Afternoon

Chapters

Not the way I planned it…
Unfriendly Competition
A freelancer of day and night

Not the way I planned it…

A thousand years ago.

Or so...

"Agh!" he screamed in pain as his attacker jumped over his back, pouring something cold into his skin. His yell of pain got lost in the sound of the waterfall, however, and while his concentration was disabled by the surprise, the only thing that became present was the sensation of hooves, clinging to his side.

Pain sparkled within his right shoulder, and his whole front leg went lip for a moment as his nerves suddenly recognized the familiar sensation of being stabbed. Marxwell was about to stumble, but he held his ground. He tried to get rid of his his assailant, but before he could turn whoever it was jumped off his back and got lost in the darkness.

Marxwell instinctively shoot out a bolt of energy towards the direction where it had left, impacting a stone and turning it into dust. He managed to see the shadow of what was it before it faded away with the black, and was about to go after it when he felt another stab. This time from the front, another attacker had thrusted in a pointy object with strength into his chest. It almost made him stumble once again, since he felt the stab trying to reach his heart, but, luckily, it didn't had the force to pierce through the leather capes of his cloth, and what came through his fur was only the tip of whatever blunt object it was.

Marxwell stopped the charge of his foe almost without effort, and was about to counter it when he heard the stomping of hooves somewhere around. His first attacker was preparing for a second round.

"Not this time!" he exclaimed as he began to gather power within him.

The first one didn't matter for the warning and carried on anyway, but the second managed to realize it and tried to withdraw. Marxwell, nevertheless, caught it before it could run away, and held it firm as he was about to release his strength. Just in the moment when he sensed his assailant leaped to get him, all the energy that he had being storing was released into an outburst of magic that crackled everything with a blinding flash like a lightning.

The two targets were hit, since he could hear a loud cry of pain, and something falling to the stony floor. Before the light faded in quick succession, one creature had been stamped into the ground and lied unconscious. He was about to lean forward, but he couldn't watch it for long. Behind him, in the corner of his eye, the bright of the knife shone ephemerally about to stab his back once again. The second one hadn't fallen!

Marxwell was just lucky to dodge the hit before it could reach him, and was about to reach his sword when he realized his attacker hadn't had the intention to fight him directly. With the sound of hooves galloping over the stone floor, the first attacker rushed towards its fallen comrade and took it along as it disappeared in the depths. Marxwell tried to follow it with his eyes into the black, but saw nothing. Whatever was inside that cave had took the precaution to attack the leg in which he was carrying his torch first and had succeeded. He had no light anymore… Or that's what they thought.

Pulling up his concentration once more, he summoned a light spell, revealing the entrance of the cavern and a little far beyond with its purple light. Loose stones were here and there, displaying a darkened spot where his magic bolt had impacted, and beyond the entering hall, a gorge of stone followed its path into the depths of the earth. There was no sign of his attackers.

Just as he suspected, this would be more complicated than he thought.

"A cave behind a waterfall… So original" he gasped with sarcasm as he drew his sword out. "Okay, playtime is over!"

Nothing answered but the mutter of the water upon falling. Marxwell waited with his guard held high for more attempts of ambushing him, but nothing moved save for the breathing through his lungs. With a light twitch of his head, he turned the light beam from one end of the room to another, but there was nothing left… Nothing but a stallion unicorn wielding a sword to the emptiness. Marxwell almost immediately acknowledge his solitude, but one cannot be too careful. He still waited for a couple of moments before deciding that the place was secured and carried on.

Waving his horn high, and never letting his ears to fall down in alert, Marxwell pushed inside the cave, where the narrow corridor of rock flanked him with shadows displaying to the front and back. His eyes were ever shifting, moving from one shadow to another that'd look suspicious. His breathing was steady, and although the silence of the earth were making him difficult to move unnoticed, he was dragging his hooves as quietly as possible. The rooftop of the rift in the rock that was his passage, shone with the purple reflex of his magical aura, and the cool embrace of the mountain had quickly surrounded his quiet exhales through his nostrils. His sword was still drawn, caught between his teeth, but lying appeased, since he didn't want to reveal himself before time. Bad things had happened to him for letting his blade shine with his own light spell, and he used to have scars to prove it.

He continued through the passage as it evolved around him until it gave way into a different chamber. This one had a taller, vaulted ceiling, and was about the same length as a medium-size house. Talk about a hideout… he thought as he gazed to the vastness of the place. It was so big that it even had its own slope of debris inside it! Now I can see why nopony has been able to find them. Speaking of which…

Common bandits. Nothing more than burglars of crops and vandals. They had been the nuisance of farmers from some months ago, and no matter how much they'd guarded their orchards, those slippery creatures had'd the craftiness of getting away with it, leaving behind nothing else other than disorder and half eaten prizes. Searching parties had been called, but apparently the robbers hadn't left any trace. Marxwell wouldn't have put them attention for things like those. It wasn't like one or two of that feral kind used to hang out in every town now and then, but the recent… 'incident' had set prize to their heads, and nopony in their senses would turn down easy money like that. Specially, nopony who happened to be a needy freelancer.

Marxwell inspected the interior of the cave with the light beam as if it were a spotlight, illuminating every inch of the permitter that jumped to the view. At least from where he could tell, there were no secondary accesses, and no corridors formed in the naked walls. Save for the hill of loose stones, the whole chapel was a solid piece. The roof was made of limestone, flat, smooth, and apparently uninterrupted, save for…

What? His eyes narrowed at the discovery of something that had slipped his mind the last time he checked. It wasn't too clear, but in the corner of the ceiling, something had finally showed, inscribed in the wall. He tried to gaze at it, but the distance made it very difficult to discern. So, with a little more confidence, he began to climb up the promontory. At first it wasn't so easy, for the rocks were more slippery than they seemed, but he managed. He was about to reach the top, the signs in the wall starting to appear as drawings, when suddenly…

"Ow!" a loud cry crossed the air into his ears with the speed of lightning, shoot straightly to his heart. "Stop that!" the voice cried again in a squeaking tone. "You're hurting me!"

By the time being, Marxwell had ducked and was now crouched behind the slope of stones, having just now noticed the low glow of a fire brighting on the other side of it. Had it been there all this time? He'd have time to scold himself for being so careless, but for now he'd got what he was looking for, and that was what mattered.

