There is a town far west of Appleloosa known only as ‘El Paso’. it is a desolate place, centered in the badlands of southern Equestria. A chapter in a young blue unicorn’s life ended in this place. That pony’s name was Martin, Martin Robbins.
The hulking locomotive let out a loud hiss of steam as it rested in the docking station. I was on my way to Appleloosa, but thanks to the awful train system I was going to be trapped in this hellhole for 5 days. El Paso is what they called this place. A rock in the dirt if you ask me, no more special than the desert that surrounded it. I hoped off the train and began my search for shelter. Forgive the absence of my manners, my name is Martin Robbins, singer, song writer, and adventurer extraordinaire. I grew up around here, I have always worn a cowpony hat and i kept a revolver in a holster around my torso. Especially when I was in these more dangerous parts of Equestria. I have been all over Equestria but i still feel drawn back to the south. Today i had not much of a choice but I wasn’t going to hate it here. I trotted down the street until I came to a large building with an oversized sign hanging on the front. The sign read “El Paso Hotel and Rest Stop” it would have to do.
The air was very humid and unwelcoming in the lobby of the building. I approached the counter where I found a rust colored pegasus with a newspaper covering his face as he snored. With a sigh i used my magic to lift the newspaper, roll it up, and smack him upside the head with it. He comically fell over backwards in his chair before perking his head up and meeting eyes with me.
“Mr. Robbins!” he shouted, eyes widened. He lept up to the counter and grabbed one of my hooves I had rested on the table. He shook my hoof with both of his until I felt as if it would fall off. I pulled back away from him.
“Yes, um, a room please?”
“Oh yes of course Mr. Robbins! Anything for you!”
I rolled my eyes at the overload of appreciation from the pegasus. He turned around and shuffled through a rack filled with keys, each assigned to a number.
“Ah! room 25! great view Mr. Robbins, best room in the house if you ask me!”
He giddily tossed the key on the counter and let me levitate it up into the air.
“The elevator is through that door over there. It’s on the left, you cant miss it.”
“Thanks... Um...”
“Dusty!” He replied, all to quickly and excitedly, “My name is Dusty.”
“Yes... Thank you Dusty.”
I turned back to the door that he had pointed at and made my way to the elevator. The loud metal elevator brought me all the way to the top floor without any interruptions. I found my room easy enough. The key had a big 25 on it that matched the engraving on the door.
I unpacked as quickly as I could, simply tossing my saddlebags onto the bed and removing some bits to cover the cost of the alcohol i was about to acquire. I asked Dusty where I could find a saloon nearby and he gladly gave me directions to ‘Rosa’s Cantina’
It wasn't hard to find the building, it was not very big but it was very prominent. The swinging doors opened into a large room that was filled with customers. There was a bar at the far end of the room with a spiral staircase next to it. There was a large clearing that had been made to be used as a dance floor. I chuckled at the sight of 8 clumsy ponies square dancing and found my way to the bar. I propped myself up against the bar and asked the bartender for a glass of his finest brew. He happily filled my order and I tossed a few bits to cover the charge on the counter. I levitated the glass into the air and took a sip of the golden liquid. I suppressed every muscle in my body from spitting the drink all over the bartender. It tasted foul, so much so that it had forced an awkward expression on my face. The bartender took notice and raised and eyebrow. I turned my attention from him to the dance floor and what i saw broke all my concentration. A beautiful grey mare glided effortlessly across the floor as she danced. The glass came crashing to the floor and shattered.
“HEY! You’re gonna pay for that!”
Without diverting my eyes from the gorgeous sight before me I tossed a few bits towards the bartender, not even thinking of where they would land. My eyes were fixed on the mare. Everything in the world seemed to fade away into nothingness until only she was left. A lone pony, dancing in the darkness, a single spotlight shining down upon her. The essence of her form was portrayed with such elegance and grace that my heart simply melted away.
I finally worked up the nerve to approach her. She tossed a wonderfully bright red rose to me, of all the people in the audience. When she finally found herself tired I was the first to sit with her. We spoke for some time, it could have been hours. I was hopelessly in love with this cheerful mare. The time finally came when she had to leave. I took it upon myself to walk her home. That was the least I could do for the pony who was the missing piece of my life. We took the scenic route to her home. We stopped to see the sights every now and then and we kept each other company the whole time. It was cold at night out here. Her soft, delicate frame lightly brushed against my side, giving me the only warmth I needed. It seemed almost to good to be true, i must have been the luckiest stallion in all of Equestria!
