Ultimatum
“Could you tell me about those two outlaws?”
“Which ones?”
“Bonnibelle and Clyde.”
A chuckle filled the dark and almost vacant saloon. Other than the bartender, the only two ponies in the saloon were the ones sitting at the bar. The bulky stallion took a gulp of his whiskey before looking back at the slimmer unicorn stallion sitting by him. “Why do you care about them? Those two are a myth nowadays.”
The unicorn glanced away briefly and shook his short, blond mane. “I heard stories about them in my times of travel, but as of late, they haven’t been talked about at all.”
“I’m not surprised. I heard they gave it up after a trip to Las Pegasus. They failed a big heist there and decided to stop wasting their time.”
“Really? That’s not what I heard.”
The bulky stallion chuckled again before taking another shot of whiskey. “What did you hear then?”
“I heard they began to fade out after arriving at Dodge Junction.”
The bulky stallion slowly smirked before finishing off his whiskey. “Whatever the case may be, those two aren’t relevant anymore. They probably left the country to live in Prance in solitude.”
“I hate to disappoint you, but that’s not what happened.”
The bulky stallion smirked at the voice and continued his stare at his empty bottle of whiskey. The unicorn at the bar frantically watched in shock at a stallion standing in the doorway of the saloon. He slowly walked up to the bar and sat beside the bulky stallion without looking at him.
The traveling unicorn gulped at the intense feeling in the room. Even with no eye contact with each other, he could feel the serious tension in the air. Trying to see who the new stallion was, he leaned over the bar counter, only to see a black-felt hat covering the eyes of the wearer.
Silence filled the saloon for several minutes before the bartender finally noticed his new guest. “Would you like anything, sir?”
The stallion shook his head quietly. As the bartender walked away, the bulky stallion chuckled.
“So, you aren’t dead after all.”
“Of course not.”
“What brings you to this town?”
“You.”
The bulky stallion dropped his smirk at the answer. “Me?” he asked confused.
The stallion with the black hat nodded and didn’t move his head to look at him. “I heard you left Black Stone’s gang. I’m wondering where he is.”
“Yeah I left his group,” he said with fire. “Ever since Dodge Junction, he’s been extremely egotistical and arrogant. I wasn’t having any of that so I left, as well as my brother.”
“I see. Does that mean you know where he is?”
“Absolutely,” laughed the bulky stallion, “he’s planning to rob the bank at his hometown of Appleloosa tomorrow. He had a long list of jobs he showed us before we left his group. Since you and your friend aren’t around that much anymore, he’s loving the lack of competition.”
The stallion with the black hat got up from his chair and patted the bulky stallion on the back. “I owe you one.”
The bulky stallion laughed. “I’ll take your word for it.”
The stallion with the black hat smirked and walked towards the doors. Before he could reach them, the unicorn stopped him.
“Excuse me!” he called to him. He hopped off the barstool and walked up to him. “Sorry to bother you, but could I ask you something? I’m a traveling writer and you seem to know the tales around these parts. Do you know anything about Bonnibelle and Clyde?”
The stallion in the black hat flashed his teal eyes before ignoring him and walking out of the saloon. The unicorn stood there confused before another chuckle erupted from the bulky stallion at the bar.
“That’s about how much you will learn from him,” he said with a smirk. He looked at the bartender and raised his empty bottle of whiskey. “I need another one!”
~ ~ ~
Outside the saloon, the stallion with the black hat continued his pace down the main dirt road of the town. Night had already fallen a few hours prior, causing the streets to be barren. Having no reason for looking around town, the stallion made his way towards the small motel by the train station. He walked inside and down the hallway, stopping at the third door on the left. After taking the small key out of his duster’s pocket, he inserted the key into the knob and quietly opened the door.
“You’re still awake?” he asked as he saw the white unicorn mare’s enchanting blue eyes looking at him.
“I have to be,” she replied with a smile. “I’m the only one to help you escape when you get captured.” Her giggle caused him to sigh.
“You know that only happened twice now,” he said. She smiled again before looking down at the dress on the bed in front of her. Along with what she was working on, beside her and scattered all over the bed were more dresses and a few other pieces of clothing.
“I see you were busy tonight,” said the stallion before taking off his black-felt hat, his black mane falling down over his face.
“I was! Since nopony else is going to...” The mare looked over at him and frowned.
The stallion gave a laugh. “You know I would help you Rarity, but I know nothing about proper care for clothing.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you have me then,” she said with a nod. “Just imagine if “Clyde the Infamous Outlaw” had a tear in his famous duster!”
Clyde shook his head at her and looked towards the wall of their room. “Not anymore. Nopony seems to care about us ever since we left Dodge Junction a few months ago. Our days of being wanted outlaws are over.”
“Oh, Clyde,” said Rarity with a sigh, “don’t be so cynical. Ponies might not care about your outlaw side, but I certainly care about everything involving you.” Rarity tried giving him a comforting smile, but he ignored her. With a shrug, Rarity sighed again. “Maybe it’s time to hang up your hat?”
Clyde quickly turned his head to look at her. “What?”
“You know, like, maybe it’s time to stop being an outlaw.”
Clyde stared at her. He felt angry at her sudden suggestion, but at the same time, since it was Rarity, he couldn’t figure out a way to show anger. All his life he lived as an outlaw. He didn’t know what he could even do besides that. “I’m not sure if I could do that. I have nowhere to go other than traveling around and getting by with larceny.”
“That’s not true!” said Rarity with a whimper. “You know I have room for you at my shop in Ponyville! I can’t let my partner wander the wastelands himself, especially after I became extremely fond of him!” She looked down at her diamond heart necklace around her neck and gave Clyde a coquettish smile.
Clyde stared at her again, but this time in thought. All his life he was used to stealing bits, running from the scene of the crime, and hiding out being alone. He met Rarity almost only a year ago, but in that same amount of time, he developed a relationship with her that he didn’t want to lose. She made the past few months thrilling for him, and if he continued down the path of theft, he might not see her again. His gaze focused on her diamond heart necklace he made sure he kept, just for her. By looking at it on a slight angle, he saw it shimmer brightly, like the heart of diamond itself rejoiced every time it saw him.
With a smirk, Clyde closed his eyes. “I think you’re right.”
“I’m what?” questioned Rarity. Clyde knew by the tone she was surprised.
“Maybe it is time for me to move on from this dangerous game. I can’t risk losing you and because we seem to not be wanted anymore, it’s a perfect time to stop.”
“Does that mean we can return to my lovely boutique in Ponyville and you will be there to protect me?” asked Rarity excitedly.
“As long as you still love me enough to allow me to stay with you, yes.”
Rarity grinned. “I wouldn’t worry about that, darling.”
Clyde flashed her a grin in return. “Good.” He walked over to her and sat down on the bed beside her. After being attacked by a hug and kiss, Clyde looked into her blue eyes. Before getting lost in the wonderful sight, Clyde sighed. “Unfortunately, I have to do something first before I stop.”
