Chapter 13 - Judgement
“When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself.”

We all stood silently in the moments following One’s attack on the would-be assassin. One had not moved from behind the skywagon, having retched several times. The last few sounded more like dry heaves, which made sense seeing as how his whole stomach was probably splattered on the ground.

Flower and Brownie had been inseparable with Flower providing first aid on Brownie’s, thankfully, superficial wound. She had not wasted a healing potion or even any of our magical bandages, opting instead for some clean cloth and pressure to stem the wound.

Silver and I worked silently taking care of what needed to be done. Together, we carefully lifted the inert body of the injured pony inside of the skywagon. Blood was dripping in an unending stream from has shattered snout. His breathing was labored and he gurgled with every breath. I tried to lay him down in a way that allowed the blood to drain out of his body instead of him drowning in it.

After squaring away our passenger, I walked quietly behind the skywagon. One was lying prone near a puddle of his own vomit. His sobs wracked his body and he was gasping with every breath. His charred horn was still shooting sparks and emitting a stream of smoke. Given the appearance, I didn’t know if he was crying because of what he did, the pain from his burnout, or both.

“One,” I said gingerly. “It’s Dust. How are you doing buddy?”

He picked his head up and I saw tears streaming down from his bloodshot eyes, and snot was dripping from his nose. “Mister Dust? How is the pony?”

“He’s not good, One,” I said gently. One responded with a redoubling of his crying. “One, you did what was necessary. If you hadn’t done that, Brownie would be dead. And who knows if he would have killed any of the rest of us.”

“But Dust, I never wanted to kill anypony,” he said punctuated by sobs. “I’m a good pony. Good ponies don’t kill other ponies.”

I gave a half-hearted chuckle. “One, things aren’t that simple,” I started while placing my leg over his shoulder. “Sometimes, good ponies have to do bad things.” I debated sharing the next piece of information with One but figured it would do more good than harm. “One, I’ve killed other ponies before. They were trying to hurt my friends and I had to kill them protect my friends.”

“But Daddy said that good ponies don’t hurt other ponies,” he said looking up at me. “If I didn’t do anything wrong, then why do I feel so bad, Mister Dust.”

“One, you never get used to killing somepony,” I said with a sigh. “I still feel bad when I have to do it. And I try everything I can to avoid it. But sometimes it’s necessary. And even to this day, when I kill, I still feel like I’m going to throw up also,” I added with a small laugh. “Listen, One, we need to get going soon. The pony is in bad shape and we need to get him back to Fetlock Flats. Can you get inside the sky wagon?”

“Sure thing, Mister Dust,” he said, laced with melancholy.

I helped him to his hooves and inside the sky wagon. The inside now had a rather unpleasant coppery odor. The assassin’s blood had started to pool around his head. Once One got inside with me, he glanced at the assassin’s body. He dropped his head instantly and took a position as far from him as possible.

“One, are you going to be alright?” I asked, placing a hoof on his shoulder.

“I’ll be OK, Mister Dust,” he said with a sniffle. “I think.”

I gave one a small smile and a pat on his back. After leaving the interior of the skywagon, I made my way to the front where Silver had started to attach the harness to herself. She was fumbling with one of the straps as I rounded the front of the wagon.

“Need a hoof?” I asked, giving her a weak smile.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” she said with a sigh. “Whoever designed these things never envisioned a pegasus having to do it alone.” She had a point. Every time I got strapped into a sky wagon for cargo movement, it took a team of tenders to get everything in place. I basically stood there while they did all the work. “How is everypony doing?”

I began to thread one of the straps through a buckle. “One is taking this pretty hard,” I said with a sigh. “He thinks he is a bad pony. Flower is tending to Brownie. Our assassin is inside the sky wagon, unconscious. I’m OK. How are you holding up?”

“I think I’m OK,” she said, unconvincingly. “Dust, how could One do that?”

“Well, I guess he was so scared for Brownie that he was able to fight through his burnout,” I started.

“No,” she said, cutting me off. “I don’t mean physically. I mean, why did he attack that pony so brutally?”

“He doesn’t want anypony to get hurt anymore,” I said with a sigh. “He seems to think that everypony should be a good pony.”

“Oh,” was all Silver said in response.

“So, if you don’t mind my asking, how did you learn to fly one of these things?” I asked, while fastening another strap.

“Oh, I don’t really,” she said matter-of-factly. I dropped the strap I had in my mouth and the buckle clanged on the ground. “What?” she asked, aggravated.

“You’ve never actually piloted one of these things?” I asked, shocked.

“Well, once… but it was much smaller than this was and made more for cargo transport instead of passengers. Basically, it should be the same, right?,” she said with a shrug.

“Um, wooooooow,” I said sarcastically. “There’s way more to it than that.” It took a typical flyer dozens of hours of training on simulators before they really got the hang of flying personnel transports.

“Well, then why don’t you fly it,” she spit back. “Oh, that’s right, you can’t let anypony know you’re a pegasus,” she whispered.

I grunted in frustration. “Silver, you know why…”

She quickly cut me off. “Yeah, Dust, I know. You have this big secret. You always seem to have something to hide,” she said with a sneer.

“Silver, you know why I can’t…” I started, but stopped when I saw her fence tense with anger. “This isn’t about my secret, is it?”

“No, Dust, it’s not,” she growled. “I’m still pissed at you for trying to sneak away. Probably even more so now. What would you have done if you faced this assassin by yourself? Assuming you made it past the rockslide, the crumbled path, the bridge…”

“I know… I would probably be dead. Don’t you think I know that!?” I said, more harshly than I intended. “Look, we need to get this pony back to Fetlock Flats. Can we finish this later once this is taken care of?”

Silver sighed. “Sure, Dust. Whatever,” she said dejectedly.

Brownie and Flower had already made their way inside the sky wagon. After checking with Silver to make sure she was ready, I got inside and closed the door. The entire wagon shook and I felt a rising sensation. From behind me, I heard a loud gulp. Turning around, I saw Brownie hiding his head under his hooves, and what little of his head I could see had a greenish tint to it.

“Brownie, are you OK?” I asked, trotting over to him.

“Eeyup, Dust, ah’m…” he started to say, which was then punctuated by a dry heave. “Um, nope. Ah feel like ah’m gonna be sick.”

