//------------------------------// // The Hunter, The Desperate, and The Betrayed // Story: Apples to Pistols // by MegaColt //------------------------------// Apples to Pistols Chapter 1: The Hunter, The Desperate, and The Betrayed A MLP FiM fan-fiction by: MegaColt “While life has no value, death sometimes has a price. That is why the bounty killers have appeared.”-For a Few Dollars More Blackjack sat at the card table with a smug grin on his face. He had the other card players eating from his hooves. The card shark unicorn was in his element and he had nothing to lose. An ace and a king lay on the table before him. The game, and the pot, was surely his. The cocky unicorn even mocked the dealer. He had a smirk on his face as he peered into the eyes of the pony in charge. “Well, are you going to take another card, or what, dealer?” Unnoticed by Blackjack, a well dressed earth pony with a flowing orange mane had walked into the saloon, a dusty parchment clutched in his hoof. The newcomer swaggered up to the barkeeper and unfurled the poster. He seemed to be looking for somepony in particular, but Blackjack didn’t pay any mind to the stallion at the bar. He was confident that the news of his heist wouldn’t reach Appleloosa for at least three more days. His assumption was right. The telegraph lines he had cut on his way to Appleloosa hadn’t been repaired yet and the dispatch center in Canterlot had only just sent a messenger towards the prairie. The overly-confident crook had forgotten one thing, however. Bounty killers were hot on his trail. Like hounds, they stalked their pray until they accomplished their objective; one dead criminal and a hooveful of bits.         The newcomer made his way over to the table where Blackjack was playing. With a gesture of his hooves the stranger summoned the dealer. Blackjack couldn’t help but wonder what this swanky looking earth pony was asking the dealer as he whispered into his ear. The stranger never took his eye off of Blackjack, which made the card-shark uneasy. Blackjack decided to ignore the stranger and looked back at the table. He was sure nothing would become of it. That’s when the stranger suddenly and forcefully slapped his hoof on the table. “I want in on this game.” Blackjack looked up at the stranger in shock. He said to the strange new pony with his usual cocky attitude, “You’ll have to wait for the next game, buddy. I’m about to win this one.” The stranger glared at Blackjack. A malicious look was in his eyes as he carefully unfurled the poster so that the card shark pony was looking at it and snidely asked, “Do you know this fella?” There was a rather nasty picture of a sneering Blackjack on the flyer. It was printed in a large, bold, and stylistic typeface which jumped out to all who viewed it. The poster read, WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE FOR THE CRIMES OF ROBBERY AND MURDER - BLACKJACK - REWARD 1,000 BITS. There was moment of silence in the bar. Blackjack smiled and cooed, “Who’s that sexy stallion?” Without any warning, the bandit whirled around and made a move for his pistol, but the bounty hunter already had his gun trained on the crook’s muzzle. The earth pony menacingly clicked the hammer of his peacemaker back. “It’s your choice Blackjack. dead or alive, what’s it going to be? Either drop your belt, or make a move. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get lucky.” Going for his pistol was out of the question, so Blackjack undid his belt and dropped it to the ground. There was a long pause. Blackjack smiled and stuck his hooves out for a pair of cuffs. The bounty killer looked down and searched his belt for his restraints. That’s when the bandit took the opportunity to pull the dirtiest trick a stallion can pull on another stallion. He kicked the bounty hunter right in the crotch, and made a dash for the door. The bounty hunter breathed heavily as he slowly regained his composure and chased his prey outside. His target was galloping as fast as he could towards buffalo territory, but that made no difference to the brash, young bounty killer. The hunter dropped his satchel and selected a musty old Winchester from his wide array of killing tools. Slowly and deliberately he took aim at the escaping bandit. The Winchester sprung into action with a loud, air-splitting, crack. Almost three hundred yards away from where the bounty hunter stood lay the infamous Blackjack, dead. The barkeeper rushed outside the second he heard the report of a rifle.  He laid his hoof around the bounty hunter’s neck and chuckled, “Nice shot Braeburn! You’re starting to get good at this bounty hunting stuff!” === Applejack sat solemnly by Granny Smith’s hospital bed awaiting a letter from Princess Celestia. Poor old Granny’s time was running out. She was going to die if she didn’t get help, but the Apple family was broke. The farm was about to go under and there was no money left to pay for bills. The hospital was going to “send Granny home to die” the next day if nopony could come up with the bits to pay the bill with. So far all the ponies Applejack had asked for a loan turned her down. Nopony could spare the extra bits; they didn’t have them.  