Trainwreck
The other foals had some difficulty keeping up with the more agile fillies. If Shadow Shroud were a pegasus like Bullseye, they’d match each other in aerial grace assuming she’d even decide to fly; it would’ve seemed that Shroud had met her match if Bullseye was dexterous with more than just a bow and managed to keep her bloodlust hinged. With only the northern wind to guide them, the Battle Foals raced through the White Tail Woods towards whatever awaited them ahead. What they found shocked even the most composed of them.
“WHAT DA F***!?” Turf War exclaimed.
“Turf War! Watch your language!” Quantum Tech warned.
“My language, homegirl!? How ‘bout dis train d’ho!?” Turf War retorted. Before them was a cargo train that had been derailed. Its cars were spilled over either side of the tracks in heap of debris. There wasn’t any smoke or soot in the air, so it must’ve occurred fairly recently. Nopony was immediately in sight.
“What the heck happened here!?” Fire Fight asked.
“What do we care? Aren’t we supposed to looking for other foals?” Bullseye coldly asked.
“Sister….ponies could have been hurt.” Greensprout said.
Bullseye glared at her. “I repeat: what do we care?” she hissed. Greensprout sighed in defeat.
“But I thought you liked it when ponies got hurt. Aren’t you a little curious to behold the carnage?” Shroud asked. She was trying to butter Bullseye up.
“Tch. It’s not as satisfying if I’m not the one dishing it out.” Bullseye hissed.
“Fine then. You can just wait here while we have a look around.” Fire Fight scoffed.
Bullseye turned from them. “Whatever…” she said.
Greensprout was about to say something, but Air Slash tapped her on the shoulder and got her attention. “Let her be. You can’t force her to change. It’d be no better than what her parents inflicted on her.” he said. Greensprout’s pleading eyes looked into his. She couldn’t bear to see Bullseye succumb to the years of agony that her heart had endured, but she knew that Air Slash was right. A small tear fell from her eye as she looked down. Air Slash gently hugged her, which brought some comfort.
One of the train cars suddenly rose from the ground by its corner. The foals looked over there to see Crazylocks effortlessly lifting it up with one hoof and looking at them with a normal-as-can-be expression. “It’s dirty under here, guys!” she said.
“Whoa!” Having not beheld her strength until now, Bullseye gazed at her in awe. “Uh…..damn….”
“Ehehehe….Did we forget to mention that about her?” Spiral Galaxy said.
Crazylocks just continued to stand there with the derailed car propped up on her hoof with the expression of somepony waiting for something to be said. Bullseye snapped out of her amazement and just glared back at her. “Well, throw it away or something!” she sneered.
“Ok!” Crazylocks blurted. With some effort, she lifted the rest of the train car above her and chucked it into the forest. The fact that it managed to go behind the tree lines frightened the other foals; they’d forgotten the legend of the Locks. Crazylocks frantically waved goodbye to the train car as the sound of clanging metal could be heard loudly resounding from behind the brush. “BYE, FRIEND! BYE! BYE-BYE!! DON’T FORGET TO WRITE, AND BE CAREFUL OF THE PEANUT BUTTER SQUID WITCHES!!”
Fire Fight found himself at a loss for what to say, so he just decided to decide that it happened, and that was that. “Uhh…..U-Umm…..L-Let’s…..just back to investigating this.” He stammered. Everypony just nodded their heads and tried to forget what they witnessed.
Bullseye just stammered, and then facehooved. “F****** mutant freak…” she mumbled. She looked up to see Crazylocks standing in front of her with an innocent smile on her face. “The hell you want?”
“TURN THAT FROWN UPSIDE-DOWN!” Crazylocks sang.
“Tch. How about I turn your smile inside-out?” Bullseye threatened.
“No way! Don’t you know that brings bad luck!? Think of the rainbow cornstalk children!” Crazylocks pled.
Bullseye just found herself stammering for the right words again, but just couldn’t find herself on Crazylocks’ level of comprehension…..if she had any. “Ugh! Just…..go sniff out…..something. I don’t know! Don’t really care either.”
“Ok!” As Bullseye suggested, Crazylocks just started sniffing the ground around the wreck like a hound, giving the angry archer a little chuckle.
The wreckage scene was anything but pretty. Debris from the derailed cars littered the area around the tracks and spilled into the forest. It wasn’t a passenger train, so the only dead body they could possibly find was the conductor of the train if they didn’t survive the wreck and run for help….which sadly…..
Zebota noticed that there was a peculiar shape peeking from underneath the overturned head car of the train. He didn’t sense any threat, but he had Shrapnel lift it up slightly so that he could inspect what it was. What he saw brought him some shock. “Ponyfolk…..there is something here you should see…” he muttered.
