Apples to Pistols

by MegaColt

Tales of the Dead

Apples to Pistols
Chapter 3: Tales of the Dead
A MLP FiM fan-fiction by MegaColt
Edited by McSqueakers

“But in a story, which is a kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smile and sit-up and return to the world.”-Tim O’Brien

It was nearing dusk when the locomotive carrying Rainbow Dash arrived in Appleloosa. As the train came screeching to a halt the sky blue pegasus jumped off and made a bead for the sheriff’s office. When Dash entered the one room stockade that served as the town’s jail she was shocked to find that the lawpony was nowhere to be found, however, there were a couple of clues as to the sheriff’s whereabouts in the room. A wanted poster was unfurled across his desk with the Apple family’s picture on it. She’d already seen the poster, but what caught her eyes was the set of dusty hoofprints leading out of the shack and onto the street. Dash had nothing else to go on. So she rolled her eyes and followed the tracks across the street until she came to the front door of a multi-story plantation house which dominated the town’s skyline.

There was a large knocker shaped like an apple on the door which the pegasus used twice. It collided against the wood producing a hollow sounding but loud thud. Dash waited for somepony to answer, but all she could hear was what sounded like a chair being dragged across the floor, and a faint mumbling noise. The flyer cantered to the other side of the street and launched herself into the sky, climbing to a ridiculous height. Focusing on the oaken door, she began a steep divebomb as she held her hooves out in front of her. The door splintered into a million pieces as Dash crashed through it, landing gracefully on the home’s inside.

The muddy hoofprints continued to wind through the house. The blue pegasus put on her best detective impression, stalking along the mansion’s interior as she followed the tracks into the kitchen. Dash’s jaw hit the floor as she stumbled upon the most horrific sight she had ever laid eyes on. The sheriff’s body lay on the floor in a pool of crimson blood, a giant gash torn into his neck. Braeburn was tied to a chair in the corner of the room trying to scoot his way towards his savior. The horrified pegasus rushed over to the restrained earth pony and cut him loose.

Braeburn hit the floor and rolled onto his back gasping for air. “Thank Celestia you came. I thought I was a goner for sure.”

Dash’s muscles strained as she lifted the hefty bounty hunter back to his feet. “Who did this to you?” She asked, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Braeburn’s legs wobbled unsteadily as he leaned against a table. “My own cousins did this to me. They killed the sheriff too.” The bounty hunter squinted at the pegasus who had saved his life. “Say, you’re Rainbow Dash aren’t you? Applejack was saying a bunch of crazy things about you. She told me that she’d done killed you too.”

Rainbow Dash was ecstatic at the fact that Applejack had no idea she was alive. It meant that she had the advantage of surprise. “Well she made one mistake. She didn’t finish the job. I’m more alive than I’ve ever been and I’m ready to bring AJ to justice! There is one thing that bothers me about all of this.” The flyer sighed. “Why would they come into your home and tie you up like they did?”

Braeburn limped into the hallway and started throwing random articles of clothing to Dash. “I personally have no clue outside of what she told me.”

Dash grabbed the threads appreciatively, a long pegasus duster complete with a matching hat, and slid them on. “So what did AJ tell you?”

The bounty hunter opened the door and stepped onto his front porch with Rainbow Dash in tow. “Probably the same crap she told you. Some story about the family being too poor to care for themselves and that nopony would lend a helping hoof. How they robbed a bank, killed three guards, they killed... well almost killed you, and she pretty much told me she was crazy.”

The blue pegasus nodded and headed for the town’s general store. “Yeah, that’s basically what she told me before she shot me. Sounds like a bunch of bologna if you ask me. I’m sure somepony at least tried to help her. I couldn’t imagine Rarity or Pinkie Pie turning her down for a loan.”

Braeburn scratched his chin. “Yeah y’all didn’t seem like that type to me.” He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the direction she was heading. “Hey, why are you heading for the general store?” The blond pony asked as he stumbled to catch back up with Rainbow Dash. As he looked her up and down, he noticed that she wasn’t wearing a gun. “Are you crazy coming out this way to bounty hunt without a gun? The second you step out of Appleloosa and into that sea of sand out there, thieves, rapists, and murderers are hiding behind every cactus just waiting for a hapless mare like yourself to come waltzing into their hooves.

