'The Devil Went Down To Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band' or 'The Bizarre Case of The Naked Appaloosain Sasquatch Part 2'
"I hate living," Lucky Roll groaned.
"I hear ya, sister," I responed.
Our grumbling about our unfortunately continued existence was interrupted by a loud snore. "Shut up, Burns."
"Yeah shut up, Brae."
We heard a snort and what I assumed was the stallion rolling over. I didn't actually know as I had yet to open my eyes.
"My head is killing me."
I groaned along with her, "Well you're the magically earth pony. Shouldn't you have a magical potion for this sort of thing?"
"There is no such thing. This is Celestia's Righteous Judgement for us sinners."
"The bitch."
"She is."
Braeburn made an angry snort. I think he was still asleep.
Suddenly my eyes flashed open in realization. "OW!" I screeched as the world flashed into my brain. The bright, painful world. "I'm such an idiot."
"You are," Lucky agreed with giggled until she let out her own groans of pain. "Don't make me laugh. It hurts to move."
"Rejuvenation potion," I spoke softly and snapped my fingers. I let the bottle fall into my hand, luckily not needing my eyes as it always fell in the same position.
"Was that a fwoosh?"
I ignored her in favor of glugging the thing down. Nearly glugging the thing down, that is, before I realized how much more of an idiotic thing that'd be to do. I slowly opened my eyes despite the pain. The light burned but I saw on the label that 'Non-addictive to humans' was most certainly not printed on the label. "Bloody demons," I grumbled.
"What are you doing over there?"
"Fixing our problem, give me a second."
"Fine," she said curtly.
"Rejuvenation potion, non-addictive to humans," I said before snapping my fingers. I got a new bottle. After confirming that it wasn't likely to turn me into some sort of slobbering demon thrall I drank the thing down. The effect was immediate, "Aaaahhhh. That is so much better." I looked around the drunk tank. It was far and above the quality of any drunk tanks I'd ever seen in my life, or more accurately, in the movies. It would be cozy if not for the concrete floor and iron bars. I glanced out the barred window. The sun looked to be just coming up. I figured it was too early for the sheriff to come in just to protect some drunk idiots from hurting themselves.
"If its so much better then fix me," Lucky said in an annoyed tone.
"Fine, fine." I thought for a moment before saying, "rejuvenation potion, non-addictive to ponies," and snapping my fingers.You can never really be sure. I checked the label. Sure enough it was okay, it even said 'specially blended for mare's health.' How kind of them. I quickly got the potion to her. "Here, drink this. It'll make the hangover go away."
She drank it hesitantly at first. That hesitation quickly transformed into greed and the potion was soon gone. "Wow," she said simply when she was done. Her bleary eyes had turned to a normal state and her mood had drastically improved. "What is that stuff?"
"Special delivery from my employer," I said with a wink.
"Is that the stuff you sell?"
"Nope. Like I said, I'm in Equestria to buy, not sell."
She snorted, "Well maybe you should start. You'd make a fortune."
"I'll keep that in mind," I yawned, "I should get one for Braeburn too."
Her ears perked up a bit. "How'd you even get that stuff in here?"
"I'll show you," I said smugly. I wasn't entirely sure why I was showing her this. I guess I felt like I could trust her to some extent. She'd been good to me so far. She was down on her luck too, just like me. I should probably take that as a red flag. I calmed the twisting in my stomach and summoned a potion. They even gave it the stallions health label. I turned towards Braeburn so Lucky wouldn't see me rolling my eyes. As well as so I could ignore my companion's wide questioning eyes.
"Hey, Braeburn. Wake up."
A snore turned into a groan.
"Wake up."
He buried his head into his pillow. I threw mine at him.
He shot up like a rocket of speed. "What in tartarus!" A beat passed in silence. "Oh Celestia!" He shouted covering his eyes with his hooves and flopping back onto the bed. That didn't seem smart as he let out a pained wheeze when he hit the bed. "Everything is pain," he said with a hollow voice.
"Here, drink this."
"What is it?"
"Medicine. It'll make the pain go away. Just drink--"
He'd snatched it from my hands before I could finish and chugged it. Lucky flopped onto the bed in laughter and I joined her with a chuckle.
The change in the stallion's entire countenance was as immediate as the mare's and, I assume, my own. "Whoo-eee! What is that stuff?"
I gave a badly implemented enigmatic smile, "Magic mystery cure."