All of Equestria was in the midst of an economic depression. Spike burst into the room with a letter clasped between his claws. It was the letter Applejack had been waiting for. She excitedly unfurled it, fully expecting that Celestia had approved her request. “Dear Applejack, I am extremely sorry about your grandmother, but I can not give loans out to everypony who needs them. I realize that this is a dire situation for you and your family, but I have never given out a loan before and I simply can not start now. I am sincerely sorry, Princess Celestia.” Granny strained to lift her head from her pillow and asked Applejack in a quivering voice about the bits, but Applejack didn’t hear her. She couldn’t. The blonde earth pony had burst into tears of anger and frustration. Nopony would help them out. They were all convinced that Granny Smith’s time had come and that it would be a waste of their hard earned bits. Even Applejack’s best friend, Rainbow Dash, didn’t "have any money to spare.” Nopony seemed to care. Applejack lightly kissed Granny Smith on the forehead and sulked out of the room. Big Mac was waiting at the door. “So sis, did we get the loan? Is Granny gonna be alright?” Applejack wiped the tears from her face. “No, we didn’t get the bits, but Granny is going to die if we don’t do anything.”         Caramel walked up to his cousins, and patted Applejack on the shoulder. “I heard about Granny and I came as soon as I could.”         Applejack held her cousin tight as she cried into his shoulder. “Nopony will help us, Caramel! Not even the princess! Granny is going to die!”         Caramel looked at Big Mac with concern. “Is this true, Mac?”         Big Mac simply nodded and sighed. “Eeyup.”         Caramel sat back on his haunches. He thought long and hard about his family’s plight. He pondered the subject until he was sure that he had the solution to their problems. It was a radical solution to a common problem, but the Apple family was beyond desperate. “Hey, Applejack! Do you have any problem with well, I don’t know, maybe breaking the law to save Granny’s life.”         Applejack looked at her cousin inquisitively. “Under normal circumstances, I suppose not, but now I’m not sure if I care about the law anymore. The authorities don’t seem to care about us, so why should we give a darn about them? What did you have in mind, Caramel?”         The brown maned colt checked to make sure that nopony else was listening. His eyes shifted back and forth. They had a crazed look about them. “Let’s rob the bank of Canterlot. We can do it tonight when there are only a few guards on duty. After we take them out we can put the safe in a wagon and have Mac pull it back to the farm. We can crack the safe once we get there. If we can get away with the heist then we’ll have enough bits to pay for Granny Smith’s hospital bills and Sweet Apple Acres!”         Applejack had nothing left to loose, but she had everything to gain. It also gave her an opportunity to exact a small amount of revenge upon Celestia, the one pony who could have been able to help her without question, but didn’t. Hesitantly she agreed to the dirty deed. “Alright let’s do it. We’ll rob the bank, but if we’re caught we aren’t going to give ourselves up. We’re going to fight to the death if we do this.”         The two stallions nodded their heads in agreement and the family made their way back to Sweet Apple Acres. They debated for hours, arguing about what was the best plan for what was, in their minds, going to be the greatest heist Equestria had ever seen. The plan they finally agreed upon was ingenious. Despite Applejack’s initial objections, they agreed to use Applebloom as a distraction. She would take care of the first two guards by using some cliche like “My parents are in trouble!” or “I’m lost, please help me!” The guards would surely help a helpless little filly in peril. After the two guards at the front of the bank were taken care of; Applejack would sneak into the bank and use her feminine charms to lure the remaining guard outside. Then, Big Mac and Caramel would go inside and snatch the safe. It seemed to be the perfect plan, at least in their minds.         