Bulletproof Heart: Sunset at Little Longhorn

Chapters

Delivery Pony
Bulletproof Heart
Rainbow Recollections
A Shot to Remember
Flaming Sunset
Doing Good

Delivery Pony

A blistering wind swept across the farmlands. The sun peeked between a thin scattering of clouds, forcing Rarity Belle to tuck the rim of her hat down against its glare. Her eyes scanned the small community just visible in the distance. If she’d handled her navigation correctly, that was Little Longhorn. She’d hoped for something bigger, mayhap with a decent inn.

“Why do I keep getting asked to go to places like this?” she asked her steed, a pale grey Dust Devil. “I swear, Ophelia, if they don’t have a proper bed for me in this place I’m charging extra.”

Ophelia trilled and shook her large, reptilian head. Rarity chose to take that as a sign of agreement. She reached down and patted the lizard’s scales just behind the neck frills. “Don’t worry, Darling. I’m sure they’ll have a nice stable for you to stay at for the night. These places tend to take care of their sand lizards better than they do their ponies.”

Fields spread all around them. Cotton, from the looks of it. The sight brought her back to a time two years ago when her life was fabric and needles and clothing. She wondered what had happened to her old shop. Collecting dust, forgotten and unused? She’d have preferred that over being used as a tavern or – Luna forbid! – a brothel. A visit to see Cranky Doodle was long overdue. Maybe when this job was done.

That life was in the past, and Rarity had little interest in lamenting it. She’d learned that lesson the hard way. Instead, she focused on what was next, which mainly involved delivering her package in town. It was a shame it was a little one. That usually meant no official addresses, so finding her quarry would require some detective work. Yet that was also the benefit of small towns: everypony knew everypony else.

Before long they reached the creek that supplied most of this area with its water. She allowed Ophelia a moment to take a drink, using the opportunity to refill her waterskin. She wished she could get herself a bottomless canteen, but that still hadn’t caught on like she’d hoped. Ah, another reminder. Sweet Apple Acres was too far north for her to go in search of it though. Another time, perhaps. She checked to make sure the package was where she remembered in Ophelia’s saddlebag, then mounted and continued on.

They arrived in Little Longhorn near the heat of a burning noon. The houses were small, squat things, clearly designed with a focus on using as few resources as possible. Most of them didn’t even have front doors, which Rarity found alarming. Had they no sense of privacy? The windows didn’t have glass in them either. The structures appeared to be well-maintained, so it wasn’t like this was a place of squalor. But it was quiet. Very few ponies walked the streets, most of them earth ponies, although she did spot a unicorn pair sitting on the front stoop of one house. Her target was a unicorn, so the lack of them meant her job might be easier than she anticipated.

Rarity kept her expression neutral, fighting the urge to frown. The lack of citizens out and about meant that her riding in on her Dust Devil stood out, and more than a few ponies watched her as she passed. They weren’t friendly looks by any stretch of the imagination. Indeed, some of them were outright hostile. Possibilities ran through her thoughts: were they just antagonistic to strangers, or maybe she’d done something unwittingly on her way in that offended, or perhaps they were just having a collective bad day. That last one almost made her laugh at the absurdity, but she maintained her stoic façade. After all, there was one fundamental truth she’d learned to live with, and that was the mountain of bits her head was worth.

Intimidating, but not intimidating enough. She flicked the safety off her gun holsters with a touch of magic and continued to the center of town.

After a few short minutes she caught sight of another unicorn, a little filly of perhaps seven or eight. She’d been playing with a pair of dolls in the yard of her house until she noticed Rarity’s approach. Her eyes went wide as saucers, dolls forgotten, and she hurried to the edge of the dirt path to gape. It didn’t take much to realize the child’s focus was on Ophelia, not Rarity.

Children. So honest, so appreciative. So easy to talk to. Rarity allowed herself a small smile and nudged her steed so that she would pass close to the filly. Ophelia’s head turned to observe the child, a curious gleam in her eyes. When they were right next to her, Rarity brought them up short. The child and Ophelia stared at one another, one thoughtful and the other in open-mouthed awe. This lasted for about a second, then the lizard leaned closer and began sniffing at the filly’s face, prompting her to giggle.

“She likes being rubbed under the chin,” Rarity added helpfully. The filly promptly began massaging Ophelia’s neck with her pale blue hands. The Dust Devil’s eyes closed and its mouth curled in a goofy, friendly, tooth-filled grin. She trilled happily at the attention as the child continued to giggle. “Her name’s Ophelia. Could you tell me yours?”

The filly, her orange mane pulled back in a loose ponytail, smiled up at Rarity. “I’m Autumn Song.”

“My, what a lovely name you have.” Rarity leaned forward to scratch under Ophelia’s frills. “Mine’s Rarity. Do you think you could help us?”

Autumn paused her ministrations to look up at her. “Help you do what?” Ophelia bumped her shoulder gently, making her laugh and get back to her apparent duty. “I’m sorry, did I stop?” she asked playfully. The lizard’s coos reminded Rarity of a cat purring, only with a birdlike quality.

“I’m looking for a pony,” Rarity answered. “A unicorn like us.”

“Not a lot of unicorns here,” Autumn replied, her attention still focused on vigorously rubbing Ophelia’s scales.

“I’m only looking for one. Orange coat, red and yellow mane.”

Autumn’s eyes lit up as she finally tore them from Ophelia’s grin. “Oh, that must be Miss Shimmer! She lives down by the well, but…” She paused to look up at the sky, then down at her shadow. That done, she went back to appreciating an appreciative sand lizard. “Right now she’s probably at the graveyard. Mom doesn’t like me bothering her when she’s there.”

Rarity hummed to herself. Wait for the mare at her home, or go meet her at the cemetery? “Is the graveyard closer than the well from here?”

“Uh-huh.” Autumn was paying a lot more attention to Ophelia than Rarity by now.

“Where is the cemetery?”

The child tilted her head to the right. “That way. Right at Mr. Pitts’s place.”

Rarity couldn’t resist a smile at the simple response. “And which one is Mr. Pitt’s place?”

“The one with the picture of a gun on his front door.”

Well, that should be easy enough to see. Rarity reached into her enchanted, weight-reducing backpack as she spoke. “And the well?”

“Center of town.”

“Very good. Ophelia?” With a low moan of disappointment, the Dust Devil raised her head out of Autumn’s reach. The filly pouted at first. Back came the wide eyes, though, when Rarity displayed a small sapphire between her finger and thumb. “Thank you for the help, Autumn Song. You be a good girl now.”

“O-okay,” Autumn whispered, accepting the gemstone in her open palm. By her stunned look, that one gem was probably worth more than all the bits she’d ever possessed put together. “I can really keep this? It’s worth a whole twenty bits!”

Oh, she knew her gem conversions already? The girl might have a financially successful life ahead of her. “It’s all yours. Have a good day, Autumn.”

Just as Rarity was about to flick the reins, Autumn said, “Keep away from Crater.”

The worried tone made Rarity pause. She eyed Autumn thoughtfully. “Why?”

Swiftly pocketing the gem as if afraid it would be snatched away, the child bowed her head and shuffled her hooves. “He doesn’t like outsiders much.”

A bully, perhaps? Maybe something worse. Rarity cast another glance and saw that, yes, the other ponies were still watching her. All earth ponies, that is. The unicorn couple had gone inside.

She sat up tall in her saddle and smiled down at the child. “Thank you for the warning. I’ll be careful.” A flick of the reins. “Take care now.”

“Yes, ma’am. Bye, Ophelia!” Autumn regained her enthusiasm and waved merrily to them as they trudged away at a steady pace. Thinking on who this ‘Crater’ might be, Rarity instinctively reached up to touch the gun hidden beneath her coat. The last thing she wanted was to get into a fight, but she’d learned to prepare for the worst.

The cemetery was larger than one might expect for a town of this size. Either Little Longhorn was very old, or the town had suffered some kind of calamity. Rarity had little interest in the cemetery itself. Rather, she merely wanted to confirm that Autumn’s ‘Miss Shimmer’ was the same pony Rarity was looking for. It would be uncouth to bother a mare in mourning, after all. Once she knew she had her target, she’d go to wait somewhere quiet near her home.

At least, that was the plan. It was thrown out the window when Rarity laid eyes on the scene. A unicorn mare in a simple brown and blue dress, perhaps ten years Rarity’s senior, stood surrounded by a band of four earth pony stallions. She was impossible to miss with that flaming red hair with yellow streaks. She had her head bowed and her hands clenched into fists as the stallion before her, a short but muscular thing, ran his fingers along her cheek.

Rarity made a few quick observations. The first was that only the lead stallion was armed, a small pistol being at his hip. The others wore loose clothes that could hide a weapon, but why should they hide their weapons? The second thing she noted was that, whatever was being said, the mare was not appreciative of the attention. This was all the information Rarity needed; she set Ophelia plodding into the cemetery, moving straight for the little confrontation.

The stallion behind Miss Shimmer noticed her first and spoke up. Soon all eyes were on Rarity. Miss Shimmer gained a horrified look and shook her head, perhaps trying to warn Rarity off.

“Well, well,” the leader of the stallions said, a lecherous grin on his lips. “Looks like we’re in luck, boys. Now we’ve got two lovely boneheads to play with.”

Rarity felt her eye twitch, but maintained her calm manner. “Good afternoon, boys. I have business with the lady, if you don’t mind.”

“We have business with her too,” the leader announced smugly. “But hey, we can multitask. I’d hate to ignore the attention of a lovely creature such as yourself. Why don’t you climb off that lizard so we can talk eye to eye?”

With a smile of her own, Rarity brought Ophelia to a pause some ten feet away from them. “I’m fine up here, thank you. Why don’t you prove how much of a gentlecolt you are and let us ladies have our time together?”

“Oh, we’re perfect gentlecolts. Honest.” The stallion bowed while his friends chuckled. “I’ll show you how much of a gentlecolt I can be by letting you two have all the time in the world with us. Together.”

“My, but you’re a thick one aren’t you?” Rarity’s smile disappeared. She sat up tall and stared down her muzzle at the fool. “You will leave us. Now.”

The stallion’s smile only grew into a grin. He turned to his buddies. “Look at this one, fellas! Thinks she can boss us around.” Miss Shimmer seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible, her blue eyes firmly on the ground. Such meek posturing, but the only thing shaking on her person was her fists, and Rarity doubted that had anything to do with fear.

The leader turned back to Rarity and took a step closer to her. “Look, girlie, you’re clearly new to Little Longhorn, so let me clear things up for you. First off, you know who I am?”

Why did these stallions always have to be so cock sure of themselves? Rarity let her eyes roam to his companions, all of whom looked perfectly confident in their superior position. “I don’t suppose you’re this ‘Crater’ I’ve heard of?”

“Nah, that’s my brother.” The stallion pointed to himself with a thumb. “We’re Apple Gang, so you better not think of crossing us.”

“Aren’t you cute?” Rarity said with a mockingly childish tone. “You think being a Bad Apple means something to me.” She switched back to a serious manner. “Have you ever been in a gunfight, boy?”

He froze, eyes shifting to the gun at her hip as if just realizing it was there. The grin finally faltered. “Sure I have,” he said, but the hesitation in his voice gave him away. “Are you threatening me?”

Rarity’s hand flowed to the weapon at her hip, her thumb rubbing the small knub on the handle. Her voice sliced through the air with cold precision, aimed straight at his heart. “Yes. I am.”

His bravado faltered. His fingers flexed, shaking even as they did. His companions were exchanging anxious looks. One of them stepped forward to whisper in the stallion’s ear. Whatever he said was enough to make the leader’s face go pale. Rarity could only assume she’d finally been recognized. A pity, she’d hoped to do this job with minimal fuss. Then again, if they really were Bad Apples it would only make sense.

The leader’s hands rose quickly, well away from his gun. “Oookay. I think we can be proper gentlecolts and let you two ladies talk. Come on, guys.” Without so much as a passing glance at Miss Shimmer, he turned and started walking for the town. Rarity turned Ophelia about, making sure she had a good view of their retreat. Their walk gained speed with every step. They were all but running by the time they reached the edge of the cemetery.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Miss Shimmer declared, her tone curiously firm for her choice of words. “Have you any idea what they’ll do to you?”

Nothing compared to what Rarity might do to them, if their apparent experience meant anything. Waiting until the boys were truly out of sight, she turned back to the mare. “Are you Sunset Shimmer?”

Sunset took a step back, one arm raising as if to ward off a blow. Her eyes shined with uncertainty, but also determination. “Who wants to know?”

Rarity offered her most charming – and hopefully disarming – smile. “Somepony trying to deliver a package. You did make an order through Little Angels, yes?”

In an instant, Sunset’s manner went from wary distrust to bright-eyed glee. “You have the gemstone?” She practically bounced forward, hands clasped together as she looked to Rarity’s bags. “Finally! I’ve been waiting two seasons for that thing to show up.”

All doubts assuaged, Rarity climbed off Ophelia and dug into one of the saddlebags, pulling out a small package wrapped in thick yellow paper. She raised it in offering, and Sunset snatched it like a dying pony in the desert might grab a water bag. She chuckled at the mare’s enthusiasm. “I hope it’s worth the wait. I understand Hearthstones are quite expensive.”

“It’ll be worth every bit I saved up if I can figure out how it works,” Sunset replied, hugging the package to her chest. Then her expression darkened. Her eyes trailed over the nearby town. After some fidgeting and humming, she asked, “Why don’t you hold on to it for the moment?” At Rarity’s perplexed expression she explained, “Charming is bound to tell Crater what happened here. They’re gonna want to get back at us for how you stood up to them. I’d rather nopony know I have something so expensive on me. If you could just, um, keep it in your bag? And walk with me to my place where we can hide it properly? I’d really appreciate it.”

Rarity considered the request, quickly deciding it wasn’t that unusual. Besides, there was something far more important to worry about. Those Bad Apples almost certainly knew who she was, and if that was so then Sunset had far worse things in her near future than probable theft. This in mind, Rarity raised her hand expectantly. Sunset gave her the package slowly, as if reluctant to be separated from it.

As she put the package back in the saddlebag, Rarity said, “Do those boys typically bother you, or did I just happen to arrive at the right time?”

The fire faded from Sunset’s demeanor. She seemed to shrink to a fraction of her natural height. “Typically,” she muttered, her long, vibrant tail tucking about her flank to accentuate her abruptly demure posture. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

Of course she wouldn’t. After all, Rarity was a stranger that would be out of her life within a few hours. Or so she thought. With a hand to her hip, Rarity turned to study the mare. That fragile pose made her bristle; just what had those boys already done to her? That earlier spark of will was almost certainly the real Sunset, and it burned her to think that such a mare might have been cowed into submission. Especially when she thought of the potential how.

After the silence stretched on for too long, Sunset muttered, “W-we can go now, if you want. These guys…” She glanced at the graves beside her. “They’re not going anywhere.”

By the Night Mother, but that meekness was grating. Resisting the urge to snort her disdain, Rarity turned her gaze on the nearest grave. She’d meant it to be only a glance, but her eyes locked onto the name. The sight of it brought a vice to her heart and made her knees go weak. The words she’d been about to utter died in her throat as she took a wobbly step closer. No, there was no denying it. “You… Is that real?”

