Sixteen - The Young and the Forsaken
Nopony said a word in the cabin. The only sound that rang in the air was the hum of the turbines on either side of the airship. Braeburn stared wide-eyed at his father, along with Daring, Azure and Day Break. Artemis flicked his head back for a moment before returning his attention back to the controls in front of him, turning the ship upward and over the trees of the apple orchard below. Bullet Tyme’s words were heard, but Braeburn was failing to register them in his mind. He removed his hat, rubbing his temples in an attempt to clear his muddled thoughts.
“Alright... what?” he said flatly, bewildered.
“What’s hard to get about it? There’s two ponies out there that can do it, and if ya’ wanna take ‘em on, yer gonna need to level the playin’ field,” explained Bullet, acting as if his proposal wasn’t insane.
“Pa... Just how long did it take ya’ to teach Sure Shot how to deflect a bullet?” asked Braeburn, speaking every word slowly and carefully.
“That don’t matter, boy. Ya’ ain’t Sure Shot.”
“Pa.”
Bullet Tyme furrowed his brow, exhaling through his nose. Next to her coltfriend, Daring looked between him and his father, her magenta eyes darting back and forth. “‘Bout three years.”
“We don’t have three years, Pa,” Braeburn shot back instantly. “Ah reckon we got about four hours before we get to Canterlot. And if he was as good as you said he was as a colt, it sounds like three years ain’t a whole lotta time to learn bullet deflection. So how long d’ya think it would take a pony like me?”
“I’d have to agree with Braeburn, sir,” said Azure out of nowhere. Bullet Tyme turned his head toward the unicorn, his wrinkled eyes staring the short stallion down effortlessly. Azure visibly shrunk in his seat, but evidently not enough to quell the rest of his response. “Don’t get me wrong, I think Braeburn learning such a technique would prove to be more than useful, but we just don’t have the time.”
“Not to mention, um, hello, we’re travelling on an airship. An airship that depends on a very delicate balloon to stay aloft,” Daring chimed in dryly, although not without a tone of respect.
“Ya’ think Ah didn’t think o’ that?” Bullet replied with a quirk of his brow. He motioned to Azure, looking between Braeburn and Daring. “Ya’ll have seen that unicorn pull off some pretty impressive spells. Ah reckon some kinda protection around the ship wouldn’t exactly be a problem for him, right?”
The unicorn blinked. “Um... well, no, it wouldn’t be a problem at all.”
“But there’s still the factor of time,” Daring countered. “And besides, it’s gonna be dark soon. How do you expect Braeburn to learn how to deflect a bullet in four hours, let alone in the dark?”
Bullet Tyme pursed his lips, his eyes falling back to the archaeologist. “Let’s just say that Azure has a lotta work ahead o’ him.”
Azure Spark winced, his yellow eyes filling with dread. “Uhh... sir, I apologize, but I actually put in a lot of work on the farm today and—”
“Boy, lemme tell ya’ one thing,” Bullet interjected sharply, turning his head to stare the unicorn down once more. “You point a gun at my son and threaten his life, then you bet yer flank yer gonna pay fer it. Now come on; yer following Braeburn and Ah up to the top o’ the balloon.”
Bullet Tyme paced toward the bay door, picking up his sheathed rifle and throwing it over his shoulder. Without another look back, the stallion exited the room, leaving Braeburn and the others to stare at the door. Daring shook her head, looking to her coltfriend with a somewhat worried expression. “You don’t think this is a waste of time?”
Braeburn sighed, wearily rolling off the bed and onto his hooves. “Ah haven’t seen my Pa waste one moment o’ time in my whole life. Ah think it sounds as crazy as you do, but Ah reckon he’s got some sorta plan.”
“And... what if he doesn’t?” asked Day Break.
“S’not like we’d be doin’ anything else fer the next four hours,” Braeburn shrugged. “And hey, it might be better to try rather than just sittin’ ‘round thinkin’ about it.”
With that, the riflepony turned around to approach the door his father left through, only to stop at the sound of a word being cut short. He looked back to find Daring quickly retracting her foreleg, as if to hide that she was reaching out for him. Her expression switched on the fly as well, her eyes looking blankly out the window behind her mattress. The mare looked determined to hold her feigned demeanor, but her eyes had always betrayed her.
Braeburn sighed inwardly, turning his gaze back toward the two ponies sitting across the room. “Azure, do me a favor and wait fer me up top. And Day Break, d’ya mind givin’ us a second?”
They both nodded wordlessly, complying as quickly as they could. Azure trotted out of the cabin through the bay, while Day Break flew into the cockpit. They both closed the door behind them, leaving Braeburn and Daring alone in the cabin. The stallion strapped the brass rifle to his back, sitting back down on the cot. He motioned for her to do the same, but the mare merely stood there, her eyelids lowering as a frown formed on her face. “Brae, what’re you doing?”
“You know what Ah’m doin’,” he said simply.
“Really, I’m fine,” she said defiantly, although not without the ghost of a smile. “I know what we have to do and-”
Braeburn reached across the width of the bed to place a hoof over her mouth, using the other to grab onto her foreleg. He directed her onto the mattress, giving her a moment to settle onto her haunches. Daring stared at the stallion over his hoof, keeping her artificial look of understanding. He slowly took his hoof back, immediately being rewarded with more protesting. “Brae, it’s alright. Nothing’s wrong.”
The stallion ignored her, merely giving her a warm smile as he ran his hoof through her grayscale mane. Daring twitched at his touch, a bright tinge of pink washing over her cheeks. “I’m fine... I’ve just been annoyed that we haven’t been able to spend any time...”
Braeburn’s smile widened as his hoof wandered to the back of her neck, pulling her into a soft kiss. She gave a rather uncharacteristic squeak of surprise, a sound that made the earth pony’s heart swell. Her will to keep a cool demeanor faltered and died away as he pressed his lips against hers, tilting her head to deepen the embrace. Braeburn grinned inwardly as he felt the mare’s forehooves slide themselves around his neck, holding him close. Daring hummed a soft swoon, losing herself in the kiss. The stallion brought her closer, her small, now malleable frame molding to his.
Neither seemed to want to break apart, but to stay lip-locked and held in each other’s forelegs for as long as possible. Daring wasn’t the only one that had been frustrated over their situation. Ever since their first kiss, Braeburn hadn’t wanted to be away from his new marefriend for a second. Their predicament was agony, and all he wanted was for everything to be over so they could spend every waking moment with each other. For the moment, Braeburn was lost in the soft, caring touch of Daring’s lips, blissfully ignorant to the troubles of the world around them.
When his lungs burned for air, Braeburn regretfully broke away from the kiss. He hadn’t the faintest idea of how long it lasted, but evidently the embrace was enough to leave both of them breathless. The stallion leaned his forehead against Daring’s, panting lightly along with her. His face felt warm, making him guess that he was just as red as she was. After a moment, Daring opened her radiant magenta eyes, gazing into Braeburn’s lovingly. “O-Okay...” she whispered. “That’s one way to get me to shut up.”
“Pff, like Ah’d ever want that,” Braeburn snorted. “Look, Ah know how ya’ feel, and—”
“Then just leave it at that, Brae,” she smiled, stretching her neck upward to peck him on the nose. “There’s no point in complaining when there’s nothing we can do about it. Yeah, I’d much rather leave this all to the Princesses and just be with you, but we’ve got a job to do first. I understand it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be annoyed by it.”
Braeburn nodded slowly, never taking his gaze away from her eyes. He couldn’t help but stare at her with the smallest of smiles playing on his lips. She had always been right to the point; never one to beat around the bush of any conversation. Her objectivity was yet another thing that the stallion admired about her, and her intelligence never failed to make him smile. In fact, everything she did and everything she was made him feel happy in one way or another. Despite the limited time they had spent together since they met, Braeburn couldn’t bear the mere thought of being without her. Daring Do was not only his first marefriend, but his first romantic interest of any kind. This brought a question to his mind that he had never once thought to consider: What kind of pony goes through what could only be described as clinical depression over the absence of another that he had only known for less than a month?
His forehead tensed under the pressure of a slew of abrupt, racing thoughts. Braeburn’s chest heaved as his heart pounded with emotion, begging for his feelings to be let free the second they came to fruition. A small panic rose from the pit of his stomach as another, less favorable realization washed over him. With their arrival to Canterlot quickly approaching, it was no time to relay such thoughts. But at the same time, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to keep them in.
