Afternoon

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.