“Hmm?” Sunset looked to where she was pointing. The grave was newer than its neighbors, a distinct difference in the soil’s color indicative that it had been freshly made. Fresh was relative; given the grass that had started growing over it, it had probably been there for only a season. A lone, plain headstone read out a familiar name: Stormy Flare. “What do you mean, is it real?”

Rarity turned to her, the motion jerky, and thrust her finger at the grave a second time. “Is Stormy actually buried here?”

Sunset’s eyes went round. “You knew Stormy?”

“You knew Stormy?” Rarity countered with no less urgency.

A pause lingered between the two. Sunset pressed a hand to her breast. “She was my cousin. This is her hometown.”

What trickery of fate was this? Rarity turned back to gape at the headstone, her hands opening and closing as she tried not to think too hard on the last time she’d seen the Flaming Vermillion. “I… I see. I had no idea.”

Sunset took a cautious step closer. “How did you know her?”

Anxiety filled Rarity as she pondered her answer. She ultimately went with a mildly honest, “We crossed paths. Once or twice. She... left quite an impression.”

“Not a good one, knowing her.” Dropping to a crouch, Sunset rubbed her hand along the blades of grass atop the grave, much like she was trying to reassure the dead with her touch. “She was so messed up by the end of it.”

Rarity could certainly confirm that, not that she would. Instead, she decided to change tact. “I didn’t know they’d recovered her body.”

“They didn’t.” Sunset’s ears folded back against her skull, disappearing amongst the sea of red and gold that was her mane. “When Crater told me she’d died, I didn’t believe it. They’re always trying to get to me, I thought it was more of that. But then she didn’t come to visit everyone last season. She’s never missed a year before. Somehow I… I just knew it was true.”

“Now hold on.” Rarity saw a problem with this story, and immediately latched onto it. “How is that even possible? Stormy Flare hated the Bad Apple Gang with an obsessive passion. Why would she permit them to have a presence in her hometown, which she visited annually?”

“They never stayed,” Sunset replied stoically, still running her fingers through the grass. She began plucking out weeds. “They hid somewhere. Stormy tried to find them a few times, root them out. Sometimes she’d kill a bunch of them. But they always came back. It’s like the Gang was determined to taunt her with its presence here. Crater and Charming are from here, joined the Gang about three years ago.”

Rarity watched her work, a wave of melancholy sweeping over her. Stormy had been seeking vengeance, but the Gang had outright invited it by taunting her so. She stared at the grave, recalling a fight that seemed so long ago now. That mare had come so close to ending her life. Closer than many. She hoped to never get into a battle of that sort again.

Seeking to think of other things, she let her gaze drift to a pair of graves on either side of and slightly behind Stormy’s. The name on the left was unfamiliar, but the one on the right, much smaller, caught her eye. “Spitfire?”

Sunset’s ears perked, then lowered again. “Stormy’s daughter.”

The Flaming Vermillion had a daughter? Curious, Rarity approached the grave. By the dates, she calculated it had been there for some eighteen years. Spitfire had been no more than three years old at the time of her death. Closing her eyes, Rarity recalled the last moments of that terrible fight, and the last word to leave Stormy’s lips. Painful understanding bloomed. “What happened?”

Without hesitation, Sunset recited the story as if she knew it by heart. “After the Battle of Ponyville, Stormy went into hiding. Not for long, only a season. When the Bad Apples couldn’t find her, they came here and put the town to the torch. Every member of Stormy’s family was slaughtered. All except me.”

Rarity turned to find Sunset staring at the grave as if afraid Stormy might reach out and drag her in, regardless of whether she was down there or not. “Why you?”

Sunset sighed and stood. She spoke in a dry, dull tone, but Rarity suspected her disinterest was an act. “I was fifteen, and just had a fight with my parents. I ran away, like an idiot. Didn’t make it three days before I got homesick and turned around. By the time I got back, two thirds of Little Longhorn was gone and the Gang had moved on.” She turned away from the graves. “I’m ready to go home now.”

Rarity watched her walk off, then looked to the graves around her. A great many of them shared the same date. She’d known the Gang could be terrible, but this really brought them to a whole new low. As she turned, she became aware of seven graves in a broad, neat circle, one of which was Stormy’s. They were clearly a centerpoint of the graveyard, and despite everything Rarity felt she had to take a closer look. The names gave her pause: Stormy Flare, Noteworthy, Parish Nandermane, Granny Smith, Tough Nut, and Wild Fire. The last one bore no name, but Rarity had no doubt it was intended for a mare named Moonlight Raven.

She didn’t feel worthy to be standing amongst such famous ponies. Slowly, she backed out of the circle, her lips closed tight and her hands behind her back. Once safely away, she took Ophelia by the reins and followed Sunset, who by now had passed the boundary of the graveyard.

Much of the walk to Sunset’s home went on in silence. As before, the earth ponies they passed either ignored them completely or shot them withering stares. No, not them; just Rarity. She tried to ignore them, though the passive aggression they displayed made her trigger fingers itchy. When they reached a road without any such unwanted guests, Rarity quietly asked, “Why are there so few ponies out and about?”

Sunset, seeming to have recovered from her gloom, replied, “Most of them are asleep.”

“Asleep?”

“Thestrals.”

“Ah.” Rarity took another look around, half expecting to see one of the leather-winged ponies out and about. “So this is largely a thestral town?”

“More than half the population.” Sunset glanced back at her. “You saw the farms, right? Pretty much all of them are thestral owned and operated.”

A frown swept across Rarity’s features as she considered what she’d seen so far. “And yet the earth ponies run around acting like they own the place.”

Sunset spun around and put a finger on her lips, shushing Rarity as her eyes darted about. She spoke in an urgent whisper. “Don’t make light of it! A third of the earth ponies here are loyal to the Bad Apples, which means they’re not very nice to non-earth ponies. The thestrals outnumber them four to one, but that’s no reason to go offending them.”

Rarity raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. “I apologize, darling. I’m afraid my respect for the Gang is… lacking.”

With a hurried glance at their surroundings, Sunset turned about and moved at a fast walk. “You can’t have been doing this job for very long then. That or you’ve led a sheltered life.”

Rarity almost laughed, but held it in check by the skin of her teeth. Ophelia bumped her shoulder, and she obediently reached up to rub the lizard’s muzzle. “Yes, I know,” she whispered with a conspiratorial wink at her steed. Setting her attention back to Sunset, she asked, “So what is it you do, Miss Shimmer? Take care of the cemetery?”

A few steps of silence made her wonder if Sunset would respond, but then, “No. I just care for the Rainbow Gang’s graves because… because I knew them. I’m a teacher.”

“Oh, how delightful!” And Rarity meant it. To think that such a tiny town had a place of learning was refreshing. Most small towns she visited had nothing of the sort. “You teach the children of Little Longhorn, then?”

“Uh… yeah.” Though only the back of her head could be seen, Sunset’s tone suggested that she wasn’t used to such an enthusiastic reaction. “I do evening classes for the thestral foals and morning classes for the rest.”

Rarity cocked her head. “That’s curious. Wouldn’t it be better to teach them all at the same time? It’s bound to be an easier schedule for you.”

Heaving a sigh, shoulders slumping, Sunset nodded. “It would be, yeah. But the Gang’s earth ponies refuse to let their kids associate with ‘them freaky bat ponies.’ Direct quote. The others go along with it so as to not offend them.” She turned off the road once they reached the town well, approaching a small home architecturally identical to all the ones around it, albeit with an actual door. She pushed said door open, its hinges creaking noisily. “You can tie your lizard up to the signpost round the back of the house. Come on in when you’re ready.”

The door shut, and Rarity was left alone with Ophelia in the yard. A number of things occurred to her in that moment. The first was that Sunset’s house appeared to be in need of greater maintenance than those around it. Part of the front wall was visibly rotting and it would come as no surprise to her if that roof leaked, what with its thin layer of thatch. The second thing was that leaking was actually an issue here in the Eastline, what with the Atlantian Coast only a hundred or so miles to the east. Rain, a true luxury in the majority of Equestria. Rarity rather missed it. Much like grass, which seemed to be present in great abundance here.

Third, Sunset didn’t appear to have a way to lock her door. Given what Rarity had seen of the citizens here, that was worrying, but at least she had a door at all. It appeared flimsy, and as such would serve poorly as a barrier against intruders. She feared that might have been the point. She took the extra time to walk around the square, idly investigating the other houses, and saw the same design on the very few that sported doors. And given the lack of ponies present, she suspected this was a thestral neighborhood.

“Something doesn’t feel right about all this, Ophelia,” she murmured, guiding her steed to the back of Sunset’s home. She found herself on another road, the houses along the street coming right up to it. It seemed to Rarity a waste of space, but who was she to judge? Finding the suggested sign post – directing ponies to what was likely Little Longhorn’s only saloon – she tied Ophelia up and got the lizard’s feed bag off the saddle. “Here you go. Be a good girl and wait for Mommy, hmm? And if you see any Bad Apples, don’t think you need my permission to sit on them.” Ophelia replied with that unique toothy smile of hers before burying her muzzle in the feed.

Her mount taken care of, Rarity headed back to the front door, although not before noting that there was a back door available, also flimsy in appearance.

With the package tucked into her backpack, she returned to the front of the house. She entered after a polite knock, just to keep from startling her host. Sunset’s home was even smaller on the inside than it had appeared on the outside. The main room included both the front and back doors and featured the majority of the home’s furnishings: kitchen, tiny table with three mismatched chairs, a standing rack in the corner with clothes, and what appeared to be a workstation covered in tools and trinkets. A doorless passage to Rarity’s left showed a bedroom barely big enough to hold the lone bed. She could only guess as to what the second doorway led to.

Sunset was at the kitchen counter, cleaning what looked to be a cabbage in the wash basin. She looked up at Rarity’s arrival and finally regained that excited smile from earlier. “Oh, good! Close the door?”

Rarity wasn’t sure what good that would do in terms of privacy when there were open windows, but she obliged. Pulling the package out of her pack, she handed it to Sunset, who bounced from hoof to hoof. The mare hurried to the workstation, tail flicking wildly as she ripped the wrapping paper to shreds with her magic. “I’ve been looking forward to this for seasons!”

“So I’ve heard,” Rarity replied with an amused smile. “Does it really get that cold in the Eastline? A Hearthstone seems like quite the investment for a teacher.”

“Oh, I’m not in it for the heat,” Sunset replied. “I’m in it for the study.” At last she pulled the item from the package. The stone itself was pitch black, like coal, but smooth and with a glass-like appearance. Small enough to fit easily in a palm, it was mounted within a wooden stand of oak, itself marked with the name of the maker. Moving with something akin to reverence, Sunset put the stand on her workbench.

“The study?” Rarity repeated, moving a little closer to observe as Sunset pulled a bundle of blank paper from a drawer. Her eyes boggled at the sheer number of sheets; that couldn’t have come cheap! “The study of what?”

“Magic, of course.” Prepping a quill and some ink jars, Sunset explained, “I have a gift with magic, but could never go to Manehattan or Seaddle for study. I have to make do with what I can get, and that usually means reverse engineering things like this. It’s a grinding process, but I make do.” She grabbed the quill in her magic and began dictating, the quill scribbling her words down. “Preliminary analysis. The Hearthstone is built into a simple wooden apparatus, undoubtedly intended for display purposes. Will consider removing from stand after initial study. The stone itself is of some black gem of an unclear nature. I’m not sure what the gem is, but—”

“Diopside.”

Sunset paused, then turned to Rarity with brow furrowed. “Pardon?”

Rarity gestured to the stone. “The gem is Diopside. It has no value in the Bank’s gem conversion system, but it has some value for enchanting, and so some geode farms still produce them as a cheaper alternative to, say, Feldspar or Vivianite.”

Ears perking, Sunset asked, “You know gemstones? Are you a gemologist?”

“Self-taught, but I studied it quite a bit.” Rarity smiled as she recalled her childhood pouring over thick tomes in a brief obsession with learning everything about the diamonds on her flank. “They became a major side-element of my original profession, back before fate decided I should be what I am today.”

Sunset’s eyes darted between the Hearthstone and Rarity as she licked her lips. Shifting with visible indecision, head bowed, she eventually asked, “In that case, is, uh, is there anything else you can tell me about this… what was it called?”

“Diopside.” At Sunset’s slightly panicked expression, Rarity offered a reassuring smile and spelled the name out for her. Once sure that had been done correctly, she said, “Well, it’s good at holding general, small-scale enchantments, but it doesn’t have significant rigidity against magical forces. It can be very easy to break Diopside gems by forcing too much magic into them. Since this is a lower-quality gemstone, it will likely be more fragile than most, so I don’t recommend pushing too much magic in it if you want it to last longer than, say, a season.”

Sunset’s beaming expression faltered. “Oh…”

Grinning, Rarity waved a dismissive hand. “Not to worry, darling. This will do what it was designed to do with only the slightest touch of magic. Again, it’s very good at channeling small quantities in a controlled charge. Observe.” Lighting her horn, she touched the Hearthstone with the faintest bit of magic she could. Reaching her hand over it, she found it was already producing a slight warmth. “Just a little love tap of Blue Magic to get it going. It’ll take some time to reach its full output, but better to wait than to risk damaging the gem and ruining the enchantment.”

Sunset’s quill furiously scribbled as Rarity spoke, and the mare herself had a grin that might have qualified as disturbing. “This is amazing! What did I do right to luck out and get a delivery mare who also understands gem enchanting?”

Rarity tried not to fret over the heat coming to her cheeks. Tittering anxiously, she replied, “Oh, I wouldn’t call myself an expert. I understand the gems’ properties, but have no clue how to actually enchant one. It’s all book knowledge, really.”

“That’s more than anything I’ve got.” Sunset began to toy with her mane, her other hand drumming its fingers on the workbench. “S-say, if you don’t have anywhere to go in a hurry, do you think you could share your knowledge with me?”

As far as Rarity could see, she had no reason whatsoever to refuse such a request. It wasn’t like leaving a day later would impact how much she earned from this job, and she wasn’t headed back to Hoofington after this anyway. Besides, Rarity had a certain suspicion, and her conscience wouldn’t let her leave without seeing it confirmed or denied. So, with a warm smile, she declared, “I would love to.”

Bulletproof Heart

“So this spell of yours can find gems out in the field?” Sunset asked from across the tiny dining table. Between them sat Sunset’s own culinary creation, a hearty mixture of rice and cabbage beneath a thick potato-based gravy. ‘Peasant food’, one might say, but Rarity found it pleasantly rich. And one never said no to potatoes. As her father liked to say, potatoes were Luna’s gift to chefs. She’d yet to find reason to debate the point.

“Indeed,” she said, sipping from her glass of warm mead, which was apparently the favorite drink of Little Longhorn. Not Rarity's first choice, but it served. She almost refused it, but relented at Sunset’s insistence it had only the most minute alcoholic content. “Finding gems in the wilds is exceedingly rare, of course, and I don’t use it near as much as I did in my teenage years. Still,” she added as she shivered, “there are times when it comes in handy.”

“Can you teach it to me?”