But when Daring offered him a modest, innocent smile, the dam in Braeburn’s mind crumbled to pieces. “Daring...”
The mare tilted her head slightly, her lidded eyes staring at him fondly. “What’s on your mind, Brae?”
How was she going to react to this? Was it too soon? Was it too much? Braeburn cursed his inexperience in relationships, wishing he could simply see the outcome of his decision before he made it. For reasons unknown to the bashful stallion, his worries didn’t seem to matter to his mouth. Braeburn let out a long breath through his nose, closing his eyes and preparing himself for what he was about to do. A small part of him started to understand what the movies and stories were talking about in this unknown field of life.
“Ah’m probably about to ruin what we got goin’ on here,” he said softly, never taking his eyes off of hers. He felt his forehooves tremble with anxiety, pressing them further into the mattress in hopes of steadying them. “But Ah... Ah think Ah need to say something...”
“What do you...” Daring trailed off, her tone turning from understanding to uncertain, right before falling into realization. Her rose eyes lit up, a visible shiver ruffling the feathers at her sides. But regardless of what she seemed to be thinking, the mare simply said: “Whatever you need to say, Braeburn, don’t feel bad for saying it. I think... I think I’m ready to hear it.”
Braeburn could have cried right then and there. At what point in his life could he have possibly done something to deserve such an amazing, understanding pony? It was then where the stallion was one-hundred percent confident in his feelings. “Ah can’t help it, but there ain’t another thing in this world that could describe what Ah feel... Ah love you.”
He expected a look of horror, a disgusted scowl, anything that would lead to a lifetime of sorrow and regret. But just like the day when she walked into her life, Braeburn never expected what happened next.
Daring Do leaned forward, tilted her head upward to press her lips to his once more, this one softer than any they had shared, but vastly more passionate nevertheless. She draped her small forelegs over his shoulders, ending the kiss with a light peck to his lips. She beamed at him through glazed eyes, her petite frame quivering with emotion. “I love you too.”
The dark yellow mare let out the enormous breath she had been holding once Braeburn left the cabin. She let her head fall forward, her monochromatic bangs veiling her eyes. Daring wanted nothing more than to be alone for the moment; anything to be able to organize her maelstrom of racing thoughts. But just as the door to the bay closed, the door to the cockpit slammed open. Daring nearly leaped out of her skin, whipping her head around to find a yellow and crimson blur speeding toward her.
Day Break landed on her haunches at the end of Daring’s bed, grinning expectantly with her head leaned forward. “Alright, spill.”
“Okay, heck of a way to start a conversation off,” Daring said dryly.
“Come on! Tell me what’s going on between you two!”
“Alright, I’ve been meaning to ask this. Why are you so interested in the two of us? You barely even know Braeburn,” Daring replied, quirking a brow. “Since when do you care about things like that?”
“Since when do you care about things like that?” Day Break shot right back. “Since when does Daring Do, the lone wolf of archaeology care about relationships?”
“I did care about relationships. You know that, Day Break,” said the darker mare, her eyelids lowering as her voice followed suit. “And now I do again. I had every right to take some time to myself.”
“Woah, Daring, you know I didn’t mean anything by that,” said Day Break, making a calming gesture with her hooves. “Sorry, I guess I just wanted to see how it was going. I mean, Braeburn must be a really good guy to break through your shell, you know?”
Daring exhaled through her nose, rubbing the back of her neck with a pang of guilt. “No, no it’s okay. It’s just...” she trailed off, pondering how to go about this. She lowered her voice to a hiss, running off the sentence she was wishing to unleash as fast as she could. “Okay, Braeburn just told me he loved me and I said it back and I’m kinda freaking out right now so please help me!”
Day Break’s mouth hung open, her eyes snapping open. “Wh-What?! Wait, hold on a sec,” the yellow mare trailed off, taking to the air as quick as a gust of wind. She grabbed a hold of the handle to the cockpit door, poking her head over the threshold. “Sorry Arty, girl talk!”
“Wait, what?”
Day Break slammed the door without answering the pilot, flying back to her friend. She eagerly plopped herself down atop the mattress, leaning in with her ears pricked up. “Okay, so what’s going on with you? Shouldn’t you be happy that you too are in love? Oh, it’s because Braeburn isn’t a pegasus, huh?”
The archaeologist furrowed her brow, shaking her head in confusion. “What? No!”
“Well the only two ponies you dated were pegasi—”
“What does that have to do with... nevermind, moving on,” Daring groaned, waving the matter away. “No, it’s not his race, Day Break. In fact, it’s not even anything about him or any other pony for that matter. It’s just that I... I haven’t used that word with anypony since... well, Dusty.”
“Well... do you love Braeburn?” Day Break asked delicately.
“Yeah... yeah I really do,” said Daring sincerely. “But it’s just... it’s not easy for me to take this in. The only time I ever used the ‘L word,’ the pony I said it to died right in front of me. I just don’t know how to get used to this again without being scared.”
Day Break pursed her lips, her expression mirroring the darker turn that the conversation had suddenly taken. “Oh, that’s right, huh? I guess that would be hard to get used to again. But you look so relaxed and happy when you talk to him.”
“Yeah, that’s what’s so amazing about him,” Daring admitted, a small smile turning the corner of her mouth back upward. She stared with unfocused, half-lidded eyes at the expanse of blanket between the two of them. “Ever since I met Braeburn, something about him just made it so easy for me to just be myself and open up. Honestly, I didn’t know how to take that at first, and I got angry and threw it in his face. Then he said just the right thing that took all of my anger awa—”
“Ah guess Ah can’t stand idly by and let a friend go through so much pain’?” Day Break finished for her with her impression of an Appleloosan accent.
Daring chuckled bashfully, turning her eyes back up to her friend. “I’ve told that story, haven’t I?”
“Don’t worry, it never stopped being adorable,” the yellow mare teased, gesturing for her to continue.
“Heh, well yeah. Being around him is... incredible. I’m at ease, stress free and best of all, happy,” Daring continued, her fond grin returning. “But when we’re apart, my mind isn’t distracted by him and I start to be... well, me about it. I think like I used to and doubt everything that makes me happy; telling myself that there’s no way it could last. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe that Braeburn would ever do anything to hurt me. I’m just too used to the world not letting me be happy, like I don’t deserve it or something. I’m frustrated that I can’t stop thinking like that, and I’m scared that stupid part of my brain might ruin everything all over again.”
Day Break took a moment to receive the information, cracking a coy grin at her friend. “Yeah, I think I remember this problem. It came up when you first started dating Dusty, right?”
The archaeologist recoiled inwardly, her right eye twitching ever so slightly. “Y-Yeah, it did. And I know it’s nopony’s fault but my own, but I just don’t know how to get past it. Everything else in the world is simple for me. I’m a world-renowned treasure hunter and historian, I have degrees covering every last facet of archaeology, but somehow getting over this completely unjustifiable bout of paranoia is just beyond me. I’m twenty-six years old, and my stupid brain is acting like a teenager that just got dumped at prom.”
Daring groaned, rubbing her forehead with her forehooves in aggravation. “This is just so freaking stupid. I have so many other things to worry about, but objectivity is like a lost virtue to me right now. How am I supposed to find out who this Hero and Spellcaster were, let alone find the Fyre of Tartarus with my brain focused on all this? Why is it happening in the first place?”
“Hold on there, cowgirl,” Day Break interjected, reaching over to steady Daring’s shoulders in her hooves. The yellow mare offered a reassuring smile, her ruby eyes warm and comforting. The archaeologist took a deep breath, focusing on her friend and hoping it would steady her breaths. “Geeze, Daring. I’ve never seen you pour yourself out like this. Usually when you’re like this, I only get a grunt or maybe a single sentence once in a blue moon.”
“S-Sorry.”
“What, no! I’m saying it’s a good thing! It’s just a lot to take in all at once,” the yellow pegasus replied sincerely. “You’re talking about this like it’s your mind making you dwell over this self-destructive tendency you have going on. But it’s not your brain that’s scared; it’s your heart. Look, I know habits like this are hard to break, especially for somepony with your track record. But... well, here’s an idea. Let’s look at this through the eyes of a mare with a fancy-schmancy education like yours. Maybe a clever metaphor. You like those, right?”
