Red Dead Revisited/Growing where You're Planted

Chapters

Wild Horses
Back in the Saddle
Wanted, Dead or Alive
Unconvential Lawman
For the Love of a Good Woman
I Know You Too

Wild Horses

Red Dead Revisited/Growing Where You’re Planted

Jack Marston in Equestria

Chapter 1 Wild Horses

“Do not fear death. Death is always at our side. When we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light, but if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently and then guides us into infinity” Laughing Bull.

The abandoned town of Tumbleweed was empty again. A few stray bandits had attempted to call it home, but the bounty on their heads was worth clearing them out. Jack looked at the now deserted town. The new Marshall in Armadillo had already collected the bounties from him, both living and dead, and headed back off to his small dirt town.

Armadillo had been fairly prosperous, at one time, but the railway had left the town. A dispute between the former Marshall and one of the fellas that was friends with the head of the Railway company had sealed its fate. Little by little Armadillo was closing up, buildings going abandoned, and it wouldn’t be that long until it was completely abandoned like Tumbleweed had been.

“Yes, sir, you’re John Marston’s boy all right… Damn good at puttin’ fellers into the ground aren’t ya?! Nothing wrong with that though. Nope! I gets along with the dead better anyway… Now… From what I heard those boys had made a major find out here. More money than a man could spit at! Should make up for that damned glass eye,” Seth said

The old prospector looked at a bloodied note left behind by a newly dead bandit. He almost seemed full of glee until a clap of thunder erupted through the air. It echoed through the remains of Tumbleweed, causing what few panes of glass that remained to vibrate on the buildings. Hearing the thunder the old prospector ran straight toward the mansion on the hill. Jack turned toward his mount, that he had climbed off of, only to see it running full gallop away from the town. Seeing no other options he ran after Seth and got into the mansion.

They closed the old doors and the sound of the wind was picking up. The mansion itself creaked and groaned under the assault that nature was giving it. The old timbers sounded as if they wanted release. They went through toward the center of the old mansion, hunkering down while the wind and rain beat the sides of the old building.

“Sounds like a damned twister!” Seth yelled.

His voice barely loud enough over the howling wind for Jack to hear. He nodded, not daring to try to call out over the force of nature that was trying to beat this weathered old town into submission. The wind picked up more, howling louder, and Jack began to wonder how much longer this old building could take it before it groaned its last and fell in on itself. Slowly the wind began to calm, the sound of it ended, and Jack could see the bright light of the sun outside. He walked toward a window and instead of seeing the arid and dusty streets and crumbling buildings there was a green rolling field.

Jack stood in disbelief at the sight before him. He heard a whimper and looked at Seth who looked more on edge than he normally did.

“This… This ain’t right! I ain’t getting screwed out of my treasure again!” Seth roared before he ran out of the mansion.

Jack followed him out and could see the old jail, and what looked like the Church, but it was cleaned up, and almost looked new. He followed Seth toward it and saw the old man scream and pound his fists against the door.

“This door was never locked! The damned lock was broken!” the old man screamed.

The door slowly opened and at first glance Jack saw the familiar crisp white of a blouse, and a long black skirt. He gave a nod while tipping his hat. It was only proper manners to acknowledge a lady. He looked back at her to see a something that resembled both a woman and a horse. The eyes were wrong. They were focused more like a person’s eyes,

She looked as surprised as he was, but he calmed himself down. He’d read stories by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. This wasn’t that different. Something had happened, something he couldn’t explain, and had taken him, and from the looks of it bits and pieces of Tumbleweed to this new place. He looked over at Seth who had passed out.

Here’s hoping that they understand English, he thought.

“Miss, You mind to tell me exactly where it is I am?” he asked.

He noticed several smaller beings like her, the word foals came to mind, and he watched them eyeing him with what seemed like curiosity. She ushered them back inside and stepped out with him. He could see the kind of look he’d seen on his own ma. She was ready to do whatever she needed to do to protect those foals in there.

“You’re just outside of Ponyville,” she answered.

Her voice sounded sweet, delicate, and didn’t carry the accent he was used to. Instead she sounded something like Dr. Riggs fella he’d helped out in the desert. She sounded educated, more so than he was, which was starting to make sense. The more he looked at this place the more it looked like a school house. He’d remember that in some old towns the school would double as the town’s church.

“Thank ya Miss,” he said.

She studied him for a moment and finally she touched his arm.

“What are you?” she asked.

Her hand felt surprisingly human. It was covered with fur, dark pink, nearly light purple, fur, and her hair seemed to be two different shades of pink. He looked into her eyes and could see the shade of green they were. He gave her a grin.

“That’s funny, I was about to ask you the same thing,” he said.

She grinned back at him, her pearly white teeth shining in the sun lightly.

“I’m a pony,” she said.

I suppose that makes sense. She looks kinda like one, he thought.

“Well, I’m a man, a human, and so is old Seth here,” he said as he nudged the old prospector.

“Is he okay?” she asked.

“Demon horse… I swear Lord, I won’t go bothering the dead no more,” Seth mumbled out.

“Time to get up old timer,” he said as he reached down and grabbed Seth by his shoulder.

The old man looked up at the demon horse again and screamed. He tried to scamper back, falling on his ass instead, and then took off in the direction of the old mansion. Jack watched him disappear into it and then he heard the door shut. Seeing that Seth was inside and most likely wasn’t going to get into any kind of trouble the obvious thing he needed to do was see what he could find out about this place.

“Ma’am, being that I’m a stranger, in a strange land, do ya mind filling me in on the area, or have something that might let me know a bit more about this place?”

Cheerilee studied him for a second, “Unfortunately I have to return to my students, but if you follow the road it will lead you into Ponyville proper. Stay on the main road and you’ll find yourself at the Golden Oak Library. Once there you can speak with Princess Twilight Sparkle and I’m certain that she’ll be more than happy to get you any reading material you need,” she studied him for a second before shaking her head, “School lets out about four P.M. If you get back out here before then I’ll show you around the market place. That way you’ll have a chance to get any supplies you may need.”

He tipped his hat to her, looked at the road, and began the trek toward the town she mentioned. As he walked he noticed how lush and green everything was. In a way it reminded him of the mountains where he had gotten attacked as a boy. Beautiful, but often that beauty hid a danger. As he walked he kept his ear open to the sound of any threats he’d normally encounter. It almost seemed as if there wouldn’t be any reason for the surveillance he was giving his surroundings. Instead the walk seemed to be mostly quiet, or it was until he heard a scream.

