Episode 18: Bitter Ergot
56th of Warm Season, 1005 BA
Bitter Ergot was situated in a small valley in the foothills of the Sunpeaks. For a trading hub, Rarity had expected something the size of, say, Rockstead. What she saw was probably only a fifth that big. It struck her as a comfortable, homely place, a little like Spurhoof. Not an attractive town, what with its barren landscape and dull stone structures, but her former home had taught her that the best a place had to offer was not necessarily related to its outer appearance.
Flintlock made no attempt to move Cerulean onwards. He only stared at the town in silence. Rarity couldn’t see his face given her position behind him, but she could imagine it was one of frustration. With a sigh, she climbed off the lizard.
The motion caught Flintlock’s attention. “What are you doing?”
“Walking,” she replied, moving on ahead. “Since you seem so hesitant.”
“So you’re just going to walk into town without Cerulean?”
She shrugged, not deigning to look back. “I didn’t intend to ride him in regardless. I’m not going to be seen riding behind you like some flighty damsel you just rescued, thank you very much.”
She descended the shallow slope of the hill, heading for town. She suspected it would take her another hour to get there at her current pace. As much as the panicky pony in the back of her mind wanted to hurry, she knew there would be no point in it. If her sister and Coco had been through here, they’d have undoubtedly already moved on. Rarity knew from her map that there were four major roads through the Sunpeaks towards Seaddle, and the whole chase would be pointless if she took the wrong route.
Which meant asking around and getting some clues. She couldn’t do that in a rush. Especially if she was dealing with the Bad Apple Gang. Who knew what tricks they had up their collective sleeves? She wouldn’t put it past them to leave behind instructions to like-minded folk to misguide her.
Cerulean’s footsteps sounded behind her, first at a canter, then slowing as he got closer. Once he was by Rarity’s side, Flintlock dismounted and walked with her. A glance out the corner of her eye found him sulking, shoulders hunched and eyes on his boots. She didn’t blame him. He’d confided in her before that he’d left home without seeking his parents approval, only leaving behind a note of his intentions. He’d be getting an earful soon, she was sure.
It wasn’t until they were near that Rarity noticed the emptiness of the place. Not that Bitter Ergot was devoid of citizens. It just didn’t seem to have so many wandering the main road – if a dirt path could be called a ‘road’ – as its size suggested. Now that she really paid attention, it seemed many of the houses and stores were abandoned entirely.
She leaned towards Flintlock. “Is there something you might have forgotten to tell me? Such as why there are so few ponies living here?”
He grunted with apparent disinterest. “I did tell you the water has dried up, right?”
Thinking back, she realized he had indeed mentioned something to that effect. It seemed odd to her. As far as Rarity knew, water didn’t just ‘dry up’. “You mean the wells stopped producing?”
Flintlock shook his head before pointing to the hill making up the town’s southern side. “There’s an underground river under Softsoil Hill. We get to it by an old tunnel. One day late in the Burning Season the river started to dwindle. Three weeks back it went dry completely. No water means no town.”
That sounded entirely unbelievable to Rarity. “Rivers don’t just ‘dry up’. Did you check upstream to see if there’s some kind of blockage?”
His long, suffering sigh made her bristle. “What part of ‘underground’ didn’t you get? There’s no ‘upstream’ to check. The water comes out of the rock, literally. Or at least it did.”
Rarity couldn’t claim to be a… whatever one called a water expert, but she knew that Flintlock’s story didn’t make much sense. She made no further attempt to get an explanation though. It was clear that he knew nothing of the cause, and he obviously had little interest in the discussion.
They soon found themselves on the town’s main street, surrounded by buildings that were eerily quiet. Stone patios were covered in sand and dust, making it clear that nopony had been around for some time. It wasn’t until they’d passed more than a dozen such structures that they finally came to a place with some life. A saloon and a tavern stood on opposite sides of the street, and a slightly larger inn competed with them a bit further down. Nestled amongst the buildings was the entrance to a lizard stable that, at first glance, seemed very small. But Rarity had gotten a good look from atop the hill earlier, and knew that the stable grew to be much larger once it got behind the other buildings.
“Flintlock Stock!”
And that, apparently, was the grocery store, from which a tall mare who shared Flintlock’s burgundy mane came storming out. Rarity stepped back to watch the fireworks, trying her level best not to smirk at how Flintlock tried to hide himself behind Cerulean’s head. The mare stalked right around and caught his ear between her fingers, jerking him out into the open.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming back here, you little turd!”
Flintlock squirmed and yowled and clutched his hands tight. “M-Mom, please, not where everyone can see!”
“Don’t you ‘Mom’ me, you little hooligan!” Despite her fiery tone, she did at least let him go. “I should tan your hide raw. What in Mother Night’s name were you thinking, running off like that? Have you any idea how scared I was? I practically had to tie your father to the counter to keep him from going out after you. The fool of a stallion, where would I have been then, huh?”
Rubbing his ear with both hands, Flintlock failed to meet his mother’s heated glare. “Geez, Mom, I’m sorry, okay? I got—”
Her finger set before his muzzle silenced him. “Be quiet! You don’t get to talk right now.” That same finger shot towards Rarity, who had taken the opportunity to grab Cerulean’s reins. “And who the heck are you?”
Rarity had dealt with enough trouble in the last year that being faced down by an angry mother didn’t make her so much as blink. She offered a smug smile and replied, “Rarity Belle, a pleasure. I found your son in the wilderness and decided to drag him home.”
This was clearly not the answer Mrs. Stock expected, but it did appear to placate her. Some. She eyed Rarity as if attempting to gauge the truth of her explanation. “Well, if that’s the case then I suppose I should thank you. The ignorant lout didn’t give you any trouble, did he?”
Turning her smile on the glowering Flintlock, she replied, “Your son behaved himself, though it took some convincing to get him to come with me, and he did wave a rifle in my face.”
“A rifle?”
Flintlock had just enough time to give Rarity a look promising imminent destruction before his mother whacked him on the cheek with the back of her hand. “You fool! A pretty mare offers to rescue your sorry flank and you point a gun at her?”
Okay, Rarity had to admit she was taking her anger a little too far. “In his defense, he feared I might be a bandit.”
“A bandit? A pretty little thing like you?”
Raising an eyebrow, Rarity made a show of tapping Silver Lining with a lone finger.
The mare spotted it and her eyes went wide. “Why in Equestria would you be carrying something like that around, missy?”
She’d said it with such a tone of disgust that Rarity abruptly realized exactly why Flintlock was having trouble at home. With a sigh, she reached up to rub at Cerulean’s muzzle, having noticed that his frills were suddenly raised and he was hissing at the mare. She wasn’t sure if she should blame him for the reaction. “I apologize for cutting this short, but I have business in town. You wouldn’t happen to know if any unusual characters passed through town, would you?”
Mrs. Stock scowled once more. “You’re not here to pick up that donkey, are you?”
Rarity’s ears perked. “Donkey?”
“Foul thing. Killed old Green Talon, our local rancher. In his own ranch, at that! Sheriff’s got him locked up.” The mare scoffed and turned to Flintlock. “You go on inside. Your father’s going to have some words for you.”
Flintlock gave Rarity one last pleading look, but she could only shrug and try to look apologetic. What was she supposed to do, shoot his mother? The mare was probably just scared for him, and he’d come to see it soon enough. With a final sigh, he slumped his way to the store like a prisoner headed to the gallows.
His mother watched him go until he disappeared inside, and only then deflated. She turned to Rarity, gripping her dirty grey dress in both hands as she did. “Thank you, Miss Belle. Really. I know I came out like a fireball, but I’ve been scared half to death for my boy. No sense in that head of his, just like his grandfather.”
Rarity smiled at this, glad to see her suspicions were accurate. “It’s no problem at all. I just happened to come across his caravan. Your son is very lucky to be alive, Mrs. Stock.”
“And he probably didn’t learn anything, either.” The mare rubbed her loose strands of hair back, sweat streaking along with the motion. “He didn’t try anything foolish, did he? I mean, he’s a young stallion and… well, you know how they can get.”
Perhaps now wouldn’t be a good time to mention that she’d taught Flintlock a little about shooting and other survivor’s tips. Rarity shrugged and replied nonchalantly, “Aside from waving a rifle he didn’t know how to use at me, no, he was a perfect gentlecolt in that regard.”
“Good. That’s good.” Mrs. Stock exhaled slowly, her shoulders going slack. “He’s a good boy, but he gets these fanciful ideas. I’m sorry you had to put up with him. I’d offer to repay you, but I’m afraid we’re a little short right now on everything. Whole town is, really.”
It was then Rarity noticed the mare watching her from beneath the awning of the nearby saloon. She had a pleasant pink coat – heliotrope? – with a mane of the most curious combination of purples and blue. She was also scowling, which didn’t lead Rarity to suspect she had any good intentions, even with the star-shaped badge on her purple vest. At least she had good fashion sense, what with the form-fitting dark-purple pants and immaculately pressed white shirt. Not a set of colors Rarity could use, but they did well enough on that pony.
“I see you’ve caught the eye of the sheriff.” Mrs. Stock huffed. “Don’t take it personally, she glares at everypony.”
