//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Sundown Town // Story: Brother Against Sister // by CartsBeforeHorses //------------------------------// The sun edged closer to the western horizon of the desert landscape as the wind blew tumbleweeds and dust all around. Orange and yellow light splashed the sand as the deep blue sky was broken up occasionally by jutting mesas, buttes, arches, and other bizarre rock formations made by thousands of years of wind erosion. Prairie dogs chattered and squeaked as they burrowed into their holes. Rattlesnakes lay coiled up, ready to strike at any potential prey. Cacti towered into the air above, their prickly spines warding off any animal who fancied a snack. Buzzards circled around the carcass of a dead jackrabbit. Far off in the distance, a coyote chased an antelope. Crickets slowly began to chirp as the air cooled. Suddenly, the air rumbled from a boom, followed by furious gusts of wind. The prairie dogs crouched in their holes, the rattlesnakes rattled in shock, and the buzzards gazed up in confusion. But then, as soon as the sound had come, it was already gone. Pound Cake flew through the air at a blistering pace, the air behind him cracking as he shot forward. In his front hooves, he held his sister, her eyes wide with a mix of excitement and terror. “Pretty cool, huh?” Pound yelled, but the wind simply carried off his voice before Pumpkin could hear him, and all she heard was the air whipping at her own mane. “Hey, I’m gonna stop for a minute,” Pound shouted. He flapped his wings to slow himself down, then gradually descended as he reached the ground. He set Pumpkin down on the ground, then sat down to rest. “Wow,” said Pumpkin Cake, shaking slightly. “You sure can fly fast, Pound.” “Yup,” Pound acknowledged, breathing heavily as sweat poured down his mane. “Normally... I wouldn’t go that fast, but I... wanted to show you what it’s like.” “Yes, and we need to go fast to catch up to Zecora,” said Pumpkin. “She may have caught a train a few hours ahead of us, and she could already be there. I don’t want her to think that I never saw the note and that I’m not coming.” “There’s nothing to worry about,” said Pound in between breaths, nodding his head reassuringly. “If she wanted to meet you in Appleloosa, then she’ll... give you time to see the note and head down there. And she doesn’t know I’m with you, so I bet that you’ll surprise her when… you show up on the same day. She’ll probably just grab a hotel room or something... while she waits.” Pound continued panting, lying down on the ground as his tongue hung out of his mouth. Pumpkin chuckled. “A bit worn out there, huh?” “Yeah, ya think?” he asked, rolling his eyes. “Why don’t you let me take a break and use your magic to get us there?” “Well, you see,” Pumpkin Cake said, “I can only teleport short distances, like maybe a few hundred yards if I’m lucky, and I’ve never tried teleporting another pony with me before.” “Then why’d you get a cutie mark in magic?” Pound Cake asked, chuckling, as he sat up. “It sounds like you’re not too good at it. I mean, you only know a few spells.” Pumpkin Cake gasped. “I’ll have you know that I’m very good at magic! I just focus on being really good at a few spells instead of average at a lot of spells. My true talent is my intangibility spell, not magic itself.” “So you can walk through walls, big deal,” said Pound Cake, waving his hoof in the air. “I mean, I don’t know that much about magic, but I’m sure that every unicorn and his brother can do that spell. But it takes years to become a master flyer like--” A devious grin spread over Pumpkin Cake’s face as she cast an intangibility spell on her brother, silencing him. Were Pound’s vocal chords still solid, he no doubt would have demanded to know what she was doing. Then, she slowly walked over to a nearby saguaro cactus which towered two meters high. Her horn glowed slightly brighter as she herself became intangible, and she phased into the cactus. Then, after a few moments, she re-solidified. The cactus exploded into a thousand pieces. Pound flinched as a spiny piece of cactus flew through his head, splattering against a rock behind him. His mouth stood agape as Pumpkin turned off the spell and he return to normal. He shuddered in shock. “You were saying something?” asked Pumpkin, trying hard to suppress a laugh. “Well, okay, I admit…” said Pound, his head hung low. “Yes?” “That was AWESOME!” he finished, jumping into the air. “I had no idea that you could use that spell on other ponies. That was really neat. And how in Equestria did you make the cactus blow up?” Pumpkin explained, “Remember that story I told you about the soldier in the Everfree Forest? If an intangible object becomes solid again while it’s inside of a second object, it will displace the second object.” “Wow…” said Pound, his mouth agape. “That means that you can make anything into a lethal weapon! You could decapitate a pony with a dinner plate! You could turn two rocks into a bomb! Remind me to never get on your bad side.” Pumpkin chuckled. “The spell has its limits, but I’ve been training to push them. For instance, someday I’d just like to be able to explode the cactus without having to put another object inside of it. Also, I’d really like to be able to move at more than a snail’s pace while I’m intangible. And, of course, I’d like to use the spell on larger objects