Big Mac had trouble sleeping that night but eventually sleep took him and now he was gazing out the window of the Saguaro Bloom hotel where he'd rented a room for the night, and was seeing the light of daybreak gently reach across the landscape. After that confrontation with Devil and hearing from that goat Cactus Spine about the sheriff being in cahoots with that no-good outlaw Longhorn, he wondered how he could help resolve this haystack of problems piling up in San Clydesdale. According to Buffalo Bull and Cactus Spine Dust Devil was having Longhorn and his thugs, the Cattle Rustlers, make messes and problems all over town but making sure to leave phony evidence that Devil could use to point hooves at Bull and his troupe.
Okay, so Bull dismissed Devil from the troupe, but why couldn't Devil understand Bull had done so for Devil's own good? It'd been several years, as Mac understood, that Devil was fired from Bull's show but apparently time had not dulled the bitter sting that spurred Devil's grudge.
Still, something about Dust Devil during that confrontation yesterday seemed off. Sure, he mouthed off a little, but he backed down just a tad too easily and something about him had wavered. Like perhaps he wasn't entirely certain of going through with this whole charade after all.
Dust Devil was in the middle of all this but Mac wasn't entirely certain where Devil fit into this picture. Was Devil's grudge so bitter that he would sacrifice the town he was supposed to protect just to get back at Buffalo Bull? Big Mac didn't think so, but Devil was working with a known outlaw, and what had he promised Longhorn in exchange for his help? Cactus Spine suggested Longhorn was after the town's coal but she didn't believe Devil would allow it.
But before he could think on it further, he heard a commotion and looked out to see several townsponies, led by Dust Devil, were headed down the street and definitely towards Bull and the troupe!
"Ah gotta get there an' help!" Big Mac grabbed his saddlebag and hurried outside, but made sure to stick to behind the buildings so Devil and his mob didn't see him.
Buffalo Bull stood protectively in front of his troupe, his family, standing between them and the angry townsponies, looking Dust Devil in the eye who returned Bull's look with one of bitter spite.
"San Clydesdale's patience has rung out, Bull! An' you an' yer bunch o' misfits have outworn yer welcome!"
"We'r not responsible fer anythang or any wrong tha's happened since we've come to yer town, Devil," Bull responded with furrowed brows, "but you know well enough tha's th' truth, don'cha?"
"Don'choo try any tricks `r fancy words to wriggle yer way outta this, Bull!" Devil flared his wings, stamped his hoof, glared at the pony he once looked up to, "You an' yer pack o' ne'er do-wells are gonna spend a good long time in jail an' yer silly show's about t' shutdown fer good!"
The townsponies behind Dust Devil all shouted and jeered at the troupe in agreement of Devil's words and it was at this point that Big Mac stepped forward, "Sheriff! Yor s'posed t' serve an' protect yer neighbors, an' t' enforce the law in th' name o' justice! Don' let an old grudge steer you any further away from tha' path an' tell th' truth!"
"You hush up or Ah'll arrest you too fer aidin' an' abettin'!" Dust Devil threw Big Mac a nasty stink eye, "Th' only law tha' matters around here is me!"
Big Mac and Buffalo Bull shared a look of pity before they nodded and Bull called out, "Cactus Spine! Time t' set th' truth free!"
"WHAT?!!?" Dust Devil flinched in abject horror to see the old goat Cactus Spine step out from among the troupe, giving Dust Devil a blatant look of disappointment.
"Ponies of San Clydesdale!" Cactus Spine spoke up loud, making sure all could hear her, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Sheriff Dust Devil has tricked all of you, all so he could get payback on Buffalo Bull!"
"Sh-shuddup. goat!" Dust Devil fidgeted before looking to the townsponies behind him, "Don' listen t' her! She's obviously wit' them!"
