The Prince and the Gunslinger

by Revenant Wings

Chapter 14 - Imprisoned

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Chapter 12 - The Oncoming Storm

The bells belonging to Appleoosa’s only steeple rang out their mournful tune, not to announce the hour but to announce a due to the dead.  A large group of ponies dressed entirely in black were marching through town, ignoring the desert heat that scorched them.  Most of those in the procession were not native Appleoosans; they stood along the side of the streets as the procession came into town, watching with a sort of curiosity as they entered and walked from the direction of the complex one mile outside town.

At the head of the procession were two guards, golden armor neatly polished and glinting in the sun as they solemnly lead the procession towards the train station.  Behind them were eight ponies carrying two coffins, four to a coffin and also dressed in their golden armor.  After them were Prince Blueblood and Captain Lancer, both dressed in black suits with black bow ties.  Behind them was a procession of what might have been at least twenty if not more of the guard, all dressed in black and wearing the status symbol of the fallen comrades.  At the back was a procession of four guards wearing black shirts under their golden armor as they wrapped up the procession.

At the station, Blueblood and Lancer stood on either side of a door leading into one of the electric train cars, while those who had attended the procession stood an equal amount on either side.  The guards at the front of the procession continued through the line of soldiers standing at attention on either side, guiding the ponies holding the coffin as they walked into the train, then followed the four guards at the back of the procession.  Once the guards were in with the coffins, the door closed and all the ponies outside the train saluted.  There was the sound of two whistles, one short and one long, then the train started and began picking up speed.  In no time at all, it had left Appleoosa and the procession long behind.

Once the train was gone, Blueblood walked out and through the procession with Captain Lancer at his side.  Two by two, the others fell in line until the new procession had formed four rows of men and started walking behind Blueblood and Lancer through Appleoosa and back in the direction of the compound.  Once the last of the procession had left Appleoosa, the bells stopped their tone and Appleoosa became completely silent and still.

“It’s a bit ironic, isn’t it?” Lancer spoke quietly to Blueblood as the group walked across the desert sands.  “We’re the ones that organized the mission that got them killed, knowing full well what would happen, and yet we now provide a funeral session and mourn for them as though it was unexpected.”

“It is not that it was unexpected,” Blueblood replied.  “I should have realized that Braeburn would not just leave those documents lying around.  It just seemed to go so well until he pulled the gun on me.  I wish I could have sent word to you sooner to get them out of there, but after that he wouldn’t let me out of his sight.”

“Yet still we mourn for them.”

“In this case, it is because I had a failure in judgement.”

“You’ve been outsmarted by a mere earth pony.”

Lancer was suddenly thrown against the ground, a bleeding spot on his face.  Blueblood had a red mark on his hoof.  “Don’t you speak of him that way!  He might be an earth pony, but no mere pony is able to pull something like that on us.  Don’t you remember what he said to us when we went to the farmhouse?”

“It was something about how he was going to stab us in the back and kick us while we were down.”

“…because we didn’t act first.  Don’t you see?  We’ve been slow to act; he made the first move by coming to us while we were still in the hotel suite, then pulled another fast one on us with the gun when we were at his house.  He knows how badly we want that site in his field, and he knows the length’s we’ll take to get it.”  Blueblood pulled out a cigarette and lighter with his magic, lighting the cigarette before putting it in his mouth and taking a puff.  “That’s why those two men died: I underestimated just how badly he wants us gone.”

Lancer finally pulled himself up from the ground and they continued onwards.  “Sir… are you beginning to regret coming here and building this compound?”

“No.  Not in the least.  You see, I might have admitted that Dodge Junction was broke, but I did not admit even close to the exact amount.  And now, with the deaths of those two men, I only have even more push to go for it.  Now it isn’t simply a matter of obtaining the gold on his property but making him pay for how unceremoniously he’s been treating my men.”

“You never told me where exactly you found the men.”

“They had been shot in the head and dumped into the river.  Their bodies floated a short way before sinking to the bottom.  A few of the men found them on their patrol around the complex and brought them back over.”

“Do you think he wanted the men disposed of where we couldn’t find them?”

“No, not us.  I don’t think he wanted Sheriff Silverstar to find them.”

“This has begun to interest me.  He keeps his actions hidden from the sheriff and yet has not been afraid to hide his actions from you.  By the same token, he has yet to harm an Appleoosan while your men he is not afraid of hurting or even killing; four of them are dead by his hooves.”

“Very true… however, this is a circumstance that I will have to look into later.”  Blueblood approached the entrance of the compound where two ponies were sitting and looking anxiously.  “It seems our guests have arrived.”

“Who are they?” Lancer asked.