Rarity frowned. “So, you found out where he is then?”
“I did,” replied Clyde slowly. He knew how much she wanted to return home, but he also knew this last stone needed to be turned. It was the only way to have the final curtain fall on his path of being an outlaw.
“I guess that’s where we are headed tomorrow morning?”
Clyde nodded. “Looks like we are returning to Appleloosa before I take you home.” A yawn quickly escaped him and he gave an embarrassed laugh. “Guess it’s time for me to turn in.”
Rarity hopped off the bed and opened her saddlebag. After digging through, she floated her bottle of shampoo above her and looked back at Clyde. “I’ll be in the shower,” she said with a wink.
Before she could enter the bathroom, Clyde looked at the bed and saw all of Rarity’s newly repaired and modified clothing still laying on the bed. “Aren’t you going to take your clothes off?” asked Clyde.
Rarity stopped and turned to look at him. She blinked and looked at the dress she wore, the bed, and at Clyde in a cycle. After more glances and blinks, Rarity stopped at Clyde and lowered her eyes. “I bet you would like that, huh, darling?” she asked softly and seductively.
This time Clyde blinked before realizing how much she was teasing him. “I-I... um,” began Clyde, fighting the blush on his face. Rarity kept her flirty gaze on him as Clyde felt warmer and warmer. He was too flustered to even speak.
“Oh, Clyde,” giggled Rarity, “you are simply wonderful. You should know by now that all you have to do is ask nicely.” She gave him a playful wink before entering the bathroom and closing the door.
Clyde felt his face cool down as he carefully moved her dresses and other articles of clothing to the chair near the bed. Rarity was the biggest tease he ever met, but at the same time, he loved every minute of her various teases. After taking off his duster, he slid into bed and waited for the sound of water to help him ease his mind for rest.
~ ~ ~
When morning came, Clyde and Rarity quickly packed up and got dressed to leave town. Neither of them knew what town they were in exactly, as it wasn’t on a map. It had its own train station, but since the town was relatively small compared to the others the two had visited in their travels, the train only stopped when ponies were waiting at the station.
The reason for the small detour to the ghost town was simple. Clyde heard from other bartenders in saloons that Black Stone’s bodyguards left the gang. With that in mind, Clyde had spent the past few days tracking down one of them to locate Black Stone.
Black Stone was the main reason for the sudden disappearance of Bonnibelle and Clyde to the locals for the past few months. After the events at Dodge Junction, Black Stone used his victory to propel himself to the top outlaw in Equestria, making heists with great frequency. While this was happening, Clyde decided to avoid trouble by laying low, not because he was disheartened at losing to Black Stone, but he wanted to keep Rarity and himself safe. After months of hiding and not doing any illegal work, Clyde and Rarity learned that they weren’t wanted anymore and were considered regular townsfolk. Most ponies didn’t even stop to stare at them while walking by either. Since the two of them weren’t robbing anything, Rarity was able to access her store profits she had been saving up since beginning her store at local banks. Clyde hated using her personal money, as she earned all of it herself and he had nothing to do with it, but she didn’t want the two of them to starve.
After boarding the train, Clyde and Rarity took their normal seats near the back of the train. Clyde remained silent throughout the train ride, gaining him some looks of concern from Rarity. He wanted to tell her everything was alright, but at the same time, he didn’t feel like saying anything either. He gave a small smile to her before getting up from the seat. He took off his hat and threw it beside Rarity as he walked towards the caboose. “Save my seat.”
“Where are you going, darling?” asked Rarity, her voice full of concern.
“I just need some air. I won’t be long.”
Rarity frowned before smiling and giving a nod. Clyde opened the door to the caboose and walked through it, stopping at the last door of the train. After looking around the empty caboose cabin, he slid open the door and flinched at the sudden blast of air that hit him in the face.
Clyde walked up to the railing, propping his forelegs on it. He leaned over the rail to watch the rails under him fly by at alarming speed. After a few seconds Clyde looked up from the rails and looked around.
Clyde always enjoyed the wasteland of Equestria. Nothing was there except scattered plants or twigs, but it always calmed him down for some reason. As a colt, he spent majority of his time after a quick robbery hiding out in the wasteland in the outskirts of the towns. His childhood friends that he had rolled in a gang with hid there as well, but now, he was the last one of them left. His old friends were gone and times had changed. Feeling the wind blow through his mane, Clyde shook his head and walked back inside the train. Upon reaching his seat, he placed his hat back on his head and looked at Rarity.
“Feeling better?” she asked him with a warming smile.
Clyde stared out the window before looking back at her. He nodded. “I do now.”
~ ~ ~
The train arrived at Appleloosa a few hours later. Avoiding the rush of ponies, Clyde and Rarity waited a few moments before disembarking the train. As he stood on the platform of the train station, Clyde looked around. “This sure feels like yesterday.”
“Doesn’t it?” agreed Rarity. “I surely remember this town vividly. This is where I first helped you escape jail, even though you told me you were a ‘master’ at robbing stores.” She looked over at him and giggled.
“Look,” groaned Clyde, “I just got unlucky.”
“It didn’t look that way to me.”
“Well, you weren’t in the bank, so how do you know?”
“You told me to stay back!” huffed Rarity.
“You know exactly why I told you that,” said Clyde with a smirk. “I couldn’t let my new partner be in danger on the first job.”
“Even though you were the one to get captured,” she said slyly. Clyde shook his head before laughing. Rarity walked up to him and nuzzled his nose with hers. “I really am glad I decided to go with you. You made me see a whole new world that isn’t making clothes. Plus, I also found a stallion that loves me and can keep me safe!”
“I’m glad you came along, too.” Clyde flashed one of his rare smiles. Before meeting Rarity, Clyde barely smiled. It was only fitting that Rarity would make them appear more commonly.
The two of them stared at each other for a few minutes lovingly before the loud roar of the train began chugging down the rails. The duo made their way down the train platform and down the main street of Appleloosa. The familiar shops along the street made Clyde recollect the first time Rarity and he were in town. As his eyes fell on the bank, a sudden voice boomed from behind him.
“Well, look what the train transported in!” Clyde turned his head and saw a shiny, and newly polished, silver star badge on a stallion’s blue vest. The nicely trimmed mustache on the stallion’s face instantly made Clyde smirk. The stallion’s face suddenly turned fierce.
“Good day, Sheriff,” said Clyde with a tip of his hat. “It’s been awhile.”
Sheriff Silverstar continued his angry glare at him. “You looking to cause more trouble, boy? Is that why you are back?”
Clyde shook his head. “No.”
“Good answer, but unfortunately, it’s time for you to return to the cell where you left me stranded in.” Silverstar walked forward towards Clyde, but was stopped by Rarity, who quickly hopped in front of him.
“I will not let you take Clyde,” she said with a serious tone.
“Well how about if I turn you both in?”
Rarity looked back at Clyde and smiled. “Fine with me.”
