Braeburn followed Day Break, Azure Spark and his father down the main hall of the temple at a slow pace. His left shoulder and foreleg burned, still sore from the might of the Dragon’s Breath rounds and their excessive recoil. Even with Daring’s slim build, it still pained him to bear her weight. However, he wasn’t about to let the injured mare walk on her own. It certainly helped that Day Break had offered to carry Thumper and the brass rifle, even if she looked to be uncomfortable with them strapped to her back.
Ultimately, it didn’t bother the beige stallion for even a second to carry Daring. Just to have her so close after so long was enough to make him ignore the pain. Since they left the prison, she had never once loosened her grip around his neck, nor did she remove her face from his long mane. Occasionally the stallion would feel a slight vibration coming from her stomach, signaling her evident malnourishment. The pegasus was a magnificent source of warmth in the cold underground tunnels, both physically and emotionally. Braeburn couldn’t find it in himself to wipe the contented smile from his face, nor the calm sense of mind despite the vast sea of fears and uncertainties plaguing the back of his thoughts. All he could think about was Daring and the kiss that they shared. He simply couldn’t believe that even after a year and seven months, the affection was still there. It was as if nothing had changed; as if no time had passed since the day Daring flew away from Sweet Apple Acres.
Nopony said a word as they approached the dimly-lit staircase leading to the surface. Whether it was due to fatigue or just a lack of anything to say, there was nothing but silence throughout the group as they ascended the stairs. Every step sent a pang of agony through Braeburn’s shoulder, each one more difficult than the last. But when he felt like his body was about to give in to exhaustion, Daring would give him an affectionate nuzzle or squeeze around his neck, instantly reigniting his drive to keep moving. After a moment or two, they were hit with a light breeze of cool early morning air. The moon was in the middle of its descent over the tree line above, while the other end of the sky had lightened a few shades from its previous dark blue. Braeburn’s ears were instantly reintroduced to the plethora of varying sounds of the rainforest. But just as he had felt with his sore shoulder, the mare of his dreams quelled his sense of insecurity with her warmth.
“Braeburn…” the mare whispered, her voice strained and shaking. The stallion slowed his pace, giving them a little more room from the rest of the group. He tilted his head, turning his right ear in the direction of her mouth. “I… Thank you. Thank you so much…”
Braeburn felt something in his soul break as he heard her words. She sounded nothing like the courageous mare he knew, but one that had undergone something truly terrifying. The stallion had dreadfully pictured what Sure Shot and Ahuitzotl must have done to her on his way to the island, but nothing scared Braeburn more than the desperation in her voice. All he wanted was to take the mare aside and hold her until she could breathe again; to let her know that everything was alright. But with her godfather anxiously waiting for them, the stallion settled for what he could get.
“Ah reckon you’d do the same thing,” he replied, rubbing his cheek against hers. She hummed a swoon in response, giving him a lingering peck on the temple.
“One thing, though,” she said.
“Hm?”
“Your hat still smells funny.”
All the stallion could do was smile at the comment, remembering a simpler time the two of them had shared. He was thankful to hear a bit of snark from the mare. Braeburn kept his distance from the rest of the group, more to pace himself than anything. Up ahead, he spotted Day Break and Azure in the middle of a quiet exchange. His curiosity made him watch the two for a moment. It was difficult to see in the moonlight, but they seemed to be talking about something interesting. While the unicorn spoke, Day Break looked to be wearing a small smile. It made Braeburn chuckle inwardly, for the mare was against trusting Azure only half an hour ago.
At the lead of the pack was Bullet Tyme, keeping his head forward and his pace brisk. Braeburn couldn’t help but sigh, his thoughts drifting back toward his father’s past. In the long run, the riflepony was torn between far too many things after saving Daring Do. Even in the elation over his mutual affection with the mare of his dreams, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat betrayed by the older stallion. Bullet Tyme, his father, had somehow been involved with the pony they were trying to thwart. How could his father have done such a thing? Was the bandit leader once a good pony, or did he simply deceive Bullet Tyme? Regardless, Braeburn could do nothing but trust his father and try to move on, but not before hearing everything about Bullet’s past.
“Oh, hey! Daring, look!” said Day Break. She extended her wings, throwing them down to fly over Azure Spark and toward the left side of the trail. Everypony came to a stop, watching her stick her head into a bush. Braeburn approached her, Daring propping herself up onto her elbows to get a better look. The yellow pegasus withdraw her face from the bush, something held between her teeth. It took a moment for Braeburn to identify the object in the shade of the trees, but the mare on his back seemed to immediately recognize it.