Rarity blinked, taking in Sunset’s clasped hands and bright-eyed grin. “W-well, I suppose. I don’t—”

“Thank you! Have some more mead.” Sunset reached for Rarity’s mug with all the eagerness of a filly looking to please a childhood icon.

Rarity pulled the mug out of her reach swiftly. “No! No, thank you.”

The anxiousness that sometimes fell upon Sunset made itself known once more. She hunched back in her chair and poked her fork at her barely eaten meal. “You don’t like it?”

“That’s not it at all,” Rarity replied with a sigh. She eyed the mug, which was still more than two-thirds full. “The last experience I had with alcohol ended poorly for everypony involved. I’ve grown wary of it since then.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I guess I should have got you some water from the well.”

“Don’t.” Rarity raised her hand to stop Sunset before she could fully escape her seat. “The mead is fine. You’ve no need to go through any trouble.”

Sunset hesitated, pouting as she stood locked between sitting and standing. Then her expression firmed. “No. You’re helping me learn. The least I can do is be a courteous host. Besides, it’s only ten steps to the well.”

As much as Rarity wanted to object, she stilled her tongue. This wasn’t the first time Sunset showed signs of a more self-assured personality than her frequent meekness suggested, and she didn’t want to discourage that. “Very well, but only because you insist.”

Nodding, Sunset grabbed a metal pail from near the door and stepped outside. Rarity waited until she was truly gone before hopping out of her seat and moving to the window. The town was painted in pleasant orange and red hues thanks to the rapidly descending sun. Sunset trudged with purpose for the well, which stood innocuous and isolated in the middle of the square. There remained no movement from the surrounding houses.

At least, not from inside the houses. A hint of motion caught Rarity’s attention. There was a pony partially hidden between two of the homes on the opposite side of the square. He or she watched Sunset from the shadows, but otherwise did nothing. The sight filled Rarity with a frustrating certainty. It wasn’t hard evidence, but it was good enough in her mind. More out of habit than anything, she took a moment to check the five-bullet cylinder of her revolver, then pulled the significantly larger 45 caliber pistol from beneath her vest. She pulled the cartridge out, counted it full at nine bullets, then replaced it and the gun.

Maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was nothing.

She’d rather be prepared than dead. Rarity sat back in her seat at the dining table, took a bite of food, and began surveying the house once more. With a wry smile, she formed her plan.

Sunset returned. She levitated the now full pail onto the kitchen counter and lit the fire with her magic. “I’ll just get this to boiling. Don’t want you catching anything because you used bad water, right?”

“Of course,” Rarity replied, pretending to keep her attention on her food. “I notice it’ll be night soon. Is there any place better to stay than some…” She worked to exaggerate her shudders, like a proper diva. “Saloon?”

“A place to stay? Well—” Sunset went stiff, her back still turned from the table. Rarity barely repressed a smile at the expected reaction. Now, if she’d figured Sunset out as she thought she had, then in three… two… one…

“Y-you could…” Sunset shuffled from hoof to hoof, her skirts swaying as her brilliant tail wrapped around her legs. “You could… stay the night. I won’t charge you or anything.”

Perfect. Rarity’s mood soured, though, as she recalled the reason for her little manipulation. “I suppose I could. Are you sure that’s alright?”

Facing her at last, a rosy pink in her cheeks, Sunset nodded. “I don’t have much. Only one bed and all. B-but you can have it tonight! I’ll just—”

No, no, no! That was going too far, even without her plans. Rarity leveled a commanding look at her host and uttered a single, forceful word: “Stop.”

Sunset flinched as if struck, her eyes dropping to the floor. She said nothing. Her demure, outright docile manner made Rarity’s hackles rise. Standing up, she walked around to stand before Sunset. “Look at me.” After another flinch, Sunset complied, anxiety and fear in her gaze. Rarity set her hands on the mare’s shoulders and tried not to grimace at how Sunset jumped from the contact. “You are an intelligent, capable mare. You have an influential position in this town, particularly over its youth. I have seen that you are capable of standing up for yourself at times. There’s a strong mare beneath that shivering, fearful creature on display, and I want to talk to her.”

Though her hands moved up as if to grab Rarity’s arms, Sunset failed to commit to the action. She turned her face away, head and ears lowered. “W-why are you saying such things?”

Rarity tried to reposition herself to look Sunset in the eyes, but the mare refused to cooperate. Nonetheless, she said, “I want to know what those boys did to make you so meek.”

“Maybe that’s just who I—”

“Do not try to tell me this is who you really are.” She spun Sunset around so that they were facing the workstation, which she promptly pointed at. “You have a dream that you pursue, and at significant personal cost. Don’t try to deny it, I know how expensive paper can get even here in the Eastline. And let us not forget the sheer mental fortitude required to teach children. And while I’ll admit it’s a reach to make this connection, you are related to The Flaming Vermillion, an Equestrian legend who very nearly had me eating dirt last year.”

Rarity walked back around to Sunset’s front, taking in the pony’s alarmed, almost pained expression. “Don’t tell me this fragile, defenseless creature is the real you, because I don’t buy it for a moment.”

Sunset stood there for a time, eyes lowered and cheeks freshly pink. But her weariness and depression hadn’t left her eyes. If anything, she seemed even more timid than she had before, her shoulders hunched and her hands clasped tightly. At last, she said, “What would you have me do, Miss Belle? Stand up for myself? Tomorrow you’ll be gone, and the Gang will still be here. Every day they remind me of what they did to my family. I have to live every night knowing that they could come into this house and take whatever they want, myself included, and I would be powerless to stop them.” Her eyes met Rarity’s at last. “It’s nice that you care, but you just don’t understand the situation.”

Rarity grit her teeth but held her tongue. What could she possibly say to that? She wasn’t about to reveal her plans for tonight. So instead she just stared into Sunset’s eyes and tried to will the mare to show her backbone. It was all for naught, as Sunset merely turned away, sat at the table, and continued to eat her dinner.

Maybe I don’t understand. She gripped the handle of her revolver, rubbing her thumb against the familiar knub. But I won’t let this situation continue. Settling down in her own chair, she cast a glance at the window. It was all but night now. “I’ll stay,” she said, unable to keep the edge out of her voice. “But I’ll be sleeping in here.”

“Are you sure? I can—” Sunset shrank in her seat at the hard expression fired her way. “O-okay.”

Acting so heated towards Sunset was wrong, Rarity knew, but she couldn’t help the fire burning within. The little pony in the back of her head reminded her that this wasn’t why she’d come to Little Longhorn. She was supposed to drop off a package then move on. This was a job to pay for her survival, no more. But then, what would happen to Sunset after she left? After how she’d threatened Charmer, retribution was imminent. Rarity was determined to head that off at the pass.

And if she understood Bad Apple tactics like she thought she did, then the method for retribution was obvious.

Once dinner was eaten, Rarity convinced Sunset to provide her with a means of privacy. To Sunset, this had meant opening up the storage room for the night. Using all her experience as a repulsive teenage diva – perhaps the first time that period of her life had a use – Rarity came up with all sorts of excuses as to why the room wasn’t suitable for a mare of her caliber. Be it complaining about the dust or the extra work required to make space, Rarity laid it on as thick as she could. Part of it was in the hope that Sunset would finally snap and show her authoritative side. This was her home, after all.

But her real purpose won out, and a frustrated Sunset finally agreed to help her rig up a simple curtain in a windowless corner of the main room. Flustered and undoubtedly regretting her decision to house Rarity for the night, Sunset promptly went to bed. Rarity then went outside to check on and prepare Ophelia in case a hasty retreat would be needed, grabbing her sleeping roll while she was at.

All that was left was to wait.

They came later than Rarity expected. Her first clue was the orange glow in the windows. She heard the front door open, its hinges creaking no less loudly now than before. It came as a great relief, as Sunset’s floor was anything but comfortable. She watched three stallions walk in, recognizing one of them as Charming. Armed with rifles and pistols, they slowly snuck their way to the curtain Sunset and Rarity had put up.

Once their collective backs were turned to her, she stood and stepped as quietly as possible out from the storage room. She allowed herself only a brief glance out the window, but that was enough. A posse was waiting outside, along with dozens of thestrals. She highly doubted so many townsfolk approved of what was happening. In all likelihood the Gang was trying to make Sunset and her an example to Little Longhorn.

They’d certainly get a show.

Charming raised his hand, stopping the other two. He reached up, took the curtain, and slowly pulled it aside. All three of them aimed at the apparently sleeping figure in the bedroll.

Rarity ignited her horn, and the stallions gave startled cries as the curtain came undone and encircled them. Three shots were fired in vain, then they were wrapped up tight. Rarity cracked each of them on the back of the head with one of Sunset’s pots, which was enough to still their movements.

A couple seconds later, Sunset rushed out of her room, clutching a nightgown close as she turned towards what she thought was Rarity’s sleeping spot. Smooth as silk, Rarity stepped up behind her, reaching around Sunset’s shoulder and covering her mouth. “Shh, not a sound,” she whispered, raising her pistol to her lips in lieu of a finger. Sunset nodded vigorously, eyes locked on the unconscious forms at her hooves. “There’s a posse outside. Probably at the back door, too. Lay down on the floor by the front door, and if you see anypony coming in through the back then call out to me.”

Releasing Sunset, Rarity took an extra moment to free the unconscious trespassers' weapons from within the confines of the curtain, then started for the front door. She paused when Sunset asked, “W-what are you going to do?”

Frowning, Rarity took a slow breath to calm her heart and raised her weapons in demonstration. “Teach a lesson.” Without another word, she stepped outside.

There were eight outlaws out front, and the looks of shock on their faces at her arrival were priceless. The dozens of thestral townsfolk behind them began murmuring amongst themselves as she stepped out the door and into the light of their torches. “Good evening, boys. Or is it morning by now?”

The leader of the posse stood at the rear of his crew, right by the well. The best way she could describe him was ‘average’, in height, in build, in colors. Indeed, if he hadn't possessed an exaggeratedly authoritative posture, like somepony posing for a painting, she wouldn’t have recognized him as the leader. His dropped jaw closed as anger replaced his alarm. “Where’s my brother?”

“Ah, so you’re Crater,” Rarity replied pleasantly. She couldn’t help thinking the poor fellow had been named after his pockmarked complexion. “I’m afraid Charming got caught trying to peek in on sleeping mares.” Her voice grew hard. “So he was punished.”

Crater trembled with clear fury. He reached into his vest and pulled out a large revolver. Compensating for something, perhaps? “Just who the hay do you think you are?”

“Hmmph, how rude!” Rarity waved her own revolver in a dismissive fashion. “Gentlecolts are supposed to introduce themselves first.” When he only glared, she sighed and shook her head. “Oh, very well, if you insist on being a brute.”

She raised her revolver to her right, its metal shining silver in the torchlight. Its polished wood was stained a midnight blue, its name emblazoned upon the wood in glittery silver letters. “This is Silver Lining.”

The outlaws reached for their guns.

She raised her 45 pistol to her left, its barrel long and wide compared to its companion. The metal shone a pinkish-red, its wood an eye-catching maroon. Tiny rubies shimmered along its sides. Its name could be seen written in fine cursive along its barrel. “This is Ruby Heart.”

They all aimed for her, some of them visibly shaking.

“These I think you’re familiar with.” Rarity ignited her horn and worked her magic. A second later four pistols and a rifle emerged from the open front door of Sunset’s house and hovered at her sides, each aimed at a different pony. “I’m sure Charming and his friends won’t mind if I borrow them.”

That would have been the perfect opportunity for them to open fire, but it seemed surprise and alarm had crippled their capacity to think straight. The outlaws just stared, weapons half-aimed and postures hunched.

“And I am the Bulletproof Heart.” Rarity took aim at the ponies on either side of Crater, working her magic for one last trick. “I don’t take kindly to your treatment of Miss Shimmer. So I’m only going to warn you once: leave Little Longhorn and never come back.”

The only sound was the soft murmuring of the thestrals and crackle of the torches. Many of the townsfolk were already backing away swiftly, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. The bandits exchanged fearful looks, and she could see her title being worked on their quivering lips.

At last, Crater noticed that none of the guns were pointed his way. He smiled, slowly, maliciously, and pointed his weapon at Rarity’s head. “Any drifter can claim to be the Bulletproof Heart. You’re bluffing.”

Rarity countered with her own smile, batting her lashes at him. In an oh-so sweet voice, she replied, “Oh, no, no, no, Mr. Crater. I’m not bluffing.

“I’m stalling.”

In that moment the rope from the well, glowing dimly in her blue aura, wrapped itself around his throat. He gasped and opened fire, an act that was followed by his companions. Their shots bounced harmlessly off a small shield just large enough to cover her body, each impact a small hammer to her head. She took it with only a wince, concentrating on pulling the gang leader towards the well with the rope. Confusion reigned for a few brief seconds, and then the guns in Rarity’s magic all opened fire simultaneously.

Rarity might have been a crack shot, but she wasn’t so delusional as to think she could accurately fire seven weapons at the same time. Indeed, the very suggestion was ludicrous. But the maneuver served its purpose: the outlaws scrambled for cover from the onslaught like roaches fleeing the light. She even hit one or two. With the lot of them on the move, she released her shield and the levitating weapons and focused on just using Silver Lining and Ruby Heart.

The outlaws never stood a chance. Her guns swept across the area in blue and red blurs of motion, and five went down in the first wave of bullets. One of the survivors tried to hide in an alleyway while the other struggled to keep Crater from being pulled by the neck into the well. Leaving those two to their distraction, she walked towards the alleyway. She had planned on advising the outlaw to just leave, but he opened fire as soon as she crossed the corner. It only took one shot from Silver Lining to bring him down, but she was kind and only hit his leg.

That left the last two. She approached the well, casually changing out Silver Lining's cylinder with her magic and paying no heed to the groaning ponies scattered throughout the square. When the last bandit saw her coming she went for her gun only to get a bullet in the arm. That was all it took to send her running past the thestrals and into the darkness.

Crater, blue in the face, had half his body over the open well, legs kicking at the air as he struggled with the rope. Rarity stepped up beside him and leaned against the well, chin on the back of her hand as she observed him. “This is truly an amateur operation you’re running here, Mr. Crater.”

He gasped and choked, boggling eyes locked on her. There was a desperate plea within them, but she was not moved. She tapped the side of his head with Ruby Heart’s barrel. “Under normal circumstances I would make you an offer to give up this profession, but it is to my understanding that you Bad Apples have been tormenting dear Sunset her entire life, and that just will not do.”

He reached out to grab her arm. He couldn’t quite reach it at this angle. A desperate whine found its way out of the confines of his throat.

“Really, you should consider yourself lucky that the Flaming Vermillion is dead. She wouldn’t have bothered with these games. I should know, I fought her once. Fortunately for you?” She stood up straight and holstered her weapons, then smiled at him. “I am not a killer.” The rope unwrapped from around his throat, and Crater scrambled to get away from the well.

“However.”

The rope darted forward once more. It caught him by the leg and dragged him back. He gave a raspy scream and clawed at the stones, but soon she had him hovering upside down over the well. This required a lot of effort on her part, for he was by no means a light pony, but it was worth it for the look of horror on his face.

