Justice, Integrity, and Service

After an exhausting week, the ordeal was finally over. The jury ruled in their favor, leading to additional charges against the suspect for false accusations. Finally, she was allowed to leave.
She boarded the train, exhausted, and nodded as Earp told her he would stay in the city for a few more days.

She leaned back in her seat, not listening as Braeburn went on about one thing or another. Her thoughts went back to the meeting with Hoofer, and she found herself thinking about what he had said.

He had given him a lot to consider. If Earp was really being scrutinized by the other agencies and the politicians in Canterlot, that explained his short fuse and aggressive behavior. Not that she agreed with it. Leave it to politicians to capitalize off the death of a pony.

But what about Braeburn? She thought about how Hoofer had casually mentioned that he had drinking problems. Several times, in fact.

The pegasus let out a yawn. The proceedings had left her mentally and emotionally exhausted. She didn’t have enough willpower to process everything that Hoofer had thrown at her. “Hey, you can rest easy now,” Braeburn said, breaking up her thoughts. “It’s over now.”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “Yeah, it is.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head against Braeburn’s shoulder. She let out a sigh. “Never again, Brae. Never again.”

The stallion chuckled and fell silent, letting Daring drift off into a much longed for sleep.

The door to the conference room opened, causing all heads to turn. Marshall stuck his head in. “Scuse me, we got a message from Appleoosa.”

Braeburn nodded and stood up, leaving the room.

Daring sighed, stretching her wings. “Hopefully that’s the warrant. Then we can get you two out of here.”

Lyra frowned at that. “What, are you tired of us already?”

“Maybe I am,” replied the pegasus. “After all, you two have been asking quite a lot of questions.”

Lyra was tired. She was tired of being stuck in this small town and being stuck in the conference room, listening to hours on hours of stories. Stories that Bon Bon assured her were important, but she wouldn’t tell her why. She was tired of not knowing, she was tired of being there, and she was tired of Daring’s attitude.

“Look, are you mad at us? Because we had no control over what happened.”

The pegasus raised an eyebrow. “Why would I be mad at you? Not your fault the RIS is piss poor at decision making and agent selection.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Just saying that the RIS has a habit of picking questionable ponies to be their agents.”

Lyra narrowed her eyes. “Oh, you’re one to talk!”

“Lyra,” Bon Bon hissed at her.

Braeburn interrupted by opening the door again. “Heads up, a pony matching the description was found in Appleoosa. Someone named ‘Front Load’ rented an apartment there, but the sheriff’s pretty sure it’s Back Blast.”

Bon Bon had forgotten about Back Blast in the midst of all the information. “Oh, uh, that’s great. Let’s go,” she said as she dragged Lyra out the door.

Once they were out of earshot, Bon Bon gave Lyra a swat on the back. “What happened in there?”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “Bon, I’m sick and tired of this. You might care about all of this shit, but I don’t, and you haven’t given me a reason to.” She headed for the exit, not looking back. “Let’s just find this guy and go home.”

In the conference room, Braeburn glanced strangely at Daring. “You alright? What happened?”

“That unicorn is getting on my nerves,” Daring replied. “She has no reason to be here and she knows it.”

The stallion rolled his eyes. “Well, if we find this pony we can send them home and forget we ever met them.”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

The walk to the station was an awkward one. Braeburn pointed out some of the sights while Bon Bon nodded along. Daring and Lyra exchanged glares the entire time. When they reached the station, Braeburn flashed his badge at the ticket window attendant, who smiled and gave them four tickets.

The four ended up on the platform, waiting for the train to arrive. “Well, I’m off to the bathroom,” Braeburn said.

“Mind showing me where it’s at,” Lyra asked, eager for a chance to get away from the pegasus.

Bon Bon watched the two leave. She sighed, turning to the pegasus. “I’m sorry about her. She’s just tired.”

“I can tell,” Daring grumbled. “Brae can probably calm her down.”

“I didn’t realize how close you two were,” confessed the mare. She kicked at the platform. “It sounds like you two have really been through a lot.”

Daring took a deep breath, venting her anger. “I guess we have. He was there for my trial, I tried to be there when he went through his… situation.”

Daring had spent a long time thinking about everything Hoofer had told her, while keeping an eye on the mysterious pony. Soon enough it was announced that Hoofer was the new director of the RIS, and Daring watched with amusement as ponies threw themselves at his hoofs to get in his favor.

She kept the card he gave him, which was sitting on her desk, hidden away in a drawer. She spent her days trying to figure out the best way to confront Braeburn, but was never sure exactly how to word her thoughts.

One day, the door to the Marshal’s office slammed open. A very angry deputy by the name of Hot Shot stormed out. He marched right over to Braeburn’s desk.

“What’s up, Shot?”

“Don’t give me that shit,” spat the stallion. Braeburn raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

Hot Shot threw a pink slip of paper to the ground. “Earp fuckin’ sacked me!”

Braeburn’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Oh, don’t act like you didn’t know!”

By this time some of the other deputies had gathered around their desk, listening in on the conversation.

“Oh, and how was I supposed to know?”

Hot Shot laughed. “Because I think we all know that you spend your free time suckin’ off Earp!”