The other foals save for Bullseye trotted over to him. “What is it, Zebota?” Quantum asked. Shrapnel sorrowfully whimpered as he pointed his head at what he and his master had stumbled upon. Quantum gasped. “Oh my word!” Sprawled underneath the wreckage was the crushed corpse of the train’s conductor. The foals were pretty used to death at this point, so while seeing another body didn’t particularly rattle them, they all said a silent prayer for the fallen stallion. Kickback had to hold back gagging at the sight of the corpse reminding him once more of his mother.
“Shouldn’t we…..bury him at least?” Spiral asked.
“Though it pains me…..we shouldn’t. It’s only a matter of time before somepony wonders why their cargo train hasn’t arrived and sends a search to party to discover this.” Shroud said. “All we can do is pray for his weary soul to find peaceful rest.”
“Shroud’s right, guys. Maybe we really shouldn’t worry about this.” Fire Fight said. Bullseye gave him a ‘I told you so’ look, which he shrugged off. It was then that something bugged him about the whole scene. “Speaking of the cargo…..where is it?”
Looking around the wreckage, the Battle Foals realized that much of the resources that the cars must have been carrying were mysteriously depleted. There was some left, but not nearly enough to sustain an entire order warranting it to be transported via locomotive. What was left consisted of various kinds of metal ore, some basic medical supplies, coal and lumber that no doubt came from the healthy forests around Vanhoover. “Maybe it just got spilled outta da cars an’ into the woods?” Turf War suggested.
“It’d all be much closer to the tracks if such were the case, darling.” Quantum said. She got out of her mech to more closely examine the tracks to discern the cause of the derailing and search for any clues regarding the missing cargo with her glasses. “Hmm…”
“Wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute!” Kickback interjected.
“What is it, Kickback?” Zebota asked.
“That smell…..Ah know it all too well!” Kickback said.
Quantum Tech suddenly got a reading from her glasses that pretty much confirmed Kickback’s suspicions and gasped. “Gunpowder!” she exclaimed. Residue from the explosive chemical littered the vicinity of the wreckage. Further examination revealed metal debris that didn’t look like it belonged to the locomotive structures. “Did…..somepony plant bombs…”
“And blow the train off the tracks!?” Air Slash interjected. While not totally conclusive, the pieces seemed to fit together perfectly. The unknown debris had especially prominent amounts of gunpowder residue on them, and there were little craters reminiscent of an explosion occurring where parts of the tracks had been apparently blown off.
“Oh my Celestia…..” Spiral muttered.
Kickback got his serious face on. “Reckon it musta been another pack o’ varmints like the Sand Vipers.” Saying the very name of the bandits that plagued his life put a venomous hiss in his tone, which Bullseye seemed to take notice of.
“Ya gonna go shoot ‘em up, cowboy? I’d be happy to help.” Bullseye sneered with a malicious smile.
“Now let’s not get our tails in a bunch, Ms. Bullseye. We don’t even know where they are.” Kickback said.
“<BARK><BARK>! <BARK>!” Crazylocks suddenly started barking like a dog towards the side of the forest opposite of where they emerged. “THE TRAIL FOLLOWS THIS WAY!! TO ARMS, MY FRIENDS! WE SHALL RAID THE CASTLE AND LIBERATE WORMVILLE!!” she declared. She motioned for them to follow just before running into the forest beyond.
“Crazylocks, what’re you-!? Argh!! C’mon, guys. We better make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.” Fire Fight said.
Everypony immediately agreed and gave chase to the manic filly. Bullseye couldn’t help but to chuckle and shake her head. “Pfft. Freak….”
*****
After a good ten minutes or so of running, the foals finally caught up to Crazylocks, who was stopped at a series of big, thick bushes. “Crazylocks, don’t go-” Fire Fight was about to reprimand her, but she cut him off.
“Shhh! They’ll hear us!” she whispered. As if to mimic Shadow Shroud, she crouched down and motioned for them to inch closer to her, and they did. When they peered through the shrubbery, their suspicions were pretty much confirmed. Hidden within the woods was a large rock formation that seemed to lead into a cave. Surrounding it was a group of ponies, who looked anything but friendly, shifting around and carrying what could only have been the derailed train’s cargo supplies into what was likely their hideout. The foals could hear them talking.
“Jeez! Screw doing pushups! This is a workout all on its own!” one stallion commented as he carried a couple boxes.
“Eh, quite yer grippin’. It’s worth the huge haul, right?” a mare next to him said.
The same stallion shrugged as he entered the cave. “Yeah, guess so. Still can’t believe those explosives worked. Kind of a shame the conductor quacked though….Ah well.”
“We should probably relocate soon. That wreck is pretty close to home, and it might lead the cops here.” Another stallion said.
