Looking For Trouble

by CoffeeMinion

Rating: teen
Tags: Equestria Girls, Sunset Shimmer, Troubleshoes, Derpy Hooves, Berry Punch, Alternate Universe, Mystery, Romance
Length: 12307

Ten years after the Friendship Games ended in disaster, Sunset Shimmer’s self-imposed vigil over Canterlot keeps its survivors relatively safe. But one day a stranger comes to town looking to unearth a secret that Sunset had buried in the past...

Ten years after the Friendship Games ended in disaster, Sunset Shimmer’s self-imposed vigil over Canterlot keeps its survivors relatively safe. But one day a stranger comes to town looking to unearth a secret that Sunset had buried in the past...

This story appeared in the June 2017 Writeoff, "Under the Sun." It had a rough debut on FimFiction but was fully revamped with assistance by Dubs Rewatcher, MisterNick, and Moosetasm. AU inspired by Oroboro's "Sunset's Rest." Cover by Novel-Idea (via these sources). Featured on Equestria Daily 09Nov.2017! :pinkiegasp:

Published 2017-06-30 20:50:07 UTC
Last updated 2017-10-23 00:33:15 UTC

Chapter 2: Looking For Trouble

I’ve been drifting most of these last ten years. Y’know, since what happened here at Canterlot High. Never actually figured I’d come down this way, considering what all I've heard about that big fight between the demon-girl who wanted to break the world, and the angel-girl who couldn’t quite stop her. They say there's still strange bursts of uncontrolled magic coming up out of this place. I guess I don’t know if that's true or not, but the world ended up goin' to Tartarus in a handbasket anyway. At least there’s no shortage of work for big fellas that look like they can throw some muscle around…

I don’t much care for hurting folks, though, and I’m also what you’d call a bit klutzy, so I don't tend to last too long on most people’s payroll. I’m sure I’d still be wandering if I hadn’t stumbled through those big couple of ramshackle towns up north callin’ themselves “The Crystal Empire.” Leader’s this gal named Abacus Cinch. Speaking personally, she gives me the heebie-jeebies, but her people pay good and they don’t do too wrong by ordinary folk. And let me tell ya, after some of what I’ve seen out in the desert, that ain’t bad at all. I got by doing odd jobs for a while, but when they posted up for deputies to help check out a new lead on an old case, and sure enough I volunteered.

Sheriff said that Cinch had a bunch of magically reactive scraps stolen by a fella named Blueblood a few years back. I guess it’s in lil’ pieces that most folks would mistake for silver nuggets, but it’s dangerous to handle, and could be real bad news in the wrong hands. Now I reckon I didn’t get the whole story about it, but after Blueblood up and disappeared with it, the Empire started checking silver coming in, real quiet-like. Guess they’d only ever seen a couple bits of it pop up, and it was with merchants who didn’t know what it was or who they’d got it from. But then about a month back, Sheriff busts a merchant for dealing in stolen goods, and he turns up all kinds of things—a bunch more nuggets, and a pocket watch with a compass rose etched on the side. The merchant swore he got it fair and square from folks down south, but the Sheriff recognized the watch as Blueblood’s, and he didn’t reckon Blueblood would’ve let it go willingly.

So that all’s why I had a lead-lined box in my satchel. The gun’s easier to explain: they had all the deputies take one. I swear I never wanted it, though; figured I’d be just as likely to end up shooting myself as anything if I ever tried to use it.

Just my luck, probably gonna end up getting shot with it after all.

I s’pose the other thing you’ll want to know about is Miss Ditzy, though. Now I’d just come in on the noon stage and dropped off a couple things at that hotel of yours, and was starting to poke around town a bit. You know, not real serious; just gettin’ the lay of the land and such. Without really trying, I found myself over by the tin shack y’all use as a schoolhouse ‘round the time kids were getting out. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but… well, then I saw her.

Now I don’t want to be ungentlemanly ‘bout how I talk about her, but you gotta understand, I ain’t the type to just go chasing after any woman who walks by. I’ve long since figured I was gonna run off anyone I got near, what with how much of a mess I tend to make of things. But from the moment I laid eyes on her, I could tell that she was different. And it wasn’t just her slight but toned figure, or her dress a few shades lighter than her grey skin, or the golden straw hat just about the color of her hair. It wasn’t even how she smiled and talked to the big buncha kids milling around her by the school. I think, if I’m bein’ honest, it was her eyes. I know y’all know what I mean, too: golden, warm, and Harmony bless ‘em if they could both stay pointed in the same direction for more’n two seconds at a time.

Reckon that I could’ve stood and stared at her forever, but then I saw her trip over a kid who’d bent down to tie their shoes, and she ended up spilling a whole big stack of books outta her arms. And I suppose that might’ve been the thing that got me to work up the courage to go over and talk to her.

“Need a hand, ma’am?” I asked her, and I offered mine.

The look she gave me was guarded at first, with her mouth in a cute lil’ “o” and her eyes all wide and pointed every which-way but straight at me. The kids all went silent, too; prolly didn’t think twice about having some stranger pass through town until I was right there talking to her. And she was sweating too, though that might’ve just been ’cuz it was hot as Tartarus that day.

But then she smiled. Let me tell you, even if y’all end up shooting me, coming here would almost still be worth it for that smile. It was small but welcoming, and it showed off her right pretty dimples. And then she stretched her hand up and put it in mine, and the warmth of that lil’ hand just made me even hotter under the collar than the day had already done. I met her eyes—more or less—and my heart started thumpin’, and I wanted that moment to last forever.

Then of course I lost my balance trying to pull her up and ended up falling flat on my face right next to her, which got a good laugh out of the school kids. I ‘spose the good news was I caught her full name of “Ditzy Doo” from one of ‘em. It’s pretty, though I reckon it’s about as inauspicious as my own.

But then I felt her hands on my sides, and she rolled me over on my back, and I tell ya, she was looking at me with her face a whole lot closer than I felt was appropriate.

“You okay, mister?” she asked.

And looking up at her, I couldn’t hardly think to put two words together, so I just said, “Yep.”

She said a few things after that, but for the life of me I can’t remember ‘em. I just remember watching like it was a movie as the kids helped her up, and helped her with her books, and they all ushered themselves off down the way, leaving me down on my butt on the cracked road.

Figured it was high time for a drink at that point. Good news was I didn’t have to look much farther than across the street to find a sign saying “Berry’s Booze.” Bad news was, I didn’t hardly make it in the door before the barkeep told me: “Best steer clear of the schoolteacher if you know what’s good for you, stranger.”

I looked across the empty barroom, blinked the sun out of my eyes, and saw her standing behind that right gorgeous mahogany bar full o’bottles. Biggest bunch of booze I’ve seen most anywhere in a long time. Pity that Miss Berry ain’t half as easy on the eyes, though. I mean, I ain’t in much of a position to judge, but she’s got just about the craggiest face I’ve ever seen on somebody so young. And, I reckon she’s only just my age, give or take, but that look in her eyes is like she’s seen some things. More’n most, is what I mean.