“Brownie, please tell me you don’t get airsick?” I asked.

“Ah guess so,” he said with a nod. “First time in a sky wagon.”

Frantically looking around the cabin of the sky wagon for a pail of some kind, my eyes settled on a small container holding paper bags. The outside of the container had a drawing of a pony with its tongue sticking out and spirals around its head. I grabbed one with my teeth and found it had a waxy lining. I offered it to Brownie. “Here you go, Brownie,” I said.

“Thanks, Dust. Ah appreciate it,” he said as he dry heaved again.

After several minutes of flight, the sky wagon dropped erratically. Everypony was jostled around the cabin. I watched as Flower hit her head against the wall. “Ouch! What the fuck is goin’ on?” she yelled, rubbing her head.

“I have no idea,” I said, shaking my head. “Everypony hold on to something!”

The cabin was jostled again and I lost my grip on the rail I had grabbed. I rolled towards the cabin door and slammed into it. The wind was knocked out of me and I had trouble getting my breath. From behind me, I heard the sound of straining metal followed by a metallic ping.

The door flew open behind me and I fell out of the opening. Grabbing onto the edge of the floor with my two hooves, I held on for dear life. “Somepony help me!” I screamed.

Looking into the cabin, everypony else was still holding onto something for balance. The wagon leaned towards the side that I was dangling from. My hooves started slipping along the metal floor. “Somepony, please help!” I screamed. Still, nopony could move. My right hoof slid clear of the floor. My body swung as my weight became entirely supported by my left hoof, which had continued to slide towards the edge.

I watched in terror as my left hoof slid clear of the floor and I felt the all too familiar freefall sensation. “Noooooo!” I screamed as I felt my body descend in open space. And then I suddenly hit the ground, the wind slightly being knocked out of me.

“What the hell?” I asked as I looked up and saw that the sky wagon was only several feet above the ground. I could see Silver was struggling with landing the wagon. The trickiest part of any flight was the landing. It was swaying in both directions as she tried to gently lower it to the ground.

Eventually, Silver got the cart on the ground with a loud thud. From inside the cabin, I heard all my friends fall to the floor, each of them grunting. Shortly afterwards, all of them crawled out of the cabin and fell to the ground. “Thank Celestia! Sweet, sweet ground!” Brownie said, kissing the dirt.

“Ummm, Brownie, I’m over here,” Flower said with a snicker, still lying on the ground. “Then again, after what you did back in there, I may not want ta go anywhere near yer mouth.”

“Sorry about that everypony!” Silver called out from the front of the wagon. “It’s been a long time since I’ve flown a wagon. Can someone help me out of this harness, please?”

“I got it ponies,” I said as I uneasily got to my hooves. I walked to the front of the wagon and began to loosen the straps holding Silver into the harness.

“Is everypony, OK?” she asked as I removed the first strap.

“I think they’ll be fine,” I said, working on the second strap. “Everypony just got a little jostled. For somepony who has only flown a wagon once before, you didn’t do a bad job,” I said with a half-grin. My first time piloting a wagon in the simulator I crashed and lost all ponies on board. “Brownie, Flower, One… are any of you good to go get the doctor?”

“On it,” Brownie called out, already galloping towards the gate.

Silver had set us down about thirty yards away from the main gate just outside of town. “Not a bad landing job after all,” I said with a whistle. A small grin formed on Silver’s face. “Be right back… I’m going to go check on our would be assassin.”

I trotted into the cabin of the wagon. It reeked of the pungent odor of vomit, mixed with the coppery smell of blood, and the sour smell of urine. “Geez, you guys did a job in here,” I said rhetorically. A small cough came from the back corner of the wagon.

I trotted over the prone, brown body of the assassin. “Are you OK?”

“What the fuck do you think?” he said with a weak growl. “Your little dumbass almost killed me with a rock.” The pony coughed, adding to the still growing blood pool. His eyes rolled up into his head and he passed out once again. I checked his vitals. His pulse was weak and thready and his breathing was shallow and still had a gurgle to it.

I trotted outside of the skywagon. Flower and One made eye contact with me and I returned a scowl. One looked away with a deep sigh. Flower nodded to me and trotted over to him and talked very quietly with him. I rejoined Silver at the front of the skywagon.

“How’s the assassin holding up?” Silver asked, having been interrupted from preening her feathers.

“Not good. He came to just long enough to curse us out again, and then passed out,” I said, shaking my head. “Brownie went to get the doctor, but I’d be surprised if our friend there made it out of this OK.”

Silver’s expression turned dark. “Dust, do you think One will be OK?” she asked softly.

“I hope so, Silver,” I said with a sigh. “I hope so.”

A little while later, I heard a group of hoofsteps getting closer and the screeching of the metal gate sliding open. I saw Brownie, a cream colored unicorn mare wearing a white lab coat, and Sheriff Seven Stars galloping towards us. I trotted out to meet them.

The cream colored unicorn trotted right up to me and stopped. “Where is he?” she asked, her voice full of urgency. I pointed towards the skywagon and the unicorn mare trotted over and and into the wagon.

“Don’t mind Dr. Syringe,” Sheriff Seven Stars said angrily. “She uses her talents on everypony whether they deserve it or not, whether she knows it or not,” she said loudly while looking at the skywagon door.

A muffled voice came back from the skywagon. “Sheriff,” Doctor Syringe yelled back, “I have a pony to save!”

“You’re wasting your time!” she yelled back. “He’s might die anyway since he allegedly killed Deputy Mortar!”

“Not! Now! Sheriff!” the doctor yelled back. “We can have this argument, again, later!” she added with a huff.

The sheriff kicked a small rock nearby. “Darn fool,” she said in a huff. “Healing a pony that will probably be executed anyway is a waste of time and resources.”

“Allegedly killed Deputy Mortar?” I asked, shocked.

“Well, what did you expect?” she responded. “That I would take it on your word only?”

“Everypony watch out! Emergency coming through!” Doctor Syringe yelled from inside the wagon. The unconscious body of the assassin was levitated out of the wagon enveloped in a purple magical field. The doctor followed shortly behind, her horn glowing the same color.