Braeburn recoiled in shock. “The fuck does that mean?”

“Come on, Earp fuckin’ loves you! You do whatever the fuck you want and he doesn’t bat an eye!” He swept around the room with his hoof. “And we all know that Earp just chose to conveniently forget the fact that he found you passed out in the streets, drunk off your ass, and-”

Daring suddenly slammed her book shut, reminding Hot Shot and the others that she was there. She slowly stood and turned on him. “Hot Shot. Earp fired you because you’re shit at your job,” she growled in a low voice. “You’re sloppy, you’re lazy, you don’t do your paperwork. You’re careless, you have no care for the safety of others, and you put the lives of your fellow deputies and civilians in danger. You’re here for glory and not for work. You’re pathetic and jealous, and this encounter proves it.”

Hot Shot faltered, taking a step backwards. He recovered with a roll of his eyes. “What fuckin’ ever. I’m gettin’ a drink at Dusty’s. Anyone who doesn’t sleep with Earp is invited.” With a cocky grin, he left the office, a few other deputies following while shooting glares in Braeburn’s direction.

Daring turned back around to see that Braeburn was staring at the ground.

“Hey, conference room,” she said to him. “Let’s talk.”

Daring frowned. “I tried my best, but I’m useless in talking. My strength is in writing, not talking.”

“I think you did a great job,” Bon Bon offered. “”Just look at how Braeburn is now.”

“I guess.”

Daring offered Braeburn a glass of water from the ever-present pitcher. He kindly refused, fiddling with his jacket zipper instead.

With a sigh, the pegasus decided to approach the problem like she always did: head on. “What did Hot Shot mean by all of that?”

Braeburn opened his mouth, thought about it, then closed it again. He took a deep breath and found his voice. “You know that Earp came and hoofpicked me. But I guess you didn’t know what happened before that. I… wasn’t in a great place. Yeah, I had started drinkin’, and I guess I developed an addiction of sorts. Got into stupid fights over stupid things, woke up hungover, sometimes at home and sometimes in jail.”

“And he still picked you,” Daring said.

“Yeah. I guess that’s what he was so mad about. And he’s not alone. I know a lot of people here think that Earp treats me better than he treats them. Funny thing is this is exactly the type of bullshit I wanted to avoid. I never wanted to be treated like I was better than anyone else. Back in Appleoosa, I hated when ponies would say they looked up to me. In my eyes I’m no better than they are.

“I told you about what happened with the wagon. That’s kind of when the drinkin’ started. After the third or so time I found out Silverstar was keepin’ it off my record. I went off on him, even though he was just lookin’ out for a friend. I wanted to be held accountable for myself, not be able to get away with everythin’. So he gave me an alternative: either go to jail or join his posse.”

Daring rubbed her chin in thought. “And then he told Earp about you.”

“Yeah, bless his heart. And I guess it did help me kick my drinkin’ habits a bit. I started usin’ work as my distraction instead of drinkin’. I thought I left that in the past, though. Guess I was wrong.”

“Ponies say shit all the time, Brae. You know this.”

Braeburn sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. They do. I just… I don’t know where Earp and I stand anymore. We used to be friends, but after the trial? I guess he’s not over Doc, but still, that ain’t no excuse.”

“You need to talk to him.”

The stallion looked up, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Look, you have a good history with Earp. You’ve known him longer than I have, and you’re right. He’s not himself, but I don’t think he realizes it.” Daring stood up, patting him on the back. “So let’s talk to him. I’ve got your back.”

Braeburn gave her a smile, some of his confidence returning. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Daring nosed open the door without knocking, as she did for months before the trial.

Earp looked up in surprise before narrowing his eyes at the two. “What?”

Braeburn shut the door and approached the desk. “Earp. We need to talk.”

Daring nodded, taking a seat in the corner of the room.

“You’re not well, Earp. You’ve changed,” Braeburn continued. “You ain’t the same anymore. I just want to know why.”

Earp sighed, rubbing his eyes. “First of all, I heard what happened with Hot Shot. Ain’t anythin’ personal against him, but it’s pretty much what Darin’ said. That, and budget cuts means I gotta let some ponies go.”

Braeburn shrugged. “That wasn’t the question, Earp.”

“I know. I’m just sayin’ that the official reason you won’t get fired is because you and Darin’ are my most senior deputies. Unofficially… you’re my friends.”

“No offense, but it sure don’t feel that way.”

Earp blinked. “I guess I never explained myself. I’m gettin’ a lot of shit from Canterlot. Politicians, other agencies, even some citizen action groups. Fact of the matter is they want me to be a boss first, a friend never. And I’ve been tryin’ to run this office like that, but it ain’t my style. You know this.”

Braeburn sighed. “Right, I understand. If it’s any consolation, I think we’re all still hurtin’. But I get it if you can’t drink with us anymore. Just know that we still got your back, no matter what happens.”

“Thanks. And I’m sorry for the way I handled the trial. I’ll have your backs, no matter what happens.” He nodded at that, smiling. “I won’t lie to you two. Things aren’t going to be easy from here on out. And if you two want to leave, I won’t blame you.”

“We won’t leave, Earp. We still got jobs to do.”

With a nod, Braeburn turned and left the office, Daring following close behind.