"No seriously," he said to me.
"Old family secret?" I lied good naturedly.
"Fine, keep your secret. But I want to buy some."
I yawned, "Maybe later."
It wasn't long before we fell into friendly mocking. Lucky ended up getting called Chicken Run for running around in a circle like a chicken with its head cut off. The ponies were a little put off by the explanation but the mare's blush moved us passed our mutual culture gap. I ended up getting called Little Sass on account of my height, which nearly doubled the pony's, and the whole sasquatch thing. They told me I'd also demonstrated a sharp tongue. I thought they could have done better, but hey, they were just ponies. Lucky came up with Flamer for the stallion because of his flamboyant enthusiasm and the fact that she'd been calling him burns the whole night. His cheeks were certainly burning when he got called that.
He ended up talking about how he's been bullied pretty badly about being gay when he was as straight as they come. "The worst part is that even strangers would assume I was gay. That's why I love Appleloosa so much. No one ever questions it."
We chatted for a while longer. We kept up the casual insults and eventually got Braeburn acclimated to being called Flamer without getting hung up on it. He still made us promise not to let anyone else know about the name.
It was a great chat and I found myself truly enjoying my time with these ponies.
The pit in my stomach welled up with a vengeance at every lull in conversation. I did everything I could to kept silence from filling up the room but each additional moment of peace filled me with news heights of discomfort.
We all turned as we heard the door open. A light brown stallion with a mustache too large for his face and a sheriff's badge on his vest and as a cutie mark came into the station. "Good morning Sheriff Silverstar." We said together with too much enthusiasm. They'd told me his name earlier. He leveled a glare at us. It didn't seem hostile, more annoyed at our lack of misery.
"Its to early for y'all to be so cheery," he said in a gruff stereotype of an old cowboy's voice. "Why ain't ya pukin' all over the cell?"
I answered before anyone else could give the truth, "Well Sheriff, they say good fun invigorates the soul."
He grumbled as he made his way to firing up the coffee machine. We stayed quiet for a moment until Braeburn piped up, "Maybe my friend here could--"
"Dammit son, just let me get mah coffee before ya start chattin' mah ear off." The pang of anxiety was squelched as soon as it appeared. It didn't seem like these ponies knew anything about demons or hell but I still didn't want the types of characters I consorted with to become public knowledge.
I gave the stallion a wry smile and a shrug, "Just let him enjoy his morning ritual in peace. He probably had a long night dealing with us." I don't think he noticed my blatant attempt at covering up the truth but Lucky certainly did. She gave me a questioning look and I motioned towards the floor of the cell. It took her a moment to notice that all the bottles had vanished without a trace. I gave her a wink, hoping that would be enough to buy her silence on the matter.
The sheriff drank about a half a cup before he walked over to us. "Y'all had quite the wild night."
My cell mates had the decency to look ashamed. I figured myself above such an approach and opted for a different tactic. Brown nosing "Sorry to come into your town and give you so much trouble on my first night here." He just grunted. "Though I must say you handled the situation with professionalism and kindness."
"Thank ya kindly. That's just how we handle things in this here town."
I laughed a bit. "I don't have much experience with the law but I have to say this is the best one I've ever had." At least the best experience I'd had that didn't involve a swarm of imps arguing my side.
The sheriff was silent for a moment. He looked at me suspiciously for a moment before rolling my comment around in his head a bit more. "Well Ah guess y'all are sober enough to let outta here."
I followed the ponies out of the cell in somewhat of a daze. Enough of a daze that I nearly hit my head on the cell's low hanging exit. "R-really? You're not charging us?" I asked as soon as I could get the words out.
"Nope."
I hadn't had many dealings with the police but I'd had enough that I assumed the worst motives.
Being completely out of my realm of experience I did a stupid thing and asked, "Seriously? You're not charging us with anything? No drunk and disorderly conduct? Disturbing the peace? Public intoxication?"
Lucky did the right thing when she kicked me sharply in the leg, "Do you want to get charged with something?" She practically hissed at me.
"Er, sorry... Frankly, I'm confused."
"Look son," the Sheriff said looking into my eyes, "this here is a frontier town. Ah don't need to go wastin' everypony's time with silly regulations handed down to us from on high. Ah'm here to protect ponies. Its a hard livin' on the frontier and we all gotta blow off steam every once in a while."