Ignoring the strain on her horn, Rarity turned him to face her. “Since the Flaming Vermillion is no longer available, consider this town under my protection now.” Her eyes narrowed as she growled in his face. “You won’t get a second chance to walk away. If I have to come back here, my generosity won’t save you. Is that understood?”

He nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, I get it! Now put me down!”

She grinned and stepped back. “Glad we understand one another. Ta-ta!” Her magic cut off, and Crater fell screaming into the well. The rope snapped taut, and his scream shifted from fear to agony. She wondered, mildly, if his leg had been broken. Well, it wasn’t her problem.

Turning around, she paused upon realizing that some of the thestral townsfolk were still watching, not a one of them without a dropped jaw. She set her hands to her hips, flashed her best smile for them, and said, “Feel free to leave him down there as long as you deem appropriate.” Without another word, she stepped over the dead and wounded outlaws and returned to Sunset’s house. The mare herself stood half-hidden in the doorway, gaping at her as if she’d just sprouted a second head. Saying nothing, she retreated back into the house as Rarity entered. It took only a couple minutes to drag the three unconscious outlaws in the curtain out and dump them in the square.

Only once she was back inside and the door had closed behind her did she let her smile fade. Rubbing her aching head just below her throbbing horn, she groaned. “Note to self: find less demanding ways to put on a show.”

“That was— Rarity, you— I— How—?” Sunset fell into one of her dining chairs, her efforts at speech fading into unintelligible sputters. She’d forgotten all about her nightgown, leaving a lot more skin visible than Rarity needed to see.

Rarity elected not to comment on this, instead tossing the sheet into Sunset’s lap. “Hold that thought.” She marched for the back door, using her horn to turn the knob – no sense breaking the door in the process. With all the strength she could muster, she kicked it open, not surprised when it slammed against a solid body on the other side. A second kick succeeded in opening the door fully, and she stomped out into the back road to stand over a mare. The pony squirmed and moaned, clutching at her bleeding muzzle.

Rarity whipped out her guns and aimed them at the two remaining earth ponies. “Anyone else?” They didn’t stick around to test her, disappearing into the night without bothering to fire a shot. One of them even left his gun behind.

That done, she put Ruby Heart away and grabbed the still moaning mare by her shirt. It took a bit of effort, but she managed to stand the mare up with one hand while the other kept Silver Lining aimed at her chest. “Sorry about that, darling, but a lady is entitled to her privacy.” Her pleasant tone disappeared entirely. “How many are in your little posse?”

One hand still covering her soaked nose, the mare raised the other high, eyes locked on the gun. “I shurrender,” she cried, voice nasally through her broken muzzle. “D-don’t shoot!”

Rarity dug the barrel into the mare’s chest, pulling her a little closer as she did. “How many?” She kept her tone even but commanding; she wanted the girl to answer the question, not empty her bowels.

“Th-there’sh, uh… Junker makesh nine, um… Elefen! Elefen of ush!”

Eleven? So she’d already encountered all of the Gang in Little Longhorn. Not much of an occupying force, but then, the Gang probably didn’t think it needed one with the Vermillion dead and the town in their pocket. Rarity dropped the wide-eyed youth, who promptly fell to a sitting position. “I’ve already threatened your boss, so I won’t bore you with the details. Just know that I have every intention of making life miserable for the lot of you if I learn you’re still doing this sort of thing in the future.” She started to turn away, but paused to shoot one last, threatening look at the trembling mare. “I will find out.”

Her task done – for now – Rarity returned to the house, closing the door softly behind her. She turned to find Sunset still sitting at the table, staring at the front door in a daze. Holstering Silver Lining, Rarity waved a hand before Sunset’s frozen face. “Miss Shimmer? Hello? Anypony home?”

Sunset nearly fell out of her seat. She raised a shaking finger to point at Rarity. “Y-you’re the Bulletproof Heart.”

Glad to find her host no longer paralyzed, Rarity smirked and went to sit down in the chair opposite her. “Yes, I do believe we’ve covered that.”

“Okay.” Placing her palms flat on the table, Sunset stared at them and took a few slow breaths. Her shaking gradually faded. Once they’d passed, she looked up to ask, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

With cheek in hand, Rarity studied her nails. They looked a fright. She wondered if Sunset had access to a nail file. “Wherever the Bulletproof Heart goes, trouble tends to follow, usually in relation to the Bad Apples. But if nopony knows she’s in their midst, then trouble doesn’t know to show up. I’ve made it a point not to advertise it at every opportunity.”

Sunset promptly pointed at the front door and demanded incredulously, “Then why did you announce it out there?”

“Because I believed the secret was already out,” Rarity replied calmly, checking Sunset’s nails as she did. Hmm, yes, not too shabby. She had to have something Rarity could borrow. “I thought Charming and his goons recognized me during our encounter at the cemetery. I may not announce my title to every pony I meet, but that’s no protection against reputation.” She pulled out Silver Lining, making sure the name inscribed on its side was in full view. “This by itself tends to be a dead giveaway.”

Sunset considered this, lips twisting into a scowl. “They’ll come back.”

“And so will I.”

“When?” Sunset raised her hands wide, doubt plain in her narrowed eyes. “Why?”

“Once a year. Or when you send word for help.”

Sunset’s posture slumped slightly, hands still raised. “Me? How am I supposed to do that?”

Rarity shrugged. “Little Longhorn has a bank, does it not? Or a post office?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” At Rarity’s questioning look, she sighed. “We send messages via caravan or rider to the next town over.”

Smiling in satisfaction, Rarity declared, “I have a friend who is… very high in the bank’s management system. I will send him a little request regarding this issue. From that point on, if the Bad Apples are back in town then you need only send a message through the Bank or post office and it is guaranteed to reach me regardless of where I am.”

“You can do that?” Sunset blinked. “You would do that?”

“Yes and yes.” A yawn overcame Rarity, but she wasn’t ready to call it a night – morning? – just yet. “I said I would protect this town, and I meant it.”

For a little while, her host merely stared at her, as if she were speaking some foreign language beyond pony comprehension. Then her expression darkened. “Did you kill Stormy?”

The query sliced through Rarity’s growing weariness like a knife. She sat up straight and opened her mouth, but hesitated upon seeing the fire in Sunset’s eyes. Where had that question come from? Rarity pursed her lips, sucked in a long breath, and relaxed. “No. I didn’t kill her, but I was there.”

Sunset studied her, clearly seeking some sign of deception. Her hands clenched and unclenched a few times before she asked, “How did she die?”

There was no need to think on the answer. Rarity remembered the event vividly. “My friends and I were engaged in a fight with the Bad Apples. Stormy Flare charged in, attacking anypony in sight regardless of what side they were on. She was already heavily injured at the time. Even a pony as capable as she has limitations and, frankly, she slammed into hers at full speed.”

More intense scrutiny. Rarity didn’t flinch; she’d faced far worse than Sunset’s furrowed brow in her time. They were discussing one of them even now. In the end the fire died. Sunset sank back into her chair, pressing her fingers to her forehead. “That sounds like something she’d do. She was growing more and more unhinged every time I saw her. I figured it was only a matter of time.”

Once sure the mare wouldn’t say anything more, Rarity gave her a small nod. “I’ll tell you whatever I can if it will help, and I will assist Little Longhorn if I need to. I only ask for three things.”

As if by instinct, Sunset hurried to close her nightgown up, expression darkening once again. “What things?”

Rarity raised a finger. “First, I’d like to know more about the Rainbow Gang. Since ponies keep insisting on comparing me to them, I should probably learn more about them. All my information so far comes from secondhand sources.”

Sunset’s ears perked as she thought on this. “That’s… Yeah, I can do that.”

“Excellent! Second, I want you to get your hands on a gun.”

Sunset recoiled as if struck. “W-what? No! What do you expect me to do with that?”

“Learn to defend yourself, for one.” Rarity grimaced at the negative response she’d received. “If this town had ponies who would stand up for themselves then this kind of thing wouldn’t happen in the first place. I’m not going to offer my aid to a town that expects me to do everything.”

“The Bad Apples put this town to the torch!”

“And they’ll do it again,” Rarity countered calmly. “I want to help you, Sunset, but I may be anywhere in Equestria the next time they show up. It could take seasons for me to arrive, far too late to make a difference. That’s why I said I would come to help if I need to. If a town this size can’t learn to chase off a dozen inexperienced bandits like Crater and his cronies, my protection means nothing.”

“B-but, I… We…” Sunset wrung her hands, shivering as she fought for some kind of argument. “We are not heroes!”

“I’m not asking you to be.” Now it was Rarity who narrowed her eyes. “But I am asking you to grow a backbone.”

“I’m not qualified to do this. What if we die?”

“You can either defend yourself or stay on your knees,” Rarity countered forcefully. “At least with the former you have a chance of living.”

Sunset jumped to her hooves, knocking her seat over in the process. She glared down at her guest and pointed an accusing finger. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t shown up in the first place! This is your fault!”

Ah, there was that forceful pony Rarity had seen under the surface. It was about time she showed up. Rarity leaned back and crossed her arms, meeting Sunset’s livid gaze. “You’re right, but that’s not something I have any control over. I’m not going to apologize for where fate places me. Regardless of what you or I want, regardless of what is fair, this is the situation you find yourself in. The only question now is: what are you going to do about it?”

Sunset, pale and fuming, muttered and glowered at the table between them. She clutched at her night dress as though she wanted to choke something. After watching this for a few seconds, Rarity stood and walked around the table to set a hand on the mare’s shoulder. “I’ll stay a little longer. Show you some things. Help you get started. You’re a teacher, Sunset, and I know you’ve got the willpower if you’d just open yourself up to it.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” Sunset growled.

“I know enough.” With a comforting smile, Rarity set a hand to Sunset’s face and made her look at her. There was anger in those eyes, and doubt, but Rarity could see it: a deep-rooted desire to do something about the situation she’d been trapped in her entire life. Maybe it was only in her head, but she’d take that chance. “I was once nothing more than a clothier afraid to so much as touch a gun, and now I am one of the most well-known drifters in Equestria. If I can do that, surely this town can learn to stand up for itself. I’m asking you to get that started. I can see it, Sunset: you’re a lot like me in the places it counts.”

Sunset chewed her lip, but the subtle changes – the stiffened shoulders, the raised head, the straight back – revealed to Rarity all she needed to know. At last, Sunset asked, “And if I do this, you’ll come to help us if we need it?”

The most telling thing about Sunset, at least to Rarity, was that she never questioned whether the rest of the town would follow her lead. Emboldened by that subtle confidence, Rarity nodded. “I will help you face whatever threats are too big for you to handle.”

Sunset bowed her head. She shifted. It took Rarity a moment to realize the mare had reached out to touch Silver Lining in its holster. Rarity almost drew back as a fresh wave of anxiety struck, but reined in the impulse. She had to wonder just what Sunset was thinking as she ran an amber finger along the gun’s handle.

At last Sunset met Rarity’s gaze, and the determination in those cyan eyes was the most satisfying thing Rarity had seen in recent memory. “I’ll do it, if you teach me.”

“Wonderful!” Rarity clapped her hands once and returned to her seat. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that.”

“I just hope you’re right about all this.” Sunset started to sit again, but paused, brow furrowing. “Wait, what’s the third thing you wanted?”

“Oh, right.” Letting out another long yawn, Rarity raised her hand to show her poorly groomed nails. “You wouldn’t happen to have a file lying around somewhere, would you?”

Rainbow Recollections

They’d discovered that morning that the gun dropped by the bandit in the back of the house had never been recovered, and so Sunset had reluctantly claimed it for herself. Rarity wasn’t thrilled by the design, it requiring Sunset to manually re-cock the hammer with every shot, but concluded it would serve for the time being. Her new friend wasn’t in a position to be choosy.

Getting ammunition had been the tricky part. Little Longhorn lacked a gunsmith, to say nothing of a bullet manufacturer. It quickly became clear that if Little Longhorn’s citizenry were going to defend themselves, they’d need to transition at least some of their economy towards the acquisition of supplies. But that was for later. Luckily, Sunset recognized the gun and thus its owner. Rarity didn’t have to do anything more than show up at the pale-faced stallion’s door for him to practically throw his ammunition box at them.

Now they were outside town, Sunset taking clumsy shots at some random junk, mostly empty food cans from the nearby trash pit. She’d yet to hit a single one after a half-dozen shots. Undeterred, Rarity decided it was time to step in. “You’re too tense, darling. You need to loosen up a bit.”

Sunset fumbled with the top-breach revolver, dropping a couple bullets as she tried to reload it. “But if I don’t tense up, how am I supposed to look down the sights? My hands aren’t that steady.” As if to prove her point, another bullet missed its mark, tumbling from her hands and into the grass.

Using her magic, Rarity lifted the bullets from the ground and took them in her hand, watching with some sympathy as her friend worked to get the last bullet into the cylinder. “One secret they never tell you in all the stories is that in most fights you’re not going to have time to carefully line up a shot. Standing still for long enough to try will just paint a giant target on you. You have to rely on instinct and practice.”

At last closing the loaded revolver, Sunset scowled. “If we don’t have time to use the sights, why have them at all?”

“Because they still help,” Rarity lectured, depositing the bullets in Sunset’s waiting palm. “I can fire from the hip, but my aim is better if I’m looking down the sights, even if only very briefly.”

Sunset’s eyebrows lowered in a skeptic’s glower. “But you just told me I shouldn’t do that.”

It was tempting to roll her eyes, but Rarity wanted to be as encouraging as possible. “Sunset, sweetie, you’ve been standing there for thirty seconds each shot looking down the sights. That will get you killed in a proper gun battle. You need to move fast.”

“If I move fast, I’ll miss.”

In a flash, Silver Lining was out of its holster. Three shots fired, three cans jumped. Rarity had looked down the sights of the weapon each time, and within three seconds the gun was back at her hip. She smirked at Sunset’s wide-eyed stare, taking a moment to flick her mane. “Practice.”

Sunset shook off her shock and dutifully put her scowl back on. “Or maybe you’re just skilled.”

That made Rarity lose some of her pomp. She could still vividly recall her first attempt to fire a weapon and her surprise at having been so good at it. Nothing at all like she was now, but the point remained valid. “I don’t intend to boast when I admit that I have some talent at this, but that doesn’t mean you can’t become good if you keep trying.”

“‘Keep trying’, she says.” Despite the scoff in her tone, Sunset took aim at the targets once more. She was still stiff, and her legs were a little too far apart, but Rarity didn’t correct her yet. A shot rang out. Another miss. Grumbling, Sunset used her thumb to cock the hammer. “It’s all well and good for me to keep trying, but this is just the start. How the hay am I supposed to teach an entire town how to do this when I—” Another shot, another miss. “When I can’t even score a hit?”

“Baby steps, I suppose.” Rarity stepped behind Sunset and used her magic to nudge her, repositioning her legs. “If you start to feel that this isn’t working, you could always resort to a rifle. Different ponies are better at using different weapons.”

“How am I supposed to get my hands on a rifle?” The revolver barked, but the cans didn’t jump. Sunset growled as she cocked the hammer. “I question how I’ll afford bullets for this thing, getting a whole different gun is out of the question.”

This time Rarity did roll her eyes, even knowing Sunset wouldn’t see it. “Says the mare hoarding paper for the sake of magic research.”