We parted ways just outside of her house. A light kiss on my cheek was enough to send my senses into an overload of joy. I walked in a trance all the way back to the hotel. i threw my hat on a hat rack and threw myself onto my bed. Nothing else mattered. I was in love, hopelessly in love
I hadn’t gotten any sleep that night. I didn't want to see the sights or meet the townsfolk, I just wanted to spend the whole day with the love of my life. Around noon I arrived at her home. It was troubling to see her living alone, but that meant i would have no husband to worry about. I let her show me the town, see what there was to see. I didn't pay any attention to what she was showing me. I only cared about her, every second I could spend here was a second I would cherish.
These dates became periodic. We spent days on end with each other. She maintained a job at Rosa’s Cantina. She danced for a living. I watched every performance. I was troubled though, she was very flirtatious with other cowponies. I wanted to convince myself that she was faithful but it grew very difficult. So difficult that one day it grew too hard to bear. She sat at a table, sharing a drink with a rather intimidating cowpony. Rage boiled up inside me. I would not have been surprised if steam began to shoot out of my ears. She was laughing with him and they seemed to be enjoying each other's presence. My anger grew too hard to suppress and I stormed across the room to them. My mind was clouded in rage and my judgement sailed out the window. All I knew was that this pony was stealing the love of my life from me and I was willing to put my life on the line to make sure he didn't. I stood up on my hind legs and lifted my hat to meet eyes with the soon to be sorry stallion.
“I challenge you for the love of this mare!”
what did I say about losing my judgement?
He chuckled and raised himself from his chair. He reached to his holster without making eye contact. The second he touched the handle with his mouth my instincts took over. I leaned back and pulled my revolver out of its holster with a satisfying flow. He hadn't even cleared leather before I planted a single bullet into his chest. He fell backwards and his head rolled over to reveal the empty revolver.
I stood still in shock. I had killed in cold blood in front of a room full of other ponies. At the sound of the gunfire, 3 burly cowponies pushed through the swinging doors and assessed the situation. I dropped the gun to the floor, bringing their attention to me. I was still staring, shocked at the growing pool of blood that was forming around the corpse of the blue pony. They produced their weapons and with no further words I charged headfirst out of the back door of the building.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me away from the town. I ran and ran and ran until my legs finally gave out and I found myself in the middle of the desert, alone. panic set in first. I knew how to survive off the land but i was extremely unprepared for this. I searched the horizon for any signs of civilization but the only building was a small rest stop for caravan traders. There was a single purple earth pony sitting behind the counter of the rather small building. I introduced myself and told him what happened. He offered me a room for a night but no longer. I suppressed the urge to hug him right there. It isn't very often that you meet generous people like this. I was given a small room with only a bed and a desk. I knew that I would be killed if I returned to El Paso, but my love for the grey mare was far too strong to ignore. I was certain I would die, but my love was stronger than my fear of death.
I finally came to an agreement with myself. I was going to see the mare one last time before I died. I set out for the west equestrian town of El Paso at just about midnight. I had reached the outer edge of the city about an hour later. I had a small idea what time it was but the moon gave a pretty good indication. So here I stand, on a hill overlooking El Paso. I can see Rosa’s Cantina below me. The place where I was certain to meet the love of my life for one last time.
To my right came 5 armed cowponies, to my left a dozen, or maybe more. I ran as fast as I could possibly carry myself to the back door of the cantina. Being chased the whole way.
Something is dreadfully wrong. There was a sudden sharp pain in my side. I stumbled my way to the door and just managed to push it open before it became too much to bear. I fell headfirst onto the cold, hard, wooden floor. My love for Feleena was far too strong. I lifted myself from the floor with a fierce determination.
“Feli-!” Was all i managed before a loud explosion broke through the air. I saw the white smoke bellowing from the rifle, I felt its bullet go deep into my chest. I was taken off my already tired legs and thrown onto my back by the sudden force of the bullet. I found myself curled up on the floor, blood flowing from the wound in my chest. Darkness began to creep into my mind and I brought my eyes to the ceiling.
The sudden feeling of Feleena’s warmth holding my body brought me peace. I raised my head and pressed my mouth to hers. My strength was draining and my head fell back to the floor.
“Never forget me Feleena, it’s over, goodbye.”
I felt a single tear fall onto my neck. I leaned my head backwards and closed my eyes. Cradled by two loving arms that I would die for, I allowed the darkness to free me from my suffering.
FIN