Questions, and Answers
...Not long after that was when Bloom had started to get me to walk, that is, after my stubbornness finally caved; I'd find out a few days later from her sister that she has a knack for pulling puppy dog eyes and getting even cats to bark. The walking, however? Well, it was like I was a newborn taking my first steps again, 'cept I was a grown man that couldn't even stand up without some help. "If only Dutch and the boys saw me now!" I thought. Thankfully, that Zecora fella kept my secret about being, well, "not of this world", for lack of a better term. She didn't piece together my storied past just yet, however I started to get some suspicions after a few slip-ups on account of my part.
My first impression of this "Equestria" was that it was peaceful, which put me at ease, even more than I care to admit. It seemed that finally there was no more running from the Law, setting up the "Next Big Score" for the gang to make it out as free men! Heh, who knew the American Dream would show up on a silver platter at a place furthest from it?
...Little did I know that this place was more like a nightmare you couldn't wake up from than a dream come true...
After the events that happened in the last few days, Arthur took some rest down near where his supplies were. His satchel was still lazily lopsided against the log that had been his home for these past few nights. It was hard, but thanks to that miracle tonic Zecora gave him, there haven't been any signs of his Tuberculosis returning which made it a lot easier to set up "camp."
Staring down at his hooves, he sighed. "Well ya got cured but you still can't walk worth a Damn." Getting up and walking turned into a morning ritual of his, after he recovered enough to even try that is. Leaning his burlesque shoulders against his log/home, Arthur gave a quick grunt and was able to lean against it with relative ease. A few moments passed, and his forelegs began to wobble, eventually collapsing and sending him muzzle up close and personal with the forest floor. "Consarnit! 'S like my body just plain hates me!" He yelled, somehow tossing his hat using the same infernal appendages that left him sprawled out.
Frustrated and tired, he ended his morning routine much the same way as always: a failure with microscopic improvement. Crawling over to his makeshift camp, Arthur rummaged through his bags for something, anything he could pick up with the hooves he was given. "Bet I can't even grip my revolver with these things I reckon..." He sighed, giving up on that too. "Good news is Bloom'll be back with supplies." Like clockwork, her and Zecora came to check on his well-being and each time he played his inability to walk on the fatigue of recovery.
Looking towards the treetops, he saw a faint glimpse of the sun overhead. "Nnnh, roughly around noon. Reckon it'll be just the tot today, Arthur?" He spoke aloud, and immediately facehooved afterwards. "Consarnit, now you're goin' crazy! Pull yourself together, and man up to bein' too stupid to walk!"
"Arthur! Aaaaarrrthuuuurrr! We're back with more supplies!" HA! Saved by the kid! he cheered in his head.
"What Little Bloom says is true, that and we both wish to teach you something new!" Brushing past the bushes hiding his "camp", Zecora led Applebloom through following close behind.
"Yeah! We both thought it was time you'd learn to walk properly, mister!" She beamed, letting loose a small giggle.
"Nonsense! I'm fine-" Arthur began to lean up again and take a few shaky steps. "See?" He continued, falling for half a second then recovered. "Right as rain!"
Needless to say, it fooled nopony. "You are as natural as a frog without rain," the zebra chuckled. "Except the frog doesn't choose to complain!"
"Alright, you caught me!" He relented. "Too proud to ask for help, I guess. Habit of bein' a rob-" he caught on his words, forgetting a child was present. If Zecora caught what he said, she pretended not to notice. "B-being robbed of my strength, that is to say." He coughed out nervously.
"It's alright, mister! We both understand!" Applebloom smiled, lighting up the old gunslinger's heart.
"Well, alright! No use for excuses anymore after that smile, heh!" Thinking on it, she reminded him a lot of John's boy from back home. "Well," he grunted, getting back to all four hooves albeit shakily. "Let's teach me how to walk properly. That way I could finally visit town and all your friends you keep telling me about..."
What followed were the toughest few hours of my life here so far. It weren't that learning to walk that was bein' the hard part, it was all that energy that kid had! Once I got the hang of it, she wanted me to go all over the place, forgettin' I was still recovering from that TB. It wasn't until much later that she finally wound down. Zecora mostly kept to the sidelines, laughin' at my suffering 'Bloom was putting me through. After everything settled down, she did what she normally does with anybody that sees her and checks up for side effects. You know how doctors get you to talk in order to feel comfortable, right before they do some, *ahem* "detailed examinations"? Well, that's exactly what this Zebra did...
Hours after learning how to walk, trot, and gallop, Arthur finally got a break from energetic little Applebloom in the form of the sun setting. After saying their goodbyes, she rushed off into the forest alone to return to her family, Zecora reassuring me she'd be fine. The first few nights here made him skeptical of how "safe" this glorified jungle really was. It was when Applebloom left that she got to asking about Arthur's storied past...