“They know where precisely the gold is on Braeburn’s farm,” Blueblood responded.  “If we can leave the apple trees alone for the time being, perhaps we could come up with some sort of deal and be able to build a mine shaft on his property.  It is only a possibility, but it might be the safest one we have.  I don’t want to go through another funeral.”

* * *

Braeburn, for a lack of anything better to do, was sitting on his front porch in a wooden rocking chair he’d built himself.  His eyes were closed and he could feel the warmth of the sun coming down on him and he sat content in the chair.  He thought about going into town and heading to the bar or the saloon for a stiff drink or a salt lick, but he remembered what happened the last time he did that and stayed put.

It had been nearly a week since the train ride with Blueblood and two days since the bells had tolled for the fallen guards in Appleoosa.  Braeburn hadn’t seen any sign of them lately; no guards walked through Appleoosa and no pony ever came near his farm.  Sheriff Silverstar had stopped coming around to question Braeburn about the gunfire that had come from the orchards a few days ago, and whatever evidence there could have been was either dried up by the sun or had sunk into the ground.  Ever since the time when Silverstar came around to ask about the gunfire when Braeburn had shot down the pegasus, the farmer had always had his suspicions about the sheriff, though not enough evidence had come up to support Braeburn’s own claims.

It wasn’t long before Braeburn, who had started to doze off, was awakened by the sound of hooves approaching.  The stallion opened one eye lazily and blinked it a few times to clear his vision and looked down the road.  A single stallion was walking down the road towards Braeburn’s farm, and by the size and stature of the pony and the sight of a horn on his head, there was only one option who it could be.

“I thought I said you’d never be seeing the deeds again,” Braeburn said as he opened the other eye.  “So, I have to ask what brings you around here if that is the case.”

“You’re smarter than most, Braeburn,” Blueblood replied.  “I’ve hardly been able to match wits with you ever since I arrived.”

“You’re giving up?” Braeburn said.  “You’re leaving?”

“No,” Blueblood said.  “Not yet.  I first wanted to see if we could make a compromise.”

“It could be a dangerous thing,” Braeburn replied, “depending on how far you want to swing things in your favor.”  Braeburn picked himself up from the chair and walked towards Blueblood.  “It’s like how our little trip to Dodge Junction was just to serve as a way of trying to find the deeds.  I came home and saw that everything was out of order like it had been shuffled through after a promise that you wouldn’t pull a fast one on me.”  Braeburn walked until he was almost nose to nose with Blueblood.  “I wager you’re not sorry for that.”

“I regretted it,” Blueblood said.

“If only because you now have two more men dead.”

Blueblood nodded.  “That’s why I want the compromise.  I don’t want any more men dead; I’ve already had to send three guards home in coffins since my arrival.  So, I wanted to see if we could figure something out.”

Braeburn sized up Blueblood.  The unicorn was carrying nothing with him, but it was completely likely he could use magic if he so desired.  “Do you want to come inside for a drink while we talk this over?  I have a keg of non-alcoholic cider in the fridge if you want some.”

“I think I would,” Blueblood said.

Braeburn led Blueblood into the living room and invited him to sit on the couch while he went to the kitchen.  Once in the kitchen, Braeburn poured two mugs of fresh cider and brought them back to the living room where Blueblood was sitting on a comfortable armchair.  Braeburn gave him one of the mugs then returned to get his own, taking a sip of it as he entered the living room and sat down on the end of his couch away from Blueblood; only then did the unicorn take a sip of his own and relax in the chair.

For a long while, neither of them spoke.  They just sat around sipping the cider.  Much to Braeburn’s surprise, Blueblood genuinely enjoyed the cider, sipping it calmly though at an even pace that was faster than Braeburn’s own.  It wasn’t long before the unicorn had finished his, and while he looked ready to speak he waited until Braeburn had finished drinking his and had set down his mug on the coffee table alongside Blueblood’s before anyone said anything.

“It’s been a long time since I had a good mug of cider,” Blueblood said, a barely perceptible smile on his face.

“Don’t you get any up there in Canterlot?” Braeburn asked.  “I figured they’d have the best methods up there, what with all those fancy cooks and machinery.”

“You’d think,” Blueblood said.  “They do have some good ones, though.  One little restaurant – a pub, even – has an alcoholic one with a little honey and spice added in.  Good after a long day of work.  But nothing beats the homemade stuff.”

Braeburn smiled.  “Yeah, you can have all the money in the world, and yet sometimes it’s the homemade stuff that tastes the best.  I’ve never bought others’ cider; I’ve always made my own.  People buy my apples and make their own, but I’ve had yet to hear anyone find a better one.”

Blueblood nodded and the smile finally showed as he laughed.  “Well, you’ve got yourself another favorite,” he said.