Jack rushed toward the sound. He had his father’s cattleman revolver out. The old revolver packed plenty of punch, and it’d certainly saved his life more than once. He looked ahead and saw what looked like a cross between a lion, some kind of winged creature, and a scorpion moving down toward a cream colored mare. Her blouse had been torn open, she was holding an arm across her breasts, trying to back away from the creature, her two toned red mane looked matted on her head, and he wasted no time.

The revolver barked, letting a single forty-five caliber bullet soar through the air toward the creature. It struck, just right, to catch it on the shoulder. He saw it turn toward him, the easier prey forgotten, and instead it looked downright angry and mean. The mare took the chance to run from where she had been almost eaten, and Jack took the moment to see this creature for what it was. It easily stood eight or nine feet tall. There was no doubt in his mind that it could put up a decent fight with a Grizzly.

He fired another shot, his aim went straight for the head, and he walked toward the creature itself. It laid motionless, and he kicked it once to ensure that it was indeed dead. Hunting in Tall Trees had taught him that there was always another predator around. He quickly went to skinning the creature, making sure to take care of its pelt, and then he went to work on the meat. Hunting bears had long since taught him the correct way to take meat from the carcaruses, and this creature had a similar look to it.

He finished up, knowing that creatures near the forest line would finish off the carcass itself. He rolled up the fresh pelt, put the meat into some butcher paper he’d long since learned to bring with him, and he began moving toward the township itself. The school maram talked about a market place. There was a good chance that he could sell the pelt, and the meat, to one of the venders there. Perhaps there was even a butcher in the township that would want to purchase it.

He walked past the forest line, that the road seemed to near, and finally saw a town in the distance. The town itself seemed odd. He’d read stories from olden times, tales about England back a couple hundred years before, and some of these houses looked like that, but others looked similar to some of the old houses he’d seen in Tumbleweed, or even Armadillo. He heard whispering, several of the pony folk seemed to be talking to one another about him. One thing he’d noticed with the school maram, and with the mare he’d saved, was that they seemed to be on the shorter side. The school maram looked to be almost a foot shorter than he was.

That seemed to similar with all of the ones staring at him. He decided to ignore it, as best he could, and walked toward a large tree that had a door in it. The tree seemed to be alive, but someone had made a home out of it. Quickly he decided to put the thoughts of how this shouldn’t be right away. After all, he was in a world that had animal people, weird predator animals, and he just appeared out of thin air here along with part of an old abandoned town.

He knocked on the door, heard it open, and heard the sound of a mare frantically trying to say something.

“Roseluck, I understand that you were attacked by a manticore, but the idea that a pony that wasn’t a pony appeared and saved you is a little hard to believe.”

“Uh, Twi?”

“Not now Spike,” she replied, “What you’re describing sounds pretty farfetched. Have you been talking with Lyra again?”

“Twi, seriously, you need to see this.”

“Spike, I’m busy.”

The little dragon looked up at the creature that was looking at him.

“Twilight, you really need to come here.”

“Ugh! Roseluck, stay right here. Spike what do you ne….” she looked at the creature standing outside of the door.

Twilight’s eyes widened as she took in the being that Roseluck had described.

“I was told that I could come over here and find out ‘bout where I am.”

Author's Note

(AN: A new story?! What's this madness? I've been out for a while. Lots of IRL stuff going on, but I'm going to be updating and writing more, so look to see that.)

Back in the Saddle

Red Dead Revisited/Growing Where You’re Planted

Jack Marston in Equestria

Chapter 2 Back in the Saddle

“I just know that there are two theories when arguing with women. And neither one works.” John Marston..

Twilight looked at the creature before her. Thousands of questions came to mind. Instantly she wanted to write a very long letter to Princess Celestia, asking what she knew about the myth of humans. Of course she could attempt to enlist Lyra Heartstrings, but she had a feeling that Lyra would be too caught up with the prospect of being right. She took a moment to look at Roseluck. It wasn’t surprising that she didn’t know what this creature was. After all, the myth of humanity itself was exceptionally old, and usually it was only those that studied at Celestia’s school for gifted Unicorns that knew anything about them.

She felt foolish, exceptionally foolish, because of all of the things she studied the myth of humans was fairly low on the list. She knew they were connected to ‘The Megan’, but how they were connected was a bit hazy. She was still fuzzy on exactly what ‘The Megan’ was, but she knew the few times the Princess had spoken about her it had been with as much reverence as she had ever heard. Still, she grabbed a quill, some parchment, and quickly handed it to Spike. The young drake rolled his eyes before taking his place as her assistant and prepared to take notes. Twilight stepped toward the human, glad that he at least spoke a similar language as Equinish, although his accent sounded close to Applejack’s.

A grin crossed her lips as she thought of that. The first bit of proof that humanity existed, and their example was a male version of Applejack. She realized that she’d been studying him, not saying a word, for several minutes at this point, and obviously it was making the situation far more awkward than it needed to be. Slowly she cleared her throat.

“Welcome to Golden Oak Library, I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

He nodded, “Jack Marston, It’s a pleasure, I’m sure, but Miss, I gotta tell ya that I’d love to find out where I am. The school marm told me that y’all might have some books that could tell me more about where I am.”

Twilight nodded, and gestured toward the various walls, “I’m sure we can find something, but do you mind if I ask a few questions?”

Jack noticed the hopeful expression on her face. It was something he’d seen a few times in his travels. A few learned men, including Dr. Riggs himself, often had that same expression when they were looking at something they hoped would be a major discovery for them. Part of him wondered if that was what this mare was thinking. Did she see him as a potential study or project? If the situation was reversed he couldn’t deny that the thought might would pass his own mind.

“I’ll be glad to answer what I can, but I truly would like to know where I am.”

“Oh, of course!” she said, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, as she moved toward a table, “Spike would you grab…”

Before the words were out of her mouth the younger drake laid a large book on the table. She glanced at it. The historical atlas was the best choice. It gave a brief overview of Equestria, and it also provided maps of the area. She glanced at Spike who was making his way back toward where Roseluck was standing.

Jack took a moment to look at the book itself. He had hoped that the lettering would be in English, especially since they seemed to be able to speak it. That hope seemed to be realized, and he slowly opened the old book. Just touching it he could tell that it was likely far older than he was. In some ways it reminded him of the old family bible that Uncle had with him. He’d said that it he knew it went back six generations, but past that he didn’t have a clue.