Daring snorted, although humorlessly. However, it sounded as if her friend was about to take a new route in an effort to find the solution to her problem, so the mare allowed her to continue.
“You pretty much just said it yourself; you’re not even thirty, and yet your name is already known all across your field of work. You’ve found treasures thought to be nonexistent, and civilizations that the most accomplished of ponies thought were lost. You’re like a freight train speeding down the tracks faster than any other, heading down the path of your amazing life. You’ve blazed through the most perilous of roadblocks and obstacles, without so much as a delay to your next stop. But then, of all things in the world, this unstoppable train is completely derailed by a pebble on the tracks. This train has never been stopped before, but now it’s letting this tiny little excuse for an obstacle get the better of it. Lemme know if I’m wrong, but that doesn’t exactly sound right to me.”
Daring Do stared at her oldest friend, confounded by her sudden wisdom in such an abstract field. The darker mare furrowed her brow, looking back down to the blanket between them. While the weather mare hadn’t exactly broken new ground in terms of Daring’s dilemma, she certainly did put it in a more understandable perspective. All in all, Day Break was right. She was better than this. How could an intelligent pony like her allow something to ail her with zero reward? “I’m letting this dumb little paranoia take up space in my mind that it’s not paying rent for...”
“Well if another metaphor is what you need, then sure, knock yourself out,” Day Break smirked.
Daring could have slapped herself. In all of the years that this issue had been plaguing her, the mare never once allowed another pony to shine the light on such an obvious solution. “There really isn’t an abstract route to take to find a solution, is there? It’s just as simple as that. I just have to realize how counterproductive this is and push it aside. There’s no easy way outta this. I just need to stop being a foal about this and let myself move on...”
“And it looks like Braeburn might be the perfect pony to do that with,” Day Break concluded for her, making the treasure hunter find her fond smile once again. Daring felt a knot tie itself in her throat, the sudden blossoming epiphany spreading like a wave of emotional inspiration in her heart. She threw herself forward, wrapping her forelegs around Day Break’s shoulders and buried her face into the mare’s crimson and pink mane. “W-Woah! Daring, are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah,” Daring nearly choked, holding her friend tightly. “I think... I think I know how to do this.”
Before Day Break could hug her back, Daring pulled herself away from the yellow pegasus. She wiped her eyes on the back of her foreleg, sniffing quietly. Without even glancing at Day Break, the archaeologist leaped over her, flying over to the coffee table with a single pound of her wings. She could hear her friend asking a slew of questions, but they weren’t heard in Daring’s new-found resolve. She found her bags on the floor, grabbing them in her teeth and dumping their contents onto the table. The mare didn’t bother to sit down as she threw open a large tome, readying her notepad, a quill and an inkwell.
“So... do I get to hear a follow-up to that last statement, or...?” came Day Break’s voice from behind.
“This paranoia over ruining whatever I have that makes me happy has been holding me back, and I haven’t been able to focus for a second because of it,” Daring started, flipping through the pages of her book. “But if my mind is free to roam, I’m pretty darned sure that I can decode this puzzle surrounding the Fyre of Tartarus.”
“What? Didn’t you say that we didn’t have enough information to do that yet?” asked Day Break, bewildered. “I mean, good for you for breaking through your problems, but still. What makes you think you’re gonna find out who those two other keepers of the Fyre were?”
The archaeologist stopped dead, standing over the table with her forelegs supporting her torso atop its surface. She turned her head toward Day Break, wearing her most confident grin, her rose eyes alight with renewed vigor. “Because I’m Daring freaking Do.”
Every major building in Equestria had its better and worse sides under differing levels of light. Some structures shone the brightest during the day, while others could only be appreciated under the pale light of a full moon. Even fewer could be enjoyed to the fullest under the warm glow of a Canterlot sunset. One pony in particular felt like the luckiest in the world to have the privilege of viewing such a vista at every day’s end.
The tall, narrow windows of the museum poured two parallel rows of orange light onto the marble floors, reflecting the calming aura all throughout the foyer. The warm light cast thin shadows down the many ridges of the columned walls, defining every nook and cranny of the interior’s vast and articulate architecture. On either side of the wide, maroon carpet stood an array of attractive exhibits in glass cases, veiled by the reflection of the sunset outside.
There were many routes to a calm mind, and over the years, ponies had found a plethora of ways to alleviate the stress of a hard day. One mare in particular, however, found herself completely content in viewing her personal element at sundown. The Canterlot Museum of Natural History had become less of a place of work and more of a home over the mare’s time as curator. The walls of books in the massive library had always been a never-ending source of knowledge and entertainment, even after she had read each and every volume for the second time. The wax figures and miniature recreations of historical events had served as sort of silent companions behind the glass, never judging or questioning her. To any other pony in the world, her relationship with the museum may have seemed odd, but to her, it was more than home.
The dark red mare leaned on the marble railings of the foyer’s upper level, her forelegs draped over the mahogany trimming. She gazed with tired, yet wistful eyes at the sight below through her spectacles, uttering a small sigh of content. After a long day of paperwork and meetings, she hadn’t realized just how long she stayed there. Once Minerva came back to her senses, she realized that the warm glow of the setting sun had been replaced with the dull blue of lunar rays.
“Oh Minerva, when will you climb out of your hovel and meet a nice stallion like everypony your age has? You’ll go crazy keeping yourself in that museum!” the earth mare spoke aloud to herself, impersonating one of her few outside friends in a high voice. “Now, now, who needs a simple lover when you already have everything you could have ever wanted? Ridiculous.”
Minerva chuckled aloud as she dismounted the wood-trimmed railing, turning around to walk in the opposite direction of the foyer. The main hall of the museum lacked the natural light that windows allowed, but compensated with a row of ornate gaslights, their flames enclosed with glass boxes trimmed with gold. The dark red carpet shared similar laced edges, stitched with a warm shade of yellow. The wide hallway was more than a segue to the rest of the building’s grandeur; it was home to Minerva’s favorite exhibits. She stopped at a long glass case to the left, lowering her head a few inches to the level of a group of miniature pony models standing in the middle of a frontier settlement. The scene was a depiction of the founding of Dodge Junction, featuring a trio of settler ponies greeting travelers from the Saddle Fe Trail.
“Look at you all,” Minerva said to the lifeless miniatures, grinning at their happy faces. “See? I am not the only one content within the confines of my home.”
The maroon earth mare scoffed with a smile, leaving the exhibit to continue pacing down the hall. “If I am indeed crazy, then at least I am among friends.”
As the mare began to walk toward her office, the faint sound of a distant hoof tapping on wood broke the silence. Minerva rolled her eyes, hoping that her mind was playing tricks on her. She stood in the middle of the main hall, her ears pricked up and listening intently. To her dismay, the knocking repeated itself, this time quicker than before. The earth pony scoffed, grimacing as she turned around and trotted down the stairs and into the foyer.
“If it’s that blasted Trotson here with flowers again...” she trailed off under her breath, scowling as she crossed the large room. Minerva approached the door, flicking open the multiple locks with a hoof. “I swear to Celestia, Artemis, this better be impor—”
But her words of annoyance were cut off as one of the tall front doors of the museum flew open, allowing the long barrel of a rifle to be pressed against her nose. Minerva froze on the spot, her wrinkled eyes slowly following the cylindrical length of black steel to find its owner. It was a male pegasus with a coat of bluish-green, his blown back mane similarly-hued. Behind him was another pegasus: a female with a shockingly-contrasted color scheme of pink and blue. The both of them had a wing in a makeshift splint, both looking as if they hadn’t slept nor bathed in days.
The blue stallion grinned maliciously, glaring at Minerva over the iron sights of his weapon. “Hello. A nice evening to take out a book, it is.”
A large .45-90 caliber round glided through the air like a small, unfluctuating bird, surrounded by a pale blue glow. It sped over the tattered maintenance dock atop of the airship, although just barely slow enough to be easily observed by the naked eye. Braeburn only had a small window of opportunity to send his miniature target spiraling through the air; possibly no more than a second and a half. The earth pony focused, led his shot and snapped the trigger back with his hoof. The brass rifle barked, but no sparks were seen and no ricochet was heard. To Braeburn’s utter dismay, the magically-hindered .45-90 round was released, flying past the limits of the lantern’s orange glow and into the darkness of the night.