for longer.” “I know what you mean,” said Pound Cake. “Someday, I’d like to do a sonic rainboom. Only Rainbow Dash has ever pulled one off, but I’d like to be number two. Also, creating lightning would be really cool.” Pumpkin nodded. Then, she looked off at the sky. “It’s getting late. We should head to Appleloosa before sundown.” “I agree. I think I’ve caught my breath enough, so let’s go.” Pound grabbed Pumpkin, and he took off into the air. About an hour later, the twins arrived in Appleloosa, just as the sun was making its way beneath the horizon. The town had boomed in the years since Twilight Sparkle had first become a princess. The railroads between the cities in Equestria’s frontier had expanded, leading to the small towns and villages in between exploding in population overnight. Money and ponies rushed to the town as fast as the trains could carry them. Once a town with a few hundred residents, a small main street and a few alleys and side roads, Appleloosa now boasted a population over a thousand, a vibrant downtown district, several saloons, and even a brothel. As one of the several small town stopping points on the rail line between the much larger cities of Dodge Junction and Mareicopa, many ponies passed through daily. Pound and Pumpkin Cake walked down the street as ponies turned on lanterns, and shopkeepers turned their signs around from open to closed. “So where would Zecora be? Did she mention a place where you would meet in Appleloosa?” asked Pound. Pumpkin shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess she and I assumed that we’d bump into each other eventually. Appleloosa is a small enough town that it’s hard to get lost in. It’s still smaller than Ponyville, even with all the growth it’s had.” Pound nodded. “Well, let’s look around, and maybe we’ll find her on the street someplace.” Pumpkin said, “That sounds like a good idea. We can start with the train station. She and I have gone there before when we were passing through town on our way to Dodge Junction.” The twins walked along the side of the dirt road, past the buildings and towards the train station. As they walked, some of the other ponies walking by raised their eyebrows at them, giving them curious glances. “It’s like they’ve never seen a unicorn or pegasus before,” Pound muttered aside to his sister. Pumpkin nodded. “Appleloosa is an earth pony town. Most ponies here are friendly enough, but there’s a lot who distrust non-earth ponies. Zecora and I never spent much time here; whenever we left the Everfree Forest, we’d normally take a train and just pass through on our way to Dodge Junction.” “Then why did Zecora tell you that she’d meet you here? Neither of you are earth ponies,” said Pound Cake. “Maybe because it’s closer. Or maybe she knows somepony here. I don’t know. I’ve kind of learned not to question Zecora’s motives,” said Pumpkin, chuckling. They searched around the platforms of the train station, but didn’t see Zecora. So they continued to walk, circling around every street in town, but still saw no sign of her an hour later. Stars had begun to appear in the sky above, and it was now too dark to make out whether any of the fewer and fewer ponies passing them on the street were actually zebras. “We probably aren’t going to find her tonight,” said Pound. “Why don’t we just get a hotel and look in the morning? I’m beat.” “As much as I don’t want to lose her, I guess you’re right,” said Pumpkin. “Like you said, it’s not like she’s going to go someplace else and risk me not finding her.” They walked until they reached a small hotel a few blocks away from the train station. It was a rickety old wooden building with half a dozen windows on the top floor. The shutters were closed on a few of the windows, and light shone through the cracks of two of them. A rocking chair sat on the front porch. It was occupied by an old stallion who appeared to have fallen asleep, his stetson resting atop his eyes as his head slumped on his shoulder. The hotel sign said that there was a vacancy, so Pound and Pumpkin walked in through the swinging wooden doors. The lobby was sparsely furnished, with a couch next to a fireplace and a few wooden chairs around a breakfast table. A middle aged pony with a balding brown mane and a tan coat sat behind the counter, reading a magazine as he sat back in his chair. Pound and Pumpkin Cake, though quite not the height of adult ponies just yet, were still tall enough to gaze across the countertop, where a cigarette sat smouldering in an ashtray next to a bottle of beer. The stallion turned to meet the twins’ gaze. “Hello,” said Pumpkin Cake. She reached into her cloak pocket with her magic and levitated some bits onto the counter. “We’d like to rent a room for the night, please.” The stallion set down his newspaper, glanced at the twins, and pushed the bits back. “You’re jokin’, right?” “I don’t know, Pumpkin, are we joking?” asked Pound. Pumpkin blushed. “Well no, I mean--” The manager sighed. “Look, kid, I don’t know what kind of social statement you’re tryin’ to make here, but it ain’t gonna fly at this hotel. Earth ponies only. Get out, both of you, and leave town before I call the sheriff. Or worse, before somepony not as nice as me sees you two out after sundown and takes more drastic measures.” “Oh yeah, and what are they gonna do? Kill us? Why not show some respect?” asked Pound, hovering into the air