//------------------------------//
// Interlude: Both Sides of The Law 
// Story: Her Frontier 
// by FromTheMoon 
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Chapter 8: Both Sides of The Law	

He never wanted the job but somepony had to do it. There were few before him that had the nerve and the bravery to take up the badge and protect the town. Those who actually manged to get the courage to do so usually ended up living long lives. They were mostly dull lives due to the tranquility of EverGlade but that usually ended up being a blessing in disguise. 

Yet somehow the universe saw it fit to drop a backlog of trouble mixed with disasters on top of Sheriff Silver Points head when it was finally his time to make sure the law was upheld in the town. He had taken up the mantle of sheriff willing to risk his life to protect the town but knew very well that it probably wouldn't come to that.

"Everyday its the same old dang thing. I go on patrols North of the town, then go on patrols West of the town, and finally finish off of the day by patrolling the East. I really need to hire a deputy or somepony like that to lesson the load on these old wings of mine." The Sheriff spoke to himself while walking down the towns main boulevard coming back from his last patrol of the day. "Who though? I'm the only Pegasus, scratch that, the only pony I can actually trust in this town to get the job done.  Then again I guess I could always trust Top Notch but last I heard that boy got himself injured. Now the whole town is calling him a hero for doing what? Getting himself hurt and risking the lives of two other ponies." 

The sheriff saw Whisky's restaurant in the distance and picked up the pace. "Honestly, has the term hero lost its meaning over the years? One becomes a hero by accomplishing something, not by failing at trying to save the town." He stopped in his tracks when he saw an annoying familiar figure fly out from the restaurant. "So that mare is still in town huh? Heard rumors that she stayed behind but I thought she'd have more common sense than to cross paths with me."

Before he entered the restaurant the Sheriff could of sworn that he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He double checked his surroundings but came to the conclusion that his tired eyes were playing tricks on him .Sheriff Silver Point entered the restaurant and made his way to the corner where he usually sat. He let out a whistle and a minute later Clover Leaf came over to his table. "Hey their Sheriff what can I get for you shug? Seems like you've had a hard days work."

"If by hard work you mean making sure tumble weed A doesn't smash into tumble weed B in the scrub land then yea, I should just hang up the old vest and badge right now." This enticed a giggle from his server. "However it seems that when ever I'm out of town some form of disaster has to happen. Any way I'm starved, I'll have the eggplant salad wrap with a glass of water."

Clover thought it was awfully weird that the Sheriff was ordering water, usually the old Pegasus order Ale or Gin with his food. If anything the Sheriff actually rarely drank water, he seemed to live with a fear that the towns water supply could be easily poisoned. "Something bothering you Sheriff, whole town knows you've pretty much sworn off water." Sheriff Silver Point closed his menu and handed it to Clover. "Nothing to worry your pretty little horn off about little lady, just getting old. Speaking of getting old hows your old man doing?"

"My old man's doing just fine Sheriff. He's just got a lot on his mind right now since every other day Thatcher stops by the office pressuring my dad to sell the town. You know my father though, he'll hold out till the end." Clover took the menu in her magic and made her way back to the kitchen. 

An annoyed grunt escaped his mouth .Sheriff Silver Point got up from his table and made his way to the jukebox and picked a song that he had grown up listening to. Thatcher was starting to become a real pain in the Sheriff's side. It was bad enough that the mining company he owned wanted to expand their business and start mining in the center of town but now it seemed the Earth Pony was actually taking matters into his own hooves. Sheriff  Silver point had begun to notice how every time some disaster struck the town it was always while he was out on patrol. It all pointed to Thatcher but he could never get any evidence to pin the crime on the dang pest. One annoying Earth Pony was bad enough but now it seemed like he would have to deal with a new thorn in his side in the form the new Pegasus in town.

When Clover came back with his food the Sheriff took the opportunity to ask a few questions regarding the towns newest resident. "Say Clover what do do make of that new Pegasus mare. You know, the one with the disrespectful tone and attitude."

"You talking about Rainbow Dash Sheriff? I don't know the gal seems like an awfully sweet girl to me. She's staying behind to help out Top's on the farm. Heck she was just in here a couple minutes ago to grab dinner for her and Top's. I don't know about you Sheriff but I've never met a pony that put her life on pause to help out a stranger." 

Sheriff Silver Point knew that Clover was a sweet and trusting girl but she was also naive when it came to certain facts of life. More often than not it was Silver Point who had to educate the poor girl since her father was usually busy. "Clover Leaf do you actually truly believe that Pegasus stayed behind just to help a stranger she never met?"

Clover ran a hoof through her mane while she thought the question over. "Well, Whisky told me that she was also looking for a change of scenery. So I guess it would benefit her to stay behind as well?" A pony looking for a change of scenery in a town that was pretty much off the map didn't sit well with the Sheriff. "The way I see it Clover that Rainbow Dash that you, Whisky, and Top Notch seemed to have gotten close to is hiding something. Something about that mare just doesn't sit well with these old bones of mine. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious regarding her. One last piece of advice as well, keep your interactions with her to a minimal if you can."

Clover Leaf took a look and saw that the Sheriff was being dead serious. She frowned slightly before speaking in a  more assertive tone. "I appreciate your concern Sheriff but I'm a full grown mare and I'll make  my own decisions if you don't mind." With that being said she walked away and went behind the bar. Before she began busing the counter top she looked back at the Sheriff and spoke. "Word of advice to you Sheriff Silver Point, you got to stop staring at tumble weeds all day. You're starting to get a bit paranoid."

