Is Like a Horse Without a Saddle...(Part 2)
Dear Princess Celestia,
I know I shouldn't write personal letters like this with the Royal insignia on it, but I needed to know what was going through Princess Luna's head when she approved this! I mean, a single pony, who I haven't even met, was put in charge of search and rescue?! The mere notion is ridiculous!
And to top it all off, he has the gall to call me, ME, a "booksmart know-it-all who doesn't know the first thing about living off the land!" The only reason I could even tolerate him was the fact he told me where he came from. This "West Elizabeth" doesn't sound anything remotely like the Equestria in the mirror, and nothing in Starswirl's notes on it can prove it's a place we can get to. To top things off, this "Arthur Morgan" wanted me to craft a makeshift device for him to hold these strange weapons he had with them. He called them "Six Shooters".
It was a foreign magic I haven't seen before, and if you could believe me, it almost... Resonated with him, like they had minds of their own. I can't describe it, but whatever they are, as soon as he was able to hold them, a Cutie Mark appeared on him. I'm sure if Applebloom was still here, she'd try to throw him a Cute-ceñera.
Whatever you and Luna have planned, it's obvious this was his destiny...
Your faithful student and forever friend, Twilight Sparkle
A few moments later, Applejack, Arthur, and Big Macintosh headed to the Castle of Friendship to meet with the only one capable of finding a way to let Arthur shoot his guns- Princess Twilight Sparkle. Before him stood the most bizarre building he ever saw- an elaborate crystal tree the size of a small building, with an oversized crystal door and stairway leading to the main entrance. Applejack took the lead, knocking on the massive doors and waiting a few moments. After waiting, the door slowly creaked open and on the other side stood a violet colored unicorn with a dark blue mane parted down one side, with a teal highlight. "Applejack!" The mare spoke. "What brings you here, and why is Big Mac,with you?"
After bringing her up to speed, the unicorn let them in hurriedly. "I had no idea, Applejack. Is there anything I can do?" She asked.
"No, I'm afraid not. Twilight might though, do y'know if she's here?"
The pony nodded. "Yeah. She's here, but I don't think she'll be much help..."
"Why's that, Starlight?" The orange mare asked.
"Ugh, don't even get me started. She's trying to find a way to somehow teleport somepony without knowing where they are. I mean, just because Ms Cheerilee doesn't show up to Book Night-" She facehoofed. "Right. Sorry..."
"As much as I appreciate this heart-to-heart y'all are havin'," Arthur spoke up. "I'd rather get somepony to let me fire my damn guns, otherwise this glorified Doll House-" he bucked a nearby wall enough to send cracks halfway up its side. "Is gonna be rubble. YA HEAR THAT, MISS PRETTY PRINCESS?" He yelled. "Y'ALL DON'T COME OUT SOON, I'M GONNA BREAK ANOTHER WALL!" He wound up another buck, much to everypony trying to stop him, when suddenly he was frozen in place by a purple aura.
"How dare you! Do you have any idea, any idea at all, how hard it is to repair crystallized magical essence?!" The purple Alicorn in question popped into being a few feet away from Arthur, her horn still lit and a scowl on her face.
"As much as I wanna give a damn," the brown stallion struggled against Twilight's magic. "I just don't have the patience right now. Name's Arthur. Luna told you I'd be comin', so can you let me down now?!"
Fizzling out her magic, the princess released him from her grip. "You're Arthur? I was expecting some one a bit-"
"Taller?" He joked, dusting off his rope hat.
"Nicer." She scowled. "Now, she said there was something you needed my help with?"
Reaching into his saddlebags, Arthur pulled out his guns and holster. "I need you to figure out a way to let me fire these." Levitating them in her magic, she took a close look at them. "I need 'em if I'm gonna have any chance of gettin' Bloom back."
Turning them over, Twilight gazed at them closely. She cast a quick scanning spell, levitating over a quill and parchment, taking down dimensions and measurements. "Follow me."