Dash smirked as she cantered into the store. “I admit that coming on this type of mission without a weapon wasn’t the smartest choice, but I’m buying one now aren’t I?” The pegasus walked up to the counter and called for the clerk. “Hey buddy, show me the best pistol you got.”

The shopkeeper never let his eye wander from the customer as he slowly reached into the display case, pulling out a Colt Lightning double action revolver and laying it on the counter. His eyes were filled with fear as the pegasus inspected the weapon. “It’s a good gun,” he stuttered, “and it can fire as fast as you can pull the trigger. You don’t even have to cock the hammer back. Um, how are you going to pay for that miss?”

The sly pegasus grinned at Braeburn. “Go ahead and pay him for it Brae, I don’t have any bits on me.”

Braeburn grudgingly slapped a large bag of bits onto the counter. “Use whatever is extra in that bag to put the sheriff in the ground. His body is in my mansion, but don’t bother asking why.” The ticked off mustang stormed out of the store as the shopkeeper swiped the bits into the register as quickly as he could.

Rainbow Dash loaded the gun up and slid it into her coat pocket as she galloped to catch up to the fuming earth pony. “Alright I’m ready to go. Let’s bring our betrayers to justice.”

Braeburn snorted, grabbed Dash by the cheeks, and stared directly into her eyes. “If you ever pull a stunt like that again you can consider our newly found partnership dissolved.” The bounty hunter dropped the surprised pegasus on her plot and smiled. “Now let’s get this show on the road. First thing we need to do is head for the buffalo reservation. It’s the fastest route to Neighxico, and I’ll bet my bottom bit that they’ve at least stopped there. If they are there then we’ll ambush them and try to bring them in alive if we can, but at this point I might even want to put a bullet into Applejack’s skull.”

===

Applejack was standing in a dark, seemingly empty room. A dim spotlight suddenly appeared out of nowhere to reveal a dark slender figure sitting backwards in a chair.

“You’ve done well Applejack, but I’m still not sure if you’ve completely bought into the cause.” The figure said in a hypnotic tone as she whittled on a stick with a small pocket knife. “Right now, I want you to see something that happened in a past life, and I want you to see it with your own eyes.”

The room began to spin in circles and a million dots of color began to form a sepia picture as the black room transformed into a dingy apartment near the top of a building. Applejack’s hooves were carefully feeding bullets into the receiver of a bolt action rifle as she prepared to set up her shot; a shot that, if successful, would change the course of history. The assassin peered through the rifle’s scope as she carefully adjusted the lens so that it looked down upon the Canterlot parade grounds, almost a half a mile away. “The princess should come into view any second now.” the figure’s voice echoed.

Practically on cue, the royal chariot of Princess Celestia came into the shooting lane with Her Royal Highness herself on board. Applejack became filled with rancorous rage when she saw through the shooter’s eyes the royal who had denied her family help when they needed it the most. When the chariot stopped so that Celestia could greet her subjects, the earth pony slowly, carefully, and painstakingly lined up her shot. She took a deep breath and made up her mind. Gradually she squeezed the trigger until she felt the recoil and heard the report of the rifle. She looked back into the scope just in time to see the bullet slam into the back of an unlucky guard’s head as he stepped into the bullet’s path. The soldier slumped into the princess’s lap as a dozen royal guards surrounded her carriage and rolled it back into the safety of the palace.

The mare stood up and put the rifle back in its sling. “Of all the rotten things that could’ve happened, somepony just had to get in the way.” Applejack recomposed herself and leaned against the wall of the tenement apartment she had taken the shot from. She had started to pack her equipment up when she heard what sounded like a small army climbing the stairs.

A faint, but distinct voice with a commanding tone echoed through the building. “The few witnesses we have seem to think that the shot came from this building. I want you soldiers to individually check each room. Make sure you check every nook and cranny in the apartments. The shooter could be hiding anywhere.”

