The Outlaw, The Star and the Big, Big Sky

by TotalOverflow

Chapter 4

        WHAM WHAM WHAM

        “Braeburn!  Braeburn!!”

        Creaking open a tired eye, the yellow stallion slowly lifted his head in the direction of his front door.  He smacked his lips and stared bemused as his brain finally registered his sister screaming blue murder.

        “Euh...Yeah?”

        “Git yer fat flank out here now, Braeburn!”

        Braeburn tumbled off the couch with a groan, his neck sore and his bones aching.  

        “Whatever it is, Marmalade, can’t it wait?” he asked, his voice crackly and dry.  “I’m tired,” he added with a bit of an indignant whine.

        “No, it can’t!  Now git out here!”  She stampeded away and Braeburn scraped himself off the floor, yawning.  Teetering toward the door he opened it slightly and winced at the morning sunlight.  He dragged his hooves outside and followed his sister’s tracks down the hill in the direction of the...

        “The crater!!” he gasped, now fully awake.  With a bray he galloped away before he remembered the filly in his room.  Rushing back inside, he peered at his bedroom door, still closed with no light coming from the crack beneath; she must still be asleep, he decided.  Against his better judgement, he ran back outside, down the hill and flew between the trees, narrowly dodging several branches to the face.  Approaching the impact site he found a small crowd of sleepy ponies muttering and marveling at the path of devastation.  Once he came to the top of the hill where Bloomburg once stood he stopped, unable to breathe, staring at the crater and the ‘meteorite’ within.  Marmalade, the sheriff and a few others stood around, shaking their heads and muttering.

        “BRAEBURN!” bellowed Marmalade once she caught sight of him standing slack-jawed on the hill.  Her purple eyes were ablaze and her orange mane was in disarray, missing its signature bows and ponytails. “What in tarnation happened ta mah apple trees!?”

        Braeburn stumbled down the hill toward the small group.  He did his best to appear shocked and awestruck at his rock while legions of grasshoppers paraded around inside his stomach.  Unsure of what to say, he could only stand and stare, occasionally glancing up at the others.

        “Looks like somethin’ done fell from the sky,” offered Silverstar, his mustache messy and his eyes baggy.  Braeburn felt his knees shake a little, hoping to Celestia nopony would notice the guilty look on his face.

        “Ah can see that, Sheriff!” screeched Marmalade, resulting in a unified folding of ears from all present, “what’ve you got ta say fer yerself, Brae!?”

        Braeburn shot his head up in surprise, the grasshoppers in his stomach now joined by rattlesnakes.

        “W-w-what?  What do ya mean?” he asked, taking a step back from his bristling sister.

        “Y’all were the only one out here last night!  What did you see?”

        “M-me?  What did I see?”

        “Didn’t you see it land?”

        Braeburn swallowed.  He didn’t exactly see it land...

        “No,” he finally said, “n-no I didn’t.”

        Marmalade glared at him with bloodshot eyes before finally turning back to sputter at the destruction around her.  Braeburn looked out to the distance, his chest shuddering as adrenaline coursed through his body, making him nauseous.  He wished he could just run, run and keep running, never looking back.  

        “Did you see anythin’...suspicious out here last night?” Silverstar asked quietly.

        Snapped back to reality, Braeburn turned to look at the Sheriff, whose eyes were serious, unblinking and terrifying.  For a moment, they became Thunderhoove’s.  Braeburn felt his own narrow ever so slightly.

        “I already told you last night.  No, I, didn’t,” he replied.

        “How could nopony even notice this...this...tree-killer fall!?” demanded Marmalade of the crowd.  When nopony answered she turned her attention back to the black rock and leaned in toward it, lifting a hoof.

        “Don’t touch it!” shouted Braeburn.  Marmalade glared at him, holding her hoof steady.

        “Why?” she growled.

        “Uh...It-it could be dangerous...?”

        “Oh my goodness you’re right!” Lucky blurted, poking his head out from behind a tree, “it’s like in that pulp magazine of mine, this big thing falls from outer space, and anyone who goes near it turns into zombies, and then, and then, and then a giant green monster comes out of it, ‘cause it was really an egg all along, and and...”

        “Lucky!” shouted Promontory.  “Ah told ya ta stay back at the station!!  An’ stop readin’ that trash!”

        “But Dad, it’s science!” cowered Lucky as he ran off, tail between his legs.  

        Weary, Braeburn stared at his hooves.  He stifled a gasp as he noticed his own tracks leading to the crater, next to the boulder’s.  Glancing around the crowd, he marveled that nopony had spotted them yet.

        “He’s right, though,” Silverstar began.  As the crowd turned their attention back to the sheriff, Braeburn shuffled over to the tracks and began casually scuffing them out.

        “You think a monster’s in that thing?” Marmalade asked, incredulous.

        “Well, no, but there’s no tellin’ if it really is dangerous’r not.  Best we keep away from it fer now.”

        Scuff scuff rub.  Braeburn looked up to see somepony giving him an odd look.  He blushed and tried to be less obvious, wiggling like a foal who needed a restroom.

        “But!” stuttered Marmalade, “but what ‘bout mah apple trees?  How’m Ah supposed ta do any harvestin’ with some big dangerous space-rock in the middle of mah field?  What if it’s emittin’ some kind of ray or somethin’ that’ll hurt the rest o’ mah trees!?”

        “It-it-it’s emitting a ray?” asked somepony in the crowd as the group took a few nervous steps away from the impact site.  Braeburn swallowed, his gaze focused on the dirt he’d evened out.  His little rock was getting more attention than he’d expected.

