Justice, Integrity, and Service

It didn’t take long for Bon Bon and Lyra to find the motel in question. The mare smiled at them and told them there was always room for first responders, and even offered a steep discount. Bon Bon could only wonder how many first responders came around these parts, and how often that discount was actually used.

“What a day,” Lyra said as she collapsed onto the bed.

“So what’d you find out about Daring,” Bon Bon asked as she settled into the second bed.

Lyra recounted her deal with the pegasus, and how she was sick of Canterlot and moved out west for a change. “Interesting,” Bon Bon said. “Braeburn’s story wasn’t what I expected. Apparently, he was originally from a town called Appleoosa…”

As Bon Bon went on recounting everything Braeburn had said, Lyra’s mind couldn’t help but wander to when she first met her old friend.

“Shooters, cease fire! Cease fire!”

Lyra set the pistol down on the counter, squinting at the targets far down range. As the other shooters around her set their guns down as well, she used her magic to pull the target towards her.

A machine above her went to life, automatically pulling in the bullet ridden paper targets for those who didn’t have magic. Lyra scrutinized the target, frowning at two holes that were a little bit off the center. “Damn.”

“Excuse me? Lyra Heartstrings?” A voice came from behind her. Lyra turned to see a light brown earth pony with an inquisitive gaze.

“That’s me,” replied the unicorn. She recognized the mare from the other academy classes, but the two hadn’t really interacted much.

“I’m Sweetie Drops. I couldn’t help but notice your shooting stance.”

Lyra raised an eyebrow. “What, you got a problem with it?”

“No, of course not,” the mare backpedaled. “I’m actually really interested in it. I think you’re one of the best shots in the academy, and I was just wondering if you had any tips for helping me improve my shooting.”

Lyra blinked, not expecting the compliment. “Oh. Well, other unicorns like to rely on their magic to help steady the gun. It lets them shoot on the move, but sacrifices a lot of accuracy. Plus, I prefer to do things with my own hooves.” Lyra slid the empty magazine out of her pistol, making sure the gun was empty. Then, she reared up onto her hind hooves and steadied herself. “The hard part is finding your balance, I guess. Then, you just slide your other hoof underneath like this, and there you go. You’re able to land shots a lot easier than if you were using only one hoof.”

Bon Bon was listening intently the entire time. “Huh. I remember hearing about this stance from our firearms instructor. He said it’s called the Beaver Stance?”

“Weaver,” corrected Lyra. “And yeah. Most RIS agents just shoot from only one hoof, but the Weaver stance makes so much more sense. I guess most ponies are just turned off by having to balance on two hooves. It’s used a lot by the Marshals and other agencies, but I guess the RIS has yet to figure it out.”

“Shooters ready,” declared the shooting range instructor.

“Here, why don’t you try?”

Bon Bon shrugged and stepped up to the booth next to her, setting her gun on the table. She copied Lyra’s movements, struggling for a bit to find her balance. Lyra gave her a reassuring smile and the two raised their guns.

“Shooters, fire when ready!”

“Lyra?”

The unicorn blinked. She had at some point laid down and closed her eyes, leading Bon Bon to think she had fallen asleep.

“Sorry, Bon. I’m wiped out,” Lyra replied.

“That’s fine,” Bon Bon said. “We should probably rest. Tomorrow’s another long day.”

“Got that right. Night, Bonnie.”

“Night, Lyra.”

“Deputy Braeburn!”

Braeburn looked up to see the agent from yesterday heading towards him. Her partner was lagging behind, shooting daggers from her eyes. “Howdy! So you two did stick around after all.”

“Of course! I have so many more questions to ask you!”

The stallion chuckled. “I take it your friend’s not much of a morning pony.”

“Oh, don’t mind Lyra. She’s grumpy because she hasn’t had coffee yet.”

“We can fix that.” Braeburn opened the door, wincing as it creaked. “Have to get that fixed. Come on in.”

As they entered, Bon Bon noticed that Marshall was already there, sitting behind the reception desk. “Mornin’, Marshall,” Braeburn greetd. “Anythin’ on tap?”

“A few warrants from the RIS, ESS, and the Royal Guards. I sent out the telegrams already and left them on your desk,” he replied.

“Perfect. Any news on the current warrants?”

“No hits yet.”

“Alright. Thanks, Marshall.” With another smile, Braeburn led the two into the mostly empty bullpen. “You two are a bit early. Shift technically hasn’t started yet. I’m just used to livin’ on the farm and wakin’ up at the crack of dawn, unlike-” The stallion paused. “Well I’ll be damned.”

