//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Done with Canterlot (Part 2) // Story: The Bow and the Headphones // by Shieldheart204 //------------------------------// Done with Canterlot As Vinyl watched from her window she thought about all of the gossip around town concerning the masked vigilante. There was the rumor that The Owl was a guy, with a fearsome baritone voice and a heart of gold. He dedicated his nights to stand guard atop the Dark Tower, using his genetically augmented ears to spot trouble all over Canterlot. Some say that he works for Princess Luna, as he only works in the nights. What most rumors agreed on is that The Owl was a capable fighter with a lot of money to spend in cool gadgets. The rain had settled and the fight was finally beginning. Three goons threw their muskets aside and prepared their fists. "My money is on rich boy." she said to herself as she browsed through her music library to find the appropriate song for this fight. She grabbed a hairbrush and pretended it was a microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready for tonight's entertainment? In one corner, weighing maybe eighty kilograms we have the one, the only: The. OWL!" she yelled as she raised her hands and pointed her index finger at the masked figure. "And in this other corner, with a combined weight of I-don't-know-how-and-couldn't-give-a-shit-many-fucking-pounds we have: These. ASSHOLES! Tonight they are fighting for your lovely servant here, risking life and limb, in the hopes that I'll go out with one of these guys.Sadly for them, I'm not gonna go out with any of them. Now enough talk. Round one. FIGHT!" And right on cue one of the goons took a step forward, his right hand gripping a rather refined mace. He pulled out a small pistol from his belt and fired a burst of bullets. Not one projectile came close to even grazing his target. Dropping the gun in frustration, he charged. In the blink of an eye The Owl had somehow managed to lodge the weapon on the thug's forehead. The vigilante seemed to have surrendered his peaceful look, as he clashed his fists together signaling a challenge. And if she could see well, his gauntlets were actually covered in a honey aura. Two thugs roared and charged, hoping that their testosterone would protect them from harm. To their bones' dismay, it didn't. The Owl seemed to be able to gaze into the future, dodging swings and kicks and always countering in creative ways. The attacks made sickening cracks every time they came into contact with someone. As the two mooks fell down the rest pulled out weapons and opened fire, hoping that at least one of them would manage to score some sort of hit. But the Owl seemed to have been prepared for this. He immediately swished his cape and the bolts were deflected immediately. With a testosterone-filled roar, one of them charged. He swung his cattle prod with his manly roar. But it was for naught. Just like his compatriots, the goon's attack was stopped and countered. The Owl grabbed his arm and cracked it, finishing him with a swift knee to the head. Two more decided to charge, jumping over the cloaked vigilante. But the Owl was a step ahead, Rolling forward as it prepared the gauntlets. With a soft hum, the palms erupted a series of honey-colored beams. Although Vinyl was a story above the battle, she still squirmed at the sight of the two thugs that got blown away. The Owl then proceeded to blast anyone who dreamed of pulling a gun. After ten seconds of continuous bolts, the enemies were down for the count. The Owl then walked toward the apartment, producing a sickening crack before slamming a body to a wall. Disregarding any common sense, Vinyl headed downstairs. The kitchen room was a mess, with broken plates and blood decorating the area. In the main island stood The Owl, holding the jerk that apparently had bought her. "Please don't hurt me! I swear I never thought they would dare go this far, I swear!" cried the young noble as he struggle to free the lapels of his shirt from the iron grip. She then hid under the serving counter, hoping her stealthy position could let her hear everything. "Tell me who they are and I might just consider it." growled the vigilante as he shook his prey. "I... I don't know! This was all Pearl's idea!" shrieked the noble. "He told me he needed to, to.... Escort! Yeah, He asked me to escort a young DJ that worked in the Last Resort and offered to lend me a couple of his personal guard to make sure nothing bad happened to her!" as he ended his statement he received a swift punch to the jaw. "LIAR! I know you bought her from the club and you planned on keeping her as your slave!" growled The Owl. "Now tell me the truth before I destroy your only asset!" "All right, all right! I'll talk, just don't hurt