"Little Bloom cares for you, and I do too." She began to speak during the checkup on his condition. "So tell me, how helpful was my brew?"
"Well doc, I'd say you brought me back from the brink of death. Aside from the occasional bad cough, I don't have any symptoms that I did." Reaching for his bag, Arthur managed to find his tinderbox and sparked some flame on the nearby pile of wood he got Applebloom to help him gather. "You much for coffee?" He asked, pouring some water from his canteen into the percolator. After a quick shake of the head, he only grabbed one cup and got it ready.
"I am glad Little Bloom found you, but tell me," she asked, inspecting the biggest one of the several small scars littered about his body. "From being around you, is she in certain doom?"
He sighed. "So you noticed my slip-up earlier, huh?" She nodded. "Well, it's fair you know more about me, considerin' you saved my life." Eyeing the percolator, he poured some instant coffee in, stirring with a stick he found earlier. "Man of my nature don't get the scars you're looking at by mere coincidence." Pointing to the scar Zecora earlier, he continued. "That was from Blackwater. There was a job we had lined up there, but it went South and instead of striking it rich from our robbery, we had to bail on account of Micah screwing up the job."
"Is that why you stay here in the woods, rather than go to town, like you should?" She asked.
"Yeah." Arthur sighed. "Camping in the woods is what I'm used to. Don't have much choice if you're a wanted man..."
"And the world you were from? What did you do before Applebloom found you?" She dropped the rhyming, becoming serious.
"I was dying, simple as that. Blackwater was just the catalyst. Micah got to my friend and boss, Dutch Van der Linde. We kept up messing up jobs, one after the other. It ended up with us losing several good men. A few women too."
Pouring some hot coffee into his cup from the percolator Arthur continued, sipping occasionally. "Me and the only good man left, John Marston, avoided an ambush from a group called the Pinkertons. We ended up crawling up a mountain, John escaped. He's the only one that did. That life, I mean. He took his wife and kid and ran, or so I hope."
"You didn't see what happened to him?" She asked.
He shook his head. "I gave him that same set of bags I'm using now." He pointed to the rucksack leaning on a nearby tree. "I gave him those, that there pistol lyin' in it, and what money I had left and told him to escape while I hold the Pinkertons off and chase down Micah. It ended up with me bein' dead, or so I thought..."
"Which you ended up here, under my care..." She finished.
"Yep. Thats why I thought I was in Purgatory. Still do." Letting out a small cough, he kicked the fire out. "Now you know." Zecora finished her inspection and began to leave, thanking Arthur for telling her the truth. However, he spoke up once more.
"I don't mean to ask favors, especially from somebody who saved me, but could you keep what I told you a secret? This could be my chance for redemption and I wanna give up that life."
"You have my word, but a word of caution," Zecora began, looking over her shoulder. "Dreams are well and good, but we have two rulers that govern, and not even you can hide from them in this wood."
"What do you mean?" He asked, confused only to hear a hearty chuckle.
"Let's just say that raising the Sun and Moon is but a fraction of their magical boon!"
Arthur did not sleep well that night.
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Really well made! I actually have something familiar planned for the future. Though I'm surprised they aren't confused by him saying man, instead of pony at the start.
9437523
Yeah, I'm doing that on purpose. The timeline is current, so there's still the friendship university or whatever it's called so people aren't too concerned with him saying stuff like that.
9437697
Makes sense. Looking forward to see the next chapter. By the way, I may have overlooked it, but how is Arthur looking as stallion?
9437694
I see. If you are still interested, here's the group.
If you don't mind me asking, would you like to know what I have planned, regarding the game?
9437700
Think Arthur's clothes on Braeburn's body type on a horse as big as Big Mac. Arthur was a big dude in RDR2 so he's gonna be a big pony as well.
9437705
Good idea. Thought about his Cutie Mark?
9437708
Not quite yet. Like I said, I kinda write when the mood is right.
9437711
Okay, I was just curious. If you are interested what I have planned with Red Dead Redemption and MLP, just say the word and I send a PM. Also, hope the group will be of use for you.
Give him his body back, I’m begging u.
9440374
Not gonna happen, unfortunately. However, I do plan on him going through the EG mirror at some point
9441025
Please continue this story,I loved the series. Also,do you think they should remaster red dead one? Just want your opinion.
9515298
I was actually expecting a remaster bundle before they released RDR2, and as for this series I am writing and working on the next chapter. I'm taking my time on this story because it's more of a stress relief and slight cure for my depression. It'll take time, but it'll come out I promise.
9515387
Take your time,I can wait.
You are doing great and I will wait