//------------------------------//
// Not Quite As Planned 
// Story: Decretum 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Eleven: Not Quite As Planned
~BlackRoseRaven

Later in the endless dusk, Leafy Greene came by to tell them she had spoken to Pa, and while they weren't to set hoof in the barn or the house, the earth pony told them they were welcome to stay in the fields as long as they liked. She had stayed for a few minutes to stare around at their tent and the few belongings they had taken out of the wagon, and the Scrivener had gently asked if Greene had talked to her Pa about them helping out.
For a few moments, Greene had been silent, her eyes becoming blank, and then she had suddenly smiled and nodded almost violently before babbling about how Pa and her brothers were all resting right now, but after she had her own nap, somepony would come find them and tell them what to do.
Then she'd bounced off, and Scrivener and Luna had watched her return to the house in silence. Sleep sounded like a good idea to them as well, and she they had gone into the tent, discarded their armor, and curled up together on the simple matting and sleeping bags. But it was difficult to sleep: not just because of the ever-present red dusk, but because of the hopeless atmosphere of this miserable little country.
Finally, Scrivener and Luna emerged from the tent, looking at one-another before Luna shook her head and said moodily: “Let us head back into Watershed for a short investigation, Scrivy. I wish to learn more about this place... also, to see whether or not Corvette is on the hunt for us.”
“Disguises?” Scrivener asked curiously, but Luna only shook her head moodily, earning a slight smile from the stallion. “Oh, I see. You actually want to beat up the entire town, is that it?”
“'Twould probably do good if I did.” Luna grumbled, looking grouchily back and forth before shaking her head briefly. “Nay, Scrivener, fear not. I do not plan to start a riot unless my hoof is forced, but Corvette seemed so paranoid and aggressive that should we have the misfortune of stumbling across him in town, he would attack us either way. Better let him continue to know as little about us as possible.”
Scrivener frowned a little at the winged unicorn, and she answered his question before he could even phrase it in his mind, smiling wryly as she started towards the road: “I do, yes. 'Tis very unlikely he was unconscious for long... my only hope is that he will be hesitant to pursue any revenge upon our heads with his ever-present concern for his money and his bounty.”
“Yeah, but he thought we were helping that... Style, he said, right? Style or Styles or something.” Scrivener pointed out, and Luna nodded moodily as they strode onto the road, heading towards the ramshackle village at a slow but steady pace. “If he's still paranoid enough to think that, then he might come after us as a means of getting to her. Whoever the hell she is.”
Luna grunted thoughtfully, nodding moodily as she muttered: “He may also decide to try and kill one of us, then, not knowing of our soul link. We must be wary and careful... but that only means it is all the more important we find at least some information in town.”
Scrivener nodded a little in agreement, and they were silent the rest of the short walk to the village. It seemed a little more active now, but neither Luna nor Scrivener knew if that meant it was now officially night or day... or if such concepts even mattered in this weird and inhospitable place.
They made their way to the tavern they had passed earlier, and while the ponies from earlier were now gone, the minotaur was still there, lounging against the wall. They looked over the burly figure for a few moments, but he continued to pointedly ignore them... until they stepped up onto the deck, that was. Then he held up a hand, still not looking at them before he said in a moody voice: “Five bits. Each. Protection fees.”
“Then thou should be paying us.” Luna said kindly, and the minotaur snorted at this, looking at them for a moment before Luna leaned forwards as her horn glowed, her eyes giving a challenging flash. “Would thou like to test us?”
The minotaur hesitated for a few moments... then it grunted and moodily waved them onwards, and Luna nodded firmly. The two ponies passed through the swinging doors into the tavern, approaching the counter, and eyes were immediately drawn to them both... and moreover, the shiny collar around Scrivener's neck, and the black pearl that swung slowly from Luna's vine necklace.
There was a smattering of species at the different tables, but for the most part, they were ponies: Pegasi, earth ponies, and a rare unicorn here or there. The bar was crowded, an earth pony behind this frowning at them worriedly as a Pegasus waitress stood with her tray nervously clutched against her side by one wing, looking at them apprehensively before the bartender nudged her when Luna and Scrivener sat down at the furthest table they could get from the rest of the tavern's population.
The waitress sighed and headed over towards them, but she was cut off by a Diamond Dog that stepped into her path: it growled at her grouchily as it held up a paw at the end of one long, gangly arm, dressed in rough, ugly clothes as a second of the canine, dusty and gray-furred creatures ambled towards Luna and Scrivener. Beady dark eyes surveyed them as it grinned with yellowed, rotten teeth, licking its lips slowly as they stared from the collar to the black pearl. “Shiny-shiny... but two for two? Two too much. Share with us, even things out.”