Later that night, the Apple family put their scheme into action. The bank had two burly guards on duty outside of the building. They each wore surplus army uniforms and toted repeaters on their backs. Applebloom worked up her best alligator tears and galloped as hard as she could towards the two guards, balling her eyes out the whole way. The two guards seemed to be concerned about the little filly, but they didn’t dare budge from their posts. Applebloom begged and pleaded with the guards for help, but they simply blew her off. “Listen little filly. It’s not our job to help everypony who needs it. It’s our job to stand here and make sure the bank is secure. I’m sure you can find a royal guard who will be more than glad to help you.” Applebloom still didn’t give up on her distraction. She hadn’t practiced her crying and begging for nothing. “But sirs! If I don’t get any help soon they might die! Please help them. They’ve been cornered by bandits!” She was choking on her tears by this point, but the two bank guards didn’t move. One of them pointed down the street and told the sobbing Applebloom, “Look kid. There is a royal guard barracks about a block further down the street. Go bother them. We can’t help you.” The defeated Applebloom slowly rounded the corner back to the dark alley where Applejack was patiently waiting. Solemnly she briefed her older sister on the uncompassionate and unbudging guards. “I’m sorry sis. They wouldn’t move no matter how hard I begged and cried. I did my best, honest Applejack. I guess I ain’t going to get a cutie mark for acting after all.” Applejack was shocked that the plan hadn’t worked. Only the most insensitive, cold-hearted ponies would refuse to help a scared little filly out when she obviously had no place else to turn. She sighed and patted her little sister on the back. “It’s okay, Applebloom. I know you did your best. I’m going to go out there and do what I have to do. Now, you go back to the hospital and check on Granny Smith like a good little filly. If anypony asks where we’re at tell them you don’t have a clue.” Applebloom nodded and trotted away. If the guards didn’t take the bait this time, Applejack didn’t know what they’d have to do to rob the bank successfully. Carefully, she cantered towards the bank, excessively swinging her hips the whole way, making sure that her flank was exposed in the guards’ direction. When Applejack got to the steps in front of the bank she struck the sexiest pose she could think of. One that she’d seen Rarity use a million times with excellent results. “Hey you studs, why don’t y’all come to my farm? It’s just a little ways down the road, and there are a lot of private spots in the orchard.” Applejack winked to the younger guard, who at this point literally had fountains of drool rolling down his neck because his tongue was hanging out of his mouth. The other guard stood there like a statue. Apparently he didn’t see the mare swinging her hips in front of him who was obviously “in heat” and wanted him of all ponies. The stubborn guard thought, "If it wasn’t for my wife, I’d like a piece of that flank", but he was devoted to his job and family.         The young colt practically hovered down the stairs, his heart filled with lust for the sweet southern belle, but before he could abandon his post the older guard hissed at him. “Forget her, Honeyglaze. Your job is to stand here and watch the bank. You can chase mares when our shift is over.”         Honeyglaze’s faced turned a deep crimson as he sulked back to his usual post by the door. “I’m sorry miss, I’d really like to see your farm and all, but booty...I mean duty calls.”         Applejack’s mouth dropped to the floor. If she would have had her pistol on her she would have offed those jackponies right then and there, but she recovered with an amount of grace that only a southern belle could muster. “That’s quite understandable, fella. You’ll just miss out on all the sights my farm has to offer a studly young stallion like yourself.”         The older guard suddenly cocked his repeater and pointed it directly at Applejack. “Listen missy, I know what you’re trying to do, and it ain’t going to work. I’ve been on this job for over a decade, and believe me, I’ve seen everything. Now you go back to whoever you’re working for and tell them that there is no way in Equestria they will be able to rob the Bank of Canterlot. Not while Blindshot is on the job.”          Applejack grudgingly gave up on her distraction and trudged back to the staging area where the rest of the Apple family was waiting. Caramel looked up from where he had been napping with his back hunkered against a wall and tentatively asked, “Did it work out? Are we good to go?”         Applejack sighed. “I’m afraid not. I don’t know what we’re going to do now and I don’t really want us to have to kill anypony to get the money.” A million thoughts were racing through her mind as she went through what she could have done wrong in executing the plan. In truth she had executed the plan exactly as they planned it. The guards simply didn’t take the bait.                 