Fresh Start

Silver kept his sharp eyes on Bounty, understanding his words, and seeing he meant them but still, he asked more.

"So, bounty hunter, you want to change who you are?" He paced a few steps past him before turning back to him.

"...Ain't up to you to change. The way i see it, your a bounty hunter that don't hunt. Not yet." He bent down to begin picking up some tinder and wood that could be used for a fire and stuffed it comfortably on his back under a wing.

"Ponies always wanting to change...It doesn't happen. You can want it but its all the same in the end."

Bounty had feeling there was more to this then just his problems. "Thanks for the support Silverspur." He said with a heavy sarcastic tone. "What you mean by a Bounty Hunter who don't hunt? You thinking I'm out here looking for somepony?"

Silver grunted to the sarcasm. "No. Your not looking for anypony. You don't know what you want. Least I don't." He heaved a bit more wood onto himself.

"But I'm willing to bet one day, you'll get the calling again." He looked at Bounty and at the other potential timber about him, looking expectant.

Bounty sort of stared at him as he watched you pick up wood. Bounty decides to start picking up wood too. "Now why do you figure that? There ain't no Bounty's this far out and no pony to pay if there was."

"Don't matter." He said, filling up on as much wood as he could carry. "You are running away. You're not looking. Not yet. But everything catches up to us.....Everything always does..."

He let his voice trail off, starring off a bit into the distance. That last bit seemed to come from a personal level.

Bounty dropped a pile of sticks as he tiltes his head at you. "Is there something your trying to tell me?"

Silver snapped out of his temporary memory that he was digging into. He glanced at the stick and back to Bounty.

"...Nothing you need to know. Just old memories." He turned and started his way back to camp. That brush of memories was enough to get him on the defensive.

Bounty wanted to yell at him, but he wasn't feeling to good himself and the look on his face was something he knew really well. Bad memories. "Well then I won't pry." He floats over the bundle of sticks and follows.

Silver sighed and trotted back to camp. He only partially got what he wanted to get out of Bounty. He intended to figure this pony out. With the kind of things he got into, he might be either a liability or a temporary ally if he got into any illicit activities, which he knew would come sooner or later. Right now he wasn't so sure about what kind of results his prodding had gotten him, but it hardly cost him much to do so.

Unless stopped on his way back, Silver got to camp and threw down his fire wood before setting up the pit for a fire, not yet lighting it.

Bounty hadn't liked talking about myself, but he supposed it was nice of Silver to care about it. H could of easily just made fun of him or something along the lines of that. Bounty wasn't this colt's intentions most times. He figured he sort of looked out for himself first and foremost, but he saw hi help someponies get across the river, even if he didn't mean to they still were guided by him.

So he couldn't be the worst colt ever and he seem to be walking away from bad past too. Maybe they had more in common then Bounty first realized. Bounty let all sorts of thoughts swim in his head as he carried the wood to camp He groaned as he saw the cooks packing up. He had missed dinner and any food left with be cold or scarps. Maybe it wasn't total lose. He mite be able to enjoy some wine in peace. Who knows, maybe the sky will grace them with some snow.


He made his way to a stump and sat on it after he got his glass and plate. He sat there enjoying the peace as he thought about how deal with his problems. He had to decide what he should do. It seemed he wouldn't be able to help Miss.Cuts much and she was to soft like a marshmallow. Any aggressive action, even tone melted her like campfire. He wondered how to deal with this. What pony will listen to her if the don't respect her as a leader? What if something important happens and her word would decide the fate of somepony?

That's when it hit him. He would work from the background. He would let Miss.Cuts do whatever she pleased. He would just ensure nopony abused the fact she was a pushover. Bounty groaned as he sipped his wine. How come he couldn't shake what Silverspur had said. What did he mean about being a Bounty Hunter that didn't hunt? There had to be a deeper meaning then simply obvious.

The camp was a relatively joyous place, ponies again played their instruments, several talked and laughed many of which were dipping into their own liquor reserves. Trail Blazer was still laying in his cart, except now he had a board of food in front of him. It consisted of grits, two biscuits, and several dried apple slices. When Silver started to set up his pit he expertly threw a rock at his back. "You missed dinner."

Silver grunted in restraint as the rock bounced off of him. He may have missed dinner, but he would have a decent fire to enjoy for the night.

Calmly, he turned and slowly paced toward Blazer, his spurs ringing with each step. Finally, he came to a rest in front of him, staring him down. Then, in a relaxed motion, he reached forward and took one of his biscuits and took a bite out of it.