Silverstar stared at her and then to Clyde. After some glances, he sighed. “I couldn’t even turn you in anyways. You two are no longer criminals to us.”
“Seems like a flaw to the justice system to me,” stated Clyde apathetically.
“Maybe, but there are criminals running around all over Equestria, daily. There’s no point for holding grudges on criminals who suddenly disappear. Since you two seemed to fade off the map for a good chunk of time, we took down the bounties, thinking you both were dead. Getting the new criminals is of more concern for us.” Silverstar looked at them again. “So, where did you two go?”
“We didn’t go anywhere,” said Clyde.
“What?”
“What he is trying to say,” began Rarity sweetly, “is that we took a break!”
“A break, you say?” said Silverstar, stroking his mustache.
“Indeed. A break. They are quite lovely.”
“I bet.” Silverstar ignored Rarity to look back at Clyde. “So why come back to this town?”
Clyde let a gentle breeze pass them before speaking. “I heard Black Stone is going to rob the bank today.”
“Wait! He is!?” exclaimed Silverstar. He frantically looked around. “When?”
Clyde shrugged. “I’m not sure. I just know that I have unfinished business with him.” Clyde saw Rarity flash another look of concern, but he knew it was true.
“Hmm,” began Silverstar stroking his mustache again, “maybe it was a good thing that you came back. We might finally be able to bring down Black Stone.” Silverstar grinned and gave a victory chuckle, before abruptly stopping. “Say, would you like to help stop him with me?”
Clyde shook his head. “I’m not a bounty hunter. My intentions are my own.”
Silverstar looked into the sky and let the small breeze of wind blow past him. “Yeah, but by helping me, you’ll be able to do whatever you have to do.” He looked at Clyde strangely. “What exactly are you trying to do, boy?”
Clyde blankly stared at the ground. “I’m... I’m not sure.”
Silverstar nodded in silence and walked past them, heading towards the bank. “I’ll be around the bank if you decide to wait for him.” He began whistling a tune which slowly faded out as he got further away from them.
Clyde kept his vacuous gaze at the ground. There were some small pebbles under him, but all he could pay attention to was the dirt. A white hoof came into his vision and he felt his chin being lifted up.
“What’s wrong, Clyde?” Rarity’s blue eyes made Clyde’s focus snap on them instead of the dirt, however, he saw her face was filled with sadness.
“Nothing,” he said.
“Please don’t lie to me.”
Clyde sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong. It’s a feeling inside of me that I can’t explain.”
“Is it like the feeling you get when you see me?” she asked with a giggle.
Clyde gave a small smile at her attempt for some humor in the conversation. “No, I actually enjoy that feeling.”
“Well, don’t sulk on it!” She took her hoof off of his chin to adjust the black-felt hat on his head. After some minor adjustments, she smiled. “I hate to see you upset. Look how lovely you are when you aren’t sad!”
Clyde laughed and instantly felt better. The unexplained feeling was still in him, but it was pushed aside due to the overpowering feeling he got when Rarity is near. When all the smiles and hugs between them were over, Clyde looked around at the buildings of Appleloosa. After locating a certain one, Clyde looked at Rarity. “Would you like a drink, Miss Bonnibelle?”
Rarity giggled and lowered her eyes. “I told you earlier that I much prefer ‘Miss Rarity,’ but I can let this slide.” Clyde tipped his hat and the two of them slowly made their way towards the saloon.
Once inside, Rarity found an empty table to sit at while Clyde went up to the bartender. The saloon was noisy with all the various ponies talking to each other about random topics. Drowning the sound out, Clyde sat at the bar to wait for the bartender to notice him. At first, the bartender avoided looking at him, but when Clyde showed him some bits, he became more open. Clyde carefully carried over a cup of tea, his bottle of whiskey, and a small glass to the table which Rarity was sitting at. Once Clyde sat down, he worked on his drink by pouring some in the glass.
Rarity sat there quietly, sipping her tea every once in a while. Her attention was on Clyde rather than her drink. As for Clyde, he took a quick sniff of the drink and slowly sipped on the whiskey, starting with a small amount. He swirled the liquid in his mouth to enjoy the flavor and taste before downing it. After a few moments, his mouth began to feel warm due to the alcohol and he stopped to wait for his mouth to cool down before pouring another glass.
“I really hope you don’t drink away your problems,” voiced Rarity from across the table after taking a sip of tea. She gently set her cup down on the table with her magic and looked at him with her concerned look.
“I’m not. Can’t I enjoy a drink for once?”
Rarity stuck her nose in the air. “Well, I’m sorry.”
Clyde frowned. “I just needed a drink. I probably won’t even drink anymore. This brand is too strong for me.” He pushed the bottle and glass away and sighed. Rarity noticed his sigh and sighed herself.
“Clyde, I am truly worried about you.”
“What for?”
“I feel like you’re trying to journey down the path of vengeance and that worries me.” Her voice was shaky towards the end of her sentence, which Clyde caught on to. He felt the unexplained feeling return.
“I don’t know what ‘path’ I’m going down, but I can’t live with it,” he said stiffly.
“But you can live with it!” exclaimed Rarity. “Clyde, darling, all you have to do is ignore it and move on! Vengeance is dangerous and I refuse to let the most important stallion in my life be consumed by it!”
“I’ll be fine–”
“You say that, but how do you know for sure? I could lose you in a single second!” Her tone was now filled with fear.
“I can handle it, Rarity,” said Clyde, trying to stop her worry. “I have to do this.”
Rarity shook her head. “Clyde. Why exactly do you have to do this?”
The question struck him again and he didn’t know how to respond. “I... I.”
“I’m waiting.”
“I don’t know!” yelled Clyde. His shout not only startled him, it also startled Rarity. It was the first time he raised his voice to her.
“If you don’t know, then it can’t be about vengeance. You’re still upset that you lost, isn’t it?” asked Rarity.
Clyde flinched at the word. “No, no, no. That’s not it.”
“It is too and you know it.”
“It is not!” he yelled again, this time slamming his right hoof on the table. Rarity this time frowned and tears formed in her eyes.
“I’m only trying to help, Clyde,” she said sadly. She looked down at her diamond heart necklace and sniffled. “I won’t allow myself to watch the one I love be torn apart with indecision or recklessness. There’s more to life than only thinking for yourself. Please just ignore him so we can start the new journey in our lives together?”
Clyde looked at her. Just by looking at her face, he knew how much she cared for him. He wanted to ignore the feeling like she kept asking him to, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to be considered a fraud again.
Clyde got up from his seat and turned towards the door. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
Rarity’s tears turned into a sob. “I–I guess I didn’t find my true love yet...”
Clyde turned to look at her. “What are you talking about?”
Rarity slowed down her sob enough so Clyde could hear her clearly. “If a stallion loved me enough, he would’ve respected and listened to my request instead of thinking only for himself. I told you that I refuse to let myself watch you get hurt.” Her tears started back up. “I’ll let you choose yourself, it’s either your selfish goal or me. I’m leaving this town before sunset.”
