//------------------------------// // C.A.M.A: Day Twenty Three // Story: Land of Equines // by Daddy Joe //------------------------------// C.A.M.A: Day Twenty Three December 29th, 2012 "Wait.... Wha-?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. "It's morning." Night Hunter replied. "Already? I swear I was only asleep for twenty minutes, but I still feel like I slept through nine hours." I said. "Maybe time goes by real quick when you're dreaming." Night Hunter guessed. "I guess so." I said with a yawn. "Get ready for the day and I'll meet you in the classroom." Night Hunter said. "Okay." I replied. Never in my life have I ever had a dream that seemed like it was really happening. If Luna hadn't of notified me of the dreams she would pump into my mind, I would've mistaken it for real life. No kidding. But anyways, after I got ready for the day and had a breakfast, I headed up to the classroom. Night Hunter was reading a paper while he raised his right eyebrow. "Alright, I'm reading this report that Luna just sent me and I'm very glad you're utilizing your devices." Night Hunter said. "I knew she was watching me." I thought to myself. "But then she noted that you planned an attack on the pack of Timberwolves." Night Hunter said. "Is that bad?" I asked. "Oh no, no, no, not at all. I'm actually quite impressed because that's the kind of stuff you'll be learning today, but I'd rather have you stand your ground if you see an oncoming Timberwolf or pack." Night Hunter replied. "Oh, well good." I said. "So, in that case, take a seat and we'll begin our lesson for today." Night Hunter instructed. "Alright." I said, taking a seat. "Today's unit will be Tactics and Duties. Write that down as a heading in your notebook." Night Hunter said. After writing that down, I signaled him to continue. "Do you happen to remember the mannequins I mentioned before?" Night Hunter asked. "Yes, I do." I replied. Night Hunter then walked towards a side closet, opened it and pulled out a mannequin of a stallion with a painted red coat and a realistically fake brown mane. "This mannequin right here is one of the four you'll be working with." Night Hunter said. "Interesting. How will this mannequin help me out there?" I asked. "Good question. Firstly, these mannequins are meant to imitate a living pony and tricking creatures, mostly Timberwolves, into attacking them. These mannequins are also made with reinforced steel so that you can keep using them without being severely damaged. You will place these mannequins anywhere you think a creature may have trespassed in your territory or you can use them in another tactic that will be vital to you at night." Night Hunter said. "How?" I asked, writing down what Night Hunter just said. "Back when the Everfree branch first started out, former agents would have to wander on hoof through the numerous paths of the Everfree Forest to eliminate a creature. Think of it as playing a game of life and death hide-and-seek. But since you have the days to inspect your territory during the day and to search for signs of a creature in your territory, you can plan ahead and set a trap. For example, if you were to find toppled trees or bark that has been gnawed on, typical signs of Timberwolf activity, I would bet you my bottom bit that the Timberwolves would return to that area the next night. And so, you can take one of your mannequins, place it in a good spot, find a hiding spot and plan an ambush attack." Night Hunter said. It seems that I might be doing some kind of guerilla warfare tactic. "What hiding place would you recommend?" I asked. "A large bush would be okay, but since your specie are variants of apes and the Everfree is abundant with trees, you could climb up a tree and wait." Night Hunter suggested. "How sharp are the Timberwolves senses, if you don't mind me asking?" I said. "Their scent of smell and hearing are very poor since their anatomy is wood, but their sight is as sharp as a new blade. Therefore, once you graduate this program, you will be given a camouflage outfit to make yourself more subtle in appearance." Night Hunter replied. "Sounds good." I said, writing in my notes. "I would also recommend that you use the Igneous-1006 when staking out Timberwolves because the Timberferno is mostly used for closer range, but if you were to find a position that can reach ten meters, use that if you want. Since Timberwolves have mediocre hearing, they'll most likely scan the area for a cause of what just stoned their pack member or they will most likely run, but that doesn't mean you should come out of your hiding place yet. Use your X-Ray Sensor to check the area before descending." Night Hunter said. "Got it." I said. "If you were to stone a creature in your territory, they won't just fade away into thin air like ashes. That's where this comes into play," Night Hunter said, levitating a large sledgehammer from behind his desk. "This sledgehammer is used to break up the stoned creature into large chunks of stone. The reason why you'll be doing this is to cover up evidence and avoid suspicions from civilians. Once you break the stoned creature into numerous chunks, collect them and dump them at a secluded area far from civilization. If this sledgehammer were to break or happen to be damaged, contact C.A.M.A immediately