Daring sucked in a long gasp before launching herself from the stallion’s back, flying over to snatch her white pith hat from her friend’s grasp. Smiling brightly to herself, she placed the hat atop her head, completely disregarding the dirt it was spotted with. “Ohhh, there you are, little guy! I thought you were gone for sure! Did you miss me? I missed you-Ow!”
As expected, Daring’s right foreleg buckled underneath her. Day Break assisted her up and back onto Braeburn’s back as he snickered quietly to himself. “Yer really attached to that thing, aren’t ya’?”
“Pro-tip, Braeburn,” said Day Break, raising a hoof of warning. “Never make fun of the hat.”
“Ah wasn’t about to!” he replied.
“Gotta make sure,” the yellow mare said, turning to walk aside Azure again.
“She’s awfully protective of ya’,” Braeburn said casually under his breath, catching Daring’s attention.
“Oh? How do you figure that?”
“Just seems like it. S’not a bad thing; just somethin’ Ah noticed. One thing Ah wouldn’t mind knowin’ though. She seems like a really good friend o’ yers, so how come Ah never heard ya’ talk about her last year?”
“Well, there are reasons for that,” the mare replied wistfully, as if she was recalling a memory she was rather fond of. “When we met, you didn’t seem like you… well, had any friends to speak of, so I kind of made a point to never really speak of mine unless you asked. Normally I wouldn’t have put so much thought into such a thing, but you were just so nice and fun to talk to. I didn’t ever want to ruin the mood.”
“It wasn’t that big of a deal, you know,” he said reassuringly. “Ya’ didn’t have to do that.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t have if I never saw that look on your face,” Daring replied, her tone taking a few steps down toward something a little sadder. “Remember when we were in my train car on the way to Dodge Junction, and I asked if you had anypony around that was close to you? I couldn’t stand seeing that expression on your face, so I never brought the subject up again.”
“Seems like a lot to spare the feelings of a pony ya’ didn’t really know,” said Braeburn, although not without a fair amount of appreciation in his voice.
“Well… I dunno. Maybe there was just something about you,” said Daring, nuzzling his cheek briefly. “You know, other than you being really cute.”
Braeburn already had a self-destructive remark loaded and ready to go, but it was immediately shot down by her comment. He felt an unfamiliar heat rise to his cheeks; a small, silly smile playing on his lips. “Ah, um…”
“What? Has nopony called you attractive before?” Daring mused.
“Um… Not especially,” he smiled, finding it difficult to string words together.
“Wait… are you being serious?” she almost exclaimed, sounding genuinely surprised. “Really? Brae, you are so good-looking it’s stupid. You’re seriously telling me that the mares in Appleloosa never tried to catch your eye?”
“Ah’ve always been on the farm. Never really had time for anything like that,” said Braeburn, finally able to speak properly again.
“Excuse me if I don’t believe a word of that,” the mare chuckled, wrapping her forelegs around his neck once again. “So, does that mean that… you’ve never had a marefriend?”
“Nope.”
“Coltfriend?”
“Once.”
“Wait, really?”
“No,” Braeburn laughed. “Why are ya’ so fixed on this?”
“It’s just a shock is all. That and it’s just… it’s kind of adorable,” Daring admitted, her last comment lowering in volume as she spoke.
Braeburn did his best not to snort. “Well, thank ya’ kindly… Ah think.”
“Well, either way, things are finally starting to look up,” said Daring, a sense of hope in her voice.
“Yeah, Sure Shot and Ahuitzotl got away and are free to do as they please. Sounds great to me too,” said Braeburn sarcastically, his own words pressing him back down into a brief moment of melancholy.
“Hey, you and your father came back for me, we got Azure on our side, the two of us are together, and I have my hat back. Yep, I think that for now, all is right in the world,” the mare replied before tapping Braeburn on the head with a hoof. “Yeah, things in the future look bleak, but right now we have those things to raise our heads and smile at. We’ve won more than we’ve lost, and that alone is enough to keep me looking up.”
