Chapter 21

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

The caw of a rooster echoed throughout the town of Ponyville as the morning sun began to rise. It was the beginning of a new day, and the residents were waking up to begin their morning rituals. Over by the lake, two tents sat next to each other by the shore. Inside the larger tent, Arthur slept on his bed but was awoken by the rooster’s call. He slowly opened his eyes and smacked his lips. As his senses were coming back to him, he yawned a big yaw while sitting up straight. The sheriff lazily pulled off the covers and slung his legs over the side of the bed. Arthur then stretched his arms out while arching his back, getting a few satisfying pops here and there, and stood up on his hooves.

Arthur’s sleeping attire consisted of a pair of plain blue pajamas and a white sleeveless undershirt. The undershirt hugged his muscular torso nicely and provided comfort for Arthur as he slept. The sleepy gunslinger walked over to the other side of his tent where a small stove sat with a kettle on top. The stove was powered by magic and Arthur set the kettle on one of the two burners and flipped a switch. After waiting for about ten minutes, the kettle began whistling loudly with steam escaping the small opening. Arthur flipped the switch back down and lifted the kettle off the burner and placed it to the side. As the kettle cooled down a bit, he opened one of the cupboards next to the stove and took out a mug and a bag of brown powder. Inside the bag was a small metal spoon and he scooped out two scoops of brown powder into the mug and placed the spoon back in the bag. After putting away the bag, Arthur pulled out a drawer where there was some silverware and he picked out a larger spoon. Arthur picked up the kettle and poured the hot water into the mug while stirring it with his spoon. Once the contents were properly mixed, Arthur set the kettle back down and blew on the mug a few times before taking a sip.

“Mmm…nothin’ like hot coffee in the mornin’,” Arthur hummed with delight.

The gunslinger exited his tent with his cup of coffee and breathed in a deep breath of the morning air. He smiled as he took another sip of his coffee and walked over to the other tent next to his.

“Hey Sean! Wake up! I made coffee!” Arthur called out.

After a few seconds, a loud yawn was heard from inside the tent. Sean popped his head out of the tent and took a whiff of the coffee in Arthur’s hand. The pegasus came out of the tent wearing only his trunks and stretched his body awake

“Now that smells like a good blend, English.” He said and took his cup from his friend’s hand. Once he took a sip of it, he let out a sigh and spread his wings to flap them a few times before tucking them back in. “So, what’s the agenda for today, Arthur?” He asked his friend. “And more importantly, what’s for breakfast?”

Before Arthur could retort, a new voice was heard from above. Both stallions looked up and saw Rainbow Dash descend towards them and landed right in front of Sean. She smiled and blushed a little when she saw his exposed chest, before she launched at him with a hug of her own and a kiss on his lips.

“Heya stud, hope you had a good night’s sleep.” Rainbow said when she let go of Sean.

Sean grinned and took a hold of Rainbow with his hand around her waist. “It would have been better if you were with me.” He replied with a wink and a slight of his hand on her rump which he squeezed, causing the mare to gasp with no objection.

“Sean, I’m glad you got a lady like Rainbow by your side, but please refrain from fraternizing in front of me,” Arthur requested.

“Anyone ever tell ya you got a stick up your arse?” Sean quipped.

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re an annoying little shit?” Arthur said back.

“All the bloody time, yet I’m still more likeable than you,” Sean countered.

“Whatever,” Arthur rolled his eyes before taking a sip of his coffee. “So, when did this happen?”

“A few nights after the party,” Rainbow said as she cuddled into Sean’s side. “I knew this stud was as awesome as me, and it’s been a great two weeks already since we started going out!”

“Aye, I treat her well and give her all the praises I can think of,” Sean said as he raised his mug to Arthur and held Rainbow close with his other hand. “For the first time, Arthur, I feel as happy as a hog on slop!”

“Well, I’m mighty happy for y’all,” Arthur said. “It’s funny, I thought you’d never be able to find someone after ya botched things up with Karen.”

Sean shrugged it off and smiled. “New life, new chances, and new choices.” He replied to Arthur and turned to Rainbow. “So, what brings ye here to the men’s quarters my lass? Missing me that much already?”

“Oh, you!” Rainbow playfully shoved Sean with a giggle. Her smile soon dropped when she straightened herself. “Actually, it’s about me and the girls. Princess Celestia called Twilight over to Canterlot for some test. Me and the others are going with her.” She explained to the gunslingers.

“Test? Thought she already graduated, what kind of test will she be doing?” Sean asked her curiously and finished his cup of coffee.

“Beats me, but Twilight thinks it’s very important…but you know her, she would do tests every day of her life she was able to. That or read books.” Rainbow said with a chuckle of her own. Note to self: Get the latest edition of Daring Do’s Adventures!

Sean cocked his eyebrow and crossed his arms to his chest. “Ye sure you don’t want us to come along with y’all, Dashie? Be your ‘shining shield against the dark forces’.” He asked as he imitated a certain Captain of the Royal Guard.

Rainbow found the imitation funny as she laughed but shook her head. “Nah, this should be a cake walk for us. Besides, isn’t it your day off today?” She asked the stallions.