“Hey!” Abandoning her aim, the older mare turned to glare at her. “The study of magic is my life. You can’t ask me to give that up for this.”

Meeting her gaze with a raised eyebrow and perhaps some disdain, Rarity asked, “So you won’t give up your life to protect… your life?”

Sunset’s mouth opened, but her retort died on her lips. After a moment’s stammering, she snapped, “You know what I meant!”

Maybe Rarity was approaching this topic all wrong. She turned away from the frustrated unicorn to look out at the small town of Little Longhorn. She reminded herself that it was, indeed, a small town. And Sunset, by extension, was a small-town mare. That had been Rarity once, long ago. She remembered the fear of not knowing what was coming, of being lost and confused and frightened, of having a strange device in her hands and not knowing if she was truly meant to hold it.

More importantly, she remembered what came after.

“Are you afraid?”

It was several seconds before she was given a response. “Of course I am. You’re asking me to give up a peaceful life in favor of… of… I don’t know. Being some kind of public defender?”

“Peaceful?” Rarity turned back to her with a sympathetic frown. “Is that what you’d call it? Are you saying you feel peaceful when you go out to take care of the Rainbow Gang’s graves? When you go to teach your classes? When you get water from the well? When you lay down to sleep?”

Sunset stared at her, arms limp at her sides. A cloud of sorrow drifted across her features. As it did, her eyes lowered to the grass.

But the gun was held firmly in her hand.

Seeing her point made, Rarity stepped up and grasped the unicorn’s shoulders. “I’m not trying to make you a hero. I’m trying to help you feel safe in your own home. Nopony should live in fear like this. You deserve better. Everypony does.”

They stood there for what felt like an eternity. Sunset’s gaze remained on the ground, no matter how long Rarity waited for her to raise it. Eventually, that gaze shifted to the gun. Sunset lifted it, turned it about, studied it as if to really capture its essence. “I don’t know if I can do this. I know I said I’d try. I want to. Honest, I do. But the last time somepony stood up for themselves in this town, stronger, ruthless ponies came and killed everypony. My friends. My family. I…” A shudder ran through her. “I don’t want to see that happen again.”

She found it impossible to empathize with that. Rarity had lost her father, true, but otherwise her family and home were intact and generally safe. She couldn’t imagine coming home to find it and everything around it destroyed because of petty ego. The damage that kind of experience could cause a child was on too grand a scale for her to relate to. It didn’t stop her from trying.

Nor would it stop her from trying to do something about it. “I’m sorry. I can’t understand how you must feel right now. Nor can I promise that the worst won’t come to pass.” She cupped the mare’s cheeks in her hands, guiding them so they could meet one another’s eyes. “Unless you try, you will always live with this fear. You and all the ponies in Little Longhorn.”

Sunset said nothing. She didn’t smile or frown or argue. She merely stood there, staring at Rarity. Or perhaps at something beyond Rarity.

Then she offered Rarity the gun. “I can’t do this right now. Let’s do something else.” She waited until the gun was reluctantly taken, then turned back towards the town. “Come on. Let me keep my part of the deal. Well, one part of it, at least.” Not sure what she meant, Rarity followed.

It was a long, quiet walk. They’d gone far away from Little Longhorn, all the better for safety. Rarity desperately wanted to speak, but the what of it eluded her. It seemed as though Sunset was on the verge of giving up. And Rarity? She felt guilty. Guilty, because now she felt like she’d been trying to force the mare into an impossible solution. The offer made the night before had come without a proper appreciation of what had happened here. Now that it was front and center in her mind, she wondered if what she was asking was at all fair.

She firmly believed that a mare should stand up for herself and her community. That didn’t mean everypony could. Sunset was not her, no matter how many times she let slip the stronger persona hidden under the meekness.

They entered town. There were earth ponies here. Many disappeared indoors upon seeing them. Those that didn’t… stared. Many in fear. Some in anger. Rarity held her head high, refusing to let any of her anxiety show. Sunset wasn’t so controlled, her shoulders slumped and her arms wrapped around her stomach as though to fight off nausea. She kept her head low, using her brilliant red and yellow mane to hide her face from their incessant gawking.

Then they were past the neighborhood and in the thestral residences. Though there was nopony around or awake right now to stare, Sunset didn’t look up. Rarity wanted to offer some form of comfort, even if only a hand on the mare’s arm, but she didn’t dare. Something told her it wouldn’t have been taken well.

Another ten minutes of silence brought them to the cemetery, and Rarity suddenly understood what Sunset was planning. As they walked among the tombstones to a familiar semicircle of graves, she hoped what was coming wouldn’t be succeeded by a request to leave. She stopped before entering the area, watching as Sunset went straight to the center. When the mare turned to face her, the resigned misery she displayed had Rarity greatly questioning whether she wanted to go through with this at all.

“Well,” Sunset said, spreading her arms wide as if to put the graves on display, “what did you want to know?”

Rarity looked to each grave in turn. Seven graves, six names. What had Sunset claimed? That she knew them? “I want to know if you’re really willing to do this. I feel like I’m overstepping, and you have every right to slap me down.” Part of her hoped that would be the case, if only for proof that she wasn’t imagining the strong mare being hidden from the world.

Sunset responded by sitting cross-legged in the grass facing the graves. She even smiled, though it was a wan one. “We had an agreement.”

An agreement that Sunset might not maintain. Not that it mattered. If it were within her power then Rarity wouldn’t hesitate to come to this town’s aid, agreement or no agreement. Still, on principle Rarity should object.

Instead, she sat in the grass beside Sunset. “You met them?” At the teacher’s nod, she said, “I want to know about them. Not the heroes. The ponies. Tell me what you remember.”

Sunset was unfased by the request. She even managed a more enthusiastic smile this time, though ‘enthusiastic’ might have been an exaggeration. “I guess you wouldn’t be a legend if you were looking to be wowed by legends.” Rarity tactfully refused to deny being a ‘legend’, no matter how much the statement annoyed her.

Sunset thought for a time, presumably looking for a suitable place to start. Her head turned slowly, taking in the graves before them. Her eyes settled upon the one with the name “Wild Fire” emblazoned upon it, and she smiled. As if spurred on, she started talking.

“I was just a kid when they came around town. They only showed up four times, always off on one adventure or another, and only once did they all come at the same time. The first time, I mostly stayed out of their way. I was intimidated. Bunch of adults roaming town with guns, who wouldn’t be? That first time, Wild Fire had just joined up and was still recovering from a really bad fight. Cousin Stormy wouldn’t let her out of bed. It drove her crazy.” Affecting a gruff voice, she declared with fists theatrically raised, “Three weeks? More like three decades!” Chuckling, she concluded, “That pegasus couldn’t stand being cooped up.”

Rarity couldn’t help but smile as, before her eyes, Sunset lost her anxiety and began to relax.

The mare’s arms moved as she spoke, as if to add to the story. “I was too young to work the fields,” pinching her fingers close as if to demonstrate something tiny. “So Cousin Stormy had me look after Fire while the adults were out working. She was a total sourpuss for the first few days.” She took on an exaggerated scowl for a split second. “Then, one day, she had me pull out a chessboard and declared that I was going to learn how to play. Of course, I was still intimidated to Tartarus of the mare, so I couldn’t say no. And then…”

And there it was: the warm, pleasant, calm smile of a happy memory. “I played with her every day. At first it was just to humor her and not be the target of her anger, but before long I was the one demanding a game. She never let me win, always played at her best, and she’d poke fun at me every time I lost. And I did lose. Again, and again, and again. It drove me crazy, and I became obsessed with beating her. She recovered before I could, and then the Gang was gone. But I didn’t stop; I played anyone who was willing, determined to get better so that when she returned, I would win.” That last word came with a raised, clenched fist and a look of fierce determination.

By now Rarity was wholly invested. She realized she was leaning forward slightly. “And did you?”

“Not once.” Yet Sunset was still smiling wide as she met Rarity’s gaze. “I got a stalemate on her, twice, both the last time she visited. But I never got a win.” She sighed and let her hand fall to the grass. “I miss playing chess with Fire. She loved that game. Carried a board with her wherever she went. Sometimes I think they called her the ‘Solid’ Citrine because of her skill with a rook.”

A new quiet descended, but not for long. Sunset’s head turned, and her eyes lit up at a certain name. “Tough Nut. The ‘Raging Carmine’!” She spoke the name in a proud, firm tone, puffing out her chest with a pompous air. The pose lasted only a second before she broke into giggles. “They called her that because of her temper. She was the most intimidating of the bunch back then. She wasn’t very big, but she had a real short fuse that Cousin Stormy loved to light.” She made the hissing sound of a match being lit, pantomiming doing so against her arm and igniting an imaginary stick of dynamite. “Boom. They say she was banned from a hundred bars across Equestria because her regular barfighting made it too expensive to have her as a customer.”

She turned to Rarity, leaning closer as if to convey a secret. “But you know what they don’t tell you? You never hear it in the stories, but Nutty was a puppeteer and ventriloquist.”

Rarity, having done the only appropriate thing and leaned in to listen, found herself at a loss. She blinked for a few seconds, trying to reconcile the violent anger she’d just learned about with somepony who manipulated marionettes for a living. It proved an impossible task, and she couldn’t resist giving voice to that fact. “You must be joking.”

Sunset was all smiles, looking every bit like a gossipy child with a juicy piece of news. “No, really! Nutty loved kids, so whenever she came to town she’d set up this stage in the square and invite all the children to watch. Her favorite puppet was this red jester with a mean smirk she called ‘Bloody Mary’. Her stories would usually have Mary seem like the butt of the other characters' jokes, but in the end she’d get the last laugh. ‘And that, children, is why being right isn’t always the same as being happy.’” The line must have recalled something amusing, because Sunset laughed as if she’d just told the punchline of the world’s best joke.

Even if she didn’t get it, Rarity smiled for Sunset and her happy memories.

Sunset’s giggles faded as she looked around at the graves once more. She pointed to the one bearing the name ‘Parish Nandermane’. “Parish. Him and his cousin, Noteworthy, were the real happy sort. Always cheerful, always optimistic. But Parish was different, because he followed Moony around like a lovesick puppy. Note and me, we teased him incessantly.” Rubbing the back of her head, she sheepishly added, “We were kinda cruel about it, to be honest. Especially with the way Moony acted all aloof and distant with him.”

Her gaze shifted to Rarity. More specifically, to the weapon at her hip. Her smile changed then, nostalgia and pain mixing in her eyes. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize Silver Lining yesterday. Mooney was the only one to have a custom weapon, so you’d think…” Pursing her lips, Sunset failed to meet Rarity’s gaze, instead looking at the one grave without a name. “Did you meet her?”

What a question. Rarity recalled an encounter in an isolated room, clandestine and unexpected. She touched Silver Lining, let her thumb fondly press against that ever-familiar knub. “I met… a mare. I don’t think she was the mare you remember.” She turned her gaze to the grave of Parish. The Clever Magenta, always out to prove himself to The Shrouding Midnight. Perhaps it would be best if Sunset didn’t know how fearful and paranoid her weapon’s prior owner had become.

“She wouldn’t be, would she?” Sunset sighed and looked back to the graves. “Moony never came back to Little Longhorn. I figured she was in hiding. If she’d died, it would have been news, you know?” She pursed her lips, expression growing firm. “Moony had never been one to hide. She always stood up for her beliefs. At first glance you’d think her elitist, but she was the most passionate of the Gang in her own way.”

Picking at the grass, Sunset continued quietly, “I once asked her why she never shut Parish down. If she wasn’t interested, why let him keep pursuing her?”

Rarity’s ears perked. The hopeless romantic in her, the teenager who stayed up late at night reading a mushy novel she’d spent a week’s allowance on, was trying to make a reappearance. It was nonsensical, it had no bearing on her situation, yet she couldn’t stop smiling at the little hope sparking within her.

Sunset, unaware that she now had Rarity’s full attention, smiled. “She looked at me for a long time. She would get this neutral, cold expression when she was thinking things over. Moony always paid very careful attention to her words. Her answer was, ‘Mr. Nandermane lacks the reach. He needs to grow.’ And then she smiled and said, ‘I am only his motivation.’”

By now Rarity’s smile was an all-out grin. “So she did care.”

“In her own quirky way, but yeah, she did.” Sunset at last noticed Rarity’s expression. She leaned away from her, eyebrows rising. “Uh, what’s with the look?”

Feigning offense, Rarity turned her muzzle up and away with a huff. “What? Can’t a mare indulge in a little gossip?”

“Is that what we’re doing? Gossiping?”

“No take backs! Now, who’s missing?” Rarity turned her attention to the graves, eager for another story. That excitement was doused in cold water when she spotted one name in particular. Her thoughts immediately turned to a certain freckled mare. “The Mighty Celadon…”

Sunset followed her gaze, a sudden weariness passing over her. “Mrs. Smith. Hard to forget her. A no-nonsense rough rider, that one. A storyteller, though. Loved to help Nutty with her puppet shows.” She heaved a quiet sigh. “She was the glue that held the gang together. Ponyville may have been a shock, but her death? When I heard about it, I instantly knew that…” Her swallow was audible in the quiet of the cemetery. “That the bad guys had won.”

That was always how it appeared. Applejack’s grandmother died and the world turned dark. The City States turning to isolationism, the Bad Apples steeping into every orifice of Equestria, heroes wiped away until none were left. And now there was Rarity. The Bulletproof Heart. It wasn’t the first time she wondered about her place in the unpleasant panorama that was Equestria after the Rainbow Gang.

“Did you really duel her granddaughter?”

Sunset’s question pulled Rarity out of her musings. She recalled that day in Ponyville and felt… Honestly, she wasn’t sure how to feel. Annoyance? Anger? Frustration? None of those seemed to apply. Absently, she replied, “I did, yes.”

“Wow.” Sunset leaned back, her hands in the grass as she stared at the sky. “I never met her, but I heard she’s really good.”

“That she is.” No reason not to acknowledge it. Rarity would argue that Applejack was probably better than her.

Thinking about that frustrating pony was not high on Rarity’s list of wants at the moment. Instead, she focused on the one pony neither of them had touched upon yet. “What about the Flaming Vermillion?”

“Stormy.” Another long sigh. Sunset sat up properly, focusing her attention on the grave. “She was my…” A beat as she scrunched her face up in thought. “The daughter of my mother’s aunt’s son? Something like that.” Shrugging, she once more began fiddling with the grass. Rarity got the impression she was trying to avoid looking at her. “She was sheriff of Little Longhorn for a while, back before she was part of the Rainbow Gang. That’s what I heard, anyway. I was too young to remember when she left town to go hunt a fugitive. By the time she returned, she was one of the Gang’s founding members.”

“I had no idea she was once a member of law enforcement.” Rarity tried to wrap her mind around that villain, violent and furious, being a small-town sheriff. The image was absurd. Yet there could be no denying that she’d also once been renowned Equestria-wide as a hero.

How far she must have fallen.

Sunset’s voice grew quiet, the softness of a pony not wanting to disturb the dead. “Stormy was a family mare. A husband. A daughter. She loved them so, so much. She almost quit the Gang when Spitfire was born, but her husband, Green Sprout, he knew her so well. She’d found a certain happiness with the Gang, with a life of helping others. He insisted she keep going on her adventures, that he could take care of their daughter while she was gone.” Their graves, two large and one small, almost seemed to sparkle in the bright sunlight. “Even then, she almost didn’t go to Ponyville.”