The assassin opened her room’s door and slid behind it waiting for an unfortunate guard to find his way inside. After an eternity of waiting the mare watched as a soldier found his way into the trap she had set up. The guard, a new recruit fresh out of training, cautiously walked into the apartment and headed directly for the closet. He never made it. The assassin silently shut the door and unsheathed her knife. Without making the slightest noise she crept up behind the unsuspecting stallion and viciously slammed the knife into his spine. The soldier tried to yell for help, but the mare had already pulled the knife out of his back and slit his throat before the guard could even move his mouth.

“Hush now quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head, hush now quiet now, it’s time to go to bed.” Applejack quietly sang the lullaby as if she were singing it to her own little filly. As she stroked the dead soldier’s mane the vision began to spin in circles and the world returned to black.

The spotlight rested on the figure who was still whittling on the stick. “I was in the same position as you are once, but I never received an opportunity to fulfill my objective. Still, you can fulfill it for me. You can make the world a better place Applejack. You can end the reign of the tyrant and her selected elite. You can make the world a better place for everypony.”

The dream turned into a vision of a world where everypony was rich. A place where there were no worries, and no cares, but then Applejack recalled her current predicament. She couldn’t leave Big Mac and Caramel’s side after all they’d been through together.

The utopian world faded back into the dark room as the phantom calmly reassured the confounded Applejack. “It’s fine. Take your kin across the border to safety first. We are in no hurry for you to accomplish your final goal. Just remember that no matter what the disillusioned puppets say, you are the enlightened one. When the times get tough, just know that the victor will always be justice.”

===

Applejack crawled out of her tepee, admiring the cool morning breeze and the beauty of the surrounding desert. There were no restrictions whatsoever in that never ending expanse of sun and sand. There was nothing to hold a pony back at all, unlike the rest of the world where the rich and powerful held the average pony down in invisible chains of servitude. The visions had taught her that and she honestly believed that she could change the world into a better place.

Caramel eased out of his tepee and stretched his stiff body out. “Morning, cousin,” he yawned. “What do you think the buffalo have for breakfast?”

The orange pony continued to survey the land as she coldly replied to her cousin, “These savages are probably going to feed us some sort of cannibal soup.”

Caramel laughed uneasily at the sarcastic statement, but his face showed hints of disapproval at Applejack’s comment. “You shouldn’t insult them. They’ve been kind enough to take us in as guests. The least you could do is show them some respect.”

Applejack laid her hoof on Caramel’s shoulder. “These morons don’t deserve my respect. They were once a powerful, and independent tribe on the verge of eliminating the ponies from their homeland. Now they’ve been reduced to living on this reservation in exchange for nothing more than apple pie. They’re too trusting of equines now, and I think we can use that to our advantage.”

“What do you mean, ‘use that to our advantage?’” Caramel asked with suspicion.

The orange bandit smirked. “We’ll make them believe that their situation is far worse than it actually is, and convince them to restart their war against the Appleloosians. That will buy us even more time to get to Neighxico.”

Caramel’s face had a sly smile on it. “You’re a genius, AJ. We’ll be in Neighxico City before they even get close to sorting out their problems.”

Big Macintosh trotted over to his kin in a worried manner. “The buffalo braves stumbled across a recently extinguished campfire just outside of the reservation. They found this among the ashes.” The big red stallion handed Applejack a slightly burnt piece of paper with “NTED” scrolled across the top in bold letters.

“Bounty hunter,” Applejack snorted. “This makes things a little more complicated, but I’m not worried.”

Caramel scraped at the ground nonchalantly making different shapes in the dirt. “You know the hunter could be dialing his scope in on one of us as we speak.”

Applejack lead Caramel and Big Macintosh into the village circle where all of the buffalo were waiting patiently for their breakfasts. “If there was a bounty hunter trying to take a shot at us, we’d already be dead. He had a good twenty second field of time where he could have put a round down range. We’re in good shape.”

“The hunter is probably just starting out.” Big Mac said matter-of-factly as he uneasily scanned the ridge for snipers. “This is the perfect time to catch us with our pants down. I also remember Braeburn telling me something about not being able to claim a bounty if you don’t have the wanted poster on you when you turn the outlaws in. If there is one up there, they have no idea what they’re doing. We’ve got nothing to worry about.”