me!" shrieked the young man. The Owl appeared to have believed him, as he let go of the silk lapels. The victim fell to the floor, only getting up when he was sure his arms would protect his head. "It was all Pearl's idea, he told me that he was gonna get another girl for his pack and he offered me one of two girls. One was some cellist bitch the other was that punk upstairs. I chose the second one. So with this plan Pearl lent me some mercs he hired and told me to grab the girl no matter the cost. I thought it was overkill, but he promised I wouldn't pay a cent so I didn't complain!" "You really expect me to believe that you were willing to enslave someone, the worst crime in Equestria, hire unregistered mercenaries and even commit murder because the Count told you you were gonna get free pussy?" asked an incredulous vigilante. "You risked your life just for one woman?!" The noble began tearing up. "I WAS BORED ALL RIGHT!" he screamed. "Pearl told me that he's done these things before and that they never go wrong! I thought it would be cool to have my own pack of ladies clinging on my knees, I never thought it would be this fucking dangerous." "And therein lie all of your problems." grumbled Owl. "You just earned yourself some jail time buddy. The Guard will be here any minute," he said as he slapped a pair of handcuffs on the noble's wrists "and when they find you they'll hold you responsible for this mess. If you're lucky your parents will bail you out in a month, if not... I hope you don't have butterfingers." he said as he stuck a hockey puck to the ground. He then pressed a button on his left wrist and the noble fell to the ground. "And as for you miss." Vinyl's blood froze with those words. Was he talking to her or was he just stating where he was going? A second later she got her answer. The Owl was standing in front of her, his eyes covered by giant black lenses. And she could finally confirm that it was a he, since his chest wasn't that well developed to say otherwise. "You need to get out of here, now." said the Owl in a clearly fake rough voice. "If the Guard takes you in for questioning you'll be taken in by Pearl, and I'm not going to let him win." "What? No way! I ain't running away..." began Vinyl before she was dragged upstairs. "I don't sleep with guys, even if they were kind and bought me dinner." "You're gonna pack your bags in five minutes or else you'll end up in Pearl's dungeon." Vinyl turned her head to face him, and seeing that his words were true. Once she was fully convinced that the masked vigilante with sci-fi gear was telling the truth she decided to walk on her own. "Where am I supposed to go? I can't just pack up and get the first train outta here, where the fuck am I supposed to go?" she exclaimed as she opened the door. "You'll grab the first train to Vanhoover, and you'll decide what to do once you get there." growled The Owl. "Why Vanhover?". "Because you'll be safe from Pearl's clutches there, and also because I'm sure the Legion could use someone of your" he said as he grabbed Vinyl's gun. "unique talents." Both flattered and annoyed, Vinyl yanked the gun from his hands. "Sorry, but this jockey don't ride with the army." "Why not? I saw you beating the crap out of those gorillas back in the club, I don't see why you shouldn't join them. They could assign you to a special ops group..." "I'm not gonna become one of the army's dogs just cause some masked dude says so." replied Vinyl as she grabbed a large white duffle bag and began dumping whatever clothes she could find. "Not that I don't appreciate the help, though." as she finished filling the bag with what little clothes she had she turned to look at The Owl. He just placed his armored hand over the bag and replied: "Why don't you realize that you're making a mistake? Vanhoover is the safest place you can be in right now, if you go anywhere else you'll have to run away from Pearl's goons for the rest of your life!" "Then let those sons of bitches come at me. I've always wanted to move to Manehattan, and if that bastard thinks he can just take me to his castle then he's gonna be in it for a big surprise. That fucker will never take me alive!" she exclaimed as she whisked the arm away and slung her luggage over her back. "If you ever get to Manehattan make sure to give me a call, I promise we'll do something fun then. Thanks for everything O!" and so she strode out of her apartment, with her gun on her left hand. As Vinyl kept to the shadows on her way to the train station she heard one of the mechanical carriages used by the Canterlot Guard. The dark blue vehicle sped past the street, almost as if there was a devil behind them. "Heh, they won't find the Owl anytime soon." she said to herself as she continued her way to become the ultimate DJ.