Arthur’s Journal: Equestria Entry #2

I still ain’t entirely sure whether I’m in hell or this is all some insane dream in my twisted head. Regardless, it weren’t until I arrived here that I was finally able to be rid of this disease and I hope it don’t come back. That Zecora character I met was definitely something I never expected to see in my entire life. I still find myself questioning my own sanity. No matter what I think about her, I really have her to thank. Might have died all over again if it weren’t for her, I can surely say I ain’t planning on that happening again.

After I left Zecora’s hut, I was able to find refuse in an abandoned cabin in the forest where I now currently reside. Ain’t too sure whether or not I should find civilization to replenish my supplies. If the natives here are anything like Zecora, I don’t know if I wanna meet them. Guess I’m alright out here for now; if I have to, I can hunt for my food. Don’t know exactly what type of animals are in this here forest, but I’m itching to find out.

Arthur’s eyes slowly open, he groans as he sat up on his bedroll. It never felt good for his back sleeping on the ground whenever he had to make camp on long journeys. At least on those journeys, the ground he slept on was occasionally soft. In this cabin, there’s only the hard wooden surface most unforgiving. Arthur sat up from the ground, noting the smoldering ashes of the fire that had been burning the night before. There wasn’t any other firewood in the cabin, so he figured he’d have to find some more later.

The rumbling in his gut made him forget the moment because it’s apparent he needs food. He grabs his satchel he laid upon the side and pulled out some canned peaches. Downing the entire contents in a single gulp, he chucks the now empty can aside. Digging into the satchel, he noticed he still had a decent amount of provisions. But he knew he’d have to ration it well.

“If I’m going to eat, I’m due for some hunting,” He commented.

Stepping back on his feel, he slings his satchel over his shoulder. He picks up his double-barrel shotgun, his bow and arrows, and the revolvers from the table and straps each of his gear onto himself, fully prepared for what’s out there. Emerging from the cabin, Arthur takes a good look around the area to determine the best direction to start. Since he didn’t have a compass, it was a guessing game at this point.

“I suppose I’ll head this way,” He pointed, assuming the direction is North.

Arthur trudged through the dense foliage of trees, seeking a good spot to hunt. All the while, he uses his dead eye vision to scout for any signs of animals. After a period of walking, he noticed a patch of berry bushes and his dead eye showed him signs of a trail. Kneeling to a crouch, Arthur snuck up to the bushes and noticed a trail of tiny paw prints heading towards a clearing in the trees. He bends further for a good look at the tracks.

“Rabbit,” He observed.

He remembered hunting a few rabbits back when he and Hosea first hunted that thousand-pound bear when they settled at Horseshoe Overlook. They actually taste good when cooked over a hot fire. Thinking about Hosea made Arthur stop for a moment, removing his hat in remembrance. The old man was like a second father him, right after Dutch, and he hated seeing him shot down by that Pinkerton bastard Milton during the Saint Dennis heist.

Pushing the old thoughts back into his head, Arthur grabbed the bow off his back and continued his hunt for rabbits. He follows the trail for a good few meters before coming upon a set of tracks.

“Must be an entire family,” Arthur marveled.

He continues on, following the tracks until eventually coming upon a tiny clearing in the trees where the sun shines through the dark foliage. Grabbing some herbivore bait from his satchel, Arthur places the bait in the midst of the clearing before moving back quickly and hides in the bushes. Grabbing his bow, readying an arrow, he waits for a while until eventually two little white rabbits hop towards the bait. Arthur pulls the arrow back, ready to fire. Just as he was about to let the arrow loose, a voice cuts through the silence of the forest.

“Please come back little ones!”

Arthur turns toward the source of the voice and sure enough, just when this couldn’t get any more strange, it happened. Out from the trees there appears to be a miniature horse, with a butter-yellow coat and long pink mane. What surprised the notorious gunslinger most, as if those other qualities weren’t surprising enough, a set of wings protrude from its back. The creature resembles a Pegasus from what Arthur could remember from ancient Greek texts he heard of.

“Just when I thought this couldn’t get more insane,” Arthur muttered to himself.

The Pegasus floats toward the two rabbits, scooping them up in her arms.

“Don’t worry little ones, you’re safe now,” She said soothingly. “Let’s all head back home before something bad happens.”