I smiled serenely. Every thought of guile was chased from my mind and my gut stopped its twisting. I felt a strange up swelling of hope. "I love this town," I said and truly meant it.
I sat upon the hill I'd first crested to get into town in the first place with a HLT-sans-hay-sandwich, toasted and slathered in mayo. I'd been washing it down with a potion. It complemented the sandwich with a taste like extra sweet, extra creamy milk. The town was beautiful, not just to look at but all the way down to its heart. The people who lived their were the kind of people I'd always wanted to be near. The fact that they were weird looking fluffy ponies be damned! They were people in my book. Good people.
Sure they still gawked at me a bit but they'd gotten most of that out of their system during last nights drunken adventure. I liked them. As I'd walked alone down the street after Lucky and Brae had gone to work they said howdy to me like I was just another settler. I said howdy right back. No sarcasm. A real smile. This is what I want. What I'd always wanted. Good people to bring out the good in me. I wanted to stay here. For a few moments I thought I really could become just another settler. A beloved part of a beloved community.
"Hey Feely."
I whipped my head around and what met me were the last eyes I wanted to see. Black rectangles engulfed in gold stared at me. "Zen." My illusion shattered quickly. I had... obligations. There was no way around it. I was in the land of happy ponies but I could never be happy like them, happy with them. My new and broken dream wafted out of my mind like dust blown off a forgotten piece of luggage.
"How ya doin' ol' buddy, ol pal!"
I buried the bitterness in my heart. "I'm doing well. I've got actual food after all." I held up the sandwich and smiled awkwardly.
"Yum," he said with no indication that he meant it. He pulled out a cigar and lit it with flame from his fingers. The imp blew out a drag. "So I noticed you hadn't actually gathered any souls yet."
"Er," anxiety shot into me as a spike through my core. "I figured I would get a feel for the town. Ya know? Enjoy myself as I gather up a bit of trust before I open shop." It was a smooth lie. I doubted it was smooth enough get passed an agent of the Prince of Lies.
"Bah! You just wanted to party!" He said it through laughter.
"Oh fine! You caught me!" It was pretty much the truth. I tried to make my smile as genuine as possible. Zen's casual way of speaking would have eased me into one if it wasn't for the cold pit in my stomach constricting my entire midsection. "I did gain some trust though. I think I may have found a partner in crime."
"Really? Interesting... Oh! That reminds me. The reason I'm here is to explain some of the rules."
That peeved me. "You couldn't have told me this before I walked into the pony village and possibly started buying up souls wholesale?" I asked in a deadpan. Bury your emotions, Felix. Now is not the time.
He brushed some invisible dirt of his shoulder. "Well I figured you wouldn't actually make a sale."
"No confidence in you," despite my fear of what the demon represented and that ever present fit in my stomach I couldn't help but enjoy the demon's company. Zen was awfully genuine for a manipulator. He'd probably call himself a handler. He'd probably be right.
The imp chuckled through his row of fangs. "Eh, well I was right."
"True enough."
"Anyway, about the rules. While you're an agent of Hell you can't lie about the terms of a deal."
I raised an eyebrow. "So when you explained to me the terms of that contract I signed you didn't lie?"
"That's right," Zen said through a cloud of smoke. "That's also why you can trust all our labels. We can't lie on a label."
"Not that I don't trust you implicitly, Zen, but why is that? Is it written into the coding of the universe by God or something?"
The smoking imp's laughter turned to a hacking cough quickly. When we finally caught his breath he said, "Sounds like Jehova and his brat's propaganda has wiggled its way into your head." I was not about to take the demon's implications at face value. "The reason we can't just go around committing fraud like that is because there are plenty of other operations out there gathering up souls and if we make a mistake they'll be all over it like flies on shit."
I scowled, "So what would have happened if I'd got a contract signed by lying about it?"
"What you concerned about ethics now, Lixy?" I rolled my eyes. "I would have been pulled from my busy schedule to deal with your fuck up." I opened my mouth to speak again. "Speaking of which I'm very busy. The rule is simple you can lie all you want but not about the terms of a deal."
I think I could work with that. "What if I have someone else lie for me? Somepony maybe?"
The imps sharp smile grew wide. "I like the way you think Ix. I'll give you a tip, if you pay them then they're on Hell's payroll too, but if there isn't a paper trail then you're not paying them."
"Interesting tidbit."
"My times up, kid." His genial demeanor shifted to something more threatening. "Get those souls rolling in or we won't be able to continue our services for you."
