Silent Graves

"You'd seriously give up your 'Angel of Mercy' for a 'Truffle Master?'"

"I have no use for an angel in my plant deck. Besides, I have, like, six."

"But 'Angel of Mercy' is a really good card. 'Truffle Master is only useful in really specific scenarios, and even then, there are cards that do the same job either faster or stronger."

"Well, maybe I want to put myself in those specific scenarios. Maybe I like the challenge. And maybe I can still kick your tail either way. Besides, weakening me in the tourney only makes it easier for you to win, and you'll need all the help you can find."

"Wasn't that a beautiful eagle, boys?"

All of a sudden, the three young colts stopped and looked around. The one in the middle, by both location and age, pulled up his binoculars and looked around. "I don't see any eagles, Mr. Skies."

The stallion leading the camping trip leaned against a tree. He was a short, but well-built pegasus, with a brown coat and a golden mane. "That's because you were talking so loud that you scared it off, and you weren't looking around you." He quickly darted to a nearby tree, and came back with a large feather. "This was a big bird, and you were so wrapped up in your conversation, you missed the beauty of the forest around you."

Red Cap, the youngest of them, looked down at the ground. He was the only earth pony in the group, with a dark brown coat and bright red hair. He'd been the one to strike up the conversation when he asked for his best friend's 'Truffle Master.' "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," replied the oldest, Stargazer. He was tall and thin, with a deep green coat that looked just like his mother's. The only thing that matched his father was his mane and tail. "It was my fault, dad. I'll take the blame."

Cup Nest, Nestor to his friends, stepped forward. He was a unicorn of bright yellow coat with a golden brown mane. "In truth, we all could stand to be better. Forgive us."

Open Skies slid the feather into Nestor's mane. "See that it doesn't happen again. We might have the chance to see something even more beautiful, if only we open our eyes."

With a nod, the group continued into the woods. It was about halfway through the day, and their campsite was still at least two kilometres away. Progress was fairly slow due to the tall grass and the bushes standing in their way, not to mention their adult leader stopping every fifteen minutes or so to point out a special plant or animal.

"So, do you accept my trade?" whispered Red to Star, nudging him with his elbow. "Your circumstantial 'Truffle Master' for one of my angels?"

"Well, that's a different deal, entirely," responded Star. "If I have my pick of your angels, 'Angel of Vengeance' would be preferable, but that would be entirely unfair to you. 'Truffle Master' is only on the level of 'Flaming Cherub.' That's my counter."

"You know as well as I do that 'Flaming Cherub' is crap. If I gave you that card, you'd never let me hear the end of it. I'm trying to make a fair trade, not an enemy."

"'Flaming Cherub' isn't as bad as everypony says," chimed in Nestor. "I've used it several times, to good effect."

"Sure, you can use it to good effect. Any card can be used to good effect if you know how. The hard part is knowing how to use them."

"Which is why I believe I would be able to use your 'Truffle Master' as well as you would use my 'Angel of Mercy,'" argued Red. "I swear, it's a fair trade."

"Duck!" came the call of Open Skies.

While the other two dropped to the ground, Nestor pulled up his binoculars. He began looking for the duck, but that was quickly brought to a halt as a family of deer leapt over the trio, the fawn not really leaping high enough and colliding with the young colt, knocking him off his hooves and into a bramble. As he picked himself up, he shouted to Open Skies, "I'm okay!"

He wasn't uninjured, however. The impact had caused a few light bruises, and the thorns had scratched him up a fair bit. Neither of these were particularly harsh wounds, but still, light scrapes can easily become infected. Knowing this particularly well, Open Skies called him over and took off his pack, leaning it against a tree.

The next fifteen minutes were comprised of cleaning, disinfecting and wrapping up the wounds to keep them from becoming a problem. It was a simple procedure, and everything needed to fix it was located in your common store-bought first-aid kit. The procedure was so simple, in fact, that Open Skies took the opportunity to quiz the boys on how to do it. Stargazer even helped with performing some of the steps.

Nestor was fine to walk after being wrapped up. He did have to pull out a few thorns from his pack before shouldering it again, but the rest of the trek to the campsite was without any further incidents.

"Okay, boys," said Open Skies, dropping his pack in the middle of the clearing. "We've been out here dozens of times. You know this section of woods better than some kids know their own backyards. We've been out here six times each year for the past three years. As you are familiar with the area, you know where the river is. Red, you go down to the water and bring back a bucket of water. Star, you go find some dry branches for our campfire. Nestor, help me clear some land for our firepit and our tents."

Originally, they had planned for Nestor to gather water from the stream, and for Red to help clear the camp, but the switch in jobs was not a difficult change, merely unexpected. It was, however, a called for change, as Nestor was lightly injured. This didn't bar him from doing any hard work, but it had been just over half an hour. Open Skies wanted to keep a close eye on him, just in case something went wrong. One could never tell by a surface examination, and since the boys were under his care, he would be taking extra precautions if one was injured.

In either case, Nestor seemed to be alright despite his injuries, and the other two quickly and safely completed their jobs. All seemed right with the group. Despite a rocky start, everything was coming up generally well. This was shaping up to be a slightly below-average camping trip.