Quick as a whip, the Pegasus shot off into the forest, taking the two rabbits with her. This left Arthur crouching in the bushes, confused. Within the expanse of a single day, he already met a talking zebra and now he had seen a mythical talking Pegasus. Perhaps he really is dead, that this is all part of some form of weird, confusing hell. Regardless, he just lost his meal and now he had to search for another means to eat.

Arthur walks back in the direction he’d originally came from, continuing for another half an hour. He searched for more signs of animals in the area, but so far had no luck. It really shouldn’t be this difficult to find animals in a forest like this.

“AHHHHHHHH!!!”

A loud scream pierced the air, grabbing Arthur’s attention. It sounded like a child’s scream coming from his right. Normally Arthur was one to help in a situation like this, but he was clearly no longer in his own world anymore.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” He brushed off.

Arthur starts walking again, but another scream made him stop once more.

“PLEASE, HELP ME!!!”

Arthur groaned to himself, rolling his eyes.

“Damnit!”

Arthur quickly turns, running in the direction the scream came from. He crouched down, as he came upon some thick bushes. Hiding behind them, he pokes his head out to see what was going on. On the other side of the bushes, a little filly with a yellow coat and red mane, with a big pink bow on it, ran from three strange creatures.

The creatures had the appearance and stance of wolves, but their bodies were made entirely of lumber and sticks. Nonetheless it didn’t take anything away from the dark-green eyes and jagged sharp teeth of the feral animals. They backed the little filly into a corner and completely surround her from all sides, leaving her nowhere to run. The little filly covers her eyes with her hooves, crying as the creatures closed in on her.

Arthur grabs his shotgun from his back, loading a few shells into the barrel before cocking it and prepped to fire. Just as the wolf creatures were about to pounce the poor filly, Arthur pulls the trigger and shoots at the foul creatures. The shot just grazed one and it howls in pain. All three turn their heads toward the direction of the bushes, just as Arthur stepped from behind them with the shotgun ready. The beasts snarled, growling at him as the cowboy looks at them with a look to kill.

“Come and get some, ya bastards!” Arthur yelled.

The wolves howled once more, rushing toward the outlaw with intent of ripping him limb from limb. Arthur fires another shot, one that a wolf was able to dodge. Arthur loads another round into the barrel, just as one of the wolves lunged at him. Arthur was able to blast the creature into a million pieces.

Just as he readies to fire another, one of the wolves sank its wooden teeth into his leg, causing Arthur to groan loudly in pain. He starts punching the beast’s head, which only served to hurt his hand since he was punching wood. The other wolf jumps on Arthur’s back, scratching his shoulder deeply causing him to drop the shotgun. Once again, Arthur loudly groans in pain as the creatures start ripping his flesh.

Arthur quickly reaches for his holster, grabbing his custom cattleman revolver and shoots the creature on his back right in the face. The beast falls off, landing flat on the ground and Arthur turns his gun on the other creature and repeats the action. Both creatures fall to the ground, as Arthur clutched his heavily bleeding shoulder and leg. He reaches into his satchel, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and some cloth. He wets the cloth with whiskey and proceeds to clean his wounds so as not to get an infection. He just finally got over the Tuberculosis and he really didn’t want to deal with an infection.

To his surprise, the wolves got back to their feet and snarl at him again. Arthur cursed under his breath, as the creatures advance on him again. As quick as he could, Arthur grabs his shotgun off the ground and shoots one of the creatures, exploding it into splinters. The last creature jumps right onto Arthur and they both crash onto the ground. The wolf stood over Arthur, its wooden paws on both his arms keeping them pinned to the sides. The creature drools, snarling in his face.

Just as it was about to attack, a strong buck from the little filly sent it flying back. Arthur gets back to his feet, picks up his shotgun, and blast the creature to kingdom come. All three creatures laid exploded into many pieces as Arthur straps the shotgun back on his back. He turns around, seeing the filly huddled back into a tree stump and hiding in her hooves. Arthur slowly limps over to the filly, kneeling down as best as he could.

“You’re alright now, kid,” Arthur said.

“Please don’t hurt me,” The filly shook.

Chuckling at the response, Arthur shook his head.