"Dust Devil has teamed up with known outlaw Longhorn, the leader of the Cattle Rustlers," Cactus Spine went on, "Longhorn and his thugs are the ones that've been going around making a mess of ponies' properties, and after they're done they leave behind a fake clue that Dust Devil finds so he can implicate Buffalo Bull and his troupe!"
The ponies of San Clydesdale murmured amongst themselves in response to Cactus's words and Devil felt his ego deflate and his nerves wind up to see some of his neighbors appeared to be considering Cactus's words were true.
"Now tha's jus' crazy talk! Why in Faust's name would Ah work with a no-good'un like Longhorn t' frame some silly old show?"
"Perhaps this could explain why," Bull retorted before he signaled some stagehooves on top of one of the wagons and the townsponies gasped to see a large poster unfurl to reveal what was most assuredly Dust Devil!
Devil was shocked to see his old poster, 'Come and see the Aerial Acrobatic Experience that is Dust Devil the Daring'. The sight of it and those words sparked a mixture of emotions in the former performer. A nostalgic warmth of the reminder of the pony he used to be, the good times he recalled, seeing audiences marvel and gasp at his acrobatic feats and stunts, the bitter sting of that awful memory when that stray bolt of lightning cut his career short, and the burning animosity he felt towards Bull for dismissing him from the troupe.
"Sheriff!?"
He looked back to see one of the townsponies, a young stallion Devil was fond of, like a little brother, looking at him with eyes confused as he pointed to the poster, "Is tha' you?!"
"Ah- Well, y'see- It's jus-" Dust Devil flabbergasted his words, trying to think straight but unable to come up with an explanation.
"But Sheriff, why would ya wanna cause trouble fer yer old troupe?" "Ain't it obvious?! He got canned, so when Mr. Buffalo Bull an' his show turned up in our town th' Sheriff wanted revenge!" "Tha's just... despicable!" "Mah colt was almost killed by tha' wagon wit' th' broken break!"
Seeing his friends and neighbors starting to turn on him, Dust Devil, already wound up from setting up this mob, confronting his old boss, seeing the reminder of the pony he used to be, and being found out, it finally wound him up so tight that all he could do was snap.
"FINE!! AH ADMIT IT! Ah teamed up wit' Longhorn an' his gang t' get even with Bull an' the troupe!" Dust Devil then turned to glare at Bull, who was surprised to see tears welling up in his old employee's eyes, "But you betrayed mah trust an' mah respect! Instead o' supportin' me after Ah got hurt ya cut me loose an' left me t' deal with th' broken pieces Ah was after Ah'd never felt so broken!
"Do ya know what tha's like?! T' feel like yer up so high tha' you can see all th' world only fer somethin' like a lightnin' bolt t' come along an' zap you down t' earth an' learnin' you'll never be able to fly so high like that again!! And then you! Ah admired you, looked up t' you! An' wha' did Ah get in return?! Th' heave-ho! Ya fired me an' told me t' go home, an' when Ah did everypony in mah hometown talked smack behind muh back about 'Dust Devil th' has-been, Dust Devil th' plucked over, DUST DEVIL THE LOSER'!!!"
Everypony watched, speechless by Devil's tirade as he fell back onto his haunches and everypony there was treated to the sight of a grown stallion crying, "Ah couldn' take it no more... So Ah left an' wandered till finally Ah found San Clydesdale. Nopony here'd ever heard of 'Buffalo Bull's Travelin' Wild West Show' so they'd ne'er heard o' me either. But Ah never forgot you, Bull!"
Dust Devil wiped away his tears and got back on his hooves while giving Buffalo Bull the look of a pony who felt betrayed, "Ah was told Ah'd never be able t' perform again after wha' happened, an' you turned me away right when Ah needed you most!"
Sighing bitterly, Dust Devil took off his hat and badge and turned to leave, "Ah'll go an' clean out muh office. Ah'll leave San Clydesdale before sunset."
"Dust Devil, wait!"