“Now what do you think you’re doing, Doc?” the sheriff asked.

“Sheriff, right now, he is my patient,” the doctor said in a huff. “Later, you can have him as your suspect, condemned, or whatever you wish to label him. Now move!”

The sheriff growled back but grudgingly moved out of the way. “Damn, fool!” she growled. “Maybe wasting her time and resources on that kind of pony. I better go check him out before he comes to.” The turned towards the gate, but then turned to me. “By the way, don’t leave town. I still need to investigate what happened.”

“Say, what now?” I gasped in shock. “You need to investigate what?”

“The attempted murder, of course,” she said matter-of-factly. “As far as I know, that pony was just some innocent pony you stumbled across. He may not have been the pony that attacked us earlier.” The sheriff turned around and trotted back into town.

“Did she just say what I think she did?” I muttered. “Does she really think we tried to murder than pony? And then bring him back here?” An uncomfortable silence was the only answer everypony else could give. “Alright.. Flower, Silver, Brownie… take One back to the inn. I’m going to go to the doctor’s office and see what’s going on.”

Everypony nodded and we headed for the gate. A new dark green earth pony mare greeted us at the gate. She must have been informed about us and let us pass by without a problem. Once inside, we split up and headed to our individual destinations.

The doctor’s office was a nondescript wooden shack. The only hint of the purpose of the building was the pink and yellow medical box mounted next to the front door. Man… the advertising ponies back above the clouds needed to learn a lesson from the ponies that designed the Ministry logos. Those things were over a century old and you still saw them everywhere.

After entering the building and closing the door quietly behind me, I was hit by the smell of antiseptic and blood. It was an odd mixture. A blood red unicorn mare with a blue mane was sitting behind a desk. A pen and her horn were both engulfed in a pink magical field. She was writing something down on a paper attached to a clipboard.

“How can I help you?” she asked, not even picking her head up from her paperwork.

“I’m looking for the sheriff and the new patient that was brought in just a few moments ago,” I asked.

A muffled voice shouted from a room behind her. “Sheriff, not now!” Doctor Syringe yelled. “Once I get him stable, you can pull all the voodoo you want on him. But not a moment sooner!”

“Doc… this pony may have killed my deputy, and allegedly attacked one of the travellers that came the other day,” Seven Stars said, barely audible. “I need to do this now so I can possibly close this case.”

“Seven, why do we always have this same fight?” Syringe responded.

I knocked on the door and then popped my head in. “Mind if we join you two?” I asked. The two ponies nodded. “I couldn’t help but to hear you two, what’s going on?”

Doctor Syringe was the first to respond. “The ol’ Sheriff here wants to read this ponies mind,” she said, shaking her head. “But he is in no condition to survive such an invasive procedure.”

“Wait,” I said. “What do you mean, read his mind?”

Sheriff Seven Stars removed her stetson to reveal a horn. “My special skill is memory magic,” she said, tapping her horn. “When I need to know the truth, I just read a pony’s mind. Hasn’t failed me yet. And after the last twenty four hours we’ve had around here, I want to wrap this up quickly.”

“So, wait, you’re going to read this pony’s mind to see if he is guilty?” I asked, leaving my mouth agape. “Can’t he lie?”

“Worst case scenario,” Seven Stars said, shaking her head, “is that the picture is unclear or incomplete.” The sheriff took a short pause. “I will also be reading your friend’s mind to see what happened up on that mountain.”

“You don’t believe us that he,” I said, gesturing towards the unconscious pony, “attacked us?”

“Dust,” she answered, shaking her head, “I’ve learned in many years of being a lawpony, not to trust anypony. Doc, you let me know the instant he is strong enough.” The doctor shook her head in affirmation. “Dust, bring me to your friend.”

The sheriff followed me back to the inn. “Sheriff, before we get to the inn, I think there is something you should know,” I started. “One is not a normal pony. He is the result of cloning, and mentally he is more like a colt than a stallion.”

“Cloning?” she said, shocked. “Where the fuck in the Wasteland does anypony have the gear to do cloning?”

“Long story short, Enclave outcast continuing genetic research he was working on before he got banished,” I shot out in one breath.

“You’re right, that is short,” she said with a chuckle. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I just want to make sure he gets a fair shake,” I said with a frown. “He’s had a rough time.”

“Dust, as long as he didn’t do anything wrong,” she said with a knowing look, “he has nothing to worry about.”

But would she see his overreaction as right or wrong?

We walked in the inn and the innkeeper just gave me an icy stare. Brownie must have amused himself with negotiations again. I had to remember to ask him for some of his tricks.

“Same rooms as last night,” the innkeeper grumbled. “Just get outta my sight.”

The sheriff gave me a sideways glance. “Brownie is a very good negotiator,” I said with a giggle. “Probably talked him down to two for the price of one.” The sheriff responded simply with a nod.

After climbing the stairs to the second floor, we trotted over to One’s room. I quietly opened the door and gestured for the sheriff to enter first. When I got into the room, I saw that Brownie and Flower were huddled together in one corner. They were looking towards one of the beds, on which Silver was sitting and trying to comfort One. One had his head buried in his hooves and was crying.

The sheriff looked at me, confused. I held up my hoof telling the sheriff to just wait. “One, it’s me Dust,” I started, gently. “How are you doing?”

“Mister Dust?” he whined between sobs. He picked his head up and looked at me with tears streaming down his face. “I feel horrible.” He punctuated his statement with a sniffle.

“I’m sorry to hear that, One,” I said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. The sheriff cleared her throat. “One, the sheriff is here. She needs to see what happened on the mountain. She is going to use her magic,” I began. At the mention of magic, my friends all looked surprised. The sheriff removed her hat showing her horn. “To read your mind and see what happened. You have nothing to worry about, OK?”

“If you say so, Mister Dust,” he said between sniffles.

“One, is it?” the sheriff said, stepping towards him. “This will not hurt, but you will re-live the moment, and I may also accidentally bring up older memories. Do you understand what is going to happen?” One nodded and put his head back down on the bed. The sheriff closed her eyes. Her horn lit up in a silver magical field. A thin thread of magic snaked from her horn right to One’s head. Little pulses of light travelled both ways along the thread.

“Brownie, have you ever seen or heard of anything like this?” I asked, watching the process.