"Don't move!" replied another voice, same high pitched but more authoritative. "You took quite a hit. Lemme see…"

"I'm fine, let me be!" the other one contested with an angry tone. "It's not like that douche would hurt me-Ow!"

"See? He hit you pretty bad!" the other sighed. "Now I'll have to get some medicine to make you better."

Marxwell heard the conversation as he moved to get a better view. He quickly found a boulder larger than the others and took cover, slowly peeking over the edge to where the source of the light were. At first he couldn't see much rather than shadows around a bonfire, some homogeneous mass that flickered in the presence of the dancing light. But when he could discern the figures his eyes widened as he acknowledged who did dose voices belong to. Two figures, crouched against the other, something pointing slightly out of their heads. None of them were tall to be real equines, at least not adult ones… Of course! Exclaimed inside him. Everything has sense no-

CRACK…

Something beneath him suddenly gave in to his weight. Marxwell saw with a mix between fascination and panic as the great rock on which he had hidden began to loose holder and leaned forward dangerously. He tried to back away, but he didn't had time to run. Oh, great! Is there anything else that can turn out wrong this day?

"What is that?" he heard the voices get alerted by the little stone slides. "Watch out!"

Here we go…

The next thing he knew was that he was rolling down the slope with the rest of the debris. Followed by a cascade of plunder, Marxwell fell to the earth, being pushed and kicked by at least a dozen pieces of stone,yet silently praying not to be hit by the big one. He rolled and rolled until he could no longer do it, already reached the bottom of the pit. The landslide had created a curtain of dust, that now was raising through the half-light of the campfire, preventing him to see much further. At first, the dizziness of being struck a dozen times at least got him confused, but after a second he rapidly regained continence of where he was… and what had happened.

"Dammit!" he cursed and stood up as he made his horn begin to glow. "Kids? Lads where are y-"

Something stuck to his throat. Something cold and shiny took away his worry and suddenly replaced it with the tension of uncertainty. Marxwell stood still where he was, not daring to move a muscle as, illuminated by his purple aura, behind the handle of the knife, the fierce expression of the filly holding it looked at him with anger and contempt. Well, it wasn't the presentation he wanted, but at least the approach method had been sorted. Marxwell locked his eyes on her's, and hoped. The knife didn't withdrew, but at least it seemed like she didn't had the guts to do something stupid.

Perhaps there was a solution after all. "Uhm… Hi there?" he begun, but the knife just stuck tighter.

"Shut up!" the filly ordered, a mix between bewilderment and fear in her speech. "I… I don't care to kill you, you know?"

Okay, plan b. "I know you don't" he raised his hooves in surrender. "…But you gotta clam down."

"Tia!" cried the second one as she got up from the clouds of dust. "Tia, are you alright?" the second filly rose up, carrying what surely was Marxwell's sword. She lit up in excitement upon seeing the aforementioned, but froze in fear when she discovered the adult unicorn standing in front of her. "Tia?" she started to back away, here eyes already watering. "W-what are you doing?"

"He found us!" Tia responded, not taking the knife away. "We have to get rid of him!"

The other one was barely visible due to the brown mist, but even Marxwell could tell that upon hearing everything her face turned to one of horror. "No, Tia, don't do it!" she cried in an even louder and squeaking voice. "Don't kill anypony else, sister, please!"

"Listen to her Tia-" the knife got even tighter, beginning to breach through his skin, but he continued. "You don't want that blood on you hooves!"

"He's going to turn us over!" exclaimed Tia trying not to cry in fear as well. "You know what happened the last time!"

The other one seemed to remember something, lying her ears down… Sadness? "Yes… I know… But isn't there another way?"

"Actually-" this time he had to lean back to avoid being cut. "We can… sort something out!"

"See? He want's to talk!" the other one continued, already crying. "Please, Tia, I don't want you to do it again!"

Tia stood silent, her grip on the weapon between trembling and steady. Marxwell wasn't no hoof reader, but even he could tell that she had already doubt installed in her brain. Perhaps there was some hope… The knife got away, and the third one let out a gasp of relief. With a soured expression, Tia backed away to where her sister was and stood in guard, not taking her sight off of Marxwell at any moment.

"Fine" she conceded. "You have one minute to explain yourself."

Marxwell breathed deep, enjoying the freedom in his neck. That was some progress. "Okay… You've caused much a fuzz outside, you know?" he scratched his marked neck nervously. "No one goes around slaying farmers without the authorities to notice."

"And whats their problem with us?" asked the young one, behind her sister. "We haven't made them no harm."

"Or at least thats what you think" he gave one step closer. "You know, for a moment you made eveyrpony believe you were some kind of monst-" the point of the knife reached his throat again.

"Stay where you are!" Tia ordered.

"Fine, you're the boss" he sighed again, beginning to loose his patience. "But tell me, if you are so clever, what are you planing to do when the others come around?"

"Others?" asked the second one once again, shrugging in fright.

"Oh, yeah. Do you think I'm the only one? As I said you got a pretty big mess put together. What did you thought was gonna happen?" he stepped back. "You seem brave, I won't take you that, but I don't think that you'll hold your ground as well against the next one that gets to your… fireplace… That is, if its only one."

This seemed to set back her spirits, but not entirely. "If you're with them, then why are you here alone?" asked Tia, still knife in mouth.

"I never said I was with them. Those brutes can run into a dragon's lair, for all I know…" he shrugged. "More pay for me."

"Then why should we trust you, if you're just greedier?"

"Nope, I'm just hungrier" he grinned slightly. "And I don't know you, but I'm not believer of dragging fillies with me, displaying them as some kind of trophy. I mean, people use to believe that you were some kind of heinous creature, but if you come with me… Well, perhaps we can reach an agreement."

This, at last, seemed to bring them to reason, as the gaze of the younger, for what he could see, lighted with amusement, and the armed one's seemed to flicker for a moment. She didn't abandon her guard still, but at least it had brought her to think about it, and, usually, that was the hardest part. Marxwell just sat down and waited. Now that he had played his cards there wasn't anything else to do. Tia, meanwhile, still gazed directly at him.

"P-ponies had never been… kind to us before" whispered the little one, taking the initiative.

"The world have never been kind to the unexperienced" Marxwell tried to lean towards her, but Tia prevented him. "…But it doesn't mean that everything has to be bad."