and we'll send you a new one within time. Got it?" Night Hunter said. "Yep." I replied. "Good. Now after you've petrified and destroyed the evidence, you will have to fill out a creature elimination form." Night Hunter said, placing a thin sheet of paper that stated "C.A.M.A Creature Elimination Form" in bold. The form had all of these questions that were pre-filled out, so this is used for study purposes. This would include the date, specie, quantity, weapon used, stoned or burned, time of elimination and all that kind of stuff. "I know it may seem like a chore, but this is a standard, mandatory C.A.M.A procedure that's been used since the beginning. "And that concludes what you need to know." Night Hunter finished. "Really?" I asked. "Short, am I right? It's really not rocket science to do these duties." Night Hunter said. "Hey, Night Hunter, remember that Land Rover I told you about like two weeks ago?" I asked. "Yeah, yeah, the automobile, right?" Night Hunter said. "Yes. I was wondering.... you think the Timberwolves would follow me if I were to somehow get them to?" I asked. Night Hunter's facial expression started to form anger, but I stopped him before he could retort. "Think about it, if I could get them to follow me all the way to the borders of the Hueyu or the Batchu territories. And if I'm correct, you revealed to me that the Timberwolves are only three miles from Ponyville, right?" I asked. "Yes." he replied with a sigh. "Night Hunter, I can lead them back an extra five miles. It'll take them a long time to get back to the position they're at right now." I explained. "Depends. Can your automobile reach up to forty miles an hour?" Night Hunter asked with a much more calm expression. "Forty? From what I've seen on the speedometer, it can reach one hundred and twenty." I said. "Then it might be possible, but you shouldn't do that at all. Simple as that." Night Hunter said. "Kay' then." I replied. Now the reason why I asked that is because I believe it was my subconscious speaking. Deep down, I'm someone who doesn't like to kill. My dad was a hunter and he managed to convince me to hunt deer with him when I was twelve and when I shot my first deer, I remember saying: "Are you happy now?" I didn't like taking that deer's life. But now that I'm older and mature, I can understand it was only for sport and is very good population control. In C.A.M.A, my duty is to secure the Dovere territory, so it seems that I can put some skills to use. "I'll see you around, Night Hunter." I said as I headed for the door. "You too, Caleb." Night Hunter replied. I could tell that Night Hunter was still a bit iffy on the whole idea of leading the Timberwolves back to the Hueyu or the Batchu territories, but as I was creating my flashcards, I began to agree with his standpoint. What made me agree was the fact that it would be pretty hard to take sharp turns at forty miles an hour on narrow dirt paths and I'm pretty sure Land Rover's aren't meant to be racers, but off road vehicles. Not only that, but it would take time to turn my ass around on the narrow paths because I would mostly likely have to do a Y-turn and speeding away from the wolves wouldn't be easy when they're charging towards you. Night Hunter did say that you have to stand your ground or the wolves would see you as not a threat, but prey. So my mind has been made up and I plan to do my job the C.A.M.A way. "Night Hunter, I just wanted to say that I agree with your opposite view on leading the Timberwolves back. I thought about the negatives and also the fact that this unnecessary move is against your teachings, teachings that are meant to help me. So yeah, sorry." I said, coming across him. Night Hunter just smiled. "I'm glad you came to your senses, Caleb." Night Hunter replied. "Believe it or not, I actually tried that when I was the Everfree patrol pony and nearly lost my life." Night Hunter admitted. "You did?" I asked. "I sure did. Just like you, I was young and very naive. I thought I could outrun them for those five miles back, but I miscalculated their speed for thirty miles an hour when it was really forty." Night Hunter said. "How fast are ponies?" I asked. "The average is thirty or thirty-five, so yeah, big mistake." Night Hunter replied. "How did you lead them back with such a speed difference?" I asked. "Went through the wooded area, not the open pathway. Due to the way their structures are designed, they have trouble maneuvering through the trees and obstacles while it was much more easier for me. When I got way more farther ahead of them, I dove into a bush and they ran right past me, but I call it luck." Night Hunter said. "Now I see why you seemed so against my proposition earlier." I said. "Exactly. I did follow the normal C.A.M.A guidelines for the rest of my time out there." Night Hunter concluded. "Huh, glad to hear you learned from your mistake." I said. "Me too. But that's enough chit-chat. Let's get a good night's sleep for tomorrow." Night Hunter said. "For you. I, on the other hand, have to go through dreamland again." I reminded. "But those are good. They help you adjust to what will be happening once you graduate here. And you get to use your knowledge from today in tonight's dream." Night Hunter reminded as well. "That you are right." I said, climbing into my bed.