Braeburn exhaled through his nose, turning his head to glance at his marefriend. Just as they always were when she had hope, Daring’s rose eyes were as bright as ever, inciting a sharp rise in his spirits. It seemed that no matter how dark the world around her became, the archaeologist would always find some reason to grin as if nothing were amiss. Whether it was bravery or sheer defiance, Braeburn had always found her smile to be truly awe-inspiring. He felt himself grinning right back at Daring, her expression almost contagious.
“Ah don’t think you’ll ever know how happy Ah am to have had you knock on my door that day,” he said quietly, his tone sincere. Daring’s smile became much softer, her eyes loving.
“And you’ll never know how happy I am to have had you save me that day in Dodge Junction,” she replied, giving him another kiss to his cheek.
“Ugh, finally!” came Day Break’s voice, laced with exhaustion and relief. Braeburn and Daring Do looked up to find the moon’s light shining over the large clearing at the end of the path, the airship landed perfectly in the center. The riflepony had never seen the craft completely on the ground before and was momentarily confused to see the wooden cabin suspended a couple of meters in the air. As his eyes focused, he found the airship to be standing on four straight metal poles, protruding from opened compartments on the bottom of the cabin. Each one of the thin shafts flared outward toward the bottom like a cone, keeping the ship from tipping over upon landing.
Toward the rear of the cabin, the entrance dock was deployed. Braeburn spotted Artemis laying down on the ramp, looking up at the stars with a cigarette between his lips, its smoke drifting lazily toward the sky. When he didn’t seem to notice the five of them down the trail, Bullet Tyme found it appropriate to announce their presence.
“Delivery fer one cancer stick-suckin’ earth pony!” he called out with a hoof next to his mouth.
Daring’s head shot up from Braeburn’s mane, staring over the heads of the group to find her godfather, bolting up to his haunches and instantly spitting the cigarette from his mouth. He stood to his hooves, his eyes widening when they fell on his goddaughter. Braeburn continued forward, trotting as quickly as he could to close the gap between them. Thankfully, Artemis met him halfway, galloping around to the stallion’s side to throw his forelegs around Daring, who returned the favor with glee.
“Oh thank Celestia you’re okay,” he sighed, hugging the mare as tight as he could. “I was so worried; I didn’t even know if you were alive in there!”
“I missed you too, Arty,” Daring replied, his voice strained from her godfather’s hold.
Finally letting her go, Artemis got back to his hooves, looking at her position atop of Braeburn. “The guy saves you and now he’s your transport service too? Poor fella.”
“Well, uh… it’s kind of difficult to walk or fly right now,” she admitted, settling back down on Braeburn’s back. “And what about you? Why in Equestria are you smoking?! How many times do I have to preach how bad that is for you?”
“Ah’ll tell ya’ one thing,” Bullet started, walking between them and onto the ramp of the airship. “In the position you’ve been in tonight, Artemis, Ah don’t blame ya’ one bit. Now come on, Ah reckon we’ve all had enough excitement fer one night.”
“Alright, fine,” Daring sighed, letting the matter go. Artemis, however, seemed to have a new topic to bring up. He tilted his head toward the back of the group, looking around Braeburn to spot their new ally. The gray pony’s relieved demeanor shifted on the spot at the sight of Azure. He slowly approached him, looking the unicorn over with a calculating expression. Everypony else watched Artemis survey the newcomer as if he were a stray dog brought into a new home. Azure merely followed the earth pony’s gaze, his yellow eyes unable to hide his trepidation.
“Okay, I’ll butt in here and introduce you two,” said Day Break, who had been standing aside the unicorn. “Azure, this is Daring’s godfather, Artemis. Arty, this is Azure Spark. He helped us save Daring.”
“Did he?” Artemis asked suspiciously. “Tell me, Spark: do you work for Sure Shot or Ahuitzotl?”
“N-Neither, sir,” said Azure, striving to display his manners. “Admittedly, I did work for Sure Shot, but not on my own accord.”
“I’m not hearing anything that’ll get you on my ship,” the earth stallion replied curtly.
Bullet interjected Azure’s response, still standing halfway up the ramp. “There’s a lot to explain, Artemis, Ah know. If Ah were in yer position, Ah’d be askin’ the same questions. The good thing is that you can trust this one.”
“And how do I know that?” Artemis replied, keeping his eyes fixed on the unicorn.
This time, it was Day Break’s turn to defend their new ally. “Because he could have killed Braeburn, and your goddaughter would be dead right now,” she said flatly. “He had the chance, but he didn’t do it. Instead, Azure worked with us and we were able to save her and get out of there alive. He openly betrayed Sure Shot just to do the right thing.”