“Sure is, not too sure what to do though,” Arthur shrugged.

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something,” Rainbow said. She then kissed Sean one more time before stepping back and unfurled her wings. “I gotta get back to the train station, the girls are waiting! Bye Arthur! Bye Seany!” Rainbow bent down and shot straight up into the air and flew away.

“Whew! She sure is a fast one,” Arthur said.

“And I adore her all the same,” Sean said with a dreamy smile.

“Alright, enough daydreamin’,” Arthur said as he sipped the rest of his coffee and turned to go back inside his tent. “We gotta stop by the local gaurd barracks and get you to sign some stuff as my deputy.”

“But it’s our day off!” Sean complained.

“True, but that don’t mean we can’t pay a visit. Besides, since Applejack is gonna be out of town, I figure we stop by her farm and see if Mac and her grandmother need any help,” Arthur said from inside his tent.

“Ya just wanna suck the joy outta everything, even a day when we’re supposed to take it easy,” Sean grumbled as he walked back in his tent to get dressed. “Oh…shite, I almost forgot.”

“You serious?” Marble asked, trying to assess the situation.

“Do I look like I’m lying?” Sean deadpanned.

“But you’re an adult stallion!” Marble said.

“True, but I ain’t as educated as I seem,” Sean shrugged.

“How is that possible?” Marble asked again. “You’re saying you never learned to read or write?”

“Rub it in, why don’t ya!” Sean spat.

“Marble, if ya don’t mind, perhaps we can hold off on the paperwork,” Arthur said.

“Very well, sheriff,” Marble said as he put the papers he had placed on his desk and filed them away. “And for the sake of Deputy MacGuire’s pride, I’ll keep this to myself.”

“Gee, thanks a lot,” Sean said sarcastically and turned to leave in a huff.

Arthur was about to follow suit when something caught his eye. A bulletin board hung on the wall next to the front door and he noticed there were papers hanging on it. Upon closer inspection when he walked up to it, Arthur’s eyebrows went up when he saw mugshots of ponies and other creatures.

“Uh…Marble?” Arthur said to the head guard as Sean walked up next to Arthur. “These ain’t what I think they are, are they?”

“What? The Bounty Board? You only saw this now, Sheriff?” Marble asked Arthur rhetorically. “Whenever somepony causes too much trouble around town or even in other towns and cities, a bounty is posted and given to nearby guard stations.”

Arthur nodded and grunted. “I already know how a bounty is issued, but my question is why some of them say they’re wanted by companies?”

“Well, some bigwigs post the bounties if a certain pony has caused their business too much trouble, or some personal grudge…not really questioning it myself to be honest.” Marble replied with a shrug and took a bounty off the bulletin board. “Like take this stallion for instance, Troubleshoes Clyde. Wherever there’s a rodeo, he’s always there to cause trouble and mayhem. So much so that the county of Applepaloosa and the Apple Family there posted a bounty on him for a hefty price.” He handed the bounty to Arthur. “Though from what I heard, Apple Tree, the Patriarch of the family, objected to it but the mayor of Applepaloosa put his hoof down.”

“Heh.” Arthur blinked and looked down on the bounty to analyze it. He saw a very timid and frightened giant of a stallion with a brown coat look at the camera. He wore a straw hat and a blue overall with a white shirt underneath it.

Sean popped his head behind Arthur’s shoulder to take a look at the picture. “If that colt is an outlaw, then I’m the Pope.”

“Well, thank ya for your time anyway, Marble, we’ll be on our way,” Arthur said with a tip of his hat. The two gunslingers exited the barracks with much on their minds. “I been here for months, and I ain’t never seen that board before. Yet it baffles me that there’s bounties in this world.”

“You’d be right about that, Arthur,” Sean said. He pulled out a paper from his coat and it was a different wanted poster that showed an image of a griffin. “Can ya read this for me?”

“You swiped a wanted poster?” Arthur asked, only for Sean to shrug innocently. Arthur rolled his eyes and took the paper and read it. “Gill the griffin is wanted for vandalism. He is notorious for obstructing weather pony employees by destroying weather clouds and delaying scheduled weather forecasts. Be on the lookout for this griffin and turn him into the local authorities. Last known sighting of Gill was five miles southwest of Ponyville.”

“That sounds like fun,” Sean grinned as he took the poster back.

“You ain’t seriously gonna consider going after bounties, are ya?” Arthur questioned.

“Why not? I’m a deputy now and I’ll help look after Ponyville all the same. But that don’t mean I can’t earn some extra scratch by goin’ after wanted blokes like this sod,” Sean said.

“Be that as it may, I recommend ya first learn how to read and write before anything,” Arthur said. “Didn’t Dutch or Hosea offer to teach you?”

Sean shrugged and shook his head. “Can’t remember, what with us being on the run most of the time. Especially from the Pinkertons when we robbed that Cornwallis cunt, when we should have moved westward per Hosea’s advice.” He replied and sighed as he adjusted his hat. “Honestly, I sometimes wondered why Dutch didn’t listen to Hosea that time?”