“Rarity...”
She ignored him and her light blue aura surrounded her diamond necklace. She lifted it over her head and floated it over to Clyde. She placed it on his hoof and sniffled. “If I don’t see you again, Clyde, I wanted to let you know I did enjoy the time we spent together.” She tried to smile, but her the tears in her eyes were overpowering. “I really thought you were the one...” Rarity quickly got up from the table and brushed past him, tears still in her eyes. As she walked out of the saloon, Clyde glanced down at the diamond heart necklace.
The first thing he noticed about the necklace was that its bright luster had vanished, as if it lost the will to shine again. Also, as it laid in his hoof, Clyde felt a sudden coolness that the diamond gave off. Clyde stood there and kept his eyes on the necklace before sorrow finally broke through the wall in his mind. He slowly put the necklace in his duster’s pocket with tears in his own eyes.
Clyde knew he messed up, but he also knew he deserved it for his impetuous thinking and for being stupid. Rarity was the type of mare he never dreamed he would ever be able to be romantically involved with. He left the saloon and looked around. Rarity was nowhere in sight. He walked around town to find a certain shop he thought she would be in. As he laid eyes on the general store, a masculine voice called to him.
“There you are, boy!” said Sheriff Silverstar excitedly.
“What do you want?” asked Clyde trying to get away from him. He thought he could make out a certain unicorn mare in the store by looking through the window.
“I think it’s almost time for Black Stone to return. Hurry to the bank!”
“I don’t care about that right now,” said Clyde. His voice now full of apathy. He only wanted to find Rarity.
“Sure you do! Let’s go!” Silverstar laughed and began pushing Clyde towards the bank. Even with Clyde trying to plant his legs into the dirt to stop him, Silverstar had more strength than he thought. Clyde eventually broke out of the shove and tried to get away, but Silverstar held him back again and continued towards the bank. Once they eventually reached the bank, Silverstar shoved Clyde into the building.
“How’s it going Silverstar–! W-what’s he doing here!” yelled the small stallion from behind the bank counter.
“Calm down, Stacks. He’s on our side.” Silverstar nodded.
“I’m not on any side,” said Clyde. “I said I’m not a bounty hunter.” Clyde turned to leave, but was stopped by Silverstar again.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to leave and find my partner.”
“Oh, she’ll be fine,” said Silverstar, “this is more important.”
“Wait! That pretty mare is here again!” said Stacks in joy. Clyde snarled at him and shot him a deadly look, making Stacks recede and stop the talk.
“What’s wrong, boy? I thought you wanted to take down Black Stone.”
“I did, and I sort of still do, but there’s somepony out there who is more important right now.” Clyde looked at the bank’s nicely polished floor tiles. “I need to apologize to her.”
“Apologize, huh? Even Bonnibelle and Clyde themselves can’t operate correctly. No wonder why ponies don’t care about them anymore. They are frauds after all.”
Clyde, Silverstar, and Stacks turned their head towards the entrance of the bank. Standing in the doorway was a brown stallion wearing a tan duster and white hat. His green eyes shone while his slick, black mane blew in the small breeze coming into the bank. As he looked at the three stallions in front of him, a large grin crept onto his face.
“Well, look who it is,” began Silverstar, “Black Stone himself.”
Black Stone smirked and quickly drew his revolver. “I hate to make this short, but I’m already behind schedule. It’s mighty fine when you’re the only outlaw at work these days.” He looked at Clyde and laughed.
“Not so fast, criminal scum!” yelled Silverstar, aiming his revolver now. “You’re worth more alive, but that doesn’t matter.”
“I’m flattered, but I do have to give credit where it’s due. I’m glad I can be a great distraction.” Black Stone smirked.
“What is he talking about?” asked Silverstar to Clyde.
“Silverstar! Get him! He took the money!” yelled Stacks from behind the counter. Clyde and Silverstar quickly turned to see a khaki stallion with a bandana on, holding a large bag of bits by his teeth. The stallion smirked as best he could before charging out the back door behind the counter.
“You didn’t guard the back door?” asked Clyde, shaking his head. He looked back at the front entrance of the bank and noticed Black Stone was gone.
“Don’t start blaming anyone, I’ll find the other criminal,” exclaimed Silverstar, “find Black Stone!”
Clyde nodded and quickly ran out of the bank. By looking around, he didn’t see Black Stone, but he knew where to check first. Galloping as hard as he could, Clyde made his way to the train platform. He hid by the town’s hat shop, keeping an eye out for the train to come. The clocktower of Appleloosa showed sundown was still a few hours away so he still had time to find Rarity. He wanted to find her now, but he also didn’t want to let Black Stone and his aider get away.
He slumped down against the wall of the shop, facing the rails of the station. He took out Rarity’s diamond heart necklace from his duster’s pocket and held it in his left front hoof. As he looked at it, clouds suddenly shaded the sun and all but his left hoof was in darkness. Clyde shuffled the necklace in his hoof under the sunlight, trying to get it to sparkle, but it refused to answer and remained at rest. He gave a sigh and placed the necklace back in the pocket of his duster, just in time to hear the roar of a train closing in to the station of Appleloosa.
Clyde sat there at the wall of the hat shop, waiting for the train to begin disembarking and allowing new travelers to enter. Once all the old passengers were out, ponies began flooding into the train, one after another. From the corner of his eye, he saw a pony charging towards the train. It didn't take him long to see it was Black Stone. Clyde quickly jumped up and started cantering towards the station, trying to time it right. When Black Stone was a few seconds away, Clyde changed his pace to a full gallop. Just as Black Stone was about to walk onto the train station, Clyde tackled him to the dirt.
“Not so fast,” said Clyde, pinning him down with his right hoof.
Black Stone laughed. “It’s been a while.” He kicked Clyde off of him and ran towards the town. “However, I’m not going to be caught that easily!” Clyde shook his head and quickly rushed after him.
Black Stone ran through crowds of ponies and hopped over merchandise stands on his escape from Clyde. Clyde avoided running through crowds as much as possible, slowing him down somewhat. Black Stone didn’t take the opportunity to put distance between them. Clyde considered that Black Stone wanted the chase to be prolonged for some reason, but he couldn’t figure out why.
Eventually, Black Stone ran into the saloon with Clyde a few seconds behind him. Shrieks filled the saloon as Black Stone threw tables and chairs as he passed to slow down Clyde. He gave a wave and hurried up the staircase towards the back of the room. While the ponies of the saloon either screamed in fear or watched in awe, Clyde ducked and rolled over tables, trying to keep his rhythmic pace on Black Stone. After a quick breath, Clyde went up the staircase.
Upon reaching the top of the staircase, Clyde saw Black Stone turn the corner down the long hallway. Most saloons Clyde visited had rooms on the floor above the bar for guests to stay the night. All the doors were closed now with it being afternoon, so Clyde didn’t have to worry about waking anypony up. He ran down the hallway and before he turned the corner, decided to slide instead of running around it. As he popped up after his slide, he turned to see Black Stone behind him with a look of surprise across his face.