“I’m just looking for a drink,” I said.

“Like Tartarus you are,” she said, shaking her head. “That kind of stunt might work with her, but no one else is falling for it. Canterlot takes care of our own, and that goes double where she’s concerned.”

“Now I’ll beg your pardon, ma’am,” I said. “I lived in Appleoosa before the world went belly-up, and we always said good neighbors kept an eye out for each other. I don’t doubt that you’re just doin’ that for her, and I’m sure she’d appreciate it all the same. But I ain’t here looking to make trouble with your womenfolk. Like I said, I just could use a drink. Maybe… bourbon, if ya got one?”

“I got bourbon,” she said, turning and reaching for a higher shelf. But as she did that, I noticed that there was a lil’ tremor in her reaching-hand. Coulda been that she was tired or something, or it coulda been more like some heavy drinkers that I’ve known, who went through shakes and worse before they finally found the end of their last bottle.

Still though, that smoky glass of goodness looked inviting as she poured it, and all I could think about was how I needed something to get my mind off the way Miss Ditzy looked out in that sunshine.

But Miss Berry kept the glass close, and she asked me, “So what are you in town for, stranger?”

“I’m just looking for a man named Blueblood who might’ve passed through some time ago,” I said, not takin’ my eyes off that bourbon.

She got real quiet for a moment, then asked: “You a friend of his or something?”

That’s when I took out my badge and said: “No, ma’am. He’s a criminal. A silver-thief. And I’ve been sent to bring him in.”

For a while she just stood there, cradling the glass. Then she set it down and walked right up to me. “Like I just said, stranger, we take care of our own. That means we don’t hold with thugs who come through looking to make trouble, whether they’ve got badges or not.” And we locked eyes, and I could see up close that what I thought were wrinkles or what-have-you were actually scars. It’s a miracle that both her eyes seemed good considering how bad the rest of her face looked.

Which, of course, was stupid of me to stare at. She saw me looking and just brushed a finger over ‘em—her middle one, you understand—and said, “You oughtta see the other guy. Now if you want booze, I’ve got booze; but if you want to come through and upset things, you just might end up meeting Sunset. And trust me, friend, you don’t want Sunset getting interested in you.”

At that point I just tipped my hat and said, “Maybe I’ll pass on that drink after all, ma’am.”

Chapter 3: Out of the Shadows

Back out in the street, I felt a powerful urge to skip town right then and there. Miss Berry wasn’t exactly shy about her hints that there was more to find, but the way she looked and talked had put some fear in me that it’d be trouble. I suppose I might’ve ducked out if my payment wasn’t contingent on doing a proper job of looking. I’m sure you understand; a man’s gotta eat, especially one my size.

Well now, that’s about the time I spotted Miss Ditzy again, walking between what was left of some brick buildings down the next street over. Only this time she was just carrying one real little kid. And I knew—I just knew from looking at the way she held the little one, that it had to be her daughter. I mean, they had about the same hair color, and eye color, and a pretty similar bone structure, even if the daughter’s skin was a little more purple. And they both had that same warm smile that lit up their whole face.

Then they passed behind a rusted-out shed and I lost ‘em.

I chased around the corner and ended up following ‘em from a distance as they made their way through the swirling, smoky, loud and bustling tents on your market street. She and her daughter were doing their shopping for dinner by the looks of it, picking vegetables and meats and even a lil’ cheese into a couple sacks they’d brought with ‘em. And I’ll say this for Canterlot, y’all got a big variety of hawkers down your main drag, with some fancy fruits and such that I can’t remember seeing since… before.

And don’t get me wrong, I know the way that makes me sound, skulking around and following a nice woman like her from a distance. But try to understand that as a sheriff's deputy I gotta follow the hunches what come to me. And even if I didn’t find her pretty, the fact was that I’d just got into town and already had someone telling me not to follow her. If that ain’t some kinda lead, I don’t know what is.

The sun was getting low and the shadows had come thick before they finished shopping and headed down a side street. The crowd was thinner there, and I worried it’d be obvious that I was following ‘em. So I moved from building to building, keeping out of sight as best I could, and somehow managed not to trip over my own two feet in the process. I spotted a pretty intact two-story brick house farther down the way, and near as I could guess, that seemed like where they were heading for.

Of course my luck wouldn’t hold forever, though. At one point I ducked into a particularly dark alley, and judging by the lil’ hairs that stood up on the back of my neck, I had a sense that I wasn’t alone.

“Who’s there?” I called.

I spotted movement at the back of the alley. It was powerful dark back there, though, so I didn’t expect a woman to call back to me: “I don’t give out many warnings, stranger, so you listen close: leave Ditzy Doo and Berry alone. Consider leaving town too, if you know what’s good for you.”

Now no one ever accused me of knowing that, so I called back: “With all due respect, ma’am, I reckon I’ll be keeping to my business, and I’ll ask you keep to yours. Unless o’course you know something about a man named Blueblood who might’ve come down from the Empire a bit ago…”

She tensed. It was subtle, but I could see her stance shift forward. “I gave you your warning,” she said. “Those two have been through enough. We all have.”

I squinted, but I couldn’t make out many details. “Fair enough,” I said; “Miss Berry told me about the same. But I ain’t here to make trouble, I just wanna find my man. If you can help me, great; if not, I’m liable to be on my way soon as I finish looking.”

The woman shook her head, then said: “Don’t give anyone a reason to get rid of you sooner.” Then she turned away, stepped back into the shadows, and I lost her.

“Well that wasn’t the least bit suspicious,” I said to myself. And really, it was at that point that I decided I had to talk to Miss Ditzy again, if only to see why Miss Berry and the woman in the shadows didn’t want me to. Didn’t know if it had anything to do with Blueblood; just seemed worthwhile since I got that much resistance.

I snuck off and camped out in a different alley until nightfall, then snuck back toward the house I thought Miss Ditzy had been heading for. At that point the whole house was dark except for a lone candle in the upstairs window.

I shoulda thought of something smarter than trying to bounce a stone off that window to get her attention, because… well, given my luck, what I did was put that stone through the window. The sounds of shattering glass got half the dogs in that part of town to start barking. Then she slid the window up and stood gazing out with a pinched look on her face.

I figured I was done for, so I cleared my throat and stepped out into view. “I’m right sorry ‘bout the window, ma’am,” I said. “I got more’n enough bits on me to make that right for you.”

She squinted hard and leaned out further, then gave me a little smile as her eyes pointed somewhere in my direction. “Oh, it’s you,” she said. “Mister…?”

“Clyde,” I said, and my heart started pounding again. “Troubleshoes Clyde.” I’ll confess I gave an extra flourish with my hat, too.

Her smile didn’t change much, but her shoulders relaxed. “Well, what can I do for you tonight, Troubleshoes Clyde?”

I glanced around me, feeling a crawling itch down my spine from blowing my cover like I had. Heck, for all I knew, that woman from the shadows was still watching. So I looked up at Miss Ditzy Doo and said, “Truth be told, ma’am, if it ain’t too forward, would you mind if we discussed it away from prying eyes?”