Rather than reply to Sean’s question, Arthur thought it best to change the subject. “Welp, I guess that leaves us with one option. Getting ya a tutor…and I think I know just the right pony for the job.” He said with a grin and grabbed the pegasus to direct him to a new destination.

“Oi! What about the bounty?” Sean protested to Arthur.

“You will still have all the time in the world to chase after some griffin, right now though we’re gonna meet a certain teacher.” Arthur said and continued to walk onwards to the outskirts of the town, where a schoolhouse could be seen in the distance.

Sean sighed and planted his hand to his face. “Seriously? Ye just want to embarrass me more? Do you hate me that much, English?”

“Now what would give you that impression?” Arthur asked rhetorically.

Sean rolled his eyes irritably as he followed his friend. As the two gunslingers walked, and waved at any passerby, Arthur thought about what to do next for his day off. Usually, he’d spend the day with Johanna, but she was busy with her own duties as mayor. Spending the day hanging out with Sean didn’t sound like a bad idea, but he wondered what exactly they could do together. They soon arrived at the local schoolhouse where the foals were playing outside on the playground. A small smile grew along Arthur’s face as he watched them play and laugh together. Arthur saw this as an opportunity to ask the teacher in charge for a favor.

“A schoolhouse?!” Sean complained. “You’re gonna lock me up with those little tykes?!”

“Shaddap! I ain’t gonna do that!” Arthur said, but then laughed with a snort. “Although, that would be mighty entertaining, but no. The teacher’s a nice lady. I’m sure she’ll help you without any judgment.”

As they approached the door, Arthur took off his hat and so did Sean, following his lead. Arthur then opened the door to reveal the inside of the schoolhouse. It had many desks sitting in rows, a large chalkboard, and a desk off to the side. Sitting at the desk was the schoolteacher, Ms. Cheerilee, and she was grading papers.

“Erhem, mornin’ Ms. Cheerilee,” Arthur greeted with a smile.

Hearing her name being called, Cheerilee’s ears twitched, and she turned to the source. Her surprised look was soon replaced with a gentle smile on her face, and she set aside her pen to greet the guests. “Oh, Arthur! So good to see you again,” she greeted the sheriff and soon addressed Sean. “And Mr. MacGuire, how are you doing today?” Her eyes lingered for a moment on his frame and his chiseled chest.

“All good here, but please call me Sean. Mr.MacGuire makes me feel old and one hoof in the daisyfields, beautiful.” Sean winked and received a giggle from Cheerilee.

Cheerilee soon composed herself and cleared her throat. “Only if you call me Cheerilee, or just Cherry…” She batted her eyelids at Sean but was soon interrupted by a cough from Arthur. “A-anyhow, how can I help you two today? I hope none of my foals have caused any trouble.” Like Diamond Tiara…

“Naw, nothin’ like that,” Arthur said. “I got a favor to ask, ma’am, and I hope you won’t judge too harshly.”

“Not at all, Arthur, what is it?” Cheerilee asked.

“I request that this stays between us; but my deputy, Sean, here cannot read nor write,” Arthur said, patting Sean’s shoulder as Sean looked down at the floor with an embarrassed look as he held his hat with both hands.

“He can’t?” Cheerilee said, sounding surprised. “May I ask why he never learned?”

“Me mum and pap never really bothered to teach me,” Sean answered. “I had to sorta teach meself how to speak as I grew up, which weren’t easy. I never really had a need to learn before, but things are different now since I’m a pony of the law. I gotta learn sooner than later.” Sean sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “I hope ya don’t think any less of me, since I’m an adult who can’t read or write for shite. So, my request to you, darlin’, is can you teach me how to read and write?”

Disregarding his cursing, Cheerilee approached Sean and lifted his head up with her finger under his chin.

“You have nothing to worry about, Sean,” Cheerilee said. “Not many ponies know this, but this schoolhouse isn’t just used for foals. Some years ago, I got permission from Mayor Mare to teach night classes for adult ponies.”

“That a fact?” Arthur said.

“That’s right, so don’t be ashamed, Sean, you’re not the only stallion with your predicament,” Cheerilee reassured. “I have a class tonight at the beginning of sunset. All you need is a writing utensil and a notebook, and to show up for your first class. Do you think you can do that?”

Sean nodded and gave his trademark grin to Cheerilee. “Absolutely, Cherry. I’ll be here in your tender care when the sun sets. Right now, though, I need to bring some sad sod to the station. A law pony’s work is never easy.”

Before Arthur could interject, Sean already spread his wings and gave a goodbye wink to Cheerilee. He flew out of the door swiftly, leaving a gust of wind behind him.

“That darn clown,” Arthur sighed and turned to apologize to Cheerilee but was momentarily puzzled when he saw her eyes never left the open door. He also noticed the crimson cheeks on her face. He waved a hand in front of her face. “Um, Cheerilee?”

“W-what!?” Cheerilee shook her head furiously to erase the blush from her face and turned to Arthur. “He is quite a character, isn’t he?” And so dashing!

