Now I can understand y’all might be upset about some busybody pokin’ their nose where it don’t belong, ma’am. But I’d be powerful obliged if you’d just put my gun down and let me tell my side of the story before you pass judgment over what I’ve done. [hr] Name’s Troubleshoes Clyde. Yep, hand to Harmony, that’s m’name. Never liked it much, but I reckon it does suit me. I ain’t never been the luckiest fellow around the North Amareican desert. Suppose that’s plenty clear by now, what with these ropes and everything. No, ever since the whole big magic blast thing came outta Canterlot High, I’ve been just fortunate enough to keep my hide in one piece and find enough work to keep my belly full. Turns out there's no shortage of need for ugly-lookin’ dudes willin’ to throw their muscle around, or ones at least that look like they could. I don't actually care much for hurtin’ folks unless there's a good reason. I’m also what y’all might call a bit [i]klutzy[/i], and between those two things I don't tend to last too long on anybody’s payroll. But I didn’t come here workin’ on a goon squad. No, you heard about that territory a bit north o’here with folk callin’ themselves an Empire? Found myself up there after gettin’ run out of my last job. And before you ask, I don’t know much about the Empire itself; I learned a long time ago that it’s best not to ask too many questions. I mean, in general. What we got here obviously [i]ain’t[/i] a case of me followin’ my own advice. But all I know for sure is that the Empire pays good and don’t do too wrong by their people. And after some of what I’ve seen out there, that got me thinkin’ I might wanna lend a hand with keepin’ up the place. So when the sheriff's office posted up that they was lookin’ for some deputies to help find a missing person, sure enough I signed up. And I tried [i]hard[/i] not to mess it up. Y’all don’t know how hard I tried. I mean, sure, they made me take that gun, but I figured I’d be just as likely to end up shootin’ myself as anything else if I ever tried to use it. Just my luck, probably gonna end up gettin’ shot with it anyway. [hr] I s’pose the main thing you’ll want to know about is [i]her[/i], though. The first time I saw her was just after I got into town. She was slight but toned, and was wearin’ a golden straw hat just about the color of her hair, and a grey mottled dress not too far off her skin tone. Buncha kids were milling around her by the tin shack y’all use as a schoolhouse, and I remember thinkin’ that with her smiles and gentle words for ‘em she looked just about the prettiest creature I laid eyes on since the world went belly-up. And speakin’ of which, I can’t forget those [i]eyes[/i]. I know y’all know what I mean: golden, warm, and Harmony bless ‘em if they could keep pointed in any one direction for half a minute at a time. Now I don’t want to be ungentlemanly ‘bout how I talk about her, but you gotta understand, I ain’t the type to just go chasin’ after any woman what walks by. I’ve long since figured I was gonna run off any woman I got near, what with how much of a mess I tend to make of things. But from the moment I laid eyes on her, I could tell that she was different. And it wasn’t just because I hadn’t been starin’ more’n a moment before she tripped over a kid who’d bent down to tie their shoes and ended up spillin’ a whole big stack of books outta her arms, though I reckon that [i]might’ve[/i] been the thing that got me to work up the courage to go talk to her. “Need a hand, ma’am?” I asked her, and I offered mine. The look she gave me was guarded at first, with her mouth in a cute lil’ “o” and her eyes all wide and pointed every which-way but straight at me. The kids all went silent, too; prolly didn’t think twice about havin’ some stranger pass through town until I was right [i]there[/i] talkin’ to her. And she was sweatin’ too, though it was muggy out, likely ‘cuz of all that water y’all managed to pump out of the old school site. But then she smiled, and let me tell you, even if y’all end up shootin’ me, comin’ here would almost still be worth it for that smile. It was small but welcoming, and it showed off her right pretty dimples. And then she stretched her hand up and put it in mine, and the warmth of that lil’ hand wasn’t good for anythin’ but makin’ me even hotter under the collar than the day had already done. I met her eyes--more or less--and my heart started thumpin’, and I wanted that moment to last forever. Then of course I lost my balance tryin’ to pull her up and ended up falling flat on my face right next to her, which got a good laugh out of the school kids. But then I felt those hands on my sides, and she rolled me over and was a whole lot closer to my face than felt appropriate. “You okay, mister?” she asked. And looking up at her, I didn’t know how to answer, so I just