Caramel got back up on his legs and paced around the alley way. He didn’t want to kill anypony either, but if they didn’t they’d lose everything that they’d ever worked for. There was only one choice to make. Solemnly he said, “I know it’s not what we want, but it’s either us or them. Let’s kill the guards and quickly grab the bits inside. Hopefully we’ll be in and out with the prize before the Royal Guards can get to the bank and surround us. Does that sound like a plan to you, Mac?”         Big Macintosh lazily nodded his head and sighed. “Eeyup.” The trio loaded up their guns, and galloped to the bank at a steadfast pace. There the two guards stood in their usual spots. The youngest one was half asleep, but the veteran guard was as vigilant as ever. The gang stuck to the shadows and alleyways as they creeped into the range of their rifles. Then it dawned on them. They were about to kill innocent equines just so they could save the life of another. The group exchanged nervous looks as they lined up their shots. At this point it wasn’t too late to turn back, but it was in their minds. To them it was either their lives or the lives of the guards and it definitely wasn’t going to be theirs. The three took a collective breath. Applejack whispered to her kin, “Alright fellas. On the count of three we pick ‘em off.” The two nodded in agreement as the bank guards shuffled their hooves with boredom. The oldest one seemed to notice something off in the gangs vicinity, but it was too late. “One, two, three!” Applejack commanded.         The family pumped a dozen rounds into the unsuspecting rent-a-cops as the trio burst from the shadows. There was no turning back now. Big Mac steamrolled his way through the bank’s oak doors, his pistols blazing. The poor guardian of the safe, an elderly farm worker who had only taken the job for the extra income, was mercilessly gunned down as he scrambled for his rifle. Applejack coolly cantered into the bank and surveyed the damage her brother had caused. “By Celestia Mac, I didn’t want to wake up the entire city! It doesn’t matter now. We’re nothing more than a bunch of thieves and murderers. Hurry up and get that safe on your back Mac and let’s get out of here before the entire Royal Guard shows up.” ===         Rainbow Dash glided through the early morning breeze with the greatest of ease. She had always taken early-morning flights to help keep the most awesome body in Ponyville looking the best it could. To Rainbow Dash, there was nothing better than feeling the damp pre-dawn air hitting her face as she streaked through the air at the speed of sound. For her, this was just a warm-up routine. As she streaked through the dark blue sky Dash noticed something out of the ordinary. Inching their way around the edge of Sweet Apple Acres was the Apple family. It looked like they were carrying a safe similar the one reported stolen from The Bank of Canterlot the previous night. It was all over the news, being slated as the greatest and most ruthless heist in Equestria’s history. Dash looked on from above as the group quietly slipped into the barn. Curiosity had gotten the best of Rainbow. She had to know if that really was the bank’s safe. Silently, Dash landed in the barns loft and watched as Big Mac and Caramel took a blow torch to the safe. It was exactly like the one described in the morning paper. That meant that Applejack and her family had not only stolen the safe, but they had also killed three guards. There was no way in Equestria that was the case. The Apple family was the most honest and hardworking family in all of Equestria. They wouldn’t harm a fly, let alone rob a bank. But there was the proof to the contrary right in front of Dash’s eyes.         Applejack impatiently paced back and forth in the dimly lit barn. “Are y’all done yet? That hospital bill isn’t going to pay itself.”         Caramel lifted the welding mask up and scowled at Applejack with an irritated look. “Listen cousin, this ain’t no piggy bank. This is a five-hundred pound iron safe. It’s going to take more than five minutes to crack it. Have some patience.” Caramel angrily slammed the mask back into the welding position as he went back to work.         