Braeburn didn’t laugh and his smile faded.  “Well, you’re here to talk about a compromise, not cider,” he said.  “Of course, I’m willing to listen to an extent.”

“What extent?”

“If things seem a little too much in your favor, I’ll call off whatever deal you might have.”

Blueblood studied Braeburn’s face, though the stallion didn’t change his expression.  The unicorn nodded.  “Alright.  I suppose we can start with what you want.  This is your farm, after all, so I figure I should know my limits of what I can and can’t do.”

“If I were to have things my way, you’d do nothing but leave and I’d have my farm in peace,” Braeburn replied.  “But considering that’s not quite what a compromise is, I’ll give you a few boundaries: I can’t have another apple tree uprooted and I can’t have any of your men stealing from my farm.  They’ve harassed too many ponies out here for those acts to go unnoticed, I’m sure, considering you threw one of them out a window.”

Blueblood’s smile faded.  “Yes, I realize.  I haven’t since.  Which is more to say than for what you have done lately.”

“What?  Killing two of your guards after they trespassed on my property with your approval looking to steal the deeds for my farm and for Dodge Junction, which you still don’t have rightful claim over?  I hardly call that worse than what you’ve done.”

Blueblood opened his mouth, then shut it with a sigh.  “Fair point.”

“Back to the compromise: I’ve placed that I don’t want any more trees uprooted and I don’t want anyone stealing from my farm.  What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Are you going to place any more on the table?”

“I have to see if your offer is fair enough.”

“Alright.  I want to build a small shaft.  Not big, maybe twice as high as one apple tree at the biggest.  It would be entirely out of wood and contain a small elevator for ponies to go down and into the mines with.”

“Where do you plan on placing this building?”

“I’ve noticed you have a barren spot on your orchard where two trees might have once been.  They seem to be along a small path through the orchard.  It would be in that area, with a promise not to build within fifteen feet of the trees, as well as to not start expanding until we’ve gone at least twenty feet down.”

“Anything electrical?”

“Not with the river so close.  I’d get some of the strongest rope or wire I could handle and have a few ponies operate the elevator with a sort of crank.”

“How long do you expect to build?”

“Oh, the initial structure would take about two weeks after the digging, which I can have some do with shovels and pickaxes within about a week.”

“Alright, it seems fair.  I only ask one thing: wait three more weeks.  There is an annual flood that comes around this time of year, when the rains fall and the river overflows.  I need time to dig small trenches around the trees so that they absorb the nutrient-rich water from the river as well as the rainfall.  If you give me this, I won’t hinder your building a small mine-shaft on the property.”

Blueblood blinked, then rubbed his eyes with his hooves.  “You… you’re serious?”

“If there’s anything I disapprove of as you’re doing the construction, I will tell you and hopefully have your men change their tactics to accommodate.”  Braeburn held out his hoof.  “Do we have an agreement?”

Blueblood held out his own hoof.  “I think we do.  I’ll get my men to get their supplies ready, but we will not start anything – even preliminary preparations – until you give us the okay.”

Braeburn gave a small smile towards Blueblood though his eyes still studied him hard.  “Pleasure doing business with you.”

Blueblood nodded.  “Same to you.”

Blueblood left the house, and Braeburn watched him walk away.  As he watched Blueblood leave the premises, he noticed the unicorn turn back a fair way from the house as though looking to see if Braeburn was watching him.  When he presumed the coast was clear, he wiped his brow with a hoof, adjusted the collar and bowtie he had been wearing, then took off at a gallop, leaving nothing more than a trail of dust in his wake.

* * *

The day after Blueblood visited his house, Braeburn went to Appleoosa to find and tear down his posters.  He had gone through all of them and had torn down the last one when he noticed two things different about the list.  The second thing was that only one more name had been added to the list: Applejack.  The second thing was that he was being followed by a colt ever since he had taken down the first poster.

The colt was a few inches smaller than Braeburn, with a tan coat and two small revolvers in the shape of an “X” as a cutie mark and bright blue eyes.  He had on his own small hat similar to Braeburn’s and had a holster belted around his midsection, though it was currently empty.  “Are you not going to dig this year, Braeburn?” the colt asked.

Braeburn smiled as he looked at the colt.  “I’m sorry, Quick Draw.  This is a private affair now.  I really don’t think you should be getting involved in it.”

“Is it about Blueblood?” Quick Draw said.  “If it is, I want to join.”

“This is nothing for little colts to be involved in,” Braeburn said, turning back to the sign and raising a hoof to take it down.  “It’s a matter over land issues and over political and financial views, not some simple competition.”  The sign was taken off the board in which it was placed with a quick swipe of the hoof.