“Sure!” she said, a good bit more brightly than I’d expected. And I mean, nothing against her judgment, but I’d never really figured that a pretty woman like her would give me the time o’day, much less letting me—a total stranger—into her house. I guess maybe in some ways I’d wanted to ask her just so she could shoot me down. Y’know, so I could be sure my luck was going back to normal.

Some luck, though, ending up the way it’s done…

Chapter 4: Voices From the Past

Miss Ditzy and I sat down at her dining room table. It was wood, and circle-shaped, and she’d set a single candle in a saucer in the middle of it. Darn thing guttered pretty badly in the drafts that blew through. The light looked real pretty on her hair and eyes, though. And on her smile.

“So, what brings you by the old place?” she asked.

I bit my lip and watched the light play across her golden eyes a bit longer than I probably should’ve. After a while she gave a musical little laugh, and all at once I felt like I could wait forever to say anything if only she’d continue.

“Cat got your tongue?” she asked, winking.

“Powerful sorry, ma’am,” I said, shaking myself. “Seems like all the words I wanted to say just turned into a ten car pileup in my head.”

She giggled. “I don’t think we’ve had ten working cars in Canterlot since…” Her smile faltered. “Sorry. Sometimes it still doesn’t seem real, even though I was right there when it all happened.”

I raised my eyebrows, and I asked, “You were?”

And she nodded, saying: “It was during a school event called ‘The Friendship Games.’ It was just supposed to be a fun time for us. We’d seen a little bit of magic earlier that school year, but we never knew what it really could do. What someone was planning to do. If it wasn’t for Sunset, I can’t imagine how much worse things might’ve been.”

I nodded, then scratched my chin. “So this Sunset played a role in stopping the demon-girl I’ve heard about? I mean, was there even a demon-girl, or an angel?”

I remember her nodding. Then she said: “Yeah, Sunset is our angel. Was, at least. She saved me and some others who were close to the fight.”

“Well I’ll be darned,” I said. “I ‘spose it’s for the best that she saved a teacher, then; reckon there are lots of places that could use a good one.”

She shook her head. “No, I was a student back then. Berry’s older sister, Miss Cheerilee, was our teacher for a long time, until…” And Miss Ditzy trailed off, frowning, and it was a few moments before she spoke again. “After she died, Canterlot needed a teacher. And after I had Dinky, I needed a job. And the one bright spot in everything that happened around that time was finding out how much I love kids!”

And she gave me a lil’ smile, and I nodded some more, and I felt like we was really starting to make a connection, so I went for broke: “Well, to give you the whole story, I’m just in town looking for a man who might’ve been through here some time back. Fella had a strong build, white skin, blond hair, square jaw, and a compass rose tattoo.”

Now, as Harmony is my witness, she started shaking right then and there. I stopped talking in a hurry, then leaned close to her and put a hand on her arm and asked if she was all right. “No,” she said, pulling away. “I don’t know what happened to… that man. I’m sorry.” And she said it with a little pause in there and everything.

That little pause spoke volumes for me.

“Look,” I said, “the truth is that I've been told not to talk to you. I don’t rightly know why, but given that there might be someone dangerous involved, I gotta take everything suspicious into account. And folks telling me I absolutely ought not talk to you after finding out who I’m looking for is powerful suspicious, when you couple it with how you seem to feel about Mr. Blueblood…”

She stood up, making her chair squeak against the wood floor. Then she turned away from me, still shaking. “I’ll thank you to go now, Mr. Clyde,” she said.

And truthfully, under the circumstances, what else could I do? I tipped my hat, left her a few bits for the window, and made my way outside. I was pretty flustered, though. I felt as though I’d done wrong by a good woman, and done my usual job of ruining my prospects with a pretty woman. And worst of all, I didn’t feel my hunch had brought me any closer to Blueblood, or to what he stole.

It took me a good ten or fifteen minutes of wandering and feeling sorry for myself before I realized that I had learned one thing: Miss Berry had had a sister, who was now deceased. And as I got to thinking about it, Miss Ditzy Doo and Berry had both reacted to Blueblood’s name. I got to wondering if Miss Berry’s scars might be a link between the whole thing… like maybe Blueblood did some right ungentlemanly things to Miss Ditzy and Miss Cheerilee, and Miss Berry got hurt trying to put a stop to ‘em.

But then there was what Miss Berry had said about Sunset. I’ll tell ya, it changed my whole conception of Canterlot to realize that the angel-girl who tried to save the world was still hanging around, trying to keep her town orderly. But if there was one thing I could tell about Blueblood, it’s that he wasn’t gonna mix too well with “orderly.” Figured he and Sunset would’ve had words with each other, if he passed through. And that got me wondering where she might hang out. Figured maybe if she stuck around out of a sense of guilt, or duty, or what have you… she’d be in the middle of it. The place where it all began.

Canterlot High.

Now findin’ it was easy enough, since every passerby knew just where it was. Though with all due respect, after I made my way over there, it struck me that the place is less to look at than I’d expected. For somewhere that a demon fought an angel and magic’s still supposed to run wild, I wouldn’t figure it would just look like any other broken-down ol’ building with a big, sandy crater on one end. I’ll at least say someone’s put some effort into building that nice ranch house next to the ruins, though.

The little house’s curtains were closed, but its lights were on. And of course, one real nice thing about ranch houses is that there’s only the single floor, so it’s not too hard even for a klutz like me to get right up next to a window and just listen. The insulation must’ve been pretty good though, all things considered, ‘cause I still couldn’t hear much more than hints of voices. I heard one of a woman that I didn’t recognize straight off. But then imagine my surprise when I heard another that I did recognize—and it was Berry’s!

I figured we had to be in the middle of her watering hole’s peak nighttime hours, and it’d be costing her an arm and a leg for every minute she was closed. Didn’t she care about the money? Or maybe with the booze stockpile she’s got, she’d be just fine making everybody wait a night to get their fix?

I didn’t have much time to think about it, because just then, I heard something that made the hair on my arms stand right up on end. Suddenly there was a third voice, this one male.

I wanted to look. I didn’t dare, though, with three people in there who might well peek back. So I just strained hard listening for details while they talked. It struck me as odd that the women never talked around the same time as the man, though it seemed like everyone got to have their say. I heard a couple things that sounded like landmarks, and I heard the word “grave” come up more’n a couple times. I didn’t want to push my luck, though, so I made sure that I was good and hidden ‘round the back side of the house once it sounded like the conversation was winding down.

I held my breath as I heard the front door click and footsteps crunch out on the little gravel path to the house. I did at least risk peeking my head around and taking a gander. I half wondered—more’n half hoped—that it’d be the man I’d heard. But just my luck, it was Miss Berry. She didn’t look too pleased, what with her hands stuffed in her pockets and her marching off with great big steps. But she was going, and that left me with one less person I might have to deal with in the house.

