Dusty Trails

//BGM provided, but optional. (https://youtu.be/Dv5zJoN7m6s?si=7RpYJ1TR-nSY95wS) It's been nearly a month since Dusty and the caravan set out on their journey back to Appaloosa. Since then, Dusty has become good friends with the lone family of settlers accompanying the trade caravan, and he's even gotten Mist to open up a little bit. In particular, Dusty has grown pretty fond of the family's young child, Johnny. He's one of the most energetic, and bright eyed 10 year olds Dusty has ever met, but he soaks up information like a sponge. Ever since Dusty sat down with the family to eat breakfast on the day they met, Johnny has always had questions to ask him. At first, his parents tried to curb this behavior, but Dusty enjoyed telling the little zebra boy all about his adventures, and how his job worked. The mother, Zevana even jokingly referred to Dusty as Johnny's "Big Brother". A title that Dusty now wears with pride. Today, the caravan is crossing the halfway point of it's journey. This halfway point is marked by one of the few landmarks of the road to Appaloosa. Said landmark is a canyon, which stretches for around 5 miles called "Cooper's Canyon." Now, just why did this canyon have such a name? Well, because of the folktale about "Cabin Cooper" of course. Folktales say that once, many decades ago, a man known simply as "Cooper" grew tired of Appaloosa, and set out to build himself a house away from the town. After a month of travel, he found a canyon, where he built himself a cabin. That cabin is still standing to this day, and those traveling through the canyon can even spot it atop the canyon as they pass through. Some say the ghost of Cabin Cooper can be seen in the windows, scowling at travelers at night, and if you try to go into the cabin, you'll never come back. Dusty is glad for the shade of the canyon, blocking out the late-morning sun. Though, it won't be of much help in the noon, once the sun is directly over them. Alas, shade is a commodity on the road to Appaloosa, and it is not to be taken for granted. For now, the caravan plans to travel until noon, where they can set up camp, and rest until the shade returns. Currently, Dusty rides at the back of the caravan, alongside Makabe's wagon, with little Johnny sitting in the saddle with him. As the caravan moseys along, Dusty teaches Johnny about how to control a steed, and how to keep your wits about you when you're riding out in the desert. As always, little Johnny is enamored by all of the information his big brother is telling him. He begs Dusty to let him take the reigns for a bit, but Dusty declines, stating that the steed is a bit too big for him to control at the moment. Johnny pouts, but does not protest. He knows Dusty knows best. Little Johnny jumps in the saddle after a loud crack is heard from the top of the canyon walls. Before he can process what he's just heard, Dusty scoops him up into his arms, and leaps from his saddle. "Ambush!" A voice cries out from the front of the caravan. (https://youtu.be/RY0WXE1AZb0?si=Rbl2_RRJNPZZm0RT) Dusty rushes over to Makabe's wagon. He thrusts little Johnny into the waiting arms of his father, who pulls him inside. Dusty then barks a command to the family, as he pulls his rifle off of his shoulder, and readies it. "Lay down, and keep low until ah tell ya'll it's safe!" More cracks follow the first. Dusty spots figures at the top of the canyon's walls. The other rangers begin to return fire, and Dusty spots Mist slide behind a rock for cover. Dusty sprints behind one of the cargo wagons to conceal himself from one side of the canyon, and trains his rifle on the other. He sees a figure pop up to fire off a shot before ducking back behind the wall. Dusty calmly trains his rifle on the spot where he saw the figure pop up, while his eyes survey the rest of the canyon's walls. Amidst the gunfire, Dusty hears a voice from atop the canyon walls. "We're gonna be rich boys! Kill all them sons-a-bitches, an' we'll be loaded!" Looks like they'd planned to kill everyone in the caravan regardless of if it was guarded or not. So much for any hope of their peaceful surrender. "C'mon yah bastard. Pop up again. Ah dare yah." Dusty mutters under his breath. A bullet sinks into the wood beside Dusty. He quickly swivels towards the direction of where it came from, and sees a gryphon with a rifle aimed at him. Before the outlaw can fire off another shot, Dusty squeezes the trigger on his rifle. Half a second later, the Gryphon simply drops out of view behind the canyon walls. He sees something pop up out of the corner of his eye, and quickly spins around to fire off another shot. A stetson flies off of the head of it's wearer, but the wearer manages to sink back into cover, unharmed. Cooper's Canyon is filled with the sounds of gunfire as outlaws and rangers trade shots. Dusty isn't able to see much from his position, but it doesn't sound like things are going the outlaws way. He can still hear the same amount of shots coming from the caravan, but the shots coming from the canyon walls are growing less, and less fairly quickly. A flash of motion catches Dusty's eye, not far from where he'd last shot. In one swift motion, Dusty adjusts his aim, and fires off another shot. It strikes the now hatless figure in the chest, and he quickly retreats back behind cover. He hears a few rapid shots come from Mist, behind his rock, and a return shot from the other side of the canyon. Then, a whistle goes out from the other canyon wall, and the gunfire from both sides ceases. They're retreating. Probably didn't expect the caravan to be guarded by experienced rangers. After a few minutes without any gunfire from the walls, the all-clear is sounded, and the caravan inspects the damages. Other than some minor bullet damage to some of the goods, the caravan managed to come out unharmed. There were no injuries, or fatalities. (https://youtu.be/83exXZK48cY?si=y9he23g_E93fAhn1) After checking on Mist to make sure he's unharmed, Dusty approaches Makabe's wagon, and gives it a few knocks. "It's safe now. Ya'll can come out. Ain't nobody get hurt, or killed." First, Makabe steps out, and surveys the area. Once he's personally confirmed it's safe, he helps Zevana, and Johnny out. Poor little Johnny is shaking something fierce. All the gunshots must've terrified him. His mother has him in her arms, trying to calm him down, but to little avail. In response, Dusty taps Johnny on the back gently. "Hey, you were pretty brave out there Johnny. Gettin' shot at is a scary thing, and you managed to get through it without so much as cryin'. Yer a brave kid, Johnny, and you'd make a fine sheriff one day." Johnny's face instantly brightens, but his body continues to shake. "I was? You really think so?" Dusty simply nods. "Sure do." He gets a thankful smile from Zevana, and a nod from Makabe. Jonny beams with pride. Following a short rest, the caravan is once again on the move, and the rest of their journey through the canyon is uneventful. Once the come out on the other side, they're officially in the back half of their journey. Just one more month, and they'll be back in Appaloosa.