“Get away from me or I shall turn thee into kibble.” Luna said irritably, leaning up and glaring coldly at the canine, and it winced a little, scurrying backwards in surprise as the winged unicorn half-rose intimidatingly. “What's wrong? Did thou expect us to cower like foals? I do not fear reeking mongrels, now get thee hence!”
The Diamond Dog snarled weakly, but then it winced when Luna bared her own sharp teeth, startling the canine backwards before it mumbled and hurried off, and its friend hurriedly followed. The waitress watched the two leave with a sigh of relief before she approached hesitantly, but as Luna settled complacently back into her seat, the Pegasus mare looked a little more relieved, asking quietly: “What can I get you two strangers?”
“A little information about where we are... and water, water would be very nice.” Luna replied with a smile, glancing over the Pegasus: tawny, with a mane that was half-black and half-orange, an image of a slice of pie on her flank. “Thou wouldn't happen to have food here, would thou?”
“Kitchen's always open. Happy hour never ends here.” the waitress smiled ironically, then she glanced between the two. “How's toasted lettuce and tomato sandwiches sound? The only thing here that doesn't taste like flank.”
“Then that sounds good to us.” Scrivener smiled after a moment, nodding, and the waitress nodded back before she headed quickly away. She tossed a furtive glance over her shoulder at them, but Scrivener only awkwardly smiled again before he leaned towards Luna and said softly: “When I see a place like this, I hate to say it, but I think that Ragnarok wasn't the worst thing that could have happened after all.”
Luna grunted in agreement, grimacing a little as she surveyed the room. They were still getting looks, mostly from the gangs of ponies that sat here and there, and Luna's eyes roved carefully through her surroundings just in case a fight broke out... but there simply wasn't that much to take in. It was a big open floor, with a bunch of creaky old tables people were drinking and gambling at, and the hum of the smoky lights overhead was louder than the muted conversation taking place around the room. There was a single staircase that headed up to rooms above, but judging by the state the rest of the tavern was in, Luna thought it was unlikely they had many overnight guests.
The waitress returned with their glasses of water, and Luna nodded courteously before she asked quietly, before the Pegasus could slip away again: “What can thou tell me about Watershed?”
“It's a place where a lot of ponies come when they got nowhere else to die.” the waitress replied after a moment with a small smile, then she bowed her head quickly. “Excuse me. Gotta get to those sandwiches.”
She slipped away, and Scrivener and Luna traded looks before the male grimaced a bit, picking up his sand-encrusted glass and looking over it before he said dryly: “Well, to good health.”
“Shut up, Scrivy.” Luna muttered, and she watched as Scrivener sipped slowly from his glass before the male made a face. The winged unicorn frowned a little, and then she looked down and picked up her own glass, sipping at it slowly... and she was unable to resist a grimace of her own at how coppery the water tasted.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Luna glanced up at the sound of hooves on the stairs... before grimacing at the sight of the rust-colored, bruised Pegasus that was coming down them, his coat fluttering around his body and hat pushed back. Corvette's gaze was already locked on them, and Luna scowled as the bounty hunter made straight for them.
He grabbed Scrivener's glass from in front of him, the charcoal pony glowering as the Pegasus stallion drank from it before spitting loudly into it and dropping it back on the table, and the poet made a face of disgust before he waved a hoof and muttered: “No, no, you're clearly not a sore loser at all.”
Corvette glared at him, then he turned his eyes to Luna, leaning forwards and saying darkly: “You listen to me, filly. You may have gotten the drop on me out there in the desert, but don't get cocky. Now that I know what you are, I ain't about to underestimate you again, got it? Now you take Sublime Style a message for me. You tell her I'm going to drag her back to Equestria one way or the other, but it'll be a lot easier on everypony involved if she ditches you and whatever other help she's got and comes willingly, do you understand? Do I make myself clear?”
“Let me make mine own self clear, Corvette, we do not work for Sublime Style. We do not even know who she is. Scrivy and I are not even entirely sure how we ended up in that damnable desert, and we are both tired, cranky, and I will be more than glad to pummel thee into paste again if thou continues to make such a rude nuisance of thyself.” Luna retorted, and then she snorted when several ponies shoved up from the tables nearby, glaring and stepping forwards. “Oh look, the barking dog has a pack of mangy curs, what a surprise.”
One of the ponies began to step forwards, but Corvette only rose a hoof, saying moodily: “I had to take precautions now. Sublime's got herself some help? Well, now I've got myself some help too. Fine, though, you don't wanna play along, then I guess I'll just have to find a way to persuade you. See you around, Brynhild.”