Bon Bon followed his gaze to see Daring already sitting at her desk. “Darin’ Do, here in the office before me? Has everythin’ gone to Tartarus?”

“Shut up Braeburn,” she replied. “Can’t a mare be excited to come into work early?”

Braeburn went to the desk next to her, which Bon Bon realized must have been his desk. “Somethin’ botherin’ you?”

“Just looking over old photos,” she said. She held one up for Braeburn to see. Braeburn recognized the photo instantly: there was one tacked on his own cubicle wall and another one framed in Earp’s office.

The photo showed the four of them in Earp’s office, cheering and laughing. A bottle of cider sat on Earp’s desk, and each of them had a glass raised.

“Do you remember?”

“How could I forget, Darin’? That was the best celebration we ever had.”

“Damn straight!”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”

“Hot damn!”

The four ponies clinked their glasses together in a celebratory toast. Earp had broken out his best bottle of aged cider, and the four were celebrating in the otherwise empty office.

“I’m tellin’ you, Brae,” Doc declared. “You’re a damned champion!”

Daring nodded, punching him in the shoulder. She didn’t really care much for sports, or him for that matter, but she was a betting mare. And she knew that Braeburn had put all his bits on black and came out victorious, somehow. “How did you manage to pull that off?”

“Blind luck and a bit of skill,” he chuckled.

Earp smiled. “I’m damn proud, gents. Damn proud. Tonight, we shall drink!”

Earp went to the door and shouted out into the bullpen. “Marshall! Get your sorry old ass in here!”

“Land’s sake, Earp, I’m not retirin’ yet,” laughed Marshall as he trotted in. A few more bottles sat in his saddlebag. “Got the last of old Bottle Neck’s supply before he closed. Let’s get this party on!”

The statement was met with cheers and hoots from the office. Marshall set the bottles on the desk, then pulled out a battered old camera. “Let’s get this on film, lads.”

Earp nodded and raised a glass again. “Here’s to blind luck and a bit of skill.”

“To blind luck!” the glasses clinked in unison as the camera flashed.

“What were you guys celebrating? It must have been a high profile arrest, right?”

Daring and Braeburn snickered at Bon Bon’s statement. “Nah. That was the day the Dodge Dusters beat the Canterlot Ivys in the national Buckball league. Brae was the only one who put money on the Dusters winning that, and damned if we didn’t make a fortune.”

“Buckball? Who the fuck bets on buckball,” Lyra grumbled.

Daring and Braeburn stared at Lyra like she just insulted her mother. “She did not!”

“Uh, excuse her! She hasn’t had her coffee yet! Come on, Lyra,” Bon Bon stuttered as she pulled her into the conference room.

Daring snickered as the door closed. “Heh. She’s too easy to mess with.”

“Uh huh. Or maybe’ you’re just bein’ a big bully,” Braeburn replied.

“Lyra deserved it,” Daring scoffed. “Buckball is love, buckball is life.”

“You kiddin’?”

The pegasus flashed him a cocky grin. “Nope. What, you doubting the power of the underdog? After last year?”

Braeburn scoffed. “Course not, but that’s a stretch.”

“Well at least I’m doing something interesting. You’re just playing favorites.”

“Of course! What, you think I ain’t gonna support the first buckball team my hometown’s ever had?”

Daring laughed. “I don’t care who they’ve got managing, they’re getting destroyed, Brae. Hate to break it to you.”

Marshall chuckled, shaking his head. “Alright you two. Final bets, please.”

“Fine,” Braeburn said. “Five hundred bits on the Appleoosan Angels.”

“Five hundred bits on the Manehattan Monsters.”

“Deal.” The two shook hooves, setting the bet in stone with Marshall as their witness. “After champs I’ll be five hundred bits richer.”

“Sure. Hey Doc!”

Doc Holliday raised his head at his name. “Yeah?”

“Who’s your bet on?”

Doc cracked a smile. “Well Earp’s got his money on the Dodge Dusters again.”

“He really think they can pull of two wins in a row?”

“Dunno, but I’ve got a thousand bits on the Las Pegasus Poppies!”

Marshall, Daring, and Braeburn all stared at each other before they burst out laughing.

“The Pansy Poppies?! Are you kidding me, Doc?”

“You might as well pay up right now, Doc! Oh, man, a thousand bits on THAT team!”