“Nope, Dust. I mean, ya figure there’s gotta be ponies out there that know memory magic,” he said, shaking his head, “but I ain’t ever seen it personally.”

“This freaks me out a little, if I may be honest,” Flower interrupted. Silver nodded in agreement.

A few moments later, the silver thread left One’s head and went back to Seven Stars’ horn. The sheriff took a few ragged breaths. “Damn. Damn, damn, damn!” she muttered.

“What’s the matter, Sheriff?” I asked.

“He was too emotional during the attack,” she said, frustrated. “It changes the perception of the event. If I were to believe his remembrance, he used a rock the size of the skywagon you all flew down here and knocked his head clean off his body. I’m gonna need to use somepony else.”

“I’ll do it,” Silver volunteered.

“Thanks, but no thanks, miss,” the sheriff said with a nod. “I prefer to pick at random so the volunteer hasn’t had time to prepare. Dust.”

“Yes, sheriff?” I responded.

“No, I mean, Dust, you will be the pony I read next,” she stated with a chuckle.

“Wait, what?” I gasped.

“I’m going to read your mind,” she said. “Are you ready?”

“Do I really have a choice?” I gasped. “I don’t like the idea of somepony else rooting around in my head.”

“I’m afraid not,” the sheriff said with a shake of her head. “Unless you want me to assume your friend here is guilty.”

I sighed deeply. “Alright, go ahead,” I said, resigned to the decision that was made for me.

The sheriff closed her eyes again and I watched as the silver thread began to extend forward from her horn. The thread approached my head slowly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I felt a gentle pressure on my forehead as the thread made contact with my skin. The pressure gradually increased, feeling much like a headache. Then the pressure subsided almost instantly as a gentle warmth filled my head.

The warmth of the room faded and the surrounding sounds diminished. In the distance, a bright light pierced the darkness. I was blinded by the sudden brightness. The light grew and then began to fade, leaving me standing in a hallway lined with doors every few yards.

“Where the fuck…” I muttered in shock.

“Welcome to your memory, Dust,” the sheriff said. I glanced around and saw her shimmer into existence right behind me. “The memory is a funny thing. Every time I do this, it appears differently. Some ponies it’s a series of chests. Others it’s like a old fashioned mail room. In your case, you ‘store’ your memories behind these doors.” She looked down both ends of the hallway. Something I hadn’t noticed before is that some doors were made of weathered wood and others appeared to be made of clouds. “This is a first for me though,” she said, gesturing towards one of the cloud doors. “Ain’t never seen doors made out of clouds… I wonder what it means?”

The sheriff approached one of the cloud doors and reached her hoof towards it. Her hoof passed right through. “Huh, that’s weird. Maybe I’ll just stick to the regular old doors,” she said, still clearly confused. “Let’s split up. Let me know once you’ve found the memory from the mountain.”

I approached the nearest door which happened to be of the cloud variety. I reached forward and my hoof met resistance. Shit… I hope the sheriff didn’t see that… everypony knows only pegasi can manipulate cloud based objects. After my hoof bumped the cloud door, it slowly faded out of existence.

A field of clouds appeared before me. “You ready for your first real flight, Private?” a mare’s voice called out beside me. I glanced over and saw an orange pegasus mare with a golden mane strapped into yet another skywagon. Starburst?

“Yeah, I guess so,” said a voice that sounded a lot like mine, but I didn’t say anything. “I just wish I was doing what they were,” my disembodied voice said. My field of vision shifted and I was soon watching pairs of pegasi in flight suits practicing combat maneuvers.

“Updraft, you barely passed basic maneuvers,” Starburst said with a giggle. “You knew you were always going to be flying support missions, not combat.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I responded with a groan. “Hey Starburst, what are you up to later?”

“Not much,” she said. “Just hoping Zephyr is off duty tonight.”

“Zephyr?” I asked, confused.

“Yeah, him and I went out on a date last night and I was hoping to see him again,” she said beaming.

“Oh,” I said, deflated. My heart sank and it felt like the clouds were pulled out from underneath me.

“You OK, Updraft?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said, lying to her. “Just, um, mentally preparing for the drills.”

The cloudy door faded back into existence in front of me.

“Whatcha looking at?” the sheriff asked.

I jumped and my flank bumped into her. “Were you looking over my shoulder?”

“Yup,” she answered flatly, “it seemed like you found something interesting.”

“Nah, nothing good,” I muttered, “just a bad dream I had once.” Well, it wasn’t a complete lie. I did really want to go out with Starburst. “Let’s keep looking.”

“Uh-huh,” the sheriff said, giving me a sideways glare.

Sticking to the wooden doors, I began opening them and watching the memories behind them. One door led to the memory of my first day down in the Wasteland with Muddy. That fucking radscorpion that snuck up on us. I don’t think either one of us had galloped so fast in our lives.

The next door revealed the day I discovered my affinity for pre-war tech. Celestia! How naive I was back then. My vision blurred as the shopkeeper smacked me upside the back of my head. And then the look of elation as his once nonfunctioning terminal was working once again.

Shit… I just realized that the sheriff might stumble upon a memory of a discussion that Muddy and I had about our mission. Or worse, it could have been a memory of one of our meetings with Midnight Ink for debriefing. Shit, shit, shit.

“Hey, Dust! Is this yellow stallion, Muddy?” she called out from down the hallway.

Fuck! “I don’t know,” I said, panicked. “Let me come check it out!” I galloped down the hallway and looked in. It was Muddy and we were inside our little shack in Coltington.

“Muddy, I don’t know if I can deal with this much longer,” I muttered. “I don’t think we were prepared well enough…” I slammed the door closed.

“Dust, what’s wrong?” the sheriff asked.

“Nothing, that’s just personal,” I quickly replied. “And has nothing to do with the mountainside. But yes, that is Muddy”

“You’re right. I’m sorry for prying,” the sheriff said sullenly. “Let’s just try the next door.”

Luna be damned, that was close. I opened the next door and saw Brownie, with a knife being held to his throat. “Uh, sheriff, here it is,” I called out.

Sheriff Seven Stars galloped over and looked through the door. She watched as the events played out before her. It was weird watching such a recent memory as if it was through somepony else’s eyes. The sheriff seemed more comfortable with it. I could only imagine how many times she had done this.