With that, Corvette turned, grunting and gesturing to the ponies, and they nodded before hurrying on their way, no less than six equines heading quickly for the swinging doors. For a moment, the bounty hunter lingered, glaring over his shoulder at them, and then he snorted before following his hired thugs out, Luna and Scrivener looking moodily after him before the charcoal earth pony sighed and pushed his glass of water aside, saying grouchily: “I really don't like that guy. I knew there was a reason, too, and that just made it crystal clear why I want to shove hot coals down his throat.”
“Or up his buttocks.” Luna grumbled moodily, and Scrivener snorted before they both looked up as the waitress nervously approached, carrying the platter across one wing and tossing an apprehensive look over the two ponies.
She remained silent as she served them, passing dirty plates with burnt sandwiches on them to each pony, and then the Pegasus mare bowed her head forwards, saying nervously: “You two should really be careful. Corvette isn't somepony to be trifled with... it's only a blessing that so far the only pony he killed was Pete. Might sound cruel, but none of us miss him... but on the other hoof, he also broke old Miss Thatch's leg trying to get her to tell him about that unicorn that came through town.”
She grimaced a little, and Luna frowned, leaning in closer before she asked curiously: “Who is this Sublime Style? Is she even here, or is Corvette chasing a phantom in the forest and has merely decided to torment everypony whom he comes across until he finally is forced to admit defeat?”
“Oh, Corvette will never admit defeat... bastard's been here at least three weeks and I don't think he's napped more than once.” The Pegasus mare laughed shortly, then she shook her head nervously. “And... well... I dunno, really. There was a real pretty stranger who came through town, a unicorn... Corvette interrogated everypony about her, saying he was trying to catch her. She was so tired, so worn down... the only place she had left to flee into is the desert, because Corvette's got the roads locked down. A few of us tried to help... guess it don't hurt none to tell you that since it doesn't seem like you're on very good relations with the bounty hunter jerk.”
“Not at all. We beat him up and left him in the desert after he tried to shoot us.” Luna replied with a slight smile, and then Scrivener gave her an amused look, and she laughed as the Pegasus mare only stared. “Alright, alright, Scrivy! Fine, I did. But thou would have been a great help had thou not been latched up to the wagon.”
Scrivener only shook his head, giving her an amused look before he picked up his sandwich and bit into it, chewing slowly before Luna asked impulsively: “Does thou know of the Greene farmstead?”
“Leafy Greene, yeah, poor thing.” The waitress softened, nodding after a moment before she glanced towards the bartender when he called to her. “Horseapples. Got another order to fill. I'll be back in a few minutes.”
The waitress turned and trotted off, and Scrivener and Luna looked after her as the earth pony munched slowly on his sandwich, then finally glanced up and said mildly: “I wish you could cook like this.”
“Shut up, Scrivener Blooms.” Luna said grouchily, and then she softened a little, glancing meditatively towards the swinging doors as she added moodily: “But this does not bode very well for us, does it?”
“Yeah, because that's so different from normal.” Scrivener muttered, and then he took another large bite of his sandwich as Luna gave him an amused look, the stallion chewing reflectively before he swallowed and said finally: “Look. With Antares born and everything, things... were good. But remember when we fought that horrible, horrible thing Odin asked us to deal with? Our back was up against the wall, then. Just like with Valthrudnir, or anything else. We always get shoved into the worst goddamn situations possible, but we always push through, too. We're good at that. Also, Corvette is one rude-as-hell Pegasus, but he's no Sol Seraph.”
“True.” Luna muttered in agreement, nodding slowly before she sighed a little and picked up her own sandwich, chewing at it thoughtfully. Then she paused and glanced down, grumbling a bit as she added grumpily: “'Tis very good. Now I wish I could cook like this as well.”
Scrivener gave her a pointed look, but the winged unicorn ignored him. As they quietly ate, a few people came and a few more went, and several ponies headed up the rickety back stairs in the company of others, leaving the downstairs area markedly quieter and emptier by the time the Pegasus waitress came back.
She sighed as she glanced towards the stairs, and Luna didn't bother looking up as she popped the last of the sandwich into her mouth, spraying crumbs everywhere as she remarked: “Prostitution is the world's oldest job.”
“You'd know.” Scrivener muttered, and Luna glared at him, then kicked him firmly under the table, making him flinch and curse. Then he smiled over at the Pegasus as she looked at them awkwardly, the stallion saying finally: “Great sandwiches.”
“Delicious.” Luna agreed, and then she glanced back and forth... but the people that remained clearly weren't interested in listening in on their conversation, however boring or interesting it was. All the same, she leaned towards the waitress, asking curiously: “So about Leafy Greene, thou knows...”
“Yeah. Yeah, everyone in town knows, but not even the nastiest bandit has got the heart to hurt the poor girl worse than she's already been.” the Pegasus replied quietly, and then she smiled a little, rubbing at her face. “Guess I should introduce myself though. Autumn Orange, Lee-Lee's my cousin... been a long time since I've seen her, though.”