“If I wanted to hurt you, why would ah go through all the trouble helping you just now?”

The little filly slowly moves her hooves away from her face, allowing Arthur to see a huge set of orange eyes and a tiny little muzzle quivering in fear. Arthur reached out his hand, offering her help in standing up. Slowly, the little filly places her diminutive hoof in his giant hand. He pulls her up so she could stand on all four hooves and she dusts herself off.

“Mighty thanks to yah mister,” The filly spoke, in a thick country accent. “If y’all hadn’t shown up when yah did, I mighta been them Timberwolves supper.”

Arthur shook his head of the fact she can talk, especially after now seeing three different equine creatures talking. By now, he just decided to accept it.

“What were yah doing out in the middle of the woods, kid?” He asked seriously.

“First of all, mah name ain’t kid,” The filly pouted. “It’s Apple Bloom.”

Arthur held his hands in defense, cracking a little grin.

“My sincerest apologies Miss Bloom,” He fake apologized.

“What’s your name?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Arthur Morgan,” Arthur answered, tipping his hat.

Apple Bloom glances at the strange bipedal creature that just save her, in such curiosity she tilts her head to the side. Never before had she seen a creature such as this, it intrigued her to no end. From his tall stance, his strange appearance, the clothing he wore, and especially those strange weapons on his back and his sides that shoot fire… everything about him peaks her interest.

“What are yah?” Apple Bloom asked amazed.

“What’s that now?” Arthur asked confused.

“Sorry, it’s just that ah never seen a creature like y’all before. Ah don’t know what tah call yah.”

Arthur’s leg caused him such large amount of pain he could no longer support his own weight. He sits on the ground, holding his bleeding leg as Apple Bloom came alongside him and sits on her haunches.

“Well, best way I can answer that there question is that I’m a human being,” Arthur responds.

Apple Bloom’s eyes widen in wonder and amazement.

“So yer sayin’ all this time Lyra was tellin’ the truth?” She asked bewildered. “That humans really do exist?”

“Beg yer pardon?” He asked in confusion.

“See, there’s this pony in town named Lyra that keeps spoutin’ off in town that there’s these things from another world called humans,” Apple Bloom explained. “Normally we just brush it off as nonsense, but ah guess she’s tellin’ the truth cause here yah are.”

Arthur didn’t quite know what to make of that statement nor the knowledge that there was definitely more weird, talking horses in this place. He just shook his head.

“Look kid, ah ain’t one to tell you about human beings existin’ in your world, especially seeing as how where I come from that talking horses don’t exist.”

“Oh, we ain’t horses,” Apple Bloom smiled cutely. “We’re ponies.”

Arthur shook his head again, standing from his spot on the ground. Another pained groan, from the pain in his leg and shoulder, escaped his lips.

“Guess I best be on my way, now that these three have been taken care of,” Arthur concluded.

He starts walking away, when Apple Bloom runs out in front of him and stops him in his track.

“Hold on just a second there, Mister Arthur,” Apple Bloom said. “Y’all can’t go on back into them woods while yer injured. At least come back to mah family’s farm so we can getcha stitched up.”

Arthur shook his head to the idea, as he kept going.

“I don’t need no help kid. I’ve been shot and scuffed up more than could imagine and I’m still livin’.”

Apple Bloom watched the man slowly limp away. But she couldn’t let him leave, not without at least thanking him for saving her first.

“Wait!” She called out.

Arthur stops for a moment, turning around to face the little filly again who smiled at him thankfully.

“You saved mah life and I just wanna thank yah. Yer a kind soul, Arthur Morgan.”

Once again, Arthur shook his head.

“I ain’t no good man, Miss Bloom. Trust me.”

Arthur turns right back around, continuing to walk (or rather limping) back towards the cabin. This day certain hadn’t gone as he expected. He went out this day in hops of hunting himself some food; instead, he ends up coming back with a bitten leg and scratched shoulder. He thought back to little Apple Bloom, chuckling to himself. So young, full of wonder and excitement. She reminds him of little Jack Marston.

Something else came to Arthur’s mind; wherever he was, the people of this place are talking ponies. How many of them there truly were? He did not know, at least not yet. But one particular question came to mind:

What will happen when he finally meets all of them?