Once the memory was over, she closed the door and looked at me. The space around me started to fill with a haze and then faded to black. The light retreated towards a single point and then disappeared completely. My eyes fluttered open of their own will and I watched as the silver thread withdrew from my head. It felt like something was slithering through my skin. It was not a pleasant feeling.

Once the thread returned completely to Seven Stars’ horn, she finally reopened her eyes. She collapsed to her flank and was breathing heavily.

“Sheriff, yah alright?” Flower asked, trotting over to her side.

“Yeah,” she muttered, rubbing her temples. “The spell is rough on me, but it is worth it. And it looks like our patient has some questions to answer when he comes to. Pardon me, ponies, but I gotta go rest now.” She trotted out of the door, giving me another long sideways glance before she closed the door and left.

An awkward silence filled the room. “The town is gonna kill that pony you know,” Flower said meekly, breaking the silence.

“Eeyup,” Brownie said nodding “You know we can’t let that happen, right?”

All of us turned to look at Brownie. “Umm, Brownie, did you forget that pony held a knife to your throat was going to kill you?” I asked, surprised.

“Ah know, Dust,” he said, shaking his head, “but, as much as ah hate ta say it, he was doin’ a job Not ta mention the fact he was lied ta,” Brownie argued.

“But Brownie,” Flower started to protest.

“Nope, I won’t have none of it,” Brownie interrupted shaking his head. “Ah will not be party to more pointless killin’. There’s enough of it already.”

Another awkward silence filled the room. “Alright, Brownie. I can’t say that I agree with you, but I respect your decision,” I stated flatly. “Question is, what are we going to do about it?”

“Well, first, we need ta keep the townsponies away, especially Deputy Brick,” he said. Shit, I nearly forgot about Deputies Brick and Mortar. “And then we gotta convince the Sheriff not ta carry out Wasteland justice. Ah figure ah’ll go stand guard over him tonight.”

“No, Brownie,” I said firmly, shaking my head. “I’m not going to give that pony another shot at you. He told us very clearly you were his target. I’ll go.” Brownie opened his mouth to start arguing but then decided not to argue the point. “You ponies stay here and watch over One.”

After dropping most of my gear except for my pistol, I trotted over to the doctor’s office. The shadows of the buildings were getting longer and many of the shacks and businesses were lighting their lanterns. Geez, how long did it take to go through my memories? We had gotten back to town in the early afternoon and now it was evening.

It was a quick trot and I entered the doctor’s office. The same nurse as before was working on more paperwork. “What do you want?” she asked, in a huff.

“Nothing. I’m fine,” I responded. “I’m just here to wait for the patient to wake up. I have questions I need to ask him.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, still not having looked up at me. “If I hear you disturbing the patient, I will kick you out of here so fast…”

“I know, I know,” I said dismissively. “What is it with you ponies and that phrase.”

I trotted back into the ward, which was lit only by two lanterns near the door I just came through. The beds and other furniture in the room threw long shadows. I saw that the other patients that had been here earlier in the day were all gone. Our would be assassin was still unconscious on the bed. I found a chair and pulled it over near the bed.

“Funny running into you here,” Sheriff Seven Stars said while emerging from the dark corner of the ward.

“I could easily say the same to you,” I responded, tracking her movements in the room.

“What do you think you’re doing here?” she asked.

“To be honest, making sure this pony survives until there can be a trial,” I said, measuring her response.

To her credit, she was nonplussed. “What, you thought I was going to execute him tonight?”

“The thought had crossed my mind. I mean, after what he did to Deputy Mortar,” I started to say.

“Stop right there, Dust,” she spit out at me. “You’re lucky I don’t shoot you right there. Besides, I should be the one questioning you.”

My body froze. “Wh-what do you mean?” I stuttered.

“C’mon, Dust, don’t play stupid,” she said with a knowing look. “Your memories, the cloud doors, the memory I saw. You’re a pegasus, aren’t you?”

My mind raced. What could I say here that would get her off my tail? “Yes, sheriff, I’m a pegasus.”

She cut me off before I could continue. “Enclave? Dashite?”

Here goes nothing. “Ground born. Starburst was my friend.” Here was the big gamble. Hopefully she hadn’t trotted over early enough to see the entire memory. “We found some skywagons and thought we could get them to work. They didn’t.”

Seven Stars seemed to mull over what I had just told her. “Alright, then answer this,” she said giving me that same piercing glare. “Why do you hide what you are?”

I took a deep breath. “I’m an escaped slave,” I said with a sigh. “I figured if there was a bounty it would be placed on a pegasus stallion, not an earth pony. Hiding in plain sight, you know?”

The sheriff mulled over the new information. “I can’t say that I’m completely comfortable with this,” she said shaking her head. “But you did catch Mortar’s murderer and haven’t lied to me about anything else, so I’m inclined to believe you. Do your friends know?”

“Silver, the pegasus, does,” I answered. “Other than that, that’s it. I would appreciate some discretion, please.”

“Don’t you worry, Dust,” she said with a nod. “I’ll keep your secret, but if I may put in my two bits, secrets have an ugly way of always coming out.”

“Thanks, sheriff, I appreciate it,” I said, extending my hoof for a hoofbump. The sheriff bumped back. “Now, if I may ask, what’s going to happen to our patient here.”

“Well, that’s not up to me,” she said. “Tomorrow, I’ll assemble a jury of five locals and will present the information I know. Then it’s up to them to decide guilt and punishment.” The sheriff took an uncomfortable pause. “An allowable penalty for his crimes is death.”

“Sheriff,” I said, “would it change anything if Brownie said he doesn’t wish to pursue the matter?”

“Not in this case,” she responded, shaking her head. “If it was just Brownie, I’m sure the jury would take it into consideration. However, Deputy Brick isn’t so forgiving. And to be honest, neither am I. Not after what I saw in his head.”

“Saw?” I asked.

“I went into his memory while he was unconscious right before you got here,” she said quietly. “I know.. I know.. Doctor Syringe would be furious, but this couldn’t wait. Anyway, he is the one that killed Deputy Mortar. As such, I’m sure Brick will want justice, and I can’t say I blame him.”
“Eye for an eye,” I said with a sigh. “I hate to ask, but do I have your word that nothing will happen to him,” I added while pointing towards the unconscious pony, “tonight?”