She fell quiet for a moment, then shook her head as she leaned over the table with a sigh, continuing softly: “See, it was a little more than a year back. They were out, netting Coatl in the desert... old Pa Oak was amazing at carpentry, could build you anything you wanted out of wood, especially the ironwood that grows down south a little. He had these big nets he and his sons would set up to catch the Coatl, to bring 'em in over the town, so they would make rainclouds... but well...”
She shook her head slowly, looking at them with a faint smile. “They didn't net a Coatl in the clouds one day, they caught a dragon. It came down, killed them all. And... Lee-Lee was at home, waiting for Pa and her four brothers, and... well... she just couldn't take it when she heard. She cried and cried and cried... and then a month later, she said that they had finally come home. And it doesn't matter what anypony tells her, she just... she couldn't handle them all being taken away from her at once like that. So now, she... I think she really believes some days, they're just in the fields, or the barn, or the next room over.”
“Poor creature.” Luna murmured, shaking her head slowly before she glanced towards Scrivener Blooms, who nodded in silent agreement before the winged unicorn turned her eyes back to the Pegasus, feeling safe enough with her to say quietly: “Well, she permitted us to set up camp in the field behind her barn. I felt it would be safer there for us than here in town.”
“You're right on that account.” The Pegasus paused, then she smiled a little, asking quietly: “On that note, my shift is just about over, and I'm a little anxious with Corvette's goons all over the place. I live on the farm a little past Lee-Lee's, you mind giving me an escort?”
Luna smiled despite herself at this, glancing over at Scrivener Blooms and grinning slightly at him as she said pompously: “The Pegasus is flirting with me, Scrivy. This world is not so bad after all.”
“Don't flatter yourself too much now, Miss. After all, this place is too scary and too hopeless for romance, but as you saw... well, sex still sells as well as ever.” Autumn paused, then she shook her head as the bartender called to her. “I'll be right back. Don't worry about paying for the food. If Lee-Lee let you stay in the fields, I can get Jerry to run you two a tab.”
Scrivener and Luna both nodded, and then the two ponies traded a look, a swirl of thoughts roving between them before the winged unicorn grunted in agreement. “Alright. We should return anyway, see what Leafy Greene would have us do... strange though, Scrivener. Something feels... wrong.”
The stallion grimaced a little, not wanting to admit that he had that sensation himself as they slipped out of the seat. A few moments later, Autumn Orange joined them with a smile, and they headed to the door in quiet, pushing through and striding out into the dusky, eternally-twilit streets.
They walked slowly along, Autumn with her head bowed, Scrivener looking back and forth as Luna kept her gaze ahead... and then the Pegasus glanced towards the male, saying finally: “You got a lot of scars.”
“Yeah, I'm pretty ugly.” Scrivener smiled a little, glancing towards her before he laughed at the flat look Luna gave him. “Not everypony finds them attractive, Luna. The only reason you do is because you enjoy anything and everything to do with violence.”
“Not everything.” Luna complained, and then she huffed a little when Scrivener only gave her an entertained look. “Thou art impossible.”
“And you have that weird way of speaking. Sounds like something out of those old plays or something.” Autumn said curiously, glancing towards the winged unicorn. “Now I grew up here my entire life, the closest I ever get to leaving this place is when I fly up above the clouds... but I don't think they talk like that even in our homeland of Equestria, right?”
“Homeland Equestria... funny.” Luna smiled a little, and then she shook her head at the slight frown Autumn Orange gave her. “'Tis nothing, fear not. But nay, they do not speak anymore as I do. In the days from whence I came 'twas already falling out of style, as a matter of fact... but well, let us simply say that I was not given a great chance to evolve with the times.”
Autumn only smiled, studying the winged unicorn thoughtfully before she shook her head again and said finally: “You know, it's funny. I could swear I've seen you before somewhere, or know you from somewhere or something. But at the same time I don't think I've seen anything like you. Or anypony as big as either you or... Scrivener, right?”
“It is because of how pretty I am.” Luna said kindly, flicking her mane, and Scrivener smiled as he nudged the winged unicorn with his shoulder, and she grinned and nudged him firmly back. “Oh, 'tis partly true and thou knows it! Sister was always jealous, I shall have thee know.”
Scrivener laughed at this, shaking his head slowly as he replied amusedly: “Now you're just making things up. I think it was your brother who was always jealous of how pretty you were, actually.”
“They were both!” Luna declared, and Scrivener laughed again as Autumn looked between them two, the Pegasus relaxing a little before the winged unicorn paused and grumbled as her eyes flicked upwards, saying moodily: “Oh joy. Scrivener Blooms, I have taken care of all the problems recently. I order thee to take care of this one.”