I listened for a while longer, wondering just what the other woman and the man might get up to. You understand… I just mean as two persons of interest. But there was nothing; just stone cold silence. I waited out there ‘til I couldn’t wait no more, then took a breath and gave a really quick look through the window. I made out a woman sitting at a table with a bottle and a shot glass in front of her. I squinted, trying to make out any details about her, but all I could make out was long hair with some decent volume, and shoulders that looked padded, like maybe she was wearing a leather jacket or something. There was no sign of the man, though.

It was getting pretty late by that point. I figured that whoever else was left inside the house, they’d been there, right in town. And unless they felt the urge to bolt yet in the middle of the night, I reckoned I might do a better job of sleuthin’ with a bit of sleep…

Chapter 5: End of the Line

I ended up plenty stiff the next morning, what with my hotel’s rather humble accommodations. I counted myself lucky that they offered any kinda breakfast at all, much less one that seemed worth eating. Figured I could sit a spell and ponder what to do with what I’d learned the night before.

Didn’t reckon that I’d bump into Miss Ditzy on my way out.

I noticed that her mouth was pulled into a tight lil’ frown and her eyes looked misty, so I asked, “Is something wrong, ma’am?” Then I cocked my head and asked, “I reckon that you must be missing school by now, aren’t you?”

“Not yet,” she said. “I need to get there soon. But I wanted to come find you, if I could. To apologize for how I clammed-up last night.”

“That’s all right,” I said. “I understand some things ain’t easy to talk about.”

Then she got real quiet and looked around before leaning close. “I did know… that man. Better than I wish I had.”

“Well hot diggity,” I said under my breath. “Do you know if he’s around?”

“I don’t think so,” she said, though she looked real nervous saying it. “I haven’t seen him in a couple years.”

So then I asked, “You wouldn’t happen to know how his pocketwatch might’ve just recently ended up with some merchant, would you?”

She nodded. “It was all he left me with. Well, almost all. Much as I… I hated him afterward, I couldn’t bear getting rid of it. Probably never would’ve, but I came up short a couple months ago when Dinky needed medicine.”

I nodded real slow, ’cause it was all starting to make sense. Then I said: “Last night I might’ve dug up a lead on someplace where he’s been, though I could sure use a hand making sense o’ the specifics.”

And she just looked up into my eyes, and hers got all big and teary, and she asked one question: “What are you going to do if you find him?”

I swallowed hard. Truth be told, I definitely should’ve gone back and reported things by that point. But I know that sometimes, out here in the desert, doing the right thing ain’t always the same as doing what you’re supposed to do. So I went for broke again: “I’m gonna bring him in for what he’s done, ma’am.”

And she nodded, and smiled, and said: “I’ll get someone to watch Dinky after school. Meet me where we ran into each other yesterday?”

I tipped my hat and smiled, and turned, and only just managed to not walk facefirst into a doorframe. I don’t think she noticed, though, or if she did she didn’t seem to care. But then I didn’t either, because we had a date. A date! Sure, a date to go and track down someone who had hurt her bad and left her with a child, but I wasn’t going to argue. Heck, I thought it just might even be a sign my luck was set to turn around.

That there was a nice idea, anyway.

Well, sure enough we met up and got talking ‘bout the landmarks I’d picked up the night before. Didn't mean much to me, but Miss Ditzy said she reckoned that they pointed to a broken-down old culvert that ran ‘round the back of Canterlot High. Said that it was empty and closed down for safety reasons last she’d heard, though, and she didn’t figure anyone would have a reason to go down in there no more.

Now that of course raised every kind of red flag you can think of for me. I know if I was on the lam, that’s just the sorta place I might try hiding out in, safety or not. And I knew just then that I would have to check it out.

I couldn’t get Miss Ditzy to stay behind. I made her promise to wait by the entrance, at least. Almost wish I hadn’t, though; I was just a couple hundred feet down the path through that dank hellhole and fightin’ an untimely flashlight malfunction, when I heard her scream from back outside. My heart leapt up into my throat, and I called to her, and I turned right back and bolted for the entrance. But then, just addin’ injury to insult, someone jumped me from the shadows. I managed to get out my gun and fire once, but then I got clocked pretty good.

Well then… I reckon that's just about everything I know. Except…

Look… I… I think you have Miss Ditzy. Now I don’t want anything I’ve done here to bring her more harm than she’s already been through. She’s beautiful, and way too trusting. I get that now. Please, whatever you do to me… just promise me you’ll let her go.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to make it outta here in one piece, too. But by now you oughtta know what kinda man I am, and what I came to do, and I reckon that might leave you with a choice to make. Now I don’t know for sure if Blueblood’s down there in that culvert, or even if you’re trying to protect him or something. All I’ve got is just a hunch: you’re Sunset aren’t you?

You were the woman who approached me in the alley, weren't you? And the one who drank alone back at the house?

Well ma’am, if you'll forgive my saying so, I wouldn’t reckon you quite look the part of Canterlot’s guardian angel… t-though looks can be deceivin’, and I sure understand—please put down that knife! I—

*click*

Author's Note

One more to go... :twilightsmile:

Chapter 6: Sunset Over Canterlot

Berry flinched at the loud *click* of the tape player’s stop button. She shifted in the ropes keeping her tied to a chair, then looked up at Sunset, chuckling darkly.

Sunset tensed. “Is something funny?”

“Yeah, the irony of Troubleshoes calling you an angel just before you killed him.”

No answer came from Sunset. Berry shook her head. “It's just like with Blueblood all over again: you can't bear the guilt of how badly you failed the whole world, much less the people around you. You think that making yourself listen to the reasons why Troubleshoes wouldn't stop coming after the fragments is going to wash away the blood you spilled to keep them secret.”

Sunset inhaled sharply. “He wouldn't have come here at all if you hadn't dug them up and started selling them! And for what, Berry? More booze? Better booze? A bigger wet-bar? Was that worth risking all of Canterlot for?!”

“Why don’t you ask Cheerilee about risk,” Berry spat. “Or Ditzy, for that matter! You risked every person in this town when you hired that smooth-talking scumbag to do your dirty work with Cinch. And after that you waited way too long to do what needed to be done about him.”

A long silence fell. Sunset looked away. “I… I know, Berry. I’ve failed this town in more ways than I can keep track of. But somebody has to keep fighting for these people. And none of us really know what Cinch was up to with those fragments of Twilight’s device. I mean, this is the person who helped put Twilight up to what she did back at the games—the woman who helped instigate the destruction of our world! And you decided it was okay to just put that stuff back out there for anyone to find and use?”

Berry leaned forward in her bonds. “I’ve got a sister to mourn, and a habit to feed. I don’t have to answer to you about those.”

Sunset shook her head. “I’m sorry for your pain, but I will not apologize for doing what I think is best for Canterlot. And I will continue to do what I must.”

“And does that mean offing me too?”

They met eyes. Sunset took a deep breath. “I’ve spent the last day scouring the culvert, going through your things, dealing with Troubleshoes, and even talking to Ditzy… but the only other fragments that I found were still buried where we left them, with prince charming. And there are only half as many now as we started with, Berry. So I’ve got one question, and I hope you’ll tell the truth: did you hide any others, or was everything that’s missing now, sold?”