As the yellow mare spoke with such a serious tone, Braeburn and Daring merely watched with a slight sense of bewilderment.
“I was actually gonna say all that,” Daring said under her breath into Braeburn’s ear.
“Didn’t take long fer those two to get friendly, huh?” the riflepony whispered back out of the corner of his mouth.
Azure visibly recoiled at Day Break’s words, glancing awkwardly between her and Artemis. The gray stallion’s expression seemed to soften a bit, but the suspicion never left his eyes.
“Look, sir, I understand your hesitation to trust somepony like me, but I would be lying if I denied anything Day Break just said,” said Azure, gathering his courage. “However, I won’t force myself on your ship.”
“My ship,” corrected Daring simply.
“Your godfather is the captain of your ship?”
“What? Yes, just keep going! You were doing so good!”
“But you were the one who interrupted me-”
“Okay, alright, enough already,” Artemis spoke, holding up a hoof to silence the two of them. “Fine, you can join us on our way back to Equestria. Just be aware that I will be keeping my eye on you.”
Azure sighed with relief, a small smile on his face. “Understood.”
Daring didn’t let a moment pass before groaning weakly atop Braeburn’s back, pushing her torso up with her forelegs. “Okay, for real this time. Does anypony else have anything to say? Can we get out of here now?!”
There was a sickening crack, and Daring yelped before falling back down atop Braeburn. Everypony winced, nodding and moving quickly up the ramp of the airship. Due to the dark mare’s haste, it didn’t take long for the six of them to pile into the cabin. Unfortunately, none of them thought of just how tightly-packed they would be into the small room. Braeburn was forced to weave through the cluster of ponies to approach the closer bed. Daring braced herself to be gently lowered onto the cot, being assisted to her haunches with a push of Braeburn’s head. She smiled warmly in response, her eyes staring fondly into his own for the briefest of moments.
Braeburn gave her a quick grin before tearing his gaze away from her adorable look of affection. Everypony else seemed to take a few moments to position themselves comfortably in the confinement. Azure, being the odd pony out, merely stood awkwardly by the closed bay door. Bullet Tyme and Day Break sat across from each other at the table, while Artemis sat in his chair to prepare the aircraft for takeoff in the other room. Braeburn noticed that his weapons had been placed by the door, still in their respective scabbards along with his father’s Marechester.
“Azure, are you gonna stand there all morning or sit down and relax?” asked Day Break, casually gesturing to the seat next to her. “I’m willing to bet you’re exhausted after all that.”
“Well, yes, I am fairly tired,” the unicorn admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. He slowly walked over to the couch and sat aside the pegasus, settling himself far back into the cushions with a sigh of comfort.
“Okay, now this is just plain old unsettling,” whispered Daring, leaning her head toward Braeburn. “I’ve never seen Day Break warm up to anypony so fast, let alone one that worked for a criminal.”
“Maybe she’s just tired. We’re all tired,” the stallion replied quietly. “Ah reckon she’s just grateful fer what he did. Nothin’ to get yer tail in a twist about.”
However, Daring seemed unconvinced. “I dunno… it kind of bothers me. It’s just so unlike her.”
“We have plenty o’ sayin’s in the Apple Family,” the riflepony said, giving her a reassuring look. “And one o’ the most important ones we have is ‘leave well enough alone.’ Trust me; S’better than her lookin’ at him like a criminal. We can’t afford to have any distrust in our ranks if we’re gonna stop Sure Shot.”
Daring made a noise of uncertainty, but ultimately ceased verbalizing her worries. Instead, she closed her eyes and gave him a small smile. “You always were wiser than you gave yourself credit for.”
“Whatever ya’ say, beautiful,” Braeburn grinned, giving her a sleepy gaze. His comment took the pegasus off-guard. She flinched slightly at the word, her tired eyes widening slightly. A bright pink washed over her cheeks, her gaze dropping down to her own forehooves as she smirked bashfully.
“You know… you’re the only one that I’ve ever liked calling me that…” she whispered, the upturned corner of her mouth twitching ever so slightly.