This book felt like that bible. It felt old, delicate, and he took care turning the old pages. He glanced up at Twilight who seemed to be holding her breath in anticipation.

“What kind of questions did ya have for me?”

She practically squealed in delight before glancing at him, “I want to know everything! Oh, let’s start at the top! So you are a human, male, are there others of your kind?”

Realizing that this could take a while he leaned back, “Back where I come from it’s mostly just my kind, at least that’s the only ones that talk. Unless ya drink some of that spirit tea. If’n ya do that then damned near everything talks.”

“Spirit tea?”

“Peyote tea, some of the Comanche used it to spirit walk. I had to drink it once, and I don’t plan on drinking it again.”

Twilight scribbled on the piece of parchment, obviously happy to listen and get what information she could about human civilization and culture. He waited as she finished and then she looked back at him.

“Roseluck said that you were able to stop that Manticore. Would you mind to tell me how you did that?”

He pulled out the revolver and showed it to her.

“This is a Cattleman’s Revolver. It’s a forty-five caliber pistol, holds six shots, and is usually a fella’s best friend when dealing with dangerous critters or bounties.”

He quickly unloaded it, and he felt it become lighter. A strange purple color surrounded it, and suddenly it floated over to the mare next to him. Jack had to remind himself that this obviously wasn’t home, and that strange things were bound to happen. Thankful that he had read works by several different authors that talked about fantastic voyages, creatures of every shape and size, and of course hearing about the legends of nightmarish creatures that Uncle would spin yarns about.

All of that made seeing the revolver float over to the mare a bit easier. She seemed to study it, and then he watched as she studied it more intently. Before he could get a word out it began to split into a dozen pieces, and she was drawing a diagram of it. After a few moments it began to pull itself back together, and then she floated it back to him. He took a moment to study the revolver, seeing that it looked fine he quickly holstered it.

Twilight finished up the diagram of the weapon, placed the parchment over to the side, grabbed another one, and dipped her quill back into the inkwell, “You said that humans are the only sapient species where you’re from, right?”

He nodded, “Yeah, we’re the only ones that can talk. Course, I wouldn’t exactly put that down as making all humans much better than animals. There’s a few that I’ve brought in that weren’t much better than wild critters.”

“Huh,” she scribbled on her parchment, “What about where you live. What’s it like?”

He had half a smile, “Haven’t really had much of a home in years. I used to live on a farm that my Pa bought. It was a small place, but Pa was trying to make it into something that we could be proud of,” his smile began to fade, “The farm, or ranch rather, ended up being a dream.”

Twilight looked at him for a moment. She placed the quill down, “Do you need to talk about it?”

There was a heaviness on him. It sat like a dead buffalo on his soul. Its very presence was more than enough to make him want to be rid of it, but at the same time that heaviness had helped him more times than not. It had given him the drive to avenge his father, but did he want to keep carrying it? Did he want to continue to carry the carcass of the past around with him? His mind drifted to Seth, and he considered how the old prospector, and graverobber, did externally what he was doing internally.

He shook his head. He just wasn’t ready to be rid of his past. He couldn’t let go of his father, not yet. His father had taught him several valuable lessons, and one of the strongest was that there wasn’t any shame in getting help. There might not be any shame in it, but he needed to know when to get it.

“Thank ya, but I don’t want to lay my burdens down on ya.”

Twilight studied him for a moment, and she saw more of Applejack in him. The way he refused to let someone else lighten the load was something that Applejack tended to do. A small part of her wondered if perhaps his background was similar to Applejack’s own background. He did speak about being raised on a farm. It would make all kinds of sense that their similar upbringing could be what made them so similar in the first place.

“Okay, but know that if you want to talk about it, I don’t mind to listen. Anyway, I know that you were wanting to know where you were,” she used her magic to open the Historical Atlas and she let it settle on Equestria.”

“This is Equestria, specifically we’re in Ponyville.”

“This ain’t part of the United States, is it?”

She looked at him and shook her head, “I don’t know what the United States are… Equestria is our country, and continent on Equus, that’s the planet.”

He shook his head, “Not even on Earth anymore…”

Everything considered Jack had seemed to handle the news that he wasn’t even back on Earth fairly well. After all he’d seen, and heard, about strange happenings that went far beyond the understanding of man. This was just another sense of that. Still, it laid the truth of what he knew down for him. There wasn’t a going back. Likely what brought him here was a single occurrence. Oh, if there was someone left back home that he was close to it make a difference, but there wasn’t really anyone that he was overly close with.

His Ma and Pa were both buried out at the old homestead. It bothered him that he wouldn’t be able to visit their graves anymore, but all things considered he was sure they would understand. His Pa would tell him to make the best of it, and be glad that he was somewhere that the life he leads couldn’t follow. Of course he wasn’t a full fledge outlaw like his father, but he was close. A bounty hunter, bit of a card shark, and a part-time author. There was a single book out that he wrote, and another some yankee wrote about his father.

Uncle had told the man much of what he could about John Marston, and he had filled in the blanks that Uncle couldn’t remember. Part of him wondered if such a story would do good here. Maybe they would like to read about the life of an outlaw, the decisions he made, the woman he married, and the life he tried to lead when he broke away from the life he had. The problem was the ending, but he believed in being honest. That was something his Pa had wanted to truly instill in him. He wanted him to remain an honest man.

He finished up with the questions and answers with the Princess, and soon he was informed that the other Princesses would be told about his presence. In truth he wasn’t sure how he felt about being the center of a large fuss. He thanked her, turned, and walked out. His Pack still had the fresh kill from that manticore, and he looked at the stalls that lined the street. There was dozens upon dozens of stalls that dealt with vegetables, fruits, and even everyday items, but finally at the end he saw a lone stall ran by a gryphoness.

Walking toward her he watched as her entire presence perked up. She gestured toward the collection of vegetables, and the samples of meats she had.

“Interested in buying?”

Hearing him ask so plainly she nodded, and he pulled the cuts of the manticore. She eyed the steaks, the tenderloin, and she sniffed it, “Huh, I don’t believe it, manticore. It’s rare that anyone has any manticore for sale.”

She judged it a bit longer, “I’ll give you a hundred and fifty bits for the entire lot.”