The group of ponies twisted and turned down the hallways of the castle when finally they came across a small lab where Twilight experimented. Various beakers and test tubes littered the small area, and in the back sat the portal to the human version of Equestria, currently powered down. Setting the guns down on a nearby table, she went to work on making a rig to hold them. "I get you're going to help, but what exactly are you going to do that the Princesses couldn't already?" She asked, levitating various open books related to mechanical apparatuses nearby for reference.
"Break the Law." He answered immediately, stopping Twilight in her tracks.
Snapping back around, she trotted closer to the stallion. "I'm sorry," she chuckled. "It almost sounded as if you said 'Break the Law'. That can't be what I heard, right?" She smiled maniacally. "Right?! I mean, why would you break the Law? Everypony needs rules!"
"Easy now, Twi..." Applejack tried to calm her down, only to receive a magical ward around her muzzle.
"Twilight, what do you think you're-" Starlight was next. Mac took one look at the two and thought it best not to piss off an extremely powerful Alicorn.
"You heard me right, Princess. I didn't stutter." He glared back at her.
"HOW DARE YOU!" She sent a cascade of magic at him, pinning him on the far end of the room. "THEY'RE TRYING TO HELP!"
"YEAH, AND LOOK WHERE THAT GOT US!" He yelled back, despite the amount of pain he was in. Struggling, Arthur looked around for a means of escape when he saw it; a loosely fitted wall lantern was dangling by only a screw a few inches from his left. "You're nothing more than a booksmart know-it-all who doesn't know the first thing about living off the land!" Using all his strength, he managed to break his hind hoof free and bucked a nearby light fixture, sending it flying straight to the Alicorn's horn.
Flinging back in pain, she dropped the spell and Arthur pinned her down. "You can't think like an outlaw!" She struggled against his grip, only to be thrown down again. "Look at me Twilight," she tried again, looking around for a means of escape, too scared to use magic. "Look at me!" He sternly said to the mare. Finally, she met his eyes, fearful of what was going to happen next.
"I am your last chance to bring them back alive, ya hear me?! Whatever, Whoever took Bloom and the rest're clever enough to avoid your best soldiers. That means they know how they think. What you need is somepony who has survived outside the influence of the law. You need me." He let go of the scared mare and stood back. "If you disagree, by all means throw me in jail. I won't fight ya anymore."
Frantically jumping up, Twilight huffed and quickly assembled the mechanical holsters for the gun. Throwing them at Arthur, she swiftly spoke. "Instructions are in your bags. Get out of my sight."
"Twi..." Applejack reached out for her friend, only to be shaken off.
"Just leave. I...I can't stand being around him right now. I-I'll talk to you later, Applejack..." She trotted off to her study, slamming the crystal doors behind her.
"Well, glad that's over with!" Arthur chuckled.
"What is wrong with you?!" Starlight exclaimed, rushing after her friend.
"I'd very much like to know the same." Mac spoke up. "There a reason you're acting like a prick?"
"Yeah..." The brown stallion sighed. "There is. It's a lesson Princess had to learn the hard way."
"Oh yeah? And what's that?" The orange mare stepped right up to Arthur, glaring him in the eye. "Huh? What's the lesson- Fighting with your friends so you become the villain?" She rushed off, tears streaming down her face.
"No," Arthur spoke to Nopony in particular. "It's that in order to do the right thing, you might be branded the wrong name..." He grabbed his hat, not noticing it fell until now. Looking back at Mac, he asked "You comin'?"
Overlooking the outskirts of Ponyville, the duo set up some targets for Arthur to practice. They thought it best to set up the range near Fluttershy's cottage (with approval of course), given it was the perfect distance away from anypony that might be in harm's way. "T-these w-weapons you're using, they w-won't hurt any of the animals, w-will they?" Fluttershy spoke timidly.
It was the first time Arthur saw someone genuinely afraid of her own shadow, and it amused him to no end. She couldn't even bear to look him in the eyes, hiding behind her curtain of pink mane. "To be honest ma'am," he took his hat off, approaching her gently, only to receive a yelp and her cowering even more. "*sigh* Well, to be honest, I have no clue what my guns can do yet. In fact, I'm not even sure they'll work." He looked back to the saddlebags flung around his back.