As Artemis started the turbines, there was a silence that everypony seemed grateful for, especially Braeburn. For the first time in what seemed like months, Braeburn felt at ease. There he was, safe in the warm cabin of the airship, with his new allies and no immediate danger lurking in the shadows. Here, he could finally breathe, and not dwell on the horrid actions Sure Shot had forced him to take. To his astonishment and utter relief, Daring hadn’t said a single word about the lives he took, nor did she seem to look upon him any less. He was beyond grateful, but a small part of him still refused to believe that it justified what he had done. His infatuation seemed to negate his melancholy, if only for the time being. In the long run, not much mattered to the stallion, for a week ago he would have given anything to be with Daring Do. Now that he had her, it was nothing less than overwhelming to see that his dreams had become reality.
Soon the engines roared to life, and the aircraft gently lifted from the ground. The cabin swayed momentarily, almost instantly turning the limited contents of Braeburn’s stomach. He bit down on his lip with his eyes screwed shut, waiting impatiently for the slight turbulence to cease. As the craft cleared the tree line, the erratic movements came to a stop, and eventually Artemis was able to fix the controls in place and enter the main room with the rest of them. To everypony’s relief, he came bearing a cardboard box full of food, balancing it on his back before setting it down on the coffee table. Artemis and Bullet Tyme both took a sandwich and a bottle of water, while Day Break grabbed an apple for herself and a couple for Azure Spark, who looked uneasy about taking food from them. The gray stallion then turned to Braeburn and Daring, gesturing to the box. “What’ll it be, you two?”
“As much as you wanna give me,” Daring grinned. Her godfather smirked in response, tossing her two sandwiches in plastic bags and a bottle of water.
“And you, Brae-Brae?”
“What d’ya think?” Braeburn replied sarcastically, nodding in appreciation as he was thrown a trio of red delicious apples. The stallion sat up properly on the floor and practically inhaled the first sweet fruit. His stomach would have wept with gratitude if it could. He was shocked that he had gone so far without any source of sustenance, let alone the near impossibility of his mind still being intact. Braeburn had guessed that somehow, his goal had driven him all by itself, without any form of assistance. He looked back up to Daring from his spot on the floor next to her bed, smiling softly at the sight of her eating with fervor. She ate without any regard for manners, like a foal at her high chair.
Once again, nothing was said for a few moments as they ate, and everypony seemed to welcome it at first. But after twenty minutes, the silence became forced and uncomfortable. Even Daring Do looked to be apprehensive to say the first word. They all knew why everypony was quiet, save for Artemis. However, he didn’t seem to want to ask any questions. Occasionally he would cast a glance around the room, searching for anything that would give him a clue. Just when it looked like he had enough, the last pony Braeburn expected to speak first broke the silence.
“I apologize, but where exactly are we going?” asked Azure Spark, looking between Artemis and Daring Do. The gray stallion looked over from his place on the couch next to Bullet Tyme toward his goddaughter, along with everypony else.
“That’s a good question, actually,” he said. “I have the autopilot set toward Equestria, but I’ll need a destination by tomorrow at the latest. We’re low on fuel, not to mention we’re pushing the weight limit with six ponies in here. So I’m hoping you at least have a clue of where we’re going.”
Daring cleared her throat, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. “Yeah, I actually know exactly where we’re going,” she said, looking back up to the rest of the room. “Art, can we get to Ponyville with what we’ve got left?”
Artemis blinked, sucking a sharp breath of air through his teeth as he folded his forelegs. “That’s… pushing it, to be honest. But I think we should be able to do it. You know, risking a crash landing if we run out of fuel before we get there, of course. Can I ask why Ponyville, of all places?”
“Because I hid my copy of Cunning’s journal in the Everfree Forest,” Daring answered. “And I need to get a hold of it if I want to finish this puzzle.”
“Alright, let’s put the brakes on this fer a moment,” said Bullet Tyme, leaning forward to peak around Artemis and look at Daring. “What exactly is this puzzle yer talkin’ ‘bout? What’s in that book that’s so darned valuable?”
Daring bit her lip, looking down to the blankets she sat upon. In her hesitation, Braeburn searched her unfocused eyes to guess what was on her mind. They were tired, as was to be expected. However, the dark as night circles under her eyes were unnoticeable compared to the look they were expressing. The mare looked torn, as if answering the question wasn’t such a good idea. Braeburn sighed, turning to everypony else in the room.
“Alright, look; we all have a lot o’ questions, s’pecially after what we all just went through. But it’s lookin’ ‘round three in the mornin’, and Ah reckon we all need our sleep before we can take on any more stress. It’ll be quite a while before we get to Ponyville, so we can get everything outta the way tomorrow. Fer now, let’s just sleep so we can all have a clear mind.”