"Wait! Whats that supposed to mean!" There was a pop and a fizzle. All the was left of the imp was the smell of sulfur. "Did you mean you can't or you won't?!" I shouted at nothing.
I stayed on that hill for some hours. I'd lost my appetite. I told myself it was from the smell of sulfur and not the roiling chaos inside me. I was waiting for my body to calm down so I could eat the rest of my sandwich. I'd borrowed bits from Lucky and didn't want to waste them.
The more I stared at that accursed town the more the chaos increased. It had tempted me with something I could never have. The boiling pot of my emotions finally began to solidify into something solid. Something I could understand. Something familiar. It was envy. A desire I was well acquainted with. I pushed the feeling down as deep as I could. It threatened to sweep over me. It was tempting to let it, to let it over take the sadness, the despair, the sense that everything was just wrong. I couldn't let it. It wasn't these ponies fault that I couldn't share the happiness they'd so readily offered me. I nearly went back into the desert. Surely there were other towns, perhaps passed the sands, or beyond the mountain. Two thoughts stopped me. Would I make it elsewhere in time? Would the other towns be just like this place. I just couldn't bear it if all ponies were like this. If it were true then I was a pox on their happy world.
I looked across the sands wondering if the changelings were really out there. If I was to be a pox, could I be a pox upon those who might deserve it? Is there enough time? There was no way I could be certain. I didn't even know if the changelings were in the desert. My debts grew every day. Zen was a reminder that the piper needed to be paid.
I gazed down at the town until the chaos I felt calmed into something manageable. I got off my rock and walked down the trail to lovely frontier settlement. Could I really do this to the ponies I'd just begun to admire. I could. I would. The admission hurt like nothing had ever hurt before. I wasn't going back to that skeletal abomination so long as the forces of Hell were at my side. I just wasn't. I'd already made my choices. There was no point in doubting them now. I had an obligation to fulfill.
I strolled into town, a blank pleasantry plastered where my face would have been to cover my increasing dread. It wasn't long before I began receiving the obligatory 'howdy' from ponies who assumed I was to be a new fixture in their lives. I suppose I was to be, but not in the way they expected. They each received a howdy back with genial pleasantness. The word had grown on me. I felt sick. I told every pony I could that I was going to open up my business today at the bank and encouraged them to stop by. I was disgusted by how easily I did it. When asked about my business I winked and told them I granted wishes. Some took it at face value, some with skepticism, some with a laugh, a surprising amount took it as a marketing pitch.
It wasn't long until I passed the Salt Block. I saw a yellow mare walking towards the saloon. She had a single green braid hanging out of a white cowboy hat that was too big for her head. Usually she held her head high so the hat would slump backwards. This time she was staring at the ground and the hat blocked any view of her face. I'd never seen her like that. She was practically dragging her hooves across the dirt.
"Lucky Roll," I said softly when I came up to her. At first it looked like she was just going to walk passed me and into the Salt Block. When she stopped she slowly lifted her head up to look at me. Her hat was still slumped forward and blocking her entire face.
"What." Her voice was flat.
I rolled my eyes while she couldn't see my face then I crouched down in front of her. She just looked at me listlessly. I pushed her hat so it'd slump backwards like usual. "What happened, Lucky?"
She sighed deeply. Her eyes were red from recent crying and her expression was drained. "They fired me."
"Why?"
She looked at the ground off to the side. Shame and anger filled her expression, "I got fired from my job," she hissed through her clenched teeth. "They said 'We just can't handle your antics anymore, Ms. Roll.' After everything he did for them they--"
I put my hand under her chin and gently guided her to look me in the eyes. I smiled softly, real sympathy was breaking through my own shame. "So what, Lucky? We're on the frontier. Do you know what that means? It means this is the land of opportunity. The land of fresh starts. The land of new hopes." Here I was, filled with regret for a wrong I hadn't even committed yet, trying to sin in a way I could never be redeemed for, just for my own continued existence. I desperately wanted to believe my own speech. Maybe that's what got through to the mare. She lost the anger and the shame and a small smile broke through. I returned it honestly through the twisting pit in my stomach.
"What are you saying Felix?"
I wasn't sure which was the greater sin. "I'm saying I'm going to start up my business. Do you want to help me?" Was it worse to steal a soul or to trick an innocent into helping you do it?