“Ah’m sure it ain’t emittin’ nothin’,” said Silverstar, “but all the same, t’day’s the Summer Sun Celebration!  You shouldn’t be doin’ any harvestin’ anyhow.”

        Marmalade’s jaw fell open.  “Uh, Ah guess Ah didn’t...”

        “Hey!” Somepony blurted.  All eyes turned upon the pony, a youthful, orangey stallion with a black bowler cap.  “Y’all realize what this means, don’t ya?”  Everyone looked around, confused.  Braeburn gulped.

        “It means,” the pony continued, “that this town is gunna be famous!  Ah mean, think about it!  A rock from outer space!  Landin’ right here in our town!”

        The entire crowd lit up in bright-eyed smiles.  Braeburn’s jaw fell open in bewilderment.

        “Hey...Yeah!” somepony else said, “folk’s’d be comin’ ‘round fer miles ta see it!”

        “We could put a fence around it!” the orange pony continued, “an’ Marmalade!  Imagine!  Everypony would want to see the apple orchard it rests in!  An’ of course, they’d want ta buy some apples!  Space apples!”

        Marmalade’s face beamed.  “Oh mah gosh!  Why, we’d make so much money!  ‘Marmalade’s famous Space Apple Pie!’”

        “Holy gravy!” Promontory nearly squealed, “imagine all the traffic we’d get!  We could afford to buy a bran’ new engine an’ everything!”

        “We’re gunna be famous!”

        “Yee-haw!”

        “This is wonderful!”

        “This is horrible,” Braeburn groaned softly.

        “All right, settle down, everypony,” announced the sheriff, “I’ll take care o’ this here rock a li’l later.  Fer now, just head back home an’ get some sleep.  Y’all had a late night last night.”

        The crowd slowly dispersed, murmuring excitedly amongst each other as they headed back for town.  Braeburn, his mind still trying to process what had just happened, was about to return home to Starlight when Silverstar called after him.

        “Braeburn, hang on a second.”

        The yellow stallion took a shaky breath before facing the sheriff.

        “Braeburn, there’s been a lot o’ strange things goin’ on these last few days...”  The chestnut-colored stallion stepped closer, his black hat tilted down casting a shadow over his eyes.  Braeburn squinted, trying to disguise his unease.  “I’m gonna need you ta be on the tips of yer hooves an’ ready fer whatever’s comin’ our way.”

        Braeburn let out a small sigh of relief.  

        “I’m gonna leave you in charge of watchin’ this here rock,” continued the sheriff, “yer home’s nearby an’ I’ve got lot’s o’ paperwork ta get back to.  I’ll be back later on ta deal with it.”  Braeburn gave a nod and the sheriff cantered away.  His head low, Braeburn began walking for home.  As he reached the crest of the hill, he looked back to his rock.

        “What in the heck am I gettin’ myself into...?”

        The door creaked as Braeburn pushed it aside.  He glanced around his home, at the messy couch, the silent piano and his hat and vest laying on the kitchen table.  He stepped over to the table and dropped the pair of apples he held in the crook of his arm onto it.  Running a hoof through his golden mane, he closed the front door and leaned against it.  

        “S’okay,” he mumbled, “just calm down.  I got out all the tracks...nopony should figure out where that rock-” he stopped when he heard a rustling noise from his bedroom.  Chuckling lightly, he strolled over and tapped politely.

        “Starlight?” he said softly, “you awake?”  When he got no response he reached for the doorknob.  “I’m comin’ in, ‘kay?”  
        The handle gave and he pushed open the door, poking his nose inside.  Slim rays of sunlight slipped between the drawn curtains to reveal the crouching form of Starlight next to his bed, which had been pushed a few feet to the left.  Braeburn’s pupils shrank as he watched Starlight lift a wooden box out from underneath a loose floorboard.  

        “Starlight!” he shouted, jumping forward and snatching the box out of her hooves, “Don’t touch that!!”  He pulled the box close to his chest while Starlight stared in wide-eyed shock and confusion.

        “Apple?” she asked meekly.

        “Uh, no...It’s...it’s dangerous, ‘kay?”  Stepping past Starlight he lowered the box back into its home, replaced the panel then pushed the bed back in place.  The pale filly sat crookedly on the floor, watching him with fascination.

        Braeburn wiped a bead of cold sweat from his face, his heart hammering in his head.  “Sorry, Starlight, I...I didn’t mean ta yell, just...just don’t go near that box, ‘kay?  It’s not safe.”

        “...‘Kay,” said the filly.

        “Hoo...” he sighed, “how did ya think ta look under there, anyway?”

        Starlight smiled and pulled her hooves close to herself.  He couldn’t help but give a little laugh.

        “You’re a curious one,” he said, “in more ways’n one.”  After a moment of looking into the filly’s scarlet eyes he walked over to the window and opened the curtains letting in rays from the morning sun.  Motes of dust drifted in the angled beam, and when he looked back to Starlight, her coat seemed a tiny shade pinker in the sunlight.  She squinted and looked away.

        “So, uh...You hungry?” Braeburn asked after a moment.  He stepped over to the open bedroom door and beckoned for Starlight to follow.  “I got some apples from the field fer breakfast.”

        “Apple!” Starlight jumped to her hooves and skipped over.  The yellow stallion led her to the kitchen and passed her one of the red fruits while taking the other for himself.  Starlight gobbled hers up in a flash while Braeburn just stared at his.

