After things have taken a turn for the worst in Ponyville, Apple Jack finds herself becoming the new sheriff of Appleoosa. Can she protect the citizens and establish a legacy for herself?
After a famine hits Equestria, Apple Jack goes to Appleoosa to help provide for her family. She soon finds herself becoming the newest sheriff in town and struggles to keep out bandits, thieves, and thugs. Can she uncover unsolved mysteries? Is there a fine line between her work and her love? And can she establish a reputation and a legacy that can stand the test of time?
Long ago in a time unlike any other known to ponies, there was a small two-horse town found in the center of the wild west. It was small and crowded, but it still managed to keep with it a rustic charm. You were welcome to stay the night in the wooden tavern that overlooked the sheriff's station and stood right next to the train station. The train wouldn't dare let out a single cry of its horn until the sun had risen back in those days. But even then you'd get the smallest amount of sleep what with the howling of the timberwolves and the shrill cries of the midnight wind.
There was no movie theater or café in that town yet. The only thing closest to entertainment was to gamble your wits at the card games being held at the ole' Salt Block Saloon. If you had too much salt, the bartender would've kicked you out in a heartbeat give or take a second chance. Back then, things weren't so...noisy. There were no flashy automobiles, loud rap music that hurt your ears, or any wailing police sirens going off in three in the morning. No. It was quiet with the exception of the stampeding grounds that are still to this day located only a few miles away from the train station, over the hills, by the apple orchards.
The townspeople were happy ponies that'd rather keep their mouth shut than ruin somepony's great morning. They weren't too shy or too loud. Everything was just right in this dusty paradise. And this town's name was called Appleoosa.
Now, what you may not know about Appleoosa is the story behind the stampeding grounds right behind the heart of this now blossoming city. Back in the day there was a pony named Braebur-
"Moooom" the sound of a young colt's voice cut through the air, "You've told us this one already."
Two small earth ponies were cuddled up in their twin beds in their small, but cozy bedroom. Across from their beds sat a pale yellow pony. Her light green hair had been put up in a messy ponytail for the night and she was wearing her favorite purple bathrobe. Her son and daughter looked up at her expectantly, hoping she would realize her careless mistake and start a new story from scratch. But unfortunately, their mother was just as stubborn as them.
"No I didn't" his mom smirked from her place on her stool, "Now you rest your head on that pillow and listen. So, this pony's name was-
Her daughter interrupted, "But, mommy, you told us this story last week. We know it already."
"Oh really? Then how does it go?"
The filly drew in a small breath before launching into her own little summary of her mother's tale, "Well, there was this pony named Braeburn who set up Appleoosa with a dozen or so other ponies. What they didn't know was that they had set it up on a bunch of bison's stampeding grounds. There was this huge fight between the ponies and the bison because the ponies had set up the town already and were refusing to move. It took just six ponies to stop the fighting and to help start a peaceful pact. And they were nicknamed the Mane Six. The End."
Both the siblings could hear the sound of crickets in the distance as their mother stared down at them both. She blinked a few times before clearing her throat.
"Alright then..." she scratched at her hair, "Well, shoot, let me think for a second…did I tell you the one about the griffins?"
"Yeah," both of her children replied in unison, trying to hide their boredom.
"How about the one with Rainbow Dash and the sonic rainboom?"
"You told us that one last night," the colt whined.
Pretty soon their mom was rattling off stories at random, "The one about Mare-do-well? The time your grandfather met the princesses? Did I even tell you about the pony games coming to Appleoosa?"
But with each suggestion she pulled out of her head, both of the foals nodded together. Their mother went quiet for a few seconds and then her eyes lit up as though she had found a pile of gems. She grinned slyly, "Did I ever tell you the story about…the sheriff?"
"Sheriff Silverstar?" the small filly asked with mild uncertainty, "I'm pretty sure you did."
"Nope," their mom beamed, "I meant the story about the first mare sheriff."
Her son lifted up both of his ears as he sat up, "No, I don't think you ever did."
"I wanna hear," his sister chimed after him.
"Are you sure? It's a bit of a long story," their mother teased with a twinkle in her eye.
"Yes, please, please, please!"
"Alright," she adjusted her position on the stool happily, "Where to start…ah, I know. You've heard of Sheriff Silverstar of course, the very first sheriff in these here parts. Well, not many people know about the very first mare sheriff that took his place anymore. But when I was your age, everypony knew the story by heart. And I knew it especially because your own grandmother had been there. She was the very first to tell me. And now I'm going to be the first to tell you two."
She smiled as her children jittered with excitement. She took a small pause before launching back into the story.
"Well, it all took place during the time of the Dustbowl. Your grandmother lived in Ponyville at the time. She worked at the local bookstore, but was itching to see more of Equestria. One day, she just up and left Ponyville for the city of Applewood. Now, she wouldn't tell me what happened, but she said that she had only been planning to stay there for a week. Instead, she just stayed for two days and then she moved to Appleoosa. As to why, I'm not sure. But I won't question it too much because if she hadn't we wouldn't be here."