The Sheriff could do nothing but sigh and start eating the meal in front of him. He thought to himself that it wouldn't be his fault when his predictions came true regarding Rainbow Dash. For now though he had to focus on the greater of two evils. He pondered how we he was gong to deal with Thatcher.





Along the shadows provided by the alley Thatcher watched as Sheriff Silver Point took his leave from Whisky's restaurant. "About time the old coot finally left geez, the food isn't even that good." As soon as Thatcher confirmed that it was safe to step out of the shadows he made his way down the main boulevard towards the water tower. He needed to check up on a few things before he had to make his report on the status of the current situation. 

He walked by the closed building which was the The Honey Comb and shook his head in disappointment. "A real pity that this place closed down. Now this was real food, not the garbage they serve in the other place. All the more reason why this town needs to disappear off the map. No point in having a bunch of ponies that prefer low grade greasy food over top quality healthy meals." 

Continuing on he walked slowly past the water tower and watched as local ponies were making repairs to the structure. He frowned when he noticed that they were reinforcing the legs with an anti termite coating of paint. "No point in trying that again. Gonna have to come up with something new, damn it if only that idiot Top Notch had failed then the town would of been in my bosses hooves by now."

Having seen enough to finish his report he decided that it was time he made his way back to his office at the edge of the town. He took the alleys in between the buildings to avoid being seen by a certain old Pegasus. The days that followed the water tower incident were filled with the Sheriff snooping around Thatcher's office asking the same questions again and again. Out of all the ponies in the town it was only Sheriff Silver Point and Whisky that seemed to suspect him. On one hoof he was glad that it was just those two but on the other hoof he was annoyed with himself for being suspected in the first place. 

Thatcher stepped out from the alley when he was just across the street from his office. He walked up to the door which was made of metal and knocked five times. A small window slid open on top of the door and a pair of eyes appeared. "Whats the password?"

"It's me you idiot." Thatcher responded and a second later and the door opened. A large burly Earth Pony stood in the door way with a nervous look on his face. "Oh sorry chief, I got to ask to make sure. You understand don't ya?" Thatcher motioned for his lackey to move out of the door way allowing him passage into the building. "Yes I'm well aware of the protocol Specter but apparently you are not. Your only supposed to ask if they knock four times, wait three seconds, and then knock again. For anything else you just ask them to state their business and then tell them to buzz off." 

The large Earth Pony quickly closed the door behind his chief and locked it securely again. "Right sorry chief, I promise it won't happen again." Thatcher made his way to his office, opened the door, but before stepping inside and closing the door he called out to his lackey once more. "Specter make sure I'm not disturbed for the rest of the night. I'm going to have a little chat with the boss now. Finish your shift and then you can head down stairs for the night." Specter nodded graciously and with that Thatcher closed the door behind him and made his way to his desk. 

He sat on his chair and looked at himself in the small mirror on top of the desk making sure he looked presentable. His suit grey coat was well groomed and his dark red mane was tidy and in order. When he saw that he looked presentable he looked at the clock and waited for the hour hand to strike the correct hour. To any pony just looking about the room the mirror on his desk would seem just that, a plain old mirror. In reality what Thatcher had in his possession was a very rare and elusive item, a magic two way mirror. 

When the clock struck the hour mark the mirror began to glow slightly until its reflective nature was gone and instead a shadowy figure appeared inside. 

"Thatcher, its been almost two weeks since we last spoke. At the end of our last conversation you said that you had a plan that would secure me the town. I believe you were going to sabotage the water tower?"

"Yes boss, that was the plan and I did rig up tower with the Scrub Lord nests." Now came the hard part, explaining to his boss that once again he had failed in securing the town. "Well you see all was going to plan boss but I sort of ran into some complications along the way." Thatcher now waited for what was about to come.

"So the town is still not in my possession then? Have you failed me again?"

Quick to defend his actions Thatcher brought he mirror closer to him. "Its not my fault boss! I swear I planned everything out perfectly this time! I calculated it so that the nests would hatch while the Sheriff was out of town! I would of succeeded too if the towns little hero Top Notch hadn't removed most of the nests before they hatched."

"All I hear are excuses with no results Thatcher. You know how I hate excuses."

"What else can I say boss? Everything was going exactly as I predicted it would go. Heck even Top Notch would of failed if it weren't for that Pegasus mare jumping..."

"Pegasus mare, what Pegasus mare?"

"I don't know, I think her name was Rainbow Maine or something like that. It doesn't matter though she isn't important..." Thatcher could tell he had said something wrong but it was too late to fix what was already done.

"Fool, if she prevented me from gaining control of the town then she is of some importance. I want you to find out what you can about her and then report back to me, understand?" 

"Yes Boss, I'll do that for you." Thatcher mentally reprimanded himself for not taking the situation with the new Pegasus more seriously. He made a note to keep an eye on the mare more carefully. "Now boss there is the situation of the two bothersome stallions that I told you about before. Sheriff Silver Point and the owner of the towns sole restaurant owner Whisky have grown increasingly suspicious of me. Perhaps it would be best if we...took them out of the equation?"

"No, for now all they have are suspicions and nothing more. The blame is yours alone for gaining suspicion in the first place. We'll let them be for now and see what develops." 

Thatcher let out a sigh, honestly he would of preferred if he could just eliminate the two. If anything he would be content with just taking out Whisky. Thar stallion had a look of in his eyes that Thatcher knew all to way and hated, the look of defiance. "Very well boss I'll let them be for now. Moving on though I have a new plan in the works that will surely..."

"I have no need for your plans any more Thatcher. I've grown tired of your constant failure and have come up with my own method. Now listen closely for here is what you are going to do."