Things were quiet for a time. Sunset kept staring at the graves. Rarity tried not to stare at Sunset. Instead, she remembered what little she’d seen of The Flaming Vermillion. A wife and mother torn between the love of her family and the self-perceived responsibilities of heroism. How much had she hurt, coming home to find her family slaughtered like mere pests? Sunset said she came by to visit annually. Was every return a reopening of old wounds, making them fester and worsen until she was no better than the monsters that created her?

Rarity never wanted to be famous. Looking at the small grave of the Vermillion’s child only left her more disturbed by the prospect. She hoped that, should the time ever come, she would have enough sense to not try and be a hero.

Her ears perked. She turned her head to the faint murmuring and saw with resigned annoyance a crowd approaching the cemetery. At its head were the brothers Crater and Charming, the latter supporting the former whose leg was set in a makeshift splint. Most of the citizens following them were earth ponies, though she spotted a thestral or two in the crowd.

Sunset, still staring at the graves, made no attempt to get up. “They’re coming to punish us.” Her monotone statement put an unladylike scowl on Rarity’s lips, if only for an instant.

A Shot to Remember

The crowd, perhaps forty in total, came to a stop a dozen feet away from the mares, brothers still in the lead. Crater and Charming took a few steps closer. Neither looked ready for a fight, either physically or psychologically. Crater couldn’t even stand on his own, and Charming had bags under his eyes and a distinctly miserable countenance. Seeing this, Rarity made no move for her weapons. Yet.

The brothers and the crowd all stared at Rarity as if she were a viper preparing to strike. She stared right back, maintaining a calm, cool facade despite the worry eating at her insides. The sun beat down on the lot of them, unburdened by the sparse clouds above, and she could feel sweat forming on the shirt beneath her jacket. She waited on them, hoping her patience would be interpreted as a strength.

Sunset remained on the ground, back hunched and perfectly silent.

At last, it was Crater who spoke. “Bulletproof Heart. We need you to leave Little Longhorn.”

Rarity said nothing. She only raised an eyebrow.

The crowd murmured amongst themselves. Crater hesitated, unable to meet her gaze. Charming whispered something in his ear, never taking his eyes off her.

Seeming to gather his wits, Crater spoke again. “What you see before you is the entirety of the Gang’s presence in Little Longhorn. It makes up about a fourth of the town.”

As Rarity recalled, the actual ‘members’ of the local Gang amounted to less than a dozen, and she had injured or killed at least half of them last night. So when he said the Gang’s 'presence', he likely only meant citizens who supported their presence here. And how many of those did so honestly, as opposed to merely in fear of retaliation?

Maintaining her stoic appearance, Rarity pulled out her weapons. She didn’t aim them. There was no need; merely having them in her hands was enough to make the entire crowd back off a few steps. “So what you’re telling me is that the ponies before me are all enemies of the town of Little Longhorn.”

Eyes wide and pock-scarred face pale, Crater was unable to respond. That fell upon his equally alarmed brother. “No, no! You don’t understand! We’re trying to protect this town.”

This should be good. Gesturing lazily with Ruby Heart, Rarity said, “I’m waiting to hear an explanation.”

Crater recovered enough at this point to speak up, one hand rubbing his mane back as he did. “Listen, this has all been a big misunderstanding. We get it, we were acting like asses, but we have to. The Bad Apples check up on this place regularly to make sure we’re still in line. As long as we keep them assured that Little Longhorn is sufficiently cowed, they’ll leave us alone.”

Somepony in the crowd shouted over the murmurs. “We don’t want another slaughter!”

Scowling, Rarity took a threatening step closer. Everypony in the crowd tensed. “That’s your excuse? You tried to kill me in my sleep.”

“Of course we did!” Charming shrank back from her glare. “You’re the Gang’s greatest enemy. If they found out we harbored you they’d come down on us again. We had to at least try!”

Another, different voice spoke up from the crowd. “It’s you or all of us!” This was answered by increased murmerings, and the expressions on most of the ponies’ faces didn’t bode well for Rarity.

Yet she refused to be intimidated, even if she didn’t like her odds against so many potential opponents. “If the idea frightens you so much, just don’t tell them I was here.”

“They’ll find out,” somepony declared fearfully.

“Somepony will talk!” cried another.

“I’m not talking!”

“No way!”

“Don’t lie, you’re the biggest blabbermouth in town.”

“I have a daughter!”

“Be silent!” Rarity’s shout was enough to quiet everypony present. She took advantage of their startlement to check Sunset. The mare still hadn’t moved, her back turned to the crowd and face hidden by her long, curly locks. Grimacing at the feeble posture, Rarity turned back to the crowd. “What about Sunset? What’s your excuse for all the abuse she’s suffered at your hands?”

For a split second, something passed over the faces of both brothers. As quickly as it had left, Rarity didn’t doubt her senses; it had been a look of such disgust and contempt as to make her skin crawl.

Yet when Crater spoke, his voice was plaintive and reassuring, as if what he’d just revealed were still hidden. “It’s a tragedy, and I’m sorry for what we have to do. But she’s kin to the Flaming Vermillion. The Bad Apples know it. They specifically want her life to be made miserable.”

“She’s a living lesson,” Charming added. “Her ongoing suffering is a message to all about what happens to those who defy the Gang.”

“We’d stop if we could.” Crater put on a grim, guilty expression. Rarity wondered if he might try to shed some crocodile tears while he was at it. “But we can’t. For the sake of Little Longhorn, we can’t.”

“You understand, don’t you?” Charming put on as hopeful and eager a smile as he could probably offer. Were Rarity not so filled with loathing at the sight of him she might have even acknowledged he lived up to his name. “You wouldn’t punish all of Little Longhorn for one mare.”

Crater nodded, suddenly full of confidence. “The Bulletproof Heart is better than that.”

Their methods were nothing short of sickening. Rarity wasn’t a killer, but even so she had half a mind to put a bullet in both of them there and then. Yet she grit her teeth and resisted the urge. Her eyes went to the others. Every time she tried to meet a gaze, the pony in question would glance away. Some went pale, others trembled or tried to hide.

Cowards, the lot of them. If they were really devoted to the Bad Apples, if they had any faith at all in what they were saying, then she wouldn’t be having this conversation. It didn’t matter how good she was with a gun, their numbers were more than enough to take her down by sheer body mass.

Then she sent another glance towards Sunset Shimmer. The mare’s posture remained meek and resigned. That and the graves around them were a stark reminder that these ponies had a reason for their fear. Her best hope, then, was to give their morale an about-face.

So. This was all the ponies in town who ‘supported’ the Bad Apples? Rarity cast another long, slow look around at the crowd. One pony, an orange-maned and middle-aged stallion, somehow managed to not look away. In fact, now that their eyes were locked he seemed incapable of doing so. Thus it was to him she asked, “How many have you hurt?”

The whites of his eyes seemed glaring in the bright morning sun. His entire body trembled. Looking around for help earned him none. “H-h-hurt?”

“Yes. Hurt.” Rarity narrowed her gaze. “You support the Bad Apples, don’t you?”

“O-of course!” He cast a wide-eyed look at Crater and Charming, who both nodded firmly. “I support the Gang.”

He let out a faint, decidedly unmasculine squeak when Ruby Heart was suddenly aimed at his head. “Enough to die for them?” Sunset was in the corner of her eye, turning to look at her in horror.

The stallion now stood alone, all the other ponies having moved out of the gun’s field of fire. He raised his hands, sputtering as the blood drained from his face. “W-wait, I haven’t— I’m not—” He kept looking at Charming and Crater. The brothers said nothing, apparently too surprised by this turn of events to come up with a proper response. “I-I haven’t hurt anypony!”

“I don’t believe you.” Rarity took a step closer, her hard stare not leaving his face. Not a single pony moved to help him. “You’re with the Bad Apples. Bad Apples hurt other ponies. It’s what they do.” She made a show of looking down the gun’s sights, aiming right between his eyes. “I’ll ask you again: Who did you hurt?”

He fell to his knees, eyes wet and hands still raised high. “Nopony! I swear, nopony!” Ruby Heart’s hammer cocked. “P-please, I didn’t want to die! I only took their side because they killed my dad!”

At last! Rarity gestured at the still wide-eyed Sunset. “And that justifies this?” She stepped forward, and Ruby Heart moved to a different target, this time a young mare who shrieked at the sight of that big barrel. “What about you? What have you done to support the Bad Apple Gang?”

Once more the crowd fled from the target, who crouched as if preparing to flee for her life. “M-me? I’d never hurt—” The retort of Ruby Heart made everypony jump. A few screamed. The young mare practically danced as dirt kicked up. The shot wasn’t anywhere near her, yet she was already a sobbing mess. She blurted in rapidfire speech, “I told Crater about how Miss Floret was hiding money so she could pay less dues!”

“What?” A lanky green stallion shoved his way forward, face contorted in rage. “They beat her for over an hour because of that and tore her house apart. She’s your sister-in-law’s mother, for Luna’s sake!”

He froze, all anger gone in an instant, when Silver Lining turned on him. Rarity growled out, “And what have you done for the cause, hmm?”

“I… I…” He licked his lips, turning his gaze to an older stallion.

That stallion stared back at him, looking more sad and weary than angry. “He broke my arm so I’d say I support the Bad Apples.”

Crater stepped forward with help from his brother, his tone impatient but calm. “What’s the point of this display, Bullet—?” A small beam of energy shot from Rarity’s horn, striking his injured leg. He screamed and toppled to the ground, carrying Charming with him. It hadn’t been a strong attack, just enough to make sure he felt it.

“You’re not afraid of the Bad Apples,” Rarity declared, turning to take in all the ponies in the crowd. “You’re afraid of each other. They’ve turned you against yourselves. These brutes don’t have to do anything anymore. Whispers and secrets and lies!”

One of the thestrals, wings opened wide, spoke out. “But they’re the Bad Apples. They put this town to the torch once, they could do it again.”

Rarity turned on him, boiling when he flinched back at her aggression. “Did you have some sort of defense?” She turned on another pony. “A plan?” Whipping around, she frightened back the elderly stallion from before. “Do any of you even remember?”

That stallion, however, didn’t stay cowed. To her secret pleasure, his face grew dark and he took a step closer. His voice rose as he fired back, “I do remember. I was there!”

“Then answer the question.” Idly, Rarity kicked backwards, knocking a still-rising Crater and Charming back down before they could interrupt the momentum she had going. “Was Little Longhorn prepared for an attack? From anything?”

The old earth pony hesitated, losing some of his fire. “No. Why would we? We had no reason to suspect an attack.”

“Well, you do now, don’t you?” She turned away, walking back to Sunset’s side. The mare was now standing fully, her attention on the seamstress-turned-drifter. Once there, Rarity turned back to the crowd. “Think about all the pain you’ve been through. Think about all the pain you’ve caused. Think about why you did it and what it was for.” She met Sunset’s gaze. “And remember exactly who is responsible.”

Sunset stared back. Her wide, cyan eyes were conflicted, her lips quaking as she tried and failed to form words. Rarity met her gaze, maintaining a look of firm demand while silently pleading for the mare to let out that powerful pony hiding beneath the ashes of Little Longhorn. Seconds passed, the silence interrupted only by a cool wind blowing their manes about. Come on. Rarity grit her teeth. Come on!

“They can’t do it.” Crater was on his hooves, once more leaning on his brother. “Don’t you get it, Bulletproof? The Gang has broken them.”

His mistake was a simple one. A slipup. A moment of weakness. He had tried to speak in a tone of comfort, but those last three words? There was an unmistakable sound of victory in them, of pleasure, of a smug awareness that he had won. Had he not made that mistake, things might have gone differently. But it was in that moment, when his tone revealed how much he enjoyed this town’s fate, that Sunset’s expression changed. The fear and uncertainty disappeared, but the pain remained. It was powerful, and not even the fury that lit upon her face could stifle it.

She lunged towards Rarity, digging into her vest. Rarity made no attempt to stop her from pulling out the gun, though she did prepare to make a move if things went wrong. Sunset turned and aimed at Crater, feet apart and both hands firmly on the grip as she glared death at him.

Nopony said anything at first. Crater looked legitimately surprised at this turn of events, staring at the gun as if not sure what it was. There was no motion outside Sunset’s shaky, teeth-bared breaths and trembling arms.

When seconds passed without a shot being fired, it was Charming who finally reacted. He stepped in front of his brother and smiled. It was by no means a friendly smile. “Come on, Sunset. Don’t be stupid. We know you’re not. We also know you don’t have the cojones to fire that gun.”

That’s exactly what somepony told me once. Rarity kept her hand close to Silver Lining, not sure where this was going but not daring to interfere. She watched Sunset’s eyes shift from him to her weapon, uncertainty lacing her anger. Her thumb reached up to cock the weapon, but froze on contact.

“Just stop.” Charming had the audacity to step closer. “You can’t do it. You’re not a hero. You don’t want to be one.”

Their audience had retreated, as if they might be safe that few extra steps further away. Not a single pair of eyes wasn’t locked on the encounter.

“Come on, Sunset.” Charming leaned a little closer. The barrel of the weapon was only a foot from his chest now.

Sunset’s shoulders heaved with her breaths.

“You can’t help this town. You’re not special.”

Her eye twitched. “I… I…”

“You take it because you can.”

Rarity’s fingers grazed Silver Lining.

Charming’s teeth flashed with his confident smile. “Because you deserve it.”

Sunset’s breathing stopped. Her pupils shrank. For the span of a second, even the wind was still.

She put a bullet between his eyes. They had just enough time to put his shock on display before the life went out of them and he crumbled to the ground.

Sunset stood over him and fired another round, and another, and another. Again and again, one hand rapidly cocking the gun’s hammer as the other squeezed the trigger. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, every shot generating a growling grunt from her throat. Then the weapon turned on Crater. He was so shocked that he didn’t even try to get out of the way when she pulled the trigger.

The hammer struck with a resounding click. Crater gasped and fell on his rump, hands clutching his unharmed chest.

Sunset’s eyes widened for but an instant, and then her fingers were grappling with the release mechanism. It took several seconds for the gun to pop open. She dumped the spent shells, dug into her pockets and fought to get fresh bullets into the cylinder. She kept dropping them, over and over again as her hands shook. All along, she hiccuped and fought back sobs with hard, sniffling inhales.

Unable to keep watching, Rarity stepped in and gently touched the mare’s arm. “It’s okay, Sunset. You’ve made your point.”

“Sh-shut up.” Sunset kept fighting with the bullets. She only had two in the cylinder at this point. “I d-don’t deserve this. I don’t. I don’t! I don’t d-deserve–” With a snarl, she tried to slam closed the weapon, only to catch her finger in it. She cried out – in pain or fury, Rarity wasn’t sure. Maybe both. The weapon fell to the grass and Rarity caught her just as she started to lunge at the pale-faced Crater. “You bastards! You horrible, sick bastards! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you with my own— Damn it, let me go! I want them dead. Dead! They all deserve to die!”