"R-really?" She seemed more curious, but still remained behind her sister… At last, an opening!

"Sure" he continued. "How else would you call these bad times if it weren't because you've known better?"

"Other ponies have rejected us before!" now spoke Tia. "And I bet you're not different."

"I can think of some reasons why…" he muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing!" he straightened. So well it was turning out… Oh, what the heck! "Look, you know what? We can continue this pointless arguing until its night outside, see who yields first!" he stood up, both fillies backing away as if he were already threatening them again, but, unexpectedly to them, he turned away and started to climb the slope. "Still, somepony is going to find this place sooner or later, and then, trust me, its not going to be as dandy as it is now. What I'm only offering is an easy way to get out of the mess you've caused, but if you don't want to take it, fine! See if I care. I can find other means to earn me some bread, but can you find other way to unbreak your bones? Think about that."

Marxwell kept on, the slight luminescence of his horn lighting the way back. The fillies at his back remained silent. Occasionally, because of the shape of the room, he could hear them chattering, whispering about something that most definitely wasn't the state of the weather. He smiled at this. It didn't took that cleverness to know he had hit the jackpot, and now it wasn't gonna be much before he could claim it.

Marxwell was already near the top of the hill when his work finally began to pay off.

"Wait!" called Tia from below.

Bingo! Marxwell stopped. "Aye?"

"We've… Think about what you said… and we wanna come with you."

He turned to face them, a light smile in his face. "Well, I'm glad you came to reas-"

"But!" she added. "…We're only going to go if you can assure us that we're not going to be harmed."

Never trust an empty stomach, Marxwell thought for a moment …Clever girl.

"You have my word of honor" he said. "Anything else?"

"Let us keep your sword!" put in the younger, displaying his weapon.

"What!?"

"That way we'll know you won't betray us" continued Tia. "Your honor is worthless if you still have your sword."

This time he was the one who was taken back… "Fine" he sighed. "If that's what it takes, then you're free to burrow it. Now are you finished robbing me or do we have a deal?"

Tia still remained suspicious, her eyes barely blinking as the knife in her mouth was being toyed by her thoughtful grip. It looked like she was about to refuse when her sister stepped in.

"Come on, Tia, he said he will protect us!" she stepped aside her, ready to go. "There's nothing to be afraid of!"

Tia looked at her sister, then up to Marxwell, and then gave a long gasp. "Okay… we have a deal."

Marxwell gave a liberation sigh as well. "Good!" his horn stopped glowing.

Half second later a loud crash filled the cave, and a sudden tremor stroke the earth, so strong that it made both fillies jump by the force. Tia and her sister immediately looked upon where it had came from, and amazed as well as frightened at what they saw: lying in the floor, the giant boulder, which had been floating over their heads, had just fallen to the ground when the force that was sustaining it in the air had stopped working.

Unfriendly Competition

Outside, the rays of the day were shining with an aged strength as the sun revolved towards his rest beyond the horizon. The side of the mountain, nevertheless, was bare against the brightness of the white circle of fire, as no clouds dared to cross the blue. A green carpet of trees were placed in the phase of the earth, bathing in the light, and were only interrupted in their fuzzy pattern of treetops by the course of the powerful river that fell though the slope in the form of a curtain of water.

"Come on!" Marxwell came out of the foliage. "You move like tortoises!"

"Slow down!" Tia groaned from far behind. "We're just fillies and you're almost galloping!"

After him, downhill, the tired figures of Tia and her sister, who she had identified as Luna, were making an arduous ascent. Outside of the oppressive darkness of the cave, the two fillies and the stallion had came up with more dust on their fur and manes than if they'd had to dig their way out. Marxwell had dirt all over his black cloak and his leather plastron, lest to say that his grayish green fur had became enough tones whiter to make it look more like cream, and his platinum mane had been bleached almost to the point of looking like cloud white. I need a couple stitches, he sighed inside his mind, remembering the whole that the knife of Tia had opened through his clothes. What a way to ruin a good cape.

The fillies weren't any better, Tia looking ghostly white in mane and fur, and Luna not falling far behind, although she still displayed her dark blue fur and mane under her layer of dust. Both fillies had displayed an eager will to follow the unicorn, but had quickly demonstrated that they couldn't keep the pace for much long. How could these be robbers of anything? Marxwell though from his advantageous position as he watched them fight with their exhaustion and the increased heat of the day to bring themselves uphill. They can't even outrun an angry goat! At this pace we'll be an easy target… Marxwell snorted in frustration at the thought, but it wasn't like if he could do anything. The two younglings took their time but in the end they reached the top, all under the vigilant gaze of the freelancer.

"Who'd say" he said when they got to him. "For a couple of bandits you're slow on your hooves."

"Shut up" replied Tia through her gasping. "You… already got us… whats the rush?"

"Are you worried, sir?" asked Luna, who didn't look as worn out, but still tired. "What's the problem?"

Marxwell took a look around for a moment before answering. "Nothing" he whispered, still gazing at the distance. Not good to worry them anymore… "But I'd better hurry."

"So eager to reclaim your payday…" complained Tia, more recovered. "Well, don't worry about us, sir. By sunset we'll be nothing more than just another job, and you'll be free to do as you please!"

"…That is if by sunset we reach the town" he responded.

"Are you implying that we don't know how to get there?" she asked, insulted. "Because by our way we'd already be at the town."

"Tia's right" continued Luna, imitating the movement of her taking flight. "We're faster on our own!"

Marxwell sighed again. Fillies after all… "Too bad its not the case, then" he snorted as he set way again. "Now come on, we still have to get to the other side of the mountain."

"Aaaawwww, why do we have to walk?" Luna whined. "I hate walking."

After a while the sun was stetting to decline. The heat of the day had lowered steadily with it, as well as a soft breeze had set flight at the sight of the king star lowering her course. This made the way more bearable, but didn't took out most of its awfulness, nevertheless. Marxwell was barely reaching his limit by then, having to drag the fillies along, complaining how their pace was slow, how the walk was tiering, or how their hooves hurt with the stones of the road…

So. Many. Complains…

Marxwell have had his doubts upon first finding them, but now he actually felt glad when he found the bridge. Before them, the only thing that hanged between their way and the road straight to town was suspended in the midst of the edges of the cliffs that the river had opened in the land, countless millennia ago, and that now was flowing below like a thunderous snake, raging its waters like a storm. At last! Marxwell bursted inside him. Our way out of here!