        “There ain’t much better’n a fresh apple fer breakfast.  Least that’s what Pa used ta say.”  Braeburn spun the apple in his hooves, looking wistfully at the fruit.  “Y’know, my whole family’s always worked with apples, least as long as I can ‘member.  We ain’t called the Apple Family fer nuthin’!  Heh, an’ there sure are a lot of us too.  Why, some of my relatives even started an orchard out in Stalliongrad!  How ‘bout that, eh?  I ain’t never been out there, but boy howdy I’d sure li-EEP!”  

        The apple flew from his hooves as Braeburn jumped in shock at the cold hoof that prodded his flank.  He glared back to see Starlight touching his cutie mark.

        “Apple?” she asked.

        Braeburn’s cheeks flared up and he took an embarrassed step away.  “S-Starlight!  Tha-that ain’t proper!  To go about touchin’ others’...” he brought a hoof to his red face.  “It...Well...you...Ain’t proper!”

        “Apple?”

        Braeburn looked down to his cutie mark, a red apple.  “Uh, my c-cutie mark?”  His voice cracked suddenly, followed by a cough.  “I mean, yeah, that’s my cutie mark.  It’s an apple.  Like I said, my whole family’s been tied ta apples fer generations.”

        “Cu...tie, mark?” Starlight struggled, frowning.

        “Yeah, ain’t nothin’ too special, I s’pose.  What’s yours?”  He looked to the filly’s flank and she did the same.  It was bare.  “Oh...uh....huh.”  Braeburn said, stepping closer, “now that’s strange...I didn’t notice b’fore, but...you don’t have one.  You shoulda got it by now.”

        “Don’t...have,” Starlight said sadly.

        “Well, hey now,” Braeburn said, smiling reassuringly, “we all get one someday when we find out just what we’re meant ta do.  Guess it just takes longer fer some than others.  You’ll get your’s someday too, when ya find your special talent.”

        The filly looked up at him and smiled.  “Talent.”  She then pointed at Braeburn’s flank again.  “Y...y...you?”  Braeburn gazed down at his cutie mark and sighed wistfully.

        “I know it don’t look like much compared ta some others’ cutie marks, but this li’l apple means a whole lot ta me.  Got it while helping out a friend.  A close friend, went by the name of Jake.”  Braeburn looked over to the brown buckled Stetson on his kitchen table.  “Closest friend I ever had.”  

        Starlight glanced between him and his hat before leaning over and picking up the fallen apple, passing it to Braeburn.  He smiled and took it in his hoof, rubbed it against his chest and admired its red sheen once more before leaning in to bite.
        
        Knock knock knock

        “Braeburn?  You there?”

        Braeburn dropped the apple and spun to stare wide-eyed at the door.  “Ah horse apples...” he hissed, pushing Starlight in the direction of his bedroom, “quickly, hide!  An’ stay quiet!”

        “Bu-”

        Braeburn shoved a hoof over her mouth.

        “Ssh!  Just stay in here an’ keep quiet!”

        Starlight slowly nodded her head and went into the room.  She looked at him, confused, and Braeburn closed the door on her.
        
        Knock knock knock

        “Coming!” he shouted, trotting over and opening the door.  Standing outside was Linky, wearing her huge pink hat and a pair of black satchels.  “Uh, Linky!  Hi!”  Braeburn grinned awkwardly, “fancy seein’ you ‘round here!  W-what’s goin’ on?”

        “Ah’m here ta check up on yer hooves an’ change yer bandages, ‘member?” she said, frowning, “we talked ‘bout this yesterday.”

        “Oh, oh right!” Braeburn said, stepping outside and slamming the door behind him, “well, let’s hurry on down to Doc’s an’ do this!”

        Linky stared disbelievingly at him.  “Uh, Ah brought mah kit, Braeburn.  Ah said Ah’d come by t’day fer a house call, ‘member?”

        “Uh, oh, right, of course!” Braeburn laughed loudly, “just a little tired!  Sorry!  Late night an’ all, heh heh.”  He turned, grimaced and opened the door, holding it open for Linky and then followed her inside.

        “Riiiight,” Linky said, looking around his house, “nice place ya got here.”  She eyed the bruised apple on the floor, his hat and crumpled vest on the table and the messy blanket on the couch.  She clicked her tongue.

        “Uh, thanks?” Braeburn blushed, hurriedly grabbing the apple and setting it on the table.

        “Okay, take a seat on the couch then,” Linky said, already opening her bags, “this won’t take long.”  Braeburn obeyed and held out his hooves as she pulled out new gauze, clips and a knife.  She deftly manipulated the knife with her mouth and cut the old bandages on his hooves.  Braeburn made quick nervous glances at his bedroom door as she peeled away the fabric, exposing his sore hooves, coated in dry blood.  Braeburn winced in mild pain as Linky began scraping the hardened blood off with the dull side of the blade.  She then wiped it away with a slightly damp cloth.  As she held his hooves up to examine them, she frowned and mumbled to herself.

        “Uh, everythin’ okay?” Braeburn asked, his concern taken off the filly in his bedroom for the moment.

        “Now that’s odd...” Linky said, “yer right hoof is healin’ way faster’n yer left.”  Braeburn turned his hooves around and squinted at them.  His left hoof was still cracked, bloody and swollen, while the other had nearly healed completely: only a little reddish with a few small chips and bumps.  

        “Uh, that’s good, ain’t it?” Braeburn said, his voice uncertain.