Figuring that she might be lowballing him, but also realizing that he had never been offered anything that high, except for the bear he had killed once, he nodded. She quickly tucked it away, and he pulled out the pelt. Seeing it she squirmed.

“Fifty bits, that’s all I can spare.”

He grinned, nodded, and she took the pelt.

“Look, I don’t set up in Ponyville every week. Usually I’m here about once a month, but if you can bring me more of this everytime I’m here I can promise you a fair price.”

He stuck out his hand, “Sounds like we have an accord.”

She shook his hand, and he began walking back toward what was left of Tumbleweed.

Author's Note

(AN: Again, it's been a while, but I wanted to get an update out there. Especially since the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 just happened. That said, I'm hoping to have more updates on this fairly more often.)

Wanted, Dead or Alive

Red Dead Revisited/Growing Where You’re Planted

Jack Marston in Equestria

Chapter 3 Wanted, Dead or Alive

“But I want you to know one thing. You can say whatever you want about me. I'm a big boy. I can take it. You can say horrible, nasty things about me all day, but if I ever hear you say anything about her again, I will bleed you.” John Marshall Breathtaking

The sounds of the forest around him felt familiar. Although Jack had long since abandoned the notion that he was still on his world. The only way that would make any sense would be if he’d somehow been flung into a far future, and even then he wasn’t sure that it would have ended up like this. No, somehow that strange storm had transported him to a completely new world. He lay in an old room inside of the mansion that had been brought with them from Tumbleweed. Seth himself tended to stay away from the neighboring town, and instead he hung around the buildings that were part of Tumbleweed, and not those that belonged to a strange new world that they found themselves in.

He thought of the new world that he’d been discovering. So far he’d been here for about a month, and in that time he’d done some business with the Gryphon hen that ran the meat stall. Most of his business with her had been some of the more exotic game she’d asked about. He’d tracked, and killed, another Manticore, but he’d also managed to get a cockatrise. The creature was supposed to be able to turn anyone that looked it in the eyes into stone, and that made hunting it a bit harder than he had expected for it to. But regardless his business with her had gotten him around six hundred bits.

He’d also met a Zebra out in the Forest, and she had explained that she was something of a shaman. Naturally she’d asked him to help in gathering various plants and herbs that she couldn’t get to. He’d taken her request for what it was, and he’d begun gathering some. It wasn’t being done because of a reward, but instead he’d learned long ago that helping others out tended to lead to friendships, and that was one thing that was certainly worth more than gold.

Outside he heard the sound of distant howls, the sound of the wind sweeping across the roof of the old mansion, and of course the sound of a few owls in the distance as they hooted. He finally got up, knowing that it was far too early in the morning for anyone to be open at the market, but that didn’t matter. He made his way down the stairs of the old mansion, outside of it, and looked at the darkened land. He could see the school house just off in the distance. Like the church had been it was at the beginning of what would have been Tumbleweed.

He glanced around at the night, uncertain of what it was that was driving him to be up. It was a good couple of hours before he normally would rise, but it didn’t seem to matter much. He looked at the remains of the old sheriff’s office, which the ponies had taken and rebuilt themselves. He didn’t mind, and they explained that having a sheriff’s office would be a good thing. Apparently they had never really gotten around to building one itself, and instead their law enforcement was mostly located inside of their city hall. He walked toward it, seeing that they had done quite a bit to repair the roof, rebuild the walls in the cell, and he could see that the door on the front of the building had been repaired as well.

He began to look more at the work done when he heard the sound of someone nearby. The sound was gasping, choking, and more than a few dull thuds. It sounded very similar to someone getting beaten. He slowly made his way toward the sound, and then he saw it. There was what looked like a couple of ponies. One of them was on the ground, curled into a ball, and the other was bent over, tied to a wooden fence post. He checked his belt and found that his pistol was back at the mansion. He could go and get it, but then doing so would likely not end well for either of these two. Instead he moved silently down, watching the action, and seeing that it was a few others that had cornered and attacked the two ponies.

They were similar in height, coming at least a foot shorter than he was, and from what he could see they seemed to be fairly powerful. He studied them, seeing two with wings, one with a horn, and one with neither. He looked at the two that were on the receiving end of what looked like a beating. From what he could see the one on the ground had a horn, it looked wrong, off, and the other looked to be one with neither a horn or wings. He had only a knife and his rope with him. He hadn’t tried to fight any of the ponies before, and he surely missed his pistol.

Sneaking up he caught one with wings stepping away from the group.

“Yeah, that’ll teach ‘em for thinking that they could disrespect the boss like that,” a masculine voice said.

The fact that it was a man, or stallion rather, made things easier. He waited until he was nearly past him, and then he jumped out. He struck the stallion hard in the back of the head. The action was quick, quiet, and he caught the stumbling stallion. He quickly began tying him up, using the rope to secure his arms, legs, and wings. He then cut the section of rope off, took another small section, and wove it through the stallion’s mouth, silencing him further.

He worked his way forward, keeping quiet, making sure to not be heard, and looked for any of them breaking away. Luck seemed to favor him as the one with the horn left the group. He listened, and instantly he didn’t like what was likely going to happen. The very feminine voice was calling for someone, Wind Rider, which he supposed was the other stallion’s name. He quietly snuck up behind her, attempted to use the same tactic, and quickly remembered that the horned ones, the unicorns, had magic.

Her horn flared as she faced him, and now he missed his pistol even more.

“What in the name of Celestia’s sun are you?” she asked.

He didn’t answer, instead he jumped forward and his action was met with her hitting him with what felt like a punch from a much bigger man. He stood, shook it off, and realized that she had hit him with magic and not physical force.

“Mystic, what’s going on?” another shouted.

He had to do this quickly. There was no getting around it, he feigned left, making her set her preparation for that, and then he came at her from the right. The trick, which wasn’t a great one, gave him some leverage, but not enough to end the confrontation. He felt her magic grasp him again, but not before he was up close to her. He grabbed her horn, unsure if that was right, and felt her magic stop. She panicked, and he covered her mouth. She tried to shout, and he found that he could force her to the ground.

She was no stronger than a woman was, and she was certainly softer than he imagined. Her eyes looked panicked, but it didn’t matter. He began tying her up only to find that her magic was returning with a vengeance. He grabbed her horn again, and it stopped. He looked at her, uncertain of how to do this when he felt something. It was small, round, and he moved a hand that was holding an arm to bring it up. It looked like a brass ring, and when she saw it she began to fight harder. Realizing that it obviously meant something she didn’t want he fought with her and got the ring onto her horn. When he did, and let go, there was no magic. She tried to fight him off as he held her down and tied her up.