and gazing down at the manager, gritting his teeth. “Come on, Pound,” said Pumpkin, as a field of blue magic enveloped her brother, dragging him away. “We’ll just find someplace else to stay.” Pound rolled his eyes as they walked out the door and down the street. “What a jerk!” Pound exclaimed. “I can’t believe he’d refuse us a room.” “I told you not all the ponies in this town are tolerant of non earth ponies,” said Pumpkin. “I agree it’s stupid, but that’s the way it is.” “Well, that’s not right, what he did, turning us away like that.” Pumpkin Cake sighed. “It’s fine. I saw a few more hotel signs on the way. We’ll go somewhere else--” “We shouldn’t have to!” said Pound. He turned back and glanced at the hotel. He lowered his voice and whispered, “Why don’t we just go in there anyway? I’ll fly us up and you can get us through the wall, we’ll find an empty room, and we’ll be out before checkout time tomorrow. He won’t even know.” Pumpkin Cake raised an eyebrow. “No way! He may have been rude to us, but it’s his hotel, and I’m not going to trespass just to prove whatever point you’re trying to make.” “It’s not just to prove a point, though! We could end up having to sleep in the dirt if we don’t find another hotel,” said Pound, stopping in front of his sister and looking into her eyes sternly. “He has no right to turn us away if he has vacant rooms.” Pumpkin Cake continued walking. “And we have no right to steal from him. The Second Kingdom killed our parents and enslaved me because they felt like they had a right to me, to use me for farm labor. Do you really want us to be like them? To take what we want just because we want it?” Pound Cake scoffed. “I’m nothing like Blueblood! The Second Kingdom only did that because they think that, as unicorns, they’re better than our parents, because they were earth ponies. The problem was that everypony wasn’t treated the same. If they were treated the same, you never would’ve been fillynapped.” Pumpkin Cake laughed. “You can’t reason with--” “Stop right there! This is the police!” Pumpkin Cake was interrupted as a light brown pony with a dark brown mane trotted down the street towards them at a brisk pace. He wore a black stetson and a blue vest, on which a silver sheriff’s badge was pinned. In his mouth he carried a lantern. The twins stopped in their tracks as he shone the lantern at them. “Name’s Sheriff Silverstar, and I’m the law around here. Some folks were complainin’ about a unicorn and pegasus loiterin’ around after sundown. What in tarnation are you two doin’ here? Causin’ a ruckus, from the sound of it.” The twins remained quiet. The sheriff tapped his hoof. “Hootin’ and hollerin’ out in the middle of the town while all the good earth pony folk are tryin’ to sleep? There’s a good reason your kind ain’t allowed to live here or be in this town after dark. Now are you two gonna leave town like the law says, or am I gonna have to throw you in jail for the night?” Pound and Pumpkin Cake glanced at each other. “Well,” said Pumpkin Cake. “We’re both homeless right now, and just got turned out of a hotel, so we do need a place to stay…” “Yeah,” said Pound, stomping his hooves. “Throw us in the slammer, or else we’ll wake up everypony in town!” Pumpkin Cake said, “Jail is what we deserve for being born with wings and horns, after all.” The sheriff shook his head disapprovingly. “Alright. Come with me.” The cell doors slammed shut as Pound and Pumpkin Cake walked into the single jail cell in the Appleloosa jail. It was a cramped little cell with a dirt floor, a set of rusty bars, and a grey brick wall. It had a single window, sink, and toilet, though it housed three beds. Sheriff Silverstar glared at the twins. “Normally I’d tell y’all not to try any funny business and escape with that fancy magic of yours, but seein’ as how you want to be here, I don’t think I’ll bother.” Pumpkin Cake giggled. “I just think it’s so ironic that you punish non-earth ponies who stay in the town after sundown… by putting them in the town’s jail overnight.” Silverstar shook his head and said, “Keeps ‘em off the street, at least. And this may seem like a game to y’all, but I’d be grateful that you weren’t lynched. Ever since the railroads came, this town’s been drawin’ a lot of unicorns and pegasi passengers. Some of them made the mistake of walkin’ around town at night while waitin’ on a train, not stayin’ in the station like they’re supposed to… they made a lot of noise, or walked across the wrong pony... and bad things happened to ‘em. I’m just tryin’ to keep the peace.” Pound’s jaw dropped. “There’s ponies here who would actually kill us for breaking your stupid ‘no unicorns or pegasi after sundown’ rule?” “It’s happened more than once,” said the sheriff. “But why?” “It ain’t always been like that. Generations ago, we used to abide by your kind, and ponies of all sorts lived here, but our welcomin’ nature went and bit us right in the flank. We wised up, and now only earth ponies can live in this town or stay after dark. It’s safer that way.” “How did it bite you in the flank?” asked Pound. The sheriff chuckled, and pointed to the wall behind Pound and Pumpkin. “See for yourself.” The twins turned around and saw a framed newspaper article hanging from the wall, right next to the barred cell window. Pumpkin Cake picked up the frame with her magic, and then levitated it in front of herself and Pound. It was