        “Ah s’pose, but it’s weird.  Ah well, s’long as it’s gettin’ better.”  She began wrapping the new gauze around his hooves while Braeburn chanced another glance at his bedroom door.

        Once Linky fastened the new bandages she packed her things and rose to her hooves.  Braeburn stood and tested the new bandages.

        “That’s it then,” Linky said, slinging her packs over her shoulder, “let me know if they start hurtin’ any worse or anythin’, an’ Ah’ll be by t’morrow ta change ‘em again.”

        “Sounds good,” Braeburn smiled.  He led the blue mare toward his front door, releasing a silent sigh of relief that Starlight hadn’t drawn any attent-

        THUMP

        Braeburn froze in place, not daring to look at his bedroom door.

        “...Heck was that?” Linky asked.

        Wincing slightly, Braeburn looked up to the mare, who stared across the room with a frown.  “Uhh, prob’ly just some...uh, books or somethin’ fallin’ over.  Yeah, it’s a mess in there right now, heh heh!”  He tried to give a convincing smile and nonchalantly strolled over to his hat and vest on the table, fumbling with them for a moment before donning them.  With a sudden blush he removed his Stetson, spun it around and placed it back on his head correctly.

        Linky glared at him from beneath the rims of her pink hat before rolling her eyes and turning out the door.  “Whatever.  Yer place could do with a good scrubbin’.”

        “Heh, sure could!  I’ll get on that!” Braeburn shouted a bit too cheerfully after the mare as she trotted away.  The door slammed behind her and the stallion fell against it, his breathing heavy.  Standing on shaky knees he went to his bedroom door and opened it to find Starlight struggling to free herself from the blanket that had entangled itself around her legs and neck.  She looked at Braeburn with a sheepish grin and held out her hooves toward him.  Braeburn shook his head with a chuckle and stepped over to free the filly.

        “That was close,” he said as he unwrapped her, “good thing Linky didn’t press the matter.”  He looked around his room, which besides the bed, coat-rack and mirror was completely empty.  “I ain’t even got any books.”  

        “Books?” asked Starlight as Braeburn undid the knot around her back leg.

        “Yeah, I ain’t never been big on readin’ storybooks an’ such.  Now, my sister on the other hoof, well she’s always been a big sucker for fairy tales and the like, y’know, where the brave knight finally gets the beautiful princess an’ they live forever after an’ all that.”

        Starlight giggled.  After a few more minutes of disentangling her she stood to her hooves, now freed from the blanket menace.  She threw herself at Braeburn and wrapped her arms around him.

        “Br-brave kn...ight!” she cheered.  

        Braeburn turned bright pink and gave her a gentle pat on the back.  She pulled away and looked at him with big happy eyes as the stallion sat on his haunches for a moment.  He coughed to hide a giggle and stepped over to the crumpled blanket on the floor, lifting it with his teeth and tossing it back on the bed.  He looked back to Starlight and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a knock on the front door.

        “Braeburn?”
        
        Knock knock knock

        “Oh Luna, not again!” he groaned, placing a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder and pushing her slightly further into the room, “just stay put, an’ stay quiet this time!”  Starlight nodded and ducked into a corner as Braeburn hurried out of the room, slamming the door behind him.  

        “Braeburn!”

        He flung open the front door and tried to smile for Linky, whose hoof was raised to knock again.

        “Hey, Linky!” he said through his teeth, “what’s goin’ on?”

        “Braeburn, you know anythin’ ‘bout that space rock?”

        “Uh,” Braeburn scratched his neck, “a li’l, I s’pose, why?”

        “Well, Ah was hopin’ ta get a look at it after Ah finished fixin’ you up, but Ah couldn’t find it.  Where’s it at?”

        Braeburn frowned.  “I don’t really see how ya could miss it, I mean, that big black crater ain’t easy ta miss.”

        “No, Ah saw the crater, but where’s the rock?”

        “What, you didn’t see it?  Right in the crater!  ‘Bout so big, black...”

        “Nope.  Nothin’ was there.”

        The yellow stallion froze up.  “It’s...gone!?”

        Linky stared at him for a moment before her pupils shrunk to pinpricks.  “Oh mah gosh!  Somepony stole it!  What should we-!  What if-!  Uh, uh, Ah’m gunna go get the sheriff!”  She trotted in place for a moment before turning and galloping away for town.

        Dumbstruck, Braeburn’s hooves were glued to the ground.  Finally, his wits returned.  “W-wait!  No!!” he called, but it was too late: she was already out of sight.  Braeburn began running after her but a shriek from his home stopped him in his tracks only a few meters away.

        He glanced between his house and the path to town.  Taking a step toward his home he paused, turned and ran for town.  A second later he cursed himself and spun around, racing back for his house.

        “Starlight!?” he panicked, running over to the bedroom door.  Starlight leapt into his arms, panting and pointing to the window.  “What is it?” he asked, his voice tense.  “Did somepony see you?  Is it a coyote?  What’s out there?”  Starlight whimpered and moved behind the stallion, using him as a shield.  Braeburn jumped over to the window, but nothing was outside.

        “What was it, Starlight!?” he asked, every fibre of his body quivering with adrenaline.  The filly stepped a little closer and pointed with a shaky hoof at a spider on the window pane.

        Braeburn did the best he could not to face-hoof.  He opened the window and tried to shoo the spider out, but it crouched into a crevice, its legs sticking every which way.  Braeburn shook his head and turned to leave.

        “I don’t have time fer-!” he caught himself when he saw Starlight staring wide-eyed at him.  