He gagged her, and saw the fear in her eyes. He shook his head, got up, and saw the other two. The winged one, a pegasus like the stallion, was another mare, and then there was the one that was neither. He was shorter, but the muscle on him was clear that he wasn’t a pushover. Both of them looked at him, and then looked at the unicorn lying on the ground.

“Don’t know what you are, but you sure got yourself into the wrong end of this,” the mare said.

She was quick, and she hit him hard. He felt himself flying back as she hit him. She stood over him, the darkness of the night keeping him from seeing her face fully, but somehow, due to her body posture, he was sure that she was smirking. He kicked out, catching a knee, and when he did she fell to the ground. She cried out, but he didn’t give her a chance. She was putting herself in the place of a man, so he was going to treat her like one. Sure, his pa had taught him to never strike a woman, but at this moment she was someone doing something bad to folks, and on top of that she was fighting like a man would.

The two of them hit each other, and he felt something give in her muzzle when he punched her in it. She held it, and he quickly got on top of her. Their fighting continued until he managed to get her arms behind her. He pinned them against her wings, tied his rope around her, and then tied her legs. He looked up, saw the last one trying to help the other two, and he ran and tackled him. He expected the fight to be like the others. He was wrong.

The pony hit him so hard that he nearly blacked out. He stood up to see the stallion standing there, shaking his head, and cracking his neck.

“Figure that you think you’re doing a good thing, and maybe you are,” he said.

The stallion took off a jacket, and he could see the muscle that covered him far easier. He looked at Jack and grinned.

“Just to let you know, we’re working for someone in Saddle Arabia,” he said, “And these two are running from her.”

He neared him, waiting for Jack to attack, “That mare we’ve got on the ground over there tried to steal away her prize,” he laughed, “and well she didn’t like that. We’ve been chasing them for a while now.”

He looked at the pony, “So, you’re returning a slave?”

He laughed, “I suppose so, although his life is pretty cushy compared to ours. Three solid meals a day, new clothes, practically anything he wants, and a mare that just wants him to breed her like there is no tomorrow.”

He shook his head, “I don’t cotton ta slavery.”

The stallion nodded, “Noted,” he said before he swung out.

Jack danced back, having already taken more of a beating than he had wanted, and he found himself fighting, in the dark, against a pony that was far stronger than he was. He was dancing out of the way of hits, trying to get some in of his own, and it would have likely continued until he was finally caught and beaten. Or it would have if the sound of someone shouting didn’t get the pony’s attention. He threw a punch, connecting with the stallion’s jaw. That punch caused him to stumble, and he was rewarded with a gut punch, but the voice that was shouting was now getting closer, and there were several of them.

“Oh buck me,” the stallion said as he grabbed up the winged mare, “I’ll find them again, and you, I might respect your stance, but you’ve gotten in my way. I won’t let that happen again.” With that he took off running, and the two of them disappeared toward the forest itself. He looked at his salvation and saw the stallion that it was the sheriff.

“Well, we heard some fighting, came to see what the deal was,” the sheriff said, “So, Mr. Marston, do you mind to tell me what’s going on?”

Jack looked at him, still trying to catch his breath and nodded.

“Sure, from what that fella said these two are on the run from sultan or somethin’ from Saddle Arabia. Apparently the one on the fence was property, and the one on the ground freed him. The two that’s still tied up back there were part of the group, but he couldn’t carry them all, apparently, so he left them there.”

The sheriff nodded, “Alright, well, it looks like we’ve got a chance to get our new jail some use. Also, I suppose that I really should pay you for bringing them in and for stopping a crime. Come see me at the jail and I’ll pay you for your work.”

Jack nodded, stood, and stretched. It was still early in the morning, much closer to when he would normally get up, but now he felt tired and sore.

Unconvential Lawman

Red Dead Revisited/Growing Where You’re Planted

Jack Marston in Equestria

Chapter 4: Unconventional Lawman

Jake’s Pa had taught him that bounty hunting was just like any other kind of hunting. A man had to know the game he was after, know where they were likely to roost, and when they would be less likely to be guarded. In that respect Bounty Hunting was very similar to hunting deer, or maybe cougar would be a better example. But his Pa had never taught him what it was like to be any kind of real part of the law. Looking at the Mayor, and then at the sheriff, he was stuck with the offer of becoming an officer of the law.

“What you did to save those two ponies was exactly the kind of bravery that an official of the law would need.”

He shook his head, “I’m not a lawman,” he looked at them and hoped that they would understand, but instead both of them were simply looking at him, “Look, I appreciate it, I really do, but I’m not a lawman.”

Maybe it was foolish, and he believed that there was a part of it that was, but after what had happened to his Pa at the hands of a lawman had been more than enough for him to not want to be one. He’d work with them, bringing in bounties, but actually becoming one felt like it would have been a slap in the face to his Pa, and he didn’t want to be the one that did that. Instead he looked at the two of them and just shook his head.

“I’ll be glad to hunt bounties for you, but I can’t be a lawman,” he said firmly, “Please don’t keep askin.”

The Mayor looked at him and nodded, “Very well, but know that should you change your mind the position will remain open.”

He gave a nod, turned, and walked out of the city hall. Stepping outside he saw the town’s folks going about their business. He followed the current of ponies heading toward the marketplace. Part of the reason to follow was simple enough. He had some goods to sale to the gryphon hen, if she was here, but more than that he had found some wild feverfew, desert sage, and night howlers in the forest. There was also another blue flower, but Zecora had said to stay away from it. She said it was poison joke, and while he didn’t know what that was he did know what poison sumac was. He’d seen what had happened to one of his bounties that got tangled up in a bunch of poison sumac and ended up nearly dying from it.

So, on the off chance it was the same he decided to stay clear of it. The rest he knew could be used in medicines, salves, and even used to brew tea. Not to mention most of them were beautiful enough just for a bouquet of flowers to themselves. He’d seen a few of the flower stands, and decided that it would be a good idea to see if they wanted to purchase some of them. Walking forward he stopped first at the gryphon’s stand.

“Welcome back Jake!” she said offering a claw. He took it and shook it, giving her a smile.

“Thanks Starfeather,” he said as he pulled out a few packages.