“Blueblood threw my father Wheat Stalk five floors out of the hotel window and mother keeps getting harassed over the land even after father is gone.  My father is dead over land issues and you want me to stand by?” Quick Draw asked.

Braeburn, who had started crumpling the sign to throw it in a nearby trash can, stopped in his tracks.  He turned to look at the young colt.  “How much do you know?”

“I saw you getting on the train with Blueblood and I heard about the gunshots that killed the two ponies,” Quick Draw said.  “I also saw Blueblood going over to your place yesterday afternoon.  If it’s something to do with Blueblood, I want to join to get back at him for what he did to my father.”

Braeburn finished crumpling up the paper and threw it away.  “You aren’t going to be getting any money for this job, let me make that perfectly clear.”

“If mother stopped getting harassed, we could make enough money to get by,” Quick Draw responded.

“Hardly even of age to hold a gun yet you already got your cutie mark with them,” Braeburn said thoughtfully.  “I suppose the extra help wouldn’t hurt.  At the start of next week, meet up at the barn before sunrise.  I’ll be letting the others know and you’ll all get filled in when we start.”

“Yes, sir,” Quick Draw said.  “Mother said she trusts you, Braeburn.  She says you’re the one who will help the town even if the sheriff hasn’t.”  Then he started walking away.

“I hope I can trust me,” Braeburn said to himself when he thought that the colt was sufficiently out of hearing range.

Braeburn’s next stop was the hotel.  He walked up to the hotel manager and asked which suite was currently in use.  When he got his answer, he walked up the stairs and walked down the dimly-lit hallway until he came upon a door labeled 502; the hole from the unicorn’s magic going haywire in 501 was still being repaired.  Braeburn knocked on the door three times then sat patiently outside and waited.

Braeburn was beginning to think that Applejack not speaking to him might have been a good thing lately when the mare herself opened the door.  She looked much more tired than she had been lately and even appeared weak.  She was surprised by the fact that Braeburn was currently standing in the door of the room.

“I saw your name on the list,” Braeburn said.

Applejack nodded.  “Come all the way into town to speak with your cousin and you don’t even say ‘hello’?”  She chuckled.  “It ain’t been easy out here.  The hotel manager and the restaurant owners have been fairly mellow and let us get away with a bit since Twilight’s a princess and all, but we need the money to pay for better food.”

“I won’t be giving you money for working this time,” Braeburn said.  “But I can send some groceries here if you need them.  You’re still family.”

Applejack nodded.  “You wanna come in?”

Braeburn walked into the room.  It looked similar to the suite Blueblood had taken, but the windows were currently drawn so that only a small patch of light came in and the place was a lot quieter and more organized.  Braeburn took a seat on one chair while Applejack took a seat on another.

“Where is Twilight?” Braeburn asked.

“She’s asleep,” Applejack replied.  “Hasn’t had much to do lately, so she’s been either practicing her magic from memory or sleeping.  She reads every once in a while, but she’s already exhausted the selection here at the hotel.”

Braeburn nodded.  “You don’t even look like you.”

Applejack sighed.  “I sent a letter to Big Macintosh saying I was trapped here for the time being and to help Apple Bloom get ready for school.  If necessary, she can spend some time with Rarity and her little sister Sweetie Belle.  I want to get back to work.  I wouldn’t have signed that sheet otherwise.”

Braeburn nodded.  “With recent turns of events, it’s becoming a private affair.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow.  “What do you mean?”

“Dodge Junction’s broke; millions of bits in debt that will take decades to pay off.  Problem is, Blueblood still wants to tear up my farm to get at the gold.  We proposed something of an agreement, but I have a feeling he’s going to use it for his own ends.  You know the saying; give somepony an inch and they’ll take a mile.  I’m afraid I’ve given him the inch.”

“What exactly did you propose to him?”

“He’ll build a small shaft on the property.  He’ll dig up the gold and carry it off without so much as disturbing any other tree on the orchard.  I would have trusted him if it weren’t for the fact that the bastard double-crossed me and tried to steal the deeds when we went away to Dodge Junction to see it.”

“What does it look like?”

“On the surface, it looks just like the nicer parts of Baltimare or Manehattan.  It’s got towering buildings, a quiet suburban neighborhood, successful businesses, and plenty of schools and museums.  But then you have the old town: an absolute wreck.  Ponies who were opposed to Blueblood initially now have to make a living as best as they can, and they can’t move to the new city because they’re so poor and oppressed.  That is what Appleoosa will turn into if Blueblood isn’t stopped.”

Applejack took off her hat and fidgeted with it in her hooves.  “So… I suppose this whole process of diggin’ the trenches is gonna be some sort of plan to get back at him?”

“Applejack… promise me you’ll tell no one.”