brown and faded from many years, but still legible. They read the paper. THE APPLELOOSA EXPRESS July 22, 1855 Outlaw Duo Killed, Law and Order Restored In Frontier Towns Criminal rampage of “Terrible Two” comes to bloody end Citizens rejoiced in the streets of Appleloosa, Bronco Point, Playa del Sol, Mareicopa, Dodge Junction, and other frontier towns today as the dastardly criminal duo, The Terrible Two, finally met their fate in a heated battle outside of Appleloosa. Upon receiving a tip from a local resident, Princess Celestia and a contingent of royal guards swooped down in the middle of the night, surrounding the Terrible Two at their secret cabin hideout in the desert several miles west of Appleloosa. Volleys of magical spells, explosions, and gunfire were exchanged in a battle that lasted for hours, leaving the landscape pockmarked with craters and arcane energy. The outlaws’ bodies were recovered, and three royal guards were also reported killed. “Let this be a warning for the Two’s remaining accomplices and any other ponies who live a life of crime: no matter how powerful you are, if you live outside the law, your fate will be the same,” said Appleloosa’s mayor. Specter the Stallion, a unicorn, and his pegasus accomplice (and rumored lover), Lightning Louise, were the two ponies known as the Terrible Two. They used their skills in magic and flight to rob, steal, murder, and pillage, eventually running a criminal gang and holding the entire frontier hostage under a reign of terror. Even the buffalo were victimized. It started in the coastal gold mining town of Playa del Sol in March of 1851. A string of bank robberies were carried out by a mysterious masked unicorn, known simply as “Specter the Stallion.” His modus operandi was unique; he had a magic spell which enabled him to walk through walls, which he used to enter otherwise secure bank vaults and steal gold and money. The mysterious mare “Lightning Louise” was his getaway flyer and cohort. Over the years, the Terrible Two recruited several other accomplices into their gang, expanding outside of Playa and into other frontier towns. They ran gambling and prostitution rackets in addition to their usual heists, though their identities remained secret. Whenever Specter’s goons were rounded up by the sheriff and thrown into jail, he simply used his magic spell to set them free. In gun battles he was impossible to defeat, since the bullets simply passed through him. Lightning Louise, due to her incredible speed, could outrun the police at every turn. She also had command over lightning bolts, and struck dead several deputies. Others, such as prosecutors and detectives who led investigations into their crimes, were struck dead as they slept in their homes. Despite the work of many detectives, and even a special investigator appointed by the princess herself, the Terrible Two’s true identities remained unknown until recently. Several towns introduced in measures meant to weed them out. Playa del Sol hired a team of expert unicorns and pegasi onto its police force, hoping to counter the Terrible Two and their henchponies. In contrast, the town of Appleloosa, recently hit by a triple homicide during a bank heist, banned all non-earth ponies from living within its borders in 1853. They are also banned from the town after dark. “Those unicorns and pegasi aren’t to be trusted,” said the local sheriff, Six Shooter. “The Terrible Two could be anypony, and we’re not about to take the chance that they or their goons could be hiding among us, running brothels or gambling houses, or killing our deputies as they sleep.” The town’s mayor, when interviewed by the post earlier today, said that the laws will remain in place even though the Terrible Two are now dead. “If we don’t have this law, nothing’s to stop something like this from happening again, and I urge other frontier towns to take the same step.” Dodge Junction has considered a similar measure to ban unicorns and pegasi from its city limits. Princess Celestia could not be reached for comment. Pound and Pumpkin Cake glanced up from the article, having finished reading it. “Well, that’s kind of a stupid reason to ban unicorns,” said Pumpkin Cake. “What’s to stop a unicorn from just ignoring the law, waltzing into town, and committing a crime with magic anyway? You wouldn’t be able to stop him... or her.” “You forget, Pumpkin. Racism doesn’t have to make sense,” said Pound Cake, rolling his eyes. “Also, who do you expect to defend your town if somepony with magic or flight decides to attack? Like, say, the Second Kingdom?” asked Pumpkin Cake. Silver Star frowned. “We earth ponies are perfectly able to hold our own.” “Yeah right,” said Pound Cake. “Is that why you needed Princess Celestia and her pegasus and unicorn royal guards to come bail you out when the Terrible Two were camped outside of Appleloosa? Why not send your own stallions there to fight them?” The sheriff paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes. “That… that was different!” Pound and Pumpkin Cake looked at each other, then back at Silverstar, and then they both burst out laughing. The sheriff opened his mouth to speak, but then realized that he couldn’t think of anything to say. So, he simply walked over to his desk, blew out the lantern, and went home for the evening. As for the twins, they enjoyed a free night’s rest on the Appleloosan taxpayer’s dime.