"That's where she met Grandpa, right?" the filly called out from her place in bed.
"That's right," their mom nodded, "But that isn't the part of the story I'm telling you. A few months after she met my father, she actually met her. Back then; this mare was given a nickname. She was called: 'The Orange Crusader', 'Mare-do-Weller', and also, 'La Vaquera'. She was the one who vanquished the mighty masked rattlesnake with just her two hooves. She knocked out two bandits with her eyes closed. But most importantly, she was the one who took out the ones they called the Young Guns. They were ruthless, murderous bandits looking for nothing but trouble. If it weren't for her, Appleoosa wouldn't be such a thriving city. I would still be that rustic, two-horse town and I would have probably left to another city and never have met your father."
"So, we wouldn't be…alive if it weren't for her?" the colt asked, awestruck already.
"What was her name?" the filly asked softly.
"Her name was Apple Jack. And this is the story of her legacy…"
Coming back to Appleoosa hadn't exactly been Apple Jack's plan up until now. In fact, it was the opposite. Sweet Apple Acres had been suffering for the past two months due to the ravaging dust storms that lashed out at random. Nearly seventy percent of their apple trees were torn apart by the harsh winds. As for the others that weren't damaged, the apples that they held in their tall branches had pounds of sand, dust, and flecks of pebble stuck inside. The drought had been taking its toll on everypony. Rainbow Dash and the pegasi were racking their heads together to find a way to stop this bizarre weather. They had tried slowing down the wind, but it wouldn't work. They tried adding water to the mixture of dust and sand...it was hooves down the stupidest thing they could have ever done.
So far, Ponyville along with other neighboring cities had no choice but to resort to using force fields to keep out as much of the storm as they could. Sweet Apple Acres, unfortunately, was too far away from the town to be covered with the force field. It was only a matter of time before their savings were watered down to almost nothing. Apple Jack sought no other way but to go get a job in one of the cities that hadn't been touched by this whole mess. The only problem was…there was almost none. Manehatten's mare of liberty was coated in brown muck all the way to her waist. Las Pegasus was having more problems than Ponyville. And Canterlot didn't have any jobs that Apple Jack would even come close to being qualified for.
The one place she did find was Appleoosa. Appleoosa brought back memories for Apple Jack, but not all were good. She wanted to go to Applewood instead and take her chances there. AJ packed her suitcase and bid goodbye to her little sister, her brother, and her Granny Smith.
"I'll send money, I promise," she said as she gave a final hug to Apple Bloom.
"Come back soon, now," Granny Smith smiled weakly. None of them had eaten anything that whole day and were feeling even more tired than imagined.
Big Mac silently nodded without giving his sister so much as a, "Eyup".
Apple Jack smiled back, "I will, ya'll see."
The small family watched as the orange earth pony tilted her hat to them and walked down the dirt road path, disappearing from view. She was soon on a train heading straight for Applewood. But as soon as Apple Jack got off the train station at Applewood she knew that getting a job would be even tougher than getting one in Canterlot. When she walked down the wooden station platform she was shocked to see so little ponies walking around during the day. The only other ponies at the station were well-dressed unicorns waiting for a train going to Manehatten with an air of impatience. In the city streets, there were only the faintest indications of where ponies had been, such as the dirty hoofprints on the ground, or the sound of ponies talking loudly from an apartment AJ passed by.
Apple Jack stepped into a small groceryshop a few blocks later just so she could actually see somepony. She walked over to the checkout counter where a teenaged mare was sitting down, shifting through a late issue of Pony Magazine. As Apple Jack drew closer she could hear the sound of the mare chewing bubblegum faintly.
"Um, hello?" Apple Jack greeted the mare with an uncertain smile, "I'm new around these here parts...and I was just looking to see if you had a job here."
"Sorry," the mare didn't even glance up from her magazine, "The only thing we sell here is food, lady."
Apple Jack was stunned at this rude behavior, none of which she had seen since her tinier days, back when she visited her Aunt and Uncle Orange in Manehatten. She took a step closer.
"I'm not looking to buy anything-
"Then, like, get out," the young mare glanced up briefly at Apple Jack as she turned a page, "You think getting jobs here is easy? Well, it's, like, totally not, okay? You can't just waltz into a store and demand a job with a paying salary. First of all, it's, like, the rudest thing you could possibly do. Secondly, I don't care. And thirdly, does it, like, look like I have the power to give you a job? I'm just a store clerk, lady."
Apple Jack's eyebrows shot up to her hairline at this direct answer, "Uh, well, I appreciate your honesty with me. But do you know any other places in Applewood where there may be some kinda job openin' or something?"
The mare put down her Pony magazine, giving Apple Jack a rather cold look, "Even if I, like, knew, why would I tell you. I don't even know you. So, why would I give a stranger a chance to get a higher paying job than mine? You're really new to this stuff aren't you?"
"Yeah," Apple Jack said, finding it extremely difficult to keep her cool, "I'm not from around these parts."
"Hmm?" The mare had gone back to reading her magazine and hadn't bothered to really here AJ's answer, "Where are you from then? Not like I care…"
"Ponyville," Apple Jack's voice dropped a bit as the mare glanced up at her again with a gleeful smile.