Thankfully, it took no amount of convincing for everypony to almost instantly agree with Braeburn’s proposal. Day Break flew over to her bed next to Daring’s, while Bullet Tyme and Azure Spark took to the couches on either side of the coffee table. Artemis retired to the cockpit, closing the door behind him to pilot the aircraft.
“Oh, Braeburn,” said the unicorn suddenly, sitting back up. “Did you want the couch? I can sleep on the floor if you want.”
Braeburn cocked an eyebrow. “Ah appreciate yer willingness to be nice, but Ah need ya’ to get yer strength and yer magic back up. No tellin’ when we might need yer help.”
“Are you su-”
“Ah’m a farmer, Azure. Ah’ve slept on worse,” the beige earth pony replied.
Azure nodded in thanks before curling himself into a ball atop his couch, while Bullet Tyme seemed content to stretch out with his hindlegs crossed and his forehooves behind his head. He covered his face with his black Stetson, keeping the moonlight shining through the windows out of his eyes.
The beige stallion let out a long sigh as he lay down on the floor on his front, resting his chin upon the mattress. Daring chuckled quietly, removing his Stetson and setting it aside. She then began the affectionate task of running a tender hoof through his mane. It was almost as if she were petting him like a dog, but Braeburn certainly didn’t feel like that. Her touch was warm, caring and lovingly slow. The stallion smiled in appreciation against the soft blankets of her makeshift bed, his eyelids drooping low as his fatigue started to take its toll. The mare lay down on her front as well, her face inches away from his. He didn’t know long they stared at each other before the stallion could no longer stay awake.
Through the windows of the cabin, the sun was starting to rise. Across the deep blue ocean, a bright orange bump protruded from the horizon line, casting its light over the vast expanse of water. A pair of thin, wispy clouds veiled the sun’s rays enough for Bullet Tyme to safely gaze into the vista. Around him, four ponies slept peacefully, while he couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes. He knew that he should have been asleep hours ago, but it seemed like a virtue he simply couldn’t grasp. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know why, for he knew exactly what the issue was. In the end, the stallion knew all too well that he wasn’t going to achieve any sort of resting state until his worries had ceased.
Bullet Tyme sighed quietly as he replaced the black Stetson to his head. He slid off the couch and approached the door on the front end of the cabin, giving it a couple of knocks before opening it. Inside the cockpit, Artemis was sitting up straight in the chair on the left, his forelegs crossed as he gazed over the orange-tinged ocean. Bullet walked between the chairs, taking the seat on the right.
“I’ll say it again, Bullet,” grinned Artemis. “It’s still going to be a while.”
“Not why Ah’m here,” he replied flatly, unconsciously mimicking the gray pony’s sitting position, his forelegs crossed as well.
"Well you’re not here because you can’t sleep,” said Artemis, making Bullet twitch an eyebrow.
“Ah can’t think o’ any other reason, partner,” the riflepony replied with the slightest hint of retaliation.
“Not consciously, anyway,” the pilot said, flashing him a smug grin. Bullet only gave him an inquisitive look in response. “You know, Bullet Tyme, when I first met you, I admit that I wasn’t in the best of places. The only pony I can rightfully call family was in the middle of the jungle by herself with a demi-god that wanted her dead, so you can only imagine what every last one of my thoughts was focused on. Because of which, I wasn’t able to gauge you very well upon introduction. All I saw was a brazen, hard-flanked farmer with an affinity for rifles. No offense, of course.”
“None taken.”
“But now that we have Daring back, I’m able to get a more accurate read on you,” Artemis concluded.
“Now why would ya’ want that?” Bullet asked. “Ah’m only here to make sure my boy doesn’t get himself killed, nothin’ more. Ah shouldn’t hold no more importance than any other soldier in all o’ this.”
“You’re on this ship, so you are by default,” the gray stallion countered. “Besides, something tells me that there’s a lot more to you than your outward appearance.”
“Ponies don’t need to know no more than that. Wouldn’t do nopony no good otherwise,” Bullet replied dryly, stretching his body to cross his hindhooves on the slanted wooden dashboard.
“I can understand that,” Artemis nodded. “So that brings us back to why you’re in here. You’re worried, aren’t you?”
“’Course Ah’m worried; we’re all worried.”