When the trio received their breakfast plates they were greeted from behind by a deep and robust voice. The three bandits whirled around to find themselves face to face with the great leader of the tribe himself, Chief Thunderhooves. “Good morning my friends. Are you finding everything to your liking?”

Applejack replied with a grimace, “The pie is stale, the tepees are cold at night, and I never really appreciated the fact that you guys always get the short end of the shaft.”

“What do you mean that we always get the short end of the shaft?” The chief asked with his head tilted to the side in a bewildered way. “We were told that we have everything that we could ever want on this piece of land.”

The chief had walked right into the trap. Applejack spoke to the chief in a serious tone. “Can’t you see that the Appleloosians have shoved you onto the worst piece of land they could find, and in exchange for leaving your stampeding grounds they gave you nothing more than apple pie.”

Thunderhooves sat his rump on a log and fiddled with his head dress. “I have been questioning my decision to leave the traditional stampeding grounds for some time now, but I had assured myself and those under my guidance that the Equestrians were our friends now.” The chief scratched his chin contemplatively. “How do you think we should go about getting our land back? We can’t just stampede into Appleloosa again.”

Applejack deviously smiled as the chief let himself be played farther and farther into the ruse. “You don’t have to attack Appleloosa to make a statement. Any more ponies come into the reservation, you just scalp them and send the top of their heads to Appleloosa.”

Chief Thunderhooves got back onto his hooves and motioned to his braves who promptly surrounded the trio. “I think I know what you’re wanting me to do. The problem is that we rarely get visitors these days, and you three are the only equines we have in our grasp at the moment so we’re going to use your scalps for our example.” The chieftain turned away from the bandits and headed for his tepee. When he reached the shelter’s opening he turned around, a malicious grin on his face, and shouted to the waiting buffalo, “Bring me their manes!”

===

Braeburn had his teeth clenched tightly around Rainbow Dash’s tail as they rapidly flew up the side of the cliff. “You had better be looking down,” Dash chuckled. “I wouldn’t want you getting any wrong ideas about our partnership. This is just a business relationship.” Dash softly came to a stop at the top of the bluff, blushing at the bounty hunter who was clasping to her tail.

The blond pony ecstatically spit out Dash’s tail and glared at the sky blue pegasus. “I have a little more self-control than that rookie.” The pair began to edge their way towards the part of the cliffs that overlooked the reservation. The duo seemed to glide across the plateau, darting from boulder to boulder, as they made their way to their target destination. Everything was running like clockwork until Dash was abruptly ambushed by an iron gray blur. The attacker sweeped the pegasus off of her legs, pinning her to the ground as he raised a large knife. The very second before the assailant plunged the blade into the terrified mare’s heart a blond streak made a diving tackle. Braeburn wrestled the knife away from the attacker, tossing the foe onto his back, effectively neutralizing the bushwhacker. Braeburn whipped his pistol out of it’s holster and held it to the attacker’s head. “If you move an inch, I’ll put a bullet in you.”

The attacker, a unicorn with a jet black mane and a look of sheer terror in his bright blue eyes, stared at the pistol pointed at his face like his life was flashing before him. “Please don’t kill me! I swear I thought you were one of the savages!” The young colt quickly recomposed himself as he realized that he wasn’t about to meet his maker. “I wouldn’t harm a fly let alone a beautiful mare like your companion. Just please, don’t shoot me.”

Braeburn picked himself off of the mustang and hoisted the stranger up by the neck onto unsteady legs. Braeburn undid the colt’s gun belt and slung it over his shoulder. “What the hay do you think you’re doing out here, boy? You’re going to get yourself killed going around attacking innocent strangers like you just did.”

The stranger’s expression went from terrified to woeful with the simple question Braeburn asked. He sighed with a tear sliding down his cheek. “I’m not sure if my heart can handle that story anymore.”

Braeburn helped Dash off of the ground and turned back to the ambusher. “Look, if you don’t want to tell us why you’re out here then at least tell us your name.” Dash sneered.

The unicorn sluggishly trotted to a boulder and leaned against it. “Well my name is Traveller, and if you don’t mind me making a long story short I’m out here to avenge my wife’s death. One of those bandits down there killed her, but don’t bother asking for details.”