She began to laugh, tears flowing from her eyes, "You're from Ponyville?"
"Yes I am," Apple Jack's temper was quickly beginning to come to a boil, "You have a problem with that?"
"Are you kidding me?" the mare continued to snort and giggle, "It's the single-handedly worst place to live. It's so overrated there. What's your name anyway?"
"I was just going to ask you the same…" Apple Jack tried to glance down at the pony's nametag.
"I asked you first."
"Apple Jack," she grumbled in reply.
The pony dropped her magazine as she began laughing all over again, ignoring it as it drifted down to the floor.
"And what in tarnation is so funny bout' that?"
"Apple Jack? It's such a weird name. Who in their right minds names their child something like that? Or is that your full name? Like, is Jack your last name? Not that it matters or anything…"
"No, Apple Jack is my whole name. What's yours?"
But the mare was too busy laughing to answer AJ. With a mighty huff of breath, Apple Jack left with her pride hanging from a string. She slammed the door without a second glance. Was everypony around here as rude as that one had been? AJ stopped next to a lamppost to get a grip on her surroundings. It was still unusually quiet in the streets. And then she heard the sound of hooves upon pavement.
A well-groomed stallion was trotting with an even better dressed pegasus. The pegasus looked over at Apple Jack with the strongest look of disgust etched on her face. But that didn't stop Apple Jack from asking for directions.
"Hello, sir?" she stepped forward, ignoring the groan from the stuck-up pegasus, "Do you know where city hall is by any chance? Also where is everypony?"
"Don't you know? Everypony is at the Applewood manor. It's only the biggest bash in all of Applewood for the whole entire city." As he looked up to see whom he was talking to, the stallion's thin eyebrows scrunched up together, making it appear as though he had an anorexic caterpillar on his forehead, "Oh my, why are you dressed like that?"
"Excuse me?" Apple Jack snapped, "I'm just looking for city hall. I don't need a lecture about how I'm dressed."
"But you're not," the stallion let out a hallow laugh, "You are practically naked!"
The pegasus started laughing just as the young mare had in the grocery store and said in a strong Trottingham accent, "Just look at her suitcase. And her hat! Don't get me started about her hat!"
Apple Jack just couldn't take it anymore. She soon found herself shouting at the top of her voice, unaware that the few ponies left in the street were staring at her, "What is it with you folks around here? Is everypony here just stuck-up, rich, weirdos who have nothing better to do than pick on strangers? This is the worst, most, overrated city I have ever stepped hoof in! You two should be ashamed of yourselves!"
The two ponies' mouths hung on the ground, appalled at this orange, naked pony's words. She turned a hoof and left on her way back to the train station. The pegasus's eyes narrowed in anger as she shouted back at her, "Well, at least I'm not naked!"
"I'd rather be naked than be wearing that nonsense you have on!" Apple Jack threw back over her shoulder like a grenade.
"I say," the stallion and pegasus gaped as they walked their own way again along with the other ponies across from them, aghast at the conversation they just had which would no doubt be the highlight story of their dinner party that night.
Apple Jack paid for her ticket after the long, ten-minute wait in line at the Applewood train station. She had been grumbling under her breath as soon as she had gotten onto the station steps. Apple Jack wasn't very pleased with the way her visit had gone, nor was she pleased with the fact that a good ten bits had been completely wasted, and now another five were going in that same direction. As soon as the old pony in front of her left, she moved ahead to the front of the line eagerly.
"Hi, can I have one ticket on the next train that isn't going to Ponyville, Canterlot, Manehatten, or Fillydelphia, please?" Apple Jack slapped down her five bits on the counter in front of the stallion in the booth.
"Pretty specific," the stallion frowned, "At least for just five bits...I'm sorry, but it's going to be more than that."
Apple Jack's stomach dropped. She only had another seven left in her bit purse and wasn't ready to give it all up just yet.
"What's the cheapest train ride to?"
"Hmm," the stallion stroked the end of his short, black goatee, "The closest place to Applewood would be Appleoosa."
"Done," Apple Jack shoved the five coins closer to him, "Just get me out of this city."
"With pleasure," the stallion scooped up the coins with his hooves quickly, making pace. A minute later he was handing Apple Jack a white ticket, "The next train comes in just two minutes, so you better hurry if you want to make it."
"Thank you," AJ tipped her hat to the stallion and went on her way with her suitcase rumbling on behind her.
Had Apple Jack stopped for even two seconds, she would've missed the train for certain. The conductor had just been blowing the whistle when she hopped on aboard. It thundered off out of the station and out of the dreaded city of Applewood.
The train ride to Appleoosa was only a three-hour one, but it seemed to be at least twice that in length. The only thing Apple Jack could really do was watch as the landscape around her change from the dying meadows to the plain, dusty, desert. Her thoughts dwindled on what she would expect once she got there. Braeburn, her cousin, would probably be the first to welcome her to Appleoosa, or as he called it, Aaaappleooooosa.