Applejack turned in the direction of the suite’s bedroom, then back to Braeburn.  “Not even Twilight?”

“If she’s still in, she’ll know eventually.”

Applejack nodded.  “What do you have in mind?”

“We’re gonna destroy the mine shaft after they’ve built it.”

“How are you plannin’ to do that?”

“I need you to build a large wooden box, maybe even two or three, and place them outside of the orchard on the ridge at the far edge overlooking the river.  We’re gonna take the dirt we shovel out from the orchard for the trenches and take the dirt up there.  Once we get the dirt up there, we’ll be able to dump it in the river.  The two apple trees that got torn up are down there, so what we’ll do is create a large barrier that will force the water to stop there.  Once the rains come and the floodwaters rise, that basin will be filled with rushing water and that shaft is going to be completely destroyed.”

Applejack gasped, then looked back to the bedroom as though to make sure Twilight hadn’t heard.  “Braeburn!” she exclaimed quietly.  “That… that’s just plain crazy.  Think of all the ponies you’re gonna hurt with that!”

“Think of the ponies that have been hurt so far,” Braeburn replied calmly.  “Think of Wheat Stalk, who got thrown out of the window.  Think of yourself and Twilight, who have been placed in mortal danger twice at the hooves of Blueblood’s men.  Think of the farmers who have been harassed by the men for food and supplies and shelter, who have also had attempts to kick them off their land.  Appleoosa isn’t the town it used to be, and I would wager elsewhere that Equestria isn’t the land it used to be, either.”

Applejack sighed.  There was something in her eyes that told Braeburn she wanted to fight it, that she wanted to complain and tell him he was wrong, but every time she started speaking the words failed to come out of her mouth.  Eventually she just gave up and didn’t even try to argue with him though she didn’t speak with him at all, either.

“Will you do it?” Braeburn asked.

For a moment, Applejack shook her head.  When she spoke, her voice was choking as though she was on the edge of crying.  “Couldn’t you have just tried to tell him to leave?  Couldn’t it be some other way?”

“I’ve tried telling him to leave, but he won’t listen,” Braeburn said.  “I can’t.  Applejack, he’s tried stealing my deeds just to be able to get at my land.  Whatever trust he might have cultivated in me was gone by the time I saw what happened to old Dodge Junction and when I returned to find two of his guards fleeing my house.  I could talk to him as much as I want, but I wouldn’t be able to believe a word from his mouth.”

Applejack nodded and a few tears rolled down her cheek.  She went over to her cousin and buried her face in the fur on his neck.  It was strange to Braeburn to see his cousin like this, normally so strong and stubborn but now breaking down.  He gently placed a hoof around her neck, pulling her close.

“I know it’s true,” Applejack said through sobs, “but I still don’t want to believe it.”

Braeburn eventually released her and put his hooves on her shoulders.  “I know it’s difficult, but can you do this for me?”

Applejack sniffed and wiped her face with a hoof.  She stared at Braeburn, looking back at her with what looked like concern though there was something extra in his eye, something she was afraid of.  “Alright,” she said.  “I’ll do it if you promise to stop actin’ so restless.  But please… please promise me you won’t go and do somethin’ stupid that puts us all in danger.”

“With Blueblood’s arrival,” Braeburn said, “I think that sentiment’s a little late.”

“Don’t remind me,” Applejack said.  She pushed herself away from Braeburn.  “I’ll get some supplies and come around to the barn to work on them.  I’ll probably bring Twilight along with me; it’ll give her somethin’ to do instead of us goin’ stir crazy.”

Braeburn nodded and turned to leave.  “Thank you, Applejack,” he said.  “Really, I mean it.”

Braeburn started walking towards the door.  He had opened the door and walked out when he heard Applejack make a sort of coughing noise.  Braeburn turned around to see Applejack walking up to him.

“Who are the others?” Applejack asked.  “The others who signed the list?”

“Remnants of the old Dodge Junction,” Braeburn replied.  “Those who made it out before it was too late to be drowned by poverty.  Except Quick Draw.  He’s the son of Wheat Stalk, and wanted to send a message to Blueblood to stay away from his farm.  I’m off to talk to them about this change next, though I’m sure they’ll want to be involved with it still.”

“He’s young, isn’t he?  He only got his cutie mark a few years ago.”

“I tried talking him out of it, but he was persistent.  I suppose he has a reason, but I’d prefer if he stayed out as much as possible.”

Applejack finally gave a sad smile towards Braeburn.  “I suppose you do still have a heart in there somewhere,” she said.  Then she closed the door before Braeburn could respond.

