Stall for time to do some more looting: 10 Votes
Escape with Gizmo intact: 12 Votes
Take Applejack with us as a hostage: 12 Votes
After analyzing the situation, Kestrel quickly settled on a plan of action that would hopefully get everypony out alive. “Tumbleweed, buy us a few minutes to get the valuables offa these ponies,” she told the unicorn as he moved toward the tent flap. “Tell ‘em we got hostages. That oughta stop the shootin’ for a bit.”
Then she looked back toward the stage, where Wanderer fluttered up next to Starlight. “Wanderer and Starlight, we gotta get Gizmo outta here in one piece, otherwise we ain’t gettin’ enough money outta this job to make the heat worth it. Drag Applejack along with us, too. She’ll be a good shield to get outta here in one piece, and she can probably get the robot to move, too.”
“I’d say kill the mare and be done with it, but…” Starlight then lifted Applejack up by the next with her magic, holding her just high enough that the earth pony had to strain to stand on her hind legs and not choke. “How’s that sound, fat cat? Come with us, and you just might be able to save your hide. If not, I’ll turn you inside out with my mind, and your factories can use what’s left of you to make glue.”
Starlight uses Sweet Talker (8) to intimidate Applejack to cooperate: Success
“Ah… alright… alright!” Applejack forced out between choked breaths. “Just… put me down… and I’ll help!”
“Before you do, make Gizmo follow my orders,” Wanderer said, stepping alongside Applejack and Starlight. “We need this robot to cooperate with us, you see?”
“Right… right.” Applejack grimaced and turned to Gizmo, who watched the events unfolding in front of it with some artificial approximation of concern. “Gizmo… that stallion… he’s your new master,” she wheezed. “Do what he says…”
Gizmo blinked, then turned to Wanderer and curtsied with the whirring of gears and springs. “Greetings, master,” it intoned. “I am the Workhorse of Tomorrow, though my previous owners affectionately referred to me as ‘Gizmo’. Would you like to give me a different name?”
Wanderer blinked, then looked aside at Kestrel. “I, uh… no, Gizmo is fine.” Then he shook his head and muttered under his breath. “Miss Irons is gonna kill me, she sees me bringing home some mechanical mare calling me ‘master’…”
Kestrel spared herself a brief snicker, but then she focused back on her work. “Forget the cheap stuff like watches and pocket change,” Kestrel said to Silver. “Start smashin’ open them briefcases. That’s where the real money should be. We gotta get some more lootin’ goin’ ‘fore the Pinks decide to move in.”
Silver nodded in agreement, and the two started snatching briefcases away from the ponies who still clutched onto them and smashed them open. Bits and bills rattled across the floor, and Kestrel used her wings to shove as much as she could into a bag by her side. It was starting to get pretty hefty with everything they’d taken so far; she was just thankful that bills were replacing coins all throughout Equestria. It was easier to carry a thousand bits’ worth of bank notes than it was gold coins—a fact that was only made all the more clear when Kestrel found nearly a thousand bits’ worth of bank notes in a briefcase.
Silver and Kestrel loot the crowd (Attempt 1): 2020 bits (5047 total)
While the two mares worked on the crowd, Tumbleweed and Party Favor stood by the exit to the tent, careful not to press their weight against the canvas and let the ponies outside know where they were standing—after all, if the shooting started, the canvas wasn’t going to stop any bullets. Both ponies had their weapons ready just in case, however. If they were going to die, then they might as well take some Pinks down with them.
“Tumbleweed!” one of the Pinks shouted, and over the commotion inside of the tent, Kestrel recognized it as Bon Bon’s voice after running into the Pink before. “We know you and your gang are in there. How about we skip the shooting and go straight to the part where you surrender? You’ll at least get a trial if you come quietly.”
“Trial or no trial, the end’s gonna be the same if you get your way,” Tumbleweed said. “But how many ponies are you willin’ to let die to get to use? This tent’s full of hostages, and even if you start shootin’, who’s to say that you ain’t gonna cut some of ‘em down?”
Tumbleweed uses Sweet Talker (9) to delay the Pinks: Success
While Tumbleweed and Bon Bon exchanged words, Kestrel and Silver continued looting through the crowd. Now that the crowd realized they were the only thing stopping the shooting from starting, hostages as they were, they were much more willing to part with their valuables in order to keep their lives. That let Kestrel and Silver continue stripping away their valuables with ease, though not without considerable tension hanging in the air.