“Darn it,” Braeburn growled under his breath, opening the action of his weapon to find its tubular magazine depleted once again, smoke billowing out of the empty elevator carrier. With a grimace and an inward curse, the earth pony scooped a hoofful of rounds from the opened box on the platform to his right, loading ten of them through the rifle’s cartridge gate.
“Ya’ had this not two minutes ago, boy,” said Bullet Tyme from the other side of the maintenance dock. The older stallion let out a grunt, falling back to three hooves from his firing position, using the other to cradle his Marechester.
“Yeah, and then ya’ had Azure triple the difficulty,” Braeburn replied, racking a new round into his rifle’s chamber.
“Did you want me to slow down the next few?” asked Azure Spark, standing beside Bullet Tyme with an uncertain look on his face.
“Nothin’ doin’,” Bullet grunted. “He needs to learn as much o’ this here technique as he can. He ain’t gonna get better by goin’ backwards.”
The cyan unicorn pursed his lips, looking to Braeburn as if for confirmation. The riflepony had learned every skill he had from his father, whether it was knowing what apples were ready for harvest or how to fire a rifle. Never once did Bullet Tyme show his son any mercy in his teachings, and this was no different. While Braeburn never liked it at first, he knew that his father was only yielding the best results possible. “S’alright, Azure. Pa’s right, let’s just do this.”
Azure hesitated for a moment before nodding, almost regretfully. Bullet Tyme crouched back onto his hindlegs as he loaded a new round. “Now remember, boy. Ya’ gotta shoot before ya’ reckon yer target will line up with yer sights. This skill ain’t just about leadin’ yer shot; it’s about predicting it, too. A bullet has to travel quite a distance before it strays off from a straight line, that’s why deflection ain’t gonna happen at a long distance. Well, not on purpose anyhow.”
The unicorn focused his yellow eyes on the receiver of the older stallion’s weapon, his horn lighting up with magic. Braeburn readied himself, keeping his eyes narrowed toward the barrel of the 1886 Marechester. Bullet aimed off to his son’s right, firing his rifle. The bullet erupted from the end of the barrel, shrouded in the blue light of Azure’s spell. It soared across the width of the maintenance dock like a speeding blue firefly, effortlessly bypassing Braeburn’s intended deflecting round.
Bullet Tyme tried again, and Azure brought the round back down to the same speed, although to no avail. As the magazine of his rifle slowly depleted, Braeburn grew more and more frustrated with every shot. His grip on his weapon started to falter in his dying focus, greatly affecting his aim. Hitting a bullet even at half speed was tedious enough, but attempting it through a red-tinged veil of irritation was another matter entirely. Never before had the stallion come across a challenge he couldn’t overcome with a rifle in his hooves, and under the pressing circumstances, Braeburn’s emotions were starting to get the better of him.
“Consarnit!” he growled, bringing down the steel buttplate of his rifle down upon the wooden dock, his hoof wrapped around the barrel. The lever of his weapon stayed open, its magazine emptied.
On the other side of the balloon, Bullet Tyme sighed through his nose, leaning the 1886 on his shoulder. “Well, it’s a good thing I bought those extra rounds in Baltimare.”
“We’ve been at this for an hour now,” said Azure. “Perhaps we should take a break.”
“Not ‘til Ah see some more progress,” Bullet replied curtly. He loaded six more rounds into his weapon, turning it around his hoof and racking the action in the same motion. “We only got less than three hours, so we’re squeezing in as much practice as we can.”
Braeburn nodded with a slight grimace, refilling his rifle’s magazine and taking position again. “Right, shoot again.”
His father nodded, a faint grin turning the corner of his mouth. Braeburn took in a long, measured breath through his nose, cleansing his mind of every negative thought and idea. His left eye stared over the iron sights of the brass rifle, waiting for his target to appear. Bullet Tyme fired, and Azure took control of the round once more, allowing it to fly over the maintenance dock at half speed. The riflepony fired, scowling as he watched his target fly directly past his point of aim.
“Yer waitin’ too long,” the gruff stallion noted aloud, lowering his Marechester. “Yer not adjustin’ yer timing from the last speed we did. Just ‘cause you were hittin’ them bullets then don’t mean yer gonna at this speed. Now cut that timing in half before ya’ waste an armory’s worth o’ rounds.”
The night didn’t seem to become any easier as time went on. As much as he tried to avoid his frustration, it seemed to boil hotter in the pit of his stomach with every failed attempt at bullet deflection. He knew that the skill was going to be nothing short of insane in terms of difficulty, but he thought that he at least had a chance of accomplishing such a goal. Not one single facet of his gunfighting prowess had aided him. It was comparable to learning a new skill entirely. Perhaps there was a reason that only three ponies in Equestria were capable of bullet deflection. They were all clearly older than Braeburn, and had more years of shooting experience than he did.
It was a thought that made the earth stallion want to simply put down his weapon and rest before arriving in Canterlot, for it was looking as though he would need those extra years of wisdom before he could acquire such an intermediate skill. But on the other hoof, that fact alone was just enough for the riflepony to keep trying. They had the extra ammunition, plenty of time to pass and a chance of obtaining something that could possibly save lives and win their little war. If there was an extra edge that he could grasp, Braeburn was going to try.
But even after three hours of training, Braeburn’s hopes were all but exhausted. Even with Azure’s assistance, the riflepony simply couldn’t wrap his head around bullet deflection. While he seemed to be getting closer, not one of his bullets hit their mark. It was only then that Bullet Tyme allowed his son to rest for a moment. As much as he didn’t want to, Braeburn’s sore forelegs screamed at him to oblige. The earth pony sat down on the edge of the maintenance dock, his hindlegs draped over the edge, resting on the balloon’s thick, rubbery skin.
The cold autumn air blew lightly through his mane, the brim of his Stetson rising and falling with every gust. Thumper and the brass rifle lay in their scabbards behind him, next to the nearly empty boxes of extra .45 Colt and .30-30 ammunition. Through the darkness of the night, the full moon rose behind the silhouette of the tallest mountain in Equestria, the shadow of a city constructed precariously on its Western slope. They only had about an hour by Braeburn’s calculations. He only hoped that they would arrive before Sure Shot.
Azure Spark had left at Bullet Tyme’s request, leaving the two rifleponies alone atop the sailing airship. Braeburn kept his unfocused gaze on the mountain range ahead while his father laid his cannon-like lever-action rifle down next to Thumper. Bullet slowly lowered himself onto his haunches, groaning slightly as his tired muscles relaxed. He removed his flat-brimmed Stetson, but wrapped himself tighter in his long vest. “Ya’ seem pretty sore over not learnin’ a skill you thought ya’ couldn’t wrap yer head around to begin with.”
“Daring wants to fight Ahuitzotl all by herself,” Braeburn found himself blurting out. It wasn’t a sputtering, subconscious admittal of the truth, but a clearly-defined statement. “She wants to take on a creature that shook off gunfire like it was nothin’.”
Bullet Tyme snorted, almost knowingly. “And yer not sure if what ya’ have now is enough to save her if somethin’ goes awry.”
Braeburn only nodded, slouching back with his forelegs locked behind him, supporting his torso. His eyes never left the slowly-approaching capital city, his hopes of finding solace all but diminished before they could grow.
“Lemme know if Ah’m wrong, but that filly o’ yers isn’t the type to just ferget about things like that,” Bullet guessed, to which Braeburn nodded. “Well, there ain’t much a stallion can do ‘bout somethin’ like that. Mares like her don’t come ‘round too often, and the last thing ya’ wanna do is put a stopper on who she is.”
The younger stallion nodded again. “It’s just hard to cope with.”
“‘Cause ya’ love her, right?” his father smirked knowingly. Before his son could complete his look of bewilderment, Bullet continued: “Don’t look so surprised, boy. Ah’ve known you yer whole dang life, don’t think Ah don’t know what’s goin’ on in that head o’ yers. So tell me this: does she love ya’ back?”
Braeburn smiled warmly, his tense muscles relaxing. “Yeah...”
Bullet Tyme stood up to his hooves in one swift motion, biting onto the collar of his son’s duster and pulling him up. “Then shut yer mouth, get down there and be with her. Ain’t a thing in this world that’ll get past us, so get that chin up and be a stallion already.”