“Yer right. Boss prolly gonna give the word here pretty soon after we’re able to move all of this s***.” Another mare said. She sighed. “Kinda got used to this place already.”
The foals were in shock of what they just heard. It looked like they had another mess to clean up. “They don’t even care that they killed somepony!?” Spiral muttered. Her horn was liable to call down the thunder at any moment.
Turf War drew his hammer-axe in frustrated anger. “Man! I’m ‘bout to bust through d’here an’ open a can o’ whoop-a** on-”
Air Slash drew his sword and held it in front on Turf War. “Don’t be a fool! We don’t know what we’re dealing with.” He said. Turf War reluctantly sheathed his hammer-axe. Greensprout gently patted him on the back to comfort him.
“Well then. It seems we have some more pillagers to punish.” Shadow Shroud said. “I suggest we wait for them to lower their guard before we make any attempt to strike.”
“Ah reckon that’s a mighty fine idea, Ms. Shadow Shroud. Varmints like these are always a li’l jumpy, ‘specially when their doin’ their dirty work.” Kickback said.
“I guess you’d know that having dealt with thugs like this prior.” Shroud said. “In which case, I’d honestly feel a little more comfortable if you were….<ahem>….calling the shots.”
“I agree. The Sand Vipers didn’t pull any punches, and even if we’re higher in numbers this time, they might still have a trump card or two that we won’t expect. Agreed?” Fire Fight said. The Battle Foals agreed and decided to wait patiently yet eagerly waited for the right opportunity to strike down these marauders……especially a certain archer.
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Everyone forgot about the loon, didn't they? Also, these kids have seen enough death to traumatize a noble.
No! I'll get you next time you silly mutant filly!! I swear
Oh boy. Why do I get the feeling they're going to have to try and make sure Bullseye doesn't kill anyone?
Also, for our error hunting, we have our special guests, Turf War and Spiral Galaxy!
Turf War: "Yo! How ‘bout dis round of errors?!"
Spiral Galaxy: "I agree, there's a few this time. Here's hoping I don't have to crash some stars to get rid of them."
? Is this an error? What do you mean by 'behold the carnage'?
Did know Crazylocks could just hold 'derailed' in the air.
It should be 'look' not 'looked'
It should be 'dealing' not 'deal'
Missing an 'a' after 'have'.
8092653 That rhymed!
8092663 Thanks, you two! I knew I could count on you!
By 'behold the carnage', I meant that Bullseye would like to gawk at the wreckage, especially if there were hurt ponies given her sadistic nature
8092700 Oh...it just sounded really off to me.
Still not caught up, just got the the scientist part. And boy was that dark, how is there no gore tag on this story? These fights are getting bloodier with each chapter, but I don't care because it's awesome!
Also, I'm kind of surprised Fire Fight didn't give Gene Splice a whole speech about how they're not so different, of how their talents are unappreciated and all. It'd be like one of those "what he could've been" moments for Fire Fight. But what we got is good too.
Also, are the rest of the mane six going to get involved with the search too at some point or is it just Twi, AJ, and Rarity?
8092882 They'll start coming soon enough. I think Fluttershy isn't too far off from where you are.
booo i just caught up
8093420 Awesome! Any thoughts or criticisms thus far?
8093465
I really enjoy this series so far, i need a bit more time to warm up to bullseye but other than that continue doing what you are doing.
8093291 Oh Ok cool.
8094731 That is freaking awesome!
I also thought that 'Red Sun', a track from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance suited him too.
8094780 Really? I never played any of the Metal Gear games so i wouldn't know. But yeah, glad you like the song. Although i feel like it also suits all the other runaway foals, since they all share a common goal and all.
8094806 It really does! Good pick, my friend!
8094824 Thank you. Also, for some reason, I can't help but listen to this song whenever they're fighting something or someone. I know the game and this story almost have nothing in common, but still. I think its the bond between the main characters they both share in common, idk.
8094849 Might be. Still not a bad pick
8094867 Thanks, also CL is like if Discord and Pinkie had a baby and Caboose from Red vs Blue was her adopted brother and Nora from RWBY was her insane babysitter. How is it possible to mix so many crazy characters into one? Also, I'm 55 chapters in, and Princess Luna has not made an appearance yet. Is her role not that big? Or will the answer involve spoilers?
8094944 It's not quite so big, but she'll appearing not too far ahead, after the next foal, in fact.
8094949 Well, I just got to the part where they're at Canterlot, so hopefully soon.
I love to see some other non-pony children characters to be in the team like a Griffin, dragon, Yak, etc. would make the party interesting.
Though I'm noticing the party is getting bigger... Hopefully they find a place soon or things we'll get harder for them.