The Wolf and the Unicorn

The early rising sun woke me up, its bright rays casting through an open window straight into my bed.  Shame it wasn't moonlight, since it's been a while since I've had Luna's company.  Either way, it seemed like a good time to get up and get started in a new day.  For once, nopony had any demands on me and time was mine.  Unlike most mornings, the soft comforts of the blanket's embrace did not draw me back to bed.  I had a pony to see about my firearms.  Once that was taken care of there would be blood.  And then breakfast.

After a quick drag through my closet, I found most of my clothes had been ruined over the past few weeks from the crazy things I've been sent to do.  Guess Rarity is on my list also.  Until then, might as well have a little fun with it.  Not still comfortable with nudity around the ponies, I grabbed my hunting cloak and a pair of pants off the rack. I had to remind myself to be careful as I zipped up.  Once a guy makes that mistake, it never, and I mean NEVER happens again. The cloak wasn't pretty or stylish but it worked great when hunting from cover.  Even better for what I had in mind.

As I wandered through the house grabbing the things I would need, my mind wandered about the things I should do in town.  I still hadn't gone to Crimson Anvil about the ideas I had.  Might need to do that if there was time.  First comes guns and then breakfast.  A small set of knives slid onto my belt, settling above my left thigh, a familiar weight from years in the woods.  A few small folded cloth bags were crammed in a back pocket and I was ready.  I closed my eyes and called the flames.

If there were anypony nearby, they would have both been startled and confused as a camoflaged wolf ran down the trail towards Ponyville.

The jog into town was actually pretty enjoyable.  With the weather ponies running everything, the air was crisp and cool as fall was coming in a few days.  After living here so long, it still seemed odd but normal ish.  Either way, the firm path made the trip into town quick as I enjoyed the bright sun. Whatever magic had healed me did so incredibly well.  The run felt absolutely fantastic as I enjoyed nature's blessings.   Too soon, I had to slow down as I got to the outskirts of town.  No need to panic the ponies by accident.

As I walked into town, every pony I bumped into said "hello" or "I'm glad you are ok" or something of the sort.  Apparently Celestia had one hell of a talk with the town.  Either way, less stress for me as I headed to the ever familiar library.  The townsfolk...townsponies... had even managed to get the blood off the stones by the great tree.  Something to be said about creatures that are skittish about blood I guess.

Soon enough, a large wooden door sat before me.  I could hear noises and smell ponies within, so I just pushed the door open and walked in.

"What can I do for... Oh hey Hex!  Hows it going?  I'm glad you are okay after all the drama yesterday."

At least Spike always seems happy to see me.  It was half tempting to bring him back some meat from my hunt, but somehow I think Twilight would have a stroke over that.  He has canines you know.  That means meat eater usually.  Silly Ponies.

"It's going pretty good Spike.  Great morning out there, and I plan on enjoying it by heading into the forest here in a bit.  Just need to check a few things with Twilight first.  Is she around?"

He just swiveled on the spot and looked toward the stairs.

"TWILIGHT!  Someone is here to see you."

I had to keep myself from facepalming.

"Really dude?  You could have just said she was upstairs you know."

He just chuckled at me and raised an eyebrow as a very red faced Twilight Sparkle came down the steps.  Stranger was that she was very out of breath.  Five bucks says that little dragon knows a lot more then he lets on and just plays innocent with the ponies.  I'll have to pick his brain later about all this.

"Oh... Hi Hex.  What can I do for you...this morning?"

"Not much Twilight.  I completely forgot about my guns during our chat yesterday.  Are they around and can I grab them off you?"

Her look darkened for a moment before taking a breath.

"That was something we wanted to talk to you about.  As best we can tell, the big one is alright, but the small one is broken pretty badly.  It hit before you did in the tree and parts were bent and torn off.  Again, I'm soo sorry about that.  If I knew..."

"Twilight, its okay.  Could you please just get my damn guns?"

"Oh, okay.  They are down in the basement on the lab table if you want to grab them.  If you could, I'd like to take a look at the broken one and see if I can figure out how everything works."

Personally, I couldn't see any harm in leaving the carbine with Twilight if it really was broken, so I just shrugged as I headed down the dim stairwell.  As the basement came into view, I could tell the unicorn was right though.  Even at this distance I could tell the small rifle was fucked.  The barrel was bent slightly and the entire buffer tube and stock assembly was snapped clear off.

"Fuck."