Berry’s jaw clenched. “…Yes. I sold them,” she muttered.

“All right, then. I suppose that getting them back is out of the question.” Sunset shook her head. “I guess we’re done here.” Sunset reached into a pocket and produced a six-inch folding knife. She opened it, and Berry’s breath quickened as Sunset moved closer, leading with the blade.

“I’ve always hated you,” Berry whispered, looking away.

Sunset hesitated, then reached down with the knife and sawed through the top rope holding Berry in place. That done, she put the knife back in her pocket.

“I don't hate you, Berry. But if you're hurting so much on the inside that you end up doing crazy things, then I need you to stop burying that pain so deep that no one else can see it or help you with it. If you can do that, then as far as I'm concerned, you've got a place here.” She turned and started heading for the door. “If not, you’ll have to find peace somewhere else.”

Berry wriggled against her loosening bonds. “Wait! Sunset, where are you going?”

“To see something important,” Sunset called back.

Rays from the descending sun slanted through the shattered frame of Canterlot High’s central building. Sunset picked her way through the once bright and bustling main hall—now full of rubble—and out onto the ruined stairs. A figure sat waiting at the bottom of them, near the blasted remnants of the once-great statue of the school’s equine mascot, and with a shovel by his side. He turned his head as she approached, then reached up and tipped his hat to her.

“Evenin’, ma’am. I take it that you put things right with Miss Berry?”

Sunset shook her head. “I lost the right to tell her what to do when I let Blueblood come to town. I hope she'll come around, though; I’ll need everyone I can get if word ever does get back to Cinch. At least the new hole and the lead-lined box should keep her from finding the fragments themselves, if it comes to that.” She paused, frowning. “Thank you for digging that. I'm… still sorry that Berry jumped you down in the culvert. And that I had to give you the third degree.”

“Well, I reckon it ain't so bad, really. I’ll keep mum, like I promised; I don’t much trust Cinch herself anyway. And for what it’s worth, it feels good knowing that I would’ve found what’s left of Mr. Blueblood down there if it wasn’t for Miss Berry.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “And I reckon that I’m glad you were tailing Miss Ditzy and me, too.”

“I only wish I’d done that when Blueblood was still here,” Sunset said quietly. “Or maybe Berry’s right, and I—”

Troubleshoes stood up and cleared his throat. “Well ma’am, I hate to duck out in the middle of a good soul-searchin’, but speaking of Miss Ditzy… beggin’ your leave?”

“Go on,” Sunset said, smiling.

Troubleshoes set out across the open space between the wreckage of the school, and the town that had been born again from scrap and struggle. There, approaching from the town, was Ditzy, carrying her daughter in her arms. Sunset smiled as she watched both Ditzy’s and Troubleshoes’ pace quicken. Her smile deepened when at last they met, and Troubleshoes scooped both mother and daughter up into a giant hug.

Sunset watched long enough to see them turn and head back toward the city together. Then she gazed up toward the setting sun, squinting and shielding her eyes as she studied the patterns of red and gold light cast upon the sky, the desert, and the few small clouds.

“And that’s why my town’s still worth fighting for,” Sunset whispered to herself.

Bonus Chapter: Original FimFiction Version

Bonus Chapter: Original FimFiction Version

SPOILER ALERT!

The author's note below contains the complete original FimFiction version of this story. I've preserved it for the sake of the comments, but the updated version improves on it in a number of ways. Reading this early will spoil portions of the updated version!

Author's Note

Looking for Trouble: A Postapocalyptic Cowboy Noir

"Postapocalyptic Cowboy Noir" coined by Xepher

Now I can understand y’all might be upset about some busybody poking their nose where it don’t belong, ma’am. But I’d be powerful obliged if you’d just put my gun down and let me tell my side of the story before you pass judgment over what I’ve done.

Name’s Troubleshoes Clyde. Yep, hand to Harmony, that’s m’name. Never liked it much, but I reckon it does suit me. I ain’t never been the luckiest fellow around the North Amareican desert. Suppose that’s plenty clear by now, what with these ropes and everything.

Yeah, I get around a fair bit. Turns out there's no shortage of work for ugly-looking dudes who look like they can throw some muscle around. ’Course, I don't actually care much for hurting folks unless there's a good reason. I’m also what you might call a bit klutzy, and between those two things I don't tend to last too long on anybody’s payroll.

Still, I never figured I’d end up in Canterlot. I’ve heard stories about what happened here ten years back, with that fight between the demon-girl who wanted to break the world, and the angel-girl who couldn’t quite stop her. I’ve also heard rumors of weird uncontrolled magic still coming up outta what’s left of Canterlot High. Given my luck, I always figured it’d end badly if I didn’t steer clear.

I mean, what we got here obviously ain’t a case of me following my own advice.

I wouldn’t have come here at all if it wasn’t for the Empire. You’ve heard of those big ramshackle towns up north calling themselves a “Crystal Empire,” right? Leader’s this woman named Abacus Cinch. Speaking personally, she gives me the heebie-jeebies, but her people pay good and they don’t do too wrong by ordinary folk. After some of what I’ve seen out there, that was good enough to get me to stop drifting and see if I could lend a hand. So when the sheriff's office posted up that they was looking for some deputies to help check a few nearby towns for a new lead on an old case, sure enough I volunteered.

Now don’t worry, I’ll tell everything I know about it. Sheriff said he busted some merchant for dealing in stolen goods, and one thing he had was a pocket watch with a compass rose etched on the side. The merchant swore he bought it off somebody down south fair and square, though the sheriff recognized it as belonging to a fella named Blueblood who broke out of the Empire’s jail a couple years back, and he didn't reckon Blueblood would’ve let it go willingly. Blueblood sounded pretty tough; they told me and the other deputies to send word back on the off-chance we found anything, and warned us about facing him one-on-one. Which… again, I ain’t much of a fighter. They made me take that gun, but I figured I’d be just as likely to end up shooting myself as anything if I ever tried to use it.

Just my luck, probably gonna end up getting shot with it anyway.

I s’pose the other thing you’ll want to know about is her, though.

The first time I saw her was just after I got into town. She was slight but toned, and had a dress that was a few shades lighter than her grey skin, with a golden straw hat just about the color of her hair. Buncha kids were milling around her by the tin shack y’all use as a schoolhouse, and I remember thinking that with the way she smiled and talked to ‘em she had to be the prettiest creature I’d laid eyes on since the world went belly-up. And speaking of which, I can’t forget those eyes. I know y’all know what I mean: golden, warm, and Harmony bless ‘em if they could both stay pointed in the same direction for more’n two seconds at a time.

Now I don’t want to be ungentlemanly ‘bout how I talk about her, but you gotta understand, I ain’t the type to just go chasing after any woman who walks by. I’ve long since figured I was gonna run off any woman I got near, what with how much of a mess I tend to make of things. But from the moment I laid eyes on her, I could tell that she was different. And it wasn’t just because I saw her trip over a kid who’d bent down to tie their shoes and end up spilling a whole big stack of books outta her arms, though I reckon that might’ve been the thing that got me to work up the courage to go talk to her.

