a tree.
Shaking with anger, trying to find a way to free himself, the pegasus hung upside down, suspended by his back two hooves, which were tied tight. He flapped his wings with all his might, only successfully pulling the ropes tighter. Finally, with a dissatisfied snort, Justice went limp, hanging upside down and embarrassed. He watched as the two hunter ponies approached, Daisy with a smile on her face, trying not to laugh, and Devin with a stern look.
“You fought a good fight, do you concede?” Devin asked, looking at the strung up pegasus, a knife in his hooves. He had a slight smile around the corners of his mouth, but his eyes showed nothing.
“Do I have a choice? Look more like a piñata right now than a duelist,” Justice said, a slight smile spreading across his face. He looked over at Daisy, who just couldn’t restrain herself anymore. His smile grew bigger and he chuckled, watching her laugh so hard it began to hurt, rolling on the ground in both pain and delight.
With a quick flick of his front hoof, and no warning to the young stud, Devin cut the rope holding the pegasus up in the tree, his opponent crashing hard to the ground with a grunt. He bent down to offer a hoof, picking up the groaning pony, and leaned forward to say, “I still don’t like you all that much, but there’s nothing I can do about her. You’re welcome any time, but please let me be present next time you come to call.”