"Is that it?" asked Tia, reaching him.

"Almost" responded Marxwell. "We still have to go a mile to get to the settlement, and then we'll rest."

"AW WHY!?" appeared Luna, shuffling her hooves. "I… can't go… any further" she let herself fall down.

Marxwell looked with concern at Tia for a second, but immediately dropped it when he discovered her undeterred face. "Is this normal?"

"More than you think" she answered, apathetic.

Luna, on her way, was carrying on with the act just finely, and turned to the unicorn before stating her intentions. "Carry me!"

"What!?" he almost jumped back in surprise. "Are you crazy?"

"Pleaaaase?" she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"No!" he snapped. "No way!" Luna's look became even more pleading, and her eyes seemed to grow brighter by some unknown cuteness mechanism. Marxwell looked at it with some mix between interest and embarrassment, but with attention nonetheless. His definite sign to his death sentence. "That-that is not going to work!" he exclaimed, backing away. Luna's expression persisted. "I-I said no! I… Said…"

Some minutes later…

"Aren't you a complete coltly stallion?" Tia giggled as she walked. "You know, confronting little fillies and stuff."

"Shut up" Marxwell sighed, his head hanged frustratingly low. "I only did it so we could continue our way. Nothing more."

Tia laughed. "Yeah, right. Tell me when you have the will to turn her down."

Marxwell glared at her for this, but he didn't keep it for long. At his back, the cuddled figure of Luna was lying free as her breathing was inhaling and exhaling at a steady rate, proving that she had already abandoned the plane of the awakened. Amazing, thought Marxwell for a second. How quickly she'd fall asleep… Not that he cared about that. Or did he? At his back Luna revolved a little, and he could swear that he felt a smile growing in her face. Aaaarrggghhh! B'zekre, why!? What did I do to deserve this?

"Please, strike me down."

"What?" Tia turned.

"Nothing!" he rose his head, keeping the end of the bridge at sight. "Come on, we must hurry."

"You know? For a mercenary, you're not so coldhearted" she looked up to him. "Who knows, if Luna already trusts you, perhaps we can end up liking you after all."

"I'm not a mercenary. I'm a freelancer" he responded, changing his mood as he looked away to the heights. "And besides, what do you know about me?"

This seemed to set Tia a little back. "Well… for starters I know you don't hurt little fillies."

A slight grin appeared in his face, and he was about to speak when suddenly halted, his ears stood up completely. Have he heard…? But Tia didn't.

"I wonder what kind of stallion goes around, taking jobs like this for money?"

"T-Tia…" he called.

"Because I can't begin to wonder the kind of life this should be."

"Tia" he called again, with more insistence, but she was nearly at the end of the bridge.

"…Exposed to nature, exploring the world, having adventures…"

There it was again! A sound like the twitching of branches, but lighter. Marxwell had hoped that it wasn't what he thought, but this time there was no mistake. At the other end of the bridge what he feared was gazing at them with predatory eyes. Marxwell's eyes began to perceive everything with devilish speed. Another twitch announced the presence of the spotter, and the bushes in the roadside beyond the bridge moved with the soft swinging of a very well concealed breeze. There were too many. For a moment he didn't knew what made his heart froze more in fear: the fact that they were walking straight into it, or that he had just recognized the characteristic sound of a wooden body at bending.

And the worst part was that Tia hadn't even noticed. "…It would be wonderful-"

A last twitch. Whoever was behind that arrow would certainly have his target… Aw screw subtleness! "TIA, WATCH OUT!" Marxwell pushed her out of the way at the time he heard the string loose tension.

The next succession of things occurred so quickly that Marxwell began to comprehend what had happened just a few seconds after. At the moment of pushing the filly away, a loud screech filled the air around them, and half second later something pushed him backwards. His cape was ripped apart by the brilliant point of the missile, and Luna, at his back, startled by the sudden movement, gave a loud scream as she fell to the wooden planks. Marxwell tried to get to them, but the arrow had just stuck him to the pole. Tia turned upon acknowledging, but couldn't do anything else. As soon as she took her eyes off the way, a rope jumped from nowhere and laced her neck with the speed of a blink. Luna tried to get up, but in less she had met the same fate as her sister's. Both tried to run, but there was no use now. They were already caught.

"Gotcha!" someone shouted from behind his cover. "Come on boys, we got some yokels coming by!"

Next thing they knew was that a pegasus who had been hiding in the bushes came up followed by the rest of the party. Two earth ponies and a unicorn suddenly appeared from where the ambushed had came from, teleported into the scene, and behind another set of brushwood, a griffon accompanied by another unicorn stallion went out of cover. All of them were wrapped in the attires of their barbaric profession, and all of their weapons were kept in leather sheaths. They were nothing like Marxwell, who in comparison looked like if he were even royalty. The grins on their faces were anything but comforting, and the look int their eyes was as cold as the steel of their arms. Marxwell seemed confused at first, but everything changed when he set eyes on the griffon. Venor, he thought with concern. Great! As if this day wouldn't be the same without competence.

"Well, well, well, look who we got now" said the griffon when he saw how his band had submitted their preys. "I didn't know you had fillies, Marx. What happened? Did you broke the water and you didn't tell me?" the other thugs broke to laughter, but Venor continued. "It should be hard for you to take care of them alone, but don't worry! You're lucky you have such good friends here who can offer themselves to do it for you" he grabbed Tia by the face and examined it. "Good breed. I'm sure in town they must be wondering where did all of their crops go. Glad to see they weren't so badly wasted" he laughed with malevolence as well as his crew.

"Leave them alone Ven, they're mine!" Marxwell shouted, but a sword stuck to his throat. Now, where have I seen this before?

"Oh, Marx" he snapped his fingers and the sword got away from his neck, as well as all the other brigands, letting him fall to the ground . "Marx, Marx, Marx, Marx…" he closed his face to his' and smiled rascally. "All is fair in love and business, and this, as much as I like you, isn't the first."