“Ya have no idea…Whelp, I better be off now. Promised Granny Smith to help her with the farmwork today.” Arthur tilted his hat and walked out of the schoolhouse, leaving Cheerilee with her unfinished work.

Cheerilee made her way to her desk and sat down to resume her work. “What I would do to you…” She muttered as a thought of a shirtless Sean entered her mind.

Sean flew through the skies as fast as he could towards the southwest. He knew he would get an earful from Arthur for bailing on him with helping on the farm, but it would soon be worth it. This griffin was running amok and causing trouble for the weather pegasi, yet no one had been able to catch him.

Sean chuckled to himself as he held on to his hat and continued to fly through the air. One thing he noticed immediately during his flight was an abnormally scarce number of clouds in the area. Normally, there’d be plenty of clouds this high in the sky, even just a few normal white clouds. Yet there barely a single cloud in sight.

“Hmm, whoever this bloke is, he sure is thorough,” Sean said to himself.

Sean looked around to see where he could start his search for the outlaw but was having trouble figuring out how. He stopped in midair and pondered for a moment. It would take too long to comb the wooded area below and even longer to search every spare cloud he could find. He scratched his head in deep thought until an idea popped in his head. Rainbow once told him that pegasus ponies are able to touch and physically interact with clouds freely. Which is how they are able to control the weather.

With the idea fresh in his mind, Sean got to work by flying to the nearest stray cloud and grabbed hold of it. It felt soft and light as a feather as he pulled it with him and positioned it right in the middle of where he was in the air. The stallion nodded and flew off to gather more stray clouds. After about an hour of pulling together all the stray clouds he could find, Sean flew back a little bit to admire his trap. The cloud looked nothing like the average storm cloud and could barely pass off as a rain cloud. It was three times the size of a normal cloud and could maybe pass off as a rain cloud. It looked very disfigured and was barely holding together on its own.

“Not me best first attempt, but hey, it just might work!” Sean said proudly.

Glancing around, Sean flew down to the ground and hid himself within the branches of a tree. His makeshift rain cloud floated in midair by itself, and Sean’s eyes were glued to it. Several minutes passed and almost turned into an hour of waiting. Sean was just about to fly back up and move the cloud somewhere else, when he heard the sound of wings flapping. A male griffin wearing athletic shorts and sleeveless shirt approached Sean’s cloud. He was a fairly built griffin that had the head and wings of an osprey and the body of a puma cat. Sean waited within the branches of the tree he hid in as the griffin eyes the cloud and scoffed loudly at it.

Said griffin immediately clawed the cloud into oblivion with one swift movement of his taloned hand. He grinned once there was no trace of the nimbus left and was about to depart, until he was blocked by a pegasus stallion floating in front of him.

“Good mornin’, boyo. Watcha doin’ with me cloud? Worked really hard on that, I did.” Sean folded his arms in front of his chest and furrowed his brow at the griffin to look intimidating, only to receive a laugh from the griffin.

“What I do for fun is none of your business, flank-wipe. Why don’t you go back to Cloudsdale and stay out of my way?” He sneered at Sean and extended his claws whilst he let loose a low growl.

Sean rolled his eyes and sighed. This fokin’ cunt has no idea… “In any other world, ye may have been right. But, I’m from Ponyville,” He replied and received a scoff from the griffin. “I’m not a weather-pony, but ye causing a bit of trouble. I’m also a deputy and ye got a sweet bounty on ye. In other words, ye’re comin’ with me, boyo.” He finished and lowered his hands to the sides of his holsters.

“Ha! Yeah right! Like some Grass-Muncher can beat a griffin? Bet ye can’t even beat an egg?” the griffin mocked.

“Ye’d be surprised,” Sean said and was about to pull out his revolver.

“Hey! Not so fast!” The griffin barked out when his eyes landed on Sean’s hands that rested on the holster.

“That’s what your momma told me last night,” Sean said back as he pulled out his pistol.

Suddenly, the griffin flapped his wings and shot towards Sean. Sean was about to aim at his target, but the griffin swiped his claws at the deputy. Sean managed to dodge out of the way, but accidentally let his pistol slip out of his hand and fall down to the ground.

“Bugger shite!” Sean cursed and narrowly dodged another swipe from the griffin. “Alright, fock face, let’s dance!”

Sean then went on the offensive and took a swing at the griffin. The griffin was surprised by the sudden aggression from Sean but dodged his punch and swiped at Sean again. Sean ducked in time and went for an uppercut that managed to connect with the underside of the griffin’s beak. The griffin grunted and stumbled back a bit, but Sean kept up the pressure. The deputy threw wild punches that either missed or met their mark as Sean was gaining the upper hand. The griffin growled loudly as he tackled Sean in midair and dug his claws into his sides. Sean yelled out in pain as he smacked the griffin’s head with his fist. The griffin backed off and they flew away from each other. Both sides breathed heavily as Sean felt his sides bleed a little and the griffin had a black eye and blood trickled from the side of his beak.

“Stubborn little shite, ain’t ya boyo?” Sean said with a laugh.

“Quit calling me that, stupid pony!” The griffin spat. “It’s Gill!”

“Ask me if I give a shite,” Sean quipped and curled his finger at Gill. “Come get some!”