Her smile went wide and I swear I saw to tear or two before she hugged me tightly. I hugged her back. "Come on, Lucky, lets go fix your hat." At least I could do one good thing for a mare whose own ruin I was risking so wantonly.
She followed me with confusion plastered on her face. I started off towards The First Appleloosian Bank slowly enough for her to dry her eyes and pretend I hadn't seen anything. We ended up sitting on a pile of wood in an alley not far from our destination. "Give me your hat." She complied but still looked unsure. I snapped my fingers and a contract burned into existence.
"I never got to ask you about human magic. So do you guys just snap your fingers and summon stuff out of fire or somethin'?"
"Actually humans are completely useless when it comes to magic. I'd be willing to bet good money that you've got more magic in your left hoof than I've got in my whole body."
"Really," she looked at me with doubt and interest, "then how are you doing that?"
"Its actually a spell from my employer. We have to send things back and forth over long distances so this is something they came up with."
"Hmm. I bet you could make a load of bits selling a spell like that."
I laughed, almost surprised to find myself in good humor, "I bet you could. Unfortunately I have no clue how it works and I doubt they'd be willing to tell anyone."
"Too bad," she chuckled, "I could use some more bits."
"We're going to make quite a few today." She raised an eyebrow. "Right. So basically this contract trades a wish for someone's soul."
Lucky's eyes lit up. "A wish? As in anything I dream of?"
I was surprised by her lack of doubt. Thinking back to the ponies I'd met on the street I was surprised by how many ponies seemed to just take my word for it. I guess that's what happens when you live in a place where magic is an every day mediocrity.
I explained to her how the contracts work and how they were subject to renegotiation and that my employers valued souls very highly.
Her eyes were glistening with hope. "Lucky Roll."
"Yes?"
"I need you to promise me that you'll never sign one of these."
"What?!" she shouted. "You can't just dangle all my dreams in front of me and then tell me not to grab them! Its unequestrian!"
"I'm serious, Lucky." I reached back into that place where I'd stuffed my envy and used it to harden my heart. "We can talk about giving you your own wish after we sign a bunch of contracts today and make a ton of bits." We held eye contact for a moment. When she looked like she was about to protest I cut her off before she could start. "Do you promise?"
"Fine. I promise I won't sign any of your contracts."
"Good." I started summoning up a bunch of contracts, folding them and lining her hat with them.
She watched me with interest until a question popped into her head. "I still don't even know what a soul is."
I grit my teeth. "Its just an invisible thing that's in you. Its like an energy you don't need. My employers sell them almost like a collectible to rich idiots who have more money than they know what to do with." This is a terrible sin. If I ever had a chance of actually getting into heaven its gone now.
Lucky sighed. "Okay so what do you need me to do?"
"I need you to go around telling ponies what souls are and why I'm selling wishes for them."
"Okay."
"But I need you to downplay the value of them. Because we're also going to sell wishes for a common laborer's month's wages. 1200 bits right?"
"Wha-Why? If the souls are so valuable then why are you selling wishes for a soul and bits?"
"Because nobody is going to believe it if they don't have to pay a high enough price."
"Noponys just gonna give you 1200 bits on your word."
"No they won't. The bits will be going straight to the bank. I won't touch a single one."
"H-how much are you paying me for this?"
I needed need to think long on her cut. I could be ruining her eternity after all, "We'll cut the profit on the bits 50/50."
"Half!" She looked like she was about to protest until she thought about it for a moment.
"Yup," I said with a smile.
"And you... already talked to the bank about this?"
"Nope. We're going to talk to the banker right now."
"What if he says no?"
I rolled my eyes at her, "Then help me convince him."
"Er.. okay." I set the hat on her head and started walking out of the alley. "Hey! It fits!"
"I know!" I called back to her.
"So let me get this straight. You want me to put my reputation on the line so you can sell wishes for 1200 bits and some invisible thing noponys ever heard of? Is that correct Mr. Grayson?" Noble Guarantee, the owner the towns only bank, was skeptical.
"Not quite. I'm the one putting my reputation on the line. I merely want you to ensure that I am incapable of running off with the bits in case I'm a fraudster. I'm offering you 5% of the bits from each purchase of a wish, plus the interest on the many loans that are likely to be coming into your bank very soon."
"What happens if you're a failure rather than a fraudster?"
"Then I'll compensate you for any loses you may incur, including your time."
"And if you run off."
"Then I'll pay off whatever debts he incurs," Lucky said.