AJ glanced around the carriage she was in. For five bits, she wasn't exactly sitting in first-class. Her seat was thinly cushioned and if she propped her forelegs any closer to the wooden seat in front of her, she would get a nasty splinter. A few other ponies sat around her. One stressed out looking unicorns was looking out her window, quietly murmuring under her breath. The earth pony to the right of her paid no attention to her while he smoked his pipe, sitting back with a relaxed look on his face.
The pony sitting in front of her dropped his paperback book suddenly, causing himself and Apple Jack to jump at the surprisingly loud sound. Apple Jack reached out to grab it for him, examining the cover as she gave it to him. It was a brown, leather book that was hoof-stitched. Scrawled in neat, cursive, penmanship on the center of the book was the words: Property of Charcoal.
"Uh, are you Charcoal?" Apple Jack asked as she handed it to the gray earth pony in front of her.
He nodded, "Yeah, and uh, thanks."
"Aw, don't mention it," Apple Jack smiled up at him, glad to have met his acquaintance, "So, what brings you to Appleoosa?"
He shrugged, thinking for a minute or two before answering, "I'm just getting away from my home. It's been ravaged by dust storms for a while now...What about you?"
"My family is struggling with their farm," Apple Jack replied, "I was going to Applewood to see if I could hold down a job there, but it was horrible. There was no pony around and the ones that were around were completely rude and unhelpful. I haven't seen anything like it."
Charcoal laughed, his blue eyes crinkling, "Yeah, I hear they're all kind of high off of their own power there. All they ever do is go to dinner parties, bashes, and clubs. Almost nothing gets done in that city. I'm glad that you left."
"Same here," AJ beamed, "I'm Apple Jack by the way."
"Charcoal," Charcoal replied back, "In case you missed it."
Apple Jack laughed again, "So what type of work are you looking for?"
"Well, I'm a writer," Charcoal motioned over at his scribble cutie mark, "But I don't think that they have many writing jobs there, so I'm just going to get a job at the Salt Block Saloon hopefully And you?"
Apple Jack's grin froze in place. She hadn't really though about what job to get specifically. She shrugged her shoulders and leaned back in her seat, "Whatever opening they have, I'll gladly take it."
"Here, Here" Charcoal nodded in agreement.
The next two hours went by pretty fast. Apple Jack learned that Charcoal was from the small city of Vanhoover where it was known for its chilly weather. Not only were there dust storms there, but they were also much worse than everypony else's. The dust storms there weren't only towering at five thousand feet but were cold and sometimes frozen. He moved away from Vanhoover after he had injured his foreleg after getting pummeled by frozen bits of rock hurtling at him at just over forty miles per hour. She also learned that he was published in the newspaper at least four times in his life.
Apple Jack was just finishing the story of how she had left Ponyville to go to Manehatten when the train came to a sudden stop.
"Hey, what gives?" Apple Jack looked around the now dark landscape.
Charcoal gave her a polite smile, "I think we're here."
Sure enough passengers were getting up from their seats and were lining up in the aisles already. Charcoal slipped out of his seat, taking with him his leather book and his small backpack. Apple Jack began to do the same with her suitcase.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Apple Jack," Charcoal exchanged another bright smile with AJ, "Maybe we'll bump into each other in Appleoosa?"
"I hope so," Apple Jack moved along the line behind Charcoal until they were out of the train and onto the rickety train station.
Apple Jack looked around the surprisingly crowded station. She recognized a few familiar faces from her last visit but many were ponies she had never seen before. Many of them wore different colored bonnets upon their heads, or bowties and bowler hats. Yep, it was old-fashioned Appleoosa for you. Apple Jack was just about to turn her head to say goodbye to Charcoal, but he was no longer there. She just stood there for a second or two, contemplating on where to go.
The giant clock tower at the end of the town told her that it was about seven at night. Apple Jack's eyes drooped a little as she decided that it was a little bit too late at night to go job-hunting and that she would just have to go to the local tavern to stay the night. She walked down the teetering stairs and onto the dirt encrusted road. The tavern was located right across from the clock tower and wasn't too crowded on a night like this one.
When Apple Jack walked in it smelled of garlic and baking bread, which only made her stomach grumble in protest. She sighed. Unless she wanted to sleep in the alleyway tonight, she would have to wait until tomorrow to get something to eat. She could only get so far with just her seven bits let after all. AJ found the bar relatively fast, considering the fact that it was just a little ways away from the front door. A plump, middle-aged unicorn with a simple frock on was leaning over her seat, drying a glass with a dirty old rag. Apple Jack reminded herself not to get a drink here anytime soon.
"Hello, ma'am," Apple Jack gave a small bow of the head at the lady, "How much is it for one of your rooms?"
The unicorn stared at Apple Jack for a second, giving her a look over before answering in a hoarse voice, "It's about five bits per night for a single bedroom. Two bits for a closet."
Apple Jack tossed the pony five bits, "Will this do?"
"That's perfect," the pony levitated the coins one at a time over the counter and into her own bit bag while tossing Apple Jack a copper key with her mouth, "Your room is all upstairs at the end of the hallway. Try not to get lost and don't mess with the cat."