“But—”
“Braeburn, ya’ said it yerself: ya’ got a gun that shoots fire. It nearly torched that Ahuitzotl creature, and Ah don’t reckon we got no enemies that’re bigger than that,” Bullet said flatly. “Now come on, let’s get down there before we get to Canterlot.”
The younger stallion couldn’t help but smirk at his father’s abrasiveness, for he knew that Bullet couldn’t have been more right. Braeburn followed his father through the bay and into the cabin, his worries reduced to nothing more than a minimal span of thought in the back of his mind. As soon as Bullet Tyme opened the door, the earth stallions’ ears folded back at the sound of a heated argument.
“Well how could it not have been him? It makes so much sense!”
“It can’t be him because it makes no sense.”
“So you’re saying that Cunning the Colt is the only pony that could have been the Thief?”
“No, I’m saying there’s no way the Thief, one of the ponies responsible for keeping the world safe from the Fyre, could ever have been the Spirit of freaking Chaos!”
“Well why not?”
“Are you even listening to yourself right now?!”
“Uh... are we interrupting something?” asked Braeburn nervously, unconsciously lifting a hoof from the wooden floor. He flinched as Daring and Day Break spun their heads around towards him, their eyes still sharp from their back and forth. Neither of them took more than a second to wipe the irritated looks from their faces, trading them for polite smiles. They both stood at the end of the coffee table, their heads hovering over an array of opened tomes and maps. Azure Spark, meanwhile, sat in Day Break’s usual seat on the couch, huddled in the corner almost like a foal that recently watched his parents fight.
“Oh, sorry. Day Break was uh... helping, I guess one could say,” said Daring, holding on to the last of her snark. Her yellow friend lowered her eyelids with a frown, although not pursuing the argument further. “I was just doing a little research about a few notable historical figures.”
“And yer tryin’ to figure out who the Spellcaster and the Hero were, right?” Braeburn asked while his father dropped his things and took his place on the couch closest to the bay door, laying down with his hat over his face.
“Assuming the place of the Thief was actually taken by Cunning the Colt,” muttered Day Break out of the corner of her mouth scornfully.
Daring nearly did a double take as she whipped her head back to the yellow mare. “Okay, Day Break? You do know that you’re supposed to remove the ear cleaner when there’s resistance, right?”
“Now before you two rip each other’s throats out,” Braeburn interjected, holding up a hoof. “Daring, we’re gonna be in Canterlot pretty soon. Why don’t we just ask Celestia about the Fyre? Ah can’t imagine her not knowin’ anything about it.”
“That’s assuming we can get a moment alone with her. Not to mention one rather suspicious issue,” the archaeologist replied. She walked around Braeburn, removing her pith hat and hanging it on a hook above Bullet Tyme’s outstretched hindlegs. “The Fyre of Tartarus is currently classified as... well, nonexistent. But we found out that’s not true at all. If the Fyre was truly something that needed to be hidden from the world, its power must be extraordinarily significant. And if that’s true, it would have taken whole heck of a lot to cover up its existence.”
“So yer sayin’ that Celestia is the reason why it’s considered a myth?” asked the beige stallion.
“Wouldn’t surprise me,” said Bullet Tyme, his voice slightly muffled by his hat, which he neglected to remove. He crossed his hindlegs, his forehooves behind his head. “If any o’ us were the ruler of Equestria, we’d do the same thing.”
“Exactly,” agreed Daring. “I highly doubt that Celestia would divulge one word about the Fyre. So that just leaves us to find it for ourselves.”
“With one clue,” replied Bullet. “‘I alone hold one of three: the Thief, the Hero and the Spellcaster.’ Don’t see how much you can get from that.”
“Maybe more than you think, Bullet,” answered Daring matter-of-factly. “The clues that Cunning left behind to find his tomb in Dodge Junction were worded very carefully, as was his journal. Nopony does that without reason. The clue I was able to extract from his diary said that Cunning holds one of the three titles; the Thief, Hero or the Spellcaster. I don’t think that’s exactly what he was trying to say.”
Braeburn quirked an eyebrow. “So... yer sayin’ that he was holdin’ somethin’ that was called the Thief.”
“Well I’m not absolutely certain that he held the Thief, but considering the pony he was, it stands to reason why I’m labelling him as the holder of the Thief until we know more,” explained the pegasus. “If we infer from the mannerisms of his previous clues, we know that Cunning would have made his title as the Thief, Hero or the Spellcaster pretty clearly. But that’s not what his diary tells us. It says that he held one of the three, not that he was called one of the three.”
“Probably another key of some sort,” Braeburn commented, his eyes opening wider when his marefriend pointed a hoof at him.
“Not another key, but the same key,” she grinned, the excitement rising in her voice. “Remember how I explained that Cunning wanted one of his descendents to find his tomb and his diary with Thumper? Well it’s starting to look like he helped hide the Fyre behind another door with a lock that Thumper could open. Makes sense, right? That Marechester wasn’t just the key to Cunning’s tomb; it also could be the Thief!”
“Thumper was indeed the tool that the original Colt of the West used to pillage,” Azure Spark chimed in. “So maybe the other two items were also named after the things they did.”
The riflepony blinked several times, wearing an expression of shock and bewilderment. He subconsciously unsheathed the old Marechester from his back, cradling it in a foreleg and staring at the aged steel buttplate. A beat or two passed before something came to the riflepony’s mind. “If Thumper is one o’ the three things that Cunning was talking about, and Thumper’s a key, then wouldn’t that mean that the other two things are also keys?”
“See? There it is again!” Daring exclaimed, to which Braeburn gave her an inquisitive look. She answered with a brief kiss to his lips, accompanied by a hit to his shoulder with a hoof. “You being smarter than you give yourself credit for.”
“Then if Thumper is one of the keys needed to obtain the Fyre of Tartarus...” said the cyan unicorn, voicing his evident realization. “Sure Shot wouldn’t be able to achieve his goal without that gun.”
Daring Do grinned brightly. “And he doesn’t even know it.”
“That’s all well and good, but that doesn’t help the fact that the only clue we have to find the Fyre doesn’t tell us where to go next,” said Bullet Tyme, his muffled voice blunt. His statement quickly erased the grin from Daring’s face. She put a hoof to her chin in contemplation, her sharp eyes flicking between the floor and the papers on the table to her right.
“That’s true,” she muttered. “Hmm... that is weird. Every clue that Cunning left for us contained something that led us to the next clue, but not this one. I searched his diary back and forth, but found nothing coded beyond the bit about the three keepers of the Fyre.”
Daring Do kept her hoof to her muzzle, walking across the cabin and back again before repeating the process. Nopony spoke as she began to ponder aloud, but simply watched in awe as her brilliance started to unfold. “Clearly he wants his descendants to find the Fyre and protect it if need be, but his code covered the entire length of his diary. There wasn’t room for anything else... unless... Ohhhh, I’m so freaking dumb!”
The archaeologist threw up a hoof in triumph before bolting across the cabin and back to the table. She squeezed herself between Braeburn and Day Break, pushing them aside and out of her way. Daring reached across the mess of papers and books to grab Braeburn’s copy of his ancestor’s journal, throwing it open to the first page. “Without a lead to the next clue, Cunning must have hidden something else underneath his code about the Thief, Hero and Spellcaster in the same book; something that will take us another step toward finding the Fyre! I’m an idiot for not thinking about this sooner! First rule of cryptology, Daring: look for more than one layer!”
“So you think that he left behind something else in that book?” asked Day Break, instilling an array of flat looks from the ponies around her. Daring stopped dead, heaving a large sigh with a hoof to her forehead. The yellow mare blinked, looking around the room for an answer. “What?”
“Day Break...” Daring groaned. “Remember when I said that dropping out of school was a bad idea?”
“A book?”
“Yes, a book.”
“You do know that this is not a library, correct?” said Minerva, holding her ground despite the end of the weapon hovering an inch from her muzzle. “And that a library does not charge anything for such a service?”
“Oh, this one’s quite a character,” noted the pink mare with a tilt of her head. “I like her. It’s never fun when the victim cowers in fear.”
“I’ve been running the most prestigious museum in all of Equestria for decades,” said the maroon earth mare dryly, her eyelids lowering. “Do you think this is the first time a pair of lunatics have tried to steal from my place of work?”