"Fluttershy?" Big Mac asked, approaching her as well. To the other stallion's surprise, she managed to come out of her shell for him.
"D-do y-you believe him, Big Mac?" She asked.
"Eeyup." He smiled warmly, setting the yellow mare at ease.
With Fluttershy finally calm enough to let him shoot, Arthur got set up. Okay, so the instructions said to just...think about what I wanted to do? Straining, he thought as hard as he could, almost passing out. "Try thinking like a unicorn!" Mac yelled from the makeshift blast shield they had set up near Fluttershy's cottage.
"What the hell does that even mean?!" He yelled back.
"D-don't think about it! J-just go with your gut!" He could barely make out coming from the Pegasus cowering behind Mac.
"Go with my gut, huh?" He mumbled, thinking. With a deep breath, he shut his eyes, concentrating. Suddenly, his saddlebags shook, a violet aura hovering over them. Alright Arthur, time to just...go with the flow. he thought. Opening his eyes, time seemed to slow down to almost a crawl, as it did when he was about to have a proper gunfight. Exhaling slowly, Arthur honed in on his targets. A click and whir came from the saddlebags, both his guns extended to his sides. At the very last breath, he imagined shooting his guns, and within a blink of an eye, all twelve targets, including the moving ones set up with the help of Fluttershy's birds, all had clean fiery holes right in the center of them.
Yipping with joy, he jumped and danced and hollered, not even noticing his flanks glowing bright. Suddenly blinded in a flash of light, he stopped his merriment and shook himself out, when he heard gasps coming from Fluttershy and Mac's direction.
"Well I'll be!"
"A cutie mark!" Fluttershy rushed forward, tackling the brown stallion. "I've never seen one like that before! Oh my goodness, I'm so glad! The guns were sorta scary, but oh my goodness I'm so glad they weren't dangerous!" Looking closely at his cutie marks, she became confused. "But, what does it mean?"
Looking at his own flanks, Arthur thought he might know. The cutie mark had his revolvers crossed in an X, with an open journal behind it. "Means I was perfect for the job." He explained.
After catching her up to speed, Fluttershy finally understood what he meant. "Oh..." Was all she said. Much of the ordeal remained secret to the public, at the Apple family, as well as the rest of the parents and guardians of all the missing ponies' request. Ponyville took care of their own, even if that meant sparing them the truth behind what's been going on.
"Princess Celestia is supposed to come midday and explain things." Big Macintosh spoke. "Which, speaking of..." He glanced up and saw the sun was approaching that time. "We oughta get going. Wanna come with, 'shy?"
Back in town square, everypony gathered, waiting for why they were summoned by the mare when Princess Celestia walked out, greeting everyone. Gasps were heard, and pictures taken by the press, why she was here on everypony's mind. "My little ponies," she spoke loudly, yet sternly. "It is with a heavy heart I must inform you of tragic news: the ponies that went on the local school field trip, led by Ms Cheerilee, has been found to have been foalnapped." A wave of gasps and even more photos snapped this time. "Their motives, as well as identity, remain yet unclear."
"What could this mean?" A pony in the crowd asked, followed by other ones:
"Are the rest of the foals in town safe?"
"Do we need to worry about our own safety?"
"How do we protect ourselves when we have no clue who did this?"
She lifted her hoof, silencing the crowd. "Rest assured, we have somepony who is an expert in the field working dilligently with mine and my sister's Royal Guard and police ponies." Stepping away, the alabaster Alicorn nodded to Luna, also standing in front of town hall.
"There is one other thing to note, however." Scanning the crowd, she saw Arthur join and briefly made eye contact before continuing. "Though the threat of the foalnappers remains a mystery, We have identified a potential suspect:" lighting her horn with magic, Luna brought up a piece of parchment: One with Arthur's muzzle on it.
"What in tarnation is she doing Arthur?!" Big Mac whispered, ducking his and the other stallion's head down and away from the crowd.
"Hush now, and you'll see. I reckon she's gonna make good on my nature as an outlaw." He bent his rope hat down further, masking his face from the crowd.