“Mister Dust,” she said solemnly, “I am first and foremost a lawpony. I will not break the law, no matter what.”

“Alright, Sheriff. Good night,” I said and left the room.

It was now fully dark outside and the only light in the town was from lanterns or torches. I slowly made my way back to the inn, needing time to think. I hoped I could trust the sheriff in keeping my secret. I really didn’t need the distraction of explaining my being a pegasus right now. I had no reason to think the sheriff would betray me, but then again, she also had no reason to help me. I guess I just had to take her at her word.

I got back to the inn and the innkeeper just scoffed when he saw me. I walked past the desk and made my way up to the rooms. I knocked on the room that Brownie and Flower were sharing. A bleary eyed Brownie answered the door.

“Brownie, sorry to wake you,” I said. “I just figured you’d want to know, there will be a trial when the pony wakes up. The sheriff confirmed that he killed Deputy Mortar. I don’t know if there’s anything we can do.”

“Eeyup,” he said with a yawn. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow. G’nite, Dust.”

“Good night, Brownie.”

I walked over to the room that Silver and I had shared.the previous night. Quietly opening and closing the door, I made my way into the room. I heard the soft breathing of Silver asleep. Making sure the door was locked, I took advantage of the privacy and eased my way out of my armor. I hadn’t removed it for days and my wings were tight. My muscles fought me as I tried to extend them as far as they could go. The room was barely big enough, but I was able to give them a good stretch. I further gave them a few good flaps to work the muscles out.

I heard a rustling from the bed. Silver had awoken and turned over. “Where do you think you’re flying off too?” she joked, while yawning and rubbing her eyes.

I giggled a little in response. “Nowhere. Just trying to work out a few kinks,” I stated, folding my wings back in. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s alright, I don’t mind being woken up if I can see you,” she purred. “What’s going on?”

I let out a deep sigh. “The sheriff has confirmed that the pony that attacked us is the same one that killed Deputy Mortar,” I said. “Even though Brownie wants to forget all about the attack on the mountain, Deputy Brick wants justice. So does Seven Stars for that matter.”

“What are we going to do?” she asked, clearly horrified by the implications.

“I don’t know, Silver,” I said dejectedly. “Fortunately, nothing will happen until he regains consciousness. At least that gives us time to think.” I trotted over to the bed. “Is there room in there for one more?”

“I don’t know,” she said with some venom. “Are you going to try sneaking away again?”

And that’s what I was afraid of. “Listen, Silver…” I began.

“No, Dust. You listen to me,” she interrupted while placing a hoof over my mouth. “What you did last night was inexcusable. First of all, leaving Brownie, Flower, and One behind… they’re your friends. Why in Celestia’s name would you turn your back on your friends?”

“I…” I tried to say.

“No, you will let me finish,” she scolded. “When will you get it through your thick skull that your friends want to help you. They’re not being coerced, they weren’t tricked. Two of them volunteered and the other respects you almost as much as a father. And then there’s me… you claim I’m your special somepony!”

“But…” I stuttered.

“Be quiet!” she shouted. She took a few deep breaths. “If I am your special somepony, why would you leave me behind? If you feel for me the way you say you feel for me, you wouldn’t want to be without me. But you leave me here? And run off to possibly get yourself killed? And I’ll never see you again? Do you have an explanation for that?” There was a long, awkward pause between the two of us. “You can’t even answer that question?”

“Am I allowed to speak now?” I said with some level of sarcasm. The glare Silver shot at me made me recoil. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound that pithy. And to answer your questions, it’s basically the same answer. I left you four behind because I care so much about you, especially you. I would rather get injured, and yes, even killed, if it means saving you and the others from the same fate. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth!”

“But what if you died?” she yelled. “What would I do?”

“I… I never thought of that,” I said meekly. She was right. I hadn’t put any thought into what my friends would go through had I died on my own. “I… I…” I began softly sobbing. “I just don’t want any of you to get hurt.” Where was this coming from? Why was this getting to me so deeply?

Silver climbed out of bed and wrapped her legs around me and I buried my head into her shoulder. “Dust, shhhh….” she said while gently caressing my head. “We’re your friends. We will be here whenever you need us. And if one of us gets hurt, you need to know it’s not your fault. It’s a risk we have chosen to take.” She drew back and stared me right in the eyes. “And Dust, I love you. I will be here for you, forever.” She leaned in and kissed me.

As soon as our lips touched, the world again fell away around me. The tension, fear, and anxiety of the past few days simply melted away. A warmth filled my body from nose to tail to wingtips. My wings even extended of their own free will.

I don’t remember how long we were locked in the kiss, but once we broke it, the world around me muted itself back to the dull colors of the Wasteland. Silver had a grin on her face and she rested her head against my shoulder, still wrapped in each other’s legs. I did the same.

“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” I asked.

“Not by a long shot, mister,” she answered with a giggle. I laughed back.

We broke the embrace and crawled into bed. After my abbreviated rest last night, I was looking forward to a good night’s sleep. I layed down next to Silver and wrapped my wing around her as we pulled the threadbare sheet up over us.

“I love you, Dust,” Silver mumbled as I felt her breathing slow and she fall asleep.

“I love you too, Silver,” I answered back even though she didn’t hear me. I drifted off to sleep rather quickly thereafter.

I was jarred awake by a banging on the room to the door. “Dust! Wake up!” Flower was yelling through the door.

“Hold on a second,” I groaned as worked my way out of bed. Silver stirred and rolled over, pulling the sheet back up over her. I quickly donned my armor and opened the door. Flower was pacing out in the hallway.

“Dust, we gotta move. The assassin woke up and the sheriff is starting the trial now,” Flower said quickly. “And Brownie is on his way down there now.”

“Ah, shit,” I grumbled. “I was hoping to have more time to prepare. Silver, get up! We gotta go!” I said, turning back into the room. Silver simply groaned as she made her way out of bed.