"Let us go, moron!" screamed Tia behind the griffon as she struggled with the rope on her neck. Behind her, Luna stood dumbstruck, trembling under the grasp of the rope with the characteristic eyes of a shocked mind. Tia, fighting and squirming like a fish out of the water, was giving the hell of a show. "Marx, don't let them-"

"Shut your mug, kiddo!" exclaimed one of the earth colts as a hoof stomped agains Tia's belly, making her bend and gasp as the air in her lungs violently bursted out her body. Tia fell down to the floor, and remained there with her eyes wide open as she struggled for breath.

Luna, who hadn't moved a single muscle, suddenly reacted. "Tia!" she screeched in despair while holding her sister.

"Step away from the fillies!" shouted Marxwell too. "Why don't you do that to me if you dare!"

"Granted!" Somepony exclaimed. Instantly, two hooves graved him and pushed him against the post. Marxwell resisted, but before he could move more swords were drawn agains his guts, and even an arrow was eagerly looking at his forehead.

"STOP!" ordered Venor. "Let him be, guys, he's not our job… Yet."

The weapons retreated from him again, and Marxwell was thrown into the ground. Venor, watching nonchalantly, had just taken the unicorn's sword from Luna and now was examining it.

"Hey that's mine!" cried the filly, but the griffon just ignored her.

"Such a good design, and sharpened blade too. No wonder why you do so good these days without us" Venor leaned towards Marxwell as the unicorn simply frowned at him. "I tell you what. You tell me where can I get one of these and I'll let you be."

Marxwell seemed to think about it for a second, but almost immediately refused. "Bite me!"

"Too bad you're a terrible negotiator" he sighed, backing away as he grabed something beneath his wing. "But, as everything, its not a problem that cannot be solved…" Marxwell tensed at his movements, as well as the fillies, all expecting the worst, but Venor, again, took them by surprise. "Here!" he took out a little cloth bag. "There you go, Marx, for your trouble" he tossed it to the unicorn.

Marxwell nearly dodged the bag as if he had thrown a knife in his direction, but caught it in the last second and reluctantly peeked inside. When he opened it, the sound of coins tinkled inside, and something yellow appeared in the reflexion of his eyes. "What does this mean?" he inquired, between puzzled and outraged.

Venor's smile returned. "As I told you, you're a bad negotiator. That in your hooves is only what you were going to earn by yourself" he reached inside his other wing. "…This, on the contrary, is our our half in advance" he took out a bag of gold at least three times the size of the first one and opened it for all to see. "See, Marx? Freelancing is something that's out of fashion. Why hiring a single sword when you can smash you problems with another ten?"

That is if anypony here can handle a sword, he thought. Behind the prepotent form of Venor, Tia and Luna had curled agains each other, and were looking back at him with pleading eyes. Marxwell looked to their faces for a moment before speaking. "I guess you will invite me now to resign."

"You have no more reasons to carry with this burden anymore" the griffon shrugged. "You're not bound by your contract, and isn't that what freelancers do? Terminate your missions so you can spend what little you earn?" another smile, wither. "Come on, its fair and square! An honest job for an honest earn!"

Marxwell frowned at him again, but this time he didn't say anything. This time he didn't find anything left to say to him. He looked back at the fillies. Both Tia and Luna were looking with a mix of pleading and fear, the ropes on her necks fastened tightly. Understandable, but yet too naive. Over the toe of his hoof, the money tinkled again with its characteristic metallic sound. To take the money and go, simple enough… But somehow difficult. Isn't this why you came here for? Something seemed to question within him. Isn't this worth all of your trouble? And It wasn't that he didn't had any heart too, but even he needed to pay his bills.

Then why was it so difficult?

Common bandits. Nothing more than burglars of crops and vandals. They had been the nuisance of farmers from some months ago, and no matter how much they'd guarded their orchards, those slippery creatures had'd the craftiness of getting away with it, leaving behind nothing else other than disorder and half eaten prizes. Searching parties had been called, but apparently the robbers hadn't left any trace. Marxwell wouldn't have mattered bringing them to justice… If they weren't just a pair of orphans, trying not to starve.

Unlike somepony he knew…

Doubts started to hoard inside his conscience until they formed a towering pile above his thoughts. Perhaps… It wasn't entirely a fair trade.

"What's the matter, Marx?" asked Venor. "If you wanted more you could've just joined us. I never turn down a good swordscolt."

"The girls" Marx said, not taking the sight away from the money. "What'll happen with them?"

The griffon shrugged. "Its nothing that'd concern you."

He lowered his sight for a moment. "Perhaps it is…"

Something drew their attention in that moment. A mercenary was trying to take Luna away, but was encountering resistance from her sister.

"Get off of her!" exclaimed Tia as she pulled her sister's rope agains her opponent. The stallion pulled in the other direction harder, taking the rope off of Tia's teeth and making Luna whine in pain for the force. As soon as her sister's cry if pain reached her ears Tia's eyes opened wide, and her horn began to glow in a threatening way; a magical aura that both displayed power and wrath. Though Venor seemed to watch everything nonchalantly, Marx's eyes narrowed. A unicorn that young with that kind of magic- "I. Said. LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Before anyone could explain what was happening, a source of light as powerful as the sun suddenly took over her figure, irradiating from her horn, and occluded everything around. Everypony backed off, and even Venor and Marxwell didn't know wether to cover their eyes or stare into that mass of brightness as it grew in size and luminosity towards them. Perhaps for the griffon that display of power was supposed to be the source of doubt and insecurity, but Marxwell hadn't been born yesterday, and what his eyes could witness his mind just snapped at the blink of a memory. Something that he had seen too many years ago, from the first of his lives…

Something made out of red rage and blackness.

His jaw dropped when he realized what was it, such as everyone's else… No, it couldn't be!

In bare land, Tia and her sister were standing defiant as her outburst of magic was releasing its last accords. The other stallion was in the ground, not moving anymore. Everything around their figures had being scorched or half burned, a mark of soot perfectly circling them that stretched several feet away. All eyes withered by equal, both in surprise and in terror, but what caused bewilderment wasn't the fact that, in a single blow, a filly had bashed a gown up stallion, or even the fact that she'd displayed such a colossal amount of energy for an unicorn that young. It were the wings, the white and deep blue sets of wings that showed at the backs of the fillies, and that now were fully stretched so everypony could see and horrify. The first of their kind to appear in a thousand years… And the last reason Marxwell needed to act agains his behalf.