        “Grrrrah!” he groaned, removed his hat with his teeth, and tried to convince the spider to migrate to its brim, but the spider seemed quite content in its little crack.

        He sighed and replaced his hat.  “Look, Starlight, it’s just a spider!  I really hafta-”

        “Mmm!” Starlight squealed, clutching tightly onto his vest.  Defeated, Braeburn rolled his eyes and ran into his kitchen with Starlight clinging onto him for dear life.

        “Just gimme a sec, Starlight!” he said as he began rummaging through cupboards and drawers, “I know I’ve got some-Aha!”  He smiled triumphantly at the writing quill and parchment in the drawer meant for cutlery.  Snatching the quill in his teeth he ran back into the bedroom.  

        The window sill’s crack was empty, the spider nowhere to be seen.

        “There!” said Braeburn, “it’s gone now!”  Starlight gasped and started hyperventilating, looking all over the room as if it could jump out at her from anywhere.  Braeburn’s shoulders drooped and he began pulling aside the curtains, looking for the bug.  

        “Eee!” Starlight screamed, pointing at the upper left corner of the window’s pane.  Braeburn glared up at his nemesis in the corner and, poking at it with the old, bristly feather, sent the spider swinging on an invisible strand, climbing madly for safety.  

        “No you don’t,” growled Braeburn as he hooked the spider’s strand on his quill and blew the spider out the open window before slamming it shut.

        “There!  Egad, Starlight!” he groaned.  Starlight embraced him.  

        “Brave knight!” she said happily.  Braeburn couldn’t help but give a smile and patted her on the back before he remembered the missing rock.

        He gently pushed the filly away and hurried into his front room.  Starlight stood in the doorframe and watched as he, stammering, paced back and forth between her and his front door.

        “Dagnabbit, I’m really in fer it now!” he muttered.  Staring at his hooves, he stopped pacing and tried to think.  Not an easy task, as his heart pounded in his head and his mouth ran dry.  Dishonesty was a dirty word to members of the Apple Family, and right now he was neck deep in it.  Momentarily he considered confessing everything, but when he looked up to Starlight as she stood in the doorway to his bedroom, a shiver of terror ran up his spine at the thought of anything happening to her.  The memory of how she played that song resurfaced in his mind, along with something somepony else had once told him...

        “There’s such a thing as a necessary evil, Brae.  Sometimes ta do what’s right we have ta do somethin’ bad.”

        Braeburn grit his teeth and looked back to the dusty floor.  He had hoped never to make such a choice.

        Not again.

        The sound of galloping hooves brought him back to reality.  Panicking, he ran over to Starlight and nudged her back inside his room.

        “Stay here!” he whispered.  She nodded, and ducked inside as he closed the door.  A moment later the galloping stopped as Silverstar hammered on his front door.

        WHAM WHAM WHAM

        “Braeburn!  Get out here!”

        The yellow stallion took a deep breath and stepped over to the door.  “Celestia help me...”

        He opened the door to find Silverstar and a few other ponies glaring at him.

        “Braeburn, what do you have ta say fer yerself?” the sheriff demanded.  Marmalade, Linky and even Vinny drew near the door, along with a dozen or so other ragged looking ponies.  Braeburn stepped outside, closing the door behind him as he stammered for something to say.

        “Sheriff, I-”

        “I gave you one task, Braeburn,” Silverstar interrupted, “all you had ta do was watch the meteorite till I got back.  I expected better of you.”

        “But I-”

        “What were ya doin’ at home?” he panted, exasperated, “how were ya plannin’ on watchin’ it from here!?”

        “Wait, what’s going on?” Vinny asked stupidly.

        “Braeburn stole the space rock!” Marmalade shrieked.

        “What!?” Braeburn bleated, “What would I want with some rock?”

        “What, you sayin’ somepony else took it!?  Y’all should’ve been watchin’ mah ticket ta success!”  Marmalade stammered, her eyes a mix of rage and heart-break, “this rock woulda made me some real money!  Money Ah coulda used ta build an even better orchard!”  She gasped and raised a hoof accusingly at him.  “You did take it!  Y’all were jealous an’ wanted ta keep it fer yerself!”

        “I didn’t touch it, sis!”

        “LIAR!”

        “Hey, now!” Silverstar said, stepping between the two, “let’s settle down here!”  Marmalade recoiled slightly, still breathing heavily through flared nostrils.  “Braeburn messed up - messed up big time, not keepin’ watch on it, but I don’t believe he stole it,” he looked to Braeburn, “did you?”

        “No sir,” Braeburn replied.  Silverstar, his eyes still narrowed, gave a slow nod.

        “I didn’t think so.  Braeburn ain’t got a reason ta hide anythin’...right?”

        “No,” Braeburn said, his stomach shivering.

        “I never even got to see it...” Vinny said weakly.  

        The group stood around silently for a moment before Braeburn shook himself.  “Well, a fat lot o’ good it’s goin’ ta do us standin’ ‘round here!”  Everyone looked up to him in confusion.  “Whoever took it musta left some hoofprints behind!”

        “Let’s go,” the sheriff said quickly as the group galloped for the orchard.

        “Ah can’t believe it,” Linky bemoaned as they ran, “this was the biggest thing that ever happened in this town an’ now it’s gone!  Ah never even got ta see it either...”

        “Mah Pa was so excited when Ah told him ‘bout it, too,” somepony else said sadly, “he was goin’ ta come out later an’ see it,”

        Braeburn looked over to Marmalade, who held her accusing glare upon him.  They ran between the trees, a few ponies tripping over jutting roots.