"Young lady, you can't even pay your own debts."
The mare looked lost for a moment, but just a moment, "This is the perfect opportunity for me to do so."
The old banker chewed on this for a moment. "Fine. But I need 10% to pay my staff today. And if this damages my reputation in the slightest then so help me Celestia I'll sue you both into so much debt you'll never climb your way out of it."
"That's perfectly acceptable," I said. Lucky didn't look so sure. In a small town like this a banker's reputation was more important than the air he breathed. Literally, a loss of reputation could ruin his business, force his family into generations long destitution and get him shot to top of the tragedy cake.
"Come one! Come all! All your dreams could come true today! A single wish! Anything you desire for the low, low cost of your soul and an apple picker's month's salary! That's right! Just 1200 bits. Fully guaranteed by The First Appleloosian Bank! If you're not satisfied you can pick your bits up right here at the bank! My partner Mr. Grayson and I never touch your hard earned bits!
Lucky was doing well. She'd stirred the town into a frenzy. At first they'd been skeptical but after explaining the lack of risk and how unimportant the little detail of the soul was that skepticism had vanished into a stampede of greedy ponies. Their eyes were filled with hope and their reservations were thrown away in a wild abandon. It seemed we'd tapped into a herd instinct after the first few had taken the plunge. They weren't even asking hard questions anymore.
I summoned up contracts and fired them back for processing as fast as I could, taking special care that all the wishes seemed of high enough value to give up an immortal soul. There weren't many modest wishes but I convinced all who made them to dream as big as they could. Once they were informed that if the wish was to big it could be easily renegotiated they lost their reservations.
Mr. Noble Guarantee and his entire staff were writing up loans with a speed that could only be explained by earth pony magic and the alluring sound of jingling bits. I'd promised them each a wish after the all the town's ponies were taken care of.
I read many a standard wish, a life time of profitable harvests, a prospect full of gold, healthy foals, the stallion/mare of their dreams, happy lives, even immortality, unending riches and alicornhood. Those were sure to be renegotiated, but hey, they were sure to get something good. Not enough for the cost, but something. The busy day helped me ignore the feelings of regret and shame. I saw so many excited, hopeful eyes. No wish could pay for the cost of what I was taking from them but there was no going back now. I'd finally crossed the line. I'd been lying to myself up to this point. I could have gone back when I was on that hill. I could have walked away, faced that skeletal abomination. It was only now that I realized that I was the real abomination. The skeleton was just a fact of reality. I was the aberration.
A joyful "Hey there!" pulled me from my dark thoughts.
"Braeburn! What are you doing here!"
The naive stallion laughed, "Same thing everypony else is doin'! I'm getting my wish!" The smile on his face was ten miles wide.
I... I couldn't do it. Not to him. He'd been the kindest of them all. There was no way I was doing it. Not for one more day. I leaned in across the desk I'd been using getting nose to nose so we could speak privately in the cacophony of chaos around us. "I'm sorry, Brae, I can't sell you a wish."
The sound pressed against us like an invading horde of mongols. Braeburn's smile became uneasy, "Why's that, Felix?"
"I just can't do business with you," I said. I would have prayed that he wouldn't press if I thought anyone would listen.
"Felix. Why," he said it as a statement.
"My-my employer won't allow me to sell to your kind," I said quietly. I wasn't sure he heard me, I couldn't bring myself to say it with any volume.
"My kind?" The hurt and confusion in his voice were a palpable miasma filling me with pain. I embraced that pain with relish. This was the best I could do for the good stallion. He needed to hate me. He needed to know how cruel I truly was and this was the only way I could show him without letting him see the horrid truth. I needed to scare him away from me before I could ruin his life, and worse.
"I can't take your business, flamer." It cut him. That word. The word his friends has used to ease him through his insecurities had become my weapon.
"Fla-- I-- You--" I saw the sense of betrayal fill him and the unshed tears filling his eyes.
"Don't give me that. Don't show me your pain. Don't give me your pride. Hold your head high, walk out of here, and keep your pride."
His mouth clamped shut like a bear trap catching his own feelings. He glared at me with the tears still in his eyes. He turned and walked out of the bank without a word. His pain was easily seen in the speed of his walk and in the stiffness of his stride but he kept his head high. I pretended not to see the questioning glance I got from Lucky when he brushed passed her. He was a good stallion. He didn't deserve to be anywhere near me. None of them did. This was the best I could do for him.