“Not this time,” smirked Clyde. “Corners are dangerous.” He shoved Black Stone against the wall.
Black Stone instantly headbutted Clyde, making him let go of his hold on him. Black Stone rubbed his head and quickly stumbled into the empty room across the hall. Clyde picked up his hat and chased after him. Clyde entered the room and saw Black Stone on the outside balcony that overlooked the main street of Appleloosa. Black Stone turned to Clyde and laughed.
“It looks like our chase ends here,” said Clyde, faintly panting. Since he hadn’t robbed any store since before the Dodge Junction trip, his stamina was lower than normal.
Black Stone looked behind him to the street below. “Is it, though?” He leaned against the railing and flipped his body over it, holding on to not fall to the street below. He quickly looked back at the street before tipping his hat to Clyde. “Catch you later.”
Before he could jump, Clyde instantly charged at him, surprising Black Stone and making him freeze. He quickly let go of the railing to fall away from him, but Clyde reached him first and held onto him, dragging himself down with Black Stone. In midair, Clyde and Black Stone nervously looked at the ground, awaiting for impact, but they both saw something moving under them. Before Clyde could analysis what it was, the two of them landed in the wagon of loose hay.
“Hey! Get out of my wagon!” yelled a muffled voice. Clyde could barely make out the words, but his main problem was the darkness in the haystack. He felt a strong kick into his sternum before light flooded from above and Black Stone hopped out of the wagon. Clyde coughed and quickly crawled upward and shoving the hay out of his face, finding the edge of the wagon and tumbling over it. He crashed to the dirt street and groaned in slight pain. As he sat up, a sudden force knocked him to the ground again.
“Now it looks like the chase has ended,” said Black Stone, grinning slightly. Clyde felt the cool, metallic end of a revolver on his neck. While Clyde looked straight into Black Stone’s devilish face, he could feel the eyes and fear in the bystanders around them, including the puller of the wagon with hay, who nervously watched and refused to move. The dreadful silence around him made the situation even worse.
“You won’t do it,” said Clyde calmly. For some reason, he wasn’t nervous and the only explanation why was that he knew he couldn’t die yet as he had to amend a wound in his heart first.
Black Stone dug the revolver into Clyde’s neck more. Clyde’s neck tensed up, but he avoided thinking about being shot right there. “Are you going to test me?”
“He doesn’t have to say anything, criminal.” Black Stone’s revolver departed from his neck as Clyde glanced over and saw Sheriff Silverstar aiming his revolver at Black Stone. “I already caught your acquaintance, but now it’s time for the real deal.”
Black Stone laughed. “That guy was probably my worst ally, so good job cleaning out the trash.” He looked down at Clyde and pointed his revolver at him. “Besides, you can’t capture me quite yet, I have a hostage.”
Clyde ignored the barrel of the handgun in his face and looked over at Silverstar. Silverstar gave him a nod. Clyde wasn’t exactly sure what the nod was for, but he didn’t fool around with the slight motive. Clyde quickly kicked Black Stone away and grabbed Black Stone’s hoof, pointing the revolver downwards and into the ground.
Black Stone struggled and tried freeing up his revolver, but couldn’t lift his hoof due to Clyde’s force on it. As the two were wrestling around, Silverstar quickly galloped up to them and smacked the revolver from Black Stone’s hoof. The handgun slid away from the group and Clyde crawled towards it. Black Stone quickly kicked Silverstar in the chest and rushed after the revolver as well. The two of them simultaneously grabbed the revolver and instead of fighting for control, Black Stone laughed.
“What are you laughing about?” asked Clyde, quickly sitting up, but still holding on to the gun so Black Stone wouldn’t have it.
“We both grabbed the revolver at the same time, you know what this means, right?”
Clyde shook his head. He only knew how to escape, not shoot.
Black Stone laughed again and looked around at all the bystanders. Each one of them remained silent, in fear of the maniac-filled laughter from Black Stone and partially because their Sheriff was down on the ground in pain.
Black Stone slowly looked at Clyde and smirked his evil smirk. “We settle this pointless ramble between us with the only way outlaws settle things in the wastelands... We duel.”
The crowd of bystanders gasped. Sheriff Silverstar quickly sat up in shock. “A duel!” Suddenly, a loud alarm buzzed through the town and ponies from all the stores exited to the streets. After a minute of buzzing, the alarm ended and the crowds of ponies gathered around silenced as well.
Black Stone nodded back to Silverstar and ripped his revolver from Clyde’s grasp. He used the barrel of his revolver to tilt up his hat. “Of course. A duel is fitting. It’s the best way to settle all quarrels. What do you say, Clyde?” He opened his green eyes and grinned.
Clyde stood there for a moment before making another rash decision. Duels were always the way rival outlaws would finish their fight against each other. A duel was a simple concept: two ponies would await for the signal to draw their firearm and shoot the other. The quicker one would be victorious and the other was mostly likely dead. While it was extremely dangerous, it gave that prestigious honor to the victor. A duel was also a way to see if fate was benevolent. Clyde stared at the ground for a moment and looked up. “I’m for it.”
The crowd gasped again and the alarm sounded through the town. It died down after a few seconds, but the only thing the town cared about was witnessing this duel. Duels rarely happened in small towns like Appleloosa, so no one wanted to miss it.
Clyde and Black Stone stared at each other intensely. Neither of them talked and neither of them moved. They remained in a deadlock for what seemed like eternity. After a sudden smirk, Black Stone pointed to the mountains a few miles away from Appleloosa with his revolver. “We meet back here when the sun sets over the mountain.” He turned to leave and slowly walked into the saloon.
Clyde stood there for a moment and saw the ponies of Appleloosa began leaving, too. Sunset was still about an hour away so there really was no point for them to stand around waiting for nothing.
“I wish you luck, boy,” said Sheriff Silverstar walking up to Clyde. He put his hoof around his shoulder and patted him. “Unfortunately, since you agreed to a duel, the Law can’t help you. Duels have always been about forgetting laws and letting criminals kill themselves for us. I can’t just arrest him now. That’s breaking the ‘Duel Honor.’”
“Thanks for the wishes,” said Clyde sarcastically.
Silverstar chuckled. “Yeah, but know the town and myself will be rooting for you, which is rather ironic seeing how you stole from us before, but hey, Black Stone is currently worth a lot of bits dead or alive, so his bounty is pretty hefty. Which now that I think about it, that’s also ironic because we would be paying you bits even after you stole from us before...” Silverstar scratched his head with his hoof in confusion at the ironic situation.
Clyde faintly laughed. He opened up his duster to pull out his revolver of his own. If it wasn’t for the fact he never had ammunition for it with him, Clyde could’ve used it against Black Stone back at Dodge Junction or while chasing him a few hours prior. As he looked at it in his hoof, he remembered how one of his friends from his colt days gave him the revolver before he was captured and put in jail.