        “An’ here I was hopin’ fer an exclusive interview with the Equestria Daily,” said the orange pony with the bowler hat, “there goes that dream...”

        “Linky!” Silverstar called behind him, “you work with horseshoes all the time, don’t ya?”

        “Yes sir!”

        “Then you an’ Braeburn’ll help me look fer any tracks.”

        Linky looked to Braeburn, and the pair held their gaze for an uncomfortable moment before Braeburn finally looked away, focusing on the ground as he ran.

        “All right, Braeburn, Linky,” the sheriff bellowed as the group approached the hill overlooking the crash site, “let’s find some tracks.  The rest o’ y’all, stay here!  We don’t want anypony messing up the evidence!”

        “Hmph, Ah bet I’d do just as good a job,” a stallion in the crowd grunted.  

        Braeburn chewed his lip and stared numbly at the now empty black crater as Linky and Silverstar hurried down the side of the hill and spread out, examining the area.  Braeburn, a cold sweat running down his face, slowly slid down the hillside and began searching.  The ponies who watched muttered amongst each other as the trio searched the ground for any sign of a trail.  

        “I can’t believe this,” Braeburn grumbled, “what would anypony even want with a stinkin’ rock anyhow?”  He glanced over his shoulder at the other two, who were advancing further out into the orchard.  Braeburn groaned and moved further out as well.  

        Several meters away from the crater a strange shape in the dirt stood out to Braeburn, and he leaned down.

        The shape looked like a curved triangle, but split down the middle.  Braeburn looked a little further to see another, and another...a whole trail of them leading away, alongside a small, twisting trench in the dirt.

        Braeburn gasped and stood tall.

        “The buffalo!” he yelled, “they took it!”

        “What!?”  Silverstar shouted, his mustache flaring.  He and Linky approached.  “Braeburn, what in tarnation-”

        “Look here an’ tell me these ain’t buffalo tracks!”

        Silverstar fell silent and, after a moment of glaring at Braeburn, stepped over and examined the tracks.  He sighed, and looked back up to the yellow stallion, his expression unreadable.  The other ponies rushed down the hill and clambered over to take a look.

        “No doubt ‘bout it, those are buffalo tracks!” Linky said, “Ah helped out a lone buffalo whose hoof was hurt once, they ain’t anythin’ like a pony’s hoof.  That’s a buffalo hoofprint fer sure.”

        “But, that don’t make sense!” somepony said, “them buffalo are excellent trackers’n such!  Why would they leave hoofprints?”

        Braeburn gave a small, wicked chuckle.  “They only had a li’l time ta get here when nopony was around!  They didn’t have time ta cover up after themselves properly!”  He looked around at the crowd who murmured in agreement before looking over to Silverstar, who held his eyes steady upon him.  

        “He’s right!” Vinny shouted a few meters away, “look over here!  The tracks are all messy and all over the place, like they were in a hurry!”  The others ran over to see.

        “Ah can’t believe it!  Those thievin’ varmints!”

        “They wanted ta take the fame fer themselves!”

        “Naw, c’mon!  Why would the buffalo care ‘bout things like that?”

        As the others all exchanged theories, Braeburn and Silverstar stood silent, staring each other down.

        “Well, Sheriff?” Braeburn finally said, “what do you have ta say for them buffalo now?”

        The brown pony let out a long breath and finally looked back to the tracks.  “Braeburn...Braeburn...” he mumbled.  Braeburn’s smile faded.  “I know the buffalo an’ us didn’t always get along.  We didn’t know what ta think of each other back then, an’ we were reckless an’ afraid.  Heck, I was the one who accepted the chief’s challenge and caused that big fight a few months back...but I like ta think I learned somethin’ from that.”

        He looked up to Braeburn with sad eyes.

        “I had thought you did too.”

        Braeburn looked away.  He suddenly didn’t know how to feel, or what to think.  Had he really learned nothing from that day, or the days after he spent with Little Strongheart and the others?  But the last few days...Braeburn closed his eyes, thinking over recent events.  It was clear they were looking for something, they were afraid - they stunk of fear - and willing to steal.  What would they do if they heard about a pony who just happened to arrive in town the same night as something fell from the stars?  For that matter, what would the ponies in town do to her?

        Braeburn gave a light stomp of his hoof.  

        He had made his choice, and now it was time to follow through.

        “I’m sorry, Sheriff, but...”  He looked up to the stallion before him.  “I didn’t want it to be this way, but...I...I...I can’t trust them buffalo.  They are up to somethin’.  They’ve been spyin’ on us an’ watchin’ us, an’ they won’t tell us why.  What’ve they got to keep secret from us?  An’ now, they go an’ do this.”  When the sheriff gave no reply, Braeburn tipped his hat and turned, walking for home.

        When he was a few feet away the sheriff spoke.

        “You’re beginnin’ ta sound like Tanner.”

        Braeburn grit his teeth, took a deep breath and galloped away.

        “Starlight?”

        When Braeburn pushed open his bedroom door he found the filly admiring herself in the mirror.  She stopped and smiled when she saw him and sat down on the floor.  The sight of her sitting there, her dark mane glistening in the sunlight, calmed him and he was almost able to forget what happened moments ago.

        “Sorry I kinda ran off back there,” he said, leaning against the doorframe, “I had...somethin’ ta deal with.”

        Starlight just sat there, looking at him expectantly.  