The pegasus stallion hummed a chuckle, poking Minerva’s chest with the end of his rifle. The curator scowled, walking backwards into the foyer of the museum as she was instructed. The two pegasi followed her inside, and the female closed the large door behind her. The moonlight illuminated the scene through the tall windows on Minerva’s left, coating them with a light tinge of blue. “As much as I adore a witty back and forth, we have business to conduct, we do. Somewhere in these halls lies the diary of Cunning the Colt himself, and we are not leaving without it. Do yourself a favor and direct us to it promptly, would you?”
“Looking for some tips in the field of thievery, are we?” Minerva sneered. While she prided herself in keeping her head in such a dire situation, her sarcasm was not appreciated by the riflepony.
The blue stallion worked the bolt action of his weapon in the blink of an eye, loading a cartridge into the chamber. His smirk disappeared in a flash, replaced by fierce scowl. “Do not dawdle with us. Bring us to the journal!”
“At least you seek the appropriate tome,” said Minerva haughtily, the slightest of smiles turning her lips. “It’s almost like you’ve never done this bef—”
The blue pegasus snapped the barrel of his rifle to the side, yanking back the trigger. The curator heard nothing but a thundering crack, her right ear lighting up with a horrid pain from the sound. The old mare’s ear folded back instinctively, her right eye clamping shut as a high-pitched ringing vibrated throughout her skull. The bandit redirected his aim between Minerva’s eyes, a grimace contorting his face with anger. “Take us to the book, now!”
Minerva’s opened eye stared daggers at her captor through the sights of his weapon, her heart rate climbing with every passing second. They didn’t need her to find the book. If she defied their demands one more time, she would be killed and their search would only be lengthened, not hindered. If they wanted the journal as much as it seemed, they weren’t going to leave the museum without it. As much as it enraged the mare to comply, she did not need to die that night.
Canterlot was truly a sight to behold in the dead of night. The ambient light of the full moon washed the capital city with a tinge of pale blue, casting long shadows down its wide streets. Down below, Braeburn noticed a particular lack of late night hoof-traffic, contrary to what one would expect from such a vast city. It took a moment for the stallion to remember Celestia’s eight o’ clock curfew, realizing that it must have been far past that by now. A knot of worry tied itself in the pit of his stomach, hoping that they would be able to enter the city without objection from the Royal Guard. While it should have comforted him to find the streets bare and free of bandits or demigods, Braeburn still felt unnerved by the silence.
Surprisingly enough, the city held no landing sites for them to take advantage of, forcing Artemis to direct the airship over the fields outside the main gates, overlooking a tall cliff face. A rushing river flowed in front of the city, underneath a wide bridge that ended at the gates. As they landed on the other side, Braeburn spotted four rather large, pearly white stallions clad in golden armor, peering at their ship from the closed doors of the city.
“Are we gonna be able to get in there?” Braeburn asked, his nose almost pressed against the window on the left side of the cabin. “After the letter we sent to Celestia, that city’s gotta be sealed tighter than the lock on Granny Smith’s recipe drawer.”
“We’re getting in there whether they like it or not,” Daring snorted. “We either go through the front gates, or we make a hole right next to the front gates.”
Braeburn bit his lip, staring at the opal stallions below. He and his father had already equipped themselves with their weapons and ammunition. The beige stallion took a moment to heed Bullet’s advice and take a mental note of their supplies. On his back was Thumper and the brass rifle, crossed in their respective scabbards with their rear stocks behind his head. They were both loaded to capacity while two boxes of cartridges sat in his satchel; one of .45 Colt and one of .30-30. The riflepony’s trusty lasso had been slung loosely around his neck under the collar of his duster, its end hanging low, ready to be yanked free. Bullet Tyme had his Marechester 1886 strapped to his back, along with a bag of his own containing a box of .45-90 rounds.
Daring Do, on the other hoof, had equipped herself with a rather long, machete-like blade in a plastic scabbard strapped to her chest. Braeburn had guessed that it was a knife used for clearing tall grass and hanging vines one would find in the middle of a jungle. His imagination didn’t need to wander far to ponder what such an edge would do to the skin and muscle of any living being. Her trademark pith helmet sat tight atop her head, offering little but definite protection.
“So what’re ya’ gonna do about that clue?” asked Braeburn, looking to the archaeologist as she strapped her equipment tighter to her body.
“I’m pretty sure I got it halfway decoded, but it still doesn’t seem to say anything,” Daring mumbled, distracted. “But I’m not too worried about it right now. My mind is too busy thinking about how we’re gonna get into Canterlot without getting arrested.”
“I don’t mean to point out the obvious,” said Azure Spark, standing beside Day Break near the opened cockpit door. “But I am a unicorn that specializes in teleportation.”
Braeburn and Daring blinked, exchanging a look of worry. “Azure, we’ve already put you through a lotta work,” said the beige earth pony.
“Not to mention you’re a wanted felon,” Daring added, an uneasy tone in her voice. “If any form of law enforcement sees you in there, you’ll be chased down and arrested. We’ll never be able to clear your name once this is all over.”
“I appreciate the concern, I really do,” said the unicorn sincerely, offering a warm smile. “But let’s be realistic here. Those guards down there are already on edge. If you go down there with weapons attached to you saying that somepony is about to threaten their city, there won’t be a way for you to convince them that you aren’t the ones you’re speaking of. Not to mention we’ve all been ordered by Celestia herself to abide by her curfew.”
Daring exhaled through her nose as she listened to Azure’s words, her brow furrowed and her eyes on the unicorn’s. “Then what do you propose we do?”
“I can teleport you all in there,” Azure said as plain as day. “And before anypony sees me, I’ll teleport out of there and back into the ship. Easy as that.”
“Azure, we couldn’t ask you to do that,” Daring objected. “It’s too risky. What if you’re seen?”
“If anypony’s eye is quick enough to spot my image flash in the fraction of a second that it will be visible, then they deserve to catch me,” said the unicorn with a rare lick of smugness.
Daring sighed, looking to her coltfriend. Her eyes were questioning, looking for a second opinion on the matter. Braeburn gave her a shallow nod, unaware of another form of entrance into the city. The mare nodded back, turning back to the unicorn with an appreciative smile. “Alright, Sparky. I hope you’re right about this.”
Azure stood up straighter, a proud grin on his face. “Then it’s settled. One thing though; while they can’t see us through the windows from here, they’ll definitely be able to see the flash from the spell. Is there anything we can use to block their view?”
Daring nodded, trotting across the cabin and into the cockpit. She reappeared a moment later, dragging a large black blanket across the floor with her mouth. A few minutes later with the assistance of a roll of tape, Day Break and Azure were able to veil the windows with the blanket, allowing zero light to shine through. Content with the veil, the unicorn walked back to the middle of the cabin. Braeburn pursed his lips, mentally picking apart their plan and attempting to find any sort of flaw. He hoped to Celestia that Azure’s confidence was justified. If they were thwarted by the Guard, then Sure Shot would win.
Through the windows on the right, the ground had started to level out with the bottom of the airship. The cabin rumbled as Artemis deployed the landing gear, forcing everypony to brace themselves while the craft landed.
Once the airship came to a stop, Artemis entered the cabin, looking upon everypony with an unreadable look. After a beat, his eyes fell upon Daring, warming as she returned the look with a reassuring smile. “You all be careful in there. I’ll be waiting here where the Guard can’t tell me to bugger off.”
“We appreciate it, Artemis,” said Bullet Tyme in a low voice.
The captain nodded, turning his eyes to Braeburn. Artemis approached him, resting a stern hoof on his shoulder. The gray stallion’s gaze pierced into the riflepony’s, as if they were about to read his thoughts. “And Braeburn... you make sure you look after Daring in there. I don’t want a repeat of Mesoequestria, alright?”
“O’ course,” said Braeburn automatically.
“Alright, everypony ready?” asked the unicorn. Day Break, Bullet Tyme, Braeburn and Daring stepped forward, forming a tight circle around Azure Spark. The cyan stallion held out his foreleg, and everypony grabbed onto it.
“Good luck, you guys,” said Artemis, his eyes fixed on his goddaughter.
Daring nodded back to him with a warm smile before looking around to her comrades. “Let’s do this.”