Gill’s nostrils flared and he let out a lion’s roar as he flew towards Sean. “After I’m done with you, I’m gonna send your corpse to that hick town of yours and parade it to all those pony pussies!” He shouted out with his claws nearing his target. He was a hair’s inch away, but when he blinked, he noticed Sean turned his body to dodge. Before he could react, he felt his wrists tied together in some rope.

“Seriously?” Gill barked out and opened his beak to chew it off. He yelped in pain when he began to fall to the ground with added weight to his back. He turned to see Sean with a shit-eating grin and lashed out at him with his beak, only to be punched hard square in kind.

Once his fist connected with Gill’s temple, dazing the griffin, Sean flared his wings to make sure they did not impact the ground and he quickly tied up the griffin’s legs together with his arms. He then made an impromptu muzzle with the remaining rope he had and fixed it onto his captive’s beak. “There, that should do it. Keep ye from bitin’ yer way out of this one. Time to take ye to yer new residence.” He said and hosted the semi-conscious griffin onto his shoulder. Sean then walked around the area to locate his misplaced firearm and was able to find it in a push. Once his catch was secure, and he holstered his weapon back on his belt, he began his trek back to Ponyville.

“T’is a shame we don’t have horses in this world to ride, make things easier fer me and Arthur.” Sean began to speak to himself but stopped when he felt his captive try to wrestle out of his hold.

Gill tried to yell out but only mumbling could be heard from his cries. He tried to break free from Sean’s ropes, but his strength could not undo the binds. He began to wriggle the ropes but stopped when he felt a hand slap the back of his hand.

“Oi! No need to destroy me handy work, boyo. I may not be so good with the lasso as me sheriff, but yer not goin’ anywhere anytime soon, ye hear me, ye dust-feather?” Sean asked rhetorically but received a growl from Gill. “That’s what I thought, just let it all out. We’re almost at the end of our journey, almost started to like ye.”

Onyx sat at his desk, filing away documents and sighed with a bored frown. He wished something exciting happened around here, but ever since Arthur became sheriff the town of Ponyville has been mostly crime free. Not that he wasn’t thankful, but it took the excitement out of being part of the local guard.

Suddenly, the door was kicked open and startled Onyx and nearly every guard in the room. All ponies looked to see Sean waltz in, carrying someone tied up over his shoulder.

“G’day, lads!” Sean said.

“Sean? What’s going on? Who’s that you’re carrying?” Onyx asked.

“Oh, this bloke?” Sean said. The ponies gathered around as Sean hoisted his catch over his shoulder and dropped him on the ground with a loud thud. Gill grunted as he glared up at the group of ponies. “This be Mr. Gill, the griffin givin’ them weather pegasi trouble. I went ahead and snatched him up, so you’re welcome!”

Onyx merely blinked and his jaw became agape at Sean’s words. “Well, I’ll be…didn’t think anypony would bother catching this fella, let alone one of ours. Seriously, do you have any idea how deadly a griffin can be?” He asked Sean whilst he opened the cell’s door and beckoned the deputy to drop the captive inside.

“An té nach bhfuil láidir ní foláir dó a bheith glic.” Sean replied once he chucked Gill to the ground and slammed the cell door shut. “It means, if you’re not strong you better be smart. So long as I can figure out what makes a bastard tick and how they fight, I can take them down.” He said with a grin and turned to the guards. “So, where do I get me reward? I don’t think we hold a vault here, or do we?”

“W-wha- N-no! Um, the reward is usually held at the Mayor’s office.” Onyx answered and went to a desk to pull out a folder with a stack of papers inside. He began to search for the correct sheet and pulled it out of the folder, which he placed back into his desk. “All you need to do is present this to the Mayor’s Aide and they will pay you.” He handed Sean the paper once he signed the necessary details on it.

Sean inspected the sheet and nodded in kind. “Thank you very much lads, now if ye don’t mind I’m gonna enjoy the rest of me day off.” He said and began to make his way to the exit.

“Sean!” Onyx called out to the deputy who stopped in his tracks. “I-We really grateful for what you did today…but do you think you and Sheriff Morgan could do this on a regular occasion?” He asked the pegasus whilst he fiddled with his fingers.

“Of course, Arthur and I did this kind of work before…but what’s stopping ye and the others from doing some bounties?” Sean wondered.

Onyx merely scratched the back of his head and nervously chuckled in response. “W-well, it’s just…some of the bounties, if not all of them are…a little out of our league and-”

“Say no more, Arthur and I will take care of them.” Jaysus, English and I really need to do something about these Miss Nancy’s. Sean tipped his hat and walked off towards the Mayor’s office.

“Now this is how I pictured my day-off, what ye think English?” Sean asked Arthur as they were both reclining on some lake chairs by the lake. The former took a hold of a bottle of soda and began to down it.

Arthur grunted whilst he reclined on the chair with his hat tipped to block out the sun’s ray. “I think you better slow it down with those drinks there, Sean. Still want some fer me ye know.” He replied with a smile on his face.