“Must be a job requirement,” Rarity muttered, her thoughts drifting to Cranky. “I wonder if I should walk over and let her know I don’t plan on robbing any banks anytime soon.”
“Please don’t,” the mare replied in a dry tone. “The town’s in bad enough shape as it is.” Straightening up at last, Mrs. Stock gave one last nod before turning away. “Thank you again for bringing my son home, Miss Belle. Don’t hesitate to come by the shop sometime, we’ll help you out if we can. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to make sure my layabout husband is doing more than just welcoming Flintlock home.”
Despite her agitation, Rarity had enough wit in her to grant a “Have fun!” at the mare’s back, which earned her a smirk in return. That done, Rarity looked to the sun and determined she had a few hours left in her day. Maybe with a bit of talking she could figure out which way the gang had taken Sweetie and Coco.
Where better to start than the pony whose job it was to watch out for such nefarious sorts as the Bad Apples? But when Rarity refocused her attention on the sheriff, she found that the mare had already half-reached her. It seemed she had something to say. Her heavy-browed grimace hadn’t softened one iota, which put Rarity on high alert. She made an effort not to rub Silver Lining’s grip, instead forcing her hand up to the necklace beneath her shirt.
The sheriff paused before Rarity, hands on her hips and eyes studious. She looked her over, from her boots to her curled (and in dire need of washing) mane. Rarity decided it would only be proper to stare right back, taking in the pants that perfectly accentuated the sheriff’s hips and a shirt made of silk. Definitely not a local job, she thought. Unless they have a tailor here with access to some extremely rare materials.
Still frowning, the mare finally extended a hand to Rarity. “Starlight Glimmer, Sheriff of Bitter Ergot.” The formal introduction went well with the force of her tone, or so Rarity concluded.
“Rarity Belle. Drifter.” She somehow managed to avoid cringing at the declaration, and wasn’t sure whether to be proud or saddened by the fact. “Is there something I can help you with, Sheriff?”
“Perhaps.” Sheriff Glimmer crossed her arms and eyed Silver Lining. “‘Drifter,’ you say. You don’t happen to do any raiding while drifting around, do you?”
The heat on Rarity’s cheeks had nothing to do with the hot sun overhead. “Are you suggesting I might be a bandit? Because if so I resent the implication.”
Starlight’s eyebrows rose, her expression awash with bemused disbelief. “Alright, let’s say I believe that. Maybe you’re a hired gun, then?”
Rarity heaved a sigh and rubbed at her temple. “Do I really look like that much of a rogue?” Cerulean gave a hiss, which she hoped was in her defense.
“You look like somepony who can handle herself,” the sheriff corrected smartly. “I saw you brought Flintlock back into town. He left on a caravan. I can only assume it didn’t make it.”
Ah, so the mare was trying to connect dots and jumped to an unfortunate conclusion. Rarity supposed she could forgive her that. “I assure you, the caravan had already been raided when I got there. Flintlock would be happy to corroborate that, should you ask him.”
Starlight heaved a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping. “Alright, look. Whatever you are, you’re not new to the whole fighting and surviving thing. I need help from somepony like that. Will you at least hear me out?”
Rarity paused to consider. She had to figure out where Sweetie and Coco had gone, and she needed to do so as fast as possible. Even if she were inclined to do such things, she didn’t have time to go on a ridiculous hunting mission like some gun for hire. Then again, Starlight might have the information she needed. It wouldn’t hurt to barter a bit, see if perhaps they could help one another. But if this pony intended her to kill for bits…
She could always say no. “I’ll hear your proposal,” Rarity said at last. “I have something I came here for, after all. Perhaps you can help me in return.”
After a moment of peering like she expected Rarity to be some master criminal, Starlight nodded and gestured with her thumb over her shoulder. “Fine. Let’s head to my office, shall we?”
The building housing the sheriff’s office wasn’t too large, though it easily dwarfed the one in Spurhoof. Starlight’s office was spacious enough to allow the two of them to sit opposite one another in comfort, the bare stone walls sparsely decorated with pictures Rarity suspected had been in the room long before Starlight herself. The only thing that seemed new in the place was a tall, narrow bookshelf in one corner.
Rarity was surprised to find that the majority of the books on it had to do with the study of magic. “You’re a mage, Sheriff?”
Starlight closed her eyes tight, her face going rigid as she sat heavily in her seat. “I… used to be.” With a long exhale, she recovered herself and focused her ever-heated gaze upon Rarity. “Let’s get to business, shall we? I need a pony to run escort.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Have you tried the Little Angels package company? I hear they’re doing rural stops now.”
“Never heard of them,” Starlight replied with a shrug. “Besides, this isn’t your typical package. It’s alive and kicking, and he needs to be watched. A prisoner in back. Murderer.”
Murderer? This seemed far out of Rarity’s purview. It was also a little confusing, all things considered. “If he’s guilty, why are you bothering to transport him?”
Starlight shook her head. “I know these small, rural towns have a reputation for quick justice, but I’ve got law to uphold. Bitter Ergot falls in Hoofington’s control, and by Hoofington law a stallion accused of something like this has to go there for trial and sentencing.”
“Really? That law’s archaic. I didn’t think there was a town in the Bowl that still paid it any attention, not since the Battle of Ponyville when travel got more dangerous.”
“Believe me, I know.” Starlight crossed her arms and scowled at the ceiling. Rarity suspected that expression was her default one, because she used it a lot. “Fact is, I’m in this dump of a town because I didn’t respect the law. I’ve got to play it straight or my flank’s toast. So that’s what I’m gonna do. But I can’t just leave Bitter Ergot to escort this guy. That’s where you can help me.”
Rarity knew she couldn’t. The fact proved more disappointing than she’d expected, possibly because it meant Starlight would have no reason to help her. Cringing, she said, “I am sorry, but I have urgent business that isn’t taking me anywhere near Hoofington. Unless you happen to have some kidnapped ponies recently rescued in this town, I can’t accept your offer.”
Starlight abruptly sat up straight, pressing her hands to the table as she met Rarity’s gaze. “Kidnapped ponies? Elaborate.” She listened intently as Rarity explained her situation, making sure to stick to the most basic facts: she was trying to save her friend and sister from the Bad Apples and had reason to believe they’d come through Bitter Ergot. The Bulletproof Heart and her other adventures were carefully left out.
Starlight hummed, cupping her chin between her thumb and forefinger as she pondered. “If something like that’s passed through town, I don’t know about it. And you’d think I would, considering we haven’t had any visitors in a while. Not since the water dried up.”
“It’s not as if they’d do it in the open,” Rarity admitted gloomily, staring at the desk between them. “There must be somepony in this town who knows something. They couldn’t have passed through completely undetected. Mayhap they stayed at the inn.”
“You’re welcome to ask around. I’ll even help. I am the sheriff, after all.” Starlight stood up and stretched, her back popping from the motion. “If I’m lucky we’ll find they turned back to Hoofington. At least then I might be able to convince you to take this Doodle character off my hooves.”
Halfway between sitting and standing, Rarity froze. Doodle? It couldn’t be.
“Something wrong?” Starlight asked, her perpetual glower aimed Rarity’s way.
Licking her lips and hoping she was wrong, Rarity stood up straight before asking, “This prisoner of yours? I heard he was a donkey. What was his name?”
“Doodle,” Starlight replied with a shrug. “Cranky Doodle. Why?”
Cranky’s head shot up when Rarity stopped in front of his cell. “Miss Belle? What in Luna’s glorious backside are you doing here?”
Wrapping her hands around the bars, Rarity was forced to acknowledge that it really was Cranky, deputy of Spurhoof, in the cell. Aware of Starlight listening in not five feet away, she replied, “I could ask you the same thing. How in Equestria did you end up getting accused of murder?”
The old donkey snorted and stood up, stepping into the light of a nearby window. Despite the fact his toupee was missing, he looked no worse for wear. “Dang farmer came at me while I was investigatin’ his field. What was I supposed to do, let him split my head open with a garden hoe?”
So it was self-defense. Rarity found that easy to believe. She knew Cranky well enough to never suspect him of any intentional wrongdoing. But if he was in here, then something had to have gone wrong. Time to get some facts. “What were you investigating, exactly?”
Cranky worked his jaw, and Rarity found it interesting to note that he seemed to stay true to his namesake even under these unfortunate conditions. “Trying to do some guess-work into where that underground river goes. I don’t know if you heard, but they say it just dried up, and that doesn’t happen.” He grumbled a bit before adding, “And you’re asking your questions in the wrong order. Ain’t ya the least bit interested in what I’m doing here instead of in Spurhoof?”
“That can wait,” she replied with equal terseness. “My first priority is getting you out of here. Now, why were you trying to solve the mystery of the dried up river?”
“Why?” He stared at her as though she’d just asked the dumbest question ever. “Because the river dried up. Rivers don’t do that without a reason. I suspected foul play, so I thought I’d do some diggin’.”
Starlight spoke up, her voice just as grouchy as his. “Maybe if you hadn’t gone snooping around on private property?”