* * *

The following day, Applejack and Twilight had come out to Braeburn’s ranch and were in the barn building large wooden boxes.  Braeburn helped out Applejack with putting the box together while Twilight kept everything in place with her magic.  The four boxes constructed were seven feet by seven feet by seven feet with an open top.  After they were constructed, the three ponies covered the outside with pitch to seal the cracks, after which they covered them with a water-resistant seal.

“You sure this is gonna be enough to hold the dirt from the trenches?” Applejack asked.

“The canyon’s thin at that point and the river’s not very deep,” Braeburn said.  “Once the rains come, the whole basin gets flooded just on the idea that not enough water can filter through at one time.  It’ll work; if we have more, it’ll be easy enough to throw it in and no one will notice.”

The ponies were done by the end of the week and Twilight used her magic to move them to a specific place up by the place overlooking the river where Braeburn had first shot the robber.  A small amount of dirt was shoveled out to make the place where the boxes were slightly submerged and hidden by the land and was deep enough to the point where the ponies could lay down and not be seen from the orchards.  Once this was done, they returned home and none of them spoke about the wooden boxes.

The following week, Cold Steel, Coal Dust and some of his male relatives, Quick Draw, Applejack, and Twilight arrived at Braeburn’s farm and began digging the trenches.  Twilight was posted up by the boxes to help receive any dirt that came through.  Applejack, Cold Steel, and Coal Dust and one of his relatives were attached to four carts that would transport the dirt from the orchards to the ridge.  Braeburn, Quick Draw, and another of Coal Dust’s relatives stood by the trees, shoveling small ditches around each of the trees.  They worked quickly and silently, shoveling dirt into the carts as fast as they could and transporting the dirt to the ridge.

The job was done like clockwork.  Nearly everyone was constantly moving and working in order to get the dirt to the ridge.  Just under a quarter of the way through the orchard the first box began to overflow and dirt had to be placed in the second.  At the end of two weeks, all four boxes were filled to overflowing with small piles above each box.  Again the work went quickly and quietly and when the work was done all of them quietly said their goodbyes and left without another word about the job.

The following day, Blueblood arrived at the farm with a few men to survey the land.  He checked in with Braeburn at the farmhouse and Braeburn was allowed to watch from the ridge overlooking the orchards.  With a spot staked out, a few ponies began driving wooden stakes across the whole ground as they looked at what to build where.  It wasn’t long before the main shaft was mapped out with four stakes in a perfect square, in addition to another six where the elevator was going to be.  A few other ponies soon arrived and started digging on the land, with wheelbarrows being taken to a place out in the desert.  Blueblood, deciding to be a bit fair to Braeburn, left at sundown though told Braeburn that they would be there again at sunrise.

Braeburn told them he didn’t mind.

But as soon as Blueblood left, Braeburn had grabbed a flashlight and went to inspect the area near to the prospective site of the shaft.  The hole was already a few feet deep and the stakes were also connected via lines drawn with white powder.  It wouldn’t be long before the shaft itself was to be constructed on the property, and almost time for the second part of Braeburn’s plan to take effect.  For the time being, the future mine shaft site was left alone as Braeburn took the time to inspect the trees surrounding the shaft.

Since harvest season was already over, no fruit could be stolen from the trees.  But Braeburn still needed to search for signs of tampering; branches that could be cut off or broken either on accident or on purpose, any sign of the soil growing weak around the tree stumps, any possible cuts that would have shown any sign of cutting as though they were trying to chop it down.  Tonight, however, no such signs appeared on the trees and Braeburn returned home feeling a little more comfortable than he did before.

The next morning, Braeburn woke up soon after sunrise to find that Blueblood’s men were already at work.  Braeburn served himself an egg with various vegetables mixed in and went outside to the back porch to watch.  Blueblood once again went up to the farmhouse to check in with Braeburn, who gave him a polite nod as the unicorn approached.

“I hope our work isn’t disturbing you,” Blueblood said as he ascended the ridge.

“Not at all,” Braeburn said.  “With the distribution already under way, all I have to do is wait for the rainy season.”

“I was just hoping you hadn’t found any fault with our work,” Blueblood said.

“None yet,” Braeburn said.  “I don’t know if I told you earlier, but I would like it if you reminded your workers to not tamper with the trees.  I haven’t had any damage yet, but I would like to prevent it if at all possible.”

“I will tell them neither to cut a limb nor to break a branch,” Blueblood said.  “You have my word.  Also, you mentioned something about a flooding season.  I was wondering if you had any advice for my men while building the shaft.”

“A small barrier about a foot tall will keep out any errant water,” Braeburn said.  “The water doesn’t rise very far, but your hooves will be wet and you risk drowning your mine if you don’t.  It is a simple task, really.”

Blueblood nodded.  “Very well.  Thank you for the information.”

