The next day the service was held for Sheriff Earp. Everypony in town was there to see it, forgoing the harvest to pay their respects. The doctor and his assistant that had gone to pick up the body were glad they had a blanket with them to cover up the body when they'd gone to retrieve it. Needless to say, it was a closed-casket service.
The group of ponies sent to pick up the captured bandit fared less fortunate however. According to the group sent to pick him up, there was a pile of cut rope right around where he'd been hogtied, leading some of them to believe that his accomplices had somehow managed to come back and retrieve him and his money. The one lead that Applejack had and it was already gone. For a job that was already hard enough, this somehow managed to make it even worse.
It was about noontime before she was able to properly begin her new duties as sheriff, entering the Jailhouse with Braeburn to help show her around.
"Now, you need any other help from me before I go back into the field?" he asked, trying to help out Applejack as best as he could.
"Most likely. I can't say that I actually have any experience with working as an officer of the law," explained Applejack. "I don't really know where to start with it all."
"Well, from what I saw, most of the time he spent was out patrolling the town to make sure nothing was going on. You might wanna investigate the bank though. That's where the robbery happened."
"Alright. I'll get right on that." As Applejack saw Braeburn trotting away from her, she suddenly had an idea. "Hey, Braeburn. I'm not really sure on how all of this works, so you mind being my deputy till I get the reigns of this?"
"Sure! Anything to help out a family member. Not only that, but Sheriff Earp was a good friend of mine. Be pretty satisfying to bring his killer to justice."
"Alrighty then." Clearing her throat, Applejack declared, "Braeburn, I hereby deputize you."
Looking a little disappointed, Braeburn asked, "Is that it?"
"Well, that's all Sheriff Earp was able to say to get me deputized, so either that's it or I have no real idea how it's done." Realizing how little she knew, Applejack wanted to catch these bandits before anything else came up that would just make her job even harder. "Anyway, let's head over to the bank and check things out. But first," She went over to the coat rack on the wall and grabbed the rope holster that Sheriff Earp used to own, two coils strapped to it, saying, "We almost forgot the reason we came here. Now, let's get."
The way to the bank, Applejack noticed why her predecessor probably didn't keep the holster on him at all times; it kept falling off! She kept on having to adjust it and noticed that the buckle keeping it attached didn't work as intended and kept coming loose. She'd have to pay a visit to the tailor before being able to really use it.
The bank was still in tatters, the front entrance damaged by the explosion. What's worse was the inside of the place. The counters were blown away, glass littering the floor. The steel door that marked the entrance to the safe was blown away, resting twisted right near its former location. Inside the safe, Applejack saw that the cage where the money was stashed was actually picked instead of blown. This door was actually supposed to be opened with a key, so luckily they didn't have to worry about damaging the money with the explosion.
"So, who's the owner of the bank?" Applejack asked her cousin.
"Flintbit. He saw what happened to his place and has been in his place all day. We tried to get him out, but he's still in shock and won't talk to anypony."
"Well, guess we'll talk to him later. Right now we should look at this crime scene and try to find any evidence we can. I'll need to talk with this Flintbit fellow later on to see what exactly was taken. Make sure when we retrieve the money that it's all there. Also need to know if anything was disturbed since last night."
"I can actually vouch for nothing happening here last night," a voice said from out of nowhere. The two looked around and saw that it was a old looking stallion with large glasses and a withered mane.
"Flintbit? What're you doing up there?" Braeburn asked, surprised to see him.
"I actually escaped from my room last night and used that opportunity to sneak into my secret viewing compartment. Check if the criminals came back to the scene of the crime. Haven't slept a wink since."
"Well, guess we're lucky there," Applejack said, relieved that she hadn't messed up by not checking out the scene of the crime yesterday. "So, can you help out by letting us know what was taken?"
"Sure thing." Flintbit moved around in his private viewing compartment and came out with a ledger. He came into the safe and started looking around, looking at all the bags kept in the cage. He then looked through his ledger promptly and then closed it, immediately knowing what had been taken. "It looks like they made of with three ten-thousand bit bags. Pretty good haul for a tiny town like this."
"Geez!" Applejack and Braeburn exclaimed, the two surprised that such a large amount was taken.