“Stuff it, rich girl,” Cranky growled. “The place doesn’t exactly have a fence around it.”
“Wait.” Rarity turned to Starlight. “If he was only defending himself, why is he charged with murder?”
“Witness testimony,” Starlight replied smoothly, her muzzle high. “It’s the word of a stranger against the word of the deceased’s family. Green Talon’s record is spotless, and he definitely had a bullet in his corpse. Extracted it myself.” Starlight met Rarity’s eyes with her increasingly familiar scowl. “Somepony’s dead. I can’t exactly let the accused go wandering around trying to prove his innocence, now can I?”
“She’s right, kid.” Cranky didn’t even sound bitter about it. Well, no more than usual, at any rate. “It’s my word against theirs. If I were in her position, I’d probably make the same damn decisions.”
“You’re not helping any, Cranky,” Rarity grumbled. She kept her attention on Starlight. “So what do I have to do to get him free?”
“Nothing,” Starlight replied firmly. “He’s not going free, period. Unless you can find evidence proving his story, he’s going straight to Hoofington the minute I find somepony willing and able to cart him there.”
So all Rarity had to do was start her own investigation and get the deceased family to admit to what really happened. If only it would be so easy as it was just thinking about it. Knowing the task would be a challenge, Rarity steeled herself towards the goal. “Fine, I’ll start immediately.”
“What?” The sheriff’s eyes widened, her tough demeanor fading for surprise. “Why the hay would you do that? Have you forgotten you’re on a rescue mission?”
This time Rarity allowed the impulse to guide her hand towards Silver Lining. She rubbed the small nub on the handle as she stared Starlight down. “The only reason I am alive right now is because of this donkey. I won’t leave him to hang because of a false charge.”
Starlight threw up her hands in defeat. “Fine, waste your time. Not like it affects me any. Go on, do your investigation. I just hope your sister and friend can stand to wait while you’re doing it.” With that, she stomped back to her office.
Cranky stepped up to the bars, his expression grim. “What’s this about your sister and a friend needing rescue?”
“I’ll explain later.” She turned, grabbing the bars once more as she leaned into them. “The important thing at the moment is getting you out of here.”
But Cranky’s face hardened. “If you’ve got family that needs help, they come first. You should get out of here.”
“And let you face the gallows alone? Not a chance!”
“Rarity—”
“No.” She reached through the bars and grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer so she could look him in the eyes properly. “I’m not letting them do this to you, Cranky. I owe you, and I could use your gun arm. Now stop arguing with me and tell me everything that happened from the moment you stepped into this town.”
He looked down at her hand, then at her. His eyes shifted in small motions as he studied her. At last, he permitted a ghost of a smile to slip through his grimace. “Glad to see you haven’t lost any of your fire.”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “No, I most certainly haven’t.”
Her frustration faded when he took her hand in both of his and gave it a light squeeze. “It’s good to see you’re still alive, kid. Real good.”
At his somber, calm expression, Rarity found it in herself to calm down a bit. She reached her other hand through and patted his. For just a moment, she recalled who she was talking to and how much he’d helped her in those last hours at Spurhoof. That wrinkled, grumpy face of his… she’d missed it far more than she thought.
“It’s good to see you too, Cranky.” She smiled, reveling in this pleasant, rare moment. “I honestly didn’t think I’d get the pleasure again.”
“You and me both, kid.” After a moment, he coughed and let go of her hands. Straightening up, he said, “So, we gonna get started or what?”
The first step for Rarity had been to visit the family of Green Talon. It turned out the stallion raised sand lizards, particularly Thick Scales. The ranch where he’d lived had roughly five dozen of the things roaming around. Massive beasts, Thick Scales, as wide as a wagon and three times as heavy. They were also the most docile of the three sand lizard types, as evidenced by how they all but ignored Rarity as she wandered amongst them.
She’d attempted to talk with the family, which consisted of a mare and three sons, all thestrals. Alas, the wound was too fresh, and they didn’t have much to offer. What Rarity did manage to gather was that only the middle son had witnessed the event, and he insisted that Cranky shot first. Since he said it, the rest of the family assumed it must be true. Rarity couldn’t blame them for that.
But Rarity remained convinced of Cranky’s innocence, and so had to conclude the boy – for he couldn’t have been more than twelve – was either lying or misinterpreted events. Rarity had no idea which, and wasn’t about to throw out accusations anyway, not at this emotional juncture. She wrote off the family as helpless to her cause, but they did agree to let her poke around the spot where Green Talon was shot.
The eldest son, Bareback, was willing to bring her there. He was fifteen, and seemed to have followed in his father’s hoofsteps in terms of careers. He was able to identify every lizard they passed by name, and even gave her a few anecdotes regarding them. It was all an obvious effort to keep his emotions at bay, and Rarity was more than happy to play along. She laughed when appropriate, asked questions pertinent to the current story. But all she could think of was how he and his family were accusing an innocent donkey of murder.
They came upon a sand lizard, this one a Dust Devil. It was a pale, mottled grey like dirty snow, and it lay on the ground as though sleeping. The sight of it took Rarity aback, for she’d never seen a lizard of such coloration before. When Rarity and Bareback approached, it opened its eyes to peer at them. Seeming bored by their presence, it turned its face away.
“That’s Ophelia,” Bareback said, keeping his distance. “She was Dad’s. Hasn’t left the spot since it happened.”
Rarity nodded, taking a few tentative steps closer. “Is she dangerous?”
“Ophelia? Dangerous?” It sounded as though he wanted to laugh at the suggestion. “Wouldn’t hurt a fly.” He sobered quickly. “Loved Dad to death, though. She’s only a year old, and he was there the whole time.”
That only made things worse. The family might be an issue, but Rarity felt nothing but sympathy for the creature before her. She moved closer and hesitantly reached down. The lizard lacked the large frills of its male counterparts, but still had a set of smaller ones just above the neck. Rarity reached under them and scratched at the soft spot between the scales. The frill flicked, and Ophelia shifted to stare at her with a lone, icy blue eye. Up close like this, the loss in her gaze was as obvious as it was painful. Ophelia gave a lone, quiet trill before settling back to her previous pose.
“I don’t know what happened between your master and my friend,” Rarity whispered to her, “but I intend to find out. I hope you don’t mind me looking around.” If Ophelia had any opinion on the matter, she sullenly kept it to herself.
Taking this as tacit acceptance, Rarity began to circle the immediate area. “I take it this is where it happened?” They were on the side of a hill, mostly barren save for some boulders and a lone tree that appeared to be on its last legs, its branches skeletally bare. There didn’t seem to be anything special about the place.
“This is it,” Bareback acknowledge. He turned to point at a spot down the hill. “We found Dad at the bottom.”
But he’d likely rolled down, given the fairly steep incline and where Ophelia was lying. Had she seen the whole thing? Rarity paused to give the creature another comforting scratch, lamenting that she had no means of getting into its head. “Is there anything out here of importance?”
The colt shrugged. “Not really.”
Not very helpful. She examined the grounds as best she could, but Rarity was no tracker or detective. It all looked the same to her. Walking to the top of the hill, she took another look at her surroundings. If she was correct, then the town of Bitter Ergot would be to the southwest of here, invisible only because of the tall hills blocking the view. It had taken her half an hour to get to the ranch, but she guessed a Dust Devil could go straight across those hills and make it to town in half the time.
“Do you know what Cranky – the donkey, I mean – was doing out here?”
“Trespassing,” Bareback groused before spitting on the ground. “And shooting good ponies like my dad.”
Taking that as a no and steadfastly ignoring his crude behavior, Rarity raised her finger to point in the direction she believed the town to be in. If her spatial orientation was accurate, then that made the caves to the underground river a bit to her left. Once reasonably sure she was in alignment, she turned around to find herself facing the slope of their hill. If Cranky was trying to follow the underground river’s flow, then he’d likely have been headed this way.
If Green Talon really believed Cranky was some trespassing bandit, his actions would be understandable. But Rarity didn’t trust that scenario, or rather, didn’t want to believe it. She had one other theory: Cranky was on the verge of finding something he wasn’t meant to. This in mind, she promptly ascended the hill.
As soon as the opposite side came into view, Rarity felt a spark of hope. At the foot of the next hill was a narrow cave, perhaps just wide enough for maybe two ponies to walk in at once if they didn’t mind rubbing shoulders. Her curiosity raised, she called Bareback over. “What about that cave?”
“Oh, that?” Bareback gave a wistful smile. “My brothers and I call it the Castle. Used to play siege, try to take it from one another. Dad played too… sometimes.” He stared at the dark opening for a long while, until noticing her quiet gaze and shaking himself out of it. “It’s, er, an old iron mine. Dried up decades ago. Most ponies have forgotten it exists.”
An iron mine? Right on the line that Cranky was following, too. Rarity wasn’t about to chalk that up to coincidence. “Does it go down far?”
“Don’t rightly know,” the colt admitted. “My brothers and I used to dare one another to go as deep as we could, but none of us went in more than… a hundred feet? Maybe. Wasn’t exactly paying attention.” He crossed his arms and sighed. “Dad made us stop going in last Burning Season. Said it had gotten unstable. Too dangerous.”