“What were you thinkin’? Were you thinkin’?”

As the others fell out of their chairs in laughter, Doc frowned, grinding his teeth. “Just you wait! They’ll show y’all! Just you wait!”

Daring gave a content sigh as the memory faded from her mind. “Ah, those were the days. The days when buckball teams were actually good.”

“Also the days where we all lost money,” Braeburn replied.

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Stupid Fillydalphia Fillys and their miracles. Robbed us clean of all our bits.”

After practically chugging her coffee, Lyra felt much better. She had started on her second cup when she noticed Bon Bon glaring at her. “What?”

“Lyra, you have to be more careful with what you say to them!”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “It was a joke, Bon Bon. Come on.”

“Well they certainly didn’t find it funny!” Bon Bon sighed and shook her head. “Look, just be more careful, okay? I don’t want to throw away everything we’ve built with them.”

“Bon, why do you care so much about this? And don’t tell me you just want to fix the relationships between the RIS and the Marshals.”

“What are you talking about, Lyra?”

The unicorn frowned. “Bon, you never get this riled up about anything. What’s bothering you?”

“It-it’s nothing.” Bon Bon waved her hoof dismissively. “I promise. Let’s go talk to them.”

Bon Bon left the conference room before Lyra could protest further. Lyra frowned, sipping at her coffee. She had never seen Bon Bon like this before. Usually her friend was calm and collected, if not a little bit intense.

But this wasn’t a typical case. Lyra knew that much. She just couldn’t figure out why Bon Bon was being so invested in the lives of two ponies they had never met before. With a defeated sigh, she threw the paper cup into the trash can and followed Bon Bon out the door.

Eventually she found Bon Bon in the marshal’s office. Daring was in the corner, leaning against a bookshelf, while Braeburn shifted through some papers on his desk. “Okay,” he said to Daring. “I’ll send Fetter Locks and Gold Badge out to Mustang when they get in.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Lyra took a seat next to Bon Bon, watching as the deputies talked about their work.

“And still no response to our bulletin on your pony. Guess we’ve gotta keep waitin’,” Braeburn finished.

“That’s fine,” Bon Bon replied. “How long do you think it will take?”

“I reckon we wait til tomorrow. We’ve got contacts at the station, so if a pony matchin’ his description tries to leave we can stop him. There’s only so many places he can be out here. Only a matter of time.”

“Yeah, what he said,” echoed Daring. “So, what memories do you want us to go digging up today?”

Bon Bon cringed and gave a sheepish smile. “I-I mean if it’s too much for you guys-”

Braeburn cut her off and waved his hoof dismissively. “Ah, don’t listen to her. You should never take her seriously.”

The statement earned him another punch on the shoulder. “Shut up, Braeburn.”

“You say that a lot,” Lyra chuckled.

“Yeah, well he deserves it every time.”

“But that’s the thing. If you’re tryin’ to take a guy who’s barricaded up in the front door, you’d want somethin’ like a shotgun. Closer quarters and more power. Thing is though you gotta watch your backdrops, ‘cause those rounds tear through anythin’ and everythin’.”

Daring grunted in annoyance, rolling her eyes and flipping a page in her book.

“I heard a story once from a friend in CPD. Said it was the early days, back when trigger discipline didn’t exist. They said a recruit used a shotgun in downtown, and everythin’ went to shit. Poor guy didn’t understand the concept of bullet penetration. Lot of ponies got hurt that day-”

“Braeburn!” Daring slammed her book onto the desk. “Can you shut up for one minute?!”

The stallion blinked, then smirked. “What’s the matter? I thought you liked the sound of my voice?”

“No! Just shut up, please! You’ve been going on about this for the past half hour!” Daring glared at him, shooting daggers from her eyes. “I don’t care!”

To her chagrin, Braeburn just laughed. “Well, you should! Earp told us to learn all of this stuff to help with our policin’.”

“You’ve been talking about nothing for half. An. HOUR!”

“And? I ain’t finished!”

Earp stuck his head out of the office, squinting at the two ponies. “Celestia save me,” he muttered. “Doc, you’ve gotta do somethin’. I can’t take this anymore.”

Doc, who was seated in the office, glanced up from his newspaper. “Whaddya expect me to do?”

“Anythin’. Please.” Earp flinched as Daring slammed her hooves on the table again.

Doc sighed, setting down his paper. “I’ve tried, Earp. I tried with the whole buckball thing. I thought gettin’ them involved would help ‘em bond.”