"The what now?"
But the pony had gone into a back room without a reply, leaving Apple Jack by herself with the few customers eating by themselves at small, round tables. Apple Jack carefully picked up her suitcase and went up the crooked staircase. Upstairs was musty and cold, but it was a lot better than some of the taverns around Equestria. The room Apple Jack could only assume was hers was positioned at the very end of the hall, straight in front of her. She put her suitcase back down on the ground as she finally drew near it, taking out the copper key with her other hoof.
The key fit perfectly into the keyhole and turned with the slightest creak. Apple Jack gaped at the room. It was actually a bit bigger than what she had been expecting, but was still nonetheless filthy. The small cot the sat at the middle of the room smelled of mildew and had a million holes in its sheets. The window to her room was cracked beyond repair. And to make matters a bit worse if not very, there was a dead rat in the corner of the room.
mApple Jack let out a strong gasp of air. On second thought, maybe she would stay in the alleyway…
When Apple Jack awoke that morning, it wasn't to the sound of birds or the feel of warm sunlight streaming in through her cracked window, but rather a loud gunshot from below followed by a mare's shrill scream. AJ bolted a foot in the air from the sudden noise. She bounced once from her dirty cot and fell to the hard, wooden floor. It took her a moment to realize what had almost startled her to death when she finally got to her senses. She got up from the old, dusty, cracked floorboards and ran out the door.
Apple Jack hadn't been the only pony to notice the gunshot. What pony wouldn't have? A few ponies were lingering in their doorways, uncertain whether to go downstairs or not. A silver haired pegasus with tiny glasses opened the door a crack to peer her head outside just as AJ brushed past her. As Apple Jack went past the open doors she couldn't help but notice that each room was even better than her own. She scolded herself for thinking about something like that at a time like this and proceeded down the stairs two at a time.
When she reached the grimy tavern she hadn't been prepared to meet the cold, dead eyes of the tavern bartender. He was lying down, sprawled out on his barrel-chested stomach with a freshly blood-coated dagger sticking out of his back. AJ could feel her appetite for that morning's breakfast drain fast as blood continued to drip out of the stallion's back and onto the floor. Apple Jack's ears pricked up to the small whimpering coming from underneath the bar itself. She approached it cautiously, preparing to come face to face with the attacker. And then a unicorn popped out from hiding.
"Don't hurt me!" she sobbed into the dirty rag that she had used to clean glasses only the night before, "It wasn't me! I swear!"
Apple Jack stared at the unicorn in front of her. It was the plump bartender that had given her a room for the night. Her pink hair was astray and her frock was hanging down by her neck. Tears lined her weary, round face as she hiccupped slightly. Apple Jack glanced back over at the dead body of the pony lying before them.
"Who in Equestria would do something like this?" AJ asked in a breathy voice.
The plump unicorn answered immediately, spitting out the word like venom, "…Blazing Saddles."
"Blazing what?"
"They call themselves The Blazing Saddles. They've all been causin' us nothin' but trouble these past few weeks. They've already robbed a ton' of homes, broken and vandalized the clock tower twice, and they've been known for strikin' up a deal with a pony or two…a-and this is the result. Somepony dies. They always do."
Before Apple Jack could ask what the unicorn had meant by that, the unicorn began to sob loudly into her dust-ridden rag. Apple Jack patted her on the back, trying her best to comfort her. But how did you comfort somepony who had just witnessed a murder? And then it dawned on Apple Jack.
"Were you the one who screamed?"
"W-What? Well, yeah. Who wouldn't of? I saw two of em' in here with their black and red bandannas and everythin' stabbin' my best friend!"
"I'm sorry," Apple Jack looked away from the unicorn for a second, "But, what did you mean by the deals ponies have made with The Blazing Saddles? Do you mean to say that everypony dies?"
The unicorn dabbed at her face, hesitating to answer, "…Well, I-uh…we, uh…we made a deal with them Saddles, okay? When it was real bad, they'd be riding out in the streets, mugging and shootin' at customers willy-nilly. We struck up a deal with them because we had started to go bankrupt. We'd give em' a barrel of ale a week, followed with a bottle of out finest spirits. But today, we ran out of ale. We didn't have that barrel. So as punishment, they killed Billy Bob.
"I was in the back, doin' some dishes when I heard a gunshot. I was screamin' cause' I found em' when they stuck Bill with the knife. It's their signature move, you know. It means that they'll be back for what's theirs. And usually it means that they'll come back when everypony's sleepin' and set this whole place ablaze. It was what they did with Raggedy Annie's house after they stuck her pet dog with the knife. They're bastards."
"And no pony is doing anything about this? What about Sheriff Silverstar?" Apple Jack found herself exclaiming.
"He's been bustin' his hump, runnin' around in circles tryin' to find leads about who the leaders are and where their base is. So far...nothin'," the unicorn paused for a second, looking Apple Jack up and down as if she realized something, "What's your name, girl?"
"Uh, Apple Jack."