The last Burning Season?
One day late in the Burning Season the river started to dwindle. Three weeks back it went dry completely.
Curious. She promptly marched for the opening, confident she’d find something interesting. Bareback hesitated a bit, but eventually followed.
As Rarity approached the mouth of the cave, her self-assurance dwindled. The opening loomed like the open maw of some great beast buried within the solid rock. This puzzled her at first, and she tried to set her uncertainty aside and walk through. The little pony in the back of her mind told her in its panicky voice that this was a mistake, that she should turn around. She ignored it, even as the uneven walls took away the sunlight. It was just a cave.
So why was her breath hitched?
Not ten steps in, Rarity’s legs decided to stop obeying her. She stood stark still, staring at the empty blackness ahead. A hot wind blew at her back, making her think that the imaginary beast was trying to suck her in. Her hands trembled as she tried to move onwards. Visions came to her, visions of wandering in the perfect darkness through an endless maze of stone. Her stomach churned with phantom pangs, a deep hunger going unsated. Her throat became as dry as the Great Salt Plains. She shouldn’t be down here. But how far had she gone? How far did she have left to go? What if she came upon a fork in the path?
“Miss?”
The darkness faded. Rarity came out of her fears with a shock, turning about sharply. Bareback watched her warily from the mouth of the cave not fifteen feet away, sunlight making a bright silhouette of his form. “Are you okay in there?”
Right. She wasn’t lost under the Dragon’s Teeth again. It was just an old, abandoned mine. She didn’t even have to go that far. Just to the first fork. Or… maybe just the first bend? She took a deep breath, then exhaled with equal care. Rubbing her necklace, she turned back to the darkness. “I’m fine, Bareback. Just an old anxiety creeping up on me.”
That matter settled, Rarity resumed her walk. Her legs were still a little wobbly, but otherwise gave her no trouble. She reminded herself over and over again that this wasn’t the same as the tunnels beneath the mountains. She had a clear, easy-to-reach exit only seconds away. There was no risk of starving or dehydrating.
Her thoughts didn’t keep her ears from folding back and her hackles rising.
As the darkness deepened, Rarity prepared a light spell. No sooner had she started working her horn than she felt a familiar tingling sensation at the base of it. She paused, fears momentarily forgotten. Her horn would only react that way if there was some powerful magic in effect nearby. Was somepony preparing a spell for her? She turned sideways to look to the entrance. Bareback was still there, having not entered the tunnel at all. Though the sunlight rendered him little more than an obscure black blob, his anxiety was given away by the constant fidgeting of his leathery wings.
She didn’t dare speak, lest she give her position away. If somepony was channeling a spell for her then it wouldn’t matter, but if they were casting for some other reason…
Pulling out Silver Lining and Ruby Heart, she proceeded into the cave at a more cautious pace. The uneven ground made silence impossible. Her best bet would be to shoot quickly. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. As she pressed onwards, she noticed a change in the shadows and realized she’d arrived at a curve in the path. Weapons ready, she brought her back to the wall and oh-so carefully peeked around the corner.
All her fears faded at the sight of a turquoise shield blocking her route. Well, that explained the magical signature she’d been reading. One would have to use some powerful magic to leave a shield spell standing on its own without anypony to maintain it. Putting her guns away, she approached the shield and tapped it with her finger. Ripples of light flew along the surface like waves in a lake, but the barrier felt solid enough. She closed her eyes and tried to determine the construction of the spell, but it proved to be a complex and quite literal web of lines.
It was a fascinating method of shield construction. Where Shining had taught Rarity to project a single solid wall, this was more like the dense, fine weave of cloth. It was as artistic as it was powerful, and she had a hard time imagining the magical skill of the pony responsible. The only question was who that pony was. Oh, and why they chose to block the path. Because it was dangerous?
Or, the little pony in the back of her mind countered ominously, to hide something.
Opening her eyes, she examined the colors of the barrier once more. Alas, she didn’t know anypony in town, much less their auras. The only unicorn she’d met was the sheriff, and Starlight hadn’t used any magic that she could recall during the visit. Seeing as it was unlikely Starlight was the only unicorn in Bitter Ergot, Rarity decided not to bother jumping to conclusions.
Then again… as sheriff, Starlight would have been obligated to investigate the area where Green Talon died. Did that mean she decided to pay the mines a visit? Just to take a look, of course.
Or to make sure no other snoops decided to go deeper into the mines.
Attempting to break this shield was pointless. While she might be able to figure out the complex patterns, Rarity knew she’d exhaust herself in short order trying to unravel the spell. She just didn’t have that kind of power. So she turned back, wondering what other reasons might exist for a pony to block this place. Safety would be an obvious reason. But what if there was something else? It was always possible that the river could be reached through here as well.
But if it was, what possible reason could a pony have for blocking the town off from it?
Bareback was waiting for her at the tunnel exit, relief washing over him when she emerged in the sunlight. “Did you find anything down there?”
She eyed the colt, wondering just how much he knew. “Maybe. Tell me, are there many unicorns in Bitter Ergot?”
“Unicorns?” His muzzle scrunched up as he thought about it. “Not really. Hardly any, come to think of it. The mayor, the sheriff… um… Miss Cherry, the bank teller. And you, I guess.” He rubbed his hands together and stared down the dark tunnel. “Why?”
“You wouldn’t happen to know if any have a turquoise aura, would you?”
Bareback gave her a look that suggested she was speaking Prench. “I have no idea what that means.”
Suppressing the urge to give the rustic a lesson in color terminology taxed Rarity’s patience, but she pulled it off. “Light and bright green.”
“Ooooh.” He rubbed his chin for a moment. “Yeah, Sheriff Glimmer’s got that, I think.”
Rarity tensed, but tried to keep from jumping to conclusions. There might be an explanation, preferably one that didn’t involve her having to fight a member of law enforcement. “I see. Is she a good sheriff?”
“Yeah, she’s good,” he grumbled, kicking a small rock into the tunnel. “Too good. Since she came along, everything’s been ‘by the book’. It drives us crazy. This town used to be laid back.”
Making her way back to the hill, she asked, “So Miss Glimmer’s new in town?”
“Showed up from Seaddle about two years ago.” Bareback followed, hands stuffed in his pockets and slouching. Rarity got the impression he didn’t have a high opinion of the sheriff. “Went around barking orders and acting like she was Princess Celestia incarnate. Mom says she had a stick up her butt from some bad business back west. You ask me, I’d say it’s still lost up in there somewhere.”
Rarity didn’t know what was stronger, her desire to laugh or the horror she felt that she’d descended so low as to find the declaration amusing. Her cheeks hurt from a determined effort not to smirk, especially with the graphic, arguably violent imagery the colt’s words put in her head.
Her amusement was cut short when they crested the hill and found Ophelia still laying on the ground where they’d left her. The morose sight instilled in Rarity a new determination. She would keep looking for clues, and maybe have a discussion with Cranky regarding her discovery. As much as she wanted her friend to be innocent, she had to also hope that Green Talon wasn’t a villain.
She had a disturbing feeling that the sheriff might be.
She was met on the way back to town by Flintlock. The stallion grinned at the sight of her, waving excitedly and hurrying to meet her on the rough dirt road to Bitter Ergot. “Hey, I hear you’re looking into that donkey’s case. Never took you for a detective.”
“And I never took you for an escape artist,” she countered, not granting him the honor of a smile. “However did you manage to get out from under your mother’s undoubtedly hawkish gaze?”
He waved dismissively. “Eh, Father got her to cool down. He’s good at that.” He came alongside her and matched her stride, hands behind his back as he studied her face. “So what’s the plan?”
She paused to return his study, raising an eyebrow at his innocent smile. “Why would you want to help me?”
The smile didn’t flinch. “Why not? I gotta learn more if I’m gonna get out of this town, y’know, alive. And you did kinda sorta take me under your wing.”
Groaning, she resumed walking. “Flintlock, I don’t know what you were expecting, but I’ll be leaving this place the instant I’ve proven my friend’s innocence.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So I won’t be taking you with me.”
“I don’t expect you to!” He leaned forward, perhaps trying to tempt her to look him in the eye. She didn’t bite. “You’re the best thing to an expert there is, and I still want to learn. Come on, Rarity, let me shadow you a bit while you solve this case. I might even be able to help.”
“Your mother is going to think you’ve developed a crush,” she noted dryly.
She watched out the corner of her eye as his face turned crimson. He sputtered a bit before being able to form a proper counter of, “We’ll just tell her she’s wrong!” A year ago she might have found his manner endearing. Today she only wondered what it would take to make him forget all about her. Because he needed to, and quickly.
Perhaps he noticed her distaste, for he hurried to add, “She is wrong. It’s nothing like that! It’s a, uh, step towards my goal. Right? Getting out of this town?”
“You’re not making yourself sound innocent, boy.” Even so, she gave him a small smile. “If it’ll make you happy, I don’t mind the help. Just remember that we part ways when I depart Bitter Ergot.”
His smile could rival Celestia’s sun. “Yes, ma’am!”
Stallions.