She took them and looked at the pelts and meat he had collected, “Huh, so I see that you’ve managed to get a cragadile and a roc. Naturally I’m going to buy both from you, but I really didn’t expect to see the cragadile. Those things even give the most experienced hunters pause.”

He smiled, “Well, the key is to be patient and have some decent bait. I also managed to catch some fish as well,” he said as he handed over a small stringer full of the fish.

She nodded, “Well, all of it is worth about three hundred bits,” she said as she counted it out.

He smiled, accepted it, and watched as she put it into a chest that seemed to be remaining cool. He then looked at the flower stand. After saying goodbye to Starfeather he walked toward it. The mare standing there was one that he had saved from the manticore that he had ended up selling to Starfeather some time ago. She greeted him and he pulled out a small collection of the wild feverfew, desert sage, and night howlers. The pony looked at the collection.

“Lilly, take a look at this,” she said.

The blond headed light purple pony moved over and studied the flowers, “My, they seem fairly exotic,” she looked at Jake, “Umm, where did you find them?”

He pointed out toward the Everfree, “Out in the forest, and around the place where I stay. I noticed that I didn’t see much of ‘em at your stall, and I thought that you might be interested. Although, from my personal experience those Night Howlers tend to cause hallucinations, so I maybe wouldn’t make tea out of ‘em.”

Rose studied the dark blue flowers, smelled them, and then looked at her sisters. She then looked back at him, “We’ll take the other two kinds of flowers, but those are dangerous, and we can’t have them here,” she said.

She then brought out their bit bag, “We’ll pay you a bit per flower, is that fair?”

He nodded counted out about forty flowers, took his bits, and then then walked with the night howlers. Daisy ran toward him and stopped him, “Umm, just because we won’t take them doesn’t mean that nopony will. You can sell those to the hospital. I’m sure that they would want some specimens available in case anyone accidentally eats them.”

He grinned, “Much obliged,” he said as he continued. As he walked he saw Cheerilee again, and this time the school mum was walking in the marketplace as well.

“Ms, Cheerilee,” he said as he tipped his hat.

She smiled at him, “Jake,” she walked toward him and offered her hand which he took, “It’s a pleasure. How are you doing?”

He grinned, “Purty well. I’ve been busy, doing a few things here and there.”

She nodded, “I’ve heard. As I understand it you saved a stallion from going back to being a slave, and you saved the mare that freed him. That was very brave of you.”

He shook his head, “Not really. It was just the right thing to do. I couldn’t leave ‘em to get jumped like that.”

She grinned, “Do you mind if I walk with you?”

He shook his head, and the two of them walked toward the various vegetable stands. She watched as he moved toward Carrot Top’s stand.

“Well, if it isn’t our resident hooman,” she said, “Need some more carrots?”

He nodded, “Sure do,” he looked at Cheerilee, “I don’t know ‘bout you, but I could use some lunch,” he said.

She smiled, “Actually, that’s a wonderful idea,” she looked around the market, and then she looked back at Carrot Top, “Carrot, dear, do you still sell that wonderful vegetable stew?”

Carrot Top nodded, “Sure, two bowls?”

Jake nodded, “That’d be good, and maybe a couple of pieces of that cake,” he said as he pointed to the large cake she had behind her.

She nodded, filling up both bowls, and then she sliced them both a large wedge of cake and put them on wax paper. Jake took a drink of the stew, and he had to admit that he hadn’t tasted anything quite that good in a long time. The stew was perfectly flavored, although it was missing meat, but regardless there was a great blend of vegetables, salt, and some pepper that made it taste more homemade than something bought at a market. He finished it up, handing the bowl back, and then he looked at the cake. He didn’t often have sweets. After all chocolate and the like tended to be fairly expensive, but regardless he took a bite of the cake, and he realized that nothing he had before even came close.

It was moist, sweet, but not overly so. There was a wonderful hint of flavor that he didn’t expect, and he slowly began to enjoy the rest of the wedge of cake that she had sliced off for him. He looked over to see Cheerilee doing the same. She finished and smiled at him.

“Thanks for that,” she said.

He nodded, looked around, and realized that he had a couple of stands to visit before he was finished, but then he’d be heading back home. That didn’t bother him, but he didn’t mind spending time with Ms. Cheerilee. She was interesting, kind, and certainly worth getting to know better.

“Ms. Cheerilee, you got some shopping to do as well?”

She nodded, “Oh, I do. Mostly I just need to pick up a week’s worth of groceries, and then I’m heading back home.”

He nodded, “Same here, though I don’t mind to help you if you need it.”

She smiled, “That sounds wonderful.”

The two of them walked together, going to the various stands, including the Apple’s cart, and when they were finished he helped her carry her load while he also carried his. They walked back toward the edge of town, and there he saw a small home. He walked up to it with Cheerilee, and she she opened the door. He stepped inside with her, carrying her load toward the table. He sat it down for her, and she looked at him.

“Thank you for that,” she smiled as she neared him, “And thank you for today. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to spend time with some..someone that I really wanted to spend time with.”

He nodded, “I enjoyed spending time with you too,” he said with a smile, “We’ve got to do it again.”

She nodded, and then before he could say a word she stepped forward and kissed him. Jake wasn’t a foolish man. There’d been a few girls he’d been with before. None of them were working girls, because that didn’t feel right, but none of them were really wanting to be in a relationship either. He’d ended up looking on each one as a sort of lesson, and decided that when the time came to find the right person he would.

He never imagined that the right person would be a school mum, in a different world, or that she would know how to kiss so well. He returned the action, his hands wrapped around her, and even though she was shorter it felt right. He lifted her, and she allowed him. The two stood there, kissing, hugging, holding each other, and finally the need to breathe made them break the kiss.

“Wow,” she said, “Umm, I could say that I’m sorry, but I’d be lying.”

He nodded, “I know what you mean,” he looked into her green eyes, “But are you okay with this? I’m not exactly the same as you.”

She smiled, “It doesn’t matter,” she said before she kissed him again, “Because, I’ve seen who you are, and who you are is someone that I want to get to know. I want this to become something.”

She grinned, “I’ve had a couple of one night stands, and to be honest, I don’t want that anymore. I want someone that I can get to know, to have something with, and I hope that you feel the same.”

He nodded, “I do, and I’d like that as well.”