“Heard ya bagged a bounty today while I helped on the farm,” Arthur said to Sean, making the Irish stallion open an eye at Arthur.

“That I did, it was fun,” Sean said with a smile.

“Does that mean you’re gonna go after the rest of them?” Arthur questioned.

“Who can say?” Sean shrugged as he glanced at the hefty bag of bits that sat next to his gear. “I just might, if the pay’s this good.”

“We’re not bounty hunters no more, Sean, we’re men of the law now,” Arthur said as he sipped some soda.

“That may be, but I didn’t just do it for the cash. I did it to make the skies a safer place,” Sean said. “Can’t have any blokes muck up the weather schedule.”

“If you say so,” Arthur said.

A ways away from their camp, sounds of children’s laughter caught their attention. The two looked to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Pip and a few other foals running towards the lake. They all carried towels, tubes of sunblock, and wore swimming gear.

“What’re they up to?” Sean wondered as the children got closer.

“Looks like they’re having a swim today,” Arthur responded and adjusted his hat as he gazed at the foals who neared the lake. He was correct in his assessment when he saw many of the colts jump into the water and start to splash around.

Sean merely shrugged and returned to recline on his chair. “So long as they don’t get me wet or hurt each other, I’m happy.” He said and closed his eyes to nap. His ears however perked when he heard the sound of some fillies run towards them.

“Arthur! Sean!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders greeted them when they approached. All three fillies wore one-piece swimsuits with different designs on each one. Scootaloo’s looked like a Wonderbolt outfit whilst Applebloom’s was decorated in apples. Sweetie Belle’s was the only one to have a complete navy one piece. “What ye doing here? Ah thought ye were with Applejack and the others?” Apple Bloom asked them.

“Nah, Twilight said we weren’t needed for whatever test she and others were on today.” Arthur replied with a gentle smile on his face.

Sean chuckled and opened another bottle of soda. “Besides, we stallions need some time off from the mares in our lives.” He said with a grin, only for it to fall when he was surprised by Scootaloo who rushed towards him and bombarded him with questions.

“Is it true you’re dating Rainbow Dash!? Are you and her going to try out for the Wonderbolts?! Have you met her parents yet?! How did you and her get together!? How-” Scootaloo rambled on.

“Woah there, little lady,” Arthur patted her on the shoulder to calm her down. “Slow down with yer questions, or ye might just faint.”

“Sorry, it’s just I’m surprised that Rainbow is dating anypony at all,” Scootaloo said with wide eyes as she beamed. “She seems so…well, awesome to date somepony.”

“She is quite the mare, lemme tell ya,” Sean grinned.

“Don’t. Even,” Arthur said, giving Sean the stink eye.

“Come on, girls! Last one in’s a rotten apple!” Apple Bloom said and ran off.

“No fair!” Scootaloo said as she and Sweetie ran after her.

“Good kids,” Arthur said as they continued to relax.

Just as Arthur was about to settle in again, he noticed Pip sitting at the edge of the water. He watched his friends have fun in the lake, which piqued his curiosity as to why he wasn’t swimming. The gunslinger rose from his seat and walked over to the colt.

“Hey, Pip,” Arthur said.

“Oh, hey Arthur,” Pip said.

“How come you’re not swimmin’?” Arthur asked.

“Well…you’ll laugh,” Pip said with a frown.

“Come on, I promise I won’t,” Arthur said as he sat down next to Pip.

“Do you really?” Pip asked.

“I truly do,” Arthur reassured the colt.

“Okay. It’s just…I can’t swim,” Pip admitted.

Instead of laughing, Arthur merely shrugged and gave a gentle smile to Pip. “Can’t swim? Son, I’ve known a lot of guys my age and older who couldn’t swim. Don’t mean it be too late to learn now.” He replied to the colt and ruffled his hair. “In fact, why don’t I teach you?”

“Y-you’re sure?” Pip asked Arthur with his eyes widened, surprised that the sheriff would even teach him how to swim. “But you don’t have a swimsuit, Arthur.” He pointed out to the stallion who wore his regular summer clothing.

“That don’t matter, these cloths need a wash anyways. Let’s go to the water.” Arthur instructed Pip who followed him to the lake’s edge, leaving Sean behind on his chair.

This should be fun… Sean thought to himself as he spectated the lake and the foals who swam in it. “I’ll just stay here, English, keep a close eye on the others!” He called out to Arthur who merely waved him off. That and more cola for me!

Meanwhile, the other foals were having a blast as they splashed around and swam in the lake. The Cutie Mark Crusaders decided to venture deeper in the lake on a raft. “Alright Cutie Mark Crusaders! We’re gonna try and earn our Maritime Cutie Marks!” Scootaloo shouted out in glee.

“Uh, Scootaloo…Maritime means ocean related, we’re in a freshwater lake.” Sweetie Belle deadpanned to her friend, who merely grumbled in response.

“Gee, no need to be a buzzkill Sweetie Belle…” Scootaloo replied with her arms crossed and her seated at the end of the raft. Before any more words could be spoken, Apple Bloom whistled to gain the attention of the other mares.