The town came into view as the road circled around a shallow hill. Rarity took the opportunity to study the place from a new angle. More abandoned homes. It was almost sad. This place had to have been teeming with families going about their business, building their lives and helping travelers on their way to or from Seaddle. Now? Nothing more than a ghost town.
Flintlock heaved a sigh as the two of them paused to view the scene. “Maybe it doesn’t matter. After all, without any water this place is disappearing. In another year or two it’ll just be a barren curiosity for the occasional passer by. The veritable Hollow Shades of the west.”
Rarity was content to let this statement go by untouched. At first. As her eyes drifted over the empty streets, they settled upon a tall building rising over the others. She’d passed by it earlier, and thus knew it to be Town Hall. At least it still looked well-tended. Which is precisely what gave her pause. “How is it that the town appears to be growing more and more poor, but Town Hall looks just fine?”
Her companion followed her gaze, but if he found Town Hall’s situation to be odd he gave no sign of it. “Mayor Wine took out a loan from the bank. They’ve been giving unemployed ponies the job of maintaining the place. Not like they have anything better to do, what with business steadily drying up.”
One didn’t run a successful business without a good understanding of how money worked, and Rarity had run the most successful business in Spurhoof for six years. Aside from giving her a painful understanding of just how exorbitantly expensive her life on the run had been so far, that financial awareness told her that there was something wrong with the situation before her. “One doesn’t take out a loan without an expectation of paying it back,” she muttered. “If Bitter Ergot is financially on its last legs, why would the mayor take out a loan? Why would the bank let him? Or her.”
“Her,” Flintlock helpfully supplied. “And I don’t really understand what you mean.”
Rubbing the handle of Silver Lining, she asked, “Does the mayor use the money for anything other than employing the less fortunate?”
“Oh, sure.” He waved his hand towards the abandoned structures laid out before them. “The mayor’s been buying up the land owned by the ponies who left. It ain’t worth crap, but it gives them enough to get out of town.”
That didn’t answer Rarity’s main concern. The mayor was spending all this money paying ponies and buying their land, and for what? It might be nice to think she was doing it out of the goodness of her heart, but kindness did not put food on the table or keep one out of staggering debt. Surely the mayor and the bank expected to get something out of their investments. Buying land that would be worthless soon? Not exactly a way to rake in dividends. She was missing something.
“Okay, I think I know what to do next,” she declared, adjusting her hat against the sunlight. “Come on, Flintlock, we’re going to pay Howler’s a visit.”
Ripe Cherry, the bank teller, was a young mare maybe Flintlock’s age, and Rarity took an instant dislike to her. She was an attractive, lithe thing with long legs but a short horn, her dark red mane was immaculate, and she wore bright red lipstick that went well with her peach coat. All these things were fine in Rarity’s book. What made her so unlikeable was the expression of superior disdain that seemed glued to her face, and a tone of voice that matched. When Rarity asked to see the bank’s proprietor, she was practically ignored. Then she whipped out her message orb, which was at least enough to get the filly to walk to a back room, highstepping and keeping her muzzle in the air the entire time.
Flintlock was watching Cherry’s flank as she left, his face a troubled mix of aroused and annoyed. He leaned towards Rarity to ask in a hushed voice, “You’ve been around. Are all bank employees like her?”
“Fortunately, no.” Rarity made a show of examining the bank’s interior, which was as simple in design as the one in Spurhoof, and smaller too. It sported images of the local landscape, all of which were rather boring. She made a mental note to talk to Spike about hiring some proper interior decorators for his branches. At least they kept their water barrels filled. “She doesn’t strike me as being a local.”
“And yet she is,” Flintlock groused. “I should know. She broke my heart three years ago.” At Rarity’s raised eyebrow he blushed and glanced away. “I didn’t have good taste back then.”
Cherry returned a moment later, followed by a Diamond Dog of average height but narrow build, dressed in a yellow pinstriped suit that was sheer torture for Rarity’s fashion sense. She imagined being only a few months out of practice kept her from leaping into a proper lecture on why his outfit should be considered a crime in all five major city states.
He smiled for Rarity and handed back her message orb. He spoke in a voice deeper than she expected for a Diamond Dog. “Good afternoon, Miss Rarity!” Well, at least Cherry had deigned to remember her name properly. “Very rare that pony have message orb. Miss Rarity must be good friend of Howler’s Bank, and any friend of Howler’s is friend of Mr. Fluffed.”
“A pleasure, sir.” Rarity pocketed her orb and smiled, pleased with his manners. Perhaps only the polite ones were allowed to manage bank branches? “I am sorry to interrupt your day, but I am performing an investigation for the donkey currently incarcerated in your local jail. I was hoping you could answer a few questions?”
Mr. Fluffed rubbed his chin with one of those big paws of his and hummed. “Mr. Fluffed not know what killer donkey has to do with Howler’s. Still, questions hurt nopup. Please, ask.”
Rarity had already prepared her questions in her head in advance, so she wasted no time. “How were Mr. Green Talon’s finances? Was he in any debt or the like?”
Another long hum, which Rarity might have mistaken for a growl where she not so familiar with Diamond Dogs. “No problems. Good customer. Pony’s funds were low for some years, but pony fixed problem not long ago.”
Fixed the problem? So Green Talon had come into money recently. “Have you any idea what brought about his change in fortunes?”
“Mr. Fluffed assumes lizard business got good.” He shrugged noncommittally. “Not good business to sniff in clients’ business, no.”
And with that, Rarity had her first breakthrough, for Mr. Fluffed’s story didn’t fit with what Green Talon’s widow had told her. A lack of ponies passing through town had meant fewer ponies in need of lizards, and business was starting to dry up. But the bank manager was correct, he had no real reason to dig into Green Talon’s business. If anypony was lying, it was probably the widow. That or the stallion himself hadn’t bothered to inform the missus of his newfound income.
But Rarity wasn’t done yet. “In that case, I suppose Mr. Talon’s land wasn’t at risk of being bought out by the town.”
“Mr. Fluffed doesn’t think so.” He scratched behind his ears, muzzle scrunched up in apparent confusion. “But Bank does not ask the mayor for financial records.”
Oh, but it should. Rarity smiled sweetly. “Mayor’s got a good head on her shoulders for money, does she?”
“Very good.” Mr. Fluffed grinned, showing his canines freely. Flintlock whimpered at the sight.
Ignoring her less experienced companion, Rarity asked, “Then I suppose Mayor Wine had a plan for paying back the substantial loan I hear she took out from the bank a while ago?”
“Um, yes?” Gone was the smile, replaced by high-browed uncertainty. “Forgive Mr. Fluffed, but what does this have to do with killer donkey in pony jail?”
“Yeah,” Flintlock threw in with no less confusion. “What?”
“Just tying up a few loose ends in my head,” she replied conversationally. “I know it seems strange, but it does help me get a bigger picture.” She crossed her arms and threw the manager her best smile. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to tell me what that payment plan was, would you?”
Just as quick as it had come, Mr. Fluffed lost his confusion. He straightened up, squared his shoulders, and looked her in the eye. “The Bank can’t share client info. Proprietary. Sorry.”
As she expected. Keeping her smile firmly in place, she said, “That’s quite alright, it was just a curiosity. I can get by without.”
“Good, because Bank not take kindly to sniffing ponies.” Mr. Fluffed turned his head slightly as he eyed her once more. “Where did pony say pony get message orb, again?”
Her smile broadened. She couldn’t help it. “The Boss, of course.”
Eyebrows and ears shot up in tandem, only to fall again as his expression turned suspecting. “Really? Pony not lying?”
“Feel free to contact him if you wish,” she replied easily. “He’ll corroborate my statement. And while you’re at it, you can let him know I promise to visit again as soon as I can. He was such a sweetheart.”
Mr. Fluffed didn’t lose his suspecting demeanor. “Dog will do that. Pony have any more questions? Dog is busy.”
Rarity wanted to ask more questions, but she’d already asked the ones she’d pre-prepared. She stood for a moment, her eyes scanning the room. The pictures, Cherry observing her nails disinterestedly, the water barrels… nothing new came to mind. She kept her expression neutral, businesslike, but she couldn’t help feeling as though there should be more questions. Mr. Fluffed was starting to look impatient though, so at last she shook her head. “I think I’ve got what I needed. Thank you so much for your time, sir.”
“Of course. Mr. Fluffed always happy to help ponies.” By his gruff tone, she doubted he meant her specifically. “Have a good evening, Ms. Rarity.” He returned to his office, more rigid in poise than he’d been coming out. Rarity hoped he really did try to contact Spike about her. She hadn’t meant to ruffle his fur, not really, and it wouldn’t do to get on his bad side.
As they left the bank, Flintlock scratched his head and frowned. “Okay, I have no idea what that achieved. Seemed like a waste of time to me.”
“On the contrary,” Rarity said while leading him down the street to the inn, “we’ve actually learned a lot. We know that Green Talon recently got an extra boost to his income that his wife either doesn’t know about or doesn’t want to divulge. We also learned that Mayor Wine and Mr. Fluffed are colluding together on something, although I admit that may not have anything to do with Cranky’s case.”