"A… A… ALICORN!" at the sound of the scream, all the presents either jumped back in fear or drew their weapons. Only Tia and Luna showed between startled and collected at the same time, like if they'd knew what was happening, and at the same time didn't. "Children of Astaroth! Kill them!"

Dammit!

Venor was taking the lead, his sword bare on his claws, but before he could reach the sisters something run past him, tacling him in the way, and swung something bright in his general direction. For a moment it looked as if Marx would behead him, but the sword that he had clinched in his mouth wasn't meant to kill him, and just disarmed him with a powerful bash instead.

Venor was tossed to the ground by the sudden attack, and Marx pushed him out of the way in the blink of an eye, drawing the looks of the rest of the party like metal to a magnet while doing so. It really didn't took much cleverness to know that he had now stepped in for the fray.

"Don't stay looking like that, get him!" ordered Venor from the ground.

All mercenaries immediately changed their objective, but Marxwell had already taken action. As soon as he reached the fillies, his horn glowed with a purple flash, and all of them disappeared, teleported back to the middle of the bridge, outside of their reach. It didn't took much for his attackers to realize the move, though, and when they turned they found him standing over the wooden planks, his sword still unsheathed and en-garde.

"Tia, Luna, behind me!" he called them without turning.

Luna immediately obeyed, curling behind his figure, but Tia didn't. "How dare you sell us like that!?" she reproached. "Have you any idea how-"

Agh! No time for that. "GET BEHIND ME NOW!" he ordered.

Tia jumped back by the surprise, but obeyed in the act, completely taken by the commanding voice of the unicorn. In the other side of the bridge, the mercenary band had already regrouped and was standing at the end of it, looking upon the trio with dumbfounded eyes as well as readying for action.

"Marx has gone mad!" they said among themselves. "He has been bewitched by the demons!"

Maxwell stood ready for combat as well, not lowering his sword before his person, and assuming a defensive position towards the fillies. The mercenaries had unsheathed their arms too and held them high, but didn't advanced. Not until Venor appeared amongst them, his own curbed sword recovered.

"Marx? What is the meaning of this?" he asked, not a single trace of his rascal attitude left in his features.

Marxwell hardened his grasp on his sword. "It's an honor thing, Ven. I promised them that they wouldn't be harmed. And here we are…"

"You shouldn't promise things that you're not gonna keep, then" Venor snorted. "Besides, really? Are you out of your freaking mind!?"

He glanced at the sisters for a second, and just so they could see him, winked, though in his actual stance it looked more like a threat than a reassurance gesture. "They may not be the best of leaseholders but I'm not stupid, Ven! What do you think that will happen to them if we bring them back to town?"

This time Venor actually frowned. "Yet you defend these two abominations. Who are you, and what happened to the colt that used to like to earn a good pay?"

"You want your payday?" he levitated the cloth bag and tossed it back to him. "There! Its not much, but that's what I can give to let this be."

Venor caught the money in his free claw and stared at it for a moment. Behind him the rest of his party had risen in an unison negative, and was grabbing tighter the handle of their weapons. "I'm sorry" he said staring back at Marxwell. "…But you're gonna need more if you want us to pass this by."

The mercenaries prepared themselves to charge, showing the sharp edges of their respective weapons pointed towards their enemy. Tia and Luna shrunk behind him in fright, knowing what did it mean, but Marxwell held his own, his horn glowing menacingly. "Then we're set" he sentenced, stepping in guard.

Enough talking. Venor and his mercenaries readied for the charge, wings stirred and magic glowing bright in their horns. Marxwell didn't let himself intimidate, and opened a little more his stance. They had only one way to reach him, after all, and Venor should know it. Venor, on his side, was looking as if he were calculating Marxwell possibilities, but both surely knew how was it going to go down. There was only one way into each other… This would be solved the old style: with brute force.

It started like an insinuation. Tension began to build between both sides until it seemed to fill the cliff upon where they were suspended. Marxwell remained still, letting a little breeze mess up his mane and cape, the rest of his body completely tensed, while his opponents had fixed their looks on his posture, not blinking or doing anything else rather than, perhaps subconsciously, sliding lightly towards their foe.

The first step began everything. As if an invisible signal were casted out from the form of the unicorn Venor took the lead setting flight towards where Marxwell were waiting for them. To him followed the generalized charge of the other two unicorns and earth stallion that remained, and the pegasus set for the heights tensing the string of his bow with a projectile again. Marxwell watched the display of his opponents and followed every figure as closely as his periphereal vision allowed him to, never taking eyes out of Venor.

The griffon gained a considerable height and began to soar at top speed in his direction, the sword at his claws ready to strike for his heart. Marxwell watched him straightly while holding his position and readying himself for the impact. At first it looked as if the stallion wouldn't move, but as soon as Venor entered his reach, another magic nova, like the one that had knocked out the sisters, suddenly bursted out of his horn. Venor realized what was he intending to do, but tried to dive too late, and his wings couldn't stop his acceleration. So, stunned by the power of his opponent, and blinded by the flash that followed, the griffon was set off course, and crashed against the planks of the bridge, breaking them after the impact and heading towards the void, unconscious.

Tia and Luna looked impressed at what the unicorn had made, but Marxwell wasn't there anymore. With a hard breathing, and his sword held high, the freelancer charged towards the encounter with the rest of his opponents, who upon seeing how their chief had been defeated so easily had stopped their charge, and now were opened for the unicorn's attack.

Marxwell didn't wait until they snapped and threw himself into battle, ready to vanquish his unprepared adversaries.

A freelancer of day and night

Several hours later…

Birds were chirping in the tallest branches while the soft whisper of a river sung its melody through the rocks. In the sky the sun was declining definitely, setting for its final destination to conclude that tiring day. The ground was still and quiet, readying for the night, while in the river bank shadows were starting to accommodate and grow. In the ambient that was that display of nature, it wasn't too easy to tell apart many things, for those almost always seemed to merge with the rest of the world, but for the keen ear, the marching of hooves over the stony shores was an ever growing echo in the background of nature.

Marxwell took a moment to breathe before continuing. His body ached with the aftermath of the fight, his cape was torn in the places where the enemy had pierced his guard, and his fur would take a little while to grow back. He had no wounds anymore though, his healing spells had taken care of that, only the soft yet painful memory of being injured and a perfectly threaded cape torn to shreds over his back… Not the way I planned it, is it?