The blond earth pony shrugged and turned to the turquoise pegasus. “What do you think about this young fella? You think we ought to let him tag along. I reckon he’s after the same targets as us.”

Dash stared at the iron gray unicorn as if she was peering into his soul. She didn’t really have a reason to like the pony who only minutes before was about to put a knife into her heart. “He needs to work on his introductions, but I guess he can come.” she grumbled.

Braeburn cheerfully extended his hoof to the forlorn stallion. “So what do you say Traveller. Do you want to become the third member of our partnership? It’ll be a lot easier taking those crooks down with the odds even.”

Traveller considered the proposition by pulling out an oddly shaped, discolored bit and flipping it. “It must be your lucky day,” he smirked. “Heads it is. I guess we’ve got ourselves a deal.” The gray unicorn spit on his hoof and heartily shook the bounty hunter’s hoof.

Braeburn handed Traveller his gun belt and examined his newest partner. The young stallion looked fresh out of school, his mane kept nice and tidy. He wore a brand new duster coat and a dark brown stetson. He seemed to have everything a young bounty hunter might need, and all of it was brand new. Braeburn was jealous to a degree of the rookie’s equipment, but he knew that the colt was a newcomer to the profession and probably didn’t know how to use half of the things he carried.

While the two stallions inspected each other, Rainbow Dash made her way to the edge of the cliff, watching the reservation. She easily spotted the three equines in the midst of the buffalo’s village, but what surprised her was the fact that the three bandits were surrounded by buffalo braves. “Hey guys, get over here,” she yelled softly. “Something is about to go down.”

===

The trio of bandits quickly narrowed down their choices. Either they fight their way out of the reservation, or they lose their manes. It was as simple as that. The buffalo began to advance on the ponies, closing their circle of death, making the gang’s escape even more improbable.

Caramel cycled a round into his rifle and glanced at his cousins. “Whenever y’all are ready to get us the hay out of here, please feel free to do so.”

Applejack venomously eyed the braves, waiting for one to make a move so she could start unleashing the flurry of firepower that would allow them to escape into the desert sun. There was one particularly cocky buffalo who took two steps forward for every one the others took. The orange earth pony shot a gaping hole in his head first. When the braves heard the first shot they began to stampede, making wild charges at the surrounded trio with knives and tomahawks, but every time a buffalo would get close to landing a blow they would catch a piece of lead, hitting the ground with a heavy thud, creating a barrier of blood-stained bodies that seperated the attacking braves and the surrounded bandits.

Little Strongheart burst out of the chief’s tepee, gallantly galloping through the sea of lead towards her foes. The little cow made a daring leap across the sea of bodies and onto Applejack’s back. She took her knife and cut a large gash into Applejack’s forehead with a smug grin on her face. The mare screamed in rageous agony, but before the buffalo could slice any deeper into the orange pony’s skull she was hit in the mid-section by a near point blank blast from Big Mac’s shotgun. The cow’s body exploded, showering the three equines in blood and guts. The buffalo stopped their stampede the instant they saw their comrade’s death and retreated into the village.

The Apples took the opportunity to bolt from the reservation and into the sea of sand towards Neighxico. Applejack licked the blood off of her face and ran her hoof across the wound on her head. “You know, my blood doesn’t taste that much different from a buffalo’s. Maybe our kinds aren’t so different.”

Caramel took a rag out of his knapsack and used it to bandage the incision. He nonchalantly tied it into a bandanna and sighed. “I reckon we got lucky this time. I figure we ought to get as far way from here as possible before dark. The sooner we’re in Neighxico the happier I’ll be.” The two siblings nodded in agreement as the trio galloped towards the Rio Grandneigh, towards the setting sun and towards escape.

To be continued...

Comments

[datdamnface]

haunting as always. Though you should have added in a section with Little Strongheart since the Mane 6 already knew the tribe. Other than that, well done.

[MagicMissingno]

Even when she's on the wrong side of the law, AJ still looks after her family.

[mikeAguy1]

Nice update

[ajaysallthat]

This story is quite haunting...im really enjoying myself...

[Br0ny4Lif3]

I demand you continue! BTW great story so far.