Rarity held on as tight as she could, not letting go even as the frantic mare slapped and punched and elbowed her in a squirming, furious struggle to get at the crippled stallion. She said nothing, for she knew nothing would help. Instead she maintained her grip, took the beating, and tried not to dwell too hard on the heavy feeling in her chest.

“All of you!” The fire in Sunset’s eyes turned on the crowd, who all fell back at her tear-soaked viciousness. “You all have it coming! You’re all monsters! I didn’t do anything to you! I don’t deserve this, I’m not responsible! I want you dead, I want all of you dead!”

The last exclamation must have taken something out of her, for Sunset’s shrieks abruptly ceased. She stumbled sideways as if drunk, the change in direction catching Rarity off guard and bringing them both to their knees. The mare seemed to collapse into herself, her body a mess of shivers and sobs. “I don’t deserve this. I d-don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve this…” On and on it went, as if the repetition was the only way to know it for certain.

Still holding the quaking mess of a pony, Rarity wondered just how much she didn’t know. What could these ponies have done to turn Sunset into this? She didn’t want to even try and imagine it. So instead she chose to simply be there, a safeguard and reassurance that at least one pony would be.

The townsfolk watching the scene were gradually losing their shock. Their reactions after were a complicated blend of things. Heads turning away in shame, pallid faces of dawning horror, the lost stares of those with no idea what to do. They were but a flock of sheep only just realizing that their shepherds did not, in fact, have their best interests at heart. Rarity wasn’t sure whether to feel disgusted or sympathetic.

Amidst the pathetic moans and murmurs of the distraught mare came a lone, quiet voice. “C-Charming?” Crater crawled to his brother, dragging his injured leg along the ground as he did. He reached his sibling’s bloody, hole-filled corpse and shook him by the shoulder. “Bro? Bro.” He rolled the body onto its back and cupped the stallion’s cheeks in his hands. A sob escaped him as he caught sight of the hole in Charming’s forehead. “No. No, no, no. No.”

Cradling his sibling’s head in his arms, he began to rock back and forth, his weeping forming a terrible chorus with Sunset’s whimpering. Rarity wasn’t sure what to think. She knew the brothers were horrible individuals, but at the same time it was difficult not to feel sorry for someone who had lost a loved one. It made the entire situation awkward, so she chose to focus her attention on the mare in her care. Poor Sunset still hadn’t stopped repeating that mantra.

“...I don’t deserve this, I don’t deserve this, I d-don’t deserve this…”

“It’s okay, Sunset,” Rarity whispered, bending low so she could say it in the mare’s ear. “Everything’s alright now.” She questioned if anything would ever be ‘alright’ for this pony, but she had to at least try and show some optimism. She rubbed the mare’s back, trying to emulate her mother’s talent for… for motherliness, she supposed.

“You…” Crater was glaring at her, cheeks soaked with tears. “This is your fault! If you hadn’t come here—”

“You have nopony to blame but yourself,” she calmly declared, her attention returning to Sunset.

He sputtered, he groaned, he growled. Looking at the crowd still watching the scene, he barked, “Look at what she did! Look at my b-brother! For Luna’s sake, somepony do something.” Not a soul moved. While most were looking away in shame, a few were daring to shoot him angry looks. If he noticed, he showed no sign of it. “What is wrong with you ponies? She’s a murderer! You all saw it. She killed my brother!”

The number of unpleasant looks increased, and Crater finally had the presence of mind to realize they were aimed at him. Alarm passed through his gaze. “W-what are you—? This isn’t my fault. It’s not! It’s those Discord-damned unicorns. For Luna’s sake, help me!”

Unicorns. As if he expected them all to accept his racism as an excuse. Rarity’s sympathy died, but still she didn’t leave Sunset. She didn’t act in any way.

When nopony moved to assist one way or another, Crater’s face broke into a vicious scowl. “Idiots. All of you, idiots! The Gang’s going to come, they’re going to kill all of you. We tried to protect you, and this is how you repay us? You’ve got five seconds to—”

“Crater Face,” snarled the old stallion, “For once in your life, shut your mouth.”

Now Rarity was paying attention. She listened carefully as the crowd of ponies muttered unpleasantly amongst themselves. Most eyes were now on a sputtering Crater, and the few that went her way had naught but guilt.

“You dare?” Crater clutched his brother closer. “When this is over, you’re all going to wish—”

A mare stepped forward, large and with eye-popping muscles. “Crater, shut your yap or so help me, I’ll shut it for you.”

Some ponies were walking away. Crater appeared at a loss, clearly unaccustomed to the crowd not being on his side. He held onto his brother as if the body would protect him from what was happening. There was no longer any confidence or anger in his eyes. Rather, they displayed a gradually growing horror. It was strange how familiar that expression was. Rarity had seen it once, long ago, in the mirror.

My, how the tables could turn.

Then, something changed. Crater’s eyes went from the recognition of a world destroyed to the mad intent of a last, desperate opportunity. They were focused on the gun Sunset had dropped. The gun with two bullets loaded. With a ferocious snarl, he pushed his brother’s body aside and lunged for the weapon. For the briefest instant, alarm shot through Rarity, her hand rushing for Ruby Heart.

Before either of them could reach their respective weapons, the crowd surged. Two ponies were on Crater, one grabbing his arm and the other his leg. Then three more joined them, then another two. Shouting and snarling, they descended upon him as a mob. He cursed them at first, but soon his anger was overwhelmed by theirs. The sounds emerging from within the mass swiftly became those of pain. Apologies. Begging. Then, only shrieks.

The turn and sudden aggression of the crowd caught Rarity so off guard it was several seconds before she even realized what was going on. A sudden, panicky urge to stop them fueled her, but when she tried to stand she was stymied by a still despondent Sunset clinging to her arm like a child to her mother’s leg. Cursing under her breath, Rarity changed tactics and pulled out Ruby Heart, aiming the weapon towards the sky before pulling the trigger.

Ruby Heart was a big weapon, its retort proportionally loud. The ponies collectively flinched, many ducking or jumping back. “That is quite enough,” she shouted, catching their attention once more. Bloody and blue, Crater lay on the ground amongst them, motionless save for his ragged breathing. The crowd hadn’t had him long, yet they had still managed a worrying amount of damage.

The big mare from earlier stepped forward, her hands balled into thick, red knuckles. “Don’t tell us it’s enough,” she snapped back. “You saw what he was about to do!”

With a sigh, Rarity returned Ruby Heart to its holster beneath her vest. She wished she could stand properly to face the crowd, but wasn’t about to resist Sunset’s iron grip on her arm. “I appreciate that you all wanted to help, but restraining him would have been enough.”

“It’s not enough!” One stallion near the back gave Crater a kick in the ribs. The beaten pony whimpered, but otherwise didn’t react. “We’ve been living in a state of terror for decades because of the Bad Apples!”

“They have it coming!”

“We’re owed this!”

“Why shouldn’t we give what we took?”

“I understand.” Memories flashed across Rarity’s mind. Memories of a mare tormenting ponies, killing out of spite, fueled by a vile drive to make others hurt like she had. The images brought a familiar sting to her heart, the kind of pain that comes from old scars. “Believe me, I do. But take it from somepony who knows, vengeance won’t make you feel any better. All it does…” Her gaze went to one of the graves. The name ‘Flaming Vermillion’ brought back other memories. Of a desperate fight, a mare driven to insanity, and her endless, bloody crusade. “All it does is fester and create more vengeance.”

The citizens of Little Longhorn muttered amongst themselves. A few still appeared angry, but most had the weary manner of ponies just wanting to be done with the whole ordeal. Rarity let them discuss the situation while she tended to Sunset, carefully working to get the mare back on her hooves. Sunset didn’t resist, but neither did she help; it was like she wasn’t there at all.

The elderly stallion turned to them. “Well then, what would you do?”

Rarity looked to their expectant faces, some still possessing simmering anger while others appeared at a loss. Then she looked to Crater. He still hadn’t moved. She wasn’t even sure he was conscious. The only sign he was even alive was the slow rise and fall of his chest. His face was swollen beyond recognition and she thought she saw a few teeth lying in the grass. One of his arms, the one that had grabbed the gun, was clearly broken. Where the gun itself had gone, she couldn’t say.

Their dilemma was real. Tending to his injuries and exiling him from town would have been her go-to solution, but with Little Longhorn’s history she doubted the citizens would accept it. Even without their anger, he’d almost certainly go to the Bad Apples, and who was to say he wouldn’t return with a small army of bandits? For all anypony knew, the Bad Apples would retaliate regardless. Yet Crater had already shown his true nature, and he wasn’t likely to respond well to an offered second chance. Especially with his brother dead…

There were no good options. At least, none that would satisfy Rarity’s sense of ethics and the town’s needs at the same time. She briefly considered passing the responsibility on to the pony who had suffered the most under his actions, but one glance at the tightly clenched eyes and downcast face of Sunset Shimmer was enough to remove that option from the table.

Rarity was meant to be the role model in this situation. She didn’t like it, but…

The idea struck, and she jumped on it. “Let the town decide. Put his fate down to a vote. Whatever happens from that point on, you share the burden of responsibility.” She looked at all their uncertain faces, trying to maintain a respectable air despite the shivering mare clinging to her side. “Healing the wounds of Little Longhorn will be easier if you all are honest with each other. Learn to work together. Protect each other. Prepare for what comes next. Don’t let him—” she nodded to Crater, “—be your future.”

The ponies were calm as they took her words in. A few were speaking quietly amongst themselves, but the undercurrent of anger had safely passed. Satisfied that she had done all she could, Rarity wrapped her free arm around Sunset and turned her back towards town. “Come, darling,” she whispered kindly in the mare’s ear. “Let’s get you home.”

The two of them shuffled their way out of the cemetery, leaving the locals to their discussions.

Flaming Sunset

It was close to noon when Rarity managed to sit Sunset down at her own table. The fiery-haired mare had gone quiet about halfway there, but she wasn’t sure the change was an improvement. With Sunset staring blankly at the table and unresponsive to her verbal prodding, Rarity decided to focus instead on making the two of them some lunch. She took advantage of some of Sunset’s own bread and a bit of stock from Ophelia’s panniers to make them some sandwiches.

To her pleasure, Sunset ate. Quietly, and without any other interaction, but it was a start. After eating her own meal and ensuring Ophelia was properly cared for, she resigned herself to staying at the mare’s home and waiting for something to happen. Little Longhorn was about to change, and she needed to be here to ensure her new friend wasn’t destroyed in the process.

An hour passed. Two hours. Sunset hadn’t said a word. She didn’t even move from her seat. Rarity made no attempt at communication, but as the day passed she thought she saw a shift in the mare’s demeanor. No longer were Sunset’s eyes vacant or afraid. Instead, she seemed to be in a state of deep, serious thought. Rarity wondered where those thoughts were taking her.

It was late in the day when her attention was drawn from one of Sunset’s few magic training books to a trio of ponies approaching the house. From the window she could readily make them out. One was the big, muscled earth pony mare from the scene that morning. The other earth pony was the elder stallion, the one that had claimed to have had his arm broken in the past. The third she didn’t recognize at all; a female thestral, average in every way. She was even a dull, uninspiring brown, her mane only a little darker. Of the three, she appeared the most anxious.

Rarity met them at the door before they could knock, making sure to block entry. They might have turned on Crater that morning, but that didn’t mean she trusted them. Though tempted to cross her arms, she instead kept her hands free at her sides. If a fight was imminent, she wanted to be able to reach her weapons quickly. “I’m afraid Miss Shimmer’s in no state to be receiving visitors.”

The thestral’s eyes widened. “She’s not hurt, is she?” She turned to her companions. “You said she wasn’t hurt.”

Ignoring the thestral’s panicky tones, the old stallion met Rarity’s gaze. “Bulletproof, I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself. I’m Stable Fiber and this is Share Crop.” The big mare nodded, her expression grim. “We’re the elected representatives of the, er, ‘daylight’ portion of Little Longhorn. And by that I mean the non-thestrals.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, not sure how to take his statement. She at least got the impression he was trying to be polite and inoffensive. “Is that position a recent development?”

“Hardly,” Share Crop replied for him, her tone gruff. “I’ve been a community leader for nearly a decade. Him as long as there was a town.”

“I’m not that old,” Stable grumbled before gesturing to the fidgeting thestral at his side. “This here’s Spinning Jenny. Mayor.”

The mayor? Rarity examined the mare, who cringed under her scrutiny. “Shouldn’t you be the one leading this conversation?”

Spinning Jenny flinched as if stung, hands twisting the bottom of her shirt between her fingers. “W-well, maybe. I suppose. I’m just not used to, y’know. I mean… You know? You know. Yes, y’know.”

Stable Fiber sighed and patted her on the back. “You’ll have to forgive her. It wasn’t much of an election. Crater and Charming killed her predecessor, then made her run.”

“Unopposed,” Share Crop added pointedly.

“Allegedly,” Spinning Jenny added, eyes darting about as if she feared somepony might be listening in on the conversation. “They only allegedly killed Mayor Strap.” She ran a hand through her frazzled mane, which did nothing to help it. Rarity suspected she’d been dragged out of bed to have this little meeting.

The poor mare was white as a bedsheet. Rarity couldn’t help feeling sorry for the pony. No doubt she’d been chosen strictly for her anxiety. With somepony like that as mayor, Crater and Charming probably had free run of the place. But all that was beyond Rarity’s focus for now. Turning her attention back to the other two, she asked, “And why are you all here?”

Stable Fiber’s aged face turned sour. “Crater and Charming aren’t in charge anymore. We need to discuss what happens next.”

Conversely, Share Crop’s grew softer. “We think Sunset should be part of that discussion.”

“She’s the smartest, most capable pony in town,” Spinning Jenny threw in. “I know what it’s like to doubt yourself, we share a lot of that in common, but I know she’s the best we’ve got. E-even if she doesn’t.”

“Besides,” Share Crop concluded, avoiding Rarity’s eyes and shuffling her hooves, “we owe her. A lot. This morning knocked a lot of sense into us, and what we’ve been doing to Sunset has been…” She cringed and, after a few seconds of thin-lipped staring at nothing, shook her head.

Oh, so now they felt guilty, did they? Rarity pondered if she shouldn’t give them a piece of her mind, but decided that now wasn’t the time. For the moment, she—

A hand landed on her shoulder. “Move.”

Rarity was so shocked to hear that familiar voice sounding so firm that she immediately obeyed, stepping sideways to let Sunset into the doorway. The mare stood tall, her face contorted in an ominous, stoic expression as she stared down her past tormentors. When she spoke, her tongue was laced with fire. “You. I don’t know what you’re expecting. Planning to apologize? Think you can make my entire life better with a few kind words and a sympathetic glance?”

She thrust a finger at Share Crop, the big mare flinching back at the sudden movement. “Twice those Bad Apple dicks cornered me on your farm, in open daylight, and you did nothing to help me. The third time, you broke my nose by slamming the door in my face when I bothered to ask for help, and then Charming did things to me with my back to your wall. Don’t pretend like you couldn’t hear exactly what they were doing!”