Flintlock cocked his head, his confusion evident. “How do you figure that second one?”
Rather than answer, she asked something she probably should have gone for a while back. “Was Green Talon particular about who he allowed onto his land?”
“What does that have to do with…?” He sighed and shook his head. “Whatever. Green didn’t care if ponies came to visit, except at night. He didn’t like ponies waking his lizards up and making them nervous.”
Rarity paused, her gaze turning west. The sun had already disappeared over the Sunpeaks, casting the town in a deep shadow, but she guessed they had another hour of daylight left. “Only at night, hmm?”
Rarity would be the first to admit that she was basing her actions entirely off speculation. She’d found nothing concrete to prove that Green Talon was anything more than a stallion protecting his land and lizards from what he thought was a bandit. But the presence of the shield still bothered her, and she didn’t trust the situation with the mayor and Mr. Fluffed. The whole thing seemed odd, especially with the mayor buying up land that would do her no good in the long run. Throw in the river mysteriously running dry, and Rarity smelled a scheme.
It was all conjecture. She knew that. But something told her these were more than just peculiar circumstances. Cranky agreed, though he’d had reservations regarding her plan to stake out the abandoned mine that night. Not that he had any means of stopping her. Cell bars made that somewhat difficult.
So Rarity hid on a nearby hilltop, lying on the ground at just the right spot to be able to peek over at the mine entrance. There weren’t any good hiding places save amongst some low-lying rocks, but it would serve for her purposes. She’d chosen a hill relatively close to the mine, but in a direction that would allow her to look in the direction of the town at the same time. It didn’t give her a good view of the mine entrance itself, but here she’d be able to see anypony coming from town long before they saw her, assuming they ever did.
Her entire plan banked on there being something hidden in the mines, probably related to why the underground river dried up. If she was wrong in that guess, then she had no idea what she’d do. Even so, the bank lending the town money it couldn’t pay back to buy land? She had to believe there was some ulterior motive involved. Since she doubted Spike would be in on something like that, Mr. Fluffed was now suspect.
She’d kept Flintlock out of the loop, of course. He knew too many ponies. His parents would miss him if he left the house tonight, she was sure. Plus he was too trusting. What if he mentioned her intentions to the wrong ponies? No, better to go it alone tonight.
She’d not been alone in over a week. She’d almost forgotten what it was like. Lying there in the dirt, alternating between watching the mine and taking in the night sky, she couldn’t decide her feelings on the matter. Being alone was safe and quiet, giving her a certain sense of security and the comfort to do her own thing without much worry.
And yet, it was a bit lonely. Especially after a week of the talkative colt. It was almost too bad she didn’t intend to let him follow her around like some lovesick puppy.
Time passed. The moon made its slow way across the sky, giving her an easy method of judging the time. Rarity thought about her plans here, about Cranky in his cell, about Flintlock and how lucky he was to be alive. Her mind drifted to Sweetie and Coco, wondering if they were staring up at the same moon. It felt as though they were gradually getting farther and farther away from her reach. But what was she to do, leave Cranky to hang?
At times like this, she felt miserably lost. Her parents were counting on her. Her sister and Coco would be waiting. Did they have any idea she was following their trail? Maybe they’d given up hope, resigning themselves to service under the Bad Apple Gang. And what did that service entail? Rarity’s thoughts drifted to Braeburn and how his hands groped her breast. The memory sent shivers down her spine and made her hackles rise. If those bastards so much as looked at Sweetie the wrong way…
No. They’d be fine. The Gang had to know that the only thing that would draw Rarity to them was her sister and Coco. They wouldn’t kill or harm them, not until they had her. She wanted to believe it. She made herself believe it. The alternative was too painful to contemplate, so she chose not to.
She forced her thoughts to a new direction, specifically her current task. Not a soul had shown up so far, aside from the sand lizards dozing nearby. She wondered if Ophelia was still laying where she’d been earlier. Rarity had taken a circumferential route here to avoid the townsponies guessing her intentions, and so hadn’t been to the other side of the hill where Green Talon had died. Thinking of the poor sand lizard renewed her determination to get to the bottom of things, and so she refocused her attention on the mine.
And just in time, for she spotted figures walking towards the opening. Pressing herself flat against the ground, Rarity strained her ears in hopes of catching anything they might say. Oh, why didn’t she know an eavesdropping spell? Not that she could use one now.
The moon was only half-full tonight, but that gave her enough light to recognize what she was seeing. The leader was a big earth pony, easily the size of her father. There was no softness on him though; all muscle and brawn. Behind him was a much smaller pony, long-legged and gangly. Rarity remembered seeing him on the streets of town, though only in passing. Locals, then.
The third pony was a unicorn of average size. She wasn’t Starlight Glimmer or Ripe cherry, so by process of elimination it had to be Mayor Red Wine. Her face was impossible to see in this lighting and the distances involved, but her slightly hunched posture and rapid steps suggested anxiety. Curious. The other two didn’t share that, though they did maintain a brisk pace. The lanky one seemed agitated, his shoulders hunched and his steps more like stomps. The trio soon disappeared inside the mine, leaving Rarity to ponder her next move.
Well, she wouldn’t learn anything lying around up here. Steeling her nerves, she got up and jogged for the mine, one hand hovering over Silver Lining just in case. Nopony came back out. Once she deemed herself close enough, she dropped her speed to a cautious, creeping walk. Her ears remained perked and aimed forward, just waiting for some sign that they were near the entrance.
At last, she reached the opening. She had thought it dark before. It was like a black wall now, such that she might think it solid if not for past experience. Ever so carefully, she poked her head around the side and peered into the shadows. Far down the tunnel was the glow of the mayor’s horn, partially blocked by the mare’s body. What were they doing down there?
The shield didn’t belong to the mayor, her magical aura was violet. Were they trying to break through? Just investigating? No, it couldn’t be that second one, not this time of night. She watched as the three ponies came to a stop and turned to their right. Rarity could only assume they’d reached the shield.
They were speaking, but the distance combined with the cave’s echoing prevented her from making any sense of their words. Dared she get closer? Yes, yes she did. She crept inside, ignoring the little pony in her head whimpering about the close quarters. She was in control this time, and no silly fears of being trapped in an underground maze would stop her. She stepped with extreme caution, rolling her hooves along the ground to keep the boots from clopping.
“What do you mean, you can’t break it?”
She froze, hand on Silver Lining.
“I mean I can’t break it. This thing’s way beyond my skill. The Sheriff did too good a job. You do know she went to the most prestigious magical school in Equestria, right?”
“Come on, Red. We need this path open! There ain’t any others. Believe me, we’ve been searchin’ all over these damned hills.”
“I know, Knuckles. Believe me, I want in there just as much as you do.”
“Well then, figure something out!”
Rarity couldn’t tell which male voice belonged to which stallion. Both were fairly deep, although one had a slight Mareami accent. Without Mayor Wine’s distinctly feminine tone she’d have had no idea who was speaking.
“Look, my special talent is cards, not shields, and just because two spells are ‘shield spells’ doesn’t mean they work in the same way. This thing is like a master artist’s mosaic on a cathedral ceiling, and I’m a mere muzzle painter!”
“I got no idea what that means. Can’t you think of somethin’?”
The Mayor hesitated. “We could dig another tunnel?”
“Or we could just ask Sheriff Glimmer to drop the shield.”
“Not gonna happen,” grunted Mareami. “She’s been on edge ever since Talon got his ass shot by that fucking donkey. Until things have cooled down, she won’t budge on the shield.”
The other stallion grumbled and stomped. “So what the hay are we supposed to do in the meantime?”
The three stood in silence, all of them facing the shield that was beyond Rarity’s sight. She shifted her position, placed a hand on the wall, and waited for more.
“We wait,” Mayor Red said. “Once the donkey is removed and there’s no more attention out here, we’ll probably be able to convince her to drop the shield. This place doesn’t do us any good until everypony’s moved out of town anyway. We can afford to let it sit idle.”
“I don’t know,” muttered Mr. Non-Accent. “That doesn’t seem safe. What if the wall breaks because nopony was down there to keep an eye on it?”
“The wall’s not going to break,” Mayor Wine snapped.
“We can’t take that risk, Red,” Mareami countered calmly. “I think we should tell the boss.”
“Yeah, I like that idea.”
The light in the tunnel shifted as the mayor shrugged her shoulders. “That’s fine. Your boss would know better than us, after all. We should focus on expediting that donkey’s removal from town though.”
“And why doesn’t the Sheriff just hang him again?”
“Some archaic law nopony cares about. I can’t blame her. After what she had to put up with back in Seaddle, she’s gotta tread lightly.” The Mayor added in a low voice Rarity barely made out, “This does seem a bit extreme, though.”
Mareami scoffed. “Why don’t we just start a mob? Still enough people in town for that. Raid the jail, string him up. Sheriff can’t well stop everypony at once, yeah?”
“Don’t even think about it,” the mayor hissed. “We’ve got that outsider snooping around, and we can’t let this town become the center of attention until after everypony’s moved out.”