It was an ordinary looking revolver, except for a certain detail. On the barrel of the gun were certain letters that were sketched unto the side of it, stretching down the whole length of the barrel. Each letter stood for a name of a member of the old gang Clyde was part of back when he was a colt. Clyde always kept it to remind himself of the sacrifices his old friends gave him so he could escape that town and journey on. “Do you know where I could find some bullets for this?” he asked Silverstar.
“Sure do. Just go to the general store. I’m sure he’ll give you a chamber full since the duel is coming up.”
Clyde nodded. “I appreciate it.”
Silverstar returned the nod and strangely looked at Clyde. “You’re awfully calm about this.”
Clyde looked into the sky and sighed. “I guess because if I die, it won’t matter unless I fix something first.”
“Ah. I see. I wish you the best then, for her and for your duel.” Silverstar patted him on the back again and walked towards the building beside the bank. Clyde remembered being in that building’s jail cell until Rarity broke him out those months ago.
Clyde journeyed over to the general store and entered the small shop. As the small bell chimed from opening the door, the clerk waved him over and nodded at him rapidly. The clerk was a thin, yellow stallion with his brown mane held back by his hat.. “You need bullets, huh?” he asked while frantically looking around.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind. I need some for–”
“I know you need them fro the duel. I can hook you up.” The clerk slammed a small box onto the counter and smiled. “Here you are.” Clyde began to take out some bits, but was quickly stopped. “No need for payment as long as you take down Black Stone. I don’t want to get robbed!”
Clyde nodded. “Thanks.”
Clyde put the small box of bullets into his saddlebag and exited the store. As he looked up from the patio floor that was connected to the entrance, his eyes fell into a gaze at the sapphire eyes that lay in front of him. Clyde noticed the eyes were puffy and her normally elegant violet mane was unkempt.
“Clyde!” stated Rarity, gently lifting her front hoof and elegantly stomping the ground. Clyde continued looking into her eyes and tried thinking of what to say. “Clyde!” she repeated herself.
“Look, I’m trying really hard to figure out how to quickly say a thousand words to apologize to you,” said Clyde. Rarity seemed to ignore him and shook her head. She took a small breath and Clyde knew she was about to complain, rant, whine, or all of them in a random order.
“I can’t believe you actually chose him and agreed to a duel! And here I thought you loved me! I cried all day waiting for you to come and find me, but you didn’t! When I heard the alarm, I finally came out and what do I see? You agreeing to duel! Do you know how dangerous these duels are? I could never see you again! Don’t you know how awful that will be? I’m glad you have confidence in yourself, because I can’t seem to have faith in you–” She instantly gave a surprised squeak as Clyde leaned forward, gently lifted her chin, and kissed her to stop her from talking.
The kiss, at first, was rather slow, but Clyde knew she probably was still surprised at the sudden act. After a few moments, the two’s kiss began to heat up, turning more passionate and full of built-up love. With each kiss, Clyde felt Rarity’s reaction back with more and more force, and he knew she was loving every moment of it. Clyde enjoyed it, too. Most of the reason was because he finally wanted to show her that he did love her. The other reason was because a giant weight was no longer making him feel down. The only way he thought to fix his mistake was doing something bold. Luckily for him, he made a good choice.
After what seemed like hours, Clyde slowly departed from her and opened his eyes. Rarity’s face was reddened and her expression was full of shock. After she slowly opened her enchanting eyes, she blinked a few times before lowering them to him and smiling. “That was simply amazing, darling.” Her face of bliss suddenly turned serious again. “However, I’m still mad at you.”
Clyde frowned. “Damn. Even after that?”
“While that kiss was heavenly, it doesn’t change the fact that you went against my wishes.” Rarity looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with sadness. “I begged nicely to you so you would avoid trouble, but you ignored me!”
Clyde knew she was right. He did ignore her request at the saloon, causing this rift between them. “I know it’s my fault why you’re mad at me, but after you handed me your necklace and stormed out, I realized what a terrible mistake I made.”
“Agreeing to duel and risking your life?”
Clyde shook his head. “No. Losing you.” Rarity’s angry expression turned into a tranquil gaze. “After you stormed out, I stood there thinking about why I’m an idiot for letting you go. You didn’t come along with me because I forced you, you wanted to come with me because it was your decision and you wanted to have some thrills. Best of all, after all the traveling we had to go through together, you and I both felt a certain romantic spark. I refuse to let that feeling go because I don’t want to lose another pony that’s important to me.”
Rarity stood there silently, and knowing that look, Clyde knew she was trying to think of something to say.
Clyde spoke up again. “A few moments after you left the saloon, I did try and search for you. I couldn’t find you outside anywhere, so I tried looking through the stores. Silverstar stopped me and dragged me to the bank, which eventually led to this duel.” Clyde stared into her eyes. Her eyes were always a wondrous sight to him. He suddenly felt tears in his own eyes. “If this is a final goodbye, I want you to know I enjoyed your company in my travels.” As he turned to leave, a faint cry called out to him.
“Clyde, no... Please don’t go...”
Clyde turned back around at her and couldn’t help but smile, even though she was nearly crying. He walked up to her and reached into the pocket of his duster and pulled out the diamond heart necklace. He held in in his hoof and looked at Rarity. “I believe this belongs to you, Miss Rarity.” He gently placed the necklace around her neck and saw both her teary eyes and the diamond shining brightly. Clyde didn’t even get to step backwards before being attacked by a tight hug. As she held onto him, Rarity cried into his shoulder, refusing to let go. The two remained in the intimate deadlock for a few minutes, not speaking. There was no need for words.
Soon, Rarity’s crying subsided and she slowly parted away from Clyde. Her eyes, and especially the diamond heart, were full of light. Clyde took her hoof and kissed it softly, causing a giggle. “You do know how to treat a lady,” said Rarity with a flirty wink.
“Of course,” replied Clyde, tipping his hat. “I could tell you why you are truly amazing, but we’ll be here all day. Plus, you probably already heard them from me before.”
“That’s quite alright. I can listen to them again,” purred Rarity, quickly hugged him tightly again and kissed him on the mouth, forehead, cheek, and neck multiple times.
Clyde let her lovingly hug him again until she decided to let go. Her hug lasted at least ten minutes, but Clyde didn’t care. He loved being hugged by her and he fixed his mistake from earlier, but as he looked at the mountain south of Appleloosa, a certain decision crawled back to the front of his mind. He gave a sigh.
“Please. Don’t die,” said Rarity sadly. Her lips quivered into a pout and Clyde felt sad himself.
“Don’t talk like that,” said Clyde looking away from her. “I promise I won’t die.”
“Don’t make a girl a promise, if you know you can’t keep it....” Clyde turned to face her and saw small tears forming in her eyes. Clyde knew this is what she was trying to avoid in the first place when they were in the saloon. He walked up to her and gently placed his forehead on her, right at the base of her horn. He closed his eyes and remained quiet to enjoy the intimate silence.