        “Hey,” he said suddenly, “I’ve got an idea!  Why don’t I go an’ borrow some books from my sis so you’ll have somethin’ ta do if I...well, need ta run off again?”  He ended with a pang of guilt at how he’d been abandoning her like this.

        “Books,” Starlight repeated sleepily.  

        “That is, if my sis doesn’t kill me when I ask...”

        Starlight frowned and tilted her head.  “Kill?”

        Braeburn laughed nervously and loudly.  “I’m just kiddin’.  She’s been kinda upset with me lately fer...well, I guess I’ve been a little...um...”

        “Kill?” Starlight asked again, sitting straight, her eyes riveted upon him.

        “Uhh,” he stammered, “oh, look, don’t worry about it.  Forget I said anythin’.  I’ll go an’ get some of her books soon, ‘kay?”

        “‘Kay!” she replied happily.  He smiled.  Looking at the pale pinkish-blue filly in his room he blinked, wondering if she even knew how to read.  Then again, she had no trouble reading his sheet music...

        “Hey, Starlight,” he said, stepping out of the room.  Starlight followed him and the pair stopped near the piano.  “I didn’t know you could play the piano.”  Starlight looked between him and the box.

        She pointed at it.  “Piano.”

        “Heh, yup, that thing.  Y’know, bein’ able ta play is quite an accomplishment for an earth pony like yourself.  Oh!  I’m not sayin’ that you’re disabled!  I-I mean, uh, you’re an earth pony, like me!  Well, ‘cept you’re a girl...but we’re both earth ponies!  An’ playin’ is real hard for us.  Playin’ piano, I mean.  Y’know, hooves an’ no magic.  Well, some would argue we’ve all got some sort o’ magic, but...”

        He was interrupted as Starlight burst out laughing.  Blushing slightly, Braeburn scratched his neck.

        “Oh, Burn,” she said, still giggling.  Smiling, she toddled over to the piano, sat down before it and began playing.  Twisting and rotating her slender hooves she deftly maneuvered between the keys, improvising and playing slow, simple tunes.

        Braeburn smiled widely.  “I only ever knew one pony who could play piano.  He was amazin’, I tell you...Most folk only ever expect unicorns or critters with fingers to be able ta play, but there’ve been a few earth ponies who could, including him.  I only got ta see him play once, but I’ll never forget it.”

        The filly kept playing as though he hadn’t said a thing.  He closed his eyes and listened to her music for a bit, thinking back to his youth.  Feeling his eyes moisten and his nose become slightly stuffy, he opened his eyes and walked for his front door.

        “So, uh, guess I’ll go’n get those books, then,” he said with a small sniffle.  “While I’m gone, make sure you...”  He turned back to see Starlight watching him.  She smiled and trotted over to his bedroom, pulling the door to.

        Braeburn chuckled.  “Thanks.”  She smiled wider and closed the door.  Braeburn, after a moment, opened his front door and cantered for town, the late morning sun beating heavily upon him.

        The streets of Appleloosa were nearly bare.  Only one or two ponies milled about, and Braeburn saw at least three tumbleweeds roll by.

        “Howdy,” called a pony resting against a building, “sure is dead out here, eh?”

        “Yeah,” said Braeburn, “everypony must still be sleepin’ off last night’s party.”

        “You shoulda seen it earlier, though: ponies were running all over, hollerin’ ‘bout some space rock or somethin’.  You hear anythin’ ‘bout it?”

        “Uh, a bit,” Braeburn replied, quickening his gait, “prob’ly no big deal, though.  Anyway I gotta run!”

        “Stay safe,” the pony nodded as Braeburn hurried away.  He avoided the gaze of any other ponies who happened to be around for the rest of the trip to his sister’s house.  Once he arrived, he stood on the front porch to her home, a larger house than his and much more appealing to the eye.  He sighed, unsure of what to expect from his sister.  After knocking but getting no reply, Braeburn tested the door to find it unlocked.  

        “Sis?” he called, stepping inside.  The front room had a small table and two chairs, decorated with a potted flower, and a bookshelf full of books.  A staircase on the right of the room led up while two doorways led to the kitchen ahead, and the living room to the left.  Back when his family was here they all lived in this house together, and he had fond memories of it.  One of the first buildings in town...

        “Uh, Marmalade?”  Braeburn poked his head into the living room, where he found his sister resting on a couch facing away, her head on her hooves and her orange hat on a nearby table.  “Hey, uh, I was wondering if maybe I could-”

        “Mmm...cupcakes?  Pass the rainbow juice...”

        “Marmalade?”

        “No, no...more sugar...”

        Braeburn poked her on her back and she groaned.

        “Sis?” he asked, stepping around the table to look her in the face.  She opened her eyes and tried to focus on him.

        “Oh, it’s you.  What is it?” she asked, her voice crackly, “Ah jes’ fell asleep...”

        “I was wonderin’ if I could...” he paused, and looked around the room for a moment.  “Look.  Sis, I’m awful sorry ‘bout what happened ta the orchard.  An’...I’m sorry I didn’t take better care of the trees, or the r-uh, space rock.”

        She snorted.  “Y’all’ve been actin’ mighty strange lately, Brae.  Ah don’t like it.”

        Braeburn sighed and looked away.  “I know.  I...Well, I can’t really defend myself, I s’pose.  Things have been...Changed.  Things’re different lately.”

        “That space rock coulda changed a lot ‘round here.  Made this town the place Pa always wanted it ta be.”

        The room fell silent for a minute.  A long, agonizing minute.  Braeburn tilted back and forth on a squeaky floorboard, staring at his bandaged hooves.  