Everypony braced themselves as Azure’s horn lit up with a pale blue light. He closed his eyes in concentration, and Braeburn followed suit. As much as he disliked flying, teleportation was another thing entirely. He just hoped that the closer proximity would stop them from being thrown through the air again. An azure glow brightened the inside of his eyelids, and Braeburn took the cue to grit his teeth and clamp his eyes shut. There was a high-pitched wail of magic, accompanied by a flash of white light. For the briefest of moments, the stallion’s body was overcome by a newly-familiar sensation of warmth, followed by a sudden shock of numbness. He held his breath, waiting for the spell to be over.
As a cool breeze wafted against his face, Braeburn allowed his eyes to slowly drift open, taking in his new surroundings. But before his eyes could observe the environment, an exchange occupied his attention.
“Woah... isn’t teleportation supposed to be instant?” came the dreary, nauseated voice of Day Break. “That felt like a few moments there.”
“Time goes by differently when you’re the one...” Daring started to answer before trailing off. Braeburn looked up to find everypony staring at Azure Spark, whom was still among them. “Azure! What’re you still doing—”
“I can’t teleport back!” the unicorn hissed back, whipping his head back and forth with wide eyes, crouching low to the ground in fright. He squeezed his eyes shut, lighting up his horn to try again. There was another orbular flash of blue light, and for a fraction of a second, he was gone. But before anypony could blink, Azure reappeared on the same spot, looking even more horrified than before. Braeburn turned around, his eyes traversing the area around them in search for any member of law enforcement.
The five of them stood in the middle of a wide cobblestone street, veiled in the shadow of the surrounding shops and apartment complexes. Every wall, rooftop, awning and doorway bore a color scheme of ivory dashed with deep purples and magnificent golds, more than accurately displaying the city’s grandeur. The last and only time Braeburn came to Canterlot, the place had been loud and filled to the brim with ponies staring at him, pointing out just how out of place he was. But with the early curfew, the citizens of the capital were forced to stay indoors. As the five of them scanned the area, Braeburn was thankful to find nopony else around them. Wherever they were in the city’s walls, the Guard looked to be currently absent.
“What’s going on, Azure?” asked Day Break frantically, keeping her eyes peeled for any other pony.
“Day Break! Keep your voice down! Do you want us to get caught?”
“Something’s keeping me from getting back out of here,” answered the unicorn, his accelerating voice laced with dread. “It was a little more difficult than normal to get us all in here, but we got in! What’s stopping me from getting out?”
Azure tried the spell twice more, both attempts creating bright flashes of light. Upon his second reappearance, Daring reached out a hoof, grabbing onto his horn with a horrified grimace. “Will you stop lighting up the block like a darned beacon?!” she hissed angrily through her teeth before letting go. “Look, I know you’re scared of running into the Guard, but if you can’t get outta here, then you’re coming with us!”
“But what if—”
“We don’t have time to be screwing around here!” Daring interrupted, her hushed voice cracking behind her teeth. “Now follow me, stick to the shadows and shut the heck up!”
The unicorn’s ears folded back at her intensity, his lips tightening as if to not allow a single sound to escape. Day Break and Braeburn exchanged a shocked look, biting their tongues for fear of receiving their own chastising. Daring let out a short breath through her nose, turning around to lead them down the side of the road, where the surrounding buildings cast dense shadows.
“So where are we, exactly?” whispered Braeburn. “Are we at least close to the museum?”
“Well, we’re on Trotway Avenue right now, so it’s only a few blocks away,” Daring answered, leading the way through the city she knew all too well. “Canterlot works on a grid, with two perpendicular main streets cutting it down the middle. The North and South road is Canterbury Lane, while the East and West one’s called Whinnshire Street. The museum’s on Whinnshire.”
“Alright, well as long as everypony keeps themselves scarce, maybe we’ll get there without gettin’ caught,” murmured Bullet Tyme from the rear of the group.
“There it is!” whispered Daring excitedly, pointing a hoof out of the shadows. Braeburn followed her gaze down the road, finding a large, purple and gold street sign bearing the words Whinnshire Street. Even from their position, the stallion would have certainly guessed it to be a main road. As they followed Daring through the shadows, the true beauty of Canterlot started to come into view. The buildings on either side of Whinnshire cast long, dense shadows over the cobblestone road, providing ideal cover for anypony trying to avoid detection.
But to everypony’s confusion and trepidation, still no guards, nor any other form of law enforcement were seen. The street was completely bare, completely devoid of any life. The only sound that brushed against their ears was the soft breeze flowing between the lavish shops and businesses. Had it not been for the dotting of lights shining through curtained windows, Braeburn would have guessed that the capital was simply abandoned. It was eerie, for the only time that the cowpony had found himself in the city, it had been full to the brim with ponies and staring eyes.
“Ah don’t like this,” Bullet grumbled as they approached Whinnshire Street. Braeburn shared his father’s suspicion, as well as a modest helping of dread. “Somethin’ tells me that Sure Shot has somethin’ to do with all the Guards missin’.”
“You think they’re fighting Ahuitzotl and Sure Shot?” asked Day Break.
“Trust me, we’d hear that,” Daring whispered as she peaked her head around the corner of a baked goods store, making sure nopony was around Whinnshire.
“Not to mention that Sure Shot’s rifle fires .44 Magnum rounds,” Bullet Tyme added. When the yellow mare, as well as Azure gave him a quizzical look, he answered with a dull tone. “Big boom. A big boom you’d hear across a silent city pretty danged well.”
“Daring, d’ya know how many guards are usually roamin’ around this time o’ night?” asked Braeburn.
“A lot,” the archaeologist answered quickly, a sense of alarm in her voice. “On a normal night, there’s usually somewhere around a hundred. But on a night when security should be heightened to prepare for the likes of our enemies, that number should be doubled. That, along with Azure not being able to teleport outta here... You’re right Bullet; something’s wrong here.”
Daring led the group Westward down the main road; five pairs of eyes scanning the area unblinkingly. They formed a line down the middle of the street, evidently no longer required to hide. Before they covered the better half of a few meters, the monochromatic pegasus stopped abruptly, throwing out her right hoof to cease everypony else’s movement. She then moved her hoof to her lips, asking for their silence. Her ears pricked up through the brim of her pith helmet as she closed her eyes. She had heard something, that much was evident. However, no matter how much Braeburn focused his sense of hearing, he failed to detect what his marefriend had.
“That’s…” Daring started, her voice barely audible. Without so much as a warning, the mare’s eyes shot open, her pupils shrunken down to mere pinpricks. Braeburn’s eyes followed suit, his mind alight and ready for anything. “That’s gunfire. Move!”
Daring Do gave a powerful flap of her wings, catapulting herself into the air. Day Break followed, taking to the air behind her friend while Braeburn, Bullet and Azure bolted into a full gallop behind them. While the riflepony heard nothing through his gunfire-damaged ears, he trusted the archaeologist’s hearing. The two pegasi above pulled ahead from the group; Daring keeping her place in the lead. They approached the marble staircase of the museum as quick as they could, speeding past every building lining Whinnshire, the sidewalks lined with closed stands and bazaars. The previously still air of the night was now filled with the sound of hooves clacking sharply on stone, accompanied by the light panting of the scrawny unicorn behind Bullet Tyme.
Braeburn’s heart pounded not from the effort of running, but from what he knew was within the walls of the Canterlot Museum of Natural History. Despite the hours of mental preparation he put himself through, his nerves still shook with the mere thought of confronting Sure Shot and Ahuitzotl again. He had the tools to hold his own in a firefight, yet nowhere near the experience needed to support such a thing as confidence. His father was right; he was out of his league. Yet still he drove himself forward, for nopony else was going to step in for him.
As the five of them approached the section of Whinnshire in front of the enormous museum, one of the towering wooden doors flew open with a resounding bang. Braeburn expected the dark purple coat of the riflepony that stood behind this entire ordeal. He expected the looming, muscular midnight blue form of a feline beast. The stallion was ready to tear the brass rifle from its scabbard and unleash a veritable maelstrom of flame upon Ahuitzotl once again. But contrary to his predictions, Braeburn watched the last two ponies he expected to gallop down the marble steps of the lavish building.
Two pegasi bolted into the street; one a deep turquoise, the other a bright pink. The male had a bolt action rifle in his teeth while his sister clutched a small tattered book tight against her rather brawny chest. Makeshift bandages covered a single wing on both of their disheveled forms, their fur unkempt and dirty from what looked like days of neglect. They both ran with labored steps, still recovering from the injuries they had suffered by the beige stallion’s doing. Braeburn’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he and the rest of his group skidded to a halt in from of the wide stoop, a gasp caught in his throat.