We galloped our way out of the inn and followed the stream of ponies working their way towards the sheriff’s office. It seemed like the entire town was taking time to watch the morning’s events. As we rounded the corner near the sheriff’s office, we were greeted by the throng of ponies collected in the street. Everypony was hollaring towards the sheriff’s office. The voices were so many and so loud, you could barely make out individual statements. Up on the porch of the sheriff’s office stood Sheriff Seven Stars, Deputy Brick, and the pony with a large bandage wrapped around his head. Off to the side stood five ponies, shuffling uncomfortably with their current position.

“Fillies and gentlecolts! Please calm down!” the sheriff yelled out, stomping her hooves. “There will be order!” The cacophony slowly died down as the crown calmed. “Now look, I know we haven’t needed one of these in a long time, but I will insist on everypony conducting themselves properly.

“As you all know, two days ago, the town was attacked and Deputy Mortar was killed in the line of duty,” she started. Deputy Brick lowered his head at the mention of his brother. “After interrogating both the accused himself and witnesses to other crimes, I have determined that this pony,” she said, gesturing at the injured pony, “named Sure Shot, was responsible for the shot that killed Deputy Mortar.”

“Kill him!” a pony from somewhere in the crowd called out. Several others echoed the call.

The sheriff stamped her hooves again. “That is exactly the behavior we can not have! During my interrogation, I discovered that Deputy Mortar was not the intended target of the attack, and Sure Shot was hired to kill a different pony. These are the facts of the case that I’ve discovered. Deputy Brick has chosen not address the jury, feeling the facts stand on their own merit. Is there anypony here who would speak on behalf of the accused?”

There was a short pause while ponies looked around. It was so quiet you could hear the breeze whistling through gaps in the buildings around us. Suddenly, a voice broke the silence. “Ah have somethin’ ta say, if ah may,” Brownie yelled out.

“That is your right,” the sheriff said. “For those of you who don’t know, Brown Root here is the pony Sure Shot was hired to kill. He was also the victim of other actions of the accused which we are not adjudicating today.”

Brownie trotted up to the porch and faced the crowd. “Ah know I ain’t one of ya, and I ain’t intendin’ ta minimize your lose,” Brownie started, nodding towards Deputy Brick. Deputy Brick nodded in response. “Ah ain’t arguing the facts of this case. Sure Shot did fire the shot that killed Deputy Mortar. He was aiming fer me and meant ta kill me. He was also hired ta do a job, and that job was ta kill me. As ya all can see, this entire incident revolves around me!

“Now, ah know the sheriff said we weren’t discussing other things, but this same pony tried ta kill me again up on the mountain. By all rights, ah should be bitin’ at the bit ta get justice also. But ah’m here with a different message.

“Sure Shot can never undo what he did. And ah know it doesn’t help, but he was doin’ a job. Don’t ya think that the friends and family of any pony killed by a bounty hunter wants justice? Shouldn’t the pony that hired him be the one to face that justice? Sure Shot is nothin’ more than a tool. When a pony gets killed, do we blame the weapon or the pony usin’ the weapon?

“And hasn’t there already been enough killin’? Don’t we all face enough death in the Wasteland? Raiders, radscorpions, slavers; they all take enough life on a daily basis. Do we need ta add ta that count today? Look in your hearts and have mercy today.”

The crowd exploded as Brownie’s words faded to silence. “Kill the murderer!” echoed throughout the street.

“Ponies! Calm down! Please!” Sheriff Seven Stars yelled out futily. “I need you all to calm down!” The poor sheriff’s pleas fell on deaf ears.

Two gunshots rang out. The crowd was shocked into silence. Looking around, I saw the smoking gun held in Deputy Brick’s mouth. He holstered his weapon and approached the center of the porch.

“Ponies! Listen!” the deputy called out. “I loved my brother with all my heart. And it tore me up inside when I heard he was killed. I wasn’t even left with a body to mourn, just a pile of pink ash! Did I want justice for my brother? Yes, yes I did! In fact, I wanted to be the one to pull the trigger when it was time.

“But Brown Root has made me reconsider. Am I still mad at Sure Shot? Yes, I can never forgive him for killing my brother. But he didn’t intend to. We have never tried a bounty hunter for doing their job. If it wasn’t me, then Brown Root would be dead instead. And I won’t lie, I wish he had been killed instead of Mortar. But we can’t change what has happened

“All I ask you, ponies of the jury, is to show mercy on this pony,” Brick called out. He moved next to Brownie. “For Brown Root and I, find some other way!”

The crowd began to murmur to each other. There was a general uneasiness with the speech that the deputy had just given. Some were still seeking blood and others were didn’t want to see anymore death today.

The sheriff stamped the wooden porch again. “Brown Root, Deputy Brick, thank you for your input,” she shouted above the crowd. Most of the ponies quieted down while the sheriff spoke. She turned to face the other five ponies standing on the deck. “Jury, you have heard all the evidence and the pleas of the victims of Sure Shot. It is your job to determine guilt and punishment. The maximum punishment for this crime is death.”

Slowly the five ponies walked into the sheriff’s office. The sheriff closed the door behind the last one and took up a position guarding the entrance. The ponies outside began to discuss the evidence and the information presented with each other. Each pony I could hear had a slightly different viewpoint on the case.

I pushed my way through the crowd to talk to Brownie, who was still standing on the deck talking to Deputy Brick.

“Deputy, that was an amazing thing you said just now,” I said. “Why are you willing to forego justice?”

“Brown Root inspired me,” he said, giving Brownie a half-grin. “Killing Sure Shot won’t bring Mortar back, and he didn’t mean to kill Mortar.” Brick sobbed. “At least Mortar went out serving the town, just like he wanted. And Brown Root is right, there has already been too much killing. I don’t need to add another body to the pile.”

“That was mighty noble of ya,” Brown Root said while placing a hoof on his shoulder. “You are an amazing pony.”

The sheriff nodded and then trotted to the end of the deck, looking out into the horizon. “Brownie, you’ll never cease to amaze me,” I told him.

“Eeyup,” he said with a smile.

Hours passed. The ponies had not left the area near the sheriff’s office, for fear of missing the verdict and sentence. Many ponies had sat down where they stood earlier. Others had formed small groups to discuss topics from today’s events, to routine town business. Suddenly, someone knocked from the inside of the sheriff’s office door. The door opened and the five ponies filed their way out of the office.