All eyes, even Dust Devil's, turned towards the troupe and they saw an earth pony mare with a velvet red coat, a golden mane tied in a long braid with colorful ribbons woven into the braid, a cutie-mark of theater curtains, and soft green eyes full of sympathy. Devil didn't know her name but she did look familiar...
"Dust, you prob'ly don' remember me, but Ah was around back then. My name is Curtain Braids, a stagehoof in th' show."
Dust devil said nothing, his face unreadable.
"Dust, you have every right to feel as you did after Bull dismissed you from th' show. But he din' make that decision so easy! He never got over the hurt of dismisisn' you from th' show. It hung on his heart for years after. He even tried lookin' to make amends and find a way to help you."
"Why should Ah care about that? He din't! He made tha' plenty clear after he fired mah ass an' told me t' go home!" Devil responded bitterly.
"He does care, Dust," Curtain Braids assured before she held a hoof over her heart, "and so do I!"
"You?" Dust Devil didn't understand.
"I joined Bull's show back when I was a teenage filly," Curtain Braids explained, "but I didn't have th' talent or th' confidence to perform. So I settled for being a stagehoof, an' having the best view of all the performances. But never did I feel the magic of show biz so well as I did when I watched you perform!
"Oh, I remember it so well, as though it were only yesterday. Seeing you practice and practice, how confident you were, how brave! But none of it compared to just how brightly you shined when you performed such mane-raising stunts that a couple times I thought you were gonna get yerself killed! But then you'd pull off such a twist mid-performance and defy death, oh! You were an inspiration!"
Everypony listened to Curtain Braids but Dust Devil felt moved and confused, "But... Ah don' understand, why duz this matter so much t' you? Tha' was all a long while ago."
Curtain Braids hanged her head with guilt before she took a deep breath, "I wish I'd told you this back then. Then maybe you wouldn't have had t' go through all that alone, I just didn't have the confidence to `fess up. Dust Devil, when I watched yer first performance, you captured your audience. As well as my heart."
Dust Devil's eyes widened as he began to realize what Curtain was trying to say.
"I wanted to tell you how I feel, but I just... I mean, I was just a stagehoof and you were a star performer! How could I compare to that...? But after yer accident and Bull dismissed you from th' show, I wanted to go after you, to tell you my feelings! But I just didn't have the courage to leave the troupe, the family I'd come to love. I'm so sorry, Dust Devil. After what happened, I begged Bull t' take th' show to yer hometown but by th' time we got there you were long gone and nopony knew where you went, and I thought I'd lost you forever..."
"Miss Curtain, are- Are you sayin'...?" Dust Devil managed to utter but he found himself speechless, and Curtain Braids gave him a tearful smile.
"I love you, Dust Devil!" Curtain gave a teary laugh, as though a great weight had lifted off of her withers, "I've loved you ever since I first watched you fly!"
Curtain's words lit something in Dust, something warm, something that made the old hurts start to hurt less as he realized, Somepony loves me...!
But just as Dust Devil was going to reply and finally fix his mess once and for all, the far side fence surrounding the lot where Bull's troupe was staying burst down in a wreck of splintered wood, and Longhorn, flanked by two bulls, came forward, looking pretty full of himself.
“So Ah see y'all got muh lil' pawn t' bleed his heart out. Big deal,” Longhorn gloated. “He's done his job o' distractin' San Clydesdale by makin' y'all turn th' stink eye towards this two-bit circus!"
Everypony gasped to see Longhorn and his henchbulls giving everypony menacing sneers and snorts, looking like they were itchin' to run wild and do some real damage.
"Ah had a feelin' you'd be nearby, Longhorn," big Mac spoke up first, so all eyes turned to him as he furrowed his brows toward Longhorn, "but it still begs th' question - Why go to all th' trouble o' framin' Bull an' his troupe and why'd ya involve Dust Devil?"