“Speaking of that outsider,” Non-Accent cheerfully said, “You seen the flanks on her? I say we make her ‘disappear’, and have some fun with her while we’re at it. No outsider, no investigation. Donkey leaves faster.”
“We don’t have to deal with the…” The light shifted. “Who’s there?”
It took every ounce of willpower Rarity had not to curse. It proved a moot point, because already she could see all three ponies headed her way. How had they noticed her? Thinking fast, she whipped out Silver Lining and took a couple shots, intentionally aiming wide. Her ploy worked; all three dove for cover around the corner. This was all the opportunity she needed to turn tail and flee.
It didn’t take much to realize why they’d seen her, and she felt stupid for not considering her silhouette against the light of the mine’s mouth. Even in the dark of night, there would have been enough light to make her visible. She just had to hope they weren’t—
Shots rang out, and Rarity heard the disturbing sound of bullets zipping past. Fortunately, they’d waited until she was practically outside, and she promptly made for the hill ahead. If she could hide out here somewhere… but where?
There was always the option of turning to fight, but Rarity didn’t dare. Cranky had defended himself and was now in a jail cell. If she’d heard those three correctly, Sheriff Glimmer was in on whatever the heck was going on in this town, so it behooved her to keep as within the law as she possibly could under the circumstances. But where to go?
Her legs pumped as she ascended the slope of the hill. A glance back revealed that her pursuers hadn’t left the mine yet. She crested the hill safe in her anonymity… for now. But she couldn’t keep running like this, they’d see her! Where was she supposed to—
Ophelia still lay on the side of the hill. She watched as Rarity approached at a sprint, eyes narrowed as if in suspicion. The creature was curled up, undoubtedly for sleep.
Thinking on her hooves, Rarity went straight for the Dust Devil. She slowed upon reaching it. “Ophelia, I know you’re probably not in the mood to accommodate, but I really need this.” Hoping she wouldn’t be rewarded with aggression, she hopped over the lizard’s tail and nestled herself within the circle it had made of itself. The fit was tight, but it allowed Rarity to hide herself fairly well within the large beast’s form.
Ophelia stared at her. Nothing else, just stared. Perhaps she was trying to make sense of what had just happened. Her head shifted to look towards the hilltop, from which Rarity could hear rushed hoofsteps. Both guns tight against her chest, Rarity prepared for a fight even as she held as still as she could. If they got too close to Ophelia from downhill they’d be able to see her. But only if they got close. Please, Ophelia, don’t choose now to get up!
As the hoofsteps got closer, Rarity listened to her own heartbeat. It seemed disproportionately loud, so she knew she should be reacting differently. Yet she remained calm, taking slow breaths and keeping a steady eye on her surroundings.
The necklace had warmed up again. Keeping her calm. She really would have to thank Coco when they were reunited.
The voice of Non-Accent arose. “Damn it, that pony’s fast! Did you get a good look at him?”
“Naw.” The unmistakably loud and disgusting sound of Mareami spitting. “Didn’t see anything but a shape. Who the fuck’s snooping around out here?”
A heavy wheezing announced the arrival of the mayor. “Don’t just stand around, search the ranch! She can’t have gotten far. I don’t care who she is, nopony can sprint like that for long.”
Rarity was inclined to agree, but she was pleased to note to herself that she only felt a little winded. Her new life of roaming Equestria was doing wonders for her stamina, it seemed. Reminding herself that she was supposed to be paying attention, she forced her ears flat against her skull and waited for when one of them choose to look within Ophelia’s rolled up form.
One pair of hoofsteps left at a jog, but Mareami spoke up. “You know who it was?”
“Of course I do,” Mayor Wine snapped between heaving breaths. “Who else? It had to be that drifter mare. I bet she decided to stake out the mine and left town to the south to fool us into thinking otherwise.”
Great, Rarity’s investigation just got a lot harder. Odds were nopony in town would want to talk to her now.
“I can see that,” Mareami grumbled. “Alright, we find her and we kill her. Nice and quiet like. No witnesses.”
“You’ll get no arguments from me. Now go, she has to be around here somewhere.”
Hoofsteps bounded off. Rarity started to relax… until she heard a pair approaching. The pony was coming from uphill, so she’d be fine as long as they stayed up there. But if they walked around…
“Ophelia.” It was Mayor Wine, and she sounded legitimately concerned. “Why are you still up here, girl? I know you liked Talon, but this is getting ridiculous.”
The sand lizard trilled, its head unseen by Rarity as it was looking in the wrong direction. Which was fine by her; let it distract the mayor and keep her hidden.
“Still can’t believe that fool got himself killed. By a worthless donkey, no less! I wish he’d listened to me and trained some of you lizards to guard the mines. His kids would have been fine.” Mayor Wine sighed. “We’ll find you a new owner when this is all over, okay? Somepony who will treat you as well as he did. I don’t trust the brutes around here to be gentle with anything, much less a lady like you.”
Ophelia snorted and turned her face back towards Rarity, though she didn’t look at the pony nestled against her scales. She settled her head to the ground and closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” the mayor whispered. “I’ll leave you alone now. Got a nosey unicorn to string up, anyway.”
At last, Rarity found herself alone with the lizard. She didn’t relax for some time, certain that one of the ponies could return at any moment. After what seemed an eternity, she allowed herself to loosen up. Her hands were cramped from how long they’d been clenched around her pistols, and she massaged them after the guns were put away. Eventually she permitted herself to unfold from within Ophelia, though she took caution to check her surroundings before getting up to stretch. A line of pops made their way down her back as she did.
“Thank you, Ophelia, for being accommodating.” She reached down to scratch at the lizard’s frills, only to realize it had fallen asleep. Smiling to herself, Rarity settled for a seat with her back to the creature’s warm body. She wasn’t about to head back to town now, not when she knew there were ponies hunting for her. No, her best bet would be to stay here until morning. A pity she’d left all her supplies at the inn or with Cerulean in the stable.
She took the time to consider all that she knew. The mayor was clearly one of the ringleaders of this little scheme. Given what they’d said in the mine, the sheriff was probably the ringleader. She was powerful, and Rarity doubted the weave of that shield could have been put together by a dumb pony. And it appeared the mayor and her two goons weren’t willing to cross her.
Her heart sank as a new realization struck her: they suspected she was on to them and their leader had Cranky locked in a cell. She was in a hostage situation all over again! She pressed her hands against her forehead and resisted the urge to scream. What was it with her and hostage situations? All the investigating in the world wouldn’t matter at all if the enforcer of the law in this town was herself a criminal!
But she was getting ahead of herself. She didn’t even know what the crime was. There had to be a crime, though, otherwise why plan to kill her for snooping around?
“This is all going too fast, and I’m out of my element,” she muttered, letting the back of her head rest against Ophelia’s side and staring up at the stars. The moon shone amongst them like a queen over her subjects. Rarity raised her arm to look at the charm Marble had gifted her. “Princess Luna, if you can hear me, I could really use some advice right now.”
Her body felt heavy from weariness. She’d not slept since arriving in Bitter Ergot, and her frustrated thoughts didn’t help matters. Look at her, running around town as if she knew what she was doing. She was a fashionista and drifter, not a detective. Cranky was depending on her? What a joke.
“Stop it, Rarity,” she muttered, settling into a more relaxed position against Ophelia. “You aren’t helping matters. You can remember how crummy your life has gotten later.”
Except that she didn’t have a clue what to do next. Break Cranky out of jail? Confront the mayor? Deal with the sheriff?
Yes, Rarity, resort to bloodshed. It’s gotten you out of so many bad situations, hasn’t it?
She scowled, resolving to find some other means of dealing with this one. She’d fight when she had to, not before. Something better was required, and she wouldn’t be thinking of it now. What she needed was sleep. Experience had taught her what going without that could lead to.
And so she resigned herself to getting some shuteye, hoping the mayor and her goons wouldn’t come back while she was helpless. At least they’d already been here, so they had no reason to return. And Ophelia was a rather pleasant sleeping partner, what with her body heat protecting Rarity from the cold night.
Yes. Things would be clearer in the morning.
Bulletproof Heart was at least partially inspired by Fallout: Equestria, and as such I wanted a number of nods to both the story and the games. And so...
The World of Bulletproof Heart
The Griffons
Many great nations collapsed in the anarchy that came after the Day of Burning. Of those, the most widely known is the griffon empire of Grypha. Once the biggest and most powerful nation on Equus, the Empire seemed as if it might have the resources to survive the drastic shifts of the world, if only barely. Then, roughly a century after the disappearance of the Princesses of Equestria, things went to Tartarus for the griffons in the worst possible way.
Dragons, led by one Reddux, sought to capitalize on the weakness of the griffons and attacked. Despite putting up a hard fight, the griffons under the Emerald Warlord could not stop the invasion and were slaughtered, their once great cities made into lairs and nesting grounds. Knowing the survival of their very race was at stake, the griffons who remained fled the tatters of their lands to various places around the world in hope for a safe haven. But the world was still in a state of chaos and very few places were able to accommodate the refugees.