The earth pony frowned across at Luna as the trio passed beyond the village and into the dusty outskirts, then he glanced over his shoulder and winced a little as he saw three Diamond Dogs were trailing them, all of them dressed in ugly, thick clothes, heavy front paws digging lightly against the ground as they glared greedily after the ponies. Autumn winced a bit, but Luna only grinned as Scrivener gave an exasperated sigh, muttering: “Fine.”
He turned grouchily around, stepping into the middle of the road, and then he reached up and tapped at the silvery collar around his neck, the shaped gem in the hollow instantly drawing the attention of the Diamond Dogs as Scrivener asked mildly: “You like this, huh? Well, you can go get your own, you know. All kinds of pretty stones along the seashore, just keep going straight in any direction and eventually you'll find it.”
One of the Diamond Dogs brightened at this, but it was immediately slapped by one of the others before it snapped: “Idiot! He liar!”
“Technically, no. There are lots of pearls in the ocean, and if you walk in any direction long enough you will eventually reach a large body of water.” Scrivener said pointedly, but now all three Diamond Dogs only glared at him before Scrivener cleared his throat, leaning backwards and asking mildly over his shoulder: “Luna, do I insult them before or after they threaten me?”
“Shut up, pony! You give us gemstones, now, and we let you live!” One of the other Diamond Dogs snarled, stepping forwards and dragging its paws against the ground, and then it grinned widely, showing off several gleaming golden teeth. “Ponies no match for Diamond Dogs!”
“Oh, okay, they threatened me so uh...” Scrivener looked thoughtfully forwards over them, muttering: “Let's see, let's see... okay, well, you're so ugly that your mother probably thought you were a bowel movement and not a baby, you're so stupid that you studied for a urine exam... and failed... and you? You're...” Scrivener paused, looking at the last Diamond Dog as the three canines stared at him. “You're short.”
The Diamond Dogs stared at each other incredulously... and then the gold-toothed canine Scrivener had deemed Ugly snarled furiously before charging forwards as Short and Stupid looked dumbly forwards. The Diamond Dog threw itself into a snarling pounce, jaws opening wide... and then Scrivener slipped smoothly backwards, Ugly crashing to the ground in front of him before Scrivener swung his head viciously forwards just as the dog began to scramble to its paws, and it let out a yelp of shock as it was knocked flat to the ground when Scrivener's skull collided with its sensitive muzzle.
Then Scrivener ran forwards, hooves trampling the Diamond Dog beneath him as Short and Stupid both winced, then lunged forwards out of pack instinct more than anything else, Short diving towards Scrivener's legs as Stupid lashed a claw towards the charcoal earth pony's face, but Scrivener quickly leapt upwards, and Short hit the ground and skidded with a squeak on his belly through the dirt as Stupid's arm smacked into Scrivener's chest, turning the vicious slash into a wild grab before the earth pony crashed down on top of him and crushed him into the ground. His hind legs kicked wildly at Scrivener, tearing thin scratches against his stomach before the earth pony winced and stomped a hoof down into the dog's throat, making it gargle before Luna sent a sharp mental warning to the charcoal stallion.
Scrivener immediately slammed both hooves down into Stupid's shoulders, making him howl in pain before the earth pony kicked both rear hooves savagely backwards, slamming both of them into Short's face and knocking drool, blood and teeth flying from his muzzle as his eyes bulged open for a moment, caught in mid-leap at his back. The Diamond Dog flopped to the ground as Ugly dragged himself up his paws, shaking his head hurriedly out as Stupid clawed at the earth pony, making Scrivener wince and stumble quickly to the side.
Ugly snarled as the sense returned to the gold-toothed Diamond Dog, giving a few short, furious barks before he charged towards the earth pony as Stupid began to sit up with a wince... and then stared when Scrivener suddenly reared back, avoiding the lunge from Ugly before he seized the back of his skull and slammed him face-first down into the ground, Ugly's front paws clawing at the earth and his hind legs kicking before Stupid yelped and spun around, charging hurriedly away.
Scrivener grunted as he looked up at this, easily holding Ugly down against the dirt road as he watched the other conscious Diamond Dog flee, and then he sniffed after a moment, absently brushing some dirt away from his chest before he muttered: “I guess maybe he wasn't so stupid after all. And now, Ugly? Ugly? If you don't stop struggling, I'm going to make you eat dirt until you suffocate.”
Ugly flailed for a few more moments, then simply flopped down with a whimper, face half-buried into the road, and Scrivener gave the Diamond Dog a dry look for a moment before his eyes roved towards Short. But the last Diamond Dog was still twitching on his back, drooling slackly from a broken jaw, and Scrivener nodded after a moment before he stepped backwards as Luna commented cheerfully: “Thou should have done better! They are not like Nibelung, after all... brittler, dumber, not as skilled.”