Sighing softly, I ran a hand over a friend who used to be so familiar to me, but would never grace my hands again as a weapon.  Maybe Twilight will figure out how to make another one, who knows.  As I looked left, at least the bolt action appeared to be in good shape.  I'd have to check the optics and action out in detail later, but for now I just lifted it off the table and slung it over a shoulder.  Heading up the steps, I paused to look back at my favorite rifle, now useless due to lack of spare parts.

"Twilight, you are welcome to research everything in that rifle.  Just be careful please."

With that, I headed out of the library and into the bright sun, the heavy wooden door clicking shut behind me.  Considering I had a big rifle on my back and how something happened everytime the ponies were introduced to my weaponry, visiting Anvil would have to wait.  Guess it is going to be a quick trip home and then into the dark.

Soon enough I reached the cottage and headed straight downstairs.  I was in a hurry since my stomach was growling.  Bigger game was out since the rifle was iffy at the moment, so I went to Plan B.  The long gun was left sitting on the counter next to my balled up cloak as I adjusted what I was wearing.  Holster went onto the belt with a small pouch next to it.  Shame was that I only have about half a box of .357 ammo left and a few specialty rounds on top of that.  Speaking of which, I opened the top of the pouch and dropped in a speedloader I kept handy in the woods.  A just in case thing really, but they were the hottest hard cast bullets I could reload myself.  Specially made in case of bears, or in this world, manticores.

As I headed up and out, I mused to myself about this crazy world.  No bears but griffins and other weird creatures.  Whatever.  Breakfast is a calling.  Shutting the door behind me, I did a quick check on the revolver.  First shots were hollow points that would do just fine for anything up to deer size.  The next two were shot for anything rabbit or smaller.  Personally, I hoped to catch up to something that could feed me for a few days.

A few short strides out the door and the woods began to embrace me.  They felt... different from the last time I was in them.  Before I was healed or whatever you would want to call that.  I could feel the location of every tree around me, hear the fluttering of small birds wings, the gurgle of a nearby brook, and everything in between.  I felt ALIVE.

My ears perked at a noise that I remembered so well.  Quickly followed by a soft mossy yet somewhat nutty scent.  My brain immediately thought deer just as fast as I assumed a well trained crouch.  This seemed too easy really.  The first ten minutes in the forest I find exactly what I want, Venison.  The dim lighting in the forest showed a little wear on the ground.  A very sparsely used game trail.  At this time in the late afternoon, game would be away from water sources, so I picked the trail that went uphill.

Every footstep was carefully placed as I followed along the thin trail in the forest.  Parting branches that occasionally crossed me, but otherwise it was probably the best stalk I've ever done.  In a few short minutes I was at the edge of a small clearing with a deer in the center of it.  It was a smaller one, but looked absolutely delicious.  Tawny colored fur with nearly faded white dots down its sides marked it at nearly a year old.  All in all I'd guess about 75 pounds all said and done.  It was only about 25 yards from the brush I was behind.  Absolutely perfect, except one small thing.

As I raised the revolver, the deer perked its ears as if spooked.

"Please don't run...Please don't run" I repeated in my head.  Running shots are always a bitch.

The glowing front sight settled a few inches under the spine above its shoulder.  Absolute heart shot, the deer won't feel a thing.

The trigger felt heavy as I started my squeeze, revolver heavy in both hands as the deer did something I'd never seen before.  It stared me straight into the eyes, almost as it was trying to see my soul.  After a moment, it bowed its head.

In my shock of the moment, I never felt the trigger break or the recoil of the shot.

What was with that deer?

After a few minutes, I rose from the bushes and approached the fallen creature.  Eyes slightly glazed, it lay on its side with only a small splash of blood where the round impacted.  I kicked a back hoof slightly to make sure it was no more.  Hunting safety after all.  Especially with the strange animals here.  Content with no motion, I kneeled next to the deer.  Some may call hunters bloodthirsty, but in my case, it is both for living and a religious experience.  I passed a hand over its head to rest just forward of the deer's ears, short brown fur both tickling and poking my skin.

"Thank you for your sacrifice, so that I may live.  You will be honored,"  I said softly.

With that, I set to my task.  A small knife pulled from my belt to slit the throat and let the residual blood drain as I worked.  Practice and precision was always the proper way to skin an animal.  After that, cooling the meat to keep from spoilage.  Normally, I would gut a kill but with something so small, it would only be a half hours work to get it taken care of.  So I set to work.

The whole while, I couldn't get what the deer did out of my mind.  Absolutely strange.  Completely strange.

Soon enough, the cloth bags I brought were full of meat and I turned toward home leaving those events behind me.

Seriously, what the fuck was up with that deer?