The unicorn returned down the ridge to where construction was now taking place.  Braeburn watched him carefully until lunchtime, at which he returned inside the house and didn’t watch them for the rest of the day.  He didn’t return to the orchards until nightfall with his flashlight to inspect the boughs of the branches.  The mine shaft’s base was completed and well within the lines that the ponies had drawn, and still no branches had broken.  Satisfied with his search, Braeburn returned and went back to sleep.

As the construction went on, Braeburn began to feel more at ease about his accepting of Blueblood’s proposition.  The hole got deeper, a small barrier was built around the hole, and the elevator was even built.  The shaft was nearing completion and smaller holes were starting to build around the bottom.  It took a long time, but finally Braeburn stopped taking his flash light out at night to look at the orchards.

Soon afterwards, the digging of the tunnels began.  Blueblood’s workers, now satisfied that the shaft would be good enough to bring up whatever they had found and that the elevator would support up to four ponies, began digging outwards to where the gold would be.  The mines were at the minimum twenty-five feet from the ground’s surface and, giving an inspection of them himself with Blueblood’s permission, figured they would probably be good enough to not uproot any more trees.  For a short time, Braeburn wished no ill will upon Blueblood or his men, as Blueblood was good on his word.

But something struck Braeburn as odd among the workers.  Blueblood himself was acting reasonable and though his check-ins were not as frequent he still gave Braeburn updates and was constantly supervising, but Braeburn wasn’t worried so much about him.  Two stallions, one with a yellow coat and brown mane and a brown coat with a yellow mane, looked oddly familiar and Braeburn didn’t like their presence one bit.  They kept mostly in-line under Blueblood’s eye, but Braeburn still didn’t trust them and he soon went back to prowling the orchards at night.

Braeburn considered his prowling poorly timed; Blueblood’s workers were getting lazy and beginning to not care.  To make room for more of the elevator shaft, a tree had a few branches broken.  A few branches were littered around the mine shaft.  A few more branches could be seen in the river, stuck along rocks.  And Blueblood had been around less and less, the check-ins getting farther and farther apart.

It wasn’t long before Braeburn was prowling the orchards one night when he saw a suspicious light moving across the desert from Blueblood’s compound over to his farm.  Realizing he might have enough moonlight to see normally, Braeburn shut off his flashlight and walked over to the shadows near the mine shaft, where he lay in wait for the ponies to arrive.

The brightness of the lantern made it easy to see the two ponies huddled around it as they crept up to the shaft.  It was the two ponies, the one with the brown coat and yellow mane and the yellow coat with the brown mane.  The yellow-coated one had a gold pick-axe cutie mark while the brown-coated one had three lumps of gold.  Each carried a pickaxe with them.

“You sure we should be out here?” the brown-coated one asked.  “Blueblood wouldn’t like us coming out without supervision.”

“If we have to explain ourselves,” the yellow-coated one said, “we’ll be able to say we helped expand the tunnels and missed out on the call to come back.  If we have any luck, we’ll be able to get some overtime.”

The first pony went down the ladder, followed by the second carrying the lantern with him.  Neither spoke until they went down the ladder and started walking into a tunnel.  Braeburn crept over to the edge of the pit, leaning over the small barrier set up to protect from floodwaters.  The tunnel was not yet very deep, so the light of the lantern could still be seen shining an amber light out of the tunnel entrance.

“Careful!” came one of the voices.  “If you go too far up, you’ll hit the tree roots.  Blueblood told us not to hit the tree roots.”

There was an irritated sigh from the other.  “I keep forgetting we’re on a farm what with all the mining equipment and mine workers.”

“Yeah, but it’s only because the proprietor let Blueblood mine here.”

“Hey!  You see that?  There’s a glimmer of gold up there!  We’re gonna get a raise for sure with finding out this vein!”

“Have you even seen the proprietor around here?”

“I think so.  He’s a yellow-coated stallion that almost always wears a brown vest and cowpony hat.  He came to look at the mines with Blueblood one evening.”

“Wait a minute!  Brown vest… cowpony hat… you don’t mean to tell me we’re back on that Braeburn’s farm again, do you?”

“…for your name being Lucky Strike, you certainly haven’t been very lucky as of late.”

“…shit.”

There was a sudden rumbling from underground and the sound of snapping wood.  Braeburn quickly galloped around the back of the mine shaft as the wood of a nearby tree started splintering and sharp pieces began breaking off.  More wood started splintering at a faster rate until the tree couldn’t hold its weight any longer and broke off, crashing on the ground.  There was a frantic shouting as the two ponies shot out of the tunnel and the top collapsed near the surface where the ditch had been dug, allowing for a beam of amber light to shine from the mine entrance.  The two ponies soon ran back in to the mine, grabbed the lantern, and the area around the shaft turned dark again.