“I promise,” he repeated.
~ ~ ~
Eventually, the sun rested on the tip of the mountain, far to the South of Appleloosa. The ponies of the small town all quickly ventured outside to watch the upcoming duel. The general reaction towards the upcoming event was mixed. Some ponies stayed in buildings and looked out the window while others sat on the patios of the stores, drinking bottles of whiskey. Soon, the clock tower rang out and the ponies looked towards the mountain. The sun was behind the mountain and the ponies gasped at the brown stallion walking down the street.
Black Stone halted a few paces away from the saloon, the true center of Appleloosa. He stood there with no motive of talking, scanning the crowd slowly. He stopped when his opponent emerged from the crowd and stood a few yards away, facing him.
“So there he is,” said Black Stone. Clyde didn’t say anything, but remained silent and focused. Black Stone slightly chuckled. “I see you had enough of talking. Fine with me.” He pulled out his revolver and was suddenly stopped by a shout.
“Hold up!”
Black Stone looked to his side and saw Sheriff Silverstar run up to the two of them. “What is it now?”
“We can’t have a proper duel without a signaler, and to make sure there’s no cheating.”
Black Stone angrily looked at him. “If it makes you feel better.”
Silverstar proudly smirked and looked at Clyde. “Are you fine with that, boy?” Clyde nodded in response and Silverstar looked back at Black Stone. “Alright, take our your weapons and load them up.
Black Stone and Clyde followed the command. Black Stone already had his revolver out from before, so Clyde quickly took out six, small bullets from the box he received from the clerk at the general store and loaded them into the revolver’s chamber. He quickly slapped the cylinder back into the gun, put it in his holster, and looked up.
“We know the rules,” said Black Stone directing his attention towards Silverstar. “We take a few steps back and then on the signal, we fire away.”
“That’s about it,” stated Silverstar. He looked at the two of them. “Nod when you are ready.”
Black Stone nodded instantly while Clyde noticed the strange air of confidence around his opponent. Clyde knew Black Stone understood what could happen in these duels, but for him, it seemed like he knew he was going to win without doubt. Clyde quickly shifted his eyes to Silverstar and gave a nod. “Good luck,” stated Clyde. Black Stone only responded with a laugh.
After Silverstar’s signal, the two of them turned away from each other and began their paces. Clyde kept his head to the ground and counted the steps he took. After ten steps, Clyde looked up and looked at the crowd to his side. He saw Rarity nervously look at him from the crowd. Fear had completely taken over her and Clyde knew he couldn’t let himself die here. He gave a small smile to her to try and cheer her up, but her state remained the same. Instead of thinking about it anymore, Clyde turned around.
The crowd of ponies were silent as Clyde and Black Stone stared at each other. Black Stone had his confident smirk across his face. Clyde was unsure of what his face was showing, as all he could think about was the outcome if he died. Sunlight was almost gone for the day and a small breeze flew into the town. The silence remained until a random tumbleweed blew past them.
“Alright, boys,” began Silverstar with a gulp. “On the third count.” The ponies of Appleloosa shifted slightly and some coughed. The whole town was nervous and they weren’t even dueling.
“One.”
The town held their breath, waiting for the next two numbers.
“Two–”
“Wait. I changed my mind.”
Clyde and the rest of Appleloosa looked at Black Stone in confusion. He looked up from the ground and smirked. His blazing emerald eyes gave Clyde a feeling of uneasiness.
“What’s this about, boy?” asked Sheriff Silverstar. “You are forfeiting before it even started?”
“Forfeiting?” asked Black Stone, slightly angered. “Of course not. Forfeiting is for the weak. What I meant was instead of firing away, I’m changing the duel to one bullet only.” The crowd gasped.
“One bullet?” Silverstar stroked his mustache.
“Yes. It only takes one bullet to do damage.” Black Stone looked at Clyde and laughed.
Silverstar glanced at Clyde. “What do you say?”
“Whatever. Let’s get this duel started already.”
“That’s the attitude I like!” yelled Black Stone with joy.
“Alright then. Come to me so I can make sure there’s only one bullet in your chamber,” ordered Silverstar.
The two of them nodded and slowly advanced towards him. Once in view, they both opened up their revolver’s cylinder and emptied five bullets. Clyde put them back in his small box the clerk gave him while Black Stone just dumped his to the ground. After a final inspection, Silverstar gave the final nod and the two walked back to their spots from before. Clyde looked at Rarity again before turning around, just so he could find some solace in the situation.
As Clyde turned to face Black Stone again, the sun was completely behind the mountain, giving the small town very little light. Clyde always enjoyed twilight. It was a perfect transition from a bright, sunny day to a cool, darkened night. Watching the sun’s last, dying glow of the mountain’s outline made him feel warm inside. He waited for the outline to die out and the mountain to become cold, before his hoof twitched.
“Finally, it comes down to this,” called Black Stone from yards away. “You chased me all day, hoping to find me, but I never understood why. Care to use your last words to explain your motive?”
Clyde ignored him and closed his eyes. Trying to calm his mind, Clyde quietly inhaled and exhaled the desert air. Soon, he opened his eyes and looked at Silverstar to signal he was ready.
“Fine,” said Black Stone with a smirk, “ignore me. You probably already gave your final farewell to your girlfriend anyway.” He snapped his head to Silverstar excitedly. “I’m ready.”
“You know the drill. On the third count.”
Both of them nodded.
“One.”
Clyde lifted his hoof and hovered it over the revolver in his holster. From what Clyde could see, Black Stone had his eyes closed, but his hoof was also near his revolver. The crowd around them was silent. Nopony dared to speak or move.
“Two.”
A sudden, loud crack echoed through the twilight filled town as Clyde felt a sudden sting in his left shoulder. His left foreleg felt completely numb at the shock and he collapsed to the dirt. The ponies around him gasped and screamed. He looked at his shoulder to see a large chunk of his duster was ripped open, showing some of his gray coat and to his surprise, some of his flesh. The wound wasn’t lethal, as it was just a bullet graze, but blood was quickly seeping out and drenching his coat and duster. The pain grew worse as he stared at it so he ignored it and slowly got on his hooves. He looked at his opponent while panting through and ignoring the pain.
Black Stone stood there with his revolver aimed at him. A single, thin line of smoke trailed out off the barrel. Black Stone’s face was full of shock. “I... I missed? Just by a small margin... But how? I never missed before...”
“Cheater!” yelled a mare from the crowd.
“You dirty bastard!” screamed a drunk stallion from the saloon patio. “I hope you get shot in the head!”