“C’mon Girls! We can do other things to earn our Cutie Marks! Like navigating or diving, even fishing!” Apple Bloom suggested to the others as she listed down potential activities.

Scootaloo scratched the top of her scalp and furrowed her brow in confusion. “But where are we gonna get fishing gear?” She asked Apple Bloom. “We didn’t bring a rod or even bait to lure the fishes to us.”

“Well, we could ask that pony over there.” Apple Bloom pointed out to another stallion who was seated by the dock of the lake. Said stallion had his fishing rod casted out and was waiting for a nibble from any potential fish to catch.

“Who is that?” Sweetie Belle asked when she took a closer look at the stallion, who wore a brown stetson and blue neckerchief. “Never seen him before around here.”

Scootaloo merely shrugged. “Must be from outta town,” she said before she waved her hand and blew a raspberry. “Fishing’s boring anyway! I say we try and do some diving or see who can hold their breath the longest.”

“Ah bet Ah can hold it longer than you!” Apple Bloom said as she dunked her head in the water.

“I’ll show you!” Scootaloo said as she dunked her head.

“I’d rather not,” Sweetie said as she stood watch for her friends.

Back at the campsite, Sean was lounging on his chair and had fallen asleep. He snored loudly with his hat over his face as a butterfly gently landed on his snout.

“Well, isn’t this a humorous sight?” A voice said, snapping Sean out of his nap.

The Irish gunslinger tipped his hat up to see Johanna and Raven standing by him.

“Afternoon, ladies,” Sean said, sitting up straight.

“And a good afternoon to you as well, deputy Sean,” Raven said with a smile.

“Please, lov, I’m off duty. So, you can just call me Sean,” Sean said with a wink, making the secretary mare giggle.

“We came by to visit since today is your day off. Where is Arthur?” Johanna asked.

“Teachin’ one of the tots how to swim,” Sean said, pointing his thumb towards the water.

Johanna saw Arthur waist deep in the water, still wearing his shirt and trousers, as he held Pipsqueak’s arms and walked backwards as the colt kicked his hooves.

“Easy does it, boy, don’t rush,” Arthur advised as he walked backwards slowly.

“I-I’m gonna drown!” Pip panicked.

“No you ain’t, it’s okay,” Arthur said reassuringly. “I got ya, I ain’t gonna let go.”

“Do you promise?” Pup asked, looking up at Arthur.

“I surely do, Pip, wouldn’t let go for the life of me. Now, let’s see you kick a little harder,” Arthur said, and Pip nodded as he kept practicing.

“Isn’t that just the most precious thing?” Raven cooed. “He’d make a wonderful father; wouldn’t you say, Johanna?”

Oh my gosh! That is just so adorable! Please Equus, make him drop a knee to me soon! Johanna’s thoughts ran wild when she saw Arthur and Pip together, almost like father and son. A dreamy smile enveloped her as she pictured herself in a wedding dress with Arthur at the altar waiting for her as her future husband. Before any more thoughts could develop, she felt a nudge against her side and returned to reality thanks to Raven. “W-what?” She blurted out to her assistant.

“Welcome back to the world, Mayor.” Raven smirked when she saw the blush on Johanna’s face.

Just as she was about to speak, Johanna’s ears flickered when she heard her sheriff approaching her with drenched clothes hanging on him. Sixpack! She thought to herself with a drool about to form on the side of her lips, but she was quick to wipe that away with a quick stroke. “How are you boys enjoying your day off?” She asked the pair of gunslingers.

I’d say it’s going pretty well,” Arthur said, slicking back his mane. The mere act almost made the mayor lunge at Arthur, but she managed to compose herself. “I’m teaching this boy how to swim,” he said, ruffling Pip’s damp mane.

“I can kick in the water!” Pip cheered.

“That’s mighty swell, boyo,” Sean said. “Soon, you’ll be part fish by the time you get the hang of it.”

“It’s always nice seeing the foals enjoying a nice swim at the lake,” Raven said, watching the foals play in the water.

“This a normal thing?” Arthur wondered.

“Sure is!” Pip said. “We always come to the lake once a week. Soon, I’ll be able to join everypony else in the water if I keep practicing. Will you still teach me Arthur?”

“I don’t see why not?” Arthur said with a smile. Pip grinned and hugged Arthur’s leg.

“Thank you, Arthur, you’re the best!” Pip said.

“Aaawww!” Johanna and Raven said.

“Sweet lord, that’s precious,” Sean said. Just then, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle exited the water and joined the group.

“Hiya, Arthur!” Applebloom said.

“Howdy, Bloom,” Arthur said.

“We’re gonna head to Sugarcube corner for a snack, wanna come with us?” Sweetie Belle offered.

“Naw, thanks though,” Arthur said, then noticed someone missing. “Say, where’s Scoots?”

The two fillies looked behind them and tilted their heads.

“She was swimming behind us just a moment ago,” Sweetie Belle said.

Suddenly, there was loud splashing far out in the water, and everyone saw Scootaloo thrashing about and looked to be in pain.

“HELP! MY LEG CRAMPED UP! I CAN’T SWIM!” Scootaloo shouted.