The griffons who made their way to Equestria were convinced that it was only a matter of time before the dragons spread their influence everywhere. Desperate for a way to save themselves and shunned by the superstitious and violent ponies of the time, they came up with a radical solution: go into hiding. Deep into hiding. And so the Roosts were created: underground hideaways sealed off from the world above. The griffons would disappear from the world and re-emerge once they had devised a way to counter the dragon menace they believed would come to rule the entire world.
Of course, the dragons never expanded as was feared. With the griffon lands under their control they had more territory than they knew what to do with. But the griffons had no way of knowing that, and so they remained hidden from Equestria for centuries, known to ponies only as creatures of foreign lands. But as the decades passed with the roosts unable to communicate with one another, ideals and goals shifted radically.
In the last century, two Roosts have decided for their own reasons to emerge from hiding and take part of the Equestrian stage again. The most well known is the Apex Roost, located somewhere in the Eerie Cliffs between Manehattan and Mooisville. The Apex Roost's griffons have been out and about for some 50 years now and are making an effort to reassert themselves as a political power through economics and, when possible, force. Being direct descendants of the Emerald Warlord and her court, they had stored with them a significant treasure hoard that helped jump start their presence in Equestria.
Legend has it that the descendants of the Emerald Warlord, who was killed in the initial dragon invasion, hid a massive stash of the Empire's treasure in the Dragon's Teeth before moving on to create the Apex Roost. The truth of the matter remains unknown, but the Apex absolutely believe in it and are desperate to find it.
The Ashfeather Roost is situated in the mountainous peninsula known as the Siren's Fin on the southeast corner of Equestria, near Mareami. Having only emerged a couple decades ago, the Ashfeathers are less concerned with politics and power and more with survival and growth. While they have been able to survive so far on a thriving fishing industry, they will need farmland if they wish to properly feed their burgeoning population. Lacking the goods to trade for food, they thus desire to expand into the more agriculturally sound portions of the Scorched Plains. Unfortunately, this expansion has put them at odds with the local Buffalo tribes.
It is unknown how many roosts remain hidden throughout Equestrian lands. It's entirely possible that more griffons could emerge from the depths at any time. What their culture, their personal goals, and their skills will be are anypony's guess.
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I love me a good investigation.
So many twists and turns, it'll make even Tzeentch dizzy...
I guess we're doing Rango now. Well, Rango, but with a competent protagonist.
Okay, so we have a detective sideplot now. Can't say I saw that coming. Then again, between 'Rarity investigates' and its EQG adaption, I guess it shouldn't be all that surprising. I have a pretty good idea what is behind the shield. Thus I think I know what's going on, still trying to figure out why though ...
Anyways:
'they were near, that Rarity'
'none of us went in'
closest
I highly doubt that. To elaborate: the word 'to shine' has two destinct simple past forms depending on which definition of the word is used. If 'to shine is used as a synonym for 'to polish' the simple past form is 'shined'. If, as I presume you meant here, the intended definiton is 'to emit or reflect light', the appropriate simple past form is 'shone'
Now to see where this goes ... Color me intreagued.
9185791
All according to plan...
This is a bad situation. With all the law enforcers in town in on the crime, the best plan I can think of is to head back to Starlight, hope she hasn't heard of what happened in the mine last night, and immediately take her job to escort Cranky to Hoofington. (Bonus: get all of Cranky's guns and other belongings from Starlight if possible.) After that, just book it out of there. It leaves the town in a cruddy situation, but the'll both be alive and free. Next town over, send a message to Spike to let him know how the bank's money is being used. Maybe he can pull some strings.
The biggest problem with this plan is it leaves us with no leads on where Sweetie and Coco are.
...Say, speaking of Spike, didn't the author's comments say the griffins 1) hate dragons, 2) are looking for a lost treasure, and 3) one nest is in the same mountain range as Spike and his treasure horde? That's a bad combo.
Also I think its about time I moved this story off my Tracking list and on to my Favorites list.
9185774
Nope, I'm thinking it's a land grab. Damn up the water so everyone leaves and sells out at a pittance, then unblock the river and you got a thriving town, smack on a major trade route, again, with Starlight & co. owning every building and parcel of land.
Still ... getting the bank, the mayor and the sheriff in on the scheme implies (to me) that there is even more profit to be had from owning Bitter Ergot. Maybe Seaddle is putting through a railroad? Or is expanding and will be needing more land that Bitter Ergot can be used to control?
"be proud of saddened"
"be proud or saddened"?
"where Ophelia was laying"
"where Ophelia was lying"?
"rather, did want to believe"
"rather, didn't want to believe"?
"but none of went in more"
"but none of us went in more"?
"average height and but narrow build"
Only "and" or "but" was meant, I assume, not both?
"Laying there in the dirt"
"Lying there in the dirt"?
9186072
You’re going to have to explain that first one. As far as I can tell it makes no sense grammatically or in terms of legibility to put a comma in that sentence.
The "Curious" here seems to want to be in Rarity's voice in the present tense. Did you mean "Curiously"?
9186617
I most certainly did not mean ‘curiously.’ That injection was on purpose. But I know that any excuse I make will be frowned upon and made a mark against my writer’s credentials, regardless of what the excuse is (I’ve been through this specific rodeo before), so I made a small adjustment anyway.
So we are doing Chinatown now?
I'm fine with that
9186634
Excuse? A mark against your credentials? I don't know what you mean by that haha. It's no big deal. However, putting it into italics seems to read a little better--at least for me-- because her head voice is usually in italics, yes?
9186646
Yes and no. Sometimes I inject her thinking into the narrative. Her direct thoughts – things she’s intentionally thinking – get italics, whereas the things going into her natural, semi-subconscious thought processes get blended into the narrative. I’ve always done this, it’s been there from the very beginning. I see it as a way to make the narrative more personable and investing without using *shudder* first person. You just happened to catch it with the word ‘curious,’ and some people raise a big stink about the method because it’s supposedly ‘not proper writing technique’, hence my mild annoyance. Apologies for that, by the way.
9186664
Ah, I see. In any case, if this is the first time it's felt out of place to me, then I guess you've done a good job of it so far!
9186602
Actually nevermind, it's a sentence starting with 'that' and those, for whatever reason, are not separated by comma. (english grammar is weird)
Hmm, and here I was hoping Starlight wouldn't be the villain in a story like this. Oh well.
And perhaps we'll be seeing Gilda soon?
There's something very, very wrong in this town. But, this chapter does raise a good question. Why is Cranky here?
Fair enough.
Something's up.
You're in trouble.
She's had quite the adventure.
Hah.
Well, this is a surprise.
She seems like she's had a DAY.
Interesting.
The hell?
Fair enough.
I'm inclined to agree.
Interesting. *plays Phoenix Wright music*
Something's up.
Starlight.
To get out of this place?
Called it.
Of course.
Interesting.
Something's up here.
Ooh! A mystery!
Quite.
Recently dried up mine too, things are coming together.
A fair point.
Relax, the guy's harmless. But, feeling nervous when seeing very sharp teeth is a normal reaction.
Naturally.
Not in the slightest.
So it would seem. But you'd be surprised at how seemingly unattached loose ends can suddenly be linked.
Oh so do I.
Spike is too honest for this kind of thing.
So Starlight sealed off the mine. I think perhaps because she wants out of this place.
Curiouser and curiouser.
You know, somepony once tried that. They're dead now.
You're right, but she isn't.
Fucking fantastic.
FUCK.
Holy shit that was tense.
God I hope so.
9186634
I read this after you made the change, but as shown here, I read it as an appositive phrase preceding the subject.
I realize that this makes little sense, as it would describe the other two as being curious about something, but from a structural standpoint, it is a perfectly functional appositive.
In this context, using "curiously" to describe their behavior as being odd would make much more sense. If it is internal monologue, however, it would be more prudent to indicate so clearly by adding a "she thought" after it or by italicizing it.
Edit: On the subject of writing technique/style: Do whatever you want to bring your characters to life and spice up the narrative. You've done a fantastic job so far. This is the most riveting and well-written story I've read in ages, never mind on FiMFiction alone.
Whatever you do, though, be consistent and certain, make the narrative flow clear and unambiguous, and fie to the naysayers.
I'm not ready to think Starlight is in on this yet. I suppose I'll find out soon
Wells can dry up if you drain them faster than they replenish. They'll recover in time, but with geology we might end up waiting a long time.
No telling if that's what's going on here, just stating a possibility.
Gee, I wonder why someone would have a gun while they traveled bandit infested deserts? That seems like an entirely useless tool in such conditions.
I swear, some people don't understand how life works.
Me three. In fact, I was talking with my sister about the cover a few chapters back and I mentioned that it was a little odd Cranky was on the cover, given he seems to only be in two chapters. It wasn't too odd, if you were gonna pick someone he's as good as any. But here he is, reaffirming his worth of being on the cover.
Well, this is a fun little mystery. I'll have to finish it another day though.
9186253
Somehow I doubt Starlight is gonna let Rarity take Cranky now that she’s revealed 'The only reason I am alive right now is because of this donkey. I won’t leave him to hang because of a false charge.' Only a fool lets a strange drifter take the drifter's friend on a cross-country trip to court.
And I feel like the griffins would be in as much trouble as Spike if they broke into his lair.
Dare