Silver and Kestrel loot the crowd (Attempt 2): 1505 bits (6552 total)
While the two mares continued their work, the exchange of words between Tumbleweed and the Pinks continued outside. “Quit hiding behind hostages, Tumbleweed,” Bon Bon scolded him. “It doesn’t become you, you dangerous outlaw of the Southwest. Let the hostages go, and then we can see just what you’re made of.”
“That might work for imbecilic gangs like the Vipers, but half the business of stayin’ alive in tryin’ times such as these is to use your head,” Tumbleweed shot back. “Way I see it, so long as we got hostages in this tent, then you ain’t gonna try nothin’. Why should I give up the shield keepin’ you out there and your bullets in their chambers?”
Tumbleweed continues to delay the Pinks: Success
Silver and Kestrel loot the crowd (Attempt 3): 1440 bits (7992 total)
As Tumbleweed kept Bon Bon and the rest of her Pinks at bay, Silver and Kestrel continued to add to their fortune. Kestrel was glad for the moment that they hadn’t fled as soon as the Pinks arrived—after all, they’d more than doubled what they’d originally taken before their arrival—but she certainly had the nagging worry in the back of her mind that the longer the Gang stayed in the tent, the harder it would be to leave. No doubt that Bon Bon likely had a pegasus or two in the air trying to bring more Pinks and the Hoofston police to the tent to bolster their numbers. The Gang could feasibly shoot their way through ten Pinks, with Starlight’s help. Anything more than that would be practically impossible.
Tumbleweed continues to delay the Pinks: Critical Success
It was at that point that Tumbleweed turned back to Kestrel and made eye contact with her. Then he raised his voice so that both Bon Bon and Kestrel could hear what he had to say next. “Now, listen. I can’t speak for yourselves, but we ain’t monsters here. So long as you stay a good hundred yards back from this tent, we’ll release a hostage every five minutes. Get any closer, and the shootin’ starts. Don’t think we ain’t keepin’ an eye on where you are. I’d hate more than anypony for some innocents to get caught up in the crossfire. And if a dangerous bandit outlaw like myself cares so much for the lives of the ponies inside of this here tent, then I would assume that the righteous ponies of the Pinkie Pie Detective Agency would care even more ‘bout them than I do.”
There was a moment of silence, then a terse response. “Fine, Tumbleweed, have it your way. The only ponies we’re looking to see hurt here are you and your gang. But if you give us any reason to believe you’re about to start killing hostages, then we’re going to leave us no choice. And don’t expect to be let off easy for this once you’re out of hostages. The longer this goes, the worse you’re making it for yourselves.”
Kestrel understood Tumbleweed’s meaning well and clear, and she turned to the crowd caught between Silver and herself. “You hoof over your things, and you get to leave,” she said to them. “Simple as that, right? Now hand ‘em over!”
Silver and Kestrel loot the crowd (Attempt 4): 1023 bits (9015 total)
Silver and Kestrel loot the crowd (Attempt 5): 1792 bits (10807 total)
As Silver and Kestrel finished off their latest round of briefcases, separating the ponies they robbed from the ponies still holding onto their valuables, Wanderer hopped off of the stage to join them. “We can’t stay here much longer,” he cautioned Kestrel. “We’re keeping the Pinks outside for now, true, but they’re using this time to get their own reinforcements on the scene. I’d bet my hat on it. Do we have enough to call it good?”
“Almost eleven thousand bits,” Silver said, jumping in on the conversation. “But we’re not even done with everypony yet! We could make so much more, if we just take a little more time. Tumbleweed releasin’ the hostages one by one will give us the time to clean this place out.”
“You want my opinion?” Wanderer asked, though he didn’t wait for an answer before sharing it. “Release the hostages as a crowd. Better yet, a panicked, confused crowd. Let the commotion occupy the Pinks for a minute or two, and use that time to slip outta here. We can’t afford to wait much longer, otherwise, this tent’s gonna be where we take our last stand.”
With Tumbleweed busy distracting the Pinks with talk about hostages, Kestrel realized it was up to her to make the decision for the Gang.
1. Use the hostages as a distraction and leave now. If we cut things off here, we still got enough ponies to let loose a big ol’ crowd full of noise and confusion. The chaos might make it hard for the Pinks to catch us as we try to escape, and hopefully we can be gone ‘fore they bring in more reinforcements.
2. Use the hostages to buy time to finish looting the crowd. We can still pull in a few thousand more bits by lootin’ the crowd. The hostages buy us time to finish things off, and then we can try and make our escape. The Pinks won’t move in on us while we got hostages, so we can use the element of surprise to leave on our terms. [UP TO 5 MORE ATTEMPTS TO LOOT]