“Not about Sure Shot,” the gray pony said, slightly adjusting the wheel to steer the ship to the left. “You, Braeburn and Day Break went into that place with one look in your eyes, but came out with something completely different about you. The three of you got Daring back in one piece, without so much as a single scratch. So what’s going on? Did something happen down there?”
Bullet Tyme grunted quietly, pausing for a moment or two. He suspected that it may have been his lack of sleep, but the stallion briefly considered telling the pilot. As soon as the thought arose, however, the riflepony immediately shook it from his head. “A lotta things happened down there. We won the fight, and like ya’ said, without a scratch.”
“Sounds like somepony has a secret,” Artemis mused.
“Sounds like somepony’s pushin’ his luck in this here conversation,” Bullet scoffed.
“Heh, perhaps,” the gray stallion admitted with a nod. “Maybe I am being a tad intrusive.”
Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. To Bullet Tyme, the silence was comforting. His mind wandered over the events that had taken place in the ruins while he watched the sun rise out of the corner of his eye. In his peripheral vision, he also spotted Artemis leaning back in his captain’s chair as he rested his eyes. For whatever reason, he wore the most subtle of grins, as if the expression had been plastered on the end of his muzzle. His short black tail swept lazily from side to side every now and then, hanging from the edge of his seat. Bullet wondered what exactly had him so content in such a time of uncertainty, but never put too much thought into it. Instead, Bullet merely returned his gaze to the rising orb of orange light, wincing once it cleared its veil of clouds.
The tan earth pony sighed, realizing that one of them would have to speak eventually. “Ya’ seemed a mite happy to find out ‘bout Daring and Braeburn. Usually it’s different with the mare’s Pa.”
“Well, I’m not exactly her ‘Pa,’ am I?” Artemis smirked.
“No, but Ah reckon ya’ might have the same kind o’ sour feelin’s toward the idea,” said Bullet.
“Are you kidding me? I’m relieved,” the pilot chuckled, finally opening his eyes to look at the other pony again. “Daring has been miserable since the day we left Ponyville. It was truly rare to see a smile on her face for the past year and a half. Problem with her is that she’s a stubborn mare. She’d never just let herself be talked to about the matter until it was too much to bear. It definitely got a little better once she got back in touch with Day Break, but being away from Braeburn for so long was still killing her.”
“How come she didn’t just come back to Appleloosa earlier then?” asked Bullet.
“Again, because she’s stubborn,” Artemis replied. “Actually, the plan was to go to Appleloosa once this business with Ahuitzotl’s prison was done. But of course, it didn’t go exactly as planned.”
“S’funny ya’ mention all o’ that. Dealin’ with Braeburn was pretty much the same,” Bullet Tyme said. “If he wasn’t mopin’ locked up inside his house, he was mopin’ ‘round workin’ on the farm.”
“Reassuring words can only go so far.”
“Agreed.”
“But of course, we wouldn’t be a father and a godfather if we weren’t there for them, right?”
“Right,” Bullet said, cracking a slightly amused grin.
“But… as happy as they look together, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s still something wrong with them,” Artemis mentioned, looking to Bullet Tyme inquisitively.
“Ah reckon Ah know what ya’ mean.”
“Oh?”
“Those two both left somethin’ behind in that temple; things that a pony can’t get back,” Bullet started, shifting the mood of the room. “Braeburn’s got the blood of a riflepony in him, so it was no surprise what he could do once Ah put Thumper in his hooves. Boy was a natural from the start. He’s always been a good stallion; one that nopony would look at twice out o’ suspicion, but a few hours ago he did somethin’ that would change anypony forever. He took a life, and then three more after that in a matter o’ ten minutes. He knows that he had to do it, but Ah’m sure it’s gonna stick with him fer the rest o’ his life.”
“I would imagine so,” Artemis replied in almost a whisper, slowly shaking his head. “While it’s necessary in such a circumstance, I wouldn’t want to be in Braeburn’s place.”
“He’ll push past it, but it’s gonna be a long road.”
“I think I’ve seen the same thing in Daring,” Artemis said, his tone becoming more grave. “I don’t even want to think of what she went through in there, especially with those bruises and her foreleg the way it is.”
“Ah’ll say one thing: thank Celestia they have each other,” Bullet grinned. “’Cause Ah ain’t good at playin’ therapist.”
Both stallions shared a laugh, and began a more casual conversation as the dawn of a new day began.