Braeburn had seen enough.  He turned his flashlight back on and galloped through the orchards to his house at the top of the hill.  He went into his room and grabbed the revolver, but by the time he had gotten outside with it the light from the lantern was already halfway across the desert to the compound, too far from the orchard to pursue and too close to the compound to attempt to shoot and hit them cleanly.  Braeburn momentarily suppressed his anger and put the gun back in its container.

* * *

A few days later, the rain began to come down.  Blueblood was back to supervising the mines again and the broken tree and branches were gone, sent off down the river, before any mine work was done.  The rain poured harder and harder but neither Blueblood nor his men made any attempt to leave the site.  Eventually, Blueblood came up to Braeburn for his usual check-in, though he had some news.

“I’ve gained information about revolts in Dodge Junction,” he said.  “There was a call about a strike gone wrong.  I’ll be leaving Captain Lancer in charge for a few days while I go out that direction and will be back as soon as I can.”

“Have you any information about why one of my trees was found in the river not long ago?” Braeburn said.

“To be completely honest with you,” Blueblood said, “I currently don’t have the time.  I’ve got reports to fill out and financial information to go over and I’ve been too busy to supervise and see what’s going on down there.”

Braeburn nodded.  “Very well, then.  Don’t let me stop you.”

Much to Braeburn’s own surprise, Blueblood dismissed the comment.  He stayed around one more day, then he was gone without looking into the tree.  Braeburn would have shrugged it off and informed him when he got back, but instead he was treated with two more trees falling down the next night, and Captain Lancer didn’t even bother to notify him about the trees even when one of them fell in broad daylight.  Both of the trees were dumped in the river.

The next night, there was a small break in the rain.  Braeburn called over to Applejack and Twilight at the hotel and got them to come to the ridge, where he explained to them what had happened with Lucky Strike and Gold Digger and with Blueblood leaving.  This time, Applejack showed no horror at the idea and Twilight merely nodded.  Using her magic, the purple alicorn pulled the boxes up off the ground, one by one, and emptied them into the ravine.

Shining a flashlight down the cliff, Braeburn noticed that the two trees he had tossed during the harvest season were there in addition to the three trees pulled up during the current mining and all four boxes of dirt.  The already narrow ravine was plugged up with debris and the dirt..

By the time the trio had reached the farmhouse, the rain had begun again and Twilight and Applejack walked back to town, Twilight using her horn as a light.  Braeburn watched until the light had faded into the distance before going to sleep himself.  He was woken up during the night by the rain starting to come down in a deluge and Applejack calling to say that she and Twilight had arrived safely at the hotel.

The next morning, radio alerts spread throughout Appleoosa about the danger of the river outside of town flooding.  With Appleoosa being a little bit higher than the river, it was simply warned not to go within a certain distance of the river and to not try and cross it at any time.  All the families stayed indoors or hung around at the bar and restaurant, which played music and always kept a radio on for the reports.  To them, it was business as usual, though the talking and the playing and the dancing helped stave off the boredom.

Braeburn remained at his farmhouse.  No leaks needed to be patched, no water-resistant coverings needed to be placed, and the barn didn’t need locked up.  All he wanted to do was to watch the mine shaft, still visible through the downpour.  Captain Lancer and his men continued working on the mine, adding extra covering to the mine shaft to keep water from draining in, almost completely ignoring the rising river.

After three days of nearly constant rain, the river began to surge upwards.  First it was splashing over the edges, then it was leaking out, then the first trenches began to fill.  Braeburn watched as the ponies worked even as the rain continued to fall.  By the time Captain Lancer had noticed the dangerous state of the rising water, the ponies were already in a few inches of water.  Braeburn had no need to hear what was going on as the ponies started frantically trying to escape.  Pegasi were flying in and out of the mines, carrying ponies to safety.  Armor had to be tossed aside to save other ponies and equipment.  The elevator collapsed and broke as water flooded the inside of the shaft.

Eventually, a radio broadcast came of a surging current upstream and advised the ponies of Appleoosa to remain within the center of town and not to leave their houses.  It wasn’t long before Braeburn could feel the rumbling of a large wave coming down the river, and not much longer before the wave had crashed into the basin where the orchard was.  One of the shaft supports broke from the impact and the wooden structure soon tilted over and crashed into the river.  Some pegasi were trying to move the fallen wood to help those underneath, but then it was too late and the only option any of them had was to leave for the compound.

Braeburn watched the scene with a certain feeling of satisfaction even as something inside of him said it wasn’t right.  But it was right.  This was the message that Blueblood needed to see; this was the message that would finally get through saying he needed to leave.  He would leave Appleoosa alone and the people would go back to living as they had been for a long time.

With that, Braeburn felt no remorse.

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