“Need a hand, ma’am?” I asked her, and I offered mine.

The look she gave me was guarded at first, with her mouth in a cute lil’ “o” and her eyes all wide and pointed every which-way but straight at me. The kids all went silent, too; prolly didn’t think twice about having some stranger pass through town until I was right there talking to her. And she was sweating too, though that might’ve just been ’cuz it was hot as Tartarus that day.

But then she smiled. Let me tell you, even if y’all end up shooting me, coming here would almost still be worth it for that smile. It was small but welcoming, and it showed off her right pretty dimples. And then she stretched her hand up and put it in mine, and the warmth of that lil’ hand just made me even hotter under the collar than the day had already done. I met her eyes—more or less—and my heart started thumpin’, and I wanted that moment to last forever.

Then of course I lost my balance trying to pull her up and ended up falling flat on my face right next to her, which got a good laugh out of the school kids. I ‘spose the good news was I caught her name from one of ‘em: ”Miss Ditzy Doo.” It’s pretty, though I reckon it’s about as inauspicious as my own.

But then I felt her hands on my sides, and she rolled me over on my back, and I tell ya, she was looking at me with her face a whole lot closer to mine than I felt was appropriate.

“You okay, mister?” she asked.

And looking up at her, I couldn’t hardly think to put two words together, so I just said, “Yep.”

She said a few things after that, but for the life of me I can’t remember ‘em. I just remember watching like it was a movie as the kids helped her up, and helped her with her books, and they all ushered themselves off down the way, leaving me down on my butt on the cracked road.

Figured it was high time for a drink at that point.

“Best steer clear of the schoolteacher if you know what’s good for you,” was the first words I heard walking into the bar a couple streets over. “Berryshine’s Booze,” the sign above the door said.

I looked across the empty barroom, blinked out the sun in my eyes, and caught sight of a woman sitting on a stool cleaning a glass. She had pink-purple skin, darker-pink hair, and just about the craggiest face I’ve ever seen on somebody so young. I mean, I reckon she’s only just my age or yours, but she looked as though she’s seen some things. More’n most, is what I mean.

“I’m just here to have a drink,” I said, trying to keep my tone even.

“You don’t know what you’re dealing with, stranger,” she said. And I mean, in retrospect, there obviously was something to her words. But at the time I didn’t know, and she just looked at me like I was an idiot and shook her head. “Yeah,” she said, “I heard about your little stunt back there. Word gets around fast, especially where Ditzy’s concerned.”

I furrowed my brow. “Now I’ll beg your pardon, ma’am,” I said, “I’m just here looking for a man named Blueblood who might’ve passed through some time ago. Seems like Canterlot here gets a fair few visitors; do you suppose…”

And she just cuts me off, sayin’: “No way, stranger. This here’s Sunset’s town. You want booze, I got booze. You want to talk, you talk to Sunset. But I’ll give you a little friendly advice: she doesn’t hold with thugs who come through looking to make trouble, or to stir up the past. And with Ditzy, that goes double.”

Now we’ve established that I ain’t the sharpest tool in the box, right? So I blurt out: “Who’s this Sunset, and why would she take such an interest in Miss Ditzy?”

Which, of course, was stupid to ask somebody who clearly didn't want to talk about it. Faster than I realize, the barkeep’s right up in my face, and she points a big ol’ finger at my eye. “Sunset runs the show. The rest of it’s none of your business. You just leave the past where it belongs.” And we locked eyes, and I could see up close that what I thought were wrinkles or what-have-you were actually scars. It’s a miracle that both her eyes seemed good considering how bad the rest of her face looked.

I cleared my throat and said, “Maybe I’ll pass on that drink after all, ma’am.” Then I tipped my hat and made myself scarce.

I should’ve skipped town right then and there. I mean, I figured from the way Miss Berryshine looked and talked to me that she might know something, but I got a sense that it’d be like pulling teeth digging it out of her. I suppose I didn’t turn tail because I wasn’t gonna get paid unless I did a proper job of looking. Not that that was my main reason for doing it, but I’m sure you understand… a man’s gotta eat, and the job still didn’t look too big. All the sheriff said he really cared was if I found some sign of Blueblood, either living or dead.

Sorry though, I’m getting ahead of myself there.

So I was standing in the road thinking about what I wanted to do, when I spotted Miss Ditzy Doo again, walking between what was left of some brick buildings down the next street over. Only that time she was just carrying one real little kid. And I knew—I just knew from looking at the way she held that little one, that she had to be her daughter. I mean, they had about the same hair color, and eye color, and a pretty similar bone structure, even if the daughter’s skin was a little more purple. And they both had that same warm smile that lit up their whole face.

Then they passed behind a rusted-out shed and I lost ‘em.

I chased around the corner and ended up following ‘em from a distance as they made their way through the swirling, smoky, loud and bustling tents on your market street. She and her daughter were doing their shopping for dinner by the looks of it, picking vegetables and meats and even a lil’ cheese into a couple sacks they’d brought with ‘em. And I’ll say this for Canterlot, y’all got a big variety of hawkers down your main drag, with some fancy fruits and such that I can’t remember seeing since… before.

And don’t get me wrong, I know the way that makes me sound, skulking around and following a nice woman like her from a distance. But try to understand that as a sheriff's deputy I gotta follow the hunches what come to me. And even if I didn’t find her pretty, the fact was that I hadn’t even been in town a day and I’d already had someone telling me not to do somethin’. If that ain’t some kinda lead, I don’t know what is.

The sun was getting low and the shadows had come thick before they finished up in the market and started heading down a side street toward what I figured must be their house. The crowd was getting thinner too, and I started worrying that it would be more obvious that I was following ‘em. I moved from building to building, keeping out of sight as best I could, somehow managing to not trip over my own two feet in the process.

Of course my luck wouldn’t hold forever, though. At one point I ducked into one particularly dark alley, and judging by the lil’ hairs that stood up on the back of my neck, I had a sense that I wasn’t alone.

“Who’s there?” I called out.

I spotted movement at the back of the alley. It was powerful dark back there, though, so I didn’t expect a woman to call back to me: “This is the only warning you’ll get, stranger: leave Ditzy Doo and Berryshine alone. Consider leaving town too, if you know what’s good for you.”

Now no one ever accused me of knowing that, so I called back: “With all due respect, ma’am, I reckon I’ll be keeping to my business, and I’ll ask you keep to yours. Unless o’course you know something about a man named Blueblood who might’ve come down from the Empire a bit ago…”

She tensed. It was subtle, but I could see her stance shift forward. “I gave you your warning,” she said. “Those two have been through enough. We all have.”

I squinted, trying to make out any details about her. All I could make out was long hair with some decent volume, and shoulders that looked padded, like maybe she was wearing a leather jacket or something. “Now I reckon I ain’t exactly been getting a warm reception to your lovely little town here,” I said. “That’s fair enough. But I ain’t here to make trouble; I just wanna find my man. If you can help me, great; if not, I’m liable to be on my way sooner than later, once I finish looking.”