Scrivener gave Luna a sour look in response to this, and then he shook his head before Ugly carefully pushed himself up to his paws, spitting a bit of blood and dirt before he glared up at Scrivener... but his body trembled, and his short tail was curled downwards as he rasped: “You... you not see last of us!”
“Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have. Because I'm the nice one in the relationship. See, Luna? Luna would have broken a lot more bones.” Scrivener said mildly, and then he reached a hoof up and poked the Diamond Dog's nose, making it whimper. “This is the part where you run away.”
The Diamond Dog opened its mouth at this... then winced and slowly closed it when Scrivener leaned slowly, moodily in, his chestnut eyes flashing behind his glasses. “Unless you want to find out how fast I can teach a little dog like you to play dead, that is.”
Ugly leaned slowly away, then he swallowed thickly and turned, hurrying off down the road as Scrivener rolled his eyes but then smiled to himself as Luna snorted in amusement, saying approvingly: “'Twas not the worst showing, Scrivener Blooms. But all the same, I still say thou should have done better.”
Scrivener rolled his eyes in amusement, giving a flat look towards Luna and Autumn, who was still staring in amazement before she shook her head and whispered: “Wow. You two must be the real deal after all... I mean, I've never seen any kind of pony fight like that before! And those were Diamond Dogs, with... with claws and sharp teeth and you... you weren't even afraid!”
“Believe me, Luna is way scarier than any Diamond Dog.” Scrivener said dryly, turning around and striding back towards the mares before he smiled when Luna leaned in and kissed his cheek firmly, feeling a pulse of warmth spill through his body before he laughed a little. “Alright, alright. Thank you, Luna. But come on, let's get out of here. I don't want to fight another pack, or worse, a minotaur or something.”
Luna nodded, turning to take the lead down the road again, and Autumn Orange smiled as she let herself fall into pace beside Scrivener, looking at him with newfound interest as they headed down the road before she finally asked: “So just... what are you two? You don't seem like mercenaries like Corvette, and I get the feeling you aren't crooks like half the town here is... are you knights or something?”
“Something like that, aye.” Luna answered, smiling slightly as she glanced towards Autumn Orange with an entertained gleam in her eye. “All thou needs to know is that we are only here for a short time... but during that time, we do intend to fix what problems we can in this place.”
The Pegasus nodded slowly after a moment, and she smiled a little in return before saying quietly: “I guess it's just... really reassuring to see that not everypony who's strong ends up going... bad.”
Luna gazed warmly at the Pegasus at this, and Scrivener nodded after a moment with a bit of a blush despite himself, reaching quickly up to adjust his glasses as they continued down the road together. Luna's eyes roved towards the Greene farm as they approached, and Autumn followed her gaze before she said softly: “Thank you two for... helping take care of her, by the way. My cousin really doesn't get out a whole lot and... I think having ponies around, even if you're just staying out in the field... will help her a little.”
Scrivener and Luna both nodded as the trio of equines halted at the end of the driveway, and then Autumn Orange smiled and bowed her head forwards, saying quietly: “Thanks for walking with me. My place is the next farm so I won't trouble you two any further than I already have. When you see Lee-Lee, remind her that she still has other family... I mean, you know. In a gentle way.”
“I will.” Scrivener said softly, and Luna gave a quiet smile towards her husband as Autumn Orange studied the two ponies with soft eyes. Then she turned and headed down the road, and Scrivener and Luna watched the Pegasus walk onwards before the male shook his head and said quietly to Luna: “We're meddlers.”
“We are, Scrivener, but... I do not think it so bad. Come, let us see if Leafy Greene is awake... the exercise will help clear our minds.” Luna replied quietly, and Scrivener nodded after a moment, smiling as he turned to follow the winged unicorn towards the house.

There was no real passage of days, but all the same, there was the strangest sensation of when one day ended and the next began in the Evening Isles: it was like an echo went through reality, carrying with it the knowledge that time was moving onwards... although by now Luna and Scrivener were both distinctly-sick of the red skies overhead and feeling like they were trapped back in hopeless, corrupted Equestria.
They had done quite a bit of work already for Leafy Greene: Scrivener had cleaned out the garden and begun replanting some of the food, and Luna had done her best to fix the uneven, blemished crops. There was no way they could fix things between themselves – with or without Leafy's help, since she had a bad habit of puttering nervously around instead of settling on any one task – in even a months' time, and Luna and Scrivener both were aware of the fact that while they wanted to provide the help they could... neither of them were very willing to wait much longer than a week for the Bifrost to regenerate.