The finger went to Stable Fiber, who took the stony glare with stoicness. “And you! Always going around pretending to be the wise old sage dispensing wisdom. None of that wisdom ever went against the brothers, did it? I remember you telling ponies how it was so good of us to let Crater and Charming get away with their crap. It’s all so easy to say when you’re not the one being the center of their attention, isn’t it?”

Once again her focus turned, and Spinning Jenny’s wings snapped tight against her trembling sides. “Jenny. You sniveling little rat. Have you ever once in all your life said anything that wasn’t spoon fed to you by somepony else? You hid in that house of yours, safe and blissfully unaware, and whenever anyone dared to even suggest you do something you condoned what was happening. Whatever you had to say to not be the target, right?

“And now you come here to apologize and try to make it right? You all sicken me.” She reached for the door, moving to slam it.

Share Crop was faster, jumping forward and catching the door with one hand. Her bulk made it easy to resist Sunset’s push. “Sunset, we get it. We do. You have every right to—” Sunset’s hand, curled into an upraised claw, paused in front of her face and ignited into flaming orange sparks that sent the big mare backtracking.

“Do not tempt me, you backstabbing whore!” Sunset stormed out of the house, sending all three ponies retreating as a second flame burst into existence in her other hand. “If you ever again suggest you have any idea what my life has been like I swear to Celestia, Luna, and Discord I will burn you and your farm to ashes!”

A terrible memory surged to the forefront of Rarity’s mind. A pegasus oh-so similar in appearance, her rage turning into a scorching blaze that burned indiscriminately and without remorse. It was enough to guide her hand to Silver Lining as she stood in the doorway. “Sunset, you are not the Flaming Vermillion.”

“Excuse me?” Sunset whirled to face her. It might have been a trick of the sunlight, but Rarity thought she saw genuine fire in the mare’s eyes. It made her wonder if she wasn’t about to have to defend herself.

Despite that very real fear, Rarity refused to let anything show but composed calm. “You saw Stormy’s anger. You witnessed her gradual change into a monster over the years. That anger consumed her. Don’t let it do the same to you.”

Sunset’s clawed hands clenched into fists that shook even as the flames covering them burned brighter. Her horn began to violently spark with opal energy. “I have every right to be furious!”

“And I wholeheartedly condone that fury.” Out of the corner of her eye, Rarity noted the frightened looks the visitors shared at her statement. “But make it worth something. Channel it in a direction that is helpful. This isn’t it, Sunset.”

Snarling, Sunset turned on the three ponies, mane whipping about and horn glowing ever brighter. “They’re responsible! They deserve it!”

Rarity’s grip on the gun tightened. “Were you not terrified? Do you not know what it’s like to be bullied, to be pressured into things you didn’t want?”

“It’s not the same!”

“No, it’s not! They have a lot to make up for.” Rarity dared to approach, forcing her hand away from Silver Lining despite the little pony inside urgently warning against the motion. “They can’t do that if they’re dead.”

Sunset grit her teeth, still glaring fiery vengeance at the trio of trembling ponies. “Why are you defending them?”

Pausing a few feet away, Rarity took in the sight before her. Long gone was the cowering mare afraid of her own shadow, the pony who spoke quietly and avoided confrontation. In her place was a powerful figure ready to act, to attack, to live. The opal energies swirling around her, the flames dancing in her fists, the way her brilliant crimson and golden hair flowed to an unfelt wind… There was a certain primal beauty to it all.

With a warm smile on her lips, Rarity realized she knew exactly what to say. “I feel so vindicated right now.”

Sunset’s ears perked. Though her anger remained as strong as ever, it did little to mask the confusion in her gaze.

Spreading her arms, Rarity met her eye for eye. “I knew there was a strong, powerful mare under that anxious, beaten facade. And look at you! You’ve shed the skin. You can be whatever you want now, because you will not be contained any longer. How does it feel, Sunset Shimmer? What is it like to be free?”

The fire crackled as Sunset stared at her, uncomprehending. She looked at her fist, still blazing, then at the other. Her eyes crossed as she tilted her head back and studied her brilliantly shining horn. A gradual awareness took over her features, bringing with it a beaming smile. “You… Y-you’re right. They’re gone. They’re gone. I can do what I want, without… w-without…” She laughed, a bright and joyous sound. “I don’t even know how I’m doing this!”

She didn’t? Alarm surged through Rarity, but she bit back her instinctual response. “Do you know how to stop it?”

Sunset’s laughter came to a sharp end. She blinked dumbly at Rarity, then gained a few shades of white. “Oh.” She looked to one hand as if seeing it for the very first time. Holding it as far away from herself as she could, she cringed and clenched her eyes tightly closed. The fire snuffed out, a massive cloud of smoke erupting around her hand as she let out a pained cry. As the smoke cleared, her left hand became visible; it was covered in burns.

Tears in her eyes, Sunset moved her still-blazing right hand to a similar distance and repeated the act. This time the fire died slowly, and only a tuft of smoke rose. She still flinched, but the hand appeared largely unscathed. With both fires put out and one hand cradled in the other, Sunset dimmed her horn at last.

Rarity wasted no time hurrying to her, feeling a phantom sting in her own hands at the sight of the damage. “Are you alright? How bad is it?”

Sunset held the trembling hand up, holding her wrist with the other as she did. It was covered in blisters. “I-it feels like Tartarus, but I think they’re only s-second degree burns. Should heal up in a few weeks.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she moaned. “Oh, Goddess, what was I thinking? I could have lost them entirely.”

“I don’t believe you were thinking at all.” Rarity looked to Share, Stable, and Jenny, the three watching the scene as if expecting to have to flee at any second. Not that she could blame them. It wasn’t everyday a pony literally lit on fire in rage.

“Did you mean it?”

Rarity turned back to see Sunset watching her with an almost pleading expression. “Mean what?”

A biting hiss kept Sunset from answering right away. She tried flexing the fingers of her burnt hand, fresh tears forming in her eyes as she whimpered. “Th-that you think I’m strong. That it’s okay to be angry. That I could be… f-free.”

“Of course I meant it.” Grasping Sunset’s cheeks and staring her in the eyes, Rarity couldn’t help but grin. “What I just saw was as beautiful as it was frightening. I’ve been waiting the last twenty-four hours to see you properly stand up for yourself, just knowing there was a powerful mare under there, and you did not disappoint. However…” She stepped back and looked pointedly at Sunset’s blistered, red hand. “You may want to be less, erm, ‘fiery’ about it in the future.”

Sunset chuckled, though it twisted halfway through into a sob. Taking a moment to recover, she muttered, “I think I’d like to get this treated, now.”

Rarity frowned. She didn’t have anything for burns in her supplies, at least not on this scale. “Do you have the things we need?”

The mare shook her head. The two shared a long, uncertain expression. Rarity looked to Share, Stable, and Jenny, none of whom had moved or appeared any less likely to run away. Sunset let out a quiet growl. “I don’t want their help.”

“Do you have an alternative option in mind?” When Sunset only scowled at her hand, Rarity considered the matter settled. “I don’t suppose any of you could help us with these burns?”

The three exchanged long, uncertain looks. Finally, it was Spinning Jenny who stepped forward. ‘Shuffled’ would be a better term for her movement, but it amounted to the same thing. “I have some medical supplies at home.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Sunset growled, though she kept it quiet so only Rarity heard.

Share Crop set a hand to the thestral’s shoulder, making Jenny jump. “Go get what you need. It’s probably better if Sunset doesn’t move too much.” The thestral wasted no time, taking to the air with a mighty flap of her leather wings. “Sunset?”

Sunset had already turned to go back to her home, but came to a stiff-backed stop at her name. She said nothing, letting an awkward quiet fill the square. Rarity looked between her and the giant of a mare and silently hoped Share Crop didn’t say anything stupid.

Share Crop placed her hands behind her hunched back. It was a curiously demure pose for such a large pony. “You’re right. We deserve whatever you want to do to us, and then some. What we did to you and didn’t do for you can’t be forgiven.”

Stable Fiber joined her, looking every bit as remorseful. “If you feel like punishing us, we won’t stop you. But before that, we need to consider what’s best for Little Longhorn.”

Sunset moved as if to face them, but stopped herself. Bitterness danced on her words. “I thought torturing me was what’s best for Little Longhorn.” The two earth ponies jerked as if they’d been kicked in the gut.

Licking his lips, Stable spoke again, keeping his tone soothing and carefully enunciating his words. “Like it or not, you’re the last survivor of Stormy’s family. The Bad Apples see you as an example to be made. That means that whatever we decide to do next, you factor into the discussion.”

“We’re asking you,” Share Crop pressed, her tone pleading, “be part of the discussion, not just the subject. Nopony in this town deserves a say in this like you.”

The quiet returned. With her back to them, it was impossible to tell what Sunset was thinking. Rarity wondered about the circumstances, remembering a similar decision she’d had to make over a year ago. Would Sunset come to the same conclusions she had, or would her path take her elsewhere?

When nearly a minute had passed with no answer, Rarity approached. She stood by Sunset, leaning in close. “Remember my promise. I want to help you and this town. But my protection is useless if I’m a thousand miles away when the danger strikes.” She pulled her into a one-armed hug, both to show her support and to better emphasize what she said next. “This is your chance, Sunset. To be more than the scared filly you’ve been all your life.”

When Sunset met her gaze, her eyes shone with interest, but also uncertainty. “But what if I’m not good enough?”

“You can be if you want to be. You just have to have the will. Based upon what I’ve just witnessed…” She gently raised Sunset’s arm, putting her burnt hand on display, “I’d say you’ve got the will in spades.”

Sunset studied her injury, anxious. Then she moved the fingers and grimaced at the pain. When the expression faded, in its place was a determination that brought a whole new smile to Rarity’s face.

A flap of wings, and suddenly Spinning Jenny was nearby. She had a large case tucked under one arm, but held back when Sunset and Rarity turned in tandem to her. Whimpering, she offered the case in both hands, like a supplicant begging a favor. Somehow, the fidgety thing was able to meet Sunset’s eyes.

Sunset gazed back at her, her expression judging and grim. Rarity stepped back, hopeful. Stable Fiber and Share Crop watched the scene with trepidation. For a long time, nopony spoke.

With a heavy sigh, Sunset looked to Share and Stable. “Come on, we’ll talk inside.” She turned for the house, paused, then looked to Spinning Jenny. “Thanks, Jenny. Really.”

Everypony went indoors to Sunset’s cramped little home. Rarity watched them go, feeling no small amount of pride and achievement.

Doing Good

To an outside observer, the tin can falling over would be considered anticlimactic. To Rarity, it was a sight to behold.

Sunset Shimmer lowered her rifle, disbelief plain across her features. She turned to Rarity in bewilderment. “Did I just hit it?”

Hands on hips, pride swelling her chest, Rarity grinned at her companion. “That you did.”

“I hit it.” Confusion switched like lightning to elation. “I hit it!” She stared at the fallen can a few yards away, as if to seal the image of it in her memory. “I can do this. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I can.”

Her reaction was entirely justifiable. After two days of practice after Sunset’s classes, the mare had proven quite impotent at smaller firearms. Then a local, one of those forced to ‘support’ the Bad Apples, offered her a rifle to try. Four shots later, and here they were. Rarity was ecstatic; at last, she could be confident in Sunset’s ability to learn and, more importantly, teach.

Little Longhorn’s prospects were looking brighter by the day. Meetings had been held, decisions made, plans changed. While much of the town – most of the thestrals, in truth – were wary of the recent act of defiance and the dangers of Bad Apple retaliation, a clear majority of the town’s citizens were tired of submission and wanted to give resistance a try. Some, like Share Crop, were startlingly vocal about it. A consensus had been reached, and the town had pulled together enough money to buy the supplies they needed to at least get armed and set up basic defenses. Talks were ongoing in regards to the long term, yet Rarity already could detect a growing interest in the movement.

Sunset, to Rarity’s pride, was at the forefront. With Charming dead and Crater under house arrest, his ultimate fate yet to be decided, the frightened and timid mare had all but disappeared. She spoke out, she argued, she stood firm against critics. And Celestia save anypony who dared try to resort to any sort of bullying tactics on her; if she didn’t slap them down, it would only be because others rushed to her defense before she could.

The change in the mare named Sunset Shimmer was nothing short of miraculous, and Rarity would always look back on it as one of the best things the Bulletproof Heart ever reached for.

Her pleasure faded as Sunset’s smile did. The joy in the mare’s expression became uncertainty, then sadness. “I hit it.”

Sometimes, in the dark of night when nopony but Rarity was around, Sunset would suffer a lapse. Her worries would arise and she’d cling to Rarity for reassurance, for a reminder that she really could change her life’s direction if she wanted to. There were times when she had to decide yet again if she really wanted it. Rarity feared that this might be another relapse and braced herself to play the role of support.

Sunset faced her, eyes watering as they met gazes. “You’re going to go away.”

Oh. Right. Yes, this was a topic they needed to discuss, wasn’t it? Rarity wasn’t sure how to react, so she tried for a sheepish smile. “That time does seem to be coming, yes.”

“Does it have to?” Like a sand lizard building up to a sprint, Sunset’s words gained energy as she spoke. “You could stay here and help us. Nopony would dare come after Little Longhorn with the Bulletproof Heart around. I know the place doesn’t have much going for it right now but… but it can be your new home! Maybe if we asked the others we could even have a house built for—”

“Sunset Shimmer.”

The mare cringed, eyes going to the ground between them. She fiddled with the rifle’s receiver mechanism ineffectually. “I don’t want you to leave,” she mumbled.

“I’m a wanted mare.” Rarity kept her tone calm and reassuring, even as she ignored her own disappointment. “If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that ponies will come for me. My survival is dependent on movement. My staying here only increases the chance of danger coming to Little Longhorn.” She’d already stayed longer than she did in most places. Being aware of that made it hard for her to sleep.

“You can change your name,” Sunset feebly suggested. “We could hide you.”

That brought a fire to Rarity’s lips. Her hand gripped Silver Lining tight. “I refuse to hide.” Although she could acknowledge her ego pushing her into it, Rarity didn’t want to live in a world where she couldn’t shine brightly. Even if the manner of that brilliance wasn’t what she’d have preferred.

Sunset raised her face once more. The poor thing appeared on the edge of tears. “Rarity, I… Can I do this without you?”

The fire was gone as quickly as it had been lit. Rarity flashed her most reassuring smile, her answer filled with the utmost confidence. “Of course you can. As long as you want to do it. As long as you believe in yourself.”

Several times did Sunset try to speak, but each time she closed her mouth and looked back at the ground. Finally, with the exaggerated care of one who had only just learned about guns, she placed her rifle on the ground. Then she rushed forward and engulfed Rarity in a hug so fierce it nearly knocked her over.

“Thank you,” Sunset whispered in her ear. “Thank you for believing in me.”

She returned the hug, rubbing Sunset’s back when the mare began to sniffle. “Give yourself more credit, Darling,” she soothingly replied. “Thank you for proving you can be believed.”

As they held on tight, Rarity looked to the clear blue sky. She thought of her long journey, of all the challenges she’d faced. More than anything, she thought of her father and his last words to her. She wasn’t sure she’d ever felt quite so satisfied. Certainly not since she’d left Spurhoof and started down this crazy life.

It’s a good start, Papa. It’s a very good start.

Author's Note

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