The unicorn's dismal grimace turned into a downright frown, "Oh...I'd go see Silverstar if I was you. He might need some help, even if he's too proud to say it. And I know you're pretty big in Ponyville, so who knows, maybe you'll be big here too."
The unicorn turned tail and walked up the stairs to check on the tenants that were no doubt still up in the hallway, her breath still shaking. Apple Jack's eyes looked everywhere around the room except at the pony that was still lying dead on the floor. This was the break she needed. Even if she couldn't get a paying job right away, perhaps she would be able to work for meals first and then ask for a raise. But something nagged her at the back of her mind. The way that unicorn had said, "Oh…" with that quick change of expression…it was almost as if she knew Apple Jack already. But that frown? What did it mean? AJ quickly let it go as she took off out the doors, looking for the sheriff's station and the sheriff who'd hopefully be inside.
° ° °
Braeburn whistled to himself as he trotted to Sheriff Silverstar's office with the mail in his mouth. It had been a lovely morning so far; the birds were singing and the sun was shining. It all had to call for something, right? But it seemed to be the opposite of that as he reached the station. A small, growing crowd of ponies stood outside the sheriff's station, roaring in unison. Some looked scared while others just looked furious. They were shouting at the top of their lungs for Silverstar to come out and face them, to tell them what was going on. A small baby being held a few feet away began to add to the mass of jumbled words by wailing. It was extremely overwhelming to be there and Braeburn wasn't even ten feet away.
A young stallion bumped into him, muttering loudly, "Damn, Silverstar. Doesn't do a thing until he sees proof of it. Like he hasn't heard of checking it first?"
"Excuse me," Braeburn tapped the shoulder of the disgruntled pony after putting the few envelopes into his saddlebag, "May I ask…what's going on here?"
"There's been two murders tonight, all done by The Blazing Saddles, and our high and mighty sheriff is too tired to do anything about it!"
A few ponies that overheard him jeered in agreement as they too joined the rampant crowd who were now knocking on the door of the station so hard that Braeburn was sure that they would break it. He turned back to look at the stallion who was now walking in the opposite direction.
"Wait, who were murdered? I thought that they were finally gone. That's what Silverstar has been telling us…"
The stallion gave Braeburn a pitying look as he walked, "Well you thought wrong. Listen, I'd love to bash that coward anytime, but I have blood to wipe off the floor of my house. It was nice talking to you."
Two murders? All in the same night? It was unheard of. Braeburn began to walk toward the crowd slowly. They were banging into the door still; cracks starting to appear with every new blow they brought to it. Suddenly the door opened in a swift motion, but instead of running inside like Braeburn had been expecting them to they took a few steps back. And then a small BANG pierced the air. Before he knew it everypony had scrambled to get on the ground and duck for cover. Sheriff Silverstar had his pistol pointed in the air, and Braeburn could see the small hint of smoke coming out from the tip. And then he saw the two ponies that were standing behind him.
One of them he didn't really know. She was most likely in her late teens or early twenties. She was a frosty white color and her long dark brown hair was pulled up into a bun on the top of her head, hiding her ears from view. Unlike many ponies around her, she was actually wearing full clothing. Even if it was just a black, pinstriped vest over a dark purple, ruffled skirt. She looked over at everypony with a bored-but-calm expression etched onto her face, her mouth turning down at the corners.
But Braeburn knew instantly who was standing right next to her. Unmistakable orange coat, long, sandy hair, and family freckles and all. Apple Jack looked pleased to be there, but in a nervous way. The sheriff, however, looked, for a lack of a better word, pissed off.
"Everypony stop your bawlin'," He spoke in his deep drawl, "You think I don't already know about the murders? Miss Apple Jack and Miss Viola here decided to take the right initiative of knocking politely on my door and coming inside instead of hollerin' out here like a bunch of wild dogs."
"What were we supposed to do? Your door was locked!" Somepony yelled back at him angrily, "And you weren't even checking the windows to see us either. At least give us some sort of sign that you know what we're complaining about."
"I did," Silverstar started to go down the three steps of his staircase with his gun still pointed at the sky, "And it was hand-painted too. If I recall, I placed a sign that read "I'm dealing with the situation, please come back later!" on my door. I know that somepony who thought it'd be nice for a little uproar took it down and probably told all ya'll that I ignored his pleas. So now there's two murders on the same night, committed by the same gang, and somepony stole my favorite sign…so honestly, I'm about as pleased with the situation as all of ya'll are."
There was a short cry of realization from the crowd, but they quickly drew in their breath as Silverstar approached closer.
He smiled slightly as he pocketed his pistol, "I'm pleased to announce that I have employed a fellow earth pony to help out with this whole mess, and any other mess we get too. Her name is Apple Jack and she'll be the co-deputy of Appleoosa just like Braeburn. Er, where is he anyway?"
"I'm over here, sir," Braeburn waved as he took out the small pile of mail he had stowed away in his bag, "Just got your mail for you."
Apple Jack gave a small smile at the sight of Braeburn, although she liked him, he could get as annoying as Pinkie Pie which was quite the accomplishment if you asked her. She gave a small wave to him and was received a giant one along with an award-winning smile. Silverstar took the mail from Braeburn, not even paying attention to the dispersing crowd.
