Zecora led me to a large building that was designated as the camp's hospital. When we entered, there were a few workers either lying or sitting on the beds being cared for by the orderlies, Flash, and the Doctor.

" Finish your tour?" Flash was bringing rubbing alcohol and bandages over to a small table.

As I looked at all the patience in the hospital, one thing came to mind. " Is this mostly malaria?"

" Yes, but their suffering is only transitory...once they accept God into their hearts."

" That's just vomitus talk, Mr. Sentry. Poor bastards will get even sicker if you don't shut up." The man who said that walked over to the wash station with his hands all bloody. " David Whooves. I'm, um... This is my hospital. And my advice to you is...don't get sick." I looked at him as he washed the blood from his hands and couldn't help but wonder what made them so bloody. " Haha! That was meant to be charming. Sorry. I seem to have lost the knack."

Flash threw this little jab. " You never had it."

While he dried off his hands, the Doctor explained this. " Flash and I don't like each other much."

" I am also a liaison between these two." Zecora pointed between both Flash and the doctor.

As I observed the doctor, I could tell he didn't stand for what was being done here. " Clearly, you don't share Fancy's vision."

" This? This is a shame. Who needs it? It's ridiculous. It's only being built to protect the ivory trade, make rich men richer."

" Then why stay, Doctor?" Why would he stay?

" Who else would hire me?" The Doc looked over at Flash. " Beat you to it, didn't I?" Flash responded with a smug grin.

" Doctor Whooves--" Before I could speak my mind, the Doctor held up his hand.

" Oh, yes. I almost forgot." He started heading to the back of the room. " You seem to have brought bad luck with you. Come here." I followed him as instructed. We stopped at a bed where a man had his left leg heavily bandaged. " This is Karim, one of my orderlies. He was attacked by a man-eater earlier today."

Flash stopped what he was doing and came over. " A man-eater attacks and you're such a buffoon, you almost forget to mention it."

" His injuries are only slight." I had no idea a wound that bad could be considered slight. " Been riding his donkey not far from here, when suddenly a lion sprang on them. Donkey took the brunt of it, then the lion ran off." The Doctor then focused his attention on me. " Now, I know this is your first day, and you must be tired...but um...what are you going to do about it?"

I fixed my hat on my head and looked him in the eye. " With any luck, I'll sort it out this evening." I walked out of the hospital with flash following me. I made my way to my tent where my luggage waited for me and grabbed hold of my Lee-speed sporter rifle.

As I loaded my rifle, Flash made his thoughts known to me. " I don't suppose I could come and watch."

" Have you ever hunted?" It would be nice to have another rifle to help.

" Well, not exactly. I've never been very adventurous."

I loaded the last bullet and cocked my rifle. " Can you keep quiet?"

It was now late in the evening and the sun had sunk below the horizon. Flash and I have perched in a tree away from the camp with a donkey tied to it. I was doing my best to keep silent and listen for anything that might be the lion. As I was doing this, I could hear Sentry in the branch below me, fidgeting with his position. " I hate to be a bother, Shining, but--"

" Shh!" I went back to listening, for the lion.

Five seconds later, Flash makes himself known again. " My cramp is getting worse." I did my best to ignore him and kept on patrolling. " The pain is actually quite unbearable now."

Having had enough of his whining, I told him off. " You'll just have to cope with it, Flash."

" That is precisely my plan..." Flash then made for getting out of the tree. " but back at my tent."

Before he could go far down the tree, I gave him this small warning. " You'll be dead before you ever get to your tent." This grabbed his attention. " The lion will eat you."

" I know." He made his way back up on the branch, though he did get into a more comfortable pose, and kept quiet. The silence was not to last, however. " Is this the best way to hunt a lion?"

All I did was shrug my shoulder. " I don't know. I've never even seen one." This did little to boost Flash's confidence.

The hours progressed into the night, and Flash had fallen asleep. As I kept watch, the thought that the lion wouldn't show up came to mind. I was about to wake Flash and call it a night when suddenly the donkey starts braying in fear. I pointed my rifle to the area around the donkey and waited for a sound or movement in the grass. I didn't have to wait long as the grass on the right started moving and a low growl was heard. I took aim with my rifle, waited until I could see the lion, and." Bang!

" No!" The noise from my rifle had woken Flash and he stumbled out of the tree. When he recovered from his fall and looked to his right, he came face to face with the lion I had shot. " Aah!" When he recovered from the initial shock, he saw that the lion was dead. He then looked up at me. " One shot!" I got down from the tree and helped Flash up from the ground. We would deal with the lion in the morning.

It was now morning, and we were parading the lion I had shot through the camp. Of course, Zecora had to make the kill even more of a spectacle. " One shot! Armor has made the night safe again!" She then praised my achievement in her native tongue while Flash and I walked beside the lion that was being carried by some volunteers. This caused many of the workers to cheer and lift their spirits.

As we strolled past the hospital, the good Doctor came out to see what all the commotion was all about. When he saw the dead lion, he'd come to realize what had happened. " By God, you sorted it out." I nodded my head while Flash threw him a smug look as though he had killed it.

Zecora's narrative.

' There is nothing like the fear a man-eater brings. They own the night and kill so quickly. It was clear to the men that Armor was willing to take risks for them. That one shot had taken their fears away.'

Author's Note

Another one down. Also, something I would like to address. This is not a historical retelling of what happened in Tsavo. This is a homage to one of my favorite movies, with characters from MLP replacing the actors who portrayed them in the movie.