The collected citizenry got back to their hooves and paid their undivided attention to the jury. It was quiet enough you could hear a pin drop.

“Ponies of the jury, have you reached a verdict and sentence?” the sheriff asked.

An older blue earth pony stallion wearing an old-fashioned business suit stepped forward. “Yes we have, sheriff,” he answered dully.

“And what have you decided?” the sheriff continues with the formalities.

“In the case of Sure Shot, the charge being murder, we have found him guilty of the crime as charged,” the stallion intoned. The crowd began to murmur again, not surprised by the verdict, but now trying to guess the sentence.

The stallion cleared his throat and the town quieted down once again. “And as punishment, we have decided to order Sure Shot to community service for the rest of his lifetime,” the pony said. The crowd erupted. Some ponies were irate that Sure Shot would live. Others were complaining that community service was not enough of a punishment. The jury forepony began again, yelling to be heard over the crowd. “He shall assist the town and help defend it from any external threat, in exchange for room and board. He shall also accept no further bounty contracts.”

The crowd erupted once more. The sheriff and deputy tried to shout over the crowd and calm them down, but to no avail. The sheriff shepherded Sure Shot and the jury into her office. Deputy Brick attempted to disperse the crowd. Brownie, Flower, Silver, One, and I helped form a pony shield in front of the sheriff’s office.

It took another few hours, but the last townspony gave up and left the area. I went inside to tell the sheriff.

“Sheriff, the last pony left. It’s safe for the jury and Sure Shot to leave now,” I informed her.

“Thank goodness,” she said taking a relieved breath. “I was hoping to not have to take severe action to break up the crowd.”

“Mr. Forepony, if I may ask,” I queried the older stallion, “why did the jury spare his life?”

“It wasn’t easy, but it seemed to us that if Brownie and Brick, the most directly affected ponies, didn’t want him killed, then we shouldn’t kill him,” he said. “Besides, he is more valuable as a security officer than a corpse. Now if you don’t mind,” he said with a nod, “I think we’ll all take our leave.”

“Thank you all for your service,” the sheriff said. The jury ponies filed out of the sheriff’s office and went their own ways. “Sure Shot, I think it will be best if you spend the night here, in case any of the townsponies get any ideas.”

“Yeah, thanks… you ponies have already ruined my life,” he grumbled, “might as well make it worse.”

“These ponies saved your life. If it weren’t for them, you’d be executed right now,” the sheriff spit out at him.

“Maybe that would have been better,” Sure Shot said in a huff. “Now I’m a servant with no hope of ever getting free. Might as well just call me a slave. He trudged off into one of the cells and slumped on the bed, facing away from us.

“Ah, just give him some time,” the sheriff said, looking at Sure Shot with empathy. “Thanks for your help today, by the way. Go to the diner and tell Silver Ladle that dinner's on me tonight.”

“Thanks, Sheriff,” I said with a nod.

We all trotted to the diner. The small shack had a weird mix of the amazing aroma of vegetables and the disgusting smell of roasting meat. We all opted for a vegetable stew. When we told Silver Ladle that the sheriff would be picking up the tab, he merely scoffed. I was going to ask, but I didn’t want to get involved in what was obviously a disagreement between them.

Silver Ladle served up four bowls of stew and floated them out to our table.

“Brownie, I was really impressed today,” I said between slurps. “I never expected you to be able to turn the tide of the town.”

“Aw shucks, Dust,” he demurred, “all I did was tell everypony what I felt. It was the truth. We didn’t need another death today.”

We ate in relative silence. We were all so hungry, we barely stopped shoveling the food in our mouths. When we were nearly finished, the small door to the diner slammed open. Deputy Brick was standing in the doorway, out of breath. “Dust, you need to come down to the sheriff’s office. Now!” he yelled.

“You guys stay here, no need for all of our evenings to be ruined,” I said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

I exited the diner and closed the door behind me. Deputy Brick was about to take off. “Wait a second, what is it?” I asked.

“You need to come down and see,” he said.

He trotted off and I trotted behind him. In short time, we found our way back to the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Seven Stars was outside on the deck, hanging her head and shaking it. The door was left open.

“Sheriff, what’s wrong?” I asked, concerned.

I noticed her face was a paler shade of blue than normal. “It’s horrible. Sure Shot killed himself,” she said, covering her mouth.

I carefully walked into the sheriff’s office. The first thing I noticed was the smell. It was a mix of the coppery stench of blood, mixed with the smell of sulfur. The sheriff’s chair was overturned behind her desk. As my eyes adjusted to the dark of the office, I saw that one of the jail cell doors had been left open. Slowly, I made my way over the cell. I was not prepared for what I saw.

On the ground of the cell, was the brown body of Sure Shot. The neck suddenly ended in a jagged mess of flesh, muscle and bone. A blood pool had started to form around the stump. A short distance away was a sawn-off shotgun. I could see the firing pin impressions on the ends of the shells, indicating that the shotgun had been fired, and recently based on the smell. Looking on the wall, I saw what I expected to find: a splatter of blood, speckled with gray brain matter and white flecks of bone.

I galloped out of the sheriff’s office and vomited up all of the stew I had managed to eat before leaving the diner. “Why did he do that?” I asked through dry heaves.

“Here, I found this near the body,” she said while handing a folded slip of paper to me.

The front side had “Dust” written on it in simple hoofwriting. I unfolded the paper and read:

“Dust, By the time you read this, I will have killed myself. You should have just left me on the mountain to die. Bringing me back to town was only ever going to end in my death, whether it was by my own hooves or the townsfolk. I can’t live as a slave, even if I’m not called such. So I have decided to give myself the only freedom I can know at this point.

“Before I go, I did need to tell you one more thing. Before Muddy left, he did tell me one thing. And I am only sharing it with you because I know it will drive you crazy and that is the last joy I will have. Muddy told me he was heading to Whinnycrest to finish preparing the best stage of his little game yet.

“Have fun obsessing on that, and see you in the afterlife.

“Asshole.”

Level Up!

Speech: 40

Perk Obtained

Please Return to the Full Upright Position - Agility +1 and Endurance +1 when riding in an aerial vehicle