said, “Yep.” She said a few things after that, but for the life of me I can’t remember ‘em. I just remember watchin’ like it was a movie as the kids helped her up, and helped her with her books, and they all ushered themselves off down the way, leavin’ me down on my butt on the cracked road. Figured it was high time for a drink at that point. [hr] “Best steer clear of the schoolteacher if you know what’s good for you,” was the first words I heard walkin’ into the bar a couple streets over. “Berryshine’s Booze,” the sign above the door said. I looked across the otherwise empty barroom, blinked out the sun in my eyes, and caught sight of a woman sitting on a stool cleaning a glass. She had pink-purple skin, darker-pink hair, and just about the craggiest face I’ve ever seen on somebody so young. I mean, I reckon she’s only just my age or yours, but she looked as though she’s [i]seen[/i] some things. More’n most, is what I mean. “I’m just here to have a drink,” I said, tryin’ not to give anything away in my tone. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with, stranger,” she said. And I mean, in retrospect, there obviously was somethin’ to her words. But at the time I didn’t stop her, and she just looked at me like I was an idiot and shook her head. “Yeah,” she said, “I heard about your little stunt back there. Word gets around fast, especially where [i]she’s[/i] concerned.” I furrowed my brow. “Now I’ll beg your pardon, ma’am,” I said, “I’m just here lookin’ for a man who might’ve passed through some time ago. Seems like Canterlot here gets a fair few visitors; do you suppose…” And she just cuts me off, sayin’: “No way, stranger. This here’s [i]Sunset’s[/i] town. You want booze, I got booze. You want information, you try Sunset. But just a little [i]friendly[/i] advice: she doesn’t hold with thugs coming into town and either making trouble or trying to stir up the past. And that goes double for the schoolteacher.” So we’ve established that I ain’t the sharpest tool in the box, but then I did something [i]real[/i] boneheaded. I blurted right out: “[i]Do[/i] you know what went on with the magic blast?” Which, of course, was stupid to ask. Would’ve been stupid anywhere close to Canterlot, but in the place itself? Faster than I realize, the barkeep’s right up in my face, and slaps me hard as a sock full o’bits, and she points a big ol’ finger up in my eye. “[i]None[/i] of us want to remember,” she says. And we locked eyes, and I could see up close that what I thought were wrinkles or what have you were actually scars. It’s a miracle that both her eyes seemed good considering how badly the rest of her face had fared with whatever left it that way. I cleared my throat and said, “Maybe I’ll pass on that drink after all, ma’am.” Then I tipped my hat and made myself scarce. [hr] I should’ve skipped town right then and there. I mean, the unfriendly barkeep was just one sign, but I was gonna get paid about the same whether I stayed in Canterlot or kept lookin’ elsewhere, and there’s certainly friendlier places. Friendlier enough to sell a man a drink, at least. And all the sheriff said he really cared about was if I found sign of that fella I came lookin’ for, either living or dead. Which…well, I mean, I’m gettin’ ahead of myself. So I was standin’ there in the road thinkin’ about what I wanted to do, when I spotted [i]her[/i] again, walkin’ between what was left of some brick buildings down the next street over. Only that time she was just with one real little kid, not the whole bunch of ‘em. And I knew--I just knew from lookin’ at the way they walked together, arm-in-arm--that she had to be her daughter. I mean, I know a kid can end up lookin’ just about like anything, no matter what either parent looks like, but they had about the same hair color, and eye color, and a pretty similar bone structure, even if the daughter had a little more purple in the grey of her skin. And they both had that same warm smile that lit up their whole face. Then they passed behind a rusted-out shed and I lost ‘em. I chased around corner and ended up following ‘em from a distance as they made their way through the swirling, smoky, loud and bustling tents on your market street. She and her daughter were doin’ their shopping for dinner by the looks of it, pickin’ vegetables and meats and even a lil’ cheese into a couple sacks they’d brought with ‘em. And I’ll say this for Canterlot, y’all got a [i]big[/i] variety of hawkers down your main drag, with some fancy fruits and such that I can’t remember seein’ since before the big one went off. And don’t get me wrong, I know the way that makes me sound, skulkin’ around and followin’ a nice woman like her from a distance. But try to understand that as a sheriff's deputy I gotta follow the hunches what come to me. And even if I [i]didn’t[/i] find her pretty, the