He chewed slowly, still staring at Blazer before swallowing. "....Only part of it."

Bounty lightly turned the wine glass as it floated in the air. He remembered when he was a foal his farotie book character drank wine. It was the reason he tried it first time drinking with his friends he asked for wine to be among the drinks. He got a lot of grief for drinking it, but he soon drank his friends under the table and they shut up after that. He sipped it as he enjoyed it. It wasn't the best stuff, but it was free and as far as he was concerned. That made it taste better. He ate his simple meal as he threw a few sticks together o make a fire and reheated some of the parts as he snacked on the fruit. He looked around at the country side. He would build a littleplace in town ad maybe he'd build a little shack where he would be off prospecting. So far Bounty liked the sound of that. Peace and quiet. Away from all his troubles forever. Most ponies always got upset when they din't hav a purpose. They felt like they were empty. Well Bounty had the counter to that it the fact all his dreams came true, then were broken in front of his eyes. So instead of a empty house. You got one with broken couches and chairs, rotten food and broken tubs.

Bounty groaned at his awful metaphor.

Blazer motioned to it. "Whole thing's yours."

Silver raised and eyebrow and looked down at the food. Suddenly he had a new found respect for Blazer. A bit suspicious but still respect.

He shoved what was left of the biscuit in his mouth before grabbing the tray in his mouth and turning to leave. He only got a few feet before he turned his head.

"I goff a fire if hue care to hoin." He said with the tray hindering his words before going on to his pile of sticks he made into a fire. It was close to the edge of the camp, away from the crowd of all the other ponies.

Once there, he set about getting the fire started with some flint and a flick of his silver spurs.

Blazer hopped down from the cart and slowly followed Silver back to his fire where he laid down on the dirt.

Silver began to wolf down his food, not caring too much for table manners. He ate quick. To him, eating was a vulnerability. The more time he spent on it, the less he could spend on keeping his attention on other things.

Once he finished he rolled out his bedroll and got comfortable on top of it. It was an oddity that he did not sleep on a cloud or something. They could offer much more comfortable sleep and security.

Silver stretched his wings a bit before he stared into the fire like any group would after a camp dinner. "...How did you get caught?"

Blazer cleared his throat, also staring into the fire. "Told ya earlier, took an arrow to the flank."

"So an arrow to the flank did you in?" He grunted and lowered his hat over his eyes. "Must have been a big arrow."

He took out his harmonica and stared at it in the light of the fire. Not playing it yet, but observing. He could vaguely make out Blazer in its reflection.

He spit into the fire. "Havin' a piece of wood in ya tends ta slow you down. Especially when it's in a leg."

That sounded a bit more convincing to Silver. "Never heard of a leg called a flank. It brings a whole new meaning to kicking a ponies flank."

He stared into the fire in the reflection of his harmonica. More time went by.

"So...What were you planning to farm?"

Bounty's horn lit up a little as he scanned the land for something, anything really he could find. He needed to start practicing his finding and prospecting minerals. Iron, wood though it isn't hard to find really. Just look for trees, gold, gems are the most obvious ones he was gonna find. He wondered if they were gonna use bits or if it was gonna all be free as long as you pulled his weight. He should get mad at the lack info, but he did come in later then everyone else and he hadn't asked so no point an being mad at anypony.

He looked up up as his magic tracking tugged at him to aim northwest from here. "Must be something big over there." He stood up and carried his plate to the trash bag hanging from the cart as he walked up to the filly who kept bugging him and trying to talk to him. She seem too happy that he trotted up to her thinking he was gonna open up or something. "I'm heading out about three to four miles up to that mountain range over yonder. If anypony asks I'm there. Tell them I'm prospecting.." He tips his hat as a three swords slide into the sheath from the air as he turned and galloped off.

He shrugged. "Well that muscle there moves the leg anyhow." He fished a rolled cigarette out of his pouch and lit in in the fire.

"Vegetables, hay, don't think I'll dabble in fruit. Too much can go wrong."

(You're really going to leave in the middle of the night?)

Silver glanced at the cigarette. He stared at it for a while, feeling a desire for one. Usually the only times he smoked were when he was at the saloon, but he had not been to one in a while and was out of his own supply. There was no way he would ask for one, but he let his eyes linger enough to give hint to his want.

Instead he distracted himself with his harmonica, lightly playing a few notes on it.

He puffed on it a while and moved it to the side of his mouth, blowing the smoke out his nostrils. "You smoke?"