"Yep. That was a good bit of the money the townsfolk put into here. We'll need to get it back before word gets out about how much was taken." Flintbit said, his calm voice betraying the dire situation he was describing.
"Okay. If that's the case, we better start checking for any other clues. Let's start with this cage door here. It looks like this was picked instead of blown."
"Indeed, Miss Sheriff. I'm surprised at how they could have done it though. This is one of the most complicated locks that I've ever seen. Just look at the key it uses." Flintbit took a large, wobbly looking key from out of his pocket, the bumps on it looking erratic.
"Well, I was there when they went and grabbed the loot. They were in an' out in mere seconds. So, whoever this is has lots of experience picking locks if they can do it that quickly." Applejack thought back and tried thinking of how else it could have been done.
"Flintbit. Exactly how much dynamite would one need to blow open the steel door to the vault?" Braeburn asked.
"Well, since it was blown off of its hinges and pretty much devastated the rest of the bank, I'd have to say seven or eight sticks." Once again the two law keepers were shocked by the information, their eyes brimming wide.
"How the hay could somepony have that much dynamite on them?" Applejack asked, remembering that the crooks had even more of the stuff on them that just what they used on the door.
"Well, they could have somehow worked at the mine and kept some of the stuff," explained Braeburn.
"Really? Is the mine still in use?"
"Nah. The gold there's been mined out for several decades. It was the actual reason why Appleloosa was founded in the first place; a town for all the miners to live. Luckily we found that the area was good for growing as well, otherwise this would be a ghost town now."
"Or maybe they're hiding out there. Seems like a place that they'd go to in order to lay low," Flintbit added. "After all, not many ponies go there because of the rumors."
"Rumors?" Applejack asked.
"Some nonsense about the mine being haunted by the ponies who died in a big accident years ago. That was the thing that finally shut it down after they couldn't find anymore gold for a while."
"Well, I'd say that we should head on over there and check things out. Might find the bandits responsible for all of this." As Applejack went out to begin her vendetta, Braeburn went and stopped her.
"Applejack, while I know you wanna go and get them as quickly as possible, I don't think rushing in a mine with possibly a gang full of explosive wielding bandits is a good idea. At least not without a plan and some backup."
"Yeah, you've got a point. You have any ponies in mind to help out?"
"Sorta. It'll be about nighttime when I'll be able to recruit them for help. Hope you can hold out for that long." Applejack felt concerned about this wait. If the bandits made their way out of the mine while they waited, they could lose their only chance at capturing them.
"Well, if that's the case I might as well be on lookout at the entrance to the place. Can't let them escape while we twiddle our hooves."
"I can handle that," offered Flintbit. "After all, I don't have anything else to do without my bank to look after. I'll just have to bring the remaining money with me is all."
"I'm certain we can get somepony else to help protect the remaining bits, Flintbit. You can keep watch while I go reach my contact. Don't want everypony knowing about our plan," Braeburn told them. "Applejack, I'd like it if you could do the thing you came here to do in the first place. That way you can also send a letter letting Granny Smith know why you aren't home yet."
"Yeah. I'll be right on that." Applejack had honestly forgotten why she'd come here in the first place. Her mind was so focused on the case she was on that she could hardly think about much else. Deciding to take a break from her new duties, she went out into the field and decided to see a friendly site.
Being among the apple trees was a therapeutic experience for Applejack. After seeing such grizzly stuff lately, it was a sight for sore eyes to see the familiar sights of home. She was glad to also see that the harvest was going well and would be up to snuff with Granny. She thought over what she'd write and came up with this:
Dear Granny,
Wanna let you know that the harvest here in Appleloosa is looking swell. They've got a mighty fine batch this year and it looks
like their isn't anything to worry about with them. Also, you might be wondering why I'm sending a letter instead of coming
home to tell you this. Thing is, through a series of complicated events, I've temporarily become the Sheriff of Appleloosa.
It's only going to be until I finish up something here and they find a permanent replacement, but otherwise I'll be here until then.
Hope Big Mac can take care of my chores until then.
With Love,
Applejack
Finishing up the letter, she saw that it was now just about time to meet up with Braeburn and his help. Hopefully, the two could end this tonight and help Applejack get home before she even needed to send a letter.