        Marmalade finally sighed.  “What’d you come by fer?”

        Braeburn had to think for a moment.  “I wanted ta borrow some books.  W-uh, I wanted somethin’ ta read.”

        “What else would ya do with ‘em?” she scoffed.

        “Mind if I pick out a few?”

        “Help yerself.”

        Braeburn strolled over to one of the bookshelves and tilted his head, eyeing their spines.  ‘The Secret of Highyard Hill,’ ‘Rescue at Midnight Castle,’ ‘Daring-Do and the Sapphire Statue,’ ‘Fortress of Fire’...

        “Ah didn’t even know you could read,” snarked his sister.

        He chuckled.  “You’ve got a lot here...what ta pick...”

        “Just choose somethin’ an’ git outta here so Ah can get back ta sleep.”

        His eye fell upon one red bound book without a label.  Pulling it out with his teeth and resting it on the table he found no title anywhere on it.  Not the thickest book, but certainly not light reading.

        “What’s this?”  His sister looked up at his question and her eyes lit up at the book.

        “Heh, Ah ‘member that one.  One of the first books Ah ever read by mahself, actually.”

        “Really?”  Braeburn flipped through the pages.  “Gotta be couple hundred pages in here...how old were ya when you read it?  How come I never saw you readin’ it?”

        Marmalade looked away, her voice low.  “It was while you were...y’know...”

        Braeburn sighed and looked back to the book.  “...Right.  ‘Course.”  He ran his hoof over the cover again.  Flipping it open, he scanned the first few pages for any sort of title.  “I don’t see a name or anything...”

        “Yeah, Ah don’t know.  Ah don’t know what that story’s called.  There’s no title’r nothin’.  Ah bought it at an antiques store after you’d...  Ma an’ Pa didn’t approve of me buyin’ stuff at a time like that, but...well, it took mah mind of it an’ got me through it.”

        “‘Once, in a land far away but not too far, there was a great kingdom...’” Braeburn read the first line aloud.  “Heh, this should do nicely.  Thanks, sis.”  He looked over to his sister who was staring at him with sad eyes.

        “Yer welcome,” she said after a moment.  Braeburn tried to smile, failed, and grabbed the book in his teeth.  He cantered out of the house, gently closing the door behind him.  The warmth of the sun, about midway through the sky, sent a shiver down his spine.  He stood in that spot for a moment until a growl of his stomach snapped him out of his reverie.

        “Haybe I thould geh sawfing frah the fakery for lunsh,” he spoke through the book.  He cantered off, smiling at the thought of his cousin’s apple fritters and wondered if Starlight would like them.

        A torch, burning weakly, crackled in its stand within the tent.  The curtains were pushed aside suddenly, letting in rays of sunlight as two creatures, one large and armor-clad, the other small and wearing a helmet several sizes too large, stepped inside.

        “Aries Parath, Lord Spire!” the large one said, “sorry to bother you sir, but this one was hiding among the ranks again.”

        Atop a large cushion a bighorn stirred.

        “Thank you,” he said, squinting through the beams of light, “I shall deal with this.”

        “Sir!”  The guard bowed and backed out of the tent, drawing the curtains leaving the smaller bighorn illuminated in firelight.

        “Dahlia,” Lord Spire said slowly with a chuckle, “so eager for war.  I admire your bravery, but you know it is no place for you.”

        Dahlia removed her helmet to reveal a young, slender ewe, her ivory coat cut short and her large brown eyes frowning at the ground.  “But sir,” she said, “I’m not a lamb anymore!  I can fight as well as any ram in your army!”

        “No, no, Dahlia,” Spire replied, “your place is here.”

        “But I want to see Ovisica!”

        “And you will, you will!” Spire smiled, “but not before it is safe for you and the others.”  Lord spire sat tall, looking down his snout at the ewe.  “As I have commanded, so it shall be.”

        Dahlia hung her head.  “Yes, my lord...”

Lord Spire regarded her for a moment before sighing and dropping down onto his cushion.  “Has there been any news from Thorn?”  

        The earth shook momentarily as a loud crumbling noise echoed around the mountains followed by cheering, distracting Dahlia momentarily.

        “N...no, sire,” she said, standing straight, “it is at least two days travel to where it fell, even for one as swift as Thorn.”

        Spire hummed in reply.  “Thank you, Dahlia.  Was there anything else?”

        “Well, I was thinking maybe I could assist with the work, and...”

        Spire tried to laugh but coughed instead.  “Do not be foolish; you do not even have any horns.”

        Dahlia huffed.  “But, but, I could...” she sighed.  “Please, I just want to help.”

        “Help can come...in more ways than one,” he smiled, suddenly breathing heavily “why don’t you...take your sister...down to the...valley for a while?”

        She sighed in defeat.  “Yes, Grandfather.  Aries Parath.”

        “Aries Parath,” Spire replied.  The ewe picked up the helmet with her teeth and slinked away, between the curtains.  Spire watched her leave, and closed his eyes for a moment.  He coughed again, dry and painfully.

        “Guard,” he called out.

        “Sir?”  The soldier stuck his head inside the doorway.

        “Summon Matilda.”

        “At once, sir!”  The guard dashed away.

        Lord Spire took a long, shaky breath and closed his eyes.  “Please,” he whispered, “please let me live long enough...”

This story is incomplete, and I need your help to finish it. Please comment and leave feedback on this chapter. Let me know what you think and any way this story can be improved.
Thank you.