"This individual's name is Arthur Morgan. Though he is not connected to the crimes committed, he is also a threat and must be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. He is wanted for possession of illegal magical constructs, robbery, bribing of city officials, as well as assault and various other violent crimes. If you spot him, tell a guard at once so we may bring him and his band of co-conspirators to justice." The crowd murmured and took every picture possible of Arthur's sketched mugshot.
"That concludes this meeting!" Mayor Mare spoke, dispersing the crowd.
"Come on, now's our chance! We have to get my posse up and running before dark hits." He motioned for,Fluttershy to come too. "You coming, 'Shy?"
Reluctantly, she trotted close behind Big Mac, heading towards the Apple family homestead.
An hour or two later, the trio made it to the farmstead. Heading inside the house, they were greeted by friends and family, as well as everypony Arthur asked Luna discreetly to find. "Everypony is here as requested, Arthur." Luna spoke. "Please forgive us for the wanted poster. We need you to be as an outlaw. Sadly, this requires the crucifixion of one."
"Don't worry about it, figured as much." The brown stallion said, taking off his saddlebags. "Now, time to meet the gang."
Lyra and Bon Bon stood side by side, knowing full well the situation and agreed wholeheartedly to the plan. Lyra especially.
Carrot cake as well as Zecora were the next two Arthur picked. Both nervously glanced at each other, then the room they were in. "I hope this gang will help us find Little Bloom, or else this will end real soon..." Zecora spoke in riddles as she always did.
"My condolences to the family and friends of Applebloom, as well as the other family members lost." Arthur spoke, taking his hat off and greeting the room. Aside from the ponies he asked to come, Granny Smith and Applejack as well as the rest of the Mane 6 and Starlight Glimmer, all stood in the living room of the family home, facing the outlaw. "Now before y'all question why I'm doing this, just know this is a tough life, and I cannot guarantee the safety or well-being of anypony joining my gang. We'll be beaten, starved, chased away, among other things." he finished, everypony giving him nervous glances.
"Finally, the gang's not complete yet, I just need to ask two more ponies if they'd be willing to join." He turned around, facing Big Mac and Fluttershy. "This life, it's tough. But we're all in it together." He smiled, holding out his hoof.
Big Mac just chuckled and gave it a good shake. "Heh heh, Eeyup!"
The yellow Pegasus timidly approached him. "W-why would you want me to join? I'm not a fighter, in fact I don't even know the first thing about *gulps* breaking the law!"
Arthur chuckled at that. "That's exactly why we need you. I don't need a fighter, I need a medic. You won't even see any firefights! You'll just stay in camp and help clean us up after a day of work 'sall." Reluctantly, she gently shook his hoof.
"Now Fluttershy, are you absolutely sure about this?" Rarity asked, followed by a few nods and grunts of disapproval.
"Um yes. It's for the foals, that's all that matters."
"Absolutely not, Arthur!" Princess Luna exclaimed. "We need her element of Kindness to protect Equestria!"
Oh I wouldn't say that, per say a voice spoke up, snapping its fingers and producing an exact clone of Fluttershy. After having a little heart-to-heart with the powers of the universe, they let me in on a little chaotic secret or two. So voila! Fluttershy 2.0! All you have to do is stomp your hooves twice and it'll immediately knock out the real one and swap her mind! No need to keep the readers waiting however so it's goodbye for now. Ta ta! Suddenly everything went silent for a second.
"Well, there's your answer, Princess. I'll thank whoever that was later." Arthur chuckled. Nothing surprised him anymore.
"Now, everypony get a good night's rest, pack up whatever supplies you need. We set out at first light." Tightening his rope hat, he looked towards the sunset in the nearby window. "Don't worry, Bloom. We're comin'..."
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Nice! HIs Cutie Mark, sort of dead eye?
9725831
No, just more of a combination of writing in his journal and using his guns
The entire time I'm reading these chapters I'm listening to JT music red Dead redemption 2 rap it just works
9726281
Okay. Great idea, given how well his Drawings are