“Ol' grudges have a way o' makin' stupid ponies like th' sheriff o'er there blind wit' rage, which is always so easy t' take advantage of,” Longhorn mocked. “As fer th' why, Ah've been lookin' t' expand mah territory an' San Clydesdale's got th' biggest coal biz this side o' th' San Palomino Desert!
"While Dunce Devil there was pointin' hooves at this buncha riffraff, all you townsponies were lookin' th' other way while mah boys have been helpin' themselves to yer coal mine! An' once mah buyer arrives, Ah'm gonna make a fortune from all tha' coal!!!"
Longhorn and his bulls threw their heads back in mooing laughter, triumphant and mocking all at once.
The townsponies were beginning to jabber, some were glaring at Longhorn but too many were glaring towards Dust Devil who'd fallen back onto his haunches and looking so ashamed and defeated at what a fool he'd been played for. Big Mac knew he had to do something and quick otherwise things were gonna get ugly and somepony would get hurt. Remembering Longhorn's defeat at his sister's hooves, the red pony got an idea.
“Longhorn, why don'choo jus' give up?” Big Mac gave the bull a cocky smile. “Mah lil' sister bucked yer fat ass six ways from sunday, so wha' chance hav' ya got against me, her big brother?"
That shut the outlaw up and he glared reproachfully at Macintosh, who'd just thrown down the gauntlet.
"Ah still owe tha' lil' whorse a reckonin'," Longhorn narrowed his eyes before he pulled his lips back in a wicked sneer, "but fer now you'll do!!"
Longhorn let out a bellowing roar before he lowered his horns and charged!
"Big Mac!!" Bull cried out, only for one of Longhorn's goons to bar him and the troupe, the second doing the same with the townsfolk.
Big Mac stood his ground however, fully prepared to knock this bully down a peg when all of a sudden, Dust Devil tackled Longhorn in the blindside, causing them both to stumble and everypony gasped in shock as Dust Devil leapt off of Longhorn, twisted through the air, and landed perfectly on his hooves near Buffalo Bull.
"Dust...!" Bull was astonished by what he had just seen as Dust gave his old employer a smirk.
"Ah still got it!"
"An' yer gonna get it, too!!" snorted Longhorn as he got back on his hooves and heard a ruckus.
Trouble Shoes had knocked down the bull who'd barred the troupe and several stallions among the townsponies had wrangled the other with some fine lasso work. Seeing the situation was falling out of his favor, Longhorn began to see red as he glared furiously at Dust Devil but then noticed Curtain Braids, the simpering mare who'd opened up her pathetic heart to his pathetic pawn. If he couldn't make Devil hurt, then he'd make him suffer!
Letting out another bellowing roar, Longhorn charged again, towards Dust Devil and Bull at first. But then suddenly veered the other way and the troupe cried out in horror as they saw Curtain Braids was in danger! Big Mac felt something spur him into action as something awoke, and he leapt forward, putting himself between Longhorn and Curtain Braids!
*FLASH/BONG/CRACK*
Everyone wasn't sure what had just happened until it was too late, but Longhorn found himself blown back and looked up in abject horror to see his horns had both been broken halfway off! He gaped forward and saw Big Mac with a round golden shield emblazoned with his cutie-mark of a green apple sliced in half and surrounded by sparkles, expanding to the width of a wagon wheel. Floating next to the shield was a knightly sword, gleaming a faint silvery red, with a golden hilt and on the pommel was a green apple ornament.
Big Mac stood up, something guiding him instinctively as the sword and shield moved in accordance to his will, the shield at his left, the sword to his right, and he spoke without realizing it, "Stand tall, Stone Edge!"
Their name called, the sword and shield blazed with energy, as Big Mac willed the sword to point at Longhorn, "Yer gonna answer fer yer misdeeds, Longhorn, as well as yer posse!"
The goat, Cactus Spine, stepped forward and said, "The cell in the sheriff office'll be a tight squeeze fer you an' yer thugs, but we'll make do."