fact was that I hadn’t even been in town a day and I’d already had someone tellin’ me [i]not[/i] to do somethin’. If that ain’t some kinda lead, I don’t know what is. The sun was gettin’ low and the shadows had come thick before they finished up in the market and started heading down a side street toward what I figured must be their house. The crowd was gettin’ thinner too, and I started worryin’ that it would be more obvious that I was following ‘em. I moved from building to building, keepin’ out of sight as best I could, and somehow managin’ to not trip over my own two feet in the process. Of course my luck wouldn’t hold forever, though. At one point I ducked into one particularly dark alley with half of an adjoining building’s roof collapsed overtop it, and judging by the lil’ hairs that stood up on the back of my neck, I had a sense that I wasn’t alone. “Who’s there?” I called out. I spotted movement at the back of the alley. It was [i]powerful[/i] dark back there, though, so I didn’t expect a woman to call back to me: “This is the only warning you’ll get, stranger: [i]leave her alone[/i]. Consider leaving town too, if you know what’s good for you.” Now no one ever accused me of knowing [i]that[/i], so I called back: “With all due respect, ma’am, I reckon I’ll be keepin’ to my business, and I’ll ask you keep to yours. Unless o’course you know somethin’ about a man who might’ve come down from the Empire a bit ago…” She tensed. It was subtle, but I could see her stance shift forward. “I gave you your warning,” she said. “The schoolteacher’s been through enough. We all have.” I squinted, trying to make out any details about her. She was a little on the tall side, and she had some decent volume to her long hair, but that was all I could make out. “Now I reckon I ain’t exactly been gettin’ a warm reception to your lovely little town here,” I said. “That’s fair enough. But I ain’t here to make trouble; I just wanna find my man. If you can help me, great; if not, I’m liable to be on my way sooner than later, once I finish looking.” The woman shook her head. “Don’t give me any reasons to get rid of you sooner,” she said. Then she turned away, retreated back into the shadows, and I lost her. “Well that wasn’t the least bit suspicious,” I said to myself. [hr] I [i]definitely[/i] shouldn’t have thrown a stone up at the schoolteacher’s window once night fell and she got down to just one candle flickering upstairs. I mean, watchin’ from the darkness of some burned-out buildings near her pretty intact two-story brick number, I couldn’t tell for sure that she’d finished putting her daughter to bed. With my luck, I coulda just as easily roused her while her daughter had come in for a bedtime story. But of course, given my luck, what [i]really[/i] happened was I put that stone right through her window. The sounds of shattering glass got half the dogs in the that part of town to start barking. Then she slid the window up and stood gazing out with a pinched look on her face. I figured I was done for, so I cleared my throat and stepped out into view. “I’m right sorry ‘bout the window, ma’am,” I said. “I got more’n enough bits on me to make that right for you.” She squinted hard and leaned out further from the window, then gave me a little smile and leaned back as her eyes pointed somewhere in my direction. “Oh, it’s you,” she said. “Mister…?” “Clyde,” I said, and my heart started pounding again. “Troubleshoes Clyde.” I’ll confess I gave an extra flourish with my hat, too. Her smile didn’t change much, but her shoulders relaxed. “Well, what can I do for you tonight, Troubleshoes Clyde?” I glanced around me, feeling a crawling itch down my spine from blowing my cover like I had. “Truth be told, ma’am… if it ain’t too forward, would you mind if we discussed it away from prying eyes?” “Sure!” she said, a good bit more brightly than I’d expected. I mean, nothing against her judgment, but I’d never really figured that a pretty woman like her would give me the time o’day, much less letting me--a total stranger--into her house. I guess maybe in some ways I’d wanted to ask her just so she could shoot me down. Y’know, so I could be sure my luck was going back to normal. Some luck, though, ending up the way it’s done. [hr] We sat at her dining room table. It was wood, and circle-shaped, and she’d set a single candle in a saucer in the middle of it. Darn thing guttered pretty badly in the drafts that blew through her old house. The light looked real pretty on her hair and eyes, though. And on that smile. “So, what brings you by the old place?” she asked. I bit my lip and watched the light play across her golden eyes a bit longer than I probably should’ve. After a while she gave a musical little laugh, and all at once I felt like I could wait forever to say anything if only she’d continue. “Cat got your tongue?” she asked, winking. “Powerful sorry, ma’am,” I said, shaking myself. “Seems like all the words I wanted to say just turned into a ten car pileup in my head.” She giggled. “I don’t think we’ve had ten working cars in Canterlot since… you-know-what happened.” Her smile faltered. “Sorry. You-know-what was just supposed to be a fun time for us. We called it ‘The Friendship Games.’ We’d seen a little bit of magic earlier that school year, but we never knew that someone what planning to…” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. It was… horrible. If it wasn’t for Sunset, I can’t imagine how much worse it might’ve been.” I nodded, then scratched my chin. “Well, ain’t no need to talk about it if you don’t want to, ma’am,” I said. “How ‘bout somethin’ simpler, like how you got to be a schoolteacher?” Her mouth drew tighter. “That’s… not a happy story either. Miss Berryshine’s sister, Miss Cheerilee, still used to teach until… well, I… I guess I’d rather not talk about [i]that[/i], either.” I nodded some more. I felt like I was losin’ her, and more than anything I didn’t want to. So I went for broke: “Well, to give you the whole story, I’m just comin’ through town lookin’ for a man who I was told might’ve been through here some time back. I’ll be honest, I don’t have a lot to go on other than a basic description.” I paused, ‘cuz I wanted to give her a chance to speak if she wanted; but she didn’t, so I kept going. “Fella had a strong build, white skin, blond hair, square jaw, and a compass rose tattoo right on…” And as Harmony is my witness, she started shakin’ right then and there. I stopped talkin’ in a hurry, then leaned close to her and put a hand on her arm and asked if she was all right. “No,” she said, pulling her arm away. “I don’t think I know what happened to… that man. I’m sorry.” And she said it with a little pause in there and everything. That little pause spoke [i]volumes[/i] for me. “Now look,” I said, “the truth is that I been told not to talk to you. I don’t rightly know [i]why[/i], but given that there might be a missin’ person involved, I gotta take everythin’ suspicious into account. And folks tellin’ me I absolutely ought [i]not[/i] talk to you after findin’ out what I’m up to is is [i]powerful[/i] suspicious, when you couple it with how you seem to feel about his description…” She stood up, making her chair squeak against the wood floor. Then she turned away from me. “I’ll thank you to go now, Mr. Clyde,” she said. And truthfully, under the circumstances, what else could I do? I tipped my hat, left her a few bits for the window, and made my way outside. I was pretty flustered, though. I felt as though I’d done wrong by a good woman, and done my usual job of ruinin’ my prospects with a pretty woman. And worst of all, the trail that I’d thought I was followin’ seemed to have gone cold. Wasn't until I was ten-fifteen minutes deep into aimless wanderin’ and feelin’ sorry for myself that I remembered I’d heard the name Berryshine before. [hr] It struck me as odd that I’d find a place by the name o’ “Berryshine’s Booze” [i]closed[/i] durin’ what I figure had to be its peak nighttime hours. In the time I spent casing its outside, I saw no shortage of workin’ men try the door and come away cursin’ about her bein’ closed. Figured it was best to keep to myself and just watch, though; didn’t seem like I was bound to find much welcome in Canterlot one way or another. And she didn’t leave a note or anything on the door, so there wasn’t much for me to go on there, either. [i]Except[/i] another hunch that started brewin’. See, while I was snoopin’ around the place, I got to thinkin’ that there was some commonality between the way the schoolteacher and Miss Berryshine had acted when I mentioned I was lookin’ for someone, or when I described him. And then there was the fact that the schoolteacher made it sound like Berryshine’s sister ended up in a bad way, and how Berryshine was all scarred-up, and that the pretty woman ended up gettin’ her sister’s job… that all gave me another link between them. Though [i]another[/i] link was Sunset herself. Maybe Canterlot’s protector, or maybe the person in charge of it… truth be told, I was still pretty fuzzy on the details. Either way, though, it seemed like she was the one person I [i]hadn’t[/i] paid a visit. And with her bein’ such a bigwig, I figured it shouldn’t be too hard to track her down, even if it meant I’d have to try talkin’ to some folk. [hr] I should’ve figured I’d end up at the site o’Canterlot High sooner or later. With all due respect though, there’s less to look at than I’d expected for the place where whatever happened happened. Got a real big crater on one end of a sandy hill, and lotsa broken-down ruins on the other end. ‘Course, I [i]will[/i] say someone’s put some effort into buildin’ that nice