For the Love of a Good Woman

Red Dead Revisited/Growing Where You’re Planted

Jack Marston in Equestria

Chapter 5: For the love of a Good Woman

“I felt something I’d only heard about in rumors and stories burning in my chest. Love, they always called it. I loved her. She had shown me that even a pony who thought they had seen it all could still have hope. And when there was love and hope, evil would never stand a chance. I made a mental note to give Ditzy a big squishy hug sometime for reminding me of that.” Littlepip - A Mare Worth Fighting For

Two things became apparent when Jack woke up. The first was that he wasn’t alone in his bed, and the second was that he wasn’t in his bed exactly. A quick look around the room allowed him to determine that at some point they had ended back up at the old mansion, but the room they ended up in wasn’t the one that he had claimed as his own. It was a larger room, and from what he could tell it looked like it had been the master bedroom.

He looked beside him and saw Cheerilee, curled up, and his memories of what happened were clear. To say that she had been direct would have been an understatement. She was direct in a way that was certainly different than he’d seen, but at the same time her frank and direct manner had been refreshing. In truth how she seemed willing to go after what she wanted reminded him quite a bit of how his ma had acted toward his pa. She had explained that she’d been with a few others, some of which apparently were passing flings from a less mature mind.

She had made no attempt at hiding what she wanted, and she explained that she honestly hoped there was more than just a fleeting night. He honestly felt the same. He wanted there to be more than just a passing night and a nice memory. He wanted to build a relationship with her. It was odd that she was a school mum, but at the same time he respected her intelligence. Given how his life was turning out to be like he had mostly given up on ending up with anyone. More to the point he’d given up on ending up with anyone who wasn’t in the kind of life that he had been in.

Instead this mare had somehow walked her way into his life, and seeing her sleeping so soundly beside him gave him the realization that there was a chance for more than he had believed what he would end up having in his life. There was a part of him, which he supposed came from his father, that wondered if he could do this. That part of him began to think of the hundreds of ways he could end up screwing up whatever relationship they had. But then he began to slowly consider every possibility, and in each one he rationalized how he could make it stronger.

“Jack, there’s going to be fools out there that tell you that having a marriage is easy. You best get that notion right out of your head. Having a marriage is hard work, everyday it’s hard work, and it only gets harder the longer it goes on. But sometimes you find a person that you believe is worth all of the hard work in the world, and you push through it,” his mother had said to him before she died.

One thing that Jack knew for sure was that he wasn’t afraid of hard work. His Pa and Man had taught him the value of hard work, and they had raised him to be someone that wouldn’t shy away from putting in long days when they were needed. It was learning how to do hard work, and how to not shy from it, that had made living the life he was living possible. He looked down at the nude mare in the bed beside him and realized that those same lessons would be used here.

He got up, quietly, and began to look at the room he was in. The master bedroom was easily in the best shape, but it had issues like the rest of the mansion. He’d been working on some of it from time to time, but often enough he’d be hunting game, or gathering herbs and flowers, in order to make some money. Of course since his savings had climbed up enough it could be time to consider putting some of those savings toward making this mansion a place fit to live.

He didn’t attempt to lie to himself about the reason for the change. Whatever was happening here between him and Cheerilee, and whatever would happen later between them was going to need a decent place for her to visit. The mansion had obviously been something in its history, and he wanted to bring that back. He wanted to bring it back because he felt that having a place she would feel comfortable visiting would be worth it.

He heard movement and looked over to see Cheerilee getting up. He could see her nude form as she slowly got up from the bed. She looked around at the room, and then smiled at him. She walked toward him, and he felt her hugging him. He returned the hug, holding her as she pressed against him. It felt a little odd, since she was easily a head shorter than he was, but at the same time it felt nice. He leaned down, and she caught the kiss he was giving to her.

She smiled once the kiss ended, and then she looked at the room again.

“It’s not a bad place you know,” she said.

He grinned, “It’s an old abandoned place, just like some of the other buildings out there are, but it could be worse,” he felt her hug tighten, “And besides I’m considering trying to fix it up.”

She smiled, “Well, I happen to know a teacher that might know a thing or two about woodworking projects and some light carpentry work,” she said, “Of course for the major stuff we might want to contact someone who’s a little more used to home repair.”

He grinned, “sounds good to me,” he said as they slowly let each other go, “So, what do we do now?”

She smiled, “Well, we take it one step at a time,” she stepped closer to him, “Which to be honest we did skip more than a few steps, but that was pretty much my fault.”

He felt the softness of her breasts as she leaned against him, “So, I guess we start going one step at a time from this point.”

He laughed, “Well, I’m not exactly where those steps would be, but I do know that I’m willin’ to see where they lead.”

I Know You Too

Red Dead Revisited/Growing Where You’re Planted

Jack Marston in Equestria

Chapter 5: I Know You too

Jack looked at the work being done to the mansion. He considered what to call the place where it sat. It wasn’t right to call it Tumbleweed, after all this wasn’t Tumbleweed anymore. Instead it was now just part of Ponyville. Summer vacation had come for the fillies and colts, and that left Cheerilee with free time. It was free time that she was using to help with the old home. Of course Seth had managed to visit before getting twitchy and taking back off into the more abandoned buildings. Jack felt for the old grave robber. It was a different world, and Seth didn’t even have the dead he was so used to talking to. All he had was Jack and a few old buildings that were left of a town that had died.

Maybe that’s why he hung around the old general store. The town had died, it was on its way to being buried by time, dust, and termites, so it only made sense that Seth might have a connection to it. Regardless Jack looked at the work already done to the entry hall. The new wood floors were holding up well. The slats he’d gotten from the sawmill that supplied that Sofa and Quill store with lumber had turned out to be exactly what he needed. The slats were about half an inch thick, each one had been about ten foot long, and they fit perfectly across the old joists in the floor.

He’d cut some to fit against the wall, or to go flush against a doorway, but all in all they worked. He looked to see Cheerilee currently working on the wood trim of the house. She hadn’t been lying when she said that she knew woodworking. The trim she was making, and putting up in the place of the old trim, was beautifully engraved, and it had a sort of timeless feel to it. He studied the work they were doing, and then he looked at the supplies. They had enough wood, but he was running low on nails.

“Looks like I gotta hit the smith’s shop up for more nails,” he said.

She looked at him and climbed down from the ladder she had been working on top of, “Okay, well I could use a break, and we could grab some lunch while we’re out.”