"Any new reports to add to this whole murder case?" Silverstar asked Braeburn calmly, as if talking about the weather.
"No, sir. Just a few letters from a few citizens," Braeburn suddenly pulled out a light pink envelope from the saddlebag, "And one from Ca-
"Thank you, Braeburn," Silverstar interrupted him before he could even get the whole name out, "Please, give Miss Apple Jack a tour of this here facility. I'll be back in fifteen minutes. Oh, and thank you again for reporting the second murder, Miss Violet."
The mare turned her head swiftly at him, "My name's Viola," she spoke in a Trottingham accent.
"Whatever," Silverstar murmured as he went back into the station, leaving Viola with Braeburn and Apple Jack.
She gave a curious glance over at Braeburn before turning on her hoof to leave. Apple Jack stared after her.
"Who was that?" Braeburn was staring at Viola with vivid curiosity.
"Viola," AJ repeated, "She's really quiet and really kept to herself the whole time she was reporting the murder that happened near her house. She said that her neighbor's friend was shot in the chest three times and had the knife put in him."
"That's horrible," Braeburn sighed, "So, what brings you to Appleoosa?"
Apple Jack was slightly surprised to hear Braeburn say Appleoosa normally. She smiled grimly, "Sweet Apple Acres is going under, sadly. And I came here for the sole purpose of getting a job so I can send back money to them."
Braeburn frowned, "Wow, Equestria really has gone down the toilet these days, hasn't it?"
Apple Jack didn't answer the question but instead went up the small staircase that led to the doorway, "Did ya want to give me a tour?"
"Hmm? Oh! Why certainly, just follow me this way," Braeburn bustled past AJ and with that familiar, cheerful voice of his.
Apple Jack already had been inside the station before, but she had only been in one room. The hallway was painted light blue and several closed doors lay to the right and left of its walls. Braeburn walked past the first door to Silverstar's office and over to the door across from it.
He opened it slightly, "This here is the jail…uh, as you can see…its, um, pretty darn empty."
Empty was an understatement to Apple Jack. The inside of the jail looked like it had never been used ever. The room was painted with a thick coat of light grey paint. The only window had a padlock on it rather than the usual, thick, iron bars most jails usually had. And there was a single, black cell that was sitting alone with its back against the wall in front of them. It was the saddest looking jail Apple Jack had ever seen.
Braeburn slowly closed the door and locked it, as though that would do anything against the invisible prisoners in that room. He shook out his mane and went along to another wooden door standing a yard or two away, "Now, this is the filing room. You'd be surprised, but we do actually have files in here."
When he opened the door, AJ couldn't help but be a little bit surprised, but not for the right reason. Apple Jack was expecting to see a room that was slightly smaller, if not the same size, as the jail. But no, it was just a walk in closet that happened to have five or six filing cabinets inside. Braeburn waltzed right in and puffed out his chest proudly.
"Every single one of em's full too. So, this may be where you spend some time at. Do you want me to show you how it works?"
"Eh, not right now," AJ laughed nervously, "Maybe later though."
"Sure thing," Braeburn's smile only dimmed a little as he closed the door behind himself, "Next room is the interrogation room."
Apple Jack prepared herself to witness the poorest excuse for an interrogation room she would ever see. But she was actually mistaken for a change. When Braeburn opened the door and flicked on the lights, AJ really did feel the slightest bit intimidated just being there. There was a shiny, metal table in the center of the room that caught the light's glare every few seconds. The walls were bare and grey. There was a single filing cabinet that was painted grey as well, lying only a few feet away from the metal table. Against the wall was a small shelf that was nailed in place. On it lay a short supply of zip-lock bags, which AJ only assumed was for storing evidence in, and a recording device.
"We tape every interrogation we've ever done in here. Bad news it that…we've never had one…But we almost did," Braeburn added in quickly.
"This room looks pretty darn impr-OW!" Apple Jack had walked forward, right into something solid. She rubbed her nose.
"Sorry," Braeburn grinned sheepishly as he knocked on the solid glass that Apple Jack had walked right into, "It's bulletproof. It goes around the perimeter of the room until you get to that door."
Apple Jack opened her eyes to find that there was in fact a black door lined up with the glass a couple feet away from where she had hit herself. Now she felt stupid for not even seeing it.
Braeburn let AJ out before him as he closed the door to the interrogation room, "And that's it."
"That's it?" Apple Jack's voice grew with skepticism, "Braeburn, there's two more doors that's across from us. You do know that, right?"
Braeburn let out a noise that was somewhere between an annoyed sigh and a grunt, "Yeah, I think I know the place I work at, AJ. But no, the door across from us is Silverstar's bedroom. This is his house, you know."
"But what about the other door," Apple Jack pointed a hoof at the other wooden door in the middle.
"Oh. That's the bathroom. But I reckon you don't need a tour of that place, do you?"