"Marx!" Tia called from behind. "Where are we going?"

And there were them still, the alicorns. They had been following him since the end of the battle, and hand't spoke a word, not even when he came off the known way and begun to follow the river course, an hour ago. Marxwell took a peek over his shoulder to show his face with the trace of a cut through his cheek, a new souvenir from Venor's part, and then looked to the front again. Strange, though, that hey'd be back there still.

"I thought you were going to go already" he said without turning.

"We are" responded Tia. "We just happen to go in the same direction as you do."

"Then I don't expect me to answer for your behalf… Not like that again." he briefly turned. "And Neither would I recommend you to remain here. Sooner or later the locals are going to acknowledge that something happened to their 'benefactors', and then they're gonna start asking questions… I just hope they just think they've been coned."

"And if we move?"

"Move?" he stopped, an eyebrow risen. "Then I wouldn't take the risk of going through the open road. Many people go over there, and many of them, if not all, share the same idea about… your kind."

"Then?"

"Travel to the south and catch a ship. Perhaps there's a better chance in the north, who knows? …Just don't travel west. Those are the unicorn kingdoms, and the Horsemaster knows what are they gonna do if they find you."

She seemed to meditate for a second, then smiled sideways. "You seem to know much about the world."

"Well… I've been around" he shrugged, smiling too.

"Are you kidding? You're an adventurer!" put in Luna . "The way you handled those jerks…" she imitated the action of punching someone in a headlock. "'Get away from the fillies, you morons!'" she voice acted him.

This set both of them in giggles, and even Marxwell's smile grew a little wither, but it didn't last. His face soon returned to its sour expression, and his gaze turned to the river course. A mix between amusement and melancholy in his eyes. Ah, the things one has to do… Damn principles!

"Marx? Are you alright?" Tia asked when she noticed he wasn't laughing, a little remorseful. "We're sorry that you had to deal with your friends because of us."

Marxwell closed his eyes and frowned for a little bit, clenching his lips before lowering his head. Remorse? "Its okay…" he sighed. "They had been asking for trouble for a while now. I'm just glad I saw Ven… depart" he opened his eyes slightly to see both fillies looking concerned at him. Fillies… "…But I gotta admit" he rose his head again, something else starting to grow inside him as his own rascal smile appeared in his face. "Me against five was kind of amazing back there!"

It took just a second, but the feeling settled right. Luna was the first to burst out in laughing followed by Tia and Marxwell, who just chuckled more because of the fillies' joy than his personal one. The traces of wounds were still fresh, and something like that was a very good mood killer. Either way it was good to see those two happy for once.

"It was good meeting you, Marxwell" Tia said when she finished laughing. "I just wish there'd be more ponies like you."

"Yeah, right" Marxwell chuckled once more. "It was good meeting you too. For once its a job I don't regret to turn down!" he laughed briefly… Then discovered that he was smiling warmly at them. He suddenly cleared his throat to regain his composure. "I, um… I'm glad that you're safe for now and wish you the best of lucks in your way" he turned again, ready to leave. "Until next time… I guess."

Tia and Luna stood in their place for a second, then lowered their ears as a powerful sensation of disappointment seemed to take over them after his words. Strange, how quick can a feeling change over the course of one phrase only. Both fillies looked like abandoned, even desperate for a moment, before, at least in the case of Tia, the feeling seemed to be absorbed, or concealed, by what surely was her outstanding power of rationalization.

"We…" Tia begun, but stopped to gulp something down her throat. "We wish you well too, Marx."

"Good then…" Marxwell nodded, trying to talk through something unidentified as well. "Good bye."

Marxwell turned and started walking his way. No point in extending that moment for longer, and besides, he had yet to find his luggage if he were to camp in the river bank. He had been offered a room in the town's inn, but he wouldn't be returning there for a little while. Not while he had to explain so soon how did he got there and the other's didn't. It was common sense, and besides, being prepared for the next eventuality was one of the first lessons he had learned in his travels with Eusquere… Back when he was a filly too.

He kept on going, turning his thoughts aside like an annoying swarm of insects. At his back nothing had made a sound ever since he had started waling, and for a moment, even though he had went away from those thoughts, something started to wander. Were they… still there? Nah, surely they had gone too, to wherever they wished. They were, after all, or at least Tia, fierce and independent, just like him when he was her age… And just like her when he had been close to loose his life in countless occasions due to his innate ability to stick his nuzzle in wherever he didn't need to-

He immediately casted those ideas away. Yeah, surely they had taken their own route and would be fine. Of course, disregarding the danger, and the beasts, or the bandits that used to camp in the countryside, feral Changelings, or even other ponies that could mean to harm two defenseless fillies. Specially if those fillies happened to be two alicorns…

Marxwell took a second, but after it he realized he was actually worried. So worried that, without noticing it, he had stopped moving, and something itched in the back of his neck. A sensation that urged him, pressed him to turn back, even if it were clearly ridiculous… Oh, damn conscience! Sometimes he just wished for things to be simpler-!

"Marx!" the sudden call of Tia brought him back to reality.

Marxwell turned in a swift movement, his purple eyes and his breathing as equally agitated, and stared back. There were Tia and her sister, not having moved an inch since he had started moving, which, surprisingly, hand't covered more than two yards.

It took a second, but after that Marxwell's composure returned. "Yes?"

A simple question. Something yet so complicated that it couldn't be that simple. It was a question that demanded an answer, a plead for her lips to burst open and make a decision in life. One that more than surely'd change it all. If only feelings were that simple…

Tia and Luna gave a step back, more moved apparently by Marxwell's indifference rather than the fact that he had just stopped for them. Marxwell waited, but nothing came out of their mouths, and apparently nothing would. Both Tia and Luna were completely dumbstruck, fighting something inside them that even he, despite his empathy, could find less than hard to recon. No, those lips were sealed as if by saying it would bring upon them some kind of cruse. Perhaps he'll have to take the lead.

"Well?" he asked, as undeterred as he could. "What is it?"

That abandoned face, those desperate eyes. They were pleading it with all of their strength, and it wasn't that Marxwell didn't have experience with children, but the mere insinuation that what the outcome of that situation would somehow rendered him unable to continue, unsure of accepting something so sudden as it were what they'd suggested.