“All it did was make them compete more!”

“It’s probably fine, Earp-”

Both flinched as a roaring shout came over the cubicles. “SHUT UP BRAEBURN!”

Earp glared at Doc, who gave a nervous chuckle. “Then again, I’ll see what I can do.”

“That’s only accordin’ to you, Darin’. Our guests hear love to hear me talk!”

The pegasus rolled her eyes again. “That’s because they haven’t known you long enough. I swear, Brae, the only one who loves listening to your shit is you.”

Braeburn gave a mock gasp and threw a hoof over his heart. “Are you hearin’ this! The abuse!”

“You’ll live, you pansy.”

Bon Bon chuckled as the two bickered. It was strange how these types of carefree insults only came around after years of friendships. It reminded her of her own partnership with Lyra. One that she hoped she wasn’t putting on the line.

The smile faltered for a bit. Lyra knew that there was more to the story than she was being told. Bon Bon knew that eventually she would have to tell her the truth about why she really was there.

She would tell Lyra, Bon Bon decided. Just not now. She shook off her thoughts and tried to focus as Braeburn launched into another story, this time about how Doc played a role in their friendship.

“Brace yourselves, this one’s a long one…”

“Yessir, y’all just missed him. He booked it right on out of here into the desert, ‘bout fifteen minutes ago.”

Doc raised an eyebrow at that statement. “Well I’ll be damned. Haven’t had that happen in a good while.”

Braeburn and Daring stood behind him, watching as he conversed with the deputy.

Remembering what Earp had wanted, an idea formed in his mind. “Alright then. We’ll go get him.” Doc turned to the two, a twinkle in his eye. “You two, go to the sheriff’s office and grab some supplies. You’re goin’ on a desert pursuit.”

A desert pursuit just meant that they were going to chase him through the desert. Braeburn grimaced at the thought. Desert pursuits had a tendency to be lengthy, dirty, tiring, and not all that fun. “Us? What about you?”

“I’m pullin’ rank on you two. Now go on, get!”

After a half hour of grumbling, complaining, and gathering materials, Braeburn and Daring set off from the town, laden with supplies. Soon they reached the outskirts of the town, with nothing but sand stretching out around them.

“So what you’re telling me is that we’re going to be chasing this guy through the desert?”

Braeburn gave a disgruntled nod. “Yep. Remember how when you signed up they made you say ‘We will chase you to the ends of Equestria?’ This is the part where we chase them until the ends of Equestria.”

Daring sighed, adjusting the brim of her hat. At first she thought the hat was stupid and borderline sterotyipcal of western ponies, but she soon found out that it worked great for keeping the sun out of her face. “Well, I’ve never had to do one of these before. Not many open spaces to flee to in Canterlot.”

“It’s simple enough. He took off with no supplies, meanin’ he ain’t gonna last long in this heat. So we go out and find him, dead or alive. And when we do, we use this,” Braeburn explained. He patted a strange red gun holstered next to his service pistol. “Lingering flare. Fire it up in the sky to mark your location. The sheriff and Earp will see it and send a carriage to find us. Then it’s an easy ride back.”

The pegasus looked around. A set of train tracks ran out into the distance on their left, while the land to their right was completely flat save for a few mountains in the distance. “First step would be finding where he went, then.”

“Reckon so.” The stallion gave a forlorn sigh. “Still, we gotta be careful. Weather out here can be unpredictable without a weather team.”

Daring’s eyes swept the horizon. It was a big space to find one pony. “Lucky for you I’m good at finding things.”

“Oh yeah?”

Daring pointed a hoof at the railroad track. “If I were to head off into the desert, I’d stick to the tracks. It’s gotta lead somewhere, and since I’m unfamiliar with the terrain, I’d move parallel to it, using it as a guide.”

“That’s assumin’ this pony is thinkin’ rationally.”

“Don’t doubt the power of unconscious instinct.”

Braeburn kicked at the dirt. “Fine. But if we get lost, I’m blamin’ you. Why don’t you go fly up and see if you can’t see him.”

“Sure.” The pegasus spread her wings and took to the sky, while Braeburn started moving. He went parallel to the tracks, like Daring had said. It made sense, he knew, even though he didn’t want to admit she was right.

The two hadn’t talked much since their argument last week. Sure they had their fair share of bickering but last week was… intense.