Things seemed at first like they would be fairly quiet, all the same. Their camp in the field remained undisturbed, and it was nice to be helpful without having to pummel things for a change. Leafy appreciated that they were good workers, and after they had stayed with her for a day or so, insisted in her gentle insanity that Pa and her brothers had gone to market, but had said before they left that Luna and Scrivener could come inside the house if they wanted to join her for tea.
The two visitors were surprised to find that while the exterior of the farm was in horrible condition, the interior of the house was the opposite: there were a few repairs that needed to be done, but it was clean, ordered, and the atmosphere was friendly... even if there was a hint of sadness, and of a waiting that would never end. Leafy led them into a parlor where places were set with sparkling-clean china that all the same looked as if it had been sitting out for years... and Leafy smiled at them when she caught their glances, saying quietly: “In case Pa or my brothers come back. I'm sure they'll be hungry.”
Scrivener smiled faintly as Luna nodded slowly, and Leafy served them rhubarb scones and peppermint tea. There was the faintest hint of copper in the taste, which Leafy explained all water in this area had due to the clay deposits, unless it was rainwater collected from the sky... but very few ponies were willing to venture into the desert during storm season, and only her Pa and siblings had ever been brave enough to try and net Coatl to create storm-clouds over the town.
Leafy had excused herself shortly after tea to have a nap, but said they were welcome to look around the house if they wanted and to make themselves at home. She said that Pa usually left her groceries on the front step... but that just made Scrivener and Luna curious as to who was  helping take care of the poor, delusional mare. But despite their nagging curiosities, the two ponies instead made their way back out to their quiet encampment, and then Luna had brightened and turned her attention to the wagon.
Scrivener had groaned when she had dug out a brown pouch, glowering at her as she only grinned in return before flicking her horn firmly to open it and produce a small camera, saying contritely: “Shush, Scrivener Blooms. I wish for keepsakes. Thou should be glad I am not chopping off Corvette's head to take home with us... although I may steal his hat if we run afoul of the bounty hunter again. It is a very nice hat.”
Scrivener only gave her a sour look even as he picked up the camera pouch and strapped it on, while Luna hummed cheerfully, the camera floating in front of her as she turned to look at Leafy Greene's house, snapping a picture of it before declaring. “Come!         Let us take more photographic pictures!”
“Just say photos, Luna. Or pictures.” Scrivener said mildly, and when the winged unicorn shot him a sour look, he added dryly: “And somehow I don't think that Watershed is going to react very well to you acting like a... well... tourist, for lack of a better word.”
“Shush, Scrivener Blooms.” Luna grumbled, and then she tilted her head imperiously upwards and stormed towards the road, Scrivener sighing in distaste before falling into pace behind her as she said cheerfully: “I shall have thee know that this is all very fascinating to me, and that it would not have been so hard for me to find a 'non-violent' hobby had such photographic cameras existed in the old days. Why, thou points it, and it clicks and flashes, and the world is captured on a tiny bit of film that can be transmogrified into a photograph! 'Tis fascinating, and yet I am told that this magic is not magic at all, but science... yet I do not even see the difference. Capturing a still-life portrait of the world with the press of the button, tell me, Scrivener, how is that not magical?”
Scrivy only looked at her mildly in response, then he shook his head before saying dryly: “Still, Luna. This isn't your brightest idea ever. Not everypony likes having their picture taken.”
“Thou art fat.” Luna grumbled, and Scrivener sighed and rolled his eyes as they headed out onto the road, the winged unicorn striding easily along with the camera floating in front of her, looking back and forth as she refused to allow the earth pony to dampen her enthusiasm as they continued towards the village.
Luna hummed to herself, taking pictures here and there of the dilapidated village as ponies and other beings stared at her, and Scrivener half-hid behind the winged unicorn with a wince, blushing a little as they made their way through the village until they reached the tavern. Then Luna grinned slightly as she turned the camera towards this, looking pleased at the sight of Corvette glowering on the deck with several of his thugs and the large minotaur from before as she called cheerfully: “'Tis cheese!”
The camera clicked and flashed, and Corvette only continued to glower even as the minotaur grumbled and rubbed at his face before Scrivener leaned in and corrected gently: “It's 'say cheese,' Luna. You ask them to say 'cheese.'”
“Why would I ask them to say such a preposterous thing? What does cheese even have to do with cameras and picture taking?” Luna asked dubiously, and Scrivener sighed and shook his head before the winged unicorn returned her eyes to Corvette as the bounty hunter continued to glower at them, the winged unicorn flicking her horn to finally put the camera away in the pouch hanging off Scrivener's side. “'Tis rude to stare.”
“It's rude to get in another pony's way, too, and mess with his livelihood.” the bounty hunter retorted, and then he narrowed his eyes, leaning forwards and saying softly: “But then again, we're already even in that regard.”