The woman shook her head. “Don’t give anyone a reason to get rid of you sooner,” she said. Then she turned away, stepped back into the shadows, and I lost her.

“Well that wasn’t the least bit suspicious,” I said to myself.

I definitely shouldn’t have thrown a stone up at Miss Ditzy’s window once night fell and she’d put out all her candles but a single one upstairs. I mean, I figured she’d be finished putting her daughter to bed, but I couldn’t be sure from my vantage in a burned-out building near her pretty intact two-story brick house. With my luck, I coulda just as easily roused her while her daughter had come in for a bedtime story.

But of course, given my luck, what really happened was I put that stone right through her window. The sounds of shattering glass got half the dogs in that part of town to start barking. Then she slid the window up and stood gazing out with a pinched look on her face.

I figured I was done for, so I cleared my throat and stepped out into view. “I’m right sorry ‘bout the window, ma’am,” I said. “I got more’n enough bits on me to make that right for you.”

She squinted hard and leaned out further from the window, then gave me a little smile and leaned back as her eyes pointed somewhere in my direction. “Oh, it’s you,” she said. “Mister…?”

“Clyde,” I said, and my heart started pounding again. “Troubleshoes Clyde.” I’ll confess I gave an extra flourish with my hat, too.

Her smile didn’t change much, but her shoulders relaxed. “Well, what can I do for you tonight, Troubleshoes Clyde?”

I glanced around me, feeling a crawling itch down my spine from blowing my cover like I had. Heck, for all I knew, that woman from the shadows could’ve been watching me. So I looked up at Miss Ditzy Doo and said, “Truth be told, ma’am… if it ain’t too forward, would you mind if we discussed it away from prying eyes?”

“Sure!” she said, a good bit more brightly than I’d expected. And I mean, nothing against her judgment, but I’d never really figured that a pretty woman like her would give me the time o’day, much less letting me—a total stranger—into her house. I guess maybe in some ways I’d wanted to ask her just so she could shoot me down. Y’know, so I could be sure my luck was going back to normal.

Some luck, though, ending up the way it’s done.

We sat at her dining room table. It was wood, and circle-shaped, and she’d set a single candle in a saucer in the middle of it. Darn thing guttered pretty badly in the drafts that blew through Miss Ditzy’s old house. The light looked real pretty on her hair and eyes, though. And on that smile.

“So, what brings you by the old place?” she asked.

I bit my lip and watched the light play across her golden eyes a bit longer than I probably should’ve. After a while she gave a musical little laugh, and all at once I felt like I could wait forever to say anything if only she’d continue.

“Cat got your tongue?” she asked, winking.

“Powerful sorry, ma’am,” I said, shaking myself. “Seems like all the words I wanted to say just turned into a ten car pileup in my head.”

She giggled. “I don’t think we’ve had ten working cars in Canterlot these last few years.” Her smile faltered. “Sorry. Sometimes it still doesn’t seem real, even though I was right there when it all happened.”

I raised my eyebrows, and I asked, “You were?”

And she nodded, saying: “It was during a school event called ‘The Friendship Games,’ which was just supposed to be a fun time for us. We’d seen a little bit of magic earlier that school year, but we never knew what it really could do. What someone was planning to do. If it wasn’t for Sunset, I can’t imagine how much worse things might’ve been.”

I nodded, then scratched my chin. “So this Sunset… played a role in stopping the demon-girl I’ve heard about? I mean, was there even a demon-girl, or an angel?”

I remember her nodding. Then she said, “Yeah, Sunset was the angel. For a little while. Long enough to save me and some others who were close to the fight.”

“Well I’ll be darned,” I said. “I ‘spose it’s for the best that she saved a teacher, then; reckon there are lots of places that could use a good one like you.”

She shook her head at that one. “No, I was a student back then. Berryshine’s older sister, Miss Cheerilee, was our teacher for a long time, until…” And Miss Ditzy trailed off, frowning, and it was a few moments before she spoke again. “After… she died, Canterlot needed a teacher. And after I had Dinky, I needed a job. And if there was one bright spot in everything that happened around the time I had her, it was finding out how much I love kids!”

And she gave me a lil’ smile, and I nodded some more, and I felt like we was really starting to make a connection, so I went for broke: “Well, to give you the whole story, I’m just in town looking for a man who might’ve been through here some time back. I’ll be honest, I don’t have a lot to go on about him.” I paused, ‘cuz I wanted to give her a chance to speak if she wanted; but she didn’t, so I kept going. “Fella had a strong build, white skin, blond hair, square jaw, and a compass rose tattoo right on…”

And as Harmony is my witness, she started shaking right then and there. I stopped talking in a hurry, then leaned close to her and put a hand on her arm and asked if she was all right. “No,” she said, pulling her arm away. “I don’t know what happened to… that man. I’m sorry.” And she said it with a little pause in there and everything.

That little pause spoke volumes for me.

“Now look,” I said, “the truth is that I been told not to talk to you. I don’t rightly know why, but given that there might be someone dangerous involved, I gotta take everything suspicious into account. And folks telling me I absolutely ought not talk to you after finding out who I’m looking for is powerful suspicious, when you couple it with how you seem to feel about Mr. Blueblood…”

She stood up, making her chair squeak against the wood floor. Then she turned away from me, still shaking. “I’ll thank you to go now, Mr. Clyde,” she said.

And truthfully, under the circumstances, what else could I do? I tipped my hat, left her a few bits for the window, and made my way outside. I was pretty flustered, though. I felt as though I’d done wrong by a good woman, and done my usual job of ruining my prospects with a pretty woman. And worst of all, the trail that I’d thought I was following seemed to have gone cold.

Wasn't until I was ten-fifteen minutes deep into aimless wandering and feeling sorry for myself that I remembered I’d heard the name Berryshine before.

It struck me as odd that I’d find a place by the name o’ “Berryshine’s Booze” closed during what I figure had to be its peak nighttime hours. In the time I spent casing its outside, I saw no shortage of working men try the door and come away cursing about her being closed. Figured it was best to keep to myself and just watch, though; didn’t seem like I was bound to find much welcome in Canterlot one way or another. And she didn’t leave a note or anything on the door, so there wasn’t much for me to go on there, either.

Except another hunch that started brewin’.

See, while I was snooping around the place, I got to thinking that there was some commonality between the way Miss Ditzy Doo and Berryshine had acted when I talked about Blueblood. And then there was the way Miss Ditzy talked about Berryshine’s sister Cheerilee being dead, and how Miss Ditzy ended up getting her job… and it made me wonder if Berryshine’s scars might be a link between those. Like maybe Blueblood did some right ungentlemanly things to Miss Ditzy and Miss Cheerilee, and Berryshine got hurt trying to put a stop to ‘em.

Which brought me back to thinking about Sunset. I’ll tell ya, it changed my whole conception of Canterlot when I realized that the angel-girl who tried to save the world was still hanging around, trying to keep her town orderly. And if there was one thing I could tell about Blueblood, it’s that he wasn’t gonna mix too well with “orderly.”