In the end both said some things they regretted, but both remained too proud to apologize. So a cold silence fell between them. Doc hadn’t been sure what was worse: their constant arguing or their now uneasy silence.

Braeburn sighed as he took in their surroundings. The desert was beautiful in its own dusty, rustic way. He kicked at the dirt, shifting the weight of the tents, canteens, and other equipment on his back, and set off.

He glanced up at the sky, where Daring was flying high above him. She wasn’t the only one who thought he talked too much. It wasn’t like he could help it. Braeburn had spent far too long suffering in a dark veil of silence. Who could blame him for wanting to shut it all out?

But she didn’t understand that. She didn’t know. She couldn’t know, he realized, because he never told her. His ears dropped a bit. Maybe some of the things he said yesterday were a bit overkill.

High above him, Daring was amazed at the endless expanse of sand that stretched in every direction. Some shrubs and cacti dotted the horizon, but other than that it was empty. It was a whole new frontier of space, something that sure didn’t exist in Canterlot.

Just the name of the city made her grimace. There was a lot she left behind there. There were things she didn’t tell Pinkerton when she asked for her transfer. Things that made her a bit more reclusive, and made her a bit more wary of ponies who tried to get close to her.

Who was Braeburn to make judgements about her? What right did he have to keep talking when she had told him-

She hadn’t told him. The realization fell on her like a bucket of ice water. All of their conversations were competitive in some way. They were two ponies with something to prove. But they had never once discussed why they had to prove it.

With a sigh of defeat, she looked behind her, seeing the tiny form of Braeburn make his way down the sandy dunes. She guessed she owed him that much. After all, there were some things she said last week that she ended up regretting.

The pegasus dove down, landing next to Braeburn. The stallion didn’t react, keeping his eyes on the horizon. “No sign of anything,” she reported. “I mean maybe we can find hoof prints or something, but we’d have to look pretty closely.”

“Let’s just follow the tracks, like you said,” he responded absently.

“Right. Like I said.”

The two continued in an awkward silence, until Daring ventured to break it. “Hey, uh, I was wondering. About like why you joined and stuff.”

“I thought I told you, Earp hoofpicked me to be a deputy-”

“No, not that. I know that. But like, why did you agree? You know?” Daring rubbed one forehoof with the other, trying to piece her thoughts together. “Like besides the extra pay. Was there another reason?”

Braeburn thought for a second, trying to understand what he was being asked. “You mean like a motive? I dunno. But I guess if you really want to know, it’s just the way I am.”

Daring glanced at him expectantly, urging him to elaborate.

“I guess my whole family has sort of been, ah, what’s the word. Al-tur-ist-ic? Somethin’ like that. Point is we like helpin’ each other out any way we can. Family means family. But when I first started out here, I didn’t have a family. So the town became my family. And I’d do anythin’ for my family. But doin’ anythin’ soon became just doin’ somethin’ to keep the town alive. I guess that’s when I really started investin’ myself in public service and whatnot.”

The stallion paused to consider something before resuming.

“When I told my cousins about the offer, their first complaint was that I could get hurt. Killed even. That’s when I realized somethin’. That I would lay down my own life in a heartbeat for someone else’s. I couldn’t figure out if it’s because I don’t value my own life that much or if it’s just extreme kindness.”

“Maybe it’s a bit of both,” Daring suggested. “It sounds like you’re just dedicated to helping those who need it. However that may be.”

Braeburn chuckled and shook his head. “Eh. I say things a lot. Doesn’t mean they mean anythin’. Now I ain’t makin’ sense.”

“No, I think that makes a lot of sense actually.”

“What about you?”

The pegasus shrugged. “I mean, I guess all my life I’ve thought about doing thankless work. I told you that I used to be obsessed with history and stuff. One thing I kind of stumbled on is that nobody really cares about who found an artifact. Ponies remember the artifacts, not the pony who discovered it. But that thought never really bothered me. I was never in it for fame or glory. I was just doing what I knew had to be done.”

Braeburn chuckled. “Thankless work. Huh. That’s a way to think about things.”

“I guess so. Hey, I’m sorry about the shit I said last week.”

“Nah, I should be the sorry one. I could use a reminder to shut up and stop ramblin’ every now and then.”

Daring giggled. “Heh. It’s fine, really. Just glad we got it sorted out.”

The two continued their trek, each thinking about the things they hadn’t mustered the courage to share yet.

“I’ll sweep again,” Daring declared. She spread her wings and shot up into the clear blue sky.