ranch house next to the ruins. Simple but tasteful, if you don’t mind my sayin’. ’Course, one other nice thing about ranch houses is that there’s only the single floor, so it’s not too hard even for a klutz like me to get right up next to a window from the outside and just listen. The insulation must’ve been pretty good, all things considered, ‘cause I [i]still[/i] couldn’t hear too much. I certainly didn’t dare take a peek through that window. But I could tell that one of the voices from inside was Berryshine’s, and I heard the word “cave” come up more’n a couple times while they talked. I strained hard listenin’ for details. I heard a couple that sounded like landmarks. I didn’t want to push my luck, though, so I hightailed it outta there once it sounded like the conversation was windin’ down. Sleep was soundin’ pretty good by that point. And even if I didn’t have a decent place to lay my head, the ruins promised a whole cornucopia of options for a man willin’ to keep his expectations low. [hr] I was plenty stiff the next morning, what with my humble accommodations. But I set out for the market once it got good and light. Figured I could grab some breakfast while I figured how to follow-up the lead I’d got the night before. Didn’t figure I’d run into [i]her[/i]. “Hello again, Mr. Clyde,” the schoolteacher said. And while I’m thinkin’ about it, I really should’ve thought to ask her name. Should’ve done before that moment when my main impression of her was how strong and pretty she looked. Certainly should’ve done it [i]in[/i] that moment when her mouth was pulled into a tight lil’ frown and her eyes looked misty. “Somethin’ wrong, ma’am?” I asked. Then I cocked my head, and said, “I reckon that you must be missin’ school by now, aren’t you?” “I am,” she said, nodding. “But I asked my substitute to cover for me. I… I wanted to come find you, if I could. To apologize for how I clammed-up last night.” I raised my eyebrows. Couldn’t help it. “Oh, that’s all right,” I said. “I understand some things ain’t easy to talk about.” Then she got real quiet and looked around before leaning close. “I’ve… seen that man, but not at all recently. This was [i]years[/i] ago. But yes, I… know who you’re talking about. The tattoo confirms it.” “Well hot diggity,” I said under my breath. “Look, I got a lead on a place where he might’ve been. Don’t ask how. The thing I need is [i]help[/i] piecing together what I know and figurin’ out where it is.” And she just looked up into my eyes, and hers got all big and teary, and she asked one question: “What are you going to do if you find him?” I swallowed hard. Truth be told, I wasn’t sent out with a warrant or nothin’; it was just a missing person job. But I figured that I knew what the job [i]really[/i] was, so I went for broke again: “I’m gonna bring him in for what he’s done, ma’am.” And she nodded, and smiled, and we left the market in a hurry. [hr] We were mostways to the cave when I looked at her and told her how awfully lucky I felt that she’d come lookin’ for me, and how she’d been able to find a substitute on such short notice. That’s when she told me her substitute was Miss Berryshine, and that they’d talked about things briefly that morning. And even though I felt my blood run cold for hearing it… what was I supposed to do? I mean, other than running, of course. [hr] I reckon y’all probably know what happened from there better than I do, ma’am. I mean, we got down into the cave down there easy enough, and found… what’s left of him. Right useful marking the spot with his compass rose, it was. Then o’course it must’ve been you or someone with you who jumped us on the way out, and I… I heard her scream, just before I got clocked pretty good. Look, by now you oughtta know what kinda man I am, and what I came here to do. I don’t know what he did exactly, though I can [i]guess[/i] from how she talked about him, and from the way that everybody else just wanted me to leave her alone. And I want you to know that I wanna see [i]justice[/i] done, whether that’s bringin’ his remains back home to the Empire, or tryin’ to make things right for [i]her[/i], or… well, figurin’ out who put that man in that cave, and why. I ain’t lucky enough to be able to leave that alone, ma’am. I suppose there’s one exception, though. I… I think you [i]have[/i] her. And I certainly don’t want what I’ve done here to bring her any [i]more[/i] harm than she’s already been through. She’s beautiful, and way too trusting. I get that now. Please, whatever you do to me, just promise me you’ll let her go. I mean, the way folks talk about her around here, you’d figure Sunset [i]herself[/i] would take notice if she’d gone missing, and then she’d… Oh. So you’re, uh… Huh. You’d figure that I would’ve guessed that by now, if I was any good at bein’ a deputy. Well ain’t that just my luck.