Figured he and Sunset would’ve had a few words for each other, if he passed through.

With Sunset being such a bigwig, it wasn’t too hard to find someone willing to tell me where she’d likely be.

Didn’t expect it’d be the site of Canterlot High, though. With all due respect, there’s less to look at than I’d expected for someplace where a demon fought an angel and magic’s still supposed to run wild. There’s just that real big crater on one end of a sandy hill, and lotsa broken-down ruins on the other end. Though I will say someone’s put some effort into building that nice ranch house next to the ruins. Simple but tasteful, if you don’t mind my sayin’.

’Course, one other nice thing about ranch houses is that there’s only the single floor, so it’s not too hard even for a klutz like me to get right up next to a window from the outside and just listen. The insulation must’ve been pretty good, all things considered, ‘cause I still couldn’t hear too much. I certainly didn’t dare take a peek through that window. But I could tell that one of the voices from inside was Berryshine’s.

I strained hard listening for details while they talked. I heard a couple that sounded like landmarks, and I heard the word “cave” come up more’n a couple times. I didn’t want to push my luck trying to get closer, though, and I didn’t know the area well enough to go poking around for a cave without more info. So I hightailed it outta there once it sounded like the conversation was winding down.

Sleep was sounding pretty good by that point. And even if I didn’t have a decent place to lay my head, the ruins promised a whole cornucopia of options for a man willing to keep his expectations low.

I was plenty stiff the next morning, what with my humble accommodations. But I set out for the market once it got good and light. Figured I could grab some breakfast while I figured how to follow-up the lead I’d got the night before.

Didn’t figure I’d run into her again.

“Hello there, Mr. Clyde,” Miss Ditzy said.

I noticed that her mouth was pulled into a tight lil’ frown and her eyes looked misty, so I asked, “Something wrong, ma’am?” Then I cocked my head and asked, “I reckon that you must be missing school by now, aren’t you?”

“I am,” she said, nodding. “But I asked my substitute to cover for me. I… I wanted to come find you, if I could. To apologize for how I clammed-up last night.”

“That’s all right,” I said. “I understand some things ain’t easy to talk about.”

Then she got real quiet and looked around before leaning close. “That man was here about three years ago. I… knew him better than I wish I had.”

“Well hot diggity,” I said under my breath. “If it’s been that long though, you wouldn’t happen to know how his pocketwatch might’ve just recently ended up with some merchant, would you?”

“I do,” she said. “It was all he left me with when he… did what he did. Well, almost all. Much as I… I hated him afterward, I couldn’t bear getting rid of it. Probably never would’ve, but I came up short a couple months ago when Dinky needed medicine.”

I nodded real slow, ’cause it was all starting to make sense. Then I said: “Last night I dug up a lead on a place where he might’ve been. I’d rather not say how I dug it up. But if you’re willin’, I could sure use a hand piecing together what I know and figuring out where it is.”

And she just looked up into my eyes, and hers got all big and teary, and she asked one question: “What are you going to do if you find him?”

I swallowed hard. Truth be told, I definitely should’ve gone back and reported things by that point. I didn’t have a real arrest warrant. But I know that sometimes, out here in the desert, doing the right thing ain’t always the same as doing what you’re supposed to do. So I went for broke again: “I’m gonna bring him in for what he’s done, ma’am.”

And she nodded, and smiled, and we left the market in a hurry.

We were mostways to the cave when I looked at her and told her how awfully lucky I felt that she’d come looking for me, and how she’d been able to find a substitute on such short notice.

That’s when she told me her substitute was Miss Berryshine, and that they’d talked about things briefly that morning, and that Berryshine had had her run a note past Canterlot High before she headed for the market.

And even though I felt my blood run cold for hearing it… what was I supposed to do? I mean, other than running, of course, which I wasn’t gonna do with Miss Ditzy right there next to me.

I suppose this all is my own fault, letting my heart get in the way of my good sense.

I reckon y’all probably know what happened from there better than I do, ma’am. I mean, we got down into the cave there easy enough, and found… what’s left of Mr. Blueblood. Right useful marking the spot with his compass rose, it was.

Then o’course it must’ve been you or someone with you who jumped us on the way out, and I… I heard Miss Ditzy scream, just before I got clocked pretty good.

Look… I… I think you have Miss Ditzy. And I certainly don’t want what I’ve done here to bring her any more harm than she’s already been through. She’s beautiful, and way too trusting. I get that now. Please, whatever you do to me… just promise me you’ll let her go.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d like to make it outta here in one piece, too. By now you oughtta know what kinda man I am, and what I came here to do. I don’t know for sure what Blueblood did, though I can make an educated guess from how she talked about him, and from the way that everybody else just wanted me to leave her alone. And I want you to know that I wanna see justice done, whether that’s bringing his remains back to the Empire, or trying to make things right by Miss Ditzy, or… well, figuring out how exactly Blueblood ended up in that cave.

Of course, under the circumstances… I reckon that might be your doin’? You look strong enough, and right tough in that leather jacket, and your eyes look like you’ve seen about as much as Miss Berryshine has. Maybe even more. I mean…

Well, shoot.

I think I just figured it out. You’re… Sunset, aren’t you? And you were the woman who approached me in that alley, too?

Well, I hope you’ll forgive my saying if you don’t quite look the part of Canterlot’s guardian angel… t-though looks can be deceivin’, and I sure understand—please put the knife down! I—

Oh.

Well, I’m… powerful obliged that you’d undo those ropes, ma’am.

Uh… do ya reckon I could see Miss Ditzy now?

Chapter 1: Canterlot High Basement, 5:03pm

“You couldn’t just leave well enough alone,” Sunset said.

Her rugged hand reached through the lonely pool of light cast by a lantern hanging above a rickety table. It hovered over the cold metal of a revolver for a few heartbeats, fingers curling toward the powder burns on its muzzle. Then it moved to a beat-up black cassette tape player next to the revolver, and pushed a button. For long moments, the machine issued sounds of rapid whirring interspersed with garbled squeaks. Then those were replaced by a low sound of the mechanism gaining tension as the tape reached its beginning.

A loud *click* split the air as she pressed the player’s stop button. Her prisoner jerked.

“Do you realize the position that this leaves me in?” Sunset asked. “I’ve taken care of him, but that doesn’t get the rest of us off the hook, does it?”

Sunset shook her head, then eyed the gun. “I don't know what I want to do with you. All I know is that I’ve got one body that's gonna need a hole dug, and if I’m digging one anyway…”

She reached down and pressed play. “I want you to hear what he told me, in his own words. Then maybe you can tell me why what I was doing mattered when we're done.”

For a moment the tape player made no sound save for a low hiss. But then there was crackling, followed by a deep voice:

Name’s Troubleshoes Clyde, ma’am. Yep, hand to Harmony, that’s actually m’name. Reckon I ain’t never been the luckiest fellow around the North Amareican desert. I suppose that’s pretty clear by now, what with these ropes and everything…