Rainbow watched as Applejack lit herself a cigarette. That wasn’t in AJ’s character at all. She had never smoked before. As far as anypony knew Applejack hated tobacco. Rainbow took a moment to survey the barn. Aside from the low hum of the blow torches the barn was silent. At least it was until Applebloom burst through the door with tears flowing from her golden eyes. “Granny’s dead! Granny’s dead! O’ Applejack, Granny is dead!” Everyone in the barn stopped in their tracks and dropped everything. For a moment not even the crickets chirped. Applejack spat out her cigarette, her eyes shut and over-running with tears. “You mean we did this for nothing? We killed ponies for the bits and we didn’t even get a chance to save Granny Smith?! What the buck does the world have against our family?” Applejack wiped the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the worst. “How did she die, Applebloom?” Applebloom closed her eyes and gulped, preparing herself for her sister’s reaction to the awful truth. Rainbow noticed that the look of sadness on Applebloom’s face was replaced with a nervous look. Applejack’s poverty sunken cheeks seemed to twitch every couple of seconds and her eyes resembled a dark emotionless void. Applebloom nervously looked down and told her family the tale. “We heard a bunch of gunshots a couple of blocks down and Granny started clutching at her chest. She was yelling for a doctor, but it was the middle of the night and there was only one doctor. I went as fast as I could looking for him, but by the time I got him Granny was dead. I’m sorry Applejack.” Applejack reached into a cabinet and pulled out a dusty Jack Pony bottle. It looked like it had never been opened before. She hastily twisted the cap off, and tipped it up to her muzzle. She chugged the entire bottle without even taking a breath. Something in Applejack’s head had snapped. What little sanity the orange earth pony had possessed was now gone. Her cheek started twitching violently and her eyes became bloodshot. “Why did we do it? We just murdered three others and we didn’t even rescue the one life we set out to save. Instead of saving her we killed her.” Applejack hesitantly pulled the revolver out of it’s holster and pointed it at her own head. “I’m going to save the hangpony the trouble.” Big Mac and Caramel never even noticed the disillusioned Applejack. They had already went back to the safe. The only thing they had left to live for were the bits in that safe. Rainbow Dash could no longer sit idly by and watch her friend throw her life down the drain. She dive bombed from the loft. Applejack whirled around and redirected the gun at the incoming intruder. “Don’t do it Applejack! You’ve got so much to live for," shouted Dash. The expression on Applejacks’ face went from one of depression to one of absolute rage. “You! This is all your fault, Rainbow Dash! If you had only loaned us a few bits we could have paid that bill and we wouldn’t have had to rob the bank.” Rainbow was taken aback by her friend’s sudden outburst. Nobody had ever snapped on Dash like that before. “Listen you. I have absolutely nothing to my name. In fact, I’ve been sleeping in a tree for the past two months. If anyone should be mad, it’s me.” Applejack kept the pistol trained on Dash. Her cheek continued to twitch in a nervous manner. “I’m tired of hearing excuses! That’s all anypony has for me anymore, dag blamed excuses.” Applejack rolled her eyes and smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile at all. It was cold and malevolent. “Rainbow you just made the last excuse you’ll ever make.” AJ pulled the hammer back on her revolver and pulled the trigger. Dash never heard the shot, but she certainly felt it. The bullet had went straight through her stomach and exited through her back. She couldn’t move anything from the waist down. Dash weakly muttered, crimson blood pouring from her mouth, “Why are you doing this? What is the matter with you? This isn’t like you at all.” The world around Dash seemed to grow darker and more distant as Rainbow struggled to maintain consciousness.         Applejack blew the smoke from the barrel of her gun, and holstered it. She taunted the wounded and dying Dash. “There’s nothing wrong with me. You should probably take a look at yourself though, partner. You don’t look so good.” She turned her attention away from the wounded pegasus with a laugh and focused on the two colts at the safe. “Are you done yet guys?”          Caramel threw down his tools and scooped the bits out of the newly opened safe. He held them up to the heavens as if they were sent by divine intervention. “Yeah cousin, we got the safe open. Now, do you want me to finish her off for ya?”         Applejack filled her saddlebags with as many bits as they could hold and trotted out of the barn. “No, don’t worry about her. I want her to suffer the way we’ve had to suffer. Leave her to die a slow, painful death. Maybe then she’d understand the pain we’ve had to go through these past few months.” For Rainbow, death was inevitable. As the world spun in circles around her, the voices of her old friends grew fainter and the blood pooled around her motionless body. Dash vowed that if she were to somehow survive this ordeal, she would not rest until she had gained her vengeance on the friend who had betrayed her and left her to die. She would kill Applejack one way or another. After an eternity of pain and struggle, the loss of blood had proven too much for the sky blue pegasus. Grudgingly, Rainbow Dash embraced the darkness of death. To be continued...