Longhorn growled but the damage to his horns, his bulls subdued, and the reality of his situation caused him to sink in defeat as everyone started to converge.
As Cactus Spine expected, It was indeed a squeeze for Longhorn and his two bulls after locking them up in the cell over at the sheriff's office. After, the mayor of San Clydesdale asked Big Mac to lead a team to the coal mine to subdue the rest of the Cattle Rustlers and recover the stolen coal. The bulls who'd been left at the mine to gather the coal were quick to surrender after Big Mac threw the broken halves of their boss's horns at their hooves, and they found the coal was safe and sound.
Once the Cattle Rustlers had been safely secured, the mayor demanded Dust Devil turn in his badge and Devil obliged without hesitation and even surrendered himself to be held accountable for his actions. The mayor considered holding Devil equally as guilty as Longhorn and his gang but Big Mac, Buffalo Bull, and even Cactus Spine defended Devil, saying while he had done wrong he'd had no idea that Longhorn was stealing the town's coal behind his back. So, the mayor decided to sentence Dust Devil to community service instead, which Devil accepted, intending to take his medicine and square his accounts.
Then the mayor issued an apology on behalf of San Clydesdale to Buffalo Bull and his troupe, and Bull kindly accepted it with no hard feelings, and even offered a free performance from his show for everypony in town to enjoy. Cactus Spine was made interim sheriff until further notice.
After finally having a moment to himself, Big Mac went to an open field where he summoned his sword and then willed it to transform into the sword and shield known together as Stone Edge! To his bewilderment, he found he could control the sword and shield with his mind, almost as though he were a unicorn moving things with magic. The sword was sharp and enduring, the shield stout and mighty.
He made them float in front of him, gazing up their forms and details, and somehow felt that Stone Edge suited him. Ordinarily, Big Mac wasn't partial to weapons, but then he recalled something his father once told him - It was better to have a weapon with which to defend yourself and those you care for and not need it than to need a weapon and not have one. Those words had turned up in a conversation back when Mac was a little colt, at a time where he thought being a hero meant being big and strong and having some cool weapon to beat the bad guys with.
"You looked mighty heroic th' way ya held tha' sword n' shield, partner."
Big Mac turned to see Trouble Shoes giving him an admiring smile, "An' Ah'm mighty glad you showed up here when ya did."
"Ah came `cuz Ah was needed," Big Mac nodded when he felt his flanks shiver and he looked to see his cutie-mark glowing inward and he knew that he was needed no longer, "but now it's time fer me t' go home. Ah miss muh `Shy."
"Ya sure ya wanna head out now?" Trouble Shoes looked a little disapointed, "th' show's still goin' on."
"Eh, Ah'm good," Big Mac politely declined as he willed Stone Edge back into their single sword form before it de-materialized, becoming an energy that he absorbed into his hoof. But as he turned he paused and said, "Y'know, Longhorn mentioned a buyer he was gonna sell th' coal to. Ah wonder who it is..."
"Well, whoever it is, they'll be plenty disappointed when Longhorn don' show wit' coal tha' wern't his t' sell," Trouble Shoes came over and held up his hoof to Big Mac, "Maybe sometime Buffalo Bull will steer th' troupe o'er t' Ponyville."
"Ah'll look forward to it, haystack," Big Mac smiled as he bro-hoof'd his friend, "an' how're Dust and Miss Curtain Braids?"
"Dust Devil's already workin' on his community service," Trouble Shoes reported but smiled as he added, "an' Curtain Braids is helpin' him out. He said she don' hav' ta, but she said she wants ta'. Ah think they'll be good fer each other. He already seems kinda happy."
"Glad t' hear. So long," Big Mac started walking away, "Ah'll tell Apple Bloom ya said hi."
"Be seein' ya!" Trouble Shoes waved and called after Macintosh as the red earth pony started down the road to the train station.