The ponies of Appleloosa continued their angry, vocal jabs toward Black Stone. Clyde tried to put pressure on his left foreleg, but his shoulder was too weak to support him. He held his leg into the air and tried walking towards Black Stone. The crowd stopped their yelling and watched Clyde slowly walk on three legs towards Black Stone. The crowd’s silence made the walk to him feel like an eternity, but Clyde didn’t stop for anything. Pain was taking over his body slowly, but he ignored it because he knew he had to. After walking past Silverstar, Clyde stopped a few feet in front of Black Stone and carefully pulled out his revolver. With his right foreleg, Clyde aimed the gun between Black Stone’s emerald eyes.
“So about those last words?” asked Clyde weakly and with a laugh.
Clyde could feel Black Stone’s nervous eyes pierce his soul. “Do it already. I deserve to die if I couldn’t kill you with an extra second of time.”
Clyde smirked through a jolt of pain and sat on the ground. He opened the chamber of his gun and threw the bullet away. “I forfeit...”
“What?!” said Black Stone, Sheriff Silverstar, and the crowd in unison. Black Stone blinked multiple times.
“Forfeit? You can’t do that!”
“Why not?” asked Clyde weakly. “I’m a thief, not a killer.”
“I just shot you!” yelled Black Stone. “I deserve to die! That’s why you came after me, isn’t it? For vengeance and restoration of your pride as an outlaw?”
Clyde laughed as best as he could before falling backwards and collapsing to the ground. “To tell you the truth... I really wanted vengeance. My pride was damaged after that day at Dodge Junction. All I could think of was how much I had to stop you or get you back to make myself feel good about my skills again. However, it took me until today to understand that my pride is useless.”
“Why’s that?”
Clyde smiled. “Because when you find your true partner in life, it doesn’t matter what your pride means. She will always be more important to me than my own image. I’d rather be blinded by happiness than pride.”
Black Stone’s face fell silent. Clyde laid on his back, looking into the nearly dark sky as if he was looking into an endless void. As he began fearing if death was slowly surrounding him, soon, a lovely and upside down face that belonged to a unicorn looked down at him. She helped him sit up and softly kissed him.
“You did it!” she said in glee.
“I did make a promise,” said Clyde with a grunt. Rarity looked at his shoulder and frowned. “It’ll heal. We just have to get to a doctor is all.”
“Ponyville has one if you can wait that long. I sure hope you can hold on for a long period of time,” she said with a sly grin.
Clyde smiled at her. He wasn’t sure if she was either concerned, teasing him, or both. “I can wait,” he said, wanting to show her his toughness. She giggled and kissed him again.
“Gah!” yelled Black Stone suddenly. Clyde and Rarity looked over to him and saw that he was tied up in a lasso. Silverstar was standing over him with a smirk.
“We finally captured him!” yelled Silverstar. The ponies of Appleloosa cheered and some faint firecrackers were heard going off. “You may now turn in for the night. I’ll handle Black Stone.” The ponies gave one last hoorah before returning to the buildings. Some ponies that walked by Clyde gave him a smile, nod, or pat on his good shoulder. After a few minutes, the only ponies in the street were the four of them.
“It looks like this ends our feud, Clyde,” said Black Stone. He had a faint tone of sorrow in his voice. “Be careful out there.”
Clyde nodded. “I’m sorry it had to end this way.”
Black Stone grinned. “It’s fine. I’m glad I got caught by the best outlaw of Equestria.” Clyde felt a smile on his face, and he gave one last nod to his final opponent. Silverstar dragged him away by the rope into the small building beside the bank. After a few moments, he returned outside and walked towards Clyde and Rarity with a bag in his hoof.
“Here you are,” said Silverstar, tossing them the bag. “Black Stone is now locked up for a long time, all because of you.”
Rarity opened it up with her magic and her mouth dropped. She showed the contents to Clyde and all he could see was a myriad of gold bits. Clyde assumed the bag contained over a thousand of them.
“What’s this for?” asked Clyde. The pain in his arm was subsiding somewhat, but he had his other hoof covering the wound.
“That’s Black Stone’s bounty,” said Silverstar. “You earned it.”
Clyde looked at Rarity and shook his head. “I told you I’m not a bounty hunter. Keep your money.” Rarity closed up the bag and floated it over to Silverstar. She gave a simple and elegant nod in agreement.
Silverstar stroked his mustache and hummed. “I never seen anyone turn down that kind of money before, but I guess since you won’t take it, I’ll give it back to Stacks and the bank.” He looked down at the two and smiled. “Thank you both for helping the Law stop Black Stone.”
“Of course,” said Rarity with a smile. “While I had nothing to do with it, I know Clyde thinks I helped somehow.”
“You helped me,” laughed Clyde, “more than you know.” Rarity snuggled into his neck as she cooed in bliss.
“Anyway, I will return this back to the bank. Farewell, Bonnibelle and Clyde.” He tipped his hat and the duo watched him walk away.
Rarity looked at Clyde’s wound again and frowned. “Can I please put something around it so it won’t bother you until you get it checked out?”
“Like what?” asked Clyde.
Rarity quickly dug into her saddlebag and took out a torn piece of fabric from one of her dresses that got dirty from their travel. She wrapped it around the wound and tied it snugly. After some adjustments, she gently touched it.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not really. Let me stand up.”
“Be careful.”
Clyde, with some aid from Rarity, slowly stood up on three of his legs. He slowly put pressure on his injured shoulder and tried to take a small step. The pain was still present, but it only felt like a small sting. He jogged in place to see if the makeshift wrap could help support his wound. Seeing no faults other than the sharp stinging feeling, he felt as content as he could be with the wound.
“Ready to go home?” asked Clyde politely. He lifted his injured hoof into the air for Rarity to place hers on.
“That would be delightful, darling.”
The two of them walked down the main street of Appleloosa in silence. The only noises that could be heard were from inside the saloon, mostly from angry players of poker or another card game. As they neared the train station, a loud bang came from the Sheriff’s building and a dozen deputies ran out and through the town. Clyde and Rarity watched them charge past them and down the road towards a small town about a mile away. Suddenly, Sheriff Silverstar stopped in front of them, panting. “We just got word of a crazy mare in a nearby town! Care to help us capture her?”
Clyde shook his head. “I told you how many times now? I’m not a bounty hunter.” Rarity giggled and Silverstar shrugged. He wished them farewell again before charging after his deputies.
“I guess all the deputies are gone for the night,” said Rarity watching them fade in the blackness of the night.
“I guess so.” After a few more steps, Clyde stopped them from walking any further. A sudden thought occurred to him and he smirked.
“What is it?”
“Before I take you home, I think there’s time for one last robbery from me. That bounty money would help us out a lot for starting our new lives together.”
Rarity rolled her eyes before giving a small smile. “Just be quick and careful for once, please Clyde? We still need to take you to the doctor to patch up your shoulder before an infection starts and I need to start working on repairing your duster... again.”
Clyde kissed her softly. “Sure thing. I only need a minute.” He quickly ran back towards the bank. The pain in his shoulder lingered, but that couldn’t stop his last heist for his career as an outlaw. He needed that money.
After all, he had to take care of his gem.