He nodded, and the two of them walked out from the house. As they exited he stopped as he noticed someone standing in their yard. It was a pony, but he wasn’t dressed like most of them were. He wore a top hat, his slacks and coat were both black, and he seemed to be looking out over the changing area. Jack neared him.

“Can I help you mister?”

The stallion chuckled darkly, “Perhaps, Mr. Marston, perhaps,” he turned toward him.

Jack noticed that the stallions eyes were a dark brown, but they seemed soulless, empty, and off putting. He stepped back, “Mind ta tell me what you’re doing out here?”

The man stretched his hand, “Why I’m checking to see how life has reentered Tumbleweed. It’s not often that I see a town rise from the dead. Typically when one dies it stays dead.”

Jack studied him, “How do you know what it’s name was?”

The man looked at him, “Oh, I know far more than that, Jack Marston,” he grinned and looked past him, “It was a scene like this where I first talked to your father.”

Jack looked at him, his hand ready to pull his revolver which he had on him this time. The man stood there, seemingly unconcerned. Instead he looked around him, “I also know your history. An author, traveler, bounty hunter, game hunter, and for a short time a prospector.”

He looked at the town again, “But even though you’re different you are still very much cut from the same cloth.”

“Mister, I don’t know you, but you’ve got about six seconds to explain yourself,” Jack said.

“Your mother’s temperament doesn’t suit you, boy,” he said, “Still, I have a favor to ask. Since you seem to be willing to help those who are unable to help themselves, perhaps you will see fit to help a friend of mine. He’s arriving in Canterlot this evening on a train. He believes himself to be something of an author himself. You might suggest to him that he could gain some inspiration from the gardens at the castle, perhaps even step into the sunflower patch and simply bask in nature,” he then motioned toward Ponyville, “Or you can go about your day and leave it alone. Either way it doesn’t matter to me.”

With that he began to walk away and Jack just watched him. What he had talked about sat heavy on his mind. He’d known his name, and he talked about his Pa and Ma. He shook it off, and he looked toward Canterlot. He looked to see Cheerilee who looked confused as well. She stepped near him, “Did, did he say that he knew your father?”

Jack nodded, “He did, but that can’t be right.”

She looked at him, and then toward town, “Maybe we should go to Canterlot. I understand if you don’t want to, but something seems odd, and if nothing else it would might be worth letting the guard know.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good idea,” he said, “We ought ta be able to make the train before it leaves if we hurry.”

The two of them rushed into Ponyville proper, and they saw the sight of the Friendship express as it pulled into the station. Like Jack had said they had a good chance to make the train, but it would take a few minutes for them to purchase tickets, and hopefully the train wouldn’t leave before they were done. They went past the Blacksmith’s shop, the market square, and the diner before they arrived at the train station itself. Stepping up to it Jack pulled out his bag of bits he had taken to carrying, and paid for them both a ticket to Canterlot.

The train whistled, indicating that it was about to leave, and they barely boarded it before it began to take off. They took a seat together, and Jack looked at the window. This world was certainly far greener than a good part of where he had been originally. Granted, Tall Trees was pretty green most of the time, but a good part of New Austin tended to be dry. It was enjoyable to see everything so green, so lush, and it tended to hide the rougher parts of this world.

He felt Cheerilee beside him, and both of them heard the rumble of their stomachs. Near them a mustard colored stallion was eating a small meal. He looked toward them, a gentle smile on his face, “Sounds like you both might be a little hungry. I’m afraid I didn’t really pack enough to share, but the snack cart should make its rounds. I don’t want to intrude too much, but I would most likely stay away from the sandwiches. They tend to be dry, and the only condiment they have to add to it is ketchup, nasty stuff. Instead you might want to try their candied apples.”

Jack nodded, “Thank you,” he said.

The stallion smiled, “You’re welcome, although… do you mind if I ask what you are?”

He grinned, “I’m a human, which honestly I’m not that different from any of you,” he replied.

The stallion nodded, “Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Baked, Baked Bean,” he offered a hand.

Jack stretched his own out, “Jack Marston.”

The two of them shook hands, and then Jack let him get back to his own meal. He looked around, and as Baked Bean stated the snack cart was making its way toward them. It stopped near them and they looked at the older mare as she stared at him for a moment and then smiled.

“Anything from the snack cart dears?”

Cheerilee looked at, rubbed her chin, and then nodded, “I’ll have a candied apple please.”

Jack nodded, “I think that I’ll have the same.”

The older mare reached into a small box, pulled out two chilled caramel covered apples, and then handed them to them both. Jack pulled out two bits, and passed them to her. She grinned at him, and then began walking further up the walkway. He looked at the candied apple, sniffed it, and then took a bite. He was pleased to taste such a bounty of flavor. The caramel set off the natural sweetness of the apple, and somehow it managed to be more mellow than overly sweet. He finished his apple, and looked at Cheerilee who was finishing hers. She smiled at him, and hugged onto his side once she finished.

He returned the gesture and together they rode in silence while the train neared Canterlot. A few moments later the train rolled itself up to the station, and Jack watched as Baked Bean exited the train. He followed behind with Cheerilee near him, and the two of them watched as Bean stood there in the station. He had a sheaf of paper, a quill, and an opened bottle of ink. Jack watched as he dipped the quill into the ink, replaced the stopper on the ink, and then began to write on the paper.

He neared him, hearing how he was describing the station itself in great detail.

“Hmmm, it’d be nice for a tourist pamphlet…” Baked Bean said.

“Mr. Bean, I take it that you’re a writer?”

He nodded, “Well, I’m trying to be one. I was hoping that coming to Canterlot would give me the inspiration that I need to write my novel.”

Jack nodded, “Well, as a fellow author, you might want ta check something other than the train station. I heard the royal gardens are nice, and sometimes just describing something as simple as a sunflower can get things ta going. I often found that just being around nature tended to help my writing, and maybe it will do the same for you.”

Baked Bean nodded, “Well, it can’t hurt. Thank you.”

With that he turned and began to walk in the direction of the castle. Jack waited to see if there was something else, or if something was going to happen, and a few moments later his patience did reward him with a happenstance. A few moments after Baked Bean left a Pegasus that was working above them dropped the support that she was holding onto. When she did a large piece of stone fell from where the support had been holding it, and it hit where Baked Bean had been standing.

Standing there Cheerilee touched his arm, “Am I crazy or did you just see what I think I saw?”

Jack nodded, “If you’re crazy then we both are. How in the hell did that fella know that we needed ta be here?”