There was no way in Equestria these two were still alive. They were thrown off a speeding airship and into the ocean, miles from shore. Regardless of the scene occurring in front of him, Braeburn froze on the spot, his limbs rigid with shock. In the moment before the two pegasi turned their heads, the riflepony stood there, repeating the same words in his head three times: No bucking way.
The inevitable happened, and the siblings took notice of the five ponies readying themselves for battle. The blue pegasus stallion had the advantage as Braeburn and Bullet Tyme hesitated, making sure their eyes weren’t fooling them. He crouched low, dropping his rifle into his hooves and turning it in Braeburn’s direction. The earth pony raised a hoof to draw his weapon, but the pegasus’ sights were already aligned.
Just as before, Braeburn’s life was saved by a flash of sparks and the high-pitched screech of two bullets cancelling each other out in midair. Bullet Tyme ejected a spent .45-90 cartridge from his rifle, racking a new round into the chamber. The five ponies split their group, taking cover behind the empty bazaars on either side of the street. Braeburn and Daring went left, while everypony else took to the right, next to an alleyway veiled in the shadows of the night. Bullet kept his sights aimed at the bandit stallion over the counter of the stand, his eyes cold and sharp. Braeburn took the opportunity to unsheath his brass rifle, chambering a round and taking aim at the two pegasi around the right side of the bazaar.
“Just what’re you two doin’ here and not being dead at the bottom o’ the ocean?” Bullet growled. “Ah don’t recall givin’ ya’ll permission to live.”
“Then maybe you should have been more thorough,” sneered the blue pegasus. His steely eyes scanned their group, widening once they fell upon Azure Spark. Braeburn could hear the unicorn’s breathing quicken, a nervous hoof grinding into the stone street. “Why hello, Sparks. I think I’ll go out on a limb here and guess that you assisted the archaeologist in her escape. You have signed your death wish with the boss, you have.”
“Meanwhile, we have a package to deliver,” chuckled the pink mare, giving the book a tiny shake.
Braeburn’s eyes picked up a discrete movement on the edge of his focus, and he turned his gaze to find the pink mare slowly shaking loose the tattered bandages from her right wing. As soon as he witnessed her feathers twitch, he knew what was going to happen.
“Sister, go!”
Before anypony’s eyes could register what happened, the pegasus mare catapulted herself high into the air. Braeburn flicked the barrel of his rifle toward her, firing off three rounds in quick succession. The bandit rolled over in the air, dodging the shots and disappearing behind the third story of a building to the right.
Daring was quick to bark out her orders: “Day Break, get the journal back! Bullet and Azure, follow her!”
The yellow mare complied without a word, taking to the skies in pursuit of the bandit. Azure nodded once, disappearing in an orbular flash of blue light. Braeburn looked across the road, finding his father kneeling behind his cover, alone and staring back at him. Bullet Tyme gave his son a stern look, to which Braeburn nodded in response. The older stallion returned the gesture before turning around and bolting into a full gallop down the alleyway and into the darkness.
Daring and Braeburn crouched low behind their cover, panting lightly with adrenaline. “Your father had the right idea. These two might know where Sure Shot is, so don’t kill him.”
“Duly noted,” Braeburn whispered back, racking the action of his weapon. “Ah’ll cover you, go make sure Minerva’s okay in there.”
Daring nodded curtly, awaiting her coltfriend’s next move. Braeburn closed his eyes as he loaded the magazine of his weapon, grabbing the rounds from the cartridge loops inside his duster. He knew the second that he emerged, the bandit would start shooting. He needed not just to be quick, but to be difficult to shoot as well. His heart thudded against his chest, shaking his ribs and pumping adrenaline through his veins. Braeburn kicked his hindhooves against the cobblestone, throwing himself into a somersault across the street. He kept his eyes on his target, the barrel of the brass rifle snapping to attention as he rolled to his hindhooves. There was a moment when the two shooters aligned their iron sights, their hooves tightening on the trigger as they readied themselves to take the other’s life. It only lasted a fraction of a second, but it was enough for either of them to lose focus or pull the trigger. But neither of those things happened.
Sparks erupted from the street, flashes of light cracking the stone in a long, curving trail between the rifleponies. Shot after shot approached the blue pegasus, causing him to step back and falter, his eyes widening in shock. Before anypony knew it, three shots landed in rapid succession upon the thin receiver of his bolt action rifle, the final bullet throwing the weapon from his hooves. Braeburn’s jaw tightened, his lips parting in confusion as the bandit’s gun clattered on the ground behind him, smoke billowing from a trio of holes punched through its center. The blue stallion looked up, attempting to find the source of the intervention. Braeburn followed his gaze, finding the culprit almost instantly.
Braeburn’s eyes flew open, almost feeling his emerald irises constricting beyond their limit. He spotted a smoking octagonal barrel at the end of what he recognized as a down-scaled Marechester Model 1892, its wielder crouched low atop a ledge outside of a window three stories in the air behind him. The shooter’s white coat was veiled in the shadows, giving the fur a dull shade of gray. But what caught the stallion’s attention were the large, frightened blue eyes of the pony, staring unblinkingly behind a dusting of auburn bangs.
The filly shook violently, her expression conflicted between triumph and fear.
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Lel. Hindsight be 20/20, amirite?
This line earned you a mustache.
Also, HUZZAH, UDATE!
Hah! And she shows up again!
This is a really fun read. And Whinnchester?
Look, I'm sure some things happened in this chapter. I don't what they were. My mind lost focus after Daring and Braeburn started being adorable. I had to stop reading and literally squee with delight. I'll probably read this through again in a rational mindset later. Squee!
Fuckin right! SHES BACK
Great chapter, can't wait for more!
Finally, more of this story!
First off, you sir are guilty of murder!
Braeburn and Daring told each other that they loved each other!...And my heart exploded! 
Now, I am dead. I hope you're happy. 
And not only did the pegasus brother and sister survive their forced swan dive off Daring's balloon waaaaay back in chapter 8, but Aerial Ace shows up too!
I think this story might just be too epic.
I continue to thoroughly enjoy this story. It almost makes the wait worth it, I hope the next chapter is up soon enough and it is completed soon as possible so that it can be properly appreciated. Keep up the good work.
I really was waiting for you to realize how much better Whinnychester sounded than Marechester.
The funny thing is, when I started reading this chapter I thought; 'In the first chapter there was a little filly who was supposedly very good with a rifle, can't remember her name. It sounded like she would become important. I expected that we would see her again...'
And surprise, surprise, just in this chapter we see Aerial Ace again (quickly skimmed through ch. 1 to find the name). I'm wondering how she got there...
Two A.M. dead tired and making my usual final rounds on my followlist before I can sleep, nothing, nothing, this is the last fic to check and I'm done; can't wait to turn off my com- An update.
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That Braeburn/Daring scene, oh god my heart.
Wowsers...sure as hell didn't expect her to show up...
Fair warning:
If either Daring or Braeburn die PINKIES going to be making cupcakes
Fair warning:
If either Daring or Braeburn die PINKIES going to be making cupcakes
OHMAGERD THIS STORY AAAAAAAHAHD SEOFHSDPOVIH SPDFBJHSPDFBHSDPFGJSDPGOIHSPGIOSDJFPGSJPUHP
Damn...
Just... Damn.
Awesome chapter.
This is awesome and all, but... where the heck are the guards?! There were some outside, so why not inside?
Goddamnit. It's too early for this shit.
Still a great chapter! glad to see you back!
Ace.
'Nuff said.
I KNEW she would be back! Chekhov's gunman (Literally) ho!
Also, she just earned, like, 50 badass points right there. DISARMED MUTHERF
KER!
It's that little girl! I forget her name, but whatever! Glad to be reading this again, it was always one of my favorites.
Some great moments in this, especially with how often they mention that Azure is not in shape, or good at running.
But until next time!
Daring freakin' Do indeed.
<foreshadow>"...deflection ain’t gonna happen at a long distance. Well, not on purpose anyhow.”</foreshadow>
And YEAH the kid is back!
Yes! The sharpshooter filly is back! ... She's related to the mystery somehow... and why do I have a feeling that she's Celestia transformed?
I know I'm wrong...