“What?” Luna frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing as she leaned forwards, and Scrivener felt the twist of sudden apprehension through their mixed soul even as the winged unicorn said distastefully: “Oh, what, did thou finally find that unicorn thou wert looking for? As I have said again and again, Corvette, we are not hired mercenaries like thee, and we do not know... I have forgotten her name again. Scrivy, what was her name?”
“Sublime Style. And oh, don't worry, I know you're smugglers now... it wasn't very hard to track down and dig up that weird piece of rock I'm guessing you two stole.” Corvette replied quietly, and both Scrivener and Luna stared in shock before the bounty hunter grinned slowly as he patted one of his forelegs. “I can track down magic, remember? That thing might not look like much, but it sure as hell was emanating a lot of magic. Made it real easy to find and dig up... and now I've got it sitting pretty somewhere here in town.”
“Idiot!” Luna shouted, stepping forwards and snarled, but Corvette didn't flinch even as the winged unicorn's horn glowed and her eyes blazed. “Thou does not understand what thou tampers with!”
“Oh, yes I do. I'm tampering with you and your ugly colt friend.” Corvette replied darkly, leaning forwards. “Now listen to me. I don't care who you stole this piece of garbage from. I don't care who you work for, or if you hid it out there to dig it up once you found yourself a way off this dung-heap or more likely, a suitable buyer. I don't even care how much it's worth, selling stolen junk just ain't my style... I'm a bounty hunter, not a two-bit thief like you. Now, why am I telling you this? So that it's nice and clear that if you don't do what I say, and catch Sublime Style for me, I have a very large, angry friend who's going to smash that piece of garbage into rubble, and there goes your payday too.”
Luna snarled in fury, beginning to step forwards... but Corvette only reached into his coat and pulled out a flare, meeting the winged unicorn's eyes fearlessly. “I wouldn't do that, filly. All I have to do is light this thing, and you can say goodbye to that old relic. You know how much heft a minotaur can put behind a sledgehammer? There won't be enough of that ugly piece of junk left over for you to build a sandcastle.”
The winged unicorn trembled, then cursed under her breath, and Corvette smiled grimly before he nodded coldly once. “Good. Now, 'cause I'm generous, I'm going to give you ninety-six hours to track down Sublime. I'm even going to tell you that I've been all throughout every hideout in the mountains, and I found traces that a few of them had been used... but I already took care of that problem. Left her a little surprise in one of the caves that she set off a few days ago. Spring-loaded hook-trap. Tougher than I expected, though... she ripped the hook out, but left a blood-trail behind, although I lost it in the mountain pass. I thought she'd stumbled off into the desert, but the way things are looking now, she's wounded and holed up somewhere around here. My boys have this area cordoned off and she can't pass over the mountains or risk the wilds, not with the wound she must have.”
“Thou art a monster.” Luna snarled, leaning forwards as her eyes flashed and a tremble of fury passed through her body. “Thou art no bounty hunter... thou art a kidnapper!”
“Sublime Style has been on the run from some very wealthy, well-connected ponies for a while now. They are offering a generous reward for her capture. That's all I care about.” Corvette replied icily, and then he smiled grimly. “Besides. Now you're in this same boat with me, aren't you? So you should watch your tone, filly.”
Luna trembled with fury, and it took every ounce of self-control she possessed to resist lunging at Corvette. He was sly and smart, after all, and the risk was far too great that he would be able to send some signal or another out and the anchor would be destroyed... and Luna cursed as she realized their own feasible option was to play along for now.
She dropped her head forwards, clenching her eyes shut, and Scrivener looked up with a grimace of disgust before the charcoal earth pony said quietly: “You have no idea what you're getting into, Corvette. Take a little friendly advice, and back down. Because otherwise, things aren't going to end well.”
The bounty hunter only snorted in disgust at this, shaking his head grimly and replying disgustedly: “And now the colt speaks up, right. No, boy, you're the one who doesn't have any idea what I'm capable of, and you two are the ones on the clock now, not me. I'd hurry on my way now, because time's already ticking... and in ninety-five hours and change, I expect to see Sublime Style trussed-up at my hooves, or you can say goodbye to that rock.”
With that, Corvette turned and headed towards the bar, shoving through the double doors and followed by his crew of ponies, and Luna snarled in fury before she stomped a hoof against the ground. Scrivener could feel her rage, her hatred, and most painful of all, her fear... and then he closed his eyes, silently reaching a foreleg up to wrap around her shoulders as the winged unicorn whispered: “Now what do we do, Scrivener Blooms? Now what do we do?”
“We... don't have a choice.” Scrivener said finally, looking silently up at the front of the tavern, but even as he spoke, his thoughts mixed with Luna, both ponies promising that if there was some way to escape from Corvette's blackmail, they would find it... and they would make him pay for what he'd done.