Dusty can hardly believe that a month has already passed. Guess time starts to blend together when all you see for a whole month of travel is sand. He, and his compatriots arrived at the border of the San Palomino Desert a day prior, and have set up camp to await the caravan from Ponyville. In the distance, he can see the green hills of the road to Ponyville. He's not sure exactly when the caravan will arrive, but they've got supplies for a good month or two so they should be able to wait fairly long. As the sun rises over the desert, Dusty awakens from his slumber to see a plume of dust approaching the camp from the north. He heads over to the tent of his new Dusk Patrolman, Mist (who does not share the sentiment), and wakes the man up so they can prepare to greet the caravan. He gets a dirty look, but before long, Mist is up, and standing near the entrance to the camp with the rest of the escort. When the caravan finally arrives at the camp, the representative of the Ponyville Trading Company begins to check all of the cargo among the caravan. The other rangers go about helping set up tents for the members of the caravan, and Dusty inspects all of the wagons. Strange. The brief they'd been given had said there would be settlers with this caravan, but so far, only one wagon isn't from the trading company. After asking the leader of the caravan, Dusty learns that there were supposed to be 5 families accompanying the caravan. All but one backed out before the trip, leaving only a family of three. Dusty then heads back into camp, where he finds the settler family huddled around a campfire, preparing some breakfast. The family consists of three zebras. A father, mother, and their 10 year old son. As Dusty sidles up to the family, the father looks up from his cooking to smile, and greet him. When he speaks, his accent is present, but not particularly thick. "Ah, hello Mr. Ranger! Are you hungry? We have plenty of food if you'd like to join us for breakfast." Now, Dusty had already ate some rations earlier this morning, but he wasn't about to turn down a free meal. "Why that's mighty kind ah yah mister. Ah'd be happy tah." Dusty takes a seat next to the father, but before either can speak again, the son pops up in his face. The boy's eyes are aglow with awe, and wonder. "Wow! A real ranger!" The boy's accent is very light. It's practically imperceptible. "Now Johnny. That is not how we greet guests." The mother lightly scolds the son as she gently tugs his sleeve. The boy pouts, but does not protest. "Yes mom." Dusty interjects. "It's quite alright ma'am. Ah don't mind." This appears to excite little Johnny, who looks to his mother. She gives him a nod, and the boy is once again in Dusty's face. While little Johnny bombards Dusty with questions, he responds with as much gusto as he can muster. "Do you catch bad guys?" "Darn tootin' ah do. Ain't nobody that gets away with crime on my watch." The mother giggles. "Ah, Johnny." "Yes mom?" "Perhaps you should introduce yourself to your new friend." To this, Johnny puffs out his chest. "I'm Johnny! One day, I'm gonna be a sheriff!" In response, Dusty tips his hat, and flashes his badge. "Well Deputy Johnny, ah can tell yer gonna make a fine sheriff one day. You can call me Dusty." His attention then turns towards the mother. "And what about you missus? What should ah call ya'll?" "I am Zevana, and this is my husband, Makabe." Dusty tips his hat once again. "Well, it's nice tah meet ya'll. If ya'll don't mind me askin', why are ya'll movin' down to little ol' Appaloosa?" To this, the father, Makabe responds. "My grandfather recently passed away, and left his farm to me. We've been wanting a change of scenery for some time now, and a homely little farm in Appaloosa sounded wonderful." "Oh! Ya'll 'r relatives of Ol' Man M'banze 'r yah? Yeah, we were all quite sad when he passed. Glad tah see his farm ain't gonna be left tah ruin." After some time, the family finishes their cooking, and the four enjoy a meal of sausage and eggs as Dusty gives them a rundown of what to expect on the next leg of their journey. The caravan will be spending a day in camp before setting out early the next morning. Afterwards, it will be two months of travel through the San Palomino Desert with plenty of opportunities for danger to pop up. Once they're about 3 days out from Appaloosa, they should be home free, but until then, they'll need to stay cautious. When breakfast is finished, Dusty thanks the family for the meal, and heads off to find Mist. They've got a long road ahead of them, and it would be best to make plans on how they're going to travel with the caravan before they head out tomorrow.