Braeburn galloped over to the front door, waiting for AJ to follow him. As she did, she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit guilty for getting all snappy at Braeburn. He'd actually been really helpful so far. As it stung her, they ran down the length of the town's dirt road together, kicking up the dirt as they went. By the time they arrived at their destination, both of their hooves were caked with sweat, dirt, and grime.
"I haven't run like that in a long time," Apple Jack found herself smiling, "Whew, where are we anyway?"
Braeburn looked around the dotted landscape. A few orchard trees were still blooming in the distance, but the rest were cut down for miles only their stumps reamained. Apple Jack's jaw dropped as soon as she spotted this.
"We've been having more than a few problems since you and your friends left," Braeburn shuffled his hooves as he looked at the ground bashfully.
A small lump formed in AJ's throat, "Who did this? Why would anypony do this?"
"Well, we've been having bandit troubles since you've been gone. As soon as the dust bowl started last year, criminals of every sort have just been parading through town. They've already been able to drive away the bison last month. We don't even know how they left. For all we know, they're living out of Equestria until this whole thing blows over."
Apple Jack shook her head slowly, "How do things turn to the worst so fast?"
Braeburn kicked at the ground, "All I know is that I'm glad that I have a co-worker. I don't mean to grill the sheriff, I really don't, but he's started this pattern… where he'll almost catch a thug or criminal, but then they'll just magically get away. I don't think he's trying to let that happen intentionally, but Silverstar's getting older. He's just not as fast and agile as he used to be. I'd never tell him that directly though. He's already lost enough of his pride. I just think that there should be a co-sheriff rather than a co-deputy. No offense, AJ-I think you're great and all, but I really think you have what it takes to do the sheriff's job."
It went on like this for a while. Apple Jack and Braeburn eventually left the crumbled remains of the orchard and started back toward town with Braeburn talking the whole time. It wasn't until a scream caught them off guard when Braeburn finally shut up. Viola, the mare from that morning, was shouting from inside her tiny house. Braeburn immediately sprang to action with AJ following quickly behind him.
He pulled out a small, miniscule gun from his saddlebag and kicked the door down. It skidded across the tight living room and came to a halt by slamming into the wall. This only made Viola scream even louder. Apple Jack burst through the doorway as fast as she could, landing right alongside the unhinged door. Her eyes narrowed at the scene that was laid out before her.
Viola had her clothes off except for the bath towel she had pinned to her chest tightly. At first it seemed that nothing was the matter. But Viola motioned frantically at the open window of her bathroom where a teenaged, earth pony stared at her without a hint of shame. He had a camera in his hooves and a wild grin that stretched from ear to ear.
"Braeburn, go to the left side of the house. We've got a peepin' Tom," Apple Jack hissed at her cousin.
Braeburn nodded silently and dashed off. When AJ looked back to Viola she saw, slightly bemused, that Viola had started to throw things out the window at random. The teenager cackled as he ducked at the same time the toilet paper roll whizzed past his head. He took another shot of Viola as he came back up, just barely colliding with the loofa she had tossed at the camera. This kid was excellent at dodging these pieces of bathroom material, but unfortunately was not as exceptional at dodging the one-hundred-and-twenty pound earth pony that tackled him from the side.
AJ was dashing toward Braeburn seconds later with Viola running after her. Viola still just had on the bath towel, but didn't seem to take any notice of it. Her focuses were now on the teenager. Braeburn struggled to keep the kid in place.
"Handcuffs," he grunted as the colt jabbed at his face, "…eh, in saddlebag."
Apple Jack knew what to do. She opened the saddlebag and pulled out a shiny pair of brass hand-cuffs.
"Cuff him," Braeburn rearranged himself so that he was leaning more on the kid.
Apple Jack dog-piled herself on the two of them, trying to get ahold of the kid's hooves. But every time she was able to cuff one hoof, he'd shake her off. It wasn't until a few minutes later that she had one hoof pressed against his head that she was able to cuff him. Braeburn laughed as he got up from the teenager.
"Now that was fun," he chuckled as he glanced over at Viola.
Viola was just shaking her head sadly, her eyes tearing up with anger, "I want to press charges on this little pervert. Get his parents, get his camera, I want to take him to court."
Apple Jack couldn't really tell what she was talking about, but pulled the colt onto to his two legs and walked him over to Braeburn slowly. Braeburn glared at the teenager with a cold smile.
"What have you got to say for yourself?" Braeburn asked.
The colt didn't say a word. He just looked straight into Braeburn's eyes, spitting on him gleefully. Braeburn wiped away the fleck of spit that had landed on his forehead gingerly.
"Bad idea, boy," Braeburn's smile vanished without any trace of ever being there.
The next series of events were astonishing for Apple Jack to watch. In one swift motion, Viola swung at the kid, landing a good and solid whack on his head. The kid's eyes fluttered shut for a second or two and he went limp. The young colt fell to the earthy, dirt floor with a light thud. Braeburn and AJ stared at the colt in fascination as he groaned in pain and then looked back to Viola. She calmly wrapped the bath towel back around her body and then started back toward her house muttering, "Foul Brute..." underneath her breath.