“Jaysus! She’s gonna drown!” Sean yelped as he jumped up from his seat.

“Hang on kid! I’m coming!” Arthur said and wasted no time to run towards the water.

Just as he was about to swim towards the struggling filly, he caught sight of someone else swimming towards her. The pony swam as fast as he could towards Scootaloo, just as she couldn’t hold herself up and sank underwater. The pony quickly grabbed Scootaloo’s hand and hoisted her up and over his back. Scootaloo gasped for fresh air and coughed a bit.

“I got ya!” The unknown pony said. “Hold on to me! I’ll get ya to shore!”

Scootaloo could only nod as her lips quivered and her eyes were about to release a flood of tears from both fear and gratitude. As they both made it to the shore, she was immediately hugged by her two closest friends who tried to console her. It was too much for the pegasus filly and she began to sob and buried her head in Applebloom’s shoulder.

“I was so scared!” She wept and continued to cry. It lessened though when she felt her friends pat her back.

“It’s okay Scootaloo, you’re safe now.” Applebloom assured her friend and looked up at the stallion who came to the rescue. “Thank you so much for saving our friend, mister.” She thanked the pegasus stallion who decided to dry out his neckerchief from all the water.

“You’re welcome, Miss.” He replied with a smile. He looked up and saw Johanna and Raven before him.

Johanna let loose a breath in relief and took hold of the stallion’s hand with both of hers. “I cannot thank you enough for saving one of our foals, sir. I am the Mayor of Ponyville, Johanna Justice. Who might you be?”

“My name is-,” he paused when he saw the sheriff and deputy stare at him. His wings began to unfurl in reflex and his eyes began to dart from one corner to another. Just as he was about to take off into the sky, he stopped himself. He squinted his eyes at the two stallions, as if he was examining them. Arthur and Sean looked at each other and back at the stallion who was still staring at them suspiciously and scratched his chin.

“You alright there, boyo?” Sean asked.

“Quit staring at us,” Arthur said.

As if a switch was flipped, the stallion’s eyes widened. His jaw dropped and he couldn’t stop trembling as soon as he heard their voices. The stallion tried to speak, but only was able to swallow a rather large lump in his throat. Tears welled up in his eyes and he could only make subtle inaudible noises from his mouth.

“I-It can’t b-be…” the stallion said, his voice trembling along with his body as he pointed at Arthur. “A…Ar…thur?” He slowly moved his shaky finger towards Sean. “Se…an…?”

“How do ya know us?” Sean asked, arching a brow.

“Don’t reckon ever meeting you, son,” Arthur said.

“ARTHUR! SEAN!” The stallion yelled as he threw up his hands, as if celebrating something glorious had happened and he grinned as wide as he possibly could. “IT’S ME! IT’S KIERAN! KIERAN DUFFY!”

Both sheriff and deputy jaws went agape at the words this stallion spoke. Arthur narrowed his eyes and looked Scootaloo’s savior over. He noticed the signature neckerchief and the unshaven beard. When he looked at the stallion’s eyes, he saw the green tint that belonged to the man who once saved him before in his previous life.

“Wait!” Arthur held up his hand. He had to be sure this stallion was who he said he was. “If you are who you say, how did you save me?”

“One of them O’Driscoll boys got the drop on ya at that cabin in the woods!” The stallion said. “He bumped ya hard with the door and was about to shoot, but I shot him first and told you about the money hidden in the chimney!”

After hearing this, it was all the proof Arthur needed. This stallion truly was Kieran Duffy! “Well I’ll be damned! It really is you Kieran!” Arthur said with a wide grin of his own on his face as he shook his head.

“O’Driscoll?!” Sean blurted out but was smacked over the head by Arthur. “Ow! What was that for?!”

Arthur shook his head with a glare. “I’ll tell you later,” He muttered to the deputy. He turned to Johanna and Raven who looked confused at the exchange. “Allow me to introduce to ye both, Kieran Duffy, another friend of mine from my…previous life.” He gestured to the named pegasus who weakly waved at the stunned mares.

“Oh my gosh, another old friend of Arthur’s!” Johanna exclaimed and approached a shocked Kieran. “It’s really nice to meet you, Mr. Duffy.” She said with stars in her eyes.

“Um, you’re welcome?” He blinked and looked at an amused Arthur. “You mind telling me what the hell’s going on?”

“I think we both deserve an explanation,” Arthur said and looked down at Pip. “Hate to cut this short, kid, but there’s something urgent that came up.”

“That’s okay, I’ll just go with the others and make sure Scootaloo gets home safe,” Pip said as he followed after the foals and the CMC.

“We’ll see ya later, Arthur!” Applebloom said as she and Sweetie Belle supported Scootaloo on both sides.

Arthur nodded and went inside his tent. He came back out carrying a few more chairs from his tent and sat them down in front of his and Sean’s tent.

“Sit down, please,” Arthur said. Kieran, Johanna, and Raven nodded and sat down in their seats. “Looks like we’re all in for an interesting tale, partner.”

Author's Note

Another old friend joins the fray!

Hope you enjoyed!

~WurkyWilk has left the building…