Luna didn't move, overtaken by that awkward feeling, but Tia did, less sure, true, but at least with initiative. "I-" she mumbled. "Well, we…"

Something got stuck in her throat. Something that prevented her to finish the sentence, and no matter how hard she tried, words wouldn't come out of her mouth. Or at least that was what came to his mind. Marxwell's gesture hardened, and his eyes began to wonder more than what he seemed certain. Slowly, almost as if he wanted to believe otherwise, he began to turn again, much to the sisters' despair. If the fillies wouldn't state their minds maybe there wasn't a point in staying there after all-

"Wait, please!" a shrilling voice cried at his back.

The sudden noise of hooves rushing towards him broke his thoughts. Marxwell turned swiftly again to see what had happened. It took a second, but after that the realization didn't fit in his face. Before the shocked lock of Tia and the any less surprised eyes of the freelancer, Luna had broke into gallop and had taken a leap, stretching her wings to soar towards his figure. Neither of the two managed to process what was happening before it did. After a second, Tia's eyes had watered, and Marxwell was being tossed back, almost with the risk of loosing his balance, as the form of a crying Luna had crashed against his chest and grappled to his neck with her forelegs.

"Please don't go!" she cried again. "We wanna come with you!"

Interesting… Tia rushed back after her sister, at first seemingly determined to set her aside, but upon reaching Marxwell she clanged unto him as well. Marxwell looked at the two of them not really knowing what to do. He tried to do something, say something, but he just couldn't figure what. Just as a moment ago, something had sparkled within him that seemed to make his power of decision completely blank. Interesting… Was all that came to his mind. That something so little had the power to move him within so much.

Perhaps it wasn't the power of reason, but the lack of it. The pure emotional side that conscience couldn't do anything more than just restrain, and that now was just taking over as his forelegs instinctively rose from its position and wrapped both fillies around with something more than the desire to just hold them. Marxwell had lived too many things in his life, even for a normal pony, but in that moment he found it really difficult to find one single experience that was as nearly as fond as having those two within his grasp could feel.

Again, it took a second, but after that the realization of composure broke through their minds. And the world returned to how it was a moment before.

"Okay, okay fend off" Marxwell moved away from them. "I… Uhm… respect that you feel that way about this" he scratched the back of his beck. "…But could not assure that you're gonna be better off with me than by your own. A freelancer's life isn't much of a joy most of the time."

"Less than being on the road by our own?" inquired Tia… Touchè. "Nah, I think we'll take our chances with you."

"Is that so?" he smiled sideways. "Well then let me warn you that it's not going to be a walk in the park."

"As if something's been easy before…" she shrugged. "You have underestimated our determination once, and see how well it played for you."

"Tia's right, we're stronger than we look!" finished Luna, flexing her forelegs the more threatening way possible and falling after a second.

"Sure you are" Marxwell chuckled as he set way again. "Come on then, we have some things left to do, but first…" as he spoke his cape suddenly levitated out of his body and teared into tow equal pieces, each one wrapping around one filly. "We'll have to conceal those wings for a time now. At least until I find something more suitable for you to wear."

"Seems fair" shrugged Tia as she fastened her and her sister's new attires. "But I just got one question."

"Fire away" he sighed, nonchalantly.

"Who's Astaroth?"

Marxwell suddenly stopped his walking, and even though Tia and Luna couldn't see his front they should have noticed the change in his mood, all his relief suddenly being tossed away. "W-what?" Of all the things that came to his mind, that was the one that more swiftly broke through his tongue.

Tia this time puzzled, somehow unsure to continue. "Well… we've been called many things before, but never like that" she mumbled. "Have you got some clue about it?"

Astaroth… The very name gave him nausea. Marxwell didn't noticed at first, and perhaps the fillies neither, but luckily they weren't in front of him, or they'd be seeing the expression of contempt that had drawn across his features.

"Would you be able to terminate me?" he asked, smirking mockingly. "Me and all of my kind…? That is, if you got the guts to do what's right for once!"

Snowflakes fell from the night sky as his laughter became lighter with every step he put between he and him. There wasn't anything left behind his march… Only the darkness that he promised.

"…Hero."

"He's, no one…" he whispered, in a tone so low that it almost seemed like he were growling. "And if you know what's best for you, you won't ask about him again" he turned to the sisters, his wrath successfully contained within a stern look. "Understood?"

"Y-yes" both Luna and Tia jumped back. "We're sorry, Marx."

Marxwell took a second, but after it have a long breathe, just as his gaze softened. They were just fillies, after all. "Its nothing… You didn't know" he turned to his way and start moving. "Come on now, better find a good place to set camp before nightfall."

Luna and Tia doubted for a second, but moved with him afterwards.

"M-mister Marx?" Luna reached him first and started walking by his side. "Does this means we can stay with you?"

"Stay with me, travel with me… Its a form of understatement" he winked at her, seeing her smile grow once again. "…Buuuut, don't you think that you're gonna go with me for free. Not without learning to do some things properly."

"Like?" appeared Tia at his other side.

"Like, for example, lighting a good bonfire, and not that poor pyre you had back in the cave" he began. "So, when we get there, you'll start making the preparatives while I go look for some lumber."

"And then?"

"Then we go to sleep, peacefully and quiet" he remarked those last words turning upon each other. "After that we rise early, I'll go into town, and feed the folk the best excuse for my… our delay."

"And what would that be?"

"Dunno" he shrugged. "Perhaps we ran into a hungry Hundroog, and only we three made it."

"A… Hun-du-rog?" inquired Luna.

"Have you seen one?" he asked back. The filly shook her head. "If you haven't, then, take my word, you don't want to. At least it'll keep the townsfolk away from the forest for a while, lower any suspicions… I'll work on the details later."

"And after your alibi?" asked Tia again.

"After that I'll see if I can get you some real clothing, and then…"

"…Then?"

Marxwell slowed his pace for a moment, and his gaze turned to infinity. Something suddenly ad lighter within him. Oh, Eusquere, how proud you'd be… "And then to the road" he muttered. "…To live and learn."

Inspiration:

Rabbit Heart - Florence and the Machine

King and the Lionheart - Of Monsters and Men

Underdog - Imagine Dragons

El Duelo - La Ley

Counting Stars - One Republic

Never Let Me Go - Florence + The Machine

Mountain Sound - Of Monsters and Men